An Efficient and Accurate Car-Parrinello-like Approach to Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics

We present a new method which combines Car-Parrinello and Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics in order to accelerate density functional theory based ab-initio simulations. Depending on the system a gain in efficiency of one to two orders of magnitude has been observed, which allows ab-initio molecular dynamics of much larger time and length scales than previously thought feasible. It will be demonstrated that the dynamics is correctly reproduced and that high accuracy can be maintained throughout for systems ranging from insulators to semiconductors and even to metals in condensed phases. This development considerably extends the scope of ab-initio simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; Accepted by Phys. Rev. Lett. for publicatio

Can online exemplars trigger a spiral of silence?

In modern media environments, social media have fundamentally altered the way how individual opinions find their way into the public sphere. We link spiral of silence theory to exemplification research and investigate the effects of online opinions on peoples’ perceptions of public opinion and willingness to speak out. In an experiment, we can show that a relatively low number of online exemplars considerably influence perceived public support for the eviction of violent immigrants. Moreover, supporters of eviction were less willing to speak out on the issue online and offline when confronted with exemplars contradicting their opinion

Bystanding or standing by? How the number of bystanders affects the intention to intervene in cyberbullying

This study examines the bystander effect in cyberbullying. On the basis of two experiments, we test whether individuals who witness cyberbullying are less willing to intervene when the number of others who have already observed the incident is increased. In addition, we inquire how differently severe cyberbullying incidents affect bystanders' intention to intervene. Our results show that a very severe cyberbullying incident boosts individuals' intention to intervene, mediated by the assessment of the situation as emergency and, in turn, by an increased feeling of responsibility. However, if there is a larger number of bystanders in a cyberbullying incident, rather than just a few, participants feel less responsible to help, and thus, they are less willing to intervene

Évaluation du comportement d'un véhicule autonome aux intersections

International audienceThe development of automated vehicles (AVs) is ongoing and soon the first versions will enter the up to now exclusively human controlled traffic environment. In previous research, we developed an approach for an automated vehicle control in intersection scenarios. The focus was on the decision-making process to either enter the intersection before another car or wait to let the other car pass. While objective risk features were used to evaluate the performance, the interaction with real human drivers remains uncertain. Therefore, we propose a method to evaluate the automated vehicle behavior from an outside perspective by introducing a human driver and our automated vehicle in the same simulation environment. We conducted a study to examine the interaction and evaluate the automated vehicle behavior from another driver's perspective. The focus of the study was on the naturalness and risk of the behavior and how the subjective risk evaluation is linked to our main objective risk feature. For comparing the results, we used two different setups for our automated vehicle (aggressive vs. passive) and varied the starting position to create either of the two situations (AV first vs. driver first) as mentioned above. The results show a high overall naturalness score. The risk score was related to the outcome of the situation and the AV setup. A weak correlation between the subjective risk assessment and the objective risk feature indicated the necessity to evaluate automated vehicle control from an outside perspective to achieve a better assimilation in human traffic environments. Since the identification of automated vehicles can influence the driver behavior, the integration of a human-like behavior for AVs seems highly desirable

Cabozantinib in combination with atezolizumab versus sorafenib in treatment-naive advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: COSMIC-312 Phase III study design.

Cabozantinib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets VEGFR, MET and the TAM (TYRO3, AXL, MER) family of kinase receptors. In addition to their role in tumor growth and angiogenesis, cabozantinib targets promote an immune-suppressive microenvironment. Cabozantinib is approved as single-agent therapy for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who received prior sorafenib. Owing to its antitumor and immunomodulatory properties, cabozantinib is being developed in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Early studies of these combinations have shown promising antitumor activity and tolerability in patients with solid tumors. Here, we describe the rationale and design of COSMIC-312, a Phase III study evaluating the safety and efficacy of cabozantinib in combination with atezolizumab (anti–PD-L1 monoclonal antibody) versus sorafenib for treatment-naive patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. ClinicalTrial.gov Registration: NCT0375579

A pandemic strain of calicivirus threatens rabbit industries in the Americas

Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD) is a severe acute viral disease specifically affecting the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus. As the European rabbit is the predominant species of domestic rabbit throughout the world, RHD contributes towards significant losses to rabbit farming industries and endangers wild populations of rabbits in Europe and other predatory animals in Europe that depend upon rabbits as a food source. Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease virus (RHDV) – a Lagovirus belonging to the family Caliciviridae is the etiological agent of RHD. Typically, RHD presents with sudden death in 70% to 95% of infected animals. There have been four separate incursions of RHDV in the USA, the most recent of which occurred in the state of Indiana in June of 2005. Animal inoculation studies confirmed the pathogenicity of the Indiana 2005 isolate, which caused acute death and pathological changes characterized by acute diffuse severe liver necrosis and pulmonary hemorrhages. Complete viral genome sequences of all USA outbreak isolates were determined and comparative genomics revealed that each outbreak was the result of a separate introduction of virus rather than from a single virus lineage. All of the USA isolates clustered with RHDV genomes from China, and phylogenetic analysis of the major capsid protein (VP60) revealed that they were related to a pandemic antigenic variant strain known as RHDVa. Rapid spread of the RHDVa pandemic suggests a selective advantage for this new subtype. Given its rapid spread, pathogenic nature, and potential to further evolve, possibly broadening its host range to include other genera native to the Americas, RHDVa should be regarded as a threat

Decision-making for automated vehicles at intersections adapting human-like behavior

International audienceLearning from human driver’s strategies for solving complex and potentially dangerous situations including interaction with other road users has the potential to improve decision-making methods for automated vehicles. In this paper, we focus on simple unsignalized intersections and roundabouts in presence of another vehicle. We propose a human-like decision-making algorithm for these scenarios built up from human drivers recordings. The algorithm includes a risk assessment to avoid collisions in the intersection area.Three road topologies with different interaction scenarios were presented to human participants on a previously developed simulation tool. The same scenarios have been used to validate our decision-making process. The algorithm showed promising results with no collisions in all setups and the ability to successfully determine to go before or after another vehicle

Inconsistent country-wide reporting of adverse drug reactions to antimicrobials in Sierra Leone (2017–2021): A wake-up call to improve reporting

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2022-03-08, pub-electronic 2022-03-10Publication status: PublishedBackground: Monitoring of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to antimicrobials is important, as they can cause life-threatening illness, permanent disabilities, and death. We assessed country-wide ADR reporting on antimicrobials and their outcomes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using individual case safety reports (ICSRs) entered into the national pharmacovigilance database (VigiFlow) during 2017−2021. Results: Of 566 ICSRs, inconsistent reporting was seen, with the highest reporting in 2017 and 2019 (mass drug campaigns for deworming), zero reporting in 2018 (reasons unknown), and only a handful in 2020 and 2021 (since COVID-19). Of 566 ICSRs, 90% were for antiparasitics (actively reported during mass campaigns), while the rest (passive reporting from health facilities) included 8% antibiotics, 7% antivirals, and 0.2% antifungals. In total, 90% of the reports took >30 days to be entered (median = 165; range 2−420 days), while 44% had 75% of all variables filled in (desired target = 100%). There were 10 serious ADRs, 18 drug withdrawals, and 60% of ADRs affected the gastrointestinal system. The patient outcomes (N-566) were: recovered (59.5%), recovering (35.5%), not recovered (1.4%), death (0.2%), and unknown (3.4%). There was no final ascertainment of ‘recovering’ outcomes. Conclusions: ADR reporting is inconsistent, with delays and incomplete data. This is a wake-up call for introducing active reporting and setting performance targets.19pubpub

Comparative susceptibility of eastern cottontails and New Zealand white rabbits to classical rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) and RHDV2

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is associated with high morbidity and mortality in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). In 2010, a genetically distinct RHDV named RHDV2 emerged in Europe and spread to many other regions, including North America in 2016. Prior to this study it was unknown if eastern cottontails (ECT(s); Sylvilagus floridanus), one of the most common wild lagomorphs in the United States, were susceptible to RHDV2. In this study, 10 wild-caught ECTs and 10 New Zealand white rabbits (NZWR(s); O. cuniculus) were each inoculated orally with either RHDV (RHDVa/GI.1a; n = 5 per species) or RHDV2 (a recombinant GI.1bP-GI.2; n = 5 per species) and monitored for the development of disease. Three of the five ECTs that were infected with RHDV2 developed disease consistent with RHD and died at 4 and 6 days post-inoculation (DPI). The RHDV major capsid protein/antigen (VP60) was detected in the livers of three ECTs infected with RHDV2, but none was detected in the ECTs infected with RHDV. Additionally, RHD viral RNA was detected in the liver, spleen, intestine and blood of ECTs infected with RHDV2, but not in the ECTs infected with RHDV. RHD viral RNA was detected in urine, oral swabs and rectal swabs in at least two of five ECTs infected with RHDV2. One ECT inoculated with RHDV2 seroconverted and developed a high antibody titre by the end of the experimental period (21 DPI). ECTs inoculated with the classic RHDV did not seroconvert. In comparison, NZWRs inoculated with RHDV2 exhibited high mortality (five of five) at 2 DPI and four of five NZWRs inoculated with RHDV either died or were euthanized at 2 DPI indicating both of these viruses were highly pathogenic to this species. This experiment indicates that ECTs are susceptible to RHDV2 and can shed viral RNA, thereby suggesting this species could be involved in the epidemiology of this virus