bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ultrafast laser stabilization by nonlinear absorption for enhanced-precision material processing
Authors: Sopeña Pol , Garcia-Lechuga Mario , Wang Andong , Grojo David
Published: January 2022

Using ultrafast lasers, sub-diffraction features can be produced thanks to the threshold-based response of materials to the local beam fluence. In practice, Gaussian beams with peak fluence near the modification threshold lead to high-resolution. However, this conflicts with reliability as the process becomes increasingly sensitive to pulse-to-pulse energy fluctuations. Using nonlinear absorption in a ZnS crystal, we demonstrate a passive extra-cavity energy stabilization method in a femtosecond laser material machining configuration. Processing precision and repeatability are enhanced as evidenced by highly reliable amorphous features produced on silicon with sizes ten times smaller than the spot size, becoming a practical solution for high-precision manufacturing applications.
High-speed wavelength-swept femtosecond source from 1055 to 1300 nm using a GHz femtosecond fiber laser
Authors: Wang Wenlong , Lin Wei , Chen Xuewen , Guan Xianchao , Wen Xiaoxiao , Qiao Tian , Wei Xiaoming , Yang Zhongmin
Published: January 2022

In this Letter, we demonstrate a high-speed broadband wavelength-swept femtosecond source (WFS) that leverages the soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) and intensity-wavelength encoding technologies. The optical wavelength of the high-speed WFS can be continuously swept from 1055 nm to nearly 1300 nm at a sweeping rate of 100 kHz. This WFS is especially seeded by a femtosecond mode-locked all-fiber laser at 1055 nm that has a fundamental repetition rate of ∼1.0 GHz, a maximum output power of 7 W, and a compressed pulse width of 220 fs. It is anticipated that this high-speed broadband WFS can be a promising source for applications that require fast wavelength scanning and high-speed data processing.
Review of integrated magneto-optical isolators with rare-earth iron garnets for polarization diverse and magnet-free isolation in silicon photonics [Invited]
Authors: Srinivasan Karthik , Stadler Bethanie J. H.
Published: January 2022

Passive optical isolators are needed in silicon photonics but unavailable due to challenges in rare-earth iron garnet processing and integration. Material challenges include incompatibility with silicon and high annealing temperatures, and design challenges include a need for polarization diversity and a preference for no external magnetic bias. These challenges have restricted optical isolation to discrete modules that require physical pick and place of bulk garnet pieces. This review presents developments in the processing of magneto-optical garnets on Si and the enhancement of their Faraday rotation that enables small footprint isolators on silicon waveguide structures. For example, seedlayers and/or new garnet compositions have enabled monolithic Si integration, and in some cases, hybrid integration of garnet-on-garnet or transfer-printed garnet nanosheets enable reduced on-chip thermal processing. Integrated isolators that utilize non-reciprocal phase shift (NRPS) or non-reciprocal mode conversion (NRMC) have been demonstrated to have isolation ratios up to 30 dB, insertion loss as low as 9 dB, polarization diversity and magnet-free operation in the desired telecommunication wavelengths. The advances in materials, processing techniques, and isolator designs shown here will pave the way for on-chip isolators and novel multi-lane photonic architectures.
Influence of non-Hermitian mode topology on refractive index sensing with plasmonic waveguides
Authors: Tuniz Alessandro , Schmidt Markus A. , Kuhlmey Boris T.
Published: January 2022

We evaluate the sensing properties of plasmonic waveguide sensors by calculating their resonant transmission spectra in different regions of the non-Hermitian eigenmode space. We elucidate the pitfalls of using modal dispersion calculations in isolation to predict plasmonic sensor performance, which we address by using a simple model accounting for eigenmode excitation and propagation. Our transmission calculations show that resonant wavelength and spectral width crucially depend on the length of the sensing region, so that no single criterion obtained from modal dispersion calculations alone can be used as a proxy for sensitivity. Furthermore, we find that the optimal detection limits occur where directional coupling is supported, where the narrowest spectra occur. Such narrow spectral features can only be measured by filtering out all higher-order modes at the output, e.g., via a single-mode waveguide. Our calculations also confirm a characteristic square root dependence of the eigenmode splitting with respect to the permittivity perturbation at the exceptional point, which we show can be identified through the sensor beat length at resonance. This work provides a convenient framework for designing and characterizing plasmonic waveguide sensors when comparing them with experimental measurements.
Noise-aware Comparison of Chiplet vs. Monolithic Quantum Computing
Authors: Smith Kaitlin N. , LaRacuente Nicholas , Imany Poolad , Silverman Kevin L. , Chong Frederic T.
Published: January 2022

We compare chiplet to monolithic quantum computing architectures using a network model that incorporates CX gate and link noise. As chiplets may have better internal gate fidelity, they may outperform monolithic architectures despite reduced connectivity.
Programming Fidelity of an Integrated Silicon Nitride Quantum Photonic Processor
Authors: van der Meer Reinier , Epping Jörn P. , Taballione Caterina , Snijders Henk , Hooischuur Peter , Kassenberg Ben , de Goede Michiel , Venderbosch Pim , Toebes Chris , van den Vlekkert Hans , Pinkse Pepijn W. H. , Renema Jelmer J.
Published: January 2022

We study the programming fidelity of a 12-mode quantum photonic processor, the largest universal quantum photonic processor to date. The processor is a fully reconfigurable linear interferometer using silicon nitride waveguide technology.
Anyonic two-photon statistics and hybrid entanglement with a semiconductor chip
Authors: Francesconi S. , Raymond A. , Fabre N. , Lemaître A. , Milman P. , Amanti M. , Baboux F. , Ducci S.
Published: January 2022

We employ SPDC in an AlGaAs chip to engineer the wavefunction and exchange statistics of photon pairs directly at the generation stage. We simulate fermions, anyons, and we generate hybrid frequency-polarization entangled states for applications in quantum information.
Quantum control of two-level atoms with far-detuned few-cycle pulses - an analytical case
Authors: Zeng Bing , Duan Lingze
Published: January 2022

A two-level system driven by a far-off-resonance few-cycle square pulse is theoretically analyzed. A closed-form solution well-matched with simulation is presented without using the rotating wave approximation.
Quantum information processing of entangled photons with a programmable multi-plane light converter
Authors: Lib Ohad , Sulimany Kfir , Bromberg Yaron
Published: January 2022

We demonstrate a reconfigurable and scalable processor of entangled photons based on multi-plane light conversion and perform key tasks of quantum information processing including high-dimensional entanglement certification, arbitrary state transformations, and mode conversion.
Optimally squeezed atomic states for quantum metrology
Authors: Carrasco Sebastián C. , Goerz Michael H. , Vuletić Vladan , Malinovsky Vladimir S.
Published: January 2022

We propose a novel pulse sequence that drives an ensemble of cold trapped atoms into an optimal squeezed state. These states have a fundamental precision scaling proportional to the inverse of the number of atoms.
Witnessing Quantum Correlations in a Nuclear Spin Ensemble via a Proxy Qubit
Authors: Gangloff Dorian A. , Zaporski Leon , Bodey Jonathan H. , Bachorz Clara , Jackson Daniel M. , Éthier-Majcher Gabriel , Lang Constantin , Clarke Edmund , Hugues Maxime , Le Gall Claire , Atatüre Mete
Published: January 2022

A resident electron spin in a semiconductor nanostructure is an interface to an ensemble of nuclear spins, and witnesses the creation of entanglement within the ensemble in the form of dark-state coherences.
Measurement of Near-maximal Polarization Entanglement at 2.1 μ m
Authors: Dada Adetunmise C. , Kaniewski Jedrzej , Gawith Corin , Lavery Martin , Hadfield Robert H. , Faccio Daniele , Clerici Matteo
Published: January 2022

We present a device-independent certification of near-maximal polarization entanglement at 2.1μm. The 2-2.5-μm waveband offers reduced solar background, low- loss propagation in the atmosphere, and low-loss, low-dispersion transmission in hollow-core fibers and silicon waveguides.
Entanglement between a telecom photon and a spin-Wave solid-state multimode quantum memory
Authors: Rakonjac Jelena V. , Lago-Rivera Dario , Seri Alessandro , Mazzera Margherita , Grandi Samuele , de Riedmatten Hugues
Published: January 2022

We demonstrate entanglement between a telecom photon and a solid-state multimode quantum memory. The entanglement is maintained for an optical excitation (with a fidelity high enough to violate a Bell inequality) and a spin-wave excitation.
Hierarchy of quantum non-Gaussian States: Theory and Experiment
Authors: Filip Radim
Published: January 2022

We will present recent theoretical and experimental activities in optically controlled quantum non-Gaussian single-atom and massive atomic sources and their applications in force sensing and thermometry.
Quantum Sensing Enhanced Fiber Optic Sensors
Authors: Shepard Scott
Published: January 2022

Quantum sensing techniques can greatly enhance imaging but most of these require nonclassical light sources which are inappropriate for use in an optical fiber. One exception which uses low intensity laser light is explored herein.
Quantum Chaos and Universal Trotterisation Performance Behaviours in Digital Quantum Simulation
Authors: Kargi Cahit , Dehollain Juan Pablo , Henriques Fabio , Sieberer Lukas M. , Olsacher Tobias , Hauke Philipp , Heyl Markus , Zoller Peter , Langford Nathan K.
Published: January 2022

Maximising the power of digital quantum simulators requires careful optimisation of experimental resources. We conclusively demonstrate a direct connection between quantum chaos and the breakdown of Trotterisation, exhibiting surprisingly universal behaviour across diverse simulator systems [arXiv:2110.11113 (2021)].
Identification of periodic attractors in Boolean networks using a priori information
Authors: Münzner Ulrike , Mori Tomoya , Krantz Marcus , Klipp Edda , Akutsu Tatsuya
Published: January 2022

Boolean networks (BNs) have been developed to describe various biological processes, which requires analysis of attractors, the long-term stable states. While many methods have been proposed to detection and enumeration of attractors, there are no methods which have been demonstrated to be theoretically better than the naive method and be practically used for large biological BNs. Here, we present a novel method to calculate attractors based on a priori information, which works much and verifiably faster than the naive method. We apply the method to two BNs which differ in size, modeling formalism, and biological scope. Despite these differences, the method presented here provides a powerful tool for the analysis of both networks. First, our analysis of a BN studying the effect of the microenvironment during angiogenesis shows that the previously defined microenvironments inducing the specialized phalanx behavior in endothelial cells (ECs) additionally induce stalk behavior. We obtain this result from an extended network version which was previously not analyzed. Second, we were able to heuristically detect attractors in a cell cycle control network formalized as a bipartite Boolean model (bBM) with 3158 nodes. These attractors are directly interpretable in terms of genotype-to-phenotype relationships, allowing network validation equivalent to an in silico mutagenesis screen. Our approach contributes to the development of scalable analysis methods required for whole-cell modeling efforts.
Albendazole reduces hepatic inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum-stress in a mouse model of chronic Echinococcus multilocularis infection
Authors: Weingartner Michael , Stücheli Simon , Jebbawi Fadi , Gottstein Bruno , Beldi Guido , Lundström-Stadelmann Britta , Wang Junhua , Odermatt Alex
Published: January 2022

Background

Echinococcus multiloculariscauses alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a rising zoonotic disease in the northern hemisphere. Treatment of this fatal disease is limited to chemotherapy using benzimidazoles and surgical intervention, with frequent disease recurrence in cases without radical surgery. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlyingE.multilocularisinfections and host-parasite interactions ultimately aids developing novel therapeutic options. This study explored an involvement of unfolded protein response (UPR) and endoplasmic reticulum-stress (ERS) duringE.multilocularisinfection in mice.

Methods

E.multilocularis-and mock-infected C57BL/6 mice were subdivided into vehicle, albendazole (ABZ) and anti-programmed death ligand 1 (αPD-L1) treated groups. To mimic a chronic infection, treatments of mice started six weeks posti.p. infection and continued for another eight weeks. Liver tissue was then collected to examine inflammatory cytokines and the expression of UPR- and ERS-related genes.

Results

E.multilocularisinfection led to an upregulation of UPR- and ERS-related proteins in the liver, including ATF6, CHOP, GRP78, ERp72, H6PD and calreticulin, whilst PERK and its target eIF2α were not affected, and IRE1α and ATF4 were downregulated. ABZ treatment inE.multilocularisinfected mice reversed, or at least tended to reverse, these protein expression changes to levels seen in mock-infected mice. Furthermore, ABZ treatment reversed the elevated levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interferon (IFN)-γ in the liver of infected mice. Similar to ABZ, αPD-L1 immune-treatment tended to reverse the increased CHOP and decreased ATF4 and IRE1α expression levels.

Conclusions and significance

AE caused chronic inflammation, UPR activation and ERS in mice. TheE.multilocularis-induced inflammation and consecutive ERS was ameliorated by ABZ and αPD-L1 treatment, indicating their effectiveness to inhibit parasite proliferation and downregulate its activity status. Neither ABZ nor αPD-L1 themselves affected UPR in control mice. Further research is needed to elucidate the link between inflammation, UPR and ERS, and if these pathways offer potential for improved therapies of patients with AE.
The impact of cardiopulmonary exercise-derived scoring on prediction of cardio-cerebral outcome in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Authors: Lee Jae-Man , Park Hyun-Bin , Song Jin-Eun , Kim In-Cheol , Song Ji-Hun , Kim Hyungseop , Oh Jaewon , Youn Jong-Chan , Hong Geu-Ru , Kang Seok-Min
Published: January 2022

Background

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) and stroke-related events accompanied by atrial fibrillation (AF) can affect morbidity and mortality in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This study sought to evaluate a scoring system predicting cardio-cerebral events in HCM patients using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).

Methods

We investigated the role of a previous prediction model based on CPET, the HYPertrophic Exercise-derived Risk score for Heart Failure-related events (HyperHF), which is derived from peak circulatory power ventilatory efficiency and left atrial diameter (LAD), for predicting a composite of SCD-related (SCD, serious ventricular arrhythmia, death from cardiac cause, heart failure admission) and stroke-related (new-onset AF, acute stroke) events. The Novel HyperHF risk model using left atrial volume index (LAVI) instead of LAD was proposed and compared with the previous HCM Risk-SCD model.

Results

A total of 295 consecutive HCM patients (age 59.9±13.2, 71.2% male) who underwent CPET was included in the present study. During a median follow-up of 742 days (interquartile range 384–1047 days), 29 patients (9.8%) experienced an event (SCD-related event: 14 patients (4.7%); stroke-related event: 17 patients (5.8%)). The previous model for SCD risk score showed fair prediction ability (AUC of HCM Risk-SCD 0.670, p = 0.002; AUC of HyperHF 0.691, p = 0.001). However, the prediction power of Novel HyperHF showed the highest value among the models (AUC of Novel HyperHF 0.717, p<0.001).

Conclusions

Both conventional HCM Risk-SCD score and CPET-derived HyperHF score were useful for prediction of overall risk of SCD-related and stroke-related events in HCM. Novel HyperHF score using LAVI could be utilized for a better prediction power.
A model of conflict and leadership: Is there a hawkish drift in politics?
Authors: Bandyopadhyay Siddhartha , Chattopadhyay Amit K. , Oak Mandar
Published: January 2022

We analyze conflict between a citizenry and an insurgent group over a fixed resource such as land. The citizenry has an elected leader who proposes a division such that, the lower the land ceded to the insurgents, the higher the cost of conflict. Leaders differ in ability and ideology such that the higher the leader’s ability, the lower the cost of conflict, and the more hawkish the leader, the higher his utility from retaining land. We show that the conflict arises from the political process with re-election motives causing leaders to choose to cede too little land to signal their ability. We also show that when the rents of office are high, the political equilibrium and the second best diverge; in particular, the policy under the political equilibrium is more hawkish compared to the second best. When both ideology and ability are unknown, we provide a plausible condition under which the probability of re-election increases in the leader’s hawkishness, thereby providing an explanation for why hawkish politicians may have a natural advantage under the electoral process.
Robust optical flow algorithm for general single cell segmentation
Authors: Robitaille Michael C. , Byers Jeff M. , Christodoulides Joseph A. , Raphael Marc P.
Published: January 2022

Cell segmentation is crucial to the field of cell biology, as the accurate extraction of single-cell morphology, migration, and ultimately behavior from time-lapse live cell imagery are of paramount importance to elucidate and understand basic cellular processes. In an effort to increase available segmentation tools that can perform across research groups and platforms, we introduce a novel segmentation approach centered around optical flow and show that it achieves robust segmentation of single cells by validating it on multiple cell types, phenotypes, optical modalities, and in-vitro environments with or without labels. By leveraging cell movement in time-lapse imagery as a means to distinguish cells from their background and augmenting the output with machine vision operations, our algorithm reduces the number of adjustable parameters needed for manual optimization to two. We show that this approach offers the advantage of quicker processing times compared to contemporary machine learning based methods that require manual labeling for training, and in most cases achieves higher quality segmentation as well. This algorithm is packaged within MATLAB, offering an accessible means for general cell segmentation in a time-efficient manner.
Mechanisms of liver injury in high fat sugar diet fed mice that lack hepatocyte X-box binding protein 1
Authors: Liu Xiaoying , Taylor Sarah A. , Gromer Kyle D. , Zhang Danny , Hubchak Susan C. , LeCuyer Brian E. , Iwawaki Takao , Shi Zengdun , Rockey Don C. , Green Richard M.
Published: January 2022

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of liver diseases in the United States and can progress to cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and need for liver transplantation. There are limited therapies for NAFLD, in part, due to incomplete understanding of the disease pathogenesis, which involves different cell populations in the liver. Endoplasmic reticulum stress and its adaptative unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling pathway have been implicated in the progression from simple hepatic steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We have previously shown that mice lacking the UPR protein X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) in the liver demonstrated enhanced liver injury and fibrosis in a high fat sugar (HFS) dietary model of NAFLD. In this study, to better understand the role of liver XBP1 in the pathobiology of NAFLD, we fed hepatocyte XBP1 deficient mice a HFS diet or chow and investigated UPR and other cell signaling pathways in hepatocytes, hepatic stellate cells and immune cells. We demonstrate that loss of XBP1 in hepatocytes increased inflammatory pathway expression and altered expression of the UPR signaling in hepatocytes and was associated with enhanced hepatic stellate cell activation after HFS feeding. We believe that a better understanding of liver cell-specific signaling in the pathogenesis of NASH may allow us to identify new therapeutic targets.
Comparative transcriptome analysis of the cold resistance of the sterile rice line 33S
Authors: Xie Hongjun , Zhu Mingdong , Yu Yaying , Zeng Xiaoshan , Tang Guohua , Duan Yonghong , Wang Jianlong , Yu Yinghong
Published: January 2022

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important species for food production worldwide. Low temperature is a major abiotic factor that affects rice germination and reproduction. Here, the underlying regulatory mechanism in seedlings of a TGMS variety (33S) and a cold-sensitive variety (Nipponbare) was investigated by comparative transcriptome. There were 795 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified only in cold-treated 33S, suggesting that 33S had a unique cold-resistance system. Functional and enrichment analysis of these DEGs revealed that, in 33S, several metabolic pathways, such as photosynthesis, amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, were significantly repressed. Moreover, pathways related to growth and development, including starch and sucrose metabolism, and DNA biosynthesis and damage response/repair, were significantly enhanced. The expression of genes related to nutrient reserve activity were significantly up-regulated in 33S. Finally, three NAC and several ERF transcription factors were predicted to be important in this transcriptional reprogramming. This present work provides valuable information for future investigations of low-temperature response mechanisms and genetic improvement of cold-tolerant rice seedlings.
Cytoplasmic incompatibility in the semivoltine longicorn beetle Acalolepta fraudatrix (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) double infected with Wolbachia
Authors: Aikawa Takuya , Maehara Noritoshi , Ichihara Yu , Masuya Hayato , Nakamura Katsunori , Anbutsu Hisashi
Published: January 2022

Wolbachiaare obligatory endosymbiotic α-proteobacteria found in many arthropods. They are maternally inherited, and can induce reproductive alterations in the hosts. Despite considerable recent progress in studies on the associations betweenWolbachiaand various taxonomic groups of insects, none of the researches have revealed the effects ofWolbachiaon longicorn beetles as the host insect.Acalolepta fraudatrixis a forest longicorn beetle that is distributed in East Asia. In this study, the relationship betweenWolbachiaandA.fraudatrixwas investigated. Out of two populations ofA.fraudatrixscreened forWolbachiausing the genesftsZ,wsp, and 16S rRNA, only one of the populations showed detection of all three genes indicating the presence ofWolbachia. Electron microscopy and fluorescentin situhybridization also confirmed that theA.fraudatrixpopulation was infected withWolbachia. Sequencing thewspgenes derived from single insects revealed that two strains ofWolbachiacoexisted in the insects based on the detection of two different sequences of thewspgene. We designated these strains aswFra1 andwFra2. The bacterial titers ofwFra1 were nearly 2-fold and 3-fold higher thanwFra2 in the testes and ovaries, respectively. The two strains ofWolbachiain the insects were completely eliminated by rearing the insects on artificial diets containing 1% concentration of tetracycline for 1 generation. Reciprocal crosses betweenWolbachia-infected andWolbachia-uninfectedA.fraudatrixdemonstrated that only eggs produced by the crosses betweenWolbachia-infected males andWolbachia-uninfected females did not hatch, indicating thatWolbachiainfectingA.fraudatrixcauses cytoplasmic incompatibility in the host insect. This is the first report showing the effect ofWolbachiaon reproductive function in a longicorn beetle,A.fraudatrix.
Differential voltage-dependent modulation of the ACh-gated K+ current by adenosine and acetylcholine
Authors: López-Serrano Ana Laura , Zamora-Cárdenas Rodrigo , Aréchiga-Figueroa Iván A. , Salazar-Fajardo Pedro D. , Ferrer Tania , Alamilla Javier , Sánchez-Chapula José A. , Navarro-Polanco Ricardo A. , Moreno-Galindo Eloy G.
Published: January 2022

Inhibitory regulation of the heart is determined by both cholinergic M2 receptors (M2R) and adenosine A1 receptors (A1R) that activate the same signaling pathway, the ACh-gated inward rectifier K+ (KACh) channels via Gi/o proteins. Previously, we have shown that the agonist-specific voltage sensitivity of M2R underlies several voltage-dependent features of IKACh, including the ‘relaxation’ property, which is characterized by a gradual increase or decrease of the current when cardiomyocytes are stepped to hyperpolarized or depolarized voltages, respectively. However, it is unknown whether membrane potential also affects A1R and how this could impact IKACh. Upon recording whole-cell currents of guinea-pig cardiomyocytes, we found that stimulation of the A1R-Gi/o-IKACh pathway with adenosine only caused a very slight voltage dependence in concentration-response relationships (~1.2-fold EC50 increase with depolarization) that was not manifested in the relative affinity, as estimated by the current deactivation kinetics (τ = 4074 ± 214 ms at -100 mV and τ = 4331 ± 341 ms at +30 mV; P = 0.31). Moreover, IKACh did not exhibit relaxation. Contrarily, activation of the M2R-Gi/o-IKACh pathway with acetylcholine induced the typical relaxation of the current, which correlated with the clear voltage-dependent effect observed in the concentration-response curves (~2.8-fold EC50 increase with depolarization) and in the IKACh deactivation kinetics (τ = 1762 ± 119 ms at -100 mV and τ = 1503 ± 160 ms at +30 mV; P = 0.01). Our findings further substantiate the hypothesis of the agonist-specific voltage dependence of GPCRs and that the IKACh relaxation is consequence of this property.
Politics is making us sick: The negative impact of political engagement on public health during the Trump administration
Authors: Smith Kevin B.
Published: January 2022

Objectives

To quantify the effect of politics on the physical, psychological, and social health of American adults during the four-year span of the Trump administration.

Methods

A previously validated politics and health scale was used to compare health markers in nationally representative surveys administered to separate samples in March 2017 (N = 800) and October 2020 (N = 700). Participants in the 2020 survey were re-sampled approximately two weeks after the 2020 election and health markers were compared to their pre-election baselines.

Results

Large numbers of Americans reported politics takes a significant toll on a range of health markers—everything from stress, loss of sleep, or suicidal thoughts to an inability to stop thinking about politics and making intemperate social media posts. The proportion of Americans reporting these effects stayed stable or slightly increased between the spring of 2017 and the fall of 2020 prior to the presidential election. Deterioration in measures of physical health became detectably worse in the wake of the 2020 election. Those who were young, politically interested, politically engaged, or on the political left were more likely to report negative effects.

Conclusions

Politics is a pervasive and largely unavoidable source of chronic stress that exacted significant health costs for large numbers of American adults between 2017 and 2020. The 2020 election did little to alleviate those effects and quite likely exacerbated them.
Therapeutic relationships within child and adolescent mental health inpatient services: A qualitative exploration of the experiences of young people, family members and nursing staff
Authors: Hartley Samantha , Redmond Tomos , Berry Katherine
Published: January 2022

Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), especially inpatient units, have arguably never been more in demand and yet more in need of reform. Progress in psychotherapy and more broadly in mental health care is strongly predicted by the therapeutic relationship between professional and service user. This link is particularly pertinent in child and adolescent mental health inpatient services where relationships are especially complex and difficult to develop and maintain. This article describes a qualitative exploration of the lived experienced of 24 participants (8 young people, 8 family members/carers and 8 nursing staff) within inpatient CAMHS across four sites in the UK. We interviewed participants individually and analysed the transcripts using thematic analysis within a critical realist framework. We synthesised data across groups and present six themes, encapsulating the intricacies and impact of therapeutic relationships; their development and maintenance: Therapeutic relationships are the treatment, Cultivating connection, Knowledge is power, Being human, The dance, and It’s tough for all of us in here. We hope these findings can be used to improve quality of care by providing a blueprint for policy, training, systemic structures and staff support.
Longitudinal variability in the urinary microbiota of healthy premenopausal women and the relation to neighboring microbial communities: A pilot study
Authors: Biehl Lena M. , Farowski Fedja , Hilpert Catharina , Nowag Angela , Kretzschmar Anne , Jazmati Nathalie , Tsakmaklis Anastasia , Wieters Imke , Khodamoradi Yascha , Wisplinghoff Hilmar , Vehreschild Maria J. G. T.
Published: January 2022

Background

The understanding of longitudinal changes in the urinary microbiota of healthy women and its relation to intestinal microbiota is limited.

Methods

From a cohort of 15 premenopausal women without known urogenital disease or current symptoms, we collected catheter urine (CU), vaginal and periurethral swabs, and fecal samples on four visits over six months. Additionally, ten participants provided CU and midstream urine (MU) to assess comparability. Urine was subjected to expanded culture. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on all urine, fecal, and selected vaginal and periurethral samples. Sequence reads were processed (DADA2 pipeline) and analyzed using QIIME 2 and R.

Results

Relative abundances of urinary microbiota were variable over 6–18 months. The degree of intraindividual variability of urinary microbiota was higher than that found in fecal samples. Still, nearly half of the observed beta diversity of all urine samples could be attributed to differences between volunteers (R2 = 0.48, p = 0.001). After stratification by volunteer, time since last sexual intercourse was shown to be a factor significantly contributing to beta diversity (R2 = 0.14, p = 0.001). We observed a close relatedness of urogenital microbial habitats and a clear distinction from intestinal microbiota in the overall betadiversity analysis. Microbiota compositions derived from MU differed only slightly from CU compositions. Within this analysis of low-biomass samples, we identified contaminating sequences potentially stemming from sequencing reagents.

Conclusions

Results from our longitudinal cohort study confirmed the presence of a rather variable individual urinary microbiota in premenopausal women. These findings from catheter urine complement previous observations on temporal dynamics in voided urine. The higher intraindividual variability of urinary microbiota as compared to fecal microbiota will be a challenge for future studies investigating associations with urogenital diseases and aiming at identifying pathogenic microbiota signatures.
Predictors of perceived success in quitting smoking by vaping: A machine learning approach
Authors: Fu Rui , Schwartz Robert , Mitsakakis Nicholas , Diemert Lori M. , O’Connor Shawn , Cohen Joanna E.
Published: January 2022

Prior research has suggested that a set of unique characteristics may be associated with adult cigarette smokers who are able to quit smoking using e-cigarettes (vaping). In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to identify and rank the importance of these characteristics using machine learning. During July and August 2019, an online survey was administered to a convenience sample of 889 adult smokers (age ≥ 20) in Ontario, Canada who tried vaping to quit smoking in the past 12 months. Fifty-one person-level characteristics, including a Vaping Experiences Score, were assessed in a gradient boosting machine model to classify the status of perceived success in vaping-assisted smoking cessation. This model was trained using cross-validation and tested using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The top five most important predictors were identified using a score between 0% and 100% that represented the relative importance of each variable in model training. About 20% of participants (N = 174, 19.6%) reported success in vaping-assisted smoking cessation. The model achieved relatively high performance with an area under the ROC curve of 0.865 and classification accuracy of 0.831 (95% CI [confidence interval] 0.780 to 0.874). The top five most important predictors of perceived success in vaping-assisted smoking cessation were more positive experiences measured by the Vaping Experiences Score (100%), less previously failed quit attempts by vaping (39.0%), younger age (21.9%), having vaped 100 times (16.8%), and vaping shortly after waking up (15.8%). Our findings provide strong statistical evidence that shows better vaping experiences are associated with greater perceived success in smoking cessation by vaping. Furthermore, our study confirmed the strength of machine learning techniques in vaping-related outcomes research based on observational data.
Riemannian classification of single-trial surface EEG and sources during checkerboard and navigational images in humans
Authors: Simar Cédric , Petit Robin , Bozga Nichita , Leroy Axelle , Cebolla Ana-Maria , Petieau Mathieu , Bontempi Gianluca , Cheron Guy
Published: January 2022

Objective

Different visual stimuli are classically used for triggering visual evoked potentials comprising well-defined components linked to the content of the displayed image. These evoked components result from the average of ongoing EEG signals in which additive and oscillatory mechanisms contribute to the component morphology. The evoked related potentials often resulted from a mixed situation (power variation and phase-locking) making basic and clinical interpretations difficult. Besides, the grand average methodology produced artificial constructs that do not reflect individual peculiarities. This motivated new approaches based on single-trial analysis as recently used in the brain-computer interface field.

Approach

We hypothesize that EEG signals may include specific information about the visual features of the displayed image and that such distinctive traits can be identified by state-of-the-art classification algorithms based on Riemannian geometry. The same classification algorithms are also applied to the dipole sources estimated by sLORETA.

Main results and significance

We show that our classification pipeline can effectively discriminate between the display of different visual items (Checkerboard versus 3D navigational image) in single EEG trials throughout multiple subjects. The present methodology reaches a single-trial classification accuracy of about 84% and 93% for inter-subject and intra-subject classification respectively using surface EEG. Interestingly, we note that the classification algorithms trained on sLORETA sources estimation fail to generalize among multiple subjects (63%), which may be due to either the average head model used by sLORETA or the subsequent spatial filtering failing to extract discriminative information, but reach an intra-subject classification accuracy of 82%.
Personality characteristics and competitive anxiety in individual and team athletes
Authors: Kemarat Supatcharin , Theanthong Apiluk , Yeemin Wichai , Suwankan Sutima
Published: January 2022

The purposes of this study were to investigate differences in personality and competitive anxiety depending on types of sports and gender, and to determine the influence of personality on competitive anxiety. Participants included 237 athletes (134 men and 103 women) who participated in the Thailand University Games, 2020. They were classified as individual (n = 114) and team (n = 123) athletes. Personality characteristics and competitive anxiety were assessed by using NEO five-factor inventory and sport competitive anxiety test. Differences between individual and team athletes and between gender were tested by using independent t-test. Relationships between personality and competitive anxiety were analyzed by using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Moreover, multiple regression analysis was used to measure the contributions of personality on competitive anxiety. The results showed that competitive anxiety was significant difference between individual and team athletes (p = 0.03, d = 0.28). However, there was no difference in personality between groups. When compared between gender, there were significant differences in competitive anxiety (p < 0.001, d = 0.52) and the agreeableness (p = 0.04, d = -0.26) component of personality between female and male athletes. From the correlation analyzes, four characteristics of personality showed significant associations with competitive anxiety including neuroticism (r = -0.472, ρ < 0.001), extraversion (r = 0.184, ρ = 0.005), agreeableness (r = 0.147, ρ = 0.024), and conscientiousness (r = 0.202, ρ = 0.002). Among five personality factors, the neuroticism had minimally negative effect on competitive anxiety (β = -0.52) with percentage of prediction of 22%. These can be concluded that types of sport and gender are the important factors affecting personality and competitive anxiety. The athletes with certain personality traits were more susceptible to competitive anxiety. Importantly, the neuroticism could serve as a prediction of the competitive anxiety in all collegiate athletes.
An analysis of the HIV testing cascade of a group of HIV-exposed infants from birth to 18 months in peri-urban Khayelitsha, South Africa
Authors: Nelson Aurelie Kennedy , Cassidy Tali , Trivino Duran Laura , Cox Vivian , Wedderburn Catherine J. , Giddy Janet , Pieters Pauline , Cotton Mark F. , Mutseyekwa Tabitha , Rorwana Bulelwa , Sibanda Beryl , Bernheimer Jonathan , Matise Nopinky , Isaakidis Petros , Maritz Jean
Published: January 2022

Background

Despite the reduction of HIV mother-to-child transmission, there are concerns regarding transmission rate in the breastfeeding period. We describe the routine uptake of 6 or 10 (6/10) weeks, 9 months and 18 months testing, with and without tracing, in a cohort of infants who received HIV PCR testing at birth (birth PCR) (with and without point of care (POC) testing) in a peri-urban primary health care setting in Khayelitsha, South Africa.

Methods

In this cohort study conducted between November 2014 and February 2018, HIV-positive mothers and their HIV-exposed babies were recruited at birth and all babies were tested with birth PCR. Results of routine 6/10 weeks PCR, 9 months and 18 months testing were followed up by a patient tracer. We compared testing at 6/10 weeks with a subgroup from historical cohort who was not tested with birth PCR.

Results

We found that the uptake of 6/10 weeks testing was 77%, compared to 82% with tracing. When including all infants in the cascade and comparing to a historical cohort without birth testing, we found that infants who tested a birth were 22% more likely to have a 6/10 weeks test compared to those not tested at birth. There was no significant difference between the uptake of 6/10 weeks testing after birth PCR POC versus birth PCR testing without POC. Uptake of 9 months and 18 months testing was 39% and 24% respectively. With intense tracing efforts, uptake increased to 45% and 34% respectively.

Conclusion

Uptake of HIV testing for HIV-exposed uninfected infants in the first 18 months of life shows good completion of the 6/10 weeks PCR but suboptimal uptake of HIV testing at 9 months and 18 months, despite tracing efforts. Birth PCR testing did not negatively affect uptake of the 6/10 weeks HIV test compared to no birth PCR testing.
Comparison of insulin sensitivity between healthy neonatal foals and horses using minimal model analysis
Authors: Kinsella Hannah M. , Hostnik Laura D. , Snyder Hailey A. , Mazur Sarah E. , Kamr Ahmed M. , Burns Teresa A. , Mossbarger John C. , Toribio Ramiro E.
Published: January 2022

The equine neonate is considered to have impaired glucose tolerance due to delayed maturation of the pancreatic endocrine system. Few studies have investigated insulin sensitivity in newborn foals using dynamic testing methods. The objective of this study was to assess insulin sensitivity by comparing the insulin-modified frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (I-FSIGTT) between neonatal foals and adult horses. This study was performed on healthy neonatal foals (n = 12), 24 to 60 hours of age, and horses (n = 8), 3 to 14 years of age using dextrose (300 mg/kg IV) and insulin (0.02 IU/kg IV). Insulin sensitivity (SI), acute insulin response to glucose (AIRg), glucose effectiveness (Sg), and disposition index (DI) were calculated using minimal model analysis. Proxy measurements were calculated using fasting insulin and glucose concentrations. Nonparametric statistical methods were used for analysis and reported as median and interquartile range (IQR). SI was significantly higher in foals (18.3 L·min-1· μIU-1[13.4–28.4]) compared to horses (0.9 L·min-1· μIU-1[0.5–1.1]); (p < 0.0001). DI was higher in foals (12 × 103[8 × 103−14 × 103]) compared to horses (4 × 102[2 × 102−7 × 102]); (p < 0.0001). AIRg and Sg were not different between foals and horses. The modified insulin to glucose ratio (MIRG) was lower in foals (1.72 μIUinsulin2/10·L·mgglucose[1.43–2.68]) compared to horses (3.91 μIUinsulin2/10·L·mgglucose[2.57–7.89]); (p = 0.009). The homeostasis model assessment of beta cell function (HOMA-BC%) was higher in horses (78.4% [43–116]) compared to foals (23.2% [17.8–42.2]); (p = 0.0096). Our results suggest that healthy neonatal foals are insulin sensitive in the first days of life, which contradicts current literature regarding the equine neonate. Newborn foals may be more insulin sensitive immediately after birth as an evolutionary adaptation to conserve energy during the transition to extrauterine life.
Thromboelastometry demonstrates endogenous coagulation activation in nonsevere and severe COVID-19 patients and has applicability as a decision algorithm for intervention
Authors: Aires Rodrigo B. , Soares Alexandre A. de S. M. , Gomides Ana Paula M. , Nicola André M. , Teixeira-Carvalho Andréa , da Silva Dayde Lane M. , de Gois Eliana T. , Xavier Flávia D. , Martins Francielle P. , Santos Gabriela P. J. , Schulte Heidi Luise , Luz Isabelle S. , Espindola Laila S. , do Amaral Laurence R. , Felicori Liza F. , Naves Luciana A. , de Carvalho Maíra R. M. , Gomes Matheus de S. , Nóbrega Otávio T. , Albuquerque Patrícia , Fontes Wagner , Gomes Ciro M. , Kurizky Patricia S. , Albuquerque Cleandro P. , Martins-Filho Olindo A. , da Mota Licia Maria H.
Published: January 2022

In patients with severe forms of COVID-19, thromboelastometry has been reported to display a hypercoagulant pattern. However, an algorithm to differentiate severe COVID-19 patients from nonsevere patients and healthy controls based on thromboelastometry parameters has not been developed. Forty-one patients over 18 years of age with positive qRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 were classified according to the severity of the disease: nonsevere (NS, n = 20) or severe (S, n = 21). A healthy control (HC, n = 9) group was also examined. Blood samples from all participants were tested by extrinsic (EXTEM), intrinsic (INTEM), non-activated (NATEM) and functional assessment of fibrinogen (FIBTEM) assays of thromboelastometry. The thrombodynamic potential index (TPI) was also calculated. Severe COVID-19 patients exhibited a thromboelastometry profile with clear hypercoagulability, which was significantly different from the NS and HC groups. Nonsevere COVID-19 cases showed a trend to thrombotic pole. The NATEM test suggested that nonsevere and severe COVID-19 patients presented endogenous coagulation activation (reduced clotting time and clot formation time). TPI data were significantly different between the NS and S groups. The maximum clot firmness profile obtained by FIBTEM showed moderate/elevated accuracy to differentiate severe patients from NS and HC. A decision tree algorithm based on the FIBTEM-MCF profile was proposed to differentiate S from HC and NS. Thromboelastometric parameters are a useful tool to differentiate the coagulation profile of nonsevere and severe COVID-19 patients for therapeutic intervention purposes.
Big bang localism and gypsies and travelers
Authors: Ryder Andrew Richard
Published: January 2022

The paper explores how the UK planning system has impacted on Gypsies and Travelers and is partly based upon evidence and conclusions made by the Panel Review of Coalition Government Policy on Gypsies and Travellers which was particularly interested in Coalition Government localist policy. There are differing interpretations of what ’localism’ is but one adherent of localism has described the brand as espoused by a section of Conservatives as ’big bang localism’ (Jenkins, 2004). A dogma of radical decentralisation which some would argue has permeated the Coalition Government. As is evidenced in the paper the Coalition’s localist policies could have a profound effect on Gypsy and Traveler site provision and race relations. However, localism is not a new phenomena it is a policy which has been applied to Gypsy and Traveler site provision in the past and has alternated with more centralised measures which could be described as ’statist’.
“My Generation is Quite a Sullen One…”: Trauma and Remembering in Life Stories after 1956
Authors: Bögre Zsuzsanna
Published: January 2022

Following 1989, the public discussion and examination of the history of secret police agents happened in an inadequate, unsatisfactory manner: Hungarian society was unable to come to terms with its former informers. This proved to be a loss not only for the victims, “the targets”, but also for the “observers”. The catharsis of asking and receiving forgiveness did not occur, although it could have lead to deliver provided relief also for those who were involved.The purpose of this essay is to describe the life story of E. V., who suffered a nervous breakdown when her fiancé was executed in 1957 during the post-revolutionary persecutions. Meanwhile the political police recruited her as an agent. Based on the available sources, it is possible to claim that after the Hungarian political transformation in 1989, E. V. reshaped her memory and her personal identity because she was unable to face her past. She claimed in her life history interview: “I am no relative or friend to anyone”.