Simulation study of BESIII with stitched CMOS pixel detector using ACTS

Reconstruction of tracks of charged particles with high precision is very crucial for HEP experiments to achieve their physics goals. As the tracking detector of BESIII experiment, the BESIII drift chamber has suffered from aging effects resulting in degraded tracking performance after operation for about 15 years. To preserve and enhance the tracking performance of BESIII, one of the proposals is to add one layer of thin CMOS pixel sensor in cylindrical shape based on the state-of-the-art stitching technology, between the beam pipe and the drift chamber. The improvement of tracking performance of BESIII with such an additional pixel detector compared to that with only the existing drift chamber is studied using the modern common tracking software ACTS, which provides a set of detector-agnostic and highly performant tracking algorithms that have demonstrated promising performance for a few high energy physics and nuclear physics experiments

Arabidopsis CSLD1 and CSLD4 are required for cellulose deposition and normal growth of pollen tubes

The cell wall is important for pollen tube growth, but little is known about the molecular mechanism that controls cell wall deposition in pollen tubes. Here, the functional characterization of the pollen-expressed Arabidopsis cellulose synthase-like D genes CSLD1 and CSLD4 that are required for pollen tube growth is reported. Both CSLD1 and CSLD4 are highly expressed in mature pollen grains and pollen tubes. The CSLD1 and CSLD4 proteins are located in the Golgi apparatus and transported to the plasma membrane of the tip region of growing pollen tubes, where cellulose is actively synthesized. Mutations in CSLD1 and CSLD4 caused a significant reduction in cellulose deposition in the pollen tube wall and a remarkable disorganization of the pollen tube wall layers, which disrupted the genetic transmission of the male gametophyte. In csld1 and csld4 single mutants and in the csld1 csld4 double mutant, all the mutant pollen tubes exhibited similar phenotypes: the pollen tubes grew extremely abnormally both in vitro and in vivo, which indicates that CSLD1 and CSLD4 are not functionally redundant. Taken together, these results suggest that CSLD1 and CSLD4 play important roles in pollen tube growth, probably through participation in cellulose synthesis of the pollen tube wall

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Models of Experimentally Derived Competitive Effects Predict Biogeographical Differences in the Abundance of Invasive and Native Plant Species

<div><p>Mono-dominance by invasive species provides opportunities to explore determinants of plant distributions and abundance; however, linking mechanistic results from small scale experiments to patterns in nature is difficult. We used experimentally derived competitive effects of an invader in North America, <i>Acroptilon repens</i>, on species with which it co-occurs in its native range of Uzbekistan and on species with which it occurs in its non-native ranges in North America, in individual-based models. We found that competitive effects yielded relative abundances of <i>Acroptilon</i> and other species in models that were qualitatively similar to those observed in the field in the two ranges. In its non-native range, <i>Acroptilon</i> can occur in nearly pure monocultures at local scales, whereas such nearly pure stands of <i>Acroptilon</i> appear to be much less common in its native range. Experimentally derived competitive effects of <i>Acroptilon</i> on other species predicted <i>Acroptilon</i> to be 4–9 times more proportionally abundant than natives in the North American models, but proportionally equal to or less than the abundance of natives in the Eurasian models. Our results suggest a novel way to integrate complex combinations of interactions simultaneously, and that biogeographical differences in the competitive effects of an invader correspond well with biogeographical differences in abundance and impact.</p></div

Mean extinction time for native species in different competitive scenarios.

<p>Mean extinction time for native species in different competitive scenarios (<i>RII_{N on}_A</i>  = 0.15 and 0.25) between <i>Acroptilon</i> and species native to North America and Europe. <i>Pseudoroegneria spicata</i> in North America and <i>Melilotus officinalis</i> were not included because they were never eliminated from the models.</p

Expert consensus on induction of human embryonic stem cells into tenocytes

Embryonic stem cells have unlimited proliferative capacity, which may provide a source of tendon stem/progenitor cells for tissue engineering. Experts of International Science and Technology Collaborative Program of Ministry of Science and Technology have developed a protocol consensus on differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into the tendon cells. The consensus recommends a protocol of two-step generation of human embryonic stem cells into tendon cells: the human embryonic stem cells are first differentiated into mesenchymal stem cells on different material surfaces; then with the scaffold-free tissue engineering tendon formed by high-density planting, the mesenchymal stem cells are induced into tendon cells under static or dynamic mechanical stimulation in vivo and in vitro. Tissue engineering tendon established in vitro by the protocol can be used as a model in toxicological analysis and safety evaluation of tendon-relevant small molecule compounds, medical materials and drugs

Novel fluorescent probe for sequential recognition of Zn2+ and pyrophosphate in aqueous based on aggregation-induced emission

A new fluorescent probe (E)-4-(4-([2,2':6',2''-terpyridin]-4'-yl)styryl)-1-dodecylpyridin-1-ium (TPy-SD), with the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property in aqueous solution, has been synthesized and characterized. The new probe, TPy-SD exhibited excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards Zn2+ with a relatively low detection limit (1.76 x10-7 M). The addition of Zn2+ is thought to disrupt the AIE property of TPy-SD, thereby leading to a fluorescence blue shift. Interestingly, the complex of probe TPy-SD with Zn2+ (Zn (II) TPy-SD), with molar ratio of 1:1, can be used as a simple, sensitive, and rapid means for the detection of pyrophosphates (PPi) in solution (water/DMSO = 99:1). As evidenced by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and fluorescence emission spectroscopy, this detection is thought to be due to the strong affinity between PPi and Zn2+, which brings out Zn2+ from the coordination cavity of chemical sensor TPy-SD, thus realizing the detection and recognition of PPi. Therefore, the new AIE fluorescent probe can be used as a dual probe for the detection of cations and anions