bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Numerical Analysis of Crack Propagation in Tubular Glass Column
Authors: Ahmed-Abdullamohamed A W , Kamarudin M K , Yussof M M.
Published: November 2021

The demand for transparency has increased in the construction industry and contemporary architecture over the last decade. The prior researchers focused on glass columns because their uniqueness and transparent characteristics generate an impressive visual feature. Past studies on structural glass entailed numerous experimental investigations, but FEA was applied in a few investigation exercises. This study aims to validate the experimental data and analyse the crack in the tubular glass column and determine the effectiveness of different slenderness ratios of the glass column. This study investigated the column structural behaviour under compression with different geometrical dimensions of hollow section laminated glass columns to determine their load-carrying capacity, buckling performance, and failure mechanism. Finite element analysis using the explicit method was performed by using ABAQUS. The study found that the failure mechanisms depend on the slenderness ratio classified into two failure modes, either buckling or crushing. The glass column failed due to buckling when the slenderness ratio is more than 40, while it failed due to crushing when the slenderness ratio is less than 40. The finite element analysis did not correlate perfectly with the experimental data since the FEA underestimating the glass performance.
Readiness of Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises Construction Companies for Building Information Modelling Implementation
Authors: Arif N K , Hasmori M F , Deraman R , Yasin M N , Mohd Yassin M A
Published: November 2021

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has shown its efficiency in helping the construction industry players. The BIM helped to achieve better integration of project information and to enhance collaboration between stakeholders and the industry players from the early phase of projects until the end. Small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) have been under-represented in studies on BIM adoption. Although the technology to implement BIM is readily available and rapidly maturing, the adoption of BIM is still slow. Malaysian government support the adoption of BIM-oriented Integrated Design (ID) approaches in their national markets, however, the implementation of BIM software support systems among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia is considered inadequate. In terms of the implementation of information technology, the construction sector in Malaysia still lags behind other sectors. To have a better knowledge of BIM in SMEs, it is important to first identify the major barriers to BIM adoption in SMEs and then examine potential solutions. Hence, the main motivation of this study is to investigate the readiness of Malaysian SMEs construction companies for BIM implementation, to determine the challenges of BIM implementation, and to develop a strategy to overcome the challenges. An online questionnaire survey was conducted and as many as 115 responses were collected. A quantitative approach was used for this research. This study uses a descriptive analysis method which comprised of structured questionnaires developed from reviews of past researches. The finding of this study indicate that BIM adoption in Malaysia is still relatively low. Many actions are needed to promote BIM adoption among construction SMEs in Malaysia.
Key Design Issues in the Construction Project: Conceptual and Detailed Design Review Phases
Authors: Sarbini N N , Abdul Aziz A N , Mazlan A N , Abdul Shukor Lim N H , Rahman Mohd Fairuz Ab
Published: November 2021

The Malaysian construction industry is among the highest ranked industries that contributes to accident and fatality rates. The Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Industry (Management) (OSHCIM) has introduced guidelines for design risk reduction in the construction industry. It involves determining root causes and mitigating the risk by control of the causation of accidents. The objective of this study is to identify the key design issues during the conceptual and detailed design review phases in the construction project. Although some of the design considerations have already been proposed by the OSCHIM guidelines, however, further implementation need to be diverse and versatile by considering the current design practices that are already being practiced by the industry practitioners. The methodology of this research involves document reviews, and a questionnaire survey that was used to collect answers from respondents in the construction industry. According to the results, the key design issues in the conceptual phase involve the site condition, environmental influences, ground or ground water condition, existing structure, demolition, services, adjacent to major infrastructure, traffic disruption, access for works, adjacent to other properties and projects, and site restriction. Moreover, those found in the detailed phase involve the mechanized construction system, installation of prefabrication components, ease of process, structural opening, edge line, fall hazard, accident prevention, layout optimization, ease of activities, permanent safety features, provision of access, and fall hazard. However, it is the duty of the construction industry practitioners to make sure that all other design issues are also included into their construction project risk analysis. As proposed by the OSHCIM guidelines, the review of design risks in the construction project should consider safety in all the stages: during construction, operation, maintenance, modification, and demolition. Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
Triaxial Testing on Geogrid-reinforced Granular Soils
Authors: Mindiastiwi Tigo , Wu Po-Kai , Siswanto Agus Bambang , Salim Mukhamad Afif
Published: November 2021

Laboratory triaxial compression tests were carried out to investigate the mechanical behavior of dense sand and geogrid-reinforced granular soils. The tested sand having its mean particle size (D50) equal to 0.6 mm was adopted. Three geogrids with different longitudinal and transverse nominal strengths were used. The dimensions of the cylindrical soil specimen were 70 mm (diameter) × 160 mm (height). The relative density was equal to 70% for all tests. The reinforced sand specimens with one or two geogrid layers were sheared under effective confining pressures (σ′3) equal to 50 kPa. The test results of unreinforced sand indicate the general stress-strain behavior of dense sand when sheared, whereas the deviatoric stress reaches its peak value, after which it gradually decreases to ultimate value (σ1- σ3)ult.The difference of effective confining pressure indicates that the peak of deviatoric stress Δσd= (σ1- σ3) increases with the increase in effective confining pressure (σ′3), while the peak principal stress ratio (σ′1/σ′3) decreases with the increase (σ′3). The friction angle (ϕ′)and cohesion (c′), defined by analytical and graphical methods for unreinforced sand. Geogrid as reinforcement increasing peak shear strength. The increasing peak shear strength is more pronounced with a higher number of geogrid and the geogrid with higher stiffness. Increased in confining stress inside reinforced soil mass (Δσ3R) can be interpreted by cohesive reinforced soil (CR).
A review on fluorescence spectroscopic analysis of water and wastewater
Authors: Khan Muhammad Farooq Saleem , Akbar Mona , Wu Jing , Xu Zhou
Published: November 2021

In recent years, the application of fluorescence spectroscopy has been widely recognized in water environment studies. The sensitiveness, simplicity, and efficiency of fluorescence spectroscopy are proved to be a promising tool for effective monitoring of water and wastewater. The fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEMs) and synchronous fluorescence spectra have been widely used analysis techniques of fluorescence measurement. The presence of organic matter in water and wastewater defines the degree and type of pollution in water. The application of fluorescence spectroscopy to characterize dissolved organic matter (DOM) has made the water quality assessment simple and easy. With the recent advances in this technology, components of DOM are identified by employing parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), a mathematical trilinear data modeling with EEMs. The majority of wastewater studies indicated that the fluorescence peak of EX/EM at 275 nm/340 nm is referred to tryptophan region (Peak T1). However, some researchers identified another fluorescence peak in the region of EX/EM at 225–237 nm/340–381 nm, which described the tryptophan region and labeled it as Peak T2. Generally, peak T is a protein-like component in the water sample, where T1 and T2 signals were derived from the <0.20 μm fraction of pollution. Therefore, a more advanced approach, such as an online fluorescence spectrofluorometer, can be used for the online monitoring of water. The results of various waters studied by fluorescence spectroscopy indicate that changes in peak T intensity could be used for real-time wastewater quality assessment and process control of wastewater treatment works. Finally, due to its effective use in water quality assessment, the fluorescence technique is proved to be a surrogate online monitoring tool and early warning equipment.
Optimization of the thermophysical properties of the thermal barrier coating materials based on GA-SVR machine learning method: illustrated with ZrO2doped DyTaO4system
Authors: Zhu Wenjie , Gan Mengdi , Ye Bo , Xiong Xin , Feng Jing , Chong Xiaoyu
Published: November 2021

It is a critical issue to reduce the thermal conductivity and increase the thermal expansion coefficient of ceramic thermal barrier coating (TBC) materials in the course of their utilization. To synthesize samples with different composition and measure their thermal conductivity by the traditional experimental approaches is time-consuming and expensive. Most classic and empirical models work inefficiently and inaccurately when researchers attempt to predict the thermophysical properties of TBC materials. In this research project, we tentatively exploit a Genetic Algorithm-Support Vector Regression (GA-SVR) machine learning model to study the thermophysical properties, illustrated with the potential TBC materials ZrO2doped DyTaO4, which has resulted in the lowest thermal conductivity in rare earth tantalates RETaO4system. Meanwhile, we employ statistical parameters of correlation coefficient (R2) and mean square error (MSE) to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the model. The results reveal that this model has brought about high correlation coefficients of thermal conductivity and thermal expansion coefficient (99.8% and 99.9%, respectively), while the MSE values are 0.00052 and 0.00019, respectively. The doping concentration of ZrO2was optimized to reach as low as 0.085–0.095, so as to reduce their thermal conductivity further and increase their thermal expansion. This model provides an accurate and reliable option for researchers to design ceramic thermal barrier coating materials.
Mode structure symmetry breaking of reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes and its impact on the generation of parallel velocity asymmetries in energetic particle distribution
Authors: MENG Guo , LAUBER Philipp , WANG Xin , LU Zhixin
Published: November 2021

In this work, the gyrokinetic eigenvalue code LIGKA, the drift-kinetic/MHD hybrid code HMGC and the gyrokinetic full-f code TRIMEG-GKX are employed to study the mode structure details of reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes (RSAEs). Using the parameters from an ASDEX-Upgrade plasma, a benchmark with the three different physical models for RSAE without and with energetic particles (EPs) is carried out. Reasonable agreement has been found for the mode frequency and the growth rate. Mode structure symmetry breaking (MSSB) is observed when EPs are included, due to the EPs’ non-perturbative effects. It is found that the MSSB properties are featured by a finite radial wave phase velocity, and the linear mode structure can be well described by an analytical complex Gaussian expression

Φ
(
s
)
=

e

−
σ

s
−

s

0

2

with complex parameters σ and s
0, where s is the normalized radial coordinate. The mode structure is distorted in opposite manners when the EP drive shifted from one side of

q

min

to the other side, and specifically, a non-zero average radial wave number 〈k

s
〉 with opposite signs is generated. The initial EP density profiles and the corresponding mode structures have been used as the input of HAGIS code to study the EP transport. The parallel velocity of EPs is generated in opposite directions, due to different values of the average radial wave number 〈k

s
〉, corresponding to different initial EP density profiles with EP drive shifted away from the

q

min

.
Distant metastasis identification based on optimized graph representation of gene interaction patterns
Authors: Su Ran , Zhu Yingying , Zou Quan , Wei Leyi
Published: November 2021

Metastasis is a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality, and most cancer deaths are caused by cancer metastasis rather than by the primary tumor. The prediction of metastasis based on computational methods has not been explored much in the previous research. In this study, we proposed a graph convolutional network embedded with a graph learning (GL) module, named glmGCN, to predict the distant metastasis of cancer. Both the mRNA and lncRNA expressions were used to provide more genetic information than using the mRNA alone and we used them to construct gene interaction graph representation to consider the effect of genetic interaction. Then, the prediction of the cancer metastasis was performed under a GCN framework, which extracted informative and advanced features from the built non-regular graph structures. Particularly, a GL module was embedded in the proposed glmGCN to learn an optimal graph representation of the gene interaction. We firstly constructed the protein–protein interaction network to represent the initial gene(node) relationship graph. Then, through the GL module, a new graph representation was built which optimally learned the gene interaction strength. Finally, the GCN was adopted to identify the distant metastasis cases. It is worth mentioning that the proposed method pays more attentions on the gene–gene relation than the previous GCN-based method, so more accurate prediction performance can be obtained. The glmGCN was trained based on two types of cancer and was further validated using two other cancer types. A series of experiments have shown that the effectiveness of the proposed method. The implementation for the proposed method is available at https://github.com/RanSuLab/Metastasis-glmGCN.
PhosPiR: an automated phosphoproteomic pipeline in R
Authors: Hong Ye , Flinkman Dani , Suomi Tomi , Pietilä Sami , James Peter , Coffey Eleanor , Elo Laura L
Published: November 2021

Large-scale phosphoproteome profiling using mass spectrometry (MS) provides functional insight that is crucial for disease biology and drug discovery. However, extracting biological understanding from these data is an arduous task requiring multiple analysis platforms that are not adapted for automated high-dimensional data analysis. Here, we introduce an integrated pipeline that combines several R packages to extract high-level biological understanding from large-scale phosphoproteomic data by seamless integration with existing databases and knowledge resources. In a single run, PhosPiR provides data clean-up, fast data overview, multiple statistical testing, differential expression analysis, phosphosite annotation and translation across species, multilevel enrichment analyses, proteome-wide kinase activity and substrate mapping and network hub analysis. Data output includes graphical formats such as heatmap, box-, volcano- and circos-plots. This resource is designed to assist proteome-wide data mining of pathophysiological mechanism without a need for programming knowledge.
Predicting miRNA-disease associations using an ensemble learning framework with resampling method
Authors: Dai Qiguo , Wang Zhaowei , Liu Ziqiang , Duan Xiaodong , Song Jinmiao , Guo Maozu
Published: November 2021

Motivation: Accumulating evidences have indicated that microRNA (miRNA) plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis and progression of various complex diseases. Inferring disease-associated miRNAs is significant to explore the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. As the biological experiments are time-consuming and labor-intensive, developing effective computational methods has become indispensable to identify associations between miRNAs and diseases. Results: We present an Ensemble learning framework with Resampling method for MiRNA-Disease Association (ERMDA) prediction to discover potential disease-related miRNAs. Firstly, the resampling strategy is proposed for building multiple different balanced training subsets to address the challenge of sample imbalance within the database. Then, ERMDA extracts miRNA and disease feature representations by integrating miRNA–miRNA similarities, disease–disease similarities and experimentally verified miRNA-disease association information. Next, the feature selection approach is applied to reduce the redundant information and increase the diversity among these subsets. Lastly, ERMDA constructs an individual learner on each subset to yield primitive outcomes, and the soft voting method is introduced for making the final decision based on the prediction results of individual learners. A series of experimental results demonstrates that ERMDA outperforms other state-of-the-art methods on both balanced and unbalanced testing sets. Besides, case studies conducted on the three human diseases further confirm the ERMDA’s prediction capability for identifying potential disease-related miRNAs. In conclusion, these experimental results demonstrate that our method can serve as an effective and reliable tool for researchers to explore the regulatory role of miRNAs in complex diseases.
Characterization of adductomic totality of NNK, (R)-NNAL and (S)-NNAL in A/J mice, and their correlations with distinct lung carcinogenicity
Authors: Hu Qi , Upadhyaya Pramod , Hecht Stephen S , Aly F Zahra , Huo Zhiguang , Xing Chengguo
Published: November 2021

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. While tobacco use is the main cause, only 10–20% of smokers eventually develop clinical lung cancer. Thus, the ability of lung cancer risk prediction among smokers could transform lung cancer management with early preventive interventions. Given that DNA damage by tobacco carcinogens is the potential root cause of lung carcinogenesis, we characterized the adductomic totality of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (a potent lung carcinogen in tobacco, commonly known as NNK) in the target lung tissues, the liver tissues and the peripheral serum samples in a single-dose NNK-induced lung carcinogenesis A/J mouse model. We also characterized these adductomic totalities from the two enantiomers of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL, the major in vivo metabolite of NNK) given their distinct carcinogenicity in A/J mice. With these adductomic data, we demonstrated that tissue protein adductomics have the highest abundance. We also identified that the adductomic levels at the 8 h time point after carcinogen exposure were among the highest. More importantly, the relationships among these adductomics were characterized with overall strong positive linear correlations, demonstrating the potential of using peripheral serum protein adductomics to reflect DNA adductomics in the target lung tissues. Lastly, we explored the relationships of these adductomics with lung tumor status in A/J mice, providing preliminary but promising evidence of the feasibility of lung cancer risk prediction using peripheral adductomic profiling.
Epidemiology of Acute Myocarditis/Pericarditis in Hong Kong Adolescents Following Comirnaty Vaccination
Authors: Chua Gilbert T , Kwan Mike Yat Wah , Chui Celine S L , Smith Robert David , Cheung Edmund Chi Lok , Ma Tian , Leung Miriam T Y , Tsao Sabrina Siu Ling , Kan Elaine , Ng Wing Kei Carol , Chan Victor Chi Man , Tai Shuk Mui , Yu Tak Ching , Lee Kwok Piu , Wong Joshua Sung Chih , Lin Ying Kit , Shek Chi Chiu , Leung Agnes Sze Yin , Chow Chit Kwong , Li Ka Wah , Ma Johnny , Fung Wai Yuk , Lee Daniel , Ng Ming Yen , Wong Wilfred Hing Sang , Tsang Hing Wai , Kwok Janette , Leung Daniel , Chung Kin Lai , Chow Chun Bong , Chan Godfrey Chi Fung , Leung Wing Hang , To Kelvin Kai Wang , Yuen Kwok Yung , Lau Yu Lung , Wong Ian Chi Kei , Ip Patrick
Published: November 2021

Background

Age-specific incidence of acute myocarditis/pericarditis in adolescents following Comirnaty vaccination in Asia is lacking. This study aimed to study the clinical characteristics and incidence of acute myocarditis/pericarditis among Hong Kong adolescents following Comirnaty vaccination.

Methods

This is a population cohort study in Hong Kong that monitored adverse events following immunization through a pharmacovigilance system for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. All adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years following Comirnaty vaccination were monitored under the COVID-19 vaccine adverse event response and evaluation program. The clinical characteristics and overall incidence of acute myocarditis/pericarditis in adolescents following Comirnaty vaccination were analyzed.

Results

Between 14 June 2021 and 4 September 2021, 33 Chinese adolescents who developed acute myocarditis/pericarditis following Comirnaty vaccination were identified. In total, 29 (87.88%) were male and 4 (12.12%) were female, with a median age of 15.25 years. And 27 (81.82%) and 6 (18.18%) cases developed acute myocarditis/pericarditis after receiving the second and first dose, respectively. All cases are mild and required only conservative management. The overall incidence of acute myocarditis/pericarditis was 18.52 (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.67–29.01) per 100 000 persons vaccinated. The incidence after the first and second doses were 3.37 (95% CI, 1.12–9.51) and 21.22 (95% CI, 13.78–32.28 per 100 000 persons vaccinated, respectively. Among male adolescents, the incidence after the first and second doses were 5.57 (95% CI, 2.38–12.53) and 37.32 (95% CI, 26.98–51.25) per 100 000 persons vaccinated.

Conclusions

There is a significant increase in the risk of acute myocarditis/pericarditis following Comirnaty vaccination among Chinese male adolescents, especially after the second dose.
Acute and Persistent Symptoms in Children With Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)–Confirmed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection Compared With Test-Negative Children in England: Active, Prospective, National Surveillance
Authors: Zavala Maria , Ireland Georgina , Amin-Chowdhury Zahin , Ramsay Mary E , Ladhani Shamez N
Published: November 2021

Background

Most children recover quickly after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but some may have ongoing symptoms. Follow-up studies have been limited by small sample sizes and lack of appropriate controls.

Methods

We used national testing data to identify children aged 2–16 years with a SARS-CoV-2 PCR test during 1–7 January 2021 and randomly selected 1500 PCR-positive cases and 1500 matched PCR-negative controls. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire about the acute illness and prespecified neurological, dermatological, sensory, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, mental health (including emotional and behavioral well-being), and other symptoms experienced ≥5 times at 1 month after the PCR test.

Results

Overall, 35.0% (859/2456) completed the questionnaire, including 38.0% (472/1242) of cases and 32% (387/1214) of controls, of whom 68% (320/472) and 40% (154/387) were symptomatic, respectively. The most prevalent acute symptoms were cough (249/859, 29.0%), fever (236/859, 27.5%), headache (236/859, 27.4%), and fatigue (231/859, 26.9%). One month later, 21/320 (6.7%) of symptomatic cases and 6/154 (4.2%) of symptomatic controls (P = .24) experienced ongoing symptoms. Of the 65 ongoing symptoms solicited, 3 clusters were significantly (P < .05) more common, albeit at low prevalence, among symptomatic cases (3–7%) than symptomatic controls (0–3%): neurological, sensory, and emotional and behavioral well-being. Mental health symptoms were reported by all groups but more frequently among symptomatic cases than symptomatic controls or asymptomatic children.

Conclusions

Children with symptomatic COVID-19 had a slightly higher prevalence of ongoing symptoms than symptomatic controls, and not as high as previously reported. Healthcare resources should be prioritized to support the mental health of children.
Seasonal glacier and snow loading in Svalbard recovered from geodetic observations
Authors: Kierulf H P , van Pelt W J J , Petrov L , Dähnn M , Kirkvik A-S , Omang O
Published: November 2021

We processed time-series from seven Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations and one Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) station in Svalbard. The goal was to capture the seasonal vertical displacements caused by elastic response of variable mass load due to ice and snow accumulation. We found that estimates of the annual signal in different GNSS solutions disagree by more than 3 mm which makes geophysical interpretation of raw GNSS time-series problematic. To overcome this problem, we have used an enhanced Common Mode (CM) filtering technique. The time-series are differentiated by the time-series from remote station BJOS with known mass loading signals removed a priori. Using this technique, we have achieved a substantial reduction of the differences between the GNSS solutions. We have computed mass loading time-series from a regional Climatic Mass Balance (CMB) and snow model that provides the amount of water equivalent at a 1 km resolution with a time step of 7 d. We found that the entire vertical loading signal is present in data of two totally independent techniques at a statistically significant level of 95 per cent. This allowed us to conclude that the remaining errors in vertical signal derived from the CMB model are less than 0.2 mm at that significance level. Refining the land water storage loading model with a CMB model resulted in a reduction of the annual amplitude from 2.1 to 1.1 mm in the CM filtered time-series, while it had only a marginal impact on raw time-series. This provides a strong evidence that CM filtering is essential for revealing local periodic signals when a millimetre level of accuracy is required.
Surface and Air Contamination With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 From Hospitalized Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients in Toronto, Canada, March–May 2020
Authors: Kotwa Jonathon D , Jamal Alainna J , Mbareche Hamza , Yip Lily , Aftanas Patryk , Barati Shiva , Bell Natalie G , Bryce Elizabeth , Coomes Eric , Crowl Gloria , Duchaine Caroline , Faheem Amna , Farooqi Lubna , Hiebert Ryan , Katz Kevin , Khan Saman , Kozak Robert , Li Angel X , Mistry Henna P , Mozafarihashjin Mohammad , Nasir Jalees A , Nirmalarajah Kuganya , Panousis Emily M , Paterson Aimee , Plenderleith Simon , Powis Jeff , Prost Karren , Schryer Renée , Taylor Maureen , Veillette Marc , Wong Titus , Zoe Zhong Xi , McArthur Andrew G , McGeer Allison J , Mubareka Samira
Published: November 2021

Background

We determined the burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in air and on surfaces in rooms of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and investigated patient characteristics associated with SARS-CoV-2 environmental contamination.

Methods

Nasopharyngeal swabs, surface, and air samples were collected from the rooms of 78 inpatients with COVID-19 at 6 acute care hospitals in Toronto from March to May 2020. Samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA), cultured to determine potential infectivity, and whole viral genomes were sequenced. Association between patient factors and detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in surface samples were investigated.

Results

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA was detected from surfaces (125 of 474 samples; 42 of 78 patients) and air (3 of 146 samples; 3 of 45 patients); 17% (6 of 36) of surface samples from 3 patients yielded viable virus. Viral sequences from nasopharyngeal and surface samples clustered by patient. Multivariable analysis indicated hypoxia at admission, polymerase chain reaction-positive nasopharyngeal swab (cycle threshold of ≤30) on or after surface sampling date, higher Charlson comorbidity score, and shorter time from onset of illness to sampling date were significantly associated with detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in surface samples.

Conclusions

The infrequent recovery of infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus from the environment suggests that the risk to healthcare workers from air and near-patient surfaces in acute care hospital wards is likely limited.
Genetic polymorphism of Trypanosoma cruzi bloodstream populations in adult chronic indeterminate Chagas disease patients from the E1224 clinical trial
Authors: Ramírez Juan Carlos , Acevedo Gonzalo Raúl , Torres Carolina , Parrado Rudy , De La Barra Anabelle , Villarroel Sandro , García Lineth , Gascon Joaquim , Ortiz Lourdes , Torrico Faustino , Ribeiro Isabela , Schijman Alejandro Gabriel
Published: November 2021

Background

The role that the genetic diversity of natural Trypanosoma cruzi populations plays in response to trypanocidal treatment of chronic Chagas disease (CD) patients remains to be understood. We analysed the genetic polymorphisms of parasite bloodstream populations infecting chronic CD patients enrolled in the E1224 clinical trial.

Methods

A total of 506 baseline and post-treatment follow-up samples from 188 patients were analysed. T. cruzi satellite DNA (satDNA) was amplified and sequenced using cruzi1/cruzi2 primers, and samples with TcI/III, TcII, TcIV or hybrid satDNA sequences were identified. Minicircle signatures were obtained after kinetoplast DNA amplification using 121/122 primers and restriction enzyme digestion. Genetic distances between baseline and post-treatment minicircle signatures were estimated using the Jaccard coefficient.

Results

At baseline, 74.3% TcII, 17.9% hybrid and 7.8% TcI/III satDNA sequences were found, whereas at the end of follow-up the distribution was 55.2% TcII, 35.2% hybrid and 9.5% TcI/III. The placebo arm was the treatment group with the highest variation of satDNA sequences between baseline and post-treatment follow-up. Genetic distances between baseline and post-treatment minicircle signatures were similar among all treatment arms. No association between minicircle signature variability and satDNA type distribution was found.

Conclusions

Genetic variability of T. cruzi bloodstream populations during post-treatment follow-up did not differ from that observed during chronic infection in the absence of treatment, suggesting that there were no selection events of E1224-resistant parasite populations. This is the first report documenting the genetic polymorphism of natural T. cruzi populations in chronic patients in the context of clinical trials with trypanocidal drugs.
Reduced Susceptibility Towards Commercial Bait Insecticides in Field German Cockroach (Blattodea: Ectobiidae) Populations From California
Authors: Lee Shao-Hung , Choe Dong-Hwan , Rust Michael K , Lee Chow-Yang
Published: November 2021

Gel bait insecticides have been extensively used to manage the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.) (Blattodea: Ectobiidae), but issues with reduced effectiveness of such formulations are becoming increasingly common. We collected five field strains of German cockroaches in California and evaluated them against five commercial bait products [Maxforce FC Magnum (0.05% fipronil), Maxforce Impact (1% clothianidin), Advion Evolution (0.6% indoxacarb), Optigard (0.1% emamectin benzoate) and Siege (2% hydramethylnon)]. Increased survivorship and incomplete mortality towards all baits were recorded in the field strains. We assessed susceptibility to the active ingredients fipronil, clothianidin, indoxacarb, abamectin, hydramethylnon, and deltamethrin using topical bioassays with diagnostic doses (3 × LD95 and 10 × LD95) developed from the UCR susceptible strain. Low mortality was registered when tested with the 3 × LD95’s of deltamethrin (0%), fipronil (0–3%), and clothianidin (13–27%); low to moderate mortality when treated with the 3 × LD95 of indoxacarb (13–63%), and moderate to high mortality after treatment with the 3 × LD95 of abamectin (80–100%) and hydramethylnon (70–83%). The mortality of all strains remained low after treatment with the 10 × LD99 of deltamethrin (0–20%) and low to moderate with fipronil (20–70%). We found negative correlations (P < 0.05) between Advion Evolution mean survival time and indoxacarb 10 × LD95 mortality and between Maxforce Impact and clothianidin 10 × LD95 mortality. These findings demonstrate multiple resistance towards all tested commercial bait insecticides except Optigard, suggesting the effectiveness of avermectin products in resistance management programs.
Effects of Plant-Mediated Differences in Aphid Size on Suitability of Its Parasitoid, Aphelinus varipes (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)
Authors: Yasir Ali Muhammad , Lu Zhaozhi , Ali Abid , Bilal Amir Muhammad , Afaq Ahmed Muhammad , Shahid Sohaib , Liu Tong-xian , Pan Mingzhen
Published: November 2021

Host plants indirectly affect parasitoid life-history traits via parasitoid hosts. Here, we evaluated the life-history traits of the parasitoid Aphelinus varipes emerging from the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae), feeding on five commercially important vegetables. The results showed that A. varipes fed upon and parasitized maximum number of aphids grown on chili pepper, and least on cabbage. The emergence rate was the highest on chili pepper (100%) and lowest on crown daisy (71.1 ± 2.17%). Aphelinus varipes developed fastest on hosts reared on chili pepper (12.9 ± 0.02 d) and slowest on aphids reared on cabbage (14.1 ± 0.02 d). The body weight and body size of emerging wasp parasitoids and aphids were greatest on chili pepper and lowest on cabbage. Aphid body size positively affect parasitism, development time, and body size of the parasitoid. In conclusion, our results showed that the parasitoid A. varipes had variable life-history parameters, depending on the host plant species and host body size. The effects of host plant species on performance of M. persicae and its parasitoid A. varipes are discussed, along with the potential of using A. varipes to control M. persicae on different plants.
Dengue during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Wilder-Smith Annelies
Published: November 2021

Despite coronavirus disease 2019-related disruptions in controlling dengue, efforts need to be maintained to prevent vector-borne diseases during this pandemic. Although travel restrictions brought a global halt to mobility and therefore also a substantial decline of imported and travel-associated dengue, dengue will become dominant again in travel medicine as soon as international travel resumes.
Towards a common model for European poetry: Challenges and solutions
Authors: Bermúdez-Sabel Helena , Díez Platas María Luisa , Ros Salvador , González-Blanco Elena
Published: November 2021

This paper stems from the analysis of multiple poetic resources that were available online, as well as the results of methodological discussions with scholars of European Literature. The goal was to retrieve the informational needs of all these different sources in order to build a common data model for European Poetry (EP). Thus, by implementing a reverse engineering method, we have created the Domain Model for EP, which is an important breakthrough for making existent poetry resources interoperable. The lack of a uniform academic approach to analyse and classify poetic manifestations, the divergence of theories when comparing poetry schools from different languages and periods is some of the factors that hinder the modelling process. In this paper, we will present some of the challenges we encountered while conceptualizing the information relevant to poetic analysis and how we have worked around them. Some elements of the ontology will be presented to illustrate our modelling strategies.
The Bayes’ factor: the coherent measure for hypothesis confirmation
Authors: Taroni Franco , Garbolino Paolo , Bozza Silvia , Aitken Colin
Published: November 2021

What have been called ‘Bayesian confirmation measures’ or ‘evidential support measures’ offer a numerical expression for the impact of a piece of evidence on a judicial hypothesis of interest. The Bayes’ factor, sometimes simply called the ‘likelihood ratio’, represents the best measure of the value of the evidence. It satisfies a number of necessary conditions on normative logical adequacy. It is shown that the same cannot be said for alternative expressions put forward by some legal and forensic quarters. A list of desiderata are given that support the choice of the Bayes’ factor as the best measure for quantification of the value of evidence.
An inventory of galaxies in cosmic filaments feeding galaxy clusters: galaxy groups, backsplash galaxies, and pristine galaxies
Authors: Kuchner Ulrike , Haggar Roan , Aragón-Salamanca Alfonso , Pearce Frazer R , Gray Meghan E , Rost Agustín , Cui Weiguang , Knebe Alexander , Yepes Gustavo
Published: November 2021

Galaxy clusters grow by accreting galaxies from the field and along filaments of the cosmic web. As galaxies are accreted they are affected by their local environment before they enter (pre-processing), and traverse the cluster potential. Observations that aim to constrain pre-processing are challenging to interpret because filaments comprise a heterogeneous range of environments including groups of galaxies embedded within them and backsplash galaxies that contain a record of their previous passage through the cluster. This motivates using modern cosmological simulations to dissect the population of galaxies found in filaments that are feeding clusters, to better understand their history, and aid the interpretation of observations. We use zoom-in simulations from The ThreeHundred project to track haloes through time and identify their environment. We establish a benchmark for galaxies in cluster infall regions that supports the reconstruction of the different modes of pre-processing. We find that up to 45 per cent of all galaxies fall into clusters via filaments (closer than 1 h−1Mpc from the filament spine). 12 per cent of these filament galaxies are long-established members of groups and between 30 and 60 per cent of filament galaxies at R200 are backsplash galaxies. This number depends on the cluster’s dynamical state and sharply drops with distance. Backsplash galaxies return to clusters after deflecting widely from their entry trajectory, especially in relaxed clusters. They do not have a preferential location with respect to filaments and cannot collapse to form filaments. The remaining pristine galaxies (∼30–60 per cent) are environmentally affected by cosmic filaments alone.
The role of the halo magnetic field on accretion through high-velocity clouds
Authors: Grønnow Asger , Tepper-García Thor , Bland-Hawthorn Joss , Fraternali Filippo
Published: November 2021

High-velocity clouds (HVCs) are believed to be an important source of gas accretion for star formation in the Milky Way. Earlier numerical studies have found that the Galactic magnetic field and radiative cooling strongly affects accretion. However, these effects have not previously been included together in the context of clouds falling through the Milky Way’s gravitational potential. We explore this by simulating an initially stationary cloud falling through the hot hydrostatic corona towards the disc. This represents an HVC that has condensed out of the corona. We include the magnetic field in the corona to examine its effect on accretion of the HVC and its associated cold gas. Remnants of the original cloud survive in all cases, although a strong magnetic field causes it to split into several fragments. We find that mixing of cold and hot gas leads to cooling of coronal gas and an overall growth with time in cold gas mass, despite the low metallicity of the cloud and corona. The role of the magnetic field is to (moderately to severely) suppress the mixing and subsequent cooling, which in turn leads to less accretion compared to when the field is absent. A stronger field leads to less suppression of condensation because it enhances Rayleigh–Taylor instability. However, magnetic tension in a stronger field substantially decelerates condensed cloudlets. These have velocities typically a factor 3–8 below the velocity of the main cloud remnants by the end of the simulation. Some of these cloudlets likely disperse before reaching the disc.
Red supergiants in M31: the Humphreys–Davidson limit at high metallicity
Authors: McDonald Sarah L E , Davies Ben , Beasor Emma R
Published: November 2021

The empirical upper limit to red supergiant (RSG) luminosity, known as the Humphreys–Davidson (HD) limit, has been commonly explained as being caused by the stripping of stellar envelopes by metallicity-dependent line-driven winds. As such, the theoretical expectation is that the HD limit should be higher at lower metallicity, where weaker mass-loss rates mean that higher initial masses are required for an envelope to be stripped. In this paper, we test this prediction by measuring the luminosity function of RSGs in M31 and comparing it to those in the LMC and SMC. We find that log (Lmax/L⊙) = 5.53 ± 0.03 in M31 (Z ≳ Z⊙), consistent with the limit found for both the LMC (Z ∼ 0.5 Z⊙) and SMC (Z ∼ 0.25 Z⊙), while the RSG luminosity distributions in these three galaxies are consistent to within 1σ. We therefore find no evidence for a metallicity dependence on both the HD limit and the RSG luminosity function, and conclude that line-driven winds on the main sequence are not the cause of the HD limit.
Nuclear poly(A) binding protein 1 (PABPN1) mediates zygotic genome activation-dependent maternal mRNA clearance during mouse early embryonic development
Authors: Zhao Long-Wen , Zhu Ye-Zhang , Wu Yun-Wen , Pi Shuai-Bo , Shen Li , Fan Heng-Yu
Published: November 2021

An embryo starts its life with maternal mRNA clearance, which is crucial for embryonic development. The elimination of maternal transcripts occurs by the joint action of two pathways: the maternally encoded mRNA decay pathway (M-decay) and the zygotic genome activation (ZGA)-dependent pathway (Z-decay). However, zygotic factors triggering maternal mRNA decay in early mammalian embryos remain largely unknown. In this study, we identified the zygotically encoded nuclear poly(A) binding protein 1 (PABPN1) as a factor required for maternal mRNA turnover, with a previously undescribed cytoplasmic function. Cytoplasmic PABPN1 docks on 3′-uridylated transcripts, downstream of terminal uridylyl transferases TUT4 and TUT7, and recruits 3′-5′ exoribonuclease DIS3L2 to its targets, facilitating maternal mRNA decay. Pabpn1-knockout in mice resulted in preimplantation stage mortality due to early developmental arrest at the morula stage. Maternal mRNAs to be eliminated via the Z-decay pathway failed to be removed from Pabpn1-depleted embryos. Furthermore, PABPN1-mediated Z-decay is essential for major ZGA and regulates the expression of cell fate-determining factors in mouse preimplantation embryos. This study revealed an unforeseen cytoplasmic function of PABPN1 coupled with early embryonic development, characterized the presence of a zygotic destabilizer of maternal mRNA, and elucidated the Z-decay process mechanisms, which potentially contribute to human fertility.
Longitudinal Associations Between e-Cigarette Use, Cigarette Smoking, Physical Activity, and Recreational Screen Time in Canadian Adolescents
Authors: Irvine Dylan S , McGarity-Shipley Ellen , Lee Eun-Young , Janssen Ian , Leatherdale Scott T
Published: November 2021

Introduction

This study examined longitudinal associations between e-cigarette use, cigarette smoking, physical activity, and recreational screen time (ST) in a cohort of Canadian adolescents (ages 14–17 years; grades 9–12).

Aims and Methods

Data from 5951 adolescents who participated in COMPASS Year 4 (2015–2016; baseline) and Year 6 (2017–2018; follow-up) were used. Exposures included e-cigarette use and cigarette smoking. Outcomes included cutpoints for moderate- to vigorous-physical activity (MVPA; ≥60 min/d), muscular strengthening exercises (MSE; ≥3 time/wk), participation in sport (SP; intramural or competitive), and recreational screen time (ST; ≤430 min/day). Generalized linear mixed models were performed.

Results

e-Cigarette use (16.6% vs. 39.2%), cigarette smoking (0.9% vs. 4.7%), and dual use (0.8% vs. 4.1%) increased from baseline to follow-up. SP (70.8% vs. 61.3%) and the prevalence of meeting MVPA (49.8% vs. 42.1%) and MSE cutpoints (54.0% vs. 45.3%) decreased from baseline to follow-up. Recreational ST remained similar from baseline to follow-up. New e-cigarette use at follow-up was associated with maintenance of SP and meeting MVPA and MSE cutpoints, but also with increased ST. New cigarette smoking at follow-up was associated with maintaining high ST and low SP. Cigarette smoking at baseline and follow-up was associated with maintaining high ST, low MSE, and low SP. Cigarette smoking cessation at follow-up was associated with increasing MVPA and MSE, decreasing ST, and maintaining low SP.

Conclusion

Given the clustering and co-occurring unhealthy behavioral patterns, intervention strategies to promote healthy lifestyles should take a holistic approach, by targeting multiple behavioral changes simultaneously.

Implications

This investigation highlighted that, unhealthy behaviors, particularly e-cigarette use, cigarette smoking, and excessive use of screens, tend to co-occur among Canadian adolescents. Therefore, intervention strategies to promote healthy lifestyles should take a holistic approach, by targeting multiple behavioral changes simultaneously particularly in school and community settings. As an exception, new and stable e-cigarette use appears to co-occur with achieving sufficient levels of physical activity. Increasing awareness about the risk of e-cigarette use may target population groups that are physically and socially active (eg, athletes, sport teams).