bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multiple carbon incorporation strategies support microbial survival in cold subseafloor crustal fluids
Authors: Trembath-Reichert Elizabeth , Shah Walter Sunita R. , Ortiz Marc Alec Fontánez , Carter Patrick D. , Girguis Peter R. , Huber Julie A.
Published: April 2021

Quantitative assessments of microbial activity in crustal fluids yield potential strategies to supplement recalcitrant DOC.
Exposing unsaturated Cu
1
-O
2
sites in nanoscale Cu-MOF for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution
Authors: Cheng Weiren , Zhang Huabin , Luan Deyan , Lou Xiong Wen (David)
Published: April 2021

Unsaturated Cu
1
-O
2
sites are effectively exposed in nanoscale Cu-MOF for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.
Dual high-stroke and high–work capacity artificial muscles inspired by DNA supercoiling
Authors: Spinks Geoffrey M. , Martino Nicolas D. , Naficy Sina , Shepherd David J. , Foroughi Javad
Published: April 2021

High-stroke and energy-dense artificial muscles are made by mimicking DNA’s ability to contract by supercoiling.
SynNotch CAR circuits enhance solid tumor recognition and promote persistent antitumor activity in mouse models
Authors: Hyrenius-Wittsten Axel , Su Yang , Park Minhee , Garcia Julie M. , Alavi Josef , Perry Nathaniel , Montgomery Garrett , Liu Bin , Roybal Kole T.
Published: April 2021

SynNotch CAR circuits targeting specific solid tumor antigens enhance specificity and improve therapeutic efficacy by regulating T cell exhaustion.
Complete Genome Sequence of a
Blochmannia
Endosymbiont of
Colobopsis nipponica
Authors: Park Jongsun , Xi Hong , Park Jonghyun
Published: April 2021

Blochmannia
endosymbionts (
Gammaproteobacteria
) live in bacteriocytes, which are specialized cells found in the genus
Camponotus
and its neighbor genera. In this announcement, we describe the complete genome sequence of the
Blochmannia
endosymbiont of
Colobopsis nipponica
, which originated from a colony collected in the Republic of Korea.
History of the Larsen C Ice Shelf reconstructed from sub–ice shelf and offshore sediments
Authors: Smith J.A. , Hillenbrand C.-D. , Subt C. , Rosenheim B.E. , Frederichs T. , Ehrmann W. , Andersen T.J. , Wacker L. , Makinson K. , Anker P. , Venables E.J. , Nicholls K.W.
Published: April 2021

Because ice shelves respond to climatic forcing over a range of time scales, from years to millennia, an understanding of their long-term history is critically needed for predicting their future evolution. We present the first detailed reconstruction of the Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS), eastern Antarctic Peninsula (AP), based on data from sediment cores recovered from below and in front of the ice shelf. Sedimentologic and chronologic information reveals that the grounding line (GL) of an expanded AP ice sheet had started its retreat from the midshelf prior to 17.7 ± 0.53 calibrated (cal.) kyr B.P., with the calving line following ~6 k.y. later. The GL had reached the inner shelf as early as 9.83 ± 0.85 cal. kyr B.P. Since ca. 7.3 ka, the ice shelf has undergone two phases of retreat but without collapse, indicating that the climatic limit of LCIS stability was not breached during the Holocene. Future collapse of the LCIS would therefore confirm that the magnitudes of both ice loss along the eastern AP and underlying climatic forcing are unprecedented during the past 11.5 k.y.
Novel clinical presentation of aCRXrod-cone dystrophy
Authors: Gonzalez-Gonzalez Luis Alonso , Scanga Hannah , Traboulsi Elias , Nischal Ken K
Published: April 2021

We describe a novel clinical presentation of aCRXrod-cone dystrophy in a single family. Two boys ages 6 and 12 years presented with clinical and optical coherence tomography features suggestive of X-linked retinoschisis, but with optic nerve swelling without increased intracranial pressure. One patient had an electronegative electroretinogram (ERG) and the other had rod-cone dysfunction. Neither had retinoschisin (RS1) gene mutations. Biological mother and sister presented with retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) changes and abnormal cone-rod ERG responses. On further testing, next generation sequencing with array comparative genomic hybridisation showed a deletion in exon 4 of theCRXgene. Cystoid maculopathy in young male children can be difficult to distinguish fromRS1-associated schisis. Phenotypic variants within a family must prompt a thorough retinal dystrophy evaluation even with electronegative ERG in the presenting child. This novel phenotype forCRXpresents with optic nerve swelling and cystoid maculopathy in men, and RPE changes in women.
Tractional retinal detachment (‘crunch’ phenomenon) from intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injection in central retinal vein occlusion
Authors: Bromeo Albert John , Veloso Amadeo , Lerit Sweet Jorlene , Gomez Myron Carlo
Published: April 2021

Tractional retinal detachment is an uncommon complication of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injection wherein the drug triggers tractional retinal detachment as a result of fibrovascular membrane contraction. We present a case of a 42-year-old hypertensive woman diagnosed with chronic central retinal vein occlusion on both eyes. The right eye had total retinal detachment and neovascular glaucoma, while the left eye had retinal neovascularisation. Panretinal photocoagulation and intravitreal anti-VEGF injection was started on the left eye. However, she was lost to follow-up. She returned 4 months later with extensive tractional retinal detachment involving the macula on the left eye. She subsequently underwent vitrectomy with endolaser and silicone oil tamponade on the left eye. The anti-VEGF ‘crunch’ results from regression of fibrovascular proliferation with a concurrent increase in fibrosis, resulting in worsening retinal traction. With the widespread use of anti-VEGF agents, ophthalmologists need to be aware of this vision-threatening complication.
Acute liver failure after changing oral anticoagulant from apixaban to rivaroxaban
Authors: Rao Vikram , Munasinghe Anna
Published: April 2021

Rivaroxaban is a commonly used anticoagulant agent for treatment and prevention of thromboembolism. There are case reports demonstrating an association between its use and drug-induced liver injury. However, this has not been reported in a patient who previously tolerated apixaban. An 88-year-old man presented to hospital with worsening lethargy, jaundice and vomiting. He had severely elevated liver transaminases, an abnormal coagulation profile and elevated bilirubin in keeping with acute liver injury. This is in the context of having had his anticoagulation medication switched from apixaban to rivaroxaban 2 weeks prior. The patient recovered well after cessation of rivaroxaban, suggesting that it was the likely offending agent. The mechanism of rivaroxaban-induced liver injury remains to be investigated. Drug-induced liver injury should be discussed and monitored for as a potential adverse reaction when commencing rivaroxaban, even if a patient has previously tolerated a drug of the same class.
Risk factors for mental ill health in UK Army personnel: an overview
Authors: Ross David , Mackay D F , Bergman B P
Published: April 2021

Women in the UK military are more commonly diagnosed with a mental health disorder than men, but the reasons for this difference are not fully understood. This literature review identifies the risk factors for mental ill health in military personnel before serving, during service and as a veteran. The interaction of risk factors is complex and, in some cases, may be synergistic, such as experiencing adverse events in childhood and exposure to combat. Identification of risk factors allows further research to better understand differences between men and women, and the impact of these risk factors on army personnel. In turn this will inform better preventive strategies, which could be targeted at the primary, secondary or tertiary levels.
Effectiveness of interdisciplinary combined dermatology–gastroenterology–rheumatology clinical care compared to usual care in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: a parallel group, non-blinded, pragmatic randomised trial
Authors: Hjuler Kasper Fjellhaugen , Dige Anders , Agnholt Jørgen , Laurberg Trine Bay , Loft Anne Gitte , Møller Louise Faurskov , Christensen Robin , Iversen Lars
Published: April 2021

Introduction

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are associated with reduced health-related quality of life (HRQol), increased risk of somatic and psychiatric comorbidities and reduced socioeconomic status. Individuals with one IMID have an increased risk for developing other IMIDs. The unmet needs in the care of patients with IMIDs may result from a lack of patient-centricity in the usual monodisciplinary siloed approach to these diseases. The advantages of novel interdisciplinary clinics towards the traditional therapeutic approach have not been investigated. The overall aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary combined clinic intervention compared with usual care in a population of patients with the IMIDs: psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Our hypothesis is that an interdisciplinary combined clinic intervention will be more effective than usual care in improving clinical and patient-reported outcomes, and that a more effective screening and management of other IMIDs and comorbidities can be performed.

Methods and analysis

This is a randomised, usual care controlled, parallel-group pragmatic clinical trial. 300 consecutively enrolled participants with co-occurrence of at least two IMIDs are randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to either treatment in the interdisciplinary combined clinic or usual care. The study will consist of a 6-month active intervention period and a 6-month follow-up period where no intervention or incentives will be provided by the trial. The primary outcome is the change from baseline to 24 weeks on the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) Physical Component Summary. Additional patient-reported outcome measures and clinical measures are assessed as secondary outcomes.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval of this study protocol was established by the institutional review board of the study site. The findings from this trial will be disseminated via conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed journals, and by engagement with patient organisations.

Trial registration number

NCT04200690.
Potential clinical and economic impact of optimised maintenance therapy on discharged patients with COPD after hospitalisation for an exacerbation in China
Authors: Salem Ahmed , Zhong Heng , Ramos Mafalda , Lamotte Mark , Hu Hao
Published: April 2021

Objectives

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations requiring hospitalisation are a considerable burden, both clinically and economically. Although long-acting maintenance therapy is recommended in both the GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) and Chinese COPD guidelines, proper implementation is lacking. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical and economic impact of prescribing long-acting maintenance therapy to discharged patients with COPD after hospitalisation for an exacerbation in China by using an outcomes model.

Design

This health economic analysis was conducted using a Markov cohort model from the Chinese healthcare payer perspective. Two health states (alive and dead) were modelled, and exacerbations were included as possible events.

Setting

The target population was Chinese patients with COPD, >40 years of age, who were hospitalised for an exacerbation, with 1 year of follow-up. A recent COPD national prevalence study was referenced for population calculations.

Intervention

A hypothetical future scenario, where 100% of patients would receive long-acting maintenance therapy after hospitalisation for an exacerbation, was compared with the current scenario, in which only 38.5% of patients are receiving long-acting maintenance therapy after hospitalisation.

Outcome measures

Number of exacerbations, deaths and medical costs were measured.

Results

We estimated that there were approximately 4 million Chinese patients with COPD who were hospitalised annually due to an exacerbation. By prescribing long-acting maintenance therapy, our model predicted that 917 360 exacerbations and 4034 deaths could be avoided, translating into cost savings of ¥3.5 billion (US$0.5 billion). Scenario analysis also showed that if the rate of exacerbations requiring hospitalisation was higher than our base case analysis, cost savings could reach up to ¥10.7 billion (US$1.5 billion).

Conclusion

Administering long-acting maintenance therapy to more patients with COPD at hospital discharge could considerably reduce exacerbations and healthcare spending in China.
Ethical imperative of psychological safety in healthcare: in response to the Manifesto for healthcare simulation practice
Authors: Griswold Sharon , Uchida Toshiko , Issenberg S Barry , Motola Ivette , McGaghie William C , Gisondi Michael A , Lorenz Amelia , Barsuk Jeffrey H
Published: April 2021

Psychological safety is valued in other high-risk industries as an essential element to ensure safety. Yet, in healthcare, psychological safety is not mandatorily measured, quantified, or reported as an independent measure of safety. All members of the healthcare team’s voice and safety are important. Calls for personal, physical or patient safety should never be disregarded or met with retaliation.
Offsite effects of mining on the frequency and abundance of five understorey plant species in western Québec (Canada)
Authors: Boisvert Rémi , Yin Xiangbo , Fenton Nicole J.
Published: April 2021

Although the mining industry provides minerals and metals to the global market and represents important economic opportunities, it also constitutes a major anthropogenic disturbance in the ecosystems where it takes place. However, little is known about its offsite impacts on plant communities. We assessed the frequency and the abundance of five common boreal understorey plant species (Coptis trifolia (L.) Salisb., Cornus canadensis L., Linnaea borealis L., Lysimachia borealis (Raf.) U.Manns & Anderb., and Maianthemum canadense Desf.) at different distances around six mines in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nord-du-Québec (Québec). Frequency and (or) abundance of Coptis trifolia and M. canadense decreased near mines, suggesting that they might be sensitive to the loss of forest cover, particle deposition, and soil contamination induced by mining. Conversely, the frequency and abundance of Cornus canadensis increased near active mines, which indicates its resilience to the stress caused by mines and its ability to exploit the niche space left by more sensitive species. No effects on Linnaea borealis and Lysimachia borealis were observed. Our study suggests the possible presence of offsite impacts of mines on plant communities. Further studies considering enigmatic impacts should be conducted in order to develop our understanding of the broader environmental footprint of mining activity.
Fuel consumption and exhaust emissions under varying road condition considering effects of vehicles on other lanes
Authors: Gao Yanfei , Yang Jun , Wang Xibo , Wu Qingsong , Chen Fei
Published: April 2021

In order to investigate the collaborative physical effect between the micro vehicle system and the macro road transportation system, we propose a car-following model to describe the impacts of adjacent lanes on the driving behavior in the current lane under varying road condition at the macro level, and extend the model to explore the fuel consumption and exhaust emissions corresponding to the micro level. Numerical results at macro level indicate that during the starting and the braking processes, the interruption of vehicles on adjacent lanes can cause velocity fluctuation on the current lane; under small perturbation situations this influence becomes smaller (greater) when the road condition turns better (worse). The micro results involving fuel consumption and emissions show that, during the starting process the interruption from adjacent lanes can reduce the total fuel consumption and the total emissions on the current lane, but under small perturbation situations the trend is opposite; during the braking process, furthermore, the interruption has more complex influences on the total fuel consumption and exhaust emissions on the current lane.
Effect of thermal conductivity of substrate board for temperature control of electronic components: A numerical study
Authors: Kurhade Anant Sidhappa , Rao T. Venkateswara , Mathew V. K. , G. Patil Naveen
Published: April 2021

The current study deals with the numerical investigation of the substrate board characteristics using different materials (FR4, silicon cladding and copper cladding) on which nine nonidentical electronic components (ECs) are mounted, which are supplied with nonuniform heat flux. The study is conducted for natural and forced convection (3[Formula: see text]m/s and 5[Formula: see text]m/s) modes of heat transfer. It is observed that for 5[Formula: see text]m/s the temperature of the ECs is dropped by 30–47∘C using copper cladding board in comparison to FR4 and silicon cladding board. It is also noted that with the use of copper cladding board the velocity of air required for cooling the ECs is substantially reduced by 2[Formula: see text]m/s and the temperature of the IC chip is reduced by 1.50–11.12∘C.
Effective theories and non-minimal couplings in low-dimensional systems
Authors: Campos M. G. , Ospedal L. P. R.
Published: April 2021

Dimensionality aspects of non-minimal electromagnetic couplings are investigated. By means of the Foldy–Wouthuysen transformation, we attain (non-)relativistic interactions related to the non-minimal coupling in three-dimensional spacetime, for both the bosonic and fermionic fields. Next, we establish some comparisons and analyze particular situations in which the external electromagnetic fields are described either by Maxwell or Maxwell–Chern–Simons Electrodynamics. In addition, we consider the situation of a non-minimal coupling for the fermionic field in four dimensions, carry out its dimensional reduction to three dimensions and show that the three-dimensional scenario previously worked out can be recovered as a particular case. Finally, we discuss a number of structural aspects of both procedures.
Effects of geometric similarity ratio on the disturbance amplitude of shock-wave front in viscosity measurement
Authors: Yang Kai , Xu Quan-Yu , Wu Xiao , Ma Xiao-Juan
Published: April 2021

Geometric similarity ratio is one of the important factors that affects the disturbance amplitude of shock-wave front in viscosity measurement. In this paper, the Euler difference scheme of two-dimensional (2D) equations of viscous fluid mechanics is used to simulate the disturbance amplitude damping curves under different geometric similarity ratios, and the corresponding numerical solutions are shown. The samples of aluminum shocked to 80 GPa are taken as an example. The simulation results show that the initial conditions, material viscosity, wavelength, and sample geometric similarity ratio affect the evolution of the shock front sine wave disturbance. For flyer-impact flow field, the phase shift increases from 0 to a certain value with the viscosity coefficient for sample with wavelength [Formula: see text] mm and geometric similarity ratio [Formula: see text], 0.1. So, the geometric similarity method can be used to measure the viscosity of material. But it is found that the phase shift is sensitive to the geometric similarity ratio, which should be considered in Zaidel’s equation. So, some flyer-impact experiments will be carried out to determine the simulation results, and find the quantity relation of phase shift and viscosity of material in the future investigation.
White dwarfs and generalized uncertainty principle
Authors: Belfaqih I. H. , Maulana H. , Sulaksono A.
Published: April 2021

This work is motivated by the sign problem in a logarithmic parameter of black hole entropy and the existing more massive white dwarfs than the Chandrasekhar mass limit. We examine the quadratic, linear, and linear–quadratic generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) models within the virtue of recent masses and radii of white dwarfs. We consider the modification generated by introducing the minimal length on the degenerate Fermi gas equation of state (EoS) and the hydrostatic equation. For the latter, we applied Verlinde’s proposal regarding entropic gravity to derive the quantum corrected Newtonian gravity, which is responsible for modifying the hydrostatic equation. Through the models’ chi-square analysis, we have found that the observation data favor the quadratic than linear GUP models without mass limit. However, for the quadratic–linear GUP model, we can obtain the positive value of the free parameter [Formula: see text] as well as we can get mass limit more massive than the Chandrasekhar limit. In the linear–quadratic GUP model, the formation of stable massive white dwarfs than the Chandrasekhar limit is possible only if both parameters are not equal.
Description of the negative- and positive-parity states in odd-A Radon and Francium isotopes within the framework of the interacting Boson–Fermion model
Authors: Mahdi Musa M.
Published: April 2021

The negative- and positive-parity states and electromagnetic transitions for [Formula: see text]Rn and [Formula: see text]Fr nuclei have been studied by using the Interacting Boson–Fermion Approximation (IBFM-1). Based on our calculations, the spin assignments for some states with uncertain spin have been done. Energy spectra, electromagnetic transition probabilities and branching ratios in these isotopes are calculated and compared with available experimental data. The wave functions are analyzed to understand the nuclear structure. In addition, some predictions of levels that have no experimental data are presented such as spin and electromagnetic transitions. Good results were obtained with a decrease in the collectivity properties, especially for the most neutron-deficient isotopes.
First observation of collective rotational bands in neutron-rich 142La and the study of octupole/triaxial deformations in 142,143La
Authors: Luo Y. X. , Rasmussen J. O. , Hamilton J. H. , Ramayya A. V. , Wang E. H. , Frauendorf S. , Liang W. Y. , Jiao C. F. , Wu Q. , Liu H. L. , Xu F. R. , Liu Y. X. , Sun Y. , Hwang J. K. , Liu S. H. , Zhu S. J. , Brewer N. T. , Lee I. Y. , Ter-Akopian G. M. , Oganessian Yu. , Daniel A. V. , Donangelo R. , Ma W. C.
Published: April 2021

Collective rotational bands were observed for the first time in neutron-rich odd–odd [Formula: see text]La by means of [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] coincidence measurements of prompt fission [Formula: see text] rays from [Formula: see text]Cf using multi-detector array Gammasphere. Similarity between the yrast band of [Formula: see text]La and those of neighboring [Formula: see text]La, [Formula: see text]Ce was found and interpreted as quasiparticle excitations. PES calculations suggested triaxial deformation for the ground state of 142La. Considerable triaxial and near zero octupole deformations were deduced for the yrast band of [Formula: see text]La by the TRS model calculations. The band-crossing observed in the yrast band of [Formula: see text]La was interpreted to be caused by alignment of the (h[Formula: see text])2 proton pair, and the crossing frequency was best reproduced by the TRS calculations taking into account triaxial deformations. In contrast to the interpretations for the band crossing of [Formula: see text]La, alignments of the (i[Formula: see text])2 neutron pair were found to be responsible for the band-crossing of the yrast band in the neighboring even-N [Formula: see text]La, and triaxial degree of freedom was found to play a more significant role than octupole deformations in the nucleus, although its [Formula: see text] values deduced are large.
ASSET DEPENDENCY STRUCTURES AND PORTFOLIO INSURANCE STRATEGIES
Authors: MANTILLA-GARCIA DANIEL , TER HORST ENRIQUE A. , AUDEGUIL EMILIEN , MOLINA GERMAN
Published: April 2021

The estimation of the multiplier parameter of portfolio insurance strategies is crucial for its implementation because it determines the risk exposure to the performance-seeking asset (PSA) at each point in time. Studies that address the estimation of the multiplier’s upper bound have been limited to strategies that use as the safe asset a short-term bank account, in which case the co-movements of the safe and the PSA become irrelevant. However, in several relevant applications, portfolio insurance strategies use stochastic reference assets different from cash, such as the control of active-risk relative to a benchmark, or insuring a minimum level of retirement income. We find that the implications of taking into account the assets’ co-movements in the multiplier estimation can be crucial. In Monte Carlo simulations the multiplier doubles in size across scenarios, and the strategy using the proposed approach presents stochastic dominance over the strategy that ignores the asset dependency structure.
Structural Reliability Assessment Based on Subjective Uncertainty
Authors: Liu Ying , Zhao Jianyin , Qu Zhigang , Wang Lin
Published: April 2021

In traditional structural reliability analysis, the uncertainties, such as loads and strengths, are considered as random variables with specific probability distributions. When the information is insufficient, it is difficult to obtain the distribution functions. Hence, experts are usually asked to estimate the belief degrees. Uncertainty theory is a branch of mathematics used to model the belief degrees of experts. In this paper, the factors influencing system structures are treated as independent uncertain variables. Based on that, the concepts of safety margin, structural reliability and failure belief degree are proposed, respectively. Then the general calculation methods of structural reliability and failure belief degree for monotonic safety margins are given, which are not restricted by the specific distributions of variables and the safety margin forms. Furthermore, the reliability index is given for the structure with linear safety margin and normal uncertain variables, and the relationship between structural reliability and reliability index is proposed. In addition, the geometric property of reliability index is investigated and used to define the reliability index in non-linear safety margin and normal uncertain variables case. Finally, several numerical examples are employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods.
On neighborhood graphs: Domination, coloring and other properties
Authors: Das Angsuman
Published: April 2021

The neighborhood graph [Formula: see text] of a graph [Formula: see text] has the same vertex set as [Formula: see text] and two vertices are adjacent in [Formula: see text] if and only if they have a common neighbor in [Formula: see text]. We study the domination number, independence number and chromatic number of [Formula: see text] in terms of those of [Formula: see text]. Moreover we investigate various structural similarities between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text].
CFD analysis of Joule heating effect in a confined axi-symmetric swilling flow under the influence of axial magnetic field
Authors: Chandra Dash Subas
Published: April 2021

The effect of axial magnetic field along with axial temperature gradient, in a confined cylindrical cavity packed with incompressible electrical conducting fluid having a top rotating lid, has been investigated. Due to the presence of axial magnetic field, Joule heating effect is considered in this study. The governing parameters ranges are as follows: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] at Re[Formula: see text]1000, Pr[Formula: see text]0.015. It is found that the internal heat generation due to Joule heating in mixed convection is governed by interaction parameter and temperature gradient. However, the Joule heating effect has very less effect on primary flow in comparison to the secondary flow along the meridional plane.
Information extraction from digital social trace data with applications to social media and scholarly communication data
Authors: Mishra Shubhanshu
Published: April 2021

Shubhanshu is a Machine Learning Researcher at Twitter working on the Content Understanding Research team. He finished his Ph.D. at the iSchool, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he worked as a research assistant with Dr. Jana Diesner and Dr. Vetle Torvik on projects funded by NIH, NSF, KISTI, and Army Research Lab. Shubhanshu's research work is at the intersection of machine learning, information extraction, social network analysis, and visualizations. His work won then Best Student Paper Award at ASIS&T SIGMET workshop. Shubhanshu has published multiple open source projects as well as open datasets related to his research. More information about Shubhanshu can be found at: https://shubhanshu.com.

In his thesis, Shubhanshu worked on unifying the concept of information extraction from social media data and scholarly data under the framework of Digital Social Trace Data (DSTD). This framework allow us to answer questions like conceptual novelty, expertise in scientific communities as well as influential users in social media corpus. He further proposed improved information extraction techniques for social media text by using active, semi-supervised, and multi-task machine learning along with the inclusion of meta-data. Additionally, his work resulted in the development of a visualization framework for DSTD along with multiple open source tools and datasets. For more details visit https://shubhanshu.com/phd_thesis/.
Job Satisfaction of IT Workers in East Asia
Authors: Yeo Benjamin , Serenko Alexander , Palvia Prashant , Sato Osam , Sasaki Hiroshi , Yu Jie , Guo Yue
Published: April 2021

The purpose of this study is to explore the drivers of job satisfaction of IT workers in the East Asian context, particularly in Taiwan, Japan, and China. Using data collected from IT workers, decision tree inductions were employed to identify the predictors of job satisfaction. Results indicate that the level of education has no effect on job satisfaction. Overall, higher uncertainty avoidance results in lower job satisfaction, and more experienced IT workers appear to be more satisfied. In Taiwan, longer serving IT workers, who are likely to hold more senior positions and spend more time on the job, are more satisfied with their jobs. Similarly, in Japan, older IT workers are more satisfied. In China, job satisfaction of IT workers differs across job roles and industries. It is recommended that management practices and policies in Taiwan focus on bridging gaps between longer serving and newer IT workers in terms of their ability to handle ambiguous work situations; whereas in Japan, these should focus on providing work flexibility and stress management programs to allow room for family support. In China, these should be tailored to specific job roles and industries in view of their different experiences with job satisfaction determinants.
XERIS/APEX
Authors: Wai Richard
Published: April 2021

Modern day cloud native applications have become broadly representative of distributed systems in the wild. However, unlike traditional distributed system models with conceptually static designs, cloud-native systems emphasize dynamic scaling and on-line iteration (CI/CD). Cloud-native systems tend to be architected around a networked collection of distinct programs ("microservices") that can be added, removed, and updated in real-time.

Typically, distinct containerized programs constitute individual microservices that then communicate among the larger distributed application through heavy-weight protocols. Common communication stacks exchange JSON or XML objects over HTTP, via TCP/TLS, and incur significant overhead, particularly when using small size message sizes. Additionally, interpreted/JIT/VM-based languages such as Javascript (NodeJS/Deno), Java, and Python are dominant in modern microservice programs. These language technologies, along with the high-overhead messaging, can impose superlinear cost increases (hardware demands) on scale-out, particularly towards hyperscale and/or with latency-sensitive workloads.
Characterization of Effector–Target Interactions in Necrotrophic Pathosystems Reveals Trends and Variation in Host Manipulation
Authors: Friesen Timothy L. , Faris Justin D.
Published: April 2021

Great strides have been made in defining the details of the plant defense response involving biotrophic fungal and bacterial pathogens. The groundwork for the current model was laid by H.H. Flor and others who defined the gene-for-gene hypothesis, which is now known to involve effector-triggered immunity (ETI). PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) is also a highly effective response to most pathogens because of the recognition of common pathogen molecules by pattern recognition receptors. In this article, we consider the three pathogens that make up the foliar disease complex of wheat, Zymoseptoria tritici, Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, and Parastagonospora nodorum, to review the means by which necrotrophic pathogens circumvent, or outright hijack, the ETI and PTI pathways to cause disease.
The effect of young and old ex vivo human serum on cellular protein synthesis and growth in an in vitro model of aging
Authors: Allen Sophie L. , Marshall Ryan N. , Edwards Sophie J. , Lord Janet M. , Lavery Gareth G. , Breen Leigh
Published: April 2021

In vitro models of muscle aging are useful for understanding mechanisms of age-related muscle loss and aiding the development of targeted therapies. To investigate mechanisms of age-related muscle loss in vitro utilizing ex vivo human serum, fasted blood samples were obtained from four old (72 ± 1 yr) and four young (26 ± 3 yr) men. Older individuals had elevated levels of plasma CRP, IL-6, HOMA-IR, and lower concentric peak torque and work-per-repetition compared with young participants ( P < 0.05). C2C12 myotubes were serum and amino acid starved for 1 h and conditioned with human serum (10%) for 4 h or 24 h. After 4 h, C2C12 cells were treated with 5 mM leucine for 30 min. Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) was determined through the surface sensing of translation (SUnSET) technique and regulatory signaling pathways were measured via Western blot. Myotube diameter was significantly reduced in myotubes treated with serum from old, in comparison to young donors (84%, P < 0.001). MPS was reduced in myotubes treated with old donor serum, compared with young serum before leucine treatment (32%, P < 0.01). MPS and the phosphorylation of Akt, p70S6K, and eEF2 were increased in myotubes treated with young serum in response to leucine treatment, with a blunted response identified in cells treated with old serum ( P < 0.05). Muscle protein breakdown signaling pathways did not differ between groups. In summary, we show that myotubes conditioned with serum from older individuals had decreased myotube diameter and MPS compared with younger individuals, potentially driven by low-grade systemic inflammation.
Characterization of haustral activity in the human colon
Authors: Huizinga Jan D. , Pervez Maham , Nirmalathasan Sharjana , Chen Ji-Hong
Published: April 2021

Here, we present the first full characterization and quantification of motor patterns that we infer to be confined to single haustra, both intrahaustral activity and haustral boundary activity, in the human colon using high-resolution manometry. Haustral activity is intermittent but consistently present in about half of the haustra. Intrahaustral activity presents as a cyclic motor pattern of mixed propagation direction dominated by simultaneous pressure waves that can resolve into checkerboard segmentation, allowing for mixing, absorption, and stool formation.
A systematic analysis of protein-altering exonic variants in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Moll Matthew , Jackson Victoria E. , Yu Bing , Grove Megan L. , London Stephanie J. , Gharib Sina A. , Bartz Traci M. , Sitlani Colleen M. , Dupuis Josée , O’Connor George T. , Xu Hanfei , Cassano Patricia A. , Patchen Bonnie Kaufmann , Kim Woo Jin , Park Jinkyeong , Kim Kun Hee , Han Buhm , Barr R. Graham , Manichaikul Ani , Nguyen Jennifer N. , Rich Stephen S. , Lahousse Lies , Terzikhan Natalie , Brusselle Guy , Sakornsakolpat Phuwanat , Liu Jiangyuan , Benway Christopher J. , Hall Ian P. , Tobin Martin D. , Wain Louise V. , Silverman Edwin K. , Cho Michael H. , Hobbs Brian D.
Published: April 2021

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified regions associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). GWASs of other diseases have shown an approximately 10-fold overrepresentation of nonsynonymous variants, despite limited exonic coverage on genotyping arrays. We hypothesized that a large-scale analysis of coding variants could discover novel genetic associations with COPD, including rare variants with large effect sizes. We performed a meta-analysis of exome arrays from 218,399 controls and 33,851 moderate-to-severe COPD cases. All exome-wide significant associations were present in regions previously identified by GWAS. We did not identify any novel rare coding variants with large effect sizes. Within GWAS regions on chromosomes 5q, 6p, and 15q, four coding variants were conditionally significant ( P < 0.00015) when adjusting for lead GWAS single-nucleotide polymorphisms A common gasdermin B ( GSDMB) splice variant (rs11078928) previously associated with a decreased risk for asthma was nominally associated with a decreased risk for COPD [minor allele frequency (MAF) = 0.46, P = 1.8e-4]. Two stop variants in coiled-coil α-helical rod protein 1 ( CCHCR1), a gene involved in regulating cell proliferation, were associated with COPD (both P < 0.0001). The SERPINA1 Z allele was associated with a random-effects odds ratio of 1.43 for COPD (95% confidence interval = 1.17–1.74), though with marked heterogeneity across studies. Overall, COPD-associated exonic variants were identified in genes involved in DNA methylation, cell-matrix interactions, cell proliferation, and cell death. In conclusion, we performed the largest exome array meta-analysis of COPD to date and identified potential functional coding variants. Future studies are needed to identify rarer variants and further define the role of coding variants in COPD pathogenesis.
Dynamic cytosolic Ca2+ and force responses to muscarinic stimulation in airway smooth muscle
Authors: Han Young-Soo , Delmotte Philippe F. , Arteaga Grace M. , Sieck Gary C.
Published: April 2021

During agonist stimulation of airway smooth muscle (ASM), agonists such as ACh induce a transient increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]cyt), which leads to a contractile response [excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling]. Previously, the sensitivity of the contractile response of ASM to elevated [Ca2+]cyt (Ca2+ sensitivity) was assessed as the ratio of maximum force to maximum [Ca2+]cyt. However, this static assessment of Ca2+ sensitivity overlooks the dynamic nature of E-C coupling in ASM. In this study, we simultaneously measured [Ca2+]cyt and isometric force responses to three concentrations of ACh (1, 2.6, and 10 μM). Both maximum [Ca2+]cyt and maximum force responses were ACh concentration dependent, but force increased disproportionately, thereby increasing static Ca2+ sensitivity. The dynamic properties of E-C coupling were assessed in several ways. The temporal delay between the onset of ACh-induced [Ca2+]cyt and onset force responses was not affected by ACh concentration. The rates of rise of the ACh-induced [Ca2+]cyt and force responses increased with increasing ACh concentration. The integral of the phase-loop plot of [Ca2+]cyt and force from onset to steady state also increased with increasing ACh concentration, whereas the rate of relaxation remained unchanged. Although these results suggest an ACh concentration-dependent increase in the rate of cross-bridge recruitment and in the rate of rise of [Ca2+]cyt, the extent of regulatory myosin light-chain (rMLC20) phosphorylation was not dependent on ACh concentration. We conclude that the dynamic properties of [Ca2+]cyt and force responses in ASM are dependent on ACh concentration but reflect more than changes in the extent of rMLC20 phosphorylation.
Role of olfactory receptor78 in carotid body-dependent sympathetic activation and hypertension in murine models of chronic intermittent hypoxia
Authors: Peng Ying-Jie , Su Xiaoyu , Wang Benjamin , Matthews Timothy , Nanduri Jayasri , Prabhakar Nanduri R.
Published: April 2021

Carotid body (CB) sensory nerve activation is essential for sympathetic nerve excitation and hypertension in rodents treated with chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) simulating blood O2 profiles during obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Here, we report that CIH-treated mice and hemeoxygenase (HO)-2-deficient mice, which show OSA exhibit sympathetic excitation, hypertension, and CB activation. These effects are absent in Olfr78 null and Olfr78/HO-2 double null mice.
Blood-brain barrier dysfunction in hemorrhagic transformation: a therapeutic opportunity for nanoparticles and melatonin
Authors: Figueroa Esteban G. , González-Candia Alejandro , Caballero-Román Aitor , Fornaguera Cristina , Escribano-Ferrer Elvira , García-Celma María José , Herrera Emilio A.
Published: April 2021

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide, estimated that one-sixth of the world population will suffer it once in their life. The most common type of this medical condition is the ischemic stroke (IS), produced by a thrombotic or embolic occlusion of a major cerebral artery or its branches, leading to the formation of a complex infarct region caused by oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, and endothelial dysfunction. Nowadays, the immediate treatment for IS involves thrombolytic agents or mechanical thrombectomy, depending on the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). A common stroke complication is the hemorrhagic transformation (HT), which consists of bleeding into the ischemic brain area. Currently, better treatments for IS are urgently needed. As such, the neurohormone melatonin has been proposed as a good candidate due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects, particularly against lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress during brain ischemia. Here, we proposed to develop intravenous or intranasal melatonin nanoformulation to specifically target the brain in patients with stroke. Nowadays, the challenge is to find a formulation able to cross the barriers and reach the target organ in an effective dose to generate the pharmacological effect. In this review, we discuss the current literature about stroke pathophysiology, melatonin properties, and its potential use in nanoformulations as a novel therapeutic approach for ischemic stroke.
An Improved Empirical Mode Decomposition Method for Vibration Signal
Authors: Liu Xiaohan , Shi Guangfeng , Liu Weina
Published: April 2021

With the development of electronic measurement and signal processing technology, nonstationary and nonlinear signal characteristics are widely used in the fields of error diagnosis, system recognition, and biomedical instruments. Whether these features can be extracted effectively usually affects the performance of the entire system. Based on the above background, the research purpose of this paper is an improved vibration empirical mode decomposition method. This article introduces a method of blasting vibration signal processing—Differential Empirical Mode Decomposition (DEMD), combined with phosphate rock engineering blasting vibration monitoring test, and Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) to compare and analyze the frequency screening of blasting vibration signals, the aliasing distortion, and the power spectrum characteristics of the decomposed signal. The results show that compared with EMD, DEMD effectively suppresses signal aliasing and distortion, and from the characteristics of signal power spectrum changes, DEMD extracts different dominant frequency components, and the frequency screening effect of blasting vibration signals is superior to EMD. It can bring about an obvious improvement in accuracy, and the calculation time is about 4 times that of the EMD method. Based on the ground analysis of ground motion signals, this paper uses the EMD algorithm to analyze measured ground blast motion signals and study its velocity characteristics and differential time, which provides a new way of studying motion signals.
A Comparative Study between GLP and GBWM
Authors: Abdulaal Reda M. S. , Bafail Omer A.
Published: April 2021

When decision-makers’ judgments are uncertain, they often express their opinions using grey linguistic variables. Once used, the data often retains its grey nature throughout all subsequent decision-making iterations. Multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) is a tool used when making complicated decisions and in circumstances where several criteria require evaluation to choose the most desirable option. Grey data serves as the basis for several MCDM methods. This paper compares two MCDM methods, Grey-Linear-Programming (GLP) and Grey-Best-Worst-Method (GBWM), in terms of the weights of decision criteria and their rankings. Moreover, Grey-The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (GTOPSIS) was used to rank the weights of the two methods. Study findings demonstrated that GBWM requires more mathematical calculations than GLP, based on linear programming's classic simplex method. On the other hand, when GTOPSIS follows GLP, the alternative rank does not change compared to when GTOPSIS followed GBWM. For the applications used in this comparison, GLP procedure is considered simpler than GBWM procedure.
Map Ideal of Type the Domain of
r
-Cesàro Matrix in the Variable Exponent

ℓ

t

.

and Its Eigenvalue Distributions
Authors: Bakery Awad A. , Mohamed OM Kalthum S. K.
Published: April 2021

In this article, we define a new sequence space generated by the domain of

r

-Cesàro matrix in Nakano sequence space. Some geometric and topological properties of this sequence space, the multiplication maps defined on it, and the eigenvalue distributions of map ideal with

s

-numbers that belong to this sequence space have been examined.