bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Urine gastrin‐releasing peptide in the first week correlates with bronchopulmonary dysplasia and post‐prematurity respiratory disease
Authors: Voynow Judith A. , Fisher Kimberley , Sunday Mary E. , Cotten Charles M. , Hamvas Aaron , Hendricks‐Muñoz Karen D. , Poindexter Brenda B. , Pryhuber Gloria S. , Ren Clement L. , Ryan Rita M. , Sharp Jack K. , Young Sarah P. , Zhang Haoyue , Greenberg Rachel G. , Herring Amy H. , Davis Stephanie D.
Published: January 2020

Rationale

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is associated with post‐prematurity respiratory disease (PRD) in survivors of extreme preterm birth. Identifying early biomarkers that correlate with later development of BPD and PRD may provide insights for intervention. In a preterm baboon model, elevated gastrin‐releasing peptide (GRP) is associated with BPD, and GRP inhibition mitigates BPD occurrence.

Objective

We performed a prospective cohort study to investigate whether urine GRP levels obtained in the first postnatal week were associated with BPD, PRD, and other urinary biomarkers of oxidative stress.

Methods

Extremely low gestational age infants (23‐28 completed weeks) were enrolled in a US multicenter observational study, The Prematurity and Respiratory Outcomes Program (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01435187). We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between urine GRP in the first postnatal week and multiple respiratory outcomes: BPD, defined as supplemental oxygen use at 36 + 0 weeks postmenstrual age, and post‐PRD, defined by positive quarterly surveys for increased medical utilization over the first year (PRD score).

Results

A total of 109 of 257 (42%) infants had BPD, and 120 of 217 (55%) had PRD. On adjusted analysis, GRP level more than 80 was associated with BPD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03‐3.25) and positive PRD score (aOR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.35‐4.48). Urine GRP levels correlated with duration of NICU ventilatory and oxygen support and with biomarkers of oxidative stress: allantoin and 8‐hydroxydeoxyguanosine.

Conclusions

Urine GRP in the first postnatal week was associated with concurrent urine biomarkers of oxidative stress and with later diagnoses of BPD and PRD.
How to choose templates for modeling of protein complexes: Insights from benchmarking template‐based docking
Authors: Chakravarty Devlina , McElfresh GW , Kundrotas Petras J. , Vakser Ilya A.
Published: January 2020

Comparative docking is based on experimentally determined structures of protein‐protein complexes (templates), following the paradigm that proteins with similar sequences and/or structures form similar complexes. Modeling utilizing structure similarity of target monomers to template complexes significantly expands structural coverage of the interactome. Template‐based docking by structure alignment can be performed for the entire structures or by aligning targets to the bound interfaces of the experimentally determined complexes. Systematic benchmarking of docking protocols based on full and interface structure alignment showed that both protocols perform similarly, with top 1 docking success rate 26%. However, in terms of the models' quality, the interface‐based docking performed marginally better. The interface‐based docking is preferable when one would suspect a significant conformational change in the full protein structure upon binding, for example, a rearrangement of the domains in multidomain proteins. Importantly, if the same structure is selected as the top template by both full and interface alignment, the docking success rate increases 2‐fold for both top 1 and top 10 predictions. Matching structural annotations of the target and template proteins for template detection, as a computationally less expensive alternative to structural alignment, did not improve the docking performance. Sophisticated remote sequence homology detection added templates to the pool of those identified by structure‐based alignment, suggesting that for practical docking, the combination of the structure alignment protocols and the remote sequence homology detection may be useful in order to avoid potential flaws in generation of the structural templates library.
Coupling and Decoupling of Surface Plasmon Polaritons with a Double Period Metallic Grating
Authors: Castrillón-Gómez Juan David , González-Alcalde Alma K. , Medina-Quiroz David E. , Méndez Eugenio R.
Published: January 2020

Herein, a numerical and experimental study of the interaction of a directional beam of light with metallic surfaces with two periodic components is presented. The periods of these two components are chosen in such a way that, through one of them, light is coupled into surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and, through the other one, the SPPs are decoupled as a propagating beam in another direction. This interaction can produce a propagating beam of light that involves in its trajectory the passage through an SPP state, providing thus a means of studying the effects of SPP coupling on the state of coherence of the emerging field. These coupling/decoupling effects are studied numerically, and experimental evidence of the generation of such SPP decoupled beams is presented. The effect of this double scattering process on the temporal properties of short light pulses, reflected by a double period metallic grating, is also studied.
Spinal pain relief procedures with the assistance of the MRI‐updated statistical shape model
Authors: Alimohamadi Gilakjan Samaneh , Majedi Hossein , Makki Abadi Bahador , Ahmadian Alireza
Published: January 2020

Background

Updating the statistical shape model (SSM) used in image guidance systems for the treatment of back pain using pre‐op computed tomography (CT) and intra‐op ultrasound (US) is challenging due to the scarce availability of pre‐op images and the low resolution of the two imaging modalities.

Methods

A new approach is proposed here to update SSMs based on the sparse representation of the preoperative MRI images of patients as well as CT images, followed by displaying the injection needle and 3D tracking view of the patients' spine.

Results

The statistical analysis shows that updating the SSM using the patients' available MRI images (in more than 95% of the cases) instead of CT images (in less than 5%) will help maintain the required accuracy of needle injection based on the evaluation of injection in different parts of the phantom.

Conclusion

The results show that using the proposed model helps reduce the dosage and processing time significantly while maintaining the precision required for the pain procedures.
Mid‐infrared spectroscopy for prediction of soil health indicators in the United States
Authors: Sanderman Jonathan , Savage Kathleen , Dangal Shree R.S.
Published: January 2020

Quantifying the holistic notion of soil health requires a large suite of measurements spanning the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. The cost of measuring the full suite of soil health indicators via traditional methods is cost prohibitive for the spatial and temporal monitoring many land managers would like. Here we investigated the ability to make predictions of numerous soil health indicators from the large mid‐infrared (MIR) spectral library developed by the National Soil Survey Center. We developed nationally applicable models with test‐set validation coefficient of determination (R2) > 0.80 for water retention (WT), bulk density (BD), texture (as percentages of sand, silt and clay), cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable bases, base saturation (BS), electrical conductivity (EC), pH, soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN). Using the memory‐based learning (MBL) model, a locally weighted approach, we found that this database could also predict aggregate stability, plant available P and K with an R2 > 0.70 on independent validation samples. Models for nitrate and micronutrients were less successful but these properties were only sparsely represented in the database. Two test cases were used to demonstrate the utility of MIR spectroscopy in providing a wealth of data for a fraction of the time and cost involved with traditional analyses. While MIR spectroscopy‐based predictions may not always be appropriate for applications requiring very high levels of accuracy, results from this work and elsewhere suggest that this technology can replace, or at least supplement, traditional analyses for many purposes.
Thermal conductivity of mineral soils relates linearly to air‐filled porosity
Authors: Xie Xiaoting , Lu Yili , Ren Tusheng , Horton Robert
Published: January 2020

Soil thermal conductivity (λ) depends largely on the volume fractions of soil solids, air and water. Previous studies focus mainly on developing saturation or soil water content (θ) dependent λ models. There are reports that λ is correlated more with air‐filled porosity (na) than with θ, and the correlation is less affected by solid fraction and λ of soil solids. In this study, a simple linear relationship between λ andnais developed with both newly measured and published datasets. Independent evaluations showed good agreement between estimated and measured λ values with root mean square errors less than 0.24 W m−1K−1, indicating that the linear λ‐narelationship could be used to approximate λ fromnawith satisfactory accuracy.
A framework for science classroom assessment task design for emergent bilingual learners
Authors: Fine Caitlin G. McC. , Furtak Erin M.
Published: January 2020

The Framework for K–12 Science Education (NRC; 2012) placed renewed emphasis on creating equitable science learning opportunities for all learners by engaging in three‐dimensional learning experiences: disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices. Additionally, the Framework calls for a more inclusive approach to science learning that builds upon learners' linguistic practices and funds of knowledge and integrates open‐ended, multimodal approaches to documenting learning throughout the assessment process. To support assessment developers in designing expansive Framework‐aligned classroom‐assessment approaches for emergent bilingual learners—learners developing two or more languages—tools are needed to guide design of assessments from their inception. This paper presents a literature‐based framework for science assessment design for emergent bilingual learners that includes components critical to support these learners. We then operationalize the framework into five categories and analyze nine publicly available Next Generation Science Standards sample classroom assessments. The sample tasks allow us to illustrate how those engaged in classroom assessment design might create more expansive Framework‐based science classroom assessments appropriate for emergent bilingual learners.
Interfacial Capillary‐Force‐Driven Self‐Assembly of Monolayer Colloidal Crystals for Supersensitive Plasmonic Sensors
Authors: Wang Hongbo , Chen Wei , Chen Bo , Jiao Yu , Wang Yang , Wang Xuepeng , Du Xinchuan , Hu Yin , Lv Xiaoxue , Zeng Yushuang , Wang Xianfu , Qian Linmao , Xiong Jie
Published: January 2020

Colloidal lithography technology based on monolayer colloidal crystals (MCCs) is considered as an outstanding candidate for fabricating large‐area patterned functional nanostructures and devices. Although many efforts have been devoted to achieve various novel applicatons, the quality of MCCs, a key factor for the controllability and reproducibility of the patterned nanostructures, is often overlooked. In this work, an interfacial capillary‐force‐driven self‐assembly strategy (ICFDS) is designed to realize a high‐quality and highly‐ordered hexagonal monolayer MCCs array by resorting the capillary effect of the interfacial water film at substrate surface as well as controlling the zeta potential of the polystyrene particles. Compared with the conventional self‐assembly method, this approach can realize the reself‐assembly process on the substrate surface with few colloidal aggregates, vacancy, and crystal boundary defects. Furthermore, various typical large‐scale nanostructure arrays are achieved by combining reactive ion etching, metal‐assisted chemical etching, and so forth. Specifically, benefiting from the as‐fabricated high‐quality 2D hexagonal colloidal crystals, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors achieve an excellent refractive index sensitivity value of 3497 nm RIU−1, which is competent for detecting bovine serum albumin with an ultralow concentration of 10−8 m. This work opens a window to prepare high‐quality MCCs for more potential applications.
A Fluorescence–Phosphorescence–Phosphorescence Triple‐Channel Emission Strategy for Full‐Color Luminescence
Authors: Weng Taoyu , Baryshnikov Gleb , Deng Chao , Li Xuping , Wu Bin , Wu Hongwei , Ågren Hans , Zou Qi , Zeng Tao , Zhu Liangliang
Published: January 2020

Organic luminogens constitute promising prototypes for various optoelectronic applications. Since gaining distinct color emissions normally requires the alternation of the conjugated backbone, big issues remain in material synthetic cost and skeleton compatibility while pursuing full‐color luminescence. Upon a facile one‐step coupling, three simple but smart perchalcogenated (O, S, and Se) arenes are synthesized. They exhibit strong luminescent tricolor primaries (i.e., blue, green, and red, respectively) in the solid state with a superior quantum yield up to >40% (5–10 times higher than that in corresponding solutions). The properties originate from a fluorescence–phosphorescence–phosphorescence triple‐channel emission effect, which is regulated by S and Se heavy atoms–dependent intersystem crossing upon molecular packing, as well as Se–Se atom interaction–caused energy splittings. Consequently, full‐color luminescence, including a typical white‐light luminescence with a Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage coordinate of (0.30, 0.35), is realized by complementarily incorporating these tricolor luminescent materials in the film. Moreover, mechanochromic luminescent color conversions are also observed to achieve the fine‐tuning of the luminescent tints. This strategy can be smart to address full‐color luminescence on the same molecular skeleton, showing better material compatibility as an alternative to the traditional multiple‐luminophore engineering.
Seismic behavior of precast double‐face superposed shear walls with horizontal joints and lap spliced vertical reinforcement
Authors: Gu Qian , Dong Ge , Ke Yang , Tian Shui , Wen Siqing , Tan Yuan , Gao Xu
Published: January 2020

The double‐face superposed shear wall is a partially prefabricated and partially poured on site assembly‐type RC structure. It imbibes advantages of cast‐in‐place concrete structures and precast concrete structures including the light deadweight of precast hollow wall panels, high road transport and site hoisting efficiency, strong structural integrity after assembly and construction, and excellent waterproofing of the wall joints. In order to explore the seismic behavior of double‐face superposed shear wall compared with cast‐in‐place concrete shear wall, four kinds of lap spliced vertical reinforcement at the horizontal joints of double‐face superposed shear walls are designed in this paper. Four full‐scale double‐face superposed shear wall and a cast‐in‐place shear wall specimens are fabricated and tested under cyclic loading, and the failure mode, bearing capacity, hysteresis feature, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, stiffness degradation, and shear deformation of each specimen are compared. The test results show that the vertical lap reinforcement array in post‐poured concrete can effectively transfer the load at horizontal joints of double‐face superposed shear wall, which behaves similar performance to that of the cast‐in‐place shear wall under cyclic loading. Moreover, the promoted horizontal joint is very convenient for assembly construction with a wide application prospect.
Factors governing the fire response of prestressed reactive powder concrete beams
Authors: Yan Kai , Yang Jiacheng , Doh Jeung‐Hwan , Zhang Xin
Published: January 2020

This article presents the details of a fire test on eight prestressed reactive powder concrete (RPC) beams cured with 150°C hot air. The test specimens varied in load ratio, cover thickness of tendons, bonded and unbonded tendons, and partial prestressing ratio. The thermal fields, deflection behavior, effective prestress, fire endurance, failure modes, and crack patterns of the beams were observed and recorded, revealing that no obvious fire‐induced spalling occurred on the prestressed RPC beams. The fire test results indicate that the failure of prestressed RPC beams was driven by direct fire exposure and fracture of tendons and longitudinal rebars after generation of wide cracks in the beams. In extreme fire, prestressed RPC beams that were under‐reinforced at ambient temperature may fail as low‐reinforced beams. Fire resistance of the prestressed RPC beams dramatically improved with a decrease of load ratio and increase of cover thickness of tendons. Bonded prestressed RPC beams showed superior performance over equivalent unbonded prestressed RPC beams in fire. The whole‐scale transferring effect of prestress loss in unbonded beams should be considered for fire resistance performance design based on structural systems.
Aeroelastic validation and Bayesian updating of a downwind wind turbine
Authors: Sarma Rakesh , Dwight Richard P. , Viré Axelle
Published: January 2020

Downwind wind turbine blades are subjected to tower wake forcing at every rotation, which can lead to structural fatigue. Accurate characterisation of the unsteady aeroelastic forces in the blade design phase requires detailed representation of the aerodynamics, leading to computationally expensive simulation codes, which lead to intractable uncertainty analysis and Bayesian updating. In this paper, a framework is developed to tackle this problem. Full, detailed aeroelastic model of an experimental wind turbine system based on 3‐D Reynolds‐averaged Navier‐Stokes is developed, considering all structural components including nacelle and tower. This model is validated against experimental measurements of rotating blades, and a detailed aeroelastic characterisation is presented. Aerodynamic forces from prescribed forced‐motion simulations are used to train a time‐domain autoregressive with exogenous input (ARX) model with a localised forcing term, which provides accurate and cheap aeroelastic forces. Employing ARX, prior uncertainties in the structural and rotational parameters of the wind turbine are introduced and propagated to obtain probabilistic estimates of the aeroelastic characteristics. Finally, the experimental validation data are used in a Bayesian framework to update the structural and rotational parameters of the system and thereby reduce uncertainty in the aeroelastic characteristics.
Free and forced bending vibrations of a thin plate in a perfect compressible fluid with energy dissipation taken into account
Authors: Paimushin V. N. , Tarlakovskii D. V. , Firsov V. A. , Gazizullin R. K.
Published: January 2020

A refined statement of stationary dynamic acoustoelasticity problems of thin isotropic plates surrounded from both sides by acoustic media assumed to be perfect compressible fluids has been studed. The problem statement takes into account the energy dissipation in the material of the plate and fluid on the basis of the Kelvin‐Voigt hysteresis model. The refinement of the fluid behavior is based on the assumption that the pressure increment is proportional not only to volumetric strain, but also to the rate of its volumetric strain. This assumption allows us to obtain the generalized Helmholtz wave equation by introducing Skudrzyk's complex sound velocity into consideration to take account of the energy dissipation. The motion equations of the plate are based on the classical Kirchhoff‐Love model and are obtained in two versions. In the first version unsimplified three‐dimensional wave equations are used to determine the aerohydrodynamic load acting on a plate. The second version is based on simplifying the equations of fluid motion by the introduction of the well‐known hypothesis of plane reflection and emission of sound waves. On the basis of the derived equations, exact analytical solutions of two types of problems are obtained. The first type is related to the problem of free vibrations of a rectangular plate hinged around the contour when complex eigenfrequencies were defined. The second type is related to the problem of forced vibrations of the plate under the action of a flat mono‐harmonic incident sound wave when sound transmission loss, the stress‐strain state parameters of the plate as well as the laws of change in sound pressure in a fluid were determined. It is shown that correct and more meaningful solutions of acoustoelasticity problems of the considered class are possible only in case of describing the behavior of a fluid with unsimplified three‐dimensional wave equations with consideration of the energy dissipation.
Computation of effective piezoelectric properties of stratified composites and application to wave propagation analysis
Authors: Reda Hilal , Karathanasopoulos Nikos , Maurice Gérard , Ganghoffer Jean François , Lakiss Hassan
Published: January 2020

A methodology for the computation of the homogenized response of stratified piezoelectric materials is proposed. The stratified composite consists of the periodic repetition of piezoelectric layers. Its effective piezoelectric properties are obtained through a homogenization approach based on the method of oscillating functions. The method can fully consider not only the elastic attributes, but also the polarizations of the materials contained within the structure's layers. As such, it proves able to obtain the homogenized electromechanical response of the stratified piezoelectric structure in the form of parametric, closed‐form expressions, which depend on the material attributes of the layers building up the repetitive unit‐cell. The applicability of the method is demonstrated for the quasi‐electrostatic wave propagation analysis of stratified composites using the nonlocal piezoelectric (NLPE) theory. A two‐layer stratified composite is employed, created as an assembly of LiNbO3and PVDF layers. The structure's homogenized properties are used to compute the wave propagation characteristics with and without the influence of internal length parameters of the NLPE theory. The obtained results suggest that the effective properties of the stratified composite can be handily used to compute the effect of the electric field on the longitudinal and shear modes for the propagation direction of interest.
Construct α′ corrected or loop corrected solutions without curvature singularities
Authors: Wang Peng , Wu Houwen , Yang Haitang , Ying Shuxuan
Published: January 2020

Abstract

For the bosonic gravi-dilaton system, we provide systematical approaches to construct non-perturbative string cosmological solutions without curvature singularities, which can match the perturbative solution to any order in α′ expansion. When higher order α′ corrections are calculated, they can be straightforwardly plugged in to generate compatible non-perturbative evolutions without curvature singularities. We also give a (phenomenological) map between α′ corrected EOM and loop corrected EOM. This map enables us to easily generate a loop corrected solution from an α′ corrected solution, and vice versa, therefore substantially enlarges the solution space.
Genetic mapping using a wheat multi-founder population reveals a locus on chromosome 2A controlling resistance to both leaf and glume blotch caused by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum
Authors: Lin Min , Corsi Beatrice , Ficke Andrea , Tan Kar-Chun , Cockram James , Lillemo Morten
Published: January 2020

Key message

A locus on wheat chromosome 2A was found to control field resistance to both leaf and glume blotch caused by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum.

The necrotrophic fungal pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum is the causal agent of Septoria nodorum leaf blotch and glume blotch, which are common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) diseases in humid and temperate areas. Susceptibility to Septoria nodorum leaf blotch can partly be explained by sensitivity to corresponding P. nodorum necrotrophic effectors (NEs). Susceptibility to glume blotch is also quantitative; however, the underlying genetics have not been studied in detail. Here, we genetically map resistance/susceptibility loci to leaf and glume blotch using an eight-founder wheat multiparent advanced generation intercross population. The population was assessed in six field trials across two sites and 4 years. Seedling infiltration and inoculation assays using three P. nodorum isolates were also carried out, in order to compare quantitative trait loci (QTL) identified under controlled conditions with those identified in the field. Three significant field resistance QTL were identified on chromosomes 2A and 6A, while four significant seedling resistance QTL were detected on chromosomes 2D, 5B and 7D. Among these, QSnb.niab-2A.3 for field resistance to both leaf blotch and glume blotch was detected in Norway and the UK. Colocation with a QTL for seedling reactions against culture filtrate from a Norwegian P. nodorum isolate indicated the QTL could be caused by a novel NE sensitivity. The consistency of this QTL for leaf blotch at the seedling and adult plant stages and culture filtrate infiltration was confirmed by haplotype analysis. However, opposite effects for the leaf blotch and glume blotch reactions suggest that different genetic mechanisms may be involved.
Combinatorial optimization applied to VLBI scheduling
Authors: Corbin A. , Niedermann B. , Nothnagel A. , Haas R. , Haunert J.-H.
Published: January 2020

Due to the advent of powerful solvers, today linear programming has seen many applications in production and routing. In this publication, we present mixed-integer linear programming as applied to scheduling geodetic very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations. The approach uses combinatorial optimization and formulates the scheduling task as a mixed-integer linear program. Within this new method, the schedule is considered as an entity containing all possible observations of an observing session at the same time, leading to a global optimum. In our example, the optimum is found by maximizing the sky coverage score. The sky coverage score is computed by a hierarchical partitioning of the local sky above each telescope into a number of cells. Each cell including at least one observation adds a certain gain to the score. The method is computationally expensive and this publication may be ahead of its time for large networks and large numbers of VLBI observations. However, considering that developments of solvers for combinatorial optimization are progressing rapidly and that computers increase in performance, the usefulness of this approach may come up again in some distant future. Nevertheless, readers may be prompted to look into these optimization methods already today seeing that they are available also in the geodetic literature. The validity of the concept and the applicability of the logic are demonstrated by evaluating test schedules for five 1-h, single-baseline Intensive VLBI sessions. Compared to schedules that were produced with the scheduling software sked, the number of observations per session is increased on average by three observations and the simulated precision of UT1-UTC is improved in four out of five cases ($${6}~\upmu \text {s}$$6μs average improvement in quadrature). Moreover, a simplified and thus much faster version of the mixed-integer linear program has been developed for modern VLBI Global Observing System telescopes.
The current status and further prospects for lung magnetic resonance imaging in pediatric radiology
Authors: Hirsch Franz Wolfgang , Sorge Ina , Vogel-Claussen Jens , Roth Christian , Gräfe Daniel , Päts Anne , Voskrebenzev Andreas , Anders Rebecca Marie
Published: January 2020

Lung MRI makes it possible to replace up to 90% of CT examinations with radiation-free magnetic resonance diagnostics of the lungs without suffering any diagnostic loss. The individual radiation exposure can thus be relevantly reduced. This applies in particular to children who repeatedly require sectional imaging of the lung, e.g., in tumor surveillance or in chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis. In this paper we discuss various factors that favor the establishment of lung MRI in the clinical setting. Among the many sequences proposed for lung imaging, respiration-triggered T2-W turbo spin-echo (TSE) sequences have been established as a good standard for children. Additional sequences are mostly dispensable. The most important pulmonary findings are demonstrated here in the form of a detailed pictorial essay. T1-weighted gradient echo sequences with ultrashort echo time are a new option. These sequences anticipate signal loss in the lung and deliver CT-like images with high spatial resolution. When using self-gated T1-W ultrashort echo time 3-D sequences that acquire iso-voxel geometry in the sub-millimeter range, secondary reconstructions are possible.
T cell infiltration in both human multiple system atrophy and a novel mouse model of the disease
Authors: Williams Gregory P. , Marmion David J. , Schonhoff Aubrey M. , Jurkuvenaite Asta , Won Woong-Jai , Standaert David G. , Kordower Jeffrey H. , Harms Ashley S.
Published: January 2020

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) in oligodendrocytes accompanied by inflammation, demyelination, and subsequent synapse and neuronal loss. Little is known about the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in MSA. However, recent work has highlighted the important role of the immune system to the pathophysiology of other synuclein-related diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. In this study, we investigated postmortem brain tissue from MSA patients and control subjects for evidence of immune activation in the brain. We found a significant increase of HLA-DR+ microglia in the putamen and substantia nigra of MSA patient tissue compared to controls, as well as significant increases in CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells in these same brain regions. To model MSA in vivo, we utilized a viral vector that selectively overexpresses α-syn in oligodendrocytes (Olig001-SYN) with > 95% tropism in the dorsal striatum of mice, resulting in demyelination and neuroinflammation similar to that observed in human MSA. Oligodendrocyte transduction with this vector resulted in a robust inflammatory response, which included increased MHCII expression on central nervous system (CNS) resident microglia, and infiltration of pro-inflammatory monocytes into the CNS. We also observed robust infiltration of CD4 T cells into the CNS and antigen-experienced CD4 T cells in the draining cervical lymph nodes. Importantly, genetic deletion of TCR-β or CD4 T cells attenuated α-syn-induced inflammation and demyelination in vivo. These results suggest that T cell priming and infiltration into the CNS are key mechanisms of disease pathogenesis in MSA, and therapeutics targeting T cells may be disease modifying.
Cardiac catherization in Austria
Authors:   Austrian National Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Registry (ANCALAR), Österreichische Kardiologische Gesellschaft (ÖKG), Mühlberger Volker , Kaltenbach Lalit , Bates Katie , Ulmer Hanno
Published: January 2020

Background

Cardiac catheterization is one of the most widely performed cardiac interventional procedures worldwide. The Austrian National Catheterization Laboratory Registry (ANCALAR), started in 1992, collects annual data on cardiac catheterization in Austria. The registry enables in-depth understanding of the dynamics of cardiac catheterization procedures and their use across 34 cardiac catheterization laboratories in Austria.

Methods

Data from ANCALAR on cardiac catheterization including the latest data for 2017, voluntarily provided by centers with cardiac catheterization laboratories, were analyzed. Where possible, international comparisons in therapeutic and interventional cardiac procedures are made with Switzerland and Germany.

Results

Internationally, Austria ranks alongside the top countries in Europe. Whilst the number of people undergoing routine percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) remains stable, complex and acute interventions are increasing year by year in Austria.

Conclusion

Evidence from ANCALAR revealed that Austria is another example of the difficulties of weighing current guidelines with new emerging evidence and resulting real-life clinical practice in the dynamic world of interventional cardiology.
The dentato-rubro-thalamic tract as the potential common deep brain stimulation target for tremor of various origin: an observational case series
Authors: Coenen Volker Arnd , Sajonz Bastian , Prokop Thomas , Reisert Marco , Piroth Tobias , Urbach Horst , Jenkner Carolin , Reinacher Peter Christoph
Published: January 2020

Introduction

Deep brain stimulation alleviates tremor of various origins. The dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRT) has been suspected as a common tremor-reducing structure. Statistical evidence has not been obtained. We here report the results of an uncontrolled case series of patients with refractory tremor who underwent deep brain stimulation under tractographic assistance.

Methods

A total of 36 patients were enrolled (essential tremor (17), Parkinson’s tremor (8), multiple sclerosis (7), dystonic head tremor (3), tardive dystonia (1)) and received 62 DBS electrodes (26 bilateral; 10 unilateral). Preoperatively, diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging sequences were acquired together with high-resolution anatomical T1W and T2W sequences. The DRT was individually tracked and used as a direct thalamic or subthalamic target. Intraoperative tremor reduction was graded on a 4-point scale (0 = no tremor reduction to 3 = full tremor control) and recorded together with the current amplitude, respectively. Stimulation point coordinates were recorded and compared to DRT. The relation of the current amplitude needed to reduce tremor was expressed as TiCR (tremor improvement per current ratio).

Results

Stimulation points of 241 were available for analysis. A total of 68 trajectories were tested (62 dB leads, 1.1 trajectories tested per implanted lead). Tremor improvement was significantly decreasing (p < 0.01) if the distance to both the border and the center of the DRT was increasing. On the initial trajectory, 56 leads (90.3%) were finally placed. Long-term outcomes were not part of this analysis.

Discussion

Tremor of various origins was acutely alleviated at different points along the DRT fiber tract (above and below the MCP plane) despite different tremor diseases. DRT is potentially a common tremor-reducing structure. Individual targeting helps to reduce brain penetrating tracts. TiCR characterizes stimulation efficacy and might help to identify an optimal stimulation point.
The Hernia ‘CAMP’ model: a collaborative action to maximise productivity within the NHS
Authors: Koshy R. M. , Ali M. , Fernando T. , Menon V. S.
Published: January 2020

Background

An ever-growing and long surgical waiting list is a challenge within the NHS. Long waiting times can result in complications of the condition with more challenging operations and additional procedures. All of which implies reduced quality of life for patients and increased strain on NHS finances. On an average there are about 160 patients on the waiting list for groin hernia surgeries, with over a half of them waiting more than 30 weeks. Three patients every year breach the 52 weeks timeline, flagging a never event, with negative implications for the trust.

Methods

The Hernia CAMP model was proposed to improve productivity and enhance patient experience. It helped create a pathway with experienced non-consultant surgeons, stepping up to free up consultants to attend to the pressing cancer and complex cases. This dedicated pathway, improved the patient experience and staff team-spirit too.

Results

The Hernia CAMP resulted in a 40% improvement in efficiency. With better ratio per list/session, it makes care more cost-effective. It also improved the work environment amongst staff and rapport with patients. The patient-peer support and greater involvement meant better overall experience too. This supportive environment also has the potential for theme-based learning and training.

Conclusions

The Hernia 'CAMP' is a transferable and adaptable model. It impacts not just long waiting lists, but also improves productivity with definite cost benefits, teambuilding, patient experience and creates a great opportunity to train too.
Modelling long-range interactions in multiscale simulations of ferromagnetic materials
Authors: Arjmand Doghonay , Poluektov Mikhail , Kreiss Gunilla
Published: January 2020

Atomistic-continuum multiscale modelling is becoming an increasingly popular tool for simulating the behaviour of materials due to its computational efficiency and reliable accuracy. In the case of ferromagnetic materials, the atomistic approach handles the dynamics of spin magnetic moments of individual atoms, while the continuum approximations operate with volume-averaged quantities, such as magnetisation. One of the challenges for multiscale models in relation to physics of ferromagnets is the existence of the long-range dipole-dipole interactions between spins. The aim of the present paper is to demonstrate a way of including these interactions into existing atomistic-continuum coupling methods based on the partitioned-domain and the upscaling strategies. This is achieved by modelling the demagnetising field exclusively at the continuum level and coupling it to both scales. Such an approach relies on the atomistic expression for the magnetisation field converging to the continuum expression when the interatomic spacing approaches zero, which is demonstrated in this paper.
Clinical assessors’ working conceptualisations of undergraduate consultation skills: a framework analysis of how assessors make expert judgements in practice
Authors: Hyde Catherine , Yardley Sarah , Lefroy Janet , Gay Simon , McKinley Robert K.
Published: January 2020

Undergraduate clinical assessors make expert, multifaceted judgements of consultation skills in concert with medical school OSCE grading rubrics. Assessors are not cognitive machines: their judgements are made in the light of prior experience and social interactions with students. It is important to understand assessors’ working conceptualisations of consultation skills and whether they could be used to develop assessment tools for undergraduate assessment. To identify any working conceptualisations that assessors use while assessing undergraduate medical students’ consultation skills and develop assessment tools based on assessors’ working conceptualisations and natural language for undergraduate consultation skills. In semi-structured interviews, 12 experienced assessors from a UK medical school populated a blank assessment scale with personally meaningful descriptors while describing how they made judgements of students’ consultation skills (at exit standard). A two-step iterative thematic framework analysis was performed drawing on constructionism and interactionism. Five domains were found within working conceptualisations of consultation skills: Application of knowledge; Manner with patients; Getting it done; Safety; and Overall impression. Three mechanisms of judgement about student behaviour were identified: observations, inferences and feelings. Assessment tools drawing on participants’ conceptualisations and natural language were generated, including ‘grade descriptors’ for common conceptualisations in each domain by mechanism of judgement and matched to grading rubrics of Fail, Borderline, Pass, Very good. Utilising working conceptualisations to develop assessment tools is feasible and potentially useful. Work is needed to test impact on assessment quality.
On the horofunction boundary of discrete Heisenberg group
Authors: Bader Uri , Finkelshtein Vladimir
Published: January 2020

We consider a finitely generated group endowed with a word metric. The group acts on itself by isometries, which induces an action on its horofunction boundary. The conjecture is that nilpotent groups act trivially on their reduced boundary. We will show this for the Heisenberg group. The main tool will be a discrete version of the isoperimetric inequality.
Extrinsic Factors Driving Oligodendrocyte Lineage Cell Progression in CNS Development and Injury
Authors: Baydyuk Maryna , Morrison Vivianne E. , Gross Phillip S. , Huang Jeffrey K.
Published: January 2020

Oligodendrocytes (OLs) generate myelin membranes for the rapid propagation of electrical signals along axons in the central nervous system (CNS) and provide metabolites to support axonal integrity and function. Differentiation of OLs from oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) is orchestrated by a multitude of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in the CNS. Disruption of this process, or OL loss in the developing or adult brain, as observed in various neurological conditions including hypoxia/ischemia, stroke, and demyelination, results in axonal dystrophy, neuronal dysfunction, and severe neurological impairments. While much is known regarding the intrinsic regulatory signals required for OL lineage cell progression in development, studies from pathological conditions highlight the importance of the CNS environment and external signals in regulating OL genesis and maturation. Here, we review the recent findings in OL biology in the context of the CNS physiological and pathological conditions, focusing on extrinsic factors that facilitate OL development and regeneration.
Procedural Acts as Double-Conventionalized Acts: Considerations on Conventional Acts Performed in a Courtroom Discourse
Authors: Gmerek Karolina
Published: January 2020

The subject of interest of this article is procedural acts considered as double-conventionalized acts. It is assumed in this article that in the case of procedural acts, one can distinguish two levels of conventionalization: (1) the level of a speech act and (2) the level of a procedural act. Both above-mentioned levels affect each other in various ways, what is discussed in the article. As assumed in the article, the analysis of acts characterized by this particular trait (double conventionalization) and with due account of this trait allows one to observe phenomena that can be hard or even impossible to notice in the process of analyzing acts that are deprived of this trait. Furthermore, it seems that the description of this type of acts may particularly enrich the current discussion on some properties of speech acts held on the grounds of philosophy of language or pragmalinguistics. The research material used in this article as an illustration consists of actual utterances of participants of Polish court proceedings used by them at a hearing.
Effect of Environment on Microstructure Evolution and Friction of Au–Ni Multilayers
Authors: Cihan Ebru , Jungjohann Katherine , Argibay Nicolas , Chandross Michael , Dienwiebel Martin
Published: January 2020

We present results from a systematic investigation of environmental effects on the frictional behavior of Au–Ni multilayer films of varying interlayer spacing. The current results, sliding against ruby spheres in a dry N2 atmosphere, are compared to prior work on the tribological behavior of these materials under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) (Cihan et al. in Sci Rep 9:1–10, 2019). Under both conditions, there is a regime of high friction when the interlayer spacing is large and a regime of low friction when the spacing is small. The low friction regime is associated with a critical grain size below which grain boundary sliding is expected to be the dominant mechanism of deformation. A shear-induced alloy formation (60–65 at.% Ni in Au) and a concomitant low friction coefficient was observed with multilayer spacings of 20 nm and lower under UHV. A distinct microstructure was found in dry N2, and is attributed to different interfacial characteristics due to adsorbed species; rather than mixing between Au and Ni layers, only the uppermost Au layers were affected by shearing. These observations are coupled with the friction and wear behavior of multilayer samples sliding under different environments.
Individual differences in local and global metacognitive judgments
Authors: Händel Marion , de Bruin Anique B. H. , Dresel Markus
Published: January 2020

Extensive research has been conducted to understand how accurately students monitor their studying and performance via metacognitive judgments. Moreover, the bases of students’ metacognitive judgments are of interest. While previous results are quite consistent regarding the importance of performance for the accuracy of metacognitive judgments, results regarding motivational and personality variables are rather heterogeneous. This paper reports on two studies that simultaneously examined the predictive power of several performance, motivational, and personality variables on metacognitive judgments. The studies investigated a set of judgments (local and global postdictions in Study 1 and global pre- and postdictions in Study 2) and accuracy scores (bias, sensitivity, and specificity) in two different settings. Individual differences in judgments and judgment accuracy were studied via hierarchical regression analyses. Study 1 with N = 245 undergraduate students identified performance and domain-specific self-concept as relevant predictors for judgments after test taking. This was consistently found for local and global judgments. Study 2 with N = 138 undergraduate students hence focused on domain-specific self-concept and extended results to predictions. Study 2 replicated results for global postdictions but not predictions. Specifically, before task processing, students’ judgments relied mostly on domain-specific self-concept but not on test performance itself. The studies indicate that different judgments and measures of judgment accuracy are needed to obtain comprehensive insights into individual differences in metacognitive monitoring.
Anxiety in a digitalised work environment
Authors: Pfaffinger Katharina F. , Reif Julia A. M. , Spieß Erika , Berger Rita
Published: January 2020

This article in the journal Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) presents a qualitative study which aims at conceptualising digitalisation anxiety. The increasing spread of digital technologies has consequences for how we live, work, and communicate. Alongside positive opportunities, digitalisation also involves risks and can lead to negative reactions such as anxiety. We conducted 26 interviews examining the psychological roots of digitalisation anxiety. We found that the digitalisation megatrend evokes anxieties related not only to individual or organisational changes, but also broader societal considerations. Based on our results, we suggest interventions that could help organisations, teams, and individuals cope with the triggers of digitalisation anxiety in order to improve people’s feelings and experiences related to digitalisation.