bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Doubly transient chaos in a decaying open flow
Authors: Vilela Rafael D
Published: May 2021

Doubly transient chaos was recently characterized as the general form of chaos in undriven dissipative systems. Here we study this type of complex behavior in the advective dynamics of decaying incompressible open flows. Using a decaying version of the blinking vortex-sink map as a prototype, we show that the resulting dynamics is markedly distinct from the one of mechanical systems addressed in previous works. In particular, the asymptotic codimension of the set of initial conditions of non-escaping particles is zero rather than one and the time-dependent escape rates either undergo an exponential decay rather than growth (for moderate and fast energy dissipation) or display a complex, possibly nonmonotonic behavior (for slow energy dissipation).
Machine learning spatio-temporal epidemiological model to evaluate Germany-county-level COVID-19 risk
Authors: Wang Lingxiao , Xu Tian , Stoecker Till , Stoecker Horst , Jiang Yin , Zhou Kai
Published: May 2021

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, it is critical to assess the COVID-19 risk timely on multi-scale. To implement it and evaluate the public health policies, we develop a machine learning assisted framework to predict epidemic dynamics from the reported infection data. It contains a county-level spatio-temporal epidemiological model, which combines spatial cellular automata (CA) with time sensitive-undiagnosed-infected-removed (SUIR) model, and is compatible with the existing risk prediction models. The CA-SUIR model shows the multi-scale risk to the public and reveals the transmission modes of coronavirus in different scenarios. Through transfer learning, this new toolbox is used to predict the prevalence of multi-scale COVID-19 in all 412 counties in Germany. A t-day-ahead risk forecast as well as assessment of the non-pharmaceutical intervention policies is presented. We analyzed the situation at Christmas of 2020, and found that the most serious death toll could be 34.5. However, effective policy could control it below 21thousand, which provides a quantitative basis for evaluating the public policies implemented by the government. Such intervening evaluation process would help to improve public health policies and restart the economy appropriately in pandemics.
Heh2/Man1 may be an evolutionarily conserved sensor of NPC assembly state
Authors: Borah Sapan , Thaller David J. , Hakhverdyan Zhanna , Rodriguez Elisa C. , Isenhour Anthony W. , Rout Michael P. , King Megan C. , Lusk C. Patrick
Published: May 2021

It remains unknown whether there are mechanisms that can recognize defective NPCs. Biochemical and genetic analyses of the interactions between Heh2 and NPCs suggest that Heh2 may be a sensor of the NPC assembly state.
A Randomized Trial of Home Blood-Pressure Reduction by Alcohol Guidance During Outpatient Visits: OSAKE Study
Authors: Kabayama Mai , Akagi Yuya , Wada Naoko , Higuchi Atsuko , Tamatani Michio , Tomita Jun , Nakata Yukako , Takiuchi Shin , Yamamoto Koichi , Sugimoto Ken , Shintani Ayumi , Rakugi Hiromi , Kamide Kei
Published: May 2021

Background

To evaluate the effectiveness of the nurse-led alcohol guidance to control home blood pressure (HBP) in the morning among male patients with hypertension during outpatient visits.

Methods

We enrolled 53 male patients with an HBP of ≥135/85 mm Hg with excessive drinking (alcohol ≥210 g/week or ≥60 g/day habitually) among outpatients in a randomized trial. Patients were assigned to a nurse-led alcohol guidance intervention or to the control. The primary outcomes were the mean HBP of 5 consecutive days at 6 months and alcohol consumption.

Results

Twenty-eight and 25 patients were randomized to intervention and control groups, respectively (mean age; 62.7 years old and 64.5, respectively). At baseline, the groups were well balanced across most characteristics. At 6 months, the mean HBP was 131/82 mm Hg in the intervention group vs. 145/87 mm Hg in the control group (SBP <0.001, DBP = 0.09). An HBP level of less than 135/85 mm Hg was achieved among 55.6% of the participants in the intervention group vs. 16.7% in the control group (P = 0.004). The alcohol consumption at 6 months was 256 ± 206 g/w vs. 413 ± 260 g/w, respectively (P = 0.020).

Conclusions

We confirmed the effectiveness of the nurse-led alcohol guidance to control the HBP in male patients with hypertension during outpatient visits.

Public trials registry number

UMIN000017454 (UMIN Clinical Trials Registry).
Alcohol Consumption and Tryptophan Metabolism Among People with HIV Prior to Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation: The Uganda ARCH Cohort Study
Authors: Pierre Frantz , Forman Leah S , Winter Michael , Cheng Debbie , Ngabirano Christine , Emenyonu Nneka , Hunt Peter W , Huang Yong , Muyindike Winnie , Samet Jeffrey , Hahn Judith A , So-Armah Kaku
Published: May 2021

Aims

Alcohol is hypothesized to have effects on the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan catabolism, a potential mechanism for alcohol-induced depression and aggression. A biomarker of this pathway, the plasma kynurenine to tryptophan ratio (K/T ratio), has been associated with HIV progression, mortality and depression. Our aim was to assess whether hazardous alcohol consumption is associated higher K/T ratio among people with HIV.

Methods

Participants were a subset of the Uganda Alcohol Research Collaboration on HIV/AIDS Cohort. Alcohol consumption was categorized (abstinent, moderate and hazardous alcohol use) using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test—Consumption and phosphatidylethanol (PEth). K/T ratio was the primary outcome. We used linear regression adjusted for age, sex, FIB-4, hepatitis B surface antigen, log (HIV viral load) to estimate the association between alcohol consumption and K/T ratio.

Results

Compared to abstinent participants, hazardous drinkers and moderate drinkers had higher K/T ratio but these differences did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that hazardous alcohol consumption, in the context of untreated HIV infection, may not significantly alter kynurenine to tryptophan ratio as a measure of activity of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism.
Predicting MHC class I binder: existing approaches and a novel recurrent neural network solution
Authors: Jiang Limin , Yu Hui , Li Jiawei , Tang Jijun , Guo Yan , Guo Fei
Published: May 2021

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) possesses important research value in the treatment of complex human diseases. A plethora of computational tools has been developed to predict MHC class I binders. Here, we comprehensively reviewed 27 up-to-date MHC I binding prediction tools developed over the last decade, thoroughly evaluating feature representation methods, prediction algorithms and model training strategies on a benchmark dataset from Immune Epitope Database. A common limitation was identified during the review that all existing tools can only handle a fixed peptide sequence length. To overcome this limitation, we developed a bilateral and variable long short-term memory (BVLSTM)-based approach, named BVLSTM-MHC. It is the first variable-length MHC class I binding predictor. In comparison to the 10 mainstream prediction tools on an independent validation dataset, BVLSTM-MHC achieved the best performance in six out of eight evaluated metrics. A web server based on the BVLSTM-MHC model was developed to enable accurate and efficient MHC class I binder prediction in human, mouse, macaque and chimpanzee.
ExTraMapper: exon- and transcript-level mappings for orthologous gene pairs
Authors: Chakraborty Abhijit , Ay Ferhat , Davuluri Ramana V
Published: May 2021

Motivation

Access to large-scale genomics and transcriptomics data from various tissues and cell lines allowed the discovery of wide-spread alternative splicing events and alternative promoter usage in mammalians. Between human and mouse, gene-level orthology is currently present for nearly 16k protein-coding genes spanning a diverse repertoire of over 200k total transcript isoforms.

Results

Here, we describe a novel method, ExTraMapper, which leverages sequence conservation between exons of a pair of organisms and identifies a fine-scale orthology mapping at the exon and then transcript level. ExTraMapper identifies more than 350k exon mappings, as well as 30k transcript mappings between human and mouse using only sequence and gene annotation information. We demonstrate that ExTraMapper identifies a larger number of exon and transcript mappings compared to previous methods. Further, it identifies exon fusions, splits and losses due to splice site mutations, and finds mappings between microexons that are previously missed. By reanalysis of RNA-seq data from 13 matched human and mouse tissues, we show that ExTraMapper improves the correlation of transcript-specific expression levels suggesting a more accurate mapping of human and mouse transcripts. We also applied the method to detect conserved exon and transcript pairs between human and rhesus macaque genomes to highlight the point that ExTraMapper is applicable to any pair of organisms that have orthologous gene pairs.

Availability and implementation

The source code and the results are available at https://github.com/ay-lab/ExTraMapper and http://ay-lab-tools.lji.org/extramapper.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Robust and efficient single-cell Hi-C clustering with approximate k-nearest neighbor graphs
Authors: Wolff Joachim , Backofen Rolf , Grüning Björn
Published: May 2021

Motivation

Hi-C technology provides insights into the 3D organization of the chromatin, and the single-cell Hi-C method enables researchers to gain knowledge about the chromatin state in individual cell levels. Single-cell Hi-C interaction matrices are high dimensional and very sparse. To cluster thousands of single-cell Hi-C interaction matrices, they are flattened and compiled into one matrix. Depending on the resolution, this matrix can have a few million or even billions of features; therefore, computations can be memory intensive. We present a single-cell Hi-C clustering approach using an approximate nearest neighbors method based on locality-sensitive hashing to reduce the dimensions and the computational resources.

Results

The presented method can process a 10 kb single-cell Hi-C dataset with 2600 cells and needs 40 GB of memory, while competitive approaches are not computable even with 1 TB of memory. It can be shown that the differentiation of the cells by their chromatin folding properties and, therefore, the quality of the clustering of single-cell Hi-C data is advantageous compared to competitive algorithms.

Availability and implementation

The presented clustering algorithm is part of the scHiCExplorer, is available on Github https://github.com/joachimwolff/scHiCExplorer, and as a conda package via the bioconda channel. The approximate nearest neighbors implementation is available via https://github.com/joachimwolff/sparse-neighbors-search and as a conda package via the bioconda channel.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Testicular localization of activating transcription factor 1 and its potential function during spermatogenesis
Authors: Tabara Masanori , Shiraishi Koji , Takii Ryosuke , Fujimoto Mitsuaki , Nakai Akira , Matsuyama Hideyasu
Published: May 2021

Activating transcription factor 1 (ATF1), belonging to the CREB/ATF family of transcription factors, is highly expressed in the testes. However, its role in spermatogenesis has not yet been established. Here, we aimed to elucidate the impact of ATF1 in spermatogenesis by examining the expression pattern of ATF1 in mice and the effect of ATF1 knockdown in the mouse testes. We found that ATF1 is expressed in various organs, with very high levels in the testes. Immunohistochemical staining showed that ATF1 was localized in the nuclei of spermatogonia and co-localized with proliferating cell nuclear antigen. In ATF1-deficient mice, the seminiferous tubules of the testis contained cells at all developmental stages; however, the number of spermatocytes was decreased. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression was decreased and apoptotic cells were rare in the seminiferous tubules. These results indicate that ATF1 plays a role in male germ cell proliferation and sperm production.
Delay in liver transplantation referral for adolescents with biliary atresia transitioning to adult care: a slippery slope
Authors: Moazzam Z , Ziogas I A , Wu W K , Rauf M A , Pai A K , Hafberg E T , Gillis L A , Izzy M , Matsuoka L K , Alexopoulos S P
Published: May 2021

We compared the waitlist mortality of 114 adolescent (12–17 years) and 217 adult (≥ 18 years) biliary atresia candidates, and the post-transplant survival of 117 adolescent and 160 adult biliary atresia liver transplant recipients using Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data (2002-2018). After adjusting for Model for End-stage Liver Disease score (P = 0.001) and ascites, portal vein thrombosis, encephalopathy, life support at listing (all P ≥ 0.09), adults demonstrated 10.9 times higher risk of waitlist mortality vs. adolescents (95 per cent c.i. 1.55 to 76.46; P = 0.02). Adolescents exhibited superior patient (P = 0.007) and graft survival (P = 0.006).
Acute pancreatitis in pregnancy: meta-analysis of maternal and fetal outcomes
Authors: Hughes D Ll , Hughes A , White P B , Silva M A
Published: May 2021

The impact of acute pancreatitis in pregnancy on maternal and fetal outcomes is unclear. Historical case series document very poor outcomes, with maternal mortality rates of 20 per cent and fetal loss of 50 per cent. However, this is based on outdated clinical practice. This meta-analysis quantified both maternal and fetal outcomes following acute pancreatitis in pregnancy based on the concurrent literature. Maternal and fetal outcomes after acute pancreatitis in pregnancy have improved with advances in the management of pancreatitis.
Population preference for treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis
Authors: Bom W J , Scheijmans J C G , Gans S L , Van Geloven A A W , Boermeester M A
Published: May 2021

Background

Non-operative treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis is safe and increasing in popularity, but has other risks and benefits compared with appendicectomy. This study aimed to explore the preference of the general population regarding operative or antibiotic treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis.

Methods

In this prospective study, a clinical scenario and questionnaire were submitted to a panel comprising a sample of an average adult population. The survey was distributed by an independent, external research bureau, and included a comprehensive explanation of the risks and benefits of both treatment options. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants who would prefer antibiotics over surgery. Secondary outcomes were reasons for this preference and the accepted recurrence rate within 1 year when treated with antibiotics only. All outcomes were weighted for the average Dutch population.

Results

Of 254 participants, 49.2 per cent preferred antibiotic treatment for uncomplicated appendicitis, 44.5 per cent preferred surgery, and 6.3 per cent could not make a decision. About half of the participants preferring antibiotics would accept a recurrence risk of more than 50 per cent within 1 year. Avoiding surgery was their main reason. In participants preferring surgery, many tolerated a recurrence risk of no more than 10 per cent when treated with antibiotics. Removal of the cause of appendicitis was their main reason.

Conclusion

Around half of the average population sample preferred antibiotics over surgical treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis and were willing to accept a high recurrence risk to avoid surgery initially. Participants who preferred surgery tolerated only a very low recurrence risk with antibiotic treatment.
Analysis of Machine Learning and Deep Learning Frameworks for Opinion Mining on Drug Reviews
Authors: Youbi Fatiha , Settouti Nesma
Published: May 2021

Opinion mining from medical forums such as health check-ups is sparking growing interest and a stimulating area for natural language processing. This allows for a better understanding of patient health status and drug reactions while generating new knowledge for health care professionals and drug manufacturers, which helps improve the quality of service and produce more effective treatments. In this paper, the researchers present a framework of opinions classification of drug reviews. The objective of this work is to find the best model for analyzing patients’ emotions about drugs. In this sense, the researchers oppose classical text vectorization methods (bag of words, term frequency-inverse document frequency) and word embedding methods (Word2vec, GloVe) for classical opinion mining face to modern machine learning tools with the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), the Recurrent Neural Networks (Long Short-term Memory and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory). Experiments results show that the best model for drug reviews was achieved by CNN based on the Skip-gram model (85% accuracy). Experiments have led to conclude that the performance of a given model will depend on the type of dataset used, on feature representation and better collaboration between classifiers and feature extraction methods.
Left ventricular function, strain, and infarct characteristics in patients with transient ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction compared to ST-segment and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions
Authors: Demirkiran Ahmet , van der Hoeven Nina W , Janssens Gladys N , Lemkes Jorrit S , Everaars Henk , van de Ven Peter M , van Pouderoijen Nikki , van Cauteren Yvonne J M , van Leeuwen Maarten A H , Nap Alexander , Teunissen Paul F , Hopman Luuk H G A , Bekkers Sebastiaan C A M , Smulders Martijn W , van Royen Niels , van Rossum Albert C , Robbers Lourens F H J , Nijveldt Robin
Published: May 2021

Aims

This study aims to explore cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR)-derived left ventricular (LV) function, strain, and infarct size characteristics in patients with transient ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (TSTEMI) compared to patients with ST-segment and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI and NSTEMI, respectively).

Methods and results

In total, 407 patients were enrolled in this multicentre observational prospective cohort study. All patients underwent CMR examination 2–8 days after the index event. CMR cine imaging was performed for functional assessment and late gadolinium enhancement to determine infarct size and identify microvascular obstruction (MVO). TSTEMI patients demonstrated the highest LV ejection fraction and the most preserved global LV strain (longitudinal, circumferential, and radial) across the three groups (overall P ≤ 0.001). The CMR-defined infarction was less frequently observed in TSTEMI than in STEMI patients [77 (65%) vs. 124 (98%), P < 0.001] but was comparable with NSTEMI patients [77 (65%) vs. 66 (70%), P = 0.44]. A remarkably smaller infarct size was seen in TSTEMI compared to STEMI patients [1.4 g (0.0–3.9) vs. 13.5 g (5.3–26.8), P < 0.001], whereas infarct size was not significantly different from that in NSTEMI patients [1.4 g (0.0–3.9) vs. 2.1 g (0.0–8.6), P = 0.06]. Whilst the presence of MVO was less frequent in TSTEMI compared to STEMI patients [5 (4%) vs. 53 (31%), P < 0.001], no significant difference was seen compared to NSTEMI patients [5 (4%) vs. 5 (5%), P = 0.72].

Conclusion

TSTEMI yielded favourable cardiac LV function, strain, and infarct-related scar mass compared to STEMI and NSTEMI. LV function and infarct characteristics of TSTEMI tend to be more similar to NSTEMI than STEMI.
Facial asymmetry assessment in skeletal Class III patients with spatially-dense geometric morphometrics
Authors: Fan Yi , He Wei , Chen Gui , Song Guangying , Matthews Harold , Claes Peter , Jiang Ruoping , Xu Tianmin
Published: May 2021

Objective

Quantification and visualization of the location and magnitude of facial asymmetry is important for diagnosis and treatment planning. The objective of this study was to analyze the asymmetric features of the face for skeletal Class III patients using spatially-dense geometric morphometrics.

Methods

Three-dimensional facial images were obtained for 86 skeletal Class III patients. About 7160 uniformly sampled quasi-landmarks were automatically identified on each face using template mapping technique. The pointwise surface-to-surface distance between original and mirror face was measured and visualized for the whole face after robust Procrustes superimposition. The degree of overall asymmetry in an individual was scored using a root-mean-squared-error. Automatic partitioning of the face was obtained, and the severity of the asymmetry compared among seven facial regions.

Results

Facial asymmetry was mainly located on, but not limited to, the lower two-thirds of the face in skeletal Class III patients. The lower cheek and nose asymmetry were detected to have more extensive and of a greater magnitude of asymmetry than other facial anatomical regions but with various individual variations. The overall facial asymmetry index and the regional facial asymmetry indices were higher in males and patients with chin deviation.

Conclusions

Soft tissue asymmetry is predominately presented in the lower-third of the face in skeletal Class III patients and with various variations on other facial anatomical regions. Morphometric techniques and computer intensive analysis have allowed sophisticated quantification and visualization of the pointwise asymmetry on the full face.
Poverty as Misrecognition: What Role for Antidiscrimination Law in Europe?
Authors: Ganty Sarah
Published: May 2021

It is widely agreed that victims of discrimination on traditional status grounds such as gender and race are overrepresented among the poor and undereducated. People living in poverty also face discrimination because of their socioeconomic situation. Many national, European and international antidiscrimination provisions prohibit discrimination on grounds that are related to a person’s socioeconomic situation. It is striking, however, that this is hardly applied in practice. On the basis of domestic—Belgian, French and British—and European material, this paper argues that the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of social condition is an empowering legal tool in the protection of disadvantaged people, especially regarding issues of misrecognition. Four reasons for this are considered: the determining role of the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of social condition in applying a direct scrutiny of the socioeconomic underprivileged situation of the applicants, its role in combating stereotypes and stigma against poor people, its important cross-cutting function in cases of multiple discrimination, and its exclusive applicability in some occurrences of discrimination.
Mind the gap: Analyzing the divergence between constitutional text and constitutional reality
Authors: Voigt Stefan
Published: May 2021

Constitutional economics—the analysis of constitutions drawing on the economic approach—has made important progress over the last two decades. The factors determining whether a constitution is complied with, however, have received only little attention. This is surprising, as a huge gap between constitutional text and constitutional reality seems to exist in many countries. In this article, this gap is referred to as the de jure/de facto gap. The article discusses ways in which the gap can be researched systematically and surveys the scant available literature that has tried to do so thus far.
Circumstances, Postmortem Findings, Blood Concentrations and Metabolism in a Series of Methoxyacetylfentanyl-Related Deaths
Authors: Kronstrand Robert , Åstrand Anna , Watanabe Shimpei , Gréen Henrik , Vikingsson Svante
Published: May 2021

Methoxyacetylfentanyl is one of many fentanyl analogs available as new psychoactive substances. It have been encountered in both the European Union and the United States, and existing literature suggest that methoxyacetylfentanyl is around 3- to 5-fold less potent than fentanyl. The aim of the present work was to combine case information with blood concentrations and abundance of urinary metabolites to investigate the importance of these parameters for toxicological interpretation. Quantification of methoxyacetylfentanyl in femoral blood was performed by LC--MS-MS and urinary metabolites were analyzed by LC--QTOF-MS with and without hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase. For confirmation of identified metabolites, methoxyacetylfentanyl was incubated with hepatocytes for up to 5 hours and analyzed with the same method as the urine samples. In eleven postmortem cases (27 to 41 years old and including one female) methoxyacetylfentanyl was reported in femoral blood. The cause of death was intoxication by methoxyacetylfentanyl alone or in combination with other drugs in all but one case, where death was attributed to acute complications of an underlying heart disease but with possible contribution from methoxyacetylfentanyl. In total, 27 urinary metabolites were found, including eight glucuronides. Major biotransformations were O-demethylation, dealkylation to form the nor-metabolite, mono- and dihydroxylations of the phenethyl moiety, as well as combinations thereof. The most abundant metabolites in hydrolyzed urine included O-desmethyl-, O-desmethyl-phenethyl-hydroxy-, O-desmethyl-phenethyl-hydroxymethoxy- and nor-methoxyacetylfentanyl. Differences in the abundance of methoxyacetylfentanyl and its major metabolites could be interpreted to indicate fatal intoxications in abstinent or chronic users. We postulate that urinary concentrations of methoxyacetylfentanyl and two metabolites, in combination with the methoxyacetylfentanyl concentration in femoral blood, might be good indicators of the time between administration and death as well as prior use.
Consensus-based classification system for intra-operative management of labral tears during hip arthroscopy—aggregate recommendations from high-volume hip preservation surgeons
Authors: Lall Ajay C , Annin Shawn , Chen Jeff W , Diulus Samantha , Ankem Hari K , Rosinsky Philip J , Shapira Jacob , Meghpara Mitchell B , Maldonado David R , Hartigan David E , Krych Aaron J , Levy Bruce A , Domb Benjamin G
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this study was to survey high-volume hip preservation surgeons regarding their perspectives on intra-operative management of labral tears to improve decision-making and produce an effective classification system. A cross-sectional survey of high-volume hip preservation surgeons was conducted in person and anonymously, using a questionnaire that is repeated for indications of labral debridement, repair and reconstruction given the torn labra are stable, unstable, viable or non-viable. Twenty-six high-volume arthroscopic hip surgeons participated in this survey. Provided the labrum was viable (torn tissue that is likely to heal) and stable, labral debridement would be performed by 76.92% of respondents for patients >40 years of age and by >84% of respondents for stable intra-substance labral tears in patients without dysplasia. If the labrum was viable but unstable, labral repair would be performed by >80% of respondents for patients ≤40 years of age and > 80% of respondents if the labral size was >3 mm and located anteriorly. Presence of calcified labra or the Os acetabuli mattered while deciding whether to repair a labrum. In non-viable (torn tissue that is unlikely to heal) and unstable labra, labral reconstruction would be performed by 84.62% of respondents if labral size was <3 mm. The majority of respondents would reconstruct calcified and non-viable, unstable labra that no longer maintained a suction seal. Surgeons performing arthroscopic hip labral treatment may utilize this comprehensive classification system, which takes into consideration patient age, labral characteristics (viability and stability) and bony morphology of the hip joint. When choosing between labral debridement, repair or reconstruction, consensus recommendations from high-volume hip preservation surgeons can enhance decision-making.
Carios kelleyi (Acari: Ixodida: Argasidae) Infected With Rickettsial Agents Documented Infesting Housing in Kansas, United States
Authors: Nadolny Robyn M , Kennedy Ashley C , Rodgers James M , Vincent Zachary T , Cornman Hannah , Haynes Scott A , Casal Cory , Robbins Richard G , Richards Allen L , Jiang Ju , Farris Christina M
Published: May 2021

During September–December 2018, 25 live ticks were collected on-post at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in a home with a history of bat occupancy. Nine ticks were sent to the Army Public Health Center Tick-Borne Disease Laboratory and were identified as Carios kelleyi (Cooley and Kohls, 1941), a species that seldom bites humans but that may search for other sources of blood meals, including humans, when bats are removed from human dwellings. The ticks were tested for numerous agents of human disease. Rickettsia lusitaniae was identified by multilocus sequence typing to be present in two ticks, marking the first detection of this Rickettsia agent in the United States and in this species of tick. Two other Rickettsia spp. were also detected, including an endosymbiont previously associated with C. kelleyi and a possible novel Rickettsia species. The potential roles of C. kelleyi and bats in peridomestic Rickettsia transmission cycles warrant further investigation.
Mental Disorder and Suicide: What’s the Connection?
Authors: Maung Hane Htut
Published: May 2021

This paper offers a philosophical analysis of the connection between mental disorder and suicide risk. In contemporary psychiatry, it is commonly suggested that this connection is a causal connection that has been established through empirical discovery. Herein, I examine the extent to which this claim can be sustained. I argue that the connection between mental disorder and increased suicide risk is not wholly causal but is partly conceptual. This in part relates to the way suicidality is built into the definitions of some psychiatric diagnoses. It also relates to the broader normative assumption that suicidal behavior is by definition mentally disordered behavior. The above has significant epistemological implications, which I explore. I propose that the claim that suicide is connected with mental disorder cannot be justified solely by appealing to empirical evidence but also warrants a justification on conceptual and normative grounds.
Discrimination of Minority Welfare Claimants in the Real World: The Effect of Implicit Prejudice
Authors: Assouline Michaela , Gilad Sharon , Ben-Nun Bloom Pazit
Published: May 2021

Exploiting rare access to doctors’ real-world judgments of incapacity benefits applications to an Israeli governmental program (2015–17), we examine the prevalence and underlying mechanisms of discrimination against Muslims versus Jews. To mitigate confounding explanations for unequal treatment, we restrict the analysis to claimants whose applications passed a strict medical-disability threshold so that their medical condition was undisputed. Theoretically, we offer a comprehensive theoretical framework for possible micro-mechanisms underlying bureaucratic discrimination of minorities, the decision-environment conditions that instigate them, and observational implications for their decoding. Findings indicate that despite organizational commitment to equality Jewish doctors were more likely to reject applications by Muslims and to recommend partial compensation for Jews. We find no differences with regard to full compensation. Further, we empirically illustrate how our proposed theoretical framework can be employed to analyze which micro-mechanism is most likely to underlie discrimination and to empirically decipher among alternative explanations, demonstrating that bureaucratic discrimination, in this case, is best explained by implicit prejudice triggered under conditions of complexity and ambiguity that undermined doctors’ systematic processing of information.
Effects of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) control on ecosystem nitrogen stocks in central Oregon, USA
Authors: Abdallah Mohamed A B , Mata-González Ricardo , Noller Jay S , Ochoa Carlos G
Published: May 2021

Aims

In the Oregon of USA, the control of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) is an accepted rangeland management practice to restore sagebrush steppe habitats of importance to wildlife and livestock. The effects of juniper cutting on ecosystem nitrogen, however, have not been well addressed although woody plant control has important implications for local watershed management and regional nitrogen pools.

Methods

We quantified ecosystem nitrogen stocks in two adjacent watersheds, comprised of a treated watershed (most juniper removed) and an untreated watershed (juniper not removed). Thirteen years after juniper removal, we measured aboveground nitrogen stocks for juniper trees, shrubs, grasses and litter in both watersheds. We also measured belowground nitrogen stocks (roots and soil) in both watersheds at two soil depths (0–25 and 25–50 cm).

Important Findings

Aboveground nitrogen stocks were 6.9 times greater in the untreated than in the treated watershed considering the much larger aboveground biomass. However, root nitrogen stocks were 3.1 times greater in the treated one due to the gain of understory root biomass associated with juniper cutting. Soil nitrogen stocks at both 0–25 and 25–50 cm depths were not affected by juniper removal. Overall, total ecosystem nitrogen stocks did not differ between the treated (9536 kg N ha−1) and untreated (9456 kg N ha−1) watersheds. The greatest ecosystem nitrogen accumulation (at least 95% total ecosystem nitrogen) resided belowground (soil 0–50 cm and roots) in both watersheds. This study provides evidence that the benefits of juniper removal can be attained without significantly affecting the capacity of ecosystem nitrogen storage.
Annual mowing mitigates the negative legacy effects of N enrichment on grassland nutrient use efficiency
Authors: Hu Yan-Yu , Zhang Zhi-Wei , Hou Shuang-Li , Yang Jun-Jie , Lü Xiao-Tao
Published: May 2021

Aims Plant nutrient use efficiency, an important factor driving primary production, is sensitive to nitrogen (N) deposition. Because of strengthened regulations of N emissions, atmospheric N deposition is decreasing in many countries. It remains unknown whether historical N enrichment would alter plant nutrient use efficiency and whether such impacts would be mitigated by ecosystem management strategy.

Methods We assessed the effects of historical N addition and mowing on plant N and phosphorus use efficiency (NUE and PUE) at both functional group and community levels in a temperate steppe after the cessation of 6-year N addition.

Important Findings Historical N addition had negative legacy effects on plant NUE but not on PUE at the functional group level. There were negative legacy effects of N addition on community-level NUE and PUE, but only in the unmown plots. Mowing mitigated the negative legacy effects of N enrichment on community-level NUE and PUE by reducing the dominance of tall rhizomatous grass but enhancing that of tall bunchgrass. Our results highlight the importance of community composition variations caused by mowing in driving the legacy effects of N enrichment on community-level nutrient use efficiency. Given the slow recovery of community composition following cessation of N deposition, our findings suggest that the lower nutrient efficiency of plant community would be long-lasting.
Can Appended Auxiliary Data be Used to Tailor the Offered Response Mode in Cross-Sectional Studies? Evidence from An Address-Based Sample
Authors: Jackson Michael T , Medway Rebecca L , Megra Mahi W
Published: May 2021

In theory, offering each sample member the mode sequence that maximizes their response propensity should increase the response rate and/or reduce the amount of nonresponse follow-up relative to a design that offers all sample members the same mode sequence. However, for this sort of tailoring to be feasible in a cross-sectional survey, it must be possible to use data available prior to data collection (e.g., on the sampling frame) to predict sample members’ “mode-sensitivity”—the effect of the offered mode sequence on response propensity. Using data from randomized experiments incorporated into the 2016 and 2019 cycles of the National Household Education Survey, we evaluate whether data appended to an address-based sampling (ABS) frame can accurately predict the sensitivity of household-level response behavior to the initial offer of a paper questionnaire instead of a web instrument and whether a modeled-mode design that tailors the offered mode sequence (web-push vs. paper-only) based on the resulting predictions improves household-level data collection outcomes relative to a uniform web-push design. We find that several characteristics available on the ABS frame show statistically significant interactions with the offered mode sequence in determining the probability of response to initial survey mailings. Consequently, relative to a uniform web-push design, the modeled-mode design increased the response rate to early mailings and reduced the number of mailings required per response. However, the modeled-mode design did not meaningfully increase the final response rate, nor did it lead to a substantial reduction in indicators of nonresponse bias.
Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs) and Organized Trading Facilities (OTFs)
Authors: Penn Bob , Pascal Nadia
Published: May 2021

This chapter examines the recent growth in the volume and variety of market infrastructure provision. It sets out the legal and regulatory framework governing the operation of multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) and organised trading venues (OTFs) in Europe and the UK. It chapter highlights how information technology has fundamentally changed the way in which trading in financial instruments occurs in the UK. This chapter points out that almost all exchanges, clearers, and other providers of market infrastructure services have moved to an electronic basis for their activities since the introduction of electronic trading by the London Stock Exchange in 1986. It highlights the opportunities that have arisen for the commercial provision of niche infrastructure services to support trading as technology changed the way in which markets are organised and participants execute trades.
London Stock Exchange: Regulation of the Main Market and Alternative Investment Market (AIM)
Authors: Schneider Sean M
Published: May 2021

This chapter focuses on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which took its origins from the early days of trading in London's coffee houses. It talks about John Castaing, who began issuing a list of stock and commodity prices called “The Course of the Exchange and other things” in 1698 at Jonathan's Coffee House. It also mentions that trading occurred on an informal and unregulated basis until the aftermath of the South Sea Bubble, in which afterwards a new “Stock Exchange” was established in 1773. This chapter talks about the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) that includes the bulk of the UK's current regulatory framework, the statutory basis for the regulation of the LSE. It points out the exemption of investment exchanges, such as the LSE, from the “General Prohibition” on the undertaking of financial services activities when they are subject to a recognition order by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
International Settlement
Authors: Yates Madeleine
Published: May 2021

This chapter provides an overview of “settlement” as the transfer of ownership or other interest in securities following the agreement to make such transfer in exchange for payment. It discusses settlement through a settlement system, which can only take place if the parties to the trade are members of the relevant settlement system or have arrangements with a system member that can procure settlement on their behalf. It also emphasizes the use of a settlement system that is generally regarded as giving the benefits of speed, efficiency, security, and finality advantages. This chapter talks about international central securities depositories (ICSD), which hold securities issued in a variety of different jurisdictions. It also highlights Clearstream and Euroclear as well—known examples of ICSDs.
The Provenance of the Hague Principles
Authors: Pertegás Marta
Published: May 2021

This chapter examines the institutional provenance of the Hague Principles from mandate to adoption, which can be traced back to 2006. At a meeting of the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) that year, the Secretariat of the HCCH was tasked with preparing a feasibility study on the development of an instrument concerning choice of law in international contracts. However, this was not the first time that the HCCH included the topic of international (commercial) contracts on its agenda. Earlier work carried out by the HCCH in this legal domain share similar objectives with the Hague Principles, that is, the consolidation of party autonomy in the private international law of contracts. In sketching the recent and more remote origins of the Principles, the chapter describes the most salient phases in the development of the Hague Principles between 2006 and 2015. It then places this instrument in the broader context of the HCCH’s contribution to party autonomy in international contracts.
Mauritius
Authors: Cupido Robin
Published: May 2021

This chapter discusses Mauritian perspectives on the Hague Principles. The Code Civile Mauricien (Mauritian Civil Code) governs most private and commercial law matters and is thus one of the main sources of Mauritian law. Another main source is the Constitution of Mauritius 1968. It is important to note that there is no constitutional imperative for courts to consider international law when interpreting legislation, which could be a contributing factor to the lack of development of a cohesive private international law regime in Mauritius. The Law Reform Commission of Mauritius has thus been reviewing the status of private international law in Mauritius over the past five years and has issued several reports and studies on the matter. The chapter then investigates the extent to which Mauritian private international law already reflects the content of the Hague Principles and how this set of principles could influence the future development of the conflict of laws in Mauritius.
Kuwait
Authors: Dawwas Amin
Published: May 2021

This chapter examines Kuwaiti perspectives on the Hague Principles. Kuwait has a specific code on conflict of laws rules, ie Law No 5/1961 on Regulation of the Legal Relationships with Foreign Element (Kuwaiti Law No 5/1961). This law includes conflicts rules that can be applied by both national courts and arbitral tribunals. Although the Law No 5/1961 allows in principle the parties to select the law applicable to their contract and determines which law is applicable to contracts with a foreign element in general, it leaves many other details concerning the chosen law to doctrine and case law. The chapter then shows to which extent the Hague Principles could be used to interpret, supplement, and develop the Kuwaiti rules in light of relevant Kuwaiti case law and doctrine.
Lebanon
Authors: Kobeh Marie-Claude Najm
Published: May 2021

This chapter evaluates Lebanese perspectives on the Hague Principles. In Lebanon, private international law rules in respect of international commercial contracts are not codified. There are statutory rules governing certain areas of private international law, some of which might be relevant in cases where international commercial contracts are litigated. This is the case for rules on international jurisdiction (Articles 74–80 Code of Civil Procedure, hereafter CCP), recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions (Articles 1009–1024 CCP), international arbitration (Articles 809–821 CCP) and the application of foreign law (Articles 139–142 CCP). Given the rarity of private international law statutory rules, and specifically the absence of statutory choice of law rules for international commercial contracts, it was up to the courts to shape conflict of law rules for these contracts.. In this respect, Lebanese courts do not have the authority to refer to the Hague Principles as persuasive applicable rules, ie to use them to interpret and supplement the applicable rules and principles of private international law. Nevertheless, it should be noted that Article 4 CCP invites the courts, in the absence of statutory law, to rely on ‘general principles, custom and equity’.
Malaysia
Authors: Othman Effendy , Teck Fung Victor Wong , Rahmat Ahmad Zhaffir
Published: May 2021

This chapter looks at Malaysian perspectives on the Hague Principles. Malaysia does not have any specific legislation or code for Private International Law. However, there are at least two specific acts which provide statutory guidelines for the recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions or awards in parties’ commercial relationships: the Malaysian Arbitration Act 2005 and the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgment Act 1958. Additionally, Malaysia is a Member State of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), albeit not a contracting State to any of the HCCH Conventions. The Malaysian Attorney General’s Office is presently studying several HCCH Conventions to determine whether Malaysia can become a party to any of them. For the most part, and in line with Malaysia being a part of the Commonwealth, the principles of private international law have developed through judicial decisions of the Malaysian courts in determining issues ranging from the jurisdiction of the courts, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, to parties’ choice of law in contracts. To this end, contracts governed by foreign laws are generally considered as valid in Malaysia, unless they fall under any of the categories of void contracts set out in section 24 of the Contracts Act 1950.
Palestine
Authors: Dawwas Amin
Published: May 2021

This chapter assesses Palestinian perspectives on the Hague Principles. In Palestine, the Mejella (ie the Ottoman Civil Code), is still applicable to the West Bank; it does not include rules on conflict of laws. In 2003, the Palestinian Authority published a draft civil law (PDCL), accompanied by a memorandum. In 2012, this draft was enacted as law in the Gaza Strip (GCL). Both PDCL and GCL include an identical rule on conflict of laws that clearly allows the parties to choose the law applicable to international commercial contracts. Likewise, the 2000 Palestinian Arbitration Law, applicable in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, recognizes the party autonomy principle. Currently, there is no indication on the enactment of the PDCL in the West Bank. Once this moment comes, the Hague Principles would play a role in revising the conflict of laws rules as they reflect the recent developments in the field. Besides, Article 35 of the PDCL/GCL orders the application of the principles of private international law in the absence of a relevant provision in this law concerning the conflict of laws. Thus, the Hague Principles could be used to supplement the Palestinian rules on the law applicable to contracts.