bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship Between Participation in ASCO's Quality Oncology Practice Initiative Program and American Board of Internal Medicine's Maintenance of Certification Program
Authors: Siegel Robert D. , Garrett-Mayer Elizabeth , Lipner Rebecca S. , Kozlik Mary May Priscilla , Vandergrift Jonathan L. , Crist Stephanie T.S. , Chen Ronald C. , Chiang Anne C. , Kamal Arif H. ,   on behalf of the ASCO Quality Publications Task Force
Published: April 2022

PURPOSE:

Medical oncologists have a variety of options for demonstrating proficiency in providing high-quality patient care. Perhaps, the best-known opportunity for demonstrating individual expertise and lifelong learning is the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) maintenance of certification (MOC) program. At the practice level, ASCO has offered the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) as a means of optimizing cancer care delivery. In this study, we assess the association between active involvement in MOC on an individual basis and whether that individual’s practice is involved with the QOPI program.

METHODS:

We evaluated 13,600 US medical oncologists initially certified by the ABIM and divided them into those initially certified before 1990 (the year in which ABIM started to require periodic recertification), those from 1990 to 2007, and those from 2008 to 2016. It was then determined which of these had let their certificates expire by 2020. These data were then compared with practices that participated in QOPI from 2017 to 2019, resulting in the matching of 97% of physicians

RESULTS:

Of individuals initially certified before 1990 (and technically with lifelong certification), 22% were in QOPI practices. Among those who did not have lifelong certification, there was an association between QOPI participation and maintenance of ABIM certification. For those initially certified between 1990 and 2007, 35% of oncologists with up-to-date ABIM certification were in QOPI practices, whereas only 11% with expired ABIM certification were QOPI participants ( P < .0001). For those in the 2008-2016 category, the numbers were 36% v 16%, respectively ( P < .0001).

CONCLUSION:

Our analysis identifies a relationship between participation in these ABIM and ASCO proficiency programs. The reasons for this are likely complex and based on a variety of institutional, professional, monetary, and personal factors.
Turnaround Times in Melanoma BRAF Testing and the Impact on the Initiation of Systemic Therapy at a Single Tertiary Care Cancer Center
Authors: Arteaga Diana P. , Saeed-Kamil Zaid , King Ian , Stockley Tracy , Liu Diane , Muniz Thiago P. , Saibil Samuel D. , Hogg David , Spreafico Anna , Butler Marcus O.
Published: April 2022

PURPOSE:

The identification of BRAF mutations in melanoma enables targeted therapy and improves patient outcomes. Barriers to BRAF molecular testing affect the quality of care and therapeutic options.

METHODS:

This retrospective study mapped BRAF testing timelines in adult patients with melanoma at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre to identify obstacles to timely BRAF reporting and its impact on the initiation of therapy.

RESULTS:

Sixty-six cases were included. The median time between BRAF request and result was 12 days (95% CI, 8 to 15) when the BRAF test was ordered by pathology, compared with 20 days (95% CI, 16 to 23) if the test was requested by another specialist ( P < .001). When the BRAF test and biopsy were performed within the same institution, the BRAF median turnaround time (TAT) was 13 days (95% CI, 6 to 19) compared with 19 days (95% CI, 16 to 21) if the sample was transferred from another institution ( P = .02). Forty-seven patients received systemic therapy, and 20 had metastatic disease. In the metastatic subgroup, if the BRAF result was available at the first medical oncology visit, the initiation of treatment was 20 days (95% CI, 9.6 to 30.3), but was delayed to 31 days (95% CI, 10.8 to 51.1) if the BRAF result was not available ( P = .03).

CONCLUSION:

This study showed variations in BRAF test results in TAT. One factor affecting this timeline is the transfer time, which can be streamlined by pathology reflex testing. Delays in TAT affect the timing and type of therapeutic intervention, especially in patients with stage IV disease.
Critical Illness–induced Corticosteroid Insufficiency: What It Is Not and What It Could Be
Authors: Téblick Arno , Gunst Jan , Van den Berghe Greet
Published: March 2022

Critical illnesses are hallmarked by increased systemic cortisol availability, a vital part of the stress response. Acute stress may trigger a life-threatening adrenal crisis when a disease of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is present and not adequately treated with stress doses of hydrocortisone. Stress doses of hydrocortisone are also used to reduce high vasopressor need in patients suffering from septic shock, in the absence of adrenal insufficiency. Research performed over the last 10 years focusing on the HPA axis during critical illness has led to the insight that neither of these conditions can be labeled “critical illness–induced corticosteroid insufficiency” or CIRCI. Instead, these data suggested using the term CIRCI for a condition that may develop in prolonged critically ill patients. Indeed, when patients remain dependent on vital organ support for weeks, they are at risk of acquiring central adrenal insufficiency. The sustained increase in systemic glucocorticoid availability, mainly brought about by suppressed circulating cortisol-binding proteins and suppressed hepatic/renal cortisol metabolism, exerts negative feedback inhibition at the hypothalamus/pituitary, while high levels of other glucocorticoid receptor ligands, such as bile acids, and drugs, such as opioids, may further suppress adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion. The adrenal cortex, depleted from ACTH-mediated trophic signaling for weeks, may become structurally and functionally impaired, resulting in insufficient cortisol production. Such a central HPA axis suppression may be maladaptive by contributing to lingering vasopressor need and encephalopathy, hence preventing recovery. Here, we review this concept of CIRCI and we advise on how to recognize and treat this poorly understood condition.
Severe Mental Illness and the Risk of Diabetes Complications: A Nationwide, Register-based Cohort Study
Authors: Scheuer Stine H , Kosjerina Vanja , Lindekilde Nanna , Pouwer Frans , Carstensen Bendix , Jørgensen Marit E , Benros Michael E , Andersen Gregers S
Published: March 2022

Context

Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Objective

This work explores whether individuals with diabetes and SMI are also at increased risk of diabetes complications and the potential age-specific differences in development of these.

Methods

Using nationwide registry data, we followed the entire Danish population with type 2 diabetes from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2018. Exposure was SMI (schizophrenia, bipolar, or depression disorders). Outcome was diabetes complications (nephropathy, retinopathy, lower limp amputations, and cardiovascular disease). We applied Poisson regression models to estimate overall incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and age-specific incidence rates (IRs) and IRRs of the first event of each complication in individuals with SMI compared to individuals without SMI. The models were adjusted for sex, age, diabetes duration, calendar year, education, and migration status.

Results

We followed 371 625 individuals with type 2 diabetes, of whom 30 102 had coexisting diagnosed SMI. Individuals with SMI had a higher IR of nephropathy (IRR: 1.15; 95% CI, 1.12-1.18), amputations (IRR: 1.15; 95% CI, 1.04-1.28), and cardiovascular disease (men: IRR: 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.15, women: IRR: 1.18; 95% CI, 1.13-1.22) but a lower IR of retinopathy (IRR: 0.75; 95% CI, 0.70-0.81) when compared to individuals without SMI, after adjustment for confounders. For all complications except amputations, the difference in IR was highest in the younger age groups.

Conclusion

Individuals with type 2 diabetes and SMI had a higher risk and an earlier onset of several diabetes complications diagnoses, emphasizing focusing on improving diabetes management in younger age groups with SMI.
Public Procurement in Law and Practice
Authors: Bosio Erica , Djankov Simeon , Glaeser Edward , Shleifer Andrei
Published: March 2022

We examine a new dataset of public procurement laws, practice, and outcomes in 187 countries. We measure regulation as restrictions on the discretion of the procuring entities. We find that laws and practice are highly correlated with each other across countries, and better practice is correlated with better outcomes, but laws themselves are not correlated with outcomes. A closer look shows that stricter laws correlate with improved outcomes, but only in countries with low public sector capacity. We present a model of procurement in which both regulatory rules and public sector capacity determine procurement outcomes. In the model, regulation is effective in countries with low public sector capacity, but not in countries with high capacity because it inhibits the socially optimal exercise of discretion to exclude low quality bidders. (JEL D73, H11, H57, K12, K42, O17)
The effects of stone density on surgical outcomes of retrograde intrarenal stone surgery
Authors: Aksoy Suleyman Hilmi , Cakiroglu Basri , Tas Tuncay , Yurdaisik Isil
Published: March 2022

Objective:

Several pre-operative parameters have been studied to estimate stone-free rate (SFR) following retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) procedures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of stone density on surgical outcomes of RIRS.

Methods:

This retrospective study included 30 stone-free patients (Group SF) and 30 patients with residual fragments (Group RF). Patients’ age and gender, laterality, non-contrast CT findings, including size and density of the kidney stones, infundibular pelvic angle (IPA), operational time, and post-operative pain were recorded and compared between the two groups. The stone density was measured by free hand region of interest (ROI) determination coincident with the stone borders and expressed as Hounsfield units (HUs).

Results:

The rate of single stones was significantly higher in Group SF compared to Group RF (p < 0.001). The mean stone size was found as 11.93 ± 7.81 mm in Group SF and 16.27 ± 7.29 mm in Group RF with the difference being statistically significant (p < 0.001). The mean IPA was 53.87 degrees in Group SF and 50.33 degrees in Group RF. The mean density was measured as 748.17 ± 318.14 HU in Group SF and 945.90 ± 345.30 HU in Group RF. The mean stone density was statistically significantly higher in patients with residual fragments compared to the stone-free patients (p < 0.001).

Conclusion:

This study revealed that stone density as measured as HU affects the treatment outcomes with RIRS procedure and the mean density is significantly higher in patients with residual stone fragments.

Advances in knowledge:

Studies about the effects of HUs on stone-free rate are limited in the literature. Stone density affects the treatment outcomes with RIRS procedure and the mean density is significantly higher in patients with residual stone fragments.
A Sanger sequencing-based method for a rapid and economic generation of SARS-CoV-2 epidemiological data: A proof of concept study to assess the prevalence of the A23403G SNP (D614G) mutation in Quito, Ecuador.
Authors: Leoro-Garzón Paula , Leoro-Monroy Galo , Ortega-Paredes David , Larrea-Álvarez Marco , Molina-Cuasapaz Gabriel , González-Andrade Pablo , Sevillano Gabriela , Zurita-Salinas Camilo , Zurita Jeannete
Published: March 2022

The Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) A23403G associated with the D to G change in position 614 of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has recently become dominant. The most utilized and robust approach is the study of whole genome sequences, generally available at public databases. However, this technology is not suited for massive testing as it requires expensive reagents, equipment, and infrastructure. Consequently, developing rapid and accessible protocols will be fundamental for producing epidemiological data linked to this SNP, especially in countries with limited resources. This report has evaluated an easy cost-effective approach, based on sanger sequencing, for detection of the A23403G (D614G) mutation. This strategy was tested in SARS-CoV-2 positive samples collected in Quito during March and October of 2020. In March, a total of 264 out of 1319 samples yielded positive results (20%), while 777 out of 5032 (15%) did so in October. From these cases, almost all samples were associated with the G23403 (G614) variant (>98%). This technique proved to be reliable, reproducible, and might be expandable to study other mutations without major protocol amendments. The application of this method allowed the production of epidemiological data regarding the A23403G (D614G) mutation in Quito, where no previous reports were available. This approach will be crucial for producing relevant information for public health management, especially during the ongoing pandemic.
ERP adoption cost factors identification and classification: a study in SMEs
Authors: Haddara Moutaz , Elragal Ahmed
Published: March 2022

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems adoptions require substantial resources and investments. The majority of businesses around the globe can be considered to be small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Thus, SMEs are seen to be typical companies that are the cornerstone of most economies. Compared with large enterprises, an SME-context contains several characteristics, and scarcity of resources is among the top of them. For SMEs, unplanned costs escalation could pose a serious threat to their stability and survival in the market. Frequently, ERP projects have crossed their estimated budgets and schedules. Researchers and practitioners state that a prevailing number of ERP adoption projects fail due to inaccurate or to too optimistic budgets/schedules. In addition, many organizations face difficulties in identifying the potential cost factors that could occur during their ERP adoption lifecycle. While focusing on the SMEcontext, this research attempts to identify potential costs that could occur in ERP adoptions. The research method employed in this study targeted diverse stakeholders and experts involved in ERP projects in Egypt. This research provides a list of cost factors and their classifications that could aid adopting organizations to better estimate their needed ERP project budgets. In particular, this research explores the direct and indirect cost factors that occur in ERP adoptions in Egyptian SMEs. Also, this study investigates the influence of some SME-specific contextual factors on costs. Moreover, the paper provides a ranking of cost factors according to their impact on total adoption costs.
Tackling the digitalization challenge: how to benefit from digitalization in practice
Authors: Parviainen Päivi , Tihinen Maarit , Kääriäinen Jukka , Teppola Susanna
Published: March 2022

Digitalization has been identified as one of the major trends changing society and business. Digitalization causes changes for companies due to the adoption of digital technologies in the organization or in the operation environment. This paper discusses digitalization from the viewpoint of diverse case studies carried out to collect data from several companies, and a literature study to complement the data. This paper describes the first version of the digital transformation model, derived from synthesis of these industrial cases, explaining a starting point for a systematic approach to tackle digital transformation. The model is aimed to help companies systematically handle the changes associated with digitalization. The model consists of four main steps, starting with positioning the company in digitalization and defining goals for the company, and then analyzing the company’s current state with respect to digitalization goals. Next, a roadmap for reaching the goals is defined and implemented in the company. These steps are iterative and can be repeated several times. Although company situations vary, these steps will help to systematically approach digitalization and to take the steps necessary to benefit from it.
A Scalable Lower Bound for the Worst-Case Relay Attack Problem on the Transmission Grid
Authors: Johnson Emma S. , Dey Santanu Subhas
Published: April 2022

We consider a bilevel attacker–defender problem to find the worst-case attack on the relays that control transmission grid components. The attacker infiltrates some number of relays and renders all of the components connected to them inoperable with the goal of maximizing load shed. The defender responds by minimizing the resulting load shed, redispatching using a DC optimal power flow (DCOPF) problem on the remaining network. Though worst-case interdiction problems on the transmission grid have been studied for years, there remains a need for exact and scalable methods. Methods based on using duality on the inner problem rely on the bounds of the dual variables of the defender problem in order to reformulate the bilevel problem as a mixed integer linear problem. Valid dual bounds tend to be large, resulting in weak linear programming relaxations and, hence, making the problem more difficult to solve at scale. Often smaller heuristic bounds are used, resulting in a lower bound. In this work, we also consider a lower bound, but instead of bounding the dual variables, we drop the constraints corresponding to Ohm’s law, relaxing DCOPF to capacitated network flow. We present theoretical results showing that, for uncongested networks, approximating DCOPF with network flow yields the same set of injections and, thus, the same load shed, which suggests that this restriction likely gives a high-quality lower bound in the uncongested case. Furthermore, we show that, in the network flow relaxation of the defender problem, the duals are bounded by one, so we can solve our restriction exactly. Finally, because the big-M values in the linearization are equal to one and network flow has a well-known structure, we see empirically that this formulation scales well computationally with increased network size. Through empirical experiments on 16 networks with up to 6,468 buses, we find that this bound is almost always as tight as we can get from guessing the dual bounds even for congested networks in which the theoretical results do not hold. In addition, calculating the bound is approximately 150 times faster than achieving the same bound with the reformulation guessing the dual bounds.
Could Gamification Designs Enhance Online Learning Through Personalization? Lessons from a Field Experiment
Authors: Leung Alvin Chung Man , Santhanam Radhika , Kwok Ron Chi-Wai , Yue Wei Thoo
Published: March 2022

Online learning is of growing importance to institutions and learners, and the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored its importance even more. Because learner autonomy is relatively high in these online environments, they must engage in self-regulated learning processes to achieve successful learning outcomes, but studies show that most learners are not able to do so. Hence, in this longitudinal field experiment, using a massively open online course (MOOCs), a type of online learning environment, we investigate whether gamified interventions through the learning platform can foster learners to engage in self-regulated learning processes and improve their learning outcomes. We find that gamification interventions are indeed useful, but for these gamification interventions to succeed, they must be designed to provide personalized feedback to learners that match with their learning goal-orientation. Overall, our findings point to the fact that gamification designs in online learning platforms can enhance learners’ engagement and learning outcomes, but they must be personalized. A one-size-fits-all approach to gamification design in online learning just does not work and may even backfire to reduce the engagement of some learners.
Predictors of Suicide Attempt among Middle School Students with Suicidal Ideation: Analysis of Data from the 15th (2019) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey
Authors: Lee Hye Jin , Kim Jin Ju
Published: March 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the factors influencing suicide attempts among middle school students with suicidal ideation.Methods: Data were from the 2019 Youth Health Risk Behavior Web-based survey collected by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data were analyzed using the SPSS program.Results: Participants were 29,384 middle school students, there were 14.1% of suicide ideation, and 22.2% of them attempted suicide. Among the students with suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts were higher in those who had experiences of alcohol drinking, smoking, substance abuse, and sexual intercourse.Conclusion: Therefore, to prevent suicide accidents among middle school students, there is a need for strategies that would reduce problem behavior such as alcohol drinking, smoking, sexual intercourse, and substance abuse. For middle school students who have already experienced problem behavior, efficient plans should be established for screening, prevention, and treatment of the high-risk groups in suicide attempts.
Factors Affecting Abnormal Eating Behaviors among Adults in Obesity Clinic
Authors: Jeong Ji-Hye , Jang Hye-Young
Published: March 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the factors influencing abnormal eating behavior among adults who visit obesity clinics.Methods: Questionnaires were used to collect data from 234 adults who visit obesity clinics at K University Hospital. The questions included eating attitude, alexithymia, and depression. Data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Scheffétest, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis.Results: Abnormal eating behaviors were significantly associated with alexithymia, depression, and body mass index. The predictors of abnormal eating behaviors were depression, body mass index, difficulty identifying feelings, perceived economic status, body image perception, and gender, which explained 28% (Adj. R2=.28) of the abnormal eating behaviors.Conclusion: The findings revealed a need for educational programs that can contribute to desirable eating behaviors and strategies for healthy weight control. In addition, a support program should be availed to help them recognize and properly express their feelings along with prevention and management of depression.
EDUCAÇÃO INFANTIL, ANTIRRACISMO E MULTICULTURALISMO
Authors: Gonçalves Adriana do Carmo Correa , Ivenicki Ana
Published: March 2022

Em um país como o Brasil, violentamente marcado por práticas institucionais que reverberam e exalam racismo estrutural, quanto antes as iniciativas antirracistas forem incorporadas no cotidiano e currículo escolar, maiores serão as oportunidades para que crianças pequenas constituam suas experiências tendo como referência as contribuições da identidade negra. Nesse sentido, o presente texto, ao trazer o professor da educação básica como sujeito da práxis, busca estabelecer uma discussão com base em uma etnografia da prática escolar. A práxis em questão assume como objetivo enfatizar o antirracismo e o multiculturalismo como bases para estratégias de resistência, de modo que sujeitos escolares se constituam com e pela representatividade da identidade étnico-racial tão marginalizada pelo racismo estrutural. Adota-se, como referencial teórico, o multiculturalismo, destacando suas vertentes crítica e pós-colonial e as contribuições do pensamento antirracista. Diante da complexidade do racismo e seus desdobramentos perversos que asfixiam identidades e atravessam subjetividades, defende-se a importância da incorporação da luta antirracista na educação infantil, uma vez que corrobora para a construção de referências étnico-raciais para crianças pequenas. Além disso, a representatividade materializada na ancoragem social pelo sujeito professor/ professora antirracista e negro extrapola a prática de valorização ou celebração da identidade negra, geralmente potencializada em novembro em função das celebrações referentes à data comemorativa da consciência negra.
Government publishes response to 2021 Paterson inquiry
Authors: Taber Sally
Published: April 2022

Following the UK Government publishing its response to the 2021 Paterson inquiry, Sally Taber explains what this means for the medical aesthetics sector
Covid fuels the rise of hand biometrics
Authors: Garcia Bernard
Published: March 2022

Hand biometric authentication has come to the fore during the Covid crisis, as a hygienic, contactless way to ID people. But what's the future for hand recognition post-pandemic, and how does it stack up against rival biometric modes? We speak to Bernard Garcia, CEO of hand identity specialist nVIAsoft.
Ransomware – one of the biggest threats facing enterprises today
Authors: Grillenmeier Guido
Published: March 2022

Entailing the use of covertly installed malware on a victim's endpoint to exfiltrate and encrypt data, ransomware can cripple the operations of unprepared businesses, with threat actors demanding exorbitant payments to decrypt files and/or prevent the publication of critical data upon executing an attack.
The British Orthopaedic Surgery Surveillance study: slipped capital femoral epiphysis
Authors: Perry Daniel C. , Arch Barbara , Appelbe Duncan , Francis Priya , Craven Joanna , Monsell Fergal P. , Williamson Paula , Knight Marian ,   on behalf of the BOSS collaborators
Published: April 2022

Aims

The aim of this study was to inform the epidemiology and treatment of slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE).

Methods

This was an anonymized comprehensive cohort study, with a nested consented cohort, following the the Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term study (IDEAL) framework. A total of 143 of 144 hospitals treating SCFE in Great Britain participated over an 18-month period. Patients were cross-checked against national administrative data and potential missing patients were identified. Clinician-reported outcomes were collected until two years. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were collected for a subset of participants.

Results

A total of 486 children (513 hips) were newly affected, with a median of two patients (interquartile range 0 to 4) per hospital. The annual incidence was 3.34 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.01 to 3.67) per 100,000 six- to 18-year-olds. Time to diagnosis in stable disease was increased in severe deformity. There was considerable variation in surgical strategy among those unable to walk at diagnosis (66 urgent surgery vs 43 surgery after interval delay), those with severe radiological deformity (34 fixation with deformity correction vs 36 without correction) and those with unaffected opposite hips (120 prophylactic fixation vs 286 no fixation). Independent risk factors for avascular necrosis (AVN) were the inability of the child to walk at presentation to hospital (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 4.4 (95% CI 1.7 to 11.4)) and surgical technique of open reduction and internal fixation (aOR 7.5 (95% CI 2.4 to 23.2)). Overall, 33 unaffected untreated opposite hips (11.5%) were treated for SCFE by two-year follow-up. Age was the only independent risk factor for contralateral SCFE, with age under 12.5 years the optimal cut-off to define ‘at risk’. Of hips treated with prophylactic fixation, none had SCFE, though complications included femoral fracture, AVN, and revision surgery. PROMs demonstrated the marked impact on quality of life on the child because of SCFE.

Conclusion

The experience of individual hospitals is limited and mechanisms to consolidate learning may enhance care. Diagnostic delays were common and radiological severity worsened with increasing time to diagnosis. There was unexplained variation in treatment, some of which exposes children to significant risks that should be evaluated through randomized controlled trials. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2022;104-B(4):519–528.
Quarter acoustic period pulse compression using stimulated Brillouin scattering in PF-5060
Authors: Liu Zhaohong , Fan Rong , Jin Duo , Luo Tiantian , Li Sensen , Li Ning , Li Shaowen , Wang Yulei , Lu Zhiwei
Published: March 2022

The pulse duration of the near quarter-acoustic period (τa) is demonstrated in transient stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) pulse compression by the suppressing Stokes trailing-edge broadening at high intensities. A theoretical analysis reveals that the difficulty in attaining the transient compression limit is caused by the broadening of the Stokes trailing edge owing to insufficient pump depletion, and this undesirable phenomenon can be significantly suppressed by a high SBS gain coefficient. An average pulse duration of ∼1.05 τa was experimentally achieved in transient compression with a high-energy efficiency of over 30%. Benefiting from energy back conversion, compression below the transient SBS limit (< τa) also occurred when the pump peak power was increased to 150 MW.
High-repetition rate attosecond beamline for multi-particle coincidence experiments
Authors: Srinivas Hemkumar , Shobeiry Farshad , Bharti Divya , Pfeifer Thomas , Moshammer Robert , Harth Anne
Published: March 2022

In this paper, a 3-dimensional photoelectron/ion momentum spectrometer (reaction microscope) combined with a table-top attosecond beamline based on a high-repetition rate (49 kHz) laser source is presented. The beamline is designed to achieve a temporal stability below 50 attoseconds. Results from measurements on systems like molecular hydrogen and argon dimers demonstrate the capabilities of this setup in observing the attosecond dynamics in 3D while covering the full solid angle for ionization processes having low cross-sections.
Rydberg atom-based AM receiver with a weak continuous frequency carrier
Authors: Li Huaqiang , Hu Jinlian , Bai Jingxu , Shi Meng , Jiao Yuechun , Zhao Jianming , Jia Suotang
Published: March 2022

We demonstrate an atom-based amplitude-modulation (AM) receiver for digital communication with a weak continuous frequency carrier using a Rydberg AC Stark effect in a vapor cell and achieve the operating carrier frequency continuously from 0.1 GHz to 5 GHz at a single Rydberg state. A strong local oscillator (LO) field E
LO
acts as a gain to shift the Rydberg level to a high sensitivity region, and a weak carrier field E
Carr
keeps the same frequency with the LO field. The digital baseband signals are encoded onto the E
Carr
using the amplitude modulation technique with the different modulation frequency. The response of Rydberg atom to the baseband signal is probed via a Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The measured instantaneous bandwidth of the system is about 230 kHz. To demonstrate the performance of our system for an actual communication, we consider a color image as an example, the received image displays that the bit error rate (BER) is less than 5% when the maximum data transfer rate is about 238 kbps. Meanwhile, our system shows the weak carrier field of E
Carr
≥ 13.52 μV/cm can be used for the practical communication with BER less than 5%. Our works break the limitation that EIT-AT based atomic receivers only operate at the near resonant frequencies of the Rydberg transitions, making this emerging of quantum technology close to the practical application with high sensitivity and broad bandwidth.
Anti-loss-compression image encryption based on computational ghost imaging using discrete cosine transform and orthogonal patterns
Authors: Liu Yichen , Zheng Peixia , Liu Hong-Chao
Published: March 2022

As an emerging imaging technique, computational ghost imaging (CGI) has its unique application in image encryption. However, the long imaging time and high requirement of transmitting data, both in the size of data and vulnerability of lossy compression, limit its application in the practical communications. Using discrete cosine transform to sparse bucket signals of CGI, we here propose a method by transforming the bucket signals from the sensing matrix domain to the space domain, enhancing the ability of the bucket signals (i.e., encrypted image) to resist the lossy compression. Based on the principle of CGI, we first propose to use gradient descent to find an orthogonal matrix as the encryption key, then test the performance of our method at different quality factors and undersampling rates. Both simulations and experimental results demonstrate that our encryption method shows great resistance to the traditional lossy compression methods and has good performance in the undersampling conditions. Our method provides a convenient way to transmit the bucket signals of CGI by the format that involves lossy compression and thus camouflages itself while significantly reducing the amount of data being transmitted.
Cross-polarized surface lattice resonances in a rectangular lattice plasmonic metasurface
Authors: Saad Bin-Alam M. , Reshef Orad , Naeem Ahmad Raja , Upham Jeremy , Huttunen Mikko J. , Dolgaleva Ksenia , Boyd Robert W.
Published: March 2022

Multiresonant metasurfaces could enable many applications in filtering, sensing, and nonlinear optics. However, developing a metasurface with more than one high-quality-factor or high-Q resonance at designated resonant wavelengths is challenging. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a plasmonic metasurface exhibiting different, narrow surface lattice resonances by exploiting the polarization degree of freedom where different lattice modes propagate along different dimensions of the lattice. The surface consists of aluminum nanostructures in a rectangular periodic lattice. The resulting surface lattice resonances were measured around 640 nm and 1160 nm with Q factors of ∼50 and ∼800, respectively. The latter is a record-high plasmonic Q factor within the near-infrared type-II window. Such metasurfaces could benefit such applications as frequency conversion and all-optical switching.
Lasing action in a strongly coupled silicon nanowire pair
Authors: Chen Shengqiong , Niu Jiebin , Li Longjie , Lu Cheng , Shi Lina , Xie Changqing
Published: April 2022

High-index dielectric nanostructures are of particular interest for nanoscale lasing due to their low absorption losses. However, the relatively weak near-field restricts the isolated dielectric cavities as low-threshold integrated on-chip laser sources. Here, we demonstrate lasing action in a silicon nanowire pair with 32 nm gap coated with dye-doped shell on the silicon-on-insulator platform. It is found that the quality factor Q is dominated by the coupling of the silicon nanowire pair, which depends on the gap size, the nanowire width, and the dye thickness. A lasing peak at the wavelength of 529 nm with FWHM of 0.6 nm is experimentally realized by the Si nanowire pair width, and the corresponding pumping power threshold is ∼34 µW/cm2. The proposed strategy, based on the well-established Si planar process, lays the groundwork for practical integrated nanolasers that have potential applications in photonic circuits.
Lead-based chalcogenide thin films for mid-IR photoreceivers: plasma synthesis, semiconductor, and optical properties
Authors: Mochalov Leonid , Logunov Alexander , Kudryashov Mikhail , Kudryashova Yuliya , Vshivtsev Maksim , Malyshev Vladimir
Published: April 2022

Complex chalcogenide systems like PbS1-xSex seem to be promising semiconductors with a great potential for highly sensitive photodetectors of the mid-IR range and thermoelectric working at room temperature. The first group of problems that scientists face is how to synthesize materials with a homogeneous chemical and phase composition and a well-defined stoichiometry. The second is how to avoid contamination of such sensitive materials with residues of unreacted precursors and installation materials. In addition, the technological approach should allow the potential scale-up of the process for commercial applications of the above materials. In this work, we report the applicability of the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) in preparation of PbS1-xSex complex inorganic chalcogenide materials of various stoichiometry and phase composition in function of plasma process conditions. Elemental high-pure lead, sulfur, and selenium were the initial substances. RF (40.68 MHz) non-equilibrium plasma discharge at low pressure (0.01 Torr) was used for the initiation of interactions between the starting materials. The PECVD process was studied by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Various analytical methods were utilized to characterize the obtained materials.
Folliculin promotes substrate-selective mTORC1 activity by activating RagC to recruit TFE3
Authors: Li Kristina , Wada Shogo , Gosis Bridget S. , Thorsheim Chelsea , Loose Paige , Arany Zolt
Published: March 2022

Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex I (mTORC1) is central to cellular metabolic regulation. mTORC1 phosphorylates a myriad of substrates, but how different substrate specificity is conferred on mTORC1 by different conditions remains poorly defined. Here, we show how loss of the mTORC1 regulator folliculin (FLCN) renders mTORC1 specifically incompetent to phosphorylate TFE3, a master regulator of lysosome biogenesis, without affecting phosphorylation of other canonical mTORC1 substrates, such as S6 kinase. FLCN is a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for RagC, a component of the mTORC1 amino acid (AA) sensing pathway, and we show that active RagC is necessary and sufficient to recruit TFE3 onto the lysosomal surface, allowing subsequent phosphorylation of TFE3 by mTORC1. Active mutants of RagC, but not of RagA, rescue both phosphorylation and lysosomal recruitment of TFE3 in the absence of FLCN. These data thus advance the paradigm that mTORC1 substrate specificity is in part conferred by direct recruitment of substrates to the subcellular compartments where mTORC1 resides and identify potential targets for specific modulation of specific branches of the mTOR pathway.
Quantification of long-term doxorubicin response dynamics in breast cancer cell lines to direct treatment schedules
Authors: Howard Grant R. , Jost Tyler A. , Yankeelov Thomas E. , Brock Amy
Published: March 2022

While acquired chemoresistance is recognized as a key challenge to treating many types of cancer, the dynamics with which drug sensitivity changes after exposure are poorly characterized. Most chemotherapeutic regimens call for repeated dosing at regular intervals, and if drug sensitivity changes on a similar time scale then the treatment interval could be optimized to improve treatment performance. Theoretical work suggests that such optimal schedules exist, but experimental confirmation has been obstructed by the difficulty of deconvolving the simultaneous processes of death, adaptation, and regrowth taking place in cancer cell populations. Here we present a method of optimizing drug schedules in vitro through iterative application of experimentally calibrated models, and demonstrate its ability to characterize dynamic changes in sensitivity to the chemotherapeutic doxorubicin in three breast cancer cell lines subjected to treatment schedules varying in concentration, interval between pulse treatments, and number of sequential pulse treatments. Cell populations are monitored longitudinally through automated imaging for 600–800 hours, and this data is used to calibrate a family of cancer growth models, each consisting of a system of ordinary differential equations, derived from the bi-exponential model which characterizes resistant and sensitive subpopulations. We identify a model incorporating both a period of growth arrest in surviving cells and a delay in the death of chemosensitive cells which outperforms the original bi-exponential growth model in Akaike Information Criterion based model selection, and use the calibrated model to quantify the performance of each drug schedule. We find that the inter-treatment interval is a key variable in determining the performance of sequential dosing schedules and identify an optimal retreatment time for each cell line which extends regrowth time by 40%-239%, demonstrating that the time scale of changes in chemosensitivity following doxorubicin exposure allows optimization of drug scheduling by varying this inter-treatment interval.
Short-term and long-term epidemiological impacts of sustained vector control in various dengue endemic settings: A modelling study
Authors: Sun Haoyang , Koo Joel , Dickens Borame L. , Clapham Hannah E. , Cook Alex R.
Published: April 2022

As the most widespread viral infection transmitted by the Aedes mosquitoes, dengue has been estimated to cause 51 million febrile disease cases globally each year. Although sustained vector control remains key to reducing the burden of dengue, current understanding of the key factors that explain the observed variation in the short- and long-term vector control effectiveness across different transmission settings remains limited. We used a detailed individual-based model to simulate dengue transmission with and without sustained vector control over a 30-year time frame, under different transmission scenarios. Vector control effectiveness was derived for different time windows within the 30-year intervention period. We then used the extreme gradient boosting algorithm to predict the effectiveness of vector control given the simulation parameters, and the resulting machine learning model was interpreted using Shapley Additive Explanations. According to our simulation outputs, dengue transmission would be nearly eliminated during the early stage of sustained and intensive vector control, but over time incidence would gradually bounce back to the pre-intervention level unless the intervention is implemented at a very high level of intensity. The time point at which intervention ceases to be effective is strongly influenced not only by the intensity of vector control, but also by the pre-intervention transmission intensity and the individual-level heterogeneity in biting risk. Moreover, the impact of many transmission model parameters on the intervention effectiveness is shown to be modified by the intensity of vector control, as well as to vary over time. Our study has identified some of the critical drivers for the difference in the time-varying effectiveness of sustained vector control across different dengue endemic settings, and the insights obtained will be useful to inform future model-based studies that seek to predict the impact of dengue vector control in their local contexts.
SPOROS: A pipeline to analyze DISE/6mer seed toxicity
Authors: Bartom Elizabeth T. , Kocherginsky Masha , Paudel Bidur , Vaidyanathan Aparajitha , Haluck-Kangas Ashley , Patel Monal , O’Shea Kaitlyn L. , Murmann Andrea E. , Peter Marcus E.
Published: March 2022

microRNAs (miRNAs) are (18-22nt long) noncoding short (s)RNAs that suppress gene expression by targeting the 3’ untranslated region of target mRNAs. This occurs through the seed sequence located in position 2-7/8 of the miRNA guide strand, once it is loaded into the RNA induced silencing complex (RISC). G-rich 6mer seed sequences can kill cells by targeting C-rich 6mer seed matches located in genes that are critical for cell survival. This results in induction of Death Induced by Survival gene Elimination (DISE), through a mechanism we have called 6mer seed toxicity. miRNAs are often quantified in cells by aligning the reads from small (sm)RNA sequencing to the genome. However, the analysis of any smRNA Seq data set for predicted 6mer seed toxicity requires an alternative workflow, solely based on the exact position 2–7 of any short (s)RNA that can enter the RISC. Therefore, we developed SPOROS, a semi-automated pipeline that produces multiple useful outputs to predict and compare 6mer seed toxicity of cellular sRNAs, regardless of their nature, between different samples. We provide two examples to illustrate the capabilities of SPOROS: Example one involves the analysis of RISC-bound sRNAs in a cancer cell line (either wild-type or two mutant lines unable to produce most miRNAs). Example two is based on a publicly available smRNA Seq data set from postmortem brains (either from normal or Alzheimer’s patients). Our methods (found at https://github.com/ebartom/SPOROS and at Code Ocean: https://doi.org/10.24433/CO.1732496.v1) are designed to be used to analyze a variety of smRNA Seq data in various normal and disease settings.
Heteroplasmic mitochondrial DNA variants in cardiovascular diseases
Authors: Calabrese Claudia , Pyle Angela , Griffin Helen , Coxhead Jonathan , Hussain Rafiqul , Braund Peter S , Li Linxin , Burgess Annette , Munroe Patricia B , Little Louis , Warren Helen R , Cabrera Claudia , Hall Alistair , Caulfield Mark J , Rothwell Peter M , Samani Nilesh J , Hudson Gavin , Chinnery Patrick F.
Published: April 2022

Mitochondria are implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) but the reasons for this are not well understood. Maternally-inherited population variants of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which affect all mtDNA molecules (homoplasmic) are associated with cardiometabolic traits and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. However, it is not known whether mtDNA mutations only affecting a proportion of mtDNA molecules (heteroplasmic) also play a role. To address this question, we performed a high-depth (~1000-fold) mtDNA sequencing of blood DNA in 1,399 individuals with hypertension (HTN), 1,946 with ischemic heart disease (IHD), 2,146 with ischemic stroke (IS), and 723 healthy controls. We show that the per individual burden of heteroplasmic single nucleotide variants (mtSNVs) increases with age. The age-effect was stronger for low-level heteroplasmies (heteroplasmic fraction, HF, 5–10%), likely reflecting acquired somatic events based on trinucleotide mutational signatures. After correcting for age and other confounders, intermediate heteroplasmies (HF 10–95%) were more common in hypertension, particularly involving non-synonymous variants altering the amino acid sequence of essential respiratory chain proteins. These findings raise the possibility that heteroplasmic mtSNVs play a role in the pathophysiology of hypertension.