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Study Design. Cross-sectional. Objective. The aim of this study was to describe morphologic changes of the annulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) in children during growth using magnetic resonance imaging. Summary of Background Data. Little is known of intervertebral disk (IVD) maturation as opposed to degeneration, such as changes in relative AF/NP proportions and orientation during growth. Studies suggest that IVD plays a role in the etiology of pediatric spinal deformities. Therefore, understanding the morphologic development of the AF and NP during growth is key. Materials and Methods. An existing database of children aged 0 to 18 that had magnetic resonance imaging for indications unrelated to the spine were analyzed. The AF/NP were segmented semiautomatically from T1 to L5. The parameters: mean IVD height, cross-sectional area, slenderness (height/width ratio), volume (ratio), and relative position of the centroid of the NP within the IVD in three directions (x, y, z) were extracted, and compared between age, sex, and spinal level. Results. IVD height increased modestly and predominantly in the low-thoracic and lumbar spine during the first 5 to 10 years of life. Cross-sectional area and thus volume increased steadily at all levels throughout growth. IVD slenderness decreased sharply in the first years of life and remains relatively stable throughout the remainder of growth. IVDs were smaller and more slender in females, especially in the mid-thoracic spine at early adolescence. In the upper-thoracic and mid-thoracic spine the NP comprises 10% to 12% of total IVD volume during growth, this percentage increases in the low-thoracic and lumbar spine towards 20% to 25%. In the anterior-posterior direction, the position of the nucleus increasingly shifts with age, possibly in line with the developing sagittal profile of the spine. Conclusion. This study describes the development of thoracic and lumbar IVDs during growth and may be used as a reference for future studies on the role of IVD in the etiology of disk-related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal deformities are considered an important complication of neuromuscular disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMA patients typically develop progressive early-onset scoliosis, which is associated with increased functional decline, discomfort, and respiratory dysfunction. Over the second decade of the twenty-first century, a lot has changed in terms of the therapeutic options available to people with SMA. Specifically, the use of pharmaceutical agents such as nusinersen (Spinraza), onasemnogene abeparvovec (Zolgensma), and risdiplam (Evrysdi) has dramatically changed the landscape for SMA patients. These medications significantly alter motor- and respiratory functioning, as well as the natural progression of spinal deformities. When evaluating these agents and their impact on the development of scoliosis and motor functioning, it is important to consider the timing of treatment initiation. In patients treated after they had already developed symptoms, a shift of phenotype to a less severe subtype has been observed. This results in a delay in the onset of scoliosis for the less severe SMA types and an increase in early-onset scoliosis for the severe types in patients who would typically not live to develop scoliosis. Patients who receive treatment before they develop symptoms achieve almost normal motor functioning and will likely have a significant decrease in scoliosis prevalence or at least delay its onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citations are valuable capital in the academy as the number of citations is the most frequently used indicator in evaluating the quality of papers, journals, researchers, and universities. Thus, the characteristics of highly cited articles (HCA) have become a common research topic but the approach has been mainly descriptive with no profound critical reflection of what kind of research is cited, where the research is from, where the research is published, and what do these things mean for edtech research. This paper contributes to this need by providing a descriptive and critical analysis of 200 highly cited articles from 10 edtech journals. To summarize the key findings, a 'typical' edtech HCA is a Western-based review article or quantitative research paper reporting positive findings from higher education, published in a high-impact factor general edtech journal by a major publisher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resumen: En este artículo se analiza el atractivo del teletrabajo mediante un experimento de encuesta factorial a empleados que evalúan ofertas de empleo de características divergentes, con una amplia variación en cuanto a la posibilidad de teletrabajar. La relación entre esta posibilidad y el atractivo del empleo resulta ser aproximadamente lineal: una posibilidad 10 puntos porcentuales mayor de teletrabajar aumenta el atractivo del empleo en 2,2 puntos porcentuales y suscita una disposición a renunciar a 2,2 puntos porcentuales de aumento salarial en el nuevo puesto. El diseño experimental también permite investigar de forma estructurada y exhaustiva los mecanismos subyacentes y los moderadores de esta relación. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vagus nerve, with its myriad constituent axon branches and innervation targets, has long been a model of anatomical complexity in the nervous system. The branched architecture of the vagus nerve is now appreciated to be highly organized around the topographic and/or molecular identities of the neurons that innervate each target tissue. However, we are only just beginning to understand the developmental mechanisms by which heterogeneous vagus neuron identity is specified, patterned, and used to guide the axons of particular neurons to particular targets. Here, we summarize our current understanding of the complex topographic and molecular organization of the vagus nerve, the developmental basis of neuron specification and patterned axon guidance that supports this organization, and the regenerative mechanisms that promote, or inhibit, the restoration of vagus nerve organization after nerve damage. Finally, we highlight key unanswered questions in these areas and discuss potential strategies to address these questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The broad concept of health as "the ability to adapt and self‐manage in the face of social, physical and emotional challenges" has been operationalized by "Positive Health," a framework increasingly used in the Netherlands. We explored to what degree the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic and preventive measures on Positive Health differed between community‐dwelling older adults without, with mild and with complex health problems, as well as differences flowing from their use of preventive measures. Methods: During the second wave in the Netherlands (November 2020–February 2021), a convenience sample of adults aged ≥65 years completed an online questionnaire. Positive Health impact was measured based on self‐reported change of current health status, across six dimensions, compared to before the pandemic (decreased/unchanged/increased). The complexity of health problems (past month) was assessed using the validated ISCOPE tool, comparing subgroups without, with mild or with complex health problems. High use of preventive measures was defined as ≥9 of 13 measures and compared to low use (<9 measures). Results: Of the 2397 participants (median age 71 years, 60% female, and 4% previous COVID‐19 infection), 31% experienced no health problems, 55% mild health problems, and 15% complex health problems. Overall, participants reported a median decrease in one Positive Health dimension (IQR 1–3), most commonly in social participation (68%). With an increasing complexity of health problems, subjective Positive Health declined more often across all six dimensions, ranging from 3.3% to 57% in those without, from 22% to 72% in those with mild, and from 47% to 75% in those with complex health problems (p‐values for trend <0.001; independent of age and sex). High users of preventive measures more often experienced declined social participation (72% vs. 62%, p < 0.001) and a declined quality of life (36% vs. 30%, p = 0.007) than low users, especially those with complex health problems. Conclusion: As the complexity of health problems increased, the adverse impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic and related preventive measures was experienced more frequently across all dimensions of Positive Health. Acknowledging this heterogeneity is pivotal to the effective targeting of prevention and healthcare to those most in need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concept mapping was used to identify criteria foster care workers in Flanders use to regulate visiting arrangements for birth parents of foster children. A sample of 43 foster care workers were asked to answer in writing the question: 'What criteria do you take into account when you have to regulate visiting arrangements?' Fifty unique answers were identified by three researchers. In a second phase, 32 foster care workers individually grouped together the statements that according to them covered the same topic. Furthermore, they were asked to indicate the degree of importance and the difficulty to assess each response on a 7‐point scale. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchic cluster analyses identified five clusters of criteria: child related criteria, attitudes of birth parent(s), criteria related to placement conditions, interaction with birth parents and criteria related to foster parents. Although sometimes differently grouped or named, the criteria mentioned by foster care workers were almost entirely in line with findings from other research. Foster care workers considered most criteria rather easy to assess. However, the more important criteria were (child related criteria and attitudes of birth parent[s]), the more difficult they were considered to assess. Identification of these criteria can help to improve and systemize the decision‐making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines whether political professionalization causes attitudinal incongruence within political parties. In this first of a kind study, the internal opinion structure of five Belgian political parties based in Flanders is analysed by comparing the political attitudes of staffers and party members. The analysis combines original survey data collected among the staff of five Belgian political parties based in Flanders (N = 560) and survey data collected among their party members by the MAPP project (N = 10,022). The results demonstrate that staffers are mostly congruent with party members, with a few remarkable exceptions. As anticipated by my reinterpretation of cleavage theory, incongruences are more prevalent among mainstream parties and mostly appear on issues concerning globalization. This cosmopolitan bias among staffers is primarily driven by an educational and generational divide with party members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermoplastic-based composites are becoming the preferred material for structural and non-structural components in the composite production industries. One of the most critical elements determining the characteristics and performance of fiber-reinforced composites is the fiber content. The fiber volume fraction (Vf) of carbon/polyamide410 (C-PA410) composite is evaluated using standard acid digestion, the unique two-stage thermogravimetry (TGA) method and 2D image processing method, with Vf values of 24.0%, 23.1%, and 18.3%, respectively. For statistical purposes, a substantial number of samples from each composite batch were tested and analyzed. The two-stage TGA approach used in this study, involves measuring the constituent content of carbon fiber thermoplastic composites in nitrogen first and subsequently in air. The standard acid digestion and the two-stage TGA method used in this study provided comparable results. The 2D image processing method, on the other hand, yields a lower volume fraction of fiber. The two-stage TGA approach has been proven to be more convenient in terms of accuracy, safety, and speed. This technique has been validated by testing a control specimen of a material (Toray Cetex® TC910 PA6) with a known weight fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generating natural language answers for question-answering (QA) tasks has recently surged in popularity with the rise of task-based personalized assistants. Most QA research is on extractive QA, methods that find answer spans in text passages. However, the extracted answers are often incomplete and sound unnatural in a conversational context. In contrast, generative QA systems aim to generate well-formed natural language answers. For this type of QA, the answer generation method and context play crucial roles in the model performance. A challenge of generative QA is simultaneously incorporating all facts in the context necessary to answer the question and discarding irrelevant information. In this paper, we investigate efficient ways to utilize the context and to generate better contextual answers. We present a framework for generative QA that effectively selects relevant parts from context documents by eliminating extraneous information. We first present multiple strong generative baselines that use transformer-based encoder-decoder architectures to synthesize answers. These models perform equal to or better than the current state-of-the-art generative models. We next investigate the selection of relevant information from context. The context selector component can be a summarizer, reranker, evidence extractor or a combination of these. Finally, we effectively use this filtered context information to provide the most pertinent cues to the generative model to synthesize factually correct natural language answers. This significantly boosts the model’s performance. The setting with the reranked context together with evidence gives the best performance. We also study the impact of different training strategies on the answer generation capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation are the most common post-translational modifications mediated by protein kinases and protein phosphatases, respectively. These reversible processes can modulate the function of the target protein, such as its activity, subcellular localization, stability, and interaction with other proteins. Phosphorylation of viral proteins plays an important role in the life cycle of a virus. In this review, we highlight biological implications of the phosphorylation of the monkey polyomavirus SV40 large T and small t antigens, summarize our current knowledge of the phosphorylation of these proteins of human polyomaviruses, and conclude with gaps in the knowledge and a proposal for future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serological assays for bovine tuberculosis diagnosis require the use of multiple Mycobacterium bovis specific antigens to ensure the detection of infected animals. In the present study, identification and selection process of antigens, based on data from published proteomic studies and involving the use of bioinformatics tools and an immuno-screening step, was firstly performed for identifying novel antigens that elicit an antibody response in M. bovis infection. Based on this approach, a panel of 10 M. bovis antigens [with known relevance (MPB70, MPB83, MPB70/83, and ESAT6/CFP10) and novel (Mb1961c, Mb1301c, Mb3871, Mb1403, Mb0592, and PE25/PPE41)] were constructed and thenused to develop a new multiplexed serological assay based on Luminex technology. The performance of the Luminex-bTB immunoassay was evaluated using sera from cattle with known tuberculosis status. Among the proteins whose ability to detect bovine tuberculosis was evaluated for the first time, PE25/PPE41 and Mb1403, but not Mb3871, showed good detection capacity. Following multiple antigen combination, the final Luminex-bTB immunoassay included seven antigens (MPB70, MPB83, MPB70/83, ESAT6/CFP10, PE25/PPE41, Mb1403, and Mb0592) and showed better global performance than the immunoassay using the four usual antigens (MPB70, MPB70/83, MPB83 and ESAT6/CFP10). The specificity and sensitivity values were, respectively, of 97.6% and 42.8% when the cut-off of two-positive antigens was used to classify samples as positive. With the use of the more-restrictive criterion of three-positive antigens, the specificity increased to 99.2% but the sensitivity decreased to 23.9%. The analysis of antigen profiles generated with the Luminex-bTB immunoassay showed that mainly serodominant proteins were recognized in samples from infected cattle. The detection of Mb1961c and Mb1301c appeared to be associated with presumed false-positive results. Moreover, sera from cattle originating from bTB-outbreaks but having inconclusive or negative skin test results were identified as positive by the Luminex-bTB immunoassay and showed an antigen pattern associated with M. bovis infection. The Luminex-bTB immunoassay including seven antigens may be useful as adjunct test for the detection of M. bovis–infected herds, and different cut-offs could be applied according to the bovine tuberculosis epidemiological context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the distribution of staff resources between party offices. While earlier studies have compared central and parliamentary offices, this study also includes ministerial offices. To capture fully the differences in staffing, I examine both the quantity (staff size) and quality (education, experience, tasks) of their staffs. The empirical section is based on a cross-sectional analysis of original survey data collected among political staffers in Belgium and the Netherlands (N = 1,009). While the Belgian cabinet system includes extensive ministerial offices, ministerial staff is limited in the Dutch non-cabinet system. The results show how this institutional difference shapes parties' internal distribution of resources. While the party in parliament does not have a clear staffing advantage over the party in central office in Belgium, they are both eclipsed by the large, highly qualified party in the executive. In the Netherlands, the impact of ministerial offices is negligible and the staff of the party in parliament is both larger and more qualified than the staff of the party in central office. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the estimated 2.2 to 3.8 million fungal species existing on Earth, only a minor fraction actively colonizes the human gastrointestinal tract. In fact, these fungi only represent 0.1% of the gastrointestinal biosphere. Despite their low abundance, fungi play dual roles in human health—both beneficial and detrimental. Fungal infections are often associated with bacterial dysbiosis following antibiotic use, yet our understanding of gut fungi–bacteria interactions remains limited. Here, we used the SHIME® gut model to explore the colonization of human fecal-derived fungi across gastrointestinal compartments. We accounted for the high inter-individual microbial diversity by using fecal samples from healthy adults, healthy babies, and Crohn's disease patients. Using quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction and targeted next-generation sequencing, we demonstrated that SHIME®-colonized mycobiomes change upon loss of transient colonizers. In addition, SHIME® reactors from Crohn's disease patients contained comparable bacterial levels as healthy adults but higher fungal concentrations, indicating unpredictable correlations between fungal levels and total bacterial counts. Our findings rather link higher bacterial α-diversity to limited fungal growth, tied to colonization resistance. Hence, while healthy individuals had fewer fungi engrafting the colonic reactors, low α-diversity in impaired (Crohn's disease patients) or immature (babies) microbiota was associated with greater fungal abundance. To validate, antibiotic-treated healthy colonic microbiomes demonstrated increased fungal colonization susceptibility, and bacterial taxa that were negatively correlated with fungal expansion were identified. In summary, fungal colonization varied individually and transiently, and bacterial resistance to fungal overgrowth was more related with specific bacterial genera than total bacterial load. This study sheds light on fungal–bacterial dynamics in the human gut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide an infinite family of counterexamples to the conjecture of Zassenhaus on the solvability of the outer derivation algebra of a simple modular Lie algebra. In fact, we show that the simple modular Lie algebras H (2 ; (1 , n)) (2) of dimension 3 n + 1 − 2 in characteristic p = 3 do not have a solvable outer derivation algebra for all n ≥ 1. For n = 1 this recovers the known counterexample of psl 3 (F). We show that the outer derivation algebra of H (2 ; (1 , n)) (2) is isomorphic to (sl 2 (F) ⋉ V (2)) ⊕ F n − 1 , where V (2) is the natural representation of sl 2 (F). We also study other known simple Lie algebras in characteristic three, but they do not yield a new counterexample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search towards more objective outcome measurements and consequently surrogate markers for pain started decades ago; however, no generally accepted biomarker for pain has qualified yet. The goal is to explore the value of heart rate variability (HRV) as surrogate marker for pain intensity chronic pain setting. Pain intensity scores and HRV were collected in 366 patients with chronic pain, through a cross-sectional multicenter study. Pain intensity was measured with both the visual analogue scale and numeric rating scale, whereas 16 statistical HRV parameters were derived. Canonical correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between the dependent pain variables and the HRV parameters. Surrogacy was determined for each HRV parameter with point estimates between 0 and 1 whereby values close to 1 indicate a strong association between the surrogate and the true endpoint at the patient level. Weak correlations were revealed between HRV parameters and pain intensity scores. The highest surrogacy point estimate was found for mean heart rate as marker for average pain intensity on the numeric rating scale with point estimates of 0.0961 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.0384-0.1537) and 0.0209 (95% CI 0-0.05) for patients without medication use and with medication, respectively. This study indicated that HRV parameters as separate entities are no suitable surrogacy candidates for pain intensity, in a population of chronic pain patients. Further potential surrogate candidates and clinical robust true endpoints should be explored, to find a surrogate measure for the highly individual pain experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaginal cuff dehiscence (VCD) is a rare but serious condition associated with high morbidity, especially in the presence of an evisceration. It usually occurs as a complication of hysterectomy, but has also been reported after other pelvic surgeries. In this article, we will present two cases of vaginal cuff dehiscence with evisceration in post-menopausal patients. Both cases occurred post-operatively, the first after a laparoscopic radical hysterectomy and the other after a trachelectomy performed by robotic-assisted laparoscopy (with a prior history of subtotal hysterectomy). Both cases were treated surgically, the first by a combined laparoscopic and vaginal approach, and the second case only by laparoscopic approach. The main risk and protective factors are discussed in a narrative literature review which summarizes the available evidence on this rare condition, discussed by type of study designs and thus evidence level. A laparoscopic vaginal cuff closure is the most protective factor in preventing VCD, compared to a vaginal closure. Clinicians should be aware of this condition and of its risk factors and precipitating events in order to identify high-risk patients. Knowledge of these allows prompt recognition, which is crucial for adequate management, for which multiple approaches have been described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red Lists are widely used as an indicator of the status and trends of biodiversity and are often used in directing conservation efforts. However, it is unclear whether species with a Least Concern status share a common relationship to environmental correlates compared to species that are on the Red List. To assess this, we focus here on the contribution and correlates of land use, climate, and soil to the occurrence of wild bees in the Netherlands. We used observation data and species distribution models to explain the relation between wild bees and the environment. Non‐threatened bees had a relatively higher variable importance of the land use variables to their models, as opposed to the climate variables for the threatened bees. The threatened bees had a smaller extent of occurrence and occupied areas with more extreme climatic conditions. Bees with a Least Concern status showed more positive responses to urban green spaces and Red List species showed a different response to climatic variables, such as temperature and precipitation. Even though Red List bees were found in areas with a higher cover of natural areas, they showed a more selective response to natural land use types. Pastures and crops were the main contributing land use variables and showed almost exclusively a negative correlation with the distribution of all wild bees. This knowledge supports the implementation of appropriate, species‐specific conservation measures, including the preservation of natural areas, and the improvement of land use practices in agricultural and urban areas, which may help mitigate the negative impacts of future global change on species' distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STAT2 is a transcription factor activated by type I and III IFNs. We report 23 patients with loss-of-function variants causing autosomal recessive (AR) complete STAT2 deficiency. Both cells transfected with mutant STAT2 alleles and the patients' cells displayed impaired expression of IFN-stimulated genes and impaired control of in vitro viral infections. Clinical manifestations from early childhood onward included severe adverse reaction to live attenuated viral vaccines (LAV) and severe viral infections, particularly critical influenza pneumonia, critical COVID-19 pneumonia, and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) encephalitis. The patients displayed various types of hyperinflammation, often triggered by viral infection or after LAV administration, which probably attested to unresolved viral infection in the absence of STAT2- dependent types I and III IFN immunity. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that circulating monocytes, neutrophils, and CD8+ memory T cells contributed to this inflammation. Several patients died from viral infection or heart failure during a febrile illness with no identified etiology. Notably, the highest mortality occurred during early childhood. These findings show that AR complete STAT2 deficiency underlay severe viral diseases and substantially impacts survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of the JOS app, a new tailored web-based job crafting intervention tool that aims to make job crafting more accessible to workers with disabilities. The JOS app has been developed as a self-guided online tool that stimulates and facilitates job crafting through micro-interventions (i.e. without intensive contact with a trainer or coach, but through online communication technology). We expected that the intervention would have a positive impact on participants' job crafting behaviors. In addition, we expected a positive influence of the intervention on their job satisfaction and perceived employability. A pre-and post-intervention study without control group was conducted. The 5-week intervention includes brief job crafting exercises to reflect upon themselves (e.g. abilities, energy eaters and givers) and their work, the fit between those two, and to think about possible job crafting strategies to improve this fit. Using the JOS app has led to more job crafting behavior among participants. Scores on both job satisfaction and perceived employability remained virtually unchanged. This is consistent with previous suggestions that proactive behavior might not have any effects at all, or even negative ones, in the near term, but positive effects in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal cord (SC) anatomy is often assimilated to a morphologically encapsulated neural entity, but its functional anatomy remains only partially understood. We hypothesized that it could be possible to re-explore SC neural networks by performing live electrostimulation mapping, based on "super-selective" spinal cord stimulation (SCS), originally designed as a therapeutical tool to address chronic refractory pain. As a starting point, we initiated a systematic SCS lead programming approach using live electrostimulation mapping on a chronic refractory perineal pain patient, previously implanted with multicolumn SCS at the level of the conus medullaris (T12-L1). It appeared possible to (re-)explore the classical anatomy of the conus medullaris using statistical correlations of paresthesia coverage mappings, resulting from 165 different electrical configurations tested. We highlighted that sacral dermatomes were not only located more medially but also deeper than lumbar dermatomes at the level of the conus medullaris, in contrast with classical anatomical descriptions of SC somatotopical organization. As we were finally able to find a morphofunctional description of "Philippe–Gombault's triangle" in 19th-century historical textbooks of neuroanatomy, remarkably matching these conclusions, the concept of "neuro-fiber mapping" was introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that a finite group with an automorphism 휑 of coprime order has a soluble radical of (| φ | , | C G ⁢ (φ) |) -bounded Fitting height and index. We extend this classical result as follows. Let f ⁢ (x) = a 0 + a 1 ⋅ x + ⋯ + a d ⋅ x d ∈ Z ⁢ [ x ] be a primitive polynomial, and let 퐺 be a finite group with an automorphism 휑 of coprime order satisfying g a 0 ⋅ φ ⁢ (g) a 1 ⁢ ⋯ ⁢ φ d ⁢ (g) a d = 1 for all g ∈ G . Then the soluble radical of 퐺 has (d , | C G ⁢ (φ) |) -bounded Fitting height and index. The bounds are made explicit and are particularly good for small values of the degree 푑. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In relation to the comment by Henriksen and Rinaldo, the authors intend to emphasize that before every experiment with SVGp12 cells they routinely test the cells for the absence of BKPyV contamination. The scientists can state that the SVGp12 cells used in their laboratory were not infected by BKPyV and that their results were also validated on the COS-7 cell line, which is permissive for JCPyV infection. Therefore, the overall findings of the study and its conclusions remain authentic. The authors recommend the necessity of carefully testing SVGp12 cells for BKPyV infection before use or, alternatively, in case of a first purchase; moreover, it is possible to choose different cell lines to avoid running into this unpleasant situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For patients with therapy-refractory persistent spinal pain syndrome type II (PSPS-T2), spinal cord stimulation (SCS) may serve as an effective minimally invasive treatment. Despite the evidence that SCS can improve return to work (RTW), only 9.5 to 14% of patients implanted with SCS are effectively capable of returning to work. Thus, it seems that current post-operative interventions are not effective for achieving RTW after SCS implantation in clinical practice. The current objective is to examine whether a personalised biopsychosocial rehabilitation programme specifically targeting RTW alters the work ability in PSPS-T2 patients after SCS implantation compared to usual care.Methods: A two-arm, parallel-group multicentre randomised controlled trial will be conducted including 112 patients who will be randomised (1:1) to either (a) a personalised biopsychosocial RTW rehabilitation programme of 14 weeks or (b) a usual care arm, both with a follow-up period until 12 months after the intervention. The primary outcome is work ability. The secondary outcomes are work status and participation, pain intensity, health-related quality of life, physical activity and functional disability, functional capacities, sleep quality, kinesiophobia, self-management, anxiety, depression and healthcare expenditure.Discussion: Within the OPERA project, we propose a multidisciplinary personalised biopsychosocial rehabilitation programme specifically targeting RTW for patients implanted with SCS, to tackle the high socio-economic burden of patients that are not re-entering the labour market. The awareness is growing that the burden of PSPS-T2 on our society is expected to increase over time due to the annual increase of spinal surgeries. However, innovative and methodologically rigorous trials exploring the potential to decrease the socio-economic burden when patients initiate a trajectory with SCS are essentially lacking.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05269212. Registered on 7 March 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanisms driving mass loss from massive stars in late stages of their evolution is still very much unknown. Stellar evolution models indicate that the last stage before going supernova for many massive stars is the Wolf-Rayet (WR) phase, characterized by a strong, optically thick stellar wind. Stellar models show that these stars exceed the Eddington limit already in deep sub-surface layers around the so-called 'iron-opacity' bump, and so should launch a supersonic outflow from there. However, if the outward force does not suffice to accelerate the gas above the local escape speed, the initiated flow will stagnate and start raining down upon the stellar core. In previous, spherically symmetric, WR wind models, this has been circumvented by artificially increasing either clumping or the line force. Here, we present pioneering 3D time-dependent radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of WR winds. In these models, computed without any ad-hoc force enhancement, the stagnated flow leads to co-existing regions of up- and down-flows, which dynamically interact with each other to form a multi-dimensional and complex outflow. These density structures, and the resulting highly non-monotonic velocity field, can have important consequences for mass-loss rates and the interpretation of observed Wolf-Rayet spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic sound has increasingly become part of the marine soundscape and may negatively affect animals across all taxa. Invertebrates, including bivalves, received limited attention even though they make up a significant part of the marine biomass and are very important for higher trophic levels. Behavioural studies are critical to evaluate individual and potentially population-level impacts of noise and can be used to compare the effects of different sounds. In the current study, we examined the effect of impulsive sounds with different pulse rates on the valve gape behaviour and phytoplankton clearance rate of blue mussels (Mytilus spp.). We monitored the mussels' valve gape using an electromagnetic valve gape monitor and their clearance rate using spectrophotometry of phytoplankton densities in the water. We found that the mussels' valve gape was positively correlated with their clearance rate, but the sound exposure did not significantly affect the clearance rate or reduce the valve gape of the mussels. They did close their valves upon the onset of a pulse train, but the majority of the individuals recovered to pre-exposure valve gape levels during the exposure. Individuals that were exposed to faster pulse trains returned to their baseline valve gape faster. Our results show that different sound exposures can affect animals differently, which should be taken into account for noise pollution impact assessments and mitigation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhodobacter capsulatus produces a bacteriophage-like particle called the gene transfer agent (RcGTA) that mediates horizontal gene transfer. RcGTA particles transfer random ~4.5-kb fragments of genomic DNA that integrate into recipient genomes by allelic replacement. This work addresses the effect of sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics on gene transfer by RcGTA. A transduction assay was developed to test the effects of various substances on gene transfer. Using this assay, low concentrations of DNA gyrase inhibitors were found to increase the frequency of gene transfer. Novobiocin was studied in more detail, and it was found that this antibiotic did not influence the production or release of RcGTA but instead appeared to act on the recipient cells. The target of novobiocin in other species has been shown to be the GyrB subunit of DNA gyrase (a heterotetramer of 2GyrA and 2GyrB). R. capsulatus encodes GyrA and GyrB homologues, and a GyrB overexpression plasmid was created and found to confer resistance to novobiocin. The presence of the overexpression plasmid in recipient cells greatly diminished the novobiocin-mediated increase in gene transfer, confirming that this effect is due to the binding of novobiocin by GyrB. The results of this work show that antibiotics affect gene transfer in R. capsulatus and may be relevant to microbial genetic exchange in natural ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let f (x) be a non-zero polynomial with integer coefficients. An automorphism φ of a group G is said to satisfy the elementary abelian identity f (x) if the linear transformation induced by φ on every characteristic elementary abelian section of G is annihilated by f (x). We prove that if a finite (soluble) group G admits a fixed-point-free automorphism φ satisfying an elementary abelian identity f (x) , where f (x) is a primitive polynomial, then the Fitting height of G is bounded in terms of deg ⁡ (f (x)). We also prove that if f (x) is any non-zero polynomial and G is a σ ′ -group for a finite set of primes σ = σ (f (x)) depending only on f (x) , then the Fitting height of G is bounded in terms of the number irr (f (x)) of different irreducible factors in the decomposition of f (x). These bounds for the Fitting height are stronger than the well-known bounds in terms of the composition length α (| φ |) of 〈 φ 〉 when deg ⁡ f (x) or irr (f (x)) is small in comparison with α (| φ |). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron (Fe) colloids dominate the soil solution Fe and these colloids potentially act as vectors for nutrients and contaminants in soil. The question remains which factors, that is, gradients in soil chemical characteristics with depth or physical processes, cause vertical mobilisation and immobilisation of Fe colloids in soils. This question was addressed by characterising the change in concentration, size and composition of Fe colloids in a podzol profile and by relating these changes to soil properties along the profile. Pore waters were analysed with Flow Field Flow Fractionation (FlFFF‐UV‐ICP‐MS) to overcome the artefacts typically obtained when using filtration for fractionation. Pore water was obtained by centrifugation of field moist samples taken from an Albic Podzol. The samples were taken within a depth of 110 cm, at eight depths corresponding to different horizons. The pore water Fe concentration increased with depth and peaked at 66 μM in the E horizon just above the Bh horizon, beyond which, it sharply decreased to only 9 μM. The pore water Fe concentration correlated strongly with dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The high‐resolution size fractionation analysis with FlFFF suggested that the Fe colloids (<100 nm) in the pore water not only consisted of Fe‐organic carbon (OC) complexes, but also of mineral Fe colloids associated with organic matter (OM), as indicated by the colloid size (>5 nm) and by the relatively large Fe/OC ratio that exceeds the complexation capacity of natural OM. The smallest mineral Fe colloids dominated in the Ah1 horizon, while the larger mineral colloids increased with increasing depth, explaining the rise in total Fe towards the Bh horizon. This suggests that Fe complexation with OM and stabilisation of mineral Fe colloids with OM explain colloidal Fe in the pore water. The adsorption of the OM at the top of the Bs horizons is likely the primary mechanism of DOC retention in the Bh horizon. Below this depth, the concentration of DOC was very low, resulting in low Fe concentration in the pore water. The colloids (<100 nm) are considerably smaller than the soil pore size distribution and increase in size with depth, which suggests that straining was not a significant mechanism for colloid retention. This study demonstrates that OM plays a key role in the transport of Fe colloids in acid sandy soil. Highlights: Depth profile of pore water Fe in a podzol is studied to investigate colloid migration processesPore water colloids are characterised by Flow Field Flow FractionationFe colloids consist of complexes with OM and mainly larger mineral colloidsNatural OM plays a key role in the transport of Fe colloids in acid sandy soil [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the position of the party on the ground has been weakened by cartelization, grassroots activists remain an important recruitment pool for political professionals. Based on unique survey data collected among the staff of 14 Belgian and Dutch parties (N = 1009), this article offers an in-depth analysis of party activism among this under-researched population. Introducing a new supply and demand framework, I argue that staff recruitment is shaped by candidate preferences (supply) and party preferences (demand). The findings demonstrate that most political staffers are high-intensity activists with a strong commitment to their party. Moreover, the theoretical model accurately predicts that non-activists are more common among policy and communication experts, ministerial staff, and those working for ideologically moderate parties. These findings show that paid staffers do not necessarily widen the gap between parties and activists. They also raise normative questions about internal congruence within parties in coalition governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Representatives of neuromodulation device manufacturers are expected to facilitate the relationship between patients and healthcare providers. Nevertheless, the goals, expectations, and definition of success for neuromodulation for pain have not yet been explored. Representatives present at the 2nd Joint Congress of the INS European Chapters in September 2021 completed a survey to ascertain their opinions about the goals to achieve with neuromodulation, the factors that they expect to change, and their definition of success for neuromodulation. In total, 39 representatives completed the survey. To provide excellent service for patients (22.4%), to become a trusted partner for physicians (21.5%), and to provide excellent service for physicians (20.7%) were the highest ranked goals. The most frequently reported factors that were expected to change were pain intensity (23.1%), patient satisfaction (19.7%), mobility/functioning (14.5%), and capacity to return to work (13.7%). Within the definitions of success, increased quality of life of the patient was stated in 21% of the definitions, closely followed by pain control (19.3%) and happiness/patient satisfaction (15.8%). The goals of representatives of neuromodulation device manufacturers seem to focus on ensuring a good relationship with physicians on the one hand and providing good service towards patients on the other hand, whereby pain control, quality of life, and patient satisfaction seem to be important for company representatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study disemisimple Lie algebras, i.e., Lie algebras which can be written as a vector space sum of two semisimple subalgebras. We show that a Lie algebra g is disemisimple if and only if its solvable radical coincides with its nilradical and is a prehomogeneous s -module for a Levi subalgebra s of g. We use the classification of prehomogeneous s -modules for simple Lie algebras s given by Vinberg to show that the solvable radical of a disemisimple Lie algebra with simple Levi subalgebra is abelian. We extend this result to disemisimple Lie algebras having no simple quotients of type A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viruses will also utilize cellular proteins to establish a latent or persistent infection, and even to transform the cell. In the case of a productive infection, these pathogens may avail themselves of cellular proteins to enter the host cell, to support the replication and expression of their genome, to produce new, mature virus particles and to be released. Viral infections can lead to the generation of new virus particles, whereas other viruses behave as chameleons by camouflaging themselves to evade or mislead the immune system of the host, thereby establishing a latent infection. 34829979 10 Gerlt V., Mayr J., Del Sarto J., Ludwig S., Boergeling Y. Cellular Protein Phosphatase 2A Regulates Cell Survival Mechanisms in Influenza A Virus Infection. [Extracted from the article]

Summary: Background: Biologicals represent the cornerstone of treatment for moderate‐to‐severe inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Many patients cycle between biologicals when encountering loss of response or adverse events. Aim: To assess the occurrence of serious infections and malignancies with exposure to several (classes of) biologicals. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study in a tertiary referral centre including consecutive IBD patients exposed to adalimumab, infliximab, ustekinumab or vedolizumab between 1996 and 2019. All serious infections and malignancies, as well as potential confounders, were accounted for. Results: In total, 1575 patients were included with a median (interquartile range) follow‐up of 10 (6–16) years and a duration of biological therapy of 71 (39–112) months. Incidence rates of serious infections were 3.4 per 100 patients' years (PY) in the post‐biological setting. Serious infections after biological exposure were associated with systemic steroids in monotherapy (hazard ratio 2.96 [95% confidence interval 1.78–4.93], p < 0.0001), combination therapy of systemic steroids and a biological (2.44 [1.37–4.34], p = 0.002), female gender (1.25 [1.04–1.51], p = 0.02), and prior serious infections in the pre‐biological setting (1.42 [1.03–1.96], p = 0.03). Malignancy rates were 1.06 per 100PY in the post‐biological setting and increased with older age at biological initiation (1.04 [1.02–1.05], p < 0.0001). The risk for serious infections or malignancies was independent of type and number of biologicals to which the patient was exposed. Conclusion: This study shows that the sequential use of biological therapy in IBD does not seem to convey an overall higher risk of serious infections or malignancies, but that underlying more refractory disease seems to increase this risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress and lipotoxicity effects on pancreatic β cells play a major role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Flavonoids and antioxidants are under study for their cytoprotective effects and antidiabetic potential. In this study, we aimed to compare the protective effect of the Rooibos components aspalathin, isoorientin, 3-hydroxyphloretin (3-OH) and green Rooibos extract (GRT) itself, and exendin-4 and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as reference molecules, against lipotoxicity and oxidative stress. The insulin-producing β cell line INS1E was exposed to hydrogen peroxide or streptozotocin (STZ) to induce oxidative stress, and palmitate to induce lipotoxicity. Cell viability was assessed by a MTS cell viability assay. Antioxidant response and antiapoptotic gene expression was performed by qRT-PCR. Glucose transporter 2 (GLUT 2) transporter inhibition was assessed through 2-NBDG uptake. GRT and the flavonoids aspalathin and 3-hydroxyphloretin offered significant protection against oxidative stress and lipotoxicity. GRT downregulated expression of pro-apoptotic genes Txnip and Ddit3. The flavonoids aspalathin and 3-hydroxyphloretin also downregulated these genes and in addition upregulated expression of antioxidant response genes Hmox1, Nqo1 and Sod1. Isoorientin gave no cytoprotection. Cytoprotection by Rooibos components was significantly higher than by NAC or exendin-4. Rooibos components strongly protect INS1E β cells against diabetogenic stress. Cytoprotection was associated with the upregulation of antioxidant response genes of the NRF2/KEAP1 pathway or suppression of the TXN system. The Rooibos molecules offered better protection against these insults than exendin-4 and NAC, making them interesting candidates as β cell cytoprotectants for therapeutic or nutraceutical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasound shear wave elastography is a radiation-free and low-cost technique for evaluating the mechanical properties of different tissues. This study systematically reviewed all relevant literature on shear wave elastography of the intervertebral disc. The purpose was twofold: first, to determine the validity of the elastography method, that is, the correlation between elastographically measured shear wave speed and disc mechanical properties, and inter-/intra-operator reliability; and second, to explore if disc elastography is potentially useful in identifying children at risk for idiopathic scoliosis. This systematic review was performed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines. A comprehensive search was performed in PubMed and Embase, and study quality was assessed using the AXIS (Appraisal Tool for Cross-sectional Studies) critical appraisal instrument. Seven articles were included. Three animal ex vivo studies reported moderate-to-good correlations between shear wave speed and disc mechanical properties (r = 0.45-0.81). Three studies reported high intra-operator repeatability (intra-class correlation coefficient [ICC] 0.94-0.99) and inter-operator reproducibility (ICC 0.97-0.98). Four clinical studies measured shear wave speed in asymptomatic children. Two studies reported significantly higher shear wave speeds in scoliosis patients compared with healthy controls, measured in discs both inside and outside the scoliotic curve. In conclusion, shear wave elastography appears reliable in assessing intervertebral disc mechanical characteristics. Despite its promising capabilities to distinguish patients with asymptomatic from those with pathological discs, the exact correlation between disc mechanical properties and shear wave speed remains unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The patient was in good clinical condition and did not experience recurrent infections after the start of Ig replacement therapy and antibiotic prophylaxis with amoxicillin until the age of 5 years, when he was admitted to a hospital with COVID-19 pneumonia requiring oxygen therapy for 4 days. Invasive infections with viruses, mycobacteria, parasites, and fungi have not been described in human MyD88 deficiency, although one patient had Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) adenitis after vaccination with BCG [[2], [5]]. We here present a patient carrying a homozygous deleterious mutation in I MYD88 i , who experienced viral infections and recurrent mucocutaneous candidiasis in addition to the classical invasive and superficial pyogenic infections. [Extracted from the article]

Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is a causal factor in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). The oncogenic potential is mediated through its viral oncoproteins large T-antigen (LT) and small T-antigen (sT). Cytokines produced by tumor cells play an important role in cancer pathogenesis, and viruses affect their expression. Therefore, we compared human cytokine and receptor transcript levels in virus positive (V+) and virus negative (V−) MCC cell lines. Increased expression of IL-33, a potent modulator of tumor microenvironment, was observed in V+ MCC cell lines when compared to V− MCC-13 cells. Transient transfection studies with luciferase reporter plasmids demonstrated that LT and sT stimulated IL-33, ST2/IL1RL1 and IL1RAcP promoter activity. The induction of IL-33 expression was confirmed by transfecting MCC-13 cells with MCPyV LT. Furthermore, recombinant human cytokine domain IL-33 induced activation of MAP kinase and NF-κB pathways, which could be blocked by a ST2 receptor antibody. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated a significantly stronger IL-33, ST2, and IL1RAcP expression in MCC tissues compared to normal skin. Of interest, significantly higher IL-33 and IL1RAcP protein levels were observed in MCC patient plasma compared to plasma from healthy controls. Previous studies have demonstrated the implication of the IL-33/STL2 pathway in cancer. Because our results revealed a T-antigens-dependent induction of the IL-33/ST2 axis, IL-33/ST2 may play a role in the tumorigenesis of MCPyV-positive MCC. Therefore, neutralizing the IL-33/ST2 axis may present a novel therapeutic approach for MCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In a case report of a progressive multiple sclerosis with cerebellar impairments, we reported that synchronisation of steps to beats was possible only at −12% of usual walking cadence during 1 minute of walking. Objectives and methods: Here, we investigate the effect of synchronisation using two different alignment approaches on the patient's gait pattern over 2 minutes of walking, compared to walking in silence. Results and conclusion: This proof of concept showed that the adaptive approach was successful resulting in an improved gait pattern compared to the other conditions, providing preliminary evidence to support a full-scale intervention study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a few mechanisms that can assist to answer the title question. The initial approach is to use an established model for DC magnetron sputter deposition, i.e., RSD2013. Based on this model, the impact on the hysteresis behaviour of some typical HiPIMS conditions is investigated. From this first study, it becomes clear that the probability to observe hysteresis is much lower as compared to DC magnetron sputtering. The high current pulses cannot explain the hysteresis reduction. Total pressure and material choice make the abrupt changes less pronounced, but the implantation of ionized metal atoms that return to the target seems to be the major cause. To further substantiate these results, the analytical reactive sputtering model is coupled with a published global plasma model. The effect of metal ion implantation is confirmed. Another suggested mechanism, i.e., gas rarefaction, can be ruled out to explain the hysteresis reduction. But perhaps the major conclusion is that at present, there are too little experimental data available to make fully sound conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While shifts to high-intensity land cover have caused overwhelming biodiversity loss, it remains unclear how important natural land cover is to the occurrence, and thus the conservation, of different species groups. We used over 4 million plant species' observations to evaluate the conservation importance of natural land cover by its association with the occurrence probability of 1 122 native and 403 exotic plant species at 1 km resolution by species distribution models. We found that 74.9% of native species, 83.9% of the threatened species and 77.1% rare species preferred landscapes with over 50% natural land cover, while these landscapes only accounted for 15.6% of all grids. Most species preferred natural areas with a mixture of forest and open areas rather than areas with completely open or forested nature. Compared to native species, exotic species preferred areas with lower natural land cover and the cover of natural open area, but they both preferred extremely high and low cover of natural forest area. Threatened and rare species preferred higher natural land cover, either cover of natural forest area or cover of natural open area than not threatened and common species, but rare species were also more likely to occur in landscapes with 0–25% cover of natural open area. Although more natural land cover in a landscape will not automatically result in more native species, because there is often a non-linear increase in species occurrence probability when going from 0% to 100% natural land cover, for conserving purposes, over 80% natural land cover should be kept in landscapes for conserving threatened and very rare species, and 60% natural land cover is the best for conserving common native species. Our results stress the importance of natural areas for plant species' conservation. It also informs improvements to species conservation by increasing habitat diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron (Fe) oxyhydroxide colloids facilitate the transport of organic matter, oxyanions and trace metals in the environment. This study was set up to compare the sizes of Fe-organic carbon (OC) colloids formed by oxidation of Fe(II) in the presence of different concentrations of Suwannee River Natural Organic Matter (NOM) and to evaluate how variable dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to Fe ratios impact the binding of phosphate. The molar DOC/Fe ratio in test solutions was varied to cover the range of environmental freshwaters. Low levels of phosphate (3.2 µM PO 4 , molar P/Fe 0.036) were either present during coprecipitation together with the NOM or were equilibrated with the Fe-OC colloids post-synthesis. The suspended colloids were analysed with Flow Field Flow Fractionation (FlFFF-UV-ICP-MS) and radiolabeled orthophosphate 32PO 4 was used to facilitate the detection of P. Decreasing NOM concentrations consistently increased the colloid size both in absence and presence of PO 4 during colloid formation. Over a wide molar DOC/Fe range (10–1400), the Fe-OC colloid size was very small (<10 nm). Further decreasing the DOC/Fe ratio yielded larger colloids until the limit for colloid stability was reached (DOC/Fe ≤ 1). The molar PO 4 /Fe ratio in the colloids varied by a factor 2–3 among the Fe-OC colloids. Within the 1–20 nm colloids formed at high DOC/Fe ratio, the measured OC/Fe ratio decreased by a factor 100 with increasing size, suggesting a surface area controlled sorption of NOM. By contrast, the PO 4 /Fe ratio increased by a factor 2–3 with decreasing DOC/Fe ratio and increasing size, suggesting a high size dependent PO 4 /NOM competition on the surfaces that can be explained by steric interactions. Thus, NOM enhances the mobility of PO 4 by formation of small OM-Fe-PO 4 complexes but the highest proportion of PO 4 was adsorbed on the largest and, likely, least mobile particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Deficiency of adenosine deaminase type 2 (ADA2) (DADA2) is a rare inborn error of immunity caused by deleterious biallelic mutations in ADA2. Clinical manifestations are diverse, ranging from severe vasculopathy with lacunar strokes to immunodeficiency with viral infections, hypogammaglobulinemia and bone marrow failure. Limited data are available on the phenotype and function of leukocytes from DADA2 patients. The aim of this study was to perform in-depth immunophenotyping and functional analysis of the impact of DADA2 on human lymphocytes. Methods: In-depth immunophenotyping and functional analyses were performed on ten patients with confirmed DADA2 and compared to heterozygous carriers of pathogenic ADA2 mutations and normal healthy controls. Results: The median age of the patients was 10 years (mean 20.7 years, range 1–44 years). Four out of ten patients were on treatment with steroids and/or etanercept or other immunosuppressives. We confirmed a defect in terminal B cell differentiation in DADA2 and reveal a block in B cell development in the bone marrow at the pro-B to pre-B cell stage. We also show impaired differentiation of CD4+ and CD8+ memory T cells, accelerated exhaustion/senescence, and impaired survival and granzyme production by ADA2 deficient CD8+ T cells. Unconventional T cells (i.e. iNKT, MAIT, Vδ2+ γδT) were diminished whereas pro-inflammatory monocytes and CD56bright immature NK cells were increased. Expression of the IFN-induced lectin SIGLEC1 was increased on all monocyte subsets in DADA2 patients compared to healthy donors. Interestingly, the phenotype and function of lymphocytes from healthy heterozygous carriers were often intermediate to that of healthy donors and ADA2-deficient patients. Conclusion: Extended immunophenotyping in DADA2 patients shows a complex immunophenotype. Our findings provide insight into the cellular mechanisms underlying some of the complex and heterogenous clinical features of DADA2. More research is needed to design targeted therapy to prevent viral infections in these patients with excessive inflammation as the overarching phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron (Fe)‐rich colloids in the environment have a high surface reactivity and facilitate transport of oxyanions and trace metal cations in soil. This study was set up to help identify the soil properties that might affect the concentrations of colloidal Fe and its size distribution in pore waters of soils. The pore water was isolated by centrifugation from a collection of 97 topsoils with contrasting properties and land use. The total Fe concentration in the pore waters ranged between 0.2 and 26 μM (10th–90th percentile) and was largest at low soil solution calcium (Ca) and high dissolved organic carbon (DOC), indicating that enhanced colloidal stability determines total Fe in solution. The colloidal size distribution (<100 nm) of Fe in the pore waters of 11 soils was determined with flow field flow fractionation (FlFFF‐UV‐ICP‐MS), which yielded three different fractions that varied strikingly among soils. The smallest fraction (<5 nm) of Fe co‐eluted with high DOC and copper (Cu), suggesting mononuclear Fe‐organic carbon (OC) complexes. This fraction increased with an increasing DOC/Fe ratio in pore waters. The 5–50‐nm fraction of Fe prevailed in soils with >3.5% organic carbon (%OC), whereas the 50–100‐nm fraction was dominant in soils with low %OC content. This suggests that natural organic matter inhibits crystallization and growth of mineral Fe particles. The elemental ratios of mineral colloids (>5 nm) indicated the presence of clay minerals and Fe oxyhydroxides, which was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. This study thus identified soil %OC and Ca in soil solution as the dominant factors predicting both the concentration and size of pore water Fe colloids, with the smallest and, potentially, most mobile Fe colloids occurring in OC‐rich soils. Highlights: Pore water iron concentrations in topsoils are governed by colloid stabilityFlow field flow fractionation analysis allows characterization of iron colloids in the low nanometre rangeIron colloid size and composition vary strikingly among soilsSmall iron colloids prevail in organic carbon‐rich soils due to colloid growth inhibition [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to their ECIR 2021 paper (Salle et al., [5]), which received the ECIR 2021 industry impact award, the special issue paper includes among other things additional experimental results for facets, and additional work on learning from negative user feedback. The paper extends the ECIR 2021 paper (Ferreira et al., [2]) among other things by a new user-study that confirms the need for the conversational search paradigm, and an evaluation of the performance of answer generation. The 43rd European Conference on Information Retrieval, ECIR 2021, was supposed to take place as an in-person conference in Lucca, Italy. [Extracted from the article]

This study is the first in the world to investigate the expected impact of the COVID-19 crisis on career outcomes and career aspirations. To this end, high-quality survey research with a relevant sample of Flemish (Belgian) employees was conducted. About 21% of them fear losing their jobs due to the crisis—14% are concerned that they will even lose their jobs in the near future. In addition, 26% expect to miss out on promotions that they would have received had the COVID-19 crisis not occurred. This fear of a negative impact is higher in vulnerable groups, such migrants. In addition, we observe that many respondents believe they will look at the labour market differently and will have different work-related priorities in the future. In this respect, more than half of the respondents indicate that they have attached more importance to working conditions and work-life balance since the COVID-19 crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]