showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Lake browning impacts community structure and essential fatty acid content of littoral invertebrates in boreal lakes
2021
AbstractMany lakes in the northern hemisphere are browning due to increasing concentrations of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The consequences of lake browning to littoral invertebrates, however, are not fully understood. We analyzed community structure and fatty acid (FA) profiles of littoral invertebrates in humic (DOC-rich) and clear-water lakes in Eastern Finland. We found higher abundance of chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae) in humic compared to clear-water lakes, whereas stoneflies (Plecoptera) and mayflies (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) were more abundant in clear-water lakes. Taxon explained 65% of the differences in the FA composition of littoral invertebrates. However, t…
Apathy in Parkinson's Disease: A Retrospective Study of Its Prevalence and Relationship With Mood, Anxiety, and Cognitive Function.
2021
Apathy is thought to be an important clinical feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, its prevalence ranges greatly across studies because of differing definitions, assessment tools, and patient inclusion criteria. Furthermore, it remains unclear how the presentation of apathy in PD is related to mood disorder and/or cognitive impairment. This study sought to examine the prevalence of a pure apathy syndrome in PD, distinct from both depression and anxiety, and reveal its associated cognitive profile. A retrospective study was performed on 177 PD patients who had completed measures of apathy [Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES)] and mood functioning [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HA…
Control of end-of-life oxygen-containing groups accumulation in biopolyesters through introduction of crosslinked polysaccharide particles
2021
The formulation of bio-based materials with good performance in service and controlled end-of-life is imperative for an effective circular economy. In this work, an innovative approach to induce and control the end-of-life of biodegradable polyesters through introduction of crosslinked polysaccharide particles is proposed. Chitosan (Ch) has been subjected to ionotropically crosslinking and then added to polylactic acid (PLA) at different amounts (1.0–4.0%w) by melt mixing. All obtained results suggest that the addition of crosslinked Ch (cCh) particles does not modify significantly the investigated biopolyester properties. Specifically, the thermal analysis of the composites reveals that th…
Multivariate Assessment of Procedures for Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Synthesis for Pesticides Determination in Environmental and Agricultural Samp…
2021
In the case of quantitative and qualitative analysis of pesticides in environmental and food samples, it is required to perform a sample pre-treatment process. It allows to minimalize the impact of interferences on the final results, as well as increase the recovery rate. Nowadays, apart from routinely employed sample preparation techniques such as solid-phase extraction (SPE) or solid-phase microextraction (SPME), the application of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) is gaining greater popularity. It is mainly related to their physicochemical properties, sorption capacity and selectivity, thermo-mechanical resistance, as well as a wide range of polymerization techniques allowing to obta…
Performance Evaluation of EEG Based Mental Stress Assessment Approaches for Wearable Devices
2021
Mental stress has been identified as the root cause of various physical and psychological disorders. Therefore, it is crucial to conduct timely diagnosis and assessment considering the severe effects of mental stress. In contrast to other health-related wearable devices, wearable or portable devices for stress assessment have not been developed yet. A major requirement for the development of such a device is a time-efficient algorithm. This study investigates the performance of computer-aided approaches for mental stress assessment. Machine learning (ML) approaches are compared in terms of the time required for feature extraction and classification. After conducting tests on data for real-t…
Ultrasonography features of the intrinsic foot muscles in patients with and without plantar fasciitis: A novel case-control research study
2021
IntroductionPlantar fasciitis (PF) is the most common cause of heel pain.(1) This condition was described as a degenerative syndrome associated with pain, lack of functionality and stiffness on the plantar fascia. The aim of the present study was to compare with ultrasound imaging (USI) the thickness and cross-sectional area of the intrinsic foot muscles between individuals with and without plantar fasciitis (PF).Material and methodsA total of 64 volunteers from 18 to 55 years were recruited for the present study. The sample was divided in two groups: A group, composed of participants diagnosed by PF (n = 32) and B group, composed by healthy participants (n = 32).ResultsUSI measurements for…
A 28.3 THz Plasmonic Graphene Arrow-bowtie Nanoantenna for Energy Harvesting
2021
In this paper, the design of a 28.3 aor1 THz graphene arrow bowtie nanoantenna for IR energy harvesting applications astr is presented. A sensitivity analysis of the resonance frequency in terms of geometric parameters acty number of graphene sheets acny doping, and thickness of the substrate is reported. The simulations are carried out using the CST 2020 3D simulator.
Hunting active Brownian particles: Learning optimal behavior
2021
We numerically study active Brownian particles that can respond to environmental cues through a small set of actions (switching their motility and turning left or right with respect to some direction) which are motivated by recent experiments with colloidal self-propelled Janus particles. We employ reinforcement learning to find optimal mappings between the state of particles and these actions. Specifically, we first consider a predator-prey situation in which prey particles try to avoid a predator. Using as reward the squared distance from the predator, we discuss the merits of three state-action sets and show that turning away from the predator is the most successful strategy. We then rem…
Measuring Intraoperative Oesophageal Anastomotic Tension With a Knot-Pusher–Mounted Dynamometer Is Not Quite Ready for Take-Off
2021
Exploring the diversity of the human blood virome
2021
This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus Bioinformatics 2022.
Unintended Effects of Energy Efficiency Policy: Lessons Learned in the Residential Sector
2021
The European Union has set an ambitious goal to tackle climate change, and energy efficiency in the residential sector is among the measures required to close the gap between targeted and actual greenhouse gas emissions. While different policy tools have been applied, the diffusion rate of these measures remains low. A system dynamics simulation model of the residential sector was developed to assess the advantages and drawbacks of energy efficiency policy in the multi-family building sector based on experience accumulated over the last twelve years in Latvia. The model was validated in expert group model building sessions and with historical trends. Simulating the model, a hypothesis was t…
Impact of adolescent methamphetamine use on social cognition: A human-mice reverse translation study.
2021
Background: Methamphetamine dependence is associated with social cognition deficits that may underpin negative social outcomes. However, there are considerable inter-individual differences in social cognition within people with methamphetamine dependence, with age of onset of methamphetamine use being a potential contributing factor. Materials and methods: We conducted two sequential studies examining the link between age of onset of methamphetamine use (adolescence versus young adulthood) and performance in social cognition tests: (1) a human cross-sectional study in 95 participants with methamphetamine dependence varying in age of onset (38 with adolescent onset and 57 with adult onset) a…
Associations of Sleep Quality, Anxiety, and Depression with Cognitive and Executive Functions among Community-Dwelling Women Aged 65 ≥ Years: A Cross…
2021
Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the associations of sleep quality, anxiety, and depression with cognitive performance, executive functions, and verbal fluency among women aged ≥ 65 years. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 241 women (72.52 ± 3.93 years). Cognitive performance (Mini-Mental State Examination) and impairment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment), verbal fluency (Isaacs test) and executive function (Trail Making Test), Sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep quality Index) and anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) were determined. Results: The linear regression analysis indicated that anxiety, depression and age, were related to…
The road to equitable healthcare: A conceptual model developed from a qualitative study of Syrian refugees in Norway
2021
Background Refugees in high-income countries face barriers to healthcare access even when they have the same rights and entitlements as the host population. Disadvantages in healthcare access contribute to differences in health outcomes and impact acculturation. This study explores perceived changes in health status and experiences with the Norwegian healthcare system of Syrian refugees living in Norway, using a trajectory perspective. Methods We conducted 15 semi-structured interviews in April 2020 among purposefully recruited adult refugees from Syria resettled in Norway. Interviews were carried out in Arabic and analysed with Systematic Text Condensation using NVivo software. We used Lév…
Identification of an Immunogenic Medulloblastoma-Specific Fusion Involving EPC2 and GULP1
2021
Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Immunotherapy is yet to demonstrate dramatic results in medulloblastoma, one reason being the low rate of mutations creating new antigens in this entity. In tumors with low mutational burden, gene fusions may represent a source of tumor-specific neoantigens. Here, we reviewed the landscape of fusions in medulloblastoma and analyzed their predicted immunogenicity. Furthermore, we described a new in-frame fusion protein identified by RNA-Seq. The fusion involved two genes on chromosome 2 coding for the enhancer of polycomb homolog 2 (EPC2) and GULP PTB domain containing engulfment adaptor 1 (GULP1) respectively. By qRT-PCR …
Comment travailler sur la vie privée des personnages publics ? Droits des enquêtés, éthique de l’enquêteur, pratiques et nécessités de l’enquête
2021
International audience
Assessing Non-Photosynthetic Cropland Biomass from Spaceborne Hyperspectral Imagery
2021
Non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) biomass has been identified as a priority variable for upcoming spaceborne imaging spectroscopy missions, calling for a quantitative estimation of lignocellulosic plant material as opposed to the sole indication of surface coverage. Therefore, we propose a hybrid model for the retrieval of non-photosynthetic cropland biomass. The workflow included coupling the leaf optical model PROSPECT-PRO with the canopy reflectance model 4SAIL, which allowed us to simulate NPV biomass from carbon-based constituents (CBC) and leaf area index (LAI). PROSAIL-PRO provided a training database for a Gaussian process regression (GPR) algorithm, simulating a wide range of non…
Pedobarography: A Review on Methods and Practical Use in Foot Disorders
2021
Pedobarographic examination is a non-invasive method that enables the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of plantar pressure distribution, notably the plantar pressure distribution, referring to the function of the entire musculoskeletal system. This is a scoping review that aims to update knowledge on the practical use of pedobarography in foot disorders. We also attempted to systematize the methodological principles of conducting the pedobarographic examination. We searched Medline/PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for the articles on the methodology of pedobarography. The search encompassed clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, …
Proximal-sensing-powered modelling of energy-water fluxes in a vineyard: A spatial resolution analysis
2021
Spatial resolution is a key parameter in energy–water surface flux modelling. In this research, scale effects are analyzed on fluxes modelled with the FEST-EWB model, by upscaling both its inputs and outputs separately. The main questions are: (a) if high-resolution remote sensing images are necessary to accurately model a heterogeneous area; and (b) whether and to what extent low-resolution modelling provides worse/better results than the upscaled results of high-resolution modelling. The study area is an experimental vineyard field where proximal sensing images were obtained by an airborne platform and verification fluxes were measured via a flux tower. Modelled fluxes are in line with th…
Les savoirs scolaires à l’épreuve des contrôles de l’instruction dans la famille
2021
En raison de la crise sanitaire, ce travail qui devait être présenté lors d' une table ronde, s'est transformé en une présentation accessible sur le blog : https://curriculum.hypotheses.org/482; Table ronde, qui a été transformée, en raison du confinement, en blog avec documents à télécharger; International audience; Dans leur activité de contrôle de l’instruction dans la famille, les inspecteurs révèlent-ils des conceptions différentes des savoirs à enseigner ? Comment ces différences peuvent-elles s’expliquer ? Que révèlent-elles … Continuer la lecture de Les savoirs scolaires à l’épreuve des contrôles de l’instruction dans la famille
Pupils' psychosocial skills in primary education : analysis of their relationship with teaching practices and pupil achievement
2021
The explanation of the differences in success between pupils in primary schools has already mobilized a great deal of research in the field of education. In this thesis, we explore the development of six psychosocial skills (WHO, 1994): cooperation, empathy, self-control, anxiety, self-esteem and internality. Given the prevalence of the effect of teaching practices on the student's educational pathway (Bressoux, 1994, 2001; Hanushek, 2002, 2014), we hypothesized that (1) the interactional profile of primary school teachers was related to the level of development of psychosocial competencies, and (2) the level of development of psychosocial competencies in relation to the teachers' profile h…
Rare Tumors in Children and Adolescents - the STEP Working Group's Evolution to a Prospective Registry.
2021
Background Very rare tumors (VRT) in children and adolescents have such a low incidence that until recently, they have not been integrated into the clinical and scientific network of pediatric oncology. Data is very limited and consistent treatment strategies are missing. Thus, VRTs are classic orphan diseases. To counteract this problem, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Seltene Tumorerkrankungen in der Pädiatrie (STEP) was founded. Here we report on patient recruitment during the first 10 years. Patients Patients aged up to 18 years and not included in any other clinical trial or GPOH registry were included in this analysis. Methods Data was collected from 2008 to 2018 by means of a standardize…
Collaborative Musical Creativity between Students and Adults: The Sonorous Paella
2021
While creativity is a key element of contemporary curriculum frameworks around the world, it is still insufficiently fostered in formal education settings. This study analyzes a project for collaborative musical creativity, entitled The Sonorous Paella. Participants (N = 12) were eight Year 4 secondary students, two professional musicians, an artist-in-residence, and a music teacher. Drawing on a graphic musical score, the participants worked together for 1.5 months to produce a group composition and performance. They were provided with various sound producers (instruments, everyday objects, technological devices) and were encouraged to flexibly utilize the physical space to maximize collab…
Corticospinal and intracortical excitability is modulated in the knee extensors after acute strength training.
2021
The corticospinal responses to high-intensity and low-intensity strength-training of the upper limb are modulated in an intensity-dependent manner. Whether an intensity-dependent threshold occurs following acute strength training of the knee extensors (KE) remains unclear. We assessed the corticospinal responses following high-intensity (85% of maximal strength) or low-intensity (30% of maximal strength) KE strength-training with measures taken during an isometric KE task at baseline, post-5, 30 and 60-min. Twenty-eight volunteers (23 ± 3 years) were randomized to high-intensity (n = 11), low-intensity (n = 10) or to a control group (n = 7). Corticospinal responses were evoked with transcra…
Composite Hydrogels of Alkyl Functionalized Gellan Gum Derivative and Hydroxyapatite/Tricalcium Phosphate Nanoparticles as Injectable Scaffolds for b…
2021
An alkyl functionalized gellan gum derivative was here used to produce hydrogels containing hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate nanoparticles as injectable nanostructured scaffolds for bone regeneration. The amphiphilic nature of the polysaccharide derivative along with its thermotropic behavior and ionotropic crosslinking features made possible to produce injectable bone mimetic scaffolds that can be used to release viable cells and osteoinductive biomolecules. The influence of different nanoparticles concentration on the rheological and physicochemical properties of the injectable systems was studied. We found that the presence of inorganic nanoparticles reinforces the three-dimension…
“At the Western Palace”: The Dehumanization of Whiteness, Americanness, and Chinese-Americanness in Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior
2021
The dehumanization of whiteness in Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior (1976) inheres in the overarching ghosthood metaphor. While first generation Chinese American immigrants in The Woman Warrior attribute the power of transforming people into ghosts to the United States of America as a country, the questioning of a person’s humanity by calling them a “ghost” is not reserved for white people alone. Chinese American immigrants also run the risk of losing their humanity and becoming ghosts if they renounce their relatives and their heritage. The husband of the first-person narrator’s Chinese aunt, Moon Orchid, is an example of a Chinese American man, who turns into a ghost on account of…
One-step electrodeposition of superhydrophobic coating on 316L stainless steel
2021
Superhydrophobic coatings were fabricated through a one-step electrochemical process onto the surface of 316L stainless steel samples. The presence of hierarchical structures at micro/nanoscale and manganese stearate into the coatings gave superhydrophobicity to the coating, with contact angle of ~160°, and self-cleaning ability. Corrosion resistance of 316L samples was also assessed also after the electrodeposition process through Electrochemical Impedance Spectra recorded in an aqueous solution mimicking seawater condition.
Weekly cisplatin with or without imatinib in advanced chordoma: A retrospective case-series analysis from the Italian Rare Cancers Network
2021
Background: To report on a retrospective case-series analysis of weekly cisplatin (wCDDP) as a single agent or combined with imatinib (wCDDP/I) in patients with advanced chordoma treated within the Italian Rare Cancer Network. Methods: Adult patients with a diagnosis of advanced, brachyury-positive chordoma, treated from April 2007 to October 2020 with wCDDP or wCDDP/I were retrospectively identified. Imatinib was withheld at the same time as wCDDP. Response according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed. Results: Thirty-three consecutive patients were identified (wCDDP as front-line n = 8 [24.2%]; wCDDP as…
A multiscale X-ray phase-contrast tomography dataset of whole human left lung
2021
ABSTRACTTechnological advancements in X-ray imaging using bright and coherent synchrotron sources now allows to decouple sample size and resolution, while maintaining high sensitivity to the microstructure of soft, partially dehydrated tissues. The recently developed imaging technique, hierarchical phase-contrast tomography, is a comprehensive approach to address the challenge of organ-scale (up to tens of centimeters) soft tissue imaging with resolution and sensitivity down to the cellular level. Using this technique, we imaged ex vivo an entire human left lung at an isotropic voxel size of 25.08 μm along with local zooms down to 6.05 - 6.5 μm and 2.45 - 2.5 μm in voxel size. The high tiss…
Long-Term Hydrological Regime Monitoring of a Mediterranean Agro-Ecological Wetland Using Landsat Imagery: Correlation with the Water Renewal Rate of…
2021
The Natural Park of Albufera (Valencia, Spain) is one of the Spanish Mediterranean wetlands where rice is cultivated intensively. The hydrology of the Albufera Lake, located in the center, combines natural contributions with complex human management. The aim of our study was to develop a new methodology to accurately detect the volume of flood water in complex natural environments which experience significant seasonal changes due to climate and agriculture. The study included 132 Landsat images, covering a 15-year period. The algorithm was adjusted using the NDWI index and simultaneous measurements of water levels in the rice fields. The NDVI index was applied to monitor the cultivated area…
Dose-Adjusted Etoposide, Doxorubicin, and Cyclophosphamide With Vincristine and Prednisone Plus Rituximab Therapy in Children and Adolescents With Pr…
2021
PURPOSE A dose-adjusted etoposide, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide with vincristine and prednisone plus rituximab (DA-EPOCH-R) regimen has been shown to deliver excellent survival for adults with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMLBL) without the use of radiotherapy. No international prospective evaluation of this regimen has previously been reported in children and adolescents. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted an international single-arm phase II trial involving patients younger than age 18 years with PMLBL who were to receive six courses of DA-EPOCH-R. The primary end point was event-free survival (EFS). Overall survival and toxicity were also assessed. This trial was regist…
Synthesis, X-ray Structure, Conformational Analysis, and DFT Studies of a Giant s-Triazine bis-Schiff Base
2021
The current work involves the synthesis of 2,2′-(6-(piperidin-1-yl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diyl)bis(hydrazin-2-yl-1-ylidene))bis(methanylylidene))diphenol 4, characterization, and the DFT studies of the reported compound. The crystal unit cell parameters of 4 are a = 8.1139(2) Å, b = 11.2637(2) Å, c = 45.7836(8) Å. The unit cell volume is 4184.28(15) Å3 and Z = 4. It crystallized in the orthorhombic crystal system and Pbca space group. The O…H, N…H, C…H, H…H and C…C intermolecular contacts which affect the crystal stability were quantitatively analyzed using Hirshfeld calculations. Their percentages were calculated to be 9.8, 15.8, 23.7, 46.4, and 1.6% from the whole contacts occurred in the cr…
Impact of physical activity on response to stress in people aged 65 and over during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
2021
Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the lives of many people. In particular, restrictions of physical activity (PA) due to pandemic-related lockdown have impacted their psychological status. The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between PA habits, before the pandemic and during the lockdown, and responses to stress due to home isolation during the lockdown, in older people. Methods: To this aim, an online survey addressed to people aged 65 years and over was conducted during the first pandemic wave in Italy (Study 1). To explore the effect of PA restrictions on responses to stress over time, the survey was replicated during the second…
Reflexions on Mahler: Dessins, Modularity and Gauge Theories
2021
We provide a unified framework of Mahler measure, dessins d'enfants, and gauge theory. With certain physically motivated Newton polynomials from reflexive polygons, the Mahler measure and the dessin are in one-to-one correspondence. From the Mahler measure, one can construct a Hauptmodul for a congruence subgroup of the modular group, which contains the subgroup associated to the dessin. In brane tilings and quiver gauge theories, the modular Mahler flow gives a natural resolution of the inequivalence amongst the three different complex structures $\tau_{R,G,B}$. We also study how, in F-theory, 7-branes and their monodromies arise in the context of dessins. Moreover, we give a dictionary on…
Rising temperature modulates pH niches of fen species
2021
Rising temperatures may endanger fragile ecosystems because their character and key species show different habitat affinities under different climates. This assumption has only been tested in limited geographical scales. In fens, one of the most endangered ecosystems in Europe, broader pH niches have been reported from cold areas and are expected for colder past periods. We used the largest European-scale vegetation database from fens to test the hypothesis that pH interacts with macroclimate temperature in forming realized niches of fen moss and vascular plant species. We calibrated the data set (29,885 plots after heterogeneity-constrained resampling) with temperature, using two macroclim…