bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cooperative redox and spin activity from three redox congeners of sulfur-bridged iron nitrosyl and nickel dithiolene complexes
Authors: Quiroz Manuel , Lockart Molly M. , Saber Mohamed R. , Vali Shaik Waseem , Elrod Lindy C. , Pierce Brad S. , Hall Michael B. , Darensbourg Marcetta Y.
Published: June 2022

The synthesis of sulfur-bridged Fe–Ni heterobimetallics was inspired by Nature’s strategies to “trick” abundant first row transition metals into enabling 2-electron processes: redox-active ligands (including pendant iron–sulfur clusters) and proximal metals. Our design to have redox-active ligands on each metal, NO on iron and dithiolene on nickel, resulted in the observation of unexpectedly intricate physical properties. The metallodithiolate, (NO)Fe(N
2
S
2
), reacts with a labile ligand derivative of [Ni
II
(S
2
C
2
Ph
2
)]
0
, Ni
DT
, yielding the expected S-bridged neutral adduct,
FeNi
, containing a doublet {Fe(NO)}
7
. Good reversibility of two redox events of
FeNi
led to isolation of reduced and oxidized congeners. Characterization by various spectroscopies and single-crystal X-ray diffraction concluded that reduction of the
FeNi
parent yielded
[FeNi]
−
, a rare example of a high-spin {Fe(NO)}
8
, described as linear Fe
II
(NO
–
). Mössbauer data is diagnostic for the redox change at the {Fe(NO)}
7/8
site. Oxidation of
FeNi
generated the 2
[FeNi]
+
⇌

[Fe
2
Ni
2
]

2+
equilibrium in solution; crystallization yields only the

[Fe
2
Ni
2
]

2+
dimer, isolated as PF
6
−
and BArF
−
salts. The monomer is a spin-coupled diradical between {Fe(NO)}
7
and Ni
DT
+
, while dimerization couples the two Ni
DT
+
via a Ni
2
S
2
rhomb. Magnetic susceptibility studies on the dimer found a singlet ground state with a thermally accessible triplet excited state responsible for the magnetism at 300 K (χ
M
T = 0.67 emu·K·mol
−1
,
µ
eff
= 2.31
µ
B
), and detectable by parallel-mode EPR spectroscopy at 20 to 50 K. A theoretical model built on an H
4
chain explains this unexpected low energy triplet state arising from a combination of anti- and ferromagnetic coupling of a four-radical molecular conglomerate.
Social stressors associated with age-related T lymphocyte percentages in older US adults: Evidence from the US Health and Retirement Study
Authors: Klopack Eric T. , Crimmins Eileen M. , Cole Steve W. , Seeman Teresa E. , Carroll Judith E.
Published: June 2022

Exposure to stress is a risk factor for poor health and accelerated aging. Immune aging, including declines in naïve and increases in terminally differentiated T cells, plays a role in immune health and tissue specific aging, and may contribute to elevated risk for poor health among those who experience high psychosocial stress. Past data have been limited in estimating the contribution of life stress to the development of accelerated immune aging and investigating mediators such as lifestyle and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. This study utilizes a national sample of 5,744 US adults over age 50 to assess the relationship of social stress (viz., everyday discrimination, stressful life events, lifetime discrimination, life trauma, and chronic stress) with flow cytometric estimates of immune aging, including naïve and terminally differentiated T cell percentages and the ratio of CD4+to CD8+cells. Experiencing life trauma and chronic stress was related to a lower percentage of CD4+naïve cells. Discrimination and chronic stress were each associated with a greater percentage of terminally differentiated CD4+cells. Stressful life events, high lifetime discrimination, and life trauma were related to a lower percentage of CD8+naïve cells. Stressful life events, high lifetime discrimination, and chronic stress were associated with a higher percentage of terminally differentiated CD8+cells. High lifetime discrimination and chronic stress were related to a lower CD4+:CD8+ratio. Lifestyle factors and CMV seropositivity partially reduced these effects. Results identify psychosocial stress as a contributor to accelerating immune aging by decreasing naïve and increasing terminally differentiated T cells.
Indole-3-pyruvic acid regulates TAA1 activity, which plays a key role in coordinating the two steps of auxin biosynthesis
Authors: Sato Akiko , Soeno Kazuo , Kikuchi Rie , Narukawa-Nara Megumi , Yamazaki Chiaki , Kakei Yusuke , Nakamura Ayako , Shimada Yukihisa
Published: June 2022

Auxin biosynthesis involves two types of enzymes: the Trp aminotransferases (TAA/TARs) and the flavin monooxygenases (YUCCAs). This two-step pathway is highly conserved throughout the plant kingdom and is essential for almost all of the major developmental processes. Despite their importance, it is unclear how these enzymes are regulated and how their activities are coordinated. Here, we show that TAA1/TARs are regulated by their product indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPyA) (or its mimic KOK2099) via negative feedback regulation in
Arabidopsis thaliana
. This regulatory system also functions in rice and tomato. This negative feedback regulation appears to be achieved by both the reversibility of Trp aminotransferase activity and the competitive inhibition of TAA1 activity by IPyA. The
K
m
value of IPyA is 0.7 µM, and that of Trp is 43.6 µM; this allows IPyA to be maintained at low levels and prevents unfavorable nonenzymatic indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) formation from IPyA in vivo. Thus, IPyA levels are maintained by the push (by TAA1/TARs) and pull (by YUCCAs) of the two biosynthetic enzymes, in which TAA1 plays a key role in preventing the over- or under-accumulation of IPyA. TAA1 prefer Ala among various amino acid substrates in the reverse reaction of auxin biosynthesis, allowing TAA1 to show specificity for converting Trp and pyruvate to IPyA and Ala, and the reverse reaction.
Functional evidence supports adaptive plant chemical defense along a geographical cline
Authors: Agrawal Anurag A. , Espinosa del Alba Laura , López-Goldar Xosé , Hastings Amy P. , White Ronald A. , Halitschke Rayko , Dobler Susanne , Petschenka Georg , Duplais Christophe
Published: June 2022

Environmental clines in organismal defensive traits are usually attributed to stronger selection by enemies at lower latitudes or near the host’s range center. Nonetheless, little functional evidence has supported this hypothesis, especially for coevolving plants and herbivores. We quantified cardenolide toxins in seeds of 24 populations of common milkweed (
Asclepias syriaca
) across 13 degrees of latitude, revealing a pattern of increasing cardenolide concentrations toward the host's range center. The unusual nitrogen-containing cardenolide labriformin was an exception and peaked at higher latitudes. Milkweed seeds are eaten by specialist lygaeid bugs that are even more tolerant of cardenolides than the monarch butterfly, concentrating most cardenolides (but not labriformin) from seeds into their bodies. Accordingly, whether cardenolides defend seeds against these specialist bugs is unclear. We demonstrate that
Oncopeltus fasciatus
(Lygaeidae) metabolized two major compounds (glycosylated aspecioside and labriformin) into distinct products that were sequestered without impairing growth. We next tested several isolated cardenolides in vitro on the physiological target of cardenolides (Na
+
/K
+
-ATPase); there was little variation among compounds in inhibition of an unadapted Na
+
/K
+
-ATPase, but tremendous variation in impacts on that of monarchs and
Oncopeltu
s. Labriformin was the most inhibitive compound tested for both insects, but
Oncopeltus
had the greater advantage over monarchs in tolerating labriformin compared to other compounds. Three metabolized (and stored) cardenolides were less toxic than their parent compounds found in seeds. Our results suggest that a potent plant defense is evolving by natural selection along a geographical cline and targets specialist herbivores, but is met by insect tolerance, detoxification, and sequestration.
Uralic typology in the light of a new comprehensive dataset
Authors: Norvik Miina , Jing Yingqi , Dunn Michael , Forkel Robert , Honkola Terhi , Klumpp Gerson , Kowalik Richard , Metslang Helle , Pajusalu Karl , Piha Minerva , Saar Eva , Saarinen Sirkka , Vesakoski Outi
Published: June 2022

This paper presents theUralic Areal Typology Online(UraTyp 1.0), a typological dataset of 35 Uralic languages and a total of 360 features, mainly covering the levels of morphology, syntax, and phonology. The features belong to two different datasets: 195 features’ definitions originate from the Grambank (GB) database, developed for comparison of world language typology, whereas 165 features (UT) have been designed specifically to describe the typological variation within the Uralic language family. We present a series of analyses of the dataset demonstrating its scope and possibilities. The complete data set correctly identifies the main Uralic subgroups in a Principal Components Analysis, whereas GB data alone is insufficiently granular to detect this family-internal structure. Similar analyses limited to various typological subdomains also give variable results. A model-based admixture analysis identifies four distinct areas of historical interaction: Saami, Finnic, the Volga area and Ob-Ugric.
Microstructure, non-metallic inclusions and impact toughness of high-Mn cryogenic steel weld metal
Authors: Zhang Jinshuai , Li Guangqiang , Wang Honghong , Wan Xiangliang , Hu Mingfeng , Meng Qingrun
Published: June 2022

Microstructure, inclusions and cryogenic impact toughness of Fe-22.03Mn-0.45C austenitic weld metal were investigated. The results show that microstructure of weld metal consisted of straight columnar dendrites with different orientations. Microsegregation of Mn was observed in the interdendritic regions and Mn depletion thus occurred in the dendrite core, which is suggested to lead to the different morphologies of MnS oxides (Mn–Al–Si–O) depending on their location. MnS patch-type oxides were found at dendrite boundary and MnS shell-type oxides were found at dendrite core. Inclusions as crack sources were distributed in the dimple of cryogenic impact fractography, it was found that MnS patch-type oxides were more ready to act as a crack source and cause the formation of dimples than MnS shell-type oxides.
Plasma-treatment of polymeric carbon nitride for efficient NO abatement under visible light
Authors: Zeng Qimiao , Ni Jiupai , Mariotti Davide , Lu Lanying , Chen Hong , Ni Chengsheng
Published: June 2022

Photocatalysis is considered to be efficient in combatting emission nitrogen oxide (NO
x
), which is one of the atmospheric pollutants affecting human health. Polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) is a low-cost polymeric photocatalyst with a two-dimensional structure that is sensitive to the visible sunlight in the solar spectrum, but its photocatalytic efficiency needs to be enhanced for the purpose of pollutant abatement. In this study, PCN was treated using a facile ambient pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma in air, Ar and Ar-5% H2 flow. According to the spectroscopic characterization and NO removal tests, the DBD plasma did not destroy the crystal structure of PCN, but improved the separation efficiency of photogenerated charges and enhanced the capacity of NO abatement. The plasma treatment in Ar-5% H2 showed an optimal removal efficiency of 69.19% and a selectivity for nitrate of 90.51% under visible light irradiation. The hydrogen plasma etched the PCN surface, resulting in more defects (carbon vacancies) and carbonyl group on the surface, while the air plasma was found to increase the suspending –NO
x
bonding on the surface for the increased NO
x
emission under illumination. The generation of high-energy electron and reactive radicals in the electrical discharges could cause the surface modification of PCN for efficient photocatalysis.
Compensation of fiber optic gyroscope vibration error based on VMD and FPA-WT
Authors: Zhao Shuai , Zhou Yilan , Shu Xiaowu
Published: June 2022

With the advantages of all-solid-state, high-precision, and small size, the fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is widely used in aerospace, unmanned driving, and robotics. However, the optoelectronic devices inside the FOG will produce non-negligible errors under the action of stress, resulting in zero-bias drift and increased noise, thereby limiting the application of the FOG in vibration and shock environments. In order to solve this problem, our paper proposes a new algorithm based on the variational mode decomposition (VMD) and flower pollination algorithm-wavelet transformation (FPA-WT). We combine the advantages of VMD and WT, use VMD to decompose non-stationary vibration signals to separate the effective signal component and zero-bias drift, and then use WT to denoise each component. Since the denoising effect of WT largely depends on the selection of initial parameters, we use the FPA to find the best parameters for WT. In order to better analyze the influence of vibration on FOG, we carry out the axial vibration and radial vibration experiments at the same time. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of our method, which can reduce the vibration error and improve the performance of the FOG in vibration and shock environments.
DC and RF performance of lateral AlGaN/GaN FinFET with ultrathin gate dielectric
Authors: Yılmaz Doğan , Odabaşı Oğuz , Salkım Gurur , Urfali Emirhan , Akoğlu Büşra Çankaya , Özbay Ekmel , Altındal Şemsettin
Published: June 2022

In this study, an enhancement-mode (E-mode) GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) with lateral tri-gate structure field effect transistor (FinFET) is proposed. To passivate the fin width, while keeping the normally-off performance of the FinFET intact, an ultrathin aluminium-oxide/sapphire (Al2O3) gate dielectric is proposed (in a basic single-finger 0.125 mm device). Later, the DC and radio frequency (RF) performances of the proposed FinFET designs (with optimized fin width and Al2O3 thickness) are compared with that of conventional planar HEMT. DC and RF measurements are performed using power transistors in ten-fingers configuration, with a total gate periphery of 2.5 mm. The effect of Fin structure and Al2O3 thickness on the electrical performance of HEMTs, including threshold voltage (V
th) shift, transconductance (g
m) linearity, small-signal gain, cut off frequency (f
t), output power (P
out), and power-added efficiency (PAE) are investigated. Based on our findings, FinFET configuration imposes normally-off functionality with a

V

th

=

 0

.2 

V, while the planar architecture has a

V

th

=
−

3

.7 

V. Originating from passivation property of the alumina layer, the FinFET design exhibits two orders of magnitude smaller drain and gate leakage currents compared to the planar case. Moreover, large signal RF measurements reveals an improved P
out density by over 50% compared to planar device, attributed to reduced thermal resistance in FinFETs stemming from additional lateral heat spreading of sidewall gates. Owing to its superior DC and RF performance, the proposed FinFET design with ultrathin gate dielectric could bear the potential of reliable operating for microwave power applications, by further scaling of the gate length.
Cellular Automata Machine Modeling to obtain optimal conditions and productivity of microalgae biomass
Authors: Arkeman Yandra , Haris Lukman , Saefurahman Ganjar , Hermadi Irman , Wibawa Dhani S.
Published: June 2022

Microalgae is a promising source of superior biomass for sustainable food sources, high value products, and 3rd generation biofuel. The main factors affecting growth, carbon fixation and biomass production of microalgae are species type, CO2 supply, nutrients, light, temperature, pH and mixing. This paper discusses the precision farming approach in microalgae biomass production using the Cellular Automata Machine modeling, i.e., Probabilistic Cellular Automata. Cellular Automata is a decentralized computing model that provides a useful platform to model the complex dynamic systems such as growth of cells. The application of this method on a large-scale microalgae production system can simulate and model the characteristics of microalgae growth and biomass. In conclusion, the Biological Lattice Gas Cellular Automaton (BIO-LGCA) has been proposed as modeling tools to obtain the optimal conditions and maximum productivity in microalgae biomass production.
Research on Selection of Different Speed Units for Super High Water Head and Large Capicity Pumped Storage Power Station
Authors: Xin Zhang , Haijun Li , Jianchu Shen , Jie Zhou
Published: June 2022

Changlongshan pumped storage power station is the one with the highest water head and the highest unit speed among the single-stage large capacity pumped storage power stations under construction in the world. There are two different speed units in the powerhouse, the speed is 500rpm and 600rpm. Usually the higher the head and the speed, the more difficult it is to design and manufacture the unit. For such high head and high speed units, there are not many internationally and domestic cases. This paper introduces the selection process of these two different speed units, and analyzes the characteristics of different speed units. By comparing the model test results of two kinds of speed pump turbine models, the hydraulic performances of energy, cavitation, overspeeding and pressure pulsation of different speed units are analyzed, which provides a reference for unit selection of similar parameter power stations.
Quo vadis geriatric rehabilitation?
Authors: Becker Clemens , Achterberg Wilco
Published: June 2022

The sustainability of healthcare of older people in Europe is at stake. Many experts currently focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. But there are other elements coming up that might even have a greater impact. Healthcare systems, geriatric care and geriatric rehabilitation in particular, will face disruptive changes due to both demographic demand and a shortage of human and financial resources. This decade will be transformed by a high proportion of the older health workforce transitioning to retirement. This expertise must be retained. The brain drain of health care workers migrating from Eastern parts to Western Europe is diminishing. Discussing and deciding upon the priorities of value-based health care for older people such as equity and access is required. The acute healthcare sector in most countries focuses on fee-for-service models instead of building systemic approaches to maximise independence and autonomy of older citizens. In this commentary, we build on recent book chapters and articles on geriatric rehabililtation. Our main questions for the anniversary edition of Age and Ageing is what it is that geriatric rehabilitation could, should and must contribute in the roaring 2020s?
Disease spreading modeling and analysis: a survey
Authors: Hiram Guzzi Pietro , Petrizzelli Francesco , Mazza Tommaso
Published: June 2022

Motivation

The control of the diffusion of diseases is a critical subject of a broad research area, which involves both clinical and political aspects. It makes wide use of computational tools, such as ordinary differential equations, stochastic simulation frameworks and graph theory, and interaction data, from molecular to social granularity levels, to model the ways diseases arise and spread. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a perfect testbench example to show how these models may help avoid severe lockdown by suggesting, for instance, the best strategies of vaccine prioritization.

Results

Here, we focus on and discuss some graph-based epidemiological models and show how their use may significantly improve the disease spreading control. We offer some examples related to the recent COVID-19 pandemic and discuss how to generalize them to other diseases.
Multiphysical graph neural network (MP-GNN) for COVID-19 drug design
Authors: Li Xiao-Shuang , Liu Xiang , Lu Le , Hua Xian-Sheng , Chi Ying , Xia Kelin
Published: June 2022

Graph neural networks (GNNs) are the most promising deep learning models that can revolutionize non-Euclidean data analysis. However, their full potential is severely curtailed by poorly represented molecular graphs and features. Here, we propose a multiphysical graph neural network (MP-GNN) model based on the developed multiphysical molecular graph representation and featurization. All kinds of molecular interactions, between different atom types and at different scales, are systematically represented by a series of scale-specific and element-specific graphs with distance-related node features. From these graphs, graph convolution network (GCN) models are constructed with specially designed weight-sharing architectures. Base learners are constructed from GCN models from different elements at different scales, and further consolidated together using both one-scale and multi-scale ensemble learning schemes. Our MP-GNN has two distinct properties. First, our MP-GNN incorporates multiscale interactions using more than one molecular graph. Atomic interactions from various different scales are not modeled by one specific graph (as in traditional GNNs), instead they are represented by a series of graphs at different scales. Second, it is free from the complicated feature generation process as in conventional GNN methods. In our MP-GNN, various atom interactions are embedded into element-specific graph representations with only distance-related node features. A unique GNN architecture is designed to incorporate all the information into a consolidated model. Our MP-GNN has been extensively validated on the widely used benchmark test datasets from PDBbind, including PDBbind-v2007, PDBbind-v2013 and PDBbind-v2016. Our model can outperform all existing models as far as we know. Further, our MP-GNN is used in coronavirus disease 2019 drug design. Based on a dataset with 185 complexes of inhibitors for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV/SARS-CoV-2), we evaluate their binding affinities using our MP-GNN. It has been found that our MP-GNN is of high accuracy. This demonstrates the great potential of our MP-GNN for the screening of potential drugs for SARS-CoV-2. Availability: The Multiphysical graph neural network (MP-GNN) model can be found in https://github.com/Alibaba-DAMO-DrugAI/MGNN. Additional data or code will be available upon reasonable request.
Construction and Validation of Early Software Size Estimation Models Based on ADAF-Adjusted ACD Metrics
Authors: Daud Marriam , Afzal Malik Ali
Published: June 2022

Software size estimation is a vital activity of software project planning and management. Early software size estimation is a challenging task due to the limited information available during the early phases of software development. The goal of this paper is to construct and validate early software size estimation models based on four analysis-to-design adjustment factor (ADAF)-adjusted analysis class diagram metrics (i.e. ADAF-adjusted number of classes, ADAF-adjusted number of attributes, ADAF-adjusted number of methods and ADAF-adjusted number of relationships) using stepwise multiple linear regression and leave-one-out cross-validation. Furthermore, the prediction accuracy of the best-performing proposed model is also compared with the model based on objective class points. The results of this comparison reveal that our proposed method reduces errors significantly (i.e. on average, 16% reduction in mean absolute residual and 24% reduction in mean squared error).
Risk of infective endocarditis associated with invasive dental procedures in patients with cardiac rhythm devices
Authors: Kim Ju Youn , Park Seung-Jung , Lee Sang Hwa , Seo Gi Hyeon , Jang Sung-Won
Published: June 2022

Aims

The incidence of infective endocarditis related to cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) has gradually increased. The risk associated with dental procedures in patients with CIED implantation and the need for prevention of infective endocarditis remain unclear. The present study investigated the incidence and risk of infective endocarditis associated with invasive dental procedures in patients with CIEDs.

Methods and results

We analysed a nationwide population-based cohort of patients with CIEDs who underwent dental procedures. We performed a self-controlled case series analysis and evaluated the incidence rate ratio of infective endocarditis 3 months after dental procedures. Of a total of 62 019 patients who underwent CIED implantation, 32 536 patients underwent at least one dental procedure during follow-up, and the mean number of dental procedures was 3.4 per patient. They were 152 infections with an incidence of 445 per 100 000 person-years in the dental procedure period and 500 events at an incidence of 255 per 100 000 person-years in the non-dental procedure period. The CIED-related infective endocarditis in the dental procedure period occurred significantly more frequently than during non-dental procedure periods (odds ratio, 1.75; 95% confidence interval, 1.48–2.05; P < 0.001). The mean time interval from dental procedure to infective endocarditis was 59.6 ± 47.3 days.

Conclusion

Invasive dental procedures are associated with an increased risk of infective endocarditis in those who underwent CIED implantation. Appropriate preventive therapy might be needed in these patients.
Between Grassroots Pressure and Local Polycracy: Street Renaming in Nazi Berlin
Authors: McSpadden James
Published: June 2022

The names of Berlin’s streets have attracted scrutiny throughout the twentieth century. When regimes collapsed and their pantheons of heroes fell into disrepute, some city streets named after individuals had to be changed: streets honouring republican luminaries no longer seemed appropriate during the Third Reich; militaristic street names seemed out of touch in Communist East Berlin; and reunited Berlin seemed the wrong place to honour the architects of the German Democratic Republic. Cultural geographers have spearheaded much of the research on renaming in twentieth-century Berlin, but their work has focused on the postwar era, when name changes were decreed by high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats. This article examines the byzantine process of street renaming in Nazi Berlin. Rather than realizing any grand plan of approved street names, Nazi-era renamings were shaped by bureaucratic polycracy, jockeying centres of power and ad hoc name changes. Case studies—including the renamings as Ludendorffstraße and Limastraße as well as thwarted renamings as Paula-Christopher-Ufer and Paul-Lincke-Straße—demonstrate the chaotic and unplanned nature of Nazi-era renamings. Ultimately, grassroots activism and individual requests from below determined the Nazi-era history of street renaming far more than any vetted and approved plan from above. This was not a well-orchestrated ‘street-sign revolution’, as happened during the postwar era.
Cost-effectiveness of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Authors: Siedner Mark J , Alba Christopher , Fitzmaurice Kieran P , Gilbert Rebecca F , Scott Justine A , Shebl Fatma M , Ciaranello Andrea , Reddy Krishna P , Freedberg Kenneth A
Published: June 2022

Background

Despite the advent of safe and effective coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines, pervasive inequities in global vaccination persist.

Methods

We projected health benefits and donor costs of delivering vaccines for up to 60% of the population in 91 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We modeled a highly contagious (Re at model start, 1.7), low-virulence (infection fatality ratio [IFR], 0.32%) “Omicron-like” variant and a similarly contagious “severe” variant (IFR, 0.59%) over 360 days, accounting for country-specific age structure and healthcare capacity. Costs included vaccination startup (US$630 million) and per-person procurement and delivery (US$12.46/person vaccinated).

Results

In the Omicron-like scenario, increasing current vaccination coverage to achieve at least 15% in each of the 91 LMICs would prevent 11 million new infections and 120 000 deaths, at a cost of US$0.95 billion, for an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of US$670/year of life saved (YLS). Increases in vaccination coverage to 60% would additionally prevent up to 68 million infections and 160 000 deaths, with ICERs <US$8000/YLS. ICERs were <US$4000/YLS under the more severe variant scenario and generally robust to assumptions about vaccine effectiveness, uptake, and costs.

Conclusions

Funding expanded COVID-19 vaccine delivery in LMICs would save hundreds of thousands of lives, be similarly or more cost-effective than other donor-funded global aid programs, and improve health equity.
A Reference Genome Assembly of the Bobcat, Lynx rufus
Authors: Lin Meixi , Escalona Merly , Sahasrabudhe Ruta , Nguyen Oanh , Beraut Eric , Buchalski Michael R , Wayne Robert K
Published: June 2022

The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a medium-sized carnivore well adapted to various environments and an indicator species for landscape connectivity. It is one of the 4 species within the extant Lynx genus in the family Felidae. Because of its broad geographic distribution and central role in food webs, the bobcat is important for conservation. Here we present a high-quality de novo genome assembly of a male bobcat located in Mendocino County, CA, as part of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP). The assembly was generated using the standard CCGP pipeline from a combination of Omni-C and HiFi technologies. The primary assembly comprises 76 scaffolds spanning 2.4 Gb, represented by a scaffold N50 of 142 Mb, a contig N50 of 66.2 Mb, and a BUSCO completeness score of 95.90%. The bobcat genome will be an important resource for the effective management and conservation of this species and comparative genomics exploration.
Collisional evolution of the trans-Neptunian region in an early dynamical instability scenario
Authors: Benavidez Paula G , Campo Bagatin Adriano , Curry Jacob , Álvarez-Candal Álvaro , Vincent Jean-Baptiste
Published: June 2022

Any early or late dynamical instability in the outer Solar system should have left their footprint on the trans-Neptunian object (TNO) populations. Here, we study the collisional and dynamical evolution of such populations numerically by an updated version of ALICANDEP, which suitably takes into account the onset of an early dynamical instability. Key parameters for collisional and dynamical evolution are chosen to match results with current observables. The new model (ALICANDEP-22) considers an original region located between 22 and 30 au, containing 20–30 M⊕ from which bodies are either dynamically ejected from the region or implanted into the current plutinos and hot classical trans-Neptunian belt. An in situ population of objects is also present since the beginning, corresponding to the current cold-classical population. Collisional and dynamical evolution is allowed starting from initial conditions accounting for streaming instability models and observational constraints. ALICANDEP-22 successfully reproduces observational constraints as well as the shape of the size-frequency distribution expected for the Trojan population. The model concludes that Arrokoth is likely a primordial body but cannot be conclusive on the origin of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The current presence of bodies larger than Pluto in the outer TNO population – waiting to be discovered – is compatible with the initial distributions that allow the model to match current constraints.
Three-dimensional simulation of a core-collapse supernova for a binary star progenitor of SN 1987A
Authors: Nakamura Ko , Takiwaki Tomoya , Kotake Kei
Published: June 2022

We present results from a self-consistent, non-rotating core-collapse supernova simulation in three spatial dimensions using a binary evolution progenitor model of SN 1987A. This $18.3\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ progenitor model is evolved from a slow merger of 14 and $9\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ stars, and it satisfies most of the observational constraints such as red-to-blue evolution, lifetime, total mass, and position in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram at collapse, and chemical anomalies. Our simulation is initiated from a spherically symmetric collapse and mapped to the three-dimensional coordinates at 10 ms after bounce to follow the non-spherical hydrodynamics evolution. We obtain the neutrino-driven shock revival for this progenitor at ∼350 ms after bounce, leading to the formation of a newly born neutron star with average gravitational mass ${\sim} 1.35\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ and spin period ∼0.1 s. We also discuss the detectability of gravitational wave and neutrino signals for a Galactic event with the same characteristics as SN 1987A. At our final simulation time (∼660 ms post-bounce), the diagnostic explosion energy, though still growing, is smaller (0.14 foe) compared to the observed value (1.5 foe). The 56Ni mass obtained from the simulation ($0.01\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$) is also smaller than the reported mass from SN 1987A ($0.07\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$). Long-term simulation including several missing physical ingredients in our three-dimensional models such as rotation, magnetic fields, or more elaborate neutrino opacities should be done to bridge the gap between the theoretical predictions and the observed values.
merlin, an improved framework for the reconstruction of high-quality genome-scale metabolic models
Authors: Capela João , Lagoa Davide , Rodrigues Ruben , Cunha Emanuel , Cruz Fernando , Barbosa Ana , Bastos José , Lima Diogo , Ferreira Eugénio C , Rocha Miguel , Dias Oscar
Published: June 2022

Genome-scale metabolic models have been recognised as useful tools for better understanding living organisms’ metabolism. merlin (https://www.merlin-sysbio.org/) is an open-source and user-friendly resource that hastens the models’ reconstruction process, conjugating manual and automatic procedures, while leveraging the user's expertise with a curation-oriented graphical interface. An updated and redesigned version of merlin is herein presented. Since 2015, several features have been implemented in merlin, along with deep changes in the software architecture, operational flow, and graphical interface. The current version (4.0) includes the implementation of novel algorithms and third-party tools for genome functional annotation, draft assembly, model refinement, and curation. Such updates increased the user base, resulting in multiple published works, including genome metabolic (re-)annotations and model reconstructions of multiple (lower and higher) eukaryotes and prokaryotes. merlin version 4.0 is the only tool able to perform template based and de novo draft reconstructions, while achieving competitive performance compared to state-of-the art tools both for well and less-studied organisms.
LTBK-05. Outcomes of Infants and Young Children with Newly Diagnosed Localized (M0) SHH Medulloblastoma Treated on The NEXT Consortium “Head Start” 4 Protocol
Authors: Dhall Girish , Stanek Joseph , Blue Megan , Patel Parth , Thomas Diana , Pierson Christopher , Tamrazi Benita , Mahadeo Kris M , Fleming Jessica , Bell Erica , Miller Katherine , Grischow Olivia , Liszkay Thomas , Coven Scott , Hastings Caroline , Tsui Karen , Mazewski Claire , Friedman Gregory , Moertel Christopher , Hanson Derek , Koschmann Carl , Brock Guy , Wong Kenneth , Chakravarti Arnab , Asgharzadeh Shahab , Nelson Marvin N , Boue Daniel , Biegel Jaclyn , Mardis Elaine , Finlay Jonathan
Published: June 2022

Advances in RNA and DNA profiling have identified four core molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma of prognostic significance: Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) subtype, WNT subtype, Group 3, and Group 4. Infants and young children with SHH medulloblastoma have demonstrated a favorable outcome in clinical trials utilizing either high-dose chemotherapy (“Head Start”) or a combination of intravenous and intraventricular methotrexate (HIT-SKK). Two recently conducted clinical trials (COG ACNS1221 and St. Jude – SJYC07) failed to demonstrate similar survival advantage with conventional dose chemotherapy and without intraventricular methotrexate. “Head Start” 4 (HS 4) is a prospective randomized clinical trial that tailors treatment based on medulloblastoma molecular subgroups and response to induction chemotherapy to compare the efficacy of one versus versus three (tandem) cycles of myeloablative therapy. Eligibility includes newly diagnosed children less than six years of age with localized medulloblastoma. Eligible patients with SHH medulloblastoma were considered “low-risk” and non-randomly assigned to receive three cycles of induction chemotherapy (vincristine, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and high-dose methotrexate) followed by consolidation with single cycle of myeloablative chemotherapy (thiotepa, carboplatin, etoposide) and autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell rescue. Patients with less than a complete response after three induction cycles received two additional cycles prior to consolidation therapy. Only children between 6 -10 years old, or those with confirmed residual tumor post-consolidation, were meant to receive irradiation after consolidation. Twenty-eight children with localized SHH medulloblastoma were enrolled on the trial with a median age of 2.1 years (range: 0.3-5.9 years). Median follow-up for this cohort is 29.6 months (range: 7.0-58.6 months). The estimated 3-year event-free (EFS) and overall survival (OS) is 96% (CI: 89-100%) and 100%, respectively. The estimated 3-year EFS for SHH subtype 1 and 2 patients is 100% and 95%, respectively (p=0.65). None of the M0 SHH medulloblastoma patients received irradiation.
Parliamentary Influence on Brexit Legislation, 2017–2019
Authors: Fleming Thomas G , James Lisa
Published: June 2022

The UK parliament’s role in the Brexit process has been closely scrutinised and fiercely contested. Despite this, we still have relatively little systematic evidence about parliament’s role in shaping Brexit legislation. This article therefore analyses the extent and nature of parliamentary influence on Brexit-related legislation between 2017 and 2019. Using new data on the legislative passage of 13 different bills, including over 3000 proposed amendments, we measure the prominence of three different kinds of parliamentary influence, and compare this to findings from earlier periods. We show that some Brexit bills had a fairly typical parliamentary experience, with very few successful non-government amendments but numerous government concessions. However, a dramatic change from earlier periods was the large number of Brexit-related bills that were simply paused once the government encountered parliamentary difficulties. Parliament’s influence over Brexit legislation in this period therefore showed elements of both continuity and change. This finding contributes to our understanding of the Brexit process, and of parliament’s role in recent British politics.
Unstable vacuum and fermion total reflection by the Klein step
Authors: Nakazato Hiromichi , Ochiai Makoto
Published: June 2022

The so-called Klein tunneling is re-examined within the framework of quantum field theory, but from a different point of view on the asymptotic states. We treat it as a one-dimensional scattering process of a fermion incident to a step potential and introduce asymptotic operators as appropriate t = ±∞ limits of the field operator responsible for the process. For the so-called Klein energy range, two asymptotic vacua naturally emerge which are defined as states annihilated by the asymptotic annihilation operators. They are related by a similarity transformation, which entails an unstable vacuum. When a fermion with incident energy in the Klein region is injected to the step, it is shown to be reflected with probability one, accompanied by fermion–anti-fermion pairs that are vacuum decay products.
The Rise of Finance Companies and FinTech Lenders in Small Business Lending
Authors: Gopal Manasa , Schnabl Philipp
Published: June 2022

We document that finance companies and FinTech lenders increased lending to small businesses after the 2008 financial crisis. We show that most of the increase substituted for a reduction in bank lending. In counties in which banks had a larger market share before the crisis, finance companies and FinTech lenders increased their lending more. We find no effect of reduced bank lending on employment, wages, and new business creation by 2016. Our results suggest that finance companies and FinTech lenders are major suppliers of credit to small businesses and played an important role in the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.

Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online
The Effect of Stock Liquidity on the Firm’s Investment and Production
Authors: Amihud Yakov , Levi Shai
Published: June 2022

We propose that stock market liquidity affects corporate investment and production. Illiquidity, which raises firms’ cost of capital, lowers investment in capital assets, R&D, and inventory. This effect holds after we control for endogeneity using exogenous liquidity events, the 2001 decimalization, and the 1997 Nasdaq reform and after employing instrumental variable estimation. Illiquidity affects investment regardless of firms’ financial constraints. Consequently, illiquidity induces firms to adopt less capital-intensive production processes. Illiquid firms have higher marginal productivity of capital, greater labor input increases for given increases in assets, and lower operating leverage, which means lower reliance on fixed costs.
The Effects of Capital Requirements on Good and Bad Risk-Taking
Authors: Pancost N Aaron , Robatto Roberto
Published: June 2022

We study capital requirement regulation in a dynamic quantitative model in which nonfinancial firms, as well as households, hold deposits. A novel general equilibrium channel that operates through firms deposits mitigates the cost of increasing capital requirements. In the calibrated model, (a) the optimal capital requirement is 7.3 percentage points higher than in a comparable model in which all the deposits are held by households, and (b) setting the capital requirement higher than the true optimum is not as costly as one would gauge from the comparable model. We also provide some independent evidence that supports our novel channel.
The Use of Noninvasive Multimodal Neuromonitoring in Adult Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 Infection
Authors: Battaglini Denise , Premraj Lavienraj , Huth Samuel , Fanning Jonathon , Whitman Glenn , Arora Rakesh C. , Bellapart Judith , Bastos Porto Diego , Taccone Fabio S. , Suen Jacky Y. , Li Bassi Gianluigi , Fraser John F. , Cho Sung-Min , Robba Chiara
Published: June 2022

Introduction:

Noninvasive neuromonitoring could be a valuable option for bedside assessment of cerebral dysfunction in patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). This systematic review aims to investigate the use of noninvasive multimodal neuromonitoring in critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 infection.

Methods:

MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and EMBASE databases were searched for studies investigating noninvasive neuromonitoring in patients with COVID-19 admitted to ICUs. The monitoring included transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD), the Brain4care Corp. cerebral compliance monitor (B4C), optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), near infrared spectroscopy, automated pupillometry, and electroencephalography (EEG).

Results:

Thirty-two studies that investigated noninvasive neuromonitoring techniques in patients with COVID-19 in the ICU were identified from a systematic search of 7001 articles: 1 study investigating TCD, ONSD and pupillometry; 2 studies investigating the B4C device and TCD; 3 studies investigating near infrared spectroscopy and TCD; 4 studies investigating TCD; 1 case series investigating pupillometry, and 21 studies investigating EEG. One hundred and nineteen patients underwent TCD monitoring, 47 pupillometry, 49 ONSD assessment, 50 compliance monitoring with the B4C device, and 900 EEG monitoring. Alterations in cerebral hemodynamics, brain compliance, brain oxygenation, pupillary response, and brain electrophysiological activity were common in patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU; these abnormalities were not clearly associated with worse outcome or the development of new neurological complications.

Conclusions:

The use of noninvasive multimodal neuromonitoring in critically ill COVID-19 patients could be considered to facilitate the detection of neurological derangements. Determining whether such findings allow earlier detection of neurological complications or guide appropriate therapy requires additional studies.
Ultrasound-Guided Compared With Non–Ultrasound-Guided Placement of Immediate Postpartum Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices
Authors: Martinez Oscar Parkerson , Wilder Lauren , Seal Patricia
Published: June 2022

Immediate postpartum placement of intrauterine devices (IUDs) can help reduce unintended short-interval pregnancy; however, the rate of spontaneous device expulsion is increased. The objective of this study is to evaluate the risk of expulsion with ultrasound-guided placement of immediate postpartum IUDs. Retrospective review of all patients receiving immediate postpartum IUDs after vaginal delivery at Prisma Health Richland Hospital from 2018 to 2020 was performed. Outcomes were available for 78 patients in the ultrasound-guided cohort and for 226 in the control cohort. The expulsion rate was 15.4% (95% CI 8.2–25.3%) for the ultrasound-guided cohort and 14.2% (95% CI 9.9–19.4%) for the control cohort. Our data suggest that using ultrasonography to guide placement of IUDs immediately after vaginal delivery is not associated with the risk of expulsion.
Accuracy of Surgeon Self-Reflection on Hysterectomy Quality Metrics
Authors: Milman Tal , Murji Ally , Matelski John , Shirreff Lindsay
Published: June 2022

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the accuracy of gynecologic surgeons' self-reflection across hysterectomy case volume, proportion of cases performed using a minimally invasive approach (minimally invasive rate), and complication rate and to assess whether accuracy is associated with specific surgeon or practice characteristics.

METHODS:

This was a cross-sectional cohort study of gynecologic surgeons at eight Canadian hospitals between 2016 and 2019. Surgeons estimated case volume, minimally invasive rate, and complication rate for hysterectomies for a 6-month period using an online survey. Kendall's tau-beta correlation coefficient (τ) measured association between estimated and actual performance. Differences (delta) between each surgeon's estimated and actual performance were calculated. The central tendency of differences among the cohort was represented by a median (median delta) and compared with 0 (perfect accuracy) using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Differences in characteristics between surgeons classified as underestimators, accurate estimators, and overestimators by tertile of delta were evaluated using analysis of variance and χ2 tests.

RESULTS:

Eighty-four surgeons across eight hospitals were included. Association between estimated and actual performance was moderate for case volume (τ=0.46, P<.001) and minimally invasive rate (τ=0.52, P<.001) and weak for complication rate (τ=0.14, P=.080). Surgeons underestimated their complication rate (median delta −7.0%, 95% CI −11.0% to −3.5%, P<.001) but accurately estimated case volume (median delta 1.0, 95% CI 0.0–2.5, P=.082) and minimally invasive rate (median delta 4.0%, 95% CI −4.5% to 10.0%, P=.337). Surgeons who underestimated their complication rates had higher average complication rates (33.7%) than those who estimated accurately (12.1%, P<.001) or overestimated (7.7%, P<.001) and were more likely to be fellowship-trained (P<.001).

CONCLUSION:

Attending gynecologic surgeons inaccurately reflect on their complication rates, and those who most underestimate their complication rates have higher rates than their peers.