bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Symptomatik einer akuten SARS-CoV-2-Infektion bei Kindern im Kita-Alter
Authors: Wurm Juliane , Lehfeld Ann-Sophie , Varnaccia Gianni , Iwanowski Helena , Finkel Bianca , Schienkiewitz Anja , Perlitz Hanna , Loer Anne-Kathrin Mareike , Wess Barbara , Franke Andrea , Hüther Antje , Kuttig Tim , Sandoni Anna , Kubisch Ulrike , Jordan Susanne , Haas Walter , Buchholz Udo , Loss Julika
Published: November 2022

Hintergrund

Die Symptomatik einer pädiatrischen SARS-CoV-2-Infektion ist sehr variabel. Es gibt nur wenige Studien zu nichthospitalisierten Kindern bzw. Kindern im Kita-Alter.

Ziel der Arbeit

Die Arbeit soll die Häufigkeit verschiedener COVID-19-Symptome bei ein- bis 6‑jährigen Kindern beschreiben. Sie führt dazu Daten aus 2 Modulen der Corona-KiTa-Studie zusammen: 1) das Modul „COALA“ – Corona: Anlassbezogene Untersuchungen in Kitas und 2) das Modul „CATS“ – Corona KiTa Surveillance (Meldedaten).

Material und Methoden

In COALA wurden die Infektionsgeschehen in 30 Kitas, in denen ein SARS-CoV-2-Fall gemeldet wurde, untersucht (Oktober 2020 bis Juni 2021). Kita-Kinder wurden prospektiv über 12 Tage beobachtet (SARS-CoV-2-Tests, Symptomtagebuch). Die Ergebnisse wurden mit den Symptomangaben der deutschlandweit gemeldeten SARS-CoV-2-Fälle (Meldedaten) verglichen.

Ergebnisse

Aus den teilnehmenden Kitas liegen für 289 Kinder Angaben vor. Von 39 Kindern mit SARS-CoV‑2 (Wildtyp, α‑Variante) hatten 64 % mindestens ein Symptom, von den nicht mit SARS-CoV‑2 infizierten Kindern 40 %. In beiden Gruppen war Schnupfen das häufigste Symptom (36 % vs. 25 %, n. s.). Aus den Meldedaten liegen für 84.371 Kinder klinische Informationen vor, Fieber war am häufigsten (27 %), neben Schnupfen (26 %). Schwere Beschwerden wie z. B. Atemnot wurden in den Ausbruchsuntersuchungen und in den Meldedaten nur selten angegeben (3 % bzw. 1 %).

Schlussfolgerung

Kinder im Kita-Alter haben meist milde bzw. asymptomatische Verläufe einer SARS-CoV-2-Infektion. Ihre Symptome ähneln denjenigen von nicht mit SARS-CoV‑2 infizierten Kindern aus denselben Kitas. Es erscheint sinnvoll, Erkenntnisse aus den Meldedaten durch Ausbruchsuntersuchungen zu ergänzen, um methodische Limitationen der einzelnen Vorgehensweisen auszugleichen.
Upper and lower bounds for the Dunkl heat kernel
Authors: Dziubański Jacek , Hejna Agnieszka
Published: November 2022

On $$\mathbb R^N$$

R
N

equipped with a normalized root system R, a multiplicity function $$k(\alpha ) > 0$$

k
(
α
)
>
0

, and the associated measure $$\begin{aligned} dw(\mathbf{x})=\prod _{\alpha \in R}|\langle \mathbf{x},\alpha \rangle |^{{k(\alpha )}}\, d\mathbf{x}, \end{aligned}$$

d
w

(
x
)

=

∏

α
∈
R

|

⟨
x
,
α
⟩

|

k
(
α
)

d
x
,

let $$h_t(\mathbf{x},\mathbf{y})$$

h
t

(
x
,
y
)

denote the heat kernel of the semigroup generated by the Dunkl Laplace operator $$\Delta _k$$

Δ
k

. Let $$d(\mathbf{x},\mathbf{y})=\min _{{g}\in G} \Vert \mathbf{x}-{g}(\mathbf{y})\Vert $$

d

(
x
,
y
)

=

min

g
∈
G

‖
x
-
g

(
y
)

‖

, where G is the reflection group associated with R. We derive the following upper and lower bounds for $$h_t(\mathbf{x},\mathbf{y})$$

h
t

(
x
,
y
)

: for all $$c_l>1/4$$

c
l

>
1
/
4

and $$0<c_u<1/4$$

0
<

c
u

<
1
/
4

there are constants $$C_l,C_u>0$$

C
l

,

C
u

>
0

such that $$\begin{aligned} C_{l}w(B(\mathbf {x},\sqrt{t}))^{-1}e^{-c_{l}\frac{d(\mathbf {x},\mathbf {y})^2}{t}} \Lambda (\mathbf{x},\mathbf{y},t) \le h_t(\mathbf {x},\mathbf {y}) \le C_{u}w(B(\mathbf {x},\sqrt{t}))^{-1}e^{-c_{u}\frac{d(\mathbf {x},\mathbf {y})^2}{t}} \Lambda (\mathbf{x},\mathbf{y},t), \end{aligned}$$

C
l

w

(
B

(
x
,

t

)

)

-
1

e

-

c
l

d

(
x
,
y
)

2

t

Λ

(
x
,
y
,
t
)

≤

h
t

(
x
,
y
)

≤

C
u

w

(
B

(
x
,

t

)

)

-
1

e

-

c
u

d

(
x
,
y
)

2

t

Λ

(
x
,
y
,
t
)

,

where $$\Lambda (\mathbf{x},\mathbf{y},t)$$

Λ
(
x
,
y
,
t
)

can be expressed by means of some rational functions of $$\Vert \mathbf{x}-{g}(\mathbf{y})\Vert /\sqrt{t}$$

‖
x
-
g

(
y
)

‖
/

t

. An exact formula for $$\Lambda (\mathbf{x},\mathbf{y},t)$$

Λ
(
x
,
y
,
t
)

is provided.
“Leave your smartphone out of bed”: quantitative analysis of smartphone use effect on sleep quality
Authors: Kheirinejad Saba , Visuri Aku , Ferreira Denzil , Hosio Simo
Published: November 2022

Smartphones have become an integral part of people’s everyday lives. Smartphones are used across all household locations, including in the bed at night. Smartphone screens and other displays emit blue light, and exposure to blue light can affect one’s sleep quality. Thus, smartphone use prior to bedtime could disrupt the quality of one’s sleep, but research lacks quantitative studies on how smartphone use can influence sleep. This study combines smartphone application use data from 75 participants with sleep data collected by a wearable ring. On average, the participants used their smartphones in bed for 322.8 s (5 min and 22.8 s), with an IQR of 43.7–456. Participants spent an average of 42% of their time in bed using their smartphones (IQR of 5.87–55.5%). Our findings indicate that smartphone use in bed has significant adverse effects on sleep latency, awake time, average heart rate, and HR variability. We also find that smartphone use does not decrease sleep quality when used outside of bed. Our results indicate that intense smartphone use alone does not negatively affect well-being. Since all smartphone users do not use their phones in the same way, extending the investigation to different smartphone use types might yield more information than general smartphone use. In conclusion, this paper presents the first investigation of the association between smartphone application use logs and detailed sleep metrics. Our work also validates previous research results and highlights emerging future work.
Link between structural risk factors for adverse impacts of COVID-19 and food insecurity in developed and developing countries
Authors: Marti Luisa , Puertas Rosa
Published: November 2022

COVID-19 has had serious consequences for world food security; lockdowns and social distancing have led to changes in global food value chains, primarily affecting the poorest of the planet. The aim of this research is to analyse the relationship between food insecurity and the structural risk factors for adverse impacts of COVID-19. To that end, 12 contingency tables are constructed to identify the association between the pillars of the food insecurity index and the INFORM COVID-19 Risk Index. We use the Gamma coefficient as a measure of association. In addition, this paper proposes a synthetic index produced by applying the TOPSIS method, using the pillars of the two aforementioned indices (criteria) to establish a ranking of 112 countries (alternatives) ordered from highest to lowest risk faced in the key year of the pandemic, 2020. The results show that the two problems are connected, indicating to international organizations that countries with worse food insecurity will suffer more serious consequences from extreme situations such as the one experienced during the pandemic. The ranking established directs international organizations' attention to countries such as Haiti, Zambia and Burundi, highlighting their greater need for an injection of financial aid than other emerging economies. Conversely, Switzerland is the country with the lowest combined risk.
Law as Counterspeech
Authors: Silva Anjalee de , Simpson Robert Mark
Published: November 2022

A growing body of work in free speech theory is interested in the nature of counterspeech, i.e. speech that aims to counteract the effects of harmful speech. Counterspeech is usually defined in opposition to legal responses to harmful speech, which try to prevent such speech from occurring in the first place. In this paper we challenge this way of carving up the conceptual terrain. Instead, we argue that our main classificatory division, in theorising responses to harmful speech, should be between pro-discursive and anti-discursive responses. Some legal responses to harmful speech, so we argue, make a positive discursive contribution in their own right. That is, legal restrictions on harmful speech can have a function that is importantly similar to speech that aims at countering the effects of harmful speech.
Comparison of Semantic Similarity Models on Constrained Scenarios
Authors: Teixeira Rafael , Antunes Mário , Gomes Diogo , Aguiar Rui L.
Published: November 2022

The technological world has grown by incorporating billions of small sensing devices, collecting and sharing large amounts of diversified data over the new generation of wireless and mobile networks. We can use semantic similarity models to help organize and optimize these devices. Even so, many of the proposed semantic similarity models do not consider the constrained and dynamic environments where these devices are present (IoT, edge computing, 5g, and next-generation networks). In this paper, we review the commonly used models, discuss the limitations of our previous model, and explore latent space methods (through matrix factorization) to reduce noise and correct the model profiles with no additional data. The new proposal is evaluated with corpus-based state-of-the-art approaches achieving competitive results while having four times faster training time than the next fastest model and occupying 36 times less disk space than the next smallest model.
Likelihoodism and Guidance for Belief
Authors: Tokhadze Tamaz
Published: November 2022

Likelihoodism is the view that the degree of evidential support should be analysed and measured in terms of likelihoods alone. The paper considers and responds to a popular criticism that a likelihoodist framework is too restrictive to guide belief. First, I show that the most detailed and rigorous version of this criticism, as put forward by Gandenberger (2016), is unsuccessful. Second, I provide a positive argument that a broadly likelihoodist framework can accommodate guidance for comparative belief, even when objectively well-grounded prior probabilities are not available. As I show, the shift from non-relational to comparative probabilities opens up a new space for addressing the belief guidance problem for likelihoodism.
The Relationship Between Subjective Wellbeing and Subjective Wellbeing Inequality: An Important Role for Skewness
Authors: Grimes Arthur , Jenkins Stephen P. , Tranquilli Florencia
Published: November 2022

We argue that the relationship between individual satisfaction with life (SWL) and SWL inequality is more complex than described by earlier research. Our measures of SWL inequality include indices designed specifically for ordinal data as well as often used (but inappropriate) measures suited to cardinal data. Using inequality indices derived by Cowell and Flachaire designed for use with ordinal data, our analysis shows that skewness of the SWL distribution, rather than inequality per se, matters for individual SWL outcomes. The empirical analysis is based on repeated cross-section data obtained from the World Values Survey. Our results are consistent with there being negative externalities for an individual’s SWL arising from people who are low in the SWL distribution, with positive externalities arising from people who are high in the SWL distribution.
A Time-Continuous Embedding Method for Scalar Hyperbolic Conservation Laws on Manifolds
Authors: Wang Yinghua , Wang Bao-Shan , Ling Leevan , Don Wai Sun
Published: November 2022

A time-continuous (tc-)embedding method is first proposed for solving nonlinear scalar hyperbolic conservation laws with discontinuous solutions (shocks and rarefaction waves) on codimension 1, connected, smooth, and closed manifolds (surface PDEs or SPDEs in $${\mathbb {R}}^2$$

R

2

and $${\mathbb {R}}^3$$

R

3

). The new embedding method improves upon the classical closest point (cp-)embedding method, which requires re-establishments of the constant-along-normal (CAN-)property of the extension function at every time step, in terms of accuracy and efficiency, by incorporating the CAN-property analytically and explicitly in the embedding equation. The tc-embedding SPDEs are solved by the second-order nonlinear central finite volume scheme with a nonlinear minmod slope limiter in space, and the third-order total variation diminished Runge-Kutta scheme in time. An adaptive nonlinear essentially non-oscillatory polynomial interpolation is used to obtain the solution values at the ghost cells. Numerical results in solving the linear wave equation and the Burgers’ equation show that the proposed tc-embedding method has better accuracy, improved resolution, and reduced CPU times than the classical cp-embedding method. The Burgers’ equation, the traffic flow problem, and the Buckley-Leverett equation are solved to demonstrate the robust performance of the tc-embedding method in resolving fine-scale structures efficiently even in the presence of a shock and the essentially non-oscillatory capturing of shocks and rarefaction waves on simple and complex shaped one-dimensional manifolds. Burgers’ equation is also solved on the two-dimensional torus-shaped and spherical-shaped manifolds.
Exceptionally optional negative concord with Turkish neither...nor
Authors: Jeretič Paloma
Published: November 2022

This paper presents a novel account for the optionality of negative concord observed withneither...norcoordinations, in an otherwise strict negative concord language—Turkish. I argue that the apparently optional negative concord is a surface phenomenon that can be traced back to a structural ambiguity arising from the type-flexibility of coordination operators. The semantic type of the coordination affects its syntactic position relative to the Turkish NegP, which results in different surface facts: whenever theneither...norcoordination is of a generalized quantifier type, it originates in the vP below the NegP, akin to other negative concord items likenobody, triggering negative concord with sentential negation; whenever it is a propositional coordination, it contains the NegP position, and there is no negative concord. We can account for this exceptionally optional negative concord phenomenon by seamlessly importing these facts into an existing negative concord architecture (Zeijlstra 2004, 2012), with no significant modifications. This reductionist analysis contrasts with alternative approaches that explain optionality by adding complexity to the mechanics of the negative concord system (Şener and İşsever 2003 for Turkish; Szabolcsi 2018a for Hungarian). Finally, this account crucially relies on a theory of coordination operators as type-flexible, and therefore contributes an argument against a view of coordinators as having a rigid propositional type (Hirsch 2017; Schein 2017).
Patient-centered care in Coronary Heart Disease: what do you want to measure? A systematic review of reviews on patient-reported outcome measures
Authors: Pardo Yolanda , Garin Olatz , Oriol Cristina , Zamora Víctor , Ribera Aida , Ferrer Montserrat
Published: November 2022

Background

The number of published articles on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs) in Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), a leading cause of disability-adjusted life years lost worldwide, has been growing in the last decades. The aim of this study was to identify all the disease-specific PROMs developed for or used in CHD and summarize their characteristics (regardless of the construct), to facilitate the selection of the most adequate one for each purpose.

Methods

A systematic review of reviews was conducted in MEDLINE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. PROQOLID and BiblioPRO libraries were also checked. PROMs were classified by construct and information was extracted from different sources regarding their main characteristics such as aim, number of items, specific dimensions, original language, and metric properties that have been assessed.

Results

After title and abstract screening of 1224 articles, 114 publications were included for full text review. Finally, we identified 56 PROMs: 12 symptoms scales, 3 measuring functional status, 21 measuring Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL), and 20 focused on other constructs. Three of the symptoms scales were specifically designed for a study (no metric properties evaluated), and only five have been included in a published study in the last decade. Regarding functional status, reliability and validity have been assessed for Duke Activity Index and Seattle Angina Questionnaire, which present multiple language versions. For HRQL, most of the PROMs included physical, emotional, and social domains. Responsiveness has only been evaluated for 10 out the 21 HRQL PROMs identified. Other constructs included psychological aspects, self-efficacy, attitudes, perceptions, threats and expectations about the treatment, knowledge, adjustment, or limitation for work, social support, or self-care.

Conclusions

There is a wide variety of instruments to assess the patients’ perspective in CHD, covering several constructs. This is the first systematic review of specific PROMs for CHD including all constructs. It has practical significance, as it summarizes relevant information that may help clinicians, researchers, and other healthcare stakeholders to choose the most adequate instrument for promoting shared decision making in a trend towards value-based healthcare.
Hypocalcemia is associated with adverse outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19
Authors: Minasi Alessandro , Andreadi Aikaterini , Maiorino Alessio , Giudice Luca , De Taddeo Sofia , D’Ippolito Ilenia , de Guido Ilaria , Laitano Rossella , Romano Maria , Ruotolo Valeria , Magrini Andrea , Di Daniele Nicola , Rogliani Paola , Bellia Alfonso , Lauro Davide
Published: November 2022

Purpose

Calcium ions are involved in the regulation of several cellular processes and may also influence viral replication. Hypocalcemia has been frequently reported during infectious diseases and in critically ill patients, including also COVID-19 patients, significantly related with the pro-inflammatory state and mortality. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of hypocalcemia at admission in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) and to evaluate association of hypocalcemia with in-hospital COVID-19 outcomes.

Methods

Retrospective analysis on 118 consecutive patients, hospitalized for COVID-19 between March and May 2020. Clinical characteristics, inflammation markers, biochemical routine and mineral metabolism parameters at admission were collected. Hypocalcemia was defined as total serum calcium <2.2 mmol/L. Population was stratified by tertiles of total serum calcium. Primary outcome was the composite of in-hospital death or admission to intensive care unit (ICU). Secondary outcomes included in-hospital death, admission to ICU and need for non-invasive ventilation as separate events. Associations were tested by logistic regression and Cox-regression analysis with survival curves.

Results

Overall prevalence of hypocalcemia was 76.6%, with just 6.7% of patients reporting levels of 25-(OH)-vitamin D > 30 ng/ml. Total serum calcium was inversely related with selected inflammatory biomarkers (p < 0.05) and poorer outcome of COVID-19 during hospitalization. Lower tertile of total calcium (≤2.02 mmol/L) had increased risk of in-hospital mortality (HR 2.77; 1.28–6.03, p = 0.01) compared with other groups.

Conclusion

Total serum calcium detected on admission is inversely related with proinflammatory biomarkers of severe COVID-19 and is useful to better define risk stratification for adverse in-hospital outcome.
Molecular characterization of early breast cancer onset to understand disease phenotypes in African patients
Authors: Tonouo Pamela Derliche , Dina Bell Esther , Tiofack Zebaze Arnol Auvaker , Ndounga Eliane , Noa Ananga Sidonie , Atenguena Etienne , Simo Gustave , Njouendou Abdel Jelil , Lueong Smiths S.
Published: November 2022

Female breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with higher mortality rates and early onset in developing countries. The molecular basis of early disease onset is still elusive. We recruited 472 female breast cancer from two sub-Saharan African countries (Cameroon and Congo) between 2007 and 2018 and collected clinical data from these patients. To investigate the molecular drivers of early disease onset, we analyzed publicly available breast cancer molecular data from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) and the gene expression omnibus (GEO) for copy number alteration, mutation and gene expression. Early BC onset (EOBRCA) (diagnosis before 45 years) was higher in African women compared with the TCGA cohort (51.7% vs 15.6%). The tumor grade, mitotic index, HER2 + phenotype, basal-like phenotype and ki67 were higher in EOBRCA for all cohorts. BC risk factors such as parity, breastfeeding early onset of menarche and use of hormonal contraceptives were significantly associated with EOBRCA (p < 0.05). EOBRCA was equally associated with copy number alterations in several oncogenes including CDH6 and FOXM1 and tumor suppressor including TGM3 and DMBT1 as well as higher TP53 mutation rates (OR: 2.93, p < 0.01). There was a significant enrichment of TGFß signaling in EOBRCA with TGM3 deletions, which was associated with high expression of all SMAD transcription factors as well as WNT ligands. The Frizzled receptors FZD1, FZD4 and FZD6 were significantly upregulated in EOBRCA, suggesting activation of non-canonical WNT signaling. Our data, suggest the implication of TGM3 deletion in early breast cancer onset. Further molecular investigations are warranted in African patients.
The role of balanced time perspective mediating the relationship between mindfulness as a trait and life satisfaction in Catalan University students
Authors: Ballabrera Queralt , Pérez-Burriel Marc
Published: November 2022

The objective of the present study was to replicate previous studies by examining the potential connections between mindfulness as a trait, life satisfaction and time perspectives (TP) and to analyze if balanced time perspective (BTP) could act as a possible mediator between mindfulness and life satisfaction in students from the University of Girona (Catalonia, Spain). Data was collected from 341 Catalan university students aged 18–52 (77.1% women; mean age = 23.62) who completed Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), the Mindfulness Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) to assess their Temporal Perspective, Mindfulness as a trait and Life Satisfaction respectively. Balanced time perspective (BTP) was calculated using the deviation index of BTP (DBTP). Results showed significant relationships between the various temporal dimensions, life satisfaction, and mindfulness as a trait, being the most significant associations with balanced temporal perspective. On the other hand, results also suggested that BTP may act as a mediator between mindfulness as a psychological trait and life satisfaction, confirming previous studies conducted in different countries. In conclusion, findings could highlight the importance of regulating one’s attention in order to balance time perspectives, which in turn would translate into improved life satisfaction.
Infants’ Prediction of Humanoid Robot’s Goal-Directed Action
Authors: Manzi F. , Ishikawa M. , Di Dio C. , Itakura S. , Kanda T. , Ishiguro H. , Massaro D. , Marchetti A.
Published: November 2022

Several studies have shown that infants anticipate human goal-directed actions, but not robot’s ones. However, the studies focusing on the robot goal-directed actions have mainly analyzed the effect of mechanical arms on infant’s attention. To date, the prediction of goal-directed actions in infants has not yet been studied when the agent is a humanoid robot. Given this lack of evidence in infancy research, the present study aims at analyzing infants’ action anticipation of both a human’s and a humanoid robot’s goal-directed action. Data were acquired on thirty 17-month-old infants, watching four video clips, where either a human or a humanoid robot performed a goal-directed action, i.e. reaching a target. Infants looking behavior was measured through the eye-tracking technique. The results showed that infants anticipated the goal-directed action of both the human and the robot and there were no differences in the anticipatory gaze behavior between the two agents. Furthermore, the findings indicated different attentional patterns for the human and the robot, showing a greater attention paid to the robot's face than the human’s face. Overall, the results suggest that 17-month-old infants may infer also humanoid robot’ underlying action goals.
Combined clustered scan-based metal artifact reduction algorithm (CCS-MAR) for ultrasound-guided cardiac radioablation
Authors: Puvanasunthararajah Sathyathas , Camps Saskia M. , Wille Marie-Luise , Fontanarosa Davide
Published: November 2022

Cardiac radioablation is a promising treatment for cardiac arrhythmias, but accurate dose delivery can be affected by heart motion. For this reason, real-time cardiac motion monitoring during radioablation is of paramount importance. Real-time ultrasound (US) guidance can be a solution. The US-guided cardiac radioablation workflow can be simplified by the simultaneous US and planning computed tomography (CT) acquisition, which can result in US transducer-induced metal artifacts on the planning CT scans. To reduce the impact of these artifacts, a new metal artifact reduction (MAR) algorithm (named: Combined Clustered Scan-based MAR [CCS-MAR]) has been developed and compared with iMAR (Siemens), O-MAR (Philips) and MDT (ReVision Radiology) algorithms. CCS-MAR is a fully automated sinogram inpainting-based MAR algorithm, which uses a two-stage correction process based on a normalized MAR method. The second stage aims to correct errors remaining from the first stage to create an artifact-free combined clustered scan for the process of metal artifact reduction. To evaluate the robustness of CCS-MAR, conventional CT scans and/or dual-energy CT scans from three anthropomorphic phantoms and transducers with different sizes were used. The performance of CCS-MAR for metal artifact reduction was compared with other algorithms through visual comparison, image quality metrics analysis, and HU value restoration evaluation. The results of this study show that CCS-MAR effectively reduced the US transducer-induced metal artifacts and that it improved HU value accuracy more or comparably to other MAR algorithms. These promising results justify future research into US transducer-induced metal artifact reduction for the US-guided cardiac radioablation purposes.
A 4D printed self-assembling PEGDA microscaffold fabricated by digital light processing for arthroscopic articular cartilage tissue engineering
Authors: Hao Yunjie , Wu Chuanyung , Su Yuchuan , Curran Jude , Henstock James R. , Tseng Fangang
Published: November 2022

Articular cartilage in synovial joints such as the knee has limited capability to regenerate independently, and most clinical options for focal cartilage repair merely delay total joint replacement. Tissue engineering presents a repair strategy in which an injectable cell-laden scaffold material is used to reconstruct the joint in situ through mechanical stabilisation and cell-mediated regeneration. In this study, we designed and 3D-printed millimetre-scale micro-patterned PEGDA biomaterial microscaffolds which self-assemble through tessellation at a scale relevant for applications in osteochondral cartilage reconstruction. Using simulated chondral lesions in an in vitro model, a series of scaffold designs and viscous delivery solutions were assessed. Hexagonal microscaffolds (750 μm x 300 μm) demonstrated the best coverage of a model cartilage lesion (at 73.3%) when injected with a 1% methyl cellulose solution. When chondrocytes were introduced to the biomaterial via a collagen hydrogel, they successfully engrafted with the printed microscaffolds and survived for at least 14 days in vitro, showing the feasibility of reconstructing stratified cartilaginous tissue using this strategy. Our study demonstrates a promising application of this 4D-printed injectable technique for future clinical applications in osteochondral tissue engineering.
A two-stage μCAT-MPD thruster: toward millinewton thrust
Authors: Zolotukhin D. B. , Tyunkov A. V. , Yushkov Yu G. , Bandaru S. R. P. , Daniels K. P. , Keidar M.
Published: November 2022

We discuss our efforts aimed at simultaneous improvement of the levels of thrust, thrust-to-power ratio (TPR) and efficiency of the two-stage micro-cathode arc thruster with magneto-plasma-dynamical second stage (μCAT-MPD). Such efforts include planar construction of the first stage (μCAT) with tightly-pressed ring anode and central disc cathode, enhanced hardness and durability of the inter-electrode dielectric gap provided by deposited boron-copper thin film, refractory (Mo) second-stage electrode, higher and stabilized second-stage voltage, and improved thermal isolation of the permanent magnet from the discharge area. Aforementioned features allowed achieve the average thrust of milli-newton range – up to 1.7 ± 0.3 mN, together with high TPR of 37 μN/W and efficiency of 50%, remaining low mass (~ 100 g) and low consuming power (~ 50 W) of the thruster.
Stemming the tide of distrust: A mixed-methods study of vaccine hesitancy
Authors: Plunk Andrew , Sheehan Brynn , Orr Shelly , Gartner Danielle , Moeller F. Gerard , Jain Praduman
Published: November 2022

Public distrust in the US pandemic response has significantly hindered its effectiveness. In this community-based participatory research mixed-methods study, based on two datasets, we examined how distrust in COVID-19 vaccines relates to institutional distrust. We found that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause undermined trust in COVID-19 vaccines in general. Findings also suggest that vaccine distrust developed after participating in a study on COVID-19 testing. Increased distrust may be an unintended consequence of how healthcare and public health activities are presented and delivered, and research participation is structured. Both will continue without proactively addressing the root causes of distrust.
Soft Law Behind the Scenes: Transparency, Participation and the European Union’s Soft Law Making Process in the Field of Climate Change
Authors: Petropoulou Ionescu Danai , Eliantonio Mariolina
Published: November 2022

The global climate crisis poses many risks; for instance, relating to the environment, to the economy and to public health. The mitigation and management of such risks create a complex and multifaceted regulatory conundrum that requires quick, flexible, efficient and adaptive policy solutions that transcend the state level. A quick look in the body of regulatory instruments employed in the field of climate change policy will reveal that soft law is used very frequently by the European Commission to aid with the application, transposition and interpretation of European Union (EU) environmental legislation relating to climate change. While soft law has become ever more prominent in the EU legal order and has been studied extensively at the ex-post phase (ie concerning its effects or effectiveness), little academic attention has been paid to the process of soft law-making. In simple terms, we know very little about how soft law instruments are made. This article peeks behind the scenes of soft law and examines the transparency and participation credentials of the articulation process of Commission Guidance Documents in the field of climate change regulation adopted under key legal acts in the field.
Fluctuation-induced slip of thermal boundary layers at a stable liquid–liquid interface
Authors: Huang Hailong , Xu Wei , Wang Yin , Wang Xiaoping , He Xiaozhou , Tong Penger
Published: November 2022

We report a systematic experimental study of the mean temperature profile

$\theta (\delta z)$

and temperature variance profile

$\eta (\delta z)$

across a stable and immiscible liquid–liquid (water–FC770) interface formed in two-layer turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection. The measured

$\theta (\delta z)$

and

$\eta (\delta z)$

as a function of distance

$\delta z$

away from the interface for different Rayleigh numbers are found to have the scaling forms

$\theta (\delta z/\lambda )$

and

$\eta (\delta z/\lambda )$

, respectively, with varying thermal boundary layer (BL) thickness

$\lambda$

. By a careful comparison with the simultaneously measured BL profiles near a solid conducting surface, we find that the measured

$\theta (\delta z)$

and

$\eta (\delta z)$

near the liquid interface can be well described by the BL equations for a solid wall, so long as a thermal slip length

$\ell _T$

is introduced to account for the convective heat flux passing through the liquid interface. Direct numerical simulation results further confirm that the turbulent thermal diffusivity

$\kappa _t$

near a stable liquid interface has a complete cubic form,

$\kappa _t(\xi )/\kappa \sim (\xi +\xi _0)^3$

, where

$\kappa$

is the molecular thermal diffusivity of the convecting fluid,

$\xi =\delta z/\lambda$

is the normalized distance away from the liquid interface and

$\xi _0$

is the normalized slip length associated with

$\ell _T$

.
A Tembel Hat in the Streets of Nazareth: Paul Gauthier’s Israeli Experience
Authors: Kandel Lamdan Silvana
Published: November 2022

The French priest Paul Gauthier (1914–2002) was a former theology professor who, after a short period as a prêtre-ouvrier (worker-priest) in Marseille, decided in 1956 to settle in Nazareth and practice his working apostolate there. For the next eleven years, and until his abrupt departure shortly after the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel became Gauthier’s home. Some years after his arrival, Gauthier was invited to the Second Vatican Council by the archbishop of Galilee. There, Gauthier led the group the “Church of the Poor,” which aimed to bring the issue of poverty and pastoral service to the forefront of Council discussions. Gauthier spent his years in Israel between two physically close but culturally and politically distant worlds. On the one hand, he lived and worked with the vulnerable Arab population of Nazareth. On the other, he was in close contact with Israel’s new Jewish society, which greatly aroused his curiosity. In addition to his friendly contact with the Israeli civilian and military authorities, who would help him foster his cooperative for Arab housing, he was attracted by the kibbutz lifestyle and was especially moved by the philosophy of the Zionist thinker and pioneer Aaron David Gordon. Gauthier believed that his experience in Nazareth and Israel, where he saw an interchange of many worlds, could shed light on the worker-priest apostolate and provide a model for priestly spirituality in a working-class environment, in its various aspects. This article analyzes the influence of the “Israel experience” on Paul Gauthier’s thought.
Tetralogy of Fallot with double aortic arch and aortopulmonary window: a very rare trifecta
Authors: Özdemir Şahan Yasemin , Ecevit Ata Niyazi , Gürsu Hazım Alper , Aydın Nuri Hakan , Çetin İbrahim İlker
Published: November 2022

Tetralogy of Fallot with an aortopulmonary window and double aortic arch is very rare. This complex coexistence may be over a wide clinical spectrum. Herein, we present an asymptomatic 8-day-old infant who was diagnosed as having tetralogy of Fallot, double aortic arch, and an aortopulmonary window using transthoracic echocardiography while being examined for microcephaly.
The Fourth Amendment of Chinese Patent Law and Discussion on its Practical Effects
Authors: Feng Ling , Yu Xiang
Published: November 2022

Through comparative study, case and data analysis, this article summarizes the key points of the fourth amendment of Chinese Patent Law, and analyses the expected practical significance. Meanwhile, this article also discusses the shortcomings of the new patent law after the fourth amendment, and puts forward some suggestions for further improvement and refinement. The purpose of the fourth amendment of Chinese Patent Law is mainly to make the Chinese patent system more in line with the current technological and economic development in China as well as international cooperative innovation. The core points of the fourth amendment include: (1) strengthening patent enforcement by adopting punitive damages to intentional patent infringement, and increasing the patent protection duration extension for new pharmaceuticals, etc. (2) Promoting patent implementation by adding ‘Open Licence’ rules and improving employees’ invention regulations; (3) Improving design patent protection by expending protection duration and adopting protection for partial designs. (4) Increasing the provisions about the grace period for patent filings of inventions related to public interests. The new Patent Law 2020 will gradually show its significant practical effects. At the same time, however, there are still some regulations that need to be further clarified and refined for ensuring better implementation of the new law.
TWO NEW LEXICA ON ACCENTUATION AND VOWEL QUANTITIES (WITH NEW FRAGMENTS OF EUPOLIS, ARISTOPHANES OF BYZANTIUM (?), ARISTARCHUS OF SAMOTHRACE AND SELEUCUS OF ALEXANDRIA (?))
Authors: Sandri Maria Giovanna
Published: November 2022

This paper provides the first critical edition of two Greek lexica on accentuation and vowel quantity, recently discovered in a fourteenth-century manuscript now held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. I shall argue that one of the main sources for the first lexicon (on accentuation) was the περὶ Ἀττικῆς προσῳδίας of the first-century BCE grammarian Trypho. As Trypho's work now survives only in fragments, this lexicon allows us to deepen our understanding and knowledge of his handbook. Additionally, some ancient fragments transmitted by these lexica are published here for the first time: one is attributed to the fifth-century BCE poet Eupolis, one to the famous Alexandrian grammarian Aristophanes of Byzantium (but it perhaps belongs to Demetrius Ixion (second century BCE) instead), four to Aristarchus of Samothrace (216–144 BCE) and one to the first-century BCE grammarian Seleucus (although this attribution is debatable: it overlaps with an already-known fragment attributed to Aristocles of Rhodes).
Bifurcations in Scientific Careers
Authors: Koskinen Hannu
Published: November 2022

Life is a chaotic nonlinear dynamical system, so is of course the scientific life as well. Due to external perturbations the trajectory of any scientific career goes through several unstable points and may bifurcate to unexpected directions. I discuss a few critical points based on my own experience as a space scientist throughout my professional career. While my examples are certainly quite typical, the trajectories after the bifurcations are always individual. The advice I wish to give to a young scientist: Watch your opportunities and be well‐prepared.
The Interface Between Magma and Earth's Atmosphere
Authors: Kuhn J. , Bobrowski N. , Platt U.
Published: November 2022

Volatiles released from magma can form bubbles and leave the magma body to eventually mix with atmospheric air. The composition of those volatiles, as derived from measurements made after their emission, is used to draw conclusions on processes in the Earth's interior or their influences on Earth's atmosphere. So far, the discussion of the influence of high‐temperature mixing with atmospheric air (in particular oxygen) on the measured volcanic gas composition is almost exclusively based on thermodynamic equilibrium (TE) considerations. By modeling the combined effects of C‐H‐O‐S reaction kinetics, turbulent mixing, and associated cooling during the first seconds after magmatic gas release into the atmosphere we show that the resulting gas compositions generally do not represent TE states, with individual species (e.g., CO, H2, H2S, OCS, SO3, HO2, H2O2) deviating by orders of magnitude from equilibrium levels. Besides revealing the chemical details of high‐temperature emission processes, our results question common interpretations of volcanic gas studies, particularly affecting the present understanding of auto‐catalytic conversion of volcanic halogen species in the atmosphere and redox state determination from volcanic plume gas measurements.
The Influence of Sediments, Lithosphere and Upper Mantle (Anelastic) With Lateral Heterogeneity on Ocean Tide Loading and Ocean Tide Dynamics
Authors: Huang Pingping , Sulzbach Roman Lucas , Klemann Volker , Tanaka Yoshiyuki , Dobslaw Henryk , Martinec Zdeněk , Thomas Maik
Published: November 2022

Ocean tide loading (OTL) and ocean tide dynamics (OTD) are known to be affected by Earth's internal structures, with the latter being affected by the self‐attraction and loading (SAL) potential. Combining the 3D earth models Lyon and LITHO1.0, we construct a hybrid model to quantify the coupled effect of sediments, oceanic and continental lithosphere, and anelastic upper mantle on OTL and OTD. Compared to PREM, this more realistic 3D model produces significantly larger vertical OTL displacement by up to 3.9, 2.6, and 0.1 mm for the M2, K1, and Mf OTL, respectively. Moreover, it shows a smaller vector difference of 0.1 mm and a smaller amplitude difference of 0.2 mm than PREM with OTL observations at 663 Global Navigation Satellite System stations, a confirmation of the cumulative effect due to these earth features. On the other hand, we find a resonant impact of wider extent and larger magnitude on OTD, especially for the M2 and K1 tides. Specifically, this impact is concentrated in the ranges 0–6 mm and 0–1.5 mm for M2 and K1, respectively, which is considerably larger than the impact on SAL (mostly in the ranges 0–2 mm and 0–1.0 mm, respectively). Since the effect on vertical displacement is at a similar level compared to the accuracy of modern data‐constrained ocean tide models that require correction of the geocentric tide by loading induced vertical displacements, we regard its consideration to be potentially beneficial in OTD modeling.
Particulate matter promotes cancer metastasis through increased HBEGF expression in macrophages
Authors: Park Seung-Ho , Yoon Sung-Jin , Choi Song , Jung Jaeeun , Park Jun-Young , Park Young-Ho , Seo Jinho , Lee Jungwoon , Lee Moo-Seung , Lee Seon-Jin , Son Mi-Young , Cho Young-Lai , Kim Jang-Seong , Lee Hyo Jin , Jeong Jinyoung , Kim Dae-Soo , Park Young-Jun
Published: November 2022

Although many cohort studies have reported that long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) can cause lung cancer, the molecular mechanisms underlying the PM-induced increase in cancer metastasis remain unclear. To determine whether PM contributes to cancer metastasis, cancer cells were cultured with conditioned medium from PM-treated THP1 cells, and the migration ability of the treated cancer cells was assessed. The key molecules involved were identified using RNA-seq analysis. In addition, metastatic ability was analyzed in vivo by injection of cancer cells into the tail vein and intratracheal injection of PM into the lungs of C57BL/6 mice. We found that PM enhances the expression of heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HBEGF) in macrophages, which induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer cells, thereby increasing metastasis. Macrophage stimulation by PM results in activation and subsequent nuclear translocation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and upregulation of HBEGF. Secreted HBEGF activates EGFR on the cancer cell surface to induce EMT, resulting in increased migration and invasion in vitro and increased metastasis in vivo. Therefore, our study reveals a critical PM-macrophage-cancer cell signaling axis mediating EMT and metastasis and provides an effective therapeutic approach for PM-induced malignancy.
Inflammation in myocardial infarction: roles of mesenchymal stem cells and their secretome
Authors: Shao Lianbo , Shen Ying , Ren Chuanlu , Kobayashi Shuzo , Asahara Takayuki , Yang Junjie
Published: November 2022

Inflammation plays crucial roles in the regulation of pathophysiological processes involved in injury, repair and remodeling of the infarcted heart; hence, it has become a promising target to improve the prognosis of myocardial infarction (MI). Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) serve as an effective and innovative treatment option for cardiac repair owing to their paracrine effects and immunomodulatory functions. In fact, transplanted MSCs have been shown to accumulate at injury sites of heart, exerting multiple effects including immunomodulation, regulating macrophages polarization, modulating the activation of T cells, NK cells and dendritic cells and alleviating pyroptosis of non-immune cells. Many studies also proved that preconditioning of MSCs can enhance their inflammation-regulatory effects. In this review, we provide an overview on the current understanding of the mechanisms on MSCs and their secretome regulating inflammation and immune cells after myocardial infarction and shed light on the applications of MSCs in the treatment of cardiac infarction.
Microstructural but not macrostructural cortical degeneration occurs in Parkinson’s disease with mild cognitive impairment
Authors: Bai Xueqin , Guo Tao , Chen Jingwen , Guan Xiaojun , Zhou Cheng , Wu Jingjing , Liu Xiaocao , Wu Haoting , Wen Jiaqi , Gu Luyan , Gao Ting , Xuan Min , Huang Peiyu , Zhang Baorong , Xu Xiaojun , Zhang Minming
Published: November 2022

This study aimed to investigate the cortical microstructural/macrostructural degenerative patterns in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Overall, 38 PD patients with normal cognition (PD-NC), 38 PD-MCI, and 32 healthy controls (HC) were included. PD-MCI was diagnosed according to the MDS Task Force level II criteria. Cortical microstructural alterations were evaluated with Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging. Cortical thickness analyses were derived from T1-weighted imaging using the FreeSurfer software. For cortical microstructural analyses, compared with HC, PD-NC showed lower orientation dispersion index (ODI) in bilateral cingulate and paracingulate gyri, supplementary motor area, right paracentral lobule, and precuneus (PFWE < 0.05); while PD-MCI showed lower ODI in widespread regions covering bilateral frontal, parietal, occipital, and right temporal areas and lower neurite density index in left frontal area, left cingulate, and paracingulate gyri (PFWE < 0.05). Furthermore, compared with PD-NC, PD-MCI showed reduced ODI in right frontal area and bilateral caudate nuclei (voxelP < 0.01 and cluster >100 voxels) and the ODI values were associated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores (r = 0.440,P < 0.001) and the memory performance (r = 0.333,P = 0.004) in the PD patients. However, for cortical thickness analyses, there was no difference in the between-group comparisons. In conclusion, cortical microstructural alterations may precede macrostructural changes in PD-MCI. This study provides insightful evidence for the degenerative patterns in PD-MCI and contributes to our understanding of the latent biological basis of cortical neurite changes for early cognitive impairment in PD.
A quantum hamiltonian simulation benchmark
Authors: Dong Yulong , Whaley K. Birgitta , Lin Lin
Published: November 2022

Hamiltonian simulation is one of the most important problems in quantum computation, and quantum singular value transformation (QSVT) is an efficient way to simulate a general class of Hamiltonians. However, the QSVT circuit typically involves multiple ancilla qubits and multi-qubit control gates. In order to simulate a certain class of n-qubit random Hamiltonians, we propose a drastically simplified quantum circuit that we refer to as the minimal QSVT circuit, which uses only one ancilla qubit and no multi-qubit controlled gates. We formulate a simple metric called the quantum unitary evolution score (QUES), which is a scalable quantum benchmark and can be verified without any need for classical computation. Under the globally depolarized noise model, we demonstrate that QUES is directly related to the circuit fidelity, and the potential classical hardness of an associated quantum circuit sampling problem. Under the same assumption, theoretical analysis suggests there exists an ‘optimal’ simulation time topt ≈ 4.81, at which even a noisy quantum device may be sufficient to demonstrate the potential classical hardness.