bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Democratizing social scientists’ impact on federal policy: Using the evidence act to help government and ourselves
Authors: Ciocca Eller Christina
Published: March 2024

It is common for social scientists to discuss the implications of our research for policy. However, what actions can we take to inform policy in more immediate and impactful ways, regardless of our existing institutional affiliations or personal connections? Focusing on federal policy, I suggest that the answer requires understanding a basic coordination problem. On the government side, the Foundations of Evidence-based Policymaking Act (2018) requires that large federal agencies pose, communicate, and answer research questions related to their effects on people and communities. This advancement has opened the black box of federal agency policy priorities, but it has not addressed capacity challenges: These agencies often do not have the financial resources or staff to answer the research questions they pose. On the higher education side, we have more than 150,000 academic social scientists who are knowledge producers and educators by training and vocation. However, especially among those in disciplinary departments, or those without existing institutional or personal connections to federal agencies, we often feel locked out of federal policymaking processes. In this article, I define the coordination problem and offer concrete actions that the academic and federal government communities can take to address it. I also offer leading examples of how academics and universities are making public policy impact possible in multiple governmental spheres. I conclude by arguing that both higher education institutions and all levels of government can do more to help academic social scientists put our knowledge to work in service of the public good.
Rapid dissemination of host metabolism–manipulating genes via integrative and conjugative elements
Authors: Colombi Elena , Bertels Frederic , Doulcier Guilhem , McConnell Ellen , Pichugina Tatyana , Sohn Kee Hoon , Straub Christina , McCann Honour C. , Rainey Paul B.
Published: March 2024

Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are self-transmissible mobile elements that transfer functional genetic units across broad phylogenetic distances. Accessory genes shuttled by ICEs can make significant contributions to bacterial fitness. Most ICEs characterized to date encode readily observable phenotypes contributing to symbiosis, pathogenicity, and antimicrobial resistance, yet the majority of ICEs carry genes of unknown function. Recent observations of rapid acquisition of ICEs in a pandemic lineage of
Pseudomonas syringae
pv.
actinidae
led to investigation of the structural and functional diversity of these elements. Fifty-three unique ICE types were identified across the
P. syringae
species complex. Together they form a distinct family of ICEs (PsICEs) that share a distant relationship to ICEs found in
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
. PsICEs are defined by conserved backbone genes punctuated by an array of accessory cargo genes, are highly recombinogenic, and display distinct evolutionary histories compared to their bacterial hosts. The most common cargo is a recently disseminated 16-kb mobile genetic element designated Tn
6212
. Deletion of Tn
6212
did not alter pathogen growth in planta, but mutants displayed fitness defects when grown on tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates. RNA-seq analysis of a set of nested deletion mutants showed that a Tn
6212
-encoded LysR regulator has global effects on chromosomal gene expression. We show that Tn
6212
responds to preferred carbon sources and manipulates bacterial metabolism to maximize growth.
Legacy of a magic gene—

CCR5-
∆
32

: From discovery to clinical benefit in a generation
Authors: OBrien Stephen J.
Published: March 2024

The discovery of the 32-bp deletion allele of the chemokine receptor gene
CCR5
showed that homozygous carriers display near-complete resistance to HIV infection, irrespective of exposure. Algorithms of molecular evolutionary theory suggested that the

CCR5-
∆
32

mutation occurred but once in the last millennium and rose by strong selective pressure relatively recently to a ~10% allele frequency in Europeans. Several lines of evidence support the hypothesis that

CCR5-
∆
32

was selected due to its protective influence to resist
Yersinia pestis,
the agent of the Black Death/bubonic plague of the 14th century. Powerful anti-AIDS entry inhibitors targeting CCR5 were developed as a treatment for HIV patients, particularly those whose systems had developed resistance to powerful anti-retroviral therapies. Homozygous

CCR5-
∆
32/
∆
32

stem cell transplant donors were used to produce HIV-cleared AIDS patients in at least five “cures” of HIV infection. CCR5 has also been implicated in regulating infection with
Staphylococcus aureus
, in recovery from stroke, and in ablation of the fatal graft versus host disease (GVHD) in cancer transplant patients. While homozygous

CCR5-
∆
32/32

carriers block HIV infection, alternatively they display an increased risk for encephalomyelitis and death when infected with the West Nile virus.
Two ancient membrane pores mediate mitochondrial-nucleus membrane contact sites
Authors: Ovciarikova Jana , Shikha Shikha , Lacombe Alice , Courjol Flavie , McCrone Rosalind , Hussain Wasim , Maclean Andrew , Lemgruber Leandro , Martins-Duarte Erica S. , Gissot Mathieu , Sheiner Lilach
Published: March 2024

Coordination between nucleus and mitochondria is essential for cell survival, and thus numerous communication routes have been established between these two organelles over eukaryotic cell evolution. One route for organelle communication is via membrane contact sites, functional appositions formed by molecular tethers. We describe a novel nuclear-mitochondrial membrane contact site in the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. We have identified specific contacts occurring at the nuclear pore and demonstrated an interaction between components of the nuclear pore and the mitochondrial protein translocon, highlighting them as molecular tethers. Genetic disruption of the nuclear pore or the TOM translocon components, TgNup503 or TgTom40, respectively, result in contact site reduction, supporting their potential involvement in this tether. TgNup503 depletion further leads to specific mitochondrial morphology and functional defects, supporting a role for nuclear-mitochondrial contacts in mediating their communication. The discovery of a contact formed through interaction between two ancient mitochondrial and nuclear complexes sets the ground for better understanding of mitochondrial-nuclear crosstalk in eukaryotes.
Linear graviton as a quantum particle
Authors: Przanowski Maciej , Dobrski Michał , Tosiek Jaromir , Turrubiates Francisco J
Published: March 2024

Wave function of a single linear graviton and its interpretation are proposed. The evolution equation for this function is given. A Hermitian operator with mutually commuting components canonically conjugated to the momentum operator of the linear graviton is found. Second quantization of the linear graviton quantum mechanics as well as quantization of the classical free linear graviton field are investigated.
Imagining density distribution of molecular orbitals in IR+XUV co-rotating circular laser fields by frequency-domain theory
Authors: Li Yu-Hong , Jin Facheng , Yang Yujun , Li Fei , Guo Ying-Chun , Wei Zhi-Yi , Chen Jing , Liu Xiaojun , Wang Bingbing
Published: March 2024

We have investigated the angle-resolved ATI spectrum of oriented molecules in the IR+XUV co-rotating circular laser fields. According to the different roles of IR and XUV laser in the ionization process, we purposefully adjust the photon energy of XUV and the intensity of IR laser to make the ionization spectrum of the molecule distributed in a suitable momentum region. Moreover, under the same laser conditions, the background fringes in the ionization spectrum of the molecule can be removed by using the ionization spectrum of the atom with the same ionization energy as the molecule, so that the molecular orbital density distribution in the suitable momentum region can be obtained. That is, for any unknown molecule, as long as the ionization energy of the molecule can be measured, the density distribution of the molecular orbital can be imaged in a definite momentum region by adjusting the laser field conditions, which may shed light on the experimental detection of molecular orbitals.
A molecular dynamics simulation study of thermal transport in hydrazinium cyclo-pentazolate
Authors: Xiong Zhangling , Xu Xiao , Jia Xu
Published: March 2024

Cyclo-pentazolate salts (CPSs) as a new type of high-energy-density materials (HEDMs) with high nitrogen content have attracted considerable research attention. In contrast to the extensive studies on their energy properties, the thermal transport process in CPSs has been less studied which relates closely to the thermal safety of this material. Concerning the hydrazinium cyclo-pentazolate (HCP), we conduct a computational study to estimate the thermal conductivity of HCP by means of the non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulation. To achieve that, we have customized interaction parameters based on the default OPLS force field for the HCP, as benchmarked by its crystal structure. Our simulations have revealed surprisingly anisotropic thermal conductivity for the HCP, while the thermal conductivity becomes highest roughly in the direction perpendicular to cyclo-N

5
−

with its value notably higher than common high explosives. By modulating the interaction parameters within the HCP molecule, we have further captured a dominant role of the interaction between cyclo-N

5
−

in regulating the thermal conductivity of the HCP. The attractive Lennard–Jones (LJ) potential may restrict the relative motion between cyclo-N

5
−

, which forms a long-range order thus enhances thermal transport in the direction perpendicular to cyclo-N

5
−

. Our simulations result on the effect of (cyclo-N

5
−

)-(cyclo-N

5
−

) interaction provide insights to engineer thermal transport in CPSs at the molecular level.
Physics mechanisms underlying the optimization of coherent heat transfer across width-modulated nanowaveguides with calculations and machine learning
Authors: Stefanou Antonios-Dimitrios , Zianni Xanthippi
Published: March 2024

Optimization of heat transfer at the nanoscale is necessary for efficient modern technology applications in nanoelectronics, energy conversion, and quantum technologies. In such applications, phonons dominate thermal transport and optimal performance requires minimum phonon conduction. Coherent phonon conduction is minimized by maximum disorder in the aperiodic modulation profile of width-modulated nanowaveguides, according to a physics rule. It is minimized for moderate disorder against physics intuition in composite nanostructures. Such counter behaviors call for a better understanding of the optimization of phonon transport in non-uniform nanostructures. We have explored mechanisms underlying the optimization of width-modulated nanowaveguides with calculations and machine learning, and we report on generic behavior. We show that the distribution of the thermal conductance among the aperiodic width-modulation configurations is controlled by the modulation degree irrespective of choices of constituent material, width-modulation-geometry, and composition constraints. The efficiency of Bayesian optimization is evaluated against increasing temperature and sample size. It is found that it decreases with increasing temperature due to thermal broadening of the thermal conductance distribution. It shows weak dependence on temperature in samples with high discreteness in the distribution spectrum. Our work provides new physics insight and indicates research pathways to optimize heat transfer in non-uniform nanostructures.
Combining linear-scaling quantum transport and machine-learning molecular dynamics to study thermal and electronic transports in complex materials
Authors: Fan Zheyong , Xiao Yang , Wang Yanzhou , Ying Penghua , Chen Shunda , Dong Haikuan
Published: March 2024

We propose an efficient approach for simultaneous prediction of thermal and electronic transport properties in complex materials. Firstly, a highly efficient machine-learned neuroevolution potential (NEP) is trained using reference data from quantum-mechanical density-functional theory calculations. This trained potential is then applied in large-scale molecular dynamics simulations, enabling the generation of realistic structures and accurate characterization of thermal transport properties. In addition, molecular dynamics simulations of atoms and linear-scaling quantum transport calculations of electrons are coupled to account for the electron-phonon scattering and other disorders that affect the charge carriers governing the electronic transport properties. We demonstrate the usefulness of this unified approach by studying electronic transport in pristine graphene and thermoelectric transport properties of a graphene antidot lattice, with a general-purpose NEP developed for carbon systems based on an extensive dataset.
Determining the swarm parameters of gases considering ion kinetics by parallel genetic algorithm on GPU platform
Authors: Hao Mai , Zhang Boya , Li Xingwen , Liu Peiqiong , Yao Yuyang , Murphy Anthony B
Published: March 2024

In this work, a convenient and efficient method is proposed to determine swarm parameters considering ion kinetics from pulsed Townsend (PT) measurements. First, a physical model was presented to describe the development of PT discharge considering electron detachment and ion conversion reactions. A numerical solution to the model was also proposed. In order to assess the precision of our calculations, we presented the calculated electronic and ionic transients derived from our model for different cases. Then, a genetic algorithm (GA) was proposed to find a set of swarm parameters, under which the deviation between the simulated current waveform and the actual measured current waveform is minimum. It is time-consuming to simulate a single waveform, and since a large number of waveforms need to be simulated in the GA, graphic processing unit-based parallel computing is used to improve computing efficiency. Finally, the swarm parameters of dry air considering electron detachment and ion conversion processes using the method were obtained and they are in good agreement with those in references.
Theoretical modeling and experimental investigation of carbon fiber reinforced plastic-based piezoelectric actuator
Authors: Cao Teng , Wen Zhiyi , Wang Boquan , Yang Yaqing , Li Xiaoniu , Wu Dawei
Published: March 2024

Piezoelectric actuators based on non-metallic materials have drawn much attention in recent years. Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is one of the ideal materials for the development of lightweight, high power density piezoelectric actuators because of its low density, high stiffness. However, its anisotropic characteristics pose a challenge in actuator development. In this study, we designed a CFRP-based piezoelectric actuator, which utilizes hybrid modes of first-order longitudinal mode and second-order bending mode. The electromechanical coupling dynamic model for CFRP-based piezoelectric actuator was established a, based on the modal superposition method and energy method, and while taking into account the stress-strain relationships in anisotropic materials. The size of the actuator was calculated through the model and a prototype was processed for experimental research. The experimentally obtained results of frequencies and transient- as well as steady-state vibration characteristics demonstrated excellent agreement with the predictions of our mathematical modeling. Actuator performance evaluation results show that under a single-phase excitation voltage of 200 Vp-p, the CFRP-based actuator can reach maximum speed, thrust force, output power, thrust–weight ratio, power density, and efficiency of 617 mm s−1, 65 N, 1.14 W, 980.3 N kg−1, 223.5 W kg−1, and 10.4%, respectively. These results are satisfactory compared with actuators in other reports, especially the power density, which is nearly tripled. These results demonstrate the superior performance of the CFRP-based actuator and illustrate a new approach for developing lightweight and powerful actuators.
Local electronic structures of annealing induced phases in cobalt doped TiO2 nanoparticles: a combined study of transmission electron microscopy and x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy
Authors: Dawn Riya , Urkude Rajashri , Tripathi Shilpa , Bhunia Satyaban , Tjiu Weng Weei , Aabdin Zainul , Kandasami Asokan , Singh Vijay Raj
Published: March 2024

The evolution of the nanostructures and electronic properties of 5% cobalt-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) annealed at 400 °C, 600 °C, and 800 °C have been investigated to understand the structural phase transformations through chemical co-precipitation synthesis. A detailed analysis of the X-ray Diffractogram confirms that the sample annealed at 400 °C is anatase, at 600 °C, the mixed phase of anatase and rutile evolves, and at 800 °C, the sample is of rutile structure. A detailed morphological study by scanning transmission electron microscope provides the particle size, lattice spacing, and variation in polycrystalline grain growth at different phases. Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy analysis indicates from the O K, Co, and Ti L
2,3-edges that Ti4+ ions are primarily in an octahedral symmetry with the oxygen ligands changing their structural phases from anatase to mixed phase and then stable rutile phase with increasing temperature of annealing. X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) extracts information about the varying oxidation states and 3-dimensional geometry of Ti-ions. The unresolved issues of the structural details at the atomic-scale picture with the local environment of the cation with a few nearest neighbour shells are derived from Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) and pre-edge parts of the absorption spectra. The limits of EXAFS in this situation of asymmetric bond length disorder, which is typical for mixed-valence oxides, are generated to reconcile the two data and highlight the value of pre-edge XANES analysis for identifying local heterogeneities in structural and compositional motifs. TiO2 possesses unique properties depending upon its structural phase. The Ti L
2,3-edge spectrum indicates that there is an octahedron connectivity of the Oxygen atoms at the anatase state which transforms to a higher energetic tetrahedral correspondence as it proceeds towards the rutile phase. The driving force behind such interest is to modulate the properties of TiO2 NPs to better photocatalytic material and to integrate its application as a versatile energy storage device.
Oxysulfide perovskites: reduction of the electronic band gap of RbTaO3 by sulfur substitution
Authors: Akter H , Ali M A , Hossain M M , Uddin M M , Naqib S H
Published: March 2024

In this study, the effects of sulfur substitution on the structural, mechanical, electronic, optical, and thermodynamic properties of RbTaO3−x
S
x
have been investigated using the WIEN2k code in the framework of density functional theory (DFT). The cubic phase of RbTaO3 transforms to tetragonal for RbTaO2S and RbTaOS2; the latter transforms again to a cubic phase with added sulfur for RbTaS3. The results show that substituting S for O anions in RbTaO3 effectively decreased the band gap [calculated using TB-mBJ functional] from 2.717 eV to 1.438 eV, 0.286 eV, and 0.103 eV for the RbTaO3, RbTaO2S, RbTaOS2, and RbTaS3 compounds, respectively. The optical constants such as dielectric constant, refractive index, absorption coefficient, photoconductivity, reflectivity, and loss function have been calculated and analyzed. The elastic constants and moduli and their anisotropic nature were also investigated. Finally, the Debye temperature, thermal conductivity, melting temperature, specific capacities, and thermal expansion coefficients were computed and analyzed using established formalisms. The reduced band gap (1.438 eV) and high absorption coefficient (∼106 cm−1) of RbTaO2S, make it suitable for solar cell applications and for other visible light devices. Both ordered structure and super-cell have been used to cross-check results for RbTaO2S and RbTaOS2 compositions.
Combining a climate-permafrost model with fine resolution remote sensor products to quantify active-layer thickness at local scales
Authors: Zhang Caiyun , Douglas Thomas A , Brodylo David , Bosche Lauren V , Jorgenson M Torre
Published: March 2024

Quantification of active-layer thickness (ALT) over seasonally frozen terrains is critical to understand the impacts of climate warming on permafrost ecosystems in cold regions. Current large-scale process-based models cannot characterize the heterogeneous response of local landscapes to homogeneous climatic forcing. Here we linked a climate-permafrost model with a machine learning solution to indirectly quantify soil conditions reflected in the edaphic factor using high resolution remote sensor products, and then effectively estimated ALT across space and time down to local scales. Our nine-year field measurements during 2014–2022 and coincident high resolution airborne hyperspectral, lidar, and spaceborne sensor products provided a unique opportunity to test the developed protocol across two permafrost experiment stations in lowland terrains of Interior Alaska. Our developed model could explain over 60% of the variance of the field measured ALT for estimating the shallowest and deepest ALT in 2015 and 2019, suggesting the potential of the designed procedure for projecting local varying terrain response to long-term climate warming scenarios. This work will enhance the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment’s mission of combining field, airborne, and spaceborne sensor products to understand the coupling of permafrost ecosystems and climate change.
Phase compensation of a continuous-variable quantum key distribution via temporal convolutional neural network
Authors: Jiang Wenqi , Zuo Zhiyue , Luo Gaofeng , Zhang Hang , Guo Ying
Published: March 2024

Although the continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocol based on a local local oscillator (LLO) can close all the security loopholes from the transmitted local oscillator (TLO), the phase noise caused by the inaccurate phase reference information limits the performance of the protocol. To reduce the residual phase noise, in this work, we propose a phase estimation and compensation method based on the temporal convolutional neural (TCN) model, where a part of phase information obtained by measuring pilot pulses is employed as the training data and input into the TCN module. With a trained TCN module, the subsequent phase drifts can be more accurately estimated, allowing for better phase compensation and lower phase noise. Numerical analysis shows that the proposed scheme can improve the transmission distance and the secret key rate of the LLO protocol.
Odd two-variable Soergel bimodules and Rouquier complexes
Authors: Khovanov Mikhail , Putyra Krzysztof , Vaz Pedro
Published: March 2024

We consider the odd analogue of the category of Soergel bimodules. In the odd case and already for two variables, the transposition bimodule cannot be merged into the generating Soergel bimodule, forcing one into a monoidal category with a larger Grothendieck ring compared to the even case. We establish biadjointness of suitable functors and develop graphical calculi in the 2-variable case for the odd Soergel category and the related singular Soergel 2-category. We describe the odd analogue of the Rouquier complexes and establish their invertibility in the homotopy category. For three variables, the absence of a direct sum decomposition of the tensor product of generating Soergel bimodules presents an obstacle for the Reidemeister III relation to hold in the homotopy category.
Alternative community-led intervention to improve uptake of cataract surgery services in rural Tanzania—The Dodoma Community Cataract Acceptance Trial (DoCCAT): a protocol for intervention co-designing and implementation in a cluster-randomized controlled trial
Authors: Sandi Frank , Mercer Gareth , Geneau Robert , Bassett Kenneth , Bintabara Deogratius , Kalolo Albino
Published: March 2024

Age-related lens opacification (cataract) remains the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness worldwide. In low- and middle-income countries, utilization of cataract surgical services is often limited despite community-based outreach programmes. Community-led research, whereby researchers and community members collaboratively co-design intervention is an approach that ensures the interventions are locally relevant and that their implementation is feasible and socially accepted in the targeted contexts. Community-led interventions have the potential to increase cataract surgery uptake if done appropriately.

In this study, once the intervention is co-designed it will be implemented through a cluster-randomized controlled trial (cRCT) with ward as a unit of randomization.

This study will utilise both the qualitative methods for co-designing the intervention and the quantitative methods for effective assessment of the developed community-led intervention through a cRCT in 80 rural wards of Dodoma region, Tanzania (40 Intervention). The ‘intervention package’ will be developed through participatory community meetings and ongoing evaluation and modification of the intervention based on its impact on service utilization. Leask’s four stages of intervention co-creation will guide the development within Rifkin’s CHOICE framework. The primary outcomes are two: the number of patients attending eye disease screening camps, and the number of patients accepting cataract surgery. NVivo version 12 will be used for qualitative data analysis and Stata version 12 for quantitative data. Independent and paired t-tests will be performed to make comparisons between and within groups. P-values less than 0.05 will be considered statistically significant.
The central role of the identifying assumption in population size estimation
Authors: Aleshin-Guendel Serge , Sadinle Mauricio , Wakefield Jon
Published: March 2024

The problem of estimating the size of a population based on a subset of individuals observed across multiple data sources is often referred to as capture-recapture or multiple-systems estimation. This is fundamentally a missing data problem, where the number of unobserved individuals represents the missing data. As with any missing data problem, multiple-systems estimation requires users to make an untestable identifying assumption in order to estimate the population size from the observed data. If an appropriate identifying assumption cannot be found for a data set, no estimate of the population size should be produced based on that data set, as models with different identifying assumptions can produce arbitrarily different population size estimates—even with identical observed data fits. Approaches to multiple-systems estimation often do not explicitly specify identifying assumptions. This makes it difficult to decouple the specification of the model for the observed data from the identifying assumption and to provide justification for the identifying assumption. We present a re-framing of the multiple-systems estimation problem that leads to an approach that decouples the specification of the observed-data model from the identifying assumption, and discuss how common models fit into this framing. This approach takes advantage of existing software and facilitates various sensitivity analyses. We demonstrate our approach in a case study estimating the number of civilian casualties in the Kosovo war.
Comparisons of Hounsfield units and volumetric bone density in discriminating vertebral fractures on lumbar CT scans
Authors: Zhou Fengyun , Zhang Wenshuang , Geng Jian , Liu Yandong , Yuan Yi , Ma Kangkang , Cheng Zitong , Huang Pengju , Cheng Xiaoguang , Wang Ling , Liu Yajun
Published: March 2024

Objectives

To compare the performance of areal Hounsfield units (aHUs), volumetric Hounsfield units (vHUs), and volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) by quantitative CT (QCT) in discriminating vertebral fractures (VFs) risk.

Methods

We retrospectively included CT scans of the lumbar spine 101 VFs cases (60 women, mean age: 64 ± 4 years; 41 men, mean age: 73 ± 10 years) and sex- and age-matched 101 control subjects (60 women, mean age: 64 ± 4 years; 41 men, mean age: 72 ± 7 years). In order to assess the discriminatory capability of aHU, vHU, and vBMD measurements at the L1 and L2 levels in identifying VFs, we conducted binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses in men and women. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated.

Results

In both men and women with and without VFs, aHU, vHU, and vBMD were highly correlated with each other (r2 from 0.832 to 0.957, all P < .001). There was a statistically significant difference in aHU, vHU, and vBMD between subjects with and without VFs (P < .001). When age, gender, and BMI were taken into account as covariances and adjusted simultaneously, odds ratios (ORs) for aHU, vHU, and vBMD values, which represent the risk of VFs, were significant (P < .001). Compared with aHU and vHU, vBMD was more strongly associated with VF risk (vBMD: OR, 6.29; 95% CI, 3.83-10.35 vs vHU: OR, 3.64; 95% CI, 2.43-5.46 vs aHU: OR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.79-3.67). In both men and women, further, vBMD had higher values for AUC, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV compared to vHU, with vHU in turn surpassing aHU. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for discriminating VFs using the average aHU, vHU, and vBMD of 2 vertebrae was 0.72, 0.77, and 0.87 in men and 0.76, 0.79, and 0.86 in women. In both men and women, there exist statistically significant differences in the AUC when employing the 3 measurements—namely, aHU, vHU, and vBMD—to discriminate fractures (P < .05).

Conclusions

The QCT-measured vBMD is more associated with acute VFs than vHU and aHU values of the lumbar spine. Although the use of vHU and aHU values for the diagnosis of osteoporosis and discriminating fracture risk is limited to scanner- and imaging protocol-specific, they have great potential for opportunistic osteoporosis screening, particularly vHU.

Advances in knowledge

The novelty of this study presents a comparison of the VF discriminative capabilities among aHU, vHU, and vBMD. The vHU values introduced in this study demonstrate a greater capacity to discriminate fractures compared to aHU, presenting an improved clinical choice. Although its discriminatory capability is slightly lower than that of vBMD, it is more convenient to measure and does not require specialized software.
Sex differences in the pleiotropy of hearing difficulty with imaging-derived phenotypes: a brain-wide investigation
Authors: He Jun , Cabrera-Mendoza Brenda , De Angelis Flavio , Pathak Gita A , Koller Dora , Curhan Sharon G , Curhan Gary C , Mecca Adam P , van Dyck Christopher H , Polimanti Renato
Published: March 2024

Hearing difficulty (HD) is a major health burden in older adults. While ageing-related changes in the peripheral auditory system play an important role, genetic variation associated with brain structure and function could also be involved in HD predisposition.

We analysed a large-scale HD genome-wide association study (GWAS; ntotal = 501 825, 56% females) and GWAS data related to 3935 brain imaging-derived phenotypes (IDPs) assessed in up to 33 224 individuals (52% females) using multiple MRI modalities. To investigate HD pleiotropy with brain structure and function, we conducted genetic correlation, latent causal variable, Mendelian randomization and multivariable generalized linear regression analyses. Additionally, we performed local genetic correlation and multi-trait co-localization analyses to identify genomic regions and loci implicated in the pleiotropic mechanisms shared between HD and brain IDPs.

We observed a widespread genetic correlation of HD with 120 IDPs in females, 89 in males and 171 in the sex-combined analysis. The latent causal variable analysis showed that some of these genetic correlations could be due to cause-effect relationships. For seven of them, the causal effects were also confirmed by the Mendelian randomization approach: vessel volume→HD in the sex-combined analysis; hippocampus volume→HD, cerebellum grey matter volume→HD, primary visual cortex volume→HD and HD→fluctuation amplitudes of node 46 in resting-state functional MRI dimensionality 100 in females; global mean thickness→HD and HD→mean orientation dispersion index in superior corona radiata in males. The local genetic correlation analysis identified 13 pleiotropic regions between HD and these seven IDPs. We also observed a co-localization signal for the rs13026575 variant between HD, primary visual cortex volume and SPTBN1 transcriptomic regulation in females.

Brain structure and function may have a role in the sex differences in HD predisposition via possible cause-effect relationships and shared regulatory mechanisms.
Green hydrogen production from photovoltaic power station as a road map to climate change mitigation
Authors: Kamil Kehinde Ridwan , Samuel Bassey Okon , Khan Umar
Published: March 2024

The increasing recognition of hydrogen as a critical element in the global net-zero transition and its clear role in decarbonizing challenging sectors coincide with the growing urgency to address climate change. Africa's favourable renewable-energy capacity, ranging from 28% to 36% for solar, has been reported by the global solar irradiance index. However, the majority of hydrogen production today relies on fossil fuels (96%), with only a small fraction (4%) being produced through water electrolysis. Even though there have been many studies on climate change mitigation with a focus on Africa, a green hydrogen production from a photovoltaic power station approach has not been reported. Also, literature with a focus on Nigeria is lacking. This study focuses on the African green hydrogen production industry, utilizing Nigeria as a case study to explore the feasibility of generating clean hydrogen vectors from a percentage of photovoltaic power output in various regions of the country through stand-alone solar grid electrification projects. Analyses of the usage and effectiveness of the produced hydrogen fuel in each region are carried out, with the highest region having an annual output of 12 247 278 kg of green hydrogen and 8 573 094 kg of ammonia and the lowest region having an output of 511 245 kg of green hydrogen and 357 871 kg of ammonia, and the expected production from the proposed usage of 50% of the power generation output of the installed 1.6-MWp and 80-kWp solar power minigrids in the regions is calculated. The analyses were repeated for the other considered regions in the country. The results showcased the enormous advantages of the electrolytic production of hydrogen and how the greener economy project can play a major role in mitigating climate change effects and overreliance on fossil fuels as the driver of the economy in many African countries.
The gut metagenome harbors metabolic and antibiotic resistance signatures of moderate-to-severe asthma
Authors: Wilson Naomi G , Hernandez-Leyva Ariel , Schwartz Drew J , Bacharier Leonard B , Kau Andrew L
Published: March 2024

Asthma is a common allergic airway disease that has been associated with the development of the human microbiome early in life. Both the composition and function of the infant gut microbiota have been linked to asthma risk, but functional alterations in the gut microbiota of older patients with established asthma remain an important knowledge gap. Here, we performed whole metagenomic shotgun sequencing of 95 stool samples from a cross-sectional cohort of 59 healthy and 36 subjects with moderate-to-severe asthma to characterize the metagenomes of gut microbiota in adults and children 6 years and older. Mapping of functional orthologs revealed that asthma contributes to 2.9% of the variation in metagenomic content even when accounting for other important clinical demographics. Differential abundance analysis showed an enrichment of long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) metabolism pathways, which have been previously implicated in airway smooth muscle and immune responses in asthma. We also observed increased richness of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in people with asthma. Several differentially abundant ARGs in the asthma cohort encode resistance to macrolide antibiotics, which are often prescribed to patients with asthma. Lastly, we found that ARG and virulence factor (VF) richness in the microbiome were correlated in both cohorts. ARG and VF pairs co-occurred in both cohorts suggesting that virulence and antibiotic resistance traits are coselected and maintained in the fecal microbiota of people with asthma. Overall, our results show functional alterations via LCFA biosynthetic genes and increases in antibiotic resistance genes in the gut microbiota of subjects with moderate-to-severe asthma and could have implications for asthma management and treatment.
Towards limited-domain full waveform ambient noise inversion
Authors: Tsai Victor C , Sager Korbinian , Bowden Daniel C
Published: March 2024

Ambient noise tomography is a well-established tomographic imaging technique but the effect that spatially variable noise sources have on the measurements remains challenging to account for. Full waveform ambient noise inversion has emerged recently as a promising solution but is computationally challenging since even distant noise sources can have an influence on the interstation correlation functions and therefore requires a prohibitively large numerical domain, beyond that of the tomographic region of interest. We investigate a new strategy that allows us to reduce the simulation domain while still being able to account for distant contributions. To allow nearby numerical sources to account for distant true sources, we introduce correlated sources and generate a time-dependent effective source distribution at the boundary of a small region of interest that excites the correlation wavefield of a larger domain. In a series of 2-D numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the proposed methodology with correlated sources is able to successfully represent a far-field source that is simultaneously present with nearby sources and the methodology also successfully results in a robustly estimated noise source distribution. Furthermore, we show how beamforming results can be used as prior information regarding the azimuthal variation of the ambient noise sources in helping determine the far-field noise distribution. These experiments provide insight into how to reduce the computational cost needed to perform full waveform ambient noise inversion, which is key to turning it into a viable tomographic technique. In addition, the presented experiments may help reduce source-induced bias in time-dependent monitoring applications.
Feasibility of reservoir monitoring in the Groningen gas field using ghost reflections from seismic interferometry
Authors: Shirmohammadi Faezeh , Draganov Deyan , Veltmeijer Aukje , Naderloo Milad , Barnhoorn Auke
Published: March 2024

Seismic interferometry (SI) retrieves new seismic responses, for example reflections, between either receivers or sources. When SI is applied to a reflection survey with active sources and receivers at the surface, non-physical (ghost) reflections are retrieved as well. Ghost reflections, retrieved from the correlation of two primary reflections or multiples from two different depth levels, are only sensitive to the properties in the layer that cause them to appear in the result of SI, such as velocity, density and thickness. We aim to use these ghost reflections for monitoring subsurface changes, to address challenges associated with detecting and isolating changes within the target layer in monitoring. We focus on the feasibility of monitoring pore-pressure changes in the Groningen gas field in the Netherlands using ghost reflections. To achieve this, we utilize numerical modelling to simulate scalar reflection data, deploying sources and receivers at the surface. To build up subsurface models for monitoring purposes, we perform an ultrasonic transmission laboratory experiment to measure S-wave velocities at different pore pressures. Applying SI by autocorrelation to the modelled data sets, we retrieve zero-offset ghost reflections. Using a correlation operator, we determine time differences between a baseline survey and monitoring surveys. To enhance the ability to detect small changes, we propose subsampling the ghost reflections before the correlation operator and using only virtual sources with a complete illumination of receivers. We demonstrate that the retrieved time differences between the ghost reflections exhibit variations corresponding to velocity changes inside the reservoir. This highlights the potential of ghost reflections as valuable indicators for monitoring even small changes. We also investigate the effect of the sources and receivers’ geometry and spacing and the number of virtual sources and receivers in retrieving ghost reflections with high interpretability resolution.
Antibacterial Agents May Have Shifted Impacts on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Along with Decrease in Gut Bacteria
Authors: Qin Xiaofa
Published: March 2024

Lay Summary

This article discussed the likely bell-shaped complicated impacts of antibacterial agents such as food additives like some artificial sweeteners on inflammatory bowel diseases including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease along with decrease in gut bacteria.
Endemic and cryptic: different biogeographic histories of three Italian blister beetles of the genus Meloe (Coleoptera: Meloidae: Meloinae: Meloini)
Authors: Riccieri Alessandra , Spagoni Lucrezia , Bologna Marco A
Published: March 2024

The Italian geographic region is characterized by complex and diversified biogeographic patterns and is represented by a high number of endemic species. Endemic species characterized by a limited distribution range should be a primary concern in conservation. This article aimed to investigate the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of 2 Italian endemic species of the wingless blister beetle genus Meloe Linnaeus, 1758: Meloe (Eurymeloe) apenninicus and Meloe (E.) baudii. Our inferences, based on morphological characters, 2 mitochondrial (16S and COI) and 2 nuclear (CAD and 28S) markers and the use of 3 species delimitation analyses approaches, pointed out the presence of a new Italian endemic species (M. (E.) digiuliorumsp. n.), here described, and 3 different patterns of phylogenetic and biogeographic affinities. M. digiuliorum is close to the Spanish endemic M. orobatescomb. n., revealing a possible fragmentation of the ancestor range in the Pleistocene (ca. 0.84 Mya) followed by isolation in Italy and Spain. M. apenninicus is the sister species of the European-Anatolian M. rugous and M. cfr. rugosus, and this pattern originated around the Plio-Pleistocene boundary (ca. 2.83 Mya) likely influenced by the climatic fluctuations and the presence of the Alpine barrier. Finally, 2 subspecies were referred to M. baudii: the nominal one, endemic to Italy, and the Turanian-E European M. b. glazunovistat. n., disclosing a third more recent (ca. 0.64 Mya) pattern of biogeographic disjunction.
Learning competing risks across multiple hospitals: one-shot distributed algorithms
Authors: Zhang Dazheng , Tong Jiayi , Jing Naimin , Yang Yuchen , Luo Chongliang , Lu Yiwen , Christakis Dimitri A , Güthe Diana , Hornig Mady , Kelleher Kelly J , Morse Keith E , Rogerson Colin M , Divers Jasmin , Carroll Raymond J , Forrest Christopher B , Chen Yong
Published: March 2024

Objectives

To characterize the complex interplay between multiple clinical conditions in a time-to-event analysis framework using data from multiple hospitals, we developed two novel one-shot distributed algorithms for competing risk models (ODACoR). By applying our algorithms to the EHR data from eight national children’s hospitals, we quantified the impacts of a wide range of risk factors on the risk of post-acute sequelae of SARS-COV-2 (PASC) among children and adolescents.

Materials and Methods

Our ODACoR algorithms are effectively executed due to their devised simplicity and communication efficiency. We evaluated our algorithms via extensive simulation studies as applications to quantification of the impacts of risk factors for PASC among children and adolescents using data from eight children’s hospitals including the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Colorado covering over 6.5 million pediatric patients. The accuracy of the estimation was assessed by comparing the results from our ODACoR algorithms with the estimators derived from the meta-analysis and the pooled data.

Results

The meta-analysis estimator showed a high relative bias (∼40%) when the clinical condition is relatively rare (∼0.5%), whereas ODACoR algorithms exhibited a substantially lower relative bias (∼0.2%). The estimated effects from our ODACoR algorithms were identical on par with the estimates from the pooled data, suggesting the high reliability of our federated learning algorithms. In contrast, the meta-analysis estimate failed to identify risk factors such as age, gender, chronic conditions history, and obesity, compared to the pooled data.

Discussion

Our proposed ODACoR algorithms are communication-efficient, highly accurate, and suitable to characterize the complex interplay between multiple clinical conditions.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrates that our ODACoR algorithms are communication-efficient and can be widely applicable for analyzing multiple clinical conditions in a time-to-event analysis framework.
Race and Antibiotic Use for Children Hospitalized With Acute Respiratory Infections
Authors: Tan Jenna H , McGrath Caitlin L , Brothers Adam W , Fatemi Yasaman , Konold Victoria , Pak Daniel , Weissman Scott J , Zerr Danielle M , Kronman Matthew P
Published: March 2024

We sought to evaluate whether children hospitalized with acute respiratory infections experienced differences in antibiotic use by race and ethnicity. We found that likelihood of broad-spectrum antibiotic receipt differed across racial and ethnic groups. Future work should confirm this finding, evaluate causes, and ensure equitable antibiotic use.
Neuropeptide W protects against ovarian oxidative injury and reinforces ovarian steroidogenic activity via the upregulation of ERα expression
Authors: Arabacı Tamer Sevil , Şen Leyla Semiha , Güneş Kasım , Yüksel Meral , Çetinel Şule , Yeğen Berrak Ç
Published: March 2024

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of neuropeptide W (NPW) on ovarian ischemia–reperfusion-induced oxidative injury and ovarian steroid metabolism.

Methods

Rats were randomly divided into control and ischemia groups that received either saline or NPW (0.1 or 5 μg/kg/day). Bilateral ovarian ischemia was performed for 3 h followed by a 72-h reperfusion. Blood, ovary, and uterus samples were collected for biochemical and histological assessments.

Key findings

Treatment with either dose of NPW alleviated oxidative injury of the ovaries with a significant suppression in free radical formation and decreased histopathological injury in both the ovarian and uterine tissues, along with reduced lipid peroxidation and neutrophil accumulation in the uterus. Moreover, NPW treatment reversed the decrease in aromatase expression with a concomitant reduction in the expression of the inactivity enzyme estrogen sulfotransferase. Also, downregulation of estrogen receptor-α (ERα) expression in the injured ovarian tissue was abolished by NPW treatment, which implicates that the protective effect of NPW on the female reproductive system may involve the upregulation of the ERα-mediated signaling pathway.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated for the first time that NPW protects against ovarian oxidative injury and reinforces ovarian steroidogenic activity, which is accompanied by the upregulation of ERα expression in the ovaries.