bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Monitoring the Relationship between Social Network Status and Influenza Based on Social Media Data
Authors: Yan Qi , Shan Siqing , Zhang Baishang , Sun Weize , Sun Menghan , Luo Yiting , Zhao Feng , Guo Xiaoshuang
Published: September 2023

Background:

This article aims to analyze the relationship between user characteristics on social networks and influenza.

Methods:

Three specific research questions are investigated: (1) we classify Weibo updates to recognize influenza-related information based on machine learning algorithms and propose a quantitative model for influenza susceptibility in social networks; (2) we adopt in-degree indicator from complex networks theory as social media status to verify its coefficient correlation with influenza susceptibility; (3) we also apply the LDA topic model to explore users’ physical condition from Weibo to further calculate its coefficient correlation with influenza susceptibility. From the perspective of social networking status, we analyze and extract influenza-related information from social media, with many advantages including efficiency, low cost, and real time.

Results:

We find a moderate negative correlation between the susceptibility of users to influenza and social network status, while there is a significant positive correlation between physical condition and susceptibility to influenza.

Conclusions:

Our findings reveal the laws behind the phenomenon of online disease transmission, and providing important evidence for analyzing, predicting, and preventing disease transmission. Also, this study provides theoretical and methodological underpinnings for further exploration and measurement of more factors associated with infection control and public health from social networks.
“The Wild West:” Nurse Experiences of Responding to the 2017 Las Vegas Mass Shooting
Authors: Choi Kristen R. , Heilemann MarySue V. , Romero Stephanie Anne , Peng Kelly , Wu Joyce , Sondereker Dorita , Fisher Christopher , Brymer Melissa
Published: September 2023

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses who responded to a public mass shooting in 2017.

Methods:

This qualitative study was conducted with a sample of nurses who responded to a mass shooting, recruited purposively from a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada. Intensive interviews were conducted with a total of 7 nurses, audio-recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis.

Results:

Six themes were developed from interview data: (1) “The worst night of my life”: Overrun and overwhelmed; (2) Unexpected altruism and benevolence of patients and staff; (3) “The Wild West”: Giving victim care by improvising beyond rules; (4) Experiencing a range of reactions in the immediate aftermath and in the long term; (5) Shifts in nursing practice and evolving team dynamics; and (6) Defining realistic approaches to support staff mental health and mass casualty preparation.

Conclusion:

Nurses who were involved in responding to the public mass shooting described the event as life-altering. Given the critical role of nurses in responding to mass shootings, it is essential to consider how nurses can be supported in the aftermath of these events and how mass disaster preparation can include attention to the needs of nurses.
Searching for the log law in open channel flow
Authors: Pirozzoli Sergio
Published: September 2023

We carry out direct numerical simulations of flow in a plane open channel at friction Reynolds number up to

${{Re}}_{\tau } \approx 6000$

. We find solid evidence for the presence of universal large-scale organization in the outer layer, with eddies that are larger and stronger than in the closed channel flow. As a result, velocity fluctuations are found to be stronger than in closed channels, throughout the depth. The inner-layer peak of the streamwise velocity variance is observed to grow logarithmically, as in Townsend's attached-eddy model (Townsend, The Structure of Turbulent Shear Flow, 2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, 1976), but saturation of the growth cannot be discarded based on the present data. Although we do not observe a clear outer peak of the streamwise velocity variance, we present substantial evidence that such a peak should emerge at a Reynolds number barely higher than achieved herein. The most striking feature of the flow is the presence of an extended logarithmic layer, with associated Kármán constant asymptoting to

$k \approx 0.375$

, in line with observations made in shear-free Couette–Poiseuille flow (Coleman et al., Flow Turbul. Combust., vol. 99, issue 3, 2017, pp. 553–564). The virtual absence of a wake region and of corrective terms to the log law in the present flow leads us to conclude that deviations from the log law observed in internal flows are likely due to the effects of the opposing walls, rather than the presence of a driving pressure gradient.
Flow-induced diffusion in a packed lattice of squirmers
Authors: Kogure Yu , Omori Toshihiro , Ishikawa Takuji
Published: September 2023

Mass transport in suspensions of swimming microorganisms is one of the most important factors for the colonisation and growth of microorganisms. Hydrodynamic interactions among swimming microorganisms play an important role in mass transport, especially in highly concentrated suspensions. To elucidate the influence of highly concentrated cells on mass transport, we numerically simulated mass transport in lattices of squirmers that were fixed in space and oriented in the same direction. The effects of different volume fractions, Péclet numbers (

$Pe$

) and lattice configurations on mass transport were quantified by tracking Lagrangian material points that move with background flow with Brownian diffusivity. Although the flow field became periodic in space and each streamline basically extended in one direction, the motion of tracer particles became diffusive over long durations due to Brownian motion and cross-flows. Flow-induced diffusion was anisotropic and significantly enhanced over Brownian diffusion in the longitudinal direction. We also investigated mass transport in random configurations of squirmers to reproduce more general conditions. Similar enhanced diffusion was also observed in the random configurations, indicating that the flow-induced diffusion appears regardless of the configurations. The present flow-induced diffusion did not follow

$Pe$

dependency of the conventional Taylor dispersion due to the cross-flows. The time and velocity scales were proposed, which enabled us to predict the flow-induced diffusivity from the data of the flow field and Brownian diffusivity without solving the mass conservation equation. The findings reported here improve our understanding of the transport phenomena in packed suspensions of swimming microorganisms.
Invariants of the velocity gradient tensor in a spatially developing compressible round jet
Authors: Thaker Parth , Mathew Joseph , Ghosh Somnath
Published: September 2023

Direct numerical simulation of a compressible round jet is carried out at Mach number of 0.9 and Reynolds number of 3600 and the data are used to perform velocity gradient tensor (VGT) analysis for different regions of the spatially developing jet. For the developed portion of the jet, the classical teardrop shape is observed for the joint probability density function (p.d.f.) of Q and R (second and third invariants of the VGT). In the region just after the potential core, between

$X = 10$

and 15

$r_0$

(

$r_0$

is the jet inlet radius), an inclination towards the third quadrant is observed in the Q–R joint p.d.f. which represents the presence of tube-like structures. It is also shown that this inclination in the turbulent/non-turbulent (T/NT) boundary and interface towards the third quadrant is mainly a contribution of points that lie in regions with negative dilatation. Regions with weak expansion also show this third quadrant inclination to some extent. Points that lie in regions with relatively higher positive dilatation show no such inclination towards the third quadrant but are inclined towards the fourth quadrant which indicates the presence of sheet-like structures. Similarly for the domain segment

$X = 15$

to 20

$r_0$

, it is observed that points that lie in the regions with positive dilatation have a joint p.d.f. with an inclination towards fourth quadrant, which suggests the presence of sheet-like structures at the T/NT boundary and interface. Points that lie in regions with negative dilatation show the appearance of a third quadrant lobe.
The eradication of Cham Muslim women's ethnic identity in Cambodia, 1975–79
Authors: Williams Francis
Published: September 2023

Between 1975 and 1979 the genocidal regime of Democratic Kampuchea (DK) in Cambodia targeted minorities including the Cham Muslim population. To hold the regime to account for its crimes against the Cambodian people, the Cambodian government in 2001 formed the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). Using transcripts of testimonies and judgements from the ECCC, this article examines Gender-Based Violence (GBV) among the Cham Muslim population. The study shows that Alexander Hinton's arguments to explain GBV using cultural frameworks are insufficient in this case. Indeed, Nicole Rafter has proven it is important to take into account the broader genocidal context to the violence. This article argues that ECCC documentation proves that GBV cannot be explained by cultural contexts alone and instead needs to be understood as a means to destroy the Cham and Cham culture.
Development of the “Quad-SCARA” platform and its collision avoidance based on Buffered Voronoi Cell
Authors: Sun Xiao , Ishida Kazuyoshi , Makino Koji , Shibayama Kotaro , Terada Hidetsugu
Published: September 2023

As a solution to soft material manipulation, dual-arm robots that are capable of multi-point grasping have become the latest trend due to their higher capability and efficiency. To explore further development in soft material manipulation and go beyond the hardware limit of dual arms, in this paper the robot platform “Quad-SCARA” that consists of four Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA) is developed and introduced. With the base of hardware platform, a novel collision avoidance system designed for the motion planning of Quad-SCARA in multi-point grasping state is proposed. This system is inspired by the idea of “Buffered Voronoi Cell (BVC),” an algorithm originally proposed for multi-agent collision avoidance. After appropriate adaptation and new proposition in implementation of BVC, the experiments of folding and spreading a handkerchief are performed, and the results in simulation and robot experiments are presented and discussed for the validation and evaluation of entire system.
Exploring wordplay and humour in English usage within Japanese texts
Authors: Kawabata Takako
Published: September 2023

English has been extensively integrated into various commercial contexts in Japan, infiltrating brand names, clothing, products, packaging (Dougill, 2008), shop signs (Backhaus, 2006; Inoue, 2005; MacGregor, 2003a), advertising copy (Seargeant, 2011; Takashi, 1990a, 1990b), television commercials (MacGregor, 2003b; Stanlaw, 1992), television programs (Jinnouchi, 2007), and Japanese popular music (Moody, 2001; Moody, 2006; Pennycook, 2003; Stanlaw, 2021). Scholars attribute this phenomenon to English's attention-catching effects (Bhatia, 2009) and its ability to stand out amidst predominantly Japanese scripts (Takashi, 1990b). While some argue that English is primarily used for decorative purposes, conveying positive imagery without necessarily prioritising communication (Dougill, 2008; Haarmann, 1989; Seaton, 2001), others contend that marketers capitalise on the public's superficial knowledge of basic English to achieve both decorative and communicative goals (Daulton, 2008). Previous studies have focused on English-based loanwords in the Japanese language system, overlooking the creative use of English wordplay in Japanese advertising texts (Inagawa, 2015; Scherling, 2016). This study aims to fill this gap by examining five instances of English wordplay in Japanese commercial texts that go beyond basic usage.
Paper Empires: Layers of Law in Colonial South Asia and the Indian Ocean
Authors: Chatterjee Nandini , Schrikker Alicia , Lyna Dries
Published: September 2023

Anthropologists and historians have recently underscored the ways in which European colonialism created novel regimes of legality and record-keeping, associated with ambitious and exclusive state-centered claims to both truth and rights, while being inevitably and constantly sucked into eddies of forgery and corruption. However, attention so far has been focused on English/European-language records and the colonial institutions that produced, stored, and deployed them. This has communicated a monolithic sense of power and normativity that unwittingly replicates the aspirations of colonial states. Drawing on eight case studies from in and around South Asia from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, we propose instead that the law of empires was rooted in the highly localized, often multilingual, and fragmented bureaucracies that produced its records. Here, historians of pre-colonial Indian regimes join hands with historians of British, Dutch, and French colonialism in order to unearth the genealogies of records written in Bengali, Marathi, Persian, Sinhala, and Tamil, as well as in French, Dutch, and English. This special issue collectively excavates the many layers, regimes, and languages in which legally effective records were produced by imperial regimes in South Asia and its much larger watery penumbra, the Indian Ocean.
Steady-state solutions for a reaction–diffusion equation with Robin boundary conditions: Application to the control of dengue vectors
Authors: Almeida Luis , Bliman Pierre-Alexandre , Nguyen Nga , Vauchelet Nicolas
Published: September 2023

In this paper, we investigate an initial-boundary value problem of a reaction–diffusion equation in a bounded domain with a Robin boundary condition and introduce some particular parameters to consider the non-zero flux on the boundary. This problem arises in the study of mosquito populations under the intervention of the population replacement method, where the boundary condition takes into account the inflow and outflow of individuals through the boundary. Using phase plane analysis, the present paper studies the existence and properties of non-constant steady-state solutions depending on several parameters. Then, we prove some sufficient conditions for their stability. We show that the long-time efficiency of this control method depends strongly on the size of the treated zone and the migration rate. To illustrate these theoretical results, we provide some numerical simulations in the framework of mosquito population control.
Height function localisation on trees
Authors: Lammers Piet , Toninelli Fabio
Published: September 2023

We study two models of discrete height functions, that is, models of random integer-valued functions on the vertices of a tree. First, we consider the random homomorphism model, in which neighbours must have a height difference of exactly one. The local law is uniform by definition. We prove that the height variance of this model is bounded, uniformly over all boundary conditions (both in terms of location and boundary heights). This implies a strong notion of localisation, uniformly over all extremal Gibbs measures of the system. For the second model, we consider directed trees, in which each vertex has exactly one parent and at least two children. We consider the locally uniform law on height functions which are monotone, that is, such that the height of the parent vertex is always at least the height of the child vertex. We provide a complete classification of all extremal gradient Gibbs measures, and describe exactly the localisation-delocalisation transition for this model. Typical extremal gradient Gibbs measures are localised also in this case. Localisation in both models is consistent with the observation that the Gaussian free field is localised on trees, which is an immediate consequence of transience of the random walk.
Spirituality
Authors: Hildebrand Jayne
Published: September 2023

This essay focuses on the proliferation of diverse spiritualities in Victorian Britain in the second half of the nineteenth century, including Theosophy, neopaganism, spiritualism, and emerging occult practices. It makes the case that this proliferation of spiritual thought emerged not in opposition to, but rather in harmony with, the ascendancy of scientific naturalist frameworks in the wake of Darwinism, and that the flexibility of “spirituality” as a concept serves a crucial function for understanding this late Victorian religious landscape. As a (very brief) case study, it examines the fusion of the spiritual and scientific in Marie Corelli's late Victorian bestseller, A Romance of Two Worlds (1886). Her work, I suggest, highlights the key role of new popular genres of speculative fiction in navigating the boundaries between spirit and matter at the fin de siècle.
Oceanic
Authors: Celeste Mark
Published: September 2023

This entry expands upon the “oceans” entry from the original Keywords issue. In moving from “oceans” to the “oceanic,” I call for a hydrographic remapping of the nineteenth century, offering a new perspective of networked culture, geopolitics, and ecology via maritime circulation and exchange. Noting selected recent projects as examples in this critical turn, I emphasize the stakes, affordances, and challenges of “reading the oceanic.” The oceanic, I contend, is not simply a descriptor of space but rather an active, ideologically charged and theoretically robust mode of representation.
Free Will
Authors: Selleri Andrea
Published: September 2023

This article makes a case to the effect that the free will vs. determinism dichotomy is relevant for Victorianists.
Paper
Authors: Menke Richard
Published: September 2023

Paper represents a potent but underexplored keyword for Victorian studies today. Not only is it the unacknowledged techno-material a priori of Victorian studies itself, but its histories also offer material connections that link literary texts, bureaucracy, and consumer culture to global ecologies and resource extraction.
Journalism
Authors: Humpherys Anne
Published: September 2023

Focusing on the introduction of the word “journalism” to the British reader in the early 1800s demonstrates the growing importance of the so-called Fourth Estate and the newspaper press in British media history. The word is borrowed from the French journalisme, which had been introduced into France much earlier.
Neo-Victorian
Authors: Espinoza Garrido Felipe
Published: September 2023

Despite neo-Victorianism's theoretical awareness of how colonial structures continue to infuse imaginations of the long nineteenth century, and how neo-Victorian culture might challenge both Victorian and contemporary ideological structures, common practices of neo-Victorian scholarship too often remain constricted in their geographical and conceptual breadth. In thinking about the structural convergences and challenges between Victorian studies and neo-Victorian studies, this keyword entry emphasizes texts and cultural traditions that have rarely been the purview of the neo-Victorian. Informed by Ronjaunee Chatterjee, Alicia Mireles Christoff, and Amy R. Wong's analysis of race as a central function in Victorian studies, it charts alternative neo-Victorian genealogies in anglophone African and Black British literatures and cultures. On this basis, it asks how conceptions of the neo-Victorian will need to change if the field is to take seriously its anticolonial potential.
Evaluation of the Turkey Nutrition and Health Surveys according to the mediterranean adequacy index and sustainability through water footprints
Authors: Erdoğan Gövez Nazlıcan , Akpınar Şentüre Şerife , Ayten Şerife , Köksal Eda
Published: September 2023

Objective:

Sustainable diet is one of the main factors that support food security, and the Mediterranean diet (MD) one of the sustainable diet models associated with low ecological impact and optimum health results has come to the fore. It was aimed to compare the results of the 2010 and 2017 Turkey Nutrition and Health Studies (TNHS) according to the Mediterranean Adequacy Index (MAI) and in order to evaluate the environmental impact of the current nutritional status in Turkey through water footprints (WF).

Design:

The MAI score was calculated using the published results of the 2010 and 2017 TNHS, and the WF have been calculated as indicators of environmental impact.

Setting:

Turkey.

Participants:

There are no participants.

Results:

In the TNHS, there was an increase in the amount of energy provided by foods non-MD in 2017 compared to 2010, with a decrease in the total MAI score. The group with the lowest adherence to the MD in both years was the adult group (MAI20102·74 and MAI20172·31), while the group with the highest adherence was the adolescent group (MAI20103·21 and MAI20172·53). The MAI scores of females were higher than those of males in both years. The males aged 19–64 years had the largest (841 m3/year) WF and the females aged 65+ years had the smallest (483 m3/year). The food group that contributed the most to WF was meat and meat products (21·0–35·0 %).

Conclusions:

Adherence to the MD has decreased due to the increase in the consumption of the Western-type diet in Turkey.
Intensifying a crop–fallow system: impacts on soil properties, crop yields, and economics
Authors: Ruis S. J. , Stepanovic S. , Blanco-Canqui H.
Published: September 2023

Intensifying crop–fallow systems could address increased weed control costs, increased land or rental costs, reduced crop diversity, and degraded soil properties in water-limited environments. One strategy to intensify such systems could be the insertion of a short-season crop during fallow. But, how this strategy affects soils, crop production, and farm economics needs further research. Thus, we studied the impacts of replacing fallow in a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L)–corn (Zea mays L.)–fallow system with a short-season spring crop [field pea (Pisum sativum L.)] on crop yields and economics from 2015 to 2019 and 5-yr cumulative effects on soil properties using an experiment in the west-central US Great Plains. After 5 yr, replacing fallow with field pea increased microbial biomass by 294 nmol g−1 and plant available water by 0.08 cm3 cm−3, and reduced bulk density by 0.1 g cm−3 and cone index by 0.73 MPa in the 0–5 cm depth. It had, however, no effect on other soil properties. Field pea yield averaged 2.24 Mg ha−1. Field pea reduced subsequent crop yield by 15–25% in two of three crops compared with fallow. However, economic analysis showed replacing fallow with field pea may improve net income by $144–303 ha−1, although income across the 5 yr differed by $65 ha−1 in favor of fallow. Replacing fallow in winter wheat–corn–fallow rotation with a short-season spring crop offers promise to improve some near-surface soil properties while increasing net economic return during fallow under the conditions of this study.
Pollination practices and grower perceptions of managed bumble bees (Bombus spp.) as pollinators of cranberry in Quebec and Wisconsin
Authors: Amon Nolan D. , Quezada Monica , Labarre Didier , Guédot Christelle
Published: September 2023

Globally, honey bees are the most utilized animal pollinator in agriculture. However, fluctuations in honey bee colony availability have led to a demand for diversification among crop pollinators. Managed bumble bees are commercially available and highly efficient at pollinating many crops, including cranberries, yet utilization of these managed bees has remained relatively low in North America, with the cranberry industry remaining heavily reliant on honey bees. Here, we surveyed growers from Wisconsin (WI) and Quebec (QC), two of the world's largest cranberry producers, to assess their current crop pollination practices and attitudes regarding managed bumble bees as crop pollinators. To this end, we inquired about their farm demographics, usage of pollination practices, factors influencing those pollination practices, sources of information on crop pollination, and perceptions of managed bumble bees. QC respondents placed a greater importance on their relationships with beekeepers than WI respondents, while WI respondents were more concerned about fruit quality than QC respondents. QC respondents also stocked bumble bees and planted pollinator gardens at a higher percentage than WI respondents, believed that honey bees are more efficient pollinators of cranberry than bumble bees, and a greater proportion of QC respondents reported feeling well informed about bumble bees compared to WI respondents. Importantly, respondents in both regions rank bumble bees' ability to pollinate in inclement weather as their greatest benefit, and the costs of bumble bees as the greatest barrier to their use. We propose that trusted sources of pollination information in both regions, including university specialists, crop consultants, and beekeepers, are well suited to clarify misconceptions regarding bumble bee pollination.
Defocused imaging-based quantification of plasmon-induced distortion of single emitter emission
Authors: Moon Gwiyeong , Son Taehwang , Yoo Hajun , Lee Changhun , Lee Hyunwoong , Im Seongmin , Kim Donghyun
Published: September 2023

Optical properties of single emitters can be significantly improved through the interaction with plasmonic structures, leading to enhanced sensing and imaging capabilities. In turn, single emitters can act as sensitive probes of the local electromagnetic field surrounding plasmonic structures, furnishing fundamental insights into their physics and guiding the design of novel plasmonic devices. However, the interaction of emitters in the proximity to a plasmonic nanostructure causes distortion, which hinders precise estimation of position and polarization state and is one of the reasons why detection and quantification of molecular processes yet remain fundamentally challenging in this era of super-resolution. Here, we investigate axially defocused images of a single fluorescent emitter near metallic nanostructure, which encode emitter positions and can be acquired in the far-field with high sensitivity, while analyzing the images with pattern matching algorithm to explore emitter-localized surface plasmon interaction and retrieve information regarding emitter positions. Significant distortion in defocused images of fluorescent beads and quantum dots near nanostructure was observed and analyzed by pattern matching and finite-difference time-domain methods, which revealed that the distortion arises from the emitter interaction with nanostructure. Pattern matching algorithm was also adopted to estimate the lateral positions of a dipole that models an emitter utilizing the distorted defocused images and achieved improvement by more than 3 times over conventional diffraction-limited localization methods. The improvement by defocused imaging is expected to provide a way of enhancing reliability when using plasmonic nanostructure and diversifying strategies for various imaging and sensing modalities.
Stretchable and durable HD-sEMG electrodes for accurate recognition of swallowing activities on complex epidermal surfaces
Authors: Zhang Ding , Chen Zhitao , Xiao Longya , Zhu Beichen , Wu RuoXuan , Ou ChengJian , Ma Yi , Xie Longhan , Jiang Hongjie
Published: September 2023

Surface electromyography (sEMG) is widely used in monitoring human health. Nonetheless, it is challenging to capture high-fidelity sEMG recordings in regions with intricate curved surfaces such as the larynx, because regular sEMG electrodes have stiff structures. In this study, we developed a stretchable, high-density sEMG electrode array via layer-by-layer printing and lamination. The electrode offered a series of excellent human‒machine interface features, including conformal adhesion to the skin, high electron-to-ion conductivity (and thus lower contact impedance), prolonged environmental adaptability to resist water evaporation, and epidermal biocompatibility. This made the electrode more appropriate than commercial electrodes for long-term wearable, high-fidelity sEMG recording devices at complicated skin interfaces. Systematic in vivo studies were used to investigate its ability to classify swallowing activities, which was accomplished with high accuracy by decoding the sEMG signals from the chin via integration with an ear-mounted wearable system and machine learning algorithms. The results demonstrated the clinical feasibility of the system for noninvasive and comfortable recognition of swallowing motions for comfortable dysphagia rehabilitation.
Single cell dynamics and nitrogen transformations in the chain forming diatom Chaetoceros affinis
Authors: Stenow Rickard , Robertson Elizabeth K , Whitehouse Martin J , Ploug Helle
Published: September 2023

Colony formation in phytoplankton is often considered a disadvantage during nutrient limitation in aquatic systems. Using stable isotopic tracers combined with secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), we unravel cell-specific activities of a chain-forming diatom and interactions with attached bacteria. The uptake of 13C-bicarbonate and15N-nitrate or 15N-ammonium was studied in Chaetoceros affinis during the stationary growth phase. Low cell-to-cell variance of 13C-bicarbonate and 15N-nitrate assimilation within diatom chains prevailed during the early stationary phase. Up to 5% of freshly assimilated 13C and 15N was detected in attached bacteria within 12 h and supported bacterial C- and N-growth rates up to 0.026 h−1. During the mid-stationary phase, diatom chain-length decreased and 13C and 15N-nitrate assimilation was significantly higher in solitary cells as compared to that in chain cells. During the late stationary phase, nitrate assimilation ceased and ammonium assimilation balanced C fixation. At this stage, we observed highly active cells neighboring inactive cells within the same chain. In N-limited regimes, bacterial remineralization of N and the short diffusion distance between neighbors in chains may support surviving cells. This combination of “microbial gardening” and nutrient transfer within diatom chains represents a strategy which challenges current paradigms of nutrient fluxes in plankton communities.
Frequency of change determines effectiveness of microbial response strategies
Authors: Li Shengjie , Mosier Damon , Dong Xiaoli , Kouris Angela , Ji Guodong , Strous Marc , Diao Muhe
Published: September 2023

Nature challenges microbes with change at different frequencies and demands an effective response for survival. Here, we used controlled laboratory experiments to investigate the effectiveness of different response strategies, such as post-translational modification, transcriptional regulation, and specialized versus adaptable metabolisms. For this, we inoculated replicated chemostats with an enrichment culture obtained from sulfidic stream microbiomes 16 weeks prior. The chemostats were submitted to alternatingly oxic and anoxic conditions at three frequencies, with periods of 1, 4 and 16 days. The microbial response was recorded with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, shotgun metagenomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. Metagenomics resolved provisional genomes of all abundant bacterial populations, mainly affiliated with Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Almost all these populations maintained a steady growth rate under both redox conditions at all three frequencies of change. Our results supported three conclusions: (1) Oscillating oxic/anoxic conditions selected for generalistic species, rather than species specializing in only a single condition. (2) A high frequency of change selected for strong codon usage bias. (3) Alignment of transcriptomes and proteomes required multiple generations and was dependent on a low frequency of change.
Network analysis of inflammation and symptoms in recent onset schizophrenia and the influence of minocycline during a clinical trial
Authors: Herniman Sarah E. , Wood Stephen J. , Khandaker Golam , Dazzan Paola , Pariante Carmine M. , Barnes Nicholas M. , Krynicki Carl R. , Nikkheslat Naghmeh , Vincent Rachel C. , Roberts Alex , Giordano Annalisa , Watson Andrew , Suckling John , Barnes Thomas R. E. , Husain Nusrat , Jones Peter B. , Joyce Eileen , Lawrie Stephen M. , Lewis Shôn , Deakin Bill , Upthegrove Rachel ,   the BeneMin Study Team
Published: September 2023

Attempts to delineate an immune subtype of schizophrenia have not yet led to the clear identification of potential treatment targets. An unbiased informatic approach at the level of individual immune cytokines and symptoms may reveal organisational structures underlying heterogeneity in schizophrenia, and potential for future therapies. The aim was to determine the network and relative influence of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines on depressive, positive, and negative symptoms. We further aimed to determine the effect of exposure to minocycline or placebo for 6 months on cytokine-symptom network connectivity and structure. Network analysis was applied to baseline and 6-month data from the large multi-center BeneMin trial of minocycline (N = 207) in schizophrenia. Pro-inflammatory cytokinesIL-6, TNF-α, andIFN-γhad the greatest influence in the inflammatory network and were associated with depressive symptoms and suspiciousness at baseline. At 6 months, the placebo group network connectivity was 57% stronger than the minocycline group, due to significantly greater influence ofTNF-α, early wakening, andpathological guilt.IL-6and its downstream impact onTNF-α, andIFN-γ, could offer novel targets for treatment if offered at the relevant phenotypic profile including those with depression. Future targeted experimental studies of immune-based therapies are now needed.
GelMap: intrinsic calibration and deformation mapping for expansion microscopy
Authors: Damstra Hugo G. J. , Passmore Josiah B. , Serweta Albert K. , Koutlas Ioannis , Burute Mithila , Meye Frank J. , Akhmanova Anna , Kapitein Lukas C.
Published: September 2023

Expansion microscopy (ExM) is a powerful technique to overcome the diffraction limit of light microscopy by physically expanding biological specimen in three dimensions. Nonetheless, using ExM for quantitative or diagnostic applications requires robust quality control methods to precisely determine expansion factors and to map deformations due to anisotropic expansion. Here we present GelMap, a flexible workflow to introduce a fluorescent grid into pre-expanded hydrogels that scales with expansion and reports deformations. We demonstrate that GelMap can be used to precisely determine the local expansion factor and to correct for deformations without the use of cellular reference structures or pre-expansion ground-truth images. Moreover, we show that GelMap aids sample navigation for correlative uses of expansion microscopy. Finally, we show that GelMap is compatible with expansion of tissue and can be readily implemented as a quality control step into existing ExM workflows.
Statistically unbiased prediction enables accurate denoising of voltage imaging data
Authors: Eom Minho , Han Seungjae , Park Pojeong , Kim Gyuri , Cho Eun-Seo , Sim Jueun , Lee Kang-Han , Kim Seonghoon , Tian He , Böhm Urs L. , Lowet Eric , Tseng Hua-an , Choi Jieun , Lucia Stephani Edwina , Ryu Seung Hyun , Rózsa Márton , Chang Sunghoe , Kim Pilhan , Han Xue , Piatkevich Kiryl D. , Choi Myunghwan , Kim Cheol-Hee , Cohen Adam E. , Chang Jae-Byum , Yoon Young-Gyu
Published: September 2023

Here we report SUPPORT (statistically unbiased prediction utilizing spatiotemporal information in imaging data), a self-supervised learning method for removing Poisson–Gaussian noise in voltage imaging data. SUPPORT is based on the insight that a pixel value in voltage imaging data is highly dependent on its spatiotemporal neighboring pixels, even when its temporally adjacent frames alone do not provide useful information for statistical prediction. Such dependency is captured and used by a convolutional neural network with a spatiotemporal blind spot to accurately denoise voltage imaging data in which the existence of the action potential in a time frame cannot be inferred by the information in other frames. Through simulations and experiments, we show that SUPPORT enables precise denoising of voltage imaging data and other types of microscopy image while preserving the underlying dynamics within the scene.
Nonpharmacological approaches for pain and symptoms of depression in people with osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analyses
Authors: Burley Claire V. , Casey Anne-Nicole , Jones Matthew D. , Wright Kemi E. , Parmenter Belinda J.
Published: September 2023

People with osteoarthritis often experience pain and depression. These meta-analyses examined and compared nonpharmacological randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for pain and symptoms of depression in people living with osteoarthritis. RCTs published up until April 2022 were sourced by searching electronic databases EMBASE, PUBMED & MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL and PEDro. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to calculate pooled effect sizes (ES) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for pain and depression. Subgroup analyses examined intervention subtypes. For pain, 29 interventions (n = 4382; 65 ± 6.9 years; 70% female), revealed a significant effect on reducing pain (ES = 0.43, 95% CI [0.25, 0.61], p < 0.001). Effect sizes were significant (p < 0.001) for movement meditation (ES = 0.52; 95% CI [0.35, 0.69]), multimodal approaches (ES = 0.37; 95% CI [0.22, 0.51]), and psychological therapy (ES = 0.21; 95% CI [0.11, 0.31]), and significant (p = 0.046) for resistance exercise (ES = 0.43, 95% CI [− 0.07, 0.94]. Aerobic exercise alone did not improve pain. For depression, 28 interventions (n = 3377; 63 ± 7.0 years; 69% female), revealed a significant effect on reducing depressive symptoms (ES = 0.29, 95% CI [0.08, 0.49], p < 0.001). Effect sizes were significant for movement meditation (ES = 0.30; 95% CI [0.06, 0.55], p = 0.008) and multimodal interventions (ES = 0.12; 95% CI [0.07, 0.18], p < 0.001). Resistance/aerobic exercise or therapy alone did not improve depressive symptoms. Mind–body approaches were more effective than aerobic/resistance exercise or therapy alone for reducing pain and depression in people with osteoarthritis.

Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42022338051.
The impact of atypical intrahospital transfers on patient outcomes: a mixed methods study
Authors: Mendelsohn Estera , Honeyford Kate , Brittin Andy , Mercuri Luca , Klaber Robert Edward , Expert Paul , Costelloe Céire
Published: September 2023

The architectural design of hospitals worldwide is centred around individual departments, which require the movement of patients between wards. However, patients do not always take the simplest route from admission to discharge, but can experience convoluted movement patterns, particularly when bed availability is low. Few studies have explored the impact of these rarer, atypical trajectories. Using a mixed-method explanatory sequential study design, we firstly used three continuous years of electronic health record data prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, from 55,152 patients admitted to a London hospital network to define the ward specialities by patient type using the Herfindahl–Hirschman index. We explored the impact of ‘regular transfers’ between pairs of wards with shared specialities, ‘atypical transfers’ between pairs of wards with no shared specialities and ‘site transfers’ between pairs of wards in different hospital site locations, on length of stay, 30-day readmission and mortality. Secondly, to understand the possible reasons behind atypical transfers we conducted three focus groups and three in-depth interviews with site nurse practitioners and bed managers within the same hospital network. We found that at least one atypical transfer was experienced by 12.9% of patients. Each atypical transfer is associated with a larger increase in length of stay, 2.84 days (95% CI 2.56–3.12), compared to regular transfers, 1.92 days (95% CI 1.82–2.03). No association was found between odds of mortality, or 30-day readmission and atypical transfers after adjusting for confounders. Atypical transfers appear to be driven by complex patient conditions, a lack of hospital capacity, the need to reach specific services and facilities, and more exceptionally, rare events such as major incidents. Our work provides an important first step in identifying unusual patient movement and its impacts on key patient outcomes using a system-wide, data-driven approach. The broader impact of moving patients between hospital wards, and possible downstream effects should be considered in hospital policy and service planning.
Effects and safety of vagus nerve stimulation on upper limb function in patients with stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Abdullahi Auwal , Wong Thomson W. L. , Ng Shamay S. M.
Published: September 2023

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is used to deliver electric current to stimulate the vagus nerve. The aim of this study is to carry out a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine its effects on motor function in patients with stroke. PubMED, Embase, Web of Science (WoS), and Scopus were searched. Data on time since stroke, and mean scores and standard deviation on outcomes such as level of impairment and motor function were extracted. The results showed that invasive (MD 2.66, 95% CI 1.19–4.13, P = 0.0004) and non-invasive (MD 24.16, 95% CI 23.56–24.75, P = 0.00001) VNS are superior at improving level of motor impairment than the control post intervention and at follow-up respectively. Similarly, VNS improved motor function post intervention (MD 0.28, 95% CI 0.15–0.41, P < 0.0001); and there was no significant difference in adverse events between invasive VNS and control (OR 2.15, 95% CI 0.97–4.74, P = 0.06), and between non-invasive VNS and control (OR 4.54, 95% CI 0.48–42.97, P = 0.19). VNS can be used to improve motor function in patients with stroke.
Xpert bladder cancer monitor to predict the need for a second TURB (MoniTURB trial)
Authors: Breyer Johannes , Eckstein Markus , Sikic Danijel , Wezel Felix , Roghmann Florian , Brehmer Mirco , Wirtz Ralph M. , Jarczyk Jonas , Erben Philipp , Bahlinger Veronika , Goldschmidt Franziska , Fechner Guido , Chen Jack , Paxinos Ellen , Bates Michael , Haas Maximilian , Zengerling Friedemann , Bolenz Christian , Burger Maximilian , Hartmann Arndt , Kriegmair Maximilian C. ,   BRIDGE Consortium e.V., Breyer Johannes , Eckstein Markus , Sikic Danijel , Wezel Felix , Roghmann Florian , Wirtz Ralph M. , Jarczyk Jonas , Erben Philipp , Bahlinger Veronika , Goldschmidt Franziska , Fechner Guido , Haas Maximilian , Zengerling Friedemann , Bolenz Christian , Burger Maximilian , Hartmann Arndt , Kriegmair Maximilian C.
Published: September 2023

To determine whether Xpert bladder cancer monitor, a noninvasive PCR-based biomarker test, can predict the need for 2nd transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) better than clinical assessment. Patients scheduled for TURB were prospectively screened. After initial TURB, patients were assigned to 2nd TURB or follow-up cystoscopy at 3 months (FU) by clinicians’ discretion. Central urine cytology and Xpert monitor tests were performed prior to the 1st TURB and 2nd TURB or FU, respectively. Statistical analysis to compare clinical assessment and Xpert monitor comprised sensitivity (SENS), specificity (SPEC), NPV and PPV. Of 756 screened patients, 171 were included (114 with 2nd TURB, 57 with FU). Residual tumors were detected in 34 patients who underwent 2nd TURB, and recurrent tumors were detected in 2 patients with FU. SENS and SPEC of Xpert monitor were 83.3% and 53.0%, respectively, PPV was 32.6% and NPV was 92.1%. Clinical risk assessment outperformed Xpert monitor. In patients with pTa disease at initial TURB, Xpert monitor revealed a NPV of 96%. Xpert monitor was not superior than clinical assessment in predicting the need for 2nd TURB. It might be an option to omit 2nd TURB for selected patients with pTa disease.
Woody plant encroachment modifies carbonate bedrock: field evidence for enhanced weathering and permeability
Authors: Leite Pedro A. M. , Schmidt Logan M. , Rempe Daniella M. , Olariu Horia G. , Walker John W. , McInnes Kevin J. , Wilcox Bradford P.
Published: September 2023

Little is known about the effects of woody plant encroachment—a recent but pervasive phenomenon—on the hydraulic properties of bedrock substrates. Recent work using stream solute concentrations paired with weathering models suggests that woody plant encroachment accelerates limestone weathering. In this field study, we evaluate this hypothesis by examining bedrock in the Edwards Plateau, an extensive karst landscape in Central Texas. We compared a site that has been heavily encroached by woody plants (mainlyQuercus fusiformisandJuniperus ashei), with an adjacent site that has been maintained free of encroachment for the past eight decades. Both sites share the same bedrock, as confirmed by trenching, and originally had very few trees, which enabled us to evaluate how encroachment impacted the evolution of hydraulic properties over a period of no more than 80 years. Using in situ permeability tests in boreholes drilled into the weathered bedrock, we found that the mean saturated hydraulic conductivity of the bedrock was higher—by an order of magnitude—beneath woody plants than in the areas where woody plants have been continuously suppressed. Additionally, woody plant encroachment was associated with greater regolith thickness, greater plant rooting depths, significantly lower rock hardness, and a 24–44% increase in limestone matrix porosity. These findings are strong indicators that woody plant encroachment enhances bedrock weathering, thereby amplifying its permeability—a cycle of mutual reinforcement with the potential for substantial changes within a few decades. Given the importance of shallow bedrock for ecohydrological and biogeochemical processes, the broader impacts of woody plant encroachment on weathering rates and permeability warrant further investigation.
Analysis of spatial-temporal pattern, dynamic evolution and influencing factors of health tourism development in China
Authors: Wang Huadi , Feng Yue , Xu Shaogui , Xu Xiaomei , Jiang Kefeng , Nie Xinyu , Zhou Nianxing
Published: September 2023

The evaluation index system is constructed based on the connotation and characteristics of health tourism. Using the entropy method, Thiel index, exploratory spatial data analysis method, spatial Markov chain and spatial econometric model, research is carried out around the development index, difference status, spatial-temporal pattern, dynamic evolution and influencing factors of health tourism. The following results were drawn: (1) The development index of health tourism in China is low, but the development speed is fast. The inter-regional development index shows an eastern China > central China > western China pattern, and the development speed exhibits a western China > central China > eastern China situation. (2) In the overall difference in China’s health tourism development, the intra-regional difference is consistently higher than the inter-regional difference. Among the three major regions, the overall difference between eastern China and western China is always higher than that of central China. (3) The development of health tourism in China is positively correlated in the global space, with some local spatial clustering. (4) The dynamic evolution of health tourism development in China shows part of the “Matthew effect” characteristics, with an obvious spatial spillover effect. (5) Various influencing factors produced widely varying direct, indirect and total effects on health tourism development in China, eastern China, central China and western China. Finally, based on the results of the above empirical analysis, policy recommendations to promote the development of health tourism in China are proposed.