bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
$NLP: How to spend a billion dollars
Authors: Dale Robert
Published: January 2022

Funding for AI start-ups in general is booming, and natural language processing as a subfield has not missed out. We take a closer look at early-stage funding over the last year—just over US$1B in total—for companies that offer solutions that are based on or make significant use of NLP, providing a picture of what funders think is innovative and bankable in this space, and we make some observations on notable trends and developments.
Religion in Indonesia's Elections: An Implementation of a Populist Strategy?
Authors: Widian Rizky , Satya Putu Agung Nara Indra Prima , Yazid Sylvia
Published: January 2022

In Indonesia's political strategic environment, Islamic narratives have been among the main narratives, but have not always been dominant. The 2014 presidential election displayed the beginning of a rising trend of Islamic narratives within the political context in Indonesia. Since then Islamic narratives influenced the strategy of Indonesia's populist leaders, as particularly seen during the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election and 2019 presidential election. This paper analyzes how populism as a strategy was used in recent Indonesian elections. For this purpose, it uses the conception of populism as a political strategy proposed by Weyland. Building on this approach, the paper explains the strategic adjustments made in the use of populism from 2014, 2017, and 2019 in Indonesian political events. It argues that the strategic environment faced by populist actors in Indonesia's 2019 election affected their decision to choose Islamic narratives as an instrument for mass mobilization.
Broadband high gain cavity resonator antenna using planar electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) superstrate
Authors: Dey Soumik , Dey Sukomal
Published: January 2022

This paper presents a broadband miniaturized Fabry–Perot cavity resonator antenna (CRA) made of novel electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) superstrate as partially reflecting surface (PRS) and reactive impedance surface (RIS) backed rectangular patch antenna. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the proposed EBG exhibits the highest stopband bandwidth (BW) with a bandgap existing between 7.37 and 12.4 GHz (50.9%). Frequency-selective property of the EBG is utilized under plane wave incidence to demonstrate it as PRS superstrate in CRA antenna. The cavity is excited with a rectangular microstrip antenna which is made of two dielectric substrates with an additional RIS layer sandwiched between them. The RIS provides wideband impedance matching of the primary feed antenna. A 7 × 7 array of the EBG superstrate is loaded over the patch antenna having an overall lateral dimension of only 45 × 45 mm2 or 1.62 λ0 × 1.62 λ0 where λ0 is the free space wavelength at the center frequency of 10.8 GHz. The proposed Fabry–Perot CRA (FP-CRA) achieves gain enhancement of 6.59 dB as compared with the reference antenna and has a 10 dB return loss BW of 23.79% from 10.07 to 12.79 GHz. A prototype of the FP-CRA is fabricated and experimentally tested with single and dual layers of EBG superstrate. Measured results show BWs of 21.5 and 24.8% for the two cases with peak realized gain of 12.05 and 14.3 dBi, respectively. Later a four-element antenna array with corporate feeding is designed as the primary feed of the CRA. The simulation result shows a flat gain of >13 dBi with gain variation <1.2 dB over the impedance BW of 13.2%.
The role of cognitive and social leisure activities in dementia risk: assessing longitudinal associations of modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors
Authors: Duffner L. A. , Deckers K. , Cadar D. , Steptoe A. , de Vugt M. , Köhler S.
Published: January 2022

Aims

With the projected surge in global dementia cases and no curative treatment available, research is increasingly focusing on lifestyle factors as preventive measures. Social and cognitive leisure activities are promising targets, but it is unclear which types of activities are more beneficial. This study investigated the individual and joint contribution of cognitive and social leisure activities to dementia risk and whether they modify the risks associated with other potentially modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors.

Methods

We used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) from 7917 participants, followed up from 2008/2009 (Wave 4) until 2018/2019 (Wave 9) for incident dementia. Self-reported baseline cognitive activities (e.g. ‘reading the newspaper’), the number of social memberships (e.g. being a member of a social club) and social participation (e.g. ‘going to the cinema’) were clustered into high and low based on a median split. Subsequently, their individual and joint contribution to dementia risk, as well as their interaction with other dementia risk factors, were assessed with Cox regression models, adjusting for age, sex, level of education, wealth and a composite score of 11 lifestyle-related dementia risk factors.

Results

After a median follow-up period of 9.8 years, the dementia incidence rate was 54.5 cases per 10.000 person-years (95% CI 49.0–60.8). Adjusting for demographic and other lifestyle-related risk factors, higher engagement in cognitive activities (HR = 0.58; 95% CI 0.40–0.84), a greater number of social memberships (HR = 0.65; 95% CI 0.51–0.84) and more social participation (HR = 0.71; 95% CI 0.54–0.95) were associated with lower dementia risk. In a joint model, only engagement in cognitive activities (HR = 0.60; 95% CI 0.40–0.91) and social memberships (HR = 0.75; 95% CI 0.56–0.99) independently explained dementia risk. We did not find any interaction with other modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors.

Conclusions

Engagement in cognitive and social leisure activities may be beneficial for overall dementia risk, independent of each other and other risk factors. Both types of activities may be potential targets for dementia prevention measures and health advice initiatives.
Kinästhetikkompetenz in der spezialisierten Palliative Care
Authors: Maurer Carola , Gattinger Heidrun
Published: January 2022

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Palliative Situationen erfordern spezifische pflegerische Kompetenzen, um professionelle Symptomkontrolle zu gewährleisten. Das Schulungsprogramm „Advanced Kinaesthetics in Palliative Care“ (AdKinPal) soll die Kinästhetikkompetenz von Pflegenden im palliativen Setting fördern und so das Symptommanagement durch pflegerische Interventionen verbessern. Ziel: Der Beitrag zielt darauf ab, den Prozess der AdKinPal-Studie zu beleuchten, um die Machbarkeit des Programms zu überprüfen, mögliche Zielgrößen zu ermitteln und eine Revision des Programms für weitere Durchläufe zu ermöglichen. Methoden: Die Prozessevaluation erfolgte im Rahmen einer quasi-experimentellen Studie. Es fanden qualitative und quantitative Erhebungen statt (Interviews, Beobachtungsprotokolle, Fragebögen). Zur Auswertung dienten die qualitative Inhaltsanalyse und die deskriptive quantitative Analyse. Ergebnisse: Insgesamt bewerteten die Teilnehmenden die Workshops und Praxisbegleitungen als gewinnbringend. Jedoch zeigten sich auch hemmende Faktoren, beispielsweise der zeitliche und örtliche Rahmen oder die Gestaltung der Arbeitsunterlagen. Die Teilnehmenden stellen eine nachhaltige Kompetenzentwicklung in Frage. Schlussfolgerungen: Der erste Durchlauf des Schulungsprogramms verlief erfolgreich. Um zukünftig eine nachhaltige Kompetenzentwicklung sicherzustellen, sind Anpassungen notwendig.
Subseasonal‐to‐Seasonal Forecast Skill in the California Current System and Its Connection to Coastal Kelvin Waves
Authors: Amaya Dillon J. , Jacox Michael G. , Dias Juliana , Alexander Michael A. , Karnauskas Kristopher B. , Scott James D. , Gehne Maria
Published: January 2022

Accurate dynamical forecasts of ocean variables in the California Current System (CCS) are essential decision support tools for advancing ecosystem‐based marine resource management. However, model and dynamical uncertainties present a significant challenge when attempting to incorporate these forecasts into a formal decision‐making process. To provide guidance on the reliability of dynamical forecasts, previous studies have suggested that deterministic climate processes associated with atmospheric or oceanic teleconnections may provide opportunities for enhanced forecast skill. Recent computational advances have led to the availability of subseasonal‐to‐seasonal (S2S) forecasts of key oceanic variables such as sea surface height (SSH), which may be leveraged to identify such “forecast opportunities.” In this study, we conduct a S2S forecast skill assessment of SSH anomalies in the CCS using an ensemble of 46‐day reforecasts made by the European Center for Medium‐range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) model for the period 2000–2018. We find that the ECMWF model consistently produces skillful dynamical forecasts of SSH, particularly in both the southern and northern CCS at leads of 4–7 weeks. Using a high‐resolution ocean reanalysis, we develop a new index designed to characterize the location and intensity of coastally trapped waves propagating through the CCS. We then show that the S2S dynamical forecasts have enhanced skill in forecasts of SSH in weeks 4–7 when initialized with strong or extreme coastally trapped wave conditions, explaining 30–40% more SSH variance than the corresponding persistence forecast.
Evaluating and Improving Scale‐Awareness of a Convective Parameterization Closure Using Cloud‐Resolving Model Simulations of Convection
Authors: Wang Xu , Zhang Guang J. , Wang Yong
Published: January 2022

This study aims to evaluate a revised closure of the Zhang‐McFarlane (ZM) scheme for deep convection and to further improve its scale awareness. Output from two cloud‐resolving model (CRM) simulations of both midlatitude organized (MC3E) and tropical unorganized (TWP‐ICE) convection are used for the evaluation. By averaging the CRM output over different subdomain sizes from 64 to 4 km, convection‐associated fields are obtained to represent the fields at different horizontal resolutions of global climate models (GCMs). The convection parameterization closure is then tested using these fields. Results show that the cloud base mass flux Mb determined from the closure has a relatively good relationship with CRM‐simulated convection at coarse resolutions for both MC3E and TWP‐ICE, but their correlation degrades at higher resolutions, especially when approaching the gray zone scale under 10 km. The fluctuation of CAPE consumption rate per unit cloud base mass flux for different convective events is found to be an important factor affecting the correlation. When averaged over the base domain, the cloud base mass flux determined by the closure is found to increase with decreasing subdomain size, implying that the closure is not scale‐aware. To improve its scale‐awareness, a modified closure is designed to alleviate the overprediction of convection at high GCM resolutions. Results show that the modified closure has the scale‐aware ability to suppress the overprediction problem at high GCM resolutions for both MC3E and TWP‐ICE.
Maximizing Multi‐Decadal Water Surface Elevation Estimates With Landsat Imagery and Elevation/Bathymetry Datasets
Authors: Weekley David , Li Xingong
Published: January 2022

Identifying patterns and trends in long‐term lake dynamics is essential to establish effective water management procedures and boost our understanding of inland water's role in the global water cycle. This research leverages Google Earth Engine to estimate multi‐decadal water surface elevations for 52 lakes and reservoirs with varying physical properties. Water surface elevation was estimated using the entire Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8 Landsat Top‐of‐Atmosphere Tier‐1 Collection‐1 archive from August 1982 through December 2017 via shoreline boundary statistics extracted from the National Elevation Dataset merged with lake bathymetry. Image contamination was identified and removed to provide elevation estimates for images with varying levels of image contamination. To improve accuracy, data filtering techniques were identified which retained over 70% of images with detectable water boundaries producing 26 lakes with sub‐meter root‐mean‐square‐error accuracy and 40 lakes with sub‐meter mean‐absolute‐error‐accuracy using a general overall parameter model. Additionally, lake‐specific locally optimized models were also determined with 45 of the 52 lakes producing sub‐meter root‐mean‐square‐error accuracies and 49 with sub‐meter mean‐absolute‐errors with individual lake accuracy as low as 0.191 m RMSE CI95%[0.129, 0.243]. In general, individual lake accuracy is highly correlated with the mean slope of the surrounding terrain with low‐slope shorelines having greater accuracy than high‐slope shorelines. Seasonal patterns in estimate accuracy were also identified. This research extends our ability to track lake dynamics over long time periods to lakes lacking traditional in‐situ monitoring, enables rapid assessment of lake dynamics across large areas, and balances a need for both high‐accuracy measurements and maximum temporal resolution.
Seasonal Differences in the Attenuation of Polar Trace Organics in the Hyporheic Zone of an Urban Stream
Authors: Mueller Birgit M. , Schulz Hanna , Höhne Anja , Putschew Anke , Lewandowski Joerg
Published: January 2022

Attenuation of trace organic compounds (TrOCs) in a river occurs to a large extent in its hyporheic zone. A major part of the attenuation of polar TrOCs is of microbial origin. As microbial activity depends on temperature and redox conditions, seasonal differences in TrOC attenuation are likely. We investigated TrOC attenuation at a river influenced by treated wastewater during two sampling campaigns, one in summer and one in winter. In addition to redox conditions and temperature, we also determined residence times of porewater in sediment using three methods: (a) non‐parametric deconvolution of electrical conductivity time series, (b) the model VFLUX 2.0 based on temperature time series (only summer), and (c) applying Darcy's law to differences in hydraulic heads (only summer). Contrary to our expectations, we found higher attenuation for 12 out of 18 TrOCs in winter, while three TrOCs were better attenuated in summer. Sediment conditions varied between seasons as more of the top sandy layer with a higher hydraulic permeability accumulated on the river bed in summer. As a result, residence times in the sediment were shorter in summer. In winter, longer residence times, lower temperatures, and a steeper oxygen gradient in sediment coincided with higher TrOC attenuation. Further research is needed to understand our unexpected findings and underlying mechanisms.
Health Impacts of Air Pollution from Australian Megafires
Authors: Sidik Saima
Published: January 2022

Models suggest that thousands of Australians experienced dangerous levels of air pollution for several months, leading to more than a hundred deaths.
Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte stratification of prognostic staging of early-stage triple negative breast cancer
Authors: Loi Sherene , Salgado Roberto , Adams Sylvia , Pruneri Giancarlo , Francis Prudence A. , Lacroix-Triki Magali , Joensuu Heikki , Dieci Maria Vittoria , Badve Sunil , Demaria Sandra , Gray Robert , Munzone Elisabetta , Drubay Damien , Lemonnier Jerome , Sotiriou Christos , Kellokumpu-Lehtinen Pirkko Liisa , Vingiani Andrea , Gray Kathryn , André Fabrice , Denkert Carsten , Piccart Martine , Roblin Elvire , Michiels Stefan
Published: January 2022

The importance of integrating biomarkers into the TNM staging has been emphasized in the 8th Edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Staging system. In a pooled analysis of 2148 TNBC-patients in the adjuvant setting, TILs are found to strongly up and downstage traditional pathological-staging in the Pathological and Clinical Prognostic Stage Groups from the AJJC 8th edition Cancer Staging System. This suggest that clinical and research studies on TNBC should take TILs into account in addition to stage, as for example patients with stage II TNBC and high TILs have a better outcome than patients with stage I and low TILs.
Fractional and composite excitations of antiferromagnetic quantum spin trimer chains
Authors: Cheng Jun-Qing , Li Jun , Xiong Zijian , Wu Han-Qing , Sandvik Anders W. , Yao Dao-Xin
Published: January 2022

Using quantum Monte Carlo, exact diagonalization, and perturbation theory, we study the spectrum of the S = 1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg trimer chain by varying the ratio g = J2/J1 of the intertrimer and intratrimer coupling strengths. The doublet ground states of trimers form effective interacting S = 1/2 degrees of freedom described by a Heisenberg chain. Therefore, the conventional two-spinon continuum of width ∝ J1 when g = 1 evolves into to a similar continuum of width ∝ J2 when g → 0. The intermediate-energy and high-energy modes are termed doublons and quartons which fractionalize with increasing g to form the conventional spinon continuum. In particular, at g ≈ 0.716, the gap between the low-energy spinon branch and the high-energy band with mixed doublons, quartons, and spinons closes. These features should be observable in inelastic neutron scattering experiments if a quasi-one-dimensional quantum magnet with the linear trimer structure and J2 < J1 can be identified. Our results may open a window for exploring the high-energy fractional excitations.
Three-dimensional locations of ruptured retinal arterial macroaneurysms and their associations with the visual prognosis
Authors: Sakaguchi Saori , Muraoka Yuki , Kadomoto Shin , Ooto Sotaro , Murakami Tomoaki , Nishigori Naomi , Ishikura Masaharu , Miyake Masahiro , Miyata Manabu , Uji Akihito , Tsujikawa Akitaka
Published: January 2022

The aim of this retrospective, observational study was to examine the intraretinal locations of ruptured retinal arterial macroaneurysms (RMAs) and investigate the associations with the visual prognosis. Fifty patients (50 eyes) with untreated RMA rupture who visited the Department of Ophthalmology at Kyoto University Hospital (April 2014–July 2019) were included. The intraretinal position of the ruptured RMAs relative to the affected retinal artery was examined using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and color fundus photography (CFP). The relative RMA positions were anterior to (anterior type, 44%), at the same level as (lateral type, 20%), or posterior to (posterior type, 34%) the affected artery. At the initial visit, the posterior type showed greater subretinal hemorrhage thickness than did the lateral and anterior types (P = 0.016 and 0.006, respectively), and poorer visual acuity (VA) than did the anterior type (P = 0.005). At the final visit, the length of the foveal ellipsoid zone band defect was longer (P = 0.005) and VA was poorer (P < 0.001) for the posterior type than for the anterior type. The intraretinal positions of ruptured RMAs vary, affect the thickness of foveal subretinal hemorrhage and predict future damage to the foveal photoreceptors. The visual prognosis may be poor for posteriorly ruptured RMAs.
Computational peptidology approach to the study of the chemical reactivity and bioactivity properties of Aspergillipeptide D, a cyclopentapeptide of marine origin
Authors: Flores-Holguín Norma , Frau Juan , Glossman-Mitnik Daniel
Published: January 2022

Aspergillipeptide D is a cyclic pentapeptide isolated from the marine gorgonian Melitodes squamata-derived fungus Aspergillus sp. SCSIO 41501 that it has been shown to present moderate activity against herpes virus simplex type 1 (HSV-1). Thus, this paper presents the results of a computational study of this cyclopentapeptide’s chemical reactivity and bioactivity properties using a CDFT-based computational peptidology (CDFT-CP) methodology, which is derived from combining chemical reactivity descriptors derived from Conceptual Density Functional Theory (CDFT) and some Cheminformatics tools which may be used. This results in an improvement of the virtual screening procedure by a similarity search allowing the identification and validation of the known ability of the peptide to act as a possible useful drug. This was followed by an examination of the drug’s bioactivity and pharmacokinetics indices in relation to the ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity) characteristics. The findings provide further evidence of the MN12SX density functional’s superiority in proving the Janak and Ionization Energy theorems using the proposed KID approach. This has proven to be beneficial in accurately predicting CDFT reactivity characteristics, which aid in the understanding of chemical reactivity. The Computational Pharmacokinetics study revealed the potential ability of Aspergillipeptide D as a therapeutic drug through the interaction with different target receptors. The ADMET indices confirm this assertion through the absence of toxicity and good absorption and distribution properties.
Pesticide toxicity assessment and geographic information system (GIS) application in small-scale rice farming operations, Thailand
Authors: Sombatsawat Ekarat , Barr Dana Boyd , Panuwet Parinya , Robson Mark Gregory , Siriwong Wattasit
Published: January 2022

The objectives of the study were to evaluate the impact of pesticide exposure on farmer health during non-active rice farming and active rice farming periods and present the change in the individual cholinesterase activities (%reduction) on the geographic information system (GIS) mapping in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand. Acetyl- and butyryl-cholinesterase (AChE and BuChE) activities were monitored during both study periods using Test-mate ChE (Model 400). The location of paddy fields was specified using Garmin geographic positioning system MAP 62s. Fifty-eight farmers who participated in this study had an average age of 49.2 ± 6.9 years. Higher prevalence of all health symptoms was observed among farmer participants during the active rice farming period comparing to the non-active rice farming period (p < 0.01). Furthermore, farmers had significantly lower activities of AChE and BuChE during the active rice farming period comparing to the non-active rice farming period (p < 0.01). Our findings indicate that the GIS mapping indicate that the cases with a significant enzyme inhibition have dispersed across the agricultural and the nearby residential areas. This, investigation can be used to promote safer use of pesticides among farmers and mitigate pesticide exposure among residents living in close proximity to a rice field.
The role of Function Words to build syntactic knowledge in French-speaking children
Authors: Le Normand Marie-Thérèse , Thai-Van Hung
Published: January 2022

The question of how children learn Function Words (FWs) is still a matter of debate among child language researchers. Are early multiword utterances based on lexically specific patterns or rather abstract grammatical relations? In this corpus study, we analyzed FWs having a highly predictable distribution in relation to Mean Length Utterance (MLU) an index of syntactic complexity in a large naturalistic sample of 315 monolingual French children aged 2 to 4 year-old. The data was annotated with a Part Of Speech Tagger (POS-T), belonging to computational tools from CHILDES. While eighteen FWs strongly correlated with MLU expressed either in word or in morpheme, stepwise regression analyses showed that subject pronouns predicted MLU. Factor analysis yielded a bifactor hierarchical model: The first factor loaded sixteen FWs among which eight had a strong developmental weight (third person singular verbs, subject pronouns, articles, auxiliary verbs, prepositions, modals, demonstrative pronouns and plural markers), whereas the second factor loaded complex FWs (possessive verbs and object pronouns). These findings challenge the lexicalist account and support the view that children learn grammatical forms as a complex system based on early instead of late structure building. Children may acquire FWs as combining words and build syntactic knowledge as a complex abstract system which is not innate but learned from multiple word input sentences context. Notably, FWs were found to predict syntactic development and sentence complexity. These results open up new perspectives for clinical assessment and intervention.
Self-perceived quality of sleep among COPD patients in Greece: the SLEPICO study
Authors: Koulouris Nikolaos , Dimakou Katerina , Gourgoulianis Konstantinos , Tzanakis Nikolaos , Rapti Aggeliki , Gaga Mina , Georgatou Niki , Steiropoulos Paschalis , Karachristos Christos , Gogali Athena , Kalafatakis Konstantinos , Kostikas Konstantinos
Published: January 2022

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide accompanied by a substantial social and economic burden for the patient and the society. Poor sleep quality among COPD patients is frequently unnoticed and unaddressed by physicians and patients themselves, although it is a major source of further deterioration of these patients’ quality of life. The aim of the present study was to record the quality of sleep in COPD patients among the Greek population and correlate these findings with various features of these patients, using the COPD and Asthma Sleep Impact Scale (CASIS). This was a cross-sectional observational study. Forty different variables (demographics, vital sign measurements, COPD-related medical history parameters, comorbidities, CASIS questionnaire results, COPD assessment test, COPD severity based on spirometry measurements, COPD stage based on the ABCD assessment approach, inhaled COPD treatment report) were collected from 3454 nation-wide COPD patients (Greece). The study sample consisted of COPD patients, mainly male (73%) with a median age of 69 years and a median BMI of 27.2. More than half of COPD patients (60.6%) suffered from moderate disease severity and 23.8% from severe disease, while less than half (42.1%) suffered from at least one exacerbation of the disease over the last year prior study enrollment. About 14% reported frequent to very frequent issues affecting their sleep quality, between a fourth and a third of them reported occasional night sleep disturbances, and at least half of them reported no or very infrequent problems in their night sleep. Our study indicates that the COPD assessment test (CAT) and the spirometry-based disease severity can predict the poorness in the quality of sleep (F2,3451 = 1397.5, p < 0.001, adj. R2 = 0.45) as assessed by CASIS score, and that the latter also correlates with age (ρ = 0.122, p < 0.001) and disease duration (ρ = 0.104, p < 0.001). On the contrary, there appears to be no correlation between sleep quality and number of exacerbations. Finally, untreated patients with COPD suffer from poorer quality of sleep compared to treated subjects, independently of the use of inhaled corticosteroids (F2,3451 = 21.65, p < 0.001). The results of the SLEPICO study show that increased age, prolonged disease duration, and especially CAT score ≥ 10, and severe COPD stage, might act as important indicators for deterioration in the quality of sleep, with potential consequences in the daily routine of those patients, thus urging potentially for further pharmacological interventions or modifications.
Maternal high-fat diet in mice induces cerebrovascular, microglial and long-term behavioural alterations in offspring
Authors: Bordeleau Maude , Comin Cesar H. , Fernández de Cossío Lourdes , Lacabanne Chloé , Freitas-Andrade Moises , González Ibáñez Fernando , Raman-Nair Joanna , Wakem Michael , Chakravarty Mallar , Costa Luciano da F. , Lacoste Baptiste , Tremblay Marie-Ève
Published: January 2022

Various environmental exposures during pregnancy, like maternal diet, can compromise, at critical periods of development, the neurovascular maturation of the offspring. Foetal exposure to maternal high-fat diet (mHFD), common to Western societies, has been shown to disturb neurovascular development in neonates and long-term permeability of the neurovasculature. Nevertheless, the effects of mHFD on the offspring’s cerebrovascular health remains largely elusive. Here, we sought to address this knowledge gap by using a translational mouse model of mHFD exposure. Three-dimensional and ultrastructure analysis of the neurovascular unit (vasculature and parenchymal cells) in mHFD-exposed offspring revealed major alterations of the neurovascular organization and metabolism. These alterations were accompanied by changes in the expression of genes involved in metabolism and immunity, indicating that neurovascular changes may result from abnormal brain metabolism and immune regulation. In addition, mHFD-exposed offspring showed persisting behavioural alterations reminiscent of neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically an increase in stereotyped and repetitive behaviours into adulthood.
SMURF2 phosphorylation at Thr249 modifies glioma stemness and tumorigenicity by regulating TGF-β receptor stability
Authors: Hiraiwa Manami , Fukasawa Kazuya , Iezaki Takashi , Sabit Hemragul , Horie Tetsuhiro , Tokumura Kazuya , Iwahashi Sayuki , Murata Misato , Kobayashi Masaki , Suzuki Akane , Park Gyujin , Kaneda Katsuyuki , Todo Tomoki , Hirao Atsushi , Nakada Mitsutoshi , Hinoi Eiichi
Published: January 2022

Glioma stem cells (GSCs) contribute to the pathogenesis of glioblastoma, the most malignant form of glioma. The implication and underlying mechanisms of SMAD specific E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 2 (SMURF2) on the GSC phenotypes remain unknown. We previously demonstrated that SMURF2 phosphorylation at Thr249 (SMURF2Thr249) activates its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. Here, we demonstrate that SMURF2Thr249 phosphorylation plays an essential role in maintaining GSC stemness and tumorigenicity. SMURF2 silencing augmented the self-renewal potential and tumorigenicity of patient-derived GSCs. The SMURF2Thr249 phosphorylation level was low in human glioblastoma pathology specimens. Introduction of the SMURF2T249A mutant resulted in increased stemness and tumorigenicity of GSCs, recapitulating the SMURF2 silencing. Moreover, the inactivation of SMURF2Thr249 phosphorylation increases TGF-β receptor (TGFBR) protein stability. Indeed, TGFBR1 knockdown markedly counteracted the GSC phenotypes by SMURF2T249A mutant. These findings highlight the importance of SMURF2Thr249 phosphorylation in maintaining GSC phenotypes, thereby demonstrating a potential target for GSC-directed therapy.
Apparent stability masks underlying change in a mule deer herd with unmanaged chronic wasting disease
Authors: Fisher Mark C. , Prioreschi Ryan A. , Wolfe Lisa L. , Runge Jonathan P. , Griffin Karen A. , Swanson Heather M. , Miller Michael W.
Published: January 2022

The contagious prion disease “chronic wasting disease” (CWD) infects mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and related species. Unchecked epidemics raise ecological, socioeconomic, and public health concerns. Prion infection shortens a deer’s lifespan, and when prevalence (proportion of adults infected) becomes sufficiently high CWD can affect herd dynamics. Understanding population responses over time is key to forecasting long-term impacts. Here we describe unexpected stability in prevalence and abundance in a mule deer herd where CWD has been left unmanaged. High apparent prevalence (~30%) since at least 2005 likely drove observed changes in the proportion and age distribution of wild-type native prion protein (PRNP) gene homozygotes among deer sampled. Predation by mountain lions (Puma concolor) may be helping keep CWD in check. Despite stable appearances, prion disease nonetheless impairs adult survival and likely resilience in this deer herd, limiting its potential for growth despite refuge from hunter harvest and favorable habitat and winter conditions.
InterCellar enables interactive analysis and exploration of cell−cell communication in single-cell transcriptomic data
Authors: Interlandi Marta , Kerl Kornelius , Dugas Martin
Published: January 2022

Deciphering cell−cell communication is a key step in understanding the physiology and pathology of multicellular systems. Recent advances in single-cell transcriptomics have contributed to unraveling the cellular composition of tissues and enabled the development of computational algorithms to predict cellular communication mediated by ligand−receptor interactions. Despite the existence of various tools capable of inferring cell−cell interactions from single-cell RNA sequencing data, the analysis and interpretation of the biological signals often require deep computational expertize. Here we present InterCellar, an interactive platform empowering lab-scientists to analyze and explore predicted cell−cell communication without requiring programming skills. InterCellar guides the biological interpretation through customized analysis steps, multiple visualization options, and the possibility to link biological pathways to ligand−receptor interactions. Alongside convenient data exploration features, InterCellar implements data-driven analyses including the possibility to compare cell−cell communication from multiple conditions. By analyzing COVID-19 and melanoma cell−cell interactions, we show that InterCellar resolves data-driven patterns of communication and highlights molecular signals through the integration of biological functions and pathways. We believe our user-friendly, interactive platform will help streamline the analysis of cell−cell communication and facilitate hypothesis generation in diverse biological systems.
Convergence acceleration in machine learning potentials for atomistic simulations
Authors: Bayerl Dylan , Andolina Christopher M. , Dwaraknath Shyam , Saidi Wissam A.
Published: January 2022

Machine learning potentials (MLPs) for atomistic simulations have an enormous prospective impact on materials modeling, offering orders of magnitude speedup over density functional theory simulations without appreciably sacrificing accuracy of material property prediction.
Inner-sphere electron transfer at the ruthenium-azo interface
Authors: Panda Sanjib , Singh Aditi , Dey Sanchaita , Huang Kuo-Wei , Lahiri Goutam Kumar
Published: January 2022

Intramolecular metal-to-ligand electron transfer induced multi-step reduction of azobis(1-methylbenzimidazole) and its varying binding scenarios have been illustrated on selective {RuII(acac)2} (acac=acetylacetonate) and CuI-platforms.
Tungsten(vi) selenide tetrachloride, WSeCl4 – synthesis, properties, coordination complexes and application of [WSeCl4(SenBu2)] for CVD growth of WSe2 thin films
Authors: Greenacre Victoria K. , Hector Andrew L. , Huang Ruomeng , Levason William , Sethi Vikesh , Reid Gillian
Published: January 2022

The square pyramidal WSeCl4 monomer and its complexes with neutral donor ligands are described, including [WSeCl4(SenBu2)], which is a single source CVD precursor for highly oriented WSe2 thin films.
Green synthesis of a CuO/rGO nanocomposite using a Terminalia arjuna bark extract and its catalytic activity for the purification of water
Authors: Kumari Vanita , Kaushal Sandeep , Singh Prit Pal
Published: January 2022

In the present study, biogenic synthesis of a CuO/rGO nanocomposite was carried out successfully using Terminalia arjuna bark extract.
Synergy between iron oxide sites and nitrogen-doped carbon xerogel/diamond matrix for boosting the oxygen reduction reaction
Authors: Abdelwahab Abdalla , Farghali Ahmed A. , Enaiet Allah Abeer
Published: January 2022

The innovative design and facile synthesis of efficient and stable electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are crucial in the field of fuel cells.
An iron-catalyzed domino reaction of donor–acceptor cyclopropanes: a diastereoselective approach towards diversely functionalized pyrrolo-quinazolines
Authors: Dhara Samiran , Ghosh Subhadeep , Das Asish R.
Published: January 2022

An expeditious synthetic route to access functionalized pyrrolo[2,1-b]quinazoline scaffolds has been achievedviadomino ring opening cyclization (DROC) reactions of donor–acceptor (D–A) cyclopropanes and 2-amino(methyl)aniline derivatives.
Transition from viscoelastic to fracture-like peeling of pressure-sensitive adhesives
Authors: Grzelka Marion , Kooij Stefan , Woutersen Sander , Adda-Bedia Mokhtar , Bonn Daniel
Published: January 2022

We investigate the peeling of a pressure-sensitive adhesive under different environmental conditions. Applying ‘time–humidity’ superposition, we quantitatively explain the correlation between the peeling velocity and the relative humidity.
Copper-catalyzed thiocarbonylation and thiolation of alkyl iodides
Authors: Tian Qingqiang , Sun Rongjing , Li Yahui
Published: January 2022

In the present study, an efficient Cu-catalyzed transthiolation of alkyl iodides is developed.
Conducting a Community Engagement Studio to Adapt Enhanced Milieu Teaching
Authors: Quinn Emily D. , Cotter Kathleen , Kurin Kim , Brown Kim
Published: January 2022

Purpose:

Barriers to implementing evidence-based practices occur at various levels. Stakeholder input is required to identify challenges specific to clinical practice settings, client populations, and service delivery approaches. The purpose of this project was to solicit feedback from stakeholders on the telepractice service delivery and implementation strategies proposed for a future study of enhanced milieu teaching (EMT) in rural counties.

Method:

A Community Engagement Studio was conducted with 11 caregivers of children with language delays living in rural counties. Caregivers and the researchers discussed early intervention service delivery for children with language delays in rural Oregon and the proposed telepractice EMT procedures. Researchers gathered feedback on three intervention components: session frequency and schedule, implementation strategies to encourage caregivers' use of EMT, and performance feedback techniques to teach caregivers.

Results:

Findings from the Community Engagement Studio led to four primary modifications to the telepractice EMT study protocol. The principal investigator increased available days and times for intervention sessions and added text-message reminders for parents. A survey was also added for caregivers to identify their preferences for additional implementation strategies (e.g., tip sheets, checklist, e-mailed session summaries) and graphic representations of performance feedback (e.g., bar graph, radial graph, mountain climber infographic).

Conclusion:

Community Engagement Studios are a promising method for increasing community engagement in clinical research and soliciting stakeholder feedback on evidence-based intervention adaptations.

Supplemental Material:

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.17774819
AGN in the ULIRG HE 0435−5304
Authors: Hryniewicz Krzysztof , Bankowicz Małgorzata , Małek Katarzyna , Herzig Aleksander , Pollo Agnieszka
Published: January 2022

Context. HE 0435−5304 from Hamburg European Southern Observatory survey is a quasar that appears in the literature with two conflicting redshift values: ∼1.2 and ∼0.4. It was used in the studies of the intergalactic medium through fitting of the narrow absorption lines in its ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. This source is also known historically as a luminous infrared galaxy.

Aims. We present optical spectra of HE 0435−5304, aiming to precisely measure its redshift and to study its physical properties. In particular, properties of its active nucleus, which is studied in the context of the source being identified here as an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG), allow us to place this quasar in the context of the general population.

Methods. We analyzed optical spectra of the quasar HE 0435−5304. Fitting the spectra, we focused on modeling Hβ and [O III] lines. Based on these, we derived the virial black hole mass, bolometric luminosity, and Eddington ratio of the active galactic nucleus (AGN). Additionally, we performed broad band photometry fitting which allows us to quantify host galaxy parameters. Based on available mixed IR/optical/UV data spanning over a decade, we discuss the possible evolution of physical properties of the source and the influence of the observing conditions on our results.

Results. The improved redshift value of HE 0435−5304 is estimated to 0.42788 ± 0.00027 based on the [O II] line – the narrowest line in the spectra – which is mostly consistent with the narrowest components of the other emission lines. The source was found to be a relatively massive and luminous AGN whose host galaxy is actively forming stars. Although its stellar population seems to be heavily obscured, we did not find evidence for significant obscuration of the nucleus. We conclude that the AGN HE 0435−5304 is a rather prominent iron emitter from the extreme type-A population very close to the narrow-line Seyfert 1 group. The fact that the width of the Hβ line appears to be systematically growing in its broadest component with time may suggest that this AGN is changing its broad line region. However, because of the influence of atmospheric effects contaminating spectral profiles, this finding is uncertain.
Tracing the outflow kinematics in Type 2 active galactic nuclei
Authors: Kovačević-Dojčinović Jelena , Dojčinović Ivan , Lakićević Maša , Popović Luka Č.
Published: January 2022

We used a sample of 577 spectra of active galactic nuclei Type 1.8-2 (z < 0.25) taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to trace the influence of the outflow kinematics on the profiles of different emission lines (Hβ, [O III], Hα, [N II], [S II]). All considered lines were fitted with two Gaussian components: one that fits the core of the line, and another that fits the wings. We provide a procedure for decomposition of the Hα+[N II] wavelength band for spectra where these lines overlap. The influence of the gravitational and non-gravitational kinematics on the line components is investigated by comparing the dispersions of the line components with stellar velocity dispersion. We find that wing components of all the considered emission lines have pure non-gravitational kinematics. The core components are consistent with gravitational kinematics for the Hα, [N II], and [S II] lines, while in the [O III] there is evidence for contribution from non-gravitational kinematics. We adopted the wing components as a proxy for the outflow contribution and investigated the outflow kinematics by analysing the correlations between the widths and shifts of the wing components of different lines. For this purpose, we used the subsets in which wing components are detected in both compared lines, and can be fitted independently. We find strong correlations between wing component shifts, as well as between wing component widths of all considered lines, with the exception of the Hβ wing component width. These correlations indicate that outflow dynamics systemically affect all emission lines in the spectrum. However, it reflects with a different strength in their profiles, which is observed as different widths of the wing components. This is investigated by comparison of the mean widths of the wing components in subsets where wing components are present in all lines. The strongest outflow signature is observed in the [O III] lines, which have the broadest wing components; weaker outflow signatures are found in Hα and [N II], and the weakest is found for [S II]. These results imply that the considered lines arise in different parts of an outflowing region.
A unified accretion-ejection paradigm for black hole X-ray binaries
Authors: Marcel G. , Ferreira J. , Petrucci P-O. , Barnier S. , Malzac J. , Marino A. , Coriat M. , Clavel M. , Reynolds C. , Neilsen J. , Belmont R. , Corbel S.
Published: January 2022

The spectral evolution of transient X-ray binaries can be reproduced by an interplay between two flows separated at a transition radius RJ: a standard accretion disk (SAD) in the outer parts beyond RJ and a jet-emitting disk (JED) in the inner parts. In the previous papers in this series we successfully recover the spectral evolution in both X-rays and radio for four outbursts of GX 339-4 by playing independently with the two parameters: RJ and the disk accretion rate Ṁin. In this paper we compare the temporal evolution of both RJ and Ṁin for the four outbursts. We show that despite the undeniable differences between the time evolution of each outburst, a unique pattern in the Ṁin−RJ plane seems to be followed by all cycles within the JED-SAD model. We call this pattern a fingerprint, and show that even the “failed” outburst considered follows it. We also compute the radiative efficiency in X-rays during the cycles and consider its impact on the radio–X-ray correlation. Within the JED-SAD paradigm, we find that the accretion flow is always radiatively efficient in the hard states, with between 15% and 40% of the accretion power being radiated away at any given time. Moreover, we show that the radiative efficiency evolves with the accretion rate because of key changes in the JED thermal structure. These changes give birth to two different regimes with different radiative efficiencies: the thick disk and the slim disk. While the existence of these two regimes is intrinsically linked to the JED-SAD model, we show direct observational evidence of the presence of two different regimes using the evolution of the X-ray power-law spectral index, a model-independent estimate. We then argue that these two regimes could be the origin of the gap in X-ray luminosity in the hard state, the wiggles, and different slopes seen in the radio–X-ray correlation, and even the existence of outliers.
Asteroid astrometry by stellar occultations: Accuracy of the existing sample from orbital fitting
Authors: Ferreira J. F. , Tanga P. , Spoto F. , Machado P. , Herald D.
Published: January 2022

Context. The technique of stellar occultations, greatly enhanced by the publication of the Gaia data releases, permits not only the determination of asteroid size and shape, but also the retrieval of additional, very accurate astrometry, with a possible relevant impact on the study of dynamical properties. The use of Gaia as reference catalogue and the recent implementation of an improved error model for occultation astrometry offer the opportunity to test its global astrometric performance on the whole existing data set of observed events, dominated by minor planets belonging to the main belt.

Aims. We aim to explore the performance on orbit accuracy brought by reducing occultations by stellar positions given in Gaia’s Data Release 2 (DR2) and Early Data Release 3 (EDR3), exploited jointly with the new occultation error model. Our goal is to verify that the quality of DR2 and EDR3 provides a logical progression in the exploitation of occultation astrometry with respect to previous catalogues. We also want to compare the post-fit residuals to the error model.

Methods. We began with accurate orbit adjustment to occultation data, either alone or joined to the other available ground-based observations. We then analysed the orbit accuracy and the post-fit residuals.

Results. We find that Gaia EDR3 and DR2 bring a noticeable improvement to the accuracy of occultation data, bringing an average reduction of their residuals upon fitting an orbit of about a factor of 5 when compared to other catalogues. This is particularly visible when occultations alone are used, resulting in very good orbits for a large fraction of objects. We also demonstrate that occultation astrometry can reach the performance of Gaia on small asteroids (5–8 km in the main belt). The joint use of archival data and occultations remains more challenging due to the higher uncertainties and systematic errors of other data, mainly obtained by traditional CCD imaging.
Direct CP violation and the ΔI= 1/2 rule inK→ππdecay in the Standard Model
Authors: Kelly Christopher
Published: January 2022

We discuss the RBC & UKQCD collaborations’ recent [1] lattice calculation of ϵ′, the measure of direct CP-violation in kaon decays. This result significantly improves on our previous 2015 calculation, with nearly 4× the statistics and more reliable systematic error estimates. We discuss how our results demonstrate the Standard Model origin of the ΔI= 1/2 rule, and present our plans for future calculations.