bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Giant dipole resonance and its fine structures in 144−152Nd,152Sm studied within the linear response theory
Authors: Sharma Abhishek , Arumugam P , Kumar A K Rhine
Published: January 2023

We present a microscopic approach for giant dipole resonance (GDR) where the linear response by the nuclear density to the dipole radiation is represented through the single-particle wavefunctions calculated with a triaxial Woods-Saxon potential. We follow a microscopic-macroscopic approach to estimate the nuclear deformation with the same potential. We explain the recent experimental data for even–even nuclei 144−152Nd and 152Sm and present a comparison with the macroscopic approach for GDR. We highlight the cases where the results from the microscopic approach are sensitive to the change in single-particle configuration despite no change in shape and mass but with a change of two protons in a mid-shell region. We also present the fine structure analysis of the GDR cross-section using the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) framework and elucidate the origin of such fine structures.
Significance of microstrain in impacting band gap and photoluminescence behavior of Ce-doped ZnO thin films deposited via sol-gel process
Authors: Kumawat Ashok , Chattopadhyay Saikat , Misra R D K , Misra Kamakhya Prakash , Valiyaneerilakkal Uvais
Published: January 2023

The purpose of this study is to analyse the importance of micro-strain in affecting the band gap and photoluminescence (PL) intensity of sol-gel-spin-coated Ce-doped ZnO thin films on glass slides. The presence of the (100) plane in the fabricated thin film was discovered using x-ray diffraction thereby indicating the presence of strongly orientated monocrystalline ZnO hexagonal wurtzite phase. On doping with Ce, the micro-strain in the ZnO thin films changed from (2.49–4.84) × 10–3, and the crystallite size ranged from 26.23 to 43.03 nm. UV-visible spectroscopy revealed that the optical transparency of the undoped and Ce-doped ZnO films was between 60 to 85 percent, however the doped films’ absorption dip was slightly shifted from 378 to 380 nm. For Ce-doped ZnO thin films, the increase in band gap values determined using Tauc’s plot was in the range of 3.19 to 3.44 eV. No change in the peak of UV emission was visible in the PL emission spectra after Ce doping. The micro-strain brought on by doping ZnO with Ce controlled the decrease in PL intensity. On doping with Ce up to 3 at.%, PL intensity and micro-strain both reduced, then climbed till Ce 5 at.%, and ultimately declined when the Ce content was 6 at.%. According to studies using scanning electron microscopy, the undoped ZnO film morphology was characterised by spherical particles with rod-like growth structures. For 1, 2, 5, and 6 at.% Ce-doped ZnO thin films, this structure was changed to a nanorod-like structure with small nanorods attached to a long rod. But lengthy chain linkage structures were found in the event of 3 at.% Ce doping. The preceding results are discussed from a doping perspective.
Nonlinearity of ion temperature gradient mode with entropy drift
Authors: Khan A , Zakir U , Haq I , Zaman S , Khan H , Haque Q
Published: January 2023

We investigated the role of entropy in linear and nonlinear structures and obtained the linear dispersion relation from the set of Braginskii’s ion transport equations, demonstrating that entropy has an effect on the mode’s linear features. We also discovered that the system’s entropy is responsible for nonlinear structure changes such as compression to refractive types, as well as other features influenced by it and other plasma parameters such as dust density, charge number and mass, and so on. Our observations are very useful for space plasma observations such as interstellar space, planetary rings, and laboratory plasma because in the mentioned plasmas there is a lot of entropy due to the temperature differences.
SU(3) symmetry of spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensate
Authors: Begzjav Tuguldur Kh , Ulam-Orgikh Duger
Published: January 2023

It is well-known that spin-1 atoms have SU(3) symmetry. In this work, we develop the theory for spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) based on SU(3) Lie group and predict that any spin-1 atom, for instance, 87Rb can exist in either of two inequivalent fundamental representations of SU(3) namely D(1, 0) or D(0, 1). Furthermore, the SU(3) theoretical treatment results in either ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic ground states of the spin-1 BEC depending on the sign of a
1,1 − a
0,0, where a
1,1 and a
0,0 are the scattering lengths corresponding to D(1, 1) and D(0, 0) states. We also show that the coherent spin mixing process of spin-1 BEC is due to only the collisions between atoms in the D(1, 0) and D(0, 1) representations.
Experimental and numerical investigation on electrical wire explosion in pulse plasma systems
Authors: Nasaji Maryam Akbari , Amrollahi Reza , Habibi Morteza
Published: January 2023

Simulation and experimental studies have been used in this paper regarding the importance of the plasma pulse system (PPS) to create a uniform discharge plasma channel and a strong shock wave. First, the effect of wire geometry on uniform plasma production is simulated. The simulation results show that a wire with a diameter of 0.4 mm and a length of 50 mm is an ideal geometry for the plasma pulse system because it produces a more uniform plasma. Second, the shock wave generation mechanism was investigated experimentally in the explosion process of two wires with thicknesses of 0.2 and 0.4. As the diameter of the wire increases and its resistance decreases, the discharge current peak increases, and the tendency to establish periodic currents increases, so the 0.4 wire gives better experimental results in terms of shock wave power than the simulation results that confirms the smaller the diameter of the wire, the current generated in a pulsed manner in a short period, and sufficient energy is not stored to change the state of the wire and, as a result, to create a strong shock wave in the wire. Finally, it simulated underwater using COMSOL Multiphysics. It shows that the pressure drops immediately after the explosion point. Based on this, a pressure of 20 MPa has been obtained at a distance of 10 cm from the explosion point, and this reduction rate continues exponentially.
Improvement of cavity plasmon resonance in high-sensitivity MIM nanostructure with rectangular air stubs inside the hexagonal-ring resonator
Authors: Keshizadeh Hadi , Aghaei Fatemeh , Bahador Hamid , Heidarzadeh Hamid
Published: January 2023

In this research work, ‘the cavity plasmon multi-mode resonance-based refractive index sensor with ultra-high sensitivity’ is presented. The proposed sensor is the metal-insulator-metal nanostructure including the bus waveguide coupled to the hexagonal-ring resonator with rectangular air stubs. The transmittance properties, electric field profile, and magnetic field profile are investigated theoretically and numerically for three types of resonator structures by using the finite-difference time-domain method. Adding the air stubs to the ring resonator structure improves the light–matter interaction and effects of cavity plasmon resonances. Also, the combination of a hexagonal ring structure with rectangular air stubs provides a structure with unique optical properties. These optical properties significantly improve the intensity of the electromagnetic field and provide a sensor with ultra-high sensitivity and high selectivity (Δn = 0.002). The high sensitivity of 1725.5 nm RIU−1, 344 5 nm RIU−1, and 5770 nm RIU−1 was achieved for mode 1, mode 2, and mode 3 of 6-stub resonator (case 3), respectively. The results show that case 3 enhances the maximum sensitivity by about 8% for none-stub resonator (case 1) and 91% for 2-stub resonator (case 2). The figure of merit is 30.8 RIU−1 in mode 1, 74.9 RIU−1 in mode 2, and 58.6 RIU−1 in mode 3. The presented sensor can be used as a biosensor for glucose detection.
Sensing local field potentials with a directional and scalable depth electrode array
Authors: Abrego Amada M , Khan Wasif , Wright Christopher E , Islam M Rabiul , Ghajar Mohammad H , Bai Xiaokang , Tandon Nitin , Seymour John P
Published: January 2023

Objective. A variety of electrophysiology tools are available to the neurosurgeon for diagnosis, functional therapy, and neural prosthetics. However, no tool can currently address these three critical needs: (a) access to all cortical regions in a minimally invasive manner; (b) recordings with microscale, mesoscale, and macroscale resolutions simultaneously; and (c) access to spatially distant multiple brain regions that constitute distributed cognitive networks. Approach. We modeled, designed, and demonstrated a novel device for recording local field potentials (LFPs) with the form factor of a stereo-electroencephalographic electrode and combined with radially distributed microelectrodes. Main results. Electro-quasistatic models demonstrate that the lead body amplifies and shields LFP sources based on direction, enabling
di
rectional sensitivity and
sc
alability, referred to as the directional and scalable (DISC) array. In vivo, DISC demonstrated significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio, directional sensitivity, and decoding accuracy from rat barrel cortex recordings during whisker stimulation. Critical for future translation, DISC demonstrated a higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) than virtual ring electrodes and a noise floor approaching that of large ring electrodes in an unshielded environment after common average referencing. DISC also revealed independent, stereoscopic current source density measures whose direction was verified after histology. Significance. Directional sensitivity of LFPs may significantly improve brain–computer interfaces and many diagnostic procedures, including epilepsy foci detection and deep brain targeting.
Sensor selection and miniaturization limits for detection of interictal epileptiform discharges with wearable EEG
Authors: Dan Jonathan , Foged Mette Thrane , Vandendriessche Benjamin , Van Paesschen Wim , Bertrand Alexander
Published: January 2023

Objective. The goal of this paper is to investigate the limits of electroencephalography (EEG) sensor miniaturization in a set-up consisting of multiple galvanically isolated EEG units to record interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), referred to as ‘spikes’, in people with epilepsy. Approach. A dataset of high-density EEG recordings (257 channels) was used to emulate local EEG sensor units with short inter-electrode distances. A computationally efficient sensor selection and interictal spike detection algorithm was developed and used to assess the influence of the inter-electrode distance and the number of such EEG units on spike detection performance. Signal-to-noise ratio, correlation with a clinical-grade IEDs detector and Cohen’s kappa coefficient of agreement were used to quantify performance. Bayesian statistics were used to confirm the statistical significance of the observed results. Main results. We found that EEG recording equipment should be specifically designed to measure the small signal power at short inter-electrode distance by providing an input referred noise

<

300 nV. We also found that an inter-electrode distance of minimum 5 cm between electrodes in a setup with a minimum of two EEG units is required to obtain near equivalent performance in interictal spike detection to standard EEG. Significance. These findings provide design guidelines for miniaturizing EEG systems for long term ambulatory monitoring of interictal spikes in epilepsy patients.
Impacts of simplifying articulation movements imagery to speech imagery BCI performance
Authors: Guo Zengzhi , Chen Fei
Published: January 2023

Objective. Speech imagery (SI) can be used as a reliable, natural, and user-friendly activation task for the development of brain-computer interface (BCI), which empowers individuals with severe disabilities to interact with their environment. The functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is advanced as one of the most suitable brain imaging methods for developing BCI systems owing to its advantages of being non-invasive, portable, insensitive to motion artifacts, and having relatively high spatial resolution. Approach. To improve the classification performance of SI BCI based on fNIRS, a novel paradigm was developed in this work by simplifying the articulation movements in SI to make the articulation movement differences clearer between different words imagery tasks. A SI BCI was proposed to directly answer questions by covertly rehearsing the word ‘是’ or ‘否’ (‘yes’ or ‘no’ in English), and an unconstrained rest task also was contained in this BCI. The articulation movements of SI were simplified by retaining only the movements of the jaw and lips of vowels in Chinese Pinyin for words ‘是’ and ‘否’. Main results. Compared with conventional speech imagery, simplifying the articulation movements in SI could generate more different brain activities among different tasks, which led to more differentiable temporal features and significantly higher classification performance. The average 3-class classification accuracies of the proposed paradigm across all 20 participants reached 69.6% and 60.2% which were about 10.8% and 5.6% significantly higher than those of the conventional SI paradigm operated in the 0–10 s and 0–2.5 s time windows, respectively. Significance. These results suggested that simplifying the articulation movements in SI is promising for improving the classification performance of intuitive BCIs based on speech imagery.
Turbulence-driven vortex-flow around a magnetic island
Authors: Leconte M. , Cho Y.W.
Published: January 2023

We predict a new state of plasma self-organization, in the presence of magnetic islands, namely turbulence-driven island vortex-flows, which are non-axisymmetric flows. The interaction between an E × B sheared vortex-flow and the drift-wave (DW) turbulence driving it, is derived in the presence of a coherent static magnetic island. The turbulence is driven by a 3D density profile due to quasi-linear island-induced profile flattening, and the DWs thus follow the local electron diamagnetic drift along the island. The metric tensor is introduced, making the analysis easier in island geometry. An extended Charney–Hasegawa–Mima equation describes the DW turbulence—flow interaction, from which a wave-kinetic equation is obtained in island geometry. This yields a turbulence-vortex-flow predator–prey model which predicts a nonlinear threshold for island vortex-flow formation. The vortex-flow threshold decreases with increasing island-width as

γ

t
h

∼

1

W

2

, which shows that wider islands may more easily drive vortex-flows.
Fibrinogen-based cell and spheroid sheets manipulating and delivery for mouse hindlimb ischemia
Authors: Lim Juhan , Lee Min Suk , Jeon Jin , Yang Hee Seok
Published: January 2023

In this research, we introduced a novel strategy for fabricating cell sheets (CSs) prepared by simply adding a fibrinogen solution to growth medium without using any synthetic polymers or chemical agents. We confirmed that the fibrinogen-based CS could be modified for target tissue regardless of size, shape, and cell types. Also, fibrinogen-based CSs were versatile and could be used to form three-dimensional (3D) CSs such as multi-layered CSs and those mimicking native blood vessels. We also prepared fibrinogen-based spheroid sheets for the treatment of ischemic disease. The fibrinogen-based spheroid sheets had much higher in vitro tubule formation and released more angiogenic factors compared to other types of platform in this research. We transplanted fibrinogen-based spheroid sheets into a mouse hindlimb ischemia model and found that fibrinogen-based spheroid sheets showed significantly improved physiological function and blood perfusion rates compared to the other types of platform in this research.
Interface strength investigations of 304 stainless steel/T2 red copper T-type brazed joint based on cohesive zone model
Authors: Wu Yuewei , Xing Aidong , Cheng Qizhong , Li Qingsheng
Published: January 2023

Gas wave refrigerators are a type of refrigeration equipment with broad application prospects. The oscillating tube, its core component, was manufactured by brazing to improve production efficiency. To study the brazing interface strength, a small 304 stainless steel/T2 red copper T-type brazed joint specimen was designed. The tensile process of the brazed joint was simulated using ABAQUS software based on the bilinear cohesive zone model (CZM), and the results were compared with the experimental tensile results. Damage critical stress and critical fracture energy of

σ

max

= 40MPa and

φ

c

= 35 mJ mm−2, respectively, were obtained. A VUMAT subroutine was used to obtain the fatigue life of the specimen, and the errors with the experiment were 1.8% and 5.6%, respectively. It was proved that the CZM can simulate the tensile and fatigue loading processes of T-type brazed joints. The microstructure of the fatigue fracture of the specimen was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. In addition, the effects of cyclic displacement and base metal thickness on the interface fatigue damage process were simulated and analyzed. The results showed that with an increase in cyclic displacement, the crack initiation life decreased and the crack growth rate increased; the interface damage, the crack length, and the fatigue load increased with the increase in base metal thickness.
The comparison of manganese spectral lines for self-absorption reduction in LIBS using laser-induced fluorescence
Authors: TANG Yun , LI Jingfeng , MA Shixiang , HU Zhenlin , PENG Xuxiang , ZHOU Weiping , YUAN Xiao , SHEN Meng
Published: January 2023

The detection of manganese (Mn) in steel by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) provides essential information for steelmaking. However, self-absorption greatly disrupts the LIBS spectral lines of Mn with high content. In this study, to minimize self-absorption for Mn spectral lines in LIBS, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) was applied. Compared with conventional LIBS, the self-absorption factors (α) of Mn I 403.08, 403.31, and 403.45 nm lines were reduced by 90%, 88%, and 88%, respectively; the root mean square errors of cross-validation were decreased by 88%, 85%, and 87%, respectively; the average relative errors were reduced by 93%, 90%, and 91%, respectively; and average relative standard deviations were decreased by 29%, 32%, and 33%, respectively. The LIBS-LIF was shown to successfully minimize the self-absorption effect and spectral intensity fluctuation and improve detection accuracy.
Regularity of the solution to the principal-agent problem
Authors: Chen Shibing
Published: January 2023

In this paper we prove theC1C^1regularity of solution to the principal-agent problem with general preference function satisfying some structural conditions.
A doubly monotone flow for constant width bodies in ℝ³
Authors: Hynd Ryan
Published: January 2023

We introduce a flow in the space of constant width bodies in three-dimensional Euclidean space that simultaneously increases the volume and decreases the circumradius of the shape as time increases. Starting from any initial constant width figure, we show that the flow exists for all positive times and converges to a closed ball as time tends to plus infinity. We also anticipate that this flow is interesting to study for negative times and that it would provide a mechanism to decrease the volume and increase the circumradius of a constant width body.
A fractional glance to the theory of edge dislocations
Authors: Dipierro Serena , Patrizi Stefania , Valdinoci Enrico
Published: January 2023

We revisit some recents results inspired by the Peierls-Nabarro model on edge dislocations for crystals which rely on the fractional Laplace representation of the corresponding equation. In particular, we discuss results related to heteroclinic, homoclinic and multibump patterns for the atom dislocation function, the large space and time scale of the solutions of the parabolic problem, the dynamics of the dislocation points and the large time asymptotics after possible dislocation collisions.
Generalized Gearhart-Koshy acceleration for the Kaczmarz method
Authors: Rieger Janosch
Published: January 2023

The Kaczmarz method is an iterative numerical method for solving large and sparse rectangular systems of linear equations. Gearhart, Koshy and Tam have developed an acceleration technique for the Kaczmarz method that minimizes the distance to the desired solution in the direction of a full Kaczmarz step.

The present paper generalizes this technique to an acceleration scheme that minimizes the Euclidean norm error over an affine subspace spanned by a number of previous iterates and one additional cycle of the Kaczmarz method. The key challenge is to find a formulation in which all parameters of the least-squares problem defining the unique minimizer are known, and to solve this problem efficiently.

When only a single Kaczmarz cycle is considered, the proposed affine search is more effective than the Gearhart-Koshy/Tam line-search, which in turn is more effective than the underlying Kaczmarz method. A numerical experiment from the context of computerized tomography suggests that the proposed affine search has the potential to outperform the the Gearhart-Koshy/Tam line-search and the underlying Kaczmarz method in terms of the computational cost that is needed to achieve a given error tolerance.
On Iwasawa 𝜆-invariants for abelian number fields and random matrix heuristics
Authors: Delbourgo Daniel , Knospe Heiko
Published: January 2023

Following both Ernvall-Metsänkylä and Ellenberg-Jain-Venkatesh, we study the density of the number of zeroes (i.e. the cyclotomic

λ
\lambda

-invariant) for the

p
p

-adic zeta-function twisted by a Dirichlet character

χ
\chi

of any order. We are interested in two cases: (i) the character

χ
\chi

is fixed and the prime

p
p

varies, and (ii)

o
r
d
(
χ
)

ord(\chi )

and the prime

p
p

are both fixed but

χ
\chi

is allowed to vary. We predict distributions for these

λ
\lambda

-invariants using

p
p

-adic random matrix theory and provide numerical evidence for these predictions. We also study the proportion of

χ
\chi

-regular primes, which depends on how

p
p

splits inside

Q

(
χ
)

\mathbb {Q}(\chi )

. Finally, we tabulate the values of the

λ
\lambda

-invariant for every character

χ
\chi

of conductor

⩽
1000

\leqslant 1000

and for odd primes

p
p

of small size.
Leveraging scaffold information to predict protein–ligand binding affinity with an empirical graph neural network
Authors: Xia Chunqiu , Feng Shi-Hao , Xia Ying , Pan Xiaoyong , Shen Hong-Bin
Published: January 2023

Protein–ligand binding affinity prediction is an important task in structural bioinformatics for drug discovery and design. Although various scoring functions (SFs) have been proposed, it remains challenging to accurately evaluate the binding affinity of a protein–ligand complex with the known bound structure because of the potential preference of scoring system. In recent years, deep learning (DL) techniques have been applied to SFs without sophisticated feature engineering. Nevertheless, existing methods cannot model the differential contribution of atoms in various regions of proteins, and the relationship between atom properties and intermolecular distance is also not fully explored. We propose a novel empirical graph neural network for accurate protein–ligand binding affinity prediction (EGNA). Graphs of protein, ligand and their interactions are constructed based on different regions of each bound complex. Proteins and ligands are effectively represented by graph convolutional layers, enabling the EGNA to capture interaction patterns precisely by simulating empirical SFs. The contributions of different factors on binding affinity can thus be transparently investigated. EGNA is compared with the state-of-the-art machine learning-based SFs on two widely used benchmark data sets. The results demonstrate the superiority of EGNA and its good generalization capability.
Tree visualizations of protein sequence embedding space enable improved functional clustering of diverse protein superfamilies
Authors: Yeung Wayland , Zhou Zhongliang , Mathew Liju , Gravel Nathan , Taujale Rahil , O’Boyle Brady , Salcedo Mariah , Venkat Aarya , Lanzilotta William , Li Sheng , Kannan Natarajan
Published: January 2023

Protein language models, trained on millions of biologically observed sequences, generate feature-rich numerical representations of protein sequences. These representations, called sequence embeddings, can infer structure-functional properties, despite protein language models being trained on primary sequence alone. While sequence embeddings have been applied toward tasks such as structure and function prediction, applications toward alignment-free sequence classification have been hindered by the lack of studies to derive, quantify and evaluate relationships between protein sequence embeddings. Here, we develop workflows and visualization methods for the classification of protein families using sequence embedding derived from protein language models. A benchmark of manifold visualization methods reveals that Neighbor Joining (NJ) embedding trees are highly effective in capturing global structure while achieving similar performance in capturing local structure compared with popular dimensionality reduction techniques such as t-SNE and UMAP. The statistical significance of hierarchical clusters on a tree is evaluated by resampling embeddings using a variational autoencoder (VAE). We demonstrate the application of our methods in the classification of two well-studied enzyme superfamilies, phosphatases and protein kinases. Our embedding-based classifications remain consistent with and extend upon previously published sequence alignment-based classifications. We also propose a new hierarchical classification for the S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine (SAM) enzyme superfamily which has been difficult to classify using traditional alignment-based approaches. Beyond applications in sequence classification, our results further suggest NJ trees are a promising general method for visualizing high-dimensional data sets.
Speech onsets and sustained speech contribute differentially to delta and theta speech tracking in auditory cortex
Authors: Chalas Nikos , Daube Christoph , Kluger Daniel S , Abbasi Omid , Nitsch Robert , Gross Joachim
Published: January 2023

When we attentively listen to an individual’s speech, our brain activity dynamically aligns to the incoming acoustic input at multiple timescales. Although this systematic alignment between ongoing brain activity and speech in auditory brain areas is well established, the acoustic events that drive this phase-locking are not fully understood. Here, we use magnetoencephalographic recordings of 24 human participants (12 females) while they were listening to a 1 h story. We show that whereas speech–brain coupling is associated with sustained acoustic fluctuations in the speech envelope in the theta-frequency range (4–7 Hz), speech tracking in the low-frequency delta (below 1 Hz) was strongest around onsets of speech, like the beginning of a sentence. Crucially, delta tracking in bilateral auditory areas was not sustained after onsets, proposing a delta tracking during continuous speech perception that is driven by speech onsets. We conclude that both onsets and sustained components of speech contribute differentially to speech tracking in delta- and theta-frequency bands, orchestrating sampling of continuous speech. Thus, our results suggest a temporal dissociation of acoustically driven oscillatory activity in auditory areas during speech tracking, providing valuable implications for orchestration of speech tracking at multiple time scales.
Replication of association at the LPP and UBASH3A loci in a UK autoimmune Addison's disease cohort
Authors: Howarth Sophie , Sneddon Georgina , Allinson Kathleen R , Razvi Salman , Mitchell Anna L , Pearce Simon H S
Published: January 2023

Autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD) arises from a complex interplay between multiple genetic susceptibility polymorphisms and environmental factors. The first genome wide association study (GWAS) with patients from Scandinavian Addison's registries has identified association signals at four novel loci in the genes LPP, SH2B3, SIGLEC5, and UBASH3A.

To verify these novel risk loci, we performed a case–control association study in our independent cohort of 420 patients with AAD from the across the UK.

We report significant association of alleles of the LPP and UBASH3A genes [odds ratio (95% confidence intervals), 1.46 (1.21-1.75)and 1.40 (1.16-1.68), respectively] with AAD in our UK cohort. In addition, we report nominal association of AAD with SH2B3 [OR 1.18 (1.02-1.35)].

We confirm that variants at the LPP and UBASH3A loci confer susceptibility to AAD in a UK population. Further studies with larger patient cohorts are required to robustly confirm the association of SH2B3 and SIGLEC5/SPACA6 alleles.
Ectopic lipid deposition and insulin resistance in patients with GH disorders before and after treatment
Authors: Arlien-Søborg Mai C , Madsen Michael Alle , Dal Jakob , Krusenstjerna-Hafstrøm Thomas , Ringgaard Steffen , Skou Nickolaj , Høgild Morten , Jørgensen Jens Otto Lunde
Published: January 2023

Objectives

Insulin resistance is associated with ectopic lipid deposition. Growth hormone (GH) status also modulates ectopic lipid accumulation, but how this associates with insulin resistance in patients with GH disorders is not well established.

Design and Methods

Twenty-one patients diagnosed with acromegaly and 12 patients with adult GH deficiency (GHD) were studied at diagnosis and after treatment. A reference group of 12 subjects was included. Each study day comprised assessment of body composition with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, ectopic lipid deposition in the liver by MR spectroscopy, and Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR).

Results

Disease control of acromegaly decreased lean body mass (LBM) (P < .000) and increased the percentage of total body fat (TBF) (P < .000). GH replacement increased LBM in the GHD patients (P = .007) and decreased the percentage of TBF (P = .010). The intrahepatic lipid (IHL) content increased after disease control in acromegaly (P = .004), whereas IHL did not change significantly after GH replacement in GHD (P = .34). Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) improved after disease control of acromegaly (P < .000) and remained unaltered after GH replacement in the GHD patients (P = .829).

Conclusions

GH status is a significant modulator of body composition and insulin sensitivity.

GH excess reduces total fat mass and intrahepatic lipid content together with induction of insulin resistance.

The data support the notion that GH-induced insulin resistance is unassociated with hepatic lipid accumulation.
Tariff evasion in agriculture: the role of non-tariff measures
Authors: He Xi
Published: January 2023

This study investigates the impacts of non-tariff measures (NTMs) on tariff evasion in agriculture. We find that sanitary and phytosanitary standard measure of tolerance limits for residues and restricted use of substances significantly reduces tariff evasion. We also find that this dampening impact occurs via price underreporting rather than quantity underreporting or product misclassification. Heterogeneous analysis shows that this impact exists for developing countries but not for developed countries. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for NTMs’ impacts on tariff evasion in agricultural trade policy analysis.
Association between eating behaviour and 13-year cardiovascular damages in the initially healthy STANISLAS cohort
Authors: Puchkova-Sistac Anfisa , de Lauzon-Guillain Blandine , Girerd Nicolas , Boivin Jean-Marc , Bozec Erwan , Mercklé Ludovic , Nazare Julie-Anne , Laville Martine , Rossignol Patrick , Wagner Sandra
Published: January 2023

Aims

Several dimensions of eating behaviour (EB), such as restrained eating (RE), appear to be cross-sectionally associated with certain cardiovascular (CV) diseases and metabolic risk factors although little is known regarding longitudinal associations. This study aimed to assess the associations between EB and CV damage or metabolic syndrome after 13 years, in initially healthy individuals.

Methods and results

This study included 1109 participants from the familial STANISLAS (Suivi Temporaire Annuel Non-Invasif de la Santé des Lorrains Assurés Sociaux) cohort study. Emotional eating (EmE), RE, and external eating were assessed using the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Metabolic syndrome and CV damages such as carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (cfPWV), left ventricular mass, carotid intima-media thickness, and diastolic dysfunction (DD) were measured after a period of 13 years. Mixed model analysis with a family random effect and adjustment for age, sex, education, temporal gap, physical activity, metabolic factors at baseline, and the onset of CV disease during follow-up, and mediation analysis were performed in adults and adolescents separately. Among adults, EmE was associated with a 38% increased risk of DD 13 years later [odds ratio = 1.38 (1.05; 1.83)]. Stress level mediated 31.9% of this association (P = 0.01). Emotional eating was positively associated with cfPWV (β=0.02 [0.01; 0.04]). External eating was slightly associated with lower cfPWV (β=−0.03 [−0.05; −0.01]). No associations were observed between EB dimensions and metabolic syndrome. Energy intake was not found to be a mediator of any associations.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that CV prevention should also take into account EB and include emotion regulation skills teaching.
Change in a Claims-Based Frailty Index, Mortality, and Health Care Costs in Medicare Beneficiaries
Authors: Shi Sandra Miao , Steinberg Nessa , Oh Gahee , Olivieri-Mui Brianne , Sison Stephanie , McCarthy Ellen P , Kim Dae Hyun
Published: January 2023

Background

A claims-based frailty index (CFI) allows measurement of frailty on a population scale. Our objective was to examine the association of changes in CFI over 12 months with mortality and Medicare costs.

Methods

We used a 5% sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries. We estimated CFI (range: 0–1: nonfrail (<0.25), mildly frail (0.25–0.34), moderately-to-severely frail (≥0.35) on January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2016. Beneficiaries were categorized as having a large decrease (−<0.045), small decrease (−≤0.045–0.015), stable (±0.015), small increase (>0.015–0.045), or large increase (>0.045). We used Cox proportional hazards model to estimate hazard ratio (HR) for mortality adjusting for age, sex, and 2015 CFI value and compared total Medicare costs from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

Results

The study population included 995 664 beneficiaries (mean age 77 years, 56.8% female). In nonfrail (n = 906 046), HR (95% confidence interval [CI]) ranged from 0.71 (0.67–0.75) for a large decrease to 2.75 (2.68–2.33) for a large increase. In moderate-to-severely frail beneficiaries (n = 16 527), the corresponding HR (95% CI) ranged from 0.63 (0.57–0.70) to 1.21 (1.06–1.38). The mean total Medicare cost per member per year (standard deviation) was from $12 149 ($83 508) in nonfrail beneficiaries to $61 155 ($345 904) in moderate-to-severely frail beneficiaries.

Conclusions

One-year changes in CFI are associated with elevated mortality risk and health care costs across all levels of frailty.
Aging Is Associated With Impaired Postprandial Response of Skeletal Muscle Protein Synthesis to High-Intensity Muscle Contraction in Mice
Authors: Ato Satoru , Matsunami Hiroshi , Ogasawara Riki
Published: January 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether aging alters the effect of nutritional status on contraction-induced muscle protein metabolism. In an overnight fasted or fed states, the right gastrocnemius muscle of young (3 months) and aged (24 months) male C57BL/6J mice was isometrically contracted via percutaneous electrical stimulation. The left gastrocnemius muscle served as a control. In the fasted state, there were no differences in basal or contraction-induced muscle protein synthesis between young and old mice. However, in the fed state, basal muscle protein synthesis was greater in young mice, and contraction increased muscle protein synthesis only in young mice. In the fed state, although phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 was similarly increased by contraction in both ages, the increase in phosphorylation of p70S6K was greater in young mice. Our results indicate that aging impairs the ability to integrate signals from muscle contraction and nutrition, leading to aging-induced anabolic resistance to muscle contraction in the postprandial state.
Scaling up task-sharing psychological interventions for refugees in Jordan: a qualitative study on the potential barriers and facilitators
Authors: Woodward Aniek , Sondorp Egbert , Barry Alexandra S , Dieleman Marjolein A , Fuhr Daniela C , Broerse Jacqueline E W , Akhtar Aemal , Awwad Manar , Bawaneh Ahmad , Bryant Richard , Sijbrandij Marit , Cuijpers Pim , Roberts Bayard
Published: January 2023

Training nonspecialists in providing evidence-based psychological interventions (i.e. task-sharing) can effectively increase community access to psychological support. However, task-sharing interventions for this purpose are rarely used at scale. The aim of this study was to examine the factors influencing the potential for scaling up (i.e. scalability) of a task-sharing psychological intervention called Problem Management Plus (PM+) for Syrian refugees in Jordan. Semi-structured individual (n = 17) and group interviews (n = 20) were conducted with stakeholders knowledgeable about PM+ and the mental health system for Syrian refugees in Jordan. Using ‘system innovation perspective’, this study conceptualized the context as landscape developments, and systemic considerations were divided into culture (shared ways of thinking) and structure (ways of organizing). Political momentum was identified as a landscape trend likely facilitating scaling up, while predicted reductions in financial aid was regarded as a constraint. In terms of culture, the medicalized approach to mental health, stigma and gender were reported barriers for scaling up PM+. Using non-stigmatizing language and offering different modalities, childcare options and sessions outside of working hours were suggestions to reduce stigma, accommodate individual preferences and increase the demand for PM+. In relation to structure, the feasibility of scaling up PM+ largely depends on the ability to overcome legal barriers, limitations in human and financial resources and organizational challenges. We recommend sustainable funding to be made available for staff, training, supervision, infrastructure, coordination, expansion and evaluation of ‘actual’ scaling up of PM+. Future research may examine the local feasibility of various funding, training and supervision models. Lessons learned from actual scaling up of PM+ and similar task-sharing approaches need to be widely shared.
The Intersection of International Environmental Law and International Humanitarian Law at Sea
Authors: Norris Andrew
Published: January 2023

The maritime domain, largely comprised of international ‘commons’ covering more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, presents some unique challenges in identifying, much less reconciling, applicable International Environmental Law (IEL) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) principles. This article posits that the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, particularly its prescriptive and enforcement jurisdictional apportionments to nations relating to the prevention and control of pollution, establishes the peacetime IEL normative framework at sea. After exploring this normative framework, this article furthers the symposium’s overall theme by examining the interplay between this IEL framework and the relatively sparse and sporadic IHL regime at sea. As will be seen, this interplay is largely a question of the extent to which, if at all, these jurisdictional apportionments survive during periods of armed conflict. As such, it aligns more closely with the ‘application process’ for impacting the regulation of armed conflict, in which IEL applies alongside IHL to activities related to armed conflict, than with the ‘interpretation process’, whereby IHL is interpreted in light of IEL.
Natural promoters and promoter engineering strategies for metabolic regulation inSaccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: He Shifan , Zhang Zhanwei , Lu Wenyu
Published: January 2023

Sharomyces cerevisiae is currently one of the most important foreign gene expression systems. S. cerevisiae is an excellent host for high-value metabolite cell factories due to its advantages of simplicity, safety, and nontoxicity. A promoter, as one of the basic elements of gene transcription, plays an important role in regulating gene expression and optimizing metabolic pathways. Promoters control the direction and intensity of transcription, and the application of promoters with different intensities and performances will largely determine the effect of gene expression and ultimately affect the experimental results. Due to its significant role, there have been many studies on promoters for decades. While some studies have explored and analyzed new promoters with different functions, more studies have focused on artificially modifying promoters to meet their own scientific needs. Thus, this article reviews current research on promoter engineering techniques and related natural promoters in S. cerevisiae. First, we introduce the basic structure of promoters and the classification of natural promoters. Then, the classification of various promoter strategies is reviewed. Finally, by grouping related articles together using various strategies, this review anticipates the future development direction of promoter engineering.
Feature-specific Correlation of Structural, Optical, and Chemical Properties in the Transmission Electron Microscope with Hypermodal Data Fusion
Authors: Thersleff Thomas , Tai Cheuk-Wai
Published: January 2023

Modern transmission electron microscopy instrumentation can probe a wide range of structural, optical, and chemical properties with unprecedented resolution. However, each of these properties must be recorded in independent datasets using different detector modes with no unifying framework currently available for quantitatively mapping their relationships onto chemically distinct features, particularly in complex morphologies. Here, we tackle this challenge by proposing a data acquisition and analysis workflow called “hypermodal data fusion,” describing how to directly couple an arbitrary number of highly disparate detector modes including spectroscopy and scanning diffraction and jointly analyze them for correlations. We demonstrate this concept on a random collection of anatase and rutile nanoparticles, first detailing how to use core-loss electron energy-loss spectroscopy to unmix the different polymorphs despite three-dimensional overlap along the beam direction and then showing how this can be used to extract polymorph-specific composition, bandgaps, and crystal structure. We conclude with a discussion on the applicability of this workflow for a broad range of materials systems.
A rocky exoplanet classification method and its application to calculating surface pressure and surface temperature
Authors: McIntyre Sarah R N , King Penelope L , Mills Franklin P
Published: January 2023

With over 5000 exoplanets currently detected, there is a need for a primary classification method to prioritize candidates for biosignature observations. Here, we develop a classification method to categorize rocky exoplanets based on their closest Solar system analogue using available data of observed stellar and planetary features, masses, and radii, to model non-thermal atmospheric escape, thermal atmospheric escape, and stellar irradiation boundaries. Applying this classification method to the 720 rocky exoplanets in our sample with uncertainties in planetary masses, radii, stellar temperatures, and fluxes propagated via a Monte Carlo model indicates that 22 per cent ± 8 per cent are Mercury analogues, 39 per cent ± 4 per cent are Mars analogues, 11 per cent ± 1 per cent are Venus analogues, 2 per cent ± 1 per cent are Earth analogues, and 26 per cent ± 12 per cent are without a known planetary counterpart in our Solar system. Extrapolating to conditions on LHS 3844b and GJ 1252b, our classification method gives results reasonably consistent with current observations. Subsequently, to demonstrate the functionality of this classification method, we plot our catalogued sample of exoplanets on an adjusted surface pressure versus temperature phase diagram, presenting more realistic estimates of the potential surface phases (gas, liquid, or ice). Our new classification method could help target selection for future exoplanet characterization missions.
Socioeconomic impact of treatment with biological disease–modifying antirheumatic drugs in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Yamanaka Hisashi , Kishimoto Mitsumasa , Nishijima Nobuo , Yamashita Katsuhisa , Matsushima Junnosuke , O’Brien Jacqueline , Blachley Taylor , Eliot Melissa , Margolin Zachary , Dave Swapna S , Tanaka Yoshiya
Published: January 2023

Objectives

We evaluate the socioeconomic impact of treatment with biological and targeted synthetic disease–modifying antirheumatic drugs in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods

We analysed data retrospectively from the prospective observational CorEvitas RA Japan Registry (March 2016–February 2020). Patients were categorised into paid workers (PWs) and home workers (HWs) and further based on drug classes. We assessed medication persistence, treatment outcomes, health care resource utilisation, and socioeconomic impact over 12 months, including direct (drugs and health care resource utilisation) and indirect (loss of productivity) costs.

Results

Overall, 187 PWs and 114 HWs were identified. Over 12 months, medication persistence was high, treatment outcomes improved, and outpatient visits reduced in both groups. Following treatment initiation, direct costs increased, whereas indirect (loss of productivity) costs decreased in both groups. The unadjusted socioeconomic impact [Japanese yen (JPY)] increased across all drug classes in PWs (range: 29,700–151,700) and HWs (range: −28,700 to 83,000). Adjusted change in monthly socioeconomic impact was JPY 29,700–138,900 for PWs and JPY −28,000 to 92,800 for HWs.

Conclusions

In this study of Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the socioeconomic burden increased across patient groups and drug classes. The decrease in indirect (loss of productivity) costs partially offset the increase in direct costs.