bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cognitive bias in animal behavior science: a philosophical perspective
Authors: Nematipour Behzad , Bračić Marko , Krohs Ulrich
Published: July 2022

Emotional states of animals influence their cognitive processes as well as their behavior. Assessing emotional states is important for animal welfare science as well as for many fields of neuroscience, behavior science, and biomedicine. This can be done in different ways, e.g. through assessing animals’ physiological states or interpreting their behaviors. This paper focuses on the so-calledcognitive judgment biastest, which has gained special attention in the last 2 decades and has become a highly important tool for measuring emotional states in non-human animals. However, less attention has been given to the epistemology of the cognitive judgment bias test and to disentangling the relevance of different steps in the underlying cognitive mechanisms. This paper sheds some light on both the epistemology of the methods and the architecture of the underlying cognitive abilities of the tested animals. Based on this reconstruction, we propose a scheme for classifying and assessing different cognitive abilities involved in cognitive judgment bias tests.
Investigating the pilot-scale performance of a hydroponic nutrient solution as potential draw solution for fertilizer drawn forward osmosis and hydroponic agriculture of lettuce
Authors: Bassiouny Mohamed , Nasr Peter , Sewilam Hani
Published: July 2022

The objective of this research is to test the feasibility of a large-scale application of fertilizer drawn forward osmosis using a concentrated hydroponic nutrient solution as the draw solution. This large-scale application will help to mitigate the ever-growing issue of freshwater resources, by providing an alternative source of freshwater for agriculture. This method can then be used to grow crops hydroponically in arid regions that have access to both brackish groundwater and freshwater. The nutrient solution was prepared by dissolving industrial-grade fertilizer salts in dechlorinated tap water and was tested as a draw solution (DS) on a pilot-scale forward osmosis membrane module. The feed solution (FS) for the process was NaCl dissolved in dechlorinated tap water, in a 10 g/L (10% w/w) NaCl concentration to represent the salinity level of brackish groundwater. The performance of the draw solution was measured based on the water flux, water recovery, specific solute flux, and salt rejection. Two hydroponic basins were utilized to hydroponically grow lettuce. The first basin was grown using a commercial hydroponic nutrient solution, while the other basin was grown using the diluted draw solution from the pilot-scale. The growth of the lettuce in both basins was compared based on wet and dry weights of the stem, percent reduction in weight by drying, total length, stem length, and the ratio between stem and total lengths. Results showed that average water flux on the pilot-scale was found to be 1.11 L/m2/hr (LMH), while it was found to be 7.7 LMH in previous research on the bench-scale; this is in line with previous experiments conducted on both bench-scale and pilot-scale forward osmosis. The highest value specific reverse solute flux on the pilot-scale was found to be 7.48 g/m2/h for the K+ ion, which is also comparable to the results obtained on the bench-scale. Finally, salt rejection was found to be high, the lowest value was 90.7%, indicating high membrane selectivity against feed ions. The lettuce grown hydroponically using the resultant diluted draw solution from the pilot-scale was comparable to the lettuce grown using a commercial nutrient solution, with the draw solution lettuce being 16.23% less in terms of weight than the commercial lettuce, and 27.18% in stem length. This decrease in size and weight of the lettuce grown with the diluted draw solution can be attributed to the ratio of macro- and micro-nutrients in the Resh Florida/California solution not being optimized for the species of lettuce grown (loose leaf). It was concluded that concentrated hydroponic nutrient solution is a valid draw solution for large-scale fertilizer drawn forward osmosis, and this application mitigates some of the drawbacks of fertilizer drawn forward osmosis and increases the feasibility of large-scale application of forward osmosis as a desalination technology.

Graphical abstract
The effect of working memory training on situation awareness in a flight simulator
Authors: Zhou Yue , Wu Di , Wang Chaoxian , Sun Kewei , Xu Pengbo , Wang Ziwei , Xiao Wei
Published: July 2022

The close relationship between working memory and situation awareness (SA) has been confirmed and further empirical investigations are lacking. The main aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of working memory training for improving SA. Thirty-eight participants completed a challenging flight scenario in a high-fidelity flight simulator and were randomized into a training group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 18). The training group engaged in an adaptive dual N-back task for 2 weeks, while the control group was given a negative control task. Three-dimensional situation awareness rating technique (3D-SART) scores and situation awareness global assessment technique (SAGAT) scores were recorded to evaluate pretest and posttest SA. The results showed that both situational understanding dimension scores in the 3D-SART and SAGAT scores were significantly increased from the pretest to the posttest in the training group, while the control group showed no significant differences. It was concluded that working memory training can effectively improve individuals’ SA, which has important implication for future research.
Does the Selection of the Procedure Impact the Return to Work in Unemployed Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery?
Authors: Claassen Kevin , Kügler Kathrin , Celesnik Jörg , Senkal Metin , Jäger Pia
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Obesity and its comorbidities are risk factors for absenteeism and unemployment. Bariatric surgery might help to intervene in the vicious circle of unemployment, social disadvantage and increasing obesity. The most common bariatric procedures are sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). This survey analyzes the influence of the bariatric procedure on return to work.

Methods

The data of a German nationwide multicenter registry StuDoQ|MBE from 2015 to 2020 are evaluated. Patients are surveyed who underwent a primary SG or RYGB while being unemployed: 782 patients are included. Primary endpoint is any form of return to work within 1 year after treatment. The surgical procedure acts as the binary main treatment variable. A multivariate binary logistic regression model was performed with age, sex, vocational training and weight loss as third variables so that odds ratios (OR) and adjusted ORs were determined.

Results

Of the patients, 41.56% received a RYGB, 58.44% a SG. One year after bariatric surgery, 39.39% of the patients with SG and 33.85% with RYGB reached a return to work. The OR for return to work is 1.27 (p = 0.11) non-significant in favor of SG. The adjusted OR is 1.26 (p = 0.15), indicating that there is no significant influence of the difference between the two surgical procedures on the outcome of return to work.

Conclusion

There is a positive effect regarding return to work in bariatric patients: More than a third of the previously unemployed patients were employed 1 year after surgery. Procedure-specific influences could not be determined.

Graphical abstract
l-Carnitine Mitigates Trazadone Induced Rat Cardiotoxicity Mediated via Modulation of Autophagy and Oxidative Stress
Authors: Khedr Naglaa F. , El-Feky Ola A. , Werida Rehab H.
Published: July 2022

Trazodone (TRZ) is an antidepressant drug which widely used to treat insomnia, but it has a cardiotoxic effect which considered one of the TRZ limitations. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective role ofl-carnitine in rats against TRZ-induced cardiotoxicity, as well as to look into the molecular mechanisms underlying its cardioprotective effects via autophagy-mediated cell death and oxidative stress. Male albino rats were randomized into four experimental groups (n = 8): normal control, TRZ group (TRZ, 20 mg/kg/day),l-carnitine group (LC, 200 mg/kg/day), and Co-treated group (l-carnitine and TRZ). All treatments were administered via oral gavage for 4 weeks. Cardiac enzymes (AST & CK-MB) and serum cardiac troponin T(cTnI) were assessed. Oxidative stress biomarkers in heart tissue (malondialdehyde; MDA, total thiol, and catalase activity) were measured. Autophagy related-genes (ATG-5 and Beclin-1), P62, and TNF-α were quantified. AST and CK-MB and cTnI significantly (p < 0.001) were increased with enhanced autophagy as well as severe histopathological changes which were manifested as scattered chronic inflammatory cells with focal fragmentation of myocardial fibers and loss of nuclei in TRZ-treated group. However, daily administration of l-carnitine (200 mg/kg) for 28 days completely reversed TRZ-induced the increased cardiac enzymes, autophagy, and myocardial inflammatory processes to the normal values. TRZ administration might have the potential to cause cardiotoxic effects that can be treated withl-carnitine administration.
Questions to guide cancer evolution as a framework for furthering progress in cancer research and sustainable patient outcomes
Authors: Somarelli Jason A. , DeGregori James , Gerlinger Marco , Heng Henry H. , Marusyk Andriy , Welch Danny R. , Laukien Frank H.
Published: July 2022

We appear to be faced with ‘two truths’ in cancer—one of major advances and successes and another one of remaining short-comings and significant challenges. Despite decades of research and substantial progress in treating cancer, most patients with metastatic cancer still experience great suffering and poor outcomes. Metastatic cancer, for the vast majority of patients, remains incurable. In the context of advanced disease, many clinical trials report only incremental advances in progression-free and overall survival. At the same time, the breadth and depth of new scientific discoveries in cancer research are staggering. These discoveries are providing increasing mechanistic detail into the inner workings of normal and cancer cells, as well as into cancer–host interactions; however, progress remains frustratingly slow in translating these discoveries into improved diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic interventions. Despite enormous advances in cancer research and progress in progression-free survival, or even cures, for certain cancer types—with earlier detection followed by surgical, adjuvant, targeted, or immuno- therapies, we must challenge ourselves to do even better where patients do not respond or experience evolving therapy resistance. We propose that defining cancer evolution as a separate domain of study and integrating the concept of evolvability as a core hallmark of cancer can help position scientific discoveries into a framework that can be more effectively harnessed to improve cancer detection and therapy outcomes and to eventually decrease cancer lethality. In this perspective, we present key questions and suggested areas of study that must be considered—not only by the field of cancer evolution, but by all investigators researching, diagnosing, and treating cancer.
The impact of the multidisciplinary Endocarditis Team on the management of infective endocarditis
Authors: Wahadat A. R. , Tanis W. , Galema T. W. , Swart L. E. , van Leeuwen W. J. , Verkaik N. J. , Schurink C. A. M. , van Dalen B. , Zoet-Nugteren S. , Gurlek C. , Budde R. P. J. , Roos-Hesselink J. W.
Published: July 2022

Background

In their latest guidelines for infective endocarditis (IE) (2015), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) introduced the implementation of the Endocarditis Team (ET) to facilitate the management of IE. This study presents our experiences and the diagnostic and therapeutic impact of the ET on the management of IE.

Methods

From 2016–2020, data of all patients with suspected IE referred to the ET were prospectively collected. The final diagnosis was defined by the ET as either rejected, possible or definite IE. Diagnostic impact was scored as any change in initial diagnosis, the frequency of additional diagnostic tests advised by the ET and any change in diagnosis after these tests. Therapeutic impact was scored as any change in antibiotic therapy or change from conservative to invasive therapy or vice versa.

Results

A total of 321 patients (median age 67 [55–77] years, 71% male) were enrolled. The final diagnosis was rejected IE in 47 (15%), possible IE in 34 (11%) and definite IE in 240 (75%) patients. A change of initial diagnosis was seen in 53/321(17%) patients. Additional microbiological tests were advised in 69/321 (21%) patients, and additional imaging tests in 136/321 (42%) patients, which resulted in subsequent change in diagnosis in 23/321 (7%) patients. Any change in antibiotic treatment was advised in 135/321 (42%) patients, and change from initial conservative to additional surgical treatment in 15/321 (5%) patients.

Conclusion

The ET had a clear impact on the therapeutic policy for patients with suspected IE and is useful in the management of this life-threatening disease. Broad implementation is warranted.
Insight on the Dependence of the Drug Delivery Applications of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles on Their Physical Properties
Authors: Fathy Mohamed M. , Yassin Fatma M. , Elshemey Wael M. , Fahmy Heba M.
Published: July 2022

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are fascinating due to their interesting properties and applications.

Purpose

The optimization of MSNs for drug delivery applications was achieved by preparing different formulations of MSNs using different concentrations of ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) (0.7, 1.4, 2.8, 4.2, and 5.6 mg/ml for MSN1, MSN2, MSN3, MSN4, and MSN5, respectively).

Methods

In the synthesis of MSNs, NH4OH was used as a catalyst while tetraethyl orthosilicate were used as a source of silica. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image revealed a linear increase in the size of the formed MSNs with increase in catalyst concentration. TEM images showed that all investigated nanoparticles were dispersed and spherical (changed to oval on addition of higher concentration of NH4OH).

Results

The hydrodynamic sizes of prepared MSNs were (64.18 ± 6.8, 90.46 ± 7.1, 118.98 ± 7.01, 152.7 ± 1.7, and 173.9 ± 9.36 nm for MSN1, MSN2, MSN3, MSN4, and MSN5, respectively) assessed using the dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique. The negative values of zeta potential indicated high surface stability of the formed MSNs. N2-isotherm revealed that the pore volume of MSNs decreased with increase in the size of MSNs. In vitro drug release showed that all MSNs exhibited high encapsulation efficiency of doxorubicin. The encapsulation efficiency were 92.2%, 82.8%, 72.2%, 72.1% and 71.9%for MSN1, MSN2, MSN3, MSN4, and MSN5, respectively.

Conclusion

MSN1 and MSN2, with sizes of 64.18 ± 6.8 and 90.46 ± 7.1 nm, pore volume of 0.89 and 0.356 cc/g, encapsulation efficiency of 92.2% and 82.8%, and adequate drug release profiles, were probably the best choices for a drug carrier in drug delivery applications.
Effect of acid treatment on the geomechanical properties of rocks: an experimental investigation in Ahdeb oil field
Authors: Alameedy Usama , Alhaleem Ayad A. , Isah Abubakar , Al-Yaseri Ahmed , Mahmoud Mohamed , Salih Ibrahim Saeb
Published: July 2022

Acidizing is one of the most used stimulation techniques in the petroleum industry. Several reports have been issued on the difficulties encountered during the stimulation operation of the Ahdeb oil field, particularly in the development of the Mishrif reservoir, including the following: (1) high injection pressures make it difficult to inject acid into the reservoir formation, and (2) only a few acid jobs have been effective in Ahdeb oil wells, while the bulk of the others has been unsuccessful. The significant failure rate of oil well stimulation in this deposit necessitates more investigations. Thus, we carried out this experimental study to systematically investigate the influence of acid treatment on the geomechanical properties of Mi4 formation of the Mishrif reservoir. The acid core-flood experiments were performed on seven core samples from the oil reservoir in central Iraq. The porosity, permeability, acoustic velocities, rock strength, and dynamic elastic parameters were computed before and after the acidizing treatment. To determine the optimal acid injection rate, different injection flow rates were used in the core-flooding experiments. The propagation of an acid-induced wormhole and its effect on the rock properties were analyzed and compared to that of intact rocks. Computed tomography (CT) scan and a 3D reconstruction technique were also conducted to establish the size and geometry of the generated wormhole. To analyze the influence of mineralogical variation and heterogeneity and confirm the consistency of the outcomes, acidizing experiments on different rock samples were conducted. The results demonstrate that for all the rock samples studied, the mechanical properties exhibit rock weakening post-acid treatment. The Young’s modulus reduced by 26% to 37%, while the Poisson’s ratio, the coefficient of lateral earth pressure at rest, and the material index increased by 13% to 20%, 23% to 32%, and 28% to 125%, respectively. The CT scan visually confirmed that the acid treatment effectively creates a pathway for fluid flow through the core.
Inequality assessment in a dynamic framework with heterogenous agents
Authors: Palestini Arsen , Pignataro Giuseppe
Published: July 2022

We propose a method to carry out an inequality assessment in a dynamic and cross-sectional framework, by applying the dynamic version of a suitable inequality index, such as the Gini coefficient, as a function of time. We use our methodology to a setup where the optimal value functions is the individuals’ income flows while the initial conditions characterize their level of wealth. When the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman system of equations can be solved in closed form, the monotone path of the income distribution is established. Extending the model according to a government intervention gives the possibility to study, first policy for reducing income inequality under a specific exogenous target, and second to minimise income inequality across individuals.
Seniorenbildung in der Pandemie: Programmplanung zwischen Digitalisierung und Begegnung, zwischen Lähmung und Innovation
Authors: Kulmus Claudia
Published: July 2022

Der Beitrag basiert auf einer Interviewstudie mit acht Programmplanenden in Einrichtungen mit Bildungsangeboten für Ältere. Es wird nach den Planungsstrategien in der Pandemie und grundsätzlichen Orientierungen für die Aufrechterhaltung des Programms gefragt. Im Ergebnis stehen vier Strategien: eine kontinuierliche digitale Innovation, eine strukturelle Innovation, ein abwartendes Situationsbeobachten, ein Wunsch nach Rückkehr zum Alten. Diese Strategien werden entlang von zwei Spannungsfeldern (zwischen Wissensvermittlung und Begegnung sowie zwischen Lähmung und Innovation) entwickelt. Mit diesem Ansatz wird das Spektrum an Möglichkeiten der empirischen Analyse von Programmplanungshandeln erweitert, in dem entlang von grundlegenden Orientierungen Planungsstrategien sichtbar gemacht werden.
Pattern analysis of physiological data for the assessment of mental workload
Authors: Bläsing Dominic
Published: July 2022

Measuring mental workload at the workplace using (psycho-) physiological measurement techniques seems desirable but is difficult to implement. Conventional analysis techniques are designed to cover longer measurement durations, neglecting the demands of modern work places: high worker flexibility and constantly fluctuating mental workload. As an alternative analysis approach, measurement (resp. analysis) duration can be shortened and event-based pattern analysis of various physiological parameters can be performed. The effects of such approaches are demonstrated by experimental examples. Furthermore, an event-timestamp independent framework is presented. Focusing on occasionally occurring peaks and longer lasting plateaus in mental workload trajectories, an automatized analysis of workload during work processes becomes possible.

Practical relevance: With steadily increasing cognitive demands at work the risk of mental fatigue increases too. Mental workload is not directly observable at the workplace and the objective measurement and interpretation is complicated. Improving the overall assessment and analysis strategies for (physiological) mental workload indicators can benefit the quality of risk assessments of workplaces and processes as well as enable the possibility of demand-orientated control of (informational) assistance systems to prevent mental overload and resulting health constraints.
Antikoagulation und Knochenstoffwechsel
Authors: Gasser Rudolf W.
Published: July 2022

Die in der Antikoagulation verwendeten Medikamente Heparin, Vitamin-K-Antagonisten (VKA) und DOAC (direkte orale Antikoagulanzien) bzw. NOAC (nicht Vitamin-K-antagonistische orale Antikoagulanzien) haben unterschiedliche Auswirkungen auf den Knochenstoffwechsel, die Knochenmineraldichte und das Frakturrisiko. Eine längerfristige Anwendung von unfraktioniertem Heparin (UFH) führt zu einer Abnahme der Knochenmineraldichte und zu einem erhöhten Frakturrisiko. Niedermolekulares Heparin (LMWH) hat längerfristig eine geringe negative Wirkung auf den Knochenstoffwechsel, ein erhöhtes Frakturrisiko ist dabei nicht eindeutig nachgewiesen. VKA haben eine ausgeprägt negative Wirkung auf den Knochenstoffwechsel durch eine Störung der Osteokalzinbildung. Als Folge wurde in mehreren Studien bei längerfristiger Anwendung eine Abnahme der Knochenmineraldichte festgestellt, das Frakturrisiko ist aber nur mäßiggradig erhöht. DOAC/NOAC haben keine gravierenden klinisch relevanten Auswirkungen auf den Knochenstoffwechsel; eine etwas stärkere Abnahme der Knochendichte gegenüber Kontrollen wurde in einer Studie festgestellt, eine Zunahme des Frakturrisikos wurde nicht nachgewiesen. Mehrfache Vergleichsstudien zur Frakturhäufigkeit zwischen VKA und DOAC/NOAC zeigen ein mäßig hohes Frakturrisiko bei beiden Medikamentengruppen, aber immer geringer bei DOAC/NOAC als bei VKA; das geringste Frakturrisiko zeigt sich bei Apixaban. Aus osteologischer Sicht sind bei einer Antkoagulanzientherapie DOAC/NOAC zu bevorzugen, falls keine Kontraindikation besteht. Die Auswahl des Medikaments für eine langfristige Antikoagulation sollte daher auch berücksichtigen, ob für den betroffenen Patienten ein erhöhtes Frakturrisiko besteht, wie z. B. höheres Lebensalter, Osteoporose oder eine vorbestehende Fraktur.
“Immersed within the rock itself”: Student experiences rock climbing in outdoor education
Authors: Jane Jack , Wattchow Brian , Thomas Glyn
Published: July 2022

Outdoor education has a long tradition of using adventurous activities like rock climbing to achieve learning outcomes. Concepts like adventure, perceived risk, and flow have been used to justify the inclusion of these activities. However, the arguments for their inclusion have been eroded in recent decades, leading the authors of this paper to ask: How do students actually experience an activity like rockclimbing? In addition, outdoor activities/sports have often been grouped together, as if they were one activity, rather than distinct activities, that may require specific pedagogic considerations. This paper presents the findings of research into one group of secondary school students and their experiences rock climbing while on an OE camp at Mt Arapiles/ Dyurrite in Victoria, Australia. It re-tells their stories about two climbing contexts - top rope and multi pitch climbing. Data collected through interviews were used to retell the student’s stories about their climbing experiences and inform our analysis of how rockclimbing practices may be modified to better suit evolving ideas within outdoor education. The study highlights the impact that guides have on student’s experiences and the need for program design to be guided by intended learning outcomes. Finally, we recommend more research into students’ lived experiences across the OE curriculum to develop more nuanced outdoor education programs.
‘It hasn’t Been the Best Year, but here I am’: Young Adults Interpreting their Agency in Relation to the Self-Governing Discourse, Social Relations and Life Contexts
Authors: Niemi Anna-Maija
Published: July 2022

The
aim of this article is to explore with a longitudinal research approach how young adults narrate their life course and build their agency in relation to societal expectations with the support of their social relations and societal awareness. The article leans on the ethnography-based life historical interview data produced in 2017–2020 with a small group of Finnish young adults who are regarded as having a migrant or special education background. The discursive–narrative analysis shows that the interviewees make sense of themselves and their agency within the individualised self-governing discourse, especially when narrating the future. They also, however, distance themselves from that discourse by attaching themselves to social and religious relations and societal inequalities, especially when narrating the present and the past. Based on the analysis, I claim that recognising their own position in the school system and in wider society helped the interviewees understand obstacles along the way and be understanding towards themselves and others.
Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture Dimensions among Hospital Nurses: A Systematic Review
Authors: Almutairi Sultan , Aljohani Abdulrahman , Awad Mansour , Saha Chandni , Alhobaishi Hamed , Almutairi Ahmad , Al Mutair Abbas
Published: July 2022

Background

Patient safety culture, an important aspect in the field of patient safety, plays an important role in the promotion of healthcare quality. Improved patient safety culture decreases patient readmission rates, lengths of hospital stay, and patient safety issues. Patient safety culture includes a set of dimensions. This review focuses on the differing perceptions of these dimensions among healthcare providers in hospitals.

Aims

This study aimed to identify studies examining healthcare providers’ perceptions of patient safety culture in hospitals and to summarize the data from these studies.

Method

Electronic database searching was based on the research question. Two electronic databases were used: CINHAL and Scopus. The search was limited to the period 2005–2012, and studies examining healthcare providers’ perceptions of patient safety culture were identified. Key terms were used to search the articles that were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles examining healthcare providers’ perceptions of patient safety culture in hospitals without comparison between nurses and other healthcare professionals were selected.

Results

Eight articles were reviewed. Several questionnaires were used to assess healthcare providers’ perceptions of patient safety culture in these articles. Our review indicated differences in healthcare providers’ perceptions. In two articles, participants reported a high positive response to teamwork. In addition, participants in the other two articles reported a high positive response to job satisfaction.

Conclusion

The results of the current review reveal healthcare providers’ perceptions of patient safety culture. The results highlight that careful recognition and committed work on various scales/dimensions of patient safety culture can improve healthcare quality and consequently decrease patient safety issues associated with nursing care. Our findings also encourage hospital management and decision-makers to focus on and establish improvements in areas that will positively affect the quality of healthcare.
Reduction in Hospital Transfers at a US COVID-19 Alternate Care Site: Maintaining Surge Capacity Support in Imperial County, California
Authors: Zhang Frank W. , Meghoo Colin A. , Staats Katherine L. , Hayes Elizabeth Perkins , Metzner Mitch , Sobel Julia , Hultquist Eric , Noste Erin E. , Wright Charles E. , Devereaux Asha , Backer Howard
Published: July 2022

Objective:

The transfer rate for patients from an Alternate Care Site (ACS) back to a hospital may serve as a metric of appropriate patient selection and the ability of an ACS to treat moderate to severely ill patients accepted from overwhelmed health-care systems. During the coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, hospitals worldwide experienced acute surges of patients presenting with acute respiratory failure.

Methods:

An ACS in Imperial County, California was re-established in November 2020 to help decompress 2 local hospitals experiencing surges of COVID-19 cases. The patients treated often had multiple comorbid illnesses and required a median supplemental oxygen of 3 L/min (LPM) on admission. Numerous interventions were initiated during a 2-wk period to improve clinical care delivery.

Results:

The objectives of this retrospective observational study are to evaluate the impact of these clinical and staff interventions at an ACS on the transfer rate and to provide issues to consider for future ACS sites managing COVID-19 patients.

Conclusions:

The data suggest that continuous, real-time process-improvement interventions helped reduce the transfer rate back to hospitals from 36.7% to 14.5% and that an ACS is a viable option for managing symptomatic COVID-19 positive patients requiring hospital-level care when hospitals are overburdened.
“Our Issue Positions are Strong, and Our Opponents’ Valence is Weak”: An Analysis of Parties' Campaign Strategies in Ten Western European Democracies
Authors: Bjarnøe Camilla , Adams James , Boydstun Amber
Published: July 2022

Political parties face strategic decisions about whether to campaign onissue-based appeals, pertaining to debates over such issues as economic, immigration, and environmental policies, versusvalence-based appeals, emphasizing leadership attributes, such as character (integrity, honesty, and so on), along with performance, that is, the ability to deliver positive outcomes. To better understand these choices, we analyze parties' national election campaign strategies across ten Western European democracies. We argue for, and empirically substantiate, an:our issues versus their valenceeffect, that is, that parties' self-presentations will be more issue-based than their presentations of opponents; anextremist party issue focuseffect, that is, that parties with more extreme ideologies most strongly emphasize issues over valence in their self-presentations; and aprime ministerial valence focus effect, that is, that prime ministerial parties more strongly self-present on valence. These findings have implications for election outcomes and mass–elite linkages.
Why Decenter the “War on Terror” in Histories of the “War on Terror”?
Authors: Caron James
Published: July 2022

When I first began my doctoral work on Afghanistan, and up until quite recently, I had never wanted to write about war. I began my PhD only a month before 11 September 2001, but already the field had been so overdetermined by war—by ideas of political Islam, by the political economy of violence—that I resolved to write a thesis about vital unanswered questions regarding Afghanistan's longer history. Of course I grew to regard this strategy of ignoring war as both naive and morally indefensible. For quite a while, this shaped my teaching more than my research. In my classes on Afghanistan's wars and on political Islam, for instance, we address the global structures of violence head on from a variety of directions, beginning with those that Yousef Baker outlines in his contribution to this roundtable, focusing on the generative forces in US politics amid a neoliberal global context and extending to the devastating ontological destruction that Kali Rubaii discusses in her contribution. In all of this, however, students in particular—especially at an institution like SOAS that is so directly tied to the Global South—repeatedly ask: “Where are we in this? We know that this is how global violence works, but this is surely in some way about us too. And our societies are more than what Tarak Barkawi and Shane Brighton call ‘War/Truth.’” Interlocutors in Pakistan and Afghanistan during my fieldwork there made these points even more strongly.
Writing Histories of Capital in the Shadow of War
Authors: Medhi Abhilash
Published: July 2022

In November 2010, twenty-four heads of member states of NATO assembled for a summit in Lisbon. On their agenda was an overhaul of the alliance's decade-long security strategy. On the sidelines of this summit, the heads of government met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and announced plans to withdraw all NATO troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The decision was not wholly unexpected. However, in newsrooms and among select consulting firms that worked with Afghan ministries in the capital Kabul, the announcement ratcheted up a sense of unease. Doubts were cast over the Afghan national army's preparedness to carry out solo combat operations.
Disentangling the “War on Terror”: Present Pasts and Possible Futures
Authors: Hannun Marya , Lin Ping-hsiu Alice , Schmeding Annika
Published: July 2022

As the US-led global “War on Terror” enters its third decade, the structural, physical, and epistemological violence it has wrought continues to shape lives and landscapes in Afghanistan and Iraq. At present, the scholarship of an entire generation of Middle Eastern Studies has been embedded in the geopolitical realities of this indefinite war, even those whose work does not directly confront it. Yet despite the war's enduring presence, scholars working on Afghanistan and Iraq rarely find the opportunity to reflect with one another on how the global assemblage of international military intervention and the creation of a shifting target of terrorism has narrowed our foci. Instead, these geographies are yoked together in often destructive and superficial ways, erasing older forms of interregional connectivity and longer genealogies of violence.
Dose-response of two Jack O’Lantern pumpkin cultivars to fomesafen applied preemergence
Authors: Arana Jeanine , Meyers Stephen L. , Johnson William G. , Guan Wenjing
Published: July 2022

Three dose-response trials were performed in 2020 and 2021 to determine the tolerance of two Jack O’Lantern pumpkin cultivars to fomesafen applied preemergence at two Indiana locations: the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center (SWPAC) and the Pinney Purdue Agricultural Center (PPAC). The experiment was a split-plot arrangement in which the main plot was the fomesafen rate of application (0, 280, 560, 840, and 1,220 g ai ha–1), and the subplot was the pumpkin cultivar (‘Bayhorse Gold’ and ‘Carbonado Gold’). As the fomesafen rate increased from 280 to 1,120 g ha–1, the predicted pumpkin emergence decreased from 85% to 25% of the nontreated control at SWPAC-2020, but only from 99% to 74% at both locations in 2021. The severe impact on emergence at SWPAC-2020 was attributed to rainfall. Visible injury included bleaching and chlorosis due to the herbicide splashing from the soil surface onto the leaves and included stunting, but injury was transient. As the fomesafen rate increased from 280 to 1,120 g ha–1, the predicted marketable orange pumpkin yield decreased from 95% to 24% of the nontreated control at SWPAC-2020 and 98% to 74% at PPAC-2021. Similarly, the predicted marketable orange pumpkin fruit number decreased from 94% to 21% at SWPAC-2020 and 98% to 74% at PPAC-2021. Fomesafen rate did not affect marketable orange pumpkin yield and fruit number at SWPAC-2021 and marketable orange pumpkin fruit weight at any location-year. Overall, the fomesafen rate of 280 g ha–1 was safe for use preemergence in the pumpkin cultivars ‘Bayhorse Gold’ and ‘Carbonado Gold’ within one day after planting, but there is a risk of increased crop injury with increasing rainfall.
Resolving Shallow Moment Releases of Megathrust Earthquakes by Empirical Green’s Function‐Based Inversions: A New Approach for Tsunami Warning
Authors: Wang Zexin , Yue Han
Published: July 2022

Tsunamis are secondary hazards generated by megathrust earthquakes, which are commonly related to coseismic slips occurring at shallow depths. Various methods were proposed to quickly predict tsunami excitations, while these methods mostly require specific observations or modeling techniques, which limits their application to global subduction zones. In this study, we propose an inversion technique that utilizes the water‐reverberation phases in teleseismic P coda waves to discriminate shallow and deep slips and adopts teleseismic empirical Green’s functions (EGFs) to enable rapid inversions. We developed an EGF extraction and interpolation method to construct Green’s functions. We apply this algorithm to seven megathrust earthquakes, which have been well studied and identified with or without significant shallow slips. In comparison with inversions performed with theoretical Green’s functions, the EGF‐based inversion technique is more effective in discriminating these two types of earthquakes. We propose a threshold to evaluate the percentage of shallow moment releases and found that the EGF‐based inversion result resembles that of joint inversion results. We also analyze the possibility to apply the EGF‐based inversion technique for tsunami warning purposes and infer that it serves as a promising algorithm to enable efficient tsunami early warning.
MicroRNA-206 down-regulated human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells alleviate cognitive decline in D-galactose-induced aging mice
Authors: Zhang Yuying , Deng Weiyue , Wang Wei , Song Aishi , Mukama Omar , Deng Sihao , Han Xiaobo , De Dieu Habimana Jean , Peng Kexin , Ni Bin , Zhang Shusheng , Huang Jufang , Yan Xiao-xin , Li Zhiyuan
Published: July 2022

Background

Non-pathological cognitive decline is a neurodegenerative condition associated with brain aging owing to epigenetic changes, telomere shortening, stem cells exhaustion, or altered differentiation. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) have shown excellent therapeutic prospects on the hallmarks of aging. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of hUCMSCs with down-regulated miRNA-206 (hUCMSCs anti-miR-206) on cognitive decline and the underlying mechanism.

Methods

After daily subcutaneous injection of D-gal (500 mg/kg/d) for 8 weeks, 17-week-old male C57BL/6 J mice were stem cells transplanted by lateral ventricular localization injection. During the 10-day rest period, were tested the behavioral experiments applied to cognitive behavior in the hippocampus. And then, the mice were sacrificed for sampling to complete the molecular and morphological experiments.

Results

Our behavioral experiments of open field test (OFT), new object recognition test (NOR), and Y-maze revealed that D-galactose (D-gal)-induced aging mice treated with hUCMSCs anti-miR-206 had no obvious spontaneous activity disorder and had recovery in learning and spatial memory ability compared with the PBS-treated group. The hUCMSCs anti-miR-206 reconstituted neuronal physiological function in the hippocampal regions of the aging mice with an increase of Nissl bodies and the overexpression of Egr-1, BDNF, and PSD-95.

Conclusion

This study first reports that hUCMSCs anti-miR-206 could provide a novel stem cell-based antiaging therapeutic approach.
3D and 2D aromatic units behave like oil and water in the case of benzocarborane derivatives
Authors: Poater Jordi , Viñas Clara , Solà Miquel , Teixidor Francesc
Published: July 2022

A large number of 2D/2D and 3D/3D aromatic fusions that keep their aromaticity in the fused compounds have been synthesized. In addition, we have previously proven the electronic relationship between the 3D aromaticity of boron hydrides and the 2D aromaticity of PAHs. Here we report the possible existence of 3D/2D aromatic fusions that retain the whole aromaticity of the two units. Our conclusion is that such a 3D/2D aromatic combination is not possible due to the ineffective overlap between the π-MOs of the planar species and the n + 1 molecular orbitals in the aromatic cage that deter an effective electronic delocalization between the two fused units. We have also proven the necessary conditions for 3D/3D fusions to take place, and how aromaticity of each unit is decreased in 2D/2D and 3D/3D fusions.
Structures of the T cell potassium channel Kv1.3 with immunoglobulin modulators
Authors: Selvakumar Purushotham , Fernández-Mariño Ana I. , Khanra Nandish , He Changhao , Paquette Alice J. , Wang Bing , Huang Ruiqi , Smider Vaughn V. , Rice William J. , Swartz Kenton J. , Meyerson Joel R.
Published: July 2022

The Kv1.3 potassium channel is expressed abundantly on activated T cells and mediates the cellular immune response. This role has made the channel a target for therapeutic immunomodulation to block its activity and suppress T cell activation. Here, we report structures of human Kv1.3 alone, with a nanobody inhibitor, and with an antibody-toxin fusion blocker. Rather than block the channel directly, four copies of the nanobody bind the tetramer’s voltage sensing domains and the pore domain to induce an inactive pore conformation. In contrast, the antibody-toxin fusion docks its toxin domain at the extracellular mouth of the channel to insert a critical lysine into the pore. The lysine stabilizes an active conformation of the pore yet blocks ion permeation. This study visualizes Kv1.3 pore dynamics, defines two distinct mechanisms to suppress Kv1.3 channel activity with exogenous inhibitors, and provides a framework to aid development of emerging T cell immunotherapies.
Ultralow-voltage operation of light-emitting diodes
Authors: Lian Yaxiao , Lan Dongchen , Xing Shiyu , Guo Bingbing , Ren Zhixiang , Lai Runchen , Zou Chen , Zhao Baodan , Friend Richard H. , Di Dawei
Published: July 2022

For a light-emitting diode (LED) to generate light, the minimum voltage required is widely considered to be the emitter’s bandgap divided by the elementary charge. Here we show for many classes of LEDs, including those based on perovskite, organic, quantum-dot and III–V semiconductors, light emission can be observed at record-low voltages of 36–60% of their bandgaps, exhibiting a large apparent energy gain of 0.6–1.4 eV per photon. For 17 types of LEDs with different modes of charge injection and recombination (dark saturation currents of ~10−39–10−15 mA cm−2), their emission intensity-voltage curves under low voltages show similar behaviours. These observations and their consistency with the diode simulations suggest the ultralow-voltage electroluminescence arises from a universal origin—the radiative recombination of non-thermal-equilibrium band-edge carriers whose populations are determined by the Fermi-Dirac function perturbed by a small external bias. These results indicate the potential of low-voltage LEDs for communications, computational and energy applications.
Self-evolving vision transformer for chest X-ray diagnosis through knowledge distillation
Authors: Park Sangjoon , Kim Gwanghyun , Oh Yujin , Seo Joon Beom , Lee Sang Min , Kim Jin Hwan , Moon Sungjun , Lim Jae-Kwang , Park Chang Min , Ye Jong Chul
Published: July 2022

Although deep learning-based computer-aided diagnosis systems have recently achieved expert-level performance, developing a robust model requires large, high-quality data with annotations that are expensive to obtain. This situation poses a conundrum that annually-collected chest x-rays cannot be utilized due to the absence of labels, especially in deprived areas. In this study, we present a framework named distillation for self-supervision and self-train learning (DISTL) inspired by the learning process of the radiologists, which can improve the performance of vision transformer simultaneously with self-supervision and self-training through knowledge distillation. In external validation from three hospitals for diagnosis of tuberculosis, pneumothorax, and COVID-19, DISTL offers gradually improved performance as the amount of unlabeled data increase, even better than the fully supervised model with the same amount of labeled data. We additionally show that the model obtained with DISTL is robust to various real-world nuisances, offering better applicability in clinical setting.
Dispersal and fire limit Arctic shrub expansion
Authors: Liu Yanlan , Riley William J. , Keenan Trevor F. , Mekonnen Zelalem A. , Holm Jennifer A. , Zhu Qing , Torn Margaret S.
Published: July 2022

Arctic shrub expansion alters carbon budgets, albedo, and warming rates in high latitudes but remains challenging to predict due to unclear underlying controls. Observational studies and models typically use relationships between observed shrub presence and current environmental suitability (bioclimate and topography) to predict shrub expansion, while omitting shrub demographic processes and non-stationary response to changing climate. Here, we use high-resolution satellite imagery across Alaska and western Canada to show that observed shrub expansion has not been controlled by environmental suitability during 1984–2014, but can only be explained by considering seed dispersal and fire. These findings provide the impetus for better observations of recruitment and for incorporating currently underrepresented processes of seed dispersal and fire in land models to project shrub expansion and climate feedbacks. Integrating these dynamic processes with projected fire extent and climate, we estimate shrubs will expand into 25% of the non-shrub tundra by 2100, in contrast to 39% predicted based on increasing environmental suitability alone. Thus, using environmental suitability alone likely overestimates and misrepresents shrub expansion pattern and its associated carbon sink.
Efficiently searching extreme mechanical properties via boundless objective-free exploration and minimal first-principles calculations
Authors: Ojih Joshua , Al-Fahdi Mohammed , Rodriguez Alejandro David , Choudhary Kamal , Hu Ming
Published: July 2022

Despite the machine learning (ML) methods have been largely used recently, the predicted materials properties usually cannot exceed the range of original training data. We deployed a boundless objective-free exploration approach to combine traditional ML and density functional theory (DFT) in searching extreme material properties. This combination not only improves the efficiency for screening large-scale materials with minimal DFT inquiry, but also yields properties beyond original training range. We use Stein novelty to recommend outliers and then verify using DFT. Validated data are then added into the training dataset for next round iteration. We test the loop of training-recommendation-validation in mechanical property space. By screening 85,707 crystal structures, we identify 21 ultrahigh hardness structures and 11 negative Poisson’s ratio structures. The algorithm is very promising for future materials discovery that can push materials properties to the limit with minimal DFT calculations on only ~1% of the structures in the screening pool.