bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Magnesium deficiency and febrile seizure: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Ataei‐Nakhaei Alireza , Rouhani Zahra‐Sadat , Bakhtiari Elham
Published: May 2020

There are inconsistent data reporting magnesium is low in children with febrile seizure compared with febrile cases. Present systematic review was performed comparing the serum level of magnesium in febrile children aged 6‐72 months with and without seizure. A systematic search was performed in the relevant databases up to August 2019. Papers comparing the serum level of magnesium in febrile children with and without seizure were selected. The major outcome was serum level of magnesium. Random effect model was used to calculate the pooled standardized mean difference with 95% confidence intervals. Totally 10 papers were included. According to meta‐analysis, the serum level of magnesium significantly is lower in children with febrile seizure versus febrile ones (standardized mean difference: −0.85, 95% confidence interval = (−1.31, −0.39). According to sensitivity analysis, no significant change was observed in pooled standardized mean difference. In meta‐regression demographic characteristics matching, sample size and method of magnesium measurement showed a significant effect on between‐study variance (P = .001). Present systematic review confirmed a significant relationship between hypomagnesemia and seizure in febrile children aged 6‐72 months. It has been purposed that decreased level of magnesium may play a role in the pathogenesis of seizure in febrile children.
Immunization with cytolethal distending toxin B produces autoantibodies to vinculin and small bowel bacterial changes in a rat model of postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome
Authors: Morales Walter , Triantafyllou Konstantinos , Parodi Gonzalo , Weitsman Stacy , Park Sung Chul , Rezaie Ali , Pichetshote Nipaporn , Lin Eugenia , Pimentel Mark
Published: May 2020

Background

Recent data substantiate the importance of acute gastroenteritis in the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). An animal model of postinfectious IBS determined the importance of cytolethal distending toxin B (CdtB) during live Campylobacter jejuni infection and its development of autoimmunity to vinculin. In this study, we examine whether subcutaneous exposure to CdtB alone is sufficient to produce the postinfectious IBS effect and autoimmunity.

Methods

Sixty adult Sprague Dawley rats were randomized into 2 groups to receive subcutaneous injection of either CdtB or vehicle and administered a booster injection of the same product 3 weeks later. Serum was collected for anti‐CdtB and anti‐vinculin titers. Duodenal and ileal luminal contents for total eubacterial qPCR, and ileal bowel segments were harvested for vinculin and ileal expression. In a second experiment, 4 adult, Sprague Dawley rats were injected with either Cy7‐labeled anti‐CdtB and anti‐vinculin antibodies were injected into the tail vein and imaged to determine organ localization of the antibodies.

Key Results

Rats that received CdtB increased in serum anti‐CdtB after injection. CdtB exposure also precipitated significant elevation in anti‐vinculin antibodies (P < .001). This was associated with a reduction in intestinal vinculin expression (P < .001) that negatively correlated with serum anti‐CdtB levels. CdtB exposure was also associated with greater levels of duodenal (P < .001) and ileal (P < .01) bacteria by qPCR that positively correlated with anti‐CdtB levels.

Conclusions and Inferences

Rats injected with CdtB developed a postinfectious IBS‐like phenotype and autoimmunity to vinculin with corresponding reduction in intestinal vinculin expression.
Lithological constraints on resource economies shape the mycorrhizal composition of a Bornean rain forest
Authors: Weemstra Monique , Peay Kabir G. , Davies Stuart J. , Mohamad Mohizah , Itoh Akira , Tan Sylvester , Russo Sabrina E.
Published: May 2020

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) produce contrasting plant–soil feedbacks, but how these feedbacks are constrained by lithology is poorly understood.

We investigated the hypothesis that lithological drivers of soil fertility filter plant resource economic strategies in ways that influence the relative fitness of trees with AMF or EMF symbioses in a Bornean rain forest containing species with both mycorrhizal strategies.

Using forest inventory data on 1245 tree species, we found that although AMF‐hosting trees had greater relative dominance on all soil types, with declining lithological soil fertility EMF‐hosting trees became more dominant. Data on 13 leaf traits and wood density for a total of 150 species showed that variation was almost always associated with soil type, whereas for six leaf traits (structural properties; carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus ratios, nitrogen isotopes), variation was also associated with mycorrhizal strategy. EMF‐hosting species had slower leaf economics than AMF‐hosts, demonstrating the central role of mycorrhizal symbiosis in plant resource economies.

At the global scale, climate has been shown to shape forest mycorrhizal composition, but here we show that in communities it depends on soil lithology, suggesting scale‐dependent abiotic factors influence feedbacks underlying the relative fitness of different mycorrhizal strategies.
The role of peripheral opioid receptors in orofacial pain
Authors: Liu Qing , Fan Wenguo , He Hongwen , Huang Fang
Published: May 2020

Opioid receptors are widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems and non‐neuronal tissues. Numerous researchers have noted the pivotal role of peripheral opioid receptors (PORs) in analgesia. Accumulating evidence has shown the existence of PORs in the trigeminal nerve system, indicating that PORs may be involved in the modulation of orofacial pain. In this review, we summarise the recent evidence for the role of PORs in orofacial pain and discuss the possible cellular mechanisms.
The application of a heat‐inducible CRISPR/Cas12b (C2c1) genome editing system in tetraploid cotton (G. hirsutum) plants
Authors: Wang Qiongqiong , Alariqi Muna , Wang Fuqiu , Li Bo , Ding Xiao , Rui Hangping , Li Yajun , Xu Zhongping , Qin Lei , Sun Lin , Li Jianying , Zou Jiawei , Lindsey Keith , Zhang Xianlong , Jin Shuangxia
Published: May 2020

The CRISPR/Cas9 and Cas12a (Cpf1) tools have been used on a large scale for genome editing. A new effector with a single nuclease domain, a relatively small size, low‐frequency off‐target effects and cleavage capability under high temperature has been recently established and designated CRISPR/Cas12b (C2c1). Cas12b has also shown temperature inducibility in mammalian systems. Therefore, this system is potentially valuable for editing the genomes of plant species, such as cotton, that are resistant to high temperatures. Using this new system, mutants of upland cotton were successfully generated following Agrobacterium‐mediated genetic transformation under a range of temperatures. Transformants (explants infected by Agrobacterium) exposed to 45 °C for 4 days showed the highest editing efficiency. No off‐target mutation was detected by whole‐genome sequencing. Genome edits by AacCas12b in T0 generation were faithfully passed to the T1 generation. Taken together, CRISPR/Cas12b is therefore an efficient and precise tool for genome editing in cotton plants.
The effect of paid maternity leave on low‐income families' welfare use in the US
Authors: Kang Ji Young
Published: May 2020

Despite the critical role that paid maternity leave can assume in the economic lives of low‐income families, research to date has paid insufficient attention to whether paid maternity leave reduces welfare use for low‐income families. Using the Current Population Survey (CPS) March Supplement 2007–2014 with the difference‐in‐difference (DiD) technique, this study finds a significant policy effect of paid maternity leave on reducing the probability of using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), TANF benefit amounts and TANF participation length. This study confirms that paid maternity leave is likely to prevent low‐income families from using welfare during job interruptions stemming from the birth of a child. Given that TANF is often associated with negative political and social connotations, paid maternity leave can be used as an important social policy to improve economic security as well as offer empowerment in overall social standing for low‐income mothers. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings in a broader context of American welfare states.
Colonial Military Garrisons as Labor‐Market Shocks: Quebec City and Boston, 1760–1775
Authors: Land Jeremy , Geloso Vincent
Published: May 2020

The military occupation of Boston in 1768 shocked the city's labor market. The soldiers, who were expected to supplement their pay by working for local businesses, constituted an influx equal to 12.5 percent of greater Boston's population. To assess the importance of this shock, we use the case of Quebec City, which experienced the reverse process (i.e., a reduction in the British military presence from close to 18 percent of the region's population to less than 1 percent). We argue that, in Boston, the combination of the large influx of soldiers and a heavy tax on the local population in the form of the billeting system caused an important wage reduction, while the lighter billeting system of Quebec City and the winding down of the garrison pushed wages up. We tie these experiences to political developments in the 1770s.
Coveting Uniformity in a Diverse World: The Authoritarian Roots of Welfare Chauvinism in Postmigration Crisis Germany
Authors: Crepaz Markus M. L.
Published: May 2020

Objective

To explore the links between authoritarian personality traits and welfare chauvinism by controlling for a host of alternative explanations while also investigating whether these links are additive or interacting with other triggering variables.

Method

Using the online survey platform Qualtrics, a stratified sample of 1,010 respondents in Germany was recruited in January 2019. Authoritarian personality is operationalized by applying the fourfold child‐rearing scale pioneered by Feldman and Stenner.

Results

Findings indicate that authoritarianism has an independent, additive effect on welfare chauvinism, but cultural and economic threats do not systematically mediate the effect of authoritarianism on welfare chauvinism.

Conclusion

Submissive authoritarianism is significantly linked to a desire to disentitle immigrants from using welfare benefits.
Imaging features of disseminated xanthogranulomatous inflammation in eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus)
Authors: Hanson Melissa E. , Donovan Taryn A. , Quesenberry Katherine , Dewey Amanda , Brown Cindy , Chen Sue , Le Roux Alexandre B.
Published: May 2020

Xanthogranulomatous disease is a rare condition, which can be caused by infection, inflammation, hemorrhage, immunologic disease, or inherited lysosomal disorders. It is characterized by non‐intracellular lipid and cholesterol deposits among an inflammatory infiltrate of vacuolated macrophages and giant cells. The diagnosis of xanthogranulomatous disease is challenging, with nonspecific imaging findings often misinterpreted as aggressive neoplastic processes in humans. In this retrospective case series study, we describe the diagnostic imaging characteristics of a disseminated xanthogranulomatous condition identified in five eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus). Decreased serosal detail and celomic distension were present in all three birds radiographed, with multifocal variably sized celomic mineralization (3/3 birds), and extracelomic mineralized masses (1/3 birds). Celomic effusion with foci of celomic mineralization and hepatomegaly were identified in all birds (3/3) imaged with ultrasound. Finally, a mineralized mural ventricular mass was present in one of three patients imaged with CT, multifocal celomic mineralization with moderate to severe celomic effusion in two of three patients, diffuse severe proventricular and intestinal dilation in all three patients, and atherosclerosis of the major arterial trunks in all three patients. Veterinary radiologists should be aware of this inflammatory condition in birds, especially in eclectus parrots, and should be able to recognize the imaging features of xanthogranulomatous inflammation.
School Leadership in the Context of Social Power Theory
Authors: Vychopňová Tereza
Published: May 2020

The study focuses on the issues of social power and leadership in the school context. We approach the power and leadership from the two points of view - the typology of social power by French and Raven, and the leadership styles – transactional and transformational. The aim of this study is to discuss the topic of the social power and leadership, and especially to point out the connections between the concept of social power and the leadership in the specific school environment. First, we focus on thetheoretical concept of power across the different definitions, further, the power is viewed more specifically – within the frame of the social power theory. Followingly, thesocial power is introduced in the context of leadership. The study deals with the question of the relationship between the social power and leadership, which are perceived as the constructs in the school environment.
Leadership Decapitation
Authors: Jordan Jenna
Published: May 2020

Does leadership targeting work? This question lies at the heart of studies on the efficacy of counterterrorism policy. This book examines whether killing or arresting terrorists is an effective means by which to weaken and degrade a group’s operational capacity. It aims to identify and explain why decapitation works in some cases and not in others. In order to determine whether decapitation is an effective strategy, this project examines nearly one thousand instances of leadership targeting. A group’s susceptibility to leadership targeting is a function of three factors: organizational structure, communal support, and group type or ideology. Leadership decapitation is unlikely to result in the demise of groups that are highly bureaucratized, have high levels of communal support, or are driven by a religious or separatist ideology. Leaders matter less under these conditions, and their removal can have adverse consequences, such as retaliatory attacks or an overall increase in the frequency of attacks. The data reveals that the largest and oldest organizations are highly resistant to destabilization after targeting. Separatist, religious, and especially Islamist groups are unlikely to weaken after the removal of their leaders. In order to develop counterterrorism policies that will degrade and weaken terrorist organizations, it is essential to identify whether our policies are likely to be effective or to have adverse consequences. The book examines the cases of Hamas, al-Qaeda, Shining Path, and ISIS to understand how organizational structure, local support, and ideology contributes to their resilience in the face of repeated leadership attacks.
Al-Qaeda
Authors: Jordan Jenna
Published: May 2020

Chapter 7 looks at the impact that decapitation attacks have had upon the operational capacity and organizational strength of al-Qaeda Central and al-Qaeda as a whole.
Another Political World
Authors: Needell Jeffrey D.
Published: May 2020

The Introduction lays out the past and recent historiography to explain the necessity for this book, emphasizing its focus on parliamentary history (poorly understood and generally ignored over the past fifty years), Afro-Brazilian mobilization (here restored to its primacy in the origins and constitution of the movement), and Rio de Janeiro (cockpit of imperial politics). It also emphasizes the importance of understanding the movement’s history chronologically, as something born of the interactions between itself and parliament, the monarch, and the Afro-Brazilian middle class and masses in Rio over time. Finally, it provides a brief account of the contents of each chapter
Shelley Amid the Age of Separations; or, A Poetry of Ambiversion for Networked Life
Authors: Igarashi Yohei
Published: May 2020

This chapter approaches the Romantic period as an instructive earlier moment for today’s digitally networked life, and views Shelley’s poetics as offering a compelling way of being a networked being. Shelley sat at the nexus of two contemporaneous discourses: proto-sociological discourse found in Scottish conjectural histories and Romantic-era reflections on poetic communication. From this position, Shelley engages in sociological and medial thinking. He offers the obscure medium of abstract poetry as a model for a specific form of social interaction suited to modernity: an interaction that would forge a middle way between an empty commercial kind of dependence and the total intersubjectivity that he calls “love.” Reading Epipsychidion (1821) in light of these concerns, and positing a “poetry of ambiversion” that allows for both connection and disconnection, this chapter suggests that Shelley arrives at a modern ethos of communication that is neither purely business-oriented nor amatory.
The Land of Opportunity?
Authors: Hertel Florian R. , Pfeffer Fabian T.
Published: May 2020

This chapter investigates intergenerational class mobility in the U.S. during the twentieth century. It describes absolute and relative mobility trends and explores the role of educational expansion in shaping them. Analyses are based on data from several nationally representative surveys (GSS, OCG-II, SIPP, and PSID). As a consequence of massive occupational and educational upgrading, upward mobility increased over most of the century. The role of education in contributing to absolute class mobility changed across time: Class gaps in education as well as class returns to education equalized initially, but became more polarized among recent cohorts. Relative mobility trends differed by gender: After an initial surge in fluidity for both, mobility chances remained stable for women but increased further for men. Rising fluidity among men is mostly due to increasing college graduation rates (i.e., the compositional effect), whereas educational trends contribute little to understanding the stability of women’s mobility chances.
Intergenerational Mobility and Social Fluidity in France over Birth Cohorts and Across Age
Authors: Vallet Louis-André
Published: May 2020

Using the 1970, 1977, 1985, 1993, and 2003 Formation et Qualification Professionnelle (INSEE) surveys, this chapter analyzes how intergenerational social mobility and social fluidity have evolved in France for men and women born between 1906 and 1973. It demonstrates that the statistical association between class of origin and class of destination has become weaker in recent cohorts than in older ones, and also that the same association diminishes with age, i.e., along the occupational career. It demonstrates that change in education has played a key role in the process of increasing social fluidity. In the 1945–54 cohort, the reduction in inequality of educational opportunity is the main factor and the educational expansion is the secondary factor for explaining the reduction of the association between class of origin and class of destination, but the relative importance of these two factors is reversed in the 1955–64 and 1965–73 cohorts.
Learning from the Soviet Big Brother
Authors: Shuman Amanda
Published: May 2020

When the peasant army of Mao Zedong’s Communists took power in 1949, the new nation was isolated and destroyed. Despite its doubts about Stalin, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) cast its lot with the growing Soviet Bloc and sought aid from Moscow. This took the form of thousands of specialists in the widest possible range of fields taking up residence to help their comrades. Sports were not excluded. Coaches, trainers, and officials began to establish a state-run system along Soviet lines. Athletes from many Communist nations toured the PRC to great acclaim. Tensions soon emerged between the urban character of modern sport and the overwhelmingly rural new nation. When relations soured in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Soviet sports figures were sent home along with thousands of their countrymen.
New Regional Order
Authors: Creak Simon
Published: May 2020

Despite being minnows on the world stage, Thailand and the newly independent countries of Southeast Asia embraced sport during the Cold War as a means of nation and region building. This essay examines the political dimensions of the South East Asia Peninsular Games—the precursor of today’s Southeast Asian Games—founded in 1959 by US ally Thailand. This event reflected and reinforced the Cold War culture of Thailand and Southeast Asia. The games embodied motifs of regional friendship and antagonism between the “free” anti-Communist and neutralist nations of peninsular Southeast Asia; domestically, they embodied key themes in the domestic Cold War culture of Thailand, including nationalism, developmentalism, the revival of the monarchy, and militarization. This essay examines the Thai military junta’s objectives in founding the event, the effectiveness of the inaugural South East Asia Peninsular (SEAP) Games, and the cultural and semiotic features that reinforced the games’ major themes.
Deflected Confrontations
Authors: Ruck Rob
Published: May 2020

Though the Cold War ripped apart the almost century-long sporting connection between Cuba and the United States, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) color line and interference in Cuban and Mexican baseball had already stressed this relationship to the breaking point. The Cuban Revolution triggered the island nation’s final departure from the sporting empire that MLB had created and opened the way for the Dominican Republic to become the most important source of talent in professional baseball. Cuba, however, set its own course, building a noncommercial alternative in which sport became a right of the people and a means of statecraft.
Magnetostriction measurements with a low-cost magnetostrictive cantilever beam
Authors: Laumann D. , Hayes P. , Enzingmüller C. , Parchmann I. , Quandt E.
Published: May 2020

The magnetostrictive effect is an important topic for scientific research as well as for technological applications. Since magnetostriction constitutes an important property of emerging smart materials, experimental investigations as well as theoretical discussions of the magnetostrictive effect are of great educational value. Quantitative measurements of the magnetostrictive effect are usually technically sophisticated or not related to real applications or everyday materials. The objective of this article is to describe a simple and low-cost experiment for the qualitative and quantitative investigation of magnetostrictive characteristics employing magnetostrictive laser deflection and optical amplification. Measurements are performed for precut magnetostrictive materials found in electronic article surveillance tags. Comparative theoretical calculations for magnetostrictive cantilever beams prove the quality of the experimental approach. The described method for magnetostriction measurements has been developed as a part of the Scientific Outreach Project within the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1261 “Magnetoelectric Sensors.”
Computer simulation of Mermin's quantum device
Authors: Ross Robert
Published: May 2020

Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon that has no classical counterpart; it is not only difficult to learn but also difficult to teach. It is often an omitted or underrepresented topic in the syllabus of an introductory quantum mechanics or modern physics course. Nearly 40 years ago Mermin published a thought experiment to analyze a device consisting of a transmitter and two receivers. The receivers each had a three-position switch and two lights, one red and one green. Analysis of the operation of the device follows the predictions of quantum mechanics but only simple mathematics is employed to demonstrate the peculiar nature of quantum entanglement. A few years later he reintroduced his quantum device to a more general audience in a Physics Today article and provided another interesting interpretation. In the current paper, we make use of the recently published work in quantum information theory by Candela to have students write code to simulate the operation of the device in that article. Analysis of the device has significant pedagogical value—a fact recognized by Feynman—and simulation of its operation provides students a unique window into quantum mechanics without prior knowledge of the theory.
“Do Not Question Authority”: Examining Team Rules in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Women’s Basketball
Authors: Larsen Leslie K. , Fisher Leslee A. , Shigeno Terilyn C. , Bejar Matthew P. , Madeson Melissa N.
Published: May 2020

While the policies National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic departments have in place regarding social media and drug abuse have been empirically investigated, research on the full battery of rules implemented by NCAA teams is scant. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the written team rules of 41 NCAA Division I women’s basketball teams to better understand the types of rules that are in place and to hypothesize the effects these rules might have on the development of an autonomy-supportive environment. Using Consensual Qualitative Research, the research team constructed seven domains with multiple categories to represent the data. The domains included the following: (a) program expectations, (b) controlled communication, (c) controlled relationships, (d) controlled appearance/attire, (e) controlled social behavior, (f) recommendations for optimal physical performance, and (g) academic expectation. Based on the results of this study, we conclude that NCAA Division I women’s basketball coaches use team rules as a tool for domination rather than a strategy for developing the autonomy of student-athletes. We offer practical suggestions for coach educators, coach developers, and coaches on best practices when creating team rules to develop an autonomy-supportive environment that strengthens organizational loyalty and improves the experiences of student-athletes.
Long-acting drug acts like a short-term AIDS vaccine
Authors: Cohen Jon
Published: May 2020

Simpler than daily pills, injections to prevent HIV infections protect people for 2 months.
T cells found in coronavirus patients ‘bode well’ for long-term immunity
Authors: Leslie Mitch
Published: May 2020

New findings suggest past infections may offer some protection against the novel coronavirus.
Hard lessons
Authors: Mervis Jeffrey , Stellino Molly
Published: May 2020

Carlos Castillo-Chavez trained a record number of minority mathematicians—but his tough-love approach took a toll.
Precise pitch-scaling of carbon nanotube arrays within three-dimensional DNA nanotrenches
Authors: Sun Wei , Shen Jie , Zhao Zhao , Arellano Noel , Rettner Charles , Tang Jianshi , Cao Tianyang , Zhou Zhiyu , Ta Toan , Streit Jason K. , Fagan Jeffrey A. , Schaus Thomas , Zheng Ming , Han Shu-Jen , Shih William M. , Maune Hareem T. , Yin Peng
Published: May 2020

DNA bricks build nanotube transistors

Semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an attractive platform for field-effect transistors (FETs) because they potentially can outperform silicon as dimensions shrink. Challenges to achieving superior performance include creating highly aligned and dense arrays of nanotubes as well as removing coatings that increase contact resistance. Sun
et al.
aligned CNTs by wrapping them with single-stranded DNA handles and binding them into DNA origami bricks that formed an array of channels with precise intertube pitches as small as 10.4 nanometers. Zhao
et al.
then constructed single and multichannel FETs by attaching the arrays to a polymer-templated silicon wafer. After adding metal contacts across the CNTs to fix them to the substrate, they washed away all of the DNA and then deposited electrodes and gate dielectrics. The FETs showed high on-state performance and fast on-off switching.

Science
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874
, p.
878
Microorganisms Move a Short Distance into an Almond Orchard from an Adjacent Upwind Poultry Operation
Authors: Theofel Christopher G. , Williams Thomas R. , Gutierrez Eduardo , Davidson Gordon R. , Jay-Russell Michele , Harris Linda J.
Published: May 2020

The movement of microorganisms, including foodborne pathogens, from animal operations into adjacent plant crop-growing environments is not well characterized. This study provides evidence that dust and bioaerosols moved from a commercial poultry operation a short distance downwind into an almond orchard and altered the microbiome recovered from the leaves. These data provide growers with information they can use to assess food safety risks on their property.
Structural and Functional Characterization of the Phosphoprotein Central Domain of Spring Viremia of Carp Virus
Authors: Wang Zhao-Xi , Liu Shu-Bo , Guan Hongxin , Lu Long-Feng , Tu Jia-Gang , Ouyang Songying , Zhang Yong-An
Published: May 2020

SVCV can cause spring viremia of carp with up to 90% lethality, and it is the homologous virus of the notorious vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). There are currently no drugs that effectively cure this disease. P proteins of negative-strand RNA viruses (NSVs) play an essential role in many steps during the replication cycle and an additional role in immunosuppression as a cofactor. All P proteins of NSVs are oligomeric, but the studies on the role of this oligomerization mainly focus on the process of virus transcription or replication, and there are few studies on the role of P
CD
in immunosuppression. Here, we present the crystal structure of SVCV
PCD
. A new mechanism of immune evasion is clarified by exploring the relationship between SVCV
PCD
and host IFN response from a structural biology point of view. These findings may provide more accurate target sites for drug design against SVCV and provide new insights into the function of NSV
PCD
.
Severe hypothermia, bradycardia and cardiac arrest in association with risperidone
Authors: Sharma Nishant , Bhat Sangeeta , Ravi Divya , Ochieng Pius
Published: May 2020

Antipsychotic medications, including risperidone, are widely used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. While hyperthermia is an establish adverse effect of these medications, less is known about the rare occurrence of hypothermia. We present two patients who developed hypothermia, bradycardia and cardiac arrest in association with risperidone. We briefly review previously similarly reported cases.
Modelling the cost-effectiveness of introducing subsidised malaria rapid diagnostic tests in the private retail sector in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Bath David , Goodman Catherine , Yeung Shunmay
Published: May 2020

Background

Over the last 10 years, there has been a huge shift in malaria diagnosis in public health facilities, due to widespread deployment of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), which are accurate, quick and easy to use and inexpensive. There are calls for RDTs to be made available at-scale in the private retail sector where many people with suspected malaria seek care. Retail sector RDT use in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is limited to small-scale studies, and robust evidence on value-for-money is not yet available. We modelled the cost-effectiveness of introducing subsidised RDTs and supporting interventions in the SSA retail sector, in a context of a subsidy programme for first-line antimalarials.

Methods

We developed a decision tree following febrile patients through presentation, diagnosis, treatment, disease progression and further care, to final health outcomes. We modelled results for three ‘treatment scenarios’, based on parameters from three small-scale studies in Nigeria (TS-N), Tanzania (TS-T) and Uganda (TS-U), under low and medium/high transmission (5% and 50%Plasmodium falciparum(parasite) positivity rates (PfPR), respectively).

Results

Cost-effectiveness varied considerably between treatment scenarios. Cost per disability-adjusted life year averted at 5% PfPR was US$482 (TS-N) and US$115 (TS-T) and at 50% PfPR US$44 (TS-N) and US$45 (TS-T), from a health service perspective. TS-U was dominated in both transmission settings.

Conclusion

The cost-effectiveness of subsidised RDTs is strongly influenced by treatment practices, for which further evidence is required from larger-scale operational settings. However, subsidised RDTs could promote increased use of first-line antimalarials in patients with malaria. RDTs may, therefore, be more cost-effective in higher transmission settings, where a greater proportion of patients have malaria and benefit from increased antimalarial use. This is contrary to previous public sector models, where RDTs were most cost-effective in lower transmission settings as they reduced unnecessary antimalarial use in patients without malaria.
Point-of-care ultrasound at Role 1: is it time for a rethink?
Authors: Duncan Patrick G A , Mackey J
Published: May 2020

Introduction

The past 20 years have seen a rapid increase in point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) use in the prehospital sphere. However, in the British Army there is no POCUS capability in the Defence Primary Healthcare (DPHC) or deployed Role 1 setting. POCUS can improve diagnostic capability, influence management decisions and transfer destination, and is a useful triage tool in mass casualty management.

Method

A survey on POCUS use was sent to 279 clinicians working in the Role 1, civilian prehospital and Defence Primary Healthcare environments. Questions explored current levels of experience and training, indications for use and attitudes towards roll out. Results were analysed using a mixed methods approach.

Results

There were 124 respondents (279 recipients; 44.4% response rate). 74.2% (92 respondents) had no experience of using POCUS while 9.7% (12 respondents) were classed as frequent users. The four most common indications for prehospital POCUS were abdominal, cardiac and lung imaging and vascular access. The majority of respondents felt that POCUS would add value in the deployed Role 1 environment; this was even more evident in the frequent user group. Common concerns were difficulty maintaining currency, governance burden and uncertainty over impact on management.

Conclusion

The majority of doctors surveyed feel that POCUS would add value at Role 1 and is a capability that should be developed. The authors will watch with interest the progress of Project MORPHO.
Compliance with national guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis in hip fracture patients: a quality assessment study of 13 329 patients in the Norwegian Hip Fracture Register
Authors: Lian Tom , Dybvik Eva , Gjertsen Jan-Erik , Dale Håvard , Westberg Marianne , Nordsletten Lars , Figved Wender
Published: May 2020

Objective

We assessed compliance with new guidelines for prophylactic antibiotics in hip fracture surgery in Norway introduced in 2013.

Design

The data from the Norwegian Hip Fracture Register was used to assess the proportion of antibiotics given according to the national guidelines.

Setting

All hospitals in Norway performing hip fracture surgery in the period from 2011 to 2016.

Participants

We studied 13 329 hemiarthroplasties (HAs) for acute hip fracture.

Main outcome measure

Type and timing between first and last dose of prophylactic antibiotics compared with the national guidelines.

Results

Before the guidelines were introduced, the recommended drugs cephalotin or clindamycin was used in only 86.2% of all HAs. In 2016, one of the two recommended drugs was administered in 99.2% of HAs. However, hospitals’ adaption of the recommended administration of the two drugs improved slowly, and by the end of the study period, only three out of five HAs were performed with the correct drug administered in the correct manner. We found major differences in compliance between hospitals.

Conclusions

The change towards correct administration of antibiotic prophylaxis was varied both when investigating university and non-university hospitals. We suggest that both hospital leaders and the national Directorate of Health need to investigate routines for better dissemination of information and education to involved parties. Strong leadership concerning evidence-based guidelines on antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery may take away some autonomy from executing healthcare professionals, but will result in better patient care and antibiotic stewardship.
Association of body mass index on disease activity in axial spondyloarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Liew Jean W , Huang Irvin J , Louden Diana N , Singh Namrata , Gensler Lianne S
Published: May 2020

Objectives

In axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), higher body mass index (BMI) is associated with worse outcomes including response to biologics. Further clarity is needed on whether BMI is associated with disease activity overall, independent of treatment response. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between BMI and disease activity as reported by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) or Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) in axSpA.

Methods

We systematically searched for studies evaluating BMI and disease activity as the exposure and outcome of interest, respectively, in axSpA. Using random effects models, we estimated summary standardised mean differences (SMDs) and 95% CIs of BASDAI or ASDAS, comparing obese (BMI>30 kg/m2) or overweight/obese (BMI>25 kg/m2) individuals to those with normal BMI (18.5–24.9 kg/m2).

Results

Twelve studies were included in the meta-analysis. Among all studies reporting the BASDAI at baseline, the pooled SMD of the BASDAI for those with an obese or overweight/obese BMI compared to a normal BMI was 0.38 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.55, I2=75.2%), indicating a significant association of higher BMI with higher BASDAI score. The pooled SMD of the ASDAS for those with an obese or overweight/obese BMI compared to a normal BMI was 0.40 (95% CI 0.27 to 0.54, I2=0%). Findings were robust across subgroup analyses.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate an association between an overweight/obese BMI and higher disease activity in studies of axSpA. Future longitudinal studies of BMI and disease activity should assess how this association changes over time.
What factors should be accounted for when developing a generalized taper function for black wattle trees?
Authors: Sanquetta Mateus Niroh Inoue , McTague John Paul , Ferraço Scolforo Henrique , Behling Alexandre , Sanquetta Carlos Roberto , Schmidt Luciane Naimeke
Published: May 2020

Taper functions have been widely used for various purposes. Several functions were developed and successfully applied; however, most of these functions fail to account for the influence of stand-level and individual-tree effects of variation on the stem profile. Hence, we aimed in this study to assess how these factors influence the stem profile of black wattle (Acacia mearnsii De Wild.) trees in southern Brazil. There is a notable necessity for developing a domestic market for black wattle solid wood. The database was composed of 218 black wattle trees at age 10 years distributed across the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A dimensionally compatible taper equation combined with the mixed-effect modeling approach was used. Additionally, auxiliary variables were included to build a generalized taper function that explains stem form variations. In general, all variables showed a significant influence on the stem profile, except the crown ratio. The inclusion of relative spacing and tree hierarchical position in the taper function resulted in higher accuracy when estimating stem diameters and total tree volume. This study indicates that accounting for attributes at the stand and individual-tree levels may improve stem profile predictions, as well as the biological soundness of the taper function.
Global estrogen receptor-α knockout has differential effects on cortical and cancellous bone in aged male mice
Authors: Dirkes Rebecca K. , Winn Nathan C. , Jurrissen Thomas J. , Lubahn Dennis B. , Vieira-Potter Victoria J. , Padilla Jaume , Hinton Pamela S.
Published: May 2020

Estrogen receptor-α knockout (ERKO) in female rodents results in bone loss associated with increased osteocyte sclerostin expression; whether this also occurs in males is unknown. Here, we examined the effects of ERKO on femoral cortical geometry, trabecular microarchitecture, and osteocyte sclerostin expression of the femur and lumbar vertebrae. At 14 months of age, male ERKO and wild-type (WT) littermates ( n = 6 per group) were sacrificed, and femora and vertebra were collected. Cortical geometry and trabecular microarchitecture were assessed via micro-computed tomography; osteocyte sclerostin expression was assessed via immunohistochemistry. ANCOVA with body weight was used to compare ERKO and WT for cortical geometry; t-tests were used for all other outcomes. Regardless of skeletal site, ERKO mice had greater trabecular bone volume and trabecular number and decreased trabecular separation compared with WT. In the femoral diaphysis, ERKO had lower total area, cortical area, and cortical thickness compared with WT. The percentage of sclerostin+ osteocytes was increased in ERKO animals in cortical bone but not in cancellous bone of the femur or the lumbar vertebrae. In conclusion, ERKO improved trabecular microarchitecture in aged male mice, but negatively altered femoral cortical geometry associated with a trend towards increased cortical sclerostin expression.
Auger cascades leading to higher charged states in xenon driven by an X-ray free-electron-laser pulse
Authors: Banks Henry I. B. , Hadjipittas Antonis , Emmanouilidou Agapi
Published: May 2020

We study the interaction of xenon with an 850 eV photon energy FEL pulse. We compute single-photon ionisation cross sections and Auger rates by adopting to atoms a formalism we previously developed for diatomic molecules. In this formulation, a bound orbital is expressed as a sum of wave functions each corresponding to a differentlquantum number. In contrast, in previous formulations only onelquantum number is associated with a bound orbital. As a result, in the non-relativistic regime, the description of the bound states is more accurate in our computations. Employing a Monte-Carlo technique, we find that our results for the ion state yields of xenon compare well with experimental results. Moreover, we find that when xenon is driven by two FEL pulses of the same energy but different pulse duration, higher-charged states are produced in the case of the longer duration and less intense laser pulse. An analysis of the ionization pathways reveals that less single-photon absorptions underlie the formation of each higher-charged state for the longer duration pulse compared to the shorter one. We find that the reason for the formation of higher-charged states for the longer duration pulse is the prevalence of Auger cascades.

Graphical abstract
Hydrogenated gold clusters from helium nanodroplets: displacement of H2 by H2O
Authors: Lundberg Linnea , Martini Paul , Goulart Marcelo , Gatchell Michael , Bohme Diethard K. , Scheier Paul
Published: May 2020

Cationic clusters of gold, containing up to 8 atoms, and decorated with molecular hydrogen and water, were investigated with mass spectrometry. The clusters were grown as neutrals in superfluid helium nanodroplets that were ionized by electron impact. The resulting gas phase cluster cations exhibit magic sizes corresponding to the number of H2 molecules that form the first solvation layer, consistent with previous findings. The presence of water is found to efficiently displace hydrogen, one H2 molecule for each H2O. Our calculations show that the binding energy of water to the charged gold clusters is about twice as large as for hydrogen, though this depends on the charge of the clusters. This suggests that residual water could reduce the efficiency for metal particles to chemically store hydrogen gas, a promising technique for hydrogen fuel storage.

Graphical abstract
Thermal effect on delamination and buckling of superconducting film-substrate structures
Authors: Wang K. F. , Wang B. L.
Published: May 2020

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) film-substrate structures have great potential applications in magnets and superconducting cables that have great potential for high temperature superconducting wires in space solar power stations. The most important issue in the successful application of those structures is the delamination of interfaces. Therefore, in this paper, the delamination induced by electromagnetic force and temperature change in the superconducting film-substrate structure is studied. Energy release rates of delamination are given. It is found that thermal effect on the energy release rate is more significant when the electromagnetic force increases. If without electromagnetic force, as the crack length reaches at its critical value, the film will be buckling and the crack becomes a mixed crack. The closed-form solution of the energy release rate of the mixed crack is provided. On the other hand, when the crack length is smaller than its critical buckling length and the crack is the mode II crack. The influence of the stress intensity factor of the mode II crack is more significant for a thicker film. This suggests that the film should be designed to be thinner. This study is useful for engineers to design HTS film-substrate structures.
Distractor-Aware Tracking with Multi-Task and Dynamic Feature Learning
Authors: Liu Weichun , Tang Xiaoan , Zhao Chenglin
Published: May 2020

Recently, deep trackers based on the siamese networking are enjoying increasing popularity in the tracking community. Generally, those trackers learn a high-level semantic embedding space for feature representation but lose low-level fine-grained details. Meanwhile, the learned high-level semantic features are not updated during online tracking, which results in tracking drift in presence of target appearance variation and similar distractors. In this paper, we present a novel end-to-end trainable Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based on the siamese network for distractor-aware tracking. It enhances target appearance representation in both the offline training stage and online tracking stage. In the offline training stage, this network learns both the low-level fine-grained details and high-level coarse-grained semantics simultaneously in a multi-task learning framework. The low-level features with better resolution are complementary to semantic features and able to distinguish the foreground target from background distractors. In the online stage, the learned low-level features are fed into a correlation filter layer and updated in an interpolated manner to encode target appearance variation adaptively. The learned high-level features are fed into a cross-correlation layer without online update. Therefore, the proposed tracker benefits from both the adaptability of the fine-grained correlation filter and the generalization capability of the semantic embedding. Extensive experiments are conducted on the public OTB100 and UAV123 benchmark datasets. Our tracker achieves state-of-the-art performance while running with a real-time frame-rate.
Investigations of ZnO Nanorod Films Grown by Hydrothermal Method for Ethanol Gas Sensor
Authors: Jainulabdeen S. , Gopinathan C. , Mumtaz Parveen A. , Mahalakshmi K. , Jeyadheepan K. , Saravanakumar K.
Published: May 2020

Rod-structured ZnO has grown hydrothermally on the seed layer by varying growth time. The growth mechanism of rod-structured ZnO thin films is studied extensively with the help of characterizing tools. The preferred orientation and c/a ratio are studied with Grazing Incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD). The growth mechanism of ZnO rod structure is studied in detailed manner with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The optical absorption and emission properties of ZnO rods are studied with respect to growth morphology. Ethanol sensing measurements are carried out at room temperature (RT). The nanostructured ZnO films show good response and sensitivity to ethanol gas at RT.