bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An evaluation of key challenges of CO2 transportation with a novel Subsea Shuttle Tanker
Authors: Ma Y , Xing Y , Hemmingsen T H
Published: November 2021

Recently, a novel Subsea Shuttle Tanker (SST) concept has been proposed to transport carbon dioxide (CO2) from ports to offshore oil and gas fields for either permanent storage or enhanced oil recovery (EOR). SST is a large autonomous underwater vehicle that travels at a constant water depth away from waves. SST has some key advantages over subsea pipelines and tanker ships when employed at marginal fields. It enables carbon storage in marginal fields which do not have sufficient volumes to justify pipelines. Further, in contrast to ships, SST does not require the use of a permanently installed riser base. This paper will evaluate the key challenges of using such vessel for CO2 transportation. It discusses the most important properties such as thermodynamic properties, purity, and hydrate formation of CO2 at different vessel-transportation states in relation to cargo sizing, material selection, and energy consumption.
Research on the residual tensile strength of composite reinforcing bars exposed to elevated temperatures
Authors: Rozsypalova I , Prokes J , Cairović Đ , Girgle F , Danek P , Stepanek P
Published: November 2021

Paper describes a testing procedure for the determination of tensile strength of the composite reinforcing bars subjected to elevated temperatures. Experimentally obtained results on GFRP bars with different diameter are presented and discussed. Moreover, a brief comparison with an analytical approach was included. Almost identical temperature reduction rate of tensile strength was observed for all tested specimens, regardless diameter of the bar. Therefore, it can be expected, that different bar diameter should not significantly affect the results especially if steady state conditions were assumed.
Deep learning based MRI contrast synthesis using full volume prediction using full volume prediction
Authors: Manjón José V , Romero José E , Coupe Pierrick
Published: November 2021

In Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), depending on the image acquisition settings, a large number of image types or contrasts can be generated showing complementary information of the same imaged subject. This multi-spectral information is highly beneficial since can improve MRI analysis tasks such as segmentation and registration, thanks to pattern ambiguity reduction. However, the acquisition of several contrasts is not always possible due to time limitations and patient comfort constraints. Contrast synthesis has emerged recently as an approximate solution to generate other image types different from those acquired originally. Most of the previously proposed methods for contrast synthesis are slice-based which result in intensity inconsistencies between neighbor slices when applied in 3D. We propose the use of a 3D convolutional neural network (CNN) capable of generating T2 and FLAIR images from a single anatomical T1 source volume. The proposed network is a 3D variant of the UNet that processes the whole volume at once breaking with the inconsistency in the resulting output volumes related to 2D slice or patch-based methods. Since working with a full volume at once has a huge memory demand we have introduced a spatial-to-depth and a reconstruction layer that allows working with the full volume but maintain the required network complexity to solve the problem. Our approach enhances the coherence in the synthesized volume while improving the accuracy thanks to the integrated three-dimensional context-awareness. Finally, the proposed method has been validated with a segmentation method, thus demonstrating its usefulness in a direct and relevant application.
Experimental demonstration of efficient high-dimensional quantum gates with orbital angular momentum
Authors: Wang Yunlong , Ru Shihao , Wang Feiran , Zhang Pei , Li Fuli
Published: November 2021

Quantum gates are essential for the realization of quantum computer and have been implemented in various types of two-level systems. However, high-dimensional quantum gates are rarely investigated both theoretically and experimentally even that high-dimensional quantum systems exhibit remarkable advantages over two-level systems for some quantum information and quantum computing tasks. Here we experimentally demonstrate the four-dimensional X gate and its unique higher orders with the average conversion efficiency 93%. All these gates are based on orbital-angular-momentum degree of freedom (DoF) of single photons. Besides, a set of controlled quantum gates is implemented by use of polarization DoF. Our work is an important step toward the goal of achieving arbitrary high-dimensional quantum circuit and paves a way for the implementation of high-dimensional quantum communication and computation.
Sequential phonon measurements of atomic motion
Authors: Ritboon Atirach , Slodička Lukáš , Filip Radim
Published: November 2021

The motion of trapped atoms plays an essential role in quantum mechanical sensing, simulations and computing. Small disturbances of atomic vibrations are still challenging to be sensitively detected. It requires a reliable coupling between individual phonons and internal electronic levels that light can readout. As available information in a few electronic levels about the phonons is limited, the coupling needs to be sequentially repeated to further harvest the remaining information. We analyze such phonon measurements on the simplest example of the force and heating sensing using motional Fock states. We prove that two sequential measurements are sufficient to reach sensitivity to force and heating for realistic Fock states and saturate the quantum Fisher information for a small amount of force or heating. It is achieved by the conventionally available Jaynes–Cummings coupling. The achieved sensitivities are found to be better than those obtained from classical states. Further enhancements are expectable when the higher Fock state generation is improved. The result opens additional applications of sequential phonon measurements of atomic motion. This measurement scheme can also be directly applied to other bosonic systems including cavity QED and circuit QED.
Intercalation in two-dimensional transition metal chalcogenides: interlayer engineering and applications
Authors: Ghosh Dibyendu , Devi Pooja , Kumar Praveen
Published: November 2021

Intercalation is basically the process of putting one or multiple guest elements into the van der Waals gaps of a parent crystal in a reversible way. Two-dimensional (2D) materials have shown great promise with intercalant species ranging from organic molecules to ions. Apart from graphene, the most studied 2D materials are the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Intercalation in TMDs has led to new strategies beyond graphene for 2D structures in materials science, materials engineering, chemistry and physics. This review deals with the possible mechanism of intercalation as well as the window that intercalation can open for compact and ultrathin device technology. Modulation of the physicochemical properties of intercalated TMDs has been thoroughly reviewed. Finally, device performance, especially for energy storage and energy harvesting devices, has been evaluated and specific issues that need attention for future development are highlighted.
Humidification–dehumidification desalination process using green hydrogen and heat recovery
Authors: Brunini A , García M C , Melgarejo A A , Rodríguez R G
Published: November 2021

We propose the use of green hydrogen as fuel for a seawater heater in a humidification/dehumidification (HDH) desalination plant to increase its productivity, to allow scaling to large dimensions without negative environmental effects, and to guarantee continuous operation. We develop a mathematical model of the proposed HDH configuration. For operating conditions that guarantee very low NO
x
production, the fuel consumption is

∼
0.03

k
g

of H2 per kg of pure water produced. If the exhaust gases from the seawater heater are used for heat recovery, the GOR of the equipment may increase by up to 39% in relation to the same equipment operating without heat recovery. The operation cost of freshwater is comparable to the costs obtained by other equipment in the literature. If the water produced in the combustion of hydrogen is condensed during the heat recovery process and then added to the freshwater produced, the production cost is reduced by 20%. We found that an excess of air in the air + fuel mix beyond the minimum value appropriate for a low NO
x
generation does not provide significant benefits. The efficiency of the seawater heater has an impact on the production of pure water, but this impact is strongly mitigated by the heat recovery process. Fuel consumption increases proportionally with the decrease in the effectiveness of the heat recovery device, which is a key parameter for optimal performance. A hydrogen heater is also a good alternative as an auxiliary power source to guarantee continuous operation. In sunny hours a H2 heater may be used to increase productivity preheating the seawater, and at night the system could operate 100% based on H2.
Latent Semantic Structure of the WMS-III Verbal Paired-Associates
Authors: Furey Rachel T , Petrauskas Vilija , Bowden Stephen C , Simpson Leonie C , Meade Catherine E , Davis Brooke M , D’Souza Wendyl J
Published: November 2021

Objective

To investigate the factor structure of the verbal paired-associates (VPA) subtest in the WMS-III using a theoretically driven model of semantic processing previously found to be well-fitting for the WMS-IV version of the test.

Method

Archival data were used from 267 heterogeneous neurosciences patients and 223 seizure disorder patients who completed the WMS-III as part of a standard neuropsychological evaluation. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test theoretically driven models for VPA based on principles of semantic processing. Four nested models of different complexities were examined and compared for goodness-of-fit using chi-squared difference testing. Measurement invariance testing was conducted across heterogeneous neuroscience and seizure disorder samples to test generality of the factor model.

Results

After removing items with limited variability (very easy or very hard; 12 of 40 items), a four-factor model was found to be best-fitting in the present patient samples. The four factors were “recreational”, “functional”, “material”, and “symbolic”, each representing semantic knowledge associated with the function of the target word referent. This model subsequently met the criteria for the strict measurement invariance, showing good overall fit when factor loadings, thresholds, and residuals were held to equality across samples.

Conclusions

The results of this study provide further evidence that “arbitrary” associations between word pairs in VPA items have an underlying semantic structure, challenging the idea that unrelated hard-pairs are semantic-free. These results suggest that a semantic-structure model may be implemented as an alternative scoring in future editions of the WMS to facilitate interpretation.
Performance of a Histidine Rich Protein-2 Based (First Response) and a p-Lactate Dehydrogenase-based (Optimal) Rapid Diagnostic Test for Diagnosis of Malaria in Patients With Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease
Authors: Adjei George O , Sulley Abdul M , Goka Bamenla Q , Enweronu-Laryea Christabel , Renner Lorna , Alifrangis Michael , Kurtzhals Jorgen A L
Published: November 2021

Background

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been extensively evaluated and play an important role in malaria diagnosis. However, the accuracy of RDTs for malaria diagnosis in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) is unknown.

Methods

We compared the performance of a histidine rich protein 2 (HRP-2)-based RDT (First Response) and a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)-based RDT (Optimal) with routine microscopy as reference standard in 445 children with SCD and an acute febrile illness in Accra, Ghana.

Results

The overall sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the HRP-2-based RDTs were 100%, 95.7%, 73.8%, and 100%, respectively. Comparable values for the LDH-based RDTs were 91.7%, 99.5%, 95.7%, and 99.0%, respectively. A total of 423 results were true in both tests, 1 result was false in both tests, 16 results were false in the HRP-2 test only, and 5 were false in the LDH test only (McNemar test, P = .03). At follow-up, 73.7% (28/38), 52.6% (20/38), 48.6% (17/35), and 13.2% (5/38) of study participants were HRP-2 positive on days 14, 28, 35, and 42, respectively, compared with 0%, 2.6% (1/38), 2.9% (1/35), and 2.6% (1/38) for LDH.

Conclusion

The HRP2-based RDT fulfilled World Health Organization criteria for malaria diagnosis in patients with SCD and may provide diagnostic evidence for treatment to begin in cases in which treatment would otherwise have begun presumptively based on symptoms, whereas LDH-based RDTs may be more suitable as a confirmatory test in low-parasitemic subgroups, such as patients with SCD.
An online book club for ESOL learners
Authors: Norman Felix
Published: November 2021

In the spring of 2021, I started an online book for ESOL learners studying in an adult education college in London. Over the course of four weeks, 12 intermediate to upper intermediate learners read the story ‘Suffragette’, adapted from the film of the same name, meeting weekly online to discuss the story and its themes. The result was a greatly beneficial experience for the learners. They were able to engage with an extensive text on a much deeper level than is generally possible during normal classroom hours, leading to a variety of positive outcomes: the building of new vocabulary, the development of speaking and reading skills, the opportunity to create an online community during a time of social isolation, and a chance to explore some of the significant themes the story contains, in an accessible way.
The Tetragnatha kauaiensis Genome Sheds Light on the Origins of Genomic Novelty in Spiders
Authors: Cerca José , Armstrong Ellie E , Vizueta Joel , Fernández Rosa , Dimitrov Dimitar , Petersen Bent , Prost Stefan , Rozas Julio , Petrov Dmitri , Gillespie Rosemary G
Published: November 2021

Spiders (Araneae) have a diverse spectrum of morphologies, behaviors, and physiologies. Attempts to understand the genomic-basis of this diversity are often hindered by their large, heterozygous, and AT-rich genomes with high repeat content resulting in highly fragmented, poor-quality assemblies. As a result, the key attributes of spider genomes, including gene family evolution, repeat content, and gene function, remain poorly understood. Here, we used Illumina and Dovetail Chicago technologies to sequence the genome of the long-jawed spider Tetragnatha kauaiensis, producing an assembly distributed along 3,925 scaffolds with an N50 of ∼2 Mb. Using comparative genomics tools, we explore genome evolution across available spider assemblies. Our findings suggest that the previously reported and vast genome size variation in spiders is linked to the different representation and number of transposable elements. Using statistical tools to uncover gene-family level evolution, we find expansions associated with the sensory perception of taste, immunity, and metabolism. In addition, we report strikingly different histories of chemosensory, venom, and silk gene families, with the first two evolving much earlier, affected by the ancestral whole genome duplication in Arachnopulmonata (∼450 Ma) and exhibiting higher numbers. Together, our findings reveal that spider genomes are highly variable and that genomic novelty may have been driven by the burst of an ancient whole genome duplication, followed by gene family and transposable element expansion.
Within-site variability in earthquake site response
Authors: Zhu Chuanbin , Cotton Fabrice , Kwak Dong-Youp , Ji Kun , Kawase Hiroshi , Pilz Marco
Published: November 2021

The within-site variability in site response is the randomness in site response at a given site from different earthquakes and is treated as aleatory variability in current seismic hazard/risk analyses. In this study, we investigate the single-station variability in linear site response at K-NET and KiK-net stations in Japan using a large number of earthquake recordings. We found that the standard deviation of the horizontal-to-vertical Fourier spectral ratio at individual sites, that is single-station horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) sigma σHV,s, approximates the within-site variability in site response quantified using surface-to-borehole spectral ratios (for oscillator frequencies higher than the site fundamental frequency) or empirical ground-motion models. Based on this finding, we then utilize the single-station HVSR sigma as a convenient tool to study the site-response variability at 697 KiK-net and 1169 K-NET sites. Our results show that at certain frequencies, stiff, rough and shallow sites, as well as small and local events tend to have a higher σHV,s. However, when being averaged over different sites, the single-station HVSR sigma, that is σHV, increases gradually with decreasing frequency. In the frequency range of 0.25–25 Hz, σHV is centred at 0.23–0.43 in ln scales (a linear scale factor of 1.26–1.54) with one standard deviation of less than 0.1. σHV is quite stable across different tectonic regions, and we present a constant, as well as earthquake magnitude- and distance-dependent σHV models.
Does surgical margin affect recurrence and survival after sublobar pulmonary resection for lung cancer?
Authors: Liu Weijing , Lai Hongjin , Wang Zihuai , Liu Lunxu
Published: November 2021

A best evidence topic in thoracic surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was: How does surgical margin distance affect recurrence and survival after sublobar pulmonary resection for lung cancer? Altogether, 172 papers were found using the search strategy, of which 12 studies with 1946 stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients using sublobar resection (wedge resection or segmentectomy) represented to be the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers were tabulated. Overall, 11 cohort studies and 1 prospective study were included. Four cohort studies demonstrated positive prognostic significance of surgical margin with specific cut-off points in each paper (ranged from 9 to 15 mm). Two retrospective studies and 1 prospective study found that a margin-to-tumour ratio of ≥1 was associated with better cytology and prognosis results. Other 5 studies showed that larger margin distance provided a favourable prognosis for NSCLC patients with poor-prognostic factors, including solid-dominant type, high invasive component size and Spread through Air Spaces-positive subtype. After reviewing all the included articles, we conclude that the standard of margin distance of >10 mm or margin-to-tumour ratio  ≥ 1 should be recommended for stage I NSCLC patients undergoing sublobar resection, especially in wedge resection. Patients with poor-prognostic factors like solid-predominant tumour or non-lepidic adenocarcinoma may benefit from larger margin distance and the proper margin distance for them still needs to be determined. For Spread through Air Spaces-positive patients, sublobar resection may not be the alternative to lobectomy.
Input-to-state stabilization of coupled parabolic PDEs subject to external disturbances
Authors: Wang Jun-Min , Zhang Han-Wen , Yu Xiu-Fang
Published: November 2021

In this paper, we are concerned with the input-to-state stabilization of coupled parabolic partial differential equations, which is suffering the disturbances in all channels. By using the sliding mode control integrated with the backstepping approach, we design two boundary feedback controllers to reject the matched boundary disturbances, stabilize the whole coupled system in the absence of unmatched disturbances and achieve the input-to-state stability property of the closed-loop system with respect to the unmatched disturbances. We show the existence of the generalized solutions of the closed-loop system in the Hilbert energy space. Some numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controllers.
A line search penalty-free SQP method for equality-constrained optimization without Maratos effect
Authors: Chen Zhongwen , Dai Yu-Hong , Zhang Tauyou
Published: November 2021

A line search penalty-free sequential quadratic programming method is proposed for nonlinear equality-constrained optimization. Generally, feasible directions are used to minimize the measurement of the constraint violation in order to deal with the inconsistency in the linearized constraints while optimal directions aim to improve the measure of optimality. A basic feature of the proposed method is that a line search direction that is some convex combination of a feasible direction and an optimal direction is utilized at each iteration, making either the value of the Lagrangian function or the measure of constraint violation sufficiently reduced. Global convergence of the method is analyzed without the feasibility restoration phase. Under the usual assumptions the method is shown to be superlinearly convergent locally without the second-order correction and hence the Maratos effect can be avoided. Numerical experiments on several examples illustrate the local behavior of the method.
A case of concurrent occurrence of carcinoma showing thymus-like differentiation and follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer in the same thyroid
Authors: Kimura Takahito , Enomoto Keisuke , Kono Masamitsu , Hiraoka Masanobu , Takeda Saori , Kumashiro Naoko , Hirayama Shun , Kimura Eri , Tamagawa Shunji , Ohtani Makiko , Murata Shin-Ichi , Hotomi Muneki
Published: November 2021

Carcinoma showing thymus-like differentiation (CASTLE) is a rare thyroid cancer. This is the first report of a case of concurrent occurrence of CASTLE with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

A 66-year-old male patient had hoarseness with right vocal cord paralysis. Ultrasonography revealed a hypoechoic nodule in the inferior pole of the right thyroid lobe. Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology suggested differentiated thyroid cancer. The patient underwent total thyroidectomy with neck dissection. Pathological examination revealed two different thyroid cancers: a CASTLE and a follicular variant of PTC. Postoperative radiation therapy was performed. The patient was still alive after 5 year following the initial treatment without evidence of recurrence. The oncological management of patients with concurrent occurrence of different thyroid cancers should consider the biological behavior of both tumors.
A new model for including galactic winds in simulations of galaxy formation II: Implementation of PhEW in cosmological simulations
Authors: Huang Shuiyao , Katz Neal , Cottle J’Neil , Scannapieco Evan , Davé Romeel , Weinberg David H
Published: November 2021

Although galactic winds play a critical role in regulating galaxy formation, hydrodynamic cosmological simulations do not resolve the scales that govern the interaction between winds and the ambient circumgalactic medium (CGM). We implement the Physically Evolved Wind (PhEW) model of Huang et al. in the gizmo hydrodynamics code and perform test cosmological simulations with different choices of model parameters and numerical resolution. PhEW adopts an explicit subgrid model that treats each wind particle as a collection of clouds that exchange mass and metals with their surroundings and evaporate by conduction and hydrodynamic instabilities as calibrated on much higher resolution cloud scale simulations. In contrast to a conventional wind algorithm, we find that PhEW results are robust to numerical resolution and implementation details because the small scale interactions are defined by the model itself. Compared to our previous wind simulations with the same resolution, our PhEW simulations are in better agreement with low-redshift galactic stellar mass functions at M* < 1011M⊙ because PhEW particles shed mass to the CGM before escaping low mass haloes. PhEW radically alters the CGM metal distribution because PhEW particles disperse metals to the ambient medium as their clouds dissipate, producing a CGM metallicity distribution that is skewed but unimodal and is similar between cold and hot gas. While the temperature distributions and radial profiles of gaseous haloes are similar in simulations with PhEW and conventional winds, these changes in metal distribution will affect their predicted UV/X-ray properties in absorption and emission.
A novel black hole mass scaling relation based on coronal gas, and its dependence with the accretion disc
Authors: Prieto Almudena , Rodríguez-Ardila Alberto , Panda Swayamtrupta , Marinello Murilo
Published: November 2021

Using bona-fide black hole (BH) mass estimates from reverberation mapping and the line ratio [Si vi] 1.963$\rm{\mu m}$/Brγbroad as tracer of the AGN ionizing continuum, a novel BH-mass scaling relation of the form log(MBH) = (6.40 ± 0.17) − (1.99 ± 0.37) × log ([Si vi]/Brγbroad), dispersion 0.47 dex, over the BH mass interval, 106–108 M⊙ is found. Following on the geometrically thin accretion disc approximation and after surveying a basic parameter space for coronal lines production, we believe one of main drivers of the relation is the effective temperature of the disc, which is effectively sampled by the [Si vi] 1.963$\rm{\mu m}$ coronal line for the range of BH masses considered. By means of cloudy photoionization models, the observed anticorrelation appears to be formally in line with the thin disc prediction Tdisc ∝ MBH−1/4.
The effect of inhomogeneous reionization on the Lyman α forest power spectrum at redshift z > 4: implications for thermal parameter recovery
Authors: Molaro Margherita , Iršič Vid , Bolton James S , Keating Laura C , Puchwein Ewald , Gaikwad Prakash , Haehnelt Martin G , Kulkarni Girish , Viel Matteo
Published: November 2021

We use the Sherwood–Relics suite of hybrid hydrodynamical and radiative transfer simulations to model the effect of inhomogeneous reionization on the 1D power spectrum of the Lyman α (Lyα) forest transmitted flux at redshifts 4.2 ≤ z ≤ 5. Relative to models that assume a homogeneous ultraviolet background, reionization suppresses the power spectrum at small scales, k ∼ 0.1 km−1 s, by ∼10 per cent because of spatial variations in the thermal broadening kernel and the divergent peculiar velocity field associated with overpressurized intergalactic gas. On larger scales, $k\lt 0.03\rm \, km^{-1}\, s$, the power spectrum is instead enhanced by 10–50 per cent by large-scale spatial variations in the neutral hydrogen fraction. The effect of inhomogeneous reionization must therefore be accounted for in analyses of forthcoming high precision measurements. We provide a correction for the Lyα forest power spectrum at 4.1 ≤ z ≤ 5.4 that can be easily applied within other parameter inference frameworks using similar reionization models. We perform a Bayesian analysis of mock data to assess the extent of systematic biases that may arise in measurements of the intergalactic medium if ignoring this correction. At the scales probed by current high-resolution Lyα forest data at z > 4, $0.006 \le k \le 0.2 \rm \, km^{-1}\, s$, we find inhomogeneous reionization does not introduce any significant bias in thermal parameter recovery for the current measurement uncertainties of ∼10 per cent. However, for 5 per cent uncertainties, ∼1σ shifts between the estimated and true parameters occur.
Phase spirals in cosmological simulations of Milky Way-sized galaxies
Authors: García-Conde B , Roca-Fàbrega S , Antoja T , Ramos P , Valenzuela O
Published: November 2021

We study the vertical perturbations in the galactic disc of the Milky Way-size high-resolution hydrodynamical cosmological simulation named GARROTXA. We detect phase spirals in the vertical projection Z − VZ of disc’s stellar particles for the first time in this type of simulations. Qualitatively similar structures were detected in the recent Gaia data, and their origin is still under study. In our model, the spiral-like structures in the phase space are present in a wide range of times and locations across the disc. By accounting for an evolving mix of stellar populations, we observe that, as seen in the data, the phase spirals are better observed in the range of younger-intermediate star particles. We measure the intensity of the spiral with a Fourier decomposition and find that these structures appear stronger near satellite pericentres. Current dynamical models of the phase spiral considering a single perturber required a mass at least of the order of 1010 M⊙, but all three of our satellites have masses of the order of ∼108 M⊙. We suggest that there are other mechanisms at play which appear naturally in our model such as the physics of gas, collective effect of multiple perturbers, and a dynamically cold population that is continuously renovated by the star formation. Complementing collisionless isolated N-body models with the use of fully cosmological simulations with enough resolution can provide new insights into the nature/origin of the phase spiral.
A NICER look at thermonuclear X-ray bursts from Aql X-1
Authors: Güver Tolga , Boztepe Tuğba , Ballantyne D R , Bostancı Z Funda , Bult Peter , Jaisawal Gaurava K , Göğüş Ersin , Strohmayer Tod E , Altamirano Diego , Guillot Sebastien , Chakrabarty Deepto
Published: November 2021

We present spectral and temporal properties of all the thermonuclear X-ray bursts observed from Aql X-1 by the Neutron Star Interior and Composition Explorer (NICER) between 2017 July and 2021 April. This is the first systematic investigation of a large sample of type I X-ray bursts from Aql X-1 with improved sensitivity at low energies. We detect 22 X-ray bursts including two short recurrence burst events in which the separation was only 451 s and 496 s. We perform time resolved spectroscopy of the bursts using the fixed and scaled background (fa method) approaches. We show that the use of a scaling factor to the pre-burst emission is the statistically preferred model in about 68 per cent of all the spectra compared to the fixed background approach. Typically the fa values are clustered around 1–3, but can reach up to 11 in a burst where photospheric radius expansion is observed. Such fa values indicate a very significant increase in the pre-burst emission especially at around the peak flux moments of the bursts. We show that the use of the fa factor alters the best-fitting spectral parameters of the burst emission. Finally, we employed a reflection model instead of scaling the pre-burst emission. We show that reflection models also do fit the spectra and improve the goodness of the fits. In all cases, we see that the disc is highly ionized by the burst emission and the fraction of the reprocessed emission to the incident burst flux is typically clustered around 20 per cent.
Functional role and ribosomal position of the unique N-terminal region of DHX29, a factor required for initiation on structured mammalian mRNAs
Authors: Sweeney Trevor R , Dhote Vidya , Guca Ewelina , Hellen Christopher U T , Hashem Yaser , Pestova Tatyana V
Published: November 2021

Translation initiation on structured mammalian mRNAs requires DHX29, a DExH protein that comprises a unique 534-aa-long N-terminal region (NTR) and a common catalytic DExH core. DHX29 binds to 40S subunits and possesses 40S-stimulated NTPase activity essential for its function. In the cryo-EM structure of DHX29-bound 43S preinitiation complexes, the main DHX29 density resides around the tip of helix 16 of 18S rRNA, from which it extends through a linker to the subunit interface forming an intersubunit domain next to the eIF1A binding site. Although a DExH core model can be fitted to the main density, the correlation between the remaining density and the NTR is unknown. Here, we present a model of 40S-bound DHX29, supported by directed hydroxyl radical cleavage data, showing that the intersubunit domain comprises a dsRNA-binding domain (dsRBD, aa 377–448) whereas linker corresponds to the long α-helix (aa 460–512) that follows the dsRBD. We also demonstrate that the N-terminal α-helix and the following UBA-like domain form a four-helix bundle (aa 90–166) that constitutes a previously unassigned section of the main density and resides between DHX29’s C-terminal α-helix and the linker. In vitro reconstitution experiments revealed the critical and specific roles of these NTR elements for DHX29’s function.
Associations Between Nicotine Knowledge and Smoking Cessation Behaviors Among US Adults Who Smoke
Authors: Snell L M , Colby S M , DeAtley T , Cassidy R , Tidey J W
Published: November 2021

Introduction

Misperceptions about nicotine’s contribution to smoking-related health harms could complicate efforts to reduce the public health burden of smoking. Study goals were to describe nicotine knowledge among adults who smoke and investigate whether misperceiving nicotine as a source of health harm was associated with beneficial health behaviors, or lower uptake of using less harmful sources of nicotine to support smoking cessation attempts.

Method

This study used longitudinal data from 9140 adults who participated in four waves of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study and were current smokers during the first wave. Logistic regressions estimated odds ratios for correct responses across six aspects of nicotine knowledge assessed in Wave 4. Longitudinal models estimated associations between misperceptions and cigarette consumption, and odds of making a quit attempt; self-reported cessation; e-cigarette use; and use of NRT or e-cigarettes to support quit attempts.

Results

Participants who were non-White, older, and had lower educational attainment or income tended to be least knowledgeable about nicotine. Misperceiving nicotine as harmful to health was associated with increased odds of quit attempts (AOR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.23), lower odds of cessation success (AOR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.98) and e-cigarette use (AOR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.72, 0.86), and lower odds of using NRT (AOR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.71, 0.99) or e-cigarettes to support quit attempts (AOR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.71).

Conclusion

Harm reduction efforts may be impeded by misperceptions about nicotine. Further work should evaluate the effects of correcting such misperceptions through public education.

Implications

This study provides longitudinal evidence that among adult smokers, misperceiving nicotine as a primary cause of smoking-related diseases may be associated with reduced cessation success and lower likelihood of using less harmful nicotine products. These misperceptions may therefore impede efforts to encourage smokers ready to quit to use evidence-based cessation support such as nicotine replacement during quit attempts and limit the success of policies designed to shift smokers to less harmful sources of nicotine. Further work should evaluate the longitudinal effects of correcting nicotine misperceptions through public education targeted toward adults who smoke.
Forbidden Love in Istanbul: Patterns of Male–Male Sexual Relations in the Early-Modern Mediterranean World
Authors: Malcolm Noel
Published: November 2021

West European visitors to the Ottoman Empire in the early-modern period frequently referred to sodomy. They depicted it as a common practice there, associated particularly with ‘renegades’ (converts to Islam). The report of an investigation into a sexual scandal at the Venetian embassy in Istanbul in 1588, discussed here, shows special sensitivity to this issue. Historians generally discount the comments of visitors to Ottoman territory on this topic, either dismissing them as mere prejudice, or arguing that the practices they observed were equally current throughout western Europe. This article contests both of those assumptions. While prejudice was indeed present, the observations were accurate overall –– as Ottoman sources confirm. The practices were not equally prevalent in western Europe; they were specific to a pan-Mediterranean culture of same-sex relations between adult men and adolescents. But although the practices were essentially the same, there were significant differences between the Ottoman/Muslim Mediterranean societies and those of the Christian western Mediterranean. In the latter, religious and legal norms were more severe, affecting the degree to which such sexual behaviour was public and culturally expressed; in the former, a strong cultural tradition of homoeroticism gave some legitimation to these same-sex relations, and made them more avowable.
Evaluation of SIGLEC1 in the diagnosis of suspected systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Zorn-Pauly Lydia , von Stuckrad Anne Sae Lim , Klotsche Jens , Rose Thomas , Kallinich Tilmann , Enghard Philipp , Ostendorf Lennard , Burns Marie , Doerner Thomas , Meisel Christian , Schneider Udo , Unterwalder Nadine , Burmester Gerd , Hiepe Falk , Alexander Tobias , Biesen Robert
Published: November 2021

Objectives

To evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of SIGLEC1, a surrogate marker of type I IFN, with established biomarkers in an inception cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods

SIGLEC1 was analysed by flow cytometry in 232 patients referred to our institution with suspected SLE between October 2015 and September 2020.

Results

SLE was confirmed in 76 of 232 patients (32.8 %) according to the 2019 EULAR/ACR classification criteria and their SIGLEC1 values were significantly higher compared with patients without SLE (P <0.0001). A sensitivity of 98.7 %, a specificity of 82.1 %, a negative predictive value (NPV) of 99.2 % and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 72.8 % were calculated for SIGLEC1. Adjusted to the highest reported prevalence of SLE, the NPV and PPV were >99.9 % and 0.1 %, respectively. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and DeLong testing, the area under the curve (AUC) for SIGLEC1 (AUC = 0.95) was significantly higher than for ANA (AUC = 0.88, P = 0.031), C3 (AUC = 0.83, P = 0.001) and C4 (AUC = 0.83, P = 0.002) but not for anti-dsDNA antibodies (AUC = 0.90, P = 0.163).

Conclusion

IFN-I pathway activation is detectable in almost all newly diagnosed SLE patients. Thus, a negative test result for SIGLEC1 is powerful to exclude SLE in suspected cases.
Detection and Characterization of Quinone Outside Inhibitor-Resistant Phytophthora cactorum and P. nicotianae Causing Leather Rot in Florida Strawberry
Authors: Marin Marcus V. , Seijo Teresa E. , Zuchelli Elias , Peres Natalia A.
Published: November 2021

Phytophthora cactorum and P. nicotianae cause leather rot (LR) of fruit and Phytophthora crown rot (PhCR) in strawberry. LR occurs sporadically but can cause up to 70% fruit loss when weather is conducive. In Florida’s annual strawberry winter production system, PhCR can be severe, resulting in plant stunting, mortality, and severe yield loss. Azoxystrobin is labeled for control of LR but not for PhCR. The aims of this research were to determine the sensitivity of P. cactorum and P. nicotianae isolates from strawberry to azoxystrobin and to investigate mechanisms of quinone-outside–inhibitor resistance present in P. cactorum and P. nicotianae based on the known point mutations within the cytochrome b (cytb) gene. Isolates of both Phytophthora spp. causing LR and PhCR were collected from multiple strawberry fields in Florida between 1997 and 2020. Isolates were tested for sensitivity to azoxystrobin at 0, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, 10, and 50 μg/ml on potato dextrose agar amended with salicylhydroxamic acid (100 μg/ml). Isolates were separated into two groups − sensitive isolates with the 50% effective concentration (EC50) values <1.0 μg/ml, and resistant isolates having EC50 values >50 μg/ml. P. cactorum and P. nicotianae resistance to azoxystrobin was found for isolates collected after 2010. The first 450 nucleotides of the mitochondrial cytb gene were sequenced from a selection of resistant and sensitive isolates of both species. The G143A mutation reported to confer resistance to azoxystrobin was found in all resistant P. cactorum isolates. However, in P. nicotianae, qualitative resistance was observed, but the isolates lacked all the known mutations in the cytb gene. This is the first report of resistance to azoxystrobin in P. cactorum and P. nicotianae.
Prevalence and Strain Composition of Potato virus Y Circulating in Potato Fields in China’s North-Central Province of Shanxi
Authors: Ding Pengcheng , Chen Dexin , Feng Haixu , Li Jiao , Cao Hui , Tang Muning , Li Juan , Hao Xiaojuan , Han Pengjie , Meng Ze , Karasev Alexander V. , Feng Xue
Published: November 2021

Potato is an important crop in Shanxi province, located in north-central China. In 2019 to 2020, 319 potato leaf samples were collected from eight locations distributed in three major potato production areas in Shanxi. BioChip testing revealed the presence of several potato viruses, of which Potato virus Y (PVY) was the most common, reaching an incidence of 87.8% of all symptomatic samples. Immunocaptured multiplex reverse transcription (RT) PCR was used to identify strains for all 280 PVY-positive samples, unveiling 242 samples infected with a single strain of PVY (86.4%) and 38 (13.6%) with a mixed infection. Of samples with a single-strain infection, PVY-SYR-II accounted for 102 (42.1%), followed by PVYN-Wi (33, 13.6%), PVY-SYR-I (28, 11.6%), 261-4 (22, 9.1%), PVYNTNa (20, 8.3%), PVYNTNb (19, 7.9%), and PVY-SYR-III (18, 7.4%). Seven isolates representing different recombinants were selected for whole genome sequencing. Phylogenetic and recombination analyses confirmed the RT-PCR–based strain typing for all seven strains of PVY found in Shanxi. SXKL-12 is the first SYR-III strain from potato reported from China. However, unlike that in other known SYR-III isolates, the region positioned from 1,764 to 1,902 nt in SXKL-12 shared the highest sequence identity of 82.2% with an uncharacterized PVY isolate, JL-23, from China. Interestingly, PVYN-Wi isolate SXZY-40 also possessed a more divergent sequence for the region positioned from 6,156 to 6,276 nt than other N-Wi isolates known to date, sharing the highest identity of 86.6% with an uncharacterized Chinese PVY isolate, JL-11. Pathogenicity analysis of dominant strains PVY-SYR-II and PVYN-Wi in six local popular potato cultivars revealed that ‘Kexin 13’, ‘Helan 15’, and ‘Jizhangshu 12’ were susceptible to these two strains, with mild mottling or mosaic symptom expression, and three cultivars, ‘Jinshu 16’, ‘Qingshu 9’, and ‘Xisen 6’, were fully resistant.
Treating overactive bladder with percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation
Authors: Shireman Jordan , Gajarawala Shilpa N. , Stanton Amanda , McCrary Melissa
Published: November 2021

Overactive bladder can affect patients at any age; however, it is more common in women over age 40 years. Many treatments are available, including behavioral interventions, antimuscarinics, beta-3 agonists, and botulinum toxin injection. This article describes a patient who was successfully treated with percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation after traditional treatment failed.
Bempedoic acid
Authors: Whitney Kami R.
Published: November 2021

Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) causes atherosclerosis and increases patient risk for cardiovascular mortality. However, patients who cannot tolerate statins present a treatment challenge. Bempedoic acid, an oral once-daily drug that reduces cholesterol synthesis, may help close this treatment gap. A meta-analysis demonstrated that bempedoic acid provides a well-tolerated and effective therapeutic option for lipid lowering in patients with hyperlipidemia, both as monotherapy and in combination with various other lipid-lowering agents. Also, although bempedoic acid acts on the same pathway as statins, it does not cause the muscular adverse reactions associated with statins.
Cost-effectiveness of Multidisciplinary Interventions for Chronic Low Back Pain
Authors: Chowdhury Anonnya R. , Graham Petra L. , Schofield Deborah , Cunich Michelle , Nicholas Michael
Published: November 2021

Objective:

Chronic musculoskeletal pain in adults is a global health and economic problem. The aim of this paper was to systematically review and determine what proportion of multidisciplinary approaches to managing chronic musculoskeletal pain are cost-effective.

Materials and Methods:

The EconLit, Embase, and PubMed electronic databases were searched for randomized and nonrandomized economic evaluation studies of nonpharmaceutical multidisciplinary chronic pain management interventions published from inception through to August 2019.

Results:

Seven studies comprising 2095 patients were included. All studies involved diverse multidisciplinary teams in one or more of the study arms. All studies involved chronic (both chronic and subacute) low back pain and were economic evaluations from either a societal or health care perspective. Two of the 3 studies that reported on a multidisciplinary pain intervention compared with nonmultidisciplinary intervention concluded favorable cost-effectiveness based on cost per quality adjusted life years gained, 1 study was not found to be cost-effective. Cost-effectiveness of the multidisciplinary intervention of interest was also not established by another 3-arm study. Two studies compared 2 multidisciplinary interventions; neither of these could definitively declare cost-effectiveness. The remaining study indicated the intervention by a multidisciplinary team was more effective but at a higher cost. None of the included studies used decision models to estimate long-term health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of multidisciplinary programs.

Discussion:

There are few studies on the cost-effectiveness of multidisciplinary chronic pain management interventions. This study encourages additional rigorous economic evaluations of multidisciplinary models for chronic pain management. Economic evaluations that enable extrapolating costs and effects of multidisciplinary programs beyond the time horizon of clinical trials may be more informative for clinicians and health administrators.
The Starfish Procedure
Authors: Niedermeier Steven , Gaston Raymond Glenn , Loeffler Bryan J.
Published: November 2021

Partial hand amputations are devastating injuries, which can significantly impact ability to work and activities of daily living. Prosthetics can improve function for amputees; however, prosthesis utilization rates have historically been low in this patient population. Prosthetics for partial hand amputees can be active, passive, or driven by myoelectric signals. Myoelectric prosthetics have a role in dramatically improving patient function, but intuitive control of these prosthetics has not been possible. Frustration with ability to control these prosthetics, and an inability to control individual digits contributes to low utilization rates for these patients. The Starfish procedure was developed to provide patients with an intuitive ability to control individual myoelectric digits on a partial hand prosthesis.