bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Einflussfaktoren bei der Wahl der Androgendeprivationstherapie für Patienten mit hormonsensitiven Prostatakarzinom
Authors: Lehmann J. , Kluike C. W. , Haider A. , Haider K. S , Baumann S. , Flesch M. , Gedamke M. , Kägebein D.
Published: August 2021

Hintergrund

Die Androgendeprivationstherapie (ADT) mit einem GnRH-Agonisten (Gonadotropin-releasing-Hormon) oder -Antagonisten stellt einen zentralen Bestandteil der Behandlung des Prostatakarzinoms (PCa) dar. Über die Faktoren, welche die Wahl der ADT beeinflussen, ist bis jetzt wenig bekannt.

Ziele der Arbeit

Faktoren, welche die Wahl der ADT bei Patienten mit hormonsensitivem PCa beeinflussen, werden identifiziert. Vom Urologen zur Identifizierung von Begleiterkrankungen genutzte Informationsquellen sowie deren Prävalenzen werden bestimmt.

Methoden

Die zweiarmige, prospektive, nicht-interventionelle Studie „ProComD“ wurde von Sept. 2014 bis Juni 2019 an 80 Studienzentren in Deutschland durchgeführt. Patienten mit hormonnaivem PCa und Notwendigkeit einer ADT wurden nach erfolgter Therapieentscheidung in die Studie eingeschlossen. Fragen bezüglich Informationsquelle und Therapieentscheidung wurden vom Arzt direkt im elektronischen Datenerfassungssystem (eCRF) beantwortet.

Ergebnisse

Es wurden Daten von 413 Patienten ausgewertet (Degarelix n = 268; GnRH-Agonisten n = 145). Ausschlaggebend für die Therapieentscheidung waren für beide Behandlungsgruppen u. a. die Faktoren Komorbiditäten (bei 42 % aller Patienten), Compliance (64 %) und Alter (81 %).

Die häufigste konsultierte Informationsquelle bzgl. vorhandener Komorbiditäten ist die Anamnese durch den behandelnden Urologen selbst (68,5 % in beiden Gruppen). Bei Patienten mit kardiovaskulären Vorerkrankungen wurde zusätzlich der Arztbrief (45,8 % Degarelix vs. 38,9 % GnRH-Agonisten) oder der Anamnese-Fragebogen (38,9 % Degarelix vs. 20 % GnRH-Agonisten) herangezogen.

Schlussfolgerungen

Komorbiditäten zählen neben dem Alter und der Compliance zu den wichtigen Faktoren, die die Wahl der ADT beeinflussen.
Bounded $$H^\infty $$-calculus for a degenerate elliptic boundary value problem
Authors: Krietenstein Thorben , Schrohe Elmar
Published: August 2021

On a manifoldXwith boundary and bounded geometry we consider a strongly elliptic second order operatorAtogether with a degenerate boundary operatorTof the form$$T=\varphi _0\gamma _0 + \varphi _1\gamma _1$$T=φ0γ0+φ1γ1. Here$$\gamma _0$$γ0and$$\gamma _1$$γ1denote the evaluation of a function and its exterior normal derivative, respectively, at the boundary. We assume that$$\varphi _0, \varphi _1\ge 0$$φ0,φ1≥0, and$$\varphi _0+\varphi _1\ge c$$φ0+φ1≥c, for some$$c>0$$c>0, where either$$\varphi _0,\varphi _1\in C^{\infty }_b(\partial X)$$φ0,φ1∈Cb∞(∂X)or$$\varphi _0=1 $$φ0=1and$$\varphi _1=\varphi ^2$$φ1=φ2for some$$\varphi \in C^{2+\tau }(\partial X)$$φ∈C2+τ(∂X),$$\tau >0$$τ>0. We also assume that the highest order coefficients ofAbelong to$$C^\tau (X)$$Cτ(X)and the lower order coefficients are in$$L_\infty (X)$$L∞(X). We show that the$$L_p(X)$$Lp(X)-realization ofAwith respect to the boundary operatorThas a bounded$$H^\infty $$H∞-calculus. We then obtain the unique solvability of the associated boundary value problem in adapted spaces. As an application, we show the short time existence of solutions to the porous medium equation.
The plant secondary compound swainsonine reshapes gut microbiota in plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae)
Authors: Ren Shien , Fan Chao , Zhang Liangzhi , Tang Xianjiang , Fu Haibo , Liu Chuanfa , Jia Shangang , Zhang Yanming
Published: August 2021

Plants produce various plant secondary compounds (PSCs) to deter the foraging of herbivorous mammals. However, little is known about whether PSCs can reshape gut microbiota and promote gut homeostasis of hosts. Using 16S rDNA sequencing to investigate the effects of PSCs on the gut microbiota of small herbivorous mammals, we studied plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) fed diets containing swainsonine (SW) extracted from Oxytropis ochrocephala. Our results showed that both long- and short-term treatment of a single artificial diet in the laboratory significantly reduced alpha diversity and significantly affected beta diversity, core bacteria abundance, and bacterial functions in pikas. After SW was added to the artificial diet, the alpha diversity significantly increased in the long-term treatment, and core bacteria (e.g., Akkermansiaceae) with altered relative abundances in the two treatments showed no significant difference compared with pikas in the wild. The complexity of the co-occurrence network structure was reduced in the artificial diet, but it increased after SW was added in both treatments. Further, the abundances of bacteria related to altered alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism in the artificial diet were restored in response to SW. SW further decreased the concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in both treatments. Our results suggest that PSCs play a key role in regulating gut microbiota community and intestinal homeostasis, thereby maintaining host health.

Key points

• Swainsonine improves the intestinal bacterial diversity of plateau pikas.

• Swainsonine promotes the recovery of core bacterial abundances in the gut of plateau pikas.

• Swainsonine promotes the restoration of intestinal bacterial functions of plateau pikas.
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the head and neck: CRTC1/3 MAML 2 translocation and its prognosticators
Authors: van Weert Stijn , Lissenberg-Witte Birgit I. , Bloemena Elisabeth , Leemans C. René
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the head and neck is a prevalent malignant salivary gland tumour with a reported good outcome. The aim of this study was to report the outcome in our centre.

Methods

A retrospective chart analysis with survival analyses was performed combined with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis to assess CRTC1/3 MAML 2 fusion gene presence.

Results

Sixty-four cases of MEC were identified. Median age at presentation was 51.4 years with a predominance for parotid gland involvement. Five, 10- and 20- year disease-free survival was 98%, 90% and 68%, respectively. Overall survival was 94%, 90% and 64%, respectively. Local recurrence was seen up to 14 years after primary diagnosis; distant metastases were diagnosed up to 17 years later. The overall recurrence rate was less than 20 per cent. CRTC1/3 MAML 2 fusion gene presence showed no survival benefit.

Conclusion

MEC of the head and neck has a favorable outcome with the exception of high-grade MEC. PNI and nodal involvement are not rare. CRTC1/3 MAML 2 fusion gene presence showed no survival benefit. The tendency for late onset of loco-regional and distant recurrence should not be underestimated.
Clinical efficacy and safety of oral and intravenous vitamin C use in patients with malignant diseases
Authors: Hoppe Catalina , Freuding Maren , Büntzel Jens , Münstedt Karsten , Hübner Jutta
Published: August 2021

Background

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble antioxidant and free radical scavenger. It is required in the body for numerous metabolic functions and is involved in the development of proteins and connective tissue.

Methods

In April 2020, a systematic search was carried out on five electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Cinahl, PsycINFO) to find studies on the use, efficacy and safety of a complementary therapy with vitamin C in oncological patients.

Results

Out of the initial 23,195 search results, 21 studies with 1961 patients were included in this review. Five of the included studies (n = 417) were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The remaining 16 studies belonged to a lower class of evidence. The patients who were treated with vitamin C suffered from various malignant diseases, some in an advanced and palliative stage. Vitamin C was applied intravenously or orally. It was either the only treatment or was combined with chemo- or radiotherapy. Endpoints included the development of the disease-related symptoms, quality of life, mortality, progression-free survival and safety of vitamin C. The studies were of moderate quality and showed either no effect of vitamin C or a positive trend, although this has rarely been statistically proven in group comparisons. No or only slight side effects with both oral and intravenous administration of vitamin C were reported.

Conclusion

Oral intake of vitamin C does not appear to have any effect in patients with malignancies. Data are heterogeneous for intravenous administration. There are no RCTs with statistical group comparisons.
Development and validation of a preoperative “difficulty score” for laparoscopic transabdominal adrenalectomy: a multicenter retrospective study
Authors: Alberici Laura , Paganini Alessandro M. , Ricci Claudio , Balla Andrea , Ballarini Zeno , Ortenzi Monica , Casole Giovanni , Quaresima Silvia , Di Dalmazi Guido , Ursi Pietro , Alfano Marie Sophie , Selva Saverio , Casadei Riccardo , Ingaldi Carlo , Lezoche Giovanni , Guerrieri Mario , Minni Francesco , Tiberio Guido Alberto Massimo
Published: August 2021

Background

A difficulty score for laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) is lacking in the literature. A retrospective cohort study was designed to develop a preoperative “difficulty score” for LA.

Methods

A multicenter study was conducted involving four Italian tertiary centers for adrenal disease. The population was randomly divided into two subsets: training group and validation one. A multicenter study was undertaken, including 964 patients. Patient, adrenal lesion, surgeon’s characteristics, and the type of procedure were studied as potential predictors of target events. The operative time (pOT), conversion rate (cLA), or both were used as indicators of the difficulty in three multivariate models. All models were developed in a training cohort (70% of the sample) and validated using 30% of patients. For all models, the ability to predict complicated postoperative course was reported describing the area under the curve (AUCs). Logistic regression, reporting odds ratio (OR) withp-value, was used.

Results

In model A, gender (OR 2.04,p = 0.001), BMI (OR 1.07,p = 0.002), previous surgery (OR 1.29,p = 0.048), site (OR 21.8,p < 0.001) and size of the lesion (OR 1.16,p = 0.002), cumulative sum of procedures (OR 0.99,p < 0.001), extended (OR 26.72,p < 0.001) or associated procedures (OR 4.32,p = 0.015) increased the pOT. In model B, ASA (OR 2.86,p = 0.001), lesion size (OR 1.20,p = 0.005), and extended resection (OR 8.85,p = 0.007) increased the cLA risk. Model C had similar results to model A. All scores obtained predicted the target events in validation cohort (OR 1.99,p < 0.001; OR 1.37,p = 0.007; OR 1.70,p < 0.001, score A, B, and C, respectively). The AUCs in predicting complications were 0.740, 0.686, and 0.763 for model A, B, and C, respectively.

Conclusion

A difficulty score based on both pOT and cLA (Model C) was developed using 70% of the sample. The score was validated using a second cohort. Finally, the score was tested, and its results are able to predict a complicated postoperative course.
Archaeological and Contemporary Evidence Indicates Low Sea Otter Prevalence on the Pacific Northwest Coast During the Late Holocene
Authors: Slade Erin , McKechnie Iain , Salomon Anne K.
Published: August 2021

The historic extirpation and subsequent recovery of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have profoundly changed coastal social-ecological systems across the northeastern Pacific. Today, the conservation status of sea otters is informed by estimates of population carrying capacity or growth rates independent of human impacts. However, archaeological and ethnographic evidence suggests that for millennia, complex hunting and management protocols by Indigenous communities limited sea otter abundance near human settlements to reduce the negative impacts of this keystone predator on shared shellfish prey. To assess relative sea otter prevalence in the Holocene, we compared the size structure of ancient California mussels (Mytilus californianus) from six archaeological sites in two regions on the Pacific Northwest Coast, to modern California mussels at locations with and without sea otters. We also quantified modern mussel size distributions from eight locations on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, varying in sea otter occupation time. Comparisons of mussel size spectra revealed that ancient mussel size distributions are consistently more similar to modern size distributions at locations with a prolonged absence of sea otters. This indicates that late Holocene sea otters were maintained well below carrying capacity near human settlements as a result of human intervention. These findings illuminate the conditions under which sea otters and humans persisted over millennia prior to the Pacific maritime fur trade and raise important questions about contemporary conservation objectives for an iconic marine mammal and the social-ecological system in which it is embedded.
Landscape Controls on Nutrient Stoichiometry Regulate Lake Primary Production at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Authors: Prater Clay , Bullard Joanna E. , Osburn Christopher L. , Martin Sarah L. , Watts Michael J. , Anderson N. John
Published: August 2021

Global change is reshaping the physical environment and altering nutrient dynamics across the Arctic. These changes can affect the structure and function of biological communities and influence important climate-related feedbacks (for example, carbon (C) sequestration) in biogeochemical processing hot spots such as lakes. To understand how these ecosystems will respond in the future, this study examined recent (< 10 y) and long-term (1000 y) shifts in autotrophic production across paraglacial environmental gradients in SW Greenland. Contemporary lake temperatures and light levels increased with distance from the ice sheet, along with dissolved organic C (DOC) concentrations and total nitrogen:total phosphorus (TN:TP) ratios. Diatom production measured as biogenic silica accumulation rates (BSiARs) and diatom contribution to microbial communities declined across these gradients, while total production estimated using C accumulation rates and δ13C increased, indicating that autochthonous production and C burial are controlled by microbial competition and competitive displacement across physiochemical gradients in the region. Diatom production was generally low across lakes prior to the 1800’s AD but has risen 1.5–3× above background levels starting between 1750 and 1880 AD. These increases predate contemporary regional warming by 115–250 years, and temperature stimulation of primary production was inconsistent with paleorecords for ~ 90% of the last millennium. Instead, primary production appeared to be more strongly related to N and P availability, which differs considerably across the region due to lake landscape position, glacial activity and degree of atmospheric nutrient deposition. These results suggest that biological responses to enhanced nutrient supply could serve as important negative feedbacks to global change.
Optimal Combination of Linear and Spectral Estimators for Generalized Linear Models
Authors: Mondelli Marco , Thrampoulidis Christos , Venkataramanan Ramji
Published: August 2021

We study the problem of recovering an unknown signal $${\varvec{x}}$$

x

given measurements obtained from a generalized linear model with a Gaussian sensing matrix. Two popular solutions are based on a linear estimator $$\hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{L}$$

x

^

L

and a spectral estimator $$\hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{s}$$

x

^

s

. The former is a data-dependent linear combination of the columns of the measurement matrix, and its analysis is quite simple. The latter is the principal eigenvector of a data-dependent matrix, and a recent line of work has studied its performance. In this paper, we show how to optimally combine $$\hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{L}$$

x

^

L

and $$\hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{s}$$

x

^

s

. At the heart of our analysis is the exact characterization of the empirical joint distribution of $$({\varvec{x}}, \hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{L}, \hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{s})$$

(

x

,

x

^

L

,

x

^

s

)

in the high-dimensional limit. This allows us to compute the Bayes-optimal combination of $$\hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{L}$$

x

^

L

and $$\hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{s}$$

x

^

s

, given the limiting distribution of the signal $${\varvec{x}}$$

x

. When the distribution of the signal is Gaussian, then the Bayes-optimal combination has the form $$\theta \hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{L}+\hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{s}$$

θ

x

^

L

+

x

^

s

and we derive the optimal combination coefficient. In order to establish the limiting distribution of $$({\varvec{x}}, \hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{L}, \hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{s})$$

(

x

,

x

^

L

,

x

^

s

)

, we design and analyze an approximate message passing algorithm whose iterates give $$\hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{L}$$

x

^

L

and approach $$\hat{\varvec{x}}^\mathrm{s}$$

x

^

s

. Numerical simulations demonstrate the improvement of the proposed combination with respect to the two methods considered separately.
Convergence Rates of First- and Higher-Order Dynamics for Solving Linear Ill-Posed Problems
Authors: Boţ Radu , Dong Guozhi , Elbau Peter , Scherzer Otmar
Published: August 2021

Recently, there has been a great interest in analysing dynamical flows, where the stationary limit is the minimiser of a convex energy. Particular flows of great interest have been continuous limits of Nesterov’s algorithm and the fast iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm, respectively. In this paper, we approach the solutions of linear ill-posed problems by dynamical flows. Because the squared norm of the residual of a linear operator equation is a convex functional, the theoretical results from convex analysis for energy minimising flows are applicable. However, in the restricted situation of this paper they can often be significantly improved. Moreover, since we show that the proposed flows for minimising the norm of the residual of a linear operator equation are optimal regularisation methods and that they provide optimal convergence rates for the regularised solutions, the given rates can be considered the benchmarks for further studies in convex analysis.
A DICOM Framework for Machine Learning and Processing Pipelines Against Real-time Radiology Images
Authors: Kathiravelu Pradeeban , Sharma Puneet , Sharma Ashish , Banerjee Imon , Trivedi Hari , Purkayastha Saptarshi , Sinha Priyanshu , Cadrin-Chenevert Alexandre , Safdar Nabile , Gichoya Judy Wawira
Published: August 2021

Real-time execution of machine learning (ML) pipelines on radiology images is difficult due to limited computing resources in clinical environments, whereas running them in research clusters requires efficient data transfer capabilities. We developed Niffler, an open-source Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) framework that enables ML and processing pipelines in research clusters by efficiently retrieving images from the hospitals’ PACS and extracting the metadata from the images. We deployed Niffler at our institution (Emory Healthcare, the largest healthcare network in the state of Georgia) and retrieved data from 715 scanners spanning 12 sites, up to 350 GB/day continuously in real-time as a DICOM data stream over the past 2 years. We also used Niffler to retrieve images bulk on-demand based on user-provided filters to facilitate several research projects. This paper presents the architecture and three such use cases of Niffler. First, we executed an IVC filter detection and segmentation pipeline on abdominal radiographs in real-time, which was able to classify 989 test images with an accuracy of 96.0%. Second, we applied the Niffler Metadata Extractor to understand the operational efficiency of individual MRI systems based on calculated metrics. We benchmarked the accuracy of the calculated exam time windows by comparing Niffler against the Clinical Data Warehouse (CDW). Niffler accurately identified the scanners’ examination timeframes and idling times, whereas CDW falsely depicted several exam overlaps due to human errors. Third, with metadata extracted from the images by Niffler, we identified scanners with misconfigured time and reconfigured five scanners. Our evaluations highlight how Niffler enables real-time ML and processing pipelines in a research cluster.
HIV Transmission Potential and Sex Partner Concurrency: Evidence for Racial Disparities in HIV Risk Among Gay and Bisexual Men (MSM)
Authors: Tilchin Carla , Wagner Jessica , Schumacher Christina M. , Ghanem Khalil G. , Hamill Matthew M. , Rompalo Anne , Fields Errol , Latkin Carl A. , Greenbaum Adena , Jennings Jacky M.
Published: August 2021

We determined whether racial disparities in HIV infection among gay and bisexual men (MSM) may be partially explained by racial differences in the HIV transmission potential (i.e. mixing of people living with HIV and people not living with HIV or of unknown HIV serostatus) and density (i.e. sex partner concurrency) of sexual networks. Data included a behavioral survey, testing for HIV, and an egocentric sexual network survey. Mixed effects logistic regressions were used for hypothesis testing. Black (vs. non-Black) MSM were more likely to not know their partner’s HIV serostatus (21.8% vs. 9.6%). Similar proportions reported sex partner concurrency (67.1% vs. 68.0%). In adjusted analyses, among Black MSM, sex partner concurrency significantly increased the odds of an HIV transmission potential partnership (TPP), and this association was not significant among non-Black indexes. The association between an HIV TPP and sex partner concurrency may help explain persistent racial disparities in HIV prevalence.
Preliminary finding of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 5-hydroxytryptophan on REM sleep behavior disorder in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Meloni Mario , Figorilli Michela , Carta Manolo , Tamburrino Ludovica , Cannas Antonino , Sanna Fabrizio , Defazio Giovanni , Puligheddu Monica
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Altered serotonergic neurotransmission may contribute to the non-motor features commonly associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) such as sleep disorders. The 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is the intermediate metabolite of l-tryptophan in the production of serotonin and melatonin. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 5-HTP to placebo on REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) status in patients with PD.

Methods

A single-center, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial was performed in a selected population of 18 patients with PD and RBD. The patients received a placebo and 50 mg of 5-HTP daily in a crossover design over a period of 4 weeks.

Results

5-HTP produced an increase in the total percentage of stage REM sleep without a related increase of RBD episodes, as well as a marginal, non-significant reduction in both arousal index and wake after sleep onset. The self-reported RBD frequency and clinical global impression (CGI) were improved during 5-HTP and placebo treatment in comparison to baseline. 5-HTP significantly improved our patients’ motor experiences of daily living as rated by the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) part II.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence that 5-HTP is safe and effective in improving sleep stability in PD, contributing to ameliorate patients’ global sleep quality. Larger studies with higher doses and longer treatment duration are needed to corroborate these preliminary findings.
Creating a Composite Index to Target Recruitment of UK Students from Areas of Low Participation in Higher Education
Authors: Bell Douglas , Burns Luke
Published: August 2021

This research presents a framework through which a new Higher Education Access and Deprivation (HEAD) composite index was created to assist UK universities in efficiently recruiting and supporting students from areas with traditionally low engagement rates in higher education. The index was designed to be easily adaptable by university staff to suit their own work priorities and/or an institution’s strategic requirements by utilising open socio-demographic data and construction techniques that require minimal technical statistical skills. Although Cornwall was used as the study area in this research, this index has been designed such that it can be readily applied elsewhere. Two differently weighted models were created using the framework – one with equal weights and the other based on the frequency the constituent indicators appeared in the reviewed academic literature. Both models were mapped across Cornwall, identifying areas of deprivation at a finer resolution than under the current widely used Participation of Local Areas (POLAR) methodology. The weighted model performed marginally better than both the equal weighted model and the current POLAR methodology when validated against external data, and additionally it worked well in both rural and urban environments leading to it being selected as the new HEAD index. The HEAD index maps smaller scale areas of deprivation than previously available, and by enabling users to investigate the underlying socio-demographic characteristics of an area, it also allows universities to create interventions, support, and policies that best targets the students they aim to recruit and teach.
A High Throughput Method for Generating Dihaploids from Tetraploid Potato
Authors: Busse James S. , Jansky Shelley H. , Agha Husain I. , Schmitz Carley Cari A. , Shannon Laura M. , Bethke Paul C.
Published: August 2021

There is a worldwide effort to increase the efficiency of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivar development by using inbred diploid breeding lines. This activity is impeded by the cost and effort required to produce dihaploids from cultivated tetraploid potatoes. We developed a high throughput dihaploid production method based on the 60-year-old method of Peloquin and Hougas. Red Norland inflorescences from commercial fields were transferred to greenhouses. As buds developed, pollen from the dihaploid inducer IVP 101 was applied systematically to thousands of stigmas per trial. Berries were harvested 21 days after pollination. Seeds of putative dihaploids lacking a seed spot marker were retained and ploidy was confirmed using flow cytometry. We recovered 23 dihaploids from 21,651 pollinations. This is a promising method for systematically carrying out thousands of pollinations since the cost of field-grown flowers is dramatically less than that of greenhouse-grown flowers.
Generation and Characterization of a Nanobody Against SARS-CoV
Authors: Li Jiang-Fan , He Lei , Deng Yong-Qiang , Qi Shu-Hui , Chen Yue-Hong , Zhang Xiao-Lu , Hu Shi-Xiong , Fan Rui-Wen , Zhao Guang-Yu , Qin Cheng-Feng
Published: August 2021

The sudden emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) has caused global panic in 2003, and the risk of SARS-CoV outbreak still exists. However, no specific antiviral drug or vaccine is available; thus, the development of therapeutic antibodies against SARS-CoV is needed. In this study, a nanobody phage-displayed library was constructed from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of alpacas immunized with the recombinant receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV. Four positive clones were selected after four rounds of bio-panning and subjected to recombinant expression in E. coli. Further biological identification demonstrated that one of the nanobodies, S14, showed high affinity to SARS-CoV RBD and potent neutralization activity at the picomole level against SARS-CoV pseudovirus. A competitive inhibition assay showed that S14 blocked the binding of SARS-CoV RBD to either soluble or cell-expressed angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). In summary, we developed a novel nanobody targeting SARS-CoV RBD, which might be useful for the development of therapeutics against SARS.
On-chip Paper Electrophoresis for Ultrafast Screening of Infectious Diseases
Authors: Na Hamin , Kang Byoung-Hoon , Ku Jayoung , Kim Yoosik , Jeong Ki-Hun
Published: August 2021

The outbreak of new viral strains promotes advances in universal diagnostic techniques for detecting infectious diseases with unknown viral sequence. Long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), a hallmark of infections, serves as a virus marker for prompt detection of viruses with unknown genomes. Here, we report on-chip paper electrophoresis for ultrafast screening of infectious diseases. Negatively charged RNAs pass through the micro and nanoscale pores of cellulose in order of size under an external electric field applied to the paper microfluidic channel. Quantitative separation of long dsRNA mimicking poly I:C was analyzed from 1.67 to 33 ng·μL−1, which is close to the viral dsRNA concentration in infected cells. This paper-based capillary electrophoresis chip (paper CE chip) can provide a new diagnostic platform for ultrafast viral disease detection at the point-of-care (POC) level.
Role of nanoparticles in achieving macroscale superlubricity of graphene/nano-SiO2 particle composites
Authors: Li Panpan , Ji Li , Li Hongxuan , Chen Lei , Liu Xiaohong , Zhou Huidi , Chen Jianmin
Published: August 2021

Recent studies have reported that adding nanoparticles to graphene enables macroscale superlubricity to be achieved. This study focuses on the role of nanoparticles in achieving superlubricity. First, because graphene nanoscrolls can be formed with nanoparticles as seeds under shear force, the applied load (or shear force) is adjusted to manipulate the formation of graphene nanoscrolls and to reveal the relationship between graphene-nanoscroll formation and superlubricating performance. Second, the load-carrying role of spherical nano-SiO2 particles during the friction process is verified by comparison with an elaborately designed fullerene that possesses a hollow-structured graphene nanoscroll. Results indicate that the incorporated nano-SiO2 particles have two roles in promoting the formation of graphene nanoscrolls and exhibiting load-carrying capacity to support macroscale forces for achieving macroscale superlubricity. Finally, macroscale superlubricity (friction coefficient: 0.006–0.008) can be achieved under a properly tuned applied load (2.0 N) using a simple material system in which a graphene/nano-SiO2 particle composite coating slides against a steel counterpart ball without a decorated diamond-like carbon film. The approach described in this study could be of significance in engineering.
Filling in the Blanks: Senior Medical Student Supporting the Transition of Incoming First-Year UK Medical Students During COVID-19
Authors: Nelson-Rowe Ellen Lois
Published: August 2021

There is a lack of resources available to support transition into the first year of UK medical schools. Due to COVID-19 and the possibility that students have lost learning, it is argued that there is a demand for free, accessible curated materials. These can reinforce confidence in expected core topics, mitigate differences in student knowledge and provide a head start in new concepts prior to entry — particularly important in the transition to a virtual learning environment. During lockdowns, this may lessen the effect of lost learning and can be assembled by medical students pitching appropriate content and encouraging near-peer support.
Riemannian geometric approach to optimal binocular rotation, pyramid based interpolation and bio-mimetic pan-tilt movement
Authors: Ghosh Bijoy K. , Athukorallage Bhagya
Published: August 2021

Over the past several years, we have been studying the problem of optimally rotating a rigid sphere about its center, where the rotation is actuated by a triplet of external torques acting on the body. The control objective is to repeatedly direct a suitable radial vector, called the gaze vector, towards a stationary point target in IR3. The orientation of the sphere is constrained to lie in a suitable submanifold of SO(3). Historically, the constrained rotational movements were studied by physiologists in the nineteenth century, interested in eye and head movements. In this paper we revisit the gaze control problem, where two visual sensors, are tasked to simultaneously stare at a point target in the visual space. The target position changes discretely and the problem we consider is how to reorient the gaze directions of the sensors, along the optimal pathway of the human eyes, to the new location of the target. This is done by first solving an optimal control problem on the human binocular system. Next, we use these optimal control and show that a pan-tilt system can be controlled to follow the gaze trajectory of the human eye requiring a nonlinear static feedback of the pan and tilt angles and their derivatives. Our problem formulation uses a new Riemannian geometric description of the orientation space. The paper also introduces a new, pyramid based interpolation method, to implement the optimal controller.
Profiles of mental health help seeking among Australian adolescent males
Authors: Liddle Sarah K. , Robinson Laura , Vella Stewart A. , Deane Frank P.
Published: August 2021

Introduction

Adolescent males are at increased risk of mental illness and are reluctant to engage in treatment. This study aims to identify subgroups of help‐seeking intentions among a sample of Australian male adolescents.

Methods

A sample of 1038 male adolescent sport participants in Australia (age M = 14.69 years, SD = 1.35) reported help‐seeking intentions from ten sources and from ‘no one’. Latent profile analysis was conducted based on these 11 items. Identified profiles were then compared across mental health measures.

Results

Four latent profiles were identified: Low general help‐seekers (10.5%), Moderate general help‐seekers (46.8%), High general help‐seekers (25.5%), High family and friends help‐seekers (17.2%). Low, Moderate, and High general help‐seekers had uniformly low, moderate, and high intentions to seek help from all sources, respectively. High family and friends help‐seekers reported high endorsement of intentions to seek help from intimate partners, friends, parents, and other relatives, but low intentions for other sources. Low general help‐seekers had lower intentions to seek help from parents compared to all other profiles. They also had significantly lower perceived family support and higher psychological distress.

Conclusions

Low general help‐seekers were particularly reluctant to seek help from all sources and at high risk of experiencing psychological difficulties. Their distinct profile offers potential to identify this high‐risk group through the use of ratings on the parent help‐seeking intentions item. Further research should investigate the predictive utility of this item on help‐seeking and mental health, and should consider the influence of masculinity and previous experiences of help‐seeking.
Phase-sensitive radar as a tool for measuring firn compaction
Authors: Case Elizabeth , Kingslake Jonathan
Published: August 2021

Firn compaction models inform mass-balance estimates and paleo-climate reconstructions, but current models introduce key uncertainties. For example, models disagree on the dependence of density and compaction on accumulation rate. Observations of compaction to test these models are rare, partly because in situ methods for measuring englacial strain are time-consuming and expensive. Moreover, shallow measurements may confound strain due to compaction with strain due to ice-sheet flow. We show that phase-sensitive radio-echo sounder (pRES) systems, typically deployed to measure sub-shelf melting or ice-sheet deformation, can be used to measure firn compaction and test firn models. We present two complementary methods for extracting compaction information from pRES data, along with a method for comparing compaction models to pRES observations. The methods make different assumptions about the density structure and vary in their need for independent density measurements. Compaction profiles computed from pRES data collected on three ice rises in West Antarctica are largely consistent with measured densities and a physics-based model. With their minimal logistic requirements, new pRES systems, such as autonomous pRES, could be inexpensively deployed to monitor firn compaction more widely. Existing phase-sensitive radar data may contain compaction information even when surveys targeted other processes.
Early Jurassic Trigoniida (Bivalvia) from Argentina
Authors: Echevarría Javier , Damborenea Susana E. , Manceñido Miguel O.
Published: August 2021

Bivalves of the Order Trigoniida were abundant and diverse in the Andean Early Jurassic shallow-marine paleoenvironments. Based on extensive collections with detailed stratigraphic information from 40 localities in central-western Argentina, we describe 20 species (4 new) belonging to 11 genera (3 new) and 5 families (Groeberellidae, Trigoniidae, Prosogyrotrigoniidae, Frenguelliellidae, and Myophorellidae). The abundant material allows the description of ontogenetic development and intraspecific variability, highlighting the likely phylogenetic significance of previously underestimated features. Within Frenguelliellidae, we show that the stratigraphic range ofFrenguelliellaLeanza in the region is restricted to the Sinemurian–Pliensbachian. We proposePoultoniellanew genus for some late Pliensbachian–Toarcian species.JaworskiellaLeanza is limited to its type species, whereas for certain convergent forms we proposeMoerickellanew genus (most likely the oldest Myophorellidae).Pseudovaugonianew genus likely descended fromMoerickellan. gen., rather than from the highly diversePromyophorellaKobayashi and Tamura, and is unrelated toVaugoniaCrickmay.Frenguelliella chubutensis(Feruglio) andPromyophorella basoaltorumnew species are the most frequently occurring species. Some species were probably endemic (e.g.,Promyophorella?sanjuaninanew species), although a few (such asFrenguelliella eopacificanew species andPoultoniella jaworskiinew genus new species) had a wide paleolatitudinal range and occur throughout the Pacific coasts and terranes of the Americas, revealing a significant faunal interchange among marine basins during Hettangian–Pliensbachian times. The well-documented Argentinian Early Jurassic record shows a rapid recovery and radiation of the Trigoniida after the Triassic/Jurassic extinction. Many of the new taxa that evolved in America eventually dispersed worldwide by Toarcian and Middle Jurassic times.

UUID:http://zoobank.org/82c0d95e-f147-4736-a417-ebc252911181.
What Makes Party Systems Different? A Principal Component Analysis of 17 Advanced Democracies 1970–2013
Authors: Magyar Zsuzsanna B.
Published: August 2021

Party systems, that is, the number and the size of all the parties within a country, can vary greatly across countries. I conduct a principal component analysis on a party seat share dataset of 17 advanced democracies from 1970 to 2013 to reduce the dimensionality of the data. I find that the most important dimensions that differentiate party systems are: “the size of the biggest two parties” and the level of “competition between the two biggest parties.” I use the results to compare the changes in electoral and legislative party systems. I also juxtapose the results to previous party system typologies and party system size measures. I find that typologies sort countries into categories based on variation along both dimensions. On the other hand, most of the current political science literature use measures (e.g., the effective number of parties) that are correlated with the first dimension. I suggest that instead of these, indices that measure the opposition structure and competition could be used to explore problems pertaining to the competitiveness of the party systems.
Flying Back to Africa or Flying to Heaven? Competing Visions of Afterlife in the Lowcountry and Caribbean Slave Societies
Authors: Dewulf Jeroen
Published: August 2021

This article presents a new interpretation of the famous folktale about enslaved Africans flying home, including the legend that only those who refrained from eating salt could fly back to Africa. It rejects claims that the tale is rooted in Igbo culture and relates to suicide as a desperate attempt to escape from slavery. Rather, an analysis of historical documents in combination with ethnographic and linguistic research makes it possible to trace the tale back to West-Central Africa. It relates objections to eating salt to the Kikongo expression curia mungua (to eat salt), meaning baptism, and claims that the tale originated in the context of discussions among the enslaved about the consequences of a Christian baptism for one's spiritual afterlife.
The Institutional Order of Liberalization
Authors: Edgell Amanda B. , Boese Vanessa A. , Maerz Seraphine F. , Lindenfors Patrik , Lindberg Staffan I.
Published: August 2021

When authoritarian regimes liberalize, are there observable patterns in the ordering of reforms, and are these patterns distinct for cases that transition to democracy? While the prevailing literature tends to focus on exogenous ‘determinants’ of democracy, this letter describes the endogenous dynamics of liberalization itself. Using pairwise domination analysis, it assesses the institutional order of reforms during 371 episodes of liberalization in autocracies between 1900 and 2019. Based on twenty-four indicators of democratic institutions and practices, our findings reveal (1) a clear pattern of reform during liberalization episodes, (2) with strong similarities across outcomes, but also that (3) reforms to the administration of elections tend to develop comparatively earlier in episodes of liberalization that produce a democratic transition.
Checklist of the cestode parasites of wild birds of Argentina
Authors: Drago F.B. , Dueñas Díaz M. , Draghi R. , Núñez V.
Published: August 2021

An annotated checklist of the cestode parasites of Argentinean wild birds is presented, as the result of a compilation of parasitological papers published between 1900 and April 2021. This review provides data on hosts, geographical distribution, sites of infection, location of material deposited in helminthological collections, references and taxonomic comments. A host/parasite list is also provided. During this period, 38 papers were published that gather information about 34 cestode nominal species and 11 taxa identified at generic level, belonging to three orders, ten families and 35 genera. The highest number of cestode taxa was recorded in the family Hymenolepididae, with 12 nominal species and two taxa identified at generic level, followed by Dilepididae, with eight nominal species and three taxa identified at generic level. Of the 1042 species of birds reported in Argentina, only 29 (2.8%) were reported as hosts of adult cestodes. The families of birds with the highest number of reported taxa were Laridae and Anatidae, with 20 and 14 taxa, respectively.
Aristotle's Politics on Greeks and Non-Greeks
Authors: Lockwood Thornton
Published: August 2021

Scholars of race in antiquity commonly claim that Aristotle holds protoracist views about barbaroi or non-Greeks. But a careful examination of Aristotle's remarks in his Politics about slavery, non-Greek political institutions, and Greek and non-Greek natural qualities calls into question such claims. No doubt, Aristotle held views at odds with modern liberalism, such as his views about gender subordination and the exploitation of slave and nonslave labor. But claims that Aristotle holds protoracist views are regularly but erroneously asserted without careful consideration of relevant textual evidence. I argue that Aristotle neither categorically distinguishes Greeks and non-Greeks nor does he endorse the claim that Greeks are categorically superior to non-Greeks. Indeed, Aristotle regularly draws upon non-Greek political institutions in his own formulation of the best constitution and he praises the non-Greek constitution of Carthage as superior to that of Greek constitutions such as Sparta and Crete.
Whose migration matters? The role of migration in social networks and mental health among rural older adults in China
Authors: Tang Dan , Xie Lili
Published: August 2021

The dual demographic changes in massive rural-to-urban labour migration and population ageing have significantly impacted the lives of older adults, who have either been left behind in rural regions or migrated to urban areas. While many extant studies on migration and wellbeing of older adults have focused on either migrating or left-behind older adults, a very limited number of studies have directly compared these two groups. Utilising data from the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey, this study examines the impacts of different migration patterns (i.e.migrating older adults, left-behind older adults and non-migrating older adults) on the social networks and mental health of older adults in rural China. Structural equation modelling results showed that older adults who have been left behind reported weaker family ties and poorer mental health than the other older adults. Moreover, weakened family ties increased older adults’ risk of developing mental health problems. Older migrants reported the lowest level of depressive symptoms among the three groups of older adults. However, migration may be associated with poorer mental health among the older migrants due to the shrinking/weakening of family/friendship ties.
CHARLES WESLEY, METHODISM AND NEW ART MUSIC IN THE LONG EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
Authors: CLARKE MARTIN V.
Published: August 2021

This article considers eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Methodism's relationship with art music through the original settings of poetry by Charles Wesley by five notable musicians: John Frederick Lampe, George Frideric Handel, Jonathan Battishill, Charles Wesley junior and Samuel Wesley. It argues that the strong emphasis on congregational singing in popular and scholarly perceptions of Methodism, including within the movement itself, masks a more varied engagement with musical culture. The personal musical preferences of John and Charles Wesley brought them into contact with several leading musical figures in eighteenth-century London and initiated a small corpus of original musical settings of some of the latter's hymns. The article examines the textual and musical characteristics of these the better to understand their relationship with both eighteenth-century Methodism and fashionable musical culture of the period. It argues that Methodism was not, contrary to popular perception, uniformly opposed to or detached from the aesthetic considerations of artistic culture, that eighteenth-century Methodism and John and Charles Wesley cannot be regarded as synonymous and that, in this period, sacred music encompasses rather more than church music and cannot be narrowly defined in opposition to secular music.