bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A New Reflexive Turn: Glitches, Carbon Footprints, and Streaming Videos in Visual Anthropology
Authors: DeAngelo Darcie
Published: December 2022

The global climate crisis demands an ethical account for the environmental costs of anthropology. Anthropologists who trouble the boundaries between art and anthropology often ignore the damage done by their mediums. Digital streaming accounts for one percent of global emissions. The increasing reliance on a nearly invisible media provokes a new reflexive turn. This chapter outlines reflexive media in anthropology and beyond. Following the call for ‘patchwork ethnography’ where ethnographers conduct slow fieldwork, glitchy visual anthropology can also decolonize the energy-consuming, anthropologist filmmaker as hero. There are multiple opportunities for visual anthropologists to conduct ethnographies of a new reflexive media—an anthropology that is not anti-aesthetic. Such a reflexive turn explores eco-conscious streaming as part and parcel of ethnographic art, method, and outcome.
Random Ocean Swell-Rays: A Stochastic Framework
Authors: Resseguier Valentin , Hascoët Erwan , Chapron Bertrand
Published: December 2022

Originating from distant storms, swell systems radiate across all ocean basins. Far from their sources, emerging surface waves have low steepness characteristics, with very slow amplitude variations. Swell propagation then closely follows principles of geometrical optics, i.e. the eikonal approximation to the wave equation, with a constant wave period along geodesics, when following a wave packet at its group velocity. The phase averaged evolution of quasi-linear wave fields is then dominated by interactions with underlying current and/or topography changes. Comparable to the propagation of light in a slowly varying medium, over many wavelengths, cumulative effects can lead to refraction, i.e. change of the direction of propagation of a given wave packet, so that it departs from its initial ray-propagation direction. This opens the possibility of using surface swell systems as probes to estimate turbulence along their propagating path.
Modified (Hyper-)Viscosity for Coarse-Resolution Ocean Models
Authors: Thiry Louis , Li Long , Mémin Etienne
Published: December 2022

We present a simple parameterization for coarse-resolution ocean models. To replace computationally expensive high-resolution ocean models, we develop a computationally cheap parameterization for coarse-resolution models based solely on the modification of the viscosity term in advection equations. It is meant to reproduce the mean quantities like pressure, velocity, or vorticity computed from a high-resolution reference solution or using observations. We test this new parameterization on a double-gyre quasi-geostrophic model in the eddy-permitting regime. Our results show that the proposed scheme improves significantly the energy statistics and the intrinsic variability on the coarse mesh. This method shall serve as a deterministic basis model for coarse-resolution stochastic parameterizations in future works.
A Stochastic Benjamin-Bona-Mahony Type Equation
Authors: Dinvay Evgueni
Published: December 2022

Considered herein is a particular nonlinear dispersive stochastic equation. It was introduced recently in Dinvay and Mémin (Proc. R. Soc. A. 478:20220050, 2022), as a model describing surface water waves under location uncertainty. The corresponding noise term is introduced through a Hamiltonian formulation, which guarantees the energy conservation of the flow. Here the initial-value problem is studied.
Variational Stochastic Parameterisations and Their Applications to Primitive Equation Models
Authors: Hu Ruiao , Patching Stuart
Published: December 2022

We present a numerical investigation into the stochastic parameterisations of the Primitive Equations (PE) using the Stochastic Advection by Lie Transport (SALT) and Stochastic Forcing by Lie Transport (SFLT) frameworks. These frameworks were chosen due to their structure-preserving introduction of stochasticity, which decomposes the transport velocity and fluid momentum into their drift and stochastic parts, respectively. In this paper, we develop a new calibration methodology to implement the momentum decomposition of SFLT and compare with the Lagrangian path methodology implemented for SALT. The resulting stochastic Primitive Equations are then integrated numerically using a modification of the FESOM2 code. For certain choices of the stochastic parameters, we show that SALT causes an increase in the eddy kinetic energy field and an improvement in the spatial spectrum. SFLT also shows improvements in these areas, though to a lesser extent. SALT does, however, have the drawback of an excessive downwards diffusion of temperature.
Die Zukunft des MINT-Lernens – Herausforderungen und Lösungsansätze
Authors: Roth Jürgen , Eilerts Katja , Baum Michael , Hornung Gabriele , Trefzger Thomas
Published: December 2022

In diesem Auftaktbeitrag zum Doppelband „Die Zukunft des MINT-Lernens“ werden von den Herausgebenden zentrale Aspekte der Diskussion über die Entwicklung des mathematischen, naturwissenschaftlichen und informatischen Unterrichts im Zeitalter der fortschreitenden Digitalisierung beleuchtet und wichtige Begriffe definiert. Er gibt einen Einblick in Facetten der 21st Century Skills, die für ein Leben in einer zunehmend digitalisierten Gesellschaft als nützlich oder gar notwendig erachtet werden und durch MINT-Unterricht gefördert werden können. Darüber hinaus wird auf Grundlage bekannter Modelle ein eigenes „Kompetenzmodell der Zukunft des MINT-Lernens für Lehrende“ präsentiert, das ausgehend vom vernetzten Professionswissen den Versuch unternimmt, die wesentlichen Facetten der Kompetenzen von Lehrpersonen und des Lehr-Lern-Prozesses abzubilden. Von hier aus wird der Bogen gespannt zu Definitionen für die Begriffe „digitale Technologien“, „digitale Werkzeuge“ und „digitale Lernumgebungen“. Es werden die Anwendung dieser digitalen Aspekte zur Förderung von Lernprozessen reflektiert und Qualitätskriterien sowie Ziele für deren Nutzung beschrieben. Auf dieser Grundlage wird abschließend ein Ausblick auf die Inhalte aller 22 weiteren Beiträge des Doppelbands gegeben.
Untersuchung von Usability und Design von Online-Lernplattformen am Beispiel des Video-Analysetools ViviAn
Authors: Scherb Christian Alexander , Rieger Marc , Roth Jürgen
Published: December 2022

Die systematische Untersuchung der Gebrauchstauglichkeit (Usability) von Online-Lernplattformen stellt eine wichtige Voraussetzung dar, um die Erfahrungen, Probleme und Wünsche der Nutzerinnen und Nutzer angemessen einschätzen sowie bei der Gestaltung oder Weiterentwicklung des E-Learning-Angebots einbeziehen zu können. Dieses Kapitel zeigt am Beispiel der Online-Lernplattform ViviAn, wie das Vorhaben einer Usability-Evaluation gelingen kann. Das Nutzungsverhalten bei der Bearbeitung von Lerneinheiten wurde über einen mehrwöchigen Erhebungszeitraum mittels Matomo Analytics für 168 Studierende erfasst und quantifiziert. Ergänzend füllten die Teilnehmenden einen Fragebogen aus, in dem Einschätzungen zu verschiedenen Aspekten der Lernplattform erhoben wurden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Lernplattform überdurchschnittlich gut bewertet wird. Die Auswertung zeigt darüber hinaus, dass die Mehrheit der Nutzerinnen und Nutzer mit einer geeigneten Bildschirmauflösung gearbeitet und die neu hinzugefügten Funktionalitäten (z. B. Skalierbarkeit und Verschiebbarkeit von Fenstern und Menüs) auch genutzt haben. Im Zuge der Auswertung der Freitextantworten konnten weitere Usability-Probleme und Wünsche identifiziert werden, die im Rahmen der Weiterentwicklung von ViviAn berücksichtigt werden, um einen – gemäß der Usability-Definition – noch effektiveren, effizienteren und zufriedenstellenderen Gebrauch der Plattform zu ermöglich.
Ein Beispielansatz zur Vermittlung von digitaler Kompetenz im MINT-Lehramtsstudium
Authors: Lachmann Clarissa , Ghomi Mina , Pinkwart Niels
Published: December 2022

Unser Schulsystem braucht digital kompetente Lehrkräfte. Daher ist es unumgänglich, Lehramtsstudierende mit diesen Kompetenzen auszustatten. Dieser Beitrag befasst sich mit der Frage danach, ob die Förderung digitaler Kompetenzen im Lehramtsstudium an deutschen Universitäten stattfindet und wie eine solche Förderung aussehen kann. Dafür wurde eine Dokumentenanalyse durchgeführt und anschließend ein Seminar zur Förderung der berufsbezogenen digitalen Kompetenzen von Lehramtsstudierenden konzipiert und evaluiert. Als Kompetenzrahmen diente dabei der Europäische Rahmen für die digitale Kompetenz von Lehrenden (Redecker, 2017). Das Seminar wurde in einem Pre-Post-Design auf seine Wirksamkeit untersucht. Alle Teilnehmenden schätzten nach Beendigung des Seminars ihre digitale Kompetenz als verbessert ein. Vermutete Effekte in Bezug auf den Einfluss des Faktors MINT-Studium auf die digitale Kompetenz konnten, auch aufgrund der kleinen Stichprobengröße, nicht festgestellt werden. Die Aussagen zur Wirksamkeit sind ebenfalls nur eingeschränkt zu betrachten, da unter den Teilnehmenden keine Anfängerinnen und Anfänger waren. Hier gilt es, weitere Untersuchungen anzustellen.
Analysis and Comparison of Two Different Sensing Techniques for In Situ Coating Thickness Measurements
Authors: Hudomalj Uroš , Fallahi Sichani Ehsan , Weiss Lukas , Nabavi Majid , Wegener Konrad
Published: December 2022

Coating thickness is considered to be one of the most important characteristics of thermally sprayed coatings. Therefore, it has long been the goal to be able to control it. This could be achieved by implementing an online, closed-loop control. A prerequisite for such a control mechanism is a feedback signal of the coating thickness with sufficiently small measurement uncertainty. Optical distance measurement techniques have been demonstrated in the past to produce promising results for such applications. This paper analyzes the measurement uncertainty of an optical distance measurement technique based on confocal distance sensors used for in situ coating thickness evaluation. As an alternative, pneumatically actuated length gauges are also used for the in situ measurement. Both techniques are applied during atmospheric plasma spraying of samples in a carousel setup. The two sensing techniques are compared with a reference, destructive coating thickness measurement method. Pros and cons of using different in situ coating thickness measurement techniques for process control applications are discussed.
Kindergarten Children and Early Learning of Number: Embodied and Material Encounters Within the Classroom
Authors: Ferrara Francesca , Ferrari Giulia
Published: December 2022

In this article, we draw on assemblage theory to investigate how children aged 5 engage with different material surfaces to explore ordinal and relational aspects of number. The children participate in an activity in which they first interact with a strip on the floor, then with a multi-touch iPad application, to work with numbers in expressive ways. Focus is on the physicality and materiality of the activity and the provisional ways that children, surfaces, and number come together. While the notion of assemblage helps us see how movement animates the mathematical activity, we enrich our understanding of the entanglement of children, matter, and number as sustained by coordinated movements, from which numbers emerge as relations.
Manifestations of Coherence and Investor-State Arbitration
Authors: Giannakopoulos Charalampos
Published: December 2022

Coherence is highly valued in law. It is especially sought after in investor-state dispute settlement, where charges of incoherence in arbitral awards have long been raised by states and scholars. Yet coherence is a largely underexplored notion in international law. Often, it is treated as a mere ideal to strive towards or simply as a different way to describe the legal consistency of judicial outcomes. This book takes a different approach. It sees coherence as an independent concept having two dimensions: a substantive and a methodological one. Both are critically important for legal reasoning by international courts and tribunals, including by investor-state tribunals, and the book illustrates through several case studies some of the ways this conclusion is borne out in practice. A fuller understanding of coherence in international law has implications for our understanding of the concept of law, the practice of legal reasoning, and judicial professional ethics.
Reconsidering the Tartarean Geography of theIliad: Traces of a Far-Away Tartarus and the Narrative Significance of Localisation
Authors: Gordon Joel A.
Published: December 2022

This paper argues for a novel conception of Iliadic Tartarus as a fluid liminal space which includes a superterranean context alongside its (traditionally realised) subterranean localisation. A close reading ofIliad8.477–81 reveals traces of superterranean imagery which, alongside the traditional subterranean reading of 8.13–6 and 14.198–311, allows for the identification of a fluid, dual-model of Tartarean space within the background of the poem. Further, grounded in recent developments regarding dual localisation within Homeric narrative, this paper explores how localisation can reflect narrative and/or thematic concerns, rather than exclusively denoting spatial-physical realities. Thus, the use of geographical imagery within the three Tartarean passages is examined for its narrative/thematic significance, considering themes such as the hierarchy of the gods and narrative developments such as the relocation of Zeus’ positioning within the larger cosmos. The identification of such nuances, in turn, provides a precedent for retaining ‘conflicting’ or fluid geographical space(s) within the narrative despite the ‘contradictions’ that they embody.
Pertinax and Plots in theHistoria Augusta: A Dismissal in 170 and Two Conspiracies in 193 CE
Authors: Jarvis Paul
Published: December 2022

This article examines two attempted senatorial coups against Pertinax during his brief reign in 193 CE. By examining literary and epigraphic evidence related to these coups, I argue that Pertinax's political opponents in 193 should be understood to come from a particular political and dynastic network, and that this network represents the final attempt of the connections of Lucius Verus to compete for the imperial power. Further support for this argument is adduced via an analysis of Pertinax's dismissal from a procuratorial post in 170, where there is circumstantial and prosopographical evidence to suggest opposition deriving from connections of this same network earlier in his career. I conclude by discussing how, through the analysis of these coups and similar incidents, we may gain insights into socio-political conflicts at a crisis point for the imperial aristocracy, and how they illustrate the ongoing importance of Antonine dynastic politics, ever-present but sometimes difficult to see.
Decimatio:Myth, Discipline, and Death in the Roman Republic
Authors: Taylor Michael J.
Published: December 2022

The military punishment ofdecimatio, the cudgelling by lot of one in ten men in a disgraced unit, often described as a cornerstone of Roman military discipline, was never practised during the third and second centuries BC. The punishment was possibly used as an extraordinary measure a couple of times in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. It soon fell into total desuetude but was cultivated as a rhetorical construct that proclaimed theoretical powers commanders no longer dared effect. It was only revived, or rather reinvented, during the Late Republic, a violent moment that saw the confluence of antiquarian enthusiasm with military dynasts whose unrestrained powers allowed them to manifest what had previously been an aristocratic talking point.
The topological entropy of powers on Lie groups
Authors: PATRÃO MAURO
Published: December 2022

In this paper, we address the problem of computing the topological entropy of a map
$\psi : G \to G$
, where G is a Lie group, given by some power
$\psi (g) = g^k$
, with k a positive integer. When G is abelian,
$\psi $
is an endomorphism and its topological entropy is given by
$h(\psi ) = \dim (T(G)) \log (k)$
, where
$T(G)$
is the maximal torus of G, as shown by Patrão [The topological entropy of endomorphisms of Lie groups. Israel J. Math.234 (2019), 55–80]. However, when G is not abelian,
$\psi $
is no longer an endomorphism and these previous results cannot be used. Still,
$\psi $
has some interesting symmetries, for example, it commutes with the conjugations of G. In this paper, the structure theory of Lie groups is used to show that
$h(\psi ) = \dim (T)\log (k)$
, where T is a maximal torus of G, generalizing the formula in the abelian case. In particular, the topological entropy of powers on compact Lie groups with discrete center is always positive, in contrast to what happens to endomorphisms of such groups, which always have null entropy.
On the maximum dual volume of a canonical Fano polytope
Authors: Balletti Gabriele , Kasprzyk Alexander M. , Nill Benjamin
Published: December 2022

We give an upper bound on the volume

$\operatorname {vol}(P^*)$

of a polytope

$P^*$

dual to a d-dimensional lattice polytope P with exactly one interior lattice point in each dimension d. This bound, expressed in terms of the Sylvester sequence, is sharp and achieved by the dual to a particular reflexive simplex. Our result implies a sharp upper bound on the volume of a d-dimensional reflexive polytope. Translated into toric geometry, this gives a sharp upper bound on the anti-canonical degree

$(-K_X)^d$

of a d-dimensional Fano toric variety X with at worst canonical singularities.
Minority Rights, Governing Regimes, or Secular Elites: Who Benefits from the Protection of Religious and Anti-Religious Speech by the U.S. Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights?
Authors: Carrington Nathan T. , Keck Thomas M. , Sigsworth Claire
Published: December 2022

This paper draws on new data regarding judicial decisions involving religious and anti-religious expression to map the political beneficiaries of judicial empowerment. In particular, the paper assesses the extent to which free-expression decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights have favored claimants who are religious majorities, religious minorities, or secular elites. We find the U.S. doctrine relatively more libertarian and the European Court of Human Rights doctrine relatively more secularist, but both bodies of case law extend regular and substantial rights protection to religious minorities.
A comparative transcriptome analysis of the head of 1 and 9 days old worker honeybees (Apis mellifera)
Authors: Nazemi-Rafie Javad , Fatehi Foad , Hasrak Shabnam
Published: December 2022

The role of bees in the environment, economic, biodiversity and pharmaceutical industries is due to its social behavior, which is oriented from the brain and hypopharyngeal gland that is the center of royal jelly (RJ) production. Limited studies have been performed on the head gene expression profile at the RJ production stage. The aim of this study was to compare the gene expressions in 9 and 1-day-old (DO) honeybee workers in order to achieve better understanding about head gene expression pattern. After sequencing of RNAs, transcriptome and their networks were compared. The head expression profile undergoes various changes. 1662 gene transcripts had differential expressions which 1125 and 537 were up and down regulated, respectively, in 9_DO compared with 1_DO honey bees. The day 1th had more significant role in the expression of genes related to RJ production as major RJ protein 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9 encoding genes, but their maximum secretion occurred at day 9th. All process related to hypopharyngeal glands activities as CYP450 gene, fatty acid synthase gene, vitamin B6 metabolism and some of genes involved in fatty acid elongation and degradation process had an upward trend from 1_DO and were age-dependent. By increasing the age, the activity of pathways related to immune system increased for keeping the health of bees against the chemical compound. The expression of aromatic amino acid genes involved in Phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis pathway are essential for early stage of life. In 9_DO honeybees, the energy supplying, reducing stress, protein production and export pathways have a crucial role for support the body development and the social duties. It can be stated that the activity of honeybee head is focused on energy supply instead of storage, while actively trying to improve the level of cell dynamics for increasing the immunity and reducing stress. Results of current study identified key genes of certain behaviors of honeybee workers. Deeper considering of some pathways will be evaluated in future studies.
Predictive factors of revision stapes surgery in otosclerosis
Authors: Normant S , Gendre A , Boucher S , Godey B , Bordure P , Michel G
Published: December 2022

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate predictive factors for revision surgery in otosclerosis.

Methods

This was a retrospective, multicentre study in four tertiary centres. The primary objective was to investigate factors that were predictive of the need for revision stapes surgery.

Results

The ‘revision’ group included 145 patients, and the ‘control’ group included 143 patients. This study identified statistically significant predictive factors for the need for revision surgery: younger age, active smoking status, dyslipidaemia and high blood pressure. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of surgical technique or stapedotomy technique.

Conclusion

This study showed that patients who are candidates for primary stapes surgery with younger age, active smoking status, dyslipidaemia and high blood pressure are at higher risk of needing revision surgery. A holistic approach prior to stapes surgery with multidisciplinary assessment is recommended. These results are important for better patient counselling on expected outcomes and risks.
Factivity and complementizer omission in English embedded gapping
Authors: BÎLBÎIE GABRIELA , DE LA FUENTE ISRAEL , ABEILLÉ ANNE
Published: December 2022

Taking as a starting point the variation in introspective judgments on embedded gapping in English in the literature, the main goal of this paper is to test the ‘No Embedding Constraint’ experimentally. Building on a first experimental study designed to measure the interaction betweenthat-omission and factivity in English embedded complement clauses, we conducted two experiments testing the role of the complementizer in embedded gapping, paying special attention to the semantic nature of the matrix predicates (non-factives vs semi-factives vs true factives). Our results show, on the one hand, that the ‘No Embedding Constraint’ makes too strong claims that are not backed up by our experimental findings, and, on the other hand, that embedded gapping is affected by both the presence/absence ofthatand by the semantic class of the matrix predicate in English. In particular, embedded gapping seems to be more acceptable under non-factive verbs, especially in the absence of a complementizer. Both constraints (that-omission and factivity) can be accounted for by a constructionist fragment-based analysis, where the gapped clause is a non-finite phrase that has to address the same Question Under Discussion as its source. This explains, in turn, why embedded gapping under true factive predicates is considered significantly less acceptable. We show that the acceptable cases of embedded gapping involve true syntactic embedding (so, the matrix clause has no parenthetical use). We conclude that English has the same sensitivity to the semantic class of the matrix predicate as other languages, but that the requirements on the presence/absence ofthatare English specific.
Debt and Mental Well-being Among Older Adults: Does Employment Status Matter? – Combining Population Inference and Target Trial Frameworks
Authors: Hiilamo Aapo
Published: December 2022

While debts are widely used financial tools, few longitudinal studies investigating potential causal links between debts and mental wellbeing exist among older adults. Older adults, particularly those not employed, are less likely to have increasing incomes to help them pay off their debts. This study investigates whether older adults with non-mortgage debts in three different labour market states have lower mental wellbeing and, separately, whether it is likely that reducing their debts helps to improve mental wellbeing. Using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, the study focuses on the English context, which is particularly interesting due to the high levels of, and a unique policy approach to, private indebtedness.

The results indicate that people with debts have lower mental wellbeing (more depressive symptoms and lower quality of life) in all categories, but the mental pain linked to debts is stronger for people who are jobless (not working, not retired). The analysis from a causal perspective suggests that getting rid of debts may reduce depressive symptoms among people who are jobless but may also improve quality of life among the retired and employed. Both these findings suggest that mental health services should work closely with debt advice when needed.
Centralized Law Enforcement in Contemporary China: The Campaign to “Sweep Away Black Societies and Eradicate Evil Forces”
Authors: Yin Bo , Mou Yu
Published: December 2022

In 2018, China's general secretary, Xi Jinping, announced a three-year war on “black societies and evil forces” and promised to take down various forms of organized crime and evil forces within society. This article examines the operational features of this particular crackdown and how they diverged from previous “strike hard” campaigns. This campaign adopted novel strategies including embedding instructions on law enforcement within criminal justice institutions, promulgating special rules on the crimes of evil forces in order to “strike” campaign targets early, and deploying intrusive investigation tactics that focused on the person and not the crime. Using democratic centralism as a liberal lens, this campaign showcases the struggle between the imperative of legality and the politics of a major campaign in China.
Experiences and insights from partners of individuals with single-ventricle CHD: a pilot qualitative research study
Authors: Well Andrew , Lamari-Fisher Alexandra , Taylor Kate , Ulack Christopher , Lee Rachel , Affolter Jeremy T. , Colucci Jose , Van Diest Heather , Carberry Kathleen , Johnson Gregory , Fraser Charles D. , Mery Carlos M. ,   for The University of Texas at Austin CORAGE Initiative
Published: December 2022

Introduction:

With advances in care, an increasing number of individuals with single-ventricle CHD are surviving into adulthood. Partners of individuals with chronic illness have unique experiences and challenges. The goal of this pilot qualitative research study was to explore the lived experiences of partners of individuals with single-ventricle CHD.

Methods:

Partners of patients ≥18 years with single-ventricle CHD were recruited and participated in Experience Group sessions and 1:1 interviews. Experience Group sessions are lightly moderated groups that bring together individuals with similar circumstances to discuss their lived experiences, centreing them as the experts. Formal inductive qualitative coding was performed to identify salient themes.

Results:

Six partners of patients participated. Of these, four were males and four were married; all were partners of someone of the opposite sex. Themes identified included uncertainty about their partners’ future health and mortality, becoming a lay CHD specialist, balancing multiple roles, and providing positivity and optimism. Over time, they took on a role as advocates for their partners and as repositories of medical history to help navigate the health system. Despite the uncertainties, participants described championing positivity and optimism for the future.

Conclusions:

In this first-of-its-kind pilot study, partners of individuals with single-ventricle CHD expressed unique challenges and experiences in their lives. There is a tacit need to design strategies to help partners cope with those challenges. Further larger-scale research is required to better understand the experiences of this unique population.
Characterisation and long-term follow-up of children with Brugada syndrome: experience from a tertiary paediatric referral centre
Authors: Fernandes Sara I.L. , Carvalho Maria H. A. , Santos Isabel C.T. , Palma Andreia F.M. , Faim Diogo R.O. , Dias João M.O. , Borges Izidro R. , Martins Hélia A.F. , Pires António M.G.S.
Published: December 2022

Aims:

Brugada syndrome is an inherited condition, which typically presents in young adults. It can also be diagnosed in children, but data in this group remain scarce. This study aims to describe the clinical features, management, and follow-up of children with personal or family history of Brugada syndrome.

Methods:

Retrospective study of consecutive patients with Brugada history followed up in a tertiary paediatric referral centre between 2009 and 2021. Patients were assessed according to the phenotype: positive (with variable genotype) or negative (with positive genotype).

Results:

Thirty patients were included (mean age at diagnosis 7 ± 6 years, 53% male). Within the positive phenotype (n = 16), 81% were male, and 88% had spontaneous type 1 ECG pattern. A genetic test was performed in 88% and was positive in 57%. Fourteen patients had a negative phenotype–positive genotype, 79% female, all diagnosed during family screening; 43% mentioned family history of sudden cardiac death. Although most of the patients were asymptomatic, the prevalence of rhythm/conduction disturbances was not negligible, particularly if a positive phenotype. No clinically significant events were reported in the negative phenotype patients. Three patients were hospitalised due to an arrhythmic cause, all in patients with a positive phenotype.

Conclusion:

In our study, the documentation of rhythm and conduction disturbances was not infrequent, especially in patients with a positive phenotype. Despite the significant family history, phenotype negative patients had no relevant events during follow-up. Nevertheless, the management of these patients is not clear cut, and a personalised therapeutic strategy with close follow-up is essential.
The Rif War: A forgotten war?
Authors: Daudin Pascal
Published: December 2022

Approximately 100 years ago, a colonial conflict of great breadth began on the south side of the Mediterranean. Initially seen as an “indigenous” rebellion, the conflict evolved into an intense war, the final phase of which involved the intervention of two great colonial powers (France and Spain). Looking at the Rif War (1920–1926) in a region of what is now Morocco, then claimed by Spain, as an example, this article presents a critical analysis of a conflict rich in lessons for current humanitarian challenges and the sometimes-difficult relationship between humanitarian actors and the parties to a conflict. Assessed in the light of its human cost, which is largely forgotten today, the Rif War can feed debates through necessary historical reflection surrounding humanitarian action and the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross. It will also examine the complicated connections between historical truth, collective memory and the political difficulties inherent to reconciliation.
PRINCIPIA ON THE SENTENCES IN THE FACULTY OF THEOLOGY OF BOLOGNA: THE CASE OF AUGUSTINUS FAVARONI OF ROME, OESA (†1443)
Authors: BRÎNZEI MONICA
Published: December 2022

The Faculty of Theology of Bologna, founded in 1364, presents a paradox when we investigate its custom of performing principia on the Sentences prior to 1400. Although we are fortunate to have from Bologna the most complete surviving documentation concerning the organization of a medieval theology faculty, only two complete sets of principia have been identified so far from the matricula of 450 known scholastics. The situation hinders any comparative investigation that intends to test how what is depicted in the statutes is reflected in practice. The two surviving sets of principia from Bologna are those of the Cistercian Conrad of Ebrach, from 1368–1369, and the Augustinian Augustinus Favaroni of Rome, dating to 1388–1389. This study uses Augustinus Favaroni's principia to illustrate how this academic exercise functioned at the University of Bologna. It begins with a biographical sketch of Augustinus Favaroni of Rome followed by a short description of the principia as mirrored in the statutes of Bologna. It continues with a brief summary of each of the four principia of Favaroni reporting the philosophical and theological topics developed in his text, with an emphasis on the debates in which he engaged to defend his theses, and concludes with an appendix containing an edition of the four principia.
Falsch gelernt, weil falsch gelehrt?
Authors: Naumann Carl Ludwig
Published: December 2022

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Nicht wenige Autor_innen zur Rechtschreibdidaktik des Deutschen nehmen seit den 2000er-Jahre an, dass der Übergang vom lautorientierten zum korrekten Schreiben von Wörtern einen Strategie- bzw. Theoriewechsel erfordere, der schwerwiegende Folgen für Lernende haben könne. Diese Annahme wurde zwar in Lehrbücher übernommen, aber bislang nicht angemessen empirisch überprüft. Die Lücke versuchen Erdmann und Rummel (2022) mit einem der Bio-Psychologie entlehnten Ansatz zu schließen. Diskussion: Die Studienergebnisse stützen zwar diese Annahme. Jedoch modelliert das Versuchsdesign den kritischen Übergang zweifach unzureichend. Die Studie adaptiert und evaluiert – teilweise plausibel – eine anfänglich phonologisch orientierte Rechtschreib-Instruktionsmethode. Aber sie bildet nicht den Erwerb einer ersten Alphabetschrift ab, sondern einer zweiten. Und die nicht lautorientierten korrekten Wortschreibungen entsprechen, was auszuführen ist, strukturell und quantitativ eher dem Englischen als dem Deutschen mit seiner besonderen Struktur. Beide Kritikpunkte sollten in weiterführenden Studien beachtet werden.
Making Underwater Cables SMART with Sensors
Authors: Tripathy-Lang Alka
Published: December 2022

Future cables that stretch across the ocean, transmitting cat videos and financial transactions, could also contain temperature, pressure, and seismic sensors that would allow scientists to spy on the seafloor.
Were Impressionist Masters Painting a Polluted Reality?
Authors: Dacey James
Published: December 2022

Image analysis suggests that artists’ styles evolved in sync with increasing air pollution during the Industrial Revolution.
Water‐Insoluble Components in Rainwater in Suburban Guiyang, Southwestern China: A Potential Contributor to Dissolved Organic Carbon
Authors: Xu Yu , Dong Xin‐Ni , Xiao Hua‐Yun , He Chen , Wu Dai‐She
Published: December 2022

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in rainwater affects climate change and global carbon cycles. Relatively little work has focused on DOC and the remaining water‐insoluble components (WICs) simultaneously; moreover, the potential transformation of WICs to DOC remains questionable. The WICs (i.e., nonleachable particulates) were extracted from rainwater collected in suburban Guiyang (southwestern China) over a 1‐year period. Correlations of DOC with indicative parameters (e.g., potassium, calcium, and sulfate ions) showed that DOC (271 ± 152 μmol L−1) was partly derived from biomass burning, soils, and nitrate‐ and sulfate‐related secondary processes. Moreover, DOC concentration tended to increase with decreasing particulate amino acid‐based degradation index, likely suggesting that the biodegradation of WICs can enhance DOC abundance. Further, a laboratory simulation with WICs from rainwater and particulate matter (PM2.5) demonstrated the microbe‐driven rapid increase in DOC. The organic matter in rainwater was compositionally similar to that in concurrently collected PM2.5, suggesting that rainwater DOC in this area was largely controlled by in‐cloud scavenging of fine particles. This consideration was confirmed by insignificant differences in volume‐weighted DOC concentrations between forepart and posterior (cloud water with little below‐cloud scavenging effect) rainwater. Since the time for rainwater to reach the ground is fairly short, the overall results can indicate that the in‐cloud processing of WICs is a potential source of rainwater DOC. Moreover, this source contribution was estimated to be less than 2% per day. Therefore, the study provides novel insights into the carbon cycle in the atmosphere and surface ecosystems.
SMOC2 promotes aggressive behavior of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis through transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulating MYO1C
Authors: Liu Di , Li Ruiru , Xu Siqi , Shi Maohua , Kuang Yu , Wang Jingnan , Shen Chuyu , Qiu Qian , Liang Liuqin , Xiao Youjun , Xu Hanshi
Published: December 2022

Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs), play a key role in perpetuating synovial inflammation and bone erosion in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), however, the underlying mechanism(s) of RA FLSs activation and aggression remain unclear. Identifying endogenous proteins that selectively target FLSs is urgently needed. Here, we systematically identified that secreted modular calcium-binding protein 2 (SMOC2), was significantly increased in RA FLSs and synovial tissues. SMOC2 knockdown specifically regulated cytoskeleton remodeling and decreased the migration and invasion of RA FLSs. Mechanistically, cytoskeleton-related genes were significantly downregulated in RA FLSs with reduced SMOC2 expression, especially the motor protein myosin1c (MYO1C). SMOC2 controlled MYO1C expression by SRY-related high-mobility group box 4 (SOX4) and AlkB homolog 5 (ALKHB5) mediated-m6A modification through transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation. Furthermore, intra-articular Ad-shRNA-SMOC2 treatment attenuated synovial inflammation as well as bone and cartilage erosion in rats with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Our findings suggest that increased SMOC2 expression in FLSs may contribute to synovial aggression and joint destruction in RA. SMOC2 may serve as a potential target against RA.
BET protein inhibition sensitizes glioblastoma cells to temozolomide treatment by attenuating MGMT expression
Authors: Tancredi Alessandro , Gusyatiner Olga , Bady Pierre , Buri Michelle C. , Lomazzi Rémy , Chiesi Davide , Messerer Mahmoud , Hegi Monika E.
Published: December 2022

Bromodomain and extra-terminal tail (BET) proteins have been identified as potential epigenetic targets in cancer, including glioblastoma. These epigenetic modifiers link the histone code to gene transcription that can be disrupted with small molecule BET inhibitors (BETi). With the aim of developing rational combination treatments for glioblastoma, we analyzed BETi-induced differential gene expression in glioblastoma derived-spheres, and identified 6 distinct response patterns. To uncover emerging actionable vulnerabilities that can be targeted with a second drug, we extracted the 169 significantly disturbed DNA Damage Response genes and inspected their response pattern. The most prominent candidate with consistent downregulation, was the O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) gene, a known resistance factor for alkylating agent therapy in glioblastoma. BETi not only reduced MGMT expression in GBM cells, but also inhibited its induction, typically observed upon temozolomide treatment. To determine the potential clinical relevance, we evaluated the specificity of the effect on MGMT expression and MGMT mediated treatment resistance to temozolomide. BETi-mediated attenuation of MGMT expression was associated with reduction of BRD4- and Pol II-binding at the MGMT promoter. On the functional level, we demonstrated that ectopic expression of MGMT under an unrelated promoter was not affected by BETi, while under the same conditions, pharmacologic inhibition of MGMT restored the sensitivity to temozolomide, reflected in an increased level of γ-H2AX, a proxy for DNA double-strand breaks. Importantly, expression of MSH6 and MSH2, which are required for sensitivity to unrepaired O6-methylguanine-lesions, was only briefly affected by BETi. Taken together, the addition of BET-inhibitors to the current standard of care, comprising temozolomide treatment, may sensitize the 50% of patients whose glioblastoma exert an unmethylated MGMT promoter.
Deep brain stimulation creates informational lesion through membrane depolarization in mouse hippocampus
Authors: Lowet Eric , Kondabolu Krishnakanth , Zhou Samuel , Mount Rebecca A. , Wang Yangyang , Ravasio Cara R. , Han Xue
Published: December 2022

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a promising neuromodulation therapy, but the neurophysiological mechanisms of DBS remain unclear. In awake mice, we performed high-speed membrane voltage fluorescence imaging of individual hippocampal CA1 neurons during DBS delivered at 40 Hz or 140 Hz, free of electrical interference. DBS powerfully depolarized somatic membrane potentials without suppressing spike rate, especially at 140 Hz. Further, DBS paced membrane voltage and spike timing at the stimulation frequency and reduced timed spiking output in response to hippocampal network theta-rhythmic (3–12 Hz) activity patterns. To determine whether DBS directly impacts cellular processing of inputs, we optogenetically evoked theta-rhythmic membrane depolarization at the soma. We found that DBS-evoked membrane depolarization was correlated with DBS-mediated suppression of neuronal responses to optogenetic inputs. These results demonstrate that DBS produces powerful membrane depolarization that interferes with the ability of individual neurons to respond to inputs, creating an informational lesion.
Gene augmentation prevents retinal degeneration in a CRISPR/Cas9-based mouse model of PRPF31 retinitis pigmentosa
Authors: Xi Zhouhuan , Vats Abhishek , Sahel José-Alain , Chen Yuanyuan , Byrne Leah C.
Published: December 2022

Mutations in PRPF31 cause autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, an untreatable form of blindness. Gene therapy is a promising treatment for PRPF31-retinitis pigmentosa, however, there are currently no suitable animal models in which to develop AAV-mediated gene augmentation. Here we establish Prpf31 mutant mouse models using AAV-mediated CRISPR/Cas9 knockout, and characterize the resulting retinal degeneration phenotype. Mouse models with early-onset morphological and functional impairments like those in patients were established, providing new platforms in which to investigate pathogenetic mechanisms and develop therapeutic methods. AAV-mediated PRPF31 gene augmentation restored the retinal structure and function in a rapidly degenerating mouse model, demonstrating the first in vivo proof-of-concept for AAV-mediated gene therapy to treat PRPF31-retinitis pigmentosa. AAV-CRISPR/Cas9-PRPF31 knockout constructs also mediated efficient PRPF31 knockout in human and non-human primate retinal explants, laying a foundation for establishing non-human primate models using the method developed here.
Microbiome-mediated fructose depletion restricts murine gut colonization by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus
Authors: Isaac Sandrine , Flor-Duro Alejandra , Carruana Gloria , Puchades-Carrasco Leonor , Quirant Anna , Lopez-Nogueroles Marina , Pineda-Lucena Antonio , Garcia-Garcera Marc , Ubeda Carles
Published: December 2022

Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) are a major threat to public health. MDRO infections, including those caused by vancomycin-resistantEnterococcus(VRE), frequently begin by colonization of the intestinal tract, a crucial step that is impaired by the intestinal microbiota. However, the specific members of the microbiota that suppress MDRO colonization and the mechanisms of such protection are largely unknown. Here, using metagenomics and mouse models that mimic the patients’ exposure to antibiotics, we identified commensal bacteria associated with protection against VRE colonization. We further found a consortium of five strains that was sufficient to restrict VRE gut colonization in antibiotic treated mice. Transcriptomics in combination with targeted metabolomics and in vivo assays indicated that the bacterial consortium inhibits VRE growth through nutrient depletion, specifically by reducing the levels of fructose, a carbohydrate that boosts VRE growth in vivo. Finally, in vivo RNA-seq analysis of each strain of the consortium in combination with ex vivo and in vivo assays demonstrated that a single bacterium (Olsenella sp.) could recapitulate the effect of the consortium. Our results indicate that nutrient depletion by specific commensals can reduce VRE intestinal colonization, which represents a novel non-antibiotic based strategy to prevent infections caused by this multidrug-resistant organism.
Onset of Bloch oscillations in the almost-strong-field regime
Authors: Reislöhner Jan , Kim Doyeong , Babushkin Ihar , Pfeiffer Adrian N.
Published: December 2022

In the field of high-order harmonic generation from solids, the electron motion typically exceeds the edge of the first Brillouin zone. In conventional nonlinear optics, on the other hand, the excursion of band electrons is negligible. Here, we investigate the transition from conventional nonlinear optics to the regime where the crystal electrons begin to explore the first Brillouin zone. It is found that the nonlinear optical response changes abruptly already before intraband currents due to ionization become dominant. This is observed by an interference structure in the third-order harmonic generation of few-cycle pulses in a non-collinear geometry. Although approaching Keldysh parameter γ = 1, this is not a strong-field effect in the original sense, because the iterative series still converges and reproduces the interference structure. The change of the nonlinear interband response is attributed to Bloch motion of the reversible (or transient or virtual) population, similar to the Bloch motion of the irreversible (or real) population which affects the intraband currents that have been observed in high-order harmonic generation.
Risk of the hydrogen economy for atmospheric methane
Authors: Bertagni Matteo B. , Pacala Stephen W. , Paulot Fabien , Porporato Amilcare
Published: December 2022

Hydrogen (H2) is expected to play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, hydrogen losses to the atmosphere impact atmospheric chemistry, including positive feedback on methane (CH4), the second most important greenhouse gas. Here we investigate through a minimalist model the response of atmospheric methane to fossil fuel displacement by hydrogen. We find that CH4concentration may increase or decrease depending on the amount of hydrogen lost to the atmosphere and the methane emissions associated with hydrogen production. Green H2can mitigate atmospheric methane if hydrogen losses throughout the value chain are below 9 ± 3%. Blue H2can reduce methane emissions only if methane losses are below 1%. We address and discuss the main uncertainties in our results and the implications for the decarbonization of the energy sector.