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Many studies have investigated how interpersonal differences between users influence their experience in Virtual Reality (VR) and it is now well recognized that user's subjective experiences and responses to the same VR environment can vary widely. In this study, we focus on player traits, which correspond to users’ preferences for game mechanics, arguing that players react differently when experiencing VR scenarios. We developed three scenarios in the same VR environment that rely on different game mechanics, and evaluate the influence of the scenarios, the player traits and the time of practice of the VR environment on users’ perceived flow. Our results show that 1) the type of scenario has an impact on specific dimensions of flow; 2) the scenarios have different effects on flow depending on the order they are performed, the flow preconditions being stronger when performed at last; 3) almost all dimensions of flow are influenced by the player traits, these influences depending on the scenario, 4) the Aesthetic trait has the most influences in the three scenarios. We finally discuss the findings and limitations of the present study that we believe have strong implications for the design of scenarios in VR experiences.

Antimicrobial surfaces limit the spread of infectious diseases. To date, there is no antimicrobial coating that has widespread use because of short-lived and limited spectrum efficacy, poor resistance to organic material, and/or cost. Here, we present a paint based on waterborne latex particles that is supramolecularly associated with quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs). The optimal supramolecular pairing was first determined by immobilizing selected ions on self-assembled monolayers exposing different groups. The QAC surface loading density was then increased by using polymer brushes. These concepts were adopted to develop inexpensive paints to be applied on many different surfaces. The paint could be employed for healthcare and food production applications. Its slow release of QAC allows for long-lasting antimicrobial action, even in the presence of organic material. Its efficacy lasts for more than 90 washes, and importantly, once lost, it can readily be restored by spraying an aqueous solution of the QAC. We mainly tested cetyltrimethylammonium as QAC as it is already used in consumer care products. Our antimicrobial paint is broad spectrum as it showed excellent antimicrobial efficiency against four bacteria and four viruses.

Quantum computing aims at exploiting quantum phenomena to efficiently perform computations that are unfeasible even for the most powerful classical supercomputers. Among the promising technological approaches, photonic quantum computing offers the advantages of low decoherence, information processing with modest cryogenic requirements, and native integration with classical and quantum networks. So far, quantum computing demonstrations with light have implemented specific tasks with specialized hardware, notably Gaussian boson sampling, which permits the quantum computational advantage to be realized. Here we report a cloud-accessible versatile quantum computing prototype based on single photons. The device comprises a high-efficiency quantum-dot single-photon source feeding a universal linear optical network on a reconfigurable chip for which hardware errors are compensated by a machine-learned transpilation process. Our full software stack allows remote control of the device to perform computations via logic gates or direct photonic operations. For gate-based computation, we benchmark one-, two- and three-qubit gates with state-of-the art fidelities of 99.6 ± 0.1%, 93.8 ± 0.6% and 86 ± 1.2%, respectively. We also implement a variational quantum eigensolver, which we use to calculate the energy levels of the hydrogen molecule with chemical accuracy. For photon native computation, we implement a classifier algorithm using a three-photon-based quantum neural network and report a six-photon boson sampling demonstration on a universal reconfigurable integrated circuit. Finally, we report on a heralded three-photon entanglement generation, a key milestone toward measurement-based quantum computing.

The New York State (NYS) beekeeping industry generated >$11M worth of honey in 2020 and >$300M in pollination services to agriculture annually. Bees are frequently exposed to pesticides through foraging and husbandry practices. Lipophilic pesticides can remain in beeswax for extended periods. We analyzed for pesticides in wax comb samples collected from NYS apiaries at the end of the growing season, comparing residue numbers and concentrations among beekeepers of different operation scales: commercial beekeepers (>300 colonies), sideliners (50–299 colonies), and hobbyists (<50 colonies). We analyzed samples collected from 72 managed honey bee colonies for 92 insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Pesticides were detected in all samples and included 34 fungicides, 33 insecticides, and 22 herbicides. Each wax sample contained 7–35 different residues (x¯ = 17.8 residues). Wax from colonies managed by commercial beekeepers contained the most residues (x¯ = 21.9 residues), hobbyists were second (x¯ = 16.3 residues), and sideliners had the fewest (x¯ = 11.7 residues). Nearly all wax samples (98.6%) contained the pesticide synergist piperonyl butoxide, most samples (86%) contained common varroacides used to control honey bee parasites, including coumaphos and amitraz breakdown products, and 93.1% contained the fungicide difenoconazole. We detected 34 fungicides, 7 of which were found in 50% or more of the samples. We detected 22 herbicides. We found pesticide contamination of beeswax to be common, with commercial beekeepers experiencing the greatest contamination.

Research exploring the specific manifestations of chronic pain (CP) public stigma is scarce. One potential factor influencing public stigma manifestations may be the CP type, that is, the presence (secondary CP) or absence (primary CP) of a clearly identifiable pathophysiology. Furthermore, patient gender may play a key role, whereby pain-related gender stereotypes may evoke distinct gender role expectations towards men and women experiencing CP. The aim of the research was 2-fold. First, by means of an experimental vignette design, the general population’s cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses were investigated, both towards primary versus secondary CP and towards men versus women. Second, a potential interaction was examined between CP type and patient gender. The research is divided into 2 separate samples: individuals with CP (N = 729) and individuals without CP (N = 283). Factorial ANOVA models were estimated with CP type, patient gender, and participant gender included as factors, age as control variable. The findings support, partly, the general hypothesis of higher (perceived) public stigma towards individuals with primary (vs secondary) CP. No main effects of patient gender were observed. Gender bias in stigmatizing manifestations only emerged in certain contextual circumstances (ie, pain type and participant gender). Different interaction effects (with a combination of gender, patient gender, or CP type) were significant for the distinctive outcome variables. Interestingly, throughout the findings, different patterns of results are found in both samples. The study contributes to the literature on CP stigma, as well as the psychometric examination of items assessing stigmatizing manifestations.

ABSTRACTBats can be affected by fungal pathogens such as Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of the white-nose syndrome. Their body surface can also be colonized by fungal commensals or carry transient fungal species and participate in their dispersal. In this study, 114 bat specimens belonging to seven species were sampled from various locations in northern Belgium. Culture-based methods revealed an important mycological diversity, with a total of 209 different taxa out of the 418 isolates. Overall, a mean of 3.7 taxa per bat was recorded, but significant differences were observed between sampling sites and seasons. The mycobiomes were dominated by cosmopolitan and plant-associated species, in particular from the genera Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus. Other species known to be related to bats or their environment, such as Apiotrichum otae, were also retrieved. Sampling of hibernacula indicated that diverse fungal species can inhabit these sites, including a yet undescribed Pseudogymnoascusspecies, distinct from Ps. destructans, namely, Ps. cavicola.

The international study ThromboGenomics has evaluated the diagnostic rate using a targeted multigene panel test for the screening of inherited bleeding, thrombotic and platelet disorders.

The combination of infliximab and immunosuppressant therapy is a standard management strategy for patients with Crohn's disease. Concerns regarding the implications of long-term combination therapy provided the rationale for a formal clinical trial of treatment de-escalation. Our aim was to compare the relapse rate and the time spent in remission over 2 years between patients continuing combination therapy and those stopping infliximab or immunosuppressant therapy.

BackgroundSpliceogenic variants in disease-causing genes are often presumed pathogenic since most induce frameshifts resulting in loss of function. However, it was recently shown in cancer predisposition genes that some may trigger in-frame anomalies that preserve function. Here, we addressed this question by using MSH2, a DNA mismatch repair gene implicated in Lynch syndrome, as a model system.MethodsEighteen MSH2variants, mostly localised within canonical splice sites, were analysed by using minigene splicing assays. The impact of the resulting protein alterations was assessed in a methylation tolerance-based assay. Clinicopathological characteristics of variant carriers were collected.ResultsThree in-frame RNA biotypes were identified based on variant-induced spliceogenic outcomes: exon skipping (E3, E4, E5 and E12), segmental exonic deletions (E7 and E15) and intronic retentions (I3, I6, I12 and I13). The 10 corresponding protein isoforms exhibit either large deletions (49–93 amino acids (aa)), small deletions (12 or 16 aa) or insertions (3–10 aa) within different functional domains. We showed that all these modifications abrogate MSH2 function, in agreement with the clinicopathological features of variant carriers.ConclusionAltogether, these data demonstrate that MSH2 function is intolerant to in-frame indels caused by the spliceogenic variants analysed in this study, supporting their pathogenic nature. This work stresses the importance of combining complementary RNA and protein approaches to ensure accurate clinical interpretation of in-frame spliceogenic variants.

Most soils in the Lubumbashi region are acidic (pH 4 to 6) and poor in available phosphorus. The production of crops such as common beans requires large amounts of chemical fertilizers, generally up to 200 kg ha−1of NPK10-20-10 compound fertilizer, recommended for good production, but which are not affordable for most of smallholder farmers. More over the pH range is not optimal for fertilizer efficiency. Under this circumstances fertilizers use efficiency can be made effective by arbuscular mycorrhizae (AMF) even when applied at low doses. In this study, four types of AMF inoculum (Acaulospora, Gigaspora, Glomusand Acaulospora-Gigaspora-Glomus) and an uninoculated control were selected and combined with two levels of NPK10-20-10 application, by bringing a quantity of products of 100 kg ha−1, 200 kg ha−1and unfertilized plot as control. Application of NPK 200 kg ha−1reduced colonization frequency and AMF spore density with 28.5 to 41.8%, respectively. Plants that received 200 kg NPK ha−1associated to Acaulospora-Gigaspora-Glomuswere less sensitive to bean fly than others. Application of 200 kg NPK ha−1as well as inoculation with Acaulospora-Gigaspora-Glomusor association of mycorrhiza with NPK fertilizers offered the similar number of pods per plant (8 to 10). Treatment with low doses of NPK (100 Kg NPK ha−1) combined with Acaulospora-Gigaspora-Glomusinoculum yielded well (15%) compared to the control and reduces the quantity of chemical fertilizers to be applied. NPK alone or inoculation with Acaulospora-Gigaspora-GlomusAMF inoculum improved bean yield by 12%.

Population control of the house mouse (Mus musculus), Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) and black rat (Rattus rattus) is common practice worldwide. Our objective was to assess the impact on animal welfare of lethal and non-lethal control methods, including three dispatch methods. We used the Sharp and Saunders welfare assessment model with eight experts scoring eleven control methods and three dispatch methods used on the three species. We presumed the methods were performed as prescribed, only taking into account the effect on the target animal (and not, for example, on non-target catches). We did not assess population control efficacy of the methods. Methods considered to induce the least suffering to the target animal were captivebolt traps, electrocution traps and cervical dislocation, while those with the greatest impact were anticoagulants, cholecalciferol and deprivation. Experts indicated considerable uncertainty regarding their evaluation of certain methods, which emphasises the need for further scientific research. In particular, the impact of hydrogen cyanide, chloralose and aluminium phosphide on animal welfare ought to be investigated. The experts also stressed the need to improve Standard Operating Procedures and to incorporate animal welfare assessments in Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The results of our study can help laypeople, professionals, regulatory agencies and legislators making well-informed decisions as to which methods to use when controlling commensal rodents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After situating Andreas Reckwitz’s The Society of Singularitieswithin the broader context of the tradition of social theory, we discuss in detail the obvious strengths of this book, notably its impressive range and originality. Subsequently, we elaborate on two limitations of Reckwitz’s argument. Firstly, we argue that Reckwitz’s use of categories such as ‘singularity’ and ‘universality’ is too all-embracing, lacking the clarity and focus needed to sustain a productive line of inquiry. Secondly, and related to the previous point, we contend that Reckwitz’s claims about the recent trend towards increasing singularity are so broad that they are difficult to refute empirically. Further, we discuss briefly contemporary political developments to demonstrate why the core societal issues at stake cannot be explained through all-inclusive categories such as singularity. Finally, we maintain that existence theory can provide an alternative fruitful perspective on some of the phenomena discussed in this book.

The well-being and functioning of individuals with chronic pain (CP) vary significantly. Social factors, such as social integration, may help explain this differential impact. Specifically, structural (network size, density) as well as functional (perceived social support, conflict) social network characteristics may play a role. However, it is not yet clear whether and how these variables are associated with each other. Objectives were to examine 1) both social network characteristics in individuals with primary and secondary CP, 2) the association between structural network characteristics and mental distress and functioning/participation in daily life, and 3) whether the network’s functionality mediated the association between structural network characteristics and mental distress, respectively, functioning/participation in daily life. Using an online ego-centered social network tool, cross-sectional data were collected from 303 individuals with CP (81.85% women). No significant differences between individuals with fibromyalgia versus secondary CP were found regarding network size and density. In contrast, ANCOVA models showed lower levels of perceived social support and higher levels of conflict in primary (vs secondary) CP. Structural equation models showed that 1) larger network size indirectly predicted lower mental distress via lower levels of conflict; 2) higher network density increased mental distress via the increase of conflict levels. Network size or density did not (in)directly predict functioning/participation in daily life. The findings highlight that the role of conflict, in addition to support, should not be underestimated as a mediator for mental well-being. Research on explanatory mechanisms for associations between the network’s structure, functionality, and well-being is warranted.

Objectives The current study investigated the role of maternal child- and self-oriented injustice appraisals about child pain in understanding maternal attention for child pain and adult anger cues and pain-attending behavior.Methods Forty-four children underwent a painful cold pressor task (CPT) while their mother observed. Eye tracking was used to measure maternal attention to child pain and adult anger cues. Initial attention allocation and attentional maintenance were indexed by probability of first fixation and gaze duration, respectively. Maternal pain-attending behaviors toward the child were videotaped and coded after CPT completion. Mothers also rated the intensity of pain and anger cues used in the free-viewing tasks. All analyses controlled for maternal catastrophizing about child pain.Results Neither child-oriented nor self-oriented injustice was associated with maternal attentional bias toward child pain. Regarding attention toward self-relevant anger cues, differential associations were observed for self- and child-oriented injustice appraisals, with maternal self-oriented injustice being associated with a greater probability of first fixating on anger and with higher anger ratings, whereas maternal child-oriented injustice was associated with enhanced attentional maintenance toward anger. Neither type of maternal injustice appraisals was associated with maternal pain-attending behavior, which was only associated with maternal catastrophizing.Conclusions The current study sheds light on potential differential mechanisms through which maternal self- vs. child-oriented injustice appraisals may exert their impact on parent and child pain-related outcomes. Theoretical implications and future directions are discussed.

Risankizumab, an interleukin (IL)-23 p19 inhibitor, was evaluated for safety and efficacy as induction therapy in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease.

There is a great unmet need for new therapeutics with novel mechanisms of action for patients with Crohn's disease. The ADVANCE and MOTIVATE studies showed that intravenous risankizumab, a selective p19 anti-interleukin (IL)-23 antibody, was efficacious and well tolerated as induction therapy. Here, we report the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous risankizumab as maintenance therapy.

ABSTRACTObjectivesData on Helicobacter pylori(HP) resistance in Belgium are largely based on the patient population of Brussels and Wallonia. Notably Brussels harbours a large proportion of patients with a migration background which might not be representative for other parts of the country.MethodsAn observational cross-sectional study was performed in the province of West Flanders, Belgium for collecting gastric biopsies to examine the resistance of HP. The study population consisted of patients who underwent a gastroduodenoscopy for any medically indicated purpose. Rapid urease testing (RUT) was performed on all biopsies and cultures were only started if the RUT showed positive.Results512 patients participated of whom 495 were eligible for analysis: 438 in first line testing and 57 in second line. The growth of HP was successful in 88.9% (n = 88/99) of which 52.3% (n = 46/88) resulted in an antibiogram. The resistance rate in first line was based on 37 succeeded antibiograms and showed 13.5% resistance for clarithromycin (95% confidence interval; 2.5% to 24.5%); 29.7% for metronidazole; 29.7% for levofloxacin; 11.4% for rifampicin; 2.7% for amoxicillin and 0% for tetracycline.ConclusionThe primary clarithromycin resistance rate of HP could still be slightly under 15% in West Flanders, Belgium. This might implicate a clarithromycin-based triple therapy is an option for first line empiric eradication in this region according to the Maastricht V/Florence consensus although conclusions must be interpreted with caution due to the rather small sample size. Further testing in Flanders is recommended to confirm these results.

Soil fertility in the Lubumbashi region often proves to be limiting factor for crop production due to their low nutrient reserves. The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of arbuscular mycorrhizae on phosphorus uptake by maize on Ferralsol. The trial was conducted in pots with 30 kg or 60 kg of P2O5ha−1and a control. These three levels of phosphorus were combined or not with arbuscular mycorrhizae. The combinations of 30 kg or 60 kg of phosphorus with the inoculum led to a male flowering of maize at 63 days after semi. Maize treated with 60 kg of phosphorus ha−1formed very few or almost no blisters in the roots. Cob weight, length, diameter, number of rows and kernel weight varied significantly with phosphorus on both inoculated and uninoculated pots. The inoculated plants had high averages for these yield parameters. Due to the lack of phosphate fertilizer, inoculum alone can be an alternative to phosphorus provided that nitrogen and potassium are added, resulting in small but seed-filled ears compared to the phosphorus-free control without mycorrhizae, which resulted in empty ears. Yield varied significantly with the addition of phosphorus (0.3 to 6.1 tons ha−1) and less significantly with inoculum (3 to 3.7 t ha−1). The combination of treatments showed a significant difference in favour of the 60 kg of phosphorus or 60 kg of phosphorus associated with the inoculum. The highest phosphorus content was obtained on the inoculum treatment alone, which provided 1.4 mg phosphorus g−1maize compared to other treatments, which provided 0.69 to 0.71 mg phosphorus g−1maize.

Etrolizumab is a gut-targeted, anti-β7 integrin, monoclonal antibody. In an earlier phase 2 induction study, etrolizumab significantly improved clinical remission compared with placebo in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of etrolizumab in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis who had been previously treated with anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents.

France and Canada prehospital systems and care delivery in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) show substantial differences. This article aims to describe the rationale, design, implementation and expected research implications of the international, population-based, France-Canada registry for OHCAs, namely ReACanROC, which is built from the merging of two nation-wide, population-based, Utstein-style prospectively implemented registries for OHCAs attended to by emergency medical services. Under the supervision of an international steering committee and research network, the ReACanROC dataset will be used to run in-depth analyses on the differences in organisational, practical and geographic predictors of survival after OHCA between France and Canada. ReACanROC is the first Europe-North America registry ever created to meet this goal. To date, it covers close to 80 million people over the two countries, and includes approximately 200 000 cases over a 10-year period.

BackgroundSince 2005, the international guidelines for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) use puberty to differentiate paediatric and adult care. This threshold is mainly relied on the more frequent respiratory aetiologies in children. Hitherto, to the best of our knowledge, no study has compared the characteristics and outcomes of non-pubescent children, adolescents and adult patients with OHCA. In this study, we intended to describe the characteristics, outcome and factors associated with survival of patients who experienced OHCA in the three groups: children, adolescents (pubescent<18 years) and adults (<65 years), to assess the pertinence of the guidelines.MethodsData from the French national cardiac arrest registry (2012–2017) were used in this nationwide observational study. Victims of OHCA who were <65 years old were included. The characteristics and outcomes of children and adolescents, and adolescents and adults were compared. Logistic regression was performed in each group to identify factors associated with survival at day 30.ResultsWe included 934 children, 433 adolescents and 26 952 adults. Respiratory aetiology was more frequent and shockable rhythm less frequent in children compared with adolescents (25.5% vs 17.2%, p=0.025 and 2.4% vs 6.8%, p<0.001, respectively). However, these differences were not observed between adolescents and adults (17.2% vs 14.1%, p=0.266 and 6.8% vs 10%, p=0.055, respectively). Between children and adolescents, and adolescents and adults, there was no significant difference in survival at day 30 (8.6%vs 9.8% and 9.8% vs 8.5%, respectively). For all groups, shockable initial rhythm was a factor of survival.ConclusionFrequency of respiratory aetiologies and shockable rhythm were common in adolescents and adults and different between children and adolescents. These results indicate that puberty as a threshold in international guidelines seems to be relevant.

Colloidal Cu–Ag nanocrystals measuring less than 10 nm across are promising candidates for integration in hybrid CO2reduction reaction (CO2RR) interfaces, especially in the context of tandem catalysis and selective multicarbon (C2–C3) product formation. In this work, we vary the synthetic-ligand/copper molar ratio from 0.1 to 1.0 and the silver/copper atomic ratio from 0 to 0.7 and study the variations in the nanocrystals’ size distribution, morphology and reactivity at rates of ≥100 mA cm–2in a gas-fed recycle electrolyzer operating under neutral to mildly basic conditions (0.1–1.0 M KHCO3). High-resolution electron microscopy and spectroscopy are used in order to characterize the morphology of sub-10 nm Cu–Ag nanodimers and core–shells and to elucidate trends in Ag coverage and surface composition. It is shown that Cu–Ag nanocrystals can be densely dispersed onto a carbon black support without the need for immediate ligand removal or binder addition, which considerably facilitates their application. Although CO2RR product distribution remains an intricate function of time, (kinetic) overpotential and processing conditions, we nevertheless conclude that the ratio of oxygenates to hydrocarbons (which depends primarily on the initial dispersion of the nanocrystals and their composition) rises 3-fold at moderate Ag atom % relative to Cu NCs-based electrodes. Finally, the merits of this particular Cu–Ag/C system and the recycling reactor employed are utilized to obtain maximum C2–C3partial current densities of 92–140 mA cm–2at −1.15 VRHEand liquid product concentrations in excess of 0.05 wt % in 1 M KHCO3after short electrolysis periods.