bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect of using Rice bran with enzymes on the production performance of turkey
Authors: AL-Doori A D , Allaw A A
Published: November 2021

This study was conducted in the poultry field of the Department of Animal Production at the University of Tikrit, Faculty of Agriculture, and the aim of this study was to know the effect of using rice bran at a rate of (0, 15, 20%) with and without adding a mixture of enzymes containing amylase, protease and cellulose by 0.5 g/kg in turkey rations for a period of 10 weeks, 120 unsexed Bronze turkeys were used. The birds were distributed into six treatments, each treatment included four replicates (cage) five birds. The results showed a significant superiority (P ≤ 0.05). For the second treatment (0 % rice bran + 0.5 g/kg mixture of enzymes) in live body weight, weight gain, feed conversion efficiency, while it was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) superior to the sixth treatment (20% rice bran + 0.5 g/kg mixture of enzymes) In feed consumption compared to the third treatment, and there were no deaths in any of the study treatments throughout the experiment period.
Influence of fluorescent pigments on the spectral characteristics of luminous coated fabrics
Authors: Li Jing , Zhu Yanan , Ge Mingqiao
Published: November 2021

In recent years, luminous coated fabrics based on SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+ luminescent materials have attracted more attention. However, due to the single emission color of SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+ luminescent materials, the application of prepared coated fabrics has certain liminations. Therefore, at present, there is a need to develop a kind of luminous coated fabric which has the capability of emitting multiple colors of light. In this work, fluorescent pigments and SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+ luminescent materials were added to a coating slurry and uniformly coated over a woven fabric substrate. The effects of adding fluorescent pigments on the spectral characteristics of luminous coated fabrics were evaluated. The blue fluorescent pigment causes a significant blue shift in the emission spectrum of the blue light-emitting coated fabric, whereas the emission spectra of the orange and red light-emitting coated fabrics exhibit a significant red shift. The yellow-green fluorescent pigments significantly affect the coated fabric. The emission spectrum shows no evident change and is similar to the emission spectrum of white (without any fluorescent pigment) luminescent coated fabric. The afterglow brightness of the colored luminous coated fabrics decreases exponentially with time. Adding blue fluorescent pigments has a greater impact on the brightness of the coated fabrics. The initial brightness is lower and the afterglow brightness loss is higher when using yellow-green fluorescence. The pigment has little effect on the brightness loss of coated fabrics, and the initial brightness of the coated fabric increases when adding yellow-green fluorescent pigments. Fluorescent pigments result in relatively low color purity for each colored coated fabric. However, the color rendering index is high, and the color rendering performance for the light source is excellent.
Association of rhythm control with incident dementia among patients with atrial fibrillation: a nationwide population-based cohort study
Authors: Kim Daehoon , Yang Pil-Sung , You Seng Chan , Sung Jung-Hoon , Jang Eunsun , Yu Hee Tae , Kim Tae-Hoon , Pak Hui-Nam , Lee Moon-Hyoung , Lip Gregory Y H , Joung Boyoung
Published: November 2021

Background

Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of dementia, and catheter ablation of AF may be associated with a lower risk of dementia. We investigated the association of a rhythm-control strategy for AF with the risk of dementia, compared with a rate-control strategy.

Methods

This population-based cohort study included 41,135 patients with AF on anticoagulation who were newly treated with rhythm-control (anti-arrhythmic drugs or ablation) or rate-control strategies between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2015 from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. The primary outcome was all-cause dementia, which was compared using propensity score overlap weighting.

Results

In the study population (46.7% female; median age: 68 years), a total of 4,039 patients were diagnosed with dementia during a median follow-up of 51.7 months. Rhythm control, compared with rate control, was associated with decreased dementia risk (weighted incidence rate: 21.2 versus 25.2 per 1,000 person-years; subdistribution hazard ratio [sHR] 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.80–0.93). The associations between rhythm control and decreased dementia risk were consistently observed even after censoring for incident stroke (sHR 0.89, 95% CI 0.82–0.97) and were more pronounced in relatively younger patients and those with lower CHA2DS2-VASc scores. Among dementia subtypes, rhythm control was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease (sHR 0.86, 95% CI 0.79–0.95).

Conclusions

Among anticoagulated patients with AF, rhythm control was associated with a lower risk of dementia, compared with rate control. Initiating rhythm control in AF patients with fewer stroke risk factors might help prevent subsequent dementia.
Theory of local k-mer selection with applications to long-read alignment
Authors: Shaw Jim , Yu Yun William
Published: November 2021

Motivation

Selecting a subset of k-mers in a string in a local manner is a common task in bioinformatics tools for speeding up computation. Arguably the most well-known and common method is the minimizer technique, which selects the ‘lowest-ordered’ k-mer in a sliding window. Recently, it has been shown that minimizers may be a sub-optimal method for selecting subsets of k-mers when mutations are present. There is, however, a lack of understanding behind the theory of why certain methods perform well.

Results

We first theoretically investigate the conservation metric for k-mer selection methods. We derive an exact expression for calculating the conservation of a k-mer selection method. This turns out to be tractable enough for us to prove closed-form expressions for a variety of methods, including (open and closed) syncmers, (a, b, n)-words, and an upper bound for minimizers. As a demonstration of our results, we modified the minimap2 read aligner to use a more conserved k-mer selection method and demonstrate that there is up to an 8.2% relative increase in number of mapped reads. However, we found that the k-mers selected by more conserved methods are also more repetitive, leading to a runtime increase during alignment. We give new insight into how one might use new k-mer selection methods as a reparameterization to optimize for speed and alignment quality.

Availability and implementation

Simulations and supplementary methods are available at https://github.com/bluenote-1577/local-kmer-selection-results. os-minimap2 is a modified version of minimap2 and available at https://github.com/bluenote-1577/os-minimap2.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Prognostic role of selection criteria for liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a network meta-analysis
Authors: Lozanovski Vladimir J , Ramouz Ali , Aminizadeh Ehsan , Al-Saegh Sadeq Ali-Hasan , Khajeh Elias , Probst Heike , Picardi Susanne , Rupp Christian , Chang De-Hua , Probst Pascal , Mehrabi Arianeb
Published: November 2021

Background

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are selected for transplantation if they have a low tumour burden and low risk of recurrence. The morphometric Milan criteria have been the cornerstone for patient selection, but dynamic morphological and biological tumour characteristics surfaced as an encouraging tool to refine the selection of patients with HCC and to support the expansion of the Milan criteria. The outcomes of the most prevalent models that select patients with HCC for liver transplantation were analysed in this study, which aimed to identify the selection model that offered the best recurrence-free and overall survival after transplantation.

Methods

Studies that compared Milan, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), up-to-seven (UPTS), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and MetroTicket 2.0 (MT2) models were included. One-year, 3-year, and 5-year recurrence-free and overall survival rates of patients selected for transplantation using different models were analysed.

Results

A total of 60 850 adult patients with HCC selected for liver transplantation using Milan, UCSF, UPTS, AFP, or MT2 criteria were included. Patients selected for transplantation using the MT2 model had the highest 1-, 3-, and 5-year recurrence-free survival. In addition, patients selected for transplantation using MT2 criteria had the best 1- and 3-year overall survival, whereas patients selected for transplantation using the Milan criteria had the best 5-year overall survival rates.

Conclusion

The MT2 model offered the best post-transplant outcomes in patients with HCC, highlighting the importance of considering tumour morphology and biology when selecting patients with HCC for liver transplantation.
Pulmonary Lung Nodule Detection from Computed Tomography Images Using Two-Stage Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Jain Sweta , Choudhari Pruthviraj , Gour Mahesh
Published: November 2021

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in people all over the world. Lung cancer screening is a crucial part of the diagnosis of cancer. The initial sign of lung cancer is the pulmonary nodules that can be detected based on the computed tomography (CT) scan images. In some cases, the nodules are not obvious and may take a trained eye and a considerable amount of time to detect. The automatic detection of the nodules can save considerable time and money, thus opening prescreening accessibility, ultimately saving lives. Hence, a two-stage convolutional neural network (CNN) model is proposed to segment and detect pulmonary lung nodules from CT scan images. In the first stage, we have used U-net for nodule segmentation, and in the second stage, a CNN model is designed to reduce the false positives (FPs) generated in the previous stage, which enhances the overall efficiency and correctness of the system. The proposed method’s performance is evaluated on the publicly available Lung Image Database Consortium and Image Database Resource Initiative dataset. The proposed two-stage CNN model achieved an accuracy of 84.4 %, where the FP per true positive is reduced from 11.1 to 0.97. The proposed model shows its superiority over the existing methods for nodule detection.
sasa: a SimulAtor of Self-stabilizing Algorithms
Authors: Altisen Karine , Devismes Stéphane , Jahier Erwan
Published: November 2021

In this paper, we present sasa, an open-source SimulAtor of Self-stabilizing Algorithms. Self-stabilization defines the ability of a distributed algorithm to recover after transient failures. sasa is implemented as a faithful representation of the atomic-state model (also called the locally shared memory model with composite atomicity). This model is the most commonly used one in the self-stabilizing area to prove both the correct operation of self-stabilizing algorithms and complexity bounds on them. sasa encompasses all features necessary to debug, test and analyze self-stabilizing algorithms. All these facilities are programmable to enable users to accommodate to their particular needs. For example, asynchrony is modeled by programmable stochastic daemons playing the role of input sequence generators. Properties of algorithms can be checked using formal test oracles. The sasa distribution also provides several facilities to easily achieve (batch-mode) simulation campaigns. We show that the lightweight design of sasa allows to efficiently perform huge such campaigns. Following a modular approach, we have aimed at relying as much as possible the design of sasa on existing tools, including ocaml, dot and several tools developed in the Synchrone Group of the VERIMAG laboratory.
Thoracoscopic anatomical individual basilar segmentectomy
Authors: Takamori Satoshi , Oizumi Hiroyuki , Suzuki Jun , Watanabe Hikaru , Sato Kaito , Saito Shoko , Kabasawa Takanobu
Published: November 2021

OBJECTIVES

Thoracoscopic anatomical single or combined anatomical individual basilar segmentectomy, including subsegmentectomy, is technically challenging due to variations and the deep location of vessels and bronchi in the parenchyma. However, the long-term perioperative outcomes of various anatomical subsegmentectomy approaches have not been reported. Thus, we investigated the effectiveness of thoracoscopic basilar segmentectomy.

METHODS

We evaluated the records of 119 patients who underwent thoracoscopic single or complex basilar segmentectomy between January 2005 and December 2020 and compared the fissure and non-fissure approach for S9 and/or S10.

RESULTS

A total of 29 patients underwent single segmentectomy, and 90 patients underwent various combined anatomical segmentectomies via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and planning using three-dimensional simulation. There were 39 cases of S9 and/or S10 segmentectomy. The median chest tube in-dwell duration and postoperative hospital stay were 1 and 4 days, respectively. The postoperative morbidity (Clavien–Dindo grade II/IIIa) rate was 5.9% without perioperative mortality. Pathological examination revealed 83 cases of lung cancer, 21 cases of metastasis and 15 cases of benign lesions. The postoperative hospitalization duration showed significant differences in the perioperative outcomes between the fissure and non-fissure approaches for S9 and/or S10.

CONCLUSIONS

Thoracoscopic anatomical basilar individual segmentectomy has emerged as a safe and feasible procedure. The non-fissure approach enabled anatomic resection of a single segment or combined basal segments, helped avoid dissection of an incomplete fissure and facilitated surgical outcomes similar to the fissure approach.
Treatment with mixed probiotics induced, enhanced and diversified modulation of the gut microbiome of healthy rats
Authors: He Qiuwen , Huang Jiating , Zheng Tingting , Lin Dan , Zhang Heping , Li Jun , Sun Zhihong
Published: November 2021

Previous studies demonstrated that multi-strain probitics could more strongly regulate intestinal cytokines and the mucosal barrier than the individual ingredient strains. Nevertheless, the potentially different gut microbiome modulation effects between multi-strain and single-strain probiotics treatments remain unexplored. Here, we administered three different Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strains or their mixture to healthy Wistar rats and compared the shift of gut microbiome among the treatment groups. A 4-week intervention with mixed probiotics induced more drastic and diversified gut microbiome modulation than single-strain probiotics administration (alpha diversity increased 8% and beta diversity increased 18.7%). The three single-strain probiotics treatments all converged the gut microbiota, decreasing between-individual beta diversity by 12.7% on average after the treatment, while multi-strain probiotics treatment diversified the gut microbiome and increased between-individual beta diversity by 37.2% on average. Covariation analysis of the gut microbes suggests that multi-strain probiotics could exert synergistic, modified and enhanced modulation effects on the gut microbiome based on strain-specific modulation effects of probiotics. The more heterogeneous responses to the multi-strain probiotics treatment suggest that future precision microbiome modulation should consider the potential interactions of the probiotic strains, and personalized response to probiotic formulas due to heterogenous gut microbial compositions.
Using a dynamic earthquake simulator to explore tsunami earthquake generation
Authors: Meng Qingjun , Duan Benchun , Luo Bin
Published: November 2021

Observations of historical tsunami earthquakes reveal that ruptures of these earthquakes propagate slowly at shallow depth with longer duration, depletion in high-frequency radiation and larger discrepancy of Mw–Ms than ordinary megathrust earthquakes. They can effectively generate tsunami and lead to huge damage to regional populated areas near the coast. In this study, we use a recently developed dynamic earthquake simulator to explore tsunami earthquake generation from a physics-based modelling point of view. We build a shallow-dipping subduction zone model in which locally locked, unstable patches (asperities) are distributed on a conditionally stable subduction interface at shallow depth. The dynamic earthquake simulator captures both quasi-static and dynamic processes of earthquake cycles. We find that earthquakes can nucleate on these asperities and propagate into the surrounding conditionally stable zone at slow speeds, generating tsunami earthquakes. A high normal stress asperity, representing a subducted seamount, can act as an asperity in some events but as a barrier in other events over multiple earthquake cycles. Low normal stress asperities typically act as asperities in tsunami earthquakes. The degree of velocity-weakening in the conditionally stable zone, which may sustain rupture at different speeds or stop rupture, is critical for tsunami earthquake generation and affects its recurrence interval. Distributed asperities may rupture in isolated events separated by tens of years, or in a sequence of events separated by hours to days, or in one large event in a cascade fashion, demonstrating complex interactions among them. The recurrence interval on a high normal stress asperity is much larger than that on low normal stress asperities. These modelling results shed lights on the observations from historical tsunami earthquakes, including the 1994 and 2006 Java tsunami earthquakes and 2010 Mentawai tsunami earthquake.
Sex Differences in the Behavioral, Molecular, and Structural Effects of Ketamine Treatment in Depression
Authors: Ponton Ethan , Turecki Gustavo , Nagy Corina
Published: November 2021

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common psychiatric illness that manifests in sex-influenced ways. Men and women may experience depression differently and also respond to various antidepressant treatments in sex-influenced ways. Ketamine, which is now being used as a rapid-acting antidepressant, is likely the same. To date, the majority of studies investigating treatment outcomes in MDD do not disaggregate the findings in males and females, and this is also true for ketamine. This review aims to highlight that gap by exploring pre-clinical data—at a behavioral, molecular, and structural level—and recent clinical trials. Sex hormones, particularly estrogen and progesterone, influence the response at all levels examined, and sex is therefore a critical factor to examine when looking at ketamine response. Taken together, the data show females are more sensitive to ketamine than males, and it might be possible to monitor the phase of the menstrual cycle to mitigate some risks associated with the use of ketamine for females with MDD. Based on the studies reviewed in this article, we suggest that ketamine should be administered adhering to sex-specific considerations.
The Mass General Brigham Biobank Portal: an i2b2-based data repository linking disparate and high-dimensional patient data to support multimodal analytics
Authors: Castro Victor M , Gainer Vivian , Wattanasin Nich , Benoit Barbara , Cagan Andrew , Ghosh Bhaswati , Goryachev Sergey , Metta Reeta , Park Heekyong , Wang David , Mendis Michael , Rees Martin , Herrick Christopher , Murphy Shawn N
Published: November 2021

Objective

Integrating and harmonizing disparate patient data sources into one consolidated data portal enables researchers to conduct analysis efficiently and effectively.

Materials and Methods

We describe an implementation of Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) to create the Mass General Brigham (MGB) Biobank Portal data repository. The repository integrates data from primary and curated data sources and is updated weekly. The data are made readily available to investigators in a data portal where they can easily construct and export customized datasets for analysis.

Results

As of July 2021, there are 125 645 consented patients enrolled in the MGB Biobank. 88 527 (70.5%) have a biospecimen, 55 121 (43.9%) have completed the health information survey, 43 552 (34.7%) have genomic data and 124 760 (99.3%) have EHR data. Twenty machine learning computed phenotypes are calculated on a weekly basis. There are currently 1220 active investigators who have run 58 793 patient queries and exported 10 257 analysis files.

Discussion

The Biobank Portal allows noninformatics researchers to conduct study feasibility by querying across many data sources and then extract data that are most useful to them for clinical studies. While institutions require substantial informatics resources to establish and maintain integrated data repositories, they yield significant research value to a wide range of investigators.

Conclusion

The Biobank Portal and other patient data portals that integrate complex and simple datasets enable diverse research use cases. i2b2 tools to implement these registries and make the data interoperable are open source and freely available.
Multidisciplinary design optimization in design for additive manufacturing
Authors: Liu Guang , Xiong Yi , Rosen David W
Published: November 2021

Design for additive manufacturing (AM) involves decision making in various design domains, including product design, material selection, and process planning. In practice, engineers typically adopt a sequential design process to optimize these design domains in consecutive order. However, coupling factors, e.g. shared variables, related constraints, and conflicting objectives, are not sufficiently considered within the sequential design process, resulting in an inefficient workflow and suboptimal design solutions. To address the above issues, this paper proposes a multidisciplinary design optimization framework to simultaneously optimize different domains, which enables rapid exploration and complete exploitation of the AM design space under complex constraints. More specifically, the proposed framework is based on the concurrent optimization method, which coordinates the optimization of different design domains by allowing an automated exchange of design information. Also, the framework utilizes the surrogate modeling approach to approximate high-fidelity simulations for facilitating the iterative process. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is validated with two examples, a plate with a hole design and a hook design, which involve multiple design objectives from both process and structure domains, i.e. the print time, print area, strain energy, and maximum von Mises stress.
The Influence of the Risk Reward Profile and of the Colour of Disclosure Documents on Attractiveness Perception of Mutual Fund Products
Authors: Bussoli Candida , Ceravolo Maria Gabriella , Fattobene Lucrezia , Raggetti GianMario
Published: November 2021

This study investigates the influence of features of the mutual fund product and of the disclosure document on financial decision making. Using a laboratory setting, we show that the higher the risk and reward profile (RRP) of the product, the poorer the perception of the product. When the colour red (or blue) is applied to graphics (the RRP scale and the graph of the past performance) in the documents, the perception of the attractiveness of the product is lower (or higher) in comparison to a black and white document. Finally, longer visual processing as measured by means of eye-tracking is associated with a higher perception of attractiveness. This neurofinance study highlights the importance for regulators and supervisors of the financial industry to explore the influence of the different features of the product and of the disclosure document on consumers’ financial decision making.
Habitat selection by non-native masked palm civets in a Japanese rural landscape, incorporating individual differences
Authors: Toriyabe Ayaka , Enari Hiroto , Enari Haruka S , Saito Masayuki U
Published: November 2021

Animals that succeed as non-native species may have highly plastic characteristics. We conducted a radio telemetry survey for introduced masked palm civets (Paguma larvata), which inhabit rural landscapes in almost all of Japan, to clarify their habitat selection and intraspecific variation. We compared two generalized linear mixed models, one that did not consider individual differences and another that did, which indicated the importance of incorporating individual differences for evaluating habitat selection by this species. We obtained results of habitat selectivity for all individuals (i.e., common effect on the species) and for each individual using coefficients of fixed effects or fixed effects with random effects. Masked palm civets significantly selected deciduous broad-leaved forests, artificial structures, rice fields, and orchards as a common effect for all individuals. However, these habitats were not necessarily selected as a significant effect for each individual. Deciduous broad-leaved forests and artificial structures were more important than other habitats. The wide range of possible environments and the plasticity of habitat selection shown in this study may partly explain the success of this species in expanding its distribution in Japan.
Morphological integration and cranial modularity in six genera of echimyid rodents (Rodentia: Echimyidae)
Authors: Raidan Carolline , de Andrade Costa Bárbara Maria , Marroig Gabriel , Aprígio Assis Ana Paula , Paresque Roberta
Published: November 2021

Rodents of the family Echimyidae present a wide variety of life histories and ecomorphological adaptations. This study evaluated morphological integration patterns, modularity, and evolutionary flexibility in six Echimyid genera representing ecomorphological extremes within the family. The relationships between traits were evaluated by comparing estimated covariance and correlations matrices of populations. The presence of modules was investigated by comparing the patterns of integration between traits and using hypothetical matrices based on shared development/function and masticatory stress. The results point to a common covariance and correlation pattern among the six echimyid genera, suggesting a conserved pattern of covariation (associations among traits) throughout the evolution of this group. The overall magnitude of integration, however, varied greatly. We also found a high degree of modularity in all six echimyid genera. Finally, we observed a clear association between flexibility, i.e., the ability of a species to respond to the direction of selection, with the overall magnitude of integration and degree of modularization. The results of this study provide hypotheses concerning the underlying effects of the association among traits, which may have facilitated or constrained the evolution of morphological variation in the diverse family Echimyidae.
Inference from Nonrandom Samples Using Bayesian Machine Learning
Authors: Liu Yutao , Gelman Andrew , Chen Qixuan
Published: November 2021

We consider inference from nonrandom samples in data-rich settings where high-dimensional auxiliary information is available both in the sample and the target population, with survey inference being a special case. We propose a regularized prediction approach that predicts the outcomes in the population using a large number of auxiliary variables such that the ignorability assumption is reasonable and the Bayesian framework is straightforward for quantification of uncertainty. Besides the auxiliary variables, we also extend the approach by estimating the propensity score for a unit to be included in the sample and also including it as a predictor in the machine learning models. We find in simulation studies that the regularized predictions using soft Bayesian additive regression trees yield valid inference for the population means and coverage rates close to the nominal levels. We demonstrate the application of the proposed methods using two different real data applications, one in a survey and one in an epidemiologic study.
The dust-continuum size of TNG50 galaxies at z = 1–5: a comparison with the distribution of stellar light, stars, dust, and H2
Authors: Popping Gergö , Pillepich Annalisa , Calistro Rivera Gabriela , Schulz Sebastian , Hernquist Lars , Kaasinen Melanie , Marinacci Federico , Nelson Dylan , Vogelsberger Mark
Published: November 2021

We present predictions for the extent of the dust-continuum emission of main-sequence galaxies drawn from the TNG50 simulation in the range z = 1–5. We couple the radiative transfer code SKIRT to the output of the TNG50 simulation and measure the dust-continuum half-light radius of the modelled galaxies, assuming a Milky Way dust type and a metallicity-dependent dust-to-metal ratio. The dust-continuum half-light radius at observed-frame 850 $\mu$m is up to ∼75 per cent larger than the stellar half-mass radius, but significantly more compact than the observed-frame 1.6 $\mu$m (roughly corresponding to H band) half-light radius, particularly towards high redshifts: the compactness compared to the 1.6 $\mu$m emission increases with redshift. This is driven by obscuration of stellar light from the galaxy centres, which increases the apparent extent of 1.6 $\mu$m disc sizes relative to that at 850 $\mu$m. The difference in relative extents increases with redshift because the observed-frame 1.6 $\mu$m emission stems from ever shorter wavelength stellar emission. These results suggest that the compact dust-continuum emission observed in z > 1 galaxies is not (necessarily) evidence of the build-up of a dense central stellar component. We find that the dust-continuum half-light radius closely follows the radius containing half the star formation and half the dust mass in galaxies and is ∼80 per cent of the radius containing half the H2 mass. The presented results are a common feature of main-sequence galaxies.
How robust are the inferred density and metallicity of the circumgalactic medium?
Authors: Acharya Anshuman , Khaire Vikram
Published: November 2021

Quantitative estimates of the basic properties of the circumgalactic medium (CGM), such as its density and metallicity, depend on the spectrum of incident UV background radiation. Models of UV background are known to have large variations, mainly because they are synthesized using poorly constrained parameters, which introduce uncertainty in the inferred properties of the CGM. Here, we quantify this uncertainty using a large set of new UV background models with physically motivated toy models of metal-enriched CGM. We find that the inferred density and metallicity of low-density (10−5 cm−3) gas is uncertain by factors of 6.3 and 3.2, whereas high-density (10−3 cm−3) gas by factors of 4 and 1.6, respectively. The variation in the shape of the UV background models is entirely responsible for such a variation in the metallicity, while variation in the density arises from both normalization and shape of the UV background. Moreover, we find a harder (softer) UV background infers higher (lower) density and metallicity. We also study warm-hot gas at T = 105.5 K and find that metallicity is robustly estimated but the inferred density is uncertain by a factor of 3 to 5.4 for low to high-density gas. Such large uncertainties in density and metallicity may severely limit the studies of the CGM and demand better observational constraints on the input parameters used in synthesizing UV background.
A connection between spectral sharpness and energies as well as flux in fermi gamma-ray bursts
Authors: Wang Dao-Zhou , Peng Zhao-Yang , Chen Jia-Ming , Yin Yue
Published: November 2021

We revisit the sharpness angle (θ) under the peak or break of gamma-ray burst (GRB) spectra with the best peak flux P and time-integrated F spectral data provided by the Fermi GBM Burst Catalogue. We compute the sharpness angles of best-fit model spectra and check some interesting relations between θ and physics quantities. It is found that (i) a positive correlations between θ and the observed fluence as well as the isotropic radiated energy holds among GRBs, especially for the F spectra; (ii) when checking the correlation between θ and energy flux a weaker anti-correlation holds among GRBs and a tighter anti-correlation holds within GRBs, especially in single pulses. Our results further show that the spectral shape is related to the energy and flux by cross-checking other measures of spectral curvature. The correlated relationship between spectral sharpness and energy flux can be well explained as a thermal origin for GRB prompt emission: A large entropy around the peak of the light curve makes the photosphere approach the saturation radius, resulting in an intense emission with a narrow spectrum; as the entropy decreases, the photosphere deviates from the saturation radius, resulting in weaker emission with a broader spectrum.
Noninsect-Based Diet Leads to Structural and Functional Changes of Acidic Chitinase in Carnivora
Authors: Tabata Eri , Itoigawa Akihiro , Koinuma Takumi , Tayama Hiroshi , Kashimura Akinori , Sakaguchi Masayoshi , Matoska Vaclav , Bauer Peter O , Oyama Fumitaka
Published: November 2021

Acidic chitinase (Chia) digests the chitin of insects in the omnivorous stomach and the chitinase activity in carnivorous Chia is significantly lower than that of the omnivorous enzyme. However, mechanistic and evolutionary insights into the functional changes in Chia remain unclear. Here we show that a noninsect-based diet has caused structural and functional changes in Chia during the course of evolution in Carnivora. By creating mouse-dog chimeric Chia proteins and modifying the amino acid sequences, we revealed that F214L and A216G substitutions led to the dog enzyme activation. In 31 Carnivora, Chia was present as a pseudogene with stop codons in the open reading frame (ORF) region. Importantly, the Chia proteins of skunk, meerkat, mongoose, and hyena, which are insect-eating species, showed high chitinolytic activity. The cat Chia pseudogene product was still inactive even after ORF restoration. However, the enzyme was activated by matching the number and position of Cys residues to an active form and by introducing five meerkat Chia residues. Mutations affecting the Chia conformation and activity after pseudogenization have accumulated in the common ancestor of Felidae due to functional constraints. Evolutionary analysis indicates that Chia genes are under relaxed selective constraint in species with noninsect-based diets except for Canidae. These results suggest that there are two types of inactivating processes in Carnivora and that dietary changes affect the structure and activity of Chia.
Functional Dysconnectivity in Ventral Striatocortical Systems in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome
Authors: Tepper Ángeles , Cuiza Analía , Alliende Luz María , Mena Carlos , Ramirez-Mahaluf Juan Pablo , Iruretagoyena Barbara , Ornstein Claudia , Fritsch Rosemarie , Nachar Ruben , González-Valderrama Alfonso , Undurraga Juan , Cruz Juan Pablo , Tejos Cristian , Fornito Alex , Repetto Gabriela , Crossley Nicolas
Published: November 2021

22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder that represents one of the greatest known risk factors for psychosis. Previous studies in psychotic subjects without the deletion have identified a dopaminergic dysfunction in striatal regions, and dysconnectivity of striatocortical systems, as an important mechanism in the emergence of psychosis. Here, we used resting-state functional MRI to examine striatocortical functional connectivity in 22q11.2DS patients. We used a 2 × 2 factorial design including 125 subjects (55 healthy controls, 28 22q11.2DS patients without a history of psychosis, 10 22q11.2DS patients with a history of psychosis, and 32 subjects with a history of psychosis without the deletion), allowing us to identify network effects related to the deletion and to the presence of psychosis. In line with previous results from psychotic patients without 22q11.2DS, we found that there was a dorsal to ventral gradient of hypo- to hyperstriatocortical connectivity related to psychosis across both patient groups. The 22q11.2DS was additionally associated with abnormal functional connectivity in ventral striatocortical networks, with no significant differences identified in the dorsal system. Abnormalities in the ventral striatocortical system observed in these individuals with high genetic risk to psychosis may thus reflect a marker of illness risk.
Characterization of Hemodynamic Alterations in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder and Their Effect on Resting-State fMRI Functional Connectivity
Authors: Yan Wenjing , Palaniyappan Lena , Liddle Peter F , Rangaprakash D , Wei Wei , Deshpande Gopikrishna
Published: November 2021

Common and distinct neural bases of Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP) have been explored using resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) functional connectivity (FC). However, fMRI is an indirect measure of neural activity, which is a convolution of the hemodynamic response function (HRF) and latent neural activity. The HRF, which models neurovascular coupling, varies across the brain within and across individuals, and is altered in many psychiatric disorders. Given this background, this study had three aims: quantifying HRF aberrations in SZ and BP, measuring the impact of such HRF aberrations on FC group differences, and exploring the genetic basis of HRF aberrations. We estimated voxel-level HRFs by deconvolving rs-fMRI data obtained from SZ (N = 38), BP (N = 19), and matched healthy controls (N = 35). We identified HRF group differences (P < .05, FDR corrected) in many regions previously implicated in SZ/BP, with mediodorsal, habenular, and central lateral nuclei of the thalamus exhibiting HRF differences in all pairwise group comparisons. Thalamus seed-based FC analysis revealed that ignoring HRF variability results in false-positive and false-negative FC group differences, especially in insula, superior frontal, and lingual gyri. HRF was associated with DRD2 gene expression (P < .05, 1.62 < |Z| < 2.0), as well as with medication dose (P < .05, 1.75 < |Z| < 3.25). In this first study to report HRF aberrations in SZ and BP, we report the possible modulatory effect of dopaminergic signalling on HRF, and the impact that HRF variability can have on FC studies in clinical samples. To mitigate the impact of HRF variability on FC group differences, we suggest deconvolution during data preprocessing.
Mapping Personal Geographies in Psychosis: From Space to Place
Authors: Baumann Philipp S , Söderström Ola , Abrahamyan Empson Lilith , Duc Marwood Alessandra , Conus Philippe
Published: November 2021

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the interaction between the urban milieu and the development of psychosis. While growing up in an urban environment constitutes a risk factor for developing psychosis, patients who develop a first episode of psychosis tend to avoid city centers and suffer from isolation. These observations have fostered emerging interest in ways of developing contexts in cities that are favorable to mental health and that may help service users in their paths to recovery. Building on work on place attachment as well as systemic therapy, we present a new approach to map the urban spaces experienced by service users. We propose two tools, the “place attachment diagram” and “life space network,” to situate emotional bond and spatial dimension respectively at their center and help service users to map meaningful places in the city. We also suggest that different facets of the illness such as epidemiological risk factors (residential mobility, migration, urban living, trauma), early place attachment and abnormal space experience, may shape individual space and place experience in psychosis. Psychotherapeutic process with patients should aim at turning urban “spaces” into “places” characterized by a sense of familiarity, security and opportunity. Finally, we argue that the “spatial” is a forgotten dimension in psychotherapy and should be taken into account when treating individuals with psychosis.
Guiding Chemically Synthesized Peptide Drug Lead Optimization by Derisking Mast Cell Degranulation-Related Toxicities of a NaV1.7 Peptide Inhibitor
Authors: Morissette Pierre , Li Nianyu , Ballard Jeanine E , Vavrek Marissa , Adams Gregory L , Regan Chris , Regan Hillary , Lee K J , Wang Weixun , Burton Aimee , Chen Feifei , Gerenser Pamela , Li Yuxing , Kraus Richard L , Tellers David , Palani Anand , Zhu Yuping , Sun Chengzao , Bianchi Elisabetta , Colarusso Stefania , De Simone Daniele , Frattarelli Tommaso , Pasquini Nicolo’ Maria , Amin Rupesh P
Published: November 2021

Studies have shown that some peptides and small molecules can induce non IgE-mediated anaphylactoid reactions through mast cell activation. Upon activation, mast cells degranulate and release vasoactive and proinflammatory mediators, from cytoplasmic granules into the extracellular environment which can induce a cascade of severe adverse reactions. This study describes a lead optimization strategy to select NaV1.7 inhibitor peptides that minimize acute mast cell degranulation (MCD) toxicities. Various in vitro, in vivo, and PKPD models were used to screen candidates and guide peptide chemical modifications to mitigate this risk. Anesthetized rats dosed with peptides demonstrated treatment-related decreases in blood pressure and increases in plasma histamine concentrations which were reversible with a mast cell stabilizer, supporting the MCD mechanism. In vitro testing in rat mast cells with NaV1.7 peptides demonstrated a concentration-dependent increase in histamine. Pharmacodynamic modeling facilitated establishing an in vitro to in vivo correlation for histamine as a biomarker for blood pressure decline via the MCD mechanism. These models enabled assessment of structure-activity relationship (SAR) to identify substructures that contribute to peptide-mediated MCD. Peptides with hydrophobic and cationic characteristics were determined to have an elevated risk for MCD, which could be reduced or avoided by incorporating anionic residues into the protoxin II scaffold. Our analyses support that in vitro MCD assessment in combination with PKPD modeling can guide SAR to improve peptide lead optimization and ensure an acceptable early in vivo tolerability profile with reduced resources, cycle time, and animal use.
Comparative study of flexor hallucis longus tendon length through single incision or accessory plantar medial incision: a cadaver study
Authors: Curtis Crocker Caitlin , Abyar Eildar , Young Sean , Razaghi Fatemeh , McGwin Gerald , Johnson Michael D.
Published: November 2021

Background:

Flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendon transfer to the calcaneus is used in treatment of Achilles pathology. Tendon harvest is through a posterior or medial incision. This study quantified the tendon length obtained through each technique.

Methods:

Seven pair-matched cadaver legs were used. One leg was randomly selected for posterior harvest, and the contralateral leg was selected for medial harvest. A dorsal to plantar calcaneus tunnel was prepared. Two tendon measurements were obtained: the total and the functional tendon length.

Results:

Using a posterior incision, the total and functional tendon lengths were 4.2 cm and 4.0 cm, respectively. Using the medial incision, the total and functional tendon lengths were 8.2 cm and 7.2 cm, respectively.

Conclusions:

The single incision provided length to anchor the FHL into the calcaneus suggesting this technique is adequate for fixation with an interference screw. For other indications, the medial incision provides additional 4.0 cm (P=0.003) total length or 2.9 cm (P=0.0016) functional length.

Level of Evidence:

Level V.
Non-obstructive Coronary Artery Disease in Chinese Patients with Angina Diagnosed by Coronary Angiography: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Peng Chengfei , Nie Shaoping , Sun Yingxian , Chen Hui , Yuan Zuyi , Gong Yanjun , Wang Xiaozeng , Han Yaling
Published: November 2021

Objective:

This study aimed to estimate the proportion of non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) patients in large percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centers in China.

Methods:

The study was conducted at 6 large PCI centers in China from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015. Demographic and clinical data were collected from medical records, prescription records, and laboratory reports of patients with symptoms of angina who underwent coronary angiography (CAG).

Results:

A total of 1713 patients were consecutively screened, 1600 of whom were included in the study. CAG showed that 300 patients had non-obstructive CAD while 1300 had obstructive CAD. Among the 300 patients with non-obstructive CAD, 203 displayed mild coronary stenosis (20%–49%) and 91 had normal coronary status (ie, <20% stenosis). Of the 1300 patients with obstructive CAD, 61.6% (801/1300) had typical symptoms of angina, compared with 49.3% (148/300) for patients with non-obstructive CAD. In addition, there were more women than men in the non-obstructive CAD group, whereas the reverse was observed among obstructive CAD patients.

Conclusion:

The prevalence of non-obstructive CAD in the Chinese population with coronary heart disease was estimated to be approximately 20%. Additionally, typical angina symptoms were correlated with obstructive CAD, whereas female gender was identified as a risk factor for non-obstructive CAD.
Virtual reality and hypnosis for anxiety and pain management in intensive care units
Authors: Rousseaux Floriane , Dardenne Nadia , Massion Paul B. , Ledoux Didier , Bicego Aminata , Donneau Anne-Françoise , Faymonville Marie-Elisabeth , Nyssen Anne-Sophie , Vanhaudenhuyse Audrey
Published: November 2021

BACKGROUND

Virtual reality and hypnosis are little studied in complex contexts, such as intensive care, where patients need significant physical and psychological assistance.

OBJECTIVES

To compare and combine hypnosis and virtual reality benefits on anxiety and pain on patients before and after cardiac surgery.

DESIGN

Prospective randomised controlled clinical trial.

SETTING

The study was conducted in the University Hospital of Liege (Belgium) from October 2018 to January 2020.

PATIENTS

One hundred patients (66 ± 11.5 years; 24 women, 76 men) were included. Participants were adults undergoing cardiac surgery. Exclusion criteria: psychiatric diseases, claustrophobia, acrophobia, hearing loss, visual impairment, extreme fatigue, confusion surgery cancelled.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients were randomly assigned to four arms (control; hypnosis; virtual reality; virtual reality hypnosis) and had 20 min of one of the techniques the day before and the day after surgery.

MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES

Anxiety, pain, fatigue, relaxation, physiological parameters, and opioid use were evaluated before and after each session.

RESULTS

The main results did not show any significant differences between the groups. In all groups, anxiety decreased and pain increased from baseline to the postoperative day. Relaxation increased in all groups in the pre-operative (P < 0.0001) and postoperative period (P = 0.03). There were no significant differences for fatigue, physiological measures, or opioid use.

CONCLUSION

As there were no significant differences between groups for the measured variables, we cannot affirm that one technique is better than another. Additional studies are required to compare and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these techniques for critical care patients and caregivers.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03820700. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03820700. Retrospectively registered on 29 January 2019.