bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
When Should We Stop Scanning Older Patients with Vestibular Schwannomas?
Authors: Borsetto Daniele , Gair Juliette , Kenyon Olivia , Das Tilak , Donnelly Neil , Axon Patrick , Macfarlane Robert , Mannion Richard , Scoffings Daniel , Bance Manohar , Tysome James
Published: December 2018

Objective Observation is a well-accepted management for small- to medium-sized vestibular schwannomas (VSs). Although there are good data on the natural history of this disease within adults, no studies have looked specifically at those aged over 70 years. Thus, there is a need for a surveillance protocol to determine if and when we can stop imaging safely patients aged 70 years and over with a new diagnosis of VSs when managed with observation.

Design Over a 13-year period, we retrospectively analyzed all skull base unit patients with a sporadic unilateral VSs managed with an imaging surveillance protocol. All data were collected prospectively with a minimum follow-up of 5 years.

Setting Tertiary referral skull base unit

Participants Patients aged 70 years and over with sporadic VSs at diagnosis

Main Outcome Measures Main outcome measures

Results A total of 112 patients met inclusion criteria. The median age at diagnosis was 74 years (range: 70–87 years). The mean follow-up was 82 months (range: 60–144). The size of the VSs at diagnosis was intracanalicular (IC) in 46%, small in 41%, medium in 12%, and large in 2%.

Growth was more likely where tumors were extracanalicular (EC) rather than IC at presentation (p = 0.036) and within the first 18 months after diagnosis (p < 0.001). Twenty-nine percent of VSs displayed growth (6% continued surveillance, 23% received active treatment). Good hearing at diagnosis did not predict tumor stability for IC or EC tumors (p = 0.162 and p = 0.536).

Conclusions Since no VSs grew after 42 months from diagnosis, our data support an initial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 6 months after diagnosis followed by an annual MRI for 3 years. At this point, consideration could be given to discussing discontinuation or further imaging with patients.
Conservation laws and work fluctuation relations in chemical reaction networks
Authors: Rao Riccardo , Esposito Massimiliano
Published: December 2018

We formulate a nonequilibrium thermodynamic description for open chemical reaction networks (CRNs) described by a chemical master equation. The topological properties of the CRN and its conservation laws are shown to play a crucial role. They are used to decompose the entropy production into a potential change and two work contributions, the first due to time dependent changes in the externally controlled chemostats concentrations and the second due to flows maintained across the system by nonconservative forces. These two works jointly satisfy a Jarzynski and Crooks fluctuation theorem. In the absence of work, the potential is minimized by the dynamics as the system relaxes to equilibrium and its equilibrium value coincides with the maximum entropy principle. A generalized Landauer’s principle also holds: the minimal work needed to create a nonequilibrium state is the relative entropy of that state to its equilibrium value reached in the absence of any work.
Fabrication of yttrium–iron–garnet/Pt multilayers for the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect
Authors: Nozue Tatsuhiro , Kikkawa Takashi , Watamura Tomoki , Niizeki Tomohiko , Ramos Rafael , Saitoh Eiji , Murakami Hirohiko
Published: December 2018

For longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) devices, a multilayer structure comprising ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic layers is expected to improve their thermoelectric power. In this study, we developed a fabrication method for alternately stacked yttrium–iron–garnet (YIG)/Pt multilayer films on a gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) (110) substrate, GGG/[YIG(49 nm)/Pt(4 nm)]n (n = 1–5) based on room-temperature sputtering and ex-situ post-annealing methods and we evaluated their structural and LSSE properties. The fabricated [YIG/Pt]n samples show flat YIG/Pt interfaces and almost identical saturation magnetization Ms although they contain polycrystalline YIG layers on Pt layers as well as single-crystalline YIG layers on GGG. In the samples, we observed clear LSSE signals and found that the LSSE thermoelectric power factor (PF) increases monotonically with increasing n; the PF of the [YIG/Pt]5 sample is enhanced by a factor of ∼28 compared to that of [YIG/Pt]1. This work may provide a guideline for developing future multilayer-based LSSE devices.
A spectrometer with baseline correction and fast pulse pile-up rejection for prompt gamma neutron activation analysis technology
Authors: Zhong Xiaodong , Chen Lian , Wang Baochen , Jin Ge
Published: December 2018

The prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) technology is an online nondestructive material analysis technology widely used in industries. In order to achieve real-time measurements, the gamma ray count rate should reach 400 kcps. Due to the limitation of the detector’s decay time, the signal output from the detector is heavily piled up. Meanwhile, the industrial site has a temperature fluctuation of 0-50 °C, causing the peak drift in the energy spectrum. This paper presents a readout electronic system specified for PGNAA and proposes series of algorithms that are dedicated for the gamma-ray spectrometric system. The system can achieve a count rate of 400 kcps, and it overcomes poor resolution, spectral distortion, and peak position shift, which are caused by pulse pileups and temperature fluctuations.
Spin dephasing in the Gaussian local phase approximation
Authors: Ziener C. H. , Kampf T. , Schlemmer H.-P. , Buschle L. R.
Published: December 2018

The Brownian motion of spins diffusing in an inhomogeneous magnetic field created by susceptibility effects is considered. Applying the correct form of the Gaussian approximation, the method allows calculating the local magnetization as well as the free induction decay for all diffusion regimes. The phase accumulated during the diffusional motion is treated by an averaging over all possible trajectories in terms of the Gaussian local phase approximation. Predictions of the Gaussian local phase approximation are compared with the Gaussian phase approximation for diffusion in a constant gradient in a slab, a cylinder, and a sphere. The Gaussian local phase approximation, thereby, shows several advantages compared to the Gaussian phase approximation: it is also valid in the static dephasing regime, predicts correctly both transverse components of the magnetization, and yields information about the local magnetization.
Microsolvation of porphine molecules in superfluid helium nanodroplets as revealed by optical line shape at the electronic origin
Authors: Fischer J. , Fuchs S. , Slenczka A. , Karra M. , Friedrich B.
Published: December 2018

We investigate the line shape at the electronic origin of single porphine molecules doped into superfluid helium droplets as a function of the droplet size. Helium droplets comprised of less than 105 atoms are generated from an expansion of gaseous helium, while droplets with more than 105 atoms originate from liquid helium. In contrast to our recent study on phthalocyanine, porphine is found to exhibit a solvent shift to the blue with respect to the gas-phase resonance frequency as well as a multiplet splitting. A comparison of the helium-induced features of phthalocyanine and porphine with those obtained in similar studies on tetracene and pentacene reveals that these occur chiefly as two kinds of excitations distinguished by their linewidths and their dependence on the droplet size. Moreover, at quasi-bulk conditions achieved with droplets in excess of 106 helium atoms, none of these four dopant species yields an optical spectrum that can be assigned to a plausible rotational band structure.
Spatially dispersive dichroism in bianisotropic metamirrors
Authors: Niu Chuanning , Zhao Jia , Du Liuge , Liu Na , Wang Zuojia , Huang Weiping , Li Xun
Published: December 2018

Dichroism refers to the differential absorption of a material for different polarized waves and has important applications in polarimetry and optical wavefront manipulation. The coexistence of strong linear and circular dichroism at thin optical interfaces is usually challenging due to the weak chiral anisotropy in natural materials. Here, we investigate the spatially dispersive dichroism of bianisotropic metamirror, in which giant linear and circular dichroism can be achieved simultaneously. By covering the metallic mirror with an array of bianisotropic resonators, specific linearly and circularly polarized waves can be largely absorbed under normal and oblique incidences, respectively. This intriguing phenomenon is attributed to the anisotropic magneto-electric coupling, that is, the handedness and the strength of the equivalent transverse electric surface current are determined by the angle of incidence. Furthermore, dual-band and hybrid-chirality metamirrors for asymmetric spin reflection have been realized by adjusting the geometries and arrangement of the bianisotropic resonators. The overall thickness of the bianisotropic metamirror is only 1/50 of the wavelength and thus highly suitable for on-chip integration. Our findings may provide an alternative approach towards multifunctional optical mirrors, signal detectors, chiral imaging devices, and molecular analyzers.
Coarse-grained model of titrating peptides interacting with lipid bilayers
Authors: Tesei Giulio , Vazdar Mario , Lund Mikael
Published: December 2018

Molecular-level computer simulations of peptide aggregation, translocation, and protonation at and in biomembranes are impeded by the large time and length scales involved. We present a computationally efficient, coarse-grained, and solvent-free model for the interaction between lipid bilayers and peptides. The model combines an accurate description of mechanical membrane properties with a new granular representation of the dielectric mismatch between lipids and the aqueous phase. All-atom force fields can be easily mapped onto the coarse-grained model, and parameters for coarse-grained monopeptides accurately extrapolate to membrane permeation free energies for the corresponding dipeptides and tripeptides. Acid-base equilibria of titratable amino acid residues are further studied using a constant-pH ensemble, capturing protonation state changes upon membrane translocation. Important differences between histidine, lysine, and arginine are observed, which are in good agreement with experimental observations.
Stability of functionalized platform molecules on Au(111)
Authors: Jasper-Tönnies Torben , Poltavsky Igor , Ulrich Sandra , Moje Tobias , Tkatchenko Alexandre , Herges Rainer , Berndt Richard
Published: December 2018

Trioxatriangulenium (TOTA) platform molecules were functionalized with methyl, ethyl, ethynyl, propynyl, and hydrogen and sublimated onto Au(111) surfaces. Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy data reveal that >99% of ethyl-TOTA and methyl-TOTA remain intact, whereas 60% of H-TOTA and >99% of propynyl-TOTA and ethynyl-TOTA decompose. The observed tendency toward fragmentation on Au(111) is opposite to the sequence of gas-phase stabilities of the molecules. Although Au(111) is the noblest of all metal surfaces, the binding energies of the decomposition products to Au(111) destabilize the functionalized platforms by 2 to 3.9 eV (190–370 kJ/mol) and even render some of them unstable as revealed by density functional theory calculations. Van der Waals forces are important, as they drive the adsorption of the platform molecules.
A numerical study of oscillation induced coalescence in bubbly flows
Authors: Lin Shengxiang , Lu Jiacai , Tryggvason Gretar , Zhang Ying
Published: December 2018

Direct numerical simulations of two-way oscillating bubbly flows in a domain bounded by solid walls are presented. Ignoring gravity, the two- and three-dimensional flows of equal-sized bubbles are driven by periodically oscillating pressure gradients in the X and Z directions with the same amplitude and frequency but different phases. The results show that the oscillations will drive the bubbles together, promoting coalescence. The results depend on the amplitude and frequency, resulting in “crawling” flow, “revolving” flow, and “oscillating” flow. As the amplitude increases, the critical frequency separating these three flow regions increases. For each amplitude, there is an optimum frequency near the transition region between the crawling flow and the revolving flow that yields the fastest coalescence. A qualitative comparison between two- and three-dimensional flows shows that the dynamics observed for the two-dimensional flows is also found in three-dimensions.
Thermal conductivity of graphene grain boundaries along arbitrary in-plane directions: A comprehensive molecular dynamics study
Authors: Fox Andy , Ray Upamanyu , Li Teng
Published: December 2018

The thermal conductivity of polycrystalline graphene is expected to be lower than that of pristine graphene, due to the existence of defects, such as grain boundaries (GBs). To study the thermal transport behavior in polycrystalline graphene, it is crucial to understand the thermal conductivity of graphene GBs as a function of the tilt GB misorientation angle and in-plane thermal loading angle. However, existing studies of thermal conductivity of graphene GBs only consider the case where the thermal flux is perpendicular or parallel to the graphene GB. To address this issue, here we perform systematic non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations and investigate the thermal conductivity of graphene GBs for all possible tilt GB misorientation angles (23 cases) under arbitrary in-plane thermal loading directions. The findings from the present study can offer quantitative guidance for using polycrystalline graphene in thermal devices and flexible electronics applications.
Thermal rectification via sequential deactivation of magnons
Authors: Martinez-Flores J. J. , Varshney Dinesh , Alvarez-Quintana J.
Published: December 2018

Theoretically, a thermal rectifier is a solid state device which presents a greater heat flux in the forward than in the reverse thermal bias, Q+ > Q−. Ferromagnetic materials, which can exist in two magnetic states with distinct thermal conductivities, provide a unique opportunity to realize nonlinear thermal transport. Herein, by realizing a proof-of concept device consisting of manganites type La1-xSrxMnO3, we introduce a two-segment thermal diode that manipulates the heat via a sequential deactivation of magnons in each segment through their respective Curie temperatures Tc. Thermal measurements of the diode show that as the sequential magnetic transitions occur, the rectification factor increases. We interpret such an enhancement in the rectification factor due to drastic changes in the thermal conductance of the device as a consequence of the spin-disorder dominance above Tc. Furthermore, the results are validated via an analytical model within the framework of the Fourier law by using power law approximations of the temperature-dependent thermal conductivity of segments. Hence, sequential deactivation of magnons provides an alternative route so as to develop enhanced performance thermal rectifiers.
A kernel-based approach to molecular conformation analysis
Authors: Klus Stefan , Bittracher Andreas , Schuster Ingmar , Schütte Christof
Published: December 2018

We present a novel machine learning approach to understand conformation dynamics of biomolecules. The approach combines kernel-based techniques that are popular in the machine learning community with transfer operator theory for analyzing dynamical systems in order to identify conformation dynamics based on molecular dynamics simulation data. We show that many of the prominent methods like Markov state models, extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD), and time-lagged independent component analysis (TICA) can be regarded as special cases of this approach and that new efficient algorithms can be constructed based on this derivation. The results of these new powerful methods will be illustrated with several examples, in particular, the alanine dipeptide and the protein NTL9.
Semiclassical Moyal dynamics
Authors: Shen Yifan , Wang Linjun
Published: December 2018

We present a semiclassical Moyal dynamics (SMD) method based on the phase space formulation of quantum dynamics. In contrast to the quantized Hamiltonian dynamics approach by Prezhdo et al. using the Heisenberg equation of motion, SMD adopts the Moyal equation of motion to derive the time evolution of expectation values and uses an auxiliary phase space distribution technique to systematically terminate the coupled equations of motion. Thereby, tedious derivation of commutators is essentially not required, and semiclassical dynamics of arbitrary orders can be realized. The appealing simplicity, flexibility, and reliability of SMD are demonstrated in three representative model systems with strong quantum effects.
Light spring amplification in a multi-frequency Raman amplifier
Authors: Arteaga J. A. , Serbeto A. , Tsui K. H. , Mendonça J. T.
Published: December 2018

We propose to amplify and compress an ultrashort Light Spring laser seed with a long Gaussian-shaped laser pump through Raman amplification. This Light Spring, which has a helical spatio-temporal intensity profile, can be built on the superposition of three distinct laser frequency components. In order to get an independent frequency amplification, two criteria are established. Besides these criteria, a non-equal frequency separation is necessary to avoid resonance overlapping when three or more frequencies are involved. The independent set of equations, which describes the wave-wave interaction in a plasma, is solved numerically for two different Light Spring configurations. In both cases, the amplification and transversal compression of the seed laser pulse have been observed, with a final profile similar to that of the usual Gaussian-shaped seed pulses. In addition, two different kinds of helical plasma waves are excited.
Systematic control of strain-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial europium and terbium iron garnet thin films
Authors: Ortiz Victor H. , Aldosary Mohammed , Li Junxue , Xu Yadong , Lohmann Mark I. , Sellappan Pathikumar , Kodera Yasuhiro , Garay Javier E. , Shi Jing
Published: December 2018

We show tunable strain-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) over a wide range of thicknesses in epitaxial ferrimagnetic insulator Eu3Fe5O12 (EuIG) and Tb3Fe5O12 (TbIG) thin films grown by pulsed-laser deposition on Gd3Ga5O12 with (001) and (111) orientations, respectively. The PMA field is determined by measuring the induced anomalous Hall loops in Pt deposited on the garnet films. Due to positive magnetostriction constants, compressive in-plane strain induces a PMA field as large as 32.9 kOe for 4 nm thick EuIG and 66.7 kOe for 5 nm thick TbIG at 300 K and relaxes extremely slowly as the garnet film thickness increases. In bilayers consisting of Pt and EuIG or Pt and TbIG, robust PMA is revealed by squared anomalous Hall hysteresis loops in Pt, the magnitude of which appears to be only related to the net magnetic moment of iron sublattices. Furthermore, the magnetostriction constant is found to be 2.7 × 10−5 for EuIG and 1.35 × 10−5 for TbIG, comparable with the values for bulk crystals. Our results demonstrate a general approach of tailoring magnetic anisotropy of rare earth iron garnets by utilizing modulated strain via epitaxial growth.
Tricoordinate silyl cations (silylium ions)
Authors: Lee Vladimir Ya.
Published: December 2018

Being silicon analogues of carbenium ions, which are ubiquitous in organic chemistry, silylium ions play a pivotal role in organosilicon chemistry. However, unlike widespread carbenium ions, silylium ions are much less accessible and much more difficult to stabilize due to the lower electronegativity of the silicon atom, its greater polarizability and notably larger size (compared to those of carbon atom), which results in extraordinarily high electrophilicity and Lewis acidity of silylium ions. These peculiar characteristics of silylium ions require very special, sophisticated synthetic approaches for their generation, isolation and structural elucidation, on the one hand, and open the door for their use as exceptionally potent Lewis acids in a number of catalytic transformations, on the other hand. In this review, we present and discuss the latest advances in the field of stable silylium ion derivatives, particularly emphasizing the state-of-the-art procedures for their synthesis, structural studies both in solution and in the solid state, most remarkable recent representatives of the isolable silylium ions, and finally, discuss the use of silylium ions in synthetic organic chemistry.

The bibliography includes 155 references.
Modeling stochastic processes in disease spread across a heterogeneous social system
Authors: Kim Minkyoung , Paini Dean , Jurdak Raja
Published: December 2018

Significance

This study infers probabilistic infection routes of a vector-borne disease, by modeling internal dynamics of metapopulations driven by human mobility as multivariate stochastic processes. In this way, our proposed model uncovers the self-excitation and mutual excitation nature of disease spread across a heterogeneous social system with rich context. Our model is a general extension of networked Hawkes processes, providing flexibilities to add constraints (presence of diffusion medium) and to use domain knowledge (cross-metapopulation connectivity), enabling covering of direct and indirect diffusion processes such as contact-based and vector-borne disease spread. Our model is readily applicable to a wide range of intragroup and intergroup diffusion processes in social and natural systems and can infer probabilistic causality between discrete events.
Data-driven supervised learning of a viral protease specificity landscape from deep sequencing and molecular simulations
Authors: Pethe Manasi A. , Rubenstein Aliza B. , Khare Sagar D.
Published: December 2018

Significance

Substrate specificity landscape of a protease enzyme is the set of all substrate sequences that are recognized/cut (and, as importantly, not recognized/cut) by the enzyme. Accurate and rapid elucidation of these landscapes for any given protease is key for the design of novel targeted proteases to prevent unwarranted off-target cleavage, and provides insight into the functional robustness of naturally occurring proteases. We developed a structure-guided approach for predicting protease substrate specificity landscapes, in which data from experiments in yeast and molecular simulations are combined using machine learning. Using this approach, we comprehensively map the sequence−energetics−function landscape of the hepatitis C virus NS3/4A protease and its drug-resistant variants.
How optical excitation controls the structure and properties of vanadium dioxide
Authors: Otto Martin R. , René de Cotret Laurent P. , Valverde-Chavez David A. , Tiwari Kunal L. , Émond Nicolas , Chaker Mohamed , Cooke David G. , Siwick Bradley J.
Published: December 2018

We combine ultrafast electron diffraction and time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy measurements to link structure and electronic transport properties during the photoinduced insulator–metal transitions in vanadium dioxide. We determine the structure of the metastable monoclinic metal phase, which exhibits antiferroelectric charge order arising from a thermally activated, orbital-selective phase transition in the electron system. The relative contribution of the photoinduced monoclinic and rutile metals to the time-dependent and pump-fluence–dependent multiphase character of the film is established, as is the respective impact of these two distinct phase transitions on the observed changes in terahertz conductivity. Our results represent an important example of how light can control the properties of strongly correlated materials and demonstrate that multimodal experiments are essential when seeking a detailed connection between ultrafast changes in optical-electronic properties and lattice structure.
Fixation probabilities in weakly compressible fluid flows
Authors: Plummer Abigail , Benzi Roberto , Nelson David R. , Toschi Federico
Published: December 2018

Significance

Marine fronts, where two different water masses meet, are characterized by high biological productivity. Determining which organisms are able to thrive in these environments is crucial to understanding ocean ecosystems. However, many questions about how natural selection functions in an advective environment remain unanswered. We study flows with sources and sinks to model the upwellings and convergences experienced by plankton at marine fronts. Remarkably, even when the flows are so weak that they cannot significantly alter the spatial distribution of organisms, they substantially affect genetic outcomes. The flow reduces the effective population size and makes the fate of organisms strongly dependent on local flow conditions. In particular, organisms born in upwelling regions experience a considerably enhanced probability of survival.
Optimizing model representation for integrative structure determination of macromolecular assemblies
Authors: Viswanath Shruthi , Sali Andrej
Published: December 2018

Integrative structure determination of macromolecular assemblies requires specifying the representation of the modeled structure, a scoring function for ranking alternative models based on diverse types of data, and a sampling method for generating these models. Structures are often represented at atomic resolution, although ad hoc simplified representations based on generic guidelines and/or trial and error are also used. In contrast, we introduce here the concept of optimizing representation. To illustrate this concept, the optimal representation is selected from a set of candidate representations based on an objective criterion that depends on varying amounts of information available for different parts of the structure. Specifically, an optimal representation is defined as the highest-resolution representation for which sampling is exhaustive at a precision commensurate with the precision of the representation. Thus, the method does not require an input structure and is applicable to any input information. We consider a space of representations in which a representation is a set of nonoverlapping, variable-length segments (i.e., coarse-grained beads) for each component protein sequence. We also implement a method for efficiently finding an optimal representation in our open-source Integrative Modeling Platform (IMP) software (
https://integrativemodeling.org/
). The approach is illustrated by application to three complexes of two subunits and a large assembly of 10 subunits. The optimized representation facilitates exhaustive sampling and thus can produce a more accurate model and a more accurate estimate of its uncertainty for larger structures than were possible previously.
BasiScript
Authors: Tellings Agnes , Oostdijk Nelleke , Monster Iris , Grootjen Franc , van den Bosch Antal
Published: December 2018

This short paper introduces BasiScript, a 9-million-word corpus of contemporary Dutch texts written by primary
school children. The data were collected over three years with 17,216 children contributing texts throughout this period. Each
word token in the corpus is annotated with the correct orthographical form, the associated lemma and the part of speech. The most
frequent polysemous words have been annotated for word meaning, while all words in the lexicon that was derived from the
BasiScript corpus have been annotated for corpus and subcorpora frequency, dispersion, length, family size, family frequency,
orthographic neighborhood size, and orthographic neighborhood frequency. Images of the texts are available to researchers. The
present article describes the corpus and presents a comparison of BasiScript with BasiLex (a Dutch corpus with texts primary
school children are likely to read, completed in 2015) by means of frequency profiling.
Los códigos visual y musical en el marco de la competencia semiológica en español como lengua extranjera
Authors: Níkleva Dimitrinka G.
Published: December 2018

El presente estudio pretende analizar la inclusión de los contenidos visuales y musicales culturales en la enseñanza del español como lengua extranjera. El marco teórico del estudio sitúa los códigos visual y musical en el marco de la competencia semiológica y de las inteligencias múltiples y se ofrecen claves interculturales para su descodificación. Se analiza un cuestionario sobre el dominio de estos códigos por parte de dos grupos de alumnos: hablantes de español como lengua extranjera y hablantes de español como lengua nativa. Los resultados del grupo de nativos sirven para poder proponer una selección de contenidos visuales y musicales apropiados parael aula de español como lengua extranjera, según su frecuencia y popularidad en la lengua y cultura meta. Los resultados del estudio indican que en el ámbito del español para extranjeros, el conocimiento de contenidos visuales y musicales culturalmente codificados no depende del nivel de español de los alumnos.
On focus and weight in Spanish as a heritage language
Authors: Gómez Soler Inmaculada , Pascual y Cabo Diego
Published: December 2018

Previous research on heritage speaker (HS) bilingualism suggests, not without controversy, that certain properties of HSs’ grammars, mainly discursive properties, can result in divergent grammatical outcomes in adulthood be it as a result of incomplete acquisition or attrition. This study contributes to this line of research by examining whether HSs’ word order configurations with Spanish double object constructions reflect compliance with the pragmatic (End-Focus Principle) and syntactic related factors (End-Weight Principle) that regulate word order in Spanish. To this end, two groups of HSs with different proficiency levels in Spanish as well as a bilingual and a monolingual control group, all of Mexican origin, completed an acceptability judgment task. HSs’ performance on this task shows that their knowledge of the discursive nuances associated with constituent order remains as robust as their knowledge of the syntactic factors associated with this phenomenon. Our findings therefore suggest that this linguistic domain may not be subject to so-called incomplete acquisition or L1 attrition.
Pragmatics in CLIL
Authors: Nashaat Sobhy Nashwa
Published: December 2018

This study is a mixed-method, cross-sectional study that compares the acquisition of request modification in the productions of two secondary school groups (15–16 years old) in two school programs: content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and traditional mainstream (non-CLIL). A total of 192 requests were gathered from both groups by means of an elicitation instrument (a Written Discourse Completion Test – WDCT). The requestive pragmatic moves (external and internal modifiers and request strategies) were analysed according to their pragmatic functions (softeners and aggravators) and a data-driven taxonomy of request modification was elaborated in line with previously developed taxonomies (Blum-Kulka et al., 1989;Alcón Soler et al., 2005) for the data analysis. The results showed that both groups share similarities typical of foreign language learners. Nonetheless, significant statistical differences between them indicated that the CLIL group had a fuller repertoire of request modification strategies, yet their sociopragmatic knowledge is questioned.
Reading-to-write tasks for professional purposes in Spanish as a foreign language
Authors: Vangehuchten Lieve , Leijten Mariëlle , Schrijver Iris
Published: December 2018

A reading-to-write task is a complex cognitive activity. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the difficulties that advanced learners of Spanish as a foreign language for professional communication purposes experience when they have to perform a reading-to-write task. This insight will help to improve writing instruction and training for this particular type of students. In this study, 19 students of a one-year master’s programme in multilingual professional communication (level B2–C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, Council of Europe, 2001) were asked to carry out a reading-to-write task in Dutch, their mother tongue, and in Spanish at the beginning of the academic year. This task was repeated at the end of the academic year. On both occasions, the task was writing an informative synthesis of approximately 200–250 words using three digital source texts in Dutch and in Spanish pertaining to different text genres (i.e., a report from the European Union, a website, a newspaper article). The three source texts varied in lexical and syntactical complexity, content, style and discursive characteristics. All written products were evaluated by two independent raters. We found no general improvement in the reading-to-write task between the two moments, neither in the L1 nor in the L2. We did not find an improvement at sentence, text, or discourse level either. We will explore several explanations for this lack of improvement, based on theoretical models of foreign language acquisition and recent empirical writing research.
Reliability and validity of field‐based fitness tests in youth soccer players
Authors: Dugdale James H. , Arthur Calum A. , Sanders Dajo , Hunter Angus M.
Published: December 2018

This study aimed to establish between‐day reliability and validity of commonly used field‐based fitness tests in youth soccer players of varied age and playing standards, and to discriminate between players without (“unidentified”) or with (“identified”) a direct route to professional football through their existing club pathway. Three‐hundred‐and‐seventy‐three Scottish youth soccer players (U11–U17) from three different playing standards (amateur, development, performance) completed a battery of commonly used generic field‐based fitness tests (grip dynamometry, standing broad jump, countermovement vertical jump, 505 (505COD) and T‐Drill (T‐Test) change of direction and 10/20 m sprint tests) on two separate occasions within 7–14 days. The majority of field‐based fitness tests selected within this study proved to be reliable measures of physical performance (ICC = 0.83–0.97; p < .01). However, COD tests showed weaker reliability in younger participants (ICC = 0.57–0.79; p < .01). The field‐based fitness testing battery significantly discriminated between the unidentified and identified players; χ2 (7) = 101.646, p < .001, with 70.2% of players being correctly classified. We have shown field‐based fitness tests to be reliable measures of physical performance in youth soccer players. However, results from the 505COD and T‐Test change of direction tests may be more variable in younger players, potentially due to complex demands of these tests and the limited training age established by these players. While the testing battery selected in this study was able to discriminate between unidentified and identified players, findings were inconsistent when attempting to differentiate between individual playing standards within the “identified” player group (development vs. performance).
Somatic activating mutations in PIK3CA cause generalized lymphatic anomaly
Authors: Rodriguez-Laguna Lara , Agra Noelia , Ibañez Kristina , Oliva-Molina Gloria , Gordo Gema , Khurana Noor , Hominick Devon , Beato María , Colmenero Isabel , Herranz Gonzalo , Torres Canizalez Juan M. , Rodríguez Pena Rebeca , Vallespín Elena , Martín-Arenas Rubén , del Pozo Ángela , Villaverde Cristina , Bustamante Ana , Ayuso Carmen , Lapunzina Pablo , Lopez-Gutierrez Juan C. , Dellinger Michael T. , Martinez-Glez Victor
Published: December 2018

Generalized lymphatic anomaly (GLA) is a vascular disorder characterized by diffuse or multifocal lymphatic malformations (LMs). The etiology of GLA is poorly understood. We identified four distinct somatic PIK3CA variants (Glu542Lys, Gln546Lys, His1047Arg, and His1047Leu) in tissue samples from five out of nine patients with GLA. These same PIK3CA variants occur in PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum and cause hyperactivation of the PI3K–AKT–mTOR pathway. We found that the mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, prevented lymphatic hyperplasia and dysfunction in mice that expressed an active form of PIK3CA (His1047Arg) in their lymphatics. We also found that rapamycin reduced pain in patients with GLA. In conclusion, we report that somatic activating PIK3CA mutations can cause GLA, and we provide preclinical and clinical evidence to support the use of rapamycin for the treatment of this disabling and deadly disease.
Checking for a Narrower Impact of White
Authors: Vande Kamp Garrett N.
Published: December 2018

Analysis of Republican Party of Minnesota v. White by political scientists shows that White had no appreciable effect on the conduct or outcome of judicial elections, including a comprehensive study of White by Chris W. Bonneau, Melinda Gann Hall, and Matthew J. Streb. Yet there is reason to believe that White may have had a more narrow impact than Bonneau, Hall, and Streb originally allowed. An extension of their original analysis is conducted, with results showing that their findings are largely robust to more tailored model specifications. Exceptions include findings on ballot roll-off, but contradictory results further support the notion that White truly had no effect.
MetFlow: an interactive and integrated workflow for metabolomics data cleaning and differential metabolite discovery
Authors: Shen Xiaotao , Zhu Zheng-Jiang
Published: December 2018

Mass spectrometry-based metabolomics aims to profile the metabolic changes in biological systems and identify differential metabolites related to physiological phenotypes and aberrant activities. However, many confounding factors during data acquisition complicate metabolomics data, which is characterized by high dimensionality, uncertain degrees of missing and zero values, nonlinearity, unwanted variations and non-normality. Therefore, prior to differential metabolite discovery analysis, various types of data cleaning such as batch alignment, missing value imputation, data normalization and scaling are essentially required for data post-processing. Here, we developed an interactive web server, namely, MetFlow, to provide an integrated and comprehensive workflow for metabolomics data cleaning and differential metabolite discovery.

Availability and implementation

The MetFlow is freely available on http://metflow.zhulab.cn/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria: 2019 Update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America
Authors: Nicolle Lindsay E , Gupta Kalpana , Bradley Suzanne F , Colgan Richard , DeMuri Gregory P , Drekonja Dimitri , Eckert Linda O , Geerlings Suzanne E , Köves Béla , Hooton Thomas M , Juthani-Mehta Manisha , Knight Shandra L , Saint Sanjay , Schaeffer Anthony J , Trautner Barbara , Wullt Bjorn , Siemieniuk Reed
Published: December 2018

Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is a common finding in many populations, including healthy women and persons with underlying urologic abnormalities. The 2005 guideline from the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommended that ASB should be screened for and treated only in pregnant women or in an individual prior to undergoing invasive urologic procedures. Treatment was not recommended for healthy women; older women or men; or persons with diabetes, indwelling catheters, or spinal cord injury. The guideline did not address children and some adult populations, including patients with neutropenia, solid organ transplants, and nonurologic surgery. In the years since the publication of the guideline, further information relevant to ASB has become available. In addition, antimicrobial treatment of ASB has been recognized as an important contributor to inappropriate antimicrobial use, which promotes emergence of antimicrobial resistance. The current guideline updates the recommendations of the 2005 guideline, includes new recommendations for populations not previously addressed, and, where relevant, addresses the interpretation of nonlocalizing clinical symptoms in populations with a high prevalence of ASB.
The Expression of agrp1, A Hypothalamic Appetite-Stimulating Neuropeptide, Reveals Hydrodynamic-Induced Starvation in a Larval Fish
Authors: Koch L , Shainer I , Gurevich T , Holzman R
Published: December 2018

Larval fish suffer dramatic mortality in the days following transition to autonomous feeding, with over 90% of larvae being eliminated within a period of few weeks. Recent work has shown that the hydrodynamic environment experienced by recently-hatched larvae impedes their feeding rates even under high prey densities. Here, we quantified starvation through early ontogeny in Sparus aurata larvae (8–18 days post-hatching; DPH) and tested whether the emerging ontogenetic pattern is consistent with that expected one based on the hydrodynamic environment that these larvae experience. We screened three candidate genes agrp1, npy, and hsp70, whose expression was previously shown to respond to starvation in fish. Of the three genes, agrp1 was identified as a suitable indicator for starvation. Localization of agrp1 mRNA by whole-mount in-situ hybridization confirmed that, in S. aurata larvae, agrp1 is expressed only in the hypothalamus. Quantification of agrp1 mRNA using real-time PCR revealed that the expression of this gene is elevated in starved compared to fed larvae, and in younger (8 DPH) compared to older larvae (18 DPH). Manipulating the water viscosity to simulate the hydrodynamic conditions during the onset of the critical period led to increased agrp1 expression. These findings suggest that the hydrodynamic constraints on larval feeding lead to the starvation of small larvae. Further, they provide a mechanistic explanation for the “safe harbor” hypothesis, which postulates that larvae should allocate resources toward rapid linear growth to escape detrimental effects of dwelling in an environment where viscous fluid forces dominate.
High-volume surfactant administration using a minimally invasive technique: Experience from a Canadian Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Bhattacharya Soume , Read Brooke , McGovern Evelyn , da Silva Orlando
Published: December 2018

Background

Surfactant delivery via a thin endotracheal catheter during spontaneous breathing, a technique called minimally invasive surfactant therapy (MIST), is an alternative to intubation and surfactant administration. There is paucity of data regarding the administration of high-volume surfactant using this technique.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study to review the safety, efficacy, and procedural details pertaining to the delivery of 5 mL/kg of BLES® via MIST approach. In 2016, our centre initiated a practice change allowing the use of MIST as an alternative method of surfactant delivery in infants born at ≥28 weeks and/or with a birth weight ≥ 1,000 g with respiratory distress syndrome. In this study, we identified all neonates who received surfactant via MIST between May 1, 2016 and July 30, 2018 and collected relevant procedural data.

Results

Since this practice change, MIST technique was attempted in 43 neonates with successful instillation of surfactant in 41 (95.3%) of the neonates. Intubation and positive pressure ventilation was avoided in 35 neonates (85.3%). No serious adverse effect was noted.

Conclusions

Our study reports successful use of higher volume surfactant via MIST. This should encourage other similar centres to consider this technique, in order to avoid unnecessary intubation and positive pressure ventilation.
Multilocus Characterization, Gene Expression Analysis of Putative Immunodominant Protein Coding Regions, and Development of Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay for Detection of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma Pruni’ in Prunus avium
Authors: Villamor Dan Edward V. , Eastwell Kenneth C.
Published: December 2018

Western X (WX) disease, caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’, is a devastating disease of sweet cherry resulting in the production of small, bitter-flavored fruits that are unmarketable. Escalation of WX disease in Washington State prompted the development of a rapid detection assay based on recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) to facilitate timely removal and replacement of diseased trees. Here, we report on a reliable RPA assay targeting putative immunodominant protein coding regions that showed comparable sensitivity to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in detecting ‘Ca. Phytoplasma pruni’ from crude sap of sweet cherry tissues. Apart from the predominant strain of ‘Ca. Phytoplasma pruni’, the RPA assay also detected a novel strain of phytoplasma from several WX-affected trees. Multilocus sequence analyses using the immunodominant protein A (idpA), imp, rpoE, secY, and 16S ribosomal RNA regions from several ‘Ca. Phytoplasma pruni’ isolates from WX-affected trees showed that this novel phytoplasma strain represents a new subgroup within the 16SrIII group. Examination of high-throughput sequencing data from total RNA of WX-affected trees revealed that the imp coding region is highly expressed, and as supported by quantitative reverse transcription PCR data, it showed higher RNA transcript levels than the previously proposed idpA coding region of ‘Ca. Phytoplasma pruni’.
Naloxone Availability and Pharmacy Staff Knowledge of Standing Order for Naloxone in Pennsylvania Pharmacies
Authors: Graves Rachel L. , Andreyeva Elena , Perrone Jeanmarie , Shofer Frances S. , Merchant Raina M. , Meisel Zachary F.
Published: December 2018

Objective:

To assess the availability and price of naloxone as well as pharmacy staff knowledge of the standing order for naloxone in Pennsylvania pharmacies.

Methods:

We conducted a telephone audit study from December 2016 to April 2017 in which staff from Pennsylvania pharmacies were surveyed to evaluate naloxone availability, staff understanding of the naloxone standing order, and out-of-pocket cost of naloxone.

Results:

Responses were obtained from 682 of 758 contacted pharmacies (90% response rate). Naloxone was stocked (ie, available for dispensing) in 306 (45%) pharmacies surveyed. Of the 376 (55%) pharmacies that did not stock naloxone, 118 (31%) stated that they could place an order for naloxone for pickup within 1 business day. Responses by pharmacy staff to questions about key components of the standing order for naloxone were collected from 581 of the 682 pharmacies who participated in the survey (85%). Of the 581 pharmacy staff members who stated that they either stocked or could order naloxone, 64% correctly answered all questions pertaining to understanding of the naloxone standing order. The respective median out-of-pocket prices stated in the audit varied by formulation and ranged from $50 to $4000. Staff from national pharmacies were significantly more likely than staff from regional/local chain and non-chain pharmacies to correctly answer that a prescription was not required to obtain naloxone (68.5%, 57.7%, and 52.4% respectively, (P = 0.0045).

Conclusions:

Multiple barriers to naloxone access exist in pharmacies across a large, diverse state, despite the presence of a standing order to facilitate such access. Limited availability of naloxone in pharmacies, lack of knowledge or understanding by pharmacy staff of the standing order, and variability in out-of-pocket cost for this drug are among these potential barriers. Regulatory or legal incentives for pharmacies or drug manufacturers, education efforts directed toward pharmacy staff members, or other interventions may be needed to increase naloxone availability in pharmacies.