bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inhibiting IL-17A and IL-17F in Rheumatic Disease: Therapeutics Help to Elucidate Disease Mechanisms
Authors: Tam Hoi Ki Joshua , Robinson Philip C. , Nash Peter
Published: July 2022

Purpose of Review

Psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis belong to a family of rheumatological diseases that lead to painful joint inflammation that impacts on patient function and quality of life. Recent studies have shown that the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17 is involved in the inflammatory joint changes in spondyloarthritides. We will review the pathophysiology of IL-17 and review the biological therapies targeting IL-17.

Recent Findings

IL-17 is produced and released from T cells and is dependent on multiple upstream cytokines, which include IL-23. There are six members of the IL-17 family that are secreted from multiple populations of T cells. The initial biologic medications have been developed against IL-17A, which is the best-studied member of this family. These medications appear to be effective in controlling joint inflammation, improving patient quality of life, and are generally well tolerated. More recently, medications have been developed that target both IL-17A and IL-17F. In addition, brodalumab, an antibody targeting the IL-17 receptor, has had a resurgence after initial concerns for an increased risk of suicide.

IL-17 is an inflammatory cytokine that is critical in the pathobiology of axial spondyloarthritides. Recent biological therapies targeting IL-17A are effective and well tolerated in patients with axial spondyloarthritis. Specific targeting of the Il-17A/F heterodimer is also effective and provides another viable option in the clinician’s armamentarium.
Seedlings of a hemiparasite recognize legumes, but do not distinguish good from poor host species
Authors: Sandner Tobias M. , Schoppan Lola , Matthies Diethart
Published: July 2022

Most hemiparasitic plants are generalists with a broad host range, but they grow better in the presence of some plant species than with others. In mixed communities of hosts, hemiparasites prefer some hosts over others, but it is not yet known if hemiparasite roots can distinguish between the roots of different plant species and show directed growth (host tropism). We performed host choice experiments, exposing seedlings of Rhinanthus alectorolophus in agar plates simultaneously to seedlings of grass and legume species known to be hosts of good or poor quality for the parasite, and measured directed root growth and haustoria formation. Parasite roots did not show directed growth towards the roots of a good compared to a poor host species within a host functional group. However, parasite roots grew more strongly in the direction of legume than grass roots. The probability to form haustoria with host roots did not differ between host species, and microscopy revealed that functional haustoria were formed even with a very poor host, the grass Anthoxanthum odoratum. Our results show that growth experiments in agar plates are a suitable approach to study early host choice of hemiparasites. Our finding that hemiparasites can (initially) form functional haustoria even with very poor hosts emphasizes that the quality of a plant species as a host depends on several independent processes, including early host recognition, haustoria formation, resource supply and competition.
Impact of Colonizer Copepods on Zooplankton Structure and Diversity in Contrasting Estuaries
Authors: Barroeta Ziortza , Villate Fernando , Uriarte Ibon , Iriarte Arantza
Published: July 2022

The impact of the occurrence of the non-indigenous species (NIS) Acartia tonsa, Oithona davisae, and Pseudodiaptomus marinus and of the range-expanding copepods Acartia bifilosa and Calanipeda aquaedulcis on the structure and diversity of zooplankton communities was analyzed using 18 years (1998–2015) time series from the contrasting estuaries of Bilbao and Urdaibai (Basque coast, Bay of Biscay). Changes in the structure of communities were assessed by using multivariate analyses of taxa abundances and changes in diversity by using descriptors of alpha, beta, and gamma diversity. The most evident changes occurred at the upper reaches of the estuary of Bilbao, where an abundant and less diverse brackish community, dominated by the NIS, A. tonsa and O. davisae, succeeded a low abundance and more diverse community of neritic origin. The later establishment of C. aquaedulcis was linked to further changes in the structure of the community and a progressive increase in diversity. The seasonal pattern of diversity at the inner estuary and the beta diversity in the estuary were also significantly affected by the arrival of the NIS and C. aquaedulcis. In contrast, the original low diversity brackish community of the estuary of Urdaibai, clearly dominated by A. bifilosa, was far less affected by the arrival of the same copepod NIS, and A. bifilosa remained as the species best related to the changes in zooplankton structure and diversity in the brackish habitats of the estuary.
Inter-colony fights in Tetragonula stingless bees result in temporary mixed-species worker cohorts
Authors: Lau Ieng Hou , Hereward James P. , Smith Tobias J. , Heard Tim A. , Walter Gimme H.
Published: July 2022

Two stingless bee species, Tetragonula carbonaria and Tetragonula hockingsi, engage in extreme inter-colony fights, both within and between species. Inter species fights can result in one species taking over the nest of the other. Following successful takeovers, brood from the previous colony could be retained and become workers, but this has yet to be tested. We first tested whether T. carbonaria callows are accepted when introduced into a different conspecific nest and found that they are indeed accepted as normal workers. This suggested that mixed species cohorts might be expected after a hive takeover. We assessed this in a managed T. carbonaria hive, fitted with an observation window that was subject to multiple takeover attempts. Using microsatellite genotyping, we established that multiple different colonies (of both species) attacked the observation colony over 63 days, resulting in a catastrophic collapse of the nest. Our observations inside the hive during these inter-colony invasions revealed no evidence of resource robbing, adding further support to the hypothesis that fighting behaviour in these species has the primary goal of taking over the nest. Newly emerged callows were ejected by invaders, predominantly during the initial few days of fighting. The ejection of callows ceased; however, shortly after each takeover attempt, and, following this, newly emerged callows were accepted as workers. These findings add new evidence that the invading colony co-exists with workers from the previous brood following a takeover, but only until the last of that cohort dies.
Assessment of final-year medical students’ entrustable professional activities after education on an interprofessional training ward: A case-control study
Authors: Brätz Julian , Bußenius Lisa , Brätz Irina , Grahn Hanno , Prediger Sarah , Harendza Sigrid
Published: July 2022

Introduction Interprofessional training wards (ITWs) are implemented to provide medical students with a holistic and authentic health care experience to improve their clinical competencies. Controlled outcome studies assessing students’ competencies after ITW-training are uncommon. In this case-control study, we assessed final-year medical students who received ITW-training regarding entrustable professional activities (EPAs) and communicative as well as social competencies.
Methods In March 2021, 32 final-year students, 16 with (ITW group) and 16 without (control group) a previous four-week placement on an ITW participated in a training simulating the first day of residency. The simulated patients assessed students’ communication and interpersonal skills for history taking with the ComCare index after every consultation. Twelve prospective EPAs were assessed by three senior physicians after watching videos of the students’ case presentations.
Results While baseline characteristics and ComCare index ratings were not significantly different between the two groups, the overall mean entrustment level for the 12 EPAs was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in the ITW group compared to the control group (median = 3.15 versus 2.22). The interrater reliability for all EPAs was high and entrustment in students from the ITW group was significantly higher in 10 out of 12 EPAs.
Discussion ITW training seems to prepare medical students well to practice competencies which are relevant for prospective entrustment decisions and can be deduced by senior physicians from case presentations. Further studies with larger student cohorts are needed to corroborate this finding and observable EPAs could also be defined to assess students’ competencies after ITW training.
Electrostatic Interaction Tailored Anion-Rich Solvation Sheath Stabilizing High-Voltage Lithium Metal Batteries
Authors: Wu Junru , Gao Ziyao , Wang Yao , Yang Xu , Liu Qi , Zhou Dong , Wang Xianshu , Kang Feiyu , Li Baohua
Published: July 2022

Through tailoring interfacial chemistry, electrolyte engineering is a facile yet effective strategy for high-performance lithium (Li) metal batteries, where the solvation structure is critical for interfacial chemistry. Herein, the effect of electrostatic interaction on regulating an anion-rich solvation is firstly proposed. The moderate electrostatic interaction between anion and solvent promotes anion to enter the solvation sheath, inducing stable solid electrolyte interphase with fast Li+ transport kinetics on the anode. This as-designed electrolyte exhibits excellent compatibility with Li metal anode (a Li deposition/stripping Coulombic efficiency of 99.3%) and high-voltage LiCoO2 cathode. Consequently, the 50 μm-thin Li||high-loading LiCoO2 cells achieve significantly improved cycling performance under stringent conditions of high voltage over 4.5 V, lean electrolyte, and wide temperature range (− 20 to 60 °C). This work inspires a groundbreaking strategy to manipulate the solvation structure through regulating the interactions of solvent and anion for high-performance Li metal batteries.
Enhancing Cross-lingual Biomedical Concept Normalization Using Deep Neural Network Pretrained Language Models
Authors: Lin Ying-Chi , Hoffmann Phillip , Rahm Erhard
Published: July 2022

In this study, we propose a new approach for cross-lingual biomedical concept normalization, the process of mapping text in non-English documents to English concepts of a knowledge base. The resulting mappings, named as semantic annotations, enhance data integration and interoperability of documents in different languages. The US FDA (Food and Drug Administration), therefore, requires all submitted medical forms to be semantically annotated. These standardized medical forms are used in health care practice and biomedical research and are translated/adapted into various languages. Mapping them to the same concepts (normally in English) facilitates the comparison of multiple medical studies even cross-lingually. However, the translation and adaptation of these forms can cause them to deviate from its original text syntactically and in wording. This leads the conventional string matching methods to produce low-quality annotation results. Therefore, our new approach incorporates semantics into the cross-lingual concept normalization process. This is done using sentence embeddings generated by BERT-based pretrained language models. We evaluate the new approach by annotating entire questions of German medical forms with concepts in English, as required by the FDA. The new approach achieves an improvement of 136% in recall, 52% in precision and 66% in F-measure compared to the conventional string matching methods.
Soft Actuation and Compliant Mechanisms in Humanoid Robots
Authors: Niiyama Ryuma
Published: July 2022

Purpose of Review

We aimed to reveal the impact of soft robotics, which has developed in the last decade, on humanoid robotics research. Although humanoid robots are usually classified as hard robotics, softness should be integrated because soft materials and mechanisms are used extensively in the human body.

Recent Findings

In recent years, new soft actuators based on hybrid approaches, such as the combination of electricity and fluid, have emerged. Physically compliant robotic systems that are safe and robust are needed to take on higher-risk tasks and to tolerate large numbers of trials in the process of machine learning.

Emerging soft actuators are enabling humanoid robots to achieve rapid movements with physical impacts. Efforts to integrate soft robotics and humanoid robots are still on their way. A potential direction for humanoid robots is their application to physical human-robot interaction, where further exploitation of softness is expected.
Some applications of modular convergence in vector lattice setting
Authors: Boccuto Antonio , Sambucini Anna Rita
Published: July 2022

The main purpose of this paper is to apply the theory of vector lattices and the related abstract modular convergence to the context of Mellin-type kernels and (non)linear vector lattice-valued operators, following the construction of an integral given in earlier papers.
Best Rescue Strategy for Tracheal Intubation During Tracheal Stenting for Interventional Radiologists
Authors: Liu Yiming , Wang Ling , Xu Kaihao , Jiao Dechao , Han Xinwei
Published: July 2022

Objective

To analyze the usefulness of temporary sheath-assisted tracheal intubation during tracheal stenting (TS) under fluoroscopy.

Methods

A total of 261 patients with airway stenosis due to malignant tumors underwent TS from May 2017 to January 2021, and 21 patients required tracheal intubation (TI) after air stenting because of viscous sputum blockage, endotracheal bleeding, and other conditions. The technique of temporary sheath-assisted TI was used. The vital signs (such as SpO2, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory), technical success, clinical success, and complications were analyzed.

Results

Temporary sheath-assisted TI was successful in all patients, and the mean procedure time was 0.7 min, with a technical success rate of 100%. Hypoxia resolved in all patients, and sputum blockage or endotracheal bleeding could be treated easily through the TI channel under fluoroscopy. All the vital signs significantly increased after TI (P < 0.05). One patient died without successful TI removal, making for a clinical success rate of 95.2%. No serious complications occurred.

Conclusion

Sheath-assisted TI is an easy and useful procedure during TS under fluoroscopy in emergency situations.
Im Yunjidang
Authors: Kim Sungmoon
Published: July 2022

This Element aims to critically examine the philosophical thought of Im Yunjidang 任允摯堂 (1721–93), a female Korean Neo-Confucian philosopher from the Chosŏn 朝鮮 dynasty (1392–1910), and to present her as a feminist thinker. Unlike most Korean women of her time, Yunjidang had the exceptional opportunity to be introduced to a major philosophical debate among Korean Neo-Confucians, which was focused on two core questions-whether sages and commoners share the same heart-mind, and whether the natures of human beings and animals are identical. In the course of engaging in this debate, she was able to reformulate Neo-Confucian metaphysics and ethics of moral self-cultivation, culminating in her bold ideas of the moral equality between men and women and the possibility of female sagehood. By proposing a 'stage-approach' to feminism that is also sensitive to the cultural context, this Element shows that Yunjidang's philosophical thought could be best captured in terms of Confucian feminism.
Peoples Temple and Jonestown in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Moore Rebecca
Published: July 2022

The new religious movement of Peoples Temple, begun in the 1950s, came to a dramatic end with the mass murders and suicides that occurred in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978. This analysis presents the historical context for understanding the Temple by focusing on the ways that migrations from Indiana to California and finally to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana shaped the life and thought of Temple members. It closely examines the religious beliefs, political philosophies, and economic commitments held by the group, and it shifts the traditional focus on the leader and founder, Jim Jones, to the individuals who made up the heart and soul of the movement. It also investigates the paradoxical role that race and racism played throughout the life of the Temple. The Element concludes by considering the ways in which Peoples Temple and the tragedy at Jonestown have entered the popular imagination and captured international attention.
Local Politics and Social Policy in China
Authors: Ratigan Kerry E.
Published: July 2022

Due to uneven economic reforms, Chinese provinces have developed distinct approaches to governing that impact social policy priorities and policy implementation. Ratigan shows how coastal provinces tended to prioritize health and education, and developed a pragmatic policy style, which fostered innovation and professionalism in policy implementation. Meanwhile, inland provinces tended to prioritize targeted poverty alleviation and affordable housing, while taking a paternalist, top-down approach to implementation. This book provides a quantitative analysis of provincial social policy spending in the 2000s and qualitative case studies of provinces with divergent approaches to social policy. It highlights healthcare, but also draws on illustrative examples from poverty alleviation, education, and housing policy. By showing the importance of local actors in shaping social policy implementation, this book will appeal to scholars and advanced students of Chinese politics, comparative welfare studies, and comparative politics.
Understanding Human Evolution
Authors: Tattersall Ian
Published: July 2022

Human life, and how we came to be, is one of the greatest scientific and philosophical questions of our time. This compact and accessible book presents a modern view of human evolution. Written by a leading authority, it lucidly and engagingly explains not only the evolutionary process, but the technologies currently used to unravel the evolutionary past and emergence of Homo sapiens. By separating the history of palaeoanthropology from current interpretation of the human fossil record, it lays numerous misconceptions to rest, and demonstrates that human evolution has been far from the linear struggle from primitiveness to perfection that we've been led to believe. It also presents a coherent scenario for how Homo sapiens contrived to cross a formidable cognitive barrier to become an extraordinary and unprecedented thinking creature. Elegantly illustrated, Understanding Human Evolution is for anyone interested in the complex and tangled story of how we came to be.
Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives on International Law
Authors: Deplano Rossana
Published: July 2022

The book examines the processes through which the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly acquire legal significance through state practice. By using an empirically-grounded method of inquiry, it examines how states attribute legal significance to resolutions in three different contexts: at the time of adoption, within domestic law and in international practice. The book shows that, contrary to the existent theories on the legal significance of resolutions, the General Assembly is not a unitary actor. It also demonstrates that the concept of legal significance of resolutions is not predetermined or static. While resolutions are often framed in normative language, they acquire legal significance only to the extent that states find it desirable or convenient, depending on context and circumstances. Consequently, the attribution of legal significance to resolutions turns out to be a manifestation of state will to abide by their content, not the will of the General Assembly.
Zimbabwe’s Economic Decline, Archives Access Regimes, Professionalism, and Their Impact on Researcher-Archivist Relations at the National Archives of Zimbabwe
Authors: Bishi George , Muchefa Livingstone
Published: July 2022

This article discusses the manner in which Zimbabwe’s faltering economy affects the functioning of the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ). It also looks at the NAZ access regimes, ethical and professional issues, and their ramifications on archivist-researcher relations. It observes that the conflict of interest between the mandate of archivists to preserve and conserve archives and researchers’ need for access to archives at the NAZ occasionally complicates researcher-archivist interaction. This is because, as professionals and government employees, archivists must follow ethical standards and archival regulations governing the preservation, conservation, and access to archives, even if the same access guidelines and archival practices are not always in the best interests of researchers. This article uses the term “archivists” to explicitly refer to the NAZ staff members who assist researchers at the control desk by identifying, retrieving, and acquiring photocopies of required archives/documents, whilst the term “researchers” refers to both academic and non-academic users of the archives. The issues discussed in this article are pertinent to professional archivists as well as local and foreign researchers, both seasoned and junior, who want to do research at the NAZ and other African archives.
Destabilization of binary mixing layer in supercritical conditions
Authors: Ly Nguyen , Ihme Matthias
Published: July 2022

Compressible mixing layer instabilities are of importance to a wide range of environmental and industrial applications. Past studies have focused on either ideal-gas or real-fluid thermodynamic regimes of single-species mixing layers. However, mixing layers of binary mixtures at supercritical conditions, commonly encountered in fuel injection systems, introduce additional complexities due to the added compositional degree-of-freedom. Moreover, the effect of strong variations in thermodynamic response functions across the Widom line on the binary mixing layer stability remains poorly understood. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the coupling between the hydrodynamic instability and the real-fluid thermodynamics across the Widom line and its effects on the overall binary mixing layer dynamics. To this end, we develop a linear stability analysis of the full binary-species compressible transport equations coupled with the PC-SAFT equation of state. Analysis shows the existence of a novel instability mechanism that arises from juxtapositioning of the Widom-line transition and the hydrodynamic inflection point. This novel thermodynamically induced instability mechanism has the net effect of destabilizing the binary mixing layer at lowering supercritical conditions towards the critical pressure point. This is in contrast to previous stability analyses of supercritical single-species mixing layers, where increasing pressure destabilizes the flow due to its effect on reducing the density stratification. The discovered thermodynamically induced instability mechanism of binary mixing flows highlights the need for an extension of classical instability criteria to incorporate the effect of strong variations in the thermodynamic response functions across the Widom line on mixing layer instability.
Tempered radicals in manufacturing: Invisible champions of inclusion
Authors: Griffiths Chris , Pio Edwina , McGhee Peter
Published: July 2022

The tempered radical enjoys their work and is committed to their organisation. Yet, something important to them, like their values or identity, makes them feel different from their workplace's dominant culture. This sense of difference, and their tempered approach to radical change, allow them to work unnoticed in organisations as invisible champions of inclusion. This study examines how tempered radicals use their abilities as change agents to foster inclusion. It takes advantage of manufacturing industries' highly collaborative, richly diverse and rapidly changing employment environment. Drawing participants from all organisational levels demonstrates the broad influence of the tempered radical. Twenty-four qualitative interviews were conducted using a narrative inquiry methodology and interpreted through thematic analysis. This study builds on current theory and makes a valuable contribution by proposing a framework to illustrate the key characteristics of the tempered radical incorporating inclusion in the workplace.
Multi-level antecedents of public sector innovation? An ethnography of a large UK postal services organization
Authors: Turner Simon
Published: July 2022

This paper examines professional and organizational-level antecedents of public sector innovation using findings from a 9-month ethnography conducted within the marketing department of a large UK postal organization. The analysis centres on vignettes of two cross-functional projects to develop product and service innovations that involved external design agencies. The data are based on observation of the marketing teams, semi-structured interviews, and documentary analysis. The study highlights that social practices characteristic of communities of practice are antecedent to the generation of absorptive capacity, but also shows that the learning produced by communities of practice is mediated by relations of power associated with these groups and interaction with organizational absorptive capacity. This paper develops the theory of absorptive capacity by shifting attention away from ‘prior knowledge’ in enabling acquisition of external knowledge to highlighting the role of intensive interaction, organizational context, and power relations in shaping knowledge creation for learning and innovation.
Native-speakerism and non-native second language teachers: A research agenda
Authors: Llurda Enric , Calvet-Terré Júlia
Published: July 2022

A lot of attention has been devoted in the last 30 years to understanding nativeness and what has traditionally been called non-nativeness. While many studies have attempted to problematize the dichotomic division between so-called native speakers and non-native speakers, several others have specifically focussed on the language teaching profession in order to understand aspects related to identity and performance of teachers who align with either one of those two categories. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of relevant literature published after Moussu and Llurda's (2008) state-of-the-art article and set out a series of tasks that we deem important in order to expand the field of research and cover areas that have not yet been sufficiently investigated. Those tasks are grouped into three sections that cover the main aspects that we perceive to be in need of attention: (1) debunking native-speakerism; (2) differences between native teachers and non-native teachers; and (3) languages other than English.
Newton–Euler modeling and Hamiltonians for robot control in the geometric algebra
Authors: Bayro-Corrochano Eduardo , Medrano-Hermosillo Jesus , Osuna-González Guillermo , Uriostegui-Legorreta Ulises
Published: July 2022

The principal objective of the paper is to show the importance of the Hamiltonian in control theory. Instead of using the Lagrangian formulation of electromechanical or robotic systems, our work is focused on robot dynamics by its Hamiltonian. Using the iterative Newton–Euler, we generate the local Hamiltonians and the derivative of the moments at each joint of the robot manipulator. Thus, we can apply decentralized controllers at each joint. We compare and discuss the efficiency of the controllers. We show that the performance of the sliding modes controller is more robust than that of the PD or Bang–Bang controllers.
Assessing progression of health technology assessment implementation in Asia: a balanced scorecard for cross comparison of selected countries in Asia
Authors: Kumar Ritu , Suharlim Christian , Amaris Caruso Ana , Gilmartin Colin , Mehra Meenakshi , Castro Hector Eduardo
Published: July 2022

Objective

To provide an update on the use of health technology assessment (HTA) in Asia and lessons for countries seeking to advance HTA.

Methods

Build upon the research by Chootipongchaivat and the World Health Organization identifying eighteen “factors conducive to the development of HTA in Asia.” These factors were used to create a balanced scorecard to assess the progress of HTA, measuring progress against each factor in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. A scoring system was used wherein: 1, No progress; 2, milestone at early stages, ad hoc HTA use; 3, progress on milestone but limited impact; 4, significant progress but limited remit; and 5, significant progress on milestone, routine HTA informs decisions. Total scores indicated progress of HTA while milestone scores provided contextual insights within countries. Literature reviews and expert interviews were used to complete scorecards.

Results

South Korea and Thailand scored highest with seventy-three and seventy-one points, respectively, while Vietnam scored lowest at 28.5. Advanced HTA programs have independent HTA agencies with a broad remit, explicit process and methods, network of researchers, and routine use of HTA. Taiwan and Malaysia fall in a middle tier, with established HTA programs with limited remit. The final tier with China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam, emerging HTA processes.

Conclusions

Universal Health Coverage goals have catalyzed expansion of HTA. Political will, technical expertise, and sustained financing remain challenges for sustainable HTA programs. Legislation supporting HTA is helpful but political will is key. Recommendations for regional collaboration are provided.
SIMPLE SEMIPARAMETRIC ESTIMATION OF ORDERED RESPONSE MODELS
Authors: Liu Ruixuan , Yu Zhengfei
Published: July 2022

We propose two simple semiparametric estimation methods for ordered response models with an unknown error distribution. The proposed methods do not require users to choose any tuning parameters, and they automatically incorporate the monotonicity restriction of the unknown distribution function. Fixing finite-dimensional parameters in the model, we construct nonparametric maximum likelihood estimates for the error distribution based on the related binary choice data or the entire ordered response data. We then obtain estimates for finite-dimensional parameters based on moment conditions given the estimated distribution function. Our semiparametric approaches deliver root-n consistent and asymptotically normal estimators of the regression coefficient and threshold parameter. We also develop valid bootstrap procedures for inference. The advantages of our methods are borne out in simulation studies and a real data application.
Spatial growth rate of emerging SARS-CoV-2 lineages in England, September 2020–December 2021
Authors: Smallman-Raynor M. R. , Cliff A. D. ,   The COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium
Published: July 2022

This paper uses a robust method of spatial epidemiological analysis to assess the spatial growth rate of multiple lineages of SARS-CoV-2 in the local authority areas of England, September 2020–December 2021. Using the genomic surveillance records of the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, the analysis identifies a substantial (7.6-fold) difference in the average rate of spatial growth of 37 sample lineages, from the slowest (Delta AY.4.3) to the fastest (Omicron BA.1). Spatial growth of the Omicron (B.1.1.529 and BA) variant was found to be 2.81× faster than the Delta (B.1.617.2 and AY) variant and 3.76× faster than the Alpha (B.1.1.7 and Q) variant. In addition to AY.4.2 (a designated variant under investigation, VUI-21OCT-01), three Delta sublineages (AY.43, AY.98 and AY.120) were found to display a statistically faster rate of spatial growth than the parent lineage and would seem to merit further investigation. We suggest that the monitoring of spatial growth rates is a potentially valuable adjunct to outbreak response procedures for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in a defined population.
An ‘Execution’ at the Hofoper: Czech Perspectives on the Viennese Premiere of Dvořák'sThe Cunning Peasant
Authors: Branda Eva
Published: July 2022

On the score of hisSt Ludmilaoratorio, Dvořák scribbled: ‘completed in the days whenThe Cunning Peasantwas executed in Vienna’. Indeed, Dvořák's comic opera sparked a riot at its Hofoper premiere in 1885 and was met with harsh criticism in the Viennese press. David Brodbeck argues that the rioters were motivated to action not byThe Cunning Peasantitself, but by the composer's nationality. Likewise, Brodbeck shows that the opera's harshest Viennese critics belonged to a new generation of German liberals, who subscribed to an increasingly ethnic, rather than civic, view of nationalism and were thus predisposed to disapprove of any Dvořák opera because it was not German. Based on this analysis, it would appear that Dvořák's fate was sealed long before the first notes ofThe Cunning Peasantwere sounded at the Vienna Hofoper. This article builds on Brodbeck's claims, by exploring the Viennese scandal from the perspective of Czech critics, many of whom remained unconvinced that all Czech operas – whether by Dvořák or by another composer – would have been greeted with the same kind of disdain. In their view,The Cunning Peasantfailed because it was too overtly Czech for Vienna, having been designed for Prague's Provisional Theatre, and because it was insufficiently representative of Czech achievement in the genre, paling in comparison with the operas of Smetana. Rather than offering a more plausible explanation for the riot, the opinions articulated in the Prague press reveal much about the biases and motivations of the Czech critics themselves.
Single ventricular strain measures correlate with peak oxygen consumption in children and adolescents with Fontan circulation
Authors: Goudar Suma , Forsha Daniel , White David A. , Sherman Ashley , Shirali Girish
Published: July 2022

Introduction:

Children with a single ventricle post-Fontan palliation are at increased risk of poor outcomes with peak oxygen consumption acting as a surrogate outcome marker. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between peak oxygen consumption and echocardiographic measures of ventricular function and deformation, including ventricular global longitudinal strain and dyssynchrony, in children and adolescents following Fontan palliation.

Methods:

Patients (age 8–21 years) with single ventricle post-Fontan palliation were prospectively recruited and participated in an echocardiogram, including views optimised for two-dimensional speckle tracking, and a cardiopulmonary exercise test on a cycle ergometer to maximal volitional fatigue.

Results:

Thirty-eight patients (mean age 13.7 ± 2.3 years) post-Fontan palliation had either a single left ventricular (n = 20), single right ventricular (n = 14), or biventricular (n = 4) morphology. Peak oxygen consumption (24.9 ± 5.6 ml/kg/minute) was correlated with global longitudinal strain (r = −0.435, p = 0.007), a strain discoordination time to peak index (r = −0.48, p = 0.003), and the presence of an electro-mechanical dyssynchrony strain pattern (p = 0.008). On multivariate regression modelling, these three variables were associated with peak oxygen consumption independently of age and sex. The single right ventricular group had evidence of possible diastolic dysfunction by E/e’ compared to the single left ventricular and biventricular groups (p = 0.001).

Conclusions:

Strain analysis measures are correlated with peak oxygen consumption in this cohort of children, adolescents, and young adults following Fontan palliation, suggesting that ventricular mechanics may influence the efficiency of the Fontan circulation.
Is there a relationship between end-of-life cancer patients’ dignity-related distress and caregivers’ distress? An exploratory study
Authors: Bovero Andrea , Cotardo Francesca , Lops Chiara , Botto Rossana , Geminiani Giuliano Carlo
Published: July 2022

Objectives

The mutual influence between end-of-life cancer patients and their family caregivers is widely endorsed. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between end-of-life cancer patients’ dignity-related distress and the distress of their caregivers.

Method

A cross-sectional approach was used. The sample consisted of 128 patients with a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) below 50 and a life expectancy of a few weeks, and their family caregivers. Personal and clinical data were collected and validated rating scales were administered:Patient Dignity Inventory(PDI) to terminal cancer patients;Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS),Demoralization Scale(DS),Herth Hope Index(HHI),Caregiver Reaction Assessment(CRA),Short Form Health Survey 36(SF-36), andDistress Thermometer (DT)to caregivers.

Results

Findings highlighted significant correlations between patients’ scores on the Psychological Distress PDI subscale and the PDI Total Score and caregivers’ Emotional Role. Patients’ Psychological Distress, PDI Total Score, and Loss of Purpose and Meaning were associated with caregivers’ Disrupted Schedule. Finally, patients’ Physical Symptoms and Dependency, Loss of Purpose and Meaning, and PDI Total Score were correlated with caregivers’ Disheartenment.

Significance of results

The results highlighted the key role of dignity as a relational dimension during the end-of-life phase. Therefore, because of caregivers’ distress could affect patients’ dignity-related distress by influencing the interpersonal aspects of patients’ autonomy, it would be important to relieve caregivers’ distress in order to promote patients’ autonomy and minimize their fear of being a burden.
Modification of the Loss Cone for Energetic Particles in the Earth's Inner Magnetosphere
Authors: Borovsky J. E. , Yakymenko K. N. , Delzanno G. L.
Published: July 2022

The behavior of energetic particles in the Earth's dipole and stretched magnetic‐field models is explored with a focus on the shift of the atmospheric loss cone away from the magnetic‐field direction and on non‐adiabatic behavior occurring when the particle gyroradius becomes comparable with the gradient scale length of the local magnetic field. It is shown that the equatorial loss cone is aberrated away from the magnetic‐field direction (pitch angle of 0°) by the perpendicular drift of a charged particle (which is referred to as the “Mozer transform” described in Mozer (1966, https://doi.org/10.1029/JZ071i011p02701). It is found that the Mozer coordinate transformation in pitch‐angle/gyrophase‐angle space better organizes the behavior of bounce times, mirror altitudes, drift speeds, and first adiabatic invariant. It also describes the loss‐cone shift accurately for a certain range of values of the adiabaticity parameter ϵ, defined by the ratio of the particle gyroradius to the local radius of curvature of the magnetic field. For particles with larger ϵ, the Mozer transform (evaluated with the standard gradient‐curvature drift) breaks down and the “central trajectory” theory can be used to calculate the angular shift of the loss cone, which now includes an Earthward shift. When ϵ becomes relatively large, stochastic field line curvature (FLC) scattering occurs: we show the intimate connection between the strength of FLC scattering and the loss‐cone shift. By comparing ion orbits in the dipole and Tsyganenko (Ts89 and Ts04) magnetic fields, we conclude that the loss cone of ring‐current ions is significantly modified during geomagnetically active times.
Role of Particle Resuspension in Maintaining Hypoxic Level in the Pearl River Estuary
Authors: Cui Yongsheng , Wu Jiaxue , Tan Ehui , Kao Shuh‐Ji
Published: July 2022

Eutrophication‐induced seasonal hypoxia in the coastal ocean has widely been attributed to the excessive oxygen consumption induced by settling and deposition of organic particles on sea floor. However, the role of particle resuspension in maintaining the hypoxic level has seldom been investigated based on field observations. Here, we carefully examined particle resuspension and its contribution to oxygen consumption in the Pearl River Estuary in July 2020. The bottom hypoxia was found to appear over the organic‐rich mudbelt off the estuary. Concentrated particles in suspension near the bottom, which were induced by particle resuspension rather than by particle settling, occurred near the front created by shelf salinity intrusions where bottom hypoxia appeared in the summer. The total dissolved oxygen (DO) depletion responsible for bottom hypoxia can be exclusively estimated from the DO budget during the tidal cycle. The water DO depletion dominated by particle resuspension is larger than or at least comparable to sediment oxygen demand. This highlights that the DO budget in the absence of particle resuspension overestimates the DO level in coastal hypoxia. Overall, our results suggest that particle resuspension play a vital role in maintaining the DO level of bottom hypoxia. This finding will be helpful to understand the impact of particle resuspension on coastal hypoxia, as well as other marine environmental problems in estuary and coastal ocean.
Incomplete Crack Sealing Causes Localization of Fracturing in Hydrothermal Quartz Veins
Authors: Späth Michael , Urai Janos L. , Nestler Britta
Published: July 2022

Cyclic microfracturing and epitaxial crystal growth have long been recognized in crack‐seal veins, but an understanding of a single crack‐seal cycle is still missing. Here we present a phase‐field model that includes both fracture mechanics of crack propagation, and epitaxial crystal growth on the fracture walls, repeating this cycle multiple times in a polycrystalline, microporous quartz rock. Our simulations have two end members: If a vein completely seals, it is stronger than the host rock, cracking is delocalized, forming many single‐seal microveins. Incomplete sealing makes the vein weaker than the host rock and localizes the new fracture inside the vein, leading to multi‐crack‐seal. We suggest that the sealing degree is a key parameter in hydrothermal systems and multi‐crack‐seal veins are long‐lived, microporous sites of mechanical weakness. We generalize the phase‐field approach to conduct probabilistic simulations in between these two types, and show how systems of microveins and multi‐crack‐seal veins emerge.
Equatorial Plasma Bubble Detection Using Vertical TEC From Altimetry Satellite
Authors: Tang Long , Chen Gefa
Published: July 2022

In this study, we detect the equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) using vertical total electron content (vTEC) from altimetry satellite for the first time. The Jason‐2 vTEC data during the high solar activity year of 2014 are employed to investigate the characteristics of EPB. The latitudinal and temporal variations of EPB are analyzed first and the results are consistent to those of previous reported studies, suggesting the observed EPB events are reliable. Furthermore, due to the features of vTEC, the zonal scale and vertical depth of EPB are also obtained: the zonal scale varies mainly with small scope of 0.5 ∼ 1.5° and seems to be independent of latitude, whereas the vertical depth is related to latitude with large value located in the crest region of the equatorial anomaly. The results show the altimetry satellite vTEC is feasible for EPB detection and can serve as a new tool for EPB monitoring.
Second generation androgen receptor antagonists and challenges in prostate cancer treatment
Authors: Chen Yanhua , Zhou Qianqian , Hankey William , Fang Xiaosheng , Yuan Fuwen
Published: July 2022

Prostate cancer is a hormone-dependent malignancy, whose onset and progression are closely related to the activity of the androgen receptor (AR) signaling pathway. Due to this critical role of AR signaling in driving prostate cancer, therapy targeting the AR pathway has been the mainstay strategy for metastatic prostate cancer treatment. The utility of these agents has expanded with the emergence of second-generation AR antagonists, which began with the approval of enzalutamide in 2012 by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Together with apalutamide and darolutamide, which were approved in 2018 and 2019, respectively, these agents have improved the survival of patients with prostate cancer, with applications for both androgen-dependent and castration-resistant disease. While patients receiving these drugs receive a benefit in the form of prolonged survival, they are not cured and ultimately progress to lethal neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). Here we summarize the current state of AR antagonist development and highlight the emerging challenges of their clinical application and the potential resistance mechanisms, which might be addressed by combination therapies or the development of novel AR-targeted therapies.
Dynamic influences on static measures of metacognition
Authors: Desender Kobe , Vermeylen Luc , Verguts Tom
Published: July 2022

Humans differ in their capability to judge choice accuracy via confidence judgments. Popular signal detection theoretic measures of metacognition, such as M-ratio, do not consider the dynamics of decision making. This can be problematic if response caution is shifted to alter the tradeoff between speed and accuracy. Such shifts could induce unaccounted-for sources of variation in the assessment of metacognition. Instead, evidence accumulation frameworks consider decision making, including the computation of confidence, as a dynamic process unfolding over time. Using simulations, we show a relation between response caution and M-ratio. We then show the same pattern in human participants explicitly instructed to focus on speed or accuracy. Finally, this association between M-ratio and response caution is also present across four datasets without any reference towards speed. In contrast, when data are analyzed with a dynamic measure of metacognition, v-ratio, there is no effect of speed-accuracy tradeoff.
Lateral habenula glutamatergic neurons projecting to the dorsal raphe nucleus promote aggressive arousal in mice
Authors: Takahashi Aki , Durand-de Cuttoli Romain , Flanigan Meghan E. , Hasegawa Emi , Tsunematsu Tomomi , Aleyasin Hossein , Cherasse Yoan , Miya Ken , Okada Takuya , Keino-Masu Kazuko , Mitsui Koshiro , Li Long , Patel Vishwendra , Blitzer Robert D. , Lazarus Michael , Tanaka Kenji F. , Yamanaka Akihiro , Sakurai Takeshi , Ogawa Sonoko , Russo Scott J.
Published: July 2022

The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is known to control aggressive behavior in mice. Here, we found that glutamatergic projections from the lateral habenula (LHb) to the DRN were activated in male mice that experienced pre-exposure to a rival male mouse (“social instigation”) resulting in heightened intermale aggression. Both chemogenetic and optogenetic suppression of the LHb-DRN projection blocked heightened aggression after social instigation in male mice. In contrast, inhibition of this pathway did not affect basal levels of aggressive behavior, suggesting that the activity of the LHb-DRN projection is not necessary for the expression of species-typical aggressive behavior, but required for the increase of aggressive behavior resulting from social instigation. Anatomical analysis showed that LHb neurons synapse on non-serotonergic DRN neurons that project to the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and optogenetic activation of the DRN-VTA projection increased aggressive behaviors. Our results demonstrate that the LHb glutamatergic inputs to the DRN promote aggressive arousal induced by social instigation, which contributes to aggressive behavior by activating VTA-projecting non-serotonergic DRN neurons as one of its potential targets.