bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Increasing risk of simultaneous occurrence of flash drought in major global croplands
Authors: Mahto Shanti Shwarup , Mishra Vimal
Published: March 2023

Simultaneous occurrence of flash drought in major croplands can pose challenges for global food security. However, drivers of flash drought co-occurrence in the observed and future climate remain unrecognized. Using observations and climate model simulations, we examine the simultaneous occurrence of flash droughts in 16 major global croplands that grow wheat, rice, and maize. We show that significant warming combined with decreasing precipitation led to an increased frequency of flash droughts in several major croplands during the observed climate (1981–2020). The simultaneous occurrence of flash drought in many croplands in the same year has significantly (p-value = 0.007) increased during 1981–2020 and is likely to continue. Nine out of 16 major global croplands are projected to witness an increased frequency of flash droughts under the warming climate. The observed and projected rise in flash droughts in global croplands is mainly driven by vapor pressure deficit. The positive phase of El Nino Southern Oscillation influences flash drought co-occurrence in 10 out of 16 major cropland regions and remains a dominating factor of flash droughts co-occurrence in the future. Enhanced climate warming and increased frequency of El Nino events can further enhance the occurrence of simultaneous flash droughts in several major croplands, with substantial implications for food production.
Predicting wildfire ignition causes in Southern France using eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) methods
Authors: Bountzouklis Christos , Fox Dennis M , Bernardino Elena Di
Published: March 2023

The percentage of wildfires that are ignited by an undetermined origin is substantial in Europe and Mediterranean France. Forest fire experts have recognized the significance of fires with an unknown ignition source since documentation and research of fire causes are important for creating appropriate fire policies and prevention strategies. The use of machine learning in wildfire science has increased considerably and is driven by the increasing availability of large and high-quality datasets. However, the absence of comprehensive fire-cause data hinders the utility of existing fire databases. This study trains and applies a machine-learning based model to classify the cause of fire ignition based on several environmental and anthropogenic features in Southern France using an eXplainable Artificial Intelligence framework. The results demonstrate that the source of unknown caused wildfires can be predicted at various levels of accuracy/natural fires have the highest accuracy (F1-score 0.87) compared to human-caused fires such as accidental (F1-score 0.74) and arson (F1-score 0.64). Factors related to spatiotemporal properties as well as topographic characteristics are considered the most important features in determining the classification of unknown caused fires for the specific area.
In vitro-in vivo correlation of aerosol deposition before and after metered-dose inhaler coaching in healthy children
Authors: Davis Michael D , Saunders Jessica L , Ringer Coral , Engberg Rebecca , Zhao Yi , DiBlasi Robert M , Rubin Bruce K
Published: March 2023

Although pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI) education is a routine part of childhood asthma management and encouraging ‘optimal breathing patterns’ (i.e. slowly, deeply, completely, and with a mouth seal on the mouthpiece) is an integral part of recommended pMDI education, there is currently no quantifiable way to determine if a child is inhaling their medication correctly or optimally through a valved holding chamber (VHC). The TipsHaler™ (tVHC) is a prototype VHC device that measures inspiratory time, flow, and volume without changing the properties of the medication aerosol. The measurements in vivo recorded by the tVHC can be downloaded and transferred to a spontaneous breathing lung model to simulate the inhalational patterns in vitro and also determine the deposition of inhaled aerosol mass with each pattern. We hypothesized that pediatric patients’ inhalational patterns when using a pMDI would improve after active coaching via tVHC. This would increase the pulmonary deposition of inhaled aerosols in an in vitro model. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a single-site, prospective, pilot, pre-and-post intervention study paired with a bedside-to-bench experiment. Healthy, inhaler-naïve subjects used a placebo inhaler in conjunction with the tVHC before and after coaching and recorded inspiratory parameters. These recordings were then implemented into a spontaneous breathing lung model during albuterol MDI delivery, and pulmonary deposition of albuterol was quantified. In this pilot study, active coaching resulted in a statistically significant increase in inspiratory time (n = 8, p= 0.0344, 95%CI: 0.082 to ∞). tVHC recorded inspiratory parameters obtained from patients were successfully implemented in the in vitro model, which demonstrated that both inspiratory time (n = 8, r = 0.78, p < 0.001, 95%CI: 0.47–0.92) and volume (n = 8, r = 0.58, p = 0.0186, 95%CI: 0.15–0.85) strongly correlate with pulmonary deposition of inhaled drugs.
Optimal control for a photovoltaic integrated grid system using PSO and modified whale optimization to enhance power quality
Authors: Tiwari Anurag , Agarwal Ruchi
Published: March 2023

The paper proposes a modified & optimized controller for PV-integrated grid-connected PV systems. As the solar power output depends on the environmental conditions, i.e., irradiation and atmospheric temperature, the maximum power from the photovoltaic (PV) module is extracted using perturb and observe (P & O) algorithm. With a variety of controllers, such as conventional proportional and integral (PI) controllers, particle swarm optimization (PSO), and the modified Whale optimization algorithm (MWOA) method based on optimum control, the power as compared to extracted from PV panels using MWOA-based controllers. A complete simulation and implementation of a single-phase grid-connected inverter are shown to verify the proposed PV controller. The power flow control and grid synchronization are also presented when the above controllers act as MPPT controllers in the proposed system. The performance of proposed system is evaluated and compared among conventional and optimal controllers under a MATLAB-Simulink environment.
Welding investigations on mechanical property and microstructure of TIG and A-TIG Weld of Hastelloy C-276
Authors: Singh Aman , Singh Vivek , Singh Ajay Pratap , Ashutosh Som , Patel Dixit
Published: March 2023

Hastelloy C-276 is a nickel-based alloy with high strength and corrosion resistance at cryogenic to high temperatures. The issue of Hastelloy C-276 shallow penetration by Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding was addressed in the current investigation by applying A-TIG welding with variable oxide flux. In the current investigation, constant welding conditions were used to perform TIG and A-TIG welding using SiO2, TiO2, and a 50% mixture of SiO2 + TiO2 flux. The weld bead width and depth of penetration of the weld bead profile were measured, and the mechanical and metallurgical properties of the weld metal was investigated. SiO2 flux attained the highest D/W ratio and depth of penetration during A-TIG welding when compared to other fluxes used. A-TIG welding using SiO2 flux improved the depth of penetration and the D/W ratio by 118% and 263%, respectively, in comparison with conventional TIG welding. Additionally, the A-TIG welded sample with SiO2 flux had an ultimate tensile strength of 738.295 MPa and a percentage of elongation of 52.75%.
Formation of trade networks by economies of scale and product differentiation
Authors: Han Chengyuan , Schröder Malte , Witthaut Dirk , Böttcher Philipp C
Published: March 2023

Understanding the structure and formation of networks is a central topic in complexity science. Economic networks are formed by decisions of individual agents and thus not properly described by established random graph models. In this article, we establish a model for the emergence of trade networks that is based on rational decisions of individual agents. The model incorporates key drivers for the emergence of trade, comparative advantage and economic scale effects, but also the heterogeneity of agents and the transportation or transaction costs. Numerical simulations show three macroscopically different regimes of the emerging trade networks. Depending on the specific transportation costs and the heterogeneity of individual preferences, we find centralized production with a star-like trade network, distributed production with all-to-all trading or local production and no trade. Using methods from statistical mechanics, we provide an analytic theory of the transitions between these regimes and estimates for critical parameters values.
Simulation-based inference of single-molecule force spectroscopy
Authors: Dingeldein Lars , Cossio Pilar , Covino Roberto
Published: March 2023

Single-molecule force spectroscopy (smFS) is a powerful approach to studying molecular self-organization. However, the coupling of the molecule with the ever-present experimental device introduces artifacts, that complicate the interpretation of these experiments. Performing statistical inference to learn hidden molecular properties is challenging because these measurements produce non-Markovian time series, and even minimal models lead to intractable likelihoods. To overcome these challenges, we developed a computational framework built on novel statistical methods called simulation-based inference (SBI). SBI enabled us to directly estimate the Bayesian posterior, and extract reduced quantitative models from smFS, by encoding a mechanistic model into a simulator in combination with probabilistic deep learning. Using synthetic data, we could systematically disentangle the measurement of hidden molecular properties from experimental artifacts. The integration of physical models with machine-learning density estimation is general, transparent, easy to use, and broadly applicable to other types of biophysical experiments.
Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Evaluation: A Study of Facial Rejuvenation Techniques
Authors: Hebel Nathan S D , Boonipat Thanapoom , Lin Jason , Shapiro Daniel , Bite Uldis
Published: March 2023

Background

Aesthetic facial surgeries historically rely on subjective analysis in determining success; this limits objective comparison of surgical outcomes.

Objectives

This case study exemplifies the use of an artificial intelligence software on objectively analyzing facial rejuvenation techniques with the aim of reducing subjective bias.

Methods

Retrospectively, all patients who underwent facial rejuvenation surgery with concomitant procedures from 2015 to 2017 were included (n = 32). Patients were categorized into Groups A to C: Group A—10 superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) plication facelift (n = 10), Group B—SMASectomy facelift (n = 7), and Group C—high SMAS facelift (n = 15). Neutral repose images preoperatively and postoperatively (average >3 months) were analyzed using artificial intelligence for emotion and action unit alterations.

Results

Postoperatively, Group A experienced a decrease in happiness by 0.84% and a decrease in anger by 6.87% (P >> .1). Group B had an increase in happiness by 0.77% and an increase in anger by 1.91% (P >> .1). Both Group A and Group B did not show any discernable action unit patterns. In Group C, the lip corner puller AU increased in average intensity from 0% to 18.7%. This correlated with an average increase in detected happiness from 1.03% to 13.17% (P = .008). Conversely, the average detected anger decreased from 14.66% to 0.63% (P = .032).

Conclusions

This study provides the first proof of concept for the use of a machine learning software application to objectively assess various aesthetic surgical outcomes in facial rejuvenation. Due to limitations in patient heterogeneity, this study does not claim one technique's superiority but serves as a conceptual foundation for future investigation.

Level of Evidence: 4
Cerebrospinal fluid and positron-emission tomography biomarkers for noradrenergic dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Lancini Elisa , Haag Lena , Bartl Franziska , Rühling Maren , Ashton Nicholas J , Zetterberg Henrik , Düzel Emrah , Hämmerer Dorothea , Betts Matthew J
Published: March 2023

The noradrenergic system shows pathological modifications in aging and neurodegenerative diseases and undergoes substantial neuronal loss in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. While a coherent picture of structural decline in post-mortem and in vivo MRI measures seems to emerge, whether this translates into a consistent decline in available noradrenaline levels is unclear.

We conducted a meta-analysis of noradrenergic differences in Alzheimer’s disease dementia and Parkinson’s disease using CSF and PET biomarkers.

CSF noradrenaline and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol levels as well as noradrenaline transporters availability, measured with PET, were summarized from 26 articles using a random-effects model meta-analysis.

Compared to controls, individuals with Parkinson’s disease showed significantly decreased levels of CSF noradrenaline and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol, as well as noradrenaline transporters availability in the hypothalamus. In Alzheimer’s disease dementia, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol but not noradrenaline levels were increased compared to controls.

Both CSF and PET biomarkers of noradrenergic dysfunction reveal significant alterations in Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease dementia. However, further studies are required to understand how these biomarkers are associated to the clinical symptoms and pathology.
Smart component monitoring system increases the efficiency of photovoltaic plants
Authors: Yazdani Hassan , Radmehr Mehdi , Ghorbani Alireza
Published: March 2023

Due to the increasing expansion of renewable energy, especially the widespread installation of solar power plants worldwide, to better exploit and increase the efficiency and quality of power generation, we need to closely monitor the performance of important components of the plant. In this study, using an innovative smart monitoring system and electronic sensors, we monitored components such as power in photovoltaic (PV) arrays in real time, including the phenomenon of hot spots as an example of power loss in PV panels. Detection of hot spots is very difficult to deal with in a large power plant. The results also demonstrated smart monitoring that increased detection speed and increased the efficiency rate per supervisory technician by ≤36% compared with the previous efficiency rate, which was 10% per technical staff, and increased the quality of the operation of each solar power plant. In this paper, meteorological data were coordinated with research data to validate the research. Furthermore, to compare the results of using the smart monitoring method with the conventional observation method, a complete diagram of a 5-kW solar system in MATLAB® 2018 was simulated and output diagrams were presented. Finally, to provide a comprehensive validation, our research results were compared with technical data obtained from a local 5-kW solar power plant located in Sari, Iran (36°33ʹ48″N, 53°03ʹ36″E) with an average annual irradiation of 1490 kWh/m2. When the simulation results and research are analysed, it is clear that the smart and real-time monitoring approach brings various benefits to solar power plants.
Experimental analysis on calcination and carbonation process in calcium looping for CO2 capture: study case of cement plants in Indonesia
Authors: Setia Febriatna Triya , Setyo Darmanto Prihadi , Bagja Juangsa Firman
Published: March 2023

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main contributor to greenhouse gases that affect global warming. The industrial sector is the third largest producer of CO2 and the cement industry is one of the industries that consistently produces the most significant CO2 emissions. The cement industry produces 5–8% of global CO2 emissions. Several methods for reducing specific CO2 emissions have been reported in the cement industry, including calcium looping, which uses the reversible reaction between calcination [calcium carbonate (CaCO3) decomposition] and carbonation [CO2 capture by calcium oxide (CaO)]. This work investigates calcium looping employing limestone obtained directly from several cement factories in Indonesia to observe the carbon-absorption characteristics of limestone from different mining locations. The experiment was carried out using a tube furnace equipped with a controlled atmospheric condition that functions as a calciner and a carbonator. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy characterization were conducted to analyse the changes in the experimental samples. The results demonstrated that the reactor configuration was capable of performing the calcination process, which converted CaCO3 to calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2], as well as the carbonation process, which captured carbon and converted it back to CaCO3. Parametric analysis was performed on both reactions, including pressure, temperature, duration, particle size and reaction atmosphere. The results show that the limestone obtained from all sites can be used as the sorbents for the calcium-looping process with an average reactivity of 59.01%. Limestone from cement plants in various parts of Indonesia has the potential to be used as carbon sorbents in calcium-looping technology. With a similar CO2 concentration as the flue gas of 16.67%, the experimental results show that Bayah limestone has the maximum reactivity, as shown by the highest carbon-content addition of 12.15 wt% and has the highest CO2-capture capability up to >75% per mole of Ca(OH)2 as a sorbent. Similar levels of the ability to capture CO2 per mole of Ca(OH)2 can be found in other limestones, ranging from 14.85% to 34.07%. The results show a promising performance of raw limestones from different mining sites, allowing further study and observation of the possibility of CO2 emission reduction in the sustainable cement-production process.
Allocation and sizing of reactive power compensators considering PV power and load demand uncertainty using beetle-antenna grey wolf optimization
Authors: Elazab Rasha , Ser-Alkhatm M , Abu Adma Maged A , Abdel-Latif K M
Published: March 2023

Distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems play an important role in supplying many recent microgrids. The absence of reactive power support for these small-scale PV plants increases total microgrid losses and voltage-instability threats. Reactive power compensations (RPCs) should be integrated to enhance both microgrid losses and voltage profiles. RPC planning is a non-linear, complicated problem. In this paper, a combined RPC allocation and sizing algorithm is proposed. The RPC-integrating buses are selected using a new adaptive approach of loss sensitivity analysis. In the sizing process, the uncertainties in PV power and load demand are modelled using proper probability density functions. Three simulation techniques for handling uncertainties are compared to define the accurate and fast accurate method as follows: Monte Carlo simulation (MCS), scenario tree construction and reduction method, and point estimation method (PEM). The load flow equations are solved using the forward–backward sweep method. RPCs are optimally sized using the beetle-antenna-based strategy with grey wolf optimization (BGWO) to overcome the local minima problem that appeared in the other pre-proposed methods. Results have been compared using particle swarm optimization and conventional GWO. The proposed model is verified using the IEEE 33 radial bus system. The expected power loss has been reduced by 22% and 31% using compensation of 26% and 44%, respectively. The results obtained prove that the BGWO optimal power flow and PEM to handle the uncertainty can significantly reduce the computation time with sufficient accuracy. Under the study conditions, PEM reduces the computation time to 4 minutes compared with 4 hours for MCS, with only a 3% error compared with MCS as an uncertainty benchmark method.
Spermidine Ameliorates Colitis via Induction of Anti-Inflammatory Macrophages and Prevention of Intestinal Dysbiosis
Authors: Niechcial Anna , Schwarzfischer Marlene , Wawrzyniak Marcin , Atrott Kirstin , Laimbacher Andrea , Morsy Yasser , Katkeviciute Egle , Häfliger Janine , Westermann Patrick , Akdis Cezmi A , Scharl Michael , Spalinger Marianne R
Published: March 2023

Background and Aims

Exacerbated immune activation, intestinal dysbiosis and a disrupted intestinal barrier are common features among inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] patients. The polyamine spermidine, which is naturally present in all living organisms, is an integral component of the human diet, and exerts beneficial effects in human diseases. Here, we investigated whether spermidine treatment ameliorates intestinal inflammation and offers therapeutic potential for IBD treatment.

Methods

We assessed the effect of oral spermidine administration on colitis severity in the T cell transfer colitis model in Rag2−/− mice by endoscopy, histology and analysis of markers of molecular inflammation. The effects on the intestinal microbiome were determined by 16S rDNA sequencing of mouse faeces. The impact on intestinal barrier integrity was evaluated in co-cultures of patient-derived macrophages with intestinal epithelial cells.

Results

Spermidine administration protected mice from intestinal inflammation in a dose-dependent manner. While T helper cell subsets remained unaffected, spermidine promoted anti-inflammatory macrophages and prevented the microbiome shift from Firmicutes and Bacteroides to Proteobacteria, maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. Consistent with spermidine as a potent activator of the anti-inflammatory molecule protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 2 [PTPN2], its colitis-protective effect was dependent on PTPN2 in intestinal epithelial cells and in myeloid cells. The loss of PTPN2 in epithelial and myeloid cells, but not in T cells, abrogated the barrier-protective, anti-inflammatory effect of spermidine and prevented the anti-inflammatory polarization of macrophages.

Conclusion

Spermidine reduces intestinal inflammation by promoting anti-inflammatory macrophages, maintaining a healthy microbiome and preserving epithelial barrier integrity in a PTPN2-dependent manner.
A case report of truncus arteriosus with intact ventricular septum and crossed branch pulmonary arteries
Authors: Davidson Hannah , Seco Michael , Asakai Hiroko , Liava’a Matthew
Published: March 2023

Background

Truncus arteriosus (TA) or persistent arterial trunk describes the presence of a solitary arterial trunk arising from the base of the heart, supported by a common ventriculoarterial junction. The trunk gives rise to the coronary arteries, systemic arteries, and at least one pulmonary artery. Truncus arteriosus is a rare congenital cardiac disease, and even rarer is the absence of ventricular septal defect.

Case summary

We report a case of a 2-day-old infant who presented with cyanosis and a cardiac murmur. He was diagnosed with TA with intact ventricular septum (IVS), as well as crossed pulmonary arteries which was identified on pre-operative imaging. We describe the surgical management and short-term follow-up.

Discussion

Our clinical case demonstrates a unique diagnosis and management of TA with IVS identified by pre-operative imaging with good surgical outcome.
Joint association of physical activity and sleep duration with risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a population-based cohort study using accelerometry
Authors: Liang Yannis Yan , Feng Hongliang , Chen Yilin , Jin Xinyi , Xue Huachen , Zhou Mingqing , Ma Huan , Ai Sizhi , Wing Yun-Kwok , Geng Qingshan , Zhang Jihui
Published: March 2023

Aims

To investigate the joint association of accelerometer-measured physical activity (PA) and sleep duration with mortality risk.

Methods and results

A 7-day accelerometer recording was performed on 92 221 participants (age 62.4 ± 7.8 years; 56.4% women) from the UK Biobank between February 2013 and December 2015. We divided sleep duration into three groups (short, normal, and long), total volume of PA into three levels according to tertiles (high, intermediate, low), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) into two groups based on the World Health Organization guidelines. The mortality outcomes were prospectively collected through the death registry. Over a median follow-up of 7.0 years, 3080 adults died, of which 1074 died from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 1871 from cancer. The associations of PA and sleep duration with mortality risk were all in a curvilinear dose–response pattern (Pnonlinearity <0.001). PA and sleep duration had additive and multiplicative interactions on mortality risk (Pinteraction <0.05). Compared with the participants with guideline-recommended MVPA and normal sleep duration, those without recommended MVPA but having short or long sleep duration were at a higher risk for all-cause mortality [short sleep: hazard ratio (HR) = 1.88; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.61–2.20; long sleep: HR = 1.69; 95% CI, 1.49–1.90]. A higher volume of PA or recommended MVPA attenuated the detrimental effects of short or long sleep duration on all-cause and CVD mortality risks.

Conclusion

MVPA meeting recommendations or a higher volume of PA at any intensity potentially diminished the adverse effects on all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with short and long sleep duration.
Gender, Christianity, and Peace in Chinese Women's International Thought 1914–1953
Authors: Bond Jennifer
Published: March 2023

This paper uncovers the various understandings of peace formulated by Chinese Christian women in the period from the First World War to the Korean War Armistice (1914–1953). In both the literature on Christianity in China and the histories of the national and international women's movements, Chinese Christian women have been subjected to multiple exclusions based on their race, class, gender, and religious identity. Drawing on the memoirs and writings of key Chinese Christian women thinkers active in international women's and Christian networks such as Deng Yuzhi 鄧欲志 and Zeng Baosun 曾寶蓀, as well as all less well-known female students writing in missionary school yearbooks, I dissect how Chinese Christian women variously constructed and deployed their own understanding of peace. How did they appropriate, adapt, or reject the rhetoric of “sisterhood” and maternalist arguments about women's supposed peace-making faculties circulating in the international women's movement for their own purposes? How did they fuse Christianity with early twentieth-century interpretations of Confucian ideas about peace and racial harmony? In what ways did Chinese Christian women active in Communist and Nationalist networks seek to deploy their own understanding of a “Just Peace” during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Korean War? Chinese Christian women's formulations of peace can help us to critically rethink European-centered chronologies of the women's movement and history of women's international thought.
Worlding Encounters: Indian Spirituality and Anti-Colonialism in the Life and Thoughts of “the Mother” (Mirra Alfassa)
Authors: Bajpai Ravi Dutt , Parashar Swati
Published: March 2023

Colonialisms of the nineteenth century resulted in lasting encounters between the East and West. Indian spiritual and religious renaissance, along with social reform movements during this period (inspired by Bhakti or personal devotion to God and self-realization in Vedanta teachings), attracted several western seekers and thinkers to India. Among them was Mirra Alfassa (February 21, 1878–November 17, 1973), a French woman, who was attracted to Eastern philosophy. She joined the revolutionary turned spiritual master, Sri Aurobindo, at Pondicherry, a French enclave, and continued to live in post-independent India for 26 years after 1947. In this paper, we trace Mirra Alfassa's journey from a spiritual seeker to being anointed as “the Mother”, the head of the Aurobindo Ashram. We explore how her pursuit of internationalism, cosmopolitanism, and universal values aligned her with the cultural, religious, and spiritual dimensions of India's nationalist movement and postcolonial nation-building. We hope to contribute to the wider discussions about women in international thought and how such international collaborations (as in the case of Mirra Alfassa) worked to achieve the nationalist goals for political, social, and cultural revival both during and after the independence movement in India.
Introduction to the Special Issue: Women and the History of International Thought
Authors: Hutchings Kimberly , Owens Patricia
Published: March 2023

This Special Issue takes forward themes and arguments from previous work on historical women's international thought, but it also points in a range of new research directions for this thriving interdisciplinary field. Notably, through its silences and aporia, as well as through its substantive content, the Special Issue as a whole speaks to the need to genuinely globalize our understanding of women's international thought, its international and transnational conditions of possibility, and its role in the coconstitution of gendered and racialized imaginaries of how international relations works.
From Colonial Subjecthood to Shared Humanity: Social Work and the Politics of “Doing” in Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay's International Thought
Authors: Balaji Shruti
Published: March 2023

This article tracks a paradox in elite, Third-World thinkers’ nation-building and postcolonial world-making in the early to mid-twentieth century. The tension lay in highly universalized notions of equality in imagined postcolonial worlds and the hierarchized social organizing tactics required to bring these worlds to life. The paper examines Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay—a prominent Indian social activist—and her international thought as she encountered this paradox in her social work praxis. I assess Kamaladevi's social work politics in the 1920s and 1930s at the Congress Seva Dal (a mass-based voluntary organization) as an imperial site where her universalized ideas about subjecthood clashed with practical disciplinary and hierarchical modes of political engagement. Then, I explore Kamaladevi's alienation from party politics in a newly independent India in the 1940s, which offered her an alternative pathway to leverage her social work as she built anticolonial solidarities at the substate level. Reading new archival material from Kamaladevi's travels in West Asia and parts of Africa in the 1950s–1960s, I suggest that her anti-imperial and race-conscious international thought in the “postimperial” world is a continuation rather than a breakaway from the earlier tensions of her normative and hierarchical civil–society activism. Kamaladevi's specific political trajectory that cuts across the Indian independence divide in 1947 is interesting in two ways. First, it problematizes hierarchies in historical elite Indian women's anticolonial and civil–society activism. Second, examining her social work allows for a disruptive reading of taken-for-granted binaries of the colonial/postcolonial, local/international, and social/political in historical international thought.
Multiple antibiotic resistance index (MARI) of human-isolated Salmonella species: a practical bacterial antibiotic surveillance tool
Authors: Woh Pei Yee , Yeung May Pui Shan , Goggins William Bernard
Published: March 2023

Objectives

Drug-resistant Salmonella plays a significant role in disease morbidity and mortality worldwide. The present study aimed to determine the multiple antibiotic resistance index (MARI) of Salmonella isolated from children hospitalized for gastroenteritis in Hong Kong.

Methods

Salmonella isolates from stool samples of children aged from 30 days to <5 years were confirmed by using MALDI-TOF MS and subjected to serotyping methods according to the White–Kauffmann–Le Minor scheme. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by agar disc diffusion.

Results

A total of 101 Salmonella isolates were serogrouped into Group B (n = 46, 45.5%), Group C (n = 9, 9.0%) or Group D (n = 46, 45.5%), and successfully classified into S. Enteritidis (n = 15) and S. Typhimurium (n = 7). Overall Salmonella susceptibilities demonstrated the highest level of resistance to ampicillin (76.2%), ciprofloxacin (54.0%) and tetracycline (61.2%) whereas MDR strains had high resistance toward ampicillin (100%), tetracycline (100%), cotrimoxazole (84.6%), chloramphenicol (83.3%) and ciprofloxacin (83.3%). MARI revealed that 80.2% of Salmonella including all MDR strains (n = 13) had indexes greater than 0.2.

Conclusions

The MARI captures a snapshot of a high rate of antibiotic use and resistance in the isolated Salmonella, indicating the urgent need for continuous antimicrobial susceptibility surveillance and control of antibiotic prescription in selecting effective treatments for human diseases.
Msp1-mediated proofreading mechanism for localization of tail-anchored membrane proteins
Authors: Matsumoto Shunsuke
Published: March 2023

Protein targeting to organelles has been thought to be a very precise process, and proteins that fail to localize correctly are rapidly degraded. Tail-anchored proteins are posttranslationally targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum membrane via guided entry of tail-anchored (TA) proteins pathway. However, these proteins can be mislocalized to the mitochondrial outer membrane. We found that the AAA-ATPase Msp1 on the mitochondrial outer membrane extracts mislocalized TA proteins to the cytosol, passing them to the guided entry of the TA proteins pathway to facilitate their transfer to the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. After the transfer to the endoplasmic reticulum, such TA proteins are directed to degradation if they are recognized by the quality control system on the endoplasmic reticulum. If not recognized, they are retargeted to their original destination along the secretory pathway. Thus, we have identified an intracellular proofreading system that corrects the localization of TA proteins.
Collecting the nation in the museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1832–91
Authors: Holder Julie
Published: March 2023

The sixty-year period from 1832 to 1891 was key to the development of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and its museum, during which time its collection was transferred to national ownership and greater emphasis began to be placed on social and cultural history. This article analyses acquisition data to add substance to the knowledge of the meanings attached by the antiquarian society to the collection of Scottish materials from the period after ad 1100. Its purpose is, first, to ascertain the extent to which the society developed targeted collecting strategies and, second, to demonstrate the ways in which the museum’s collecting practices were influenced by the society’s priorities and broader antiquarian ideas on the value of material sources in the study of history. It is argued that by 1891 the museum’s collecting strategies had shifted from a unionist-nationalist framework towards an international comparative approach which elevated the ‘Scottishness’ of the museum’s collection by representing Scotland as a distinct nation of Europe with its own recognizable material history.
Bayesian likelihood-based regression for estimation of optimal dynamic treatment regimes
Authors: Yu Weichang , Bondell Howard D
Published: March 2023

Clinicians often make sequences of treatment decisions that can be framed as dynamic treatment regimes. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian likelihood-based dynamic treatment regime model that incorporates regression specifications to yield interpretable relationships between covariates and stage-wise outcomes. We define a set of probabilistically-coherent properties for dynamic treatment regime processes and present the theoretical advantages that are consequential to these properties. We justify the likelihood-based approach by showing that it guarantees these probabilistically-coherent properties, whereas existing methods lead to process spaces that typically violate these properties and lead to modelling assumptions that are infeasible. Through a numerical study, we show that our proposed method can achieve superior performance over existing state-of-the-art methods.
Enhanced safety surveillance of STAMARIL® yellow fever vaccine provided under the expanded access investigational new drug program in the USA
Authors: Rojas Andrey , Hachey Wayne , Kaur Gurpreet , Korejwo Joanna , Muhammad Riyadh
Published: March 2023

Background

YF-VAX® (Sanofi, Swiftwater, PA), a live, attenuated vaccine based on the yellow fever (YF) substrain 17D-204, is the only YF vaccine licensed in the USA. Manufacturing disruption of YF-VAX and anticipated depletion of the US supply by mid-2017 led to the importation of another YF vaccine, STAMARIL® (Sanofi, France), into the USA under an expanded access investigational new drug program (EAP) to fulfil the public health need for YF vaccination. As part of this program, Sanofi collected enhanced safety surveillance data following vaccination with STAMARIL. Here, we report the results of the enhanced safety surveillance.

Methods

STAMARIL vaccine was offered to those aged ≥9 months at high risk of YF. Vaccine recipients (or parents/guardians) were instructed to report suspected adverse reactions, any serious adverse events (SAEs) including adverse events of special interest [AESI] occurring after vaccination regardless of suspected relationship, and any inadvertent exposure in pregnancy or breastfeeding within 14 days of vaccination. The AESIs monitored were anaphylaxis, neurotropic disease (YEL-AND) and viscerotropic disease (YEL-AVD).

Results

Overall, 627 079 individuals received STAMARIL from May 2017 through June 2021; of these, 1308 (0.2%) reported at least one AE, of which 122 reported at least one SAE. There were seven cases of YEL-AND and three cases of YEL-AVD reported, for reporting rates of 1.1 and 0.5 per 100 000 vaccine recipients, respectively. One vaccine recipient developed an anaphylactic reaction (reporting rate: 0.16 per 100 000). No safety concerns were identified from inadvertent vaccine exposure during pregnancy (41 pregnant women) or potential neonatal exposure via breast milk (four exposed infants).

Conclusions

This study supports the utility of STAMARIL in the EAP as an alternative solution for the YF vaccine shortage in the USA. SAEs were very rare and consistent with the known safety profile of STAMARIL.
Stroke Care
Authors: Harwood Rowan H. , Huwez Farhad Umer , Guyler Paul , Alam Sajid , Gaynor Catherine
Published: March 2023

Stroke Care looks into a holistic approach to the care of patients with transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) and stroke. It acknowledges stroke as a major health concern across the world that is common but complicated to manage. Evidence shows that thorough and organized care from teams of health professionals in stroke units leads to substantially fewer deaths and better recovery than other types of care. The book elaborates on the skills needed to address the issues around a stroke patient’s journey from diagnosis and life at home. Practice recommendations involve evidence supporting prevention, acute care, rehabilitation, and long-term care in line with the changes in the field of stroke medicine and the latest clinical trials.
Leveraging the metacoupling framework for sustainability science and global sustainable development
Authors: Liu Jianguo
Published: March 2023

Sustainability science seeks to understand human–nature interactions behind sustainability challenges, but has largely been place-based. Traditional sustainability efforts often solved problems in one place at the cost of other places, compromising global sustainability. The metacoupling framework offers a conceptual foundation and a holistic approach to integrating human–nature interactions within a place, as well as between adjacent places and between distant places worldwide. Its applications show broad utilities for advancing sustainability science with profound implications for global sustainable development. They have revealed effects of metacoupling on the performance, synergies, and trade-offs of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across borders and across local to global scales; untangled complex interactions; identified new network attributes; unveiled spatio-temporal dynamics and effects of metacoupling; uncovered invisible feedbacks across metacoupled systems; expanded the nexus approach; detected and integrated hidden phenomena and overlooked issues; re-examined theories such as Tobler's First Law of Geography; and unfolded transformations among noncoupling, coupling, decoupling, and recoupling. Results from the applications are also helpful to achieve SDGs across space, amplify benefits of ecosystem restoration across boundaries and across scales, augment transboundary management, broaden spatial planning, boost supply chains, empower small agents in the large world, and shift from place-based to flow-based governance. Key topics for future research include cascading effects of an event in one place on other places both nearby and far away. Operationalizing the framework can benefit from further tracing flows across scales and space, uplifting the rigor of causal attribution, enlarging toolboxes, and elevating financial and human resources. Unleashing the full potential of the framework will generate more important scientific discoveries and more effective solutions for global justice and sustainable development.
Successful Treatment of Persistent Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Bacteremia With Cefiderocol in an Infant
Authors: Hsu Alice J , Simner Patricia J , Bergman Yehudit , Mathers Amy J , Tamma Pranita D
Published: March 2023

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an important nosocomial pathogen with limited treatment options. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is generally regarded as the preferred therapy; however, treatment failures with TMP-SMX have been reported. Herein, we report a case of a 5-week-old infant with 8 days of S. maltophilia bacteremia while receiving TMP-SMX, despite in vitro susceptibility. Transitioning to cefiderocol monotherapy resulted in blood culture clearance within 24 hours, in the absence of any additional interventions. This is the first published case of the use of cefiderocol for a pediatric patient with an infection due to S. maltophilia. We review preclinical and clinical data that underscore why cefiderocol may be an effective treatment option for S. maltophilia infections.
Diagnosing Institutionalized ‘Distrustworthiness’
Authors: Fricker Miranda
Published: March 2023

I consider Katherine Hawley's commitment account of interpersonal trustworthiness alongside her sceptical challenge regarding the value of philosophically modelling institutional trustworthiness as distinct from reliability. I argue, pace Hawley's challenge, that there would be significant diagnostic and explanatory loss if we were to content ourselves with ideas of institutional (un)reliability alone; and I offer an illustrative case where institutional unreliability is only the half of it, indicating that when it comes to certain kinds of institutional dysfunction, we do need philosophical models of institutional ‘distrustworthiness’ if we are to achieve a proper diagnosis.
Arsenic impairs stem cell differentiation via the Hippo signaling pathway
Authors: Perego M Chiara , McMichael Benjamin D , Bain Lisa J
Published: March 2023

Arsenic is a ubiquitous toxic metalloid, with over 150 million people exposed to arsenic concentrations above the current 10 ppb drinking water standard through contaminated food and water. Arsenic is a known developmental toxicant as neuronal and muscle development are disrupted following arsenic exposure during embryogenesis. In this study, murine embryonic stem cells were chronically exposed to 0.1 μM (7.5 ppb) arsenic for 32 weeks. RNA sequencing showed that the Hippo signaling pathway, which is involved in embryonic development and pluripotency maintenance, is impaired following arsenic exposure. Thus, temporal changes in the Hippo pathway’s core components and its downstream target genes Ctgf and c-Myc were investigated. Protein expression of the pathway’s main effector YAP in its active form was significantly upregulated by 3.7-fold in arsenic-exposed cells at week 8, while protein expression of inactive phosphorylated YAP was significantly downregulated by 2.5- and 2-fold at weeks 8 and 16. Exposure to arsenic significantly increased the ratio between nuclear and cytoplasmic YAP by 1.9-fold at weeks 16 and 28. The ratio between nuclear and cytoplasmic transcriptional enhancer factor domain was similarly increased in arsenic-treated samples by 3.4- and 1.6-fold at weeks 16 and 28, respectively. Levels of Ctgf and c-Myc were also upregulated following arsenic exposure. These results suggest that chronic exposure to an environmentally relevant arsenic concentration might hinder cellular differentiation and maintain pluripotency through the impairment of the Hippo signaling pathway resulting in increased YAP activation.
Captive Cousins: Hoomothya, Wassaja, and a Lifetime of Unwellness
Authors: Crandall Maurice
Published: March 2023

This article explores the lives and experiences of two Yavapai first cousins during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. One of these men was very well known (Wassaja, or Carlos Montezuma), while the other was less so (Hoomothya, or Mike Burns). While both secured American citizenship and a degree of success in mainstream American society, their lives were also plagued by bitter disappointments and personal turmoil. Using the Yavapai concept of nagock hona umi—a Yavapai term meaning unwellness in an individual—the article demonstrates how and why these two Yavapai cousins experienced profound, lifelong unwellness. This unwellness began in childhood, when both were captured by enemies and ripped from their families, and it remained untreated throughout their lives. This article serves as an invitation to scholars to utilize Indigenous methodologies originating from Indigenous communities to better understand how they experienced—and continue to experience—colonialism, genocide, assimilation policies, citizenship and liberalism, and life in the “modern” world.
Epidemiology, Host Resistance, and Genomics of the Small Grain Cereals PathogenXanthomonas translucens: New Advances and Future Prospects
Authors: Ledman Kristi E. , Osdaghi Ebrahim , Curland Rebecca D. , Liu Zhaohui , Dill-Macky Ruth
Published: March 2023

Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) primarily affects barley and wheat and is mainly caused by the pathogens Xanthomonas translucens pv. translucens and X. translucens pv. undulosa, respectively. BLS is distributed globally and poses a risk to food security and the supply of malting barley. X. translucens pv. cerealis can infect both wheat and barley but is rarely isolated from these hosts in natural infections. These pathogens have undergone a confusing taxonomic history, and the biology has been poorly understood, making it difficult to develop effective control measures. Recent advancements in the ability and accessibility to sequence bacterial genomes have shed light on phylogenetic relationships between strains and identified genes that may play a role in virulence, such as those that encode Type III effectors. In addition, sources of resistance to BLS have been identified in barley and wheat lines, and ongoing efforts are being made to map these genes and evaluate germplasm. Although there are still gaps in BLS research, progress has been made in recent years to further understand epidemiology, diagnostics, pathogen virulence, and host resistance.