An Expanding HI Photodissociated Region Associated with the Compact HII Region G213.880-11.837 in the GGD 14 Complex

We present high angular and spectral resolution HI 21~cm line observations toward the cometary-shaped compact HII region G213.880-11.837 in the GGD~14 complex.The kinematics and morphology of the photodissociated region, traced by the HI line emission, reveal that the neutral gas is part of an expanding flow. The kinematics of the HI gas along the major axis of G213.880-11.837 shows that the emission is very extended toward the SE direction, reaching LSR radial velocities in the tail of about 14 km/s. The ambient LSR radial velocity of the molecular gas is 11.5 km/s, which suggests a champagne flow of the HI gas. This is the second (after G111.61+0.37) cometary HII/HI region known.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal (10 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

Psychiatric symptoms and moral injury among US healthcare workers in the COVID-19 era

Background Emerging cross-sectional data indicate that healthcare workers (HCWs) in the COVID-19 era face particular mental health risks. Moral injury – a betrayal of one’s values and beliefs, is a potential concern for HCWs who witness the devastating impact of acute COVID-19 illness while too often feeling helpless to respond. This study longitudinally examined rates of depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and moral injury among United States HCWs in the COVID-19 era. We anticipated finding high levels of clinical symptoms and moral injury that would remain stable over time. We also expected to find positive correlations between clinical symptoms and moral injury. Methods This three-wave study assessed clinical symptoms and moral injury among 350 HCWs at baseline, 30, and 90 days between September and December 2020. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and moral injury were measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Primary Care PTSD Screen (PC-PTSD), and Moral Injury Events Scale (MIES). Results Of the 350 HCWs, 72% reported probable anxiety, depression, and/or PTSD disorders at baseline, 62% at day 30, and 64% at day 90. High level of moral injury was associated with a range of psychopathology including suicidal ideation, especially among healthcare workers self-reporting COVID-19 exposure. Conclusions Findings demonstrate broad, persisting, and diverse mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic among United States HCWs. This study is the first to longitudinally examine the relationships between moral injury and psychopathology among HCWs, emphasizing the need to increase HCWs’ access to mental healthcare

Greater hippocampal volume is associated with PTSD treatment response

Previous research associates smaller hippocampal volume with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is unclear, however, whether treatment affects hippocampal volume or vice versa. Seventy-six subjects, 40 PTSD patients and 36 matched trauma-exposed healthy resilient controls, underwent clinical assessments and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline, and 10 weeks later, during which PTSD patients completed ten weeks of Prolonged Exposure (PE) treatment. The resilient controls and treatment responders (n=23) had greater baseline hippocampal volume than treatment non-responders (n=17) (p=0.012 and p=0.050, respectively), perhaps due to more robust fear-extinction capacity in both the initial phase after exposure to trauma and during treatment

Right vs. left ventricular longitudinal strain for mortality prediction after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

IntroductionThis study aims at exploring biventricular remodelling and its implications for outcome in a representative patient cohort with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).Methods and resultsPre-interventional echocardiographic examinations of 100 patients with severe AS undergoing TAVI were assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography of both ventricles. Association with mortality was determined for right ventricular global longitudinal strain (RVGLS), RV free wall strain (RVFWS) and left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS). During a median follow-up of 1,367 [959–2,123] days, 33 patients (33%) died. RVGLS was lower in non-survivors [−13.9% (−16.4 to −12.9)] than survivors [−17.1% (−20.2 to −15.2); P = 0.001]. In contrast, LVGLS as well as the conventional parameters LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and RV fractional area change (RVFAC) did not differ (P = ns). Kaplan–Meier analyses indicated a reduced survival probability when RVGLS was below the −14.6% cutpoint (P < 0.001). Lower RVGLS was associated with higher mortality [HR 1.13 (95% CI 1.04–1.23); P = 0.003] independent of LVGLS, LVEF, RVFAC, and EuroSCORE II. Addition of RVGLS clearly improved the fitness of bivariable and multivariable models including LVGLS, LVEF, RVFAC, and EuroSCORE II with potential incremental value for mortality prediction. In contrast, LVGLS, LVEF, and RVFAC were not associated with mortality.DiscussionIn patients with severe AS undergoing TAVI, RVGLS but not LVGLS was reduced in non-survivors compared to survivors, differentiated non-survivors from survivors, was independently associated with mortality, and exhibited potential incremental value for outcome prediction. RVGLS appears to be more suitable than LVGLS for risk stratification in AS and timely valve replacement

PTSD remission after prolonged exposure treatment is associated with anterior cingulate cortex thinning and volume reduction

Background: Brain structures underlying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been a focus of imaging studies, but associations between treatment outcome and alterations in brain structures remain largely unexamined. We longitudinally examined the relation of structural changes in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), a previously identified key region in the PTSD fear network, to outcome of prolonged exposure (PE) treatment. Method: The sample included 78 adults (53 women): 41 patients with PTSD and 37 trauma-exposed healthy volunteers (TE-HCs). Patients underwent a 10-week course of PE treatment and completed pre- and posttreatment assessments and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) structural scans. TE-HCs also underwent assessment and MRI at baseline and 10 weeks later. PE remitters (n = 11), nonremitters (n = 14), and TE-HCs, were compared at baseline on demographic and clinical characteristics and ACC structure. Remitters, nonremitters, and TE-HCs were compared for pre- to posttreatment clinical and structural ACC change, controlling for potential confounding variables. Results: There were no baseline differences in structure between PTSD and TE-HCs or remitters and nonremitters. Following treatment, PTSD remitters exhibited cortical thinning and volume decrease in the left rACC compared with PTSD nonremitters and TE-HCs. Conclusions: These results, while in need of replication, suggest that PE treatment for PTSD, by extinguishing maladaptive trauma associations, may promote synaptic plasticity and structure change in rACC. Future research should explore possible underlying mechanisms

Sensing sulfur-containing gases using titanium and tin decorated zigzag graphene nanoribbons from first-principles

Atom implantation in graphene or graphene nanoribbons offers a rich opportunity to tune the material structure and functional properties. In this study, zigzag graphene nanoribbons with Ti or Sn adatoms stabilised on a double carbon vacancy site are theoretically studied to investigate their sensitivity to sulfur-containing gases (H2S and SO2). Due to the abundance of oxygen in the atmosphere, we also consider the sensitivity of the structures in the presence of oxygen. Density functional theory calculations are performed to determine the adsorption geometry and energetics, and nonequilibrium Green's function method is employed to compute the current–voltage characteristics of the considered systems. Our results demonstrate the sensitivity of both Ti- and Sn-doped systems to H2S, and the mild sensitivity of Ti-doped sensor systems to SO2. The Ti-doped sensor structure exhibits sensitivity to H2S with or without oxidation, while oxidation of the Sn-doped sensor structure reduces its ability to adsorb H2S and SO2 molecules. Interestingly, oxygen dissociates on the Ti-doped sensor structure, but it does not affect the sensor's response to the H2S gas species. Oxidation prevents the dissociation of the H–S bond when H2S adsorbs on the Ti-doped structure, thus enhancing its reusability for this gas species. Our study suggests the potential of Ti- and Sn-doped graphene in selective gas sensing, irrespective of the sensing performance of the bulk oxides

Investigating the specificity of peptide adsorption on gold using molecular dynamics simulations

We report all-atom molecular dynamics simulations following adsorption of gold-binding and non-gold-binding peptides on gold surfaces modeled with dispersive interactions. We examine the dependence of adsorption on both identity of the amino acids and mobility of the peptides. Within the limitations of the approach, results indicate that when the peptides are solvated, adsorption requires both configurational changes and local flexibility of individual amino acids. This is achieved when peptides consist mostly of random coils or when their secondary structural motifs (helices, sheets) are short and connected by flexible hinges. In the absence of solvent, only affinity for the surface is required: mobility is not important. In combination, these results suggest the barrier to adsorption presented by displacement of water molecules requires conformational sampling enabled through mobility.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) – Programa Operacional “Ciência , Tecnologia, Inovação” – SFRH/BPD/20555/2004/0GV

Local Alignment Refinement Using Structural Assessment

Homology modeling is the most commonly used technique to build a three-dimensional model for a protein sequence. It heavily relies on the quality of the sequence alignment between the protein to model and related proteins with a known three dimensional structure. Alignment quality can be assessed according to the physico-chemical properties of the three dimensional models it produces