bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Grain micronutrient evaluation of wheat (
Authors: Tahir Mohd. , Shafi Safoora , Khan Mohd. Anwar , Sheikh Farooq Ahmad , Bhat Mohd. Ashraf , Sofi Parvaze Ahmad , Kumar Satish , Wani Mohd. Altaf , Mir Reyazul Rouf
Published: September 2021

Micronutrient deficiency is a widespread food-related health problem around the world. The present study was conducted to evaluate a set of 63 advanced breeding lines of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for grain iron (GFe) and grain zinc (GZn) concentrations, and to characterise the germplasm set via simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers (both genic and random). Substantial variation was found for both micronutrients. GFe concentration ranged from 28.9 to 67.4 mg kg–1 and GZn from 26.3 to 56.6 mg kg–1. Molecular characterisation with six genic and 20 random SSR markers detected 168 alleles with an average of 3.170 alleles per locus. Analysis of genotypic data based on division into two subpopulations revealed 165 alleles with an average of 3.113 alleles per locus in the low GFe–GZn subpopulation, whereas in the high GFe–GZn subpopulation, 149 alleles with an average of 2.811 alleles per locus were detected. Genic SSRs detected a higher average number of alleles (3.273 alleles per locus) than random SSRs (3.143 alleles per locus). Hierarchical clustering using genic markers alone clustered the whole germplasm set into two distinct groups: one possessing low GFe–GZn genotypes, the other with high GFe–GZn genotypes. Study of marker–trait associations (MTAs) identified seven new MTAs (six for GZn and one for GFe) and validated one MTA for GZn concentration. The promising genotypes and MTAs identified during the study will prove useful in wheat bio-fortification programs in the future.
Posttranslational modifications by ADAM10 shape myeloid antigen-presenting cell homeostasis in the splenic marginal zone
Authors: Diener Nathalie , Fontaine Jean-Fred , Klein Matthias , Hieronymus Thomas , Wanke Florian , Kurschus Florian C. , Ludwig Andreas , Ware Carl , Saftig Paul , Bopp Tobias , Clausen Björn E. , Backer Ronald A.
Published: September 2021

Significance

Conventional dendritic cells (cDC) and macrophages display a high phenotypic and functional heterogeneity. ADAM10 regulates diverse cellular activities via so-called ectodomain shedding of cell-surface proteins. Here, we report that mice with a CD11c-specific deletion of ADAM10 exhibit defective cDC subset homeostasis in the splenic marginal zone (MZ). Specifically, ESAM
hi
cDC2A are replaced by a CX3CR1
+
cDC2B population, and terminal differentiation of cDC1 is abrogated. Moreover, absent ADAM10 leads to the selective expansion of marginal metallophilic macrophages. Thus, ADAM10 represents an essential molecular switch on splenic antigen-presenting cells, shaping the anatomical niche of the MZ. Thereby, ADAM10-mediated posttranslational processes constitute a pathway beyond the usual and well-characterized transcriptional decisions governing tissue-specific cDC and macrophage subset commitment and homeostasis.
Pronunciation learning strategies
Authors: Szyszka Magdalena
Published: September 2021

The purpose of this chapter is to present the
results of a study that examined types of pronunciation learning
strategies (PLSs) used by high- (HA) and low-achieving (LA) L2
pronunciation learners. The participants completed six different
tasks and an open-ended questionnaire eliciting the participants’
PLSs deployed for a specific task. Subsequently, the individuals
were tested following the same instructions but different content in
order to designate high- and low-achievers on particular tasks. The
results revealed a considerable divergence in the strategy choice
for different tasks and a frequent use of strategy chains in both HA
and LA groups. Pedagogical practices informed by these findings are
suggested in order to better support effective strategy use by L2
pronunciation learners.
Rationale and design of a study of foreign-accented academic
English
Authors: Frost Daniel John , Henderson Alice
Published: September 2021

This chapter explores the intersection of English
Medium Instruction (EMI) and Foreign-Accented Speech (FAS),
particularly in French higher education, while outlining the
developmental phases of the nascent IP-CAFES research project.
Pertinent research into cognitive load, accentedness, and prosody is
summarised before we describe the creation of a specialised corpus
and an experimental protocol using content from that corpus.
Pedagogical implications are also addressed, for both speaker and
listener training.
Integrating prosodic features in a children’s English
course
Authors: Vonzová Veronika , Skarnitzl Radek
Published: September 2021

The chapter reports on an experiment which
focused on the integration of prosody into an English course for
young children. Two groups of Czech primary school children (aged
6–7, n = 12 in each group) were analysed, one of
which received prosody-focused training and the other followed the
regular curriculum. The prosodic training targeted pitch range,
melodic suppression of unstressed syllables, and linking. We
analysed the children’s rendition of short chants after four and
eight months of instruction. Participants in the experimental group
had a wider pitch range and did not realise the typical Czech rise
between the stressed and post-stressed syllable. Linking was
partially present in both groups. The chapter is concluded with the
discussion of pedagogical implications.
‘Actually given’ versus ‘presented as given’ and ‘actually new’ versus ‘presented as new’
Authors: Berry Margaret
Published: September 2021

This paper considers the relevance of various approaches to the study of ‘Given’ and ‘New’ to a number of
practical problems: complaints from listeners to UK radio programmes that presenters place emphasis on the wrong words;
inaudibility of openings of utterances in radio news bulletins; and ambiguity of pronouns. Approaches to ‘Given’ and ‘New’ to be
discussed include those whose concerns are with intonation (e.g., Halliday & Matthiessen
2014), those who pay attention to definiteness/indefiniteness in the nominal group (e.g., Martin 1992), and those who are more concerned with what is in the minds of hearers and readers (e.g.,
Prince 1981; Lambrecht 1994). The
underlying questions that are being investigated are: How free are speakers and writers to assign ‘Given’ or ‘New’ status to
entities? Are there constraints on what they can do intonationally, or with definiteness, or with pronouns?
Worlds of evidence
Authors: Canning Patricia , Ho Yufang , Bartl Sara
Published: September 2021

The Hillsborough football stadium disaster (1989) in Sheffield, UK, led to the deaths of 97 football fans and
resulted in the longest jury case in British legal history (2016). This article examines the witness statements of two Sheffield
residents who claim to have attended the match. Using a mixed-methods approach that incorporates a cognitive linguistic framework
(Text World Theory) with visualisation software (VUE) we consider both form and function of a number of linguistic features, such
as meta-narrative, evaluative lexis, syntax, and modality to investigate how institutional voices permeate and potentially distort
layperson narratives. Our analysis casts doubt on the veracity of the statements and raises questions about what can be
considered evidential in a forensic investigation.
The emergence of mind in Henry James’s notebook material
Authors: Álvarez-Amorós José A.
Published: September 2021

Inscribed in the field of cognitive narrative theory, this paper asks, and attempts to answer, a number of questions about the early emergence of mind in James’s notebook material for his short fiction. These questions essentially turn on the metarepresentational and aspectualizing potential of notebook entries in genetic relation to the finished tales, that is, on their capacity to present the projected storyworld, from its very conception, as a function of the subjectivity of one or several characters in the cognitive role of metarepresentational sources, or else as a dementalised lump of content to be aspectualised later in the process of execution. Analysis of the relevant notebook material yields a polarity between epistemic and contentual entries, and reveals a set of cognitive phenomena based on the alteration or continuity of the primitive balance of sources which allows one to conclude that James’s characteristic concern with the mental dynamics of his narratives, rather than being a compositional addition, was deeply embedded in his earliest fictional projects.
Basic concepts of radiation emergency medicine
Authors: Lebaron-Jacobs Laurence , Herrera-Reyes Eduardo
Published: September 2021

Nuclear and radiological accidents are not frequent but may lead to major consequences in the population. For the health systems, the need to handle a large number of victims will probably remain as an exception. However, a high number of affected victims can be expected in some terrorist scenarios. In addition, medical accidents in radiotherapy, fluoroscopy and diagnostic radiology have increased the number of patients with severe radiation injuries considerably, especially in developed countries. Given the increased use of ionising radiation for industrial and medical purposes and new technological applications emerging, the number of accidents may increase in the future. Consequently, the early identification and adequate management of these emergencies is a priority, as well as the need for medical preparedness, requiring knowledge about various emergency scenarios and planning appropriate responses to them before they occur. Unfortunately, medical professionals have a substantial knowledge gap in identifying and treating injured persons affected by ionising radiation. As managing radiation accidents is a very challenging process, exercises must be carried out to organise a well-trained multidisciplinary group of professionals to manage any radiation accident properly. Efforts on a continuously updated guidance system should be developed. In addition, new approaches to foster sustainable interdisciplinary and international cooperative networks on radiation injuries are necessary. Lessons learned from past nuclear and radiological emergencies have significantly contributed to strengthening scientific knowledge and increasing the available medical information on the effects of ionising radiation in the human body. In this context, radiation emergency medicine has emerged as a discipline that contributes to the diagnosis, treatment, medical follow-up and prognosis of persons affected by radiation injuries in a nuclear or a radiological emergency. In this paper, we review some relevant concepts related to the medical preparedness and multidisciplinary response required to attend to persons affected by these emergencies.
Lax matrices for lattice equations which satisfy consistency-around-a-face-centered-cube
Authors: Kels Andrew P
Published: September 2021

There is a recently discovered formulation of the multidimensional consistency integrability condition for lattice equations, called consistency-around-a-face-centered-cube (CAFCC), which is applicable to equations defined on a vertex and its four nearest neighbours on the square lattice. This paper introduces a method of deriving Lax matrices for the equations which satisfy CAFCC. This method gives novel Lax matrices for such equations, which include previously known equations of discrete Toda-, or Laplace-type, as well as newer equations which have only appeared in the context of CAFCC.
Investigation of the uncertainty contributions of the alignment of PTB’s double-ended interferometer by virtual experiments
Authors: Fischedick M , Stavridis M , Bartl G , Elster C
Published: September 2021

High-accuracy length measurements of prismatic bodies (e.g. gauge blocks) are usually performed by means of single-ended interferometers. To perform these measurements, the gauge block must be wrung to a reference plate. The quality of contact affects the measured length and also the wringing process wears down or damages the measuring faces. Furthermore, it limits the use of such interferometers to bodies that are suitable for wringing. PTB’s double-ended interferometer allows high-accuracy length measurements that are traceable to the International System of Units to be performed without a reference plate. However, because the setup of this interferometer is complex and additional optical components are required the alignment process is challenging. Compliance with the defined gauge-block length in ISO 3650 is also challenging, especially for non-perfect shaped gauge blocks. In this work, we develop a precise alignment method for the double-ended interferometer and systematically study the contributions of misalignments to the uncertainty of the measured length. In order to explore the accuracy of the developed procedure and to estimate the size of the uncertainty caused by deviations from perfect gauge block shapes, virtual experiments are carried out using the PTB library SimOptDevice. The virtual experiment is validated by a comparison to experimental data. In addition, theoretical relations are confirmed. Finally, Monte Carlo runs of the virtual experiment are performed to quantitatively explore the size of different sources of uncertainty on the developed alignment method. The results suggest that the developed alignment method is highly accurate and is expected to yield an uncertainty contribution to the final length measurement in the sub-nanometer range.
Completion of the first ITER toroidal field coil in Japan
Authors: Nakamoto M. , Baba T. , Kasai Y. , Sakamoto K. , Shimane H. , Shimizu T. , Saito K. , Nakahira M. , Koizumi N. , Inoue M. , Fujiwara E. , Shichijo T. , Kuno K. , Yamane M. , Hasegawa M. , Luongo C.
Published: September 2021

The first ITER toroidal field coil (TFC) has been successfully manufactured by the Japanese Domestic Agency in January 2020. The ITER TFCs are the largest Niobium Tin (Nb3Sn) superconducting magnets in the world; each is enclosed in an austenitic stainless-steel case with a height of 16.5 m and total weight is 310 tons (Knaster et al 2008 IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
18 495–498). A set of 18 TFCs will be installed around vacuum vessel to function as a plasma confinement magnet system. The responsibility to procure 18 TFCs and 1 spare coil is shared between European Domestic Agency and Japanese Domestic Agency (Bellesia et al 2020 IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
30 4202205; Sborchia et al 2008 IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
18 463–466). To hold a common magnetic and geometrical properties among all the TFCs, tight tolerances of sub-millimeter order are defined on each TFC. The fabrication of those massive magnets with such tight tolerances involved some major technical challenges. These technical challenges were solved by pre-assessment and process qualification through some qualification trials. As a result, techniques established to solve those challenges were implemented to the TFC manufacturing, leading to the successful completion of the first TFC. The details are described in the paper.
ARHGAP4-SEPT2-SEPT9 complex enables both up- and down-modulation of integrin-mediated focal adhesions, cell migration, and invasion
Authors: Kang Na , Matsui Tsubasa S. , Liu Shiyou , Deguchi Shinji
Published: September 2021

We demonstrate that ARHGAP4, one of the Rho-GTPase-activating proteins, forms a complex with SEPT2 and SEPT9 via its Rho-GAP domain and SH3 domain to enable both up- and down-modulation of integrin-mediated focal adhesions and transwell migration and invasion of epithelial cells in a microenvironment-dependent manner.
Risk bounds for quantile trend filtering
Authors: Madrid Padilla Oscar Hernan , Chatterjee Sabyasachi
Published: September 2021

We study quantile trend filtering, a recently proposed method for nonparametric quantile regression, with the goal of generalizing existing risk bounds for the usual trend-filtering estimators that perform mean regression. We study both the penalized and the constrained versions, of order $r \geqslant 1$, of univariate quantile trend filtering. Our results show that both the constrained and the penalized versions of order $r \geqslant 1$ attain the minimax rate up to logarithmic factors, when the $(r-1)$th discrete derivative of the true vector of quantiles belongs to the class of bounded-variation signals. Moreover, we show that if the true vector of quantiles is a discrete spline with a few polynomial pieces, then both versions attain a near-parametric rate of convergence. Corresponding results for the usual trend-filtering estimators are known to hold only when the errors are sub-Gaussian. In contrast, our risk bounds are shown to hold under minimal assumptions on the error variables. In particular, no moment assumptions are needed and our results hold under heavy-tailed errors. Our proof techniques are general, and thus can potentially be used to study other nonparametric quantile regression methods. To illustrate this generality, we employ our proof techniques to obtain new results for multivariate quantile total-variation denoising and high-dimensional quantile linear regression.
South African Children: A Matched Cohort Study of Neurodevelopmental Impairment in Survivors of Invasive Group B Streptococcus Disease Aged 5 to 8 Years
Authors: Harden Lois M , Leahy Shannon , Lala Sanjay G , Paul Proma , Chandna Jaya , Lowick Sarah , Mbatha Sibongile , Jaye Tamara , Laughton Barbara , Ghoor Azra , Sithole Pamela , Msayi Jacqueline , Kumalo Ntombifuthi , Msibi Tshepiso N , Madhi Shabir A , Lawn Joy E , Dangor Ziyaad
Published: September 2021

Background

Invasive group B Streptococcus (iGBS) sepsis and meningitis are important causes of child mortality, but studies on neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) after iGBS are limited. Using Griffiths Mental Development Scales–Extended Revised (GMDS-ER), we described NDI in iGBS survivors and non-iGBS children from South Africa, as part of a 5-country study.

Methods

We identified children aged 5–8 years with a history of iGBS and children with no history of iGBS between October 2019 and January 2021. Children were matched on sex, and birth data (month, year) (matched cohort study). Moderate or Severe NDI was the primary outcome as a composite of GMDS-ER motor, GMDS-ER cognition, hearing, and vision. Secondary outcomes included mild NDI, any emotional-behavioral problems, and GMDS-ER developmental quotients (DQ) calculated by dividing the age equivalent GMDS-ER score by the chronological age.

Results

In total, 160 children (iGBS survivors, 43; non-iGBS, 117) were assessed. Among iGBS survivors 13 (30.2%) had meningitis, and 30 (69.8%) had sepsis. Six (13.9%) iGBS survivors, and 5 (4.3%) non-iGBS children had moderate or severe NDI. Children who survived iGBS were 5.56 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07–28.93; P = .041) times more likely to have moderate or severe NDI at 5–8 years than non-iGBS children. Compared to the non-iGBS children, iGBS meningitis survivors had a significantly lower global median DQ (P < .05), as well as a lower median DQ for the language GMDS-ER subscale and performance GMDS-ER subscale (P < .05).

Conclusions

Children surviving iGBS, particularly meningitis, are more likely to have NDI at 5–8 years compared to non-iGBS children. Further research is required to improve detection and care for at-risk newborns.
Regional Orders, Geopolitics, and the Future of International Law
Authors: Orford Anne
Published: September 2021

This article argues that the old international law of empires, greater spaces, and regional orders did not disappear with the creation of the United Nations. While revisionist histories of international law have complicated the claim that a Westphalian order of independent states completely replaced a world of more varied political forms in the mid-seventeenth century, international lawyers nonetheless largely accept that such a transformation did take place at some point. The state is treated as the normative political subject of international law, and any move away from the geography of statehood as the foundation of the international legal system is seen as novel, exceptional, or illegal. The narrative that the state has become the primary political subject and spatial form of international law masks the persistence of regional orders as a core feature of the contemporary legal system. This article shows that international lawyers have been engaged in justifying, making sense of, narrating, and assembling regional orders for at least the past century. It explores the rival regionalisms promoted during the inter-war period, the struggles over regional orders during the early decades of decolonization, the expansive vision of regional orders consolidated in the early post-Cold War decades by the United States and its allies, and the regional ambitions of China in the twenty-first century. It analyses how regional orders are assembled and resisted through international law, what values are proclaimed to justify different forms of regional ordering, whose interests are represented, and the relation between grand narratives and technical transactions in that legal work. The article concludes that bringing the concept of regional orders to the foreground can open up a new and timely set of questions about politics, representation, and the future of international law.
Gender Discrimination in Hiring: Evidence from a Cross-National Harmonized Field Experiment
Authors: Birkelund Gunn Elisabeth , Lancee Bram , Larsen Edvard Nergård , Polavieja Javier G , Radl Jonas , Yemane Ruta
Published: September 2021

Gender discrimination is often regarded as an important driver of women’s disadvantage in the labour market, yet earlier studies show mixed results. However, because different studies employ different research designs, the estimates of discrimination cannot be compared across countries. By utilizing data from the first harmonized comparative field experiment on gender discrimination in hiring in six countries, we can directly compare employers’ callbacks to fictitious male and female applicants. The countries included vary in a number of key institutional, economic, and cultural dimensions, yet we found no sign of discrimination against women. This cross-national finding constitutes an important and robust piece of evidence. Second, we found discrimination against men in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK, and no discrimination against men in Norway and the United States. However, in the pooled data the gender gradient hardly differs across countries. Our findings suggest that although employers operate in quite different institutional contexts, they regard female applicants as more suitable for jobs in female-dominated occupations, ceteris paribus, while we find no evidence that they regard male applicants as more suitable anywhere.
Refugees’ Transition from Welfare to Work: A Quasi-Experimental Approach of the Impact of the Neighbourhood Context
Authors: Kristiansen Marcus H , Maas Ineke , Boschman Sanne , Vrooman J Cok
Published: September 2021

This study analyses the impact of the neighbourhood context on the likelihood that refugees move from social assistance to paid employment. It makes use of Dutch policy that resulted in an exogenous placement of refugees in their first regular housing. This natural quasi-experiment allows us to estimate intent-to-treat effects of initial neighbourhood characteristics on the likelihood of transitioning from welfare to work. We consider the impact of the employment share and the median level of income among natives and co-ethnics, using Dutch longitudinal administrative data and discrete time event-history modelling. Our findings indicate that refugees are more likely to enter the labour market when the neighbourhood’s employment share among natives is higher. A similar effect for employment among co-ethnics is not found. There is also no evidence that the placement of refugees in an area with a higher median income among co-ethnics or natives facilitates the transition from welfare to work.
A health promotion approach to emergency management: effective community engagement strategies from five cases
Authors: Corbin J Hope , Oyene Ukam Ebe , Manoncourt Erma , Onya Hans , Kwamboka Metrine , Amuyunzu-Nyamongo Mary , Sørensen Kristine , Mweemba Oliver , Barry Margaret M , Munodawafa Davison , Bayugo Yolanda V , Huda Qudsia , Moran Tomas , Omoleke Semeeh Akinwale , Spencer-Walters Dayo , Van den Broucke Stephan
Published: September 2021

Community engagement is crucial for controlling disease outbreak and mitigating natural and industrial disasters. The COVID-19 pandemic has reconfirmed the need to elevate community engagement to build equity, trust and sustained action in future health promotion preparedness strategies. Using the health promotion strategy of strengthening community action enhances the opportunity for better outcomes. There is, therefore, a need to improve our understanding of community engagement practices during crises, scale-up good community engagement initiatives, and improve and sustain people-centered approaches to emergency responses. This paper presents five case studies from the United States, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Kenya and South Africa that demonstrate the potential strengths that can be nurtured to build resilience in local communities to help mitigate the impact of disasters and emergencies. The case studies highlight the importance of co-developing relevant education and communication strategies, amplifying the role of community leaders, empowering community members to achieve shared goals, assessing and adapting to changing contexts, pre-planning and readiness for future emergencies and acknowledgement of historic context.
Predicting next-day discharge via electronic health record access logs
Authors: Zhang Xinmeng , Yan Chao , Malin Bradley A , Patel Mayur B , Chen You
Published: September 2021

Objective

Hospital capacity management depends on accurate real-time estimates of hospital-wide discharges. Estimation by a clinician requires an excessively large amount of effort and, even when attempted, accuracy in forecasting next-day patient-level discharge is poor. This study aims to support next-day discharge predictions with machine learning by incorporating electronic health record (EHR) audit log data, a resource that captures EHR users’ granular interactions with patients’ records by communicating various semantics and has been neglected in outcome predictions.

Materials and Methods

This study focused on the EHR data for all adults admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2019. We learned multiple advanced models to assess the value that EHR audit log data adds to the daily prediction of discharge likelihood within 24 h and to compare different representation strategies. We applied Shapley additive explanations to identify the most influential types of user-EHR interactions for discharge prediction.

Results

The data include 26 283 inpatient stays, 133 398 patient-day observations, and 819 types of user-EHR interactions. The model using the count of each type of interaction in the recent 24 h and other commonly used features, including demographics and admission diagnoses, achieved the highest area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) curve of 0.921 (95% CI: 0.919–0.923). By contrast, the model lacking user-EHR interactions achieved a worse AUROC of 0.862 (0.860–0.865). In addition, 10 of the 20 (50%) most influential factors were user-EHR interaction features.

Conclusion

EHR audit log data contain rich information such that it can improve hospital-wide discharge predictions.
Identifying Risk Factors That Increase Analgesic Requirements at Discharge Among Patients With Burn Injuries
Authors: Yeung Celine , Kiss Alex , Rehou Sarah , Shahrokhi Shahriar
Published: September 2021

Patients with burn injuries require large doses of opioids and gabapentinoids to achieve pain control and are often discharged from hospital with similar amounts. This study aimed to identify patient risk factors that increase analgesic requirements among patients with burn injuries and to determine the relationship between opioid and gabapentinoid use. Patient charts from July 1, 2015 to 2018 were reviewed retrospectively to determine analgesic requirements 24 hours before discharge. Linear mixed regression models were performed to determine patient risk factors (age, gender, history of substance misuse, TBSA of burn, length of stay in hospital, history of psychiatric illness, or surgical treatment) that may increase analgesic requirements. This study found that patients with a history of substance misuse (P = .01) or who were managed surgically (P = .01) required higher doses of opioids at discharge. Similarly, patients who had undergone surgical debridement required more gabapentinoids (P < .001). For every percent increase in TBSA, patients also required 14 mg more gabapentinoids (P = .01). In contrast, older patients (P = .006) and those with a longer hospital stay (P = .009) required fewer amounts of gabapentinoids before discharge. By characterizing factors that increase analgesic requirements at discharge, burn care providers may have a stronger understanding of which patients are at greater risk of developing chronic opioid or gabapentinoid misuse. The quantity and duration of analgesics prescribed at discharge may then be tailored according to these patient specific risk factors.
Proteins identified through predictive metagenomics as potential biomarkers for the detection of microbiologically influenced corrosion
Authors: Pilloni Giovanni , Cao Fang , Ruhmel Megan , Mishra Pooja
Published: September 2021

The unpredictability of microbial growth and subsequent localized corrosion of steel can cause significant cost for the oil and gas industry, due to production downtime, repair, and replacement. Despite a long tradition of academic research and industrial experience, microbial corrosion is not yet fully understood and thus not effectively controlled. In particular, biomarkers suitable for diagnosing microbial corrosion which abstain from the detection of the classic signatures of sulfate-reducing bacteria are urgently required. In this study, a natural microbial community was enriched anaerobically with carbon steel coupons and in the presence of a variety of physical and chemical conditions. With the characterization of the microbiome and of its functional properties inferred through predictive metagenomics, a series of proteins were identified as biomarkers in the water phase that could be correlated directly to corrosion. This study provides an opportunity for the further development of a protein-based biomarker approach for effective and reliable microbial corrosion detection and monitoring in the field.
How Do Child ADHD Symptoms and Oppositionality Impact Parent–Child Interactions When Crossing Virtual Roads?
Authors: O’Neal Elizabeth E , Rahimian Pooya , Jiang Yuanyuan , Zhou Shiwen , Nikolas Molly , Kearney Joseph K , Plumert Jodie M
Published: September 2021

Objective

This study examined how parents and children interact when crossing virtual roads together. We examined (1) whether children’s inattention/hyperactivity and oppositionality and children’s failure to jointly perform the task interfered with parents’ efforts to scaffold children’s road-crossing skill and (2) whether experience with the joint road-crossing task impacted children’s subsequent performance in a solo road-crossing task.

Methods

Fifty-five 8- to 10-year-old children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and their parents first jointly crossed a lane of traffic in an immersive pedestrian simulator. Children then completed the same road-crossing task alone. Parents completed questionnaires about children’s symptoms of inattention/hyperactivity and oppositionality.

Results

Analyses of the joint road-crossing task showed that when parents and children crossed different gaps, parents suggested and opposed more gaps and were less likely to use a prospective gap communication strategy (i.e., communicating about a crossable gap prior to its arrival). Crossing different gaps was also associated with increased expressions of negative affect among parents and children and an increase in collisions among children. Children’s level of parent-reported oppositionality also predicted an increase in child defiance and parental redirection of child behavior. Analyses of children’s subsequent crossing performance indicated that parents’ use of a prospective gap communication strategy during the joint road-crossing task predicted selection of larger gaps during the solo crossing task.

Conclusions

Not crossing through the same gap and increased levels of child oppositionality interfered with the scaffolding process, potentially informing future parent-based intervention efforts for increasing children’s road-crossing safety.
Insights into non-axisymmetric instabilities in three-dimensional rotating supernova models with neutrino and gravitational-wave signatures
Authors: Takiwaki Tomoya , Kotake Kei , Foglizzo Thierry
Published: September 2021

We present a detailed analysis to clarify what determines the growth of the low-T/|W| instability in the context of rapidly rotating core collapse of massive stars. To this end, we perform three-dimensional core-collapse supernova (CCSN) simulations of a 27 M⊙ star including several updates in the general relativistic correction to gravity, the multi-energy treatment of heavy-lepton neutrinos, and the nuclear equation of state. Non-axisymmetric deformations are analyzed from the point of view of the time evolution of the pattern frequency and the corotation radius. The corotation radius is found to coincide with the convective layer in the proto neutron star (PNS). We propose a new mechanism to account for the growth of the low-T/|W| instability in the CCSN environment. Near the convective boundary where a small Brunt–Väisälä frequency is expected, Rossby waves propagating in the azimuthal direction at mid latitude induce non-axisymmetric unstable modes in both hemispheres. They merge with each other and finally become the spiral arm in the equatorial plane. We also investigate how the growth of the low-T/|W| instability impacts the neutrino and gravitational-wave signatures.
Stellar hardening of massive black hole binaries: the impact of the host rotation
Authors: Varisco Ludovica , Bortolas Elisa , Dotti Massimo , Sesana Alberto
Published: September 2021

Massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) with masses of ∼104 to $\sim 10^{10} \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot {}}$ are one of the main targets for currently operating and forthcoming space-borne gravitational wave observatories. In this paper, we explore the effect of the stellar host rotation on the bound binary hardening efficiency, driven by three-body stellar interactions. As seen in previous studies, we find that the centre of mass (CoM) of a prograde MBHB embedded in a rotating environment starts moving on a nearly circular orbit about the centre of the system shortly after the MBHB binding. In our runs, the oscillation radius is ≈ 0.25 (≈ 0.1) times the binary influence radius for equal mass MBHBs (MBHBs with mass ratio 1:4). Conversely, retrograde binaries remain anchored about the centre of the host. The binary shrinking rate is twice as fast when the binary CoM exhibits a net orbital motion, owing to a more efficient loss cone repopulation even in our spherical stellar systems. We develop a model that captures the CoM oscillations of prograde binaries; we argue that the CoM angular momentum gain per time unit scales with the internal binary angular momentum, so that most of the displacement is induced by stellar interactions occurring around the time of MBHB binding, while the subsequent angular momentum enhancement gets eventually quashed by the effect of dynamical friction. The effect of the background rotation on the MBHB evolution may be relevant for LISA sources, that are expected to form in significantly rotating stellar systems.
A speckle-imaging search for close and very faint companions to the nearest and brightest Wolf–Rayet stars
Authors: Shara Michael M , Howell Steve B , Furlan Elise , Gnilka Crystal L , Moffat Anthony F J , Scott Nicholas J , Zurek David
Published: September 2021

Gravitationally bound companions to stars enable determinations of their masses, and offer clues to their formation, evolution, and dynamical histories. So motivated, we have carried out a speckle imaging survey of eight of the nearest and brightest Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars to directly measure the frequency of their resolvable companions, and to search for much fainter companions than hitherto possible. We found one new, close companion to each of WR 113, WR 115, and WR 120 in the separation range ∼0.2–1.2 arcsec2. Our results provide more evidence that similar-brightness, close companions to WR stars are common. More remarkably, they also demonstrate that the predicted, but much fainter and thus elusive companions to WR stars are now within reach of modern speckle cameras on 8-m class telescopes by finding the first example. The new companion to WR 113 is just 1.16 arcsec distant from it, and is ∼8 mag fainter than the WR star. The empirical probability of a chance line of sight of the faint companion at the position of WR 113 is <0.5 per cent, though we cannot yet prove or disprove if the two stars are gravitationally bound. If these three new detections are physical companions we suggest, based on their narrowband magnitudes, colours, reddenings, and GAIA distances that the companions to WR113, WR 115, and WR 120 are an F-type dwarf, an early B-type dwarf, and a WNE-type WR star, respectively.
Multiple hPOT1–TPP1 cooperatively unfold contiguous telomeric G-quadruplexes proceeding from 3′ toward 5′, a feature due to a 3′-end binding preference and to structuring of telomeric DNA
Authors: Chatain Jean , Hatem Georges , Delagoutte Emmanuelle , Riou Jean-François , Alberti Patrizia , Saintomé Carole
Published: September 2021

Telomeres are DNA repeated sequences that associate with shelterin proteins and protect the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Human telomeres are composed of 5′TTAGGG repeats and ends with a 3′ single-stranded tail, called G-overhang, that can be specifically bound by the shelterin protein hPOT1 (human Protection of Telomeres 1). In vitro studies have shown that the telomeric G-strand can fold into stable contiguous G-quadruplexes (G4). In the present study we investigated how hPOT1, in complex with its shelterin partner TPP1, binds to telomeric sequences structured into contiguous G4 in potassium solutions. We observed that binding of multiple hPOT1–TPP1 preferentially proceeds from 3′ toward 5′. We explain this directionality in terms of two factors: (i) the preference of hPOT1–TPP1 for the binding site situated at the 3′ end of a telomeric sequence and (ii) the cooperative binding displayed by hPOT1–TPP1 in potassium. By comparing binding in K+ and in Li+, we demonstrate that this cooperative behaviour does not stem from protein-protein interactions, but from structuring of the telomeric DNA substrate into contiguous G4 in potassium. Our study suggests that POT1-TPP1, in physiological conditions, might preferentially cover the telomeric G-overhang starting from the 3′-end and proceeding toward 5′.
CTR-DB, an omnibus for patient-derived gene expression signatures correlated with cancer drug response
Authors: Liu Zhongyang , Liu Jiale , Liu Xinyue , Wang Xun , Xie Qiaosheng , Zhang Xinlei , Kong Xiangya , He Mengqi , Yang Yuting , Deng Xinru , Yang Lele , Qi Yaning , Li Jiajun , Liu Yuan , Yuan Liying , Diao Lihong , He Fuchu , Li Dong
Published: September 2021

To date, only some cancer patients can benefit from chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Drug resistance continues to be a major and challenging problem facing current cancer research. Rapidly accumulated patient-derived clinical transcriptomic data with cancer drug response bring opportunities for exploring molecular determinants of drug response, but meanwhile pose challenges for data management, integration, and reuse. Here we present the Cancer Treatment Response gene signature DataBase (CTR-DB, http://ctrdb.ncpsb.org.cn/), a unique database for basic and clinical researchers to access, integrate, and reuse clinical transcriptomes with cancer drug response. CTR-DB has collected and uniformly reprocessed 83 patient-derived pre-treatment transcriptomic source datasets with manually curated cancer drug response information, involving 28 histological cancer types, 123 drugs, and 5139 patient samples. These data are browsable, searchable, and downloadable. Moreover, CTR-DB supports single-dataset exploration (including differential gene expression, receiver operating characteristic curve, functional enrichment, sensitizing drug search, and tumor microenvironment analyses), and multiple-dataset combination and comparison, as well as biomarker validation function, which provide insights into the drug resistance mechanism, predictive biomarker discovery and validation, drug combination, and resistance mechanism heterogeneity.
CovPDB: a high-resolution coverage of the covalent protein–ligand interactome
Authors: Gao Mingjie , Moumbock Aurélien F A , Qaseem Ammar , Xu Qianqing , Günther Stefan
Published: September 2021

In recent years, the drug discovery paradigm has shifted toward compounds that covalently modify disease-associated target proteins, because they tend to possess high potency, selectivity, and duration of action. The rational design of novel targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs) typically starts from resolved macromolecular structures of target proteins in their apo or holo forms. However, the existing TCI databases contain only a paucity of covalent protein–ligand (cP–L) complexes. Herein, we report CovPDB, the first database solely dedicated to high-resolution cocrystal structures of biologically relevant cP–L complexes, curated from the Protein Data Bank. For these curated complexes, the chemical structures and warheads of pre-reactive electrophilic ligands as well as the covalent bonding mechanisms to their target proteins were expertly manually annotated. Totally, CovPDB contains 733 proteins and 1,501 ligands, relating to 2,294 cP–L complexes, 93 reactive warheads, 14 targetable residues, and 21 covalent mechanisms. Users are provided with an intuitive and interactive web interface that allows multiple search and browsing options to explore the covalent interactome at a molecular level in order to develop novel TCIs. CovPDB is freely accessible at http://www.pharmbioinf.uni-freiburg.de/covpdb/ and its contents are available for download as flat files of various formats.
Obesity and oral health in Mexican children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Aceves-Martins Magaly , Godina-Flores Naara L , Gutierrez-Gómez Yareni Yunuen , Richards Derek , López-Cruz Lizet , García-Botello Marcela , Moreno-García Carlos Francisco
Published: September 2021

Context

A relationship between obesity and poor oral health has been reported.

Objective

To investigate the association between overweight/obesity and oral health in Mexican children and adolescents.

Data Sources

A literature search was conducted of 13 databases and 1 search engine for articles published from 1995 onward.

Data Analysis

A total of 18 publications were included. Evidence was inconclusive and varied according to sociodemographic factors or outcome measuring tools. The Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth and Filled Teeth Surfaces indices and the decayed extracted filled teeth index outcomes were included in a random effects model meta-analysis. Pooled estimates showed no statistically significant oral health differences (measured via the decayed extracted filled teeth or the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth Surfaces indexes) among body mass index (BMI) categories. However, pooled estimates of 6 studies showed that children with higher BMI had worse oral health in permanent teeth (measured via the Decayed Missing Filled Teeth Index) than children with lower BMI (overall mean difference, –0.42; 95%CI, –0.74, –0.11).

Conclusion

Whether there is an association between poor oral health and high BMI is inconclusive; however, both co-exist among Mexican children. Therefore, health promotion and prevention efforts should address common risk factors and broader risk social determinants shared between noncommunicable diseases.
Oligocene Leucogranites of the Gangdese Batholith, Southern Tibet: Fractional Crystallization of Felsic Melts from Juvenile Lower Crust
Authors: Zhang Ying-Ze , Wang Xiao-Lei , Li Jun-Yong , He Zhen-Yu , Zhang Feng-Feng , Chen Xin , Wang Shuo , Du De-Hong , Huang Yu , Jiang Chang-Hong
Published: September 2021

The formation of high-silica leucogranites and related detailed evolution of granitic crystal mush in southern Tibet bear significant information on the tectonic and magmatic evolution of the Asian–Indian continent–continent collisional zone. Here, we first report an integrated investigation of the Oligocene (ca. 30 Ma) leucogranites and main body granitoids exposed within the Gangdese Batholith in Gyaca County, southern Tibet. The Gyaca leucogranites can be divided into two groups in terms of field observation (gradational contacts vs. dykes), petrography and geochemistry (plagioclase fractionation vs. accumulation trends), and are characterized by their formation through different stages of evolution from (early) fractionation to (later) accumulation (up to 30%) of plagioclase for Group I and II leucogranites, respectively. Overall, the two groups of leucogranites are both characterized by high SiO2 (71.4–75.7 wt.%), Na2O/K2O (>1.0) and Sr/Y (58–629), and low Rb/Sr (0.02–0.27). The Gyaca main body granitoids resemble the published Gangdese granitoids and most of them also have high Na2O/K2O and they generally show varied SiO2 (64.4–76.1 wt.%) and other major and trace elements. The Gyaca leucogranites and main body granitoids have very similar Sr–Nd–Hf–O isotopic compositions, with initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios from 0.7054 to 0.7064, ɛNd(t) values from −3.40 to +0.65, zircon ɛHf(t) values from −3.0 to +5.2, and zircon δ18O values from 5.59‰ to 6.84‰. These leucogranites and main body granitoids are interpreted to have a same magma source and can be formed by water-present melting of garnet amphibolites from juvenile lower crust plus minor materials from felsic ancient crust beneath the southern Lhasa Terrane. The genetic association of the Oligocene Gyaca leucogranites and main body granitoids and their geochemical diversity reveal an evolved magmatic system. The two types of leucogranites are probably formed by crystal-melt fractionation and plagioclase accumulation at different stages during the solidification of the magma chamber. The discovery of ca. 30 Ma leucogranites in the Gangdese Batholith, in combination with the Oligocene–Miocene high Sr/Y Gangdese granitoids and coeval Himalayan leucogranites (HLGs), indicate the coexistence of diverse granitic rocks in southern Tibet may principally result from partial melting of local deep crustal materials. A new petrogenetic model which illustrates the evolution and multiple emplacements of crystal mush in a granitic magma chamber is proposed for the formation and magmatic evolution of leucogranites in melts from juvenile lower crust in Tibet.