bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Alginate and Nanocellulose Dressings With Extract From Salmon Roe Reduce Inflammation and Accelerate Healing of Porcine Burn Wounds
Authors: Gilljam Karin M , Stenlund Patrik , Standoft Simon , Andersen Sisse Bindslev , Kaaber Kari , Lund Henrik , Bryn Karl R K
Published: January 2023

Partial-thickness thermal burn wounds are characterized by a prolonged inflammatory response, oxidative stress, tissue damage, and secondary necrosis. An optimal dressing for burn wounds would reduce inflammation and oxidative stress while providing a moist, absorbent, and protective cover. We have developed an extract from unfertilized salmon roe containing components with potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties, called HTX. HTX has been combined with alginate from brown algae and nanocellulose from tunicates, and 3D printed into a solid hydrogel wound dressing called Collex. Here, Collex was tested on partial thickness burn wounds in Göttingen minipigs compared to Jelonet, and a variant of Collex without HTX. We found that dermal treatment of burn wounds with Collex resulted in accelerated healing at a majority of measured points over 23 days, compared to treatment with Jelonet. In comparison to Collex without HTX, Collex enhanced healing in the first week after trauma where wound progression was pronounced. Notably, Collex reduced the inflammatory response in the early post-injury phase. The anti-inflammatory response of Collex was investigated in more detail on activated M1 macrophages. We found that Collex, as well as HTX alone, significantly reduced the secretion of pro-inflammatory interleukin-1β as well as intracellular levels of oxidative stress. The results from this study indicate that Collex is a potent dressing for the treatment of burn wounds, with the anti-inflammatory effect of HTX beneficial in the initial phase, and the moist qualities of the hydrogel favorable both in the initial and the proceeding proliferative phase of wound healing.
How Do Consumers Read and Encode a Price?
Authors: Laurent Gilles , Vanhuele Marc
Published: January 2023

Do consumers really read a price from left to right, as assumed in past research? Or does price reading operate like word reading, with a single fixation toward the middle? Three eye-tracking lab studies reject both theories, revealing instead a distinct reading pattern: multiple fixations, with the first located on average between the first third and middle of the price; the first eye movement is usually to the left; and subsequent eye movements are as often to the left as to the right. Overall, consumers pay as much attention to cents as euros, with the cents part influencing how prices are encoded in memory, as evidenced by an in-store price-recall survey. The reading process identifies whether to encode a price verbally as is or replace it with a shorter substitute that is easier to memorize and turns out to be well correlated with the actual price (r = 0.952). When consumers compare two prices, eye movements and the subsequent subjective estimation of the price difference depend on whether or not the prices have identical integer parts. The combined findings of four studies suggest that consumers have developed a reliable, efficient ability to read and encode prices, despite limitations of their visual span and working memory.
Allocation of Institutional Responsibility for Climate Change Mitigation: Judicial Application of Constitutional Environmental Provisions in the European Climate Cases Arctic Oil, Neubauer, and l’Affaire du siècle
Authors: Hellner Agnes , Epstein Yaffa
Published: January 2023

This article examines three constitutional environmental provisions and how they have been applied by courts in Europe in three climate cases from Norway, Germany and France. In each of these cases, directive principles, that is, constitutionally entrenched state obligations to protect social values, generally by enacting legislation, played a key role in judicial decisions regarding climate change mitigation. We engage with Lael K. Weis’s analytical framework on directive principles to clarify the allocation of institutional responsibility for climate change mitigation as applied in these three cases, and argue that clarifying these roles alleviates some of the criticism regarding the democratic legitimacy of judicial decision making on climate change. Importantly, while courts do not directly enforce these types of constitutional directive principles, they must adjudicate them. When courts interpret constitutionally mandated legislation in light of directive principles, they develop new constitutional environmental norms. While most scholarly analysis of environmental constitutionalism has focused on environmental rights, our examination confirms Weis’s thesis that directive principles aimed at legislatures are also important forms of environmental constitutionalism, and deserving of further attention.
Predictors of genomic diversity within North American squamates
Authors: Larkin Ivy E , Myers Edward A , Carstens Bryan C , Barrow Lisa N
Published: January 2023

Comparisons of intraspecific genetic diversity across species can reveal the roles of geography, ecology, and life history in shaping biodiversity. The wide availability of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences in open-access databases makes this marker practical for conducting analyses across several species in a common framework, but patterns may not be representative of overall species diversity. Here, we gather new and existing mtDNA sequences and genome-wide nuclear data (genotyping-by-sequencing; GBS) for 30 North American squamate species sampled in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. We estimated mtDNA nucleotide diversity for 2 mtDNA genes, COI (22 species alignments; average 16 sequences) and cytb (22 species; average 58 sequences), as well as nuclear heterozygosity and nucleotide diversity from GBS data for 118 individuals (30 species; 4 individuals and 6,820 to 44,309 loci per species). We showed that nuclear genomic diversity estimates were highly consistent across individuals for some species, while other species showed large differences depending on the locality sampled. Range size was positively correlated with both cytb diversity (phylogenetically independent contrasts: R2 = 0.31, P = 0.007) and GBS diversity (R2 = 0.21; P = 0.006), while other predictors differed across the top models for each dataset. Mitochondrial and nuclear diversity estimates were not correlated within species, although sampling differences in the data available made these datasets difficult to compare. Further study of mtDNA and nuclear diversity sampled across species’ ranges is needed to evaluate the roles of geography and life history in structuring diversity across a variety of taxonomic groups.
CRISPR/Cas9-induced Mutation ofSex Peptide ReceptorGeneBdsprAffects Ovary, Egg Laying, and Female Fecundity inBactrocera dorsalis(Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Authors: Chen Hao , Sun Hao , Xie Junfei , Yao Zhichao , Zheng Wenping , Li Ziniu , Deng Zhurong , Li Xiaoxue , Zhang Hongyu
Published: January 2023

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is an invasive and polyphagous pest of horticultural crops, and it can cause huge economic losses in agricultural production. The rapid development of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology has provided new opportunities for the scientific control of agricultural pests. Here, we explore the applicability of the B. dorsalis sex peptide receptor (Bdspr) as a target gene for the CRISPR/Cas9-based sterile insect technique (SIT) in B. dorsalis. We screened two high-efficient single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) for gene editing. The results showed that both mutation efficiency and germline transmission rate were 100% in the surviving G0 females (8/8) from injected embryos, and that 75% of mosaically mutated G0 females (6/8) were sterile. The 50% of heterozygous G1 females (4/8) could not lay eggs; 100% of eggs laid by them could not survive; and 62.5% of individual females (5/8) had abnormal ovaries. These results indicate that Bdspr plays an important role in regulating fertility, egg viability, and ovary development in female B. dorsalis, suggesting that the spr gene can be used for CRISPR/Cas9-based SIT in B. dorsalis.
Gastrointestinal tract metastasis with subsequent intussusception and obstruction from an invasive lobular breast cancer: a case report
Authors: Katuwal Binit , Morin Donald , Kolachalam Ramachandra
Published: January 2023

Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in female population with lobular subtype comprising about 10% of all breast cancers. Breast cancer metastasis occurs in 0.3–18% of patients, with lobular cancer again being the most common subtype. We present an 85-year-old female with previous history of right breast lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), who was diagnosed to have lobular carcinoma of breast metastasising to stomach after 10 years of initial diagnosis. After 2 years, the patient was found to have metastasis to the terminal ileum and caecum causing intussusception, which led to obstruction. The patient’s primary LCIS was estrogen receptor (ER) positive, progesterone receptor (PR) negative and Her2neu negative, which correlated with both the gastric and ileocecal lesions. The gastric and ileocecal masses both were positive for CK7 and GATA 3 and negative for E-cadherin and CD20. Detailed morphological and immunohistochemical analysis can differentiate primary lobular cancer of the gastrointestinal tract from metastatic cancer.
An Aramaic Verb Form in a Neo-Babylonian Letter
Authors: Berzon Ekaterina , Kalinin Maksim , Koval Sergey , Loesov Sergey
Published: January 2023

This paper offers an interpretation of an insufficiently understood verb form in the Neo-Babylonian letter OIP 114, 17:8, 29, thereby clarifying its contents. The word in question is shown to be an Aramaic verb form. This interpretation is supported by observations on the orthography and phonology of early Neo-Babylonian. It follows from the study that in eighth-century Neo-Babylonian two glottalized (‘emphatic’) consonants in the same word still underwent dissimilation, as in the second millennium bce (Geers’ law). The paper also demonstrates that, against communis opinio, erstwhile Aramaic fricative interdentals had shifted to stops by the eighth century bce, while the orthography of contemporaneous Aramaic alphabetic texts reflected an earlier stage of language evolution. This conclusion has been reached by means of comparing cuneiform renderings of proto-Semitic interdentals in West Semitic personal names in eighteenth-century bce Old Babylonian texts and in Neo-Babylonian texts from the ninth and eighth centuries bce.
Melioidosis in a traveller from Africa
Authors: Igea Pilar , Quereda Carmen , Gomez G de la Pedrosa Elia , Montaño Lorena , Tato Marta , Norman Francesca F
Published: January 2023

A high index of suspicion is necessary to diagnose imported melioidosis in travellers from Africa. Known risk factors include diabetes mellitus, old age and exposure to soil and water. Processing of samples may pose a risk and requires handling in a biosafety level 3 facility.
Belowground carbon allocation, root trait plasticity, and productivity during drought and warming in a pasture grass
Authors: Chandregowda Manjunatha H , Tjoelker Mark G , Pendall Elise , Zhang Haiyang , Churchill Amber C , Power Sally A
Published: January 2023

Sustaining grassland production in a changing climate requires an understanding of plant adaptation strategies, including trait plasticity under warmer and drier conditions. However, our knowledge to date disproportionately relies on aboveground responses, despite the importance of belowground traits in maintaining aboveground growth, especially in grazed systems. We subjected a perennial pasture grass, Festuca arundinacea, to year-round warming (+3 °C) and cool-season drought (60% rainfall reduction) in a factorial field experiment to test the hypotheses that: (i) drought and warming increase carbon allocation belowground and shift root traits towards greater resource acquisition and (ii) increased belowground carbon reserves support post-drought aboveground recovery. Drought and warming reduced plant production and biomass allocation belowground. Drought increased specific root length and reduced root diameter in warmed plots but increased root starch concentrations under ambient temperature. Higher diameter and soluble sugar concentrations of roots and starch storage in crowns explained aboveground production under climate extremes. However, the lack of association between post-drought aboveground biomass and belowground carbon and nitrogen reserves contrasted with our predictions. These findings demonstrate that root trait plasticity and belowground carbon reserves play a key role in aboveground production during climate stress, helping predict pasture responses and inform management decisions under future climates.
The Continued Need for the Routine Assessment of Folate Status
Authors: Osa-Andrews Bremansu , Sanchez Melissa , Hashim Ibrahim A
Published: January 2023

Objective

The Choosing Wisely initiative recommended cessation of folate measurement, suggesting folate supplementation in macrocytic anemia. This study reviewed the need for continued blood folate testing at a large SafetyNet county teaching hospital.

Methods

Red blood cell (RBC) folate, vitamin B12, iron, ferritin, and hemoglobin results were obtained for utilization review.

Results

Of the 593 RBC folate results, 69 (11.7%) were deficient and 30 (5%) had high values. Collectively, 369 (73.9%) had normal vitamin B12 levels, 342 (70%) had low hemoglobin, 184 (62.5) had normal and 57 (19.4%) had low ferritin, 122 (38.2%) had normal and 188 (59%) had low iron levels. A total of 41 (12%) had normal folate, low ferritin, low hemoglobin, and low iron, suggestive of iron deficiency anemia. There were 11 patients who exhibited low folate, low or normal ferritin, low hemoglobin, and low iron levels, suggesting combined folate and iron deficiency anemias.

Conclusion

This study highlights the need for institutions to assess the applicability of national recommendations to their local population.
Some stylometric remarks on Ovid’sHeroidesand theEpistula Sapphus
Authors: Nagy Benjamin
Published: January 2023

This article contributes to two well-worn areas of debate in classical Latin philology, relating to Ovid’s Heroides. The first is the question of the authenticity (and, to a lesser extent the correct position) of the letter placed 15th in almost every collection—the so-called Epistula Sapphus (henceforth ES). The secondary question, although perhaps now less fervently debated, is the authenticity of the ‘Double Heroides’, placed by those who accept them as letters 16–21. I employ a variety of methods drawn from the domain of computational stylometry to consider the poetics and the lexico-grammatical features of these elegiac poems in the broader context of a corpus of ‘shorter’ (from 20 to 546 lines) elegiac works from five authors (266 poems in all) representing most of classical elegy. Based on a variety of techniques, every measure gives clear indication that the poetic style of the Heroides is genuinely Ovidian, but distinctive; they can be accurately isolated from Ovid more broadly. The Single and Double Heroides split into two clear groups, with the ES grouped consistently with the single letters. Furthermore, by comparing the style of the letters with the ‘early’ (although there are complications in this label) works of the Amores and the late works of the Ex Ponto, the evidence supports sequential composition—meaning that the ES is correctly placed—and, further, supports the growing consensus that the double letters were composed significantly later, in exile.
Mental capacity—why look for a paradigm shift?
Authors: Ruck Keene Alex , Kane Nuala B , Kim Scott Y H , Owen Gareth S
Published: January 2023

Challenges to the legitimacy of mental capacity over the past 10 years have been spearheaded by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the treaty body for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This challenge has been asserted to have produced a ‘paradigm shift’. In this article, we examine why that interpretation has had such limited traction in the legal policy arena, and whether it should have traction. We also analyse whether the Committee has subtly but importantly shifted its position. We then develop an argument that the true goal, compatible with the CRPD, is the satisfactory determination of whether a person has or lacks mental capacity to make or take a relevant decision. Our article contextualises multi-disciplinary, research-informed guidelines designed as a contribution to satisfactory determination. While our article is based upon the position in England and Wales, we suggest that our conclusions are of wider application.
Spatially resolved properties of the ionized gas in the H ii galaxy J084220+115000
Authors: Fernández-Arenas D , Carrasco E , Terlevich R , Terlevich E , Amorín R , Bresolin F , Chávez R , González-Morán A L , Rosa-González D , Mayya Y D , Vega O , Zaragoza-Cardiel J , Méndez-Abreu J , Izazaga-Pérez R , Gil de Paz A , Gallego J , Iglesias-Páramo J , García-Vargas M L , Gómez-Alvarez P , Castillo-Morales A , Cardiel N , Pascual S , Pérez-Calpena A
Published: January 2023

We present a spatially resolved spectroscopic study for the metal poor H ii galaxy J084220+115000 using MEGARA Integral Field Unit observations at the Gran Telescopio Canarias. We estimated the gas metallicity using the direct method for oxygen, nitrogen, and helium and found a mean value of 12 + log (O/H) = 8.03 ± 0.06, and integrated electron density and temperature of ∼161 cm−3 and ∼15400 K, respectively. The metallicity distribution shows a large range of Δ(O/H) = 0.72 dex between the minimum and maximum (7.69 ± 0.06 and 8.42 ± 0.05) values, unusual in a dwarf star-forming galaxy. We derived an integrated log (N/O) ratio of −1.51 ± 0.05 and found that both N/O and O/H correspond to a primary production of metals. Spatially resolved maps indicate that the gas appears to be photoionized by massive stars according to the diagnostic line ratios. Between the possible mechanisms to explain the starburst activity and the large variation of oxygen abundance in this galaxy, our data support a possible scenario where we are witnessing an ongoing interaction triggering multiple star-forming regions localized in two dominant clumps.
Closed field line vortices in planetary magnetospheres
Authors: Nemeth Zoltan
Published: January 2023

In a rotation-dominated magnetosphere, there is a region where closed field lines rotate around the planet, and also a region where the open field lines stretch away from the planet, forming the lobes of the magnetotail. This paper shows that there could be a third, significantly different region, where the closed field lines form twisted vortex structures anchored in the magnetotail. Such patterns form when there are significant plasma sources inside the magnetosphere and the time-scale of the plasmoid formation process is substantially larger than the planetary rotation period. In the presence of vortices, the Dungey and Vasyliunas cycles act differently. The Dungey flow does not penetrate the central region of the polar cap. Tail reconnection events are rare, thus leaving the plasma time enough to participate in the essentially 3D vortex-forming plasma motion. The above conditions are fulfilled for Saturn. We discovered vortex-like patterns in the plasma and magnetic field data measured by the Cassini spacecraft in the nightside magnetosphere of Saturn. The plasma whirling around in these vortices never reaches the dayside, instead, it performs a retrograde motion in the high latitude regions of the magnetotail. Low-energy plasma data suggest that the observed patterns correspond to the closed field line vortices.
Distribution and dynamics of decimetre-sized dust agglomerates in the coma of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
Authors: Lemos Pablo , Agarwal Jessica , Schröter Matthias
Published: January 2023

We present a method to analyse images of the coma of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko obtained using OSIRIS, the main imaging system on-board Rosetta, where dust aggregates can be seen as bright tracks because of their relative velocity with respect to the spacecraft. We applied this method to 105 images taken in 2015 July, 2015 December, and 2016 January, identifying more than 20 000 individual objects. We performed a photometric analysis of them, finding their phase function. This phase function follows the same trend as the one found for the nucleus, consistent with the detected particles having a size larger than ∼1 mm. Additionally, the phase function becomes shallower for increasing heliocentric distances, indicating a decrease in the mean agglomerate size. In order to characterize the agglomerates observed in the image, we developed a simplified model for their ejection and dynamics in the coma, and generated synthetic images based on it. We solved the inverse problem by finding the simulation parameters that give the best fit between synthetic and real images. In doing so, we were able to obtain a mean agglomerate size ∼ dm and initial speed ≃ 1 m s−1. Both show a decrease with increasing heliocentric distance, sign of the reduction in activity. Also, the sizes obtained by the comparison are not compatible with ejection caused by water activity, so other sources have to be invoked, mainly CO2.
Bending the rules of PAH hydrogenation: the case of corannulene
Authors: Leccese Mirko , Jaganathan R , Slumstrup L , Thrower J D , Hornekær L , Martinazzo R
Published: January 2023

The interaction of a curved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), corannulene (C20H10), with H-atoms leading to the formation of highly superhydrogenated species was studied. In particular, we determined the H-atom addition sequence to a monolayer of corannulene deposited on a graphite surface in order to understand the effect of curvature on the interaction of PAHs with H-atoms. We also investigated why superhydrogenated corannulene species with a certain number of additional H-atoms are more stable than the others. A combination of thermal desorption mass spectrometry measurements and density functional theory calculations was used to reveal and understand the presence of the most stable configurations in the superhydrogenation sequence of corannulene. Specifically, the experiments demonstrate the presence of stable configurations of superhydrogenated corannulene at specific hydrogenation levels of 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, and 18 extra H-atoms. Density functional theory calculations of binding energies and barrier heights explain why some of these configurations are particularly stable and provide new insights into the superhydrogenation of curved PAH molecules under interstellar conditions.
Wideband study of the brightest black hole X-ray binary 4U 1543−47 in the 2021 outburst: signature of disc-wind regulated accretion
Authors: Prabhakar Geethu , Mandal Samir , Bhuvana G R , Nandi Anuj
Published: January 2023

A comprehensive wideband spectral analysis of the brightest black hole X-ray binary 4U 1543−47 during its 2021 outburst is carried out for the first time using NICER, NuSTAR, and AstroSat observations by phenomenological and reflection modelling. The source attains a super-Eddington peak luminosity and remains in the soft state, with a small fraction ($\lt 3{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) of the inverse-Comptonized photons. The spectral modelling reveals a steep photon index (Γ ∼ 2–2.6) and relatively high inner disc temperature (Tin ∼ 0.9–1.27 keV). The line-of-sight column density varies between (0.45–0.54) × 1022 cm−2. Reflection modelling using the RELXILL model suggests that 4U 1543−47 is a low-inclination system (θ ∼ 32°–40°). The accretion disc is highly ionized (log ξ > 3) and has super solar abundance (3.6–10 AFe,⊙) over the entire period of study. We detected a prominent dynamic absorption feature between ∼8 and 11 keV in the spectra throughout the outburst. This detection is the first of its kind for X-ray binaries. We infer that the absorption of the primary X-ray photons by the highly ionized, fast-moving disc winds can produce the observed absorption feature. The phenomenological spectral modelling also shows the presence of a neutral absorption feature ∼7.1–7.4 keV, and both ionized and neutral absorption components follow each other with a delay of a typical viscous time-scale of 10–15 d.
Exploring bulk viscous unified scenarios with gravitational waves standard sirens
Authors: Yang Weiqiang , Pan Supriya , Valentino Eleonora Di , Escamilla-Rivera Celia , Paliathanasis Andronikos
Published: January 2023

We consider the unified bulk viscous scenarios and constrain them using the Cosmic Microwave Background observations from Planck 2018 and the Pantheon sample from Type Ia supernovae. Then we generate the luminosity distance measurements from ${\cal O}(10^3)$ mock Gravitational Wave Standard Sirens (GWSS) events for the proposed Einstein Telescope. We then combine these mock luminosity distance measurements from the GWSS with the current cosmological probes in order to forecast how the mock GWSS data could be effective in constraining these bulk viscous scenarios. Our results show that a non-zero time dependent bulk viscosity in the universe sector is strongly preferred by the current cosmological probes and will possibly be confirmed at many standard deviations by the future GWSS measurements. We further mention that the addition of GWSS data can significantly reduce the uncertainties of the key cosmological parameters obtained from the usual cosmological probes employed in this work.
Equilibrium points of heterogeneous small body in finite element method
Authors: Wen Tongge , Zeng Xiangyuan
Published: January 2023

This paper presents a finite element method to search for equilibrium points around a heterogeneous small body, which degenerates from the full two-body problem in finite element form. The gravitational potential, acceleration, gravitational gradient matrix, and the linearized perturbation equation, which are key formulas for solving the equilibrium points and discriminating their stabilities, are interpolated by the tetrahedral model nodes of the small body. The finite element method could capture the complex internal structures of small bodies and provide a uniform and simple formula for various configurations. The method is applied to the Kuiper Belt Object (486958) Arrokoth, which is a contact binary asteroid. Three types of heterogeneous structures are hypothesized to investigate the evolutions of equilibrium points, namely density disparity of two sub-lobes, hardcore structure, and cavity structure. Under the condition of constant Arrokoth mass, the density disparity of the two sub-lobes greatly influences the local gravitational field. It thus has a significant influence on the positions of equilibrium points. The hardcore and cavity structures have less impact on the equilibrium points. These three simulation groups verified that the equilibrium points of a heterogeneous small body are quite different from those of a homogeneous small body. Such investigation of the equilibrium points may give an in-depth understanding of the dynamical environment around the heterogeneous small body, which is significant for future deep-space missions.
Persistent topology of the reionization bubble network – II. Evolution and classification
Authors: Elbers Willem , van de Weygaert Rien
Published: January 2023

We study the topology of the network of ionized and neutral regions that characterized the intergalactic medium during the Epoch of Reionization. Our analysis uses the formalism of persistent homology, which offers a highly intuitive and comprehensive description of the ionization topology in terms of the births and deaths of topological features. Features are identified as k-dimensional holes in the ionization bubble network, whose abundance is given by the kth Betti number: β0 for ionized bubbles, β1 for tunnels, and β2 for neutral islands. Using semi-numerical models of reionization, we investigate the dependence on the properties of sources and sinks of ionizing radiation. Of all topological features, we find that the tunnels dominate during reionization and that their number is easiest to observe and most sensitive to the astrophysical parameters of interest, such as the gas fraction and halo mass necessary for star formation. Seen as a phase transition, the importance of the tunnels can be explained by the entanglement of two percolating clusters and the fact that higher-dimensional features arise when lower-dimensional features link together. We also study the relation between the morphological components of the bubble network (bubbles, tunnels, and islands) and those of the cosmic web (clusters, filaments, and voids), describing a correspondence between the k-dimensional features of both. Finally, we apply the formalism to mock observations of the 21-cm signal. Assuming 1000 observation hours with HERA Phase II, we show that astrophysical models can be differentiated and confirm that persistent homology provides additional information beyond the power spectrum.
Extended corona models of X-ray reverberation in the AGN 1H 0707−495 and IRAS 13224−3809
Authors: Hancock S , Young A J , Chainakun P
Published: January 2023

We fit a new vertically extended corona model to previously measured reverberation time lags observed by XMM–Newton in two extremely variable narrow-line Seyfert 1 active galactic nuclei, 1H 0707−495 and IRAS 13224−3809, in a variety of similarly observed flux groups and explore the model in all observations over a 16 yr period. The model employs two X-ray sources located along the black hole rotational axis at height, h1 and h2, respectively. These sources have their associated photon indices Γ1 and Γ2 which respond to fluctuations in the disc with a maximum response duration of tmax and a propagation delay between the response of the two of tshift. We find that for 1H 0707−495, h2 is significantly correlated with Γ1 and anticorrelated with ionization ξ. Whilst the 1H 0707−495 corona extends upwards, the emission appears softer and the disc is less ionized. We find similarities in IRAS 13224−3809, but significant anticorrelation between Γ2 and both tmax and tshift. This suggests that when the IRAS 13224−3809 corona becomes softer while extending vertically upwards, the overall corona response occurs faster. This may also suggest that the inner disc also becomes more active. In addition, Γ1 and Γ2 are extreme, relatively less variable, but more separate in IRAS 13224−3809 than in 1H 0707−495. This suggests that the IRAS 13224−3809 corona may be more patchy in the sense that it has two more clear distinct spectral zones of Γ1 and Γ2 (possibly relating to two distinct zones of coronal temperature) when compared to 1H 0707−495.
Magnetohydrodynamic stability of magnetars in the ultrastrong field regime – II. The crust
Authors: Rau Peter B , Wasserman Ira
Published: January 2023

We study the stability of Hall magnetohydrodynamic with strong magnetic fields in which Landau quantization of electrons is important. We find that the strong-field Hall modes can be destabilized by the dependence of the differential magnetic susceptibility on magnetic field strength. This hydrodynamic instability, thermodynamic in origin and stabilized by magnetic domain formation, is studied using linear perturbation theory. It is found to have typical growth time of order ≲103 yr, with the growth time decreasing as a function of wavelength of the perturbation. The instability is self-limiting, turning off following a period of local field growth by a few per cent of the initial value. Finite temperature is also shown to limit the instability, with sufficiently high temperatures eliminating it altogether. Alfvén waves can show similar unstable behaviour on shorter time-scales. We find that Ohmic heating due to the large fields developed via the instability and magnetic domain formation is not large enough to account for observed magnetar surface temperatures. However, Ohmic heating is enhanced by the oscillatory differential magnetic susceptibility of Landau-quantized electrons, which could be important to magnetothermal simulations of neutron star crusts.
Rotational modulation in A and F stars: magnetic stellar spots or convective core rotation?
Authors: Henriksen Andreea I , Antoci Victoria , Saio Hideyuki , Cantiello Matteo , Kjeldsen Hans , Kurtz Donald W , Murphy Simon J , Mathur Savita , García Rafael A , Santos Ângela R G
Published: January 2023

The Kepler mission revealed a plethora of stellar variability in the light curves of many stars, some associated with magnetic activity or stellar oscillations. In this work, we analyse the periodic signal in 162 intermediate-mass stars, interpreted as Rossby modes and rotational modulation – the so-called hump and spike feature. We investigate whether the rotational modulation (spike) is due to stellar spots caused by magnetic fields or due to Overstable Convective (OsC) modes resonantly exciting g modes, with frequencies corresponding to the convective core rotation rate. Assuming that the spikes are created by magnetic spots at the stellar surface, we recover the amplitudes of the magnetic fields, which are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. Our data show a clear anticorrelation between the spike amplitudes and stellar mass and possibly a correlation with stellar age, consistent with the dynamo-generated magnetic fields theory in (sub)-surface convective layers. Investigating the harmonic behaviour, we find that for 125 stars neither of the two possible explanations can be excluded. While our results suggest that the dynamo-generated magnetic field scenario is more likely to explain the spike feature, we assess further work is needed to distinguish between the two scenarios. One method for ruling out one of the two explanations is to directly observe magnetic fields in hump and spike stars. Another would be to impose additional constraints through detailed modelling of our stars, regarding the rotation requirement in the OsC mode scenario or the presence of a convective-core (stellar age).
Magnetohydrodynamic Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities of supersonic shear layers with finite interface thickness and heat flux in anisotropic space plasmas
Authors: Dzhalilov N S , Ismayilli R
Published: January 2023

The linear magnetohydrodynamic Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) in an anisotropic plasma is studied. The governing equations obtained as the 16 moments of Boltzmann–Vlasov kinetic equations, including the heat flow, are applied. In the case of tangential discontinuity between the supersonic flows along the magnetic field, the calculated growth rates as functions of the anisotropic plasma properties allow us to conclude that quasi-transverse modes grow faster. Then, dispersion equations for the KHI of quasi-transverse modes are derived, considering the finite width of the transition zone with different velocity profiles. For these modes, when the role of heat flow is not important, the plasma parameters are controlled so that the fundamental plasma instabilities (firehose and mirror) do not affect the KHI. The problem is solved analytically, which will be helpful in verifying numerical simulations. In contrast to the tangential discontinuity, the finite width of the transition layer confines KHI excitation as the wavenumber increases. In the general case of oblique propagation (when heat flux complicates the problem), the boundary value problem is solved to determine the spectral eigenvalues. In particular, it is observed that the fundamental plasma instabilities that arise in the transition zone between flows with a finite width can modify and considerably enhance the KHI.
Targeting the IL4 receptor with MDNA55 in patients with recurrent glioblastoma: Results of a phase IIb trial
Authors: Sampson John H , Singh Achrol Achal , Aghi Manish K , Bankiewicz Krystof , Bexon Martin , Brem Steven , Brenner Andrew , Chandhasin Chandtip , Chowdhary Sajeel , Coello Melissa , Ellingson Benjamin M , Floyd John R , Han Seunggu , Kesari Santosh , Mardor Yael , Merchant Fahar , Merchant Nina , Randazzo Dina , Vogelbaum Michael , Vrionis Frank , Wembacher-Schroeder Eva , Zabek Miroslaw , Butowski Nicholas
Published: January 2023

Background

MDNA55 is an interleukin 4 receptor (IL4R)-targeting toxin in development for recurrent GBM, a universally fatal disease. IL4R is overexpressed in GBM as well as cells of the tumor microenvironment. High expression of IL4R is associated with poor clinical outcomes.

Methods

MDNA55-05 is an open-label, single-arm phase IIb study of MDNA55 in recurrent GBM (rGBM) patients with an aggressive form of GBM (de novo GBM, IDH wild-type, and nonresectable at recurrence) on their 1st or 2nd recurrence. MDNA55 was administered intratumorally as a single dose treatment (dose range of 18 to 240 ug) using convection-enhanced delivery (CED) with up to 4 stereo-tactically placed catheters. It was co-infused with a contrast agent (Gd-DTPA, Magnevist®) to assess distribution in and around the tumor margins. The flow rate of each catheter did not exceed 10μL/min to ensure that the infusion duration did not exceed 48 h. The primary endpoint was mOS, with secondary endpoints determining the effects of IL4R status on mOS and PFS.

Results

MDNA55 showed an acceptable safety profile at doses up to 240 μg. In all evaluable patients (n = 44) mOS was 11.64 months (80% one-sided CI 8.62, 15.02) and OS-12 was 46%. A subgroup (n = 32) consisting of IL4R High and IL4R Low patients treated with high-dose MDNA55 (>180 ug) showed the best benefit with mOS of 15 months, OS-12 of 55%. Based on mRANO criteria, tumor control was observed in 81% (26/32), including those patients who exhibited pseudo-progression (15/26).

Conclusions

MDNA55 demonstrated tumor control and promising survival and may benefit rGBM patients when treated at high-dose irrespective of IL4R expression level.

Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02858895.
Computed tomography scan radiation and brain cancer incidence
Authors: Smoll Nicolas R , Brady Zoe , Scurrah Katrina J , Lee Choonsik , Berrington de González Amy , Mathews John D
Published: January 2023

Background

Computed tomography (CT) scans make substantial contributions to low-dose ionizing radiation exposures, raising concerns about excess cancers caused by diagnostic radiation.

Methods

Deidentified medicare records for all Australians aged 0–19 years between 1985–2005 were linked to national death and cancer registrations to 2012. The National Cancer Institute CT program was used to estimate radiation doses to the brain from CT exposures in 1985–2005, Poisson regression was used to model the dependence of brain cancer incidence on brain radiation dose, which lagged by 2 years to minimize reverse causation bias.

Results

Of 10 524 842 young Australians, 611 544 were CT-exposed before the age of 20 years, with a mean cumulative brain dose of 44 milligrays (mGy) at an average follow-up of 13.5 years after the 2-year lag period. 4472 were diagnosed with brain cancer, of whom only 237 had been CT-exposed. Brain cancer incidence increased with radiation dose to the brain, with an excess relative risk of 0.8 (95% CI 0.57–1.06) per 100 mGy. Approximately 6391 (95% CI 5255, 8155) persons would need to be exposed to cause 1 extra brain cancer.

Conclusions

For brain tumors that follow CT exposures in childhood by more than 2 years, we estimate that 40% (95% CI 29%–50%) are attributable to CT Radiation and not due to reverse causation. However, because of relatively low rates of CT exposure in Australia, only 3.7% (95% CI 2.3%–5.4%) of all brain cancers are attributable to CT scans. The population-attributable fraction will be greater in countries with higher rates of pediatric scanning.
Development and validation of sustainable employability index among older employees
Authors: Neupane S , K C P , Kyrönlahti S , Siukola A , Kosonen H , Lumme-Sandt K , Nikander P , Nygård C H
Published: January 2023

Background

Sustainable employability (SE) has become an important factor for keeping people in the labour market and enabling the extension of working life.

Aims

We developed and validated an SE index to predict assured workability in 2 years. Additionally, we developed a scoring tool to use in practice.

Methods

A questionnaire survey of postal employees aged ≥50 years was conducted in 2016 and followed up in 2018 (n = 1102). The data were divided into training and validation sets. The outcome was defined as whether the employees had an assured workability after 2 years or not. Multivariable log-binomial regression was used to calculate the SE index. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to assess the discriminative power of the index.

Results

The probability of assured workability increased with increasing quintiles of the SE index. The highest quintiles of the SE index showed the highest observed and expected assured workability in 2 years. The predictive ability, area under the curve (AUC) for training was 0.79 (95% CI 0.75–0.83) and for validation data was 0.76 (95% CI 0.73–0.80). In the scoring tool, the self-rated health, workability, job satisfaction and perceived employment had the highest contribution to the index.

Conclusions

The SE index was able to distinguish the employees based on whether they had assured workability after 2 years. The scoring method could be used to calculate the potentiality of future employability among late midlife postal employees.
Does the depth of informality influence welfare in urban Sub-Saharan Africa?
Authors: Egger Eva-Maria , Poggi Cecilia , Rufrancos Héctor
Published: January 2023

We explore the relationship between household welfare and informality, measuring household informality as the share of members’ activities (hours worked or income) without social insurance. We discretize these measures into four bins or portfolios and assess their influence on consumption, as a measure of welfare. Cross-sectional regressions for five urban Sub-Saharan African countries reveal a non-linear relationship between the depth of informality and household welfare. A mixed formality household portfolio has at least the same welfare as a fully formal one. Using panel data for Nigeria, we assess household switches in informality portfolios, accounting for the selection on unobservables, and find it explains most welfare differences. Switching informality portfolios does not change welfare trajectories, with the notable exception of welfare gains for fully informal households becoming fully formal. From a policy perspective, our results suggest that policies incentivizing the formalization of the marginal worker may not result in perceivable welfare effects.
A Phase I Single-Arm Study of Biweekly NHS-IL12 in Patients With Metastatic Solid Tumors
Authors: Gatti-Mays Margaret E , Tschernia Nicholas P , Strauss Julius , Madan Ravi A , Karzai Fatima H , Bilusic Marijo , Redman Jason , Sater Houssein Abdul , Floudas Charalampos S , Toney Nicole J , Donahue Renee N , Jochems Caroline , Marté Jennifer L , Francis Deneise , McMahon Sheri , Lamping Elizabeth , Cordes Lisa , Schlom Jeffrey , Gulley James L
Published: January 2023

Background

NHS-IL12 is a first-in-class, recombinant fusion protein composed of the human monoclonal antibody NHS76 (binds exposed DNA/histones at sites of intratumoral necrosis) fused to 2 IL-12 heterodimers. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of NHS-IL12 monotherapy given subcutaneously (SC) every 4 weeks was previously reported. The study was expanded to include a high-exposure cohort with NHS-IL12 SC every 2 weeks (q2w).

Methods

This single-arm, phase I trial evaluated NHS-IL12 12 µg/kg SC q2w or 16.8µg/kg SC q2w in patients with metastatic solid tumors. The primary endpoint was safety.

Results

Using a 3+3 design, 13 patients with advanced cancer were enrolled and 12 were dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) evaluable. There was 1 DLT (Grade 3 aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase [AST/ALT] elevation). Other grade 3 toxicities included: flu-like symptoms 1/13 (8%), decreased absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) 1/13 (8%), decreased white blood cell count (WBC) 1/13 (8%), but most adverse events reported were low grade and self-limiting grade. Fifty percent of evaluable patients (6/12) experienced stable disease (SD) with 42% (5/12) developing progressive disease (PD) at the first restaging.

Conclusion

Biweekly NHS-IL12 was well tolerated in this small phase I study. Additional studies incorporating NHS-IL12 with other immunomodulating agents are underway. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01417546).
Trends, Changes, and Disruptions: The Fragile Economics of Cancer Treatments
Authors: Abraham Ivo
Published: January 2023

This commentary remarks on the recently published article by Qian et al on variations in market share of cancer treatments over time.
Control of Plant Cell Growth and Proliferation by MO25A, a Conserved Major Component of the Mammalian Sterile 20–Like Kinase Pathway
Authors: Ta Kim Nhung , Yoshida Mari W , Tezuka Takumi , Shimizu-Sato Sae , Nosaka-Takahashi Misuzu , Toyoda Atsushi , Suzuki Takamasa , Goshima Gohta , Sato Yutaka
Published: January 2023

The precise control of cell growth and proliferation underpins the development of plants and animals. These factors affect the development and size of organs and the body. In plants, the growth and proliferation of cells are regulated by environmental stimuli and intrinsic signaling, allowing different cell types to have specific growth and proliferation characteristics. An increasing number of factors that control cell division and growth have been identified. However, the mechanisms underlying cell type–specific cell growth and proliferation characteristics in the normal developmental context are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed the rice mutant osmo25a1, which is defective in the progression of embryogenesis. The osmo25a1 mutant embryo developed incomplete embryonic organs, such as the shoot and root apical meristems. It showed a delayed progression of embryogenesis, associated with the reduced mitotic activity. The causal gene of this mutation encodes a member of the Mouse protein-25A (MO25A) family of proteins that have pivotal functions in a signaling pathway that governs cell proliferation and polarity in animals, yeasts and filamentous fungi. To elucidate the function of plant MO25A at the cellular level, we performed a functional analysis of MO25A in the moss Physcomitrium patens. Physcomitrium patens MO25A was uniformly distributed in the cytoplasm and functioned in cell tip growth and the initiation of cell division in stem cells. Overall, we demonstrated that MO25A proteins are conserved factors that control cell proliferation and growth.
Distribution of squid paralarvae and related oceanographic features in the eastern Campeche Bank, Mexico
Authors: García-Cordova Elton A , De Silva-Dávila Roxana , Velázquez-Abunader Iván , García-Maldonado José Q , Ardisson Pedro-Luis
Published: January 2023

The eastern Campeche Bank is a region where the composition, distribution and abundance of one of its most promising resources, the teuthid cephalopods (squids), need to be better documented, particularly at the paralarval stage. To contribute to its knowledge, we obtained paralarvae from zooplankton samples collected from May 2016 to November 2017, relating and modeling their distribution to sea surface temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), zooplankton biomass and depth. The results showed that most paralarvae measured <2.0 mm mantle length. Higher abundances were found during upwelling months. Spatiotemporal segregation of teuthid species was observed, with oceanic paralarvae occurring offshore in May–July, and neritic ones appearing nearshore in September–November, Abralia redfieldi and Doryteuthis plei being the most abundant. Statistical generalized additive model for location, scale and shape showed that A. redfieldi was present in the north (offshore), related to warm Caribbean waters, and increased Chl-a and DO concentration. In contrast, D. plei was present in the south (nearshore), related to Yucatan shelf waters and low Chl-a.