bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Origin of land status and the history of land use of large oil palm plantations in South Sumatra Province (a case study in the plantation of PT TPR and PT RAJ)
Authors: Openg E B L
Published: October 2024

Palm oil is a prima donna commodity in the agricultural sub-sector in Indonesia, because palm oil is the largest contributor to the country’s foreign exchange. This achievement cannot be separated from accusations regarding ecological impacts such as deforestation and loss of biodiversity, which are also often accused of being on land that is a forest area. Responding to these accusations, information about the origins of land status and the history of land use in palm oil plantations is required. Two case studies of large palm oil companies at PT TPR and PT RAJ in South Sumatra Province were examined in this paper. Data collection was conducted using interviews, study of literature, map-overlays between palm oil plantation and Forest Use Agreement, Provincial Regional Spatial Planning maps for land status and interpreting Landsat imagery related to land use history. The results of the analysis indicates that both of the companies had earned Plantation Business Permit with land status based Forest Use Agreement on 1986 and the Minister of Forestry Decree on 2016, namely Other Use Area; Based on the historical description of the origin of land status at both company, it is known that when the oil palm plantation business permit and cultivation rights certificate were issued, the land status of the two large palm oil plantations was not a forest area.
Changes in plantation area and spatial modelling of forest and land fire vulnerability based on hotspot analysis 2019-2023 Ogan Ilir regency, South Sumatra
Authors: Wulandari R M , Syaufina L , Sitanggang I S , Jaya I N S
Published: October 2024

Forest and land fires cause problems in the form of burnt areas which damage the environment. Forest and land fires are a national environmental issue in Indonesia because they occur every year. This study aims to determine history of changes in plantation areas, especially oil palm and rubber, history of changes in number of annual hotspots and determine the level of fire vulnerability in plantation areas in Ogan Ilir Regency as an anticipation of plantation managers against fires. The method used is statistical analysis of changes history in plantation area and spatial modeling of fire vulnerability using ArcGIS. The results of the study showed that there was a change in land cover, especially an increase in oil palm and rubber plantations in 2016, which was one year after the increase in hotspots in 2015, this shows the use of burnt land, whether intentionally or not, as a plantation. The vulnerability of fires in Ogan Ilir is classified as very low (31.20%), low (47.11%), moderate (9.53%) and high (11.92%). The distribution of forest and land fire vulnerability is in the southwest and southeast of Ogan Ilir which are adjacent to oil palm plantation areas, this is because historically the burned land was used as a plantation either directly or already overgrown with shrubs. The results of this study provide implications for oil palm plantation managers to improve monitoring of land conditions, especially during dry months and in certain years. This needs to be considered for better plantation management.
It was not deforestation that prompted some oil palm smallholding plantations in South Sumatra, Indonesia
Authors: Aprillyasari W M
Published: October 2024

While the palm oil industry is economically beneficial for industry and locals, it has faced critiques due to its role in deforestation. The accusations often do not contemplate the historical land use and land cover (LULC) before the palms were planted. The negative “branding” of destructive palm plantations can lead to consumers’ low desire to buy the products, suppressing local economic development. Therefore, this research aimed to prove otherwise by analyzing the historical LULC changes in four oil palm smallholdings in South Sumatra, Indonesia. Information was obtained through interviews, literature reviews, and satellite image analysis. Literatures on oil palm customers revealed the links between smallholders, customer demands, and deforestation. Since deforestation strongly affects customer’s view, tracing back to the historical LULC on the smallholdings revealed that the lands used to be unattended shrubs, peat lands and dryland farms as other-land-use area. Hence, they were proven not to have converted any legal forest area into monoculture plantations. The different views of international and national on deforestation term needs to have common ground and discussed deeper for better view on Indonesian oil palm production.
Governing the world’s largest country
Authors: Taylor Brian D.
Published: October 2024

This chapter unpacks how geography has shaped Russia’s political system over time. Two issues are highlighted. First, Russia’s immense scale and difficult climate led Russia’s rulers to seek to centralize control to keep the country from falling apart. Second, and related, the creation of a transcontinental and multinational empire reinforced these centralizing impulses. The collapse of that empire in 1991 with the demise of the Soviet Union opened up the possibility for Russia to become a more decentralized and democratic federal political system. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has behaved as if the country is in danger of further collapse, leading him to undermine a federal system that might be the best possible way to govern a country of Russia’s scale, complexity, and multiethnic population. Finally, the chapter’s conclusion considers how climate change is presenting new challenges to Russia’s political and economic development.
Causal inference in multi-cohort studies using the target trial framework to identify and minimize sources of bias
Authors: Downes Marnie , O’Connor Meredith , Olsson Craig A , Burgner David , Goldfeld Sharon , Spry Elizabeth A , Patton George , Moreno-Betancur Margarita
Published: October 2024

Longitudinal cohort studies, which follow a group of individuals over time, provide the opportunity to examine causal effects of complex exposures on long-term health outcomes. Utilizing data from multiple cohorts has the potential to add further benefit by improving precision of estimates through data pooling and by allowing examination of effect heterogeneity through replication of analyses across cohorts. However, the interpretation of findings can be complicated by biases that may be compounded when pooling data, or, contribute to discrepant findings when analyses are replicated. The “target trial” is a powerful tool for guiding causal inference in single-cohort studies. Here we extend this conceptual framework to address the specific challenges that can arise in the multi-cohort setting. By representing a clear definition of the target estimand, the target trial provides a central point of reference against which biases arising in each cohort and from data pooling can be systematically assessed. Consequently, analyses can be designed to reduce these biases and the resulting findings appropriately interpreted in light of potential remaining biases. We use a case study to demonstrate the framework and its potential to strengthen causal inference in multi-cohort studies through improved analysis design and clarity in the interpretation of findings.

Special Collection: N/A.
An aspirin-free strategy for percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with diabetes: a pre-specified subgroup analysis of the STOPDAPT-3 trial
Authors: Yamamoto Ko , Natsuaki Masahiro , Watanabe Hirotoshi , Morimoto Takeshi , Obayashi Yuki , Nishikawa Ryusuke , Ando Kenji , Suwa Satoru , Isawa Tsuyoshi , Takenaka Hiroyuki , Ishikawa Tetsuya , Ikari Yuji , Kurita Tairo , Kaitani Kazuaki , Sugimoto Atsuhiko , Ogata Nobuhiko , Ikuta Akihiro , Hashimoto Katsushi , Ishibashi Yuki , Masuda Kazunori , Miyabe Tomonori , Ono Koh , Kimura Takeshi
Published: October 2024

Aims

Safety of aspirin-free strategy immediately after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes was unknown.

Methods and results

We conducted the prespecified subgroup analysis on diabetes in the STOPDAPT-3 trial, which randomly compared prasugrel (3.75 mg/day) monotherapy (2984 patients) to dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with prasugrel and aspirin (2982 patients) in patients with acute coronary syndrome or high bleeding risk. The co-primary endpoints were major bleeding events (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium 3 or 5) and cardiovascular events (a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, definite stent thrombosis, or stroke) at 1 month. Of 5966 study patients, there were 2715 patients (45.5%) with diabetes. Patients with diabetes more often had chronic coronary syndrome, heart failure or cardiogenic shock, and comorbidities than those without. Patients with diabetes compared to those without had higher incidences of major bleeding and cardiovascular events. Regardless of diabetes, the effect of no-aspirin relative to DAPT was not different for the co-primary bleeding (diabetes: 5.05% vs. 5.47%; HR, 0.92; 95%CI, 0.66–1.28 and non-diabetes: 3.99% vs. 4.07%; HR, 0.98; 95%CI, 0.69–1.38; P for interaction = 0.81) and cardiovascular (diabetes: 5.54% vs. 5.15%; HR, 1.08; 95%CI, 0.78–1.49 and non-diabetes: 2.95% vs. 2.47%; HR, 1.20; 95%CI, 0.79–1.82; P for interaction = 0.70) endpoints. The incidences of subacute definite or probable stent thrombosis and any coronary revascularization were higher in the no-aspirin group than in the DAPT group regardless of diabetes.

Conclusions

The effects of an aspirin-free prasugrel monotherapy (3.75 mg/day) relative to DAPT for major bleeding and cardiovascular events were not different regardless of diabetes.
The opioid industry's use of scientific evidence to advance claims about prescription opioid safety and effectiveness
Authors: Gupta Ravi , Chernesky Jason , Lembke Anna , Michaels David , Tomori Cecilia , Greene Jeremy A , Alexander G Caleb , Koon Adam D
Published: October 2024

It is widely recognized that pharmaceutical marketing contributed to the ongoing US opioid epidemic, but less is understood about how the opioid industry used scientific evidence to generate product demand, shape opioid regulation, and change clinician behavior. In this qualitative study, we characterize select scientific articles used by industry to support safety and effectiveness claims and use a novel database, the Opioid Industry Documents Archive, to determine notable elements of industry and non-industry documents citing the scientific articles to advance each claim. We found that 15 scientific articles were collectively mentioned in 3666 documents supporting 5 common, inaccurate claims: opioids are effective for treatment of chronic, non-cancer pain; opioids are “rarely” addictive; “pseudo-addiction” is due to inadequate pain management; no opioid dose is too high; and screening tools can identify those at risk of developing addiction. The articles contributed to the eventual normalization of these claims by symbolically associating the claims with scientific evidence, building credibility, expanding and diversifying audiences and the parties asserting the claims, and obfuscating conflicts of interest. These findings have implications for regulators of industry products and corporate activity and can inform efforts to prevent similar public health crises.
Transcendence and Normality of Complex Numbers via Hurwitz Continued Fractions
Authors: García-Ramos Felipe , González Robert Gerardo , Hussain Mumtaz
Published: October 2024

We study the topological, dynamical, and descriptive set-theoretic properties of Hurwitz continued fractions. Hurwitz continued fractions associate an infinite sequence of Gaussian integers to every complex number that is not a Gaussian rational. The resulting space of sequences of Gaussian integers $\Omega $ is not closed. Using an iterative procedure, we show that $\Omega $ contains a natural subset whose closure $\overline{\textsf{R}}$ encodes continued fraction expansions of complex numbers that are not Gaussian rationals. We prove that $(\overline{\textsf{R}}, \sigma )$ is a subshift with a feeble specification property. As an application, we determine the rank in the Borel hierarchy of the set of Hurwitz normal numbers with respect to the complex Gauss measure. We also construct a family of complex transcendental numbers with bounded partial quotients.
Spanier–Whitehead K-Duality and Duality of Extensions of C*-Algebras
Authors: Pennig Ulrich , Sogabe Taro
Published: October 2024

KK-theory is a bivariant and homotopy-invariant functor on $C^{*}$-algebras that combines K-theory and K-homology. KK-groups form the morphisms in a triangulated category. Spanier–Whitehead K-duality intertwines the homological with the cohomological side of KK-theory. Any extension of a unital $C^{*}$-algebra by the compacts has two natural exact triangles associated to it (the extension sequence itself and a mapping cone sequence). We find a duality (based on Spanier–Whitehead K-duality) that interchanges the roles of these two triangles together with their six-term exact sequences. This allows us to give a categorical picture for the duality of Cuntz–Krieger–Toeplitz extensions discovered by K. Matsumoto.
Postcards from the Pandemic: Women, Intersectionality, and Gendered Risks in the Global COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: K C Luna , MacKenzie Megan
Published: October 2024

The COVID-19 crisis created, and continues to produce, unprecedented challenges globally. Marginalized and racialized families, communities, and nations are experiencing their worst impacts, and in particular, women and girls are the hardest hit. The most pressing concerns raised by COVID-19 include a surge in gender-based violence, a rise in care burden, the feminization of poverty, and growing unemployment, largely in the Global South and conflict-affected regions. Drawing on feminist security studies and intersectionality literature, this forum explores gendered risks in the COVID-19 era, focusing on the security of women and girls from racialized and marginalized backgrounds in both the Global North and South. This forum presents seven short papers providing rich data on a range of case studies that include Yemen, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Canada, India, and Burundi. The contributions draw attention to the multilayered, diverse, intersectional, complex, and contextual gendered risks associated with the pandemic. The through line themes of intersectional identities, patriarchy, conflict, post-conflict, militarization, and marginalization are used to illustrate how gendered risks are (re)constructed during and after the COVID-19 crisis. This forum launched what we hope will offer a new research agenda and support to provide scholarly terrain for future research. This forum section not only provides insights into the vast and complex gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic but also sparks broader thinking about everyday forms of insecurity that women and girls face in global crises.
A model of the zone-of-interests test
Authors: Lee Yoon-Ho Alex
Published: October 2024

This article offers the first comprehensive economic analysis of the zone-of-interests test from administrative law. Applying concepts from polar coordinates and inner products, we construct a model of the zone-of-interests test that provides answers to many of the puzzling questions stemming from the doctrine. The results suggest that the zone-of-interests test can be understood as Congress’s attempt to cabin judicial review to ensure that litigation based on administrative rule challenges would lead to outcomes that are timely and consistent with Congress’s intent behind the subject statute. Our model also illustrates a relationship between the zone-of-interests doctrine and the standing doctrine. In extensions, we also consider how the doctrine can be rationalized as safeguarding against substantive court errors and economizing on judicial resources, and why certain statutes may include citizen-suit provisions while others do not. (JEL K23, K41)
Reversible role of MIR654/3P and MIR9/3P in pathogenesis of Epstein-Barr virus–negative, but not Epstein-Barr virus–positive, Burkitt lymphoma
Authors: Gong Yu , Fu Wenhua
Published: October 2024

The role of MIR654 in Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and whether it impacts expression of MYC and its downstream activated MIR9 is not known. Expression of MYC, MYCN, MYCL, MIR9/3P, MIR654/5P, and MIR654/3P was assessed by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction in biopsy samples from Epstein-Barr virus–negative (EBV−) and EBV+ BL patients and BL cell lines. Effects of modulation of MIR9/3P and MIR654/3P on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and chemosensitivity were evaluated. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to validate the putative target of MIR654/5P. Effects of MIR9/3P and MIR654/3P on tumor burden and disease outcome were evaluated using xenograft model of BL. Expression of MYC, MYCN, and MIR9/3P was higher in all BL patient samples and cell lines. Expression of MIR654/3P was downregulated in EBV− BL patient samples and cell lines compared with either noncancer lymphoid-reactive hyperplasia or EBV+ samples and cell lines. Additionally, MIR654/3P overexpression inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, and increased chemosensitivity in EBV− BL cell lines. Luciferase reporter assay confirmed that MYC is a target of MIR654/3P in both EBV− and EBV+ BL cell lines; however, the effect of MIR654/3P-mediated targeting of MYC is overridden in EBV+ cells. Administration of MIR654/3P mimic or MIR9/3P antagomir in the xenograft model decreased tumor burden and increased survival. Combined intervention with MIR654/3P mimic and MIR9/3P antagomir had synergistic action on decreasing tumor burden and improving disease outcome. MIR654/3P, as a putative tumor suppressor in EBV− BL, collaborating with MIR9/3P might serve as a therapeutic agent to treat EBV− BL patients in combination with existing chemotherapy and immunotherapy regimes.
Electroencephalography
Authors: Lüders Hans O. , Noachtar Soheyl , Rémi Jan
Published: October 2024

This book is an instructional textbook and reference atlas, serving as an instruction guide for the beginner in electroencephalography and as a reference atlas for the experienced electroencephalogram (EEG) reader. It provides a highly systematic guide of the process of understanding and interpreting EEG. The book systematically describes abnormal EEG findings and their differentiation from normal variants, which may imitate the abnormal EEG patterns. It provides normal and abnormal EEG patterns in a structured classification based on more than 400 figures. All EEG examples shown in the book are available electronically in reformatted EEG montages. This allows the reader a completely new approach to EEG interpretation that follows the routine of EEG reading with digital EEG machines.
Introduction
Authors: Shorter Edward
Published: October 2024

This chapter introduces the physicians who created the mass use of antidepressants and antipsychotics, including the industry that whispered in their ears. It defines psychopharmacology as the investigation of systematically different effects of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs on different mind and brain diseases. It also implies that the age of psychopharmacology is an entire medical culture, as well as a whole popular culture, that has become an “age.” The chapter elaborates how psychiatry has been buffeted by “cycles” in which the dominant paradigm changes quite dramatically, such as the shift from psychoanalysis to biological psychiatry. It mentions Frank Berger, a Czech-born psychiatrist who stated that most people he saw really had no psychiatric disorders but were people who had not been prepared to handle all the crises of life.
Funding and Connecting Disjointed Mental Health Services to Ensure the Right Services, the First Time
Authors: Cohen Deborah , Klodnick Vanessa
Published: October 2024

The United States is in a public mental health crisis, despite policy efforts and practice improvements over the last 75 years. The mental health system remains complicated, disjointed, and difficult to navigate—leaving many without treatment access. This chapter reimagines US mental health care as a tailored care continuum equitably available to all experiencing distress, and responsive to social determinants of health among people experiencing intersecting disadvantage, vulnerability, and marginalization. It details the unique needs of people who are involved in the criminal justice system, experiencing homelessness, and transitioning from child to adult services, and propose several feasible system-level improvements and practice reforms. If such approaches were systematically scaled up via federal and state sponsorship, the United States could achieve a true continuum of community mental health care that is prevention-focused and responsive to a wide array of mental health needs.
The Chronic Worrier
Authors: Rosewater Jacob , Newport D. Jeffrey
Published: October 2024

In this chapter, Ms. E, a 34-year-old woman, visits a clinic to establish care. She reveals a history of trouble sleeping, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and muscle tension, along with frequent arguments with coworkers. These symptoms have persisted for several years, making her wonder if something is wrong with her. She also admits to excessive worry about various issues, and this presentation prompts consideration of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). For the diagnosis of this condition, it is essential to distinguish pathological anxiety from normal worry, as GAD is characterized by pervasive, uncontrollable worry that causes distress and impairment. This chapter also discusses differential diagnoses, emphasizing the need to exclude anxiety stemming from mood or psychotic disorders. Treatment options include antidepressants and psychotherapy, primarily cognitive-behavioral therapy. The choice between medication and therapy depends on patient preference and symptom severity.
I’m Really Scared About the Pending Diagnosis: What If It’s Bad?
Authors: Velit Mario , Luca Luminita
Published: October 2024

This chapter introduces Mr. A, a 58-year-old man with multiple medical conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary artery disease, who is admitted to the hospital due to worsening respiratory symptoms. Mr. A is experiencing significant distress and anxiety related to his illness. This case illustrates the common occurrence of anxiety in medically ill patients, which can be triggered by uncertainty and the fear of the unknown. This chapter emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between anxiety as a reaction to illness and preexisting anxiety disorders. It discusses how anxiety symptoms can manifest both emotionally and physically, often overlapping with the symptoms of the underlying medical condition. This chapter highlights the need for a comprehensive assessment, including medical and psychiatric history, physical examination, and collaboration with the medical team to determine the cause of anxiety. It also notes that certain medications used to treat medical conditions can exacerbate anxiety symptoms.
Why Can’t I Stay Home Like During Online School?
Authors: Gross Lawrence , Poulsen Raul
Published: October 2024

The chapter discusses the case of a 9-year-old boy, GP, who is experiencing significant distress and anxiety related to separation from his mother. GP’s behavior has changed since he started in-person schooling and extracurricular activities, with frequent tantrums and distress when preparing to leave home. He expresses fear about his mother contracting COVID and often complains of abdominal discomfort. His mother admits to being overly cautious and keeping him home during pandemic outbreaks and playdates. GP’s symptoms fit the criteria for separation anxiety disorder (SA), a common childhood anxiety disorder. This chapter highlights that SA can emerge after stressful life circumstances. SA often presents with various symptoms related to separation. It can also co-occur with other psychiatric conditions. The importance of careful evaluation to distinguish SA from other conditions is discussed, and treatment options are presented. This chapter provides valuable insights into the diagnosis and management of SA in children.
Electronic Publishing
Authors: Berkwits Michael
Published: October 2024

Electronic publishing and distribution of medical science have become a community and cultural standard and are characterized by rapid change and ever-increasing complexity. This chapter recommends that authors of scientific manuscripts and journals consider the online ecosystem, specifically social media, multimedia, search, and free vs open access, as they develop their scientific reports and grow their websites to help ensure their science is discoverable and to enhance the dissemination of content efficiently and effectively.
Avoiding Spin and Boasting in Scientific Writing
Authors: Rivara Frederick P.
Published: October 2024

Scientific writing should be objective, clear, and dispassionate. This chapter describes approaches for achieving objectivity in writing and avoiding spin and boasting in scientific manuscripts. Pitfalls to avoid when writing include exaggerating the importance of the topic of the manuscript; unfairly disparaging previous research by using terminology such as “inconsistent” or “mixed” results, “methodologic flaws,” and “retrospective”; criticizing studies with small sample sizes; using words to convince, not illuminate, rather than presenting the evidence in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner; and boasting or overemphasizing the primacy or importance of the findings reported in the manuscript. Other guidance includes avoiding making cliché statements, editorializing about results, and imparting spin, as well as encouraging reading examples of good scientific writing.
Brief Reports and Research Letters
Authors: Zylke Jody W.
Published: October 2024

Short research articles, which may be called Brief Reports or Research Letters, are reports of original data, and benefit from being concise, focused, and easy to read. This chapter discusses brief research reports, which are similar to but shorter than full-length research articles, and Research Letters, which vary in format from journal to journal. These short research reports may address specific topics that can be provocative or creative and may represent an opportunity for an author to have work published in a high-profile journal. This chapter also provides guidance for authors to help determine whether to consider writing a brief report or research letter, and describes the structure, format, and requirements of both.
Reviewing Manuscripts for Peer-Reviewed Journals
Authors: Rivara Frederick P.
Published: October 2024

Even though nearly all scientific journals rely on peer reviewers to evaluate manuscripts, most reviewers are rarely given any advice, by their senior colleagues or others, on how best to peer review manuscripts. This chapter provides that advice and suggestions to help ensure that reviewers prepare a manuscript review that will be helpful to authors and editors. The chapter also discusses a general approach to the process of reviewing and the more specific parts of each manuscript that reviewers should evaluate, including posing specific questions they can answer for each. Suggestions also are provided for presenting comments to the editor and detailed comments to the authors, how to keep a review timely, and how reviewers should address their potential conflicts of interest.
Authorship Criteria and Ethical Aspects
Authors: Fontanarosa Phil B. , Bauchner Howard , Flanagin Annette
Published: October 2024

Authors of scientific publications must adhere to the principles and standards to ensure the necessary accountability and responsibility for the work being reported. This chapter reviews the important topic of authorship of articles in scientific journals and recommends that before preparing a manuscript, all individuals who are being considered for inclusion as authors should prospectively agree on the roles and responsibilities each person will have in writing the manuscript and making other contributions, including the position in the author byline. Concerns related to honorary and ghost authors also are addressed, along with options for designating authorship and shared author responsibilities. The role of the corresponding author is explained, and suggestions are provided for addressing changes in authorship and disagreements among authors after manuscript submission. The accountability of each author for the validity, veracity, and integrity of the information reported and the importance of meeting authorship criteria are discussed.
OmicsFootPrint: a framework to integrate and interpret multi-omics data using circular images and deep neural networks
Authors: Tang Xiaojia , Prodduturi Naresh , Thompson Kevin J , Weinshilboum Richard , O’Sullivan Ciara C , Boughey Judy C , Tizhoosh Hamid R , Klee Eric W , Wang Liewei , Goetz Matthew P , Suman Vera , Kalari Krishna R
Published: October 2024

The OmicsFootPrint framework addresses the need for advanced multi-omics data analysis methodologies by transforming data into intuitive two-dimensional circular images and facilitating the interpretation of complex diseases. Utilizing deep neural networks and incorporating the SHapley Additive exPlanations algorithm, the framework enhances model interpretability. Tested with The Cancer Genome Atlas data, OmicsFootPrint effectively classified lung and breast cancer subtypes, achieving high area under the curve (AUC) scores—0.98 ± 0.02 for lung cancer subtype differentiation and 0.83 ± 0.07 for breast cancer PAM50 subtypes, and successfully distinguished between invasive lobular and ductal carcinomas in breast cancer, showcasing its robustness. It also demonstrated notable performance in predicting drug responses in cancer cell lines, with a median AUC of 0.74, surpassing nine existing methods. Furthermore, its effectiveness persists even with reduced training sample sizes. OmicsFootPrint marks an enhancement in multi-omics research, offering a novel, efficient and interpretable approach that contributes to a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms.
PCNA-binding activity separates RNF168 functions in DNA replication and DNA double-stranded break signaling
Authors: Yang Yang , Jayaprakash Deepika , Jhujh Satpal S , Reynolds John J , Chen Steve , Gao Yanzhe , Anand Jay Ramanlal , Mutter-Rottmayer Elizabeth , Ariel Pablo , An Jing , Cheng Xing , Pearce Kenneth H , Blanchet Sophie-Anne , Nandakumar Nandana , Zhou Pei , Fradet-Turcotte Amélie , Stewart Grant S , Vaziri Cyrus
Published: October 2024

RNF168 orchestrates a ubiquitin-dependent DNA damage response to regulate the recruitment of repair factors, such as 53BP1 to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). In addition to its canonical functions in DSB signaling, RNF168 may facilitate DNA replication fork progression. However, the precise role of RNF168 in DNA replication remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that RNF168 is recruited to DNA replication factories in a manner that is independent of the canonical DSB response pathway regulated by Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) and RNF8. We identify a degenerate Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA)-interacting peptide (DPIP) motif in the C-terminus of RNF168, which together with its Motif Interacting with Ubiquitin (MIU) domain mediates binding to mono-ubiquitylated PCNA at replication factories. An RNF168 mutant harboring inactivating substitutions in its DPIP box and MIU1 domain (termed RNF168 ΔDPIP/ΔMIU1) is not recruited to sites of DNA synthesis and fails to support ongoing DNA replication. Notably, the PCNA interaction-deficient RNF168 ΔDPIP/ΔMIU1 mutant fully rescues the ability of RNF168−/− cells to form 53BP1 foci in response to DNA DSBs. Therefore, RNF168 functions in DNA replication and DSB signaling are fully separable. Our results define a new mechanism by which RNF168 promotes DNA replication independently of its canonical functions in DSB signaling.
Association of perinatal exposition to xenobiotics with kidney volume at birth
Authors: De Santiago-Rodríguez Katy Valeria , Peregrina-Lucano Alejandro Aarón , Jaramillo-Arriaga Fernando , Helguera-Gomez Emmanuel Oziel , Ibarra-Orenday Daniel , González-Domínguez Salomón Israel , Ramirez Sandoval Elizabeth , Macias Duron Emmanuel Salomon , Enriquez Muñoz Eduardo Alfredo , Hernandez Rocha Juan Fernando , Rangel Talamantes Julio Cesar , Martinez Medina Tayde Selene , Reyes Gonzalez Octavio Daniel , del Carmen Corrales-Aguirre Myriam , Sánchez-Ortiz María del Rosario , Camarillo-Contreras Omar Oswaldo , Chew-Wong Alfredo , Ramos-Medellín Carmen Lucrecia , Zuñiga-Macias Leslie Paola , Flores Amaro Oscar Abraham , Yamamoto Flores Laura , Guerrero Barrera Alma Lilian , Avelar-González Francisco Javier , Arreola-Guerra José Manuel
Published: October 2024

Background

The state of Aguascalientes has the highest prevalence of kidney failure in young adults globally. A low nephron endowment has been suggested as a possible aetiology. This study aims to evaluate the association between exposure to xenobiotics and low kidney volume (KV) at birth.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study of at-term pregnant women with no comorbidities. We collected the mother’s urine (MU) and amniotic fluid (AF) and the neonate’s urine (NU). Metals and non-metals were measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, pesticides with high-performance liquid chromatography and fluoride with ion-selective potentiometry. The total KV adjusted by body surface area (TKVBS) was calculated based on the kidney ultrasound.

Results

Between March 2022 and July 2023, we included 299 women with an average age of 24.2 years [standard deviation (SD) 5.1]. A total of 54.2% of neonates were male with an average weight of 3266 g (SD 399). Factors associated with TKVBS ≤5th percentile were female sex, weight gain during pregnancy, glomerular filtration rate, methomyl concentration in AF {odds ratio [OR] 7.41 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.31–23.8], P = .001}, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic (2,4-D) >10 ng/ml in AF [OR 4.99 (95% CI 1.58–15.7), P = .002], MU [OR 6.1 (95% CI 1.9–19.7), P = 0.002] and NU [OR 5.1 (95% CI 1.10–26.2), P = .023] and fluoride in MU [OR 5.1 (95% CI 1.10–23.5), P = .010] and AF [OR 6.76 (95% CI 1.28–35.7), P = .024]. In all matrices (MU, AF and NU), exposure to pesticides was also significantly associated with greater concentrations of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphate and magnesium) and trace elements (zinc and iron).

Conclusions

In neonates born to at-term women with no comorbidities, the presence of pesticides and fluoride was associated with low KV. The significant loss of electrolytes and trace elements associated with pesticides suggests proximal tubulopathy.
Glutamate dehydrogenase 1-catalytic glutaminolysis feedback activates EGFR/PI3K/AKT pathway and reprograms glioblastoma metabolism
Authors: Yang Rui , Zhang Guanghui , Meng Zhen , Wang Li , Li Yanping , Li Haibin , Yan Siyuan , Wei Xiaonan , Wang Shanshan , Cui Hongjuan
Published: October 2024

Background

Glutamine is an important nutrient for cancer cell growth that provides biological sources for nucleic acid and fatty acid synthesis, but the role of glutaminolysis in signal transduction and glioblastoma (GBM) progression remains little known.

Methods

Knockdown and overexpression cells were obtained to explore the functional roles of glutamate dehydrogenase 1 (GDH1) in cell proliferation, tumor formation, and aerobic glycolysis. RNA-seq, Chromatin immunoprecipitation, luciferase assay, and western blot were performed to verify the regulation of the EGFR-AKT pathway by the GDH1 (also known as GLUD1) and KDM6A. Metabolite-level measurements and Seahorse Assay were performed to assess the functional role of GHD1 in reprogramming glycolysis.

Results

Here, we report that GDH1 catalytic glutaminolysis is essential for GBM cell line proliferation and brain tumorigenesis even in high-glucose conditions. Glutamine is metabolized through glutaminolysis to produce α-ketoglutarate (α-KG). We demonstrate that glutamine in combination with leucine activates mammalian TORC1 by enhancing glutaminolysis and α-KG production. α-KG increases the transcription of PDPK1 by reducing the suppressive histone modification H3K27me3 and then promotes the activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. This transcriptional activation induced by α-KG requires histone demethylase KDM6A, which is a 2-oxoglutarate oxygenase that plays an important role in converting α-KG to succinate. Furthermore, we show that GDH1-catalytic glutaminolysis also increases the expression of HK2 and promotes glycolysis in high-glucose conditions dependent on KDM6A-mediated demethylation of H3K27.

Conclusions

These findings suggest a novel function of glutaminolysis in the regulation of signal transduction and metabolism reprogramming and provide further evidence for the unique role of glutaminolysis in GBM progression.
Warm-adapted encroachment outpaces cool-adapted retreat in a hotspot of trailing-edge population diversity in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA
Authors: Gaya Heather E , Chandler Richard B
Published: October 2024

Many populations near receding low-latitude range: margins are declining in response to climate change, but most studies of trailing-edge populations have focused on single species. Using 10 years (2014–2023) of avian survey data from a high-elevation trailing-edge population hotspot in the Appalachian Mountains, USA, we tested the hypothesis that high-elevation communities would experience turnover through thermophilization, as warm-adapted species near the center of their geographic ranges expand into regions formerly dominated by peripheral populations of cool-adapted species. Three of the nine cool-adapted, peripheral populations decreased in abundance, and whereas 6 species exhibited little change. For warm-adapted populations near the core of their range, 1 of 16 decreased in abundance, 11 increased, and 4 exhibited no change. Within the most abundant species in this community, our results indicate that warm-adapted species are expanding their ranges faster than the rate at which ranges of cool-adapted species are contracting. Avoiding future community turnover may require conservation strategies that maintain microclimates for cool-adapted species facing novel abiotic and biotic conditions at high elevations.
Capital Connections
Authors: Thompson Gordon Ross
Published: October 2024

Living and performing in and around London offered strategic advantages for musicians over those coming from cities like Liverpool and Manchester. Not only were there more venues in which to perform, but access to recording studios and to major music news outlets proved invaluable. Southern performers responded to the success of northern groups both by imitating what they heard and by developing their own versions of British pop. The dance halls where they played shaped their music and were managed by organizations such as Mecca Dance Ltd. whose business model of class equity reflected an important postwar social goal. The program Ready Steady Go! drew directly from London dance halls and clubs and featured local bands, such as Brian Poole and the Tremeloes and the Dave Clark Five, whose music responded directly to audiences with dance-friendly music.
Old Bottles, New Wine
Authors: Thompson Gordon Ross
Published: October 2024

The sixties saw many musicians overlaying new ideas onto American originals to create British rhythm-and-blues (BRB). Joe Boyd arrived in London to set up offices for Elektra Records and to search for British talent to record for American audiences. He oversaw the temporary collaboration of Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and others as Powerhouse to showcase British electric blues talent in comparison to its American counterparts. Winwood would soon have his own success by applying new lyrics to the chords and grooves of existing blues and jazz tunes. The Yardbirds began developing their own material by taking advantage of guitarist Jeff Beck’s inventive skills. Perhaps the most famous pop-blues band of the era, however, Cream came about when Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker elevated virtuosity as a component of British rhythm-and-blues. Soon British guitar virtuosos such as Jeff Beck and Alvin Lee were redefining the genre.
Inventing a Soviet Russian Popular Culture Icon The Context and Origins of Seventeen Moments
Authors: Amar Tarik Cyril
Published: October 2024

Chapter 3 explores the origins and massive success of the Soviet television series Seventeen Moments of Spring. It details the twelve-part structure of this series and summarizes its complex plot and explains the relationship between writer Iulian Semionov’s original novel and the series as directed by Tatiana Lioznova for the Gorky Studio in Moscow. The chapter sketches the qualities of the Shtirlits superspy character, as developed specifically in “Seventeen Moments” and its great popularity in Soviet and Russian popular culture. The making and success of the show is put in the context of comparable Soviet productions for cinema and television, such as The Shield and the Sword. It also addresses a deliberate KGB public relations policy and the Soviet and specifically Russian memory of the “Great Fatherland War” between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and the marginalization of the memory of the Holocaust.
From Stained Glass to Passion Plays
Authors: Peppard Michael
Published: October 2024

This chapter shows how the Catholic artistic reception of the biblical story also emphasized the suffering of the ruler, as the Passion narrative moved to center stage in the medieval era. The Bible of medieval Catholic art dwells on the paradox of Jesus: the universal ruler from birth who becomes the model of humble, pious pain. From the three “kings” to the “crown” of thorns, from a near-absent cross to a grisly, ever-present crucifix, from a pious Virgin Mary to a forlorn Mary Magdalene: the centuries of medieval Catholic imagination largely created the dominant motifs of biblical visualization for later eras of Catholicism. This chapter gives special attention to the biblical interpretations expressed through veneration of the Virgin Mary in diverse guises, alongside surprising shifts in the characterization of Mary Magdalene over time. Through it all, the reflexive relationship between the textual and artistic receptions of the Catholic Bible can be demonstrated, whether through glass, sculpture, painting, pilgrimage artifacts, or the drama of Passion Plays.
Tolkien on Chaucer, 1913-1959
Authors: Bowers John M. , Steffensen Peter
Published: October 2024

This book makes available J. R. R. Tolkien’s career-long writings on Chaucer from his 1913 undergraduate essay on the poet’s language to his 1959 retirement lecture about the medieval poet’s place on the Oxford English syllabus. It includes annotated versions of his landmark 1934 article “Chaucer as a Philologist: The Reeve’s Tale” and his late Chaucer-inspired piece “Middle English Losenger” originally published in 1953. Early work with the Oxford English Dictionary introduced him to the range of Chaucer editions. Published for the first time here are commentaries from his unpublished Clarendon edition Selections from Chaucer’s Poetry and Prose, his study “Chaucer and the Alliterative Tradition”, his 1947 lecture to the Oxford Dante Society, some newly discovered letters about Chaucer, and his experimental edition of the Reeve’s Tale produced for Oxford’s Summer Diversions in 1939 and then expanded for teaching Navy cadets in 1944. Selections are included from his Oxford lectures on the Clerk’s Tale and the Parlement of Foules after he became Merton Professor in 1945. A complete transcription of his late lecture The Pardoner’s Tale: The Story and Its Form shows Tolkien’s realization that he had told much the same story of men fighting to the death over a gold treasure at the core of The Lord of the Rings. The book makes these steady connections between Tolkien’s Chaucerian writings and his fantasy novels.
Toxoplasmosis, Behavior, and Cognition
Authors: Flegr Jaroslav
Published: October 2024

For nearly 50 years, Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite of cats, has been known to affect its intermediate hosts’ behavior and cognitive functions. In the past 30 years, dozens of studies have shown that nearly all behavioral changes observed initially in infected rodents can also be detected in human hosts. We already know that Toxoplasma-infected and non-infected humans differ in personality profile, behavior in ethological tests and experimental games, reaction times, speed of information processing, intelligence, and memory. Most probably, changes in the concentration of some neurotransmitters, specifically dopamine, hormones, specifically testosterone, and metabolites of tryptophan, play a proximal role in the Toxoplasma-associated changes. Latent, probably lifelong, toxoplasmosis affecting about one-third of the human population worldwide has many adverse effects on physical and mental health of infected people. However, only some of the behavioral changes observed in infected individuals represent side effects of the poor health of infected hosts.
The Hesitant Return of Reason
Authors: Barnett Jonathan M.
Published: October 2024

Starting with a major appellate court decision in 2014 and culminating with a Supreme Court decision in 2023, federal courts have started to revisit the prevailing expansive understanding of the fair use doctrine. As recognized by the Supreme Court, an overly broad application of the fair use doctrine threatens to render meaningless copyright owners’ rights to legal exclusivity and incentivizes business models that make use of copyright-protected content without payment to the owner. As a policy matter, recent court decisions increasingly reflect a recognition that the prevailing expansive understanding of the fair use doctrine endangers the property-rights foundation that is necessary to maintain incentives for significant investment in creative production.
The Patent Holdup Conjecture
Authors: Barnett Jonathan M.
Published: October 2024

Wireless communications technology markets rely on licensing relationships that have disseminated patent-protected and standard-compliant technologies from a handful of lead innovators to a large number of device producers around the world. Legal and economics scholars had theorized that the holders of “standard-essential” patents in the wireless technology industry would “hold up” device producers and demand excessive royalty rates. Starting in the mid-2000s, competition regulators relied on patent holdup theory to intervene in licensing relationships in the wireless communications industry, including promoting policies and taking actions to deny injunctive relief to the holders of standard-essential patents and to re-engineer long-standing licensing practices. Empirical research has subsequently found little evidence of patent holdup, while the near-absence of injunctive relief has led device producers to engage in patent holdout by declining to enter into licenses and forcing innovators to undertake costly and lengthy litigations to seek returns on R&D investments.
Possessed by Music
Authors: Wiebe Heather
Published: October 2024

This chapter traces a postwar demobilization of music, by way of two music-centered films from the later 1940s: The Glass Mountain (1949), with its opera composed by Nino Rota, and Powell and Pressburger’s ballet fantasy The Red Shoes (1948). Both films feature troubled male composers writing an opera in the context of a postwar return to normalcy. The chapter argues that these films reveal a preoccupation with the power assigned to music in the Second World War, rendering music as a dangerous and deathly force, and in many ways inimical to a return to ordinary Englishness. The chapter discusses Powell’s experiments with “composed film” as an exercise in using music for the purposes of control, as well as discussing sonic experiments in Powell and Pressburger’s wartime and postwar films more generally. In these two films, we see the wartime mobilization of music coming to an uneasy end.