bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plant Metabolic Network 16: expansion of underrepresented plant groups and experimentally supported enzyme data
Authors: Hawkins Charles , Xue Bo , Yasmin Farida , Wyatt Gabrielle , Zerbe Philipp , Rhee Seung Y
Published: November 2024

The Plant Metabolic Network (PMN) is a free online database of plant metabolism available at https://plantcyc.org. The latest release, PMN 16, provides metabolic databases representing >1200 metabolic pathways, 1.3 million enzymes, >8000 metabolites, >10 000 reactions and >15 000 citations for 155 plant and green algal genomes, as well as a pan-plant reference database called PlantCyc. This release contains 29 additional genomes compared with PMN 15, including species listed by the African Orphan Crop Consortium and nonflowering plant species. Furthermore, 52 new enzymes with experimentally supported function information have been included in this release. The single-species databases contain a combination of experimental information from the literature and computationally predicted information obtained through PMN’s database generation pipeline for a single species, while PlantCyc contains only experimental information but for any species within Viridiplantae. PMN is a comprehensive resource for querying, visualizing, analyzing and interpreting omics data with metabolic knowledge. It also serves as a useful and interactive tool for teaching plant metabolism.
Incidence and Risk Factors of Ophthalmic Nerve Palsy in Patients With Tuberculous Meningitis: A Retrospective Study and Literature Review
Authors: Fei Zhen-Tao , Xia Lu , Yang Yang , Ye Dan , Liu Hua-Rui , Liu Ping , Huang Wei , Li Feng , Liu Xu-Hui
Published: November 2024

Background

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) can lead to ophthalmic nerve palsy (ONP), a severe neurological complication. This study aims to evaluates the incidence and risk factors for ONP in TBM patients.

Methods

This retrospective study included 250 TBM patients from the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center (2013-2022). Clinical and imaging data were analyzed, with logistic regression identifying risk factors for ONP.

Results

ONP occurred in 6.8% (17/250) of TBM patients. Those with ONP had higher intracranial pressure (ICP) (257.69 ± 68.12 mmH2O vs 191.65 ± 91.58 mmH2O; P = 0.012), cerebrospinal fluid protein levels, and a higher prevalence of tuberculomas (29.4% vs 10.7%; P = 0.039). Logistic regression identified pre-treatment ICP, CD4 percentage, and tuberculomas as significant risk factors. Linezolid use was a protective factor for ONP recovery.

Conclusions

Six point eight percent (17/250) of patients with TBM developed ONP as a complication. ICP, CD4 counts, and tuberculomas are key predictors. Linezolid shows potential as a therapeutic agent for improving outcomes in TBM patients with neurological complications, warranting further study.
HIV Clinical Providers’ Awareness, Attitudes, and Willingness to Support Patient Outreach Efforts for HIV Cure–Directed Research in Philadelphia, United States
Authors: Meanley Steven , Carter William B , Short William R , Metzger David S , Onorato Amy , Montaner Luis J , Dubé Karine
Published: November 2024

Background

Ethical patient outreach is critical for engaging patients with HIV in HIV cure–directed research. We sought to examine HIV clinical providers’ awareness of current HIV cure–directed research strategies investigated through the Martin Delaney Collaboratories (MDC) and providers’ attitudes toward patient outreach for HIV cure–directed research and to identify opportunities for clinical provider education on MDC research strategies.

Methods

We conducted a 1-time, cross-sectional, web-based survey with 64 HIV clinical providers (physicians, physician assistants, and nurses) in Philadelphia. A descriptive analysis was generated to determine clinical providers’ awareness of MDC research strategies and attitudes toward patient outreach. Bivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate differences in awareness and attitudes by provider characteristics.

Results

Most providers were aware of MDC strategies, and nearly three-fourths of providers reported familiarity with 1 of the 2 Philadelphia MDC research programs. Providers overwhelmingly endorsed the need for clinicians to assist with patient outreach for HIV cure–directed research and were willing to recommend patients to participate. Enthusiasm for patient outreach waned if a study required a patient to undergo analytic treatment interruptions (ATIs). Providers identified preferred resources for receiving HIV cure–directed research updates, including webinars with continuing education credit and conferences.

Conclusions

Our study's findings advocate for added investment toward developing resources that better engage clinical providers about HIV cure–directed research updates and ongoing studies, including the importance of ATIs. As gatekeepers to patient participation on HIV cure–directed studies, added efforts to increase provider knowledge of specific HIV cure–directed research will advance patient education and ethical outreach.
Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infective Endocarditis: A Systematic Review of Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes
Authors: Meena Durga Shankar , Kumar Deepak , Bohra Gopal Krishana , Midha Naresh , Garg Mahendra Kumar
Published: November 2024

Background

Infective endocarditis (IE) due to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a rare infection, and several outbreaks have been reported in the last 2 decades. However, the clinical spectrum is still poorly understood. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes in NTM IE.

Methods

We searched the major electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar) with appropriate keywords to December 2023. We included studies based on predefined diagnostic criteria, and relevant data were collected on clinical presentation and treatment outcomes. The study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023492577).

Results

A total of 97 studies were reviewed, encompassing 167 patients with NTM IE. The earliest cases were reported in 1975, involving M chelonae and M fortuitum. M chimaera was the most prevalent species (38.9%), though rapidly growing NTM (RGM) were more common than slow-growing NTM (SGM; 59.3% vs 40.7%). Disseminated NTM infection occurred in 84% of cases, with bone marrow infiltration and osteomyelitis as frequent manifestations. Prosthetic valves were the main risk factor, present in 63.5% of cases. In native valve IE, nearly all cases (n = 27, 96%) were attributed to RGM. The overall mortality rate was 44.9%, with conservative management without surgery associated with poorer outcomes (66.7% vs 30.6%). Mortality was comparable between SGM and RGM IE, although relapses were more common in SGM IE (17.6% vs 1.9%).

Conclusions

This review highlights the changing epidemiology of NTM IE with the emergence of RGM IE. Disseminated infections in the setting of prosthetic valves warrant NTM evaluation. The high mortality rate necessitates the role of early surgery.
Ancient Bogeys
Authors: Kucharski Janek
Published: November 2024

That Lamia, Mormo, Empousa, and Gello—as well as a host of other, less well-known creatures such as Alphito, Kerko, and Ephialtes—constituted a distinct category of supernatural beings is already intimated in some ancient sources and explicitly acknowledged in a number of modern works. They are usually grouped under one common banner such as that of bogeys, untimely dead, or snake daimones. Yet none of these criteria can do full justice to each of these beings, their attested traits, functions, and backstories. This chapter therefore begins with a catalogue of differences which distinguish one creature from another. It is argued that there is no single criterion shared by all members of this category, and that their association with one another is based on the principle of family resemblances as described by Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Ghosts
Authors: Doroszewska Julia
Published: November 2024

This chapter begins with a distinction between ghosts that could be considered monsters and other kinds of ghostly creatures, providing the background for a firm delimitation of its subject matter. The chapter concerns ghosts understood as the dead who interact with the living in an unpleasant way, with an emphasis on their spontaneous apparitions rather than cases of their intentional or artificial provocation by the living (such as necromantic practices or katabaseis). The main steps in the discussion that follows include (1) the relevant vocabulary, with particular attention given to the overlapping and criss-crossing notions of daimon, phasma, larva, etc.; (2) the crucial distinction between the disembodied and embodied ghosts (revenants); (3) ancient ideas about their background: aoroi, agamoi, ataphoi, bi(ai)othanatoi (i.e. those who died prematurely, unmarried, unburied, or violently, respectively)—a discussion largely based on Tertullian’s De anima.
Gods and Monsters
Authors: Larson Jennifer
Published: November 2024

A common component in definitions of the monster is its challenge to categories. Yet not every category violation yields a monster. Deviation from the essential norm of a living kind (or perfect adherence to an essential norm) is what allows animals to function symbolically. Like gods and ‘perfect’ animals, monsters perform symbolic work. Human cognition helps to shape what we find monstrous: innate attentional biases sharpen our awareness of missing or misshapen body parts, while large predators of all kinds are impossible to ignore. Pascal Boyer’s theory of minimally counterintuitive concepts explains why monster body plans follow predictable patterns, and why their deviations tend to be limited in number and degree, simple enough to transmit accurately. Finally, the work of Dan Sperber on the ‘epidemiology of representations’ can help to illuminate the transmission of monster representations from the ancient Near East to the Greek world.
The Revival of Classical Monsters in the Italian Renaissance
Authors: Freedman Luba
Published: November 2024

This chapter emphasizes the intellectual contributions of the Italian Renaissance (between 1445 and 1550) to post-antique depiction of classical monsters, including centaurs, sirens, sphinxes, harpies, satyrs, Tritons, Nereids, Pegasus, Cerberus, the Gorgon Medusa, Argus, and Polyphemus. Apart from Tritons and Nereids, these are all monsters mentioned in Dante’s Commedia and glossed in the commentaries to the poem. Renaissance humanists studied Greek and Latin texts with an eye to the classical authors’ historical reality. They revealed both the role played by classical monsters in the poetry of myths and the placement of their sculpted images in sacred precincts. Working in collaboration with humanists, artists restored classical monsters to their classical forms. They did so while adapting them to the new reality, imbuing their images with ethical interpretations. Renaissance innovations not only reintroduced classical monsters into contemporary culture, but also established new marvellous models for subsequent generations.
Classical Monsters in Modern Popular Culture
Authors: Gloyn Liz
Published: November 2024

This chapter turns away from mainstream commercial receptions of classical monsters to explore their rich afterlife in a more democratic form of popular culture, namely fan fiction. The rise of the internet, fan culture, and freely accessible technology has meant that ‘fans’ of classical monsters can now create their own versions of their favourite creatures which may remain ephemeral or (appropriately enough) go viral. These monsters are characterized by multiple manifestations and interpretations unaffected by interventions from creative and economic gatekeepers. Through analysis of sample case studies taken from the fan fiction website Archive of Our Own, including Medusa and the Minotaur, this chapter argues that fanfic allows classical monsters to connect to broader social patterns of deploying monstrosity, particularly around LGBT+ identity. It also reflects on the potential productivity of seeing ancient myth as a fandom in its own right.
Ancient Monsters in Modern Science
Authors: Felton Debbie
Published: November 2024

The monsters of ancient myth made their way into modern science principally through the method of taxonomic nomenclature developed by Linnaeus as part of his biological classification system, but also via general surviving knowledge of and interest in the ancient stories. This chapter, focusing mainly on the natural and applied sciences, discusses how and why these mythical monsters remain relevant. Examples from astronomy, various biological sciences (e.g. botany, entomology, herpetology, genetics), and computer science, demonstrate how scholarship in STEM fields frequently draws upon the monsters of classical and other mythologies, drawing connections between current living organisms or inventions and the monsters’ unusual physical features, odd behaviours, and even their geological habitats. Appreciation of ancient myth is not limited to students of the humanities.
The ‘Monster-Harbouring Sea’
Authors: Ingemark Dominic , Ingemark Camilla Asplund
Published: November 2024

Views of the sea in antiquity were ambivalent. There can be little doubt that the societies were dependent on seafaring; moreover, it offered many opportunities. Equally, however, the sea was associated with death and hence evoked a sense of dread. What was feared was not only the violent nature of the sea itself, but also the dreadful creatures that were thought to dwell in its depths. Indeed, the notion of the sea teeming with monsters is frequently found in ancient literature, for instance Homer wrote about the ‘monster-harbouring sea’. This chapter focuses on that aspect: on the one hand, sea monsters and sea-serpents found in mythical accounts, such as those threatening Andromeda, Hesione, and Laocoön; on the other, the monstrous beasts featuring in various legends, such as giant octopuses and killer whales. A common theme is how the aforementioned ambivalent views of the sea came to influence these narratives.
Sentimentalism and the Gendered Aesthetics of Global Realisms
Authors: Hoogenboom Hilde
Published: November 2024

Only in the twentieth century did realism come to dominate our understanding of nineteenth-century arts. A historical approach to realism reveals that in the nineteenth-century debates about aesthetics, realism was the underdog, while sentimentalism remained dominant, led by George Sand. A renewed appreciation of sentimentalism shows that its power lay in the struggle over virtue and the restraint of passions, for the greater good. The debate between these opposing aesthetics was often the subject of European, American, and later Russian novels, which deployed a hybrid aesthetic called “sentimental realism.” Sentimentalism’s ruthless pursuit of virtue found a worthy opponent in realism’s ruthless pursuit of truth. In this debate, women were denigrated as insipid sentimental novelists, while men sought their market success by adapting sentimentalism’s struggle over virtue to realism. The recovery of this global gendered debate reveals the importance of women writers, translations, and global bestsellers and transforms our understanding of the career of George Sand and literature in Russia, which lay at the frontier of the globalization of novels. Through 1850, Russia initially imported and translated 90% of the novels that Russians read. Russians translated Sand’s novels more quickly and in greater quantities than other countries. Once Russians began to export their novels in the 1880s, Sand’s influence was key to their branding as profound and humane, as they made their way to Europe, America, Asia, and beyond. Finally, global sentimental realist novels created rich and contradictory national and international communities, both including and excluding people.
Considering Gay Realisms in Canadian Theater
Authors: Alexandrowicz Conrad
Published: November 2024

In this chapter the author reviews in brief the history of realist representation in the theater, the criteria for which emerged in classical Greece, in particular in the fragmentary text that is the Poetics, by philosopher Aristotle. Realism is a relatively recent arrival on the scene of theatrical practice and remains only one style among many when considered globally. Despite vigorous and successful explorations in various expressive directions, it remains the dominant form of theatrical expression in North America, often following the procedures employed in film and television. Focusing on dramatic writing by gay playwrights in Canada, the writer observes that even members of a marginalized group, gay men, have tended to situate their work in the dramatic style of the dominant culture, despite their nondominant status. Explicitly gay plays emerged in tandem with the onset of the AIDS epidemic, which arrived first in the United States and then spread to Canada; much of the dramatic writing of the latter decades of the twentieth century was profoundly marked by this crisis. The writer speculates that the devastations wrought by AIDS prompted artists who might otherwise have embraced more adventurous forms of dramaturgy to situate their work on the ground of realism, given its capacity to establish potent identification on the part of the spectator with the plight of dramatic characters.
The Work of Realism, Shin, and Materia Medica in Nineteenth-Century Japan
Authors: Fukuoka Maki
Published: November 2024

This chapter elaborates on a type of pictorial realism that thrived in early modern Japan. It focuses on medical and herbal texts from the Tokugawa period, where scholars and medical practitioners known as the Shōhyaku-sha questioned the pictorial and textual accuracy of the books they studied. This entry introduces the significance of pictorial methods and processes in evaluating and accepting the accuracy of received knowledge. A printing method known as ink-rubbing offers a critical insight as a mechanism by which medical doctors and enthusiasts revealed and acknowledged the realness of their encounter with represented specimens. The realism of the pictures in this context does not rely on symbolic schemata often associated with western pictorial realism, such as one-point linear perspective. Instead, these images cohere with a set of realist values hinging on ontology, epistemology, and accessibility, which emerged in Japan out of urgent necessity in local pursuit of medical knowledge. This chapter challenges and decenters the idea of European preeminence in realism and examines how, among the Shōhyaku-sha, a small group in Owari, Japan, the notion of the real has been articulated and negotiated visually, textually, and experientially. By historicizing the primary material and contextualizing it within its local context, one can begin to probe the possibilities of other forms and manifestations of realism.
Realism, Neorealism, and Hyperrealism in Argentine Cinema
Authors: Kroll Juli A.
Published: November 2024

The Argentine film industry traces its narrative arc from its realist origins, through neorealist influences, to a burgeoning hyperrealism that addresses previously underrepresented themes of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexualities. Since the Nueva Ola movement of the 1960s, Argentinean cinema had gained international recognition, further bolstered by the creation of film schools in Buenos Aires and the enactment of the New Cinema Law of 1994. This legislation, which endowed the Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales, also lent substantial support to events like the Mar del Plata International Film Festival. Concurrently, initiatives such as the Historias breves short film contest, inaugurated in 1995, provided a platform for emerging talents like Adrián Caetano, Daniel Burman, Bruno Stagnaro, and Lucrecia Martel. In the mid-1990s, amidst a surge in funding and educational structures, New Argentine Cinema emerged as a pivotal force. Its cinematically realistic portrayal of Argentina resonated with viewers navigating the aftermath of the dictatorship. This chapter explores the realist origins and neorealist inclinations of New Argentine Cinema during the 1990s and early 2000s. Furthermore, it aims to critically analyze the hyperrealistic representations of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality in the works of Lucrecia Martel and Albertina Carri. Specifically, attention will be directed toward Martel’s The Swamp (2001) and The Holy Girl (2004), as well as select films by Carri. These films are notable for their multilayered narratives where exaggerated sounds, unconventional pacing, and distinct cinematography converge to activate viewers and challenge established norms of representation.
Realist Physiognomies and the Japanese Modernist Novel
Authors: Bamba Satoshi
Published: November 2024

The birth of physiognomic description in the novel was a transnational event that marked a break in the history of modern Japanese literature. In his theoretical and practical treatise, The Essence of the Novel (1885–1886), Tsubouchi Shōyō attempted to renew the traditional shōsetsu (novel) genre originating in ancient China by modeling it on English novels. He also preached the need for a detailed description of the physiognomy of the hero based on the principles of Western physiognomy and phrenology. Though his attempt to realize the idea through the novel Characters of Present-Day Students (1885–1886) is generally considered a literary failure, Shōyō’s call for genre innovation was taken over by his disciple, Futabatei Shimei. Futabatei, who had a deep knowledge of Russian literature, began The Drifting Clouds (1887–1889) with a Gogolian physiological description of the street masses and, after rapid stylistic evolution, stopped with a mysterious portrait of the heroine. Further steps in realist physiognomies were taken by modernist Natsume Sōseki. In Pillow of Grass (1906), which he considered an attempt at writing a novel without a plot, Sōseki depicts the frustrations of a painter who tries to make a picture of a young widow he met at a hot spring inn and intersperses it with the painter’s aesthetic meditations on the limits of poetry and painting inspired by Lessing’s Laocoon. Here the question about the possibility of representing a womans’s face leads to the question about the possibility of writing a novel.
Early Modern Intersections between Music and Poetry
Authors: Ciabattoni Francesco
Published: November 2024

This chapter examines the tension between “low” and “high” literature and between the oral and written traditions in Italian poetry composed for a musical setting, as well as poetry later set to music. Focusing on case studies from Dante Alighieri to Francis Petrarch, Torquato Tasso, and various anonymous lyricists, this chapter shows how their lyrics—whether expressly written for musical performance or later set to music by composers—combine exquisitely Italian elements (historical, cultural, or literary) with universal themes such as politics, love, and theology. Italianness reveals itself naturally through certain themes that recur across the centuries: while Dante and Tasso develop the themes of love, conflict, and theology, folk ballads explore food and mundane pleasures (often with erotic allusions), and the texts by Petrarch and the anonymous madrigals focus on Italy’s political woes in their various historical and cultural contexts.
Liberalization, Privatization, and Stabilization
Authors: Popov Vladimir
Published: November 2024

The debate between shock therapists and gradualists that centered on the issue of the pace of liberalization, privatization, and stabilization overlooked the crucial importance of institutions for economic growth. The magnitude of the transformational recession was determined mostly by initial conditions (distortions in industrial structure and trade patterns), the weakening of the institutional capacity of the state, and better or worse macroeconomic and industrial policies. On all three counts, most former Soviet Union (FSU) countries fell behind Central and Eastern European (CEE) states, not to mention China and Vietnam, and hence experienced poorer performance. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) model of economic transformation appears to be close to the Latin American one: weak state, unable either to eliminate redistribution in favor of inefficient enterprises and sectors of the economy openly, and thus resorting to hidden redistribution (inflation tax, debt financing, price controls, overvalued exchange rate, and accumulation of nonpayments by noncompetitive industries).
Consumer Prices, Surplus Cash, and the Struggle to Raise Living Standards in the Postwar Soviet Union
Authors: Ironside Kristy
Published: November 2024

This chapter surveys the Soviet government’s attempts to use consumer price policy to balance the population’s income and expenses, and thus raise living standards, after the Second World War. Consumer prices were already highly politicized under Stalin before the war, but this became especially true after 1949, when his government launched a policy of annual consecutive price cuts. Though these cuts were portrayed as the main driver of real wages, in fact, they were based not on increased supply but on heavy subsidies, and therefore only exacerbated shortages. Even after the policy was abandoned, and as discussions emerged among both leaders and economists about how to rationalize price policy and put an end to subsidies, prices remained highly politicized up until the Soviet collapse, limiting their use as a tool to balance income and expenses. In the meantime, artificially low prices contributed to a growing glut of unspendable cash in the economy, much of which ended up in savings accounts. The Soviet government, in sum, never managed to effectively use consumer prices to balance the population’s income and expenses, imposing a long-term constraint on living standards in the postwar period.
The Right to Assemble in Times of Emergency and the Encroachment of Counterterrorism
Authors: Manion Megan L.
Published: November 2024

This chapter examines the right of peaceful assembly in times of emergency. Specifically, it delves into state practices centred on the use (or nonuse) of derogations and emergency powers including those invoked on the grounds of terrorism/counterterrorism, and those during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on country case studies, it illustrates unique categories of restriction and the differential impacts for certain groups in exercising their right of peaceful assembly. These include civil society groups critical of government responses to terrorism and victims’ associations, among others. The chapter argues that the mobilization of counterterrorism as a rationale for the use of emergency powers at the national level, paired with deference within the United Nations counterterrorism architecture to counterterrorism laws and policies, is contributing to intensified pressures on the right of peaceful assembly and the broader human rights realizations that it enables.
Peace and Transitional Justice
Authors: Richmond Oliver P.
Published: November 2024

Debates about peace and justice have long been locked into a stalemate over whether one negates or supports the other. The legitimacy of peacebuilding was based originally on human rights and democracy, and later upon local ownership and social claims. Increasingly geopolitics and geo-economics have blocked the deepening of the peace agenda in the light of subaltern claims, post-colonialism, law, and global justice. Transitional justice debates can be seen as both a palliative and the outcome of this stalemate. This debate cannot be resolved without advancing our understanding of peace from the agreement or state level to a contemporaneous understanding, and extending the concept of justice that is generally referred to from a micro to a global level to take account of temporal, historical, distributive, environmental, and related matters on a local to global scale.
Migration and Asylum
Authors: Fremuth Michael Lysander
Published: November 2024

This chapter aims to examine the various dimensions and characteristics of LGBTI migration. Absent a general right to immigrate to a foreign country, no human right to migration in the sense of a global freedom of movement exists on the international plane. Thus, people who intend to move voluntarily from their home state to live in a foreign country might depend on a permission which can be granted by the pertinent state under conditions, in general, freely chosen. It is still limitations on the states’ competence to decide upon their immigration policies that require a justification. Even if it remains difficult to argue in favour of a human right to be granted political asylum under public international law, several avenues of protection exist. Persons who are forced to leave their home country for reasons of individual political persecution or other forms of massive human rights violations can enjoy protection under the rule of non-refoulement as refugees under the Geneva Refugee Convention, as well as under subsidiary and temporary protection, in particular under human rights law. Furthermore, persons can enjoy a right to enter a country and reside there within the context of protection of family unity and reunification. All these assumptions equally apply to persons belonging or being attributed to the LGBTI community, although they can be presumed to be in a special situation, often characterized by a high level of vulnerability, non-recognition and discrimination.
Oil and Authoritarianism?
Authors: Haber Stephen
Published: November 2024

A substantial political economy literature claims that an abundance of natural resource wealth—most particularly crude oil—creates and perpetuates authoritarian regimes. Improvements in statistical techniques and data generation over the past decade have allowed scholars to evaluate that claim. That new literature finds that the evidence is inconsistent with law-like statements about the effect of crude-oil abundance on authoritarianism. The rise and fall of the resource-curse hypothesis may therefore be instructive as scholars advance and test other theories about the distribution of authoritarianism and democracy around the planet. Specifically, it suggests the importance of taking history seriously both in the testing of theories and in their development.
The E3 ubiquitin ligase CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 and transcription factors ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 and ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE6 integrate light signaling and root hair development
Authors: Zhang Tianen , Zhu Jingjuan , Liu Yang , Pei Yanfei , Pei Yayue , Wei Zhenzhen , Miao Pengfei , Peng Jun , Li Fuguang , Wang Zhi
Published: November 2024

Light signaling plays a substantial role in regulating plant development, including the differentiation and elongation of single-celled tissue. However, the identity of the regulatory machine that affects light signaling on root hair cell (RHC) development remains unclear. Here, we investigated how darkness inhibits differentiation and elongation of RHC in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We found that light promotes the growth and development of RHC. RNA-seq analysis showed that light signaling regulates the differentiation of RHC by promoting the expression of specific genes in the root epidermis associated with cell wall remodeling, jasmonic acid, auxin, and ethylene signaling pathways. Together, these genes integrate light and phytohormone signals with root hair (RH) development. Our investigation also revealed that the core light signal factor ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) directly interacts with the key RH development factor ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE6 (RHD6), which promotes the transcription of RSL4. However, CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) repressed the RHD6 function through the COP1–HY5 complex. Our genetic studies confirm associations between RHD6, HY5, and COP1, indicating that RHD6 largely depends on HY5 for RH development. Ultimately, our work suggests a central COP1–HY5–RHD6 regulatory module that integrates light signaling and RH development with several downstream pathways, offering perspectives to decipher single-celled RH development.
Future climate and land use changes challenge current dependencies on wild food harvesting by rural indigenous communities
Authors: García Molinos Jorge , Yamada Daichi , Parilova Varvara , Khasanov Shokhrukh , Gabyshev Viacheslav , Makarov Andrey , Narita Daiju , Okhlopkov Innokentiy , Zhang Zhixin , Sakapaji Stephen C , Gavrilyeva Tuyara
Published: November 2024

Traditional food systems support the livelihoods and well-being of rural Indigenous communities, particularly in remote, asset-poor areas. However, the diversity of wild foods is in global decline under the accelerating impacts of climate and environmental change with major but poorly understood implications for dependent communities. Here, we combine a comprehensive systematic household survey involving 400 households from 18 rural Indigenous settlements across the Republic of Sakha, a vast and climate change sensitive region in the Russian Far East, with species distribution models for 51 food species of animals, plants, and fungi to (i) profile current household dependencies on wild food harvesting; (ii) project future (2050s) changes in the regional distribution and local availability of wild foods under alternative climate and land use change scenarios; and (iii) discuss their combined potential implications. We find that current dependencies, understood as shares of the total food consumed and income by household, are on average relatively low across settlements, albeit with important regional variability. Remote and isolated settlements in the Arctic region of the Republic of Sakha have greater levels of dependency with stronger links to animal products, while those in the southern and central regions, which are better connected and closer to major urban areas, have lower levels of dependency and are dominated by nonanimal products (plant-based products and fungi). These dependency patterns contrast with projected changes in the regional distribution and local availability of food species, signaling major turnovers of species with important potential implications for dependent rural livelihoods.
Pain management in people with inflammatory arthritis: British Society for Rheumatology guideline scope
Authors: Scott Ian C , Babatunde Opeyemi , Barker Christopher , Beesley Rebecca , Beesley Richard , Birkinshaw Hollie , Brooke Mel , Chaplin Hema , Chapman Lara , Ciurtin Coziana , Dale James , Dockrell Dervil , Dures Emma , Harrison Kathyrn , Jani Meghna , Lee Charlotte , McCarron Maura , Mallen Christian D , O’Connor Assie , Pidgeon Claire , Pincus Tamar , Pratt Dee , Prior Yeliz , Raza Karim , Rutter-Locher Zoe , Sharma Seema , Shaw Katie , Small Samantha , Smith Tilli , Tiffin Lesley , Tsigarides Jordan , Xenophontos Mikalena , Shenker Nicholas G
Published: November 2024

Executive Summary

Pain is a common symptom in people with inflammatory arthritis (IA), which has far-reaching impacts on their lives. Recent electronic health record studies demonstrate that UK-based pain care in people with IA commonly involves the prescribing of long-term opioids and gabapentinoids, despite an absence of trial evidence for their efficacy. Patient surveys suggest that non-pharmacological pain management is underused. A UK-specific guideline on pain management for people with IA is required to resolve this. This scoping document outlines the context and prioritized clinical questions for the first British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) guideline on pain management for people with IA. The guideline aims to provide evidence-based recommendations on how pain can be best managed in people with IA (including its assessment, and pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments), ensuring that people with IA in the UK are offered evidence-based pain management strategies. The guideline is for healthcare professionals involved in the care of people with IA of all ages and genders, people with IA and their families and carers, NHS managers and healthcare commissioners, and other relevant stakeholders such as patient organizations. It will be developed using the methods outlined in the BSR’s ‘Creating Clinical Guidelines’ protocol.
Cell-integrated serum-induced signalling patterns can differentiate between hand and knee osteoarthritis patients
Authors: Neefjes Margot , Housmans Bas A C , Kaffa Charlotte , Thielen Nathalie G M , Joosten Leo A B , van den Ende Cornelia H M , Vitters Elly L , van den Akker Guus G H , Welting Tim J M , van Caam Arjan P M , van der Kraan Peter M
Published: November 2024

Objective

OA is a very heterogeneous disease. Here, we aimed to differentiate OA patients based on their serum-induced cell-integrated signalling patterns.

Design

In order to monitor the activity of different cellular homeostasis-regulating pathways in response to patient serum, we analysed the response of human OA serum samples to 16 cell-based transcription factor luciferase reporter assays. In this study we compared serum samples from 55 patients with knee OA, 56 patients with hand OA and 42 healthy controls.

Results

Differential serum-induced pathway activity was observed between samples from healthy controls, knee OA and hand OA patients: serum of hand OA patients induced high MAPK-related AP1 activity whereas serum of knee OA patients induced more SRE, ISRE and SOX9 activity, which is related to ELK1-SRF, STAT1-STAT2 and SOX9 activity, respectively. Principal component analysis revealed that these differences differentiate hand OA from knee OA. Both hand and knee OA clustered clearly in two different endotypes each, but no principle component could be identified of these subtypes within either the hand OA or the knee OA sample group.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that serum from hand OA and knee OA patients evokes diverse cellular signalling patterns that differentiates hand OA, knee OA and healthy controls. This underlines that the pathomolecular mechanisms of OA are likely significantly different between hand and knee OA, a finding that could lead to new insight into the pathobiology of OA endotypes and joint-specific therapies.
Association between antiphospholipid antibodies and diffuse alveolar haemorrhage risk in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: González-Treviño Mariana , Figueroa-Parra Gabriel , Yang Jeffrey X , Prokop Larry J , Gamal Sherif M , García Mercedes A , James Judith A , Knight Jason S , Murad M Hassan , Narvaez Javier , Pons-Estel Bernardo A , Quintana Rosana M , Specks Ulrich , Yang Xuwei , Duarte-García Alí
Published: November 2024

Objective

To assess the association of aPL and diffuse alveolar haemorrhage (DAH) in patients with SLE by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods

Multiple databases were systematically searched from inception to February 2024. Studies were eligible if they included patients with SLE (population), reported aPL status (exposure), and DAH (outcome). We pooled the estimates as odds ratio (OR) using fixed-effect models. We examined the association between aPL and DAH, as well as associations based on aPL subtypes or concomitant APS.

Results

Out of 454 screened studies, nine were included in meta-analysis, encompassing 7746 patients with SLE, of whom 2016 (26.0%) were aPL-positive and 163 (2.1%) had DAH. Patients with SLE and positive aPL (any) were more likely to develop DAH than aPL-negative patients (OR = 1.76, 95% CI 1.24–2.49; I2 = 0%). Patients with SLE and positive LA (OR = 1.76, 95% CI 1.06–2.93, I2 = 35%) or positive anticardiolipin IgG (OR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.13–2.34, I2 = 0%) had a higher likelihood of developing DAH compared with patients that were negative for these aPL. An APS diagnosis was associated with a 2.5-fold increased likelihood of DAH compared with subjects without APS (OR = 2.46, 95% CI 1.23–4.92, I2 = 0%). Positivity of anti-β2 glycoprotein I IgG was not significantly associated with DAH among patients with SLE (OR = 0.78, 95% CI 0.45–1.36, I2 = 0%).

Conclusion

In patients with SLE, aPL positivity increases the risk of DAH compared with aPL-negative patients, particularly in those positive for LA and anticardiolipin IgG.
Strip grazing stockpiled annual forages: impact on carrying capacity and cattle performance
Authors: Davies-Jenkins Shelby L , Jakub Devin A , Sartin Abigail M , Carlson Zac E , Drewnoski Mary E
Published: November 2024

Strip grazing can increase forage utilization, though it has been shown to decrease individual animal performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate forage utilization and cattle performance when strip grazing (STRIP) vs. continuously grazing (CONT) stockpiled annual forages. Experiment 1 consisted of a mix of Jerry oats (Avena sativa) and Trophy rapeseed (Brassica napus) while experiment 2 was a 17-species mix in which the forage mass was predominantly pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), German millet (Setaria italica), and browntop millet (Urochloa ramosa). Fields were divided into six 6.3-ha (experiment 1) or 4.1-ha (experiment 2) paddocks which were blocked by location. Treatment was randomly assigned within block (n = 3 replicates per treatment per experiment). Grazing was initiated in November and terminated in February. This resulted in a total of 83 and 54 grazing days for experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Forage was allocated to STRIP twice a week. The STRIP steers gained 16% less (P = 0.01) per day in experiment 1, but in experiment 2, there was no difference (P = 0.56) between treatments. Compared to CONT, the carrying capacity (AUM/ha) of STRIP was increased (P = 0.03) by 81% in experiment 1 and tended to increase (P = 0.10) in experiment 2. Gain per hectare increased (P = 0.02) for STRIP by 56% in experiment 1 and by 31% in experiment 2. Strip grazing stockpiled annual forages can be an effective way to increase carrying capacity and gain per hectare during the fall and winter months but effects on individual animal performance are inconsistent. Disparities in response to strip grazing could stem from differences in forage quality and allocation. Further research is needed to refine and optimize the utilization of this management approach.
Shaping the future of AI: balancing innovation and ethics in global regulation
Authors: Kashefi Pouya , Kashefi Yasaman , Ghafouri Mirsaraei AmirHossein
Published: November 2024

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the current landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, examining the diverse approaches adopted across different global regions and the multifaceted ethical challenges presented by rapid AI advancements. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is explored as a benchmark for data protection and privacy in AI, contrasted with the USA’s more decentralized and sector-specific approach and the varied strategies of Asian countries like China and Japan that blend State-led direction with market-driven innovation. Key ethical challenges in AI are discussed, including bias and discrimination in AI systems, the complexities of AI algorithms leading to a ‘black box’ phenomenon, and the crucial need for accountability and transparency in AI operations. The article also delves into the role of international bodies and forums in shaping AI regulations and emphasizes the importance of multi-stakeholder involvement, including academia, industry, and civil society, in developing effective AI policies. The article proposes detailed recommendations for achieving harmonized international AI regulations. It advocates for the integration of ethical considerations into AI development, the adoption of flexible and adaptive regulatory frameworks, and the promotion of multi-stakeholder engagement. Enhancing AI literacy and public engagement and facilitating international cooperation on AI are also highlighted as crucial steps. The article concludes by underscoring the critical role of policy-makers and international bodies in guiding AI development to ensure it progresses in a way that maximizes societal benefits, mitigates risks, and addresses ethical considerations comprehensively.
Cardiomyocyte‐derived exosomes promote cardiomyocyte proliferation and neonatal heart regeneration
Authors: Gu Jielei , Chen Xuke , Luo Zhenyu , Li Rongxue , Xu Qiong , Liu Mingke , Liu Xiaolin , Liu Yajing , Jiang Siqin , Zou Min , Ling Sisi , Liu Shiming , Liu Ningning
Published: November 2024

Heart regeneration was mainly achieved by intrinsic capacity. Exosomes are crucial in cardiovascular disease, yet their involvement in myocardial regeneration remains underexplored. To understand the role of cardiomyocyte‐derived exosomes (CM‐Exos) in heart regeneration. We established mouse models of myocardial infarction and apical resection in neonates to investigate the potential benefits of exosomes in response to injury. Rab27a knockout (KO) mice were constructed as an exosome decrease model. Distinct fibrosis appears in the infarcted and resection area in the KO mice 21 days after heart injury. The proliferation marker pH 3, Ki67, and Aurora B were detected 3 days after surgery, which decreased in KO mice compared to WT mice. Intravenous injection of CM‐Exos increased cardiomyocyte proliferation and partially restored heart function in KO mice. Rab27a knockdown in vitro reduced the expression of pH 3, Ki67, and Aurora B positive cardiomyocytes. However, the supplementation of CM‐Exos increased the proliferation of cardiomyocytes. Exosomal miRNA sequencing was subsequently applied, and miR‐21‐5p was a promising candidate that promoted cardiomyocyte proliferation through its target genes Spry‐1 and PDCD4. Intravenous injection of miR‐21‐5p exhibited similar proliferative effects as CM‐Exos. Our results indicate that CM‐Exos promotes cardiomyocyte cycle reentry by delivering miR‐21‐5p, highlighting the endogenous factors of myocardial regeneration.
EP152R‐mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress contributes to African swine fever virus infection via the PERK‐eIF2α pathway
Authors: Liang Rui , Fu Yanan , Li Guosheng , Shen Zhou , Guo Fenglin , Shi Jiale , Guo Yilin , Zhang Ding , Wang Zixuan , Chen Chener , Shi Yuejun , Peng Guiqing
Published: November 2024

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, icosahedral, double‐stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family and the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF). ASFV causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic and wild pigs. ASFV contains an open reading frame named EP152R, previous research has shown that EP152R is an essential gene for virus rescue in swine macrophages. However, the detailed functions of ASFV EP152R remain elusive. Herein, we demonstrate that EP152R, a membrane protein located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), induces ER stress and swelling, triggering the PERK/eIF2α pathway, and broadly inhibiting host protein synthesis in vitro. Additionally, EP152R strongly promotes immune evasion, reduces cell proliferation, and alters cellular metabolism. These results suggest that ASFV EP152R plays a critical role in the intracellular environment, facilitating viral replication. Furthermore, virus‐level experiments have shown that the knockdown of EP152R or PERK inhibitors efficiently affects viral replication by decreasing viral gene expression. In summary, these findings reveal a series of novel functions of ASFV EP152R and have important implications for understanding host‐pathogen interactions.