bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effective bioremoval of Fe(III) ions using paprika (Capsicum annuum L.) pomace generated in the food industry
Authors: Kalak Tomasz , Dudczak-Hałabuda Joanna , Tachibana Yu , Cierpiszewski Ryszard
Published: November 2020

In these studies, removal of Fe(III) ions by biosorption processes from aqueous solutions was carried out using paprika (Capsicum annuum L.) pomace generated during processing in the food industry. The biosorbent material was characterized using several analytical methods, including particle size distribution, XRD, SEM–EDS, electrokinetic zeta potential, surface area analysis (BET, BJH), thermogravimetry, morphology (SEM), spectrophotometry FT-IR. Several factors, such as biosorbent dosage, initial concentration, contact time and initial pH were analyzed to show an effect on the bioremoval process, efficiency and adsorption capacity. As a result, the maximum adsorption efficiency and capacity were determined to be 99.1% and 7.92 mg/g, respectively. Based on the kinetics analysis, the bioremoval process is better described by the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second order equation model. In conclusion, the achieved research results suggest that paprika biomass can be an effective material for efficiently removing iron(III) from wastewater and improving water quality. These studies on the recovery of iron metal from the environment fit in the latest trends in the concept of the global circular economy.
Insights into the Porretta Terme (northern Apennines, Italy) hydrothermal system revealed by geochemical data on presently discharging thermal waters and paleofluids
Authors: Tassi Franco , Garofalo Paolo S. , Turchetti Filippo , De Santis Davide , Capecchiacci Francesco , Vaselli Orlando , Cabassi Jacopo , Venturi Stefania , Vannini Stefano
Published: November 2020

This study focuses on the geochemical features of the presently discharging thermal and cold springs and on paleofluids from the upstream portion of the Reno river basin (Alto Reno; central–northern Italy). The aim is investigating the primary sources of the modern and fossil fluids and the interactions between deep and shallow aquifers. Paleofluids are from fluid inclusions hosted within euhedral and hopper quartz crystals and consist of a two-phase, liquid–vapor aqueous fluid and a unary CH4 fluid. The aqueous inclusions have constant phase ratios and a calculated salinity of ~ 1.5 wt% NaCleq. They homogenize by bubble disappearance at 100–200 °C, whereas the estimated entrapment depth is ~ 3–5.5 km. The paleofluids likely represent the vestiges of the deep and hot, CH4-rich, Na+–Cl− fluids produced by the interaction between meteoric waters and Triassic and Miocene formations. The modern Na+–Cl−(HCO3−) thermal waters originate from meteoric waters infiltrating SW of the study area, at elevation > 800 m a.s.l., circulating within both the Triassic evaporites and the overlying Miocene turbiditic formations, where salt dissolution/precipitation, sulfate reduction, and production of thermogenic CH4 occur. The equilibrium temperature of the deep fluid source is ~ 170 °C, corresponding to > 5 km depth. Cold springs are Ca2+–HCO3− type and show low amounts of biogenic CO2 and CH4 with no inputs of deep-originated fluids excepting in the immediate surroundings of the thermal area, confirming the lack of significant hydraulic connection between shallow and deep aquifers. We propose a genetic link between the quartz-hosted paleofluid and the thermal waters present in the area.
“The lockdown of physical co-operation touches the heart of adult education”: A Delphi study on immediate and expected effects of COVID-19
Authors: Käpplinger Bernd , Lichte Nina
Published: November 2020

This article is based on the first wave of an ongoing worldwide Delphi study which is currently analysing the immediate and expected effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult education and adult learning. While the methodology of Delphi studies varies a lot, in a nutshell, the core idea of a Delphi study is that it explores the future of a particular field in a collaborative way. The authors contacted more than 50 international experts in the field of adult education for a qualitative online survey between April and May 2020, asking them to provide information, observations, expectations and advice. While the findings show many cross-national similarities, there are also many differences. Clearly, adult educators are still trying to understand the implications of the crisis, which they perceive as unprecedented.
Telerounding Offers High Patient Satisfaction after Total Joint Arthroplasty
Authors: Schwartz Andrew M. , Chan Ferdinand J. , Levy Benjamin J. , Tarpada Sandip P. , Schwechter Evan M.
Published: November 2020

Background

Research in surgical fields other than orthopedics has demonstrated high patient satisfaction with non-traditional telerounding modalities.

Questions/Purposes

We sought to determine patient satisfaction and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores of patients who experienced telerounding in the post-operative period after undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA).

Methods

Fifty consecutive TJA patients were prospectively enrolled to receive telerounding. The patients were divided into two groups based on their satisfaction with telerounding. The HCAHPS scores of the patients who received telerounding were compared with 50 control patients.

Results

Overall, the telerounding cohort had a positive reaction to telerounding. Comparing patients who were highly satisfied to those who were dissatisfied with telerounding, younger patients were found to be more frequently satisfied with telerounding. Compared with patients who did not receive telerounding, patients who experienced telerounding rated the hospital higher on a 10-point scale were more likely to recommend the hospital to others, more frequently believed their physicians treated them with courtesy and respect, and more often believed their physicians always listened to them carefully.

Conclusion

An overwhelming majority of our patients found telerounding using FaceTime enhanced their care while recovering post-operatively from TJA. Those patients were typically younger and had significantly higher HCAHPS scores, which potentially can enhance the physician-patient relationship.
A chemical basis for different oviposition rates of Helicoverpa assulta across two Nicotiana species
Authors: Miao Changjian , Li Weizheng , Dong Shaoqi , Luo Qianwen , Zhao Man , Guo Xianru
Published: November 2020

The tobacco Nicotiana rustica is widely used as a trap crop in the fields of Nicotiana tabacum in China, by attracting oviposition of Helicoverpa assulta females, thus preventing damage to N. tabacum. The mechanism underlying the differential oviposition rates of H. assulta across these two tobacco species, however, is largely unknown. We investigated the mechanism of host plant acceptance of H. assulta with respect to these two tobaccos by using a two-choice behavioral bioassay and GC–MS. Our results indicate that both the leaves and inflorescences of N. rustica attracted significantly more eggs than the corresponding parts of N. tabacum. Extracts of leaves and inflorescences of N. rustica with two different solvents elicited similar oviposition patterns to the corresponding parts of the plants. Chemical analysis by GC–MS revealed that the volatiles of N. rustica contain larger amounts of nicotine than those of N. tabacum at the flowering stage. In addition, γ-terpinolene and β-elemene are found only in extracts of N. rustica. A two-choice bioassay on the individual compounds showed that γ-terpinolene, which is specific to the vegetative stage of N. rustica, and nicotine attracted oviposition by H. assulta. The volatile β-elemene, which is present only in N. rustica, was also attractive. We conclude that the larger amount of nicotine, and the species-specific γ-terpinolene and β-elemene may mediate the different oviposition rates of H. assulta females across N. rustica and N. tabacum.
On the relative K-group in the ETNC, Part II
Authors: Braunling Oliver
Published: November 2020

In a previous paper we showed that, under some assumptions, the relativeK-group in the Burns–Flach formulation of the equivariant Tamagawa number conjecture (ETNC) is canonically isomorphic to aK-group of locally compact equivariant modules. Our approach as well as the standard one both involve presentations: One due to Bass–Swan, applied to categories of finitely generated projective modules; and one due to Nenashev, applied to our topological modules without finite generation assumptions. In this paper we provide an explicit isomorphism.
Helmholtz’s decomposition for compressible flows and its application to computational aeroacoustics
Authors: Schoder Stefan , Roppert Klaus , Kaltenbacher Manfred
Published: November 2020

The Helmholtz decomposition, a fundamental theorem in vector analysis, separates a given vector field into an irrotational (longitudinal, compressible) and a solenoidal (transverse, vortical) part. The main challenge of this decomposition is the restricted and finite flow domain without vanishing flow velocity at the boundaries. To achieve a unique and$$L_2$$L2-orthogonal decomposition, we enforce the correct boundary conditions and provide its physical interpretation. Based on this formulation for bounded domains, the flow velocity is decomposed. Combining the results with Goldstein’s aeroacoustic theory, we model the non-radiating base flow by the transverse part. Thereby, this approach allows a precise physical definition of the acoustic source terms for computational aeroacoustics via the non-radiating base flow. In a final simulation example, Helmholtz’s decomposition of compressible flow data using the finite element method is applied to an overflowed rectangular cavity at Mach 0.8. The results show a reasonable agreement with the source data and illustrate the distinct parts of the Helmholtz decomposition.
Analgesic effect of caudal and IL/IH nerve blockade among children undergoing inguinal surgeries: A prospective cohort study, 2019
Authors: Yimer Yusuf , Mohammed Ayub , Ahmed Siraj , Aregawi Adugna , Jemal Suleiman , Mohammed Salih , Hika Assefa , Gebremeskel Bereket , Gebregiorgis Laeke
Published: November 2020

ABSTRACT

Background:

Caudal block (CB) is a common regional technique in pediatric patients. It involves the introduction of local anesthetic into the caudal epidural space. Ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric nerve block is also the most common abdominal wall blocks provide effective analgesia for surgical procedures of inguinal area.

Objectives:

To compare the analgesic effect of caudal and ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric nerve blockade using bupivacaine for children under going inguinal surgeries at Menellik II hospital.

Methodology:

An institutional based prospective cohort study was conducted on 70 patients who under gone inguinal surgeries under general anesthesia. Patients in CB group (n = 35) received caudal block and IL/IH group (n = 35) received ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric nerve block after induction of anesthesia based on the independent decision of anesthetist. Study participants were selected by Systematic random sampling technique. P-value less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.

Result:

This study found that caudal block has prolonged postoperative analgesia with a mean duration of 301.5 ± 73.5 min compared to 242.4 ± 66.4 min in Ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric group (p = 0.001). Total analgesic consumption and pain severity was comparable between the groups (p > 0.05) which is not statistically significant.

Conclusion and recommendation:

we found that caudal epidural had prolonged duration of analgesia as compared to Ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric nerve block. Based on our finding we recommend the use of caudal block as effective post-operative analgesia for inguinal surgeries in pediatrics.

Highlights:
Women and Society in the Roman World
Authors: Hemelrijk Emily A.
Published: November 2020

By their social and material context as markers of graves, dedications and public signs of honour, inscriptions offer a distinct perspective on the social lives, occupations, family belonging, mobility, ethnicity, religious affiliations, public honour and legal status of Roman women ranging from slaves and freedwomen to women of the elite and the imperial family, both in Rome and in Italian and provincial towns. They thus shed light on women who are largely overlooked by the literary sources. The wide range of inscriptions and graffiti included in this book show women participating not only in their families and households but also in the social and professional life of their cities. Moreover, they offer us a glimpse of women's own voices. Marital ideals and problems, love and hate, friendship, birth and bereavement, joy and hardship all figure in inscriptions, revealing some of the richness and variety of life in the ancient world.
‘Compulsory Independence’: Irish Nationalist Images of Empire and Republic after the Birth of Independent German-Austria, 1919–1922
Authors: Zách Lili
Published: November 2020

After 1918, the birth of independent small states in Central Europe was a common point of reference in Ireland. This article aims to provide a more complex understanding of Irish images of postwar Austria, highlighting the coexistence of some elements of Austria’s imperial legacy and new characteristics of the independent small state. Irish commentators focused heavily on the newly drawn borders in Central Europe, including the redistribution of nationalities, which was considered a significant factor in the formulation of identities in the newly independent, self-declared nation-states. This article discusses how Irish intellectuals, journalists, and politicians connected the issues of changing borders and the ethnic composition of Austria to actual Irish problems, especially in relation to the question of (greater German) unity. In addition, this article also explores how the significance of religion in Irish national identity determined perceptions of postwar Austria. Catholicism came to symbolize more than the everyday religion of the majority of the Irish population, and it manifested itself in Irish perceptions of the wider world, including the small successor states of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Deposition of History in Prehistory: Copper Objects on Sites and in the Landscape
Authors: Chapman John , Gaydarska Bisserka
Published: November 2020

A variable proportion of finds from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of ‘Old Europe’ has come from places outside settlements, cemeteries, production sites, ritual sites, or caves. Such finds tend to be described as ‘chance/isolated/single/stray’ finds or, when in groups, as ‘hoards’. The frequent, modernist cause invoked for these finds is that they were either ‘hidden’ in times of mortal danger, represented a ‘gift to the gods’, or simply ‘lost’. One reason for these explanatory shortcomings is the over-attention to the types of objects deposited in the landscape and the frequent lack of attention to the often-distinctive place of deposition. We believe that we have misnamed, overlooked, or not accurately characterised an entire class of sites, which we term ‘landscape deposition sites’, whose defining feature was the transformation of a place by the deposition of a significant object or group of objects to create a qualitatively different place. The creation of such landscape deposit sites varied in time and space throughout Old Europe, but all sites were affected by this new dimension of the extended cultural domain.

In this article, we consider the interpretations of metal deposition in North-west Europe and the light they shed on an earlier and geographically different region. The primary aim of this paper is an exploration of the variable relationships between landscape deposit sites and the coeval finds made in special deposits in settlements and cemeteries in the 5th and 4th millenniabc, which will lead to proposed new interpretations of landscape deposition sites.
MULTINOMIAL VANDERMONDE CONVOLUTION VIA PERMANENT
Authors: RODTES KIJTI
Published: November 2020

We provide a generalised Laplace expansion for the permanent function and, as a consequence, we re-prove a multinomial Vandermonde convolution. Some combinatorial identities are derived by applying special matrices to the expansion.
Premise Disputes and Political Ideology
Authors: Barker David C. , Marietta Morgan
Published: November 2020

A substantial body of scholarship highlights the role of core values as elements of liberalism–conservatism. However, researchers have yet to fully appreciate the contribution of premises, or abstractdescriptivebeliefs. This disjuncture has occurred despite the fact that for centuries, philosophers have used premises about human nature and society to ground their religious, political and economic theories. In the observational and experimental studies described in this article, the authors examine the extent to which such premise disputes stand independently from value conflicts as ideological ingredients. The findings suggest that premises are distinct and meaningful elements of political cognition, analogous in importance to several well-worn values.
Anomalous diffusion across a tera-Gauss magnetic field in accreting neutron stars
Authors: Kulsrud Russell M. , Sunyaev Rashid
Published: November 2020

When mass falls on the polar regions of a neutron star in a binary X-ray source system, it tends to spread out over the entire surface. A long-standing question in research on this problem is: will the mass be anchored on the magnetic field lines and drag the field with it or is there a special mechanism that allows the mass to slip through the magnetic field lines, leading to much less distortion? As the amount of mass falling on the neutron star can actually be comparable with the neutron star mass, the question of which alternative holds is very important. We suggest an efficient mechanism that will allow the mass to slip through the lines. The mechanism is based on a strong ideal Schwarzschild (Structure and Evolution of the Stars. Princeton University Press, 1958) instability. As the instability itself is ideal, it cannot directly force the mass to slip though the lines. However, it can create a cascade of eddies whose scale extends down to a resistive scale, at the same time mixing the field lines up without breaking them. On this scale the mass can cross the lines. This instability is efficient enough that it can produce a mass flow in the plasma without growing to a large amplitude but saturates at a small one. The instability determines the mass per flux distribution of the accumulated material on different lines so that the equilibrium is marginal to the instability on every line. This makes the equilibrium unique. Thus, as the extra mass on the neutron star grows, the state of the outer shell proceeds through a sequence of unique critically unstable equilibria. In an appendix, an attempt is made to track the critical equilibria over long times.
Teachers’ perspectives and practices on biodiversity web portals as an opportunity to reconnect education with nature
Authors: Picanço Ana , Arroz Ana Moura , Amorim Isabel R , Matos Sónia , Gabriel Rosalina
Published: November 2020

Biodiversity loss is a complex issue and a risk that education cannot overlook. Teachers play a crucial role in how biodiversity, and in particular local biodiversity, is understood. To provide insight into how to improve communication on the subject, we investigate teachers’ perspectives and social representations regarding biodiversity, their fluency in terms of Internet use, their familiarity with biodiversity web portals and perceived pedagogical usefulness of technology. A sample of 243 K–12 schoolteachers of multiple scientific domains from eight Azorean islands answered an online survey, including three free-word association tests using inductive terms such as ‘Internet’, ‘biodiversity’ and ‘familiar biodiversity portals’. Overall, the schoolteachers failed to incorporate the multidimensionality of the biodiversity concept (including natural science teachers) or to show technological fluency, and they tended not to use biodiversity web portals as tools to engage students in teaching activities. Our results indicate that teachers’ perspectives about biodiversity need to be broadened and improved and that it is worth exploring whether information and communication technology represents a window of opportunity to do so. As an example, biodiversity web portals, which are widely recognized as trustworthy information repositories, may be used to engage teachers in this endeavour.
Some Are More Equal Than Others: Intrasettlement Social Organization in Spišský Štvrtok (EBA/MBA, Slovakia)
Authors: Oravkinová Dominika , Vladár Jozef
Published: November 2020

Heterarchical or hierarchical? Egalitarian or unequal? Segmented or complex? Tribe, chiefdom, middle range? All these questions have been vividly discussed in an effort to reconstruct Bronze Age society within a wider area of central Europe. The extensive spectrum of published literature offers varied and often contradictory theoretical models, but we still know very little about the organization of particular social units, especially in the context of settlements. The morphological, technological and spatial analysis of movable and immovable sources from the fortified settlement in Spišský Štvrtok contributes in many respects to solution of the discussed problem in the northeastern Carpathian region. In the case of the Spišský Štvrtok locality, we can interpret the degree of social complexity on the basis of qualitative and quantitative parameters of material culture, evidence of production activities and their specialization level in correlation with spatial distribution of intra-site activity areas. Moreover, the detected tendencies are independently confirmed by the morpho-typological differences between gold and bronze artefacts contained in hoards, by architectonic details and by the presence of regular ritual activities. The achieved results thus indicate possible horizontal and vertical ranking, which was adapted to the local community.
‘I Have Done Hundreds of Rock Paintings’: On the Ongoing Rock Art Tradition among Samburu, Northern Kenya
Authors: Goldhahn Joakim , Labarakwe Stephen Longoida , Skoglund Peter , Westergren Ebbe
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we discuss observations from fieldwork in northern Kenya which revealed solid evidence for a vital ongoing rock art tradition among warriors of Samburu—lmurran. They make rock art during their lives as warriors, typically between the ages of 15 and 30, when they live away from their villages, herding cattle and thus representing a specific ‘community of practice’. Our findings reveal that Samburu rock art is made predominantly as a leisure occupation, while camping in shelters, as part of activities also involving the preparation of food. Typical images include domestic animals, humans (both men and women) and occasionally wild animals such as elephants and rhinos. Each age-set and new generation oflmurranis inspired by previous artwork, but they also change the tradition slightly by adding new elements, such as the recent tradition of writing letters and names close to the images. We conclude that even though rock art as such is not part of any ritual or ceremonial setting, it plays an important role as an inter-generational visual culture that transfers a common ongoing cultural engendered warrior identity through time.
MEAN–VARIANCE EQUILIBRIUM ASSET-LIABILITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY WITH COINTEGRATED ASSETS
Authors: CHIU MEI CHOI
Published: November 2020

This paper investigates asset-liability management problems in a continuous-time economy. When the financial market consists of cointegrated risky assets, institutional investors attempt to make profit from the cointegration feature on the one hand, while on the other hand they need to maintain a stable surplus level, that is, the company’s wealth less its liability. Challenges occur when the liability is random and cannot be fully financed or hedged through the financial market. For mean–variance investors, an additional concern is the rational time-consistency issue, which ensures that a decision made in the future will not be restricted by the current surplus level. By putting all these factors together, this paper derives a closed-form feedback equilibrium control for time-consistent mean–variance asset-liability management problems with cointegrated risky assets. The solution is built upon the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman framework addressing time inconsistency.
Comparative pandemics: the Tudor–Stuart and Wanli–Chongzhen years of pestilence, 1567–1666
Authors: Brook Timothy
Published: November 2020

The Black Death is a secure feature of European and west Asian history; in Chinese history, by contrast, the record of mass epidemic outbreaks over the same centuries is not. As a step towards integrating these two zones into a global history of disease, this article establishes a timeline of roughly a thousand major outbreaks in Ming–Qing China during the century 1567–1666. On the basis of these data, comparison is made of how pandemics were received and interpreted in two delimited zones, the Chinese province of North Zhili (now Hebei) and Tudor and Stuart England, with particular attention to differences in their literary incorporation, religious meaning, and political resonance.
’17, ’18, ’19: religion and science in three pandemics, 1817, 1918, and 2019
Authors: Phillips Howard
Published: November 2020

Recognizing that serious pandemics call forth explanations which go to the heart of beliefs about why natural disasters occur, this article examines three pandemics over the last 200 years (cholera from 1817, Spanish influenza in 1918–19, and COVID-19) to establish whether such explanations have changed significantly over time and, if so, why. What it finds is that this period saw a watershed in which the dominance of traditional religious explanations declined in many parts of the world in the face of the ascent of explanations based on biomedical science. Tracking this momentous change across several faiths and regions globally makes it possible to put into telling historical perspective the stances taken by faith-based communities in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Von Rahmenlehrplänen zu Curricula
Authors: Winter Claudia
Published: November 2020

Zusammenfassung. Die neuen pflegefachlichen und pflegepädagogischen Standards der generalistischen Rahmenlehrpläne fordern Lehrende bei der curricularen Ausgestaltung heraus. An ausgewählten Narrativen werden dadurch entstehende curriculare Verhinderungsmuster skizziert. Gleichzeitig lässt sich aus diesen Mustern heraus eine erfahrungsbasierte Anregung zur gemeinsamen curricularen Haltungsarbeit von Lehrenden formulieren.
Das Gemeinsame im Fremden entdecken
Authors: Lindenfelser Hanna , Dommes-Trautmann Tina
Published: November 2020

Zusammenfassung. Bestehende Konzepte für die Einarbeitung internationaler Pflegefachpersonen fokussieren als Zielgruppe überwiegend die Einzuarbeitenden, weniger die einarbeitenden Pflegefachpersonen. Um die fachliche und soziale Integration zu fördern haben die Autorinnen transkulturelle Lernräume für den akutstationären Pflegebereich entwickelt, die sowohl Einarbeitende als auch Einzuarbeitende und das gesamte (Pflege-)Team einbeziehen und deren transkulturelle Kompetenz fördern.
Qualifizierung für innovative Aufgaben in der Pflege
Authors: Barre Kirsten , Boettcher Aisha Meriel , Schüßler Nadine , Weber Petra
Published: November 2020

Zusammenfassung. Im Projekt MGMB wurde eine Beratung zu Medikamentenmanagement und Gesundheitsvorsorge von Menschen mit Lernschwierigkeiten entwickelt. Zur Erprobung dieser Beratung mussten Pflegeexpert_innen hinsichtlich einer aufsuchenden, neuen Versorgungsform befähigt werden. Die Konzipierung und Durchführung der Schulung wird im Artikel dargestellt.
Disentangling the Coupled Atmosphere‐Ocean‐Ice Interactions Driving Arctic Sea Ice Response to CO2 Increases
Authors: Garuba Oluwayemi A. , Singh Hansi A. , Hunke Elizabeth , Rasch Philip J.
Published: November 2020

A novel decomposition of the ocean heat energy that contributes to sea ice melt and growth (ocean‐ice and frazil heat) into components that are driven by surface heat flux and ocean circulation changes is used to isolate the evolving roles of the atmosphere and ocean in the Arctic sea ice loss from CO2 increases. A sea ice volume budget analysis is used to separate the impacts of the anomalous frazil/ocean‐ice heat from those of atmosphere‐ice heat on the evolving Arctic sea ice volume. The role of atmosphere‐ocean coupling in augmenting or curtailing the atmosphere‐ and ocean‐driven sea ice losses is further isolated by comparing the ice volume budget and the anomalous frazil/ocean‐ice heat components in partially and fully coupled experiments. Atmosphere‐ice heat fluxes drive most of Arctic sea ice loss in the first decade following CO2 increase by increasing the sea ice top face melt in summer, while ocean circulation changes drive the loss over the longer term through the anomalous increase of heat transport into the Arctic, which drive decreases in frazil ice growth and sea ice extent in winter. Atmosphere‐ocean coupling in the subpolar Atlantic further supports a negative feedback that attenuates the ocean‐driven sea ice losses over time; by accelerating the weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, it causes a large cooling of the subpolar Atlantic and attenuation of the anomalous heat transport into the Arctic in winter, allowing for a seasonal Arctic sea ice in the fully coupled experiment, while the Arctic completely becomes ice free in the partially coupled experiment.
Supermoon Drives Beach Morphological Changes in the Swash Zone
Authors: Banno Masayuki , Kuriyama Yoshiaki
Published: November 2020

The effect of the supermoon, which appears much larger than a normal full moon, on the morphological changes of a sandy beach was investigated by analyzing a 25‐year daily observation data set of beach morphology in the swash zone. The beach morphology fluctuated in two cycles related to the supermoon: the semisynodic month cycle (from full moon to new moon, and vice versa) and the anomalistic month cycle (from perigee to perigee). The supermoon makes the erosion of the upper swash zone more likely by generating a larger tidal range. The high‐water‐level contour positions observed during supermoons retreated significantly, although there were no trends in the change for all the observations. Erosion due to high waves coincident with a supermoon can be expected to be more severe in the upper swash zone; including the supermoon effect in beach morphodynamic models can improve coastal management.
Bcor deficiency perturbs erythro-megakaryopoiesis and cooperates with Dnmt3a loss in acute erythroid leukemia onset in mice
Authors: Sportoletti Paolo , Sorcini Daniele , Guzman Anna G. , Reyes Jaime M. , Stella Arianna , Marra Andrea , Sartori Sara , Brunetti Lorenzo , Rossi Roberta , Papa Beatrice Del , Adamo Francesco Maria , Pianigiani Giulia , Betti Camilla , Scialdone Annarita , Guarente Valerio , Spinozzi Giulio , Tini Valentina , Martelli Maria Paola , Goodell Margaret A. , Falini Brunangelo
Published: November 2020

Recurrent loss-of-function mutations ofBCL6 co-repressor(BCOR)gene are found in about 4% of AML patients with normal karyotype and are associated withDNMT3amutations and poor prognosis. Therefore, new anti-leukemia treatments and mouse models are needed for this combinatorial AML genotype. For this purpose, we first generated aBcor−/−knockout mouse model characterized by impaired erythroid development (macrocytosis and anemia) and enhanced thrombopoiesis, which are both features of myelodysplasia/myeloproliferative neoplasms. We then created and characterized doubleBcor−/−/Dnmt3a−/−knockout mice. Interestingly, these animals developed a fully penetrant acute erythroid leukemia (AEL) characterized by leukocytosis secondary to the expansion of blasts expressing c-Kit+ and the erythroid marker Ter119, macrocytic anemia and progressive reduction of the thrombocytosis associated with loss ofBcoralone. Transcriptomic analysis of double knockout bone marrow progenitors revealed that aberrant erythroid skewing was induced by epigenetic changes affecting specific transcriptional factors (GATA1-2) and cell-cycle regulators (Mdm2, Tp53). These findings prompted us to investigate the efficacy of demethylating agents in AEL, with significant impact on progressive leukemic burden and mice overall survival. Information gained from our model expands the knowledge on the biology of AEL and may help designing new rational treatments for patients suffering from this high-risk leukemia.
Fractionating autism based on neuroanatomical normative modeling
Authors: Zabihi Mariam , Floris Dorothea L. , Kia Seyed Mostafa , Wolfers Thomas , Tillmann Julian , Arenas Alberto Llera , Moessnang Carolin , Banaschewski Tobias , Holt Rosemary , Baron-Cohen Simon , Loth Eva , Charman Tony , Bourgeron Thomas , Murphy Declan , Ecker Christine , Buitelaar Jan K. , Beckmann Christian F. , Marquand Andre ,   The EU-AIMS LEAP Group
Published: November 2020

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition with substantial phenotypic, biological, and etiologic heterogeneity. It remains a challenge to identify biomarkers to stratify autism into replicable cognitive or biological subtypes. Here, we aim to introduce a novel methodological framework for parsing neuroanatomical subtypes within a large cohort of individuals with autism. We used cortical thickness (CT) in a large and well-characterized sample of 316 participants with autism (88 female, age mean: 17.2 ± 5.7) and 206 with neurotypical development (79 female, age mean: 17.5 ± 6.1) aged 6–31 years across six sites from the EU-AIMS multi-center Longitudinal European Autism Project. Five biologically based putative subtypes were derived using normative modeling of CT and spectral clustering. Three of these clusters showed relatively widespread decreased CT and two showed relatively increased CT. These subtypes showed morphometric differences from one another, providing a potential explanation for inconsistent case–control findings in autism, and loaded differentially and more strongly onto symptoms and polygenic risk, indicating a dilution of clinical effects across heterogeneous cohorts. Our results provide an important step towards parsing the heterogeneous neurobiology of autism.
Oxytocin treatment attenuates amygdala activity in autism: a treatment-mechanism study with long-term follow-up
Authors: Bernaerts Sylvie , Boets Bart , Steyaert Jean , Wenderoth Nicole , Alaerts Kaat
Published: November 2020

Intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin (IN-OT) is increasingly considered as a potential treatment for targeting the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the effects of continual use on neural substrates are fairly unexplored and long-term effects are unknown. In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, we investigated the effects of single-dose and multiple-dose IN-OT treatment (4 weeks of daily (24 IU) administrations) on brain activity related to processing emotional states. Thirty-eight adult men with ASD (aged between 18 and 35 years) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging of the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTS) and amygdala regions while processing emotional states from point-light biological motion. In line with prior research, a single dose of IN-OT induced a reliable increase in pSTS brain activity during the processing of point-light biological motion, but no consistent long-term changes in pSTS activity were induced after the multiple-dose treatment. In terms of bilateral amygdala, the multiple-dose treatment induced a consistent attenuation in brain activity, which outlasted the period of actual administrations until four weeks and one year post-treatment. Critically, participants with stronger attenuations in amygdala-activity showed greater behavioral improvements, particularly in terms of self-reported feelings of avoidant attachment and social functioning. Together, these observations provide initial insights into the long-lasting neural consequences of chronic IN-OT use on amygdala functioning and provide first indications that the acute versus chronic effects of IN-OT administration may be qualitatively different. Larger studies are however warranted to further elucidate the long-term impact of IN-OT treatment on human neural substrates and its behavioral consequences.
FOLFIRI plus cetuximab or bevacizumab for advanced colorectal cancer: final survival and per-protocol analysis of FIRE-3, a randomised clinical trial
Authors: Heinemann Volker , von Weikersthal Ludwig Fischer , Decker Thomas , Kiani Alexander , Kaiser Florian , Al-Batran Salah-Edin , Heintges Tobias , Lerchenmüller Christoph , Kahl Christoph , Seipelt Gernot , Kullmann Frank , Moehler Markus , Scheithauer Werner , Held Swantje , Miller-Phillips Lisa , Modest Dominik Paul , Jung Andreas , Kirchner Thomas , Stintzing Sebastian
Published: November 2020

Background

Cetuximab plus FOLFIRI improved overall survival compared with bevacizumab plus FOLFIRI in KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in FIRE-3, but no corresponding benefit was found for progression-free survival. This analysis aimed to determine whether cetuximab improves response and survival versus bevacizumab among response-evaluable patients receiving first-line FOLFIRI for RAS wild-type mCRC and the effect of primary tumour side on outcomes.

Methods

The intent-to-treat population included 593 patients with KRAS exon 2 wild-type mCRC. Further testing identified 400 patients with extended RAS wild-type disease; of these, 352 (88%) who received ≥3 cycles of therapy and had ≥1 post-baseline scan were evaluable for response and constituted the per-protocol population (169 cetuximab and 183 bevacizumab). Patients received 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) with either weekly cetuximab or biweekly bevacizumab given on day 1 of each 14-day cycle until response, progression or toxicity occurred. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR) in the per-protocol population. Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The effect of primary tumour location was evaluated.

Results

Median OS in the RAS wild-type population was 31 vs 26 months in the cetuximab and bevacizumab groups, respectively (HR 0.76, P = 0.012). In the per-protocol population, outcomes favoured cetuximab for ORR (77% vs 65%, P = 0.014) and median OS (33 vs 26 months, HR 0.75, P = 0.011), while PFS was comparable between groups. The advantage of cetuximab over bevacizumab occurred only in patients with left-sided primary tumours.

Conclusions

FOLFIRI plus cetuximab resulted in a significantly higher ORR and longer OS compared to FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab among patients with left-sided tumours. The superior response associated with cetuximab may particularly benefit patients with symptomatic tumours or borderline-resectable metastases.

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier

NCT00433927.
Mucus production stimulated by IFN-AhR signaling triggers hypoxia of COVID-19
Authors: Liu Yuying , Lv Jiadi , Liu Jiangning , Li Man , Xie Jing , Lv Qi , Deng Wei , Zhou Nannan , Zhou Yabo , Song Jiangping , Wang Peng , Qin Chuan , Tong Wei-Min , Huang Bo
Published: November 2020

Silent hypoxia has emerged as a unique feature of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we show that mucins are accumulated in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of COVID-19 patients and are upregulated in the lungs of severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected mice and macaques. We find that induction of either interferon (IFN)-β or IFN-γ upon SARS-CoV-2 infection results in activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signaling through an IDO-Kyn-dependent pathway, leading to transcriptional upregulation of the expression of mucins, both the secreted and membrane-bound, in alveolar epithelial cells. Consequently, accumulated alveolar mucus affects the blood-gas barrier, thus inducing hypoxia and diminishing lung capacity, which can be reversed by blocking AhR activity. These findings potentially explain the silent hypoxia formation in COVID-19 patients, and suggest a possible intervention strategy by targeting the AhR pathway.
The R2 non-neuroinvasive HSV-1 vaccine affords protection from genital HSV-2 infections in a guinea pig model
Authors: Bernstein David I. , Cardin Rhonda D. , Smith Gregory A. , Pickard Gary E. , Sollars Patricia J. , Dixon David A. , Pasula Rajamouli , Bravo Fernando J.
Published: November 2020

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are common and can cause severe illness but no vaccine is currently available. The recent failure of subunit HSV vaccines has highlighted the need for vaccines that present a diverse array of antigens, including the development of next-generation live-attenuated vaccines. However, most attenuated HSV strains propagate poorly, limiting their ability to elicit protective immune responses. A live-attenuated vaccine that replicates in non-neural tissue but is ablated for transmission into the nervous system may elicit protective immune responses without evoking neurologic complications or establishing life-long infections. Initial studies of R2, a live-attenuated vaccine that is engineered to be unable to invade the nervous system, used the guinea pig genital HSV model to evaluate the ability of R2 to replicate at the site of inoculation, cause disease and infect neural tissues. R2 was then evaluated as a vaccine using three routes of inoculation: intramuscular (IM), intradermal (ID) and intravaginal (IVag) and compared to IM administered gD2+MPL/Alum vaccine in the same model. R2 replicated in the genital tract but did not produce acute or recurrent disease and did not infect the neural tissue. The R2 vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody and decreased the severity of acute and recurrent HSV-2 disease as well as recurrent shedding. The ID route was the most effective. ID administered R2 was more effective than gD2+MPL/Alum at inducing neutralizing antibody, suppressing acute disease, and acute vaginal virus replication. R2 was especially more effective at reducing recurrent virus shedding, the most common source of HSV transmission. The live-attenuated prophylactic HSV vaccine, R2, was effective in the guinea pig model of genital HSV-2 especially when administered by the ID route. The use of live-attenuated HSV vaccines that robustly replicate in mucosal tissues but are ablated for neuroinvasion offers a promising approach for HSV vaccines.
Study on mechanism of differential concentration corrosion
Authors: Liu Bin , Liu Yingwei
Published: November 2020

The pipeline easily gets corroded in a seawater environment. The oxygen in the seawater is one of major parameters causing the corrosion. In practice, the corrosion due to the oxygen concentration difference, i.e. differential concentration corrosion (DCC), cannot be avoided. However, a one-dimensional DCC model cannot satisfactorily predict the corrosion because the oxygen distribution near the pipe wall is two-dimensional. In this regard, a two-dimensional DCC model was proposed in this study to numerically investigate the distribution of corrosion potential and current in the ionic conductive layer near the pipe wall as well as the overall corrosion current. The results show that DCC plays a significant role in determining the corrosion potential and current. Without considering DCC, a large corrosion potential and current exist at the location with high oxygen concentration near the pipe wall, whereas the occurrence of the low corrosion potential and current corresponds to the location with low oxygen concentration. However, as DCC is considered, at the location with high corrosion potential, cathodic polarization was produced and the corrosion rate decreases; at the location with low corrosion potential, anodic polarization was produced and the corrosion rate increases. In general, the corrosion potential can be homogenized in terms of DCC.
Molecular identification and geographic origin of a post-Medieval elephant finding from southwestern Portugal using high-throughput sequencing
Authors: Psonis Nikolaos , de Carvalho Carlos Neto , Figueiredo Silvério , Tabakaki Eugenia , Vassou Despoina , Poulakakis Nikos , Kafetzopoulos Dimitris
Published: November 2020

Molecular species identification plays a crucial role in archaeology and palaeontology, especially when diagnostic morphological characters are unavailable. Molecular markers have been used in forensic science to trace the geographic origin of wildlife products, such as ivory. So far, only a few studies have applied genetic methods to both identify the species and circumscribe the provenance of historic wildlife trade material. Here, by combining ancient DNA methods and genome skimming on a historical elephantid tooth found in southwestern Portugal, we aimed to identify its species, infer its placement in the elephantid phylogenetic tree, and triangulate its geographic origin. According to our results the specimen dates back to the eighteenth century CE and belongs to a female African forest elephant (non-hybrid Loxodonta cyclotis individual) geographically originated from west—west-central Africa, from areas where one of the four major mitochondrial clades of L. cyclotis is distributed. Historical evidence supports our inference, pointing out that the tooth should be considered as post-Medieval raw ivory trade material between West Africa and Portugal. Our study provides a comprehensive approach to study historical products and artefacts using archaeogenetics and contributes towards enlightening cultural and biological historical aspects of ivory trade in western Europe.
Electrophysiological differences in older and younger adults’ anaphoric but not cataphoric pronoun processing in the absence of age-related behavioural slowdown
Authors: Arslan Seçkin , Palasis Katerina , Meunier Fanny
Published: November 2020

This study reports on an event-related potentials experiment to uncover whether per-millisecond electrophysiological brain activity and analogous behavioural responses are age-sensitive when comprehending anaphoric (referent-first) and cataphoric (pronoun-first) pronouns. Two groups of French speakers were recruited (young n = 18; aged 19–35 and older adults n = 15; aged 57–88) to read sentences where the anaphoric/cataphoric pronouns and their potential referents either matched or mismatched in gender. Our findings indicate that (1) the older adults were not less accurate or slower in their behavioural responses to the mismatches than the younger adults, (2) both anaphoric and cataphoric conditions evoked a central/parietally distributed P600 component with similar timing and amplitude in both the groups. Importantly, mean amplitudes of the P600 effect were modulated by verbal short-term memory span in the older adults but not in the younger adults, (3) nevertheless, the older but not the younger adults displayed an additional anterior negativity emerging on the frontal regions in response to the anaphoric mismatches. These results suggest that pronoun processing is resilient in healthy ageing individuals, but that functional recruitment of additional brain regions, evidenced with the anterior negativity, compensates for increased processing demands in the older adults’ anaphora processing.