bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of perineal outcomes in Chinese women adopting lateral positions and lithotomy positions during the passive and active phases of the second stage of labour: An observational study
Authors: Huang Jing , Lu Hong , Wang Jianying , Yang Minghui , Hu Yinchu , Feng Xue , Ren Lihua , Zang Yu
Published: March 2022

Aims

To compare the effects of the adoption of lateral positions and lithotomy positions during the passive and active phases of the second stage of labour on perineal outcomes.

Design

An observational study with prospectively collected data, conducted in three hospitals in China.

Method

Attending midwives recorded the perineal outcomes and characteristics of women giving birth between July–November 2020. Binary logistic regression was performed to explore the effects of lateral positions on perineal outcomes during different phases of the second stage of labour. The STROBE guidelines guided the reporting of this study.

Results

Among primiparous women, when compared with those who adopted lateral positions during the passive phase of the second stage of labour and changed to lithotomy positions during the active phase, women who assumed lateral positions during both the passive and active phases had a higher rate of intact perineum/first‐degree perineal tears and a reduced risk of episiotomy, and episiotomy/second‐degree perineal tears. No significant difference was found in perineal outcomes between those who assumed lithotomy positions during the passive and active phases and those who adopted lateral positions during the passive phase and changed to lithotomy positions during the active phase. No significant difference was found in perineal outcomes among multiparous women, regardless of different positions adopted at the passive and/or the active phase.

Conclusion

Lateral positions during the active phase may have protective effects on the perineum in primiparous women. However, adopting lateral positions only during the passive phase did not promote better perineal outcomes, regardless of parity.

Relevance to clinical practice

This study will provide a further reference for the use of lateral positions during different phases of the second stage of labour among primiparous and multiparous women in clinical practice, contributing to the perineal protection during childbirth.
Gravity models for tourism demand modeling: Empirical review and outlook
Authors: Rosselló Nadal Jaume , Santana Gallego María
Published: March 2022

Tourism demand and its determining factors have been extensively explored over the past decades. Traditionally, the study of tourism demand modeling had focused on the use of time series models and forecasting. Nonetheless, during the last years the literature has revived the approach of gravity models, centered on structural dimension as opposed to dynamic factors. This survey aims to provide a useful overview and detailed information that discipline the existing literature and help future researchers about this field. To do so, this study reviews 143 key published papers that apply a gravity equation framework to tourism demand revealing that it has been used mainly in the context of bilateral tourist movements. Results show how, although the list of determining variables of tourist flows can be very large, GDP, population and distance are the most preponderant ones. Moreover, there are important challenges to be addressed by researchers in terms of empirical application of structural gravity models to tourism.
The Wisdom of the Robinhood Crowd
Authors: WELCH IVO
Published: March 2022

Robinhood investors increased their holdings in the March 2020 COVID bear market, indicating an absence of collective panic and margin calls. This steadfastness was rewarded in the subsequent bull market. Despite unusual interest in some “experience” stocks (e.g., cannabis stocks), they tilted primarily toward stocks with high past share volume and dollar‐trading volume (themselves mostly big stocks). From mid‐2018 to mid‐2020, an aggregated crowd consensus portfolio (a proxy for the household‐equal‐weighted portfolio) had both good timing and good alpha.
Autonomic dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A neurophysiological and neurosonology study
Authors: Papadopoulou Marianna , Bakola Eleni , Papapostolou Apostolos , Stefanou Maria Ioanna , Moschovos Christos , Salakou Stavroula , Zis Panagiotis , Zouvelou Vasiliki , Kimiskidis Vasilios K. , Chroni Elisabeth , Tsivgoulis Georgios
Published: March 2022

Background and Purpose

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting upper and lower motor neurons. Some ALS patients exhibit concomitant nonmotor signs, and thus ALS is considered a multisystem disorder. The aim of this study is to investigate autonomous nervous system involvement in ALS.

Methods

We investigated 21 ALS patients and 28 age‐matched controls. ALS patients were assessed for disease severity with the Revised‐ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFSR) and for the presence of autonomic symptoms with the Composite Autonomic Symptom Score scale. Sympathetic nervous system was evaluated by sympathetic skin response (SSR) and parasympathetic nervous system by ultrasonography of vagus nerve (VN) at the level of the thyroid gland.

Results

SSR latencies were shorter and SSR amplitudes were higher in controls compared to ALS patients. The cross‐sectional area (CSA) of the VN was significantly smaller in ALS patients (mean CSA right/left: 1.73±0.62 mm2/1.47±0.53 mm2) compared to controls (mean CSA right/left: 2.91±0.79 mm2/2.30±0.80 mm2), right: p <. 001, left: p <. 001. There was a significant negative correlation between disease duration and CSA of left‐VN (r = –0.493, p = .023). This correlation was attenuated between disease duration and CSA of right‐VN (r = –0.419, p = .059). ALSFSR‐R was positively correlated to CSA of right‐VN (p = .006, r = 0.590). CSA of VN did not correlate with bulbar involvement.

Conclusions

This study confirms the presence of autonomic dysfunction in ALS patients and provides evidence of VN atrophy that correlates with disease severity and duration and is independent of bulbar involvement. Degeneration of dorsal nucleus neurons of the VN is hypothesized.
Efficacy and safety of tenofovir alafenamide versus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in treatment‐naïve chronic hepatitis B
Authors: Lim Jihye , Choi Won‐Mook , Shim Ju Hyun , Lee Danbi , Kim Kang Mo , Lim Young‐Suk , Lee Han Chu , Choi Jonggi
Published: March 2022

Background and Aims

We used real‐world data to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) compared with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) in treatment‐naïve patients with CHB.

Methods

We analysed 2747 patients with CHB under TAF (n = 502) or TDF (n = 2245) treatments. Virological responses (VR: HBV DNA <15 IU/ml), on‐treatment ALT normalization, the incidence of HCC, renal function and lipid profiles were compared between these groups. Propensity score matching of 495 pairs was conducted for these comparisons.

Results

The mean age of the total cohort was 48.6 years and 58.2% of the subjects were male. Cirrhosis had a 33.3% prevalence in the population. VRs at 12, 24 and 36 months were achieved in 70.3%, 81.2% and 83.3% of the TAF and 67.9%, 84.3% and 86.1% in the TDF cases respectively (p > 0.05 for all). Normalized ALT, as determined by local laboratory criteria (<40 U/L), occurred in 79.7%, 90.6% and 86.2% of TAF the group and 78.2%, 85.8% and 85.7% of the TDF group at 12, 24 and 36 months respectively (p > 0.05 for all). The HCC risk did not statistically differ across the entire cohort or in the PS‐matched cohort. The TAF group showed a lower median increase in serum creatinine from baseline during the early study period. Compared with the TAF, the TDF group showed significant decreases in total cholesterol, triglyceride and HDL, but not in LDL.

Conclusions

Real‐word data indicate that TAF has comparable efficacies to TDF in terms of VR and ALT normalization, with no higher risk of HCC.
Automatic feature type selection in digital photogrammetry of piping
Authors: Tian Yang , Ding Chengxiao , Lin Yueh Feng , Ma Shugen , Li Longchuan
Published: March 2022

A building information model for pipes already in place is essential in maintenance, for example, mending, reconstruction, and modernizing. However, current point cloud construction methods are not suited to complex piping systems, and many point cloud merging methods perform poorly in complex piping environments. To provide critical functions for constructing pipe point clouds from digital photogrammetry, a feature type selection network (FTSNet) is proposed. First, a digital photogrammetry method combining FTSNet with handcrafted features is proposed. Second, a piping data set of various piping scenes is constructed and evaluated using the developed data capturing device. A training data set and the corresponding network output categories are determined according to pose‐estimation performance using different image feature types. Finally, experiments conducted on the final test data set indicate that, together, digital photogrammetry and FTSNet can improve accuracy, flexibility, and processing speed.
Nationalism and environmentalism: The case of Vauban
Authors: Posocco Lorenzo , Watson Iarfhlaith
Published: March 2022

Although nationalism has been identified as the dominant ideology of the modern era, and environmentalism is the 21st century rising star, few studies address the relationship between them. The consensus seems to be that they are hardly compatible, considering that nationalism is a boundary‐building phenomenon while environmentalism advocates for the safeguarding of the environment beyond national borders. Drawing on evidence from fieldwork in the region of Freiburg‐im‐Breisgau, near the French‐German border, our study challenges this assumption. Not long ago this was a heavily militarised territory and a place of historical national friction between France and Germany, yet now it has been converted to, and rebranded as, a model of a successful, environmentally friendly region. Rather than wearing down nationalist sentiments, national pride has been reinvigorated as the vestiges of German nationalism have been buried under a thick layer of environmental paint; this time national pride is grounded not in the military power of the nation but in its defence of the environment. Through this case study, framed within the lens of nationalism theories, we argue that nationalism has the potential power to adapt to harmful heteronomous threats such as environmentalism, leverage on and bond with them and finally re‐emerge even stronger.
Challenges of diabetes care in India: Results from a Family Cohort Study
Authors: Devassy Saju Madavanakadu , Allagh Komal Preet , Benny Anuja Maria , Scaria Lorane
Published: March 2022

Objectives

Diabetes is a significant public health concern in India, with Kerala being labeled as the diabetes capital of the country. The study aims to evaluate the prevalence, treatment, and management of diabetes to examine the unmet need for care to propose cost‐effective strategies.

Design

A cross‐sectional study was conducted on a geographically defined cohort population in Ernakulam.

Sample

This paper presents diabetes data of adults ≥30 years enrolled from the community cohort. The interviews were conducted with 997 participants at their residence.

Measurement

Random blood glucose was assessed for each participant using a finger prick test.

Results

The overall prevalence of diabetes was 30.1%, of which 4.1% of participants had undiagnosed diabetes. Among those with diabetes, 86.3% were aware of their diagnosis; among those aware, 86.5% were on treatment. Among those on treatment for diabetes, 54% achieved controlled blood sugar.

Conclusion

The challenge in diabetes management is controlling the blood glucose levels of people who adhere to treatment. Younger employed females from lower‐income quartiles have the highest risk. The study also raises questions about quality and strategies for medication compliance. The findings inspire future research on care needs, policies, and program responses to reduce the diabetes disease burden.
Pricing strategies in the German term life insurance market: An empirical analysis
Authors: Jahnert Jonas R. , Schmeiser Hato , Schreiber Florian
Published: March 2022

The life insurance sector is highly regulated. Areas of regulation include not only solvency requirements but also product pricing. In most industries, companies aim to increase producer rents by using information regarding the customer's willingness to pay (WTP), which allows them to endeavor price discrimination if no perfect competition prevails. In this article, we investigate the pricing behavior in the German Term Life insurance market by analyzing market prices, actuarial fair pricing, and the WTP for eighteen customer groups and three product categories. The results show that premiums charged for budget Term Life insurance products are in some cases even below the actuarially fair price. For term life insurance products with additional services, regulation, and market conditions hinder insurance companies from employing advanced strategies of price discrimination and the employment of the WTP.
Young, non‐Hispanic Black men and women exhibit divergent peripheral and cerebral vascular reactivity
Authors: Akins John D. , Martin Zachary T. , Patik Jordan C. , Curtis Bryon M. , Campbell Jeremiah C. , Olvera Guillermo , Brothers R. Matthew
Published: March 2022

New Findings

What is the central question of the study?

Do peripheral and cerebral vascular function differ between young non‐Hispanic Black men and women?

What is the main finding and its importance?

The non‐Hispanic Black women in this study presented greater peripheral conduit artery and cerebrovascular reactivity, yet similar peripheral microvascular function relative to the non‐Hispanic Black men. These preliminary findings suggest that young Black women and men possess divergent vascular function, possibly contributing to the unique non‐Hispanic Black sex differences in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

In the USA, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases remain more prominent in the non‐Hispanic Black (BL) population relative to other racial/ethnic groups. Typically, sex differences emerge in the manifestation of these diseases, though these differences may not fully materialize in the BL population. While numerous mechanisms are implicated, differences in vascular function likely contribute. Research has demonstrated blunted vasodilatation in several vascular regions in BL versus non‐Hispanic White individuals, though much of this work did not assess sex differences. Therefore, this study aimed to ascertain if indices of vascular function are different between young BL women (BW) and men (BM). Eleven BW and 15 BM (22 (4) vs. 23 (3) years) participated in this study. Each participant underwent testing for brachial artery flow‐mediated dilatation (FMD), post‐occlusive reactive hyperaemia and cerebral vasomotor reactivity during rebreathing‐induced hypercapnia. BW exhibited greater adjusted FMD than BM (P < 0.05 for all), but similar or lower reactive hyperaemia when assessed as blood velocity (P > 0.39 for all) or blood flow reactivity (P < 0.05 for all), respectively. Across a range of hypercapnia, BW had greater middle cerebral artery blood velocity and cerebrovascular conductance index than BM (P < 0.001 for both). These preliminary data suggest that young BW have greater vascular function relative to young BM, though this was inconsistent across different indices. These findings provide insight into the divergent epidemiological findings between BM and BW. Further research is needed to elucidate possible mechanisms and relate these physiological responses to epidemiological observations.
Novel mechanosensory role for acid sensing ion channel subtype 1a in evoking the exercise pressor reflex in rats with heart failure
Authors: Butenas Alec L. E. , Rollins Korynne S. , Parr Shannon K. , Hammond Stephen T. , Ade Carl J. , Hageman K. Sue , Musch Timothy I. , Copp Steven W.
Published: March 2022

Mechanical and metabolic signals associated with skeletal muscle contraction stimulate the sensory endings of thin fibre muscle afferents, which, in turn, generates reflex increases in sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) and blood pressure (the exercise pressor reflex; EPR). EPR activation in patients and animals with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HF‐rEF) results in exaggerated increases in SNA and promotes exercise intolerance. In the healthy decerebrate rat, a subtype of acid sensing ion channel (ASIC) on the sensory endings of thin fibre muscle afferents, namely ASIC1a, has been shown to contribute to the metabolically sensitive portion of the EPR (i.e. metaboreflex), but not the mechanically sensitive portion of the EPR (i.e. the mechanoreflex). However, the role played by ASIC1a in evoking the EPR in HF‐rEF is unknown. We hypothesized that, in decerebrate, unanaesthetized HF‐rEF rats, injection of the ASIC1a antagonist psalmotoxin‐1 (PcTx‐1; 100 ng) into the hindlimb arterial supply would reduce the reflex increase in renal SNA (RSNA) evoked via 30 s of electrically induced static hindlimb muscle contraction, but not static hindlimb muscle stretch (model of mechanoreflex activation isolated from contraction‐induced metabolite‐production). We found that PcTx‐1 reduced the reflex increase in RSNA evoked in response to muscle contraction (n = 8; mean (SD) ∫ΔRSNA pre: 1343 (588) a.u.; post: 816 (573) a.u.; P = 0.026) and muscle stretch (n = 6; ∫ΔRSNA pre: 688 (583) a.u.; post: 304 (370) a.u.; P = 0.025). Our data suggest that, in HF‐rEF rats, ASIC1a contributes to activation of the exercise pressor reflex and that contribution includes a novel role for ASIC1a in mechanosensation that is not present in healthy rats.

Key points

Skeletal muscle contraction results in exaggerated reflex increases in sympathetic nerve activity in heart failure patients compared to healthy counterparts, which likely contributes to increased cardiovascular risk and impaired tolerance for even mild exercise (i.e. activities of daily living) for patients suffering with this condition.

Activation of acid sensing ion channel subtype 1a (ASIC1a) on the sensory endings of thin fibre muscle afferents during skeletal muscle contraction contributes to reflex increases in sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure, at least in healthy subjects.

In this study, we demonstrate that ASIC1a on the sensory endings of thin fibre muscle afferents plays a role in both the mechanical and metabolic components of the exercise pressor reflex in male rats with heart failure.

The present data identify a novel role for ASIC1a in evoking the exercise pressor reflex in heart failure and may have important clinical implications for heart failure patients.
Activation of histamine type 2 receptors enhances intrinsic excitability of medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens
Authors: Aceto Giuseppe , Nardella Luca , Nanni Simona , Pecci Valeria , Bertozzi Alessia , Colussi Claudia , D'Ascenzo Marcello , Grassi Claudio
Published: March 2022

Histaminergic neurons are exclusively located in the hypothalamic tuberomammillary nucleus, from where they project to many brain areas including the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain area that integrates diverse monoaminergic inputs to coordinate motivated behaviours. While the NAc expresses various histamine receptor subtypes, the mechanisms by which histamine modulates NAc activity are still poorly understood. Using whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings, we found that pharmacological activation of histamine 2 (H2) receptors elevates the excitability of NAc medium spiny neurons (MSNs), while activation of H1 receptors failed to significantly affect MSN excitability. The evoked firing of MSNs increased after seconds of local H2 agonist administration and remained elevated for minutes. H2 receptor (H2R) activation accelerated subthreshold depolarization in response to current injection, reduced the latency to fire, diminished action potential afterhyperpolarization and increased the action potential half‐width. The increased excitability was protein kinase A‐dependent and associated with decreased A‐type K+ currents. In addition, selective pharmacological inhibition of the Kv4.2 channel, the main molecular determinant of A‐type K+ currents in MSNs, mimicked and occluded the increased excitability induced by H2R activation. Our results indicate that histaminergic transmission in the NAc increases MSN intrinsic excitability through H2R‐dependent modulation of Kv4.2 channels. Activation of H2R will significantly alter spike firing in MSNs in vivo, and this effect could be an important mechanism by which these receptors mediate certain aspects of goal‐induced behaviours.

Key points

Histamine is synthesized and released by hypothalamic neurons of the tuberomammillary nucleus and serves as a general modulator for whole‐brain activity including the nucleus accumbens.

Histamine receptors type 2 (HR2), which are expressed in the nucleus accumbens, couple to Gαs/off proteins which elevate cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels and activate protein kinase A.

Whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings revealed that H2R activation increased the evoked firing in medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens via protein kinase A‐dependent mechanisms.

HR2 activation accelerated subthreshold depolarization in response to current injection, reduced the latency to fire, diminished action potential medium after‐hyperpolarization and increased the action potential half‐width. HR2 activation also reduced A‐type potassium current.

Selective pharmacological inhibition of the Kv4.2 channel mimicked and occluded the increased excitability induced by H2R activation.
A Dynamic System Model for Roll-to-Roll Dry Transfer of Two-Dimensional Materials and Printed Electronics
Authors: Zhao Qishen , Hong Nan , Chen Dongmei , Li Wei
Published: March 2022

Roll-to-roll (R2R) dry transfer is an important process for manufacturing of large-scale two-dimensional (2D) materials and printed flexible electronics. Existing research has demonstrated the feasibility of dry transfer of 2D materials in a roll-to-roll setting with mechanical peeling. However, the process presents a significant challenge to system control due to the lack of understanding of the mechanical peeling behavior and the complexity of the nonlinear system dynamics. In this study, an R2R peeling process model is developed to understand the dynamic interaction among the peeling process parameters, including adhesion energy, peeling force, angle, and speed. Both simulation and experimental studies are conducted to validate the model. It is shown that the dynamic system model can capture the transient behavior of the R2R mechanical peeling process and be used for the process analysis and control design.
Laplace-Beltrami based multi-resolution shape reconstruction on subdivision surfaces
Authors: Alsnayyan A. M. A. , Shanker B.
Published: March 2022

The eigenfunctions of the Laplace-Beltrami operator have widespread applications in a number of disciplines of engineering, computer vision/graphics, machine learning, etc. These eigenfunctions or manifold harmonics (MHs) provide the means to smoothly interpolate data on a manifold and are highly effective, specifically as it relates to geometry representation and editing; MHs form a natural basis for multi-resolution representation (and editing) of complex surfaces and functions defined therein. In this paper, we seek to develop the framework to exploit the benefits of MHs for shape reconstruction. To this end, a highly compressible, multi-resolution shape reconstruction scheme using MHs is developed. The method relies on subdivision basis sets to construct boundary element isogeometric methods for analysis and surface finite elements to construct MHs. This technique is paired with the volumetric source reconstruction method to determine an initial starting point. The examples presented highlight efficacy of the approach in the presence of noisy data, including a significant reduction in the number of degrees of freedom for complex objects, accuracy of reconstruction, and multi-resolution capabilities.
Understanding the Lack of Diversity in Sport Consumer Behavior Research
Authors: Delia Elizabeth B. , Nicole Melton E. , Sveinson Katherine , Cunningham George B. , Lock Daniel
Published: March 2022

Sport consumer behavior researchers have developed a robust understanding of how and why people consume sport, and the consequences of consumption. There has been little reflection, however, on the settings or populations used to study consumers and develop theory. In acknowledging the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion to advance both theory and practice, the authors conducted a scoping review of diversity in sport consumer behavior research, focusing on four sport management journals. The review revealed a widespread lack of diversity, with most studies focusing on men’s sport in highly commercialized settings. Furthermore, study participants often identify as White men, middle-aged or young, educated, and with at least some disposable income. Leveraging an institutional work lens, the authors address taken-for-granted norms that may have contributed to these trends and propose solutions.
Modulation of RecFORQ- and RecA-Mediated Homologous Recombination in Escherichia coli by Isoforms of Translation Initiation Factor IF2
Authors: Mallikarjun Jillella , SaiSree L. , Himabindu P. , Anupama K. , Reddy Manjula , Gowrishankar J.
Published: March 2022

The process of homologous recombination (HR) is important for maintenance of genome integrity in all cells. In
Escherichia coli
, the RecA protein is a critical participant in HR, which acts at a step common to and downstream of two HR pathways mediated by the RecBCD and RecFOR proteins, respectively. In this study, an isoform (IF2-1) of the translation initiation factor IF2 has been identified as a novel facilitator of RecA’s function
in vivo
during HR.
CRISPR in Your Kitchen: an At-Home CRISPR Kit to Edit Genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Used during a Remote Lab Course
Authors: McDonnell Lisa , Moore Andrew , Micou Melissa , Day Christopher , Grossman Emily , Meaders Clara
Published: March 2022

The use of CRISPR-based experiments in an undergraduate course is appealing because of the ease of editing, and the relevance of CRISPR to current research. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed an in-person lab for a high-enrollment course that allowed students to design and conduct CRISPR editing experiments in budding yeast,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
.
Rescue of Pentamer-Null Strains of Human Cytomegalovirus in Epithelial Cells by Use of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Reveals an Additional Postentry Function for the Pentamer Complex
Authors: Beucler Matthew J. , Miller William E.
Published: March 2022

Human cytomegalovirus has a wide cellular tropism, which is driven by one of its glycoprotein complexes, the pentamer. Laboratory-adapted strains continuously passaged on fibroblasts readily lose pentamer function and thus lose their ability to infect diverse cell types such as epithelial cells.
Structural Basis for Human Receptor Recognition by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant BA.1
Authors: Geng Qibin , Shi Ke , Ye Gang , Zhang Wei , Aihara Hideki , Li Fang
Published: March 2022

Despite the scarcity of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor—human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)—in the respiratory tract, the omicron variant efficiently infects the respiratory tract, causing rapid and widespread infections of COVID-19. The omicron variant contains extensive mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of its spike protein that recognizes human ACE2.
Molecular Virology of SARS-CoV-2 and Related Coronaviruses
Authors: Kung Yu-An , Lee Kuo-Ming , Chiang Huan-Jung , Huang Sheng-Yu , Wu Chung-Jung , Shih Shin-Ru
Published: March 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten the lives of hundreds of millions of people, with a severe negative impact on the global economy.
Complete Genome Sequence of Burkholderia cenocepacia Phage Paku
Authors: Rezene Sefanit , Yao Guichun , Le Tram , Burrowes Ben , Gonzalez Carlos , Liu Mei , Gill Jason
Published: March 2022

Burkholderia cenocepacia
is able to cause infections in cystic fibrosis patients.
B. cenocepacia
phage Paku has a 42,727-bp genome sharing a phiKMV-like genome arrangement. T7-like tail components were identified in parallel with a tyrosine integrase, suggesting that Paku might exhibit a temperate lifestyle, an atypical feature for an
Autographiviridae
phage.
Tup1 Paralog
CgTUP11
Is a Stronger Repressor of Transcription than
CgTUP1
in Candida glabrata
Authors: Bui Lilian N. , Iosue Christine L. , Wykoff Dennis D.
Published: March 2022

Due to a whole-genome duplication, many yeast species related to
C. glabrata
have two copies of the well-characterized
TUP1
gene, unlike most
Saccharomyces
species. This work identifies roles for the paralogs in
C. glabrata
, highlights the importance of the uncharacterized paralog, called
TUP11
, and suggests that the two paralogs have both overlapping and unique functions.
Species Identity Dominates over Environment in Driving Bacterial Community Assembly in Wild Invasive Leaf Miners
Authors: Zhu Yu-Xi , Chang Ya-Wen , Wen Tao , Yang Run , Wang Yu-Cheng , Wang Xin-Yu , Lu Ming-Xing , Du Yu-Zhou
Published: March 2022

The invasion of foreign species, including leaf miners, is a major threat to world biota. Host-associated microbiota may facilitate host adaption and expansion in a variety of ways.
A Novel Approach toward Less Invasive Multiomics Gut Analyses: a Pilot Study
Authors: Berlinberg Adam J. , Brar Ana , Stahly Andrew , Gerich Mark E. , Fennimore Blair P. , Scott Frank I. , Kuhn Kristine A.
Published: March 2022

In order to generate meaningful metabolomic and microbiome data, the method of sample collection is critical. This study utilizes and compares two methods for intestinal tissue collection for evaluation of metabolites and microbiomes, finding that using a brush to sample the microbiome provides valuable data. However, for metabolomics assessment, biopsy samples may still be required.
Supplemental Material: Oxygen isotope evidence for progressively assimilating trans-crustal magma plumbing systems in Iceland
Authors: Caracciolo Alberto , al. et
Published: March 2022

Samples and analytical method, modeling constraints, and analytical dataset.
Effect of rapeseed straw-derived biochar on soil bacterial community structure at tillering stage of Oryza Sativa
Authors: Zhao Chunrong , Yin Xiaohong , Chen Jiana , Cao Fangbo , Abou-Elwafa Salah F. , Huang Min
Published: March 2022

Numerous studies have reported the dynamics of microbes when biochar was applied, whereas the information on the alterations of bacterial community after application of rapeseed straw-derived biochar is limited. A pot experiment with two rapeseed straw-derived biochar application treatments (with biochar application at the rate of 200 g/pot, C1, and without biochar application, 0 g/pot, C0) was conducted. No significant differences were observed in the number of operational taxonomic units, observed species, Shannon index, Simpson index, Chao1, ACE, and phylogenetic diversity whole tree between the C1 and C0 treatments. Taxonomic analysis at the phylum level showed that the abundances of Bacteroidetes and Parcubacteria were higher in the C1 treatment compared to the C0 treatment, while Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Rokubacteria, Berkelbacteria, and Latescibacteria were observed with higher abundance in the C0 treatment compared to the C1 treatment. Taxonomic analysis at the genus level showed that the abundances of Gracilibacter, Lentimicrobium, unidentified Rikenellaceae, Hydrogenophaga, and Bacillus were higher in the C1 treatment compared to the C0 treatment, while Candidatus Solibacter, Candidatus Koribacter, and Lutispora abundances were found to be higher in the C0 treatment compared to the C1 treatment. Obvious clusters were observed between the C1 and C0 treatments in both principal component analysis and nonmetric multidimensional scaling. These results indicate that soil bacterial community was altered after rapeseed straw-derived biochar was applied.
Background reduction at the KATRIN experiment by the shifted analysing plane configuration
Authors: Lokhov Alexey , Bieringer Benedikt , Drexlin Guido , Dyba Stephan , Gauda Kevin , Fränkle Florian , Glück Ferenc , Hannen Volker , Hinz Dominic , Mertens Susanne , Rodenbeck Caroline , Schaller Anna , Weinheimer Christian
Published: March 2022

The KATRIN experiment aims at measuring the electron neutrino mass with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV/c$$^2$$

2

after 5 years of data taking. Recently a new upper limit for the neutrino mass of 0.8 eV/c$$^2$$

2

(90% CL) was obtained. To reach the design sensitivity, a reduction of the background rate by one order of magnitude is required. The shifted analysing plane (SAP) configuration exploits a specific shaping of the electric and magnetic fields in the KATRIN main spectrometer to reduce the spectrometer background by a factor of two. We discuss the general idea of the SAP configuration and describe the main features of this novel measurement mode.
Finite temperature applications in Gödel space-time
Authors: Santos A. F. , Khanna Faqir C.
Published: March 2022

Temperature effects in a scalar field non-minimally coupled to gravity are investigated. The Thermo Field Dynamics formalism is used. This is a topological field theory that allows us to calculate different effects, such as the Stefan–Boltzmann law and the Casimir effect, on an equal footing. These phenomena are calculated assuming the Gödel space-time as a gravitational background. A possible implication of these results at the beginning of the universe is discussed.
Using measurement induced disturbance to characterize correlations of multipartite non-k-classical states
Authors: Wang Yinzhu , Zhou Fangyu , Yang Lili , Yan Donghua , Wu Huimei
Published: March 2022

In [S. L. Luo, Using measurement induced disturbance to characterize correlations as classical or quantum, Phys. Rev. A77 (2008) 022301], the author presented a statistical correlation measure for bipartite quantum states using measurement induced disturbance. In this paper, motivated by this correlation measure, we obtain some necessary conditions for [Formula: see text]-classical states in multipartite quantum systems, and obtain a relation between the set of [Formula: see text]-classical states and the set of [Formula: see text]-product states; Secondly, we introduce a class of correlation measures based on trace distance using measurement induced disturbance in order to quantify the strength of correlation for non-[Formula: see text]-classical states; Lastly, we introduce the concept of quantum channel with respect to [Formula: see text]-partition, it is simply denoted by identical-[Formula: see text]-channel, and furthermore discuss the influences of the correlation measure under identical-[Formula: see text]-channel.
Crust first–mantle second and mantle first–crust second; lithospheric break-up scenarios along the Indian margins
Authors: Nemčok Michal , Pospíšil Lubomil , Melnik Anastasia , Henk Andreas , Doré Anthony G. , Rybár Samuel , Sinha Sudipta T. , Choudhuri Mainak , Sharma Suraj P. , Stuart Charles J. , Welker Chelsea , Sinha Neeraj , Nuttall Peter , Venkatraman Sujata
Published: March 2022

Compared segments of the East and West Indian passive margins have different evolutions and crustal architecture. The East Indian margin is less magmatic. It results from a crust first–mantle second break-up scenario of a continent experiencing two rift events. The West Indian margin is more magmatic. It results from a mantle first–crust second break-up scenario of a continent experiencing four rift events. The architecture across both margins can be divided into stretching, thinning and hyperextension zones. The East Indian margin is characterized by oceanward-dipping listric normal faults that accommodate thinning in the thinning and hyperextension zones, and a zone of exhumed mantle separating continental and oceanic crusts. The West Indian margin in contrast is characterized by landward-dipping listric faults that accommodate magma-assisted thinning in the thinning and hyperextension zones, and no exhumed mantle. The final break-up affects the lithospheric mantle layer in the East Indian case and the crustal layer in the West Indian case. Although the temperature-dependent rheologies of these two last unbroken layers are somewhat different, seismic interpretation suggests that they are both broken by upward-convex normal faults, which succeeded the development of listric faults. They appear to be the first spontaneously formed faults in the break-up-delivering process, although their nucleation may be magma-assisted. The main difference between the controlling factors of the aforementioned break-up scenarios affecting similar lithospheres at similar extension rates is the cumulative length of time of the pre-break-up rift events, which is 62 and 115 myr for the East and West Indian margins, respectively.
The potential for REEs in igneous-related apatite deposits in Europe
Authors: Decrée Sophie , Coint Nolwenn , Debaille Vinciane , Hagen-Peter Graham , Leduc Thierry , Schiellerup Henrik
Published: March 2022

Phosphate rocks and rare earth elements (REEs) as potential by-products are listed as Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) by the European Commission. In Europe, igneous-related phosphate deposits are associated with carbonatites, alkaline complexes, (ultra)mafic intrusions, iron oxide–apatite (IOA) and iron oxide–copper–gold (IOCG) mineralization, and granites or are formed in a metasomatic/hydrothermal context. To provide an overview of these deposits and assess their potential in CRMs, a database gathering
in situ
analyses of apatite was compiled. The data emphasize the significant REE enrichment of apatite related to alkaline complexes and carbonatites. They also guide the use of apatite in mineral exploration, based on distinct geochemical characteristics. Among the latter are the Sr, Mn, total REE and Y contents of apatite, the degree of light and middle REE enrichment, the Eu anomaly, and the tetrad effect. Additional bulk-rock analyses combined with estimates of reserves/resources of the deposits indicate a sub-economic potential of REEs to be exploited as by-products of phosphate mining at Kodal, Bjerkreim–Sokndal and in the northern Norrbotten district (Sweden). This study helps to identify new deposits/areas of interest for CRM exploration in Europe that could contribute to decreasing the supply risk for these raw materials through domestic production.
Verifix: Verified Repair of Programming Assignments
Authors: Ahmed Umair Z. , Fan Zhiyu , Yi Jooyong , Al-Bataineh Omar I. , Roychoudhury Abhik
Published: March 2022

Automated feedback generation for introductory programming assignments is useful for programming education. Most works try to generate feedback to correct a student program by comparing its behavior with an instructor’s reference program on selected tests. In this work, our aim is to generate verifiably correct program repairs as student feedback. A student-submitted program is aligned and composed with a reference solution in terms of control flow, and the variables of the two programs are automatically aligned via predicates describing the relationship between the variables. When verification attempt for the obtained aligned program fails, we turn a verification problem into a MaxSMT problem whose solution leads to a minimal repair. We have conducted experiments on student assignments curated from a widely deployed intelligent tutoring system. Our results show that generating verified repair without sacrificing the overall repair rate is possible. In fact, our implementation, Verifix, is shown to outperform Clara, a state-of-the-art tool, in terms of repair rate. This shows the promise of using verified repair to generate high confidence feedback in programming pedagogy settings.
Field Note on Doing Digital Rights: Central and Southeast Europe Monitoring Project
Authors: Bajić Mila , Petrovski Andrej , Perkov Bojan
Published: March 2022

This field note presents a look at the SHARE Monitoring project, which collects and classifies digital rights violations in Southeast Europe. Emerging threats in the digital environment have exponentially grown in the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given these circumstances, projects that focus on monitoring and understanding the newly evolved digital sphere are increasingly valuable. This field note is focused on explaining the process of gathering and categorizing digital rights violations and breaches of freedom, which aim to provide a comprehensive look at the conditions of digital rights in Southeast Europe. Since the beginning of the project in 2014, the focus was to provide a reliable image of the state of digital rights as well as to potentially provide a blueprint for mitigating future violations based on previous experiences and cases.
Quantum Algorithm Implementations for Beginners
Authors: J. Abhijith , Adedoyin Adetokunbo , Ambrosiano John , Anisimov Petr , Casper William , Chennupati Gopinath , Coffrin Carleton , Djidjev Hristo , Gunter David , Karra Satish , Lemons Nathan , Lin Shizeng , Malyzhenkov Alexander , Mascarenas David , Mniszewski Susan , Nadiga Balu , O’malley Daniel , Oyen Diane , Pakin Scott , Prasad Lakshman , Roberts Randy , Romero Phillip , Santhi Nandakishore , Sinitsyn Nikolai , Swart Pieter J. , Wendelberger James G. , Yoon Boram , Zamora Richard , Zhu Wei , Eidenbenz Stephan , Bärtschi Andreas , Coles Patrick J. , Vuffray Marc , Lokhov Andrey Y.
Published: March 2022

As quantum computers become available to the general public, the need has arisen to train a cohort of quantum programmers, many of whom have been developing classical computer programs for most of their careers. While currently available quantum computers have less than 100 qubits, quantum computing hardware is widely expected to grow in terms of qubit count, quality, and connectivity. This review aims at explaining the principles of quantum programming, which are quite different from classical programming, with straightforward algebra that makes understanding of the underlying fascinating quantum mechanical principles optional. We give an introduction to quantum computing algorithms and their implementation on real quantum hardware. We survey 20 different quantum algorithms, attempting to describe each in a succinct and self-contained fashion. We show how these algorithms can be implemented on IBM’s quantum computer, and in each case, we discuss the results of the implementation with respect to differences between the simulator and the actual hardware runs. This article introduces computer scientists, physicists, and engineers to quantum algorithms and provides a blueprint for their implementations.
Encoder-Decoder Networks for Analyzing Thermal and Power Delivery Networks
Authors: Chhabria Vidya A. , Ahuja Vipul , Prabhu Ashwath , Patil Nikhil , Jain Palkesh , Sapatnekar Sachin S.
Published: March 2022

Power delivery network (PDN) analysis and thermal analysis are computationally expensive tasks that are essential for successful integrated circuit (IC) design. Algorithmically, both these analyses have similar computational structure and complexity as they involve the solution to a partial differential equation of the same form. This article converts these analyses into image-to-image and sequence-to-sequence translation tasks, which allows leveraging a class of machine learning models with an encoder-decoder–based generative (EDGe) architecture to address the time-intensive nature of these tasks. For PDN analysis, we propose two networks: (i) IREDGe: a full-chip static and dynamic IR drop predictor and (ii) EMEDGe: electromigration (EM) hotspot classifier based on input power, power grid distribution, and power pad distribution patterns. For thermal analysis, we propose ThermEDGe, a full-chip static and dynamic temperature estimator based on input power distribution patterns for thermal analysis. These networks are transferable across designs synthesized within the same technology and packing solution. The networks predict on-chip IR drop, EM hotspot locations, and temperature in milliseconds with negligibly small errors against commercial tools requiring several hours.
The
SemIoTic
Ecosystem: A Semantic Bridge between IoT Devices and Smart Spaces
Authors: Yus Roberto , Bouloukakis Georgios , Mehrotra Sharad , Venkatasubramanian Nalini
Published: March 2022

Smart space administration and application development is challenging in part due to the semantic gap that exists between the high-level requirements of users and the low-level capabilities of IoT devices. The stakeholders in a smart space are required to deal with communicating with specific IoT devices, capturing data, processing it, and abstracting it out to generate useful inferences. Additionally, this makes reusability of smart space applications difficult, since they are developed for specific sensor deployments. In this article, we present a holistic approach to IoT smart spaces, the
SemIoTic
ecosystem, to facilitate application development, space management, and service provision to its inhabitants. The ecosystem is based on a centralized repository, where developers can advertise their space-agnostic applications, and a
SemIoTic
system deployed in each smart space that interacts with those applications to provide them with the required information.
SemIoTic
applications are developed using a metamodel that defines high-level concepts abstracted from the smart space about the space itself and the people within it. Application requirements can be expressed then in terms of user-friendly high-level concepts, which are automatically translated by
SemIoTic
into sensor/actuator commands adapted to the underlying device deployment in each space. We present a reference implementation of the ecosystem that has been deployed at the University of California, Irvine and is abstracting data from hundreds of sensors in the space and providing applications to campus members.
Perspective—Oxygen-Based Fuel Cell and Reversible Systems for Heavy-Duty Motive and Stationary Applications
Authors: St-Pierre Jean
Published: March 2022

The levelized cost of reversible fuel cells is used to identify benefits associated with oxygen use. For the same application, only three parameters influence the cost: roundtrip efficiency, total installation and operation/maintenance costs. The higher efficiency reversible solid oxide fuel cell is preferred. Volume considerations suggest oxygen use in heavy-duty proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Oxygen differentially affects PEMFC degradation modes and limited data hamper the estimation of operation/maintenance costs. Comparative cost analyses and durability data are needed to ensure that the anticipated massive amount of oxygen produced by electrolysis, which is frequently vented, is not a lost opportunity.
Fasting potentiates insulin-mediated glucose uptake in rested and prior-contracted rat skeletal muscle
Authors: Kido Kohei , Egawa Tatsuro , Watanabe Shinya , Kawanaka Kentaro , Treebak Jonas T. , Hayashi Tatsuya
Published: March 2022

In this study, we revealed that 36 h of fasting additively upregulated acute muscle contraction-induced AMPK pathway activation in rats. Besides, fasting and muscle contraction synergistically enhanced insulin-stimulated site-specific TBC1D4 phosphorylation and glucose uptake, which was associated with augmented AMPK pathway activation. These results contribute to understanding the regulation of muscle insulin sensitivity.