bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Examination of laminar Couette flow with obstacles by a low-cost particle image velocimetry setup
Authors: Luberto Luca , de Payrebrune Kristin M.
Published: March 2021

For many technical applications, a detailed analysis of the fluid mechanical properties is necessary, for which computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are used. However, even though flow simulations are becoming faster and more accurate, validation through experimentation is essential. One way of validation is to use Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), an imaging technique that can visualize the flow field and measure flow velocities. Since the measuring equipment of commercial systems is very expensive, we propose a low-cost PIV setup that is also affordable for small scientific institutions. In addition to the quality of the acquired images, the reliability and comparability between experiment and simulation are also important issues. Therefore, in this work, we compare the image acquisition quality of the proposed low-cost PIV system with two- and three-dimensional CFD simulations for a laminar Couette flow and a laminar flow around square and hexagonal obstacles with very good agreement. In addition, we analyzed the transferability of 2D and 3D CFD simulations with experiments by measuring the velocity field and found that experimentally determined flow velocities often cannot be used to validate idealized (2D) simulations due to the spatial flow that occurs. However, if the non-ideal conditions of the experiment are considered in the (3D) simulation, a good comparability is given and an experimental validation is possible, for which the presented low-cost PIV system is well suitable.
A hybrid identification and tracking of Lagrangian mesoscale eddies
Authors: El Aouni Anass
Published: March 2021

Automatic identification and tracking of mesoscale eddies are crucial in large oceanic observational and numerical model data. This work proposes a fully automated method that identifies and tracks from a single Lagrangian advection, all mesoscale eddies, without prior knowledge of their lifespans. The eddies' detection and tracking use a hybrid method based on geometrical properties of the evolving velocity along Lagrangian trajectories and a grid density-based clustering algorithm. The high eddies' monitoring capacity of the proposed method is demonstrated by automatically identifying and tracking these structures from two different datasets: satellite-derived surface geostrophic velocity fields and a two-dimensional fluid simulation. The proposed approach gives complete dynamical features and evolution of the detected mesoscale eddies by identifying their genesis event, monitoring their coherent core, and describing their splitting and vanishing image.
Tunable low-frequency and broadband acoustic metamaterial absorber
Authors: Xu Zi-xiang , Meng Hai-yang , Chen An , Yang Jing , Liang Bin , Cheng Jian-chun
Published: March 2021

Current sound-absorbing materials have fixed absorption spectra due to unalterable local resonance properties, which limit their application potential in many noise control scenarios. Clear motivation exists, therefore, to design an acoustic absorber to fit the actual noise spectrum with reconfigurable geometry and subwavelength thickness. Here, we analytically present and experimentally verify a tunable low-frequency acoustic absorber composed of multi-layered ring-shaped microslit tubes with a deep subwavelength thickness. This decreases the working frequency and significantly increases the acoustic absorption efficiency simultaneously. A physical model of the proposed metastructure is established on the basis of an acoustic equivalent circuit using microslit absorber theory. Superior impedance manipulation capability is achieved by rotating the middle microslit tube from 0° to 180°. This enables continuous tunability of the metamaterial absorber over a wide working frequency band. In both the simulated and measured results, highly efficient acoustic absorption (at least 0.9) is achieved in the range of 280–572 Hz. Simulations under oblique incidence are conducted to validate the wide-angle performance of the absorber. Based on the proposed tunable absorption mechanism, a hybrid metamaterial absorber is designed to produce adjustable broadband absorption with high efficiency. Our work helps pave the way to absorbing metamaterials being used in practical engineering applications such as noise control due to the advantages of tunable functionality, compactness, high efficiency, wide-angle absorption, and easy fabrication.
Ultrasonic oscillatory two-phase flow in microchannels
Authors: Lu Zhaokuan , Dupuis Eric D. , Patel Viral K. , Momen Ayyoub M. , Shahab Shima
Published: March 2021

Experimental and numerical investigations are performed to provide an assessment of the transport behavior of an ultrasonic oscillatory air–water two-phase flow in a microchannel. The flow exhibits highly unsteady behavior as the water and air interact with each other during the vibration cycles, making it significantly different from the well-studied steady flow in microchannels. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is realized by combing the turbulence Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes k−ω model with the phase-field method in the Eulerian framework to resolve the dynamics of the two-phase flow. The numerical results are qualitatively validated by the experiment. Through parametric studies achieved by CFD simulation, we specifically examined the effects of vibration conditions (i.e., frequency and amplitude), microchannel taper angle, and wall surface contact angle (i.e., wettability) on the flow rate through the microchannel. The configuration for the highest flow rate is identified, which will help optimize the efficiency of a novel ultrasonic drying device. The described CFD modeling approach may also advance the potential applications where oscillatory or general unsteady microchannel two-phase flows may be present.
Reduced-order modeling of advection-dominated systems with recurrent neural networks and convolutional autoencoders
Authors: Maulik Romit , Lusch Bethany , Balaprakash Prasanna
Published: March 2021

A common strategy for the dimensionality reduction of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) relies on the use of the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) to identify a reduced subspace and the Galerkin projection for evolving dynamics in this reduced space. However, advection-dominated PDEs are represented poorly by this methodology since the process of truncation discards important interactions between higher-order modes during time evolution. In this study, we demonstrate that encoding using convolutional autoencoders (CAEs) followed by a reduced-space time evolution by recurrent neural networks overcomes this limitation effectively. We demonstrate that a truncated system of only two latent space dimensions can reproduce a sharp advecting shock profile for the viscous Burgers equation with very low viscosities, and a six-dimensional latent space can recreate the evolution of the inviscid shallow water equations. Additionally, the proposed framework is extended to a parametric reduced-order model by directly embedding parametric information into the latent space to detect trends in system evolution. Our results show that these advection-dominated systems are more amenable to low-dimensional encoding and time evolution by a CAE and recurrent neural network combination than the POD-Galerkin technique.
Improvement in multipass Thomson scattering system comprising laser amplification system developed in GAMMA 10/PDX
Authors: Yoshikawa M. , Mouri T. , Nakanishi H. , Kohagura J. , Shima Y. , Sakamoto M. , Nakashima Y. , Ezumi N. , Minami R. , Yamada I. , Yasuhara R. , Funaba H. , Minami T. , Kenmochi N.
Published: March 2021

The multipass Thomson scattering (MPTS) technique is one of the most useful methods for measuring low-electron-density plasmas. The MPTS system increases Thomson scattering (TS) signal intensities by integrating all multipass (MP) signals and improving the TS time resolution by analyzing each pass signal. The fully coaxial MPTS system developed in GAMMA 10/potential-control and diverter–simulator experiments has a polarization-based configuration with image-relaying optics. The MPTS system can enhance Thomson scattered signals for improving the measurement accuracy and megahertz-order time resolution. In this study, we develop a new MPTS system comprising a laser amplification system to obtain continuous MP signals. The laser amplification system can improve degraded laser power and return an amplified laser to the MP system. We obtain continuous MP signals from the laser amplification system by improving the laser beam profile adjuster in gas scattering experiments. Moreover, we demonstrate that more MP signals and stronger amplified MP signals can be achieved via multiple laser injections to the laser amplification system in the developed MP system comprising a laser amplification system.
Ultrafast excited state dynamics of provitamin D3 and analogs in solution and in lipid bilayers
Authors: Sofferman Danielle L. , Konar Arkaprabha , Spears Kenneth G. , Sension Roseanne J.
Published: March 2021

The photochemical ring-opening reaction of 7-dehydrocholesterol (DHC, provitamin D3) is responsible for the light-initiated formation of vitamin D3 in mammalian skin membranes. Visible transient absorption spectroscopy was used to explore the excited state dynamics of DHC and two analogs: ergosterol (provitamin D2) and DHC acetate free in solution and confined to lipid bilayers chosen to model the biological cell membrane. In solution, the excited state dynamics of the three compounds are nearly identical. However, when confined to lipid bilayers, the heterogeneity of the lipid membrane and packing forces imposed on the molecule by the lipid alter the excited state dynamics of these compounds. When confined to lipid bilayers in liposomes formed using DPPC, two solvation environments are identified. The excited state dynamics for DHC and analogs in fluid-like regions of the liposome membrane undergo internal conversion and ring-opening on 1 ps–2 ps time scales, similar to those observed in isotropic solution. In contrast, the excited state lifetime of a subpopulation in regions of lower fluidity is 7 ps–12 ps. The long decay component is unique to these liposomes and results from the structural properties of the lipid bilayer. Additional measurements in liposomes prepared with lipids having slightly longer or shorter alkane tails support this conclusion. In the lipid environments studied, the longest lifetimes are observed for DHC. The unsaturated sterol tail of ergosterol and the acetate group of DHC acetate disrupt the packing around the molecule and permit faster internal conversion and relaxation back to the ground state.
Epitaxial (100), (110), and (111) BaTiO3 films on SrTiO3 substrates—A transmission electron microscopy study
Authors: Nylund I.-E. , Raeder T. M. , Vullum P. E. , Grande T.
Published: March 2021

Chemical solution deposition (CSD) is a versatile method to fabricate oxide films. Here, the structure and local variations in the chemical composition of BaTiO3 (BTO) films prepared by CSD on (100), (110), and (111) SrTiO3 (STO) substrates were examined by transmission electron microscopy. The films were shown to be epitaxial and the relaxation of the films occurred by the formation of edge dislocations at the substrate–film interfaces. The Burgers vectors of the dislocations were determined to be a⟨010⟩, a[11¯0] and a[001], and a⟨110⟩ for the (100), (110), and (111) films, respectively. Due to the difference in thermal expansion between STO and BTO, the films are demonstrated to be under tensile strain. Furthermore, the boundaries between each deposited layer in the BTO films were found to be Ba-deficient in all cases. In the case of the (111) oriented film, defects like an anti-phase boundary or a thin layer with a twinned crystal structure were identified at the boundary between each deposited layer. Moreover, a larger grain was observed at the film surface with a twinned crystal structure. The interdiffusion length of A-cations at the STO–BTO interface, studied by electron energy-loss spectroscopy, was found to be 3.4, 5.3, and 5.3 nm for the (100), (110), and (111) oriented films, respectively. Interdiffusion of cations across the STO–BTO interface was discussed in relation to cation diffusion in bulk BTO and STO. Despite the presence of imperfections demonstrated in this work, the films possess excellent ferroelectric properties, meaning that none of the imperfections are detrimental to the ferroelectric properties.
Ending AIDS in the Asia–Pacific region by 2030: are we on track? Policy, epidemiological and intervention insights
Authors: Green Kimberly , Schmidt Heather-Marie A. , Vallely Andrew J. , Zhang Lei , Kelly-Hanku Angela , Janamnuaysook Rena , Ong Jason J.
Published: March 2021

The Asia–Pacific region is home to nearly 6 million people living with HIV. Across the region, key populations – men who have sex with men, transgender women, people who inject drugs, sex workers, prisoners – and their sexual partners make up the majority of those living with HIV. While significant progress has been made in the past 5 years towards UNAIDS’s 90–90–90 goals (90% of people with HIV diagnosed, 90% on antiretroviral therapy, 90% virologically suppressed), significant gaps remain. The papers in this Special Issue address important questions: are we on track to end the AIDS epidemic in the Asia–Pacific region? And can countries in this region reach the new UNAIDS targets for 2030?
On the accuracy of soil survey in Queensland, Australia
Authors: Biggs Andrew J. W. , Crawford Mark , Andrews Kaitlyn , Sugars Mark , Smith Dan , Brown Warrick
Published: March 2021

The accuracy of soil survey is not well described in a consistent manner for either conventional or digital soil mapping in Queensland or more generally in Australia. Concepts of accuracy are often poorly understood and the rise of digital soil mapping has led to further terminology confusion for clients. Despite long-standing recommendations for derivation of accuracy statistics of soil surveys via statistically-based external validation, accuracy assessment by this method has been limited. Concepts for accuracy description (overall, producers and users accuracy) from the remote sensing discipline are applicable to soil survey and their use should be encouraged. An analysis of 12 published 1:50000 and 1:100000 soil surveys in Queensland revealed a 73% to 97% match between mapped polygonal and site data. This, in conjunction with accuracy standards for similar mapping disciplines and published soil survey accuracy assessments, leads us to recommend that a benchmark of 80% accuracy is realistic for all types of soil surveys. The adoption of a benchmark is however dependent upon further development and evaluation of accuracy assessment methods and standards, particularly in relation to minimum sample size and acceptance criteria. These outcomes will only be achieved if all surveys include accuracy assessment within the survey design.
Excitatory cholecystokinin neurons of the midbrain integrate diverse temporal responses and drive auditory thalamic subdomains
Authors: Kreeger Lauren J. , Connelly Catherine J. , Mehta Preeti , Zemelman Boris V. , Golding Nace L.
Published: March 2021

Significance

Our ability to identify sounds and understand communication signals depends upon our brains’ capacity to combine information about diverse sound features, including temporal patterns. The central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) performs an initial stage of this integration, but a circuit-based understanding of these processes has been hampered by difficulties in separating clearly defined functional cell types. Here we identify and characterize a major excitatory projection neuron of the ICC. These neurons show uniform intrinsic firing patterns and tuning to frequency, but strikingly diverse temporal responses to sound. Our results suggest that diversity in temporal coding is represented even within a single cell class and is likely primarily driven by differences in circuit connectivity.
Emergence of dynamic vortex glasses in disordered polar active fluids
Authors: Chardac Amélie , Shankar Suraj , Marchetti M. Cristina , Bartolo Denis
Published: March 2021

Significance

Active systems, from bacteria to human crowds, often move through disordered environments, but the impact of quenched disorder on self-organized collective flow remains largely unexplored. We combine microfluidic experiments involving a colloidal active fluid and hydrodynamic theory to study a flocking fluid navigating a disordered substrate. While weak disorder hardly disrupts the robust collective motion, above a critical disorder strength the system organizes in a remarkable state of correlated flows through a frozen network of defects—a dynamical vortex glass, akin to vortex glasses in dirty superconductors. Strong disorder and activity conspire to generate a gauge field that proliferates pinned vortices, a general mechanism that may apply to a broad class of synthetic and biological active fluids.
Structural basis for recognition of distinct deaminated DNA lesions by endonuclease Q
Authors: Shi Ke , Moeller Nicholas H. , Banerjee Surajit , McCann Jennifer L. , Carpenter Michael A. , Yin Lulu , Moorthy Ramkumar , Orellana Kayo , Harki Daniel A. , Harris Reuben S. , Aihara Hideki
Published: March 2021

Significance

Deamination of cytosine and adenine bases in DNA is one of the most common sources of genetic mutation in biology and a major driver of virus and tumor evolution. Recent studies have identified a novel class of DNA-repair enzyme from archaea and bacteria, designated endonuclease Q (EndoQ), which has unique activity to initiate the repair of both these deaminated lesions. Our X-ray crystallographic and biochemical analyses presented here reveal how EndoQ achieves high selectivity toward these chemically divergent substrates without cleaving undamaged DNA. We also demonstrate that EndoQ, as the only known nuclease that cleaves DNA at deoxyuridine nucleotide, is useful for studying DNA deamination and repair in mammalian systems.
The mechanics and dynamics of cancer cells sensing noisy 3D contact guidance
Authors: Kim Jihan , Cao Yuansheng , Eddy Christopher , Deng Youyuan , Levine Herbert , Rappel Wouter-Jan , Sun Bo
Published: March 2021

Significance

The spatial organization of ECM fibers biases the polarization and migration of cancer cells, a phenomenon known as contact guidance which is directly linked to the clinical outcome of cancers. In physiological conditions, ECM fibers do not align perfectly in parallel. Therefore, we study the morphological and migrational response of breast cancer cells to ECM fibers aligned to various degrees. We identify the cell’s aspect ratio as an integrated biomarker that determines its sensitivity to contact guidance cues. We also find that the level of ECM alignment modulates transitions between cells of differing morphology. Taken together, we show that cells integrate complex mechanical cues to determine their morphodynamics, thereby controlling polarization and migration in 3D ECM.
An in vivo method for diversifying the functions of therapeutic antibodies
Authors: Tian Ming , Cheng Hwei-Ling , Kimble Michael T. , McGovern Kelly , Waddicor Peyton , Chen Yiwei , Cantor Elizabeth , Qiu Mengting , Tuchel Marie-Elen , Dao Mai , Alt Frederick W.
Published: March 2021

Significance

The immune system can produce enormous varieties of antibodies to counter infections. In this study, we devised a method to harness the power of the immune system to produce therapeutic antibodies. We used this method to generate antibodies against human PD1, a negative regulator of T cell activity. Available anti-PD1 therapeutic antibodies inhibit the function of PD1, thereby boosting T cell activity against tumor cells. We diversified one such anti-PD1 antibody and obtained multiple anti-PD1 antibodies, some of which can stimulate, rather than inhibit, PD1 function in vitro. Such PD1-stimulatory antibodies could potentially be used to suppress pathogenic T cell activities in autoimmune diseases. This method could be used to diversify the functions of other therapeutic antibodies.
Word alignment in a parallel corpus of Old English prose
Authors: Martín Arista Javier
Published: March 2021

This chapter proposes a model of syntactic annotation for the Parallel Corpus of Old English Prose, an aligned corpus of Old English and Present Day English texts. The research focuses on areas of syntactic divergence between the aligned texts. Syntactic divergence is described in terms of four types of alignment asymmetry (markedness, constituency, order, and configuration) and is represented by means of two components: a structural description and a dependency tree. The main conclusion is that these two components constitute a historical micro-grammar that identifies stability and change with respect to specific categories and constructions.
Semantic textual similarity based on deep learning
Authors: Ranasinghe Tharindu , Mitkov Ruslan , Orăsan Constantin , Quintana Rocío Caro
Published: March 2021

This study proposes an original methodology to underpin the operation of new generation Translation Memory (TM) systems where the translations to be retrieved from the TM database are matched not on the basis of Levenshtein (edit) distance but by employing innovative Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Deep Learning (DL) techniques. Three DL sentence encoders were experimented with to retrieve TM matches in English-Spanish sentence pairs from the DGT TM dataset. Each sentence encoder was compared with Okapi which uses edit distance to retrieve the best match.1 The automatic evaluation shows the benefit of the DL technology for TM matching and holds promise for the implementation of the TM tool itself, which is our next project.
Generic analysis of mobile application reviews in English and Spanish
Authors: Mora López Natalia
Published: March 2021

In this paper, the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach to genre is applied to English and Spanish mobile application reviews from Google Play Store. These reviews are shown to be divisible into two optional stages, namely Evaluation and Description, the first part being more subjective and based on the author’s opinion and the second one more objective and focused on describing issues. The frequency of use of the Attitude axis from Appraisal Theory provides support for the distinction of those stages. The combination of the polarity of the contents of each stage together with the number of stars given to the item reviewed creates six patterns for the reviews. However, no noticeable differences between English and Spanish reviews were observed.
The 2021 Magnonics Roadmap
Authors: Barman Anjan , Gubbiotti Gianluca , Ladak S , Adeyeye A O , Krawczyk M , Gräfe J , Adelmann C , Cotofana S , Naeemi A , Vasyuchka V I , Hillebrands B , Nikitov S A , Yu H , Grundler D , Sadovnikov A V , Grachev A A , Sheshukova S E , Duquesne J-Y , Marangolo M , Csaba G , Porod W , Demidov V E , Urazhdin S , Demokritov S O , Albisetti E , Petti D , Bertacco R , Schultheiss H , Kruglyak V V , Poimanov V D , Sahoo S , Sinha J , Yang H , Münzenberg M , Moriyama T , Mizukami S , Landeros P , Gallardo R A , Carlotti G , Kim J-V , Stamps R L , Camley R E , Rana B , Otani Y , Yu W , Yu T , Bauer G E W , Back C , Uhrig G S , Dobrovolskiy O V , Budinska B , Qin H , van Dijken S , Chumak A V , Khitun A , Nikonov D E , Young I A , Zingsem B W , Winklhofer M
Published: March 2021

Magnonics is a budding research field in nanomagnetism and nanoscience that addresses the use of spin waves (magnons) to transmit, store, and process information. The rapid advancements of this field during last one decade in terms of upsurge in research papers, review articles, citations, proposals of devices as well as introduction of new sub-topics prompted us to present the first roadmap on magnonics. This is a collection of 22 sections written by leading experts in this field who review and discuss the current status besides presenting their vision of future perspectives. Today, the principal challenges in applied magnonics are the excitation of sub-100 nm wavelength magnons, their manipulation on the nanoscale and the creation of sub-micrometre devices using low-Gilbert damping magnetic materials and its interconnections to standard electronics. To this end, magnonics offers lower energy consumption, easier integrability and compatibility with CMOS structure, reprogrammability, shorter wavelength, smaller device features, anisotropic properties, negative group velocity, non-reciprocity and efficient tunability by various external stimuli to name a few. Hence, despite being a young research field, magnonics has come a long way since its early inception. This roadmap asserts a milestone for future emerging research directions in magnonics, and hopefully, it will inspire a series of exciting new articles on the same topic in the coming years.
Using Tracker to find the minimum angle of deviation and the refractive index of a prism
Authors: Ürek Handan , Özdemir Erdoğan , Coramik Mustafa
Published: March 2021

The target of this study is to determine the minimum angle of deviation of a prism which is one of the optical experiments. Thus, the aim is to state the refractive index of a prism. In this context, the Tracker program, which might also be utilized in terms of distance education purposes, was preferred. The videos of the experiments were recorded with the help of a smartphone. The study showed that the refractive indexes of the prisms which were made of glass and acrylic with different apex angles could be determined with a high level of accuracy as a result of the analysis of videos which were recorded with two different methods. It is believed that the study provides insights for both the conduction of laboratory courses via distance education and for performing experiments for students who do not have access to proper laboratory equipment.
Analogies between momentum current, electric current and entropy current
Authors: Wu Guobin , Wu Amy Yimin
Published: March 2021

This paper starts with an introduction to the concept of momentum current. It is followed by a discussion of its strength and density with the aid of several analogies made between momentum current and electric current. Based on the novel concepts of thermal charge and its quantity (entropy), the analogies are extended to entropy current. The broadened analogies cover the driving force and resistance of each current, the effects that the strength or density of each current has on their conductors, and the relationships between the above three currents and energy current, etc, which involve practical problems such as industrial safety, human thermal sensation, process control parameters as well as energy carriers and energy transport.
Potential Therapeutic Targets for Olfactory Dysfunction in Ciliopathies Beyond Single-Gene Replacement
Authors: Xie Chao , Martens Jeffrey R
Published: March 2021

Olfactory dysfunction is a common disorder in the general population. There are multiple causes, one of which being ciliopathies, an emerging class of human hereditary genetic disorders characterized by multiple symptoms due to defects in ciliary biogenesis, maintenance, and/or function. Mutations/deletions in a wide spectrum of ciliary genes have been identified to cause ciliopathies. Currently, besides symptomatic therapy, there is no available therapeutic treatment option for olfactory dysfunction caused by ciliopathies. Multiple studies have demonstrated that targeted gene replacement can restore the morphology and function of olfactory cilia in olfactory sensory neurons and further re-establish the odor-guided behaviors in animals. Therefore, targeted gene replacement could be potentially used to treat olfactory dysfunction in ciliopathies. However, due to the potential limitations of single-gene therapy for polygenic mutation-induced diseases, alternative therapeutic targets for broader curative measures need to be developed for olfactory dysfunction, and also for other symptoms in ciliopathies. Here we review the current understanding of ciliogenesis and maintenance of olfactory cilia. Furthermore, we emphasize signaling mechanisms that may be involved in the regulation of olfactory ciliary length and highlight potential alternative therapeutic targets for the treatment of ciliopathy-induced dysfunction in the olfactory system and even in other ciliated organ systems.
Smoking and nasopharyngeal cancer: individual data meta-analysis of six prospective studies on 334 935 men
Authors: Lin Jia Huang , Wen Chi Pang , Jiang Chao Qiang , Yuan Jian-Min , Chen Chien Jen , Ho Sai Yin , Gao Wayne , Zhang Weisen , Wang Renwei , Chien Yin-Chu , Xu Lin , Wu Xifeng , Jin Ya Li , Koh Woon-Puay , Hsu Wan-Lun , Zhu Feng , Wen Christopher , Zhu Tong , Lee June Han , Mai Zhi-Ming , Lung Maria Li , Lam Tai-Hing
Published: March 2021

Background

The role of smoking in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains uncertain, especially in endemic regions. We conducted an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies to investigate the associations between smoking exposure and risk of NPC.

Methods

We obtained individual participant data of 334 935 male participants from six eligible population-based cohorts in NPC-endemic regions, including two each in Guangzhou and Taiwan, and one each in Hong Kong and Singapore. We used one- and two-stage approaches IPD meta-analysis and Cox proportional hazard models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of NPC for smoking exposure adjusting for age and drinking status.

Results

During 2 961 315 person-years of follow-up, 399 NPC evens were ascertained. Risks of NPC were higher in ever versus never smokers (HRone-stage = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.07-1.63, P = 0.0088; HRtwo-stage = 1.27, 1.01-1.60, 0.04). These positive associations appeared to be stronger in ever smokers who consumed 16+ cigarettes/day (HRone-stage = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.29-2.16, P = 0.0001), and in those who started smoking at age younger than 16 (2.16, 1.33-3.50, 0.0103), with dose-response relationships (P-values for trend = 0.0028 and 0.0103, respectively). Quitting (versus daily smoking) showed a small reduced risk (stopped for 5+ years: HRone-stage = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.60-1.39, P = 0.66; for former smokers: HRtwo-stage = 0.84, 0.61-1.14, 0.26).

Conclusions

This first IPD meta-analysis from six prospective cohorts in endemic regions has provided robust observational evidence that smoking increased NPC risk in men. NPC should be added to the 12–16 cancer sites known to be tobacco-related cancers. Strong tobacco control policies, preventing young individuals from smoking, would reduce NPC risk in endemic regions.
Shedding of Culturable Virus, Seroconversion, and 6-Month Follow-up Antibody Responses in the First 14 Confirmed Cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the United States
Authors: Killerby Marie E , Ata Ur Rasheed Mohammed , Tamin Azaibi , Harcourt Jennifer L , Abedi Glen R , Lu Xiaoyan , Kujawski Stephanie , Shah Melisa M , Kirking Hannah L , Gold Jeremy A W , Salvatore Phillip P , Coughlin Melissa M , Whitaker Brett , Tate Jacqueline E , Watson John T , Lindstrom Stephen , Hall Aron J , Fry Alicia M , Gerber Susan I , Midgley Claire M , Thornburg Natalie J
Published: March 2021

We aimed to characterize presence of culturable virus in clinical specimens during acute illness, and antibody kinetics up to 6 months after symptom onset, among 14 early patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in the United States. We isolated viable severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 from real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction–positive respiratory specimens collected during days 0–8 after onset, but not after. All 13 patients with 2 or more serum specimens developed anti-spike antibodies; 12 developed detectable neutralizing antibodies. We did not isolate virus after detection of neutralizing antibodies. Eight participants provided serum at 6 months after onset; all retained detectable anti-spike immunoglobulin G, and half had detectable neutralizing antibodies. Two participants reported not feeling fully recovered at 6 months.
Prevalence and Prognosis of Lynch Syndrome and Sporadic Mismatch Repair Deficiency in Endometrial Cancer
Authors: Post Cathalijne C B , Stelloo Ellen , Smit Vincent T H B M , Ruano Dina , Tops Carli M , Vermij Lisa , Rutten Tessa A , Jürgenliemk-Schulz Ina M , Lutgens Ludy C H W , Jobsen Jan J , Nout Remi A , Crosbie Emma J , Powell Melanie E , Mileshkin Linda , Leary Alexandra , Bessette Paul , Putter Hein , de Boer Stephanie M , Horeweg Nanda , Nielsen Maartje , Wezel Tom van , Bosse Tjalling , Creutzberg Carien L
Published: March 2021

Background

Standard screening of endometrial cancer (EC) for Lynch syndrome (LS) is gaining traction; however, the prognostic impact of an underlying hereditary etiology is unknown. We established the prevalence, prognosis, and subsequent primary cancer incidence of patients with LS-associated EC in relation to sporadic mismatch repair deficient (MMRd)-EC in the large combined Post Operative Radiation Therapy in Endometrial Carcinoma-1, -2, and -3 trial cohort.

Methods

After MMR-immunohistochemistry, MLH1-promoter methylation testing, and next-generation sequencing, tumors were classified into 3 groups according to the molecular cause of their MMRd-EC. Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox model were used for survival analysis. Competing risk analysis was used to estimate the subsequent cancer probability. All statistical tests were 2-sided.

Results

Among the 1336 ECs, 410 (30.7%) were MMRd. A total of 380 (92.7%) were fully triaged: 275 (72.4%) were MLH1-hypermethylated MMRd-ECs; 36 (9.5%) LS MMRd-ECs, and 69 (18.2%) MMRd-ECs due to other causes. Limiting screening of EC patients to 60 years or younger or to 70 years or younger would have resulted in missing 18 (50.0%) and 6 (16.7%) LS diagnoses, respectively. Five-year recurrence-free survival was 91.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 83.1% to 100%; hazard ratio = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.16 to 1.24, P = .12) for LS, 95.5% (95% CI = 90.7% to 100%; hazard ratio = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.55, P = .003) for “other” vs 78.6% (95% CI = 73.8% to 83.7%) for MLH1-hypermethylated MMRd-EC. The probability of subsequent LS-associated cancer at 10 years was 11.6% (95% CI = 0.0% to 24.7%), 1.5% (95% CI = 0.0% to 4.3%), and 7.0% (95% CI = 3.0% to 10.9%) within the LS, “other,” and MLH1-hypermethylated MMRd-EC groups, respectively.

Conclusions

The LS prevalence in the Post Operative Radiation Therapy in Endometrial Carcinoma trial population was 2.8% and among MMRd-ECs was 9.5%. Patients with LS-associated ECs showed a trend towards better recurrence-free survival and higher risk for second cancers compared with patients with MLH1-hypermethylated MMRd-EC.
COVID-19-associated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in a tertiary care center in Mexico City
Authors: Vélez Pintado Mariana , Camiro-Zúñiga Antonio , Aguilar Soto Mercedes , Cuenca Dalia , Mercado Moisés , Crabtree-Ramirez Brenda ,   the ARMII study gruop
Published: March 2021

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a severe infection caused by aspergillus sp. that usually develops in patients with severe immunosuppression. IPA has been recently described in critically ill COVID-19 patients (termed as COVID-associated pulmonary aspergillosis, or CAPA) that are otherwise immunocompetent. In order to describe the characteristics of patients with CAPA, we conducted a retrospective cohort study in a tertiary care center in Mexico City. We included all patients with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit that had serum or bronchoalveolar lavage galactomannan measurements. We used the criteria proposed by Koehler et al. to establish the diagnosis of CAPA. Main outcomes were the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and in-hospital mortality. Out of a total of 83 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the ICU, 16 (19.3%) met the criteria for CAPA. All patients diagnosed with CAPA required IMV whereas only 84% of the patients in the non-IPA group needed this intervention (P = 0.09). In the IPA group, 31% (n = 5) of the patients died, compared to 13% (n = 9) in the non-CAPA group (P = 0.08). We conclude that CAPA is a frequent co-infection in critically ill COVID-19 patients and is associated with a high mortality rate. The timely diagnosis and treatment of IPA in these patients is likely to improve their outcome.

Lay Summary

We studied the characteristics of patients with COVID-19-associated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA). Patients with CAPA tended to need invasive mechanical ventilation more frequently and to have a higher mortality rate. Adequate resources for its management can improve their outcome
Barred spiral galaxies in modified gravity theories
Authors: Roshan Mahmood , Banik Indranil , Ghafourian Neda , Thies Ingo , Famaey Benoit , Asencio Elena , Kroupa Pavel
Published: March 2021

When bars form within galaxy formation simulations in the standard cosmological context, dynamical friction with dark matter (DM) causes them to rotate rather slowly. However, almost all observed galactic bars are fast in terms of the ratio between corotation radius and bar length. Here, we explicitly display an 8σ tension between the observed distribution of this ratio and that in the EAGLE simulation at redshift 0. We also compare the evolution of Newtonian galactic discs embedded in DM haloes to their evolution in three extended gravity theories: Milgromian Dynamics (MOND), a model of non-local gravity, and a scalar–tensor–vector gravity theory (MOG). Although our models start with the same initial baryonic distribution and rotation curve, the long-term evolution is different. The bar instability happens more violently in MOND compared to the other models. There are some common features between the extended gravity models, in particular the negligible role played by dynamical friction − which plays a key role in the DM model. Partly for this reason, all extended gravity models predict weaker bars and faster bar pattern speeds compared to the DM case. Although the absence of strong bars in our idealized, isolated extended gravity simulations is in tension with observations, they reproduce the strong observational preference for ‘fast’ bar pattern speeds, which we could not do with DM. We confirm previous findings that apparently ‘ultrafast’ bars can be due to bar-spiral arm alignment leading to an overestimated bar length, especially in extended gravity scenarios where the bar is already fast.
Exploring the tilted accretion disc of AQ Men with TESS
Authors: Iłkiewicz Krystian , Scaringi Simone , Court James M C , Maccarone Thomas J , Altamirano Diego , Bradshaw Corey W , Degenaar Nathalie , Fratta Matteo , Littlefield Colin , Shahbaz Tariq , Wijnands Rudy
Published: March 2021

AQ Men is a nova-like variable that is presumed to have a tilted, precessing accretion disc. Grazing eclipses in this system have been speculated to be useful in exploring the geometry of its accretion disc. In this work, we analysed Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observations of AQ Men, which provide the best light curve of this object thus far. We show that the depths of the eclipses are changing with the orientation of the accretion disc, which means that they can serve as a direct test of the tilted accretion disc models. The precession period of the accretion disc is increasing during the TESS observations. However, it is still shorter than the period determined in the previous studies. The amplitude of the variability related to the precession of the accretion disc varies, and so does the shape of this variability. Moreover, we have detected a positive superhump that was previously unseen in AQ Men. Interestingly, the positive superhump has a strongly non-sinusoidal shape, which is not expected for a nova-like variable.
A search for variable subdwarf B stars in TESS Full Frame Images – II. Variable objects in the northern ecliptic hemisphere
Authors: Baran A S , Sahoo S K , Sanjayan S , Ostrowski J
Published: March 2021

We report the results of our search for pulsating subdwarf B stars in Full Frame Images collected during Year 2 of the TESS mission and covering the northern ecliptic hemisphere. This is a continuation of our effort we presented in Paper I. We found 13 likely new pulsating subdwarf B stars, 10 pulsating candidates that are identified as other hot subdwarfs, and 30 spectroscopically unclassified objects that show amplitude spectra typical of pulsating subdwarf B stars. We found 506 variable objects, most of them spectroscopically unclassified, hence their specific variability class yet to be confirmed. Eclipsing binaries with sharp eclipses sample comprises 33 systems. For 12 of them we derived precise orbital periods and checked their stabilities. We identified one known and five new candidate HW Vir systems. The amplitude spectra of the 13 likely sdB pulsators are not rich in modes, hence any further analysis is not possible. However, we selected three candidates for pulsating subdwarf B stars that show the richest amplitude spectra and we performed a mode identification deriving modal degrees of most of the detected modes. In total, in both ecliptic hemispheres, we found 15 likely pulsating pulsating subdwarf B stars, additional 10 candidates for pulsating subdwarf B stars, 66 other variable subdwarf B stars, 2076 spectroscopically unconfirmed variable stars, and 123 variable non-sdB stars.
Investigating the projected phase space of Gaussian and non-Gaussian clusters
Authors: Sampaio V M , de Carvalho R R , Ferreras I , Laganá T F , Ribeiro A L B , Rembold S B
Published: March 2021

By way of the projected phase space (PPS), we investigate the relation between galaxy properties and cluster environment in a subsample of groups from the Yang catalogue. The sample is split according to the Gaussianity of the velocity distribution in the group into Gaussian (G) and non-Gaussian (NG). Our sample is limited to massive clusters with $\rm \mathit{ M}_{200} \ge 10^{14}\, M_{\odot }$ and $\rm 0.03\le \mathit{ z} \le 0.1$. NG clusters are more massive, less concentrated and have an excess of faint (F) galaxies compared to G clusters. NG clusters show mixed distributions of galaxy properties in the PPS compared to the G case. Using the relation between infall time and locus on the PPS, we find that, on average, NG clusters accreted ${\sim}\rm 10^{11}\, M_{\odot }$ more stellar mass in the last ∼5 Gyr than G clusters. The relation between galaxy properties and infall time is significantly different for galaxies in G and NG systems. The more mixed distribution in the PPS of NG clusters translates into shallower relations with infall time. F galaxies whose first crossing of the cluster virial radius happened 2–4 Gyr ago in NG clusters are older and more metal-rich than in G systems. All these results suggest that NG clusters experience a higher accretion of pre-processed galaxies, which characterizes G and NG clusters as different environments to study galaxy evolution.
Recommendations for the use of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with immune-mediated kidney diseases
Authors: Kronbichler Andreas , Anders Hans-Joachim , Fernandez-Juárez Gema Maria , Floege Jürgen , Goumenos Dimitrios , Segelmark Mårten , Tesar Vladimir , Turkmen Kultigin , van Kooten Cees , Bruchfeld Annette ,   the Immunonephrology Working Group of the ERA-EDTA (European Renal Association—European Dialysis and Transplant Association)
Published: March 2021

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine platforms are becoming available and are the most promising strategy to curb the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections. However, numerous uncertainties exist regarding the pros and cons of vaccination, especially in patients with (immune-mediated) kidney diseases on immunosuppressive drugs. Here, members of the Immunonephrology Working Group of the European Renal Association–European Dialysis and Transplant Association discuss 13 frequently asked questions regarding the safety and efficacy of the most promising vaccine candidates. Post-marketing surveillance should be performed to estimate the rate of vaccine response (humoral and cellular) of different vaccine platforms and disease activity following the administration of COVID-19 vaccines. Some of the candidates induce signalling pathways, which also promote autoimmune kidney diseases, e.g. type I interferons in systemic lupus erythematosus. Efficacy estimates would thus far favour the use of selected COVID-19 vaccines, such as BNT162b2, mRNA-1273 or Gam-COVID-Vac. Humoral immune response after vaccination should be monitored using appropriate assays. Even in the absence of neutralizing antibodies, patients might be protected by a sufficient cellular immune response capable of reducing the severity of COVID-19. A reduced vaccine response after the use of CD20-depleting agents is anticipated and it is particularly important to discuss strategies to improve vaccine response with these patients. Distancing and shielding measures remain important, as not all vaccines fully protect from coronavirus infection. In-depth information about the most pressing vaccine questions is essential to reduce vaccine hesitancy of patients.