bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Literacies in India
Authors: Iyer Radha
Published: September 2024

Literacy, defined as the ability to read and write, has had a long history in India; while the oral tradition existed for centuries, writing was introduced in the later Vedic period. The colonial period brought about mass education, English as the medium of instruction, and textbook-oriented literacy that led to the disintegration of the Indigenous education system. Postindependence concerted efforts have been undertaken to improve literacy for all age groups. Currently, various schemes and programs are reflective of the nation’s aim to be fully literate. Nevertheless, the objective has been deterred by caste, class, and poverty. Universalization of education, the Total Literacy Campaign, and the Right to Education have been significant aspects of five year plans since their inception in 1951 until the last five year plan that ended in 2017; these have ensured that literacy rates progressed from 12% to 75% in the past 70 years of independence. Despite these worthwhile steps and progress, universal literacy in India is a long-awaited aim.
Commercial Credit in New Spain in the Late 18th Century
Authors: Valle Pavón Guillermina del
Published: September 2024

The large-scale merchants of Mexico City controlled the main trade circuits within and outside of New Spain, thanks to the dominance they exercised over currency in circulation, commercial credit, and financial credit. This was possible due to the control they held over silver and their ability to construct dense networks of credit in the viceroyalty, as well as in Cadiz, Manila, and many other commercial enclaves of the Spanish Empire. These commercial actors were the largest buyers of silver, financed mining production, dominated trade, and engaged in other productive activities. In order to have more money in circulation to conduct their business, they secured loans for considerable sums from other merchants, were the main recipients of loans granted by religious corporations, and received interest payments on loans made to financiers. To maintain liquidity, they limited the disbursement of capital they had accumulated by bartering merchandise, making payments in kind, buying in installments, and making payments by means of “libranzas,” a kind of promissory note or payment order.
Astronomical Diaries
Authors: Stevens Kathryn
Published: September 2024

The Astronomical Diaries are Akkadian texts from Babylon which contain observations of astronomical phenomena and selected events on earth. They are written in the cuneiform script and preserved on several hundred clay tablets, most of which are today in the British Museum.

Very few of the tablets are complete, and some are in an extremely fragmentary state. Where no date formula survives, it is often possible to date them based on the astronomical observations recorded. The surviving tablets range in date from the mid-7th to the 1st century bce, but the vast majority date between 400 and 60 bce.

Diaries usually cover periods of four to six months, divided into monthly sections. Daily astronomical observations form the bulk of each section. At the end of each month, the Diaries report the river level of the Euphrates; the market exchange values of several commodities in Babylon, and sometimes selected historical events such as warfare, disease outbreaks, visits from kings or officials, and cultic activities. The Diaries contain no explicit indications of purpose, but since they exhibit significant parallelism with prognostic material, it is likely that they were connected to some extent with divination. There are also parallels in content and phrasing between the Diaries and the Late Babylonian Chronicles.

In addition to the evidence they offer about Babylonian astronomy, the Diaries are the main contemporary source for the political history of Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylonia, while their records of commodity values provide exceptionally detailed and extensive economic data.
History of the Catalan Lexicon
Authors: Martines Josep
Published: September 2024

Catalan is a western Romance language closely related to the Gallo-Romance languages, especially to Occitan. Therefore, most words of the Catalan basic lexicon have a great affinity to Occitan. Throughout its history, Catalan inherited from Latin many words of non-Indo-European (Iberian and Old Basque) and Indo-European (Proto-Celtic and Celtic) origin. It had contacts and received borrowings from several languages, mostly Germanic (Gothic and Frankish), Arabic, Aragonese, Occitan, Italian, French, and more recently English. Eventually, the use of Catalan gained strength in formal contexts (literary, scientific, administrative texts, among others) during the Middle Ages, which in turn encouraged the development of varied lexical resources (popular vocabulary and learned words), norms of correct usage, and elaborate register variation.

The progressive expansion of the Crown of Aragon toward the south and east of the Iberian Peninsula (13th century)—and its later integration into the Spanish monarchy at the end of the Middle Ages —prompted its contact with Spanish and a process of Hispanization of the Catalan lexicon. At the end of the Middle Ages, a change of its sociopolitical status provoked the beginning of a process of loss of social prestige and the interference of the Spanish lexicon. The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century witnessed a process of recuperation of the usage in all spheres of society, the elaboration of a linguistic norm, the depuration of interference, and the activation of the resources of lexical and terminological production.
The Media and Early Warning Systems
Authors: Marsh Irina , Conley Ed , Coleman Amanda , Brataas Kjell , Stoneking Dan , Mocanu Ruxandra
Published: September 2024

Building early warning systems (EWS) is a complex process, both technically and socially, and these differ significantly across continents, countries, and communities. However, they all have a similar vision and elements to build upon: risk knowledge, monitoring and warning, warning dissemination and communication, and response capability. Citizens must know, understand, and appreciate the risks. Program managers and public information professionals need help to accomplish that. They must unite with each other and the community to transition from a baseline to a level that promotes action. The monitoring and warning systems must function. Any misstep reduces trust. Lack of clarity results in a lack of action. The difference between system tests and real-world applications must be fully transparent. Warning dissemination and communication must occur before, during, and after any crisis event. All these areas are where operators and communicators need to link, and the response capability is integral to the content of the EWS.

The environment, geography, social characteristics, and previous disaster experiences also shape the EWS content. This can only be achieved through a people-centered approach. The media is vital in this operational phase for helping to implement and execute early warnings. In addition, the media play a related and equally critical role in strategic communications to educate and inform societies to respond appropriately. There are countless tools available to public affairs professionals, none mutually exclusive. The rote application of a news release followed by a tweet or two has been proven to be ineffective. EWS systems and strategic communications should be tailored to the needs of the individual communities. Community demographics, geographies, and cultural sensitivities determine optimum communication tools. Leveraging mediums that audiences prefer affords greater reach within vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. Their television, their radio, their print, and their social media are the bedrock for engagement. Mediums do not need to be high-tech. Messages can go into communities and schools, repeated by trusted messengers, through all means, including flyers, town halls, civic engagements, and other citizen-led initiatives. Social media has the capacity to be far-reaching, strategic, and audience-focused.

Case studies and best practices reveal what went wrong, what went right, and what can go right. They reveal the difference between effective and ineffective media and EWS. The landscape is changing; lessons elucidate that. Analysis, study, and reflection are foundational to more effective EWS in the future. For information to be actionable, it must be accessible.
Impact of Vietnam-era G.I. Bill eligibility on later-life blood pressure distribution: evidence from the Vietnam draft lottery natural experiment
Authors: Khadka Aayush , Pacca Lucia , Glymour M Maria , Bibbins-Domingo Kirsten , White Justin S , Basu Sanjay , Jiang Fei , Vable Anusha M
Published: September 2024

We quantified the impact of Vietnam-era G.I Bill eligibility, which subsidized college education for eligible Veterans, on the later-life blood pressure distribution by exploiting the Vietnam draft lottery natural experiment. We restricted Health and Retirement Study data (2006-2018) to men born between 1947-1953 (N=1,970). We estimated intention-to-treat effects at the mean and 1st-99th quantiles of blood pressure using linear and quantile regressions. Our outcomes were systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), hypertension, and self-reported stroke. We proxied G.I. Bill eligibility using lottery-defined draft eligibility. We also conducted analyses stratified by childhood socioeconomic status (cSES) defined based on a previously validated measure. Draft eligibility reduced mean blood pressure outcomes (e.g., effect on SBP: -1.33 [95% confidence interval (CI) -2.85, 0.19]). Draft eligibility also had larger protective effects at higher quantiles of the SBP and DBP distributions relative to lower quantiles (effects on SBP at the 10th and 90th quantiles: -0.33mmHg [95% CI -2.35,1.68]; -3.00mmHg [95% CI -5.68,-0.32]). Draft eligibility had protective effects on blood pressure among low and medium cSES men but opposite effects among high cSES men. G.I. Bill eligibility reshaped the blood pressure distribution to one of lower morbidity risk, particularly among low and medium cSES men.
Estimating community-wide indirect effects of influenza vaccination: triangulation using mathematical models and bias analysis
Authors: Arinaminpathy Nimalan , Reed Carrie , Biggerstaff Matthew , Nguyen Anna T , Athni Tejas S , Arnold Benjamin F , Hubbard Alan , Reingold Art , Benjamin-Chung Jade
Published: September 2024

Understanding whether influenza vaccine promotion strategies produce community-wide indirect effects is important for establishing vaccine coverage targets and optimizing vaccine delivery. Empirical epidemiologic studies and mathematical models have been used to estimate indirect effects of vaccines but rarely for the same estimand in the same dataset. Using these approaches together could be a powerful tool for triangulation in infectious disease epidemiology because each approach is subject to distinct sources of bias. We triangulated evidence about indirect effects from a school-located influenza vaccination program using two approaches: a difference-in-difference (DID) analysis, and an age-structured, deterministic, compartmental model. The estimated indirect effect was substantially lower in the mathematical model than in the DID analysis (2.1% (95% Bayesian credible intervals 0.4 – 4.4%) vs. 22.3% (95% CI 7.6% – 37.1%)). To explore reasons for differing estimates, we used sensitivity analyses and probabilistic bias analyses. When we constrained model parameters such that projections matched the DID analysis, results only aligned with the DID analysis with substantially lower pre-existing immunity among school-age children and older adults. Conversely, DID estimates corrected for potential bias only aligned with mathematical model estimates under differential outcome misclassification. We discuss how triangulation using empirical and mathematical modelling approaches could strengthen future studies.
A new method for quantifying glyoxalase II activity in biological samples
Authors: Kadhum Mohammed Alaa , Hadwan Mahmoud Hussein
Published: September 2024

Glyoxalase II (Glo II) is a crucial enzyme in the glyoxalase system, and plays a vital role in detoxifying harmful metabolites and maintaining cellular redox balance. Dysregulation of Glo II has been linked to various health conditions, including cancer and diabetes. This study introduces a novel method using 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH) to measure Glo II activity. The principle behind this approach is the formation of a colored hydrazone complex between 2,4-DNPH and pyruvate produced by the Glo II-catalyzed reaction. Glo II catalyzes the hydrolysis of S-D-lactoylglutathione (SLG), generating D-lactate and reduced glutathione (GSH). The D-lactate is then converted to pyruvate by lactate dehydrogenase, then reacting with 2,4-DNPH to form a brown-colored hydrazone product. The absorbance of this complex, measured at 430 nm, allows for the quantification of Glo II activity. The study rigorously validates the 2,4-DNPH method, demonstrating its stability, sensitivity, linearity, and resistance to interference from various biochemical substances. Compared to the existing UV method, this 2,4-DNPH-Glo II assay shows a strong correlation. The new protocol for measuring Glo II activity using 2,4-DNPH is simple, cost-effective, and accurate, making it a valuable tool for researchers and medical professionals. Its potential for widespread use in various laboratory settings, from academic research to clinical diagnostics, offers significant opportunities for future research and medical applications.
Persistent delirium is associated with cerebrospinal fluid markers of neuronal injury
Authors: Tsui Alex , Johnstone Benjamin , Heslegrave Amanda , Zetterberg Henrik , Watne Leiv Otto , Neerland Bjørn Erik , Krogseth Maria , Cunningham Colm , MacLullich Alasdair , Muniz Terrera Graciela , Davis Daniel , Caplan Gideon
Published: September 2024

Delirium is associated with the risk of future long-term cognitive impairment, but the degree to which markers of neuronal injury may be distinct or shared with dementia has yet to be comprehensively described. We investigated CSF biomarkers of dementia, astrocytosis and neuronal damage in a clinical cohort with persistent delirium, comparing them with an outpatient memory clinic sample. Our aim was to determine if different patterns of biomarker changes could implicate specific mechanisms for delirium-related neuronal injury over and above that attributable to comorbid dementia. We recruited 35 participants from the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia. We included inpatients with delirium persisting for at least 5 days (n = 15, 10 with underlying dementia) and participants from outpatient memory clinics (n = 20, 17 with dementia). CSF assays were as follows: amyloid-β42, amyloid-β40, phosphorylated tau181, neurofilament light chain and glial fibrillary acidic protein. We used propensity score matching to estimate effect sizes for each standardized CSF biomarker separately for persistent delirium (irrespective of underlying dementia) and dementia (irrespective of superimposed delirium). Compared with individuals without delirium, persistent delirium was associated with elevated glial fibrillary acidic protein (normalized coefficient per transformed standard deviation, β = 0.85; 95% confidence interval: 0.03–1.68) and neurofilament light chain (β = 1.1; 95% confidence interval: 0.5–1.6), but not phosphorylated tau181. Compared with individuals without dementia, glial fibrillary acidic protein, neurofilament light chain and phosphorylated tau181 were all increased to expected levels in dementia cases, with the former two biomarkers at levels comparable to those seen in persistent delirium [glial fibrillary acidic protein (β = 1.54; 95% confidence interval: 1.05–2.0) and neurofilament light chain (β = 0.65; 95% confidence interval: 0.24–1.1)]. Persistent delirium was linked with changes in CSF biomarkers not necessarily attributable to dementia. These findings support the potential that delirium is associated with direct neuronal injury independent of dementia pathophysiology. Whether this neuronal injury involves astrocyte dysfunction or direct axonal damage are both possibilities. Future work examining acute brain injury in delirium is needed.
Taste and odor interactions after metabolic surgery
Authors: Nicanor-Carreón Jessica G , Rowitz Blair , Pepino Marta Yanina
Published: September 2024

Most patients report “taste” changes after undergoing metabolic surgeries. Yet, most studies that used validated sensory evaluation techniques, including ours, found no changes in perceived taste intensity from before to after surgery. However, we assessed participants with pure gustatory stimuli and after an overnight fast, which raises questions about whether patients’ self-reported “taste” changes are due to conflating changes in retronasal smell/“flavor” with taste changes or whether they only manifest during the fed state. To investigate this, we conducted a cross-sectional study comparing sensory responses in women who underwent metabolic surgery 2 to 6 yr ago (n = 15) with 2 nonoperated control groups: one with a body mass index (BMI) equivalent (n = 15) and one with a healthy BMI (n = 15). Participants attended 2 sessions, one fed and one fasted. Using a sip-and-spit method, women tasted liquid samples containing gustatory and olfactory stimuli and puddings with varying fat content with and without nose clips. They used separate general labeled magnitude scales to rate their perceived intensity of taste, smell, flavor, and liking. Mixed ANOVAs indicated that the surgery and BMI equivalent groups rated retronasal smell intensity of coffee stronger than the healthy BMI group (P ≤ 0.015). However, there were no differences in taste/flavor intensity or liking ratings among groups. Additionally, feeding conditions did not significantly affect perceived intensity ratings. Our findings suggest that changes in the sensory-discriminatory component of taste or taste–odor interactions are not significant contributors to dietary modifications following metabolic surgery.
Pandemic storytelling and student engagement: how students imagined pandemics before COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Elmassry Moamen M
Published: September 2024

Student engagement is one of the critical issues in science classes. This commentary explores the value of storytelling in microbiology education and student engagement. It is a result of an undergraduate exercise, where students were asked to draft short stories on pandemics before the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e. conducted in 2016–2019). The analysis of student writings (total of 244 short stories) aimed to understand the students’ perception of pandemics, the diseases they chose to write about, and their level of knowledge of pandemics. Interestingly, 56.6% of students chose viruses to be the cause of their pandemics, 35.7% chose bacteria, 4.5% chose parasites, and a single student chose a fungus. Respiratory mode of transmission was the top pick in the stories (30%), followed by fecal-oral route, sexually transmitted, and skin-to-skin contact. Therefore, their choice of respiratory diseases as the focus of their short story may suggest their limited understanding of pandemics beyond such diseases. The varying levels of detail in the stories suggested that storytelling could be insightful in identifying knowledge gaps and engaging students. Two exciting questions remain: (1) For the students who wrote those short stories before the COVID-19 pandemic, how did they feel when it hit? (2) If the students are asked again to write a pandemic short story, what would it look like nowadays? A deeper understanding of epidemiology and the social impact of pandemics is crucial for developing effective pandemic preparedness and response plans, and undergraduate courses can play a vital role in this endeavor. Overall, this commentary highlights the value of storytelling in engaging students to assess their knowledge of specific subject matters.
A Skeletal Muscle-Mediated Anticontractile Response on Vascular Tone: Unraveling the Lactate-AMPK-NOS1 Pathway in Femoral Arteries
Authors: Fontes Milene T , Costa Tiago J , de Paula Ricardo B , Araújo Fênix A , Barros Paula R , Townsend Paul , Butler Landon , Velazquez Kandy T , Hollis Fiona , Bomfim Gisele F , Butcher Joshua T , McCarthy Cameron G , Wenceslau Camilla F
Published: September 2024

The regulation of vascular tone by perivascular tissues is a complex interplay of various paracrine factors. Here, we investigate the anti-contractile effect of skeletal muscle surrounding the femoral and carotid arteries and its underlying mechanisms. Using male and female Wistar rats, we demonstrated that serotonin, phenylephrine, and U-46619 induced a concentration-dependent vasoconstrictor response in femoral artery rings. Interestingly, this response was diminished in the presence of surrounding femoral skeletal muscle, irrespective of sex. No anti-contractile effect was observed when the carotid artery was exposed to its surrounding skeletal muscle. The observed effect in the femoral artery persisted even in the absence of endothelium and when the muscle was detached from the artery. Furthermore, the skeletal muscle surrounding the femoral artery was able to promote an anti-contractile effect in three other vascular beds (basilar, mesenteric, and carotid arteries). Using inhibitors of lactate dehydrogenase and the 1/4 monocarboxylate transporter, we confirmed the involvement of lactate, as both inhibitors were able to abolish the anti-contractile effect. However, lactate did not directly promote vasodilation; rather, it exerted its effect by activating 5′ AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) in the skeletal muscle. Accordingly, Nω-propyl l-arginine, a specific inhibitor of NOS1, prevented the anti-contractile effect, as well as lactate-induced phosphorylation of NOS1 at the stimulatory serine site (1417) in primary skeletal muscle cells. Phosphorylation of NOS1 was reduced in the presence of Bay-3827, a selective AMPK inhibitor. In conclusion, femoral artery-associated skeletal muscle is a potent paracrine and endocrine organ that influences vascular tone in both sexes. Mechanistically, the anti-contractile effect involves muscle fiber type and/or its anatomical location but not the type of artery or its related vascular endothelium. Finally, the femoral artery anti-contractile effect is mediated by the lactate-AMPK-phospho-NOS1Ser1417-NO signaling axis.
Black Americans With Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Demonstrate Accelerated Epigenetic Pace of Aging Compared to Black Americans Without SCD
Authors: Garrett Melanie E , Le Brandon , Bourassa Kyle J , Dennis Michelle F , Hatch Daniel , Yang Qing , Tanabe Paula , Shah Nirmish , Luyster Faith S , Oyedeji Charity , Strouse John J , Cohen Harvey J , Kimbrel Nathan A , Beckham Jean C , Knisely Mitchell R , Telen Marilyn J , Ashley-Koch Allison E ,   VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup, Aurora Pallavi , C. Beckham Jean , Calhoun Patrick S , Dedert Eric , Elbogen Eric B , Halverson Tate F , Hurley Robin A , Kilts Jason D , Kirby Angela , Magnante Anna T , Martindale Sarah L , Martinez Brandy S , E. Marx Christine , D. McDonald Scott , Moore Scott D , O’Connor Victoria , Morey Rajendra A , Naylor Jennifer C , Rowland Jared , Shura Robert D , Swinkels Cindy , Van Voorhees Elizabeth E , Wagner H Ryan
Published: September 2024

Background

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a chronic medical condition characterized by red blood cell sickling, vaso-occlusion, hemolytic anemia, and subsequently, end-organ damage and reduced survival. Because of this significant pathophysiology and early mortality, we hypothesized that patients with SCD are experiencing accelerated biological aging compared with individuals without SCD.

Methods

We utilized the DunedinPACE measure to compare the epigenetic pace of aging in 131 Black Americans with SCD to 1391 Black American veterans without SCD.

Results

SCD patients displayed a significantly accelerated pace of aging (DunedinPACE mean difference of 0.057 points) compared with the veterans without SCD, whereby SCD patients were aging ≈0.7 months more per year than those without SCD (p = 4.49 × 10−8). This was true, even though the SCD patients were significantly younger according to chronological age than the individuals without SCD, making the epigenetic aging discrepancy even more apparent. This association became stronger when we removed individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder from the non-SCD group (p = 2.18 × 10−9), and stronger still when we restricted the SCD patients to those with hemoglobin SS and Sβ0 thalassemia genotypes (p = 1.61 × 10−10).

Conclusions

These data support our hypothesis that individuals with SCD experience accelerated biological aging as measured by global epigenetic variation. The assessment of epigenetic measures of biological aging may prove useful to identify which SCD patients would most benefit from clinical interventions to reduce mortality.
Associations of Hypertension and Orthostatic Hypotension With Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Petriceks Aldis H , Appel Lawrence J , Miller Edgar R , Mitchell Christine M , Schrack Jennifer A , Wanigatunga Amal A , Michos Erin D , Christenson Robert H , Rebuck Heather , Juraschek Stephen P
Published: September 2024

Background

Orthostatic hypotension is associated with cardiovascular disease. It remains unclear if low standing blood pressure or high seated blood pressure is responsible for this association. We compared associations of orthostatic hypotension and hypertension with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide.

Methods

We performed a secondary analysis of the Study to Understand Fall Reduction and Vitamin D in You, a randomized controlled trial funded by the National Institute on Aging, between July 2015 and May 2019. Participants were community-dwelling adults, 70 years or older. Blood tests for high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide were drawn at visits concurrent with blood pressure measurements. Secondary analysis occurred in 2023. We determined associations between blood pressure phenotypes and cardiac biomarkers.

Results

Of 674 participants (mean age 76.5 ± 5.4 years, 43% female, 17.2% Black race), 29.1% had prior cardiovascular disease. Participants with seated hypertension had 10.1% greater high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (95% confidence interval = 3.8–16.9) and 11.0% greater N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (4.0–18.6) than those without seated hypertension. Participants with standing hypertension had 8.6% (2.7–14.9) greater high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I and 11.8% greater N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (5.1–18.9) than those without standing hypertension. Hypotensive phenotypes were not associated with either biomarker.

Conclusions

Both seated and standing hypertension were associated with greater high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, but hypotensive phenotypes were not. Hypoperfusion may not be the principal mechanism behind subclinical cardiac injury among older adults with orthostatic hypotension.
Interoceptive Accuracy Enhances Deception Detection in Older Adults
Authors: Heemskerk Amber , Lin Tian , Pehlivanoglu Didem , Hakim Ziad , Valdes-Hernandez Pedro A , ten Brinke Leanne , Grilli Matthew D , Wilson Robert C , Turner Gary R , Spreng R Nathan , Ebner Natalie C
Published: September 2024

Objectives

Difficulties with deception detection may leave older adults especially vulnerable to fraud. Interoception, that is, the awareness of one’s bodily signals, has been shown to influence deception detection, but this relationship has not been examined in aging yet. The present study investigated effects of interoceptive accuracy on 2 forms of deception detection: detecting interpersonal lies in videos and identifying text-based deception in phishing emails.

Methods

Younger (18–34 years) and older (53–82 years) adults completed a heartbeat detection task to determine interoceptive accuracy. Deception detection was assessed across 2 distinct, ecologically valid tasks: (i) a lie detection task in which participants made veracity judgments of genuine and deceptive individuals, and (ii) a phishing email detection task to capture online deception detection. Using multilevel logistic regression models, we determined the effect of interoceptive accuracy on lie and phishing detection in younger versus older adults.

Results

In older, but not younger, adults greater interoceptive accuracy was associated with better accuracy in both detecting deceptive people and phishing emails.

Discussion

Interoceptive accuracy was associated with both lie detection and phishing detection accuracy among older adults. Our findings identify interoceptive accuracy as a potential protective factor for fraud susceptibility, as measured through difficulty detecting deception. These results support interoceptive accuracy as a relevant factor for consideration in interventions targeted at fraud prevention among older adults.
Event locations: speeding up grid searches using quadratic interpolation
Authors: Bui Hanh , van der Baan Mirko
Published: September 2024

The grid search method is a common approach to estimate the three spatial coordinates of event hypocentres. However, locating events in large search spaces with small grid spacings is computationally prohibitive. This study accelerates the grid searches over large search spaces using a quadratic interpolation technique. We start with the coarse-grid-estimated location, where we have the minimum value of the difference in the traveltimes between S and P waves summed over all receivers. Then, we select the neighbouring grid points and build a 3D quadratic function. The unknown coefficients of the 3D quadratic function are computed by solving a system of linear equations. After that, we interpolate the location by solving partial derivatives of the quadratic function. The quadratic interpolation technique performs well on both synthetic and real microseismic data examples, typically leading to similar event locations as those obtained using 10 times smaller grid spacings in all three directions, at a minor additional computational expense, and without the need to generate traveltimes at new spatial positions.
The Relationship Between Political Entertainment Media Use and Political Efficacy: A Comparative Study in 18 Countries
Authors: Schemer Christian , Stanyer James , Meltzer Christine E , Gehle Luisa , Van Aelst Peter , Theocharis Yannis , Strömbäck Jesper , Štětka Václav , Stępińska Agnieszka , Splendore Sergio , Zoizner Alon , Matthes Jörg , Koc-Michalska Karolina , Nicolas Hopmann David , Esser Frank , de Vreese Claes , David Yossi , Corbu Nicoleta , Castro Laia , Cardenal Ana S , Aalberg Toril , van Erkel Patrick , Terren Ludovic , Halagiera Denis
Published: September 2024

Political entertainment programs have gained worldwide popularity, prompting research on their effects. One area of interest has been whether this media programming has an impact upon political efficacy. However, existing literature has only examined the impact of a limited number of programs, has failed to consider the simultaneous influence of different genres, and has focused primarily on the US. To address these limitations, we conducted a comparative survey in 18 democracies in 2022, with a sample size of N = 26,000. The findings revealed that viewers of political talk shows exhibited higher levels of both external and internal political efficacy in most countries. Additionally, frequent exposure to political comedy news or satire was positively related to internal political efficacy in certain countries. Finally, the consumption of fictional political dramas was also linked to political efficacy, but only in a few countries.
Pharmacokinetics of ceftriaxone, gentamicin, meropenem and vancomycin in liver cirrhosis: a systematic review
Authors: Comce M H , Weersink R A , Beuers U , van Hest R M , Lantinga M A
Published: September 2024

Objectives

Patients with liver cirrhosis are prone to develop severe bacterial infections. Pharmacokinetics (PK) of antibiotics in cirrhosis are potentially affected by impaired biotransformation phases 0–3 and consequences of portal hypertension such as portovenous shunting, ascites formation and/or acute kidney injury (AKI). We aimed to elucidate to what extent PK of selected antibiotics and, therefore, dosage recommendations are affected in adults with cirrhosis.

Methods

We performed a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and CINAHL on effects of cirrhosis on PK profiles of ceftriaxone, fosfomycin, gentamicin, meropenem, nitrofurantoin, piperacillin/tazobactam and vancomycin in adults. Antibiotics were selected based on the lack of specific dosing recommendations for adults with cirrhosis. We included studies reporting on ≥1 of the following PK parameters: AUC, half-life (t½), CL, volume of distribution (Vd), peak (Cmax) or trough concentrations (Cmin).

Results

We identified 15 studies (ceftriaxone, n = 5; gentamicin, n = 3; meropenem n = 5; vancomycin, n = 2), including 379 patients with cirrhosis, of which two were of high quality. No eligible studies were identified for fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin or piperacillin/tazobactam. Ceftriaxone unbound concentration increased in cirrhosis, but was mitigated by increased renal CL. Gentamicin levels in ascitic fluid were comparable to those in plasma. Meropenem PK parameters were not altered in cirrhosis without AKI, but in the presence of AKI a decrease in CL was observed. In contrast, vancomycin CL decreased in advanced cirrhosis.

Conclusions

Available data in studies of mostly moderate quality suggest that PK of ceftriaxone, meropenem and vancomycin are altered in cirrhosis. More advanced PK studies are needed to provide specific dosing recommendations.
Endophyte-based fungal elicitors for enhanced production of valepotriates and sesquiterpenoids in leaf cell suspension cultures of Valeriana jatamansi Jones
Authors: Thakur Ankita , Thakur Kanika , Kumar Anil , Warghat Ashish Rambhau , Kumar Dinesh , Pandey Shiv Shanker
Published: September 2024

Aims

The immense therapeutic value of Valeriana jatamansi is attributed to the presence of bioactive secondary metabolites (valepotriates and sesquiterpenoids). Its over-exploitation in wild habitats resulted in extensive depletion, necessitating alternative approaches to produce its therapeutic metabolites. This study sought to assess the ability of endophytes of V. jatamansi to boost the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in the leaf-cell suspension (LCS) culture of V. jatamansi.

Methods and results

A total of 11 fungal endophytes were isolated from the rhizomes of V. jatamansi. Isolated endophytes were found to belong to phylum Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mucoromycota. Supplementation of extracts of endophyte Phaeosphaeriaceae sp. VRzFB, Mucor griseocyanus VRzFD, Penicillium raistrickii VRzFK, and Penicillium sajarovii VRzFL in the LCS culture of V. jatamansi increased the fresh cell biomass by 19.6%–39.1% and dry cell biomass by 23.4%–37.8%. Most of the endophytes’ extract could increase the content of valepotriates (26.5%–76.5% valtrate and 40.5%–77.9% acevaltrate) and sesquiterpenoids (19.9%–61.1% hydroxyl valerenic acid) in LCS culture. However, only two endophytes, Irpex lacteus VRzFI and Fusarium oxysporum VRzFF, could increase the sesquiterpenoids acetoxy valerenic acid (36.9%–55.3%). In contrast, some endophytes’ extracts caused negative or no significant effect on the cell biomass and targeted metabolites. Increased secondary metabolites were corroborated with increased expression of iridoid biosynthesis genes in LCS culture. Production of H2O2 and lipid peroxidation was also varied with different endophytes indicating the modulation of cellular oxidative stress due to endophyte elicitors.

Conclusions

The results suggest the distinct effect of different fungal endophytes-extract on LCS culture, and endophytes can serve as biotic elicitors for increasing the secondary metabolite production in plant in vitro systems.
Clinical utility of an artificial intelligence radiomics-based tool for risk stratification of pulmonary nodules
Authors: Kim Roger Y , Yee Clarisa , Zeb Sana , Steltz Jennifer , Vickers Andrew J , Rendle Katharine A , Mitra Nandita , Pickup Lyndsey C , DiBardino David M , Vachani Anil
Published: September 2024

Background

Clinical utility data on pulmonary nodule (PN) risk stratification biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to determine the incremental predictive value and clinical utility of using an artificial intelligence (AI) radiomics-based computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) tool in addition to routine clinical information to risk stratify PNs among real-world patients.

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with PNs who underwent lung biopsy. We collected clinical data and used a commercially available AI radiomics-based CAD tool to calculate a Lung Cancer Prediction (LCP) score. We developed logistic regression models to evaluate a well-validated clinical risk prediction model (the Mayo Clinic model) with and without the LCP score (Mayo vs Mayo + LCP) using area under the curve (AUC), risk stratification table, and standardized net benefit analyses.

Results

Among the 134 patients undergoing PN biopsy, cancer prevalence was 61%. Addition of the radiomics-based LCP score to the Mayo model was associated with increased predictive accuracy (likelihood ratio test, P = .012). The AUCs for the Mayo and Mayo + LCP models were 0.58 (95% CI = 0.48 to 0.69) and 0.65 (95% CI = 0.56 to 0.75), respectively. At the 65% risk threshold, the Mayo + LCP model was associated with increased sensitivity (56% vs 38%; P = .019), similar false positive rate (33% vs 35%; P = .8), and increased standardized net benefit (18% vs -3.3%) compared with the Mayo model.

Conclusions

Use of a commercially available AI radiomics-based CAD tool as a supplement to clinical information improved PN cancer risk prediction and may result in clinically meaningful changes in risk stratification.
Rank-transformed subsampling: inference for multiple data splitting and exchangeable p-values
Authors: Guo F Richard , Shah Rajen D
Published: September 2024

Many testing problems are readily amenable to randomized tests, such as those employing data splitting. However, despite their usefulness in principle, randomized tests have obvious drawbacks. Firstly, two analyses of the same dataset may lead to different results. Secondly, the test typically loses power because it does not fully utilize the entire sample. As a remedy to these drawbacks, we study how to combine the test statistics or p-values resulting from multiple random realizations, such as through random data splits. We develop rank-transformed subsampling as a general method for delivering large-sample inference about the combined statistic or p-value under mild assumptions. We apply our methodology to a wide range of problems, including testing unimodality in high-dimensional data, testing goodness-of-fit of parametric quantile regression models, testing no direct effect in a sequentially randomized trial and calibrating cross-fit double machine learning confidence intervals. In contrast to existing p-value aggregation schemes that can be highly conservative, our method enjoys Type I error control that asymptotically approaches the nominal level. Moreover, compared to using the ordinary subsampling, we show that our rank transform can remove the first-order bias in approximating the null under alternatives and greatly improve power.
Soft photon heating: a semi-analytic framework and applications to 21-cm cosmology
Authors: Cyr Bryce , Acharya Sandeep Kumar , Chluba Jens
Published: September 2024

The presence of an abundant population of low-frequency photons at high redshifts (such as a radio background) can source leading order effects on the evolution of the matter and spin temperatures through rapid free–free absorptions. This effect, known as soft photon heating, can have a dramatic impact on the differential brightness temperature, $\Delta T_{\rm b}$, a central observable in 21-cm cosmology. Here, we introduce a semi-analytic framework to describe the dynamics of soft photon heating, providing a simplified set of evolution equations and a useful numerical scheme which can be used to study this generic effect. We also perform quasi-instantaneous and continuous soft photon injections to elucidate the different regimes in which soft photon heating is expected to impart a significant contribution to the global 21-cm signal and its fluctuations. We find that soft photon backgrounds produced after recombination with spectral index $\gamma \gt 3.0$ undergo significant free–free absorption, and therefore this heating effect cannot be neglected. The effect becomes stronger with steeper spectral index, and in some cases the injection of a synchrotron-like spectrum ($\gamma = 3.6$) can suppress the amplitude of $\Delta T_{\rm b}$ relative to the standard model prediction (where an additional radio background is absent), making the global 21-cm signal even more difficult to detect in these scenarios.
Modelling hydrogen-deficient carbon stars in mesa – the effects of total mass and mass ratio
Authors: Crawford Courtney L , Nikultsev Nikita , Clayton Geoffrey C , Tisserand Patrick , Soon Jamie , Pedersen May G
Published: September 2024

Hydrogen-deficient carbon (HdC) stars are rare, low-mass, chemically peculiar, supergiant variables believed to be formed by a double white dwarf (DWD) merger, specifically of a carbon/oxygen- (CO-) and a helium-white dwarf (He-WD). They consist of two subclasses – the dust-producing R Coronae Borealis (RCB) variables and their dustless counterparts the dustless HdCs (dLHdCs). Additionally, there is another, slightly cooler set of potentially related carbon stars, the DY Persei type variables which have some, but not conclusive, evidence of hydrogen-deficiency. Recent works have begun to explore the relationship between these three classes of stars, theorizing that they share an evolutionary pathway (a DWD merger) but come from different binary populations, specifically different total masses ($M_\text{tot}$) and mass ratios (q). In this work, we use the mesa modelling framework that has previously been used to model RCB stars and vary the merger parameters, $M_\text{tot}$ and q, to explore how those parameters affect the abundances, temperatures, and luminosities of the resultant post-merger stars. We find that lower $M_\text{tot}$ and larger q’s both decrease the luminosity and temperatures of post-merger models to the region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram populated by the dLHdCs. These lower $M_\text{tot}$ and larger q models also have smaller oxygen isotopic ratios ($^{16}$O/$^{18}$O) which is consistent with recent observations of dLHdCs compared to RCBs. None of the models generated in this work can explain the existence of the DY Persei type variables, however this may arise from the assumed metallicity of the models.
Deep learning the intergalactic medium using Lyman-alpha forest at 4 ≤ z ≤ 5
Authors: Nasir Fahad , Gaikwad Prakash , Davies Frederick B , Bolton James S , Puchwein Ewald , Bosman Sarah E I
Published: September 2024

Unveiling the thermal history of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at $4 \le z \le 5$ holds the potential to reveal early onset He ii reionization or lingering thermal fluctuations from H i reionization. We set out to reconstruct the IGM gas properties along simulated Lyman-alpha (Lyα) forest data on pixel-by-pixel basis, employing deep neural networks. Our approach leverages the Sherwood-Relics simulation suite, consisting of diverse thermal histories, to generate mock spectra. Our convolutional and residual networks with likelihood metric predict the Ly$\rm {\alpha }$ optical depth-weighted density or temperature for each pixel in the Ly$\rm {\alpha }$ forest skewer. We find that our network can successfully reproduce IGM conditions with high fidelity across range of instrumental signal-to-noise ratio. These predictions are subsequently translated into the temperature–density plane, facilitating the derivation of reliable constraints on thermal parameters. This allows us to estimate temperature at mean cosmic density, $T_{\rm 0}$, with 1σ confidence, $\delta {T_{\rm 0}} \lesssim 1000 \ {\rm K}$, using only one $20 \ h^{-1} \, {\rm cMpc}$ sightline ($\Delta z\simeq 0.04$) with a typical reionization history. Existing studies utilize redshift path-length comparable to $\Delta z\simeq 4$ for similar constraints. We can also provide more stringent constraints on the slope ($1\sigma$ confidence interval, $\delta {\rm \gamma } \lesssim 0.1$) of the IGM temperature–density relation as compared to other traditional approaches. We test the reconstruction on a single high signal-to-noise observed spectrum ($20 \ h^{-1}\,{\rm cMpc}$ segment) and recover thermal parameters consistent with current measurements. This machine learning approach has the potential to provide accurate yet robust measurements of IGM thermal history at the redshifts in question.
Towards solving the origin of circular polarization in FRB 20180301A
Authors: Uttarkar Pavan A , Shannon Ryan M , Lower Marcus E , Kumar Pravir , Price Danny C , Deller A T , Gourdji K
Published: September 2024

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are short-time-scale transients of extragalactic origin. The number of detected FRBs has grown dramatically since their serendipitous discovery from archival data. Some FRBs have also been seen to repeat. The polarimetric properties of repeating FRBs show diverse behaviour and, at times, extreme polarimetric morphology, suggesting a complex magneto-ionic circumburst environment for this class of FRB. The polarimetric properties such as circular polarization behaviour of FRBs are crucial for understanding their surrounding magnetic-ionic environment. The circular polarization previously observed in some of the repeating FRB sources has been attributed to propagation effects such as generalized Faraday rotation (GFR), where conversion from linear to circular polarization occurs due to the non-circular modes of transmission in relativistic plasma. The discovery burst from the repeating FRB 20180301A showed significant frequency-dependent circular polarization behaviour, which was initially speculated to be instrumental due to a sidelobe detection. Here, we revisit the properties given the subsequent interferometric localization of the burst, which indicates that the burst was detected in the primary beam of the Parkes/Murriyang 20-cm multibeam receiver. We develop a Bayesian Stokes-Q, U, and V fit method to model the GFR effect, which is independent of the total polarized flux parameter. Using the GFR model we show that the rotation measure (RM) estimated is two orders of magnitude smaller and opposite sign ($\sim$28 rad m$^{-2}$) than the previously reported value. We interpret the implication of the circular polarization on its local magnetic environment and reinterpret its long-term temporal evolution in RM.