bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recent Advances in Breeding Maize for Drought, Heat and Combined Heat and Drought Stress Tolerance in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Badu-Apraku Baffour , Fakorede Morakinyo A.B. , Nelimor Charles , Osuman Alimatu S. , Bonkoungou Tégawendé O. , Muhyideen Oyekunle , Akinwale Richard O.
Published: March 2023

Drought, heat, and combined drought and heat are important abiotic stresses constraining the production and productivity of maize (
Zea mays
L.) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In the face of climate change, these stresses are likely to occur simultaneously and put at risk food and economic security in SSA. This review describes maize breeding activities conducted by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in partnership with national scientists under the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) projects, which together sought to develop and deploy multiple stress tolerant hybrids, and open-pollinated varieties. Emphasis was on (i) developing a reliable methodology for screening maize for tolerance to drought stress (DS), heat stress (HS), and combined drought and heat stress (CDHS) using key secondary traits and grain yield, (ii) use of appropriate breeding techniques for tailoring maize for tolerance to DS, HS and CDHS, (iii) exploring diverse sources of germplasm for genetic enhancement of maize, (iv) extensive multilocational evaluation to identify genotypes with stable performance under the stresses, and (v) application of genomic tools to accelerate genetic gains in maize breeding at IITA. At IITA, the performance of maize hybrids under stresses of DS, HS and CDHS have been improved using conventional breeding techniques/procedures. These techniques/ procedures have led to accelerated genetic gains in yield that were 26–49% higher than the best commercial hybrid checks under CDHS and DS. Additive gene action has been consistently found to be more important than the non-additive among early maize under DS and CDHS while both the additive and non-additive have been reported to be important for the extra-early maize. The most reliable secondary traits for selecting for improved grain yield under the stresses include anthesis-silking interval, ears per plant, and plant and ear aspects. Several early and extra-early landraces have been identified as potential sources of tolerance to DS, HS, and CDHS. Several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with grain yield and key secondary traits have been identified
via
genome-wide association studies in landraces and inbred lines. Those desirable QTLs, upon validation, could be invaluable for genomics-enabled breeding.
Microstructure and mechanical properties of medium manganese steel in intercritical annealing
Authors: Feng Yan , Jing Cainian , Lin Tao , Wu Zhonglin , Li Zhaotong , Zhao Jingrui
Published: March 2023

A new type of cold-rolled medium manganese steel was investigated. The test steel was treated by Q&P process. With the increase in annealing temperature, the grain size gradually increases, the carbides dissolve progressively and the fine lath grains transform into massive or equiaxed grains. Both the volume fraction and the stability of the retained austenite are continuously decreasing, which together affect the change of mechanical properties. At the intercritical annealing temperature of 680°C, the specimens have higher retained austenite content and transformation rate. At the same time, due to the discontinuous TRIP effect caused by the retained austenite stability gradient inside the specimen, it exhibits excellent comprehensive mechanical properties, and the product of strength and elongation is 43.5GPa·%.
Wire-arc additive manufactured Al–Cu alloy: Microstructure, mechanical properties and their anisotropy
Authors: Miao Jiale , Chen Jiqiang , Ren Jieke , Luo Zhi , Fan Zhenglin , Zhou Zixiang , Xing Ting , Guan Renguo
Published: March 2023

The microstructure, mechanical properties and their anisotropies of wire-arc additive manufactured Al–Cu alloy at two different printing speeds were investigated, and post heat treatment is optimised. The results show that the grains are finer and the fraction of primary second phase is lower in the alloy prepared at the faster printing speed. The aging hardening response of the solution-treated sample is significantly faster than that of the direct-aging sample, and the peak hardness is higher. The mechanical properties of the as-deposited and T6-treated alloy both show anisotropy, and the latter one is more significant. The anisotropies are mainly attributed to the high porosity in inter-layer of the samples, and these pores are more significant for the T6-treated samples.
Signatures of Quantum Criticality in the Complex Inverse Temperature Plane
Authors: Liu Yang , Lv Songtai , Yang Yang , Zou Haiyuan
Published: March 2023

Concepts of the complex partition functions and the Fisher zeros provide intrinsic statistical mechanisms for finite temperature and real time dynamical phase transitions. We extend the utility of these complexifications to quantum phase transitions. We exactly identify different Fisher zeros on lines or closed curves and elucidate their correspondence with domain-wall excitations or confined mesons for the one-dimensional transverse field Ising model. The crossover behavior of the Fisher zeros provides a fascinating picture for criticality near the quantum phase transition, where the excitation energy scales are quantitatively determined. We further confirm our results by tensor network calculations and demonstrate a clear signal of deconfined meson excitations from the disruption of the closed zero curves. Our results unambiguously show significant features of Fisher zeros for a quantum phase transition and open up a new route to explore quantum criticality.
Fluorescence image deconvolution microscopy via generative adversarial learning (FluoGAN)
Authors: Cachia Mayeul , Stergiopoulou Vasiliki , Calatroni Luca , Schaub Sebastien , Blanc-Féraud Laure
Published: March 2023

We propose FluoGAN, an unsupervised hybrid approach combining the physical modelling of fluorescence microscopy timelapse acquisitions with a generative adversarial learning procedure for the problem of image deconvolution. Differently from standard approaches combining a least-square data term based on one (long-time exposure) image with sparsity-promoting regularisation terms, FluoGAN relies on a data term being the distributional distance between the fluctuating observed timelapse (short-time exposure images) and the generative model. Such distance is computed by adversarial training of two competing architectures: a physics-inspired generator simulating the fluctuating behaviour as a Poisson process of the observed images combined with blur and undersampling, and a standard convolutional discriminator network. FluoGAN is a fully unsupervised approach requiring only a fluctuating sequence of blurred, undersampled and noisy images of the sample of interest as input. It can be complemented with prior knowledge on the desired solution such as sparsity, non-negativity etc. After having described the main ideas behind FluoGAN, we formulate the corresponding optimisation problem and report several results on simulated and real phantoms used by microscopy engineers to quantitatively assess spatial resolution. The comparison of FluoGAN with state-of-the-art methodologies shows improved resolution, allowing for high-precision reconstructions of fine structures in challenging real Ostreopsis cf Ovata data. The FluoGAN code is available at: https://github.com/cmayeul/FluoGAN.
Quasi-periodic scattering of topological edge states induced by the vacancies in chloridized gallium bismuthide nanoribbons
Authors: Li Hangyu , Li Zhongyao
Published: March 2023

The chloridized gallium bismuthide was predicted to be a two-dimensional topological insulator with large topological band gap. It may be beneficial for achieving the quantum spin Hall effect and its related applications at high temperatures. To better understand the quantum transport in topological nanoribbons, we investigated the effect of vacancy on the quantum transport of topological edge states in the armchair chloridized gallium bismuthide nanoribbons by combining density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green’s function. The results suggest the vacancies at center are more likely to cause the scattering of topological edge states. The average scattering is insensitive to the enlargement of vacancy along the transport direction. More interestingly, the obvious scattering of topological edge states can only be found at some special energies, and these special energies are distributed quasi-periodically. The quasi-periodic scattering may be used as a kind of fingerprint of vacancies. Our studies may be helpful for the application of topological nanoribbons.
Bivariate polynomial for time-dependent dielectric properties of ex-vivo porcine and human liver tissue at frequencies below 100 MHz
Authors: Wang Lei , Li Jianbo , Ji Zhenyu , Dong Xiuzhen , Shi Xuetao
Published: March 2023

Time-dependent dielectric properties of ex vivo tissue are important for biological viability assessment, successful organ transplantation and finding the optimal substitute for the in vivo tissue. However, there are relatively few studies on the time dependence of dielectric properties and especially the mathematical models related to it. This study mathematically describes the time-dependent dielectric properties of excised liver tissues at frequencies below 100 MHz. A bivariate high-order polynomial was used to reflect the mathematical correlation of dielectric properties (relative permittivity

ε

and conductivity

σ

) with frequency and ex vivo time under controlled temperature and humidity. Statistical analysis, cross validation and error analysis were used to assess the fitting performance and prediction ability of the bivariate high-order polynomial fitting model. The results showed that the dielectric properties of excised porcine liver tissues and human liver tissues could be well fitted and predicted by the bivariate high-order polynomial fitting model at frequencies below 100 MHz. Encouragingly, the dielectric properties can be calculated at a given frequency and ex vivo time at controlled temperature and humidity. This presents a new way of obtaining accurate dielectric properties of ex vivo biological tissues in a specific outer environment. It is also possible to extrapolate back the ex vivo time after excision from the body using the dielectric properties.
Non-perturbative analysis for a massless minimal quantum scalar with V(ϕ) = λϕ
4/4! + βϕ
3/3! in the inflationary de Sitter spacetime
Authors: Bhattacharya Sourav , Joshi Nitin
Published: March 2023

We consider a massless, minimally coupled quantum scalar field theory with an asymmetric self interaction, V(ϕ) = λϕ
4/4! + βϕ
3/3! (λ > 0) in the inflationary de Sitter spacetime. The potential is bounded from below. While the β=0 case has been much well studied, the motivation behind taking such a hybrid potential corresponds to the fact that it might generate finite negative vacuum expectation values of V(ϕ) as well of ϕ, leading to some dynamical screening of the inflationary cosmological constant Λ, at late times, with the initial conditions, 〈ϕ〉 = 0 = 〈V(ϕ)〉. In this work we first compute the vacuum expectation values of ϕ, ϕ
2 and V(ϕ), using the late time, non-perturbative and infrared effective stochastic formalism. The backreactions to the inflationary Λ are estimated. We also compute the dynamically generated mass of the scalar field using 〈ϕ
2〉. We next compute 〈ϕ
2〉 using quantum field theory with respect to the initial Bunch-Davies vacuum at one and two loops, using the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism. These results show non-perturbative secular logarithms, growing with the cosmological time. Using next a recently proposed renormalisation group inspired formalism, we attempt to find out a resummed 〈ϕ
2〉. We have been able to resum some part of the same which contains contributions only from the local self energy. The corresponding dynamically generated mass is computed. Comparison of the stochastic and the quantum field theory results shows that they differ numerically, although they have similar qualitative behaviour. Possible reasons for such quantitative mismatch is discussed. The manifestation of strong non-classical effects in the results found via both the formalisms has been emphasised.
In vitro evaluation of the cytotoxic potential of Ficus palmata and its combination with chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy
Authors: Aziz Bushra , Khurshid Ahmat , Ahmat Lubna , Khan Junaid Ahmad , Alam Masroor , Ikram Masroor
Published: March 2023

Ficus palmata (F. palmata) is a medicinally very rich plant that is used as a folk medicine to treat many diseases. This study investigated the anticancer effect of 70% ethanolic leaves extract of F. palmata alone and its combinational study with photosense-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) and doxorubicin hydrochloride (Dox-HCl) on rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cells. The inhibitory dose (IC50) was calculated from dose response analysis of 24 h post exposure of F. palmata (400, 200, 100, 50, 25, 12.5 µg ml−1), Dox-HCl (4, 3, 2, 1 µM), and photosense (80, 40, 20, 10, 5 µM, 10 J cm−2) mediated PDT. These IC50 doses were further used to assess the anticancer effect of F. palmata in combination with photosense-mediated PDT and Dox-HCl. The in vitro findings showed that the 70% ethanolic F. palmata leaves extract has anticancer potential, and has the ability to enhance the anticancer effect in combination with other therapies. Moreover, the neoadjuvent combination of F. palmata with PDT and chemotherapy has a synergistic effect. This study provides evidence that F. palmate leaves extract possesses promising anticancer activity, and more research is needed to isolate the specific bioactive compound for cancer treatment.
Dendritic effects of genetically encoded actin-labeling probes in cultured hippocampal neurons
Authors: Ignácz Attila , Nagy-Herczeg Domonkos , Hausser Angelika , Schlett Katalin
Published: March 2023

This article compares genetically encoded LifeAct and actin chromobody F-actin labeling probes with EGFP-actin for their applicability in cultured neurons, using unbiased image analyses. Specific differences in dendritic arborization, spine motility, and morphology, especially important in structural plasticity studies, are highlighted.
Electric field–guided collective motility initiation of large epidermal cell groups
Authors: Sun Yaohui , Reid Brian , Zhang Yan , Zhu Kan , Ferreira Fernando , Estrada Alejandro , Sun Yuxin , Draper Bruce W. , Yue Haicen , Copos Calina , Lin Francis , Bernadskaya YelenaY. , Zhao Min , Mogilner Alex
Published: March 2023

Large zebrafish keratocyte groups initiate motility in response to a physiological electric field. The groups move towards the cathode, with greatest cell velocity at the group front. Inhibiting PI3K does not affect the cathode-directed group migration, but cells at the group rear have the greatest velocity. Myosin inhibition disrupts group cohesion and directional switching. Our results suggest that individual cells sense the electric field, and mechanical integration enables group movement.
Phylogenomics and morphological evolution of the mega-diverse genus Artemisia (Asteraceae: Anthemideae): implications for its circumscription and infrageneric taxonomy
Authors: Jiao Bohan , Chen Chen , Wei Meng , Niu Guohao , Zheng Jiye , Zhang Guojin , Shen Jiahao , Vitales Daniel , Vallès Joan , Verloove Filip , Erst Andrey S , Soejima Akiko , Mehregan Iraj , Kokubugata Goro , Chung Gyu-Young , Ge Xuejun , Gao Lianming , Yuan Yuan , Joly Cyprien , Jabbour Florian , Wang Wei , Shultz Leila M , Gao Tiangang
Published: March 2023

Background and Aims

Artemisia is a mega-diverse genus consisting of ~400 species. Despite its medicinal importance and ecological significance, a well-resolved phylogeny for global Artemisia, a natural generic delimitation and infrageneric taxonomy remain missing, owing to the obstructions from limited taxon sampling and insufficient information on DNA markers. Its morphological characters, such as capitulum, life form and leaf, show marked variations and are widely used in its infrageneric taxonomy. However, their evolution within Artemisia is poorly understood. Here, we aimed to reconstruct a well-resolved phylogeny for global Artemisia via a phylogenomic approach, to infer the evolutionary patterns of its key morphological characters and to update its circumscription and infrageneric taxonomy.

Methods

We sampled 228 species (258 samples) of Artemisia and its allies from both fresh and herbarium collections, covering all the subgenera and its main geographical areas, and conducted a phylogenomic analysis based on nuclear single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained from genome skimming data. Based on the phylogenetic framework, we inferred the possible evolutionary patterns of six key morphological characters widely used in its previous taxonomy.

Key Results

The genus Kaschgaria was revealed to be nested in Artemisia with strong support. A well-resolved phylogeny of Artemisia consisting of eight highly supported clades was recovered, two of which were identified for the first time. Most of the previously recognized subgenera were not supported as monophyletic. Evolutionary inferences based on the six morphological characters showed that different states of these characters originated independently more than once.

Conclusions

The circumscription of Artemisia is enlarged to include the genus Kaschgaria. The morphological characters traditionally used for the infrageneric taxonomy of Artemisia do not match the new phylogenetic tree. They experienced a more complex evolutionary history than previously thought. We propose a revised infrageneric taxonomy of the newly circumscribed Artemisia, with eight recognized subgenera to accommodate the new results.
The farther, the closer: geographic proximity and niche overlap versus genetic divergence in Caucasian rock lizards
Authors: Tarkhnishvili David , Iankoshvili Giorgi
Published: March 2023

Caucasian rock lizards (Darevskia) are a speciose group with 42 described species from the Caucasus Mountain region. We selected 11 species from Georgia and adjacent territories to explore whether their distribution depends on the distribution of congeneric taxa. We estimated two measures for each species pair: (1) niche overlap between all pairs of the studied species; (2) the extent of contact between the ranges of individual species. We then calculated the correlation between these measurements and the time of divergence between the species. The results showed that in sympatric and parapatric (but not allopatric) species, there is a highly significant correlation between the divergence time and the extent of the contact, as well as between the divergence time and the overlap of suitable habitats. The ranges of the evolutionarily closest species have the smallest extent of contact. Species separated later have overlapping ranges, although are separated by altitude. The most distant species, irrespective of their phenotype, are commonly found in the same location. We suggest that a gradual increase in the contact extent is compensated for by increasing the effectiveness of other mechanisms of niche shift or behavioural isolation and hence the frequency of potentially deleterious interspecific contacts is kept low.
Contingent negative variation to tactile stimuli - differences in anticipatory and preparatory processes between participants with and without blindness
Authors: Breitinger Eva , Dundon Neil M , Pokorny Lena , Wunram Heidrun L , Roessner Veit , Bender Stephan
Published: March 2023

People who are blind demonstrate remarkable abilities within the spared senses and compensatory enhancement of cognitive skills, underscored by substantial plastic reorganization in relevant neural areas. However, little is known about whether people with blindness form top-down models of the world on short timescales more efficiently to guide goal-oriented behavior. This electroencephalography study investigates this hypothesis at the neurophysiological level, focusing on contingent negative variation (CNV) as a marker of anticipatory and preparatory processes prior to expected events. In sum, 20 participants with blindness and 27 sighted participants completed a classic CNV task and a memory CNV task, both containing tactile stimuli to exploit the expertise of the former group. Although the reaction times in the classic CNV task did not differ between groups, participants who are blind reached higher performance rates in the memory task. This superior performance co-occurred with a distinct neurophysiological profile, relative to controls: greater late CNV amplitudes over central areas, suggesting enhanced stimulus expectancy and motor preparation prior to key events. Controls, in contrast, recruited more frontal sites, consistent with inefficient sensory-aligned control. We conclude that in more demanding cognitive contexts exploiting the spared senses, people with blindness efficiently generate task-relevant internal models to facilitate behavior.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 Convalescent Plasma Utilization in the United States: Data From the National Inpatient Sample
Authors: Bloch Evan M , Goel Ruchika , Zhu Xianming , Patel Eshan U , Shoham Shmuel , Sullivan David J , Gebo Kelly A , Casadevall Arturo , Tobian Aaron A R
Published: March 2023

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescent plasma (CCP) use between October and December 2020 was characterized using the National Inpatient Sample database. CCP was administered in 18.0% of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations and was strongly associated with older age and increased disease severity. There were disparities in the receipt of CCP by race and ethnicity, geography, and insurance.
A lectin from Crenomytilus grayanus as a probe for the detection of widespread cancerous and metastatic cells
Authors: Jhou Yan-Fen , Yang Feng-Ling , Liao Kuo-Shiang , Wu Chung-Yi , Lee I-Ming
Published: March 2023

A novel Gal-binding lectin from mussels (Crenomytilus grayanus, CGL) with 6 binding sites in the dimeric structure has been previously shown to have antifungal, anticancer, and antibacterial activities. In this study, a glycan array was used to confirm that CGL recognizes a range of non-reducing end α- or β-linked Gal glycans on normal cells but not sialic acid-capped glycans. This finding suggests that CGL has potential in the tumor detection due to the hyper-sialylation present in cell surface glycans from cancer cells. To evaluate the feasibility of this possibility, we labeled CGL with biotin and then mixed it with streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to create a CGL-biotin-SP complex as a probe for use in enzyme-linked lectin assays. CGL-biotin-SP successfully distinguished not only HeLa cells and de-sialylated HeLa cells that mimic normal cell surface glycans but also lung and breast cancer cells with different metastatic abilities. This work provides the insights into a new Gal-binding lectin by establishing its specificity and also demonstrates practical applications in cancer diagnosis greater than other reported lectins.
Dissecting the effect of soil on plant phenology and berry transcriptional plasticity in two Italian grapevine varieties (Vitis vinifera L.).
Authors: Vannozzi Alessandro , Perin Corrado , Palumbo Fabio , Sandri Marco , Zuccolotto Paola , Zenoni Sara , Farinati Silvia , Barcaccia Gianni , Pindo Massimo , Sonego Paolo , Cestaro Alessandro , Lucchin Margherita
Published: March 2023

Grapevine embodies a fascinating species as regards phenotypic plasticity and genotype-per-environment interactions. The terroir, namely the set of agri-environmental factors to which a variety is subjected, can influence the phenotype at the physiological, molecular, and biochemical level, representing an important phenomenon connected to the typicality of productions. We investigated the determinants of plasticity by conducting a field-experiment where all terroir variables, except soil, were kept as constant as possible. We isolated the effect of soils collected from different areas, on phenology, physiology, and transcriptional responses of skin and flesh of a red and a white variety of great economic value: Corvina and Glera. Molecular results, together with physio-phenological parameters, suggest a specific effect of soil on grapevine plastic response, highlighting a higher transcriptional plasticity of Glera in respect to Corvina and a marked response of skin compared to flesh. Using a novel statistical approach, we identified clusters of plastic genes subjected to the specific influence of soil. These findings could represent an issue of applicative value, posing the basis for targeted agricultural practices to enhance the desired characteristics for any soil/cultivar combination, to improve vineyards management for a better resource usage and to valorize vineyards uniqueness maximizing the terroir-effect.
Differential N-players game: Nash equilibria and Mather measures
Authors: Mendico Cristian
Published: March 2023

We study Nash equilibria for the deterministic ergodic N-players game. We introduce pure strategies, mixed strategies and Nash equilibria associated with those. We show that a Nash equilibrium in mixed strategies exists and it is a Mather measure for the Lagrangian system defined by the cost functional. In conclusion, we show that the mean field limit of the N-players game is described by the ergodic partial differential equation’s system for a continuum of players.
Two-dimensional complex wavelet transform for linear noise attenuation and image decomposition
Authors: Teng Houhua , Jiao Junru , Shang Xinmin , Wang Yanguang , Zhao Shengtian , Yan Grace (Yan) , Yang Bin , Zhu Xianhuai
Published: March 2023

For developing a high-fidelity, high-resolution seismic denoising method, we use the two-dimensional complex wavelet transform (2D CWT) to analyze noise and signals. By investigating a surface wave's features and evaluating factors affecting the fidelity of the method, the best practice for the wavelet transform-based denoising has been established. First, static and normal moveout correction are applied on shot gathers. Then, 2D CWT is used to attenuate linear noises. The results demonstrate that the proposed method and practice significantly attenuate noises and preserve the signal's amplitudes and frequency band. In addition to denoising, we also apply the 2D CWT to decompose a seismic image into multiscale images with different resolutions. Multiscale decomposed images derive more detailed information for subsurface structures and fault networks. The decomposed images depict sharper structures and reveal detailed features of faults more significantly than the original images.
Diagnosing and treating epiploic appendagitis: a review of two cases
Authors: Idrissi Mehdi B , Akammar Amal
Published: March 2023

Epiploic appendagitis (EA) is a rare condition caused by the infarction of the epiploic appendages, small outpouches of adipose tissue found on the outer surface of the bowel wall. EA results in inflammation and is often mistaken for other gastrointestinal disorders, such as diverticulitis or appendicitis. Diagnosis is primarily made through computed tomography scans, with ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging used less often. Treatment initially involves analgesia with or without anti-inflammatory medication. However, surgery in the form of laparoscopic appendage removal may be required if symptoms persist or worsen. In total, 2 cases of EA are presented, one mimicking appendicitis and the other sigmoid diverticulitis. The purpose of the presentation is to increase awareness of EA as a cause of abdominal pain and to avoid unnecessary surgery.
Unexpected finding of arc of Buhler with celiac artery stenosis during workup for a suspected pancreatic lesion
Authors: Padar Maria , Rieseberg Amie , Ratnayake Sujith
Published: March 2023

Knowledge about normal and pathological anatomical variants is a key point for all surgeons to perform safe procedures and manage unexpected findings. One example of this is vascular anomalies involving the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries (CA and SMA) and their anastomoses. During a routine workup of a suspected calcified pancreatic lesion, an asymptomatic arc of Buhler was found, connecting the CA and SMA, with 90% stenosis of the celiac trunk. This embryological variant, despite being a rare occurrence, has significance in various surgical procedures, including pancreatoduodenectomy, liver transplantation and interventional radiological procedures, such as gastroduodenal artery ligation and embolisation.
Constraining the shape of dark matter haloes with globular clusters and diffuse stellar light in the E-MOSAICS simulations
Authors: Reina-Campos Marta , Trujillo-Gomez Sebastian , Pfeffer Joel L , Sills Alison , Deason Alis J , Crain Robert A , Kruijssen J M Diederik
Published: March 2023

We explore how diffuse stellar light and globular clusters (GCs) can be used to trace the matter distribution of their host halo using an observational methodology. For this, we use 117 simulated dark matter (DM) haloes from the $(34.4~\rm cMpc)^3$ periodic volume of the E-MOSAICS project. For each halo, we compare the stellar surface brightness and GC projected number density maps to the surface density of DM. We find that the dominant structures identified in the stellar light and GCs correspond closely with those from the DM. Our method is unaffected by the presence of satellites and its precision improves with fainter GC samples. We recover tight relations between the dimensionless profiles of stellar-to-DM surface density and GC-to-DM surface density, suggesting that the profile of DM can be accurately recovered from the stars and GCs (σ ≤ 0.5 dex). We quantify the projected morphology of DM, stars, and GCs and find that the stars and GCs are more flattened than the DM. Additionally, the semimajor axes of the distribution of stars and GCs are typically misaligned by ∼10 degrees from that of DM. We demonstrate that deep imaging of diffuse stellar light and GCs can place constraints on the shape, profile, and orientation of their host halo. These results extend down to haloes with central galaxies M⋆ ≥ 1010 M⊙, and the analysis will be applicable to future data from the Euclid, Roman, and the Rubin observatories
Classifying a frequently repeating fast radio burst, FRB 20201124A, with unsupervised machine learning
Authors: Chen Bo Han , Hashimoto Tetsuya , Goto Tomotsugu , Raquel Bjorn Jasper R , Uno Yuri , Kim Seong Jin , Hsiao Tiger Y-Y , Ho Simon C-C
Published: March 2023

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are astronomical transients with millisecond time-scales. Although most of the FRBs are not observed to repeat, a few of them are detected to repeat more than hundreds of times. There exist a large variety of physical properties among these bursts, suggesting heterogeneous mechanisms of FRBs. In this paper, we conduct a categorization on the extremely frequently repeating FRB 20201124A with the assistance of machine learning, as such techniques have the potential to use subtle differences and correlations that humans are unaware of to better classify bursts. The research is carried out by applying the unsupervised Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (umap) model on the FRB 20201124A data provided by Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope. The algorithm eventually categorizes the bursts into three clusters. In addition to the two categories in previous work based on waiting time, a new way for categorization has been found. The three clusters are either high energy, high frequency, or low frequency, reflecting the distribution of FRB energy and frequency. Importantly, a similar machine learning result is found in another frequently repeating FRB 20121102A, implying a common mechanism among this kind of FRB. This work is one of the first steps towards the systematical categorization of the extremely frequently repeating FRBs.
The sub-critical illusion: synthetic Zeeman effect observations from galactic zoom-in simulations
Authors: Hu Zipeng , Wibking Benjamin D , Krumholz Mark R
Published: March 2023

Mass-to-flux ratios measured via the Zeeman effect suggest the existence of a transition from a magnetically sub-critical state in H i clouds to a supercritical state in molecular clouds. However, due to projection, chemical, and excitation effects, Zeeman measurements are subject to a number of biases, and may not reflect the true relations between gravitational and magnetic energies. In this paper, we carry out simulations of the formation of magnetized molecular clouds, zooming in from an entire galaxy to sub-pc scales, which we post-process to produce synthetic H i and OH Zeeman measurements. The mass-to-flux ratios we recover from the simulated observations show a transition in magnetic criticality that closely matches observations, but we find that the gravitational-magnetic energy ratios on corresponding scales are mostly supercritical, even in the H i regime. We conclude that H i clouds in the process of assembling to form molecular clouds are already supercritical even before H2 forms, and that the apparent transition from sub- to supercriticality between H i and H2 is primarily an illusion created by chemical and excitation biases affecting the Zeeman measurements.
f(R) gravity in the Jordan frame as a paradigm for the Hubble tension
Authors: Schiavone Tiziano , Montani Giovanni , Bombacigno Flavio
Published: March 2023

We analyse the f(R) gravity in the so-called Jordan frame, as implemented to the isotropic Universe dynamics. The goal of the present study is to show that according to recent data analyses of the supernovae Ia Pantheon sample, it is possible to account for an effective redshift dependence of the Hubble constant. This is achieved via the dynamics of a non-minimally coupled scalar field, as it emerges in the f(R) gravity. We face the question both from an analytical and purely numerical point of view, following the same technical paradigm. We arrive to establish that the expected decay of the Hubble constant with the redshift z is ensured by a form of the scalar field potential, which remains essentially constant for z ≲ 0.3, independently if this request is made a priori, as in the analytical approach, or obtained a posteriori, when the numerical procedure is addressed. Thus, we demonstrate that an f(R) dark energy model is able to account for an apparent variation of the Hubble constant due to the rescaling of the Einstein constant by the f(R) scalar mode.
RNA origami scaffolds facilitate cryo-EM characterization of a Broccoli–Pepper aptamer FRET pair
Authors: Sampedro Vallina Néstor , McRae Ewan K S , Hansen Bente Kring , Boussebayle Adrien , Andersen Ebbe Sloth
Published: March 2023

Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a promising method for characterizing the structure of larger RNA structures and complexes. However, the structure of individual aptamers is difficult to solve by cryo-EM due to their low molecular weight and a high signal-to-noise ratio. By placing RNA aptamers on larger RNA scaffolds, the contrast for cryo-EM can be increased to allow the determination of the tertiary structure of the aptamer. Here we use the RNA origami method to scaffold two fluorescent aptamers (Broccoli and Pepper) in close proximity and show that their cognate fluorophores serve as donor and acceptor for FRET. Next, we use cryo-EM to characterize the structure of the RNA origami with the two aptamers to a resolution of 4.4 Å. By characterizing the aptamers with and without ligand, we identify two distinct modes of ligand binding, which are further supported by selective chemical probing. 3D variability analysis of the cryo-EM data show that the relative position between the two bound fluorophores on the origami fluctuate by only 3.5 Å. Our results demonstrate a general approach for using RNA origami scaffolds for characterizing small RNA motifs by cryo-EM and for positioning functional RNA motifs with high spatial precision.
Implementation, Maintenance, and Outcomes of an Electronic Referral to a Tobacco Quitline Across Five Health Systems
Authors: Tong Elisa K , Zhu Shu-Hong , Anderson Christopher M , Avdalovic Mark V , Amin Alpesh N , Diamant Allison L , Fong Timothy W , Clay Brian , El-Kareh Robert , Sankaran Sujatha , Bonniot Catherine , Kirby Carrie A , Mayoral Antonio , Sarna Linda
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Electronic referral (e-referral) to quitlines helps connect tobacco-using patients to free, evidence-based cessation counseling. Little has been published about the real-world implementation of e-referrals across U.S. health systems, their maintenance over time, and the outcomes of e-referred patients.

Aims and Methods

Beginning in 2014, the University of California (UC)-wide project called UC Quits scaled up quitline e-referrals and related modifications to clinical workflows from one to five UC health systems. Implementation strategies were used to increase site readiness. Maintenance was supported through ongoing monitoring and quality improvement programs. Data on e-referred patients (n = 20 709) and quitline callers (n = 197 377) were collected from April 2014 to March 2021. Analyses of referral trends and cessation outcomes were conducted in 2021–2022.

Results

Of 20 709 patients referred, the quitline contacted 47.1%, 20.6% completed intake, 15.2% requested counseling, and 10.9% received it. In the 1.5-year implementation phase, 1813 patients were referred. In the 5.5-year maintenance phase, volume was sustained, with 3436 referrals annually on average. Among referred patients completing intake (n = 4264), 46.2% were nonwhite, 58.8% had Medicaid, 58.7% had a chronic disease, and 48.8% had a behavioral health condition. In a sample randomly selected for follow-up, e-referred patients were as likely as general quitline callers to attempt quitting (68.5% vs. 71.4%; p = .23), quit for 30 days (28.3% vs. 26.9%; p = .52), and quit for 6 months (13.6% vs. 13.9%; p = .88).

Conclusions

With a whole-systems approach, quitline e-referrals can be established and sustained across inpatient and outpatient settings with diverse patient populations. Cessation outcomes were similar to those of general quitline callers.

Implications

This study supports the broad implementation of tobacco quitline e-referrals in health care. To the best of our knowledge, no other paper has described the implementation of e-referrals across multiple U.S. health systems or how they were sustained over time. Modifying electronic health records systems and clinical workflows to enable and encourage e-referrals, if implemented and maintained appropriately, can be expected to improve patient care, make it easier for clinicians to support patients in quitting, increase the proportion of patients using evidence-based treatment, provide data to assess progress on quality goals, and help meet reporting requirements for tobacco screening and prevention.
Modified National Early Warning Score (MNEWS) in predicting the mortality of intensive care unit patients
Authors: Wang Shengyu , Tian Yao , Yao Yang , Zhou Jing , Chen Hui , Diao Xin
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study aims to develop an accurate and simplified scoring system based on the national early warning score (NEWS) to predict the mortality of intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Methods

The information of patients was retrieved from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-III and -IV databases. The Modified National Early Warning Score (MNEWS) of the patients was calculated. The discrimination ability of the MNEWS, acute physiology and chronic health scoring system II (APACHE II), and original NEWS systems in predicting patients’ mortality was evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) analysis. The DeLong test was used to estimate the receiver operating characteristic curve. The Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was then applied to evaluate the calibration of the MNEWS.

Results

In total, 7275 ICU patients from the MIMIC-III and -IV databases were included in the derivation cohort and 1507 ICU patients from Xi’an Medical University were included in the validation cohort. In the derivation cohort, the nonsurvivors had significantly higher MNEWSs than the survivors (12.5 ± 3.4 vs 8.8 ± 3.4, P < 0.05). MNEWS and APACHE II both had a better performance than the NEWS in predicting hospital mortality and 90-day mortality. The optimal cutoff of MNEWS was 11. Patients with an MNEWS ≥ 11 had significantly shorter survival than those having an MNEWS of <11. Furthermore, MNEWS had a high calibration ability in predicting hospital mortality of ICU patients (χ2 = 6.534 and P = 0.588) by the Hosmer–Lemeshow test. This finding was confirmed in the validation cohort.

Conclusion

MNEWS is a simple and accurate scoring system for evaluating the severity and predicting the outcomes of ICU patients.
Improving access to SLE therapies in low and middle-income countries
Authors: Mendoza-Pinto Claudia , Etchegaray-Morales Ivet , Ugarte-Gil Manuel F
Published: March 2023

SLE increases disease burden in those affected with it, and that is particularly the case in low- and middle-income countries. The 2019 Addressing Lupus Pillar of Health Advancement project is a multiphase initiative whose objective is to recognize, hierarchize and establish approaches for diligent SLE research, care and access to healthcare. Lack of access to high-cost medications that have been shown to be efficacious in the short term and that potentially reduce damage in SLE is a complex issue. In this review, we highlight opportunities and plans of action to diminish costs and improve access to therapies, which should be recognized and executed, preferably within regional strategies with multiple stakeholders (including supranational organizations, governments, the pharmaceutical industry, medical societies and the general population) connected with and grounded in structured and clear cost-effectiveness analysis.
Using Our Voice
Authors: Sauda Valerie C. , Bisher Priscilla , Nason Mark
Published: March 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic affected clinical placements for nursing students throughout the United States, especially in rural areas. Public service announcements were created through a collaborative service-learning project between the school of nursing and the university radio station. Baccalaureate nursing students developed and delivered short public service announcements focused on issues of loneliness, stress, and anxiety and provided information about community resources. The alignment of this meaningful project with course learning outcomes gave students exposure to the social determinants of health as well as best practices in mental health outreach.
Cancer Pain and Frailty: A Scoping Review of How Cancer Pain Is Evaluated and Treated in the Frail and Elderly
Authors: McLarney Mitra , Johnson Taylor , Bajaj Gurtej , Lee David , Zheng Jasmine
Published: March 2023

Background:

Over 50% of individuals with cancer will experience pain at some point from diagnosis to treatment. Many of these individuals are elderly and frail, further complicating their pain management. The purpose of this review is to synthesize what is known about the assessment and management of cancer pain in the frail, elderly individual.

Methods:

A scoping review was undertaken using the methodology outlined by Arksey and O'Malley with reporting as defined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Three databases were searched for articles that met our inclusion criteria and resulted in a total of 2007 articles of which 6 were ultimately included in our review.

Results:

Of the 6 studies included 5 focused on individual related characteristics and 1 study focused on provider factors. These studies found that frail and elderly individuals with cancer are at risk of unmanaged pain and polypharmacy; however, the prevalence remains unclear. Additionally, treatment of cancer pain in this population is impacted by clinicians' backgrounds and comfort levels in pain assessments.

Discussion:

The frail, elderly individual with cancer is at risk for pain. Little is currently known about how to accurately measure and safely treat pain in this population.
Local Anesthesia Versus General Anesthesia in Percutaneous Interlaminar Endoscopic Discectomy
Authors: Han Lei , Yin Jianjian , Jiang Xijia , Nong Luming
Published: March 2023

Objective:

The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the safety and efficacy of local anesthesia (LA) and general anesthesia (GA) in percutaneous interlaminar endoscopic discectomy (PIED).

Materials and Methods:

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, EuropePMC, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane databases, and CNKI databases for all relevant studies. All statistical analysis was performed using Review Manager version 5.3.

Results:

A total of 6 articles with 549 study participants were included, with 282 patients in LA group and 267 patients in GA group. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the LA group had significantly better results in hospital stay time (mean difference [MD], −1.68; 95% CI, −3.35 to −0.01) and hospital costs (MD, −0.57, 95% CI, −1.02 to −0.12) compared with the GA group; whereas Oswestry Disability Index (MD, 0.48; 95% CI, −0.07 to 1.04), Visual Analog Scale Scores (MD, −0.05; 95% CI, −0.24 to 0.13), postoperative transient dysesthesia and weakness (odds ratio [OR], 0.83, 95% CI, 0.40 to 1.69), dura and nerve root injury (OR, 0.21, 95% CI, 0.03 to 1.25), operation time (MD, −3.51; 95% CI, −11.5 to 4.48), and willingness rate to receive the same procedure(OR, 0.12, 95% CI, 0.01 to 1.00) showed no significant differences between the 2 groups.

Discussion:

LA can effectively relieve pain during PIED surgery and ensure the safety of operation without increasing the occurrence of postoperative complications. PIED under LA not only has similar patient satisfaction but also shows obvious advantages in shortening hospital stay and reducing hospital costs compared with GA surgery.
Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Allied Health Clinical Education Programs
Authors: Windfeld-Lund Cristie , Sturt Rodney , Pham Carol , Lannin Natasha A. , Graco Marnie
Published: March 2023

Introduction:

Continuing allied health professional (AHP) clinical education is essential to ensure high-quality patient care; however, the effectiveness of current education programs is unclear. This review aimed to determine whether AHP education programs improve the knowledge of AHPs, change their clinical practice behavior, and/or improve patient-related clinical outcome and to identify important components of these programs.

Methods:

Four electronic databases were searched. Controlled clinical trials investigating the effectiveness of clinical education programs were included. Education programs were diverse, varying in design, delivery mode, and intensity. Only therapy-specific AHPs were included. Effectiveness was determined by differences in group outcomes in the domains of AHP knowledge, AHP clinical practice behavior, and patient-related clinical outcomes.

Results:

Forty-four studies were identified, of which 26 included physiotherapists only. Most control groups were waitlist, passive dissemination of information, or usual care, limiting comparisons between programs. Changes in AHP knowledge was investigated in 20 trials, with 13 showing an improvement. Thirty studies investigated changes in AHP clinical practice behavior, with half demonstrating a difference between groups. Seventeen studies investigated a patient-related clinical outcome, with five finding a difference between groups. Where improvements in outcomes were demonstrated, programs tended to incorporate self-selection and cater to the learner's contextual needs.

Discussion:

AHP knowledge is effectively improved through targeted education programs. To change AHP behavior and patient outcomes, it seems important to incorporate self-selection for the program and consider the learner's individual needs and contexts through mentoring, outreach visits, reflection, and incorporating patient participation in the learning.