bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Erratum to: A new analysis of the MiniBooNE low-energy excess
Authors: Giunti C. , Ioannisian A. , Ranucci G.
Published: February 2021

After publication we discovered that some entries in table 2 and the corresponding contours in figures 3 and 4 have been misprinted. We provide here the correct version of table 2 and figures 3 and 4. The discussion and conclusions in the text of the paper remain unchanged.
Coping in Familien mit psychisch erkrankten Mitgliedern
Authors: Reis Olaf , Steigmiller Lukas , Spitzer Carsten , Kölch Michael , Knabe Andre
Published: February 2021

Hintergrund

Belastungen und Bewältigungen während des Lockdowns in Familien mit psychisch erkrankten Mitgliedern wurden bisher noch nicht beschrieben.

Ziel der Arbeit

Erste Erkenntnisse hierzu sollen gewonnen werden, um Fragestellungen für weitere Forschungen abzuleiten.

Material und Methoden

Narrative Interviews an einer anfallenden Stichprobe von gesunden Familien (n = 4), Familien mit psychisch erkrankten Kindern (n = 12) und Familien mit psychisch erkrankten Eltern (n = 3). Die quantifizierende Auswertung der von 2 Rater*innen vergebenen In-vivo-Codes in den Kategorien „Probleme“ und „Bewältigung“ erfolgt mithilfe von numerischen Verhältnissen und Detailanalysen der Codes, die zwischen den Familien unterscheiden.

Ergebnisse

Der Lockdown brachte eine große Zahl von Problemen in allen Familien mit sich. Während bei Familien mit kranken Kindern die Einschränkungen das größte Problem sind, berichten Familien mit kranken Eltern v. a. über einen Mangel an Unterstützung. Familien mit erkrankten Mitgliedern berichten häufiger über riskante Bewältigungsmuster, insbesondere Rumination und Schuldabwehr und seltener über protektive Bewältigung, insbesondere die Mobilisierung sozialer Unterstützung.

Schlussfolgerung

Beide Risikogruppen bedürfen gezielter Interventionen, die sich insbesondere auf adaptives Elternverhalten und Mobilisierungsstrategien richten sollten.
Private versus public companies with strategic CSR
Authors: Gioffré Alessandro , Tampieri Alessandro , Villanacci Antonio
Published: February 2021

We analyze the effects of strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on social welfare in an industry where firms are owned by consumers (publicly owned) and CSR commitment takes the form of a fraction of the consumer surplus into the firms’ objective function. We compare this market configuration with the standard case of firms owned by entrepreneurs (privately owned). In line with the empirical evidence, consumers’ ownership gives an incentive to adopt a socially responsible, welfare improving statute. While privately-owned companies are limited in the level of social concern to implement, publicly-owned companies are not, and CSR is welfare-improving for any level of social concern. Surprisingly, a market configuration of publicly-owned CSR companies decreases welfare compared to an oligopoly of privately-owned CSR companies. The analysis is then extended by considering asymmetric oligopolies with different company types.
Test model coverage analysis under uncertainty: extended version
Authors: Prasetya I. S. W. B. , Klomp Rick
Published: February 2021

In model-based testing, we may have to deal with a non-deterministic model, e.g. because abstraction was applied, or because the software under test itself is non-deterministic. The same test case may then trigger multiple possible execution paths, depending on some internal decisions made by the software. Consequently, performing precise test analyses, e.g. to calculate the test coverage, are not possible.. This can be mitigated if developers can annotate the model with estimated probabilities for taking each transition. A probabilistic model checking algorithm can subsequently be used to do simple probabilistic coverage analysis. However, in practice developers often want to know what the achieved aggregate coverage is, which unfortunately cannot be re-expressed as a standard model checking problem. This paper presents an extension to allow efficient calculation of probabilistic aggregate coverage, and also of probabilistic aggregate coverage in combination withk-wise coverage.
Draft genome of a novel methanotrophic Methylobacter sp. from the volcanic soils of Pantelleria Island
Authors: Hogendoorn Carmen , Picone Nunzia , van Hout Femke , Vijverberg Sophie , Poghosyan Lianna , van Alen Theo A. , Frank Jeroen , Pol Arjan , Gagliano Antonia L. , Jetten Mike S. M. , D’Alessandro Walter , Quatrini Paola , Op den Camp Huub J. M.
Published: February 2021

The genus Methylobacter is considered an important and often dominant group of aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria in many oxic ecosystems, where members of this genus contribute to the reduction of CH4 emissions. Metagenomic studies of the upper oxic layers of geothermal soils of the Favara Grande, Pantelleria, Italy, revealed the presence of various methane-oxidizing bacteria, and resulted in a near complete metagenome assembled genome (MAG) of an aerobic methanotroph, which was classified as a Methylobacter species. In this study, the Methylobacter sp. B2 MAG was used to investigate its metabolic potential and phylogenetic affiliation. The MAG has a size of 4,086,539 bp, consists of 134 contigs and 3955 genes were found, of which 3902 were protein coding genes. All genes for CH4 oxidation to CO2 were detected, including pmoCAB encoding particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) and xoxF encoding a methanol dehydrogenase. No gene encoding a formaldehyde dehydrogenase was present and the formaldehyde to formate conversion follows the tetrahydromethanopterin (H4MPT) pathway. “Ca. Methylobacter favarea” B2 uses the Ribulose-Mono-Phosphate (RuMP) pathway for carbon fixation. Analysis of the MAG indicates that Na+/H+ antiporters and the urease system might be important in the maintenance of pH homeostasis of this strain to cope with acidic conditions. So far, thermoacidophilic Methylobacter species have not been isolated, however this study indicates that members of the genus Methylobacter can be found in distinct ecosystems and their presence is not restricted to freshwater or marine sediments.
Regional myocardial function at preclinical disease stage of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in female gene variant carriers
Authors: Parbhudayal Rahana Y. , Seegers Celine , Croisille Pierre , Clarysse Patrick , van Rossum Albert C. , Germans Tjeerd , van der Velden Jolanda
Published: February 2021

We recently showed more severe diastolic dysfunction at the time of myectomy in female compared to male patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Early recognition of aberrant cardiac contracility using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging may identify women at risk of cardiac dysfunction. To define myocardial function at an early disease stage, we studied regional cardiac function using CMR imaging with tissue tagging in asymptomatic female gene variant carriers. CMR imaging with tissue tagging was done in 13 MYBPC3, 11 MYH7 and 6 TNNT2 gene carriers and 16 age-matched controls. Regional peak circumferential strain was derived from tissue tagging images of the basal and midventricular segments of the septum and lateral wall. Left ventricular wall thickness and global function were comparable between MYBPC3, MYH7, TNNT2 carriers and controls. MYH7 gene variant carriers showed a different strain pattern as compared to the other groups, with higher septal peak circumferential strain at the basal segments compared to the lateral wall, whereas MYBPC3, TNNT2 carriers and controls showed higher strain at the lateral wall compared to the septum. Only subtle gene-specific changes in strain pattern occur in the myocardium preceding development of cardiac hypertrophy. Overall, our study shows that there are no major contractile deficits in asymptomatic females carrying a pathogenic gene variant, which would justify the use of CMR imaging for earlier diagnosis.
Extremely low-resource neural machine translation for Asian languages
Authors: Rubino Raphael , Marie Benjamin , Dabre Raj , Fujita Atushi , Utiyama Masao , Sumita Eiichiro
Published: February 2021

This paper presents a set of effective approaches to handle extremely low-resource language pairs for self-attention based neural machine translation (NMT) focusing on English and four Asian languages. Starting from an initial set of parallel sentences used to train bilingual baseline models, we introduce additional monolingual corpora and data processing techniques to improve translation quality. We describe a series of best practices and empirically validate the methods through an evaluation conducted on eight translation directions, based on state-of-the-art NMT approaches such as hyper-parameter search, data augmentation with forward and backward translation in combination with tags and noise, as well as joint multilingual training. Experiments show that the commonly used default architecture of self-attention NMT models does not reach the best results, validating previous work on the importance of hyper-parameter tuning. Additionally, empirical results indicate the amount of synthetic data required to efficiently increase the parameters of the models leading to the best translation quality measured by automatic metrics. We show that the best NMT models trained on large amount of tagged back-translations outperform three other synthetic data generation approaches. Finally, comparison with statistical machine translation (SMT) indicates that extremely low-resource NMT requires a large amount of synthetic parallel data obtained with back-translation in order to close the performance gap with the preceding SMT approach.
Genomic and pedigree‐based predictive ability for quality traits in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze)
Authors: Lubanga Nelson , Massawe Festo , Mayes Sean
Published: February 2021

Genetic improvement of quality traits in tea (Camellia sinensis(L.) O. Kuntze) through conventional breeding methods has been limited, because tea quality is a difficult and expensive trait to measure. Genomic selection (GS) is suitable for predicting such complex traits, as it uses genome wide markers to estimate the genetic values of individuals. We compared the prediction accuracies of six genomic prediction models including Bayesian ridge regression (BRR), genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP), BayesA, BayesB, BayesC and reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces models incorporating the pedigree relationship namely; RKHS-pedigree, RKHS-markers and RKHS markers and pedigree (RKHS-MP) to determine the breeding values for 12 tea quality traits. One hundred and three tea genotypes were genotyped using genotyping-by-sequencing and phenotyped using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in replicated trials. We also compared the effect of trait heritability and training population size on prediction accuracies. The traits with the highest prediction accuracies were; theogallin (0.59), epicatechin gallate (ECG) (0.56) and theobromine (0.61), while the traits with the lowest prediction accuracies were theanine (0.32) and caffeine (0.39). The performance of all the GS models were almost the same, with BRR (0.53), BayesA (0.52), GBLUP (0.50) and RKHS-MP (0.50) performing slightly better than the others. Heritability estimates were moderate to high (0.35–0.92). Prediction accuracies increased with increasing training population size and trait heritability. We conclude that the moderate to high prediction accuracies observed suggests GS is a promising approach in tea improvement and could be implemented in breeding programmes.
Theoretical and Experimental Results from Laboratory Tests by ILCM
Authors: Cardu M. , Rispoli A. , Iabichino G. , Oreste P. , Vagnon F.
Published: February 2021

The intermediate linear cutting machine (ILCM) is a machine designed to work on an intermediate scale between the full- and the small-scale. The reduced scale involves several advantages compared to full-scale tests, especially in terms of sample supplying and transportation. On the other hand, it has an impact on the testing conditions, resulting in a limitation of the cutting penetration and spacing during the test, as well as in a smaller disc cutter. This affects most of the results, which cannot be directly used for the on-site machine performance prediction. However, some experimental results provided in the literature show that the optimal spacing/penetration ratio is not significantly affected by the changes involved. On this basis, the results obtained from ILCM tests should provide reliable information about the optimal cutting conditions of a tunnel boring machine in massive rock mass. The work performed included the development of some improvements of the testing rig, as well as a modified ILCM testing procedure, according to the one typically used in standard LCM tests. The results provide information about the attitude of the tested lithotypes to mechanical excavation by means of disc tools, including the optimal cutting conditions. Additional work was developed in terms of detailed characterisation of the rock samples involved and assessment of the size distribution of the debris produced during the ILCM tests. Nevertheless, further tests are necessary, in order to assess the consistency of the experimental procedure employed and to investigate the scale effect.
Tackling Lateral Variability Using Surface Waves: A Tomography-Like Approach
Authors: Barone Ilaria , Boaga Jacopo , Carrera Alberto , Flores-Orozco Adrian , Cassiani Giorgio
Published: February 2021

Lateral velocity variations in the near-surface reflect the presence of buried geological or anthropic structures, and their identification is of interest for many fields of application. Surface wave tomography (SWT) is a powerful technique for detecting both smooth and sharp lateral velocity variations at very different scales. A surface-wave inversion scheme derived from SWT is here applied to a 2-D active seismic dataset to characterize the shape of an urban waste deposit in an old landfill, located 15 km South of Vienna (Austria). First, the tomography-derived inverse problem for the 2-D case is defined: under the assumption of straight rays at the surface connecting sources and receivers, the forward problem for one frequency reduces to a linear relationship between observed phase differences at adjacent receivers and wavenumbers (from which phase velocities are straightforwardly derived). A norm damping regularization constraint is applied to ensure a smooth solution in space: the choice of the damping parameter is made through a minimization process, by which only phase variations of the order of the average wavelength are modelled. The inverse problem is solved for each frequency with a weighted least-squares approach, to take into account the data error variances. An independent multi-offset phase analysis (MOPA) is performed using the same dataset, for comparison: pseudo-sections from the tomography-derived linear inversion and MOPA are very consistent, with the former giving a more continuous result both in space and frequency and less artefacts. Local dispersion curves are finally depth inverted and a quasi-2-D shear wave velocity section is retrieved: we identify a well-defined low velocity zone and interpret it as the urban waste deposit body. Results are consistent with both electrical and electromagnetic measurements acquired on the same line.
Effect of substrate particle size on burrowing of the juvenile freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera
Authors: Hyvärinen Heini , Saarinen-Valta Mari , Mäenpää Eero , Taskinen Jouni
Published: February 2021

Juveniles of the endangered freshwater pearl mussel (FPM,Margaritifera margaritifera) live burrowed in stream substrate for the first years of their life. Fine sediments block water exchange within substrate and may cause juvenile mortality and recruitment failure. To better understand the connection between success of juvenile FPM and substrate particle size, it would be important to understand behavioural responses of FPM to varying substrate sizes at this critical life stage. We placed newly detached FPM juveniles in a 7-mm layer of sieved sand sorted into five sizes (< 120, 120–200, 200–250, 250–500 and 500–650 µm) each with 10 replicate dishes, 10 juveniles per dish, with burrowing status monitored for 96 h. Mean dish-specific proportion burrowed (PB) was significantly affected by substrate size, increasing from 52% in the finest sand to 98% in the coarsest sand. Furthermore, the significant substrate × time interaction was observed due to dropped PB (30-34%) in finest sand at 2–4 h time points. Thus, results suggest a clear behavioural response by juvenile FPM to substrate size, with fine sediments triggering surfacing behaviour. Surfacing may indicate stress, can increase predation risk, and expose to drift and/or enable drift of juveniles.
The Association Between β-Dystroglycan in Airway Smooth Muscle and Eosinophils in Allergic Asthma
Authors: Shareef Suhayla H. , Amin Kawa , Janson Christer
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Allergic asthma (AA) is a complex disorder with heterogeneous features of airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, and remodeling. The increase of airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass is a fundamental component of bronchial remodeling in AA, yet the pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical outcomes associated with ASM modulation are still elusive. The objective of this study is to compare the expression level of β-dystroglycan (β-DG) in ASM in AA subjects and a healthy control group and to investigate the relationship between eosinophils and β-DG in ASM in patients with AA. Thirteen AA patients and seven control subjects were analyzed for the ASM area and eosinophil cells. Bronchial biopsies were stained by β-DG and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) using immunohistochemistry. The proportion of ASM with β-DG staining was greater in those with AA than in the healthy control group (mean (95% CI) (28.3% (23.8–32.7%) vs. 16.4% (14.1–18.5%), P < 0.0001). The number of ECP positive cells was higher in patients with AA than in the control group (4056 (3819–4296) vs. 466 (395–537) cells/mm2P < 0.0001). In AA, the number of ECP positive cells was significantly correlated to the β-DG expression in ASM (r = 0.77, P = 0.002). There is an increased β-DG expression in ASM and a higher number of ECP positive cells in the bronchial biopsy of those with AA than those in the control group. The increased expression of β-DG in ASM in AA subjects correlates with the number of eosinophils, suggesting a role for this cell in airway remodeling in AA.
Cones from quantum groups to tropical flag varieties
Authors: Fang Xin , Fourier Ghislain , Reineke Markus
Published: February 2021

We relate quantum degree cones, parametrizing PBW degenerations of quantized enveloping algebras, to (negative tight monomial) cones introduced by Lusztig in the study of monomials in canonical bases, toK-theoretic cones for quiver representations, and to some maximal prime cones in tropical flag varieties.
Insect diversity across an afro-tropical forest biodiversity hotspot
Authors: Habel Jan Christian , Koc Elisabeth , Gerstmeier Roland , Gruppe Axel , Seibold Sebastian , Ulrich Werner
Published: February 2021

Tropical forests host a remarkable proportion of global arthropod diversity. Yet, arthropod communities living in tropical forests are still poorly studied, particularly for dry forests of Eastern Africa. The aim of this study was to analyse community structures, species richness and relative abundances of insects across a heterogeneous forest consisting of various forest types. We collected insects in the lower canopies with light traps across the Arabuko Sokoke forest, part of the East African coastal forest biodiversity hotspot in southeast Kenya. Sampling was conducted across three forest types and along the forest edge. In total we collected > 250,000 individuals. We grouped these individuals into orders, and beetles into (sub)families. Representatives of the taxonomically well-known beetle families Cerambycidae, Tenebrionidae and Scolytinae were further determined to species level. We subsequently classified these groups into guilds according to their ecological requirements and life-histories. Relative abundances of arthropods strongly differed among taxonomic groups and forest types. Evenness was highest in the heterogeneous natural Brachystegia forest type. The mixed forest type and the forest edges showed intermediate degrees of evenness, while the structurally homogenous Cynometra forest showed comparatively low degrees of evenness.

Implications for insect conservation

We found that taxonomic and guild compositions strongly differed among the forest types. Our findings reveal that structural heterogeneity of a forest is the major driver of insect diversity, community composition, and relative abundance. Our study underlines that the preservation of all three forest types is crucial to maintain the complete diversity of arthropods across all taxonomic groups.
Why understanding-why is contrastive
Authors: Egler Miguel
Published: February 2021

Contrastivism about interrogative understanding is the view that ‘S understands why p’ posits a three-place epistemic relation between a subject S, a fact p, and an alternative to p, q. This thesis stands in stark opposition to the natural idea that a subject S can be said to understand why psimpliciter. I argue that contrastivism offers the best explanation for the fact that evaluations of the form ‘S understands why p’ vary depending on the alternatives to p under consideration. I also show that contrastivism offers valuable resources with which to explain the gradability of interrogative understanding attributions, as well as the sensitivity of these attributions to the perceived degree of epistemic demandingness of different contexts.
A shift from anaerobic digestion to dark fermentation in glycol ethylene fermentation
Authors: Sołowski Gaweł , Ziminski Tadeusz , Cenian Adam
Published: February 2021

Anaerobic digestion of aqueous glycol ethylene was tested. The process lasted two cycles of 7 days, but after the second cycle, high hydrogen production occurred shift to dark fermentation. The biogas production lasted 14 days, obtaining peak values of hydrogen, and then rapidly stopped. In investigations, the following were checked: dependence of hydrogen, methane and hydrogen sulphide in the process. Mixtures of water with glycol ethylene mass ratio from 0.6 to 0.85 were substrates in experiments. The highest methane production was for water ethylene 0.7 ratio 2.85 L of methane with a yield of 178 mL of methane/g VSS (volatile suspended solids) of glycol ethylene. The optimal ratio of water and glycol ethylene was 0.85 25.5 mL of hydrogen (giving yield 1.71 mL of hydrogen/g VSS of glycol ethylene) and 1.71 mL of hydrogen sulphide emission for a 0.6 ratio. Popular polymer industry wastes, glycol ethylene, can be utilised by anaerobic digestion.
Efficient, high-resolution topology optimization method based on convolutional neural networks
Authors: Xue Liang , Liu Jie , Wen Guilin , Wang Hongxin
Published: February 2021

Topology optimization is a pioneer design method that can provide various candidates with high mechanical properties. However, high resolution is desired for optimum structures, but it normally leads to a computationally intractable puzzle, especially for the solid isotropic material with penalization (SIMP) method. In this study, an efficient, high-resolution topology optimization method is developed based on the superresolution convolutional neural network (SRCNN) technique in the framework of SIMP. SRCNN involves four processes, namely, refinement, path extraction and representation, nonlinear mapping, and image reconstruction. High computational efficiency is achieved with a pooling strategy that can balance the number of finite element analyses and the output mesh in the optimization process. A combined treatment method that uses 2D SRCNN is built as another speed-up strategy to reduce the high computational cost and memory requirements for 3D topology optimization problems. Typical examples show that the high-resolution topology optimization method using SRCNN demonstrates excellent applicability and high efficiency when used for 2D and 3D problems with arbitrary boundary conditions, any design domain shape, and varied load.
Distribution of tumor-infiltrating-T-lymphocytes and possible tumor-escape mechanisms avoiding immune cell attack in locally advanced adenocarcinomas of the esophagus
Authors: Schoemmel M. , Loeser H. , Kraemer M. , Wagener-Ryczek S. , Hillmer A. , Bruns C. , Thelen M. , Schröder W. , Zander T. , Lechner A. , Buettner R. , Schlösser H. , Gebauer F. , Quaas A. ,   Gastrointestinal Cancer Group Cologne (GCGC), Loeser H. , Zander T. , Gebauer F. , Quaas A.
Published: February 2021

Introduction

The inflammatory microenvironment has emerged as one of the focuses of cancer research. Little is known about the immune environment in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and possible tumor-escape mechanisms to avoid immune cell attack.

Patients and methods

We measured T cell inflammation (CD3, CD8) in the microenvironment using a standardized software-based evaluation algorithm considering different predefined tumor areas as well as expression of MHC class 1 and PD-L1 on 75 analyzable primarily resected and locally advanced (≥ pT2) EACs. We correlated these findings statistically with clinical data.

Results

Patients with high amounts of T cell infiltration in their tumor center showed a significant survival benefit of 41.4 months compared to 16.3 months in T cell poor tumors (p = 0.025), although CD3 fails to serve as an independent prognostic marker in multivariate analysis. For the invasion zone, a correlation between number of T-cells and overall survival was not detectable. Loss of MHC1 protein expression on tumor cells was seen in 32% and PD-L1 expression using the combined positive score (CPS) in 21.2%. Most likely due to small numbers of cases, both markers are not prognostically relevant, even though PD-L1 expression correlates with advanced tumor stages.

Discussion

Our analyses reveal an outstanding, though not statistically independent, prognostic relevance of T-cell-rich inflammation in our group of EACs, in particular driven by the tumor center. For the first time, we describe that the inner part of the invasion zone in EACs shows significantly fewer T-cells than other tumor segments and is prognostically irrelevant. We also demonstrate that the loss of antigen presenting ability via MHC1 downregulation by the carcinoma cells is a common escape mechanism in EACs. Future work will need to show whether tumors with MHC class 1 loss respond less well to immunotherapy.
MILP formulations for highway petrol station replenishment in initiative distribution mode
Authors: Wei Xin-Tong , Liao Qi , Zhang Hao-Ran , Liang Yong-Tu , Wang Bo-Hong , Xu Ning , Yuan Meng
Published: February 2021

To investigate highway petrol station replenishment in initiative distribution mode, this paper develops a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model with minimal operational costs that includes loading costs, unloading costs, transport costs and the costs caused by unpunctual distribution. Based on discrete representation, the working day is divided into equal time intervals, and the truck distribution process is decomposed into a pair of tasks including driving, standby, rest, loading and unloading. Each truck must execute one task during a single interval, and the currently executing task is closely related to the preceding and subsequent tasks. By accounting for predictive time-varying sales at petrol stations, real-time road congestion and a series of operational constraints, the proposed model produces the optimal truck dispatch, namely, a detailed task assignment for all trucks during each time interval. The model is tested on a real-world case of a replenishment system comprising eight highway petrol stations, one depot, one garage and eight trucks to demonstrate its applicability and accuracy.
Correction to: MiR-139-5p inhibits migration and invasion of colorectal cancer by downregulating AMFR and NOTCH1
Authors: Song Mingxu , Yin Yuan , Zhang Jiwei , Zhang Binbin , Bian Zehua , Quan Chao , Zhou Leyuan , Hu Yaling , Wang Qifeng , Ni Shujuan , Fei Bojian , Wang Weili , Du Xiang , Hua Dong , Huang Zhaohui
Published: February 2021

In the original publication the display of Fig. 1 is incorrect. The correct figure is available in this correction.
Thoracic Endometriosis: a Clinical Review and Update of Current and Evolving Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques
Authors: Velagapudi Ravi Kanth , Egan John P.
Published: February 2021

Purpose of Review

The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic workup, and clinical management of thoracic endometriosis (TE), as well as highlight our personal experience with TE workup and management.

Recent Findings

TE can present in a wide range of clinical manifestations. Without high clinical suspicion, diagnosis can be delayed. Since no specific laboratory testing is available, diagnosis is often based on careful history taking, imaging, and direct visualization of endometrial lesions through video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Medical thoracoscopy (MT) may also be a useful tool in the diagnostic workup of TE.

The diagnosis and management of TE require a multidisciplinary approach and a high index of clinical suspicion. While VATS remains the gold standard for diagnosis, we share our experience using MT to diagnose and manage a case of TE-related hemothorax.
IR-transparent MgO-Gd2O3 composite ceramics produced by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis and spark plasma sintering
Authors: Permin Dmitry A. , Boldin Maksim S. , Belyaev Alexander V. , Balabanov Stanislav S. , Koshkin Vitaly A. , Murashov Atrem A. , Ladenkov Igor V. , Lantsev Evgeny A. , Smetanina Ksenia E. , Khamaletdinova Nadia M.
Published: February 2021

A glycine-nitrate self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) was developed to produce composite MgO-Gd2O3nanopowders. The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the SHS-product consists of cubic MgO and Gd2O3phases with nanometer crystallite size and retains this structure after annealing at temperatures up to 1200 °C. Near full dense high IR-transparent composite ceramics were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1140 °C and 60 MPa. The in-line transmittance of 1 mm thick MgO-Gd2O3ceramics exceeded 70% in the range of 4–5 mm and reached a maximum of 77% at a wavelength of 5.3 mm. The measured microhardness HV0.5 of the MgO-Gd2O3ceramics is 9.5±0.4 GPa, while the fracture toughness (KIC) amounted to 2.0±0.5 MPa·m1/2. These characteristics demonstrate that obtained composite MgO-Gd2O3ceramic is a promising material for protective infra-red (IR) windows.
In Pursuit of an Effective Treatment: the Past, Present and Future of Clinical Trials in Inclusion Body Myositis
Authors: Snedden A. M. , Lilleker J. B. , Chinoy H.
Published: February 2021

Purpose of review

No clinical trial in sporadic inclusion body myositis (IBM) thus far has shown a clear and sustained therapeutic effect. We review previous trial methodology, explore why results have not translated into clinical practice, and suggest improvements for future IBM trials.

Recent findings

Early trials primarily assessed immunosuppressive medications, with no significant clinical responses observed. Many of these studies had methodological issues, including small participant numbers, nonspecific diagnostic criteria, short treatment and/or assessment periods and insensitive outcome measures. Most recent IBM trials have instead focused on nonimmunosuppressive therapies, but there is mounting evidence supporting a primary autoimmune aetiology, including the discovery of immunosuppression-resistant clones of cytotoxic T cells and anti-CN-1A autoantibodies which could potentially be used to stratify patients into different cohorts. The latest trials have had mixed results. For example, bimagrumab, a myostatin blocker, did not affect the 6-min timed walk distance, whereas sirolimus, a promotor of autophagy, did. Larger studies are planned to evaluate the efficacy of sirolimus and arimoclomol.

Thus far, no treatment for IBM has demonstrated a definite therapeutic effect, and effective treatment options in clinical practice are lacking. Trial design and ineffective therapies are likely to have contributed to these failures. Identification of potential therapeutic targets should be followed by future studies using a stratified approach and sensitive and relevant outcome measures.
Wie Friedrich List (1789–1846) den Brexit und den Verhandlungsmarathon zwischen Großbritannien und der EU kommentieren würde
Authors: Wendler Eugen
Published: February 2021

In buchstäblich letzter Minute haben sich die englische Regierung und die Europäische Union auf ein umfangreiches Abkommen geeinigt, um einen ungeregelten Brexit zu verhindern. Nach dem jahrelangen zähen Verhandlungsmarathon fällt der Jubel verhalten aus, dennoch herrscht auf beiden Seiten des Ärmelkanals Erleichterung, weil ein Modus Vivendi gefunden wurde, auf dem sich die künftigen Beziehungen aufbauen und fortführen lassen. Ob sich die englischen Blütenträume, die an den Brexit geknüpft wurden, erfüllen werden, wird die Zukunft erweisen.

Die Strategie und Taktik der englischen Regierungen zum Brexit und bei den Austrittsverhandlungen spiegeln sich in den Erfahrungen wider, die Friedrich List vor genau 175 Jahren bei seinen Bemühungen um eine deutsch-englische Allianz machen musste. Wegen der von England schon damals strikt befolgten Insular‑ und Handelssuprematie musste er sich eingestehen, dass England diese Position hartnäckig verteidigt und deshalb frustriert und ernüchtert seine Pläne aufgeben. Deshalb setzte er seine Hoffnung auf eine „Kontinentalallianz“ der europäischen Nationen, wie sie nun nach dem Austritt Großbritanniens aus der Europäischen Union entstanden ist. Vielleicht werden wir uns nun an den Begriff „Kontinentalallianz“ gewöhnen müssen und dabei an die Weitsicht von Friedrich List erinnert.

Andererseits gilt auch für die englische Politik das Motto von Lists zweiter Pariser Preisschrift: „Le monde marche – Die Welt bewegt sich“, allerdings mit völlig anderen Vorzeichen als vor 175 Jahren: Die Welthandelsachse hat sich von der westlichen auf die östliche Halbkugel verlagert; das britische Weltreich ist Geschichte, die Fließgeschwindigkeit des globalen Wandels hat sich dramatisch beschleunigt und trotz der Lingua Franca erscheint England, vor allem aus asiatischer Sicht, nur noch als kleiner Fleck auf der Weltkarte. Falls die schottische Regierung ihre Absicht durchsetzen und die Unabhängigkeit vom Vereinigten Königreich erreichen sollte, würde sich der Brexit als verhängnisvoller Bumerang erweisen.
Estimation of software quality parameters for hybrid agile process model
Authors: Neelu Lalband , Kavitha D.
Published: February 2021

This study aims to motivate a new hybrid agile methodology is a combination of agile models from Scrum, Extreme Programming, and Lean Software Development. The main aim of the hybrid agile model is the timely delivery of projects to clients with high quality at a reduced rate. But the main difficulty in hybrid agile model to effectively reflect the software quality attributes. Basically, the failure of a software project is mainly not because of inefficiency of functional features but due to inefficiency of quality attributes, like performance, reliability and effective usability. The work presents the introduction of Hybrid Agile Quality Parameter Analysis (HAQPE) that is a quality attribute driven agile development method. The outcome of developed quality attribute HAQPE was evaluated through hybrid agile process assessment by applying it to a commercial project of software industry. The results demonstrated that the developed quality attribute model is more efficient than the legacy agile development process.
Research on laser stripe characteristics and center extraction algorithm for desktop laser scanner
Authors: Shi Xiaoquan , Sun Yazhou , Liu Haitao , Bai Linqi , Lin Chonghao
Published: February 2021

This study presents laser stripe center extraction algorithm for desktop-level 3D laser scanners. The laser stripe center extraction accuracy is an important factor affecting 3D scanning result. Desktop-level devices should have adaptability of a wide range of scanning objects. In this paper, laser stripe energy distribution characteristics with different laser stripe width, ambient light, materials and colors are obtained by experiments. Experiment results show that waveforms of bright spot, low brightness stripe and stripe with large width are complex or easily disturbed, so the center extraction algorithm of them are studied. The extraction effects of extremum method, gradient method and gray centroid method under different conditions are compared. Based on traditional grayscale value, a weighted grayscale value is proposed to extract laser stripe center. Standard deviations of extracted pixel position and fitting pixel position are calculated by different method with different weighted grayscale value. For different conditions, especially for different ambient light intensity, weight matrix plays an important role to extraction result.
The Equations
Authors: Bais Sander
Published: February 2021

For thousands of years mankind has tried to understand nature. Exploring the world on all scales with instruments of ever more ingenuity, we have been able to unravel some of the great mysteries that surround us. While collecting an overwhelming multitude of observational facts, we discovered fundamental laws that govern the structure and evolution of physical reality. We know that nature speaks to us in the language of mathematics. In this language most of our basic understanding of the physical world can be expressed in an unambiguous and concise way. The most artificial language turns out to be the most natural of all. The laws of nature correspond to equations. These equations are the icons of knowledge that mark crucial turning points in our thinking about the world we happen to live in. They form the symbolic representation of most of what we know, and as such constitute an important and robust part of our culture. Publication coincides with the World Year of Physics: www.wyp2005.nl. This beautifully designed book deserves a place on the coffee table … Sander Bais confides the reader in the exciting secrets of the laws of nature, and does so in a clear, surprisingly poetic language. The Equations is a catalogue. A catalogue that belongs to an exhibition of 17 typographic works of art - which gallery will frame them and hang them on the wall? The formulas, displayed in white symbols on a bright red background, are of an untouchable beauty. 'Untouchable icons' - NRC Handelsblad. The Equations is an absolute feast for everyone who is interested in what physicists have to say about the structure of the world and the beauty that emanates from this. It is a jewel of knowledge, written with love for the field but also with a great compassion for the reader. 'Knowledge smoothly surpasses the fear of formulas' - de Volkskrant.
Hygiene, Sociality, and Culture in Contemporary Rural China
Authors: Lai Lili
Published: February 2021

This book presents a new perspective on attempts by the contemporary Chinese government to transform the diverse conditions found in countless rural villages into what the state's social welfare program deems 'socialist new villages'. Lili Lai argues that an ethnographic focus on the specifics of village life can help destabilize China's persistent rural-urban divide and help contribute to more effective welfare intervention to improve health and hygienic conditions of village life.
Cyber Terrorism and Public Support for Retaliation – A Multi-Country Survey Experiment
Authors: Shandler Ryan , Gross Michael L. , Backhaus Sophia , Canetti Daphna
Published: February 2021

Does exposure to cyber terrorism prompt calls for retaliatory military strikes? By what psychological mechanism does it do so? Through a series of controlled, randomized experiments, this study exposed respondents (n = 2,028) to television news reports depicting cyber and conventional terror attacks against critical infrastructures in the United States, United Kingdom and Israel. The findings indicate that only lethal cyber terrorism triggers strong support for retaliation. Findings also confirm that anger bridges exposure to cyber terrorism and retaliation, rather than psychological mechanisms such as threat perception or anxiety as other studies propose. These findings extend to the cyber realm a recent trend that views anger as a primary mechanism linking exposure to terrorism with militant preferences. With cyber terrorism a mounting international concern, this study demonstrates how exposure to this threat can generate strong public support for retaliatory policies, depending on the lethality of the attack.
Multilingual toddlers’ vocabulary development in two languages: Comparing bilinguals and trilinguals
Authors: CÔTÉ Stephanie L. , GONZALEZ-BARRERO Ana Maria , BYERS-HEINLEIN Krista
Published: February 2021

Many children grow up hearing multiple languages, learning words in each. How does the number of languages being learned affect multilinguals’ vocabulary development? In a pre-registered study, we compared productive vocabularies of bilingual (n= 170) and trilingual (n= 20) toddlers aged 17–33 months growing up in a bilingual community where both French and English are spoken. We hypothesized that because trilinguals have reduced input in French and English due to time spent hearing their third language, they would have smaller French–English vocabulary sizes than bilinguals. Trilinguals produced on average 2/3 of the number of words in these languages that bilinguals did: however, this difference was not statistically robust due to large levels of variability. Follow-up analyses did, however, indicate a relationship between input quantity and vocabulary size. Our results indicate that similar factors contribute to vocabulary development across toddlers regardless of the number of languages being acquired.
Acoustic cues to coda stop voicing contrasts in Australian English-speaking children
Authors: MILLASSEAU Julien , YUEN Ivan , BRUGGEMAN Laurence , DEMUTH Katherine
Published: February 2021

While voicing contrasts in word-onset position are acquired relatively early, much less is known about how and when they are acquired in word-coda position, where accurate production of these contrasts is also critical for distinguishing words (e.g.,dogvs.dock). This study examined how the acoustic cues to coda voicing contrasts are realized in the speech of 4-year-old Australian English-speaking children. The results showed that children used similar acoustic cues to those of adults, including longer vowel duration and more frequent voice bar for voiced stops, and longer closure and burst durations for voiceless stops along with more frequent irregular pitch periods. This suggests that 4-year-olds have acquired productive use of the acoustic cues to coda voicing contrasts, though implementations are not yet fully adult-like. The findings have implications for understanding the development of phonological contrasts in populations for whom these may be challenging, such as children with hearing loss.
DNA fragmentation and morphometric studies in sperm of stallions supplemented with maca (Lepidium meyenii)
Authors: D’Anza Emanuele , Albarella Sara , Galdiero Giacomo , Tafuri Simona , Del Prete Chiara , Cocchia Natascia , Ciani Francesca , Mastellone Vincenzo , Pasolini Maria Pia , Carotenuto Domenico , Selvaggi Maria , Ciotola Francesca , Peretti Vincenzo
Published: February 2021

The reproductive performances of livestock play an essential role in the economic management of the farm. The improvement of semen quantity and quality through the use of food supplements that lack substances which are forbidden in animal feeding, or that may have detrimental effects, is an important goal. Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a plant that has been used for centuries in the Andes for nutrition and fertility enhancement in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of food supplementation of stallions with maca during the breeding season on spermatozoa parameters such as DNA fragmentation and shape, which are two predictive indexes of spermatozoa functionality. For this purpose, ejaculate volume, semen gel-free volume, sperm concentration and motility, total sperm count, sperm DNA fragmentation and sperm head parameters (length, width, perimeter, area, shape factor, roughness) were measured in four stallions. Maca food supplementation in stallions during breeding reduced the percentage of spermatozoa with fragmented DNA, increased significantly sperm concentration and exerted an elongation of the spermatozoa head, a condition that is believed to improve spermatozoa functionality, suggesting that food supplementation of maca could be useful in horse breeding during the breeding season.
Using classification and regression tree modeling to investigate appetite hormones and proinflammatory cytokines as biomarkers to differentiate bipolar I depression from major depressive disorder
Authors: Huang Kai-Lin , Chen Mu-Hong , Hsu Ju-Wei , Tsai Shih-Jen , Bai Ya-Mei
Published: February 2021

Background

Altered immunity and metabolic profiles have been compared between bipolar depression (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aimed at developing a composite predictor of appetite hormones and proinflammatory cytokines to differentiate BD from MDD.

Methods

This cross-sectional study enrolled patients with BD and those with MDD aged 20 to 59 years and displaying depressive episodes. Clinical characteristics (age, sex, body mass index, and depression severity), cytokines (C-reactive protein, interleukin [IL]-2, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α, P-selectin, and monocyte chemoattractant protein), and appetite hormones (leptin, adiponectin, ghrelin, and insulin) were assessed as potential predictors using a classification and regression tree (CRT) model for differentiating BD from MDD.

Results

The predicted probability of a composite predictor of ghrelin and TNF-α was significantly greater (for BD: area under curve = 0.877; for MDD: area under curve = 0.914) than that of any one marker (all P > .05) to distinguish BD from MDD. The most powerful predictors for diagnosing BD were high ghrelin and TNF-α levels, whereas those for MDD were low ghrelin and TNF-α levels.

Conclusion

A composite predictor of ghrelin and TNF-α driven by CRT could assist in the differential diagnosis of BD from MDD with high specificity. Further clinical studies are warranted to validate our results and to explore underlying mechanisms.