bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship between endothelin and nitric oxide pathways in the onset and maintenance of hypertension in children and adolescents
Authors: Genovesi Simonetta , Giussani Marco , Orlando Antonina , Lieti Giulia , Viazzi Francesca , Parati Gianfranco
Published: June 2021

The mechanisms that regulate blood pressure are numerous and complex; one mechanism that plays an important role in this scenario is represented by the balance between the vasoconstrictor effect of endothelin-1 and the vasodilator effect of nitric oxide. While there is agreement on the fact that increased endothelin-1 activity and decreased nitric oxide bioavailability are present in hypertensive adults, the situation is less clear in children and adolescents. Not all studies agree on the finding of an increase in plasma endothelin-1 levels in hypertensive children and adolescents; in addition, the picture is often confused by the concomitant presence of obesity, a condition that stimulates the production of endothelin-1. Furthermore, there is recent evidence that, in younger obese and hypertensive subjects, there is an overproduction of nitric oxide, rather than a reduction. This condition may change over time, causing endothelial dysfunction due to a reduced availability of nitric oxide in hypertensive adolescents. The purpose of this review is to address the main biochemical and pathophysiological aspects of endothelin and nitric oxide involvement in hypertension and to summarize the available scientific evidence on their role in the onset and maintenance of high blood pressure in children and adolescents.
High-throughput phenotyping of two plant-size traits of Eucalyptus species using neural networks
Authors: Borges Marcus Vinicius Vieira , de Oliveira Garcia Janielle , Batista Tays Silva , Silva Alexsandra Nogueira Martins , Baio Fabio Henrique Rojo , da Silva Junior Carlos Antônio , de Azevedo Gileno Brito , de Oliveira Sousa Azevedo Glauce Taís , Teodoro Larissa Pereira Ribeiro , Teodoro Paulo Eduardo
Published: June 2021

In forest modeling to estimate the volume of wood, artificial intelligence has been shown to be quite efficient, especially using artificial neural networks (ANNs). Here we tested whether diameter at breast height (DBH) and the total plant height (Ht) of eucalyptus can be predicted at the stand level using spectral bands measured by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral sensor and vegetation indices. To do so, using the data obtained by the UAV as input variables, we tested different configurations (number of hidden layers and number of neurons in each layer) of ANNs for predicting DBH and Ht at stand level for different Eucalyptus species. The experimental design was randomized blocks with four replicates, with 20 trees in each experimental plot. The treatments comprised five Eucalyptus species (E. camaldulensis, E. uroplylla, E. saligna, E. grandis, and E. urograndis) and Corymbria citriodora. DBH and Ht for each plot at the stand level were measured seven times in separate overflights by the UAV, so that the multispectral sensor could obtain spectral bands to calculate vegetation indices (VIs). ANNs were then constructed using spectral bands and VIs as input layers, in addition to the categorical variable (species), to predict DBH and Ht at the stand level simultaneously. This report represents one of the first applications of high-throughput phenotyping for plant size traits in Eucalyptus species. In general, ANNs containing three hidden layers gave better statistical performance (higher estimated r, lower estimated root mean squared error–RMSE) due to their greater capacity for self-learning. Among these ANNs, the best contained eight neurons in the first layer, seven in the second, and five in the third (8 − 7 − 5). The results reported here reveal the potential of using the generated models to perform accurate forest inventories based on spectral bands and VIs obtained with a UAV multispectral sensor and ANNs, reducing labor and time.
Staying neutral or intervening?
Authors: Hoogsteyns Maartje , Muhaimin Amalia
Published: June 2021

Ethics teachers are regularly confronted with disturbing cases brought in by medical students in class. These classes are considered confidential, so that everyone can speak freely about their experiences. But what should ethics teachers do when they hear about a situation they consider to be outright alarming, for example where patients/students’ safety is at stake or where systematic power abuse seems to be at hand? Should they remain neutral or should they step in and intervene? In the Netherlands, as in many other countries, there are no clear guidelines for ethics teachers on how to respond. To get more insight into what teachers themselves think a proper response would be, we interviewed 18 Dutch medical ethics teachers. We found that Dutch ethics teachers will address the issue in class, but that they are overall reluctant to intervene; take action outside the scope of class. This reluctance is partly rooted in the conviction that ethicists should stay neutral and facilitate reflection, instead of telling students or physicians what to do. At the same time, this neutral position seems a difficult place to leave for those teachers who would want to or feel they need to. This has to do with various organizational and institutional constraints tied up with their position. The study invites medical ethics teachers to reflect on these constraints together and think about how to proceed from there. This study seeks to contribute to research on cultural change in medicine and medical students’ experiences of moral distress.
A Comparative Analysis on Organic and Inorganic Core Binders for a Gravity Diecasting Al Alloy Component
Authors: Fortini A. , Merlin M. , Raminella G.
Published: June 2021

The last two decades have seen a growing trend toward the use of inorganic binders in core making for the metalcasting field. Despite the health and environmental benefits of the inorganic binders, wider commercial use requires ongoing technical improvements to address some potential inherent limitations of this technology. Considering that inorganic cores can suffer from storage stability, this study sets out to check whether inorganic core binders are fit to replace organic ones in producing a gravity diecasting Al alloy component. First, the humidity resistance of both organic and inorganic sand cores, within a typical time-frame storage in the foundry, was evaluated by moisture absorption tests. Then, 3D optical measurements were performed to assess the relative dimensional changes of inorganic cores. Last, the influence of the core system was analyzed through microstructural and mechanical investigations on castings manufactured by using organic and inorganic binders. The experimental findings have shown that the moisture absorption during storage in the foundry warehouse, which lasted up to 14 days, was not enough to jeopardize the functionality of the cores. Furthermore, the tensile and microstructural outcomes revealed that inorganic cores could comply with both high component design requirements and even more stringent environmental regulations of foundries.
Culturally relevant pedagogies in science education as a response to global migration
Authors: Marosi Nelly , Avraamidou Lucy , Galani Lia
Published: June 2021

Largescale movement of diverse groups of people continue to redefine the demographics of an increasing number of societies all around the world. Global migration has an impact on education as the shift in ethnic demographics profiles comes with dramatic demographic shifts in the student population worldwide as well. Situated within these current geosociopolitical realities, in this position paper we argue for the urgency of culturally relevant pedagogies as a response to the challenge of meeting the needs of increasingly diverse and multicultural science classrooms. In doing so, we first provide a definition of culturally relevant pedagogies alongside a historical overview of how the term has been framed and utilized in science education over the past two decades. Following on these theoretical underpinnings, we synthesize the findings of contemporary empirical research studies that are situated both in and out-of-school contexts. In doing so, we aim to respond to the question ofwhat might be the value of adopting CRP in science education? As the synthesis of related literature shows, there exists a strong relation between CRP and multiple kinds of benefits related to students’ engagement in science, both in out-of-school and in school contexts. These benefits include the three tenets of CRP: increasing academic achievement, cultural competence, and sociopolitical consciousness. Other benefits refer to increasing students’ interest in science, motivation and engagement as well as self-identification with science. We end the paper by offering recommendations for future research based on identified gaps in existing knowledge base.
Couple Counseling and Pelvic Floor Muscle Training for Men Operated for Prostate Cancer and for Their Female Partners: Results From the Randomized ProCan Trial
Authors: Karlsen Randi V. , Bidstrup Pernille E. , Giraldi Annamaria , Hvarness Helle , Bagi Per , Lauridsen Susanne Vahr , Albieri Vanna , Frederiksen Marie , Krause Eva , Due Ulla , Johansen Christoffer
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Patients with prostate cancer (PC) who undergo radical prostatectomy (RP) experience impaired sexual and urinary function.

Aim

To compare the effect of early couple counseling and pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) with usual care for sexual and urinary dysfunction after RP.

Methods

The ProCan study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two parallel treatment arms and 1:1 allocation. Between January 2016 and December 2017, candidates for RP were invited to a longitudinal questionnaire study and provided baseline measures before surgery. Patients who underwent RP, had a female partner, and were sexually active were invited to the ProCan RCT. Couples who provided informed consent were allocated to usual care or usual care and up to six couple counseling sessions, up to three instructions in PFMT and a video home-training program. All couples filled in follow-up questionnaires at 8 and 12 months and non-participants provided 12 months’ follow-up. Linear mixed-effect models and 95% confidence intervals were used to measure effects of the intervention.

Main Outcome Measure

Primary outcome was erectile function, measured with The International Index of Erectile Function, at 8 and 12 months follow-up. Secondary outcomes were sexual and urinary function and use of treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED) by patients; sexual function in female partners; and relationship function, health-related quality of life, anxiety, depression, and self-efficacy in both patients and female partners.

Results

Thirty-five couples were randomized. No significant effect of the intervention was found on erectile function at 8 months (estimated difference in change, 1.41; 95% CI; –5.51 ; 8.33) or 12 months (estimated difference in change, 0.53; 95% CI; –5.94; 6.99) or in secondary outcomes, except for significantly increased use of ED treatment at 8 months.

Conclusion

We found no effect of early couple counseling and PFMT, possibly because of the limited number of participants.
Safety and Efficacy Study of Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum Applied With an Intensive Protocol in the Treatment of Peyronie's Disease
Authors: Melgarejo-Segura Mª Teresa , Funes-Padilla Carlos , Morales-Martínez Ana , López-Carmona-Pintado Fernando , Arrabal-Martín Miguel
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Collagenase clostridium histolyticum (CCH) is a treatment for Peyronie's disease (PD) whose efficacy and safety has been demonstrated using a classic protocol and a shortened protocol.

Aim

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of an even more intense protocol in which a CCH injection is applied for 3 separate cycles of 1 week.

Methods

Prospective, nonrandomized, clinical study of a cohort of 13 patients with PD and non-ventral curvatures, between 30 and 90 degrees and with stable disease were included. Under local anesthesia, 0.9 mg of CCH is infiltrated in 3 parallel and equidistant transverse bands across the plaque in 3 sessions separated by 1 week. Between sessions the patient is instructed to perform home modeling and penis stretching.

Main Outcome Measures

The measurements collected were from girth, length of the penis and length of the plaque. Side and degree of curvature. Ultrasound evaluation of the plaque characteristics and assessing the interface between the tunica albuginea and Buck's fascia. Furthermore, questionnaires were collected: International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and 15-question and Peyronie's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ). All these parameters were evaluated before and after treatment.

Results

An improvement in curvature was obtained in 76.9% of patients, reaching an improvement in the angle of curvature after the treatment cycles by an average of 19 ° (range 0-35 °) from the beginning. There are also improvements in the results of the IIEF and PDQ questionnaires. Length, penis girth, and plate length measurements hardly changed after treatment. Reported adverse effects are mild and limited to the penis.

Conclusions

We demonstrate the safety and efficacy of CCH in the treatment of PD using a more intense protocol than the previous ones. In addition, reducing the overall duration of allows for greater adherence and compliance of patients.
Landing gear ground manoeuvre statistics from automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast transponder data
Authors: Hoole J. , Sartor P. , Booker J.D. , Cooper J.E. , Gogouvitis X.V. , Schmidt R.K.
Published: June 2021

Landing gear are exposed to cyclic loads from the ground manoeuvres that aircraft perform in-service. Variability is observed in the loading magnitude associated with ground manoeuvres, along with the per-flight variability in ground manoeuvre occurrence and sequencing. Whilst loading magnitude variability has been widely characterised, significant assumptions are required regarding manoeuvre occurrence and sequencing when constructing landing gear load spectra for fatigue design. These assumptions are required due to the limited availability of data concerning ground manoeuvre occurrence and sequencing relating to aircraft in-service and require validation to facilitate the design of more efficient components. ‘Big-Data’ approaches, employing Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transponder data, enable aircraft ground tracks to be identified. This paper presents a methodology to characterise the variability in ground manoeuvre occurrence and sequencing using ADS-B data sourced from Flightradar24® for a wide-body aircraft fleet. Using statistics generated for the fleet, it was identified that significant variability exists in the occurrence and sequencing of turning and braking manoeuvres. The statistics also validate existing assumptions, including that the proportional share of left and right turning manoeuvres is equal. Finally, this paper discusses the utility of ADS-B datasets for constructing landing gear load spectra and monitoring of landing gear in-service.
The Pragmatics of Value and Commodity Structures
Authors: Boltanski Luc
Published: June 2021

Different sociological approaches claiming a close relation to pragmatism have developed over recent decades, emphasizing situated action, the interpretive and reflexive capacities of actors, and their social capabilities. These so-called pragmatic conceptions have often been presented as an alternative to the structuralism that dominated previous decades. Without ignoring the differences between the two approaches, this article seeks to show not only that they can both be usefully applied to the same object, but also that they can be integrated into a unified theoretical framework. The argument is based on recent empirical work devoted to the study of commercial exchange, in particular the relation between price and value. The pragmatic study of exchange situations makes it possible to identify different forms of valuation that are both embedded into the cognitive resources of actors and objectified in arrangements around commodities. From a structural point of view, these forms of valuation can be considered a “transformation group,” in the sense described by Claude Lévi-Strauss. However, this cognitive structuralism cannot help us to understand the changes undergone by these forms over historical time. For this, we must call on another type of structuralism, which might be labeled “systemic” structuralism. This proposes narratives that aim to establish chains of causality between local processes of commodification and the evolutions of capitalism at a global level.
A Neatly Engineered Stalemate: A Review of the Sixth Session of Negotiations on a Treaty on Business and Human Rights
Authors: SUBASINGHE Ruwan
Published: June 2021

The sixth session of the United Nations (UN) open-ended intergovernmental working group (IGWG) tasked with ‘elaborating an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises’1(BHR Treaty) took place virtually during 26–30 October 2020.2
Geographic variability of antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections within a direct-to-consumer telemedicine practice
Authors: Hamdy Rana F. , Park Daniel , Dean Kristin , Thompson James , Kambala Anusha , Yan Lily D. , Tong Ian , Liu Cindy M.
Published: June 2021

In this retrospective cohort study of patients presenting to a national direct-to-consumer medical practice, we found that provider geographic location is a stronger driver of antibiotic prescribing than patient location. Physicians in the Northeast and South are significantly more likely than physicians in the West to prescribe antibiotics for upper respiratory infection and bronchitis.
Aphrahat and Pauline Reception: 1 Corinthians 7 and Baptismal Reasoning in East and West
Authors: Edsall Benjamin A.
Published: June 2021

In studies of Pauline reception, most scholars limit themselves to works in the second or early third century (often ending with Irenaeus or the Acts of Paul) and to material from the Latin West and Greek East. Although later Syriac sources are rarely engaged, those who do work on this material have long recognised the importance of Paul's letters for that material. The present argument aims to help broaden the dominant discourse on Pauline reception by attending to early Syriac sources, principally the work of Aphrahat the Persian Sage. I focus in particular on his discussion of baptism and marriage in Dem. 7.18–20, which has confounded scholars over the years. This passage displays a kind of Pauline ‘logic’ indebted to 1 Cor 7.20, which can be discerned among other early Christian applications of that passage in similar contexts, in both East and West.
Trichuris murisand comorbidities – within a mouse model context
Authors: Hayes Kelly S. , Grencis Richard K.
Published: June 2021

Trichuris murisis a mouse intestinal parasitic nematode that inhabits the large intestine of its host and induces a strong immune response. The effects of this strong anti-parasite response can be found locally within the intestinal niche and also systemically, having effects on multiple organs. Additionally, the anti-parasite response can have multiple effects on infectious organisms and on microbiota that the host is harbouring. It has been shown that Th1 responses induced byT. muriscan affect progression of bowel inflammation, cause colitic-like intestinal inflammation, reduce barrier function and intestinal mucosal responses. In the brain,T. muriscan exacerbate stroke outcome and other neurological conditions. In the lung,T. muriscan suppress airway inflammation and alter immune responses to other parasites. Additionally,T. murisinduced responses can inhibit anti-tumour immunity. Although this parasite maintains a localized niche in the large intestine, its effects can be far-reaching and substantially impact other infections through modulation of bystander immune responses.
Feeding the team: Analysis of a Spratt’s dog cake from Antarctica
Authors: Fraser-Miller Sara J. , Rooney Jeremy S. , Gordon Keith C. , Bunt Craig R. , Haley Jill M.
Published: June 2021

The use of Spratt’s dog cakes is well documented in the diaries and reminiscences of many early Antarctic expedition members. Commercially produced dog food was promoted by the likes of Spratt’s as an advanced form of animal nutrition and would have been of interest to expedition planners who were already concerned with the nutritional requirements of expedition members. An approximately 100-year-old dog cake recovered from Antarctica was compared by chemical analysis and spectroscopic methods with a series of model dog cakes and a commercial dog biscuit to determine the composition and calorific content. The presence of bone fragments within the dog cake was confirmed, whereas starch in the bulk matrix of the sample was consistent with being a mixture of wheat and oat flour, while only minimal fat or oil was present. Calorific content, while insufficient compared to a modern feed for high-performance dogs, would nonetheless have been a valuable addition to the use of dried or frozen whole meat such as seal, fish, or pemmican and contributed additional energy compared to meat alone.
Metabolomics dissection of depression heterogeneity and related cardiometabolic risk
Authors: Alshehri Tahani , Mook- Kanamori Dennis O. , Willems van Dijk Ko , Dinga Richard , Penninx Brenda W. J. H. , Rosendaal Frits R. , le Cessie Saskia , Milaneschi Yuri
Published: June 2021

Background

A recent hypothesis postulates the existence of an ‘immune-metabolic depression’ (IMD) dimension characterized by metabolic dysregulations. Combining data on metabolomics and depressive symptoms, we aimed to identify depressions associated with an increased risk of adverse metabolic alterations.

Method

Clustering data were from 1094 individuals with major depressive disorder in the last 6 months and measures of 149 metabolites from a 1H-NMR platform and 30 depressive symptoms (IDS-SR30). Canonical correlation analyses (CCA) were used to identify main independent metabolite-symptom axes of variance. Then, for the replication, we examined the association of the identified dimensions with metabolites from the same platform and cardiometabolic diseases in an independent population-based cohort (n = 6572).

Results

CCA identified an overall depression dimension and a dimension resembling IMD, in which symptoms such as sleeping too much, increased appetite, and low energy level had higher relative loading. In the independent sample, the overall depression dimension was associated with lower cardiometabolic risk, such as (i.e. per s.d.) HOMA-1B −0.06 (95% CI −0.09 – −0.04), and visceral adipose tissue −0.10 cm2 (95% CI −0.14 – −0.07). In contrast, the IMD dimension was associated with well-known cardiometabolic diseases such as higher visceral adipose tissue 0.08 cm2 (95% CI 0.04–0.12), HOMA-1B 0.06 (95% CI 0.04–0.09), and lower HDL-cholesterol levels −0.03 mmol/L (95% CI −0.05 – −0.01).

Conclusions

Combining metabolomics and clinical symptoms we identified a replicable depression dimension associated with adverse metabolic alterations, in line with the IMD hypothesis. Patients with IMD may be at higher cardiometabolic risk and may benefit from specific treatment targeting underlying metabolic dysregulations.
Gambling and ageing: less illusion but more risk
Authors: Fontaine Maylis , Floch Valérie Le , Lemercier Céline
Published: June 2021

Seniors are a population of concern due to exposure to both increasing gambling venues and powerful age-specific risk factors. There has been only limited research on this population so far, but studies conducted among younger adults suggest that the illusion of control is a key factor, leading players to develop strategies that increase their risk-taking in gambling. Time perspective (TP) is a good indicator of risky behaviours in a number of different areas, including health and the environment. In the present study, we sought to identify the age-specific cognitive mechanisms underlying gambling behaviour in normal ageing. We asked 115 emerging adults (mean age = 20.86 years), 86 young adults (mean age = 30.59), 82 middle-aged adults (mean age = 44.57) and 108 seniors (mean age = 65.19) to play an online game. We rated their illusion of control, risk-taking and TP. Analysis revealed that seniors took more risks and had less illusion of control than younger adults. The fatalistic-present TP positively influenced the illusion of control, such that perceiving the present as being determined by uncontrollable forces increased the perceived level of control. Finally, we found an influence of age on TP. These results suggest that seniors constitute a specific population in terms of gambling-related cognitions and behaviours. Including TP in risky behaviour assessments would allow the development of tailor-made preventive measures.
Equality or priority about competing claims?
Authors: Segall Shlomi
Published: June 2021

According to the Competing Claims View (CCV) we decide between alternatives by looking at the competing claims held by affected individuals. The strength of these claims is a function of two features: how much they stand to benefit (or lose) by each alternative, and how badly off they would be in its absence. The view can be, and is, endorsed by both egalitarians and prioritarians. For the former the second condition will concern looking at how badly off the person is relative to others, whereas for the latter it will be how badly off she is in absolute terms. In this paper I want to argue that neither should be endorsed. The egalitarian version of CCV breaks down when attempting to assess the competing claims of possible persons who may never exist. Also, the view, on at least one plausible interpretation, leads to intransitive judgements. The prioritarian version of CCV, in turn, is vulnerable to its own unique objection, namely delivering an anti-prioritarian and rather implausible verdict in certain Single Person Cases.
Factors affecting rabbit sperm cryopreservation: a mini-review
Authors: Kubovicova Elena , Makarevich Alexander V. , Balazi Andrej , Vasicek Jaromir , Chrenek Peter
Published: June 2021

Rabbits are an important animal species for meeting the nutritional requirements of the world’s growing population due to the high conversion rate of feed. In most countries, the rabbit industry currently relies on artificial insemination with fresh or chilled and frozen–thawed spermatozoa. Various factors during the freezing process, including diluents, sperm preparation and freezing techniques, antioxidants, sudden temperature changes, ice formation and osmotic stress, have been proposed as reasons for the poor sperm quality post thaw. Despite the extensive progress reached in the field of rabbit sperm cryopreservation, new methodological approaches that could overcome problems in sperm cryopreservation are necessary. The aim of this review was to describe the factors that affect the cryopreservation of rabbit sperm.
POLLY HILL: CROSSING AND CONTESTING THE BOUNDARIES OF ANTHROPOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AFRICAN STUDIES, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP STUDIES
Authors: Dimand Robert W. , Saffu Kojo
Published: June 2021

Polly Hill spent her long, productive, and at times controversial career crossing and contesting disciplinary boundaries. She graduated in economics at Cambridge, but her doctorate was in social anthropology—with economist Joan Robinson as dissertation supervisor. Her thirteen years at the University of Ghana were initially in economics, then in African studies, and her readership at Cambridge was in Commonwealth studies. As a woman in several male-dominated academic disciplines without a secure base in any (and with distinctive, unorthodox opinions in each), she never obtained a tenure-track appointment despite ten books and fifty scholarly articles. Her books drew attention to the underrecognized agency of indigenous entrepreneurs while herDevelopment Economics on Trial: The Anthropological Case for the Prosecution(1986) critiqued a discipline, disciplinary boundaries, and outside experts, both mainstream and radical.
THE PENETRATION OF ENGINEERING BY ECONOMICS: McFADDEN AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF ROAD DEMAND ESTIMATION
Authors: Dupont-Kieffer Ariane , Rivot Sylvie , Madre Jean-Loup
Published: June 2021

The golden age of road demand modeling began in the 1950s and flourished in the 1960s in the face of major road construction needs. These macro models, as well as the econometrics and the data to be processed, were provided mainly by engineers. A division of tasks can be observed between the engineers in charge of estimating the flows within the network and the transport economists in charge of managing these flows once they are on the road network. Yet the inability to explain their decision-making processes and individual drives gave some room to economists to introduce economic analysis, so as to better understand individual or collective decisions between transport alternatives. Economists, in particular Daniel McFadden, began to offer methods to improve the measure of utility linked to transport and to inform the engineering approach. This paper explores the challenges to the boundaries between economics and engineering in road demand analysis.
The Short Version of the Metacognitive Anger Processing Scale (MAP-SV) – initial psychometric testing
Authors: Moeller Stine Bjerrum , Juul Sophie , Arendt Ida-Marie T. P.
Published: June 2021

Background:

The 26-item version of the Metacognitive Anger Processing Scale (MAP) has shown good psychometric properties in previous studies. However, there is a need for a shorter version of the scale.

Aims:

The aim of the present study is to psychometrically evaluate the 9-item Metacognitive Anger Processing Scale – Short Version (MAP-SV) in comparison with the original, 26-item version.

Method:

The 26-item MAP includes three subscales: rumination, positive beliefs and negative beliefs. Three items from each subscale were selected based on clinical validity to constitute the 9-item MAP-SV. A previous sample used for validation of the 26-item MAP was used for clinimetric testing. The sample included psychiatric patients (n = 88) and male forensic inpatients (n = 54). The MAP-SV was assessed according to scalability, convergent validity with general metacognition, and concurrent validity with anger measures.

Results:

The scalability of the 9-item MAP-SV was comparable to that of the original 26-item MAP in most psychometric tests. The Loevinger’s coefficient of homogeneity for the total score of the MAP-SV items was 0.29 for the combined sample compared with 0.36 in the original MAP, indicating close to acceptable scalability. The alpha coefficient for the MAP-SV total score was 0.79. For the combined sample, Pearson inter-correlations between the subscales of the MAP-SV were highly correlated with the MAP-SV total score (ranging from .66 to .84).

Conclusions:

The 9-item MAP-SV showed good psychometric properties and can be used as a reliable tool for assessing self-reported metacognitive anger processing.
Impaired Behavioral Pattern Separation in Refractory Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and Mild Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Lalani Sanam J. , Reyes Anny , Kaestner Erik , Stark Shauna M. , Stark Craig E.L. , Lee David , Kansal Leena , Shih Jerry J. , Smith Christine N. , Paul Brianna M. , McDonald Carrie R.
Published: June 2021

Objective:

Episodic memory impairment and hippocampal pathology are hallmark features of both temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Pattern separation (PS), which enables the distinction between similar but unique experiences, is thought to contribute to successful encoding and retrieval of episodic memories. Impaired PS has been proposed as a potential mechanism underling episodic memory impairment in aMCI, but this association is less established in TLE. In this study, we examined behavioral PS in patients with TLE and explored whether profiles of performance in TLE are similar to aMCI.

Method:

Patients with TLE, aMCI, and age-matched, healthy controls (HCs) completed a modified recognition task that relies on PS for the discrimination of highly similar lure items, the Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST). Group differences were evaluated and relationships between clinical characteristics, California Verbal Learning Test—Second Edition scores, and MST performance were tested in the TLE group.

Results:

Patients with TLE and aMCI demonstrated poorer PS performance relative to the HCs, but performance did not differ between the two patient groups. Neither the side of seizure focus nor having hippocampal sclerosis affected performance in TLE. However, TLE patients with clinically defined memory impairment showed the poorest performance.

Conclusion:

Memory performance on a task that relies on PS was disrupted to a similar extent in TLE and aMCI. The MST could provide a clinically useful tool for measuring hippocampus-dependent memory impairments in TLE and other neurological disorders associated with hippocampal damage.
A focus group study of older Chinese people with CVD patients in the North West of the UK
Authors: Speed Shaun , Sun Zeyuan , Liu Zhenmi
Published: June 2021

Background:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for Chinese migrants around the world. Chinese CVD patients rely heavily on their native Chinese language, cultural values and beliefs, which adds challenges for the healthcare providers to offer primary healthcare services with standard protocol. The inappropriate treatment could lead to life loss, mistrust in doctor-patient relationship and heavy burden for healthcare funding.

Methods:

28 participants were included for focus group study with the grounded theory methodology.

Results:

There is considerable misunderstanding among the Chinese community about the role of primary care doctors in the treatment of cardiovascular disease resulting in the variable use of primary care services.

Conclusion:

Chinese CVD patients or identified risk factors for CVD arguably need closer management, culturally sensitive advice, support and robust follow-up compared to the general population. Doctors and nurses should enhance their practice and give them confidence in their interaction with Chinese patients on the basis of how they think and behave in relation to help seeking.
A Multi‐Dimensional Decomposition Method of the Meteorology‐Driven and Emission‐Driven Effects on Year‐to‐Year Air Quality Variations
Authors: Song Yushan , Li Ying , Xu Haoxiang , Lin Changqing , Lau Alexis K. H.
Published: June 2021

The annual assessment of emission control effects on air quality is essential for policy adjustments. However, this assessment is difficult as the inter‐annual changes in pollution are impacted by complex meteorological conditions. In this study, based on our wind‐pollution decomposition (WPD) method, which decomposes wind effects (wind‐driven) and nonwind effects, we established the meteorology‐pollution decomposition (MPD) method, which separates meteorological effects (met‐driven) and nonmeteorological effects by importing other meteorological parameters, to approximate the emission change effects (emission‐driven) by the nonmeteorological effects. The performance of the MPD method was assessed by comparing the results of the WPD and MPD methods at multiple representative stations in Hong Kong with the longest continuous data available in China from 2000 to 2018. The decomposed emission‐driven impact is also validated by using the gross domestic product growth rates data. The emission‐driven contributions determined by the WPD and MPD methods generally show agreement in trend, while the met‐driven effects are generally larger than the wind‐driven effects with the same or opposite trend. The results showed that the met‐driven effect from the MPD method is more reasonable than the wind‐driven effect from the WPD method in representing complex meteorological influences, which indicates a better representation of emission‐driven impacts by the nonmeteorological effects during the unusual meteorological years, such as El Niño‐Southern Oscillation events. The MPD method represents an independent approach, which is based only on regular observations, to quantify the long‐term trend in emission‐driven impacts as well as the integrated meteorological impacts on the atmospheric environment under the background of climate change.
Monitoring and Modeling Drainage Network Contraction and Dry Down in Mediterranean Headwater Catchments
Authors: Senatore Alfonso , Micieli Massimo , Liotti Alessio , Durighetto Nicola , Mendicino Giuseppe , Botter Gianluca
Published: June 2021

Understanding the expansion and contraction dynamics of flowing drainage networks is important for many research fields like ecology, hydrology, and biogeochemistry. This study analyzes for the first time the network shrinking and dry down in two seasonally dry hot‐summer Mediterranean catchments (overall area 1.15 km2) using a comprehensive approach based on monitoring and modeling of the flowing network. A field campaign consisting of 19 subweekly visual surveys was carried out in the early summer of 2019. These observations were used to calibrate and validate an integrated model aimed to estimate the time evolution of the total flowing drainage network length based on meteorological drivers and define the position of the stretches with flowing water based on topographic and geological information. We used a statistical model to describe the observed variations in the total flowing length based on the accumulated difference between antecedent precipitation and evapotranspiration. The study emphasizes the relevant role of evapotranspiration in the seasonal network contraction. Then, we modeled spatial patterns of the flowing channels using an empirical approach based on topographic data, achieving satisfactory performances. Nevertheless, the performance further increased when site‐specific geological information was integrated into the model, leading to accuracies up to 92% for cell‐by‐cell comparisons. The proposed methodology, which combines meteorological, topographic, and geological information in a sequential manner, was able to accurately represent the space‐time dynamics of the flowing drainage network in the study area, proving to be an effective and flexible tool for investigating network dynamics in temporary streams.
Thank You to Our 2020 Reviewers
Authors: Raymond Peter , Fletcher Sara Mikaloff , Houlton Benjamin , Matsumoto Katsumi
Published: June 2021

Key Point

The editors thank the 2020 peer reviewers
Adjoint Tomography of Ambient Noise Data and Teleseismic P Waves: Methodology and Applications to Central California
Authors: Wang Kai , Yang Yingjie , Jiang Chengxin , Wang Yi , Tong Ping , Liu Tianshi , Liu Qinya
Published: June 2021

Adjoint tomography has been recently applied to ambient seismic noise and teleseismic P waves separately to unveil fine‐scale lithospheric structures beyond the resolving ability of traditional ray‐based traveltime tomography. In this study, we propose an inversion scheme that alternates between frequency‐dependent traveltime inversions of ambient noise surface waves and waveform inversions of teleseismic P waves to take advantage of their complementary sensitivities to the Earth's structure. We apply our method to ambient noise empirical Green's functions from 60 virtual sources, direct P and scattered waves from 11 teleseismic events recorded by a dense linear array (∼7 km station spacing) and other regional stations (∼40 km average station spacing) in central California. To evaluate the performance of the method, we compare tomographic results from ambient noise adjoint tomography, full‐waveform inversion of teleseismic P waves, and the alternating inversion of the two data sets. Both applications to practical field data sets and synthetic checkerboard tests demonstrate the advantage of the alternating inversion over individual inversions as it combines the complementary sensitivities of the two independent data sets toward a more unified model. The three dimensional model from our alternating inversion not only shows major features of velocity anomalies and discontinuities in agreement with previous studies, but also reveals small‐scale heterogeneities which provide new constraints on the geometry of the Isabella Anomaly and mantle dynamic processes in central California. The proposed alternating inversion scheme can be applied to other regions with similar array deployments for high‐resolution lithospheric imaging.
Detecting Climate Signals Using Explainable AI With Single‐Forcing Large Ensembles
Authors: Labe Zachary M. , Barnes Elizabeth A.
Published: June 2021

It remains difficult to disentangle the relative influences of aerosols and greenhouse gases on regional surface temperature trends in the context of global climate change. To address this issue, we use a new collection of initial‐condition large ensembles from the Community Earth System Model version 1 that are prescribed with different combinations of industrial aerosol and greenhouse gas forcing. To compare the climate response to these external forcings, we adopt an artificial neural network (ANN) architecture from previous work that predicts the year by training on maps of near‐surface temperature. We then utilize layer‐wise relevance propagation (LRP) to visualize the regional temperature signals that are important for the ANN's prediction in each climate model experiment. To mask noise when extracting only the most robust climate patterns from LRP, we introduce a simple uncertainty metric that can be adopted to other explainable artificial intelligence (AI) problems. We find that the North Atlantic, Southern Ocean, and Southeast Asia are key regions of importance for the neural network to make its prediction, especially prior to the early‐21st century. Notably, we also find that the ANN predictions based on maps of observations correlate higher to the actual year after training on the large ensemble experiment with industrial aerosols held fixed to 1920 levels. This work illustrates the sensitivity of regional temperature signals to changes in aerosol forcing in historical simulations. By using explainable AI methods, we have the opportunity to improve our understanding of (non)linear combinations of anthropogenic forcings in state‐of‐the‐art global climate models.
Cyclic cooling of quantum systems at the saturation limit
Authors: Zaiser Sebastian , Cheung Chun Tung , Yang Sen , Dasari Durga Bhaktavatsala Rao , Raeisi Sadegh , Wrachtrup Jörg
Published: June 2021

The achievable bounds of cooling quantum systems, and the possibility to violate them is not well-explored experimentally. For example, among the common methods to enhance spin polarization (cooling), one utilizes the low temperature and high-magnetic field condition or employs a resonant exchange with highly polarized spins. The achievable polarization, in such cases, is bounded either by Boltzmann distribution or by energy conservation. Heat-bath algorithmic cooling schemes (HBAC), on the other hand, have shown the possibility to surpass the physical limit set by the energy conservation and achieve a higher saturation limit in spin cooling. Despite, the huge theoretical progress, and few principle demonstrations, neither the existence of the limit nor its application in cooling quantum systems towards the maximum achievable limit have been experimentally verified. Here, we show the experimental saturation of the HBAC limit for single nuclear spins, beyond any available polarization in solid-state spin system, the Nitrogen-Vacancy centers in diamond. We benchmark the performance of our experiment over a range of variable reset polarizations (bath temperatures), and discuss the role of quantum coherence in HBAC.
A brief review of the science behind the design of healthy and sustainable plant-based foods
Authors: McClements David Julian , Grossmann Lutz
Published: June 2021

People are being encouraged to consume more plant-based foods to reduce the negative impacts of the modern food supply on human and global health. The food industry is therefore creating a new generation of plant-based products to meet this demand, including meat, fish, egg, milk, cheese, and yogurt analogs. The main challenge in this area is to simulate the desirable appearance, texture, flavor, mouthfeel, nutrition, and functionality of these products using healthy, affordable, and sustainable plant-derived ingredients, such as lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. The molecular and physicochemical properties of plant-derived ingredients are very different from those of animal-derived ones. It is therefore critical to understand the fundamental attributes of plant-derived ingredients and how they can be assembled into structures resembling those found in animal products. This short review provides an overview of the current status of the scientific understanding of plant-based foods and highlights areas where further research is required. In particular, it focuses on the chemical, physical, and functional properties of plant ingredients; the processing operations that can be used to convert these ingredients into food products; and the science behind the creation of some common plant-based foods, namely meat, egg, and milk analogs.
In-vivo expressed Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens recognised in three mouse strains after infection and BCG vaccination
Authors: Coppola Mariateresa , Jurion Fabienne , van den Eeden Susan J. F. , Tima Hermann Giresse , Franken Kees L. M. C. , Geluk Annemieke , Romano Marta , Ottenhoff Tom H. M.
Published: June 2021

Novel tuberculosis (TB)-vaccines preferably should (i) boost host immune responses induced by previous BCG vaccination and (ii) be directed against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) proteins expressed throughout the Mtb infection-cycle. Human Mtb antigen-discovery screens identified antigens encoded by Mtb-genes highly expressed during in vivo murine infection (IVE-TB antigens). To translate these findings towards animal models, we determined which IVE-TB-antigens are recognised by T-cells following Mtb challenge or BCG vaccination in three different mouse strains. Eleven Mtb-antigens were recognised across TB-resistant and susceptible mice. Confirming previous human data, several Mtb-antigens induced cytokines other than IFN-γ. Pulmonary cells from susceptible C3HeB/FeJ mice produced less TNF-α, agreeing with the TB-susceptibility phenotype. In addition, responses to several antigens were induced by BCG in C3HeB/FeJ mice, offering potential for boosting. Thus, recognition of promising Mtb-antigens identified in humans validates across multiple mouse TB-infection models with widely differing TB-susceptibilities. This offers translational tools to evaluate IVE-TB-antigens as diagnostic and vaccine antigens.