bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Novel application of autologous micrografts in a collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffold for diabetic wound healing
Authors: Panayi Adriana C , Haug Valentin , Liu Qinxin , Wu Mengfan , Karvar Mehran , Aoki Shimpo , Ma Chenhao , Hamaguchi Ryoko , Endo Yori , Orgill Dennis P
Published: October 2020

Therapeutic strategies that successfully combine two techniques—autologous micrografting and biodegradable scaffolds—offer great potential for improved wound repair and decreased scarring. In this study we evaluate the efficacy of a novel modification of a collagen-glycosaminoglycan (collagen-GAG) scaffold with autologous micrografts using a murine dorsal wound model. db/db mice underwent a full thickness 1.0 cm2 dorsal wound excision and were treated with a collagen-GAG scaffold (CGS group), a modified collagen-GAG scaffold (CGS + MG group) or simple occlusive dressing (Blank group). The modified scaffold was created by harvesting full thickness micrografts and transplanting these into the collagen-GAG membrane. Parameters of wound healing, including cellular proliferation, collagen deposition, keratinocyte migration, and angiogenesis were assessed. The group treated with the micrograft-modified scaffold healed at a faster rate, showed greater cellular proliferation, collagen deposition, and keratinocyte migration with higher density and greater maturity of microvessels. The grafts remained viable within the scaffold with no evidence of rejection. Keratinocytes were shown to migrate from the wound border and from the micrograft edges towards the center of the wound, while cellular proliferation was present both at the wound border and wound bed. We report successful treatment of diabetic wounds with a novel collagen-GAG scaffold modified with full-thickness automicrografts. Differences in cellular migration and proliferation offer maiden evidence on the mechanisms of wound healing. Clinically, the successful scaffold engraftment, micrograft viability and improved wound healing offer promising results for the development of a new therapeutic modality for wound repair.
Simplicity on the far side of complexity: optimizing nitrogen for wheat in increasingly variable rainfall environments
Authors: Hochman Z , Waldner F
Published: October 2020

The increasingly chaotic nature of rainfall in semi-arid climates challenges crop growers to balance nitrogen fertiliser inputs for both food security and environmental imperatives. Too little nitrogen restricts yields and runs down soil organic carbon, while too much nitrogen is economically wasteful and environmentally harmful. The degree to which crop-water and crop-nitrogen processes combine to drive yields of rainfed wheat crops is not well understood or quantified. Here we investigate two comprehensive Australia-wide data sets, one from commercial wheat growers’ fields and the other from systematic simulation of 50 sites by 15 years using a comprehensive mechanistic cropping system model. From these data, we derived a simple model combining water use with available nitrogen and their interaction. The model accounted for 73% of the variation in the simulated yield data and 46% of the variation in the growers’ yield data. We demonstrate how the simple model developed here can be deployed as a tool to aid growers’ in-crop nitrogen application decisions.
Cocoa plant productivity in West Africa under climate change: a modelling and experimental study
Authors: Black Emily , Pinnington Ewan , Wainwright Caroline , Lahive Fiona , Quaife Tristan , Allan Richard P , Cook Peter , Daymond Andrew , Hadley Paul , McGuire Patrick C , Verhoef Anne , Vidale Pier Luigi
Published: October 2020

The potential effect of climate change on regional suitability for cocoa cultivation is a serious economic concern for West Africa—especially for Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, whose cocoa cultivation accounts for respectively ∼19% and ∼45% of world production. Here, we present a modelling and observational study of cocoa net primary productivity (NPP) in present day and future West African climates. Our analysis uses a data assimilation technique to parameterise a process-based land-surface model. The parameterisation is based on laboratory observations of cocoa, grown under both ambient and elevated CO2. Present day and end of 21st century cocoa cultivation scenarios are produced by driving the parameterised land-surface model with output from a high-resolution climate model. This represents a significant advance on previous work, because unlike the CMIP5 models, the high-resolution model used in this study accurately captures the observed precipitation seasonality in the cocoa-growing regions of West Africa—a key sensitivity for perennials like cocoa. We find that temperature is projected to increase significantly and precipitation is projected to increase slightly, although not in all parts of the region of interest. We find, furthermore, that the physiological effect of higher atmospheric CO2concentration ameliorates the impacts of high temperature and variation in precipitation thereby reducing some of the negative impacts of climate change and maintaining NPP in West Africa, for the whole 21st Century, even under a high emissions scenario. Although NPP is an indicator of general vegetation condition, it is not equivalent to yield or bean quality. The study presented here is, nevertheless, a strong basis for further field and modelling studies of cultivation under elevated CO2conditions.
Long-range multi-scalar models at three loops
Authors: Benedetti Dario , Gurau Razvan , Harribey Sabine , Suzuki Kenta
Published: October 2020

We compute the three-loop beta functions of long-range multi-scalar models with general quartic interactions. The long-range nature of the models is encoded in a kinetic term with a Laplacian to the power 0 < ζ < 1, rendering the computation of Feynman diagrams much harder than in the usual short-range case (ζ = 1). As a consequence, previous results stopped at two loops, while seven-loop results are available for short-range models. We push the renormalization group analysis to three loops, in an ϵ = 4ζ − d expansion at fixed dimension d < 4, extensively using the Mellin–Barnes representation of Feynman amplitudes in the Schwinger parametrization. We then specialize the beta functions to various models with different symmetry groups: O(N),

(

Z

2

)

N

⋊

S

N

, and O(N) × O(M). For such models, we compute the fixed points and critical exponents.
Topologically nontrivial 1T’-MoTe2 as highly efficient hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst
Authors: He Yuan , Boubeche Mebrouka , Zhou Yecheng , Yan Dong , Zeng Lingyong , Wang Xiaopeng , Yan Kai , Luo Huixia
Published: October 2020

Rational design and synthesis of low-cost noble-metal free electrode with high efficiency for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for the realization of eco-friendly hydrogen economy. Here, we report and design topologically nontrivial 1T’-MoTe2 single crystals as remarkable hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst. The catalytic 1T’-MoTe2 was controllably synthesized via solid-state reaction and then facilely exfoliated into nanosheets by isopropanol with the aid of sonication. The overpotentials at 10 mA cm−2( η
10) can reach 73 mV with a low Tafel slope of 46.3 mV dec−1, which are much lower than those reported by other preparation methods (η
10 > 300 mV, Tafel slope > 50 mV dec−1). The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows fast kinetics of 1T’-MoTe2 single crystal with low contact resistance of 0.3 Ω. Additionally, 1T’-MoTe2 single crystal also exhibits large electrochemical active surface area of 47.0 cm2, high turnover frequency of 1.02 s−1 at 0.4 V and excellent durability over 10 h in 0.5 M H2SO4( aq). This work reports 1T’-MoTe2 single crystal as an excellent candidate for HER, which makes it possible to fabricate other robust Te-derived HER electrocatalysts.
1. Creating “the Maya”
Authors: Restall Matthew , Solari Amara
Published: October 2020

“Creating ‘the Maya’” begins with the paradox that the people we call Maya never thought of themselves as such. There was no unified Maya state, empire, or language. Historically, scholars have divided ancient Maya history into three periods: Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic. The ancient Maya were repeatedly “discovered” by the West since Columbus in 1502, and despite widespread beliefs about the decline of the Maya at the end of the Classic era and the real impact on population wrought by disease and invasions, Maya communities and cultures persisted. The recent disaster film 2012 rekindled interest in the belief attributed to the Maya that the apocalypse would happen in that year.
2. Maya genesis
Authors: Restall Matthew , Solari Amara
Published: October 2020

By the first millennium bce, Maya civilization was manifesting itself in art, architecture, agriculture, and social structure. “Maya Genesis” looks at the birth of this civilization. The manuscript known as the Popul Vuh gives a detailed version of Maya creation, telling the stories of two mythical Hero Twins, bookended by tales of the creation of the earth and humans. Impressive structures such as the sites at Palenque linked creation myths and divinity to the visions and ambitions of ruling elites. New architectural and agricultural developments such as the “nixtamalization” of corn helped in the formation of denser communities and the emergence of a hierarchical and multilayered social organization.
5. A day in the life
Authors: Restall Matthew , Solari Amara
Published: October 2020

Impressive architectural hallmarks and historians’ focus on the elite created a distorted view of the Maya as peaceful, stargazing priest-kings. “A day in the life” looks at nonelite Maya, who grew up in groups and endured a challenging farming environment. Their ecological success stemmed from balancing innovation with restraint and respect. The central dietary staple of maize, sacred to the Maya, was supplemented by beans, squash, chili peppers, root crops, and fruits. Maya cities were more like modern cities than previously thought, with opportunities for elite and nonelite Mayas alike to observe the art, architecture, and cultural contributions of their ancestors every day in the city centers.
Introduction
Authors: Kornhaber Donna
Published: October 2020

Think about the last time you went to the movies. Whatever film you saw, it probably seems like it has little connection to cinema’s silent era, which ran from the invention of film recording and projection technology around 1895 until the worldwide introduction of synchronized sound in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The film you saw undoubtedly had spoken dialogue and sound effects: it was not silent at all. It probably had a swelling score. It was almost certainly in color. What relation could that film possibly have to the bygone era of silent pictures—that seemingly primordial cinematic age encapsulated in the idea of a black-and-white film dimly flickering on a screen while a lonely musician idly plays piano in the corner?...
2. A global cinema
Authors: Kornhaber Donna
Published: October 2020

Silent film proved to be not just a global entertainment medium but also a deeply transnational one. “A global cinema” looks at its worldwide spread, largely unimpeded by language barriers and even national barriers. International coproductions were common, with actors and directors moving freely between countries. Alongside the rise of the Hollywood classical style, French, German, Italian, and Russian national cinemas emerged. Australia, India, Mexico, China, and Japan forged active film industries despite international pressures, while other regions saw their markets dominated by foreign imports.
4. Watching films in the silent era
Authors: Kornhaber Donna
Published: October 2020

“Watching films in the silent era” explains how viewing habits changed with distribution patterns and the growth of nickelodeons and movie palaces. Social stratification affected access to both cinemas and films. Those who lived far from city centers or who were prevented from visiting luxury venues by poverty or segregation saw older films at cheaper prices. Studios tried to manage the exigencies of filmmaking by selling motion pictures in batches, while theater owners had to choose among thousands of available options in picking the films they would exhibit. Live sound effects, narration, and even dialogue were surprisingly common elements of silent film exhibition worldwide, and silent film music was a thriving industry, with organists or groups of musicians working from books of standard music rather than film-specific scores.
Introduction
Authors: Abbott Carl
Published: October 2020

The Introduction explains exactly what city planning is. It involves multiple actors including elected officials, professional staff in government agencies, citizens, and the real estate industry. The dimensions of the field are seen in the missions of professional organizations in Britain, Canada, the United States, and Australia. The spread of academic planning education from a handful of European and American institutions to universities around the world demonstrates the global reach of the practice and profession of city planning.
1. Streets and buildings
Authors: Abbott Carl
Published: October 2020

“Streets and buildings” looks at the fundamental building blocks of cities, comparing the American New World planning style to that of European countries. European cities show signs of expansion through incremental growth, while America and Canada’s transparent gridded layouts reveal shorter histories. Nineteenth-century aesthetic changes led to a higher demand for off-grid curving streets and proximity to nature. When colonizers designed new cities, they prioritized order and growth, often reproducing the building style of their home countries. Newly independent countries often focused on the symbolic aspects of city planning and outsourced the practical considerations, creating contradictions between masterplans and practice.
5. Metropolis and megaregion
Authors: Abbott Carl
Published: October 2020

“Megalopolis and megaregion" outlines what happens when cities and conurbations merge. Both terms are used to describe clustered multi-city regions in America and elsewhere. City plans since 1900 have focused on efficiency and connection, and local governments struggle to keep up with urban growth. Cities around the world have implemented plans to contain the outward spread of urban development, protecting greenbelts, green centers, and woodlands. These merged cities have led to larger-scale thinking for planners, but city planning remains a local and regional activity, with planners working with local authorities and aiming to improve people’s everyday lives.
6. Nature in the city
Authors: Abbott Carl
Published: October 2020

Cities are embedded and enmeshed in natural settings and systems. “Nature in the city” focuses on the role of city planning in preserving and regulating the interactions between these natural systems and the community. Parks and green spaces act as the lungs of a city, providing clean air and space; in some communities, access to parks has become a political issue. Ways to make cities more environmentally friendly include solar energy, water conservation, and reduction of automobile use, including ride-hailing services. Some planners may need to go against the long-standing demands of their profession and leave some areas completely undeveloped.
Epilogue Imagining future cities
Authors: Abbott Carl
Published: October 2020

“Imagining future cities” contrasts the idea of the human city with the robot city, an idea that is never far away from the cities of the future we see in science fiction films. As some of these future visions demonstrate, the ideal city contains elements of both the human and robot city and is powered by big data and technological developments, as well as human connections and recognizable hubs like the bar, bazaar, and branch library. As well as function and commerce, city planners of the future will need to remember the roles of community and interaction in keeping cities alive.
1. The science of softness
Authors: McLeish Tom
Published: October 2020

‘The science of softness’ provides a brief history and overview of soft matter science. The development of soft matter science was propelled by a combination of communication within the scientific community; intrinsic conceptual overlap and commonality; and visionary leadership from a small number of pioneering scientists. Chemistry proved as essential an ingredient to the new science of soft matter as ideas and techniques from physics. The characteristics of soft matter include motion; structure on intermediate length scales; slow dynamics; and universality. Microscopy is the most obvious and direct example of experimental tools applied across the gamut of soft materials.
2. Milkiness, muddiness, and inkiness
Authors: McLeish Tom
Published: October 2020

‘Milkiness, muddiness, and inkiness’ discusses the phenomena of ‘muddiness’ and ‘inkiness’, which are both examples of ‘colloids’—the fundamental class of soft matter constituted by dispersing very small particles of solid matter in a liquid environment. The colloidal state provided the final evidence that atoms existed. Michael Faraday gave a well-known lecture on the ‘Brownian Motion’ and he also researched gold colloids which show how small particles disperse. Albert Einstein came up with a theory of thermal noise, and Charles Perrin carried out a famous experiment in 1908 on this topic. Both Einstein and Perrin showed that colloidal particles can do everything that molecules do, but at a thousand times the size, and equally more slowly.
6. Liveliness
Authors: McLeish Tom
Published: October 2020

‘Liveliness’ studies the new biologically inspired field of active soft matter. Almost any type of soft matter possesses an active form. Using myosin corresponds to making the cross-links of a polymer gel active. However, polymerization itself can be actively driven, as well as the cross-linking between polymers. Bacteria are, within this perspective, an active form of colloid—nanoparticles that can swim. As their shape becomes highly anisotropic, they generate the notion of ‘active liquid crystals’.
Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Young Robert J. C.
Published: October 2020

Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction describes how people around the world have increasingly challenged the idea that Western perspectives are the only ones that count. It examines the history of that challenge, outlining the ideas behind it, and exploring how the histories and cultures of the world can be rethought in new, productive directions. This VSI situates the discussion in wide cultural and geographical contexts. It draws on examples such as the situation of indigenous peoples, of those dispossessed from their lands, Algerian raï music, and global social and ecological movements. This new edition also includes updated material on race, slavery, decoloniality, and the postcolonial politics of gender and sexualities.
3. Slavery, race, caste
Authors: Young Robert J. C.
Published: October 2020

‘Slavery, race, caste’ explains how the most sustained form of early colonial violence involved the enslavement of millions of non-Europeans. Slavery was not simply an oppressive practice: it was given moral, ethical, even philosophical justification by a broader ideology of race, which continued—indeed, strengthened—after slavery was abolished. Racial theories developed first in defence of slavery were elaborated, as imperialism expanded, to justify colonial rule of allegedly ‘backward’ peoples. The contemporary practice of decoloniality attempts to arrest, reconfigure, and transform the collective memory of slavery and ideology of race which sustained it. Race and racism in the West and caste in Asia make for interesting comparisons.
5. Nomads, nation-states, borders
Authors: Young Robert J. C.
Published: October 2020

‘Nomads, nation-states, borders’ describes the concepts of nomadism, nation-states, and borders. Nomadic people in the Americas, Australasia, and elsewhere never owned or possessed land in a European sense, so European colonists declared their land empty. Colonial appropriation and confiscation of land can be conceptualized as ‘territorialization’ and ‘deterritorialization’. Ultimately, a consequence of colonial rule was the reorganization of the whole world from empires into nation-states. Historically, colonialism formed an intrinsic part of the creation of European nation-states; today global migration from the newer decolonized states fulfils a similar function. Notwithstanding the claims for the cultural identity of its people, nothing really defines a nation like its borders since all nation-states are heterogeneous.
4. The limits of power
Authors: Glatthaar Joseph T.
Published: October 2020

At the end of World War II, America was in a uniquely strong position which it was not always able to leverage. “The limits of power” details the deterioration of America’s relationship with the Soviet Union into weapons stockpiling, brinkmanship, and the threat of mutually assured destruction. The Vietnam War lost popularity over time and while wars in the Gulf captured the public imagination, they fueled anti-American sentiment in those territories. During the War on Terror, strategists first overestimated the effectiveness of technology and then underestimated numbers and costs required for the lengthier, costlier, but more effective “boots on the ground” approach. Care for veterans was also under-resourced.
Conclusion: The armed forces and perennial problems
Authors: Glatthaar Joseph T.
Published: October 2020

Since the 1970s, the United States has struggled to accept that its economic and military powers are finite. The Conclusion looks at ways the American military might make progress while acknowledging these limitations. The American military could be reinvigorated by better communication between politicians and military leaders, a return to traditional values of prudence and circumspection, and greater support during wartime. Technology may have transformed warfare, but enemies often find low-cost means of reducing their impact. The United States possesses the world’s most sophisticated military force, but sometimes the task is greater than it can fulfill, or the results are not worth the price.
Protein residues determining interaction specificity in paralogous families
Authors: Pitarch Borja , Ranea Juan A G , Pazos Florencio
Published: October 2020

Motivation

Predicting the residues controlling a protein’s interaction specificity is important not only to better understand its interactions but also to design mutations aimed at fine-tuning or swapping them as well.

Results

In this work, we present a methodology that combines sequence information (in the form of multiple sequence alignments) with interactome information to detect that kind of residues in paralogous families of proteins. The interactome is used to define pairwise similarities of interaction contexts for the proteins in the alignment. The method looks for alignment positions with patterns of amino-acid changes reflecting the similarities/differences in the interaction neighborhoods of the corresponding proteins. We tested this new methodology in a large set of human paralogous families with structurally characterized interactions, and discuss in detail the results for the RasH family. We show that this approach is a better predictor of interfacial residues than both, sequence conservation and an equivalent ‘unsupervised’ method that does not use interactome information.

Availability and implementation

http://csbg.cnb.csic.es/pazos/Xdet/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
China’s Monetary and Macroprudential Policies: Are They Complementary or Substitutive?
Authors: Sinclair Peter , Sun Lixin
Published: October 2020

This paper develops a calibrated dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model incorporating a banking sector and some unique features of China’s macroeconomic policies to simulate China’s monetary and macroprudential policies. The quantitative results show, first, that the interest rate is a better instrument for China’s monetary policy than the required reserve ratio (RRR) when the central bank is solely concerned about price stability; second, that the loan-to-value ratio is a very useful macroprudential tool for China’s financial stability, and the RRR could be used as an instrument for both objectives; third, monetary and macroprudential policies could be either complements or substitutes in China, depending on the choices of instruments for the two policies. Our policy experiments recommend three combination choices of instruments for China’s monetary and macroprudential policies. (JEL codes: E52, E61and G18)
Stability-Indicating RP-HPLC Method for the Estimation of Process-Related Impurities and Degradation Products in Fesoterodine Fumarate by Using a Mass Spectrometric Compatible Mobile Phase
Authors: Kumar Nitin , Sangeetha D , Kalyanraman L
Published: October 2020

The objective of the present work was to develop a sensitive, selective, accurate and precise stability-indicating HPLC method for quantification of degradation products and process-related impurities in fesoterodine fumarate extended-release tablets. The degradation profile was studied by conducting forced degradation studies and all the degradation products formed during degradation were separated. A chromatographic separation was achieved by using Waters Symmetry C18, 250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm column, maintained at 30°C. Mobile phase A (0.05% trifluoroacetic acid in water) and mobile phase B (90% of 0.02% TFA in methanol and 10% of water) were used in gradient elution mode. A total of 75 μL of each solution was injected and peak responses were quantified at 220 nm. The method was found specific, precise, accurate, linear, rugged, robust and sensitive. During stability studies of fesoterodine fumarate extended-release tablets, one unknown impurity at relative retention time 1.37 was found increasing beyond the identification threshold. This impurity was isolated by using Preparative HPLC and structure was elucidated using mass and NMR spectroscopy. This method is a simple, inexpensive HPLC method that can be used as a routine quality control test for the estimation of impurities in fesoterodine fumarate extended-release tablets.
Effects of Temperature on Growth and Development of the Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Homoptera: Delphacidae)
Authors: Yang Lang , Huang Li-Fei , Wang Wei-Li , Chen En-Hai , Chen Hong-Song , Jiang Jian-Jun
Published: October 2020

The brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), is one of the most serious and destructive pests of rice in Asia. Climate warming in tropical regions and extreme-high- or low-temperature events may become limiting factors affecting the survival and distribution of N. lugens. The effects of continuous high temperature (CHT), discontinuous high temperature (DHT), and abnormal low temperature in summer (ALT) on the growth and development of N. lugens were studied under lab conditions. High temperatures and ALT decreased the survival rate of nymphs (in fourth-instar nymphs, CHT, DHT, ALT, and control survival was 46.67% ± 1.67, 31.67% ± 1.67, 48.33% ± 4.41, and 60.00% ± 2.89, respectively, P < 0.05). ALT also prolonged the development of N. lugens nymphs (in fourth-instar nymphs, ALT and control survival was 6.09 ± 0.193 d and 5.39 ± 0.082 d, respectively, P < 0.05). In fifth-instar nymphs, CHT (2.36 ± 0.064 d, P < 0.05) and DHT (2.34 ± 0.048 d, P < 0.05) had little influence on nymphal development compared with the control (2.25 ± 0.012 d, P < 0.05). The three temperature treatments (CHT, DHT, and ALT) decreased the number of eggs produced (61.33 ± 0.067, 62.67 ± 0.882, and 34.00 ± 0.577, respectively, P < 0.05) compared with the control (68.00 ± 1.000, P < 0.05). The female sex ratio decreased after nymphs were subjected to CHT (65.82% ± 0.771, P < 0.05, in fifth-instar nymphs) and ALT (76.01% ± 1.362, P < 0.05) compared with the control (81.63% ± 1.007, P < 0.05). Adults in CHT (25.30 ± 0.182, P < 0.05) and DHT (14.64 ± 0.238, P < 0.05) consumed significantly more food than the control (11.54 ± 0.181, P < 0.05), but adults in ALT (6.54 ± 0.196, P < 0.05) fed significantly less than the control (11.54 ± 0.181, P < 0.05). Hatching rates of eggs under the three temperature treatments (CHT, DHT, and ALT were 69.57% ± 0.215, 71.29% ± 0.529, and 43.13% ± 0.508, respectively, and were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than the control (78.95% ± 1.000, P < 0.05). These experiments revealed that extreme temperatures can influence the growth and development of N. lugens and may affect its distribution. As such, N. lugens remains a serious pest of rice.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care and management of patients with acute cardiovascular disease: a systematic review
Authors: Kiss Pauline , Carcel Cheryl , Hockham Carinna , Peters Sanne A E
Published: October 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare services around the world, which may have serious implications for the prognosis of patients with acute cardiovascular disease. We conducted a systematic review to assess the extent to which health services related to the care and management of acute cardiovascular events have been impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. PubMed, MedRxiv, and Google Scholar were searched for observational studies published up to 12 August 2020 for studies that assessed the impact of the pandemic on the care and management of people with acute cardiovascular disease (CVD). In total, 27 articles were included. Of these, 16 examined the impact on acute coronary syndromes (ACS), eight on strokes, one on ACS and strokes, and two on other types of CVD. When comparing the COVID-19 period to non-COVID-19 periods, 11 studies observed a decrease in ACS admissions ranging between 40% and 50% and 5 studies showed a decrease in stroke admissions of between 12% and 40%. Four studies showed a larger reduction in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions compared to ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions. A decrease in the number of reperfusion procedures, a shortening in the lengths of stay at the hospital, and longer symptom-to-door times were also observed. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a substantial decrease in the rate of admissions for acute CVD, reductions in the number of procedures, shortened lengths of stay at the hospital, and longer delays between the onset of the symptoms and hospital treatment. The impact on patient’s prognosis needs to be quantified in future studies.
Efficacy and safety of combined endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection and balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous occlusion (BRTOcc) of gastrorenal shunts in patients with bleeding gastric fundal varices
Authors: Bazerbachi Fateh , Dobashi Akira , Kumar Swarup , Misra Sanjay , Buttar Navtej S , Wong Kee Song Louis M
Published: October 2020

Background

Endoscopic cyanoacrylate (glue) injection of fundal varices may result in life-threatening embolic adverse events through spontaneous gastrorenal shunts (GRSs). Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous occlusion (BRTOcc) of GRSs during cyanoacrylate injection may prevent serious systemic glue embolization through the shunt. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a combined endoscopic–interventional radiologic (BRTOcc) approach for the treatment of bleeding fundal varices.

Methods

We retrospectively analysed the data of patients who underwent the combined procedure for acutely bleeding fundal varices between January 2010 and April 2018. Data were extracted for patient demographics, clinical and endoscopic findings, technical details, and adverse events of the endoscopic–BRTOcc approach and patient outcomes.

Results

We identified 30 patients (13 [43.3%] women; median age 58 [range, 25–92] years) with gastroesophageal varices type 2 (53.3%, 16/30) and isolated gastric varices type 1 (46.7%, 14/30) per Sarin classification, and median clinical and endoscopic follow-up of 151 (range, 4–2,513) days and 98 (range, 3–2,373) days, respectively. The median volume of octyl-cyanoacrylate: Lipiodol injected was 7 (range, 4–22) mL. Procedure-related adverse events occurred in three (10.0%) patients, including transient fever, non-life-threatening pulmonary glue embolism, and an injection-site ulcer bleed. Complete gastric variceal obturation was achieved in 18 of 21 patients (85.7%) at endoscopic follow-up. Delayed variceal rebleeding was confirmed in one patient (3.3%) and suspected in two patients (6.7%). Although no procedure-related deaths occurred, the overall mortality rate was 46.7%, primarily from liver-disease progression and co-morbidities.

Conclusion

The combined endoscopic–BRTOcc procedure is a relatively safe and effective technique for bleeding fundal varices, with a high rate of variceal obturation and a low rate of serious adverse events.
The on-premise data sharing infrastructure e!DAL: Foster FAIR data for faster data acquisition
Authors: Arend Daniel , König Patrick , Junker Astrid , Scholz Uwe , Lange Matthias
Published: October 2020

Background

The FAIR data principle as a commitment to support long-term research data management is widely accepted in the scientific community. Although the ELIXIR Core Data Resources and other established infrastructures provide comprehensive and long-term stable services and platforms for FAIR data management, a large quantity of research data is still hidden or at risk of getting lost. Currently, high-throughput plant genomics and phenomics technologies are producing research data in abundance, the storage of which is not covered by established core databases. This concerns the data volume, e.g., time series of images or high-resolution hyper-spectral data; the quality of data formatting and annotation, e.g., with regard to structure and annotation specifications of core databases; uncovered data domains; or organizational constraints prohibiting primary data storage outside institional boundaries.

Results

To share these potentially dark data in a FAIR way and master these challenges the ELIXIR Germany/de.NBI service Plant Genomic and Phenomics Research Data Repository (PGP) implements a “bring the infrastructure to the data” approach, which allows research data to be kept in place and wrapped in a FAIR-aware software infrastructure. This article presents new features of the e!DAL infrastructure software and the PGP repository as a best practice on how to easily set up FAIR-compliant and intuitive research data services. Furthermore, the integration of the ELIXIR Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure (AAI) and data discovery services are introduced as means to lower technical barriers and to increase the visibility of research data.

Conclusion

The e!DAL software matured to a powerful and FAIR-compliant infrastructure, while keeping the focus on flexible setup and integration into existing infrastructures and into the daily research process.
Executive policy development and constitutional norms: Practice and perceptions
Authors: Appleby Gabrielle , Olijnyk Anna
Published: October 2020

Much of the day-to-day work of implementing constitutional law falls to the executive actors. Ministers, policy advisers, public servants, government agencies, government lawyers, and legislative draftspersons develop public policy and legislation within the shadow of the constitution. The first contribution of this article is to advance a normative model to guide the work of these actors. It accepts the primacy of judicial review, but nonetheless supposes significant space for the other branches of government to engage normatively with the constitution. In particular, we argue that areas of constitutional “uncertainty” present the executive with space for particularly lively engagement with the constitution. In these spaces, the executive should have institutional confidence to engage more autonomously with constitutional norms. In such areas, the executive should consider, with appropriate weight, the risk of breach of constitutional norms together with other legitimate influences on policy development, consistent with the executive branch’s institutional mandate. We also argue that key to this understanding of the relationship between the executive, the judiciary, and constitutional norms is one particular, pivotal actor: the government lawyer. The second contribution of this article is its empirically informed study of the constitutional understanding and practice of executive officers. We find considerable evidence of careful executive deliberation in areas of constitutional uncertainty. However, perhaps paradoxically, we also see instances of executive over-cautiousness. Other interviews reveal evidence of constitutional recklessness in the development of new law and policy in areas of constitutional uncertainty. In either of these instances—over-caution or recklessness—we argue executive engagement with constitutional norms is sub-optimal.
Early outcomes of Stanford type A aortic dissection under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: a multicentre study from Hubei province
Authors: Hu Xingjian , Wang Yin , Liu Junwei , Qiu Xuefeng , Liu Xiaobin , Jiang Xionggang , Huang Xiaofan , Feng Xianqing , Zhang Yulin , Zhang Songlin , Qian Haiyun , Liu Wei , Zhang Jun , Dong Jiashou , Chen Jiajun , Xia Jiahong , Dong Nianguo , Wu Long
Published: October 2020

OBJECTIVES

Our goal was to compare the short-term outcomes of Stanford type A aortic dissection (TAAD), during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with those during normal times and summarize our perioperative management experience of patients with TAAD in the context of COVID-19.

METHODS

From 17 January 2020 to 8 March 2020, a total of 27 patients with TAAD were operated on in 8 cardiovascular surgery centres in Hubei Province (COVID-19 group). The data from 91 patients with TAAD from the same centres during the same period last year were extracted from the Hubei Cardiac Surgery Registration System (control group). A propensity score matched subgroup of 26 pairs (1:2) was identified. Perioperative data and short-term outcomes were assessed.

RESULTS

Nine patients in the COVID-19 group were categorized as suspicious for the disease (9/27, 33.3%), and others were excluded (18/27, 66.7%). No one was laboratory confirmed preoperatively. The average waiting, cross-clamp and circulatory arrest times were longer in the COVID-19 group (22.9 ± 8.3 vs 9.7 ± 4.0 h, P < 0.001; 135 ± 36 vs 103 ± 45 min, P = 0.003; 24 ± 9 vs 17 ± 8 min, P < 0.001, respectively). The 30-day or in-hospital deaths were 3.8% in both groups (P = 1.0). The COVID-19 group was associated with longer ventilation and intensive care unit times (81 ± 71 vs 45 ± 19 h, P < 0.001; 7.4 ± 3.8 vs 4.5 ± 2.7 days; P < 0.001, respectively). There were no statistical differences between the 2 groups in the incidence of complications such as stroke, neurological deficit, acute kidney injury, pulmonary infection and reoperation. Serum antibody tests for those patients showed 7 out of 9 suspected cases were Immunoglobulin G positive. No cross-infection occurred in other patients or associated medical staff.

CONCLUSIONS

With adequate preparation and appropriate protection, satisfactory early outcomes can be achieved after emergency operations for patients with TAAD during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Right to Leave Any Country and the Interplay between Jurisdiction and Proportionality in Human Rights Law
Authors: Stoyanova Vladislava
Published: October 2020

This article shows the importance in human rights law of the right to leave any country, in light of increasing efforts by European countries of destination to prevent departures and to contain movement by enlisting countries of origin and transit to act as gatekeepers. The article highlights the autonomous nature of the right and challenges in triggering its application. It assesses whether this right is opposable to destination countries, and finds two key challenges – first, meeting the requisite jurisdictional threshold, and secondly, as this is a qualified right, applying the proportionality test. The article examines the interplay between these difficulties. It argues that the jurisdictional threshold expresses a political and legal relationship between the duty bearer (the State) and the right holders (the individuals). This relationship enables us to operationalize the proportionality test – namely whether measures limiting rights are in accordance with the law and are proportionate.
Genetic analysis of tellurate reduction reveals the selenate/tellurate reductase genes ynfEF and the transcriptional regulation of moeA by NsrR in Escherichia coli
Authors: Fujita Daiki , Tobe Ryuta , Tajima Hirotaka , Anma Yukari , Nishida Ryo , Mihara Hisaaki
Published: October 2020

Several bacteria can reduce tellurate into the less toxic elemental tellurium, but the genes responsible for this process have not yet been identified. In this study, we screened the Keio collection of single-gene knockouts of Escherichia coli responsible for decreased tellurate reduction and found that deletions of 29 genes, including those for molybdenum cofactor (Moco) biosynthesis, iron–sulphur biosynthesis, and the twin-arginine translocation pathway resulted in decreased tellurate reduction. Among the gene knockouts, deletions of nsrR, moeA, yjbB, ynbA, ydaS and yidH affected tellurate reduction more severely than those of other genes. Based on our findings, we determined that the ynfEF genes, which code for the components of the selenate reductase YnfEFGH, are responsible for tellurate reduction. Assays of several molybdoenzymes in the knockouts suggested that nsrR, yjbB, ynbA, ydaS and yidH are essential for the activities of molybdoenzymes in E. coli. Furthermore, we found that the nitric oxide sensor NsrR positively regulated the transcription of the Moco biosynthesis gene moeA. These findings provided new insights into the complexity and regulation of Moco biosynthesis in E. coli.
Widespread Recombination Suppression Facilitates Plant Sex Chromosome Evolution
Authors: Rifkin Joanna L , Beaudry Felix E G , Humphries Zoë , Choudhury Baharul I , Barrett Spencer C H , Wright Stephen I
Published: October 2020

Classical models suggest that recombination rates on sex chromosomes evolve in a stepwise manner to localize sexually antagonistic variants in the sex in which they are beneficial, thereby lowering rates of recombination between X and Y chromosomes. However, it is also possible that sex chromosome formation occurs in regions with preexisting recombination suppression. To evaluate these possibilities, we constructed linkage maps and a chromosome-scale genome assembly for the dioecious plant Rumex hastatulus. This species has a polymorphic karyotype with a young neo-sex chromosome, resulting from a Robertsonian fusion between the X chromosome and an autosome, in part of its geographic range. We identified the shared and neo-sex chromosomes using comparative genetic maps of the two cytotypes. We found that sex-linked regions of both the ancestral and the neo-sex chromosomes are embedded in large regions of low recombination. Furthermore, our comparison of the recombination landscape of the neo-sex chromosome to its autosomal homolog indicates that low recombination rates mainly preceded sex linkage. These patterns are not unique to the sex chromosomes; all chromosomes were characterized by massive regions of suppressed recombination spanning most of each chromosome. This represents an extreme case of the periphery-biased recombination seen in other systems with large chromosomes. Across all chromosomes, gene and repetitive sequence density correlated with recombination rate, with patterns of variation differing by repetitive element type. Our findings suggest that ancestrally low rates of recombination may facilitate the formation and subsequent evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes.
Clinical, radiologic, and genetic characteristics of histone H3 K27M-mutant diffuse midline gliomas in adults
Authors: Schulte Jessica D , Buerki Robin A , Lapointe Sarah , Molinaro Annette M , Zhang Yalan , Villanueva-Meyer Javier E , Perry Arie , Phillips Joanna J , Tihan Tarik , Bollen Andrew W , Pekmezci Melike , Butowski Nicholas , Oberheim Bush Nancy Ann , Taylor Jennie W , Chang Susan M , Theodosopoulos Philip , Aghi Manish K , Hervey-Jumper Shawn L , Berger Mitchel S , Solomon David A , Clarke Jennifer L
Published: October 2020

Background

“Diffuse midline glioma (DMG), H3 K27M-mutant” is a new tumor entity established in the 2016 WHO classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System that comprises a set of diffuse gliomas arising in midline structures and is molecularly defined by a K27M mutation in genes encoding the histone 3 variants H3.3 or H3.1. While this tumor entity is associated with poor prognosis in children, clinical experience in adults remains limited.

Methods

Patient demographics, radiologic and pathologic characteristics, treatment course, progression, and patient survival were collected for 60 adult patients with DMG, H3 K27M-mutant. A subset of tumors also underwent next-generation sequencing. Analysis of progression-free survival and overall survival was conducted using Kaplan–Meier modeling, and univariate and multivariate analysis.

Results

Median patient age was 32 years (range 18–71 years). Tumors were centered in the thalamus (n = 34), spinal cord (10), brainstem (5), cerebellum (4), or other midline sites (4), or were multifocal (3). Genomic profiling revealed p.K27M mutations exclusively in the H3F3A gene and an absence of mutations in HIST1H3B or HIST1H3C, which are present in approximately one-third of pediatric DMGs. Accompanying mutations in TP53, PPM1D, FGFR1, NF1, and ATRX were frequently found. The overall survival of this adult cohort was 27.6 months, longer than historical averages for both H3 K27M-mutant DMG in children and IDH-wildtype glioblastoma in adults.

Conclusions

Together, these findings indicate that H3 K27M-mutant DMG represents a heterogeneous disease with regard to outcomes, sites of origin, and molecular pathogenesis in adults versus children.
Bacterial “Virulence” Traits and Host Demographics Predict Escherichia coli Colonization Behaviors Within Households
Authors: Fox Teresa C , Clabots Connie , Porter Stephen B , Bender Tricia , Thuras Paul , Colpan Aylin , Boettcher Jessica , Johnson James R
Published: October 2020

Background

Although intestinal colonization precedes most extraintestinal Escherichia coli infections, colonization-promoting factors are incompletely understood. We compared within-household E. coli colonization patterns with host and bacterial traits.

Methods

Twenty-two veterans with a clinical E. coli isolate and their 46 human and animal household members underwent longitudinal fecal sampling. Distinct E. coli strains were characterized for phylogenetic background, virulence genes, antibiotic resistance, and colonization behaviors. Host and bacterial traits were assessed statistically as predictors of colonization behaviors.

Results

Among the 139 unique-by-household fecal E. coli strains, univariable predictors of colonization behavior included (i) host demographics, (ii) matching the index clinical isolate, and (iii) bacterial characteristics (2 phylogroups, 5 clonal lineages, 18 virulence genes, and molecular extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli status). Multivariable predictors of colonization behavior included veteran host, spouse host, matching the index clinical isolate, phylogroup F, ST73, hlyD (alpha hemolysin), hlyF (variant hemolysin), H7 fliC (flagellar variant), vat (vacuolating toxin), and iha (adhesin-siderophore).

Conclusions

Host demographics, multiple bacterial “virulence” traits, and matching the index clinical isolate predicted E. coli fecal colonization behaviors. Thus, certain bacterial characteristics may promote both colonization and pathogenicity. Future interventions directed toward such traits might prevent E. coli infections both directly and by disrupting antecedent colonization.