bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Three-dimensional self-folding assembly of multi-layer graphene at the interface with a polymeric film
Authors: Goto Toichiro , Teshima Tetsuhiko F. , Sakai Koji , Yamaguchi Masumi
Published: July 2022

Three-dimensional (3D) architectures of graphene are of great interest for applications in flexible electronics, supercapacitors, and biointerfaces. Here, we demonstrate that multi-layer graphene (MLG), like single-layer graphene (SLG), can self-fold to form 3D architectures at the interface with a polymeric film. Bilayers composed of graphene and polymeric film tightly adhere to each other and possess a sloped internal strain, which leads to spontaneous rolling to predetermined 3D microscale architectures. The curvature radii of self-folding films can be controlled by changing the thicknesses of the polymeric film and the stacking order. In contrast to single-layer graphene, multi-layer graphene shows no strain in most of the outer graphene layers and linear ohmic current characteristics after self-folding. Throughout the self-folding process, the conductance of MLG decreases but remains higher than that of SLG. This versatile way of forming a 3D multi-layer graphene structure is potentially applicable for fabrication of practical carbon devices without the changes in their conductive properties.
The role of geometry on controlled cavity collapse and top jet drop
Authors: Taraki Nilofar , Said Ismail A.
Published: July 2022

The contents of this work explore the influence of three geometric parameters on controlled cavity collapse at liquid interface and the subsequent ejected drop; the parameters are the angle of the ejecting nozzle plate (θ), the height (H), and the radius (R) of the vessel used to enclose the liquid within. The conducted computational modeling shows that changing the angle of the nozzle plate from a flat surface to inclined surface in one direction causes the droplet diameter to decrease, whereas an inclination in the opposite direction results in larger droplets. Moreover, changing the height of the fluid vessel does not actually influence the drop size and its velocity as long as the vessel height is much larger than the nozzle radius (R0). Below the limit H = 5R0, the droplet size starts to decrease and its velocity to increase by decreasing the vessel height. Finally, the droplet size decreases by increasing the radius of the fluid vessel even when R ≫ R0. This is attributed to the change in the displaced liquid volume and subsequently the cavity volume at the tip of the nozzle when the vessel radius is changed.
Leakage current reduction of normally off hydrogen-terminated diamond field effect transistor utilizing dual-barrier Schottky gate
Authors: Chen Genqiang , Wang Wei , He Shi , Wang Juan , Zhang Shumiao , Zhang Minghui , Wang Hong-Xing
Published: July 2022

Normally Off diamond field-effect transistor (FET) is demanded for energy saving and safety for practical application. Metal/diamond Schottky junction serving as the gate is a simple and effective approach to deplete holes under the gate, whereas low Schottky barrier height (SBH) is undesirable. In this work, a dual-barrier Schottky gate hydrogen,oxygen-terminated diamond (H,O-diamond) FET (DBG-FET) with Al gate was realized. Normally Off DBG-FET with enhanced SBH and reduced leakage was achieved. H,O-diamond, which was defined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique, was realized by ultraviolet ozone (UV/O3) treatment with nanoparticle-Al mask. The enlarged SBH of 0.94 eV owing to the C–O bond minimized the diode reverse current and nicely shut down the DBG-FET at zero gate bias. Moreover, the forward current of diode can be well-reduced by hundred times ascribed to oxidized Al nanoparticles during the UV/O3 process. Based on this diode gate structure, the maximum drain current density, transconductance, on/off ratio, and subthreshold swing of the normally off DBG-FET are 21.8 mA/mm, 9.1 mS/mm, 109, and 96 mV/dec, respectively. The DBG-FET is expected to promote the development of normally off diamond FETs.
Magnetic field induces spatially varying superconductivity
Authors: Hill Heather M.
Published: July 2022

Strontium ruthenate may exhibit an exotic superconducting state composed of electron pairs with nonzero momentum.
Whatever happened to cellulosic ethanol?
Authors: Kramer David
Published: July 2022

Technological immaturity, falling oil prices, overoptimistic investors, and regulatory uncertainty are blamed for the failure of a promising biofuel technology to perform as hoped.
Genetic control of seed dormancy in
Authors: Ramiz Zarka , Malone Jenna , Preston Christopher , Gill Gurjeet
Published: July 2022

Context Lolium rigidum Gaudin (annual ryegrass) has remained the most problematic weed of crop production in Australia for more than 20 years. There is some evidence that this weed species can rapidly adapt to management practices including delayed crop sowing. Aims Studies were undertaken to determine genetic variation for seed dormancy within L. rigidum populations and its association with genes involved with gibberellic acid and abscisic acid synthesis. Methodology Populations of L. rigidum were grown in pots to select low and high dormancy cohorts. Seeds produced by these cohorts from each population were assessed for variation in seed dormancy. Seeds of high and low dormancy cohorts were concurrently assessed for seed dormancy and expression of LrABA1 and LrGA20ox genes, using quantitative real-time PCR. Results Presence of differences greater than two-fold in seed dormancy between populations from the same farm indicated in situ selection for seed dormancy, most likely in response to management. Low and high dormancy cohorts of all populations maintained clear differences in seed dormancy in both years of assessment. Differences in seed dormancy between low and high dormancy cohorts were significantly correlated with LrABA1 and LrGA20ox gene expression. Conclusions This investigation has provided clear evidence of the presence of genetic variation for seed dormancy within L. rigidum populations. Implications The presence of genetic variation for seed dormancy in L. rigidum populations will allow this weed to adapt rapidly to changes in weed management practices such as delayed sowing of crops.
Deep learning of dynamically responsive chemical Hamiltonians with semiempirical quantum mechanics
Authors: Zhou Guoqing , Lubbers Nicholas , Barros Kipton , Tretiak Sergei , Nebgen Benjamin
Published: July 2022

Conventional machine-learning (ML) models in computational chemistry learn to directly predict molecular properties using quantum chemistry only for reference data. While these heuristic ML methods show quantum-level accuracy with speeds several orders of magnitude faster than traditional quantum chemistry methods, they suffer from poor extensibility and transferability; i.e., their accuracy degrades on large or new chemical systems. Incorporating quantum chemistry frameworks into the ML models directly solves this problem. Here we take the structure of semiempirical quantum mechanics (SEQM) methods to construct dynamically responsive Hamiltonians. SEQM methods use empirical parameters fitted to experimental properties to construct reduced-order Hamiltonians, facilitating much faster calculations than ab initio methods but with compromised accuracy. By replacing these static parameters with machine-learned dynamic values inferred from the local environment, we greatly improve the accuracy of the SEQM methods. Trained on molecular energies and atomic forces, these dynamically generated Hamiltonian parameters show a strong correlation with atomic hybridization and bonding. Trained with only about 60,000 small organic molecular conformers, the resulting model retains interpretability, extensibility, and transferability when testing on much larger chemical systems and predicting various molecular properties. Overall, this work demonstrates the virtues of incorporating physics-based descriptions with ML to develop models that are simultaneously accurate, transferable, and interpretable.
Conserved meningeal lymphatic drainage circuits in mice and humans
Authors: Jacob Laurent , de Brito Neto Jose , Lenck Stephanie , Corcy Celine , Benbelkacem Farhat , Geraldo Luiz Henrique , Xu Yunling , Thomas Jean-Mickael , El Kamouh Marie-Renee , Spajer Myriam , Potier Marie-Claude , Haik Stephane , Kalamarides Michel , Stankoff Bruno , Lehericy Stephane , Eichmann Anne , Thomas Jean-Leon
Published: July 2022

Meningeal lymphatic vessels (MLVs) were identified in the dorsal and caudobasal regions of the dura mater, where they ensure waste product elimination and immune surveillance of brain tissues. Whether MLVs exist in the anterior part of the murine and human skull and how they connect with the glymphatic system and extracranial lymphatics remained unclear. Here, we used light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) imaging of mouse whole-head preparations after OVA-A555 tracer injection into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and performed real-time vessel-wall (VW) magnetic resonance imaging (VW-MRI) after systemic injection of gadobutrol in patients with neurological pathologies. We observed a conserved three-dimensional anatomy of MLVs in mice and humans that aligned with dural venous sinuses but not with nasal CSF outflow, and we discovered an extended anterior MLV network around the cavernous sinus, with exit routes through the foramina of emissary veins. VW-MRI may provide a diagnostic tool for patients with CSF drainage defects and neurological diseases.
Reconfiguration of operation modes in silicon nanowire field-effect transistors by electrostatic virtual doping
Authors: Kim Taekham , Lim Doohyeok , Son Jaemin , Cho Kyoungah , Kim Sangsig
Published: July 2022

In this study, we perform reconfigurable n- and p-channel operations of a tri-top-gate field-effect transistor (FET) made of a p+-i-n+ silicon nanowire (SiNW). In the reconfigurable FET (RFET), two polarity gates and one control gate induce virtual electrostatic doping in the SiNW channel. The polarity gates are electrically connected to each other and program the channel type, while the control gate modulates the flow of charge carriers in the SiNW channel. The SiNW RFET features simple device design, symmetrical electrical characteristics in the n- and p-channel operation modes using p+-i-n+ diode characteristics, and both operation modes exhibit high ON/OFF ratios (∼106) and high ON currents (∼1 μA μm−1). The proposed device is demonstrated experimentally using a fully CMOS-compatible top-down processes.
Multi-parameter Bayesian optimisation of laser-driven ion acceleration in particle-in-cell simulations
Authors: Dolier E J , King M , Wilson R , Gray R J , McKenna P
Published: July 2022

High power laser-driven ion acceleration produces bright beams of energetic ions that have the potential to be applied in a wide range of sectors. The routine generation of optimised and stable ion beam properties is a key challenge for the exploitation of these novel sources. We demonstrate the optimisation of laser-driven proton acceleration in a programme of particle-in-cell simulations controlled by a Bayesian algorithm. Optimal laser and plasma conditions are identified four times faster for two input parameters, and approximately one thousand times faster for four input parameters, when compared to systematic, linear parametric variation. In addition, a non-trivial optimal condition for the front surface density scale length is discovered, which would have been difficult to identify by single variable scans. This approach enables rapid identification of optimal laser and target parameters in simulations, for use in guiding experiments, and has the potential to significantly accelerate the development and application of laser–plasma-based ion sources.
Estimation of shape factor for irregular particles using three-axial measurement approach
Authors: Umare Mahendra , Ambadkar Swati
Published: July 2022

Particle shape is an imperative term in civil engineering applications that play a significant role in the overall behavior of the particles; however, the shape factor becomes complex when it is related to the irregular-sized particle. The manuscript focuses on quantitative estimation of the shape factor of highly irregular metal particles of diameters ranging from 2.00 mm to 5.00 mm using a three-axial microscopic measurement. The measured data is used to compute the nominal diameter of a particle representing a circle of equivalent diameter and shape factor is computed. The result has been compared with the previously established studies and found to be corroborative.
Birth Cohort Effects in Breast Cancer Incidence: Global Patterns and Trends
Authors: Chen Yi-Chu , Lien Wan-Ching , Su Shih-Yung , Jhuang Jing-Rong , Chiang Chun-Ju , Yang Ya-Wen , Lee Wen-Chung
Published: July 2022

Breast cancer is the most common neoplasm in the world among women. The age-specific incidences and onset ages vary widely between Asian and Western countries/regions. Invasive breast cancer cases among women from 1997 to 2011 were abstracted from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the Taiwan Cancer Registry. Age-period-cohort analysis was performed to examine the trends. The cohort effect was prominent in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Thailand, possibly related to the timing of westernization. The risk of breast cancer initially rose with the birth cohorts in Hong Kong and India (both former British colonies), peaked, and then declined in recent birth cohorts. Unlike other Asian countries/regions, virtually no birth cohort effect was identified in the Philippines (a Spanish colony in 1565 and the first Asian country to adopt Western cultural aspects). Moreover, an at-most negligible birth cohort effect was identified for all ethnic groups (including Asian immigrants) in the United States. This global study identified birth cohort effects in most Asian countries/regions but virtually no impact in Western countries/regions. The timing of westernization was associated with the birth cohort effect.
Telestewardship programs support clinical care and improve fiscal outcomes across the continuum through partnership between hospitals and health systems: A systematic review
Authors: Mailig Miguel , Cookson Nathan A , Schulz Lucas T
Published: July 2022

Purpose

A systematic review was performed to determine if remote stewardship (telestewardship) provides clinical and fiscal benefit and is a feasible alternative to local stewardship programs.

Antibiotic resistance is an increasingly important national and global threat. US regulators have made antimicrobial stewardship programs a condition of participation in federally funded healthcare programs, and stewardship programs are surveyed during accreditation visits. Small and rural hospitals are at risk for stewardship noncompliance because lack of resources limits comprehensive stewardship program implementation. Remote stewardship programs are established to remedy this area of partial compliance. To characterize the impact of remote stewardship on selected clinical and fiscal outcomes, PubMed was searched for studies involving telestewardship that reported data on antimicrobial utilization, patient length of stay, mortality, bacterial susceptibility, hospital-acquired Clostridioides difficile infection (HA-CDI), and/or antimicrobial costs. A systematic approach was used to screen study titles, abstracts, and content and data extracted. Study quality was analyzed using Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment tools. Fourteen studies were included in the final review. Collectively, the antimicrobial utilization data was positive, with utilization of targeted antimicrobials decreasing after telestewardship implementation. Mixed (both positive and neutral) results were found for patient length of stay, mortality, and HA-CDI rates. Fiscal outcomes were consistently positive.

Conclusion

Based on the reviewed evidence, remote antimicrobial stewardship programs may aid in the more judicious use of antimicrobials by decreasing utilization rates. More studies are needed to clarify patient-oriented outcomes. Telestewardship has positive effects in terms of cost savings, although savings may be offset by the structure of the program.
Hierarchical reinforcement learning for automatic disease diagnosis
Authors: Zhong Cheng , Liao Kangenbei , Chen Wei , Liu Qianlong , Peng Baolin , Huang Xuanjing , Peng Jiajie , Wei Zhongyu
Published: July 2022

Motivation

Disease diagnosis-oriented dialog system models the interactive consultation procedure as the Markov decision process, and reinforcement learning algorithms are used to solve the problem. Existing approaches usually employ a flat policy structure that treat all symptoms and diseases equally for action making. This strategy works well in a simple scenario when the action space is small; however, its efficiency will be challenged in the real environment. Inspired by the offline consultation process, we propose to integrate a hierarchical policy structure of two levels into the dialog system for policy learning. The high-level policy consists of a master model that is responsible for triggering a low-level model, the low-level policy consists of several symptom checkers and a disease classifier. The proposed policy structure is capable to deal with diagnosis problem including large number of diseases and symptoms.

Results

Experimental results on three real-world datasets and a synthetic dataset demonstrate that our hierarchical framework achieves higher accuracy and symptom recall in disease diagnosis compared with existing systems. We construct a benchmark including datasets and implementation of existing algorithms to encourage follow-up researches.

Availability and implementation

The code and data are available from https://github.com/FudanDISC/DISCOpen-MedBox-DialoDiagnosis

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
ProtNAff: protein-bound Nucleic Acid filters and fragment libraries
Authors: Moniot Antoine , Guermeur Yann , de Vries Sjoerd Jacob , Chauvot de Beauchene Isaure
Published: July 2022

Motivation

Atomistic models of nucleic acids (NA) fragments can be used to model the 3D structures of specific protein–NA interactions and address the problem of great NA flexibility, especially in their single-stranded regions. One way to obtain relevant NA fragments is to extract them from existing 3D structures corresponding to the targeted context (e.g. specific 2D structures, protein families, sequences) and to learn from them. Several databases exist for specific NA 3D motifs, especially in RNA, but none can handle the variety of possible contexts.

Results

This article presents protNAff (protein-bound Nucleic Acids filters and fragments), a new pipeline for the conception of searchable databases on the 2D and 3D structures of protein-bound NA, the selection of context-specific (regions of) NA structures by combinations of filters, and the creation of context-specific NA fragment libraries. The strength of this pipeline is its modularity, allowing users to adapt it to many specific modeling problems. As examples, the pipeline is applied to the quantitative analysis of (i) the sequence-specificity of trinucleotide conformations, (ii) the conformational diversity of RNA at several levels of resolution, (iii) the effect of protein binding on RNA local conformations and (iv) the protein-binding propensity of RNA hairpin loops of various lengths.

Availability and implementation

The source code is freely available for download at URL https://github.com/isaureCdB/protNAff. The database and the trinucleotide fragment library are downloadable at URL https://zenodo.org/record/6483823#.YmbVhFxByV4.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Retrieving entrapped guidewire using rotablation technique: case series and literature review
Authors: Li Chen , Chen Zhongxiu , Wang Mian
Published: July 2022

Background

The present article summarizes three cases of retrieving entrapped guidewire using rotablation technique.

Case summary

All three cases pertained to guidewire being fractured and entrapped during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) for right coronary artery (RCA) chronic total occlusion in a local hospital. In Case 1, two fractured filaments connecting to the entrapped guidewire could be clearly seen. One filament was in the right brachial artery and the other one was in the ascending aorta. In Case 2, the operator applied buddy wire technique during PCI but forgot to withdraw the second wire before stenting. As a result, the second SION wire was entrapped by the stent and was untangled and fractured when being retrieved. In Case 3, a SION guidewire was entrapped during PCI for RCA. The initial attempt to retrieve the guidewire ended in failure. Although the entrapped guidewire was still intact, it was difficult to advance the floppy rotawire into the RCA as it was still totally occluded. In those scenarios, complete retrieval of the entrapped guidewire using catheter-based technique was hardly possible. Rotablation was used to cut the entrapped guidewire, retrieve the broken end, and leave the remnants in coronary artery jailed by the stent. Clinical and angiographic follow-up observation demonstrated that the patients were free of target vessel failure.

Discussion

Entrapment of guidewire is a rare complication of PCI. The management of entrapped guidewire is usually challenging. Rotablation technique is a useful and efficient strategy when conventional methods failed to retrieve the entrapped guidewire.
Early Acurate Neo transcatheter heart valve degeneration in a haemodialysis patient successfully managed with Sapien 3 Ultra: a case report
Authors: Savvoulidis Panagiotis , Nadir Adnan , Ludman Peter F , Doshi Sagar N
Published: July 2022

Background

Aortic valve disease is the most prevalent valvular abnormality in the developed world and carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is favoured over open-heart surgery in high-risk patient categories and is increasingly used in lower-risk groups. End stage kidney disease (ESKD) is associated with premature calcific degeneration of bioprosthetic heart valves. Redo-TAVR requires meticulous pre-procedural planning to avoid the important risks of sinus sequestration and impaired coronary access. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement with the Acurate Neo transcatheter heart valve (THV) has been clinically available for a short time only and there are limited reports describing redo-TAVR in the Acurate Neo.

Case summary

We present a case of early, rapid onset, structural valve degeneration in a Acurate Neo, supra-annular, self-expanding THV in a dialysis patient. The patient presented with chest pain and breathlessness 4 years after TAVR with a Acurate Neo for severe stenosis of a bicuspid aortic valve. Echocardiogram now showed severe stenosis of the THV and computed tomography revealed severe THV leaflet calcification but no pannus or leaflet thrombus. After careful pre-procedural planning a S3 Ultra balloon-expandable valve was selected and positioned relatively high to pin the first THV leaflets in a fully open position without compromising coronary artery flow or coronary access.

Discussion

End stage kidney disease may cause rapid, calcific degeneration of TAVR valves leading to presentation with severe aortic stenosis. Redo-TAVR in the Acurate Neo THV with a Sapien 3 Ultra is feasible with careful pre-procedural planning to mitigate the risks of sinus sequestration and impaired coronary access.
A de novo genome assembly of Solanum verrucosum Schlechtendal, a Mexican diploid species geographically isolated from other diploid A-genome species of potato relatives
Authors: Hosaka Awie J , Sanetomo Rena , Hosaka Kazuyoshi
Published: July 2022

There are over 100 known species of cultivated potatoes and their wild relatives. Many of these species, including cultivated potatoes, share the A genome; these species are mainly distributed in South America and are reproductively isolated from Mexican diploid species. The only diploid A-genome species distributed in Mexico is Solanum verrucosum Schlechtendal, which is also a maternal progenitor of Mexican polyploid species. In this study, we constructed a high-quality de novo assembly of the S. verrucosum genome using PacBio long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding technologies. A monohaploid clone (2n = x = 12) of S. verrucosum was used to reduce assembly difficulty due to the heterozygous nature of the species. The final sequence assembly consisted of 780.2 Mb of sequence, 684.0 Mb of which were anchored to the 12 chromosomes, with a scaffold N50 of 55.2 Mb. Putative centromeres were identified using publicly available data obtained via chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing against a centromere-specific histone 3 protein. Transposable elements accounted for approximately 61.8% (482.1 Mb) of the genome, and 46,904 genes were functionally annotated. High gene synteny and similarity were revealed among the genomes of S. verrucosum, Solanum commersonii, Solanum chacoense, Solanum phureja, Solanum tuberosum, and Solanum lycopersicum. The reference-quality S. verrucosum genome will provide new insights into the evolution of Mexican polyploid species and contribute to potato breeding programs.
Outcomes From an Interprofessional Geriatric Outreach and Training Program
Authors: Montano Anna-Rae , Shellman Juliette , Malcolm Millicent
Published: July 2022

Background and Objectives

Interprofessional education (IPE) is necessary to train health care professionals to work collaboratively for the care of older adults. Geriatric Outreach and Training with Care! (GOT Care!) was an innovative academic training program designed to provide an IPE opportunity for health care students and faculty while providing care to community-dwelling older adults. The objectives of this program evaluation were to: (a) examine students’, older adult participants’, and primary care providers’ (PCPs) perceptions toward their participation GOT Care! and (b) examine patient outcomes to identify program strengths and areas for improvement.

Research Design and Methods

Formative and summative program evaluation methods were utilized to evaluate student, older adult participant, and provider perceptions of participating in GOT Care!. A total of 221 pharmacy, physical therapy, nursing, social work, medicine, and public health students from a single public university in northeastern United States, 38 community-dwelling older adults, and 33 PCPs were included. Means, standard deviations, and percentages were computed for survey data. The contextual data gathered from interviews and open-ended questions were analyzed using Borkan’s immersion–crystallization approach to generate themes.

Results

Overall, the students, older adults, and PCPs appreciated GOT Care!. Students reported learning about the unique challenges to geriatric care and how to communicate with other professionals. The older adults appreciated the thorough interprofessional assessment and that the students could learn from them. The PCPs noted the unique insights into their patients’ health that would not present at a typical office visit.

Discussion and Implications

GOT Care! leveraged academic and community partnerships to provide an IPE opportunity and care to vulnerable older adults. Positive outcomes such as older adult, student, and PCP satisfaction, and a reduction in emergency department visits support ongoing utilization and evaluation of these IPE programs.
The Role of the Built Environment on the Quality of Life for Residents in Long-Term Care Facilities in Asia: A Scoping Review
Authors: Chaudhury Habib , Xu Mingjun
Published: July 2022

Background and Objectives

The quality of the built environmental features in long-term care (LTC) homes significantly influences residents’ functioning (e.g., wayfinding, self-care, and social interaction) and well-being. There is limited research on the characteristics of the built environment of LTC and its influence on residents’ quality of life in countries in the Asia–Pacific region (e.g., East Asia and South Asia). The older adult population in this region is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. There are distinctive perceptions of nursing home, nursing home environments, and sociocultural norms in this geographic region. Given this context, a better understanding of the built environment of LTC facilities in this region can inform design professionals and policymakers for evidence-based decision-making. The present study undertakes a scoping review of the empirical research on the characteristics and influence of the built environment of LTC facilities on residents’ quality of life in the Asia–Pacific context.

Research Design and Methods

Online relevant databases were used to identify articles published 2000–2021, from which we selected 33 publications.

Results

Three substantive themes were generated from the synthesis of the selected publications. These themes are (a) perceptions of nursing home, (b) impact of the built environment on residents’ quality of life, and (c) assessment of the LTC built environment.

Discussion and Implications

We identified research gaps in understanding the role of the built environment in nursing homes in the particular geographic context and future research directions. Five planning and design principles for LTC were derived from the synthesis of key findings to inform design professionals and policymakers.
The Hiccup of Villarrica volcano (Chile) during the 2015 eruption and its expression in LP activity and VLP ground motion
Authors: González-Vidal Diego , Sens-Schönfelder Christoph , Palma Jose Luis , Quiero Felipe , Franco Luis , Miller Matthew , Lange Dietrich , Sielfeld Gerd , Cembrano Jose
Published: July 2022

Volcano seismology is an essential tool for monitoring volcanic processes in the advent and during eruptions. A variety of seismic signals can be recorded at volcanoes, of which some are thought to be related to the migration of fluids which is of primary importance for the anticipation of imminent eruptions. We investigate the volcanic crises at Villarrica volcano in 2015 and report on a newly discovered very-long-period (VLP) signal that accompanies phases of periodic long period (LP) signal burst. Despite their low amplitude emergent character, we can locate the source region of the 1 Hz LP signals to the close vicinity of the volcano using a network-based correlation method. The source of the VLP signal with a period of about 30–100 s appears to locate in the vicinity of two stations a few kilometres from the summit. Both stations record very similar VLP waveforms that are correlated with the envelope of the LP bursts. A shallow magma reservoir was inferred by Contreras from surface deformation as the source of inflation following the eruption in 2015. Cyclic volume changes of 6 m3 in this reservoir at 3 km depth can explain the observed amplitudes of the vertical VLP signal. We propose that the LP signal is generated by the migration of gas or gas-rich magma that is periodically released from the inflating reservoir through a non-linear valve structure which modulates the flux, and thereby causes bursts of flow-related LP signals and pressure changes observed as VLP deformation. Our model predicts that the correlated occurrence of LP bursts and VLP surface motion depends on the intensity of the fluid flux. A weaker flux of fluids may not exceed the opening pressure of valve structure, and higher rates might maintain pressure above the closing pressure. In both cases, the VLP signal vanishes. Our observation provides constrains for models of fluid transport inside volcanoes. At Villarrica the VLP signal, and its relation to the LP activity, reveal additional information about fluxes in the magmatic reservoir that might aide forecasting of volcanic activity.
“Many of those who were only wounded suffocated, buried alive”: Analyzing the Experiences of Jews Who Survived Mass Executions
Authors: Engelking Barbara
Published: July 2022

The Holocaust is associated primarily with death camps, but mass executions alongside crematoria were an equal way to exterminate Jews during World War II. This article presents the perspective of Jews who survived the shootings. On the basis of ninety-one personal accounts of people who survived under the corpses, I describe their experience: the circumstances of the massacre, falling into the grave, getting out of it, and returning to the living. In the text, I pose the following questions: what can we learn by analyzing this experience? Does it bring anything new to our knowledge of the Holocaust? Did those once “buried alive” know something that other witnesses do not say? The article complicates received understandings of how, precisely, people died during the Holocaust; and challenges the common assumption in the scholarship that those who survived were all “irreversibly changed.”
Incremental value of risk factor variability for cardiovascular risk prediction in individuals with type 2 diabetes: results from UK primary care electronic health records
Authors: Xu Zhe , Arnold Matthew , Sun Luanluan , Stevens David , Chung Ryan , Ip Samantha , Barrett Jessica , Kaptoge Stephen , Pennells Lisa , Di Angelantonio Emanuele , Wood Angela M
Published: July 2022

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction models for individuals with type 2 diabetes are important tools to guide intensification of interventions for CVD prevention. We aimed to assess the added value of incorporating risk factors variability in CVD risk prediction for people with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

We used electronic health records (EHRs) data from 83 910 adults with type 2 diabetes but without pre-existing CVD from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink for 2004–2017. Using a landmark-modelling approach, we developed and validated sex-specific Cox models, incorporating conventional predictors and trajectories plus variability of systolic blood pressure (SBP), total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Such models were compared against simpler models using single last observed values or means.

Results

The standard deviations (SDs) of SBP, HDL cholesterol and HbA1c were associated with higher CVD risk (P < 0.05). Models incorporating trajectories and variability of continuous predictors demonstrated improvement in risk discrimination (C-index = 0.659, 95% CI: 0.654–0.663) as compared with using last observed values (C-index = 0.651, 95% CI: 0.646–0.656) or means (C-index = 0.650, 95% CI: 0.645–0.655). Inclusion of SDs of SBP yielded the greatest improvement in discrimination (C-index increase = 0.005, 95% CI: 0.004–0.007) in comparison to incorporating SDs of total cholesterol (C-index increase = 0.002, 95% CI: 0.000–0.003), HbA1c (C-index increase = 0.002, 95% CI: 0.000–0.003) or HDL cholesterol (C-index increase= 0.003, 95% CI: 0.002–0.005).

Conclusion

Incorporating variability of predictors from EHRs provides a modest improvement in CVD risk discrimination for individuals with type 2 diabetes. Given that repeat measures are readily available in EHRs especially for regularly monitored patients with diabetes, this improvement could easily be achieved.
Reduced Pathogenicity and Transmission Potential of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 Sublineages Compared with the Early Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 D614G Variant in Syrian Hamsters
Authors: Su Wen , Choy Ka Tim , Gu Haogao , Sia Sin Fun , Cheng Ka Man , Nizami Sarea Islam Nuha , Krishnan Pavithra , Ng Yuet Mai , Chang Lydia Dai Jia , Liu Yingzhi , Cheng Samuel M S , Peiris Malik , Poon Leo L M , Nicholls John M , Yen Hui-Ling
Published: July 2022

Background

The epidemiological advantage of Omicron variant is evidenced by its rapid spread and the ability to outcompete prior variants. Among Omicron sublineages, early outbreaks were dominated by BA.1, while BA.2 has gained dominance since February 2022. The relative pathogenicity and transmissibility of BA.1 and BA.2 have not been fully defined.

Methods

We compared viral loads and clinical signs in Syrian hamsters after infection with BA.1, BA.2, or D614G variant. A competitive transmission model and next-generation sequencing were used to compare the relative transmission potential of BA.1 and BA.2.

Results

BA.1 and BA.2 caused no apparent clinical signs, while D614G caused more than 10% weight loss. Higher viral loads were detected in nasal wash samples and nasal turbinate and lung tissues from BA.1-inoculated hamsters compared with BA.2-inoculated hamsters. No aerosol transmission was observed for BA.1 or BA.2 under the experimental condition in which D614G transmitted efficiently. BA.1 and BA.2 were able to transmit among hamsters via direct contact; however, BA.1 transmitted more efficiently than BA.2 under the competitive transmission model. No recombination was detected from direct contacts exposed simultaneously to BA.1 and BA.2.

Conclusions

Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 demonstrated attenuated pathogenicity and reduced transmission potential in hamsters compared with early SARS-CoV-2 strains.
Implementation and impact on length of stay of a post-discharge remote patient monitoring program for acutely hospitalized COVID-19 pneumonia patients
Authors: Kuo Sherwin , Aledia Anna , O’Connell Ryan , Rudkin Scott , Dangodara Amish A , Amin Alpesh N
Published: July 2022

Objective

In order to manage COVID-19 patient population and bed capacity issues, remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a strategy used to transition patients from inpatients to home. We describe our RPM implementation process for post-acute care COVID-19 pneumonia patients. We also evaluate the impact of RPM on patient outcomes, including hospital length of stay (LOS), post-discharge Emergency Department (ED) visits, and hospital readmission.

Materials and Methods

We utilized a cloud-based RPM platform (Vivify Health) and a nurse-monitoring service (Global Medical Response) to enroll COVID-19 patients who required oxygen supplementation after hospital discharge. We evaluated patient participation, biometric alerts, and provider communication. We also assessed the program’s impact by comparing RPM patient outcomes with a retrospective cohort of Control patients who similarly required oxygen supplementation after discharge but were not referred to the RPM program. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the 2 groups’ demographic characteristics, hospital LOS, and readmission rates.

Results

The RPM program enrolled 75 patients with respondents of a post-participation survey reporting high satisfaction with the program. Compared to the Control group (n = 150), which had similar demographics and baseline characteristics, the RPM group was associated with shorter hospital LOS (median 4.8 vs 6.1 days; P=.03) without adversely impacting return to the ED or readmission.

Conclusion

We implemented a RPM program for post-acute discharged COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen supplementation. Our RPM program resulted in a shorter hospital LOS without adversely impacting quality outcomes for readmission rates and improved healthcare utilization by reducing the average LOS.
Taking the Blues Away: The Second Edition of The New Negro
Authors: Hulme Peter
Published: July 2022

Alain Locke’s anthology The New Negro: An Interpretation–universally regarded as the key text for what later became known as the Harlem Renaissance–is usually reported as having been published in 1925 and reprinted in 1927. I argue that the 1927 version should in fact be regarded as a second edition, given the significant excision of the two Miguel Covarrubias drawings that had appeared in the original edition as “Jazz.” One of those drawings, given the title “Blues Dancing,” is analyzed closely via its two other appearances, one in W. C. Handy’s Blues: An Anthology (1926), the other in Vanity Fair, illustrating a story by Covarrubias’s friend, the Caribbean writer Eric Walrond. Attention is paid to the setting of the story, the Sugar Cane Club, often viewed as the epitome of jazz cabarets in Harlem. I then address Locke’s decision to omit the Covarrubias drawings from the second edition of The New Negro through consideration of the events of 1926, arguably the pinnacle of the Harlem Renaissance but a year that saw intense debates about the propriety of representations of jazz in Black writing.
Mapping H i 21-cm in the Klemola 31 group at z = 0.029: emission and absorption towards PKS 2020−370
Authors: Maina E K , Mohapatra Abhisek , Józsa G I G , Gupta N , Combes F , Deka P , Wagenveld J D , Srianand R , Balashev S A , Chen Hsiao-Wen , Krogager J-K , Momjian E , Noterdaeme P , Petitjean P
Published: July 2022

We present MeerKAT Absorption Line Survey (MALS) observations of the H i gas in the Klemola 31 galaxy group (z = 0.029), located along the line of sight to the radio-loud quasar PKS 2020−370 (z = 1.048). Four galaxies of the group are detected in H i emission, and H i absorption is also detected in front of PKS 2020−370 in Klemola 31A. The emission and absorption are somewhat compensating on the line of sight of the quasar, and the derived column density of the absorption appears underestimated, with respect to the neighbouring emission. A symmetric tilted-ring model of Klemola 31A, assuming the absorbing gas in regular rotation in the plane, yields a rather high spin temperature of 530 K. An alternative interpretation is that the absorbing gas is extra-planar, which will also account for its non-circular motion. The Na i/Ca ii ratio also suggests that the absorbing gas is unrelated to cold H i disc. Two of the galaxies in the Klemola group are interacting with a small companion, and reveal typical tidal tails, and velocity perturbations. Only one of the galaxies, ESO 400−13, reveals a strong H i deficiency, and a characteristic ram-pressure stripping, with a total asymmetry in the distribution of its gas. Since a small galaxy group as Klemola 31 is not expected to host a dense intra-group gas, this galaxy must be crossing the group at a very high velocity, mostly in the sky plane.
Dust in the wind with resonant drag instabilities – I. The dynamics of dust-driven outflows in GMCs and H ii regions
Authors: Hopkins Philip F , Rosen Anna L , Squire Jonathan , Panopoulou Georgia V , Soliman Nadine H , Seligman Darryl , Steinwandel Ulrich P
Published: July 2022

Radiation-dust driven outflows, where radiation pressure on dust grains accelerates gas, occur in many astrophysical environments. Almost all previous numerical studies of these systems have assumed that the dust was perfectly coupled to the gas. However, it has recently been shown that the dust in these systems is unstable to a large class of ‘resonant drag instabilities’ (RDIs) which de-couple the dust and gas dynamics and could qualitatively change the non-linear outcome of these outflows. We present the first simulations of radiation-dust driven outflows in stratified, inhomogeneous media, including explicit grain dynamics and a realistic spectrum of grain sizes and charge, magnetic fields and Lorentz forces on grains (which dramatically enhance the RDIs), Coulomb and Epstein drag forces, and explicit radiation transport allowing for different grain absorption and scattering properties. In this paper, we consider conditions resembling giant molecular clouds (GMCs), H ii regions, and distributed starbursts, where optical depths are modest (≲1), single-scattering effects dominate radiation-dust coupling, Lorentz forces dominate over drag on grains, and the fastest-growing RDIs are similar, such as magnetosonic and fast-gyro RDIs. These RDIs generically produce strong size-dependent dust clustering, growing non-linear on time-scales that are much shorter than the characteristic times of the outflow. The instabilities produce filamentary and plume-like or ‘horsehead’ nebular morphologies that are remarkably similar to observed dust structures in GMCs and H ii regions. Additionally, in some cases they strongly alter the magnetic field structure and topology relative to filaments. Despite driving strong micro-scale dust clumping which leaves some gas ‘behind,’ an order-unity fraction of the gas is always efficiently entrained by dust.
Solenoidal turbulent modes and star formation efficiency in Galactic plane molecular clouds
Authors: Rani Raffaele , Moore Toby J T , Eden David J , Rigby Andrew J
Published: July 2022

It is speculated that the high star formation efficiency observed in spiral-arm molecular clouds is linked to the prevalence of compressive (curl-free) turbulent modes, while the shear-driven solenoidal (divergence-free) modes appear to be the main cause of the low star formation efficiency that characterizes clouds in the Central Molecular Zone. Similarly, analysis of the Orion B molecular cloud has confirmed that, although turbulent modes vary locally and at different scales within the cloud, the dominant solenoidal turbulence is compatible with its low star formation rate. This evidence points to intercloud and intracloud fluctuations of the solenoidal modes being an agent for the variability of star formation efficiency. We present a quantitative estimation of the relative fractions of momentum density in the solenoidal modes of turbulence in a large sample of plane molecular clouds in the 13CO/C18O (J = 3 → 2) Heterodyne Inner Milky Way Plane Survey (CHIMPS). We find a negative correlation between the solenoidal fraction and star formation efficiency. This feature is consistent with the hypothesis that solenoidal modes prevent or slow down the collapse of dense cores. In addition, the relative power in the solenoidal modes of turbulence (solenoidal fraction) appears to be higher in the Inner Galaxy declining with a shallow gradient with increasing Galactocentric distance. Outside the Inner Galaxy, the slowly, monotonically declining values suggest that the solenoidal fraction is unaffected by the spiral arms.
Simulating nearly edge-on sloshing in the galaxy cluster Abell 2199
Authors: Machado R E G , Laganá T F , Souza G S , Caproni A , Antas A S R , Mello-Terencio E A
Published: July 2022

Off-axis collisions between galaxy clusters may induce the phenomenon of sloshing, causing dense gas to be dragged from the cool core of a cluster, resulting in a spiral of enhanced X-ray emission. Abell 2199 displays signatures of sloshing in its core and it is possible that the orbital plane of the collision is seen nearly edge-on. We aim to evaluate whether the features of Abell 2199 can be explained by a sloshing spiral seen under a large inclination angle. To address this, we perform tailored hydrodynamical N-body simulations of a non-frontal collision with a galaxy group of $M_{200}=1.6\times 10^{13}\, {\rm M_{\odot }}$. We obtain a suitable scenario in which the group passed by the main cluster core 0.8 Gyr ago, with a pericentric separation of 292 kpc. A good agreement is obtained from the temperature maps as well as the residuals from a β-model fit to the simulated X-ray emission. We find that under an inclination of i = 70° the simulation results remain consistent with the observations.