bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Induction of morphogenesis in the callus culture of Lavandula angustifolia Mill.
Authors: Yegorova Natalia , Kruglova Natalia , Galin Ilshat , Stavtzeva Irina
Published: September 2020

The influence of the nutrient medium hormonal composition on the induction of calluso- and morphogenesis in Lavandula angustifolia Mill., as well as the content of some endogenous hormones (indolylacetic acid, cytokinins, abscisic acid) in morphogenic and non-morphogenic calli, were studied. The leaf explants were isolated from obtained in vitro plants of the Stepnaya and Vdala cultivars. In primary calli with a frequency of 5.7-11.6%, buds and shoots were formed on different Murashige and Skoog (MS) culture media supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine, thidiazuron, kinetin, and gibberellic acid. In the callus of the first passage in both cultivars, the induction of morphogenesis was observed with the greatest frequency (39.5-43.2%) on the MS medium with the addition of 1.0 mg/l 6-benzylaminopurine and 1.0 mg/l kinetin. Morphogenic calli of the Vdala cultivar were characterized by a higher content of cytokinins, but a lower content of indolylacetic and abscisic acids compared with non-morphogenic ones.
Lokalisationsdiagnostik von Nebenschilddrüsenadenomen mittels PET/CT
Authors: Odparlik Andreas , Hering Andreas Hendrik
Published: September 2020

Die häufigste Ursache eines primären Hyperparathyreoidismus ist ein funktionell relevantes Nebenschilddrüsenadenom, welches meist solitär, teils jedoch auch ektop vorkommen kann. In Vorbereitung der kausalen Therapie, dem operativen Vorgehen, ist eine exakte Lokalisationsdiagnostik essenziell um den Eingriff genau zu planen und so wenig traumatisch wie möglich zu gestalten. Dadurch kann die Häufigkeit von Komplikationen wie postoperativem Hypoparathyreoidismus, aber z. B. auch einer Recurrensparese deutlich vermindert werden. In der Regeldiagnostik kommen zervikaler Ultraschall, MRT und 99 mTc-MIBI-Szintigrafie zur Anwendung. Bei fehlendem oder uneindeutigem Befund kann eine ergänzende PET-Diagnostik (18F-Cholin; 11C-Cholin; 11C-Methionin) erfolgen, wodurch häufig doch noch eine Lokalisierung gelingt. Im Vergleich zum Einsatz von Subtraktionsszintigrafie und SPECT/CT wird für den Einsatz der PET/CT zudem eine niedrigere Strahlenexposition für die Patienten beschrieben.
Behandlung des postoperativen Hypoparathyreoidismus
Authors: Feldkamp Joachim
Published: September 2020

Hypokalzämien treten nach Operationen an der Schilddrüse oder Nebenschilddrüse relativ häufig auf. Sie sind bei etwa drei Viertel der Fälle nur transient und es kommt zu einer spontanen Normalisierung innerhalb weniger Tage. In einem kleinen Teil der Fälle (1 – 6 %) resultiert jedoch ein permanenter postoperativer Hypoparathyreoidismus mit lebenslanger Substitutionspflicht für Kalzium, aktive Vitamin D-Präparate oder Parathormon jeweils allein oder in Kombination. Langzeitfolgen eines schlecht behandelten Hypoparathyreoidismus betreffen mehrere Organsysteme und beinhalten auch intrazerebrale Verkalkungen, eine Nephrosklerose und eine verminderte Lebensqualität.
Magnetresonanz-gesteuerter (MR-gesteuerter) fokussierter Ultraschall (MRgFUS) zur Tremor-Behandlung
Authors: Wüllner Ullrich
Published: September 2020

Die Behandlung von Tremor stellt eine Herausforderung im klinischen Alltag dar; nur selten gelingt es, Tremor bei Bewegungsstörungen, wie beim essentiellen oder orthostatischen Tremor (ET, OT) oder bei Morbus Parkinson (MP), durchgreifend medikamentös zu lindern. Eine Alternative zur Tiefenhirnstimulation bietet die gezielte lokale Ausschaltung spezifischer Strukturen des Thalamus und der Basalganglien mittels transkraniellem Magnet-Resonanz-Tomographie-gesteuerten fokussierten Ultraschall (MRgFUS). MRgFUS erlaubt es, kleine Bereiche des Gehirns sicher und präzise thermisch zu abladieren. Die MRgFUS-Behandlungen erfolgen ohne Öffnung des Schädels unter MRT-Kontrolle („incisionless surgery“). Durch diesen schonenden, minimal-invasiven Eingriff kann die oft stark beeinträchtigte Lebensqualität der meist älteren Betroffenen innerhalb kurzer Zeit grundlegend verbessert werden. Die Erfolge der Läsionsbehandlung wurden bislang über 4 Jahre nachuntersucht und dokumentiert.
Photochemical Flow Oximation of Alkanes
Authors: Baxendale Ian R. , Griffiths Oliver M. , Ruggeri Michele
Published: September 2020

The nitrosation of several alkanes using tert-butyl nitrite has been performed in flow showing a remarkable reduction in the reaction time compared with batch processing. Due to the necessity for large excesses of the alkane component a continuous recycling process was devised for the preparation of larger quantities of material.
Ligamentum Flavum Hematoma Associated with L5–S1 Pars Interarticularis Defect: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Kıbıcı Kenan , Erok Berrin , Çolak Ahmet
Published: September 2020

Ligamentum flavum hematoma (LFH) is an extremely rare compressive epidural lesion of the spine. The clinical manifestations of LFH are similar to that caused by other more common pathologies of nerve root compression like disc herniation. In the diagnosis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is very important but challenging due to the changing intensities of the hematoma in relation to the stages of the aging blood. Herein, we report a case of LFH compressing the spinal canal in a 60-year-old man with pars interarticularis defect. He presented with low back pain radiating to the left leg. The neurological examination was consistent with left S1 nerve root compression. The MRI revealed a left posterior epidural mass compressing the thecal sac and S1 nerve root at the left L5–S1 level near the pars interarticularis defect. After surgical removal of the lesion, histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of LFH. Following surgery, he recovered rapidly. LFH due to spinal instability is important in terms of the understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms related with LFH.
Triple Conjoined Nerve Root—An Unreported Anatomical Variant and Its Surgical Implications
Authors: Gassie Kelly , Ravindran Krishnan , Rahmathulla Gazanfar , Deen H. Gordon
Published: September 2020

Conjoined nerve roots are an infrequent and uncommon finding, rarely noted preoperatively. The conjoined root anomaly has potential for significant neurological injury during surgery. Preoperative recognition may avert disastrous nerve root injury but requires a high degree of clinical suspicion. We present the case of a 44-year-old patient with left L5/S1 radiculopathy caused by a herniated disc. During surgery we identified a triple conjoined nerve root anatomy. This anatomical variant, to our knowledge, has not been reported in literature. We describe the anatomical findings and surgical implications.
Enterovirus Encephalitis in Newborns: Not-Periventricular Brain Involvement and Vascular Pathogenesis in a Novel Case
Authors: Giustina Elvio Della , Giannelli Costanza , Sintini Michele
Published: September 2020

Neonatal encephalitis by either enteroviruses (EVs) or parechoviruses (PeVs) is often complicated by hemispheric periventricular white matter lesions. Although showing many similarities, the two types of encephalitis differ in some clinical and laboratory aspects, mostly because PeV encephalitis does not show any change of protein and white cell content in the cerebrospinal fluid, and clinically, the onset of PeV encephalitis is often marked by early seizures accompanying a fever of sepsis-like disease. Instead, no difference exists relative to the white matter lesions, which are constantly described as periventricular, even in rare detailed neuropathological studies. Herein, taking a cue from a neonate with EV encephalitis who showed occipital white matter lesions involving the overlying cortex, but completely sparing the periventricular area, we demonstrate that the brain lesions in EV encephalitis in newborns can be more extended than known. To our knowledge, the not-periventricular involvement of the white matter with EV encephalitis has never been described so far, as well as the potential of EV to injure the cortex. We confirm the pathogenetic role of a vascular mechanism for the tissue injury, but other proposed mechanisms are also discussed. It is noteworthy that the neurological outcome of this newborn remained favorable, and no epileptic seizures occurred in the first few days nor afterward.
Multiple Ischemic Strokes Associated with Childhood Progressive Radiation-Induced Occlusive Cerebral Vasculopathy
Authors: Garcez Daniela , Passos João , Pedro Cátia , Nzwalo Hipólito , Nunes Sofia , Borges Alexandra
Published: September 2020

There is little knowledge on the pathophysiology of pediatric stroke associated with radiation-induced occlusive cerebral vasculopathy (RIOCV). Herein, we present an extremely rare case of a child with multiple ischemic strokes in association with progressive RIOCV. The possibility of hemodynamic compromise and artery-to-artery embolism as a cause of the ischemic events is discussed.
A method to measure superconducting transition temperature of microwave kinetic inductance detector by changing power of readout microwaves
Authors: Kutsuma H. , Sueno Y. , Hattori M. , Mima S. , Oguri S. , Otani C. , Suzuki J. , Tajima O.
Published: September 2020

A microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) is a cutting-edge superconducting detector, and its principle is based on a superconducting resonator circuit. The superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of the MKID is an important parameter because various MKID characterization parameters depend on it. In this paper, we propose a method to measure the Tc of the MKID by changing the applied power of the readout microwaves. A small fraction of the readout power is deposited on the MKID, and the number of quasiparticles in the MKID increases with this power. Furthermore, the quasiparticle lifetime decreases with the number of quasiparticles. Therefore, we can measure the relation between the quasiparticle lifetime and the detector response by rapidly varying the readout power. From this relation, we evaluate the intrinsic quasiparticle lifetime. This lifetime is theoretically modeled by Tc, the physical temperature of the MKID device, and other known parameters. We obtain Tc by comparing the measured lifetime with that acquired using the theoretical model. Using an MKID fabricated with aluminum, we demonstrate this method at a 0.3 K operation. The results are consistent with those obtained by Tc measured by monitoring the transmittance of the readout microwaves with the variation in the device temperature. The method proposed in this paper is applicable to other types, such as a hybrid-type MKID.
In vitro characterization of Lagrangian fluid transport downstream of a dysfunctional bileaflet mechanical aortic valve
Authors: Darwish Ahmed , Di Labbio Giuseppe , Saleh Wael , Kadem Lyes
Published: September 2020

This experimental study aims to explore the Lagrangian nature of fluid transport downstream of a bileaflet mechanical aortic valve under different malfunction scenarios that might be encountered clinically. Time-resolved planar particle image velocimetry measurements are performed to extract instantaneous velocity fields downstream of the bileaflet mechanical valve implanted in an elastic aortic model. The results show an increase in particle residence time with the severity of malfunction. This is attributed to the expansion of the recirculation regions downstream of the valve. The time-evolution of Lagrangian coherent structures over one cardiac cycle (using finite-time Lyapunov exponent fields) shows the effect of valve dysfunction on the material transport and its barriers inside the aorta. The unbalanced flow through the dysfunctional leaflets leads to a significant redistribution of the LCS, thus the fluid transport along the ascending aorta. Moreover, a new technique for the evaluation of the highest accumulated shear stresses is applied along the Lagrangian trajectory of particles being released from the extracted Lagrangian coherent structures where the highest stretching occurs. Finally, the induced non-laminar flow behavior by the valve dysfunction is analyzed using the time-frequency spectra of velocity signals at selected points in the ascending aorta.
Gold-on-glass microwave split-ring resonators with PDMS microchannels for differential measurement in microfluidic sensing
Authors: Camli B. , Altinagac E. , Kizil H. , Torun H. , Dundar G. , Yalcinkaya A. D.
Published: September 2020

This paper describes a microwave resonator incorporating microfluidic lab-on-chip sensor system capable of performing simultaneous differential measurement based sensing of liquid samples. The resonators are split-ring resonator shapes made of gold on glass substrates. Directly bonded on glass substrates are polydimethylsiloxane microchannels. Sensor system design incorporates a pair of identical resonators, one of which performs reference reading from the background. Tracking the difference of the responses of both resonators simultaneously, rather than a single one, is used to obtain a more linear and noise-free reading. The sensor system was produced with conventional fabrication techniques. It is compatible with low-cost, simple, easy to handle sensing applications. Results indicate that reliable differential measurement was possible owing to a well-matched pair of sensors with a response error as low as 0.1%. It was also demonstrated that differential measurement capability enables sensing with improved linearity. Measurements were performed with glucose solutions in the range of 3.2–16.1 mM, achieving a sensitivity of 0.16 MHz/mM.
Tonal morphology in Sama Nubri
Authors: Donohue Cathryn
Published: September 2020

This paper reports on the Tibeto-Burman language, Nubri, of the high Himalayan region of northern central Nepal. Specifically,
data is presented to illustrate the use of tone to mark two morphological features in the language: the use of a H tone suffix to mark the
genitive case, and the use of a H tone prefix to mark an increase in transitivity. This is the first account of these phenomena in Nubri and
an analysis is presented before contextualizing the phenomena in a typological perspective.
Cation substitution and luminescence properties of Eu2+/Ga3+-codoped Na2ZrSi2O7
Authors: Tang Huidong , Li Longzhu , Yang Rong , Chen Yuwei , Seo Hyo Jin
Published: September 2020

Eu2+/Ga3+ co-doped Na2ZrSi2O7 phosphors were prepared via a facile solid-state reaction route. The structural characteristics, photoluminescence spectra, and application performances of Na2-x
Eu
x
Zr1-x
Ga
x
Si2O7 (x= 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.10) were investigated. The main motivation of Ga3+ co-doping on Zr4+ is to eliminate the charge imbalance created by the aliovalent substitution of Eu2+ on Na+ sites in the lattices. The results indicated that the Eu2+/Ga3+ co-doped Na2ZrSi2O7 kept a good esseneite-like structure with a triclinic space group of P-1. The phosphor presents a narrow cyan-emitting band centered at 485 nm under near-UV light excitation. The luminescence efficiency of Eu2+ activator was significantly improved through the co-doping of Ga3+ for Zr4+ ions in Na2ZrSi2O7. The maximum luminescence absolute quantum efficiency of 43% was observed in Na2-x
Eu
x
Zr1-x
Ga
x
Si2O7 (x = 0.1) under the excitation of the near-UV light. The phosphor has good thermal stability with an activation energy of 0.31 eV. To realize charge compensation via cation co-substitution could be a practical strategy to improve luminescence in Eu2+-activated phosphors on aliovalent sites.
The temperature induced current transport characteristics in the orthoferrite YbFeO3−

δ

thin film/p-type Si structure
Authors: Polat O , Coskun M , Efeoglu H , Caglar M , Coskun F M , Caglar Y , Turut A
Published: September 2020

The perovskite ytterbium ferrite is a new ferroelectric semiconductor material. We presented the temperature induced current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the Al/YbFeO3−δ
/p-Si/Al hetero-junction. The orthoferrite YbFeO3−δ
thin films were deposited on a single crystal p-type Si substrate by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering system. The potential barrier height (BH)

and ideality factor n of the heterojunction were obtained by thermionic emission current method based on the recommendations in the literature. The fact that the calculated slopes of I–V curves become temperature independent implying that the field emission current mechanism takes place across the device, which has been explained by the presence of the spatial inhomogeneity of BHs or potential fluctuations. Moreover, a tunneling transmission coefficient value of 26.67 was obtained for the ferroelectric YbFeO3−δ
layer at the Al/p-Si interface.
Electronic properties of Bi2Se3 dopped by 3d transition metal (Mn, Fe, Co, or Ni) ions
Authors: Ptok Andrzej , Kapcia Konrad Jerzy , Ciechan Anna
Published: September 2020

Topological insulators are characterized by the existence of band inversion and the possibility of the realization of surface states. Doping with a magnetic atom, which is a source of the time-reversal symmetry breaking, can lead to realization of novel magneto-electronic properties of the system. In this paper, we study effects of substitution by the transition metal ions (Mn, Fe, Co and Ni) into Bi2Se3 on its electric properties. Using the ab inito supercell technique, we investigate the density of states and the projected band structure. Under such substitution the shift of the Fermi level is observed. We find the existence of nearly dispersionless bands around the Fermi level associated with substituted atoms, especially, in the case of the Co and Ni. Additionally, we discuss the modification of the electron localization function as well as charge and spin redistribution in the system. Our study shows a strong influence of the transition metal-Se bond on local modifications of the physical properties. The results are also discussed in the context of the interplay between energy levels of the magnetic impurities and topological surface states.
Nanoelectrical characterization of individual exosomes secreted by Aβ42-ingested cells using electrostatic force microscopy
Authors: Choi Yeseong , Kim Su-Mi , Heo Youhee , Lee Gyudo , Kang Ji Yoon , Yoon Dae Sung
Published: September 2020

Quantifying the physical properties of individual exosomes containing amyloid-β42 (Aβ42) is crucial for a better understanding of an underpinning mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease expression which is associated with the Aβ42 transfer. Because of the lack of proper tools, however, there have been very few studies on how the amount of Aβ42 affects the physical properties of exosomes. To answer the question, we investigated the physical properties of exosomes secreted by neuroblastoma by probing individual exosomes using electrostatic force microscopy. Interestingly, we observed that when the higher concentration of Aβ42 oligomers was fed to cells, the higher surface charge of the exosomes appeared. This result indicates that the exosomes contain more Aβ42 with the increase in Aβ42 concentration in cell media, implying that they serve as transport vesicles for Aβ42. Our approach could help to better understand how the neuronal exosomes are related to the propagation of neurodegenerative diseases and to seek how to make an early diagnosis of those diseases.
High performance IGZO-based phototransistors by BN/BP interface engineering
Authors: Li Daqing , Nan Haiyan , Mou Penglin , Xu Chunyan , Shao Feng , Gu Xiaofeng , Ostrikov Kostya (Ken) , Xiao Shaoqing
Published: September 2020

Some advances have been achieved in developing heterojunctions consisting of indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) films and two dimensional (2D) van der Waals materials for optoelectronic applications in recent years, however, the improvement of IGZO channel itself via constructing such heterojunctions is rarely reported. Here, we report the huge improvement in photoresponse performances for the IGZO phototransistor devices by introducing boron nitride (BN)/black phosphorus (BP) interface engineering. By creating an appropriate band bending and an efficient photo-generated carrier transfer path between IGZO and BP, the recombination of the photo-generated carriers in the IGZO channel is significantly suppressed. As a result, the corresponding photoresponsivity at a wavelength of 447 nm can be promoted from 0.05 A W−1 to 0.3 A W−1. A corresponding maximum external quantum efficiency of 83.4% was obtained for the BN/BP decorated IGZO phototransistor. The results imply that such interface engineering via 2D materials can be used as a general route to high performance oxide-semiconductor based optoelectronic devices.
Proton beam self-modulation seeded by electron bunch in plasma with density ramp
Authors: Lotov K V , Minakov V A
Published: September 2020

Seeded self-modulation in a plasma can transform a long proton beam into a train of micro-bunches that can excite a strong wakefield over long distances, but this needs the plasma to have a certain density profile with a short-scale ramp up. For the parameters of the AWAKE experiment at CERN we numerically study which density profiles are optimal if the self-modulation is seeded by a short electron bunch. With the optimal profiles, it is possible to ‘freeze’ the wakefield at approximately half the wavebreaking level. High-energy electron bunches (160 MeV) are less efficient seeds than low-energy ones (18 MeV), because the wakefield of the former lasts longer than necessary for efficient seeding.
Random polarization distribution of multi-domain model for polycrystalline ferroelectric HfZrO2
Authors: Chen K-T , Liao C-Y , Hsiang K-Y , Chang S-H , Hsieh F-J , Liang H , Chiang S-H , Liu J-H , Li K-S , Chang S T , Lee M H
Published: September 2020

Device dimension scaling down to be comparable to the domain size of polycrystalline ferroelectric HfZrO2 (HZO) is evaluated for subthreshold swing (SS) and drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) by numerical simulation. The proposed multi-domain modeling involves polarization random location in HZO and probability with Gaussian distribution, as well as being integrated with the Landau–Khalatnikov equation. A small device with a few domains exhibits steep SS compared with large dimension with many domains. The N-DIBL (negative-DIBL) is also estimated by using this model, and the negative capacitance effect retards the short-channel effects significantly. The trend of the experimental data and simulation results of fin field-effect transistors and planar field-effect transistors is consistent with nano-scale and micro-scale devices, respectively.
Breath acetone change during aerobic exercise is moderated by cardiorespiratory fitness
Authors: Königstein Karsten , Abegg Sebastian , Schorn Andrea N , Weber Ines C , Derron Nina , Krebs Andreas , Gerber Philipp A , Schmidt-Trucksäss Arno , Güntner Andreas T
Published: September 2020

Exhaled breath acetone (BrAce) was investigated during and after submaximal aerobic exercise as a volatile biomarker for metabolic responsiveness in high and lower-fit individuals in a prospective cohort pilot-study. Twenty healthy adults (19–39 years) with different levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2peak), determined by spiroergometry, were recruited. BrAce was repeatedly measured by proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS) during 40–55 min submaximal cycling exercise and a post-exercise period of 180 min. Activity of ketone and fat metabolism during and after exercise were assessed by indirect calorimetric calculation of fat oxidation rate and by measurement of venous β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB). Maximum BrAce ratios were significantly higher during exercise in the high-fit individuals compared to the lower-fit group (t-test; p= 0.03). Multivariate regression showed 0.4% (95%-CI = −0.2%–0.9%, p= 0.155) higher BrAce change during exercise for every ml kg−1 min−1 higher VO2peak. Differences of BrAce ratios during exercise were similar to fat oxidation rate changes, but without association to respiratory minute volume. Furthermore, the high-fit group showed higher maximum BrAce increase rates (46% h−1) in the late post-exercise phase compared to the lower-fit group (29% h−1). As a result, high-fit young, healthy individuals have a higher increase in BrAce concentrations related to submaximal exercise than lower-fit subjects, indicating a stronger exercise-related activation of fat metabolism.
An Adolescent Porcine Model of Voluntary Alcohol Consumption Exhibits Binge Drinking and Motor Deficits in a Two Bottle Choice Test
Authors: Shin Soo K , Sneed Sydney E , Nennig Sadie E , Cheek Savannah R , Kinder Holly A , Solomon Matthew G , Schank Jesse R , West Franklin D
Published: September 2020

Aims

Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance leading to significant economic and medical burdens. Pigs are an attractive model for studying alcohol abuse disorder due to the comparable alcohol metabolism and consumption behavior, which are in stark contrast to rodent models. This study investigates the usage of a porcine model for voluntary binge drinking (BD) and a detailed analysis of gait changes due to motor function deficits during alcohol intoxication.

Methods

Adolescent pigs were trained to drink increasing concentration (0–8%) of alcohol mixed in a 0.2% saccharin solution for 1 h in a two bottle choice test for 2 weeks. The training period was followed by a 3-week alcohol testing period, where animals were given free access to 8% alcohol in 0.2% saccharin solution and 0.2% saccharin water solution. Blood alcohol levels were tested and gait analysis was performed pre-alcohol consumption, last day of training, and Day 5 of each testing period.

Results

Pigs voluntarily consumed alcohol to intoxication at all timepoints with blood alcohol concentration (BAL) ≥80 mg/dl. Spatiotemporal gait parameters including velocity, cadence, cycle time, swing time, stance time, step time, and stride length were perturbed as a result of intoxication. The stratification of the gait data based on BAL revealed that the gait parameters were affected in a dose-dependent manner.

Conclusion

This novel adolescent BD porcine model with inherent anatomical and physiological similarities to humans display similar consumption and intoxication behavior that is likely to yield results that are translatable to human patients.
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Assessment of Non-Motor Features in Deep Brain Stimulation Candidates: Relationship to the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories
Authors: Loring David W , Block Cady , Staikova Ekaterina , Miocinovic Svjetlana
Published: September 2020

Objective

To compare Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures of depression and anxiety to the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and explore patterns of selected PROMIS measures in patients undergoing evaluation for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS).

Method

BDI-II, BAI, and seven PROMIS measures were administered to 163 DBS candidates with diagnoses of Parkinson Disease (PD, n = 102), Essential Tremor (ET, n = 45), or Dystonia (n = 16).

Results

Elevated PROMIS Depression using BDI-II Crosswalk equivalents predicted elevated BDI-II with 63% sensitivity and 94% specificity. On other PROMIS measures, 69 patients (42%) reported low Physical Function (T ≤ 40) with Pain Interference being the next most frequent abnormal score (n = 51, 31%). Group differences were present for PROMIS Physical Function, Sleep Disturbance, and Pain.

Conclusions

These preliminary findings provide initial support for PROMIS Depression to assess mood disturbance in DBS candidates, and characterize other PROMIS measures in DBS candidates including group differences reflecting disease specific contribution to Quality of Life.
Sequential organization of birdsong: relationships with individual quality and fitness
Authors: Zsebők Sándor , Herczeg Gábor , Laczi Miklós , Nagy Gergely , Vaskuti Éva , Hargitai Rita , Hegyi Gergely , Herényi Márton , Markó Gábor , Rosivall Balázs , Szász Eszter , Szöllősi Eszter , Török János , Garamszegi László Zsolt
Published: September 2020

Many vocalizing animals produce the discrete elements of their acoustic signals in a specific sequential order, but we know little about the biological relevance of this ordering. For that, we must characterize the degree by which individuals differ in how they organize their signals sequentially and relate these differences to variation in quality and fitness. In this study, we fulfilled these tasks in male collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). We characterized the sequential order of syllables with a network analysis approach and studied the consistency of network variables on distinct time scales (within day, between days, and between years), and assessed their relationship with such quality indicators like age, body condition, arrival date, and fitness related proxies like survival to the next year and pairing success. We found that the syllables were associated nonrandomly with one another and both the frequency differences of consecutive syllables and the number of motif types were higher in the original than in randomized syllable sequences. Average degree and small-worldness showed considerable among-individual differences and decreasing repeatability with increasing time scale. Furthermore, we found relationships between male age and average degree among and within individuals. Accordingly, older males produce syllable sequences by using common syllables less often than younger individuals. However, the network variables showed no relationship with fitness-related variables. In conclusion, the sequential organization of birdsong has the potential to encode individual-specific characteristics, which thus could be used as signal in social interactions and thus potentially could be subject to sexual selection.
iCircRBP-DHN: identification of circRNA-RBP interaction sites using deep hierarchical network
Authors: Yang Yuning , Hou Zilong , Ma Zhiqiang , Li Xiangtao , Wong Ka-Chun
Published: September 2020

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are widely expressed in eukaryotes. The genome-wide interactions between circRNAs and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) can be probed from cross-linking immunoprecipitation with sequencing data. Therefore, computational methods have been developed for identifying RBP binding sites on circRNAs. Unfortunately, those computational methods often suffer from the low discriminative power of feature representations, numerical instability and poor scalability. To address those limitations, we propose a novel computational method called iCircRBP-DHN using deep hierarchical network for discriminating circRNA-RBP binding sites. The network architecture can be regarded as a deep multi-scale residual network followed by bidirectional gated recurrent units (BiGRUs) with the self-attention mechanism, which can simultaneously extract local and global contextual information. Meanwhile, we propose novel encoding schemes by integrating CircRNA2Vec and the K-tuple nucleotide frequency pattern to represent different degrees of nucleotide dependencies. To validate the effectiveness of our proposed iCircRBP-DHN, we compared its performance with other computational methods on 37 circRNAs datasets and 31 linear RNAs datasets, respectively. The experimental results reveal that iCircRBP-DHN can achieve superior performance over those state-of-the-art algorithms. Moreover, we perform motif analysis on circRNAs bound by those different RBPs, demonstrating that our proposed CircRNA2Vec encoding scheme can be promising. The iCircRBP-DHN method is made available at https://github.com/houzl3416/iCircRBP-DHN.
ADACT: a tool for analysing (dis)similarity among nucleotide and protein sequences using minimal and relative absent words
Authors: Akon Mujtahid , Akon Muntashir , Kabir Mohimenul , Rahman M Saifur , Rahman M Sohel
Published: September 2020

Motivation

Researchers and practitioners use a number of popular sequence comparison tools that use many alignment-based techniques. Due to high time and space complexity and length-related restrictions, researchers often seek alignment-free tools. Recently, some interesting ideas, namely, Minimal Absent Words (MAW) and Relative Absent Words (RAW), have received much interest among the scientific community as distance measures that can give us alignment-free alternatives. This drives us to structure a framework for analysing biological sequences in an alignment-free manner.

Results

In this application note, we present Alignment-free Dissimilarity Analysis & Comparison Tool (ADACT), a simple web-based tool that computes the analogy among sequences using a varied number of indexes through the distance matrix, species relation list and phylogenetic tree. This tool basically combines absent word (MAW or RAW) computation, dissimilarity measures, species relationship and thus brings all required software in one platform for the ease of researchers and practitioners alike in the field of bioinformatics. We have also developed a restful API.

Availability and implementation

ADACT has been hosted at http://research.buet.ac.bd/ADACT/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
selectBoost: a general algorithm to enhance the performance of variable selection methods
Authors: Bertrand Frédéric , Aouadi Ismaïl , Jung Nicolas , Carapito Raphael , Vallat Laurent , Bahram Seiamak , Maumy-Bertrand Myriam
Published: September 2020

Motivation

With the growth of big data, variable selection has become one of the critical challenges in statistics. Although many methods have been proposed in the literature, their performance in terms of recall (sensitivity) and precision (predictive positive value) is limited in a context where the number of variables by far exceeds the number of observations or in a highly correlated setting.

Results

In this article, we propose a general algorithm, which improves the precision of any existing variable selection method. This algorithm is based on highly intensive simulations and takes into account the correlation structure of the data. Our algorithm can either produce a confidence index for variable selection or be used in an experimental design planning perspective. We demonstrate the performance of our algorithm on both simulated and real data. We then apply it in two different ways to improve biological network reverse-engineering.

Availability and implementation

Code is available as the SelectBoost package on the CRAN, https://cran.r-project.org/package=SelectBoost. Some network reverse-engineering functionalities are available in the Patterns CRAN package, https://cran.r-project.org/package=Patterns.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Jackknife empirical likelihood: small bandwidth, sparse network and high-dimensional asymptotics
Authors: Matsushita Yukitoshi , Otsu Taisuke
Published: September 2020

This article aims to shed light on inference problems for statistical models under alternative or nonstandard asymptotic frameworks from the perspective of the jackknife empirical likelihood. Examples include small-bandwidth asymptotics for semiparametric inference and goodness-of-fit testing, sparse-network asymptotics, many-covariates asymptotics for regression models, and many-weak-instruments asymptotics for instrumental variable regression. We first establish Wilks’ theorem for the jackknife empirical likelihood statistic in a general semiparametric inference problem under the conventional asymptotics. We then show that the jackknife empirical likelihood statistic may lose asymptotic pivotalness in the above nonstandard asymptotic frameworks, and argue that this phenomenon can be understood in terms of the emergence of Efron & Stein (1981)’s bias of the jackknife variance estimator at first order. Finally, we propose a modification of the jackknife empirical likelihood to recover asymptotic pivotalness under both conventional and nonstandard asymptotics. Our modification works for all of the above examples and provides a unified framework for investigating nonstandard asymptotic problems.
COVID-19: guaranteed Loans and Zombie Firms
Authors: Zoller-Rydzek Benedikt , Keller Florian
Published: September 2020

Based on a survey (7–13 April 2020) we evaluate the reaction of Swiss firms towards the COVID-19 crisis. Firms show little pro-active reactions towards the crisis, but decrease their business activities. The firms in the survey report that the decline in foreign demand is the single most important reason for their deteriorating business situation. Firms that faced a more difficult business situation before the crisis are affected more severely during the crisis. Moreover, we investigate the impact of the Swiss federal loan program (Bundeshilfe) on the business activities. To this end, we develop a stylized theoretical model of financially constrained heterogeneous firms. We find that policy makers face a trade-off between immediate higher unemployment rates and long-term higher public spending. The former arises from a combination of a too strong economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown (demand drop) and too low levels of loans provided. Nevertheless, providing (too) high levels of loans to firms creates zombie firms that are going to default in the future leading to an increase in public spending. (JEL codes: D22, D25, D84, and G33)
Implementation of French Recommendations for the Prevention and the Treatment of Hospital-acquired Pneumonia: A Cluster-randomized Trial
Authors: Roquilly Antoine , Chanques Gérald , Lasocki Sigismond , Foucrier Arnaud , Fermier Brice , De Courson Hugues , Carrie Cedric , Danguy des Deserts Marc , Gakuba Clément , Constantin Jean-Michel , Lagarde Kevin , Holleville Mathilde , Blidi Sami , Sossou Achille , Cailliez Pauline , Monard Celine , Oudotte Adrien , Mathieu Calypso , Bourenne Jeremy , Isetta Christian , Perrigault Pierre-François , Lakhal Karim , Rouhani Armine , Asehnoune Karim , Guerci Philippe , Tran Dinh Alexy , Chousterman Benjamin , Cupaciu Alexandru , Dahyot-Fizelier Claire , Bellier Remy , Au Duong Jonathan , Mansour Alexandre , Morel Jérome , Beauplet Ghilain , Vibet Marie-Anne , Feuillet Fanny , Sébille Véronique , Leone Marc
Published: September 2020

Background

We determined whether an audit on the adherence to guidelines for hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) can improve the outcomes of patients in intensive care units (ICUs).

Methods

This study was conducted at 35 ICUs in 30 hospitals. We included consecutive, adult patients hospitalized in ICUs for 3 days or more. After a 3-month baseline period followed by the dissemination of recommendations, an audit on the compliance to recommendations (audit period) was followed by a 3-month cluster-randomized trial. We randomly assigned ICUs to either receive audit and feedback (intervention group) or participate in a national registry (control group). The primary outcome was the duration of ICU stay.

Results

Among 1856 patients enrolled, 602, 669, and 585 were recruited in the baseline, audit, and intervention periods, respectively. The composite measures of compliance were 47% (interquartile range [IQR], 38–56%) in the intervention group and 42% (IQR, 25–53%) in the control group (P = .001). As compared to the baseline period, the ICU lengths of stay were reduced by 3.2 days in the intervention period (P = .07) and by 2.8 days in the control period (P = .02). The durations of ICU stay were 7 days (IQR, 5–14 days) in the control group and 9 days (IQR, 5–20 days) in the intervention group (P = .10). After adjustment for unbalanced baseline characteristics, the hazard ratio for being discharged alive from the ICU in the control group was 1.17 (95% confidence interval, .69–2.01; P = .10).

Conclusions

The publication of French guidelines for HAP was associated with a reduction of the ICU length of stay. However, the realization of an audit to improve their application did not further improve outcomes.

Clinical Trials Registration

NCT03348579.
Temporal changes in complement activation in haemodialysis patients with COVID-19 as a predictor of disease progression
Authors: Prendecki Maria , Clarke Candice , Medjeral-Thomas Nicholas , McAdoo Stephen P , Sandhu Eleanor , Peters James E , Thomas David C , Willicombe Michelle , Botto Marina , Pickering Matthew C
Published: September 2020

Background

Complement activation may play a pathogenic role in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by contributing to tissue inflammation and microvascular thrombosis.

Methods

Serial samples were collected from patients receiving maintenance haemodialysis (HD). Thirty-nine patients had confirmed COVID-19 and 10 patients had no evidence of COVID-19. Plasma C5a and C3a levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

We identified elevated levels of plasma C3a and C5a in HD patients with severe COVID-19 compared with controls. Serial sampling identified that C5a levels were elevated prior to clinical deterioration in patients who developed severe disease. C3a more closely mirrored both clinical and biochemical disease severity.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that activation of complement plays a role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, leading to endothelial injury and lung damage. C5a may be an earlier biomarker of disease severity than conventional parameters such as C-reactive protein and this warrants further investigation in dedicated biomarker studies. Our data support the testing of complement inhibition as a therapeutic strategy for patients with severe COVID-19.
Distribution, Survival, and Development of Spotted Lanternfly on Host Plants Found in North America
Authors: Murman Kelly , Setliff Gregory P , Pugh Cathryn V , Toolan Michael J , Canlas Isaiah , Cannon Stefani , Abreu Leslie , Fetchen Miranda , Zhang Longwa , Warden Melissa L , Wallace Matthew , Wickham Jacob , Spichiger Sven-Erik , Swackhamer Emelie , Carrillo Daniel , Cornell Allison , Derstine Nathan T , Barringer Lawrence , Cooperband Miriam F
Published: September 2020

Studies were conducted from 2015 to 2018 to evaluate spotted lanternfly (SLF) distribution and developmental suitability of different plant species in the U.S. Tree bands on 283 trees spanning 33 species captured 21,006 SLF in 2 yr. More SLF per tree were trapped on tree-of-heaven Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle (Sapindales: Simaroubaceae) than on other species, on average, and most adults were captured on tree-of-heaven. Frequency of detection of adult SLF was higher on tree-of-heaven than on other species but was actually equal or lower on tree-of-heaven than on all other species combined for younger SLF stages in 2015. An enclosed choice test between tree-of-heaven and black walnut Juglans nigra L. (Fagales: Juglandaceae) revealed nymphs showed little consistent preference, whereas adults consistently and significantly preferred tree-of-heaven. No-choice field sleeve studies evaluated SLF survivorship on 26 host plant species in 17 families. Ten plant species supported SLF for an average of ≥45 d, with the rest unable to support SLF for >30 d. Eight species were able to support development from first instar to adult: black walnut, chinaberry Melia azedarach L. (Sapindales: Meliaceae), oriental bittersweet Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. (Celastrales: Celastraceae), tree-of-heaven, hops Humulus lupulus L. (Rosales: Cannabaceae), sawtooth oak Quercus acutissima Carruthers (Fagales: Fagaceae), butternut Juglans cinerea L, and tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifiera L. (Magnoliales: Magnoliaceae). The ability of SLF to develop to adult on hosts other than tree-of-heaven may impact pest management decisions.
How Comprehensive Is Chinese Data Protection Law? A Systematisation of Chinese Data Protection Law from a European Perspective
Authors: Geller Anja
Published: September 2020

In China, there is no unified data protection law similar to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As a result, there are many different relevant regulations. Among other things, this makes enforcement and comprehension more difficult. To alleviate this problem and assess the comprehensiveness of Chinese data protection, this article uses the GDPR as a frame to organise and systematise the most important Chinese regulations. Binding and non-binding as well as enacted and draft provisions are included to show the dynamic progress and the general direction of Chinese law. While from a European data protection perspective there still are numerous deficiencies, the general development is positive.
“In the Name of Humanity”: Nazi Doctors and Human Experiments in German Concentration Camps
Authors: de Leeuw Daan
Published: September 2020

During the Second World War over two hundred and fifty German doctors conducted medical experiments on human beings. Jurists and scholars have pondered ever since how doctors educated to heal could harm and even kill. Robert Jay Lifton has argued that psychological “doubling” could explain their crimes: their Faustian bargain with Nazism outweighed their Hippocratic Oath. Here the author argues, however, that Lifton’s theory does not apply to these Nazi doctors because there is no indication that they recognized ethical constraints against human experimentation. To explain how “healers became killers,” the author focuses on the broader historical aspects of their behavior.
Genocide, History, and the Law: Legal Performativity and Recognition of the Armenian Genocide in France and Germany
Authors: Kebranian Nanor
Published: September 2020

Laws regulating historical discourse, or “memory laws,” recognize past injustices, and, as in the case of legislation regarding the Holocaust, may punish denial. They also reflect the geopolitical interests of states or supranational institutions, especially in contested histories, such as the Ottoman Empire’s persecution of Armenian subjects during the First World War. Scholarship on such legislation examines its ethical legitimacy and political impact, debating its effect on free speech and democratic governance. This discourse considers whether memory laws should ever be adopted, whether they actually achieve their goals, and the extent to which they reinforce realpolitik in governing institutions. This article reveals a hitherto little-discussed dimension of laws regulating historical discourse: performativity. Laws have performative effects in the form of meanings, intentions, and interpretations that go beyond the letter of the law. By focusing on Armenian Genocide recognition in France and Germany, this article elucidates the performative aspects of memory laws, revealing thereby underlying ideological biases and political agendas.
Understanding Everyday Rescue: Insights from the Diary of Arnold Douwes
Authors: Moore Bob
Published: September 2020

Arnold Douwes led a rescue network in the village of Nieuwlande, in the Dutch province of Drenthe. For fifteen months he bore sole responsibility for Jews and others in hiding, whose numbers grew thanks to the rescuers’ philosophy of never refusing genuine fugitives. What makes Douwes unique is that he recorded extensive coded notes about his day-to-day thoughts and activities, burying these in jam-jars in various safe places. Crucially for our understanding of rescue, his chronicle provides in-depth insight into not only the group’s heroic activities, but also the mundane work required to maintain those in hiding.