bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Atomistic simulations of mechanical characteristics dependency on relative density, grain size, and temperature of nanoporous tungsten
Authors: Hu Yiqun , Xu Jianfei , Su Lei , Zhang Yuhang , Ding Suhang , Xia Re
Published: December 2022

A series of atomistic simulations are adopted to explore the influences of relative density, grain size, and temperature on the tensile characteristics of nanoporous tungsten (NPW). Results illustrate that the dominant mechanism of deformation for monocrystalline NPW is the combination of twin boundaries (TBs) migration and 1/2 〈111〉 dislocation movement. The relative density, which has a positive relationship with stiffness and strength, significantly affects the mechanical properties of NPW. With relative density growing from 0.30 to 0.60, Young’s modulus, UTS, and yield strength of monocrystalline NPW increase from 18.55, 0.65, and 0.45 GPa to 93.78, 2.93, and 2.59 GPa, respectively. Young’s modulus and relative density have a quadratic relationship, meaning that the dominant deformation is the bending deformation of ligaments during the elastic stage. The scaling law for yield strength reveals that the axial yielding of ligaments dominates the yielding behavior of NPW. The relationship between mean grain size (5.00 ∼ 17.07 nm) and strength follows the reverse Hall-Petch relation. Besides, the effect of temperature on mechanical characteristics is discussed. With the increase of temperature from 10 K to 1500 K, Young’s modulus of monocrystalline NPW and nanocrystalline NPW (d = 5.00, 10.99, and 17.07 nm) decrease from 69.24, 51.73, 61.08, and 63.75 GPa to 48.98, 34.77, 44.65, and 49.05 GPa. The findings systematically reveal the mechanical properties of NPW under tension and provide guidance for its application.
Dual-wavelength single-longitudinal-mode sub-ns lasers with high pulse repetition frequency
Authors: Song Zheng , Li Yuanji , Yu Zeru , Feng Jinxia , Zhang Kuanshou
Published: December 2022

A theoretical model suitable to the dual-wavelength electro-optical Q-switched laser was established. Based on the optimizations on the time-varying Q-switched loss, doped concentration of the gain medium, and transmission of the output coupler, 1 kHz 1064 nm and 532 nm single-longitudinal-mode pulse lasers both with sub-nanosecond pulse width (PW) were obtained. The measured PWs of the dual-wavelength lasers agreed well with the theoretical predictions. At a pump energy of 3.7 mJ, the PWs of the 1064 nm and 532 nm lasers were 0.97 ns and 0.61 ns, the single pulse energy of the two lasers were 0.55 mJ and 0.29 mJ. The beam quality factor, the energy fluctuation and the time jitter of the 1064 nm laser were 1.58, 0.000063% and 2.18 ps; and that of the 532 nm laser were 1.35, 0.000011% and 1.56 ps.
A thermal neutron detector array communication protocol
Authors: Huang Qi-Chang , Chen Qi , Dong Chunhui
Published: December 2022

To assess hadronic and electromagnetic components from extensive air shower events (EAS), 16 6Li-based ZnS (Ag) scintillator detectors combine into a thermal neutron detector array. After a shower event, each scintillator screen can concurrently catch neutrons and electrons, producing a succession of electrical signals with different pulse shapes. These signals are sampled by 16 oscilloscope-like circuits and sent over a single serial link, where EAS-related sampling results may fill each channel's memory. However, there are presently no specific studies to address data congestion in such random signal digitizers. Here, we demonstrate that decreasing the sampling rate on the trailing edge can compress data size while preserving pulse shapes and that optimizing the read/write time of memories can enhance transmission speed between asynchronous clock domains. According to test results, the 100 MHz serial transceiver can send 1996 pulses per second when only receiving data from one channel at 50 MHz rates, and it can send 242 pulses per second when simultaneously receiving data from 32 channels (16 × 2). This method increases transmitting speeds 2.3 times over previously employed algorithms, and the compressed rate reaches 97.74%. In addition, we found that the total error rate is lower than 10–10. Our findings also show how memory controllers would probably operate in data flows of 32 channels, predicting the slower writing time and the faster reading time that can complete sending a packet of one channel in the shortest time. We anticipate that our assay can help more detector arrays that require waveform transmission.
Sulfhydryl functionalized hyaluronic acid hydrogels attenuate cyclophosphamide-induced bladder injury
Authors: Qiu Heping , Li Jinjin , Huang Yuandi , Shen Chongxing , Dai Linyong , Su Qiaoling , Zhi Yi , Fang Qiang , Shi Chunmeng , Li Weibing
Published: December 2022

Clinical management of cyclophosphamide (CYP) results in numerous side effects including hemorrhagic cystitis (HC), which is characterized by inflammation and oxidative stress damage. Intravesical hyaluronic acid (HA) supplementation, a therapeutic method to restore barrier function of bladder, avoid the stimulation of metabolic toxicants on bladder and reduce inflammatory response, has shown good results in acute or chronic bladder diseases. However, there are unmet medical needs for the treatment of HC to temporarily restore bladder barrier and reduce inflammation. Herein, sulfhydryl functionalized HA (HA-SH) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were used to prepared a hydrogel system for optimizing the treatment of HC. We systematically evaluated the physicochemical of hydrogels and their roles in a rat model of CYP-induced HC. The prepared hydrogels exhibited outstanding gel forming properties, injectability, and biosafety. Swelling and retention studies showed that hydrogels were stable and could prolong the residence time of HA in the bladder. Histopathology and vascular permeability studies indicated that the hydrogels significantly attenuated bladder injury caused by CYP administration. Moreover, the hydrogels also showed excellent anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation properties. In conclusion, these data suggest that intravesical instillation of HA-SH/DMSO hydrogels reduces CYP-induced bladder toxicity and this work provides a new strategy for the prevention and early treatment of HC.
Three-dimensional numerical simulation of heating and melting behaviors of cerium oxide powders in radio frequency thermal plasma
Authors: LI Xueying , ZHOU Zhiwei , LI Rongyi , ZHU Hailong
Published: December 2022

The present study aims at the numerical simulations of the melting process of cerium oxide particles in RF thermal plasma. The physical model and the calculating method were described firstly; the interaction between cerium oxide particles and plasma was analyzed; specific attention was given to the effects of particle initial size, injection velocity on the particle melting and trajectory in plasma. The influence of the temperature field and velocity field distribution of the plasma around the particle trajectory on the melting effect is analyzed, and the relationship between the heat absorption efficiency of the particles and the particle size reduction process is further determined. It is also found that there exists an optimal particle initial injection velocity which led to a more concentrated final particle size distribution and a more significant reduction of particle size. The results could provide effective guidance for understanding the plasma spheroidization process of uranium dioxide and cerium dioxide powder particles.
The Jordan–Chevalley decomposition for 𝐺-bundles on elliptic curves
Authors: Frăţilă Dragoş , Gunningham Sam , Li Penghui
Published: December 2022

We study the moduli stack of degree

0
0

semistable

G
G

-bundles on an irreducible curve

E
E

of arithmetic genus

1
1

, where

G
G

is a connected reductive group in arbitrary characteristic. Our main result describes a partition of this stack indexed by a certain family of connected reductive subgroups

H
H

of

G
G

(the

E
E

-pseudo-Levi subgroups), where each stratum is computed in terms of

H
H

-bundles together with the action of the relative Weyl group. We show that this result is equivalent to a Jordan–Chevalley theorem for such bundles equipped with a framing at a fixed basepoint. In the case where

E
E

has a single cusp (respectively, node), this gives a new proof of the Jordan–Chevalley theorem for the Lie algebra

g

\mathfrak {g}

(respectively, algebraic group

G
G

).

We also provide a Tannakian description of these moduli stacks and use it to show that if

E
E

is not a supersingular elliptic curve, the moduli of framed unipotent bundles on

E
E

are equivariantly isomorphic to the unipotent cone in

G
G

. Finally, we classify the

E
E

-pseudo-Levi subgroups using the Borel–de Siebenthal algorithm, and compute some explicit examples.
Asymptotic repetitive threshold of balanced sequences
Authors: Dvořáková L’ubomíra , Opočenská Daniela , Pelantová Edita
Published: December 2022

The critical exponentE(u)E(\mathbf u)of an infinite sequenceu\mathbf uover a finite alphabet expresses the maximal repetition of a factor inu\mathbf u. By the famous Dejean’s theorem,E(u)≥1+1d−1E(\mathbf u) \geq 1+\frac 1{d-1}for everydd-ary sequenceu\mathbf u. We define the asymptotic critical exponentE∗(u)E^*(\mathbf u)as the upper limit of the maximal repetition of factors of lengthnn. We show that for anyd>1d>1there exists add-ary sequenceu\mathbf uhavingE∗(u)E^*(\mathbf u)arbitrarily close to11. Then we focus on the class ofdd-ary balanced sequences. In this class, the valuesE∗(u)E^*(\mathbf u)are bounded from below by a threshold strictly bigger than 1. We provide a method which enables us to find add-ary balanced sequence with the least asymptotic critical exponent for2≤d≤102\leq d\leq 10.
EnDecon: cell type deconvolution of spatially resolved transcriptomics data via ensemble learning
Authors: Tu Jia-Juan , Li Hui-Sheng , Yan Hong , Zhang Xiao-Fei
Published: December 2022

Motivation

Spatially resolved gene expression profiles are the key to exploring the cell type spatial distributions and understanding the architecture of tissues. Many spatially resolved transcriptomics (SRT) techniques do not provide single-cell resolutions, but they measure gene expression profiles on captured locations (spots) instead, which are mixtures of potentially heterogeneous cell types. Currently, several cell-type deconvolution methods have been proposed to deconvolute SRT data. Due to the different model strategies of these methods, their deconvolution results also vary.

Results

Leveraging the strengths of multiple deconvolution methods, we introduce a new weighted ensemble learning deconvolution method, EnDecon, to predict cell-type compositions on SRT data in this work. EnDecon integrates multiple base deconvolution results using a weighted optimization model to generate a more accurate result. Simulation studies demonstrate that EnDecon outperforms the competing methods and the learned weights assigned to base deconvolution methods have high positive correlations with the performances of these base methods. Applied to real datasets from different spatial techniques, EnDecon identifies multiple cell types on spots, localizes these cell types to specific spatial regions and distinguishes distinct spatial colocalization and enrichment patterns, providing valuable insights into spatial heterogeneity and regionalization of tissues.

Availability and implementation

The source code is available at https://github.com/Zhangxf-ccnu/EnDecon.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
METAMORPHOSES: THE CONTINUING EVOLUTION AND ADAPTATION OF THE SAVVY CAREGIVER PROGRAM
Authors: Hepburn Kenneth , Gaugler Joseph
Published: December 2022

This symposium traces the nearly 30 years of development projects, trials, and transformations that continue to occur in efforts to make an evidence-based psychoeducation program (Savvy Caregiver) available to family members and friends who provide care to community-dwelling persons living with dementia illnesses. Savvy seeks to enhance caregivers’ knowledge and skills for providing care and to enhance their competence and confidence (sense of mastery) in being able to guide their persons through days that are as safe, calm, and pleasant as possible. Over this period of time, Savvy has clarified its target participant group (focusing on primary caregivers rather than larger family groups), moved from having concurrent sessions for caregivers and persons living with dementia, continued to develop strategies that enable broad implementation while maintaining program fidelity, demonstrated the effectiveness of a synchronous/asynchronous online version that extends program reach (Tele-Savvy), and is currently exploring in an ongoing pilot how best to deliver a fully asynchronous version of the program that employs continuing education principles (Tele-Savvy@Home). The individual presentations will describe the main developmental milestones (investigator led to protocol-trained to online trained interventionist; in-person to synchronous/asynchronous to fully asynchronous) and the structural adaptations that enabled them. Particular emphasis will be placed on design decisions linked to maintaining a psychoeducational orientation and to program emphasis on developing or strengthening caregivers’ self-efficacy for providing effective day-to-day care. Savvy’s experience may help investigators in designing new interventions, particularly online interventions or in considering augmentation or delivery platform change of established interventions.
Microglia regulate neuronal and behavioural functions under physiological and pathological conditions
Authors: Kitaoka Shiho
Published: December 2022

Microglia are immune cells in the central nervous system that engulf unnecessary synapses during development. In vivo imaging has substantially improved in recent years, besides the development of tools for manipulating microglia and neurons. These techniques reveal the novel functions of microglia. Microglia regulate neuronal activity to prevent synchronization. This neuron–microglia interaction is mediated by adenosine triphosphate—P2Y12 and adenosine—adenosine A1 receptor signalling in the striatum. Moreover, microglia release inflammation-related molecules that suppress neuronal activity, thus leading to lipopolysaccharide-induced aversion. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)—PGE receptor 1 signalling in the striatum underlies this behavioural alteration. Chronic stress activates microglia through toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 to release pro-inflammatory cytokines in the medial prefrontal cortex, thereby causing social avoidance. Microglia play multiple functions under physiological conditions, as well as pathological and psychological stress.
Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of the striped soldier shrimp, Plesionika edwardsii (Brandt, 1851) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Pandalidae), and comparison with other species of Caridea
Authors: Jimenez-Ruiz Claudio A , Robles Francisca , Navajas-Pérez Rafael , Ruiz-Rejón Carmelo , de la Herrán Roberto
Published: December 2022

The striped soldier shrimp, Plesionika edwardsii (Brandt, 1851) is a pandalid with economic value in the Mediterranean region. We have sequenced and assembled its complete mitochondrial genome, which is 15,956 bp in length and contains the same 37 genes found in most metazoan mitochondrial genomes. Its gene order and nucleotide content are similar to most of the caridean mitochondrial genomes. In the comparative analysis, however, we detected in other species changes in the gene order that could be mediated by the recombination of transfer RNA genes, as well as AT skew shifts that could indicate changes in the origins of replication. All protein-coding genes of the mitochondrial genome of P. edwardsii seem to be under purifying selection, although the differences in Ka:Ks ratios suggest a disparity in the mutational constraints of some genes. This genome also presents a 1,118 bp-long non-coding sequence that encompass the control region. We have been able to find a previously described conserved sequence block in this region and assess that it forms a stem-loop structure in different species of Pandalidae, which is a shared feature with the conserved sequence blocks described in the family Alvinocarididae. We also detected microsatellites in the control region of P. edwardsii and in other species of Pandalidae and minisatellites in Lysmata vittata (Stimpson, 1860) that can account for around 20% of the additional non-coding region of this species. The phylogenetic relationships of P. edwardsii with other pandalids were assessed by two analyses: one based on the complete mitochondrial sequences and another based only on the protein-coding genes. Our study, thus, contributes to the genomic resources available for P. edwardsii and expands the current biological knowledge about the mitochondrial genomes of other caridean species.
Influence of Monensin and Diflubenzuron on the Control of Immature Horn Fly and House Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) and Chemical Composition of Cattle Feces
Authors: Sanchez-Sandoval U A , Figueroa-Zamudio J J , Ramirez J , Walker H L , Löest C A , Soto-Navarro S A , Smythe B G
Published: December 2022

Twelve Angus × Hereford crossbred heifers were used in a completely randomized design to evaluate the effects of monensin and diflubenzuron feed additives on horn fly (Haematobia irritans) (L.) and house fly (Musca domestica) (L.) immature development. Heifers were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups; 1) monensin fed at label rate, 2) diflubenzuron fed at label rate, 3) monensin and diflubenzuron fed at label rates together, and 4) nonsupplemented control. All treatments were administered from SD 0 to 28, followed by a 16-d wash-out period for a total study duration of 45 d and assayed to assess adult fly emergence, as well as fecal pH and fecal bacterial and total protein. A treatment × day interaction (P < 0.01) was observed for adult fly emergence. Fly emergence was not affected (P ≥ 0.05) by monensin, but was reduced during the 28 d treatment period when diflubenzuron was present (P = 0.01). Fecal pH, fecal bacterial protein, and total protein were not affected by any of the treatments (P ≥ 0.13). It is concluded that diflubenzuron is effective against both horn and house fly development regardless of the presence of monensin.
The application of the voluntary guardianship regime to same-sex relationships in China
Authors: Xia Jianghao
Published: December 2022

In China, the establishment of the voluntary guardianship regime in the General Rules of the Civil Law produced an interesting situation where same-sex partners may apply this regime to determine and protect their rights and obligations. This article describes and analyses the recent practices in this regard, drawing on several cases where same-sex partners concluded voluntary guardianship agreements to arrange matters after a ward loses or partially loses civil capacity. This application allows homosexuals freely to appoint their homosexual partner as their guardian, which compensates to some extent for the lack of clear statutory provisions regarding the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in current Chinese law. Nevertheless, there exist several practical problems within the process of applying the legal rules of voluntary guardianship. In addition, owing to the distinct mismatch between the legislative purpose of the voluntary guardianship system and the core essentials of same-sex relationships, the application of voluntary guardianship to same-sex relationships fails to touch on the crucial legal issues of same-sex relationships, for example, financial relations issues and children issues. In view of these, several proposals about both what needs to be done to make voluntary guardianship work better for same-sex couples at this stage and further legislative reform of the formalized regime for same-sex couples in the future are offered.
Persisting Gaps in Optimal Care of Stage III Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: An Australian Patterns of Care Analysis
Authors: Woodford Katrina , Koo Kendrick , Reynolds John , Stirling Robert G , Harden Susan V , Brand Margaret , Senthi Sashendra
Published: December 2022

Background

Wide variation exists globally in the treatment and outcomes of stage III patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We conducted an up-to-date patterns of care analysis in the state of Victoria, Australia, with a particular focus on the proportion of patients receiving treatment with radical intent, treatment trends over time, and survival.

Materials and Methods

Stage III patients with NSCLC were identified in the Victorian Lung Cancer Registry and categorized by treatment received and treatment intent. Logistic regression was used to explore factors predictive of receipt of radical treatment and the treatment trends over time. Cox regression was used to explore variables associated with overall survival (OS). Covariates evaluated included age, sex, ECOG performance status, smoking status, year of diagnosis, Australian born, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status, socioeconomic status, rurality, public/private status of notifying institution, and multidisciplinary meeting discussion.

Results

A total of 1396 patients were diagnosed between 2012 and 2019 and received treatment with radical intent 67%, palliative intent 23%, unknown intent 5% and no treatment 5%. Radical intent treatment was less likely if patients were >75 years, ECOG ≥1, had T3-4 or N3 disease or resided rurally. Surgery use decreased over time, while concurrent chemoradiotherapy and immunotherapy use increased. Median OS was 38.0, 11.1, and 4.4 months following radical treatment, palliative treatment or no treatment, respectively.

Conclusion

Almost a third of stage III patients with NSCLC still do not receive radical treatment. Strategies to facilitate radical treatment and better support decision making between increasing multimodality options are required.
The MYB59 transcription factor negatively regulates salicylic acid- and jasmonic acid-mediated leaf senescence
Authors: He Shuangcheng , Zhi Fang , Min Yuanchang , Ma Rong , Ge Ankang , Wang Shixiang , Wang Jianjun , Liu Zijin , Guo Yuan , Chen Mingxun
Published: December 2022

Leaf senescence is the final stage of leaf development and is affected by various exogenous and endogenous factors. Transcriptional regulation is essential for leaf senescence, however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unclear. In this study, we report that the transcription factor MYB59, which was predominantly expressed in early senescent rosette leaves, negatively regulates leaf senescence in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). RNA sequencing revealed a large number of differentially expressed genes involved in several senescence-related biological processes in myb59-1 rosette leaves. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and transient dual-luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that MYB59 directly repressed the expression of SENESCENCE ASSOCIATED GENE 18 and indirectly inhibited the expression of several other senescence-associated genes to delay leaf senescence. Moreover, MYB59 was induced by salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA). MYB59 inhibited SA production by directly repressing the expression of ISOCHORISMATE SYNTHASE 1 and PHENYLALANINE AMMONIA-LYASE 2 and restrained JA biosynthesis by directly suppressing the expression of LIPOXYGENASE 2, thus forming two negative feedback regulatory loops with SA and JA and ultimately delaying leaf senescence. These results help us understand the novel function of MYB59 and provide insights into the regulatory network controlling leaf senescence in Arabidopsis.
A brassinosteroid transcriptional regulatory network participates in regulating fiber elongation in cotton
Authors: Liu Le , Chen Guoquan , Li Shengdong , Gu Yu , Lu Lili , Qanmber Ghulam , Mendu Venugopal , Liu Zhao , Li Fuguang , Yang Zuoren
Published: December 2022

Brassinosteroids (BRs) participate in the regulation of plant growth and development through BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR1 (BES1)/BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT1 (BZR1) family transcription factors. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fibers are highly elongated single cells, and BRs play a vital role in the regulation of fiber elongation. However, the mode of action on how BR is involved in the regulation of cotton fiber elongation remains unexplored. Here, we generated GhBES1.4 over expression lines and found that overexpression of GhBES1.4 promoted fiber elongation, whereas silencing of GhBES1.4 reduced fiber length. DNA affinity purification and sequencing (DAP-seq) identified 1,531 target genes of GhBES1.4, and five recognition motifs of GhBES1.4 were identified by enrichment analysis. Combined analysis of DAP-seq and RNA-seq data of GhBES1.4-OE/RNAi provided mechanistic insights into GhBES1.4-mediated regulation of cotton fiber development. Further, with the integrated approach of GWAS, RNA-seq, and DAP-seq, we identified seven genes related to fiber elongation that were directly regulated by GhBES1.4. Of them, we showed Cytochrome P450 84A1 (GhCYP84A1) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase 1 (GhHMG1) promote cotton fiber elongation. Overall, the present study established the role of GhBES1.4-mediated gene regulation and laid the foundation for further understanding the mechanism of BR participation in regulating fiber development.
“An Ordinary Case of Discipline”: Deputizing White Americans and Punishing Indian Men at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1900–1918
Authors: Whitt Sarah A
Published: December 2022

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1879-1918) is often remembered as the first residential school for American Indian children and youth forcibly removed from their communities as a part of the U.S. government’s policy of so-called assimilation. In addition to “school-aged” youth, however, American Indian women and men eighteen years of age and older comprised a substantial proportion, and from 1912 to 1918 the majority, of Carlisle’s “student” body. In centering the disciplinary documents of American Indian men, this article examines a seeming paradox: Carlisle employees, U.S. officials, and U.S. citizens punished older male enrollees for enacting the very ideals that Carlisle claimed to be teaching them. Simultaneously, archival records reveal that White Americans profited off of their participation in the punitive structure of the settler state. Viewed through the prism of adult Indian men’s punitive experiences, Carlisle served many non-educational purposes as a carceral place of Indigenous punishment that deputized White Americans, helped maintain White hegemony, and furthered explicitly settler colonial objectives. The punitive patterns explored here show how Carlisle benefited the settler society by increasing the reach of its power over tribal nations—a fact that reveals the interlocking and interchangeable nature of carceral facilities, and which further demonstrates how Indigenous institutionalization was inherent to U.S. settler colonialism in this era.
Chronic pain conditions and use of analgesics among nursing home patients with dementia
Authors: Myrenget Martin Elstad , Borchgrevink Petter C. , Rustøen Tone , Butler Stephen , Thorsvik Dagfinn , Småstuen Milada C. , Sandvik Reidun
Published: December 2022

Pain management for patients with dementia is challenging because many experience pain while being unable to communicate their pain. The aim of this study was to describe pain, pain management, and to perform a thorough clinical examination of chronic pain conditions among patients with dementia. Residents (n = 498) from 12 nursing homes were assessed for dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating scale [CDR]) and for pain with the Mobilization-Observation-Behavior-Intensity-Dementia-2 (MOBID-2) assessment form. Of all examined nursing home patients with dementia, 68% had moderate or severe chronic pain. The final study population (n = 262) with a CDR score of ≥1 and a MOBID-2 score of ≥3 were examined by pain expert physicians for chronic pain and categorized according to the International Classification of Disease (ICD-10/-11) classification systems. More than half (54.6%) had chronic pain conditions without underlying disease classified as chronic primary pain by ICD-11. Chronic widespread pain was the most prevalent (14.5%) followed by nonspecific pain from the back (13.4%), whereas the most prevalent chronic secondary pain conditions were chronic pain caused by osteoarthritis (15.4%) and stroke (8.0%). One-fourth received opioids, which was significantly associated with severe pain (P < 0.001) compared with moderate pain, although no significant association was found between opioid use and the type of pain condition. Although knowledge of the severity and specific types of pain conditions is recommended to direct the choice of treatment, these areas are not sufficiently explored in the nursing home populations with dementia and may hinder a better treatment of pain in this population.
Colour scales with climate in North American ratsnakes: a test of the thermal melanism hypothesis using community science images
Authors: Hantak Maggie M. , Guralnick Robert P. , Cameron Alexander C. , Griffing Aaron H. , Harrington Sean M. , Weinell Jeffrey L. , Paluh Daniel J.
Published: December 2022

Animal colour is a complex trait shaped by multiple selection pressures that can vary across geography. The thermal melanism hypothesis predicts that darker coloration is beneficial to animals in colder regions because it allows for more rapid solar absorption. Here, we use community science images of three closely related species of North American ratsnakes (genusPantherophis) to examine if climate predicts colour variation across range-wide scales. We predicted that darker individuals are found in colder regions and higher elevations, in accordance with the thermal melanism hypothesis. Using an unprecedented dataset of over 8000 images, we found strong support for temperature as a key predictor of darker colour, supporting thermal melanism. We also found that elevation and precipitation are predictive of colour, but the direction and magnitude of these effects were more variable across species. Our study is the first to quantify colour variation inPantherophisratsnakes, highlighting the value of community science images for studying range-wide colour variation.
Herbert (Freddie) Gutfreund. 21 October 1921—21 March 2021
Authors: Trentham FRS David R. , Geeves Michael A.
Published: December 2022

Herbert (Freddie) Gutfreund (hereafter called Freddie) made fundamental contributions to molecular enzymology—a name he introduced into the UK Biochemical Society as its first subgroup and as a discipline within the field of biochemistry. Freddie was born in Austria but moved to the UK in 1938, aged 17, during the upheavals across Europe leading up to World War II. He initially worked as a farm hand before his motivation in science took him first to the University of Liverpool, then Imperial College London as a Research Assistant, and on to Cambridge University. His experiences in Cambridge and the friends he made there during the foundation of modern molecular biology in the 1950s remained a major influence throughout his later career. He spent a short period at the National Dairying Research Institute near Reading, followed by the major part of his career at Bristol University, where he founded the Molecular Enzymology Laboratory within the Department of Biochemistry. He developed and encouraged a school of physical biochemistry built especially around the field of transient kinetics of enzyme-catalysed reactions. Freddie will probably be remembered most for the impact he made in his journal publications and through his four books, written over more than four decades, each around some aspect of molecular enzymology.
Translation in the cell under fierce competition for shared resources: a mathematical model
Authors: Katz Rami , Attias Elad , Tuller Tamir , Margaliot Michael
Published: December 2022

During translation, mRNAs ‘compete’ for shared resources. Under stress conditions, during viral infection and also in high-throughput heterologous gene expression, these resources may become scarce, e.g. the pool of free ribosomes is starved, and then the competition may have a dramatic effect on the global dynamics of translation in the cell. We model this scenario using a network that includes
m
ribosome flow models (RFMs) interconnected via a pool of free ribosomes. Each RFM models ribosome flow along an mRNA molecule, and the pool models the shared resource. We assume that the number of mRNAs is large, so many ribosomes are attached to the mRNAs, and the pool is starved. Our analysis shows that adding an mRNA has an intricate effect on the total protein production. The new mRNA produces new proteins, but the other mRNAs produce less proteins, as the pool that feeds these mRNAs now has a smaller abundance of ribosomes. As the number of mRNAs increases, the marginal utility of adding another mRNA diminishes, and the total protein production rate saturates to a limiting value. We demonstrate our approach using an example of insulin protein production in a cell-free system.
Paeniglutamicibacter quisquiliarum sp. nov., isolated from midden soil waste
Authors: Sakdapetsiri Chatsuda , Ngaemthao Wipaporn , Suriyachadkun Chanwit , Pinyakong Onruthai
Published: December 2022

A Gram-stain-positive, irregular short-rod and non-motile bacterium, designated strain ABSL32-1T, was isolated from a soil sample collected from the Suphan Buri municipal solid waste disposal area. According to the results of a polyphasic taxonomic study, a novel species belonging to the genus

Paeniglutamicibacter

was described. Strain ABSL32-1T grew optimally at 20–25 °C and at pH 6.0–8.0 in the presence of 1 % (w/v) NaCl. The whole-cell sugars were ribose, mannose and glucose. The peptidoglycan structure contained A4α peptidoglycan (Lys–Glu; A11.54). The polar lipids contained digalactosyldiacylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, unidentified phospholipids and two unidentified lipids. The major menaquinones were MK-9 and MK-10. The major cellular fatty acid was anteiso-C15 : 0 (70.1 %). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain ABSL32-1T showed the highest similarity to

Paeniglutamicibacter sulfureus

DSM 20167T (99.5 %), followed by

Paeniglutamicibacter antarcticus

SPC26T (99.0 %) and

Paeniglutamicibacter psychrophenolicus

AG31T (98.8 %). The genome of strain ABSL32-1T is 4.4 Mbp with a DNA G+C content of 66.0 mol%. The average nucleotide identity values between strain ABSL32-1T and the type strains

P. sulfureus

DSM20167T,

P. antarcticus

SPC26T and

P. psychrophenolicus

AG31T were 86.6, 74.7 and 83.6 %, respectively. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic properties, strain ABSL32-1T is proposed to represent a novel species to be named Paeniglutamicibacter quisquiliarum sp. nov. The type strain is ABSL32-1T (=TBRC 14976T=NBRC 115252T).
Neural, physiological and behavioral correlates of empathy for pain in Tourette syndrome
Authors: Weiblen Ronja , Robert Carina , Petereit Pauline , Heldmann Marcus , Münte Thomas F. , Münchau Alexander , Müller-Vahl Kirsten , Krämer Ulrike M.
Published: December 2022

Persons with Tourette syndrome show altered social behaviors, such as echophenomena and increased personal distress in emotional situations. These symptoms may reflect an overactive mirror neuron system, causing both increased automatic imitation and a stronger tendency to share others’ emotions. To test this, we measured the individual level of echophenomena with a video protocol and experimentally induced empathy for pain in 21 participants with Tourette syndrome and 25 matched controls.

In the empathy for pain paradigm, pictures of hands and feet in painful or neutral situations were presented, while we measured participants’ EEG and skin conductance response. Changes in somatosensory mu suppression during the observation of the pictures and pain ratings were compared between groups and correlations were calculated with the occurrence of echophenomena, self-reported empathy and clinical measures.

Our Tourette syndrome sample showed significantly more echophenomena than controls, but the groups showed no behavioral differences in empathic abilities. However, controls, but not patients with Tourette syndrome, showed the predicted increased mu suppression when watching painful compared to neutral actions. While echophenomena were present in all persons with Tourette syndrome, the hypothesis of an overactive mirror neuron system in Tourette syndrome could not be substantiated. On the contrary, the Tourette syndrome group showed a noticeable lack of mu attenuation in response to pain stimuli. In conclusion, we found a first hint of altered processing of others’ emotional states in a brain region associated with the mirror neuron system.
Toward development of comprehensive national disaster response plans: an evaluation of Nigeria's national disaster response plan, 2002
Authors: Mashi Sani , Idris Kabir , Kazaure Isa Abubakar Yakubu
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Development of a disaster response plan at a national level is regarded as the best way to undertake country-level disaster management in a well-coordinated manner, involving all stakeholders in well-built networks. Where developed national disaster response plans (NDRPs) are to be subjected to evaluative assessments from time to time to establish their strengths and weaknesses in disaster response processes. Only about 20 of the world's 195 countries have NDRPs, and only three of them have undergone some form of evaluation. This paper contributes toward filling this gap by evaluating the NDRP of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Lessons from the implementation of this NDRP will help guide the development of the plans in countries where they do not yet exist.

Design/methodology/approach

Network and qualitative content analysis was employed to subject the Nigerian NDRP to critical evaluation using standards already established in the literature for the development of management networks and their use in disaster response. The experiences of other countries with developed NDRPs were also used to guide an effective evaluation process.

Findings

Findings of the study show that the Nigerian NDRP is deficient in many respects, particularly in the areas of weak development of networks, absence of roles-differentiation for various stakeholders, lack of specified achievable and hence monitorable targets, objectives and outcomes and absence of detailed response plans for specific disaster types. The plan needs to therefore be subjected to a detailed multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder review to get it strengthened.

Originality/value

This is the first attempt to conduct an evaluative assessment of Nigeria's NDRP and the 4th in the world. The study's findings can help not only to strengthen Nigeria's NDRP, but also to develop similar plans in other countries around the world.
The use of notebooks by Bangladeshi rural women to preserve information
Authors: Frings-Hessami Viviane
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This article uses continuum theory to analyse how Bangladeshi rural women who participated in an information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) project accessed and preserved information during and after the end of the project.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted over the phone with a sample of the project participants two years after the end of the ICT4D project, and a survey of all the participants in one village was conducted face-to-face by one of the project participants using a questionnaire developed by the author.

Findings

The majority of the participants used paper notebooks to write down information that they received in digital format during the project as a guarantee against the fragility of digital data and continued to use them to access and preserve information after the end of the project.

Practical implications

The author suggests that the application of proactive appraisal during the planning stage and throughout ICT4D projects can ensure that the longer-term needs of the communities for information and their capacities to use specific formats will be considered.

Originality/value

The author applies the continuum theory concept of proactive appraisal to the use of information in an ICT4D context and argues that it can help with assessing the information needs of marginalised communities and the technologies and formats that should be used to ensure that the information provided to them will remain accessible for as long as they need it.
The dynamic nature of leader–member exchange relationships in health-care organizations
Authors: Hirvi Sari , Laulainen Sanna , Junttila Kristiina , Lammintakanen Johanna
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This study aims to make visible the dynamic nature of leader–member exchange (LMX) in the changing realm of health-care leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative study used an open questionnaire, which was distributed amongst nursing staff and managers at a Finnish public university hospital.

Findings

The participants described partly LMX theory, but the leader-member relationship was also influenced by the organizational culture and the existing management practices. Nursing staff were found to have a more variable and dynamic role in the LMX relationship than has previously been reported. The research therefore provided novel information for the field of health-care research.

Research limitations/implications

The presented research was limited by the content of the data, as the collected single narratives were rather short; however, the fact that a large number of narratives were collected from diverse participants strengthened the ability to reliably answer the research questions.

Practical implications

Although the participants described partly LMX theory, the leader–member relationship is also influenced by the organizational culture and existing management practices; the finding that nurses have more variable roles in LMX relationships in the health-care context was new insight in this field. Therefore, the presented findings can help decision-makers change the current, perhaps antiquated, leadership practices at health-care organizations.

Originality/value

This study provides new insight into the field of LMX research in terms of the important role of nursing staff, the organizational factors that influence the LMX relationship and the dynamic nature of LMX relationships.
Rethinking training transfer: a practice theory perspective
Authors: Ben Zammel Ibticem , Hachana Rim
Published: December 2022

Purpose

By positioning this study within the theoretical lenses of Bourdieu’s practice theory, this paper aims to provide a more contextual understanding of training transfer (TT) with a particular focus on the duality between objectivity and subjectivity that characterize social structures within two different fields (a public post office company and a multinational evolving in the ICT high-tech sector).

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple case study.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that TT cannot be dissociated from social interaction dynamics in the workplace, where objective and subjective structures play a strategic role. In fact, capital dispatching, power disparities and cultural imperatives influence TT practice in both cases. However, this influence differs from one field to another.

Practical implications

Top management team should pay more attention to power and particularly to symbolic power as it can influence TT intentions and effectiveness. They must be aware that not only the economic capital is sought after but also the cultural and the symbolic capital.

Originality/value

This study aims at lessening the gap between theory and practice on the TT problem, in an effort to increase comprehension of the social roots of the transferring process. This research deepens the analysis of the complexity of socialization structuring TT practice in two different fields.
Silencing of circ‐NT5C2 retards the progression of IL‐1β–induced osteoarthritis in an in vitro cell model by targeting the miR‐142‐5p/NAMPT axis
Authors: Zhang Wei , Wang Yan‐dong , Xing Yong‐jun , Liu Peng‐jun , Yang Jian‐hui
Published: December 2022

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease that occurs mostly in the elderly, and its specific pathogenesis is still unknown, but recent studies have found that circular RNA generally display aberrant expression in OA. Our study explored the expression characteristics and mechanism of action of circ‐NT5C2 in OA. Circ‐NT5C2, microRNA‐142‐5p (miR‐142‐5p), and nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) mRNA levels were measured using RT‐qPCR. Western blot was employed to assess the protein level of NAMPT and extracellular matrix (ECM) production‐related markers. The viability, proliferation, apoptosis and inflammation were examined using 3‐(4, 5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2, 5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, 5‐ethynyl‐2′‐deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, flow cytometry, and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Relationship between miR‐142‐5p and circ‐NT5C2 or NAMPT was demonstrated by dual‐luciferase reporter system and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. We reported that circ‐NT5C2 and NAMPT were greatly upregulated, and miR‐142‐5p level was constrained in OA tissues and in a cell model. Circ‐NT5C2 silencing alleviated IL‐1β‐induced inhibitory effects on chondrocyte proliferation and ECM generation, meanwhile the promotional role of IL‐1β on chondrocyte apoptosis and inflammation was also weakened. The targeting relationship of miR‐142‐5p with either circ‐NT5C2 or NAMPT was confirmed. Knockdown of miR‐142‐5p reversed the suppressive effects of circ‐NT5C2 silencing on the OA progression in vitro, and NAMPT overexpression also attenuated the effects of miR‐142‐5p upregulation in an OA cell model. Collectively, circ‐NT5C2 accelerated the OA process by targeting the miR‐142‐5p/NAMPT axis. This study provides valuable information to find a better treatment for OA.
Assessment of the impact of noise magnitude and bandwidth variations on a probabilistic inversion of reflection seismic data
Authors: Heidari Hamed , Madsen Rasmus Bødker , Amini Hamed , Hansen Thomas Mejer , Emami‐Niri Mohammad , Amini Navid
Published: December 2022

Accounting for an accurate noise model is essential when dealing with real data, which are noisy due to the effect of environmental noise, failures and limitations in data acquisition and processing. Quantifying the noise model is a challenge for practitioners in formulating an inverse problem, and usually, a simple Gaussian noise model is assumed as a white noise model. Here we propose a pragmatic approach to use an estimated seismic wavelet to capture the correlated noise model (coloured noise) for the processed reflection seismic data. We assess the proposed method through a direct inversion of post‐stack seismic data associated with a carbonate reservoir of an oil field in southwest Iran to porosity, using a probabilistic sampling‐based inversion algorithm. In the probabilistic formulation of the inverse problem, we assume eight different noise models with varying bandwidth and magnitude and investigate the corresponding posterior statistics. The results indicate that if the correlated nature of the noise samples is ignored in the noise covariance matrix, some unrealistic features are generated in porosity realizations. In addition, if the noise magnitude is underestimated, the inversion algorithm overfits the data and generates a biased model with low uncertainty. Furthermore, by considering an imperfect bandwidth for the noise model, the error is propagated to the posterior realizations. Assuming the correlated noise in a probabilistic inversion resolves these issues significantly. Therefore, for inverting real seismic data where the estimation of the magnitude and correlations of the noise is not straightforward, the wavelet, which is estimated from the real seismic data, provides a good proxy for describing the correlation of the noise samples or equivalently the bandwidth of the noise model. In addition, it might be better to overestimate the noise magnitude than to underestimate it. This is true especially for an uncorrelated noise model and to a lesser degree also for the correlated noise model.