bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Coadsorption of CO and CH4 on the Au doped SnO2 (110) surface: a first principles investigation
Authors: Chen Ruixin , Yan Longbin , Lin Long , Deng Chao , Zhang Zhanying
Published: February 2022

We researched the coadsorption of CO and CH4 molecule on the most stable structure of metal atom (Ni, Ag, Au, Rh, Zn, Pt) doped SnO2 (110) surface with the first principle methods. The formation energy results show that the Au/SnO2 (110) surface is the most stable structure. The adsorption energy, bond length, bond angle, density of states, electron population and charge density difference of gas molecule adsorbed on Au/SnO2 (110) surface are researched, which shows that Au/SnO2 (110) surface have excellent adsorption performance to CO and CH4 molecule. The stable adsorption of double CO on Au/SnO2 (110) surface shows that it has practical value. The research of CO and CH4 coadsorption on Au/SnO2 (110) surface shows that the Au/SnO2 (110) surface has stronger adsorption properties to CO than CH4 molecule. Our research indicates that Au/SnO2 is a potential CO sensor material.
Effect of Salinity During Seedling Stage on the Growth and Yield of Black Rice (Oryza sativa L. 'Jeliteng')
Authors: Nisa R I , Wulandari R A , Kurniasih B
Published: February 2022

Black rice (Oryza sativa L. 'Jeliteng') as a functional food, has a higher nutritional content than other types of rice. Black rice can be cultivated along coastal agricultural area which is vulnerable to salinity problem. This study was aimed to determine the effect of salinity during seedling on the growth and yield of black rice. The experiment was conducted at the screen house of the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada. The experiment was arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design. The treatments consisted of non-saline and saline nursery (3 dS/m) as the first factor, and the level of salinity of the media after transplanting (0, 2, 4 and 6 ds/m) as the second factor. The results showed that increasing soil salinity concentrations increased the levels of Na+ and K+ in leaves, decreased stomatal opening width, plant height and 100 grains weight. Compared to those in non-saline nursery, salinity in the seedling stage increased the transpiration rate, stem fresh weight, proportion of green leaves and harvest index under salt stress in the later growth stage. However, seedlings from saline and non-saline nursery showed no difference in their productivities.
Effect of Explants Sterilization and Plant Growth Regulators on Embryo Culture of Kepel (Stelechocarpus burahol)
Authors: Handayani E , Irsyadi M B , Alawiyah R L M N , Aris I
Published: February 2022

Kepel(Stelechocarpus burahol) is an original Indonesian fruit plant.Kepelis currently hard to find and cultivate conventionally. In vitro culture is a method forkepelpropagation. The in vitro culture requires an established protocol for explant sterilization to be successful. For the present, there is no appropriatekepelsterilization method that has been known. This study aimed to obtain a sterilization method forkepelembryo explants appropriate for embryo culture. This research was conducted in September 2018 - January 2019 at the In Vitro Culture Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. This study used an experimental method arranged in a single factor. Completely Randomized Design with the treatment of various immersion methods ofkepelembryo explants divided into 8 levels. They are Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) (5% : 5', 5% : 10', 10% : 5', 10% : 10'), Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (2% : 10', 2% : 15', 3% : 10', 3% : 15') and plant growth regulators 2 ppm 2,4-D + 0,5 ppm BAP, 2 ppm NAA + 0,5 ppm BAP. The results showed that 5% NaOCl for 5 minutes treatment was the best method for sterilization with a percentage of viable explant 88.89%. Then, the percentage of browning 11.11% and 2 ppm 2,4-D + 0,5 ppm BAP was effective in the organogenesis of callus ofkepelembryos.
Analysis of Land Suitability Based on Area Functions in the Merawu Watershed, Banjarnegara Regency
Authors: Funan M G , Suryatmojo H , Widiyatno
Published: February 2022

The decline in the quality of land and the environment is closely related to the increase in changes in land use to settlements as well as to agricultural land that is not in accordance with the spatial layout and function of an area. The purpose of this study is to analyze the suitability of land spatial plans based on the function of the area and analyze the suitability of land use to the function of the area. The method used is the scoring method by assigning a value to the nature of the parameters used in the analysis. The analysis used is Overlay where, the three maps that have been obtained using predetermined criteria are overlapped (overlay), so that the score value of the land unit map is then classified into areas with certain functions. Based on the results of the analysis, the watershed has 3 directions for the function of the area, namely the direction of the protected area function having an area of 17,876.01 ha, the buffer area having an area of 4,599.92 ha and the area for cultivation of seasonal crops and settlements having an area of 839.70 ha.
Strength and Microseismic Properties of Tuff Sandstone, Siltstone and Clayey Weathering Crust Under Shear Loading
Authors: Usol’tseva OM , Vostrikov VI , Tsoi PA
Published: February 2022

The nature of changes of the parameters of microseismic emission signals (MSE) contains important information about the stage of the deformation process during the destruction of rocks under various types of loading, and can also give predictive estimates of the destruction of the massif. In this paper, the study of the MSE behavior is carried out signals under direct shear loading of samples from tuff sandstone, siltstone and clay crust weathering. The analysis of changes of the parameters of the MSE signals: the number, amplitude of acceleration and frequency at the pre-limit stage, the limit load and the post-peak stage of deformation is given.
Axiparabola: a new tool for high-intensity optics
Authors: Oubrerie Kosta , Andriyash Igor A , Lahaye Ronan , Smartsev Slava , Malka Victor , Thaury Cédric
Published: February 2022

An axiparabola is a reflective aspherical optics that focuses a light beam into an extended focal line. The light intensity and group velocity profiles along the focus are adjustable through the proper design. The on-axis light velocity can be controlled, for instance, by adding spatio-temporal couplings via chromatic optics on the incoming beam. Therefore the energy deposition along the axis can be either subluminal or superluminal as required in various applications. This article first explores how the axiparabola design defines its properties in the geometric optics approximation. Then the obtained description is considered in numerical simulations for two cases of interest for laser-plasma acceleration. We show that the axiparabola can be used either to generate a plasma waveguide to overcome diffraction or for driving a dephasingless wakefield accelerator.
Robust Joule-heating induced transmittance modulation of CNT-sheet-paraffin based smart window
Authors: Truong Thuy-Kieu
Published: February 2022

Intelligent window with transmittance change has enabled significant advantages for the smart building. Moreover, such a window with the user’s control to ensure privacy could be obtained by the electrical power. Thanks to the horizontally aligned carbon nanotube (CNT)-sheet-like-film from drawable CNT forest, the CNT-sheet was employed as the Joule-heating induced transparent heater to modulate the transmittance change of paraffin corresponding to its solid to liquid phase change. A facile approach was used to fabricate the sandwich-like smart window cell from the CNT-sheet-paraffin nanocomposite. CNT-sheet from the CNT forest was transferred on the glass substrate and then densified by ethanol. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and infrared (IR) thermal mapping microscopy were carried out to characterize the uniformity of the aligned-CNT-sheet. Significantly, the IR microscopy results showed its homogenous Joule-heating generation without any hot spot. The sandwich cell was made from the CNT-coated substrates and was infiltrated by the melted paraffin in between the substrates. UV–vis spectra with electrical power DC application were used to measure such smart window structures. The results showed the Joule-heating induced uniform heat generator of CNT sheet driving the solid to liquid phase change of paraffin, increasing the transmittance of the intelligent window cell six times in the visible light range. Those results have shown promise for developing the facile smart window, especially for the curve window of vehicles.
Filtered 𝐴-infinity structures in complex geometry
Authors: Cirici Joana , Sopena-Gilboy Anna
Published: February 2022

We prove a filtered version of the Homotopy Transfer Theorem which gives anAA-infinity algebra structure on any page of the spectral sequence associated to a filtered dg-algebra. We then develop various applications to the study of the geometry and topology of complex manifolds, using the Hodge filtration, as well as to complex algebraic varieties, using mixed Hodge theory.
Simultaneous rational approximation to successive powers of a real number
Authors: Poëls Anthony , Roy Damien
Published: February 2022

We develop new tools leading, for each integer

n
≥
4

n\ge 4

, to a significantly improved upper bound for the uniform exponent of rational approximation

λ
^

n

(
ξ
)

\widehat {\lambda }_n(\xi )

to successive powers

1
,
ξ
,
…
,

ξ
n

1,\xi ,\dots ,\xi ^n

of a given real transcendental number

ξ
\xi

. As an application, we obtain a refined lower bound for the exponent of approximation to

ξ
\xi

by algebraic integers of degree at most

n
+
1

n+1

. The new lower bound is

n

/

2
+
a

n

+
4

/

3

n/2+a\sqrt {n}+4/3

with

a
=
(
1
−
log
⁡
(
2
)
)

/

2
≃
0.153

a=(1-\log (2))/2\simeq 0.153

, instead of the current

n

/

2
+

O

(
1
)

n/2+\mathcal {O}(1)

.
Historical and New Insights Into Atmospheric Teleconnection
Authors: Alpert Pinhas , Saaroni Hadas
Published: February 2022

The term “teleconnection” in climate studies was defined primarily for widely separated regions. This stems from the basic idea that a physical process, such as an advection or a particular synoptic system, cannot simply explain a relation or a correlation in large distances. Also, in modern times, models more often fail in predicting these remote patterns, particularly with regional models. Even with a clear physical process of advection and for a short horizontal scale, teleconnection is often not well understood if the physical mechanism involved is complex, such as in the subsynoptic scales of aerosol–rainfall interaction or megacities and their potential effects on precipitation. Thus, in a broader view of the horizontal scale of teleconnection, the word “tele” still represents the word “far,” as in its Greek origin, but it also includes the limitation in understanding complex atmospheric relations in various distances. Furthermore, the hidden assumption that ancients were not able to observe teleconnections is contradicted by an example from approximately 1,800 years ago. In this example, a claim was made in the Talmud that the Euphrates flow is strongly related to the rainfall over the greater Israel region, located approximately 700–900 km westward. However, the understanding of this ancient teleconnection was only possible in the second half of the 19th century when the role of synoptic systems in weather emerged.
Historical Developments, Influences of International Actors, and Education Reforms in India
Authors: Tukdeo Shivali
Published: February 2022

The entry and prominence of international institutions in education have been striking features of policy development in the last few decades. A particular area of interest is India’s education system since independence, particularly in the context of the recent policy ideas steered by international actors. Once a strong marker of the British colonial legacy, formal education in India acquired different meanings post independence. The significance of education has been understood as an essential part of social transformation, a resource for mobility, and an instrument of empowerment. As the inherited system was domesticated, the following challenges emerged: equitable access, relevance of formal learning, and a fashioning of Indian national identity. Through a network of institutions, the enterprise of postcolonial public education was shaped in the mid-20th century and was deeply entrenched in the politics of class, caste, and gender. Mass education and schemes to enable access on the one hand, and the development of highly selective, technology-focused institutions on the other, became the route through which an extremely uneven landscape of education was established.

A weakened public education system, growing private institutions, and the overall economic turn toward liberalization marked the Indian educational politics of the 1990s. Diverse international institutions, multilateral institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and national governments came together during the World Education Conference of 1990 in Jomtien, Thailand. For the developing world the policy process became globalized after the conference, and it expanded to include multiple actors and partnerships. Thriving since then, globalized education policy has become a space of solutions and authority. Given these changes at large, it is important to understand the politics of policy production, actual policy ideas, and how they acquire legitimacy.
History of Niger
Authors: Idrissa Abdourahmane
Published: February 2022

Until the late 19th century, the central Sahel was a trade corridor between West and North Africa, which, especially since the fall of Gao at the end of the 16th century, had become a fairly violent and chaotic place. Around 1900, the French added to the violence when they undertook to conquer it and set up a colony there. From that point, two competing but intertwined histories began to evolve: the history of the colony and that of the nation. The French tried to make the colony work for French commerce, albeit under the self-defeating premises that the place had no economic value and its people were more burden than asset. A cash crop—groundnuts—eventually started to make exploitation colonialism profitable in the 1930s, but after World War II, a new Zeitgeist saw the rise of the ideas of economic development and political independence. By then, colonialism had unwittingly fostered a Nigerien society, which turned nationalistic in this context. National development became the general theme of Niger’s history until the late 1980s. Colonialism was criticized for failing to achieve it; dissension arose between Niger’s leading politicians of the 1950 over the methods—radical or moderate—with which it should be pursued; a coup in 1974 was made in its name. The theme of national development grounded regimes that claimed to act through a “development administration” (1960–1974) or a “development society” (1974–1991). This seemingly bland concept was thus the source of the dramatic contests and upheavals and the driving force of the Nigerien project, until it became history some decades ago.
African Religions in the Maghreb and the Middle East
Authors: Musa Montana Ismael
Published: February 2022

In the last few decades, discussions concerning the presence of spirit possession and healing practices associated with Sudanic Africans in North Africa and parts of the Middle East, coined as “slave religion,” have highlighted the relationship of these practices to indigenous religions and belief systems of Sudanic Africa. Unlike in the Americas, where the Atlantic slave trade was primarily responsible for the diffusion of similar indigenous African religious practices such as candomblé, Vodou, Santeria, Obeah, and their variants, the history behind Sudanic African spirit possession and healing practices in North Africa and the Middle East is much more complex. While increased enslaving activities during the late 18th century through the 19th century may have exacerbated the diffusion of the various Sudanic religious practices such as the Hausa Bori, the Zarma Holey, and the Zar cults to North Africa and the Middle East, their presence and practice outside their original milieu cannot be attributed solely to the slave trade. Interregional commerce, pilgrimage, voluntary migration, and elements of cultural unity underlying the Sudanic African religious and cosmological systems have all contributed at different historical time periods at varying scale to their spread and diffusion in North Africa and the Middle East.
Slave and Freed Slave Voices in African Colonial Courts and Liberation Registers
Authors: Roberts Richard
Published: February 2022

Court cases and other forms of legal evidence, including registers of slave liberation, provide some of the best evidence there is regarding slaves during and after the end of slavery. This article examines various colonial courts from the Portuguese Inquisition courts to the registers of slaves seeking certificates of freedom. Changes in legal institutions and antislavery policies shaped the conditions in which slaves and freed people came before legal authorities. However, the evidence of slave’s and freed people’s voices read in court and legal documents has been shaped by the procedures that prevailed in these various legal fora and by the multiple translations of oral testimony into written texts.
Slavery in Decentralized Societies
Authors: Glovsky David
Published: February 2022

Slavery and enslavement were common processes across Africa, increasingly so during the era of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. In decentralized societies—societies without centralized political states—enslavement took particular forms; in some regions, people were most commonly enslaved through warfare, slave raids, kidnapping, and other forms of violence. In other areas, people were primarily enslaved through judicial processes, witchcraft accusations, debt, and pawning. In many decentralized societies, all of these methods of enslavement existed simultaneously. Regardless of how enslavement occurred, enslaved men and women were integrated into societies across Africa unevenly. In some societies, incorporation was a relatively quick process, facilitated by marriage or assimilation into kinship networks or lineages. However, in some cases it took generations for enslaved individuals and their descendants to become equal members of society.

People in decentralized societies enslaved men and women within Africa and also sold them into the Transatlantic Slave Trade. In response to rising demand for enslaved persons from Atlantic traders, members of decentralized societies undertook raids of neighboring societies and transformed their communities to protect themselves. Within Africa, enslaved men and women played integral economic roles in agriculture, trade, mining, and other economic tasks. They played an important social function in increasing the prestige of particular individuals, households, and communities. Enslaved persons were typically treated as lesser members of households and lineages and subjected to more violence than others, typically ranking lowest in societal hierarchies. In general, decentralized societies valued enslaved women and children more than men because they were more easily brought into households. However, there were important regional variations. While decentralized societies were long seen as victims in the Transatlantic Slave Trade, studies of particular societies have shown the ways these societies participated in and defended themselves from enslavement.
ʿAlī Eisami Gazirmabe
Authors: Anderson Richard
Published: February 2022

ʿAlī Eisami Gazirmabe, later known as William Harding, was one of an estimated 99,752 “Liberated Africans” intercepted by the British Royal Navy from slave ships at sea and taken to the colony of Sierra Leone as part of Britain’s 19th-century campaign against the transatlantic slave trade. Eisami was born in the metropolitan district of Borno. He was enslaved c. 1812–1813 during the jihād waged by Hausa-Fulani jihadists against Borno. He was taken westward through the nascent Sokoto Caliphate and eventually to Oyo Ile, the capital of the Oyo Empire. For four or five years he was enslaved to a member of the Oyo aristocracy. In 1817, a Muslim uprising at Ilorin prompted his enslaver to sell Eisami to European slave traders on the coast. British naval forces captured Eisami’s slave vessel at sea, transporting him to the abolitionist colony of Sierra Leone.

In Freetown, ʿAlī Eisami took up the name William Harding. In extensive interviews with the missionary linguist Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle from 1848 to 1852, he provided detailed accounts of his native Borno. This included stories, historical accounts, and poetry in his native Kanuri, as well as a substantial narrative of his enslavement. Harding’s linguistic work with Koelle represented an important step in the study of the Kanuri language, while his “Biographical Sketch,” as published by Koelle in 1854, has become a canonical account of enslavement in Africa. Eisami’s eyewitness accounts are important sources on the 19th-century jihād movement, experiences of enslavement in Africa and the transatlantic slave trade in its final half-century of existence, and the experience of being a Liberated African in Sierra Leone.
Burn-Related Injuries
Authors: van Niekerk Ashley
Published: February 2022

A burn occurs when cells in the skin or other tissues are destroyed by hot liquids (scalds), hot solids (contact burns), or flames (flame burns). Injuries to the skin or other organic tissue due to radiation, radioactivity, electricity, friction or contact with chemicals are also identified as burns. Globally, burns have been in decline, but are still a major cause of injury, disability, death and disruption in some regions, with about 120,000 deaths and 9 million injuries estimated in 2017. Low-to-middle-income countries carry the bulk of this burden with the majority of all burn injuries occurring in the African and Southeast Asia regions. Thermal injuries are physically painful and may leave disabling scars not only to the skin or the body, but also impair psychological wellbeing. Severe injuries often impose significant psychological, but also educational consequences and social stigmatization, with the consequent adjustments exacerbated by a range of factors, including the circumstances of the burn incident, the severity and site of the injury, the qualities of the affected individual’s personality, and the access to supportive interpersonal and social relationships. The contributions of: economic progress, enhanced environmental and home structures, energy technology, and safety education interventions have been reported as significant for burn prevention. Similarly, legislative and policy frameworks that support access to modern energies such as electricity, govern domestic appliances and heating technology, and control storage and decanting of fossil fuels are important in energy impoverished settings. The recovery of burn survivors is affected by the availability of specialized treatment, physical rehabilitation and psychosocial support to burn victims and families, but which is still limited especially in resource constrained settings.
Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
Authors: Schulz Philipp , Kreft Anne-Kathrin
Published: February 2022

Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, notable progress has been made toward holding accountable those responsible for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), with a view toward ending impunity. Developments by the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, as well as by the International Criminal Court, were instrumental to advancing jurisprudence on sexual violence in the context of armed conflict. Despite progress in seeking to hold perpetrators accountable, critics note that there is persistent impunity and a vacuum of justice and accountability for sexual violence crimes in most conflict-affected settings globally. At the same time, feminist scholars in particular have critiqued the ways in which criminal proceedings often fail sexual violence survivors, especially by further silencing their voices and negating their agency. These intersecting gaps and challenges ultimately reveal the need for a broader, deeper, thicker, and more victim-centered understanding of justice and redress in response to sexual violence.
The Jewish Experience in the American South
Authors: Parshall Josh
Published: February 2022

Jews began to arrive in the present-day South during the late 17th century and established community institutions in Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, in the colonial era. These communities, along with Richmond, Virginia, accounted for a sizable minority of American Jews during the early 19th century. As Jewish migration to the United States increased, northern urban centers surpassed southern cities as national centers of Jewish life, although a minority of American Jews continued to make their way to southern market hubs in the mid-19th century. From Reconstruction through the “New South” era, Jews played a visible role in the development of the region’s commercial economy, and they organized Jewish institutions wherever they settled in sufficient numbers.

In many respects, Jewish experiences in the South mirrored national trends. Jewish life developed similarly in small towns, whether in Georgia, Wisconsin, or California. Likewise, relationships between acculturated Jews and east European newcomers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries played out according to similar dynamics regardless of region. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Jewish life in the South resulted from Jewish encounters with the region’s particular history of race and racism. The “classical” era of the Civil Rights movement highlights this fact, as southern Jews faced both heightened scrutiny from southern segregationists and frustration from northern coreligionists who supported the movement.

Since the 1970s, overall trends in southern history have once again led to changes in the landscape of southern Jewry. Among other factors, the continued migration from rural to urban areas undermined the customer base for once-ubiquitous small-town Jewish retail businesses, and growing urban centers have attracted younger generations of Jewish professionals from both inside and outside the region. Consequently, the 21st-century Jewish South features fewer of the small-town communities that once typified the region, and its larger Jewish centers are not as identifiably “southern” as they once were.
American Labor and the Working Day
Authors: Reick Philipp
Published: February 2022

From the first local strikes in the late 18th century to the massive eight-hour movement that shook the country a century later, the length of the working day has been one of the most contentious issues in the history of American labor. Organized workers have fought for shorter hours for various reasons. If they were to be good citizens, workers needed time to follow the news and attend political rallies, to visit lectures and museums, and to perform civic duties. Shorter-hour activists also defended worktime reduction as a tool for moral betterment. Workers needed time to attend religious services and be involved in religious associations, to become better spouses and parents, and to refine their customs and manners through exposure to literature, music, and the arts. Trade unions also promoted shorter hours as sound economic policy. Especially when joblessness was rampant, unionists argued that shorter working days would help distribute available work more evenly among the workforce. During times of economic growth, they shifted the focus to productivity and consumption, arguing that well-rested workers not only performed better, but also had the time to purchase and enjoy the products and services they helped create. As organized labor tended to give preference to full employment and consumption over further working time reductions in the aftermath of the New Deal, the hour issue took a backseat in the second half of the 20th century. It reentered the debate, however, in the late 2000s when high-tech and knowledge industries started to experiment with compressed workweek models. Given the widespread experience of remote work and temporary working time reductions during the Covid-19 pandemic, the question of how much time Americans should, must, and want to spend at work is likely to remain in the focus of public attention.
4. The values of On Liberty (1859)
Authors: Claeys Gregory
Published: February 2022

‘The values of On Liberty (1859)’ discusses John Stuart Mill’s Principles, an essay that offers a single principle explaining what should be considered as things that society should not have forbidden and things that it should have controlled. Mill suspected that the essay would likely be called an infidel book as it cut through prejudice and religious bias. The essay describes a circle around every human being that no one should overstep. Mill’s Principles had a surprising impact, this can be seen by looking at political commentator John Morley’s statement that the work produced a wide and important effect on contemporary thought. The aims of On Liberty included the protection of progressive minorities.
Characteristics and outcomes of older patients hospitalised for COVID-19 in the first and second wave of the pandemic in The Netherlands: the COVID-OLD study
Authors: Smits Rosalinde A L , Trompet Stella , van der Linden Carolien M J , van der Bol Jessica M , Jansen Steffy W M , Polinder-Bos Harmke A , Willems Hanna C , Barten Dennis G , Blomaard Laura C , de Boer Mark G J , van Deudekom Floor J A , Ellerbroek Jacobien L J , Festen Jan , van de Glind Esther M M , Kampschreur Linda M , Karimi Ouafae , Kroon Bart , van Lanen Marc G J A , Lucke Jacinta A , Maas Huub A A M , Mattace-Raso Francesco U S , van Munster Barbara C , Reijerse Lisette , Robben Sarah H M , Ruiter Rikje , Schouten Henrike J , Spies Petra E , Wassenburg Anna , Wijngaarden Marjolein A , Mooijaart Simon P
Published: February 2022

Background

as the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic progressed diagnostics and treatment changed.

Objective

to investigate differences in characteristics, disease presentation and outcomes of older hospitalised COVID-19 patients between the first and second pandemic wave in The Netherlands.

Methods

this was a multicentre retrospective cohort study in 16 hospitals in The Netherlands including patients aged ≥ 70 years, hospitalised for COVID-19 in Spring 2020 (first wave) and Autumn 2020 (second wave). Data included Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), disease severity and Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Main outcome was in-hospital mortality.

Results

a total of 1,376 patients in the first wave (median age 78 years, 60% male) and 946 patients in the second wave (median age 79 years, 61% male) were included. There was no relevant difference in presence of comorbidity (median CCI 2) or frailty (median CFS 4). Patients in the second wave were admitted earlier in the disease course (median 6 versus 7 symptomatic days; P < 0.001). In-hospital mortality was lower in the second wave (38.1% first wave versus 27.0% second wave; P < 0.001). Mortality risk was 40% lower in the second wave compared with the first wave (95% confidence interval: 28–51%) after adjustment for differences in patient characteristics, comorbidity, symptomatic days until admission, disease severity and frailty.

Conclusions

compared with older patients hospitalised in the first COVID-19 wave, patients in the second wave had lower in-hospital mortality, independent of risk factors for mortality.

The better prognosis likely reflects earlier diagnosis, the effect of improvement in treatment and is relevant for future guidelines and treatment decisions.
Long intact plaque extracted by femoral artery endarterectomy
Authors: Condell Lynda J. , Gosi Gergely
Published: February 2022

A Long Intact Plaque Extracted by Femoral Artery Endarterectomy
A new form of axonal pathology in a spinal model of neuromyelitis optica
Authors: Herwerth Marina , Kenet Selin , Schifferer Martina , Winkler Anne , Weber Melanie , Snaidero Nicolas , Wang Mengzhe , Lohrberg Melanie , Bennett Jeffrey L. , Stadelmann Christine , Hemmer Bernhard , Misgeld Thomas
Published: February 2022

Neuromyelitis optica is a chronic neuroinflammatory disease, which primarily targets astrocytes and often results in severe axon injury of unknown mechanism. Neuromyelitis optica patients harbour autoantibodies against the astrocytic water channel protein, aquaporin-4 (AQP4-IgG), which induce complement-mediated astrocyte lysis and subsequent axon damage.

Using spinal in vivo imaging in a mouse model of such astrocytopathic lesions, we explored the mechanism underlying neuromyelitis optica-related axon injury.

Many axons showed a swift and morphologically distinct ‘pearls-on-string’ transformation also readily detectable in human neuromyelitis optica lesions, which especially affected small calibre axons independently of myelination. Functional imaging revealed that calcium homeostasis was initially preserved in this ‘acute axonal beading’ state, ruling out disruption of the axonal membrane, which sets this form of axon injury apart from previously described forms of traumatic and inflammatory axon damage. Morphological, pharmacological and genetic analyses showed that AQP4-IgG-induced axon injury involved osmotic stress and ionic overload, but does not appear to use canonical pathways of Wallerian-like degeneration. Subcellular analysis demonstrated remodelling of the axonal cytoskeleton in beaded axons, especially local loss of microtubules. Treatment with the microtubule stabilizer epothilone, a putative therapy approach for traumatic and degenerative axonopathies, prevented axonal beading, while destabilizing microtubules sensitized axons for beading.

Our results reveal a distinct form of immune-mediated axon pathology in neuromyelitis optica that mechanistically differs from known cascades of post-traumatic and inflammatory axon loss, and suggest a new strategy for neuroprotection in neuromyelitis optica and related diseases.
Decreased number and increased activation state of astrocytes in gray and white matter of the prefrontal cortex in autism
Authors: Vakilzadeh Gelareh , Falcone Carmen , Dufour Brett , Hong Tiffany , Noctor Stephen C , Martínez-Cerdeño Verónica
Published: February 2022

The cerebral cortex presents with alterations in the number of specific cell types in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Astrocytes have many functions in the brain including a role in higher cognitive functions and in inflammatory brain processes. Therefore, an alteration in number, function, and/or activation state of astrocytes, could be present in ASD. We quantified astrocyte number in the gray and white matter of the prefrontal cortex—BA9, BA46, and BA47—in 15 ASD and 15 age- and sex-matched control cases. We labeled astrocytes with antibodies against the protein GFAP and S100β, markers of astrocytes. We found a significant decrease in the number of astrocytes in the gray and white matter of all prefrontal areas of interest with both markers. We also found an increased state of activation of GFAP+ astrocytes in all areas. A reduced number of astrocytes in the cerebral cortex in ASD could lead to impaired synaptic function and disrupted connectivity. An increased astrocyte activation may indicate a chronic mild inflammatory state of the cerebral cortex in ASD. Overall, we found that astrocytes are disrupted in ASD.
Incidence of and risk factors of chronic kidney disease: results of a nationwide study in Iceland
Authors: Jonsson Arnar J , Lund Sigrun H , Eriksen Bjørn O , Palsson Runolfur , Indridason Olafur S
Published: February 2022

Background

Information on the incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the general population is scarce. This study examined the incidence and risk factors of CKD stages 1–5 in Iceland, based on multiple markers of kidney damage.

Methods

All serum creatinine (SCr) values, urine protein measurements and diagnosis codes for kidney diseases and comorbid conditions for people aged ≥18 years were obtained from electronic medical records of all healthcare institutions in Iceland in 2008–2016. CKD was defined according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria as evidence for kidney damage and/or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 for >3 months. Alternatively, CKD was defined using age-adapted eGFR thresholds. Mean annual age-standardized incidence of CKD was calculated for persons without CKD at study entry. Risk factor assessment was based on International Classification of Diseases diagnosis codes. Incidence was reported per 100 000 population.

Results

We retrieved 1 820 990 SCr values for 206 727 persons. Median age was 45 years (range, 18–106) and 47% were men. Mean annual age-standardized incidence of CKD per 100 000 was 649 in men and 694 in women, and 480 in men and 522 in women using age-adapted eGFR thresholds. The incidence reached over 3000 in men and women aged >75 years. Traditional CKD risk factors, such as acute kidney injury, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, as well as less well characterized risk factors, including chronic lung disease, malignancy and major psychiatric illness were associated with increased risk of CKD, and the same was true for obesity and sleep apnoea in women.

Conclusion

The annual incidence of CKD, with strict adherence to the KDIGO criteria, was <0.7% but markedly lower using age-adapted eGFR thresholds. Apart from acute kidney injury, the observed risk factors comprised chronic and potentially modifiable disorders.
How myocardial work could be relevant in patients with an aortic valve stenosis?
Authors: Taconne Marion , Le Rolle Virginie , Panis Vasileios , Hubert Arnaud , Auffret Vincent , Galli Elena , Hernandez Alfredo , Donal Erwan
Published: February 2022

Aims

Myocardial work (MW) calculation is an attractive method to assess left ventricular (LV) myocardial function. In case of aortic stenosis (AS), assessment of work indices is challenging because it requires an accurate evaluation of LV-pressure curves. We sought to evaluate the performances of two distinct methods and to provide a quantitative comparison with invasive data.

Methods and results

Model-based and template-based methods were defined and applied for the evaluation of LV-pressures on 67 AS-patient. Global Constructive (GCW), Wasted (GWW), Positive (GPW), Negative (GNW) MW and Global Work Efficiency (GWE), and Index (GWI) parameters were calculated using the available software computing the indices using brachial blood-pressure and trans-aortic mean pressure gradient (MPG) for estimating the LV-pressures vs. using a model-based and homemade software. A complete comparison was performed with invasive measurements. Patients were characterized by MPG of 49.8 ± 14.8 mmHg, the global longitudinal strain (GLS) was −15.0 ± 4.04%, GCW was 2107 ± 800 mmHg.% (model-based) and 2483 ± 1068 mmHg.% (template-based). The root mean square error (RMSE) and correlation were calculated for each patient and pressure estimation methods. The mean RMSE are 33.9 mmHg and 40.4 mmHg and the mean correlation coefficients are 0.81 and 0.72 for the model-based and template-based methods, respectively. The two methods present correlation coefficient r2 >0.75 for all the indices.

Conclusion

The two non-invasive methods of LV pressure estimation and work indices computation correlate with invasive measurements. Although the model-based approach requires less information and is associated with slightly better performances, the implementation of template-based method is easier and is appropriate for clinical practice.
Genomic Sequence and Transcriptome Analysis of the Medicinal Fungus Keithomyces neogunnii
Authors: Long Liangkun , Liu Zhen , Deng Chunying , Li Chuanhua , Wu Liangliang , Hou Beiwei , Lin Qunying
Published: February 2022

The filamentous fungus Keithomyces neogunnii can infect the larvae of Lepidoptera (Hepialus sp.) and form an insect–fungi complex, which is utilized as an important traditional Chinese medicine. As a valuable medicinal fungus, K. neogunnii produces diverse bioactive substances (e.g., polysaccharide, vitamins, cordycepic acid, and adenosine) under cultivation conditions. Herein, we report the first high-quality genome of the K. neogunnii single-spore isolate Cg7.2a using single-molecule real-time sequencing technology in combination with Illumina sequencing. The assembled genome was 32.6 Mb in size, containing 8,641 predicted genes and having a GC content of 52.16%. RNA sequencing analysis revealed the maximum number of differentially expressed genes in the fungus during the stroma formation stage compared with those during the mycelium stage. These data are valuable to enhance our understanding of the biology, development, evolution, and physiological metabolism of K. neogunnii.
mTOR pathway repressing expression of FoxO3 is a potential mechanism involved in neonatal white matter dysplasia
Authors: Liu Xiuyun , Dong Chen , Liu Kaiyi , Chen Huiyao , Liu Bo , Dong Xinran , Qian Yanyan , Wu Bingbing , Lin Yifeng , Wang Huijun , Yang Lin , Zhou Wenhao
Published: February 2022

Neonatal white matter dysplasia (NWMD) is characterized by developmental abnormity of CNS white matter, including abnormal myelination. Besides environmental factors such as suffocation at birth, genetic factors are also main causes. Signaling pathway is an important part of gene function and several signaling pathways play important roles in myelination. Here, we performed genetic analysis on a cohort of 138 patients with NWMD and found that 20% (5/25) cause genes which referred to 28.57% (8/28) patients enriched in mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Depletion of mTOR reduced genesis and proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC) during embryonic stage and reduced myelination in corpus callosum besides cerebellum and spinal cord during early postnatal stages which is related to not only differentiation but also proliferation of oligodendrocyte (OL). Transcriptomic analyses indicated that depletion of mTOR in OLs upregulated expression of forkhead box O3 (FoxO3), which is a repressor of expression of myelin basic protein, and downregulating expression of FoxO3 by short interfering RNA promoted OPCs develop into MBP+ OLs. Thus, our findings suggested that mTOR signaling pathway is NWMD-related pathway and mTOR is important for myelination of the entire CNS during early developmental stages through regulating expression of FoxO3 at least partially.
The Negative Effect of Preexisting Immunity on Influenza Vaccine Responses Transcends the Impact of Vaccine Formulation Type and Vaccination History
Authors: Moritzky Savannah A , Richards Katherine A , Glover Maryah A , Krammer Florian , Chaves Francisco A , Topham David J , Branche Angela , Nayak Jennifer L , Sant Andrea J
Published: February 2022

The most effective measure to induce protection from influenza is vaccination. Thus, yearly vaccination is recommended, which, together with infections, establishes diverse repertoires of B cells, antibodies, and T cells. We examined the impact of this accumulated immunity on human responses in adults to split, subunit, and recombinant protein-based influenza vaccines. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assays, to quantify serum antibodies, and peptide-stimulated CD4 T-cell cytokine ELISpots revealed that preexisting levels of hemagglutinin (HA)-specific antibodies were negatively associated with gains in antibody postvaccination, while preexisting levels of CD4 T cells were negatively correlated with vaccine-induced expansion of CD4 T cells. These patterns were seen independently of the vaccine formulation administered and the subjects’ influenza vaccine history. Thus, although memory CD4 T cells and serum antibodies consist of components that can enhance vaccine responses, on balance, the accumulated immunity specific for influenza A H1 and H3 proteins is associated with diminished future responses.
Utility of Induced Sputum in Assessing Bacterial Etiology for Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Hospitalized Children
Authors: Green Amanda , Cockroft Jody L , Kaufman Robert A , McCullers Jonathan A , Arnold Sandra R
Published: February 2022

Background

Diagnostic testing for bacterial etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is insensitive. Induced sputum (IS) is an attractive option for the evaluation of the lower respiratory tract.

Methods

Children aged 0-18 years with CAP were enrolled in the Etiology of Pneumonia in the Community (EPIC) study between 2010 and 2012. Blood and respiratory specimens were assessed by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The radiographic CAP was determined by a study radiologist. Sputum was induced with hypertonic saline. IS specimen was high quality (HQ) if Gram stain showed >25 white blood and <10 epithelial cells per low-powered field; all others were low quality (LQ). We compared IS pathogen prevalence between HQ and LQ IS, and by radiographic pneumonia. Pathogen concordance with EPIC etiology was assessed. Length of stay (LOS) was compared by receipt of IS pathogen-concordant antibiotics.

Results

Out of 977 children, 916 (94%) children enrolled in Memphis, Tennessee, produced IS; 794 (87%) had radiographic CAP and 174 (19%) were HQ. HQ IS yielded pathogenic bacteria more often than LQ (64% vs 44%; P < .01); however, pathogens were isolated at similar rates in HQ IS in patients with and without radiographic CAP (64% vs. 63%; P = .6). Pathogens from study specimens matched an IS pathogen in only 9/42 (21%) patients with radiographic CAP. Median LOS was similar among patients with radiographic CAP regardless of receipt of IS pathogen-concordant antibiotics (3.1 days), non-pathogen-concordant antibiotics (2.7 days), or no antibiotics (3.2 days; P = .5).

Conclusions

Bacterial pathogens were isolated from most IS cultures regardless of radiographic CAP and quality of IS. IS cultures infrequently corresponded with sterile site cultures. Isolation of pathogens from pediatric IS reflects oropharyngeal carriage and is insufficient to determine bacterial etiology of CAP.
Skills for Feeling
Authors: Steffen Ann M. , Dick-Siskin Leah P. , Bilbrey Ann Choryan , Thompson Larry W. , Gallagher-Thompson Dolores
Published: February 2022

CBT involves attention to clients’ emotional experiences, both within and between psychotherapy sessions. This workbook module of Treating Later-Life Depression: A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Approach promotes emotional literacy and flexible use of emotional regulation strategies that are consistent with clients’ personal values and strengths. Easy-to-read, large-print Learn pages are selected by behavioral health providers to help middle-aged and older adults understand and describe their feelings and moods, nurture positive emotions, reduce anxiety through application of relaxation skills, and defuse unhelpful reactions to anger and frustration. Practice forms are provided for clients’ use between sessions to practice, remember, and use these affective skills. Clinicians must attend to the ways that cultural and generational norms and beliefs impact the type of emotions that aging clients experience, how these are expressed, and the degree to which these influence behaviors. Practitioners are encouraged to apply strategies that are responsive to the needs of culturally diverse aging clients..