Explore the vast range of titles available.

This work concerns linearization methods for efficiently solving the Richards equation, a degenerate elliptic-parabolic equation which models flow in saturated/unsaturated porous media. The discretization of Richards’ equation is based on backward Euler in time and Galerkin finite elements in space. The most valuable linearization schemes for Richards’ equation, i.e. the Newton method, the Picard method, the Picard/Newton method and the L -scheme are presented and their performance is comparatively studied. The convergence, the computational time and the condition numbers for the underlying linear systems are recorded. The convergence of the L -scheme is theoretically proved and the convergence of the other methods is discussed. A new scheme is proposed, the L -scheme/Newton method which is more robust and quadratically convergent. The linearization methods are tested on illustrative numerical examples.

Viral bronchiolitis is a common clinical syndrome affecting infants and young children. Concern about its associated morbidity and cost has led to a large body of research that has been summarised in systematic reviews and integrated into clinical practice guidelines in several countries. The evidence and guideline recommendations consistently support a clinical diagnosis with the limited role for diagnostic testing for children presenting with the typical clinical syndrome of viral upper respiratory infection progressing to the lower respiratory tract. Management is largely supportive, focusing on maintaining oxygenation and hydration of the patient. Evidence suggests no benefit from bronchodilator or corticosteroid use in infants with a first episode of bronchiolitis. Evidence for other treatments such as hypertonic saline is evolving but not clearly defined yet. For infants with severe disease, the insufficient available data suggest a role for high-flow nasal cannula and continuous positive airway pressure use in a monitored setting to prevent respiratory failure.

We consider a non-linear extension of Biot’s model for poromechanics, wherein both the fluid flow and mechanical deformation are allowed to be non-linear. Specifically, we study the case when the volumetric stress and the fluid density are non-linear functions satisfying certain assumptions. We perform an implicit discretization in time (backward Euler) and propose two iterative schemes for solving the non-linear problems appearing within each time step: a splitting algorithm extending the undrained split and fixed stress methods to non-linear problems, and a monolithic L-scheme. The convergence of both schemes are shown rigorously. Illustrative numerical examples are presented to confirm the applicability of the schemes and validate the theoretical results.

People differ in their general tendency to endorse conspiracy theories (that is, conspiracy mentality). Previous research yielded inconsistent findings on the relationship between conspiracy mentality and political orientation, showing a greater conspiracy mentality either among the political right (a linear relation) or amongst both the left and right extremes (a curvilinear relation). We revisited this relationship across two studies spanning 26 countries (combined N = 104,253) and found overall evidence for both linear and quadratic relations, albeit small and heterogeneous across countries. We also observed stronger support for conspiracy mentality among voters of opposition parties (that is, those deprived of political control). Nonetheless, the quadratic effect of political orientation remained significant when adjusting for political control deprivation. We conclude that conspiracy mentality is associated with extreme left- and especially extreme right-wing beliefs, and that this non-linear relation may be strengthened by, but is not reducible to, deprivation of political control.Across 26 countries, Imhoff et al. find that conspiracy mentality is more prevalent at both ends of the political spectrum than the centre. This U-shaped pattern is accentuated for supporters of political parties not in government, particularly on the political right.

Urolithins are intestinal bacterial metabolites of ellagic acid, from pomegranate and nuts. They modulate oxidative-regulated pathways and display anti-inflammatory, antioxidative properties. Several studies indicate that they could be inducers of muscle strengthening. The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate their mechanisms of action at plasma concentrations on primary human myotubes. Urolithin A and B (UA and UB) were evaluated separately on primary human muscle CD56+ cells, isolated from the vastus lateralis of 6 men and 3 women (aged range 55 to 96-y) and differentiated in myotubes. 24h-treatment mRNA-sequencing of these 9 patients was studied by DESeq2 analysis (R software). Modulation of several target genes was then validated in several concentrations (1-5 or 10 µM) by RT-qPCR and ELISA on 4 different patients. Organelles and cell morphology changes were observed by NanoLive CX-A live cell imaging during 72h. After 24h of treatment at 5 µM, UA and UB significantly modified the expression of 1779 and 319 genes, respectively (adjusted p-value of 0.01 and Log2FoldChange |>0.32|). Among the most regulated genes, we found genes involved in myoblasts to myotubes differentiation. UA increased the expression of MYMX (+70%), PANX1 (+50%), MSTN (+64%), MYH2 (+28%) and conversely decreased FGF9 (-75%), MRLN (-33%), ICAM5 (-52%) and TGFBI (-55%). Regarding UB, it decreased IGFN1 (-75%), TGFBI (-60%) and increased MYH2 (+34%) and TGM2 (+59%). However, UA, but not UB, decreased DMD gene expression (-86%), a key factor in muscle strength, and MEF2C (-45%), a regulator of skeletal myogenesis. We also have observed the modulation of genes involved in the inflammatory process. They both induced a important decrease of CYP1B1 expression (-95%). Further, LIF was increased by 80% by UA and PTGS1 was decreased by 41% by UA and 43% by UB. UA and UB had the opposite effect on IL17B, a cytokine involved in tissue repair but its role in muscle is still to be defined. IL17B was decreased by 49% by UA and conversely upregulated by 45% by UB. In a second step, we confirmed the modulation of MYMX, PANX1, FGF9, ICAM5, PTGS1-PGE2, IL17B and TGFBI following UA and/or UB treatment at 1, 5 and 10 µM by RT-qPCR and ELISA. Finally, we also observed with live cell imaging that UA and UB increased myocyte fusion in myotubes, already after 6h of treatment. UA and UB promote the differentiation process of myoblasts to myotubes. In parallel, urolithins present anti-inflammatory properties, mainly by reducing CYP1B1 expression and the PGE2 synthesis via PTGS1, but also for UA by increasing LIF. Our data provide a better understanding of urolithin activities and highlight their potential in the treatment of muscle disorders such as sarcopenia. NA. We would like to thank the staff of the GIGA ULiège Genomic Next Generation Sequencing platform for performing the RNA sequencing and of CIRM IN VITRO-SANTE platform for the live cell imaging. Yves Henrotin Consultant of: Artialis SA Nestlé Expanscience Tilman Allegro Immubio, Cécile Lambert: None declared, Antoine Florin: None declared, Jérémie Zappia: None declared, Prescilia Centonze: None declared, christelle sanchez: None declared.

This study explores the potential of GNSS-enabled Ground Control Point (GCP) markers as an alternative to traditional survey-grade receivers in observing GCPs for drone surveys. This is because an average drone flight and the observation period for rapid static are both 15 minutes. A GNSS-enabled GCP is already in the market through Propeller Aeropoints but is not available in the Philippines. Previous independent studies on the accuracy of such markers are limited as it is only focused on the accuracy. There are other considerations in using this technique such as the practicality of the marker, its usability with public Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) networks such as PAGeNet, and whether using it in conjunction with passive monuments will significantly affect the accuracy. The researchers designed and assembled a low-cost alternative using a u-blox module to determine the markers’ applicability and effectiveness. This study was limited to using three (3) GCPs to simulate the minimum number required to georeference in 2D. Accuracy remains an important criterion so observations will be compared with known positions. Three drone surveys were conducted to further evaluate its performance. The marker achieved 3rd Order geodetic control and demonstrated up to one standard deviation of error using statistical analysis. However, the lack of control points affected the accuracy observed in the checkpoints. This study focused on low-cost GNSS-enabled GCP marker since the commercial Aeropoints markers are not vailable in the country. Implementing this methodology in drone surveying could potentially increase survey efficiency in the Philippines and aid in the country's cadastral mapping efforts.

This study evaluated the prevalence and predictors of long term posttraumatic growth (PTG) after breast cancer, and relationships of PTG with psychological health in a random sample of 307 currently disease-free women 5–15 years after diagnosis. This cross-sectional study reveals long term posttraumatic growth scores comparable to those found in shorter term studies. Prevalence of a better appreciation of life is especially noteworthy. With the exception of perceived current sequelae of disease associated in a somewhat curvilinear fashion with PTG, demographic and medical variables are poor predictors of the issue. On the contrary, dispositional positive affectivity and adaptative coping of positive, active, relational, religious and to some extent denial coping have a strong effect on growth. Finally, PTG is slightly associated with mental quality of life and happiness. Findings are discussed in the light of posttraumatic growth theory.

Inspired by previous work on the relation between evaluative conditioning (EC) and impression formation (e.g., halo effects), we investigated whether the pairing of a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) and a valenced unconditioned stimulus (US) changes not only the valence of the CS but also judgments about other CS features (e.g., trustworthiness). Additionally, we assessed whether individual differences in neuroticism and agreeableness moderate these effects. In two pre-registered experiments (N = 289 for Experiment 1 and N = 211 for Experiment 2), we found an impact of CS-US pairings not only on ratings of the valence of CSs but also on ratings of other CS features. The evidence for the moderating role of personality at the dimension levels (e.g., neuroticism) was mixed. Theoretical and practical implications of the results, alongside future research directions, are discussed.

Neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer that originates from neural crest-derived cells, is the most common deadly solid tumor of infancy. Amplification of the MYCN oncogene, which occurs in approximately 20–25% of human neuroblastomas, is the most prominent genetic marker of high-stage disease. The availability of valid preclinical in vivo models is a prerequisite to develop novel targeted therapies. We here report on the generation of transgenic mice with Cre-conditional induction of MYCN in dopamine β-hydroxylase-expressing cells, termed LSL- MYCN ;Dbh-iCre. These mice develop neuroblastic tumors with an incidence of >75%, regardless of strain background. Molecular profiling of tumors revealed upregulation of the MYCN -dependent miR-17–92 cluster as well as expression of neuroblastoma marker genes, including tyrosine hydroxylase and the neural cell adhesion molecule 1. Gene set enrichment analyses demonstrated significant correlation with MYC -associated expression patterns. Array comparative genome hybridization showed that chromosomal aberrations in LSL- MYCN ;Dbh-iCre tumors were syntenic to those observed in human neuroblastomas. Treatment of a cell line established from a tumor derived from a LSL- MYCN ;Dbh-iCre mouse with JQ1 or MLN8237 reduced cell viability and demonstrated oncogene addiction to MYCN. Here we report establishment of the first Cre-conditional human MYCN -driven mouse model for neuroblastoma that closely recapitulates the human disease with respect to tumor localization, histology, marker expression and genomic make up. This mouse model is a valuable tool for further functional studies and to assess the effect of targeted therapies.

Purpose - This study is based on the JD-R model and aims at understanding the role of work engagement (WE) as a mediator between job resources (i.e. perceived organizational support) and positive extra-role behaviors (i.e. organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB)), between job demands (i.e. interpersonal conflicts at work) and negative extra-role behaviors (i.e. counterproductive work behaviors (CWB)), and also between a personal resource (i.e. conscientiousness) and both types of extra-role behaviors.Design methodology approach - Data from three Romanian organizations (n=258) were collected in a cross-sectional study. Two main models (fully mediated and partially mediated) tested the role of WE as a mediator, using structural equation modelling.Findings - The results support the partially mediated model. All anticipated antecedents have a direct, and also an indirect relation with extra-role behaviors - via WE. In addition, the mediating effect was stronger for OCB than for CWB. Overall, the results show that job and personal characteristics differentially predict OCB and CWB, and that employees' affective-motivational state explains, in part, these job and personal characteristics - extra-role behaviors associations.Originality value - The paper advances the knowledge about the JD-R model and its relevance for OCB and CWB. In addition, understanding work engagement's potential to stimulate OCB and inhibit CWB can aid professionals to advance beneficial behavioral outcomes in organizations by promoting wellbeing at work, thereby supporting the employees' healthy career development.