bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Noun and verb derivations in early Turkish child and child-directed
speech
Authors: Ketrez F. Nihan , Aksu-Koç Ayhan
Published: October 2021

This chapter presents the emergence of derivational
morphology in nouns and verbs in the speech of two Turkish-speaking
monolingual girls between the ages 1;3 and 3;0, taking into account the
patterns in their child-directed speech. Derivational morphology emerges
early, before age 3;0, although compounding is an option in addition to
derivation in the language. In both children’s speech the causative is the
first derivational morpheme and it emerges simultaneously with inflections
followed by other types of derivations. Instrument nouns emerge earlier than
agent nouns in both children’s speech. The study further shows that children
with different developmental paces follow similar paths in their acquisition
of derivational morphology and their speech reflect the derivational
patterns in their child-directed speech.
Review of experimental progress of hybrid improper ferroelectricity in layered perovskite oxides
Authors: Zhang Bi Hui , Liu Xiao Qiang , Chen Xiang Ming
Published: October 2021

The primary order parameter of hybrid improper ferroelectricity (HIF) is not spontaneous polarisation but nonpolar modes such as oxygen octahedral rotations (OORs), antipolar, or even Jahn–Teller distortions; therefore, the HIF mechanism may be applied as an effective pathway to tune electronic bandgaps, control orbitals, and create multiferroicity. Most of the current experimental research on HIF is focused on layered perovskite oxides; therefore, this review focuses on the recent progress of experimental studies on HIF materials with the Ruddlesden–Popper (R–P) and Dion–Jacobson (D–J) structures. Experimental research on double-layered R–P oxides is included, and the linear relationship between the Curie temperature and tolerance factor has been established. Moreover, the coexistence of polar and weak ferromagnetic phases has been observed in iron-based double-layered R–P oxides at room temperature. The recent discovery of ferroelectricity in A-site cation-ordered triple-layered R–P oxides has significantly expanded the HIF field. HIF has also been confirmed in caesium- and rubidium-based double-layered D–J oxides, and complex OOR modes have been observed in D–J oxides. Although significant progress has been achieved for HIF materials in layered perovskite oxides, extensive research is required to reveal the mysteries of HIF and to create single-phase multiferroics in HIF materials.
A needle-like cobalt-based bifunctional catalyst supported on carbon materials for effective overall water splitting
Authors: Tang Tao , Li Xijie , Feng Zhanhui , Liu Yingju
Published: October 2021

Nowadays, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) dual-functional electrocatalyst in the field of water electrolysis has great advantages in reducing costs and simplifying electrolytic cell installations. Herein, Co–Mo particles were electrodeposited on the carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-modified copper foam to form the Co–Mo-CNTs/rGO-copper foam (CF), then it was subjected to a certain potential for alkaline etching, thus needle-like E-Co–Mo-CNTs/rGO-CF was synthesized. Results showed that the material surface mainly formed by the interlacing of Co oxide was more conducive to capturing the intermediates in the HER/OER reaction, while the CNTs/rGO-CF structure was closely connected to the metal layer, making excellent performance of total hydrolysis in KOH. The electrocatalyst exhibited remarkable electrocatalytic activity for HER and OER in 1 M KOH, requiring only 71 and 268 mV overpotential to drive 10 mA·cm−2, respectively. Especially, only a battery voltage of 1.52 V was needed to drive 10 mA·cm−2 in two-electrode system for overall water splitting. This work provides a method for the construction of dual-functional electrocatalyst that combined carbon materials and metals.
In silico evaluation and optimisation of magnetic resonance elastography of the liver
Authors: McGrath Deirdre M , Bradley Christopher R , Francis Susan T
Published: October 2021

Objective. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is widely adopted as a biomarker of liver fibrosis. However, in vivo MRE accuracy is difficult to assess. Approach. Finite element model (FEM) simulation was employed to evaluate liver MRE accuracy and inform methodological optimisation. MRE data was simulated in a 3D FEM of the human torso including the liver, and compared with spin-echo echo-planar imaging MRE acquisitions. The simulated MRE results were compared with the ground truth magnitude of the complex shear modulus (∣G*∣) for varying: (1) ground truth liver ∣G*∣; (2) simulated imaging resolution; (3) added noise; (4) data smoothing. Motion and strain-based signal-to-noise (SNR) metrics were evaluated on the simulated data as a means to select higher-quality voxels for preparation of acquired MRE summary statistics of ∣G*∣. Main results. The simulated MRE accuracy for a given ground truth ∣G*∣ was found to be a function of imaging resolution, motion-SNR and smoothing. At typical imaging resolutions, it was found that due to under-sampling of the MRE wave-field, combined with motion-related noise, the reconstructed simulated ∣G*∣ could contain errors on the scale of the difference between liver fibrosis stages, e.g. 54% error for ground truth ∣G*∣ = 1 kPa. Optimum imaging resolutions were identified for given ground truth ∣G*∣ and motion-SNR levels. Significance. This study provides important knowledge on the accuracy and optimisation of liver MRE. For example, for motion-SNR ≤ 5, to distinguish between liver ∣G*∣ of 2 and 3 kPa (i.e. early-stage liver fibrosis) it was predicted that the optimum isotropic voxel size is 4–6 mm.
Accessing phase slip events in Nb meander wires
Authors: Sawle Deepika , Husale Sudhir , Yadav Sachin , Gajar Bikash , Awana V P S , Sahoo Sangeeta
Published: October 2021

We report transport studies through Nb-based superconducting meander wires fabricated by focused ion beam milling technique. The effect of meandering on quantum transport has been probed experimentally by a direct comparison with the pristine thin-film device before meandering. The normal metal (NM) to superconductor (SC) phase transition becomes a wide and multi-step transition by meandering. Below the transition temperature (T
c), the resistance-versus-temperature measurements reveal resistive tailing which is explained by the thermally activated phase slip (TAPS) mechanism. The TAPS fit indicates a selective region of the meander to be responsible for the resistive tailing. Besides, the phase slip (PS) mechanism in the meander is evident in its current–voltage characteristics that feature the stair-case type intermediate resistive steps (IRSs) during the SC–NM transition. The modulation of the IRSs is investigated with respect to temperature and external magnetic field. It is observed that the PS events are facilitated by magnetic fields up to about 250 mT. Further, the critical current varies strongly on the temperature and magnetic field for T < 0.5 T
c and H ⩽ 100 mT where it fluctuates in an oscillatory manner. Finally, Nb based meander structures can be promising candidates for future PS based studies and applications.
Comparison of Methods for Determining the Antibiotic Susceptibility of Aerococcus Species in a Clinical Setting
Authors: Scholtz Sophie L , Faron Matthew L , Buchan Blake W , Ledeboer Nathan A
Published: October 2021

Objectives

Aerococcus spp are Gram-positive cocci increasingly recognized as uropathogens. The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute recently published specific breakpoints for Aerococcus spp (M45, third edition); however, the standardized method used for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) requires media not often maintained in clinical laboratories. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare alternative methods of AST for Aerococcus isolates.

Methods

AST was performed on 134 clinical isolates using the Etest on three different types of agar, Vitek 2, and BD Phoenix. These results were compared with broth microdilution using the Sensititre STP6F.

Results

Aerococcus exhibited low minimum inhibitory concentrations to benzylpenicillin, meropenem, linezolid, and vancomycin. Variable resistance was seen to levofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and tetracycline. Meropenem and vancomycin met all acceptance criteria with every alternative method tested. Benzylpenicillin and linezolid did not meet essential agreement on any AST method. Tetracycline met the majority of acceptance criteria with the exception of more than 3% very major error when using the Etest on chocolate agar, the Vitek 2, and BD Phoenix.

Conclusions

Overall, the alternate AST method with the highest agreement with broth microdilution was the Etest on Mueller-Hinton agar with 5% sheep blood and may be an optimal alternative to broth microdilution.
Metabolic treatment of an electrical disease? Beneficial APD/QT prolongation by L-Carnitine in transgenic SQT1 rabbit models
Authors: Hornyik T , Bodi I , Michaelides K , Mettke L , Perez-Feliz S , El-Battrawy I , Brunner M , Bode C , Odening K
Published: October 2021

Background

Short-QT syndrome 1 (SQT1) is a genetic cardiac channelopathy caused by gain-of-function mutations (KCNH2-N588K) in HERG/IKr, that leads to shortened QT-interval, increased risk for arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD). An acquired form of SQTS has been described in patients with primary (genetic) carnitine-deficiency, indicating that carnitine might affect cardiac repolarization.

Purpose

We aimed to investigate potential beneficial (APD/QT-prolonging) effect of L-Carnitine in (genetic) SQTS using transgenic SQT1 rabbits that mimic the human disease phenotype.

Methods

Effects of L-carnitine on cardiac repolarisation were assessed in adult wildtype (WT) and transgenic SQT1 rabbits (KCNH2-N588K) using in vivo ECG and ex vivo Langendorff-perfused whole-heart or isolated ventricular cardiomyocyte action potential (AP) recordings. Effects on ion currents were assessed by whole-cell patch-clamping.

Results

In vivo, the heart-rate corrected QT index (QTi) was prolonged significantly by L-carnitine both in WT (QTi, baseline 102.7%±4.9 vs. L-carnitine 106.9%±6.2, p<0.05, n=12) and SQT1 (QTi, baseline 94.8%±7.4 vs. L-carnitine 99.5%±8.2, p<0.05, n=13), leading to normalisation of QTi in SQT1. Ex vivo, whole-heart monophasic and cellular APs were also significantly prolonged by L-carnitine in WT and SQT1 (change in monophasic APD75, ms, WT +13.9±4.4, SQT1 +9.9±7.0; change in cellular APD90, %, WT +10.4%, SQT1 +10.4%, all p<0.05). As underlying mechanisms, we identified acute effects on the main repolarizing ion currents IKr and IKs: IKr-steady, which is significantly increased in SQT1 contributing to accelerated repolarization, was reduced by L-carnitine (WT: −23%, SQT1: −16%). Moreover, L-carnitine accelerated the deactivation kinetics of IKr - while no change was observed in IKr-tail. In addition, IKs-steady was decreased by L-carnitine in SQT1 and WT cardiomyocytes.

Conclusion

L-carnitine prolongs/normalizes QT and APD in transgenic SQT1 rabbits by decreasing the pathologically increased IKr-steady and also IKs-steady and may therefore serve as potential future anti-arrhythmic therapy in SQTS.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): German Research Foundation (DFG)
Blockade of the innate immune checkpoint CD47 decreases infarct size by modulation of oxidative stress and immune response
Authors: Korste S , Stock P , Hendgen-Cotta U B , Rassaf T , Totzeck M
Published: October 2021

Background

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Following ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury a precisely controlled immune response is necessary for preservation of cardiac integrity. In its course, immune cells interact with dead and damaged cells via a variety of cell surface molecules. One such interaction revolves around signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα) on myeloid cells and ubiquitously expressed CD47, which inhibits phagocytosis and was thus termed an innate immune checkpoint. Inhibition of CD47 via antibodies was shown to be protective in other I/R injury of eg liver and kidney, mostly by modulation of nitric oxide (NO) related pathways. Whether it is also beneficial in myocardial I/R injury remains to be seen.

Methods and results

We determined I/R injury size in murine hearts after anti-CD47 treatment using the triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC)/Evans blue test and found decreased TTC negative per area at risk (AAR) at 24 h of reperfusion when compared to IgG antibody treated mice. Likewise ejection fraction was higher and plasma cardiac Troponin I (cTNI) levels were lower in anti-CD47 treated animals at the same time point. We further studied immune cell populations using flow cytometry, which revealed similar levels of neutrophils at 24 h of reperfusion in both anti-CD47 and control groups. To investigate this paradox, we deployed cutting edge light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) to simultaneously measure I/R injury size and immune cell levels and indeed found a higher ratio of neutrophils per injured area in CD47 treated mice. Furthermore, in these animals neutrophil populations were localized outside the injured area rather than only just inside, as was the case in the control group. We further measured cardiac reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentration and found ROS levels to be slightly decreased after CD47 injections following I/R. In contrast to results from other I/R injury models, we could not find an influence of anti-CD47 treatment on nitrate/nitrite/NO pathways.

Conclusion

Anti-CD47 treatment was shown to be protective in various I/R injury models. We could also demonstrate reduced infarct sizes after 24 h of reperfusion. This was not associated with decreased levels of neutrophils, which also located only outside of the injured area. Whether this is beneficial for the long term outcome, remains to be investigated. Nevertheless CD47 blockade presents as a highly novel and promising approach to AMI treatment and warrants further research.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.
Using artificial neural network to optimize hydrogen solubility and evaluation of environmental condition effects
Authors: Cao Yan , Ayed Hamdi , Dahari Mahidzal , Sene Ndolane , Bouallegue Belgacem
Published: October 2021

Hydrogen is a clean energy and has many applications in petroleum refining, glass purification, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, aerospace applications and cooling generators. Therefore, it is very important to store it in various ways. One of the new and cheap methods to store hydrogen is storing in the brine groundwater. In this method, the hydrogen gas is injected into the brine, in which storing capacity has a direct relationship with the pressure, temperature and salt concentration of the saltwater. In the present study, an artificial neural network (ANN) was used to estimate and optimize the hydrogen solubility (HS) in the saltwater with conventional best algorithms such as the feedback propagation, genetic algorithm (GA) and radial basis function. The optimization is implemented based on available experimental data bank based on the variation of the pressure, working temperature and salt concentration. The results and assessments of different optimization ANN algorithm show that the GA has the most usable and accurate estimation and prediction for HS in the saltwater. Also, the amounts of the relevancy coefficient (${R}_c$) that correspond to the sensitivity of HS on the input parameters demonstrate that the salt concentration and pressure have the minimum and maximum ${R}_c$, respectively. That is, the least and most effect on the output values.
Bringing Heavenly Music Down to Earth: Global Exchange and Local Devotion at Segovia Cathedral, 1678
Authors: Cashner Andrew A
Published: October 2021

A few months before Christmas in 1678, Miguel de Irízar, the thrifty chapelmaster of Segovia Cathedral, made a notebook out of a pile of his received letters, drafting music on the margins of letters from other musicians about the exchange of music and poetry. This article examines Irízar’s output of villancicos for Segovia, including works written for specific local devotional practices, and, through a codicological analysis and sketch study of his letter-notebook of 1678, reconstructs the chapelmaster’s compositional process. Irízar adapted and rearranged the texts he received in correspondence to tailor a coherent cycle for his own community. Based on a new edition of the first villancico in the 1678 cycle, the article analyses Irízar’s use of musical conventions and practical craftsmanship in producing music that suited his ensemble and congregation. Villancicos served as a point of intersection for local and global aspects of both music and devotion.
Asteroid magnetization from the early solar wind
Authors: Anand Atma , Carroll-Nellenback Jonathan , Blackman Eric G , Tarduno John A
Published: October 2021

Magnetic fields provide an important probe of the thermal, material, and structural history of planetary and sub-planetary bodies. Core dynamos are a potential source of magnetic fields for differentiated bodies, but evidence of magnetization in undifferentiated bodies requires a different mechanism. Here, we study the amplified field provided by the stellar wind to an initially unmagnetized body using analytic theory and numerical simulations, employing the resistive magnetohydrodynamic AstroBEAR adaptive mesh refinement multiphysics code. We obtain a broadly applicable scaling relation for the peak magnetization achieved once a wind advects, piles-up, and drapes a body with magnetic field, reaching a quasi-steady state. We find that the dayside magnetic field for a sufficiently conductive body saturates when it balances the sum of incoming solar wind ram, magnetic, and thermal pressures. Stronger amplification results from pile-up by denser and faster winds. Careful quantification of numerical diffusivity is required for accurately interpreting the peak magnetic field strength from simulations, and corroborating with theory. As specifically applied to the Solar system, we find that early solar wind-induced field amplification is a viable source of magnetization for observed paleointensities in meteorites from some undifferentiated bodies. This mechanism may also be applicable to other Solar system bodies, including metal-rich bodies to be visited in future space missions such as the asteroid (16) Psyche.
From EMBER to FIRE: predicting high resolution baryon fields from dark matter simulations with deep learning
Authors: Bernardini M , Feldmann R , Anglés-Alcázar D , Boylan-Kolchin M , Bullock J , Mayer L , Stadel J
Published: October 2021

Hydrodynamic simulations provide a powerful, but computationally expensive, approach to study the interplay of dark matter and baryons in cosmological structure formation. Here, we introduce the EMulating Baryonic EnRichment (EMBER) Deep Learning framework to predict baryon fields based on dark matter-only simulations thereby reducing computational cost. EMBER comprises two network architectures, U-Net and Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Networks (WGANs), to predict 2D gas and H i densities from dark matter fields. We design the conditional WGANs as stochastic emulators, such that multiple target fields can be sampled from the same dark matter input. For training we combine cosmological volume and zoom-in hydrodynamical simulations from the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) project to represent a large range of scales. Our fiducial WGAN model reproduces the gas and H i power spectra within 10 per cent accuracy down to ∼10 kpc scales. Furthermore, we investigate the capability of EMBER to predict high resolution baryon fields from low resolution dark matter inputs through upsampling techniques. As a practical application, we use this methodology to emulate high-resolution H i maps for a dark matter simulation of a $L=100\, \text{Mpc}\, h^{ -1}$ comoving cosmological box. The gas content of dark matter haloes and the H i column density distributions predicted by EMBER agree well with results of large volume cosmological simulations and abundance matching models. Our method provides a computationally efficient, stochastic emulator for augmenting dark matter only simulations with physically consistent maps of baryon fields.
Accelerating NBODY6 with a graphics processing unit-enabled Particle-Particle Particle-Tree scheme
Authors: Arnold Anthony D , Baumgardt Holger , Wang Long
Published: October 2021

We describe a modified version of the nbody6 code for simulating star clusters which greatly improves computational efficiency while sacrificing little in the way of accuracy. The distant force calculator is replaced by a graphics processing unit-enabled Barnes–Hut code, and integration is done with a standard leap frog scheme. Short-range forces continue to use the CPU-based fourth-order Hermite predictor-corrector scheme of nbody6. Our code outperforms nbody6 for systems with more than 3 × 105 particles and runs more than a factor 2 faster for systems of 106 particles with similar energy conservation. Our code should be useful for simulating realistic dense stellar clusters, such as globular clusters or galactic nuclei.
Radio relics radio emission from multishock scenario
Authors: Inchingolo Giannandrea , Wittor D , Rajpurohit K , Vazza F
Published: October 2021

Radio relics are giant (∼Mpc) synchrotron sources that are believed to be produced by the (re)acceleration of cosmic ray electrons (CRe) by shocks in the intracluster medium. In this numerical study, we focus on the possibility that some radio relics may arise when electrons undergo diffusive shock acceleration at multishocks in the outskirts of merging galaxy clusters. This multishock (MS) scenario appears viable to produce CRe that emit visible synchrotron emission. We show that electrons that have been shocked multiple times develop an energy spectrum that significantly differs from the power-law spectrum expected in the case of a single shock scenario. As a consequence, the radio emission generated by CRe that shocked multiple times is higher than the emission produced by CRe that are shocked only once. In the case explored in this paper, the radio emission produced in the two scenarios differ by one order of magnitude. In particular in the MS scenario, the simulated relic follows a KGJP spectral shape, consistent with observation. Furthermore, the produced radio emission is large enough to be detectable with current radio telescopes (e.g. LOFAR, JVLA).
Rate of utilization of physical therapy after common pediatric elbow fractures
Authors: Rivera Lemuel Vince S. , Cazzulino Alejandro , Swarup Ishaan
Published: October 2021

Supracondylar, medial epicondyle and lateral condyle fractures are the three most common elbow fractures in pediatric patients. There is a paucity of literature discussing the utilization of physical therapy following these injuries. The purpose of the current study was to determine the rate of utilization of physical therapy after these injuries as well as determine factors that may affect the need for physical therapy after common elbow fractures in pediatric patients. We retrospectively chart reviewed all pediatric elbow fractures that were managed at a major pediatric health system from 2013 to 2020. This study included patients under the age of 18 years and utilized International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9, ICD-10 and Current Procedural Terminology codes to identify patients. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test and multivariate analyses were performed to compare differences between groups. This study included 2037 patients. Overall, 90 patients (4.4%) received a physical therapy referral at an average time of 90.1 (± 54.6) days between discharge and referral. The rate of physical therapy was 2.7% after nonoperative and 6.3% after operative treatment (P < 0.01). Overall, patients that sustained medial epicondyle fractures were prescribed physical therapy at a higher rate (19.8%) than supracondylar (1.4%) or lateral condyle fractures (5.0%) (P < 0.01). For each fracture type, physical therapy utilization was higher among those treated operatively versus those treated nonoperatively (P < 0.01). Physical therapy is more commonly prescribed for patients with medial epicondyle fractures and patients that received operative management. Additional research is needed to determine clinical indications and efficacy of physical therapy after common elbow fractures in pediatric patients.
From ideal to actual practice: Tailoring a clinical pathway to address anxiety or depression in patients with cancer and planning its implementation across individual clinical services
Authors: Butow P. N. , Shepherd H. L. , Cuddy J. , Harris M. , He S. , Masya L. , Rankin N. M. , Grimison P. , Girgis A. , Shaw J. M.
Published: October 2021

Introduction:

Clinical pathways (CPs) can improve health outcomes, but evidence of their impact is mixed, perhaps due to variations in CP delivery. Identifying why variations occur, and their intended purpose is important, to guide CP development and implementation. We developed a CP for screening, assessment and management of anxiety and depression in cancer patients (the ADAPT CP). The CP was implemented in 12 Oncology services in Australia that were participating in the ADAPT Cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT), allowing some tailoring of the CP for local conditions. The aim of this article is to describe what and why decisions were made to tailor the ADAPT CP in these services.

Method:

Twelve oncology services were purposively selected for diversity in setting. At each service, a multi-disciplinary lead team was formed to make decisions about local tailoring and to plan, champion and enact the CP implementation. Detailed notes taken during engagement meetings, and service-specific workflow diagrams, form the data for this analysis. Notes were content-analyzed, and workflows reviewed, to identify decision-making themes.

Results:

Twelve cancer services (7 urban and 5 regional) participated in CRCT. Ten were publicly funded, one was privately funded and the other was a mixed public and private service. Diverse decisions were made regarding the selection of eligible patient cohorts, how to introduce screening to patients, and screening and triage processes. Rationales for decisions included aligning with existing workflows, utilizing staff with required skills, minimizing staff burden, ensuring no patient was missed, and minimizing patient distress.

Discussion:

Practical issues and staff attitudes and skills often guided CP decisions, highlighting the need to work collaboratively with health services to determine the optimal workflow for each setting. In some settings, considerable discussion and problem-solving was required before processes could be agreed upon that overcame perceived barriers and allowed the CP implementation to proceed. Although it is yet to be determined whether some decisions were optimal in terms of patient outcomes, local tailoring ensured the CP became operational at all services. Allowing time and ensuring the right people are involved are essential when tailoring new CPs before their introduction into clinical care.
Not really nice: a commentary on the recent version of NICE guidelines [NG193: chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s: assessment of all chronic pain and management of chronic primary pain] by the Pain Net
Authors: Korwisi Beatrice , Barke Antonia , Kharko Anna , Bruhin Clara , Locher Cosima , Koechlin Helen
Published: October 2021

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence should revise their recent guideline to take into account all the available evidence on the treatment of chronic primary pain.
Hope in the context of chronic musculoskeletal pain: relationships of hope to pain and psychological distress
Authors: Or Debriel Yin Ling , Lam Chi Shan , Chen Phoon Ping , Wong Ho Shan Steven , Lam Chi Wing Flori , Fok Yan Yan , Chan Shuk Fong Ide , Ho Samuel M.Y.
Published: October 2021

Introduction:

The cognitive model of hope suggests that people with high levels of hope are able to think about the ways to goals (pathways) and motivated to pursue those pathways to reach their goals (agency). We hypothesized that higher levels of hope would be related to lower levels of pain and less psychological distress (ie, anxiety and depression) and better adjustment.

Objectives:

This study aims to examine the relationship, if any, between cognition of hope and chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Methods:

One hundred and six patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain were recruited by convenient sampling from 2 public hospitals in Hong Kong. We assessed the hope level, psychological distress, and health outcomes by psychometric inventories.

Results:

Zero-order correlation results showed that hope was inversely associated with psychological distress (ie, anxiety and depression) and positively related to subjective self-efficacy. There was no significant relationship with severity of pain. Patients presented with longer duration of chronic musculoskeletal pain have higher hope level while pain developed after injury on duty have lower hope level.

Conclusion:

The findings of this cross-sectional study highlight the potential importance of hope in understanding adjustment to chronic musculoskeletal pain. Future longitudinal research could help reveal how hope and adjustment interact over the treatment of chronic pain cases.
Heart rate variability and the dawn of complex physiological signal analysis: methodological and clinical perspectives
Authors: Saul J. Philip , Valenza Gaetano
Published: October 2021

Spontaneous beat-to-beat variations of heart rate (HR) have intrigued scientists and casual observers for centuries; however, it was not until the 1970s that investigators began to apply engineering tools to the analysis of these variations, fostering the field we now know as
heart rate variability
or
HRV
. Since then, the field has exploded to not only include a wide variety of traditional linear time and frequency domain applications for the HR signal, but also more complex linear models that include additional physiological parameters such as respiration, arterial blood pressure, central venous pressure and autonomic nerve signals. Most recently, the field has branched out to address the
nonlinear
components of many physiological processes, the
complexity
of the systems being studied and the important issue of
specificity
for when these tools are applied to individuals. When the impact of all these developments are combined, it seems likely that the field of HRV will soon begin to realize its potential as an important component of the toolbox used for diagnosis and therapy of patients in the clinic.

This article is part of the theme issue 'Advanced computation in cardiovascular physiology: new challenges and opportunities'.
A completely automated pipeline for 3D reconstruction of human heart from 2D cine magnetic resonance slices
Authors: Banerjee Abhirup , Camps Julià , Zacur Ernesto , Andrews Christopher M. , Rudy Yoram , Choudhury Robin P. , Rodriguez Blanca , Grau Vicente
Published: October 2021

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is a valuable modality in the diagnosis and characterization of cardiovascular diseases, since it can identify abnormalities in structure and function of the myocardium non-invasively and without the need for ionizing radiation. However, in clinical practice, it is commonly acquired as a collection of separated and independent 2D image planes, which limits its accuracy in 3D analysis. This paper presents a completely automated pipeline for generating patient-specific 3D biventricular heart models from cine magnetic resonance (MR) slices. Our pipeline automatically selects the relevant cine MR images, segments them using a deep learning-based method to extract the heart contours, and aligns the contours in 3D space correcting possible misalignments due to breathing or subject motion first using the intensity and contours information from the cine data and next with the help of a statistical shape model. Finally, the sparse 3D representation of the contours is used to generate a smooth 3D biventricular mesh. The computational pipeline is applied and evaluated in a CMR dataset of 20 healthy subjects. Our results show an average reduction of misalignment artefacts from 1.82 ± 1.60 mm to 0.72 ± 0.73 mm over 20 subjects, in terms of distance from the final reconstructed mesh. The high-resolution 3D biventricular meshes obtained with our computational pipeline are used for simulations of electrical activation patterns, showing agreement with non-invasive electrocardiographic imaging. The automatic methodologies presented here for patient-specific MR imaging-based 3D biventricular representations contribute to the efficient realization of precision medicine, enabling the enhanced interpretability of clinical data, the digital twin vision through patient-specific image-based modelling and simulation, and augmented reality applications.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Advanced computation in cardiovascular physiology: new challenges and opportunities’.
Collimonas silvisoli sp. nov. and Collimonas humicola sp. nov., two novel species isolated from forest soil
Authors: Li Jiali , Pan Mingkai , Zhang Xianjiao , Zhou Yang , Feng Guang-Da , Zhu Honghui
Published: October 2021

Three aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-motile and rod-shaped bacteria, designated strains RXD178T, RXD172-2 and RLT1W51T, were isolated from two forest soil samples of Nanling National Nature Reserve in Guangdong Province, PR China. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and 92 core genes showed that they belonged to the genus

Collimonas

, and were most closely related to four validly published species with similarities ranging from 99.4 to 98.2 %. The genomic DNA G+C contents of strains RXD178T, RXD172-2 and RLT1W51T were 57.1, 59.5 and 59.4 mol%, respectively. The genome-derived average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between the novel strains and closely related type species were below 37.90 and 89.34 %, respectively. Meanwhile, the ANI and dDDH values between strains RXD172-2 and RLT1W51T were 98.27 and 83.50 %, respectively. The three novel strains contained C16 : 0, C17 : 0 cyclo and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1
ω6c and/or C16 : 1
ω7c) as the major fatty acids, and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1
ω6c and/or C18 : 1
ω7c) comprised a relative higher proportion in strain RXD178T than in other strains. Both strains RXD172-2 and RLT1W51T had phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG) and an unidentified aminophospholipid (APL) as the main polar lipids while only PE and APL were detected in strain RXD178T. Ubiquinone 8 was the predominant quinone. Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic and genomic analyses, strain RXD178T should be considered as representing one novel species within the genus

Collimonas

and strains RXD172-2 and RLT1W51T as another one, for which the names Collimonas silvisoli sp. nov. and Collimonas humicola sp. nov. are proposed, with RXD178T (=GDMCC 1.1925T=KACC 21987T) and RLT1W51T (=GDMCC 1.1923T=KACC 21985T) as the type strains, respectively.
Distribution and genomic characterization of tigecycline-resistant tet(X4)-positive Escherichia coli of swine farm origin
Authors: Li Yan , Wang Qian , Peng Kai , Liu Yuan , Xiao Xia , Mohsin Mashkoor , Li Ruichao , Wang Zhiqiang
Published: October 2021

Abstract

The emergence of plasmid-mediated tigecycline-resistant strains is posing a serious threat to food safety and human health, which has attracted worldwide attention. The tigecycline resistance gene tet(X4) has been found in diverse sources, but the distribution of tet(X4) and its genetic background in the animal farming environment is not fully understood. Thirty-two tet(X)-positive

Escherichia coli

strains isolated from 159 samples collected from swine farms showed resistance to tigecycline. The tet(X)-positive strains were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, conjugation assay, PCR, Illumina and long-read Nanopore sequencing, and bioinformatics analysis. A total of 11 different sequence types (STs) were identified and most of them belonged to phylogroup A, except ST641. In total, 196 possible prophage sequences were identified and some of the prophage regions were found to carry resistance genes, including tet(X4). Furthermore, our results showed possible correlations between CRISPR spacer sequences and serotypes or STs. The co-existence of tigecycline-resistant tet(A) variants and tet(X4) complicates the evolution of vital resistance genes in farming environments. Further, four reorganization plasmids carrying tet(X4) were observed, and the formation mechanism mainly involved homologous recombination. These findings contribute significantly to a better understanding of the diversity and complexity of tet(X4)-bearing plasmids, an emerging novel public health concern.
Third generation cephalosporin resistance in clinical non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica in Germany and emergence of bla
CTX-M-harbouring pESI plasmids
Authors: Pietsch Michael , Simon Sandra , Meinen Anika , Trost Eva , Banerji Sangeeta , Pfeifer Yvonne , Flieger Antje
Published: October 2021

Non-typhoidal

Salmonella enterica

is an important gastrointestinal pathogen causing a considerable burden of disease. Resistance to third generation cephalosporins poses a serious threat for treatment of severe infections. In this study occurrence, phylogenetic relationship, and mechanisms of third generation cephalosporin resistance were investigated for clinical non-typhoidal

S. enterica

isolates in Germany. From 2017 to 2019, we detected 168 unique clinical

S. enterica

isolates with phenotypic resistance to third generation cephalosporins in a nation-wide surveillance. Compared to previous years, we observed a significant (P=0.0002) and consistent increase in resistant isolates from 0.41 % in 2005 to 1.71 % in 2019. In total, 34 different serovars were identified, most often S. Infantis (n=41; 24.4 %), S. Typhimurium (n=27; 16.1 %), S. Kentucky (n=21; 12.5 %), and S. Derby (n=17; 10.1 %). Whole genome analyses revealed extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes as main cause for third generation cephalosporin resistance, and most prevalent were bla
CTX-M-1 (n=55), bla
CTX-M-14 (n=25), and bla
CTX-M-65 (n=23). There was no strict correlation between serovar, phylogenetic lineage, and ESBL type but some serovar/ESBL gene combinations were detected frequently, such as bla
CTX-M-1 and bla
CTX-M-65 in S. Infantis or bla
CTX-M-14b in S. Kentucky. The ESBL genes were mainly located on plasmids, including IncI, IncA/C variants, emerging pESI variants, and a novel bla
CTX-M-1harbouring plasmid. We conclude that third generation cephalosporin resistance is on the rise among clinical

S. enterica

isolates in Germany, and occurrence in various

S. enterica

serovars is most probably due to multiple acquisition events of plasmids.
Quercetin handles cellular oxidant / antioxidant systems and mitigates immunosenescence hallmarks in human PBMCs: an in vitro study
Authors: Bouamama Samia , Bouamama Amina
Published: October 2021

Immunosenescence, oxidative stress, and low vaccine efficacy are important symptoms of aging. The goal of our study was to see if quercetin had anti-aging and stimulating effects on PBMC immune cells in vitro. In the presence of concanavalin a, PBMCs were isolated from healthy elderly and young people and cultured in a complete RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with quercetin. Cell proliferation was assessed using the MTT colorimetric assay after a 48-hour incubation period. Spectrophophotometric assays were used to assess oxidative biomarkers (PC, MDA, and GSH). The ELISA method was used to determine the amount of IL-2 released. A Griess reagent was used to investigate iNOS activity. When compared to young control cells, aged PBMCs had lower proliferation potency, lower IL-2 and NO release, and higher MDA and PC levels. Importantly, quercetin-treated aged PBMCs have a high proliferative response comparable to young cells, restored iNOS activity, and increased levels of GSH antioxidant defences. In comparison to untreated aged PBMCs, treated PBMCs have lower lipo-oxidative damage but higher PC levels. Quercetin may be used as a promising dietary vaccinal adjuvant in the elderly, it has significant effects in reducing immunosenescence hallmarks, as well as mitigating the lipo-oxidative stress in PBMCs cells.

Practical abstract

Quercetin is a common dietary polyphenol found in fruits and vegetables that is well known for its antioxidant activity in radical scavenging and anticancer properties characterized by immune system stimulation. In vitro, quercetin boosts immune responses in the elderly and reduces immunosenescence symptoms, according to our findings. As a result, this molecule could be a safe and promising vaccine adjuvant for boosting immunity and reducing aging complications in immune cells as well as reducing oxidative stress in PBMC cells.
Epigenetic mosaicism and cell burden in Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome due to loss of methylation at imprinting control region 2
Authors: Duffy Kelly A. , Hathaway Evan R. , Klein Steven D. , Ganguly Arupa , Kalish Jennifer M.
Published: October 2021

Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a rare overgrowth disorder caused by epigenetic alterations on Chromosome 11p15.5. Most molecular changes are sporadic and are thought to occur in a mosaic pattern. Thereby, the distribution of affected cells differs between tissues for each individual, which can complicate genotype–phenotype correlations. In two of the BWS molecular subtypes, tissue mosaicism has been demonstrated; however, mosaicism has not been specifically studied in the most common cause of BWS, loss of methylation (LOM) at KCNQ1OT1:TSS differentially methylated region (DMR) imprinting center 2 (IC2) LOM. The increased prevalence of twinning associated with the IC2 LOM subtype and the discordant phenotypes between the twins previously led to the proposal of diffused epigenetic mosaicism, leading to asymmetric distribution of affected cells during embryonic development. In this study, we evaluated the level of methylation detected in 64 samples collected from 30 individuals with IC2 LOM. We demonstrate that the IC2 LOM defect can occur in mosaic and nonmosaic patterns, and tissues from the same individual can show variable patterns, which suggests that this asymmetric distribution occurs during development. We further suggest that the clinical phenotype in individuals with BWS IC2 LOM is correlated with the epigenetic burden of affected cells in each tissue type. This series is the first report to demonstrate tissue mosaicism within the IC2 LOM epigenotype, and consideration of this mosaicism is necessary to understanding the pathogenesis of BWS.
Redeployment of automated MrBUMP search-model identification for map fitting in cryo-EM
Authors: Simpkin Adam J. , Winn Martyn D. , Rigden Daniel J. , Keegan Ronan M.
Published: October 2021

In crystallography, the phase problem can often be addressed by the careful preparation of molecular-replacement search models. This has led to the development of pipelines such as MrBUMP that can automatically identify homologous proteins from an input sequence and edit them to focus on the areas that are most conserved. Many of these approaches can be applied directly to cryo-EM to help discover, prepare and correctly place models (here called cryo-EM search models) into electrostatic potential maps. This can significantly reduce the amount of manual model building that is required for structure determination. Here, MrBUMP is repurposed to fit automatically obtained PDB-derived chains and domains into cryo-EM maps. MrBUMP was successfully able to identify and place cryo-EM search models across a range of resolutions. Methods such as map segmentation are also explored as potential routes to improved performance. Map segmentation was also found to improve the effectiveness of the pipeline for higher resolution (<8 Å) data sets.
From unrequited love to sleeping with the enemy: COVID-19 and the future relationship between UK universities and professional accounting bodies
Authors: Al Mahameed Muhammad , Riaz Umair , Gee Lara
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the relationship between UK universities and professional accounting bodies (PABs) in the context of the accreditation system and how well prepared this relationship was to observe and respond to the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The research draws on 10 semi-structured interviews and correspondence, with six English universities in the context of their relationship with three PABs to build an extended analytical structure to understand the nature and extent of the accreditation system in light of COVID-19.

Findings

The study shows that COVID-19 has highlighted pedagogical and ideological conflicts within the PAB–university relationship. The analysis shows that, in an attempt to resolve these conflicts, universities demonstrate “unrequited love” for PABs by limiting changes to assessments to meet the PABs’ criteria. Indeed, PABs face very little resistance from universities. This further constrains academics by suppressing innovation and limiting their scope to learn and adopt new skills, habits and teaching styles.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the weakness of the PAB–university relationship. Moreover, it shows that rather than using the pandemic crisis to question this relationship, PABs may seek to promote their accounting pedagogy and retain greater control of the accounting curriculum. This can entail the transformation of academics into translators of PABs’ accounting pedagogy rather than exercising academic freedom and promoting critical thinking.
Life cycle assessment of 61 ducted gas heating upgrades in Australia
Authors: Peukes Ina Eileen , Francesco Pomponi , D'Amico Bernardino
Published: October 2021

Purpose

Operational energy use in buildings accounts for 28% of global energy demand. One method to reduce operational energy is upgrading old appliances to more efficient ones. In Australia, the most common residential heating type is reverse-cycle heating, followed by gas heating. This article aims to determine the energy balance resulting from a gas heating upgrade through a life cycle assessment (LCA).

Design/methodology/approach

Extensive primary data were collected for operational energy performance of 61 ducted gas heating upgrades. To address the scarcity of data on material composition, one ducted gas heater was deconstructed and assessed in terms of material composition (types and weights). The comparison between embodied energy and operational energy savings allows us to establish whether operational energy savings offset the embodied energy incurred with the upgrade. The end of life stage of the old appliance, as well as the production, construction and use stage of the new appliance were assessed.

Findings

The results show that the operational energy savings offset the following impact categories: global warming, ozone layer depletion, aquatic acidification, nonrenewable energy and carcinogens. Only the mineral extraction is not offset by the operational energy savings. The results clearly demonstrate that operational energy savings outweigh the embodied energy and therefore contribute positively to the environment.

Originality/value

This study is the first to focus on the LCA of building services through extensive primary data collection and a focus on a high number of appliances. This supports ongoing energy efficient upgrades in Australia and paves the way for further, similar studies to confirm or disprove these findings in other parts of the world.