bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New soliton solutions of anti-self-dual Yang-Mills equations
Authors: Hamanaka Masashi , Huang Shan-Chi
Published: October 2020

Abstract

We study exact soliton solutions of anti-self-dual Yang-Mills equations forG= GL(2) in four-dimensional spaces with the Euclidean, Minkowski and Ultrahyperbolic signatures and construct special kinds of one-soliton solutions whose action density TrFμνFμνcan be real-valued. These solitons are shown to be new type of domain walls in four dimension by explicit calculation of the real-valued action density. Our results are successful applications of the Darboux transformation developed by Nimmo, Gilson and Ohta. More surprisingly, integration of these action densities over the four-dimensional spaces are suggested to be not infinity but zero. Furthermore, whether gauge groupG= U(2) can be realized on our solition solutions or not is also discussed on each real space.
Depression as a risk factor for dementia in older people with type 2 diabetes and the mediating effect of inflammation
Authors: Carr Alistair L. , Sluiman Anniek J. , Grecian Sheila M. , Forster Rachel , McLachlan Stela , Strachan Mark W. J. , Price Jackie F.
Published: October 2020

Aims/hypothesis

We aimed to determine the association of depression with dementia risk in people with type 2 diabetes, and to explore the possible mediating role of inflammation in this relationship.

Methods

The Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study is a prospective cohort of 1066 men and women with type 2 diabetes aged 60–75 years. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to investigate the association between depression, assessed at baseline, and subsequent risk of dementia over 10 years. Depression was defined using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, while incident dementia was defined using medical records, prescription data and death certificates. The potential mediating effect of systemic inflammation was assessed by adjusting models for a generalised inflammation factor, derived from four inflammatory markers measured at baseline (C-reactive protein, IL-6, TNF-α and fibrinogen), and carrying out an exploratory mediation analysis.

Results

Dementia developed in 105 participants over a median follow-up of 10.6 years. After adjusting for age and sex, depression was associated with over a 2.5-fold increase in risk of dementia (HR 2.59 [95% CI 1.62, 4.15]). Additional adjustment for the generalised inflammation factor and other covariates did not attenuate the size of association between depression and incident dementia and mediation analysis showed that it was not a mediator. Adjusted logistic regression models showed cross-sectional associations of C-reactive protein and IL-6 with depression.

Conclusions/interpretation

Depression is an important risk factor for dementia in people with type 2 diabetes. Some inflammatory markers were associated with depression, but systemic inflammation does not appear to mediate the relationship between depression and dementia.
Clinical and Radiological Characterization of Patients with Immobilizing and Progressive Stress Fractures in Methotrexate Osteopathy
Authors: Rolvien Tim , Jandl Nico Maximilian , Stürznickel Julian , Beil Frank Timo , Kötter Ina , Oheim Ralf , Lohse Ansgar W. , Barvencik Florian , Amling Michael
Published: October 2020

Methotrexate (MTX) is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for autoimmune rheumatic diseases. As there is no consensus on its negative effects on bone, the purpose of this investigation was to determine the clinical spectrum of patients with stress fractures due to long-term MTX treatment (i.e., MTX osteopathy). We have retrospectively analyzed data from 34 patients with MTX treatment, severe lower extremity pain and immobilization. MRI scans, bone turnover markers, bone mineral density (DXA) and bone microarchitecture (HR-pQCT) were evaluated. Stress fractures were also imaged with cone beam CT. While the time between clinical onset and diagnosis was prolonged (17.4 ± 8.6 months), the stress fractures had a pathognomonic appearance (i.e., band-/meander-shaped, along the growth plate) and were diagnosed in the distal tibia (53%), the calcaneus (53%), around the knee (62%) and at multiple sites (68%). Skeletal deterioration was expressed by osteoporosis (62%) along with dissociation of low bone formation and increased bone resorption. MTX treatment was discontinued in 27/34 patients, and a combined denosumab–teriparatide treatment initiated. Ten patients re-evaluated at follow-up (2.6 ± 1.5 years) had improved clinically in terms of successful remobilization. Taken together, our findings provide the first in-depth skeletal characterization of patients with pathognomonic stress fractures after long-term MTX treatment.
Comparison of Ozone and PM2.5 Concentrations over Urban, Suburban, and Background Sites in China
Authors: Gao Lan , Yue Xu , Meng Xiaoyan , Du Li , Lei Yadong , Tian Chenguang , Qiu Liang
Published: October 2020

Surface ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are dominant air pollutants in China. Concentrations of these pollutants can show significant differences between urban and nonurban areas. However, such contrast has never been explored on the country level. This study investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics of urban-to-suburban and urban-to-background difference for O3 (Δ[O3]) and PM2.5 (Δ[PM2.5]) concentrations in China using monitoring data from 1171 urban, 110 suburban, and 15 background sites built by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center (CNEMC). On the annual mean basis, the urban-to-suburban Δ[O3] is −3.7 ppbv in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, 1.0 ppbv in the Yangtze River Delta, −3.5 ppbv in the Pearl River Delta, and −3.8 ppbv in the Sichuan Basin. On the contrary, the urban-to-suburban Δ[PM2.5] is 15.8, −0.3, 3.5 and 2.4 µg m−3 in those areas, respectively. The urban-to-suburban contrast is more significant in winter for both Δ[O3] and Δ[PM2.5]. In eastern China, urban-to-background differences are also moderate during summer, with −5.1 to 6.8 ppbv for Δ[O3] and −0.1 to 22.5 µg m−3 for Δ[PM2.5]. However, such contrasts are much larger in winter, with −22.2 to 5.5 ppbv for Δ[O3] and 3.1 to 82.3 µg m−3 for Δ[PM2.5]. Since the urban region accounts for only 2% of the whole country’s area, the urban-dominant air quality data from the CNEMC network may overestimate winter [PM2.5] but underestimate winter [O3] over the vast domain of China. The study suggests that the CNEMC monitoring data should be used with caution for evaluating chemical models and assessing ecosystem health, which require more data outside urban areas.
Impact of North Atlantic SST and Tibetan Plateau forcing on seasonal transition of springtime South Asian monsoon circulation
Authors: Yu Wei , Liu Yimin , Yang Xiu-Qun , Wu Guoxiong , He Bian , Li Jinxiao , Bao Qing
Published: October 2020

The South Asian circulation and precipitation in spring shows a clear seasonal transition and interannual variation. We investigate how the North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) and Tibetan Plateau (TP) forcing affect this seasonal transition over South Asia on interannual timescale. Our results suggest that North Atlantic SST can affect the seasonal transition of South Asian monsoon via TP forcing in spring. The positive tripole pattern of North Atlantic SST anomaly during winter–spring can trigger a steady downstream Rossby wave train with cyclonic circulation over the southwestern TP. This forms a spring dipole mode of surface sensible heating and 10 m winds over the plateau, with a westerly (easterly) flow and positive (negative) surface sensible heating over its southern (northern) regions. A distinct land–air coupling configuration in May is then generated on the southwestern TP via such a positive TP dipole mode, which consists of anomalous positive precipitation, negative surface sensible heating and a baroclinic circulation structure with cyclonic circulation in the mid- to upper troposphere and a shallow anticyclonic circulation in the lower layer. The anticyclonic circulation is opposite to the summertime monsoon circulation. It weakens the cross-equatorial flow and water vapor transport to the South Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, resulting in in-situ precipitation reduction. Consequently, the seasonal transition in circulation over South Asia from winter to summer is delayed.
Effects of in vitro metabolism of a broccoli leachate, glucosinolates and S-methylcysteine sulphoxide on the human faecal microbiome
Authors: Kellingray Lee , Le Gall Gwénaëlle , Doleman Joanne F. , Narbad Arjan , Mithen Richard F.
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Brassica are an important food source worldwide and are characterised by the presence of compounds called glucosinolates. Studies indicate that the glucosinolate derived bioactive metabolite sulphoraphane can elicit chemoprotective benefits on human cells. Glucosinolates can be metabolised in vivo by members of the human gut microbiome, although the prevalence of this activity is unclear. Brassica and Allium plants also contain S-methylcysteine sulphoxide (SMCSO), that may provide additional health benefits but its metabolism by gut bacteria is not fully understood.

Methods

We examined the effects of a broccoli leachate (BL) on the composition and function of human faecal microbiomes of five different participants under in vitro conditions. Bacterial isolates from these communities were then tested for their ability to metabolise glucosinolates and SMCSO.

Results

Microbial communities cultured in vitro in BL media were observed to have enhanced growth of lactic acid bacteria, such as lactobacilli, with a corresponding increase in the levels of lactate and short-chain fatty acids. Members of Escherichia isolated from these faecal communities were found to bioconvert glucosinolates and SMCSO to their reduced analogues.

Conclusion

This study uses a broccoli leachate to investigate the bacterial-mediated bioconversion of glucosinolates and SMCSO, which may lead to further products with additional health benefits to the host. We believe that this is the first study that shows the reduction of the dietary compound S-methylcysteine sulphoxide by bacteria isolated from human faeces.
Expression of influenza A virus-derived peptides on a rotavirus VP6-based delivery platform
Authors: Gröhn Stina , Heinimäki Suvi , Tamminen Kirsi , Blazevic Vesna
Published: October 2020

Recombinant protein technology enables the engineering of modern vaccines composed of a carrier protein displaying poorly immunogenic heterologous antigens. One promising carrier is based on the rotavirus inner-capsid VP6 protein. We explored different VP6 insertion sites for the presentation of two peptides (23 and 140 amino acids) derived from the M2 and HA genes of influenza A virus. Both termini and three surface loops of VP6 were successfully exploited as genetic fusion sites, as demonstrated by the expression of the fusion proteins. However, further studies are needed to assess the morphology and immunogenicity of these constructs.
Progress in the R ecosystem for representing and handling spatial data
Authors: Bivand Roger S.
Published: October 2020

Twenty years have passed since Bivand and Gebhardt (J Geogr Syst 2(3):307–317, 2000.10.1007/PL00011460) indicated that there was a good match between the then nascent open-source R programming language and environment and the needs of researchers analysing spatial data. Recalling the development of classes for spatial data presented in book form in Bivand et al. (Applied spatial data analysis with R. Springer, New York, 2008, Applied spatial data analysis with R, 2nd edn. Springer, New York, 2013), it is important to present the progress now occurring in representation of spatial data, and possible consequences for spatial data handling and the statistical analysis of spatial data. Beyond this, it is imperative to discuss the relationships between R-spatial software and the larger open-source geospatial software community on whose work R packages crucially depend.
Cost-effectiveness of hepatitis C virus screening, and subsequent monitoring or treatment among pregnant women in the Netherlands
Authors: Eijsink Job F. H. , Al Khayat Mohamed N. M. T. , Boersma Cornelis , ter Horst Peter G. J. , Wilschut Jan C. , Postma Maarten J.
Published: October 2020

Background

The prevalence of diagnosed chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among pregnant women in the Netherlands is 0.26%, yet many cases remain undiagnosed. HCV screening and treatment of pregnant HCV carriers could reduce the burden of disease and limit vertical transmission from mother to child. We assessed the impact of HCV screening and subsequent treatment with new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) among pregnant women in the Netherlands.

Methods

An HCV natural history Markov transition state model was developed, to evaluate the public-health and economic impact of HCV screening and treatment. Besides all 179,000 pregnant women in the Netherlands (cohort 1), we modelled 3 further cohorts: all 79,000 first-time pregnant women (cohort 2), 33,000 pregnant migrant women (cohort 3) and 16,000 first-time pregnant migrant women (cohort 4). Each cohort was analyzed in various scenarios: i no intervention, i.e., the current practice, ii screen-and-treat, i.e., the most extensive approach involving treatment of all individuals found HCV-positive, and iii screen-and-treat/monitor, i.e., a strategy involving treatment of symptomatic (F1–F4) patients and follow-up of asymptomatic (F0) HCV carriers with subsequent treatment only at progression.

Results

For all cohorts, comparison between scenarios (ii) and (i) resulted in ICERs between €9,306 and €10,173 per QALY gained and 5 year budget impacts varying between €6,283,830 and €19,220,405. For all cohorts, comparison between scenarios (iii) and (i) resulted in ICERs between €1,739 and €2,749 per QALY gained and budget impacts varying between €1,468,670 and €5,607,556. For all cohorts, the ICERs (scenario iii versus ii) involved in delayed treatment of asymptomatic (F0) HCV carriers varied between €56,607 and €56,892, well above the willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of €20,000 per QALY gained and even above a threshold of €50,000 per QALY gained.

Conclusion

Universal screening for HCV among all pregnant women in the Netherlands is cost-effective. However, it would be reasonable to consider smaller risk groups in view of the budget impact of the intervention.
Hybrid approach to ventral wall hernia repair: a single-institution cohort study
Authors: Jamel Sara , Hakky Sherif Mohamad , Tukanova Karina , Huf Sarah , Markar Sheraz , Purkayastha Sanjay
Published: October 2020

Background

Ventral hernias pose a substantial challenge for surgeons. Even though minimally invasive surgery and hernia repair have evolved rapidly, there is no standardised method that has been widely accepted as standard of practice. Hybrid ventral hernia repair (HVR) is an alternative surgical approach, which has not been adopted widely to date. It combines laparoscopic mesh insertion with closure of the hernia defect. The aim of this retrospective cohort study is to evaluate short- and long-term outcomes in patients undergoing HVR.

Methods

Between October 2012 and June 2016, 56 HVRs were performed at St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College London. The medical records of these patients were reviewed retrospectively for demographics, comorbidities, previous surgeries, operative technique, complications and recurrences over a 3-year follow-up.

Results

HVRs were performed by four surgeons. Mean age was 48 years with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 32.8 kg/m2. 71.4% had incisional hernias and 28.6% had primary hernias. The number of hernia defects ranged from 1 to 4, with average defect size 42.9 cm2 (range 8–200 cm2). Adhesiolysis was performed in 66.1% of patients. Recurrence occurred in 2 patients (3.6%), 16.1% of patients developed postoperative seroma, 0.3% had respiratory complications, 0.3% had paralytic ileus and 0.2% had urinary retention. Only 2 patients required epidural postoperatively, both had a defect size of 150.0 cm2. There were no reoperations within 90 days. Mean length of hospital stay was 2 days (1–10 days). Over the follow-up period, 2 patients (3.6%) developed chronic pain.

Conclusion

The hybrid technique is safe and feasible, and has important benefits including low rates of seroma formation, chronic pain and hernia recurrence. Future investigations may include randomised controlled trials to evaluate the benefits of VHR, with careful assessment of patient-reported outcome measures including quality of life and postoperative pain.
The structure and functional correlates of social support networks of people in advanced old age living in chosen urban and rural areas in Poland: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Wojszel Z. B. , Politynska B.
Published: October 2020

The purpose of the study was to identify the different types of social support networks (SSNs) among community-dwelling people aged 75+ years in selected areas of Poland, and to evaluate any associations between the network type and demographic and health variables of the population studied. The two most prevalent SSN types identified using the Practitioner Assessment of Network Type were “family dependent” (35.8%) and “locally integrated” (32.2%). “Local self-contained” (6.4%), “wider community focused” (2.8%) and “private restricted” (5.6%) SSNs were observed less frequently. In 17.2% of cases, it was not possible to identify the type of network unequivocally. Older people with a locally integrated SSN, in contrast to the family dependent type, were generally younger, living alone, and less likely to be homebound, rate their health as poor, suffer from depression or dementia, and had lower levels of functional disability. Locally integrated SSNs are recognized in the literature as being the most robust in terms of facilitating well-being and providing sufficient support to help maintain the older person in the community. This may reflect the higher levels of independence of older people able to sustain these support networks, which are then transformed into family-dependent types as their health deteriorates, but confirmation of this would require prospective studies. An improved understanding of the prevalence of different types of social networks among older people in Poland would help to guide a systematic approach to recognizing unmet needs in this population and provide crucial information in the planning of formal services.
The Heritability of Type D Personality by an Extended Twin-Pedigree Analysis in the Netherlands Twin Register
Authors: Li-Gao Ruifang , Boomsma Dorret I. , de Geus Eco J. C. , Denollet Johan , Kupper Nina
Published: October 2020

Type D (Distressed) personality combines negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI) and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We aimed to (1) validate a new proxy based on the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) for Type D personality and its NA and SI subcomponents and (2) estimate the heritability of the Type D proxy in an extended twin-pedigree design in the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR). Proxies for the dichotomous Type D classification, and continuous NA, SI, and NAxSI (the continuous measure of Type D) scales were created based on 12 ASEBA items for 30,433 NTR participants (16,449 twins and 13,984 relatives from 11,106 pedigrees) and sources of variation were analyzed in the ‘Mendel’ software package. We estimated additive and non-additive genetic variance components, shared household and unique environmental variance components and ran bivariate models to estimate the genetic and non-genetic covariance between NA and SI. The Type D proxy showed good reliability and construct validity. The best fitting genetic model included additive and non-additive genetic effects with broad-sense heritabilities for NA, SI and NAxSI estimated at 49%, 50% and 49%, respectively. Household effects showed small contributions (4–9%) to the total phenotypic variation. The genetic correlation between NA and SI was .66 (reflecting both additive and non-additive genetic components). Thus, Type D personality and its NA and SI subcomponents are heritable, with a shared genetic basis for the two subcomponents.
The complete hierarchical locality of the punctured Simplex code
Authors: Grezet Matthias , Hollanti Camilla
Published: October 2020

This paper presents a new alphabet-dependent bound for codes with hierarchical locality. Then, the complete list of possible localities is derived for a class of codes obtained by deleting specific columns from a Simplex code. This list is used to show that these codes are optimal codes with hierarchical locality.
Mobility and the lifetime distributional impact of tax and transfer reforms
Authors: Levell Peter , Roantree Barra , Shaw Jonathan
Published: October 2020

This paper examines the lifetime distributional impact of changes to the tax and transfer system. We find that—in contrast to standard snapshot analyses—increases to work-contingent benefits are just as effective at redistributing resources to the lifetime poor as increases to out-of-work benefits. This has important implications for the equity-efficiency trade-off typically thought to apply to work-contingent transfers. We also show that increases to higher rates of income tax are an effective way of targeting the lifetime rich because higher earners tend to exhibit greater persistence in their incomes. Our results illustrate the importance that moving beyond an exclusively snapshot perspective can have when analysing tax and transfer reforms.
Joining of SiO2 glass and 316L stainless steel using Bi–Ag-based active solders
Authors: Weber Felix , Rettenmayr Markus
Published: October 2020

Active brazing is a commonly used method for joining dissimilar materials with at least one non-metallic component. In the present study, joining of SiO2 glass to 316L stainless steel was performed utilizing Bi–Ag-based solders. Ti up to a concentration of 4 and Mg up to 1 wt.% were added as active elements. Microstructures of the solder alloys in the as-cast state and of cross sections of the joined compounds were analysed using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. In the as-cast state of the solder, Ti is found in Bi–Ti intermetallic phases; Mg is partially dissolved in the fcc-(Ag) phase and additionally contained in a ternary Ag-Bi-Mg phase. After soldering, a tight joint was generated using several alloy compositions. Ti leads to the formation of reaction products at the steel/solder and glass/solder interfaces, and Mg is exclusively accumulated at the glass/solder interface.
LiYF4:Yb/LiYF4 and LiYF4:Yb,Er/LiYF4 core/shell nanocrystals with luminescence decay times similar to YLF laser crystals and the upconversion quantum yield of the Yb,Er doped nanocrystals
Authors: Carl Frederike , Birk Leonie , Grauel Bettina , Pons Monica , Würth Christian , Resch-Genger Ute , Haase Markus
Published: October 2020

We developed a procedure to prepare luminescent LiYF4:Yb/LiYF4 and LiYF4:Yb,Er/LiYF4 core/shell nanocrystals with a size of approximately 40 nm revealing luminescence decay times of the dopant ions that approach those of high-quality laser crystals of LiYF4:Yb (Yb:YLF) and LiYF4:Yb,Er (Yb,Er:YLF) with identical doping concentrations. As the luminescence decay times of Yb3+ and Er3+ are known to be very sensitive to the presence of quenchers, the long decay times of the core/shell nanocrystals indicate a very low number of defects in the core particles and at the core/shell interfaces. This improvement in the performance was achieved by introducing two important modifications in the commonly used oleic acid based synthesis. First, the shell was prepared via a newly developed method characterized by a very low nucleation rate for particles of pure LiYF4 shell material. Second, anhydrous acetates were used as precursors and additional drying steps were applied to reduce the incorporation of OH− in the crystal lattice, known to quench the emission of Yb3+ ions. Excitation power density (P)-dependent absolute measurements of the upconversion luminescence quantum yield (ΦUC) of LiYF4:Yb,Er/LiYF4 core/shell particles reveal a maximum value of 1.25% at P of 180 Wcm−2. Although lower than the values reported for NaYF4:18%Yb,2%Er core/shell nanocrystals with comparable sizes, these ΦUC values are the highest reported so far for LiYF4:18%Yb,2%Er/LiYF4 nanocrystals without additional dopants. Further improvements may nevertheless be possible by optimizing the dopant concentrations in the LiYF4 nanocrystals.
Percutaneous coronary intervention versus medical therapy for chronic total coronary occlusions: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials
Authors: van Veelen A. , Elias J. , van Dongen I. M. , Hoebers L. P. C. , Claessen B. E. P. M. , Henriques J. P. S.
Published: October 2020

Background

The results of chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention (CTO-PCI) trials are inconclusive. Therefore, we studied whether CTO-PCI leads to improvement of clinical endpoints and patient symptoms when combining all available randomised data.

Methods and results

This meta-analysis was registered in PROSPERO prior to starting. We performed a literature search and identified all randomised trials comparing CTO-PCI to optimal medical therapy alone (OMT). A total of five trials were included, comprising 1790 CTO patients, of whom 964 were randomised to PCI and 826 to OMT. The all-cause mortality was comparable between groups at 1‑year [risk ratio (RR) 1.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50–5.80, p = 0.40] and at 4‑year follow-up (RR 1.14, 95% CI 0.38–3.40, p = 0.81). There was no difference in the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) between groups at 1 year (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.36–1.33, p = 0.27) and at 4 years (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.60–1.22, p = 0.38). Left ventricular function and volumes at follow-up were comparable between groups. However, the PCI group had fewer target lesion revascularisations (RR 0.28, 95% CI 0.15–0.52, p < 0.001) and was more frequently free of angina at 1‑year follow-up (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.50–0.84, p = 0.001), although the scores on the subscales of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire were comparable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in this meta-analysis of 1790 CTO patients, CTO-PCI did not lead to an improvement in survival or in MACE as reported at long-term follow-up of up to 4 years, or to improvement of left ventricular function. However, CTO-PCI resulted in less angina and fewer target lesion revascularisations compared to OMT.
Effects of land use/land cover and climatic change on the ecosystem of North Ningxia, China
Authors: Abd El-Hamid Hazem T. , Caiyong Wei , Hafiz Mohammed A. , Mustafa Elhadi K.
Published: October 2020

Land use/land cover change (LUCC) and climate changes are responsible for degradation of any ecosystem in arid and semi-arid regions. Studying the ecological variations is particularly essential for any type of sustainable development, in which LUCC considers as one of the chief inputs. The main objective is to evaluate the impacts of LUCC and climatic changes on the Ecosystem Vulnerability (ESV) using remote sensing and some statistical models around the Yellow River, Ningxia, China. Eleven classes of LUCC were identified during 1995 and 2019: village land, bare land, grassland, industrial land, irrigated land, swamp land, tidal flat, transportation land, urban land, water bodies, and water channels. Grassland may be decreased annually with percentage − 5.873% due to some human activities and environmental changes in climate from one season to another. About 24.23 km2and 24.86 km2was converted from grassland to industrial lands and irrigated lands, respectively. ESV has been calculated using LULC, DEM, slope, soil, and geology. About 45% and 60% of 1995 and 2019, respectively, undergone moderate vulnerability. The annual rate of ESVI decreased in low and reasonable but it was increased in moderate, high, and extreme showing – 4.166% as a total percentage of annual vulnerability. High vulnerability area needs proper management. Majority of vegetation area is located in zone under the moderate vulnerability zone; in contrast, grasslands were subjected to high vulnerability. Areas around the Yellow River were subjected to drought and flooding due to climatic change affecting negatively on the production of crops. Also, the desert lands of the study area have been turned to agriculture according to statistical model. Population growth, industrial development, and governmental policies for ecosystem protection were responsible for major changes. This study is more beneficial for decision-making in eco-environmental protecting and planning. Results of this study could help planners in formulating effective strategies for better management of ecosystem.
The rich inner life of the cell nucleus: dynamic organization, active flows, and emergent rheology
Authors: Zidovska Alexandra
Published: October 2020

The cell nucleus stores the genetic material essential for life, and provides the environment for transcription, maintenance, and replication of the genome. Moreover, the nucleoplasm is filled with subnuclear bodies such as nucleoli that are responsible for other vital functions. Overall, the nucleus presents a highly heterogeneous and dynamic environment with diverse functionality. Here, we propose that its biophysical complexity can be organized around three inter-related and interactive facets: heterogeneity, activity, and rheology. Most nuclear constituents are sites of active, ATP-dependent processes and are thus inherently dynamic: The genome undergoes constant rearrangement, the nuclear envelope flickers and fluctuates, nucleoli migrate and coalesce, and many of these events are mediated by nucleoplasmic flows and interactions. And yet there is spatiotemporal organization in terms of hierarchical structure of the genome, its coherently moving regions and membrane-less compartmentalization via phase-separated nucleoplasmic constituents. Moreover, the non-equilibrium or activity-driven nature of the nucleus gives rise to emergent rheology and material properties that impact all cellular processes via the central dogma of molecular biology. New biophysical insights into the cell nucleus can come from appreciating this rich inner life.
Tracing of traffic-related pollution using magnetic properties of topsoils in Daejeon, Korea
Authors: Lee Seungwoo , Kim Seoyeon , Kim Hyeji , Seo Youlee , Ha Yeoncheol , Kim Hanul , Ha Raegyung , Yu Yongjae
Published: October 2020

The present study was designed to explore the possibility of roadside pollution screening using magnetic properties of topsoil samples in Daejeon, South Korea. Low-field magnetic susceptibility, frequency dependence of magnetic susceptibility, susceptibility of anhysteretic remanent magnetization, isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition and demagnetization, back-field IRM treatment, and thermal demagnetization of composite IRM were determined for roadside topsoil samples. Magnetic susceptibility measured on 238 samples from the upper 5 cm of the topsoils ranged from 8.6 to 82.5 × 10–5 SI with a mean of 28.3 ± 10.8 × 10–5 SI. The proximal zone, 55 m wide area situated on either side of the main street, exhibited an enhancement of magnetic susceptibility. In areas distant from the main street, low magnetic susceptibility (< 50 × 10–5 SI) was observed. The topsoil samples exhibited significant susceptibility contrasts, suggesting that two dimensional magnetic mapping was effective in identifying traffic-related pollution. A few magnetic hotspots with intensities of magnetic susceptibility near or over 50 × 10–5 SI might reflect the difference in topographic elevation and surface morphology. Among various IRM-related parameters, remanence of coercivity was most significant statistically. In most samples, IRM component analysis provided dual coercivity components. Thermal demagnetization of composite IRM and morphological observation of magnetic separates suggest angular magnetite produced by vehicle non-exhaust emissions spherical magnetite derived from exhaust emission to be the dominant contributors to the magnetic signal. It is likely that lower- and higher-coercivity components represent the presence of coarse-grained angular magnetite and fine-grained spherical magnetite, respectively.
Emission taxes and feed-in subsidies in the regulation of a polluting monopoly
Authors: García-Alaminos Ángela , Rubio Santiago J.
Published: October 2020

The paper studies the use of emission taxes and feed-in subsidies for the regulation of a monopoly that can produce the same good with a technology that employs a polluting input and a clean technology. In the first part of the paper, we show that the efficient solution can be implemented combining a tax on emissions and a subsidy on clean output. The tax is lower than the environmental damages, and the subsidy is equal to the difference between the price and the marginal revenue. In the second part of the paper, the second-best tax and subsidy are also calculated solving a two-stage policy game between the regulator and the monopoly with the regulator acting as the leader of the game. We find that the second-best tax rate can be the Pigouvian tax, but only if the marginal costs of the clean technology are constant. Using a linear–quadratic specification of the model, we show that the clean output is larger when a feed-in subsidy is used than when the tax is applied, but the dirty output can be larger or lower depending on the magnitude of marginal costs of the clean technology and marginal damages. The same occurs for the net social welfare, although we find that for low enough marginal costs of the clean technology, the net social welfare is larger when a feed-in subsidy is used to promote clean output regardless the importance of the marginal damages.
Designing an Event Store for a Modern Three-layer Storage Hierarchy
Authors: Glombiewski Nikolaus , Götze Philipp , Körber Michael , Morgen Andreas , Seeger Bernhard
Published: October 2020

Event stores face the difficult challenge of continuously ingesting massive temporal data streams while satisfying demanding query and recovery requirements. Many of today’s systems deal with multiple hardware-based trade-offs. For instance, long-term storage solutions balance keeping data in cheap secondary media (SSDs, HDDs) and performance-oriented main-memory caches. As an alternative, in-memory systems focus on performance, while sacrificing monetary costs, and, to some degree, recovery guarantees. The advent of persistent memory (PMem) led to a multitude of novel research proposals aiming to alleviate those trade-offs in various fields. So far, however, there is no proposal for a PMem-powered specialized event store.

Based on ChronicleDB, we will present several complementary approaches for a three-layer architecture featuring main memory, PMem, and secondary storage. We enhance some of ChronicleDB’s components with PMem for better insertion and query performance as well as better recovery guarantees. At the same time, the three-layer architecture aims to keep the overall dollar cost of a system low. The limitations and opportunities of a PMem-enhanced event store serve as important groundwork for comprehensive system design exploiting a modern storage hierarchy.
Mental Imagery and its Relevance for Psychopathology and Psychological Treatment in Children and Adolescents: a Systematic Review
Authors: Schwarz Susan , Grasmann Dörte , Schreiber Franziska , Stangier Ulrich
Published: October 2020

This review provides an overview of the current state of research concerning the role of mental imagery (MI) in mental disorders and evaluates treatment methods for changing MI in childhood. A systematic literature search using PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and PsycINFO from 1872 to September 2020 was conducted. Fourteen studies were identified investigating MI, and fourteen studies were included referring to interventions for changing MI. Data from the included studies was entered into a data extraction sheet. The methodological quality was then evaluated. MI in childhood is vivid, frequent, and has a significant influence on cognitions and behavior in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and depression. The imagery’s perspective might mediate the effect of MI on the intensity of anxiety. Imagery rescripting, emotive imagery, imagery rehearsal therapy, and rational-emotive therapy with imagery were found to have significant effects on symptoms of anxiety disorders and nightmares. In childhood, MI seems to contribute to the maintenance of SAD, PTSD, and depression. If adapted to the developmental stages of children, interventions targeting MI are effective in the treatment of mental disorders.
Comparison of prophylactic dexamethasone, metoclopramide, and combination of dexamethasone and metoclopramide for prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting for major gynaecological surgery in Hawassa university compressive specialized hospital, Ethiopia, 2019
Authors: Regasa Teshome , Aweke Zemedu , Neme Derartu , Hailu Sleshi , Jemal Bedru , Mekonen Semang
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACT

Background:

Postoperative nausea and vomiting is a common postoperative unpleasant and distressful experience among major abdominal gynecological surgery with incidences of up to 54% and 71% vomiting &nausea respectively. PONV is primarily occurs within 24 h can lead to significant morbidity, unexpected hospital admission of surgical outpatients by reducing patient comfort, delayed discharge from the hospital, and an increase in costs.

Objective:

To compare the effectiveness of dexamethasone, metoclopramide and combination of them in prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing gynaecological surgery.

Methods:

Institutional based Prospective randomized control trial study was conducted Hawassa comprehnsive specialized hospital from March 2018–February 2019. This study was conducted on female patient age 18–65 years. Data was collected by pretested and self-designed structured questionnaire and analysed by using computer software SPSS version 22.data were evaluated using one way ANOVA test. Categorical data was analysed with the Chi-Square test and P- Value of less than 0.05 was significantly associated with outcome variable.

Result:

Total incidence of PONV during 4–12 h was 25% in the dexamethasone group, 53% in the metoclopramide group, 18.8% in the dexamethasone plus metoclopramide group (p = 0.007). There was significant difference in incidence of nausea at 4–12 h (p = 0.011) and 12–24 h (p = 0.043). The overall incidence of PONV was 31.3%, 65.6% &28.1%of dexamethasone, metoclopramide and combination of them respectively which was lower in dexamethasone & combination (p = 0.003). Total antiemetic drug over 24 h was significantly lower in the dexamethasone and combination groups than the metoclopramide groups which were, 28.1%, 25% and 62.5% respectively (p = 0.003).

Conclusions:

We conclude that prophylactic Dexamethasone and Dexamethasone plus 10 mg Metoclopramide was found more effective in preventing PONV and decreasing the requirement of rescue antiemetic than Metoclopramide & comparable effectiveness between dexamethasone and combination in prophylaxis of PONV.

Highlights:
COVID-19 Pandemic and the Lived Experience of Surgical Residents, Fellows, and Early-Career Surgeons in the American College of Surgeons
Authors: Coleman Julia R. , Abdelsattar Jad M. , Glocker Roan J. , Carmichael Heather , Vigneshwar Navin G. , Ryan Randi , Qiu Qiong , Nayyar Apoorve , Visenio Michael R. , Sonntag Cheyenne C. , Chotai Pranit , Nikolian Vahagn C. , Ochoa Joana , Turner Patricia
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND:

To better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected surgical trainees' and early-career surgeons' professional and personal experiences, a survey of the membership of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Resident and Associate Society (RAS) and Young Fellows Association (YFA) was performed.

STUDY DESIGN:

An anonymous online survey was disseminated to members of RAS and YFA. Descriptive analyses were performed and factors associated with depression and burnout were examined with univariate and multivariable stepwise logistic regression.

RESULTS:

Of the RAS/YFA membership of 21,385, there were 1,160 respondents. The majority of respondents (96%) reported the COVID-19 pandemic having a negative impact on their clinical experience, with 84% of residents reporting a > 50% reduction in operative volume and inability to meet minimum case requirements. Respondents also reported negative impacts on personal wellness. Nearly one-third reported inadequate access to personal protective equipment, and depression and burnout were pervasive (≥21% of respondents reported yes to every screening symptom). On multivariable analysis, female sex (odds ratio [OR] 1.54 for depression, OR 1.47 for burnout) and lack of wellness resources (OR 1.55 for depression, OR 1.44 for burnout) predicted depression and burnout. Access to adequate personal protective equipment was protective against burnout (OR 0.52).

CONCLUSIONS:

These data demonstrate a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of residents and early-career surgeons. Actionable items from these data include mitigation of burnout and depression through increasing personal protective equipment access and provision of wellness programs, with a particular focus on high-risk groups.
Modular Theory in Operator Algebras
Authors: Strătilă Serban Valentin
Published: October 2020

The first edition of this book appeared in 1981 as a direct continuation of Lectures of von Neumann Algebras (by Ş.V. Strătilă and L. Zsidó) and, until 2003, was the only comprehensive monograph on the subject. Addressing the students of mathematics and physics and researchers interested in operator algebras, noncommutative geometry and free probability, this revised edition covers the fundamentals and latest developments in the field of operator algebras. It discusses the group-measure space construction, Krieger factors, infinite tensor products of factors of type I (ITPFI factors) and construction of the type III_1 hyperfinite factor. It also studies the techniques necessary for continuous and discrete decomposition, duality theory for noncommutative groups, discrete decomposition of Connes, and Ocneanu's result on the actions of amenable groups. It contains a detailed consideration of groups of automorphisms and their spectral theory, and the theory of crossed products.
Military Politics of the Contemporary Arab World
Authors: Droz-Vincent Philippe
Published: October 2020

Aside from large-scale civic mobilisations, no force was more critical to the outcomes of the 2011 Arab uprisings than the armed forces. Nearly a decade after these events, we see militaries across the region in power, once again performing critical roles in state politics. Taking as a point of reference five case studies where uprisings took place in 2011, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria, Philippe Droz-Vincent explores how these armies were able to install themselves for decades under enduring authoritarian regimes, how armies reacted to the 2011 Uprisings, and what role they played in the post-Uprising regime re-formations or collapses. Devoting a chapter to monarchical armies with a special focus on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Droz-Vincent addresses whether monarchies radically differ from republics, to compare the foundational role of Arab armies in state building, in the Arab world and beyond.
Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Happiness and Ultimate Purpose
Authors: Budziszewski J.
Published: October 2020

This monumental, line-by-line commentary makes Thomas Aquinas's classic Treatise on Happiness and Ultimate Purpose accessible to all readers. Budziszewski illuminates arguments that even specialists find challenging: What is happiness? Is it something that we have, feel, or do? Does it lie in such things as wealth, power, fame, having friends, or knowing God? Can it actually be attained? This book's luminous prose makes Aquinas's treatise transparent, bringing to light profound underlying issues concerning knowledge, meaning, human psychology, and even the nature of reality.
Isolation concepts applied to temporal clique enumeration
Authors: Molter Hendrik , Niedermeier Rolf , Renken Malte
Published: October 2020

Isolation is a concept originally conceived in the context of clique enumeration in static networks, mostly used to model communities that do not have much contact to the outside world. Herein, a clique is considered isolated if it has few edges connecting it to the rest of the graph. Motivated by recent work on enumerating cliques in temporal networks, we transform the isolation concept to the temporal setting. We discover that the addition of the time dimension leads to six distinct natural isolation concepts. Our main contribution is the development of parameterized enumeration algorithms for five of these six isolation types for clique enumeration, employing the parameter “degree of isolation.” In a nutshell, this means that the more isolated these cliques are, the faster we can find them. On the empirical side, we implemented and tested these algorithms on (temporal) social network data, obtaining encouraging results.
Relatedness and the composition of communities over time: Evaluating phylogenetic community structure in the late Cenozoic record of bivalves
Authors: Chang Lucy M. , Skipwith Phillip L.
Published: October 2020

Understanding the mechanisms that prevent or promote the coexistence of taxa at local scales is critical to understanding how biodiversity is maintained. Competitive exclusion and environmental filtering are two processes thought to limit which taxa become established in a community. However, determining the relative importance of the two processes is a complex task, especially when the critical initial stages of colonization cannot be directly observed. Here, we explore the use of phylogenetic community structure for identifying filtering mechanisms in a fossil community. We integrated a time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of bivalve genera with a spatial dataset of late Cenozoic bivalves from the Pacific coast of North America to characterize how the community that was present in the semirestricted San Joaquin Basin (SJB) embayment of present-day California was phylogenetically structured. We employed phylogenetic distance-based metrics across six time bins spanning 27–2.5 Ma and found no evidence of significant clustering or evenness in the SJB community when compared with communities randomly assembled from the regional source pool. Additionally, we found that new colonizers into the SJB were not significantly more or less closely related to native taxa than expected by chance. These findings suggest that neither competitive exclusion nor environmental filtering were overwhelmingly influential factors shaping the composition of the SJB community over time. We further discuss interpretations of these patterns in light of current understandings in community phylogenetics and reiterate the critical role historical perspectives play in how community assembly rules are assessed.