bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fast Estimation of L1-Regularized Linear Models in the Mass-Univariate Setting
Authors: Mohr Holger , Ruge Hannes
Published: September 2020

In certain modeling approaches, activation analyses of task-based fMRI data can involve a relatively large number of predictors. For example, in the encoding model approach, complex stimuli are represented in a high-dimensional feature space, resulting in design matrices with many predictors. Similarly, single-trial models and finite impulse response models may also encompass a large number of predictors. In settings where only few of those predictors are expected to be informative, a sparse model fit can be obtained via L1-regularization. However, estimating L1-regularized models requires an iterative fitting procedure, which considerably increases computation time compared to estimating unregularized or L2-regularized models, and complicates the application of L1-regularization on whole-brain data and large sample sizes. Here we provide several functions for estimating L1-regularized models that are optimized for the mass-univariate analysis approach. The package includes a parallel implementation of the coordinate descent algorithm for CPU-only systems and two implementations of the alternating direction method of multipliers algorithm requiring a GPU device. While the core algorithms are implemented in C++/CUDA, data input/output and parameter settings can be conveniently handled via Matlab. The CPU-based implementation is highly memory-efficient and provides considerable speed-up compared to the standard implementation not optimized for the mass-univariate approach. Further acceleration can be achieved on systems equipped with a CUDA-enabled GPU. Using the fastest GPU-based implementation, computation time for whole-brain estimates can be reduced from 9 h to 5 min in an exemplary data setting. Overall, the provided package facilitates the use of L1-regularization for fMRI activation analyses and enables an efficient employment of L1-regularization on whole-brain data and large sample sizes.
Koyna-Warna Shallow Seismic Region, India: Is there Any Geomorphic Expression of Active Tectonics?
Authors: Das Sumit
Published: September 2020

This study investigates the geomorphic expression of tectonic control in Koyna-Warna shallow seismic region, lying on Deccan Flood Basalt in India, by examining longitudinal profiles and morphometric parameters by using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and constrained field examinations. A total of 60 sub-catchments have been analyzed to comprehend the relative tectonic control in the study area. Sub-catchments within the study area depict channel disequilibrium through stream length-gradient index (SL) and normalized steepness index (ksn) which are ascribed to numerous transient knickpoints along the drainage profiles. The integrated analysis based on six different morphometric parameters (i.e. basin asymmetry, hypsometric integral, stream-length gradient index, valley width-to-height ratio, elongation ratio, and average normalized steepness index) demonstrates two explicit examples of high tectonics in Koyna-Warna region, are (a) between the Koyna Rift Fault Zone (KRFZ) and Patan Fault (PF); and (b) upstream region of left-hand tributaries of the Koyna river.
Community Outreach and Engagement Strategies to Address Breast Cancer Disparities
Authors: McNeill Lorna H. , Wu Ivan H. C. , Cho Dalnim , Lu Qian , Escoto Kamisha , Harris Cassandra
Published: September 2020

Purpose of Review

Breast cancer disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority women compared with their non-Hispanic white counterparts. Community-based researchers have long sought to reduce breast cancer-related health disparities using the core principles of community outreach and engagement. The primary goal of this paper is to discuss community outreach and engagement (COE) strategies in the context of breast cancer disparities and discuss evidence-based applications of COE.

Recent Findings

Evidence-based COE to address breast cancer disparities include patient navigation, co-development of community-based interventions, advisory boards, and patient boards. Recent strategies have included partnering with the Komen Tissue Bank, the development of culturally tailored expressive writing interventions, and the formation of community scientist and community mentorship programs.

Partnering with the community across all stages of research can help eliminate breast cancer disparities. We find that community outreach and engagement can improve intervention efficacy, clinical trial retention, and community commitment. We hope that this paper will promote greater adoption of evidence-based COE strategies to help eliminate breast cancer disparities.
Addition of recyclable biochar, compost and fibre clay to the growth medium layer for the cover system of mine tailings: a bioassay in a greenhouse
Authors: Heiskanen Juha , Hagner Marleena , Ruhanen Hanna , Mäkitalo Kari
Published: September 2020

Mine closures require landscape reclamation to reduce the environmental risks of tailings fields. However, information about the feasibility of recyclable waste materials as a growth medium layer for the cover systems of mine tailings and their effects on vegetation restoration and reforestation success is scant especially in the boreal climate. This study examines the use of various recyclable by-products in improving vegetation success on reclaimed mine tailings. The physical and chemical properties of two wood biochar types, fibre clay, compost, tailings soil and forest till soil as well as their effects as growth media on the growth of several plant species during one growing period in a greenhouse were examined. Marked differences in the properties (e.g. pH, element concentrations, water retention) as well as in plant growth among the growth media were found. Fresh non-oxidized tailings soil showed high salt contents and electrical conductivity which together with fine soil texture provided the poorest or nonexistent plant growth. Fibre clay was the coarsest and driest material and also showed poor plant growth. Root and shoot growth was greatest in pure compost. All media without compost additive showed relatively poor growth which indicates the lack of nitrogen. The results suggest that forest till soil and biochar are the most suitable growth media for the cover systems of mine tailings when added with compost or another nitrogen source. Scots pine container seedlings, willow cuttings and sown red clover showed to be the most feasible plant species to be grown on boreal tailings covers.
Small-scale diagenetic facies heterogeneity controls porosity and permeability pattern in reservoir sandstones
Authors: Heidsiek Matthias , Butscher Christoph , Blum Philipp , Fischer Cornelius
Published: September 2020

The fluvial-aeolian Upper Rotliegend sandstones from the Bebertal outcrop (Flechtingen High, Germany) are the famous reservoir analog for the deeply buried Upper Rotliegend gas reservoirs of the Southern Permian Basin. While most diagenetic and reservoir quality investigations are conducted on a meter scale, there is an emerging consensus that significant reservoir heterogeneity is inherited from diagenetic complexity at smaller scales. In this study, we utilize information about diagenetic products and processes at the pore- and plug-scale and analyze their impact on the heterogeneity of porosity, permeability, and cement patterns. Eodiagenetic poikilitic calcite cements, illite/iron oxide grain coatings, and the amount of infiltrated clay are responsible for mm- to cm-scale reservoir heterogeneities in the Parchim formation of the Upper Rotliegend sandstones. Using the Petrel E&P software platform, spatial fluctuations and spatial variations of permeability, porosity, and calcite cements are modeled and compared, offering opportunities for predicting small-scale reservoir rock properties based on diagenetic constraints.
Groupoids and the algebra of rewriting in group presentations
Authors: Gilbert N. D. , McDougall E. A.
Published: September 2020

Presentations of groups by rewriting systems (that is, by monoid presentations), have been fruitfully studied by encoding the rewriting system in a 2-complex—the Squier complex—whose fundamental groupoid then describes the derivation of consequences of the rewrite rules. We describe a reduced form of the Squier complex, investigate the structure of its fundamental groupoid, and show that key properties of the presentation are still encoded in the reduced form.
New Partner, New Order? Multipartnered Fertility and Birth Order Effects on Educational Achievement
Authors: Lillehagen Mats , Isungset Martin Arstad
Published: September 2020

A substantial amount of research shows that younger siblings perform worse than their older sisters and brothers in several socioeconomic outcomes, including educational achievement. Most of these studies examined stable families and excluded half-siblings. However, the increasing prevalence of multipartnered fertility implies that many children grow up in nonnuclear families. We examine whether there is evidence for birth order effects in this context, which offers an opportunity to test and potentially expand the explanatory scope of the two main theories on birth order effects. We use comprehensive Norwegian registry data to study siblings in the 1985–1998 cohorts born to mothers or fathers who parented children with at least two partners. We provide evidence for negative effects of birth order on lower secondary school grades in both cases. Children born to fathers displaying multipartnered fertility tend to have lower grades than older full siblings but perform more similarly or better compared with older half-siblings. For siblings born to mothers with the multipartnered fertility pattern, later-born siblings do worse in school compared with all older siblings. This indicates that negative birth order effects tend to operate either within or across sets of full siblings, depending on the sex of the parent displaying multipartnered fertility. We argue that these findings can be explained by a combination of resource dilution/confluence theory and sex differences in residential arrangements following union dissolutions. We also suggest an alternative interpretation: maternal resources could be more important for generating negative birth order effects.
Citizen science breathes new life into participatory agricultural research. A review
Authors: van de Gevel Jeske , van Etten Jacob , Deterding Sebastian
Published: September 2020

Participatory research can improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and scope of research processes, and foster social inclusion, empowerment, and sustainability. Yet despite four decades of agricultural research institutions exploring and developing methods for participatory research, it has never become mainstream in the agricultural technology development cycle. Citizen science promises an innovative approach to participation in research, using the unique facilities of new digital technologies, but its potential in agricultural research participation has not been systematically probed. To this end, we conducted a critical literature review. We found that citizen science opens up four opportunities for creatively reshaping research: (i) new possibilities for interdisciplinary collaboration, (ii) rethinking configurations of socio-computational systems, (iii) research on democratization of science more broadly, and (iv) new accountabilities. Citizen science also brings a fresh perspective on the barriers to institutionalizing participation in the agricultural sciences. Specifically, we show how citizen science can reconfigure cost-motivation-accountability combinations using digital tools, open up a larger conceptual space of experimentation, and stimulate new collaborations. With appropriate and persistent institutional support and investment, citizen science can therefore have a lasting impact on how agricultural science engages with farming communities and wider society, and more fully realize the promises of participation.
“Languaging” tacit judgment in formal postgraduate assessment: the documentation of ad hoc and summative entrustment decisions
Authors: Van Enk Anneke , Ten Cate Olle
Published: September 2020

While subjective judgment is recognized by the health professions education literature as important to assessment, it remains difficult to carve out a formally recognized role in assessment practices for personal experiences, gestalts, and gut feelings. Assessment tends to rely on documentary artefacts—like the forms, standards, and policies brought in under competency-based medical education, for example—to support accountability and fairness. But judgment is often tacit in nature and can be more challenging to surface in explicit (and particularly written) form. What is needed is a nuanced approach to the incorporation of judgment in assessment such that it is neither in danger of being suppressed by an overly rigorous insistence on documentation nor uncritically sanctioned by the defense that it resides in a black box and that we must simply trust the expertise of assessors. The concept of entrustment represents an attempt to effect such a balance within current competency frameworks by surfacing judgments about the degree of supervision learners need to care safely for patients. While there is relatively little published data about its implementation as yet, one readily manifest variation in the uptake of entrustment relates to the distinction between ad hoc and summative forms. The ways in which these forms are languaged, together with their intended purposes and guidelines for their use, point to directions for more focused empirical inquiry that can inform current and future uptake of entrustment in competency-based medical education and the responsible and meaningful inclusion of judgment in assessment more generally.
Dopamine transporter imaging in neurodegenerative movement disorders: PET vs. SPECT
Authors: Kerstens Vera S. , Varrone A.
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The dopamine transporter (DAT) serves as biomarker for parkinsonian syndromes. DAT can be measured in vivo with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET). DAT-SPECT is the current clinical molecular imaging standard. However, PET has advantages over SPECT measurements, and PET radioligands with the necessary properties for clinical applications are on the rise. Therefore, it is time to review the role of DAT imaging with SPECT compared to PET.

Methods

PubMed and Web of Science were searched for relevant literature of the previous 10 years. Four topics for comparison were used: diagnostic accuracy, quantitative accuracy, logistics, and flexibility.

Results

There are a few studies directly comparing DAT-PET and DAT-SPECT. PET and SPECT both perform well in discriminating neurodegenerative from non-neurodegenerative parkinsonism. Clinical DAT-PET imaging seems feasible only recently, thanks to simplified DAT assessments and better availability of PET radioligands and systems. The higher resolution of PET makes more comprehensive assessments of disease progression in the basal ganglia possible. Additionally, it has the possibility of multimodal target assessment.

Conclusion

DAT-SPECT is established for differentiating degenerative from non-degenerative parkinsonism. For further differentiation within neurodegenerative Parkinsonian syndromes, DAT-PET has essential benefits. Nowadays, because of wider availability of PET systems and radioligand production centers, and the possibility to use simplified quantification methods, DAT-PET imaging is feasible for clinical use. Therefore, DAT-PET needs to be considered for a more active role in the clinic to take a step forward to a more comprehensive understanding and assessment of Parkinson’s disease.
Metallurgical and Technological Investigation with Experimental Archaeometallurgical Reproduction of a Lombard Bronze Buckle from North Italy
Authors: Cornacchia Giovanna , Breda Andrea , Pacini Alessandro , Roberti Roberto , Faccoli Michela
Published: September 2020

A metallurgical and technological characterization of a seventh century bronze buckle coming from the Lombard necropolis of Monte San Zeno in Montichiari (Brescia, northern Italy) was performed to understand the manufacturing techniques. At first, a careful inspection was carried out to highlight the existence of any type of details, which would indicate an intentional design activity or typical casting defects. To avoid destructive measures on the ancient artifact, the buckle was successively characterized only via scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. This investigation was supported by an accurate study on the chemical composition of the matrix. The results suggest that the buckle was produced by sand casting, although the use of this technique in Europe dates back to the fifteenth century. Finally, based on the results obtained, a faithful archaeometallurgical reproduction of the buckle is proposed.

Graphic Abstract
First-year university students’ knowledge of academic misconduct and the association between goals for attending university and receptiveness to intervention
Authors: Locquiao Jed , Ives Bob
Published: September 2020

Academic misconduct (AM) runs rampant across higher education institutions in the US and internationally. Ample empirical research has identified myriad student variables that predict AM. However, two variables have been unexamined: the quality of conceptual knowledge university students have on AM and the relation between goals for going to university and reception to intervention on AM. Quantitative content analysis on written responses by 356 first-year university students reported surface-level knowledge of AM, frequent citation of extrinsic goals, and a lack of association between goals and receptiveness to intervention. Results corroborate prior research on university students’ limited understanding of AM. Results suggest that efforts to address AM do not need to tailor intervention components to match students’ goals for attending university.
Landscapes and Ethnicity: An Historical Archaeology of Khami-Phase Sites in Southwestern Zimbabwe
Authors: Machiridza Lesley Hatipone
Published: September 2020

Although numerous dry-stone-walled Khami-phase sites are scattered throughout southwestern Zimbabwe, their finer archaeological and historical credentials remain largely elusive. Deliberations of how several dynastic and ethnolinguistic formations that are historically linked to the rise and spread of these sites can be archaeologically defined also remain multiple and fragmentary. Correspondingly, in attempts to trace Rozvi ethnicity, a sample of three ancient Khami-phase capitals––Danamombe, Naletale, and Zinjanja––was scrutinized in the light of an agency landscape framework. For the first time, radiocarbon dates from these sites are compared with each other in order to assess the validity of oral traditions and documentary sources describing the Rozvi past.
Paths to Digital Justice: Judicial Robots, Algorithmic Decision-Making, and Due Process
Authors: RUBIM BORGES FORTES Pedro
Published: September 2020

The paths to digital justice focus on the challenges of contemporary digital societies in reaching automated decision-making processes through software, algorithms, and information technology without loss of its human quality and the guarantees of due process. In this context, this article reflects on the possibilities of establishing judicial robots in substitution for human judges, by examining whether artificial intelligence and algorithms may support judicial decision-making independently and without human supervision. The point of departure for this analysis comes from the experience of criminal justice systems with software for judgment of the possibility of recidivism of criminal defendants. Algorithmic decision-making may improve the public good in support of judicial decision-making, but the analysis of current technology and our standards for due process of law recommends caution on the conclusion that robots may replace human judges and satisfy our expectations for explainability and fairness in adjudication.
Judging in the Buddha’s Court: A Buddhist Judicial System in Contemporary Asia
Authors: Schonthal Benjamin
Published: September 2020

Drawing on textual and ethnographic research conducted over the last five years, this article analyses an important genre of judicial practice in South and Southeast Asia that has been almost entirely ignored by socio-legal scholars: Buddhist systems of judging. Using the judicial system of one monastic group in contemporary Sri Lanka as a case-study, it argues that Buddhist judging requires more than just the internalization of moral principles, as is often assumed. According to Buddhist (monastic) principles of judging, legal procedures—similar to those used in state legal settings—are equally essential. These procedures govern everything from making legal complaints, to the structuring of trials, to determining jurisdiction, and many other topics. By examining Buddhist judicial systems, this article not only casts new light on the pluri-legal landscape of Asia; it also offers new reflections on the intersection of religion-based and state-based systems of law in the contemporary world.
Maker–Breaker percolation games I: crossing grids
Authors: Day A. Nicholas , Falgas-Ravry Victor
Published: September 2020

Motivated by problems in percolation theory, we study the following two-player positional game. Let Λm×n be a rectangular grid-graph with m vertices in each row and n vertices in each column. Two players, Maker and Breaker, play in alternating turns. On each of her turns, Maker claims p (as yet unclaimed) edges of the board Λm×n, while on each of his turns Breaker claims q (as yet unclaimed) edges of the board and destroys them. Maker wins the game if she manages to claim all the edges of a crossing path joining the left-hand side of the board to its right-hand side, otherwise Breaker wins. We call this game the (p, q)-crossing game on Λm×n.

Given m, n ∈ ℕ, for which pairs (p, q) does Maker have a winning strategy for the (p, q)-crossing game on Λm×n? The (1, 1)-case corresponds exactly to the popular game of Bridg-it, which is well understood due to it being a special case of the older Shannon switching game. In this paper we study the general (p, q)-case. Our main result is to establish the following transition.

If p ≥ 2q, then Maker wins the game on arbitrarily long versions of the narrowest board possible, that is, Maker has a winning strategy for the (2q, q)-crossing game on Λm×(q+1) for any m ∈ ℕ.

If p ≤ 2q − 1, then for every width n of the board, Breaker has a winning strategy for the (p, q)-crossing game on Λm×n for all sufficiently large board-lengths m.

Our winning strategies in both cases adapt more generally to other grids and crossing games. In addition we pose many new questions and problems.
Nudging healthy eating in Dutch sports canteens: a multi-method case study
Authors: van Rookhuijzen Merije , de Vet Emely
Published: September 2020

Objective:

To provide a micro-investigation into the long-term effects and process of implementation of a nudge intervention on food choice in sports canteens.

Design:

Multi-method case study.

Setting:

Eight products were added to the range of foods and drinks in two football canteens in the Netherlands for 3 and 15 weeks, serving as a baseline period. In the intervention period, these products were promoted with the use of salience, scarcity, availability and default nudges, for 26 and 16 weeks, respectively. Aside from the collection of sales and revenue data, reach, acceptability, adherence and applicability were measured using observations, questionnaires and interviews.

Participants:

Questionnaires were filled in by seventy and fifty-nine visitors of the canteens. Four interviews were held with board members and canteen personnel.

Results:

Mixed results were obtained regarding the suitability of nudges to be used to promote healthy eating in sports clubs. Sales and revenue data did show positive trends, the intervention was seen as acceptable by all stakeholders and the intervention had a large reach. However, adherence to the intervention in both canteens and the effects of the nudges on the total consumption pattern were low. Factors were identified that promoted or hindered the intervention at an individual, interventional and organisational level.

Conclusions:

Nudges seem to be a valuable addition to other efforts to combat unhealthy eating. However, the extent of their impact as a single intervention tool is limited in the current food-abundant environment.
Community perspectives on maternal and child health during nutrition and economic transition in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Watson Daniella , Kehoe Sarah H , Erzse Agnes , Compaoré Adélaïde , Debpuur Cornelius , Nonterah Engelbert A , Sorgho Hermann , Norris Shane A , Hofman Karen J , Lawrence Wendy , Newell Marie-Louise , Godfrey Keith M , Ward Kate A , Barker Mary ,   for the INPreP group
Published: September 2020

Objective:

To explore community perceptions on maternal and child nutrition issues in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Design:

Thirty focus groups with men and women from three communities facilitated by local researchers.

Setting:

One urban (Soweto, South Africa) and two rural settings (Navrongo, Ghana and Nanoro, Burkina Faso) at different stages of economic transition.

Participants:

Two hundred thirty-seven men and women aged 18–55 years, mostly subsistence farmers in Navrongo and Nanoro and low income in Soweto.

Results:

Differences in community concerns about maternal and child health and nutrition reflected the transitional stage of the country. Community priorities revolved around poor nutrition and hunger caused by poverty, lack of economic opportunity and traditional gender roles. Men and women felt they had limited control over food and other resources. Women wanted men to take more responsibility for domestic chores, including food provision, while men wanted more involvement in their families but felt unable to provide for them. Solutions suggested focusing on ways of increasing control over economic production, family life and domestic food supplies. Rural communities sought agricultural support, while the urban community wanted regulation of the food environment.

Conclusions:

To be acceptable and effective, interventions to improve maternal and child nutrition need to take account of communities’ perceptions of their needs and address wider determinants of nutritional status and differences in access to food reflecting the stage of the country’s economic transition. Findings suggest that education and knowledge are necessary but not sufficient to support improvements in women’s and children’s nutritional status.
Study of the formation of ferrihydrite under prebiotic chemistry conditions: artificial seawater 4.0 Gy and ammonium thiocyanate
Authors: Zaia Dimas A. M. , Coutinho Murilo A. , Mosca Dante H , da Costa Antônio C. S. , Urbano Alexandre
Published: September 2020

Among the several steps involved in molecular evolution, molecular preconcentration is the first and most important. If the molecules are not preconcentrated the other steps of molecular evolution cannot occur. There are several ways to preconcentrate molecules: sorption, wetting/drying cycles, freezing/sublimation and sorption/precipitation with minerals. In the present work, the effect of NH4SCN and artificial seawater 4.0 Gy on the synthesis of ferrihydrite was studied. It should be noted that thiocyanate could play the same role as that of CN−in the Strecker reaction. Unlike today's seawater that has high Na+and Cl−concentrations, the seawater used in this work has high Mg2+, Ca2+and SO42−concentrations. Two results stand out, first SCN−and NH4+were preconcentrated by sorption/precipitation in some syntheses and second, in some experiments, a mixture of goethite, hematite and magnetite was obtained. The sorption/precipitation of SCN−is always associated with the synthesis of goethite. This could be an indication that SCN−interacts with Fe3+through the sulphur group of SCN−. In addition, the synthesis of magnetite could be an indication that the SCN−ion oxidized, forming thiocyanogen-(SCN)2or trithiocyanate ion-(SCN)−3and that Fe3+reduced to Fe2+. Besides the sorption/precipitation of SCN−and NH4+, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy also showed that sorption/precipitation of SO42−and CO32−occurred. Ferrihydrite synthesized with artificial seawater presented the highest surface area and pore size. The pHpzcvalues of the samples were in the range of pHpzcdescribed in the literature. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements performed show proportions of iron present in different oxidation states, however, the electronic similarities observed in the mixtures of iron oxides and oxy-hydroxides make it difficult to quantify them. Direct comparison between XPS spectra of the Fe2p and O 1s core-levels reveal no significant differences from the effect of artificial seawater 4.0 Gy on the synthesis of ferrihydrite.
Death in delirious palliative-care patients occurs irrespective of age: A prospective, observational cohort study of 229 delirious palliative-care patients
Authors: Seiler Annina , Blum David , Hertler Caroline , Schettle Markus , Zipser Carl Moritz , Bode Leonie , Gehrke Samuel , Ernst Jutta , Schubert Maria , von Känel Roland , Boettger Soenke
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Patients with terminal illness are at high risk of developing delirium, in particular, those with multiple predisposing and precipitating risk factors. Delirium in palliative care is largely under-researched, and few studies have systematically assessed key aspects of delirium in elderly, palliative-care patients.

Methods

In this prospective, observational cohort study at a tertiary care center, 229 delirious palliative-care patients stratified by age: <65 (N = 105) and ≥65 years (N = 124), were analyzed with logistic regression models to identify associations with respect to predisposing and precipitating factors.

Results

In 88% of the patients, the underlying diagnosis was cancer. Mortality rate and median time to death did not differ significantly between the two age groups. No inter-group differences were detected with respect to gender, care requirements, length of hospital stay, or medical costs. In patients ≥65 years, exclusively predisposing factors were relevant for delirium, including hearing impairment [odds ratio (OR) 3.64; confidence interval (CI) 1.90–6.99; P < 0.001], hypertension (OR 3.57; CI 1.84–6.92; P < 0.001), and chronic kidney disease (OR 4.84; CI 1.19–19.72; P = 0.028). In contrast, in patients <65 years, only precipitating factors were relevant for delirium, including cerebral edema (OR 0.02; CI 0.01–0.43; P = 0.012).

Significance of results

The results of this study demonstrate that death in delirious palliative-care patients occurs irrespective of age. The multifactorial nature and adverse outcomes of delirium across all age in these patients require clinical recognition. Potentially reversible factors should be detected early to prevent or mitigate delirium and its poor survival outcomes.
Creoles of the Mountains: Race, Regionalism, and Modernity in Progressive Era Appalachia
Authors: Chresfield Michell
Published: September 2020

This article investigates how Progressive Era writers, both popular and scientific, helped to construct multiracial identities alongside competing efforts to enshrine race into strictly black and white terms. Existing scholarship on race in the Progressive Era has not sufficiently analyzed the presence of multiracial populations. Instead, scholars have treated state and federal efforts to police racial boundaries, namely through anti-miscegenation laws and the census, as evidence that multiracial persons were a legal impossibility. However, scientific and popular writing on Appalachia provides a conceptual space in which multiracialism was not only a conceptual possibility, but was engendered. Appalachia took on increased importance during the Progressive Era as both intellectuals and reformers used the region to frame their anxieties about the limits of modernity and the threat of racial mixing. The region was home to white mountaineers who appeared arrested in time, existing in uncomfortable proximity to newly discovered groups with white, black, and Native American ancestry who also seemed to have been shunned by civilization. In attempting to understand the peculiar conditions of Appalachia, these Progressive Era writers helped to advance some of the first ideas about what it meant to be mixed-race in America.
Comparing the Prediction of Dimensional Personality Disorders (PID-5)	After Three Personality Trait Models
Authors: García Luis F. , Cuevas L. , Lucas I. , Aluja A.
Published: September 2020

Abstract. A dimensional approach for Personality Disorders was proposed in the DSM-5. To assess this approach, a new instrument (the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 [PID-5]) was developed in 2012. One research line has analyzed its convergent validity with personality traits, focusing almost exclusively on the Five-Factor Model (FFM). However, previous evidence about the relationships between Categorical Personality Disorders and other personality trait models shows that they can improve our understanding of Personality Disorders beyond the FFM. The aim of the present study is to compare the power of three personality models (FFM, Cloninger’s, and Zuckerman’s) to predict PID-5 domains. Three samples from the Spanish and Catalan general population were collected for this study depending on which personality questionnaire was applied (1,052 for revised NEO Personality Inventory [NEO-PI-R], 465 for Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire [ZKA-PQ], and 332 for Temperament and Character Inventory Revised [TCI-R-140]). The PID-5 was also applied to all subjects. Factor and regression results indicate that the three models were able to predict Dimensional Personality Disorders well, although some differences emerge between them. Specific relationships between dimensional disorders and traits, the role of the facets as well as the utility of the results reported are discussed.
Black phosphorus-based photothermal therapy with aCD47-mediated immune checkpoint blockade for enhanced cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Xie Zhongjian , Peng Minhua , Lu Ruitao , Meng Xiangying , Liang Weiyuan , Li Zhongjun , Qiu Meng , Zhang Bin , Nie Guohui , Xie Ni , Zhang Han , Prasad Paras N.
Published: September 2020

Here, we describe a combination strategy of black phosphorus (BP)-based photothermal therapy together with anti-CD47 antibody (aCD47)-based immunotherapy to synergistically enhance cancer treatment. Tumour resistance to immune checkpoint blockades in most cancers due to immune escape from host surveillance, along with the initiation of metastasis through immunosuppressive cells in the tumour microenvironment, remains a significant challenge for cancer immunotherapy. aCD47, an agent for CD47/SIRPα axis blockade, induces modest phagocytic activity and a low response rate for monotherapy, resulting in failures in clinical trials. We showed that BP-mediated ablation of tumours through photothermal effects could serve as an effective strategy for specific immunological stimulation, improving the inherently poor immunogenicity of tumours, which is particularly useful for enhancing cancer immunotherapy. BP in combination with aCD47 blockade activates both innate and adaptive immunities and promotes local and systemic anticancer immune responses, thus offering a synergistically enhanced effect in suppression of tumour progression and in inducing abscopal effects for inhibition of metastatic cancers. Our combination strategy provides a promising platform in which photothermal agents could help to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of immunotherapy.
FGF18–FGFR2 signaling triggers the activation of c-Jun–YAP1 axis to promote carcinogenesis in a subgroup of gastric cancer patients and indicates translational potential
Authors: Zhang Jinglin , Wong Chi Chun , Leung Kam Tong , Wu Feng , Zhou Yuhang , Tong Joanna H. M. , Chan Ronald C. K. , Li Hui , Wang Yifei , Yan Huan , Liu Liping , Wu William K. K. , Chan Michael W. Y. , Cheng Alfred S. L. , Yu Jun , Wong Nathalie , Lo Kwok Wai , To Ka Fai , Kang Wei
Published: September 2020

Fibroblast growth factor receptor type 2 (FGFR2) has emerged as a key oncogenic factor that regulates gastric cancer (GC) progression, but the underlying mechanism of FGF–FGFR2 signaling pathway remains largely unknown. To identify the potential molecular mechanisms of the oncogenic FGFR2 in gastric carcinogenesis and convey a novel therapeutic strategy, we profiled the FGFR alterations and analyzed their clinical associations in TCGA and Hong Kong GC cohorts. We found that FGFR2 overexpression in GC cell lines and primary tumors predicted poor survival and was associated with advanced stages of GC. Functionally, growth abilities and cell cycle progression of GC were inhibited by inactivation of ERK–MAPK signal transduction after FGFR2 knockdown, while apoptosis was promoted. Meanwhile, the first-line anti-cancer drug sensitivity was enhanced. RNA-seq analysis further revealed that YAP1 signaling serves as a significant downstream modulator and mediates the oncogenic signaling of FGFR2. When stimulating FGFR2 by rhFGF18, we observed intensified F-actin, nuclear accumulation of YAP1, and overexpression of YAP1 targets, but these effects were attenuated by either FGFR2 depletion or AZD4547 administration. Additionally, the FGF18–FGFR2 signaling upregulated YAP1 expression through activating c-Jun, an effector of MAPK signaling. In our cohort, 28.94% of GC cases were characterized as FGFR2, c-Jun, and YAP1 co-positive and demonstrated worse clinical outcomes. Remarkably, we also found that co-targeting FGFR2 and YAP1 by AZD4547 and Verteporfin synergistically enhanced the antitumor effects in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, we have identified the oncogenic FGF–FGFR2 regulates YAP1 signaling in GC. The findings also highlight the translational potential of FGFR2–c-Jun–YAP1 axis, which may serve as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for GC.
Relaxation dynamics in bio-colloidal cholesteric liquid crystals confined to cylindrical geometry
Authors: Khadem Sayyed Ahmad , Bagnani Massimo , Mezzenga Raffaele , Rey Alejandro D.
Published: September 2020

Para-nematic phases, induced by unwinding chiral helices, spontaneously relax to a chiral ground state through phase ordering dynamics that are of great interest and crucial for applications such as stimuli-responsive and biomimetic engineering. In this work, we characterize the cholesteric phase relaxation behaviors of β-lactoglobulin amyloid fibrils and cellulose nanocrystals confined into cylindrical capillaries, uncovering two different equilibration pathways. The integration of experimental measurements and theoretical predictions reveals the starkly distinct underlying mechanism behind the relaxation dynamics of β-lactoglobulin amyloid fibrils, characterized by slow equilibration achieved through consecutive sigmoidal-like steps, and of cellulose nanocrystals, characterized by fast equilibration obtained through smooth relaxation dynamics. Particularly, the specific relaxation behaviors are shown to emerge from the order parameter of the unwound cholesteric medium, which depends on chirality and elasticity. The experimental findings are supported by direct numerical simulations, allowing to establish hard-to-measure viscoelastic properties without applying magnetic or electric fields.
A predictive index for health status using species-level gut microbiome profiling
Authors: Gupta Vinod K. , Kim Minsuk , Bakshi Utpal , Cunningham Kevin Y. , Davis John M. , Lazaridis Konstantinos N. , Nelson Heidi , Chia Nicholas , Sung Jaeyun
Published: September 2020

Providing insight into one’s health status from a gut microbiome sample is an important clinical goal in current human microbiome research. Herein, we introduce the Gut Microbiome Health Index (GMHI), a biologically-interpretable mathematical formula for predicting the likelihood of disease independent of the clinical diagnosis. GMHI is formulated upon 50 microbial species associated with healthy gut ecosystems. These species are identified through a multi-study, integrative analysis on 4347 human stool metagenomes from 34 published studies across healthy and 12 different nonhealthy conditions, i.e., disease or abnormal bodyweight. When demonstrated on our population-scale meta-dataset, GMHI is the most robust and consistent predictor of disease presence (or absence) compared to α-diversity indices. Validation on 679 samples from 9 additional studies results in a balanced accuracy of 73.7% in distinguishing healthy from non-healthy groups. Our findings suggest that gut taxonomic signatures can predict health status, and highlight how data sharing efforts can provide broadly applicable discoveries.
Multiple comorbid sleep disorders adversely affect quality of life in Parkinson’s disease patients
Authors: Zhang Yu , Zhao Jia hao , Huang Dong ya , Chen Wei , Yuan Can xing , Jin Li rong , Wang Yu hui , Jin Ling jing , Lu Lei , Wang Xiao ping , de Wang Chang , Zhao Xiao hui , Zhang Xi , Li Wen tao , Liu Zhen guo
Published: September 2020

Sleep disorders are common non-motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The characteristics and impact of multiple comorbid sleep disorders remain to be elucidated. Our goal was to investigate the characteristics of various sleep disorder comorbidities, and their association with motor complications and the impact on the quality of life in PD patients. In this multicenter, observational, cross-sectional study, data concerning the clinical characteristics of complicated sleep disorders were collected from PD patients treated at 40 different hospitals in Shanghai. Sleep disorders were evaluated using the PD Sleep Scale-2, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder Questionnaire-Hong Kong, and the International Restless Legs Scale. Among the 1006 subjects evaluated, 77.53% exhibited signs of sleep disorders, and most had multiple sleep disorders (n = 502, 49.9%). A smaller percentage of patients with sleep disorders had a single disorder (n = 278, 27.6%). Furthermore, an increased number of sleep disorders, including nighttime problems, excessive daytime sleepiness, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, and restless legs syndrome was a significant contributor to a poor quality of life (β = 4.33, CI: 3.33–5.33, P for trend <0.001), even when controlling for multiple factors. Moreover, motor complications partially mediated this relationship (indirect effect: β = 0.355, 95% boot CI: 0.134, 0.652).Our study showed that a large proportion of PD patients suffer from multiple comorbid sleep disorders, which greatly decreases the quality of life in PD patients and is partially mediated by motor complications.
Author Correction: GlobalFungi, a global database of fungal occurrences from high-throughput-sequencing metabarcoding studies
Authors: Větrovský Tomáš , Morais Daniel , Kohout Petr , Lepinay Clémentine , Algora Camelia , Awokunle Hollá Sandra , Bahnmann Barbara Doreen , Bílohnědá Květa , Brabcová Vendula , D’Alò Federica , Human Zander Rainier , Jomura Mayuko , Kolařík Miroslav , Kvasničková Jana , Lladó Salvador , López-Mondéjar Rubén , Martinović Tijana , Mašínová Tereza , Meszárošová Lenka , Michalčíková Lenka , Michalová Tereza , Mundra Sunil , Navrátilová Diana , Odriozola Iñaki , Piché-Choquette Sarah , Štursová Martina , Švec Karel , Tláskal Vojtěch , Urbanová Michaela , Vlk Lukáš , Voříšková Jana , Žifčáková Lucia , Baldrian Petr
Published: September 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Analysis of rice nuclear-localized seed-expressed proteins and their database (RSNP-DB)
Authors: Deveshwar Priyanka , Sharma Shivam , Prusty Ankita , Sinha Neha , Zargar Sajad Majeed , Karwal Divya , Parashar Vishal , Singh Sanjeev , Tyagi Akhilesh Kumar
Published: September 2020

Nuclear proteins are primarily regulatory factors governing gene expression. Multiple factors determine the localization of a protein in the nucleus. An upright identification of nuclear proteins is way far from accuracy. We have attempted to combine information from subcellular prediction tools, experimental evidence, and nuclear proteome data to identify a reliable list of seed-expressed nuclear proteins in rice. Depending upon the number of prediction tools calling a protein nuclear, we could sort 19,441 seed expressed proteins into five categories. Of which, half of the seed-expressed proteins were called nuclear by at least one out of four prediction tools. Further, gene ontology (GO) enrichment and transcription factor composition analysis showed that 6116 seed-expressed proteins could be called nuclear with a greater assertion. Localization evidence from experimental data was available for 1360 proteins. Their analysis showed that a 92.04% accuracy of a nuclear call is valid for proteins predicted nuclear by at least three tools. Distribution of nuclear localization signals and nuclear export signals showed that the majority of category four members were nuclear resident proteins, whereas other categories have a low fraction of nuclear resident proteins and significantly higher constitution of shuttling proteins. We compiled all the above information for the seed-expressed genes in the form of a searchable database named Rice Seed Nuclear Protein DataBase (RSNP-DB) https://pmb.du.ac.in/rsnpdb. This information will be useful for comprehending the role of seed nuclear proteome in rice.
Calcium metaborate induced thin walled carbon nanotube syntheses from CO2 by molten carbonate electrolysis
Authors: Wang Xirui , Liu Xinye , Licht Gad , Licht Stuart
Published: September 2020

An electrosynthesis is presented to transform the greenhouse gas CO2 into an unusually thin walled, smaller diameter morphology of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs). The transformation occurs at high yield and coulombic efficiency of the 4-electron CO2 reduction in a molten carbonate electrolyte. The electrosynthesis is driven by an unexpected synergy between calcium and metaborate. In a pure molten lithium carbonate electrolyte, thicker walled CNTs (100–160 nm diameter) are synthesized during a 4 h CO2 electrolysis at 0.1 A cm−2. At this low current density, CO2 without pre-concentration is directly absorbed by the air (direct air capture) to renew and sustain the carbonate electrolyte. The addition of 2 wt% Li2O to the electrolyte produces thinner, highly uniform (50–80 nm diameter) walled CNTs, consisting of ~ 75 concentric, cylindrical graphene walls. The product is produced at high yield (the cathode product consists of > 98% CNTs). It had previously been demonstrated that the addition of 5–10 wt% lithium metaborate to the lithium carbonate electrolyte boron dopes the CNTs increasing their electrical conductivity tenfold, and that the addition of calcium carbonate to a molten lithium carbonate supports the electrosynthesis of thinner walled CNTs, but at low yield (only ~ 15% of the product are CNTs). Here it is shown that the same electrolysis conditions, but with the addition of 7.7 wt% calcium metaborate to lithium carbonate, produces unusually thin walled CNTs uniform (22–42 nm diameter) CNTs consisting of ~ 25 concentric, cylindrical graphene walls at a high yield of > 90% CNTs.