bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Validating Two Approaches to Measuring Anti-Intellectual Attitude Endorsement in Public-Opinion Surveys
Authors: Motta Matthew
Published: July 2024

Chapter 3 provides a detailed, nontechnical effort to validate each of the two approaches the book takes to measuring anti-intellectual attitude endorsement in public-opinion surveys. One (more general) measure asks survey respondents to render judgments about experts and intellectuals, while another (narrower) measure probes Americans’ trust in scientific experts. The chapter puts forward a data-driven exploration of the different considerations Americans bring to mind when asked to evaluate the different types of experts referenced in each measurement approach (a content-validation exercise), whether or not people tend to earn similar scores across measures (convergent validation), and the extent to which each measure is associated with contemporary manifestations of anti-intellectualism in American public life (predictive validation). The chapter shows that although these two measures are substantively distinct they nevertheless share much in common and are both valid indicators of anti-intellectual attitude endorsement.
British Bangladeshis
Authors: Alexander Claire , Lidher Sundeep
Published: July 2024

One of the smallest ethnic minority groups in Great Britain, the British Bangladeshi community comprises just 1.1 percent of the population (according to the 2021 census). Predominantly Muslim, this community has longstanding roots in Britain, linked to the British imperial project in India that preceded the disruptions of partition and the later struggle for Bangladeshi independence. British Bangladeshis have a distinctive settlement pattern, with dense concentrations in key urban areas. They are among the most socially and economically deprived groups in Britain and are most often framed through a discourse of disadvantage and discrimination. Nevertheless, the community has also played a crucial role in the struggle against racism and in the formation of modern multicultural Britain, particularly through its key role in the restaurant trade.

In the 21st century, the community, largely second- or third-generation British-born, is undergoing a dramatic social transformation. Success in education and rising numbers of young British Bangladeshis in higher education and in all spheres of public life, including politics, the arts, and media, has seen the emergence of a new and confident middle class. Religion, particularly Islam, has come to play a more significant role among younger British Bangladeshis and has challenged the secular nationalism of their parents and grandparents. However, entrenched issues of deprivation in the British Bangladeshi community, alongside racism and Islamophobia, remain an important concern.

The story of Bangladeshi Britain is one of empire, global migration, and diaspora. It is also a story of pioneer settlers, who forged new spaces of safety, of home, and of belonging in Britain, in the face of virulent racism and structural exclusion, and whose descendants still face significant barriers of exclusion and racism while building new paths for success.
Pregnancy and Fertility Intentions
Authors: Shreffler Karina
Published: July 2024

Understanding pregnancy and fertility intentions is critical to project population accurately, to predict risk, and to intervene for maternal and child well-being outcomes. Although both pregnancy and fertility intentions refer to reproductive intentions, pregnancy intentions are typically a measure of retrospective reports about a specific pregnancy, whereas fertility intentions are typically a measure of assessing plans for future childbearing. Contemporary childbearing theories incorporate social-psychological and life course considerations. The measurement of intentions has become more nuanced, moving beyond a dichotomous measure of intended versus unintended, but additional work on measurement is needed on ambivalence, in particular. Despite progress in understanding pregnancy and fertility intentions and their predictors and consequences, unintended pregnancy rates remain high in the United States at the same time that the fertility gap between intentions and achieved fertility continues to widen globally.
History and Bioarchaeology
Authors: Warner-Smith Alanna L. , Novak Shannon A.
Published: July 2024

Within the history of bioarchaeology, “history” has often been associated with descriptive or typological studies and pitted against “scientific” approaches. Even with this dichotomy, however, bioarchaeologists engage with myriad notions of history to categorize sites and assemblages; to define research foci, research questions, and scales of analysis; and to outline the impact of research. “History” may be used to divide time (and sub-disciplines), separating prehistory from history and placing them under the purview of different specialists. In some instances, bioarchaeologists view the role of bioarchaeological data as contributing to historical research questions and debates within historiography, although this is often dismissed as making bioarchaeology play a “handmaiden” role to history. In other instances, “history” is taken to mean human history in deep time, and bioarchaeologists engage skeletal data comparatively to understand changes across broader geographic and temporal scales, such as transitions to different subsistence or economic practices, urbanization, or “contact” and colonialism. With a focus on the body, however, bioarchaeologists are also well positioned to examine lived experiences across the life course. Moving between scales of analysis, bioarchaeologists keep in view human action and agency and interrogate the ways that human action both shapes and is shaped by broader economic, political, and social structures. In this view, individuals do not passively experience “history” but are active agents in broader change.

Historical bioarchaeology, which tends to be defined as the study of remains from sites and assemblages dating to post-1500 ce, includes both comparative population approaches and those that focus on individuals. These studies bring together various archival, skeletal, and archaeological datasets to refine research methods and/or to uncover biases and limitations of evidence. These datasets are also integrated to generate research questions and insights that could not emerge from any single dataset alone. Increasingly, bioarchaeologists are considering the ethics of research, curation, and stewardship of human remains. The integration of datasets to recover the lived experiences of persons curated in collections has been suggested as one way that bioarchaeologists can contribute to the ongoing debates and policy developments surrounding ethical research and stewardship of human remains.
Gastrodiplomacy
Authors: Mendelson Forman Johanna
Published: July 2024

Gastrodiplomacy is a subset of public diplomacy that uses food as a means of persuading audiences about the power of cuisine to promote specific foreign policy goals. The term entered the popular vocabulary in 2002, after an article in The Economist described Global Thai, a program launched by the government of Thailand to promote its cuisine abroad by providing financial incentives for Thai nationals to open restaurants in foreign countries. Like public diplomacy, gastrodiplomacy seeks to change foreign perceptions of a country and assumes a country’s image or brand can be managed to gain favor with foreign publics.

A subset of activities arising from gastrodiplomacy is social gastronomy, which uses food to achieve social change. Social gastronomy is citizen driven, linking entrepreneurship, food justice, and gastronomy. It started as a chef-led response to hunger and social inequality but has expanded to refer to projects that use entrepreneurship and culinary training as a means of social activism. Social gastronomy is a dynamic field, demonstrating the changing role that food plays in supporting a broad range of societal needs such as income inequality, refugee and immigrant needs, climate change, and humanitarian crises.

As an increasingly influential form of public diplomacy, gastrodiplomacy demonstrates the “soft” power of the plate to address some of the enduring challenges people face, from climate change to conflict to global migration.
History of Food Advertising
Authors: Elvins Sarah
Published: July 2024

Food advertising offers an intriguing window into the cooking and eating habits of a society, is shaped by the culture in which it is produced, and plays a role in creating and reinforcing attitudes about food. Food advertisements reflect and refract larger societal changes in gender roles, racial attitudes, kitchen technology, and more. American food manufacturers in the late 19th century were pioneers in strategies to connect with the public, using advertising to create a new, direct relationship with buyers. This was most prevalent with regard to processed and packaged foods. Ads encouraged consumers to look for specific brand names and to purchase items which might have been made within the home previously. Food manufacturers used a variety of means to encourage and shape consumer practices. Messages emphasizing convenience or modernity were often key to persuading the public to try new products. The strategies developed by American food advertisers were influential around the globe; in some cases, US food products expanded to foreign markets, and in others, local manufacturers employed similar approaches to food advertising.

Advertisers in the early 20 century targeted White, middle-class women as the “ideal” consumer. Gender stereotypes about food have often been mobilized by advertisers, creating a vision of family life where a woman’s primary role was to select appropriate foods to serve to her family. In times of change or crisis, advertisers played on anxiety and a longing for stability to encourage people to buy. Company mascots helped to make brands appear friendly and familiar but have also reinforced racist stereotypes about people of color. Critics have blamed food advertisers for changes in eating, which have caused health problems, and for manipulating consumers, particularly children. Although food companies pay millions of dollars for advertising budgets, there is no guarantee that all food ads will be effective. Consumers retain some agency in resisting or reacting to advertisements.
Carceral Tourism
Authors: Cullen Tewell Megan
Published: July 2024

Carceral tourism refers to visitation—for a range of purposes, including leisure, recreation, entertainment, and education—to places associated with crime and punishment, particularly confinement. It represents an intersection of public history and dark tourism, and it involves the public’s accessing former or current sites of imprisonment, such as jails, prisons, penitentiaries, and detention centers that provide interpretations of carceral themes and histories. Visitors engage this form of tourism at physical locations in-person or remotely via digital interpretation, but they tend to prefer specific sites and structures. Generally consisting of guided or self-guided site tours, as well as exhibits and special programs, carceral tourism can also encompass historic reuse or repurposing, as well as the commodification of carceral themes, including site rentals and merchandizing. The significance of carceral tourism lies in how these sites construct and impart meanings of punishment, particularly incarceration, for everyday audiences.
Islamic Bioethics in Sri Lanka
Authors: Johansson Andreas
Published: July 2024

Sri Lankan Muslims are sometimes referred to as Moors, and they are predominantly Sunni while some Muslims are part of some smaller Shia communities such as Memons and Bhoras. Despite playing no role in the civil war in Sri Lanka fought between Tamil militant groups and the Sri Lankan government, Muslims were highly affected by the war, and there was a rise of ethnic tensions in the country following the terrorism of Zahran Hashim and the organization National Tawheed Jamaat, which killed over 250 people.
The United States and Chile, 1973–1990
Authors: Rubio Apiolaza Pablo
Published: July 2024

The Chilean military government(1973-1990) was the last of the Latin American conservative and anticommunist military regimes of the second half of the 20th century. Characterized by drastic political and constitutional change, neoliberal economic modernization, and massive human rights violations, General Augusto Pinochet received strong initial support from the United States as he repressed Marxist parties and movements that had dominated the government of President Salvador Allende (1970–1973). The administration of Richard Nixon (1969–1974) authorized covert Central Intelligence Agency operations that encouraged the 1973 military coup, and Gerald Ford (1974–1977) generally continued Nixon’s economic and military support for the Junta de Gobierno militar.

However, as a result of domestic and international factors, the Ronald Reagan presidency (1981–1989)—particularly in this second term after 1985—changed the US traditional foreign policy toward anticommunist dictatorships. In Chile, President Reagan supported the transition to an elected government and the removal of Pinochet as head of state. During the final and crucial stage of the Cold War, the United States viewed the continuation of the Pinochet government as inimical to its national and international interests and supported the political opposition that brought an end to the military regime.
numerical notation
Authors: Chrisomalis Stephen
Published: July 2024

Numerical notations—graphic, largely non-phonetic notations for expressing numerical values—are central aspects of most written traditions of classical antiquity, as they are with most literate societies. The Minoan and Mycenean numerals appear to derive from an Egyptian antecedent. Roman numerals, Etruscan numerals, and Greek acrophonic numerals derive from a Greco-Italic abstract system based on tallying, using a mixed base of 5 and 10. Finally, the Greek alphabetic numerals, unrelated to any of these other traditions and probably deriving from Egyptian demotic practices, use the principle of alphabetic order to create a system in which signs are not repeated. None of these numeral systems were often used directly for mathematics, and because ancient societies had a variety of non-written arithmetical techniques, their utility was principally representational and mnemonic, not computational. All of these systems have been stigmatized unfairly in modern scholarship as holding back mathematical achievement in antiquity in comparison to positional systems commonly used in the 21st century, although the Greek alphabetic and Roman numerals were both used for thousands of years across a range of media and functions.
Enhancing specialization of attention-related EEG power and phase synchronism brain patterns by meditation
Authors: Han Yupeng , Du Lizhao , Huang Qiyun , Cui Donghong , Li Yuanqing
Published: July 2024

Meditation, mental training that aims to improve one’s ability to regulate their cognition, has been widely applied in clinical medicine. However, the mechanism by which meditation affects brain activity is still unclear. To explore this question, electroencephalogram data were recorded in 20 long-term meditators and 20 nonmeditators during 2 high-level cognitive tasks (meditation and mental calculation) and a relaxed resting state (control). Then, the power spectral density and phase synchronization of the electroencephalogram were extracted and compared between these 2 groups. In addition, machine learning was used to discriminate the states within each group. We found that the meditation group showed significantly higher classification accuracy and calculation efficiency than the control group. Then, during the calculation task, both the power and global phase synchronism of the gamma response decreased in meditators compared to their relaxation state; yet, no such change was observed in the control group. A potential explanation for our observations is that meditation improved the flexibility of the brain through neural plastic mechanism. In conclusion, we provided robust evidence that long-term meditation experience could produce detectable neurophysiological changes in brain activity, which possibly enhance the functional segregation and/or specialization in the brain.
Agent-based modelling of polarized news and opinion dynamics in social networks: a guidance-oriented approach
Authors: Liu Shan , Wen Hao
Published: July 2024

In the contemporary social network landscape, opinion polarization has emerged as a prominent challenge, sparking concerns about the effective guidance of news sentiment and mitigation of opposing opinions. This is particularly pertinent in the intricate web of social networks, where complexity reigns supreme. Addressing this pivotal issue, this article introduces a news opinion guidance approach grounded in motif recognition. To accurately mirror real-world social networks, we have crafted an agent-based model that simulates polarized news propagation. This model encompasses diverse media agents and user agents, meticulously replicating the news dissemination process within the network. In our quest to unveil the underlying structures of social networks, we have enhanced the Augmented Multiresolution Network approach, incorporating multi-dimensional node attributes for more nuanced clustering and network mapping. This refinement enables us to pinpoint potential motif regions with greater precision. Leveraging these insights, we introduce a triangular motif-based opinion guidance strategy aimed at shaping opinion distribution by bolstering the influence of nodes within these motifs. Once the pertinent motifs are identified, we undertake simulation experiments that reveal the remarkable efficacy of our motif recognition-driven guidance strategy. Notably, it reduces opinion polarization by a substantial 74% compared to scenarios without guidance strategies. This research offers a fresh perspective on crafting personalized and targeted news sentiment guidance strategies. It presents a versatile and potent computational framework for understanding and managing polarization phenomena in social networks, carrying profound theoretical and practical ramifications.
Phenotypic variation and genetic diversity in European Alnus species
Authors: Gomes Marques Inês , Vieites-Blanco Cristina , Barrento Maria J , Semedo José N , Rodrigues Ana P , Scotti-Campos Paula , Martín M Angela , Solla Alejandro , David Teresa S , Rodríguez-González Patricia M
Published: July 2024

The recent taxonomic distinction between the European common alder species Alnus glutinosa and A. lusitanica strengthens the need for studies on phenotypic and genetic variation. Understanding such variations requires the use of populations encompassing the total latitudinal distribution and environmental envelope of the distribution range of A. glutinosa and A. lusitanica. This study aims to describe the genetic diversity and assess the phenology, morphology, physiology and biochemistry of alder seedlings from populations reaching out to the latitudinal extremes of both species. We grew 1579 2-year-old seedlings from seven A. glutinosa and six A. lusitanica populations in a common garden in Oeiras, Portugal. By using simple sequence repeat markers, two genetically distinct groups in A. glutinosa and three in A. lusitanica were identified. The species presented marked morphological and biochemical differences. The southern populations of A. lusitanica showed higher genetic diversity than A. glutinosa populations. Significant associations between four alleles from three loci, and one morphological and three biochemical traits were detected in several genetic groups from both alder species. Traits from southern populations of A. lusitanica were associated with low water availability. Inter-specific trait variation and association of traits with molecular markers suggest that A. lusitanica might have an adaptive advantage if subjected to drought and heat stressors. This study strengthens the recent taxonomical differentiation between the two species and emphasizes the need for preserving southern A. lusitanica populations and their genetic diversity in Mediterranean riparian corridors.
Spatial transcriptomics of gastric cancer brain metastasis reveals atypical vasculature strategies with supportive immune profiles
Authors: Liu Kaijing , Wang Ying , Wang Chunhua , Guo Chengcheng , Zhang Dun , Zhong Yu , Yin Lin , Lu Yunxin , Liu Furong , Zhang Yang , Zhang Dongsheng
Published: July 2024

Background

Gastric cancer brain metastasis (GCBM) represents a rare but highly aggressive malignancy. Metastatic cancer cells are highly heterogeneous and differentially remodels brain vasculature and immune microenvironments, which affects the treatment effectiveness and patient outcome. This study aimed to investigate the spatial interactions among different cell components, especially the vasculature system and the brain microenvironment of GCBM patients.

Methods

We used digital spatial profiling to examine 140 regions composing tumor, immune, and brain tissues from three GCBM patients. Transcriptomic data with spatial information were analyzed for tissue areas related to different blood recruitment strategies. For validation, independent analysis of patient bulk transcriptomic data and in vivo single-cell transcriptomic data were performed.

Results

Angiogenesis and blood vessel co-option co-existed within the same GCBM lesion. Tumors with high epithelial-mesenchymal transition and an enhanced transcriptomic gene signature composed of CTNNB1, SPARC, VIM, SMAD3, SMAD4, TGFB1, TGFB2, and TGFB3 were more prone to adopt blood vessel co-option than angiogenesis. Enriched macrophage infiltration, angiogenic chemokines, and NAMPT were found in angiogenic areas, while increased T cells, T cell activating cytokines, and reduced NAMPT were found in vessel co-option regions. Spatially, angiogenesis was enriched at the tumor edge, which showed higher DMBT1 expression than the tumor center.

Conclusions

This study mapped the orchestrated spatial characteristics of tumor and immunological compositions that support the conventional and atypical vascularization strategies in GCBM. Our data provided molecular insights for more effective combinations of anti-vascular and immune therapies.
Phenotypic relationships between meat quality parameters and residual feed intake in Japanese black Wagyu cattle
Authors: Guarnido-Lopez Pablo , Pinna Danielle , Maeda Yuma , Ogawa Yuichi , BenAouda Mohammed , Kohama Namiko , Fukushima Moriyuki , Nagaoka Shin-ichi , Kondo Naoshi
Published: July 2024

Japanese black Wagyu cattle are renowned for producing some of the world’s most highly valued and recognized beef with exceptional marbling. Therefore, the primary focus of genetic selection for Wagyu cattle has historically been on meat quality, particularly achieving high marbling levels. However, even when the price of the final product is high, production costs also remain high, especially considering that most of the feed has to be imported. The objective of this study was to evaluate phenotypic relationships between feed efficiency, specifically residual feed intake (RFI), as the most utilized efficiency index in cattle, and various meat quality parameters in Japanese black cattle in order to determine if a common phenotypic selection for these parameters could be feasible. For this, a total of 39 Wagyu cattle were evaluated for feed efficiency over their entire fattening period (900 d), with a focus on RFI as a key indicator. Animals were fed high-starch diets with vitamin A deprivation to achieve the desired marbling. Results revealed positive correlations between feed efficiency and meat quality in Wagyu cattle. Specifically, animals with higher feed efficiency exhibited superior meat quality traits, including firmness, marbling, and overall meat rating. When comparing the 20 most extreme RFI individuals (10 most and 10 least efficient), we observed that efficient RFI animals showed increased marbling levels (+13.2%, P = 0.05) and ranking quality (+12%, P = 0.06) of the meat. In conclusion, this research contributes to understanding the interplay between feed efficiency and meat quality in Japanese black Wagyu cattle. Phenotypic correlations observed suggest the possibility of incorporating RFI criteria into genetic selection programs without compromising the prized meat quality traits of Wagyu beef.
Mixed Couples, Mixed Attitudes: How Interracial Couples in Marketing Appeals Influence Brand Outcomes
Authors: Davis Nicole , Smith Rosanna K , Sevilla Julio
Published: July 2024

Interracial couples are increasingly featured in marketing messages, yet little is known about how their representation influences consumer behavior. Across six experiments (N = 4,956) and a field study on Facebook, interracial couples in marketing appeals enhance brand outcomes relative to monoracial dominant (i.e., White) couples, but decrease brand outcomes relative to monoracial nondominant (i.e., minority) couples. These effects stem from how the racial composition of dominant (vs. nondominant) members within a couple either amplifies or dilutes perceived warmth. Monoracial couples possess consistent stereotype attributes, with dominant (vs. nondominant) groups typically seen as lower in warmth. Thus, monoracial couple warmth is amplified: monoracial dominant couples are seen as less warm (i.e., negative amplification), and monoracial nondominant couples as warmer (i.e., positive amplification) than the individuals in the couple. Interracial couples possess inconsistent racial attributes, inducing stereotype dilution with intermediate levels of perceived warmth. Warmth drives brand outcomes above and beyond brand diversity, social desirability, and brand morality. Effects are moderated by consumers’ social dominance orientation and whether the monoracial dominant couple is nondominant along another dimension (i.e., sexual orientation). This work holds theoretical implications for stereotyping research and provides practical insight into multiracial marketing.
Of Balance in Mergers: The Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-376/20 P Commission v CK Telecoms
Authors: Calisti Daniele
Published: July 2024

The judgment of the Court of Justice in CK telecoms is a seminal decision by which the Court reaffirmed and developed its earlier case-law on mergers under a new systematic framework, whose cornerstone is balance: the balance set by the Merger Regulation establishing a principle of neutrality between compatibility and incompatibility of any concentration with the internal market; the balance of probabilities that informs the standard of proof; the balance between the burden carried by the enforcer and that of the notifying parties on efficiencies; and the institutional balance between the Commission appraising concentrations and EU Courts carrying out judicial review.
Source–sink relationships during grain filling in wheat in response to various temperature, water deficit, and nitrogen deficit regimes
Authors: Fang Liang , Struik Paul C , Girousse Christine , Yin Xinyou , Martre Pierre
Published: July 2024

Grain filling is a critical process for improving crop production under adverse conditions caused by climate change. Here, using a quantitative method, we quantified post-anthesis source–sink relationships of a large dataset to assess the contribution of remobilized pre-anthesis assimilates to grain growth for both biomass and nitrogen. The dataset came from 13 years of semi-controlled field experimentation, in which six bread wheat genotypes were grown at plot scale under contrasting temperature, water, and nitrogen regimes. On average, grain biomass was ~10% higher than post-anthesis above-ground biomass accumulation across regimes and genotypes. Overall, the estimated relative contribution (%) of remobilized assimilates to grain biomass became increasingly significant with increasing stress intensity, ranging from virtually nil to 100%. This percentage was altered more by water and nitrogen regimes than by temperature, indicating the greater impact of water or nitrogen regimes relative to high temperatures under our experimental conditions. Relationships between grain nitrogen demand and post-anthesis nitrogen uptake were generally insensitive to environmental conditions, as there was always significant remobilization of nitrogen from vegetative organs, which helped to stabilize the amount of grain nitrogen. Moreover, variations in the relative contribution of remobilized assimilates with environmental variables were genotype dependent. Our analysis provides an overall picture of post-anthesis source–sink relationships and pre-anthesis assimilate contributions to grain filling across (non-)environmental factors, and highlights that designing wheat adaptation to climate change should account for complex multifactor interactions.
Identifying and fitting eclipse maps of exoplanets with cross-validation
Authors: Hammond Mark , Lewis Neil T , Boone Sasha , Chen Xueqing , Mendonça João M , Parmentier Vivien , Taylor Jake , Bell Taylor , dos Santos Leonardo , Crouzet Nicolas , Kreidberg Laura , Radica Michael , Zhang Michael
Published: July 2024

Eclipse mapping uses the shape of the eclipse of an exoplanet to measure its two-dimensional structure. Light curves are mostly composed of longitudinal information, with the latitudinal information only contained in the brief ingress and egress of the eclipse. This imbalance can lead to a spuriously confident map, where the longitudinal structure is constrained by out-of-eclipse data and the latitudinal structure is wrongly determined by the priors on the map. We present a new method to address this issue. The method tests for the presence of an eclipse mapping signal using k-fold cross-validation to compare the performance of a simple mapping model to the null hypothesis of a uniform disc. If a signal is found, the method fits a map with more degrees of freedom, optimizing its information content. The information content is varied by penalizing the model likelihood by a factor proportional to the spatial entropy of the map, optimized by cross-validation. We demonstrate this method for simulated data sets then apply it to three observational data sets. The method identifies an eclipse mapping signal for JWST MIRI/LRS observations of WASP-43b but does not identify a signal for JWST NIRISS/SOSS observations of WASP-18b or Spitzer Space Telescope observations of HD 189733b. It is possible to fit eclipse maps to these data sets, but we suggest that these maps are overfitting the eclipse shape. We fit a new map with more spatial freedom to the WASP-43b data set and show a flatter east–west structure than previously derived.
DNA cytosine methyltransferases differentially regulate genome-wide hypermutation and interhomolog recombination in Trichoderma reesei meiosis
Authors: Jovanska Lavernchy , Lin I-Chen , Yao Jhong-Syuan , Chen Chia-Ling , Liu Hou-Cheng , Li Wan-Chen , Chuang Yu-Chien , Chuang Chi-Ning , Yu Albert Chen-Hsin , Lin Hsin-Nan , Pong Wen-Li , Yu Chang-I , Su Ching-Yuan , Chen Yi-Ping , Chen Ruey-Shyang , Hsueh Yi-Ping , Yuan Hanna S , Timofejeva Ljudmilla , Wang Ting-Fang
Published: July 2024

Trichoderma reesei is an economically important enzyme producer with several unique meiotic features. spo11, the initiator of meiotic double-strand breaks (DSBs) in most sexual eukaryotes, is dispensable for T. reesei meiosis. T. reesei lacks the meiosis-specific recombinase Dmc1. Rad51 and Sae2, the activator of the Mre11 endonuclease complex, promote DSB repair and chromosome synapsis in wild-type and spo11Δ meiosis. DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) perform multiple tasks in meiosis. Three DNMT genes (rid1, dim2 and dimX) differentially regulate genome-wide cytosine methylation and C:G-to-T:A hypermutations in different chromosomal regions. We have identified two types of DSBs: type I DSBs require spo11 or rid1 for initiation, whereas type II DSBs do not rely on spo11 and rid1 for initiation. rid1 (but not dim2) is essential for Rad51-mediated DSB repair and normal meiosis. rid1 and rad51 exhibit a locus heterogeneity (LH) relationship, in which LH-associated proteins often regulate interconnectivity in protein interaction networks. This LH relationship can be suppressed by deleting dim2 in a haploid rid1Δ (but not rad51Δ) parental strain, indicating that dim2 and rid1 share a redundant function that acts earlier than rad51 during early meiosis. In conclusion, our studies provide the first evidence of the involvement of DNMTs during meiotic initiation and recombination.
CRISPR-Cas12a exhibits metal-dependent specificity switching
Authors: Nguyen Giang T , Schelling Michael A , Raju Akshara , Buscher Kathryn A , Sritharan Aneisha , Sashital Dipali G
Published: July 2024

Cas12a is the immune effector of type V-A CRISPR-Cas systems and has been co-opted for genome editing and other biotechnology tools. The specificity of Cas12a has been the subject of extensive investigation both in vitro and in genome editing experiments. However, in vitro studies have often been performed at high magnesium ion concentrations that are inconsistent with the free Mg2+ concentrations that would be present in cells. By profiling the specificity of Cas12a orthologs at a range of Mg2+ concentrations, we find that Cas12a switches its specificity depending on metal ion concentration. Lowering Mg2+ concentration decreases cleavage defects caused by seed mismatches, while increasing the defects caused by PAM-distal mismatches. We show that Cas12a can bind seed mutant targets more rapidly at low Mg2+ concentrations, resulting in faster cleavage. In contrast, PAM-distal mismatches cause substantial defects in cleavage following formation of the Cas12a-target complex at low Mg2+ concentrations. We observe differences in Cas12a specificity switching between three orthologs that results in variations in the routes of phage escape from Cas12a-mediated immunity. Overall, our results reveal the importance of physiological metal ion conditions on the specificity of Cas effectors that are used in different cellular environments.
When impact trials are not feasible: alternatives to study the impact of prediction models on clinical practice
Authors: Janse Roemer J , Stel Vianda S , Jager Kitty J , Tripepi Giovanni , Zoccali Carmine , Dekker Friedo W , van Diepen Merel
Published: July 2024

Patients with kidney disease have an uncertain future, with prognosis varying greatly per patient. To get a better idea of what the future holds and tailor interventions to the individual patient, prediction models can be of great value. Before a prediction model can be applied in practice, its performance should be measured in target populations of interest (i.e. external validation) and whether or not it helps improve clinical practice (i.e. whether it impacts clinical practice) should be determined. The impact would ideally be determined using an impact trial, but such a trial is often not feasible, and the impact of prediction models is therefore rarely assessed. As a result, prediction models that may not be so impactful may end up in clinical practice and impactful models may not be implemented due to a lack of impact studies. Ultimately, many prediction models end up never being implemented, resulting in much research waste. To allow researchers to get an indication of a prediction model's impact on clinical practice, alternative methods to assess a prediction model's impact are important. In this paper, we discuss several alternatives, including interviews, case-based surveys, decision comparisons, outcome modelling, before–after analyses and decision curve analyses. We discuss the general idea behind these approaches, including what information can be gathered from such studies and important pitfalls. Lastly, we provide examples of the different alternatives.
Impact of Heating Conventional Cigarettes With a Novel Device on Health-Related Biomarkers and Cigarette Use Patterns Among Chinese Adult Smokers Unwilling to Quit: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Chu Shuilian , Li Xiaobo , Zhang Di , Jing Hang , Feng Lin , Zuo Yingting , Li Jiachen , Ma Haomiao , Tong Zhaohui , Liang Lirong
Published: July 2024

Introduction

We evaluated the impact of heating conventional cigarettes with a novel heated tobacco product (HTP) device on biomarkers and cigarette use patterns in Chinese adult smokers unwilling to quit smoking.

Aims and Methods

In this pilot randomized controlled trial, 50 eligible participants were allocated to either control group (smoking conventional cigarettes) or HTP device group (switching to using heated conventional cigarettes by the HTP device). Participants in the HTP device group went through a 2-day run-in period and then used heated conventional cigarettes exclusively for 5 days, followed by flexible use for 14 days. Five biomarkers of exposure (BoEs) were measured at baseline and on day 7. Thirteen biomarkers of biological effect (BoBEs) were measured at baseline and on day 21. Safety, daily cigarette consumption, craving, withdrawal symptoms, and device acceptability, were assessed.

Results

BoE levels decreased by 26.4 % to 71.4% from baseline in the HTP device group, while BoBE levels did not significantly change in either group. In the HTP group, 56% exclusively used heated conventional cigarettes during the flexible use period, experiencing reduced cravings and withdrawal symptoms, while dual users consumed more cigarettes. Mild to moderate device-related reactions were reported in 36% of users. Satisfaction, taste, and harm reduction belief scores averaged 7.4, 6.6, and 8.7 (out of 10), respectively.

Conclusions

Switching to heated conventional cigarettes with the HTP device may reduce short-term exposure to smoke toxicants. However, it can lead to increased tobacco use among dual users. Further investigation is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

Trial registration

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/), ChiCTR2200065055, October 26, 2022.

Implications

This study is the first to evaluate the impact of heating conventional cigarettes with a novel HTP device on health-related biomarkers and cigarette use patterns among Chinese adult smokers. This novel HTP device can directly heat conventional cigarettes without the necessity for specifically designed tobacco products, avoiding the potential additive risks of traditional HTPs. If the results of this study could be further verified by randomized controlled clinical trials with larger sample sizes, this novel HTP device could serve as a short-term harm reduction alternative for smokers unwilling to quit.
A Systematic Review of Predictors of Vaping Cessation Among Young People
Authors: Kundu Anasua , Seth Siddharth , Felsky Daniel , Moraes Theo J , Selby Peter , Chaiton Michael
Published: July 2024

Background and Aims

Understanding the factors influencing vaping cessation among young people is crucial for targeted interventions. This review aimed to summarize the individual and environmental factors that predict vaping cessation-related behaviors in the young population.

Methods

We systematically searched five databases for studies investigating predictors of vaping cessation behaviors among young people aged 10–35 years. Studies that examined predictors of cessation of cigarettes, other tobacco products, cannabis vaping, and studies evaluating efficacy of cessation interventions were excluded. Quality in Prognosis Studies tool was used to assess risk of bias.

Results

We found 24 studies analyzing predictors of intention to quit vaping (n = 15), quit attempts (n = 11), and vaping abstinence (n = 7). Most studies had low risk of bias, except for study attrition. We identified 107 predictors and grouped them into “probable,” “possible,” “insufficient evidence,” “probably unrelated,” and “inconsistent direction” categories. For “probable” predictors, we found 11 for intention to quit, eight for quit attempts and five for vaping abstinence. Overall, harm perception of vaping, current other tobacco products use, frequency of use, and level of nicotine dependence were common “probable” predictors across three outcomes, with low harm perception of vaping, dual use, and poly tobacco use associated with decreased intention to quit and quit attempts in younger population (~10–19 years).

Conclusions

Predictive modeling studies investigating vaping cessation-related behaviors among young people are still limited. Future research should specifically study the natural history of vaping in youth in different jurisdictions, populations, and age groups to expand our knowledge in this area.

Implications

We identified and categorized predictors of intention to quit vaping, quit attempts, and vaping abstinence among young people. While the “probable” predictors can inform public health and policymakers to plan targeted vaping cessation programs for high-risk populations, raising public harm perception of vaping and encouraging to quit other tobacco products might increase intention to quit and quit attempts among younger population. However, the “possible,” “insufficient evidence” and “inconsistent direction” predictors need further testing by future prospective longitudinal research. Additionally, we emphasized the significance of appropriate study designs, conducting research across various jurisdictions, and different population groups to obtain comprehensive insights.
Molecular Epidemiology of Isoniazid-resistant M tuberculosis in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Authors: Walsh Kathleen F , Lee Myung Hee , Chaguza Chrispin , Pamphile Widman , Royal Gertrude , Escuyer Vincent , Pape Jean W , Fitzgerald Daniel , Cohen Ted , Ocheretina Oksana
Published: July 2024

Background

Isoniazid-resistant, rifampin-susceptible tuberculosis (Hr-TB) is associated with poor treatment outcomes and higher rates of acquisition of further drug resistance during treatment. Due to a lack of widespread diagnostics, Hr-TB is frequently undetected and its epidemiology is incompletely understood.

Methods

We studied the molecular epidemiology of Hr-TB among all patients diagnosed with culture-positive pulmonary tuberculosis between January 1 and June 30, 2017, at an urban referral tuberculosis clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from the electronic medical record. Archived diagnostic Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates were tested for genotypic and phenotypic isoniazid resistance using the Genotype MTBDRplus assay (Hain, Nehren, Germany) and culture-based testing, respectively. All isoniazid-resistant isolates and a randomly selected subset of isoniazid-susceptible isolates underwent whole-genome sequencing to confirm the presence of mutations associated with isoniazid resistance, to validate use of Genotype MTBDRplus in this population, and to identify potential transmission links between isoniazid-resistant isolates.

Results and Conclusions

Among 845 patients with culture-positive pulmonary tuberculosis in Haiti, 65 (7.7%) had Hr-TB based on the Genotype MTBDRplus molecular assay. Age < 20 years was significantly associated with Hr-TB (odds ratio, 2.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.14, 4.70; P = .015). Thirteen (20%) isoniazid-resistant isolates were found in 5 putative transmission clusters based on a single nucleotide polymorphism distance of ≤ 5. No patients in these transmission clusters were members of the same household. Adolescents are at higher risk for Hr-TB. Strains of isoniazid-resistant M tuberculosis are actively circulating in Haiti and transmission is likely occurring in community settings.
Ecology, Jurisprudence, and Private International Law
Authors: Vilaça Guilherme Vasconcelos
Published: July 2024

In her new book, The Law’s Ultimate Frontier: Towards an Ecological Jurisprudence—A Global Horizon in Private International Law, Horatia Muir Watt proclaims a new vision of legality: an ecological jurisprudence. Its originality lies in the role played by private international law as a tool for legal and political imagination in the Anthropocene. I first present carefully the whole argument as Muir Watt offers it. Then I turn to a critical examination of the work and show how the book fits a much broader intellectual landscape that aims to do justice to the natural and cultural ‘Other’ and how, despite all its sophistication and erudition, the Levinasian grounds, conflict of law’s genealogy, planetary ontology and amateur bricolage she builds upon to establish a novel jurisprudence raise as many complications as achievements. Ultimately, and as a general lesson for holistic and multidisciplinary theorising about law, this article identifies some crucial choices any future model of legality combining both a theory of justice and a vision of law as a linking device needs to overcome in order to ensure we can deal simultaneously with the divergent local and planetary dimensions summoned by the threat of extinction without hastily replacing morality for law and politics.
America First
Authors: Ostovar Afshon
Published: July 2024

This chapter examines how the foreign policy inclinations of Donald Trump reshaped U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE grew more ambitious and assertive as they faced less pushback from Washington, further stoking competition in the region’s conflicts. Turkey’s anger regarding U.S. support to Kurds in Syria, and Iran’s backing of Shia militias against ISIS in Iraq, drove Ankara to be more assertive in both countries. With the liberation of Mosul and Raqqa, ISIS had been territorially defeated. But Turkey’s fears of Kurdish empowerment provoked a showdown with Washington. Trump’s disinterest in the Syrian war caused him to submit to Erdoğan’s demands for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Despite attempts from his administration to preserve the U.S. force presence, Trump ordered a withdrawal. Turkey’s corresponding military occupation of northern Syria followed, which triggered a crisis in U.S.-Turkish relations.
Evolutionary Medicine
Authors: Stearns Stephen C. , Medzhitov Ruslan
Published: July 2024

Evolutionary medicine covers all areas of medical research and practice in which evolutionary insights provide added value. Core concepts include mismatch, trade-offs, and the systems perspective. Important insights include the nature of sick persons and of diseases. Major themes are the evolution of aging; pathogen emergence and evolution, including resistance and virulence; the roles of the microbiota in health and disease; cancer, both the evolutionary history that makes us vulnerable to it and the independent evolution of every cancer; the evolution of reproduction, including placental invasion and the risk of metastasis; quality control of gametes and zygotes, childbirth, menstruation, and menopause; evolutionary hypotheses for mental disorders; and applications in the clinic and in public health, including phage therapy, adaptive therapy for solid tumours, and evolutionary aspects of vaccine development and use.
Defenses
Authors: Stearns Stephen C. , Medzhitov Ruslan
Published: July 2024

This chapter is focused on defence mechanisms and their contributions to health and disease. Defences evolve in response to common negative environmental factors that can impact on organismal fitness and survival. Common negative environmental factors include infections, predation, toxins, cold, starvation, and dehydration. Specialized defenses evolved to protect from each of these factors. In some cases, defenses are elaborated into functional systems, notably, the immune system. Most defenses evolved as elaborations of different homeostatic mechanisms that are threatened by the environmental stressors. The degree of elaboration varies between species, depending on the extent and severity of an environmental stressor in species ecology. All defenses operate at a cost to other physiological functions, as they have higher biological priority of ensuring survival in the face of environmental insult. Consequently, many disease symptoms are due to expression of defenses. Either insufficient or excessive defenses can result in diseases driven, respectively, by the cost of defense, or by inadequate protection from the environmental insult.