bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Double‐layer equalizer with multi‐winding transformer and resonance switched capacitor module for series‐connected batteries
Authors: Pan Shuo , Lu Na , Liu Nan
Published: April 2022

A double‐layer architecture for series‐connected modules is proposed to decrease the long battery string's equalizer circuit complexity, which is based on multi‐winding transformers and resonance switched capacitors. Cell voltages in a module are equalized by the multi‐winding transformer equalizer, while module voltages are unified by resonance switched capacitor converters. Both multi‐winding transformer and resonance switched capacitor share a half‐bridge, and all of the switches are derived by one pair of pulse‐width modulation (PWM). The theoretical and dynamic balance experiments are conducted to verify the equalizer feasibility. The results show that both layers’ system can realize the automatic balance without cell‐monitoring circuits. The efficiency of the proposed equalizer reaches 93.2%.
Extragalactic fast X-ray transient candidates discovered byChandra(2000–2014)
Authors: Quirola-Vásquez J. , Bauer F. E. , Jonker P. G. , Brandt W. N. , Yang G. , Levan A. J. , Xue Y. Q. , Eappachen D. , Zheng X. C. , Luo B.
Published: April 2022

Context.Extragalactic fast X-ray transients (FXRTs) are short flashes of X-ray photons of unknown origin that last a few seconds to hours.

Aims.Our ignorance about their physical mechanisms and progenitor systems is due in part to the lack of clear multiwavelength counterparts in most cases, because FXRTs have only been identified serendipitously.

Methods.We develop a systematic search for FXRTs in theChandraSource Catalog (Data Release 2.0; 169.6 Ms over 592.4 deg2, using only observations with |b|> 10° and before 2015), using a straightforward X-ray flare search algorithm and incorporating various multiwavelength constraints to rule out Galactic contamination and characterize the candidates.

Results.We report the detection of 14 FXRT candidates from a parent sample of 214 701 sources. Candidates have peak 0.5–7 keV fluxes between 1 × 10−13and 2 × 10−10erg cm−2s−1andT90values from 4 to 48 ks. The sample can be subdivided into two groups: six “nearby” FXRTs that occurred withind  ≲  100 Mpc and eight “distant” FXRTs with likely redshifts ≳0.1. Three distant FXRT candidates exhibit light curves with a plateau (≈1–3 ks duration) followed by a power-law decay and X-ray spectral softening, similar to what was observed for the previously reported FXRT CDF-S XT2, a proposed magnetar-powered binary neutron star merger event. After applying completeness corrections, we calculate event rates for the nearby and distant samples of 53.7−15.1+22.6and 28.2−6.9+9.8deg−2yr−1, respectively.

Conclusions.This novel sample ofChandra-detected extragalactic FXRT candidates, although modest in size, breaks new ground in terms of characterizing the diverse properties, nature, and possible progenitors of these enigmatic events.
Emicizumab for All Pediatric Patients with Severe Hemophilia A
Authors: Wieland Ivonne
Published: April 2022

Emicizumab is the first approved nonreplacement therapy for bleeding prophylaxis in hemophilia A (HA) patients. In 2018, it was licensed for HA patients with inhibitors, subsequently followed by an “European Medicines Agency (EMA)” approval for patients with severe HA in the absence of inhibitors in 2019. This is immediately raising the question whether emicizumab is suitable as a first-line treatment for all pediatric patients with severe HA. In this review, we want to discuss what we have, what we know, and what we would like to know. Severe HA is characterized by severe spontaneous and traumatic bleedings, particularly into muscles and joints leading to chronic joint damage. Standard of care is the regular, prophylactic replacement of factor VIII to prevent bleedings. Due to approval of emicizumab—the first nonreplacement therapy for bleeding prophylaxis—in HA patients with inhibitors, and severe HA patients without inhibitors, it is of pivotal interest whether emicizumab could be the first-line treatment in all pediatric patients with severe HA. Clinical trials and real-world observational studies could demonstrate a good efficacy and safety for bleeding prevention during emicizumab treatment in HA patients with and without inhibitors. This clearly indicates that emicizumab could improve HA treatment. However, some crucial and critical questions are remaining with regard to the use of emicizumab. Some of this missing information is already under investigation in the context of clinical trials. Until getting finalized data to shed insights into the points that are currently being discussed, there is a variety of expert and expert group recommendations, which are tackling questions concerning the treatment of HA patients. This review will address major information that is already available, but will also focus on important points that remain to be elucidated in the context of HA treatment.
New Anticoagulants in Neonates, Children, and Adolescents
Authors: Halimeh Susan , Male Christoph , Nowak-Goettl Ulrike
Published: April 2022

Thrombotic events are an increasing challenge in pediatrics. Standard-of-care anticoagulants for pediatric thrombosis have several disadvantages which could be overcome by using direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Until recently, there was not enough evidence from clinical trials to recommend for or against the use of any of the four DOACs in children with thrombosis. In this literature review, we looked at the latest clinical trials in this field. On clinicaltrials.gov, we found 13 current studies with published results. For two of the four DOACs, namely dabigatran and rivaroxaban, we found successful phase III studies which led to the approval for the use in children. The results of these pivotal phase III studies allow to finally recommend rivaroxaban and dabigatran for the prophylaxis and treatment of thrombotic events in children.
Kavernöse nichttuberkulöse Mykobakteriose der Lunge durch
M. heckeshornense bei einem HIV-infizierten Patienten
Authors: Othmer Johannes Till , Schoenfeld Nicolas , Roth Andreas , Vesenbeckh Manuel Silvan , Bauer Torsten , Mauch Harald
Published: April 2022

Bisher wurden nur 21 Fälle einer klinischen Infektion mit M. heckeshornense beim Menschen berichtet, nachdem die seltene Spezies erstmals im Jahr 2000 beschrieben wurde. Wir diskutieren Diagnose und Therapie eines weiteren Falles dieser seltenen atypischen Mykobakteriose bei einem immunsupprimierten Patienten 1.
Critical Appraisal of Radionuclide Calibrators and Gamma Cameras Prior to Lutetium-177 Internal Dosimetry at Two South African Hospitals
Authors: Van Wyk Bronwin P. , Hasford Francis , Nyakale Nozipho E. , Vangu M. Mboyo-Di-Tamba , Oelofse Bertus , Leboea Hector M.
Published: April 2022

Introduction The functionality of radionuclide dose calibrator and nuclear medicine imaging systems hasa direct effect on the accuracy and preciseness of internal dosimetry evaluations. Our study, therefore, aimed to critically appraise the radionuclide calibrators and gamma cameras prior to Lutetium-177 (177Lu) internal dosimetry in a developing country.

Materials and Methods Two radionuclide calibrators' and three gamma cameras at two South African hospitals were critically appraised in preparation for internal dosimetry of 177Lu. The radionuclide calibrators' accuracy, linearity, and sample volume abilities were appraised. For the three gamma cameras, the uniformity, energy resolution, center of rotation, and collimator sensitivity were appraised. These appraisals were performed between the years 2014 and 2019.

Results The radionuclide calibrators' constancy, accuracy, linearity, and sample volume were within ± 5%. We also integrated a 177Lu calibration factor into one radionuclide calibrator's library. The three gamma cameras' uniformity was within 2 to 5%, energy resolution within 11%, center of rotation within 2 mm, and the sensitivity recorded for all low energy high resolution collimator.

Conclusion Our radionuclide calibrators passed the critical appraisal and may be confidently used for assaying 177Lu. All three cameras also passed critical appraisal and may be used to assess organ absorbed dose.
Treatment Response following Radioactive Iodine Therapy in Miliary versus Macronodular Pulmonary Metastases in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Authors: Sunny S. S. , Hephzibah J. , Shanthly N. , Oommen R. , Cherian A. J. , Mathew D.
Published: April 2022

Background Pulmonary metastases in papillary thyroid carcinoma have two common presentations—micro/miliary (MM) and macronodular metastases (MN). The mainstay of treatment, posttotal thyroidectomy, is multiple radioactive iodine ablations (RAIA) every 6 to 12 months. Response assessment is determined by decline in stimulated serum thyroglobulin levels (sTg), disease regression on chest x-ray (CXR), computed tomography thorax, or whole body iodine scintigraphy (TWBS).

Aim This study aims to assess the difference in response to RAIA based on the pattern of presentation.

Methodology Retrospective analysis of patients from January 2008 to July 2017 was done. Patients with pulmonary metastases treated with RAIA (3700MBq per therapy as opposed to theAmerican Thyroid Association recommendation of 7400MBq per therapy) and a minimum follow-up of 8 months were included. The initial and the final sTg, TWBS, and CXR were analyzed for both groups. Final outcome in terms of complete response, disease regression, static disease, and disease progression was determined.

Results Of the total of 1,793 patients, 71 were included. There were 43 females and 28 males. The median age was 39 years and the range was 14 to 79 years. Forty-five (63.3%) patients had MM and 26 (36.6%) patients had MN disease. The average number of therapies was three and maximum follow-up period was 15 years. Of the 45 MM patients, 1 had progression, 7 were static, 23 had regression, and 14 had complete response. Of the 26 MN patients, 22 had progression, 2 were static, 1 had regression, and 1 had complete response.

Conclusion MM metastases, when compared with MN disease, respond to RAIA with a better outcome. In addition to achieving comparable response with a lower dose per therapy, there were no radiation-related long-term complications reported.
Metastatic Pheochromocytoma Diagnosed with 131I-MIBG SPECT/CT Imaging in a Patient with Pathogenic VHL Mutation
Authors: Vankadari Kousik , Boddula Raman , Hegde Aditya Gajanan , Chinte Chimutai
Published: April 2022

Pheochromocytoma is a rare catecholamine secreting neuroendocrine tumor arising from chromaffin cells of adrenal medulla with approximate prevalence of 0.1 to 0.6% in patients suffering from hypertension. Hypertensive control followed by surgical resection remains the primary treatment of choice. Although it is considered a slow growing benign tumor, it rarely leads to recurrence of tumor in the lymph nodes, liver, and lungs. Association of benign pheochromocytoma with familial or de novo Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) mutations is well reported in literature. Here, we report a case of metastatic pheochromocytoma arising from commonly seen benign VHL mutation.
Partnerships Blending Institutional Logics for Inclusive Global and Regional Food Value Chains in Ghana; with What Smallholder Effect?
Authors: van Paassen Annemarie , Osei-Amponsah Charity , Klerkx Laurens , van Mierlo Barbara , Essegbey George Owusu
Published: April 2022

We witness a promotion of hybrid partnerships, where actors with different competences and resources collaborate for smallholder inclusive value chain development. To better understand the functioning of these partnerships, we used institutional theory and studied the context of a global and emerging regional food value chains in Ghana, the blending of logics by key actors in Innovation Platforms and Public Private Partnerships, and their effect on value chain relations of smallholder farmers. In the global value chain of cocoa, partnerships adhered to ‘green revolution’ and ‘free-market’ logics, and provided all farmers material support. In the more informally organised regional food sector, local executing partners selectively coupled their logics with those of poor smallholders, who rely on low-input agriculture and solidarity logics to make ends meet. This improved the position and transaction costs of smallholders to participate in the value chain. Hence, it is more likely for partnerships to create smallholder inclusive governance in informally organised regional food value chains, than highly structured global value chains controlled by international buyers. To gain insight in the variety of political effects this triggers in different social–historical shaped farmer communities, households and actors, we recommend complementary local research from a critical institutional perspective.
Geriatric medicine learning objectives and entrustable professional activities in undergraduate medical curricula: a scoping review
Authors: von Streng Paats Tasslem , Masud Tahir , Huwendiek Sören , Blundell Adrian , Vassallo Michael , Stuck Andreas E
Published: April 2022

Background

entrustable professional activities (EPAs) have become an important component of competency-based medical education. The aim of this study is to evaluate how geriatric medicine learning objectives are addressed by undergraduate medical curricula including EPAs.

Methods

we performed a scoping review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines to identify undergraduate medical curricula that include EPAs. A content analysis was conducted to examine how these curricula address the care of older individuals. In addition, we mapped the curricula to 19 geriatric medicine learning objectives identified from the European curriculum of undergraduate medical education.

Results

we found nine curricula, each containing between 4 and 16 core EPAs. In the sections describing the EPAs, three of the nine curricula specify that all core EPAs apply to all age groups including older patients, whereas the remaining six curricula either only refer to older patients in selected EPAs or not at all. Mapping revealed that some geriatric medicine learning objectives are covered by most curricula (e.g. medication use, multidisciplinary team work), whereas others are lacking in the majority (e.g. normal ageing, geriatric assessment, cognitive assessment, nutrition assessment, decision-making capacity assessment, long-term care). Three curricula cover most geriatric learning objectives by using a matrix aligning EPAs with geriatric competencies.

Conclusions

geriatric learning objectives continue to be missing from undergraduate medical curricula, also from those adopting the novel approach of EPAs. However, this review also identified some curricula that might serve as models for how geriatric learning objectives can be successfully covered within future EPA frameworks.
Data-Adaptive Selection of the Propensity Score Truncation Level for Inverse-Probability–Weighted and Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimators of Marginal Point Treatment Effects
Authors: Gruber Susan , Phillips Rachael V , Lee Hana , van der Laan Mark J
Published: April 2022

Inverse probability weighting (IPW) and targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE) are methodologies that can adjust for confounding and selection bias and are often used for causal inference. Both estimators rely on the positivity assumption that within strata of confounders there is a positive probability of receiving treatment at all levels under consideration. Practical applications of IPW require finite inverse probability (IP) weights. TMLE requires that propensity scores (PS) be bounded away from 0 and 1. Although truncation can improve variance and finite sample bias, this artificial distortion of the IP weights and PS distribution introduces asymptotic bias. As sample size grows, truncation-induced bias eventually swamps variance, rendering nominal confidence interval coverage and hypothesis tests invalid. We present a simple truncation strategy based on the sample size, n, that sets the upper bound on IP weights at $\sqrt{\textit{n}}$ ln n/5. For TMLE, the lower bound on the PS should be set to 5/($\sqrt{\textit{n}}$ ln n/5). Our strategy was designed to optimize the mean squared error of the parameter estimate. It naturally extends to data structures with missing outcomes. Simulation studies and a data analysis demonstrate our strategy’s ability to minimize both bias and mean squared error in comparison with other common strategies, including the popular but flawed quantile-based heuristic.
Structural–functional connectivity mapping of the insular cortex: a combined data-driven and meta-analytic topic mapping
Authors: Klugah-Brown Benjamin , Wang Pan , Jiang Yuan , Becker Benjamin , Hu Peng , Uddin Lucina Q , Biswal Bharat
Published: April 2022

In this study, we examined structural and functional profiles of the insular cortex and mapped associations with well-described functional networks throughout the brain using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) data. We used a data-driven method to independently estimate the structural–functional connectivity of the insular cortex. Data were obtained from the Human Connectome Project comprising 108 adult participants. Overall, we observed moderate to high associations between the structural and functional mapping scores of 3 different insular subregions: the posterior insula (associated with the sensorimotor network: RSFC, DTI = 50% and 72%, respectively), dorsal anterior insula (associated with ventral attention: RSFC, DTI = 83% and 83%, respectively), and ventral anterior insula (associated with the frontoparietal: RSFC, DTI = 42% and 89%, respectively). Further analyses utilized meta-analytic decoding maps to demonstrate specific cognitive and affective as well as gene expression profiles of the 3 subregions reflecting the core properties of the insular cortex. In summary, given the central role of the insular in the human brain, our results revealing correspondence between DTI and RSFC mappings provide a complementary approach and insight for clinical researchers to identify dysfunctional brain organization in various neurological disorders associated with insular pathology.
Habenular connectivity predict weight loss and negative emotional-related eating behavior after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy
Authors: Wang Jia , Ji Gang , Li Guanya , Hu Yang , Zhang Wenchao , Ji Weibin , Tan Zongxin , Li Hao , Jiang Fukun , Zhang Yaqi , Wu Feifei , von Deneen Karen M , Yu Juan , Han Yu , Cui Guangbin , Manza Peter , Tomasi Dardo , Volkow Nora D , Nie Yongzhan , Zhang Yi , Wang Gene-Jack
Published: April 2022

Habenular (Hb) processes negative emotions that may drive compulsive food-intake. Its functional changes were reported following laparoscopic-sleeve-gastrectomy (LSG). However, structural connectivity (SC) of Hb-homeostatic/hedonic circuits after LSG remains unclear. We selected regions implicated in homeostatic/hedonic regulation that have anatomical connections with Hb as regions-of-interest (ROIs), and used diffusion-tensor-imaging with probabilistic tractography to calculate SC between Hb and these ROIs in 30 obese participants before LSG (PreLSG) and at 12-month post-LSG (PostLSG12) and 30 normal-weight controls. Three-factor-eating-questionnaire (TFEQ) and Dutch-eating-behavior-questionnaire (DEBQ) were used to assess eating behaviors. LSG significantly decreased weight, negative emotion, and improved self-reported eating behavior. LSG increased SC between the Hb and homeostatic/hedonic regions including hypothalamus (Hy), bilateral superior frontal gyri (SFG), left amygdala (AMY), and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). TFEQ-hunger negatively correlated with SC of Hb-Hy at PostLSG12; and increased SC of Hb-Hy correlated with reduced depression and DEBQ-external eating. TFEQ-disinhibition negatively correlated with SC of Hb-bilateral SFG at PreLSG. Increased SC of Hb-left AMY correlated with reduced DEBQ-emotional eating. Higher percentage of total weight-loss negatively correlated with SC of Hb-left OFC at PreLSG. Enhanced SC of Hb-homeostatic/hedonic regulatory regions post-LSG may contribute to its beneficial effects in improving eating behaviors including negative emotional eating, and long-term weight-loss.
Assessment of the Effectiveness of Omicron Transmission Mitigation Strategies for European Universities Using an Agent-Based Network Model
Authors: Lasser Jana , Hell Timotheus , Garcia David
Published: April 2022

Background

Returning universities to full on-campus operations while the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is ongoing has been a controversial discussion in many countries. The risk of large outbreaks in dense course settings is contrasted by the benefits of in-person teaching. Transmission risk depends on a range of parameters, such as vaccination coverage and efficacy, number of contacts, and adoption of nonpharmaceutical intervention measures. Owing to the generalized academic freedom in Europe, many universities are asked to autonomously decide on and implement intervention measures and regulate on-campus operations. In the context of rapidly changing vaccination coverage and parameters of the virus, universities often lack sufficient scientific insight on which to base these decisions.

Methods

To address this problem, we analyzed a calibrated, data-driven agent-based simulation of transmission dynamics among 13 284 students and 1482 faculty members in a medium-sized European university. Wed use a colocation network reconstructed from student enrollment data and calibrate transmission risk based on outbreak size distributions in education institutions. We focused on actionable interventions that are part of the already existing decision process of universities to provide guidance for concrete policy decisions.

Results

Here we show that, with the Omicron variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, even a reduction to 25% occupancy and universal mask mandates are not enough to prevent large outbreaks, given the vaccination coverage of about 85% reported for students in Austria.

Conclusions

Our results show that controlling the spread of the virus with available vaccines in combination with nonpharmaceutical intervention measures is not feasible in the university setting if presence of students and faculty on campus is required.
Equilibrium multiplicity in dynamic games: Testing and estimation
Authors: Otsu Taisuke , Pesendorfer Martin
Published: April 2022

This paper surveys the recent literature on dynamic games estimation when there is a concern of equilibrium multiplicity. We focus on the questions of testing for equilibrium multiplicity and estimation in the presence of multiplicity.
Comprehensive investigation of lung cancer associated with cystic airspaces: predictive value of morphology
Authors: Ma Zelin , Wang Shengping , Zhu Hui , Li Yuan , Zhang Yang
Published: April 2022

OBJECTIVES

We comprehensively investigated the morphology patterns of lung cancers associated with cystic airspaces. Our goal was to determine the predictive value of imaging features in a clinical environment.

METHODS

We collected information about patients with resected lung cancers associated with cystic airspaces from January 2010 to December 2019. Radiological features, clinicopathological characteristics, gene mutations and survival data were analysed comprehensively.

RESULTS

A total of 384 resected lung cancers associated with cystic airspaces were identified and categorized as 4 types: I, thin-wall type (n = 31, 8.1%); II, thick-wall type (n = 113, 29.4%); III, cystic airspace with a nodule type (n = 162, 42.1%) and IV, mixed type (n = 78, 20.3%). There were 27 (7.0%) adenocarcinomas in situ/minimally invasive adenocarcinomas; 237 (61.7%) lung adenocarcinomas; 115 (29.9%) squamous cell carcinomas; and 5 (1.3%) other tumours. The epidermal growth factor receptor mutation rate for type III was the highest (68.4%, P = 0.004). Pre-/minimally invasive adenocarcinomas were commonly featured as thin, pure ground-glass wall-surrounded cystic airspaces with smooth inner surfaces and margins. For patients with lung adenocarcinomas associated with cystic airspaces, type III (odds ratio 2.10; 95% confidence interval 0.55–8.06; P = 0.028) was an independent factor associated with a worse differentiation level. Type I was associated with excellent survival and type II, with the worst prognosis (P < 0.001). Type II (hazard ratio 2.29; 95% confidence interval 1.30–4.04; P = 0.004) was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Morphological patterns could be predictors for gene mutations, invasive status, pathological differentiation and postoperative prognosis for lung adenocarcinomas associated with cystic airspaces.
Enchanting Wanderers, Inspiring Vagrants: Vagrancy in Nikolai Leskov’s The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Works
Authors: Seliazniova Olga
Published: April 2022

Nikolai Leskov’s novel The Enchanted Wanderer (1873) is one of the most popular texts written by the Russian author. The main character of the novel, Ivan Fliagin, is generally considered to be a true Russian type, a true national hero, a superman, and a religious pilgrim. Without scrutinizing Fliagin’s legal and social status any further, scholars have largely relied on the title of the novel and have perceived the character to be a religious wanderer. The main goal of the present article is to prove that Fliagin’s real status is that of a vagrant and to illustrate how this detail complicates the interpretations of Leskov’s novel. Additionally, this essay will show how Leskov’s treatment of vagrancy evolved between 1870s and 1890s.
International Crisis Termination and Presidential Approval
Authors: Chávez Kerry , Wright James
Published: April 2022

Previous research has extensively analyzed the existence and extent of rally effects following crisis initiation with respect to United States public opinion and presidential approval. Relatively less known is how crisis termination affects presidential approval. The theory presented in this article suggests that crisis terminations are prime for rally effects. They are salient, demonstrate competence, and thus activate a significant boost of executive approval akin to rally effects at crisis onset. Insofar as executives might use them as diversionary tools, crisis terminations overcome the strategic conflict avoidance argument and require less cynical assumptions about leaders’ self-interest than the conventional domain of diversionary theory, crisis initiations. We test the claim that crisis terminations have significant ‘‘halo effects’’ using monthly US presidential approval data during forty-eight international crises between 1953 and 2016. Results demonstrate that crisis termination has consistently positive effects on presidential approval. In addition, these surges are conditioned by the degree and disposition of public attention. The findings indicate that US public opinion is quite sensitive to the whole trajectory of an international crisis.
Adaptive Protection of Human Rights: Stealth Institutionalisation of Scrutiny Functions in ASEAN’s Limited Regime
Authors: Tan Hsien-Li
Published: April 2022

Established as a limited regime that mainly carries out promotional activities of public education and roadshows on human rights, strengthening the ASEAN human rights system seems impossible when member states remain sovereignty-centric and thus wary of instituting protective mechanisms of scrutiny such as data transparency, reporting, monitoring, and complaints portals. This challenging outlook is compounded by human rights taking a backseat to economic development in the ASEAN Community’s agenda. However, tracking the rarely examined ASEAN human rights reports reveals that a counter-phenomenon quietly arising. This article presents Adaptive Protection as a process where ASEAN human rights officials, by building upon member states’ growing familiarity with the ‘intrusive’ oversight of the UN human rights system, have stealthily adapted (albeit loosely) similar functions of protective scrutiny—namely, data transparency, reporting, monitoring, and hearing complaints—into their limited mandates. Surprisingly, this process has not encountered pushback but instead has garnered grudging acquiescence by ASEAN states.
Cerebral protection in aortic arch surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Abjigitova Djamila , Veen Kevin M , van Tussenbroek Gabriëlle , Mokhles Mostafa M , Bekkers Jos A , Takkenberg Johanna J M , Bogers Ad J J C
Published: April 2022

Consensus regarding optimal cerebral protection strategy in aortic arch surgery is lacking. We therefore performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess outcome differences between unilateral antegrade cerebral perfusion (ACP), bilateral ACP, retrograde cerebral perfusion (RCP) and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA). A systematic literature search was performed in Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane and Google Scholar for all papers published till February 2021 reporting on early clinical outcome after aortic arch surgery utilizing either unilateral, bilateral ACP, RCP or DHCA. The primary outcome was operative mortality. Other key secondary endpoints were occurrence of postoperative disabling stroke, paraplegia, renal and respiratory failure. Pooled outcome risks were estimated using random-effects models. A total of 222 studies were included with a total of 43 720 patients. Pooled postoperative mortality in unilateral ACP group was 6.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 5.3–8.1%], 9.1% (95% CI 7.9–10.4%), 7.8% (95% CI 5.6–10.7%), 9.2% (95% CI 6.7–12.7%) in bilateral ACP, RCP and DHCA groups, respectively. The incidence of postoperative disabling stroke was 4.8% (95% CI 3.8–6.1%) in the unilateral ACP group, 7.3% (95% CI 6.2–8.5%) in bilateral ACP, 6.4% (95% CI 4.4–9.1%) in RCP and 6.3% (95% CI 4.4–9.1%) in DHCA subgroups. The present meta-analysis summarizes the clinical outcomes of different cerebral protection techniques that have been used in clinical practice over the last decades. These outcomes may be used in advanced microsimulation model. These findings need to be placed in the context of the underlying aortic disease, the extent of the aortic disease and other comorbidities.

Prospero registration number: CRD42021246372

METC: MEC-2019-0825
Clearance of Hepatitis B e Antigen in Untreated Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Mohareb Amir M , Liu Anne F , Kim Arthur Y , Coffie Patrick A , Kouamé Menan Gérard , Freedberg Kenneth A , Boyd Anders , Hyle Emily P
Published: April 2022

Background

In people with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, persistence of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) is associated with clinical progression and need for treatment. HBeAg loss represents partial immune control and is a critical event in the natural history of chronic HBV.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies that report HBeAg loss among people with untreated chronic HBV. We evaluated HBeAg loss using a random-effects model and conducted subanalysis on region.

Results

We screened 10 560 publications, performed 196 full-text analyses, and included 26 studies for meta-analysis. The pooled rate of HBeAg loss was 6.46/100 person-years (PYs) (95% confidence interval, 5.17–8.08). Meta-regression showed that older age of participants and studies in Europe were associated with higher rate of HBeAg loss. Rates per 100 PYs were 7.43 (95% confidence interval, 6.30–8.75; 1 study) in Africa, 3.24 (2.61­–4.02; 1 study) in the Eastern Mediterranean, 13.67 (11.21–16.66; 4 studies) in Europe, 7.34 (4.61­–11.70; 5 studies) in North America, and 5.53 (4.05­–7.55; 15 studies) in the Western Pacific.

Conclusions

Spontaneous HBeAg loss occurs at a rate of 6.46/100 PYs. Variations by region and age group may reflect epidemiological, immunological, or HBV genotype-related differences.
Genome-Wide Identification of M14 Family Metal Carboxypeptidases inAntheraea pernyi(Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)
Authors: Zhang Xian , Zhao Ping , Li Shanshan , Ma Sanyuan , Du Jie , Liang Shimei , Yang Xinfeng , Yao Lunguang , Duan Jianping
Published: April 2022

The M14 family metal carboxypeptidase genes play an important role in digestion and pathogenic infections in the gut of insects. However, the roles of these genes in Antheraea pernyi (Guérin-Méneville, 1855) remain to be analyzed. In the present study, we cloned a highly expressed M14 metal carboxypeptidase gene (ApMCP1) found in the gut and discovered that it contained a 1,194 bp open reading frame encoding a 397-amino acid protein with a predicted molecular weight of 45 kDa. Furthermore, 14 members of the M14 family metal carboxypeptidases (ApMCP1–ApMCP14) were identified in the A. pernyi genome, with typical Zn_pept domains and two Zn-anchoring motifs, and were further classified into M14A, M14B, and M14D subfamilies. Expression analysis indicated that ApMCP1 and ApMCP9 were mainly expressed in the gut. Additionally, we observed that ApMCP1 and ApMCP9 displayed opposite expression patterns after starvation, highlighting their functional divergence during digestion. Following natural infection with baculovirus NPV, their expression was significantly upregulated in the gut of A. pernyi. Our results suggest that the M14 family metal carboxypeptidase genes are conservatively digestive enzymes and evolutionarily involved in exogenous pathogenic infections.
Long-term creep and microscopic deformation mechanisms of sandstone using rock rheology creep equipment and scanning through high-resolution 3D XRM
Authors: Bacha Sher , Huang Bingxiang , Li Haoze
Published: April 2022

Since rock is heterogeneous, hence its behavior is always variable. The governing parameters in rock deformations are time, applied load, composition, water content, temperature and loading conditions including confinement and loading rate. Time-dependent deformation study is extremely important for the prevention of hazards such as rockburst, roof fall and collapse. In the current study, sandstone samples from Kouzidong Mine China are analyzed using long-term rheological creep tests and advanced microscopic scanning using 3D X-ray microscopy (XRM). Time is the main governing factor in rock rheological creep study. The current study focuses on the microscopic deformation of selected rock using rheological creep and microscopic analysis. Rock behaves differently under different applied loads; therefore, two different loads are applied on two sandstone samples. Two samples are scanned before and after rheological creep testing. The uniaxial constant load applied on the first sample is 40% of the uniaxial compressive strength of the rock (σ1 = 40%σc) for one month. The behavior of the first sample shows an instantaneous creep and stable creep. The maximum uniaxial strain is 0.0307. The scanning results show evidence of microfractures in sandstone sample 1 at a lower load. There is evidence of grain movement and boundary alteration. The grain movement depends on the bonding between different grains. The second sample is loaded at 50% of the uniaxial compressive strength (σ1 = 50%σc). The maximum uniaxial strain for sample 2 is 0.0408. Creep behavior is the same and the microscopic deformation is enhanced with increasing applied load.
Full-time domain matching pursuit and empirical mode decomposition based sparse fixed-point seismic inversion
Authors: Pei Song , Yin Xingyao , Li Kun
Published: April 2022

Sparse seismic inversion is wildly utilized for reservoir prediction and resolution improvement. Matching pursuit (MP) is an effective algorithm for solving L0-norm and obtaining sparse inversion results. Sparse seismic inversion based on MP (MPSI) can estimate the sparse parameters of subsurface from observations by controlling the iterations and threshold. However, the low convergence and stability limit the application of MPSI. To accelerate the convergence of MP, the full-time domain matching pursuit (FTMP) algorithm is first proposed. The seismic inversion based on FTMP can realize the multi-point inversion simultaneously instead of searching the inversion results one by one, which is the process of MPSI. Also, the prior model constraint is then involved in the objective function to improve the stability and the layer-boundary fidelity of the inversion results. Furthermore, the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm is introduced into inversion framework to recover the features of the seismic signal from the noisy seismic signal. The fixed-point (FP) algorithm is adopted to solve the objective function in this study. The optimal inversion results can be estimated after finite iterations by the FP algorithm. Combining the FTMP sparse seismic inversion framework, prior model constraint, EMD and FP algorithms, a complete sparse seismic inversion method named the full-time domain matching pursuit-based sparse fixed-point seismic inversion is ultimately proposed. The synthetic and field examples are utilized to demonstrate the stability and practicality of this approach. Compared with MPSI, the inversion results of the proposed method have higher resolution and fidelity of the layer-boundary.
The Nuremberg Trials Public Communications Apparatus
Authors: Gordon Gregory S
Published: April 2022

If the Nuremberg Trials represent the birth of international criminal law (ICL), then the public relations efforts of their personnel represent the birth of ‘communication in international criminal justice’. This aspect of the Allied post-World War II prosecutions of Nazi war criminals has been hitherto underexplored in the literature. This article fills the gap by examining the origins and development of American efforts to give an account of the Nuremberg Trials while they were unfolding and in their immediate aftermath. It begins with the public relations (PR) efforts of Robert Jackson, Chief Prosecutor for the initial International Military Tribunal (IMT) trial of the major Nazi war criminals, and his PR ‘right hand man’, Gordon Dean. Jackson and Dean took a multi-prong approach to messaging about the IMT, seeking to educate their Allied partners about the strategic advantages of a due-process-oriented proceeding, while persuading the American political establishment about the nascent Cold War-positioning advantages of such a justice strategy, as well as disabusing the global citizenry of the ‘victors’ justice’ narrative in favour of a ‘global rule of law’ mythology. Once the IMT trial was concluded, and confrontational US-Soviet bipolar reality became entrenched, American personnel for the subsequent Nuremberg Military Tribunal (NMT) trials took a different tact. In terms of outreach efforts, PR now focused on German attitudes toward prosecution efforts: NMT staff used appeals to justice in a heroic effort to keep resources flowing and the trial timelines open-ended. Bureaucratically, the PR apparatus eventually flowed to the creation of a ‘Special Projects Branch’, which sought to present the public with key excerpts from the NMT trials and provide various German prosecutors’ offices with transcripts and evidence for potential future trials. From its inception, therefore, ICL’s embryonic PR-sphere served as a battleground for competing concerns of transnational justice versus global realpolitik. Between those diametrically opposed policy poles, it carved out a space for education efforts vis-à-vis the local population, preservation of the historical record, and creation of a nascent bureaucratic structure for PR efforts. These modest achievements would lay the groundwork for the modern development of the field of communication in international criminal justice.
A family of trade marks—stronger together
Authors: Neophytou John Peter
Published: April 2022

McDonald’s has successfully opposed a trade mark application for ‘McVegan’ on the basis that it was filed in bad faith and that it would have obtained an unfair advantage of McDonald’s earlier ‘Mc’ family of marks.
Blessed Damozel(s): Ekphrastic Perspectives on Rossetti’s Poem and Painting
Authors: Kennaway George
Published: April 2022

Ekphrasis – the representation of a work of art in terms of another art form – was originally the highest rhetorical exercise, requiring the verbal recreation of a picture or sculpture. The definition has broadened to include all kinds of ‘inter-art’ representation. Works of art depicting music (generically, or specific works) are familiar in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as are musical representations (as opposed to word-setting) of literary texts. But poems are less frequently rendered into painting, and the musical representation of graphic art is more a twentieth-century phenomenon. Siglind Bruhn’s Musical Ekphrasis (2000) mapped out the subject area, with particular attention to Debussy, but there have been few attempts to explore the topic in a musical context since then. This article seeks to explore a particular three-fold intersection of music, art, and poem. Dante Rosetti’s The Blessed Damozel exists both as a poem (first published 1851, revised until 1873) and a painting (1875–1878). The poem was set by Claude Debussy (1887–1888, re-orchestrated 1902), and by many British composers (one of which slightly pre-dates Debussy), and some from other Anglophone countries. These settings show a wide range of responses to Rossetti’s most popular and most frequently anthologized poem. Some try to situate it within the English oratorio tradition as opposed to Debussy’s perceived Wagnérisme, but others are much more diverse, ranging from accompanied recitation through vocal settings accompanied by a chamber ensemble, to choral works, either a cappella or with piano. Some composers only set an extract from the poem, and, including Debussy’s setting, only five use an orchestra. This article analyses aspects of these highly diverse settings and their reception with a view to testing the viability of ekphrasis as a methodological tool.
Modelling stellar convective transport with plumes – I. Non-equilibrium turbulence effect in double-averaging formulation
Authors: Yokoi N , Masada Y , Takiwaki T
Published: April 2022

Plumes in a convective flow are considered to be relevant to the turbulent transport in convection. The effective mass, momentum, and heat transports in the convective turbulence are investigated in the framework of time–space double averaging procedure, where a field quantity is decomposed into three parts: the spatiotemporal mean (spatial average of the time-averaged) field, the dispersion or coherent fluctuation, and the random or incoherent fluctuation. With this framework, turbulent correlations in the mean-field equations are divided into the dispersion/coherent and random/incoherent correlation part. By reckoning the plume as the coherent fluctuation, a transport model for the convective turbulence is constructed with the aid of the non-equilibrium effect, in which the change of turbulence characteristics along the mean stream is taken into account for the modelling of the turbulent transport coefficients. In this work, for the first time, change of turbulence properties along plume motions is incorporated into the expression of the turbulent transport coefficients. This non-equilibrium model is applied to a stellar convective flow. One of the prominent characteristics of a surface cooling-driven convection, the enhanced and localized turbulent mass flux below the surface layer, which cannot be reproduced at all by the usual eddy-diffusivity model with mixing length theory (MLT), is well reproduced by the present model. Our results show that the incorporation of plume motion into turbulent transport model is an important and very relevant extension of mean-field theory beyond the heuristic gradient transport model with MLT.
Secular chaos in white dwarf planetary systems: origins of metal pollution and short-period planetary companions
Authors: O’Connor Christopher E , Teyssandier Jean , Lai Dong
Published: April 2022

Secular oscillations in multiplanet systems can drive chaotic evolution of a small inner body through non-linear resonant perturbations. This ‘secular chaos’ readily pushes the inner body to an extreme eccentricity, triggering tidal interactions or collision with the central star. We present a numerical study of secular chaos in systems with two planets and test particles using the ring-averaging method, with emphasis on the relationship between the planets’ properties and the time-scale and efficiency of chaotic diffusion. We find that secular chaos can excite extreme eccentricities on time-scales spanning several orders of magnitude in a given system. We apply our results to the evolution of planetary systems around white dwarfs (WDs), specifically the tidal disruption and high-eccentricity migration of planetesimals and planets. We find that secular chaos in a planetesimal belt driven by large (≳10 M⊕), distant ($\gtrsim 10 \, \mathrm{au}$) planets can sustain metal accretion on to a WD over Gyr time-scales. We constrain the total mass of planetesimals initially present within the chaotic zone by requiring that the predicted mass delivery rate to the Roche limit be consistent with the observed metal accretion rates of WDs with atmospheric pollution throughout the cooling sequence. Based on the occurrence of long-period exoplanets and exo-asteroid belts, we conclude that secular chaos can be a significant (perhaps dominant) channel for polluting solitary WDs. Secular chaos can also produce short-period planets and planetesimals around WDs in concert with various circularization mechanisms. We discuss prospects for detecting exoplanets driving secular chaos around WDs using direct imaging and microlensing.
Genetic and Structural Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein for Universal Epitope Selection
Authors: Markosian Christopher , Staquicini Daniela I. , Dogra Prashant , Dodero-Rojas Esteban , Lubin Joseph H. , Tang Fenny H.F. , Smith Tracey L. , Contessoto Vinícius G. , Libutti Steven K. , Wang Zhihui , Cristini Vittorio , Khare Sagar D. , Whitford Paul C. , Burley Stephen K. , Onuchic José N. , Pasqualini Renata , Arap Wadih
Published: April 2022

Evaluation of immunogenic epitopes for universal vaccine development in the face of ongoing SARS-CoV-2 evolution remains a challenge. Herein, we investigate the genetic and structural conservation of an immunogenically relevant epitope (C662–C671) of spike (S) protein across SARS-CoV-2 variants to determine its potential utility as a broad-spectrum vaccine candidate against coronavirus diseases. Comparative sequence analysis, structural assessment, and molecular dynamics simulations of C662–C671 epitope were performed. Mathematical tools were employed to determine its mutational cost. We found that the amino acid sequence of C662–C671 epitope is entirely conserved across the observed major variants of SARS-CoV-2 in addition to SARS-CoV. Its conformation and accessibility are predicted to be conserved, even in the highly mutated Omicron variant. Costly mutational rate in the context of energy expenditure in genome replication and translation can explain this strict conservation. These observations may herald an approach to developing vaccine candidates for universal protection against emergent variants of coronavirus.