Star Domain Research Articles

Nursing Home Star Ratings and End-Of-Life Care Quality: Lessons Learned From the Veterans Health Administration

ObjectivesMore than 25% of deaths among older adults occur in nursing homes. Thus, assessments of nursing home quality, including the widely used 5-star rating systems, should reflect quality of end-of-life (EOL) care. Our objective was to examine the associations between Veterans Affairs (VA) nursing home star ratings and quality of EOL care as measured by the VA's Bereaved Family Survey (BFS). DesignNational, retrospective observational study. Setting and ParticipantsVA nursing homes, known as Community Living Centers (CLCs). All veterans who died in a CLC from October 2018 to September 2019 whose next of kin completed a BFS. MethodsUsing linked VA data sources, we examined the BFS-Performance Measure (BFS-PM) (ie, the % of BFS respondents who provided an “excellent” overall rating) by the Overall Star Rating and domain star ratings (unannounced survey, staffing, and quality) for the 133 CLCs in our sample. Logistic and linear regression was used to examine the associations between CLC Overall Star Rating and individual-level BFS outcomes. Outcomes included the BFS-PM (primary), the 3 BFS factor scores of Respectful Care and Communication, Emotional and Spiritual Support, and Death Benefits, and 2 symptom management items. ResultsDifferences in the BFS-PM by CLC star rating were small to none and not statistically significant across all star rating domains. The relationship between a higher CLC Overall Star Rating and odds of an “excellent” BFS global rating was not statistically significant. Similarly, no significant associations were observed between a higher CLC Overall Star Rating and scores on the BFS factor scores and symptom management items. Conclusions and ImplicationsOur findings suggest that the current CLC star rating system is not sufficient to assess the quality of EOL care. BFS scores, or a comparative EOL quality of care measure, should be integrated into CLC quality rating systems.

Drivers of COVID-19 Outcomes in Long-Term Care Facilities Using Multi-Level Analysis: A Systematic Review.

This study aimed to identify the individual, organizational, and environmental factors which contributed to COVID-19-related outcomes in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). A systematic review was conducted to summarize and synthesize empirical studies using a multi-level analysis approach to address the identified influential factors. Five databases were searched on 23 May 2023. To be included in the review, studies had to be published in peer-reviewed journals or as grey literature containing relevant statistical data. The Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool was employed to assess the methodological quality of each article included in this study. Of 2137 citations identified after exclusions, 99 records met the inclusion criteria. The predominant individual, organizational, and environmental factors that were most frequently found associated with the COVID-19 outbreak comprised older age, higher dependency level; lower staffing levels and lower star and subset domain ratings for the facility; and occupancy metrics and co-occurrences of outbreaks in counties and communities where the LTCFs were located, respectively. The primary individual, organizational, and environmental factors frequently linked to COVID-19-related deaths comprised age, and male sex; higher percentages of racial and ethnic minorities in LTCFs, as well as ownership types (including private, for-profit, and chain membership); and higher occupancy metrics and LTCF's size and bed capacity, respectively. Unfolding the risk factors collectively may mitigate the risk of outbreaks and pandemic-related mortality in LTCFs during future endemic and pandemics through developing and improving interventions that address those significant factors.

Integrating ISPH simulations with machine learning for thermal radiation and exothermic chemical reaction on heat and mass transfer in spline/triangle star annulus

This work integrates incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (ISPH) with machine learning (ML) to examine the uses of two different domain shapes, spline star-domain, and triangle star-domain, on double diffusion of nano-encapsulated phase change material (NEPCM). The effects of thermal radiation and exothermic chemical reactions are conducted in this work. The hexagonal-shaped is located inside the center of the star-shape carrying (Th&Ch). The left/right walls of the star shape are kept at (Tc&Cc) and the other walls have an adiabatic condition. It is recommended to examine the smoothness of closed curves in the heat and mass transfer by changing the triangle to spline curves. The present investigations of transmission of heat and mass of NEPCM within a complicated star shape can be employed in cooling systems of electronic/battery, heat exchangers, food processing, and chemical engineering. The ISPH simulations are executed for the pertinent parameters, Darcy number, Frank-Kamenetskii number, Rayleigh number, Dufour number, Soret number, and thermal radiation parameter. The performed simulations showed the significance of the spline star domain compared to the triangle star domain in smoothening the nanofluid flow and double-diffusive convection in an annulus. Frank-Kamenetskii number is a promising factor in the enhancement of heat transfer and controlling the phase change zone within an annulus. At a spline-star cavity, the maximum velocity rises by 32.32 % and 54.95 % when the Frank-Kamenetskii number grows from 0 to 5, and thermal radiation increases from 0 to 5. Soret number works effectively in enhancing the distribution of concentration at large temperature differences. Machine learning plays a vital role in many engineering applications. Hence, ML's powerful capabilities to predict the average Nu‾ and Sh‾. In the proposed ML model, the dimensionless time and thermal radiation parameter are used as input to the ML model, while their corresponding numeral estimated values of Nu‾ and Sh‾ are used as output targets for the ML model. The values of Nu‾ and Sh‾ are predicted by the suggested ML model with a comparatively small error less than 1 %.

Mixed neutron-star-plus-wormhole systems: Rotating configurations

We present rapidly rotating neutron stars featuring wormholes in their centers. They arise in general relativity in the presence of a ghost scalar field. The nuclear matter is described by a polytropic equation of state, yielding realistic masses and radii for the neutron stars. The wormholes possess small circumferential radii of size up to 3 km. With increasing wormhole size, the masses and radii of the stars decrease, while the domain of existence of these rotating mixed neutron-star-plus-wormhole systems retains the characteristic properties of a rotating neutron star domain. The question of stability of the mixed configurations under consideration is briefly discussed.

Unified Equation of State for Neutron Stars Based on the Gogny Interaction

The effective Gogny interactions of the D1 family were established by D. Gogny more than forty years ago with the aim to describe simultaneously the mean field and the pairing field corresponding to the nuclear interaction. The most popular Gogny parametrizations, namely D1S, D1N and D1M, describe accurately the ground-state properties of spherical and deformed finite nuclei all across the mass table obtained with Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov (HFB) calculations. However, these forces produce a rather soft equation of state (EoS) in neutron matter, which leads to predict maximum masses of neutron stars well below the observed value of two solar masses. To remove this limitation, we built new Gogny parametrizations by modifying the density dependence of the symmetry energy predicted by the force in such a way that they can be applied to the neutron star domain and can also reproduce the properties of finite nuclei as good as their predecessors. These new parametrizations allow us to obtain stiffer EoS’s based on the Gogny interactions, which predict maximum masses of neutron stars around two solar masses. Moreover, other global properties of the star, such as the moment of inertia and the tidal deformability, are in harmony with those obtained with other well tested EoSs based on the SLy4 Skyrme force or the Barcelona–Catania–Paris–Madrid (BCPM) energy density functional. Properties of the core-crust transition predicted by these Gogny EoSs are also analyzed. Using these new Gogny forces, the EoS in the inner crust is obtained with the Wigner–Seitz approximation in the Variational Wigner–Kirkwood approach along with the Strutinsky integral method, which allows one to estimate in a perturbative way the proton shell and pairing corrections. For the outer crust, the EoS is determined basically by the nuclear masses, which are taken from the experiments, wherever they are available, or by HFB calculations performed with these new forces if the experimental masses are not known.

Remarks on Rational Vector Fields on mathbb {C}mathbb {P}^{1}

In this paper, we introduce geometric tools to study the families of rational vector fields of a given degree over mathbb {C}mathbb {P}^{1}. To a generic vector field of such a parametric family, we associate several geometric objects: a periodgon, a star domain, and a translation surface. These objects generalize objects with the same name introduced in previous works on polynomial vector fields. They are used to describe the bifurcations inside the families. We specialize to the case of rational vector fields of degree 4.

Nesprin-1-alpha2 associates with kinesin at myotube outer nuclear membranes, but is restricted to neuromuscular junction nuclei in adult muscle

Nesprins, nuclear envelope spectrin-repeat proteins encoded by the SYNE1 and SYNE2 genes, are involved in localization of nuclei. The short isoform, nesprin-1-alpha2, is required for relocation of the microtubule organizer function from centromeres to the nuclear rim during myogenesis. Using specific antibodies, we now show that both nesprin-1-alpha2 and nesprin-1-giant co-localize with kinesin at the junctions of concatenated nuclei and at the outer poles of nuclear chains in human skeletal myotubes. In adult muscle, nesprin-1-alpha2 was found, together with kinesin, only on nuclei associated with neuromuscular junctions, whereas all adult cardiomyocyte nuclei expressed nesprin-1-alpha2. In a proteomics study, kinesin heavy and light chains were the only significant proteins in myotube extracts pulled down by nesprin-1-alpha2, but not by a mutant lacking the highly-conserved STAR domain (18 amino-acids, including the LEWD motif). The results support a function for nesprin-1-alpha2 in the specific localization of skeletal muscle nuclei mediated by kinesins and suggest that its primary role is at the outer nuclear membrane.

Stress intensity factor for small embedded cracks in weldments

In the present work, the stress intensity factor (SIF) of embedded small cracks placed at the weld toe is calculated by means of two procedures based on the Oore-Burns integral. In the first approach, the defect is considered as a circular disk and the SIF is evaluated by means of the Oore-Burns weight function. By taking advantage of a suitable change of variable, the singularity of the weight function on the crack border can be removed. In this way, the numerical evaluation of the SIF is possible without the use of specific integration algorithms, although the nominal stress field becomes singular when the crack approaches a V-sharpe notch. As an example, the obtained equations are applied to a defect located in the neighbourhood of a weld toe with an opening angle of 135 degrees under mode I loading. Subsequently, for a crack similar to a star domain with a border expressed by means of the Fourier series, the SIF is given by means of an explicit equation based on the Oore-Burns weight function.

QKI-6 inhibits bladder cancer malignant behaviours through down-regulating E2F3 and NF-κB signalling.

Quaking homolog (QKI) is a member of the RNA‐binding signal transduction and activator of proteins family. Previous studies showed that QKI possesses the tumour suppressor activity in human cancers by interacting with the 3'‐untraslated region (3'‐UTR) of various gene transcripts via the STAR domain. This study first assessed the association of QKI‐6 expression with clinicopathological and survival data from bladder cancer patients and then investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms. Bladder cancer tissues (n = 223) were subjected to immunohistochemistry, and tumour cell lines and nude mice were used for different in vitro and in vivo assays following QKI‐6 overexpression or knockdown. QKI‐6 down‐regulation was associated with advanced tumour TNM stages and poor patient overall survival. QKI‐6 overexpression inhibited bladder cancer cell growth and invasion capacity, but induced tumour cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, ectopic expression of QKI‐6 reduced tumour xenograft growth and expression of proliferation markers, Ki67 and PCNA. However, knockdown of QKI‐6 expression had opposite effects in vitro and in vivo. QKI‐6 inhibited expression of E2 transcription factor 3 (E2F3) by directly binding to the E2F3 3'‐UTR, whereas E2F3 induced QKI‐6 transcription by binding to the QKI‐6 promoter in negative feedback mechanism. QKI‐6 expression also suppressed activity and expression of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) signalling proteins in vitro, implying a novel multilevel regulatory network downstream of QKI‐6. In conclusion, QKI‐6 down‐regulation contributes to bladder cancer development and progression.

New β Cep pulsators discovered with K2 space photometry

Abstract We present the discovery of three new β Cep pulsators, three new pulsators with frequency groupings, and frequency patterns in a B3Ib star, all of which show pulsations with frequencies as high as about 17 d−1, with K2 space mission photometry. Based on a Fourier analysis and iterative pre-whitening, we present a classification and evaluate the potential for asteroseismic modelling. We include the lists of pulsation frequencies for three new β Cep pulsators, CD-28 12286, CD-27 10876, LS 3978, and additional pulsation mode frequencies for the known β Cep pulsator HD 164741. In addition, we characterize the regular frequency spacing found in the new pulsator HD 169173, and discuss its origin. We place the newly discovered variables in a colour–magnitude diagram using parallaxes from GaiaDR2 (second data release), showcasing their approximate location in the massive star domain. The identified frequency lists of these multiperiodic pulsators are a good starting point for future forward seismic modelling, after identification of at least one pulsation frequency from high-resolution time-series spectroscopy and/or multicolour photometry.

Compatibility conditions for discrete planar structures

Compatibility conditions are investigated for planar network structures consisting of nodes and connecting bars. These conditions restrict the elongations of bars and are analogous to the compatibility conditions of deformation in continuum mechanics. Two problems are considered: the discrete problem for structures with prescribed lengths and its linearization, the discrete problem of prescribed elongations. These problems approximate two continuum problems, the nonlinear continuum problem of given Cauchy Green tensor and its linearization, the continuum problem of prescribed strain. The requirement that the deformations remain planar imposes solvability conditions of all four problems. For triangulated structures, compatibility conditions for the nonlinear problem are expressed as a polynomial equation in the lengths of edges of the star domain surrounding each interior node. In the linearized discrete problem, the compatibility conditions become linear relations for the elongations of edges on the same domains. The continuum limits of the compatibility conditions for both discrete problems are proved to be the compatibility conditions for the continuum problems.The compatibility equations may be summed along a closed curve to give conditions supported on a strip along the curve. Similarly, for continuous materials, the compatibility equation for the prescribed strain problem may be integrated along a closed curve to provide an integral condition, analogous to how the prescribed Green tensor problem may be integrated to give the Gauss-Bonnet integral formula.Compatibility conditions are investigated for general trusses such as plates connected by girders or triangulated domains with holes or missing edges. Compatibility conditions on general trusses may be non-local. There may be rigid trusses without compatibility conditions in contrast to continuous materials. The number of compatibility conditions is the number of bars that may be removed from a structure and still keep it rigid. This number measures the resilience of the structure. The compatibility equations around a hole involve the edges in the neighborhood surrounding the hole. An asymptotic density of compatibility conditions for periodically damaged triangular structures is found to be sensitive to the number and location of the removed edges.

Quasi-Analytical Simulation Method for Estimating the Error Probability of Star Domain Decoders

Evaluating the block error rate of a digital communication system is usually done using the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation method. The main drawback of the Monte Carlo method is the need of a huge sample size for estimating low error rates. Other methods commonly used are the importance sampling technique and the quasi-analytical method. This paper introduces the metric star domain decoder model and shows that many practical decoders fall into this category. The main result is the introduction of a novel SNR-invariant quasi-analytical technique for estimating the block error rate of a communication link over the geodesic channel model (a generalization of a vast number of commonly used channels, including binary symmetric channel, BEC, and AWGN channel) with a metric star domain decoder used at the receiver. This technique outperforms the Monte Carlo and importance sampling methods in both accuracy and speed. It is shown that our quasi-analytical method is at least $10^{3}$ times faster than MC and 10 times faster than IS for the same accuracy.

Generic 2-parameter perturbations of parabolic singular points of vector fields in ℂ

We describe the equivalence classes of germs of generic 2 2 -parameter families of complex vector fields z ˙ = ω ϵ ( z ) \dot z = \omega _\epsilon (z) on C \mathbb {C} unfolding a singular parabolic point of multiplicity k + 1 k+1 : ω 0 = z k + 1 + o ( z k + 1 ) \omega _0= z^{k+1} +o(z^{k+1}) . The equivalence is under conjugacy by holomorphic change of coordinate and parameter. As a preparatory step, we present the bifurcation diagram of the family of vector fields z ˙ = z k + 1 + ϵ 1 z + ϵ 0 \dot z = z^{k+1}+\epsilon _1z+\epsilon _0 over C P 1 \mathbb {C}\mathbb {P}^1 . This presentation is done using the new tools of periodgon and star domain. We then provide a description of the modulus space and (almost) unique normal forms for the equivalence classes of germs.

The IACOB project

Context.The IACOB and OWN surveys are two ambitious, complementary observational projects which have made available a large multi-epoch spectroscopic database of optical high resolution spectra of Galactic massive O-type stars.Aims.Our aim is to study the full sample of (more than 350) O stars surveyed by the IACOB and OWN projects. As a first step towards this aim, we have performed the quantitative spectroscopic analysis of a subsample of 128 stars included in the modern grid of O-type standards for spectral classification. The sample comprises stars with spectral types in the range O3–O9.7 and covers all luminosity classes.Methods.We used the semi-automatizedIACOB-BROADandIACOB-GBAT/FASTWINDtools to determine the complete set of spectroscopic parameters that can be obtained from the optical spectrum of O-type stars. A quality flag was assigned to the outcome of theIACOB-GBAT/FASTWINDanalysis for each star, based on a visual evaluation of how the synthetic spectrum of the best fittingFASTWINDmodel reproduces the observed spectrum. We also benefitted from the multi-epoch character of the IACOB and OWN surveys to perform a spectroscopic variability study of the complete sample, providing two different flags for each star accounting for spectroscopic binarity as well as variability of the main wind diagnostic lines.Results.We obtain – for the first time in a homogeneous and complete manner – the full set of spectroscopic parameters of the “anchors” of the spectral classification system in the O star domain. We provide a general overview of the stellar and wind parameters of this reference sample, as well as updated recipes for the SpT–Teffand SpT–loggcalibrations for Galactic O-type stars. We also propose a distance-independent test for the wind-momentum luminosity relationship. We evaluate the reliability of our semi-automatized analysis strategy using a subsample of ~40 stars extensively studied in the literature, and find a fairly good agreement between our derived effective temperatures and gravities and those obtained by means of more traditional “by-eye” techniques and different stellar atmosphere codes. The overall agreement between the synthetic spectra associated with theIACOB-GBAT/FASTWINDbest fitting models and the observed spectra is good for most of the analyzed targets, but 46 stars out of the 128 present a particular behavior of the wind diagnostic lines that cannot be reproduced by our grid of spherically symmetric unclumped models. These are potential targets of interest for more detailed investigations of clumpy winds and/or the existence of additional circumstellar emitting components contaminating the wind diagnostic lines (e.g., disks, magnetospheres). Last, our spectroscopic variability study has led to the detection of clear or likely signatures of spectroscopic binarity in 27% of the stars and small amplitude radial velocity variations in the photospheric lines of another 30%. Additionally, 31% of the investigated stars show variability in the wind diagnostic lines.

Closed Analytic Elements with Flexible Geometry.

A simple and fast treatment of hydrogeologic features with irregularly shaped boundaries in two-dimensional analytic element groundwater flow models is presented. The star domain shapes of the features are restricted to closed shapes represented as smooth and continuous single-valued functions of distance from a focus point, . The element can be used to treat a variety of boundary and continuity conditions, including those of irregularly shaped lakes or heterogeneities in hydraulic conductivity. The new element is demonstrated via some simple illustrative test cases and shown to be efficient, accurate, and much simpler to implement than existing solutions for irregular shapes.

Mechanism of mRNA-STAR domain interaction: Molecular dynamics simulations of Mammalian Quaking STAR protein

STAR proteins are evolutionary conserved mRNA-binding proteins that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression at all stages of RNA metabolism. These proteins possess conserved STAR domain that recognizes identical RNA regulatory elements as YUAAY. Recently reported crystal structures show that STAR domain is composed of N-terminal QUA1, K-homology domain (KH) and C-terminal QUA2, and mRNA binding is mediated by KH-QUA2 domain. Here, we present simulation studies done to investigate binding of mRNA to STAR protein, mammalian Quaking protein (QKI). We carried out conventional MD simulations of STAR domain in presence and absence of mRNA, and studied the impact of mRNA on the stability, dynamics and underlying allosteric mechanism of STAR domain. Our unbiased simulations results show that presence of mRNA stabilizes the overall STAR domain by reducing the structural deviations, correlating the ‘within-domain’ motions, and maintaining the native contacts information. Absence of mRNA not only influenced the essential modes of motion of STAR domain, but also affected the connectivity of networks within STAR domain. We further explored the dissociation of mRNA from STAR domain using umbrella sampling simulations, and the results suggest that mRNA binding to STAR domain occurs in multi-step: first conformational selection of mRNA backbone conformations, followed by induced fit mechanism as nucleobases interact with STAR domain.

An approximation in closed form for the integral of Oore–Burns for cracks similar to a star domain

AbstractIn this paper, we give an explicit new formulation for the three‐dimensional mode I weight function of Oore–Burns in the case where the crack border agrees with a star domain. Analysis in the complex field allows us to establish the asymptotic behaviour of the Riemann sums of the Oore–Burns integral in terms of the Fourier expansion of the crack border. The new approach gives remarkable accuracy in the computation of the Oore–Burns integral with the advantage of reducing the size of the mesh.Furthermore, the asymptotic behaviour of the stress intensity factor at the tip of an elliptical crack subjected to uniform tensile stress is carefully evaluated. The obtained analytical equation shows that the error of the Oore–Burns integral tends to zero when the ratio between the ellipse axes tends to zero as further confirmation of its goodness of fit.

The IACOB project

We aim to provide new empirical clues about macroturbulent spectral line broadening in O- and B-type stars to evaluate its physical origin. We use high-resolution spectra of ~430 stars with spectral types in the range O4-B9 (all luminosity classes). We characterize the line-broadening of adequate diagnostic metal lines using a combined FT and GOF technique. We perform a quantitative spectroscopic analysis of the whole sample using automatic tools coupled with a huge grid of FASTWIND models. We also incorporate quantitative information about line asymmetries to our observational description of the characteristics of the line-profiles, and present a comparison of the shape and type of line-profile variability found in a small sample of O stars and B supergiants with still undefined pulsational properties and B main sequence stars with variable line-profiles. We present a homogeneous and statistically significant overview of the (single snapshot) line-broadening properties of stars in the whole O and B star domain. We find empirical evidence of the existence of various types of non-rotational broadening agents acting in the realm of massive stars. Even though all of them could be quoted and quantified as a macroturbulent broadening from a practical point of view, their physical origin can be different. Contrarily to the early- to late-B dwarfs/giants, which present a mixture of cases in terms of line-profile shape and variability, the whole O-type and B supergiant domain (or, roughly speaking, stars with M_ZAMS > 15 M_sol) is fully dominated by stars with a remarkable non-rotational broadening component and very similar profiles (including type of variability). We provide some examples illustrating how this observational dataset can be used to evaluate scenarios aimed at explaining the existence of sources of non-rotational broadening in massive stars.

Binding site density enables paralog-specific activity of SLM2 and Sam68 proteins in Neurexin2 AS4 splicing control.

SLM2 and Sam68 are splicing regulator paralogs that usually overlap in function, yet only SLM2 and not Sam68 controls the Neurexin2 AS4 exon important for brain function. Herein we find that SLM2 and Sam68 similarly bind to Neurexin2 pre-mRNA, both within the mouse cortex and in vitro. Protein domain-swap experiments identify a region including the STAR domain that differentiates SLM2 and Sam68 activity in splicing target selection, and confirm that this is not established via the variant amino acids involved in RNA contact. However, far fewer SLM2 and Sam68 RNA binding sites flank the Neurexin2 AS4 exon, compared with those flanking the Neurexin1 and Neurexin3 AS4 exons under joint control by both Sam68 and SLM2. Doubling binding site numbers switched paralog sensitivity, by placing the Neurexin2 AS4 exon under joint splicing control by both Sam68 and SLM2. Our data support a model where the density of shared RNA binding sites around a target exon, rather than different paralog-specific protein–RNA binding sites, controls functional target specificity between SLM2 and Sam68 on the Neurexin2 AS4 exon. Similar models might explain differential control by other splicing regulators within families of paralogs with indistinguishable RNA binding sites.

A stochastic generation method for the two-dimensional geometry modeling of concretes with high contents of star domain aggregates

This paper presents a method for generating a two-dimensional region with large numbers of randomly distributed star domains. The parametric equation of a star domain is firstly described, based on which the distance between a point and a star domain can be efficiently computed by solving an optimization problem. The random putting-in model is then presented and used to implement the numerical simulation of concrete specimens. Numerical results show that the proposed method can generate simulation of specimens in which the content of gravel aggregate is higher than 80% and the content of crushed-stone aggregate is higher than 75% respectively in relatively short time.