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  Atomic-scale evidence for open-system thermodynamics in the early solar nebula

  Zega, T.J.; Manga, V.R.; Ciesla, F.; Muralidharan, K.; Watanabe, K.; Inada, H.; Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona (IOP Publishing, 2021)

  We report a new integrated framework that combines atomic-length-scale characterization via aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy with first-principles-driven thermodynamic modeling and dusttransport models to probe the origins of some of the first-formed solids in the solar system. We find that within one of the first solids that formed in our solar system, spinel, nominally MgAl2O4, occurs as a twinned inclusion within perovskite, CaTiO3, and contains vanadium segregated to its twin boundary as atomic columns. Our results support a scenario in which spinel condensed at 1435 K in the midplane of the solar protoplanetary disk and was later transported inward to a hotter region where perovskite condensed around it at 1681 K. The spinel became twinned as a result of a displacive phase transition in the perovskite after which it was later transported to cooler regions of the disk and incorporated into its parent asteroid. The condensation, transport, and phase transformation can all be explained within the developed self-consistent framework that reproduces the observed phase assemblage and atomic-scale structure. This framework suggests that planetary materials evolved within a thermodynamically open system and, moving forward, motivates such an approach in order to understand the thermodynamic landscape on which planetary materials formed. © 2021 The Author(s).
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  Associations of new-onset atrial fibrillation and severe visual impairment in type 2 diabetes: A multicenter nationwide study

  Kaewput, W.; Thongprayoon, C.; Rangsin, R.; Bathini, T.; Mao, M.A.; Cheungpasitporn, W.; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Arizona (Baishideng Publishing Group Co, 2021)

  BACKGROUND Many studies have demonstrated an association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the potential independent contributions of T2DM and AF to the prevalence of visual impairment have not been evaluated. AIM To determine whether such an association between T2DM and incident AF with visual impairment exists, and if so, the prevalence and magnitude of this association. METHODS We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study based on the DM/HT study of the Medical Research Network of the Consortium of Thai Medical Schools. This study had evaluated adult T2DM patients from 831 public hospitals in Thailand in the year 2013. T2DM patients were categorized into two groups: patients without and with incident AF. T2DM patients without AF were selected as the reference group. The association between incident AF and visual impairment among T2DM patients was assessed using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS A total of 27281 T2DM patients with available eye examination data were included in this analysis. The mean age was 60.7 ± 10.5 years, and 31.2% were male. The incident AF was 0.2%. The prevalence of severe visual impairment in all T2DM patients, T2DM patients without AF, and T2DM patients with incident AF were 1.4%, 1.4%, and 6.3%, respectively. T2DM patients with incident AF were associated with an increased OR of 3.89 (95%CI: 1.17-13.38) for severe visual impairment compared with T2DM patients without AF. CONCLUSION T2DM patients with incident AF were independently associated with increased severe visual impairment. Therefore, early eye screening should be provided for these high-risk individuals. ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
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  What is the ideal approach for emergent pericardiocentesis using point-of-care ultrasound guidance?

  Stolz, L.; Situ-LaCasse, E.; Acuña, J.; Thompson, M.; Hawbaker, N.; Valenzuela, J.; Stolz, U.; Adhikari, S.; Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Arizona (Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 2021)

  BACKGROUND: Traditionally performed using a subxiphoid approach, the increasing use of pointof- care ultrasound in the emergency department has made other approaches (parasternal and apical) for pericardiocentesis viable. The aim of this study is to identify the ideal approach for emergency-physicianperformed ultrasound-guided pericardiocentesis as determined by ultrasound image quality, distance from surface to pericardial fluid, and likely obstructions or complications. METHODS: A retrospective review of point-of-care cardiac ultrasound examinations was performed in two urban academic emergency departments for the presence of pericardial eff usions. The images were reviewed for technical quality, distance of eff usion from skin surface, and predicted complications. RESULTS: A total of 166 pericardial effusions were identified during the study period. The mean skin-to-pericardial fluid distance was 5.6 cm (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 5.2-6.0 cm) for the subxiphoid views, which was significantly greater than that for the parasternal (2.7 cm [95% CI 2.5-2.8 cm], P<0.001) and apical (2.5 cm [95% CI 2.3-2.7 cm], P<0.001) views. The subxiphoid view had the highest predicted complication rate at 79.7% (95% CI 71.5%-86.4%), which was significantly greater than the apical (31.9%; 95% CI 21.4%-44.0%, P<0.001) and parasternal (20.2%; 95% CI 12.8%-29.5%, P<0.001) views. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that complication rates with pericardiocentesis will be lower via the parasternal or apical approach compared to the subxiphoid approach. The distance from skin to fluid collection is the least in both of these views. © 2021 World Journal of Emergency Medicine.
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  Science and binational cooperation: Bidirectionality in the transboundary aquifer assessment program in the arizona-sonora border region

  Petersen-Perlman, J.D.; Albrecht, T.R.; Tapia-Villaseñor, E.M.; Varady, R.G.; Megdal, S.B.; Water Resources Research Center, The University of Arizona; Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, The University of Arizona; School of Geography, Development & Environment, University of Arizona (MDPI, 2021)

  Sharing scientific data and information is often cited within academic literature as an ini-tial step of water cooperation, but the transfer of research findings into policy and practice is often slow and inconsistent. Certain attributes—including salience, credibility, and legitimacy of scientific information; iterative information production; and sociocultural factors—may influence how easily scientific information can be used in management and policymaking. However, transnationality usually complicates these sorts of interactions. Accordingly, we argue that the production of scientific information and transboundary water cooperation build upon each other bidirectionally, each informing and enhancing the other. We employ a case-study analysis of the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP), a binational collaborative effort for scientific assessment of aquifers shared between Mexico and the United States. Here, information sharing was possible only by first completing a formal, jointly agreed-upon cooperative framework in 2009. This framework resulted in a collaborative science production process, suggesting that the relationship between sharing data and information and transboundary groundwater governance is iterative and self-reinforcing. In keeping with the publication of the TAAP’s first binational scientific report in 2016, we demonstrate the bidirectional relationship between science production and water governance in the TAAP and explore remaining challenges after scientific assessment. © 2021 by the author. Li-censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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  Rna and sugars, unique properties of bacteriophages infecting multidrug resistant acinetobacter radioresistens strain lh6

  Crippen, C.S.; Zhou, B.; Andresen, S.; Patry, R.T.; Muszyński, A.; Parker, C.T.; Cooper, K.K.; Szymanski, C.M.; School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona (MDPI AG, 2021)

  Bacteriophages (phages) are predicted to be the most ubiquitous biological entity on earth, and yet, there are still vast knowledge gaps in our understanding of phage diversity and phage–host interactions. Approximately one hundred Acinetobacter-infecting DNA viruses have been identified, and in this report, we describe eight more. We isolated two typical dsDNA lytic podoviruses (CAP1–2), five unique dsRNA lytic cystoviruses (CAP3–7), and one dsDNA lysogenic siphovirus (SLAP1), all capable of infecting the multidrug resistant isolate Acinetobacter radioresistens LH6. Using transmission electron microscopy, bacterial mutagenesis, phage infectivity assays, carbohydrate staining, mass-spectrometry, genomic sequencing, and comparative studies, we further characterized these phages. Mutation of the LH6 initiating glycosyltransferase homolog, PglC, necessary for both O-linked glycoprotein and capsular polysaccharide (CPS) biosynthesis, prevented infection by the lytic podovirus CAP1, while mutation of the pilin protein, PilA, prevented infection by CAP3, representing the lytic cystoviruses. Genome sequencing of the three dsRNA segments of the isolated cystoviruses revealed low levels of homology, but conserved synteny with the only other reported cystoviruses that infect Pseudomonas species. In Pseudomonas, the cystoviruses are known to be enveloped phages surrounding their capsids with the inner membrane from the infected host. To characterize any membrane-associated glycoconjugates in the CAP3 cystovirus, carbohydrate staining was used to identify a low molecular weight lipid-linked glycoconjugate subsequently identified by mutagenesis and mass-spectrometry as bacterial lipooligosaccharide. Together, this study demonstrates the isolation of new Acinetobacter-infecting phages and the determination of their cell receptors. Further, we describe the genomes of a new genus of Cystoviruses and perform an initial characterization of membrane-associated glycoconjugates. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

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