bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A van der Waals heterostructure based on nickel telluride and graphene with spontaneous high-frequency photoresponse
Authors: Shen Jiazhong , Xing Huaizhong , Wang Lin , Hu Zhen , Zhang Libo , Wang Xueyan , Chen Zhiqingzi , Yao Chenyu , Jiang Mengjie , Fei Fucong , Chen Gang , Han Li , Song Fengqi , Chen Xiaoshuang
Published: February 2022

Terahertz detectors have potential applications in various fields including security inspection, biomedicine, and noninvasive quality inspection due to their ability to detect terahertz radiation. However, traditional detection materials have reached their bottlenecks due to difficulties in the breakthrough of fundamental principles for terahertz light. In this work, a terahertz detector based on a NiTe2–graphene van der Waals heterostructure has been developed to inhibit the dark current and thermal-agitation noise at room temperature. The hetero-integration of NiTe2 and graphene exhibits enhanced photon-absorption ability and its downconversion into a direct current. The experimental results show that the peak photoresponsivity of our photodetector is 1.31 A W−1 at 0.28 THz, and the corresponding noise equivalent power is 17.56 pW Hz−1/2, which rivals commercially thermal-based photodetectors. Our device has already shown capabilities of large-area imaging, fast speed, and high signal-to-noise ratio, which can be rendered as an important step for exploring topological semimetal optoelectronics.
Who Benefits from Two Way Prayer Meditation? Treatment Effect Moderators in a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Spiritual Intervention for People with Substance use Disorders
Authors: Hai Audrey Hang , Wigmore Bill , Franklin Cynthia , Shorkey Clayton , von Sternberg Kirk , Cole Allan Hugh , DiNitto Diana M.
Published: February 2022

Background: Two Way Prayer Meditation (TWPM) is a spiritual intervention that holds promise for improving the psychospiritual well-being of individuals in recovery from substance use disorders (SUD). This study aimed to identify moderators of TWPM's treatment effects. Moderators tested included gender, race/ethnicity, age, education, religious/spiritual affiliation, and most often used substance. Methods: This study employed a randomized controlled trial design with pretest and posttest. In total, 134 adults in four residential recovery programs participated in the study and were randomly assigned to the TWPM group or the treatment as usual control group. Linear mixed modeling was used to assess the moderating effect of each hypothesized moderator in the form of interaction tests. Sensitivity analyses were conducted by excluding cases with more than a minimum number of missing items. Results: There were no significant moderators for psychological distress, self-esteem, and most of the spiritual well-being outcomes. Both the primary and sensitivity analyses showed education significantly moderated TWPM's effect on overall spirituality self-ranking. Specifically, TWPM's positive effect on overall spirituality self-ranking was greater in the master's degree subgroup than in the less than high school subgroup. Conclusion: TWPM's treatment effects on most outcomes were not found to vary by the tested participant characteristics. The only statistically significant finding suggests clinicians may need to adjust TWPM workshop/teaching content, delivery style, or language used to reach clients with lower levels of education. Future better-powered studies are recommended to continue exploring the potential moderating effects of race/ethnicity, education, spiritual/religious affiliation, and most often used substance.
Structure of the Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) Community in a Tropical Deciduous Forest in Northern Morelos, Mexico
Authors: Martínez-Hernández José Guadalupe , Corona-López Angélica María , Flores-Palacios Alejandro , Toledo-Hernández Víctor Hugo
Published: February 2022

The purpose of this study was to determine the structure of the community and seasonality of the Cerambycidae family in the tropical deciduous forest (TDF) of San Andrés de la Cal, Tepoztlán in Morelos, Mexico. Following a year of systematic collections, and with the addition of data obtained from breeding chambers and sporadic collections, 155 species, 91 genera, 35 tribes, and 4 subfamilies were recorded. Thirty-three of these species, >21% are new records for the state of Morelos. Sample coverage was 97% and, according to the Chao 1 richness estimator, we found 80% of the species present in the study area. Greater species richness, abundance, and diversity were found during the rainy season, which generates a significant difference between seasons. The ordering of faunal similarities between months indicated a marked seasonality in the composition. The data suggest that the diversity of TDF insects is not completely known (i.e., new records were found), but comprises a diverse community, composed of a high proportion (78%) of rare species. Our findings reinforce the need to continue documenting insect diversity in TDF, especially considering that this is among the least protected of the ecosystems, and one that is negatively affected to a greater degree by anthropogenic activities and climate change.
PDMDA: predicting deep-level miRNA–disease associations with graph neural networks and sequence features
Authors: Yan Cheng , Duan Guihua , Li Na , Zhang Lishen , Wu Fang-Xiang , Wang Jianxin
Published: February 2022

Motivation

Many studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in human diseases. Meanwhile, traditional experimental methods for miRNA–disease association identification are extremely costly, time-consuming and challenging. Therefore, many computational methods have been developed to predict potential associations between miRNAs and diseases. However, those methods mainly predict the existence of miRNA–disease associations, and they cannot predict the deep-level miRNA–disease association types.

Results

In this study, we propose a new end-to-end deep learning method (called PDMDA) to predict deep-level miRNA–disease associations with graph neural networks (GNNs) and miRNA sequence features. Based on the sequence and structural features of miRNAs, PDMDA extracts the miRNA feature representations by a fully connected network (FCN). The disease feature representations are extracted from the disease–gene network and gene–gene interaction network by GNN model. Finally, a multilayer with three fully connected layers and a softmax layer is designed to predict the final miRNA–disease association scores based on the concatenated feature representations of miRNAs and diseases. Note that PDMDA does not take the miRNA–disease association matrix as input to compute the Gaussian interaction profile similarity. We conduct three experiments based on six association type samples (including circulations, epigenetics, target, genetics, known association of which their types are unknown and unknown association samples). We conduct fivefold cross-validation validation to assess the prediction performance of PDMDA. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve scores is used as metric. The experiment results show that PDMDA can accurately predict the deep-level miRNA–disease associations.

Availability and implementation

Data and source codes are available at https://github.com/27167199/PDMDA.
NPRL3 loss alters neuronal morphology, mTOR localization, cortical lamination and seizure threshold
Authors: Iffland Philip H , Everett Mariah E , Cobb-Pitstick Katherine M , Bowser Lauren E , Barnes Allan E , Babus Janice K , Romanowski Andrea J , Baybis Marianna , Elziny Soad , Puffenberger Erik G , Gonzaga-Jauregui Claudia , Poulopoulos Alexandros , Carson Vincent J , Crino Peter B
Published: February 2022

Mutations in nitrogen permease regulator-like 3 (NPRL3), a component of the GATOR1 complex within the mTOR pathway, are associated with epilepsy and malformations of cortical development. Little is known about the effects of NPRL3 loss on neuronal mTOR signalling and morphology, or cerebral cortical development and seizure susceptibility.

We report the clinical phenotypic spectrum of a founder NPRL3 pedigree (c.349delG, p.Glu117LysFS; n = 133) among Old Order Mennonites dating to 1727. Next, as a strategy to define the role of NPRL3 in cortical development, CRISPR/Cas9 Nprl3 knockout in Neuro2a cells in vitro and in foetal mouse brain in vivo was used to assess the effects of Nprl3 knockout on mTOR activation, subcellular mTOR localization, nutrient signalling, cell morphology and aggregation, cerebral cortical cytoarchitecture and network integrity. The NPRL3 pedigree exhibited an epilepsy penetrance of 28% and heterogeneous clinical phenotypes with a range of epilepsy semiologies, i.e. focal or generalized onset, brain imaging abnormalities, i.e. polymicrogyria, focal cortical dysplasia or normal imaging, and EEG findings, e.g. focal, multi-focal or generalized spikes, focal or generalized slowing. Whole exome analysis comparing a seizure-free group (n = 37) to those with epilepsy (n = 24) to search for gene modifiers for epilepsy did not identify a unique genetic modifier that explained the variability in seizure penetrance in this cohort. Nprl3 knockout in vitro caused mTOR pathway hyperactivation, cell soma enlargement and the formation of cellular aggregates seen in time-lapse videos that were prevented with the mTOR inhibitors rapamycin or torin1. In Nprl3 knockout cells, mTOR remained localized on the lysosome in a constitutively active conformation, as evidenced by phosphorylation of ribosomal S6 and 4E-BP1 proteins, even under nutrient starvation (amino acid-free) conditions, demonstrating that Nprl3 loss decouples mTOR activation from neuronal metabolic state. To model human malformations of cortical development associated with NPRL3 variants, we created a focal Nprl3 knockout in foetal mouse cortex by in utero electroporation and found altered cortical lamination and white matter heterotopic neurons, effects which were prevented with rapamycin treatment. EEG recordings showed network hyperexcitability and reduced seizure threshold to pentylenetetrazol treatment.

NPRL3 variants are linked to a highly variable clinical phenotype which we propose results from mTOR-dependent effects on cell structure, cortical development and network organization.
Intermittent administration of tacrolimus enhances  anti-tumor immunity in melanoma-bearing mice
Authors: Chen Ting , Zhang Qi , Zhang Nianhai , Liu Bo , Chen Junying , Huang Fei , Lin Jianhua , Lan Ruilong , Xie Xianhe , Wang Zili
Published: February 2022

One key reason for T cell exhaustion is continuous antigen exposure. Early exhausted T cells can reverse exhaustion and differentiate into fully functional memory T cells if removed from persisting antigen stimulation. Therefore, this study viewed T cell exhaustion as an over-activation status induced by chronic antigen stimuli. This study hypothesized that blocking TCR signal intermittently to terminate over-activation signal can defer the developmental process of T cell exhaustion. In this study, melanoma-bearing mice were treated with tacrolimus (FK506) every 5 days. The tumor size and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were analyzed. We found that intermittent administration of tacrolimus significantly inhibited tumor growth, and this effect was mediated by CD8+T cells. Intermittent tacrolimus treatment facilitated the infiltration of CD8+TILs. RNA-seq and quantitative RT-PCR of sorted CD8+TILs showed the expression of Nr4a1 (an exhaustion-related transcription factor) and Ctla4 (a T cell inhibitory receptor) was remarkably downregulated. These results indicated that intermittently blocking TCR signal by tacrolimus can promote anti-tumor immunity and inhibit the tumor growth in melanoma-bearing mice, inhibiting the transcription of several exhaustion-related genes, such as Nr4a1 and Ctla4.
New Insights into Mitochondrial–Nuclear Interactions Revealed through Analysis of Small RNAs
Authors: Pozzi Andrea , Dowling Damian K
Published: February 2022

Mitochondrial sequence variants affect phenotypic function, often through interaction with the nuclear genome. These “mitonuclear” interactions have been linked both to evolutionary processes and human health. The study of these interactions has focused on mechanisms regulating communication between mitochondrial and nuclear proteins; the role of mitochondrial (mt) RNAs has received little attention. Here, we show that small mt-RNAs bind to the nuclear protein Argonaute 2, and that nuclear miRNAs bind to mt-mRNAs. We identify one small mt-RNA that binds to Argonaute 2 in human tissues whose expression and sequence remain unchanged across vertebrates. Although analyses of CLEAR-CLIP sequencing data sets of human and mouse did not reveal consistent interactions between small mt-RNAs and nuclear mRNAs, we found that MT-ND4 and MT-ATP6 mRNAs are bound by different nuclear miRNAs in humans and mice. Our work homes in on previously unknown interactions between nuclear and small mt-RNAs, which may play key roles in intergenomic communication.
Fast rupture of the 2009Mw 6.9 Canal de Ballenas earthquake in the Gulf of California dynamically triggers seismicity in California
Authors: Fan Wenyuan , Okuwaki Ryo , Barbour Andrew J , Huang Yihe , Lin Guoqing , Cochran Elizabeth S
Published: February 2022

In the Gulf of California, Mexico, the relative motion across the North America–Pacific boundary is accommodated by a series of marine transform faults and spreading centres. About 40 M> 6 earthquakes have occurred in the region since 1960. On 2009 August 3, an Mw 6.9 earthquake occurred near Canal de Ballenas in the region. The earthquake was a strike-slip event with a shallow hypocentre that is likely close to the seafloor. In contrast to an adjacent M7 earthquake, this earthquake triggered a ground-motion-based earthquake early warning algorithm being tested in southern California (∼600 km away). This observation suggests that the abnormally large ground motions and dynamic strains observed for this earthquake relate to its rupture properties. To investigate this possibility, we image the rupture process and resolve the slip distribution of the event using a P-wave backprojection approach and a teleseismic, finite-fault inversion method. Results from these two independent analyses indicate a relatively simple, unilateral rupture propagation directed along-strike in the northward direction. However, the average rupture speed is estimated around 4 km s−1, suggesting a possible supershear rupture. The supershear speed is also supported by a Rayleigh wave Mach cone analysis, although uncertainties in local velocity structure preclude a definitive conclusion. The Canal de Ballenas earthquake dynamically triggered seismicity at multiple sites in California, with triggering response characteristics varying from location-to-location. For instance, some of the triggered earthquakes in California occurred up to 24 hr later, suggesting that nonlinear triggering mechanisms likely have modulated their occurrence.
Assessment of causal effects of visceral adipose tissue on risk of cancers: a Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Lu Yao , Tang Haibo , Huang Peiyuan , Wang Jie , Deng Peizhi , Li Yalan , Zheng Jie , Weng Liang
Published: February 2022

Background

Despite the established association between obesity and cancer risk, it remains unclear whether visceral obesity is causally related to cancer risk and whether it is more pro-oncogenic than total body fat.

Methods

We conducted two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to assess the causal effects of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) on six common cancers. For exposure data, 221 genetic variants associated with the predicted volume of VAT in 325 153 Europeans from UK Biobank were used as instrumental variables. Genetic association data of six common cancers (breast, lung, colorectal, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers) were obtained from large-scale consortia with an average of 19 576 cases and 43 272 controls. We performed univariable MR with five MR methods [inverse-variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger regression, weighted median, MR-Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO) and Radial MR] and multivariable MR to estimate the effect of VAT independent of body mass index (BMI). Finally, we performed a series of sensitivity analyses as validation of primary MR results.

Results

Two associations survived the false discovery rate correction for multiple testing (q-value < 0.05): in IVW, the odds ratios (95% CIs) per unit increase in genetically determined VAT were 1.65 (1.03 to 2.62) for pancreatic cancer and 1.47 (1.20 to 1.82) for lung squamous-cell carcinoma, respectively, which showed the same directions and overlapped confidence intervals with MR-Egger regression and weighted median results. There were no outlier variants identified by MR-PRESSO and no evidence supporting the presence of heterogeneity and pleiotropy in sensitivity analyses, although with wider confidence intervals that included the null, multivariable MR results for these two cancers showed the same directions and similar effect sizes as in IVW, which were independent of the effect from BMI. There was no evidence for a causal effect of VAT on the risk of other types of cancer.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that lifelong exposure to elevated volumes of VAT might increase the risk of pancreatic cancer and lung squamous-cell carcinoma, highlighting the importance of revealing the underlying mechanisms for intervention targets.
Pre-trauma predictors of severe psychiatric comorbidity 5 years following traumatic experiences
Authors: Gradus Jaimie L , Rosellini Anthony J , Szentkúti Péter , Horváth-Puhó Erzsébet , Smith Meghan L , Galatzer-Levy Isaac , Lash Timothy L , Galea Sandro , Schnurr Paula P , Sørensen Henrik T
Published: February 2022

Background

A minority of persons who have traumatic experiences go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), leading to interest in who is at risk for psychopathology after these experiences. Complicating this effort is the observation that post-traumatic psychopathology is heterogeneous. The goal of this nested case-control study was to identify pre-trauma predictors of severe post-traumatic psychiatric comorbidity, using data from Danish registries.

Methods

The source population for this study was the population of Denmark from 1994 through 2016. Cases had received three or more psychiatric diagnoses (across all ICD-10 categories) within 5 years of a traumatic experience (n = 20 361); controls were sampled from the parent cohort using risk-set sampling (n = 81 444). Analyses were repeated in samples stratified by pre-trauma psychiatric diagnoses. We used machine learning methods (classification and regression trees and random forest) to determine the important predictors of severe post-trauma psychiatric comorbidity from among hundreds of pre-trauma predictor variables spanning demographic and social variables, psychiatric and somatic diagnoses and filled medication prescriptions.

Results

In the full sample, pre-trauma psychiatric diagnoses (e.g. stress disorders, alcohol-related disorders, personality disorders) were the most important predictors of severe post-trauma psychiatric comorbidity. Among persons with no pre-trauma psychiatric diagnoses, demographic and social variables (e.g. marital status), type of trauma, medications used primarily to treat psychiatric symptomatology, anti-inflammatory medications and gastrointestinal distress were important to prediction. Results among persons with pre-trauma psychiatric diagnoses were consistent with the overall sample.

Conclusions

This study builds on the understanding of pre-trauma factors that predict psychopathology following traumatic experiences, by examining a broad range of predictors of post-trauma psychopathology and comorbidity beyond PTSD.
Cascade relationship between flow field characteristics and smoke emissions in the industrial reheating furnace
Authors: Lipo Yang , Yunpeng Liu , Yingwu Hou , Yongshun Zhang
Published: February 2022

The temperature control process of reheating furnace is time delay and highly nonlinear to result in large temperature difference fluctuation and low temperature accuracy, because the complex flow field characteristics obviously affect the on-line temperature distribution of furnace and slab. Up to date, it is urgent to find out the heat balance cascade law between the key factors. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply study the coupling characteristics of key flow field parameters such as the nozzle injection angle, the air–gas ratio and the preheating temperature on the combustion mechanism and the smoke emission, so as to ensure that the temperature control accuracy and the environmental protection as well as the energy saving requirements are met. Firstly, the dynamic equivalent heat transfer coefficient could be obtained according to the flow field law of air and gas in the furnace. Secondly, according to coupling characteristics of the combustion model, the radiation model and the NOx generation model, the cascade relationship among the key combustion parameters, the temperature accuracy and the smoke emission was deeply analyzed. Finally, based on the actual engineering case, the combustion process optimization was implemented, and the practical problems such as the unstable furnace temperature and the excessive emission of pusher reheating furnace were successfully solved. On the basis of strictly controlling the temperature, the gas consumption and flue gas pollutant emission were significantly reduced via the new methods, which not only matched the downstream production but also satisfied the requirement of environmental protection.
An R2P Commission: A Proposal for Holding States Accountable to Their Responsibility to Protect
Authors: Illingworth Richard
Published: February 2022

In 2005, the United Nations (UN) committed to a “responsibility to protect” (R2P) against four mass-atrocity crimes of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. This was a clear commitment acknowledging that states hold responsibilities to consider the protection needs of domestic, and outside, populations. However, holding actors accountable to their R2P commitments is difficult due to the politicization of the norm and the international institutions for implementing it. The result is that the UN lacks the mechanisms for promoting R2P's successful implementation, meaning R2P breaches are all too common and that there is an urgent need to find ways to hold states accountable to their pledges. Applying transitional cosmopolitanism, which calls for an incremental approach in the pursuit of cosmopolitan solutions to contemporary global challenges, this article examines an entirely new and supplementary mechanism to assist in R2P's implementation. The article calls for the creation of an “R2P Commission.” This is a suggestion for a body composed of independent elected experts to scrutinize state practice across R2P's “three pillars.” It argues that an R2P Commission would provide an effective and feasible supplementary body to enhance R2P's implementation via determinations of where manifest R2P failures have occurred, review of international practice vis-à-vis atrocity prevention and response, and recommendations for altering practice and potential response action.
Population Structure and Genetic Diversity of the Pepper Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Using the COI Barcoding Region
Authors: Fernández D Catalina , VanLaerhoven Sherah L , Rodríguez-Leyva Esteban , Zhang Y Miles , Labbé Roselyne
Published: February 2022

The pepper weevil Anthonomus eugenii Cano (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a pest of economic importance for Capsicum species pepper in North America that attacks the reproductive structures of the plant. The insect is distributed across Mexico, the United States, and the Caribbean, and is occasionally found during the pepper growing season in southern Ontario, Canada. Continuous spread of the insect to new areas is partially the result of global pepper trade. Here, we describe the genetic diversity of the pepper weevil using the mitochondrial COI barcoding region across most of its geographic range. In this study, 44 (H1–H44) highly similar haplotypes were identified, the greatest number of haplotypes and haplotype diversity were observed among specimens from its native Mexico, followed by specimens from the United States. Unlike Mexico, a low haplotype diversity was found among specimens from Canada, the Dominican Republic, Italy, and the Netherlands. Out of these 44 haplotypes, 29 are reported for the first time. Haplotype diversity in the Canadian population suggests either multiple and continuous introductions of the pepper weevil into this area or a single introduction of genetically diverse individuals. We discuss the importance of such population genetic data in tailoring pepper weevil management programs, using Canada as an example.
Epidemiology and Management of Orbital Cellulitis in Children
Authors: Anosike Brenda I , Ganapathy Veena , Nakamura Mari M
Published: February 2022

Background

The epidemiology of orbital cellulitis likely has evolved due to the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the adoption of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination. In the absence of published guidelines, management is highly variable. We characterized epidemiology and management over an 11-year period.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study of children 0 to 21 years of age with orbital cellulitis +/− subperiosteal orbital abscess hospitalized at a large quaternary children’s hospital from January 2008 to June 2018. We reviewed charts for demographic characteristics, clinical features, management, and outcomes. Using multivariable logistic regression, we evaluated predictors of surgical intervention and assessed whether corticosteroid use or antibiotic duration was related to clinical outcomes.

Results

Among 220 patients, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus was the most common organism (26.3%), with MRSA found in only 5.0%. Rates of vancomycin use fluctuated annually from 40.9% to 84.6%. Surgery was performed in 39.5% of the patients. Corticosteroids, used in 70 patients (32.1%), were unrelated to treatment failure (n = 9), defined as persistent signs and symptoms or initial clinical improvement followed by worsening (P = .137). The median antibiotic duration was 17 days (interquartile range 14-26). After controlling for age, gender, proptosis, eye pain with movement, eyelid swelling, neutrophil count, and corticosteroid use, treatment failure was not significantly associated with receipt of ≥ 3 weeks of antibiotic therapy (8/84, 9.5%) compared with > 2 but < 3 weeks (0/51, 0.0%) or ≤ 2 weeks (1/85, 1.2%) (adjusted odds ratio = 5.83 for ≥ 3 vs ≤2 weeks; 95% confidence interval: 0.58, 59.0).

Conclusions

Although MRSA was rare, empiric vancomycin use was high. Treatment failure was uncommon in patients who received ≤ 2 weeks of therapy, suggesting that shorter durations are adequate in some patients.
A case of intestinal obstruction in a 90-year-old patient at a tertiary hospital in Central Saudi Arabia with a rare cause: obturator hernia!
Authors: Sulaihim Zeinah , Alsaadon Lina , Alsuhaibani Roaa Saleh , Alfaleh Hana , Albabtain Ibrahim
Published: February 2022

Obturator hernia is a pelvic floor type of hernia in which abdominal or pelvic contents protrude through the obturator foramen. It is considered rare in patients with signs and symptoms of intestinal obstruction causing a diagnostic challenge for clinicians. This case reports a 91-year-old multiparous female who presented with vague lower abdominal pain associated with obstipation and vomiting. We present a successful laparoscopic repair of obturator hernia in an elderly female.
Opinion diffusion and campaigning on society graphs
Authors: Faliszewski Piotr , Gonen Rica , Koutecký Martin , Talmon Nimrod
Published: February 2022

We study the effects of campaigning, where the society is partitioned into voter clusters and a diffusion process propagates opinions in a network connecting the clusters. Our model can incorporate different campaigning actions, various partitions of the society into clusters and very general diffusion processes. Perhaps surprisingly, we show that computing the cheapest campaign for rigging a given election can usually be done efficiently, even with arbitrarily-many voters. Moreover, we report on computational simulations we have performed to evaluate the quality and efficiency of finding such solutions.
Chemistry and physical properties of the born-again planetary nebula HuBi 1
Authors: Montoro-Molina B , Guerrero M A , Pérez-Díaz B , Toalá J A , Cazzoli S , Miller Bertolami M M , Morisset C
Published: February 2022

The central star of the planetary nebula (PN) HuBi 1 has been recently proposed to have experienced a very late thermal pulse (VLTP), but the dilution of the emission of the recent ejecta by that of the surrounding H-rich old outer shell has so far hindered confirming its suspected H-poor nature. We present here an analysis of the optical properties of the ejecta in the innermost regions of HuBi 1 using MEGARA high-dispersion integral field and OSIRIS intermediate-dispersion long-slit spectroscopic observations obtained with the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio de Canarias. The unprecedented tomographic capability of MEGARA to resolve structures in velocity space allowed us to disentangle for the first time the Hα and Hβ emission of the recent ejecta from that of the outer shell. The recent ejecta is found to have much higher extinction than the outer shell, implying the presence of large amounts of dust. The spatial distribution of the emission from the ejecta and the locus of key line ratios in diagnostic diagrams probe the shock excitation of the inner ejecta in HuBi 1, in stark contrast with the photoionization nature of the H-rich outer shell. The abundances of the recent ejecta have been computed using the mappings v code under a shock scenario. They are found to be consistent with a born-again ejection scenario experienced by the progenitor star, which is thus firmly confirmed as a new ‘born-again’ star.
Jet streams and tracer mixing in the atmospheres of brown dwarfs and isolated young giant planets
Authors: Tan Xianyu
Published: February 2022

Observations of brown dwarfs and relatively isolated young extrasolar giant planets have provided unprecedented details to probe atmospheric dynamics in a new regime. Questions about mechanisms governing the global circulation and its fundamental nature remain to be completely addressed. Previous studies have shown that small-scale randomly varying thermal perturbations resulting from interactions between convection and the overlying stratified layers can drive zonal jet streams, waves, and turbulence. In this work, we improve upon our previous work by using a general circulation model coupled with a two-stream grey radiative transfer scheme to represent more realistic heating and cooling rates. We examine the formation of zonal jets and their time evolution, and vertical mixing of passive tracers including clouds and chemical species. Under relatively weak radiative and frictional dissipation, robust zonal jets with speeds up to a few hundred m s−1 are typical outcomes. The off-equatorial jets tend to be pressure independent, while the equatorial jets exhibit significant vertical wind shear. On the other hand, models with strong dissipation inhibit the jet formation and leave isotropic turbulence in off-equatorial regions. Quasi-periodic oscillations of the equatorial flow with periods ranging from tens of days to months are prevalent at relatively low atmospheric temperatures. Submicron cloud particles can be easily transported to several scale heights above the condensation level, while larger particles form thinner layers. Cloud decks are significantly inhomogeneous near their cloud tops. Chemical tracers with chemical time-scales >105 s can be driven out of equilibrium. The equivalent vertical diffusion coefficients, Kzz, for the global-mean tracer transport are diagnosed from our models and are typically on the order of 1–102 m2 s−1. Finally, we derive an analytic estimation of Kzz for different types of tracers under relevant conditions.
The evolution of ultra-massive carbon–oxygen white dwarfs
Authors: Camisassa María E , Althaus Leandro G , Koester Detlev , Torres Santiago , Pons Pilar Gil , Córsico Alejandro H
Published: February 2022

Ultra-massive white dwarfs ($\rm \mathit{M}_{WD} \gtrsim 1.05\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$) are considered powerful tools to study Type Ia supernovae explosions, merger events, the occurrence of physical processes in the superasymptotic giant branch phase, and the existence of high magnetic fields. Traditionally, ultra-massive white dwarfs are expected to harbour oxygen–neon (ONe) cores. However, new observations and recent theoretical studies suggest that the progenitors of some ultra-massive white dwarfs can avoid carbon burning, leading to the formation of ultra-massive white dwarfs harbouring carbon–oxygen (CO) cores. Here, we present a set of ultra-massive white dwarf evolutionary sequences with CO cores for a wide range of metallicity and masses. We take into account the energy released by latent heat and phase separation during the crystallization process and by 22Ne sedimentation. Realistic chemical profiles resulting from the full computation of progenitor evolution are considered. We compare our CO ultra-massive white dwarf models with ONe models. We conclude that CO ultra-massive white dwarfs evolve significantly slower than their ONe counterparts mainly for three reasons: their larger thermal content, the effect of crystallization, and the effect of 22Ne sedimentation. We also provide colours in several photometric bands on the basis of new model atmospheres. These CO ultra-massive white dwarf models, together with the ONe ultra-massive white dwarf models, provide an appropriate theoretical framework to study the ultra-massive white dwarf population in our Galaxy.
Host Adaptation inLegionellalesIs 1.9 Ga, Coincident with Eukaryogenesis
Authors: Hugoson Eric , Guliaev Andrei , Ammunét Tea , Guy Lionel
Published: February 2022

Bacteria adapting to living in a host cell caused the most salient events in the evolution of eukaryotes, namely the seminal fusion with an archaeon, and the emergence of both mitochondrion and chloroplast. A bacterial clade that may hold the key to understanding these events is the deep-branching gammaproteobacterial order Legionellales—containing among others Coxiella and Legionella—of which all known members grow inside eukaryotic cells. Here, by analyzing 35 novel Legionellales genomes mainly acquired through metagenomics, we show that this group is much more diverse than previously thought, and that key host-adaptation events took place very early in its evolution. Crucial virulence factors like the Type IVB secretion (Dot/Icm) system and two shared effector proteins were gained in the last Legionellales common ancestor (LLCA). Many metabolic gene families were lost in LLCA and its immediate descendants, including functions directly and indirectly related to molybdenum metabolism. On the other hand, genome sizes increased in the ancestors of the Legionella genus. We estimate that LLCA lived approximately 1.89 Ga, probably predating the last eukaryotic common ancestor by approximately 0.4–1.0 Gy. These elements strongly indicate that host adaptation arose only once in Legionellales, and that these bacteria were using advanced molecular machinery to exploit and manipulate host cells early in eukaryogenesis.
CFIm-mediated alternative polyadenylation remodels cellular signaling and miRNA biogenesis
Authors: Ghosh Souvik , Ataman Meric , Bak Maciej , Börsch Anastasiya , Schmidt Alexander , Buczak Katarzyna , Martin Georges , Dimitriades Beatrice , Herrmann Christina J , Kanitz Alexander , Zavolan Mihaela
Published: February 2022

The mammalian cleavage factor I (CFIm) has been implicated in alternative polyadenylation (APA) in a broad range of contexts, from cancers to learning deficits and parasite infections. To determine how the CFIm expression levels are translated into these diverse phenotypes, we carried out a multi-omics analysis of cell lines in which the CFIm25 (NUDT21) or CFIm68 (CPSF6) subunits were either repressed by siRNA-mediated knockdown or over-expressed from stably integrated constructs. We established that >800 genes undergo coherent APA in response to changes in CFIm levels, and they cluster in distinct functional classes related to protein metabolism. The activity of the ERK pathway traces the CFIm concentration, and explains some of the fluctuations in cell growth and metabolism that are observed upon CFIm perturbations. Furthermore, multiple transcripts encoding proteins from the miRNA pathway are targets of CFIm-dependent APA. This leads to an increased biogenesis and repressive activity of miRNAs at the same time as some 3′ UTRs become shorter and presumably less sensitive to miRNA-mediated repression. Our study provides a first systematic assessment of a core set of APA targets that respond coherently to changes in CFIm protein subunit levels (CFIm25/CFIm68). We describe the elicited signaling pathways downstream of CFIm, which improve our understanding of the key role of CFIm in integrating RNA processing with other cellular activities.
Surgical versus endovascular intervention for vascular access thrombosis: a nationwide observational cohort study
Authors: Lundström Ulrika Hahn , Welander Gunilla , Carrero Juan Jesus , Hedin Ulf , Evans Marie
Published: February 2022

Background

There is no consensus whether an arteriovenous (AV) access thrombosis is best treated by surgical or endovascular intervention. We compared the influence of surgical versus endovascular intervention for AV access thrombosis on access survival using real-life data from a national access registry.

Methods

We included patients from the Swedish Renal Access Registry (SRR-Access) with a working AV access undergoing surgical or endovascular intervention for their first thrombosis between 2008 and 2020. The primary outcome was the risk of access abandonment (secondary patency at 30, 60, 90 and 365 days). Secondary outcomes were time to next intervention and 30-day mortality. Access characteristics were obtained from the SRR-Access and patient characteristics were collected from the Swedish Renal Registry. Outcomes were assessed with multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for demographics, clinical and access-related variables.

Results

A total of 904 patients with AV access thrombosis (54% arteriovenous fistula, 35% upper arm access) were included, with a mean age of 62 years, 60% were women, 75% had hypertension and 33% had diabetes. Secondary patency was superior after endovascular intervention versus surgical (85% versus 77% at 30 days and 76% versus 69% at 90 days). The adjusted odds of access abandonment within 90 days and 1 year were higher in the surgical thrombectomy group {odds ratio (OR) 1.44 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05–1.97] and OR 1.25 (0.94–1.66), respectively}. Results were consistent in the long-term analysis. There was no significant difference in time to next intervention or mortality, and results were consistent within subgroups.

Conclusions

Endovascular intervention was associated with a small short- and long-term benefit as compared with open surgery in haemodialysis patients with AV access thrombosis.
Factors associated with sex differences in the risk of kidney stones
Authors: Ferraro Pietro Manuel , Taylor Eric N , Curhan Gary C
Published: February 2022

Background

Men are at higher risk of developing stones compared with women; however, recent data suggest a changing epidemiology, with women being relatively more affected than before.

Methods

To estimate the proportion of excess risk among men, we analysed data from large cohorts (Health Professionals Follow-up Study and Nurses’ Health Study I and II). Kidney stone incidence rates were computed and hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) generated with age-adjusted Cox proportional regression models. Mediation analysis estimated the excess risk for men explained by risk factors, including waist circumference, high blood pressure, diabetes, use of thiazides and dietary intake. The 24-h urine composition was also examined.

Results

The analysis included 268 553 participants, contributing 5 872 249 person-years of follow-up. A total of 10 302 incident stones were confirmed and the overall incidence rate was 271 and 159 per 100 000 person-years for men and women, respectively. The age-adjusted HR was 2.32 (95% CI 2.20, 2.45) and the risk of stones was consistently higher across categories of age (HRs ranging from 2.02 to 2.76) for men compared with women. The risk remained higher among men, but tended to decrease over time (48.1%), while it increased among women. Urine supersaturations for calcium oxalate and uric acid were higher among men, primarily because of higher oxalate (26.3%), uric acid (16.3%), phosphate (23.5%) and lower pH.

Conclusions

The risk of kidney stones is higher among men and this difference is only partly explained by lifestyle risk factors; differences in urine chemistries explain a substantial fraction of the excess risk.
On Crying
Authors: Sanft Tara
Published: February 2022

Is it okay to cry with your patients? This narrative tells a story to help answer this complicated question.
Nitrate transport via NRT2.1 mediates NIN-LIKE PROTEIN-dependent suppression of root nodulation in Lotus japonicus
Authors: Misawa Fumika , Ito Momoyo , Nosaki Shohei , Nishida Hanna , Watanabe Masahiro , Suzuki Takamasa , Miura Kenji , Kawaguchi Masayoshi , Suzaki Takuya
Published: February 2022

Legumes have adaptive mechanisms that regulate nodulation in response to the amount of nitrogen in the soil. In Lotus japonicus, two NODULE INCEPTION (NIN)-LIKE PROTEIN (NLP) transcription factors, LjNLP4 and LjNLP1, play pivotal roles in the negative regulation of nodulation by controlling the expression of symbiotic genes in high nitrate conditions. Despite an improved understanding of the molecular basis for regulating nodulation, how nitrate plays a role in the signaling pathway to negatively regulate this process is largely unknown. Here, we show that nitrate transport via NITRATE TRANSPORTER 2.1 (LjNRT2.1) is a key step in the NLP signaling pathway to control nodulation. A mutation in the LjNRT2.1 gene attenuates the nitrate-induced control of nodulation. LjNLP1 is necessary and sufficient to induce LjNRT2.1 expression, thereby regulating nitrate uptake/transport. Our data suggest that LjNRT2.1-mediated nitrate uptake/transport is required for LjNLP4 nuclear localization and induction/repression of symbiotic genes. We further show that LjNIN, a positive regulator of nodulation, counteracts the LjNLP1-dependent induction of LjNRT2.1 expression, which is linked to a reduction in nitrate uptake. These findings suggest a plant strategy in which nitrogen acquisition switches from obtaining nitrogen from the soil to symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
The nitrate transporter OsNPF7.9 mediates nitrate allocation and the divergent nitrate use efficiency between indica and japonica rice
Authors: Guan Yuan , Liu De-Fen , Qiu Jie , Liu Zhi-Jun , He Ya-Ni , Fang Zi-Jun , Huang Xue-Hui , Gong Ji-Ming
Published: February 2022

Nitrate allocation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) represents an important mechanism for mediating plant environmental adaptation. However, whether this mechanism occurs or has any physiological/agronomic importance in the ammoniphilic plant rice (Oriza sativa L.) remains unknown. Here, we address this question through functional characterization of the Nitrate transporter 1/Peptide transporter Family (NPF) transporter gene OsNPF7.9. Ectopic expression of OsNPF7.9 in Xenopus oocytes revealed that the gene encodes a low-affinity nitrate transporter. Histochemical and in-situ hybridization assays showed that OsNPF7.9 expresses preferentially in xylem parenchyma cells of vasculature tissues. Transient expression assays indicated that OsNPF7.9 localizes to the plasma membrane. Nitrate allocation from roots to shoots was essentially decreased in osnpf7.9 mutants. Biomass, grain yield, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) decreased in the mutant dependent on nitrate availability. Further analysis demonstrated that nitrate allocation mediated by OsNPF7.9 is essential for balancing rice growth and stress tolerance. Moreover, our research identified an indica–japonica divergent single-nucleotide polymorphism occurring in the coding region of OsNPF7.9, which correlates with enhanced nitrate allocation to shoots of indica rice, revealing that divergent nitrate allocation might represent an important component contributing to the divergent NUE between indica and japonica subspecies and was likely selected as a favorable trait during rice breeding.
Child-centred Matriarch or Mother Among Other Things? Race and the Construction of Working-class Motherhood in Late Twentieth-century Britain
Authors: White Jessica
Published: February 2022

This article examines and centres the activism and experiences of Black mothers to demonstrate the primacy of race in the construction working-class motherhood in late twentieth-century Britain. While recent scholarship has demonstrated the way in which working-class mothers could be vectors of social change in post-war Britain, it has obscured the experience of Black mothers. This study addresses the ethnic bias in the historiography of motherhood by drawing on the personal testimony of Black mothers, as well as the campaign literature generated by grassroots organizations in Britain’s inner cities. It corroborates recent scholarship by demonstrating that by participating in tenant’s’ associations, playgroups, and mothers’ groups, working-class mothers developed a mode of motherhood that worked around their own practical needs and demands. However, it argues that these opportunities for assertiveness were refracted through the lived experience of both systemic and interpersonal racism that Black women faced in post-imperial and post-industrial Britain. Moreover, by examining the community efforts taken by Black women in inner-city areas, the study also contributes to recent studies on race, class, and community activism in urban Britain. It demonstrates that the intersecting experiences of race and class could combine to produce forms of community activism among mothers, particularly in the form of tenants’ associations. However, racism continued to persist in inner city neighbourhoods, which isolated Black mothers from mother-centred community groups. Examining motherhood at the granular level, this article demonstrates the importance of viewing the British working-class from the perspective of not only gender, but also race.