bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Theory of mind during pregnancy and postpartum: A systematic review
Authors: van 't Hof Sophie R. , Straathof Milou , Spalek Klara , Hoekzema Elseline
Published: March 2023

Pregnancy is associated with prominent structural changes in brain areas involved in Theory of Mind (ToM), pointing to the possibility of modifications in ToM‐related behavior and brain responses in parents. We performed a systematic review screening for studies that examined ToM in pregnant and/or early postpartum parents. The evaluation of the included 12 studies allowed us to construct an overview of ToM changes during pregnancy and postpartum as well as other associated factors, such as oxytocin, mental health, and parental behavior. Four studies examined ToM changes by comparing pregnant/early postpartum parents with nulliparous parents or prepregnancy measures. They reported no differences between groups measured with a self‐report questionnaire but found group differences using an experimental approach. The results from the summarized studies further suggest a mediatory role of oxytocin between ToM and certain parental behavior. In addition, while no link between postpartum depression and ToM was observed, findings do point to an association between depressive and remote maternal behavior and anxious attachment style and ToM abilities in pregnant participants. Research findings regarding the interaction of ToM with both parity and maternal attachment to the fetus are ambivalent. Overall, research on this topic is scarce, limiting our ability to draw firm conclusions and stressing the need for further research on this topic. This review presents an overview of research findings on ToM and associated factors in pregnancy and the postpartum period and discusses directions for future research.
Effect of different occlusal forces on the accuracy of interocclusal records of loose teeth
Authors: Lu Bowen , Shao Linlin , Yu Qing
Published: March 2023

Background

This study aimed at investigating the effect of loose teeth on the accuracy of occlusal records by comparing the differences in the number of occlusal contact points, occlusal contact area and the centre of the occlusal contact region under different occlusal forces in patients with periodontitis.

Objective

The effects of different occlusal forces on the occlusal contact point (OCP), occlusal contact area (OCA) and the centre of occlusal contact region (OCC) of loose teeth.

Methods

Occlusal training was performed on the 30 patients who completed periodontal serial treatment. One doctor took the occlusal records with silicone rubber and the T‐scan system; the patients were digitally scanned intraorally by a technician. The data of the healthy teeth were recorded as the control group, and the data of the loose teeth were recorded as the experimental group. Then, we used Image J to measure the numbers of OCP and OCA and Auto CAD to calculate the coordinates of OCC. A paired t test was used to analyse whether the differences in OCP, OCA and OCC were statistically significant when the occlusal forces were different.

Results

The OCA of all three experimental methods increased under heavy occlusal force (p < .01), and the silicone rubber OCA increased the most. The OCC of all three experimental methods was shifted in the buccal and mesial (p < .01). And the occlusal records obtained by the T‐scan system showed a low correlation between the differences of OCA and OCC.

Conclusion

Whether the teeth were loose or not, the OCA increased under heavy occlusal forces. For patients with loose teeth, the OCC was shifted towards the buccal under heavy occlusal force.
Iatrogenic symptomatic hypoadrenocorticism after treatment with trilostane for hyperadrenocorticism in dogs: eight cases (2008‐2019)
Authors: Lamoureux A. , Cadoré J. L. , Hugonnard M. , Chabanne L. , Krafft E.
Published: March 2023

Objectives

Trilostane is the medical treatment of choice for hyperadrenocorticism. Iatrogenic hypoadrenocorticism is thought to be rare, with most cases being transient and only a few cases of permanent hypoadrenocorticism have been reported. This study reports findings from eight cases of iatrogenic hypoadrenocorticism and examines the presence of concurrent diseases at the time of diagnosis.

Materials and Methods

Medical records of dogs treated for hyperadrenocorticism with trilostane since 2008 were reviewed, and cases of clinical iatrogenic hypoadrenocorticism were extracted. Cases were considered permanent if long‐term replacement therapy was required.

Results

Eight dogs met the inclusion criteria. The time between the beginning of trilostane treatment and the diagnosis of hypoadrenocorticism ranged from 4 days to 13 months, and the dosage of trilostane ranged between 1 and 8 mg/kg/day. Six dogs had a suspicion of concurrent disease at the time of hypoadrenocorticism diagnosis. The trilostane dose was decreased in two dogs; trilostane was withdrawn in one case without further relapse of hyperadrenocorticism; and glucocorticoids with or without mineralocorticoid supplementation were prescribed in five dogs. Two of these five dogs were lost to follow‐up, and the other three had a diagnosis of permanent hypoadrenocorticism. Adrenal gland ultrasonography in these three dogs showed a progressive reduction in gland sizes with heterogeneous echogenicity.

Clinical Significance

Iatrogenic hypoadrenocorticism is a rare but potentially life‐threatening complication of trilostane treatment in dogs with hyperadrenocorticism. The occurrence of a concurrent disease might trigger the development of clinical signs of hypoadrenocorticism in previously subclinical dogs.
Gastric electrical stimulation versus per‐oral pyloromyotomy for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with gastroparesis: An observational study of two cohorts
Authors: Gourcerol Guillaume , Gonzalez Jean Michel , Bonaz Bruno , Fontaine Sébastien , Zerbib Frank , Mion Francois , Basile Paul , Gillibert André , Labonde Amélie , Soliman Heithem , Vitton Véronique , Coffin Benoit , Jacques Jérémie
Published: March 2023

Background

Both gastric electrical stimulation (GES) and gastric‐peroral endoscopic myotomy (G‐POEM) can be offered to patients with gastroparesis and predominant nausea and vomiting. The study's aim was to compare GES and G‐POEM efficacy on nausea and vomiting scores in patients with gastroparesis.

Methods

Two multicenter cohorts of patients with medically refractory gastroparesis with predominant nausea and vomiting (defined as a score >2 on nausea and vomiting subscale that varied from 0 to 4) were treated either with GES (n = 34) or G‐POEM (n = 30) and were followed for 24 months (M). Clinical response was defined as a decrease of ≥1 point in nausea and vomiting subscale without premature exclusion due to switch from one to the other technique before M24. Changes in symptomatic scales and quality of life were also monitored.

Key Results

Patients from both groups were comparable although the mean score of nausea and vomiting subscale was higher in GES (3.0) compared to G‐POEM group (2.6; p = 0.01). At M24, clinical response was achieved in 21/34 (61.7%) patients with GES and in 21/30 (70.0%; p = 0.60) patients with G‐POEM. Mean scores of nausea and vomiting subscale decreased at M24 in both GES (from 3.0 to 1.6; p < 0.001) and G‐POEM (from 2.6 to 1.2; p < 0.001) groups, although there was no difference between groups (difference adjusted from baseline: −0.28 [−0.77; 0.19]; p = 0.24). Likewise, symptomatic and quality of life scores improved at M24 in both groups, without difference according to treatment group.

Conclusions and Inferences

At M24, we did not observe significant difference in efficacy of GES and G‐POEM in medically refractory gastroparesis with predominant nausea and vomiting.
Fossil berries reveal global radiation of the nightshade family by the early Cenozoic
Authors: Deanna Rocío , Martínez Camila , Manchester Steven , Wilf Peter , Campos Abel , Knapp Sandra , Chiarini Franco E. , Barboza Gloria E. , Bernardello Gabriel , Sauquet Hervé , Dean Ellen , Orejuela Andrés , Smith Stacey D.
Published: March 2023

Fossil discoveries can transform our understanding of plant diversification over time and space. Recently described fossils in many plant families have pushed their known records farther back in time, pointing to alternative scenarios for their origin and spread.

Here, we describe two new Eocene fossil berries of the nightshade family (Solanaceae) from the Esmeraldas Formation in Colombia and the Green River Formation in Colorado (USA). The placement of the fossils was assessed using clustering and parsimony analyses based on 10 discrete and five continuous characters, which were also scored in 291 extant taxa.

The Colombian fossil grouped with members of the tomatillo subtribe, and the Coloradan fossil aligned with the chili pepper tribe. Along with two previously reported early Eocene fossils from the tomatillo genus, these findings indicate that Solanaceae were distributed at least from southern South America to northwestern North America by the early Eocene.

Together with two other recently discovered Eocene berries, these fossils demonstrate that the diverse berry clade and, in turn, the entire nightshade family, is much older and was much more widespread in the past than previously thought.
Pediatric psoriasis negatively influences parental sleep quality
Authors: Horev Amir , Grinshpun Kobi , Forer Ester , Weissmann Sarah , Bari Romi , Sagie Nitzan , Shaki David , Golan Tripto Inbal
Published: March 2023

Background

One‐third of psoriasis cases occur in the pediatric population. Pediatric psoriasis has a negative long‐term impact on the quality of life of children and their families. However, data regarding the impact of pediatric psoriasis on parental sleep quality are scarce.

Objectives

This study examined the effects of pediatric psoriasis on the quality of parents' sleep compared to parents of healthy, non‐psoriatic children.

Methods

A cross‐sectional questionnaire study was conducted from September 2020 to November 2021, using the validated Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The study population included parents of patients aged 2–18 years diagnosed with psoriasis and parents of healthy children of the same gender and ethnicity. We further compared sleep quality between parents of children with mild and moderate‐to‐severe psoriasis, and fathers to mothers.

Results

A total of 301 parents were enrolled; 151 parents of 83 children diagnosed with psoriasis and 150 parents of 124 healthy controls. Parents of children with psoriasis had significantly longer sleep latency (p = 0.031), worse subjective sleep quality (p = 0.043), and greater use of sleep medications (p < 0.001). The comparison between parents of moderate–severe with mild psoriatic children as well as mothers with fathers showed no statistical significance.

Conclusion

Poor sleep quality was demonstrated among parents of children diagnosed with psoriasis compared to parents of healthy children. This finding is crucial for the direction of treatment efforts regarding parental well‐being and functioning.
Integrating the resilience concept into ecosystem restoration
Authors: Ren Jonathan Wei Fung , Coffman Gretchen Christina
Published: March 2023

Restoring resilient ecosystems is critical to preparing for the uncertain effects of climatic change on ecosystem functioning and socially relevant services. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration attempts to inspire the global ecological restoration movement, reverse degradation, and mitigate climate change impacts. We present ways in which resilience might be further integrated into the science of restoration ecology and the practice of ecological restoration to address the uncertainty associated with the current impacts of adverse climatic change. We describe how incorporating meaningful community engagement, expanding monitoring indicators, and upscaling across spatial–temporal scales will improve the current state of ecosystem restoration. We present case studies of restoration approaches across Southeast Asia that utilize approaches that confer resilience (resistance, recovery, reorganization) in their restoration projects and their broader social‐ecological systems. The panarchy framework encapsulates the importance of strengthening relationships between all stakeholders and restoration projects to build resilience across larger spatial–temporal scales.
Income inequality is unrelated to perceived inequality and support for redistribution
Authors: Trump Kris‐Stella
Published: March 2023

Objectives

This study aims to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between income inequality, perceptions of income inequality, and support for redistribution. In particular, it asks whether income inequality affects support for redistribution by influencing perceptions of inequality.

Methods

This study combines the pay ratio measures from the International Social Survey Project with income inequality measures from the Standardized World Income Inequality Database. The analysis proceeds in three steps, asking whether (1) inequality is related to perceived inequality, (2) perceived inequality is related to preferences for inequality, and (3) perceived inequality is related to support for redistribution.

Results

Income inequality is unrelated to perceptions of inequality. Perceptions of inequality strongly predict preferred inequality, reinforcing the prior conclusion that anchoring effects likely cause this close relationship. Perceptions of inequality also predict support for redistribution. However, because actual inequality is unrelated to perceived inequality, there is no link between actual inequality and either preferred inequality or support for redistribution.

Conclusion

The overall pattern of results is consistent with the interpretation that perceptions of income inequality may be politically co‐determined with support for inequality and redistribution, instead of perceptions being mental antecedents of these attitudes.
KIR genotype and haplotype repertoire in Kuwaiti healthy donors, hematopoietic cell transplant recipients and healthy family members
Authors: Ameen Reem , Titus Roshni , Geo Jeethu Anu , Al Shemmari Salem , Geraghty Daniel E. , Pyo Chul‐Woo , Askar Medhat
Published: March 2023

The gene complex located on chromosome 19q13.4 encodes the Killer‐cell Immunoglobulin‐like Receptors (KIRs), which exhibit remarkable polymorphism in both gene content and sequences. Further, the repertoire of KIR genes varies within and between populations, creating a diverse pool of KIR genotypes. This study was carried out to characterize KIR genotypes and haplotypes among 379 Arab Kuwaiti individuals including 60 subjects from 20 trio families, 49 hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) recipients and 270 healthy Kuwaiti volunteer HCT donors. KIR Genotyping was performed by a combination of reverse sequence specific oligonucleotide probes (rSSO) and/or Real Time PCR. The frequencies of KIR genes in 270 healthy Kuwaiti volunteer donors were compared to previously reported frequencies in other populations. In addition, we compared the differences in KIR repertoire of patients and healthy donors to investigate the reproducibility of previously reported significant differences between patients with hematological malignancies and healthy donors. The observed frequencies in our cohort volunteer HCT donors was comparable to those reported in neighboring Arab populations. The activating genes KIR2DS1, KIR2DS5 and KIR3DS1 and the inhibitory gene KIR2DL5 were significantly more frequent in patients compared to healthy donors, however, none of the previously reported differences were reproducible in our Kuwaiti cohort. This report is the first description of KIR gene carrier frequency and haplotype characterization in a fairly large cohort of the Kuwaiti population, which may have implications in KIR based HCT donor selection strategies.
Discovery of the novel HLA‐DQB1*06:02:01:32 allele, a variant of HLA‐DQB1*06:02:01:01, in a Russian individual
Authors: Loginova Maria , Druzhinina Svetlana , Paramonov Igor , Zarubin Maksim
Published: March 2023

One nucleotide substitution in pseudoexon 5 of HLA‐DQB1*06:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA‐DQB1*06:02:01:32.
Validation Study of a Computer-Aided Design Augmentation Tool for Cost Estimation
Authors: Patel Apurva , Ortiz Joshua , Summers Joshua D. , Mathieson James L.
Published: March 2023

While fundamentals of DFMA (design for manufacturing and assembly) are widely accepted and used in the engineering community, many CAD environments lack tools that address manufacturing concerns by providing rapid feedback about costs resulting from design choices. This article presents an experiment-based testing and validation of a rapid feedback tool that provides users history-based prediction of manufacturing time based on the current state of the design. A between-subject experiment is designed to evaluate the impact of the tool on design outcomes based on modeling time, part mass, and manufacturing time. Participants in the study included mechanical engineering graduate and undergraduate students with at least one semester of experience using solidworks. The experiment included three modeling activities and three tool conditions. Participants completed up to three sessions with different experimental conditions. Analysis of the data collected shows that the use of the design tool results in a small but nonsignificant increase in modeling time. Moreover, the use of the tool results in reduced part mass on average (both between subjects and within subjects). Tool use reduced manufacturing time in open-ended activities, but increased manufacturing time when activities focus more on mass reduction. Participant feedback suggests that the tool helped guide their material removal actions by showing the impact on manufacturing time. Finally, potential improvements and future expansions of the tool are discussed.
Computational Analysis of Air/Mist Film Cooling Using a Sweeping Jet Fluidic Oscillator–Part I: Sweeping Air-Only Jet With Detailed Analysis of Vortex Dynamics
Authors: Abdelmaksoud Ramy , Wang Ting
Published: March 2023

The sweeping jet can be a promising candidate in film cooling applications since it has a large lateral jet spreading which can be considered an advantage when compared to the regular steady jet film cooling. Fluidic oscillators can generate a sweeping jet without the need for any moving parts. In addition, they can be more conveniently manufactured by additive manufacturing techniques. This two-part paper presents a numerical study to investigate the application of using air/mist sweeping jets in film cooling for protecting turbine airfoils. Part I focuses on validating the computational mode by comparing the thermal-flow and heat transfer behavior between steady and sweeping air-only jets to ensure they are consistent with published information. Part II focuses on the mist behavior and its effect on heat transfer enhancement in the sweeping jet film cooling by adding micro-liquid droplets. An unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulation accompanied by the k–ω shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model was used in this study. A comparison is made between steady and sweeping jets at two blowing ratios (BR = 1 and 2). The results show that the steady jet provided better film cooling performance along the centerline compared to that of the sweeping jet for both blowing ratios. However, the sweeping jet provided better and more uniform film cooling performance in the spanwise direction. Both jets experienced a significant jet-liftoff when the blowing ratio was 2. The entrainment was significant in the sweeping jet case for both blowing ratios. The sweeping jet caused an increase of 9.5% in total pressure losses compared to the steady jet. It was found that for the sweeping jet, a pair of counter-rotating vortices is inward-rushing toward the wall in the center rather than outward-rushing as in a typical steady jet film cooling flow field. A detailed analysis is presented to understand the instantaneous vortex dynamics of the sweeping jet that leads to the inward rotating counter-rotating vortex pair (CRVP) (i.e., reversed CRVP). The result shows that the pair of counter-rotating vortices is just a time-averaged image of a single vortex sweeping back and forth in the domain; it does not actually exist in real time.
Numerical Simulation of Soil Heat and Moisture Migration Containing Different Stones Using Lattice Boltzmann Method
Authors: Hu Shengkang , Han Yuge , Lin Qunqing , Ren Dengfeng
Published: March 2023

Increasing attention has been paid to the study of heat and moisture migration in soils, but little research has been done on heat and moisture transport in soils containing stones. In this paper, an improved random generation method is proposed to generate soil porous media containing different stones and a fully connected pore. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) model for multiphase flow and heat transfer is used to simulate the heat and moisture migration of four types of soils: stone-free, sandstone, limestone, and shale. The simulations show that the presence of rocks impedes the flow of fluids but enhances the heat transfer in the soil. Considering the mesoscopic nature of the LBM and the porous media model construction method, the proposed model has a potential of simulating heat and mass transfer phenomena in multiphase multi-component porous media.
Multi-Objective Optimization of an Inlet Air-Cooled Combined Cycle Power Plant
Authors: Mishra Ashutosh , Arora B. B. , Arora Akhilesh
Published: March 2023

The present work aims to investigate the effect of inlet air cooling in conjunction with other input parameters on the exergetic performance of combined cycle power plants (CCPP). To mitigate the adverse effects of high ambient temperature on performance, the CCPP has been equipped with an inlet air cooler, which lowers the air temperature at the inlet of the compressor. Under a specific combination of input parameters, the analysis revealed a maximum increase in net specific work, efficiency, and exergetic efficiency of 14.16%, 3.93%, and 5.65%, respectively. Moreover, the effects of multiple input parameters were analyzed individually and in combination. This was done in order to identify the most influential exergy-affecting parameters for the CCPP, which turned out to be the degree of cooling, pressure ratio, and turbine inlet temperature. The simulated model is then subjected to two sets of multi-objective optimization using a genetic algorithm, considering the above parameters as design variables. According to the Pareto set of optimal solutions, cooling the inlet air by 16.5 K results in the highest net-specific work output and increased exergy destruction. Increased exergy destruction, on the other hand, is undesirable. However, if the cost of power per unit is high, this could be economically advantageous.
Directed Energy Deposition With Coaxial Wire-Powder Feeding: Melt Pool Temperature and Microstructure
Authors: Zhou Yue , Ning Fuda
Published: March 2023

In this work, we developed a new additive manufacturing paradigm, coaxial wire–powder-fed directed energy deposition (CWP-DED), to enable the fabrication of metals or composites with high manufacturing flexibility and efficiency. Herein, stainless steel (SS) 316L was selected as a representative material to validate the feasibility of CWP-DED process. Effects of feed rates on the melt pool temperature during the CWP-DED process were investigated using experimental and analytical approaches. Thermal contributions of fed wire and powders to the melt pool were involved in the analytical model to predict the melt pool temperature. The experimental results from thermal imaging were also obtained for validation. Besides, we uncovered the evolution of solidification morphology and crystallographic texture with different combinations of wire and powder feed rates. Finally, the microhardness and tensile performance of different as-built parts were tested. The results showed that the powder feed rate played a more dominant role in determining the melt pool temperature than the wire feed rate. Melt pool temperature experienced an initial increase and then decrease with the powder feed rate. A fine microstructure was achieved at a low powder feed rate, producing higher microhardness and larger tensile strength. This paper revealed the relations among process, thermal variation, and microstructure of as-built metallic parts to well understand this novel DED process.
Psychometric Properties of a Modified Athlete Burnout Questionnaire in the Collegiate Athletics Setting
Authors: Casanova Madeline P. , Reeves Ashley J. , Baker Russell T.
Published: March 2023

Context: Mental health is an important component of holistic care in athletic settings. Burnout is one of many factors associated with poor mental health, and clinicians should assess for these symptoms. The Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) has been proposed as a measure of burnout in athletes; however, design concerns are prevalent within the scale, and psychometric analyses have resulted in inconsistent measurement properties, limiting the usefulness of the scale for accurate assessment of burnout in athletes. The objective of our study was to assess the factor structure of the Alternate Modified ABQ-15v2 using confirmatory factor analysis. If model fit was inadequate, a secondary purpose was to identify a psychometrically sound alternate ABQ model. Design: Observational study. Methods: Intercollegiate athletes and dancers pursuing a degree in dance (n = 614) were recruited from programs across the United States. Individuals had varied health statuses (eg, healthy, injured), scholarship support, and participated in a variety of intercollegiate sports. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the modified 15-item ABQ (Alternate Modified ABQ-15v2). Exploratory factor analysis and covariance modeling of a proposed alternate 9-item scale (ABQ-9) was conducted and multigroup invariance analysis was assessed across athlete category, class standing, and student-athlete scholarship status to assess consistency of item interpretation across subgroups. Results: The Modified ABQ did not meet recommended model fit criteria. The ABQ-9 met all recommended model fit indices but was not invariant across athlete category. Conclusions: The ABQ-9 may be a viable and efficient option for assessing burnout in the collegiate athletics setting. However, further research is needed to validate the ABQ-9 in a cross-validation study.
A stretchable wireless wearable bioelectronic system for multiplexed monitoring and combination treatment of infected chronic wounds
Authors: Shirzaei Sani Ehsan , Xu Changhao , Wang Canran , Song Yu , Min Jihong , Tu Jiaobing , Solomon Samuel A. , Li Jiahong , Banks Jaminelli L. , Armstrong David G. , Gao Wei
Published: March 2023

Chronic nonhealing wounds are one of the major and rapidly growing clinical complications all over the world. Current therapies frequently require emergent surgical interventions, while abuse and misapplication of therapeutic drugs often lead to an increased morbidity and mortality rate. Here, we introduce a wearable bioelectronic system that wirelessly and continuously monitors the physiological conditions of the wound bed via a custom-developed multiplexed multimodal electrochemical biosensor array and performs noninvasive combination therapy through controlled anti-inflammatory antimicrobial treatment and electrically stimulated tissue regeneration. The wearable patch is fully biocompatible, mechanically flexible, stretchable, and can conformally adhere to the skin wound throughout the entire healing process. Real-time metabolic and inflammatory monitoring in a series of preclinical in vivo experiments showed high accuracy and electrochemical stability of the wearable patch for multiplexed spatial and temporal wound biomarker analysis. The combination therapy enabled substantially accelerated cutaneous chronic wound healing in a rodent model.
Helical allophycocyanin nanotubes absorb far-red light in a thermophilic cyanobacterium
Authors: Gisriel Christopher J. , Elias Eduard , Shen Gaozhong , Soulier Nathan T. , Flesher David A. , Gunner M. R. , Brudvig Gary W. , Croce Roberta , Bryant Donald A.
Published: March 2023

To compete in certain low-light environments, some cyanobacteria express a paralog of the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein, allophycocyanin (AP), that strongly absorbs far-red light (FRL). Using cryo–electron microscopy and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy, we reveal the structure-function relationship of this FRL-absorbing AP complex (FRL-AP) that is expressed during acclimation to low light and that likely associates with chlorophyll a–containing photosystem I. FRL-AP assembles as helical nanotubes rather than typical toroids due to alterations of the domain geometry within each subunit. Spectroscopic characterization suggests that FRL-AP nanotubes are somewhat inefficient antenna; however, the enhanced ability to harvest FRL when visible light is severely attenuated represents a beneficial trade-off. The results expand the known diversity of light-harvesting proteins in nature and exemplify how biological plasticity is achieved by balancing resource accessibility with efficiency.
The transcription factor Mef2d regulates B:T synapse–dependent GC-T
FH
differentiation and IL-21–mediated humoral immunity
Authors: Kim Ye-Ji , Oh Jeein , Jung Soohan , Kim Chan Johng , Choi Jinyong , Jeon Yoon Kyung , Kim Hyun Jik , Kim Ji-Won , Suh Chang-Hee , Lee Yoontae , Im Sin-Hyeog , Crotty Shane , Choi Youn Soo
Published: March 2023

Communication between CD4 T cells and cognate B cells is key for the former to fully mature into germinal center–T follicular helper (GC-T
FH
) cells and for the latter to mount a CD4 T cell–dependent humoral immune response. Although this interaction occurs in a B:T synapse–dependent manner, how CD4 T cells transcriptionally regulate B:T synapse formation remains largely unknown. Here, we report that Mef2d, an isoform of the myocyte enhancer factor 2 (Mef2) transcription factor family, is a critical regulator of this process. In CD4 T cells, Mef2d negatively regulates expression of
Sh2d1a
, which encodes SLAM-associated protein (SAP), a critical regulator of B:T synapses. We found that Mef2d regulates
Sh2d1a
expression via DNA binding–dependent transcriptional repression, inhibiting SAP-dependent B:T synapse formation and preventing antigen-specific CD4 T cells from differentiating into GC-T
FH
cells. Mef2d also impeded IL-21 production by CD4 T cells, an important B cell help signaling molecule, via direct repression of the
Il21
gene. In contrast, CD4 T cell–specific disruption of
Mef2d
led to a substantial increase in GC-T
FH
differentiation in response to protein immunization, concurrent with enhanced SAP expression.
MEF2D
mRNA expression inversely correlates with human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patient autoimmune parameters, including circulating T
FH
–like cell frequencies, autoantibodies, and SLEDAI scores. These findings highlight Mef2d as a pivotal rheostat in CD4 T cells for controlling GC formation and antibody production by B cells.
Use of the EXOPULSE Mollii for severe ataxia in an adult male 4 months after cardiac arrest
Authors: Wagner Vibeke , Knudsen Mikkel Sneftrup , Curtis Derek John , Riberholt Christian Gunge
Published: March 2023

The EXOPULSE Mollii is designed to reduce spasticity through low-current electrical stimulation of major muscle groups. The effect on severe cerebellar ataxia has not been investigated. This case describes the use of the EXOPULSE Mollii in an adult male with severe cerebellar ataxia 4 months after cardiac arrest and ischaemic stroke. The patient used the suit in 15 of 19 possible sessions (78.9%). He improved in the sit-to-stand test, arm function test and 10 m walking test. He described improved visual focus, ability to speak and swallow. Improvements were maintained for 1 week after the last session. The EXOPULSE Mollii is relevant to consider in the early stages of inpatient rehabilitation for patients with severe ataxia, but further research is warranted.
Scoping review protocol to map evidence on South-South learning exchange in family planning
Authors: Allagh Komal Preet , Kiarie James , Triulzi Isotta , Kabra Rita
Published: March 2023

Introduction

South-South learning exchange (SSLE) is an interactive learning process where stakeholder teams exchange knowledge and experience to help one, or both to work towards change, by identifying, adopting and/or strengthening implementation of a best practice. SSLE has been conducted between countries to share knowledge on best practices and policies in family planning. To the best of our knowledge, no scoping review has been conducted to synthesise evidence on SSLE in family planning. In this paper, we outline the protocol to conduct scoping review on SSLE in family planning.

Methods and analysis

Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework with adaptions from Levacet alwill be used to guide this scoping review. We will search electronic databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Hinari, ProQuest DB, PUBMED, Web of Science and WorldCat), grey literature sources and reference lists of included studies. We will focus on literature published till August 2022. The abstract and title screening, full-text screening and data charting will be conducted by two independent reviewers. The findings will be summarised into a narrative based on thematic analysis. Stakeholder interviews will be conducted to understand their perception and experiences in applying SSLE in family planning.

Ethics and dissemination

The ethics review committee at WHO, Geneva, has exempted this study from ethical approval (ERC.0003752). The findings from the study will provide useful insights into effective approaches, barriers, facilitators to conduct SSLE in family planning. This knowledge will be of significant public health relevance and will help in designing future learning exchanges between countries in the south to accelerate access to quality family planning services. The findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, newsletters and workshops.
Modified cue exposure for adolescents with binge eating behaviour: study protocol of a randomised pilot trial called EXI(ea)T
Authors: Preuss-van Viersen Hanna , Kirschbaum-Lesch Inken , Eskic Jasmina , Lukes Sophie , Pydd Jana , Derks Laura , Hammerle Florian , Legenbauer Tanja
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Binge eating (BE) behaviour is highly prevalent in adolescents, and can result in serious metabolic derangements and overweight in the long term. Weakened functioning of the behavioural inhibition system is one potential pathway leading to BE. Food cue exposure focusing on expectancy violation (CEEV) is a short intervention for BE that has proven effective in adults but has never been tested in adolescents. Thus, the current randomised pilot trial evaluates the feasibility of CEEVfor adolescents and its efficacy in reducing eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) of binge food items.

Methods and analysis

The trial will includeN=76 female adolescents aged between 13 and 20 years with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder (BED) or their subthreshold forms based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Participants will be randomly assigned to two sessions of CEEVor behavioural analysis (BA), a classical cognitive–behavioural therapy-based intervention. The primary endpoint is the change in EAH measured according to ad libitum consumption of personally preferred binge food in a bogus taste test at post-test based on the intention-to-treat population. Key secondary endpoints are changes in EAH of standardised binge food at post-test, in EAH at 3-month follow-up (FU) and in food craving after induction of food cue reactivity at post-test and FU. To identify further valid outcome parameters, we will assess effects of CEEVcompared with BA on global ED psychopathology, BE frequency within the last 28 days, body weight, response inhibition and emotion regulation abilities. Treatment groups will be compared using analysis of covariance with intervention as fixed factor and body mass index at baseline as covariate.

Ethics and dissemination

This clinical trial has been approved by the Ethics Review Committee of the Medical Association of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Medical Faculty of the Ruhr-University Bochum. The collected data will be disseminated locally and internationally through publications in relevant peer-reviewed journals and will be presented at scientific and clinical conferences. Participants data will only be published in an anonymised form.

Trial registration number

DRKS00024009.
Characterisation of gut microbiota composition in patients with axial spondyloarthritis and its modulation by TNF inhibitor treatment
Authors: Vallier Marie , Segurens Béatrice , Larsonneur Elise , Meyer Vincent , Ferreira Stephanie , Caloustian Christophe , Deleuze Jean-François , Dougados Maxime , Chamaillard Mathias , Miceli-Richard Corinne
Published: March 2023

Objective

To assess whether gut microbiota composition is associated with patient characteristics and may have predictive value on the response to TNF inhibitor (TNFi) treatment in axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA).

Methods

The study involved 61 patients fulfilling the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society classification criteria for AxSpA. All patients had active disease despite non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs intake and were eligible for treatment with a TNFi. At baseline, the mean Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score was 2.9±1 and mean C reactive protein (CRP) level 9.7±11.4 mg/L. Bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing was performed on stool samples collected at baseline (month 0 (M0)) and 3 months after TNFi initiation (month 3 (M3)). Alpha and beta diversity metrics were calculated on the relative abundance of core operational taxonomic units (OTUs).

Results

The HLA-B27 status affected at least in part the global composition of faecal microbiota at M0 as well as the abundance/prevalence of several anaerobic bacteria in the familiesOscillospiraceae,LachnospiraceaeandBifidobacteriaceae. In contrast, smoking affected the global composition of faecal microbiota at both M0 and M3. The prevalence/abundance of seven bacterial OTUs at M0 was associated with response to TNFi treatment. One of the candidates, present only in non-responders, is the genusSutterella, and the other six candidates are in the classClostridia.

Conclusions

Several SpA patients’ characteristics modulate the composition of gut microbiota as did TNFi treatment. Moreover, the abundance/prevalence of seven OTUs at baseline may be used as a novel non-invasive index that predicts the response to TNFi with greater accuracy than HLA-B27 status, CRP level and measures of disease activity.
Computational aspects of an epidemic model involving stochastic partial differential equations
Authors: Ahmed Nauman , Yasin Muhammad W. , Ali Syed Mansoor , Akgül Ali , Raza Ali , Rafiq Muhammad , Shar Muhammad Ali
Published: March 2023

This paper deals with the study of the reaction–diffusion epidemic model perturbed with time noise. It has various applications such as disease in population models of humans, wildlife, and many others. The stochastic SIR model is numerically investigated with the proposed stochastic backward Euler scheme and proposed stochastic implicit finite difference (IFD) scheme. The stability of the proposed methods is shown with Von Neumann criteria and both schemes are unconditionally stable. Both schemes are consistent with systems of the equations in the mean square sense. The numerical solution obtained by the proposed stochastic backward Euler scheme and solutions converges towards an equilibrium but it has negative and divergent behavior for some values. The numerical solution gained by the proposed IFD scheme preserves the positivity and also solutions converge towards endemic and disease-free equilibrium. We have used two problems to check our findings. The graphical behavior of the stochastic SIR model is much adjacent to the classical SIR epidemic model when noise strength approaches zero. The three-dimensional plots of the susceptible and infected individuals are drawn for two cases of endemic equilibrium and disease-free equilibriums. The results show the efficacy of the proposed stochastic IFD scheme.
Synthesis and characterization of N,N′-Di-1-naphthyl-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine as a hole-transporting layer (HTL) for Perovskite solar cell applications
Authors: Brar Harpreet Kaur , Thakur Naveen , Brar Sukhwinder Singh , Pathak Dinesh
Published: March 2023

In this communication, we report a typical structural, optical and electrical analysis of thin films of hole transport material (HTM) based on aromatic phenyl benzidine derivative (N,N[Formula: see text]-Di-1-naphthyl-N,N[Formula: see text]-diphenylbenzidine) deposited by thermal evaporation technique onto the glass substrate. The effect of substrate temperature on the physical and electronic properties of these organic thin films for perovskite solar cells (PSCs) applications has been investigated. The films have been characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, UV–Vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Electrical conductivity and activation energies of films have also been calculated. From FTIR data of fabricated films and powder, it was found that the compound does not decompose during the thermal evaporation process as observed vibrational frequencies of films and the powder are the same. From the results, it has been determined that the substrate temperature has a huge impact on the physical structure and has also influenced the optical, electrical properties of the films. As observed from the studies it appears that these amorphous films with bandgap near to 3[Formula: see text]eV and suitable conductivity have potential for photovoltaics layer devices. From this study, it can be concluded that N,N[Formula: see text]-Di-1-naphthyl-N,N[Formula: see text]-diphenylbenzidine can be used as an active hole transport layer in PSCs.
Intelligent Inversion of Coastal Earth Resistivity
Authors: Tan Bo , Pan Zhuohong , Tong Xuefang , Wang Yan , Wang Xianghan , Gao Lei
Published: March 2023

Coastal grounding electrodes are currently an important means to alleviate land grounding electrode land constraints. In order to better invert the terrestrial geodesic resistivity in the coastal region, this paper proposes a complete set of inversion technology schemes. First, this paper proposes a layered land model for the coastal region, and a composite geodetic model is modeled by the fold junction of the land model and the ocean. Based on this, an adaptive subdivision boundary element method is proposed for solving the composite soil grounding calculation problem, and the accuracy and advantages of the method are demonstrated by examples. Finally, the paper uses the differential evolutionary algorithm to invert the exploration data of the four-point method in the coastal area, and obtains the parameters of the terrestrial layered geodetic model that meet the engineering requirements. The comparison with the grounding software CDEGS illustrates the effectiveness of the method. This paper carries out the research on the modeling and inversion methods of composite layered soil model, combining advanced numerical calculation methods and artificial intelligence algorithms to provide the support of computational tools for coastal resistivity inversion.
Track Signal Intrusion Detection Method Based on Deep Learning in Cloud-Edge Collaborative Computing Environment
Authors: Zhong Yaojun , Zhong Shuhai
Published: March 2023

Aiming at the low accuracy of the track signal intrusion detection (IDe) algorithm in the traditional cloud-side collaborative computing environment, this paper proposes a deep learning (D-L)-based track signal IDe method in the cloud edge collaborative computing environment. First, the main framework of the IDe method is constructed by comprehensively considering the backbone network, network transmission and ground equipment, and edge computing (EC) is introduced to cloud services. Then, the The CNN (Convolutional Neural Networks)-attention-based BiLSTM (Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory) neural network is used in the cloud center layer of the system to train the historical data, a D-L method is proposed. Finally, a pooling layer and a dropout layer are introduced into the model to effectively prevent the overfitting of the model and achieve accurate detection of track signal intrusion. The purpose of introducing the pooling layer is to accelerate the model convergence, remove the redundancy and reduce the feature dimension, and the purpose of introducing the dropout layer is to prevent the overfitting of the model. Through simulation experiments, the proposed IDe method and the other three methods are compared and analyzed under the same conditions. The results show that the F1 value of the method proposed in this paper is optimal under four different types of sample data. The F1 value is the lowest of 0.948 and the highest of 0.963. The performance of the algorithm is better than the other three comparison algorithms. The method proposed in this paper is important for solving the IDe signal in the cloud-edge cooperative environment, and also provides a theoretical basis for tracking the signal IDe direction.
A Deep Learning and Morphological Method for Concrete Cracks Detection
Authors: Jin Qilin , Han Qingbang , Su Nana , Wu Yang , Han Yufeng
Published: March 2023

Concrete crack detection is essential for infrastructure safety, and its detection efficiency and accuracy are the key issues. An improved YOLOV5 and three measurement algorithms are proposed in this paper, where the original prediction heads are replaced by Transformer Heads (TH) to expose the prediction potential with one self-attention model. Experiments show that the improved YOLOV5 effectively enhances the detection and classification of concrete cracks, and the Mean Average Precision (MAP) value of all classes increases to 99.5%. The first method is more accurate for small cracks, whilst the average width obtained based on the axial traverse correction method is more exact for large cracks. The crack width obtained from the concrete picture sample is the same as that obtained from the manual detection, with a deviation rate of 0–5.5%. This research demonstrates the recognition and classification of concrete cracks by integrating deep learning and machine vision with high precision and high efficiency. It is helpful for the real-time measurement and analysis of concrete cracks with potential safety hazards in bridges, high-rise buildings, etc.
The stick number of rail arcs
Authors: Cazet Nicholas
Published: March 2023

Consider two parallel lines [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text]. A rail arc is an embedding of an arc in [Formula: see text] such that one endpoint is on [Formula: see text], the other is on [Formula: see text], and its interior is disjoint from [Formula: see text]. Rail arcs are considered up to rail isotopies, ambient isotopies of [Formula: see text] with each self-homeomorphism mapping [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] onto themselves. When the manifolds and maps are taken in the piecewise linear category, these rail arcs are called stick rail arcs. The stick number of a rail arc class is the minimum number of sticks, line segments in a p.l. arc, needed to create a representative. This paper calculates the stick number of rail arcs classes with a crossing number at most 2 and uses a winding number invariant to calculate the stick numbers of infinitely many rail arc classes. Each rail arc class has two canonically associated knot classes, its under and over companions. This paper also introduces the rail stick number of knot classes, the minimum number of sticks needed to create a rail arcs whose under or over companion is the knot class. The rail stick number is calculated for 29 knot classes with crossing number at most 9. The stick number of multi-component rail arcs classes is considered as well as the lattice stick number of rail arcs.