bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hungry minds: Investigating the food insecurity of minority community college students
Authors: Ilieva Rositsa T. , Ahmed Tanzina , Yan Anita
Published: November 2018

Research on food insecurity has investigated urban environments at the neighborhood and city level but neglected the importance of college institutions. Community colleges, which serve a larger population of low‐income, food insecure, and minority students than 4‐year institutions, have been especially neglected. In this mixed methods study, we examined how 50 low‐income minority students in an urban community college access food on campus and how the features of their college foodscape shape their food insecurity. We also investigated how students' ability to access food on campus shaped their perceptions of the college institution and their academic endeavors. Our survey findings reveal high levels of food insecurity among our participants. Students' written narratives demonstrate their desire for more appealing and affordable food on campus and reveal their distrust of the college institution. Furthermore, students connect their food insecurity to their ability to concentrate on academic tasks. Thus, the accessibility of food on campus appears to affect students' perceptions of their community college institution and has implications for their emotional and academic development. Our work suggests that both researchers and college institutions must examine the inadvertent signals that institutions send to food insecure students through their food policies.
Extracellular Vesicles from Neurosurgical Aspirates Identifies Chaperonin Containing TCP1 Subunit 6A as a Potential Glioblastoma Biomarker with Prognostic Significance
Authors: Hallal Susannah , Russell Benjamin P. , Wei Heng , Lee Maggie Yuk T. , Toon Christopher W. , Sy Joanne , Shivalingam Brindha , Buckland Michael E. , Kaufman Kimberley L.
Published: November 2018

Glioblastoma, WHO‐grade IV glioma, carries a dismal prognosis owing to its infiltrative growth and limited treatment options. Glioblastoma‐derived extracellular vesicles (EVs; 30–1000 nm membranous particles) influence the microenvironment to mediate tumor aggressiveness and carry oncogenic cargo across the blood–brain barrier into the circulation. As such, EVs are biomarker reservoirs with enormous potential for assessing glioblastoma tumors in situ. Neurosurgical aspirates are rich sources of EVs, isolated directly from glioma microenvironments. EV proteomes enriched from glioblastoma (n = 15) and glioma grade II–III (n = 7) aspirates are compared and 298 differentially‐abundant proteins (p‐value < 0.00496) are identified using quantitative LC–MS/MS. Along with previously reported glioblastoma‐associated biomarkers, levels of all eight subunits of the key molecular chaperone, T‐complex protein 1 Ring complex (TRiC), are higher in glioblastoma‐EVs, including CCT2, CCT3, CCT5, CCT6A, CCT7, and TCP1 (p < 0.00496). Analogous increases in TRiC transcript levels and DNA copy numbers are detected in silico; CCT6A has the greatest induction of expression and amplification in glioblastoma and shows a negative association with survival (p = 0.006). CCT6A is co‐localized with EGFR at 7p11.2, with a strong tendency for co‐amplification (p < 0.001). Immunohistochemistry corroborates the CCT6A proteomics measurements and indicated a potential link between EGFR and CCT6A tissue expression. Putative EV‐biomarkers described here should be further assessed in peripheral blood.
Eye drop psychosis in Parkinson's disease: a cautionary tale
Authors: Ferris Amy , Mohamed Biju , Thomas Chris
Published: November 2018

Anticholinergic agents are used in a number of conditions ranging from overactive bladder and bradycardia to travel sickness but side‐effects such as hallucinations, impaired memory and restlessness are increasingly recognised, though still under‐reported in clinical practice. In Parkinson's disease anticholinergics such as atropine are recommended by NICE for the management of excessive drooling. Dr Ferris et al. present such a case where commencing sublingual atropine drops caused a patient to develop hyperactive delirium and psychosis. They also discuss the subsequent clinical management steps.
Screening for depression in patients with cognitive impairment: a local audit
Authors: Wood Felicity Juliette , Nabi Azka , Adebekun Israel
Published: November 2018

Depression is highly prevalent in cognitive impairment and is considered one of the most common comorbid conditions in dementia.1 Despite this, underlying depressive symptoms can easily be missed2 by health care providers, mainly due to lack of awareness and lack of routine screening for depressive symptoms. Here, the authors examine the results of their local audit in Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust screening for depression in those diagnosed with dementia and discuss what their recommendations are for improving this aspect of clinical care in the future.
Mechanics of Plate Fracture from Detonation Wave Interaction
Authors: Zhang Kefan , Liang Minzu , Lu Fangyun , Li Xiangyu
Published: November 2018

The interaction of detonation waves was widely used in warhead design due to its ability to generate local high‐pressure regions. In this paper, the detonation interaction was investigated by experiments and finite element (FE) models. Experiments were conducted first to capture the fundamental dynamic fracture and fragmentation patterns and they served as a basis of validation for both the FE and analytical models. According to fracture surface, shear fracture is prior mechanism for steel‐plate fragmentation. The FE results indicated the dynamic fracture of steel plate was referred to the pressure difference between the collision area and its adjacent areas. A theoretical analysis of detonation wave interaction in explosive was carried out, and the relationship between the pressure at the collision area and adjacent areas was obtained. In the discussion part, the influencing factors and the optimal results for the plate fracture in the simulation calculation were carried out.
Insecticide dose and seasonal timing of trunk injection in apples influence efficacy and residues in nectar and plant parts
Authors: Coslor Charles C , Vandervoort Christine , Wise John C
Published: November 2018

BACKGROUND

Trunk injection is an established method for delivering pesticides in ornamental and shade trees, but further research is needed to determine efficacy and pollinator safety in tree fruit crops. Apple trees were injected in 2013 and 2014 with the insecticides emamectin benzoate, imidacloprid, dinotefuran, spinosad, chlorantraniliprole, or abamectin. Additional emamectin benzoate and imidacloprid injections were performed in the spring and fall of 2015. Nectar and pollen were sampled in the following spring to compare the effects of application timings on insecticide loading into flowers.

RESULTS

Neonicotinoids reduced Empoasca fabae density in the field. Emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole, and abamectin resulted in moderate to high mortality and reduced Choristoneura rosaceana feeding in bioassays. Imidacloprid was not detected in nectar or pollen when injected in the spring, and was detected at 0.39 ng g−1 in pollen when injected the previous fall. Emamectin benzoate was not detected in nectar or pollen when injected the previous fall, and was detected at 7.36 ng g−1 (nectar) and 1.15 ng g−1 (pollen) when injected in the spring.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified a broader list of possible trunk‐injectable pesticides for apple trees. This study also shows that managing the seasonal timing of injection can reduce the risk of insecticide exposure to pollinators. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry
Fast flexible space‐filling designs with nominal factors for nonrectangular regions
Authors: Lekivetz Ryan , Jones Bradley
Published: November 2018

Space‐filling designs allow for exploration of responses when each continuous input factor is set to many different values over its range. While typical space‐filling designs treat all the input factors as continuous, some problems necessitate the use of nominal input factors. In such cases, it is desirable that the design for the continuous inputs only be space‐filling, as well as the subdesign of the continuous factors for each level of a nominal input. In this article, we present a solution that takes both aspects into account and allows the experimenter to balance between the space‐filling properties of the design ignoring the nominal inputs versus subdesigns on each level of nominal inputs. Space‐filling designs commonly employ rectangular design spaces. However, it is sometimes necessary to place constraints on the design region where some regions of the design space are impossible or undesirable to run. In addition to incorporating nominal factors, the methods presented in this article generate space‐filling designs that have the flexibility to accommodate nonrectangular design regions.
An extension of the Erdős‐Tetali theorem
Authors: Táfula Christian
Published: November 2018

Given a sequence , let r𝒜,h(n) denote the number of ways n can be written as the sum of h elements of 𝒜. Fixing h ≥ 2, we show that if f is a suitable real function (namely: locally integrable, O‐regularly varying and of positive increase) satisfying
urn:x-wiley:rsa:media:rsa20812:rsa20812-math-0002

then there must exist with for which r𝒜,h + ℓ(n) = Θ(f(n)h + ℓ/n) for all ℓ ≥ 0. Furthermore, for h = 2 this condition can be weakened to . The proof is somewhat technical and the methods rely on ideas from regular variation theory, which are presented in an appendix with a view towards the general theory of additive bases. We also mention an application of these ideas to Schnirelmann's method.
Assessment of Martensitic Transformation Paths Based on Transformation Potential Calculations
Authors: Creuziger Adam , Poling Whitney A. , Gnaeupel‐Herold Thomas
Published: November 2018

Transformation potentials for two different martensitic transformation paths are calculated and compared to experimentally measured austenite textures of an SAE 201 stainless steel. The authors conclude that the γ → ϵ → α’ transformation path is a better match than the γ → α′ transformation path, based on comparison of the texture evolution and transformation potentials. However, significant plastic deformation is also observed in these samples which occurs simultaneously with the transformation. The values of transformation potentials also demonstrate that the transformation path may also be a function of crystal orientation and stress state, in addition to the effect of stacking fault energy (SFE).
In vivo neurochemical evidence that stimulation of accumbal GABAA and GABAB receptors each reduce acetylcholine efflux without affecting dopamine efflux in the nucleus accumbens of freely moving rats
Authors: Aono Yuri , Watanabe Yuriko , Ishikawa Manabu , Kuboyama Noboru , Waddington John L. , Saigusa Tadashi
Published: November 2018

Cholinergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens contain GABAA and GABAB receptors that are thought to inhibit neural activity. We analyzed the roles of GABAA and GABAB receptors in regulating accumbal acetylcholine efflux of freely moving rats using in vivo microdialysis. The effects of GABA receptor ligands on the accumbal dopamine efflux were also analyzed because accumbal cholinergic and dopaminergic neurons could mutually interact. Drugs were applied intracerebrally through the dialysis probe. Doses of compounds indicate total amount administered (mol) during 30–60 min infusions. To monitor basal acetylcholine, a low concentration of physostigmine (50 nM) was added to the perfusate. GABAA receptor agonist muscimol (3 and 30 pmol) induced a dose‐related decrease in accumbal acetylcholine. GABAB receptor agonist baclofen (30 and 300 pmol) also produced a dose‐related decrease in acetylcholine. GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline (60 pmol) which failed to alter baseline acetylcholine counteracted the muscimol (30 pmol)‐induced decrease in acetylcholine. GABAB receptor antagonist 2‐hydroxysaclofen (12 nmol) which failed to change baseline acetylcholine, counteracted the baclofen (300 pmol)‐induced decrease in acetylcholine. Neither muscimol (30 pmol) nor baclofen (300 pmol) which reduced accumbal acetylcholine altered baseline accumbal dopamine. Neither bicuculline (60 pmol) nor 2‐hydroxysaclofen (12 nmol) also affected the baseline dopamine. These results show that GABAA and GABAB receptors each exert inhibitory roles in the regulation of accumbal cholinergic neural activity. The present results also provides in vivo neurochemical evidence that stimulation of GABAA and GABAB receptors each reduce acetylcholine efflux without affecting dopamine efflux in the nucleus accumbens of freely moving rats.
Wide‐area‐signals‐based nonlinear excitation control in multi‐machine power systems
Authors: Liu Song , Li Xiaocong , Chen Dengyi
Published: November 2018

Recent studies have reported the capability of nonlinear excitation controllers in improving the dynamic performance of power systems. As each power plant is usually located at a distance from each other, local signals do not comprise enough content for damping inter‐area oscillations. Moreover, power system stability and terminal voltage regulation are both important properties in power system operation. Earlier control results apply a switching approach of two different kinds of controllers, leading to a discontinuity of the system behavior. This paper presents a wide‐area nonlinear excitation controller (WANEC) based on partial feedback linearizing for a multi‐machine power system to restrain oscillations and achieve the goal of voltage regulation. By selecting the appropriate wide‐area signal and the objective function of voltage regulation in the output function, the optimal control law is derived through partial linearization to complete the control design. The time‐domain simulation test on the IEEE 10‐machine 39‐bus system verify that the proposed controller can effectively damp the system oscillations after a large disturbance and give better performance in voltage regulation. © 2018 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Enhanced REVENUE After Surgery? A Cost‐Standardized Enhanced Recovery Pathway for Mastectomy Decreases Length of Stay
Authors: Ackerman Robert S. , Hirschi Michael , Alford Brandon , Evans Trip , Kiluk John V. , Patel Sephalie Y.
Published: November 2018

Background

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been shown to improve surgical, anesthetic, and economic outcomes in intermediate‐to‐high‐risk surgeries. Its influence on length of stay and cost of low‐risk surgeries has yet to be robustly studied. As value‐based patient care comes to the forefront of anesthesiology research, the focus shifts to strategies that maintain quality while effectively containing cost.

Methods

In July 2016, we implemented an ERAS for mastectomy protocol consisting of limiting fasting state, preoperative multimodal analgesia, and pectoralis I and II blocks. After 1 year, patient records were retrospectively reviewed for length of stay, opioid consumption, pain scores, and hospital charges.

Results

Implementation of an ERAS protocol for mastectomies led to a decrease in opioid consumption, and statistically significant decrease in length of stay (1.19 vs. 1.44, p = 0.01). No significant change in hospital charges was observed ($25,787 vs. $25,863, p = 0.97); however, the variance of charges was significantly decreased (6.8 × 107 vs. 1.5 × 108, p = 0.002). The decrease in length of stay translated to an extra 100 hospital bed days which can provide up to an additional $2,100,000 in gross patient service revenue from additional mastectomy volume.

Conclusion

ERAS protocols for mastectomies may prove beneficial by allowing growing hospitals to increase bed capacity and consequently surgical volume. Despite no change in hospital charges, we predict a potential increase in gross patient service revenue of $2.1 million due to saved hospital bed days.
Correction to: Spectrum of movement disorders and neurotransmitter abnormalities in paediatric POLG disease
Authors: Papandreou A. , Rahman S. , Fratter C. , Ng J. , Meyer E. , Carr L. J. , Champion M. , Clarke A. , Gissen P. , Hemingway C. , Hussain N. , Jayawant S. , King M. D. , Lynch B. J. , Mewasingh L. , Patel J. , Prabhakar P. , Neergheen V. , Pope S. , Heales S. J. R. , Poulton J. , Kurian Manju A.
Published: November 2018

Due to a typesetting error the wrong Table 2 was used. The correct Table 2 is shown here:
Joint Maximum Likelihood Estimation for High-Dimensional Exploratory Item Factor Analysis
Authors: Chen Yunxiao , Li Xiaoou , Zhang Siliang
Published: November 2018

Joint maximum likelihood (JML) estimation is one of the earliest approaches to fitting item response theory (IRT) models. This procedure treats both the item and person parameters as unknown but fixed model parameters and estimates them simultaneously by solving an optimization problem. However, the JML estimator is known to be asymptotically inconsistent for many IRT models, when the sample size goes to infinity and the number of items keeps fixed. Consequently, in the psychometrics literature, this estimator is less preferred to the marginal maximum likelihood (MML) estimator. In this paper, we re-investigate the JML estimator for high-dimensional exploratory item factor analysis, from both statistical and computational perspectives. In particular, we establish a notion of statistical consistency for a constrained JML estimator, under an asymptotic setting that both the numbers of items and people grow to infinity and that many responses may be missing. A parallel computing algorithm is proposed for this estimator that can scale to very large datasets. Via simulation studies, we show that when the dimensionality is high, the proposed estimator yields similar or even better results than those from the MML estimator, but can be obtained computationally much more efficiently. An illustrative real data example is provided based on the revised version of Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R).
A CLASS OF GROWTH MODELS RESCALING TO KPZ
Authors: HAIRER MARTIN , QUASTEL JEREMY
Published: November 2018

We consider a large class of$1+1$-dimensional continuous interface growth models and we show that, in both the weakly asymmetric and the intermediate disorder regimes, these models converge to Hopf–Cole solutions to the KPZ equation.
Depression screening in HIV-positive Tanzanian adults: comparing the PHQ-2, PHQ-9 and WHO-5 questionnaires
Authors: Nolan C. P. , O'Donnell P. J. M. , Desderius B. M. , Mzombwe M. , McNairy M. L. , Peck R. N. , Kingery J. R.
Published: November 2018

Background.

HIV-positive individuals are at significantly increased risk of depression. In low- and middle-income countries, depression is frequently under-detected, hampered by a lack of data regarding available screening tools. The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) is widely used to screen for depression, yet its validity in African adults with HIV has yet to be examined.

Methods.

In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled HIV-positive adults presenting to an outpatient HIV clinic in Mwanza, Tanzania. Patients were administered the Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ)-2/9 and WHO-5 questionnaires. The rate of positive screens was calculated. Fisher's exact test and Pearson's correlation coefficients between PHQ-2/9 and WHO-5 scores were calculated.

Results.

We enrolled 72 HIV-positive adults: rates of positive depression screen were 62.5%, 77.8%, and 47.2% according to PHQ-2, PHQ-9, and WHO-5, respectively. PHQ and WHO results for depression were significantly associated (Fisher's exact test: PHQ-2 v. WHO-5, p = 0.028; PHQ-9 v. WHO-5, p = 0.002). The level of correlation between PHQ and WHO results for depression was moderate (Pearson's correlation coefficient: PHQ-2 v. WHO-5 −0.3289; PHQ-9 v. WHO-5 −0.4463).Per Mantel–Haenszel analysis, screening results were significantly more concordant among patients in the following strata: men, age >40, Sukuma ethnicity, Christian, unmarried, self-employed, at least primary school education completed, and higher than the median income level.

Conclusions.

WHO-5 scores correlated well with those of the PHQ-9, suggesting that the WHO-5 represents a valid screening tool. The concordance of PHQ-9 and WHO-5 results was poorer in marginalized socioeconomic groups. Positive depression screens were exceedingly common among HIV-positive Tanzanian adults according to all three questionnaires.
Progress in home-based treatment
Authors: McGarry P.
Published: November 2018

Home-based treatment has been promoted as an alternative to hospital admission over the last 30 years, with the system in England being particularly well developed. There is less stigma, patients and families appear to prefer treatment at home, and there has been a significant reduction in the number of acute beds. In more recent years, there have been criticisms of the lack of effect on reducing hospital admissions and concerns have also been raised about patient safety. Home-based treatment is being further developed on the island of Ireland, and this will hopefully be influenced by current and future local research.
Inferential Approaches for Network Analysis: AMEN for Latent Factor Models
Authors: Minhas Shahryar , Hoff Peter D. , Ward Michael D.
Published: November 2018

We introduce a Bayesian approach to conduct inferential analyses on dyadic data while accounting for interdependencies between observations through a set of additive and multiplicative effects (AME). The AME model is built on a generalized linear modeling framework and is thus flexible enough to be applied to a variety of contexts. We contrast the AME model to two prominent approaches in the literature: the latent space model (LSM) and the exponential random graph model (ERGM). Relative to these approaches, we show that the AME approach is (a) to be easy to implement; (b) interpretable in a general linear model framework; (c) computationally straightforward; (d) not prone to degeneracy; (e) captures first-, second-, and third-order network dependencies; and (f) notably outperforms ERGMs and LSMs on a variety of metrics and in an out-of-sample context. In summary, AME offers a straightforward way to undertake nuanced, principled inferential network analysis for a wide range of social science questions.
Vegetation Changes around Haven Lake, Adak Island, Central Aleutians, Alaska, Determined from Pollen Analysis
Authors: Noguchi Makoto , Fujiki Toshiyuki , Okuno Mitsuru , Gualtieri Lyn , Hatfield Virginia , Sarata Brenn , Torii Masayuki , Wada Keiji , Nakamura Toshio , West Dixie
Published: November 2018

We collected peat sediments (sediment core ADK13083002) from Haven Lake on the north side of Adak Island (central Aleutian Islands, Alaska) to determine whether the vegetation has changed. We confirmed the presence of six tephra layers, including Forty Years (0.3 cal ka BP), T2, YBO (3.3 cal ka BP), Intermediate (6.4 cal ka BP), Main (9.5 cal ka BP), and T6. We identified four major pollen assemblage zones (HL-1 to HL-4, in descending order) in the cored sediment. HL-1 was dominated by Ranunculaceae and Empetrum pollen; H-2 was dominated by Poaceae, Ranunculaceae, and Empetrum pollen; HL-3 was dominated by Poaceae and Empetrum pollen; and HL-4 was dominated by Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Lycopodiaceae, and Empetrum pollen. Small charcoal particles, likely transported from a distance, were found at low frequencies until 6.4 cal ka BP. The total cross-sectional area of charcoal particles increased to 1500 μm2 or more by 6.4 cal ka BP, implying that the large charcoal particles originated from nearby Aleut settlements, which were established around the same time.
Development of Surficial Deposits on Belyi Island (Kara Sea) during the Last 40,000 Years
Authors: Yurtaev A , Alexandrovskiy A , Skripkin V , Zazovskaya E , Dolgikh A
Published: November 2018

A series of radiocarbon (14C) dates of peat and other materials, containing organic matter, were obtained from Belyi Island. We have identified a large group of dates associates with MIS 1, as well as a significant group of dates associated with the Kargin (MIS 3) period (40–31 ka cal BP). A large number of dates from the Late Glacial period and from the Early Holocene (MIS 1—ca. 14–9 ka cal BP) point to this time interval being associated with warm climate conditions (the Holocene thermal maximum). The climate cooled off significantly during the Middle and Late Holocene, and the intensity of peat accumulation declined. The dates from the MIS 2 period are missing, due to the conditions of this period being extremely unfavorable for the accumulation of peat, as well as of other materials suitable for 14C dating.
Reconstruction of Soil Carbon Redistribution Processes along a Hillslope Section in a Forested Area
Authors: Novák Tibor József , Molnár Mihály , Buró Botond
Published: November 2018

The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) with depth and its horizontal pattern is influenced by the topography and relief of the surface, due to lateral redistribution of soil material along slopes. Spatial and temproral variability of these changes is frequently due to human impacts on the landscape. In our study, the results of these processes were studied in detail in a small sub-catchment in a forested hillslope section using radiocarbon (14C) dating of SOC and embedded datable material (charcoal, artifacts) from soil profiles with colluvial accumulations. Events with accelerated material redistribution could be identified as an accumulation of a 40-cm-thick colluvial layer between cal BC 410–360 (2σ) and cal AD 430–580 (2σ). Later colluvial deposition resulted in thinner accumulations (cal AD 1120–1220 [2σ] 30 cm; cal AD 1810–1920 [2σ] 21 cm). As the earliest human impact, we found soil transformation from cal BC 1290–1130 (2σ). The depth-age model for SOC compiled according to the average SOC age and its depth showed different characteristics on middle-slope and down-slope position, with rates of 48.0 yr×cm–1 and 22.0 yr×cm–1 respectively, which indicates the importance of topographic position of soils in SOC redistribution processes.
CONFIGURATION CATEGORIES AND HOMOTOPY AUTOMORPHISMS
Authors: WEISS MICHAEL S.
Published: November 2018

Let M be a smooth compact manifold with boundary. Under some geometric conditions on M, a homotopical model for the pair (M, ∂M) can be recovered from the configuration category of M \ ∂M. The grouplike monoid of derived homotopy automorphisms of the configuration category of M \ ∂M then acts on the homotopical model of (M, ∂M). That action is compatible with a better known homotopical action of the homeomorphism group of M \ ∂M on (M, ∂M).
Plasmoid instability in the semi-collisional regime
Authors: Bhat Pallavi , Loureiro Nuno F.
Published: November 2018

We investigate analytically and numerically the semi-collisional regime of the plasmoid instability, defined by the inequality $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\text{SP}}\gg \unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{s}\gg \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\text{in}}$, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\text{SP}}$ is the width of a Sweet–Parker current sheet, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{s}$ is the ion sound Larmor radius and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\text{in}}$ is the width of the boundary layer that arises in the plasmoid instability analysis. Theoretically, this regime is predicted to exist if the Lundquist number $S$ and the length of the current sheet $L$ are such that $(L/\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{s})^{14/9}<S<(L/\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{s})^{2}$ (for a sinusoidal-like magnetic configuration; for a Harris-type sheet the lower bound is replaced with $(L/\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{s})^{8/5}$). These bounds are validated numerically by means of simulations using a reduced gyrokinetic model (Zocco & Schekochihin, Phys. Plasmas, vol. 18 (10), 2011, 102309) conducted with the code Viriato. Importantly, this regime is conjectured to allow for plasmoid formation at relatively low, experimentally accessible, values of the Lundquist number. Our simulations obtain plasmoid instability at values of $S$ as low as ${\sim}250$. The simulations do not prescribe a Sweet–Parker sheet; rather, one is formed self-consistently during the nonlinear evolution of the initial tearing mode configuration. This proves that this regime of the plasmoid instability is realizable, at least at the relatively low values of the Lundquist number that are accessible to current dedicated experiments.
Analytical estimates of proton acceleration in laser-produced turbulent plasmas
Authors: Beyer Konstantin A. , Reville Brian , Bott Archie F. A. , Park Hye-Sook , Sarkar Subir , Gregori Gianluca
Published: November 2018

With the advent of high power lasers, new opportunities have opened up for simulating astrophysical processes in the laboratory. We show that second-order Fermi acceleration can be directly investigated at the National Ignition Facility, Livermore. This requires measuring the momentum-space diffusion of 3 MeV protons produced within a turbulent plasma generated by a laser. Treating Fermi acceleration as a biased diffusion process, we show analytically that a measurable broadening of the initial proton distribution is then expected for particles exiting the plasma.
Surface morphology correlated with sputtering yield measurements of laser-ablated iron
Authors: Tehniat Saba , Bashir Shazia , Mahmood Khaliq , Sharif Ayesha
Published: November 2018

Iron (Fe) targets are exposed to 100 pulses of Nd: YAG laser (532 nm, 6 ns, 10 Hz) at various fluences ranging from 4.8 to 38.5 J/cm2. In order to explore the effect of background environment, targets have been exposed under vacuum as well as under five different pressures ranging from 5 to 100 Torr of various background gases like Ar, Ne, O2, and air. The sputtering yield measurements and surface modifications of laser-ablated Fe are explored by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, respectively. QCM measurements reveal that the sputtering yield of Fe is strongly affected by laser fluence, pressure and nature of gas. By increasing laser fluence, the sputtering yield initially increases due to enhanced energy deposition and then saturates due to self-regulating regime. However, with increasing pressures of background gases, the sputtering yield of Fe initially increases and then decreases. Owing to thermal conductivity, ionization potential, and mass of background gas, the sputtering yield of Fe varies in accordance with the sequence vacuum >Ar>Ne>O2> air. The SEM analysis reveals the formation of several features like laser-induced periodic surface structures, cones, cavities, channels, multiple ablative craters, and dot-like structures. The difference in the periodicity, size, and shape of features is explained on the basis of confinement and shielding effects of plasma and various energy deposition mechanisms. The surface profilometry analysis reveals that the crater depth increases with increasing the laser fluence in inert environments, while in case of reactive environments, it tends to decrease initially and afterwards it increases. X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses confirm the oxide formation in case of Fe treatment in O2 and air; however, no additional phases are observed for Fe irradiation under inert environments.
The thermal structure of the anoxic trough in Lake Untersee, Antarctica
Authors: Bevington James , McKay Christopher P. , Davila Alfonso , Hawes Ian , Tanabe Yukiko , Andersen Dale T.
Published: November 2018

Lake Untersee is a perennially ice-covered Antarctic lake that consists of two basins. The deepest basin, next to the Anuchin Glacier is aerobic to its maximum depth of 160 m. The shallower basin has a maximum depth of 100 m, is anoxic below 80 m, and is shielded from convective currents. The thermal profile in the anoxic basin is unusual in that the water temperature below 50 m is constant at 4°C but rises to 5°C between 70 m and 80 m depth, then drops to 3.7°C at the bottom. Field measurements were used to conduct a thermal and stability analysis of the anoxic basin. The shape of the thermal maximum implies two discrete locations of energy input, one of 0.11 W m-2 at 71 m depth and one of 0.06 W m-2 at 80 m depth. Heat from microbial activity cannot account for the required amount of energy at either depth. Instead, absorption of solar radiation due to an increase in water opacity at these depths can account for the required energy input. Hence, while microbial metabolism is not an important source of heat, biomass increases opacity in the water column resulting in greater absorption of sunlight.
Morphology and morphometry of preantral follicles, and immunolocalization of angiogenic factors in ovarian tissue from the neotropical primateSapajus apella
Authors: Brito AB , Brito DCC , Silva W B , Rodrigues APR , Figueiredo JR , Domingues SFS , Santos RR
Published: November 2018

Ovarian biopsies from five health adult monkeys were collected by exploratory laparotomy. Preantral follicles (primordial, primary, and secondary) were classified as normal or degenerated and submitted to morphometric analysis in which granulosa cell counts and the areas of follicles, oocytes, and oocyte nuclei were measured. Ovarian fragments were also immunolabelled for the quantitative analysis of VEGFA and CD31 protein expression in the ovarian tissue and in the preantral follicles. In total, 213 preantral follicles was examined for morphometry and morphological classification. From this total, 20 (9.4%) were follicles enclosing two or more oocytes, i.e. multi-oocyte follicles (MOFs). From the 193 follicles enclosing only one oocyte, 46.3% were classified as primordial, 24,1% as transition, 23.3% as primary, and 6.3% as secondary follicles. The mean number of granulosa cells surrounding primordial, transition, primary, and secondary follicles was 9.2, 12.1, 18.7, and 45.3, respectively. Increase in oocyte diameter was observed from primary to secondary follicles, while the oocyte nucleus increased only when follicles reached the secondary stage. The expression of CD31 was strong in vessels, corpus luteum, and in normal oocytes and granulosa cells from preantral follicles at all developmental stages. Likewise, VEGFA expression was observed in vessels and preantral follicles (granulosa cells, the oocyte and the oocyte nucleus). We characterized the morphology, and morphometry and expression of angiogenic factors in normal and atretic preantral follicles fromSapajus apella. This description can support the analysis of follicular quality and survival after procedures such as transplantation and cryopreservation.
Rigged-Election Rhetoric: Coverage and Consequences
Authors: Goidel Kirby , Gaddie Keith , Goidel Spencer
Published: November 2018

Using content analysis and original survey data, we investigated the news coverage and consequences of Donald Trump’s “rigged-election” claims during the 2016 presidential election. We added to previous literature by showing that the effects of such claims were highly contingent on individual partisan affiliation. Republicans and Independents who believed that the elections were rigged via voter fraud or media bias were more likely to report that they intended to vote or had already voted. Democrats and Independents who believed that Hillary Clinton would benefit from voter fraud or media bias were more likely to vote for Donald Trump.
Governing the banking system: an assessment of resilience based on Elinor Ostrom's design principles
Authors: Salter Alexander William , Tarko Vlad
Published: November 2018

The problem of financial stability is political and institutional, rather than narrowly economic. To achieve a more resilient financial system, we need to pay attention to the incentives of actors who have the power to act discretionarily, and to the knowledge limitations of such actors in the face of substantial complexity and uncertainty. The literature on polycentric governance and institutional resilience provides key insights that the literature on financial stability has thus far neglected. We offer an analysis based on the “design principles” for robust governance institutions proposed by Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom. We apply these principles to banking systems and explore under what conditions a banking system can be expected to discover rules that align private incentives with broader financial stability, and generate the necessary knowledge to govern such a complex system. This perspective challenges both “microprudential” and “macroprudential” approaches, which assume a monocentric financial and banking regulator.
Establishing mechanisms to clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing persons: A proposed humanitarian approach
Authors: Crettol Monique , Milner Lina , La Rosa Anne-Marie , Stockwell Jill
Published: November 2018

This article examines the different types of mechanisms which can contribute to addressing the issue of the missing, including providing answers on the fate and whereabouts of missing persons. It looks in detail at one approach that the authors have observed in the field. It argues that an approach based on humanitarian objectives which does not look into who is responsible for the disappearance, with proper management of confidential information, could be a powerful instrument for searching for and collecting relevant information on the missing in certain contexts. The article also proposes avenues for further research, with a view to enhancing the global capacity to provide meaningful answers for the missing and their families.
Breastfeeding: a key modulator of gut microbiota characteristics in late infancy
Authors: Matsuyama M. , Gomez-Arango L. F. , Fukuma N. M. , Morrison M. , Davies P. S. W. , Hill R. J.
Published: November 2018

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of the most commonly cited factors that may have influenced infants’ gut microbiota profiles at one year of age: mode of delivery, breastfeeding duration and antibiotic exposure. Barcoded V3/V4 amplicons of bacterial 16S-rRNA gene were prepared from the stool samples of 52 healthy 1-year-old Australian children and sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Following the quality checks, the data were processed using the Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology pipeline and analysed using the Calypso package for microbiome data analysis. The stool microbiota profiles of children still breastfed were significantly different from that of children weaned earlier (P<0.05), independent of the age of solid food introduction. Among children still breastfed, Veillonella spp. abundance was higher. Children no longer breastfed possessed a more ‘mature’ microbiota, with notable increases of Firmicutes. The microbiota profiles of the children could not be differentiated by delivery mode or antibiotic exposure. Further analysis based on children’s feeding patterns found children who were breastfed alongside solid food had significantly different microbiota profiles compared to that of children who were receiving both breastmilk and formula milk alongside solid food. This study provided evidence that breastfeeding continues to influence gut microbial community even at late infancy when these children are also consuming table foods. At this age, any impacts from mode of delivery or antibiotic exposure did not appear to be discernible imprints on the microbial community profiles of these healthy children.
Critical Period for Weed Control in Grafted and Nongrafted Watermelon Grown in Plasticulture
Authors: Bertucci Matthew B. , Jennings Katherine M. , Monks David W. , Schultheis Jonathan R. , Louws Frank J. , Jordan David L. , Brownie Cavell
Published: November 2018

Field experiments determined the critical period for weed control (CPWC) in grafted and nongrafted watermelon [Citrullus lanatus(Thumb.) Matsum. & Nakai] grown in plasticulture. Transplant types included ‘Exclamation’ seedless watermelon as the nongrafted control as well as Exclamation grafted onto two interspecific hybrid squash (ISH) rootstocks, ‘Carnivor’ and ‘Kazako’. To simulate weed emergence throughout the season, establishment treatments (EST) consisted of two seedlings each of common purslane (Portulaca oleraceaL.), large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis(L.) Scop.], and yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentusL.) transplanted in a 15 by 15 cm square centered on watermelon plants at 0, 2, 3, 4, and 6 wk after watermelon transplanting (WATr) and remained until the final watermelon harvest at 11 WATr. To simulate weed control at different times in the season, removal treatments (REM) consisted of two seedlings of the same weed species transplanted in a 15 by 15 cm square centered on watermelon plants on the same day of watermelon transplanting and allowed to remain until 2, 3, 4, 6, and 11 WATr, at which time they were removed. Season-long weedy and weed-free controls were included for both EST and REM studies in both years. For all transplant types, aboveground biomass of weeds decreased as weed establishment was delayed and increased as weed removal was delayed. The predicted CPWC for nongrafted Exclamation and Carnivor required only a single weed removal between 2.3 and 2.5 WATr and 1.9 and 2.6 WATr, respectively, while predicted CPWC for Kazako rootstock occurred from 0.3 to 2.6 WATr. Our study results suggest that weed control for this mixed population of weeds would be similar between nongrafted Exclamation and Exclamation grafted onto Carnivor. But the observed CPWC of Exclamation grafted onto Kazako suggests that CPWC may vary with specific rootstock–scion combinations.
Dynamical Precursors for Statistical Prediction of Stratospheric Sudden Warming Events
Authors: Jucker M. , Reichler T.
Published: November 2018

This work explores dynamical arguments for statistical prediction of stratospheric sudden warming events (SSWs). Based on climate model output, it focuses on two predictors, upward wave activity in the lower stratosphere and meridional potential vorticity gradient in the upper stratosphere, and detects large values of these predictors. Then it quantifies how many SSWs are preceded by predictor events and, inversely, how many events are followed by SSWs. This allows to compute conditional probabilities of future SSW occurrence. It is found that upward wave activity leads to important increases in SSW probability within the following 3 weeks but is less important thereafter. A weak potential vorticity gradient is associated with increased SSW probability at short lags and, perhaps more importantly, decreased SSW probability at long lags. Finally, when both predictors are considered in combination, the information gain is large on the weekly and small but significant on the intraseasonal time scale.
Next generation flow for minimally-invasive blood characterization of MGUS and multiple myeloma at diagnosis based on circulating tumor plasma cells (CTPC)
Authors: Sanoja-Flores L. , Flores-Montero J. , Garcés J. J. , Paiva B. , Puig N. , García-Mateo A. , García-Sánchez O. , Corral-Mateos A. , Burgos L. , Blanco E. , Hernández-Martín J. , Pontes R. , Díez-Campelo M. , Millacoy P. , Rodríguez-Otero P. , Prosper F. , Merino J. , Vidriales M. B. , García-Sanz R. , Romero A. , Palomera L. , Ríos-Tamayo R. , Pérez-Andrés M. , Blanco J. F. , González M. , van Dongen J. J. M. , Durie B. , Mateos M. V. , San-Miguel J. , Orfao A. ,   on behalf of the EuroFlow consortium
Published: November 2018

Here, we investigated for the first time the frequency and number of circulating tumor plasma cells (CTPC) in peripheral blood (PB) of newly diagnosed patients with localized and systemic plasma cell neoplasms (PCN) using next-generation flow cytometry (NGF) and correlated our findings with the distinct diagnostic and prognostic categories of the disease. Overall, 508 samples from 264 newly diagnosed PCN patients, were studied. CTPC were detected in PB of all active multiple myeloma (MM; 100%), and smoldering MM (SMM) patients (100%), and in more than half (59%) monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) cases (p <0.0001); in contrast, CTPC were present in a small fraction of solitary plasmacytoma patients (18%). Higher numbers of CTPC in PB were associated with higher levels of BM infiltration and more adverse prognostic features, together with shorter time to progression from MGUS to MM (p <0.0001) and a shorter survival in MM patients with active disease requiring treatment (p ≤ 0.03). In summary, the presence of CTPC in PB as assessed by NGF at diagnosis, emerges as a hallmark of disseminated PCN, higher numbers of PB CTPC being strongly associated with a malignant disease behavior and a poorer outcome of both MGUS and MM.
Accelerating water dissociation kinetics by isolating cobalt atoms into ruthenium lattice
Authors: Mao Junjie , He Chun-Ting , Pei Jiajing , Chen Wenxing , He Dongsheng , He Yiqing , Zhuang Zhongbin , Chen Chen , Peng Qing , Wang Dingsheng , Li Yadong
Published: November 2018

Designing highly active and robust platinum-free catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction is of vital importance for clean energy applications yet challenging. Here we report highly active and stable cobalt-substituted ruthenium nanosheets for hydrogen evolution, in which cobalt atoms are isolated in ruthenium lattice as revealed by aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray absorption fine structure measurement. Impressively, the cobalt-substituted ruthenium nanosheets only need an extremely low overpotential of 13 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH media and an ultralow Tafel slope of 29 mV dec−1, which exhibit top-level catalytic activity among all reported platinum-free electrocatalysts. The theoretical calculations reveal that the energy barrier of water dissociation can greatly reduce after single cobalt atom substitution, leading to its superior hydrogen evolution performance. This study provides a new insight into the development of highly efficient platinum-free hydrogen evolution catalysts.
In situ monitoring of molecular aggregation using circular dichroism
Authors: Zhang Haoke , Zheng Xiaoyan , Kwok Ryan T. K. , Wang Jia , Leung Nelson L. C. , Shi Lin , Sun Jing Zhi , Tang Zhiyong , Lam Jacky W. Y. , Qin Anjun , Tang Ben Zhong
Published: November 2018

The aggregation of molecules plays an important role in determining their function. Electron microscopy and other methods can only characterize the variation of microstructure, but are not capable of monitoring conformational changes. These techniques are also complicated, expensive and time-consuming. Here, we demonstrate a simple method to monitor in-situ and in real-time the conformational change of (R)-1,1′-binaphthyl-based polymers during the aggregation process using circular dichroism. Based on results from molecular dynamics simulations and experimental circular dichroism measurements, polymers with “open” binaphthyl rings are found to show stronger aggregation-annihilated circular dichroism effects, with more negative torsion angles between the two naphthalene rings. In contrast, the polymers with “locked” rings show a more restrained aggregation-annihilated circular dichroism effect, with only a slight change of torsion angle. This work provides an approach to monitor molecular aggregation in a simple, accurate, and efficient way.