bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of plant VOCs and light intensity on growth and reproduction performance of an invasive and a native Phytolacca species in China
Authors: Liu Danfeng , Chen Li , Chen Chao , Zhou Yue , Xiao Feng , Wang Yi , Li Qingjun
Published: March 2022

Invasive plants often pose great threats to the growth of co‐occurring native plant species. Identifying environmental factors that facilitate exotic plant invasion and native species decline are important. In this study, we measured the effects of plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs), light intensity, and their interactions on the growth and reproduction performance of indigenous Phytolacca acinosa, and invasive Phytolacca americana, which has largely replaced the former in China. VOCs of invasive P. americana and low light levels both had negative effects on P. acinosa morphological and reproductive traits (stem length, average leaf number, total number, and length of racemes), and biomass allocation (total biomass, and leaf and flower mass fraction); low light also affected photosynthesis‐related trait (specific leaf area) of P. acinosa. In contrast, VOCs of P. acinosa had no significant effect on P. americana, but low light levels adversely affected its morphological and reproductive traits (stem length, total number, and length of racemes) and biomass allocation (total biomass, stem, and leaf mass fraction). Interactions between plant VOCs and light intensity had no significant effects on P. acinosa or P. americana. Under all experimental treatments, stem length, average leaf area, total number, and length of racemes, Root/Shoot ratio, root and flower mass fraction of P. americana were higher than those of P. acinosa, while average leaf number, specific leaf area, and leaf mass fraction was lower. These results indicated that P. acinosa was sensitive to P. americana VOCs and low light, which might affect the growth of sympatric P. acinosa. P. americana was negatively influenced by low light, but higher plant height and more reproductive organ resource allocation relative to sympatric P. acinosa might contribute to invasion success.
Epigenetics underpins phenotypic plasticity of protandrous sex change in fish
Authors: Budd Alyssa M. , Robins Julie B. , Whybird Olivia , Jerry Dean R.
Published: March 2022

Phenotypic plasticity is an important driver of species resilience. Often mediated by epigenetic changes, phenotypic plasticity enables individual genotypes to express variable phenotypes in response to environmental change. Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) are a protandrous (male‐first) sequential hermaphrodite that exhibits plasticity in length‐at‐sex change between geographic regions. This plasticity is likely to be mediated by changes in DNA methylation (DNAm), a well‐studied epigenetic modification. To investigate the relationships between length, sex, and DNAm in a sequential hermaphrodite, here, we compare DNAm in four conserved vertebrate sex‐determining genes in male and female barramundi of differing lengths from three geographic regions of northern Australia. Barramundi first mature as male and later sex change to female upon the attainment of a larger body size; however, a general pattern of increasing female‐specific DNAm markers with increasing length was not observed. Significant differences in DNAm between males and females of similar lengths suggest that female‐specific DNAm arises rapidly during sex change, rather than gradually with fish growth. The findings also reveal that region‐specific differences in length‐at‐sex change are accompanied by differences in DNAm and are consistent with variability in remotely sensed sea temperature and salinity. Together, these findings provide the first in situ evidence for epigenetically and environmentally mediated sex change in a protandrous hermaphrodite and offer significant insight into the molecular and ecological processes governing the marked and unique plasticity of sex in fish.
Low‐coverage reduced representation sequencing reveals subtle within‐island genetic structure in Aldabra giant tortoises
Authors: Çilingir F. Gözde , Hansen Dennis , Bunbury Nancy , Postma Erik , Baxter Richard , Turnbull Lindsay , Ozgul Arpat , Grossen Christine
Published: March 2022

Aldabrachelys gigantea (Aldabra giant tortoise) is one of only two giant tortoise species left in the world and survives as a single wild population of over 100,000 individuals on Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles. Despite this large current population size, the species faces an uncertain future because of its extremely restricted distribution range and high vulnerability to the projected consequences of climate change. Captive‐bred A. gigantea are increasingly used in rewilding programs across the region, where they are introduced to replace extinct giant tortoises in an attempt to functionally resurrect degraded island ecosystems. However, there has been little consideration of the current levels of genetic variation and differentiation within and among the islands on Aldabra. As previous microsatellite studies were inconclusive, we combined low‐coverage and double‐digest restriction‐associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing to analyze samples from 33 tortoises (11 from each main island). Using 5426 variant sites within the tortoise genome, we detected patterns of within‐island population structure, but no differentiation between the islands. These unexpected results highlight the importance of using genome‐wide genetic markers to capture higher‐resolution genetic structure to inform future management plans, even in a seemingly panmictic population. We show that low‐coverage ddRAD sequencing provides an affordable alternative approach to conservation genomic projects of non‐model species with large genomes.
Maternal morbidity and mortality in pregnant/postpartum women with suspected HELLP syndrome identifiable as probable thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura or atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome by high LDH to AST ratio
Authors: Martin James Nello , Tucker James Martin
Published: March 2022

Objective

To describe findings in 8 women initially diagnosed as presumptive HELLP Syndrome, eventually confirmed as TTP/aHUS as distinguished by elevated calculated LDH:AST ratio > 22:1.

Methods

All medicolegal files of patients evaluated between 1986 and 2015 with presumptive HELLP syndrome but later determined to have TTP/aHUS had LDH:AST ratios evaluated throughout care.

Results

Fifty‐eight pregnant/postpartum women presented with a diagnosis of presumptive HELLP syndrome. In the final analysis, 8 women had TTP/aHUS characterized by severe thrombocytopenia (<20 000/μl) at admission, rare epigastric pain, and the consistent demonstration of a very high calculated total LDH to AST ratio. This calculation greatly exceeded 22:1 with TTP/aHUS (mean = 32:1) versus 2:1 with HELLP and could be consistently demonstrated throughout care. Six of 8 women with TTP/aHUS died.

Conclusion

Correctly distinguishing between HELLP syndrome versus an imitator disorder continues to challenge obstetric specialists. This medicolegal data supplements prior findings supporting the concept of the LDH:AST ratio as a useful screening tool for clinicians to differentiate TTP/aHUS apart from HELLP syndrome in order to facilitate earlier hematology consultation, patient referral to tertiary care and emergent hemotherapy for these mothers.
Intravascular large B‐cell lymphoma in renal cell carcinoma incidentally detected by robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy
Authors: Noda Michio , Enomoto Yutaka , Shirasugi Yukari , Ando Sumiyo , Matsuzawa Yukimasa , Kume Haruki
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Intravascular large B‐cell lymphoma is a rare and aggressive type of extranodal large B‐cell lymphoma. Although intravascular large B‐cell lymphoma can invade various organs, renal involvement has been rarely reported. Synchronous occurrence of intravascular lymphoma with renal cell carcinoma is extremely rare. We herein report a case of intravascular large B‐cell lymphoma in a renal cell carcinoma incidentally detected by robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy.

Case presentation

A 69‐year‐old female with recurrent fever lasting 4 years underwent robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy for small renal cell carcinoma. Histological findings led to the diagnosis of intravascular large B‐cell lymphoma, which involved the normal tissue of right kidney as well as clear cell renal cell carcinoma. She received six cycles of chemotherapy without major complications and achieved complete remission.

Conclusion

We encountered a rare case of synchronous intravascular lymphoma with renal cell carcinoma.
A giant calculus within urethral diverticulum causing urinary retention in an uncommunicative woman
Authors: Kawai Takao , Amemoto Yoshinosuke
Published: March 2022

Introduction

There is no prior case report of calculus within a female urethral diverticulum causing urinary retention. We present such a case successfully treated by transurethral lithotripsy.

Case presentation

A 34‐year‐old bedridden and uncommunicative woman with spinocerebellar degeneration presented with fever for 5 days. She was admitted to the hospital for a urinary tract infection with a 3‐cm calculus in the lower urinary tract. At the time of admission, acute urinary retention occurred. A bladder catheter was placed, and antibiotics were administered; both improved the urinary tract infection. Subsequently, transurethral lithotripsy was performed and revealed that the giant calculus was incarcerated within the urethral diverticulum. The bladder catheter was removed postoperatively, and urinary retention did not recur. No calculus reformation or urinary tract infections were observed for 6 months after discharge.

Conclusion

A giant calculus within a urethral diverticulum may cause acute urinary retention in an uncommunicative patient.
MR‐UNet: An UNet model using multi‐scale and residual convolutions for retinal vessel segmentation
Authors: Yang Xin , Liu Li , Li Tao
Published: March 2022

The overall performance of the retinal vessel segmentation network based on improved UNet is excellent, but there is still room for improvement in the small blood vessel segmentation. Therefore, this paper proposes an improved MR‐UNet, which designs two new blocks: the multi‐scale convolution (Multiconv) block and the residual convolution (Resconv) block. The Multiconv block uses different size convolution kernels to extract the characteristics of different thicknesses of retinal blood vessels, thereby improving the model's ability to segment small blood vessels. The Resconv block uses different convolutional layers to process the shallow semantic information in the encoding stage and then concatenates it to the decoding stage, reducing the semantic difference between the encoder and the decoder. On the retinal data sets DRIVE, STARE and CHASE_DB1, the accuracy (Acc) of this model is 0.9705, 0.9747, 0.9778, the specificity (Sp) is 0.9863, 0.9892, 0.9930, the AUC is 0.9872, 0.9849, 0.9925, and the F1‐Score is 0.8270, 0.8134, 0.8460, respectively. Compared with the original UNet, Se, Sp, and F1‐Score of MR‐UNet increase by 2.5%, 0.5%, and 0.4%, respectively, proving that MR‐UNet has better comprehensive performance.
Corporate governance performance ratings with machine learning
Authors: Svanberg Jan , Ardeshiri Tohid , Samsten Isak , Öhman Peter , Neidermeyer Presha E. , Rana Tarek , Semenova Natalia , Danielson Mats
Published: March 2022

We use machine learning with a cross‐sectional research design to predict governance controversies and to develop a measure of the governance component of the environmental, social, governance (ESG) metrics. Based on comprehensive governance data from 2,517 companies over a period of 10 years and investigating nine machine‐learning algorithms, we find that governance controversies can be predicted with high predictive performance. Our proposed governance rating methodology has two unique advantages compared with traditional ESG ratings: it rates companies' compliance with governance responsibilities and it has predictive validity. Our study demonstrates a solution to what is likely the greatest challenge for the finance industry today: how to assess a company's sustainability with validity and accuracy. Prior to this study, the ESG rating industry and the literature have not provided evidence that widely adopted governance ratings are valid. This study describes the only methodology for developing governance performance ratings based on companies' compliance with governance responsibilities and for which there is evidence of predictive validity.
Dynamic service composition framework for service‐oriented architectures based e‐government in Cameroon
Authors: Célestin Parfait Bessala Bessala , Gaelle Laetitia Mouafo Mapikou , Roger Atsa Etoundi
Published: March 2022

E‐government has become a strategic tool for managing public administration. It makes it possible to improve interoperability between government's computer systems agencies. Taking profit to technological advances, notably the internet and web services, it has been associated with service‐oriented architectures (SOA). Service‐oriented e‐government has thus grown rapidly in developed countries. He has also gradually established itself in many projects in developing countries to take advantage to the economic benefits derived from SOA. However, when the activity of stakeholders becomes important in an e‐government based on SOA, the scalability becomes a major challenge. This is even more striking in developing countries, which suffer from less robust infrastructures and poor energy supply. The scalability has its origins mainly in dynamic service composition operations. This is why this work proposes to improve the dynamic service composition layer to deal with the scalability in case of service‐oriented e‐government in developing countries. This makes it possible to construct and dynamically enrich each system with a service composition server, a registry and a library of requests associated with their composite services. Thus, each system checks its ability to process a request locally before sending it to a higher‐level system. The paper demonstrates that using this participatory approach, the latency of the majority of end‐user requests is significantly shortened. Beyond this important aspect, our approach can provide with a good solution for Cameroon suffer from infrastructural insufficiency and energy instability. The evaluation of this architecture gave us satisfactory results.
FEK self‐assembled peptide hydrogels facilitate primary hepatocytes culture and pharmacokinetics screening
Authors: He Ting , Qiao Shida , Ma Chen , Peng Zhaoliang , Wu Zhitao , Ma Chenhui , Han Li , Deng Qiangqiang , Zhang Tianwei , Zhu Yishen , Pan Guoyu
Published: March 2022

A FEFEFKFK (FEK, F, phenylalaninyl; E, glutamyl; K, lysinyl)‐based self‐assembling peptide hydrogel (FEK‐SAPH) was developed to replace sandwich culture (SC) for improved culture of primary hepatocytes in vitro. Under neutral conditions, FEK self‐assembles to form β‐sheet nanofibers, which in turn form FEK‐SAPH. For the culture of rat primary hepatocytes (RPH), the use of FEK‐SAPH simplified operation steps and promoted excellent cell–cell interactions while maintaining the SC‐related RPH polarity trend. Compared with SC, FEK‐SAPH cultured RPH for 14 days, the bile duct network was formed, the secretion of albumin and urea was improved, and the metabolic clearance rate based on cytochrome P450 (CYPs) was comparable. In FEK‐SAPH culture, the expression level of the biliary efflux transporter bile salt export pump increased by 230.7%, while the biliary excretion index value of deuterium‐labeled sodium taurocholate (d8‐TCA) differed slightly from the SC value (72% and 77%, respectively, p = .0195). The inhibitory effect of cholestasis drugs on FEK‐SAPH was significantly higher than that of SC. In FEK‐SAPH, hepatoprotective drugs were more effective in antagonizing hepatotoxicity induced by lithocholic acid (LCA). FEK‐SAPH cultured RPH with hepatoprotective drugs can better recover from LCA‐induced damage. In summary, FEK‐SAPH can be used as a substitute for SC for pharmacokinetic screening to evaluate the drug absorption, disposition, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) in hepatocytes.
Valorisation of sugar cane bagasse using hydrothermal carbonisation in the preparation of magnetic carbon nanocomposite in a single‐step synthesis applied to chromium adsorption
Authors: Laranja Márcio J , Júnior Francisco HS , Nogueira Gabriela A , Vieira Lais HS , Oliveira Naiara C , Soares João M , Cordeiro Carlos HN , Otubo Larissa , Moreira Altair B , Ferreira Odair P , Bisinoti Márcia C
Published: March 2022

BACKGROUND

Sugar cane bagasse (SB) is a by‐product of the sugar cane industry, and is obtained on a large scale. In this paper, SB was used as a source of carbon for preparing a magnetic carbon nanocomposite (MCN‐SB) through one‐step hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC), in the presence of iron (III) nitrate. By way of comparison, SB was replaced by glucose in HTC (MCN‐GLU), and a thermal treatment of this material was then performed under an N2 atmosphere (MCN‐GLU‐HT). The physical and chemical properties of the nanocomposites were assessed, and the magnetic samples were applied as adsorbents.

RESULTS

MCN‐SB and MCN‐GLU are composed of iron oxide nanoparticles embedded in carbonaceous matrix which also contain oxygenated groups. The MCN‐SB sample was already magnetic after HTC, showing a magnetization saturation (Ms) of 5.0 emu g−1, due to the presence of magnetite, whereas MCN‐GLU consisted of hematite and required additional thermal treatment (HT) to acquire magnetic properties, with MCN‐GLU‐HT showing an Ms of 30.5 emu g−1. In turn, the mesoporous structure and higher specific surface area (SSA) of MCN‐GLU‐HT (SSA 90 m2 g−1) than MCN‐SB (SSA 53 m2 g−1) was a causative factor for its higher capacity of hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] removal (939 μg g−1), when compared to MCN‐SB (768 μg g−1), which has a nonporous structure.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that SB can be reused, by means of HTC, for the preparation of a magnetically recoverable adsorbent, showing good adsorption properties. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).
Taxonomic importance of spore morphology of selected taxa of Asplenium (Aspleniaceae) from Pakistan
Authors: Irfan Muhammad , Jan Gul , Murad Waheed , Jan Farzana Gul
Published: March 2022

Taxonomic importance of spore morphology of seven taxa of genus Asplenium (Aspleniaceae) from Pakistan is illustrated with SEM. Spore morphology of the taxa were monolete with bilateral symmetry, distal and proximal view were ellipsoidal, spheroidal, equatorial view were hemicircular; perispore surface were alate, costate, costate‐alate, with reticulate and tuberculate ornamentation.

Taxonomic importance of spore morphology of seven taxa of Asplenium (Aspleniaceae, polypodiales) from Pakistan.

Basionym, Synonyms with updated nomenclature.

Spores are monolete, distal and proximal view ellipsoidal, spheroidal, equatorial view hemicircular, perispore with alate, costate, reticulate, and tuberculate surface.

Habitat ecology with specimens examined from different areas of Pakistan and their worldwide general distribution.
Cellular activation status in femoral shaft fracture hematoma following different reaming techniques – A large animal model
Authors: Teuben Michel Paul Johan , Halvachizadeh Sascha , Kalbas Yannik , Qiao Zhi , Cesarovic Nikola , Weisskopf Miriam , Teuber Henrik , Kalbitz Miriam , Cinelli Paolo , Pfeifer Roman , Pape Hans‐Christoph ,   TREAT Research Group
Published: March 2022

The local inflammatory impact of different reaming protocols in intramedullary nailing has been sparsely investigated. We examined the effect of different reaming protocols on fracture hematoma (FH) immunological characteristics in pigs. To do so, a standardized midshaft femur fracture was induced in adult male pigs. Fractures were treated with conventional reamed femoral nailing (group RFN, n = 6); unreamed femoral nailing (group UFN, n = 6); reaming with a Reamer Irrigator Aspirator device (group RIA, n = 12). Animals were observed for 6 h and FH was collected. FH‐cell apoptosis and neutrophil receptor expression (Mac‐1/CD11b and FcγRIII/CD16) were studied by flow cytometry and local temperature changes were analyzed. The study demonstrates that apoptosis‐rates of FH‐immune cells were significantly lower in group RIA (3.50 ± 0.53%) when compared with non‐RIA groups: (group UFN 12.50 ± 5.22%, p = 0.028 UFN vs. RIA), (group RFN 13.30 ± 3.18%, p < 0.001, RFN vs. RIA). Further, RIA‐FH showed lower neutrophil CD11b/CD16 expression when compared with RFN (mean difference of 43.0% median fluorescence intensity (MFI), p = 0.02; and mean difference of 35.3% MFI, p = 0.04, respectively). Finally, RIA induced a transient local hypothermia and hypothermia negatively correlated with both FH‐immune cell apoptosis and neutrophil activation. In conclusion, immunologic changes observed in FH appear to be modified by certain reaming techniques. Irrigation during reaming was associated with transient local hypothermia, decreased apoptosis, and reduced neutrophil activation. Further study is warranted to examine whether the rinsing effect of RIA, specific tissue removal by reaming, or thermal effects predominantly determine local inflammatory changes during reaming.
Myopathy of the upper airway in snoring and obstructive sleep apnea
Authors: Shah Farhan , Stål Per
Published: March 2022

Objective

Previous reports of muscle changes in the upper airways of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients have primarily been attributed to acquired nerve lesions due to snoring vibrations. The aim of this study was to investigate whether alterations reflecting muscle fiber injuries also occur in the upper respiratory tract of snoring and OSA patients and if these changes relate to upper airway dysfunction.

Methods

Muscle changes in biopsies from the soft palate of 20 patients suffering from snoring and OSA were investigated with enzyme, immunohistochemical, and morphometric techniques. Biopsies from eight healthy non‐snoring subjects were used as controls. Swallowing dysfunction was assessed with videoradiography.

Results

Fourteen patients had various degrees of swallowing dysfunction. The muscle samples from all the patients showed changes typical for both motor‐nerve lesions and muscle fiber injuries. The most common alterations reflecting myopathy were fibers having aggregates and disorganization of cytoskeletal proteins (15.5 ± 10.7%). Other changes were fibers with vacuole‐like structures (5.0 ± 4.4%), centrally positioned myonuclei (7.9 ± 4.8%), subsarcolemmal accumulations of nuclei, and various forms and sizes of ring fibers, that is, fibers where the myofilaments were disorganized peripherally (2.8 ± 2.8%).

Conclusion

The results show that muscle changes mirroring both myopathy and neuropathy co‐exist in the upper airway of snoring OSA patients. These findings suggest muscle weakness as a contributing factor to the upper airway dysfunction in OSA patients.
My first and my latest publication
Authors: Seeman Jeffrey I.
Published: March 2022

The author discusses the lessons he has learned in the process of performing the research that led to his first publication on the photochemistry of β,γ‐unsaturated ketones in 1970 and to his latest publication on the history of the Woodward–Hoffmann rules in 2022.
FIPOL: An initiative to support research collaborations, resource development, scientific communication, and educational opportunities in psychosocial oncology for Latin America
Authors: Costas‐Muñiz Rosario , Galindo‐Vazquez Oscar , Montana Maria F. , Castro‐Figueroa Eida , Torres‐Blasco Normarie , Ruda‐Santolaria Lourdes , Sanchez‐Ramirez Jose C. , Esenarro‐Valencia Loida , Bergerot Cristiane Decat , Castro Jonathan , Gany Francesca , Breitbart William
Published: March 2022

Key points

The goal of FIPOL (Training and Resources in Psychosocial Oncology for Latin America) is to support the development of psychosocial oncology (PO) in Latin American countries

FIPOL aims to increase global awareness of academic opportunities in PO and behavioral medicine and facilitates exchanges and collaborations between Spanish‐speaking clinicians and researchers from diverse backgrounds and Spanish‐speaking countries who work in cancer and psychosocial care

Professional organizations and networks such as FIPOL may contribute to the long‐term growth of PO in the region and implementation and sustainability of PO practice

FIPOL works towards its goals through efforts in training, resource development, collaborative research initiatives, and communication and dissemination with collaborations of Spanish‐speaking colleagues working on cancer and psychosocial care
Do posttraumatic stress symptoms predict trajectories of sleep disturbance and fatigue in patients with breast cancer? A parallel‐process latent growth model
Authors: Shim Eun‐Jung , Jeong Donghee , Jung Dooyoung , Kim Tae‐Yong , Lee Kyung‐Hun , Im Seock‐Ah , Hahm Bong‐Jin
Published: March 2022

Objective

Using a parallel‐process latent growth model (LGM), this study examined whether posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are associated with the trajectory of sleep disturbance (SD) and fatigue and whether the SD trajectory mediates the PTSS‐fatigue relationship.

Methods

Data were from 215 patients with breast cancer recruited from a tertiary hospital in South Korea. A self‐report survey was administered at four time points during the course of adjuvant chemotherapy.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 46.69 (SD = 9.08) and the majority was at stage I and the average months since diagnosis was 1.33 (SD = 1.43). Unconditional parallel‐process LGM indicated that SD and fatigue were positively associated with each other, both in terms of initial status and growth rate. Then, the conditional parallel‐process LGM with baseline PTSS (i.e., avoidance, intrusion, and hyperarousal) as predictors were examined and anxiety, depressive symptoms and chronotype were entered as covariates in the model. Results indicated that a higher initial status and faster growth of SD were associated with a faster increase in fatigue. Greater baseline hyperarousal was directly related to a higher initial status and a slower increase in SD, and higher initial fatigue. Furthermore, a higher hyperarousal was associated with a greater initial SD, which was related to a faster increase in fatigue. Additionally, the late chronotype was related to a faster increase in fatigue through its impact on the initial SD.

Conclusions

The detrimental impact of hyperarousal on the SD trajectory and fatigue suggests the need to intervene in PTSS and SD early and throughout the course of cancer treatments to prevent fatigue.
New results on sampled‐data output‐feedback control of linear parameter‐varying systems
Authors: Wei Yanling , Karimi Hamid Reza , Yang Shichun
Published: March 2022

This article presents a novel sampled‐data static output‐feedback control technique for continuous‐time linear parameter‐varying (LPV) systems. Particularly, the input‐delay approach is introduced to map the sample‐and‐hold dynamics into the continuous‐time domain with delay in the states. This, together with a new parameter‐dependent Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional, results in a bounded real lemma for the underlying closed‐loop LPV systems. Furthermore, application of convex optimization techniques transforms the controller synthesis problem into the feasibility of a group of parameterized matrix inequalities. It is also shown that the convexification procedures allow for controller dependence on time‐varying parameters. Simulation studies are conducted on a case comparison and an overhead crane model to validate the efficacy and less conservatism of the result.
From underactuation to quasi‐full actuation: Aiming at a unifying control framework for articulated soft robots
Authors: Keppler Manuel , Ott Christian , Albu‐Schäffer Alin
Published: March 2022

We establish a structure preserving state and input transformation that allows a class of underactuated Euler Lagrange systems to be treated as “quasi‐fully” actuated. In this equivalent quasi‐fully actuated form, the system is characterized by the same Lagrangian structure as the original one. This facilitates the design of control approaches that take into account the underlying physics of the system and that shape the system dynamics to a minimum extent. Due to smoothness constraints on the new input vector that acts directly on the noncollocated coordinates, we coin the term quasi‐fully actuated. The class of Euler–Lagrange systems we consider is the class of articulated soft robots with nonlinear spring characteristics that are modeled with a block diagonal inertia matrix. We illustrate how the quasi‐fully actuated form enables the direct transfer of control concepts that have been derived for fully actuated manipulators. We adopt the popular energy‐shaping and two passivity‐based concepts. The exemplary adoptions of the PD+ and Slotine and Li controllers allow us to solve the task‐space tracking problem for highly elastic joint robots with nonlinear spring characteristics. These control schemes allow compliant behavior of the robot's TCP to be specified with respect to a reference trajectory. A key aspect of the presented framework is that it enables the adoption of rigid joint controllers as well as concepts underlying the original stability analysis. We believe that our framework presents an important step toward unifying the control design for rigid and articulated soft robots.
Higgs Branches of rank-0 5d theories from M-theory on (Aj, Al) and (Ak, Dn) singularities
Authors: De Marco Mario , Sangiovanni Andrea
Published: March 2022

Abstract

We study the dynamics of M-theory on isolated non-toric Calabi-Yau threefold singularities of type (Aj, Al) and (Ak, Dn), engineering five-dimensional rank-zero SCFTs. Our approach consists in mapping these backgrounds to type IIA string theory with D6 branes at angles and O6− planes, computing the five-dimensional open string modes located at the brane intersections. This permits us to characterize the Higgs Branches of these theories as algebraic varieties, determine the flavour and gauge group and inspect subtleties related to T-branes. Our methods apply for all the considered singularities: we give a closed formula for the (Aj, Al) Higgs Branches, and tables for the Higgs Branches of the (Ak, Dn) series.
Phases of confining SU(5) chiral gauge theory with three generations
Authors: Bai Yang , Stolarski Daniel
Published: March 2022

Abstract

We explore the possible low energy phases of the confining non-supersymmetric SU(5) chiral gauge theory with three generations of fermions in the (10+$$ \overline{5} $$

5
¯

) representations. This theory has the same fermion and gauge matter content as the simplest Georgi-Glashow grand unified theory of the Standard Model and has an SU(3) × SU(3) × U(1) global symmetry. Using ’t Hooft anomaly matching, most attractive channel, and soft SUSY breaking approaches, we outline a number of possible consistent low energy vacua including one with a remnant SO(3) × U(1) symmetry that is analogous to the one-generation model. For the soft SUSY breaking approach, we find that as one extrapolates to large SUSY breaking to recover the original theory, a phase transition is possible. We show that such a phase transition is guaranteed if SUSY breaking is communicated via anomaly mediation.
Study of Plasma Anti-CD26 Autoantibody Levels in a Cohort of Treatment-Naïve Early Arthritis Patients
Authors: Cordero Oscar J. , Viéitez Irene , Altabás Irene , Nuño-Nuño Laura , Villalba Alejandro , Novella-Navarro Marta , Peiteado Diana , Miranda-Carús María-Eugenia , Balsa Alejandro , Varela-Calviño Rubén , Gomez-Tourino Iria , Pego-Reigosa José M.
Published: March 2022

In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the identification of biomarkers to adjust treatment intensity and to correctly diagnose the disease in early stages still constitutes a challenge and, as such, novel biomarkers are needed. We proposed that autoantibodies (aAbs) against CD26 (DPP4) might have both etiological importance and clinical value. Here, we perform a prospective study of the potential diagnostic power of Anti-CD26 aAbs through their quantification in plasmas from 106 treatment-naïve early and undifferentiated AR. Clinical antibodies, Anti-CD26 aAbs, and other disease-related biomarkers were measured in plasmas obtained in the first visit from patients, which were later classified as RA and non-RA according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Two different isotype signatures were found among ten groups of patients, one for Anti-CD26 IgA and other for Anti-CD26 IgG and IgM isotypes, both converging in patients with arthritis (RA and Unresolved Undifferentiated Arthritis: UUA), who present elevated levels of all three isotypes. The four UUA patients, unresolved after two years, were ACPA and rheumatic factor (RF) negatives. In the whole cohort, 51.3% of ACPA/RF seronegatives were Anti-CD26 positives, and a similar frequency was observed in the seropositive RA patients. Only weak associations of the three isotypes with ESR, CRP and disease activity parameters were observed. Anti-CD26 aAbs are present in treatment-naïve early arthritis patients, including ACPA and RF seronegative individuals, suggestive of a potential pathogenic and/or biomarker role of Anti-CD26 aAbs in the development of rheumatic diseases.
Global attractor for 3D Dirac equation with nonlinear point interaction
Authors: Kopylova Elena
Published: March 2022

We prove global attraction to stationary orbits for 3D Dirac equation with concentrated nonlinearity. We show that each finite energy solution converges as $$t\rightarrow \pm \infty $$

t
→
±
∞

to the set of four-frequency “nonlinear eigenfunctions”. The global attraction is caused by nonlinear energy transfer from lower harmonics to the continuous spectrum and subsequent dispersion radiation.
Does mindfulness help to overcome stereotype threat in mental rotation in younger and older adolescents?
Authors: Rahe Martina , Jansen Petra
Published: March 2022

We investigated gender differences in mental rotation performance in younger and older adolescents and effects of stereotype threat activation and a short mindfulness induction. Two hundred fifty younger adolescents from grades 5, 6, and 7 (119 boys) and 152 older adolescents from grades 10, 11, and 12 (80 boys) were divided into four groups with or without a mindfulness induction and with or without stereotype threat activation. All participants solved a mental rotation test and filled out a questionnaire about their gender stereotype beliefs and perceived abilities of masculine and feminine activities. Results illustrate that older adolescents outperformed younger adolescents, and gender differences in favor of males appeared only in the older age group. Independent of gender, the mindfulness induction had a significantly positive effect on adolescents’ mental rotation performance that was significant only in the older age group. No effect of the stereotype activation was found. For gender stereotype beliefs and perceived abilities of gendered activities, the mindfulness intervention enhanced male stereotype beliefs and participants’ perceived ability of masculine activities. A short mindfulness induction seems to have an enhancing effect on a subsequently performed stereotypically masculine cognitive task and consequently on adolescents’ male stereotype beliefs and their perceived ability in masculine activities.
Novel tubular linear actuator with integrated magnetic bearing
Authors: Mirić Spasoje , Kolar Johann W. , Bortis Dominik
Published: March 2022

Linear actuators (LAs) are used for applications that require repetitive linear motion, such as linear pumps and compressors, servo drives in industrial automation, and pick-and-place robots in the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industry. These LAs usually have mechanical ball or slide bearings, which require frequent maintenance due to signs of wear limiting the LAs’ usage in high-purity and high-precision processes of the latter applications.

Therefore, this paper analyzes a novel LA with integrated magnetic bearings (MBs). It shows how the basic structure of the tubular LA is derived from a conventional rotary actuator. Afterwards, it explains the winding structures for the generation of the drive and bearing forces in detail, focusing on the impact of the linear motion on the bearing winding.

Furthermore, two types of windings for the self-bearing LA, separated and combined, are analyzed and compared. It is shown that a combined winding structure leads to higher efficiency and a more simple drive system and has no disadvantages with respect to the control. Finally, measurement results verify the proper operation of a self-bearing tubular LA prototype with a combined winding structure.
Heterospecific eavesdropping of jays (Garrulus glandarius) on blackbird (Turdus merula) mobbing calls
Authors: Randler Christoph
Published: March 2022

Heterospecifics eavesdrop on mobbing calls and respond with appropriate behavior, but the functional aspects are less studied. Here, I studied whether jays (Garrulus glandarius) eavesdrop on blackbird (Turdus merula) mobbing calls in comparison to blackbird song. Furthermore, it was studied whether jays provided with extra information about predators differ in their response. Three different experimental designs were carried out: (1) control playback of blackbird song to control for the species’ presence, (2) experimental playback of different mobbing events of blackbirds towards different predators, (3) experimental playback similar to (2) but combined with different predator models. In the combined experiments, mobbing calls were tied to the respective visual stimuli. Comparing the experiments with and without predator presentation, a similar number of jays occurred during the playback-only experiment (n = 7) and the playback combined with model presentation (n = 6). However, during the playback-only experiment, jays approached the speaker closer and stayed for longer time in the nearer surrounding. These results show that jays need extra information to make an informed decision.
Usutu virus in blackbirds (Turdus merula) with clinical signs, a case study from northern Italy
Authors: Musto C. , Tamba M. , Calzolari M. , Torri D. , Marzani K. , Cerri J. , Bonilauri P. , Delogu M.
Published: March 2022

Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus. Natural transmission cycle of USUV involves mosquitoes and birds, so humans and other mammals are considered incidental hosts. In this study, USUV infection was diagnosed in all wild blackbirds, collected from July to September 2018 in a wildlife recovery center in the province of Bologna, in the Emilia-Romagna region, northern Italy. All blackbirds showed neurological clinical signs, such as overturning, pedaling, and incoordination. Moreover, the subjects died shortly after arriving at the hospitalization center. Virological investigations were performed by real-time PCR on frozen samples of the spleen, kidney, myocardium, and brain for the detection of Usutu (USUV) and West Nile (WNV) viruses. The small and large intestine were used as a matrix for the detection of Newcastle disease virus (NDV). All 56 subjects with neurological clinical signs were positive for USUV, only one subject (1.8%) tested positive for WNV, and no subject was positive for NDV. The most represented age class was class 1 J (58.9%), followed by class 3 (25.0%), and lastly from class 4 (16.1%). Most of the blackbirds before dying were in good (51.8%) and fair (39.3%) nutritional status, while only five subjects (8.9%) were cachectic. The USUV genomes detected in the blackbirds of this study fall within the sub-clade already called EU2 that has been detected since 2009 in the Emilia-Romagna region. Neurological clinical signs in USUV-affected blackbirds are still widely discussed and there are few works in the literature. Although our results require further studies, we believe them to be useful for understanding the clinical signs of Usutu virus in blackbirds, helping to increase the knowledge of this zoonotic agent in wild species and to understand its effect on the ecosystem. The goal of this study was to report—in the context of the regional passive surveillance program—the detection of USUV RNA in its most important amplifying host, the common blackbird, when showing clinical signs before death.
Epidemiology and routine care treatment of patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis and chronic lower back pain: real-world evidence from Germany
Authors: Hradetzky E. , Ohlmeier C. , Brinkmann C. , Schild M. , Galetzka W. , Schmedt N. , John T. , Kaleth D. , Gothe H.
Published: March 2022

Aim

Musculoskeletal disorders are a major public health problem in most developed countries. As a main cause of chronic pain, they have resulted in an increasing prescription of opioids worldwide. With regard to the situation in Germany, this study aimed at estimating the prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases such as chronic low back pain (CLBP) and hip/knee osteoarthritis (OA) and at depicting the applied treatment patterns.

Subject and methods

German claims data from the InGef Research Database were analyzed over a 6-year period (2011–2016). The dataset contains over 4 million people, enrolled in German statutory health insurances. Inpatient and outpatient diagnoses were considered for case identification of hip/knee OA and CLBP. The World Health Organization (WHO) analgesic ladder was applied to categorize patients according to their pain management interventions. Information on demographics, comorbidities, and adjuvant medication was collected.

Results

In 2016, n = 2,693,481 individuals (50.5% female, 49.5% male) were assigned to the study population; 62.5% of them were aged 18–60 years. In 2016, n = 146,443 patients (5.4%) with CLBP and n = 307,256 patients (11.4%) with hip/knee OA were identified. Of those with pre-specified pain management interventions (CLBP: 66.3%; hip/knee OA: 65.1%), most patients received WHO I class drugs (CLBP: 73.6%; hip/knee OA: 68.7%) as the highest level.

Conclusion

This study provides indications that CLBP and hip/knee OA are common chronic pain conditions in Germany, which are often subjected to pharmacological pain management. Compared to non-opioid analgesic prescriptions of the WHO I class, the dispensation of WHO class II and III opioids was markedly lower, though present to a considerable extent.
Utilising Interview Methodology to Inform the Development of New Clinical Assessment Tools for Anxiety in Autistic Individuals Who Speak Few or no Words
Authors: Edwards Georgina , Tarver Joanne , Shelley Lauren , Bird Megan , Hughes Jessica , Crawford Hayley , Waite Jane
Published: March 2022

Autistic individuals with intellectual disability who speak few or no words are at high risk of anxiety but are underrepresented in research. This study aimed to describe the presentation of anxiety in this population and discuss implications for the development of assessments. Interviews were conducted with 21 parents/carers of autistic individuals and nine clinicians. Data were analysed using content analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Anxiety behaviours described by parents/carers included increased vocalisation, avoidance and behaviours that challenge. Changes to routine were highlighted as triggering anxiety. Clinicians discussed the importance of identifying an individual’s baseline of behaviour, knowing an individual well and ruling out other forms of distress. This study raises considerations for early identification of anxiety and for subsequent support.
A Different NMR View of Cuprate Superconductors
Authors: Haase Jürgen
Published: March 2022

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful quantum probe, but the early conclusions on the physics of the cuprates, based on a limited set of data, have to be revised in view of recent findings and results from extensive literature analyses of most NMR data. These show two coupled electronic spin components that influence the nuclei, most easily seen with the planar Cu shift anisotropy. One component is spin from the recently identified ubiquitous metallic excitations, the other likely due to the intrinsic, antiferromagnetically coupled electronic Cu spin. Both components and its intricate interaction leave their imprint on nuclear shifts and relaxation. They also show a family dependence seen in the charge sharing between planar Cu and O. The main phenomena of the doping and temperature dependences of the interplay between both spins components are discussed in terms of an apparent phenomenology that awaits explanation from theory.
The First ‘Urnfields’ in the Plains of the Danube and the Po
Authors: Cavazzuti Claudio , Arena Alberta , Cardarelli Andrea , Fritzl Michaela , Gavranović Mario , Hajdu Tamás , Kiss Viktória , Köhler Kitti , Kulcsár Gabriella , Melis Eszter , Rebay-Salisbury Katharina , Szabó Géza , Szeverényi Vajk
Published: March 2022

Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric times. In addition to the long-standing theoretical dichotomy between ‘cultural transmission’ and ‘demic diffusion’, many alternative models borrowed from sociology can be used to explain the spread of innovations. The emergence of urnfields in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe is certainly one of these large-scale phenomena; its wide distribution has been traditionally emphasized by the use of the general term Urnenfelderkultur/zeit (starting around 1300 BC). Thanks to new evidence, we are now able to draw a more comprehensive picture, which shows a variety of regional responses to the introduction of the new funerary custom. The earliest ‘urnfields’ can be identified in central Hungary, among the tell communities of the late Nagyrév/Vatya Culture, around 2000 BC. From the nineteenth century BC onwards, the urnfield model is documented among communities in northeastern Serbia, south of the Iron Gates. During the subsequent collapse of the tell system, around 1500 BC, the urnfield model spread into some of the neighbouring regions. The adoption, however, appears more radical in the southern Po plain, as well as in the Sava/Drava/Lower Tisza plains, while in Lower Austria, Transdanubia and in the northern Po plain it seems more gradual and appears to have been subject to processes of syncretism/hybridization with traditional rites. Other areas seem to reject the novelty, at least until the latest phases of the Bronze Age. We argue that a possible explanation for these varied responses relates to the degree of interconnectedness and homophily among communities in the previous phases.