bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Distress, Work Satisfaction, and Work Ability are Mediators of the Relation Between Psychosocial Working Conditions and Mental Health-Related Long-Term Sickness Absence
Authors: van Hoffen Marieke F. A. , Rijnhart Judith J. M. , Norder Giny , Labuschagne Lisanne J. E. , Twisk Jos W. R.
Published: October 2020

Purpose This study investigated the effects of psychosocial working conditions on mental health-related long-term sickness absence and whether distress, work satisfaction, burnout, engagement, and work ability mediated the associations between psychosocial working conditions and mental health-related long-term sickness absence. Methods This cohort study included 53,833 non-sick listed workers who participated in occupational health surveys between 2010 and 2013. The effects of the individual psychosocial working conditions on mental long-term sickness absence were analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Mediation analyses were performed to examine the mediating role of distress, burnout, work satisfaction, engagement, and work ability between psychosocial working conditions and mental long-term sickness absence. The mediation analyses were performed using structural equation modeling. Results Role clarity, cognitive demands, emotional demands, work variety, learning opportunities, and co-worker support were related to mental health-related long-term sickness absence after adjustment for other working conditions. The relationship between emotional demands and mental health-related long-term sickness absence was the strongest, OR 1.304 (p < 0.001, 95% CI 1.135 to 1.498). The relation between psychosocial working conditions and mental health-related long-term sickness absence was mediated by distress, burnout, work satisfaction, engagement, and work ability. Distress was the most important mediator between psychosocial working conditions and mental health-related long-term sickness absence. Conclusions Psychosocial working conditions are related to mental health-related long-term sickness absence. After correction for other working conditions, the association between emotional demands and mental health-related long-term sickness absence was the strongest. Psychosocial working conditions are indirectly related to mental health-related long-term sickness absence through mediation by distress, work satisfaction, and work ability.
Chromatin-Level Differences Elucidate Potential Determinants of Contrasting Levels of Cold Sensitivity in Maize Lines
Authors: Jończyk Maciej , Sobkowiak Alicja , Trzcinska-Danielewicz Joanna , Sowiński Paweł
Published: October 2020

Maize is a subtropical, cold-sensitive species. However, some varieties of this species have the potential to withstand long-term low temperatures, even at the seedling stage. The molecular basis of this phenomenon has not been determined. In a chromatin-level study, we compared the cold-stress reaction of seedlings of two maize inbred lines showing contrasting levels of cold sensitivity. The cold-tolerant line was selected based on field data and previous physiological and transcriptomic level studies. The first condition of gene expression—chromatin accessibility—was assessed by formaldehyde-aided isolation of regulatory elements method and DNA sequencing. Potentially expressed genes and cis-regulatory sequences open for interaction with transcription factors have been defined. The results of this study suggest that during cold stress, the tolerant maize line shifted resources from growth to defense. This shift was shown by potential hormone-level events—degradation of growth-promoting gibberellins and synthesis of jasmonic and abscisic acids. This finding is congruent with the xeromorphic morphology of seedlings of the cold-tolerant line and their ability to regrow when stress ceases. It is a common reaction of cold-tolerant maize lines. Moreover, in the cold-tolerant line, several genes from the low-temperature signaling pathways were potentially expressed. Additionally, numerous stress-response AP2/EREBP-binding cis-motifs were accessible in the cold-tolerant line. Differently in the cold-sensitive B73 line, MADS-binding cis-motifs were the most abundant. Development of the photosynthetic apparatus is crucial for the survival of maize seedlings at low temperature. Our results suggest efficient photosynthesis in seedlings of the cold-tolerant line, as was described earlier in physiological-level analyses.
Prosodic sensitivity and reading fluency of musicians and non-musicians
Authors: Obergfell Anja L. , Schmidt Barbara M. , Stenneken Prisca , Wittemann Sonja K. , Schabmann Alfred
Published: October 2020

This study investigates the effects of prosodic sensitivity on reading. Highly capable adult musicians (i.e., persons with potentially excellent prosodic skills) and non-musicians were compared in terms of prosodic sensitivity and reading. Furthermore, the study examines possible reciprocal effects of prosodic sensitivity and reading. Sixty native German-speaking university students, musicians (n = 30) and non-musicians (n = 30), completed three measures of prosodic sensitivity on the sentence level. In addition, word and nonword reading were tested. To check for possible reciprocal effects of prosodic sensitivity and reading, groups of musicians and non-musicians matched on the reading level as well as the prosodic sensitivity level were compared. The results showed that musicians outperformed non-musicians in two of the three prosodic sensitivity measures and both reading measures. Considering subgroup analysis this seems to indicate a non-reciprocal effect of prosodic sensitivity on reading. Moreover, when controlling for phonological awareness, prosodic sensitivity showed a unique effect on reading in the whole sample. Based on the results, we argue that good prosodic sensitivity can facilitate reading performance.
“Cerebral small vessel disease and other influential factors of cognitive impairment in the middle-aged: a long-term observational cohort PURE-MIND study in Poland”
Authors: Szcześniak Dorota , Rymaszewska Joanna , Zimny Anna , Sąsiadek Marek , Połtyn-Zaradna Katarzyna , Smith Eric E. , Zatońska Katarzyna , Zatoński Tomasz , Rangarajan Sumathy , Yusuf Salim , Szuba Andrzej
Published: October 2020

A complex picture of factors influencing cognition is necessary to be drawn for a better understanding of the role of potentially modifiable factors in dementia. The aim was to assess the prevalence and determinants of cognitive impairment, including the role of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) in Polish middle-aged cohort. A comprehensive set of clinical (hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol intake) and socio-demographic data was collected in the PURE study in years 2007–2016, which was the basis for detailed analysis of risk factors of cognitive impairments in years 2016–2018 in the PURE-MIND sub-study. Five hundred forty-seven subjects (age range 39–65, mean 56.2 ± 6.5) underwent neuropsychological assessment with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Trail Making Test (TMT) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) followed by brain MRI. Mean MoCA score was 26.29 and 33% participants met criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (MoCA< 26). Seventy-three percent showed findings related to CSVD. Higher WMH burden and lacunar infarcts were associated with lower MoCA and DSST scores. Severe CSVD was associated with twofold incidence of MCI, and obesity increased its probability by 53% and hypertension by 37%. The likelihood of MCI was reduced in nonsmokers. One factor analysis showed the important role of lower level of education, older age, rural area of residence and hypertension. MCI and CSVD are highly prevalent in the middle-aged population in Poland. A greater importance should be given to potentially modifiable risk factors of dementia which are already present in mid-life.
Predictive maintenance as an internet of things enabled business model: A taxonomy
Authors: Passlick Jens , Dreyer Sonja , Olivotti Daniel , Grützner Lukas , Eilers Dennis , Breitner Michael H.
Published: October 2020

Predictive maintenance (PdM) is an important application of the Internet of Things (IoT) discussed in many companies, especially in the manufacturing industry. PdM uses data, usually sensor data, to optimize maintenance activities. We develop a taxonomy to classify PdM business models that enables a comparison and analysis of such models. We use our taxonomy to classify the business models of 113 companies. Based on this classification, we identify six archetypes using cluster analysis and discuss the results. The “hardware development”, “analytics provider”, and “all-in-one” archetypes are the most frequently represented in the study sample. For cluster analysis, we use a visualization technique that involves an autoencoder. The results of our analysis will help practitioners assess their own business models and those of other companies. Business models can be better differentiated by considering the different levels of IoT architecture, which is also an important implication for further research.
Neonatal and carrier screening for rare diseases: how innovation challenges screening criteria worldwide
Authors: Cornel Martina C. , Rigter Tessel , Jansen Marleen E. , Henneman Lidewij
Published: October 2020

Screening for rare diseases first began more than 50 years ago with neonatal bloodspot screening (NBS) for phenylketonuria, and carrier screening for Tay-Sachs disease, sickle cell anaemia and β-thalassaemia. NBS’s primary aim is health gain for children, while carrier screening enables autonomous reproductive choice. While screening can be beneficial, it also has the potential to cause harm and thus decisions are needed on whether a specific screening is worthwhile. These decisions are usually based on screening principles and criteria. Technological developments, both treatment driven and test driven, have led to expansions in neonatal screening and carrier screening. This article demonstrates how the dynamics and expansions in NBS and carrier screening have challenged four well-known screening criteria (treatment, test, target population and programme evaluation), and the decision-making based on them. We show that shifting perspectives on screening criteria for NBS as well as carrier screening lead to converging debates in these separate fields. For example, the child is traditionally considered to be the beneficiary in NBS, but the family and society can also benefit. Vice versa, carrier screening may be driven by disease prevention, rather than reproductive autonomy, raising cross-disciplinary questions regarding potential beneficiaries and which diseases to include. In addition, the stakeholders from these separate fields vary: Globally NBS is often governed as a public health programme while carrier screening is usually available via medical professionals. The article concludes with a call for an exchange of vision and knowledge among all stakeholders of both fields to attune the dynamics of screening.
Integrated mechanical earth model and quantitative risk assessment to successful drilling
Authors: Noohnejad Alireza , Ahangari Kaveh , Goshtasbi Kamran
Published: October 2020

Use of vital geomechanical parameters for determination of safe mud pressure window is generally associated with high level of uncertainty primarily because of absence of sufficient calibration data including laboratory and field test information. The traditional deterministic wellbore stability analysis methodologies usually overlooked the uncertainty of these key parameters. This paper exhibits implementing a quantitative risk assessment technique on the basis of Monte-Carlo modeling to consider uncertainty from input data so as to make it possible to survey not just the likelihood of accomplishing a desired level of wellbore stability at a particular mud weight, but also the impacts of the uncertainty in each single parameter on the wellbore stability. This methodology was implemented to a case study. The most important parameters have been recognized using a sensitivity analysis approach in which the outcome of this QRA procedure suggests the mud weight window with likelihood of well drilling success which can elude the wellbore collapse and lost circulation events. This sort of stochastic approach to deal with anticipated safe mud weight window can guarantee stable wellbore with considerable cost viability associated with drilling success. The technique built up in this paper can give the scientific foundation for assessment of wellbore stability under complicated geological circumstances. It was likewise noted that based on sensitivity analysis, uniaxial compressive strength and maximum horizontal stress are the most effective parameter in estimation of mud weight window. This accentuates the significance of trustworthy determinations of these two parameters for safe drilling of the future wells in the field.
Methods and tools for environmental technologies risk evaluation: the principal guidelines—a review
Authors: Kowalska A. , Grobelak A. , Kacprzak M. , Lyng K.-A.
Published: October 2020

The commonly used and developing engineering environmental technologies do not remain neutral for an ecosystem. The deepening climate changes are generally considered as the effects of human activities. There is thus no doubt that any human interference in the environment should be comprehensively checked at the beginning for all its positive and negative aspects for the environment as well as society health. There are two different analytical tools useful in environmental management: life cycle assessment (LCA) and risk assessment (RA). The first follows the product from “from birth to the grave” summing the environmental impact at all stages of its “life” including such elements like producing, used electricity, transport and many others. LCA refers to quantification and classification of all effects at all life stages and provides direct and indirect possible environmental interactions. On the other hand, risk assessment focuses on linking stressors and its possibilities and severity. RA tools reveal environmental and human health impacts of strictly separated elements, providing insight as to which emission consists of an important threat. This paper is focused on summarizing two the most used methods and tools for supporting the decision making process in use of environmental engineering technologies. In this paper, the fundamental differences between LCA and RA and benefits from their use has been contained.
Leachate and contact test with Lepidium sativum L. to assess the phytotoxicity of waste
Authors: Bożym M. , Król A. , Mizerna K.
Published: October 2020

The study evaluated the use of Lepidium sativum L. to assess the phytotoxicity of three types of waste such as hazardous waste (slags from zinc to copper smelters) and nonhazardous waste (mineral–organic composite). Previous studies evaluated heavy metal leaching and the environmental impact of the tested waste. The purpose of phytotoxicity studies was to increase knowledge about this waste. Two types of tests were used to assess the phytotoxicity of wastes: germination index and accumulation test. Both tests were carried out for leachate (leachate test) and waste (contact test). The results of both tests were compared to assess the phytotoxic effects of tested waste. Phytotoxicity tests have shown that the mineral–organic composite leachate was stimulated plant growth, copper smelter slag leachate was characterized by no phytotoxicity and zinc slag leachate inhibited the growth of plants. In contrast, contact test showed inhibitory effects from all tested waste. Wherefore, the contact test was indicated as more sensitive in the assessment of phytotoxicity. However, this is not a clear assessment, because the germination index values for both tests were a result of differences of root length for both control samples (deionized water and sand). The study confirmed the usefulness of L. sativum for the assessment of phytotoxicity of various types of waste. Additionally, it was found that L. sativum was resistant to high concentrations of heavy metals in the leachate, without causing any negative physiological effects.
Manipulation of landing behaviour of two whitefly species by reflective foils
Authors: Niemann Jan-Uwe , Menssen Max , Poehling Hans-Michael
Published: October 2020

Whiteflies are major pests on several vegetable and ornamental crops. Landing behaviour is strongly influenced by wavelength (nm) of reflected light from ground and surrounding vegetation. This paper deals with manipulation of whitefly landing behaviour in semi-field greenhouse experiments using background foils, either white foils with high reflection of short wavelength radiation or green foils reducing contrast between target plants and background (soil). The reactions of two different whitefly species were compared to detect possible differences between specialist (Aleyrodes proletella) and generalist (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) species. Dual-choice experiments were performed in a greenhouse using ice-lettuce,Lactuca sativavar. capitata (T. vaporariorum) and broccoli,brassica oleraceravar. Italica P (A. proletella) as model plants. The results show strong impact of the white reflective foil in controlling landing behaviour of both species, whereas the effect of the contrast-minimising foil was much lower. Light influence was stronger on generalist than on specialist species. Mechanisms behind these effects and opportunities for inclusion in an integrated pest management strategy are discussed.
Vanadium removal from spent sulfuric acid plant catalyst using citric acid and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans
Authors: Mikoda Bartosz , Potysz Anna , Kucha Harry , Kmiecik Ewa
Published: October 2020

Spent catalysts being considered hazardous wastes exhibit a high metal content in mobile forms. In addition, growing demand for circular economy policy applications requires proper utilization of these wastes. This study aimed at the assessment of vanadium leaching from spent desulfurization catalyst derived from sulfuric acid plant dump located nearby a copper smelter. Chemical and phase composition of the catalyst has been characterized. The extraction has been performed using chemical (0.1-M and 1-M citric acid) and biological (biotic solution with Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans) methods, using different experimental parameters (pulp density, particle size, leaching time) to observe V leaching behavior and kinetics. The results revealed that both citric acid and bacteria carried out the extraction process well. The optimal parameters for acid leaching were < 0.2-mm particle size and 2% pulp density, which allowed to leach out 95% of V from spent catalyst within 48 h. The bacterially mediated extraction resulted in 93% V leached out within 21 days with 2% pulp density. The experiments showed that V present in the catalyst is susceptible to bioleaching and organic acid leaching with the latter being a quicker process.
Demonstrating the effectiveness of a residential education programme for disengaged young people: a preliminary report
Authors: Mastronardi Paul , Ainsworth Frank , Huefner Jonathan C.
Published: October 2020

This article reports on the early results of using behavioural and educational data to evaluate a residential education programme. The programme serves male and female students between 12 and 16 years of age who have been suspended or expelled from school due to behavioural issues or who refused to attend school. Using measures of behavioural and educational progress during care and reporting these changes over time provided empirical evidence that the programme was achieving its primary aims of ‘behaviour change and educational gains.’ Collecting and reporting this data has empowered the programme to increase programme effectiveness through both data-informed decision-making and ongoing programme evaluation.
From industry-wide parameters to aircraft-centric on-flight inference: Improving aeronautics performance prediction with machine learning
Authors: Dewez Florent , Guedj Benjamin , Vandewalle Vincent
Published: October 2020

Aircraft performance models play a key role in airline operations, especially in planning a fuel-efficient flight. In practice, manufacturers provide guidelines which are slightly modified throughout the aircraft life cycle via the tuning of a single factor, enabling better fuel predictions. However, this has limitations, in particular, they do not reflect the evolution of each feature impacting the aircraft performance. Our goal here is to overcome this limitation. The key contribution of the present article is to foster the use of machine learning to leverage the massive amounts of data continuously recorded during flights performed by an aircraft and provide models reflecting its actual and individual performance. We illustrate our approach by focusing on the estimation of the drag and lift coefficients from recorded flight data. As these coefficients are not directly recorded, we resort to aerodynamics approximations. As a safety check, we provide bounds to assess the accuracy of both the aerodynamics approximation and the statistical performance of our approach. We provide numerical results on a collection of machine learning algorithms. We report excellent accuracy on real-life data and exhibit empirical evidence to support our modeling, in coherence with aerodynamics principles.
Law and Society Studies in Context: Suggestions for a Cross-Country Comparison of Socio-Legal Research and Teaching
Authors: Herklotz Tanja
Published: October 2020

Cultures of legal and socio-legal scholarship, like legal cultures themselves, are shaped by their respective historical, cultural, economic, and socio-political context. Socio-legal—or law and society—studies are thus pursued and taught differently in different parts of the world. This Article suggests making socio-legal studies the object of comparative research, so as to understand and explain commonalities, differences, and context dependencies in socio-legal scholarship and teaching in different countries. Such comparative endeavors help to translate between different academic languages and to critically reflect upon one’s own research methods and system of legal education. They prove useful for scholars planning research in other parts of the world or engaging in cross-country collaborative research projects, and for research institutions and policymakers involved in reforming research funding and legal education. But how do we go about comparing socio-legal studies? More specifically, why, what, and how do we compare, and what are the challenges that we may face when pursuing such comparative endeavors? This Article gives an overview of potential research questions that a comparison between socio-legal studies may address, the sources that comparativists may draw on, the methods such a comparative endeavor may use to collect and analyze data, and the challenges researchers may face when attempting to compare socio-legal studies in different parts of the world.
The Comparative Sociology of Legal Doctrine: Thoughts on a Research Program
Authors: Boulanger Christian
Published: October 2020

In the context of the encounter of UK and German socio-legal studies in this issue, this Article develops preliminary thoughts on a research agenda for the comparative interdisciplinary empirical study of legal doctrine. Based on a working definition of doctrine as an institutionally legitimized practice of making statements on the law, it presents an overview of sociological and comparative theorizing about doctrine in Germany, and of the data and methods being used to study it, in order to identify similar or diverging trends in the UK and elsewhere. This Article aims to show that legal doctrine, which is often regarded by non-lawyers as arcane and/or tedious, is an interesting and important subject for comparative socio-legal research.
Researching Urban Law
Authors: Layard Antonia
Published: October 2020

This Article considers the development of urban law. It suggests that urban law is socio-legal in its exploration of law’s role in the production of the city and urban life, enabling the study of the city as a distinctive legal entity. Addressing the question “why urban law?,” this Article considers similar debates in geography and urban policy before developing three arguments for studying urban law: (i) urbanism is a vibrant field of scholarly research; (ii) socio-legal research can take an explicitly normative focus in pursuit of improving urban quality; and (iii) at a city scale we can investigate governance concepts of territory, sovereignty and jurisdiction. One of the difficulties with urban law is finding the right level of analysis, covering sufficient legal and empirical detail whilst also making the city legible at an urban scale. Although this tension produces imperfect compromises, accepting the limitations means that we can begin the shared task of developing an intellectual infrastructure, a grammar, for the study of urban law.
Evidence, and replication thereof, that molecular-genetic and environmental risks for psychosis impact through an affective pathway
Authors: van Os Jim , Pries Lotta-Katrin , ten Have Margreet , de Graaf Ron , van Dorsselaer Saskia , Delespaul Philippe , Bak Maarten , Kenis Gunter , Lin Bochao D. , Luykx Jurjen J. , Richards Alexander L. , Akdede Berna , Binbay Tolga , Altınyazar Vesile , Yalınçetin Berna , Gümüş-Akay Güvem , Cihan Burçin , Soygür Haldun , Ulaş Halis , Cankurtaran Eylem Şahin , Kaymak Semra Ulusoy , Mihaljevic Marina M. , Petrovic Sanja Andric , Mirjanic Tijana , Bernardo Miguel , Mezquida Gisela , Amoretti Silvia , Bobes Julio , Saiz Pilar A. , García-Portilla María Paz , Sanjuan Julio , Aguilar Eduardo J. , Santos José Luis , Jiménez-López Estela , Arrojo Manuel , Carracedo Angel , López Gonzalo , González-Peñas Javier , Parellada Mara , Maric Nadja P. , Atbaşoğlu Cem , Ucok Alp , Alptekin Köksal , Saka Meram Can , Arango Celso , O'Donovan Michael , Rutten Bart P. F. , Guloksuz Sinan
Published: October 2020

Background

There is evidence that environmental and genetic risk factors for schizophrenia spectrum disorders are transdiagnostic and mediated in part through a generic pathway of affective dysregulation.

Methods

We analysed to what degree the impact of schizophrenia polygenic risk (PRS-SZ) and childhood adversity (CA) on psychosis outcomes was contingent on co-presence of affective dysregulation, defined as significant depressive symptoms, in (i) NEMESIS-2 (n = 6646), a representative general population sample, interviewed four times over nine years and (ii) EUGEI (n = 4068) a sample of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, the siblings of these patients and controls.

Results

The impact of PRS-SZ on psychosis showed significant dependence on co-presence of affective dysregulation in NEMESIS-2 [relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI): 1.01, p = 0.037] and in EUGEI (RERI = 3.39, p = 0.048). This was particularly evident for delusional ideation (NEMESIS-2: RERI = 1.74, p = 0.003; EUGEI: RERI = 4.16, p = 0.019) and not for hallucinatory experiences (NEMESIS-2: RERI = 0.65, p = 0.284; EUGEI: −0.37, p = 0.547). A similar and stronger pattern of results was evident for CA (RERI delusions and hallucinations: NEMESIS-2: 3.02, p < 0.001; EUGEI: 6.44, p < 0.001; RERI delusional ideation: NEMESIS-2: 3.79, p < 0.001; EUGEI: 5.43, p = 0.001; RERI hallucinatory experiences: NEMESIS-2: 2.46, p < 0.001; EUGEI: 0.54, p = 0.465).

Conclusions

The results, and internal replication, suggest that the effects of known genetic and non-genetic risk factors for psychosis are mediated in part through an affective pathway, from which early states of delusional meaning may arise.
Revd Dr David Efird: an academic tribute
Authors: COCKAYNE JOSHUA , WORSLEY DAVID
Published: October 2020

The Revd Dr David Efird passed away at the beginning of 2020. He was 45. David was a much-loved teacher and a leading figure in philosophy of religion in the UK. He was also the co-editor of this journal between 2016 and 2018.
Good intentions and bad consequences: The general assistance mandate of the Trust Fund for Victims of the ICC
Authors: Rauxloh Regina E.
Published: October 2020

Recognizing the needs of victims in international criminal justice, the International Criminal Court (ICC or the Court) has introduced an innovative reparation scheme including the establishment of the Trust Fund for Victims. Besides the Fund’s role to implement reparation orders, a second mandate has been developed to provide immediate help to victims independent from a criminal conviction: the general assistance mandate. Surprisingly, this mandate has to date attracted little attention from scholars and remains vastly under-researched. By exploring in detail the work of the general assistance mandate, this article exposes its structural weaknesses as well as the negative impact it has on the procedures of the Court as a whole. It will demonstrate how the general assistance mandate weakens the legitimacy of the ICC as it undermines the presumption of innocence, risks compromising international and national Court proceedings, and masks the weaknesses of the Court. While there is no doubt that humanitarian assistance is urgently needed in situations that are investigated by the ICC, the mechanism chosen, namely the Trust Fund’s general assistance mandate is not an adequate solution. This article argues that general assistance has no place in an international criminal court and should, therefore, be completely separated from the ICC.
DNA methylation profiles in adults born at extremely low birth weight
Authors: Mathewson Karen J. , McGowan Patrick O. , de Vega Wilfred C. , Van Lieshout Ryan J. , Morrison Katherine M. , Saigal Saroj , Schmidt Louis A.
Published: October 2020

Effects of stresses associated with extremely preterm birth may be biologically “recorded” in the genomes of individuals born preterm via changes in DNA methylation (DNAm) patterns. Genome-wide DNAm profiles were examined in buccal epithelial cells from 45 adults born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW; ≤1000 g) in the oldest known cohort of prospectively followed ELBW survivors (Mage = 32.35 years, 17 male), and 47 normal birth weight (NBW; ≥2500 g) control adults (Mage = 32.43 years, 20 male). Sex differences in DNAm profiles were found in both birth weight groups, but they were greatly enhanced in the ELBW group (77,895 loci) versus the NBW group (3,424 loci), suggesting synergistic effects of extreme prenatal adversity and sex on adult DNAm profiles. In men, DNAm profiles differed by birth weight group at 1,354 loci on 694 unique genes. Only two loci on two genes distinguished between ELBW and NBW women. Gene ontology (GO) and network analyses indicated that loci differentiating between ELBW and NBW men were abundant in genes within biological pathways related to neuronal development, synaptic transportation, metabolic regulation, and cellular regulation. Findings suggest increased sensitivity of males to long-term epigenetic effects of extremely preterm birth. Group differences are discussed in relation to particular gene functions.
Generalist genes and specialist environments for adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems: A test of severity and directionality
Authors: Marceau Kristine , Neiderhiser Jenae
Published: October 2020

The generalist genes specialist environment model, when applied to developmental psychopathology, predicts that genetic influences should explain variance that is shared across internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas environmental influences should explain variance that distinguishes the two overarching problem types. The present study is a direct test of this hypothesis, leveraging a sample of 708 twins and siblings (aged 10–18 years, 93% White) from the United States. Measures of severity of symptoms, regardless of type, and of directionality of symptoms – whether the adolescent tended to exhibit more externalizing or internalizing problems – were subjected to genetic (A), shared environmental (C), and nonshared environmental (E) (ACE) variance decompositions. As expected, severity of problems was under substantial genetic influence, but there were also significant shared and nonshared environmental influences. Contrary to the generalist genes specialist environment model, directionality of problem type was also under considerable genetic influence, with modest nonshared environmental influence. Findings corroborate existing evidence from other designs highlighting the role of familial influences (including generalist genes) in comorbidity of adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems, but suggest that the specialist environments hypothesis may not be the key factor in distinguishing problem type.
Frozen (Δ + 1)-colourings of bounded degree graphs
Authors: Bonamy Marthe , Bousquet Nicolas , Perarnau Guillem
Published: October 2020

Let G be a graph on n vertices and with maximum degree Δ, and let k be an integer. The k-recolouring graph of G is the graph whose vertices are k-colourings of G and where two k-colourings are adjacent if they differ at exactly one vertex. It is well known that the k-recolouring graph is connected for
$k\geq \Delta+2$
. Feghali, Johnson and Paulusma (J. Graph Theory83 (2016) 340–358) showed that the (Δ + 1)-recolouring graph is composed by a unique connected component of size at least 2 and (possibly many) isolated vertices.

In this paper, we study the proportion of isolated vertices (also called frozen colourings) in the (Δ + 1)-recolouring graph. Our first contribution is to show that if G is connected, the proportion of frozen colourings of G is exponentially smaller in n than the total number of colourings. This motivates the use of the Glauber dynamics to approximate the number of (Δ + 1)-colourings of a graph. In contrast to the conjectured mixing time of O(nlog n) for
$k\geq \Delta+2$
colours, we show that the mixing time of the Glauber dynamics for (Δ + 1)-colourings restricted to non-frozen colourings can be Ω(n2). Finally, we prove some results about the existence of graphs with large girth and frozen colourings, and study frozen colourings in random regular graphs.
Maximal versus sub-maximal effort during cardiopulmonary exercise testing in adults with congenital heart disease: outcome analysis of short-term cardiac-related events
Authors: Das Bibhuti B. , Godoy Aliana , Kadish Talya , Niu Jianli
Published: October 2020

Peak respiratory exchange ratio is an objective marker of patient effort during cardiopulmonary exercise testing. We evaluated exercise variables in 175 adult congenital heart disease patients and the impact of respiratory exchange ratio on the prognostic value of exercise variables for short-term cardiac-related events. Of 175 patients, 110 completed the exercise test with a peak respiratory exchange ratio of ≥1.10 and the remaining 65 had a peak respiratory exchange ratio of <1.10. Peak oxygen consumption, the percentage of oxygen consumption at the ventilatory threshold, peak heart rate, percentage predicted peak heart rate, double product, oxygen uptake efficiency slope, and the number of patients with exercise oscillatory ventilation were reduced significantly in patients with a respiratory exchange ratio of <1.10 compared to those with a respiratory exchange ratio of ≥1.10. After a median follow-up of 21 months, total cardiac-related events occurred in 37 (21%) patients. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that the percentage predicted peak oxygen consumption, and oxygen uptake efficiency slope were independent predictors of cardiac-related events only in patients with a peak respiratory exchange ratio of ≥1.10. Sub-maximal exercise performance can be preserved in adult congenital heart disease patients. The percentage predicted oxygen consumption and the oxygen uptake efficiency slope are two independent predictors for short-term cardiac-related events in adult congenital heart disease patients.
The association of household food insecurity and HIV infection with common mental disorders among newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients in Botswana
Authors: Wang Qiao , Dima Mbatshi , Ho-Foster Ari , Molebatsi Keneilwe , Modongo Chawangwa , Zetola Nicola M , Shin Sanghyuk S
Published: October 2020

Objective:

To determine the association between food insecurity and HIV infection with depression and anxiety among new tuberculosis (TB) patients.

Design:

Our cross-sectional study assessed depression, anxiety and food insecurity with Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Zung Anxiety Self-Assessment Scale (ZUNG) and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, respectively. Poisson regression models with robust variance were used to examine correlates of depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) and anxiety (ZUNG ≥ 36).

Setting:

Gaborone, Botswana.

Participants:

Patients who were newly diagnosed with TB.

Results:

Between January and December 2019, we enrolled 180 TB patients from primary health clinics in Botswana. Overall, 99 (55·0 %) were HIV positive, 47 (26·1 %), 85 (47·2 %) and 69 (38·5 %) indicated depression, anxiety and moderate to severe food insecurity, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, food insecurity was associated with a higher prevalence of depression (adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 2·30; 95 % CI 1·40, 3·78) and anxiety (aPR = 1·41; 95 % CI 1·05, 1·91). Prevalence of depression and anxiety was similar between HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected participants. Estimates remained comparable when restricted to HIV-infected participants.

Conclusions:

Mental disorders may be affected by food insecurity among new TB patients, regardless of HIV status.
Do Social Desirability Scales Measure Dishonesty?
Authors: Holtrop Djurre , Hughes Angus W. , Dunlop Patrick D. , Chan Joan , Steedman Grace
Published: October 2020

Abstract. Social Desirability (SD) scales are sometimes treated, by researchers, as measures of dishonesty and, by practitioners, as indicators of faking on self-report assessments in high-stakes settings, such as personnel selection. Applying SD scales to measure dishonesty or faking, however, remains a point of contention among the scientific community. This two-part study investigated if SD scales, with a True/ False response format, are valid for these purposes. Initially, 46 participants completed an SD scale and 12 personality items while under instruction to “think aloud”, that is, to verbalize all the thoughts they had. These spoken thoughts were recorded and transcribed. Next, 175 judges rated the participants’ honesty in relation to each SD item, based on the participants’ transcribed spoken thoughts and their selected response to the item. The results showed that responses keyed as “socially desirable responding” were judged as significantly less honest than those not keyed as such. However, the effect size was very small, and the socially desirable responses were still being judged as somewhat honest overall. Further, participants’ SD scale sum scores were not related to the judges’ ratings of participant honesty on the personality items. Thus, overall, SD scales appear to be a poor measure of dishonesty.
Low Melting Temperature of Anhydrous Mantle Materials at the Core‐Mantle Boundary
Authors: Kim Taehyun , Ko Byeongkwan , Greenberg Eran , Prakapenka Vitali , Shim Sang‐Heon , Lee Yongjae
Published: October 2020

One of the central challenges in accurately estimating the mantle melting temperature is the sensitivity of the probe for detecting a small amount of melt at the solidus. To address this, we used a multichannel collimator to enhance the diffuse X‐ray scattering from a small amount of melt and probed an eutectic pyrolitic composition to increase the amount of melt at the solidus. Our in situ detection of diffuse scattering from the pyrolitic melt determined an anhydrous melting temperature of 3,302 ± 100 K at 119 ± 6 GPa and 3,430 ± 130 K at the core‐mantle boundary (CMB) conditions, as the upper bound temperature. Our CMB temperature is approximately 700 K lower than the previous estimates, implying much faster secular cooling and higher concentrations of S, C, O, and/or H in the region, and nonlinear, advocating the basal magma ocean hypothesis.
The Remarkably Strong Arctic Stratospheric Polar Vortex of Winter 2020: Links to Record‐Breaking Arctic Oscillation and Ozone Loss
Authors: Lawrence Zachary D. , Perlwitz Judith , Butler Amy H. , Manney Gloria L. , Newman Paul A. , Lee Simon H. , Nash Eric R.
Published: October 2020

The Northern Hemisphere (NH) polar winter stratosphere of 2019/2020 featured an exceptionally strong and cold stratospheric polar vortex. Wave activity from the troposphere during December–February was unusually low, which allowed the polar vortex to remain relatively undisturbed. Several transient wave pulses nonetheless served to help create a reflective configuration of the stratospheric circulation by disturbing the vortex in the upper stratosphere. Subsequently, multiple downward wave coupling events took place, which aided in dynamically cooling and strengthening the polar vortex. The persistent strength of the stratospheric polar vortex was accompanied by an unprecedentedly positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation in the troposphere during January–March, which was consistent with large portions of observed surface temperature and precipitation anomalies during the season. Similarly, conditions within the strong polar vortex were ripe for allowing substantial ozone loss: The undisturbed vortex was a strong transport barrier, and temperatures were low enough to form polar stratospheric clouds for over 4 months into late March. Total column ozone amounts in the NH polar cap decreased and were the lowest ever observed in the February–April period. The unique confluence of conditions and multiple broken records makes the 2019/2020 winter and early spring a particularly extreme example of two‐way coupling between the troposphere and stratosphere.
Similar sequences but dissimilar biological functions of GDF11 and myostatin
Authors: Suh Joonho , Lee Yun-Sil
Published: October 2020

Growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) and myostatin (MSTN) are closely related TGFβ family members that are often believed to serve similar functions due to their high homology. However, genetic studies in animals provide clear evidence that they perform distinct roles. While the loss of Mstn leads to hypermuscularity, the deletion of Gdf11 results in abnormal skeletal patterning and organ development. The perinatal lethality of Gdf11-null mice, which contrasts with the long-term viability of Mstn-null mice, has led most research to focus on utilizing recombinant GDF11 proteins to investigate the postnatal functions of GDF11. However, the reported outcomes of the exogenous application of recombinant GDF11 proteins are controversial partly because of the different sources and qualities of recombinant GDF11 used and because recombinant GDF11 and MSTN proteins are nearly indistinguishable due to their similar structural and biochemical properties. Here, we analyze the similarities and differences between GDF11 and MSTN from an evolutionary point of view and summarize the current understanding of the biological processing, signaling, and physiological functions of GDF11 and MSTN. Finally, we discuss the potential use of recombinant GDF11 as a therapeutic option for a wide range of medical conditions and the possible adverse effects of GDF11 inhibition mediated by MSTN inhibitors.
Evaluation of four final irrigation protocols for cleaning root canal walls
Authors: Li Qiang , Zhang Qian , Zou Xiaoying , Yue Lin
Published: October 2020

The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of four final irrigation protocols in smear layer removal and bacterial inhibition in root canal systems. Thirty roots inoculated with Enterococcus faecalis were prepared with ProTaper Universal files. The teeth were disinfected by conventional needle irrigation, sonic agitation using the EndoActivator device, passive ultrasonic irrigation, or an M3 Max file. Teeth with no root canal preparation served as blank controls for the establishment of the infection baseline. Teeth with preparation but no final irrigation served as a post-instrumentation baseline. After the final irrigation, the teeth were sectioned in half. One half of each tooth was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to assess smear layer removal using a five-point scale. The other half was examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) using the LIVE/DEAD BackLight bacterial viability kit to evaluate the depth of bacterial survival in dentinal tubules. SEM analysis revealed no significant difference in smear layer removal throughout the whole canal among the EA, PUI, and M3 Max groups (P > 0.05). CLSM revealed that PUI achieved the greatest bacterial inhibition depth in the coronal ((174.27 ± 31.63) μm), middle ((160.94 ± 37.77) μm), and apical ((119.53 ± 28.49) μm) thirds of the canal (all P < 0.05 vs. other groups). According to this comprehensive SEM and CLSM evaluation, PUI appears to have the best infection control ability in root canal systems.
Hidden-symmetry-enforced nexus points of nodal lines in layer-stacked dielectric photonic crystals
Authors: Xiong Zhongfei , Zhang Ruo-Yang , Yu Rui , Chan C. T. , Chen Yuntian
Published: October 2020

It was recently demonstrated that the connectivities of bands emerging from zero frequency in dielectric photonic crystals are distinct from their electronic counterparts with the same space groups. We discover that in an AB-layer-stacked photonic crystal composed of anisotropic dielectrics, the unique photonic band connectivity leads to a new kind of symmetry-enforced triply degenerate points at the nexuses of two nodal rings and a Kramers-like nodal line. The emergence and intersection of the line nodes are guaranteed by a generalized 1/4-period screw rotation symmetry of Maxwell’s equations. The bands with a constant kz and iso-frequency surfaces near a nexus point both disperse as a spin-1 Dirac-like cone, giving rise to exotic transport features of light at the nexus point. We show that spin-1 conical diffraction occurs at the nexus point, which can be used to manipulate the charges of optical vortices. Our work reveals that Maxwell’s equations can have hidden symmetries induced by the fractional periodicity of the material tensor components and hence paves the way to finding novel topological nodal structures unique to photonic systems.
Non-Abelian generalizations of the Hofstadter model: spin–orbit-coupled butterfly pairs
Authors: Yang Yi , Zhen Bo , Joannopoulos John D. , Soljačić Marin
Published: October 2020

The Hofstadter model, well known for its fractal butterfly spectrum, describes two-dimensional electrons under a perpendicular magnetic field, which gives rise to the integer quantum Hall effect. Inspired by the real-space building blocks of non-Abelian gauge fields from a recent experiment, we introduce and theoretically study two non-Abelian generalizations of the Hofstadter model. Each model describes two pairs of Hofstadter butterflies that are spin–orbit coupled. In contrast to the original Hofstadter model that can be equivalently studied in the Landau and symmetric gauges, the corresponding non-Abelian generalizations exhibit distinct spectra due to the non-commutativity of the gauge fields. We derive the genuine (necessary and sufficient) non-Abelian condition for the two models from the commutativity of their arbitrary loop operators. At zero energy, the models are gapless and host Weyl and Dirac points protected by internal and crystalline symmetries. Double (8-fold), triple (12-fold), and quadrupole (16-fold) Dirac points also emerge, especially under equal hopping phases of the non-Abelian potentials. At other fillings, the gapped phases of the models give rise to topological insulators. We conclude by discussing possible schemes for experimental realization of the models on photonic platforms.