Analysis of rill step–pool morphology and its comparison with stream case

2021

In this paper, the morphology of step–pool features is analysed using rill measurements and literature data for streams. Close-range photogrammetry was used to carry out ground measurements on rills with step–pool units, shaped on a plot having slope equal to 14, 15, 22, 24 and 26%. Data were used to compare the relationships between H/L, in which H is the step height and L is the step length, and the mean gradient of the step–pool sequence, Sm, for streams or the slope of the step–pool unit, S, for rills. The relationship of H/L against Sm is widely used to test the occurrence of the maximum flow resistance condition in streams, which is associated with the range 1 ≤ (H/L)/Sm ≤ 2. Further …

Effect of Core-Crosslinking on Protein Corona Formation on Polymeric Micelles.

2021

Most nanomaterials acquire a protein corona upon contact with biological fluids. The magnitude of this effect is strongly dependent both on surface and structure of the nanoparticle. To define the contribution of the internal nanoparticle structure, protein corona formation of block copolymer micelles with poly(N-2-hydroxypropylmethacrylamide) (pHPMA) as hydrophilic shell, which are crosslinked-or not-in the hydrophobic core is comparatively analyzed. Both types of micelles are incubated with human blood plasma and separated by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4). Their size is determined by dynamic light scattering and proteins within the micellar fraction are characterized by…

Brain responses of dysphoric and control participants during a self-esteem implicit association test.

2021

Previous studies have reported lowered implicit self-esteem at the behavioral level among depressed individuals. However, brain responses related to the lowered implicit self-esteem have not been investigated in people with depression. Here, event-related potentials were measured in 28 dysphoric participants (individuals with elevated amounts of depressive symptoms) and 30 control participants during performance of an implicit association task (IAT) suggested to reflect implicit self-esteem. Despite equivalent behavioral performance, differences in brain responses were observed between the dysphoric and the control groups in late positive component (LPC) within 400-1,000 ms poststimulus lat…

Evaluating Correlations in IoT Sensors for Smart Buildings

2021

International audience; In this paper we introduce a dataset of environmental information obtained via indoor and outdoor sensors deployed in the SMART Infrastructure Facility of the University of Wollongong (Australia). The acquired dataset is also made open-sourced along with this paper. We also propose a novel approach based on an evolutionary algorithm to determine pairs of correlated sensors. We compare our approach with three other standard techniques on the same dataset: on average, the accuracy of the evolutionary method is about 62,92%. We also evaluate the computational time, assessing the suitability of the proposed pipeline for real-time applications.

Response to Discussion on Y. Zhu, X. Wang, K. Mathiak, P. Toiviainen, T. Ristaniemi, J. Xu, Y. Chang and F. Cong, Altered EEG Oscillatory Brain Netwo…

2021

Large-scale analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike-glycoprotein mutants demonstrates the need for continuous screening of virus isolates

2021

AbstractDue to the widespread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 genome is evolving in diverse human populations. Several studies already reported different strains and an increase in the mutation rate. Particularly, mutations in SARS-CoV-2 spike-glycoprotein are of great interest as it mediates infection in human and recently approved mRNA vaccines are designed to induce immune responses against it.We analyzed 146,917 SARS-CoV-2 genome assemblies and 2,393 NGS datasets from GISAID, NCBI Virus and NCBI SRA archives focusing on non-synonymous mutations in the spike protein.Only around 13.8% of the samples contained the wild-type spike protein with no variation from the reference. Among…

Guest induced reversible on–off switching of elastic frustration in a 3D spin crossover coordination polymer with room temperature hysteretic behavio…

2021

A binary reversible switch between low-temperature multi-step spin crossover (SCO), through the evolution of the population γHS(T) with high-spin (HS)-low-spin (LS) sequence: HS1LS0 (state 1) ↔ HS2/3LS1/3 (state 2) ↔ HS1/2LS1/2 (state 3) ↔ HS1/3LS2/3 (state 4) ↔ HS0LS1 (state 5), and complete one step hysteretic spin transition featuring 20 K wide thermal hysteresis centred at 290 K occurs in the three-dimensional (3D) Hofmann-type porous coordination polymer {FeII(3,8phen)[Au(CN)2]2}·xPhNO2 (3,8phen = 3,8-phenanthroline, PhNO2 = nitrobenzene), made up of two identical interpenetrated pcu-type frameworks. The included PhNO2 guest (x = 1, 1·PhNO2) acts as a molecular wedge between the interp…

Product-market integration with endogenous firm heterogeneity

2021

Abstract This paper proposes a general equilibrium oligopoly model in which firm heterogeneity is endogenously reproduced through technology adoption decisions. The model can explain persistent oligopolistic market structures and prices in spite of free entry and market enlargement. Moreover, strong selection might deteriorate average cost efficiency due to strategic interactions. Integrating identical countries can be welfare-improving. But distributional issues and tensions between welfare and scale economies may arise. The theory can be motivated by recent evidence on oligopolistic market structures resisting globalization forces.

Oxidative stress-mediated alterations in histone post-translational modifications

2021

Abstract Epigenetic regulation of gene expression provides a finely tuned response capacity for cells when undergoing environmental changes. However, in the context of human physiology or disease, any cellular imbalance that modulates homeostasis has the potential to trigger molecular changes that result either in physiological adaptation to a new situation or pathological conditions. These effects are partly due to alterations in the functionality of epigenetic regulators, which cause long-term and often heritable changes in cell lineages. As such, free radicals resulting from unbalanced/extended oxidative stress have been proved to act as modulators of epigenetic agents, resulting in alte…

Cold cloud microphysical process rates in a global chemistry–climate model

2021

Microphysical processes in cold clouds which act as sources or sinks of hydrometeors below 0 ∘C control the ice crystal number concentrations (ICNCs) and in turn the cloud radiative effects. Estimating the relative importance of the cold cloud microphysical process rates is of fundamental importance to underpin the development of cloud parameterizations for weather, atmospheric chemistry, and climate models and to compare the output with observations at different temporal resolutions. This study quantifies and investigates the ICNC rates of cold cloud microphysical processes by means of the chemistry–climate model EMAC (ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry) and defines the hierarchy of sources…

Towards a network-based view of effective entrepreneurial ecosystems

2021

AbstractWe conceptualize entrepreneurial ecosystems as fundamentally reliant on networks and explore how and under what conditions inter-organizational networks lead an entrepreneurial ecosystem to form and evolve. It is widely accepted that entrepreneurial ecosystems possess a variety of symbiotic relationships. Research has focused considerable efforts in refining the structure and content of resources found within these networked relationships. However, merely focusing on actor-level characterizations dilutes the notion that social relationships change and are complex. There has been little conceptual treatment of the behavioral and governance factors that underpin how quality interactio…

Upper bounds for the tightness of the $$G_\delta $$-topology

2021

We prove that if X is a regular space with no uncountable free sequences, then the tightness of its $$G_\delta $$ topology is at most the continuum and if X is, in addition, assumed to be Lindelof then its $$G_\delta $$ topology contains no free sequences of length larger then the continuum. We also show that, surprisingly, the higher cardinal generalization of our theorem does not hold, by constructing a regular space with no free sequences of length larger than $$\omega _1$$ , but whose $$G_\delta $$ topology can have arbitrarily large tightness.

Psychometric properties on a romantic love myths scale: The case of the myths, fallacies and erroneous beliefs about the ideal of romantic love scale

2021

Understanding the construct of romantic love is an important task in societies all around the world. However, instruments designed to assess this construct are scarce and most of them were developed more than a decade ago. De la Peña, Ramos, Luzón, and Recio (2011) proposed the Myths, Fallacies and Erroneous Beliefs about the Ideal of Romantic Love Scale. In this current study we provide the psychometric properties of this scale in a representative sample of adolescents. The analytic strategy included both Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. We achieved a best-factor structure using a unidimensional model of romantic beliefs which also had an adequate estimated rel…

Genome-wide association study identifies novel susceptibility loci for KIT D816V positive mastocytosis

2021

Mastocytosis is a rare myeloid neoplasm characterized by uncontrolled expansion of mast cells, driven in >80% of affected individuals by acquisition of the KIT D816V mutation. To explore the hypothesis that inherited variation predisposes to mastocytosis, we performed a two-stage genome-wide association study, analyzing 1,035 individuals with KIT D816V positive disease and 17,960 healthy control individuals from five European populations. After quality control, we tested 592,007 SNPs at stage 1 and 75 SNPs at stage 2 for association by using logistic regression and performed a fixed effects meta-analysis to combine evidence across the two stages. From the meta-analysis, we identified three …

Climate Fiction and its Narratives

2021

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the narratives about a possible environmental collapse and its consequences have multiplied. This is due to a growing awareness about issues such as climate change or the energy crisis. The so-called ‘climate science fiction’ or cli-fi has reflected these concerns in highly successful films, like the two analysed here: The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), a remake of the 1951 classic. In this paper, I approach both films through an analysis of their plot and narrative structure, focusing mainly on the evolution of their main characters and storylines. I argue that these mainstream productions avoid any examination…

Non‐uniform displacement within ruptured Achilles tendon during isometric contraction

2021

The purpose of this study was investigate tendon displacement patterns in non-surgically treated patients 14 months after acute Achilles tendon rupture (ATR) and to classify patients into groups based on their Achilles tendon (AT) displacement patterns. Twenty patients were tested. Sagittal images of AT were acquired using B-mode ultrasonography during ramp contractions at a torque level corresponding to 30% of the maximal isometric plantarflexion torque of the uninjured limb. A speckle tracking algorithm was used to track proximal-distal movement of the tendon tissue at 6 antero-posterior locations. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA for peak tendon displacement was performed. K-means cluster…

Caucasian lean subjects with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease share long-term prognosis of non-lean: Time for reappraisal of BMI-driven approach?

2021

[Objective] The full phenotypic expression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in lean subjects is incompletely characterised. We aimed to investigate prevalence, characteristics and long-term prognosis of Caucasian lean subjects with NAFLD.

Active Akt signaling triggers CLL toward Richter transformation via overactivation of Notch1

2021

Abstract Richter’s transformation (RT) is an aggressive lymphoma that occurs upon progression from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Transformation has been associated with genetic aberrations in the CLL phase involving TP53, CDKN2A, MYC, and NOTCH1; however, a significant proportion of RT cases lack CLL phase–associated events. Here, we report that high levels of AKT phosphorylation occur both in high-risk CLL patients harboring TP53 and NOTCH1 mutations as well as in patients with RT. Genetic overactivation of Akt in the murine Eµ-TCL1 CLL mouse model resulted in CLL transformation to RT with significantly reduced survival and an aggressive lymphoma phenotype. In the absence of recurren…

Meža jāņeglītes pirmais atradums Latvijā

2021

Raksts veltīts Latvijā reti sastapta auga meža jāņeglītes Pedicularis sylvatica atradumiem Latvijas teritorījā, izceļot tās pirmo atradumu, ko 1923. gadā veica latviešu botāniķis Pauls Galenieks (1891 - 1962). Rakstā sniegta informācija par meža jāņeglītes herbārijiem Latvijas Universitātes muzejā.

Retinoblastoma Is Characterized by a Cold, CD8+ Cell Poor, PD-L1- Microenvironment, Which Turns Into Hot, CD8+ Cell Rich, PD-L1+ After Chemotherapy.

2021

Purpose To investigate the impact of chemotherapy (CHT) on human retinoblastoma (RB) tumor microenvironment (TME). Cases and Methods Ninety-four RBs were studied, including 44 primary RBs treated by upfront surgery (Group 1) and 50 primary RBs enucleated after CHT (CHT), either intra-arterial (IAC; Group 2, 33 cases) or systemic (S-CHT; Group 3, 17 cases). Conventional and multiplexed immunohistochemistry were performed to make quantitative comparisons among the three groups, for the following parameters: tumor-infiltrating inflammatory cells (TI-ICs); programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) positive TI-ICs; Ki67 proliferation index; gliosis; PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) protein expression; vessel nu…

1,2,4-Oxadiazole Topsentin Analogs with Antiproliferative Activity against Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Targeting GSK3β Kinase.

2021

A new series of topsentin analogs, in which the central imidazole ring of the natural lead was replaced by a 1,2,4- oxadiazole moiety, was efficiently synthesized. All derivatives were pre-screened for antiproliferative activity against the National Cancer Institute (NCI-60) cell lines panel. The five most potent compounds were further investigated in various pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cell lines, including SUIT-2, Capan-1, and Panc-1 cells, eliciting EC50 values in the micromolar and sub-micromolar range, associated with significant reduction of cell migration. These remarkable results might be explained by the effects of these new topsentin analogues on epithelial-to-mesenchy…

U-Pb dating of middle Eocene-middle Pleistocene multiple tectonic pulses in the Alpine foreland

2021

Foreland fold-and-thrust belts record long-lived tectonic-sedimentary activity, from passive margin sedimentation, flexuring, and further involvement into wedge accretion ahead of an advancing orogen. Therefore, dating fault activity is fundamental for plate movement reconstruction, resource exploration, or earthquake hazard assessment. Here, we report U-Pb ages of syntectonic calcite mineralizations from four thrusts and three tear faults sampled, at the regional scale, across the Jura fold-and-thrust belt in the northwestern Alpine foreland (eastern France). Four regional tectonic phases are recognized in the middle Eocene-middle Pleistocene interval: (1) pre-orogenic faulting at 44.7&thi…

The Positive Spiral Between Problem-Solving Management and Trust: A Study in Organizations for Individuals With Intellectual Disability

2021

To achieve their goals, organizations for individuals with intellectual disability have to stimulate high-quality relationships between professionals and family members. Therefore, achieving professionals’ trust in family members has become a challenge. One relevant factor in explaining professional’s trust in families is the degree to which family members use the “problem-solving” conflict management strategy (high concern for oneself but also for the other party) in their disputes–disagreements with professionals. It is reasonable to argue that when family members use problem-solving conflict management, professionals’ trust increases. Professionals’ trust, in turn, stimulates the use of …

The Relationship Between the Burnout Syndrome Dimensions and Body Mass Index as a Moderator Variable on Obese Managers in the Mexican Maquiladora Ind…

2021

Burnout syndrome (BS) and obesity are two growing conditions that affect employees’ health and company productivity. Recently, several studies have pointed to a possible relationship between both phenomena. However, such a relationship has not been clearly defined. This research analyzes the relationship between BS dimensions and body mass index (BMI), the latter being treated as a moderator variable among obese senior and middle managers in the Mexican maquiladora industry through a structural equation model. A total of 361 senior and middle managers (124 of them classified as obese under the World Health Organization’s criteria) completed both the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey …

Should reduction of increased short‐term blood pressure variability be a target of antihypertensive therapy?

2021

Abstract It has long been known that blood pressure (BP) is characterized by marked short‐term fluctuations occurring within a 24‐h period and also by long‐term oscillations occurring over more prolonged periods of time. An increased short‐term blood pressure variability (BPV) appears to importantly contribute to target organ damage and to the enhanced cardiovascular risk of hypertensive patients, over and above the effect of an increase in mean BP levels. Reducing 24‐h mean BP is the main aim of antihypertensive therapy, but initial data are available that additional cardiovascular protection can be achieved by reducing BPV. However, to definitively prove the prognostic role of short‐term …

First Assessment of Plasticizers in Marine Coastal Litter-Feeder Fauna in the Mediterranean Sea

2021

Micro and nanoplastics are harmful to marine life due to their high level of fragmentation and resistance to degradation. Over the past two decades, marine coastal sediment has shown an increasing amount of microplastics being a sort of trap for debris wastes or chemicals. In such an environment some species may be successful candidates to be used as monitors of environmental and health hazards and can be considered a mirror of threats of natural habitats. Such species play a key role in the food web of littoral systems since they are litter-feeders, and are prey for fishes or higher trophic level species. A preliminary investigation was conducted on five species of small-sized amphipod cru…

Association of Global Longitudinal Strain With Clinical Status and Mortality in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure.

2021

IMPORTANCE: Global longitudinal strain (GLS) is an emerging echocardiographic biomarker of cardiac function in heart failure (HF). Evidence from large-scale studies comprehensively investigating GLS for its association with clinical phenotypes and mortality in asymptomatic and symptomatic chronic HF is limited. OBJECTIVE: To assess the factors associated with GLS and its prognostic value in patients with chronic HF. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The observational, prospective MyoVasc cohort study enrolled 3289 individuals with asymptomatic to symptomatic HF between January 17, 2013, and April 27, 2018. The median follow-up was 3.2 years (interquartile range, 2.0-4.0 years). Participant…

Short-term occupations at high elevation during the Middle Paleolithic at Kalavan 2 (Republic of Armenia).

2021

The Armenian highlands encompasses rugged and environmentally diverse landscapes and is characterized by a mosaic of distinct ecological niches and large temperature gradients. Strong seasonal fluctuations in resource availability along topographic gradients likely prompted Pleistocene hominin groups to adapt by adjusting their mobility strategies. However, the role that elevated landscapes played in hunter-gatherer settlement systems during the Late Pleistocene (Middle Palaeolithic [MP]) remains poorly understood. At 1640 m above sea level, the MP site of Kalavan 2 (Armenia) is ideally positioned for testing hypotheses involving elevation-dependent seasonal mobility and subsistence strateg…

Energetic analysis of succinic acid in water droplets: insight into the size-dependent solubility of atmospheric nanoparticles

2021

<p>Size-dependent solubility is prevalent in atmospheric nanoparticles, but a molecular level understanding is still insufficient, especially for organic compounds. Here, we performed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the size dependence of succinic acid solvation on the scale of ~1-4 nm with the potential of mean forces method. Our analyses reveal that the surface preference of succinic acid is stronger for a droplet than the slab of the same size, and the surface propensity is enhanced due to the curvature effect as the droplet becomes smaller. Energetic analyses show that such surface preference is primarily an enthalpic effect in both systems, while the entropi…

Nonlinear Diffusion in Transparent Media

2021

Abstract We consider a prototypical nonlinear parabolic equation whose flux has three distinguished features: it is nonlinear with respect to both the unknown and its gradient, it is homogeneous, and it depends only on the direction of the gradient. For such equation, we obtain existence and uniqueness of entropy solutions to the Dirichlet problem, the homogeneous Neumann problem, and the Cauchy problem. Qualitative properties of solutions, such as finite speed of propagation and the occurrence of waiting-time phenomena, with sharp bounds, are shown. We also discuss the formation of jump discontinuities both at the boundary of the solutions’ support and in the bulk.

Kandungan Senyawa Fenolik Dan Terpenoid Ekstrak Etilasetat Daun Drimys piperita

2021

Tumbuhan obat Drimys piperita dikenal dengan nama lokal “akway” adalah tumbuhan aromatik yang tumbuh  di wilayah Pegunungan Arfak Papua Barat. Tumbuhan ini memiliki batang yang berwarna coklat kemerahan,  rasa pedas juga memiliki daun yang tebal dan berwarna hijau. Masyarakat lokal yang bermukim di Pegunungan Arfak memanfaatkan akway sebagai tumbuhan untuk pengobatan malaria. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui kandungan senyawa fenolik dan terpenoid ekstrak etilasetat daun akway. Ekstraksi komponen fitokimia daun akway dengan pelarut etilasetat dilakukan menggunakan metode perendaman dengan waktu 3 hari. Fraksinasi senyawa terpenoid ekstrak etilasetat dilakukan menggunakan laruta…

Renal outcomes and blood pressure patterns in diabetic and nondiabetic individuals at high cardiovascular risk

2021

Background Diabetes and hypertension are risk factors for renal and cardiovascular outcomes. Data on the association of achieved blood pressure (BP) with renal outcomes in patients with and without diabetes are sparse. We investigated the association of achieved SBP, DBP with renal outcomes and urinary albumin excretion (UAE) in people with vascular disease. Methods In this pooled analysis, we assessed renal outcome data from high-risk patients aged 55 years or older with a history of cardiovascular disease, 70% of whom had hypertension, randomized to The Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial and to Telmisartan Randomized Assessment Study in ACE In…

Micro-photoluminescence of Carbon Dots Deposited on Twisted Double-Layer Graphene Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

2021

Carbon-based nanomaterials, such as carbon dots (CDs) and graphene (Gr), feature outstanding optical and electronic properties. Hence, their integration in optoelectronic and photonic devices is easier thanks to their low dimensionality and offers the possibility to reach high-quality performances. In this context, the combination of CDs and Gr into new nanocomposite materials CDs/Gr can further improve their optoelectronic properties and eventually create new ones, paving the way for the development of advanced carbon nanotechnology. In this work, we have thoroughly investigated the structural and emission properties of CDs deposited on single-layer and bilayer graphene lying on a SiO2/Si …

An Intracortical Implantable Brain-Computer Interface for Telemetric Real-Time Recording and Manipulation of Neuronal Circuits for Closed-Loop Interv…

2021

Recording and manipulating neuronal ensemble activity is a key requirement in advanced neuromodulatory and behavior studies. Devices capable of both recording and manipulating neuronal activity brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) should ideally operate un-tethered and allow chronic longitudinal manipulations in the freely moving animal. In this study, we designed a new intracortical BCI feasible of telemetric recording and stimulating local gray and white matter of visual neural circuit after irradiation exposure. To increase the translational reliance, we put forward a Göttingen minipig model. The animal was stereotactically irradiated at the level of the visual cortex upon defining the targe…

Bcl-xL as a Modulator of Senescence and Aging

2021

Many features of aging result from the incapacity of cells to adapt to stress conditions. When cells are overwhelmed by stress, they can undergo senescence to avoid unrestricted growth of damaged cells. Recent findings have proven that cellular senescence is more than that. A specific grade of senescence promotes embryo development, tissue remodeling and wound healing. However, constant stresses and a weakening immune system can lead to senescence chronicity with aging. The accumulation of senescent cells is directly related to tissue dysfunction and age-related pathologies. Centenarians, the most aged individuals, should accumulate senescent cells and suffer from their deleterious effects,…

Attitudes of Undergraduate Nursing Students towards Patient Safety: A Quasi-Experimental Study

2021

Improving nursing students’ attitudes towards patient safety is a current and relevant topic. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention based on critical incident and root cause analysis (RCA) techniques regarding attitudes towards patient safety in nursing students. A quasi-experimental before and after study was developed between January 2018 and December 2019 in a sample of 100 nursing students at Universitat Jaume I (Spain). The intervention was developed in two phases. Phase I was at university, where students applied the RCA technique in a real case. Phase II took place during clinical practice. Students used critical incidents to identify a risk sit…