bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Solving nonlinear soliton equations using improved physics-informed neural networks with adaptive mechanisms
Authors: Guo Yanan , Cao Xiaoqun , Peng Kecheng
Published: April 2023

Partial differential equations (PDEs) are important tools for scientific research and are widely used in various fields. However, it is usually very difficult to obtain accurate analytical solutions of PDEs, and numerical methods to solve PDEs are often computationally intensive and very time-consuming. In recent years, Physics Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) have been successfully applied to find numerical solutions of PDEs and have shown great potential. All the while, solitary waves have been of great interest to researchers in the field of nonlinear science. In this paper, we perform numerical simulations of solitary wave solutions of several PDEs using improved PINNs. The improved PINNs not only incorporate constraints on the control equations to ensure the interpretability of the prediction results, which is important for physical field simulations, in addition, an adaptive activation function is introduced. By introducing hyperparameters in the activation function to change the slope of the activation function to avoid the disappearance of the gradient, computing time is saved thereby speeding up training. In this paper, the mKdV equation, the improved Boussinesq equation, the Caudrey–Dodd–Gibbon–Sawada–Kotera equation and the p-gBKP equation are selected for study, and the errors of the simulation results are analyzed to assess the accuracy of the predicted solitary wave solution. The experimental results show that the improved PINNs are significantly better than the traditional PINNs with shorter training time but more accurate prediction results. The improved PINNs improve the training speed by more than 1.5 times compared with the traditional PINNs, while maintaining the prediction error less than 10−2 in this order of magnitude.
Assessing high-energy x-ray and proton irradiation effects on electrical properties of P-GaN and N-GaN thin films
Authors: Zhong Aoxue , Wang Lei , Tang Yun , Yang Yongtao , Wang Jinjin , Zhu Huiping , Wu Zhenping , Tang Weihua , Li Bo
Published: April 2023

The effects of ionizing and displacement irradiation of high-energy x-ray and 2-MeV proton on GaN thin films were investigated and compared in this study. The electrical properties of both P-GaN and N-GaN, separated from power devices, were gauged for fundamental analysis. It was found that the electrical properties of P-GaN were improved as a consequence of the disruption of the Mg–H bond induced by high-dose x-ray irradiation, as indicated by the Hall and circular transmission line model. Specifically, under a 100-Mrad(Si) x-ray dose, the specific contact resistance ρ
c of P-GaN decreased by 30%, and the hole carrier concentration increased significantly. Additionally, the atom displacement damage effect of a 2-MeV proton of 1 × 1013 p/cm2 led to a significant degradation of the electrical properties of P-GaN, while those of N-GaN remained unchanged. P-GaN was found to be more sensitive to irradiation than N-GaN thin film. The effectiveness of x-ray irradiation in enhancing the electrical properties of P-GaN thin films was demonstrated in this study.
Investigation of the tetraquark states
in the improved chromomagnetic interaction model*
Authors: Guo Tao , Li Jianing , Zhao Jiaxing , He Lianyi
Published: April 2023

In the framework of the improved chromomagnetic interaction model, we complete a systematic study of the S-wave tetraquark states

(

, and

) with different quantum numbers:

,

, and

. The mass spectra of tetraquark states are predicted, and the possible decay channels are analyzed by considering both the angular momentum and

-parity conservation. The recently observed hidden-charm tetraquark states with strangeness, such as

,

, and

, can be well explained in our model. Additionally, according to the wave function of each tetraquark state, we find that the low-lying states of each

configuration have a large overlap to the

and

meson basis, instead of the

and

meson basis. This indicates that one can search these tetraquark states in future experiments via the channel of

and

mesons.
Elastic scattering based on energy-dependent relativistic Love-Franey model at energies between 20 and 800 MeV*
Authors: Wei Si-Na , Feng Zhao-Qing
Published: April 2023

In order to investigate the elastic scattering, we fit scattering observables of the weighted fits (WF16) with the relativistic Love-Franey (RLF) model. The masses, cutoff parameters, and initial coupling strengths of RLF are assumed to be independent of energy. Because the energy boundary between low energy and high energy is around 200 MeV, the masses, cutoff parameters, and initial coupling strengths of RLF are obtained by fitting scattering observables of WF16 at an incident energy of 200 MeV. With the masses, cutoff parameters, and initial coupling strengths as the input, the energy-dependent RLF model is constructed over the laboratory energy range of 20 to 800 MeV within a unified fit. To examine the validity of this fit, we investigate p+

elastic scattering for various energies. Although the scattering observables of pp and pn of 200 MeV best fit the values of WF16, the RLF model of 200 MeV without the Pauli blocking (PB) corrections fails to describe the experimental differential cross sections, analyzing powers, and spinrotation functions. When the PB corrections are taken into account for various energies, the RLF model can well describe the experimental data of p+

elastic scattering.
Searching For Wide Binary Stars with Non-coeval Components in the Southern Sky
Authors: Kniazev Alexey , Malkov Oleg
Published: April 2023

We have completed our observational program to search for wide binary systems with non-coeval components in the southern sky and report our results here. The final set of four systems was spectroscopically investigated in this paper. No binary systems with components of different ages were found among them. Taking into account our previous studies, we estimate the fraction of such binaries (i.e., binaries formed, presumably, by capture) to be not higher than 0.06%. The study will be continued on the northern sky.
LISC Catalog of Open Clusters III. 83 Newly Found Galactic Disk Open Clusters Using Gaia EDR3
Authors: Chi Huanbin , Wang Feng , Li Zhongmu
Published: April 2023

As groups of coeval stars born from the same molecular cloud, an open cluster (OC) is an ideal laboratory for studying the structure and dynamical evolution of the Milky Way. The release of high-precision Gaia Early Data Release 3 (Gaia EDR3) and modern machine-learning methods offer unprecedented opportunities to identify OCs. In this study, we extended conventional HDBSCAN (e-HDBSCAN) for searching for new OCs in Gaia EDR3. A pipeline was developed based on the parallel computing technique to blindly search for OCs from Gaia EDR3 within Galactic latitudes

b

< 25°. As a result, we obtained 3787 star clusters, of which 83 new OCs were reported after cross-match and visual inspection. At the same time, the main star cluster parameters are estimated by color–magnitude diagram fitting. The study significantly increases the sample size and physical parameters of OCs in the catalog of OCs. It shows the incompleteness of the census of OCs across our Galaxy.
Transverse Velocity Field Measurements in High-resolution Solar Images Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Shang Zhen-Hong , Mu Si-Yu , Ji Kai-Fan , Qiang Zhen-Ping
Published: April 2023

To address the problem of the low accuracy of transverse velocity field measurements for small targets in high-resolution solar images, we proposed a novel velocity field measurement method for high-resolution solar images based on PWCNet. This method transforms the transverse velocity field measurements into an optical flow field prediction problem. We evaluated the performance of the proposed method using the Hα and TiO data sets obtained from New Vacuum Solar Telescope observations. The experimental results show that our method effectively predicts the optical flow of small targets in images compared with several typical machine- and deep-learning methods. On the Hα data set, the proposed method improves the image structure similarity from 0.9182 to 0.9587 and reduces the mean of residuals from 24.9931 to 15.2818; on the TiO data set, the proposed method improves the image structure similarity from 0.9289 to 0.9628 and reduces the mean of residuals from 25.9908 to 17.0194. The optical flow predicted using the proposed method can provide accurate data for the atmospheric motion information of solar images. The code implementing the proposed method is available on https://github.com/lygmsy123/transverse-velocity-field-measurement.
Relation between Mass and Radius of Exoplanets Distinguished by their Density
Authors: Betzler Alberto S. , Miranda José G. V.
Published: April 2023

The formation of the solar system has been studied since the 18th century and received a boost in 1995 with the discovery of the first exoplanet, 51 Pegasi b. The investigations increased the number of confirmed planets to about 5400 to date. The possible internal structure and composition of these planets can be inferred from the relationship between planet mass and radius, M–R. We have analyzed the M–R relation of a selected sample of iron-rock and ice-gas planets using a fractal approach to their densities. The application of fractal theory is particularly useful to define the physical meaning of the proportionality constant and the exponent in an empirical M–R power law in exoplanets, but this does not necessarily mean that they have an internal fractal structure. The M–R relations based on this sample are M = (1.46 ± 0.08)R
2.6±0.2 for the rocky population (3.6 ≤ ρ ≤ 14.3 g cm−3), with 1.5 ≤ M ≤ 39 M
⊕, and M = (0.27 ± 0.04)R
2.7±0.2 for ice-gas planets (0.3 ≤ ρ ≤ 2.1 g cm−3) with 5.1 ≤ M ≤ 639 M
⊕ (or ≃2 M
J) and orbital periods greater than 10 days. Both M–R relations have in their density range a great predictive power for the determination of the mass of exoplanets and even for the largest icy moons of the solar system. The average fractal dimension of these planets is D = 2.6 ± 0.1, indicating that these objects likely have a similar degree of heterogeneity in their densities and a nearly similar composition in each sample. The M–R diagram shows a “gap” between ice-gas and iron-rock planets. This gap is a direct consequence of the density range of these two samples. We empirically propose an upper mass limit of about 100 M
⊕, so that an M–R relation for ice-gas planets in a narrow density range is defined by M ∝ R
3.
Impact of resonant magnetic perturbation on blob motion and structure using a gas puff imaging diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak
Authors: YUAN Jinbang , XU Min , YU Yi , YUAN Boda , NIE Lin , JI Xiaoquan , SUN Tengfei , WANG Ao , LI Jiquan
Published: April 2023

The impact of resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) on blob motion and structure in the SOL of the HL-2A tokamak is studied using a gas puff imaging diagnostic. Ellipse fitting is applied to study the structure and motion of blobs quantitatively. The radial locations, amplitudes and scale sizes of blobs are obtained based on the fitted ellipse. Furthermore, based on the measurement of blob location, the radial and poloidal velocities of blobs are calculated. With the application of RMP, the edge poloidal shear flow is significantly weakened and the wave number spectrum changes from quasisymmetric to significantly up-down asymmetric. The application of RMP also causes the detected blob location to be much further into the far scrape-off layer (SOL) and increases the blob amplitude. Blob poloidal velocity in the SOL is slowed. Larger-size and longer-lifetime blobs are observed with RMP. With the application of RMP, stronger-amplitude and larger-size blobs are detected in the far SOL and they may cause a more serious erosion problem to the first wall.
Support-Giving Is Associated With Lower Systemic Inflammation
Authors: Inagaki Tristen K , Alvarez Gabriella M , Orehek Edward , Ferrer Rebecca A , Manuck Stephen B , Abaya Nicole M , Muscatell Keely A
Published: April 2023

Background

Support-giving has emerged as a health-relevant social behavior, such that giving more support is associated with better physical health. However, biological mechanisms by which support-giving and health are linked remain unclear. Whether support-giving uniquely relates to health relative to other psychosocial factors is also an open research question.

Purpose

Two studies test the hypothesis that support-giving is uniquely (over-and-above other psychosocial factors) related to lower systemic inflammation, a biological correlate of health.

Methods

Cross-sectional associations of support-giving with markers of systemic inflammation (i.e., interleukin-6 [IL-6], C-reactive protein [CRP]) were examined in two independent samples of midlife adults (Study 1, n = 746; Study 2, n = 350).

Results

Consistent with hypotheses, giving to more social targets (to family and friends, and also volunteering for various causes), but not receiving support from similar targets, was associated with lower IL-6. In conceptual replication and extension with a different measure of support-giving, higher frequency of support-giving behavior was associated with lower IL-6, even after adjusting for social network size and individual differences in social desirability. There were no associations between support-giving and CRP in either sample.

Conclusions

Future research needs to establish causality and directly test mechanistic pathways, but together, findings reaffirm the health-relevance of support-giving behavior and shed light on a promising biological mechanism by which such effects may occur.
Quasi-Experimental Evidence on the Impact of State Recycling and Deposit Laws: Household Recycling Following Interstate Moves
Authors: Viscusi W Kip , Huber Joel , Bell Jason
Published: April 2023

This article estimates the effects on recycling behavior of state recycling laws and deposit laws based on changes in household recycling before and after interstate moves. Estimates from a national panel dataset of 1,498 households who moved between states provide a quasi-experimental test otherwise not possible given long-term stability of such laws in any state. Compared to national average recycling rates, moves to states with deposits for beverage containers increased the number of material types recycled by 41%. More stringent recycling laws are also effective, but they have a smaller impact. Recycling laws boosted the number of materials recycled by 9%, with the largest effect being the 17% increase in the recycling rate for glass. Moves from states with deposit laws to states without such laws decreased the number of materials recycled by 13%. Shifts out of states with stringent laws only had statistically significant effects for plastic, which exhibited a 12% decrease after such a move.
Identifying covariate-related subnetworks for whole-brain connectome analysis
Authors: Chen Shuo , Zhang Yuan , Wu Qiong , Bi Chuan , Kochunov Peter , Hong L Elliot
Published: April 2023

Whole-brain connectome data characterize the connections among distributed neural populations as a set of edges in a large network, and neuroscience research aims to systematically investigate associations between brain connectome and clinical or experimental conditions as covariates. A covariate is often related to a number of edges connecting multiple brain areas in an organized structure. However, in practice, neither the covariate-related edges nor the structure is known. Therefore, the understanding of underlying neural mechanisms relies on statistical methods that are capable of simultaneously identifying covariate-related connections and recognizing their network topological structures. The task can be challenging because of false-positive noise and almost infinite possibilities of edges combining into subnetworks. To address these challenges, we propose a new statistical approach to handle multivariate edge variables as outcomes and output covariate-related subnetworks. We first study the graph properties of covariate-related subnetworks from a graph and combinatorics perspective and accordingly bridge the inference for individual connectome edges and covariate-related subnetworks. Next, we develop efficient algorithms to exact covariate-related subnetworks from the whole-brain connectome data with an $\ell_0$ norm penalty. We validate the proposed methods based on an extensive simulation study, and we benchmark our performance against existing methods. Using our proposed method, we analyze two separate resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data sets for schizophrenia research and obtain highly replicable disease-related subnetworks.
The BJD’s approach to global health and equity in publishing: adding author reflexivity statements
Authors: Freeman Esther E , Padovese Valeska , Singal Archana , Yotsu Rie , Oyesiku Linda , James Alaina J , Bravo Francisco G , Mosam Anisa
Published: April 2023

The editors of the BJD’s Global Health and Equity section describe updated submission guidelines for their section, highlighting the role of structured author reflexivity statements in improving equitable publishing practices in the dermatological literature.
Missing melanomas in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: 2485 fewer melanoma diagnoses in 2020 than in 2019
Authors: Ibrahim Lena S , Venables Zoe C , McPhail Sean , Levell Nick J
Published: April 2023

Malignant melanoma (MM) can have a high mortality if diagnosed late. Three waves of COVID-19 in 2020–21 led to periods of reduced healthcare provision in England. Although most cancer services were maintained, factors such as patient anxiety, staff and facility redeployment, and staff sickness delayed cancer diagnoses. We aimed to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on MM diagnoses and stage at presentation in England
Early improvements in signs and symptoms predict clinical response to baricitinib in patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis
Authors: Bieber Thomas , Thyssen Jacob P , Irvine Alan D , Tsunemi Yuichiro , Chen Yun-Fei , Sun Luna , Schloebe Andrea , Riedl Elisabeth , Cork Michael J
Published: April 2023

Background

Early prediction of therapeutic response can optimize treatment strategies in atopic dermatitis (AD). Baricitinib is approved for moderate-to-severe AD in Europe, Japan and other countries.

Objectives

To identify early clinical improvements that can reliably predict a later clinical response to baricitinib in adults with moderate-to-severe AD.

Methods

Using data from one topical corticosteroid combination study [BREEZE-AD7 (NCT03733301)] and data pooled from two monotherapy studies [(BREEZE-AD1 (NCT03334396) and BREEZE-AD2 (NCT03334422)], we calculated the sensitivity and specificity, along with the positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV), of predefined changes in single and combined clinical scores at weeks 2, 4 and 8, to predict clinical response at week 16. Clinical response was defined as ≥ 75% improvement in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI 75), ≥ 4-point improvement in Itch Numeric Rating Scale (Itch NRS ≥ 4), or a combination of both.

Results

Composite predictors had higher predictive accuracy for week 16 response outcomes than did single parameters. This was evident as early as week 4 for the combination of EASI 50 or Itch NRS ≥ 3 and of validated Investigator Global Assessment for AD (vIGA-AD) score ≤ 2 or Itch NRS ≥ 3 (sensitivity 87–100%; NPV 68–100%). The predictive accuracy of these composite clinical predictors for week 16 response outcomes was highest at week 8 (sensitivity 92–100%; NPV 80–100%). At both weeks 4 and 8, EASI 50 or Itch NRS ≥ 3 had higher sensitivity and NPV than did vIGA-AD score ≤ 2 or Itch NRS ≥ 3.

Conclusions

Improvement in signs and symptoms early during treatment with baricitinib 4 mg once daily predicts clinical response at week 16, providing a tool for dermatologists when choosing treatment strategies for patients with moderate-to-severe AD.
Prefrontal representation of affective stimuli: importance of stress, sex, and context
Authors: Wallace Tyler , Myers Brent
Published: April 2023

Stress-related disorders such as depression and anxiety exhibit sex differences in prevalence and negatively impact both mental and physical health. Affective illness is also frequently accompanied by changes in ventromedial prefrontal cortical (vmPFC) function. However, the neurobiology that underlies sex-specific cortical processing of affective stimuli is poorly understood. Although rodent studies have investigated the prefrontal impact of chronic stress, postmortem studies have focused largely on males and yielded mixed results. Therefore, genetically defined population recordings in behaving animals of both sexes were used to test the hypothesis that chronic variable stress (CVS) impairs the neural processing of affective stimuli in the rodent infralimbic region. Here, we targeted expression of a calcium indicator, GCaMP6s, to infralimbic pyramidal cells. In males, CVS reduced infralimbic responses to social interaction and restraint stress but increased responses to novel objects and food reward. In contrast, females did not have CVS-induced changes in infralimbic activity, which was partially dependent on the ovarian status. These results indicate that both male and female vmPFC cells encode social, stress, and reward stimuli. However, chronic stress effects are sex-dependent and behavior-specific. Ultimately, these findings extend the understanding of chronic stress-induced prefrontal dysfunction and indicate that sex is a critical factor for cortical processing of affective stimuli.
Multivariate resting-state functional connectomes predict and characterize obesity phenotypes
Authors: Wang Junjie , Dong Debo , Liu Yong , Yang Yingkai , Chen Ximei , He Qinghua , Lei Xu , Feng Tingyong , Qiu Jiang , Chen Hong
Published: April 2023

The univariate obesity–brain associations have been extensively explored, while little is known about the multivariate associations between obesity and resting-state functional connectivity. We therefore utilized machine learning and resting-state functional connectivity to develop and validate predictive models of 4 obesity phenotypes (i.e. body fat percentage, body mass index, waist circumference, and waist–height ratio) in 3 large neuroimaging datasets (n = 2,992). Preliminary evidence suggested that the resting-state functional connectomes effectively predicted obesity/weight status defined by each obesity phenotype with good generalizability to longitudinal and independent datasets. However, the differences between resting-state functional connectivity patterns characterizing different obesity phenotypes indicated that the obesity–brain associations varied according to the type of measure of obesity. The shared structure among resting-state functional connectivity patterns revealed reproducible neuroimaging biomarkers of obesity, primarily comprising the connectomes within the visual cortex and between the visual cortex and inferior parietal lobule, visual cortex and orbital gyrus, and amygdala and orbital gyrus, which further suggested that the dysfunctions in the perception, attention and value encoding of visual information (e.g. visual food cues) and abnormalities in the reward circuit may act as crucial neurobiological bases of obesity. The recruitment of multiple obesity phenotypes is indispensable in future studies seeking reproducible obesity–brain associations.
The touch in action: exploring sensorimotor interactions with motor imagery
Authors: Ali Yumna , Montani Veronica , Cesari Paola
Published: April 2023

The current research investigates the role of tactile information and its associated neural substrates in controlling the action. We employ a combination of motor and sensory components by asking participants to imagine exerting force with the index finger while either touching or not touching a surface. Assuming action imagination and action performance present similar patterns of activation along the motor system, we applied single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation over the primary motor cortex (M1) during action imagination. We observed increased amplitude of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) of the relevant muscle when imagined actions were performed concurrently with tactile stimulation, suggesting a facilitatory effect of touch on the motor system. The motor system activity was scaled-based on the different amounts of force required, and crucially, this effect was specific to the body part involved in the action imagined. An intriguing positive correlation was observed between participants’ ratings of their imagery level of vividness and the activation of the motor system, indicating that those participants exhibiting MEPs scaled correctly also had strong visualization abilities, as reflected by their capacity to accurately distinguish between varying levels of force.
Maturation of a cortical-amygdala circuit limits sociability in male rats
Authors: Ferrara Nicole C , Trask Sydney , Padival Mallika , Rosenkranz Jeremy Amiel
Published: April 2023

Prefrontal cortical maturation coincides with adolescent transitions in social engagement, suggesting that it influences social development. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is important for social interaction, including ACC outputs to the basolateral amygdala (BLA). However, little is known about ACC-BLA sensitivity to the social environment and if this changes during maturation. Here, we used brief (2-hour) isolation to test the immediate impact of changing the social environment on the ACC-BLA circuit and subsequent shifts in social behavior of adolescent and adult rats. We found that optogenetic inhibition of the ACC during brief isolation reduced isolation-driven facilitation of social interaction across ages. Isolation increased activity of ACC-BLA neurons across ages, but altered the influence of ACC on BLA activity in an age-dependent manner. Isolation reduced the inhibitory impact of ACC stimulation on BLA neurons in a frequency-dependent manner in adults, but uniformly suppressed ACC-driven BLA activity in adolescents. This work identifies isolation-driven alterations in an ACC-BLA circuit, and the ACC itself as an essential region sensitive to social environment and regulates its impact on social behavior in both adults and adolescents.
Being bold wisely: neural substrates underlying ability to exploit risk
Authors: Hu Bowen , He Qinghua , Qiu Jiang , Lei Xu , Chen Hong , Feng Tingyong
Published: April 2023

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. To succeed one must take risks, and more importantly, take risks wisely, which depends on individual ability to exploit risk. Here, we explore neural substrates for the ability to exploit risk by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). First, we carried out structural magnetic resonance imaging and measured individual risk-taking propensity and corresponding earnings by administrating the Balloon Analogue Risk Task in 1,389 participants. Behavior analysis revealed an inverted-U-shaped relation between risk-taking propensity and earnings, that earnings initially increased and then decreased as risk-taking propensity increased. Then individual ability to exploit risk was estimated by calculating the difference between individual actual earnings and the average earnings of the group at the same level of risk-taking propensity. VBM analysis revealed that individual ability to exploit risk was positively correlated with the gray matter volumes of three clusters located in the right orbitofrontal cortex, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and right dlPFC, respectively. These findings highlight the neural substrates for the ability to exploit risk and implicate that precise valuation, adaptive learning, and self-control may underpin the ability to exploit risk, which expand our understanding of the ability to exploit risk and its neural substrates.
A Randomized Clinical Trial of 1-Dose vs Accelerated 2-Dose Schedule for Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) Revaccination Among People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Who Were Nonresponders or Had Seroreversion After Primary HAV Vaccination
Authors: Chen Guan-Jhou , Sun Hsin-Yun , Lin Kuan-Yin , Hsieh Szu-Min , Chuang Yu-Chung , Liu Wang-Da , Huang Yu-Shan , Pan Sung-Ching , Wu Un-In , Cheng Aristine , Huang Yi-Chia , Wu Cheng-Hsin , Su Yi-Ching , Liu Wen-Chun , Chang Sui-Yuan , Hung Chien-Ching
Published: April 2023

Background

For people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) who have no serological responses to their primary hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccination or have seroreversion after successful primary vaccination, the optimal revaccination strategy remains unclear.

Methods

In this open-label, randomized clinical trial, PWH who tested negative for anti-HAV antibodies after receiving a standard 2-dose series of primary HAV vaccination were enrolled and assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either 1 dose (the 1-dose group) or 2 doses of HAV vaccine administered 4 weeks apart (the 2-dose group). Serological response rates and anti-HAV antibody titers were compared at weeks 24 and 48.

Results

Of the 153 participants (77 in the 1-dose group and 76 in the 2-dose group), the overall serological response rates at week 48 after revaccination were similar between the 2 groups (2- vs 1-dose, 80.2% vs 71.4%, P = .20). However, anti-HAV antibody titers were consistently higher in the 2-dose group than in the 1-dose group. In subgroup analysis, PWH who were nonresponders to primary HAV vaccination were significantly more likely to mount a serological response after 2-dose HAV revaccination (68.4% vs 44.1%, P = .038). No severe adverse events were reported throughout the study.

Conclusions

Two-dose HAV revaccination administered 4 weeks apart yielded similar serological responses as 1-dose revaccination among PWH who were nonresponders or had seroreversion after primary HAV vaccination. The 2-dose revaccination schedule generated significantly higher anti-HAV antibody titers and was more likely to elicit serological responses at week 48 among PWH who were nonresponders to primary HAV vaccination.

Clinical Trials Registration. NCT03855176.
NODSTAC: Novel Outlier Detection Technique Based on Spatial, Temporal and Attribute Correlations on IoT Bigdata
Authors: Brahmam M Veera , Gopikrishnan S
Published: April 2023

An outlier in the Internet of Things is an immediate change in data induced by a significant difference in the atmosphere (Event) or sensor malfunction (Error). Outliers in the data cause the decision-maker to make incorrect judgments about data analysis. Hence it is essential to detect outliers in any discipline. The detection of outliers becomes the most crucial task to improve sensor data quality and ensure accuracy, reliability and robustness. In this research, a novel outlier detection technique based on spatial, temporal correlations and attribute correlations is proposed to detect outliers (both Errors and Events). This research uses a correlation measure in the temporal correlation algorithm to determine outliers and the spatial correlation algorithm to classify the outliers, whether the outliers are events or errors. This research uses optimal clusters to improve network lifetime, and malicious nodes were also detected based on spatial–temporal correlations and attribute correlations in these clusters. The experimental results proved that the proposed method in this research outperforms some other models in terms of accuracy against the percentage of outliers infused and detection rate against the false alarm rate.
Multiple staging investigations may not change management in patients with high-grade dysplasia or early esophageal adenocarcinoma
Authors: Reyhani A , Gimson E , Baker C , Kelly M , Maisey N , Meenan J , Subesinghe M , Hill M , Lagergren J , Gossage J , Zeki S , Dunn J , Davies A
Published: April 2023

The clinical value of multiple staging investigations for high-grade dysplasia or early adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is unclear. A single-center prospective cohort of patients treated for early esophageal cancer between 2000 and 2019 was analyzed. This coincided with a transition period from esophagectomy to endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) as the treatment of choice. Patients were staged with computed tomography (CT), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography(PET)/CT. The aim of this study was to assess their accuracy and impact on clinical management. 297 patients with high-grade dysplasia or early adenocarcinoma were included (endoscopic therapy/EMR n = 184; esophagectomy n = 113 [of which a ‘combined’ group had surgery preceded by endoscopic therapy n = 23]). Staging accuracy was low (accurate staging EMR: CT 40.1%, EUS 29.6%, FDG-PET/CT 11.0%; Esophagectomy: CT 43.3%, EUS 59.7%, FDG-PET/CT 29.6%; Combined: CT 28.6%, EUS46.2%, FDG-PET/CT 30.0%). Staging inaccuracies across all groups that could have changed management by missing T2 disease were CT 12%, EUS 12% and FDG-PET/CT 1.6%. The sensitivity of all techniques for detecting nodal disease was low (CT 12.5%, EUS 12.5%, FDG-PET/CT0.0%). Overall, FDG-PET/CT and EUS changed decision-making in only 3.2% of patients with an early cancer on CT and low-risk histology. The accuracy of staging with EUS, CT and FDG-PET/CT in patients with high-grade dysplasia or early adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is low. EUS and FDG-PET/CT added relevant staging information over standard CT in very few cases, and therefore, these investigations should be used selectively. Factors predicting the need for esophagectomy are predominantly obtained from EMR histology rather than staging investigations.
Staphylococcus lugdunensis infective endocarditis with perforation of the sinus of Valsalva: a case report
Authors: Silvis M J M , van den Heuvel F M A , van Garsse L , Nijveldt R
Published: April 2023

Background

Staphylococcus lugdunensis endocarditis is a rare but fulminant disease.

Case summary

A 74-year-old female with a history of asymptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis and permanent atrial fibrillation presented with acute onset of fever (39.0°C). Electrocardiogram showed diffuse ST-segment elevation. She was hospitalized for further analysis. All blood cultures were positive for Staphylococcus lugdunensis and antibiotic treatment was started. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) showed known aortic valve stenosis without clear signs of endocarditis. The following day, a transoesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) showed a new moderate aortic valve regurgitation, new pericardial effusion (PE), and a thickened sinus of Valsalva (SOV) consistent with endocarditis with paravalvular involvement. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography was consistent with aortic valve endocarditis with paravalvular expansion. The patient was transferred to a tertiary referral centre for surgical treatment. On admission, patient was in shock and a second TTE revealed a new systolic and diastolic flow through the SOV to the right ventricle indicating SOV perforation. Additionally, there was flow in the PE suggestive of perforation of one of the cardiac chambers or large vessels. Emergent surgery showed extended infection with SOV perforation and a large perforation of the right ventricle. Ultimately, patient died during the operation because of extensive infection and refractory shock.

Conclusion

Staphylococcus lugdunensis endocarditis is a severe disease with poor response to conventional anti-microbial treatment, destructive complications requiring surgery, and has a high mortality risk.
Sequential transcatheter aortic and pulmonic valve replacement in bioprosthetic valve dysfunction: a case report
Authors: Gustafson Shanshan , Kulkarni Ameya , Galper Benjamin , Berry Natalia
Published: April 2023

Background

Transcatheter valve replacement is a less invasive alternative to surgical valve replacement and has become increasingly popular. It is often the preferred approach for patients with high surgical risk. In patients with multiple prior sternotomies and multi-valvular failure, sequential transcatheter valve replacements may be a viable option.

Case summary

We present the case of a 61-year-old-man with two prior sternotomies who underwent sequential transcatheter replacements of the aortic and pulmonic valves for symptomatic aortic and pulmonary stenosis. He was deemed high risk for a repeat sternotomy. The decision to perform sequential transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and transcatheter pulmonic valve replacement (TPVR) a month apart was made. Patient underwent valve-in-valve TAVR in a stentless bioprosthetic valve with 29-mm Edwards Sapien 3 followed by TPVR with 26-mm Edwards Sapien 3. He tolerated both procedures well and was asymptomatic at 1-month follow up.

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first reported successful case of sequential TAVR and TPVR with right ventricular outflow tract stenting in a patient with both aortic and pulmonic bioprosthetic valve dysfunction. Our case demonstrates that transcatheter approach to multi-valvular replacements may be a viable option for high-risk surgical patients.
Randomized evaluation of routine beta-blocker therapy after myocardial infarction quality of life (RQoL): design and rationale of a multicentre, prospective, randomized, open, blinded endpoint study
Authors: Humphries Sophia , Mars Katarina , Hofmann Robin , Held Claes , Olsson Erik M G
Published: April 2023

Aims

Most cases of acute myocardial infarction (MI) in Sweden are treated with long-term β-blocker therapy as secondary prevention. Case studies and patient reports have indicated negative effects of β-blockers including symptoms of depression, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, and general low mood, all related to reduced quality of life (QoL). To date, no recent large-scale, randomized trial has explored the effects of β-blockers on these factors.

Methods and results

The ongoing Randomized Evaluation of Decreased Usage of beta-bloCkErs after myocardial infarction (REDUCE): quality of life (RQoL) study is a multicentre, prospective, randomized pre-specified substudy aiming to evaluate the effects of β-blockers on self-reported measures of QoL. Following randomized allocation to long-term β-blocker or no β-blocker treatment, patients complete a total of six baseline measures pertaining to QoL, sexual functioning, and perceived side effects. Data collection is optionally carried out online through a unique and secure portal and repeated again at two follow-up time points. Recruitment began in July 2018. Data from the first 100 patients showed that at the first follow-up, 93% had completed the questionnaires, which decreased to 81% at the second follow-up. The method of digital data collection was utilized by over half of the patients recruited so far.

Conclusion

Data from the first 100 patients indicate success in terms of study design and recruitment. The RQoL substudy investigates the effects of β-blockers on self-reported measures of QoL in MI patients and will potentially contribute to the limited knowledge of QoL-related side effects reported in conjunction with β-blocker use.

Clinical trial registration

Eudra CT number, 2017-002336-17; Clinical trial.gov identifier, NCT03278509
DMKPs provide a generalizable strategy for studying genes required for reproduction or viability in nontraditional model organisms
Authors: Laursen Willem J , Busby Rachel , Sarkissian Tatevik , Chang Elaine C , Garrity Paul A
Published: April 2023

The advent of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing has expanded the range of animals amenable to targeted genetic analysis. This has accelerated research in animals not traditionally studied using molecular genetics. However, studying genes essential for reproduction or survival in such animals remains challenging, as they lack the tools that aid genetic analysis in traditional genetic model organisms. We recently introduced the use of distinguishably marked knock-in pairs (DMKPs) as a strategy for rapid and reliable genotyping in such species. Here we show that DMKPs also facilitate the maintenance and study of mutations that cannot be maintained in a homozygous state, a group which includes recessive lethal and sterile mutations. Using DMKPs, we disrupt the zero population growth locus in Drosophila melanogaster and in the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti. In both species, DMKPs enable the maintenance of zero population growth mutant strains and the reliable recovery of zero population growth mutant animals. Male and female gonad development is disrupted in fly and mosquito zero population growth mutants, rendering both sexes sterile. In Ae. aegypti, zero population growth mutant males remain capable of inducing a mating refractory period in wild-type females and of competing with wild-type males for mates, properties compatible with zero population growth serving as a target in mosquito population suppression strategies. DMKP is readily generalizable to other species amenable to CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene targeting, and should facilitate the study of sterile and lethal mutations in multiple organisms not traditionally studied using molecular genetics.
Stress and coping in the face of COVID-19: a qualitative inquiry into early pandemic experiences and psychological well-being of health workers in Burkina Faso, Senegal and The Gambia
Authors: Lohmann Julia , Diallo Marème , De Allegri Manuela , Koulidiati Jean-Louis , Martinez-Alvarez Melisa
Published: April 2023

COVID-19 represented an unprecedented challenge for health workers around the world, resulting in strong concerns about impacts on their psychological well-being. To inform on-going support and future preparedness activities, this study documented health workers’ experiences, well-being and coping throughout the first wave of the pandemic, in Burkina Faso, Senegal and The Gambia. We collected data from 68 primarily clinical staff from the COVID-19 treatment, maternity and emergency departments in 13 purposely hospitals and laboratories across the three countries. Following in-depth interviews via Zoom (mid-May to September 2020), we regularly followed up via WhatsApp until the end of 2020. We used a mixed deductive and inductive coding approach and a framework matrix to organize and analyse the material. All respondents initially assessed the situation as stressful and threatening. Major emotional reactions included fear of own infection, fear of being a risk to loved ones, guilt, compassion, and anxiety regarding the future. Many suffered from feeling left alone with the emerging crisis and feeling unvalued and unappreciated, particularly by their governments and ministries of health. Conversely, health workers drew much strength from support and valuation by direct supervisors and team members and, in part, also by patients, friends and family. We observed important heterogeneity between places of work and individual backgrounds. Respondents coped with the situation in various ways, particularly with strategies to manage adverse emotions, to minimize infection risk, to fortify health and to find meaning in the adverse circumstances. Coping strategies were primarily grounded in own resources rather than institutional support. Over time, the situation normalized and fears diminished for most respondents. With a view towards emergency preparedness, our findings underline the value of participation and transparent communication, institutional support and routine training to foster health workers’ psychological preparedness, coping skill set and resilience more generally.
Group well-child care as a facilitator of psychoeducation: pediatrics residents’ perspectives
Authors: Nogelo Patricia Faraone , Oldfield Benjamin J , Fenick Ada M , Rosenthal Marjorie S
Published: April 2023

Psychoeducation, where clinicians teach problem-solving skills in a supportive environment, can help address families’ social vulnerabilities and promote well-being. Group well-child care (GWCC) may provide unique opportunities for pediatric residents to improve their skills in psychoeducation. Our aim was to characterize pediatric residents’ perspectives and experiences of communication while conducting both individual well-child care and GWCC. We used a longitudinal qualitative study design to conduct 15 semistructured interviews with five pediatric residents who facilitated GWCC. Using the constant comparative method, we characterized pediatric residents’ perspectives and experiences of communication while conducting both individual well-child care and GWCC. Four themes emerged. Residents perceived that GWCC (i) enabled families to honestly share their knowledge and parenting practices, (ii) allowed time and a space for families to share personal stories and scenarios, (iii) facilitated discussions of maternal health and psychosocial matters, toward which residents felt ambivalence, and (iv) fostered skills in psychoeducation that transferred to the rest of their clinical practice. When pediatric residents lead GWCC, they perceive that they can facilitate key aspects of psychoeducation, enabling them to assist families in meeting complex social needs. Residents describe that they transfer psychoeducation skills learned in GWCC to the rest of their practice.
The psychosocial outcomes of older parenthood in early to mid-childhood: a mini-review
Authors: Lysons Joanna , Jadva Vasanti
Published: April 2023

Recent decades have seen a global trend towards delaying parenthood, referred to as the ‘postponement transition’. Whilst there is plentiful research regarding obstetric and paediatric outcomes related to delayed parenthood, relatively little is known about the psychosocial outcomes associated with advanced parental age during early and middle childhood. This mini-review examines the current literature regarding the psychosocial functioning of families headed by older parents. First, we give an overview of the literature that examines the psychological wellbeing of older first-time parents. We then review the literature regarding the quality of the parent–child relationship in older parent families. Finally, we discuss the psychosocial adjustment and cognitive development of children of older parents. We conclude with suggestions for future research avenues.
Political Elite Discourses and Majority Members’ Beliefs About the Prevalence of Ethnic Discrimination in Europe
Authors: Müller Katrin , Blommaert Lieselotte , Savelkoul Michael , Lubbers Marcel , Scheepers Peer
Published: April 2023

This article investigates European majority members’ perceptions of the prevalence of ethnic discrimination. We use individual-level data from the Eurobarometer ‘Discrimination in the EU’ series, covering 26 European countries and six years (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2019), enriched with contextual information on political elite discourses from the Comparative Manifesto Project. We shed light on significant and substantive cross-country and cross-temporal variations in these perceptions. Next, we explore how these variations are related to national political elite discourses by employing multilevel models. By disentangling between and within country variations, we find that particularly changes in political elite discourses within countries over time are associated with variations in majority members’ beliefs about the prevalence of ethnic discrimination in their society. Exclusive discourses, which emphasize nationalistic ideas and demarcate strong boundaries between ethnic groups, are associated with majority members thinking that ethnic discrimination is less widespread in their country. The reverse holds for inclusive discourses: when political elites underline the importance of cultural diversity and multiculturalism, majorities perceive more ethnic discrimination. While these discourses are only related to within country variations, our descriptive and multilevel results show that the national context matters for majorities’ perceptions of the prevalence of ethnic discrimination.