bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative genomics analysis of statistically significant genomic islands of Helicobacter pylori strains for better understanding the disease prognosis
Authors: Chakraborty Joyeeta , Chatterjee Raghunath
Published: March 2022

Bacterial virulence factors are often located in their genomic islands (GIs). Helicobacter pylori, a highly diverse organism is reported to be associated with several gastrointestinal diseases like, gastritis, gastric cancer (GC), peptic ulcer, duodenal ulcer (DU) etc. A novel similarity score (Sm)-based comparative analysis with GIs of 50 H. pylori strains revealed clear idea of the various factors which promote disease progression. Two putative pathogenic GIs in some of the H. pylori strains were identified. One GI, having a putative labile enterotoxin and other dynamin-like proteins (DLPs), is predicted to increase the release of toxin by membrane vesicular formation. Another island contains a virulence-associated protein D (vapD) which is a component of a type-II toxin–antitoxin system (TAs), leads to enhance the severity of the H. pylori infection. Besides the well-known virulence factors like Cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) and vacA, several GIs have been identified which showed to have direct or indirect impact on H. pylori clinical outcomes. One such GI, containing lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis genes was revealed to be directly connected with disease development by inhibiting the immune response. Another collagenase-containing GI worsens ulcers by slowing down the healing process. GI consisted of fliD operon was found to be connected to flagellar assembly and biofilm production. By residing in biofilms, bacteria can avoid antibiotic therapy, resulting in chronic infection. Along with well-studied CagA and vacuolating toxin A (vacA) virulent genes, it is equally important to study these identified virulence factors for better understanding H. pylori-induced disease prognosis.
LineGAN: An image colourisation method combined with a line art network
Authors: Lv Dahua , Pu Yuanyuan , Nie Rencan
Published: March 2022

The work on grayscale image colourisation has been significantly improved. Currently, learning‐based methods have achieved some great colourisation effects, but existing colour edge bleeding, especially when colourful cartoon characters. In this paper, we focus on the colourisation of cartoon characters from a series in an adversarial environment with a line art network, whose name is LineGAN. LineGAN learns the corresponding colour mapping from datasets, improving the accuracy of image colourisation. Our methods limit the colour boundary overflow by adding a line art frame in the generator. Extensive experiment results on cartoon image colourisation tasks demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve effective results.
Effectiveness of the heartbeat interval error and compensation method on heart rate variability analysis
Authors: Shintomi Ayaka , Izumi Shintaro , Yoshimoto Masahiko , Kawaguchi Hiroshi
Published: March 2022

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of heartbeat error and compensation methods on heart rate variability (HRV) with mobile and wearable sensor devices. The HRV analysis extracts multiple indices related to the heart and autonomic nervous system from beat‐to‐beat intervals. These HRV analysis indices are affected by the heartbeat interval mismatch, which is caused by sampling error from measurement hardware and inherent errors from the state of human body. Although the sampling rate reduction is a common method to reduce power consumption on wearable devices, it degrades the accuracy of the heartbeat interval. Furthermore, wearable devices often use photoplethysmography (PPG) instead of electrocardiogram (ECG) to measure heart rate. However, there are inherent errors between PPG and ECG, because the PPG is affected by blood pressure fluctuations, vascular stiffness, and body movements. This paper evaluates the impact of these errors on HRV analysis using dataset including both ECG and PPG from 28 subjects. The evaluation results showed that the error compensation method improved the accuracy of HRV analysis in time domain, frequency domain and non‐linear analysis. Furthermore, the error compensation by the algorithm was found to be effective for both PPG and ECG.
Experimental study on ageing characteristics of electric locomotive ethylene propylene rubber cable under mechanical–thermal combined action
Authors: Zhou Lijun , Liu Cong , Quan Shengwei , Zhang Xiangyu , Wang Dongyang
Published: March 2022

The train‐mounted ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) cables of electric locomotive are partly restricted by the body structure and spatial layout and are in a combined environment of strong mechanical bending and thermal ageing. The degradation characteristics of the insulation layer have not yet received sufficient attention. In order to study the ageing characteristics of EPR cables of electric locomotive under the combined action of machine and thermal, this paper designs a bending–thermal combined ageing test platform for cables with a temperature of 135°C, bending diameter of 393.52 mm, 590.28 mm and unbending cables, and tests after ageing. The product has been tested by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, elongation at break and broadband dielectric spectroscopy. The research results show that the bending outer part of the train‐mounted EPR cable is a pain point. Under the combined action of bending and thermal, whether it is microstructure or macro performance, the degradation rate and degree of the bending of outer insulation layer are greater than the value under a single thermal ageing condition. Mechanical bending has an accelerating effect on the ageing of the EPR insulation layer. The research results can provide a reference for the ageing characteristics of the train‐mounted EPR cable under the bending–thermal synergy and the evaluation of operating state of the train‐mounted EPR cable under bending–thermal operating conditions.
Variational joint self‐attention for image captioning
Authors: Shao Xiangjun , Xiang Zhenglong , Li Yuanxiang , Zhang Mingjie
Published: March 2022

The image captioning task has attracted great attention from many researchers, and significant progress has been made in the past few years. Existing image captioning models, which mainly apply attention‐based encoder‐decoder architecture, achieve great developments image captioning. These attention‐based models, however, are limited in the caption generation due to the potential errors resulting from the inaccurate detection of objects and incorrect attention to the objects. To alleviate the limitation, a Variational Joint Self‐Attention model (VJSA) is proposed to learn a latent semantic alignment between the given image and its label description for guiding better image captioning. Unlike the existing image captioning models, VJSA first uses a self‐attention module to encode the effective relationship information of intra‐sequence and inter‐sequences relationships. And then the variational neural inference module learns a distribution over the latent semantic alignment between the image and its corresponding description. In the decoding, the learned semantic alignment guides the decoder to generate the higher quality image caption. The results of the experiments reveal that the VJSA outperforms the compared models, and the performances of various metrics show that the proposed model is effective and feasible in image caption generation.
New exocomets of β Pic
Authors: Pavlenko Ya. , Kulyk I. , Shubina O. , Vasylenko M. , Dobrycheva D. , Korsun P.
Published: March 2022

Aims. The aim of our work is to analyze the light curves of β Pic which were recently observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in sectors 32, 33, and 34 by searching for the signatures of exocomet transits.

Methods. We processed the β Pic light curves from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes database, applying the frequency analysis to remove harmonic signals due to the star’s pulsations, and we used a simple 1D model to fit the profiles of the events that were found.

Results. We recovered events previously found by other authors in sectors 5 and 6 and found five new distinct aperiodic dipping events with asymmetric shapes resembling the expected profiles due to the passage of a comet-like body across the star disk. These dips are rather shallow, with the flux drop at a level of 0.03% and a duration of less than 1 day. No periodic transits were found in the sectors investigated.

Conclusions. The depth and duration of the identified dips are similar to the recently discovered transits in the β Pic light curves from sector 5 of the TESS observations as well as to those found in the light curves of KIC 354116 and KIC 1108472 from the Kepler database. This indicates that aperiodic shallow dips are not likely an exceptional phenomenon, at least for the β Pic system.
Evidence of a primordial isotopic gradient in the inner region of the solar protoplanetary disc
Authors: Mah J. , Brasser R. , Woo J. M. Y. , Bouvier A. , Mojzsis S. J.
Published: March 2022

Not only do the sampled terrestrial worlds (Earth, Mars, and asteroid 4 Vesta) differ in their mass-independent (nucleosynthetic) isotopic compositions of many elements (e.g. ε48Ca, ε50Ti, ε54Cr, ε92Mo), the magnitudes of some of these isotopic anomalies also appear to correlate with heliocentric distance. While the isotopic differences between the Earth and Mars may be readily accounted for by the accretion of mostly local materials in distinct regions of the protoplanetary disc, it is unclear whether this also applies to asteroid Vesta. Here we analysed the available data from our numerical simulation database to determine the formation location of Vesta in the framework of three planet-formation models: classical, Grand Tack, and Depleted Disc. We find that Vesta has a high probability of forming locally in the asteroid belt in models where material mixing in the inner disc is limited; this limited mixing is implied by the isotopic differences between the Earth and Mars. Based on our results, we propose several criteria to explain the apparent correlation between the different nucleosynthetic isotopic compositions of the Earth, Mars, and Vesta: (1) these planetary bodies accreted their building blocks in different regions of the disc, (2) the inner disc is characterised by an isotopic gradient, and (3) the isotopic gradient was preserved during the formation of these planetary bodies and was not diluted by material mixing in the disc (e.g. via giant planet migration).
Evaluation of mixed mode ventilation cooling energy saving potential in nZEB: A case study in Southern Italy
Authors: Stasi Roberto , Ruggiero Francesco , Berardi Umberto
Published: March 2022

In recent decades, reducing the energy demand of the building sector has become a major goal of global policies. Proper design of the building-plant system is hence strategic to achieve nearly zero energy building (NZEB) target. This paper reports the results of modeling the building-plant system of an NZEB in Southern Italy. The case study is a multi-family complex of eight dwellings located in Bari, in the Apulia region. The building project originates from the energy refurbishment of a former industrial shed that was demolished and rebuilt for residential use. The planned HVAC system foresees the combined use of primary ventilation with fan-coil units fed by two ground source heat pumps (GSHP) supplied by eight vertical probes. Three hybrid ventilation strategies have been compared to evaluate the potential cooling energy saving: the first one examines an earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHX), the second one proposes night hybrid ventilation from 10 pm to 6 am, and the last considers the adoption of free cooling in mechanical ventilation. Economic and energy comparisons among these three approaches are reported. Using EAHX, the cooling consumption saving reached about 20.7% The use of night ventilation combined with MVS can reduce the cooling energy demand for 14.4%, while free cooling in MVS produces a less effective decrease in the electricity consumption for cooling of about 7.7%. All three strategies generate major benefits in the middle-season.
Analysis of the obligations for the assessment of the health risks related to the hygiene of air conditioning systems in indoor workplaces, with reference to the Risk Assessment Document (DVR) and to the microclimate conditions
Authors: Gandini Jacques
Published: March 2022

Safety in the workplace has been regulated for years in Italy in a very complete manner and very often it is identified as a set of rules governed by the Legislative Decree of 9 April 2008, n. 81: Consolidated text on health and safety at work, implementation of article 1 of the law of 3 August 2007, no. 123 regarding the protection of health and safety in the workplace. Very often, within the Risk Assessment Document (DVR– Documento di Valutazione dei Rischi), required by law for all companies that have at least one worker, the risks associated with air conditioning and ventilation systems are not always sufficiently taken into consideration, as regards to workers safety at workplace. Numerous studies have shown that microbiological and chemical contamination of the air in confined indoor spaces inside buildings can be attributable to poor hygienic conditions, overcrowding of the premises and/or situations where it is not possible to ensure proper cleaning and maintenance of the aeraulic systems themselves. In this context, this research provides an interesting analysis of some of the main problems inherent in the maintenance of aeraulic systems and their implications, for the parties involved by law, in terms of non-compliance with the provisions of Legislative Decree 9 April 2008, no.81, offering useful ideas for those who want to ensure maximum energy efficiency and healthiness of air conditioning and/or ventilation systems.
Kyphectomy with anterior column reconstruction using titanium mesh cage in meningomyelocele patients
Authors: Hussien Mohammed Ali , Elbadrawi Ahmed , Zayan Mohammed
Published: March 2022

Study design: Prospective case series. Purpose: To describe a new technique for anterior column reconstruction after kyphectomy in myelomeningocele patients using titanium mesh cage and to evaluate outcomes and complications. Methods: Sixteen patients with severe dorsolumbar kyphosis 2ry to myelomeningocele were enrolled with a mean age of 10.1 years. Kyphectomy procedure and long spinopelvic fixation were done, titanium mesh cage was used to reconstruct the anterior column. Operative time and intraoperative blood loss were calculated. Using the Cobb method, pre and postoperative measurements of local/regional kyphosis were done. Degree and mean percentage of correction were calculated. Anterior intervertebral height of the kyphotic area was also measured. The mean follow-up period was 27 months. Results: Operative time was 271.3 min ± 25, and estimated intraoperative blood loss was 781.3 mL ± 92.3. On average, 2.5 vertebrae were resected. All 16 patients were able to lie supine immediately postoperatively. The mean preoperative local/regional kyphosis was 107.5°, and 106.9° respectively, corrected to 22.5° and 28.8° postoperatively, with a mean degree of correction of 85° and 78.1° respectively. Mean preoperative anterior intervertebral height was 3.54 cm, improved to 4.64 cm postoperatively. Only 2 cases had a superficial wound infection managed conservatively. At the latest follow-up, no loss of correction pseudoarthrosis occurred, and all patients showed solid fusion. Conclusion: Titanium mesh cage is an efficient, easy method for anterior reconstruction following kyphectomy in myelomeningocele patients, to maintain postoperative correction.

Level of evidence: Therapeutic studies, Level IV study
Chronisch verstopfte Nase
Authors: Heyny Rosemarie , Thumm Anusati , Lisa Rauth , Blume Ralf
Published: March 2022

Vier Experten stellenBehandlungsansätze bei chronisch verstopfter Nase mithilfe von TCM, Aromatherapie, Mikrobiologischer Therapie und Homöopathie vor.
Warmer Mantel statt kalter Reiz
Authors: Fernkäse Uta
Published: March 2022

Die meisten Menschen leiden, insbesondere aufgrund moderner Lebens- und Ernährungsweise, phasenweise unter Magenbeschwerden, rund ein Drittel unter einem Reizmagen. Entspannung, Regelmäßigkeit, kleine Portionen, warme, verträgliche, salz- und fettarme Nahrung sowie schonende Zubereitung zählen zu den Grundregeln magenfreundlicher Ernährung. Im vorgestellten Fall konnte die Patientin durch eine Umstellung von kalter, fettreicher Kost auf warme, gemüsereiche und verträgliche Nahrung nahezu Beschwerdefreiheit erreichen.
Cardiac and Cerebral Arterial Complications of Lemierre Syndrome: Results from a Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis
Authors: Pleming William , Barco Stefano , Voci Davide , Sacco Clara , Zane Federica , Granziera Serena , Corsi Gabriele , Konstantinides Stavros V. , Kucher Nils , Pecci Alessandro , Valerio Luca
Published: March 2022

Background Lemierre syndrome is a potentially life-threatening disease, which affects otherwise healthy young adults and adolescents. It is characterized by acute neck vein thrombosis and septic embolism, usually complicating a bacterial infection. Data on the syndrome are sparse, particularly concerning arterial complications.

Methods We evaluated the frequency and patterns of cerebral arterial and cardiac involvement (“arterial complications”) in an individual patient level cohort of 712 patients, representing all cases described over the past 20 years in the medical literature who fulfilled the criteria: (1) bacterial infection in the neck/head site and (2) objectively confirmed thrombotic complication or septic embolism. The study outcomes were defined as all-cause in-hospital deaths and the occurrence of clinical sequelae at discharge or in the postdischarge period.

Results A total of 55 (7.7%) patients had an arterial complication. The most frequent arterial complications were carotid involvement (52.7%), stroke (38.2%), and pericardial complications (20%). Patients with an arterial involvement were more likely to be treated with a greater number of antibiotics (23 vs. 10%) and to receive anticoagulation. In addition, patients with arterial complications had a greater risk of all-cause death (n = 20/600, 3.3% vs. n = 6/52, 12%; odds ratio [OR]: 3.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5–9.9) and late clinical sequelae (n = 49/580, 9.0% vs. n = 15/46, 35%; OR: 5.2; 95% CI: 2.65–10.37).

Conclusions While Lemierre syndrome is known to be primarily characterized by venous thromboembolic events, our results suggest that local or distant arterial complications may occur in approximately one-tenth of patients and may be associated with a greater risk of long-term sequelae and death.
Daikenchuto, a Traditional Kampo Medicine, Facilitates Mucosal
Hyperemic Responses through Activation of TRPA1- and TRPV1-Expressing Sensory
Nerves in Rat Stomach
Authors: Yoshikubo Masatoshi , Tashima Kimihito , Raimura Masaki , Watanabe Yuto , Noma Yukiko , Horie Syunji
Published: March 2022

Daikenchuto is a traditional Kampo medicine used to treat cold sensations and
dysmotility in the abdomen. This study investigated the roles of transient
receptor potential ankyrin 1- and transient reporter potential vanilloid
1-expressing sensory nerves in daikenchuto-induced gastric mucosal blood flow by
pharmacological and immunohistochemical analyses using male Sprague-Dawley rats.
Gastric mucosal blood flow was measured in ex vivo stomachs using a laser
Doppler flowmeter. Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 activator allyl
isothiocyanate or transient reporter potential vanilloid 1 activator capsaicin
were applied for 10 min, and daikenchuto was applied for 10 or
30 min to the rat stomach. Transient reporter potential vanilloid 1
blocker N-(4-t-butylphenyl)-4-(3-chlopyridin-2-yl)
tetrahydropyrazine-1(2H)-carboxamide and transient receptor potential
ankyrin 1 blocker A-967079 were also administered intragastrically. Capsaicin
and allyl isothiocyanate increased gastric mucosal blood flow immediately after
the intragastric application, which was almost completely inhibited by
N-(4-t-butylphenyl)-4-(3-chlopyridin-2-yl)
tetrahydropyrazine-1(2H)-carboxamide and A-967079, respectively.
Daikenchuto increased gastric mucosal blood flow in a concentration-dependent
manner. A-967079 significantly inhibited the increase in gastric mucosal blood
flow induced by daikenchuto. In contrast,
N-(4-t-butylphenyl)-4-(3-chlopyridin-2-yl)
tetrahydropyrazine-1(2H)-carboxamide inhibited the responses to
daikenchuto only in the late phase but not in the initial phase. Interestingly,
in the deafferentation of capsaicin-sensitive sensory fiber in rats, the
increased gastric mucosal blood flow induced by daikenchuto was only decreased
in the late phase. Although transient receptor potential ankyrin 1- and
transient reporter potential vanilloid 1-immunoreactive fibers were observed
around the submucosal blood vessels of normal subjects, they were completely
absent in the deafferentation of capsaicin-sensitive sensory fibers. Thus,
daikenchuto increases gastric mucosal blood flow via transient receptor
potential ankyrin 1- and transient reporter potential vanilloid 1-co-expressing
sensory nerves in rat stomachs.
Gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität älterer Menschen in stationären Pflegeeinrichtungen
Authors: Reiber Petra , Wolpert Ina , Graeb Fabian , Wolke Reinhold
Published: March 2022

Zielsetzung Ziel der Arbeit ist es, den Einfluss soziodemografischer und pflegespezifischer Variablen auf die gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität (HRQoL) älterer Bewohner*innen in Langzeit-Pflegeeinrichtungen zu untersuchen.

Methodik Ein Datenset von 288 Bewohner*innen aus Pflegeeinrichtungen in Deutschland wurde zu Alter, Geschlecht, Ernährungs-, Kontinenzstatus und Sturzereignissen in Zusammenhang mit HRQoL (EQ-5D-5L) analysiert.

Ergebnisse Eine altersadjustierte multivariate lineare Regressionsanalyse ergibt signifikante Assoziationen der HRQoL mit Harninkontinenz (überwiegend inkontinent β = –0,200; vollständig inkontinent β = –0,330; p < 0,001) und vorhandenem Blasendauerkatheter (β = –0,236; p < 0,05), einem BMI < 25 kg/m² (β = –0,117; p < 0,001) und weiblichem Geschlecht (β = 0,079; p < 0,05).

Schlussfolgerung Die Ergebnisse unterstreichen die Bedeutung von Kontinenzförderung in Langzeit-Pflegeeinrichtungen, um die gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität zu steigern
Vaginale postoperative Dilatation im Kindesalter
Authors: Woweries Jörg
Published: March 2022

Die postoperativen Manipulationen durch Dehnen, Bougierungen bzw. vaginale Dilatationen an einer kindlichen Vagina sind ein schwerwiegender Eingriff, der zu lang anhaltenden psychischen und körperlichen Schäden führt. Sie können zu iatrogenen Traumatisierungen der Sexualität von Kindern durch Ärzt*innen und/oder Eltern führen. Im Operationsverfahren kann man einzeitige und zweizeitige Vorgehensweisen unterscheiden, die in ihren Auswirkungen diskutiert werden. Durch das Gesetz im § 1631e BGB und die ergänzenden Bemerkungen in der Begründung des Gesetzes sind sowohl bei einzeitig als auch bei zweizeitig geplanten Operationen Dilatationen im Kindesalter ausgeschlossen. Sofern Familiengerichte eingeschaltet werden, sollten einzeitige Operationen einer Neovagina expressis verbis untersagt werden. In der Praxis wird sich zeigen, ob das gesetzliche Verbot für Kinder, also bis zur Vollendung des 18. Lebensjahrs, in jedem Einzelfall durchgesetzt wird oder ob Familiengerichte den Wunsch von älteren einsichts- und urteilsfähigen Mädchen nach einem chirurgischen Eingriff akzeptieren, sofern diese die Rekonstruktion der Vagina und die nachfolgenden langfristigen Dilatationen nach reiflicher Überlegung ertragen bzw. erleiden wollen. Noch ist die Praxis der Familiengerichte nicht zu beurteilen.
Entwicklung auditiver Verarbeitungs- und Wahrnehmungsleistungen mit und ohne AVWS im Grundschulalter
Authors: Nickisch Andreas , Nickisch Leonie , Kiese-Himmel Christiane
Published: March 2022

Hintergrund Ob sich die an unauffälligen Kindern beschriebenen Reifungsprozesse des zentralen Hörsystems auch an Kindern mit auditiven Verarbeitungs- und Wahrnehmungsstörungen (AVWS) im Grundschulalter nachweisen lassen, sollte an 2 Schülerjahrgängen (1. und 4. Klasse) im Kontrollgruppenvergleich untersucht werden.

Material und Methoden In die Auswertung gingen 7 Testergebnisse von 82 Erstklässlern (40 mit AVWS; 42 unauffällige Kinder) und 65 Viertklässlern (35 mit AVWS; 30 unauffällige Kinder) ein. Es wurde eine ANOVA mit dem Gesamtsummenwert aus folgenden 7 Untersuchungen sowie anschließend eine MANOVA mit den Einzeltestergebnissen durchgeführt: Göttinger Sprachaudiometrie II im Störgeräusch; dichotisches Wortpaarverstehen (Uttenweiler-Test); Phonemdifferenzierung, Phonemidentifikation, Phonemanalyse (Subtests aus Heidelberger Lautdifferenzierungstest); Zahlenfolgen-Gedächtnis (Subtest aus psycholinguistischem Entwicklungstest); Mottier-Test.

Ergebnisse Die ANOVA zeigte signifikante Haupteffekte von „Schuljahr“ (p < 0,001; η² = 0,418) und „Gruppe“ (p < 0,001; η² = 0,690), jedoch keine Interaktionseffekte zwischen beiden. Das Ergebnis der MANOVA war ähnlich bzgl. der o. g. Haupteffekte; nur für 2 Tests (Phonemidentifikation, Phonemanalyse) wurde die Interaktion der Faktoren Schuljahr und Gruppe mit jeweils geringen Effektstärken von 3 bzw. 6 % statistisch signifikant.

Diskussion Gemäß dieser Querschnittsstudie scheint der Unterschied zwischen den beiden Gruppen unabhängig vom Schuljahr zu sein.

Fazit Im Grundschulalter gibt es nicht nur für unauffällige Kinder, sondern auch für solche mit AVWS Hinweise auf eine Reifung des zentralen Hörsystems.
Adaptation from Conventional to Virtual Teaching Practices during COVID-19 Emergence: Perceptions of Multidisciplinary Teaching Faculty of Pakistan
Authors: Hani Ume , Ansari Asma Saher , Khan Shujah Adil , Moten Misbah Ashraf , Waseem Farzeen S. , Sultan Zohaib Khurshid
Published: March 2022

Objectives The perceptions maintained by the teaching profession have a plausible influence on the effectiveness of online teaching practices, but they have not been well comprehended in many institutions in Pakistan. This study is the first to demonstrate how different academic disciplines address the challenges and opportunities regarding online teaching during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and whether there exists a strong correlation between respondents' attitudes and their field of discipline.

Materials and Methods A multi-centric cross-sectional survey was conducted online, and data gathered from the online survey were analyzed using SPSS version 16, demographic and categorical data were analyzed in frequencies and percentages. A relationship between the attitudes of teachers with their areas of discipline and a difference in response between genders and age groups were analyzed using a chi-square test.

Results The findings of our study provide valuable understandings that most of the higher education faculty felt positively (64.1%) regarding the online mode of teaching. However, their perceived attitudes have a significant influence on the nature of their academic discipline.

Conclusion These findings provide relevant suggestions to the core aspects of the use of the e-learning system during the COVID-19 pandemic to foster positive teaching experiences. The administrations and institutions can use it to identify the e-learning constraints within multiple fields of profession and help instructors generate quality materials that will reshape the framework of online education and preserve the practice of blended teaching even after the pandemic.
Management of Perineal Wounds Following Pelvic Surgery
Authors: Mori George A. , Tiernan Jim P.
Published: March 2022

Despite advancements in understanding and technique, there remain significant challenges in the management of a complex perineal wound following pelvic surgery. Complications including wound sepsis, fistulation, persistent sinus, and herniation produce additional morbidity and health care costs. This article details the methods of optimizing patient and operative factors to mitigate this risk, alongside strategies to deal with sequelae of wound failure.
Air-coupled piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers for surface stain detection and imaging
Authors: Sun Sheng , Wang Jianyuan , Ning Yuan , Zhang Menglun
Published: March 2022

This paper proposes an air-coupled piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) for detection and imaging of surface stains. A 508 kHz PMUT array is designed, fabricated, and characterized in terms of its electrical and acoustic properties, and it is used in a pulse echo validation test. Imaging of stains on metal blocks is successfully demonstrated. Compared with existing optical methods for stain detection, the proposed approach can work in a dark environment without color requirements. This work provides a new and promising route for the development of miniaturized stain detection systems.
Measurement of the Taylor scale in a magnetized turbulent laboratory plasma wind-tunnel
Authors: Cartagena-Sanchez C. A. , Carlson J. M. , Schaffner D. A.
Published: March 2022

The fluid Taylor scale is measured in the Bryn Mawr Experiment (BMX) of the Bryn Mawr Plasma Laboratory and examined as a potential dissipation scale of magnetic turbulence within the plasma. We present the first laboratory measurements of the Taylor scale of a turbulent magnetized plasma through multi-point correlations of broadband magnetic fluctuations. From spatial and temporal correlations, respectively, the measured Taylor scales are 2±1 and 3±1 cm. These measurements are on the same order of magnitude as estimated ion dissipation scales within the BMX plasma with ion inertial scales between 1 and 10 cm and ion gyroscales between 0.1 and 1.0 cm. From these measurements, a magnetic Reynolds number can be computed. Since Taylor scale values are determined using multi-point correlations and a Richardson extrapolation technique, an estimate of the magnetic Reynolds number can be found without the added complication of specifying a model of microscopic diffusivity, a parameter often difficult to obtain experimentally.
Structure of nematic tactoids of hard rods
Authors: Kuhnhold Anja , van der Schoot Paul
Published: March 2022

We study by means of Monte Carlo simulations the internal structure of nematic droplets or tactoids formed by hard, rod-like particles in a gas of spherical ghost particles that act as depletion agents for the rods. We find that the shape and internal structure of tactoids are strongly affected by the size of the droplets. The monotonically increasing degree of nematic order with increasing particle density that characterizes the bulk nematic phase is locally violated and more so the smaller the tactoid. We also investigate the impact of an external quadrupolar alignment field on tactoids and find that this tends to make the director field more uniform, but not to very significantly increase the tactoid’s aspect ratio. This agrees with recent theoretical predictions yet is at variance with experimental observations and dynamical simulations. We explain this discrepancy in terms of competing relaxation times.
A sub-grid scale cavitation inception model
Authors: Bappy Mehedi H. , Carrica Pablo M. , Li Jiajia , Martin J. Ezequiel , Vela-Martín Alberto , Freire Livia S. , Buscaglia Gustavo C.
Published: March 2022

Unresolved pressure fluctuations at the sub-grid scale (SGS) level of large eddy simulation (LES) or Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes computations affect cavitation inception predictions, as SGS low pressures are simply ignored. We present a framework to take the unresolved SGS flow into account. Representing the SGS flow as canonical turbulence, in this paper, homogeneous isotropic turbulence (HIT), the pressure fluctuations, and transport and cavitating behavior of nuclei in such turbulence can be evaluated from direct numerical simulations (DNS) and used to create a model of cavitation inception that accounts for SGS fluctuations. To accomplish this, nuclei of different sizes were transported in DNS of HIT using their pressure history to drive the Rayleigh–Plesset equation that simulates bubble dynamics. In this way, expected average cavitation frequencies were tabulated for a range of SGS Taylor scale Reynolds numbers (Reλ), nucleus size, turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate, and mean pressure. The model uses this table to estimate the cavitation event rate in each cell of a computational fluid dynamics solution. Inception can then be predicted by comparing the total cavitation rate with the detection criterion. The model is first assessed on two cases of HIT (at Reλ = 240 and 324) by comparing the pressure statistics, which it predicts in LES runs using the SGS cavitation model against the statistics of DNS. Then, a high Reλ (1660–1880) HIT flow is simulated using LES, and cavitation events are compared against experimental data. The inception model successfully predicts the inception pressure and the cavitation rates in the flow.
A unified diffuse interface method for the interaction of rigid bodies with elastoplastic solids and multi-phase mixtures
Authors: Wallis Tim , Barton Philip T. , Nikiforakis Nikolaos
Published: March 2022

This work outlines a new multi-physics-compatible immersed rigid body method for Eulerian finite-volume simulations. To achieve this, rigid bodies are represented as a diffuse scalar field, and an interface seeding method is employed to mediate the interface boundary conditions. The method is based on an existing multi-material diffuse interface method that is capable of handling an arbitrary mixture of fluids and elastoplastic solids. The underlying method is general and can be extended to a range of different applications including high-strain rate deformation in elastoplastic solids and reactive fluid mixtures. As such, the new method presented here is thoroughly tested through a variety of problems, including fluid–rigid body interaction, elastoplastic–rigid body interaction, and detonation–structure interaction. Comparison is drawn between both experimental work and previous numerical results, with excellent agreement in both cases. The new method is straightforward to implement, highly local, and parallelizable. This allows the method to be employed in three dimensions with multiple levels of adaptive mesh refinement using complex immersed geometries. The rigid body field can be static or dynamic, with the tangent of hyperbola interface capturing reconstruction method being used to keep the interface sharp in the dynamic case.
Experimental study on the interaction of three linearly arranged spark bubbles with controlled phase differences
Authors: Chen Rong , Liang Wen , Zheng Jian , Li Xiangyu , Lin Yuliang
Published: March 2022

Interactions between multiple bubbles are a feature of many engineering fields and are applied for military, medical, and energy exploration purposes. The difference in generation time between bubbles has a very significant effect on the subsequent formation of jets between bubbles. In this paper, interactions between three bubbles of approximately the same size arranged linearly and at equal distance from each other in a free field with different delay times are explored for the first time. A resistance wire is detonated by a high-voltage power supply with multiple branches to generate bubbles in the water. The discharge time interval between the different branches of the power supply can be precisely controlled. Using high-speed cameras to observe the interactions of the three bubbles under different time delay combinations, we observe jets of different forms and strengths. The interactions between the bubbles are classified according to the properties of the resulting jets. In addition, it is observed that taking the “piercing jet” generated by the interaction of two bubbles as a reference, a third bubble generated under different time delay combinations can enhance or weaken the jet. When the time interval between two bubbles produces an optimal piercing jet with the fastest propagation speed and the longest propagation distance, the third bubble will not affect or weaken the jet. However, when the time interval between the two bubbles does not produce an optimal jet, a third bubble generated at an appropriate time will help to increase the propagation distance and propagation velocity of the jet. Finally, the widths of the piercing jets generated by bubble coupling and the oscillation periods of the three bubbles are statistically analyzed.
Transient chirality inversion during racemization of a helical cobalt(III) complex
Authors: Sakata Yoko , Chiba Shunsuke , Akine Shigehisa
Published: March 2022

Significance

We first observed a transient chirality inversion on a simple unimolecular platform during the racemization of a chiral helical complex [LCo
3
A
6
]
3+
, i.e., the helicity changed from
P
-rich (right-handed) to
M
-rich (left-handed), which then racemized to a
P
/
M
equimolar mixture in spite of the absence of a reagent that could induce the
M
helix. This transient chirality inversion was observed only in the forward reaction, whereas the reverse reaction showed a simple monotonic change with an induction time. Consequently, the
M
helicity appeared only in the forward reaction. These forward and reverse reactions constitute a hysteretic cycle. Compounds showing such unique time responses would be useful for developing time-programmable switchable materials that can control the physical/chemical properties in a time-dependent manner.
Poly-dipeptides produced from
C9orf72
hexanucleotide repeats cause selective motor neuron hyperexcitability in ALS
Authors: Jo Yunhee , Lee Jiwon , Lee Seul-Yi , Kwon Ilmin , Cho Hana
Published: March 2022

Significance

The GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (
C9orf72
) gene is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Despite myriad studies on the toxic effects of poly-dipeptides produced from the
C9orf72
repeats, the mechanisms underlying the selective hyperexcitability of motor cortex that characterizes the early stages of
C9orf72
ALS patients remain elusive. Here, we show that the proline–arginine poly-dipeptides cause hyperexcitability in cortical motor neurons by increasing persistent sodium currents conducted by the Nav1.2/β4 sodium channel complex, which is highly expressed in the motor cortex. These findings provide the basis for understanding how the
C9orf72
mutation causes motor neuron hyperactivation that can lead to the motor neuron death in
C9orf72
ALS.
Modeling protein dynamics in
Caenorhabditis elegans
embryos reveals that the PLK-1 gradient relies on weakly coupled reaction–diffusion mechanisms
Authors: Barbieri Sofia , Nurni Ravi Aparna , Griffin Erik E. , Gotta Monica
Published: March 2022

Significance

Intracellular gradients have essential roles in cell and developmental biology, but their formation is not fully understood. We have developed a computational approach facilitating interpretation of protein dynamics and gradient formation. We have combined this computational approach with experiments to understand how Polo-Like Kinase 1 (PLK-1) forms a cytoplasmic gradient in
Caenorhabditis elegans
embryos. Although the PLK-1 gradient depends on the Muscle EXcess-5/6 (MEX-5/6) proteins, we reveal differences in PLK-1 and MEX-5 gradient formation that can be explained by a model with two components, PLK-1 bound to MEX-5 and unbound PLK-1. Our combined approach suggests that a weak coupling between PLK-1 and MEX-5 reaction–diffusion mechanisms dictates the dynamic exchange of PLK-1 with the cytoplasm, explaining PLK-1 high diffusivity and smooth gradient.
Juvenile hormone-induced histone deacetylase 3 suppresses apoptosis to maintain larval midgut in the yellow fever mosquito
Authors: Gaddelapati Sharath Chandra , Albishi Najla M. , Dhandapani Ramesh Kumar , Palli Subba Reddy
Published: March 2022

Significance

Juvenile hormone (JH), a sesquiterpenoid, regulates many aspects of insect development, including maintenance of the larval stage by preventing metamorphosis. In contrast, ecdysteroids promote metamorphosis by inducing the
E93
transcription factor, which triggers apoptosis of larval cells and remodeling of the larval midgut. We discovered that JH suppresses precocious larval midgut-remodeling by inducing an epigenetic modifier, histone deacetylase 3 (
HDAC3
). JH-induced
HDAC3
deacetylates the histone H4 localized at the promoters of proapoptotic genes, resulting in the suppression of these genes. This eventually prevents programmed cell death of midgut cells and midgut-remodeling during larval stages. These studies identified a previously unknown mechanism of JH action in blocking premature remodeling of the midgut during larval feeding stages.
Inhibitors of PARP: Number crunching and structure gazing
Authors: Rudolph Johannes , Jung Karen , Luger Karolin
Published: March 2022

Significance

PARP is an important target in the treatment of cancers, particularly in patients with breast, ovarian, or prostate cancer that have compromised homologous recombination repair (i.e., BRCA
−/−
). This review about inhibitors of PARP (PARPi) is for readers interested in the development of next-generation drugs for the treatment of cancer, providing insights into structure–activity relationships, in vitro vs. in vivo potency, PARP trapping, and synthetic lethality.
“Please let me know”
Authors: Xia Detong , Ai Haiyang , Pae Hye K.
Published: March 2022

Lexical bundles are frequently recurring word sequences (e.g. as can be seen) that function as
building blocks of discourse. This corpus-based study examined the use of four-word lexical bundles in business emails written by
three groups of writers: intermediate business English learners, advanced business English learners, and working professionals.
The prominent structural and functional characteristics of lexical bundles expressed in business emails were identified and
compared across the three groups. The results showed that lexical bundles were related to the extent to which formality and
politeness were expressed in written business communications. The advanced business English learners and working professionals
used more structural and functional characteristics of lexical bundles that are characteristic of written conventions than did
intermediate business English learners. Both intermediate and advanced learner groups used functionally different lexical bundles
from those produced by the working professionals.
Leonide
Authors: Glaznieks Aivars , Frey Jennifer-Carmen , Stopfner Maria , Zanasi Lorenzo , Nicolas Lionel
Published: March 2022

This article presents the longitudinal trilingual corpus of young learners of Italian, German and English called
LEONIDE. The corpus consists of L1, L2 and L3 learner texts. L1 texts were written in two languages of schooling (i.e. Italian and
German), L2 texts in two languages learned as second languages (i.e. German and Italian), and L3 texts in an additional foreign
language (i.e. English). All texts were collected from a group of lower secondary school pupils from the multilingual Italian
province of South Tyrol whose development in all three languages was observed over a period of three years. Each text comes with
rich metadata as well as manual and automatic annotations.
The use of synonymous adjectives by learners of Finnish as a second language
Authors: Kekki Niina , Ivaska Ilmari
Published: March 2022

In this study, we applyGries and Deshors’s (2014)andDeshors and Gries’s (2016)MuPDAR(F) approach to explore the use of synonymous adjectivestärkeä(i.e. “important”) andkeskeinen(i.e. “central”) in academic native and advanced learner Finnish, linking the phenomenon with the general assumptions of usage-based cognitive linguistics. This method confidently modelled the differences between using near-synonyms in native data and distinguished between native-like and non-native-like uses in learner data. Crucially, it differentiated between the contexts in which one synonym was clearly favoured and those in which either one was acceptable, in accordance withGries and Deshors (2020). The results suggest that Finnish learners fairly coherently follow the tendencies of native speakers, but several variables differentiate their use of synonyms from the latter’s. We interpret the differences to reflect complexity- and prototypicality-related phenomena. On the one hand, learners use more common options more often. On the other, non-nativelike adjectives are used only in contexts that are structurally in the most prototypical and least complex form, suggesting that learners employ complexity-related structural alternations – e.g., non-prototypical grammatical subjects or degree modifiers – after lexical alternations.
Convergence patterns in the city of Seville
Authors: Santana Marrero Juana
Published: March 2022

Research carried out over the past few years in several Andalusian cities has revealed the processes of convergence towards conservative realisations that are occurring among the allophones of the phoneme /θs/. This time, using the Seville PRESEEA corpus, we have analysed the frequency of the seseante and dento-interdental pronunciation patterns that coexist in this city, and we have correlated them with linguistic, social, and individual parameters. Our data showed that this variation process was mainly influenced by closeness of [s] and [θ] in the immediate phonetic context, and by the educational attainment level, the age, and the sex of the respondents. The analysis per surveyed subjects indicated that most of them combined both variants.
A partial form of inherited human USP18 deficiency underlies infection and inflammation
Authors: Martin-Fernandez Marta , Buta Sofija , Le Voyer Tom , Li Zhi , Dynesen Lasse Toftdal , Vuillier Françoise , Franklin Lina , Ailal Fatima , Muglia Amancio Alice , Malle Louise , Gruber Conor , Benhsaien Ibtihal , Altman Jennie , Taft Justin , Deswarte Caroline , Roynard Manon , Nieto-Patlan Alejandro , Moriya Kunihiko , Rosain Jérémie , Boddaert Nathalie , Bousfiha Aziz , Crow Yanick J. , Jankovic Dragana , Sher Alan , Casanova Jean-Laurent , Pellegrini Sandra , Bustamante Jacinta , Bogunovic Dusan
Published: March 2022

Human USP18 is an interferon (IFN)-stimulated gene product and a negative regulator of type I IFN (IFN-I) signaling. It also removes covalently linked ISG15 from proteins, in a process called deISGylation. In turn, ISG15 prevents USP18 from being degraded by the proteasome. Autosomal recessive complete USP18 deficiency is life-threatening in infancy owing to uncontrolled IFN-I–mediated autoinflammation. We report three Moroccan siblings with autoinflammation and mycobacterial disease who are homozygous for a new USP18 variant. We demonstrate that the mutant USP18 (p.I60N) is normally stabilized by ISG15 and efficient for deISGylation but interacts poorly with the receptor-anchoring STAT2 and is impaired in negative regulation of IFN-I signaling. We also show that IFN-γ–dependent induction of IL-12 and IL-23 is reduced owing to IFN-I–mediated impairment of myeloid cells to produce both cytokines. Thus, insufficient negative regulation of IFN-I signaling by USP18-I60N underlies a specific type I interferonopathy, which impairs IL-12 and IL-23 production by myeloid cells, thereby explaining predisposition to mycobacterial disease.