bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Patient safety, quality of care and missed nursing care at a cardiology department during the COVID‐19 outbreak
Authors: Nymark Carolin , von Vogelsang Ann‐Christin , Falk Ann‐Charlotte , Göransson Katarina E
Published: September 2021

Aim

To evaluate missed nursing care and patient safety during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic at in‐patient cardiology wards.

Design

A cross‐sectional design with a comparative approach.

Method

Registered nurses and nurse assistants at a cardiology department were invited to answer the MISSCARE Survey‐Swedish version, and questions on patient safety and quality of care during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The data were compared with a reference sample.

Results

A total of 43 registered nurses and nurse assistants in the COVID‐19 sample and 59 in the reference sample participated. The COVID‐19 sample reported significantly more overtime hours and more absence from work due to illness in comparison with the reference sample. The patient safety and quality of care were perceived significantly worse, 76.7% (N = 33) versus 94.7% (N = 54), and 85.7% (N = 36) versus 98.3% (N = 58, respectively. The COVID‐19 sample reported more missed nursing care in wound care and in basic nursing.
prPred‐DRLF: Plant R protein predictor using deep representation learning features
Authors: Wang Yansu , Xu Lei , Zou Quan , Lin Chen
Published: September 2021

Plant resistance (R) proteins play a significant role in the detection of pathogen invasion. Accurately predicting plant R proteins is a key task in phytopathology. Most plant R protein predictors are dependent on traditional feature extraction methods. Recently, deep representation learning methods have been successfully applied in solving protein classification problems. Motivated by this, we propose a new computational approach, called prPred‐DRLF, which uses deep representation learning feature models to encode the amino acids as numerical vectors. The results show that the fused features of bidirectional long short‐term memory (BiLSTM) embedding and unified representation (UniRep) embedding have a better performance than other features for plant R protein identification using a light gradient boosting machine (LGBM) classifier. The model was evaluated using an independent test achieving an accuracy of 0.956, F1‐score of 0.933, and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.997. Meanwhile, compared with the state‐of‐the‐art prPred and HMMER method, prPred‐DRLF shows an overall improvement in accuracy, F1‐score, AUC, and recall. prPred‐DRLF is a higher‐performance plant R protein prediction tool based on two kinds of deep representation learning technologies and offers a user‐friendly interface for inspecting possible plant R proteins. We hope that prPred‐DRLF will become a useful tool for biological research. A user‐friendly webserver for prPred‐DRLF is freely accessible at http://lab.malab.cn/soft/prPred‐DRLF. The Python script can be downloaded from https://github.com/Wangys‐prog/prPred‐DRLF.
Feasibility of nasal NO screening in healthy newborns
Authors: Buechel Flurina , Usemann Jakob , Aline A. , Salfeld Peter , Moeller Alexander , Jung Andreas
Published: September 2021

Background

Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) measurement is recommended as a first line screening test for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). While reliable velum‐ and non‐velum‐closure techniques exist for preschool children and older individuals, no data are available for neonates.

Aims

To determine feasibility of nNO screening and nNO concentration in healthy newborns in the first week of life.

Methods

Nasal NO was analyzed in tidal breathing during natural sleep using a CLD‐88 sp NO analyzer (chemoluminescence sensor) and a NIOX MINO (electrochemical sensor). Test success and nNO concentration were determined and compared between the two devices.

Results

Nasal NO was measured in 62 healthy neonates within the first week of life. Feasibility of nNO measurement was 100% for at least one nostril and 85.5% for both nostrils using the chemoluminescence device, but significantly lower with the electrochemical device (85.5% and 53.2%; p < .001). Median nNO concentration was 38 ppb (interquartile range, 27–55; range, 9–100) with the ECOMEDICS device and 23 (15–33, 8–59) with the NIOX MINO (p < .001), with a trend towards higher values for older subjects. None of the subjects exceeded nNO levels of 100 ppb.

Conclusion

Measurement of nNO using a chemoluminescence device is highly feasible in newborns during natural sleep. However, nNO levels are considerably lower compared to the published data for older individuals and in the range of a PCD reference group of infants between 4 and 8 weeks of age, potentially resulting in a great overlap with subjects with PCD in this age group. Therefore, screening for PCD using nasal NO might not be useful in the first week of life. Upon clinical suspicion, other diagnostic tests such as high‐speed video analysis of the cilia should be applied.
Effect of Me/B‐Powder on the Ignition of High‐Energy Materials
Authors: Korotkikh Alexander G. , Sorokin Ivan V.
Published: September 2021

The study of the ignition characteristics of high‐energy materials (HEMs) is important in solving a number of practical problems related to the assessment of explosion safety, the calculation of transition processes in power installation for various purposes (rocket and space technologies, weapons, pyrotechnics). This paper presents the experimental data on the thermal oxidation of ultrafine powder (UFP) based on Al/B, Ti/B, Ni/B, and Fe/B and the experimental characteristics of the ignition of HEM based on ammonium perchlorate, butadiene rubber, and metal fuel. In the course of processing thermal analysis data, the values of oxidation temperatures, the specific heat effect of the oxidation reaction, and the rate of weight gain of powder during heated at a constant rate of 10 °C/min in air were determined. It was shown that the oxidation of Ti/B and Ni/B UFPs begins at temperature of 490–500 °C, which is 60–70 °C lower than the onset oxidation temperature for boron powder. The use of 15.7 wt.% the mixed UFP based on Al/B, Ti/B, Ni/B or Fe/B in HEM reduces the ignition delay time by 7–50 % compared to boron‐based HEM in the range of heat flux density from 60 to 200 W/cm2. Based on experimental data of the ignition delay time versus the heat flux density, the formal activation energy, the multiplication of the specific heat flux of the reactions by the pre‐exponent and the ignition temperature are calculated which could be used in mathematical modeling of the ignition for composite solid propellant containing metal fuels.
PANNZER—A practical tool for protein function prediction
Authors: Törönen Petri , Holm Liisa
Published: September 2021

The facility of next‐generation sequencing has led to an explosion of gene catalogs for novel genomes, transcriptomes and metagenomes, which are functionally uncharacterized. Computational inference has emerged as a necessary substitute for first‐hand experimental evidence. PANNZER (Protein ANNotation with Z‐scoRE) is a high‐throughput functional annotation web server that stands out among similar publically accessible web servers in supporting submission of up to 100,000 protein sequences at once and providing both Gene Ontology (GO) annotations and free text description predictions. Here, we demonstrate the use of PANNZER and discuss future plans and challenges. We present two case studies to illustrate problems related to data quality and method evaluation. Some commonly used evaluation metrics and evaluation datasets promote methods that favor unspecific and broad functional classes over more informative and specific classes. We argue that this can bias the development of automated function prediction methods. The PANNZER web server and source code are available at http://ekhidna2.biocenter.helsinki.fi/sanspanz/.
Evaluation of different deep convolutional neural networks for detection of broadleaf weed seedlings in wheat
Authors: Zhuang Jiayao , Li Xuehan , Bagavathiannan Muthukumar , Jin Xiaojun , Yang Jie , Meng Wenting , Li Tao , Li Lanxi , Wang Yundi , Chen Yong , Yu Jialin
Published: September 2021

BACKGROUND

In‐field weed detection in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is challenging due to the occurrence of weeds in close proximity with the crop. The objective of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of using deep convolutional neural networks for detecting broadleaf weed seedlings growing in wheat.

RESULTS

The object detection neural networks, including CenterNet, Faster R‐CNN, TridenNet, VFNet, and You Only Look Once Version 3 (YOLOv3) were insufficient for weed detection in wheat because the recall never exceeded 0.58 in the testing dataset. The image classification neural networks including AlexNet, DenseNet, ResNet, and VGGNet were trained with small (5500 negative and 5500 positive images) or large training datasets (11 000 negative and 11 000 positive images) and three training image sizes (200 × 200, 300 × 300, and 400 × 400 pixels). For the small training dataset, increasing image sizes decreased the F1 scores of AlexNet and VGGNet but generally increased the F1 scores of DenseNet and ResNet. For the large training dataset, no obvious difference was detected between the training image sizes since all neural networks exhibited remarkable classification accuracies with high F1 scores (≥0.96). All image classification neural networks exhibited high F1 scores (≥0.99) when trained with the large training dataset and the training images of 200 × 200 pixels.

CONCLUSION

CenterNet, Faster R‐CNN, TridentNet, VFNet, and YOLOv3 were insufficient, while AlexNet, DenseNet, ResNet, and VGGNet trained with a large training dataset were highly effective for detection of broadleaf weed seedlings in wheat. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
The clear‐sky downwelling long‐wave radiation at the surface in current and future climates
Authors: Shakespeare Callum J. , Roderick Michael L.
Published: September 2021

Downwelling long‐wave radiation is a crucial component of the energy balance of the land and ocean surface. Here we develop a semi‐analytic model for the downwelling long‐wave dependent on five governing parameters: the near‐surface air temperature, the near‐surface specific humidity, the surface air pressure, the e‐folding height‐scale of water vapour, and the CO concentration. The model predicts the hourly clear‐sky long‐wave in the ERA5 reanalysis product with a global mean error of 8.2 Wm, and on average captures 97% of the temporal variation at individual locations. We show that the model may be used to calculate clear‐sky downwelling long‐wave from only surface observations of temperature and humidity by using the time‐mean water vapour height‐scale from the ERA5, interpolated to the location of the observation. Using this method replicates sub‐hourly observations from individual sites having a range of climates with errors of 12–25 Wm. Furthermore, the inclusion of CO allows the model to be used to study changes in downwelling long‐wave at the surface as CO concentrations vary. We validate the model's representation of CO by comparison with five CMIP5 climate models. Our model thus provides a simple yet accurate framework to understand the key parameters controlling downwelling long‐wave and its variability in the current and future climates.
Square percolation and the threshold for quadratic divergence in random right‐angled Coxeter groups
Authors: Behrstock Jason , Falgas‐Ravry Victor , Susse Tim
Published: September 2021

Given a graph , its auxiliary square‐graph is the graph whose vertices are the non‐edges of and whose edges are the pairs of non‐edges which induce a square (i.e., a 4‐cycle) in . We determine the threshold edge‐probability at which the Erdős–Rényi random graph begins to asymptotically almost surely (a.a.s.) have a square‐graph with a connected component whose squares together cover all the vertices of . We show , a polylogarithmic improvement on earlier bounds on due to Hagen and the authors. As a corollary, we determine the threshold at which the random right‐angled Coxeter group a.a.s. becomes strongly algebraically thick of order 1 and has quadratic divergence.
NIR‐II Responsive Hydrogel as an Angiogenesis Inhibition Agent for Tumor Microenvironment Reprogramming
Authors: Zhao Senfeng , Zhang Ling , Deng Liu , Ouyang Jiang , Xu Qianqian , Gao Xinyu , Zeng Zhilin , Liu You‐Nian
Published: September 2021

Regulation of angiogenesis is a great challenge for effective anticancer therapy. Generally, anti‐angiogenic therapies are focused on inhibition of inducers involved in pro‐angiogenic communication pathways. Despite the great potential of anti‐angiogenic therapy, engineering efficient angiogenesis inhibition agents (AIAs) is still a formidable challenge, since most anti‐angiogenic therapies are limited due to the cancer recurrence via compensatory expression of different angiogenic mediators. Herein, we present a new strategy of near‐infrared‐II (NIR‐II) responsive hydrogel AIAs, constructed by incorporation of nitric oxide (NO) precursor (BNN6) and 2D WO2.9 nanosheets within hydrogel (WB@hydrogel). Because of the defect/2D engineering, the bandgap of the WO2.9 nanosheets narrows, which extends the absorption to the NIR‐II region. It offers a favorable NIR‐II controlled manner for NO generation through irradiation time and light intensity. The continuous supply of NO can activate the expression of wild‐type p53 protein and further reverse the transcriptional expression of pro‐ and anti‐angiogenic factors of the tumor microenvironment (TME), subsequently alternating pro‐angiogenic TME to anti‐angiogenic TME. In the murine tumor model, this method achieved high tumor growth inhibition (TGI) rate and excellent anti‐recurrence efficiency.
2D High‐Entropy Hydrotalcites
Authors: Yu Xiwen , Wang Bing , Wang Cheng , Zhuang Chen , Yao Yingfang , Li Zhaosheng , Wu Congping , Feng Jianyong , Zou Zhigang
Published: September 2021

High‐entropy materials (HEMs) with unique configuration and physicochemical properties have attracted intensive research interest. However, 2D HEMs have not been reported yet. To find out unique properties of combining 2D materials and HEMs, a series of 2D high‐entropy hydrotalcites (HEHs) is created by coprecipitation method, including quinary, septenary, and even novenary metallic elements. It is found that the fast synthetic kinetics of coprecipitation process conquers the thermodynamically solubility limitation of different elements, which is the prerequisite condition to form HEHs. As the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts, HEHs show significantly decreased apparent activation energy compared with low‐entropy hydrotalcites (LEHs) due to the lattice distortion induced by the multimetallic character of HEHs. This work opens up a new avenue for the development of 2D HEMs, which broadens the family of HEMs and presents a most promising platform for exploring the unknown properties of HEMs.
Starch in Plant‐Based Meat Replacers: A New Approach to Using Endogenous Starch from Cereals and Legumes
Authors: Bühler Jan M. , Schlangen Miek , Möller Anna C. , Bruins Marieke E. , van der Goot Atze Jan
Published: September 2021

This review discusses the use of starch in plant‐based meat replacing products. Starch is often added to meat and meat replacing products as a functional ingredient. The function of starch in those applications is investigated to be able to describe how it affects the production and structuring process as well as product properties. Often modified starch is used in these products, because of its improved functionality compared to native starch. Next to that, starch can also be present in meat replacing products as part of other ingredients, for example, when using legume or cereal meals or concentrates. It is discussed if this endogenous starch can have similar functionality and if not, whether it can be modified in a similar way as industrially modified starch. A new perspective on endogenous starch is proposed, demonstrating options for in situ modifications and promoting the use of less‐refined and therefore more sustainable ingredients in fibrous meat replacing products.
Application of Shear and Heat Milling Machine for Amorphization of Tapioca Starch
Authors: Thongmeepech Apakorn , Koda Tomonori , Nishioka Akihiro
Published: September 2021

Shear and heat milling machines (SHMMs) constitute a recent mechanical milling approach that holds promise for the generation of amorphous starch. Here, an amorphous tapioca starch SHMM method is developed. The SHMM provides higher efficient and instant way of amorphization of rice starch compared to conventional methods as pressure treatment, ball milling treatment, and so on. In this study, the milling temperature and initial moisture content of the tapioca starch are varied, respectively, as 80 °C, 100 °C, and 120 °C and 10%, 12%, and 14%, to identify the optimal milling conditions for tapioca starch. A lower milling temperature decreases milled starch crystallinity and no crystallinity is observed after milling at 80 °C. A lower moisture content of starch before milling results in higher crystallinity of the milled starch. The shear force from the moving metal mortars separated by a small gap in the SHMM, together with heat, changed the starch morphology. The produced amorphous tapioca showed that the round shape of native starch granules became flake‐shaped amorphous tapioca starch after milling. A novelty of this study is application of SHMM for tapioca starch.
External spinal fixation of a lumbar fracture in a dog
Authors: Poad Lydia , Mielke Benjamin , Ruiz De Alejos Blanco Laura , Llabres‐Diaz Francisco , De Decker Steven
Published: September 2021

An approximately 1‐year‐old female entire crossbreed dog presented for further assessment of a traumatically induced T3‐L3 myelopathy. CT demonstrated multiple vertebral fractures, a large paravertebral abscess with intracanal extension and an abdominal wall rupture. Given the active infection surrounding the lumbar fracture site, permanent internal fixation devices were deemed less favourable. An external skeletal fixator construct was placed using percutaneously placed positive profile pins and Steinmann pins as connecting bars. Repeat CT 8 weeks following surgery revealed good realignment of the vertebral column and resolution of the sublumbar abscess. The external fixator was removed and gradual return to exercise instructed over the following 8 weeks. This case report describes the use of an external vertebral skeletal fixator in a young dog with traumatic vertebral fracture when traditional methods were considered less favourable.
Thermo‐viscoelastic behavior in an infinitely thin orthotropic hollow cylinder with variable properties under the non‐Fourier MGT thermoelastic model
Authors: Abouelregal Ahmed E. , Ahmad Hijaz , Badr Souha K. , Elmasry Yasser , Yao Shao‐Wen
Published: September 2021

The purpose of this work is to investigate the influences of viscosity and the variation of thermal conductivity on the thermoelastic vibrations in a very thin hollow cylinder. The generalized thermal model has been developed using the Moore Gibson‐Thompson (MGT) equation by adding relaxation time in the developed Fourier law according to Green‐Naghdi theories. In addition to the initial conditions, some boundary conditions have been taken into consideration on the inner and external surface of the hollow solid cylinder. Unlike many problems in which the coefficient of thermal conductivity is assumed to be constant, it has been taken into account that it is variable and depends on the change of temperature. By applying the Laplace transform method, the numerical solutions are assigned to the studied physical quantities. The studied quantities have been presented graphically and in tabular form to compare the outcomes for various models of thermoelasticity and to illustrate the influences of changing thermal properties and viscosity on the physical fields.
Introduction
Authors: Rey Emmanuel , Laprise Martine , Lufkin Sophie
Published: September 2021

The regeneration of brownfields in European metropolitan areas represents an important potential to mitigate urban sprawl by increasing density within the existing built fabric and to revitalize portions of cities at the neighbourhood scale. Although research and projects on urban brownfields are active, several issues still need to be overcome, especially regarding the sustainability transition challenge. Based on this observation, we introduce the present book, which proposes an integrated and theoretically grounded approach to highlight how urban brownfield regeneration projects—and the neighbourhood scale that they entail—can effectively contribute to the urban sustainability transitions of metropolitan areas. It is structured in two parts that are both distinct and complementary: the first part aims to clarify the framework of the investigations with definition and analysis and the second part presents a deep analysis of processes, project dynamics, and sustainability assessment approaches of urban brownfield regeneration.
Urban Brownfields: Origin, Definition, and Diversity
Authors: Rey Emmanuel , Laprise Martine , Lufkin Sophie
Published: September 2021

Brownfield is a polysemic notion that encompasses a whole range of diverse spaces. Although there is no official definition at the European level, an emerging consensus has arisen around the urban character of brownfields and the need for intervention. Indeed, their location within metropolitan areas represents a strategic opportunity to densify and rejuvenate the urban fabric at the neighbourhood scale. Hence, we propose a definition of urban brownfields that is flexible enough to optimize the potential development of abandoned sites and precise enough to enable framing the discussion. Then, we take a look at the diversity of urban brownfields in European metropolitan areas by briefly explaining the factors that cause a site to become a brownfield and then attempting to classify different types of urban brownfields. The proposed classification aims to create a non-exhaustive reference framework by offering in-depth knowledge of the urban brownfield and regeneration projects phenomenon across Europe, without setting its meaning in stone.
Urban Brownfield Regeneration Projects: Complexities and Issues
Authors: Rey Emmanuel , Laprise Martine , Lufkin Sophie
Published: September 2021

Because of urban brownfields’ inherent complexity related to their very nature, as well as their intermediate scale—the neighbourhood—regeneration projects are not a spontaneous process. Indeed, an urban brownfield regeneration project may encounter several issues, which can be obstacles, barriers, or resistance, that we classify in four types: sociocultural barriers, governance involved by the multiplication of actors, legal and regulatory constraints, and deterrent costs. While these issues contribute in turn to complexify brownfield regeneration projects, they are not insurmountable. Finally, to overcome urban brownfield regeneration projects’ complexities and issues, we argue that there is a need to implement real project dynamics. To this end, we provide four potential approaches to foster the creative development of tailored solutions.
Stable Knots and Links in Electromagnetic Fields
Authors: Bode Benjamin
Published: September 2021

Persistent topological structures in physical systems have become increasingly important over the last years. Electromagnetic fields with knotted field lines play a special role among these, since they can be used to transfer their knottedness to other systems like plasmas and quantum fluids. In null electromagnetic fields the electric and the magnetic field lines evolve like unbreakable elastic filaments in a fluid flow. In particular, their topology is preserved for all time, so that all knotted closed field lines maintain their knot type. We use an approach due to Bateman to prove that for every link L there is such an electromagnetic field that satisfies Maxwell’s equations in free space and that has closed electric and magnetic field lines in the shape of L for all time. The knotted and linked field lines turn out to be projections of real analytic Legendrian links with respect to the standard contact structure on the 3-sphere.
Skizze eines Verfahrens zur Erstellung von Ontologien mittels Formaler Begriffsanalyse
Authors: Lübbert Christoph , Zeh Thomas
Published: September 2021

Die Formale Begriffsanalyse vermag aus den Daten zu Gegenständen und deren Merkmalen eine Datenstruktur zu ermitteln. Es wird ein weitgehend automatisierbares Verfahren vorgestellt, das ausgehend von Elementarsätzen in Form von RDF-Tripeln in einem iterativen Bottom-up-Prozess mittels Semantischer Netze und der Formalen Begriffsanalyse zu einem Ontologieschema führt. Neben der Taxonomie der Klassen wird hierbei auch eine Taxonomie der Relationstypen erstellt. Die durch die Formale Begriffsanalyse automatisch erstellten Merkmalimplikationen können für die Qualitätssicherung herangezogen werden. Führt diese zu Korrekturen und Erweiterungen der Elementarsätze, wird der Prozess wiederholt. Das resultierende Ontologieschema wird in ein Entity-Relationship-Diagramm überführt, das die Grundlage für ein konzeptionelles Datenbankschema liefert. Zur Demonstration des Verfahrens wird exemplarisch eine Ontologie eines Wissensgebiets erstellt.

Alle Überlegungen zur Erstellung des Ontologieschemas lassen sich prinzipiell auch bei der Erstellung und Ausarbeitung beliebiger semantischer Datenschemata anwenden. Somit bietet diese Bottom-up-Methode die Chance, die Generierung des Datenbankschemas algorithmisch durch Beispielsammlungen zu unterstützen. Da jeder Schritt im Verfahren nachvollziehbar und somit von der Person des Modellierers unabhängig ist, liefert das Verfahren einen Beitrag zur Automatisierung der Modellierung, insbesondere von Ontologien.
The impact of tympanic membrane perforations on middle ear transfer function
Authors: Bevis Nicholas , Sackmann Benjamin , Effertz Thomas , Lauxmann Michael , Beutner Dirk
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Injury or inflammation of the middle ear often results in the persistent tympanic membrane (TM) perforations, leading to conductive hearing loss (HL). However, in some cases the magnitude of HL exceeds that attributable by the TM perforation alone. The aim of the study is to better understand the effects of location and size of TM perforations on the sound transmission properties of the middle ear.

Methods

The middle ear transfer functions (METF) of six human temporal bones (TB) were compared before and after perforating the TM at different locations (anterior or posterior lower quadrant) and to different degrees (1 mm, ¼ of the TM, ½ of the TM, and full ablation). The sound-induced velocity of the stapes footplate was measured using single-point laser-Doppler-vibrometry (LDV). The METF were correlated with a Finite Element (FE) model of the middle ear, in which similar alterations were simulated.

Results

The measured and calculated METF showed frequency and perforation size dependent losses at all perforation locations. Starting at low frequencies, the loss expanded to higher frequencies with increased perforation size. In direct comparison, posterior TM perforations affected the transmission properties to a larger degree than anterior perforations. The asymmetry of the TM causes the malleus-incus complex to rotate and results in larger deflections in the posterior TM quadrants than in the anterior TM quadrants. Simulations in the FE model with a sealed cavity show that small perforations lead to a decrease in TM rigidity and thus to an increase in oscillation amplitude of the TM mainly above 1 kHz.

Conclusion

Size and location of TM perforations have a characteristic influence on the METF. The correlation of the experimental LDV measurements with an FE model contributes to a better understanding of the pathologic mechanisms of middle-ear diseases. If small perforations with significant HL are observed in daily clinical practice, additional middle ear pathologies should be considered. Further investigations on the loss of TM pretension due to perforations may be informative.
Physical activity and Mediterranean diet as potential modulators of osteoprotegerin and soluble RANKL in gBRCA1/2 mutation carriers: results of the lifestyle intervention pilot study LIBRE-1
Authors: Neirich Leonie , Yahiaoui-Doktor Maryam , Lammert Jacqueline , Basrai Maryam , Seethaler Benjamin , Berling-Ernst Anika , Ramser Juliane , Quante Anne S. , Schmidt Thorsten , Niederberger Uwe , Rhiem Kerstin , Schmutzler Rita , Engel Christoph , Bischoff Stephan C. , Halle Martin , Kiechle Marion , Grill Sabine
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Emerging evidence suggests that the progesterone-mediated receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK)/soluble RANK ligand (sRANKL)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) pathway plays an important role in mammary carcinogenesis and is hyperactivated in germline (g)BRCA1/2mutation carriers. We analyzed the effects of a 3-month intensive lifestyle intervention within the LIBRE-1 study on the serum levels of OPG and sRANKL and hypothesized that the intervention program provides a beneficial impact on the biomarkers by increasing OPG and reducing sRANKL serum concentrations.

Methods

Serum levels of OPG and sRANKL of 49 gBRCA1/2mutation carriers were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. We used previously collected blood samples from participants of the prospective LIBRE-1 study, who were randomized into an intervention group (IG), increasing physical activity and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedD) through supervised sessions from study entry to the first study visit after 3 months and a usual-care control group (CG). Differences in biomarker levels before and after the 3-month intervention were tested within and between study groups.

Results

The lifestyle intervention resulted in a significant increase in OPG for participants in both the IG (q = 0.022) and CG (q = 0.002). sRANKL decreased significantly in the IG (q = 0.0464) and seemed to decrease in the CG (q = 0.5584). An increase in the intake of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was significantly associated with an increase in OPG (r = 0.579,q = 0.045). Baseline serum levels of sRANKL were a strong predictor for the change of sRANKL in the course of the intervention (ß-estimate = − 0.70;q = 0.0018). Baseline physical fitness (assessed as VO2peak) might predict the change of OPG in the course of the intervention program (ß-estimate = 0.133 pg/ml/ml/min/kg;p = 0.0319;q = 0.2871).

Conclusion

Findings from this pilot study seem to confirm our hypothesis by showing an increase in OPG and decrease in sRANKL over a 3-month lifestyle intervention and suggest that increased physical activity and adherence to the MedD are potent modulators of the biomarkers OPG and potentially sRANKL.
Saltwater spawning grounds of sea-run brown trout (Salmo trutta) in tidal waters of a major Norwegian river
Authors: Gabrielsen Sven-Erik , Lennox Robert J. , Wiers Tore , Barlaup Bjørn T.
Published: September 2021

Sea-run brown trout (Salmo trutta) have a highly phenotypically plastic life history that allows them to be effective colonizers and competitors in freshwater. This paper documents a previously unknown spawning behaviour in a brackish, tidally influenced estuary 14 km from the mouth of the Vosso River, a major Atlantic salmon- and sea-run brown trout–producing river in western Norway. Putative spawning gravel was observed, and sea-run brown trout deposited eggs that hatched in April. Survival of recruits was high (> 95%) in the tidal spawning gravel. These areas are strongly tidally influenced with a peak of 23.17 psu recorded at the lowest spawning ground. The observation of spawning so far from the river mouth may be unique in such a system with a long estuary but provides important insight into the biology of sea trout. Invasion of pink salmon, also known to spawn in estuaries, may negatively affect the competitive balance of sea trout with other salmonids in rivers where sea trout populations rely on recruitment from these relatively extreme spawning areas. Restoration of estuaries that have been modified by dredging or channelization may be important to ensure quality and heterogenous habitat for sea trout spawning given that haline spawning grounds could contribute to population resilience.
Exploring occupational aspirations of school-age children by fluid intelligence, gender and grade
Authors: Nikel Łukasz
Published: September 2021

The present study explored the occupational aspirations of school-age children (N = 394) comparing differences by gender, level of intelligence and grade level. Results indicated that girls’ aspirations were more realistic, intrinsically motivated, prosocial and inclusive of higher education than those of boys. Moreover, a higher level of intelligence only from the fourth grade and 10 years of age was associated with higher education aspirations. These results suggest that in choosing occupational aspirations, children from the fourth grade (aged 10–11) may begin to be guided by intellectual abilities. The contribution of these results to career development theories is discussed.
The Intergenerational Transmission of Female Labour Force Participation by Gender among Native and Immigrant Europeans: A Focus on Religion
Authors: Stranges Manuela
Published: September 2021

The aim of this paper is to explore the intergenerational transmission of female labor force participation from mothers to children. Using data collected by the European Social Survey from 2002 to 2018 (N = 118,219), we analyse four different samples of native and immigrant women and men in order to assess the relationship between working mothers and their daughters and sons' wives participation to the labour market. For both native and immigrant women, having had their mothers employed when the respondents were 14 was associated with higher probability they were employed at the time of survey. Similarly, for both native and immigrant men, having had their mothers employed when the respondents were 14 was associated with higher probability their wives were employed at the time of the survey. We concentrate our attention on the role of religion. We find that religiosity is negatively related to the participation of women in the labour market, with differences between those who had a working mother and those who had not. Results of some augmented models indicate that the intergenerational transmission of female labor force participation varies according to religious affiliation.
Giving feedback on peers’ concept maps as a learning experience: does quality of reviewed concept maps matter?
Authors: Dmoshinskaia Natasha , Gijlers Hannie , de Jong Ton
Published: September 2021

Giving feedback to peers can be a powerful learning tool because of the feedback provider’s active cognitive involvement with the products to be reviewed. The quality of peers’ products is naturally an important factor that might influence not only the quality of the feedback that is given, but also the learning arising from this process. This experimental study investigated the effect of the level of quality of the reviewed product on the knowledge acquisition of feedback providers, as well as the role of prior knowledge in this. Dutch secondary-school students (n = 77) were assigned to one of three conditions, which varied in the quality of the learning products (concept maps) on which students had to give feedback while working in an online physics inquiry learning environment. Post-test knowledge scores, the quality of students’ own concept maps and the quality of the feedback given were analyzed to determine any effect of condition on the learning of feedback providers. Students providing feedback on the lower-quality concept maps gave better feedback and had higher post-test scores. There was no interaction with level of prior knowledge. Possible implications for practice and further research directions are discussed.
Effects of partial replacement of red by green light in the growth spectrum on photomorphogenesis and photosynthesis in tomato plants
Authors: Trojak Magdalena , Skowron Ernest , Sobala Tomasz , Kocurek Maciej , Pałyga Jan
Published: September 2021

The artificial light used in growth chambers is usually devoid of green (G) light, which is considered to be less photosynthetically efficient than blue (B) or red (R) light. To verify the role of G light supplementation in the spectrum, we modified the RB spectrum by progressively replacing R light with an equal amount of G light. The tomato plants were cultivated under 100 µmol m–2 s–1 of five different combinations of R (35–75%) and G light (0–40%) in the presence of a fixed proportion of B light (25%) provided by light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Substituting G light for R altered the plant’s morphology and partitioning of biomass. We observed a decrease in the dry biomass of leaves, which was associated with increased biomass accumulation and the length of the roots. Moreover, plants previously grown under the RGB spectrum more efficiently utilized the B light that was applied to assess the effective quantum yield of photosystem II, as well as the G light when estimated with CO2 fixation using RB + G light-response curves. At the same time, the inclusion of G light in the growth spectrum reduced stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E) and altered stomatal traits, thus improving water-use efficiency. Besides this, the increasing contribution of G light in place of R light in the growth spectrum resulted in the progressive accumulation of phytochrome interacting factor 5, along with a lowered level of chalcone synthase and anthocyanins. However, the plants grown at 40% G light exhibited a decreased net photosynthetic rate (Pn), and consequently, a reduced dry biomass accumulation, accompanied by morphological and molecular traits related to shade-avoidance syndrome.
Maintenance of high quality of life as an indicator of resilience during COVID-19 social distancing among community-dwelling older adults in Finland
Authors: Koivunen Kaisa , Portegijs Erja , Sillanpää Elina , Eronen Johanna , Kokko Katja , Rantanen Taina
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced possibilities for activities of choice potentially threatening quality of life (QoL). We defined QoL resilience as maintaining high quality of life and studied whether walking speed, absence of loneliness, living arrangement, and stress-coping ability predict QoL resilience among older people.

Methods

Community-dwelling 75-, 80-, and 85-year-old persons (n = 685) were interviewed and examined in 2017–2018 and were followed up during COVID-19 social distancing in 2020. We assessed QoL using the OPQOL-brief scale and set a cut-off for ‘constant high’ based on staying in the highest baseline quartile over the follow-up and categorized all others as having ‘low/moderate’. Perceived restrictiveness of the social distancing recommendations was examined with one item and was categorized as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ restrictiveness.

Results

Better stress-coping ability (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.14–1.28) and not being lonely (OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.48–4.63) increased the odds for constant high QoL from before to amid social distancing, and the odds did not differ according to the perceived restrictiveness of the social distancing recommendations. Higher walking speed predicted constant high QoL only among those perceiving restrictiveness (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.07–1.27). Living arrangement did not predict constant high QoL.

Conclusion

During social distancing, psychosocial resources helped to maintain good QoL regardless how restrictive the social distancing recommendations were perceived to be. Better physical capacity was important for constant high QoL only among those perceiving restrictiveness presumably because it enabled replacing blocked activities with open outdoor physical activities.
An analytical Survey of Attack Scenario Parameters on the Techniques of Attack Mitigation in WSN
Authors: Ávila Karen , Sanmartin Paul , Jabba Daladier , Gómez Javier
Published: September 2021

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) were cataloged as one of the most important emerging technologies of the last century and are considered the basis of the Internet of Things paradigm. However, an undeniable disadvantage of WSN is that the resources available for these types of networks, such as processing capacity, memory, and battery, are usually in short supply. This limitation in resources implements security mechanisms a difficult task. This work reviews 93 recent proposals in which different solutions were formulated for the different attacks in WSN in the network layer; in total, 139 references were considered. According to the literature, these attacks are mainly Sybil, wormhole, sinkhole, and selective forwarding. The main goal of this contribution is to present the evaluation metrics used in the state of the art to mitigate the Sybil, wormhole, sinkhole, and selective forwarding attacks and show the network topologies used in each of these proposals.
Franchising for the social sector
Authors: Sorenson Olav
Published: September 2021

This essay discusses the organizational design of Unjani Clinics as described in Szerb, Kivleneice, and Aggarwal’s organizational zoo case study.
The Nature of Adjustments and Monitoring for Students With Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools
Authors: Carter Mark , Webster Amanda , Stephenson Jennifer , Waddy Neale , Stevens Robert , Clements Melissa , Morris Talia
Published: September 2021

The current study was conducted to examine the types of adjustments used to support students with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms and how schools monitored the effectiveness of the adjustments they use. A range of stakeholders were interviewed in 22 mainstream schools across New South Wales, Australia, and the interviews were analysed for key themes. Some schools had a narrow focus on a few key areas, with teaching assistants being the most commonly reported adjustment. Few schools used formal formative monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of adjustments. Options for improvement schools could consider include examining the breadth of adjustments, establishing clear measurable goals, considering alternative strategies for use of teaching assistants, and ensuring adjustments are monitored.
A CHARACTERIZATION OF THE STRONGLY -REPRESENTABLE MANY-ONE DEGREES
Authors: JACOBSEN-GROCOTT JOSIAH
Published: September 2021

$\eta $
-representations are a way of coding sets in computable linear orders that were first introduced by Fellner in his thesis. Limitwise monotonic functions have been used to characterize the sets with
$\eta $
-representations, and give characterizations for several variations of
$\eta $
-representations. The one exception is the class of sets with strong
$\eta $
-representations, the only class where the order type of the representation is unique.

We introduce the notion of a connected approximation of a set, a variation on
$\Sigma ^0_2$
approximations. We use connected approximations to give a characterization of the many-one degrees of sets with strong
$\eta $
-representations as well new characterizations of the variations of
$\eta $
-representations with known characterizations.
Dietary patterns and sarcopenia in elderly adults: the Tianjin Chronic Low-grade Systemic Inflammation and Health (TCLSIH) study
Authors: Wang Xuena , Ye Mingxu , Gu Yeqing , Wu Xiaohui , Meng Ge , Bian Shanshan , Wu Hongmei , Zhang Shunming , Wang Yawen , Zhang Tingjing , Cheng Jie , Gan Shinan , Ji Tong , Niu Kaijun
Published: September 2021

Sarcopenia is a core contributor to several health consequences, including falls, fractures, physical limitations and disability. The pathophysiological processes of sarcopenia may be counteracted with the proper diet, delaying sarcopenia onset. Dietary pattern analysis is a whole diet approach used to investigate the relationship between diet and sarcopenia. Here, we aimed to investigate this relationship in an elderly Chinese population. A cross-sectional study with 2423 participants aged more than 60 years was performed. Sarcopenia was defined based on the guidelines of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia, composed of low muscle mass plus low grip strength and/or low gait speed. Dietary data were collected using a FFQ that included questions on 100 food items along with their specified serving sizes. Three dietary patterns were derived by factor analysis: sweet pattern, vegetable pattern and animal food pattern. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 16·1 %. The higher vegetable pattern score and animal food pattern score were related to lower prevalence of sarcopenia (Ptrend= 0·006 and < 0·001, respectively); the multivariate-adjusted OR of the prevalence of sarcopenia in the highestv. lowest quartiles were 0·54 (95 % CI 0·34, 0·86) and 0·50 (95 % CI 0·33, 0·74), separately. The sweet pattern score was not significantly related to the prevalence of sarcopenia. The present study showed that vegetable pattern and animal food pattern were related to a lower prevalence of sarcopenia in Chinese older adults. Further studies are required to clarify these findings.
Sensitivity to microvariation in bilingual acquisition: morphophonological gender cues in Russian heritage language
Authors: Mitrofanova Natalia , Urek Olga , Rodina Yulia , Westergaard Marit
Published: September 2021

Previous research on the acquisition of grammatical gender has shown that this property is acquired early in transparent gender systems such as Russian. However, it is not clear to what extent children are sensitive to the assignment cues and to what extent they simply memorize correspondences between frequent lexical items. Furthermore, we do not know if bilingual children are different from monolingual children in this respect. This article reports on a study investigating bilingual children’s sensitivity to gender assignment cues in Russian. A group of 64 bilingual German–Russian children living in Germany participated in the study, as well as 107 monolingual controls in Russia. The elicitation experiments used both real and nonce words, as well as noun phrases with mismatched cues (where the morphophonological shape of the noun cued one gender and the agreement on the modifying adjective another). The results show that both bilinguals and monolinguals are highly sensitive to cues, both to the frequent transparent cues and to more fine-grained gender regularities in situations where there is ambiguity. There is also an age effect, showing that younger children pay more attention to the cue on the noun itself, thus displaying a preference for regular patterns, while older children are more sensitive to gender agreement on other targets.