bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Audit of blood product utilization in the care of injured children
Authors: McGovern Patrick E. , Wu Lezhou , Rao Sieta , Ahumada Luis , Friedman David F. , Nance Michael L. , Gálvez Jorge A.
Published: November 2020

Background

Blood product utilization in injured children is poorly characterized; the decision to prepare products or transfuse patients can be difficult due to a lack of reliable evidence of transfusion needs across pediatric age‐groups and injury types. We conducted an audit of transfusion practices in pediatric trauma based on age, injuries, and mechanism of injury.

Methods

We reviewed and cross‐referenced blood product transfusion practice data from the trauma registry and the anesthesia transfusion record database at a level 1 pediatric trauma center over a 10‐year period. Demographic data, injury severity scores, and survival statistics were obtained from the trauma registry. Transfusion rates are reported separately for hospital admission and for intraoperative transfusions for procedures performed during the first two hospital days. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to compare specific groups based on age, injury type, and mechanism of injury.

Results

We report 14 569 trauma admissions of 14 606 patients. The transfusion rate during the admission was 1.56% (227/14 569). 4591 (30.9%) admissions had surgical interventions in first two days of hospitalization with an intraoperative transfusion rate of 2.98%. Patients younger than one year had the highest transfusion rate during admission (2.8%), and the highest transfusion rate during surgical procedures performed in the first two days of the admission (18.87%). Admissions due to vascular injuries had the highest transfusion rates in infancy followed by hollow visceral injuries in adolescents (71.4% and 25%, respectively). Vascular injuries in most age‐groups also had high transfusion rates ranging from 11% in 5‐ to 9‐year age‐group to 71% in infants. Mechanisms with the highest transfusion rates were firearm wounds in patients older than one year and vehicular accidents for patients younger than one year.

Conclusions

The overall blood product needs in the pediatric trauma population are low (1.56%). Selected populations requiring higher rates of need include infants younger than one year, and children with thoracic and vascular injuries. Understanding transfusion patterns is important to optimize resource allocation.
Stacking disease resistance and mineral biofortification in cassava varieties to enhance yields and consumer health
Authors: Narayanan Narayanan , Beyene Getu , Chauhan Raj Deepika , Grusak Michael A. , Taylor Nigel J.
Published: November 2020

Delivering the benefits of agricultural biotechnology to smallholder farmers requires that resources be directed towards staple food crops. To achieve effect at scale, beneficial traits must be integrated into multiple, elite farmer‐preferred varieties with relevance across geographical regions. The staple root crop cassava (Manihot esculenta) is consumed for dietary calories by more than 800 million people, but its tuberous roots provide insufficient iron and zinc to meet nutritional needs. In Africa, cassava yields are furthermore limited by the virus diseases, cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD). In this study, we strove to develop cassava displaying high‐level resistance to CBSD and CMD to attain food and economic security for cassava farmers, along with biofortified levels of iron and zinc to enhance consumer health. RNAi‐mediated technology was used to achieve resistance to CBSD in two East African and one Nigerian farmer‐preferred cultivars that harboured resistance to CMD. The Nigerian cvs. TMS 95/0505 and TMS 91/02324 were modified with T‐DNA imparting resistance to CBSD, along with AtIRT1 (major iron transporter) and AtFER1 (ferritin) transgenes to achieve nutritionally significant levels of iron and zinc in cassava storage roots (145 and 40 µg/g dry weight, respectively). The inherent resistance to CMD was maintained in all four disease resistant and mineral enhanced cassava cultivars described here, demonstrating that this technique could be deployed across multiple farmer‐preferred varieties to benefit the food and nutritional security of consumers in Africa.
Soybean CHX‐type ion transport protein GmSALT3 confers leaf Na+ exclusion via a root derived mechanism, and Cl− exclusion via a shoot derived process
Authors: Qu Yue , Guan Rongxia , Bose Jayakumar , Henderson Sam W. , Wege Stefanie , Qiu Lijuan , Gilliham Matthew
Published: November 2020

Soybean (Glycine max) yields are threatened by multiple stresses including soil salinity. GmSALT3 (a cation‐proton exchanger protein) confers net shoot exclusion for both Na+ and Cl− and improves salt tolerance of soybean; however, how the ER‐localized GmSALT3 achieves this is unknown. Here, GmSALT3's function was investigated in heterologous systems and near isogenic lines that contained the full‐length GmSALT3 (NIL‐T; salt‐tolerant) or a truncated transcript Gmsalt3 (NIL‐S; salt‐sensitive). GmSALT3 restored growth of K+‐uptake‐defective Escherichia coli and contributed towards net influx and accumulation of Na+, K+ and Cl− in Xenopus laevis oocytes, while Gmsalt3 was non‐functional. Time‐course analysis of NILs confirmed shoot Cl− exclusion occurs distinctly from Na+ exclusion. Grafting showed that shoot Na+ exclusion occurs via a root xylem‐based mechanism; in contrast, NIL‐T plants exhibited significantly greater Cl− content in both the stem xylem and phloem sap compared to NIL‐S, indicating that shoot Cl− exclusion likely depends upon novel phloem‐based Cl− recirculation. NIL‐T shoots grafted on NIL‐S roots contained low shoot Cl−, which confirmed that Cl− recirculation is dependent on the presence of GmSALT3 in shoots. Overall, these findings provide new insights on GmSALT3's impact on salinity tolerance and reveal a novel mechanism for shoot Cl− exclusion in plants.
Light acts as a stressor and influences abiotic and biotic stress responses in plants
Authors: Roeber Venja M. , Bajaj Ishita , Rohde Mareike , Schmülling Thomas , Cortleven Anne
Published: November 2020

Light is important for plants as an energy source and a developmental signal, but it can also cause stress to plants and modulates responses to stress. Excess and fluctuating light result in photoinhibition and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation around photosystems II and I, respectively. Ultraviolet light causes photodamage to DNA and a prolongation of the light period initiates the photoperiod stress syndrome. Changes in light quality and quantity, as well as in light duration are also key factors impacting the outcome of diverse abiotic and biotic stresses. Short day or shady environments enhance thermotolerance and increase cold acclimation. Similarly, shade conditions improve drought stress tolerance in plants. Additionally, the light environment affects the plants' responses to biotic intruders, such as pathogens or insect herbivores, often reducing growth‐defence trade‐offs. Understanding how plants use light information to modulate stress responses will support breeding strategies to enhance crop stress resilience. This review summarizes the effect of light as a stressor and the impact of the light environment on abiotic and biotic stress responses. There is a special focus on the role of the different light receptors and the crosstalk between light signalling and stress response pathways.
Cell wall modification by the xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase XTH19 influences freezing tolerance after cold and sub‐zero acclimation
Authors: Takahashi Daisuke , Johnson Kim L. , Hao Pengfei , Tuong Tan , Erban Alexander , Sampathkumar Arun , Bacic Antony , Livingston David P. , Kopka Joachim , Kuroha Takeshi , Yokoyama Ryusuke , Nishitani Kazuhiko , Zuther Ellen , Hincha Dirk K.
Published: November 2020

Freezing triggers extracellular ice formation leading to cell dehydration and deformation during a freeze–thaw cycle. Many plant species increase their freezing tolerance during exposure to low, non‐freezing temperatures, a process termed cold acclimation. In addition, exposure to mild freezing temperatures after cold acclimation evokes a further increase in freezing tolerance (sub‐zero acclimation). Previous transcriptome and proteome analyses indicate that cell wall remodelling may be particularly important for sub‐zero acclimation. In the present study, we used a combination of immunohistochemical, chemical and spectroscopic analyses to characterize the cell walls of Arabidopsis thaliana and characterized a mutant in the XTH19 gene, encoding a xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH). The mutant showed reduced freezing tolerance after both cold and sub‐zero acclimation, compared to the Col‐0 wild type, which was associated with differences in cell wall composition and structure. Most strikingly, immunohistochemistry in combination with 3D reconstruction of centres of rosette indicated that epitopes of the xyloglucan‐specific antibody LM25 were highly abundant in the vasculature of Col‐0 plants after sub‐zero acclimation but absent in the XTH19 mutant. Taken together, our data shed new light on the potential roles of cell wall remodelling for the increased freezing tolerance observed after low temperature acclimation.
Trace element levels in mature breast milk of recently lactating Japanese women
Authors: Motoyama Kahoko , Isojima Tsuyoshi , Sato Yasuhiro , Aihara Ayaka , Asakura Hitomi , Hiraike Haruko , Hino Yuko , Mimaki Masakazu , Nomura Kyoko , Kodama Hiroko
Published: November 2020

Background

Many trace elements are essential for infant growth and development during early life. Their concentrations in breast milk vary depending on social and economic factors. Nonetheless, the present available values in Japan were derived from lactating mothers approximately 15 years ago.

Methods

Healthy mothers who gave birth to a single infant after 37 weeks of gestation at Teikyo University Hospital were recruited between July 2016 and December 2017. They were encouraged to collect breast milk samples and a self‐administered food frequency questionnaire at 1 and 3 months postpartum. Anthropometric data for the mothers and their infants were also collected. Overall, 79 subjects were analyzed after excluding subjects with inadequate data in the food frequency questionnaire, insufficient breast milk samples, and medication that could affect dietary intakes. Trace element concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and their correlation with several factors were investigated.

Results

Trace element concentrations were widely distributed as previously reported. Median concentrations of Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, and Mo were 0.8, 0.8, 98, 50, 272, 2.2, and 0.7 µg/dL at 1 month postpartum and 0.6, 0.7, 55, 33, 177, 2.1, and 0.7 µg/dL at 3 months postpartum, respectively. There were no correlations between trace element concentrations and either mothers’ intakes or infants’ growth. In contrast, there were significant correlations between several trace elements and macronutrients in addition to inter‐element correlations among almost all trace elements.

Conclusions

Trace element concentrations in mature breast milk were determined from recently lactating mothers in Japan.
COVID‐19 in Turkey: A tertiary center experience
Authors: Önal Pınar , Kılınç Ayşe Ayzıt , Aygün Fatih , Durak Cansu , Çokuğraş Haluk
Published: November 2020

Background

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has caused a serious epidemic in our country and all over the world since December 2019 and has become a global health problem. The disease caused by the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus has been named as coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19).

Methods

We report on the epidemiological and clinical features of 37 children diagnosed with COVID‐19.

Results

The median age was of the children was 10 years and 57.1% were male. In addition, 78.3% of the children had a history of contact with adult patients who had been diagnosed with COVID‐19, and 27.0% had coexisting medical conditions. We found that 40.5% of our patients had mild infection, while 32.4% had moderate infection, and 27.1% had developed severe or critical illness. The most common abnormal laboratory findings in our patients were decreased lymphocytes (45.9%) and increased D‐dimer values (43.2%), while abnormal radiological findings were detected in 56.7% of the children. In addition, 64.8% of the children had received azithromycin, 59.4% had received oseltamivir, and hydroxychloroquine was used in combination with azithromycin in 35.1% of the children. Non‐invasive mechanical ventilation was required in 27.0% of the children.

Conclusions

Although COVID‐19 infection is usually mild in children, severe illness can be seen in children with comorbidities, or even in children who were previously healthy.
Program evaluation of a recuperative care pilot project
Authors: Lawson Lauren Valk , Bowie Bonnie , Neufeld Melanie
Published: November 2020

Objective

A program evaluation to demonstrate the feasibility of a recuperative care pilot project to address the needs of unhoused individuals.

Design

The study is a descriptive postprogram evaluation.

Sample

A total of 73 referrals were made to the project with 23 admissions.

Measure

Data regarding number and type of referrals for admission, cost of respite care per guest and per day, hospital costs avoided, referrals to community services, and discharge destination were collected.

Intervention

A case management care model was used. The project staff included a public health nurse and an outreach worker.

Results

One local hospital accounted for 65% of all admissions. Admitting diagnoses were abscess/wound care (44%) followed by postsurgery recovery (17%). Housing resources (65%) was a common referral with 22% of guests discharged to stable housing. Actual length of stay exceeded the planned length by an average of 24 days. Total cost per guest per day was $157.45 which is an estimated savings to referring acute care facilities of between $18,000 and $48,000 per day.

Conclusions

The project demonstrated an ability to provide unhoused individuals a place to recuperate following hospitalization in a cost‐effective manner. Challenges and recommendations of the program going forward were identified.
Contrasting response of two Lotus corniculatus L. accessions to combined waterlogging–saline stress
Authors: Antonelli C. J. , Calzadilla P. I. , Campestre M. P. , Escaray F. J. , Ruiz O. A.
Published: November 2020

Waterlogging and salinity impair crop growth and productivity worldwide, with their combined effects being larger than the additive effects of the two stresses separately. Here, a common forage tetraploid Lotus corniculatus (cv. San Gabriel) and a diploid L. corniculatus accession, collected from a coastal area with high frequency of waterlogging–saline stress events, were evaluated for tolerance to waterlogging, salinity and these two stresses combined. We hypothesize that, due to its environmental niche, the diploid accession would show better adaptation to combined waterlogging–saline stress compared to the tetraploid L. corniculatus.

Plants were evaluated under control conditions, waterlogging, salinity and a combined waterlogging–saline treatment for 33 days. Shoot and root growth were assessed, together with chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange measurements. Results showed that salinity and waterlogging effects were more severe for the tetraploid accession, with a larger effect being observed under the combined stress condition.

Concentrations of Na+, Cl− and K+ were measured in apical and basal leaves, and in roots. A larger accumulation of Na+ and Cl− was observed under both saline and combined stress treatments for the tetraploid L. corniculatus, for which ion toxicity effects were evident.

The expression of CLC gene, coding for a Cl− transporter, was only increased in diploid L. corniculatus plants in response to the combined stress condition, suggesting that ion compartmentalization mechanisms were induced in this accession. Thus, this recently characterized L. corniculatus could be used for the introduction of new tolerance traits in other Lotus species used as forage.
Role of mitochondrial alternative oxidase in the regulation of cellular homeostasis during development of photosynthetic function in greening leaves
Authors: Garmash E. V.
Published: November 2020

Here, recent publications on the role of mitochondrial non‐phosphorylating pathways (NPhPs) in the electron transport chain during the de‐etiolation of wheat leaves are reviewed. Among NPhPs, the alternative oxidase (AOX) pathway is the most effective pathway in maintaining cellular redox and energy balance, especially under stress conditions, including light stress. AOX is considered to dissipate excess reductants produced in the chloroplasts, and thereby prevent photooxidation. However, when etiolated wheat plants were exposed to a physiologically relevant light level, AOX was rapidly induced and increased, although the etioplasts did not produce excess reductants and have their own strong photoprotective mechanisms. The present study provides further insights into the role of AOX in greening cells and highlights the importance of AOX in the integration of cellular signalling pathways.
Dynamic Inventory Management with Inventory‐based Financing
Authors: Fu Ke , Gong Xiting , Hsu Vernon N. , Xue Jiye
Published: November 2020

This study considers a stochastic inventory management problem where a capital‐constrained firm can obtain additional working capital through inventory‐based financing (IBF) by pledging its inventory to obtain loans from a lender. We show that the firm's optimal inventory policy in each period may order new inventory up to a state‐dependent order‐up‐to level subject to the firm's capital and IBF loan constraints, or salvage existing inventory down to a state‐dependent salvage‐down‐to level. We further partially characterize the structures of the two state‐dependent levels in each period. Through analytical and numerical studies, we offer a number of new insights regarding the optimal inventory management for a capital‐constrained firm with access to inventory‐based financing. In particular, we find that when the firm anticipates a shortage of capital with which to meet high demands in a future period, it may strategically over‐stock its inventory in earlier periods in order to secure the necessary capital. Through extensive numerical studies, our study also demonstrates how some of the key parameters may affect the optimal inventory policy and the value of IBF.
An Empirical Study of the Dynamic and Differential Effects of Prefunding
Authors: Wei Xiahua , Fan Ming , You Weijia , Tan Yong
Published: November 2020

This study investigates the dynamic and differential effects of prefunding on reward‐based crowdfunding markets plagued by information asymmetry. Prefunding, an innovative feature in crowdfunding, enables founders to share project information with potential backers before fundraising begins. By collecting and analyzing daily project‐level panel data from one of the world's largest crowdfunding platforms, we found that projects with the prefunding feature were more likely to succeed in reaching their funding goals and the effects of prefunding on the amount of funds raised remained positive and significant over time. In probing why this occurred, we used text analyses and revealed that the mechanisms driving the funding premium were the specific types of prefunding information shared between founders and potential backers (volume, length, and sentiment). Furthermore, in examining the sources of funds, we found that prefunding information first attracts funding from regular backers, followed by lottery backers. This herding behavior creates two intertwined funding streams—a primary and a secondary—for prefunding projects. Finally, using counterfactual decomposition analysis, we identified the types of projects that benefited the most from prefunding and found that prefunding democratizes funding outcomes. These findings and insights into information sharing, herding, and differential effects of prefunding contribute to the OM‐IS research on operational designs of reward‐based crowdfunding platforms that serve early‐stage ventures in online environments with minimal informational oversight and regulations.
Price Delegation or Not? The Effect of Heterogeneous Sales Agents
Authors: Chen Jian , Huang He , Liu Liming , Xu Hongyan
Published: November 2020

In this study, we examine the effect of the differences in both sales ability and reservation utility on the design of the pricing scheme and compensation contract under asymmetric information. Heterogeneity with ability‐dependent reservation utility generates conflicted screening and pooling effects that preclude separating and pooling equilibria, respectively; with which agents may work harder under either centralized or delegated pricing scheme than if they were homogeneous and, in certain scenarios, no premiums (information rents) are paid. These findings are driven by the dynamics between the differences in agents’ reservation utilities and in their effort costs or rewards that arise when their true types are concealed. We show that optimal separating contracts generate the same profit under centralized and delegated pricing because separating contracts under centralization retain the pricing flexibility of delegation. However, a certain form of pooling contract under delegated pricing can outperform the optimal pooling contract under centralization because the upside of pricing flexibility under delegation dominates the downside caused by reduced effort incentives. Under the optimal contracts, delegated pricing is as profitable to the firm as centralized pricing when the difference of reservation utilities is small or when the difference is large but the ability gap is small, and delegation is preferred when the difference of reservation utilities is moderate or when both the difference and the ability gap are large.
Data‐Driven Inventory Control with Shifting Demand
Authors: Chen Boxiao
Published: November 2020

We consider an inventory control problem with lost‐sales in a shifting demand environment. Over a planning horizon of T periods, demand distributions can change up to O( log  T) times, but the firm does not know the demand distributions before or after each change, the time periods when changes occur, or the number of changes. Therefore, the firm needs to detect changes and learn the demand distributions only from historical sales data. We show that with censored demand, active exploration in the inventory space is needed for a reasonable detecting and learning algorithm. We provide a theoretical lower bound by partitioning all admissible policies into either exploration‐heavy or exploitation‐heavy, and for both categories we prove that the convergence rate cannot be better than [Formula: see text]. We then develop a nonparametric learning algorithm for this problem and prove that it achieves a convergence rate that (almost) matches the theoretical lower bound.
Network Size and Content Generation on Social Media Platforms
Authors: Wei Zaiyan , Xiao Mo , Rong Rong
Published: November 2020

Social media has been increasingly integrated into firm operations. Past literature documented the operational value of the content generated by social media users but paid little attention to the users’ incentives to generate and share content. We fill in the gap by linking a user’s social network to her content contribution. Specifically, we distinguish the role of the followee network (the group of people being followed by the user) from the role of the follower network. When a user follows more people, she may spend more time in consuming content than generating content (the substitution effect); she may gain more conflicting information from her followees, obfuscating her incentives to generate content (the information overload effect). Conversely, gathering more information from her followees may facilitate her own content generation (the information sharing effect). Through different identification strategies using multiple datasets from two influential social media platforms, we find that the effects of followees and followers are asymmetric in signs and different in magnitudes. Most notably, a user generates less content with a larger followee network, especially when she faces more time constraints. Our findings suggest social media platforms and companies leveraging social media in their operations incorporate network analytics to promote their user engagement.
Molecular data from up to 130‐year‐old herbarium specimens do not support the presence of cherry powdery mildew in Australia
Authors: Smith Reannon L. , May Tom W. , Kaur Jatinder , Sawbridge Tim , Mann Ross , Edwards Jacky
Published: November 2020

A strain of Podosphaera clandestina has been highlighted as a priority pest threat to the Australian cherry industry. Australia currently has no records of powdery mildew on cherry (Prunus avium). P. clandestina is reported to cause disease on a range of Rosaceae genera including Crataegus and Prunus; in Australia, P. clandestina has only been recorded on Crataegus. A recent species revision identified Podosphaera cerasi on P. avium as a separate species from P. clandestina. Therefore, a revision of which powdery mildew species is present in Australia on Crataegus is required to inform Australian plant biosecurity. Reference collection specimens from the Victorian Plant Pathology Herbarium (VPRI) recorded as Podosphaera spp. collected between 1889 to 2008 on cherry and three other host plant genera from Australia and overseas were sampled for DNA extraction and next‐generation sequencing (NGS). Sequence data from preserved specimens were successfully mapped to internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of P. clandestina in the strict sense, P. cerasi, and Podosphaera prunicola, and chloroplast matK sequences were used to identify plant hosts. Australian specimens on Crataegus hosts were P. clandestina in the strict sense and specimens on Prunus from the USA were identified as P. cerasi and P. prunicola. The outcome of this study confirmed the powdery mildew on Australian Crataegus specimens to be P. clandestina and none of the cherry powdery mildews (Podosphaera pruni‐avium, P. cerasi, or P. prunicola) are present on Australian specimens in the VPRI collection, which suggests they are not present in Australia.
The perspective of the incompatible of nucleus and mitochondria in interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer for endangered species
Authors: Mrowiec Patrycja , Bugno‐Poniewierska Monika , Młodawska Wiesława
Published: November 2020

Taking into account the latest Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in which 25% of all mammals are threatened with extinction, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) could be a beneficial tool and holds a lot of potential for aiding the conservation of endangered, exotic or even extinct animal species if somatic cells of such animals are available. In the case of shortage and sparse amount of wild animal oocytes, interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT), where the recipient ooplasm and donor nucleus are derived from different species, is the alternative SCNT technique. The successful application of iSCNT, resulting in the production of live offspring, was confirmed in several combination of closely related species. When nucleus donor cells and recipient oocytes have been used in many other combinations, very often with a very distant taxonomical relation iSCNT resulted only in the very early stages of cloned embryo development. Problems encountered during iSCNT related to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)/genomic DNA incompatibility, mtDNA heteroplasmy, embryonic genome activation of the donor nucleus by the recipient oocyte and availability of suitable foster mothers for iSCNT embryos. Implementing assisted reproductive technologies, including iSCNT, to conservation programmes also raises concerns that the production of genetically identical populations might cause problems with inbreeding. The article aims at presenting achievements, limitations and perspectives of iSCNT in maintaining animal biodiversity.
Surgical management of obstructive sleep apnoea: A position statement of the Australasian Sleep Association*
Authors: MacKay Stuart G. , Lewis Richard , McEvoy Doug , Joosten Simon , Holt Nicolette R.
Published: November 2020

Surgery for adult obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) plays a key role in contemporary management paradigms, most frequently as either a second‐line treatment or in a facilitatory capacity. This committee, comprising two sleep surgeons and three sleep physicians, was established to give clarity to that role and expand upon its appropriate use in Australasia. This position statement has been reviewed and approved by the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) Clinical Committee.
Monitoring Misinformation on Twitter During Crisis Events: A Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Hunt Kyle , Agarwal Puneet , Zhuang Jun
Published: November 2020

Social media has been increasingly utilized to spread breaking news and risk communications during disasters of all magnitudes. Unfortunately, due to the unmoderated nature of social media platforms such as Twitter, rumors and misinformation are able to propagate widely. Given this, a surfeit of research has studied false rumor diffusion on Twitter, especially during natural disasters. Within this domain, studies have also focused on the misinformation control efforts from government organizations and other major agencies. A prodigious gap in research exists in studying the monitoring of misinformation on social media platforms in times of disasters and other crisis events. Such studies would offer organizations and agencies new tools and ideologies to monitor misinformation on platforms such as Twitter, and make informed decisions on whether or not to use their resources in order to debunk. In this work, we fill the research gap by developing a machine learning framework to predict the veracity of tweets that are spread during crisis events. The tweets are tracked based on the veracity of their content as either true, false, or neutral. We conduct four separate studies, and the results suggest that our framework is capable of tracking multiple cases of misinformation simultaneously, with scores exceeding 87%. In the case of tracking a single case of misinformation, our framework reaches an score of 83%. We collect and drive the algorithms with 15,952 misinformation‐related tweets from the Boston Marathon bombing (2013), Manchester Arena bombing (2017), Hurricane Harvey (2017), Hurricane Irma (2017), and the Hawaii ballistic missile false alert (2018). This article provides novel insights on how to efficiently monitor misinformation that is spread during disasters.
Gastrointestinal and renal complications in SARS‐CoV‐2‐infected patients: Role of immune system
Authors: Maghool Fatemeh , Valiani Ali , Safari Tahereh , Emami Mohammad Hassan , Mohammadzadeh Samane
Published: November 2020

The recent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) disease has been accompanied by various gastrointestinal (GI) and renal manifestations in significant portion of infected patients. Beside studies on the respiratory complications of coronavirus infection, understanding the essential immunological processes underlying the different clinical manifestations of virus infection is crucial for the identification and development of effective therapies. In addition to the respiratory tract, the digestive and urinary systems are the major sources of virus transmission. Thus, knowledge about the invasion mechanisms of SARS‐CoV‐2 in these systems and the immune system responses is important for implementing the infection prevention strategies. This article presents an overview of the gut and renal complications in SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. We focus on how SARS‐CoV‐2 interacts with the immune system and the consequent contribution of immune system, gut, and renal dysfunctions in the development of disease.
Feature screening for case‐cohort studies with failure time outcome
Authors: Zhang Jing , Zhou Haibo , Liu Yanyan , Cai Jianwen
Published: November 2020

Case‐cohort design has been demonstrated to be an economical and efficient approach in large cohort studies when the measurement of some covariates on all individuals is expensive. Various methods have been proposed for case‐cohort data when the dimension of covariates is smaller than sample size. However, limited work has been done for high‐dimensional case‐cohort data which are frequently collected in large epidemiological studies. In this paper, we propose a variable screening method for ultrahigh‐dimensional case‐cohort data under the framework of proportional model, which allows the covariate dimension increases with sample size at exponential rate. Our procedure enjoys the sure screening property and the ranking consistency under some mild regularity conditions. We further extend this method to an iterative version to handle the scenarios where some covariates are jointly important but are marginally unrelated or weakly correlated to the response. The finite sample performance of the proposed procedure is evaluated via both simulation studies and an application to a real data from the breast cancer study.
‘Just ask Eric’: On the Importance of Governance Efficacy, Territorial Ties and Heterogenous Networks for Rural Development
Authors: Jørgensen Anja , Fallov Mia Arp , Nielsen Rikke Skovgaard
Published: November 2020

Territorial capital is more than economy, business and socioeconomic status of residents. It is also the way residents of localities form social networks and how these are intertwined with the local political, institutional and administrative configurations. Sampson (2011) argues that while social networks foster the conditions under which collective efficacy may flourish, they are not sufficient for the exercise of social cohesion and social control. Networks have to be activated to be meaningful. Interaction is embedded in local traditions and social order is produced locally. Analysing interviews from a rural location in Denmark, we examine how referential features of group life (spatial areas, relations, shared pasts) generate action. We develop the concept of ‘governance efficacy’ to denote the capacity to mobilise collective efficacy in relation to territorial development. We argue that such a concept is an important element in explaining why and how a peripheral location is able to manage social challenges despite population decline.
The 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence: Stress triggered by historical earthquakes and imparted stress on surrounding fault systems
Authors: Lei Dongning , Yang Gang , Lian Chao
Published: November 2020

We used various fault models to calculate the stress change on Ridgecrest epicentral locations and surrounding fault systems. In general, the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence was triggered by past historical earthquakes. The computed stress changes in both foreshock and mainshock epicentral locations have exceeded the stress trigger threshold, which suggests that past historical earthquakes play a key role in driving the Ridgecrest earthquake source structures closer to failure. We calculated the stress on surrounding faults imparted by the Ridgecrest mainshock and its combination with past earthquakes. The Garlock fault is generally stressed by the mainshock, with a maximum of 1.573 bar on central segment. However, our combined model yielded decreased stress on central Garlock fault. Furthermore, we calculated the expected seismicity rate on the Garlock fault and found that the central segment had a higher seismicity rate than the western and eastern segments.
Changes in the dynamics of dengue incidence in South and Central America are possibly due to cross‐population immunity after Zika virus epidemics
Authors: Mugabe Vánio A. , Borja Lairton S. , Cardoso Cristiane W. , Weaver Scott C. , Reis Mitermayer G. , Kitron Uriel , Ribeiro Guilherme S.
Published: November 2020

Objective

We tested the hypothesis that Zika virus (ZIKV) immunity may protect against dengue virus (DENV) infection, disease severity or human amplification, based on analysis of epidemiological data from our long‐term surveillance study (2009–2016) in the city of Salvador, Brazil, that indicated a substantial reduction in the frequency of laboratory‐confirmed dengue cases following the Zika outbreak. To assess whether similar patterns were observed across the Americas, we did a broader explorative investigation of historical series (2004 to 2019) of suspected cases of dengue fever, covering 20 DENV‐endemic South and Central American countries.

Methods

We used segmented linear regressions of single group interrupted time series (ITS) analysis to evaluate whether the Zika epidemic had a statistical effect on the trends of annual dengue incidence.

Results

We observed in our 16‐year historical series that in all countries, the incidence of dengue exhibited periodic oscillations over time, with a general trend of statistically significant increase during the pre‐Zika period overall and for 11 of the 20 countries. Following the peak of the first population exposure to ZIKV in the Americas, in 2016, the overall rate of reported dengue cases in 2017 and 2018 in the countries under study sharply dropped (P < 0.05) and was the lowest reported since 2005. Individually in each country, a statistically significant reduction in the annual dengue incidence beginning in 2016 or in 2017–2018 occurred in 13 of the 20 studied countries. However, in 2019, reports of suspected dengue cases increased across the Americas. In Brazil, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Honduras, dengue incidence was >5 times higher in 2019 than in 2017 and 2018, and, in 2019, they had the greater dengue incidence than in all previous years throughout the historical series.

Conclusions

The widespread decline in suspected dengue cases recorded in 2017 and 2018 lends further support to our previous epidemiological hypothesis of ZIKV‐induced cross‐species immunity to DENV. However, the cross‐protection appears to be transient (around 2 years). Long‐term, prospective follow‐ups of dengue reports are needed to confirm (or refute) these findings, which could have significant public health implications, in particular regarding DENV vaccine development and application.
Disruption of EARLY LESION LEAF 1, encoding a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, induces ROS accumulation and cell death in rice
Authors: Cui Yuanjiang , Peng Youlin , Zhang Qiang , Xia Saisai , Ruan Banpu , Xu Qiankun , Yu Xiaoqi , Zhou Tingting , Liu He , Zeng Dali , Zhang Guangheng , Gao Zhenyu , Hu Jiang , Zhu Li , Shen Lan , Guo Longbiao , Qian Qian , Ren Deyong
Published: November 2020

Lesion‐mimic mutants (LMMs) provide a valuable tool to reveal the molecular mechanisms determining programmed cell death (PCD) in plants. Despite intensive research, the mechanisms behind PCD and the formation of lesions in various LMMs still remain to be elucidated. Here, we identified a rice (Oryza sativa) LMM, early lesion leaf 1 (ell1), cloned the causal gene by map‐based cloning, and verified this by complementation. ELL1 encodes a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, and the ELL1 protein was located in the endoplasmic reticulum. The ell1 mutant exhibited decreased chlorophyll contents, serious chloroplast degradation, upregulated expression of chloroplast degradation‐related genes, and attenuated photosynthetic protein activity, indicating that ELL1 is involved in chloroplast development. RNA sequencing analysis showed that genes related to oxygen binding were differentially expressed in ell1 and wild‐type plants; histochemistry and paraffin sectioning results indicated that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and callose accumulated in the ell1 leaves, and the cell structure around the lesions was severely damaged, which indicated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulated and cell death occurred in the mutant. TUNEL staining and comet experiments revealed that severe DNA degradation and abnormal PCD occurred in the ell1 mutants, which implied that excessive ROS accumulation may induce DNA damage and ROS‐mediated cell death in the mutant. Additionally, lesion initiation in the ell1 mutant was light dependent and temperature sensitive. Our findings revealed that ELL1 affects chloroplast development or function, and that loss of ELL1 function induces ROS accumulation and lesion formation in rice.
Platelet transfusion is associated with 90‐day and 1‐year mortality for adult patients requiring veno‐arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Authors: Esper Stephen A. , Wallisch William John , Ryan John , Sanchez Pablo , Sciortino Christopher , Murray Holt , Arlia Peter , D'Cunha Jonathan , Mahajan Aman , Triulzi Darrell , Subramaniam Kathirvel
Published: November 2020

Background

Studies examining one‐year mortality respecting component blood transfusion are sparse. We hypothesize that component blood product transfusions are negatively associated with 90‐day and 1‐year survival for all patients requiring veno‐arterial (VA) or veno‐venous (VV) ECMO.

Study Design and Methods

This was an IRB‐approved retrospective cohort analysis of 676 consecutive patients requiring ECMO at the University of Pittsburgh between 2005 and 2016. Patients were analysed both as an entire cohort and as two subsets with respect to ECMO modality (VA vs. VV). Additional data collected and analysed included patient characteristics, laboratory values and blood product transfusion.

Results

Multivariable analysis revealed that platelet transfusion was associated with 90‐day mortality (OR: 1·05, P = 0·037) and one‐year mortality for the entire cohort (OR = 1·05, P = 0·046,). Platelet transfusion volume was also associated with mortality in the VA‐ECMO subset of patients at both 90 days (OR = 1·08, P = 0·03) and one year (OR: 1·11, P = 0·014). Age, peak International Normalized Raton ECMO, nadir haemoglobin (on ECMO) and final haemoglobin (after ECMO) were significantly associated with mortality for patients requiring VA‐ECMO. For VV‐ECMO patients, age, INR and peak creatinine on ECMO were associated with mortality. No individual component blood product was associated with one‐year mortality for patients requiring VV‐ECMO.

Conclusion

Platelet transfusion was associated with increased 90‐day and 1‐year mortality for patients requiring VA‐ECMO.
Experimental design approach for the removal of the antidiabetic drug, metformin at a high concentration by photocatalytic processes
Authors: Estrada‐Arriaga Edson Baltazar , García‐Sánchez Liliana , Falcón‐Rojas Axel
Published: November 2020

The metformin, is an emerging contaminant and one of the most consumed drugs in the world that has a high power of endocrine disruption across species in the ecosystem. The focus of this study was to determine the best photocatalytic processes through the study of TiO2‐based photocatalytic, photo–Fenton and photo–ferrioxalate reactions for the metformin removal. The experimental results demonstrated that a high removal of metformin is obtained using TiO2‐based photocatalytic (97 %), followed by photo–Fenton (66%) and photo–ferrioxalate (41%). The zero‐order rate constant (k) for TiO2‐based photocatalytic, photo–Fenton and photo–ferrioxalate reaction was 2.36, 1.95 and 1.92 mg/L.min, respectively. The metformin was transformed into NH4+‐N, NO2−‐N and NO3−‐N. According to results obtained, the proposed Box–Behnken experimental design can be used in photocatalytic processes to obtain the optimum conditions of the significant variables (H2O2 concentration, catalytic concentration, pH and reaction time) for removal of metformin in a few runs.
Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus in dogs in Switzerland
Authors: Veronesi Rebecca , Morach Marina , Hübschke Ella , Bachofen Claudia , Stephan Roger , Nüesch‐Inderbinen Magdalena
Published: November 2020

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the causative agent of an acute and in most cases self‐limiting hepatitis. Of the four major HEV genotypes that infect humans, genotype 3 and 4 are zoonotic and have been identified in humans but predominantly in pigs and wild boar, which are considered the main reservoirs. However, the known host range of zoonotic HEV may be increasing to comprise additional species, including companion animals. Several studies have identified contact with dogs as a risk factor for HEV infection in humans, yet information on the occurrence of HEV in Swiss dogs is lacking. To examine a possible risk of exposure, this study was designed to assess the seroprevalence of HEV in 84 Swiss dogs. Serum and plasma samples collected from four veterinary clinics were screened for HEV‐specific antibodies by HEV‐antibody ELISA test kit. In addition, information of 22 dogs regarding the country of origin, the type of dog feed and any history of hunting was recorded. Samples from seropositive animals were also screened for the presence of HEV RNA by quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR (qRT‐PCR). Overall, 38% (32 of 84) of the dogs tested seropositive for anti‐HEV, indicating exposure to HEV. Among the 22 dogs for which information was available, HEV‐specific antibodies were detected in three of five dogs that were born abroad, in one of two dogs that were fed a raw meat‐based diet, and in one hunting dog. No viral RNA could be detected in any of the serum and plasma samples; thus, the genotype of the strains remained undetermined. This study provides further evidence for canine exposure and susceptibility to HEV and highlights the need to further assess the risks of HEV transmission to humans with contact to dogs.
Altered Properties of TiO2 for Photocatalytic Oxidative Desulphurisation
Authors: Che Ku Hitam Che Ku Nor Liana , Abdul Jalil Aishah
Published: November 2020

Photocatalytic oxidative desulphurisation has become a promising technique as a result of its high capability, mild reaction conditions, economical, and low energy usage. In the present study, copper oxide doped on titanium dioxide (CuO/TiO2) was prepared by facile electrolysis method. The presence of mesoporous materials with high surface area was confirmed by nitrogen (N2) adsorption-desorption analysis where the band gap energies were determined by ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis DRS). The photoactivity testing on desulphurisation of 100 mg L-1 dibenzothiophene (DBT) revealed the highest extraction (7.5 x 10-3 mM min-1) and photooxidation rates (1.8 x 10-3 mM min-1), which were acquired by 0.8 g L-1 Cu0.1T0.9 after 2 h under visible irradiation. This is attributed by the well dispersion of CuO on TiO2, suitable band gap energy, and better charge carrier separation by the synergistic interaction of both materials.