bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do Overseas Returnees Excel in the Chinese Labour Market?
Authors: Du Zaichao , Sun Yuting , Zhao Guochang , Zweig David
Published: February 2021

Overseas study is a global phenomenon and a major business internationally. But does overseas study pay off? Using data from the 2015 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), we examine the labour market performance of overseas returnees in China. To obtain more accurate results, we matched each returnee with a local so that the domestic group is as similar as possible to the returnee group. We then conducted empirical analyses of the matched data. We find that compared with domestic postgraduates, returnee postgraduates earn about 20 per cent more annually. Moreover, the salary premiums paid for foreign graduate degrees can be attributed principally to the superior human capital gained from overseas education rather than from any “signalling” effect. Also, returnees with graduate degrees are more likely to enter high-income professions and foreign-funded ventures, and to reach higher positions in those organizations. However, we find no significant differences in income, occupation choices and positions between returnee and local bachelor's degree recipients. As such, we suggest that Chinese students and their families are best served when the students obtain a local undergraduate degree and then go overseas for graduate training.
Western centrism, contemporary international law, and international courts
Authors: Caserta Salvatore
Published: February 2021

The article unpacks the notion of western centrism in contemporary international law by developing a framework to capture its varied patterns. It argues that western centrism can have three different manifestations – systemic, evaluative, and professional – depending on whether it refers to the rationality, the narratives, or the actors at play in the international legal field. The article then discusses three theoretical approaches that can help scholars dealing with western centrism in international (legal) scholarship. These are: (i) the critical readings of those scholars that explain international law through the lens of power and domination; (ii) the Stanford school of sociological institutionalism, which explains international institutions and norms through the role of culture and global scripts; and (iii) post-Bourdieusian reflexive sociology, which analyses the roles of transnational legal elites in colonial and post-colonial settings. Finally, the article reconstructs the experience of the Caribbean Court of Justice in the light of western centrism, demonstrating that, different from what is often argued in the literature, the Court is not a failed replica of the Court of Justice of the EU, but an institution in its own right, with its own approach to international law, its own successes and failures.
Measuring the Masses: The Current State of Mass-Gathering Medical Case Reporting (Paper 1)
Authors: Turris Sheila , Rabb Haddon , Munn Matthew Brendan , Chasmar Elizabeth , Callaghan Christopher W. , Ranse Jamie , Lund Adam
Published: February 2021

Introduction:

Case reports are commonly used to report the health outcomes of mass gatherings (MGs), and many published reports of MGs demonstrate substantial heterogeneity of included descriptors. As such, it is challenging to perform rigorous comparisons of health services and outcomes between similar and dissimilar events. The degree of variation in published reports has not yet been investigated.

Objective:

Examine patterns of post-event medical reporting in the existing literature and identify inconsistencies in reporting.

Methods:

A systematic review of case reports was conducted. Included were English studies, published between January 2009 and December 2018, in Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (PDM) or Current Sports Medicine Reports (CSMR). Analysis of each paper was used to develop a list of 27 categories of data.

Results:

Seventy-five studies were initially reviewed with 54 publications meeting the inclusion criteria. Forty-two were full case reports (78%) and 12 were conference proceedings (22%). Of the 27 categories of data studied, only 13 were consistently reported in more than 50% of publications. Reporting patterns included inconsistent use of terminology/language and variable retrievability of reports. Reporting on event descriptors, hazard and risk analysis, and clinical outcomes were also inconsistent.

Discussion:

Case reports are essential tools for researchers and event team members such as medical directors and event producers. The authors found that current case reports, in addition to being inconsistent in content, were generally descriptive rather than explanatory; that is, focused on describing the outcomes as opposed to exploring possible connections between context and health outcomes.

Conclusion:

This paper quantifies and demonstrates the current state of heterogeneity in MG event reporting. This heterogeneity is a significant impediment to the functional use of published reports to further the science of MG planning and to improve health outcomes. Future work based on the insights gained from this analysis will aim to align and standardize reporting to improve the quality and value of event reporting.
Measuring the Masses: Domains Driving Data Collection and Analysis for the Health Outcomes of Mass Gatherings (Paper 3)
Authors: Turris Sheila , Lund Adam , Munn Matthew Brendan , Chasmar Elizabeth , Rabb Haddon , Callaghan Christopher W. , Ranse Jamie , Hutton Alison
Published: February 2021

Introduction:

Without a robust evidence base to support recommendations for medical services at mass gatherings (MGs), levels of care will continue to vary and preventable morbidity and mortality will exist. Accordingly, researchers and clinicians publish case reports and case series to capture and explain some of the health interventions, health outcomes, and host community impacts of MGs. Streamlining and standardizing post-event reporting for MG medical services and associated health outcomes could improve inter-event comparability, thereby supporting and promoting growth of the evidence base for this discipline. The present paper is focused on theory building, proposing a set of domains for data that may support increasingly comprehensive, yet lean, reporting on the health outcomes of MGs. This paper is paired with another presenting a proposal for a post-event reporting template.

Methods:

The conceptual categories of data presented are based on a textual analysis of 54 published post-event medical case reports and a comparison of the features of published data models for MG health outcomes.

Findings:

A comparison of existing data models illustrates that none of the models are explicitly informed by a conceptual lens. Based on an analysis of the literature reviewed, four data domains emerged. These included: (i) the Event Domain, (ii) the Hazard and Risk Domain, (iii) the Capacity Domain, and (iv) the Clinical Domain. These domains mapped to 16 sub-domains.

Discussion:

Data modelling for the health outcomes related to MGs is currently in its infancy. The proposed illustration is a set of operationally relevant data domains that apply equally to small, medium, and large-sized events. Further development of these domains could move the MG community forward and shift post-event health outcomes reporting in the direction of increasing consistency and comprehensiveness.

Conclusion:

Currently, data collection and analysis related to understanding health outcomes arising from MGs is not informed by robust conceptual models. This paper is part of a series of nested papers focused on the future state of post-event medical reporting.
Dietary fluoride intake over the course of pregnancy in Mexican women
Authors: Castiblanco-Rubio Gina A , Muñoz-Rocha Teresa V , Cantoral Alejandra , Téllez-Rojo Martha M , Ettinger Adrienne S , Mercado-García Adriana , Peterson Karen E , Hu Howard , Martínez-Mier Esperanza A
Published: February 2021

Objective:

To estimate dietary fluoride intake (F) over the course of pregnancy and the overall adjusted difference in dietary F intake by pregnancy stages and levels of compliance with dietary recommendations.

Design:

Secondary data analysis from a longitudinal pregnancy cohort study in a population exposed to fluoridated salt. Women were followed during the early, middle and late stages of their pregnancy (n 568). The dietary intake of recommended prenatal nutrients according to Mexican dietary guidelines and F intake (mg/d) was estimated with a validated FFQ. Data were summarised with descriptive statistics. Levels of F intake were compared with the USA’s Institute of Medicine adequate intake (AI) of 3 mg/d for pregnancy. Adjusted differences in F intake by pregnancy stages and levels of compliance with recommendations were estimated using random effects models.

Setting:

Mexico City.

Participants:

Women participating in the Early Life Exposures in Mexico to ENvironmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) project, from 2001 to 2003.

Results:

Median dietary F intake throughout pregnancy ranged from 0·64 (interquartile range (IQR) 0·38) in the early to 0·70 (IQR 0·42) in the middle, and 0·72 (IQR 0·44) mg/d in the late stage (0·01 mg F/kg per d). Corresponding adjusted intakes of F were 0·72 (95 % CI 0·70, 0·74), 0·76 (95 % CI 0·74, 0·77) and 0·80 (95 % CI 0·78, 0·82) mg/d. Women who were moderately and highly compliant with Mexican dietary recommendations ingested, on average, 0·04 and 0·14 mg F/d more than non-compliant women (P < 0·005).

Conclusions:

Dietary F intake was below current AI, was greater with the progression of pregnancy and in women who were moderately and highly compliant with dietary recommendations.
Rare Occurrences of Non‐cascading Foreshock Activity in Southern California
Authors: Moutote L. , Marsan D. , Lengliné O. , Duputel Z.
Published: February 2021

Earthquakes preceding large events are commonly referred to as foreshocks. They are often considered as precursory phenomena reflecting the nucleation process of the main rupture. Such foreshock sequences may also be explained by cascades of triggered events. Recent advances in earthquake detection motivates a reevaluation of seismicity variations prior to mainshocks. Based on a highly complete earthquake catalog, previous studies suggested that mainshocks in Southern California are often preceded by anomalously elevated seismicity. In this study, we test the same catalog against the Epidemic Type Aftershock Sequence model that accounts for temporal clustering due to earthquake interactions. We find that 10/53 mainshocks are preceded by a significantly elevated seismic activity compared with our model. This shows that anomalous foreshock activity is relatively uncommon when tested against a model of earthquake interactions. Accounting for the recurrence of anomalies over time, only 3/10 mainshocks present a mainshock‐specific anomaly with a high predictive power.
Large‐Scale Reductions in Terrestrial Carbon Uptake Following Central Pacific El Niño
Authors: Dannenberg Matthew P. , Smith William K. , Zhang Yulong , Song Conghe , Huntzinger Deborah N. , Moore David J. P.
Published: February 2021

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects global climate and ecosystems, but a recent shift toward more frequent central Pacific (CP) El Niño events could alter these relationships. Here, we show strong responses of the terrestrial carbon cycle to CP ENSO, exceeding even those to canonical eastern Pacific (EP) ENSO. Annual GPP of both global tropical forests and semiarid ecosystems were reduced by ∼0.3–0.5 Pg C yr−1 K−1 increase in CP sea surface temperatures (SSTs), which also reduced net ecosystem production of key tropical and semiarid regions like the Amazon and Australia, but with smaller (and generally not significant) responses to EP SSTs. Given these large negative responses of ecosystem production to CP SSTs, our results suggest that a recent shift toward CP‐dominated ENSO events could further alter Earth's terrestrial carbon cycle, especially when coupled with possible increases in ENSO amplitude with continued warming.
Association of Ionospheric Signatures to Various Tectonic Parameters During Moderate to Large Magnitude Earthquakes: Case Study
Authors: Sunil A. S. , Bagiya Mala S. , Bletery Quentin , Ramesh D. S.
Published: February 2021

The sudden ground movement associated with Mw > 6.5 earthquakes is considered a potential source of ionospheric electron density perturbations over the fault region. Coseismic ground displacement is a function of various seismic source parameters such as moment magnitude, focal depth, and focal mechanism etc. We study here the distinct effects of vertical ground displacement, moment magnitude and focal depth on coseismic ionospheric perturbation (CIP) amplitudes during moderate‐to‐large earthquakes. We analyze GPS‐total electron content variations during 59 dip‐slip earthquakes that occurred in the last 20 years. Our study reveals that though CIP amplitudes are primarily controlled by moment magnitude, they are also sensitive to the earthquake focal depth. To understand the influence of focal depth on the displacement field and therefore on CIP amplitudes, we present a simple synthetic test, for a depth range of 0–200 km, highlighting that the maximum vertical ground displacement decreases logarithmically with increasing focal depth while the volume (i.e., integrated vertical ground displacement) of uplifted/subsided material varies very marginally. We conclude that CIP is sensitive to the wavelength of co‐seismic vertical displacement field and that seismic energy propagation to the overlying atmosphere during deep earthquakes is not adequate to generate detectable CIP.
Permanent Co‐Seismic Deformation of the 2013 Mw7.7 Baluchistan, Pakistan Earthquake From High‐Resolution Surface Strain Analysis
Authors: Cheng Guo , Barnhart William D.
Published: February 2021

Repeated earthquake cycles produce topography, fault damage zones, and other geologic structures along faults. These geomorphic and structural features indicate the presence of co‐seismic permanent (inelastic) surface deformation, yet a long‐standing question in earthquake research is how much of the co‐seismic deformation field is elastic versus inelastic. These questions arise in part because it is unclear what measurable co‐seismic characteristics, such as off‐fault or distributed surface deformation and cracking, represent true unrecoverable deformation. One emerging descriptor of permanent co‐seismic deformation is surface strain magnitudes inferred from imaging geodesy observations. In this study, we present the surface strain field of the 2013 Mw7.7 Baluchistan strike‐slip earthquake in southern Pakistan. We invert co‐seismic displacement fields generated from pixel‐tracking of SPOT‐5 and WorldView optical imagery for co‐seismic surface horizontal strain tensors. We observe that co‐seismic strain field is dominated by negative dilatation strains, indicating that the co‐seismic fault zone contracted during the earthquake. We show that co‐seismic inelastic failure exhibits a relatively consistent width along the rupture that is localized to a zone 100–200 m wide on the hanging wall side. The width of co‐seismic permanent deformation does not correlate with variations in off‐fault deformation or surface geology. Based on comparisons to other recent earthquakes, we posit that the permanent surface strains reflect inelastic deformation of the faults inner damage zone, and that the width of this zone reflects fault maturity.
A Thermal Pulse Induced by a Permian Mantle Plume in the Tarim Basin, Northwest China: Constraints From Clumped Isotope Thermometry and In Situ Calcite U‐Pb Dating
Authors: Cong Fuyun , Tian Jinqiang , Hao Fang , Licht Alexis , Liu Yuchen , Cao Zicheng , Eiler John M.
Published: February 2021

High burial temperature and a lack of material for traditional thermal proxies significantly impede the understanding of the thermal history of carbonate stratigraphic sequences in deep time. Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry interpreted through models of solid‐state isotopic reordering and in situ U‐Pb dating provides a new methodology for reconstructing thermal histories of such successions. Calcite fabrics (micrite cements and veins) from deeply buried (5,000–8,000 m) Ordovician carbonate intervals in the Tarim Basin were analyzed for their carbonate clumped isotope compositions and U‐Pb ages, and the results were used to estimate maximum peak burial temperatures. Reconstructed burial temperatures reveal a previously ignored thermal pulse in the range of 160°C–190°C during the Permian period. Maximum geothermal gradients at the time of peak burial temperature varied from 26.8°C/km to 69.3°C/km, with higher values in the northern Tarim Basin. We show that the spatial patterns of peak burial temperature and geothermal gradients closely correspond to the distribution of the Tarim Large Igneous Province, which emplaced during the Permian following the emplacement of a mantle plume beneath the Tarim Basin. We thus propose that the thermal pulse recorded in Tarim Ordovician limestones resulted from Permian mantle plume activity. The reconstructed thermal history has important implications for our understanding of source‐rock hydrocarbon generating history, hydrocarbon accumulation, and fluid flow history in the Tarim Basin. This study also demonstrates the potential of the integration of Δ47, U‐Pb dating of carbonates and solid‐state reordering models as an integrated thermochronological method for reconstructing thermal histories of deeply buried carbonate intervals.
Averaged Boltzmann’s Kinetics for Colloidal Transport in Porous Media
Authors: Russell T. , Dinariev O. Yu , Pessoa Rego L. A. , Bedrikovetsky P.
Published: February 2021

Due to the stochastic nature of pore space geometry, particle velocities in a colloidal‐suspension flux are also stochastically distributed. This phenomenon is captured by Boltzmann's kinetic equation. We formulate a BGK‐form of Boltzmann's equation for particulate flow with a particle capture rate proportional to the particle speed and derive an exact method for the model's averaging. The averaged equation is of the form of a reaction‐advection‐diffusion equation with the average particle speed lower than the carrier fluid velocity. This delay, reported in numerous laboratory studies, is explained by preferential capture of fast particles. The large‐scale model coefficients of delay, dispersion, and filtration are explicitly expressed via the microscale mixing length, equilibrium velocity distribution, and filtration coefficient. The properties of the averaged coefficients are discussed, and emerging dependencies between them are presented. The derived large‐scale equation resolves two paradoxes of the traditional model for suspension‐colloidal transport in porous media. The large‐scale equation closely matches the laboratory breakthrough curves.
Frontotemporal coordination predicts working memory performance and its local neural signatures
Authors: Rezayat Ehsan , Dehaqani Mohammad-Reza A. , Clark Kelsey , Bahmani Zahra , Moore Tirin , Noudoost Behrad
Published: February 2021

Neurons in some sensory areas reflect the content of working memory (WM) in their spiking activity. However, this spiking activity is seldom related to behavioral performance. We studied the responses of inferotemporal (IT) neurons, which exhibit object-selective activity, along with Frontal Eye Field (FEF) neurons, which exhibit spatially selective activity, during the delay period of an object WM task. Unlike the spiking activity and local field potentials (LFPs) within these areas, which were poor predictors of behavioral performance, the phase-locking of IT spikes and LFPs with the beta band of FEF LFPs robustly predicted successful WM maintenance. In addition, IT neurons exhibited greater object-selective persistent activity when their spikes were locked to the phase of FEF LFPs. These results reveal that the coordination between prefrontal and temporal cortex predicts the successful maintenance of visual information during WM.
Emulating spin transport with nonlinear optics, from high-order skyrmions to the topological Hall effect
Authors: Karnieli Aviv , Tsesses Shai , Bartal Guy , Arie Ady
Published: February 2021

Exploring material magnetization led to countless fundamental discoveries and applications, culminating in the field of spintronics. Recently, research effort in this field focused on magnetic skyrmions – topologically robust chiral magnetization textures, capable of storing information and routing spin currents via the topological Hall effect. In this article, we propose an optical system emulating any 2D spin transport phenomena with unprecedented controllability, by employing three-wave mixing in 3D nonlinear photonic crystals. Precise photonic crystal engineering, as well as active all-optical control, enable the realization of effective magnetization textures beyond the limits of thermodynamic stability in current materials. As a proof-of-concept, we theoretically design skyrmionic nonlinear photonic crystals with arbitrary topologies and propose an optical system exhibiting the topological Hall effect. Our work paves the way towards quantum spintronics simulations and novel optoelectronic applications inspired by spintronics, for both classical and quantum optical information processing.
Real-time feedback control of the impurity emission front in tokamak divertor plasmas
Authors: Ravensbergen T. , van Berkel M. , Perek A. , Galperti C. , Duval B. P. , Février O. , van Kampen R. J. R. , Felici F. , Lammers J. T. , Theiler C. , Schoukens J. , Linehan B. , Komm M. , Henderson S. , Brida D. , de Baar M. R.
Published: February 2021

In magnetic confinement thermonuclear fusion the exhaust of heat and particles from the core remains a major challenge. Heat and particles leaving the core are transported via open magnetic field lines to a region of the reactor wall, called the divertor. Unabated, the heat and particle fluxes may become intolerable and damage the divertor. Controlled ‘plasma detachment’, a regime characterized by both a large reduction in plasma pressure and temperature at the divertor target, is required to reduce fluxes onto the divertor. Here we report a systematic approach towards achieving this critical need through feedback control of impurity emission front locations and its experimental demonstration. Our approach comprises a combination of real-time plasma diagnostic utilization, dynamic characterization of the plasma in proximity to the divertor, and efficient, reliable offline feedback controller design.
A tetravalent live attenuated dengue virus vaccine stimulates balanced immunity to multiple serotypes in humans
Authors: Nivarthi Usha K. , Swanstrom Jesica , Delacruz Matthew J. , Patel Bhumi , Durbin Anna P. , Whitehead Steve S. , Kirkpatrick Beth D. , Pierce Kristen K. , Diehl Sean A. , Katzelnick Leah , Baric Ralph S. , de Silva Aravinda M.
Published: February 2021

The four-dengue virus (DENV) serotypes infect several hundred million people annually. For the greatest safety and efficacy, tetravalent DENV vaccines are designed to stimulate balanced protective immunity to all four serotypes. However, this has been difficult to achieve. Clinical trials with a leading vaccine demonstrated that unbalanced replication and immunodominance of one vaccine component over others can lead to low efficacy and vaccine enhanced severe disease. The Laboratory of Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health has developed a live attenuated tetravalent DENV vaccine (TV003), which is currently being tested in phase 3 clinical trials. Here we report, our study to determine if TV003 stimulate balanced and serotype-specific (TS) neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses to each serotype. Serum samples from twenty-one dengue-naive individuals participated under study protocol CIR287 (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02021968) are analyzed 6 months after vaccination. Most subjects (76%) develop TS nAbs to 3 or 4 DENV serotypes, indicating immunity is induced by each vaccine component. Vaccine-induced TS nAbs map to epitopes known to be targets of nAbs in people infected with wild type DENVs. Following challenge with a partially attenuated strain of DENV2, all 21 subjects are protected from the efficacy endpoints. However, some vaccinated individuals develop post challenge nAb boost, while others mount post-challenge antibody responses that are consistent with sterilizing immunity. TV003 vaccine induced DENV2 TS nAbs are associated with sterilizing immunity. Our results indicate that nAbs to TS epitopes on each serotype may be a better correlate than total levels of nAbs currently used for guiding DENV vaccine development.
Application of response surface methodology on the nanofluid flow over a rotating disk with autocatalytic chemical reaction and entropy generation optimization
Authors: Mehmood Tahir , Ramzan Muhammad , Howari Fares , Kadry Seifedine , Chu Yu-Ming
Published: February 2021

The role of nanofluids is of fundamental significance in the cooling process of small electronic devices including microchips and other associated gadgets in microfluidics. With such astounding applications of nanofluids in mind, it is intended to examine the flow of magnetohydrodynamic nanofluid comprising a novel combination of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and engine oil over a stretched rotating disk. The concentration equation is modified by considering the autocatalytic chemical reaction. The succor of the bvp4c numerical technique amalgamated with the response surface methodology is secured for the solution of a highly nonlinear system of equations. The sensitivity analysis is performed using a response surface methodology. The significant impacts of the prominent arising parameters versus involved fields are investigated through graphical illustrations. It is observed that the skin friction coefficient and local Nusselt number are positively sensitive to nanoparticle volume fraction while it is positively sensitive to the suction parameter. It is negatively sensitive to the Magnetic parameter. The skin friction coefficient is negatively sensitive to all input parameters.
HIV induces airway basal progenitor cells to adopt an inflammatory phenotype
Authors: Chung Nancy P. Y. , Khan K. M. Faisal , Kaner Robert J. , O’Beirne Sarah L. , Crystal Ronald G.
Published: February 2021

Despite the introduction of anti-retroviral therapy, chronic HIV infection is associated with an increased incidence of other comorbidities such as COPD. Based on the knowledge that binding of HIV to human airway basal stem/progenitor cells (BC) induces a destructive phenotype by increased MMP-9 expression through MAPK signaling pathways, we hypothesized that HIV induces the BC to express inflammatory mediators that contribute to the pathogenesis of emphysema. Our data demonstrate that airway BC isolated from HAART-treated HIV+nonsmokers spontaneously release inflammatory mediators IL-8, IL-1β, ICAM-1 and GM-CSF. Similarly, exposure of normal BC to HIV in vitro up-regulates expression of the same inflammatory mediators. These HIV-BC derived mediators induce migration of alveolar macrophages (AM) and neutrophils and stimulate AM proliferation. This HIV-induced inflammatory phenotype likely contributes to lung inflammation in HIV+individuals and provides explanation for the increased incidence of COPD in HIV+individuals.
Differences in inhibitory control and motor fitness in children practicing open and closed skill sports
Authors: Formenti Damiano , Trecroci Athos , Duca Marco , Cavaggioni Luca , D’Angelo Fabio , Passi Alberto , Longo Stefano , Alberti Giampietro
Published: February 2021

The aim of the present study was to investigate the differences between types of sport (i.e., closed vs. open skills sport) on inhibitory control and motor fitness in children. Forty-nine children were allocated into three groups based on their sports participation, which comprised an open skill sport group, a closed skill sport group, and a sedentary group. Participants were tested on cognitive performance (inhibitory control by the Flanker task) and motor fitness (reaction time, speed, agility, power, balance). Open skill sport group appeared to display higher inhibitory control (response time and accuracy of incongruent condition of the Flanker task) and motor fitness performance (reaction time, speed, agility, power) than sedentary group, whereas its superiority over closed skill sport group was found only in speed and agility. Moreover, closed skill sport group had only a better reaction time than sedentary group. Our data supports the framework according to which cognitive demands in complex motor actions may contribute to explain the beneficial effects of exercise on inhibitory control. This might suggest that the complexity of the environment (typical in open skill sports) in which sport training is performed plays a key role for both cognitive and motor development in children.
Contribution of the slow motion mechanism to global motion revealed by an MAE technique
Authors: Shioiri Satoshi , Matsumiya Kazumichi , Tseng Chia-huei
Published: February 2021

Two different motion mechanisms have been identified with motion aftereffect (MAE). (1) A slow motion mechanism, accessed by a static MAE, is sensitive to high-spatial and low-temporal frequency; (2) a fast motion mechanism, accessed by a flicker MAE, is sensitive to low-spatial and high-temporal frequency. We examined their respective responses to global motion after adapting to a global motion pattern constructed of multiple compound Gabor patches arranged circularly. Each compound Gabor patch contained two gratings at different spatial frequencies (0.53 and 2.13 cpd) drifting in opposite directions. The participants reported the direction and duration of the MAE for a variety of global motion patterns. We discovered that static MAE durations depended on the global motion patterns, e.g., longer MAE duration to patches arranged to see rotation than to random motion (Exp 1), and increase with global motion strength (patch number in Exp 2). In contrast, flicker MAEs durations are similar across different patterns and adaptation strength. Further, the global integration occurred at the adaptation stage, rather than at the test stage (Exp 3). These results suggest that slow motion mechanism, assessed by static MAE, integrate motion signals over space while fast motion mechanisms do not, at least under the conditions used.
Aortic carboxypeptidase-like protein regulates vascular adventitial progenitor and fibroblast differentiation through myocardin related transcription factor A
Authors: Wang Dahai , Rabhi Nabil , Yet Shaw-Fang , Farmer Stephen R. , Layne Matthew D.
Published: February 2021

The vascular adventitia contains numerous cell types including fibroblasts, adipocytes, inflammatory cells, and progenitors embedded within a complex extracellular matrix (ECM) network. In response to vascular injury, adventitial progenitors and fibroblasts become activated and exhibit increased proliferative capacity and differentiate into contractile cells that remodel the ECM. These processes can lead to vascular fibrosis and disease progression. Our previous work established that the ECM protein aortic carboxypeptidase-like protein (ACLP) promotes fibrotic remodeling in the lung and is activated by vascular injury. It is currently unknown what controls vascular adventitial cell differentiation and if ACLP has a role in this process. Using purified mouse aortic adventitia Sca1+ progenitors, ACLP repressed stem cell markers (CD34, KLF4) and upregulated smooth muscle actin (SMA) and collagen I expression. ACLP enhanced myocardin-related transcription factor A (MRTFA) activity in adventitial cells by promoting MRTFA nuclear translocation. Sca1 cells from MRTFA-null mice exhibited reduced SMA and collagen expression induced by ACLP, indicating Sca1 cell differentiation is regulated in part by the ACLP-MRTFA axis. We determined that ACLP induced vessel contraction and increased adventitial collagen in an explant model. Collectively these studies identified ACLP as a mediator of adventitial cellular differentiation, which may result in pathological vessel remodeling.
CD4+ T cells from children with active juvenile idiopathic arthritis show altered chromatin features associated with transcriptional abnormalities
Authors: Tarbell Evan , Jiang Kaiyu , Hennon Teresa R. , Holmes Lucy , Williams Sonja , Fu Yao , Gaffney Patrick M. , Liu Tao , Jarvis James N.
Published: February 2021

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is one of the most common chronic diseases in children. While clinical outcomes for patients with juvenile JIA have improved, the underlying biology of the disease and mechanisms underlying therapeutic response/non-response are poorly understood. We have shown that active JIA is associated with distinct transcriptional abnormalities, and that the attainment of remission is associated with reorganization of transcriptional networks. In this study, we used a multi-omics approach to identify mechanisms driving the transcriptional abnormalities in peripheral blood CD4+ T cells of children with active JIA. We demonstrate that active JIA is associated with alterations in CD4+ T cell chromatin, as assessed by ATACseq studies. However, 3D chromatin architecture, assessed by HiChIP and simultaneous mapping of CTCF anchors of chromatin loops, reveals that normal 3D chromatin architecture is largely preserved. Overlapping CTCF binding, ATACseq, and RNAseq data with known JIA genetic risk loci demonstrated the presence of genetic influences on the observed transcriptional abnormalities and identified candidate target genes. These studies demonstrate the utility of multi-omics approaches for unraveling important questions regarding the pathobiology of autoimmune diseases.
Embryonic fate after somatic cell nuclear transfer in non-enucleated goldfish oocytes is determined by first cleavages and DNA methylation patterns
Authors: Depincé Alexandra , Le Bail Pierre-Yves , Rouillon Charlène , Labbé Catherine
Published: February 2021

Reducing the variability in nuclear transfer outcome requires a better understanding of its cellular and epigenetic determinants, in order to ensure safer fish regeneration from cryobanked somatic material. In this work, clones from goldfish were obtained using cryopreserved fin cells as donor and non-enucleated oocytes as recipients. We showed that the high variability of clones survival was not correlated to spawn quality. Clones were then characterized for their first cleavages pattern in relation to their developmental fate up to hatching. The first cell cycle duration was increased in clones with abnormal first cleavage, and symmetric first two cleavages increased clone probability to reach later on 24 h- and hatching-stages. At 24 h-stage, 24% of the clones were diploids and from donor genetic origin only. However, ploidy and genetic origin did not determine clones morphological quality. DNA methylation reprogramming in the promoter region of pou2, nanog, and notail marker genes was highly variable, but clones with the nicest morphologies displayed the best DNA methylation reprogramming. To conclude, non-enucleated oocytes did allow authentic clones production. The first two cell cycles were a critical determinant of the clone ability to reach hatching-stage, and DNA methylation reprogramming significantly influenced clones morphological quality.
Breath analysis based early gastric cancer classification from deep stacked sparse autoencoder neural network
Authors: Aslam Muhammad Aqeel , Xue Cuili , Chen Yunsheng , Zhang Amin , Liu Manhua , Wang Kan , Cui Daxiang
Published: February 2021

Deep learning is an emerging tool, which is regularly used for disease diagnosis in the medical field. A new research direction has been developed for the detection of early-stage gastric cancer. The computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems reduce the mortality rate due to their effectiveness. In this study, we proposed a new method for feature extraction using a stacked sparse autoencoder to extract the discriminative features from the unlabeled data of breath samples. A Softmax classifier was then integrated to the proposed method of feature extraction, to classify gastric cancer from the breath samples. Precisely, we identified fifty peaks in each spectrum to distinguish the EGC, AGC, and healthy persons. This CAD system reduces the distance between the input and output by learning the features and preserve the structure of the input data set of breath samples. The features were extracted from the unlabeled data of the breath samples. After the completion of unsupervised training, autoencoders with Softmax classifier were cascaded to develop a deep stacked sparse autoencoder neural network. In last, fine-tuning of the developed neural network was carried out with labeled training data to make the model more reliable and repeatable. The proposed deep stacked sparse autoencoder neural network architecture exhibits excellent results, with an overall accuracy of 98.7% for advanced gastric cancer classification and 97.3% for early gastric cancer detection using breath analysis. Moreover, the developed model produces an excellent result for recall, precision, and f score value, making it suitable for clinical application.
Urbanization and economic complexity
Authors: Di Clemente Riccardo , Strano Emanuele , Batty Michael
Published: February 2021

Urbanization plays a crucial role in the economic development of every country. The mutual relationship between the urbanization of any country and its economic productive structure is far from being understood. We analyzed the historical evolution of product exports for all countries using the World Trade Web with respect to patterns of urbanization from 1995 to 2010. Using the evolving framework of economic complexity, we reveal that a country’s economic development in terms of its production and export of goods, is interwoven with the urbanization process during the early stages of its economic development and growth. Meanwhile in urbanized countries, the reciprocal relation between economic growth and urbanization fades away with respect to its later stages, becoming negligible for countries highly dependent on the export of resources where urbanization is not linked to any structural economic transformation.
Prenatal and postnatal maternal anxiety and amygdala structure and function in young children
Authors: Donnici Claire , Long Xiangyu , Dewey Deborah , Letourneau Nicole , Landman Bennett , Huo Yuankai , Lebel Catherine
Published: February 2021

Anxiety symptoms are relatively common during pregnancy and are associated with behavioural problems in children. The amygdala is involved in emotion regulation, and its volume and function are associated with exposure to prenatal maternal depression. The associations between perinatal maternal anxiety and children’s amygdala structure and function remain unclear. The objective of this study was to determine associations between prenatal and postnatal maternal anxiety and amygdala structure and function in children. Maternal anxiety was measured during the second trimester of pregnancy and 12 weeks postpartum. T1-weighted anatomical data and functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 54 children (25 females), between the ages of 3–7 years. Amygdala volume was calculated and functional connectivity maps were created between the amygdalae and the rest of the brain. Spearman correlations were used to test associations between amygdala volume/functional connectivity and maternal anxiety symptoms, controlling for maternal depression symptoms. Second trimester maternal anxiety symptoms were negatively associated with functional connectivity between the left amygdala and clusters in bilateral parietal regions; higher maternal anxiety was associated with increased negative connectivity. Postnatal maternal anxiety symptoms were positively associated with child amygdala volume, but this finding did not remain significant while controlling for total brain volume. These functional connectivity differences may underlie behavioral outcomes in children exposed to maternal anxiety during pregnancy.
Lactobacillus plantarum 299v probiotic supplementation in men with stable coronary artery disease suppresses systemic inflammation
Authors: Hofeld Benjamin C. , Puppala Venkata K. , Tyagi Sudhi , Ahn Kwang Woo , Anger Amberly , Jia Shuang , Salzman Nita H. , Hessner Martin J. , Widlansky Michael E.
Published: February 2021

Recent trials demonstrate that systemic anti-inflammatory therapy reduces cardiovascular events in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. We recently demonstrated Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (Lp299v) supplementation improved vascular endothelial function in men with stable CAD. Whether this favorable effect is in part due to anti-inflammatory action remains unknown. Testing this hypothesis, we exposed plasma obtained before and after Lp299v supplementation from these subjects to a healthy donor’s PBMCs and measured differences in the PBMC transciptome, performed gene ontological analyses, and compared Lp299v-induced transcriptome changes with changes in vascular function. Daily alcohol users (DAUs) (n = 4) had a significantly different response to Lp299v and were separated from the main analyses. Non-DAUs- (n = 15) showed improved brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and reduced circulating IL-8, IL-12, and leptin. 997 genes were significantly changed. I.I.com decreased (1.01 ± 0.74 vs. 0.22 ± 0.51; P < 0.0001), indicating strong anti-inflammatory effects. Pathway analyses revealed downregulation of IL-1β, interferon-stimulated pathways, and toll-like receptor signaling, and an increase in regulator T-cell (Treg) activity. Reductions in GBP1, JAK2, and TRAIL expression correlated with improved FMD. In non-DAU men with stable CAD, post-Lp299v supplementation plasma induced anti-inflammatory transcriptome changes in human PBMCs that could benefit CAD patients. Future studies should delineate changes in circulating metabolites responsible for these effects.
Experimental characterization of speech aerosol dispersion dynamics
Authors: Tan Zu Puayen , Silwal Lokesh , Bhatt Surya P. , Raghav Vrishank
Published: February 2021

Contact and inhalation of virions-carrying human aerosols represent the primary transmission pathway for airborne diseases including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Relative to sneezing and coughing, non-symptomatic aerosol-producing activities such as speaking are highly understudied. The dispersions of aerosols from vocalization by a human subject are hereby quantified using high-speed particle image velocimetry. Syllables of different aerosol production rates were tested and compared to coughing. Results indicate aerosol productions and penetrations are not correlated. E.g. ‘ti’ and ‘ma’ have similar production rates but only ‘ti’ penetrated as far as coughs. All cases exhibited a rapidly penetrating “jet phase” followed by a slow “puff phase.” Immediate dilution of aerosols was prevented by vortex ring flow structures that concentrated particles toward the plume-front. A high-fidelity assessment of risks to exposure must account for aerosol production rate, penetration, plume direction and the prevailing air current.
Harvest time affects antioxidant capacity, total polyphenol and flavonoid content of Polish St John’s wort’s (Hypericum perforatum L.) flowers
Authors: Makarova Katerina , Sajkowska-Kozielewicz Joanna J. , Zawada Katarzyna , Olchowik-Grabarek Ewa , Ciach Michał Aleksander , Gogolewski Krzysztof , Dobros Natalia , Ciechowicz Paulina , Freichels Hélène , Gambin Anna
Published: February 2021

The polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity of hyperforin and hypericin-standardized H. perforatum L. extracts may vary due to the harvest time. In this work, ethanol and ethanol–water extracts of air-dried and lyophilized flowers of H. perforatum L., collected throughout a vegetation season in central Poland, were studied. Air-dried flowers extracts had higher polyphenol (371 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (160 mg CAE/g) content, DPPH radical scavenging (1672 mg DPPH/g), ORAC (5214 µmol TE/g) and FRAP (2.54 mmol Fe2+/g) than lyophilized flowers extracts (238 mg GAE/g, 107 mg CAE/g, 1287 mg DPPH/g, 3313 µmol TE/g and 0.31 mmol Fe2+/g, respectively). Principal component analysis showed that the collection date influenced the flavonoid and polyphenol contents and FRAP of ethanol extracts, and DPPH and ORAC values of ethanol–water extracts. The ethanol extracts with the highest polyphenol and flavonoid content protected human erythrocytes against bisphenol A-induced damage. Both high field and benchtop NMR spectra of selected extracts, revealed differences in composition caused by extraction solvent and raw material collection date. Moreover, we have shown that benchtop NMR can be used to detect the compositional variation of extracts if the assignment of signals is done previously.
Paternal exposure to a common pharmaceutical (Ritalin) has transgenerational effects on the behaviour of Trinidadian guppies
Authors: De Serrano Alex R. , Hughes Kimberly A. , Rodd F. Helen
Published: February 2021

Evidence is emerging that paternal effects, the nongenetic influence of fathers on their offspring, can be transgenerational, spanning several generations. Methylphenidate hydrochloride (MPH; e.g. Ritalin) is a dopaminergic drug that is highly prescribed to adolescent males for the treatment of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. It has been suggested that MPH could cause transgenerational effects because MPH can affect the male germline in rodents and because paternal effects have been observed in individuals taking similar drugs (e.g. cocaine). Despite these concerns, the transgenerational effects of paternal MPH exposure are unknown. Therefore, we exposed male and female Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to a low, chronic dose of MPH and observed that MPH affected the anxiety/exploratory behaviour of males, but not females. Because of this male-specific effect, we investigated the transgenerational effects of MPH through the paternal line. We observed behavioural effects of paternal MPH exposure on offspring and great-grandoffspring that were not directly administered the drug, making this the first study to demonstrate that paternal MPH exposure can affect descendants. These effects were not due to differential mortality or fecundity between control and MPH lines. These results highlight the transgenerational potential of MPH.
Distribution of absorbed photons in the tunneling ionization process
Authors: Ivanov I. A. , Kim Kyung Taec
Published: February 2021

We describe a procedure that allows us to solve the three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation for an atom interacting with a quantized one-mode electromagnetic field. Atom-field interaction is treated in an ab initio way prescribed by quantum electrodynamics. We use the procedure to calculate probability distributions of absorbed photons in the regime of tunneling ionization. We analyze evolution of the reduced photon density matrix describing the state of the field. We show that non-diagonal density matrix elements decay quickly, as a result of the decoherence process. A stochastic model, viewing ionization as a Markovian birth-death process, reproduces the main features of the calculated photon distributions.