bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Risk of disease transmission in an expanded donor population: the potential of hepatitis B virus donors
Authors: Zhou Kali , Zhou Selena
Published: October 2020

Purpose of review

Lack of availability of donor organs is a constant challenge that patients and providers face in transplantation. To address this shortage, donors that test positive for hepatitis B, in particular those with resolved infection, have been increasingly utilized in clinical practice. We review here the potential risks for the recipient and the advances in hepatitis B management that have made use of these donors a well tolerated and advisable proposition.

Recent findings

As routine administration of antiviral prophylaxis in the posttransplant setting among those deemed high risk for transmission, outcomes for recipients of hepatitis B donors, including liver transplant recipients, have been comparable to uninfected donors. Universal hepatitis B nucleic acid testing of donors has also enhanced our ability to accurately inform recipients regarding transmission risk. Appropriate use of prophylaxis and careful monitoring for transmission posttransplant is key to ensuring no adverse outcomes occur.

Treatment of hepatitis B has evolved over the past two decades. Expanding the donor pool with hepatitis B donors is now well tolerated, ethical, and advantageous to the transplant community at large. A clear discussion with recipients on the substantial benefit and low harm of using hepatitis B donors will lead to greater acceptance and utilization of these organs.
Similarities and Differences in the 2019 ISUP and GUPS Recommendations on Prostate Cancer Grading: A Guide for Practicing Pathologists
Authors: Smith Steven C. , Gandhi Jatin S. , Moch Holger , Aron Manju , Compérat Eva , Paner Gladell P. , McKenney Jesse K. , Amin Mahul B.
Published: October 2020

Contemporary subspecialization of practice in prostate pathology has seen a transition to complex, nuanced reporting, where a growing number of histopathologic parameters may signal differences in patient management. In this context, the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) and the Genitourinary Pathology Society (GUPS) both published proceedings papers on the grading of prostate cancer in 2019. Overall, the 2 prostate cancer grading manuscripts reached many of the same conclusions and recommendations. Yet, each consensus was conducted somewhat differently, and in a couple of key areas, each reached different conclusions and recommendations. Herein, sourced from the experience and viewpoints of members of both societies, we provide the practicing pathologist a summary of the shared recommendations, and of the discordances. It is anticipated that these 2 documents will inform future iterations of recommendations and guidelines for reporting prostate cancer by organizations such as the College of American Pathologists, the Royal College of Pathologists, and the European Society of Pathology, which will promote best practices for their respective constituents. Our goal is to provide the practicing pathologist a useful catalog of the main points of both, allowing each practitioner to make informed decisions and understand any divergent opinions as may arise between observers for individual cases.
Traumatic Brain Injury Outcomes in 10 Asian Pediatric ICUs: A Pediatric Acute and Critical Care Medicine Asian Network Retrospective Study
Authors: Chong Shu-Ling , Dang Hongxing , Ming Meixiu , Mahmood Maznisah , Zheng Charles Q. S. , Gan Chin Seng , Lee Olive P. E. , Ji Jian , Chan Lawrence C. N. , Ong Jacqueline S. M. , Kurosawa Hiroshi , Lee Jan Hau
Published: October 2020

Objectives:

Traumatic brain injury remains an important cause of death and disability. We aim to report the epidemiology and management of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury in Asian PICUs and identify risk factors for mortality and poor functional outcomes.

Design:

A retrospective study of the Pediatric Acute and Critical Care Medicine Asian Network moderate to severe traumatic brain injury dataset collected between 2014 and 2017.

Setting:

Patients were from the participating PICUs of Pediatric Acute and Critical Care Medicine Asian Network.

Patients:

We included children less than 16 years old with a Glasgow Coma Scale less than or equal to 13.

Interventions:

None.

Measurements and Main Results:

We obtained data on patient demographics, injury circumstances, and PICU management. We performed a multivariate logistic regression predicting for mortality and poor functional outcomes. We analyzed 380 children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Most injuries were a result of road traffic injuries (174 [45.8%]) and falls (160 [42.1%]). There were important differences in temperature control, use of antiepileptic drugs, and hyperosmolar agents between the sites. Fifty-six children died (14.7%), and 104 of 324 survivors (32.1%) had poor functional outcomes. Poor functional outcomes were associated with non–high-income sites (adjusted odds ratio, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.11–3.29), Glasgow Coma Scale less than 8 (adjusted odds ratio, 4.24; 95% CI, 2.44–7.63), involvement in a road traffic collision (adjusted odds ratio, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.04–3.26), and presence of child abuse (adjusted odds ratio, 2.75; 95% CI, 1.01–7.46).

Conclusions:

Poor functional outcomes are prevalent after pediatric traumatic brain injury in Asia. There is an urgent need for further research in these high-risk groups.
Duration of antimicrobial therapy for Gram-negative infections
Authors: Le Fevre Lucie , Timsit Jean-François
Published: October 2020

Purpose of review

The potential benefits on antimicrobial resistance emergence, incidence of antibiotic-related adverse effects, and health costs have pushed to shorten therapeutic courses for Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) infections. However, the safety of this approach is still under investigation. This review gathers recent contributions to the evaluation of the impact on antimicrobial resistance and clinical outcome of shorter therapeutic courses against GNB infections, and highlights data on the modern approach of adjustable antibiotic duration.

Recent findings

Recent advances include data on the safety of 7-day treatment of uncomplicated Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infections with favorable early 48-h evolution. A promising innovative approach with individualized treatment duration arises, supported by recently published results on GNB bacteremia evaluating fixed antibiotic durations and an adaptive antibiotic duration driven by blood levels of C-reactive protein.

Recent literature illustrates a strong trend towards shortened antibiotic durations in GNB infections, illustrated by lately published data in GNB bacteremia and ongoing studies in GNB ventilator-associated pneumonia. However, short antibiotic course for specific situations, such as immunodeficiency, drug-resistance, and inadequate source control should be handled with caution because of lack of supportive data.
Virtual Planning for Exchange Cranioplasty in Cranial Vault Remodeling
Authors: Lu Stephen M. , Pessino Kenneth , Gray Rachel L. , Rodgers Shaun D. , Schneider Steven J. , Bastidas Nicholas
Published: October 2020

The use of virtual surgical planning and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing has gained popularity in the surgical correction of craniosynostosis. This study expands the use of virtual surgical planning and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing in cranial vault reconstruction by using these methods to reconstruct the anterior vault using a single endocortically-plated unit constructed from the posterior calvarium. This technique was designed to reduce the risk of undesirable contour deformities that can occur when multiple bone grafts are used to reconstruct the anterior vault and fronto-orbital rim. Six patients were included in this study, all of which had nonsyndromic craniosynostosis. Excellent aesthetic outcomes were obtained in all patients, without complication. Additionally, the placement of a single reconstructive unit constructed from the posterior calvarium was efficient, aesthetically pleasing, and minimized postoperative contour deformities secondary to bone gaps, resorption, and often palpable resorbable plates.
Orthognathic Surgery in Craniosynostosis
Authors: Ferri Joël , Schlund Matthias , Touzet-Roumazeille Sandrine
Published: October 2020

Introduction:

Craniosynostosis is characterized by the fusion of 1 or more sutures of the skull leading to craniofacial deformations. Our aim is to describe the dental malocclusion associated with craniosynostosis, syndromic, or nonsyndromic, and also the treatment used and its stability.

Material and Methods:

This retrospective study included all patients who presented at our Department for facial growth monitoring and occlusal management following syndromic and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis. Inclusion began in January 1996 and ended in December 2015 to ensure sufficient follow-up. Orthognathic surgery was performed after the end of growth. Dental occlusion was evaluated clinically and radiographically.

Results:

Fifty-five patients were included with 18 syndromic cases. The majority of patients presented with class III malocclusion (69.1%), especially syndromic cases (94.7%) and brachycephalies (96.3%). Conversely, scaphocephalies are associated with class II malocclusions. Thirty-nine patients underwent orthodontic treatment associated with orthognathic surgery to correct their malocclusion. In 4 cases, optimal dental occlusion was achieved with orthodontic treatment alone. Forty patients achieved stable optimal final dental occlusion. Optimal dental occlusion was achieved in 76.9% of the nonsurgically treated craniosynostosis patients and 68.9% of the surgically treated craniosynostosis patients.

Discussion:

Sutural fusion induces a facial growth restrictions and dental malocclusions. Several mechanisms may be responsible for these malocclusions: positional anomaly of the jaws due to the cranial deformity, associated anomaly of the facial sutures, or osteocartilagenous system diseases. Early craniosynostosis management does not avoid the occurrence of malocclusion, which will require orthodontic treatment and orthognathic surgery for their management.
Breeders are less active foragers than non-breeders in wild Damaraland mole-rats
Authors: Francioli Yannick , Thorley Jack , Finn Kyle , Clutton-Brock Tim , Zöttl Markus
Published: October 2020

Eusocial societies are characterized by a clear division of labour between non-breeding workers and breeding queens, and queens often do not contribute to foraging, defence and other maintenance tasks. It has been suggested that the structure and organization of social mole-rat groups resembles that of eusocial insect societies. However, the division of labour has rarely been investigated in wild mole-rats, and it is unknown whether breeders show decreased foraging activity compared with non-breeding helpers in natural groups. Here, we show that, in wild Damaraland mole-rats
(Fukomys damarensis)
, breeders show lower activity in foraging areas than non-breeding group members. Both breeders and non-breeders displayed variation in activity across the different seasons. Our results suggest that group living allows social mole-rat breeders to reduce their investment in energetically costly behaviour, or alternatively, that the high cost of reproduction in this species forces a behavioural trade-off against foraging investment.
Local adaptation from afar: migratory bird populations diverge in the initiation of reproductive timing while wintering in sympatry
Authors: Wanamaker S. M. , Singh D. , Byrd A. J. , Smiley T. M. , Ketterson E. D.
Published: October 2020

The initiation of reproduction in many seasonally breeding animals is controlled by photoperiod and tends to be clinal: populations at higher latitudes breed later than those at lower latitudes, often reflecting a higher photoperiodic threshold. Migratory animals presumably time reproduction to match conditions at their breeding grounds, at least in part, by cues perceived on their wintering grounds. We asked how closely related dark-eyed junco (
Junco hyemalis
) populations that overwinter in sympatry but breed in allopatry respond to their shared winter environment by comparing early spring indices of readiness to migrate (fat and muscle condition) and breed (baseline and elevated testosterone). We measured stable hydrogen isotopes from feathers grown the preceding year and claws grown during winter to estimate breeding and wintering latitudes, respectively. We predicted that if reproductive initiation is adapted to the emergence of resources at their respective breeding destinations, then birds migrating to higher latitudes (slate-coloured junco;
J. h. hyemalis
) should delay breeding as compared with those migrating to lower latitudes (pink-sided junco;
J. h. mearnsi
) despite a common overwinter environment. We found higher testosterone in pink-sided juncos, consistent with earlier reproductive initiation, suggesting local adaptation in reproductive phenology is achieved through differential responses to predictive environmental cues.
Pair formation in insect swarms driven by adaptive long-range interactions
Authors: Gorbonos Dan , Puckett James G. , van der Vaart Kasper , Sinhuber Michael , Ouellette Nicholas T. , Gov Nir S.
Published: October 2020

In swarms of flying insects, the motions of individuals are largely uncoordinated with those of their neighbours, unlike the highly ordered motion of bird flocks. However, it has been observed that insects may transiently form pairs with synchronized relative motion while moving through the swarm. The origin of this phenomenon remains an open question. In particular, it is not known if pairing is a new behavioural process or whether it is a natural by-product of typical swarming behaviour. Here, using an ‘adaptive-gravity’ model that proposes that insects interact via long-range gravity-like acoustic attractions that are modulated by the total background sound (via ‘adaptivity’ or fold-change detection) and that reproduces measured features of real swarms, we show that pair formation can indeed occur without the introduction of additional behavioural rules. In the model, pairs form robustly whenever two insects happen to move together from the centre of the swarm (where the background sound is high) towards the swarm periphery (where the background sound is low). Due to adaptivity, the attraction between the pair increases as the background sound decreases, thereby forming a bound state since their relative kinetic energy is smaller than their pair-potential energy. When the pair moves into regions of high background sound, however, the process is reversed and the pair may break up. Our results suggest that pairing should appear generally in biological systems with long-range attraction and adaptive sensing, such as during chemotaxis-driven cellular swarming.
The structure of autocatalytic networks, with application to early biochemistry
Authors: Steel Mike , Xavier Joana C. , Huson Daniel H.
Published: October 2020

Metabolism across all known living systems combines two key features. First, all of the molecules that are required are either available in the environment or can be built up from available resources via other reactions within the system. Second, the reactions proceed in a fast and synchronized fashion via catalysts that are also produced within the system. Building on early work by Stuart Kauffman, a precise mathematical model for describing such self-sustaining autocatalytic systems (RAF theory) has been developed to explore the origins and organization of living systems within a general formal framework. In this paper, we develop this theory further by establishing new relationships between classes of RAFs and related classes of networks, and developing new algorithms to investigate and visualize RAF structures in detail. We illustrate our results by showing how it reveals further details into the structure of archaeal and bacterial metabolism near the origin of life, and provide techniques to study and visualize the core aspects of primitive biochemistry.
Statistical modelling of bacterial promoter sequences for regulatory motif discovery with the help of transcriptome data: application to
Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Sultan Ibrahim , Fromion Vincent , Schbath Sophie , Nicolas Pierre
Published: October 2020

Automatic de novo identification of the main regulons of a bacterium from genome and transcriptome data remains a challenge. To address this task, we propose a statistical model that can use information on exact positions of the transcription start sites and condition-dependent expression profiles. The central idea of this model is to improve the probabilistic representation of the promoter DNA sequences by incorporating covariates summarizing expression profiles (e.g. coordinates in projection spaces or hierarchical clustering trees). A dedicated trans-dimensional Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm adjusts the width and palindromic properties of the corresponding position-weight matrices, the number of parameters to describe exact position relative to the transcription start site, and chooses the expression covariates relevant for each motif. All parameters are estimated simultaneously, for many motifs and many expression covariates. The method is applied to a dataset of transcription start sites and expression profiles available for
Listeria monocytogenes
. The results validate the approach and provide a new global view of the transcription regulatory network of this important pathogen. Remarkably, a previously unreported motif is found in promoter regions of ribosomal protein genes, suggesting a role in the regulation of growth.
Revisiting the prioritization of emotional information in iconic memory
Authors: Kattner Florian , Clausen Alexandra
Published: October 2020

In this replication study, the previously reported prioritization of emotional stimuli in iconic memory (Kuhbandner
et al
. 2011.
Psychol. Sci.
22
, 695–700. (doi:10.1177/0956797611406445)) was reinvestigated. Therefore, recall from iconic memory was measured for sets of visual images that were briefly presented in the periphery of the visual field. Using a partial-report technique, a central arrow presented at varying delays after the images was pointing to the location of the to-be-recalled target. In the direct replication (experiment 1,
n
= 41), participants were asked to verbally report the cued image (note that the entire planned sample size could not be reached owing to the COVID-19 pandemic), and in an extension experiment (experiment 2,
n
= 55), iconic memory was tested using a visual recognition test. Both experiments demonstrated prioritized selection of emotional targets from iconic memory, with higher verbal recall and visual recognition accuracy for negative and positive targets compared to neutral targets. In addition, we found that the presence of emotional distractors in the set interfered with the selection of neutral targets, thus confirming a trend that was observed in the original study. Exponential decay curves further revealed that both target and distractor valence primarily affected initial availability (in case of verbal recall) and attentional selection, whereas the decay of iconic memory with increasing cue delay was less sensitive to the emotional meaning.
Disentangling the effects of sex, life history and genetic background in Atlantic salmon: growth, heart and liver under common garden conditions
Authors: Perry William Bernard , Solberg Monica F. , Brodie Christopher , Medina Angela C. , Pillay Kirthana G. , Egerton Anna , Harvey Alison , Creer Simon , Llewellyn Martin , Taylor Martin , Carvalho Gary , Glover Kevin A.
Published: October 2020

Livestock domestication has long been a part of agriculture, estimated to have first occurred approximately 10 000 years ago. Despite the plethora of traits studied, there is little understanding of the possible impacts domestication has had on internal organs, which are key determinants of survival. Moreover, the genetic basis of observed associated changes in artificial environments is still puzzling. Here we examine impacts of captivity on two organs in Atlantic salmon (
Salar salar
) that have been domesticated for approximately 50 years: heart and liver, in addition to growth. We studied multiple families of wild, domesticated, F
1
and F
2
hybrid, and backcrossed strains of
S. salar
in replicated common garden tanks during the freshwater and marine stages of development. Heart and liver weight were investigated, along with heart morphology metrics examined in just the wild, domesticated and F
1
hybrid strains (heart height and width). Growth was positively linked with the proportion of the domesticated strain, and recombination in F
2
hybrids (and the potential disruption of co-adapted gene complexes) did not influence growth. Despite the influence of domestication on growth, we found no evidence for domestication-driven divergence in heart or liver morphology. However, sexual dimorphism was detected in heart morphology, and after controlling for body size, females exhibited significantly larger heart weight and heart width when compared with males. Wild females also had an increased heart height when compared with wild males, and this was not observed in any other strain. Females sampled in saltwater showed significantly larger heart height with rounder hearts, than saltwater males. Collectively, these results demonstrate an additive basis of growth and, despite a strong influence of domestication on growth, no clear evidence of changes in heart or liver morphology associated with domestication was identified.
Recognizing affiliation in colaughter and cospeech
Authors: Bryant Gregory A. , Wang Christine S. , Fusaroli Riccardo
Published: October 2020

Theories of vocal signalling in humans typically only consider communication within the interactive group and ignore intergroup dynamics. Recent work has found that colaughter generated between pairs of people in conversation can afford accurate judgements of affiliation across widely disparate cultures, and the acoustic features that listeners use to make these judgements are linked to speaker arousal. But to what extent does colaughter inform third party listeners beyond other dynamic information between interlocutors such as overlapping talk? We presented listeners with short segments (1–3 s) of colaughter and simultaneous speech (i.e. cospeech) taken from natural conversations between established friends and newly acquainted strangers. Participants judged whether the pairs of interactants in the segments were friends or strangers. Colaughter afforded more accurate judgements of affiliation than did cospeech, despite cospeech being over twice in duration relative to colaughter on average. Sped-up versions of colaughter and cospeech (proxies of speaker arousal) did not improve accuracy for either identifying friends or strangers, but faster versions of both modes increased the likelihood of tokens being judged as being between friends. Overall, results are consistent with research showing that laughter is well suited to transmit rich information about social relationships to third party overhearers—a signal that works between, and not just within conversational groups.
Assessment of ground instability risk of lower seam longwall panels during crossing overlying remnant pillars
Authors: Pan Ruikai , Li Yong , Wang Hui , Xu Youlin , Yang Hongyun
Published: October 2020

One of the most challenging safety problems is ground instability during crossing overlying remnant pillars (CORP). Ground instability not only causes injury to miners or fatalities, but also leads to interruptions in the mining operations and breakdowns in equipment. In this paper, 12 major parameters influencing the ground instability were firstly determined based on extensive international experience associated with CORP. The consequences of the ground instability were then assessed in terms of miners' health and financial losses. Afterwards, a practical method to assess the ground instability risk of lower-seam longwall panels during CORP was developed based on its probability and consequence. Finally, this method was successfully used to determine the best scheme for CORP of LW10-103 at Mugua coal mine. The main advantage of this method is that it enables mining engineers to easily use international experience for assessing the risk of ground instability and selecting reasonable supports during CORP.
Effects of information-induced behavioural changes during the COVID-19 lockdowns: the case of Italy
Authors: Buonomo Bruno , Della Marca Rossella
Published: October 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic that started in China in December 2019 has not only threatened world public health, but severely impacted almost every facet of life, including behavioural and psychological aspects. In this paper, we focus on the ‘human element’ and propose a mathematical model to investigate the effects on the COVID-19 epidemic of social behavioural changes in response to lockdowns. We consider an SEIR-like epidemic model where the contact and quarantine rates depend on the available information and rumours about the disease status in the community. The model is applied to the case of the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy. We consider the period that stretches between 24 February 2020, when the first bulletin by the Italian Civil Protection was reported and 18 May 2020, when the lockdown restrictions were mostly removed. The role played by the information-related parameters is determined by evaluating how they affect suitable outbreak-severity indicators. We estimate that citizen compliance with mitigation measures played a decisive role in curbing the epidemic curve by preventing a duplication of deaths and about 46% more infections.
Spontaneous divergence of disease status in an economic epidemiological game
Authors: Colman Ewan , Hanley Nick , Kao Rowland R.
Published: October 2020

We introduce a game inspired by the challenges of disease management in livestock farming and the transmission of endemic disease through a trade network. Success in this game comes from balancing the cost of buying new stock with the risk that it will be carrying some disease. When players follow a simple memory-based strategy we observe a spontaneous separation into two groups corresponding to players with relatively high, or low, levels of infection. By modelling the dynamics of both the disease and the formation and breaking of trade relationships, we derive the conditions for which this separation occurs as a function of the transmission rate and the threshold level of acceptable disease for each player. When interactions in the game are restricted to players that neighbour each other in a small-world network, players tend to have similar levels of infection as their neighbours. We conclude that success in economic-epidemiological systems can originate from misfortune and geographical circumstances as well as by innate differences in personal attitudes towards risk.
Shape analysis via inconsistent surface registration
Authors: Choi Gary P. T. , Qiu Di , Lui Lok Ming
Published: October 2020

In this work, we develop a framework for shape analysis using inconsistent surface mapping. Traditional landmark-based geometric morphometr- ics methods suffer from the limited degrees of freedom, while most of the more advanced non-rigid surface mapping methods rely on a strong assumption of the global consistency of two surfaces. From a practical point of view, given two anatomical surfaces with prominent feature landmarks, it is more desirable to have a method that automatically detects the most relevant parts of the two surfaces and finds the optimal landmark-matching alignment between these parts, without assuming any global 1–1 correspondence between the two surfaces. Our method is capable of solving this problem using inconsistent surface registration based on quasi-conformal theory. It further enables us to quantify the dissimilarity of two shapes using quasi-conformal distortion and differences in mean and Gaussian curvatures, thereby providing a natural way for shape classification. Experiments on Platyrrhine molars demonstrate the effectiveness of our method and shed light on the interplay between function and shape in nature.
SINDy-PI: a robust algorithm for parallel implicit sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics
Authors: Kaheman Kadierdan , Kutz J. Nathan , Brunton Steven L.
Published: October 2020

Accurately modelling the nonlinear dynamics of a system from measurement data is a challenging yet vital topic. The sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics (SINDy) algorithm is one approach to discover dynamical systems models from data. Although extensions have been developed to identify implicit dynamics, or dynamics described by rational functions, these extensions are extremely sensitive to noise. In this work, we develop SINDy-PI (parallel, implicit), a robust variant of the SINDy algorithm to identify implicit dynamics and rational nonlinearities. The SINDy-PI framework includes multiple optimization algorithms and a principled approach to model selection. We demonstrate the ability of this algorithm to learn implicit ordinary and partial differential equations and conservation laws from limited and noisy data. In particular, we show that the proposed approach is several orders of magnitude more noise robust than previous approaches, and may be used to identify a class of ODE and PDE dynamics that were previously unattainable with SINDy, including for the double pendulum dynamics and simplified model for the Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction.
Hyperspace fermions, Möbius transformations, Krein space, fermion doubling, dark matter
Authors: Jaroszkiewicz George
Published: October 2020

We develop an approach to classical and quantum mechanics where continuous time is extended by an infinitesimal parameter
T
and equations of motion converted into difference equations. These equations are solved and the physical limit
T
 → 0 then taken. In principle, this strategy should recover all standard solutions to the original continuous time differential equations. We find this is valid for bosonic variables whereas with fermions, additional solutions occur. For both bosons and fermions, the difference equations of motion can be related to Möbius transformations in projective geometry. Quantization via Schwinger’s action principle recovers standard particle-antiparticle modes for bosons but in the case of fermions, Hilbert space has to be replaced by Krein space. We discuss possible links with the fermion doubling problem and with dark matter.
Neighbourhood wealth, not urbanicity, predicts prosociality towards strangers
Authors: Zwirner Elena , Raihani Nichola
Published: October 2020

Urbanization is perhaps the most significant and rapid cause of demographic change in human societies, with more than half the world's population now living in cities. Urban lifestyles have been associated with increased risk for mental disorders, greater stress responses, and lower trust. However, it is not known whether a general tendency towards prosocial behaviour varies across the urban–rural gradient, or whether other factors such as neighbourhood wealth might be more predictive of variation in prosocial behaviour. Here, we present findings from three real-world experiments conducted in 37 different neighbourhoods, in 12 cities and 12 towns and villages across the UK. We measured whether people: (i) posted a lost letter; (ii) returned a dropped item; and (iii) stopped to let someone cross the road in each neighbourhood. We expected to find that people were less willing to help a stranger in more urban locations, with increased diffusion of responsibility and perceived anonymity in cities being measured as variables that might drive this effect. Our data did not support this hypothesis. There was no effect of either urbanicity or population density on people's willingness to help a stranger. Instead, the neighbourhood level of deprivation explained most of the variance in helping behaviour with help being offered less frequently in more deprived neighbourhoods. These findings highlight the importance of socio-economic factors, rather than urbanicity
per se
, in shaping variation in prosocial behaviour in humans.
Marriage does not relate to major histocompatibility complex: a genetic analysis based on 3691 couples
Authors: Croy Ilona , Ritschel Gerhard , Kreßner-Kiel Denise , Schäfer Laura , Hummel Thomas , Havlíček Jan , Sauter Jürgen , Ehninger Gerhard , Schmidt Alexander H.
Published: October 2020

Optimization of chances for healthy offspring is thought to be one of the factors driving mate choice and compatibility of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is assumed to determine the offspring's fitness. While humans have been claimed to be able to perceive information of MHC compatibility via the olfactory channel, it remains unknown whether humans use such information for mate choice. By investigation of 3691 married couples, we observed that the high polymorphism of MHC leads to a low chance for homozygous offspring. MHC similarity between couples did not differ from chance, we hence observed no MHC effect in married couples. Hormonal contraception at the time of relationship initiation had no significant effect towards enhanced similarity. A low variety of alleles within a postcode area led to a higher likelihood of homozygous offspring. Based on this data, we conclude that there is no pattern of MHC dis-assortative mating in a genetically diverse Western society. We discuss the question of olfactory mate preference, in-group mating bias and the high polymorphism as potential explanations.
Personality composition determines social learning pathways within shoaling fish
Authors: Hasenjager Matthew J. , Hoppitt William , Dugatkin Lee A.
Published: October 2020

In shaping how individuals explore their environment and interact with others, personality may mediate both individual and social learning. Yet increasing evidence indicates that personality expression is contingent on social context, suggesting that group personality composition may be key in determining how individuals learn about their environment. Here, we used recovery latency following simulated predator attacks to identify Trinidadian guppies (
Poecilia reticulata
) that acted in a consistently bold or shy manner. We then employed network-based diffusion analysis to track the spread of a novel foraging behaviour through groups containing different proportions of bold and shy fish. Informed associates promoted learning to a greater extent in bold individuals, but only within groups composed predominately of bold fish. As the proportion of shy fish within groups increased, bold individuals instead emerged as especially effective demonstrators that facilitated learning in others. Individuals were also more likely to learn overall within shy-dominated groups than in bold-dominated ones. We demonstrate that whether and how individuals learn is conditional on group personality composition, indicating that selection may favour traits enabling individuals to better match their behavioural phenotype to their social environment.
An in-depth investigation of the safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine
Authors: Pu Jing , Yu Qin , Yin Zhifang , Zhang Ying , Li Xueqi , Li Dandan , Chen Hongbo , Long Runxiang , Zhao Zhimei , Mou Tangwei , Zhao Heng , Feng Shiyin , Xie Zhongping , Wang Lichun , He Zhanlong , Liao Yun , Fan Shengtao , Yin Qiongzhou , Jiang Ruiju , Wang Jianfeng , Zhang Lingli , Li Jing , Zheng Huiwen , Cui Pingfang , Jiang Guorun , Guo Lei , Xu Mingjue , Yang Huijuan , Lu Shan , Wang Xuanyi , Gao Yang , Xu Xingli , Cai Linrui , Zhou Jian , Yu Li , Chen Zhuo , Hong Chao , Du Dan , Zhao Hongling , Li Yan , Ma Kaili , Ma Yunfei , Liu Donglan , Yao Shibao , Li Changgui , Che Yanchun , Liu Longding , Li Qihan
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND

In-depth investigations of the safety and immunogenicity of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are needed.

METHOD

In a phase I randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled trial involving 192 healthy adults 18-59 years of age, two injections of three different doses (50 EU, 100 EU and 150 EU) of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine or the placebo were administered intramuscularly with a 2- or 4-week interval between the injections. The safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine were evaluated within 28 days.

FINDING

In this study, 191 subjects assigned to three doses groups or the placebo group completed the 28-day trial. There were 44 adverse reactions within the 28 days, most commonly mild pain and redness at the injection site or slight fatigue, and no abnormal variations were observed in 48 cytokines in the serum samples of immunized subjects. The serum samples diluted from 1:32 to 1:4096 and incubated with the virus did not show antibody-dependent enhancement effects (ADEs) with regard to human natural killer cells, macrophages or dendritic cells. At day 14, the seroconversion rates had reached 92%, 100% and 96% with geometric mean titers (GMTs) of 18.0, 54.5 and 37.1, and at day 28, the seroconversion rates had reached 80%, 96% and 92% with GMTs of 10.6, 15.4 and 19.6in 0, 14 and 0, 28 procedures, respectively. Seroconversion was associated with the synchronous upregulation of ELISA antibodies against the S protein, N protein and virion and a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response. Transcriptome analysis shaped the genetic diversity of immune response induced by the vaccine.

INTERPRETATION

In a population aged 18-59 years, this inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was safe and immunogenic.

Trial registration

NCT04412538

FUNDING

The National Key R&D Program of China (2020YFC0849700), the Program of Chinese Academy of Medicine Science and the Major Science and Technology Special Projects of Yunnan Province.
Mental health symptoms in a cohort of hospital healthcare workers following the first peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
Authors: Wanigasooriya Kasun , Palimar Priyanka , Naumann David , Ismail Khalida , Fellows Jodie L. , Logan Peter , Thompson Christopher V. , Bermingham Helen , Beggs Andrew D. , Ismail Tariq
Published: October 2020

Background

The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to lead to a significant increase in mental health disorders amongst healthcare workers (HCW).

Aims

We evaluated the prevalence of anxiety, depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a HCW population in the United Kingdom (UK), to identify subgroups most at risk.

Methods

An electronic survey was conducted between the 05/06/2020 and 31/07/2020 of all hospital HCW in the West Midlands, UK using clinically validated questionnaires: Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Univariate analyses and adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the strengths in associations.

Results

There were 2638 eligible participants who completed the survey (female: 79.5%, median age: 42 [IQR: 32-51] years). The prevalence rates of clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD were 34.3%, 31.2% and 24.5% respectively. In adjusted analysis a history of mental health conditions was associated with clinically significant symptoms of anxiety (odds ratio 2.3 [95% CI 1.9–2.7]; p<0.001), depression (2.5 [2.1–3.0]; p<0.001) and PTSD (2.1 [1.7–2.5]; p<0.001). The availability of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), wellbeing support and lower exposure to moral dilemmas at work demonstrated significant negative associations with former symptoms (p≤0.001).

Conclusions

We report a high prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD in hospital HCW following the initial Covid-19 pandemic peak in the UK. Those with a history of mental health conditions were most at risk. Adequate PPE availability, access to wellbeing support and reduced exposure to moral dilemmas may protect hospital HCW from mental health symptoms.
Assessment of a Novel Method for Non-invasive Sampling of the Distal Airspace in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Patients Receiving Inhaled Sedation with Sevoflurane: the ANAISS Study Protocol
Authors: Tronche Pierre-Antoine , Lalande Robin , Blondonnet Raiko , Roszyk Laurence , Zhai Ruoyang , Morand Dominique , Pereira Bruno , Sapin Vincent , Malinovsky Jean-Marc , Mourvillier Bruno , Constantin Jean-Michel , Cousson Joël , Jabaudon Matthieu
Published: October 2020

Introduction

Recently, fluid collected from the heat-and-moisture-exchange filters, which are commonly used in most mechanically ventilated patients under intravenous sedation, has been reported as a potential surrogate for fluid in the distal airspace. Therefore, collection of this fluid represents a promising, non-invasive method for sampling the distal airspace in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and for facilitating a mechanistic understanding of this devastating disease. The current study protocol was constructed to assess whether this fluid could be sampled from a dedicated device (Anaesthetic Conserving Device [AnaConDa-S], Sedana Medical, Danderyd, Sweden) used to deliver inhaled sevoflurane for sedation in patients with ARDS.

Methods and analysis

A total of 30 adult patients within 24 hours of meeting the Berlin criteria for moderate-severe ARDS and receiving inhaled sevoflurane as standard sedation in participating centres will be eligible for inclusion into this investigator-initiated, exploratory, prospective, bicentre study. After at least 12 h of inhaled sedation, a sample of directly aspirated, undiluted pulmonary oedema fluid will be collected concurrently with fluid from the AnaConDa-S device. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and sTNFr-1) and markers of lung endothelial (Ang-2) and epithelial (sRAGE) injury will be measured in both fluids by Multiplex. The primary endpoint is the correlation between protein markers (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, sTNFr-1, Ang-2 and sRAGE) measured in the undiluted pulmonary oedema fluid versus the AnaConDa-S fluid.

Ethics and dissemination

The study was approved by the appropriate ethics committee (CPP Est I). Informed consent is required. The fluid collection from the AnaConDa-S has potential to foster our understanding of the potential effects of inhaled sedation in clinical ARDS and to open up novel perspectives for prognostic and predictive enrichment in future trials. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Registration number

NCT03964155.
Experimental Reptarenavirus Infection of Boa constrictor and Python regius
Authors: Hetzel U , Korzyukov Y , Keller S , Szirovicza L , Pesch T , Vapalahti O , Kipar A , Hepojoki J
Published: October 2020

Boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) causes losses in captive constrictor snake populations globally. BIBD associates with formation of cytoplasmic inclusion bodies (IB) which mainly comprise reptarenavirus nucleoprotein (NP). In 2017, BIBD was reproduced by cardiac injection of boas and pythons with reptarenaviruses, thus demonstrating a causative link between reptarenavirus infection and the disease. Herein, we report experimental infections of pythons (N=16) and boas (N=16) with three reptarenavirus isolates. First, we used pythons (N=8) to test two virus delivery routes: intraperitoneal injection and tracheal instillation. Independent of the delivery route, we detected viral RNA but no IBs in tissues two weeks post inoculation. Next, we inoculated pythons (N=8) via the trachea. During the four month following the infection snakes showed transient central nervous system (CNS) signs but lacked detectable IB at the time of euthanasia. One of the snakes developed severe CNS signs and we succeeded in re-isolating the virus from the brain of this individual, and could demonstrate viral antigen in neurons. In a third attempt, we tested co-housing, vaccination, and sequential infection with multiple reptarenavirus isolates on boas (N=16). At 10 months post inoculation all except one snake tested positive for viral RNA but none exhibited the characteristic IB. Analysis of the antibody responses demonstrated lower neutralizing but higher anti-reptarenavirus NP titers in experimentally versus naturally reptarenavirus infected boas. Our findings suggest that in addition to reptarenavirus infection, other factors, e.g. the antibody response, contribute to BIBD pathogenesis.

IMPORTANCE

A 2017 study demonstrated cardiac reptarenavirus injection to induce boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) in pythons and boas. In the present study, we experimentally infected pythons and boas with reptarenavirus via either intraperitoneal injection or tracheal instillation. We found both virus delivery routes to result in infection; though the latter could reflect the natural route of infection. In the experimentally infected snakes, we did not find evidence of inclusion body (IB) formation, characteristic to BIBD, in pythons or in boas. Most of the snakes (11/12) studied were reptarenavirus infected after ten-month follow up, which suggests that they could eventually have developed BIBD. We further found differences between the antibody responses of experimentally and naturally reptarenavirus infected snakes, which could indicate that the pathogenesis of BIBD involves factors additional to reptarenavirus infection. As snakes are poikilotherm, also the housing conditions could have an effect.
Molecular basis forB. pertussisinterference with complement, coagulation, fibrinolytic and contact activation systems: The cryo-EM structure of the Vag8-C1 inhibitor complex
Authors: Dhillon Arun , Deme Justin C. , Furlong Emily , Roem Dorina , Jongerius Ilse , Johnson Steven , Lea Susan M.
Published: October 2020

Complement, contact activation, coagulation, and fibrinolysis are serum protein cascades that need strict regulation to maintain human health. Serum glycoprotein, C1-inhibitor (C1-INH) is a key regulator (inhibitor) of serine proteases of all the above-mentioned pathways. Recently, an autotransporter protein, Virulence Associated Gene 8 (Vag8) produced by the whopping cough causing pathogen,Bordetella pertussishas been shown to bind and interfere with C1-INH function. Here we present the structure of Vag8: C1-INH complex determined using cryo-electron microscopy at 3.6 Å resolution. The structure shows a unique mechanism of C1-INH inhibition not employed by other pathogens where Vag8 sequesters the Reactive Centre Loop of the C1-INH preventing its interaction with the target proteases.

Importance

The structure 105 kDa protein complex is one of the smallest to be determined using cryo-electron microscopy at high resolution. The mechanism of disrupting C1-INH revealed by the structure is crucial to understand how pathogens by producing a single virulence factor can disturb several homeostasis pathways. Virulence mechanisms such as the one described here assume more importance given the emerging evidence about dysregulation of contact activation, coagulation and fibrinolysis leading to COVID-19 pneumonia.