bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of total sugar intake on metabolic blood markers at 8 years of age in the Childhood Obesity Project
Authors: Aumueller Nicole , Gruszfeld Dariusz , Gradowska Kinga , Escribano Joaquín , Ferré Natalia , Martin Françoise , Poncelet Pascale , Verduci Elvira , ReDionigi Alice , Koletzko Berthold , Grote Veit
Published: May 2020

Purpose

We aimed to characterize the association of dietary sugar intake with blood lipids and glucose-related markers in childhood.

Methods

Data from the multicentric European Childhood Obesity Project Trial were used. Three-day weighed dietary records were obtained at 8 years of age along with serum concentrations of triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), glucose, and insulin. Total sugar intake comprised all mono- and disaccharides; different sugar sources were defined. Linear regression models were applied to investigate the cross-sectional association of total sugar intake with blood lipids and glucose-related markers with adjustment for total energy intake using the residual method.

Results

Data were available for 325 children. Children consumed on average 332 kcal (SD 110) and 21% (SD 6) of energy from total sugar. In an energy-adjusted model, an increase of 100 kcal from total sugar per day was significantly associated with a z score HDL-C decrease (− 0.14; 95% CI − 0.01, − 0.27; p value = 0.031). Concerning different food groups of total sugar intake, 100 kcal total sugar from sweetened beverages was negatively associated with z score HDL-C (− 1.67; 95% CI − 0.42, − 2.91; p value = 0.009), while total sugar from milk products was positively related to z score HDL-C (1.38, 95% CI 0.03, 2.72; p value = 0.045). None of the other blood lipids or glucose-related markers showed a significant relationship with total sugar intake.

Conclusion

Increasing dietary total sugar intake in children, especially from sweetened beverages, was associated with unfavorable effects on HDL-C, which might increase the long-term risk for dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease.

Clinical trial registry

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00338689; Registered: June 19, 2006. URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00338689?term=NCT00338689&rank=1.
Prevalence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction in a typical outpatient pacemaker cohort
Authors: Schwerg Marius , Dreger Henryk , Stangl Karl , Leonhardt Volker , Melzer Christoph
Published: May 2020

Background

Right ventricular (RV) pacing is the standard treatment for symptomatic bradycardia. RV pacing is known to cause dyssyncrony. New treatment options like His bundle pacing enhance the focus on left ventricular dysfunction in patients with pacemakers.

Objectives

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to obtain a real-life picture of the patients in a representative cohort of outpatients with permanent pacemakers. The prevalence and causes of left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) were explored.

Methods

In total, 1869 patients of a pacemaker outpatient clinic were screened for left ventricular systolic dysfunction by transthoracic echocardiography. All patients were interviewed for symptoms and cardiologist care. Percentages of RV pacing and underlying cardiac disease were recorded.

Results

A left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) under 45% was found in 207 (11.1%) of all patients. Predictive factors for a reduced LVEF were a high pacing rate and long-term pacing. LVD due to RV pacing was diagnosed in 3.4% of all patients. Only 845 patients (45%) reported that they regularly visited a cardiologist.

Conclusion

There is a high prevalence of unknown LVD in a typical pacemaker cohort. Therefore, regular echocardiographic examinations should be performed in outpatients of pacemaker clinics.
Motherhood after cancer: fertility and utilisation of fertility-preservation methods
Authors: Goeckenjan Maren , Freis A. , Glaß K. , Schaar J. , Trinkaus I. , Torka S. , Wimberger P. , Germeyer A.
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Due to modern and individualised treatments, women at reproductive age have a high survival rate after cancer therapy. What are pregnancy and birth rates of women after cancer and how often do they use cryopreserved ovarian tissue or gametes?

Methods

From 2007 to 2015, 162 women aged 26.7 ± 6.9 years were counselled for fertility preservation at a single University Fertility Centre. A questionnaire study was performed in average 3 and 6 years after the diagnosis of cancer. The women were asked about their fertility, partnership, family planning, and pregnancy history. 72 women (51%) answered a written questionnaire in 2016. 59 women were reached again by phone in 2019 (82%).

Results

The preferred method of fertility preservation was ovarian tissue cryopreservation (n = 36, 50%); none of the women had ovarian hyperstimulation in order to cryopreserve oocytes. About 3 years after treatment, 37 women of 72 women (51%) of the women with a mean age of 29.9 years had a strong wish to conceive. 21/72 (29%) had actively tried to conceive after successful cancer treatment; eight women (11%) were already pregnant or had children. Six years after cancer diagnosis 16/59 (27%) women had ongoing anticancer treatment. 12/59 (20%) were pregnant or had children, while 39% (23/59) had no menstrual cycle. Only one woman used her cryopreserved ovarian tissue, but did not become pregnant.

Conclusion

After cancer and gonadotoxic treatment, women’s desire to have a child is substantial. In this study, the rate of spontaneous pregnancies and births was 20% 6 years after gonadotoxic therapies. Not every woman, however, has the opportunity to conceive: factors impairing fertility include ongoing cancer treatment or persistent disease, no partner, no menstrual cycle, as well as other reasons for infertility.
Effects of cocaine and levamisole (as adulterant) on the isolated perfused Langendorff heart
Authors: Gartz A. , Pawlik E. , Eckhardt J. , Ritz-Timme St. , Huhn R. , Mayer F.
Published: May 2020

Cocaine-related deaths occur regularly in forensic routine work. In cases in which the detected concentration of cocaine is rather low and other causes of death apart from intoxication can be ruled out, the question arises if adulterants of cocaine might have played a crucial role. In the present study, cardiac effects of cocaine, of the adulterant levamisole and of mixtures of both were evaluated using the isolated perfused Langendorff heart. While exposed to the substances, functional parameters heart rate, left ventricular pressure and coronary flow were documented. Relevant alterations of these parameters were found for cocaine as well as for levamisole. Exposing the hearts to a mixture of both resulted in a combination of these effects; the emergence of new alterations or an obvious aggravation were not detected. Nevertheless, the results imply that the consumption of cocaine adulterated with levamisole bares an increased risk for cardiac complications, especially in the presence of preexisting cardiac pathologies.
Degradation of pesticide Cartap in Padan 95SP by combined advanced oxidation and electro-Fenton process
Authors: Hoang Nguyen Tien , Holze Rudolf
Published: May 2020

The electro-Fenton process combined with a boron-doped diamond-positive electrode in a one-compartment cell has shown efficient degradation of Cartap (95% in Padan 95SP) by hydroxyl radicals (•OH) generated in the electro-Fenton and the electrochemical oxidation processes. The influence of added NaOCl in a pretreatment step, effects of H2O2 concentration, Fe2+-ion addition, presence of further metals acting as co-catalysts, and solution pH on the efficiency of Cartap degradation were studied. The concentration of Cartap was determined by UV-vis spectroscopy according to the 5,5-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) procedure. The efficiency reaches approximately 80% when measured as total carbon concentration decrease, even with increased concentrations of H2O2, Fe2+, or metal ions added as co-catalyst. This limitation is presumably due to recalcitrant intermediates, which cannot be destroyed by •OH.
A specialised delivery system for stratospheric sulphate aerosols (part 2): financial cost and equivalent CO2 emission
Authors:   DSE 16-02, de Vries I. E. , Janssens M. , Hulshoff S. J.
Published: May 2020

Temporary stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) using sulphate compounds could help avoid some of the adverse and irreversible impacts of global warming, but comprises many risks and uncertainties. Among these, the direct financial cost and carbon emissions of potential SAI delivery systems have hitherto received only modest attention. Therefore, this paper quantifies the initial and operating financial costs and initial and operating equivalent CO2 (CO2eq) emissions of the specialised aircraft-based SAI delivery system developed with relatively high-fidelity tools in part 1 of this series. We analyse an interval of operating conditions, within which we devote special attention to four injection scenarios outlined in part 1: Three scenarios where H2SO4 vapour is directly injected at several dispersion rates and one SO2 injection scenario. We estimate financial cost through Raymer’s adjustment of Rand Corporation’s Development and Production Costs for Aircraft (DAPCA) model, augmented by additional data. CO2eq emission is computed from existing data and the computed fuel consumption for each of the scenarios. The latter estimates include an emission weighting factor to account for non-CO2 aircraft combustion products at altitude. For direct H2SO4 injection, both financial cost and CO2eq emission are sensitive to the design dispersion rate. For scenarios where higher dispersion rates are achieved, the delivery system’s cost and CO2eq are relatively small compared with the presumed benefits of SAI. The most optimistic H2SO4 scenario is found to have a financial cost and CO2eq emission similar to that of SO2 injection, while potentially allowing for reductions in the annual mass of sulphur injected to achieve a target negative radiative forcing. The estimates of financial cost and CO2eq emission were subjected to sensitivity analyses in several key parameters, including aircraft operational empty weight, engine specific fuel consumption, fuel price and aerosol price. The results indicate that the feasibility of the considered scenarios is robust.
Historical roots of Judit Bar-Ilan’s research: a cited-references analysis using CRExplorer
Authors: Bornmann Lutz , Leydesdorff Loet
Published: May 2020

Judit Bar-Ilan (JB) was an influential researcher in information science and scientometrics. She published more than 100 papers about different topics. We used the CRExplorer (see www.crexplorer.net) to investigate the historical roots of JB’s research. In this program, the N_TOP10 indicator is available. We applied this indicator to identify those publications which have been very frequently cited by JB during several citing years. These might be the publications by which JB was mostly influenced in her research. Our results show that the identified publications are seminal works in information science and scientometrics as well as methodologically oriented publications dealing with text or content analyses as well as influence or distance measures.
Drug-induced sleep endoscopy while administering CPAP therapy in patients with CPAP failure
Authors: Dieleman E. , Veugen C. C. A. F. M. , Hardeman J. A. , Copper M. P.
Published: May 2020

Study objectives

To study the pattern of upper airway collapse in patients with CPAP failure by performing DISE while administering CPAP therapy and to determine the reason for CPAP failure accordingly.

Methods

This observational retrospective study comprised 30 patients diagnosed with OSA and CPAP failure, who underwent DISE while administering CPAP therapy. During DISE, the upper airway was assessed with and without CPAP therapy using the VOTE classification. Additionally, a jaw thrust maneuver was performed, in order to mimic the effect of an additional mandibular advancement device (MAD) in combination with CPAP therapy. Consequently, the outcome of DISE was translated into a clinically relevant categorization.

Results

Eleven patients (37%) had a persistent anteroposterior (AP) collapse, including a collapse at velum, tongue base, or epiglottis level and multilevel collapse. Eight patients (27%) had a floppy epiglottis. Five patients (17%) had a persistent complete concentric collapse (CCC) and three patients had a persistent laryngeal collapse (10%). In three patients (10%), no airway collapse was found after CPAP administration.

Conclusions

Based on the results of the reported study, in most cases, the potential cause of CPAP failure can be determined by this new diagnostic method. Consequently, suggestions can be made for additional therapy.
Effects of a professional development program for teaching mathematics with technology on teachers’ beliefs, self-efficacy and practices
Authors: Thurm Daniel , Barzel Bärbel
Published: May 2020

Digital technologies such as multi-representational tools have the potential to enhance the learning of mathematics. In light of this potential, there is a ubiquitous call to integrate such tools into mathematics teaching. However, these technologies are still underused. Teaching with technology is not an easy task and teacher competencies such as knowledge and beliefs are a decisive factor. Therefore, professional development is important to professionalize teachers and support them in using technology in meaningful ways. Despite this need, little is known about the efficacy of professional development programs for teaching mathematics with technology. This quantitative study investigated the efficacy of a half-year professional development program for teaching mathematics with technology, using the methodology of a quasi-experimental design, in Germany. We captured (i) teachers’ beliefs about teaching with technology, (ii) self-efficacy beliefs related to teaching with technology, (iii) epistemological beliefs and (iv) self-reported frequency of technology uptake with quantitative questionnaires in pre- and post-tests. The experimental group (n = 39) participating in the professional development program consisted of mostly novices in using technology for teaching mathematics. Propensity score matching was used to match this group with a control group of teachers (n = 38) who did not participate in the professional development program. The strongest impact of the professional development program was found on teacher’s technology-related beliefs. Frequency of technology use seemed to increase gradually in the experimental group during the professional development program. No effect of the professional development program was found on self-efficacy beliefs and epistemological beliefs. We conclude by deriving recommendations for designing professional development programs related to teaching with technology.
Anti-inflammatory Action of Statins in Cardiovascular Disease: the Role of Inflammasome and Toll-Like Receptor Pathways
Authors: Koushki Khadijeh , Shahbaz Sanaz Keshavarz , Mashayekhi Kazem , Sadeghi Mahvash , Zayeri Zeinab Deris , Taba Mahdieh Yousefi , Banach Maciej , Al-Rasadi Khalid , Johnston Thomas P. , Sahebkar Amirhossein
Published: May 2020

Atherosclerosis is one type of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in which activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and toll-like receptor (TLR) pathways is implicated. One of the most effective treatments for atherosclerosis is the use of statin medications. Recent studies have indicated that statins, in addition to their lipid-lowering effects, exert inhibitory and/or stimulatory effects on the NLRP3 inflammasome and TLRs. Some of the statins lead to activation of the inflammasome and subsequently cause secretion of IL-1β and IL-18. Thus, these actions may further aggravate the disease. On the other hand, some statins cause inhibition of the inflammasome or TLRs and along with lipid-lowering, help to improve the disease by reducing inflammation. In this article, we discuss these contradictory studies and the mechanisms of action of statins on the NLRP3 inflammasome and TLR pathways. The dose-dependent effects of statins on the NLRP3 complex are related to their chemistry, pharmacokinetic properties, and danger signals. Lipophilic statins have more pleiotropic effects on the NLRP3 complex in comparison to hydrophilic statins. Statins can suppress TLR4/MyD88/NF-ĸB signaling and cause an immune response shift to an anti-inflammatory response. Furthermore, statins inhibit the NF-ĸB pathway by decreasing the expression of TLRs 2 and 4. Statins are cost-effective drugs, which should have a continued future in the treatment of atherosclerosis due to both their immune-modulating and lipid-lowering effects.
Low-tension gas process in high-salinity and low-permeability reservoirs
Authors: Das Alolika , Nguyen Nhut , Nguyen Quoc P.
Published: May 2020

Polymer-based EOR methods in low-permeability reservoirs face injectivity issues and increased fracturing due to near wellbore plugging, as well as high-pressure gradients in these reservoirs. Polymer may cause pore blockage and undergo shear degradation and even oxidative degradation at high temperatures in the presence of very hard brine. Low-tension gas (LTG) flooding has the potential to be applied successfully for low-permeability carbonate reservoirs even in the presence of high formation brine salinity. In LTG flooding, the interfacial tension between oil and water is reduced to ultra-low values (10−3 dyne/cm) by injecting an optimized surfactant formulation to maximize mobilization of residual oil post-waterflood. Gas (nitrogen, hydrocarbon gases or CO2) is co-injected along with the surfactant slug to generate in situ foam which reduces the mobility ratio between the displaced (oil) and displacing phases, thus improving the displacement efficiency of the oil. In this work, the mechanism governing LTG flooding in low-permeability, high-salinity reservoirs was studied at a microscopic level using microemulsion properties and on a macroscopic scale by laboratory-scale coreflooding experiments. The main injection parameters studied were injected slug salinity and the interrelation between surfactant concentration and injected foam quality, and how they influence oil mobilization and displacement efficiency. Qualitative assessment of the results was performed by studying oil recovery, oil fractional flow, oil bank breakthrough and effluent salinity and pressure drop characteristics.
Geochemical characteristics and genetic mechanism of the high-N2 shale gas reservoir in the Longmaxi Formation, Dianqianbei Area, China
Authors: Li Ji-Lin , Zhang Ting-Shan , Li Yan-Jun , Liang Xing , Wang Xin , Zhang Jie-Hui , Zhang Zhao , Shu Hong-Lin , Rao Da-Qian
Published: May 2020

As an important pilot target for shale gas exploration and development in China, the Longmaxi Formation shale in the Dianqianbei Area is characterized by high content of nitrogen, which severely increases exploration risk. Accordingly, this study explores the genesis of shale gas reservoir and the mechanism of nitrogen enrichment through investigating shale gas compositions, isotope features, and geochemical characteristics of associated gases. The high-nitrogen shale gas reservoir in the Longmaxi Formation is demonstrated to be a typical dry gas reservoir. Specifically, the alkane carbon isotope reversal is ascribed to the secondary cracking of crude oil and the Rayleigh fractionation induced by the basalt mantle plume. Such a thermogenic oil-type gas reservoir is composed of both oil-cracking gas and kerogen-cracking gas. The normally high nitrogen content (18.05%–40.92%) is attributed to organic matter cracking and thermal ammoniation in the high-maturity stage. Specifically, the high heat flow effect of the Emeishan mantle plume exacerbates the thermal cracking of organic matter in the Longmaxi Formation shale, accompanied by nitrogen generation. In comparison, the abnormally high nitrogen content (86.79%–98.54%) is ascribed to the communication between the atmosphere and deep underground fluids by deep faults, which results in hydrocarbon loss and nitrogen intrusion, acting as the key factor for deconstruction of the primary shale gas reservoir. Results of this study not only enrich research on genetic mechanism of high-maturity N2 shale gas reservoirs, but also provide theoretical guidance for subsequent gas reservoir resource evaluation and well-drilling deployment in this area.
Human-machine collaboration in online customer service – a long-term feedback-based approach
Authors: Graef Roland , Klier Mathias , Kluge Kilian , Zolitschka Jan Felix
Published: May 2020

The rising expectations of customers have considerably contributed to the need for automated approaches supporting employees in online customer service. Since automated approaches still struggle to meet the challenge to fully grasp the semantics of texts, hybrid approaches combining the complementary strengths of human and artificial intelligence show great potential for assisting employees. While research in Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) already provides well-established approaches, they do not fully exploit the potential of CBR as hybrid intelligence. Against this background, we follow a design-oriented approach and develop an adapted textual CBR cycle that integrates employees’ feedback on semantic similarity, which is collected during the Reuse phase, into the Retrieve phase by means of long-term feedback methods from information retrieval. Using a real-world data set, we demonstrate the practical applicability and evaluate our approach regarding performance in online customer service. Our novel approach surpasses human-based, machine-based, and hybrid approaches in terms of effectiveness due to a refined retrieval of semantically similar customer problems. It is further favorable regarding efficiency, reducing the average time required to solve a customer problem.
Characterization of well logs using K-mean cluster analysis
Authors: Ali Amjad , Sheng-Chang Chen
Published: May 2020

The identification process of different lithologies, hydrocarbons, and water-saturated zones in oil and gas industries involves petrophysical studies that are carried out by geoscientists using different software packages. This study aims to propose a method by integrating mean cluster analysis and well logs to identify dominant lithologies, pore fluids, and fluids contact. For this purpose, initially, K-mean cluster analysis is applied to density log and P-wave velocity data of three wells in order to group them into different clusters. Based on centroids of each cluster, different lithologies have been identified. The density log equation has been utilized to compute the porosity of each cluster, and the mean of each density log cluster is used as matrix density. Next, sonic log equation has been inverted to compute the fluid velocity and the mean of each P-wave velocity cluster is used as matrix velocity. For the fluid density, sonic and density log equations are jointly inverted to compute the fluid velocity of each cluster. The fluid bulk modulus and acoustic impedance are computed using fluid density and velocity. Based on the results of K-mean cluster analysis, different lithologies (shale, sandstone, and limestone) have been recognized successfully. In well-1, hydrocarbon and water-saturated zones are successfully identified and fluids contact has been established in the zone of interest. However, well-2 and well-3 did not show any indications of the presence of hydrocarbon in the respective zones.
Pivot Property in Weighted Least Regression Based on Single Repeated Observations
Authors: Si Yuancheng
Published: May 2020

How genuine repeated observations influence the result of linear regression could be an interesting topic in regression analysis. In this paper, we discuss the pivot behavior in weighted linear regression based on certain data pattern and give an explanation about the pivot behavior.
Digitalisierung und Psyche – Rahmenbedingungen für eine gesunde Arbeitswelt. Ergebnisse des Projektes GAP
Authors: Bretschneider Maximilian , Drössler Stephanie , Magister Selina , Zeiser Maria , Kämpf Daniel , Seidler Andreas
Published: May 2020

Die gegenwärtige Arbeitswelt ist gezeichnet von Digitalisierungsprozessen, welche sukzessive in allen Bereichen der Erwerbsarbeit wirksam werden. Der Großteil der damit im Zusammenhang stehenden arbeitsorganisatorischen Veränderungen bleibt in seinen Wirkungen ambivalent und bietet immer auch Ansatzpunkte für Maßnahmen des Arbeits- und Gesundheitsschutzes. Das BMBF geförderte Verbundprojekt „Gesunde Arbeit in Pionierbranchen (GAP)“ untersuchte den Einfluss des technologischen Wandels auf die psychische und physische Gesundheit sowie Strukturen und Maßnahmen des Arbeits- und Gesundheitsschutzes. Weiterhin sollten erste Empfehlungen für einen zukunftsfähigen Arbeitsschutz abgeleitet werden. In Anbetracht des nach einer Literatursichtung überschaubaren Forschungsstandes wurde ein exploratives Vorgehen gewählt und mittels der Erstellung von Unternehmensfallstudien realisiert. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass bekannte Gefährdungen, vor allem körperlich schwere Arbeit, reduziert werden können. Gleichwohl lassen sich neue Gefährdungen und die Intensivierung bekannter Gefährdungen sowie eine Belastungsverschiebung beobachten. Darüber hinaus zeichnet sich eine deutliche Zunahme psychischer Belastungen im Arbeitskontext ab. Für die gesundheitsförderliche Gestaltung ergeben sich demnach durch technologische Veränderungen wie Digitalisierung, Automatisierung und intelligente Vernetzung von Produktionsschritten sowohl Chancen als auch Herausforderungen.

Praktische Relevanz: Erste Handlungsempfehlungen für einen zukunftsfähigen Arbeits- und Gesundheitsschutz und gute digitalisierte Arbeit können abgeleitet werden.
Back to basics: returning to the evidence and mapping knowledge in south Asian archaeology
Authors: Hawkes Jason D. , Casile Anne
Published: May 2020

In this article we advocate a return to the consideration and examination of the basic building blocks of archaeological enquiry: the evidence. Reacting to a widely held perception that archaeology now understands various commonalities of human experience, we suggest that such concepts and the inevitable oscillation towards “big picture” approaches that stems from them are problematic. They engender a type of scholarship that does not always engage fully with the evidentiary bases of interpretation and that risks assuming a great deal about large parts of the world that have not been studied in as much detail as others. We explore this by looking at the South Asian context, where archaeologists are forced to contend with a number of constraints, chief among which is a relative absence of archaeological evidence. Focusing on one particular sub-region, we piece together exactly what evidence exists and consider what can (and cannot) be said from it. On one level this serves as a useful comparator for those working in other parts of the world who may not appreciate the evidentiary constraints that exist elsewhere. Yet beyond this and simple questions of analogy, we suggest that detailed consideration of an area such as the one presented here forces us to return to even more fundamental questions relating to when archaeological research becomes “interesting”, “ground-breaking”, and “new”; and who decides this.
A new generation of wear resistant metal materials
Authors: Bodén Isabelle
Published: May 2020

Metal materials with remarkable properties. This has been the driving force for the Swedish company VBN Components since the very start. Hard work and countless experiments have led to patented alloys with unique performance.
INFLUENCES OF UPPER FLORIDAN AQUIFER WATERS ON RADIOCARBON IN THE OTOLITHS OF GRAY SNAPPER (Lutjanus griseus) IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
Authors: Andrews Allen H , Barnett Beverly K , Chanton Jeffrey P , Thornton Laura A , Allman Robert J
Published: May 2020

The otoliths (ear stones) of fishes are commonly used to describe the age and growth of marine and freshwater fishes. These non-skeletal structures are fortuitous in their utility by being composed of mostly inorganic carbonate that is inert through the life of the fish. This conserved record functions like an environmental chronometer and bomb-produced radiocarbon (14C)—a 14C signal created by atmospheric testing of thermonuclear devices—can be used as a time-specific marker in validating fish age. However, complications from the hydrogeology of nearshore marine environments can complicate 14C levels, as was the case with gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) along the Gulf of Mexico coast of Florida. Radiocarbon of these nearshore waters is influenced by freshwater input from the karst topography of the Upper Floridan Aquifer—estuarine waters that are 14C-depleted from surface and groundwater inputs. Some gray snapper likely recruited to this kind of environment where 14C levels were depleted in the earliest otolith growth, although age was validated for individuals that were not exposed to 14C-depleted waters to an age of at least 25 years with support for a 30-year lifespan.
One-generator braces and indecomposable set-theoretic solutions to the Yang–Baxter equation
Authors: Rump Wolfgang
Published: May 2020

An unexpected relationship between indecomposable involutive set-theoretic solutions to the Yang–Baxter equation and one-generator braces has recently been discovered by Agata and Alicja Smoktunowicz. We extend these results and answer three open questions which arose in this context.
Imprimatur as Adversary: Press freedom and colonial governance in India, 1780–1823
Authors: PRASAD RITIKA
Published: May 2020

Examining cases of libel between 1780 and 1823, this article analyses how the theory and practice of press regulation and governmentality was initially articulated in colonial India, embodied in everyday transactions between the newly invented East India Company state and an emerging newspaper press. While Company officials recognized that scrutiny by a free press was central to establishing their fairly new claims to just governance and public legitimacy, they feared that public critique would destabilize the very sovereign authority that they sought to establish. Concerned with appearing arbitrary, officials developed strategies through which they could demand obedience without necessarily predicating it on censorship. Journalists derived much of their negotiating power from the early colonial state's vulnerability to public scrutiny, but they also knew that the state possessed extensive control over their livelihood. Cognizant of the power and constraints of colonial governmentality at this juncture, they produced their own mechanisms of permissible intransigence. This uneasy equilibrium generated the questions explored in this article: What rights of comment and critique practically accrued to newspapers? What was the legal authority of executive regulations censoring newspapers and how far were these enforceable? Why, in practice, did punishments remain strikingly similar across periods with and without formal censorship? The cases between 1780 and 1823 not only reveal the historical negotiations that structured this foundational—though somewhat marginalized—period of India's press history, but also explain the strategic shifts that followed as, in 1823, the fulcrum of crime and punishment turned away from press censorship and towards press licensing.
Static Characteristic Analysis of Spatial (Non-Planar) Links in Planar Parallel Manipulator
Authors: Ganesh M. , Dash Anjan Kumar , Venkitachalam P. , Shrinithi S.
Published: May 2020

Conventional planar manipulators have their links in a single plane. Increasing payload at the end effector/mobile platform can induce high stress in the links due to the cantilever nature of links. Thus, it limits the total vertical load that can be applied on the mobile platform. In contrast to the links in conventional planar parallel mechanisms, non-planar links are proposed in this paper, that is, links are made inclined to the horizontal plane and non-planar legs are constructed. Though the links are made non-planar, the end effectors’ planar motion is retained. For studying the application of such non-planar links in planar manipulators, new models of inertia, stiffness and leg dynamics have to be developed. In this article, these models are developed by the static analysis of the planar manipulators with non-planar links, and the performance is compared with the corresponding conventional planar manipulators.
Human dimensions of human–lion conflict: a pre- and post-assessment of a lion conservation programme in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
Authors: LeFlore Eric G , Fuller Todd K , Tomeletso Mathata , Dimbindo Tiro C , Stein Andrew B
Published: May 2020

Humans are contributing to large carnivore declines around the globe, and conservation interventions should focus on increasing local stakeholder tolerance of carnivores and be informed by both biological and social considerations. In the Okavango Delta (Botswana), we tested new conservation strategies alongside a pre-existing government compensation programme. The new strategies included the construction of predator-proof livestock enclosures, the establishment of an early warning system linked to GPS satellite lion collars, depredation event investigations and educational programmes. We conducted pre- and post-assessments of villagers’ livestock management practices, attitudes towards carnivores and conservation, perceptions of human–carnivore coexistence and attitudes towards established conservation programmes. Livestock management levels were low and 50% of farmers lost livestock to carnivores, while 5–10% of owned stock was lost. Respondents had strong negative attitudes towards lions, which kill most depredated livestock. Following new management interventions, tolerance of carnivores significantly increased, although tolerance of lions near villages did not. The number of respondents who believed that coexistence with carnivores was possible significantly increased. Respondents had negative attitudes towards the government-run compensation programme, citing low and late payments, but were supportive of the new management interventions. These efforts show that targeted, intensive management can increase stakeholder tolerance of carnivores.
Childhood adversity is linked to adult health among African Americans via adolescent weight gain and effects are genetically moderated
Authors: Beach Steven R. H. , Ong Mei Ling , Lei Man-Kit , Klopack Eric , Carter Sierra E. , Simons Ronald L. , Gibbons Frederick X. , Lavner Justin A. , Philibert Robert A. , Ye Kaixiong
Published: May 2020

Identifying the mechanisms linking early experiences, genetic risk factors, and their interaction with later health consequences is central to the development of preventive interventions and identifying potential boundary conditions for their efficacy. In the current investigation of 412 African American adolescents followed across a 20-year period, we examined change in body mass index (BMI) across adolescence as one possible mechanism linking childhood adversity and adult health. We found associations of childhood adversity with objective indicators of young adult health, including a cardiometabolic risk index, a methylomic aging index, and a count of chronic health conditions. Childhood adversities were associated with objective indicators indirectly through their association with gains in BMI across adolescence and early adulthood. We also found evidence of an association of genetic risk with weight gain across adolescence and young adult health, as well as genetic moderation of childhood adversity's effect on gains in BMI, resulting in moderated mediation. These patterns indicated that genetic risk moderated the indirect pathways from childhood adversity to young adult health outcomes and childhood adversity moderated the indirect pathways from genetic risk to young adult health outcomes through effects on weight gain during adolescence and early adulthood.
Aborted cardiac arrest during sport activity in a teenager diagnosed with short QT syndrome
Authors: Ramoğlu Mehmet G. , Karagözlü Selen , Uçar Tayfun , Tutar Ercan
Published: May 2020

Short QT syndrome is a malignant repolarisation disorder characterised by short QT intervals. We present a previously asymptomatic 14-year-old male patient with negative family history, who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while playing basketball and diagnosed with short QT syndrome to make emphasis on the fact that although very rare patients with this syndrome may experience cardiac arrest during exercise.
Friday Veneration among Syriac Christians: The Witness of theStory of the Holy Friday
Authors: MINOV SERGEY
Published: May 2020

This article contains the original unpublished Syriac text of the Story of the Holy Friday, an anonymous hagiographic composition that promotes an idiosyncratic form of Friday veneration, which demands that Christians refrain from work on that day completely. The text of the Story, published on the basis of manuscript Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, syr. 234, is accompanied with an English translation and discussion of its unusual message, possibly related to the early period of Muslim-Christian relations in the Near East.
The evolution of the Offshore US-Dollar System: past, present and four possible futures
Authors: Murau Steffen , Rini Joe , Haas Armin
Published: May 2020

Little has contributed more to the emergence of today's world of financial globalization than the setup of the international monetary system. In its current shape, it has a hierarchical structure with the US-Dollar (USD) at the top and various other monetary areas forming a multilayered periphery to it. A key feature of the system is the creation of USD offshore – a feature that in the 1950s and 60s developed in co-evolution with the Bretton Woods System and in the 1970s replaced it. Since the 2007–9 Financial Crisis, this ‘Offshore US-Dollar System’ has been backstopped by the Federal Reserve's network of swap lines which are extended to other key central banks. This systemic evolution may continue in the decades to come, but other systemic arrangements are possible as well and have historical precedents. This article discusses four trajectories that would lead to different setups of the international monetary system by 2040, taking into account how its hierarchical structure and the role of offshore credit money creation may evolve. In addition to a continuation of USD hegemony, we present the emergence of competing monetary blocs, the formation of an international monetary federation and the disintegration into an international monetary anarchy.
Local Heating of Oxygen Ions in the Presence of Magnetosonic Waves: Possible Source for the Warm Plasma Cloak?
Authors: Hill S. , Buzulukova N. , Boardsen S. , Fok M.‐C.
Published: May 2020

In the energy regime between the plasmasphere (a few eV) and the ring current (greater than 1 keV), there exists another magnetospheric particle population with energies from a few eV to a few keV, the origins of which are debated. Studies explore generation mechanisms for warm plasma energies in the inner magnetosphere through two observed phenomena: the warm plasma cloak and the oxygen torus. The relations between these two populations are unclear. Recent data reveal local heating of cold H+ and He+ ions to warm plasma energies by magnetosonic waves. In this study, we report first observations of thermal O+ heating by magnetosonic waves and link the heating to a possible formation mechanism for the warm plasma cloak. The O+ heating is observed by different plasmaspheric density profiles, including density channels. We observe that O+ heating always occurs with thermal H+ and He+ heating. We investigate the harmonic structure of the observed magnetosonic waves and find intense O+ heating is accompanied by discrete heavy ion gyroharmonics. We suggest that locally heated thermal ions to 100s eV by magnetosonic waves along the plasmapause could provide a possible mechanism for warm plasma cloak generation.
Preliminary Evidence of Madden‐Julian Oscillation Effects on Ultrafast Tropical Waves in the Thermosphere
Authors: Gasperini Federico , Liu Hanli , McInerney Joseph
Published: May 2020

Over the past two decades mounting evidence demonstrated that terrestrial weather significantly influences the dynamics and mean state of the thermosphere. While important progress has been made in understanding how this coupling occurs on hourly to daily time scales, large uncertainty still exists on this effect around intraseasonal (∼30–90 days) time scales. In this work, analyses of Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics Dynamics‐Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry temperatures near 110 km and Gravity field and steady‐state Ocean Circulation Explorer cross‐track winds near 260 km reveal prominent intraseasonal oscillations in the equatorial (±15°) zonal mean lower and middle thermosphere. Similar intraseasonal oscillations are found in the amplitudes of the diurnal eastward propagating tide with Zonal Wavenumber 3 (DE3) and the quasi‐3‐day ultrafast Kelvin wave, two prominent ultrafast tropical waves (UFTWs) excited by deep tropical tropospheric convection. Numerical simulations from the Specified‐Dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model eXtended demonstrate a significant connection between these UFTW and the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO). Compared to the boreal winter mean state, thermospheric UFTW amplitudes are larger (+5 to +12%) during MJO Phases 2–3 and smaller (−3% to −12%) during MJO Phases 6–8. Significant variations are also found with respect to the phase of the mesospheric semiannual oscillation (MSAO) and stratospheric quasi‐biannual oscillation (SQBO), with larger (±12–16%) thermospheric amplitudes during westward MSAO/SQBO phase and smaller (±3–6%) amplitudes during eastward MSAO/SQBO phase, in accordance with theoretical interpretations. This study suggests that UFTW may play a large role in coupling tropospheric intraseasonal variability to the thermosphere, raising important questions including implications for the whole atmosphere system.
Unprecedented Clear Skies Drove Remarkable Melting in Greenland
Authors: Thomasy Hannah
Published: May 2020

Scientists are concerned that current climate models do not fully account for the impact of atmospheric conditions on the Greenland Ice Sheet and, consequently, may dramatically underestimate melting.
Origin of Groundwater Arsenic in a Rural Pleistocene Aquifer in Bangladesh Depressurized by Distal Municipal Pumping
Authors: Mozumder M. R. H. , Michael H. A. , Mihajlov I. , Khan M. R. , Knappett P. S. K. , Bostick B. C. , Mailloux B. J. , Ahmed K. M. , Choudhury I. , Koffman T. , Ellis T. , Whaley‐Martin K. , San Pedro R. , Slater G. , Stute M. , Schlosser P. , van Geen A.
Published: May 2020

Across South Asia, millions of villagers have reduced their exposure to high‐arsenic (As) groundwater by switching to low‐As wells. Isotopic tracers and flow modeling are used in this study to understand the groundwater flow system of a semi‐confined aquifer of Pleistocene (>10 kyr) age in Bangladesh that is generally low in As but has been perturbed by massive pumping at a distance of about 25 km for the municipal water supply of Dhaka. A 10‐ to 15‐m‐thick clay aquitard caps much of the intermediate aquifer (>40‐ to 90‐m depth) in the 3‐km2study area, with some interruptions by younger channel sand deposits indicative of river scouring. Hydraulic heads in the intermediate aquifer below the clay‐capped areas are 1–2 m lower than in the high‐As shallow aquifer above the clay layer. In contrast, similar heads in the shallow and intermediate aquifer are observed where the clay layer is missing. The head distribution suggests a pattern of downward flow through interruptions in the aquitard and lateral advection from the sandy areas to the confined portion of the aquifer. The interpreted flow system is consistent with3H‐3He ages, stable isotope data, and groundwater flow modeling. Lateral flow could explain an association of elevated As with high methane concentrations within layers of gray sand below certain clay‐capped portions of the Pleistocene aquifer. An influx of dissolved organic carbon from the clay layer itself leading to a reduction of initially orange sands has also likely contributed to the rise of As.
Pomalidomide, dexamethasone, and daratumumab in relapsed refractory multiple myeloma after lenalidomide treatment
Authors: Siegel David S. , Schiller Gary J. , Samaras Christy , Sebag Michael , Berdeja Jesus , Ganguly Siddhartha , Matous Jeffrey , Song Kevin , Seet Christopher S. , Talamo Giampaolo , Acosta-Rivera Mirelis , Bar Michael , Quick Donald , Anz Bertrand , Fonseca Gustavo , Reece Donna , Pierceall William E. , Chung Weiyuan , Zafar Faiza , Agarwal Amit , Bahlis Nizar J.
Published: May 2020

Patients with multiple myeloma who have relapsed after or become refractory to lenalidomide in early treatment lines represent a clinically important population in need of effective therapies. The safety and efficacy of pomalidomide, low-dose dexamethasone, and daratumumab was evaluated in lenalidomide-pretreated patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) after one to two prior treatment lines in the phase 2 MM-014 study. Patients received pomalidomide 4 mg daily from days 1–21 and dexamethasone 40 mg weekly (28-day cycles). Daratumumab 16 mg/kg was administered per label. Primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR); secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS) and safety. Per protocol, all patients (N = 112) had received lenalidomide in their most recent prior regimen (75.0% lenalidomide refractory). ORR was 77.7% (76.2% in lenalidomide-refractory patients); median follow-up was 17.2 months. Median PFS was not reached (1-year PFS rate 75.1%). The most common hematologic grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse event was neutropenia (62.5%). Grade 3/4 infections were reported in 31.3% of patients, including 13.4% with grade 3/4 pneumonia. These results demonstrate the safety and efficacy of pomalidomide-based therapy as early as second line in patients with RRMM, even immediately after lenalidomide failure, indicating that switching from the immunomodulatory agent class is not necessary.
A structural brain network of genetic vulnerability to psychiatric illness
Authors: Taquet Maxime , Smith Stephen M. , Prohl Anna K. , Peters Jurriaan M. , Warfield Simon K. , Scherrer Benoit , Harrison Paul J.
Published: May 2020

Psychiatry is undergoing a paradigm shift from the acceptance of distinct diagnoses to a representation of psychiatric illness that crosses diagnostic boundaries. How this transition is supported by a shared neurobiology remains largely unknown. In this study, we first identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with psychiatric disorders based on 136 genome-wide association studies. We then conduct a joint analysis of these SNPs and brain structural connectomes in 678 healthy children in the PING study. We discovered a strong, robust, and transdiagnostic mode of genome–connectome covariation which is positively and specifically correlated with genetic risk for psychiatric illness at the level of individual SNPs. Similarly, this mode is also significantly positively correlated with polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia, alcohol use disorder, major depressive disorder, a combined bipolar disorder-schizophrenia phenotype, and a broader cross-disorder phenotype, and significantly negatively correlated with a polygenic risk score for educational attainment. The resulting “vulnerability network” is shown to mediate the influence of genetic risks onto behaviors related to psychiatric vulnerability (e.g., marijuana, alcohol, and caffeine misuse, perceived stress, and impulsive behavior). Its anatomy overlaps with the default-mode network, with a network of cognitive control, and with the occipital cortex. These findings suggest that the brain vulnerability network represents an endophenotype funneling genetic risks for various psychiatric illnesses through a common neurobiological root. It may form part of the neural underpinning of the well-recognized but poorly explained overlap and comorbidity between psychiatric disorders.