bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Non-invasive peripheral nerve stimulation selectively enhances speech category learning in adults
Authors: Llanos Fernando , McHaney Jacie R. , Schuerman William L. , Yi Han G. , Leonard Matthew K. , Chandrasekaran Bharath
Published: August 2020

Adults struggle to learn non-native speech contrasts even after years of exposure. While laboratory-based training approaches yield learning, the optimal training conditions for maximizing speech learning in adulthood are currently unknown. Vagus nerve stimulation has been shown to prime adult sensory-perceptual systems towards plasticity in animal models. Precise temporal pairing with auditory stimuli can enhance auditory cortical representations with a high degree of specificity. Here, we examined whether sub-perceptual threshold transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), paired with non-native speech sounds, enhances speech category learning in adults. Twenty-four native English-speakers were trained to identify non-native Mandarin tone categories. Across two groups, tVNS was paired with the tone categories that were easier- or harder-to-learn. A control group received no stimulation but followed an identical thresholding procedure as the intervention groups. We found that tVNS robustly enhanced speech category learning and retention of correct stimulus-response associations, but only when stimulation was paired with the easier-to-learn categories. This effect emerged rapidly, generalized to new exemplars, and was qualitatively different from the normal individual variability observed in hundreds of learners who have performed in the same task without stimulation. Electroencephalography recorded before and after training indicated no evidence of tVNS-induced changes in the sensory representation of auditory stimuli. These results suggest that paired-tVNS induces a temporally precise neuromodulatory signal that selectively enhances the perception and memory consolidation of perceptually salient categories.
Dissection of α4β7 integrin regulation by Rap1 using novel conformation-specific monoclonal anti-β7 antibodies
Authors: Sato Tsuyoshi , Ishihara Sayaka , Marui Ryoya , Takagi Junichi , Katagiri Koko
Published: August 2020

Integrin activation is associated with conformational regulation. In this study, we developed a system to evaluate conformational changes in α4β7integrin. We first inserted the PA tag into the plexin-semaphorin-integrin (PSI) domain of β7chain, which reacted with an anti-PA tag antibody (NZ-1) in an Mn2+-dependent manner. The small GTPase Rap1 deficiency, as well as chemokine stimulation and the introduction of the active form of Rap1, Rap1V12, enhanced the binding of NZ-1 to the PA-tagged mutant integrin, and increased the binding affinity to mucosal addressing cell adhesion molecule-1 (MAdCAM-1). Furthermore, we generated two kinds of hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that recognized Mn2+-dependent epitopes of β7. Both epitopes were exposed to bind to mAbs on the cells by the introduction of Rap1V12. Although one epitope in the PSI domain of β7was exposed on Rap1-deficienct cells, the other epitope in the hybrid domain of β7was not. These data indicate that the conversion of Rap1-GDP to GTP exerts two distinct effects stepwise on the conformation of α4β7. The induction of colitis by Rap1-deficient CD4+effector/memory T cells suggests that the removal of constraining effect by Rap1-GDP on α4β7is sufficient for homing of these pathogenic T cells into colon lamina propria (LP).
Callosobruchus embryo struggle to guarantee progeny production
Authors: Amiri Azam , Bandani Ali R.
Published: August 2020

We conducted a series of experiments to test insect embryo capability to survive and increase reproductive investment during early development after short exposure to essential oils. We usedCallosobruchus maculatusas a model insect and eucalyptus leaf and flower essential oils. Both essential oils exhibited toxicity againstC. maculatusembryos and adults. However, flower essential oil was more toxic. A fetus exposed to essential oils tried to make the best of a bad situation and compensate essential oils harmful effects in the later life stages. Insect progeny production guarantee resulted in a trade-off between reproduction and female longevity. The insect also could alter fitness and reproductive behavior including, mating latency reduction, copulation duration increase, and copulation success rate raise in adulthood. Flower essential oil-exposed embryos were more successful in increasing copulation duration, and leaf essential oil-exposed embryos achieved more copulation success and less mating latency. These consequences persisted until F1 generation that was not directly exposed to essential oil. However, the F2 generation could concur with the harmful effects of essential oils.C. maculatusembryo might use epigenetic mechanisms to guarantee progeny production. Reproductive behavior changes and the trade-off can be evolutionary mechanisms to save species from possible extinction in deleterious situations.
New chemical agents based on adamantane–monoterpene conjugates against orthopoxvirus infections
Authors: Suslov Evgenii V. , Mozhaytsev Evgenii S. , Korchagina Dina V. , Bormotov Nikolay I. , Yarovaya Olga I. , Volcho Konstantin P. , Serova Olga A. , Agafonov Alexander P. , Maksyutov Rinat A. , Shishkina Larisa N. , Salakhutdinov Nariman F.
Published: August 2020

The first example of adamantane derivatives containing monoterpene moieties that showed inhibitory activity against several orthopoxviruses.
A survey of non-coding RNAs in the social and predatory myxobacterium Myxococcus xanthus DK1622
Authors: Whitworth David E. , Swain Martin T.
Published: August 2020

Identification and characterisation of non-coding RNAs in the bacterial predator Myxococcus xanthus.
Aeroacoustic Noise Characteristics of Flow around a Square Column Based on Large Eddy Simulation
Authors: Gu Mengfan , Song Baowei
Published: August 2020

Large eddy simulation and Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) equation were used to investigate the aeroacoustic noise characteristics of flow around a square column. After verifying the accuracy of the numerical model, the influences of flow velocity and flow direction on noise field characteristics are discussed. The noise prediction result of the base model was in good agreement with the experiment data in the vortex-shedding frequency and in the general trend. It was shown that there were typical dipole noise sources in the direction of 110° and 250°, respectively. With the increase of distance, the total sound pressure level was decreased and the directionality of the noise field is becoming worse. The results showed that the vortex-shedding frequency was increased with the increase of flow velocity, and the corresponding sound pressure level was also raised. The change of flow direction would make the directionality of noise flied more complicated, which is related to the complexity of flow field.
A Study of Accelerated Adaptive Integral Method Based on Triangle Filling Strategy
Authors: Zheng Mingxuan , Zhao Huiling , Zhao Zhonghui
Published: August 2020

In order to overcome the shortcomings of large time consuming in the near matrix filling and the slow convergence in iteration of adaptive integral method (AIM), the triangle filling strategy and the double-threshold criterion are combined to accelerate the near matrix filling speed in this paper. This method separates the near matrix filling procedure and the near correction during calculation. With the help of incomplete LU decomposition, the preconditioning matrix is constructed from the sparse near matrix before near correction, which could alleviate the ill-conditioned properties of the impedance matrix. Numerical simulation results show that, the triangle filling strategy with ILU preconditioning could improve the filling speed by 2 times and the iteration converges at most 20 times faster than traditional AIM without any accuracy reduction.
Study on Cruise Drag Characteristics of Low Drag Normal Layout Civil Aircraft
Authors: Zhang Li , Gao Zhenghong , Du Yiming
Published: August 2020

This paper focus on the wing shape related drag reduction measures of normal layout civil aircraft, through the drag reduction to improve the aircraft performance. Mainly by the laminar flow wing to reduce skin drag and weak shock wave wing to reduce shock drag, to keep a section of laminar zone on the wing leading edge to reduce skin drag, the wing profile's pressure distribution transit from the middle part's tonsure pressure zone to the trailing edge's inverse pressure gradient zone gentle to reduce the shock drag. The wing body junction plus the body belly fairing to increase the junction flow velocity, through increase flow velocity to weak the boundary layer stacked at the junction, improve the drag performance. The blended winglet to reduce the wing tip induced drag, study the shape parameters impact on the drag reduction, longitudinal moment and directional moment, attain the winglet model with drag reduction effect, suitable pitching moment and directional moment. For the wing body fairing have significant impact on the wing shape lower surface pressure distribution, the winglet have important impact on the wing tip flow, so the single part drag reduction measure is not feasible, need to carry out integrated drag reduction study on the wing related three drag reduction measures, and study the drag reduction measure's drag reduction decrement, put a reference for the normal layout civil aircraft's drag reduction. Through the above drag reduction measure's assessment attain the effect of drag reduction and rising the normal layout civil aircraft's cruise ratio, improving the cruise performance.
Model for Malicious Node Recognition Based on Environmental Parameter Optimization and Time Reputation Sequence
Authors: Teng Zhijun , Pang Baohe , Sun Mingyang , Xie Luying , Guo Liwen
Published: August 2020

Wireless sensor network (WSN) works in a complex environment. To interdict the malicious nodes which attacks the safety of network, such as interrupt attacks and selective forwarding attacks, based on TS-BRS reputation model, a model for malicious node identification based on MNRT-OEP&RS algorithm is constructed. Using the linear regression of machine learning and combining the energy of nodes, data volume, number of adjacent nodes, the node sparsity and other deterministic parameters can solve environmental parameters. Then the similarity of between the benchmark reputation sequence and cycle reputation sequence sets the dynamic reputation double threshold are calculated in order to identify the malicious nodes by dynamically considering the information forwarding behavior. The simulated results show that the improved algorithm can guarantee the security of wireless sensor networks in complex environments effectively with above 90% recognition of malicious nodes and below 8% false positive rate.
Simulated sheep urine causes the formation of acidic subsurface layers in soil under field conditions
Authors: Condon Jason R. , Black A. Scott , Conyers Mark K.
Published: August 2020

This study aimed to ascertain whether application of sheep urine led to the development of acidic subsurface layers of a pasture soil. Deionised water or simulated urine solution delivering urea-nitrogen (N) at 44.8 g m–2 and potassium at 25 g m–2 was applied to soil in either winter or spring. Treatments were applied to the soil surface within 10.3 cm internal diameter PVC tubes inserted 20 cm into the soil either under ryegrass or kept bare. Main sampling times corresponded to the completion of various soil N transformations as determined by periodic sampling. Main samplings involved the collection of above ground plant material and soil sampling in 2 cm depth increments in 0–10 cm and 5 cm intervals in 10–20 cm depths. Following treatment application, urea and ammonium-N moved to a depth no greater than 20 cm but the extent of movement was greater in winter than spring due to the influence of initial soil moisture. Following urea hydrolysis, soil pH increased in the 0–15 cm depth. Subsequent nitrification significantly acidified soil under pasture by 0.8–1.0 pH units in the 2–8 and 2–6 cm depths in winter and spring respectively. This created a net acidic subsurface layer of 0.2–0.4 pH units compared with soil at the beginning of the experiment. Subsurface acidification was 0.5–0.7 pH units greater in bare soil compared with the presence of pasture. Transformations of N resulting from application of simulated urine solution formed acidic subsurface layers in the field regardless of the season of application.
Managing a suspended course of action
Authors: Wang Xiaoyun
Published: August 2020

This study explores interactional functions of the connectivesuoyi‘so’ and its particular role in organizing talk and activity in Mandarin conversation. Adopting the methodologies of conversation analysis, multimodal analysis, and interactional linguistics, this study examines 14 hours of naturalistic face-to-face Mandarin conversation. An examination of the data shows that in addition to marking results and conclusions,suoyiis also used to preface an utterance as a tying device to manage suspensions, where progressivity of a course of action is halted. Specifically,suoyi-prefaced utterances can be used to return to a pre-prior course of action at the possible completion of a side sequence or frame. When performing the function of return,suoyi-prefaced utterances facilitate the development of the main course of action. This study contributes to our understanding of the interactional uses of linking adverbials from a cross-linguistic perspective.
Meaning construction in interactive academic talk
Authors: Pan Yun
Published: August 2020

Mental spacesare conceptual structures for meaning representation and interpretation in discourse. They are pervasive in everyday language as an important aspect of ongoing language processing and meaning construction (Hamawand 2016). The application ofMental Space Theory(MST) to the analysis of real, attested examples of discourse (e.g. Conversation Analysis) has been undertaken through productive exchanges (seeHougaard 2004,2005,Oakley & Hougaard 2008,Oakley 2009). The integration links external, observable language behaviors to internal, conceptual mental operations (Williams 2008), revealing that the cognitive dimensions of discursive approaches are essential to the analysis of talk-in-interaction. This study focuses on the technical aspects of Conversation Analysis in interactive academic talk and shows how MST can provide a subsequent framework for making plausible accounts of the meaning construction process underlying typical conversational moves in this unique talk setting. The data analyses show that the accessibility and selectivity of cognitive mappings contribute to shaping the structurality of meaning representation, transmission, and interpretation. The findings have implications for understanding and characterizing how co-constructed meaning enters into individual and collective conceptualization in higher education communication.
Availability of Personal Protective Equipment in NHS Hospitals During COVID-19: A National Survey
Authors: Mantelakis Angelos , Spiers Harry V M , Lee Chang Woo , Chambers Alastair , Joshi Anil
Published: August 2020

Objectives

The continuous supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the National Health Service (NHS) is paramount to reduce transmission of COVID-19 to patients, public, and staff.

Methods

A 16-question survey was created to assess the availability and personal thoughts of healthcare professionals regarding PPE supply in England. The survey was distributed via social media (Facebook© and Twitter©) to UK COVID-19 healthcare professional groups, with responses collected over 3 weeks in March 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic.

Results

A total of 121 responses from physicians in 35 different hospitals were collected (105 inpatient wards, 16 from intensive care units). In inpatient wards, eye and face protection were unavailable to 19% (20/105). Fluid-resistant surgical masks were available to 97% (102/105) whereas filtering facepiece class 3 (FFP3) respirator for 53% (56/105) of respondents. Gloves were accessible for all respondents (100%). Body protection was available primarily as a plastic apron 84% (88/105). All of respondents working in intensive care had access to full-body PPE, except FFP3 respirators (available in 88%, 14/16). PPE is ‘Always’ available for 30% (36/121) of all respondents. There was a statistically significant difference between London and non-London respondents that ‘Always’ had PPE available (44 versus 19%, P = 0.003).

Conclusions

Our survey demonstrated an overall lack of PPE volume supply in the UK hospitals during March 2020, demonstrating a lack of preparedness for a pandemic. PPE was more readily available in London which was the epicentre of the outbreak. Eye and full body protection are in most lack of supply.
Cost implications of increased solar penetration and time-of-use rate interactions
Authors: Bain Dominique , Acker Tom
Published: August 2020

Electricity-grid operators are facing new challenges in matching load and generation due to increased solar generation and peak-load growth. This paper demonstrates that time-of-use (TOU) rates are an effective method to address these challenges. TOU rates use price differences to incentivize conserving electricity during peak hours and encouraging use during off-peak hours. This strategy is being used across the USA, including in Arizona, California and Hawaii. This analysis used the production-cost model PLEXOS with an hourly resolution to explore how production costs, locational marginal prices and dispatch stacks (type of generation used to meet load) change due to changes in load shapes prompted by TOU rates and with additional solar generation. The modelling focused on implementing TOU rates at three different adoption (response) levels with and without additional solar generation in the Arizona balancing areas within a PLEXOS model. In most cases analysed, implementing TOU rates in Arizona reduced reserve shortages in the Western Interconnect and, in some cases, very substantially. This result is representative of the interactions that happen interconnection-wide, demonstrating the advantage of modelling the entire interconnection. Production costs were decreased by the additional solar generation and the load change from TOU rates, and high response levels reduced the production costs the most for high-solar-generation cases. Load change from TOU rates decreased locational marginal prices for a typical summer day but had inconsistent results on a high-load day. Additional solar generation decreased the usage of combustion turbines, combined cycles and coal-fired generation.
Cerebrospinal Fluid Features in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Positive Patients
Authors: Bellon Mathilde , Schweblin Cecilia , Lambeng Nathalie , Cherpillod Pascal , Vazquez Jessica , Lalive Patrice H , Schibler Manuel , Deffert Christine
Published: August 2020

This study analyzed the cerebrospinal fluid features of 31 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with neurological complications. We observed neither severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in the cerebrospinal fluid, nor intrathecal immunoglobulin G (IgG) synthesis but did observe signs of blood-brain barrier disruption. These results might serve as a basis for a better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 related neuropathogenesis.
Sub-lethal effects of permethrin exposure on a passerine: implications for managing ectoparasites in wild bird nests
Authors: Bulgarella Mariana , Knutie Sarah A , Voss Margaret A , Cunninghame Francesca , Florence-Bennett Brittany J , Robson Gemma , Keyzers Robert A , Taylor Lauren M , Lester Philip J , Heimpel George E , Causton Charlotte E
Published: August 2020

Permethrin is increasingly used for parasite control in bird nests, including nests of threatened passerines. We present the first formal evaluation of the effects of continued permethrin exposure on the reproductive success and liver function of a passerine, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), for two generations. We experimentally treated all nest material with a 1% permethrin solution or a water control and provided the material to breeding finches for nest building. The success of two consecutive clutches produced by the parental generation and one clutch produced by first-generation birds were tracked. Finches in the first generation were able to reproduce and fledge offspring after permethrin exposure, ruling out infertility. Permethrin treatment had no statistically significant effect on the number of eggs laid, number of days from clutch initiation to hatching, egg hatch rate, fledgling mass or nestling sex ratio in either generation. However, treating nest material with permethrin significantly increased the number of hatchlings in the first generation and decreased fledgling success in the second generation. Body mass for hatchlings exposed to permethrin was lower than for control hatchlings in both generations, but only statistically significant for the second generation. For both generations, an interaction between permethrin treatment and age significantly affected nestling growth. Permethrin treatment had no effect on liver function for any generation. Permethrin was detected inside 6 of 21 exposed, non-embryonated eggs (28.5% incidence; range: 693–4781 ng of permethrin per gram of dry egg mass). Overall, results from exposing adults, eggs and nestlings across generations to permethrin-treated nest material suggest negative effects on finch breeding success, but not on liver function. For threatened bird conservation, the judicious application of this insecticide to control parasites in nests can result in lower nestling mortality compared to when no treatment is applied. Thus, permethrin treatment benefits may outweigh its sub-lethal effects.
Mortality in low-risk patients with aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter or surgical aortic valve replacement: a reconstructed individual patient data meta-analysis
Authors: Çelik Mevlüt , Milojevic Milan M , Durko Andras P , Oei Frans B S , Bogers Ad J J C , Mahtab Edris A F
Published: August 2020

OBJECTIVES

Although the standard of care for patients with severe aortic stenosis at low-surgical risk has included surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) since the mid-1960s, many clinical studies have investigated whether transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) can be a better approach in these patients. As no individual study has been performed to detect the difference in mortality between these 2 treatment strategies, we did a reconstructive individual patient data analysis to study the long-term difference in all-cause mortality.

METHODS

Randomized clinical trials and propensity score-matched studies that included low-risk adult patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing either SAVR or TAVI and with reports on the mortality rates during the follow-up period were considered. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality of up to 5 years.

RESULTS

In the reconstructed individual patient data analysis, there was no statistically significant difference in all-cause mortality between TAVI and SAVR at 5 years of follow-up [30.7% vs 21.4%, hazard ratio (HR) 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96–1.48; P = 0.104]. However, landmark analyses in patients surviving up to 1 year of follow-up showed significantly higher all-cause mortality at 5 years of follow-up (27.5% vs 17.3%, HR 1.77, 95% CI 1.29–2.43; P < 0.001) in patients undergoing TAVI compared to patients undergoing SAVR, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This reconstructed individual patient data analysis in low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis demonstrates that the 5-year all-cause mortality rates are higher after TAVI than after SAVR, driven by markedly higher mortality rates between 1 and 5 years of follow-up in the TAVI group. The present results call for caution in expanding the TAVI procedure as the treatment of choice for the majority of all low-risk patients until long-term data from contemporary randomized clinical trials are available.
Wave-mode separation in inhomogeneous anisotropic media based on adaptive sampling
Authors: Wang Jian , Liu Hong
Published: August 2020

The reverse time migration of an elastic wave is an advanced method for an imaging velocity model, and the reverse time migration of an elastic inhomogeneous TTI medium has become a research hotspot. The amount of calculation and storage is an important factor restricting its development. To solve the storage problem, we improve the wave field separation algorithm using adaptive sampling in the process of reverse time migration. This resampling algorithm can retain the core region and resample the marginal area of a quasi-differential operator. After sampling we only need to save the sampling point and the sampling location. It is proved by model calculation that the storage capacity of the algorithm can reduce a large part of the computational time of a traditional algorithm without reducing calculation accuracy. The new algorithm is more suitable for GPU because the storage is greatly reduced. In the process of reverse time migration, we can store the quasi-differential operator in the GPU so as to avoid a lot of I/O of GPU to CPU and improve calculation efficiency.
Using Patient-Reported Outcomes to Describe the Patient Experience on Phase I Clinical Trials
Authors: Sedhom Ramy , Ferrell Betty , Ruel Nora , Koczywas Marianna , Chung Vincent , Smith Thomas J
Published: August 2020

Background

Symptoms are common among patients enrolled in phase I trials. We assessed the validity of Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) items in relation to previously validated assessments of quality of life and psychological distress. We used data from a randomized trial testing a palliative care support intervention for patients enrolled on phase I trials.

Methods

Patients (n = 479) were accrued to the parent study prior to initiating a phase I clinical trial with data collected at baseline, 4, and 12 weeks. We determined the correlation of PRO-CTCAE with distress level, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G) total, and subscale domain scores.

Results

Patients were predominantly female (56.8%) and older than age 60 years, and 30.7% were from minority populations. The correlation coefficient for distress level for all PRO-CTCAE items was small to moderate (Pearson r = 0.33-0.46). Pearson correlation coefficient for FACT-G total was moderate (r = -0.45 to -0.69). Stronger associations were noted for mood items of the PRO-CTCAE only (with distress level, r = 0.55-0.6; with FACT-G, r = -0.54 to -0.6). PRO-CTCAE symptom interference scores had the strongest correlation with distress level (Pearson r = 0.46) and FACT-G total (Pearson r = -0.69). Correlations between PRO-CTCAE items and corresponding FACT-G (total and subscales) and distress levels reached statistical significance for all items (P <.001).

Conclusion

Evidence demonstrates validity of PRO-CTCAE in a heterogeneous US sample of patients undergoing cancer treatment on phase I trials, with small to moderate correlations with distress level for all PRO-CTCAE items and moderate correlations with quality of life as measured by FACT-G total.
Philosophical Theorising on Taxation†
Authors: Loutzenhiser Glen
Published: August 2020

This review article examines two collected-works books: Taxation: Philosophical Perspectives, edited by Martin O’Neill and Shepley Orr, and Philosophical Foundations of Tax Law, edited by Monica Bhandari. It is argued that the two books reflect a high-quality but also fragmented body of philosophical work on taxation with a surprising degree of silo working. A selection of contributions to the two books are examined and categorised into four distinct strands with the aim of developing stronger connections between those working on related philosophical questions within the four strands and across disciplines.
Parties and Executives in Parliamentary Systems
Authors: Andeweg Rudy B.
Published: August 2020

The study of the relationship between political parties and political executives is inspired by normative questions about the democratic legitimacy of government. As a common denominator, party government requires several parties to present distinctive and realistic policy programmes to the voters, who choose the party with the programme they most prefer. The party winning a majority receives a mandate to implement its policies, and appoints partisans to executive office with that aim. The empirical study of this chain of delegation brought to light a more complex reality. Most governments are controlled by a coalition of parties. Paradoxically, decision-making in coalition governments is more politicized than in single-party governments, although individual parties in a coalition are not able to realize as much of their programmes. In addition to inter-party dynamics in coalitions, government may be affected by intra-party divisions between factions and branches of the party, government itself is increasingly multi-level government, and the direction of influence does not run exclusively from the party to the government. Party governments may be replaced by party governance, but several areas of further study to determine the extent of this development are identified. Alternatives, or challenges, to party government such as personalization, populism or technocracy seem to deny rather than incorporate the growing complexity.
New Institutional Approaches to the Study of Political Executives
Authors: Goetz Klaus H.
Published: August 2020

The New Institutionalism—NI—has had a pervasive influence on the study of political executives over the past three decades. It draws attention to the interactions between institutions, organizations, actors, interests, preferences, ideas, resources, and decisions. As such, it captures executives as both institutions and organizations and as political governments and administrations. NI’s strong orientation towards understanding the horizontal and vertical interconnectedness of institutions and organizations makes is very well-suited to analysing Europe’s multi-level executive system. Key NI insights to the study of political executives include the interdependency between formal and informal institutional-organizational settings; the importance of resources; the porosity of institutional-organizational boundaries; the diversity of actors’ motivations; and the relevance of legacies for explaining executive developmental trajectories and executive effects. However, ‘unruly actors’ and political and policy ‘turbulence’ pose analytical challenges to core theoretical assumptions of the NI.
The Evolution of Political Representation in Liberal Democracies
Authors: Mansbridge Jane
Published: August 2020

Crises in political representation in the EU and many national democracies have prompted new practices and new theories in what has always been a work in progress. The written annals of representation begin with Cleisthenes’ reforms in Athens, giving a central role to representation by lot, although the word itself and the modern concept of electoral representation required an evolution through Rome, the European Middle Ages, and the early modern era, leading to an early crystallization in the eighteenth century and a further evolution of considerable complexity since then. Current issues in theory and practice include the self-constitution and mutual constitution of representatives and represented, the decline in relevance of the ‘trustee/delegate’ model and the principle of distinction, and the development of many newly conceptualized aspects of representation. Political representation occurs not only in the electoral/legislative but also in the administrative and societal realms, each requiring rethinking and restructuring to meet twenty-first-century demands.
Sortition and Mini-Publics
Authors: Farrell David M. , Stone Peter
Published: August 2020

In recent decades liberal democracies have begun to experiment with sortition—the selection of citizens by lottery for engagement in political or policy discussions. A notable development has been the emergence of randomly selected deliberative mini-publics that can take different forms. These have occurred in the context of wider debates in political theory over the potential of deliberative democracy, and also from a desire to bring citizens into the heart of debates over constitutional and institutional reform. We develop a normative case for sortition focused on how it can contribute in a negative sense—helping to shield the process of selecting officials from forces that could compromise it—and also in a positive sense in how it can deliver more effectively on the ideal of descriptive representation. We then consider empirical evidence of how the most significant examples of sortition today (the citizens’ assemblies) have performed against those normative ideals.
Death
Authors: Rosenbaum Stephen E.
Published: August 2020

This article explicates Epicurus’s ambiguous declaration that “death is nothing to us,” discusses its philosophical implications, and answers the most common recent philosophical objections to the view. One barrier to appreciating Epicurus’s view has been lack of understanding what he meant, and the author clarifies Epicurus’s idea using Epicurean texts. Since Epicurus used his view to undermine death anxiety, the author discusses fear of death and how Epicurean thinking treats it. The paper discusses flaws in recent philosophical objections against Epicurus’s view, that it ignores what death deprives people of, that it is incompatible with the wrongness of killing, and that it does not permit certain comparative value judgments about life and death. Since the view has implications for the death penalty, the author discusses those, and urges that Epicurean philosophy of death can profitably illuminate contemporary thinking.
What is ‘Competition Law’?—Measuring EU Member States’ Leeway to Regulate Platform-to-Business Agreements
Authors: Franck Jens-Uwe , Stock Nils
Published: August 2020

If both national competition law and Article 101 TFEU apply to an agreement, the former must not set rules that are stricter than the latter. Member States remain free, though, to impose stricter rules if they are not classified as ‘competition law’. We analyse relevant jurisprudence by the English and French courts that have dealt with potential conflicts between, on the one hand, EU competition law and, on the other hand, the common law restraint of trade doctrine and the pratiques restrictives de concurrence under French commercial law. We develop criteria that allow (national) ‘competition law’ to be distinguished from similar regulatory interventions into agreements that pursue purposes distinct from Article 101 TFEU and which, therefore, must not be regarded as ‘competition law’. This article illustrates and elaborates on the challenges for the implementation of our approach by focusing on the ban on the use of parity clauses by hotel booking platforms in France, Austria, Italy, and Belgium. We map a possible way forward to prevent further regulatory fragmentation in the internal market with regard to the regulation of platform-to-business agreements.
A Uterus-Preserving Treatment for Uncontrollable Postpartum Hemorrhage
Authors: Esike Chidi Ochu Uzoma
Published: August 2020

BACKGROUND:

Postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide, with uterine atony responsible in 80% of cases. In intractable cases, hysterectomy is the final treatment, but it has complications. Many doctors in developing countries with high maternal mortality rates from postpartum hemorrhage can perform cesarean deliveries but cannot perform hysterectomy. Patients with postpartum hemorrhage who need hysterectomy in these countries will die in such cases, whereas, if doctors know this simple, easily learned technique, such patients may survive.

TECHNIQUE:

Esike's technique is a uterine-compression method that uses supplies generally available at delivery hospitals. Six sutures are placed in the lower uterine segment, three anteriorly and three posteriorly. Starting with the middle sutures, the sutures are tied at the fundus with the help of an assistant to provide uterine compression. The more laterally placed sutures are then tied similarly, resulting in uterine compression and stoppage of postpartum hemorrhage.

EXPERIENCE:

Esike's technique was used in controlling life-threatening, uncontrollable postpartum hemorrhage in 18 women and was successful in 16 (89%) without requiring hysterectomy.

CONCLUSION:

Esike's technique is effective in controlling life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage and can be used in low-resource settings with commonly available supplies and performed by doctors with a common level of training.
Antimalarial drugs lose their activity with a slight drop in pH
Authors: Kitagawa Tomohisa , Mastumoto Atsushi , Terashima Ichiro , Uesono Yukifumi
Published: August 2020

Antimalarial drugs have antimicrobial, antiviral, antimalarial and immunosuppressive activities, although the mechanisms remain unknown. Quinacrine (QC) increases the antimicrobial activity against yeast exponentially with a pH-dependent increase in the cationic amphiphilic drug (CAD) structure. CAD-QC localizes in membranes and induces glucose starvation by noncompetitively inhibiting glucose uptake. A logarithmic increase in antimicrobial activity with pH-dependent CAD formation was also observed for chloroquine, indicating that the CAD structure is crucial for its pharmacological activity. A decrease in CAD structure with a slight decrease in pH from 7.4 greatly reduced their effects; namely, these drugs would inefficiently act on falciparum malaria and COVID-19 pneumonia patients with acidosis, resulting in resistance. Recovering normal blood pH or using pH-insensitive quinoline drugs might be effective.
Epidemiology of Reopening in the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, Europe and Asia
Authors: Zhang Weiqi , Oltean Alina , Nichols Scott , Odeh Fuad , Zhong Fei
Published: August 2020

Since the discovery of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19 has become a global healthcare and economic crisis. The United States (US) and Europe exhibited wide impacts from the virus with more than six million cases by the time of our analysis. To inhibit spread, stay-at-home orders and other non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were instituted. Beginning late April 2020, some US states, European, and Asian countries lifted restrictions and started the reopening phases. In this study, the changes of confirmed cases, hospitalizations, and deaths were analyzed after reopening for 11 countries and 40 US states using an interrupted time series analysis. Additionally, the distribution of these categories was further analyzed by age due to the known increased risk in elderly patients. Reopening had varied effects on COVID-19 cases depending on the region. Recent increases in cases did not fully translate into increased deaths. Eight countries had increased cases after reopening while only two countries showed the same trend in deaths. In the US, 30 states had observed increases in cases while only seven observed increased deaths. In addition, we found that states with later reopening dates were more likely to have significant decreases in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Furthermore, age distributions through time were analyzed in relation to COVID-19 in the US. Younger age groups typically had an increased share of cases after reopening.
Peak identification and quantification by proteomic mass spectrogram decomposition
Authors: Taechawattananant Pasrawin , Yoshii Kazuyoshi , Ishihama Yasushi
Published: August 2020

Recent advances in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) technology have notably improved the sensitivity, resolution, and speed of proteome analysis, resulting in increasing demand for more sophisticated algorithms to interpret complex mass spectrograms. Here, we propose a novel statistical method that we call proteomic mass spectrogram decomposition (ProtMSD) for joint identification and quantification of peptides and proteins. Given the proteomic mass spectrogram and the reference mass spectra of all possible peptide ions associated with proteins as a dictionary, our method directly estimates the temporal intensity curves of those peptide ions, i.e., the chromatograms, under a group sparsity constraint without using the conventional careful pre-processing (e.g., thresholding and peak picking). We show that the accuracy of protein identification was significantly improved by using the protein-peptide hierarchical relationships, the isotopic distribution profiles and predicted retention times of peptide ions and the pre-learned mass spectra of noise. In the analysis ofE. colicell lysate, our ProtMSD showed excellent agreement (3277 peptide ions (94.79%) and 493 proteins (98.21%)) with the conventional cascading approach to identification and quantification based on Mascot and Skyline. This is the first attempt to use a matrix decomposition technique as a tool for LC/MS-based joint proteome identification and quantification.
The Structural Basis for SARM1 Inhibition, and Activation Under Energetic Stress
Authors: Sporny Michael , Guez-Haddad Julia , Khazma Tami , Yaron Avraham , Dessau Moshe , Mim Carsten , Isupov Michail N. , Zalk Ran , Hons Michael , Opatowsky Yarden
Published: August 2020

SARM1 is a central executor of axonal degeneration (1). Mechanistically, SARM1 contains NADase activity, which, in response to nerve injury, depletes the key cellular metabolite, NAD+ (2–5). Interestingly, SARM1 knockout mouse models do not present any apparent physiological impairment. Yet, the lack of SARM1 protects against various neuropathies (6, 7), thereby highlighting SARM1 as a likely safe and effective drug target (8). However, the absence of a SARM1 structure, in its active or inhibited form, makes it impossible to understand the molecular basis of SARM1 inhibition, and its activation under stress conditions. In this study we present two cryo-EM maps of SARM1 (at 2.6 Å and 2.9 Å resolution). We show that the inhibited SARM1 homo-octamer assumes a packed conformation with well-ordered inner and peripheral rings. Here the catalytic TIR domains are held apart from each other and are unable to form dimers, which is a prerequisite for NADase activity. More importantly, after screening several cellular metabolites we discovered that the inactive conformation is stabilized by the binding of SARM1’s own substrate: NAD+. The NAD+ inhibitory allosteric site is located away from the NAD+ catalytic site of the TIR domain. Site-directed mutagenesis of the allosteric site leads to constitutive active SARM1. Based on our data we propose that a reduction of cellular NAD+ concentrations (an early indication of disease-associated and age-related neurodegeneration (9)) disassemble SARM1’s peripheral ring, which allows NADase activity. This leads to an energetic catastrophe and eventually cell death. The discovery of the allosteric inhibitory site opens the door for the development of effective drugs that will prevent SARM1 activation, rather than compete for binding to the NADase catalytic site.

Brief description

It is not known how NAD+ depletion brings about neurodegeneration. Here, we show that the intrinsic NADase activity of SARM1 is allosterically inhibited by physiological concentrations of NAD+. NAD+ stabilizes a compact, auto-inhibited conformation of the SARM1 octamer. Once NAD+ levels are depleted, the allosteric inhibition is released, enabling SARM1’s NADase activity, which eventually leads to energetic catastrophe and cell death.
IntEResting structures: formation and applications of organized smooth endoplasmic reticulum in plant cells
Authors: Sandor Andras , Fricker Mark D , Kriechbaumer Verena , Sweetlove Lee J
Published: August 2020

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an organelle with remarkable plasticity, capable of rapidly changing its structure to accommodate different functions based on intra- and extracellular cues. One of the ER structures observed in plants is known as “organized smooth endoplasmic reticulum” (OSER), consisting of symmetrically stacked ER membrane arrays. In plants, these structures were first described in certain specialized tissues, e.g. the sieve elements of the phloem, and more recently in transgenic plants overexpressing ER membrane resident proteins. To date, much of the investigation of OSER focused on yeast and animal cells but research into plant OSER has started to grow. In this update, we give a succinct overview of research into the OSER phenomenon in plant cells with case studies highlighting both native and synthetic occurrences of OSER. We also assess the primary driving forces that trigger the formation of OSER, collating evidence from the literature to compare two competing theories for the origin of OSER: that OSER formation is initiated by oligomerizing protein accumulation in the ER membrane or that OSER is the result of ER membrane proliferation. This has long been a source of controversy in the field and here we suggest a way to integrate arguments from both sides into a single unifying theory. Finally, we discuss the potential biotechnological uses of OSER as a tool for the nascent plant synthetic biology field with possible applications as a synthetic microdomain for metabolic engineering and as an extensive membrane surface for synthetic chemistry or protein accumulation.
Best practices of organizational change for adopting alternative project delivery methods in the AEC industry
Authors: Aldossari Khaled Medath , Lines Brian C. , Smithwick Jake B. , Hurtado Kristen C. , Sullivan Kenneth T.
Published: August 2020

Purpose

Although numerous studies have examined alternative project delivery methods (APDMs), most of these studies have focused on the relationship between these methods and improved project performance. Limited research identifies how to successfully add these methods within architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) organizations. The purpose of this paper is to identifying organizational change management (OCM) practices that, when effectively executed, lead to increased success rates of adopting APDMs in owner AEC organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Seven OCM practices were identified through a comprehensive literature review. Then, through a survey of 140 individuals at 98 AEC organizations, the relationships between OCM practices and organizational adoption of APDMs were established.

Findings

The findings indicate that OCM practices with the strongest relationship to successful APDM adoption are realistic timeframe, effective change agents, workloads adjustments, senior-leadership commitment and sufficient change-related training.

Practical implications

Adopting APDMs can be extremely difficult and requires significant organizational change efforts to ensure the change is a success. Organizations that are implementing APDMs for the first time should consider applying the OCM practices that this study identifies as most related to successful APDM adoption.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by identifying the OCM practices that are most significantly associated with successfully adopting APDMs.