@article{XuXuSchultzetal.2023, author = {Xu, Wenlei and Xu, Yaolin and Schultz, Thorsten and Lu, Yan and Koch, Norbert and Pinna, Nicola}, title = {Heterostructured and mesoporous Nb2O5@TiO2 core-shell spheres as the negative electrode in Li-ion batteries}, series = {ACS applied materials \& interfaces}, volume = {15}, journal = {ACS applied materials \& interfaces}, number = {1}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1944-8244}, doi = {10.1021/acsami.2c15124}, pages = {795 -- 805}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Niobium pentoxides have received considerable attention and are promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), due to their fast Li storage kinetics and high capacity. However, their cycling stability and rate performance are still limited owing to their intrinsic insulating properties and structural degradation during charging and discharging. Herein, a series of mesoporous Nb2O5@TiO2 core-shell spherical heterostructures have been prepared for the first time by a sol-gel method and investigated as anode materials in LIBs. Mesoporosity can provide numerous open and short pathways for Li+ diffusion; meanwhile, heterostructures can simultaneously enhance the electronic conductivity and thus improve the rate capability. The TiO2 coating layer shows robust crystalline skeletons during repeated lithium insertion and extraction processes, retaining high structural integrity and, thereby, enhancing cycling stability. The electrochemical behavior is strongly dependent on the thickness of the TiO2 layer. After optimization, a mesoporous Nb2O5@TiO2 core-shell structure with a similar to 13 nm thick TiO2 layer delivers a high specific capacity of 136 mA h g-1 at 5 A g-1 and exceptional cycling stability (88.3\% retention over 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g-1). This work provides a facile strategy to obtain mesoporous Nb2O5@TiO2 core-shell spherical structures and underlines the importance of structural engineering for improving the performance of battery materials.}, language = {en} } @article{DasBroseMeyeretal.2022, author = {Das, Samata and Brose, Robert and Meyer, Dominique M.-A. and Pohl, Martin and Sushch, Iurii and Plotko, Pavlo}, title = {Spectral softening in core-collapse supernova remnant expanding inside wind-blown bubble☆}, series = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal}, volume = {661}, journal = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal}, publisher = {EDP Sciences}, address = {Les Ulis}, issn = {0004-6361}, doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202142747}, pages = {13}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Context. Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) are widely assumed to arise from diffusive shock acceleration, specifically at shocks in supernova remnants (SNRs). These shocks expand in a complex environment, particularly in the core-collapse scenario as these SNRs evolve inside the wind-blown bubbles created by their progenitor stars. The CRs at core-collapse SNRs may carry spectral signatures of that complexity. Aims. We study particle acceleration in the core-collapse SNR of a progenitor with an initial mass of 60 M-circle dot and realistic stellar evolution. The SNR shock interacts with discontinuities inside the wind-blown bubble and generates several transmitted and reflected shocks. We analyse their impact on particle spectra and the resulting emission from the remnant. Methods. To model the particle acceleration at the forward shock of a SNR expanding inside a wind bubble, we initially simulated the evolution of the pre-supernova circumstellar medium (CSM) by solving the hydrodynamic equations for the entire lifetime of the progenitor star. As the large-scale magnetic field, we considered parameterised circumstellar magnetic field with passive field transport. We then solved the hydrodynamic equations for the evolution of a SNR inside the pre-supernova CSM simultaneously with the transport equation for CRs in test-particle approximation and with the induction equation for the magnetohydrodynamics in 1D spherical symmetry. Results. The evolution of a core-collapse SNR inside a complex wind-blown bubble modifies the spectra of both the particles and their emission on account of several factors including density fluctuations, temperature variations, and the magnetic field configuration. We find softer particle spectra with spectral indices close to 2.5 during shock propagation inside the shocked wind, and this softness persists at later evolutionary stages. Further, our calculated total production spectrum released into the interstellar medium demonstrates spectral consistency at high energy (HE) with the injection spectrum of Galactic CRs, which is required in propagation models. The magnetic field structure effectively influences the emission morphology of SNRs as it governs the transportation of particles and the synchrotron emissivity. There is rarely a full correspondence of the intensity morphology in the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray bands.}, language = {en} } @article{AnthymidisPapazachosOhrnbergeretal.2022, author = {Anthymidis, Marios and Papazachos, Costas and Ohrnberger, Matthias and Savvaidis, Alexandros and Theodoulidis, Nikos and Oikonomou, Dimitris}, title = {Evaluation of the 3D near-surface velocity structure in an urban environment from ambient noise array tomography: the case of the city of Thessaloniki (Northern Greece)}, series = {The bulletin of the Seismological Society of America : BSSA}, volume = {112}, journal = {The bulletin of the Seismological Society of America : BSSA}, number = {5}, publisher = {Seismological Society of America}, address = {El Cerito, Calif.}, issn = {0037-1106}, doi = {10.1785/0120220004}, pages = {2587 -- 2605}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We examine the implementation of ambient noise array tomography in an urban environment to assess the 3D near-surface shear wave velocity (VS) structure at an intermediate spatial scale (-1 km2, depth range 200-300 m). The application employs cross correlation traces of vertical component ambient noise recordings from a local network installed in Thessaloniki city (Northern Greece), allowing the determination of Rayleigh wave travel times for the frequency range of 1.5-14 Hz. The results confirm the presence of a complex subsurface with strong lateral variations in the geology, with travel times varying up to almost one order of magnitude. A surface wave travel time tomography approach was applied for each frequency to determine the spatial variability of the group velocity, involving the use of approximate Fresnel volumes, as well as damping and spatial smoothing constraints to stabilize the results. We also employed an interfrequency smoothing scheme to obtain smooth but data-compatible dispersion curves at the cost of inverting all travel time data simultaneously. Following the application of several quality cutoff criteria, we reconstructed local group slowness dispersion curves for a predefined tomographic grid in the study area. The final 3D velocity model was determined by a modified Monte Carlo inversion of these dispersion curves and the spatial integration of the obtained 1D VS profiles. Different model parameterizations were tested for the inversion to determine the optimal datafit. The final 3D velocity model is in a very good agreement with the local geology, previous larger scale studies, and other geophysical surveys, providing additional structural constraints (such as hidden fault identification) for the complex sedimentary deposits and bedrock formation in Thessaloniki, up to the depth of - 250-300 m. The introduction of the aforementioned modifications to the ambient noise array tomography suggests that it can be efficiently adjusted and employed as a reliable tool for imaging the 3D seismic structure in urban environments with complex geology.}, language = {en} } @article{PradaWittenbecherEichelmannetal.2022, author = {Prada, Marcela and Wittenbecher, Clemens and Eichelmann, Fabian and Wernitz, Andreas and Kuxhaus, Olga and Kroeger, Janine and Weikert, Cornelia and Schulze, Matthias B.}, title = {Plasma industrial and ruminant trans fatty acids and incident type 2 diabetes in the EPIC-Potsdam cohort}, series = {Diabetes care}, volume = {45}, journal = {Diabetes care}, number = {4}, publisher = {American Diabetes Association}, address = {Alexandria, Va.}, issn = {0149-5992}, doi = {10.2337/dc21-1897}, pages = {845 -- 853}, year = {2022}, abstract = {OBJECTIVEAlthough dietary intake of trans fatty acid (TFA) is a major public health concern because of the associated increase in the risk of cardiovascular events, it remains unclear whether TFAs also influence risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and whether industrial TFAs (iTFAs) and ruminant TFAs (rTFAs) exert the same effect on health. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSTo investigate the relationship of 7 rTFAs and iTFAs, including 2 conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs), plasma phospholipid TFAs were measured in a case-cohort study nested within the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam cohort. The analytical sample was a random subsample (n = 1,248) and incident cases of T2D (n = 801) over a median follow-up of 6.5 years. Using multivariable Cox regression models, we examined associations of TFAs with incident T2D. RESULTSThe TFA subtypes were intercorrelated with each other, with other fatty acids, and with different food sources. After controlling for other TFAs, the iTFAs (18:1n-6t, 18:1n-9t, 18:2n-6,9t) were not associated with diabetes risk. Some rTFA subtypes were inversely associated with diabetes risk: vaccenic acid (18:1n-7t; hazard ratio [HR] per SD 0.72; 95\% CI 0.58-0.89) and t10c12-CLA (HR per SD 0.81; 95\% CI 0.70-0.94), whereas c9t11-CLA was positively associated (HR per SD 1.39; 95\% CI 1.19-1.62). Trans-palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7t) was not associated with diabetes risk when adjusting for the other TFAs (HR per SD 1.08; 95\% CI 0.88-1.31). CONCLUSIONSThe TFAs' conformation plays an essential role in their relationship to diabetes risk. rTFA subtypes may have opposing relationships to diabetes risk. Previous observations for reduced diabetes risk with higher levels of circulating trans-palmitoleic acid are likely due to confounding.}, language = {en} } @article{MaierWiedermannBurdinskietal.2022, author = {Maier, Benjamin F. and Wiedermann, Marc and Burdinski, Angelique and Klamser, Pascal P. and Jenny, Mirjam A. and Betsch, Cornelia and Brockmann, Dirk}, title = {Germany's fourth COVID-19 wave was mainly driven by the unvaccinated}, series = {Communications medicine}, volume = {2}, journal = {Communications medicine}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2730-664X}, doi = {10.1038/s43856-022-00176-7}, pages = {9}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background While the majority of the German population was fully vaccinated at the time (about 65\%), COVID-19 incidence started growing exponentially in October 2021 with about 41\% of recorded new cases aged twelve or above being symptomatic breakthrough infections, presumably also contributing to the dynamics. So far, it remained elusive how significant this contribution was and whether targeted non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) may have stopped the amplification of the crisis.
Methods We develop and introduce a contribution matrix approach based on the nextgeneration matrix of a population-structured compartmental infectious disease model to derive contributions of respective inter- and intragroup infection pathways of unvaccinated and vaccinated subpopulations to the effective reproduction number and new infections, considering empirical data of vaccine efficacies against infection and transmission.
Results Here we show that about 61\%-76\% of all new infections were caused by unvaccinated individuals and only 24\%-39\% were caused by the vaccinated. Furthermore, 32\%-51\% of new infections were likely caused by unvaccinated infecting other unvaccinated. Decreasing the transmissibility of the unvaccinated by, e. g. targeted NPIs, causes a steeper decrease in the effective reproduction number R than decreasing the transmissibility of vaccinated individuals, potentially leading to temporary epidemic control. Reducing contacts between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals serves to decrease R in a similar manner as increasing vaccine uptake.
Conclusions A minority of the German population-the unvaccinated-is assumed to have caused the majority of new infections in the fall of 2021 in Germany. Our results highlight the importance of combined measures, such as vaccination campaigns and targeted contact reductions to achieve temporary epidemic control.}, language = {en} } @article{ThormannBetaKuhn2022, author = {Thormann, Kai M. and Beta, Carsten and Kuhn, Marco J.}, title = {Wrapped up}, series = {Annual review of microbiology}, volume = {76}, journal = {Annual review of microbiology}, publisher = {Annual Reviews Inc.}, address = {Palo Alto}, issn = {0066-4227}, doi = {10.1146/annurev-micro-041122-101032}, pages = {349 -- 367}, year = {2022}, abstract = {A huge number of bacterial species are motile by flagella, which allow them to actively move toward favorable environments and away from hazardous areas and to conquer new habitats. The general perception of flagellum-mediated movement and chemotaxis is dominated by the Escherichia coli paradigm, with its peritrichous flagellation and its famous run-and-tumble navigation pattern, which has shaped the view on how bacteria swim and navigate in chemical gradients. However, a significant amount-more likely the majority-of bacterial species exhibit a (bi)polar flagellar localization pattern instead of lateral flagella. Accordingly, these species have evolved very different mechanisms for navigation and chemotaxis. Here, we review the earlier and recent findings on the various modes of motility mediated by polar flagella.}, language = {en} } @article{WelbySpinelliBuerki2022, author = {Welby, Pauline and Spinelli, Elsa and B{\"u}rki, Audrey}, title = {Spelling provides a precise (but sometimes misplaced) phonological target}, series = {Journal of phonetics}, volume = {94}, journal = {Journal of phonetics}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0095-4470}, doi = {10.1016/j.wocn.2022.101172}, pages = {16}, year = {2022}, abstract = {L1 French participants learned novel L2 English words over two days of learning sessions, with half of the words presented with their orthographic forms (Audio-Ortho) and half without (Audio only). One group heard the words pronounced by a single talker, while another group heard them pronounced by multiple talkers. On the third day, they completed a variety of tasks to evaluate their learning. Our results show a robust influence of orthogra-phy, with faster response times in both production (Picture naming) and recognition (Picture mapping) tasks for words learned in the Audio-Ortho condition. Moreover, formant analyses of the Picture naming responses show that orthographic input pulls pronunciations of English novel words towards a non-native (French) phonological target. Words learned with their orthographic forms were pronounced more precisely (with smaller Dispersion Scores), but were misplaced in the vowel space (as reflected by smaller Euclidian distances with respect to French vowels). Finally, we found only limited evidence of an effect of talker-based acoustic variability: novel words learned with multiple talkers showed faster responses times in the Picture naming task, but only in the Audio-only condition, which suggests that orthographic information may have overwhelmed any advantage of talker-based acoustic variability.CO 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).}, language = {en} } @article{BuschFeldmannKuehnetal.2021, author = {Busch, Johannes L. and Feldmann, Lucia K. and Kuehn, Andrea A. and Rosenblum, Michael}, title = {Real-time phase and amplitude estimation of neurophysiological signals exploiting a non-resonant oscillator}, series = {Experimental neurology}, volume = {347}, journal = {Experimental neurology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0014-4886}, doi = {10.1016/j.expneurol.2021.113869}, pages = {4}, year = {2021}, abstract = {A recent advancement in the field of neuromodulation is to adapt stimulation parameters according to prespecified biomarkers tracked in real-time. These markers comprise short and transient signal features, such as bursts of elevated band power. To capture these features, instantaneous measures of phase and/or amplitude are employed, which inform stimulation adjustment with high temporal specificity. For adaptive neuromodulation it is therefore necessary to precisely estimate a signal's phase and amplitude with minimum delay and in a causal way, i.e. without depending on future parts of the signal. Here we demonstrate a method that utilizes oscillation theory to estimate phase and amplitude in real-time and compare it to a recently proposed causal modification of the Hilbert transform. By simulating real-time processing of human LFP data, we show that our approach almost perfectly tracks offline phase and amplitude with minimum delay and is computationally highly efficient.}, language = {en} } @article{ArkesAbereggArpin2022, author = {Arkes, Hal R. and Aberegg, Scott K. and Arpin, Kevin A.}, title = {Analysis of physicians' probability estimates of a medical outcome based on a sequence of events}, series = {Obstetrical \& gynecological survey}, volume = {77}, journal = {Obstetrical \& gynecological survey}, number = {12}, publisher = {Lippincott, Williams \& Wilkins}, address = {Philadelphia}, issn = {0029-7828}, doi = {10.1097/01.ogx.0000905284.72687.a0}, pages = {719 -- 721}, year = {2022}, abstract = {A basic law of probability is that the probability of a conjunction of 2 independent events is the product of both components and cannot exceed the likelihood of either component. When this basic law is violated, it is known as the conjunction fallacy. In clinical practice, the conjunction fallacy may arise when physicians estimate the probability of the overall outcome that requires >= 2 steps to be successful. For example, if a successful procedure requires the success of step A and step B, then the probability of overall success of the procedure cannot exceed the likelihood of success of either step A or step B. The aim of this study was to determine whether physicians could correctly estimate the overall probability of success from 2 independent events.
This was a 3-part, Internet-based survey study designed to evaluate the presence of the conjunction fallacy in 2 separate obstetric contexts and 1 pulmonary context. Respondents were board-certified or board-eligible physicians in obstetrics and gynecology and pulmonary, recruited from a commercial survey service. In each context, physicians were presented with scenarios related to their medical specialty and asked to judge the probability of the overall outcome, or conjunction, and of the 2 individual events, or conjuncts.
The first substudy, conducted April 2-4, 2021, described a delivery in brow presentation discovered during labor. To assess the overall probability of a successful spontaneous vaginal delivery, an obstetrician must consider the likelihood of the brow presentation converting to a deliverable position and the likelihood of vaginal delivery from the converted position. The second substudy, conducted November 2-11, 2021, described the diagnostic evaluation of pulmonary nodule discovered incidentally. To assess the overall probability that a biopsy reveals cancer, the physician must consider the likelihood that the nodule is cancerous and the likelihood that the biopsy successfully and accurately detects cancer. The third study, conducted May 13-19, 2021, modified the first substudy and asked responding obstetricians to consider the likelihood of the individual conjuncts before estimating the overall probability of successful vaginal delivery.
The survey included responses from 215 physicians: 66\% were male and 34\% were female with a mean (SD) age of 53.6 (9.5) years and mean time since obtaining a medical degree of 27.5 (10.6) years. Overall, 78.1\% of physicians committed the conjunction fallacy, estimating that the overall probability of success was greater than the likelihood of at least 1 of the 2 conjuncts. In the first substudy, 74.6\% of 67 obstetricians committed the conjunction fallacy; respondents overestimated the combined probability by 12.8\% (95\% confidence interval [CI], 9.6\%-16.1\%), compared with the product of the 2 estimated conjuncts with statistically significant deviation (t66 = 7.94; P < 0.001; Cohen d = 0.97 [95\% CI, 0.68-1.26]). In the second substudy, 86.9\% of 84 pulmonologists committed the conjunction fallacy; respondents overestimated the combined probability by 19.8\% (95\% CI, 16.6\%-23.0\%), with statistically significant deviation of (t83 = 7.94; P < 0.001; Cohen d = 1.34 [95\% CI, 1.04-1.64]). In the third substudy, 70.3\% of 64 committed the conjunction fallacy; respondents overestimated the combined probability by 18.0\% (95\% CI, 13.4\%-22.5\%) with statistically significant deviation (t63 = 7.89; P < 0.001; Cohen d = 0.99 [95\% CI, 0.68-1.28]).
In this study, it was common for seasoned obstetricians and pulmonologists to commit the conjunction fallacy. Given that physicians often need to estimate the successful outcome of a multistep procedure, they may be doing so in a flawed manner that may negatively impact decision-making.}, language = {en} } @article{ElHageKnippschildArnoldetal.2022, author = {El Hage, Racha and Knippschild, Uwe and Arnold, Tobias and Hinterseher, Irene}, title = {Stem cell-based therapy : a promising treatment for diabetic foot ulcer}, series = {Biomedicines : open access journal}, volume = {10}, journal = {Biomedicines : open access journal}, number = {7}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2227-9059}, doi = {10.3390/biomedicines10071507}, pages = {22}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a severe complication of diabetes and a challenging medical condition. Conventional treatments for DFU have not been effective enough to reduce the amputation rates, which urges the need for additional treatment. Stem cell-based therapy for DFU has been investigated over the past years. Its therapeutic effect is through promoting angiogenesis, secreting paracrine factors, stimulating vascular differentiation, suppressing inflammation, improving collagen deposition, and immunomodulation. It is controversial which type and origin of stem cells, and which administration route would be the most optimal for therapy. We reviewed the different types and origins of stem cells and routes of administration used for the treatment of DFU in clinical and preclinical studies. Diabetes leads to the impairment of the stem cells in the diseased patients, which makes it less ideal to use autologous stem cells, and requires looking for a matching donor. Moreover, angioplasty could be complementary to stem cell therapy, and scaffolds have a positive impact on the healing process of DFU by stem cell-based therapy. In short, stem cell-based therapy is promising in the field of regenerative medicine, but more studies are still needed to determine the ideal type of stem cells required in therapy, their safety, proper dosing, and optimal administration route.}, language = {en} }