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CuInSe2 nanocrystals offer promise for optoelectronics including thin-film photovoltaics and printed electronics. Additive manufacturing methods such as photonic curing controllably sinter particle...

El cáncer es una enfermedad compleja en el cual se han utilizado numerosos tratamientos. El mayor avance en tratamiento ha sido el uso de inhibidores de puntos de control, disminuyendo la carga tumoral. La esperanza de vida de los pacientes con cáncer ha aumentado. Sin embargo, se mantiene la alta incidencia de tumores en la población longeva, la mayoría de los cuales tienen comorbilidades. El número de ancianos saludables es bajo y, por lo general, los ensayos clínicos no tienen en cuenta a los ancianos. Por lo tanto, el uso de terapias tumorales en la población de edad avanzada es muy compleja. Una iniciativa es analizar la incidencia de cáncer y la sobrevida de una cohorte de individuos que han tomado terapias específicas durante varios años. La revisión se centrará en tres medicamentos: ácido valproico, disulfiram (Antabuse) y metformina. En esta revisión, disertaremos sobre la importancia de estos medicamentos en la terapia contra el cáncer en general y en la población de edad avanzada.

Rationale: Long-term antibiotic use for managing chronic respiratory disease is increasing; however, the role of the airway resistome and its relationship to host microbiomes remains unknown. Objectives: To evaluate airway resistomes and relate them to host and environmental microbiomes using ultradeep metagenomic shotgun sequencing. Methods: Airway specimens from 85 individuals with and without chronic respiratory disease (severe asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and bronchiectasis) were subjected to metagenomic sequencing to an average depth exceeding 20 million reads. Respiratory and device-associated microbiomes were evaluated on the basis of taxonomical classification and functional annotation including the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database to determine airway resistomes. Co-occurrence networks of gene–microbe association were constructed to determine potential microbial sources of the airway resistome. Paired patient-inhaler metagenomes were compared (n = 31) to assess for the presence of airway–environment overlap in microbiomes and/or resistomes. Measurements and Main Results: Airway metagenomes exhibit taxonomic and metabolic diversity and distinct antimicrobial resistance patterns. A “core” airway resistome dominated by macrolide but with high prevalence of β-lactam, fluoroquinolone, and tetracycline resistance genes exists and is independent of disease status or antibiotic exposure. Streptococcus and Actinomyces are key potential microbial reservoirs of macrolide resistance including the ermX, ermF, and msrD genes. Significant patient-inhaler overlap in airway microbiomes and their resistomes is identified where the latter may be a proxy for airway microbiome assessment in chronic respiratory disease. Conclusions: Metagenomic analysis of the airway reveals a core macrolide resistome harbored by the host microbiome.

Introduction Most descriptions of tobacco withdrawal have not changed in >30 years despite new research. This meta-analysis tested whether abstinence leads to decreased positive affect (PA) because abstinence-induced symptom changes are a core feature of the tobacco withdrawal syndrome. In addition, we examined whether reduced PA was due to withdrawal (ie, temporary decrease in a “U-shaped” curve) or offset (ie, return to baseline) effect. Methods Our main inclusion criterion was a prospective within-participant test of change in PA during abstinence conditions among people who smoke cigarettes daily who were not using a cessation medication. Our search of PubMed, PsycINFO, and personal libraries yielded a total of 32 tests with 2054 participants. Results There was a medium effect size indicating an overall decrease in PA following abstinence from cigarettes (Cohen’s d = −0.40, 95% CI = −0.30 to −0.49). There was large heterogeneity (I2 = 70.7%). Most (79%) of the 24 trials that conducted significance tests reported that reduction in PA was significant. Seven tests were adequately designed to detect a withdrawal versus offset effect. Over half (57%) displayed a U-shaped curve for abstinence-induced change in PA indicative of a withdrawal symptom rather than offset effect. Conclusions Abstinence from cigarettes is associated with a decrease in PA. Whether low PA should be added to withdrawal measures and diagnostic criteria requires replication of the time-course of change in PA and tests of whether abstinence-induced changes in PA and negative affect occur independently. Implications Though there was substantial heterogeneity among trials, our findings suggest that (1) abstinence from cigarettes decreases positive affect and (2) this decrease may represent a withdrawal effect (vs. an offset effect). However, it is unclear whether abstinence-induced losses in positive affect are independent from increased negative affect.

We report how the direction of quantum dot (QD) lasing can be engineered by exploiting high-symmetry points in plasmonic nanoparticle (NP) lattices. The nanolaser architecture consists of CdSe-CdS core-shell QD layers conformally coated on two-dimensional square arrays of Ag NPs. Using waveguide-surface lattice resonances (W-SLRs) near the Δ point in the Brillouin zone as optical feedback, we achieved lasing from the gain in CdS shells at off-normal emission angles. Changing the periodicity of the plasmonic lattices enables other high-symmetry points (Γ or M) of the lattice to overlap with the QD shell emission, which facilitates tuning of the lasing direction. We also increased the thickness of the QD layer to introduce higher-order W-SLR modes with additional avoided crossings in the band structure, which expands the selection of cavity modes for any desired lasing emission angle.

Beef cattle ranching and farming is a major agricultural industry in the U.S. that manages an estimated 147 million ha of private land and uses approximately 92% of forage authorized for grazing on federal rangelands. Rangelands, as working landscapes, sustain beef cattle ranching while providing habitat for wildlife, recreation and open space amenities, as well as spiritual and cultural values that define a way of life. Historically, discussions regarding the economics of beef cattle ranching have focused primarily on the value of beef production but have more recently expanded to consider related ecosystem services. A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature published between 1998 to 2018, found 154 articles that considered ecosystem services from rangelands/grasslands. Of these, only two articles (1%) provided an in-depth economic valuation (monetary measure) of ecosystem services in the U.S. To fill this knowledge gap, we primarily used publicly available data to conduct an economic valuation of major ecosystem services associated with beef cattle production in the U.S. at both the national and state-level. We find that over 186 million ha were actively grazed by beef cattle ranches and farms in the U.S. in 2017. We estimate the economic value of this land use to be $17.5 billion for wildlife recreation, $3.8 billion for forage production, and $3.2 billion for other ecosystem services related to the conservation of biodiversity—a combined total of $24.5 billion. Ecosystem services from federal rangelands in 16 western states accounted for 35% of the total value. Ecosystem services per beef cow and per kilogram of retail beef were estimated to be $1,043.35 and $2.74, respectively. More studies like these are needed to inform decision-makers at the industry, land management, and federal levels to ensure the conservation, improvement, and restoration of these ecosystem services are considered in future management and research efforts.

While synthetic microbial systems are becoming increasingly complicated, single-strain systems cannot match the complexity of their multicellular counterparts. Such complexity, however, is much more difficult to control. Recent advances have increased our ability to control temporal, spatial, and community compositional organization, including modular adhesive systems, strain growth relationships, and asymmetric cell division. While these systems generally work independently, combining them into unified systems has proven difficult. Once such unification is proven successful we will unlock a new frontier of synthetic biology and open the door to the creation of synthetic biological systems with true multicellularity.

Nanoplatelets (NPLs)-colloidally synthesized, spatially anisotropic, two-dimensional semiconductor quantum wells-are of intense interest owing to exceptionally narrow transition line widths, coupled with solution processability and bandgap tunability. However, given large surface areas and undercoordinated bonding at facet corners and edges, excitation under sufficient intensities may induce anisotropic structural instabilities that impact desired properties. We employ time-resolved X-ray diffraction to study the crystal structure of CdSe NPLs in response to optical excitation. Photoexcitation induces greater out-of-plane than in-plane disordering in 4 and 5 monolayer (ML) NPLs, while 3 ML NPLs display the opposite behavior. Recovery dynamics suggest that out-of-plane cooling slightly outpaces in-plane cooling in 5 ML NPLs with recrystallization occurring on indistinguishable time scales. In comparison, for zero-dimensional CdSe nanocrystals, disordering is isotropic and recovery is faster. These results favor the use of NPLs in optoelectronic applications, where they are likely to exhibit superior performance over traditional, zero-dimensional nanocrystals.

REPLYING TO A. V. Harry & J. M. Braccini Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03463-w (2021) Our global analysis1 estimated the overlap and fishing exposure risk (FEI) using the space use of satellite-tracked sharks and longline fishing effort monitored by the automatic identification system (AIS). In the accompanying Comment, Harry and Braccini2 draw attention to two localized shark–longline vessel overlap hotspots in Australian waters, stating that 47 fishing vessels were misclassified as longline and purse seine vessels in the Global Fishing Watch (GFW)3 2012–2016 AIS fishing effort data product that we used. This, they propose2, results in misidentifications that highlight fishing exposure hotspots that are subject to an unexpected level of sensitivity in the analysis and they suggest that misidentifications could broadly affect the calculations of fishing exposure and the central conclusions of our study1. We acknowledged in our previously published paper1 that gear reclassifications were likely to occur for a small percentage of the more than 70,000 vessels studied, however, here we demonstrate that even using much larger numbers of vessel reclassifications than those proposed by Harry and Braccini2, the central results and conclusions of our paper1 do not change.

In the last years, olfaction has been a challenging sensing modality for intelligent systems, now it is possible to detect and recognize chemical substances for a variety of applications. An existing application is to equip mobile robots with electronic noses for odor based location or track. Furthermore, from the conceptual point of view, the use of smell alone cannot detect and localize physical objects, thus to find and detect an odor source, other sensors and techniques are required than can provide special mapping features. This paper presents a novel effective portable system to generate a dispersion map to identify possible dangerous chemical substances using three agent robots with an e-nose circuit, seven ultrasonic, and two infrared sensors used for the obstacle detection system. The proposed e-nose circuit uses an array of three metal oxide sensors (MOX) within a sealed aluminum box and a small fan to inhale air, dope the sensors and clean them. The entire data acquisition and motor control run on Teensy 3.6, while for the direct and inverse kinematic solution a Raspberry Pi 3 was used, all integrated into each of the three agent robots to determine the position using the cinematic model. The system performance is tested with substances of interest such as alcohol, TNT, toluene in a controlled environment. Measurements showed that using a principal component analysis over the odor, and position data is possible to generate a dispersion map. However, after applying the Structural Similarity Index, the visualization of the dispersion of the substances of interest on the map of the sample room is notably enhanced considering the different selectivity of sensors and mixed vapor effects in the environment.

Background: Macrolide antibiotics are increasingly used in frequent exacerbators with chronic respiratory disease (CRD) however the role of the airway resistome and its relationship to the host microbiome remains unknown. Methods: We derived airway microbiomes and corresponding resistomes using deep sequencing metagenomic approaches from airway specimens of individuals with and without CRD (severe asthma, COPD and bronchiectasis) (n=85). Gene-Microbe association networks were built using compositionality corrected general boosted linear models to determine possible microbial sources of the airway resistome. Results: Antibiotic resistance profiles exhibit variability across healthy and diseased states with greatest resistance observed in COPD and bronchiectasis. A ‘core’ airway resistome dominated by macrolide resistance but with high prevalence of β-lactam, fluoroquinolone and tetracycline resistance genes exists, and, is independent of disease status or prior antibiotic exposure. Dysbiosis of the respiratory microbiome is evident across CRDs and gene-microbe association networks of the ‘core’ resistome revealed Streptococcus and Actinomyces as potential microbial reservoirs of macrolide resistance including the ermX, ermF and msrD genes. Conclusion: Functional metagenomics of the airway reveals a core macrolide resistome harboured by the host microbiome with clinical implications for macrolide use across CRD. Funding: Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council under its Transition Award (NMRC/TA/0048/2016) (S.H.C); Clinician-Scientist Individual Research Grant (MOH-000141) (S.H.C) and the NTU Integrated Medical, Biological and Environmental Life Sciences (NIMBELS) [NIM/03/2018] (S.H.C).

Solar-powered aircraft can fly perpetually if they are able to fly a 24-hour mission in which they collect more energy than they expend. The energy collected is determined by the orientation and length of time that the aircraft's solar panels are exposed to the sun. The energy spent is determined by flight maneuvers such as changes in airspeed, altitude and heading. Therefore, a perpetual energy balance can be maintained when the aircraft flies along a trajectory that maximizes solar exposure and minimizes flight maneuvers. This paper presents a faster than real-time dynamic programming strategy that computes the optimal trajectory that contains a loitering aircraft inside a cylindrical volume placed about a reference waypoint.

Agroforestry is a land use system that aims to sustain or increase total yields sustainably. Community Forest Utilization Permit (IUPHKm) is a business permit granted to local community groups to utilize forests in protected forest areas and / or production forest areas. HKm management for the community in the Melinani sub-district was carried out based on the technical design of agroforestry made by BPSKL in the Maluku and Papua regions. The research objectives are: (1) Knowing the economic, social and cultural and ecological characteristics of the Melinani community in utilizing Hkm; (2) Determine strategies and priorities for developing agroforestry systems and (3) Analyze the factors that determine the effectiveness of farmers' work. Multiple regression analysis is used in this research. For the determination of agroforestry development strategies used SWOT analysis and priority setting that must be carried out using the QSPM method. The results of the regression analysis indicate that the level of education and distance from residence have an impact on the development of agroforestry. The SWOT analysis is in the quadrant I. This means that even though the management of agroforestry development is under threat, it can be used to exploit opportunities. The results of QSPM calculations are 4 alternative agrofoestry management strategies in HKm. The technical design of agroforestry is still focused on agriculture and plantation crops, not yet combined with forestry plants, so the strata of the plant have not been well formed.

Background Asthma disproportionately affects minority populations and is associated with psychosocial stress such as racial/ethnic discrimination. We aimed to examine the association of perceived discrimination with asthma and poor asthma control in African American and Latino youth. Methods We included African American (n = 954), Mexican American (n = 1,086), other Latino (n = 522), and Puerto Rican Islander (n = 1,025) youth aged 8 to 21 years from the Genes-Environments and Admixture in Latino Americans study and the Study of African Americans, Asthma, Genes, and Environments. Asthma was defined by physician diagnosis, and asthma control was defined based on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines. Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination was assessed by the Experiences of Discrimination questionnaire, with a focus on school, medical, and public settings. We examined the associations of perceived discrimination with each outcome and whether socioeconomic status (SES) and global African ancestry modified these associations. Results African American children reporting any discrimination had a 78% greater odds of experiencing asthma (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.33-2.39) than did those not reporting discrimination. Similarly, African American children faced increased odds of poor asthma control with any experience of discrimination (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.42-2.76) over their counterparts not reporting discrimination. These associations were not observed among Latino children. We observed heterogeneity of the association between reports of discrimination and asthma according to SES, with reports of discrimination increasing the odds of having asthma among low-SES Mexican American youth (interaction P = .01) and among high-SES other Latino youth (interaction P = .04). Conclusions Perceived discrimination is associated with increased odds of asthma and poorer control among African American youth. SES exacerbates the effect of perceived discrimination on having asthma among Mexican American and other Latino youth.

The tailored spatial polarization of coherent light beams is important for applications ranging from microscopy to biophysics to quantum optics. Miniaturized light sources are needed for integrated, on-chip photonic devices with desired vector beams; however, this issue is unresolved because most lasers rely on bulky optical elements to achieve such polarization control. Here, we report on quantum dot-plasmon lasers with engineered polarization patterns controllable by near-field coupling of colloidal quantum dots to metal nanoparticles. Conformal coating of CdSe-CdS core-shell quantum dot films on Ag nanoparticle lattices enables the formation of hybrid waveguide-surface lattice resonance (W-SLR) modes. The sidebands of these hybrid modes at nonzero wavevectors facilitate directional lasing emission with either radial or azimuthal polarization depending on the thickness of the quantum dot film.

Background: The prevalence of youth athletes specializing in 1 sport has been increasing over the past decade. Subsequently, the rate of youth athlete injury has also been increasing. It is possible that an association exists between youth specialization and sports injury rate. Purpose: To determine if sport sampling is associated with a lower sports injury rate in youths compared with youths who specialize in 1 sport. Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library. Inclusion criteria included studies written in the English language, studies with athletes between 7 and 18 years of age, studies that report injury rates, and studies that specify if athletes were sport samplers or specialized in a sport. Data relevant to this study, including injuries and patient characteristics, were extracted and statistically analyzed. Results: The initial search identified 324 studies, 6 of which met inclusion criteria. From these 6 studies, the total participant number was 5736. Of those, 2451 (42.7%) were “sport samplers,” 1628 (28.4%) were “sport specializers,” and 1657 (28.9%) were considered “others” (ie, could not be classified as true samplers or true specializers). The average age of all the athletes was 14.6 years (range, 7-18 years). Sport specializers had a significantly higher injury risk than the sport samplers (RR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.19-1.57; P < .0001). There was a higher risk of injury in the “others” group when compared with the “sport sampler” group (RR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.14-1.29; P < .0001). There was a higher risk of injury in the “sport specializer” group over the “others” group (RR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.04-1.14; P < .005). Conclusion: Sport sampling is associated with a decreased risk of sports injury in youth athletes when compared with those who specialize in 1 sport. Injury rates increase as a youth athlete becomes increasingly specialized. Youth athletes would benefit substantially from participating in sport sampling.

Background and purpose There are no medications currently available to treat metabolic inflammation. Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is highly expressed in monocytes and macrophages and regulates NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome activity; both propagate metabolic inflammation in diet-induced obesity. Experimental approach Using an in vivo model of chronic inflammation, high-fat diet (HFD) feeding, in male C57BL/6J mice and in vitro assays in primary murine and human macrophages, we investigated if ibrutinib, an FDA approved BTK inhibitor, may represent a novel anti-inflammatory medication to treat metabolic inflammation. Key results HFD-feeding was associated with increased BTK expression and activation, which was significantly correlated with monocyte/macrophage accumulation in the liver, adipose tissue, and kidney. Ibrutinib treatment to HFD-fed mice inhibited the activation of BTK and reduced monocyte/macrophage recruitment to the liver, adipose tissue, and kidney. Ibrutinib treatment to HFD-fed mice decreased the activation of NF-κB and the NLRP3 inflammasome. As a result, ibrutinib treated mice fed HFD had improved glycaemic control through restored signalling by the IRS-1/Akt/GSK-3β pathway, protecting mice against the development of hepatosteatosis and proteinuria. We show that BTK regulates NF-κB and the NLRP3 inflammasome specifically in primary murine and human macrophages, the in vivo cellular target of ibrutinib. Conclusion and implications We provide "proof of concept" evidence that BTK is a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of diet-induced metabolic inflammation and ibrutinib may be a candidate for drug repurposing as an anti-inflammatory agent for the treatment of metabolic inflammation in T2D and microvascular disease.

Wnt signalling is strongly associated with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) with gene expression and proteomics analysis suggesting that approximately half of all patients may exhibit enhanced pathway activation during the progression of the disease. Porcupine is responsible for the palmitoylation and subsequent release of all 19 known Wnt ligands from the cell and as such is an attractive target for blocking both canonical and non-canonical Wnt signalling. Redx Pharma have developed a highly potent and selective porcupine inhibitor RXC006 and is investigating its potential as a new therapy for the treatment for IPF. RXC006 has been shown to suppress β-catenin stability in L-WNt3a cells and release of Wnt5a from human lung fibroblasts (HLFs) with an IC50 potency of 0.1 nM as well as modulate Wnt3a driven upregulation of α-SMA in HLFs. Therapeutic dosing of RXC006 at 25 mg/kg QD in a bleomycin induced lung fibrosis model from day 7 and 14 in a 21-and 28-day model respectively showed reduction of the Ashcroft score by approximately 50% in both models with strong suppression of drivers of fibrosis such as CTGF also observed. In addition, RXC006 was also able to supress fibrosis in both an 11-day unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model of kidney fibrosis and in a 32-day carbon tetrachloride model of liver fibrosis (CCl4) when dosed therapeutically. The data for RXC006 coupled with the clinical observations of enhanced Wnt signalling in IPF and the promising tolerability data from porcupine inhibitors in the clinic suggests that RXC006 may provide a novel and effective therapy for treating IPF.

Evidence suggests that participation in physical activity may support young people’s current and future mental health. Although previous reviews have examined the relationship between physical activity and a range of mental health outcomes in children and adolescents, due to the large increase in published studies there is a need for an update and quantitative synthesis of effects. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of physical activity interventions on mental health outcomes by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis, and to systematically synthesize the observational evidence (both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies) regarding the associations between physical activity and sedentary behavior and mental health in preschoolers (2–5 years of age), children (6–11 years of age) and adolescents (12–18 years of age). A systematic search of the PubMed and Web of Science electronic databases was performed from January 2013 to April 2018, by two independent researchers. Meta-analyses were performed to examine the effect of physical activity on mental health outcomes in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs (i.e. quasi-experimental studies). A narrative synthesis of observational studies was conducted. Studies were included if they included physical activity or sedentary behavior data and at least one psychological ill-being (i.e. depression, anxiety, stress or negative affect) or psychological well-being (i.e. self-esteem, self-concept, self-efficacy, self-image, positive affect, optimism, happiness and satisfaction with life) outcome in preschoolers, children or adolescents. A total of 114 original articles met all the eligibility criteria and were included in the review (4 RCTs, 14 non-RCTs, 28 prospective longitudinal studies and 68 cross-sectional studies). Of the 18 intervention studies, 12 (3 RCTs and 9 non-RCTs) were included in the meta-analysis. There was a small but significant overall effect of physical activity on mental health in children and adolescents aged 6–18 years (effect size 0.173, 95% confidence interval 0.106–0.239, p

Zero-dimensional PbSe quantum dots are heterogeneously nucleated and grown onto two-dimensional zincblende CdSe nanoplatelets. Electron microscopy shows ad-grown dots predominantly decorate edges and corners of the nanoplatelets. Spectroscopic characterizations relate type I electronic alignment as demonstrated via photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy enhancement of near-infrared emission. Transient photoluminescence and absorption convey ultrafast transfer of excitons to the lower energy semiconductor dots. These structures combine benefits of large absorption cross sections of nanoplatelets and efficient near-infrared emission of PbSe with quantum confinement tuning of energy gap.

There have been efforts around the globe to track individuals of many marine species and assess their movements and distribution, with the putative goal of supporting their conservation and management. Determining whether, and how, tracking data have been successfully applied to address real-world conservation issues is, however, difficult. Here, we compile a broad range of case studies from diverse marine taxa to show how tracking data have helped inform conservation policy and management, including reductions in fisheries bycatch and vessel strikes, and the design and administration of marine protected areas and important habitats. Using these examples, we highlight pathways through which the past and future investment in collecting animal tracking data might be better used to achieve tangible conservation benefits.

IntroductionAllergic sensitisation to fungi such asAspergillusare associated to poor clinical outcomes in asthma, bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis; however, clinical relevance in COPD remains unclear.MethodsPatients with stable COPD (n=446) and nondiseased controls (n=51) were prospectively recruited across three countries (Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong) and screened against a comprehensive allergen panel including house dust mites, pollens, cockroach and fungi. For the first time, using a metagenomics approach, we assessed outdoor and indoor environmental allergen exposure in COPD. We identified key fungi in outdoor air and developed specific-IgE assays against the top culturable fungi, linking sensitisation responses to COPD outcomes. Indoor air and surface allergens were prospectively evaluated by metagenomics in the homes of 11 COPD patients and linked to clinical outcome.ResultsHigh frequencies of sensitisation to a broad range of allergens occur in COPD. Fungal sensitisation associates with frequent exacerbations, and unsupervised clustering reveals a “highly sensitised fungal predominant” subgroup demonstrating significant symptomatology, frequent exacerbations and poor lung function. Outdoor and indoor environments serve as important reservoirs of fungal allergen exposure in COPD and promote a sensitisation response to outdoor air fungi. Indoor (home) environments with high fungal allergens associate with greater COPD symptoms and poorer lung function, illustrating the importance of environmental exposures on clinical outcomes in COPD.ConclusionFungal sensitisation is prevalent in COPD and associates with frequent exacerbations representing a potential treatable trait. Outdoor and indoor (home) environments represent a key source of fungal allergen exposure, amenable to intervention, in “sensitised” COPD.

Background: The prevalence of adolescent athletes who specialize in sports has increased in recent years. Substantial literature on youth sports has linked early sport specialization to negative consequences, such as burnout and injury. However, empirical evidence directly comparing burnout rates in sport specialization versus sport sampling is very limited. Purpose: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate psychological burnout in adolescent athletes who sport specialize compared with adolescent athletes who sport sample. Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A systematic review was performed through use of the PubMed, SportDiscus, PsychInfo, and CINAHL databases (between inception and May 2019) according to PRISMA-IPD (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of individual participant data) guidelines. Results from the 3 measures of the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire and athlete specialization status were recorded and analyzed. An athlete was determined to be a “sport specializer” if he or she met the following 3 criteria: (1) athletic participation limited to 1 sport, (2) which is competed in > 8 months in 1 year, and (3) to the exclusion of all other sports. Results: Of 3578 studies, 8 met criteria for final meta-analysis, which included 1429 athletes (mean age, 15.59 years; range, 12.5-17.2 years). Of these, 1371 (95.9%) were sport specializers, whereas 58 (4.1%) were sport samplers. A total of 1422 (99.5%) athletes completed the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire. Athletes who specialized reported higher levels of burnout than athletes who did not specialize. Specializers had a greater sense of reduced accomplishment (difference of means [△], 0.87; 95% CI, 0.67-1.08; P < .01). Specializers also reported greater exhaustion (△, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.24-0.68; P < .01) and sport devaluation (△, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.22-0.60; P < .01) than athletes who were samplers. Conclusion: Adolescent sport specialization was associated with greater levels of burnout in all 3 aspects (reduced sense of accomplishment, sport devaluation, and exhaustion) compared with sport sampling.

Objectives/Hypothesis External beam radiation to the neck is widely considered a contraindication for thyroplasty due to concern for infection and implant extrusion. We present a case series of our experience regarding thyroplasty performed in a previously radiated field. Study Design Retrospective case study at a tertiary academic referral center. Methods Using the institution's clinical notes search tool, records from 1999 through 2014 documenting thyroplasty and radiation were identified and reviewed. Patients who received external beam radiation to the operative field prior to thyroplasty were included. Data including duration of radiation, timing and specifics of thyroplasty, postoperative complications, risk factors, clinical voice outcomes, and length of follow-up were collected. Results Fourteen patients met criteria for the study. Of all thyroplasty performed, 11 were Silastic implants, two were Gore-Tex implants, six had concurrent arytenoid adduction, and one was a midline type II thyroplasty. In terms of risk factors for postoperative complications, two were diabetic, none were active smokers, and one had a splenectomy. All patients were given postoperative antibiotics. The median duration of follow-up after surgery was 14.2 months. No patients were found to have postoperative complications. Pre- and postoperative voice data were assessed. Overall, there was improvement in voice outcomes. Conclusions Thyroplasty may be an option for patients who have previously undergone external beam radiation. Short-term and intermediate outcomes in our patients showed no postoperative complications, and generally voice or dysphagia improved. Careful selection is still warranted when considering thyroplasty in a previously irradiated neck, and long-term outcomes need further study. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 2015

The current status and technical details of the four instruments dedicated to X-ray spectroscopy available at Diamond Light Source are presented., This manuscript presents the current status and technical details of the Spectroscopy Village at Diamond Light Source. The Village is formed of four beamlines: I18, B18, I20-Scanning and I20-EDE. The village provides the UK community with local access to a hard X-ray microprobe, a quick-scanning multi-purpose XAS beamline, a high-intensity beamline for X-ray absorption spectroscopy of dilute samples and X-ray emission spectroscopy, and an energy-dispersive extended X-ray absorption fine-structure beamline. The optics of B18, I20-scanning and I20-EDE are detailed; moreover, recent developments on the four beamlines, including new detector hardware and changes in acquisition software, are described.

Feed is one of the largest costs in most aquaculture operations, and as such, aquaculturists are continually striving to improve on ingredient sourcing and formulations to increase growth and performance while reducing costs. Analysis of the energy expended in digestion of different feeds can be a valuable early indicator of the suitability of a new ingredient or formulation. We use respirometry, an activity level analysis, and proximate analysis of fecal samples to compare the metabolic cost of digestion in California yellowtail (Seriola dorsalis) fed two different diets – a meal of whole sardine fillets representing a whole fish diet and a commercial pelleted feed designed specifically for Seriola aquaculture. Respiration trials reveal that the specific dynamic action coefficient (SDACoefficient), SDA coefficient (SDACoefficient), or percent of energy expended on digestion in relation to the total energy available in a meal, was more than double for a whole-fish type meal (20.8 ± 0.1%) than for the pelleted meal (10.2 ± 0.8%). Analysis of fish activities indicated 12.3% greater activity during the whole-fish type meal, as compared with the pelleted meal. After 24 h, the total amount of protein and lipid remaining in the feces from the whole-fish type meal (4.2 ± 0.7 kJ, 2.2 ± 0.4 kJ respectively) was significantly higher than the pelleted meal (1.8 ± 0.2 kJ, 0.9 ± 0.2 kJ respectively). Digestibility of the whole-fish type meal was slightly lower than the pelleted meal at 95.3 ± 0.5% and 97.7 ± 0.2%, respectively. The reduction in the energetic cost of digestion observed in fish fed the commercial pellet diet is likely attributed to the additional processing during manufacture, which liberates a significant portion of the energy normally allotted towards digestion. The results of this work reveal and quantify the benefits of switching from whole-fish feed to a commercial compound feed, as the reduced energetic costs of digestion allow for greater amounts of energy to be available for somatic growth.

Objective: Endoscopic medial partial arytenoidectomy has been described previously for expansion of the posterior glottic airway in bilateral vocal fold paralysis. Superomedial submucosal partial arytenoidectomy (SSPA), a modification of this technique, can improve glottic closure in the setting of an obstructing anteromedially prolapsed arytenoid. We present our surgical technique and a case example. Methods and Results: A 45-year-old man presented with dysphonia attributable to unilateral true vocal fold paralysis. Laryngoscopy revealed right true vocal fold atrophy and an anteriorly prolapsed right arytenoid cartilage preventing posterior glottic closure during adduction. Right SSPA and ipsilateral vocal fold injection augmentation were performed without complication. One-month and 11-month postoperative evaluations showed marked improvement in voice, with complete glottic closure. Quality-of-life assessment and patient report showed a durable result at 50 months. Conclusion: SSPA may be a valuable technique in the management of breathy dysphonia associated with posterior glottic gap and other sequelae of the malpositioned arytenoid.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate a technique for the surgical repositioning of the premaxilla using a minimally invasive endonasal approach. Design: Retrospective review of clinical records. Setting: Tertiary care, University Hospital, pediatric maxillofacial surgery unit. Patients: Twenty-one patients (12 boys and 9 girls), ages ranging from 6 to 21 years, with BCLP+A and premaxillary malposition (PM). Interventions: Surgical repositioning of the premaxilla (SRP) using a minimally invasive endonasal approach, from November 2007 to November 2015. Main outcome measures: Achieving maxillary arch alignment and premaxillary stability was defined as treatment success. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were also recorded. Results: In all cases (100%), the treatment was successful either at first surgery or after reoperation. Two patients (9.5%) were reoperated-one due to premaxillary instability and one due to PM relapse. There were no perioperative complications. Conclusions: SRP using a minimally invasive endonasal approach is a safe and effective technique that levels and aligns the maxillary arch in preparation for SABG, which minimizes the risk of wound infection and premaxillary vascular compromise. The endonasal approach improves tissue quality of the mucoperiosteal flaps when performing the SABG procedure. Further prospective studies are needed to elucidate the best protocols and techniques for the management of PM in patients with BCLP+ A.

Coronary artery anomalies may cause life-threatening cardiac complications; however, developmental mechanisms underpinning coronary artery formation remain ill-defined. Here we identify an angiogenic cell population for coronary artery formation in mice. Regulated by a DLL4/NOTCH1/VEGFA/VEGFR2 signaling axis, these angiogenic cells generate mature coronary arteries. The NOTCH modulator POFUT1 critically regulates this signaling axis. POFUT1 inactivation disrupts signaling events and results in excessive angiogenic cell proliferation and plexus formation, leading to anomalous coronary arteries, myocardial infarction and heart failure. Simultaneous VEGFR2 inactivation fully rescues these defects. These findings show that dysregulated angiogenic precursors link coronary anomalies to ischemic heart disease., Though coronary arteries are crucial for heart function, the mechanisms guiding their formation are largely unknown. Here, Wang et al. identify a unique, endocardially-derived angiogenic precursor cell population for coronary artery formation in mice and show that a DLL4/NOTCH1/VEGFA/VEGFR2 signaling axis is key for coronary artery development.

The free vascularized fibular graft is nowadays the preferred technique for pediatric mandibular reconstruction. Despite the versatility and proven efficacy for restoring the facial appearance and maxillomandibular function, those mandibular reconstructions with free vascularized fibula associate difficulties for a simultaneous restoration of the alveolar height and facial contour, which are derived from the height discrepancy between the fibula and the native mandible. In addition, the donor-site growth and morbidity are of special concern in the pediatric patient. We report a novel technique for pediatric mandibular reconstruction, in an 11-year-old girl, using a combination of a bone allograft segment with a vascularized fibular periosteal flap (VFPF), after resection of an Ewing sarcoma located at the right body of the mandible. The patient has showed optimal cosmetic, functional, and radiological outcomes, which have been maintained for 2.5 years, without detecting donor-site complications. Through this original technique, and based on the powerful osteogenic and vasculogenic properties of the pediatric VFPFs, we could effectively reconstruct a large mandibular defect providing a functional and aesthetic reconstruction, while avoiding the potential morbidity associated with the fibula resection.

International audience; The search neutrality debate is about whether search engines should or should not be allowed to uprank certain results among the organic content matching a query. This debate is related to that of network neutrality, which focuses on whether all bytes being transmitted through the Internet should be treated equally. In a recent paper, we have formulated a model that formalizes this question and characterized an optimal ranking policy for a search engine. The model relies on the trade-off between short-term revenues, captured by the benefits of highly-paying results, and long-term revenues which can increase by providing users with more relevant results to minimize churn. In this article, we apply that model to investigate the relations between search neutrality and innovation. We illustrate through a simple setting and computer simulations that a revenue-maximizing search engine may indeed deter innovation at the content level. Our simple setting obviously simplifies reality, but this has the advantage of providing better insights on how optimization by some actors impacts other actors.

When a customer searches for a keyword at a classified ads website, at an online retailer, or at a search engine (SE), the platform has exponentially many choices in how to sort the output to the query. The two extremes are (a) to consider a ranking based on relevance only, which attracts more customers in the long run because of perceived quality, and (b) to consider a ranking based on the expected revenue to be generated by immediate conversions, which maximizes short-term revenue. Typically, these two objectives are not perfectly positively correlated and hence the main question is what middle ground between them should be chosen. We introduce stochastic models and propose effective solution methods that can be used to optimize the ranking considering long-term revenues. A key feature of our model is that customers are quality-sensitive and are attracted to the platform or driven away depending on the average relevance of the output. The proposed methods are of crucial importance in e-business and encompass: (i) classified ad websites which can favor paid ads by ranking them higher, (ii) online retailers which can rank products they sell according to buyers' interests and/or the margins these products have, (iii) SEs which can position the content that they serve higher in the output page than third-party content to keep users in their platforms for longer and earn more. This goes in detriment of just offering rankings based on relevance only and is directly linked to the current search neutrality debate.

Background: As the cost of sequencing continues to fall, smaller groups increasingly initiate and manage larger sequencing projects and take on the complexity of data storage for high volumes of samples. This has created a need for low-cost laboratory information management systems (LIMS) that contain flexible fields to accommodate the unique nature of individual labs. Many labs do not have a dedicated information technology position, so LIMS must also be easy to setup and maintain with minimal technical proficiency. Findings: MetaLIMS is a free and open-source web-based application available via GitHub. The focus of MetaLIMS is to store sample metadata prior to sequencing and analysis pipelines. Initially designed for environmental metagenomics labs, in addition to storing generic sample collection information and DNA/RNA processing information, the user can also add fields specific to the user's lab. MetaLIMS can also produce a basic sequencing submission form compatible with the proprietary Clarity LIMS system used by some sequencing facilities. To help ease the technical burden associated with web deployment, MetaLIMS options the use of commercial web hosting combined with MetaLIMS bash scripts for ease of setup. Conclusions: MetaLIMS overcomes key challenges common in LIMS by giving labs access to a low-cost and open-source tool that also has the flexibility to meet individual lab needs and an option for easy deployment. By making the web application open source and hosting it on GitHub, we hope to encourage the community to build upon MetaLIMS, making it more robust and tailored to the needs of more researchers. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Published version

Electronic system functionality degrades when these systems are operating in harsh environments, such as those where they are exposed to ionizing radiation. Understanding and measuring these effects is extremely important in order to design systems that can tolerate ionizing radiation. This work discusses experimental data of Heavy Ion and X-Ray radiation effects on a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf low-cost microprocessor. The heavy ions irradiation results suggest that, in this technology, the SRAM is more sensible to SEE than Flash memory. Ions with a LET higher than 5 MeV/mg/cm2 may cause the device to stop working.

The U.S. High Performance Research Reactor Conversions fuel development team is focused on developing and qualifying the uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) alloy monolithic fuel to support conversion of domestic research reactors to low enriched uranium. Several previous irradiations have demonstrated the favorable behavior of the monolithic fuel. The Full Scale Plate 1 (FSP-1) fuel plate experiment will be irradiated in the northeast (NE) flux trap of the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). This fueled experiment contains six aluminum-clad fuel plates consisting of monolithic U-Mo fuel meat. Three different types of fuel plates with matching pairs for a total of six plates were analyzed. These three types of plates are: full burn, intermediate power, and thick meat. A thermal analysis has been performed on the FSP-1 experiment to be irradiated in the ATR at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). A thermal safety evaluation was performed to demonstrate that the FSP-1 irradiation experiment complies with the thermal-hydraulic safety requirements of the ATR Safety Analysis Report (SAR). The ATR SAR requires that minimum safety margins to critical heat flux and flow instability be met in the case of a loss of commercial power with primary coolant pump coast-down to emergency flow. The thermal safety evaluation was performed at 26 MW NE lobe power to encompass the expected range of operating power during a standard cycle. Additional safety evaluations of reactivity insertion events, loss of coolant event, and free convection cooling in the reactor and in the canal are used to determine the response of the experiment to these events and conditions. This paper reports and shows that each safety evaluation complies with each safety requirement of the ATR SAR.

Spinal disorders and especially back and neck pain affect more people and have greater impact on work capacity and health-care costs than any other musculoskeletal condition. One of the difficulties in reducing the burden of spinal disorders is the wide and heterogeneous range of specific diseases and non-specific musculoskeletal disorders that can involve the spinal column, most of which manifest as pain. Despite, or perhaps because of its impact, spinal disorders remain one of the most controversial and difficult conditions for clinicians, patients and policymakers to manage. This paper provides a brief summary of advances in the understanding of back and neck pain over the past decade as evidenced in the current literature. This paper includes the following sections: a classification of spinal disorders; the epidemiology of spine pain in the developed and developing world; key advancements in biological and biomechanical sciences in spine pain; the current status of potential methods for the prevention of back and neck pain; rheumatological and systemic disorders that impact the spine; and evidence-based surgical and non-surgical management of spine pain. The final section of this paper looks to the future and proposes actions and strategies that may be considered by the international Bone and Joint Decade (BJD), by providers, institutions and by policymakers so that we may better address the burden of spine disorders at global and local levels.

Reports of sex differences in wayfinding have typically used paradigms sensitive to the female advantage (navigation by landmarks) or sensitive to the male advantage (navigation by cardinal directions, Euclidian coordinates, environmental geometry, and absolute distances). The current virtual navigation paradigm allowed both men and women an equal advantage. We studied sex differences by systematically varying the number of landmarks. Eye tracking was used to quantify sex differences in landmark utilisation as participants solved an eight-arm radial maze task within different virtual environments. To solve the task, participants were required to remember the locations of target objects within environments containing 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 landmarks. We found that, as the number of landmarks available in the environment increases, the proportion of time men and women spend looking at landmarks and the number of landmarks they use to find their way increases. Eye tracking confirmed that women rely more on landmarks to navigate, although landmark fixations were also associated with an increase in task completion time. Sex differences in navigational behaviour occurred only in environments devoid of landmarks and disappeared in environments containing multiple landmarks. Moreover, women showed sustained landmark-oriented gaze, while men's decreased over time. Finally, we found that men and women use spatial and response strategies to the same extent. Together, these results shed new light on the discrepancy in landmark utilisation between men and women and help explain the differences in navigational behaviour previously reported.

Inspired by the One Laptop Per Child project, we consider mesh networks that connect devices that cannot recharge their batteries easily. We study how the mesh should retransmit information to make use of the energy stored in each of the nodes effectively. The solution that minimizes the total energy spent by the whole network may be very unfair to some nodes because they bear a disproportionate burden of the traffic. A Nash equilibrium—achieved when nodes minimize the energy they spend— does not model the situation well because, as retransmissions consume battery without increasing the node’s utility, it predicts that nodes refuse to participate. Actually, there are wireless communication protocols, peer-to-peer networks and other systems that provide incentives or impose penalties to encourage nodes to be active and to partici- pate. We explicitly aim at the solution that minimizes the total energy spent by nodes among those that satisfy a fairness constraint. Although this does not guarantee that the solution is at equilibrium, nodes do not have a big incentive to deviate from the proposed solution since they do not view the situation as extremely unfair to them. This is consistent with the recommendation of Beccaria and Bolelli (Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE Vehicle Navigation & Information Systems Conference, pp. 117–126, Oslo, 1992) who proposed to optimize social welfare keeping user needs as constraints. We propose a distributed and online routing algorithm and compare it to an offline, centralized approach. The centralized approach, besides being unrealistic in terms of information requirements, is also NP-hard to solve. For both reasons, we focus on the former and evaluate it by conducting an extensive set of computational experiments that evaluate the efficiency and fairness achieved by our algorithm.

Electronic devices exposed to ionizing radiation exhibit degradation on their electrical characteristics, which may compromise the functionality of the device. Understanding the physical phenomena responsible for radiation damage, which may be specific to a particular technology, it is of extreme importance to develop methods for testing and recovering the devices. The aim of this work is to check the influence of thermal annealing processes and electric field applied during irradiation of Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFET) in total ionizing dose experiments analyzing the changes in the electrical parameters in these devices

Air-conditioning systems harbor microorganisms, potentially spreading them to indoor environments. While air and surfaces in air-conditioning systems are periodically sampled as potential sources of indoor microbes, little is known about the dynamics of cooling coil-associated communities and their effect on the downstream airflow. Here, we conducted a 4-week time series sampling to characterize the succession of an air-conditioning duct and cooling coil after cleaning. Using an universal primer pair targeting hypervariable regions of the 16S/18S ribosomal RNA, we observed a community succession for the condensed water, with the most abundant airborne taxon Agaricomycetes fungi dominating the initial phase and Sphingomonas bacteria becoming the most prevalent taxa toward the end of the experiment. Duplicate air samples collected upstream and downstream of the coil suggest that the system does not act as ecological filter or source/sink for specific microbial taxa during the duration of the experiment. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Accepted version

This work presents the development of a Supervisory, Control And Data Adquisition (SCADA) using open hardware and free software, for an NBS BioFlo III bioreactor system used in a laboratory inside Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Design and development of the SCADA BioFlo III system it's based in a web server connected with the fermenter. The server register every process variable in specific databases, which are available from a graphical user interface (GUI) programmed entirely in web language. Such GUI it's accessible from any device with internet access and the corresponding University VPN certificates, which make this SCADA system multi-platform in every aspect. To interact physically with the reactor, an Arduino platform is used. It communicates with the server (under an specific protocol) through a communication interface programmed in Phyton. The GUI interacts directly with the database, which is also accessed by the same communication algorithm.

As the use of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) in space and in other strategic areas increases, concerns about their tolerance to radiation also increases. This work reports the observation of soft and hard errors in a Xilinx Spartan-3E commercial off-the-shelf FPGA when exposed to low-dose rate, low energy X-rays during a dynamic test in which a LEON 3 soft-core processor was mapped in the FPGA.

Thirty silent lupus nephritis (SLN) patients were compared to 16 individuals bearing overt lupus nephritis (OLN). Results included: years of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) diagnosis were significantly earlier (4.6 ± 2.8 years) in SLN than in OLN (7.18 ± 3.61) ( P < 0.05). Neurological compromise, hypertension, normocitic anemia and lymphopenia were significantly prevalent in OLN than in SLN ( P < 0.05). Beside normal urinary sediment and renal function tests, the SLN group showed a moderate increase of both activity (AI) and chronicity (CI) renal pathology index when compared to highly increased AI and CI in OLN ( P < 0.05). Seventy percent of SLN patients were ISN/RPS Classes I (6.6%) and II (63.3%) while 81% of OLN cases were Classes III, IV (37.5%) and V. IgG, IgA, IgM, λchain, C3 and fibrinogen immune deposits were found in 90% or over in both SLN and OLN individuals while in 60% or over, both groups also showed K chain, C1q and C4 deposits. While prevalence of ANA, anti-dsDNA and anti-C1q antibodies were similar in both groups, anti-histone, anti-RNP, CIC and CH50serum levels were significantly different in OLN versus SLN ( P < 0.05). We strongly suggest that indeed SLN is the earliest stage in the natural history of lupus nephritis.

Although civil aircraft environmental performance has been important since the beginnings of commercial aviation, continuously increasing air traffic and a rise in public awareness have made aircraft noise and emissions two of the most pressing issues hampering commercial aviation growth today. This, in turn, has created the demand for an understanding of the impact of noise and emissions requirements on the design of the aircraft. In response, the purpose of this research is to explore the feasibility of integrating noise and emissions as optimization objectives at the aircraft conceptual design stage, thereby allowing a quantitative analysis of the tradeoffs between environmental performance and operating cost. A preliminary design tool that uses a multiobjective genetic algorithm to determine optimal aircraft configurations and to estimate the sensitivities between the conflicting objectives of low noise, low emissions, and operating costs was developed. Beyond evaluating the ability of a design to meet regulations and establishing environmental performance trades, the multidisciplinary design tool allows the generation of conventional but extremely low-noise and low-emissions designs that could, in the future, dramatically decrease the environmental impact of commercial aviation, albeit at the expense of increased operating cost. The tool incorporates ANOPP, a noise prediction code developed at NASA Langley Research Center, NASA Glenn Research Center's Engine Performance Program engine simulator, and aircraft design, analysis, and optimization modules developed at Stanford University. The trend that emerges from this research among the seemingly conflicting objectives of noise, fuel consumption, and NO x emissions is the opportunity for significant reductions in environmental impact by designing the aircraft to fly slower and at lower altitude.