cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Confined Vortices in Topologically Massive U(1)$\times$U(1) Theory
Creators: name: Anber, Mohamed M.
name: Burnier, Yannis
name: Sabancilar, Eray
name: Shaposhnikov, Mikhail
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We report on a new topological vortex solution in U(1)$\times$U(1) Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory. The existence of the vortex is envisaged by analytical means, and a numerical solution is obtained by integrating the equations of motion. These vortices have a long-range force because one of the U(1)s remains unbroken in the infrared, which is guarded by the Coleman-Hill theorem. The sum of the winding numbers of an ensemble of vortices has to vanish; otherwise the system would have a logarithmically divergent energy. In turn, these vortices exhibit classical confinement. We investigate the rich parameter space of the solutions, and show that one recovers the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen, U(1) Maxwell-Chern-Simons, U(1) pure Chern-Simons and global vortices as various limiting cases. Unlike these limiting cases, the higher winding solutions of our vortices carry non-integer charges under the broken U(1). This is the first vortex solution exhibiting such behavior.
description: 11 pages, 8 figures
Efficacy and safety of once-daily aclidinium in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Creators: name: Donohue, James F
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2011

description: Abstract Background The long-term efficacy and safety of aclidinium bromide, a novel, long-acting muscarinic antagonist, were investigated in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods In two double-blind, 52-week studies, ACCLAIM/COPD I (n = 843) and II (n = 804), patients were randomised to inhaled aclidinium 200 μg or placebo once-daily. Patients were required to have a post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity ratio of ≤70% and FEV1 <80% of the predicted value. The primary endpoint was trough FEV1 at 12 and 28 weeks. Secondary endpoints were health status measured by St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and time to first moderate or severe COPD exacerbation. Results At 12 and 28 weeks, aclidinium improved trough FEV1 versus placebo in ACCLAIM/COPD I (by 61 and 67 mL; both p < 0.001) and ACCLAIM/COPD II (by 63 and 59 mL; both p < 0.001). More patients had a SGRQ improvement ≥4 units at 52 weeks with aclidinium versus placebo in ACCLAIM/COPD I (48.1% versus 39.5%; p = 0.025) and ACCLAIM/COPD II (39.0% versus 32.8%; p = 0.074). The time to first exacerbation was significantly delayed by aclidinium in ACCLAIM/COPD II (hazard ratio [HR] 0.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55 to 0.92; p = 0.01), but not ACCLAIM/COPD I (HR 1.0; 95% CI 0.72 to 1.33; p = 0.9). Adverse events were minor in both studies. Conclusion Aclidinium is effective and well tolerated in patients with moderate to severe COPD. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00363896 (ACCLAIM/COPD I) and NCT00358436 (ACCLAIM/COPD II).
Stellar science from a blue wavelength range - A possible design for the blue arm of 4MOST
Creators: name: Hansen, C. J.
name: Ludwig, H. -G.
name: Seifert, W.
name: Koch, A.
name: Xu, W.
name: Caffau, E.
name: Christlieb, N.
name: Korn, A. J.
name: Lind, K.
name: Sbordone, L.
name: Ruchti, G.
name: Feltzing, S.
name: de Jong, R. S.
name: Barden, S.
name: Schnurr, O.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: From stellar spectra, a variety of physical properties of stars can be derived. In particular, the chemical composition of stellar atmospheres can be inferred from absorption line analyses. These provide key information on large scales, such as the formation of our Galaxy, down to the small-scale nucleosynthesis processes that take place in stars and supernovae. By extending the observed wavelength range toward bluer wavelengths, we optimize such studies to also include critical absorption lines in metal-poor stars, and allow for studies of heavy elements (Z>38) whose formation processes remain poorly constrained. In this context, spectrographs optimized for observing blue wavelength ranges are essential, since many absorption lines at redder wavelengths are too weak to be detected in metal-poor stars. This means that some elements cannot be studied in the visual-redder regions, and important scientific tracers and science cases are lost. The present era of large public surveys will target millions of stars. Here we describe the requirements driving the design of the forthcoming survey instrument 4MOST, a multi-object spectrograph commissioned for the ESO VISTA 4m-telescope. We focus here on high-density, wide-area survey of stars and the science that can be achieved with high-resolution stellar spectroscopy. Scientific and technical requirements that governed the design are described along with a thorough line blending analysis. For the high-resolution spectrograph, we find that a sampling of >2.5 (pixels per resolving element), spectral resolution of 18000 or higher, and a wavelength range covering 393-436 nm, is the most well-balanced solution for the instrument. A spectrograph with these characteristics will enable accurate abundance analysis (+/-0.1 dex) in the blue and allow us to confront the outlined scientific questions. (abridged)
description: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in AN
Effect of salt concentration on the stability of heterogeneous DNA
Creators: name: Singh, Amar
name: Singh, Navin
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study the role of cations on the stability of double stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecules.It is known that the two strands of double stranded DNA(dsDNA) have negative charge due to phosphate group. Cations in the form of salt in the solution, act as shielding agents thereby reducing the repulsion between these strands. We study several heterogeneous DNA molecules. We calculate the phase diagrams for DNA molecules in thermal as well as in force ensembles using Peyrard-Bishop-Dauxois (PBD) model. The dissociation and the stacking energies are the two most important factors that play an important role in the DNA stability. With suitable modifications in the model parameters we investigate the role of cation concentration on the stability of different heterogeneous DNA molecules. The objective of this work is to understand how these cations modify the strength of different pairs or bases along the strand. The phase diagram for the force ensemble case (a dsDNA is pulled from an end) is compared with the experimental results.
HT-eQTL: integrative expression quantitative trait loci analysis in a large number of human tissues
Creators: name: Nobel, Andrew
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2018

description: Abstract Background Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis identifies genetic markers associated with the expression of a gene. Most existing eQTL analyses and methods investigate association in a single, readily available tissue, such as blood. Joint analysis of eQTL in multiple tissues has the potential to improve, and expand the scope of, single-tissue analyses. Large-scale collaborative efforts such as the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) program are currently generating high quality data in a large number of tissues. However, computational constraints limit genome-wide multi-tissue eQTL analysis. Results We develop an integrative method under a hierarchical Bayesian framework for eQTL analysis in a large number of tissues. The model fitting procedure is highly scalable, and the computing time is a polynomial function of the number of tissues. Multi-tissue eQTLs are identified through a local false discovery rate approach, which rigorously controls the false discovery rate. Using simulation and GTEx real data studies, we show that the proposed method has superior performance to existing methods in terms of computing time and the power of eQTL discovery. Conclusions We provide a scalable method for eQTL analysis in a large number of tissues. The method enables the identification of eQTL with different configurations and facilitates the characterization of tissue specificity.
The impact of female non-executive directors on CSR decoupling
Creators: name: Mohamed, Menna
Publisher: name: Loughborough University
Year: 2023
Subjects: classificationCode: 350399
subject: Business systems in context not elsewhere classified

description: The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact of female non-executive directors on CSR in the UK. This study posits that female non-executive directors enhance the monitoring role of boards and improve decision-making processes, while focusing on stakeholders’ satisfaction and gaining societal legitimacy, which is expected to enhance CSR practices. Accordingly, this is expected to decrease the level of misalignment between CSR performance and disclosure, thus decreasing CSR Decoupling.This study uses a sample that consists of companies that are constituents of the FTSE 350 index during the period of 2012-2019. To avoid survivorship bias, the list of 2012 is used going forward. Thomson Reuters (Refinitiv) and Bloomberg databases have been used for data collection. The percentage of female non-executive directors was collected manually from annual reports. In total, the sample includes 2,832 firm-year observations. This study finds that having more female non-executive directors on boards is positively associated with CSR performance and disclosure, which is consistent with prior literature. The impact of female directors is stronger when there are more than three females on boards, which is referred to as the critical mass. Furthermore, the study revealed a negative association between the percentage of female non-executive directors and CSR decoupling, indicating that having more female directors on boards can help enforce information symmetry between CSR performance and disclosure. This effect was consistent across industries, and the critical mass of female non-executive directors enhanced the impact on CSR decoupling. However, the impact of female non-executive directors may be less clear when firms have higher CSR performance than disclosure, as females may prefer to be more conservative in their level of disclosure in such cases. The study suggests some practical implications for regulators and policy makers in addition to proposing theoretical implications, particularly the use of CSR Decoupling as a measure for CSR. Overall, this study offers valuable insights for improving non-financial reporting and transparency in corporate practices and enhancing CSR literature.
Solid-state chemistry of glassy antimony oxides
Creators: name: Kim, Chang-Eun
name: Skelton, Jonathan M.
name: Walsh, Aron
name: Soon, Aloysius
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The amorphous phases of antimony oxide at three different oxidation levels have been investigated by {\it ab initio} molecular-dynamics calculations using a simulated `melt-quench' approach. The atomic and electronic structure of the amorphous phases are analyzed and compared to their crystalline counterparts. The amorphous structure of the trioxide ({\it a\,}--Sb$_2$O$_3$) resembles the $β$-phase of the crystalline form (valentinite), in agreement with previous observations. In the relaxed athermal structure, however, more senarmontite-like structural features are apparent. The phase diagram of the amorphous phases with respect to oxygen chemical potential has been calculated within the framework of {\it ab initio} thermodynamics. At elevated oxidation levels, the resulting tetraoxide and pentoxide materials show distinct variation in electronic structure compared to the trioxide, with the electronic density of states indicating a narrowing of the electronic gap with increasing oxidation level.
description: 19 pages, 5 figures (Accepted in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C)
Effect of pre-season training on physiological and biochemical indices in basketball players - A systematic review
Creators: name: Mexis, Dimitrios
name: Nomikos, Tzortzis
name: Kostopoulos, Nikolaos
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Sports Sciences
subject: Medicine and Health Sciences

description: The monitoring of the effectiveness of the preseason training, in terms of performance, on each player, along with the monitoring of the training load and of the fatigue that accompanies this period, are important tools for the fitness staff to maximize performance and personalize the training modalities according to each player's needs. The monitoring is based on the determination of a variety of biochemical and physiological markers. However, it is still unclear how the preseason training affects those markers.
Historical measures of social context in life course studies: retrospective linkage of addresses to decennial censuses
Creators: name: Knowles, Sarah
name: Rose, Kathryn M.
name: Heiss, Gerardo
name: Wood, Joy L
name: Pollitt, Ricardo A
name: Whitsel, Eric
Publisher: name: BioMed Central Ltd
Year: 2004

description: Abstract Background There is evidence of a contribution of early life socioeconomic exposures to the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. However, extant studies investigating the impact of the neighborhood social environment on health tend to characterize only the current social environment. This in part may be due to complexities involved in obtaining and geocoding historical addresses. The Life Course Socioeconomic Status, Social Context, and Cardiovascular Disease Study collected information on childhood (1930–1950) and early adulthood (1960–1980) place of residence from 12,681 black and white middle-aged and older men and women from four U.S. communities to link participants with census-based socioeconomic indicators over the life course. Results Most (99%) participants were linked to 1930–50 county level socioeconomic census data (the smallest level of aggregation universally available during this time period) corresponding to childhood place of residence. Linkage did not vary by race, gender, birth cohort, or level of educational attainment. A commercial geocoding vendor processed participants' self-reported street addresses for ages 30, 40, and 50. For 1970 and 1980 censuses, spatial coordinates were overlaid onto shape files containing census tract boundaries; for 1960 no shape files existed and comparability files were used. Several methods were tested for accuracy and to increase linkage. Successful linkage to historical census tracts varied by census (66% for 1960, 76% for 1970, 85% for 1980). This compares to linkage rates of 94% for current addresses provided by participants over the course of the ARIC examinations. Conclusion There are complexities and limitations in characterizing the past social context. However, our results suggest that it is feasible to characterize the earlier social environment with known levels of measurement error and that such an approach should be considered in future studies.
Validity of One-Dimensional QED for a System with Spatial Symmetry
Creators: name: Lv, Q. Z.
name: Christensen, N. D.
name: Su, Q.
name: Grobe, R.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We examine the accuracy of an intrinsically one-dimensional quantum electrodynamics to predict accurately the forces and charges of a three-dimensional system that has a high degree of symmetry and therefore depends effectively only on a single coordinate. As a test case we analyze two charged capacitor plates that are infinitely extended along two coordinate directions. Using the lowest-order fine structure correction to the photon propagator we compute the vacuum's induced charge polarization density and show that the force between the charged plates is increased. Although a one-dimensional theory cannot take the transverse character of the virtual (force-mediating) photons into account, nevertheless it predicts, in lowest order of the fine-structure constant, the Coulomb force law between the plates correctly. However, the quantum correction to the classical result is slightly different between the 1d and 3d theories with the polarization charge density induced from the vacuum underestimated by the 1d approach.
Effectiveness Study on Online or Blended Language Learning Based on Student Achievement: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies.
Creators: name: Zhou, Tong
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Online and Distance Education
subject: Education
subject: Language and Literacy Education

description: The ubiquitous impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have profoundly changed the education sector, and marked research interest in online or blended learning can be witnessed. As a pervasive learning activity of paramount significance, online language learning has aroused widespread concerns. Nonetheless, few systematic reviews concerning the effectiveness of online language learning were published. With the help of CiteSpace, this study systematically investigated 103 SSCI literature of empirical studies related to online language learning effectiveness based on student achievement for the purpose of providing a better understanding of the research trends on this topic and the most effective ways to implement online language learning for the teachers and students.
Comprehensive Assessment of the Too-Big-to-Fail Problem
Creators: name: Jiang, Fangzhou
name: Bosch, Frank C. van den
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We use a semi-analytical model for the substructure of dark matter haloes to assess the too-big-to-fail (TBTF) problem. The model accurately reproduces the average subhalo mass and velocity functions, as well as their halo-to-halo variance, in N-body simulations. We construct thousands of realizations of Milky Way (MW) size host haloes, allowing us to investigate the TBTF problem with unprecedented statistical power. We examine the dependence on host halo mass and cosmology, and explicitly demonstrate that a reliable assessment of TBTF requires large samples of hundreds of host haloes. We argue that previous statistics used to address TBTF suffer from the look-elsewhere effect and/or disregard certain aspects of the data on the MW satellite population. We devise a new statistic that is not hampered by these shortcomings, and, using only data on the 9 known MW satellite galaxies with $V_{\rm max}>15{\rm kms}^{-1}$, demonstrate that $1.4^{+3.3}_{-1.1}\%$ of MW-size host haloes have a subhalo population in statistical agreement with that of the MW. However, when using data on the MW satellite galaxies down to $V_{\rm max}=8{\rm kms}^{-1}$, this MW consistent fraction plummets to $<5\times10^{-4}$ (at 68% CL). Hence, if it turns out that the inventory of MW satellite galaxies is complete down to 8km/s, then the maximum circular velocities of MW satellites are utterly inconsistent with $Λ$CDM predictions, unless baryonic effects can drastically increase the spread in $V_{\rm max}$ values of satellite galaxies compared to that of their subhaloes.
description: 19 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS
Summary for policymakers of the regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Europe and Central Asia of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Appendix 2.3
Creators: name: IPBES
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Europe and Central Asia Assessment
IPBES
Supplementary material

description: Detailed list of references used for the assessment of nature's contributions to people (NCP) in the regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia (ECA
Treetopes and their Graphs
Creators: name: Eppstein, David
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Computational Geometry (cs.CG)
subject: Data Structures and Algorithms (cs.DS)
subject: Combinatorics (math.CO)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: F.2.2

description: We define treetopes, a generalization of the three-dimensional roofless polyhedra (Halin graphs) to arbitrary dimensions. Like roofless polyhedra, treetopes have a designated base facet such that every face of dimension greater than one intersects the base in more than one point. We prove an equivalent characterization of the 4-treetopes using the concept of clustered planarity from graph drawing, and we use this characterization to recognize the graphs of 4-treetopes in polynomial time. This result provides one of the first classes of 4-polytopes, other than pyramids and stacked polytopes, that can be recognized efficiently from their graphs.
description: 16 pages, 8 figures. To appear at 27th ACM-SIAM Symp. on Discrete Algorithms (SODA 2016)
Facile microfluidic production of polyethylene glycol (PEG) - based microgel particles in a novel microfluidic device and their applications
Creators: name: Chen, Minjun
Publisher: name: Loughborough University
Year: 2023
Subjects: classificationCode: 400499
subject: Chemical engineering not elsewhere classified

description: Facile microfluidic production of polyethylene glycol (PEG) - based microgel particles in a novel microfluidic device and their applications
The hidden-charm pentaquark and tetraquark states
Creators: name: Chen, Hua-Xing
name: Chen, Wei
name: Liu, Xiang
name: Zhu, Shi-Lin
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)
subject: High Energy Physics - Lattice (hep-lat)
subject: Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)
subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In the past decade many charmonium-like states were observed experimentally. Especially those charged charmonium-like $Z_c$ states and bottomonium-like $Z_b$ states can not be accommodated within the naive quark model. These charged $Z_c$ states are good candidates of either the hidden-charm tetraquark states or molecules composed of a pair of charmed mesons. Recently, the LHCb Collaboration discovered two hidden-charm pentaquark states, which are also beyond the quark model. In this work, we review the current experimental progress and investigate various theoretical interpretations of these candidates of the multiquark states. We list the puzzles and theoretical challenges of these models when confronted with the experimental data. We also discuss possible future measurements which may distinguish the theoretical schemes on the underlying structures of the hidden-charm multiquark states.
description: Review accepted by Physics Reports, 152 pages, 66 figures, and 29 tables
Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 (SOCS3) is not an independent biomarker of colorectal adenoma risk
Creators: name: Hamilton, Kathryn E
name: Galanko, Joseph
name: Sandler, Robert
name: Keku, Temitope
name: Lund, Pauline Kay
Publisher: name: BioMed Central Ltd
Year: 2010

description: Abstract Background Inflammation and its associated pathologies are increasingly suggested as risk factors for colorectal cancer (CRC) development. Previous research from our group has shown that increased levels of circulating, pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNFα promote colorectal adenoma risk. Emerging data in mice and humans suggest that Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 (SOCS3) may act as a tumor suppressor in the intestine, and decreased SOCS3 expression may promote CRC. As SOCS3 has been shown to inhibit the actions of IL-6 and TNFα in the intestine, we hypothesized that decreased SOCS3 expression in normal mucosa may predispose to adenomas and thus increase risk for CRC. Findings We examined SOCS3 mRNA levels in normal mucosa biopsies of 322 screening colonoscopy patients (93 with adenoma and 229 without adenoma) using real-time qRT-PCR. Logistic regression analysis was used to generate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals to determine if low SOCS3 expression was associated with adenoma status. Median SOCS3 values did not differ between patients with or without adenoma. Logistic regression analysis showed no association (unadjusted or adjusted for age and sex) between SOCS3 and colorectal adenomas. Conclusions Low SOCS3 mRNA expression is not an independent biomarker of colorectal adenoma risk in the normal mucosa. SOCS3 silencing likely occurs later in CRC progression.
Influence of genetic variations in TLR4 and TIRAP/Mal on the course of sepsis and pneumonia and cytokine release: an observational study in three cohorts
Creators: name: Lorenz, Eva
Publisher: name: BioMed Central Ltd
Year: 2010

description: Abstract Introduction It has been proposed that individual genetic variation contributes to the course of severe infections and sepsis. Recent studies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the endotoxin receptor and its signaling system showed an association with the risk of disease development. This study aims to examine the response associated with genetic variations of TLR4, the receptor for bacterial LPS, and a central intracellular signal transducer (TIRAP/Mal) on cytokine release and for susceptibility and course of severe hospital acquired infections in distinct patient populations. Methods Three intensive care units in tertiary care university hospitals in Greece and Germany participated. 375 and 415 postoperative patients and 159 patients with ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) were included. TLR4 and TIRAP/Mal polymorphisms in 375 general surgical patients were associated with risk of infection, clinical course and outcome. In two prospective studies, 415 patients following cardiac surgery and 159 patients with newly diagnosed VAP predominantly caused by Gram-negative bacteria were studied for cytokine levels in-vivo and after ex-vivo monocyte stimulation and clinical course. Results Patients simultaneously carrying polymorphisms in TIRAP/Mal and TLR4 and patients homozygous for the TIRAP/Mal SNP had a significantly higher risk of severe infections after surgery (odds ratio (OR) 5.5; confidence interval (CI): 1.34 - 22.64; P = 0.02 and OR: 7.3; CI: 1.89 - 28.50; P < 0.01 respectively). Additionally we found significantly lower circulating cytokine levels in double-mutant individuals with ventilator associated pneumonia and reduced cytokine production in an ex-vivo monocyte stimulation assay, but this difference was not apparent in TIRAP/Mal-homozygous patients. In cardiac surgery patients without infection, the cytokine release profiles were not changed when comparing different genotypes. Conclusions Carriers of mutations in sequential components of the TLR signaling system may have an increased risk for severe infections. Patients with this genotype showed a decrease in cytokine release when infected which was not apparent in patients with sterile inflammation following cardiac surgery.
Pulling short DNA molecules having defects on different locations
Creators: name: Singh, Amar
name: Singh, Navin
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present a study on the role of defects on the stability of short DNA molecules. We consider short DNA molecules (16 base pairs) and investigate the thermal as well as mechanical denaturation of these molecules in the presence of defects that occurs anywhere in the molecule. For the investigation, we consider four different kinds of chains. Not only the ratio of AT to GC different in these molecules but also the distributions of AT and GC along the molecule are different. With suitable modifications in the statistical model to show the defect in a pair, we investigate the denaturation of short DNA molecules in thermal as well as constant force ensemble. In the force ensemble, we pulled the DNA molecule from each end (keeping other end free) and observed some interesting features of opening of the molecule in the presence of defects in the molecule. We calculate the probability of opening of the DNA molecule in the constant force ensemble to explain the opening of base pairs and hence the denaturation of molecules in the presence of defects.
Summary for policymakers of the regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Europe and Central Asia of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Appendix 2.2
Creators: name: IPBES
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Europe and Central Asia Assessment
IPBES
Supplementary material

description: Nature's contributions to people (NCP) from the perspective of indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) Selected list of quotes derived from a content analysis of the ILK-dialogue in ECA (Roue & Molnar, 2016).
title: Could trans-vaginal sono-elastography help benign-malignant differentiation of cervical masses
Creators: name: Shady, Magda
Publisher: name: European Congress of Radiology
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Genital / Reproductive system female
subject: Breast
subject: Ultrasound
subject: Equipment
subject: Neoplasia
subject: Tissue characterisation

description: Aims and objectives Methods and materials Results Conclusion Personal information References
description: Aims and objectives: Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy in women with almost half a million new cases each year [1,2] . In western countries, the majority of cervical cancer is diagnosed at an early stage of the disease. The International...
LCN6, a novel human epididymal lipocalin
Creators: name: Richardson, Richard T
name: French, Frank S
name: Yenugu, Suresh
name: Liu, Qiang
name: Sivashanmugam, P
name: Anbalagan, M
name: Grossman, Gail
name: O'Rand, Michael G
name: Soundararajan, Rama
name: Petrusz, Peter
name: Hall, Susan H
name: Hamil, Katherine G
Publisher: name: BioMed Central Ltd
Year: 2003

description: Abstract Background The lipocalin (LCN) family of structurally conserved hydrophobic ligand binding proteins is represented in all major taxonomic groups from prokaryotes to primates. The importance of lipocalins in reproduction and the similarity to known epididymal lipocalins prompted us to characterize the novel human epididymal LCN6. Methods and Results LCN6 cDNA was identified by database analysis in a comprehensive human library sequencing program. Macaca mulatta (rhesus monkey) cDNA was obtained from an epididymis cDNA library and is 93% homologous to the human. The gene is located on chromosome 9q34 adjacent LCN8 and LCN5. LCN6 amino acid sequence is most closely related to LCN5, but the LCN6 beta-barrel structure is best modeled on mouse major urinary protein 1, a pheromone binding protein. Northern blot analysis of RNAs isolated from 25 human tissues revealed predominant expression of a 1.0 kb mRNA in the epididymis. No other transcript was detected except for weak expression of a larger hybridizing mRNA in urinary bladder. Northern hybridization analysis of LCN6 mRNA expression in sham-operated, castrated and testosterone replaced rhesus monkeys suggests mRNA levels are little affected 6 days after castration. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that LCN6 protein is abundant in the caput epithelium and lumen. Immunofluorescent staining of human spermatozoa shows LCN6 located on the head and tail of spermatozoa with the highest concentration of LCN6 on the post-acrosomal region of the head, where it appeared aggregated into large patches. Conclusions LCN6 is a novel lipocalin closely related to Lcn5 and Lcn8 and these three genes are likely products of gene duplication events that predate rodent-primate divergence. Predominant expression in the epididymis and location on sperm surface are consistent with a role for LCN6 in male fertility.
Summary for policymakers of the regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Europe and Central Asia of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Appendix 2.1
Creators: name: IPBES
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Europe and Central Asia Assessment
IPBES
Supplementary material

description: Protocol of the systematic review used for chapter 2 of the regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature on the status and trends of nature’s contributions to people (NCP). The literature review will be based on published peer-reviewed scientific articles, but also will include assessment relying on indicators and material on indigenous and local knowledge (ILK). The synthesis of the data from the review will assist in evaluating the main trends in the different sub-regions. The review was also used to establish guidance for documenting the dominant characteristic NCP and help in finding appropriate case studies for the Chapter boxes. An integrated and standardised spreadsheet is being developed to structure the literature review and to help summarise the trends and to contribute to the attribution of confidence and uncertainty.
Validity of the Néel-Arrhenius model for highly anisotropic Co_xFe_{3-x}O_4 nanoparticles
Creators: name: Torres, T. E.
name: Lima, E.
name: Mayoral, A.
name: Ibarra, A.
name: Marquina, C.
name: Ibarra, M. R.
name: Goya, G. F.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We report a systematic study on the structural and magnetic properties of Co_{x}Fe_{3-x}O_{4} magnetic nanoparticles with sizes between $5$ to $25$ nm, prepared by thermal decomposition of Fe(acac)_{3} and Co(acac)_{2}. The large magneto-crystalline anisotropy of the synthesized particles resulted in high blocking temperatures ($42$ K \leqq $T_B$ $\leqq 345$ K for $5 \leqq$ d $\leqq 13$ nm ) and large coercive fields ($H_C \approxeq 1600$ kA/m for $T = 5$ K). The smallest particles ($=5$ nm) revealed the existence of a magnetically hard, spin-disordered surface. The thermal dependence of static and dynamic magnetic properties of the whole series of samples could be explained within the Néel-Arrhenius relaxation framework without the need of ad-hoc corrections, by including the thermal dependence of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant $K_1(T)$ through the empirical Brükhatov-Kirensky relation. This approach provided $K_1(0)$ values very similar to the bulk material from either static or dynamic magnetic measurements, as well as realistic values for the response times ($τ_0 \simeq 10^{-10}$ s). Deviations from the bulk anisotropy values found for the smallest particles could be qualitatively explained based on Zener\'{}s relation between $K_1(T)$ and M(T).
Genomic phenotyping of the essential and non-essential yeast genome detects novel pathways for alkylation resistance
Creators: name: Fry, Rebecca
Publisher: name: BioMed Central Ltd
Year: 2011

description: Abstract Background A myriad of new chemicals has been introduced into our environment and exposure to these agents can damage cells and induce cytotoxicity through different mechanisms, including damaging DNA directly. Analysis of global transcriptional and phenotypic responses in the yeast S. cerevisiae provides means to identify pathways of damage recovery upon toxic exposure. Results Here we present a phenotypic screen of S. cerevisiae in liquid culture in a microtiter format. Detailed growth measurements were analyzed to reveal effects on ~5,500 different haploid strains that have either non-essential genes deleted or essential genes modified to generate unstable transcripts. The pattern of yeast mutants that are growth-inhibited (compared to WT cells) reveals the mechanisms ordinarily used to recover after damage. In addition to identifying previously-described DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoint deficient strains, we also identified new functional groups that profoundly affect MMS sensitivity, including RNA processing and telomere maintenance. Conclusions We present here a data-driven method to reveal modes of toxicity of different agents that impair cellular growth. The results from this study complement previous genomic phenotyping studies as we have expanded the data to include essential genes and to provide detailed mutant growth analysis for each individual strain. This eukaryotic testing system could potentially be used to screen compounds for toxicity, to identify mechanisms of toxicity, and to reduce the need for animal testing.
The OH-streamer in Sgr A revisited: analysis of hydroxyl absorption within 10 pc from the Galactic centre
Creators: name: Karlsson, Roland
name: Sandqvist, Aage
name: Fathi, Kambiz
name: Martín, Sergio
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study the structure and kinematics of the OH-streamer and the +80 km/s cloud and their interactions with the circumnuclear disk (CND) and with other molecular clouds in the vicinity of the Galactic centre (GC), and we map OH absorption at about 6" resolution at R $\le$ 10 pc from the GC, with about 9 km/s velocity resolution. The VLA was used to map OH line absorption at the 1665 and 1667 MHz lambda doublet main lines towards the Sagittarius A complex. Strong OH absorption was found in the OH-streamer, the southern streamer (SS), the +20, +50, and +80 km/s molecular clouds, the molecular belt, the CND, the expanding molecular ring (EMR), and the high negative velocity gas (HNVG). The OH-streamer was found to comprise three parts, head, middle, and tail, and to interact with the SS/+20, +80 km/s clouds and the CND. Optical depths and column densities have been calculated for the OH-streamer and the +80 km/s cloud. The OH-streamer, the SS, the +20 and +80 km/s clouds, and the CND are intimately related in position and velocity space. The OH-streamer was found to be a clumpy object stretching in projection from the inner radius of the CND at about 1.8 pc from Sgr A* towards and partly engulfing Sgr A*. As a side result of our data, a possible link between the near side of the EMR and the CND's southwest lobe was found. Additionally, we found OH absorption against all four of the previously known Compact HII Regions A-D, located east of Sgr A East, indicating their close association with the +50 km/s cloud.
description: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophsyics and including maps of the 1665 and 1667 MHz data cubes. These data cubes are available in electronic form at the CDS at http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR
LAP1 supports nuclear adaptability during constrained melanoma cell migration and invasion.
Creators: name: Jung-Garcia, Yaiza
name: Maiques, Oscar
name: Monger, Joanne
name: Rodriguez-Hernandez, Irene
name: Fanshawe, Bruce
name: Domart, Marie-Charlotte
name: Renshaw, Matthew J
name: Marti, Rosa M
name: Matias-Guiu, Xavier
name: Collinson, Lucy M
name: Sanz-Moreno, Victoria
name: Carlton, Jeremy G
Publisher: name: The Francis Crick Institute
Year: 2023
Subjects: Imaging
Cell Biology
Cell Cycle & Chromosomes

description: Metastasis involves dissemination of cancer cells away from a primary tumour and colonization at distal sites. During this process, the mechanical properties of the nucleus must be tuned since they pose a challenge to the negotiation of physical constraints imposed by the microenvironment and tissue structure. We discovered increased expression of the inner nuclear membrane protein LAP1 in metastatic melanoma cells, at the invasive front of human primary melanoma tumours and in metastases. Human cells express two LAP1 isoforms (LAP1B and LAP1C), which differ in their amino terminus. Here, using in vitro and in vivo models that recapitulate human melanoma progression, we found that expression of the shorter isoform, LAP1C, supports nuclear envelope blebbing, constrained migration and invasion by allowing a weaker coupling between the nuclear envelope and the nuclear lamina. We propose that LAP1 renders the nucleus highly adaptable and contributes to melanoma aggressiveness.
Attachment and Sexual Experiences in Couples
Creators: name: Dobson, Kiersten
name: Stanton, Sarah
name: Campbell, Lorne
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022

description: We have existing unregistered studies which demonstrate, in a sample of individuals, that more (vs. less) avoidantly attached individuals tend to initiate sexual activity less and reject their partners’ sexual advances more. We seek to replicate these findings in a new dataset comprised of romantic couples.
Summary for Policymakers of the Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Africa: Appendix 1.1
Creators: name: IPBES
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018

description: The indicative lists of economic values of nature’s contributions to people (NCP) in Africa as presented in Figure SPM.2 was extracted from the references listed below. They are grouped per sub-region, unit of analysis and NCP
Gender distribution of adult patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Southern Africa: a systematic review
Creators: name: Muula, Adamson S
Publisher: name: BioMed Central Ltd
Year: 2007

description: Abstract Background HIV and AIDS are significant and growing public health concerns in southern Africa. The majority of countries in the region have national adult HIV prevalence estimates exceeding 10 percent. The increasing availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has potential to mitigate the situation. There is however concern that women may experience more barriers in accessing treatment programs than men. Methods A systematic review of the literature was carried out to describe the gender distribution of patients accessing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Southern Africa. Data on number of patients on treatment, their mean or median age and gender were obtained and compared across studies and reports. Results The median or mean age of patients in the studies ranged from 33 to 39 years. While female to male HIV infection prevalence ratios in the southern African countries ranged from 1.2:1 to 1.6:1, female to male ratios on HAART ranged from 0.8: 1 to 2.3: 1. The majority of the reports had female: male ratio in treatment exceeding 1.6. Overall, there were more females on HAART than there were males and this was not solely explained by the higher HIV prevalence among females compared to males. Conclusion In most Southern African countries, proportionally more females are on HIV antiretroviral treatment than men, even when the higher HIV infection prevalence in females is accounted for. There is need to identify the factors that are facilitating women's accessibility to HIV treatment. As more patients access HAART in the region, it will be important to continue assessing the gender distribution of patients on HAART.
Comparing reactive and memory-one strategies of direct reciprocity
Creators: name: Baek, Seung Ki
name: Jeong, Hyeong-Chai
name: Hilbe, Christian
name: Nowak, Martin A.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE)
subject: Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Direct reciprocity is a mechanism for the evolution of cooperation based on repeated interactions. When individuals meet repeatedly, they can use conditional strategies to enforce cooperative outcomes that would not be feasible in one-shot social dilemmas. Direct reciprocity requires that individuals keep track of their past interactions and find the right response. However, there are natural bounds on strategic complexity: Humans find it difficult to remember past interactions accurately, especially over long timespans. Given these limitations, it is natural to ask how complex strategies need to be for cooperation to evolve. Here, we study stochastic evolutionary game dynamics in finite populations to systematically compare the evolutionary performance of reactive strategies, which only respond to the co-player's previous move, and memory-one strategies, which take into account the own and the co-player's previous move. In both cases, we compare deterministic strategy and stochastic strategy spaces. For reactive strategies and small costs, we find that stochasticity benefits cooperation, because it allows for generous-tit-for-tat. For memory one strategies and small costs, we find that stochasticity does not increase the propensity for cooperation, because the deterministic rule of win-stay, lose-shift works best. For memory one strategies and large costs, however, stochasticity can augment cooperation.
description: 18 pages, 7 figures
Genotype- and sex-dependent effects of altered Cntnap2 expression on the function of visual cortical areas
Creators: name: Smith, Spencer
name: Townsend, Leah B
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2017

description: Abstract Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heritable, heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder that is four times more likely to affect males than females. Despite this overt sex bias, it is unclear how genetic mutations associated with ASD alter cortical circuitry to produce the behavioral phenotypes by which ASD is diagnosed. Contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2) is an ASD-associated gene, and while Cntnap2 knockout (KO) mice recapitulate many of the features of ASD, the effect on cortical circuitry is poorly understood. Moreover, although heterozygous (Het) mice are the more relevant genotype for ASD-linked CNTNAP2 mutations in humans, to our knowledge, no effects in Het mice have been previously reported. Methods Intrinsic signal optical imaging was used to measure functional visual responses in primary and higher visual cortical areas in male and female Cntnap2 KO, Het, and wild-type (WT) mice. Main effect of genotype was assessed with one-way ANOVA. Visual responses were also measured in P17–18 and P30–32 KO and WT mice. Main effects of age and genotype were assessed using two-way ANOVA. Results Visually evoked activity in dorsal stream associated higher visual areas in both KO and Het adult males was decreased relative to WT adult males. This decrease was not observed in adult females. Additionally, no significant difference was observed between WT and KO males at P17–18 with differences beginning to emerge at P30–32. Conclusions The functional responses of cortical circuitry in male mice are more strongly affected by Cntnap2 mutations than females, an effect present even in Hets. The observed differences in males emerge with development beginning at P30–32. These results reveal genotype- and sex-dependent effects of altered Cntnap2 expression and can shed light on the sex-dependent incidence of ASD.