bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical Profile and Outcomes of Treatment in Gastric Cancer in Young Patients in India
Authors: Maheshwari Udip , Sharma Manish , Goel Varun , Goyal Pankaj , Jain Parveen , Agarwal Chaturbhuj , Jajodia Ankush , Talwar Vineet , BP Amrit , Joga Srujana , Doval Dinesh Chandra , Pasricha Sunil
Published: April 2022

Introduction Gastric cancer poses an enormous burden across the globe and India in terms of cancer-related mortality. There is paucity of epidemiological and survival data among young gastric cancer patients in India. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the general characteristics, clinical profile, and survival data of gastric cancer in young patients < 30 years at tertiary care institution at New Delhi, India.

Materials and Methods Young gastric cancer patients (≤30 years) who were registered over a period of 7 years (2010–2017) were analyzed at a tertiary care center. Total of 2,735 patients of gastric cancers were registered out of which 70 cases were younger than 30 years, of which 63 patients were available for final analysis and data was missing for the remaining 7 cases. All patients underwent standard diagnostic and staging investigation and were staged as per American Joint Committee on Cancer 7 staging system. Lymph node ratio was calculated as number of positive nodes by the number of lymph nodes removed and were categorized as ≤0.6 and >0.6. Minimum follow-up of 1 year was required for inclusion in the study. Twelve patients were lost to follow-up and were not included for survival analysis.

Results Younger patients (≤30 years) with gastric cancer were 2.5% of total gastric cancer patients. Mean age was 24.9 years with males being involved twice as commonly as females (2.15:1). Positive family history was present in 14.2% patients and smoking was present in 57.1% patients. Metastatic disease at presentation was present in 69.8% patients, while only 6.4% patients presented with stage I/II disease. Fourteen patients underwent surgery, out of which six patients underwent partial gastrectomy and remaining eight underwent total gastrectomy with D2 nodal dissection. Median overall survival was 10.8 months (8.8–12.8) and 2-year overall survival was 15.1%.

Conclusion Incidence of stomach cancer in young patients is more than expected and more than global average in India. Most of these young patients are presenting in advanced stage and survival is poor compared with typical aged patients
Online resources for electronics labs can enhance learning beyond the pandemic
Authors: Piccone Ashley
Published: April 2022

Simulation platforms for an electronics course range from easily accessible and intuitive to advanced and versatile
Temporal decay of strong solutions for generalized Newtonian fluids with variable power-law index
Authors: Ko Seungchan
Published: April 2022

We consider the motion of a power-law-like generalized Newtonian fluid in R3, where the power-law index is a variable function. This system of nonlinear partial differential equations arises in mathematical models of electrorheological fluids. The aim of this paper is to investigate the decay properties of strong solutions for the model based on the Fourier splitting method. We first prove that the L2-norm of the solution has the decay rate (1+t)−34. If the H1-norm of the initial data is sufficiently small, we further show that the derivative of the solution decays in the L2-norm at the rate (1+t)−54.
Nanoscale laser flash measurements of diffuson transport in amorphous Ge and Si
Authors: Peng Wanyue , Wilson Richard B.
Published: April 2022

The thermal properties of amorphous materials have attracted significant attention due to their technological importance in electronic devices. In addition, the disorder-induced breakdown of the phonon gas model makes vibrational transport in amorphous materials a topic of fundamental interest. In the past few decades, theoretical concepts, such as propagons, diffusons, and locons, have emerged to describe different types of vibrational modes in disordered solids. However, experiments can struggle to accurately determine which types of vibrational states carry the majority of the heat. In this study, we use nanoscale laser flash measurements (front/back time-domain thermoreflectance) to investigate thermal transport mechanisms in amorphous Ge and amorphous Si thin-films. We observe a nearly linear relationship between the amorphous film’s thermal resistance and the film’s thickness. The slope of the film’s thermal resistance vs thickness corresponds to a thickness-independent thermal conductivity of 0.4 and 0.6 W/(m K) for a-Ge and a-Si, respectively. This result reveals that the majority of heat currents in amorphous Si and Ge thin films prepared via RF sputtering at room temperature are carried by diffusons and/or propagons with mean free paths less than a few nanometers.
Laser driven conversion of MOFs to rare earth metal oxide nanoparticles
Authors: Dou Xinyu , Liu Jin , Gong Xuan , Jiang Haoqing , Deng Hexiang
Published: April 2022

We report the production of ultrafine rare earth metal oxide nanoparticles from metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) using lasers, exemplified by the conversion of three Tb-MOFs composed of three different linkers, such as C4H4O4 (H2Fum), C27H18O6 (H3BTB), and C24H15O6N3 (H3TATB). The size of the resulting terbium oxide nanoparticles is precisely controlled from 3 to 12 nm with a narrow distribution, which was challenging to be obtained by other methods. Two types of Tb2O3 crystals are observed, including the stable cubic structure and the metastable monoclinic structure. Among these rare earth metal oxide nanoparticles, the monoclinic Tb2O3 converted from Tb-MOF-TATB with mesopores perform the best in oxygen evolution reactions, exhibiting an overpotential of 331 mV.
A high voltage capacitance measurement method based on alternating coupled signal injection
Authors: He Peng , Liang Yiping , Qi Wei , Bai Libing , Zhou Quan , Zhang Jie
Published: April 2022

As high voltage pulse power capacitors, ceramic capacitors are widely used in high voltage pulse generators, trigger circuits, laser generators, and other fields. The capacitance of ceramic capacitors is closely related to the direct current (DC) bias voltage. However, the current capacitance measurement methods can only achieve a DC bias of 1 kV, which cannot meet the measurement requirements in high voltage environments. This paper proposes a capacitance measurement method that can accurately measure the capacitance under a DC bias of 3 kV. This method decouples the high DC bias voltage and high frequency alternating small signals and realizes low voltage calibration and high voltage isolation. The experimental results show that the proposed method measures the capacitance under a DC bias of 3 kV with a relative error within ±1%, which makes it possible to accurately quantify the capacitance hysteresis deviation in the process of increasing and decreasing back the voltage.
Fully periodic, computationally efficient constant potential molecular dynamics simulations of ionic liquid supercapacitors
Authors: Tee Shern R. , Searles Debra J.
Published: April 2022

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of complex electrochemical systems, such as ionic liquid supercapacitors, are increasingly including the constant potential method (CPM) to model conductive electrodes at a specified potential difference, but the inclusion of CPM can be computationally expensive. We demonstrate the computational savings available in CPM MD simulations of ionic liquid supercapacitors when the usual non-periodic slab geometry is replaced with fully periodic boundary conditions. We show how a doubled cell approach, previously used in non-CPM MD simulations of charged interfaces, can be used to enable fully periodic CPM MD simulations. Using either a doubled cell approach or a finite field approach previously reported by others, fully periodic CPM MD simulations produce comparable results to the traditional slab geometry simulations with a nearly double speedup in computational time. Indeed, these savings can offset the additional cost of the CPM algorithm, resulting in periodic CPM MD simulations that are computationally competitive with the non-periodic, fixed charge equivalent simulations for the ionic liquid supercapacitors studied here.
Rigidity of Beltrami fields with a non-constant proportionality factor
Authors: Abe Ken
Published: April 2022

We prove that bounded Beltrami fields are symmetric if a proportionality factor depends on two variables in the cylindrical coordinate and admits a regular level set diffeomorphic to a cylinder or a torus.
Photochemical anisotropy and direction-dependent optical absorption in semiconductors
Authors: Ricca Chiara , Aschauer Ulrich
Published: April 2022

Photochemical reactions on semiconductors are anisotropic, since they occur with different rates on surfaces of different orientations. Understanding the origin of this anisotropy is crucial to engineering more efficient photocatalysts. In this work, we use hybrid density functional theory to identify the surfaces associated with the largest number of photo-generated carriers in different semiconductors. For each material, we create a spherical heat map of the probability of optical transitions at different wave vectors. These maps allow us to identify the directions associated with the majority of the photo-generated carriers and can, thus, be used to make predictions about the most reactive surfaces for photochemical applications. The results indicate that it is generally possible to correlate the heat maps with the anisotropy of the bands observed in conventional band structure plots, as previously suggested. However, we also demonstrate that conventional band structure plots do not always provide all the information and that taking into account the contribution of all possible transitions weighted by their transition dipole moments is crucial to obtain a complete picture.
Hydrodynamics of a floating liquid-tank barge adjacent to fixed structure in beam waves
Authors: Zhang Chongwei , Sun Xiaotong , Wang Pengfei , Chen Lifen , Ning Dezhi
Published: April 2022

Physical experiments are conducted in a wave flume to investigate the hydrodynamic behavior of a liquid-tank barge floating near an identical barge. The two barges are arranged side-by-side and subjected to the action of beam waves. The floating barge is equipped with two liquid tanks and encounters the waves before the second barge. Systematic investigations on the effects of liquid tanks, mooring constraints, and arrangement configurations provide rich findings on the physics of fluids. Mathematical solutions are also derived to interpret the underlying mechanism behind the experimental observations. Our primary findings suggest two essential modes, i.e., trend and oscillatory components, in the motion of the floating barge. Of these, the oscillatory component can be strongly coupled with the liquid sloshing in the tanks. A mean-drift load caused by internal sloshing waves occurs as a result of the second-order nonlinearity, which significantly modulates the mean-drift force induced by external water waves and may change the drift direction of the floating barge. The properties of the mooring constraints effectively determine the trend component. Regardless of the liquid filling level in the tanks, the maximum ratio of the sloshing-wave height to the oscillatory amplitude of the barge always occurs at the fundamental natural sloshing period. The contributions of radiation damping and viscous damping to the barge oscillation are explicitly distinguished. The physical insights revealed in this study will help guarantee the operational safety of side-by-side floating structures.
Imaginary-time hierarchical equations of motion for thermodynamic variables
Authors: Zhang Jiaji , Tanimura Yoshitaka
Published: April 2022

The partition function (PF) plays a key role in the calculation of quantum thermodynamic properties of a system that interacts with a heat bath. The imaginary-time hierarchical equations of motion (imHEOM) approach was developed to evaluate in a rigorous manner the PF of a system strongly coupled to a non-Markovian bath. In this paper, we present a numerically efficient scheme to evaluate the imHEOM utilizing the β-differentiated imHEOM (BD-imHEOM) that are obtained by differentiating the elements of the imHEOM with respect to the inverse temperature. This approach allows us to evaluate the system, system–bath interaction, and heat-bath parts of the PF efficiently. Moreover, we employ a polyharmonic decomposition method to construct a concise hierarchical structure with better convergence, thus reducing the cost of numerical integrations. We demonstrate the proposed approach by compute thermodynamic quantities of a spin-boson system and a 2 × 2 antiferromagnetic triangular spin lattice system with an Ohmic spectral distribution.
Unconventional SN2 retention pathways induced by complex formation: High-level dynamics investigation of the NH2− + CH3I polyatomic reaction
Authors: Tasi Domonkos A. , Czakó Gábor
Published: April 2022

Investigations on the dynamics of chemical reactions have been a hot topic for experimental and theoretical studies over the last few decades. Here, we carry out the first high-level dynamical characterization for the polyatom–polyatom reaction between NH2− and CH3I. A global analytical potential energy surface is developed to describe the possible pathways with the quasi-classical trajectory method at several collision energies. In addition to SN2 and proton abstraction, a significant iodine abstraction is identified, leading to the CH3 + [NH2⋯I]− products. For SN2, our computations reveal an indirect character as well, promoting the formation of [CH3⋯NH2] complexes. Two novel dominant SN2 retention pathways are uncovered induced by the rotation of the CH3 fragment in these latter [CH3⋯NH2] complexes. Moreover, these uncommon routes turn out to be the most dominant retention paths for the NH2− + CH3I SN2 reaction.
Accuracy of Publicly-Listed Locator Information for Buprenorphine Waivered Practitioners and Opioid Treatment Programs in the US, 2020
Authors: Barenie Rachel E. , Winbigler Brian L. , Heidel R. Eric , Wheeler James S.
Published: April 2022

Background: Opioid use disorder affects millions of Americans, but only a fraction receive treatment. This may be due in part to inaccurate information available about buprenorphine waivered practitioners (waivered practitioners) and Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) on public, federally-sponsored locator databases. We aimed to assess the accuracy of publicly-listed locator information for waivered practitioners and OTPs across the US. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, we randomly sampled waivered practitioners ( n = 253; 0.5%) and licensed OTPs ( n = 165; 10%) that were publicly-listed on a federally-sponsored database. We used a three-pronged approach to assess the accuracy of the information available by concurrently administering a phone survey (making up to 3 attempts to contact), conducting online searches, and reviewing provider information on state board websites (practitioners only) between August and November 2020. We used descriptive analyses and inferential statitistics to analyze the data. Results: Among n = 418 waivered practitioners and OTPs sampled, many were located in the South and in an urban area. For the phone survey, researchers were able to reach OTPs nearly twice as often as waivered practitioners. Of those reached, n = 19 waivered practitioners and n = 40 OTPs agreed to participate, and we found most had up-to-date contact information. OTPs yielded significantly more online search results and matching contact information than waivered practitioners ( p < 0.001). Most waivered practitioners were located on state licensing board websites, but few had contact information listed, and only one listed the practitioner's waiver status. Conclusions: Waivered practitioners and OTPs were difficult to reach via phone but easier to find online and on state licensing board websites; when they were reached via phone, their contact information was very accurate. Whether challenges locating a waivered practitioner or OTP is associated with lower treatment utilization should be evaluated.
Awareness of Heated Tobacco Products among US Adults – Health Information National Trends Survey, 2020
Authors: Karim Mohammad A. , Talluri Rajesh , Chido-Amajuoyi Onyema G. , Shete Sanjay
Published: April 2022

Introduction: Heated Tobacco Products (HTP) have the potential to attain high uptake in the US. The current study estimated the prevalence of awareness, prevalence of use and the factors associated with awareness of HTP among US adults. Methods: This study included 3201 respondents from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5 Cycle 4 (2020). The prevalence of awareness of HTP and ever use of HTP among US adults were estimated. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to identify the factors associated with awareness of HTP. Results: About 15% of the adult US population were aware of HTP, while 2.2% had ever used HTP. Age between 35 and 49 years (aOR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.3–2.9; p-value = 0.003), male sex (aOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0–2.7; p-value = 0.04), lower income ($0–$9,999) (aOR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.3–6.9; p-value = 0.01), smoking on some days (aOR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.2–9.4; p-value = 0.02) and moderately or extremely worrying about getting cancer (aOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1–2.7; p-value = 0.03) were associated with higher odds of being aware of HTP; whereas, belief that there are so many cancer prevention recommendations, it's hard to know which ones to follow (aOR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3–0.8; p-value = 0.009) was associated with lower odds of being aware of HTP. Conclusions: A significant proportion of US adult population were aware of HTP in 2020. Given the recent high proliferation of e-cigarettes, potential health effects of the HTP products should be monitored by the regulators closely. Adequate surveillance and policy interventions are warranted in this regard.
Magnetic properties of bilayer nano-stanene-like structure with Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yoshida coupling
Authors: Su Xin , Si Nan , Jiang Wei , Gao Wei-Chun , Zhang Feng-Ge
Published: April 2022

A bilayer nano-stanene-like structure with Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yoshida (RKKY) coupling described by the Ising model is proposed. The magnetic and thermodynamic properties are studied using the effective-field theory with correlations. The exchange coupling, longitudinal magnetic field, number of non-magnetic layers, and anisotropies had major influences on the magnetization, specific heat, and internal energy. Different saturation magnetizations are observed on the magnetization curve. The variation in the system blocking temperature is studied. The results provide theoretical guidance for the magnetic investigation of nanomaterials with RKKY coupling.
Epitaxial Bi2Sr2CuOu
y
thin films as p-type transparent conductors
Authors: Zhou Chen , Cheng Wang-Ping , He Yuan-Di , Shao Cheng , Hu Ling , Wei Ren-Huai , Qin Jing-Gang , Song Wen-Hai , Zhu Xue-Bin , Cai Chuan-Bing , Sun Yu-Ping
Published: April 2022

Development of p-type transparent conducting thin films is tireless due to the trade-off issue between optical transparency and conductivity. The rarely concerned low normal state resistance makes Bi-based superconducting cuprates the potential hole-type transparent conductors, which have been realized in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O
y
thin films. In this study, epitaxial superconducting Bi2Sr2CuO
y
and Bi2Sr1.8Nd0.2CuO
y
thin films with superior normal state conductivity are proposed as p-type transparent conductors. It is found that the Bi2Sr1.8Nd0.2CuO
y
thin film with thickness 15 nm shows an average visible transmittance of 65% and room-temperature sheet resistance of 650 Ω/sq. The results further demonstrate that Bi-based cuprate superconductors can be regarded as potential p-type transparent conductors for future optoelectronic applications.
Biodiversity of Mollusca in Bahr AL-Najaf Depression in winter
Authors: Mizhir A H , Jasim N A
Published: April 2022

To study the biological diversity of the Mollusca, six sites were selected along the perimeter of the Bahr AL-Najaf Depression, and samples were collected at a rate of three replicates monthly for the interval from November 2019 till January 2020. The results of this study showed that highest density of 224 individuals / 50 cm2 was recorded in January 2020. Eight species have been identified, 4 of which belong to Bivalvia: Corbicula fluminea, Pseudodontopsis euphraticus, Unio tigridis and Trachycardium lacunosum, 4 species belong to the gastropod: Melanopsis nodosa, Melanopsis costata, Melanoides tuberculata and Theodoxus jordani. Corbicula fluminea and Melanoides tuberculata were more abundant in study site compared with else species. The results of the constancy index showed that five species, one of theme belongs to Bivalvia and the rest belongs to Gastropod, where the other species were accessories to Bahr AL-Najaf Depression environment. The index values of Species richness varied between 2.5-6.5, while the Shanon-Weiner index ranged between 0.024-0.29 bit/ind., but the uniformity index ranged between 0.024-0.036.
Study Kinetic Reaction and Removal of Indigo Carmine Dye in Aqueous Solutions by Direct Electrochemical Oxidation
Authors: Kazm Karrar H. , Najim Sarmad T.
Published: April 2022

In the present work, it has been proved that the direct anodic electrochemical oxidation method is effective for removing indigo carmine dye through an application on simulated textile effluent confirmed by tests of UV-visible and COD. The effect of several factors such as current density (3,6,9) mA/cm2electrolyte temperature (20,30,40,50)°C, and initial coloring concentration (250, 500, 1000) ppm, area ratio of electrode (anode/cathode) (1:1) and electrode spacing (0.5,1,1.5)cm) were investigated using a well design electrochemical cell. The experiment shows that the optimum condition for removing indigo carmine dye from simulated textile wastewater are current density (9 mA/cm2), temperature (40°C), concentration (250 ppm), electrodes distance (0.5 cm) and power consumption (3.238 w.h/m3) with removal percent (61.7%). pseudo-first-order the reaction was most to statistically appropriate describing the machine direct anodic electrochemical oxidation of indigo carmine.
Analysis of the environmental reality of the marshes and its sustainable development
Authors: Irzoqy Israa Mahmooed mohammed , Ibrahim Lamia Flaieh , Al-Tufaily Hodoud Mohamed Abboud
Published: April 2022

The study of the reality and concept of the environment of the marshes, both natural and human, and both sides complement each other in terms of the mutual influence between man and the environment, and that this influence refers to the process of adaptation practiced by man to the natural environment, which tries to harness for him to achieve goals, most of which are economic, which are not without harm to the environmental reality of the marshes Such as overfishing and destruction operations such as the drying of large areas, and the reason lies in the lack of interest on the part of governments and ministries concerned with protecting the marshes from various environmental violations and their attempt to develop them Its geographical location and its origin, as for the second topic, we touched on the most important environmental problems that the marshes suffer from in Iraq, and the methods of dealing with the deterioration occurring in the environment of the marshes were included in the third topic. In addition to the suggestions and conclusions and a list of sources and references.
The effect of climate change on energy consumption and environmental pollution according to degree days indicator “Baghdad city as an example”
Authors: Abed Hassan Susan , Ismail Husain Saad
Published: April 2022

The problem of climate change has emerged globally in recent decades. One of its most prominent indicators is the increase in temperatures in all countries, especially in regions with hot and arid climates. This has coincided with the problem of rising energy consumption for cooling needs in cities, especially in the summer season. Also, the increase in energy consumption contributes to increasing environmental pollution in urban areas. This, in turn, contributes to global warming. Several methods have emerged to calculate the energy consumption of buildings. The degree-days method is more applicable because it provides an accurate analysis of the temperature of the weather and its change on any given day and throughout the seasons of the year. This research calculated the cooling degree days for Baghdad City from 1960 until 2019. The results revealed that the annual average of degree days measured over the years had increased by 24% since 1960; energy consumption was calculated accordingly to determine the energy requirements, which had increased by 30%. The calculation of degree days will enable a local climate to assess critical issues of climate change and energy consumption related to environmental pollution.
Understanding Law in Contextual Pluralism: A Preface
Authors: Wang Shucheng
Published: April 2022

Law has become increasingly important in China’s development. However, the nature and function of law in China’s context can hardly be understood and explained by traditional legal concepts and theories. With a global rise of authoritarianism, the Symposium on ‘Sources of Law, Authoritarian Legality and Chinese Jurisprudence’ critically examines the sources of law, authoritarian legality, and Chinese jurisprudence from an interdisciplinary perspective. The discussion of the symposium covers the theoretical relationship between the Party and law and its practical implications, the dynamics of Chinese law and governance, theoretical challenges from, and reflections on, the development of intraparty regulations, and China’s jurisprudence of international law, as well as the instantiation of legal instrumentalism in China’s context.
A practical approach with drones, smartphones, and tracking tags for potential real-time animal tracking
Authors: Mesquita Geison P , Mulero-Pázmány Margarita , Wich Serge A , Rodríguez-Teijeiro José Domingo
Published: April 2022

Drones are increasingly used for fauna monitoring and wildlife tracking; however, their application for wildlife tracking is restricted by developing such systems. Here we explore the potential of drones for wildlife tracking using an off-the-shelf system that is easy to use by non-specialists consisting of a multirotor drone, smartphones, and commercial tracking devices via Bluetooth and Ultra-Wide Band (UWB). We present the system configuration, explore the operational parameters that can affect detection capabilities, and test the effectiveness of the system for locating targets by simulating target animals in savanna and forest environments. The self-contained tracking system was built without hardware or software customization. In 40 tracking flights carried out in the Brazilian Cerrado, we obtained a detection rate of 90% in savanna and 40% in forest areas. Tests for targets in movement (N = 20), the detection rates were 90% in the savanna and 30% in the forest areas. The spatial accuracy obtained by the system was 14.61 m, being significantly more accurate in savanna (x¯= 10.53) than in forest areas (x¯ = 13.06). This approach to wildlife tracking facilitates the use of drones by non-specialists at an affordable cost for conservation projects with limited resources. The reduced size of the tags, the long battery life, and the lower cost compared to GPS-tags open up a range of opportunities for animal tracking.
Great diversity of KSα sequences from bat-associated microbiota suggests novel sources of uncharacterized natural products
Authors: Salazar-Hamm Paris S , Hathaway Jennifer J Marshall , Winter Ara S , Caimi Nicole A , Buecher Debbie C , Valdez Ernest W , Northup Diana E
Published: April 2022

Polyketide synthases (PKSs) are multidomain enzymes in microorganisms that synthesize complex, bioactive molecules. PKS II systems are iterative, containing only a single representative of each domain: ketosynthase alpha (KS$\alpha $), ketosynthase beta and the acyl carrier protein. Any gene encoding for one of these domains is representative of an entire PKS II biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC). Bat skin surfaces represent an extreme environment prolific in Actinobacteria that may constitute a source for bioactive molecule discovery. KS$\alpha $ sequences were obtained from culturable bacteria from bats in the southwestern United States. From 467 bat bacterial isolates, we detected 215 (46%) had KS$\alpha $ sequences. Sequencing yielded 210 operational taxonomic units, and phylogenetic placement found 45 (21%) shared <85% homology to characterized metabolites. Additionally, 16 Actinobacteria genomes from the bat microbiome were analyzed for biosynthetic capacity. A range of 69–93% of the BGCs were novel suggesting the bat microbiome may contain valuable uncharacterized natural products. Documenting and characterizing these are important in understanding the susceptibility of bats to emerging infectious diseases, such as white-nose syndrome. Also noteworthy was the relationship between KS $\alpha $ homology and total BGC novelty within each fully sequenced strain. We propose amplification and detection of KS$\alpha $ could predict a strain's global biosynthetic capacity.
Joint estimation of selection intensity and mutation rate under balancing selection with applications to HLA
Authors: Slatkin Montgomery
Published: April 2022

A composite likelihood method is introduced for jointly estimating the intensity of selection and the rate of mutation, both scaled by the effective population size, when there is balancing selection at a single multi-allelic locus in an isolated population at demographic equilibrium. The performance of the method is tested using simulated data. Average estimated mutation rates and selection intensities are close to the true values but there is considerable variation about the averages. Allowing for both population growth and population subdivision does not result in qualitative differences but the estimated mutation rates and selection intensities do not in general reflect the current effective population size. The method is applied to 3 class I (HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-C) and 2 class II loci (HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQA1) in the 1000 Genomes populations. Allowing for asymmetric balancing selection has only a slight effect on the results from the symmetric model. Mutations that restore symmetry of the selection model are preferentially retained because of the tendency of natural selection to maximize average fitness. However, slight differences in selective effects result in much longer persistence time of some alleles. Trans-species polymorphism, which is characteristic of major-histocompatibility loci in vertebrates, is more likely when there are small differences in allelic fitness than when complete symmetry is assumed. Therefore, variation in allelic fitness expands the range of parameter values consistent with observations of trans-species polymorphism.
Prone Apprehension Relocation Test significantly correlates with radiological instability scores of the hip
Authors: Gebhardt Sebastian , Lerch Solveig , Sobau Christian , Miehlke Wolfgang , Wassilew Georgi I , Zimmerer Alexander
Published: April 2022

Recently, there was a debate about whether borderline dysplastic hips should be treated surgically with hip arthroscopy or periacetabular osteotomy (PAO). Current studies recommend a classification into stable and unstable hips. Therefore, radiological scores have been described in recent years. Likewise, a new clinical stability test with the Prone Apprehension Relocation Test (PART) has been described. However, there has been no correlation between the modern radiological scores and the PART. We prospectively studied a consecutive group of patients who presented to our clinic. The PART and radiological scores were assessed in these patients. We divided the patients into a PART-positive and a PART-negative group and analyzed the associated clinical and radiological findings. Out of 126 patients (126 hips) included, 36 hips (29%) were evaluated as PART positive. There were significantly more females in the PART positive group (P = 0.005). Comparing the PART groups, significant differences (P < 0.0001) were found for the lateral center edge angle (LCEA), Femoro-Epiphyseal Acetabular Roof (FEAR) index, Gothic arch angle (GAA), anterior wall index (AWI), the occurrence of the upsloping lateral sourcil (ULS) and signs of acetabular retroversion. The correlation analysis showed an association between LCEA, FEAR index, GAA, AWI, ULS and the PART. A chi-square automatic interaction detection algorithm revealed that the strongest predictor of positive PART was the GAA. In conclusion, a high correlation between the PART and known radiological instability parameters was found. Consequently, a combination of clinical instability testing and radiological instability parameters should be applied to detect unstable hips.
What Happens to Peace When the Process is Stalled: Competing International Approaches to the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict, 1996–2021
Authors: Lehrs Lior , Markus Dror K , Miodownik Dan , Sheafer Tamir , Shenhav Shaul R
Published: April 2022

Does an ongoing stalemate in a peace process affect the international agenda toward the conflict and international perceptions about policies that should be adopted to resolve it? We provide a tentative answer to this question by drawing insight from analysis of developments and trends in international media attention to key terms and concepts in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict during cycles of violence, as well as periods of rapprochement and peace negotiations, in the last two and half decades (1996–2021). We find that although attention to the Israeli–Palestinian peace process has been declining over the years, much of the international discussion continues to be devoted to relaunching a negotiation process leading to a two-state solution. The ongoing stalemate in such “process,” we show, provides ample opportunities for alternative approaches to emerge advocating alternative endgames (e.g., one-state), international pressure (e.g., Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions), or unilateral steps (e.g., annexation). Each of these approaches promotes an alternative vision and provides a different path and employs its own terminology and vision of the future. The Israeli–Palestinian case study helps illustrate what may happen to peace when the process is stalled, and how a stalemate can produce change in the international debate on the conflict and push for the emergence of new policy directions and agendas.
Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae Antibodies in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Melayah Sarra , Ghozzi Mariem , Jemni Malek , Sakly Nabil , Ghedira Ibtissem , Mankaï Amani
Published: April 2022

Objective

This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

Eighty-three RA patients with positive anti-cyclic citrullinated antibodies (anti-CCP) and 160 healthy blood donors were included in this study. ASCA IgG and IgA were assessed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

The frequency of ASCA was significantly higher in RA patients than in healthy subjects (22.9% vs 3.7%, P < 10−3). Both ASCA IgG and ASCA IgA were significantly more frequent in RA patients than in the control group (20.5% vs 3.1%, P < 10−3and 9.6% vs 0.6%, P = .002, respectively). ASCA IgG and ASCA IgA levels were significantly higher in RA patients than in healthy subjects (7.8 ± 8.4 U/mL vs 2.3 ± 2.8 U/mL, P < 10−6 and 6.2 ± 10.9 U/mL vs 3.4 ± 1.7 U/mL, P = .002, respectively).

Conclusion

A high frequency of ASCA IgG and ASCA IgA has been found in RA patients.
Hydrogen reionization ends by z = 5.3: Lyman-α optical depth measured by the XQR-30 sample
Authors: Bosman Sarah E I , Davies Frederick B , Becker George D , Keating Laura C , Davies Rebecca L , Zhu Yongda , Eilers Anna-Christina , D’Odorico Valentina , Bian Fuyan , Bischetti Manuela , Cristiani Stefano V , Fan Xiaohui , Farina Emanuele P , Haehnelt Martin G , Hennawi Joseph F , Kulkarni Girish , Mesinger Andrei , Meyer Romain A , Onoue Masafusa , Pallottini Andrea , Qin Yuxiang , Ryan-Weber Emma , Schindler Jan-Torge , Walter Fabian , Wang Feige , Yang Jinyi
Published: April 2022

The presence of excess scatter in the Ly-α forest at z ∼ 5.5, together with the existence of sporadic extended opaque Gunn-Peterson troughs, has started to provide robust evidence for a late end of hydrogen reionization. However, low data quality and systematic uncertainties complicate the use of Ly-α transmission as a precision probe of reionization’s end stages. In this paper, we assemble a sample of 67 quasar sightlines at z > 5.5 with high signal-to-noise ratios of >10 per ≤15 km s−1 spectral pixel, relying largely on the new XQR-30 quasar sample. XQR-30 is a large program on VLT/X-Shooter which obtained deep (SNR > 20 per pixel) spectra of 30 quasars at z > 5.7. We carefully account for systematics in continuum reconstruction, instrumentation, and contamination by damped Ly-α systems. We present improved measurements of the mean Ly-α transmission over 4.9 < z < 6.1. Using all known systematics in a forward modelling analysis, we find excellent agreement between the observed Ly-α transmission distributions and the homogeneous-UVB simulations Sherwood and Nyx up to z ≤ 5.2 (<1σ), and mild tension (∼2.5σ) at z = 5.3. Homogeneous UVB models are ruled out by excess Ly-α transmission scatter at z ≥ 5.4 with high confidence (>3.5σ). Our results indicate that reionization-related fluctuations, whether in the UVB, residual neutral hydrogen fraction, and/or IGM temperature, persist in the intergalactic medium until at least z = 5.3 (t = 1.1 Gyr after the big bang). This is further evidence for a late end to reionization.
Decomposing magnetic fields in three dimensions over the central molecular zone
Authors: Hu Yue , Lazarian A , Wang Q Daniel
Published: April 2022

Measuring magnetic fields in the interstellar medium and obtaining their distribution along line-of-sight (LOS) is very challenging with the traditional techniques. The Velocity Gradient Technique (VGT), which utilizes anisotropy of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, provides an attractive solution. Targeting the central molecular zone (CMZ), we test this approach by applying the VGT to $\rm ^{12}CO$ and $\rm ^{13}CO$ (J = 1–0) data cubes. We first used the scousepy algorithm to decompose the CO line emissions into separate velocity components, and then we constructed pseudo-Stokes parameters via the VGT to map the plane-of-the-sky magnetic fields in three-dimension. We present the decomposed magnetic field maps and investigate their significance. While the LOS integrated magnetic field orientation is shown to be consistent with the polarized dust emission from the Planck survey at 353 GHz, individual velocity components may exhibit different magnetic fields. We present a scheme of magnetic field configuration in the CMZ based on the decomposed magnetic fields. In particular, we observe a nearly vertical magnetic field orientation in the dense clump near the Sgr B2 and a change in the outflow regions around the Sgr A*. Two high-velocity structures associated with an expanding ring in the CMZ show distinct swirling magnetic field structures. These results demonstrate the potential power of the VGT to decompose velocity or density-dependent magnetic structures.
The escape of globular clusters from the satellite dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way
Authors: Rostami Shirazi Ali , Haghi Hosein , Khalaj Pouria , Asl Ahmad Farhani , Hasani Zonoozi Akram
Published: April 2022

Using numerical simulations, we have studied the escape of globular clusters (GCs) from the satellite dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) of the Milky Way (MW). We start by following the orbits of a large sample of GCs around dSphs in the presence of the MW potential field. We then obtain the fraction of GCs leaving their host dSphs within a Hubble time. We model dSphs by a Hernquist density profile with masses between $10^7$ and $7\times 10^9\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$. All dSphs lie on the Galactic disc plane, but they have different orbital eccentricities and apogalactic distances. We compute the escape fraction of GCs from 13 of the most massive dSphs of the MW, using their realistic orbits around the MW (as determined by Gaia). The escape fraction of GCs from 13 dSphs is in the range $12{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ to $93{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. The average escape time of GCs from these dSphs was less than 8 $\, \mathrm{Gyr}$, indicating that the escape process of GCs from dSphs was over. We then adopt a set of observationally constrained density profiles for specific case of the Fornax dSph. According to our results, the escape fraction of GCs shows a negative correlation with both the mass and the apogalactic distance of the dSphs, as well as a positive correlation with the orbital eccentricity of dSphs. In particular, we find that the escape fraction of GCs from the Fornax dSph is between $13{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ and $38{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Finally, we observe that when GCs leave their host dSphs, their final orbit around the MW does not differ much from their host dSphs.
pubmedKB: an interactive web server for exploring biomedical entity relations in the biomedical literature
Authors: Li Peng-Hsuan , Chen Ting-Fu , Yu Jheng-Ying , Shih Shang-Hung , Su Chan-Hung , Lin Yin-Hung , Tsai Huai-Kuang , Juan Hsueh-Fen , Chen Chien-Yu , Huang Jia-Hsin
Published: April 2022

With the proliferation of genomic sequence data for biomedical research, the exploration of human genetic information by domain experts requires a comprehensive interrogation of large numbers of scientific publications in PubMed. However, a query in PubMed essentially provides search results sorted only by the date of publication. A search engine for retrieving and interpreting complex relations between biomedical concepts in scientific publications remains lacking. Here, we present pubmedKB, a web server designed to extract and visualize semantic relationships between four biomedical entity types: variants, genes, diseases, and chemicals. pubmedKB uses state-of-the-art natural language processing techniques to extract semantic relations from the large number of PubMed abstracts. Currently, over 2 million semantic relations between biomedical entity pairs are extracted from over 33 million PubMed abstracts in pubmedKB. pubmedKB has a user-friendly interface with an interactive semantic graph, enabling the user to easily query entities and explore entity relations. Supporting sentences with the highlighted snippets allow to easily navigate the publications. Combined with a new explorative approach to literature mining and an interactive interface for researchers, pubmedKB thus enables rapid, intelligent searching of the large biomedical literature to provide useful knowledge and insights. pubmedKB is available at https://www.pubmedkb.cc/.
ALMA astrometry of the objects within 0.5 pc of Sagittarius A*
Authors: Tsuboi Masato , Tsutsumi Takahiro , Miyazaki Atsushi , Miyawaki Ryosuke , Miyoshi Makoto
Published: April 2022

The Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) is promising to be a powerful tool for precision astrometry of the area around Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) because it has a high angular resolution, high sensitivity, and wide field of view. We have observed the area including the Nuclear Star Cluster at 230 GHz with ALMA in 2017 October. The angular resolution is $\sim \!\!{0{^{\prime \prime}_{.}}03}$. We determined the relative positions to Sgr A* of 65 compact objects in the area with an accuracy of $\sim \!\! {0{^{\prime \prime}_{.}}001}$. We also analyzed the similar ALMA archival data obtained in 2019 June and determined the 64 relative positions in these objects. We derived the proper motions relative to Sgr A* by comparing these positions. The derived proper motions are roughly described with both clockwise and counterclockwise rotations around Sgr A*. The rotation velocities are reproduced by Kepler orbits bounded around Sgr A*. Moreover, the proper motions include co-moving clusters, for example IRS13E and IRS13N. The positions and proper motions are almost consistent with those found by previous infrared observations. Therefore the observational demonstrations would prove that ALMA is a powerful tool for precision astrometry of the region.
Chromatin remodeling complexes regulate genome architecture in Arabidopsis
Authors: Yang Tingting , Wang Dingyue , Tian Guangmei , Sun Linhua , Yang Minqi , Yin Xiaochang , Xiao Jun , Sheng Yu , Zhu Danmeng , He Hang , Zhou Yue
Published: April 2022

In eukaryotes, three-dimensional (3D) chromatin architecture maintains genome stability and is important in regulating gene transcription. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which diverse ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes regulate the 3D chromatin structure in plants. We examined the 3D chromatin structure within the ATPase subunit of the SWI/SNF, ISWI, INO80, and CHD remodeling complexes in wild-type (WT) and mutant Arabidopsis thaliana plants by combining high-throughput sequencing with in situ Hi-C, the enrichment of histone marks, nucleosome density, and gene expression. We found that compartment regions switched and compartmental strength was significantly weakened in all four enzyme mutants. Chromatin remodeling complexes differentially regulated the nucleosome distribution pattern and density within the switching compartments. Alterations of nucleosome distribution pattern and density were associated with a reduction in H3K27me3 levels in the chromatin remodeling enzyme mutants and led to compartment switching. Our data show that chromatin remodeling complexes regulate the linear nucleosome distribution pattern and density to promote H3K27me3 deposition, which in turn regulates 3D chromatin structure.