bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spectroscopic study of Cu, Mn, Cd as heavy metals in agricultural samples
Authors: Fayek Noura , Tawfik Walid , Khalafallah Ahmed , Hamed Sawsan , Mousa Wafaa
Published: August 2021

Heavy elements represent a source of toxicity when accumulate in the soil and be transmitted to plants, animals and humans through food chains that may affect the human and the animal health. In this study, environmental samples, vegetable samples (Cabbage, Mallow, Turnip) and soil, were collected from Qaha in Qaliubia in Egypt then subjected to investigate the availability of toxic metals such as copper, manganese and cadmium using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) technique. We have found Cu, Mn and Cd in cabbage with concentrations around 25.28 ±1.263 ppm, 103.83 ±5.19 ppm and 0.792 ±0.0396 ppm, respectively. The Cu, Mn and Cd concentrations in Mallow were found to be 35.26 ±1.76 ppm, 142.72 ±7.14 ppm and 1.3 ±0.0649 ppm respectively. Also, the concentrations of Cu, Mn and Cd in Turnip have achieved 29.29 ±1.45 ppm, 79.33 ±3.97 ppm and 1.99 ±0.099 ppm respectively. For soil, the concentrations of Cu, Mn and Cd were 2.4 ±0.12 ppm, 4.8 ±0.24 ppm and 1.75 ±0.088 ppm respectively. It was concluded that the pollution index values for Cu, Mn and Cd in soil were 0.024 ±1.2 ×10−3, 0.01 ±5.49 ×10−4and 0.58 ±0.029 respectively. The pollution index values in cabbage for Cu, Mn and Cd were 0.346 ±0.017, 15.708 ±0.785 and 3.96 ±0.198 respectively. The pollution index values for Cu, Mn and Cd in Mallow were 0.073 ±0.024, 21.59 ±1.08 and 6.5 ±0.32 respectively. The pollution index values for Cu, Mn and Cd in Turnip were 0.401 ±0.019, 12 ±0.6 and 9.95 ±0.5 respectively. The observed new results are important to monitor the environmental pollution in the studied samples which have an impact on human health.
Laser interferometric investigations on some physical properties of Natural bio-gases
Authors: Ghazy R , Moustafa G , El-Mekawey F , Abdelgawad S.A.
Published: August 2021

In this work a Mach-Zehnder interferometer system [MZIS] was constructed and illuminated by using [He-Ne] laser. And a gas flow system [GFS] was strictly designed and constructed that was connected to [MZIS], this gas flow system was controlled by both temperature range between 313 to 348 K and pressure range from 60-90 cm-Hg. The [MZIS] and [GFS] were linked and used for determining the refractive index of Methane [CH4] and Nitrogen [N2] gases as a function of pressure n[p]T, and temperature n[T]P. The variety of refractive index of gases regarding the pressure factor at steady temperature (dn/dp)T was resolved. Likewise, the variety of refractive index of gases regarding to temperature at steady pressure factor [dn/dT]P was determined. By applying both Maxwell’s and Clausius-Mostii equations, some physical parameters of Methane and Nitrogen gases, which related to refractive index, like as optical permittivity, dielectric susceptibility, Specific refractivity, Molar refractivity, and Molecular radius were estimated. In addition, the volume expansion values of the investigated gas samples were evaluated. Theoretically, by using Gaussian 09 program we had got some chemical parameters for Methane and Nitrogen.
Analysis of the relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties of intercritically annealed 3.5Mn steel
Authors: Kang Tao , Zhao Zhengzhi , Li Feng , Zhang Lei , Hou Xiaoying
Published: August 2021

The paper mainly studies intercritically annealed medium manganese steel, which only contains 3.5 wt% Mn. After annealing at different temperature, the microstructure of the experimental steel is composed of ferrite and austenite with different morphology. With the increase of intercritical annealing temperature, a small amount of martensite appears in the microstructure due to the decrease of austenite stability, and the proportion of retained austenite decreases. When the experimental steel is annealed at 700 °C, the best matching of strength and plasticity is obtained, which benefits from the appropriate proportion of austenite with different stability. The results show that excellent mechanical properties of 3.5 wt% Mn steel can be achieved by adjusting the intercritical annealing process.
Low frequency coherent Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Bartels Randy A , Oron Dan , Rigneault Hervé
Published: August 2021

We revisit low frequency coherent Raman spectroscopy (LF-CRS) and present a unified theoretical background that provides consistent physical pictures of LF-CRS signal generation. Our general framework allows to compute the signal to noise ratio in the multitude of possible LF-CRS, and more generally CRS, experimental implementations both in the spectral and time domain.
Joint ptycho-tomography with deep generative priors
Authors: Aslan Selin , Liu Zhengchun , Nikitin Viktor , Bicer Tekin , Leyffer Sven , Gürsoy Doğa
Published: August 2021

Joint ptycho-tomography is a powerful computational imaging framework to recover the refractive properties of a 3D object while relaxing the requirements for probe overlap that is common in conventional phase retrieval. We use an augmented Lagrangian scheme for formulating the constrained optimization problem and employ an alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) for the joint solution. ADMM allows the problem to be split into smaller and computationally more efficient subproblems: ptychographic phase retrieval, tomographic reconstruction, and regularization of the solution. We extend our ADMM framework with plug-and-play (PnP) denoisers by replacing the regularization subproblem with a general denoising operator based on machine learning. While the PnP framework enables integrating such learned priors as denoising operators, tuning of the denoiser prior remains challenging. To overcome this challenge, we propose a denoiser parameter to control the effect of the denoiser and to accelerate the solution. In our simulations, we demonstrate that our proposed framework with parameter tuning and learned priors generates high-quality reconstructions under limited and noisy measurement data.
G-Computation and Agent-Based Modeling for Social Epidemiology: Can Population Interventions Prevent Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?
Authors: Mooney Stephen J , Shev Aaron B , Keyes Katherine M , Tracy Melissa , Cerdá Magdalena
Published: August 2021

Agent-based modeling and g-computation can both be used to estimate impacts of intervening on complex systems. We explored each modeling approach within an applied example: interventions to reduce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We used data from a cohort of 2,282 adults representative of the adult population of the New York City metropolitan area from 2002–2006, of whom 16.3% developed PTSD over their lifetimes. We built 4 models: g-computation, an agent-based model (ABM) with no between-agent interactions, an ABM with violent-interaction dynamics, and an ABM with neighborhood dynamics. Three interventions were tested: 1) reducing violent victimization by 37.2% (real-world reduction); 2) reducing violent victimization by100%; and 3) supplementing the income of 20% of lower-income participants. The g-computation model estimated population-level PTSD risk reductions of 0.12% (95% confidence interval (CI): −0.16, 0.29), 0.28% (95% CI: −0.30, 0.70), and 1.55% (95% CI: 0.40, 2.12), respectively. The ABM with no interactions replicated the findings from g-computation. Introduction of interaction dynamics modestly decreased estimated intervention effects (income-supplement risk reduction dropped to 1.47%), whereas introduction of neighborhood dynamics modestly increased effectiveness (income-supplement risk reduction increased to 1.58%). Compared with g-computation, agent-based modeling permitted deeper exploration of complex systems dynamics at the cost of further assumptions.
Cerebral Blood Flow in the Salience Network of Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder
Authors: Butcher Tarah J , Chumin Evgeny J , West John D , Dzemidzic Mario , Yoder Karmen K
Published: August 2021

Aims

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have identified structural and functional differences in salience network nodes of individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) after chronic exposure to alcohol. However, no studies have investigated cerebral blood flow (CBF) in nontreatment-seeking (NTS) individuals with AUD.

Methods

In this work, we sought to quantify putative CBF deficits in NTS individuals relative to social drinking (SD) controls and determine if CBF in the salience network is associated with AUD severity. Fifteen NTS (36.5 ± 11.2 years old, 30.0 ± 22.7 drinks/week) and 22 SD (35.6 ± 11.9 years old, 9.1 ± 5.7 drinks/week) underwent pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling MRI.

Results

Compared with social drinkers, NTS individuals had significantly lower CBF in the right and left dorsal anterior insula, and the left ventral anterior and posterior insula. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score showed a significant negative relationship with CBF in the bilateral caudal anterior cingulate cortex. In addition, a significant negative correlation was present between number of standard drinks consumed per week and the left frontal opercular CBF.

Conclusion

These results provide evidence that insular CBF is negatively associated with heavy drinking, and that severity of alcohol use is related to CBF deficits in key nodes of the salience network. Longitudinal data are needed to understand if disruptions of CBF in the insula and the salience network are a predisposition for or a consequence of chronic AUD.
Staging Charisma: Anna Deavere Smith’s Black Feminist Theater of the Multitude
Authors: Winstein-Hibbs Sarah
Published: August 2021

Recently, scholars in American studies have begun to trace the literary and cultural history of charisma, an especially slippery term which most often connotes spectacular, individual male leadership. In this article, I suggest that Anna Deavere Smith’s verbatim theatre provides an alternative notion of this term. Specifically, Smith’s plays enact a Black feminist mode of collectivist charisma, one which has been and can be transported from stage to streets and vice versa. I focus here on Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (1994), a one-woman show that Smith created by interviewing and impersonating dozens of people involved in or affected by the Rodney King “riots.” While the public primarily remembers this moment through King himself, or through spokespeople such as Bill Clinton or George H. W. Bush, Smith refuses either to create protagonists or to channel individualist charisma by staging a multitude. Further, Smith’s decentered theater proffers a collective approach to remembering the broader post-civil rights ethnic and racial tensions that led to the 1992 LA Crisis. Indeed, I suggest that we experience Twilight as part of a performance history of contemporary Left protest by drawing out the similarities between Smith’s multivocal plays and today’s “leaderful,” Black-feminist-led movements for racial justice.
A cross-level information transmission network for hierarchical omics data integration and phenotype prediction from a new genotype
Authors: He Di , Xie Lei
Published: August 2021

Motivation

An unsolved fundamental problem in biology is to predict phenotypes from a new genotype under environmental perturbations. The emergence of multiple omics data provides new opportunities but imposes great challenges in the predictive modeling of genotype-phenotype associations. Firstly, the high-dimensionality of genomics data and the lack of coherent labeled data often make the existing supervised learning techniques less successful. Secondly, it is challenging to integrate heterogeneous omics data from different resources. Finally, few works have explicitly modeled the information transmission from DNA to phenotype, which involves multiple intermediate molecular types. Higher-level features (e.g. gene expression) usually have stronger discriminative and interpretable power than lower-level features (e.g. somatic mutation).

Results

We propose a novel Cross-LEvel Information Transmission (CLEIT) network framework to address the above issues. CLEIT aims to represent the asymmetrical multi-level organization of the biological system by integrating multiple incoherent omics data and to improve the prediction power of low-level features. CLEIT first learns the latent representation of the high-level domain then uses it as ground-truth embedding to improve the representation learning of the low-level domain in the form of contrastive loss. Besides, CLEIT can leverage the unlabeled heterogeneous omics data to improve the generalizability of the predictive model. We demonstrate the effectiveness and significant performance boost of CLEIT in predicting anti-cancer drug sensitivity from somatic mutations via the assistance of gene expressions when compared with state-of-the-art methods. CLEIT provides a general framework to model information transmissions and integrate multi-modal data in a multi-level system.

Availabilityand implementation

The source code is freely available at https://github.com/XieResearchGroup/CLEIT.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
PyJAMAS: open-source, multimodal segmentation and analysis of microscopy images
Authors: Fernandez-Gonzalez Rodrigo , Balaghi Negar , Wang Kelly , Hawkins Ray , Rothenberg Katheryn , McFaul Christopher , Schimmer Clara , Ly Michelle , do Carmo Ana Maria , Scepanovic Gordana , Erdemci-Tandogan Gonca , Castle Veronica
Published: August 2021

Our increasing ability to resolve fine details using light microscopy is matched by an increasing need to quantify images in order to detect and measure phenotypes. Despite their central role in cell biology, many image analysis tools require a financial investment, are released as proprietary software, or are implemented in languages not friendly for beginners, and thus are used as black boxes. To overcome these limitations, we have developed PyJAMAS, an open-source tool for image processing and analysis written in Python. PyJAMAS provides a variety of segmentation tools, including watershed and machine learning-based methods; takes advantage of Jupyter notebooks for the display and reproducibility of data analyses; and can be used through a cross-platform graphical user interface or as part of Python scripts via a comprehensive application programming interface.

Availability and implementation

PyJAMAS is open-source and available at https://bitbucket.org/rfg_lab/pyjamas.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
CLPP deficiency ameliorates neurodegeneration caused by impaired mitochondrial protein synthesis
Authors: Rumyantseva Anastasia , Popovic Milica , Trifunovic Aleksandra
Published: August 2021

Mitochondria are essential organelles found in every eukaryotic cell, required to convert food into usable energy. Therefore, it is not surprising that mutations in either mtDNA or nuclear DNA-encoded genes of mitochondrial proteins cause diseases affecting the oxidative phosphorylation system, which are heterogeneous from a clinical, genetic, biochemical and molecular perspective and can affect patients at any age. Despite all this, it is surprising that our understanding of the mechanisms governing mitochondrial gene expression and its associated pathologies remain superficial and therapeutic interventions largely unexplored.

We recently showed that loss of the mitochondrial matrix protease caseinolytic protease proteolytic subunit (CLPP) ameliorates phenotypes in cells characterized by defects in oxidative phosphorylation maintenance. Here, we build upon this finding by showing that CLPP depletion is indeed beneficial in vivo for various types of neuronal populations, including Purkinje cells in the cerebellum and cortical and hippocampal neurons in the forebrain, as it strongly improves distinct phenotypes of mitochondria encephalopathy, driven by the deficiency of the mitochondrial aspartyl tRNA synthase DARS2. In the absence of CLPP, neurodegeneration of DARS2-deficient neurons is delayed as they present milder oxidative phosphorylation dysfunction. This in turn leads to a decreased neuroinflammatory response and significantly improved motor functions in both double-deficient models (Purkinje cell-specific or forebrain neuron-specific Dars2/Clpp double knockout mice). We propose that diminished turnover of respiratory complex I caused by the loss of CLPP is behind the improved phenotype in Dars2/Clpp double knockout animals, even though this intervention might not restore respiratory complex I activity but rather improve mitochondrial cristae morphology or help maintain the NAD+/NADH ratio inside mitochondria.

These results also open the possibility of targeting CLPP activity in many other mitochondrial encephalopathies characterized by respiratory complex I instability.
Neurofilament light chain and glial fibrillary acidic protein levels in metachromatic leukodystrophy
Authors: Beerepoot Shanice , Heijst Hans , Roos Birthe , Wamelink Mirjam M C , Boelens Jaap Jan , Lindemans Caroline A , van Hasselt Peter M , Jacobs Edwin H , van der Knaap Marjo S , Teunissen Charlotte E , Wolf Nicole I
Published: August 2021

Metachromatic leukodystrophy is a lethal metabolic leukodystrophy, with emerging treatments for early disease stages. Biomarkers to measure disease activity are required for clinical assessment and treatment follow-up.

This retrospective study compared neurofilament light chain and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels in CSF (n = 11) and blood (n = 92) samples of 40 patients with metachromatic leukodystrophy (aged 0–42 years) with 38 neurologically healthy children (aged 0–17 years) and 38 healthy adults (aged 18–45 years), and analysed the associations between these levels with clinical phenotype and disease evolution in untreated and transplanted patients. Metachromatic leukodystrophy subtype was determined based on the (expected) age of symptom onset. Disease activity was assessed by measuring gross motor function deterioration and brain MRI. Longitudinal analyses with measurements up to 23 years after diagnosis were performed using linear mixed models.

CSF and blood neurofilament light chain and GFAP levels in paediatric controls were negatively associated with age (all P < 0.001). Blood neurofilament light chain level at diagnosis (median, interquartile range; picograms per millilitre) was significantly increased in both presymptomatic (14.7, 10.6–56.7) and symptomatic patients (136, 40.8–445) compared to controls (5.6, 4.5–7.1), and highest among patients with late-infantile (456, 201–854) or early-juvenile metachromatic leukodystrophy (291.0, 104–445) and those ineligible for treatment based on best practice (291, 57.4–472). GFAP level (median, interquartile range; picogram per millilitre) was only increased in symptomatic patients (591, 224–1150) compared to controls (119, 78.2–338) and not significantly associated with treatment eligibility (P = 0.093). Higher blood neurofilament light chain and GFAP levels at diagnosis were associated with rapid disease progression in late-infantile (P = 0.006 and P = 0.051, respectively) and early-juvenile patients (P = 0.048 and P = 0.039, respectively). Finally, blood neurofilament light chain and GFAP levels decreased during follow-up in untreated and transplanted patients but remained elevated compared with controls. Only neurofilament light chain levels were associated with MRI deterioration (P < 0.001).

This study indicates that both proteins may be considered as non-invasive biomarkers for clinical phenotype and disease stage at clinical assessment, and that neurofilament light chain might enable neurologists to make better informed treatment decisions. In addition, neurofilament light chain holds promise assessing treatment response. Importantly, both biomarkers require paediatric reference values, given that their levels first decrease before increasing with advancing age.
Golfing with Trump. Social capital, decline, inequality, and the rise of populism in the US
Authors: Rodríguez-Pose Andrés , Lee Neil , Lipp Cornelius
Published: August 2021

In 2000, Robert Putnam forecast that United States (US) democracy was at risk from the twin challenges of declining civic engagement and rising interpersonal inequality. Sixteen years later, his predictions were vindicated by the election of Donald Trump as president of the US. This paper analyses the extent to which the 2016 election of Donald Trump—and his failed re-election bid in 2020—have been related to levels of social capital and interpersonal inequalities. We posit an alternative: that the rise in votes for Trump has been the result of long-term economic and population decline in areas with strong social capital. This hypothesis is confirmed by the econometric analysis conducted for US counties. Long-term declines in employment and population—rather than in earnings, salaries, or wages—in places with relatively strong social capital propelled Donald Trump to the presidency and almost secured his re-election. By contrast, low social capital and high interpersonal inequality were not connected to a surge in support for Trump. These results are robust to the introduction of control variables and different inequality measures. The analysis also shows that the discontent at the base of the Trump margin is not just a consequence of the 2008 crisis but had been brewing for a long time. Places in the US that remained cohesive but witnessed an enduring decline are no longer bowling alone, they have golfed with Trump and will, in all likelihood, continue to golf with Trumpism or other forms of populism.
Specifying and Model Checking Distributed Control Algorithms at Meta-level
Authors: Doan Ha Thi Thu , Ogata Kazuhiro
Published: August 2021

This paper proposes an approach to the specification and model checking of a large, important class of distributed algorithms called control algorithms (CAs), which are superimposed on underlying distributed systems (UDSs). The approach is based on rewriting logic by moving from its object level to the meta-level. We introduce the idea of specifying CAs as meta-programs that take the specifications of UDSs and automatically generate the specifications of the UDSs on which the CAs are superimposed (UDS-CAs). Due to many options, such as network topologies, even fixing the number of each kind of entities, such as mobile support stations (MSSs) and mobile hosts (MHs) in a mobile checkpointing algorithm, there are many instances of a UDS. To address the problem, we generate all possible initial states of a UDS for a fixed number of each kind of entities such that some constraints, such as MSSs strongly connected with a wired network, are fulfilled and conduct model checking for each of the initial states. We demonstrate the usefulness by reporting on a case study where a counterexample is found for some specific initial states but not for the other initial states, detecting a subtle flaw lurking in a mobile checkpointing algorithm.
Cluster Randomized Trials: Lessons for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Trials
Authors: Caron Bénédicte , D’Amico Ferdinando , Danese Silvio , Peyrin-Biroulet Laurent
Published: August 2021

Randomized clinical trials are the gold standard for the development of new drugs. Clinical trials have become increasingly complex, in particular in the field of inflammatory bowel diseases. For this reason, a new study design called ‘cluster randomized trial’ has been introduced. Cluster randomized trials randomly assign groups of individuals within a population of interest, such as people in a particular research site, clinic or hospital, and measure the effects of an intervention at the individual level. In contrast to individual randomization, cluster randomization permits the evaluation of a cluster-level intervention, may be logistically simpler and less expensive than a conventional randomized trial, and can help reduce the effect of treatment contamination. An important aspect requiring particular attention in cluster randomized trials is the risk for imbalance of covariates at baseline which decreases the statistical power and precision of the results, and reduces face validity and credibility of the trial results. A variety of restricted randomization methods have been proposed to minimize risk of imbalance. Our aim here is to clarify the advantages and drawbacks of cluster randomized trials in order to properly interpret study results and to identify their role in upcoming inflammatory bowel disease trials.
Outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction and history of illicit drug use: a French nationwide analysis
Authors: Ma Iris , Genet Thibaud , Clementy Nicolas , Bisson Arnaud , Herbert Julien , Semaan Carl , Bouteau Jérémie , Angoulvant Denis , Ivanes Fabrice , Fauchier Laurent
Published: August 2021

Aims 

Several reports suggest that illicit drug use may be a major cause of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) independently of smoking habits and associated with a poorer prognosis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of illicit drug use on (i) the risk of AMI and (ii) its prognosis.

Methods and results 

This French longitudinal cohort study was based on the administrative hospital-discharge database from the entire population. First, we collected data for all patients admitted in hospital in 2013 with at least 5 years of follow-up to identify potential predictors of AMI. In a second phase, we collected data for all patients admitted with AMI from January 2010 to December 2018. We identified patients with a history of illicit drug use (cannabis, cocaine, or opioid). These patients were matched with patients without illicit drug use to assess their prognosis. In 2013, 3 381 472 patients were hospitalized with a mean follow-up of 4.7 ± 1.8 years. In multivariable analysis, among all drugs under evaluation, only cannabis use was significantly associated with a higher risk of AMI [HR 1.32 (95% CI 1.09–1.59), P = 0.004]. Between January 2010 and December 2018, we then identified 738 899 AMI patients. Among these patients, 3827 (0.5%) had a known history of illicit drug use. These patients were younger, most often male and had less comorbidities. After 1:1 propensity score matching, during a mean follow-up of 1.9 ± 2.3 years, there was no significant difference between patients without illicit drug use and patients with illicit drug use regarding all-cause death, cardiovascular death, stroke, or heart failure.

Conclusion 

In a large and systematic nationwide analysis, cannabis use was an independent risk factor for the incidence of AMI. However, the prognosis of illicit drug users presenting with AMI was similar to patients without illicit drug use.
Aortic coarctation with cardiac fibroma in a young patient: a case report
Authors: Shen Linghong , Xu Ke , Kong Ye , He Ben
Published: August 2021

Background

Cardiac fibroma and aortic coarctation are rarely observed concomitantly in the same patient. We report a case of cardiac fibroma with aortic coarctation treated with a hybrid surgical procedure. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of these two abnormalities existing in one patient.

Case summary

A 22-year-old female patient visited the clinic with a 10-year history of hypertension. Physical examination revealed blood pressure of the upper extremities 50 mmHg higher than that of the lower extremities. Computed tomography angiography revealed a post-ductal-type aortic coarctation at the beginning segment of the descending aorta along with a 7.7 cm × 5.1 cm left ventricular mass. Transthoracic echocardiogram showed a mass at the middle segments of the lateral wall and apex and posterior wall of the left ventricle. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging also showed the mass with hypointense signal on T1, hyperintense signal on T2, and intense signal on late gadolinium enhancement. No evidences of metastatic lesions were observed on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. The patient underwent a hybrid surgery involving aortic stent implantation and complete left ventricular mass removal. The gradient between stenosis returned to <10 mmHg after the procedure. Pathologic findings revealed cardiac fibroma.

Discussion

It is rare to encounter a patient suffering from both cardiac fibroma and aortic coarctation. No evidences indicated a single cause or syndrome resulting in the coexistence of these two abnormalities. A hybrid surgery involving aortic stent implantation and complete cardiac mass resection could optimize the treatment in such cases.
Employment protection and fertility decisions: the unintended consequences of the Italian Jobs Act
Authors: De Paola Maria , Nisticò Roberto , Scoppa Vincenzo
Published: August 2021

We study the effect of a reduction in employment protection on workers’ fertility decisions. Using data from the Italian Labor Force Survey for 2013–18, we analyse how the propensity to have a child has been affected by the 2015 labour market reform dubbed the ‘Jobs Act’, which reduced employment protection for employees of larger firms while leaving small firms essentially untouched. We take a Difference-in-Differences identification approach and compare the change in fertility decisions of women employed in large firms with that of women in small firms. We find that the former’s probability of having a child is 1.4 percentage points lower. A battery of robustness checks confirms this finding. The effect also holds when possible sorting issues are accounted for by an instrumental variable approach. We document substantial heterogeneous effects by age, marital status, parity and geographical area as well as by education and earnings. Our findings suggest the potential unintended consequences on fertility that labour market reforms introducing greater flexibility may have by heightening career insecurity.
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Alzheimer’s Disease Risk: Role of Exposure to Ambient Fine Particles
Authors: Younan Diana , Wang Xinhui , Gruenewald Tara , Gatz Margaret , Serre Marc L , Vizuete William , Braskie Meredith N , Woods Nancy F , Kahe Ka , Garcia Lorena , Lurmann Fred , Manson JoAnn E , Chui Helena C , Wallace Robert B , Espeland Mark A , Chen Jiu-Chiuan
Published: August 2021

Background

Whether racial/ethnic disparities in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk may be explained by ambient fine particles (PM2.5) has not been studied.

Method

We conducted a prospective, population-based study on a cohort of Black (n = 481) and White (n = 6 004) older women (aged 65–79) without dementia at enrollment (1995–1998). Cox models accounting for competing risk were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for racial/ethnic disparities in AD (1996–2010) defined by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition and the association with time-varying annual average PM2.5 (1999–2010) estimated by spatiotemporal model.

Results

Over an average follow-up of 8.3 (±3.5) years with 158 incident cases (21 in Black women), the racial disparities in AD risk (range of adjusted HRBlack women = 1.85–2.41) observed in various models could not be explained by geographic region, age, socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle factors, cardiovascular risk factors, and hormone therapy assignment. Estimated PM2.5 exposure was higher in Black (14.38 ± 2.21 µg/m3) than in White (12.55 ± 2.76 µg/m3) women, and further adjustment for the association between PM2.5 and AD (adjusted HRPM2.5 = 1.18–1.28) slightly reduced the racial disparities by 2%–6% (HRBlack women = 1.81–2.26). The observed association between PM2.5 and AD risk was ~2 times greater in Black (HRPM2.5 = 2.10–2.60) than in White (HRPM2.5 = 1.07–1.15) women (range of interaction ps: <.01–.01). We found similar results after further adjusting for social engagement (social strain, social support, social activity, living alone), stressful life events, Women’s Health Initiative’s clinic sites, and neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics.

Conclusions

PM2.5 may contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in AD risk and its associated increase in AD risk was stronger among Black women.
Understanding the Benefits of Different Types and Timing of Education for Mental Health: A Sequence Analysis Approach
Authors: Vable Anusha M , Duarte Catherine dP , Wannier S Rae , Chan-Golston Alec M , Cohen Alison K , Glymour M Maria , Ream Robert K , Yen Irene H
Published: August 2021

Objectives

Individuals increasingly experience delays or interruptions in schooling; we evaluate the association between these nontraditional education trajectories and mental health.

Methods

Using year-by-year education data for 7,501 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 participants, ages 14–48 (262,535 person-years of education data), we applied sequence analysis and a clustering algorithm to identify educational trajectory groups, incorporating both type and timing to credential. Linear regression models, adjusted for early-life confounders, evaluated relationships between educational trajectories and mental health component summary (MCS) scores from the 12-item short form instrument at age 50. We evaluated effect modification by race, gender, and race by gender.

Results

We identified 24 distinct educational trajectories based on highest credential and educational timing. Compared to high school (HS) diplomas, <HS (β = −3.41, 95% CI: −4.74, −2.07) and general educational development credentials predicted poorer MCS (β = −2.07, 95% CI: −3.16, −0.98). The following educational trajectories predicted better MCS: some college immediately after HS (β = 1.52, 95% CI: 0.68, 2.37), Associate degrees after long interruptions (β = 1.73, 95% CI: 0.27, 3.19), and graduate school soon after Bachelor’s completion (β = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.21, 2.06). Compared to White men, Black women especially benefited from educational credentials higher than HS in predicting MCS.

Discussion

Both type and timing of educational credential predicted mental health. Black women’s mental health especially benefited from higher educational credentials.
Truncated O-GalNAc glycans impact on fundamental signaling pathways in pancreatic cancer
Authors: Hofmann Bianca T , Picksak Aeint-Steffen , Kwiatkowski Marcel , Grupp Katharina , Jücker Manfred , Bachmann Kai , Mercanoglu Baris , Izbicki Jakob R , Kahlert Christoph , Bockhorn Maximilian , Güngör Cenap , Ewald Florian , Wolters-Eisfeld Gerrit
Published: August 2021

Truncated O-N-acetylgalactosamine (O-GalNAc) glycosylation is an important feature of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and the expression of truncated O-GalNAc glycans is strongly associated with decreased survival and poor prognosis. It has been proven that aberrant O-GalNAc glycosylation influences PDAC signaling to promote oncogenic properties, but elucidation of the influence of truncated O-GalNAc glycosylation on different signaling molecules has just been started. We herein elucidated the impact of aberrant O-GalNAc glycosylation on two important PDAC signaling pathways, namely, AKT/mTOR and RAS/MAPK. In PDAC cells expressing truncated O-GalNAc glycans, we identified differentially expressed proteins associated with AKT/mTOR and RAS/MAPK pathways using quantitative proteomics. Since AKT, a key-signaling molecule in PDAC, was among the identified proteins, we analyzed AKT and found a strikingly enhanced S473 phosphorylation and identified a previously unknown O-GalNAc modification. Consecutive analysis of COSMC knockdowns in PDAC revealed strong effects on AKT upstream and downstream effector molecules. Interestingly, truncated O-GalNAc glycans could facilitate an mTORC1 inhibitor resistance using AZD8055. In addition, as AKT/mTOR pathway has extensive cross talks with RAS/MAPK pathway, we analyzed the pathways and found it to be negatively regulated. Finally, we found that the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers, key features of aggressive PDACs cells, are enhanced and truncated O-GalNAc glycans enhance pancreatic cancer cell growth in a xenograft mouse model. Our study demonstrates that truncated O-GalNAc glycans have a strong impact on AKT/mTOR and RAS/MAPK signaling pathways, are modulated by EGF or IGF-1 signaling and should be considered for targeted therapy of these pathways in PDAC.
Biochemical characterization of an inverting S/O-HexNAc-transferase and evidence of S-linked glycosylation in Actinobacteria
Authors: Sharma Yogita , Ahlawat Shimona , Rao Alka
Published: August 2021

Antimicrobial peptides harboring S- and or O-linked glycans are known as glycocins. Glycocins were first discovered and best characterized in Firmicutes. S-glycosylation is an enzymatic process catalyzed by S-glycosyltransferases of the GT2 family. Using a heterologous expression system, here we describe an inverting S/O-HexNAc-transferase (SvGT), encoded by ORF AQF52_3101 of Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 15439, along with its acceptor substrate (SvC), encoded by ORF AQF52_3099. Using in vitro and in vivo assays, we define the distinct donor specificity, acceptor specificity, regioselectivity, chemoselectivity and Y(G/A/K/Q/E ≠ ΔG)(C/S/T ≠ Y/N)(G/A ≠ P/Q)G as the minimum acceptor sequon of SvGT. Although UDP-GlcNAc served as the donor in the cellular milieu, SvGT could also utilize UDP-Glc and UDP-GalNAc as donors in vitro. Using mass spectrometry and western blotting, we provide evidence that an anti-O-GlcNAc antibody (CTD110.6) cross-reacts with S-GlcNAc and may be used to detect S-GlcNAcylated glycoconjugates directly. With an understanding of enzyme specificities, we finally employed SvGT to generate two proof-of-concept neoglycocins against Listeria monocytogenes. In conclusion, this study provides the first experimental evidence for S-glycosylation in Actinobacteria and the application of its S/O-HexNAc-transferase in glycocin engineering.
No Trademark Protection for Artworks in the Public Domain – A Practical Guide to the Application of Public Order and Morality as Grounds for Refusal
Authors: Senftleben Martin
Published: August 2021

With its 2017 landmark decision in Vigeland, the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association States (EFTA Court) has paved the way for the invocation of public order and morality as grounds for refusal when trademark protection is sought for cultural expressions in the public domain. Dealing with an attempt to register artworks of the famous Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland as trademarks, the EFTA Court took this step to safeguard the public domain status of literary and artistic works after the expiry of copyright, shield cultural creations against ‘commercial greed’ and ensure the freedom of the arts.1 Trademark examiners and judges seeking to follow in the footsteps of the EFTA Court, however, may find it difficult to operationalize the Vigeland criteria and put corresponding arguments for refusal into practice. Against this background, the following analysis provides guidelines for the practical application of public order and morality arguments in cultural heritage cases. It describes problems arising from the grant of trademark rights in cultural public domain material (Section I) and the traditional reluctance of trademark offices and courts to rely on public order and morality considerations in this context (Section II). After this statement of the problem, the criteria following from the Vigeland decision will be introduced (Section III) before we explore the practical implementation of the EFTA Court’s morality (Section IV) and public order (Section V) arguments in more detail. The final Section VI summarizes the results of the analysis.
Presence-only habitat suitability models for vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator taxa in the South Pacific have reached their predictive limit
Authors: Stephenson Fabrice , Rowden Ashley A , Anderson Owen F , Pitcher C Roland , Pinkerton Matt H , Petersen Grady , Bowden David A
Published: August 2021

Vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are typically fragile and slow to recover, making them likely to be substantially altered by disturbance. In the High Seas, regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) are required to implement measures to prevent significant adverse impacts on VMEs. The objectives of the present study were to: update distribution models of VME indicator taxa in the South Pacific RFMO Convention Area; evaluate these against newly-collated independent field data to test the reliability of the presence-only habitat suitability models; and assess how well the updated models were able to predict into unsampled space. Ensemble habitat suitability models of 10 VME indicator taxa performed well using the newly collated data (AUC > 0.95, TSS > 0.76, and RMSE < 0.34). There were no obvious patterns of decreasing model performance with decreasing environmental coverage; areas with few samples underpinning model predictions still had AUC > 0.93, TSS > 0.71, and RMSE < 0.43. Despite these encouraging results, we also identify some important inherent issues with presence-only models that have profound implications for their use in management of VMEs. Future modelling efforts for VME management purposes should be based ideally on the use of survey presence-absence data and, preferably, abundance data.
Antimicrobial activity of ceftazidime/avibactam, ceftolozane/tazobactam and comparator agents against Pseudomonas aeruginosa from cystic fibrosis patients
Authors: Sader Helio S , Duncan Leonard R , Doyle Timothy B , Castanheira Mariana
Published: August 2021

Objectives

To evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates collected from the lower respiratory tract of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.

Methods

We susceptibility tested 273 contemporary P. aeruginosa isolates from 39 hospitals worldwide (17 countries) by the reference broth microdilution method.

Results

Ceftazidime/avibactam [MIC50/90, 2/8 mg/L; 96.0% susceptible (S)] was the most active agent, followed by ceftolozane/tazobactam (MIC50/90, 1/4 mg/L; 90.5% S), ceftazidime (MIC50/90, 2/>32 mg/L; 80.6% S), piperacillin/tazobactam (MIC50/90, 4/128 mg/L; 80.2% S) and tobramycin (MIC50/90, 2/>16 mg/L; 76.6% S). Ceftazidime/avibactam retained activity against P. aeruginosa isolates non-susceptible to meropenem (86.5% S to ceftazidime/avibactam), piperacillin/tazobactam (85.2% S to ceftazidime/avibactam) or ceftazidime (79.2% S to ceftazidime/avibactam). MDR phenotype was observed among 36.3% of isolates, and 88.9% and 73.7% of MDR isolates were susceptible to ceftazidime/avibactam and ceftolozane/tazobactam, respectively. Against isolates non-susceptible to meropenem, piperacillin/tazobactam and ceftazidime, susceptibility rates were 78.9% for ceftazidime/avibactam and 47.4% for ceftolozane/tazobactam. Ceftazidime/avibactam was active against 65.4% of ceftolozane/tazobactam-non-susceptible isolates and ceftolozane/tazobactam was active against 18.2% of ceftazidime/avibactam-non-susceptible isolates.

Conclusions

Ceftazidime/avibactam and ceftolozane/tazobactam exhibited potent and broad-spectrum activity against P. aeruginosa isolated from CF patients worldwide, but higher susceptibility rates for ceftazidime/avibactam compared with ceftolozane/tazobactam were observed among the resistant subsets. Ceftazidime/avibactam and ceftolozane/tazobactam represent valuable options to treat CF pulmonary exacerbations caused by P. aeruginosa.
A qualitative study of provider burnout: do medical scribes hinder or help?
Authors: Corby Sky , Ash Joan S , Mohan Vishnu , Becton James , Solberg Nicholas , Bergstrom Robby , Orwoll Benjamin , Hoekstra Christopher , Gold Jeffrey A
Published: August 2021

Objective

Provider burnout is a crisis in healthcare and leads to medical errors, a decrease in patient satisfaction, and provider turnover. Many feel that the increased use of electronic health records contributes to the rate of burnout. To avoid provider burnout, many organizations are hiring medical scribes. The goal of this study was to identify relevant elements of the provider–scribe relationship (like decreasing documentation burden, extending providers’ careers, and preventing retirement) and describe how and to what extent they may influence provider burnout.

Materials and Methods

Qualitative methods were used to gain a broad view of the complex landscape surrounding scribes. Data were collected in 3 phases between late 2017 and early 2019. Data from 5 site visits, interviews with medical students who had experience as scribes, and discussions at an expert conference were analyzed utilizing an inductive approach.

Results

A total of 184 transcripts were analyzed to identify patterns and themes related to provider burnout. Provider burnout leads to increased provider frustration and exhaustion. Providers reported that medical scribes improve provider job satisfaction and reduce burnout because they reduce the documentation burden. Medical scribes extend providers’ careers and may prevent early retirement. Unfortunately, medical scribes themselves may experience similar forms of burnout.

Conclusion

Our data from providers and managers suggest that medical scribes help to reduce provider burnout. However, scribes are not the only solution for reducing documentation burden and there may be potentially better options for preventing burnout. Interestingly, medical scribes sometimes suffer from burnout themselves, despite their temporary roles.
A comparison of attentional neural network architectures for modeling with electronic medical records
Authors: Finch Anthony , Crowell Alexander , Chang Yung-Chieh , Parameshwarappa Pooja , Martinez Jose , Horberg Michael
Published: August 2021

Objective

Attention networks learn an intelligent weighted averaging mechanism over a series of entities, providing increases to both performance and interpretability. In this article, we propose a novel time-aware transformer-based network and compare it to another leading model with similar characteristics. We also decompose model performance along several critical axes and examine which features contribute most to our model’s performance.

Materials and methods

Using data sets representing patient records obtained between 2017 and 2019 by the Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States medical system, we construct four attentional models with varying levels of complexity on two targets (patient mortality and hospitalization). We examine how incorporating transfer learning and demographic features contribute to model success. We also test the performance of a model proposed in recent medical modeling literature. We compare these models with out-of-sample data using the area under the receiver-operator characteristic (AUROC) curve and average precision as measures of performance. We also analyze the attentional weights assigned by these models to patient diagnoses.

Results

We found that our model significantly outperformed the alternative on a mortality prediction task (91.96% AUROC against 73.82% AUROC). Our model also outperformed on the hospitalization task, although the models were significantly more competitive in that space (82.41% AUROC against 80.33% AUROC). Furthermore, we found that demographic features and transfer learning features which are frequently omitted from new models proposed in the EMR modeling space contributed significantly to the success of our model.

Discussion

We proposed an original construction of deep learning electronic medical record models which achieved very strong performance. We found that our unique model construction outperformed on several tasks in comparison to a leading literature alternative, even when input data was held constant between them. We obtained further improvements by incorporating several methods that are frequently overlooked in new model proposals, suggesting that it will be useful to explore these options further in the future.