bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Organic Single‐Crystalline Microwire Arrays toward High‐Performance Flexible Near‐Infrared Phototransistors
Authors: Zhang Yu , Qiu Yuchen , Li Xinyi , Guo Yangwu , Cao Shiqi , Gao Hanfei , Wu Yuchen , Jiang Lei
Published: September 2022

Flexible organic near‐infrared (NIR) phototransistors hold promising prospects for potential applications such as noninvasive bioimaging, health monitoring, and biometric authentication. For integrated circuits of high‐performance devices, organic single‐crystalline micro‐/nanostructures with precise positioning are prominently anticipated. However, the manufacturing of organic single‐crystalline arrays remains a conundrum due to difficulties encountered in patterning arrays of dewetting processes at micron‐scale confined space and modulating the dewetting dynamics. Herein, we utilize a capillary‐bridge lithography strategy to fabricate organic 1D arrays with high quality, homogeneous size, and deterministic location toward high‐performance flexible organic NIR phototransistors. Regular micro‐liquid stripes and unidirectional dewetting are synchronously achieved by adapting micropillar templates with asymmetric wettability. As a result, high‐throughput 1D arrays based organic field‐effect transistors exhibit high electron mobility up to 9.82 cm2 V–1 s–1. Impressively, flexible NIR phototransistors also show outstanding photoelectronic performances with a photosensitivity of 9.87 × 105, a responsivity of 1.79 × 104 A W−1, and a specific detectivity of 3.92 × 1014 Jones. This work paves a novel way to pattern high‐throughput organic single‐crystalline microarrays toward flexible NIR organic optoelectronics.
2D Bismuth@N‐Doped Carbon Sheets for Ultrahigh Rate and Stable Potassium Storage
Authors: Xu Anding , Zhu Qi , Li Guilan , Gong Caihong , Li Xue , Chen Huaming , Cui Jie , Wu Songping , Xu Zhiguang , Yan Yurong
Published: September 2022

Metallic Bi, as an alloying‐type anode material, has demonstrated tremendous potential for practical application of potassium‐ion batteries. However, the giant volume expansion, severe structure pulverization, and sluggish dynamics of Bi‐based materials result in unsatisfied rate performance and unstable cycling stability. Here, 2D bismuth@N‐doped carbon sheets with BiOC bond and internal void space (2D Bi@NOC) are successfully fabricated via a self‐template strategy to address these issues, which own ultrafast electrochemical kinetics and impressive long‐term cycling stability for delivering an admirable capacity of 341.7 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at 10 A g−1 and impressive rate capability of 220.6 mAh g−1 at 50 A g−1. Particularly, the in situ transmission electron microscopy observations visualize the real‐time alloying/dealloying process and reveal that plastic carbon shell and void space can availably relieve dramatic volume stress and powerfully maintain structural integrity. Density functional theory calculation and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy test certify that the robust BiOC bond is thermodynamically and kinetically beneficial for adsorption/diffusion of K+. This work will light on designing advanced high‐performance energy materials and provide important evidence for understanding the energy storage mechanism of alloy‐based materials.
Cobalt Nanoparticles Loaded on MXene for Li‐S Batteries: Anchoring Polysulfides and Accelerating Redox Reactions
Authors: Gu Qinhua , Qi Yujie , Chen Junnan , Lu Ming , Zhang Bingsen
Published: September 2022

Catalysis is regarded as an effective strategy to fundamentally increase sulfur utilization, accelerating the kinetics of the transformation between lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and lithium sulfide (Li2S) on a substrate. However, the intermodulation of catalysts and sulfur species is elusive, which is limited to the comprehensive analysis of electrochemical performance in the dynamic reaction process. Herein, cobalt nanoparticles loaded on MXene nanosheets (Co/Ti2C) are selected as sulfur hosts and the representative catalyst. By combining ex situ electrochemical results and interfacial structural chemical monitoring, the catalysis process of Co/Ti2C toward LiPSs conversion is revealed, and the outstanding performance originates from the optimization of chemical adsorption, catalytic activity, and lithium‐ion transfer behaviors, which is based on electronic/ion modulation and sufficient interfaces among catalysts and electrolyte. This work can guide the construction of electronic modulation at triple‐phase interface catalysis to overcome the shuttle effect and facilitate sulfur redox kinetics in Li‐S batteries.
Automatic software vulnerability classification by extracting vulnerability triggers
Authors: Sun Xiaobing , Li Lili , Bo Lili , Wu Xiaoxue , Wei Ying , Li Bin
Published: September 2022

Vulnerability classification is a significant activity in software development and software maintenance. Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, which utilize the descriptions in public repositories, are widely used in automatic software vulnerability classification. However, vulnerability descriptions are ordinarily short and contain many technical terms, making them difficult for machines to automatically comprehend. In this paper, we present an approach based on vulnerability triggers to automatically classify vulnerabilities. First, we extract vulnerability triggers with Bert Question and Answer (Bert Q&A). Then, we use Recurrent Convolutional Neural Networks for Text classification (TextRCNN) to classify vulnerabilities based on Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE). We statistically perform an analysis of vulnerability triggers and comprehensively evaluate the classification performance of our approach on a set of 4769 prelabeled vulnerability entries, as well as compare it with state‐of‐the‐art vulnerability classification approaches. Experiment results show that our approach can achieve a F1‐measure of 95% on extraction and 80.8% on classification.
Standardisation in AM
Authors: Pei Eujin , Kabir Israt
Published: September 2022

A standard is a published document that describes a technical specification or a list of guidelines in the form of rules, definitions, methods, vocabularies, or codes of practices. Standards provide a unified source of reference for specifying or representing products. Before the industrial revolution, manufacturers from different places used to compare and copy the dimensions and specifications of components to match those of a prototype.
Development of Material and Processing Parameters for AM
Authors: Ureña Julia , Blasco J. R. , Jordá Olga , Martínez Mario , Portolés Luis , Gonzalez-Gutierrez Joamin , Schuschnigg Stephan
Published: September 2022

The development of parameters for a certain additive technology is the key to increase the number of materials that are processed as well as the applications. This chapter shows the details to take into account for the development of parameters for various technologies.
Integrating out beyond tree level and relativistic superfluids
Authors: Joyce Austin , Nicolis Alberto , Podo Alessandro , Santoni Luca
Published: September 2022

Abstract

We revisit certain subtleties of renormalization that arise when one derives a low-energy effective action by integrating out the heavy fields of a more complete theory. Usually these subtleties are circumvented by matching some physical observables, such as scattering amplitudes, but a more involved procedure is required if one is interested in deriving the effective theory to all orders in the light fields (but still to fixed order in the derivative expansion). As a concrete example, we study the U(1) Goldstone low-energy effective theory that describes the spontaneously broken phase of a ϕ4 theory for a complex scalar. Working to lowest order in the derivative expansion, but to all orders in the Goldstones, we integrate out the radial mode at one loop and express the low-energy effective action in terms of the renormalized couplings of the UV completion. This yields the one-loop equation of state for the superfluid phase of (complex) ϕ4. We perform the same analysis for a renormalizable scalar SO(N) theory at finite chemical potential, integrating out the gapped Goldstones as well, and confirm that the effective theory for the gapless Goldstone exhibits no obvious sign of the original SO(N) symmetry.
Novel lectin-based chimeric antigen receptors target Gb3-positive tumour cells
Authors: Meléndez Ana Valeria , Velasco Cárdenas Rubí M.-H. , Lagies Simon , Strietz Juliane , Siukstaite Lina , Thomas Oliver S. , Tomisch Jana , Weber Wilfried , Kammerer Bernd , Römer Winfried , Minguet Susana
Published: September 2022

The link between cancer and aberrant glycosylation has recently become evident. Glycans and their altered forms, known as tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs), are diverse, complex and difficult to target therapeutically. Lectins are naturally occurring glycan-binding proteins  that offer a unique opportunity to recognise TACAs. T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have proven to be a successful immunotherapy against leukaemias, but so far have shown limited success in solid tumours. We developed a panel of lectin-CARs that recognise the glycosphingolipid globotriaosylceramide (Gb3), which is overexpressed in various cancers, such as Burkitt's lymphoma, colorectal, breast and pancreatic. We have selected the following lectins: Shiga toxin's B-subunit from Shigella dysenteriae, LecA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the engineered lectin Mitsuba from Mytilus galloprovincialis as antigen-binding domains and fused them to a well-known second-generation CAR. The Gb3-binding lectin-CARs have demonstrated target-specific cytotoxicity against Burkitt's lymphoma-derived cell lines as well as solid tumour cells from colorectal and triple-negative breast cancer. Our findings reveal the big potential of lectin-based CARs as therapeutical applications to target Gb3 and other TACAs expressed in haematological malignancies and solid tumours.
Anticoagulants and fracture morphology have a significant influence on total blood loss after proximal femur fractures
Authors: Fenwick Annabel , Pfann Michael , Mayr Jakob , Antonovska Iana , Wiedl Andreas , Feldmann Malte , Nuber Stefan , Förch Stefan , Mayr Edgar
Published: September 2022

Introduction

Blood loss after proximal femoral fractures is an important risk factor for postoperative outcome and recovery. The purpose of our study was to investigate the total blood loss depending on fracture type and additional risks, such as anticoagulant use, to be able to recognize vulnerable patients depending on planned surgery and underlying comorbidities.

Materials and methods

A retrospective single center study including 1478 patients treated operatively for a proximal femoral fracture between January 2016 and June 2020 at a level I trauma center. Patient data, surgical procedure, time to surgery, complications and mortality were assessed. Lab data including hemoglobin and transfusion rates were collected. The Mercuriali formula was implemented to calculate total blood loss. Linear regression was performed to identify influencing factors.

Results

One thousand four hundred seventy-eight mainly female patients were included in the study (mean age: 79.8 years) comprising 667 femoral neck fractures, 704 pertrochanteric- and 107 subtrochanteric fractures. Nearly 50% of the cohort were on anticoagulants or anti- platelet therapy. At time of admission average hemoglobin was 12.1 g/l. Linear regression proved fracture morphology, age, BMI, in-house mortality and anticoagulant use to have crucial influence on postoperative blood loss. Femoral neck fractures had a blood loss of 1227.5 ml (SD 740.4 ml), pertrochanteric fractures lost 1,474.2 ml (SD 830 ml) and subtrochanteric femoral fractures lost 1902.2 ml (SD 1,058 ml).

Conclusions

Hidden blood loss is underestimated. Anticoagulant use, fracture type, gender and BMI influence the total blood loss. Hemoglobin levels should be monitored closely. Within 48 h there was no increased mortality, so adequate time should be given to reduce anticoagulant levels and safely perform surgery.
Analyse des Einflusses der zunehmenden Feminisierung im Gesundheitswesen auf die Urologie
Authors: Himmler M. , Schultz-Lampel D. , Hellmis E. , Kowalewski K. F. , Michel M. S. , Weinberger S.
Published: September 2022

Hintergrund und Fragestellung

Ziel dieser wissenschaftlichen Arbeit war es, Genderaspekte und Trends in Klinik, Forschung und Niederlassung in der Urologie zu analysieren. Dabei lag der Fokus auf der Objektivierung des genderspezifischen Wandels im Fachgebiet „Urologie“ zum aktuellen Zeitpunkt und in der Zukunft.

Material und Methoden

Es erfolgte eine digitale Umfrage bei urologischen Ärzt:innen in Deutschland über das Portal SurveyMonkey©, welche über den E‑Mail-Verteiler der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Urologie e. V. (DGU) und des Berufsverbands der Deutschen Urologen e. V. (BvDU) an alle eingetragenen Mitglieder verschickt wurde. Es wurden Basisdaten im ambulanten und stationären Sektor erhoben, sowie geschlechtsspezifische Daten in Bezug auf Arbeitsplatzverteilung, Ziele, Zufriedenheit und Gründe für berufliche Entscheidungen.

Ergebnisse

Die Auswertung von 398 Antworten ergab, dass urologische Kolleg:innen in der Niederlassung seltener weiblich (23,6 %) und deutlich älter (mittleres Alter 53 Jahre) waren als im stationären Sektor (Frauenanteil 47,2 %, mittleres Alter 43 Jahre). Niedergelassene Vertragsärzt:innen waren mehr Männer (49,4 %) als Frauen (29,9 %) und die Niederlassung wurde von mehr Männern als Berufswunsch angegeben (28,1 % vs. 22,8 %). Die Gründe für die Niederlassung lagen bei Frauen häufiger im familiären Bereich als bei den Männern (Hauptgründe gute Gelegenheit oder Berufswunsch). Frauen arbeiteten häufiger Teilzeit (27,0 % vs. 11,5 %) und strebten häufiger eine Karriere als Oberärztin an (29,1 % der Frauen, 9,4 % der Männer). Entsprechend war der Wunsch nach einer Habilitation oder Professur bei den Frauen häufiger als bei den Männern (20,5 % vs. 15 %). Signifikant mehr Urologinnen sahen eine Ungleichheit bei den beruflichen Aufstiegschancen (59,7 % vs. 17,5 %, p < 0,001) und 73,3 % (vs. 18,5 % der Männer, p < 0,001) empfanden ihr Geschlecht als Ursache einer Benachteiligung. Dies führte zu einer signifikant geringeren Zufriedenheit von Frauen mit ihrem beruflichen Status (p = 0,008), sowie einem geringeren Gefühl der Wertschätzung (p < 0,001).

Schlussfolgerung

Um die Urologie zukunftsfähig zu machen ist es essenziell, Genderaspekte noch stärker zu berücksichtigen. Der eingeschlagene Weg, der nächsten Generation von Urolog:innen ein modernes Fachgebiet zu bieten, in dem alle Ärzt:innen unabhängig von ihrem Geschlecht gerne arbeiten, wertgeschätzt werden und Chancengleichheit herrscht, sollte unbedingt weiter verfolgt und intensiviert werden, um die Urologie für die Zukunft gut aufzustellen.
Numerical and experimental study on protective film removal towards the automation of flexible electronics assembly
Authors: Basile Vito , Fontana Gianmauro , Modica Francesco , Valori Marcello , Rebaioli Lara , Ruggeri Serena , Negri Simone Pio , Fassi Irene
Published: September 2022

Flexible electronics is one of the most promising trends in the electronics industry, with increasing implementations in several application fields. However, in industrial applications, the assembly of film-based coverlays is still performed manually, representing a bottleneck in the whole production cycle, a source of defects caused by human errors, and introducing fatiguing tasks, such as the removal of the protective film covering the base material. In a novel methodology, this latter challenge is achieved by relying on the mechanical action of a rotating tool impacting the protective film. Such a process is typically stochastic and dependent on several parameters related to the tool-coverlay interaction, and the flexibility of film-type introduces further complexity. The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of working conditions on the reliability of the process (i.e., success rate of the removal of the protective film). Finite element method (FEM) simulations are used to investigate and assess the stiffness exhibited by the component in response to the impacting force; therefore, a favorable gripping configuration is identified. An experimental campaign of the automated process is presented, aimed at assessing the effects of process parameters (tool rotating speed, adhesive thickness, approaching speed) on the protective film detachment. The results show that the process is predominantly affected by component-specific parameters, which, in turn, are significantly dependent on material supply conditions. Finally, useful insights are drawn to optimize the process and improve the design of the gripper of the robotized workcell.
The prevalence of redundant nerve roots in standing positional MRI decreases by half in supine and almost to zero in flexed seated position: a retrospective cross-sectional cohort study
Authors: Papavero Luca , Ali Nawar , Schawjinski Kathrin , Holtdirk Annette , Maas Rainer , Ebert Stella
Published: September 2022

Purpose

This retrospective cross-sectional cohort study investigated the influence of posture on lordosis (LL), length of the spinal canal (LSC), anteroposterior diameter (APD L1-L5), dural cross-sectional area (DCSA) of the lumbar spinal canal, and the prevalence of redundant nerve roots (RNR) using positional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (0.6 T).

Methods

Sixty-eight patients with single-level degenerative central lumbar spinal stenosis (cLSS) presenting with RNR in the standing position (STA) were also investigated in supine (SUP) or neutral seated (SIT) and flexed seated (FLEX) positions. Additionally, 45 patients complaining of back pain and without MRI evidence of LSS were evaluated. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

Controls (A) and patients with cLSS (B) were comparable in terms of mean age (p = 0.88) and sex (p = 0.22). The progressive transition from STA to FLEX led to a comparable decrease in LL (p = 0.97), an increase in LSC (p = 0.80), and an increase in APD L1-L5 (p = 0.78). The APD of the stenotic level increased disproportionally between the different postures, up to 67% in FLEX compared to 29% in adjacent non-stenotic levels (p < 0.001). Therefore, the prevalence of RNR decreased to 49, 26, and 4% in SUP, SIT, and FLEX, respectively.

Conclusion

The prevalence of RNR in standing position was underestimated by half in supine position. Body postures modified LL, LSC, and APD similarly in patients and controls. Stenotic levels compensated for insufficient intraspinal volume with a disproportionate enlargement when switching from the STA to FLEX.
A Phase I-II multicenter trial with Avelumab plus autologous dendritic cell vaccine in pre-treated mismatch repair-proficient (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer patients; GEMCAD 1602 study
Authors: Español-Rego Marta , Fernández-Martos Carlos , Elez Elena , Foguet Carles , Pedrosa Leire , Rodríguez Nuria , Ruiz-Casado Ana , Pineda Estela , Cid Joan , Cabezón Raquel , Oliveres Helena , Lozano Miquel , Ginés Angels , García-Criado Angeles , Ayuso Juan Ramon , Pagés Mario , Cuatrecasas Miriam , Torres Ferràn , Thomson Timothy , Cascante Marta , Benítez-Ribas Daniel , Maurel Joan
Published: September 2022

Background

Immune check-point blockade (ICB) has shown clinical benefit in mismatch repair-deficient/microsatellite instability high metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) but not in mismatch repair-proficient/microsatellite stable patients. Cancer vaccines with autologous dendritic cells (ADC) could be a complementary therapeutic approach to ICB as this combination has the potential to achieve synergistic effects.

Methods

This was a Phase I/II multicentric study with translational sub-studies, to evaluate the safety, pharmacodynamics and anti-tumor effects of Avelumab plus ADC vaccine in heavily pre-treated MSS mCRC patients. Primary objective was to determine the maximum tolerated dose and the efficacy of the combination. The primary end-point was 40% progression-free survival at 6 months with a 2 Simon Stage.

Results

A total of 28 patients were screened and 19 pts were included. Combined therapy was safe and well tolerated. An interim analysis (Simon design first-stage) recommended early termination because only 2/19 (11%) patients were disease free at 6 months. Median PFS was 3.1 months [2.1–5.3 months] and overall survival was 12.2 months [3.2–23.2 months]. Stimulation of immune system was observed in vitro but not clinically. The evaluation of basal RNA-seq noted significant changes between pre and post-therapy liver biopsies related to lipid metabolism and transport, inflammation and oxidative stress pathways.

Conclusions

The combination of Avelumab plus ADC vaccine is safe and well tolerated but exhibited modest clinical activity. Our study describes, for the first-time, a de novo post-therapy metabolic rewiring, that could represent novel immunotherapy-induced tumor vulnerabilities.
Critical Parameters for Singular Perturbation Reductions of Chemical Reaction Networks
Authors: Feliu Elisenda , Walcher Sebastian , Wiuf Carsten
Published: September 2022

We are concerned with polynomial ordinary differential systems that arise from modelling chemical reaction networks. For such systems, which may be of high dimension and may depend on many parameters, it is frequently of interest to obtain a reduction of dimension in certain parameter ranges. Singular perturbation theory, as initiated by Tikhonov and Fenichel, provides a path towards such reductions. In the present paper, we discuss parameter values that lead to singular perturbation reductions (so-called Tikhonov–Fenichel parameter values, or TFPVs). An algorithmic approach is known, but it is feasible for small dimensions only. Here, we characterize conditions for classes of reaction networks for which TFPVs arise by turning off reactions (by setting rate parameters to zero) or by removing certain species (which relates to the classical quasi-steady state approach to model reduction). In particular, we obtain definitive results for the class of complex-balanced reaction networks (of deficiency zero) and first-order reaction networks.
Temporal trends in incidence, patient characteristics, microbiology and in-hospital mortality in patients with infective endocarditis: a contemporary analysis of 86,469 cases between 2007 and 2019
Authors: Becher Peter Moritz , Goßling Alina , Fluschnik Nina , Schrage Benedikt , Seiffert Moritz , Schofer Niklas , Blankenberg Stefan , Kirchhof Paulus , Westermann Dirk , Kalbacher Daniel
Published: September 2022

Background

Infective endocarditis (IE) is characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates, despite recent improvements in diagnostics and treatment. We aimed to investigate incidence, clinical characteristics, and in-hospital mortality in a large-scale nationwide cohort.

Methods

Using data from the German Federal Bureau of Statistics, all IE cases in Germany between 2007 and 2019 were analyzed. Logistic regression models were fitted to assess associations between clinical factors and in-hospital mortality.

Results

In total, 86,469 patients were hospitalized with IE between 2007 and 2019. The mean age was 66.5 ± 14.7 years and 31.8% (n = 27,534/86,469) were female. Cardiovascular (CV) comorbidities were common. The incidence of IE in the German population increased from 6.3/100,000 to 10.2/100,000 between 2007 and 2019. Staphylococcus (n = 17,673/86,469; 20.4%) and streptococcus (n = 17,618/86,469; 20.4%) were the most common IE-causing bacteria. The prevalence of staphylococcus gradually increased over time, whereas blood culture-negative IE (BCNIE) cases decreased. In-hospital mortality in patients with IE was 14.9%. Compared to BCNIE, staphylococcus and Gram-negative pathogens were associated with higher in-hospital mortality. In multivariable analysis, factors associated with higher likelihood of in-hospital mortality were advanced age, female sex, CV comorbidities (e.g., heart failure, COPD, diabetes, stroke), need for dialysis or invasive ventilation, and sepsis.

Conclusions

In this contemporary cohort, incidence of IE increased over time and in-hospital mortality remained high (~ 15%). While staphylococcus and streptococcus were the predominant microorganisms, bacteremia with staphylococcus and Gram-negative pathogens were associated with higher likelihood of in-hospital mortality. Our results highlight the need for new preventive strategies and interventions in patients with IE.

Graphical abstract
Factors associated with change in the need for recovery and subjective listening effort in employees with hearing loss receiving aural rehabilitation
Authors: van der Hoek-Snieders Hanneke E. M. , Boymans Monique , Dreschler Wouter A.
Published: September 2022

Objective

Compared to normally-hearing employees, those with hearing loss suffer from higher Need For Recovery (NFR) after work. The aims of this study are to assess the NFR of employees with hearing loss before and after aural rehabilitation and to examine to what extent change in the NFR can be explained by changes in subjective listening effort, personal adjustments, communication strategies, auditory work demands, and self-reported hearing ability.

Methods

We included patients who received aural rehabilitation in two audiological centers in the Netherlands because of hearing complaints in their work situation. Outcomes were measured by questionnaires at baseline and 3 month follow-up. The NFR before and after the rehabilitation was compared with a t test. Hierarchical multiple analyses were performed.

Results

In total, 60 patients (aged 22–63, working hours ≥8 per week) participated in the study, of which 50 completed the follow-up questionnaires. The NFR was significantly lower after the aural rehabilitation (M = 45.03) compared to before the aural rehabilitation (M = 51.89), t = −3.43, p < 0.01). Change in NFR could best be explained by the change in personal adjustments (R2 = 0.45, B = −1.23, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

The NFR of employees with hearing loss can be improved by aural rehabilitation, but this study shows that current practices reduce the NFR only in part of the employees. Therefore, improving current practices should be considered and evaluated, for example by applying a different combination of rehabilitation components. Especially, interventions that affect personal adjustments may be promising to further reduce the NFR in employees with hearing loss.
Increased use of high-flow nasal cannulas after the pandemic in bronchiolitis: a more severe disease or a changed physician’s attitude?
Authors: Ghirardo Sergio , Cozzi Giorgio , Tonin Giovanna , Risso Francesco Maria , Dotta Laura , Zago Alessandro , Lupia Daniela , Cogo Paola , Ullmann Nicola , Coretti Antonella , Badolato Raffaele , Amaddeo Alessandro , Barbi Egidio , Cutrera Renato
Published: September 2022

After the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we noticed a marked increase in high-flow nasal cannula use for bronchiolitis. This study aims to report the percentage of children treated with high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in various seasons. The secondary outcomes were admissions for bronchiolitis, virological results, hospital burden, and NICU/PICU need. We conducted a retrospective study in four Italian hospitals, examining the medical records of all infants (< 12 months) hospitalized for bronchiolitis in the last four winter seasons (1 September–31 March 2018–2022). In the 2021–2022 winter season, 66% of admitted children received HFNC versus 23%, 38%, and 35% in the previous 3 years. A total of 876 patients were hospitalized in the study periods. In 2021–2022, 300 infants were hospitalized for bronchiolitis, 22 in 2020–2021, 259 in 2019–2020, and 295 in 2018–2019. The percentage of patients needing intensive care varied from 28.7% to 18%, 22%, and 15% in each of the four considered periods (p < 0.05). Seventy-seven percent of children received oxygen in the 2021–2022 winter; vs 50%, 63%, and 55% (p < 0.01) in the previous 3 years. NIV/CPAP was used in 23%, 9%, 16%, and 12%, respectively. In 2021–2020, 2% of patients were intubated; 0 in 2020–2021, 3% in 2019–2020, and 1% in 2018–2019.

Conclusion: This study shows a marked increase in respiratory support and intensive care admissions this last winter. While these severity indexes were all driven by medical choices, more reliable indexes such as intubation rate and length of stay did not change. Therefore, we suggest that there is a more aggressive treatment attitude rather than a more severe disease.

What is Known:• COVID-19 pandemic deeply impacted bronchiolitis epidemiology, reducing hospitalizations to onetenth. In the 2021-2022 winter, bronchiolitis resurged to pre-pandemic numbers in Europe.

What is New:• Bronchiolitis hospitalization rose much faster in the 2021-2022 winter period, peaking at a higher level. Respiratory supports and high-flow nasal cannula increased significantly compared to the pre-pandemic era.
Expanding Rehabilitation Options for Dysphagia: Skill-Based Swallowing Training
Authors: Huckabee Maggie-Lee , Flynn Ruth , Mills Madeline
Published: September 2022

Over the past four decades, our understanding of swallowing neural control has expanded dramatically. However, until recently, advances in rehabilitation approaches for dysphagia have not kept pace, with a persistent focussing on strengthening peripheral muscle. This approach is no doubt very appropriate for some if not many of our patients. But what if the dysphagia is not due to muscles weakness? The purpose of this clinical manuscript is to reflect on where we have been, where we are now and perhaps where we need to go in terms of our understanding of swallowing motor control and rehabilitation of motor control impairments. This compilation is presented to clinicians in the hope that suggesting approaches “outside the box” will inspire clinicians to focus their attention “inside the box” to ultimately improve rehabilitation and long-term outcomes for patients with dysphagia.
On the mean square displacement of intruders in freely cooling granular gases
Authors: Abad Enrique , Yuste Santos Bravo , Garzó Vicente
Published: September 2022

We compute the mean square displacement (MSD) of intruders immersed in a freely cooling granular gas made up of smooth inelastic hard spheres. In general, intruders and particles of the granular gas are assumed to have different mechanical properties, implying that non-equipartition of energy must be accounted for in the computation of the diffusion coefficientD. In the hydrodynamic regime, the time decay of the granular temperatureTof the cooling granular gas is known to be dictated by Haff’s law; the corresponding decay of the intruder’s collision frequency entails a time decrease of the diffusion coefficientD. Explicit knowledge of this time dependence allows us to determine the MSD by integrating the corresponding diffusion equation. As in previous studies of self-diffusion (intruders mechanically equivalent to gas particles) and the Brownian limit (intruder’s mass much larger than the grain’s mass), we find a logarithmic time dependence of the MSD as a consequence of Haff’s law. This dependence extends well beyond the two aforementioned cases, as it holds in all spatial dimensions for arbitrary values of the mechanical parameters of the system (masses and diameters of intruders and grains, as well as their coefficients of normal restitution). Our result for self-diffusion in a three-dimensional granular gas agrees qualitatively, but not quantitatively, with that recently obtained by Blumenfeld [arXiv: 2111.06260] in the framework of a random walk model. Beyond the logarithmic time growth, we find that the MSD depends on the mechanical system parameters in a highly complex way. We carry out a comprehensive analysis from which interesting features emerge, such a non-monotonic dependence of the MSD on the coefficients of normal restitution and on the intruder-grain mass ratio. To explain the observed behaviour, we analyze in detail the intruder’s random walk, consisting of ballistic displacements interrupted by anisotropic deflections caused by the collisions with the hard spheres. We also show that the MSD can be thought of as arising from an equivalent random walk with isotropic, uncorrelated steps. Finally, we derive some results for the MSD of an intruder inmersed in a driven granular gas and compare them with those obtained for the freely cooling case. In general, we find significant quantitative differences in the dependence of the scaled diffusion coefficient on the coefficient of normal restitution for the grain-grain collisions.

Graphic abstract
Robust convex optimization: A new perspective that unifies and extends
Authors: Bertsimas Dimitris , Hertog Dick den , Pauphilet Jean , Zhen Jianzhe
Published: September 2022

Robust convex constraints are difficult to handle, since finding the worst-case scenario is equivalent to maximizing a convex function. In this paper, we propose a new approach to deal with such constraints that unifies most approaches known in the literature and extends them in a significant way. The extension is either obtaining better solutions than the ones proposed in the literature, or obtaining solutions for classes of problems unaddressed by previous approaches. Our solution is based on an extension of the Reformulation-Linearization-Technique, and can be applied to general convex inequalities and general convex uncertainty sets. It generates a sequence of conservative approximations which can be used to obtain both upper- and lower- bounds for the optimal objective value. We illustrate the numerical benefit of our approach on a robust control and robust geometric optimization example.
Höchste Zeit für einen Gaspreisdeckel: ein wichtiges Instrument im Kampf gegen Energiepreisbelastung
Authors: Dullien Sebastian , Weber Isabella M.
Published: September 2022

The explosive increase of the price of natural gas is a key driver of inflation in Germany. At the same time, physical gas shortages in the fall or winter are a plausible scenario. A policy response is urgently needed that protects households from skyrocketing heating costs while at the same time maintaining price incentives to save gas. We have proposed a gas price cap for households’ basic consumption and market prices for all demand above that guaranteed base. Our proposal has been widely discussed by economists and policy makers. In this article, we respond to some criticisms, provide details on the feasibility of our proposal, and urge for swift political action.
Erratum: Zum Wirtschaftsdienst Heft 7/2022
Authors:   Wirtschaftsdienst Redaktion
Published: September 2022

Die Seitenzahlen in unserem Juli-Heft waren fehlerhaft. Die fortlaufende Nummerierung begann fälschlicherweise mit bereits verwendeten Seitenzahlen. Ein korrigiertes Heft wurde versendet und online aktualisiert.
Linkage to HIV Care Following HIV Self-testing Among Men: Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Studies from Six Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Hlongwa Mbuzeleni , Hlongwana Khumbulani , Makhunga Sizwe , Choko Augustine T. , Dzinamarira Tafadzwa , Conserve Donaldson , Tsai Alexander C.
Published: September 2022

Gender disparities are pervasive throughout the HIV care continuum in sub-Saharan Africa, with men testing, receiving treatment, and achieving viral suppression at lower rates, and experiencing mortality at higher rates, compared with women. HIV self-testing (HIVST) has been shown to be highly acceptable among men in sub-Saharan Africa. However, evidence on linkage to HIV care following a reactive HIVST result is limited. In this systematic review, we aimed to synthesize the quantitative and qualitative literature from sub-Saharan Africa on men’s rates of linkage to HIV care after receiving a reactive HIVST result. We systematically searched 14 bibliometric databases. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flow diagram was used to document the screening results. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Of 22,446 references screened, 15 articles were eligible for inclusion in this review. Linkage to HIV care following a reactive HIVST result was subject to several barriers: financial constraints due to travelling costs, potential long waiting hours at the clinics, stigma, discrimination, and privacy concerns. Men’s rates of seeking confirmatory testing and linking to HIV care following a reactive HIVST result were inconsistent across studies. Combining financial incentives with HIVST was found to increase the likelihood of linking to HIV care following a reactive HIVST result. The variable rates of linkage to HIV care following a reactive HIVST result suggest a need for further research and development into strategies to increase linkage to HIV care.
Molecular detection of spotted fever group rickettsiae in hedgehogs (Erinaceus amurensis) and hedgehog-attached ticks in Xuyi County, Southeast China
Authors: Zhu Changqiang , Ai Lele , Qi Yong , Liu Yunsheng , Li Hong , Ye Fuqiang , Wang Qiuwei , Luo Yizhe , Tan Weilong , Shi Chunmeng
Published: September 2022

Tick-borne diseases like Rickettsia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia are widespread infectious zoonoses that threaten the health of both humans and animals worldwide. Ticks and their hosts, such as hedgehogs, can play a crucial role in transmitting tick-borne diseases and the cycle of Rickettsia. To investigate the presence and identity of Rickettsia in hedgehogs and hedgehog-attached ticks in Xuyi County, Southeast China, 114 ticks were collected from 45 hedgehogs captured totally. Via morphological and molecular methods, all these ticks were identified as two species: Haemaphysalis flava (110/114, 96.5%) and Haemaphysalis longicornis (4/114, 3.5%). Rickettsia spp. were genotypically characterized by PCR targeting rrs, gltA, ompA, ompB, and sca4 gene fragments. The prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) infection found in hedgehogs and ticks was 17.8% (8/45) and 78.1% (89/114), respectively. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that those Rickettsia spp. belong to two species: Rickettsia heilongjiangensis (R. heilongjiangensis XY-1) and a potential new species, Candidatus Rickettsia xuyiensis XY-2. The present study gave the first evidence of R. heilongjiangensis and Candidatus R. xuyiensis in ticks and hedgehogs of Southeast China. Our findings suggest that hedgehogs might be involved in the natural transmission cycle of Rickettsia species.
Reliability and Validity of the Colombian Version of the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory
Authors: Romero Duban , Mebarak Moisés , Millán Anthony , Tovar-Castro Juan Camilo , Martinez Martha , Rodrigues David L.
Published: September 2022

Sociosexuality refers to an individual’s disposition to have casual sex without establishing affective bonds and has been widely studied worldwide using the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R; Penke & Asendorpf, 2008). Despite its many validations in different cultural contexts, no psychometric analyses of this instrument have been conducted in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the psychometric properties of the SOI-R in Colombia. In a cross-sectional study with a large sample of participants (N = 812; 64% women), we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify different factor structures and determine which had the best fit for our sample and examined the reliability of the scale. Results showed that a three-factor structure, with sociosexual behaviors, attitudes, and desire as first-order factors, and global sociosexuality as a second-order factor, had the best fit indexes. Each factor presented good reliability indexes. Replicating already established gender differences, we also found that men scored higher on each factor when compared to women. These findings show that the SOI-R is a reliable and valid instrument to assess sociosexuality in countries where sociosexuality research is underrepresented.
Tobacco as an efficient metal accumulator
Authors: Kozak Katarzyna , Antosiewicz Danuta Maria
Published: September 2022

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is an important industrial crop plant. However, it efficiently accumulates metals, primarily cadmium (Cd) and also zinc (Zn), in its leaves. Therefore, it could be a source of cadmium intake by smokers. On the other hand, as a high leaf metal accumulator, it is widely used for phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soil. Both issues provide an important rationale for investigating the processes regulating metal homeostasis in tobacco. This work summarizes the results of research to date on the understanding of the molecular mechanisms determining the effective uptake of Zn and Cd, their translocation into shoots and accumulation in leaves. It also discusses the current state of research to improve the phytoremediation properties of tobacco through genetic modification and to limit leaf Cd content for the tobacco industry.

Graphical Abstract
The existential risk space of climate change
Authors: Huggel Christian , Bouwer Laurens M. , Juhola Sirkku , Mechler Reinhard , Muccione Veruska , Orlove Ben , Wallimann-Helmer Ivo
Published: September 2022

Climate change is widely recognized as a major risk to societies and natural ecosystems but the high end of the risk, i.e., where risks become existential, is poorly framed, defined, and analyzed in the scientific literature. This gap is at odds with the fundamental relevance of existential risks for humanity, and it also limits the ability of scientific communities to engage with emerging debates and narratives about the existential dimension of climate change that have recently gained considerable traction. This paper intends to address this gap by scoping and defining existential risks related to climate change. We first review the context of existential risks and climate change, drawing on research in fields on global catastrophic risks, and on key risks and the so-called Reasons for Concern in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We also consider how existential risks are framed in the civil society climate movement as well as what can be learned in this respect from the COVID-19 crisis. To better frame existential risks in the context of climate change, we propose to define them as those risks that threaten the existence of a subject, where this subject can be an individual person, a community, or nation state or humanity. The threat to their existence is defined by two levels of severity: conditions that threaten (1) survival and (2) basic human needs. A third level, well-being, is commonly not part of the space of existential risks. Our definition covers a range of different scales, which leads us into further defining six analytical dimensions: physical and social processes involved, systems affected, magnitude, spatial scale, timing, and probability of occurrence. In conclusion, we suggest that a clearer and more precise definition and framing of existential risks of climate change such as we offer here facilitates scientific analysis as well societal and political discourse and action.
A Novel Method for Smart Fire Detection Using Acoustic Measurements and Machine Learning: Proof of Concept
Authors: Martinsson John , Runefors Marcus , Frantzich Håkan , Glebe Dag , McNamee Margaret , Mogren Olof
Published: September 2022

Fires are a major hazard resulting in high monetary costs, personal suffering, and irreplaceable losses. The consequences of a fire can be mitigated by early detection systems which increase the potential for successful intervention. The number of false alarms in current systems can for some applications be very high, but could be reduced by increasing the reliability of the detection system by using complementary signals from multiple sensors. The current study investigates the novel use of machine learning for fire event detection based on acoustic sensor measurements. Many materials exposed to heat give rise to acoustic emissions during heating, pyrolysis and burning phases. Further, sound is generated by the heat flow associated with the flame itself. The acoustic data collected in this study is used to define an acoustic sound event detection task, and the proposed machine learning method is trained to detect the presence of a fire event based on the emitted acoustic signal. The method is able to detect the presence of fire events from the examined material types with an overall F-score of 98.4%. The method has been developed using laboratory scale tests as a proof of concept and needs further development using realistic scenarios in the future.
Equivalence checking and intersection of deterministic timed finite state machines
Authors: Bresolin Davide , El-Fakih Khaled , Villa Tiziano , Yevtushenko Nina
Published: September 2022

There has been a growing interest in defining models of automata enriched with time, such as finite automata extended with clocks (timed automata). In this paper, we study deterministic timed finite state machines (TFSMs), i.e., finite state machines with a single clock, timed guards and timeouts which transduce timed input words into timed output words. We solve the problem of equivalence checking by defining a bisimulation from timed FSMs to untimed ones and vice versa. Moreover, we apply these bisimulation relations to build the intersection of two timed finite state machines by untiming them, intersecting them and transforming back to the timed intersection. It is known that many problems like inclusion and equivalence checking are undecidable for timed automata. Our results show that TFSMs correspond to a decidable subclass of timed automata that admits a restricted form of $$\varepsilon $$
ε
-transitions (i.e., timeouts) where most of the relevant problems like equivalence and intersection are decidable.
Students Do Not Always Mean What We Think They Mean: A Questioning Strategy to Elicit the Reasoning Behind Unexpected Causal Patterns in Student System Models
Authors: Stephens A. Lynn , Roderick Steven , Shin Namsoo , Damelin Daniel
Published: September 2022

An ability to engage in system thinking is necessary to understand complex problems. While many pre-college students use system modeling tools, there is limited evidence of student reasoning about causal relationships that interact in diverging and converging chains, and how these affect system behavior. A chemistry unit on gas phenomena was implemented in two successive years with 73 high school students. Although the phenomena could be explained with simple linear causal reasoning, many student models included surprising and problematic causal chains and non-linear patterns. Commonly, discussion about student models in classrooms and interviews focuses on individual causal relationships. However, in our experience, this can fail to bring to the surface conceptual issues that result from the combination of two or more relationships. Using interview data from 19 students, we looked for instances where students explained their conceptions and we identified questioning strategies that elicited these explanations. Questions that appeared most productive asked about distal relationships between nonadjacent variables in model substructures of three to four variables. In response to these questions, eight students expressed their thinking about relationship combinations, including unexpected reasoning that had not emerged during classroom instruction. Using exemplars from three interviews, we argue that students engage in complex causal reasoning that may be implicit and unexpected, and that if this is not recognized, it cannot be responded to during instruction. We suggest that using model substructures as a mutual visual referent along with a simple questioning strategy shows promise for helping students make their causal reasoning explicit.