bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sessile droplet evaporation in the atmosphere of different gases under forced convection
Authors: Korenchenko Anna E. , Zhukova Anna A.
Published: April 2022

The phenomenon of evaporation from the surface of a liquid droplet into a neutral noncondensible gas was numerically studied by taking forced convection gaseous flow into account. The mathematical model considers the effects of surface tension, gravitational force, viscosity of both liquid and gaseous media, as well as the Stefan flow from the droplet surface, possible free gravitational convection, and the Marangoni convection in droplets, and it is designed to describe diffusion-limited evaporation. We consider the diffusion-limited evaporation process when the diffusive gas flux to the droplet surface is compensated by the convective Stefan flow from the surface. The results indicate an interaction of the liquid and gaseous media. Convective gas flows cause the liquid to move and a vortex to occur in the droplet. The flow velocities in a vortex are 103 times less than the characteristic velocity of forced convection flow in air. The droplet surrounded by gaseous flow changes its shape and oscillates, which causes a gas-density wave. Calculations have shown that the diffusion-limited evaporation rate does not change in the presence of forced convection, which contradicts most of the known experimental works. The possible reason for this discrepancy is the presence of non-equilibrium conditions at the liquid–gas interface in experiments. This leads to a consequent change of the evaporation mode to non-diffusive, while the numerical model postulates the Stefan condition and diffusion-limited evaporation.
Investigations into the ventilated cavities around a surface-piercing hydrofoil at high Froude numbers
Authors: Huang Renfang , Qiu Rundi , Zhi Yuchang , Wang Yiwei
Published: April 2022

This study investigates the ventilated cavities around a surface-piercing hydrofoil, aiming to extend previous studies by an in-depth understanding of the vaporous cavity behaviors and the flow-regime transition at high Froude numbers. An experiment is carried out in a constrained-launching water tank with a vertically cantilevered hydrofoil piercing a still water surface. The cavity is recorded using high-speed photography, and flow-regime maps are summarized over a broad range of Froude number and yaw angle at different immersed aspect ratios. In addition to the well-known steady flow regimes (i.e., fully wetted flow and fully ventilated flow), an unsteady vaporous cavitating flow is revealed at a very high Froude number with a small yaw angle, which exhibits cavitation shedding dynamics behaviors, including the cavity growth, destabilization, and collapse. The transition from the fully wetted flow to the fully ventilated flow is attributed to the vapor-cavitation-induced ventilation besides the tip-vortex-induced ventilation. Vaporous cavitation promotes ventilation formation, but it has to meet the criterion that air should enter the sub-atmospheric cavity through the tip-vortex path before the cavity length reaches the maximum. Moreover, an improved lifting-line model is developed with considering the effects of free surface and finite aspect ratio. Both analytical modeling and experimental measurements reveal that the vaporous cavity length follows a power relation against the cavitation parameter. Such knowledge lays a foundation for the design optimization and control strategy of high-speed hydrofoils.
Parametric study on breakup of liquid jet in a gas-driven flow focusing process upon external excitation
Authors: Xu Xiao , Zhu Zhiqiang , Mu Kai , Huang Fangsheng , Si Ting
Published: April 2022

In gas-driven flow focusing, mechanical disturbance is applied to modulate formation of droplets under the condition that the jet breaks at a high speed. By changing the conditions of jet generation, a systematic experimental study of the relevant parameters is carried out. In the axisymmetric mode, the diameter and velocity of the jet are affected by changing the flow rate and pressure drop condition. The results show that the jet can be regulated in a very large range, and the size of the generated droplets can also be accurately predicted. For viscous liquids, mechanical disturbances can also be used to make them break uniformly within a certain range. Due to the high frequency and precise controllability of droplet preparation in the experiment, these findings can be extended to more fields for practical applications.
Recent advances in theory, simulations, and experiments on multiphase flows
Authors: Wang Yan , Liu Haihu , Yuan Haizhuan
Published: April 2022

Multiphase flows, which are ubiquitous in nature but usually involve complex physical processes, have important applications in many areas of aeronautics, astronautics, the oil and gas industry, combustion, and pharmaceuticals, among others. However, the study of multiphase flows is usually more difficult than its single-phase counterpart due to the presence of complex fluid–fluid and fluid–solid interfaces and the wide range of scales from the microscopic level to macroscopic level. In recent years, new numerical methodologies, experimental techniques, and theoretical analysis tools for studying and analyzing complex multiphase flow problems have advanced significantly. Therefore, this special topic is devoted to the recent advances and developments of these tools in the study of multiphase flows. Thirteen papers have been published and they cover a variety of essential topics, which include multiphase flows with large density ratios and multi-physics fields, particle-laden turbulent flows, boiling flows with phase change, three-phase flows for enhanced oil recovery, and coaxial jets with heat transfer.
Simulating four-dimensional physics in the laboratory
Authors: Price Hannah
Published: April 2022

Experimental methods to imitate extra spatial dimensions reveal new physical phenomena that emerge in a higher-dimensional world.
Assessment of sperm mitochondrial activity by flow cytometry and fluorescent microscopy: a comparative study of mitochondrial fluorescent probes in bovine spermatozoa
Authors: Llavanera Marc , Mislei Beatrice , Blanco-Prieto Olga , Baldassarro Vito Antonio , Mateo-Otero Yentel , Spinaci Marcella , Yeste Marc , Bucci Diego
Published: April 2022

Context While conventional semen analysis is a simple, time-saving, and economical means to evaluate sperm quality, it leaves biochemical and metabolic characteristics of spermatozoa aside. To address this issue, the use of fluorescent probes assessing functional sperm parameters, such as JC-1, DiOC6(3) and MitoTracker, has increased over the last decades. Apparently contradictory observations have nevertheless fostered an ongoing debate on their sensitivity and ability to evaluate the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of sperm cells, thus warranting a re-examination of these probes. Aims The present study aims to elucidate the suitability and sensitivity of each probe to evaluate the MMP of bovine spermatozoa by flow cytometry. Methods Cryopreserved spermatozoa from ten bulls were thawed, stained with JC-1/SYTOXRed, DiOC6(3)/propidium iodide (PI) or MitoTracker Deep Red (MTDR)/PI, and evaluated with flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Key results DiOC6(3), JC-1 and MTDR can be simultaneously co-stained with a viability marker. The results of the present study support the ability of DiOC6(3)/PI and JC-1/SYTOXRed, but not that of MTDR/PI, to monitor the MMP of spermatozoa. Conclusions JC-1/SYTOXRed assessed by flow cytometry was found to be the most sensitive and robust fluorescent probe to assess MMP. Moreover, DiOC6(3)/PI could be a suitable alternative when the flow cytometer is not equipped with a red laser and/or an adequate optical filter. Implications Both DiOC6(3) and JC-1, but not MTDR, could be used as probes to assess the mitochondrial membrane potential of bovine spermatozoa.
Matrix Inversion and Subset Selection (MISS): A pipeline for mapping of diverse cell types across the murine brain
Authors: Mezias Christopher , Torok Justin , Maia Pedro D. , Markley Eric , Raj Ashish
Published: April 2022

Significance

The current state-of-the-art mappings of cell types fall short regarding finely resolved subtypes of neural cells, especially γ-aminobutyric acidergic and glutamatergic subtypes. Most such maps compromise on either the number or specificity of unique cell types quantified in each study. Others only use qualitative validation for their maps and fail to address whether gene subset selection is necessary for optimal maps. The Matrix Inversion and Subset Selection pipeline uses publicly available in situ hybridization and single-cell RNA sequencing gene expression data to infer cell-type distributions to map diverse cell types across the murine brain. Most importantly, we demonstrate that data-driven feature selection is necessary to arrive at quantitatively optimal cell-type maps using inversion-, deconvolution-, and correlation-based mapping approaches.
McEliece and Blum-Goldwasser group rings based probabilistic cryptosystems
Authors: Mittal Gaurav , Kumar Sandeep , Kumar Sunil , Narain Shiv
Published: April 2022

In this paper, we present two probabilistic public key cryptosystems (PKCs) based on the well known algebraic structure of group rings. The first cryptosystem is based on McEliece cryptosystem and we coin it as McEliece-group-ring based PKC. The second PKC is the extension of Blum-Goldwasser PKC in group rings and we name it as Blum-Goldwasser-group-ring based PKC. We carefully discuss the security analysis of the proposed PKCs and their advantages over the existing PKCs. Additionally, we consider the toy examples for both the cryptosystems in order to show the practicality of both the PKCs.
Non-semisimple extended topological quantum field theories
Authors: De Renzi Marco
Published: April 2022

We develop the general theory for the construction of Extended Topological Quantum Field Theories (ETQFTs) associated with the Costantino-Geer-Patureau quantum invariants of closed 3-manifolds. In order to do so, we introduce relative modular categories, a class of ribbon categories which are modeled on representations of unrolled quantum groups, and which can be thought of as a non-semisimple analogue to modular categories. Our approach exploits a 2-categorical version of the universal construction introduced by Blanchet, Habegger, Masbaum, and Vogel. The 1+1+1-EQFTs thus obtained are realized by symmetric monoidal 2-functors which are defined over non-rigid 2-categories of admissible cobordisms decorated with colored ribbon graphs and cohomology classes, and which take values in 2-categories of complete graded linear categories. In particular, our construction extends the family of graded 2+1-TQFTs defined for the unrolled version of quantum

s
l

2

\mathfrak {sl}_2

by Blanchet, Costantino, Geer, and Patureau to a new family of graded ETQFTs. The non-semisimplicity of the theory is witnessed by the presence of non-semisimple graded linear categories associated with critical 1-manifolds.
Improving correlation of wastewater SARS-CoV-2 gene copy numbers with COVID-19 public health cases using readily available biomarkers
Authors: Hutchison Justin M , Li Zhengxi , Chang Chi-Ning , Hiripitiyage Yasawantha , Wittman Megan , Sturm Belinda S M
Published: April 2022

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has highlighted the potential role that wastewater-based epidemiology can play in assessing aggregate community health. However, efforts to translate SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) gene copy numbers obtained from wastewater samples into meaningful community health indicators are nascent. In this study, SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) genes (N1 and N2) were quantified weekly using reverse transcriptase droplet digital PCR from two municipal wastewater treatment plants for 6 months. Four biomarkers [ammonium, biological oxygen demand (BOD), creatinine and human mitochondrial gene NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5] were quantified and used to normalize SARS-CoV-2 gene copy numbers. These were correlated to daily new case data and 1-, 2- and 3-week cumulative case data. Over the course of the study, the strongest correlations were observed with a 1-day case data lag. However, early measurements were strongly correlated with a 5-day case data lag. This indicates that in the early stages of the pandemic, the wastewater samples may have indicated active COVID-19 cases before clinical indications. Mitochondrial and creatinine normalization methods showed the strongest correlations throughout the study, indicating that human-specific biomarkers were better at normalizing wastewater data than ammonium or BOD. Granger causality tests supported this observation and showed that gene copies in wastewater could be predictive of new cases in a sewershed.
Privacy
Authors: Arguelhes Diego Werneck , Moncau Luiz Fernando Marrey
Published: April 2022

This chapter focuses on the right to privacy as primarily involving the control of information about oneself. Section 2 presents a brief comparative, descriptive analysis of how nineteen Latin American constitutions have enshrined different dimensions of this right to control over information about oneself. Section 3 discusses the protection of personal data and the Habeas Data, a right/remedy that many constitutions in the region have enshrined for the protection of aspects of privacy and personal data, and which is considered to be one of the distinct Latin American contributions to the global constitutional repertoire. Section 4 focuses on the emerging idea of a ‘right to be forgotten’ while Section 5 concludes with broader considerations on some of the trends and commonalities that can be identified in the region.
Safety, Efficacy, and Tolerability of Simultaneous Bilateral Cryolipolysis Using a Rapid Cycling Contoured Cup Applicator for Noninvasive Fat Reduction in the Enlarged Male Breast: A Pilot Study
Authors: Munavalli Girish S. , Martin Elise D. , Macri Angela E.
Published: April 2022

BACKGROUND

A previous study using a parallel cooling plate cryolipolysis applicator demonstrated the efficacy of cryolipolysis for pseudogynecomastia. Although the procedure was safe and effective, treatment times were prolonged and anesthetic was needed to reduce treatment discomfort.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of a short cycle, reduced vacuum contoured cup cryolipolysis applicator for the treatment of pseudogynecomastia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twelve male subjects received simultaneous bilateral treatment consisting of a 35-minute cryolipolysis cycle, followed by a short manual massage, and a second 35-minute cycle with 50% treatment area overlap in a single treatment visit. At the 6-week follow-up, a second treatment was performed with up to 2 overlapping cycles per side. Efficacy was assessed after the second treatment using transcutaneous ultrasound, standardized clinical photography, and subject surveys.

RESULTS

Ultrasound analysis showed a mean fat layer reduction of 5.1 ± 2.3 mm (p < .001). Blinded, independent reviewers correctly identified 97% of baseline/treatment photography results. Surveys revealed 100% subject satisfaction with 91% reporting visible fat reduction and 100% stating they would recommend treatment. Transient side effects included mild intratreatment discomfort, paresthesia, and tenderness.

CONCLUSION

A rapid cycling, reduced vacuum cryolipolysis applicator provides rapid, safe, effective, and tolerable treatment of pseudogynecomastia.
Impact of Gestational COVID-19 on Neonatal Outcomes
Authors: Vigil-Vázquez Sara , Carrasco-García Itziar , Hernanz-Lobo Alicia , Manzanares Ángela , Pérez-Pérez Alba , Toledano-Revenga Javier , Muñoz-Chapuli Mar , Mesones-Guerra Lara , Martínez-Lozano Andrea , Pérez-Seoane Beatriz , Márquez-Isidro Elena , Sanz-Asín Olga , Caro-Chinchilla Gloria , Sardá-Sánchez Marta , Solaz-García Álvaro , López-Carnero Juan , Pareja-León Marta , Riaza-Gómez Mónica , Ortiz-Barquero María Concepción , León-Luis Juan Antonio , Fernández-Aceñero María Jesús , Muñoz-Fernández María Ángeles , Catalán-Alonso Pilar , Muñoz-García Patricia , Sánchez-Luna Manuel , Navarro-Gómez María Luisa ,   on behalf of GESNEO-COVID cohort Working Group
Published: April 2022

Background:

The vertical transmission of severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains highly debated. Here, we evaluated SARS-CoV-2-transmission in newborns with intrauterine conditions.

Methods:

This was a prospective, observational and multicentric study involving 13 Spanish hospitals included in the GEStational and NEOnatal-COVID cohort. Pregnant women with microbiologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during any trimester of pregnancy or delivery and their newborns were included from March to November 2020. Demographic, clinical and microbiological data were also obtained. Viral loads were analyzed in different maternal and newborn biological samples (placenta, breast milk and maternal blood; urine, meconium and newborn blood).

Results:

A total of 177 newborns exposed to SARS-CoV-2 were included. Newborns were tested by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction using nasopharyngeal swabs within the first 24–48 hours of life and at 14 days of life. In total 5.1% were considered to have SARS-CoV-2 infection in the neonatal period, with 1.7% considered intrauterine and 3.4% intrapartum or early postnatal transmission cases. There were no differences in the demographic and clinical characteristics of the pregnant women and their newborns’ susceptibility to infections in their perinatal history or background.

Conclusions:

Intrauterine transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is possible, although rare, with early postnatal transmission occurring more frequently. Most infected newborns remained asymptomatic or had mild symptoms that evolved well during follow-up. We did not find any maternal characteristics predisposing infants to neonatal infection. All infected newborn mothers had acute infection at delivery.

Although there was no presence of SARS-CoV2 in cord blood or breast milk samples, SARS-CoV-2 viral load was detected in urine and meconium samples from infected newborns.
SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load Quantification, Clinical Findings and Outcomes in Children Seeking Emergency Department Care: Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Freedman Stephen B. , Oberding Lisa K. , Kim Kelly , Xie Jianling , Berenger Byron M. , Goulden Ruza , Weisbeck Sarah , Pillai Dylan R.
Published: April 2022

We compared the perfomance of SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). 95% and 40% of positive and negative RT-PCR specimens, respectively, were positive on ddPCR yielding sensitivities of 84% (95% CI: 74, 91) and 97% (95% CI: 89, 99), for RT-PCR and ddPCR, respectively. We found that SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing in children has a concerning false-negative rate at lower nucleocapsid gene copy numbers.
Forensic Mental Health Care Staff Experiences of Providing Palliative Care
Authors: Matthew Wendy , Collier Aileen , McKenna Brian
Published: April 2022

Background

There is a steady increase in the number of people dying within the walls of forensic institutions across the world. This escalation is, to a large extent, because of an aging population. There is a need to explore how palliative care can be delivered in these settings where, historically, security has been the main focus.

Objective

The aims of this study were to explore staff experiences of providing palliative care in a forensic mental health unit and to establish the subjective significance of those experiences.

Method

A qualitative, descriptive, case study approach was used. This study examined staff perspectives of provision of palliative care to a long-term service user who had been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness and who subsequently died. Interviews were analyzed using codebook thematic analysis.

Results

There were nine in-depth interviews with staff who were involved in the service user's care. Analysis resulted in five main themes: intrinsic dignity, “It was out of our depth,” “It's just the way these places are,” “Hospital was the practical place,” and specialist services.

Conclusion

If equitable access to palliative care is a human right, then it is essential that individuals in secure care with mental illness are able to access palliative care services that are responsive to their needs. Forensic mental health services need to be proactively prepared for the inevitability that people will die in their care.
Climate Change and Physiatry: A Call to Proportional and Prospective Action
Authors: Taylor Anita Lowe , Perret Danielle , Morice Karen , Zafonte Ross , Skelton Felicia , Rivers Evan , Alexander Marcalee
Published: April 2022

Through increased temperature-related illness, exposure to wildfire smoke and air pollutants, and more frequent and intense natural disasters, climate change is disproportionately affecting the health of people with disabilities. While the evidence behind the health effects of climate change is growing, there remain critical research gaps in the physiatric literature that must be addressed. Increased education throughout the medical-education continuum is also needed to prepare physiatrists to address the climate-related health effects impacting their patient populations. Physiatrists and their member organizations should advocate for policies that address climate change with a focus on the unique needs of their patient population and the inclusion of people with disabilities in the policy making process.
The maintenance of self-incompatibility and the genetic architecture of inbreeding depression
Authors: Schoen Daniel J. , Baldwin Sarah J.
Published: March 2022

Inbreeding depression plays a fundamental role in evolution. To help detect and characterize viability loci that underlie inbreeding depression, we forced self-pollinated plants from self-incompatible populations of Leavenworthia alabamica to produce families of progeny that were genotyped at hundreds of mapped single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci.

Bayesian analysis of segregation data for each SNP was used to explore support for different dominance and selection coefficients at linked viability loci in different genomic regions.

There was some support for overdominance (or pseudo-overdominance) at a few viability loci, as well as for recessiveness and underdominance. One recessive viability locus mapped to the genomic region of the novel self-incompatibility locus in Leavenworthia alabamica, but in general there was no support for strongly recessive viability loci of major effect.

The results are consistent with earlier findings showing that inbreeding depression is recalcitrant to purging in Leavenworthia alabamica. The results also help account for the maintenance of self-incompatibility in this species and are consistent with expectations from evolutionary genetic theory that recessive, deleterious alleles linked to loci under balancing selection are sheltered from selection.
Development of a Novel Microfluidic Co-culture model to study Organoid Vascularization
Authors: Schulla Lydia S. , Alupoaie E. Diana , De Silva Leanne , Gawlitta Debby , Middendorp Sabine , Coffer Paul J. , Roukens M. Guy
Published: March 2022

Organoids hold great potential for regenerative medicine and biomedical research. While they are able to recapitulate many structural and functional aspects of their in vivo counterparts, they lack a functional vasculature. In this study, we aimed to coculture human small intestinal organoids (hSIO) with a vasculature in a triple co-culture system with endothelial cells (ECs) and fibroblasts in a microfluidic device. Organoids and micro-vessels favour distinct matrix and medium conditions, which were optimized to sustain growth of all cell types. In addition, we found that organoids exhibit poor survival in monoculture in the microfluidic devices. Interestingly, co-culturing hSIO together with ECs and fibroblasts enhances stemness and survival of hSIO. This effect can be further enhanced by adding the GSK-3β inhibitor CHIR99021 to the medium to enhance Wnt signalling. Direct contact of fibroblasts is not required for either vessel formation or for the effect on stem cell maintenance of organoids, as culturing fibroblasts in side-channels yields larger micro-vessels and better organoid survival. Additionally, we observed that the response of cells to different culture media is strongly dependent on the culture set-up as the second setup allows organoids to be cultured in angiogenic medium. Our results suggest that angiocrine signalling by the vasculature affects stem cell maintenance, which should be further investigated. Our co-culture system offers a platform to study angiocrine signalling in the small intestine, which could in the future be used to unravel different mechanisms behind endothelial mediated intestinal homeostasis and (patho) physiology.
A spatial genome aligner for multiplexed DNA-FISH
Authors: Jia Bojing Blair , Jussila Adam , Kern Colin , Zhu Quan , Ren Bing
Published: March 2022

Multiplexed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has emerged as a powerful approach for analyzing 3D genome organization, but it is eminently challenging to derive chromosomal conformations from noisy fluorescence signals. Tracing chromatin is not straightforward as chromosomes lack conserved shapes for reference checking whether an observed fluorescence signal belongs to a chromatin fiber or not. Here we report a spatial genome aligner that parses true chromatin signal from noise by aligning signals to a DNA polymer model. We demonstrate that this spatial genome aligner can efficiently reconstruct chromosome architectures from DNA-FISH data across multiple scales and determine chromosome ploidies de novo in interphase cells. Reprocessing of previous whole-genome chromosome tracing data with this method revealed the spatial aggregation of sister chromatids in S/G2 phase cells in asynchronous mouse embryonic stem cells, and uncovered extranumerary chromosomes that remain tightly paired in post-mitotic neurons of the adult mouse cortex. Our spatial genome aligner may facilitate the adaption of multiplexed DNA-FISH by the community.
NADK upregulation is an essential metabolic adaptation that enables breast cancer metastatic colonization
Authors: Ilter Didem , Schild Tanya , Ward Nathan P. , Drapela Stanislav , Adhikari Emma , Low Vivien , Le-Lau Eric , DeNicola Gina M. , McReynolds Melanie R. , Gomes Ana P.
Published: March 2022

Metabolic reprogramming and metabolic plasticity allow cancer cells to fine-tune their metabolism to adapt to the ever-changing environments of the metastatic cascade, for which lipid metabolism and oxidative stress are of particular importance. Continuous production of NADPH, a cornerstone of both lipid and redox homeostasis, is essential for proliferation and cell survival suggesting that cancer cells may require larger pools of NADPH to efficiently metastasize. NADPH is recycled through reduction of NADP+ by several enzymatic systems in cells; however, de novo NADP+ is synthesized only through one known enzymatic reaction, catalysed by NAD+ kinase (NADK). Here, we show that NADK is upregulated in metastatic breast cancer cells enabling de novo production of NADP(H) and the expansion of the NADP(H) pools thereby increasing the ability of these cells to adapt to the oxidative challenges of the metastatic cascade and efficiently metastasize. Mechanistically, we found that metastatic signals lead to a histone H3.3 variant-mediated epigenetic regulation of the NADK promoter, resulting in increased NADK levels in cells with metastatic ability. Together, our work presents a previously uncharacterized role for NADK as an important contributor to breast cancer progression and suggests that NADK constitutes an important and much needed therapeutic target for metastatic breast cancers.
Engagement of health workers and peer educators from the National Adolescent Health Programme-Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from a situational analysis
Authors: Arora Monika , Dringus Stefanie , Bahl Deepika , Rizvi Zoya , Maity Heeya , Lama Smritima , Mason-Jones Amanda J. , Kumar Deepak , Koul Prairna , Bassi Shalini
Published: April 2022

Background

To understand the impact of COVID-19 on implementation of the peer education programme of the National Adolescent Health Programme-Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram; repurposing of the RKSK health workers and Peer Educators (PE) in COVID-19 response activities and; adolescents′ health and development issues.

Methods

Virtual in-depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders (n=31) (aged 15 to 54) engaged in the implementation of the peer education programme at state, district, block, and village levels in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (India). These interviews were thematically coded and analysed to address the research objectives.

Results

Despite most peer education programme activities being stopped, delayed, or disrupted during the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, some communication networks previously established, helped facilitate public health communication regarding COVID-19 and RKSK, between health workers, peer educators, and adolescents. There was significant repurposing of RKSK health workers and Peer Educators’ role towards COVID-19 response-related activities. Peer educators, with support from health workers, were involved in disseminating COVID-19 information, maintaining migrant and quarantine records, conducting household surveys for finding COVID-19 active cases and providing essential items (grocery, sanitary napkins, etc.) to communities and adolescents.

Conclusion

Peer Educators with support from community health workers are able to play a crucial role in meeting the needs of the communities during a pandemic. There is a need to further engage, involve and build the skills of Peer Educators to support the health system. PEs can be encouraged by granting more visibility and incorporating their role more formally by paying them within the public health system in India.
In silicoanalysis ofBacopa monnieri(L.) Wettst. compounds for drug development against Neurodegenerative Disorders
Authors: Sangeet Satyam , Khan Arshad , Mahanta Saurov , Roy Nabamita , Das Sanjib Kumar , Mohanta Yugal Kishore , Saravanan Muthupandian , Tag Hui , Hui Pallabi Kalita
Published: April 2022

Neurotrophins play a crucial role in the development and regulation of neurons. Alterations in the functioning of these Neurotrophins leads to several Neurodegenerative Disorders. Albeit engineered medications which are accessible for the treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders, due to their numerous side-effects, it becomes imperative to formulate and synthesize novel drug candidates. Plants could be utilized as an alternative for these manufactured medications because of their low incidental effects in contrast with the engineered drugs.Bacopa monnierihas been traditionally known to be utilized to treat Neurodegenerative Disorders. Therefore, in current study anin-silicobased study was carried out to evaluate the pharmacological effect ofBacopa monnieri. Molecular Docking was carried out to screen the active phytochemicals ofBacopa monnieriwhich can act as potential drug candidates against the causative proteins of Neurodegenerative Disorders. A total of 105 biologically active phytochemicals fromBacopa monnieriwere docked against the receptors of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-3, neurotrophin-4, and nerve growth factor. Based on molecular docking study it was observed that the phytocompounds Vitamin E, Benzene propanoic acid, 3,5-bis(1,1dimethylethyl)4-hydroxy-, methyl ester (BPA), Stigmasterol, and Nonacosane ofBacopa monnierisignificantly fits to the active residues of the four selected drug targets. Further Molecular Dynamics simulation study was performed to examine the stability of the binding of these phytochemicals with the selected targets. Drug likeness properties as well as related physico-chemical properties were analyzed through ADMETox study. Our findings suggested that the phytocompounds Vitamin E, BPA, Stigmasterol and Nonacosane significantly bind against brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-3, neurotrophin4, and nerve growth factor, respectively which may be the potential drug candidates for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Graphic Abstract
One-sided design of protein-protein interaction motifs using deep learning
Authors: Syrlybaeva Raulia , Strauch Eva-Maria
Published: April 2022

Protein-protein interactions are part of most processes in life and thereby the ability to generate new ones to either control, detect or inhibit them has universal applications. However, to develop a new binding protein to bind to a specific site at atomic detail without any additional input is a challenging problem. After DeepMind entered the protein folding field, we have seen rapid advances in protein structure predictions thanks to the implementation of machine learning algorithms. Neural networks are part of machine learning and they can learn the regularities from their input data. Here, we took advantage of their capabilities by training multiple neural networks on co-crystal structures of natural protein complexes. Inspired by image caption algorithms, we developed an extensive set of NN-based models, referred to as iNNterfaceDesign. It predicts the positioning and the secondary structure for the new binding motifs and then designs the backbone atoms followed by amino acid sequence design. Our methods are capable of recapitulating native interactions, including antibody-antigen interactions, while they also capable to produce more diverse solutions to binding at the same sites. As it was trained on natural complexes, it learned their features and can therefore also highlight preferential binding sites, as found in natural protein-protein interactions. Our method is generally applicable, and we believe that this is the first deep learning model for one-sided design of protein-protein interactions.

Abstract figure
Convergent genomic signatures of adaptation to an extreme environment in cyprinoid fishes
Authors: Tong Chao , Li Miao
Published: April 2022

Cyprinoids are a worldwide distributed and diverse group of freshwater fish with more than 3,000 species. Although primarily freshwater, some cyprinoid species had convergently evolved to thrive in extreme environments and underlying genetic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we leveraged 32 cyprinoid fish genomes to identify common genomic changes associated with convergent adaptation to highly saline and alkaline water in two East Asian cyprinoid fish species, Gymnocypris przwalskii and Leuciscus waleckii, representing two independent extremophile fish lineages. We found that genome-wide rate of nonsynonymous substitution and signal of intensified selection is higher in extremophile relative to non-extremophile fish taxa. We further tested gene-wide molecular convergence and found hundreds of genes tended to experience convergent shifts in selections in extremophile fish taxa, including convergent acceleration and positive selection. These genes were associated with several key functions, such as nervous system development, reproduction, ion transport and immune response, and included genes that previously have been implicated for saline or alkaline tolerance in fish. Additionally, comparative transcriptomic analyses defined the convergent roles of differentially expressed genes under selection in extremophile fish taxa during convergent adaptation. Taken together, our work provides insights into the genomic basis of convergent adaptation to extreme environments in fish.
Defining Predictors of Successful Early Career to Independent Funding Conversion Among Surgeon-Scientists
Authors: Keswani Sonya S. , Short Walker D. , Mehl Steven C. , Singampalli Kavya L. , Parikh Umang M. , Potturu Meghana , Masri Leighanna , Olutoye Oluyinka O. , Cheng Lily S. , King Alice , Lee Timothy C.
Published: April 2022

Introduction

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides research funding to scientists at different stages of their career through a range of grant awards. Early-stage researchers are eligible for mentored Career Development (K) awards, to aid in the transition to independent NIH funding. Factors such as education, subspecialty, and time to funding have been studied as predictors of obtaining independent awards in nonsurgical specialties. However, in surgery, the importance of these factors has yet to be clearly elucidated. We aim to identify predictors of K to independent award conversion among surgeon-scientists to understand how to better support early-stage researchers transitioning to independent careers.

Materials and Methods

In July 2020, the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools database was queried for individuals affiliated with surgery departments who received NIH Career Development Awards (between 2000 and 2020). The following factors were analyzed: publications, institution, degrees, year of completion of training, and gender.

Results

Between 2000 and 2020, 228 surgeons received K Awards, of which 44% transitioned to independent funding. On average, surgeons received a K award 4.0 years after completing fellowship training and an independent award 5.4 years after receiving a K grant. The time to receiving a K award was predictive of successfully achieving independent funding, and those with independent funding had a significantly greater number of publications per year of their K-award.

Conclusion

Surgeons successful in transitioning to independent NIH awards do so approximately 9 years after finishing fellowship. Publication track record is the main factor associated with successful conversion from a K award. Surgery departments should emphasize manuscript productivity and develop strategies to minimize time to independent funding to help K-awardees begin independent research careers.
Different patterns of visual processing for shapes in V1 of mouse and monkey
Authors: Yehoshua Eve Ben , Slovin Hamutal
Published: April 2022

Recently, mice became a popular research model for the visual system including objects processing. However, while primates use their fovea to inspect objects at high resolution, mice have low visual acuity and lack a foveal region. Thus, how objects are encoded in the visual cortex of mice and whether monkeys and mice use similar neural mechanisms to discriminate between shapes, is unknown. Using voltage sensitive dye imaging, we investigated spatio-temporal patterns of population response in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mice and monkeys to shape contours. Neural responses in mice showed blurred spatial patterns, low correlation to the original stimuli and only subtle spatial differences between the shapes. In contrast, the neural responses in monkey’s V1 fovea, showed prominent differences between the shapes at sub-degree resolution with high resemblance to the original shapes, in agreement with a topographic code. Furthermore, the spatial patterns of neural synchronization in monkey’s V1 suggested contour binding by synchrony, but not in mice V1. Finally, monkey’s V1 responses at larger eccentricities, resembled more to those in mice. These results may suggest that to discriminate between shapes, mice rely on neural processing of low-level cues, whereas monkeys rely more on a topographic code.
Rapid and accurate identification of Escherichia coli STEC O157:H7 by mass spectrometry, artificial intelligence and detection of specific biomarkers peaks
Authors: Eduardo Manfredi , Florencia Rocca María , Jonathan Zintgraff , Lucía Irazu , Elizabeth Miliwebsky , Carolina Carbonari , Natalia Deza , Monica Prieto , Isabel Chinen
Published: April 2022

The different pathotypes of Escherichia can produce a large number of human diseases. Surveillance becomes complex since their differentiation are not easy.

Particularly, the detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serotype O157:H7 consists of stool culture of a diarrheal sample in enrichment and/or selective media, identification of presumptive colonies and confirmation by Multiplex PCR technique for the genotypic characterization of serogroup O157 and Shiga toxins (stx1 and stx2), in addition to the traditional biochemical identification.

All of these procedures are laborious, require a certain level of training, are time consuming and expensive. Among the currently most widely used methodologies, MALDI-TOF MS mass spectrometry (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization with time-of-flight mass detection), allows a quick and easy way to obtain a protein spectrum of a microorganism, not only in order to identify the genus and species, but also the discovery of potential biomarker peaks of a certain characteristic. In the present work, the information obtained from 60 clinical isolates was used to detect peptide fingerprints of STEC O157:H7 and other diarrheagenic E. coli. The differences found in the protein profiles of the different pathotypes established the foundations for the development and evaluation of classification models through automated training.

The application of the Biomarkers in combination with the predictive models on a new set of samples (n=142), achieved 99.3% of correct classifications, allowing the distinction between STEC O157:H7 isolates from the other diarrheal Escherichia coli.

Therefore, given that STEC O157:H7 is the main causal agent of haemolytic uremic syndrome and based on the performance values obtained in the present work (Sensitivity=98.5% and Specificity=100%), this development could be a useful tool for diagnosis of the disease in clinical microbiology laboratories.
ShrinkCRISPR : A flexible method for differential fitness analysis of CRISPR-Cas9 screen data
Authors: Tissier Renaud L.M. , van Schie Janne J.M. , Wolthuis Rob M.F. , de Lange job , de Menezes Renée X.
Published: April 2022

CRISPR screens provide large-scale assessment of cellular gene functions. Pooled libraries typically consist of several single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) per gene, for a large number of genes, which are transduced in such a way that every cell receives at most one sgRNA, resulting in the disruption of a single gene in that cell. This approach is often used to investigate effects on cellular fitness, by measuring sgRNA abundance at different time points. Comparing gene knockout effects between different cell populations is challenging due to variable cell-type specific parameters and between replicates variation. Failure to take those into account can lead to inflated or false discoveries.

We propose a new, flexible approach called ShrinkCRISPR that can take into account multiple sources of variation. Impact on cellular fitness between conditions is inferred by using a mixed-effects model, which allows to test for gene-knockout effects while taking into account sgRNA-specific variation. Estimates are obtained using an empirical Bayesian approach. ShrinkCRISPR can be applied to a variety of experimental designs, including multiple factors. In simulation studies, we compared ShrinkCRISPR results with those of drugZ and MAGeCK, common methods used to detect differential effect on cell fitness. ShrinkCRISPR yielded as many true discoveries as drugZ using a paired screen design, and outperformed both drugZ and MAGeCK for an independent screen design. Although conservative, ShrinkCRISPR was the only approach that kept false discoveries under control at the desired level, for both designs. Using data from several publicly available screens, we showed that ShrinkCRISPR can take data for several time points into account simultaneously, helping to detect early and late differential effects.

ShrinkCRISPR is a robust and flexible approach, able to incorporate different sources of variations and to test for differential effect on cell fitness at the gene level. These improve power to find effects on cell fitness, while keeping multiple testing under the correct control level and helping to improve reproducibility. ShrinkCrispr can be applied to different study designs and incorporate multiple time points, making it a complete and reliable tool to analyze CRISPR screen data.
Work–life balance indicators and talent management approach: a qualitative investigation of Indian luxury hotels
Authors: Budhiraja Sunil , Varkkey Biju , McKenna Stephen
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The purpose of the study is twofold: (1) it captures the work–life balance (WLB) experiences of front-office employees to inductively classify a set of WLB indicators for the locally owned Indian luxury hotels and (2) it further examines the existing WLB practices of the select hotels with the lens of talent management (TM) approach of key human resource management (HRM) practices (Thunnissen, 2016).

Design/methodology/approach

To explore and classify WLB indicators, an exploratory, qualitative approach is utilized by administering seven focus group discussions involving 70 front-office employees working in Indian luxury hotels. Seven in-depth interviews with HR professionals were triangulated with secondary data to capture and analyse the existing WLB practices of sampled organizations.

Findings

Four clusters of WLB indicators that are grounded in the lived experiences of front-office employees are identified and presented. Interview data from human resource representatives unveil that hotels consider existing WLB practices as key HRM practices with an inclusive TM approach. The findings also surface the differences in expectations of front-office employees and WLB practices followed by the hotels.

Research limitations/implications

First, the paper addresses the issue of WLB from employees’ perspective which is crucial for designing effective WLB practices. Second, the paper contributes to the existing TM literature from the perspective of WLB practices.

Originality/value

The originality of the study is grounded in the employees’ lived experiences to classify the WLB indicators for India and further examine the WLB practices through the lens of the TM approach.
A manager's stewardship identification in Brazilian family firms: the role of controls' design and procedural justice
Authors: Mucci Daniel Magalhaes , Jorissen Ann , Frezatti Fábio
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The paper investigates whether a family firm's control context is directly associated with a manager's stewardship attitude or whether this relationship is mediated by the manager's perception with respect to the fairness of the control processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have sent a survey to family businesses in Brazil. The authors tested the hypotheses with the data collected from 141 responding family and nonfamily managers with the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses (SmartPLS).

Findings

The authors find that more participative and more formal controls are associated with higher procedural justice perceptions. Zooming in on the types of control, namely forward-looking action controls, like target setting (TS), and backward-looking results controls, like performance measurement (PM), the authors observe that TS is significantly positively associated with stewardship identification through a manager's procedural justice perceptions for both control characteristics (partial mediation for participative TS and full mediation for formal TS). PM on the other hand is only significantly directly related to a stewardship identification if it is of a participative character. In addition, the authors find a significant moderating effect of family affiliation, increasing the strength of the association between PM procedural justice and stewardship identification for nonfamily managers.

Originality/value

Prior literature focused on discussing stewardship attitudes and behaviors in family firms, but few provided empirical evidence that a stewardship attitude in a family firm is associated with contextual factors, like the design of controls in family firms in combination with a manager's individual perception of family firm's process factors.