bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Structural insights into histone binding and nucleosome assembly by chromatin assembly factor-1
Authors: Liu Chao-Pei , Yu Zhenyu , Xiong Jun , Hu Jie , Song Aoqun , Ding Dongbo , Yu Cong , Yang Na , Wang Mingzhu , Yu Juan , Hou Peini , Zeng Kangning , Li Zhenyu , Zhang Zhuqiang , Zhang Xinzheng , Li Wei , Zhang Zhiguo , Zhu Bing , Li Guohong , Xu Rui-Ming
Published: August 2023

Chromatin inheritance entails de novo nucleosome assembly after DNA replication by chromatin assembly factor-1 (CAF-1). Yet direct knowledge about CAF-1’s histone binding mode and nucleosome assembly process is lacking. In this work, we report the crystal structure of human CAF-1 in the absence of histones and the cryo–electron microscopy structure of CAF-1 in complex with histones H3 and H4. One histone H3-H4 heterodimer is bound by one CAF-1 complex mainly through the p60 subunit and the acidic domain of the p150 subunit. We also observed a dimeric CAF-1–H3-H4 supercomplex in which two H3-H4 heterodimers are poised for tetramer assembly and discovered that CAF-1 facilitates right-handed DNA wrapping of H3-H4 tetramers. These findings signify the involvement of DNA in H3-H4 tetramer formation and suggest a right-handed nucleosome precursor in chromatin replication.
Picoflare jets power the solar wind emerging from a coronal hole on the Sun
Authors: Chitta L. P. , Zhukov A. N. , Berghmans D. , Peter H. , Parenti S. , Mandal S. , Aznar Cuadrado R. , Schühle U. , Teriaca L. , Auchère F. , Barczynski K. , Buchlin É. , Harra L. , Kraaikamp E. , Long D. M. , Rodriguez L. , Schwanitz C. , Smith P. J. , Verbeeck C. , Seaton D. B.
Published: August 2023

Coronal holes are areas on the Sun with open magnetic field lines. They are a source region of the solar wind, but how the wind emerges from coronal holes is not known. We observed a coronal hole using the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. We identified jets on scales of a few hundred kilometers, which last 20 to 100 seconds and reach speeds of ~100 kilometers per second. The jets are powered by magnetic reconnection and have kinetic energy in the picoflare range. They are intermittent but widespread within the observed coronal hole. We suggest that such picoflare jets could produce enough high-temperature plasma to sustain the solar wind and that the wind emerges from coronal holes as a highly intermittent outflow at small scales.
Functional diversification of a wild potato immune receptor at its center of origin
Authors: Torres Ascurra Yerisf C. , Zhang Lisha , Toghani AmirAli , Hua Chenlei , Rangegowda Nandeesh Jalahalli , Posbeyikian Andres , Pai Hsuan , Lin Xiao , Wolters Pieter J. , Wouters Doret , de Blok Reinhoud , Steigenga Niels , Paillart Maxence J. M. , Visser Richard G. F. , Kamoun Sophien , Nürnberger Thorsten , Vleeshouwers Vivianne G. A. A.
Published: August 2023

Plant cell surface pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and intracellular immune receptors cooperate to provide immunity to microbial infection. Both receptor families have coevolved at an accelerated rate, but the evolution and diversification of PRRs is poorly understood. We have isolated potato surface receptor Pep-13 receptor unit (PERU) that senses Pep-13, a conserved immunogenic peptide pattern from plant pathogenic
Phytophthora
species. PERU, a leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase, is a bona fide PRR that binds Pep-13 and enhances immunity to
Phytophthora infestans
infection. Diversification in ligand binding specificities of PERU can be traced to sympatric wild tuber-bearing
Solanum
populations in the Central Andes. Our study reveals the evolution of cell surface immune receptor alleles in wild potato populations that recognize ligand variants not recognized by others.
Aminodealkenylation: Ozonolysis and copper catalysis convert C(sp
3
)–C(sp
2
) bonds to C(sp
3
)–N bonds
Authors: He Zhiqi , Moreno Jose Antonio , Swain Manisha , Wu Jason , Kwon Ohyun
Published: August 2023

Great efforts have been directed toward alkene π bond amination. In contrast, analogous functionalization of the adjacent C(sp
3
)–C(sp
2
) σ bonds is much rarer. Here we report how ozonolysis and copper catalysis under mild reaction conditions enable alkene C(sp
3
)–C(sp
2
) σ bond–rupturing cross-coupling reactions for the construction of new C(sp
3
)–N bonds. We have used this unconventional transformation for late-stage modification of hormones, pharmaceutical reagents, peptides, and nucleosides. Furthermore, we have coupled abundantly available terpenes and terpenoids with nitrogen nucleophiles to access artificial terpenoid alkaloids and complex chiral amines. In addition, we applied a commodity chemical, α-methylstyrene, as a methylation reagent to prepare methylated nucleosides directly from canonical nucleosides in one synthetic step. Our mechanistic investigation implicates an unusual copper ion pair cooperative process.
Catching proteins for degradation
Authors: Schilling Charlotte M. , Weber-Ban Eilika
Published: August 2023

A ubiquitin-independent pathway targets nuclear proteins to the proteasome
In Science Journals
Authors: Seale Maddy , Szuromi Phil , Yeston Jake , Ash Caroline , Nusinovich Yevgeniya , Lavine Marc S. , Hallberg Dorothy L. , Hurtley Stella M. , Jiang Di , Maroso Mattia , Smith H. Jesse , Smith Keith T. , Ross Sarah H. , VanHook Annalisa M. , Bouchard Louis , Earl Jennifer Suzanne
Published: August 2023

Highlights from the
Science
family of journals
In Other Journals
Authors: Ash Caroline , Seale Maddy , Lopez Bianca , Osborne Ian S. , Lempriere Sarah A. , Grocholski Brent , Wible Brad
Published: August 2023

Editors’ selections from the current scientific literature
Stress responders
Authors: Pennisi Elizabeth
Published: August 2023

Polyploid cells, which have extra copies of their genomes, may help tissues respond to injuries and species survive cataclysms
Will climate change amplify epidemics and give rise to pandemics?
Authors: de Oliveira Tulio , Tegally Houriiyah
Published: August 2023

While the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, another crisis continues to spiral at a much faster speed than was expected.
Climate change is dominating our lives and causing a high level of distress
. Countries all over the world are struggling to survive the damage caused by extreme events. They are trying to control wildfires, rebuild roads and houses damaged by floods, and learn to survive in a hotter and more dangerous world. However, there is also a new threat that is being overlooked—the interaction between climate change and infectious diseases. A comprehensive meta-analysis revealed that climate change
could aggravate more than 50% of known human pathogens
. Unfortunately, this is happening now.
Pleistocene Sunda Shelf submersion-exposure cycles initiate vegetation Walker Circulation feedback
Authors: McGrath Sarah M. , Clemens Steven C. , Huang Yongsong
Published: August 2023

Recent research has found that the subsiding Sunda Shelf (Southeast Asia) was permanently exposed prior to ca. 400 ka with initial submersion-exposure cyclicity, associated with interglacial-glacial sea-level cycles, beginning between 400 and 240 ka. We analyzed the impact submersion-exposure cycles on regional environment and climate through a 640 k.y. leaf-wax carbon isotope (δ13Cwax) reconstruction at Andaman Sea Site U1448, representing relative changes in C3/C4 plant abundances. Prior to ca. 250 ka, the Sunda region was inhabited by a stable C3 (forest) biome, after which submersion-exposure cycles initiated with the deglacial sea-level rise at ca. 250 ka. During subsequent glacial-age sea-level drops, the newly exposed shelf was rapidly colonized by C4 grasses, followed by slow transitions back to C3 forests, representing a tenfold increase in the variability of C3/C4 vegetation in the Sunda region. The C3/C4 regime shift since 250 ka is coherent across the Southeast (SE) Asia peninsula and Sunda Shelf and is coincident with a shift in the east-west sea-surface temperature gradient in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. We hypothesize that the expansion of C4 grasslands promoted and sustained drier glacial-age climates over SE Asia via a feedback mechanism that contributed to weakening the ascending branch of the east-west atmospheric circulation in the equatorial Pacific region known as the Walker Circulation. Our results indicate that the Sunda Shelf region has a larger influence on Walker Circulation than is seen in current paleoclimate simulations.
Pneumomediastinum as a postinfectious complication of COVID-19 in paediatric patient
Authors: Wouters Colton Reed , Thomas Logan , Thimesch Grant , Wouters Gordon Reed
Published: August 2023

An adolescent boy presented to the clinic with upper chest pain, anterior neck pain and difficulty swallowing 3 weeks following a COVID-19 infection. The pain started a few days before while participating in football practice. He reported no significant trauma or specific incidence when the pain began. His vital signs were stable and within normal limits. There was tenderness to palpation in the upper sternal area and low anterior neck. A chest X-ray was performed and was originally read by the primary care physician as unremarkable. This was followed by the official radiology read, which identified a spontaneous pneumomediastinum. A follow-up CT was confirmatory. The physician recommended rest and minimal activity, and the symptoms gradually resolved in 1 week. A follow-up 1 week after the initial visit revealed complete resolution by radiograph. One week later, a final set of radiographs confirmed sustained resolution of free air in the mediastinum. He was able to gradually return to normal activity.
Interactive SARS-CoV-2 dashboard for real-time geospatial visualisation of sewage and clinical surveillance data from Dhaka, Bangladesh: a tool for public health situational awareness
Authors: Wettstone Erin G , Islam Md Ohedul , Hughlett Lauren , Reagen Claire , Shirin Tahmina , Rahman Mahbubur , Hosan Kawsar , Hoque Md Raihanul , Brennhofer Stephanie A , Rogawski McQuade Elizabeth T , Mira Yoann , von Tobel Lukas , Haque Rashidul , Taniuchi Mami , Blake Isobel M
Published: August 2023

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many dashboards were created to visualise clinical case incidence. Other dashboards have displayed SARS-CoV-2 sewage data, largely from countries with formal sewage networks. However, very few dashboards from low-income and lower-middle-income countries integrated both clinical and sewage data sets. We created a dashboard to track in real-time both COVID-19 clinical cases and the level of SARS-CoV-2 virus in sewage in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The development of this dashboard was a collaborative iterative process with Bangladesh public health stakeholders to include specific features to address their needs. The final dashboard product provides spatiotemporal visualisations of COVID-19 cases and SARS-CoV-2 viral load at 51 sewage collection sites in 21 wards in Dhaka since 24 March 2020. Our dashboard was updated weekly for the Bangladesh COVID-19 national task force to provide supplemental data for public health stakeholders making public policy decisions on mitigation efforts. Here, we highlight the importance of working closely with public health stakeholders to create a COVID-19 dashboard for public health impact. In the future, the dashboard can be expanded to track trends of other infectious diseases as sewage surveillance is increased for other pathogens.
Landscape analysis of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing metrics for consumer nutrition and health in the food and beverage sector
Authors: O'Hearn Meghan , Reedy Julia , Robinson Ella , Economos Christina , Wong John B , Sacks Gary , Mozaffarian Dariush
Published: August 2023

Introduction

The private sector plays a critical role in influencing food choices and health outcomes of consumers. Among private sector actors, investors are a powerful yet underutilised stakeholder for driving scalable public health impact. There are systems to facilitate investors’ involvement, notably environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, which is well placed to include an assessment of business risks to social well-being. However, nutrition efforts within the ESG agenda (ESG-Nutrition) are nascent. We aimed to critically assess the strength of existing ESG-Nutrition metrics to advance the science of measuring business impacts on consumer nutrition and health.

Methods

ESG-Nutrition metrics were extracted from eight ESG frameworks and categorised across four domains: product portfolio healthfulness; product distribution and equity; product marketing and labelling; and nutrition-related governance. The strength of each metric was evaluated and scored 1–3 (best), independently by two researchers, based on six attributes: materiality, objectivity, alignment, activity, resolution and verifiability. The total score (range 6–18) and intercorrelation for each attribute was calculated.

Results

Across 529 metrics, most related to product marketing and labelling (n=230, 43.5%), followed by product healthfulness (n=126, 23.8%), nutrition-related governance (n=108, 20.4%) and product distribution and equity (n=65, 12.3%). Across all metrics, average total score was 10.94 (1.58), with average attribute scoring highest for verifiability (mean: 2.36 (SD: 0.57)), objectivity (2.11 (0.61)) and materiality (2.01 (0.68)) and lowest for activity (1.83 (0.74)), alignment (1.37 (0.67)) and resolution (1.26 (0.65)). Most intercorrelations were null, suggesting attributes were measuring distinct characteristics of each metric. Significant heterogeneity across domains and frameworks was also observed.

Conclusions

This research identifies a range of nutrition-related metrics used in ESG frameworks with respect to food companies, but with substantial heterogeneity in relevant nutrition domains covered and strength of each metric. Efforts are required to improve the quality of metrics across frameworks, establish standardised reporting and align these with investor priorities.
Implementing psychological support for health and social care staff affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative exploration of staff well-being hubs (‘Resilience Hubs’) using normalisation process theory
Authors: Allsopp Kate , Varese Filippo , French Paul , White Hannah , Chung Priscilla , Hassan Alysha A , Wright Sally-Anne , Young Ellie , Barrett Alan , Bhutani Gita , McGuirk Katherine , Huntley Fay , Sarsam May , Ten Cate Hein , Watson Ruth , Willbourn Jenni , Hind Daniel
Published: August 2023

Objectives

Evaluate the implementation of Hubs providing access to psychological support for health and social care keyworkers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design

Qualitative interviews informed by normalisation process theory to understand how the Hub model became embedded into normal practice, and factors that disrupted normalisation of this approach.

Setting

Three Resilience Hubs in the North of England.

Participants

Hub staff, keyworkers who accessed Hub support (Hub clients), keyworkers who had not accessed a Hub, and wider stakeholders involved in the provision of staff support within the health and care system (N=63).

Results

Hubs were generally seen as an effective way of supporting keyworkers, and Hub clients typically described very positive experiences. Flexibility and adaptability to local needs were strongly valued. Keyworkers accessed support when they understood the offer, valuing a confidential service that was separate from their organisation. Confusion about how Hubs differed from other support prevented some from enrolling. Beliefs about job roles, unsupportive managers, negative workplace cultures and systemic issues prevented keyworkers from valuing mental health support. Lack of support from managers discouraged keyworker engagement with Hubs. Black, Asian and minority ethnic keyworkers impacted by racism felt that the Hubs did not always meet their needs.

Conclusions

Hubs were seen as a valuable, responsive and distinct part of the health and care system. Findings highlight the importance of improving promotion and accessibility of Hubs, and continuation of confidential Hub support. Policy implications for the wider health and care sector include the central importance of genuine promotion of and value placed on mental health support by health and social care management, and the creation of psychologically safe work environments. Diversity and cultural competency training is needed to better reach under-represented communities. Findings are consistent with the international literature, therefore, likely to have applicability outside of the current context.
Inhibition of tumor intrinsic BANF1 activates antitumor immune responses via cGAS-STING and enhances the efficacy of PD-1 blockade
Authors: Wang Minglei , Huang Yiheng , Chen Minxin , Wang Weiyan , Wu Fei , Zhong Tao , Chen Xiaozheng , Wang Fei , Li Yang , Yu Jinming , Wu Meng , Chen Dawei
Published: August 2023

Background

BANF1 is well known as a natural opponent of cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) activity on genomic self-DNA. However, the roles of BANF1 in tumor immunity remain unclear. Here, we investigate the possible impact of BANF1 on antitumor immunity and response to immunotherapy.

Methods

The Cancer Genome Atlas public data were analyzed to evaluate the relevance of the expression of BANF1, patients’ survival and immune cell infiltration. We monitored tumor growth and explored the antitumor efficacy of targeting tumor-intrinsic BANF1 in combination with anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) in MC38 or B16F10 tumor models in both immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice. Flow cytometry, immunofluorescence and T cells depletion experiments were used to validate the role of BANF1 in tumor immune microenvironment reprogramming. RNA sequencing was then used to interrogate the mechanisms how BANF1 regulated antitumor immunity.

Results

We show that upregulated expression of BANF1 in tumor tissues is significantly associated with poor survival and is negatively correlated with immune cell infiltration. Deficiency of BANF1 in tumor cells markedly antagonizes tumor growth in immunocompetent but not immunocompromised mice, and enhances the response to immunotherapy in murine models of melanoma and colon cancer. In the immunotherapy clinical cohort, patients with high BANF1 expression had a worse prognosis. Mechanistically, BANF1 knockout activates antitumor immune responses mediated by cGAS-synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS-STING) pathway, resulting in an immune-activating tumor microenvironment including increased CD8+T cell infiltration and decreased myeloid-derived suppressor cell enrichment.

Conclusions

BANF1 is a key regulator of antitumor immunity mediated by cGAS-STING pathway. Therefore, our study provides a rational that targeting BANF1 is a potent strategy for enhancing immunotherapy for cancer with BANF1 upregulation.
A proposal for formal fairness requirements in triage emergency departments: publicity, accessibility, relevance, standardisability and accountability
Authors: Battisti Davide , Camporesi Silvia
Published: August 2023

This paper puts forward a wish list of requirements for formal fairness in the specific context of triage in emergency departments (EDs) and maps the empirical and conceptual research questions that need to be addressed in this context in the near future. The pandemic has brought to the fore the necessity for public debate about how to allocate resources fairly in a situation of great shortage. However, issues of fairness arise also outside of pandemics: decisions about how to allocate resources are structurally unavoidable in healthcare systems, as value judgements underlie every allocative decision, although they are not always easily identifiable. In this paper, we set out to bridge this gap in the context of EDs. In the first part, we propose five formal requirements specifically applied for ED triage to be considered fair and legitimate: publicity, accessibility, relevance, standardisability and accountability. In the second part of the paper, we map the conceptual and empirical ethics questions that will need to be investigated to assess whether healthcare systems guarantee a formally just ED triage. In conclusion, we argue that there is a vast research landscape in need of an in-depth conceptual and empirical investigation in the context of ED triage in ordinary times. Addressing both types of questions in this context is vital for promoting a fair and legitimate ED triage and for fostering reflection on formal fairness allocative issues beyond triage.
Can the courts be viewed as an appropriate vehicle to settle clinical unease?
Authors: Wren Bernadette , Ruck Keene Alexander
Published: August 2023

This paper is an exploration of the state of ‘clinical unease’ experienced by clinicians in contexts where professional judgement—grounded in clinical knowledge, critical reflection and a sound grasp of the law—indicates that there is more than one ethically defensible way to proceed. The question posed is whether the courts can be viewed as an appropriate vehicle to settle clinical unease by providing a ruling that clarifies the legal and ethical issues arising in the case, even in situations where there is no dispute between the patient (or her proxies) and the healthcare team.

The concept of ‘clinical unease’ is framed with reference to the broader experience of clinical decision-making, and distinguished from other widely discussed phenomena in the healthcare literature like moral distress and conscientious objection. A number of reported cases are briefly examined where the courts were invited to rule in circumstances of apparent ‘unease’. The respective responsibilities of clinicians and courts are discussed: in particular, their capability and readiness to respond to matters of ethical concern.

Four imagined clinical scenarios are outlined where a clinical team might welcome a court adjudication, under current rules. Consideration is given to the likelihood of such cases being heard, and to whether there may be better remedies than the courts. There are final reflections on what clinicians may actually wish for in seeking court involvement, and on whether a willingness to engage with the experience of clinical unease may lead to greater sensitivity towards the value perspectives of others.
Exploration of the representation of the allied health professions in senior leadership positions in the UK National Health Service
Authors: Eddison Nicola , Healy Aoife , Darke Nina , Jones Mary , Leask Millar , Roberts Gwen L , Chockalingam Nachiappan
Published: August 2023

Background

Allied health professionals (AHPs) are an important group within the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK and make up a large portion of the workforce. Investment in AHP leadership is believed to lead to improvements in patient care, resource use, collaboration and innovation. This study aims to assess the current state of AHP strategic leadership within the NHS.

Methods

A freedom of information (FOI) request was sent to all NHS Trusts and health boards (HBs) within the UK NHS. The questions focused on the AHP workforce, with a particular interest in the chief AHPs (or equivalent roles) working in an NHS setting. Analysis of the FOI used a range of descriptive statistics.

Results

Of the 217 Trusts/HBs contacted, responses were received from 160 (74%). The majority (81%) reported that they employed a Chief AHP or equivalent role, with only 14% of these having a position on the Trust/HB executive board. There were 50 different job titles reported as the titles for the chief AHP or equivalent roles: with director of AHPs (18.6%), lead AHP (13.9%) and chief AHP (11.6%) being the most reported titles. The results identified an inequity of representation of AHP professions within senior AHP leadership; with most of these roles (70%) held by physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

Conclusion

Changes in AHP strategic leadership are needed to address the inequities identified in this study. Addressing these issues is required to enable inclusive leadership, which is crucial to improve the contribution of AHPs to healthcare.
Imaging in diagnosis, monitoring and outcome prediction of large vessel vasculitis: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis informing the 2023 update of the EULAR recommendations
Authors: Bosch Philipp , Bond Milena , Dejaco Christian , Ponte Cristina , Mackie Sarah Louise , Falzon Louise , Schmidt Wolfgang A , Ramiro Sofia
Published: August 2023

Objectives

To update the evidence on imaging for diagnosis, monitoring and outcome prediction in large vessel vasculitis (LVV) to inform the 2023 update of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology recommendations on imaging in LVV.

Methods

Systematic literature review (SLR) (2017–2022) including prospective cohort and cross-sectional studies (>20 participants) on diagnostic, monitoring, outcome prediction and technical aspects of LVV imaging. Diagnostic accuracy data were meta-analysed in combination with data from an earlier (2017) SLR.

Results

The update retrieved 38 studies, giving a total of 81 studies when combined with the 2017 SLR. For giant cell arteritis (GCA), and taking clinical diagnosis as a reference standard, low risk of bias (RoB) studies yielded pooled sensitivities and specificities (95% CI) of 88% (82% to 92%) and 96% (95% CI 86% to 99%) for ultrasound (n=8 studies), 81% (95% CI 71% to 89%) and 98% (95% CI 89% to 100%) for MRI (n=3) and 76% (95% CI 67% to 83%) and 95% (95% CI 71% to 99%) for fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET, n=4), respectively. Compared with studies assessing cranial arteries only, low RoB studies with ultrasound assessing both cranial and extracranial arteries revealed a higher sensitivity (93% (95% CI 88% to 96%) vs 80% (95% CI 71% to 87%)) with comparable specificity (94% (95% CI 83% to 98%) vs 97% (95% CI 71% to 100%)). No new studies on diagnostic imaging for Takayasu arteritis (TAK) were found. Some monitoring studies in GCA or TAK reported associations of imaging with clinical signs of inflammation. No evidence was found to determine whether imaging severity might predict worse clinical outcomes.

Conclusion

Ultrasound, MRI and FDG-PET revealed a good performance for the diagnosis of GCA. Cranial and extracranial vascular ultrasound had a higher pooled sensitivity with similar specificity compared with limited cranial ultrasound.
Neonatal serious illness: operational definition
Authors: Guttmann Katherine , Silverman Rachel , Weintraub Andrea S
Published: August 2023

Objectives

(1) To operationalise our previously published definition of neonatal serious illness by applying it to a patient cohort and (2) to evaluate timing of palliative care consultation, goals of care discussions and meeting serious illness criteria.

Methods

This was a retrospective chart review. Inborn neonates delivered between January 2006 and December 2020 who died prior to neonatal intensive care unit discharge were identified through EPIC query. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney-U tests were used to compare time intervals relating to transition to serious illness across causes of death and other factors. χ2tests were used to examine frequency of goals of care conversations by factors.

Results

Eighty-eight per cent of patients met criteria for neonatal serious illness within 48 hours of life. There were no significant differences in transition to serious illness between preterm and term infants. Time to identification of serious illness varied significantly by cause of death. Palliative care was consulted for 5.7% of patients.

Conclusion

All patients met criteria for serious illness early in life based on our definition. This definition may be useful for identifying neonates with serious illness in time to provide support. Additional work is needed to apply this definition prospectively to explore its utility for clinical care and research.
Guideline concordance for timely chest imaging after new presentations of dyspnoea or haemoptysis in primary care: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Koo Minjoung Monica , Mounce Luke T A , Rafiq Meena , Callister Matthew E J , Singh Hardeep , Abel Gary A , Lyratzopoulos Georgios
Published: August 2023

Background

Guidelines recommend urgent chest X-ray for newly presenting dyspnoea or haemoptysis but there is little evidence about their implementation.

Methods

We analysed linked primary care and hospital imaging data for patients aged 30+ years newly presenting with dyspnoea or haemoptysis in primary care during April 2012 to March 2017. We examined guideline-concordant management, defined as General Practitioner-ordered chest X-ray/CT carried out within 2 weeks of symptomatic presentation, and variation by sociodemographic characteristic and relevant medical history using logistic regression. Additionally, among patients diagnosed with cancer we described time to diagnosis, diagnostic route and stage at diagnosis by guideline-concordant status.

Results

In total, 22 560/162 161 (13.9%) patients with dyspnoea and 4022/8120 (49.5%) patients with haemoptysis received guideline-concordant imaging within the recommended 2-week period. Patients with recent chest imaging pre-presentation were much less likely to receive imaging (adjusted OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.14–0.18 for dyspnoea, and adjusted OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.06–0.11 for haemoptysis). History of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/asthma was also associated with lower odds of guideline concordance (dyspnoea: OR 0.234, 95% CI 0.225–0.242 and haemoptysis: 0.88, 0.79–0.97). Guideline-concordant imaging was lower among dyspnoea presenters with prior heart failure; current or ex-smokers; and those in more socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.

The likelihood of lung cancer diagnosis within 12 months was greater among the guideline-concordant imaging group (dyspnoea: 1.1% vs 0.6%; haemoptysis: 3.5% vs 2.7%).

Conclusion

The likelihood of receiving urgent imaging concords with the risk of subsequent cancer diagnosis. Nevertheless, large proportions of dyspnoea and haemoptysis presenters do not receive prompt chest imaging despite being eligible, indicating opportunities for earlier lung cancer diagnosis.
Fragmentation of care between intensive and primary care settings and opportunities for improvement
Authors: Leggett Nina , Emery Kate , Rollinson Thomas C , Deane Adam , French Craig , Manski Nankervis Jo-Anne , Eastwood Glenn , Miles Briannah , Merolli Mark , Ali Abdelhamid Yasmine , Haines Kimberley Joy
Published: August 2023

Purpose

To explore the gaps in care provided across the transitions from the intensive care unit (ICU) to primary care, in order to improve post-ICU care.

Methods

Semistructured interviews with three participant groups: intensivists, general practitioners (GPs) and patients and carers with framework analysis of textual data were used to investigate experiences of transitions of care post-ICU. Participants were purposively sampled for diversity. Eligible patients were adults, mechanically ventilated for >24 hours, with access to a video-enabled device. Exclusion criteria were non-English speaking and any cognitive/neurological limitation precluding interview participation.

Results

A total of 46 interviews (15 patients, 8 caregivers, 15 intensivists and 8 GPs) were completed. Eight themes were identified, and categorised into three healthcare tiers.Tier 1, health system factors: (1) fragmentation of care; (2) communication gaps; (3) limited awareness and recognition of issues beyond the ICU; (4) lack of a specialised ICU follow-up pathway;Tier 2, clinician factors: (5) relationships among ICU, hospitals, GPs and patients and carers; (6) need for clinician role definition and clarity in ICU follow-up;Tier 3, patient and carer factors: (7) patient autonomy and self-actualisation and (8) the evolving caregiver role. A conceptual model was developed, highlighting bidirectional feedback loops between hospital and primary care.

Conclusion

This study identified gaps in care between ICU discharge and reintegration with primary care from the lived experience of patients, caregivers, intensivists and GPs. These data provide foci for future interventional research to improve the integration of care for this vulnerable and underserved cohort.
Susceptibility of winter cut red pine (P. resinosa) stumps to heterobasidion root disease (HRD) infection
Authors: Meunier Jed , Scanlon Kyoko , Wallace Adam , Williams Linda
Published: August 2023

Heterobasidion root disease (HRD), a destructive disease of conifers, is a growing management concern. Infection by HRD fungus ( Heterobasidion irregulare) most often occurs when spores, usually produced when temperature is between 5 and 32 °C, land and germinate on freshly cut surfaces. Older stump surfaces are generally unsuitable for colonization, likely due to changes in chemical and physical properties of wood and competitor fungi that limit HRD infection. Stump protectants are effective but not used or recommended in subfreezing temperatures during winter when spores are less common. This study evaluated the potential for older cut stump infection following snowmelt in spring via inoculation of disks collected 7 weeks following initial thinning and exposed to extensive subfreezing temperatures. We found that a surprising number of disks (40%) were successfully colonized with H. irregulare. More research on potential for winter cut conifer HRD infection is warranted as are steps to limit this potential.
Implementation of differential transform method on the squeezing flow of trigonometric non-Newtonian fluid between two heated plates
Authors: Nadeem Sohail , Ishtiaq Bushra , Alzabut Jehad , Eldin Sayed M.
Published: August 2023

Due to the numerous practices of non-Newtonian fluids in technological and industrial fields, the attention towards such fluids increases incredibly. The highly nonlinear equations emerge in the modeling of the non-Newtonian fluids. The differential transform method is one of the analytical methods which is used to acquire the solution to these complicated nonlinear equations in the series form. The current analysis comprises the squeeze flow of non-Newtonian fluid in two dimensions. Two infinite parallel plates are considered in which the time-dependent fluid is squeezed. The heat transfer mechanism is deliberated with the significance of heat absorption/generation. The nonlinear setup of ordinary differential equations is acquired by practicing the appropriate similarity variables on the governing equations of the concerned flow mechanism. The nonlinear setup is analytically resolved with the help of an analytical differential transform method. For the authenticity of the differential transform method, the analytical outcomes are compared with the numerical results. Graphical illustrations of fluid temperature and velocity profiles relative to the pertinent parameters are briefly explicated numerically and analytically. The fluid velocity demonstrates the descending behavior and the temperature field exhibits the expanding nature relative to the squeezing parameter.
Combined impact of radiation and chemical reaction on MHD hyperbolic tangent nanofluid boundary layer flow past a stretching sheet
Authors: Athal I. , Haewon Byeon , Sasikala A. , Narsimha Reddy B. , Govindan Vediyappan , Maddileti P. , Saritha K. , Shashidar Reddy B. , Rajakumari S. , Tawade Jagadish V. , Tamam Nissren , Sayfutdinovna Abdullaeva Barno , Chohan Jasgurpreetsingh , Mishra Raghawendra
Published: August 2023

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of thermal radiation and chemical reactions on magnetohydrodynamic hyperbolic tangent liquid, which includes nanoparticles on a stretched surface while taking into account Brownian motion and thermophoresis. The nonlinear partial differential equations governing the system are converted into nonlinear ordinary differential equations through suitable similarity transformations. The focus of the study is to elucidate important engineering concepts such as skin friction, Sherwood number, and heat transfer, as well as to understand the effects of various expressions on the different profiles. The Keller-box approach, a sophisticated numerical tool, is used to get the numerical answers to the current enquiry. The generated findings are extensively tested for correctness and dependability. The findings of this study might have far-reaching ramifications for a variety of technical applications, including heat exchangers, chemical reactors, and thermal management systems.The results show that the rate of mass transfer rises with the increment in the factors of chemical reaction, thermal radiation, nanoparticles volume, and Brownian motion.
Quantum teleportation of W-type states in the presence of a controller
Authors: Mandal Manoj Kumar , Choudhury Binayak S. , Samanta Soumen
Published: August 2023

In this paper, we discuss a proposal for the transfer of states belonging to the W-type states by executing a controlled teleportation protocol. A 7-qubit quantum entangled resource shared between the sender, receiver and controller is utilized in this protocol. The scheme proposed here is a perfect communication scheme where the task of quantum state transfer is performed with certainty. Further, a protocol for the generation of the quantum resource used here is designed and run on IBM platform. Additionally, we consider the effect of four types of noises, namely, amplitude-damping noise, bit-flip noise, phase-flip noise and phase-damping noise on our protocol. The efficiency of the protocol is compared with other similar protocols which shows that the present one is better performing.
Broadband supercontinuum generation in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers infiltrated with chloroform
Authors: Thi Thuy Nguyen , Van Lanh Chu
Published: August 2023

The chloroform-infiltrated square lattice photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) are designed with the difference of the air hole diameters in the cladding to improve chromatic dispersion and nonlinear properties. Based on numerical simulation results, two optimal structures with flat dispersion, high nonlinear coefficient, and small confinement loss are used for supercontinuum (SC) generation. The first fiber has an all-normal dispersion regime, a nonlinear coefficient of 486.355[Formula: see text]W[Formula: see text].km[Formula: see text] generating an SC spectrum of 640.3[Formula: see text]nm within 30 dB levels at a pump wavelength of 0.945[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m with peak power as low as 1.44[Formula: see text]kW. With anomalous dispersion properties, the second fiber gives a very broad SC spectrum of 1471.8[Formula: see text]nm within 30 dB levels at a 1.4[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m pumping wavelength with a peak power of 20[Formula: see text]kW. All-fiber SC sources operating with low-power pump lasers can use these fibers to effectively replace glass-core fibers.
Study of the Carbon Neutral Path in China: A Literature Review
Authors: HOU Fangxin , LIU Yifang , MA Zhiyuan , LIU Changyi , ZHANG Shining , YANG Fang , NIE Yuanhong
Published: August 2023

After the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals were proposed, different institutions and scholars carried out research on China’s medium- and long-term mitigation pathways. Through the literature review of China’s research on carbon neutrality, this paper finds that the zero-carbon energy transition is the key to achieving carbon neutrality. The main driving factors of reducing energy-related carbon emissions include the cleanliness of primary and secondary energy supply systems, the electrification of energy consumption and the development of hydrogen energy, energy efficiency improvement, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and negative emissions. Furthermore, based on the literature, this paper conducts a quantitative comparative analysis, and selects key indicators for comparative analysis and summary from seven dimensions, including economic and social development, carbon emission pathways, primary energy consumption, final energy consumption, final hydrogen energy consumption, electricity demand and supply, and installed capacity and structure of power generation. Main conclusions are as follows: (i) In terms of carbon emission pathways, the institutions generally believed that China will peak carbon emissions around 2028 and achieve carbon neutrality between 2050 and 2060. Achieving net-zero or near-zero emissions first in the power sector is the key to carbon neutrality across the society; (ii) In terms of energy supply, it is a consensus to increase the proportion of clean energy and reduce carbon emissions from the source. The proportion of clean energy in primary energy will increase to more than 85%, and the proportion of clean energy power generation and installed capacity will reach more than 90%; (iii) In terms of energy use, electricity will become the core of final energy consumption in the future. The predicted electricity consumption across the society will range 14.3–18.4[Formula: see text]PWh, and the predicted electrification rate will exceed 65%.
Micropolar Elasticity in Physically-Based Animation
Authors: Löschner Fabian , Fernández-Fernández José Antonio , Jeske Stefan Rhys , Longva Andreas , Bender Jan
Published: August 2023

We explore micropolar materials for the simulation of volumetric deformable solids. In graphics, micropolar models have only been used in the form of one-dimensional Cosserat rods, where a rotating frame is attached to each material point on the one-dimensional centerline. By carrying this idea over to volumetric solids, every material point is associated with a microrotation, an independent degree of freedom that can be coupled to the displacement through a material's strain energy density. The additional degrees of freedom give us more control over bending and torsion modes of a material. We propose a new orthotropic micropolar curvature energy that allows us to make materials stiff to bending in specific directions.

For the simulation of dynamic micropolar deformables we propose a novel incremental potential formulation with a consistent FEM discretization that is well suited for the use in physically-based animation. This allows us to easily couple micropolar deformables with dynamic collisions through a contact model inspired from the Incremental Potential Contact (IPC) approach. For the spatial discretization with FEM we discuss the challenges related to the rotational degrees of freedom and propose a scheme based on the interpolation of angular velocities followed by quaternion time integration at the quadrature points.

In our evaluation we validate the consistency and accuracy of our discretization approach and demonstrate several compelling use cases for micropolar materials. This includes explicit control over bending and torsion stiffness, deformation through prescription of a volumetric curvature field and robust interaction of micropolar deformables with dynamic collisions.
DiffXPBD
Authors: Stuyck Tuur , Chen Hsiao-yu
Published: August 2023

We present DiffXPBD, a novel and efficient analytical formulation for the differentiable position-based simulation of compliant constrained dynamics (XPBD). Our proposed method allows computation of gradients of numerous parameters with respect to a goal function simultaneously leveraging a performant simulation model. The method is efficient, thus enabling differentiable simulations of high resolution geometries and degrees of freedom (DoFs). Collisions are naturally included in the framework. Our differentiable model allows a user to easily add additional optimization variables. Every control variable gradient requires the computation of only a few partial derivatives which can be computed using automatic differentiation code. We demonstrate the efficacy of the method with examples such as elastic cloth and volumetric material parameter estimation, initial value optimization, optimizing for underlying body shape and pose by only observing the clothing, and optimizing a time-varying external force sequence to match sparse keyframe shapes at specific times. Our approach demonstrates excellent efficiency and we demonstrate this on high resolution meshes with optimizations involving over 26 million degrees of freedom. Making an existing solver differentiable requires only a few modifications and the model is compatible with both modern CPU and GPU multi-core hardware.
A Linear and Angular Momentum Conserving Hybrid Particle/Grid Iteration for Volumetric Elastic Contact
Authors: Razon Alan Marquez , Chen Yizhou , Han Yushan , Gagniere Steven , Tupek Michael , Teran Joseph
Published: August 2023

We present a momentum conserving hybrid particle/grid iteration for resolving volumetric elastic collision. Our hybrid method uses implicit time stepping with a Lagrangian finite element discretization of the volumetric elastic material together with impulse-based collision-correcting momentum updates designed to exactly conserve linear and angular momentum. We use a two-step process for collisions: first we use a novel grid-based approach that leverages the favorable collision resolution properties of Particle-In-Cell (PIC) techniques, then we finalize with a classical collision impulse strategy utilizing continuous collision detection. Our PIC approach uses Affine-Particle-In-Cell momentum transfers as collision preventing impulses together with novel perfectly momentum conserving boundary resampling and downsampling operators that prevent artifacts in portions of the boundary where the grid resolution is of disparate resolution. We combine this with a momentum conserving augury iteration to remove numerical cohesion and model sliding friction. Our collision strategy has the same continuous collision detection as traditional approaches, however our hybrid particle/grid iteration drastically reduces the number of iterations required. Lastly, we develop a novel symmetric positive semi-definite Rayleigh damping model that increases the convexity of the nonlinear systems associated with implicit time stepping. We demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of our approach in a number of collision intensive examples.
HDHumans
Authors: Habermann Marc , Liu Lingjie , Xu Weipeng , Pons-Moll Gerard , Zollhoefer Michael , Theobalt Christian
Published: August 2023

Photo-real digital human avatars are of enormous importance in graphics, as they enable immersive communication over the globe, improve gaming and entertainment experiences, and can be particularly beneficial for AR and VR settings. However, current avatar generation approaches either fall short in high-fidelity novel view synthesis, generalization to novel motions, reproduction of loose clothing, or they cannot render characters at the high resolution offered by modern displays. To this end, we propose HDHumans, which is the first method for HD human character synthesis that jointly produces an accurate and temporally coherent 3D deforming surface and highly photo-realistic images of arbitrary novel views and of motions not seen at training time. At the technical core, our method tightly integrates a classical deforming character template with neural radiance fields (NeRF). Our method is carefully designed to achieve a synergy between classical surface deformation and a NeRF. First, the template guides the NeRF, which allows synthesizing novel views of a highly dynamic and articulated character and even enables the synthesis of novel motions. Second, we also leverage the dense pointclouds resulting from the NeRF to further improve the deforming surface via 3D-to-3D supervision. We outperform the state of the art quantitatively and qualitatively in terms of synthesis quality and resolution, as well as the quality of 3D surface reconstruction.