bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Acute ischaemic stroke alters the brain’s preference for distinct dynamic connectivity states
Authors: Bonkhoff Anna K , Espinoza Flor A , Gazula Harshvardhan , Vergara Victor M , Hensel Lukas , Michely Jochen , Paul Theresa , Rehme Anne K , Volz Lukas J , Fink Gereon R , Calhoun Vince D , Grefkes Christian
Published: March 2020

Acute ischaemic stroke disturbs healthy brain organization, prompting subsequent plasticity and reorganization to compensate for the loss of specialized neural tissue and function. Static resting state functional MRI studies have already furthered our understanding of cerebral reorganization by estimating stroke-induced changes in network connectivity aggregated over the duration of several minutes. In this study, we used dynamic resting state functional MRI analyses to increase temporal resolution to seconds and explore transient configurations of motor network connectivity in acute stroke. To this end, we collected resting state functional MRI data of 31 patients with acute ischaemic stroke and 17 age-matched healthy control subjects. Stroke patients presented with moderate to severe hand motor deficits. By estimating dynamic functional connectivity within a sliding window framework, we identified three distinct connectivity configurations of motor-related networks. Motor networks were organized into three regional domains, i.e. a cortical, subcortical and cerebellar domain. The dynamic connectivity patterns of stroke patients diverged from those of healthy controls depending on the severity of the initial motor impairment. Moderately affected patients (n = 18) spent significantly more time in a weakly connected configuration that was characterized by low levels of connectivity, both locally as well as between distant regions. In contrast, severely affected patients (n = 13) showed a significant preference for transitions into a spatially segregated connectivity configuration. This configuration featured particularly high levels of local connectivity within the three regional domains as well as anti-correlated connectivity between distant networks across domains. A third connectivity configuration represented an intermediate connectivity pattern compared to the preceding two, and predominantly encompassed decreased interhemispheric connectivity between cortical motor networks independent of individual deficit severity. Alterations within this third configuration thus closely resembled previously reported ones originating from static resting state functional MRI studies post-stroke. In summary, acute ischaemic stroke not only prompted changes in connectivity between distinct networks, but it also caused characteristic changes in temporal properties of large-scale network interactions depending on the severity of the individual deficit. These findings offer new vistas on the dynamic neural mechanisms underlying acute neurological symptoms, cortical reorganization and treatment effects in stroke patients.
Prefrontal Multielectrode Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modulates Performance and Neural Activity Serving Visuospatial Processing
Authors: Arif Yasra , Spooner Rachel K , Wiesman Alex I , Proskovec Amy L , Rezich Michael T , Heinrichs-Graham Elizabeth , Wilson Tony W
Published: March 2020

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is known to play a critical role in visuospatial attention and processing, but the relative contribution of the left versus right DLPFC remains poorly understood. We applied multielectrode transcranial direct-current stimulation (ME-tDCS) to the left and right DLPFC to investigate its net impact on behavioral performance and population-level neural activity. The primary hypothesis was that significant laterality effects would be observed in regard to behavior and neural oscillations. Twenty-five healthy adults underwent three visits (left, right, and sham ME-tDCS). Following stimulation, participants completed a visuospatial processing task during magnetoencephalography (MEG). Statistically significant oscillatory events were imaged, and time series were then extracted from the peak voxels of each response. Behavioral findings indicated differences in reaction time and accuracy, with left DLPFC stimulation being associated with slower responses and decreased accuracy compared to right stimulation. Left DLPFC stimulation was also associated with increases in spontaneous theta and decreases in gamma within occipital cortices relative to both right and sham stimulation, while connectivity among DLPFC and visual cortices was generally increased contralateral to stimulation. These data suggest spectrally specific modulation of spontaneous cortical activity at the network-level by ME-tDCS, with distinct outcomes based on the laterality of stimulation.
Clinical Manifestations and Outcomes in Immunocompetent and Immunocompromised Patients With Blastomycosis
Authors: McBride Joseph A , Sterkel Alana K , Matkovic Eduard , Broman Aimee T , Gibbons-Burgener Suzanne N , Gauthier Gregory M
Published: March 2020

Background

Blastomyces is a dimorphic fungus that infects persons with or without underlying immunocompromise. To date, no study has compared the clinical features and outcomes of blastomycosis between immunocompromised and immunocompetent persons.

Methods

A retrospective study of adult patients with proven blastomycosis from 2004–2016 was conducted at the University of Wisconsin. Epidemiology, clinical features, and outcomes were analyzed among solid-organ transplantation (SOT) recipients, persons with non-SOT immunocompromise (non-SOT IC), and persons with no immunocompromise (NIC).

Results

A total of 106 cases met the inclusion criteria including 74 NIC, 19 SOT, and 13 non-SOT IC (malignancy, HIV/AIDS, idiopathic CD4+ lymphopenia). The majority of patients (61.3%) had at least 1 epidemiologic risk factor for acquisition of Blastomyces. Pneumonia was the most common manifestation in all groups; however, immunocompromised patients had higher rates of acute pulmonary disease (P = .03), more severe infection (P = .007), respiratory failure (P = .010), and increased mortality (P = .02). Receipt of SOT primarily accounted for increased severity, respiratory failure, and mortality in immunosuppressed patients. SOT recipients had an 18-fold higher annual incidence of blastomycosis than the general population. The rate of disseminated blastomycosis was similar among NIC, SOT, and non-SOT IC. Relapse rates were low (5.3–7.7%).

Conclusions

Immunosuppression had implications regarding the acuity, severity, and respiratory failure. The rate of dissemination was similar across the immunologic spectrum, which is in sharp contrast to other endemic fungi. This suggests that pathogen-related factors have a greater influence on dissemination for blastomycosis than immune defense.
A density-based statistical analysis of graph clustering algorithm performance
Authors: Miasnikof Pierre , Shestopaloff Alexander Y , Bonner Anthony J , Lawryshyn Yuri , Pardalos Panos M
Published: March 2020

We introduce graph clustering quality measures based on comparisons of global, intra- and inter-cluster densities, an accompanying statistical significance test and a step-by-step routine for clustering quality assessment. Our work is centred on the idea that well-clustered graphs will display a mean intra-cluster density that is higher than global density and mean inter-cluster density. We do not rely on any generative model for the null model graph. Our measures are shown to meet the axioms of a good clustering quality function. They have an intuitive graph-theoretic interpretation, a formal statistical interpretation and can be tested for significance. Empirical tests also show they are more responsive to graph structure, less likely to breakdown during numerical implementation and less sensitive to uncertainty in connectivity than the commonly used measures.
Evaluation of the Optimal Position for Vedolizumab in the Japanese Treatment Paradigm for Ulcerative Colitis Using Markov Modeling
Authors: Uda Akihito , Eto Yuki , Li Yuxin , Matsuda Hiroyuki , Demiya Sven , Watanabe Tomoyuki , Ota Mihoko , Iwakiri Ryuichi , Igarashi Ataru
Published: March 2020

Background

This analysis assessed the optimal position of vedolizumab for Japanese patients with ulcerative colitis.

Methods

A Markov model was used to evaluate the performance of 4 treatment algorithms of vedolizumab position: after azathioprine (Algorithm 1); after tacrolimus/cytapheresis (Algorithm 2); after a first anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) (Algorithm 3); and after a second anti-TNFα before colectomy (Algorithm 4).

Results

Algorithm 1 was the dominant strategy, with an incremental benefit over the other algorithms of 0.028–0.031 quality-adjusted life years.

Conclusions

This simulation predicts that introducing vedolizumab immediately after a thiopurine and before other therapies will provide most benefit.
Extraction of chemical–protein interactions from the literature using neural networks and narrow instance representation
Authors: Antunes Rui , Matos Sérgio
Published: March 2020

The scientific literature contains large amounts of information on genes, proteins, chemicals and their interactions. Extraction and integration of this information in curated knowledge bases help researchers support their experimental results, leading to new hypotheses and discoveries. This is especially relevant for precision medicine, which aims to understand the individual variability across patient groups in order to select the most appropriate treatments. Methods for improved retrieval and automatic relation extraction from biomedical literature are therefore required for collecting structured information from the growing number of published works. In this paper, we follow a deep learning approach for extracting mentions of chemical–protein interactions from biomedical articles, based on various enhancements over our participation in the BioCreative VI CHEMPROT task. A significant aspect of our best method is the use of a simple deep learning model together with a very narrow representation of the relation instances, using only up to 10 words from the shortest dependency path and the respective dependency edges. Bidirectional long short-term memory recurrent networks or convolutional neural networks are used to build the deep learning models. We report the results of several experiments and show that our best model is competitive with more complex sentence representations or network structures, achieving an F1-score of 0.6306 on the test set. The source code of our work, along with detailed statistics, is publicly available.
Recombination Rate Variation and Infrequent Sex Influence Genetic Diversity in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Authors: Hasan Ahmed R , Ness Rob W
Published: March 2020

Recombination confers a major evolutionary advantage by breaking up linkage disequilibrium between harmful and beneficial mutations, thereby facilitating selection. However, in species that are only periodically sexual, such as many microbial eukaryotes, the realized rate of recombination is also affected by the frequency of sex, meaning that infrequent sex can increase the effects of selection at linked sites despite high recombination rates. Despite this, the rate of sex of most facultatively sexual species is unknown. Here, we use genomewide patterns of linkage disequilibrium to infer fine-scale recombination rate variation in the genome of the facultatively sexual green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We observe recombination rate variation of up to two orders of magnitude and find evidence of recombination hotspots across the genome. Recombination rate is highest flanking genes, consistent with trends observed in other nonmammalian organisms, though intergenic recombination rates vary by intergenic tract length. We also find a positive relationship between nucleotide diversity and physical recombination rate, suggesting a widespread influence of selection at linked sites in the genome. Finally, we use estimates of the effective rate of recombination to calculate the rate of sex that occurs in natural populations, estimating a sexual cycle roughly every 840 generations. We argue that the relatively infrequent rate of sex and large effective population size creates a population genetic environment that increases the influence of selection on linked sites across the genome.
Effect of fluid saturation on the shear modulus of artificial clay-rich tight sandstones
Authors: Li Dongqing , Wei Jianxin , Di Bangrang , Shuai Da , Tian Lihui , Ding Pinbo
Published: March 2020

For many geophysical problems it is important to understand the influence of clay on the elastic behaviour of the rocks. However, this is difficult to measure because the complex petrophysical characteristics of tight sandstones make it challenging to control the clay parameters in natural samples. In this study, we synthesized nine tight sandstones with different clay types and content. Ultrasonic measurements and theoretical simulations were then used to analyse the influence of clay on the elastic modulus of brine saturated samples. We found that the shear modulus of smectite-rich samples decreased drastically after saturation, while the decrease observed in kaolinite-rich samples was relatively low. We propose that the reduction in surface energy caused by surface-particle clay hydration is a common mechanism that leads to shear softening in both kaolinite-rich and smectite-rich samples. However, the contact deformation caused by cation hydration of smectite is the primary mechanism leading to greater shear softening of tight sandstones containing smectite. Although the differential Kuster–Toksöz model is based on idealized pore shapes, a dual-porosity scheme can be used to explain and simulate the shear softening of artificial clay-rich tight sandstones.
The role of pre-existing weak zones in the formation of the Himalaya and Tibetan plateau: 3-D thermomechanical modelling
Authors: Chen Lin , Liu Lijun , Capitanio Fabio A , Gerya Taras V , Li Yang
Published: March 2020

The Tibetan crust is sliced by several east–west trending suture zones. The role of these suture zones in the evolution of the Himalayan range and Tibetan plateau remains unclear. Here we use 3-D thermomechanical simulations to investigate the role of pre-existing weak zones within the Asian Plate in the formation of orogen and plateau growth during continental collision. Our results show that partitioning of deformation along the convergent margin leads to scraping off of crustal material into an orogenic wedge above the margin and crustal thickening in the retro-continent, eventually forming a large orogenic plateau in front of the indenter. Pre-existing weak zone(s) within the retro-continent is reactivated at the early stage of convergence, and facilitates the northward propagation of strain and widening of the orogenic plateau. The northernmost weak zone sets the northern limit of the Tibetan plateau. Our models also show rheological weakening of the congested buoyant crust within the collisional zone drives wedge-type exhumation of deeply buried crust at the southern flank of the plateau, which may explain the formation of the Greater Himalayan Sequence.
Utilization of traditional medicine in primary health care in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review
Authors: Kim Jae Kyoun , Kim Kyeong Han , Shin Yong Cheol , Jang Bo-Hyoung , Ko Seong-Gyu
Published: March 2020

This paper reports the findings from the first systematic review of the utilization of traditional medicine (TM) in primary health care (PHC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). PHC is an important component of health care and essential for achieving universal health coverage (UHC). For countries where there is a gap in PHC, TM plays a vital role. It is widely used and has the potential to increase the coverage of PHC and UHC. Hence in situations where TM is recognized in a considerable magnitude, there are scarce evidence and minimal regulation on it and TM practitioners (TMPs). This study aims to identify the current situation in the utilization of TM in PHC or UHC in LMICs. A systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative and quantitative studies have been conducted. A total of 56 articles met the criteria and were included in the review. In all, 14 analytic themes have been developed including the current use of TM in PHC, higher accessibility of TM, medical pluralism, national health system, national health policy and national health insurance to include TM, including TMPs in the referral system, utilizing TMPs as community health workers, the needs of scientific research on TM and the need for training both TMPs and conventional medical staffs for better collaboration. The study concluded that it is necessary to further focus on TM in the macro level on strengthening the referral system by including TM to establish a comprehensive service delivery network under UHC and in the micro level to focus on training the TMPs and conventional medicine health workers on both areas to attain more in-depth understanding of each other, which can lead to better collaboration and quality patient care.
Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated From Korean Kimchi Activate the Vitamin D Receptor–autophagy Signaling Pathways
Authors: Lu Rong , Shang Mei , Zhang Yong-Guo , Jiao Yang , Xia Yinglin , Garrett Shari , Bakke Danika , Bäuerl Christine , Martinez Gaspar Perez , Kim Cheol-Hyun , Kang Sang-Moo , Sun Jun
Published: March 2020

Background

Probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been used in the anti-inflammation and anti-infection process of various diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Vitamin D receptor (VDR) plays an essential role in pathogenesis of IBD and infectious diseases. Previous studies have demonstrated that the human VDR gene is a key host factor to shape gut microbiome. Furthermore, intestinal epithelial VDR conditional knockout (VDRΔIEC) leads to dysbiosis. Low expressions of VDR is associated with impaired autophagy, accompanied by a reduction of ATG16L1 and LC3B. The purpose of this study is to investigate probiotic effects and mechanism in modulating the VDR-autophagy pathways.

Methods

Five LAB strains were isolated from Korean kimchi. Conditional medium (CM) from these strains was used to treat a human cell line HCT116 or intestinal organoids to measure the expression of VDR and autophagy. Mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells with or without VDR were used to investigate the dependence on the VDR signaling. To test the role of LAB in anti-inflammation, VDR+/+ organoids were treated with 121-CM before infection with Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis. In vivo, the role of LAB in regulating VDR-autophagy signaling was examined using LAB 121-CM orally administrated to VDRLoxp and VDRΔIEC mice.

Results

The LAB-CM-treated groups showed higher mRNA expression of VDR and its target genes cathelicidin compared with the control group. LAB treatment also enhanced expressions of Beclin-1 and ATG16L1 and changed the ratio of LC3B I and II, indicating the activation of autophagic responses. Furthermore, 121-CM treatment before Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis infection dramatically increased VDR and ATG16L1 and inhibited the inflammation. Administration of 121-CM to VDRLoxp and VDRΔIEC mice for 12 and 24 hours resulted in an increase of VDR and LC3B II:I ratio. Furthermore, we identified that probiotic proteins P40 and P75 in the LAB-CM contributed to the anti-inflammatory function by increasing VDR.

Conclusions

Probiotic LAB exert anti-inflammation activity and induces autophagy. These effects depend on the VDR expression. Our data highlight the beneficial effects of these 5 LAB strains isolated from food in anti-infection and anti-inflammation.
Arterioplasty using gastroepiploic artery patch for common femoral artery occlusive disease
Authors: Nakai Shingo , Hamasaki Azumi , Uchida Tetsuro , Sadahiro Mitsuaki
Published: March 2020

We present the first case of arterioplasty of the common femoral artery performed using a gastroepiploic artery (GEA) patch for a 59-year-old man on haemodialysis. He was incidentally diagnosed with coronary artery disease with left main trunk stenosis and double-vessel disease upon screening examination for peripheral artery disease. Preoperative computed tomography revealed a severely narrowed right common femoral artery. We planned a simultaneous off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) involving the bilateral internal thoracic arteries and GEA, and endarterectomy of the right common femoral artery. Because the remnant GEA was sufficiently long and its diameter was sufficiently large, we used a GEA patch during arterioplasty to preserve the saphenous vein. This method is limited to simultaneous surgery with CABG using GEA but is a useful alternative for preserving the saphenous vein.
Sound and Vibration as Research Variables in Terrestrial Vertebrate Models
Authors: Reynolds Randall , Garner Angela , Norton John
Published: March 2020

Sound and vibration have been shown to alter animal behavior and induce physiological changes as well as to cause effects at the cellular and molecular level. For these reasons, both environmental factors have a considerable potential to alter research outcomes when the outcome of the study is dependent on the animal existing in a normal or predictable biological state. Determining the specific levels of sound or vibration that will alter research is complex, as species will respond to different frequencies and have varying frequencies where they are most sensitive. In consideration of the potential of these factors to alter research, a thorough review of the literature and the conditions that likely exist in the research facility should occur specific to each research study. This review will summarize the fundamental physical properties of sound and vibration in relation to deriving maximal level standards, consider the sources of exposure, review the effects on animals, and discuss means by which the adverse effects of these factors can be mitigated.
Complex Multiplication in Twistor Spaces
Authors: Huybrechts D
Published: March 2020

Despite the transcendental nature of the twistor construction, the algebraic fibres of the twistor space of a K3 surface share certain arithmetic properties. We prove that for a polarised K3 surface with complex multiplication, all algebraic fibres of its twistor space away from the equator have complex multiplication as well.
Hospital Readmissions After Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Hospitalization
Authors: Dobrzynski David M , Ndi Danielle N , Zhu Yuwei , Markus Tiffanie , Schaffner William , Talbot H Keipp
Published: March 2020

Background

Influenza infection causes substantial morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about hospital readmissions after an influenza hospitalization. The aim of our study was to characterize frequency of hospital readmissions among patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study using Tennessee Emerging Infections Program Influenza Surveillance data from 2006 to 2016 and the concurrent Tennessee Hospital Discharge Data System. We analyzed demographic characteristics and outcomes to better understand frequency and factors associated with hospital readmissions.

Results

Of the 2897 patients with a laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalization, 409 (14%) and 1364 (47%) had at least 1 hospital readmission within 30 days and 1 year of the influenza hospitalization, respectively. Multiple readmissions occurred in 739 patients (54%). The readmission group was older, female predominant, and had more comorbidities than patients not hospitalized. Pneumonia, acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/asthma exacerbation, septicemia, acute respiratory failure, and acute renal failure were the most common causes for readmission at 30 days. Underlying cardiovascular disease, lung disease, kidney disease, diabetes, immunosuppression, and liver disease were associated with increased risk of readmission during the subsequent year.

Conclusions

After an admission with laboratory-confirmed influenza, there is a high likelihood of readmission within 30 days and 1 year adding to the morbidity of influenza.
Vicious cycle of chronic disease and poverty: a qualitative study in present day Nepal
Authors: Sapkota Taranath , Houkes Inge , Bosma Hans
Published: March 2020

Background

In countries with out-of-pocket (OOP) payment systems for healthcare, the combination of chronic disease and poverty can have damaging socio-economic and health impacts for affected households. Using a life course perspective, this article aims to explore how Nepalese people struggle with, experience and adapt to chronic disease, poverty and their consequences, and how chronic diseases and poverty reinforce each other.

Methods

In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 chronically ill Nepalese people with one or more chronic diseases and/or their caretakers. Data were transcribed and analysed thematically.

Results

The adaptation strategies for the consequences of the huge OOP costs make patients and their households financially disadvantaged. The impoverishment has major social impacts and often persists across generations. The situation forces people to choose between avoiding medical treatment or further impoverishing their families.

Conclusions

This study explored how chronically ill Nepalese people struggle with socio-economic and health consequences of OOP payments for their disease. The article sheds light on circumstances and adaptation strategies that obstruct every attempt to escape from the vicious cycle of the poverty trap. Hence poverty and health adversities accumulate across generations and contribute to greater health expenditures, worse health outcomes and severely compromised social life.
Civil Conflict and Agenda-Setting Speed in the United Nations Security Council
Authors: Binder Martin , Golub Jonathan
Published: March 2020

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) can respond to a civil conflict only if that conflict first enters the Council's agenda. Some conflicts reach the Council's agenda within days after they start, others after years (or even decades), and some never make it. So far, only a few studies have looked at the crucial UNSC agenda-setting stage, and none have examined agenda-setting speed. To fill this important gap, we develop and test a novel theoretical framework that combines insights from realist and constructivist theory with lessons from institutionalist theory and bargaining theory. Applying survival analysis to an original dataset, we show that the parochial interests of the permanent members (P-5) matter, but they do not determine the Council's agenda-setting speed. Rather, P-5 interests are constrained by normative considerations and concerns for the Council's organizational mission arising from the severity of a conflict (in terms of spillover effects and civilian casualties); by the interests of the widely ignored elected members (E-10); and by the degree of preference heterogeneity among both the P-5 and the E-10. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of how the United Nations (UN) works, and they have implications for the UN's legitimacy.
Accountability to Contain Corruption in Procurement Tenders
Authors: Caillaud Bernard , Lambert-Mogiliansky Ariane
Published: March 2020

This article addresses the issue of favoritism at the design stage of a complex procurement auction. A community of citizens procures a project but lacks the ability to translate its preferences into operational technical specifications. This task is delegated to a public officer who may collude with one of the firms in exchange of a bribe. We investigate a simple accountability mechanism that requires justifying one aspect of the technical decision determined by the alerts of competitors (alert-based accountability [ABA]). We find that relying on competitors enables the community to deter favoritism significantly more easily than random challenges. The penalty needed to fully deter corruption is independent of the complexity of the project. It depends on the degree of differentiation within the industry. In an illustrative example, we study the patterns of favoritism when corruption occurs under ABA and compare them with the patterns in the random challenge mechanism. (JEL D73, D82, H57).
Rare earth elements induce cytoskeleton-dependent and PI4P-associated rearrangement of SYT1/SYT5 endoplasmic reticulum–plasma membrane contact site complexes in Arabidopsis
Authors: Lee EunKyoung , Santana Brenda Vila Nova , Samuels Elizabeth , Benitez-Fuente Francisco , Corsi Erica , Botella Miguel A , Perez-Sancho Jessica , Vanneste Steffen , Friml Jiří , Macho Alberto , Azevedo Aristea Alves , Rosado Abel
Published: March 2020

In plant cells, environmental stressors promote changes in connectivity between the cortical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the plasma membrane (PM). Although this process is tightly regulated in space and time, the molecular signals and structural components mediating these changes in interorganelle communication are only starting to be characterized. In this report, we confirm the presence of a putative tethering complex containing the synaptotagmins 1 and 5 (SYT1 and SYT5) and the Ca2+- and lipid-binding protein 1 (CLB1/SYT7). This complex is enriched at ER–PM contact sites (EPCSs), has slow responses to changes in extracellular Ca2+, and displays severe cytoskeleton-dependent rearrangements in response to the trivalent lanthanum (La3+) and gadolinium (Gd3+) rare earth elements (REEs). Although REEs are generally used as non-selective cation channel blockers at the PM, here we show that the slow internalization of REEs into the cytosol underlies the activation of the Ca2+/calmodulin intracellular signaling, the accumulation of phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI4P) at the PM, and the cytoskeleton-dependent rearrangement of the SYT1/SYT5 EPCS complexes. We propose that the observed EPCS rearrangements act as a slow adaptive response to sustained stress conditions, and that this process involves the accumulation of stress-specific phosphoinositide species at the PM.
Giant star-forming clumps?
Authors: Ivison R J , Richard J , Biggs A D , Zwaan M A , Falgarone E , Arumugam V , van der Werf P P , Rujopakarn W
Published: March 2020

With the spatial resolution of the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA), dusty galaxies in the distant Universe typically appear as single, compact blobs of dust emission, with a median half-light radius, ≈1 kpc. Occasionally, strong gravitational lensing by foreground galaxies or galaxy clusters has probed spatial scales 1–2 orders of magnitude smaller, often revealing late-stage mergers, sometimes with tantalizing hints of sub-structure. One lensed galaxy in particular, the Cosmic Eyelash at z = 2.3, has been cited extensively as an example of where the interstellar medium exhibits obvious, pronounced clumps, on a spatial scale of ≈100 pc. Seven orders of magnitude more luminous than giant molecular clouds in the local Universe, these features are presented as circumstantial evidence that the blue clumps observed in many z ∼ 2–3 galaxies are important sites of ongoing star formation, with significant masses of gas and stars. Here, we present data from ALMA which reveal that the dust continuum of the Cosmic Eyelash is in fact smooth and can be reproduced using two Sérsic profiles with effective radii, 1.2 and 4.4 kpc, with no evidence of significant star-forming clumps down to a spatial scale of ≈80 pc and a star formation rate of <3 M⊙ yr−1.
Diversity and evolution of bacterial bioluminescence genes in the global ocean
Authors: Vannier Thomas , Hingamp Pascal , Turrel Floriane , Tanet Lisa , Lescot Magali , Timsit Youri
Published: March 2020

Although bioluminescent bacteria are the most abundant and widely distributed of all light-emitting organisms, the biological role and evolutionary history of bacterial luminescence are still shrouded in mystery. Bioluminescence has so far been observed in the genomes of three families of Gammaproteobacteria in the form of canonical lux operons that adopt the CDAB(F)E(G) gene order. LuxA and luxB encode the two subunits of bacterial luciferase responsible for light-emission. Our deep exploration of public marine environmental databases considerably expands this view by providing a catalog of new lux homolog sequences, including 401 previously unknown luciferase-related genes. It also reveals a broader diversity of the lux operon organization, which we observed in previously undescribed configurations such as CEDA, CAED and AxxCE. This expanded operon diversity provides clues for deciphering lux operon evolution and propagation within the bacterial domain. Leveraging quantitative tracking of marine bacterial genes afforded by planetary scale metagenomic sampling, our study also reveals that the novel lux genes and operons described herein are more abundant in the global ocean than the canonical CDAB(F)E(G) operon.
A3-A3 Bypass for Giant Anterior Cerebral Artery Aneurysm: 2-Dimensional Operative Video
Authors: Hendricks Benjamin K , Spetzler Robert F
Published: March 2020

Large fusiform anterior cerebral artery aneurysms often require revascularization to allow for the treatment of the aneurysm and preservation of distal perfusion. The A3-A3 side-to-side anastomosis maintains ipsilateral distal perfusion. The inflow to the fusiform segment can then be clip occluded to treat the diseased vessel segment. This procedure is illustrated by the case in this video. The patient had a large right anterior cerebral artery fusiform aneurysm. An anterior interhemispheric craniotomy with the right side down was utilized for the approach. Postprocedural angiography demonstrated occlusion of the aneurysmal segment and patent distal perfusion within the ipsilateral distal segment. The patient gave informed consent for surgery and video recording. Institutional review board approval was deemed unnecessary. Used with permission from Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona.
Annual parallax measurement of the Mira variable star BX Camelopardalis with VERA
Authors: Matsuno Masako , Nakagawa Akiharu , Morita Atsushi , Kurayama Tomoharu , Omodaka Toshihiro , Nagayama Takumi , Honma Mareki , Shibata Katsunori M , Ueno Yuji , Jike Takaaki , Tamura Yoshiaki
Published: March 2020

We report the results of astrometric VLBI observations toward the Mira variable star BX Cam using the VERA VLBI array. The observation was performed from 2012 February to 2014 November. The parallax obtained is 1.73 ± 0.03 mas corresponding to a distance of 0.58 ± 0.01 kpc. The parallax of this source was reported in Gaia DR2 as 4.13 ± 0.25 mas, and there is a 240% difference between these two measurements. Astrometric results from our VLBI observations show that we exactly traced the angular motions of the seven maser spots in BX Cam. We calculated the stellar luminosities using both parallaxes, and obtained luminosities of $L_{\ast }^{\mathrm{VERA}} = 4950\pm 170\, L_{\odot }$ and $L_{\ast }^{\mathrm{Gaia}} = 870\pm 110\, L_{\odot }$. These deduced luminosities also support the validity of the parallax that we determined with VERA. Evaluating the two parallaxes, we conclude that the parallax of 1.73 ± 0.03 mas from the VERA observations is correct for BX Cam. We obtained the systemic motion of BX Cam as (μαcos δsys, ${\mu }_{\delta }^{\mathrm{sys}}$) = (13.48 ± 0.14, −34.30 ± 0.18) mas yr−1. The total of 73 H2O maser spots detected from our VLBI observations shows a spatial distribution of 30 au × 80 au, with a strong elongation along the north–south direction. They show outflows with a three-dimensional velocity of 14.79 ± 1.40 km s−1. From a comparison between the time variations of the V-band magnitudes and the H2O masers, we found that the variation of the H2O masers is relevant to that seen in the V band even though the H2O masers do not recover their maximum flux in each cycle.
Site-specific mortality in native joint septic arthritis: a national population study
Authors: Huang Yi-Ching , Ho Chung-Han , Lin Yeong-Jang , Chen Hung-Jui , Liu Su-Yen , Wang Chia-Ling , Lin Cheng-Heng , Wang Jhi-Joung , Chien Chih-Chiang
Published: March 2020

Objective

This national cohort study investigated the incidence, site-specific mortality and prognostic factors of native septic arthritis (SA).

Methods

Tapping Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified inpatients with newly diagnosed SA between 1998 and 2012. They were categorized by site of infection and followed to calculate 30-day, 90-day and 1-year mortality. Predictors of mortality were calculated using Cox models.

Results

A total of 31 491 patients were identified as having SA, the most common site of infection being the knee (50.1%), followed by the hip (14.4%), other sites (26.8%), the shoulder (5.5%) and multiple sites (1.2%). Knee joint involvement was the most common site for all subgroups. Incidence increased from 9.8/105 in 1998 to 13.3/105 in 2012. The 30-day, 90-day and 1-year mortality rates were 4.3, 8.6 and 16.4% respectively. Predictors for mortality were hip infection, shoulder infection, multiple-site infection, being male, age ≥65 years old and comorbidities. We derived a mortality scoring model over age/SA site/comorbidity, and age ≥65 years old had the greatest risk contribution to mortality. No matter whether 1-month, 3-month or 1-year mortality was being considered, patients with the higher risk scores had the higher mortality rates (P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

SA is an emerging infectious disease with a rising incidence, long duration of hospital stay and high mortality rate. The most common affected joint was knee for all subgroups. Patients aged ≥65 years old had a high SA incidence and the greatest risk contribution.
The Duration Puzzle in Life-Cycle Investment*
Authors: van Bilsen Servaas , Boelaars Ilja A , Bovenberg A. Lans
Published: March 2020

By analyzing the portfolio allocations of target date funds (TDFs), we document that the observed durations of TDF portfolios are inconsistent with the durations predicted by classical portfolio theory. We call this stylized fact the duration puzzle. We investigate to what extent several extensions of classical portfolio theory can explain the duration puzzle. More specifically, we consider the impact of human capital, inflation risk, and portfolio restrictions on the duration of the optimal portfolio. We find that it is difficult to explain the duration puzzle, especially for individuals aged between 35 and 65 years.
A randomized controlled trial of CBT-I and PAP for obstructive sleep apnea and comorbid insomnia: main outcomes from the MATRICS study
Authors: Ong Jason C , Crawford Megan R , Dawson Spencer C , Fogg Louis F , Turner Arlener D , Wyatt James K , Crisostomo Maria I , Chhangani Bantu S , Kushida Clete A , Edinger Jack D , Abbott Sabra M , Malkani Roneil G , Attarian Hrayr P , Zee Phyllis C
Published: March 2020

Study Objectives

To investigate treatment models using cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and positive airway pressure (PAP) for people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and comorbid insomnia.

Methods

121 adults with OSA and comorbid insomnia were randomized to receive CBT-I followed by PAP, CBT-I concurrent with PAP, or PAP only. PAP was delivered following standard clinical procedures for in-lab titration and home setup and CBT-I was delivered in four individual sessions. The primary outcome measure was PAP adherence across the first 90 days, with regular PAP use (≥4 h on ≥70% of nights during a 30-day period) serving as the clinical endpoint. The secondary outcome measures were the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) with good sleeper (PSQI <5), remission (ISI <8), and response (ISI reduction from baseline >7) serving as the clinical endpoints.

Results

No significant differences were found between the concomitant treatment arms and PAP only on PAP adherence measures, including the percentage of participants who met the clinical endpoint. Compared to PAP alone, the concomitant treatment arms reported a significantly greater reduction from baseline on the ISI (p = .0009) and had a greater percentage of participants who were good sleepers (p = .044) and remitters (p = .008). No significant differences were found between the sequential and concurrent treatment models on any outcome measure.

Conclusions

The findings from this study indicate that combining CBT-I with PAP is superior to PAP alone on insomnia outcomes but does not significantly improve adherence to PAP.
Bayesian Inference of Ancestral Host–Parasite Interactions under a Phylogenetic Model of Host Repertoire Evolution
Authors: Braga Mariana P , Landis Michael J , Nylin Sören , Janz Niklas , Ronquist Fredrik
Published: March 2020

Intimate ecological interactions, such as those between parasites and their hosts, may persist over long time spans, coupling the evolutionary histories of the lineages involved. Most methods that reconstruct the coevolutionary history of such interactions make the simplifying assumption that parasites have a single host. Many methods also focus on congruence between host and parasite phylogenies, using cospeciation as the null model. However, there is an increasing body of evidence suggesting that the host ranges of parasites are more complex: that host ranges often include more than one host and evolve via gains and losses of hosts rather than through cospeciation alone. Here, we develop a Bayesian approach for inferring coevolutionary history based on a model accommodating these complexities. Specifically, a parasite is assumed to have a host repertoire, which includes both potential hosts and one or more actual hosts. Over time, potential hosts can be added or lost, and potential hosts can develop into actual hosts or vice versa. Thus, host colonization is modeled as a two-step process that may potentially be influenced by host relatedness. We first explore the statistical behavior of our model by simulating evolution of host–parasite interactions under a range of parameter values. We then use our approach, implemented in the program RevBayes, to infer the coevolutionary history between 34 Nymphalini butterfly species and 25 angiosperm families. Our analysis suggests that host relatedness among angiosperm families influences how easily Nymphalini lineages gain new hosts. [Ancestral hosts; coevolution; herbivorous insects; probabilistic modeling.]
Costs and benefits of gas inside wood and its relationship with anatomical traits: a contrast between trees and lianas
Authors: Souza Dias Arildo , Oliveira Rafael Silva , Martins Fernando Roberto
Published: March 2020

Gas inside wood plays an important role in plant functioning, but there has been no study examining the adaptive nature of gas inside wood across plants differing in biomechanical demands. Using a comparative approach, we measured gas volumetric content, xylem’s anatomical traits and wood density of 15 tree and 16 liana species, to test whether gas content varies between these plant types strongly differing in their biomechanical demands. We asked (i) whether trees and lianas differ in gas content and (ii) how anatomical traits and wood density are related to gas content. Lianas had significantly less gas content in their branches compared with tree species. In tree species, gas content scaled positively with fiber, vessel and xylem cross-sectional area and fiber and vessel diameter, and negatively with dry-mass density. When pooling trees and lianas together, fiber cross-sectional area was the strongest predictor of gas content, with higher xylem cross-sectional area of fiber associated with higher gas content. In addition, we showed, through a simple analytical model, that gas inside wood increases the minimum branch diameter needed to prevent rupture, and this effect was stronger on trees compared with lianas. Our results support the view that gas inside wood plays an important role in the evolution of biomechanical functioning in different plant forms. Gas inside wood may also play an important role in physiological activities such as water transport, storage, photosynthesis and respiration, but it is still unknown whether these roles are or are not secondary to the mechanical support.
Infestation measured by Aedes aegypti larval surveys as an indication of future dengue epidemics: an evaluation for Brazil
Authors: Enslen Andrew W , Lima Neto Antonio S , Castro Marcia C
Published: March 2020

Background

Aedes aegypti rapid larval surveys are mandatory in Brazil. Here, we retrospectively examined whether the house index estimated by larval surveys served as a useful tool in anticipating epidemics within Brazilian municipalities from 2009–2015.

Methods

We used correlation indices and classification analysis stratified by year, region, population size and time after the national larval survey.

Results

We found no association between the house index and the proportion of municipalities experiencing an epidemic. The sensitivity of a high score house index in predicting an epidemic was 7.20% (95% CI 6.22 to 8.33%) for all years combined. The positive predictive value of a high score house index to predict a ‘true epidemic’ was 38.96%, lower than the negative predictive values of a low score house index for predicting ‘no epidemic’ (56.96%). The highest overall sensitivity was observed in the North region (20.15%; 95% CI 17.14 to 23.53%). The sensitivity of a high score house index demonstrated a monotonic decrease with increasing time from larval collection.

Conclusions

Larval surveys are surveillance tools with the potential to risk-stratify and guide dengue control programs towards judicious resource allocation. However, the national rapid larval survey performed in Brazil, in its present form, consistently underpredicts dengue epidemics.
Sexual dimorphism in the meiotic requirement for PRDM9: a mammalian evolutionary safeguard
Authors: Powers Natalie R , Dumont Beth L , Emori Chihiro , Lawal Raman Akinyanju , Brunton Catherine , Paigen Ken , Handel Mary Ann , Bolcun-Filas Ewelina , Petkov Petko M , Bhattacharyya Tanmoy
Published: March 2020

In many mammals, genomic sites for recombination are determined by histone methyltransferase PRMD9. Mice lacking PRDM9 are infertile, but instances of fertility or semi-fertility in the absence of PRDM9 have been reported in mice, canines and a human female. Such findings raise the question of how the loss of PRDM9 is circumvented to maintain reproductive fitness. We show that genetic background and sex-specific modifiers can obviate the requirement for PRDM9 in mice. Specifically, the meiotic DNA damage checkpoint protein CHK2 acts as a modifier allowing female-specific fertility in the absence of PRDM9. We also report that in the absence of PRDM9, a PRDM9-independent recombination system is compatible with female meiosis and fertility, suggesting sex-specific regulation of meiotic recombination, a finding with implications for speciation.

One Sentence Summary

Sex-specific modulation of a meiotic DNA damage checkpoint limits the requirement for PRDM9 in mammalian fertility.
Rapid Fractionation and Characterisation of Alpha-Synuclein Oligomers in Solution
Authors: Arter William E. , Xu Catherine K. , Castellana-Cruz Marta , Herling Therese W. , Krainer Georg , Saar Kadi L. , Kumita Janet R. , Dobson Christopher M. , Knowles Tuomas P. J.
Published: March 2020

Oligomeric intermediates are implicated as neurotoxins in the pathogenesis of protein mis-folding diseases. Structural, biophysical and biochemical characterisation of these species is challenging due to their heterogeneous and transient nature, and their typically low abun-dance. Here, we show that microfluidic free-flow electrophoresis is capable of separating heterogeneous oligomer mixtures on a timescale of seconds, at least two orders of magnitude faster than conventional techniques. This enables analysis of oligomer structural heterogeneity, zeta-potential and immunochemistry with minimal sample perturbation under physiologically-relevant conditions.