bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of solid solution state of zirconium and Al3Zr (L12) precipitates on the recrystallization behavior of Al‐0.2 wt.%Zr alloy
Authors: Zhu C. , Zhu Q.F. , Ban C.Y. , Jia T. , Wang G.S. , Zhao Z.H.
Published: December 2020

Effect of homogenization annealing on the existence form of zirconium in Al‐0.2wt.%Zr alloy and effect of various existence form of zirconium on the recrystallization behavior of Al‐0.2wt.%Zr cold‐rolled (total deformation is 92.8 %) sheet are studied. The results show that large numbers of nearly spherical Al3Zr (L12) nanoparticles precipitated from aluminum matrix after homogenizing at 475 °C for 24 h. Moreover, due to the precipitation of Al3Zr particles, the hardness and electrical conductivity of the as‐cast Al‐0.2wt.%Zr alloy is increased from 25.1±0.5 HV 3 and 54.0±0.2 %IACS to 28.6±0.7 HV 3 and 56.2±0.1 %IACS, respectively. Hence, zirconium exists as solid solution state in the as‐cast Al‐0.2wt.%Zr alloy and metastable Al3Zr phase in the homogenized alloy. Moreover, the recrystallization temperature of the pure aluminum without addition of zirconium is 300 °C, while the recrystallization temperature of the Al‐0.2wt.%Zr alloy without and with homogenization is about 350 °C and 400 °C, respectively. Obviously, the solid solution state of zirconium has certain effect on retarding the recrystallization of aluminum alloy, while the nanometer Al3Zr particles can inhibit the recrystallization of aluminum alloy effectively and increase the recrystallization temperature remarkably.
Mechanical alloying and consolidation of copper‐iron‐silicon carbide nanocomposites
Authors: Rabiee M. , Mirzadeh H. , Ataie A.
Published: December 2020

Mechanical alloying, cold pressing, and sintering were used for synthesizing bulk copper, copper‐iron, and copper‐iron‐silicon carbide nanomaterials. The precipitation of iron during sintering of the supersaturated mechanically alloyed powder significantly enhanced the thermal stability of the nanocomposite against grain growth. Moreover, the hardness of sintered composites was found to increase with increasing milling time, which was attributed to the work‐hardening, crystallite refinement, and increasing the relative density (decrease in porosity). Although the addition of silicon carbide did not affect the mean crystallite size of the bulk samples, it effectively increased the hardness of the nanocomposite based on its composite strengthening effect.
Soluble CD163 Changes Indicate Monocyte Association With Cognitive Deficits in Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Nissen Sara Konstantin , Ferreira Sara Almeida , Nielsen Marlene Christina , Schulte Claudia , Shrivastava Kalpana , Hennig Dorle , Etzerodt Anders , Graversen Jonas Heilskov , Berg Daniela , Maetzler Walter , Panhelainen Anne , Møller Holger Jon , Brockmann Kathrin , Romero‐Ramos Marina
Published: December 2020

Background

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with a significant immune component, as demonstrated by changes in immune biomarkers in patients' biofluids. However, which specific cells are responsible for those changes is unclear because most immune biomarkers can be produced by various cell types.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to explore monocyte involvement in PD.

Methods

We investigated the monocyte‐specific biomarker sCD163, the soluble form of the receptor CD163, in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum in two experiments, and compared it with other biomarkers and clinical data. Potential connections between CD163 and alpha‐synuclein were studied in vitro.

Results

CSF‐sCD163 increased in late‐stage PD and correlated with the PD biomarkers alpha‐synuclein, Tau, and phosphorylated Tau, whereas it inversely correlated with the patients' cognitive scores, supporting monocyte involvement in neurodegeneration and cognition in PD. Serum‐sCD163 increased only in female patients, suggesting a sex‐distinctive monocyte response. CSF‐sCD163 also correlated with molecules associated with adaptive and innate immune system activation and with immune cell recruitment to the brain. Serum‐sCD163 correlated with proinflammatory cytokines and acute‐phase proteins, suggesting a relation to chronic systemic inflammation. Our in vitro study showed that alpha‐synuclein activates macrophages and induces shedding of sCD163, which in turn enhances alpha‐synuclein uptake by myeloid cells, potentially participating in its clearance.

Conclusions

Our data present sCD163 as a potential cognition‐related biomarker in PD and suggest a role for monocytes in both peripheral and brain immune responses. This may be directly related to alpha‐synuclein's proinflammatory capacity but could also have consequences for alpha‐synuclein processing. © 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Defective Somatosensory Inhibition and Plasticity Are Not Required to Develop Dystonia
Authors: Latorre Anna , Cocco Antoniangela , Bhatia Kailash P. , Erro Roberto , Antelmi Elena , Conte Antonella , Rothwell John C. , Rocchi Lorenzo
Published: December 2020

Background

Dystonia may have different neuroanatomical substrates and pathophysiology. This is supported by studies on the motor system showing, for instance, that plasticity is abnormal in idiopathic dystonia, but not in dystonia secondary to basal ganglia lesions.

Objective

The aim of this study was to test whether somatosensory inhibition and plasticity abnormalities reported in patients with idiopathic dystonia also occur in patients with dystonia caused by basal ganglia damage.

Methods

Ten patients with acquired dystonia as a result of basal ganglia lesions and 12 healthy control subjects were recruited. They underwent electrophysiological testing at baseline and after a single 45‐minute session of high‐frequency repetitive somatosensory stimulation. Electrophysiological testing consisted of somatosensory temporal discrimination, somatosensory‐evoked potentials (including measurement of early and late high‐frequency oscillations and the spatial inhibition ratio of N20/25 and P14 components), the recovery cycle of paired‐pulse somatosensory‐evoked potentials, and primary motor cortex short‐interval intracortical inhibition.

Results

Unlike previous reports of patients with idiopathic dystonia, patients with acquired dystonia did not differ from healthy control subjects in any of the electrophysiological measures either before or after high‐frequency repetitive somatosensory stimulation, except for short‐interval intracortical inhibition, which was reduced at baseline in patients compared to control subjects.

Conclusions

The data show that reduced somatosensory inhibition and enhanced cortical plasticity are not required for the clinical expression of dystonia, and that the abnormalities reported in idiopathic dystonia are not necessarily linked to basal ganglia damage. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Telehealth policies make difference in MH service access
Authors: Canady Valerie A.
Published: December 2020

While telehealth is no substitute for in‐person care, especially for consumers with serious mental health conditions or who are early in their recovery, the virtual technology has generally made a considerable difference for consumers in need of mental health service access, says the director of policy and advocacy for the Mental Health Association (MHA) in New Jersey.
Scaled diagonal‐times‐Toeplitz splitting iteration methods for solving discretized spatial fractional diffusion equations
Authors: Zeng Min‐Li , Zhang Guo‐Feng
Published: December 2020

In this paper, we firstly give a scaled diagonal‐times‐Toeplitz splitting (SDTS) iteration method for solving the discretization system from one‐dimensional spatial fractional diffusion equations of variable coefficients. The SDTS iteration methods can be used to solve the one‐dimensional spatial fractional diffusion equations of both anisotropic and isotropic, while the respectively scaled HSS (RSHSS) iteration method can be used only to solve anisotropic spatial fractional diffusion equations. Therefore, the SDTS iteration method is of wider range of applications than the RSHSS iteration method. Furthermore, the SDTS iteration method will naturally lead to a scaled diagonal‐times‐circulant splitting (SDCS) preconditioner. Theoretical analysis shows that the eigenvalues of the corresponding preconditioned matrix are clustered around 1. Numerical experiments are provided, which demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the SDCS preconditioned GMRES method for solving the proposed examples.
On the modification and convergence of unconstrained optimal control using pseudospectral methods
Authors: Ghassemi Hussein , Maleki Mohammad , Allame Masoud
Published: December 2020

A modified pseudospectral (PS) method is presented based on direct Legendre interpolation for unconstrained optimal control problems (OCP). The conditions for the convergence of the proposed PS method are provided and it is proved that the method possesses the spectral accuracy for solutions in appropriate Sobolev spaces. Different from existing convergence results in the literature, in this new analysis neither special cases of the problem nor relaxing the discretized dynamics is considered. Moreover, the proof does not use necessary conditions of optimal control. An iterative procedure is then proposed for nonlinear OCPs. The nonlinear problem is first replaced with a sequence of linear‐quadratic OCPs by utilizing the quasilinearization technique. Then, this sequence of problems are successively solved using the modified PS method. In some nonlinear OCPs where the resulting nonlinear programming problem is dense, the PS method becomes computationally intractable. In such a this problems, the iterative PS method reduces the computational complexity and saves work. In addition, a new efficient costate estimation procedure is derived by employing the necessary optimality conditions. This new costate estimation method is flexible in that it allows us to define three different schemes based on the structure of the problem. Several examples of varying complexity are included to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed methods.
The composition differences between small black beans and big black beans from different habitats and its effects on the processing of Polygonum multiflorum
Authors: Chen Wanning , Wang Piao , Chen Hongxi , Xing Yanchao , Liu Caixiang , Pan Guixiang , Dou Zhiying , Han Lifeng
Published: December 2020

Introduction

The roots of Polygonum multiflorum (PM) serve as a classical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which has multiple biological activities. However, many cases of hepatotoxicity in PM have been reported in recent years. Processing PM with black beans decoction is one of the typical processing methods to reduce the hepatotoxicity of PM since ancient times.

Objectives

To find potential effective constituents, as well as the optimal variety and origin of black beans for the processing of PM.

Methods

Based on ultrahigh‐performance liquid chromatography Q‐Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐Q‐Orbitrap‐MS) analysis, we measured the contents of the two potential toxic compounds (emodin‐8‐O‐glucoside and torachrysone‐O‐hexose) in raw PM (R‐PM), PM processed with big black beans (B‐PM) and PM processed with small black beans (S‐PM). The flow cytometry method analysed the effects of different processed products of PM on apoptosis of L02 cells in different drug concentration. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H‐NMR) and UHPLC‐Q‐Orbitrap‐MS together with multivariate statistical analysis were used to systematically analyse the different components between small black beans (Small‐BB) and big black beans (Big‐BB) from 30 different habitats.

Results

The toxicity was ranked from small to large: S‐PM < B‐PM < R‐PM. Processing PM with black beans could significantly decrease the apoptosis rate of L02 cells, especially when the drug concentration is 80 μg/mL. Besides, we find five differential compounds (α‐arabinose, α‐galactose, proline, isomer of daidzein and isomer of genistein) may be potential active ingredients. In terms of the black beans collected from 30 producing areas, we find that Small‐BB from Weifang in Shandong province was optimum to processing PM, followed by Shangqiu in Henan province, Jilin and Liaoning province.

Conclusion

The ingredients that affect the processing of PM may be attributed to α‐arabinose, α‐galactose, proline, isomer of daidzein and isomer of genistein in black beans. When the drug concentration is higher, the effect of reducing the hepatotoxicity of PM is better. Besides, Small‐BB was more effective than Big‐BB for reducing the toxicity of PM, especially Small‐BB from Weifang in Shandong, Shangqiu in Henan province and northeast China.
Image‐based deep learning in diagnosing the etiology of pneumonia on pediatric chest X‐rays
Authors: E Longjiang , Zhao Baisong , Liu Hongsheng , Zheng Changmeng , Song Xingrong , Cai Yi , Liang Huiying
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Comparing the efficacy of a deep‐learning model in classifying the etiology of pneumonia on pediatric chest X‐rays (CXRs) with that of human readers.

Methods

We built a clinical‐pediatric CXR set containing 4035 patients to exploit a deep‐learning model called Resnet‐50 for differentiating viral from bacterial pneumonia. The dataset was split into training (80%) and validation (20%). Model performance was assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve (AUC) on the first test set of 400 CXRs collected from different studies. For the second test set composed of 100 independent examinations obtained from the daily clinical practice at our institution, the kappa coefficient was selected to measure the interrater agreement in a pairwise fashion for the reference standard, all reviewers, and the model. Gradient‐weighted class activation mapping was used to visualize the significant areas contributing to the model prediction.

Results

On the first test set, the best‐performing classifier achieved an AUC of 0.919 (p < .001), with a sensitivity of 79.0% and specificity of 88.9%. On the second test set, the classifier achieved performance similar to that of human experts, which resulted in a sensitivity of 74.3% and specificity of 90.8%, positive and negative likelihood ratios of 8.1 and 0.3, respectively. Contingence tables and kappa values further revealed that expert reviewers and model reached substantial agreements on differentiating the etiology of pediatric pneumonia.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that the model performed similarly as human reviewers and recognized the regions of pathology on CXRs.
Association of vitamin D status at birth with pulmonary disease morbidity in very preterm infants
Authors: Zhang Xuefei , Luo Kaiju , He Xiaori , Chen Pingyang
Published: December 2020

Objective

We aimed to assess whether serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels at birth are associated with pulmonary disease morbidities in very preterm infants.

Methods

This prospective cohort analysis included 93 infants born before 32 weeks of gestation in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between March 2016 and February 2017. Participants were classified into three groups according to their 25(OH)D levels at birth. The groups were compared in terms of demographic variables and pulmonary disease morbidities.

Results

The mean serum 25(OH)D level at birth was 35.7 ± 19.1 nmol/L, and 38 (40.9%), 31 (33.3%), and 24 (25.8%) infants had 25(OH)D levels of less than 25 nmol/L, 25–50 nmol/L, and more than or equal to 50 nmol/L, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) rates among the three groups (43.6% vs. 35.9% vs. 20.5%, p = .029). The rates of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, apnea, respiratory failure, persistent pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary hemorrhage did not differ significantly among the groups. Logistic analysis, adjusted for gestational age and birth weight, showed that a low serum 25(OH)D level (<50 nmol/L) was a risk factor for RDS (odds ratio, 0.195; p = .017).

Conclusion

There was a high prevalence of low 25(OH)D levels (<50 nmol/L) and an association between vitamin D status and RDS in very preterm infants. However, more research on this association is required.
Research on Regenerating Activated Carbon in 2,4,6‐Trinitrotoluene (TNT) Explosives Manufacturing Industry by Microwave Radiation and Ionized Nitrogen
Authors: Nhi Bui Dinh
Published: December 2020

Currently, 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosive plants often apply activated carbon to treat aromatic nitrogen compounds in wastewater, so finding optimal measures to regenerate activated carbon is essential. The method of using microwave radiation in combination with the ionized current of nitrogen was studied. The results showed that the application of the above method helped the regeneration efficiency of activated carbon reach 95.26 % after 60 minutes of treatment. The optimum conditions were given with an microwave power of 500 W, a nitrogen pressure of 0.015 MPa. The above method has a high environmental significance when the effluent after regeneration has a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 130 mg/l, allowing it to be discharged into the environment. The method also makes economic sense when activated carbon can be regenerated many times.
Oxygen‐Rich Non‐Graphitic Carbon Derived from Citrus sinensis for High‐Energy Density Pseudocapacitive Charge Storage
Authors: Tiwari Bhumika , Joshi Akanksha , Mohan Priyank , Kishore Sharma Raj , Singh Gurmeet
Published: December 2020

Non‐graphitic carbon is a potential supercapacitor electrode material attributed to the combination of dense porous structure and high surface area. However, production cost limits its high usage. Herein, inexpensive and sustainable flavonoids rich precursor Citrus sinensis is utilized for synthesis of non‐graphitic carbon and is characterised using XRD, Raman, XPS & BET. For controlled porosity, KOH activation at two different temperatures (750 °C & 900 °C) is carried out that result in controlled meso/macro porous carbon with 900 °C activation (AC‐900). The edges of pores with dangling oxygen functionalities (37 %) contributes to pseudocapacitive charge (385.91 F g−1) whereas meso/macro pore size distribution facilitates fast diffusion (0.78
10−9 cm2 s−1) in symmetric cell (AC‐900||AC‐900). Furthermore, an impressively high energy density (51.1 Wh kg−1 @ 0.75 A g−1) is obtained owing to this blend of controlled porous structure and oxygen functionalities. In future, this study will pave a path for designing of low cost non‐graphitic controlled porous structure carbon.
Progress in the Understanding and Applications of the Intrinsic Reactivity of Graphene‐Based Materials
Authors: Komeily-Nia Zahra , Qu Liang-Ti , Li Jing-Liang
Published: December 2020

Enhancing the intrinsic reactivity of graphene materials is essential for the development of low‐cost materials such as catalysts for various applications. Although an increasing understanding of the intrinsic reactivity of these materials is being achieved, the mechanisms of these materials for catalyzing various reactions have not been fully understood. It is believed that the intrinsic reactivity of pristine graphene originates from its edge and defect sites, and unpaired electrons (radicals) particularly of graphene oxide have also been demonstrated to contribute to the reactivity. Herein, the various edges and defects, and radicals, as well as their influences on the electron structure, reactivity, and applications of graphene‐based materials are reviewed and analyzed. Knowledge gaps in advancing the understanding of the structure–property–reactivity correlations of these materials are discussed.
Toward Molecular Cybernetics – the Art of Communicating Chemical Systems
Authors: Schmittel Michael , Howlader Prodip
Published: December 2020

The emerging field of molecular cybernetics has the potential to widely broaden our perception of chemistry. Chemistry will develop beyond its current focus that is mainly concerned with single transformations, pure compounds, and/or defined mixtures. On this way, chemistry will become autonomous, networked and smart through communicating molecules each of which serves a control engineering purpose, like the set of wheels in the machinery of life. The present personal account describes our latest developments in this field.
Triazolization of Enolizable Ketones with Primary Amines: A General Strategy toward Multifunctional 1,2,3‐Triazoles
Authors: Prakash Rashmi , Opsomer Tomas , Dehaen Wim
Published: December 2020

The development of metal‐free syntheses toward 1,2,3‐triazoles has been a burgeoning research area throughout the past decade. Despite the numerous advances, the scarceness of methods for the preparation of 1,5‐disubstituted 1,2,3‐triazoles from readily available substrates remained a challenge that was addressed by our group in 2016. A metal‐free three‐component reaction, which we have dubbed the triazolization reaction, was established for the rapid synthesis of 1,5‐disubstituted, fully functionalized and NH‐1,2,3‐triazoles. This novel approach stands out because it utilizes widely available starting materials, namely primary amines and enolizable ketones. Furthermore, the broad substrate scope is a major advantage, and was further expanded by the number of modified protocols that have been reported. Triazolization products have successfully found utility as intermediates in various synthetic transformations, and were the subject of a few interesting biological activity studies.
Occurrence and determinants of parental psychosocial stress and mental health disorders in parents and their children in early childhood: rationale, objectives, and design of the population-based SKKIPPI cohort study
Authors: Fricke J. , Bolster M. , Ludwig-Körner C. , Kuchinke L. , Schlensog-Schuster F. , Vienhues P. , Reinhold T. , Berghöfer A. , Roll S. , Keil T.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The postnatal period is a vulnerable time for parents and children but epidemiological and health care utilisation data for Germany on parental mental health during early childhood is scarce. This protocol describes the rationale, aim and study design of a population-based cohort study to assess the occurrence and determinants of psychosocial stress and mental health disorders, as well as the use and cost of health care and social services in early childhood.

Methods

As part of the collaborative SKKIPPI project, we will contact a random sample of 30,000 infants listed in the residents’ registration offices of three German towns and we expect to include 6,000 mother–child pairs. Both parents are invited to fill out an online screening questionnaire. Mothers with indications of psychosocial stress will be interviewed to assess mental health disorders, regulatory problems of their children, as well as health care and social services utilisation, with a follow-up assessment after 6 months.

Results

After description of sociodemographic and health data, we will analyse occurrences, patterns, and potential determinants (maternal age, social status, household factors, migration status etc.) of psychosocial stress and mental health disorders in the mothers and their children in early childhood.

Conclusions

Our study will identify potential risk and protective factors for postnatal mental health and health care utilization of psychosocially burdened families. This will help to improve prevention and treatment strategies to strengthen the parent–child relationship, to reduce persisting vulnerability of children, and to improve health care and social services.

Trial registration

The study has been registered in the German Clinical Trial Registry on February 8th 2019 (DRKS-ID: DRKS00016653).
Variability in nitrogen-derived trophic levels of Arctic marine biota
Authors: Hoondert Renske P. J. , van den Brink Nico W. , van den Heuvel-Greve Martine J. , Ragas Ad M. J. , Hendriks A. Jan
Published: December 2020

Stable isotopes are often used to provide an indication of the trophic level (TL) of species. TLs may be derived by using food-web-specific enrichment factors in combination with a representative baseline species. It is challenging to sample stable isotopes for all species, regions and seasons in Arctic ecosystems, e.g. because of practical constraints. Species-specific TLs derived from a single region may be used as a proxy for TLs for the Arctic as a whole. However, its suitability is hampered by incomplete knowledge on the variation in TLs. We quantified variation in TLs of Arctic species by collating data on stable isotopes across the Arctic, including corresponding fractionation factors and baseline species. These were used to generate TL distributions for species in both pelagic and benthic food webs for four Arctic areas, which were then used to determine intra-sample, intra-study, intra-region and inter-region variation in TLs. Considerable variation in TLs of species between areas was observed. This is likely due to differences in parameter choice in estimating TLs (e.g. choice of baseline species) and seasonal, temporal and spatial influences. TLs between regions were higher than the variance observed within regions, studies or samples. This implies that TLs derived within one region may not be suitable as a proxy for the Arctic as a whole. The TL distributions derived in this study may be useful in bioaccumulation and climate change studies, as these provide insight in the variability of trophic levels of Arctic species.
The Microscopic Derivation and Well-Posedness of the Stochastic Keller–Segel Equation
Authors: Huang Hui , Qiu Jinniao
Published: December 2020

In this paper, we propose and study a stochastic aggregation–diffusion equation of the Keller–Segel (KS) type for modeling the chemotaxis in dimensions $$d=2,3$$

d
=
2
,
3

. Unlike the classical deterministic KS system, which only allows for idiosyncratic noises, the stochastic KS equation is derived from an interacting particle system subject to both idiosyncratic and common noises. Both the unique existence of solutions to the stochastic KS equation and the mean-field limit result are addressed.
An observation-based scaling model for climate sensitivity estimates and global projections to 2100
Authors: Hébert Raphaël , Lovejoy Shaun , Tremblay Bruno
Published: December 2020

We directly exploit the stochasticity of the internal variability, and the linearity of the forced response to make global temperature projections based on historical data and a Green’s function, or Climate Response Function (CRF). To make the problem tractable, we take advantage of the temporal scaling symmetry to define a scaling CRF characterized by the scaling exponent H, which controls the long-range memory of the climate, i.e. how fast the system tends toward a steady-state, and an inner scale $$\tau \approx 2$$

τ
≈
2

  years below which the higher-frequency response is smoothed out. An aerosol scaling factor and a non-linear volcanic damping exponent were introduced to account for the large uncertainty in these forcings. We estimate the model and forcing parameters by Bayesian inference which allows us to analytically calculate the transient climate response and the equilibrium climate sensitivity as: $$1.7^{+0.3} _{-0.2}$$

1
.

7

-
0.2

+
0.3

  K and $$2.4^{+1.3} _{-0.6}$$

2
.

4

-
0.6

+
1.3

  K respectively (likely range). Projections to 2100 according to the RCP 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios yield warmings with respect to 1880–1910 of: $$1.5^{+0.4}_{-0.2}K$$

1
.

5

-
0.2

+
0.4

K

, $$2.3^{+0.7}_{-0.5}$$

2
.

3

-
0.5

+
0.7

  K and $$4.2^{+1.3}_{-0.9}$$

4
.

2

-
0.9

+
1.3

  K. These projection estimates are lower than the ones based on a Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 multi-model ensemble; more importantly, their uncertainties are smaller and only depend on historical temperature and forcing series. The key uncertainty is due to aerosol forcings; we find a modern (2005) forcing value of $$[-1.0, -0.3]\, \,\,\mathrm{Wm} ^{-2}$$

[
-
1.0
,
-
0.3
]

Wm

-
2

(90 % confidence interval) with median at $$-0.7 \,\,\mathrm{Wm} ^{-2}$$

-
0.7

Wm

-
2

. Projecting to 2100, we find that to keep the warming below 1.5 K, future emissions must undergo cuts similar to RCP 2.6 for which the probability to remain under 1.5 K is 48 %. RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5-like futures overshoot with very high probability.
Practical applicability of the STAMCO and ChOLE classification in cholesteatoma care
Authors: ten Tije Fleur A. , Merkus Paul , Buwalda Joeri , Blom Henk M. , Kramer Sophia E. , Pauw Robert Jan ,   DCD Consortium, Nyst Heike J. , van der Putten Lisa , Graveland Annemarie P. , Kingma Gerben G. , van Lange Jeroen W. L. , de Kuyper Guido T. M. , Schmidt Johan M. , Venker Jantine , Warmerdam Dick J. , Bruintjes Tjasse D. , Hemler Raphael J. B. , Langenhuijsen Kees J. , Winters Stephanie M. , Mud Jeroen , Holm Adriaan F. , Peek Ferdinand A. W. , Koopman Jan Pieter , Bom Steven J. H. , Tjong-Ayong Henri-Jacques , de Mönnink Jan Pieter , van Cruijsen Nynke Boelstra , de Boer Jurjan R. , Meinesz Sietske F. , Kruyt Josephina M. , Colnot David R. , Quak Jasper J. , Borggreven Pepijn A. , van de Langenberg Rick , Wedler-Peeters Adriana J. G. E. , Snel-Bongers Jorien , Kummer Eelco E. , ter Schiphorst Annette J.
Published: December 2020

Background

To compare cholesteatoma care internationally and to evaluate outcomes, ear surgeons must use the same terminology. However, a clear universal definition on how to describe the extension, destruction and accompanying morbidity caused by the cholesteatoma is lacking. The practical applicability by means of interrater agreement is assessed for the STAMCO and the ChOLE classification.

Methods

A total of 134 adult patients derived from the nationwide multicentre study in the Netherlands, entitled Dutch Cholesteatoma Data (DCD) were included. Retrospective analysis of 134 surgical reports according to the STAMCO and ChOLE classification for localisation/extension of the cholesteatoma, complication status and ossicular chain status. Both the percentage agreement and the interrater agreement were determined for each item of the classifications and interrater agreement was compared between the classifications as a whole.

Results

Differences in interrater agreement were found for both the localisation/extension of the cholesteatoma and ossicular chain status. STAMCO classification derived from the surgical report scored better on the localisation/extension of the cholesteatoma, whereas the ChOLE classification derived from the surgical report scored better on the status of the ossicular chain. In both classifications, complication status had a low agreement level but was also poorly registered in the surgical reports.

Conclusion

Both STAMCO and ChOLE will be beneficial in uniform registration of cholesteatoma pathology in practice. Modifications proposed for both classifications may make them even more practical applicable in the future. A common denominator obtained from these two classifications may be incorporated in a standardised surgical report to facilitate evaluation which make outcomes transferable towards both classifications.
Gender incongruence and gender dysphoria in childhood and adolescence—current insights in diagnostics, management, and follow-up
Authors: Claahsen - van der Grinten Hedi , Verhaak Chris , Steensma Thomas , Middelberg Tim , Roeffen Joep , Klink Daniel
Published: December 2020

Gender incongruence (GI) is defined as a condition in which the gender identity of a person does not align with the gender assigned at birth. Awareness and more social acceptance have paved the way for early medical intervention about two decades ago and are now part of good clinical practice although much robust data is lacking. Medical and mental treatment in adolescents with GI is complex and is recommended to take place within a team of mental health professionals, psychiatrists, endocrinologists, and other healthcare providers. The somatic treatment generally consists of the use of GnRH analogues to prevent the progression of biological puberty and subsequently gender-affirming hormonal treatment to develop sex characteristics of the self-identified gender and surgical procedures. However to optimize treatment regimens, long-term follow-up and additional studies are still needed.

What is known• The prevalence of gender dysphoria increased significantly in the past years and can lead to significant complaints and burdens especially during puberty.• Pubertal suppression and gender-affirmed treatment can be effectively used in adolescence with gender dysphoria.What is new• Transgender mental and medical healthcare is a long-lasting process during which not only the child/adolescent with GI but also their parents/family have to be counseled in making choices about their social, medical, and legal transitions.• There are an increasing number of transgender persons defining as nonbinary. Therefore, an individualized approach by an experienced team is necessary.
Mapping regularities in the solar irradiance data using complementary complexity measures
Authors: Mihailović Dragutin T. , Aksentijevic Aleksandar , Mihailović Anja
Published: December 2020

Solar irradiance represents one of the principal phenomena of interest in geophysics and recent research, especially which concerned with renewable energy, suggests that the complexity of solar irradiance time series offers important insights into the dynamics of different geophysical systems. We examined the complexity of the daily cumulative global horizontal irradiance (kWh/m2; dGHI in further text) recorded by satellite for 32 stations on the island of La Réunion over a 35-month period (2004–2006) using Kolmogorov complexity (KC) and a recently introduced measure—Aksentijevic–Gibson complexity (AG) which is capable of quantifying the complexity of both long and short strings. Previous examinations of physical data suggest that AG could represent a useful addition to the geophysical analysis toolkit. Our results demonstrate for the first time that running KC is capable of capturing periodic patterns in data and that AG is sensitive to both global/long-scale spatial and temporal structure and local/short-range complexity fluctuations. Importantly, we report a putative weekly periodicity which might be related to environmental factors and human activity. In conclusion, we suggest that AG could represent a useful tool in the study of solar irradiation time series but also with other types of geophysical data.
Effect of thermoplastic morphology on mechanical properties in laser-assisted joining of polyamide 6 with aluminum
Authors: Schricker Klaus , Bergmann Jean Pierre , Hopfeld Marcus , Spieß Lothar
Published: December 2020

This paper examined the joining zone between semi-crystalline polyamide 6 and aluminum EN AW 6082 in laser-based joining and evaluated the mechanical properties of the joint. The joint tests were carried out in overlap configuration and a characterized in terms of energy per unit length. The mechanical properties were examined to the point of cohesive failure. An increasing energy per unit length resulted in a reduced crosshead displacement in short-term testing and a decreased fatigue strength. Further material testing was carried out locally at various positions within the joining zone. The mechanical properties were correlated with results of a hardness test, thermoplastic morphology, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). By combining the findings with heat-treated samples at elevated temperatures, secondary crystallization was identified and evidenced as a primary effect among the changes in mechanical properties due to the heat treatment of the thermoplastic material.
Mansfield Park
Authors: Austen Jane
Published: December 2020

In recent years, Mansfield Park has come to be regarded as Austen's most controversial novel. It was published in two editions in her lifetime and here the 1814 and 1816 texts are fully collated for the first time. All the variants are included on the page, allowing readers to see the differences between the first edition and the second, which include some important amendments made by Jane Austen herself. Also included, with a brief note on Elizabeth Inchbald, is the text of Lovers' Vows, the play around which much of the plot of Mansfield Park revolves. The volume, first published in 2005, provides comprehensive explanatory notes, an extensive critical introduction covering the context and publication history of the work, a chronology of Austen's life and an authoritative textual apparatus.
WEIGHTED COMPOSITION OPERATORS BETWEEN LORENTZ SPACES
Authors: LO CHING-ON , LOH ANTHONY WAI-KEUNG
Published: December 2020

We investigate the boundedness, compactness, invertibility and Fredholmness of weighted composition operators between Lorentz spaces. It is also shown that the classes of Fredholm and invertible weighted composition maps between Lorentz spaces coincide when the underlying measure space is nonatomic.
Is Power Noumenal in Nature?
Authors: Besch Thomas M.
Published: December 2020

This paper engages Rainer Forst's doctrine of noumenal power. At the centre of this doctrine is its signature claim that power is noumenal in nature. I reconstruct Forst's definition of power and distinguish three conceptions of noumenal power in his writings. I argue that, on each conception, we should reject that claim. It emerges that the professed noumenality of power is either a trivial feature of power, or else a feature only of some forms of power. Consequently, Forst's definition of power cannot be adequate and the claim that power is noumenal in nature is either trivial or false.
EFFECTIVE BOUNDS FOR THE NUMBER OF MMP-SERIES OF A SMOOTH THREEFOLD
Authors: MARTINELLI DILETTA
Published: December 2020

We prove that the number of MMP-series of a smooth projective threefold of positive Kodaira dimension and of Picard number equal to three is at most two.
Mysticism without the Mustikos? Some Reflections on Stephen Palmquist’s Mystical Kant
Authors: Medhananda (Ayon Maharaj) Swami
Published: December 2020

This article critically examines some of the main arguments of Stephen Palmquist’s Kant and Mysticism. While I agree with Palmquist that Kant admits the possibility of certain indirect forms of mystical experience, I argue that Palmquist makes Kant out to be more of a mystic than he actually was. In particular, I contend that Palmquist fails to provide convincing justification of two of his main claims: (1) that Kant was a mystic or at least had strong mystical tendencies and (2) that some of the experiences that are central to Kant’s philosophy are best understood as mystical experiences.
A Fresh Perspective on Intricate Volcanic Plumbing Systems
Authors: Galland Olivier , Mescua Jose , Palma Octavio , Mar�n Graciela , Albino Johnny
Published: December 2020

Combining commercial hydrocarbon and mineral exploration data with novel academic research and modeling capabilities helps answer key questions about underground magma systems.
Students Monitor Campus Noise in Seismic Silence
Authors: Cuellar Carolina
Published: December 2020

Researchers are engaging their students with low-cost seismology research to monitor local noise on campus.
The Location of the Earth's Magnetic Poles From Circum‐Terrestrial Observations
Authors: Regi M. , Di Mauro D. , Lepidi S.
Published: December 2020

The magnetic poles or dip poles are the points on the Earth's surface and circum‐terrestrial area where the magnetic field is vertical, so the horizontal component vanishes. They are not coincident with geomagnetic poles, which are the points where the dipole axis, obtained by analytic models, intersects the Earth's surface, and their instrumental sampling determination from ad hoc ground surveys is difficult due to the harsh environmental conditions and remoteness of the areas where they are located. In this work, we use magnetic field measurements from ESA's Swarm satellites covering 5 years (2015–2019), and determine the position of the magnetic poles by modeling the yearly average horizontal magnetic field component through analytic two‐dimensional Taylor polynomial fit and finding the locations where this component is minimum. The yearly dip poles positions at average satellites geocentric altitudes are also projected at ground level based on WGS84 geodetic reference system. Reliability of our method is evaluated by an optimized Monte Carlo test applied to combined International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) model and Swarm data. The availability of several years of data allows us to investigate the long term variation and dynamics of the magnetic poles, also in comparison with the results provided by IGRF model (both IGRF12 and IGRF13). Our results agree with the model, in better accordance in the north hemisphere with IGRF13, indicating that both magnetic poles move in the north‐west direction, with a speed of ∼37–72 km/y (lower in year 2016) for the north dip pole and of ∼5–9 km/y for the south one.
Laboratory Experiments Contrasting Growth of Uniformly and Nonuniformly Spaced Hydraulic Fractures
Authors: Gunaydin Delal , Peirce Anthony P. , Bunger Andrew P.
Published: December 2020

Hydraulic fractures that grow in close proximity to one an other interact and compete for fluid that is injected to the wellbore, leading to dominance of some fractures and suppression of others. This phenomenon is ubiquitously encountered in stimulation of horizontal wells in the petroleum industry and it also bears possible relevance to emplacement of multiple laterally propagating swarms of magma‐driven dykes. Motivated by a need to validate mechanical models, this paper focuses on laboratory experiments and their comparison to simulation results for the behavior of multiple, simultaneously growing hydraulic fractures. The experiments entail the propagation of both uniformly and nonuniformly spaced hydraulic fractures by injection of glucose or glycerin‐based solutions into transparent (polymethyl methacrylate) blocks. Observed fracture growth is then compared to predictions of a fully coupled, parallel‐planar 3D hydraulic fracturing simulator. Results from experiments and simulations confirm the suppression of inner fractures when the spacing between the fractures is uniform. For certain non‐uniform spacing, both experiments and simulations show mitigated suppression of the central fractures. Specifically, the middle fracture in a 5‐fracture array grows nearly equally to the outer fractures from the beginning of injection. Furthermore, with some delay, the other two fractures that are suppressed with uniformly spaced configurations grow, and eventually achieve a velocity exceeding the other three fractures in the array. Hence, these experiments give the first laboratory evidence of a model‐predicted behavior wherein certain nonuniform fracture spacings result in drastic increases in the growth of all fractures within the array.
Detection of parvovirus mRNAs as markers for viral activity in endomyocardial biopsy-based diagnosis of patients with unexplained heart failure
Authors: Pietsch Heiko , Escher Felicitas , Aleshcheva Ganna , Lassner Dirk , Bock Claus-Thomas , Schultheiss Heinz-Peter
Published: December 2020

Erythroparvovirus (B19V) genomes have been detected in various organs of infected individuals including endothelial cells of the heart muscle. However, the role of B19V as a causative pathogen of myocardial damage is still unknown. The majority of reports focus on the presence of viral DNA ignoring proof of viral RNAs as important markers for viral activity. During this study, we established (RT-) qPCR to characterize expression of B19V RNAs (NS1 and VP1/2) in endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) of 576 patients with unexplained heart failure. 403/576 (70%) EMBs were positive for B19V DNA. B19V mRNAs NS1 and/or VP1/2, indicating viral activity, could be detected in 38.5% of B19V DNA positive samples using the newly established B19V RT-PCRs. 22.1% of samples were characterized by only NS1 mRNA detection while 6.0% revealed only VP1/2 mRNA expression. Detection of both intermediates was successful in 10.4% of samples. Applying the molecular testing, our study revealed that a high proportion (38.5%) of B19V DNA positive EMBs was characterized by viral transcriptional activity. Further prospective studies will evaluate relevance of viral transcription intermediates as a diagnostic marker to differentiate between latent B19V infection and clinically relevant transcriptionally active B19V-infection of the heart muscle.
Effects and safety of Psilocybe cubensis and Panaeolus cyanescens magic mushroom extracts on endothelin-1-induced hypertrophy and cell injury in cardiomyocytes
Authors: Nkadimeng Sanah M. , Steinmann Christiaan M. L. , Eloff Jacobus N.
Published: December 2020

Prevalence of major depression in people with chronic heart failure is higher than in normal populations. Depression in heart failure has become a major issue. Psilocybin-containing mushrooms commonly known as magic mushrooms, have been used since ancient times for their mind healing properties. Their safety in cardiovascular disease conditions is not fully known and may pose as a risk for users suffering from these illnesses. Study investigates the effects and safety of Psilocybe cubensis and Panaeolus cyanescens magic mushrooms use from genus Psilocybe and Panaeolus respectively, in a pathological hypertrophy conditions in which endothelin-1 disorder is a contributor to pathogenesis. We examined the effects of the mushrooms extracts on endothelin-1-induced hypertrophy and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF- α)-induced cell injury in H9C2 cardiomyocytes. Mushrooms were oven dried and extracted with cold and boiling-hot water. H9C2 cardiomyocytes were induced with endothelin-1 prior to treatment with extracts over 48 h. Cell injury was stimulated with TNF-α. Results proposed that the water extracts of Panaeolus cyanescens and Psilocybe cubensis did not aggravate the pathological hypertrophy induced by endothelin-1 and also protected against the TNF-α-induced injury and cell death in concentrations used. Results support medicinal safe use of mushrooms under controlled conditions and cautioned use of higher concentrations.
In-vivo efficacy of biodegradable ultrahigh ductility Mg-Li-Zn alloy tracheal stents for pediatric airway obstruction
Authors: Wu Jingyao , Mady Leila J. , Roy Abhijit , Aral Ali Mübin , Lee Boeun , Zheng Feng , Catalin Toma , Chun Youngjae , Wagner William R. , Yang Ke , Trejo Bittar Humberto E. , Chi David , Kumta Prashant N.
Published: December 2020

Pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis is a complex congenital or acquired airway injury that may manifest into a potentially life-threatening airway emergency condition. Depending on the severity of obstruction, treatment often requires a combination of endoscopic techniques, open surgical repair, intraluminal stenting, or tracheostomy. A balloon expandable biodegradable airway stent maintaining patency while safely degrading over time may address the complications and morbidity issues of existing treatments providing a less invasive and more effective management technique. Previous studies have focused on implementation of degradable polymeric scaffolds associated with potentially life-threatening pitfalls. The feasibility of an ultra-high ductility magnesium-alloy based biodegradable airway stents was demonstrated for the first time. The stents were highly corrosion resistant under in vitro flow environments, while safely degrading in vivo without affecting growth of the rabbit airway. The metallic matrix and degradation products were well tolerated by the airway tissue without exhibiting any noticeable local or systemic toxicity.