bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Carbon uptake and stock potency in Tunda Island mangrove ecosystem, Serang, Banten, Indonesia
Authors: Apriyani V , Soedjiarti T , Patria M P
Published: April 2020

Research on carbon uptake and stock potency in Tunda Island mangrove ecosystem was conducted from April to June 2016. The aims of the present study were to analyze carbon stock and uptake, identify the mangrove species most able to take up and store carbon, and estimate the carbon price of Tunda Island mangrove ecosystem. Transects were established at six stations, representative of the southern and eastern areas of mangrove vegetation in Tunda Island. Results show that the biomass of Tunda Island mangrove ecosystem was 196.76 ton/ha, the carbon stock was 91.48 ton/ha, and carbon uptake was 335.06 ton/ha. At the tree and sapling level, the greatest carbon stock and uptake value was found in Excoecaria agallocha species with 107.47 ton/ha and 392.23 ton/ha, respectively. Tunda Island mangrove ecosystem has an estimated total carbon price of Rp. 88,690,382–Rp. 221,725,955 per hectare.
3D inversion modelling of gravity data to identify gold mineralization zones in region “X”, Pongkor
Authors: Rosid M S , Riska I A , Jaman A P
Published: April 2020

Gold originates from hydrothermal liquids and is deposited in the form of epithermal deposits. Structures such as faults play an important role in the process of gold deposition because they form hydrothermal flow paths to the surface. One method that can be used for gold exploration is the gravity method. This method can identify gold mineralization zones in the faults of a research area. Three-dimensional (3D) inversion modeling can be used to obtain further information on a target. Such modeling allows the process to be more realistic because the geometry model can be fitted to the actual conditions in the field, which allows the measurements to be more accurate. The gravity data acquisition for this study was performed by PT. Antam Tbk gold mining company in Pongkor. The hydrothermal deposit area is categorized as containing low sulfidation epithermal deposits. Analysis and interpretation of the gravity data were performed using derivative analyses, a spectrum analysis, and 3D gravity inversion modeling. The results show gold mineralization zones in the middle of the study area that have high gravity anomalies at the faults. There are eight faults detected in the potential gold mineralization zone. From the inversion result, the density of the rocks in the gold mineralization zone was determined to be in the range of 2.80–3.34 g/cm3.
Socio-economic changes around Jatigede reservoir, Kabupaten Sumedang, Jawa Barat
Authors: Susilowati M H D , Setiadi H , Hikmawati F R
Published: April 2020

Construction of Jatigede Reservoir raises socio-economic changes in the form of changes in livelihoods, incomes, and unemployment rates. This study aims to analyze how the socio-economic changes that occur in residents living around the reservoir. This study uses descriptive analysis method and spatial analysis. This study uses variables including income, livelihood, and unemployment rate. Spatial analytics are used by dividing the research area into three radius, i.e. 0–500 meters, 500–1000 meters, and 100–1500 meters from Jatigede Reservoir. High socio-economic changes occur in areas with high and medium farmer densities. The largest socio-economic change is in the radius of 0–500 meters from the reservoir. The changes of income are always follows the changes of livelihood, but the changes of unemployment rates are not always follows the changes of livelihood.
Microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni-Al intermetallic thin coatings produced by magnetron sputtering
Authors: Ogneva T S , Ruktuev A A , Lazurenko D V , Khomyakov M , Karmanova A
Published: April 2020

In the present study the thin NiAl intermetallic foils formed on different types of substrates by magnetron sputtering technique were investigated. To provide the deposition of intermetallic NiAl compound in one step without additional heat treatment the composite targets assembled from parts of Al and Al plates were used. The structure of formed thin NiAl coatings was studied using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Mechanical properties were assessed by nanohardness indentation and wear testing of deposited coatings. During sputtering the distance from the target to the substrates varied from 60 to 100 mm to estimate the effect of this parameter on structure and properties of the coatings. The results revealed that thin coatings sputtered at the closer distance from the target to the substrates had the higher hardness about 11 GPa and exhibited the high level of wear properties.
Main problems of mathematical modeling high energies plasma technologies
Authors: Bogdanovich V I , Giorbelidze M G
Published: April 2020

Some fundamental problems of mathematical modeling of processes to get coatings using vacuum ion-plasma method have been formulated. It has been introduce a notion of an active surface zone to describe non-thermal activation. It has been shown that non-thermal activation processes can be explained because of the surface focuson effect. Main evolution stages of conversion of absorbed particles have been described based on probability theory. Some general theoretical relations applied in the theory of formation of a new phase on a surface of a solid body have been defined.
The wear resistance additive products derived from EED cobalt powder
Authors: Ageev E V , Altukhov A Yu , Ageeva E V
Published: April 2020

The main claim for powders for additive 3D technologies is a spherical shape of particles. Such particles are the most compact, packed in a certain volume and provide "fluidity" of the powder composition in the material supply systems with the least resistance. The wide use of the method of metal waste recycling into powders for their reuse and application in additive technologies is constrained by the lack of scientific and technical literature complete information on the impact of the original composition, modes and environment on the powder properties and practical application technologies. Therefore, comprehensive theoretical and practical researches are required to develop technologies for the reuse of electro-erosion powders and to estimate the effectiveness of their use. The aim of the work was to study the wear resistance of additive product samples, obtained from cobalt-chromium electro-erosion powder. The wear resistance of the samples was studied on a high-temperature tribometer manufactured by CCM tools. The friction coefficient (initial, maximum and average) is determined on the basis of the wear resistance assessment. The wear coefficient value of the statistical partner and the wear coefficient of the electric spark coating were also identified. The visual image of the wear trace and the wear groove profile of the electro-spark coating are shown.
Factors influencing strength and direction of natural ventilation pressure in general mines to control mine airing
Authors: Lyalkina G B , Nikolaev A V , Makarychev N S
Published: April 2020

The article presents three main factors, influencing the strength of natural ventilating pressure in general mines between the shafts: gas emission from mines (air density changes due to the change in concentration of other gases), changes of air parameters taken in by ventilating shafts, and air pressure due to the productivity shifts of the Main Fan Unit (or other devices for positive and negative control of air distribution). According to the experiment data the equations mentioned in other works for calculating natural ventilating pressure in general mines and taking into account the parameters of the air taken in are precise. Applying these formulas basing on the results of hydro meteorological forecast, whose accuracy in the short-term forecast is also high, it is possible predict the operating mode of the system of ventilation.
Porous carbon prepared from lotus leaves as potential adsorbent for efficient removal of rhodamine B
Authors: Li Aihua , Huang Wei , Qiu Na , Mou Fei , Wang Feng
Published: April 2020

Lotus leaf porous carbon (LLPC) prepared from waste lotus leaves has a large specific surface area (2440 m2 g−1), and is used for the adsorption of rhodamine B (RhB) from wastewater in this study. The effects of different parameters such as LLPC dose, initial pH of wastewater, adsorption time, initial RhB concentration, and temperature on adsorption have been systematically explored. Notably, 100% removal efficiency of RhB (60 ppm) is obtained at a low LLPC concentration of 0.125 g l−1. The adsorption equilibrium with a maximum theoretical adsorption capacity of 718.9 mg g−1 at 313 K is described by the Langmuir isotherm. The results for removal efficiency as a function of time are consistent with the pseudo second-order kinetic model and the adsorption process is dominated by chemisorption. Thermodynamic studies confirm that RhB absorption by LLPC is spontaneous at 313 K. The experiments conducted to determine the adsorption mechanism show that intraparticle diffusion is not the only rate-limiting step during adsorption, and the boundary effect becomes more dominant with an increase in adsorption time. The excellent RhB adsorption performance of LLPC and adsorption mechanism afford novel insights into this process for the application of biomass materials in wastewater treatment.
Effect of piezoelectric patch on natural frequencies of Timoshenko beam made of functionally graded material
Authors: Khiem Nguyen Tien , Hai Tran Thanh , Huong Luu Quynh
Published: April 2020

The present paper addresses developing the Dynamic Stiffness Method (DSM) for natural frequency analysis of functionally graded beam with piezoelectric patch based on the Timoshenko beam theory and power law of material grading. Governing equations and general solution of free vibration are conducted for the beam element with piezoelectric layer that is modelled as a homogeneous Timoshenko beam. The obtained solution allows establishing dynamic stiffness matrix for modal analysis of FGM beam with bonded piezoelectric distributed sensors/actuators. Effect of thickness and position of the smart sensors/actuators and material parameters on natural frequencies is studied with the aim for dynamic testing and health monitoring of FGM structures. The theoretical developments are validated and illustrated by numerical examples.
The State of Bee Monitoring in the United States: A Call to Refocus Away From Bowl Traps and Towards More Effective Methods
Authors: Portman Zachary M , Bruninga-Socolar Bethanne , Cariveau Daniel P
Published: April 2020

Effective monitoring is necessary to provide robust detection of bee declines. In the United States and worldwide, bowl traps have been increasingly used to monitor native bees and purportedly detect declines. However, bowl traps have a suite of flaws that make them poorly equipped to monitor bees. We outline the drawbacks of bowl traps, as well as other passive sampling methods. We emphasize that current methods do not monitor changes in bee abundance. We then propose future approaches to improve bee monitoring efforts, which include improving our understanding of the efficacy and drawbacks of current methods, novel molecular methods, nest censusing, mark-recapture, sampling of focal plant taxa, and detection of range contractions. Overall, we hope to highlight deficiencies of the current state of bee monitoring, with an aim to stimulate research into the efficacy of existing methods and promote novel methods that provide meaningful data that can detect declines without squandering limited resources.
DeepNano-blitz: a fast base caller for MinION nanopore sequencers
Authors: Boža Vladimír , Perešíni Peter , Brejová Broňa , Vinař Tomáš
Published: April 2020

Motivation

Oxford Nanopore MinION is a portable DNA sequencer that is marketed as a device that can be deployed anywhere. Current base callers, however, require a powerful GPU to analyze data produced by MinION in real time, which hampers field applications.

Results

We have developed a fast base caller DeepNano-blitz that can analyze stream from up to two MinION runs in real time using a common laptop CPU (i7-7700HQ), with no GPU requirements. The base caller settings allow trading accuracy for speed and the results can be used for real time run monitoring (i.e. sample composition, barcode balance, species identification, etc.) or prefiltering of results for more detailed analysis (i.e. filtering out human DNA from human–pathogen runs).

Availability and implementation

DeepNano-blitz has been developed and tested on Linux and Intel processors and is available under MIT license at https://github.com/fmfi-compbio/deepnano-blitz.

Contact

vladimir.boza@fmph.uniba.sk

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Overview of the Nontyphoidal and Paratyphoidal Salmonella Vaccine Pipeline: Current Status and Future Prospects
Authors: Baliban Scott M , Lu Ying-Jie , Malley Richard
Published: April 2020

Nontyphoidal Salmonella and Salmonella Paratyphi are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. To date, no vaccine has been licensed against these organisms. The development of effective vaccines remains an urgent priority. In this review, the rationale for and current status of various vaccine candidates against S. Paratyphi and nontyphoidal Salmonella are presented, with a focus on the research findings from the 2019 International Conference on Typhoid and Other Invasive Salmonelloses. Additionally, other vaccine candidates that are currently undergoing clinical development are highlighted. Future approaches, which may include antigens that are genetically conserved across Salmonella and confer broad, non–serotype-specific protection, are also discussed.
Operational considerations for peritoneal dialysis management during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Yang Zhikai , Dong Jie
Published: April 2020

Background

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus—severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is spread from human to human and has resulted in a global pandemic, posing a disastrous public health risk worldwide. Patients with chronic kidney disease, especially those on dialysis, are considered to be at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 due to their immunocompromised status and frail condition. The home treatment setting of peritoneal dialysis (PD) has advantages in terms of implementing self-care when routine hospital visits and social activities are restricted, thus greatly reducing exposure of PD patients to the virus.

Methods and Results

We outline general operational considerations in PD management during the COVID-19 pandemic, including precautionary measures for PD patients and healthcare staff. Precautionary measures for PD patients include education on prevention of, and screening for, COVID-19, preclinic screening, in-clinic management, meticulous remote patient management and special hospitalization arrangements. The diagnosis and treatment of PD patients with COVID-19 are discussed. Precautionary measures for PD staff include continuous education on, and training in, COVID-19, exposure history surveillance and self-monitoring for COVID-19 among healthcare personnel, appropriate personal protective equipment and hand hygiene, organization of medical activities and staffing, and adequate environment cleaning.

Conclusions

This is a battle of the entire human society against the novel coronavirus. Integrated teamwork among healthcare providers, supported by society as a whole, is needed as part of the ongoing public health response to try to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The role of cardiovascular imaging for myocardial injury in hospitalized COVID-19 patients
Authors: Cosyns Bernard , Lochy Stijn , Luchian Maria Luiza , Gimelli Alessia , Pontone Gianluca , Allard Sabine D , de Mey Johan , Rosseel Peter , Dweck Marc , Petersen Steffen E , Edvardsen Thor
Published: April 2020

Recent EACVI recommendations described the importance of limiting cardiovascular imaging during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to reduce virus transmission, protect healthcare professionals from contamination, and reduce consumption of personal protective equipment. However, an elevated troponin remains a frequent request for cardiac imaging in COVID-19 patients, partly because it signifies cardiac injury due to a variety of causes and partly because it is known to convey a worse prognosis. The present paper aims to provide guidance to clinicians regarding the appropriateness of cardiac imaging in the context of troponin elevation and myocardial injury, how best to decipher the mechanism of myocardial injury, and how to guide patient management.
Door-to-balloon time and mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary angioplasty
Authors: Karkabi Basheer , Meir Gal , Zafrir Barak , Jaffe Ronen , Adawi Salim , Lavi Idit , Flugelman Moshe Y , Shiran Avinoam
Published: April 2020

Aims

The evidence are not conclusive that a small incremental increase in door-to-balloon (D2B) time leads to a significant increase in death of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. In a previous study, we described a quality improvement intervention that reduced D2B time in 333 patients with STEMI. The aim of the current study was to compare mortality rates of the patients, before and after the intervention.

Methods and results

We examined the survival of 133 consecutive patients with STEMI treated prior to an intervention to decrease D2B time and 200 treated after the intervention. The mortality rate was the same before and after the quality intervention. The median D2B time for the entire cohort was 55 min. The number of patients with D2B time >55 min prior to the intervention was 82/133 (61%) and after the intervention 74/200 (37%) P < 0.00001. Thirty-day mortality among the patients with D2B time ≤55 min was 5/178 (2.8%) and among those with D2B time >55 min was 15/155 (9.7%), P < 0.008. The hazard ratio for 30-day mortality when the D2B time was >55 min was 3.7 (1.3–10.4).

Conclusion

Mortality and non-fatal complications did not differ significantly between STEMI patients before and after a quality improvement intervention. However, the number of patients treated within 55 min from arrival was significantly higher after the intervention; and coronary intervention within this time was associated with a lower death rate.
COMPUTATIONAL EXPLORATION OF GERONTOLOGY-RELATED TOPICS SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM TWITTER
Authors: Cornet V , Hong M
Published: April 2020

Twitter, a popular Internet social media platform, has become a significant medium for sharing information and ideas about various topics, including aging and older adults. While studies have been conducted to examine stigma or perception about specific diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and seizure on Twitter, there has been little effort to identify general themes of Twitter posts related to aging and older adults. This exploratory study attempts to answer this need by conducting a topic analysis of posts shared on Twitter posts about aging and older adults in English. We collected 328,568 English posts from Twitter posted between 07/01/18 and 07/31/18 using 19 English keywords referring to older adults. We analyzed this whole dataset as well as a subset of posts explicitly including aging-related hashtags, such as #olderadults. We used data mining methods (including Latent Dirichlet Allocation) in computing environment MATLAB to discover topics emerging from these two sets. Among posts with explicit aging-related hashtags, the most recurrent topics were family (relation with children and grandchildren, commemoration), community (resources, looking after older adults), health (disease-specific, public health, home care, formal and informal caregivers), politics and policies (insurance/pension, new laws), and news involving older adults (e.g., crimes on/by older adults). The analysis of the larger dataset additionally uncovered posts promoting pornography featuring older females and posts sharing general Internet content featuring older adults (e.g., YouTube videos). We also share the methodological challenges we encountered and practical recommendations for gerontological researchers interested in using social media data to inform new research.
Seismoelectric monitoring of aquifers using local seismicity—a feasibility study
Authors: Dzieran L , Thorwart M , Rabbel W
Published: April 2020

Seismoelectric (SE) signals, accompanying seismic wave fields radiated from earthquakes, can be observed on records of magnetotelluric stations. Assuming that these SE signals are generated by electrokinetic coupling we investigate whether they can be used as a ‘pore-space monitoring’-tool. Regarding future field experiments we analyse synthetic SE waveforms calculated for a fully saturated base model consisting of five layers overlying a half-space, resembling the conditions of the Armutlu Peninsula (Turkey). This example site stands for a location with near-surface thermal aquifers exposed to tectonic stress and significant microseismicity. As expected, coseismic SE waves arrive simultaneously with the seismic onsets whereas interface response (IRs) SE waves arrive (shortly) before the generating seismic onsets. Therein, so-called evanescent IRs show a similar moveout as seismic phases and so-called radiation IRs travel with zero slowness. We found that the influence of IRs on the overall SE signal can be identified by envelope analysis of SE time series and by seismoelectric spectral ratios (SESRs) in the frequency domain. For a sensitivity analysis we added an extra layer to the base model with differing porosity, porefluid salinity and permeability values. At near-epicentral distances both trace-envelopes and SESRs are sensitive to the porosity and porefluid salinity changes in the simulated near-surface aquifer. The SESRs’ and SE envelopes’ amplitudes vary in the order of up to some 10 per cent in response to porosity and salinity increases of factor 2 and 100, respectively. In contrast, a decrease of the permeability value by the factor 100 leads to an SESR amplitude variation of less than 1–10 per cent. In the Armutlu model the largest relative changes of SE signals occur near the epicentre where the ratio between coseismic and IR amplitudes is close to 1. For 1–6 km deep source depth the SE detection swell at the earth surface is in the order of magnitude 2–3, depending on the ambient electromagnetic noise and hypocentral distance. This estimate assumes that SE signals are recorded with standard magnetotelluric stations. It can improve if array methods are applied.
A combined NMR, MD and DFT conformational analysis of 9-O-acetyl sialic acid-containing GM3 ganglioside glycan and its 9-N-acetyl mimic
Authors: Li Wanqing , Battistel Marcos D , Reeves Hannah , Oh Lisa , Yu Hai , Chen Xi , Wang Lee-Ping , Freedberg Darón I
Published: April 2020

O-Acetylation of carbohydrates such as sialic acids is common in nature, but its role is not clearly understood due to the lability of O-acetyl groups. We demonstrated previously that 9-acetamido-9-deoxy-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac9NAc) is a chemically and biologically stable mimic of the 9-O-acetyl-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5,9Ac2) of the corresponding sialoglycans. Here, a systematic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study was undertaken for Neu5,9Ac2-containing GM3 ganglioside glycan (GM3-glycan) and its Neu5Ac9NAc analog. GM3-glycan with Neu5Ac as the non-O-acetyl form of Neu5,9Ac2 was used as a control. Complete 1H and 13C NMR chemical shift assignments, three-bond 1H-13C trans-glycosidic coupling constants (3JCH), accurate 1H-1H coupling constants (3JHH), nuclear Overhauser effects and hydrogen bonding detection were carried out. Results show that structural modification (O- or N-acetylation) on the C-9 of Neu5Ac in GM3 glycan does not cause significant conformational changes on either its glycosidic dihedral angles or its secondary structure. All structural differences are confined to the Neu5Ac glycerol chain, and minor temperature-dependent changes are seen in the aglycone portion. We also used Density Functional Theory (DFT) quantum mechanical calculations to improve currently used 3JHH Karplus relations. Furthermore, OH chemical shifts were assigned at −10°C and no evidence of an intramolecular hydrogen bond was observed. The results provide additional evidence regarding structural similarities between sialosides containing 9-N-acetylated and 9-O-acetylated Neu5Ac and support the opportunity of using 9-N-acetylated Neu5Ac as a stable mimic to study the biochemical role of 9-O-acetylated Neu5Ac.
GnRH agonist and hCG (dual trigger) versus hCG trigger for final follicular maturation: a double-blinded, randomized controlled study
Authors: Haas J , Bassil R , Samara N , Zilberberg E , Mehta C , Orvieto R , Casper R F
Published: April 2020

STUDY QUESTION

Does co-administration of GnRH agonist and Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG; dual trigger) in IVF cycles improve the number of mature oocytes and pregnancy outcome compared to hCG alone?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Using the dual trigger for final follicular maturation increases the number of oocytes, mature oocytes and number of blastocysts (total and top-quality) compared to triggering with hCG alone.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

hCG is used at the end of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation as a surrogate LH surge to induce final oocyte maturation. Recently, based on retrospective studies, the co-administration of GnRH agonist and hCG for final oocyte maturation (dual trigger) has been suggested to improve IVF outcome and pregnancy rates

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

A single center, randomized controlled, double-blinded clinical trial between May 2016 and June 2018 analyzed by intention to treat (ITT).

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTINGS, METHODS

One hundred and fifty-five normal responder patients were randomized either to receive hCG or dual trigger for final oocyte maturation. Data on patients age, BMI, AMH, number of oocytes retrieved, number of metaphase 2 (MII) oocytes, zygotes and blastocysts, clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate were assessed and compared between the dual trigger group and the hCG group. We performed a planned interim analysis after the recruitment of 50% of the patients. Based on the totality of outcomes at the interim analysis we decided to discontinue further recruitment.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

One hundred and fifty-five patients were included in the study. The age (36 years versus 35.3 years P = NS), BMI (24 kg/m2 versus 23.7 kg/m2) and the AMH (20.1 pmol/l versus 22.4 pmol/l) were comparable between the two groups. Based on ITT analysis, the number of eggs retrieved (11.1 versus 13.4, P = 0.002), the MII oocytes (8.6 versus 10.3, P = 0.009), total number of blastocysts (2.9 versus 3.9, P = 0.01) and top-quality blastocysts transferred (44.7% versus 64.9%; P = 0.003) were significantly higher in the dual trigger group compared to the hCG group. The clinical pregnancy rate (24.3% versus 46.1%, OR 2.65 (1.43–1.93), P = 0.009) and the live birth rate per transfer (22% versus 36.2%, OR= 1.98 (1.05–3.75), P = 0.03) were significantly higher in the dual trigger group compared to the hCG group.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

None.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

The enhanced response observed with the dual trigger might lead to better IVF outcomes were it used more widely.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

The study was funded by TRIO Fertility. There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02703584

DATE OF TRIAL REGISTRATION

March 2016

DATE OF FIRST PATIENT'S ENROLLMENT

May 2016
Bumblebees Use Sequential Scanning of Countable Items in Visual Patterns to Solve Numerosity Tasks
Authors: MaBouDi HaDi , Galpayage Dona H Samadi , Gatto Elia , Loukola Olli J , Buckley Emma , Onoufriou Panayiotis D , Skorupski Peter , Chittka Lars
Published: April 2020

Most research in comparative cognition focuses on measuring if animals manage certain tasks; fewer studies explore how animals might solve them. We investigated bumblebees’ scanning strategies in a numerosity task, distinguishing patterns with two items from four and one from three, and subsequently transferring numerical information to novel numbers, shapes, and colors. Video analyses of flight paths indicate that bees do not determine the number of items by using a rapid assessment of number (as mammals do in “subitizing”); instead, they rely on sequential enumeration even when items are presented simultaneously and in small quantities. This process, equivalent to the motor tagging (“pointing”) found for large number tasks in some primates, results in longer scanning times for patterns containing larger numbers of items. Bees used a highly accurate working memory, remembering which items have already been scanned, resulting in fewer than 1% of re-inspections of items before making a decision. Our results indicate that the small brain of bees, with less parallel processing capacity than mammals, might constrain them to use sequential pattern evaluation even for low quantities.
Division by 1–ζ on Superelliptic Curves and Jacobians
Authors: Arul Vishal
Published: April 2020

Yuri Zarhin gave formulas for “dividing a point on a hyperelliptic curve by 2”. Given a point $P$ on a hyperelliptic curve $\mathcal{C}$ of genus $g$, Zarhin gives the Mumford representation of an effective degree $g$ divisor $D$ satisfying $2(D - g \infty ) \sim P - \infty $. The aim of this paper is to generalize Zarhin’s result to superelliptic curves; instead of dividing by 2, we divide by $1 - \zeta $. There is no Mumford representation for divisors on superelliptic curves, so instead we give formulas for functions that cut out a divisor $D$ satisfying $(1 - \zeta ) D \sim P - \infty $. Additionally, we study the intersection of $(1 - \zeta )^{-1} \mathcal{C}$ and the theta divisor $\Theta $ inside the Jacobian $\mathcal{J}$. We show that the intersection is contained in $\mathcal{J}[1 - \zeta ]$ and compute the intersection multiplicities.
Interferon-Induced Transmembrane Protein 3 Genetic Variant rs12252-C Associated With Disease Severity in Coronavirus Disease 2019
Authors: Zhang Yonghong , Qin Ling , Zhao Yan , Zhang Ping , Xu Bin , Li Kang , Liang Lianchun , Zhang Chi , Dai Yanchao , Feng Yingmei , Sun Jianping , Hu Zhongjie , Xiang Haiping , Knight Julian C , Dong Tao , Jin Ronghua
Published: April 2020

A major unanswered question in the current global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is why severe disease develops in a small minority of infected individuals. In the current article, we report that homozygosity for the C allele of rs12252 in the interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) gene is associated with more severe disease in an age-dependent manner. This supports a role for IFITM3 in disease pathogenesis and the opportunity for early targeted intervention in at-risk individuals.
Stability of Cocaine Compounds in Biological Fluids During Post-Analytical Sample Storage
Authors: Huertas Teresa , Jurado Carmen , Salguero Manuel , Soriano Teresa , Gamero Joaquin
Published: April 2020

The objective of this study is to evaluate in vitro stability of cocaine compounds, cocaine (COC), benzoylecgonine (BE), ecgonine methyl ester (EME) and benzoylecgonine ethyl ester (EBE), in blood and urine, during post-analysis custody. Stability was evaluated by measuring percent recovery. Parameters evaluated were time of custody (1 year), storage temperature (−20°C and 4°C), influence of preservative (only for blood samples) and pH (only for urine samples). The impact of the temperature is very important in blood samples. At −20°C all compounds demonstrated to be stable, with recoveries higher than 80% after 1 year. In contrast, degradation was observed in the concentration for all four compounds when the samples were maintained at 4°C. In these same conditions, the influence of the preservative was also noticeable and a higher stability was found in samples preserved with NaF. COC and EBE had similar profiles, and both compounds disappeared after 30 days in samples without NaF and after 150 days in samples with NaF added. EME disappeared after 185 days and after 215 days in samples without and with preservative, respectively. BE recoveries, after 365 days of storage, were 68.5% (in samples with NaF) and 3.7% (in samples without NaF). In urine samples, the four compounds were stable in all the studied conditions except when samples were at pH 8 and stored at 4°C where the compounds disappeared (COC and EBE after 75 days of storage and EME after 15 days). The exception was BE, with a recovery of 23% after 1 year of storage. Of the temperatures evaluated, −20°C seems to be optimal for storage to maintain the stability of cocaine and metabolites in biological samples. This can be further enhanced by maintaining a pH of 4 in urine samples and adding a NaF preservative to blood.
General Considerations for On-Animal Ectoparasiticidal Product Evaluations
Authors: Smythe Brandon G , Sanchez-Sandoval Ulises A
Published: April 2020

Successfully preparing for and conducting on-animal ectoparasiticidal evaluations is key in providing accurate results and inferences on product performance. However, the procedures associated with designing sound-reliable research projects while using animal test subjects can become complex. The current manuscript offers insights towards the characterization of different evaluation types highlighting key considerations and potential problematic barriers that may otherwise be overlooked by researchers new to the area of on-animal product evaluation. Furthermore, recommendations on reporting inferences from findings based on various study designs are discussed. The authors of the current manuscript offer these considerations in the hopes of maintaining harmony in future reports used to develop and evaluate on-animal ectoparsiticidal products in the field of veterinary entomology.
Large extended abdominoplasty—dispelling the myths of prohibitively high BMI’s: a case report
Authors: Zhitny Vladislav Pavlovich , Iftekhar Noama , Zide Barry , Stile Frank
Published: April 2020

Abdominoplasty is one of the most highly requested cosmetic procedures in the USA. Although it is famed for its cosmetic value, there are few reports that discuss its therapeutic potential. Furthermore, few abdominoplasties are completed in patients over the body mass index (BMI) of 30 due to fears of increased complications.

A 63-year-old male presented due to development of a large pannus following weight loss postgastric bypass. Unfortunately, because of this pannus, the patient began experiencing significant physical and emotional distress. The patient had difficult urinating, ambulating and could no longer engage in sexual activity. The patient underwent abdominoplasty for removal of the pannus. At the 5-month follow-up, patient exhibited resolution of his symptoms.

Abdominoplasty should not be limited to cosmetic procedures. It holds therapeutic value, and the BMI should not be listed as a firm contraindication to the procedure.
Conservation of centromeric histone 3 interaction partners in plants
Authors: Keçeli Burcu Nur , Jin Chunlian , Van Damme Daniel , Geelen Danny
Published: April 2020

The loading and maintenance of centromeric histone 3 (CENH3) at the centromere are critical processes ensuring appropriate kinetochore establishment and equivalent segregation of the homologous chromosomes during cell division. CENH3 loss of function is lethal, whereas mutations in the histone fold domain are tolerated and lead to chromosome instability and chromosome elimination in embryos derived from crosses with wild-type pollen. A wide range of proteins in yeast and animals have been reported to interact with CENH3. The histone fold domain-interacting proteins are potentially alternative targets for the engineering of haploid inducer lines, which may be important when CENH3 mutations are not well supported by a given crop. Here, we provide an overview of the corresponding plant orthologs or functional homologs of CENH3-interacting proteins. We also list putative CENH3 post-translational modifications that are also candidate targets for modulating chromosome stability and inheritance.
Molybdenum induces alterations in the glycerolipidome that confer drought tolerance in wheat
Authors: Wu Songwei , Hu Chengxiao , Yang Xiaozhen , Tan Qiling , Yao Shuaibing , Zhou Yuan , Wang Xuemin , Sun Xuecheng
Published: April 2020

Molybdenum (Mo), which is an essential microelement for plant growth, plays important roles in multiple metabolic and physiological processes, including responses to drought and cold stress in wheat. Lipids also have crucial roles in plant adaptions to abiotic stresses. The aim of this study was to use glycerolipidomic and transcriptomic analyses to determine the changes in lipids induced by Mo that are associated with Mo-enhanced drought tolerance in wheat. Mo treatments increased the transcript levels of genes involved in fatty acid and glycerolipid biosynthesis and desaturation, but suppressed the expression of genes involved in oxylipin production. Wheat plants supplemented with Mo displayed higher contents of monogalactosyldiacyglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyldoacylglycerol (DGDG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylcholine (PC) with increased levels of unsaturation. The levels of MGDG, DGDG, PG, and PC increased under PEG-simulated drought (PSD), and the magnitude of the responses varied in the presence and absence of Mo. Mo increased the accumulation of the most abundant glycerolipid species of C36:6, C34:4, and C34:3 by increasing the expression of genes related to desaturation under PSD, and this contributed to maintaining the fluidity of membranes. In addition, Mo attenuated the decreases in the ratios of DGDG/MGDG and PC/PE that were observed under PSD. These changes in lipids in Mo-treated wheat would contribute to maintaining the integrity of membranes and to protecting the photosynthetic apparatus, thus acting together to enhance drought tolerance.
Contribution of Galactic free–free emission to the foreground for EoR signal in SKA experiments
Authors: Lian Xiaoli , Xu Haiguang , Zhu Zhenghao , Hu Dan
Published: April 2020

The overwhelming foreground contamination hinders the accurate detection of the 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). Among various foreground components, the Galactic free–free emission is less studied, so that its impact on the EoR observations remains unclear. In this work, we employ the observed H α intensity map with the correction of dust absorption and scattering, the simfast21 software, and the latest SKA1-Low layout configuration to simulate the SKA ‘observed’ images of Galactic free–free emission and the EoR signal. By calculating the 1D power spectra from the simulated image cubes, we find that the Galactic free–free emission is about 103.5–102.0, 103.0–101.3, and 102.5–101.0 times more luminous than the EoR signal on scales of 0.1 Mpc−1 < k < 2 Mpc−1 in the 116–124, 146–154, and 186–194 MHz frequency bands. We further analyse the 2D power spectra inside the properly defined EoR window and find that the leaked Galactic free–free emission can still cause non-negligible contamination, as the ratios of its power (amplitude squared) to the EoR signal power can reach about 200, 60, and 15 per cent on scales of k ∼ 1.2 Mpc−1 in three frequency bands, respectively. Therefore, we conclude that the Galactic free–free emission, as a severe contaminating foreground component, needs to be carefully treated in the forthcoming deep EoR observations.
Modelling the spinning dust emission from LDN 1780
Authors: Vidal Matias , Dickinson Clive , Harper S E , Casassus Simon , Witt A N
Published: April 2020

We study the anomalous microwave emission (AME) in the Lynds Dark Nebula (LDN) 1780 on two angular scales. With publicly available data at an angular resolution of 1°, we studied the spectral energy distribution of the cloud in the 0.408–2997 GHz frequency range. The cloud presents a significant (>20σ) amount of AME, making it one of the clearest examples of AME on 1 ° scales, and its spectrum can be well fitted with a spinning dust (SD) model. We also find at these angular scales that the location of the peak of the emission at lower frequencies (23–70 GHz) differs from the location at the higher frequencies (90–3000 GHz) maps. In addition to the analysis on 1° angular scales, we present data from the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) at 31 GHz with an angular resolution of 2 arcmin, in order to study the origin of the AME in LDN 1780. We studied morphological correlations between the CARMA map and different infrared tracers of dust emission. We found that the best correlation is with the 70- μm template, which traces warm dust (T ∼ 50 K). Finally, we study the difference in radio emissivity between two locations within the cloud. We measured a factor of ≈6 difference in 31-GHz emissivity. We show that this variation can be explained, using the SD model, by a variation on the dust grain size distribution across the cloud, particularly changing the fraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon for a fixed total amount of carbon.
Jet-shaped geometrically modified light curves of core-collapse supernovae
Authors: Kaplan Noa , Soker Noam
Published: April 2020

We build three simple bipolar ejecta models for core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), as expected when the explosion is driven by strong jets, and show that for an observer located in the equatorial plane of the ejecta, the light curve has a rapid luminosity decline, and even an abrupt drop. In calculating the geometrically modified photosphere we assume that the ejecta has an axisymmetrical structure composed of an equatorial ejecta and faster polar ejecta, and has a uniform effective temperature. At early times the photosphere in the polar ejecta grows faster than the equatorial one, leading to higher luminosity relative to a spherical explosion. The origin of the extra radiated energy is the jets. At later times the optical depth decreases faster in the polar ejecta, and the polar photosphere becomes hidden behind the equatorial ejecta for an observer in the equatorial plane, leading to a rapid luminosity decline. For a model where the jets inflate two low-density polar bubbles, the luminosity decline might be abrupt. This model enables us to fit the abrupt decline in the light curve of SN 2018don.
Human Prehistoric Demography Revealed by the Polymorphic Pattern of CpG Transitions
Authors: Liu Xiaoming
Published: April 2020

The prehistoric demography of human populations is an essential piece of information for illustrating our evolution. Despite its importance and the advancement of ancient DNA studies, our knowledge of human evolution is still limited, which is also the case for relatively recent population dynamics during and around the Holocene. Here, we inferred detailed demographic histories from 1 to 40 ka for 24 population samples using an improved model-flexible method with 36 million genome-wide noncoding CpG sites. Our results showed many population growth events that were likely due to the Neolithic Revolution (i.e., the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture and settlement). Our results help to provide a clearer picture of human prehistoric demography, confirming the significant impact of agriculture on population expansion, and provide new hypotheses and directions for future research.
Cohesin SA1 and SA2 are RNA binding proteins that localize to RNA containing regions on DNA
Authors: Pan Hai , Jin Miao , Ghadiyaram Ashwin , Kaur Parminder , Miller Henry E , Ta Hai Minh , Liu Ming , Fan Yanlin , Mahn Chelsea , Gorthi Aparna , You Changjiang , Piehler Jacob , Riehn Robert , Bishop Alexander J R , Tao Yizhi Jane , Wang Hong
Published: April 2020

Cohesin SA1 (STAG1) and SA2 (STAG2) are key components of the cohesin complex. Previous studies have highlighted the unique contributions by SA1 and SA2 to 3D chromatin organization, DNA replication fork progression, and DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. Recently, we discovered that cohesin SA1 and SA2 are DNA binding proteins. Given the recently discovered link between SA2 and RNA-mediated biological pathways, we investigated whether or not SA1 and SA2 directly bind to RNA using a combination of bulk biochemical assays and single-molecule techniques, including atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the DNA tightrope assay. We discovered that both SA1 and SA2 bind to various RNA containing substrates, including ssRNA, dsRNA, RNA:DNA hybrids, and R-loops. Importantly, both SA1 and SA2 localize to regions on dsDNA that contain RNA. We directly compared the SA1/SA2 binding and R-loops sites extracted from Chromatin Immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) and DNA-RNA Immunoprecipitation sequencing (DRIP-Seq) data sets, respectively. This analysis revealed that SA1 and SA2 binding sites overlap significantly with R-loops. The majority of R-loop-localized SA1 and SA2 are also sites where other subunits of the cohesin complex bind. These results provide a new direction for future investigation of the diverse biological functions of SA1 and SA2.
ARIAweb: a server for automated NMR structure calculation
Authors: Allain Fabrice , Mareuil Fabien , Ménager Hervé , Nilges Michael , Bardiaux Benjamin
Published: April 2020

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a method of choice to study the dynamics and determine the atomic structure of macromolecules in solution. The standalone program ARIA (Ambiguous Restraints for Iterative Assignment) for automated assignment of nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) data and structure calculation is well established in the NMR community. To ultimately provide a perfectly transparent and easy to use service, we designed an online user interface to ARIA with additional functionalities. Data conversion, structure calculation setup and execution, followed by interactive visualization of the generated 3D structures are all integrated in ARIAweb and freely accessible at https://ariaweb.pasteur.fr.
Extended search for sub-eV axion-like resonances via four-wave mixing with a quasi-parallel laser collider in a high-quality vacuum system
Authors: Nobuhiro Akihide , Hirahara Yusuke , Homma Kensuke , Kirita Yuri , Ozaki Takaya , Nakamiya Yoshihide , Hashida Masaki , Inoue Shunsuke , Sakabe Shuji
Published: April 2020

Resonance states of axion-like particles were searched for via four-wave mixing by focusing two-color pulsed lasers into a quasi-vacuum. A quasi-parallel collision system that allows probing of the sub-eV mass range was realized by focusing the combined laser fields with an off-axis parabolic mirror. A 0.10 mJ/34 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulse and a 0.14 mJ/9 ns Nd:YAG laser pulse were spatiotemporally synchronized by sharing a common optical axis and focused into the vacuum system. No significant four-wave mixing signal was observed at the vacuum pressure of $3.7 \times 10^{-5}$ Pa, thereby providing upper bounds on the coupling-mass relation by assuming exchanges of scalar and pseudoscalar fields at a 95% confidence level in the mass range below 0.21 eV. For this search, the experimental setup was substantially upgraded so that the optical components were compatible with the requirements of the high-quality vacuum system, hence enabling the pulse power to be increased. With the increased pulse power, a new kind of pressure-dependent background photon emerged in addition to the known atomic four-wave mixing process. This paper shows the pressure dependence of these background photons and how to handle them in the search.