bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Risky‐choice framing and rational decision‐making
Authors: Fisher Sarah A. , Mandel David R.
Published: July 2021

This article surveys the latest research on risky‐choice framing effects, focusing on the implications for rational decision‐making. An influential program of psychological research suggests that people's judgements and decisions depend on the way in which information is presented, or ‘framed’. In a central choice paradigm, decision‐makers seem to adopt different preferences, and different attitudes to risk, depending on whether the options specify the number of people who will be saved or the corresponding number who will die. It is standardly assumed that such responses violate a foundational tenet of rational decision‐making, known as the principle of description invariance. We discuss recent theoretical and empirical research that challenges the dominant ‘irrationalist’ narrative. These approaches typically pay close attention to how decision‐makers represent decision problems (including their interpretation of numerical quantifiers or predicate choice) and they highlight the need for a more robust characterization of the description invariance principle. We conclude by indicating avenues for future research that could bring us closer to a complete—and potentially rationalizing—explanation of framing effects.
Subterranean successes: Durable regulation and regulatory endowments
Authors: Heimer Carol A. , Kuo Elsinore
Published: July 2021

Scholars sometimes criticize durable regulatory systems for being costly, inefficient, ineffective, and inequitable. This article reassesses regulation, arguing that a mis‐categorization of types of regulatory activity has led critics astray. More specifically, the article observes that regulation “hardened” by being built into infrastructure often ceases to be seen as regulation and its benefits are therefore inappropriately omitted from assessments of regulatory accomplishments. Hardening into one or another durable form can create two important benefits: durable regulation moves some items off the agenda of regulators, conserving resources for other regulatory work; durable regulation also creates regulatory endowments, preserving key bargains struck at the time infrastructure was created and reducing future opportunities for capture. Such endowments can then become the foundation for other regulatory work. Examples from the regulation of drinking water in the United States and brief discussions of road safety and disability regulation illustrate the argument.
Early literacy training among medical students
Authors: Dunlap Marny , Walker Brooks , Nguyen Christine , Gerth Katelyn , Garbe M. Connor , Caldwell Alexandria
Published: July 2021

Background

The American Academy of Pediatrics regards literacy promotion as essential. Medical professionals are in a key position to promote children's early literacy, however this requires knowledge of existing literacy programmes. This study describes medical student training, awareness, experiences, and attitudes towards early literacy and the ‘Reach Out and Read’ (ROR) initiative.

Methods

An anonymous online survey was sent to all medical students at a medical school in the Midwest with two campuses. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

Results

We received data from 275 medical students. Almost half (46.5%) had completed their paediatric clerkship, 22.9% had observed ROR, and only 2.9% had received any training. Most (67%), wanted to learn more about early literacy, and 59% expressed a desire for more ROR training. Most respondents expressed preference for learning from residents and faculty in clinic followed by online training. 47% agreed that it was a role of medical students to assess and encourage reading.

Discussion

Medical students understand the importance of early literacy in primary care and emphasising this during clinical encounters. Most are eager to learn more about early literacy promotion and ROR. This interest decreases during third and fourth year so targeting the first 2 years of medical school is an important strategy. Providing formal literacy promotion training and education for medical students should be considered during this critical time in their education.
Overexpression of a small GTP‐binding protein Ran1 in Arabidopsis leads to promoted elongation growth and enhanced disease resistance against P. syringae DC3000
Authors: Xu Peipei , Ma Wei , Liu Jing , Hu Jinbo , Cai Weiming
Published: July 2021

Plants resist infection through an innate immune response, which is usually associated with slowing of growth. The molecular mechanisms underlying the trade‐off between plant growth and defense remain unclear. The present study reveals that growth/defense trade‐offs mediated by gibberellin (GA) and salicylic acid (SA) signaling pathways are uncoupled during constitutive overexpression of transgenic AtRAN1 and AtRAN1Q72L (active, GTP‐locked form) Arabidopsis plants. It is well known that the small GTP‐binding protein Ran (a Ras‐related nuclear protein) functions in the nucleus–cytoplasmic transport of proteins. Although there is considerable evidence indicating that nuclear–cytoplasmic partitioning of specific proteins can participate in hormone signaling, the role of Ran‐dependent nuclear transport in hormone signaling is not yet fully understood. In this report, we used a combination of genetic and molecular methods to reveal whether AtRAN1 is involved in both GA and SA signaling pathways. Constitutively overexpressed AtRAN1 promoted both elongation growth and the disease resistance response, whereas overexpression of AtRAN1Q72L in the atran2atran3 double mutant background clearly inhibited elongation growth and the defense response. Furthermore, we found that AtRAN1 coordinated plant growth and defense by promoting the stability of the DELLA protein RGA in the nucleus and by modulating NPR1 nuclear localization. Interestingly, genetically modified rice (Oryza sativa) overexpressing AtRAN1 exhibited increased plant height and yield per plant. Altogether, the ability to achieve growth/defense trade‐offs through AtRAN1 overexpression provides an approach to maximizing crop yield to meet rising global food demands.
A Nonsmooth Quasi-Static Modeling Approach for Hydraulic Actuators
Authors: Kikuuwe Ryo , Okada Tomofumi , Yoshihara Hideo , Doi Takayuki , Nanjo Takao , Yamashita Koji
Published: July 2021

This paper presents an analytical approach for modeling the quasi-static characteristics of hydraulic actuators driven by four-valve independent metering circuits. The presented model is described as a nonsmooth, set-valued function from the velocity to the set of forces with which the equilibrium is achieved at the velocity. It is derived from algebraic relations among the velocity of the actuator, the steady-state force generated by the actuator, and the flowrate and the steady-state pressure at all valves in the circuit. This approach is also applied to more involving circuits including a regeneration pipeline and those with multiple actuators. The contribution of the paper can be seen as an example case study of the fact that these complicated circuit structures are analytically tractable through an extension of the conventional hydraulic–electric analogy. The obtained analytical expressions of the steady-state velocity–force relations allow for concise visualization of the actuators' characteristics.
Hemodynamic Study of Blood Flow in the Carotid Artery With a Focus on Carotid Sinus Using Fluid-Structure Interaction
Authors: Bantwal Aditya , Singh Aditya , Menon Abhay Ramachandran , Kumar Nitesh
Published: July 2021

The carotid artery is one of the most favorable locations for atherosclerotic plaque accumulation due to its unique geometry. It predominantly occurs at the outer wall of the internal carotid artery (ICA) near the carotid sinus. Fluid–structure interaction study of hemodynamics in the carotid artery with a focus on carotid sinus plays a prominent role in explaining the development and progression of the atherosclerotic lesion. In this study, hemodynamic parameters affecting the plaque accumulation in the carotid artery were investigated with a focus on the carotid sinus. An idealized carotid artery model was taken and hemodynamic parameters such as deformation, wall shear stress (WSS), oscillatory shear index (OSI), relative residence time (RRT), and Helicity were investigated. The atherosclerosis-prone carotid sinus region had significantly low WSS, and low helicity resulting in higher OSI. In these regions, the flow separation had decreased the velocity significantly with a high-velocity angle. The flow divider had significantly elevated WSS due to a higher pressure gradient. Stenosis is predicted to occur at the downstream area of the carotid sinus and develop downstream due to flow separation leading to endothelial dysfunction. Decreased vascular WSS, helicity, and higher OSI are key to the development of endothelial dysfunction leading to atherosclerotic lesion in the carotid sinus.
Population growth performance of Panonychus ulmi Koch (Acarina: Tetranychidae) on different fruit trees
Authors: Kasap Ismail , Atlihan Remzi
Published: July 2021

The European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Acari: Tetranychidae) is an important pest species on deciduous plants in Turkey, especially on apple. In this study, development, survival, and reproduction of European red mite, P. ulmi were studied on different host plants under laboratory conditions (25±2 °C,% 60±10 RH and16:8 L:D photoperiod). Population performance of P. ulmi was obtained on its different host plants including apple (Malus communis L.), quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.), cherry (Prunus avium L.), and sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L). The life history raw data of P. ulmi were analyzed by using the age-stage, two-sex life table. Results indicated that the highest net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of increase, and finite rate of increase as well as the longest mean generation time, were obtained on apple cv. Starking delicious. The population projection simulated by using life tables based on the 0.025th and 0.975th bootstrap results of the finite rate of increase displayed the same trend with population growth parameters. Results suggested that apple cv. Starking Delicious was the favorable host for P. ulmi, however, there is potential for the pest to become a serious pest on other host plants tested under favorable conditions.
Molecular DNA barcoding of the water mite genus Protzia Persig, 1896 with a description of three new species and the unknown male of P. longiacetabulata (Acari, Hydrachnidia)
Authors: Pešić Vladimir , Smit Harry , Gülle Pınar , Dabert Miroslawa
Published: July 2021

Species of the mite genus Protzia Piersig, 1896 are diverse and sometimes highly abundant freshwater mites. Here, we provide COI barcodes for five species (Protzia rugosa, P. rotunda, P. halberti, P. cabardinica, P. longiacetabulata) and use them for species delimitation analyses accompanied with morphological comparisons. As a result, we resurrected the species P. cabardinica (Sokolow, 1940). Based on morphology only, we describe three new species, P. kyrgyzica sp. nov. and P. tienshanensis sp. nov., from Kyrgyzstan and P. iranica sp. nov. from southern Iran. Furthermore, we describe the male of P. longiacetabulata from Turkey, which was not known previously.
Evaluation of Cosmolaelaps brevistilis and Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) as natural enemy of Bradysia aff. ocellaris (Diptera: Sciaridae)
Authors: Duarte Adriane da Fonseca , Duarte Juliano Lessa Pinto , Silva Lucas Raphael da , Gobbi Priscilla da Costa , Cunha Uemerson Silva da
Published: July 2021

Bradysia species are major insect pests of protected production systems, including strawberry crops in semi-hydroponic systems. In Brazil, its management is difficult due to the absence of available effective pesticides. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predatory efficiency of two species of mites (Stratiolaelaps scimitus and Cosmolaelaps brevistilis) under laboratory conditions. The experiments were conducted at 25 ± 1ºC, 75 ± 10% RH, in dark. In the first bioassay predation potential of each mite species, one female per arena, was evaluated on eggs, larvae (2–3 instar) and pupae of B. aff. ocellaris, replicated thirty times, and predation, oviposition, and survivorship were recorded for ten days. In the second bioassay, fly emergence was used to determine control efficacy. Each predator species was assessed at different densities (2, 5, 7 and 10) with ten larvae of B. aff. ocellaris in each experimental unit, replicated eight times. Stratiolaelaps scimitus performed better than C. brevistilis in both bioassays, however, on the eggs and pupae life stages, both species were not effective. On the larvae life stage, mean daily predation rate was 8.25 and 4.45 for S. scimitus and C. brevistilis, respectively. For each predator species no significant differences in fly emergence were found at the four densities, however at all densities S. scimitus provided better control than C. brevistilis. Further studies on potted plants are needed to determine the potential of these species for B. aff. ocellaris management.
Distance vs time. Acoustic and articulatory consequences of reduced vowel duration in Polish
Authors: Strycharczuk Patrycja , Ćavar Małgorzata , Coretta Stefano
Published: July 2021

This paper presents acoustic and articulatory (ultrasound) data on vowel reduction in Polish. The analysis focuses on the question of whether the change in formant value in unstressed vowels can be explained by duration-driven undershoot alone or whether there is also evidence for additional stress-specific articulatory mechanisms that systematically affect vowel formants. On top of the expected durational differences between the stressed and unstressed conditions, the duration is manipulated by inducing changes in the speech rate. The observed vowel formants are compared to expected formants derived from the articulatory midsagittal tongue data in different conditions. The results show that the acoustic vowel space is reduced in size and raised in unstressed vowels compared to stressed vowels. Most of the spectral reduction can be explained by reduced vowel duration, but there is also an additional systematic effect of F1-lowering in unstressed non-high vowels that does not follow from tongue movement. The proposed interpretation is that spectral vowel reduction in Polish behaves largely as predicted by the undershoot model of vowel reduction, but the effect of undershoot is enhanced for low unstressed vowels, potentially by a stress marking strategy which involves raising the fundamental frequency.
Direction-of-arrival estimation with blind surface impedance compensation for spherical microphone array
Authors: Lee Dongheon , Jo Byeongho , Choi Jung-Woo
Published: July 2021

The direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimation from spherical microphone array data requires mode strength compensation for removing the dependency on the array surface impedance. However, in practice, mismatches exist in the actual and modeled surface impedances and degrade the DoA estimation performance. Herein, a non-parametric beamformer that can accurately estimate DoAs under the mode strength mismatch is proposed. The technique utilizes a block-diagonal covariance matrix and order-dependent normalization of spherical harmonic coefficients. The proposed method tested for various surface impedance mismatches and DoAs shows robust estimation performance with reduced dependency on the array surface impedance.
Short stature and combined immunodeficiency associated with mutations in RGS10
Authors: Chinn Ivan K. , Xie Zhihui , Chan Eunice C. , Nagata Bianca M. , Koval Alexey , Chen Wei-Sheng , Zhang Fan , Ganesan Sundar , Hong Diana N. , Suzuki Motoshi , Nardone Glenn , Moore Ian N. , Katanaev Vladimir L. , Balazs Andrea E. , Liu Chengyu , Lupski James R. , Orange Jordan S. , Druey Kirk M.
Published: July 2021

Rare variants in RGS10 are linked to growth impairment and inborn errors of immunity.
Retracted and Republished from: “Substrate-Specific Differential Gene Expression and RNA Editing in the Brown Rot Fungus
Fomitopsis pinicola
”
Authors: Wu Baojun , Gaskell Jill , Held Benjamin W. , Toapanta Cristina , Vuong Thu V. , Ahrendt Steven , Lipzen Anna , Zhang Jiwei , Schilling Jonathan S. , Master Emma , Grigoriev Igor V. , Blanchette Robert A. , Cullen Dan , Hibbett David S.
Published: July 2021

All species of wood-decaying fungi occur on a characteristic range of substrates (host plants), which may be broad or narrow. Understanding the mechanisms that allow fungi to grow on particular substrates is important for both fungal ecology and applied uses of different feedstocks in industrial processes.
Discovery of a Diverse Set of Bacteria That Build Their Cell Walls without the Canonical Peptidoglycan Polymerase aPBP
Authors: Atwal Sharanjeet , Chuenklin Suthida , Bonder Edward M. , Flores Juan , Gillespie Joseph J. , Driscoll Timothy P. , Salje Jeanne
Published: July 2021

Peptidoglycan (PG) is a large, cross-linked polymer that forms the cell wall of most bacterial species and confers shape, rigidity, and protection from osmotic shock. It is also a potent stimulator of the immune response in animals.
Initiation of Clockwise Rotation and Eastward Transport of Southeastern Tibet Inferred from Deflected Fault Traces and GPS Observations
Authors: Gan Weijun , Molnar Peter , Zhang Peizhen , Xiao Genru , Liang Shiming , Zhang Keliang , Li Zhangjun , Xu Keke , Zhang Ling
Published: July 2021

Eastward transport and clockwise rotation of crust around the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau dominates active deformation east of the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis. Current crustal movement inferred from GPS measurements indicates ongoing distortion of the traces of the active Red River fault and the Mesozoic Yalong-Yulong-Longmen Shan thrust belt. By extrapolating current rates back in time, we infer that this pattern of deformation developed since 10.1 ± 1.5 Ma. This date of initiation is approximately synchronous with a suite of tectonic phenomena, both near and far, within the wide Eurasia/Indian collision zone, including the initiation of slip on the Ganzi-Yushu-Xianshuihe fault and crustal thinning and E-W extension by normal faulting on N-S–trending rifts in the plateau interior. Accordingly, the eastward movement of eastern Tibet and the clockwise rotation of that material seem to be local manifestations of a larger geodynamic event at ca. 10–15 Ma that changed the kinematic style and reorganized deformation not only on the plateau-wide scale, but across the entire region affected by the India/Eurasia collision. Convective removal of some or all of Tibet's mantle lithosphere seems to offer the simplest mechanism for these approximately simultaneous changes.
Supplemental Material: Diverse gas composition controls the Moby-Dick gas hydrate system in the Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Portnov Alexey , al. et
Published: July 2021

Information about the sources and processing characteristics of the public seismic, well log, and gas chromatography data; and time-depth conversion parameters, velocity model, and calculations of geothermal gradients.
Diagnostic accuracy of rapid antigen tests in asymptomatic and presymptomatic close contacts of individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection: cross sectional study
Authors: Schuit Ewoud , Veldhuijzen Irene K , Venekamp Roderick P , van den Bijllaardt Wouter , Pas Suzan D , Lodder Esther B , Molenkamp Richard , GeurtsvanKessel Corine H , Velzing Jans , Huisman Robin C , Brouwer Lieke , Boelsums Timo L , Sips Gregorius J , Benschop Kimberly S M , Hooft Lotty , van de Wijgert Janneke H H M , van den Hof Susan , Moons Karel G M
Published: July 2021

Objective

To assess the diagnostic test accuracy of two rapid antigen tests in asymptomatic and presymptomatic close contacts of people with SARS-CoV-2 infection on day 5 after exposure.

Design

Prospective cross sectional study.

Setting

Four public health service covid-19 test sites in the Netherlands.

Participants

4274 consecutively included close contacts (identified through test-and-trace programme or contact tracing app) aged 16 years or older and asymptomatic for covid-19 when requesting a test.

Main outcome measures

Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of Veritor System (Beckton Dickinson) and Biosensor (Roche Diagnostics) rapid antigen tests, with reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing as reference standard. The viral load cut-off above which 95% of people with a positive RT-PCR test result were virus culture positive was used as a proxy of infectiousness.

Results

Of 2678 participants tested with Veritor, 233 (8.7%) had a RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection of whom 149 were also detected by the rapid antigen test (sensitivity 63.9%, 95% confidence interval 57.4% to 70.1%). Of 1596 participants tested with Biosensor, 132 (8.3%) had a RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection of whom 83 were detected by the rapid antigen test (sensitivity 62.9%, 54.0% to 71.1%). In those who were still asymptomatic at the time of sampling, sensitivity was 58.7% (51.1% to 66.0%) for Veritor (n=2317) and 59.4% (49.2% to 69.1%) for Biosensor (n=1414), and in those who developed symptoms were 84.2% (68.7% to 94.0%; n=219) for Veritor and 73.3% (54.1% to 87.7%; n=158) for Biosensor. When a viral load cut-off was applied for infectiouness (≥5.2 log10 SARS-CoV-2 E gene copies/mL), the overall sensitivity was 90.1% (84.2% to 94.4%) for Veritor and 86.8% (78.1% to 93.0%) for Biosensor, and 88.1% (80.5% to 93.5%) for Veritor and 85.1% (74.3% to 92.6%) for Biosensor, among those who remained asymptomatic throughout. Specificities were >99%, and positive and negative predictive values were >90% and >95%, for both rapid antigen tests in all analyses.

Conclusions

The sensitivities of both rapid antigen tests in asymptomatic and presymptomatic close contacts tested on day 5 onwards after close contact with an index case were more than 60%, increasing to more than 85% after a viral load cut-off was applied as a proxy for infectiousness.
Effect of peer-distributed HIV self-test kits on demand for biomedical HIV prevention in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a three-armed cluster-randomised trial comparing social networks versus direct delivery
Authors: Shahmanesh Maryam , Mthiyane T Nondumiso , Herbsst Carina , Neuman Melissa , Adeagbo Oluwafemi , Mee Paul , Chimbindi Natsayi , Smit Theresa , Okesola Nonhlanhla , Harling Guy , McGrath Nuala , Sherr Lorraine , Seeley Janet , Subedar Hasina , Johnson Cheryl , Hatzold Karin , Terris-Prestholt Fern , Cowan Frances M , Corbett Elizabeth Lucy
Published: July 2021

Study objective

We investigated two peer distribution models of HIV self-testing (HIVST) in HIV prevention demand creation compared with trained young community members (peer navigators).

Methods

We used restricted randomisation to allocate 24 peer navigator pairs (clusters) in KwaZulu-Natal 1:1:1: (1) standard of care (SOC):peer navigators distributed clinic referrals, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and antiretroviral therapy (ART) information to 18–30 year olds. (2)peer navigator direct distribution (PND):Peer navigators distributed HIVST packs (SOC plus two OraQuick HIVST kits) (3)incentivised peer networks (IPN):peer navigators recruited young community members (seeds) to distribute up to five HIVST packs to 18–30 year olds within their social networks. Seeds received 20 Rand (US$1.5) for each recipient who distributed further packs. The primary outcome was PrEP/ART linkage, defined as screening for PrEP/ART eligibility within 90 days of pack distribution per peer navigator month (pnm) of outreach, in women aged 18–24 (a priority for HIV prevention). Investigators and statisticians were blinded to allocation. Analysis was intention to treat. Total and unit costs were collected prospectively.

Results

Between March and December 2019, 4163 packs (1098 SOC, 1480 PND, 1585 IPN) were distributed across 24 clusters. During 144 pnm, 272 18–30 year olds linked to PrEP/ART (1.9/pnm). Linkage rates for 18–24-year-old women were lower for IPN (n=26, 0.54/pnm) than PND (n=45, 0.80/pnm; SOC n=49, 0.85/pnm). Rate ratios were 0.68 (95% CI 0.28 to 1.66) for IPN versus PND, 0.64 (95% CI 0.26 to 1.62) for IPN versus SOC and 0.95 (95% CI 0.38 to 2.36) for PND versus SOC. In 18–30 year olds, PND had significantly more linkages than IPN (2.11 vs 0.88/pnm, RR 0.42, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.98). Cost per pack distributed was cheapest for IPN (US$36) c.f. SOC (US$64). Cost per person linked to PrEP/ART was cheaper in both peer navigator arms compared with IPN.

Discussion

HIVST did not increase demand for PrEP/ART. Incentivised social network distribution reached large numbers with HIVST but resulted in fewer linkages compared with PrEP/ART promotion by peer navigators.

Trial registration number

NCT03751826.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and response on the utilisation of health services in public facilities during the first wave in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Authors: Hategeka Celestin , Carter Simone E , Chenge Faustin Mukalenge , Katanga Eric Nyambu , Lurton Grégoire , Mayaka Serge Ma-Nitu , Mwamba Dieudonné Kazadi , van Kleef Esther , Vanlerberghe Veerle , Grépin Karen Ann
Published: July 2021

Introduction

Health service use among the public can decline during outbreaks and had been predicted among low and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) started implementing public health measures across Kinshasa, including strict lockdown measures in the Gombe health zone.

Methods

Using monthly time series data from the DRC Health Management Information System (January 2018 to December 2020) and interrupted time series with mixed effects segmented Poisson regression models, we evaluated the impact of the pandemic on the use of essential health services (outpatient visits, maternal health, vaccinations, visits for common infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases) during the first wave of the pandemic in Kinshasa. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, health facility and lockdown policy (ie, Gombe vs other health zones).

Results

Health service use dropped rapidly following the start of the pandemic and ranged from 16% for visits for hypertension to 39% for visits for diabetes. However, reductions were highly concentrated in Gombe (81% decline in outpatient visits) relative to other health zones. When the lockdown was lifted, total visits and visits for infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases increased approximately twofold. Hospitals were more affected than health centres. Overall, the use of maternal health services and vaccinations was not significantly affected.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in important reductions in health service utilisation in Kinshasa, particularly Gombe. Lifting of lockdown led to a rebound in the level of health service use but it remained lower than prepandemic levels.
Management of ocular surface squamous neoplasia: Bowman Club Lecture 2021
Authors: Alvarez Osmel P , Zein Mike , Galor Anat , Karp Carol L
Published: July 2021

The gold-standard treatment for ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) has traditionally been surgical excision with wide margins and a no-touch technique. However, surgery may be associated with several unfavourable sequelae, as well as significant recurrence rates if margins are positive. In recent years, topical chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, interferon α−2b and mitomycin C have emerged as valuable agents capable of effectively treating OSSN with varying adverse effects. These medical treatment options usually present additional costs to the patient but can allow patients to avoid surgery with fewer long-term effects. Anterior segment high-resolution optical coherence tomography is an excellent tool for diagnosing and monitoring OSSN and can be a useful aid for both surgical and medical treatments of OSSN.
Cross-sectional analysis of educational inequalities in primary prevention statin use in UK Biobank
Authors: Carter Alice Rose , Gill Dipender , Davey Smith George , Taylor Amy E , Davies Neil M , Howe Laura D
Published: July 2021

Objective

Identify whether participants with lower education are less likely to report taking statins for primary cardiovascular prevention than those with higher education, but an equivalent increase in underlying cardiovascular risk.

Methods

Using data from a large prospective cohort study, UK Biobank, we calculated a QRISK3 cardiovascular risk score for 472 097 eligible participants with complete data on self-reported educational attainment and statin use (55% female participants; mean age 56 years). We used logistic regression to explore the association between (i) QRISK3 score and (ii) educational attainment on self-reported statin use. We then stratified the association between QRISK3 score and statin use, by educational attainment to test for interactions.

Results

There was evidence of an interaction between QRISK3 score and educational attainment. Per unit increase in QRISK3 score, more educated individuals were more likely to report taking statins. In women with ≤7 years of schooling, a one unit increase in QRISK3 score was associated with a 7% higher odds of statin use (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.07). In women with ≥20 years of schooling, a one unit increase in QRISK3 score was associated with an 14% higher odds of statin use (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.15). Comparable ORs in men were 1.04 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.05) for ≤7 years of schooling and 1.08 (95% CI 1.08, 1.08) for ≥20 years of schooling.

Conclusion

Per unit increase in QRISK3 score, individuals with lower educational attainment were less likely to report using statins, likely contributing to health inequalities.
Letter to the editor: radiomics analysis for predicting pembrolizumab response in patients with advanced rare cancers
Authors: Cunha Mateus Trinconi , Carvalho Vinicius Jardim , Loureiro Rafael Maffei , Brantis-de-Carvalho Carlos Eduardo , Cintra Murilo Bicudo , de Castro Junior Gilberto
Published: July 2021

A commentary on the original research article: ‘Radiomics analysis for predicting pembrolizumab response in patients with advanced rare cancers’. Of note, the predictor selection process, the cross-validation method, along with the lack of final testing of the developed model with a separated data set may mask overfitting, overestimating performance metrics.
Author response to Cunha et al
Authors: Colen Rivka R , Rolfo Christian , Ak Murat , Ayoub Mira , Ahmed Sara , Elshafeey Nabil , Mamindla Priyadarshini , Zinn Pascal O , Ng Chaan , Vikram Raghu , Bakas Spyridon , Peterson Christine B , Rodon Ahnert Jordi , Subbiah Vivek , Karp Daniel D , Stephen Bettzy , Hajjar Joud , Naing Aung
Published: July 2021

The need to identify biomarkers to predict immunotherapy response for rare cancers has been long overdue. We aimed to study this in our paper, ‘Radiomics analysis for predicting pembrolizumab response in patients with advanced rare cancers’. In this response to the Letter to the Editor by Cunha et al, we explain and discuss the reasons behind choosing LASSO (Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator) and XGBoost (eXtreme Gradient Boosting) with LOOCV (Leave-One-Out Cross-Validation) as the feature selection and classifier method, respectively for our radiomics models. Also, we highlight what care was taken to avoid any overfitting on the models. Further, we checked for the multicollinearity of the features. Additionally, we performed 10-fold cross-validation instead of LOOCV to see the predictive performance of our radiomics models.
Potential distribution and habitat suitability of Picea crassifolia with climate change scenarios
Authors: Gao Yuan , He Zhibin , Zhu Xi , Chen Longfei , Du Jun , Lin Pengfei , Tian Quanyan , Kong Junqia
Published: July 2021

The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in China is a region strongly impacted by climate change, yet its effects on the keystone endemic forest species Picea crassifolia Kom. are unknown. Understanding the changes in potential distribution and habitat suitability of P. crassifolia forest with climate change will contribute to water conservation, forest management, and ecological protection in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. A total of 129 records of species distribution data and 19 environmental variables were chosen for modeling. The MaxEnt (maximum entropy) model was used to analyze the main environmental factors affecting the potential distribution of P. crassifolia in two periods (2050s and 2070s) and four representative emission pathways (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, and RCP 8.5). The main results are follows: (i) the most important environmental variables affecting distribution of P. crassifolia and percentage variance explained were altitude (41.85%), precipitation of driest month (19.76%), slope (12.35%), annual precipitation (6.56%), precipitation of wettest month (5.73%), and precipitation of warmest quarter (5.12%); (ii) habitat suitability of P. crassifolia shifted to the northwest and into high-altitude areas under climate change scenarios, but its core distribution areas were concentrated in northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, Qilian Mountains, southern Ningxia, and Helan Mountains; and (iii) the total area of potential suitable habitat of P. crassifolia will change significantly in the future, and change of habitat area of not suitable, low, moderate, and high suitability exceed 60%.
A Computational Approach to Optimal Control Problems with Almost Smooth Controls
Authors: Zhang Ying , Zhang Zhao , Xu Yingtao
Published: July 2021

In this paper, we consider a class of optimal control problems involving continuous control and state inequality constraints where the control is almost smooth. We first employ the control parametrization technique via approximating the control signal by a piecewise linear function. Then, we develop a time scaling transformation procedure for transforming the approximate problem into an equivalent problem that can be solved readily using conventional methods. On this basis, a novel exact penalty function method is constructed by appending penalized constraint violations to the cost function. The gradient formulas and convergent properties ensure that the transformed unconstrained optimal parameter selection problems can be solved by existing optimization algorithms or software packages. Finally, an example is solved showing the effectiveness and applicability of the approach proposed.
Dynamic interaction of behaviors of time-fractional shallow water wave equation system
Authors: Duran Serbay
Published: July 2021

In this study, the traveling wave solutions for the time-fractional shallow water wave equation system, whose physical application is defined as the dynamics of water bodies in the ocean or seas, are investigated by [Formula: see text]-expansion method. The nonlinear fractional partial differential equation is transformed to the non-fractional ordinary differential equation with the use of a special wave transformation. In this special wave transformation, we consider the conformable fractional derivative operator to which the chain rule is applied. We obtain complex hyperbolic and complex trigonometric functions for the time-fractional shallow water wave equation system with the help of this technique. New traveling wave solutions are obtained for the special values given to the parameters in these complex hyperbolic and complex trigonometric functions, and the behavior of these solutions is examined with the help of 3D and 2D graphics.
Number of Limit Cycles from a Class of Perturbed Piecewise Polynomial Systems
Authors: Chen Xiaoyan , Han Maoan
Published: July 2021

In this paper, we study Poincaré bifurcation of a class of piecewise polynomial systems, whose unperturbed system has a period annulus together with two invariant lines. The main concerns are the number of zeros of the first order Melnikov function and the estimation of the number of limit cycles which bifurcate from the period annulus under piecewise polynomial perturbations of degree [Formula: see text].
Chaos of a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Resulting from Periodic Parameter Perturbation
Authors: Wang Zhen , Hu Weipeng
Published: July 2021

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used in various nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS), and the parameters (including the system parameters and the excitation parameters) may result in chaos in these systems. Thus, understanding the mechanism of the chaos arising from NEMS is vital for CNT’s applications. Motivated by this need, the chaotic properties of a single-walled carbon nanotube system resulting from parametric excitation and external excitation are investigated in this paper. The criteria for the existence of the chaotic behavior in the system with periodic and quasi-periodic perturbations are obtained by the homoclinic Melnikov and the second-order average methods. Furthermore, in order to show the connection between periodic motion and complex behavior, the subharmonic periodic solutions, inside and outside the homoclinic loop, are analyzed. The global structure and the saddle-node bifurcation of the unperturbed averaged system are also considered. Finally, the Poincaré section and the transversal intersection of the unstable and stable manifolds are presented to verify the occurrence of chaos or subharmonic solution. The simulation results confirm the correctness of the theoretical analysis.
Fixed-Time Synergetic Control-Based Chaos Suppression for Eighth-Order IFOCIM Drive System
Authors: Hunaish Ahmed Sadeq , Tahir Fadhil Rahma
Published: July 2021

This paper investigates chaos suppression in widely used indirect field oriented controlled induction machine (IFOCIM) drive system using fixed-time synergetic control method. The complex eighth-order IFOCIM drive system shows chaotic oscillations during a specific range of the integral gain of the PI speed controller. The conventional synergetic control method is improved by employing the fixed-time theory, the characteristics of the designed controller are chattering free and the convergence time is limited within a fixed-time upper bound depending on the controller parameters. The fixed-time synergetic control method is used to converge a selected macro variable to the origin within the fixed time upper bound. The controller can stabilize the chaotic system dynamics in a good way within a short time.
Directed Projection Graph of N-Dimensional Hypercube and Subhypercube Decomposition of Balanced Linearly Separable Boolean Functions
Authors: Jin Wei , Chen Fangyue , He Qinbin
Published: July 2021

A directed projection graph of the [Formula: see text]-dimensional hypercube on the two-dimensional plane is successfully created. Any [Formula: see text]-variable Boolean function can be easily transformed to an induced subgraph of the projection. Therefore, the discussions on [Formula: see text]-variable Boolean functions only need to focus on a two-dimensional planar graph. Some mathematical theories on the projection graph and the induced subgraph are established, and some properties and characteristics of a balanced linearly separable Boolean function (BLSBF) are uncovered. In particular, the sub-hypercube decompositions of BLSBF is easily represented on the projection, and meanwhile, the enumeration scheme for counting the number of [Formula: see text]-variable BLSBFs is developed by using equivalence classification and conformal transformation. With the aid of the directed projection grap constructed in this paper, one can further study many difficult problems in some fields such as Boolean functions and artificial neural networks.
A relation between the crossing number and the height of a knotoid
Authors: Korablev Philipp , Tarkaev Vladimir
Published: July 2021

Knotoids are open ended knot diagrams regarded up to Reidemeister moves and isotopies. The notion is introduced by Turaev in 2012. Two most important numeric characteristics of a knotoid are the crossing number and the height. The latter is the least number of intersections between a diagram and an arc connecting its endpoints, where the minimum is taken over all representative diagrams and all such arcs which are disjoint from crossings. In the paper, we answer the question: are there any relations between the crossing number and the height of a knotoid. We prove that the crossing number of a knotoid is greater than or equal to twice the height of the knotoid. Combining the inequality with known lower bounds of the height we obtain a lower bounds of the crossing number of a knotoid via the extended bracket polynomial, the affine index polynomial and the arrow polynomial of the knotoid. As an application of our result we prove an upper bound for the length of a bridge in a minimal diagram of a classical knot: the number of crossings in a minimal diagram of a knot is greater than or equal to three times the length of a longest bridge in the diagram.
Schubert Class and Cyclotomic NilHecke Algebras
Authors: Zhou Kai , Hu Jun
Published: July 2021

Let [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] be positive integers such that [Formula: see text], and let [Formula: see text] be the Grassmannian which consists of the set of [Formula: see text]-dimensional subspaces of [Formula: see text]. There is a [Formula: see text]-graded algebra isomorphism between the cohomology [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] and a natural [Formula: see text]-form [Formula: see text] of the [Formula: see text]-graded basic algebra of the type [Formula: see text] cyclotomic nilHecke algebra [Formula: see text]. We show that the isomorphism can be chosen such that the image of each (geometrically defined) Schubert class [Formula: see text] coincides with the basis element [Formula: see text] constructed by Hu and Liang by purely algebraic method, where [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] for each [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] is the [Formula: see text]-multipartition of [Formula: see text] associated to [Formula: see text]. A similar correspondence between the Schubert class basis of the cohomology of the Grassmannian [Formula: see text] and the [Formula: see text]'s basis ([Formula: see text] is an [Formula: see text]-multipartition of [Formula: see text] with each component being either [Formula: see text] or empty) of the natural [Formula: see text]-form [Formula: see text] of the [Formula: see text]-graded basic algebra of [Formula: see text] is also obtained. As an application, we obtain a second version of the Giambelli formula for Schubert classes.
The Spectrum and Automorphism Group of the Set-Inclusion Graph
Authors: Huang Xueyi , Huang Qiongxiang , Wang Jianfeng
Published: July 2021

Let [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] be integers with [Formula: see text]. The set-inclusion graph [Formula: see text] is the graph whose vertex set consists of all [Formula: see text]- and [Formula: see text]-subsets of [Formula: see text], where two distinct vertices are adjacent if one of them is contained in the other. In this paper, we determine the spectrum and automorphism group of [Formula: see text].
Newton’s divided gH-difference interpolation formula with unequal spacing for interval-valued function using Hukuhara difference
Authors: Mondal Bapin , Rahman Md Sadikur
Published: July 2021

Interval interpolation formulae play a significant role to find the value of an unknown function at some points under interval uncertainty. The objective of this paper is to establish Newton’s divided interpolation formula for interval-valued functions using generalized Hukuhara difference of intervals. For this purpose, arithmetic of intervals, Hukuhara difference and its some properties and concept of interval-valued function have been discussed briefly. Using Hukuhara difference of intervals, the definition of Newton’s divided gH-difference for interval-valued function has been introduced. Then Newton’s divided gH-differences interpolation formula has been derived. Finally, with the help of some numerical examples, the proposed interpolation formula has been illustrated.
Review of Geoacoustic Inversion in Underwater Acoustics
Authors: Chapman N. Ross , Shang Er Chang
Published: July 2021

This paper reviews the progress in geoacoustic inversion over the past several decades. The review is separated into two parts. The first part reviews developments in model-based inversion methods that have led to present day usage of Bayesian inference. Theoretical foundations for the inversion methods are outlined, and limitations of model-based approaches are discussed. Examples are briefly described of applications of model-based inversion with different types of experimental data. The second part reviews recent developments in model-free inversion methods, focusing on discussion of distortion of estimated geoacoustic model parameters caused by model mismatch. It is shown that distortions in estimated model parameters lead to errors in interpreting characteristics of dispersion in the ocean waveguide, in particular the frequency dependence of sound attenuation in marine sediment. This review concludes with perspectives on new directions in research that promise improvement in inversion performance.
Cell-Based Smoothed Radial Point Interpolation Method for Underwater Acoustic Scattering Problems
Authors: Zhang Guiyong , Xu Youyun , Zhong Jize , Zhou Bo , He Zhicheng , Li Wei
Published: July 2021

In this work, a novel cell-based smoothed radial point interpolation method (CSRPIM) is used to deal with underwater acoustic scattering problem. The nature of infinite domain has been changed by exact Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DtN) boundary condition. Owing to the use of gradient smoothing operation and consequent properly softened stiffness, the CSRPIM model is capable of reducing pollution error significantly. A theoretical analysis is carried out to elucidate the superiority in controlling pollution error of CSRPIM. By selecting virtual nodes properly in condensed shape functions, the interpolation error in the CSRPIM can also be reduced. Through several simple acoustic scattering numerical examples, advantages of CSRPIM have been verified. The results show that the CSRPIM can be applied directly to solve acoustic scattering problems and can obtain higher accuracy than traditional linear finite element method (FEM) even if in relatively high frequency range. Also, the use of linear triangular elements in the present model makes the analysis of practical underwater acoustic problems with complex shapes easier.
Modeling the Morphodynamics of Coastal Responses to Extreme Events: What Shape Are We In?
Authors: Sherwood Christopher R. , van Dongeren Ap , Doyle James , Hegermiller Christie A. , Hsu Tian-Jian , Kalra Tarandeep S. , Olabarrieta Maitane , Penko Allison M. , Rafati Yashar , Roelvink Dano , van der Lugt Marlies , Veeramony Jay , Warner John C.
Published: July 2021

This review focuses on recent advances in process-based numerical models of the impact of extreme storms on sandy coasts. Driven by larger-scale models of meteorology and hydrodynamics, these models simulate morphodynamics across the Sallenger storm-impact scale, including swash,collision, overwash, and inundation. Models are becoming both wider (as more processes are added) and deeper (as detailed physics replaces earlier parameterizations). Algorithms for wave-induced flows and sediment transport under shoaling waves are among the recent developments. Community and open-source models have become the norm. Observations of initial conditions (topography, land cover, and sediment characteristics) have become more detailed, and improvements in tropical cyclone and wave models provide forcing (winds, waves, surge, and upland flow) that is better resolved and more accurate, yielding commensurate improvements in model skill. We foresee that future storm-impact models will increasingly resolve individual waves, apply data assimilation, and be used in ensemble modeling modes to predict uncertainties.