bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“My Baby Went Straight to Heaven”: Morality Work in Abortion Online Storytelling
Authors: Combellick Sarah Larissa
Published: June 2021

Two competing activist narratives dominate public conversation around the morality of abortion, yet little empirical research examines how women talk about the morality of their own abortion experiences. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of 156 accounts from an abortion storytelling website, I find that traditional pro-choice moral arguments invoking privacy and bodily autonomy were apparent but not dominant in women’s accounts. Three other frames emerged as ways to confront the problem of abortion as a morally controversial action: “abortion as morally unremarkable,” “abortion as morally problematic, but justified,” and “abortion as morally desirable.” These frameworks varied in the degrees to which they aligned with politically acceptable abortion narratives. Throughout these frameworks were a number of overlapping themes, including motherhood, responsibility, and religion. Drawing on theories of morality work and moral accounts, I posit that subjects are able to hold a “tension of opposites” while still maintaining cohesive narratives and presenting positive moral identities. For example, many women assigned their fetus a moral status as a life or potential life, yet ultimately felt other factors outweighed the obligation to sustain that life. I argue that this tension is a significant feature of morality work that warrants more attention.
In the Shadow of the Schooled Society: Feelings of Misrecognition and the Education Ladder
Authors: van Noord Jochem , Spruyt Bram , Kuppens Toon , Spears Russell
Published: June 2021

Over the past decades, the education system has gradually grown into a central and universal institution of society, the impact of which plays a primary role in economic and social stratification. This stratification, and the way this inequality is legitimated, contains serious moral judgements that favor the higher educated over the less educated. This article focuses on the socio-psychological consequences of living in such “schooled societies” for those who are more or less successful in education. We use three waves of the European Quality of Life survey with data on 65,208 individuals across 36 countries. We investigate (1) the extent to which different educational groups feel dissatisfied about and misrecognized by virtue of their education and (2) whether the centrality of the education system in society broadens the gap between educational groups in their dissatisfaction with education and feelings of misrecognition. Results show that (1) the less educated are more likely to feel misrecognized and dissatisfied with their education than the higher educated, and (2) in countries where education is more central, the education gap in feelings of misrecognition is substantially larger.
Optimizing the Integration of a Biopesticide (Bacillus subtilis QST 713) with a Single-Site Fungicide (Benzovindiflupyr) to Reduce Reliance on Synthetic Multisite Fungicides (Captan and Mancozeb) for Management of Apple Scab
Authors: Ayer K. M. , Strickland D. A. , Choi M. , Cox K. D.
Published: June 2021

Apple scab is one of the most economically important diseases of apple in temperate production regions. In the absence of durable host resistance in commercially preferred cultivars, considerable applications of fungicides are needed to manage this disease. With the sequential development of resistance to nearly all classes of single-site fungicides in the apple scab pathogen Venturia inaequalis, synthetic multisite fungicides, such as mancozeb and captan, often comprise the core of chemical management programs for apple scab. Although these fungicides have demonstrable benefits for both disease and fungicide resistance management, the sustainability movement within agriculture aims to reduce reliance on such fungicides because of their broader environmental impacts. In this study, we establish a framework to enhance the feasibility of chemical management programs that do not rely on use of synthetic multisite protectant fungicides to manage apple scab. Specifically, we wish to evaluate chemical programs that integrate the biopesticide Bacillus subtilis QST 713 (Serenade Opti) in rotation with benzovindiflupyr (Aprovia), a single-site fungicide belonging to the class of succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHI), to circumvent the need for applications of synthetic multisite fungicides. During implementation of these programs, disease incidence data were taken at biweekly intervals. Regardless of the seasonal challenges presented in the 2 years of this study, when Bacillus subtilis QST 713 was used in place of captan and mancozeb mixtures, we did not observe any significant differences (P > 0.05) in development of apple scab symptoms between any of the management programs for the vertical axis or super spindle orchards in either year. This potential for substituting synthetic multisite fungicides with biopesticides is best realized when the programs are used with a decision support system in a super spindle planting system, where trees have reduced canopy densities. This 2-year study shows the potential to achieve adequate disease control using the integration of SDHI fungicides and biological controls without the use of synthetic multisite fungicides.
Spatiotemporal Survey of Multiple Rice Diseases in Irrigated Areas Compared to Rainfed Lowlands in the Western Burkina Faso
Authors: Barro Mariam , Kassankogno Abalo Itolou , Wonni Issa , Sérémé Drissa , Somda Irénée , Kaboré Hilaire Kouka , Béna Gilles , Brugidou Christophe , Tharreau Didier , Tollenaere Charlotte
Published: June 2021

Multiple constraints affect rice yields in West Africa. Among these constraints are viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens. We aimed to describe the spatiotemporal patterns of occurrence and incidence of multiple rice diseases in farmers’ fields in contrasting rice growing systems in the western Burkina Faso. For this purpose, we selected a set of three pairs of sites, each comprising an irrigated area and a neighboring rainfed lowland, and studied them over four consecutive years. We first performed interviews with the rice farmers to better characterize the management practices at the different sites. This study revealed that the transplanting of rice and the possibility of growing rice twice a year are restricted to irrigated areas, while other practices, such as the use of registered rice cultivars, fertilization, and pesticides, are not specific but differ between the two rice growing systems. Then, we performed symptom observations at these study sites to monitor the following four diseases: yellow mottle disease, Bacterial Leaf Streak (BLS), rice leaf blast, and brown spot. The infection rates were found to be higher in irrigated areas than in rainfed lowlands, both when analyzing all observed symptoms together (any of the four diseases) and when specifically considering each of the two diseases: BLS and rice leaf blast. Brown spot was particularly prevalent in all six study sites, while yellow mottle disease was particularly structured geographically. Various diseases were frequently found together in the same field (co-occurrence) or even on the same plant (coinfection), especially in irrigated areas.
Management and support of patients with fibrosing interstitial lung diseases
Authors: Barbera Tyonn , Davila Lesley , Patel Nina M.
Published: June 2021

Fibrosing interstitial lung diseases have a variable clinical course. Regular monitoring is important to assess disease progression and inform patient care and counseling. NPs play a key role in helping patients understand their disease and its treatment and manage the adverse reactions of pharmacologic therapies.
Multifocal Mesenchymal Hamartoma of the Newborn
Authors: Fregeolle Angela
Published: June 2021

Background:

A mesenchymal hamartoma is a rare benign tumor of the chest wall seen prenatally or at birth. Typically arising from one or more ribs, this tumor will have a rapid growth between weeks 28 and 36 of gestation, followed by a plateau and a spontaneous regression, usually within the first year of life.

Clinical Findings:

A 37-week 2-day, 3.48-kg female infant was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit with a prenatally diagnosed left chest mass with a large pleural effusion and respiratory failure.

Primary Diagnosis:

The infant was referred to our institution with multiple chest masses on the left side, resulting in the thorax's marked deformity. Imaging studies confirmed the presence of a multifocal mesenchymal hamartoma.

Interventions:

At laparotomy, 3 mesenchymal hamartomas were found. The lateral mass, encompassing ribs 5 and 6, resulted in an en bloc resection. The ribs cephalad and caudal were bowed and displaced but not involved in the mesenchymal hamartoma. Complete excision of the lateral mass was done, and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of mesenchymal hamartoma.

Outcomes:

After resection of the largest mass, the left lung reinflated appropriately, and within a few weeks, the infant was discharged home without supplemental oxygen support.

Practice Recommendations:

Symptomatic patients with cardiorespiratory compromise are best treated with surgical resection. In asymptomatic patients, it is best to proceed with serial imaging and conservative management with watchful waiting. Due to the rarity of the condition, data on long-term follow-up and outcomes are needed.
Optimal medical therapy after coronary artery bypass grafting: a primer for surgeons
Authors: Eikelboom Rachel , Amir Takhliq , Gupta Saurabh , Whitlock Richard P.
Published: June 2021

Purpose of review

After coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), patients remain at increased risk of cardiovascular events and death. Cardiac surgeons have the opportunity to reduce this risk by optimizing post-CABG patients’ medical therapy.

Recent findings

Recent developments in lipid-lowering, diabetes management, antithrombotic therapy, and anti-inflammatory therapy can significantly improve prognosis in patients with chronic coronary artery disease. PCSK-9 inhibitors should be used in patients with elevated LDL cholesterol despite maximally tolerated statin therapy. Icosapent ethyl should be considered in patients with elevated triglycerides despite maximally tolerated statin therapy. Long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonists or SLGT-2 inhibitors should be used in all post-CABG patients with type 2 diabetes. Intensified antithrombotic therapy with DAPT or DPI reduces MACE (and DPI reduces mortality) in patients with high atherosclerotic burden. Colchicine has not yet been incorporated into guidelines on OMT for stable CAD but it is reasonable to consider using it in high-risk patients.

We review the foundations of optimal medical therapy after CABG, and summarize recent advances with a focus on practical application for the busy cardiac surgeon.
Intestinal dysfunction in chronic disease
Authors: Kirschner Sarah K. , Deutz Nicolaas E.P. , Engelen Mariëlle P.K.J.
Published: June 2021

Purpose of review

This review will discuss recent studies showing that patients with chronic wasting diseases suffer from a variety of small intestinal impairments which might negatively impact the colonic microbiota and overall well-being. New insights will be addressed as well as novel approaches to assess intestinal function.

Recent findings

Small intestinal dysfunction can enhance the amount and alter the composition of undigested food reaching the colon. As a result of reduced protein digestion and absorption, a large amount of undigested protein might reach the colon promoting the presence of pathogenic colonic bacteria and a switch from bacterial fiber fermentation to protein fermentation. While microbial metabolites of fiber fermentation, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), are mainly considered beneficial for overall health, metabolites of protein fermentation, i.e. ammonia, branched SCFAs, hydrogen sulfide, polyamines, phenols, and indoles, can exert beneficial or deleterious effects on overall health. Substantial advances have been made in the assessment of small intestinal dysfunction in chronic diseases, but studies investigating the connection to colonic microbial metabolism are needed. A promising new stable isotope approach can enable the measurement of metabolite production by the colonic microbiota.

Several studies have been conducted to assess intestinal function in chronic diseases. Impairments in intestinal barrier function, sugar absorption, protein digestion, and absorption, as well as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth were observed and possibly might negatively impact colonic bacterial metabolism. We suggest that improving these perturbations will improve overall patient health.
Correlation analysis of expression of CC and CXC chemokines in children with autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Peng Guangyang , Peng Xiaofei , Tong Tingting , Zhang Xiuyun , Xu Min , Peng Xiaofang
Published: June 2021

To investigate the relationship between the expression of CC and CXC chemokines and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

A total of 62 children with ASD (ASD group) and 60 gender- and age-matched normal children (control group) admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to January 2020 were included in the study. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α), macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (MIP-1β), regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), interleukin-8 (IL-8), monokine induced by interferon (IFN)-γ (MIG), and purified human interferon-γ-induced protein-10 (IP-10) were detected in the ASD group. The correlation between the above indexes and the severity of the ASD group was analyzed.

Significantly increased MCP-1 levels (P < .01) along with the markedly decreased MIP-1α and MIP-1β levels (P < .01) were detected in the venous blood of the ASD group compared with the control group. In addition, they exhibited no significant difference (yet a downward trend) in the level of RANTES (P > .05). Children in the ASD group showed significantly decreased IP-10 levels (P < .01); however, they had no noticeable change (yet a decreasing trend) in the levels of IL-8 and MIG (P > .05). MCP-1 level was positively related to the Module 1 scores of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-second edition (ADOS-2), whereas the levels of Childhood Autism Rating Scale MIP-1α, MIP-1β, IL-8, IP-10, and MIG were negatively correlated with the ADOS-2 Module 1 scores (P < .01). However, no significant correlation was found between RANTES and the ADOS-2 Module 1 scores (P > .05).

The levels of CC chemokines (MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, and RANTES) and CXC chemokines (IL-8, IP-10, and MIG) are positively correlated with the pathogenesis of ASD. Inflammation is an important contributing factor to ASD.
Interpersonal and Social Functioning Among Psychotherapy Patients
Authors: Aafjes-van Doorn Katie , McCollum James , Silberschatz George , Kealy David , Snyder John
Published: June 2021

This study examined the mediating role of pathogenic beliefs on the relationship between patients’ recollections of experienced adverse parenting in childhood and adult interpersonal and social problems. A total of 210 psychotherapy outpatients rated their experiences of perceived adverse parenting in childhood and completed measures of psychological distress, interpersonal problems and social impairment, and internalized beliefs about self and others. Significant mediation effects were observed for two of the three belief domains: “cannot rely on others” and “undeserving.” Although both were significant mediators between adverse parenting and symptom distress, only “cannot rely on others” was a significant mediator predicting interpersonal problems, and only “undeserving” was a significant mediator predicting impaired social functioning. Thus, patients' underlying convictions regarding their self-worth seem to play a role in the ability to develop social roles, whereas the beliefs about the steadfastness of others play an important role in the capacity for interpersonal relating.
The Impact of Diagnostic Decisions on Patient Experience in the Pediatric Emergency Department
Authors: Gorski Jillian K. , Mendonça Eneida A. , Showalter Cory D.
Published: June 2021

Objective

Patient experience serves as both a subjective measure of value-based health care delivery and a metric to inform operational decision making. The objective of this study was to determine if specific diagnostic and therapeutic interventions affect patient experience scores for children seen in the emergency department.

Methods

We performed a retrospective observational study in the emergency department of a large quaternary care children's hospital on patients who were discharged to home and later completed a National Research Corporation Health patient experience survey. We matched the survey results to electronic health record (EHR) data and were able to extract demographics, operational metrics, and order information for each patient. We performed multiple logistic regression analyses to determine the association of image acquisition, laboratory test ordering, medication administration, and discharge prescribing with likelihood to recommend the facility as our measure of patient experience.

Results

Of the 4103 patients who met inclusion criteria for the study, 75% strongly recommended the facility. Longer wait times were associated with lower patient experience scores [odds ratio (OR) per waiting room hour increase, 0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.65–0.81]. Significant diagnostic factors associated with higher patient experience included magnetic resonance imaging ordering (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.00–5.67), x-ray ordering (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.00–1.42), and electrocardiogram ordering (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.07–2.44). Of the treatment factors studied, only antibiotic prescribing at discharge was found to have a significant positive association with patient experience (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.08–1.63).

Conclusion

The positive association between more intensive diagnostic workups and patient experience could have implications on the utility of patient experience scores to evaluate pediatric care teams. Consideration should be taken to interpret patient experience scores in the context of compliance with approaches in evidence-based medicine.
Tubular Cell Dropout in Preimplantation Deceased Donor Biopsies as a Predictor of Delayed Graft Function
Authors: Avigan Zachary M. , Singh Nikhil , Kliegel Judith A. , Weiss Marlene , Moeckel Gilbert W. , Cantley Lloyd G.
Published: June 2021

Background.

Delayed graft function (DGF) affects over 25% of deceased donor kidney transplants (DDKTs) and is associated with increased cost, worsened graft outcomes, and mortality. While approaches to preventing DGF have focused on minimizing cold ischemia, donor factors such as acute tubular injury can influence risk. There are currently no pharmacologic therapies to modify DGF risk or promote repair, in part due to our incomplete understanding of the biology of preimplantation tubular injury.

Methods.

We collected intraoperative, preimplantation kidney biopsies from 11 high-risk deceased donors and 10 living donors and followed transplant recipients for graft function. We performed quantitative high-dimensional histopathologic analysis using imaging mass cytometry to determine the cellular signatures that distinguished deceased and living donor biopsies as well as deceased donor biopsies which either did or did not progress to DGF.

Results.

We noted decreased tubular cells (P < 0.0001) and increased macrophage infiltration (P = 0.0037) in high-risk DDKT compared with living donor biopsies. For those high-risk DDKTs that developed postimplant DGF (n = 6), quantitative imaging mass cytometry analysis showed a trend toward reduced tubular cells (P = 0.02) and increased stromal cells (P = 0.04) versus those that did not (n = 5). Notably, these differences were not identified by conventional histopathologic evaluation.

Conclusions.

The current study identifies donor tubular cell loss as a precursor of DGF pathogenesis and highlights an area for further investigation and potential therapeutic intervention.
Effects of Bihemispheric Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Repetitive Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in Acute Stroke Patients
Authors: Yagüe Sara , Veciana Misericordia , Martínez-Yélamos Antonio , Pedro Jordi , Cardona Pere , Quesada Helena , Lara Blanca , Kumru Hatice , García Belia , Montero Jordi , Valls-Solé Josep
Published: June 2021

Purpose:

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can change the excitability of the central nervous system and contribute to motor recovery of stroke patients. The aim of our study was to examine the short- and long-term effects of real versus sham bihemispheric tDCS combined with repetitive peripheral nerve stimulation in patients with acute stroke and a severe motor impairment.

Methods:

The study was prospective, randomized, double blind, and placebo controlled. Nineteen acute stroke patients (ischemic and hemorrhagic) with upper limb Fugl-Meyer mean score of <19 were randomized in two groups: one group received five consecutive daily sessions of anodal tDCS over the affected hemisphere and cathodal over unaffected hemisphere combined with repetitive peripheral nerve stimulation and the other received sham tDCS associated to repetitive peripheral nerve stimulation. Clinical and neurophysiological assessment was applied before tDCS, 5 days after tDCS, and 3, 6, and 12 months after tDCS.

Results:

There were significant time-related changes in both groups of patients in motor evoked potentials, somatosensory evoked potentials, Hmax:Mmax ratio, upper limb Fugl-Meyer scores, and Modified Ashworth scales scores (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences between groups were present at any time (P > 0.05).

Conclusions:

Bihemispheric tDCS and repetitive peripheral nerve stimulation with the parameters of our study did not add significant short- or long-term clinical improvement or change in neurophysiological data in severe acute stroke patients in comparison to sham stimulation. The severity of motor impairment in stroke patients may influence a possible response to an interventional tDCS treatment.
Primary open angle glaucoma management in a tertiary eye care center in Saudi Arabia: a best practice implementation pilot project
Authors: Alshowaeir Daniah , Almasoud Nouf , Aldossari Sheikhah , Alsirhy Ehab Y. , Osman Essam , Turjoman Abdulsalam , Amer Yasser , Munn Zachary , McArthur Alexa
Published: June 2021

Aim:

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a leading cause of permanent visual loss affecting significant numbers in Saudi Arabia. There is no cure for glaucoma but there is mounting evidence to guide ophthalmologists in diagnosing and managing this disease. The aim of this pilot project was to assess the compliance with evidence-based criteria and to implement an adapted clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the management of patients with POAG at a tertiary eye care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that will lead to improving quality, consistency and optimizing patients’ care.

Methods:

The project consisted of three phases using audit and feedback strategy. It has utilized the Joanna Briggs Institute Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System and Getting Research into Practice audit and feedback tool. Eleven evidence-based audit criteria were developed. A baseline audit was then conducted. Barriers behind areas of noncompliance were identified and a number of strategies were implemented to overcome them. A follow-up postimplementation audit was then conducted.

Results:

Twenty electronic medical files were randomly selected for baseline audit. The results of the audit have identified a number of possible areas to improve in the diagnosis and management of POAG in compliance with the adapted CPG with compliance rate as low as 20% (4/20) in some criteria. Multifaceted interventions were implemented targeting mainly attitude and lack of knowledge and time and resource barriers. Significant improvement occurred in most criteria audited postimplementation.

Conclusion:

The project demonstrates that audit and feedback is a feasible and effective tool to change glaucoma practice in a teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia. The success was due to multifaceted interventions including clear communication to promote awareness, an easily accessible CPG, and regular reminders to improve knowledge and change behavior. We propose our pilot implementation to be generalized to promote implementing evidence-based ophthalmology.
Effectiveness and Safety of Niclosamaide as Add-on Therapy to the Standard of Care Measures in COVID-19 Management: Randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors: Abdulamir Ahmed S. , Gorial Faiq I. , Saadi Sattar Jabar , Maulood Mohammed Fauzi , Hashim Hashim Ali , abdulrrazaq Manal K.
Published: June 2021

Background

COVID-19 pandemic has ignited the urge for repurposing old drugs as candidate antiviral medicines to treat novel challenges of viral infections. Niclosamide (NCS) is an anti-parasitic drug of known antiviral potential. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the antiviral effect and safety of NCS on SARS-CoV-2 caused COVID-19 patients.

Methods

Randomized controlled open label clinical trial encompassed 75 COVID-19 patients treated with standard of care plus NCS were included as experimental group and 75 COVID-19 patients treated with only standard of care therapy as control group. Each group was composed of 25 mild, 25 moderate and 25 severe patients. Survival rate, time to recovery, and side effects were the main endpoints for the assessment of the therapeutic effect and safety of NCS.

Results

NCS did not enhance survival rate as three of severe COVID-19 patients in NCS and in control groups died (P>0.05). However, NCS, compared to control group, reduced the time to recovery in moderate and severe COVID-19 patients about 5 and 3 days, respectively but not in mild patients (P≤0.05). Most interestingly, NCS lowered time to recovery up to five days in patients with co-morbidities (P≤0.05) whereas only one day lowered in patients without co-morbidities (P>0.05).

Conclusion

It is concluded that NCS accelerates time to recovery about 3 to 5 days in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients especially those with co-morbidities; hence, NCS is of clinical benefit for freeing hospital beds for more patients in pandemic crisis.
Visible and real dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine in the spring of 2021
Authors: Nesteruk Igor
Published: June 2021

The visible and real sizes the last COVID-19 epidemic wave in Ukraine, estimated in March 2021 with the use of generalized SIR-model, are compared with number of cases registered in the spring of 2021. We have used the optimal value of the visibility coefficient in order to estimate the real numbers of accumulated cases, real daily numbers of new cases and real number of infectious persons. The results show that the latest prediction for Ukraine is in rather good agreement with observations, but the daily number of new cases decreases more slowly than theoretical predictions. The large real number of infectious people threatens the emergence of new strains of coronavirus and the beginning of new epidemic waves.
Age-Based Disparities in Hospitalizations and Mortality for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Authors: Wisk Lauren E. , Bhagat Santi K.M. , Sharma Niraj
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Evidence suggests that older adults, racial/ethnic minorities, and those with comorbidities all face elevated risk for morbidity and mortality from COVID-19; but there are limited reports describing the potential for interactions between these factors.

Methods

We sought to evaluate age-based heterogeneity in observed disparities in hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality related to COVID-19 using CDC public use surveillance data on 3,662,325 COVID-19 cases reported from January 1 to August 30, 2020.

Results

Racial/ethnic and comorbidity disparities in hospitalization were most pronounced during ages 20-29 and ages 10-19, with similar elevation seen for disparities in ICU risk.

Racial/ethnic disparities in mortality were most pronounced during ages 20-29 while risk from comorbidity peaks among ages 10-39.

Conclusions

As COVID-19 continues to affect younger populations, special attention to the implications for the most vulnerable subgroups are clearly warranted.

Implications and Contribution

Adolescents and young adults appear to have experienced the greatest inequities in COVID-19 outcomes by race/ethnicity and comorbidity. Careful monitoring of trends in this population is warranted as they re-enter school, work, and social settings while being the last group to receive priority for vaccination.
Screening for Cardiac Disease with Genetic risk scoring, Advanced ECG, Echocardiography, Protein Biomarkers and Metabolomics
Authors: Gladding Patrick A. , Dugo Clementina , Wynne Yvonne , Semple Heather , Smith Kevin , Larsen Peter , Shepherd Phillip , Zarate Erica , Villas-Boas Silas , Schlegel Todd T.
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Screening patients for cardiovascular disease has not been widely advocated due to cost implications and is reserved for high risk or symptomatic patients. We undertook an exploratory study to evaluate the promising low-cost methods for screening, including genetic risk scoring (GRS), advanced ECG (A-ECG), echocardiography and metabolomics.

Methods

78 patients underwent advanced 5-min ECG and echocardiography, including global longitudinal strain (GLS), and echocardiographic calcium scoring (eCS). A GRS of 27 SNPs (GRS27) related to coronary disease and 3 SNPs for atrial fibrillation was used, as well as hs-troponin (Abbott, Singulex, Roche), NTproBNP (Roche) testing and targeted plasma metabolomics using GC-MS. Results were correlated with the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) (CT coronary angiography (CTCA)), measures of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (echocardiography and CTCA), and LV systolic dysfunction (LVSD) (echocardiography).

Results

LV dysfunction was accurately identified by using either A-ECG (AUC 0.97, 0.89 to 0.99) or NTproBNP. eCS demonstrated accurate discrimination of CAD (AUC 0.84, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.92, p < 0.0001. Troponin I (Abbott/Singulex) had the highest sensitivity and accuracy for the detection of LVH measured by either CT or echocardiography (AUC 0.85, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.92), however specificity was reduced by the presence of LV systolic dysfunction. Metabolomics and A-ECG identified underlying abnormal mechanisms related to both LVH (glycine metabolism) and LV dysfunction, (Citric Acid cycle). Metabolomics provided incidental utility by identifying metformin adherence and nutritional biomarkers.

Conclusion

A multi-omic approach to screening can be achieved at relatively low cost, and high accuracy, but will need to be evaluated in larger populations to prove its utility.
‘Superbugs: A Pop-up Science Shop’: Increasing public awareness and knowledge of antimicrobial resistance by taking science to the city
Authors: Tyrrell Jonathan M. , Conlon Christie S. , Aboklaish Ali F. , Hatch Sarah , Smith Carl , Mathias Jordan , Thomson Kathryn , Eberl Matthias
Published: June 2021

‘Superbugs: A Pop-up Science Shop’ was a public engagement event in the school summer holidays of 2019, organised by members of Cardiff University’s School of Medicine. We transformed an empty retail unit in the centre of Wales’ largest shopping centre into an interactive and immersive microbiology experience. We aimed to facilitate opportunities for two-way dialogue to impart positive impact on the awareness of antibiotic resistance, whilst concurrently evaluating the efficacy of an engagement strategy focused on the utilisation of public spaces to attract public demographics diverse to those who would normally engage with STEM outreach.

Over the course of 14 days, we welcomed 6,566 visitors, with 67% attending as part of the natural footfall of the shopping centre. We created 1,625 young Antibiotic Resistance Champions, located in over 200 schools. Through a multi-lateral evaluation strategy, we were able to collect quantitative and qualitative feedback on the success of our delivery model, and the impact on our stakeholders. Herein, we will discuss the evolution of ‘Superbugs’ from concept, planning and design, to the logistics of delivering an engagement event of this scale. We will focus in particular on the learning outcomes of the project, and how this will shape the future of our ‘Superbugs’ project, and engagement events beyond.

Key Messages

Creating a multi-disciplinary core team is essential to the success of large-scale engagement events as well as the support and development of large numbers of colleagues/volunteers

Utilising themes of exhibition and gameplay alongside strong fear-empowerment messages is an impactful way to confer positive influence and behaviour around antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the use of antibiotics

‘Pop-up shop’ is an effective mode of delivery to capture diverse public demographics far beyond those who would traditionally engage with scientific outreach and science engagement.
Amino acid variability, tradeoffs and optimality in human diet
Authors: Dai Ziwei , Locasale Jason W.
Published: June 2021

While the quality of fat (e.g. saturated/unsaturated) and carbohydrate (e.g. whole grain/simple sugars) intake has been of great interest, less attention has been made to the type of protein and resulting amino acid intake profiles in human diets. Studies at the molecular level however demonstrate that dietary amino acid intake produces substantial effects on health and disease such as cancer by modulating metabolism. How these effects may manifest in human food consumption and dietary patterns is unknown. We developed a series of algorithms to map, characterize and model the landscape of amino acid content in human food, dietary patterns, and individual consumption including relations to health status, covering over 2,000 foods, ten dietary patterns, and over 30,000 dietary records. We found that the type of amino acids contained in foods and human consumption is highly dynamic with variability far exceeding that of fat and carbohydrate. Some amino acids positively associate with diseases such as obesity while others contained in the same food negatively link to disease. Using linear programming and machine learning, we show that these health trade-offs among can be accounted to satisfy biochemical constraints in food and human eating patterns to construct a Pareto front in dietary practice, a means of achieving optimality in the face of tradeoffs that are commonly considered in economic and evolutionary theories. Thus this study may enable the design of human protein quality intake guidelines based on a quantitative framework.
Effects of tDCS on the attentional blink revisited: A statistical evaluation of a replication attempt
Authors: Reteig Leon C. , Newman Lionel A. , Richard Ridderinkhof K. , Slagter Heleen A.
Published: June 2021

The attentional blink (AB) phenomenon reveals a bottleneck of human information processing: the second of two targets is often missed when they are presented in rapid succession among distractors. In our previous work, we showed that the size of the AB can be changed by applying transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) (London & Slagter, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 33, 756–68, 2021). Although AB size at the group level remained unchanged, the effects of anodal and cathodal tDCS were negatively correlated: if a given individual’s AB size decreased from baseline during anodal tDCS, their AB size would increase during cathodal tDCS, and vice versa. Here, we attempted to replicate this finding. We found no group effects of tDCS, as in the original study, but we no longer found a significant negative correlation. We present a series of statistical measures of replication success, all of which confirm that both studies are not in agreement. First, the correlation here is significantly smaller than a conservative estimate of the original correlation. Second, the difference between the correlations is greater than expected due to sampling error, and our data are more consistent with a zero-effect than with the original estimate. Finally, the overall effect when combining both studies is small and not significant. Our findings thus indicate that the effects of lDPLFC-tDCS on the AB are less substantial than observed in our initial study. Although this should be quite a common scenario, null findings can be difficult to interpret and are still under-represented in the brain stimulation and cognitive neuroscience literatures. An important auxiliary goal of this paper is therefore to provide a tutorial for other researchers, to maximize the evidential value from null findings.
A hierarchy in clusters of cephalopod mRNA editing sites
Authors: Moldovan Mikhail A. , Chervontseva Zoe S. , Nogina Daria S. , Gelfand Mikhail S.
Published: June 2021

RNA editing in the form of substituting adenine to inosine (A-to-I editing) is the most frequent type of RNA editing, observed in many metazoan species. A-to-I editing sites form clusters in most studied species, and editing at clustered sites depends on editing of the adjacent sites. Although functionally important in some specific cases, A-to-I editing in most considered species is rare, the exception being soft-bodied cephalopods (coleoids), where tens of thousands of potentially important A-to-I editing sites have been identified, making coleoids an ideal object for studying of general properties and evolution of A-to-I editing sites. Here, we apply several diverse techniques to demonstrate a strong tendency of coleoid RNA editing sites to cluster along the transcript. We identify three distinct types of editing site clusters, varying in size, and describe RNA structural features and mechanisms likely underlying formation of these clusters. In particular, these observations may resolve the paradox of sequence conservation at large distances around editing sites.
ACES: Analysis of Conservation with Expansive Species
Authors: Padhi Evin M. , Mehinovic Elvisa , Sams Eleanor I. , Ng Jeffrey K. , Turner Tychele N.
Published: June 2021

Motivation

An abundance of new reference genomes are becoming available through large-scale sequencing efforts. While the reference FASTA for each genome is available, there is currently no automated mechanism to query a specific sequence across all new reference genomes.

Results

We developed ACES (Analysis of Conservation with Expansive Species) as a computational workflow to query specific sequences of interest (e.g., enhancers, promoters, exons) against reference genomes with an available reference FASTA. This automated workflow generates BLAST hits against each of the reference genomes, a multiple sequence alignment file, a graphical fragment assembly file, and a phylogenetic tree file. These data files can then be used by the researcher in several ways to provide key insights into conservation of the query sequence.

Availability

ACES is available at https://github.com/TNTurnerLab/ACES

Contact

tychele@wustl.edu

Supplementary information

Supplementary Figure 1 is available on bioRxiv.
Concurrent contextual and time-distant mnemonic information co-exist as feedback in human visual cortex
Authors: Ortiz-Tudela Javier , Bergmann Johanna , Bennett Matthew , Ehrlich Isabelle , Muckli Lars , Shing Yee Lee
Published: June 2021

Efficient processing of visual environment necessitates the integration of incoming sensory evidence with concurrent contextual inputs and mnemonic content from our past experiences. To delineate how this integration takes place in the brain, we studied modulations of feedback neural patterns in non-stimulated areas of the early visual cortex in humans (i.e., V1 and V2). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and multivariate pattern analysis, we show that both, concurrent contextual and time-distant mnemonic information, coexist in V1/V2 as feedback signals. The extent to which mnemonic information is reinstated in V1/V2 depends on whether the information is retrieved episodically or semantically. These results demonstrate that our stream of visual experience contains not just information from the visual surrounding, but also memory-based predictions internally generated in the brain.

One-Sentence Summary

Feedback activity in human early visual cortex contains concurrent contextual and time-distant mnemonic information.
Proteomic changes induced by harmine in human brain organoids reveal signaling pathways related to neuroprotection
Authors: Karmirian Karina , Goto-Silva Lívia , Nascimento Juliana Minardi , Costa Marcelo N. , Salerno José Alexandre , Ornelas Isis Moraes , Vanderborght Bart , Martins-de-Souza Daniel , Rehen Stevens
Published: June 2021

Harmine is a β-carboline found in Banisteriopsis caapi, a constituent of ayahuasca brew. Ayahuasca is consumed as a beverage in native Americans’ sacred rituals and in religious ceremonies in Brazil. Throughout the years, the beneficial effects of ayahuasca to improve mental health and life quality have been reported, which propelled the investigation of its therapeutic potential to target neurological disorders such as depression and anxiety. Indeed, antidepressant effects of ayahuasca have been described, raising the question of which cellular mechanisms might underlie those effects. Previous animal studies describe potential neuroprotective mechanisms of harmine, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, and neurotrophin signaling activation. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms modulated by harmine in human models remain less investigated. Here we analyzed the short-term changes in the proteome of human brain organoids treated with harmine using shotgun mass spectrometry. Harmine upregulates proteins related to synaptic vesicle cycle, cytoskeleton-dependent intracellular transport, cell cycle, glucose transporter-4 translocation, and neurotrophin signaling pathway. In addition, protein expression levels of Akt and phosphorylated CREB were increased after 24 hour-treatment. Our results shed light on the potential mechanisms that may underlie harmine-induced neuroprotective effects.
Arabidopsis ABIG1 Functions in Laminar Growth and Polarity Formation through Regulation by REVOLUTA and KANADI
Authors: Preciado Jesus , Begcy Kevin , Liu Tie
Published: June 2021

Leaf laminar growth and adaxial-abaxial boundary formation are fundamental outcomes of plant development. Boundary and laminar growth coordinate the further patterning and growth of the leaf, directing the differentiation of cell types within the top and bottom domains and promoting initiation of lateral organs along their adaxial/abaxial axis. Leaf adaxial-abaxial polarity specification and laminar out-growth are regulated by two transcription factors, REVOLUTA (REV) and KANADI (KAN). ABA INSENSITIVE TO GROWTH 1 (ABIG1) is a HOMEODOMAIN-LEUCINE ZIPPER (HD-ZIP) Class II transcription factor and is a direct target of the adaxial-abaxial regulators REV and KAN. To investigate the role of ABIG1 in the leaf development and establishment of polarity, we examined the phenotypes of both gain-of-function and loss-of-function mutants. Through genetic interaction analysis with REV and KAN mutants, we have determined that ABIG1 plays a role in leaf laminar-growth as well as in adaxial-abaxial polarity establishment. Genetic and physical interaction assays showed that ABIG1 interacts with the transcriptional corepressor TOPLESS (TPL). This study provides new evidence that another HD-ZIP II gene, ABIG1, facilitates growth through the corepressor TPL.

Highlight

ABIG1, a HD-ZIP Class II transcription factor, promotes laminar growth and adaxial-abaxial polarity through the regulation of REV and KAN.
YAPP-CD: Yet another protein-peptide complex database
Authors: Park Joon-Sang
Published: June 2021

Protein-peptide interactions are of great interest to the research community not only because they serve as mediators in many protein-protein interactions but also because of the increasing demand for peptide-based pharmaceutical products. Protein-peptide docking is a major tool for studying protein-peptide interactions, and several docking methods are currently available. Among various protein-peptide docking algorithms, template-based approaches, which utilize known protein-peptide complexes or templates to predict a new one, have been shown to yield more reliable results than template-free methods in recent comparative research. To obtain reliable results with a template-based docking method, the template database must be comprehensive enough; that is, there must be similar templates of protein-peptide complexes to the protein and peptide being investigated. Thus, the template database must be updated to leverage recent advances in structural biology. However, the template database distributed with GalaxyPepDock, one of the most widely used peptide docking programs, is outdated, limiting the prediction quality of the method. Here, we present an up-to-date protein-peptide complex database called YAPP-CD, which can be directly plugged into the GalaxyPepDock binary package to improve GalaxyPepDock’s prediction quality by drawing on recent discoveries in structural biology. Experimental results show that YAPP-CD significantly improves GalaxyPepDock’s prediction quality, e.g., the average Ligand/Interface RMSD of a benchmark set is reduced from 7.60 Å/3.62 Å to 3.47 Å/1.71 Å.