bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seismic response evaluation of waffle slab with and without bracing system using time history analysis
Authors: Singh Shivani , Mishra Vinayak , Singh R. P.
Published: February 2023

In the analysis and design of structures, seismic ground motion is a significant factor. Seismic criteria consideration is necessary for serviceability and feasibility of existing as well as new structures. Time History analysis is the one in which base is subjected to a specific ground motion and dynamic response of structure is analysed at each increment of time. The bracing system increases the structure’s resistance to lateral loads by transferring load from the frame to the braces. This study uses the ETABS software to do a time history analysis on a G+4 RCC building with a waffle slab and an X-type bracing system. For designing purposes, the IS 456-2000 code is thought about. According to IS 875-part 1, live loads are measured, and IS 1893-2016 earthquake analysis is carried out. For this structure, a number of factors are analysed, including storey drift, base shear, storey stiffness, and storey displacement, among others.
Comparative Analysis of Multistorey RCC and Semi-Rigid Steel Frame with Cross Bracings Subjected to Mainshock and Aftershock Earthquake Sequence
Authors: Srivastava Sharad , Srivastava Dinesh Narain
Published: February 2023

Strong Ground Motions have a significant impact on structural analysis and design. Seismic evaluation is deemed necessary for the quality, reliability, and feasibility of existing and developing structures. Earthquakes are even more disastrous when a mainshock is succeeded and preceded by aftershocks of higher magnitude. Most of the time, these aftershocks are ignored during analysis. In the last few decades, steel buildings have been crucial to the construction sector. On the other hand, RCC frames are commonly designed structures for commercial purposes and cost-effectiveness. IS 1893 (Part:1)-2002 Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures and IS 13920-2016 Ductile Detailing of RC Structures Subjected to Seismic Reactions are majorly used for Seismic Analysis. Steel bracings in the structural system increase the ductility and stiffness of the frame structure. That can be arranged in a variety of ways, such as X, diagonally, alternatively, V, inverted V, K, etc. Cross bracings are used in this paper for the design of a typical multi-story (G+9) semi-rigid steel frame and a typical RCC frame is designed of the same dimensions. Both the frames are modelled and compared using ETABS software and a static nonlinear Time History analysis is executed to examine the performance of both the frames under the Mainshock and Aftershock of Chamoli earthquake. The Mainshock and Aftershock results of the Chamoli earthquake are extracted from the Centre for Engineering Strong Motion Research Ground Motion Database. Base shear, joint displacement, kinetic energy, and story displacement are a few of the variables of Time History Analysis that affect how well a building performs during mainshock and aftershock earthquakes. When analysing the outcomes, it is important to take into account that each of these factors significantly affects how a building responds to seismic loads.
Estimation of Energy Absorption Capacity and Geotechnical Characterization of Silty-clay Soil Blended with Tire Fibres
Authors: Kumar Shiv Shankar , Shankar Mani
Published: February 2023

This article presents the compaction, consolidation, unconfined and confined characteristics of tire-fibre blended silty-clay at different investigating parameters. The compaction tests were performed to evaluate the Maximum Dry Density (MDD) and Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) of soil-tire fibre mixture at different percentage of tire fibre (0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% by weight). It was found that with increasing the amount of tire-fibre MDD of mixture decreased significantly whereas, OMC increases marginally. Both, unconfined compression strength (UCS) and confined triaxial tests were performed on the soil-tire mixes specimen prepared at MDD and OMC. The result shows that with increasing percentage of tire fibre to the silty-clay soil, the ductility of the soil-tire mixture increases whereas; the maximum shear stress at the failure is reduced. Based on UCS tests, the Energy Absorption Capacity (EAC) of soil-tire mixture is increased increased by 55% at 10% of tire fibre, for strain rate of 1.25mm/min, whereas; on further increase in TF from 10% to 30%, EAC decreased by 44%, 32%, 52% at the shearing rate of 0.62mm/min, 1.25mm/min and 2.5mm/min, respectively. However, based on the confined triaxial test results, the angle of internal friction of soil-tire mixture decreases with increasing tire contents; whereas, cohesion decreased up to 10% of tire fibre and beyond that it increases. EAC was found to be increased up to 20% of the tire fibre and further addition shows reduction in energy absorption capacity.
Effect of NaOH Treated Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Plastic Bottle Strips on Stabilization of Soil
Authors: Kumar Sumit , Mishra M.K.
Published: February 2023

Plastics such as polyethene bags, bottles, and so on are growing increasingly common as science progresses. The disposal of discarded material is a significant issue because most plastic wastes are non-biodegradable and unsuitable for combustion due to the emission of hazardous gases. By just using controlled compaction, soil stabilization enhances the engineering capabilities of weak sub-soils or the addition of stabilizing agents such as cement, lime, fly ash, bitumen, tar etc. But these additions have also been quite costly in recent years. This research report gives a thorough examination of the performance and effectiveness of waste plastic bottle strips in soil improvement. This waste plastic bottle is made of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). The size of PET plastic strips used in this study is not more than 5 mm in length and 2 mm in width. These strips were treated with Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) to perform the proper dispersion of PET bottle fibres in soil. Although sodium hydroxide is a noncombustible solution, it is a highly reactive substance. It interacts with PET strips to exhibit changes in its properties. This work comprises replacement of soil by NaOH treated PET bottle strips in the varying percentage of 0.75%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 3% and 4% by dry weight of soil sample and to find out the optimum percentage mix of PET strips. The strength and geotechnical property of soil mixed with NaOH treated PET strips was evaluated and compared with the strength of soil and non-treated PET strips mix. The result shows the benefit of adding NaOH treated PET strips over non-treated strips by improving the maximum dry density (MDD), unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR) value appreciably at an optimum mix of 1.5%. This soil stabilizing approach may be utilized efficiently to fulfil social and environmental problems. This exploratory inquiry would lead to the ecologically friendly management of this waste material.
Effect of subterranean levels on the dynamic response of RC-MRF buildings
Authors: Tadesse Z L , Padavala H K , Koteswara V R P
Published: February 2023

The dynamic response of reinforced concrete moment resisting frame (RC-MRF) building structures is mostly altered by the substructure system such as the type of foundations and features of subterranean levels, as well as subsurface soil conditions. The majority of low-to high-rise buildings, in urban areas, are designed with one or multi-level subterranean levels for parking and other services. However, many designers overlooked incorporating these subterranean levels and soils in the seismic resistance analysis assuming that the building is fixed at the ground surface. The present study assessed the effect of the subterranean levels on the dynamic response of RC-MRF buildings. Several two-dimensional (2D) nonlinear finite element seismic response analyses were carried out in ABAQUS software for medium-rise buildings without and with one to multi-level subterranean levels resting on a deep homogenous soft soil profile under the effect of strong seismic input motion. It was observed that the subterranean levels considerably alter the dynamic characteristics and demands of the building structures. Hence, explicitly incorporating the subterranean components and foundation soil during the seismic resistance design of building structures is important.
Impact on the Geotechnical Properties of Soil mixed with Terrazyme
Authors: Ranjan Rishi , Singh Rakesh Pratap
Published: February 2023

The financial sustainability and serviceability of any project after standard performance are the most crucial requirements in emerging nations like India. Hence there is a need to find the best possible ways to satisfy the performance as well as economic criteria. The stabilization of soil with bio-enzyme is a revolutionary technique which becoming popular worldwide. Recently there are many bio-enzymes available for soil stabilization such as Fujibeton, renolith, Perma-Zyme, Terrazyme, etc. These enzymes have been proven to be very effective and economical as well as environment friendly in nature. The efficiency of bio-enzyme depends upon the amount of dosage, types of soil and curing period. One such type of bio-enzyme, Terrazyme has been used in the present work. This study shows the effect of Terrazyme on stabilization of soil. Including the improvement in unconfined compressive strength, shear strength and the Atterberg’s limits. The enzyme treated soil shows significant improvement in strength parameters of soil and little improvement in liquid and plastic limit of the soil.
Numerical Study on the Reduction of Dynamic Lateral Earth Pressure on Retaining Wall using Waste Tyre
Authors: Singh Vikash , Bano Samreen , Kumar Rakesh , Tripathi Vivek Kumar , Verma Anand
Published: February 2023

The performance of retaining under various loading circumstances is dependent on the kind of backfills employed; nonetheless, several lightweight fill materials such as EPS geofoam, geoboard, fly ash, waste tyre (in various forms), and so on are widely utilised as backfill materials. The key benefits of adopting lightweight materials are a lower overall lateral force on the wall and lateral displacement of the retaining wall. Because of the growing number of automobiles, disposing of discarded tyres has become a major issue. Waste tyres are increasingly being utilised in geotechnical applications such as embankment fill, retaining walls, machine foundations, and bridge abutments. According to prior research, shredded tyre inclusion with soil is employed as backfill material for earth-retaining constructions.

The most important aspect of sectional design for retaining walls is the total lateral thrust. Literature indicates that the use of waste tyres in backfill decreases the overall lateral thrust whether used as sole backfill as tyre chips or a mixture of sand tyres or when used as a compressible inclusion between the wall and the backfill.

In the present work, a numerical simulation was conducted using OPTUM G2 (a computational tool based on finite elements) to examine the effect of discarded tyres as backfill material on the total lateral earth pressure for an 8-meter-high wall. Maximum surcharge pressure of 20 kPa is applied to the backfilling.

The use of discarded tyres as a backfill material significantly decreases total lateral earth pressure on the wall by 50-54% compared to walls backfilled with soil, according to the current study.
Strength and stiffness prediction models of expansive clays blended with sawdust ash
Authors: Alisha Shaik Subhan , Nagaraju T V , Murty Pilla Sita Rama , Sarma VVS , Sireesha Mantena
Published: February 2023

Strength and stiffness characteristics are major concern for selecting any geomaterial. However, laboratory testing of these characteristics is time associated, laborious, and high cost. So, there is a need of intelligence tools to estimate the strength and stiffness of geomaterial. The impact of sawdust ash on the stiffness and strength properties of combined expanding clays is discussed in this research. The combined expansive clays underwent tests for California bearing ratio (CBR), unconfined compressive strength (UCS), optimal moisture content, maximum dry density, plasticity characteristics (liquid limit and plastic limit), and differential free swell (DFSI). According to test results, adding more sawdust to the blended clays improves their performance. This study also investigates the artificial neural network (ANN) model that considers six input variables to forecast the CBR and UCS of blended clays. The findings demonstrate that the ANN model performs more accurately for the CBR and UCS models. This clever method may help manage the under- or overestimation of additive dosage and reduce project costs.
Assessment of Effect of Glass Fiber on the Geotechnical Properties of Black Cotton Soil
Authors: Singh Dharmendra , Kumar Vijay , Tiwari R.P.
Published: February 2023

Black cotton soil (BCS) has now been declared as one of the poorest soil among all soils regarding civil engineering construction projects due to presence of its inherent clay mineral i.e. montmorillonite, which introduces undesirable shrinkage and swelling in the BCS. BCS should not be used directly in civil engineering projects because of its excessive volume change behavior. The sample of black cotton soil for the study has been collected from district Narsinghpur near the Bikrampur railway station, Madhya Pradesh, India. Evaluation of effect of glass fiber addition on the strength properties of BCS is described in this research article. Glass fiber acquires good properties such as stiffness, high strength, resistance and flexibility to chemical loss. Glass fiber has been mixed with oven dried BCS from 2% to 8% by its weight. Geotechnical properties are thoroughly investigated before and after treating the BCS sample by means of various laboratory tests. For both treated and untreated BCS samples, UCS testing was performed with varying curing time of 0, 4, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days. UCS value was found to be decreased due to water holding capacity of glass fiber. The laboratory findings indicate that for all additives, MDD and expansion ratio of the BCS decreases, whereas OMC and CBR value increases. XRD (X-ray diffraction) analysis has been conducted on untreated and glass fiber treated BCS samples to estimate change in microstructure and mineralogical composition.
Experimental and numerical investigation of the effect of graphene nanoparticles on the strength of sandwich structures under low-velocity impact
Authors: Tavakol Mahdi Rezvani , Tooski Mahdi Yarmohammad , Jabbari Mohsen , Javadi Mehrdad
Published: February 2023

The effect of graphene nanoparticles on the strength of a sandwich panel structure based on foam core, which is inspired by the microstructure characteristics of dragonfly wings, has been investigated experimentally and numerically under low-velocity impact. Sandwich panel structures are made of E-glass/epoxy layers, and different percentages of graphene nanoparticles and combined with their resin. Also, polyurethane foam was used for its central core. For numerical modeling, a nonlinear progressive damage model of composite and nano-composite shells is incorporated into the finite element (FE) code by VUMAT subroutine. The numerical results were compared with the collected experimental data and it shows that there is a good compatibility between them. To check the damage in the structures, the images of the cut view of the samples were taken from the damaged area, and the results were reported. In order to evaluate the distribution of graphene nanoparticles in the polymer structure, the manufactured samples were analyzed using the FE-scanning electron microscopy analysis device. It was concluded that this type of sandwich structure inspired by dragonfly wings can limit damage propagation and keep the rest of the structure healthy under low-velocity impact.
Modelling peptide self-assembly within a partially disordered tau filament
Authors: Maraba Oguzhan , Bhattacharya Shayon , Conda-Sheridan Martin , Thompson Damien
Published: February 2023

Peptide self-assemblies are a natural template for designing bio-inspired functional materials given the extensive characterisation of neurodegenerative and non-disease biological amyloid protein assemblies and advances in rational, modelling-led materials design. These bioinspired materials employ design rules obtained from known aggregation-prone peptides or de novo screening for sequences most amenable to self-assemble functional nanostructures. Here, we exploit the hybrid nature of a complex peptide with both ordered crystalline and intrinsically disordered regions, namely, the microtubule-binding domain (MBD) of tau protein, to probe the physical driving forces for self-assembly at the molecular level. We model the peptide in its native and mutated states to identify the supramolecular packing driving stabilisation at the prefibrillar level. We use extensive atomic-resolution molecular dynamics computer simulations, contact maps, hydrogen-bond networks and free energy calculations to model the tau MBD and its two known familial mutants, the P301L and K280Δ, along with a control double mutant, P301L + K280Δ as a first step towards understanding their effects on oligomer stability in fibrillar fold. Our results indicate that the mutations destabilise supramolecular packing in the pro-fibrillar hexamer by breaking contacts in the ordered domain of tau MBD, which helps explain mutation-induced toxicity levels as the more stable wild-type peptide assemblies may be less prone to crumbling, producing fewer toxic small oligomeric seeds. Our most important finding is that tau familial mutations causing frontotemporal dementia may show distinct morphologies delineating different stages of self-assembly. The models show that the P301L mutant is more pro-nucleating with low tendency for assembly polymerisation, whereas K280Δ is more pro-elongating with potential for protofibrillar growth. Our data provides a predictive mechanistic model for distinct peptide self-assembly features depending on the location and nature of single missense mutations on the partially disordered pathogenic MBD, which may explain the prevalence of polymorphic filamentous tau strains observed experimentally.
Silver nanoclusters prepared in water-in-oil emulsions
Authors: Oyem Hector H , Houlton Andrew , Horrocks Benjamin R
Published: February 2023

Stable silver clusters can be prepared by a simple electroless reduction reaction taking place in water-in-oil emulsions. An emulsion containing AgNO3 in the water droplets was mixed with a similar emulsion containing aqueous NaBH4 droplets. The droplet diameter, based on Rayleigh scattering, was 41 nm and the mean number of Ag+ ions in each droplet varied from 2.0 to 21.7 as the concentration increased from 90 μM to 1 mM AgNO3. The low number of Ag+ ions in each droplet inhibits the growth of large nanoparticles and these emulsions do not show the large plasmon band observed for Ag nanoparticles obtained by the analogous reaction in bulk solution at the same Ag+ concentrations. Atomic force microscopy provides evidence of small Ag nanoclusters and a much lower number of larger nanoparticles. Electrospray mass spectrometry suggests that the clusters are mainly Ag4 species coordinated to water and BH4
−. The Ag nanocluster-containing emulsions are fluorescent and show an emission band with a peak wavelength of 427 nm and a Stokes shift of 81 nm from the first peak at 346 nm in the excitation spectrum. The intensity of fluorescence decreased as the [Ag(I)] increased and our most fluorescent samples were prepared from 90 μM AgNO3 because at higher concentrations more Ag nanoparticles are formed. DFT calculations on Agn clusters indicated that Ag4 species favour a planar rhombic geometry even in the presence of coordinating water molecules or BH4
−. However calculations of vertical excitation energies for Ag4 species do not match the experimental excitation spectra and this suggests the fluorescence arises from bright AgNCs of different nuclearity present at lower abundance in the mixture of species produced by the emulsion reaction. Calculated excitation energies for Ag6 give the best fit to the available data.
Natural Law Theory, “New” and Old
Authors: Coyle Sean
Published: February 2023

In the second edition of Natural Law and Natural Rights John Finnis observes that, whilst he expected criticism of his theory from positivists, he did not expect it from traditional natural law theorists who felt that the theory was insufficiently grounded in Aquinas’s doctrines. Finnis argued that the divergence was a mirage occasioned by his addressing topics out of the standard orders of treatment. This essay considers what Finnis’s theory would look like if placed back into Aquinas’s orders of treatment, and gauges the extent to which it conforms to Aquinas’s doctrines, and the extent to which it is divergent and “new.” This analysis may hopefully serve as a starting point for further study.
The evolution of the spike protein and hACE2 interface of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants determined by hydrogen bond formation
Authors: Yang Yu-Yuan , Tseng Yufeng Jane
Published: February 2023

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first detected in December 2019. As of mid-2021, the delta variant was the primary type; however, in January 2022, the omicron (BA.1) variant rapidly spread and became the dominant type in the United States. In June 2022, its subvariants surpassed previous variants in different temporal and spatial situations. To investigate the high transmissibility of omicron variants, we assessed the complex of spike protein 1 receptor-binding domain (S1RBD) and human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) from the Protein Data Bank (6m0j, 7a91, 7mjn, 7v80, 7v84, 7v8b, 7wbl and 7xo9) and directly mutated specific amino acids to simulate several variants, including variants of concern (alpha, beta, gamma, delta), variants of interest (delta plus, epsilon, lambda, mu, mu without R346K) and omicron variants (BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4, BA.5). Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for 100 ns under physiological conditions were then performed. We found that the omicron S1RBD–hACE2 complexes become more compact with increases in hydrogen-bond interactions at the interface, which is related to the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the relaxation time of hydrogen bonds is relatively short among the omicron variants, which implies that the interface conformation alterations are fast. From the molecular perspective, PHE486 and TYR501 in omicron S1RBDs need to involve hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions on the interface. Our study provides structural features of the dominant variants that explain the evolution trend and their increased contagiousness and could thus also shed light on future variant changes.
Snekmer: a scalable pipeline for protein sequence fingerprinting based on amino acid recoding
Authors: Chang Christine H , Nelson William C , Jerger Abby , Wright Aaron T , Egbert Robert G , McDermott Jason E
Published: February 2023

Motivation

The vast expansion of sequence data generated from single organisms and microbiomes has precipitated the need for faster and more sensitive methods to assess evolutionary and functional relationships between proteins. Representing proteins as sets of short peptide sequences (kmers) has been used for rapid, accurate classification of proteins into functional categories; however, this approach employs an exact-match methodology and thus may be limited in terms of sensitivity and coverage. We have previously used similarity groupings, based on the chemical properties of amino acids, to form reduced character sets and recode proteins. This amino acid recoding (AAR) approach simplifies the construction of protein representations in the form of kmer vectors, which can link sequences with distant sequence similarity and provide accurate classification of problematic protein families.

Results

Here, we describe Snekmer, a software tool for recoding proteins into AAR kmer vectors and performing either (i) construction of supervised classification models trained on input protein families or (ii) clustering for de novo determination of protein families. We provide examples of the operation of the tool against a set of nitrogen cycling families originally collected using both standard hidden Markov models and a larger set of proteins from Uniprot and demonstrate that our method accurately differentiates these sequences in both operation modes.

Availability and implementation

Snekmer is written in Python using Snakemake. Code and data used in this article, along with tutorial notebooks, are available at http://github.com/PNNL-CompBio/Snekmer under an open-source BSD-3 license.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics Advances online.
NIAPU: network-informed adaptive positive-unlabeled learning for disease gene identification
Authors: Stolfi Paola , Mastropietro Andrea , Pasculli Giuseppe , Tieri Paolo , Vergni Davide
Published: February 2023

Motivation

Gene–disease associations are fundamental for understanding disease etiology and developing effective interventions and treatments. Identifying genes not yet associated with a disease due to a lack of studies is a challenging task in which prioritization based on prior knowledge is an important element. The computational search for new candidate disease genes may be eased by positive-unlabeled learning, the machine learning (ML) setting in which only a subset of instances are labeled as positive while the rest of the dataset is unlabeled. In this work, we propose a set of effective network-based features to be used in a novel Markov diffusion-based multi-class labeling strategy for putative disease gene discovery.

Results

The performances of the new labeling algorithm and the effectiveness of the proposed features have been tested on 10 different disease datasets using three ML algorithms. The new features have been compared against classical topological and functional/ontological features and a set of network- and biological-derived features already used in gene discovery tasks. The predictive power of the integrated methodology in searching for new disease genes has been found to be competitive against state-of-the-art algorithms.

Availability and implementation

The source code of NIAPU can be accessed at https://github.com/AndMastro/NIAPU. The source data used in this study are available online on the respective websites.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Sohlh1loss of function male and female infertility model impacts overall health beyond gonadal dysfunction in mice
Authors: Rodríguez-Escribà Marta , Rodríguez-Alonso Beatriz , Belur Shweta , Rajkovic Aleksandar
Published: February 2023

Reproductive longevity is associated with health outcomes. Early menopause, loss of ovarian function, and male infertility are linked to shorter lifespan and increased adverse health outcomes. Here we examined the extragonadal effects of whole animal loss of spermatogenesis and oogenesis specific basic helix–loop–helix 1 (Sohlh1) gene in mice, a well-described mouse model of female and male infertility. Sohlh1 encodes a transcription factor that is primarily expressed in the male and female germline and regulates germline differentiation. The Sohlh1 knockout mouse model, just like human individuals with SOHLH1 loss of function, presents with hypergonadotropic hypogonadism and loss of ovarian function in females and impaired spermatogenesis in males, with a seemingly gonad restricted phenotype in both sexes. However, extragonadal phenotyping revealed that Sohlh1 deficiency leads to abnormal immune profiles in the blood and ovarian tissues of female animals, sex-specific alterations of metabolites, and behavior and cognition changes. Altogether, these results show that Sohlh1 deficiency impacts overall health in both male and female mice.
Between Ordinary Harm and Deviance: Evaluating the UK’s Regulatory Regime For Controlling Air Pollution From Wood Burning Stoves
Authors: Heydon James
Published: February 2023

Particulate matter (PM) in air pollution causes illness, injury and premature death by infiltrating essential organs. Wood burning stoves are a primary source of PM in the United Kingdom, where domestic wood burning emissions have tripled over the last decade. This article adopts a constructivist lens to examine the regulatory regime controlling these pollutants. Combining analysis of ‘expert’ interviews, responses to Freedom of Information requests and government records exempting appliances from Smoke Control Area rules, it illustrates how efforts at controlling ‘smoke’ in the past have become instrumental in encouraging the production of PM from stoves in the present. In doing so, this article demonstrates the utility of research sensitive to processes underpinning the (non)construction of environmental issues as deviant and suggests a lens through which ordinary harms can be better understood.
Improvement of Hailey–Hailey disease with abrocitinib
Authors: Li Yufen , Jiang Yiqun , Sun Jianfang
Published: February 2023

We describe a patient with classical Hailey–Hailey disease who was successfully treated with the Janus kinase (JAK)1 inhibitor abrocitinib. To our knowledge, abrocitinib has not previously been described in the medical literature as a treatment option for HHD.
Quality indicators for post-resuscitation care after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a joint statement from the Association for Acute Cardiovascular Care of the European Society of Cardiology, the European Resuscitation Council, the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, and the European Society for Emergency Medicine
Authors: Grand Johannes , Schiele Francois , Hassager Christian , Nolan Jerry P , Khoury Abdo , Sionis Alessandro , Nikolaou Nikolaos , Donadello Katia , Behringer Wilhelm , Böttiger Bernd W , Combes Alain , Quinn Tom , Price Susanna , Jorge-Perez Pablo , Tavazzi Guido , Ristagno Giuseppe , Cariou Alain , Bonnefoy Cudraz Eric
Published: February 2023

Aims

Quality of care (QoC) is a fundamental tenet of modern healthcare and has become an important assessment tool for healthcare authorities, stakeholders and the public. However, QoC is difficult to measure and quantify because it is a multifactorial and multidimensional concept. Comparison of clinical institutions can be challenging when QoC is estimated solely based on clinical outcomes. Thus, measuring quality through quality indicators (QIs) can provide a foundation for quality assessment and has become widely used in this context. QIs for the evaluation of QoC in acute myocardial infarction are now well-established, but no such indicators exist for the process from resuscitation of cardiac arrest and post-resuscitation care in Europe.

Methods and results

The Association of Acute Cardiovascular Care of the European Society Cardiology, the European Resuscitation Council, European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the European Society for Emergency Medicine, have reflected on the measurement of QoC in cardiac arrest. A set of QIs have been proposed, with the scope to unify and evolve QoC for the management of cardiac arrest across Europe.

Conclusion

We present here the list of QIs (6 primary QIs and 12 secondary Qis), with descriptions of the methodology used, scientific justification and motives for the choice for each measure with the aim that this set of QIs will enable assessment of the quality of postout-of-hospital cardiac arrest management across Europe.
Do the various interceptive treatment modalities improve the position of palatally displaced permanent canines? A meta-analysis
Authors: Habib Ahlam , Athanasiou Athanasios E , Makrygiannakis Miltiadis A , Kaklamanos Eleftherios G
Published: February 2023

Background

Removal of maxillary primary canines and other interceptive treatment modalities in the mixed dentition have been suggested as methods used to increase the rate of normal eruption of palatally displaced permanent canines (PDCs). However, the information on the overall effect on PDCs’ position has been inconclusive.

Objective

To assess whether this practice improves the position of PDCs and to investigate the quality of the evidence.

Search methods

Unrestricted searches in 7 databases and manual searching of the reference lists in relevant studies were performed up to June 2022 (Medline via PubMed, CENTRAL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Scopus, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, ProQuest Dissertations, and Theses Global).

Selection criteria

We looked for data on the positional changes of PDCs (mesial inclination, vertical position, canine crown cusp tip to midline) from randomized controlled trials assessing the various interceptive treatment modalities.

Data collection and analysis

Following study retrieval and selection, relevant data were extracted, and the risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 Tool. Exploratory synthesis and meta-regression were conducted using the random effects model and the overall quality of the available evidence was assessed with the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach.

Results

Five studies (3 at low risk of bias) were identified, involving 238 individuals, followed for up to 18 months post-intervention with OPG (orthopantomogram) or CBCT (cone-beam computed tomography). Exploratory data synthesis showed that PDCs’ position improved more in the extraction sites compared to non-extraction. Analysis of the studies at low risk confirmed the above observations (6- and 12-month). Improvements were observed in patients using headgear after extraction of primary canines compared to extraction alone, but not in patients with double extraction of primary canines and first molars. The quality of available evidence was rated at best as moderate.

Conclusions

Interceptive treatment modalities in the mixed dentition may improve the position of PDCs. However, more studies are necessary in order to determine the clinical significance of the changes.

Registration

PROSPERO (CRD42015029130).
Whole-genome sequence of synthetically derived Brassica napus inbred cultivar Da-Ae
Authors: Davis John T , Li Ruijuan , Kim Seungmo , Michelmore Richard , Kim Shinje , Maloof Julin N
Published: February 2023

Brassica napus, a globally important oilseed crop, is an allotetraploid hybrid species with two subgenomes originating from Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea. The presence of two highly similar subgenomes has made the assembly of a complete draft genome challenging and has also resulted in natural homoeologous exchanges between the genomes, resulting in variations in gene copy number, which further complicates assigning sequences to correct chromosomes. Despite these challenges, high-quality draft genomes of this species have been released. Using third generation sequencing and assembly technologies, we generated a new genome assembly for the synthetic B. napus cultivar Da-Ae. Through the use of long reads, linked-reads, and Hi-C proximity data, we assembled a new draft genome that provides a high-quality reference genome of a synthetic B. napus. In addition, we identified potential hotspots of homoeologous exchange between subgenomes within Da-Ae, based on their presence in other independently derived lines. The occurrence of these hotspots may provide insight into the genetic rearrangements required for B. napus to be viable following the hybridization of B. rapa and B. oleracea.
The New A(I)rt Movement and Its Copyright Protection: Immoral or E-Moral?
Authors: Varytimidou Christina
Published: February 2023

Artificial intelligence (‘AI’) has left few well-established laws and norms unchallenged, and copyright is not an exception. Nowadays art can be created by algorithms and continental Europe’s copyright law ‒ which inter alia includes Greece ‒ no longer seems fit for purpose, persisting as it does in searching for a human behind each creative outcome. This paper aims to analyse the issues algorithmic generated art brings in terms of copyright protection, and to explain why the current legislation and proposed solutions are inadequate to resolve them. Inspired by a theory already applicable in Germany in certain civil law cases, this paper will then propose a new twofold sui generis right that includes a new, partial e-moral right and a sui generis economic right. The paper will then explain how this proposed sui generis right manages to avoid potential pitfalls from granting legal personhood to AI, while letting humans reap the financial benefits.
A D-cysteine desulfhydrase, SlDCD2, participates in tomato fruit ripening by modulating ROS homoeostasis and ethylene biosynthesis
Authors: Zhao Yu-Qi , Hu Kang-Di , Yao Gai-Fang , Wang Si-Yue , Peng Xiang-Jun , Zhang Hua
Published: February 2023

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is involved in multiple processes during plant growth and development. D-cysteine desulfhydrase (DCD) can produce H2S with D-cysteine as the substrate; however, the potential developmental roles of DCD have not been explored during the tomato lifecycle. In the present study, SlDCD2 showed increasing expression during fruit ripening. Compared with the control fruits, the silencing of SlDCD2 by pTRV2-SlDCD2 accelerated fruit ripening. A SlDCD2 gene-edited mutant was constructed by CRISPR/Cas9 transformation, and the mutant exhibited accelerated fruit ripening, decreased H2S release, higher total cysteine and ethylene contents, enhanced chlorophyll degradation and increased carotenoid accumulation. Additionally, the expression of multiple ripening-related genes, including NYC1, PAO, SGR1, PDS, PSY1, ACO1, ACS2, E4, CEL2, and EXP was enhanced during the dcd2 mutant tomato fruit ripening. Compared with the wild-type fruits, SlDCD2 mutation induced H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation in fruits, which led to an imbalance in reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism. A correlation analysis indicated that H2O2 content was strongly positively correlated with carotenoids content, ethylene content and ripening-related gene expression and negatively correlated with the chlorophyll content. Additionally, the dcd2 mutant showed earlier leaf senescence, which may be due to disturbed ROS homeostasis. In short, our findings show that SlDCD2 is involved in H2S generation and that the reduction in endogenous H2S production in the dcd2 mutant causes accelerated fruit ripening and premature leaf senescence. Additionally, decreased H2S in the dcd2 mutant causes excessive H2O2 accumulation and increased ethylene release, suggesting a role of H2S and SlDCD2 in modulating ROS homeostasis and ethylene biosynthesis.
Pan-genome and transcriptome analyses provide insights into genomic variation and differential gene expression profiles related to disease resistance and fatty acid biosynthesis in eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra)
Authors: Zhou Huijuan , Yan Feng , Hao Fan , Ye Hang , Yue Ming , Woeste Keith , Zhao Peng , Zhang Shuoxin
Published: February 2023

Walnut (Juglans) species are used as nut crops worldwide. Eastern black walnut (EBW, Juglans nigra), a diploid, horticultural important woody species is native to much of eastern North America. Although it is highly valued for its wood and nut, there are few resources for understanding EBW genetics. Here, we present a high-quality genome assembly of J. nigra based on Illumina, Pacbio, and Hi-C technologies. The genome size was 540.8 Mb, with a scaffold N50 size of 35.1 Mb, and 99.0% of the assembly was anchored to 16 chromosomes. Using this genome as a reference, the resequencing of 74 accessions revealed the effective population size of J. nigra declined during the glacial maximum. A single whole-genome duplication event was identified in the J. nigra genome. Large syntenic blocks among J. nigra, Juglans regia, and Juglans microcarpa predominated, but inversions of more than 600 kb were identified. By comparing the EBW genome with those of J. regia and J. microcarpa, we detected InDel sizes of 34.9 Mb in J. regia and 18.3 Mb in J. microcarpa, respectively. Transcriptomic analysis of differentially expressed genes identified five presumed NBS-LRR (NUCLEOTIDE BINDING SITE-LEUCINE-RICH REPEAT) genes were upregulated during the development of walnut husks and shells compared to developing embryos. We also identified candidate genes with essential roles in seed oil synthesis, including FAD (FATTY ACID DESATURASE) and OLE (OLEOSIN). Our work advances the understanding of fatty acid bioaccumulation and disease resistance in nut crops, and also provides an essential resource for conducting genomics-enabled breeding in walnut.
“Both Your Sexes”: A Non-Binary Approach to Gender History, Trans Studies and the Making of the Self in Modern Britain
Authors: Moulton Mo
Published: February 2023

Using the life-writing of historian and playwright Muriel St. Clare Byrne (1895-1983), this article develops the concept of a non-binary historical methodology. It argues that historians should take gender as a historically contingent category to allow alternative logics of embodiment, selfhood, desire, and relationality to be more clearly seen. Drawing on trans studies, the article situates Byrne within contemporary conversations about universal bi-sexuality within sexology and psychoanalysis. Her rewriting of the psychosexual model in her memoir, which underwrote a claim to ‘both her sexes’, represents one of the paths foreclosed by the mid-century turn to the gender/sex/sexuality model.
Scattering in a partially open waveguide: the forward problem
Authors: Bourgeois Laurent , Fliss Sonia , Fritsch Jean-François , Hazard Christophe , Recoquillay Arnaud
Published: February 2023

This paper is devoted to an acoustic scattering problem in a 2D partially open waveguide, in the sense that the left part of the waveguide is closed, that is with a ‘bounded’ cross-section, while the right part is bounded in the transverse direction by some perfectly matched layers that mimic the situation of an open waveguide, that is with an ‘unbounded’ cross-section. We prove well-posedness of such scattering problem in the Fredholm sense (uniqueness implies existence) and exhibit the asymptotic behaviour of the solution in the longitudinal direction with the help of the Kondratiev approach. Having in mind the numerical computation of the solution, we also propose some transparent boundary conditions in such longitudinal direction, based on Dirichlet-to-Neumann operators. After proving such artificial conditions actually enable us to approximate the exact solution, some numerical experiments illustrate the quality of such approximation.
On the use of asymptotically motivated gauge functions to obtain convergent series solutions to nonlinear ODEs
Authors: Naghshineh Nastaran , Reinberger W Cade , Barlow Nathaniel S , Samaha Mohamed A , Weinstein Steven J
Published: February 2023

We examine the power series solutions of two classical nonlinear ordinary differential equations of fluid mechanics that are mathematically related by their large-distance asymptotic behaviours in semi-infinite domains. The first problem is that of the ‘Sakiadis’ boundary layer over a moving flat wall, for which no exact analytic solution has been put forward. The second problem is that of a static air–liquid meniscus with surface tension that intersects a flat wall at a given contact angle and limits to a flat pool away from the wall. For the latter problem, the exact analytic solution—given as distance from the wall as a function of meniscus height—has long been known (Batchelor, G. K. (1967) An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics, chapter 1: The physical properties of fluids. Cambridge). Here, we provide an explicit solution as meniscus height versus distance from the wall to elucidate structural similarities to the Sakiadis boundary layer. Although power series solutions are readily obtainable to the governing nonlinear ordinary differential equations, we show that—in both problems—the series diverge due to non-physical complex or negative real-valued singularities. In both cases, these singularities can be moved by expanding in exponential gauge functions motivated by their respective large distance asymptotic behaviours to enable series convergence over their full semi-infinite domains. For the Sakiadis problem, this not only provides a convergent Taylor series (and conjectured exact) solution to the ODE, but also a means to evaluate the wall shear parameter (and other properties) to within any desired precision. Although the nature of nonlinear ODEs precludes general conclusions, our results indicate that asymptotic behaviours can be useful when proposing variable transformations to overcome power series divergence.
Nurses’ perceptions of the potential evolution of their role in antibiotic stewardship in nursing homes: a French qualitative study
Authors: Bridey Céline , Le Dref Gaëlle , Bocquier Aurélie , Bonnay Stéphanie , Pulcini Céline , Thilly Nathalie
Published: February 2023

Background

In nursing homes, infections and antibiotic prescriptions are frequent. Nursing home nurses (NHNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) could promote antibiotic stewardship (ABS). Few studies have explored nurses’ knowledge, perceptions and practices towards ABS in nursing homes and none has investigated the potential evolution of their roles.

Objectives

To explore French nurses’ perceptions on ABS, current and future potential roles in ABS in nursing homes, as well as facilitators and barriers.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative study in north-eastern France between October 2020 and March 2021 using semi-structured individual interviews with NHNs and a focus group with APRNs. Transcripts of the interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis.

Results

Twenty NHNs and seven APRNs participated. They were aware of antibiotic misuse and potential adverse events but lacked knowledge on some ABS aspects. NHNs’ current ABS roles ranged from the detection of clinical infectious signs to clinical monitoring of residents, with some heterogeneity between nurses. They had positive opinions towards playing a more prominent role in ABS. In the future, with additional training, changes in the legislative framework and greater multidisciplinary teamwork, NHNs thought they could prescribe laboratory microbiological analyses and some targeted antibiotic treatments. APRNs thought they could prescribe first-line antibiotics for urinary tract infections.

Conclusions

French NHNs’ current ABS roles could be expanded and new roles might be considered while taking into account several facilitators and barriers. According to APRNs, they could help to compensate for the limited presence of doctors in nursing homes and develop infectious diseases skills.