bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on Scheduling Problem of Manufacturing/remanufacturing Hybrid Systems
Authors: Huang Si , Liu Lin , Yang Yuting , Duan Yuli , Huang Linying
Published: October 2021

Remanufacturing plays a significant effect on saving social resources, developing green economy and reducing enterprise cost. Aiming at a production scheduling problem in manufacturing/remanufacturing hybrid systems we investigated, a multi-objective optimal scheduling model is built. The goals of optimization are to minimize total equipment idle time, total delivery delay and total setup time which are consistent with actual needs of the enterprise. An improved NSGA-II is adopted to increase the population diversity and improve the search performance. The similarity degree S is employed to evaluate the diversity of population in this paper. Crossover and mutation operations are adjusted adaptively based on S. This algorithm is applied to an engine manufacturing enterprise compared with the original genetic algorithm. The analysis of experimental results shows that the way in this paper has certain superiority.
Research on XBRL Continuous Internal Audit under the Big Data
Authors: Wen Yong
Published: October 2021

The development of digital industrialization has promoted the continuous emergence of new industries, new formats and new models, and has also promoted the transformation of the traditional internal audit model to digital and intelligent. Big data, cloud computing, XBRL, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies are important means to achieve full audit coverage, big data audit has become a hot topic in the current audit field, relevant literature mainly focuses on the impact of big data on traditional audit concepts and audit methods, the impact and risks of big data technology on informatization audits, and how the auditing community responds. However, the research on the integration of big data technology and XBRL technology into continuous internal auditing is relatively rare. Based on the introduction of three XBRL continuous internal audit models, this article analyzes the continuous internal audit process of the XBRL information system, and discusses the application of big data technology in XBRL continuous internal audit.
Workspace Analysis of Spray Painting Robot with Two Working Modes for Large Ship Blocks in Ship Manufacturing
Authors: Zeng Qingfei , Liu Xuemei , Yang Zhen , Hu Xiaocai
Published: October 2021

Spray painting is crucial in the process of shipbuilding and runs through the whole process of shipbuilding. In order to obtain the good coating quality during the painting process, gantry type painting robot could be used because of its resource-saving and environment-friendly characteristics. Based on the structural parameters of the spray painting manipulator with 3DOF (Degree of freedom) gantry, the kinematic model of the painting robot system can be established. From the perspective of the two commonly working modes, namely 3P3R robot structure and the 3P6R redundant robot structure, their spraying workspace are analyzed. The result shows that the workspace volume of the 3P6R robot is much larger than that of the 3P3R robot. However, the inverse kinematics solution of 3P3R robot has analytical solution, which makes the control accurate and easy to use, and through the simulation, we can give the theoretical basis for the engineering.
Research and development of high efficiency low emission combined cycle power plant arrangements
Authors: Komarov I I , Zlyvko O V , Vegera A N , Makhmutov B A , Shcherbatov I A
Published: October 2021

Coal-fired steam turbine thermal power plants produce a large part of electricity. These power plants usually have low efficiency and high carbon dioxide emission. An application of combined cycle power plants with coal gasification equipped with carbon capture and storage systems may increase the efficiency and decrease the harmful emission. This paper describes investigation of the oxidizer type in the integrated gasification combined cycle combustion chamber and its influence upon the energy and environmental performance. The integrated gasification combined cycle and oxy-fuel combustion technology allow the carbon dioxide capture and storage losses 58% smaller than the traditional air combustion one. The IGCC with air combustion without and with carbon dioxide capture and storage has 53.54 and 46.61% and with oxy-fuel combustion has 34.94 and 32.67% net efficiency. Together with this the CO2 emission drops down from 89.9 to 10.6 gm/kWh. The integrated coal gasification combined cycle with air oxidizer has the best net efficiency.
The influence of selenium amount added into the graphite box during the selenization of solution deposited CIGSe thin films.
Authors: Albalawneh G M , Ramli M M , Zain M ZM , Sauli Z
Published: October 2021

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) semiconductor is an efficient light absorber material for thin-film solar cell technology. The sequential evaporation of precursor solution, followed by the selenization process, is a promising non-vacuum and low-cost approach for CIGSe thin-film fabrication. The main properties of CIGSe thin films are strongly affected by the post-selenization step. Hence, thorough control of selenization parameters is essential for achieving pure crystalline, large grain films needed for high-performance solar cell devices. In this study, the impact of selenium (Se) amount added during the selenization step was evaluated. The structural, morphological, and compositional properties of the selenized thin films were investigated. The CIGSe precursor film was deposited by a spin-coating technique using a thiol/amine-based solution, followed by annealing with different Se amounts (100, 200, and 300 mg) within a partially closed small round graphite container. In all cases, uniform films of 1.2–1.5 µm thickness with a well-defined single chalcopyrite phase were obtained. It was observed that the grain size and Se content increased with increasing Se mass added. Moreover, the sample selenized with 200 mg Se resulted in higher surface coverage, thinner fine-grained layer, and less MoSe2 formation than the excess Se samples.
Solar and biomass potential of renewable energy in selected ASEAN countries and Japan
Authors: Ku Azman Shah Ku Nur Afrina , Mohd Yusop Mohd Zamri , Rohani Jafri Mohd , Fadil Nor Akmal , Hasan Mohd Faizal , Mohd Yasin Mohd Fairus , Kamaruzaman Natrah , Engku Abu Bakar Engku Mohd Nazim , Samion Syahrullail , Yahya Mohd Yazid , Manaf Norhuda Abdul , Hartono Budi , Tuyen Nguyen Duc , Masaki Tanemura , Ahmad Abdul Samad , Ramli Ashaari
Published: October 2021

ASEAN region is believed to have a great potential for biomass and solar energy generation due to its abundance of sunlight, rain, and fertile land. However, these resources are still underutilized as the current rate of renewable energy is relatively low, whereby most countries are still highly emphasizing fossil fuels. The use of fuel without replenishing the fuel source will ultimately deplete the resource in very much the same as fossil fuels currently utilized. While the concept of fuel replenishment seemed simple, the implementation posed a challenge to meet. This is where free energy in the form of solar, wind, wave, underground thermal, and biomass is being harnessed. Therefore, these forms of energy also have certain limitations depending on the geographical and the availability of the sources throughout the region. This study aims to analyze the current potential renewable energy scenario and future prospect of renewable energy resource for biomass and solar energy in selected ASEAN countries and Japan.
Generic review on the potential of nuclear-renewable hybrid system for sustainable power production in Malaysia
Authors: Ariffin Afiq , Basri Nor Afifah , Ramli Ahmad Termizi , Hashim Suhairul
Published: October 2021

Malaysia is diligently focusing its effort in developing renewable energy technology to diversify its energy sources and ensure security and sustainability in the energy sector. The development of renewable energy sector is expected to achieve 20 percent by the year 2025 to fulfil the aim of lowering greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by the energy industry. It is aligned with the commitment to the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 to reduce the emissions intensity to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 45% relative to 2005 levels by 2030. The rapid development of advance technology in the energy industry paved a new idea of integration of different energy resources for various industrial purposes, including power generation. The hybrid system between nuclear and renewable energy is an innovative application focusing to increase the efficiency and availability of electricity production, as well as providing additional services to industries from the energy generation process in the hybrid power plant. This paper presents the overview of the current scenario in the Malaysia energy industry, renewable energy status, the potential of nuclear-renewable hybrid system and the challenges of nuclear power development in Malaysia.
Dielectric Fourier metasurfaces as wide-angle Y-junction switches
Authors: Antonov Alexander A , Gorkunov Maxim V
Published: October 2021

Dielectric Fourier metasurfaces—thin layers of strongly refracting transparent materials with periodic surface nanoreliefs—are capable of versatile flat-optical functionalities, including anomalous refraction in up to near-grazing directions. Describing the reliefs by a few Fourier coefficients, one can straightforwardly optimize them numerically or, eventually, analytically in terms of the Rayleigh hypothesis. We demonstrate that silicon Fourier metasurfaces supporting anomalous refraction in near-grazing directions can be employed as efficient optical Y-junction switches. Operating in the vicinity of a certain diffraction order cutoff, they can drastically alter the direction of outgoing light due to subtle variations of the optical setup. As examples, we show the possibility to deflect 70%–80% of the power of green light by more than 150 degrees when the incoming beam is inclined by only 2 degrees, or when the relative substrate permittivity is varied by 0.1. We also evaluate the prospects of metasurfaces made of other weaker-refracting transparent materials.
Effects of extrusion ratio and direction on extruded Au nanowires investigated using molecular dynamics simulation
Authors: Wu Cheng-Da , Xu Wei-Xiang
Published: October 2021

The effects of the extrusion ratio (diameter of the extrusion mold inlet divided by that of its outlet) and direction on extruded Au nanowires (NWs) are studied using molecular dynamics simulations based on the embedded-atom method. The effects are investigated in terms of atomic trajectories, common neighbor analysis, flow field, system pressure, and the extruded NW length-pressing ram displacement curve. The simulation results show that for the forward extrusion process, a smaller extrusion ratio leads to a larger diameter of the extruded NW and a smoother cross-sectional profile. Extruded NWs obtained at a smaller extrusion ratio have a higher face-centered cubic fraction and a less disordered structure due to lower system pressure. The adhesion effect between extruded NWs and mold outer walls increases with increasing extrusion ratio, resulting in an uneven appearance of extruded NWs and a decrease in their length. The backward extrusion process can produce amorphous NWs from crystal NWs. The forward extrusion process can produce NWs that are longer than those produced with the backward extrusion process.
Structure of the maximal ideal space of 𝐇^{∞} on the countable disjoint union of open disks
Authors: Brudnyi A.
Published: October 2021

The maximal ideal space of the algebra of bounded holomorphic functions on the countable disjoint union of open unit disks

D

⊂

C

\mathbb {D}\subset \mathbb {C}

is studied from a topological point of view. The results are similar to those for the maximal ideal space of the algebra

H
∞

(

D

)

H^\infty (\mathbb {D})

.
On the separability of cyclotomic schemes over finite fields
Authors: Ponomarenko I.
Published: October 2021

It is proved that with finitely many possible exceptions, each cyclotomic scheme over a finite field is determined up to isomorphism by the tensor of

2
2

-dimensional intersection numbers; for infinitely many schemes, this result cannot be improved. As a consequence, the Weisfeiler–Leman dimension of a Paley graph or tournament is at most 

3
3

with possible exception of several small graphs.
Risk of progression to diabetes and mortality in older people with prediabetes: The English longitudinal study on ageing
Authors: Veronese Nicola , Noale Marianna , Sinclair Alan , Barbagallo Mario , Dominguez Ligia J , Smith Lee , Pizzol Damiano , Maggi Stefania
Published: October 2021

Aims

Prediabetes is used to identify people at increased risk for diabetes. However, the importance of prediabetes in older populations is still poorly explored. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of prediabetes, based on either glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels or fasting glucose (FG) levels, or both and the progression of prediabetes to diabetes or to mortality in older participants of the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing.

Materials and methods

Prediabetes was categorized based on HbA1c levels (5.7%–6.4%) and/or FG levels (5.6–7.0 mmol/L). Information regarding mortality and incident diabetes were recorded during follow-up period of 10 years.

Results

In 2027 participants (mean age: 70.6 years, 55.2% females), the prevalence of prediabetes ranged between 5.9% and 31.1%. Over 8 years of follow-up, 189 participants (5.4% of the initial population) developed diabetes and 606 (17.4%) died. Among 1,403 people with HbA1c at the baseline <5.7%, 33 developed diabetes and 138 died; in contrast, among 479 participants with a diagnosis of prediabetes using a value of HbA1c between 5.7% and 6.4%, 62 developed diabetes and 56 died. Similarly, among 1,657 people with normal values of FG at baseline 60 had a diagnosis of diabetes during follow-up and 163 died, compared to 225 with FG between 5.6 mmol/L and 7.0 mmol/L in which 35 developed diabetes and 31 died.

Conclusion

The prevalence of prediabetes in older adults is high, but the progression from prediabetes to diabetes is uncommon, whereas the regression to normoglycemia or the progression to death was more frequent.
Immunohistochemical Expression of Preferentially Expressed Antigen in Melanoma (PRAME) in the Uninvolved Background Testis, Germ Cell Neoplasia In Situ, and Germ Cell Tumors of the Testis
Authors: Ricci Costantino , Franceschini Tania , Giunchi Francesca , Grillini Marco , Ambrosi Francesca , Massari Francesco , Mollica Veronica , Colecchia Maurizio , Fiorentino Michelangelo
Published: October 2021

Objectives

Preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME) has a key role in regulating pluripotency of primordial germ cells and in the development of germ cell tumors of the testis (GCTT). However, its immunohistochemical expression in normal testes and its neoplastic counterpart remain largely unknown.

Methods

We retrospectively investigated the expression of PRAME in 26 cases of GCTT, 21 cases of germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS), and 17 cases of uninvolved background testes.

Results

We found that PRAME was expressed more strongly by seminomatous rather than nonseminomatous GCTT (P = .000) and by pure seminoma rather than the seminoma component of seminomatous/nonseminomatous GCTT (P = .025). In addition, GCNIS and uninvolved background testes displayed high levels of PRAME expression.

Conclusions

PRAME is an additional marker for the differential diagnosis of GCTT and could play a key role in the transition from seminomatous to nonseminomatous GCTT.
On the relative efficiency of the intent-to-treat Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test in the presence of noncompliance
Authors: Mao Lu
Published: October 2021

A general framework is set up to study the asymptotic properties of the intent-to-treat Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test in randomized experiments with nonignorable noncompliance. Under location-shift alternatives, the Pitman efficiencies of the intent-to-treat Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney and $t$ tests are derived. It is shown that the former is superior if the compliers are more likely to be found in high-density regions of the outcome distribution or, equivalently, if the noncompliers tend to reside in the tails. By logical extension, the relative efficiency of the two tests is sharply bounded by least and most favourable scenarios in which the compliers are segregated into regions of lowest and highest density, respectively. Such bounds can be derived analytically as a function of the compliance rate for common location families such as Gaussian, Laplace, logistic and $t$ distributions. These results can help empirical researchers choose the more efficient test for existing data, and calculate sample size for future trials in anticipation of noncompliance. Results for nonadditive alternatives and other tests follow along similar lines.
Overcoming the impacts of two-step batch effect correction on gene expression estimation and inference
Authors: Li Tenglong , Zhang Yuqing , Patil Prasad , Johnson W Evan
Published: October 2021

Nonignorable technical variation is commonly observed across data from multiple experimental runs, platforms, or studies. These so-called batch effects can lead to difficulty in merging data from multiple sources, as they can severely bias the outcome of the analysis. Many groups have developed approaches for removing batch effects from data, usually by accommodating batch variables into the analysis (one-step correction) or by preprocessing the data prior to the formal or final analysis (two-step correction). One-step correction is often desirable due it its simplicity, but its flexibility is limited and it can be difficult to include batch variables uniformly when an analysis has multiple stages. Two-step correction allows for richer models of batch mean and variance. However, prior investigation has indicated that two-step correction can lead to incorrect statistical inference in downstream analysis. Generally speaking, two-step approaches introduce a correlation structure in the corrected data, which, if ignored, may lead to either exaggerated or diminished significance in downstream applications such as differential expression analysis. Here, we provide more intuitive and more formal evaluations of the impacts of two-step batch correction compared to existing literature. We demonstrate that the undesired impacts of two-step correction (exaggerated or diminished significance) depend on both the nature of the study design and the batch effects. We also provide strategies for overcoming these negative impacts in downstream analyses using the estimated correlation matrix of the corrected data. We compare the results of our proposed workflow with the results from other published one-step and two-step methods and show that our methods lead to more consistent false discovery controls and power of detection across a variety of batch effect scenarios. Software for our method is available through GitHub (https://github.com/jtleek/sva-devel) and will be available in future versions of the $\texttt{sva}$ R package in the Bioconductor project (https://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/sva.html).
Models of psychedelic drug action: modulation of cortical-subcortical circuits
Authors: Doss Manoj K , Madden Maxwell B , Gaddis Andrew , Nebel Mary Beth , Griffiths Roland R , Mathur Brian N , Barrett Frederick S
Published: October 2021

Classic psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) have recaptured the imagination of both science and popular culture, and may have efficacy in treating a wide range of psychiatric disorders. Human and animal studies of psychedelic drug action in the brain have demonstrated the involvement of the serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor and the cerebral cortex in acute psychedelic drug action, but different models have evolved to try to explain the impact of 5-HT2A activation on neural systems.

Two prominent models of psychedelic drug action (the cortico-striatal thalamo-cortical, or CSTC, model and relaxed beliefs under psychedelics, or REBUS, model) have emphasized the role of different subcortical structures as crucial in mediating psychedelic drug effects. We describe these models and discuss gaps in knowledge, inconsistencies in the literature and extensions of both models. We then introduce a third circuit-level model involving the claustrum, a thin strip of grey matter between the insula and the external capsule that densely expresses 5-HT2A receptors (the cortico-claustro-cortical, or CCC, model).

In this model, we propose that the claustrum entrains canonical cortical network states, and that psychedelic drugs disrupt 5-HT2A-mediated network coupling between the claustrum and the cortex, leading to attenuation of canonical cortical networks during psychedelic drug effects.

Together, these three models may explain many phenomena of the psychedelic experience, and using this framework, future research may help to delineate the functional specificity of each circuit to the action of both serotonergic and non-serotonergic hallucinogens.
Helminth infection is associated with dampened cytokine responses to viral and bacterial stimulations in Tsimane forager-horticulturalists
Authors: Schneider-Crease India A , Blackwell Aaron D , Kraft Thomas S , Emery Thompson Melissa , Maldonado Suarez Ivan , Cummings Daniel K , Stieglitz Jonathan , Snyder-Mackler Noah , Gurven Michael , Kaplan Hillard , Trumble Benjamin C
Published: October 2021

Background

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) and humans share long co-evolutionary histories over which STHs have evolved strategies to permit their persistence by downregulating host immunity. Understanding the interactions between STHs and other pathogens can inform our understanding of human evolution and contemporary disease patterns.

Methodology

We worked with Tsimane forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon, where STHs are prevalent. We tested whether STHs and eosinophil levels—likely indicative of infection in this population—are associated with dampened immune responses to in vitro stimulation with H1N1 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigens. Whole blood samples (n = 179) were treated with H1N1 vaccine and LPS and assayed for 13 cytokines (INF-γ, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, GM-CSF and TNF-ɑ). We evaluated how STHs and eosinophil levels affected cytokine responses and T helper (Th) 1 and Th2-cytokine suite responses to stimulation.

Results

Infection with Ascaris lumbricoides was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) associated with lower response of some cytokines to H1N1 and LPS in women. Eosinophils were significantly negatively associated with some cytokine responses to H1N1 and LPS, with the strongest effects in women, and associated with a reduced Th1- and Th2-cytokine response to H1N1 and LPS in women and men.

Conclusions and implications

Consistent with the ‘old friends’ and hygiene hypotheses, we find that STHs were associated with dampened cytokine responses to certain viral and bacterial antigens. This suggests that STH infections may play an essential role in immune response regulation and that the lack of STH immune priming in industrialized populations may increase the risk of over-reactive immunity.

Lay Summary: Indicators of helminth infection were associated with dampened cytokine immune responses to in vitro stimulation with viral and bacterial antigens in Tsimane forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon, consistent with the ‘old friends’ and hygiene hypotheses.
The impact of subjective vs objective frailty on the effectiveness and safety outcomes in patients from ETNA-AF-Europe registry
Authors: Diemberger I , Fumagalli S , Mazzone A , Kirchhof P , De Caterina R ,   ETNA-AF-Europe
Published: October 2021

Background

Since the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) increases with ageing, frail patients tend to require long-term anticoagulation. Anticoagulated frail patients may be at increased risk of major bleeding, which becomes more frequent in the elderly. Therefore, oral anticoagulation is often withheld or discontinued in frail, older patients with AF.

Purpose

To compare patient characteristics and annualised stroke and bleeding event rates in subjectively and objectively frail patients in the overall population included in the ETNA-AF-Europe registry. The 1-year follow-up was based on a snapshot dated 31st October 2019.

Methods

ETNA-AF-Europe is a multinational, multicentre, post-authorisation, observational study conducted in patients with AF following an edoxaban treatment regimen. Subjective frailty was categorised using a yes/no option, as perceived by physicians as a personal global judgement, without any external interference. Objective frailty was assessed using an adapted Modified Frailty Index; a shortened, simplified version of the Frailty Index.

Results

ETNA-AF Europe compiled data from 13,092 patients treated with edoxaban once daily, 10.6% and 5.0% were classified as subjectively and objectively frail, respectively (Table 1). Patients classified as objectively frail were younger, had a higher body mass index and higher CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED scores compared with the subjectively frail patients (Table 1), showing minimal overlap between the two groups. Stroke, major bleeding, all-cause and cardiovascular deaths were higher in patients classified as frail (Figure 1). Annualised event rates were mostly comparable in subjectively and objectively frail patients, except for higher annualised rates of ischaemic stroke, observed in subjectively frail patients, and higher annualised rates of myocardial infarction in objectively frail patients (Figure 1). The adherence to drug recommendations was similar in the subjectively and objectively frail cohorts (78.0% and 79.1%, respectively), but lower than in the general AF population (82.9%) (Table 1).

Conclusions

The presence of frailty (either subjective or objective) predicts cardiovascular events in anticoagulated patients with AF. A comprehensive assessment of frailty could improve the routine care of patients with AF.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Private company. Main funding source(s): Daiichi Sankyo Europe GmbH
Specialized pro-resolving mediators prevents cardiac dysfunction by modulating Ca2+ handling and NRF2 axis
Authors: Val-Blasco A , Prieto P , Jaen R I , Gil-Fernandez M , Pajares M , Domenech N , Jorge I , Vazquez J , Bueno-Sen A , Ruiz-Hurtado G , Crespo-Leiro M G , Cuadrado A , Delgado C , Bosca L , Fernandez-Velasco M
Published: October 2021

Background and purpose

Myocarditis is a severe inflammatory heart disease and a leading cause of sudden death in young adults; but currently no specific treatment is available. Lipoxins and their derivatives promote the resolution of inflammation contributing to recover tissue homeostasis; but their role in cardiac inflammation is poorly understood.

Methods and results

BML-111, a stable lipoxin A4 receptor agonist, protects against cardiac dysfunction in a murine model of experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) by preventing Ca2+ mishandling. Cardiac proteomic analysis revealed an enhanced cardiac oxidative profile in EAM-induced mice with reduced activation of NRF2, a master antioxidant transcription factor. In vitro analysis showed that 15-epi-lipoxin A4 increased systolic Ca2+ release and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)-Ca2+ load in cardiomyocytes isolated from wild-type mice and augmented the rate of SR-Ca2+ uptake by SERCA2a, but failed to induce any functional change in cells from Nrf2−/− mice. BML-111 increased SERCA2a cardiac expression in wild-type mice, and the transcriptional activity of Nrf2 determined SERCA2a expression in human ventricular cells. Human myocarditis-positive myocardium showed a reduced expression of both ATP2A2 (SERCA2a) and NF2L2 (NRF2).

Conclusions

Our results demonstrated new cardioprotective mechanisms of pro-resolving lipid mediators that may emerge as innovative treatments for myocarditis.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): ISCIII [PI17/01344]), Sociedad Española de Cardiología: Proyecto Traslacional 2019Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), FSE, and CIBER-CV, a network funded by ISCIII
Primary care preparedness for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a survey of NHS GPs
Authors: Pilbeam Caitlin , Edwards George , Tonkin-Crine Sarah , Raymond Meriel , Van Hecke Oliver , Gobat Nina
Published: October 2021

Background

Primary care manages a significant proportion of healthcare in the United Kingdom and should be a key part of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response.

Aim

To assess preparedness for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic by understanding GPs’ perception of their ability to manage current and future service demand, set-up of triage processes, and training in Covid-19 infection prevention and control procedures.

Design and setting

Cross-sectional survey of practicing GPs in the United Kingdom, with 2 rounds of data collection early in the pandemic.

Methods

Online survey, scripted and hosted by medeConnect Healthcare, comprising 6 closed prompts on 7-point Likert scales, and an optional free-text component. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Free-text data were analysed thematically.

Results

One thousand two GPs completed each round; 51 GPs completed free-text responses in March, and 64 in April. Quantitative data showed greatest confidence in triage of Covid-19 patients, and GPs were more confident managing current than future Covid-19 demand. GPs’ responses were more optimistic and aligned in April than March. Free-text data highlighted that GPs were concerned about lack of appropriate personal protective equipment and personal risk of Covid-19 infection in March, and unmet needs of non-Covid-19 patients in April. In both rounds, GPs expressed feeling overlooked by government and public health bodies.

Conclusion

Guidance to support general practice clinicians to manage future waves of Covid-19 or other health emergencies must be tailored to general practice from the outset, to support clinicians to manage competing health demands, and mitigate impacts on primary care providers’ wellbeing.
Brain β-Amyloid Links the Association of Change in Body Mass Index With Cognitive Decline in Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Authors: Buchman Aron S , Capuano Ana W , VanderHorst Veronique , Wilson Robert S , Oveisgharan Shahram , Schneider Julie A , Bennett David A
Published: October 2021

Background

We tested the hypothesis that indices of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) pathologies may explain associations between change in body mass index (BMI) and cognitive decline in old age.

Method

We used data from 436 older decedents participating in a prospective longitudinal cohort study who had undergone annual cognitive and BMI assessments and postmortem collection of indices of 12 brain pathologies. We identified ADRD brain pathologies associated with BMI range, a previously published metric of change in BMI. We employed sigmoidal mixed-effect models of cognitive decline to examine the associations of change in BMI and cognitive decline with and without terms for ADRD brain pathologies.

Results

Average age at baseline was 78.6 years, SD = 6.5 years with 64% female. On average, 9 cognitive assessments were obtained with average age at death 88.4 years (SD = 6.2 years). Change in BMI as measured by BMI range was associated with cognitive decline (θ 2 = 0.260). β-Amyloid, hippocampal sclerosis, and substantia nigra neuronal loss were associated with BMI range. β-Amyloid strongly attenuated the association of BMI range with cognitive decline. Hippocampal sclerosis showed only partial attenuation of the association of BMI range and cognitive decline and nigral neuronal loss did not attenuate this association.

Conclusion

Changes in BMI and cognitive decline in older adults may be affected by similar mechanisms underlying the accumulation of brain pathologies like β-amyloid in aging brains. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying these associations may provide novel targets for developing interventions that maintain brain health and metabolic homeostasis in old age.
Co-seismic and post-seismic deformation for the 1995 Colima–Jalisco and 2003 Tecomán thrust earthquakes, Mexico subduction zone, from modelling of GPS data
Authors: Cosenza-Muralles B , DeMets C , Márquez-Azúa B , Sánchez O , Stock J , Cabral-Cano E , McCaffrey R
Published: October 2021

We invert ∼25 yr of campaign and continuous Global Positioning System daily positions at 62 sites in southwestern Mexico to estimate co-seismic and post-seismic afterslip solutions for the 1995 Mw = 8.0 Colima–Jalisco and the 2003 Mw = 7.5 Tecomán earthquakes, and the long-term velocity of each GPS site. Estimates of the viscoelastic effects of both earthquakes from a 3-D model with an elastic crust and subducting slab, and linear Maxwell viscoelastic mantle are used to correct the GPS position time-series prior to our time-dependent inversions. The preferred model, which optimizes the fit to data from several years of rapid post-seismic deformation after the larger 1995 earthquake, has a mantle Maxwell time of 15 yr (viscosity of 2 × 1019 Pa s), although upper-mantle viscosities as low as 5 × 1018 Pa s cannot be excluded. Our geodetic slip solutions for both earthquakes agree well with previous estimates derived from seismic data or via static co-seismic offset modelling. The afterslip solutions for both earthquakes suggest that most afterslip coincided with the rupture areas or occurred farther downdip and had cumulative moments similar to or larger than the co-seismic moments. Afterslip thus appears to relieve significant stress along the Rivera plate subduction interface, including the area of the interface between a region of deep non-volcanic tremor and the shallower seismogenic zone. We compare the locations of the seismogenic zone, afterslip and tremor in our study area to those of the neighbouring Guerrero and Oaxaca segments of the Mexico subduction zone. Our newly derived interseismic GPS site velocities, the first for western Mexico that are corrected for the co-seismic and post-seismic effects of the 1995 and 2003 earthquakes, are essential for future estimates of the interseismic subduction interface locking and hence the associated seismic hazard.
En defensa de la paridad como forma de entender la democracia, con vocación de permanencia: En respuesta a Micaela AlterioIn defense of parity as a form of understanding democracy with a vocation of permanence: A reply to Micaela Alterio
Authors: Rubio-Marín Ruth
Published: October 2021

In conversation with Alterio, who in her interesting article explores the bases that best justify the global phenomenon of the adoption of gender quotas, the text defends that, in addition to the emphasis she places on substantive equality as potentially encompassing the concerns of many other underrepresented groups, it is necessary to understand the global phenomenon of gender quotas as pointing to a new conception of democracy that, subverting the sexual contract at the origin of the modern state, puts the emphasis on overcoming gender roles. From this perspective, although it is convenient to think of mechanisms that are sufficiently inclusive and respond to the under-representation of many other discriminated groups as well, the parity democracy measures must be defended as measures that have their own additional logic and a vocation of permanence.
La evolución de la relación normativa entre el Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos y los sistemas jurídicos nacionalesThe evolution of the normative relationship between the Interamerican System of Human Rights and national jurisdictions
Authors: Fuentes Torrijo Ximena
Published: October 2021

The approach of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding the relationship between international and domestic law has evolved into a form of supranational law, which was not envisaged at the time of the ratification of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights. In its first decisions, the Inter-American Court accepted that it was for each state party to decide how its domestic legal system interacts with international law. However, in recent years the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has developed the theory of the “conventionality control,” according to which domestic judges shall afford primacy to the Convention over domestic law and, in cases of a conflict of norms, may set aside domestic legislation. It is to be seen whether or not domestic tribunals will implement this “conventionality control” and how the legislative powers of Latin American states will respond.
DNAM-1 versus TIGIT: competitive roles in tumor immunity and inflammatory responses
Authors: Shibuya Akira , Shibuya Kazuko
Published: October 2021

The co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory immunoreceptors, DNAX accessory molecule-1 (DNAM-1) and T-cell immunoreceptor with immunoglobulin and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) domain (TIGIT), are paired activating and inhibitory receptors on T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. They share the ligands poliovirus receptor (PVR, CD155) and its family member nectin-2 (CD112), which are highly expressed on antigen-presenting cells (APCs), tumors and virus-infected cells. Upon ligation with the ligands, DNAM-1 and TIGIT show reciprocal functions; whereas DNAM-1 promotes activation, proliferation, cytokine production and cytotoxic activity in effector lymphocytes, including CD4+ T-helper cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes and NK cells, TIGIT inhibits these DNAM-1 functions. On the other hand, DNAM-1 competes with TIGIT on regulatory T (Treg) cells in binding to CD155 and therefore regulates TIGIT signaling to down-regulate Treg cell function. Thus, whereas DNAM-1 enhances anti-tumor immunity and inflammatory responses by augmenting effector lymphocyte function and suppressing Treg cell function, TIGIT reciprocally suppresses these immune responses by suppressing effector lymphocyte function and augmenting Treg cell function. Thus, blockade of DNAM-1 and TIGIT function would be potential therapeutic approaches for patients with inflammatory diseases and those with cancers and virus infection, respectively.
A retrospective antibiotic prescribing assessment and examination of potential antibiotic stewardship targets in patients with COVID-19
Authors: Stevens Ryan W , Jensen Kelsey , Kooda Kirstin , Mara Kristin , O’Horo John C , Shah Aditya
Published: October 2021

Objectives

Despite low rates of bacterial coinfection in patients admitted with COVID-19, antimicrobials are frequently prescribed. Our primary objective was to evaluate antimicrobial prescribing over time in patients admitted with COVID-19. The secondary objectives were to evaluate the role of ID providers in antimicrobial utilization, describe the rate of confirmed bacterial infection and determine factors associated with empirical antimicrobial prescribing in COVID-19.

Materials and methods

Retrospective review was performed for adult patients admitted to a tertiary care centre with COVID-19 between 1 March 2020 and 30 November 2020. Patient demographics, disease severity, risk factors for severe disease, clinical outcomes, antimicrobial prescribing and respiratory microbiological testing were collected and analysed. Prescribing trends were evaluated by month, and factors contributing to prescribing were established using univariate and multivariable analysis.

Results

Antibiotics were prescribed during admission in 37.9% of the study cohort, with 85.1% of patients who received antibiotics having therapy initiated within 48 h of admission. Antibiotic prescribing incidence increased with disease. Over the study period, antimicrobial prescribing rates decreased by 8.7% per month. Multivariable analysis found ICU admission, obtainment of procalcitonin values, intubation, heart failure, haemodialysis and nursing home residence were associated with empirical antimicrobial prescribing.

Conclusions

Unnecessary antimicrobial prescribing in patients with viral syndromes like COVID-19 continues to represent an area of concern. Antimicrobial stewardship efforts during COVID-19 should consider patient-specific factors associated with antibiotic prescribing. Recognition of such factors, in combination with application of well-established antimicrobial stewardship tactics, may serve to impact antimicrobial prescribing trends, even as patient volumes rise.
Global Income Inequality, 1820–2020: the Persistence and Mutation of Extreme Inequality
Authors: Chancel Lucas , Piketty Thomas
Published: October 2021

In this paper, we mobilize newly available historical series from the World Inequality Database to construct world income distribution estimates from 1820 to 2020. We find that the level of global income inequality has always been very large, reflecting the persistence of a highly hierarchical world economic system. Global inequality increased between 1820 and 1910, in the context of the rise of Western dominance and colonial empires, and then stabilized at a very high level between 1910 and 2020. Between 1820 and 1910, both between-countries and within-countries inequality were increasing. In contrast, these two components of global inequality have moved separately between 1910 and 2020: Within-countries inequality dropped in 1910–1980 (while between-countries inequality kept increasing) but rose in 1980–2020 (while between-countries inequality started to decline). As a consequence of these contradictory and compensating evolutions, early 21st century neo-colonial capitalism involves similar levels of inequality as early 20th century colonial capitalism, though it is based on a different set of rules and institutions. We also discuss how alternative rules such as fiscal revenue sharing could lead to a significant drop in global inequality. (JEL: N30, O10, O40)
Arabidopsis EARLY FLOWERING 3 controls temperature responsiveness of the circadian clock independently of the evening complex
Authors: Zhu Zihao , Quint Marcel , Anwer Muhammad Usman
Published: October 2021

Daily changes in light and temperature are major entrainment cues that enable the circadian clock to generate internal biological rhythms that are synchronized with the external environment. With the average global temperature predicted to keep increasing, the intricate light–temperature coordination that is necessary for clock functionality is expected to be seriously affected. Hence, understanding how temperature signals are perceived by the circadian clock has become an important issue. In Arabidopsis, the clock component EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3) not only serves as a light Zeitnehmer, but also functions as a thermosensor participating in thermomorphogenesis. However, the role of ELF3 in temperature entrainment of the circadian clock is not fully understood. Here, we report that ELF3 is essential for delivering temperature input to the clock. We demonstrate that in the absence of ELF3, the oscillator is unable to respond to temperature changes, resulting in an impaired gating of thermoresponses. Consequently, clock-controlled physiological processes such as rhythmic growth and cotyledon movement were disturbed. Genetic analyses suggest that the evening complex is not required for ELF3-controlled thermoresponsiveness. Together, our results reveal that ELF3 is an essential Zeitnehmer for temperature sensing of the oscillator, and thereby for coordinating the rhythmic control of thermoresponsive physiological outputs.
Planck limits on cosmic string tension using machine learning
Authors: Torki M , Hajizadeh H , Farhang M , Sadr A Vafaei , Movahed S M S
Published: October 2021

We develop two parallel machine-learning pipelines to estimate the contribution of cosmic strings (CSs), conveniently encoded in their tension (Gμ), to the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background radiation observed by Planck. The first approach is tree-based and feeds on certain map features derived by image processing and statistical tools. The second uses convolutional neural network with the goal to explore possible non-trivial features of the CS imprints. The two pipelines are trained on Planck simulations and when applied to Planck SMICA map yield the 3σ upper bound of Gμ ≲ 8.6 × 10−7. We also train and apply the pipelines to make forecasts for futuristic CMB-S4-like surveys and conservatively find their minimum detectable tension to be Gμmin ∼ 1.9 × 10−7.
Planetary nebulae with Wolf–Rayet-type central stars – III. A detailed view of NGC 6905 and its central star
Authors: Gómez-González V M A , Rubio G , Toalá J A , Guerrero M A , Sabin L , Todt H , Gómez-Llanos V , Ramos-Larios G , Mayya Y D
Published: October 2021

We present a multiwavelength characterization of the planetary nebula (PN) NGC 6905 and its [Wolf–Rayet]-type ([WR]) central star (CSPN) HD 193949. Our Nordic Optical Telescope Alhambra Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera (ALFOSC) spectra and images unveil in unprecedented detail the high-ionization structure of NGC 6905. The high-quality spectra of HD 193949 allowed us to detect more than 20 WR features including the characteristic O-bump, blue bump, and red bump, which suggests a spectral type no later than a [WO2]-subtype. Moreover we detect the Ne vii and Ne viii broad emission lines, rendering HD 193949 yet another CSPN with Teff ≲ 150 kK exhibiting such stellar emission lines. We studied the physical properties (Te and ne) and chemical abundances of different regions within NGC 6905 including its low-ionization clumps; abundances are found to be homogeneous. We used the PoWR stellar atmosphere code to model the spectrum of HD 193949, which is afterwards used in a photoionization model performed with cloudy that reproduces the nebular and dust properties for a total mass in the 0.31–0.47 M⊙ range and a mass of C-rich dust of ∼2 × 10−3 M⊙. Adopting a current stellar mass of 0.6 M⊙, our model suggests an initial mass ∼1 M⊙ for HD 193949, consistent with the observations.
Parabolic jet shape on parsec scales in high redshift AGN
Authors: Nokhrina E E , Pashchenko I N , Kutkin A M
Published: October 2021

Geometry of relativistic jets in active galaxies provides important information about mechanisms of launching, collimation, and acceleration of plasma flow. We propose a new method to probe a boundary shape of a jet on parsec scales – in the vicinity of its radio core. Apparent speed of an outflow is derived from variability time delays and core shifts measured at the same jet region, providing a self-consistent estimate of the Lorentz factor Γ. We link together the distance along the jet z with its transverse size assuming a constant flow acceleration. Our results indicate that jets have parabolic shape and sustain an effective acceleration in the core region, consistent with the Lorentz factor dependency Γ ∝ z0.5. The proposed method can be applied to the sources observed at small viewing angles as well as to the distant sources when direct measurements are impossible due to a limited angular resolution.