bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A longitudinal study of disease progression in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD)
Authors: Varma Anika , Todinca Michael S. , Eichinger Katy , Heininger Susanne , Dilek Nuran , Martens William , Tawil Rabi , Statland Jeffrey , Kissel John T. , McDermott Michael P. , Heatwole Chad
Published: January 2024

Introduction/Aims

In preparation for clinical trials, it is important to better understand how disease burden changes over time in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) and to assess the capability of select metrics to detect these changes. This study aims to evaluate FSHD disease progression over 1 year and to examine the sensitivity of several outcome measures in detecting changes during this interval.

Methods

We conducted a 12‐month prospective observational study of 41 participants with FSHD. Participants were evaluated at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months with serial strength testing (manual muscle testing or MMT and maximum voluntary isometric contraction testing or MVICT), functional testing (FSHD‐Composite Outcome Measure or FSHD‐COM, FSHD Clinical Severity Score or CSS, and FSHD Evaluation Score or FES), sleep and fatigue assessments, lean body mass measurements, respiratory testing, and the FSHD‐Health Index patient‐reported outcome. Changes in these outcome measures were assessed over the 12‐month period. Associations between changes in outcome measures and both age and sex were also examined.

Results

In a 12‐month period, FSHD participant function remained largely stable with a mild worsening of strength, measured by MMT and standardized MVICT scores, and a mild loss in lean body mass.

Discussion

The abilities and disease burden of adults with FSHD are largely static over a 12‐month period with participants demonstrating a mild average reduction in some measures of strength. Selection of patients, outcome measures, and trial duration should be carefully considered during the design and implementation of future clinical studies involving FSHD patients.
Development of GPU‐based matrix‐free strategies for large‐scale elastoplasticity analysis using conjugate gradient solver
Authors: Kiran Utpal , Sharma Deepak , Gautam Sachin Singh
Published: January 2024

In recent years, matrix‐free conjugate gradient (CG) solvers with graphics processing unit (GPU) acceleration have been effectively used to reduce the execution timings of finite element method (FEM)‐based engineering simulations. However, there is not much in the literature that discusses the application of matrix‐free CG solvers for elastoplasticity. The primary challenge is the presence of both elastic and plastic states, which introduce branching issues in the parallel computation of sparse matrix‐vector multiplication (SpMV). The current work proposes an efficient split kernel strategy for elastoplasticity that segregates elements in elastic and plastic zones and allows the application of standard GPU‐based matrix‐free SpMV strategies in the literature to elastoplastic simulation. The proposed strategy avoids branching issues, facilitates coalesced memory access, allows efficient usage of on‐chip memory, and uses minimum storage to realize large‐scale simulation on a GPU with limited memory. We also propose matrix‐free SpMV strategies for GPU implementation based on an element‐by‐element technique that makes efficient use of memory hierarchy available in a GPU. The computational efficiency of the proposed strategies is demonstrated over three large‐scale benchmark examples from elastoplasticity, and the performance results are compared with GPU optimized node‐based and degrees of freedom (DOF)‐based matrix‐free strategies. The results show that the splitting of computation is most suitable for low plasticity problems, where most of the matrix‐free strategies show significant speedups with respect to single kernel strategy for elastoplasticity. The proposed element‐by‐element strategy using node‐wise thread allocation is found to have the best performance, achieving up to 7.16 and 3.35 speedup over node‐based and DOF‐based strategy, respectively. For problems with higher amounts of plasticity, the proposed strategies perform slightly better and achieve modest speedups due to advantages in the initial stages of Newton iterations. In terms of wall‐clock timings, the proposed matrix‐free solver is found to be up to 2 faster than GPU optimized assembly‐based elastoplasticity solver.
An extended phase‐field approach for the efficient simulation of fatigue fracture processes
Authors: Krüger Christian , Curoşu Verena , Loehnert Stefan
Published: January 2024

Fatigue fracture simulations with the phase‐field method (PFM) lack efficiency due to the fine meshes required, especially when each load cycle is simulated explicitly. Recent developments in combining the phase‐field method for brittle fracture with the extended/generalised finite element method (XFEM/GFEM) show a remarkable reduction of the number of degrees of freedom and thus a reduction of computational effort while retaining or even improving accuracy. In this paper, the combined extended phase‐field method (XPFM) is expanded to fatigue processes in a two‐dimensional setting. A new stabilisation of the phase‐field transformation function is proposed and a convergence criterion for the nested staggered solution process and enrichment scheme update procedure as well as an adaptive integration technique for the non‐polynomial ansatz functions is incorporated. Several numerical examples emphasise the benefits and the efficiency of the newly developed method.
Experimental investigations of uniaxial and biaxial cold stretching within PC‐films and bars using optical measurements
Authors: Hamdoun Ayoub , Mahnken Rolf
Published: January 2024

Polycarbonate (PC) is an amorphous polymer that is an extremely robust material with a high tenacity, and thus suitable for a lightweight construction with glass‐like transparency. Due to these advantageous properties, PC is often used in industry for example in medical devices, automotive headlamps, sporting equipment, electronics, and a variety of other products. PC is often subjected to uniaxial and biaxial loading conditions. Therefore, reliable material models have to take into account the various resulting experimental effects. For those reasons, we investigate PC specimens under uniaxial and biaxial loading by using different stretch rates and loading scenarios. In addition to that, we propose methods for optical measurement of local stretches to obtain the approximated local true stress. In future work, the displacement fields and the resulting reaction forces will be used for parameter identification of constitutive equations.
Underlying mechanisms behind the neuroprotective effect of vanillic acid against diabetes‐associated cognitive decline: An in vivo study in a rat model
Authors: Ghaderi Shahab , Gholipour Parsa , Komaki Alireza , Shahidi Siamak , Seif Faezeh , Bahrami‐Tapehebur Mohammad , Salehi Iraj , Zarei Mohammad , Sarihi Abdolrahman , Rashno Masome
Published: January 2024

Hippocampal synaptic dysfunction, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and neuronal loss play critical roles in the pathophysiology of diabetes‐associated cognitive decline (DACD). The study aimed to investigate the effects of vanillic acid (VA), a phenolic compound, against DACD and explore the potential underlying mechanisms. Following confirmation of diabetes, rats were treated with VA (50 mg/kg/day; P.O.) or insulin (6 IU/rat/day; S.C.) for 8 consecutive weeks. The cognitive performance of the rats was evaluated using passive‐avoidance and water‐maze tasks. Long‐term potentiation (LTP) was induced at hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) synapses in response to high‐frequency stimulation (HFS) applied to the perforant pathway (PP) to evaluate synaptic plasticity. Oxidative stress factors, inflammatory markers, and histological changes were evaluated in the rat hippocampus. This study showed that streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetes caused cognitive decline that was associated with inhibition of LTP induction, suppression of enzymatic antioxidant activities, enhanced lipid peroxidation, elevated levels of inflammatory proteins, and neuronal loss. Interestingly, chronic treatment with VA alleviated blood glucose levels, improved cognitive decline, ameliorated LTP impairment, modulated oxidative‐antioxidative status, inhibited inflammatory response, and prevented neuronal loss in diabetic rats at a level comparable to insulin therapy. The results suggest that the antihyperglycemic, antioxidative, anti‐inflammatory, and neuroplastic properties of VA may be the mechanisms behind its neuroprotective effect against DACD.
All‐Dielectric Integrated Meta‐Antenna Operating in 6G Terahertz Communication Window
Authors: Shi Jia , Li Meiling , Tang Longhuang , Li Xianguo , Jia Xing , Guo Cuijuan , Bai Hua , Ma Heli , Wang Xiang , Niu Pingjuan , Weng Jidong , Yao Jianquan
Published: January 2024

Efficient transceivers and antennas at terahertz frequencies are leading the development of 6G terahertz communication systems. The antenna design for high‐resolution terahertz spatial sensing and communication remains challenging, while emergent metallic metasurface antennas can address this issue but often suffer from low efficiency and complex manufacturing. Here, an all‐dielectric integrated meta‐antenna operating in 6G terahertz communication window for high‐efficiency beam focusing in the sub‐wavelength scale is reported. With the antenna surface functionalized by metagrating arrays with asymmetric scattering patterns, the design and optimization methods are demonstrated with a physical size constraint. The highest manipulation and diffraction efficiencies achieve 84.1% and 48.1%. The commercially accessible fabrication method with low cost and easy to implement has been demonstrated for the meta‐antenna by photocuring 3D printing. A filamentous focal spot is measured as 0.86λ with a long depth of focus of 25.3λ. Its application for integrated imaging and communication has been demonstrated. The proposed technical roadmap provides a general pathway for creating high‐efficiency integrated meta‐antennas with great potential in high‐resolution 6G terahertz spatial sensing and communication applications.
Decoding Biomechanical Cues Based on DNA Sensors
Authors: Huang Yihao , Chen Ting , Chen Xiaodie , Chen Ximing , Zhang Jialu , Liu Sinong , Lu Menghao , Chen Chong , Ding Xiangyu , Yang Chaoyong , Huang Ruiyun , Song Yanling
Published: January 2024

Biological systems perceive and respond to mechanical forces, generating mechanical cues to regulate life processes. Analyzing biomechanical forces has profound significance for understanding biological functions. Therefore, a series of molecular mechanical techniques have been developed, mainly including single‐molecule force spectroscopy, traction force microscopy, and molecular tension sensor systems, which provide indispensable tools for advancing the field of mechanobiology. DNA molecules with a programmable structure and well‐defined mechanical characteristics have attached much attention to molecular tension sensors as sensing elements, and are designed for the study of biomechanical forces to present biomechanical information with high sensitivity and resolution. In this work, a comprehensive overview of molecular mechanical technology is presented, with a particular focus on molecular tension sensor systems, specifically those based on DNA. Finally, the future development and challenges of DNA‐based molecular tension sensor systems are looked upon.
Evolution Mechanism of Solid‐Phase Catalysts During Catalytic Growth of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Chen Xuan , Duan Haiming , Cao Biaobing
Published: January 2024

Using solid nanoparticles (NPs) as catalysts is the most effective method to achieve catalytic growth of single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with ultrapure chirality. Until now, SWCNTs with a suitable chirality purity have not been prepared in experiments. That is, the evolution of solid NPs during the catalytic growth of SWCNTs is in contradiction with the original concept of a changeless structure. Hence, in this work, the evolution mechanism of solid cobalt NPs during the nucleation process of SWCNTs is analyzed through molecular dynamics. Similar to the experimental observations, the results show that a drastic structural fluctuation of the NPs occurs during the nucleation of SWCNTs. This structural fluctuation is caused by the fact that the elastic strain energy and surface energy of the NPs can be tuned when a carbon gradient exists between the subsurface and interior of the NP. Furthermore, such a carbon gradient can be reduced by changing the carbon feeding rate. This work not only reveals the evolution mechanism of solid catalysts during the nucleation of SWCNTs but also provides prospects for realizing solid catalysts with a changeless structure by tuning the experimental parameters.
Fabrication of Hierarchical Assemblies through Temperature‐Triggered Liquid Crystallization Driven Self‐Assembly
Authors: Gao Juanjuan , Ren Yangge , Lu Yue , Ma Qingyang , Sun Yixin , Jia Lin
Published: January 2024

Functional hierarchy is prevalent in biological systems owing to natural evolution. Efforts to replicate these structures in artificial materials have gained traction in materials science. Although artificial hierarchical structures are fabricated at different scales based on site‐specific interactions using ABC‐type block copolymers (BCPs), the fabrication of such hierarchical structures using AB‐type BCPs via a simple and efficient method remains challenging. Herein, a class of amphiphilic BCPs (PDenm‐b‐PACholn) is reported comprising dendronized oligoethylene glycol (Den) and cholesterol (AChol) as hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties, respectively. By employing the collapse of PDenm blocks at a specific temperature, the fabrication of bundled fibers and multilayer vesicles is achieved with an obvious hierarchy. Different from common reversible aggregation–disaggregation processes of thermal‐responsive polymers, the ordering of the core‐forming block with liquid crystalline (LC) properties provides robustly physical cross‐linking, coupled with epitaxial growth and the lateral fusion of LC blocks, guiding the formation of stable hierarchical micellar structures. It is highlighted that the combination of temperature‐sensitive properties and LC ordering alignment offers a novel approach for constructing hierarchical structures using AB‐type BCPs via an efficient one‐step assembly method.
Structural Engineering of Iridium(III) Phosphors with Imidazo[4,5‐b]pyrazin‐2‐ylidene Cyclometalates for Efficient Blue Electroluminescence
Authors: Yan Jie , Wu Chengcheng , Tong Kai‐Ning , Zhou Fan , Chen Yidong , Pan Yi , Xie Guohua , Chi Yun , Lau Kai‐Chung , Wei Guodan
Published: January 2024

Iridium(III) complexes are particularly noted for their excellent potentials in fabrication of blue organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs), but the severe efficiency roll‐off largely hampered their practical applications. To reveal the underlying characteristics, three Ir(III) complexes, namely f‐ct5c, f‐ct5d, and f‐ct11, bearing imidazo[4,5‐b]pyrazin‐2‐ylidene cyclometalates are prepared and characterized in detail. Both f‐ct5c and f‐ct5d (also their mixture f‐ct5mix) gave intensive blue emissions peaking at ≈465 nm with short radiative lifetimes of 1.76 and 2.45 µs respectively, in degassed toluene. Alternatively, f‐ct11 with two 4‐tert‐butylphenyl substituents on each imidazo[4,5‐b]pyrazin‐2‐ylidene entity, possessed a bluish‐green emission (508 nm) together with an extended radiative lifetime of 34.3 µs in the dispersed PMMA matrix. Consequently, the resulting solution‐processed OLED with f‐ct11 delivered a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 6.5% with serious efficiency roll‐offs. In contrast, f‐ct5mix based device achieved a high EQEmax of 27.2% and the EQE maintained at 23.0% of 1000 cd m−2. Furthermore, the hyper‐OLEDs with f‐ct5mix as the sensitizer and v‐DABNA as the terminal emitter afford narrowed emission with a considerably high EQEmax exceeding 32%, affirming the potential of f‐ct5mix to serve as both the emitter and sensitizer in OLEDs.
Discovery of Deactivation Phenomenon in NiCo2S4/NiS2 Electromagnetic Wave Absorbent and Its Reactivation Mechanism
Authors: Liang Hongsheng , Hui Shengchong , Chen Geng , Shen Hao , Yun Jijun , Zhang Limin , Lu Wei , Wu Hongjing
Published: January 2024

Over the past century, extensive research has been carried out on various types of microwave absorption (MA) materials, primarily emphasizing mechanism, performance, and even toward smart device. However, the deactivation, a crucial concern for practical applications, has long been long‐neglected. In this work, an in‐depth exploration of the deactivation mechanism reveals a significant competition between metal and oxygen, leading to the replacement of the S‐M (M = Ni and Co) bond by a new S─O bond on the surface of absorber. This substitution initiates a series of collapse effect that introduces additional defective sites and diminishes the potential for charge transport. Subsequently, passive and active anti‐deactivation strategies are developed to target the deactivation. The passive strategy involved intentionally creating electron‐deficient structures at the initial Ni and Co sites in the crystal through the Fe doping engineering, with the objective of preventing the generation of S─O bonds. Furthermore, the active anti‐deactivation strategy allows for the precise control of absorber deactivation and reactivation by employing accelerated thermodynamic and kinetic methods, enabling a reversible transformation of S‐M through competitive reactions with S─O bonds. Finally, a fast deactivation and reactivation method is first proposed promising to stimulate further innovations and breakthroughs in practical applications.
Sulfur‐Supplemented Vapor Transport Deposition of Sb2S3 and Sb2(S,Se)3 for High‐Performance Hydrogen Evolution Photocathodes
Authors: Qiu Weitao , Lei Renbo , Tang Xing , Tang Yupu , Huang Xianzhen , Zhang Kai , Lin Ziqiong , Xiao Shuang , Wang Xinwei , Yang Shihe
Published: January 2024

Chalcogen vacancy has long been recognized as a detrimental deep‐level defect that can induce severe charge recombination and diminish the quasi‐Fermi‐level splitting in Sb2S3 and Sb2Se3, especially when they are prepared by physical vapor deposition in vacuum. In order to counter this limitation, a sulfur‐supplemented vapor transport deposition technique is proposed, which intentionally introduces low pressure sulfur vapor and can thus afford low‐defect‐density antimony chalcogenide films. The resultant photocathodes modified with conformal TiO2 protection layer and Pt cocatalyst demonstrate a photocurrent as high as 20 mA cm−2 along with a much improved fill factor and onset potential, achieving an applied bias photoconversion efficiency above 1%. This work highlights the importance of the vacancy defect passivation and the preferential crystalline orientation in the film in promoting the photocathode performance.
Synergistic Enhancement of Stability and Performance for Perovskite Solar Cells Using Fluorinated Benzoic Acids as Additives
Authors: Chiu Po‐Hsun , Hu Cheng‐Ti , Chia Swie‐Kim , Su Li‐Yun , Chen Po‐Tuan , Liu Zhe‐Yu , Lin Chao‐Yun , Hsieh Chih‐Chen , Dai Chi‐An , Wang Leeyih
Published: January 2024

The introduction of additives with specific functional groups is an important approach to extend the operational lifetime of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, the effect of the additives of benzoic acid (0F‐B), 4‐fluorobenzoic acid (1F‐B), and 2,3,4,5,6‐pentafluorobenzoic acid (5F‐B) on the performance and stability of MAPbI3‐based PSCs is systematically investigated. These additives can both chelate onto lead ions and form hydrogen bond with methyl ammonium ions. These combined interactions result in an increased activation energy for nucleation of perovskite crystals, thereby, increasing crystal size, reducing defect formation, improving electronic properties, as well as reducing ion migration. As a result, PSCs added with 5F‐B achieve the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.50% with a narrow distribution compared to those PSC devices added with 1F‐B (19.25 %), 0F‐B (18.80 %), and pristine devices (18.53 %). Notably, 5F‐B‐added PSCs retain 80% of their initial PCE after ≈100‐day humidity test (at 25 °C and 50% relative humidity), 30‐day thermal stability test (at 85 °C in nitrogen environment), and 12‐day light illumination test (under continuous simulated solar radiation).
Bi2WO6 Incorporation of g‐C3N4 to Enhance the Photocatalytic N2 Reduction Reaction and Antibiotic Pollutants Removal
Authors: Dhanaraman Esakkinaveen , Verma Atul , Chen Pin‐Han , Chen Neng‐Di , Siddiqui Yahhya , Fu Yen‐Pei
Published: January 2024

Synthesis of ammonia from photocatalytic N2 reduction is challenging due to the fast recombination of electron–hole pairs and the low selectivity of N2 on catalysts. This can be addressed by creating heterojunctions to separate the photogenerated carriers adequately. In this regard, BW/g‐C3N4 is synthesized and the weight percentage of g‐C3N4 is varied. The best photocatalytic activity for N2 reduction reaction (N2RR) is achieved with a ratio of BW/gC3N4 in 3.5:2 ratio, deemed to be the optimized heterojunction. N2‐temperature programmed desorption analysis shows outstanding chemisorption of N2 adsorbed on the BW/g‐C3N4 surface compared to pristine g‐C3N4 and BW. Additionally, forming a heterojunction enhances the charge transfer process and well‐separated electron–hole pairs, significantly boosting the water oxidation process on the catalytic surface. Photoelectrochemical analysis reveals that BW/g‐C3N4 exhibits the shortest hole relaxation lifetime and higher current density than its pristine counterparts. The robust contact between g‐C3N4 and BW reduces the work function of BW/g‐C3N4 based on ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy data. Ammonia production with the optimized BW/gC3N4‐3.5:2 is 5.3 and 2.1 times higher than pure g‐C3N4 and Bi2WO6, respectively. Meanwhile, BW/g‐C3N4 demonstrates excellent photocatalytic activity toward antibiotic pollutant degradation as well. After 150 min of visible light irradiation, the removal of 94% ciprofloxacin (CIP) is observed. Finally, a possible mechanism is proposed for photocatalytic N2RR and CIP degradation.
Epitaxy enhancement in oxide/tungsten heterostructures by harnessing the interface adhesion
Authors: Ravensburg Anna L. , Brucas Rimantas , Music Denis , Spode Lennart , Pálsson Gunnar K. , Svedlindh Peter , Kapaklis Vassilios
Published: January 2024

The conditions whereby epitaxy is achieved are commonly believed to be mostly governed by misfit strain. We report on a systematic investigation of growth and interface structure of single crystalline tungsten thin films on two different metal oxide substrates, Al$$_{2}$$

2

O$$_{3}$$

3

 ($$11\bar{2}0$$

11

2

¯

0

) and MgO (001). We demonstrate that despite a significant mismatch, enhanced crystal quality is observed for tungsten grown on the sapphire substrates. This is promoted by stronger adhesion and chemical bonding with sapphire compared to magnesium oxide, along with the restructuring of the tungsten layers close to the interface. The latter is supported by ab initio calculations using density functional theory. Finally, we demonstrate the growth of magnetic heterostructures consisting of high-quality tungsten layers in combination with ferromagnetic CoFe layers, which are relevant for spintronic applications.
Improvement in electrical properties of Bi-2212 superconducting materials substituted with large-scale nano-sized tin
Authors: Aytekin Mehmet Ersin , Akyol Mustafa , Özkurt Berdan
Published: January 2024

In the current work, the effect of nano-sized Sn (50 nm)/Sr partial replacement on the superconducting properties such as crystal structure, quality of intra- and intergrain boundary coupling, dc electrical resistivity, and dc magnetization in the Bi-2212 ceramic superconductors were investigated. Ceramic superconductors with nominal composition of Bi2Sr2-x(Sn)xCa1Cu1.75Na0.25Oy where x = 0.25, 0.30, 0.35 and 0.40 were prepared by solid-state reaction method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), dc electrical resistivity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and magnetic hysteresis (M–H) measurements. Phase examination of by XRD indicated that the doping of x = 0.25 ratio nano-sized SnO2 to the strontium sites improved the formation of the Bi-2212 high-temperature superconducting phase. SEM micrographs showed that the morphological structure of all samples consisted of plate-like grains, which were separated from each other by grain boundaries, indicating the Bi-2212 superconducting phase. The highest superconductivity transition temperature among the samples was measured as the Tconset = 86 K at x = 0.25 in Bi2Sr2-x(Sn)xCa1Cu1.75Na0.25Oy. M–H loops of the Bi2Sr2-x(Sn)xCa1Cu1.75Na0.25Oy sample at x = 0.25 ratio is larger compared to other examples, indicating improvement intergrain connectivity as well as enhanced flux pinning centers. In addition, the critical current (Jc) values of the samples were calculated from M–H measurement using Bean’s critical current model. The best Jc values were obtained as 570 A/cm2 at 15 K, which is a relatively high value for BSCCO superconductors with polycrystalline structure.
5-Aminolevulinic acid treatment mitigates pesticide stress in bean seedlings by regulating stress-related gene expression and retrotransposon movements
Authors: Yuksel Esra Arslan , Aydin Murat , Agar Guleray , Taspinar Mahmut Sinan
Published: January 2024

Overdoses of pesticides lead to a decrease in the yield and quality of plants, such as beans. The unconscious use of deltamethrin, one of the synthetic insecticides, increases the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by causing oxidative stress in plants. In this case, plants tolerate stress by activating the antioxidant defense mechanism and many genes. 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) improves tolerance to stress by acting exogenously in low doses. There are many gene families that are effective in the regulation of this mechanism. In addition, one of the response mechanisms at the molecular level against environmental stressors in plants is retrotransposon movement. In this study, the expression levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), and stress-associated protein (SAP) genes were determined by Q-PCR in deltamethrin (0.5 ppm) and various doses (20, 40, and 80 mg/l) of ALA-treated bean seedlings. In addition, one of the response mechanisms at the molecular level against environmental stressors in plants is retrotransposon movement. It was determined that deltamethrin increased the expression of SOD (1.8-fold), GPX (1.4-fold), CAT (2.7-fold), and SAP (2.5-fold) genes, while 20 and 40 mg/l ALA gradually increased the expression of these genes at levels close to control, but 80 mg/l ALA increased the expression of these genes almost to the same level as deltamethrin (2.1-fold, 1.4-fold, 2.6-fold, and 2.6-fold in SOD, GPX, CAT, and SAP genes, respectively). In addition, retrotransposon-microsatellite amplified polymorphism (REMAP) was performed to determine the polymorphism caused by retrotransposon movements. While deltamethrin treatment has caused a decrease in genomic template stability (GTS) (27%), ALA treatments have prevented this decline. At doses of 20, 40, and 80 mg/L of ALA treatments, the GTS ratios were determined to be 96.8%, 74.6%, and 58.7%, respectively. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that ALA has the utility of alleviating pesticide stress effects on beans.
COVID-19-assoziierte vaskuläre Komplikationen
Authors: Grassl K. , Hofmann W. , Schmoeller F. , Zwrtek R. , Assadian A. , Falkensammer J. , Klocker J. ,   Österreichische Gesellschaft für Gefäßchirurgie (ÖGG)
Published: January 2024

Einleitung

Um die Häufigkeit von COVID-19-assoziierten (Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2-19) vaskulären Komplikationen bei COVID-19-Infektion in österreichischen gefäßchirurgischen Zentren zu ermitteln, haben wir im Namen der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Gefäßchirurgie (ÖGG) eine Umfrage durchgeführt.

Methoden

16 Zentren wurden im Oktober 2022 eingeladen, an einer Online-Umfrage (SurveyMonkey®, Momentive Europe UC, Dublin, Irland) teilzunehmen (Rücklaufquote 75 % n = 12). Es wurden in der fachspezifischen Literatur berichtete vaskuläre Komplikationen bei Patienten und Patientinnen bei manifester COVID-19-Infektion oder nach kürzlicher COVID-19-Impfung abgefragt.

Ergebnisse

Zum Umfragezeitpunkt bestanden verpflichtende COVID-19-Testungen zum Zeitpunkt der Hospitalisierung (100 %) und häufige perioperative respiratorische Komplikationen und/oder Hyperkoagulabilität bei COVID-19-Patienten und Patientinnen. Vaskuläre Komplikationen im COVID-19-assoziierten Patientenkollektiv der Zentren waren akute Extremitätenischämien (92 %), Bypassverschlüsse (33 %), Viszeralarterienverschlüsse (58 %) sowie aortale- (33 %) und karotidale Thrombosen (17 %). Insgesamt 83 % der Zentren berichteten über verzögerte Wundbehandlungen als Folge der COVID-19-Maßnahmen mit resultierend vermehrt zu indizierenden Major- (67 %) und Minor-Amputationen (58 %) im Vergleich zu Vor-Covid-Zeit. Vaskuläre Komplikationen nach kürzlicher COVID-Impfung umfassten ausschließlich akute Extremitätenischämien (25 % der Zentren) und Bypassverschlüsse (17 %).

Schlussfolgerungen

Aufgrund häufiger postoperativer Komplikationen sollte lediglich bei dringlicher Indikation eine gefäßchirurgische OP/Intervention bei COVID-19-positiv getesteten Patienten und Patientinnen erfolgen. COVID-19-assoziierte arterielle Komplikationen sind je nach Lokalisation unterschiedlich häufig und komplex. Durch eine COVID-Impfung verursachte vaskuläre Komplikationen sind äußerst selten.

Graphic abstract
Role of GARP family transcription factors in the regulatory network for nitrogen and phosphorus acquisition
Authors: Ohama Naohiko , Yanagisawa Shuichi
Published: January 2024

The GARP (Golden2, ARR-B, Psr1) family proteins with a conserved DNA-binding domain, called the B-motif, are plant-specific transcription factors involved in the regulation of various physiological processes. The GARP family proteins are divided into members that function as monomeric transcription factors, and members that function as transcription factors in the dimeric form, owing to the presence of a coiled-coil dimerization domain. Recent studies revealed that the dimer-forming GARP family members, which are further divided into the PHR1 and NIGT1 subfamilies, play critical roles in the regulation of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) acquisition. In this review, we present a general overview of the GARP family proteins and discuss how several members of the PHR1 and NIGT1 subfamilies are involved in the coordinated acquisition of P and N in response to changes in environmental nutrient conditions, while mainly focusing on the recent findings that enhance our knowledge of the roles of PHR1 and NIGT1 in phosphate starvation signaling and nitrate signaling.
Neues aus der hormonellen Kontrazeption
Authors: Schuchter S. , Zippl A. L. , Toth B. , Böttcher B.
Published: January 2024

Seit Kurzem sind zwei neue orale Kontrazeptiva verfügbar, die beide kontinuierlich im 24/4-Schema eingenommen werden. Hierbei handelt es sich um das Gestagenmonopräparat mit dem Wirkstoff Drospirenon sowie das Kombinationspräparat mit den Wirkstoffen Estetrol und Drospirenon. Estetrol in Kombination mit Drospirenon weist eine vergleichbare kontrazeptive Sicherheit auf wie andere kombinierte orale Kontrazeptiva. Die antiandrogenen Gestagene Cyproteronacetat, Chlormadinonacetat und Nomegestrolacetat sind dosisabhängig mit einem erhöhten Meningeomrisiko assoziiert. Die kritische kumulative Dosis wird mit den gängigen oralen Kontrazeptiva erst nach mehreren Jahren erreicht, wobei sich der genaue Zeitraum aus den Hochrechnungen nicht ableiten lässt und für die drei Gestagene unterschiedlich sein könnte. Daher sollte die Verordnung nach Prüfung von Kontraindikationen und Aufklärung zurückhaltend erfolgen. Als Alternative kommen Kontrazeptiva mit anderen antiandrogen wirksamen Gestagenen wie Dienogest oder Drospirenon infrage.
The three pillars of patient experience: identifying key drivers of patient experience to improve quality in healthcare
Authors: Adams Corey , Walpola Ramesh , Iqbal Maha Pervaz , Schembri Anthony , Harrison Reema
Published: January 2024

Introduction

Despite significant investments in collecting data on patient experience, it remains unclear whether the quality of healthcare has improved as a result. This study aimed to uncover the key factors shaping patient experience and evaluate the usefulness of free-text patient comments for guiding quality improvements in hospitals.

Methods

This study involved a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data by conducting a thematic analysis of patient feedback (using Net Promoter Score data) from a public hospital in Sydney, Australia.

Results

Analysis was conducted on 450 patient comments, collected over a 6-month period. The results identified three primary drivers of patient experience: (1) the provision of safe, timely, and effective treatment; (2) fostering human connections with caring and attentive staff, and (3) the provision of a comfortable and healing environment. Whilst the majority of comments were positive, these were often vague and non-specific. Negative comments, on the other hand, were found to be more specific and detailed, and therefore may be more useful for guiding quality improvement activities.

Conclusion

The research findings suggest that a range of factors influence patient experience, which can be grouped into the three interconnected themes. Based on these findings, a conceptual framework titled “The Three Pillars of Patient Experience” was developed to guide improvements in patient experience. The results of this study provide valuable insights into the factors that drive patient experience and demonstrate the usefulness of free-text patient comments for guiding healthcare quality improvements.
Hardness estimates of the code equivalence problem in the rank metric
Authors: Reijnders Krijn , Samardjiska Simona , Trimoska Monika
Published: January 2024

In this paper, we analyze the hardness of the Matrix Code Equivalence () problem for matrix codes endowed with the rank metric, and provide the first algorithms for solving it. We do this by making a connection to another well-known equivalence problem from multivariate cryptography—the Isomorphism of Polynomials (). Under mild assumptions, we give tight reductions from to the homogenous version of the Quadratic Maps Linear Equivalence () problem, and vice versa. Furthermore, we present reductions to and from similar problems in the sum-rank metric, showing that is at the core of code equivalence problems. On the practical side, using birthday techniques known for , we present two algorithms: a probabilistic algorithm for running in time $$q^{\frac{2}{3}(n+m)}$$

q

2
3

(
n
+
m
)

up to a polynomial factor, and a deterministic algorithm for with roots, running in time $$q^{\min \{m,n,k\}}$$

q

min
{
m
,
n
,
k
}

up to a polynomial factor. Lastly, to confirm these findings, we solve randomly-generated instances of using these two algorithms.
Note on super-critical charged boson stars
Authors: Brihaye Yves , Hartmann Betti
Published: January 2024

We study the transition of charged boson stars from sub- to super-criticality. This transition is defined as that choice of coupling constants for which the Coulomb repulsion of two individual bosons (that make up the star) exactly cancels their gravitational attraction. It was recently shown that without self-interaction super-critical boson stars are unstable to decay into their individual constituents. Here we show that this is no longer true for the self-interacting case and that boson stars can possess spatial oscillations in the scalar field. We also discuss the corresponding black hole solutions that carry charged scalar hair.
Importance Weighting in Hybrid Iterative Ensemble Smoothers for Data Assimilation
Authors: Ba Yuming , Oliver Dean S.
Published: January 2024

Because it is generally impossible to completely characterize the uncertainty in complex model variables after assimilation of data, it is common to approximate the uncertainty by sampling from approximations of the posterior distribution for model variables. When minimization methods are used for the sampling, the weights on each of the samples depend on the magnitude of the data mismatch at the critical points and on the Jacobian of the transformation from the prior density to the sample proposal density. For standard iterative ensemble smoothers, the Jacobian is identical for all samples, and the weights depend only on the data mismatch. In this paper, a hybrid data assimilation method is proposed which makes it possible for each ensemble member to have a distinct Jacobian and for the approximation to the posterior density to be multimodal. For the proposed hybrid iterative ensemble smoother, it is necessary that a part of the mapping from the prior Gaussian random variable to the data be analytic. Examples might include analytic transformation from a latent Gaussian random variable to permeability followed by a black-box transformation from permeability to state variables in porous media flow, or a Gaussian hierarchical model for variables followed by a similar black-box transformation from permeability to state variables. In this paper, the application of weighting to both hybrid and standard iterative ensemble smoothers is investigated using a two-dimensional, two-phase flow problem in porous media with various degrees of nonlinearity. As expected, the weights in a standard iterative ensemble smoother become degenerate for problems with large amounts of data. In the examples, however, the weights for the hybrid iterative ensemble smoother were useful for improving forecast reliability.
Mobilising international embeddedness to resist radical policy change and dismantling: the case of Brazil under Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022)
Authors: Trajber Waisbich Laura
Published: January 2024

Unpacking the ‘crisis of democracy’ and what is means and does to policy processes is a new and ever-growing agenda. This paper uses the case of Brazil to examine bureaucratic responses, and attempted resistance, to democratic backsliding and policy dismantling in times of autocratisation, notably under Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022). It does so by focusing on a less explored transnational lenses. It argues that the growing international embeddedness of Brazilian policies, including through policy transfer and technical cooperation initiatives mostly with other developing countries, has provided domestic sectoral bureaucracies and policy communities with additional strategic discursive and argumentative resources to mobilise, respond and try to resist policy dismantling at home.
The accuracy of field classifications for journals in Scopus
Authors: Thelwall Mike , Pinfield Stephen
Published: January 2024

Journal field classifications in Scopus are used for citation-based indicators and by authors choosing appropriate journals to submit to. Whilst prior research has found that Scopus categories are occasionally misleading, it is not known how this varies for different journal types. In response, we assessed whether specialist, cross-field and general academic journals sometimes have publication practices that do not match their Scopus classifications. For this, we compared the Scopus narrow fields of journals with the fields that best fit their articles’ titles and abstracts. We also conducted qualitative follow-up to distinguish between Scopus classification errors and misleading journal aims. The results show sharp field differences in the extent to which both cross-field and apparently specialist journals publish articles that match their Scopus narrow fields, and the same for general journals. The results also suggest that a few journals have titles and aims that do not match their contents well, and that some large topics spread themselves across many relevant fields. Thus, the likelihood that a journal’s Scopus narrow fields reflect its contents varies substantially by field (although without systematic field trends) and some cross-field topics seem to cause difficulties in appropriately classifying relevant journals. These issues undermine citation-based indicators that rely on journal-level classification and may confuse scholars seeking publishing venues.
Enviromic prediction enables the characterization and mapping of Eucalyptus globulus Labill breeding zones
Authors: Callister Andrew N. , Costa-Neto Germano , Bradshaw Ben P. , Elms Stephen , Crossa Jose , Brawner Jeremy T.
Published: January 2024

Genotype-environment interaction is pervasive in forest genetics. Delineation of spatial breeding zones (BZs) is fundamental for accommodating genotype-environment interaction. Here we developed a BZ classification pipeline for the forest tree Eucalyptus globulus in 2 Australian regions based on phenotypic, genomic, and pedigree data, as well on a detailed environmental characterization (“envirotyping”) and spatial mapping of BZs. First, the factor analytic method was used to model additive genetic variance and site–site genetic correlations (rB) in stem volume across 48 trials of 126,467 full-sib progeny from 2 separate breeding programs. Thirty-three trials were envirotyped using 145 environmental variables (EVs), involving soil and landscape (71), climate (73), and management (1) EVs. Next, sparse partial least squares-discriminant analysis was used to identify EVs that were required to predict classification of sites into 5 non-exclusive BZ classes based on rB. Finally, these BZs were spatially mapped across the West Australian and “Green Triangle” commercial estates by enviromic prediction using EVs for 80 locations and 15 sets of observed climate data to represent temporal variation. The factor analytic model explained 85.9% of estimated additive variance. Our environmental classification system produced within-zone mean rB between 0.76 and 0.84, which improves upon the existing values of 0.62 for Western Australia and 0.67 for Green Triangle as regional BZs. The delineation of 5 BZ classes provides a powerful framework for increasing genetic gain by matching genotypes to current and predicted future environments.
Measures of Agreement with Multiple Raters: Fréchet Variances and Inference
Authors: Moss Jonas
Published: January 2024

Most measures of agreement are chance-corrected. They differ in three dimensions: their definition of chance agreement, their choice of disagreement function, and how they handle multiple raters. Chance agreement is usually defined in a pairwise manner, following either Cohen’s kappa or Fleiss’s kappa. The disagreement function is usually a nominal, quadratic, or absolute value function. But how to handle multiple raters is contentious, with the main contenders being Fleiss’s kappa, Conger’s kappa, and Hubert’s kappa, the variant of Fleiss’s kappa where agreement is said to occur only if every rater agrees. More generally, multi-rater agreement coefficients can be defined in a g-wise way, where the disagreement weighting function uses g raters instead of two. This paper contains two main contributions. (a) We propose using Fréchet variances to handle the case of multiple raters. The Fréchet variances are intuitive disagreement measures and turn out to generalize the nominal, quadratic, and absolute value functions to the case of more than two raters. (b) We derive the limit theory of g-wise weighted agreement coefficients, with chance agreement of the Cohen-type or Fleiss-type, for the case where every item is rated by the same number of raters. Trying out three confidence interval constructions, we end up recommending calculating confidence intervals using the arcsine transform or the Fisher transform.
Is the trend toward a sustainable green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles completely safe for Oreochromis niloticus when compared to chemical ones?: using oxidative stress, bioaccumulation, and histological biomarkers
Authors: Badran Shereen R. , Hamed Aliaa
Published: January 2024

Scientists worldwide have noticed that cutting-edge technologies can be used to produce nanoparticles (NPs) in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way, instead of the old methods. However, the effectiveness of this approach for aquatic environments and species still needs to be determined. Therefore, this study aims to compare between the toxicity of green and chemically synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles (GS and CS) CuO NPs at two different concentrations on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) using various biomarkers. CuO NPs’ formation was proved, and their different characterizations were recorded. Then, the fish samples were randomly allocated in glass aquaria into five groups: one acted as a control group, and the other groups were exposed to two concentrations (25 and 50 mg/L) of GS-CuO NPs and CS-CuO NPs, separately, for 4 days. After the experimental time, in all groups that were exposed to two concentrations of both synthesized CuO NPs, the results revealed that glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels were elevated in the liver and gills compared to glutathione reduced (GSH) content, which showed a significant decline. Bioaccumulation of Cu was more prevalent in the liver than in the gills, and the highest bioaccumulation capacity was more evident in the groups exposed to CS-CuO NPs. Moreover, the bioaccumulation of Cu caused severe histological changes in the liver and gills. In conclusion, the results suggested that GS-CuO NPs revealed less toxicity than CS-CuO NPs to the examined fish. However, they are still toxic, and their toxic effect cannot be overlooked.
SF-6D Normative Values Among Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: Results Based on Real-World Evidence from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg)
Authors: Sun Sun , Stenberg Erik , Luo Nan , Franklin Karl A. , Lindholm Lars , Salén Klas-Göran , Cao Yang
Published: January 2024

Background

The SF-6D index can be used to calculate quality-adjusted life years in economic evaluations, which is required by reimbursement agencies and national advisory bodies, including the Swedish ones. However, despite that SF-36 has been largely applied among patients undergoing bariatric surgery, almost no study has accessed the short form six-dimensions (SF-6D) after bariatric surgery.

Aim

To establish normative values for the SF-6D index among patients undergoing bariatric surgery.

Materials and Methods

All patients who received bariatric surgery in Sweden between 2011–01-01 and 2019–03-31 were obtained from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg). Information includes patients’ sociodemographic characteristics, details regarding the procedure, and postsurgical conditions. The SF-36 is applied at baseline and at follow-up years 1, 2, and 5. The multiple sequential imputation method was applied to handle missingness on SF-6D items. Based on the UK tariff, the SF-6D preference scores were calculated. The normative values for the mean (SD) SF-6D index were reported by timepoint and surgical complications for men and women, respectively. Multivariate analyses were applied to investigate how the SF-6D index is associated with timepoint, controlling for age, sex, BMI, and comorbidities in a stepwise manner.

Results

The SF-6D index increased at 1 year relative to baseline and was roughly maintained at the same level at 2 years. The normative value of the SF-6D index can be used in economic evaluations for bariatric surgery.

Graphical Abstract