bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Christian Sacred Architecture
Authors: Bains David
Published: September 2023

Beginning with the Renaissance, the architecture of churches in the West was shaped by new cultural and liturgical demands that reshaped the spaces of Christian worship. Renaissance Christians found models of urban monumentality and geometric harmony in the architecture of classical Rome that they deemed lacking in their existing Gothic forms. At the same time, both Catholics and Protestants placed new emphasis on preaching and on the ability of worshipers to see the liturgy. These factors decisively reshaped church architecture. The rational austerity of the Renaissance, however, soon gave way to the more exuberant decoration of the baroque and, in time, to a revival of the Gothic. Beginning in the late 18th century, it became valued for its association with mystery, organic development, and the endurance of faith amid the rise of scientific rationalism. By the mid-19th century, an eclecticism in architecture had developed where many church builders used varied styles to actualize buildings of many plans in order to bring the desired historical and emotional associations to the structure, or simply to distinguish it from its neighbors. Yet, architectural principles—often associated with the Gothic—that emphasized the integral relation of form, structure, and function led many church builders to embrace architectural modernism. They rejected applied ornament, especially that which hid the structure of the building. Concrete, steel, and glued laminated wood beams made possible new designs often with a minimalist aesthetic and innovative ground plans.

As in the 16th, so in the 20th century this architectural shift was associated with new values and liturgical demands. For many there was a fundamental concern with the architectural expression of the immanence of God. Historical styles and dim light seemed wrongly to suggest that God was not part of the contemporary world. Along with this, liturgical ressourcement fostered throughout the 20th century by the Liturgical Movement and endorsed by the Second Vatican Council championed the idea that liturgy was “the work of the people,” a corporate activity in which all participated. This led to the development of the “modern communal church” as a liturgical form. Many historic buildings were significantly altered. Within thirty years, a sizable revolution was insisting on more traditional, often classical, architectural forms ensuring that future church building would be shaped by a dialogue between tradition and the modern.
Chilean-Chinese Relations
Authors: Montt Strabucchi Maria
Published: September 2023

China’s growth as a global power in the 21st century offers an opportunity to reexamine its historical relationship with Latin America. An analysis of the connections between China and Chile provide for a better understanding of the formation of the migration, diplomacy, cultural-influence, war, and labor-force networks. Asian-Latin American exchanges and hence Chilean-Chinese relations can be traced back to the Manila Galleon. The first Chinese people arrived in Chile in the 1850s as part of the coolie trade (slavery was forbidden by the Chilean constitution) after Gideon Nye Jr. was named Chilean honorary consul in Guangzhou (Cantón) in 1845. After the war between Peru and Chile (1879–1884) a large number of Chinese working on Peruvian plantations joined the Chilean army as an alternative to the onerous labor conditions imposed upon them. Because of the saltpeter boom and the consequences of the world crisis of 1929, the first decades of the 20th century saw the settlement of many Cantonese workers in Northern Chile.

In 1915, Chile inaugurated diplomatic relations with the newly established Republic of China. These relations were maintained until 1970; that year, Chile opened formal diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the PRC developed a cultural-diplomacy policy, and many Chileans visited the Asian country. In 1952, the Chile-China Cultural Association (Instituto Chileno Chino de Cultura) was established in Santiago, Chile. With the arrival of Salvador Allende to power in 1970, formal diplomatic relations were established, a demand of the Chilean Left. Chilean-Chinese relations have continued uninterrupted to date, completing fifty years of diplomatic ties in 2020. While there is undoubtedly room for improvement in mutual knowledge, which would also help in removing historical prejudices, the early 21st century has seen the Chinese community in Chile grow along with the intensification of exchanges between both countries.
Foot Structure in Germanic
Authors: Booth Joshua , Lahiri Aditi
Published: September 2023

A foot is an organizing unit of prosodic structure built on moras and syllables. Prominence falls on the heads of feet, and feet can be right- or left-headed (an iamb or a trochee, respectively). Feet can be constructed from the right or the left edge and lexical stress falls on the head of the leftmost or rightmost foot. The metrical system of a language can thus be defined by (a) the nature of the foot (trochee/iamb), (b) the direction of parsing, and (c) the foot that carries main stress. Each prosodic word minimally comprises a stressed foot. Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three branches, East Germanic (Gothic), West Germanic, and North Germanic. East Germanic has no modern descendants, unlike the latter two branches, which include, for example, English, German, and Dutch (West Germanic), and Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish (North Germanic), respectively. The status of the foot has remained remarkably consistent across the history of Germanic, remaining trochaic and quantity sensitive (although details differ across the relevant languages). This is despite significant changes to the quantity systems of Germanic languages, which have almost exclusively lost the distinction in either vowel or consonant quantity (whereas Proto-Germanic had both). The extensive borrowing from Romance languages across Germanic has also had a substantial impact. Germanic words rarely contain more than one foot, whereas Romance loans are largely longer than native Germanic vocabulary and therefore frequently comprise two or more feet. Due to the fact that native vocabulary was broadly stressed on the initial foot, whereas Romance loans often retained right-edge stress, a choice had to be made as to which foot to stress and the modern languages demonstrate that the right edge was selected in every case. Thus, while feet remain quantity sensitive and trochaic, the modern languages construct them from right to left and place main stress on the rightmost foot. This is in contrast to the early stages of the languages, when the opposite was the case.
Diatheses in Germanic
Authors: Kasper Simon
Published: September 2023

An alternation between clauses is treated as a diathetical alternation (a) if one or more semantic roles associated with the main verb exhibit differential grammatical (i.e., morphological or syntactic) encoding, (b) if the overt lexical expressions have same lexical roots, and (c) if the clauses approximately share at least the meaning and truth conditions of the semantically less specific clause alternant. This qualifies as diathesis what has come to be known as the canonical passive, impersonal passive, non-canonical passive, pseudo-passive, anticausative, the dative alternation, and the locative alternation, among others. The focus of this article is on the semantic restrictions governing a clause’s participation in various diathetical alternations across the modern Germanic (standard) languages. Semantic differences between alternating clauses are captured using a sophisticated semantic role account. Grammatical encoding of diathesis is described in a theory-neutral manner using the four-case system of the old Germanic languages as a tertium comparationis and syntactic function notions from descriptive typology. Diatheses are differentiated by the semantic roles that are fore- and backgrounded by means of the syntactic functions they bear. The roles that alternate in grammatical coding are foregrounded in the clause in which they have the higher syntactic function in a syntactic function hierarchy, and they are backgrounded in the clause in which they have the lower syntactic function. In a first set of diatheses, alternations are described in which the proto-agent role is backgrounded and a proto-patient is foregrounded. This set includes a “patient passive” and the “anticausative domain.” In a second set of diatheses, the proto-agent is again backgrounded, but now the proto-recipient is foregrounded. This is illustrated using the “eventive recipient passive.” Completing this pattern, the “locational passive” represents a diathetical pattern in which the proto-agent role is backgrounded once more and the proto-locational role is foregrounded. Other types of diatheses in which the proto-locational is foregrounded and the proto-patient is backgrounded are exemplified by means of the location/possession alternation (dative alternation) and the location/affection alternation (e.g., locative and applicative alternations).
Minuchin, Salvador
Authors: Jordan Catheleen , Cory David
Published: September 2023

Salvador Minuchin, MD (1921–2017), was a founder of structural family therapy, challenging the prevailing Freudian individual therapy that was the norm in the 1960s. Utilizing live team supervision, structural family therapy focused on relationships between family members with the therapist assuming an action-oriented approach. Minuchin offered direct help to restructure dysfunctional family behaviors and a faulty family hierarchy.
Decision-making capacity in older medical in-patients: frequency of assessment and rates of incapacity by decision-type and underlying brain/mind impairment
Authors: Gan Jasmine M , Riley Josie , Basting Romina , Demeyere Nele , Pendlebury Sarah T
Published: September 2023

Background

Hospital clinicians find mental capacity assessment challenging and may lack the necessary skills. Given high rates of cognitive impairment, data on mental capacity assessment in real-world hospital cohorts are required to inform the need for staff training and workforce planning.

Objectives

In unselected medical inpatients, we determined the rate and outcome of mental capacity assessment by decision type and underlying brain/mind disorder, and recorded the discipline of the assessor.

Methods

We included consecutive patients (October–November 2018; November–December 2019) admitted to the complex medicine unit providing acute multidisciplinary care for multi-morbid patients (age ≥ 16 years, average age > 80 years). Audit data were collected at ward multidisciplinary meetings and extracted from electronic patient records.

Results

Among 892 patients (mean/SD age = 82.8/8.6, 465 male), 140 (16%) required mental capacity assessment (40/140 (29%) had ≥2 assessments) with 203 assessments in total of which 162 (80%) were done by doctors. Capacity was deemed lacking in 124 (61%) assessments, most commonly in delirium with/without other co-morbid conditions (94/114, 82%) or dementia (9/12, 75%) with lower rates in other disorders (15/27, 56%), and no formal diagnosis of brain/mind disorder (6/50, 12%). Cognitive test scores were overall lower in those lacking capacity (mean/SD abbreviated-mental-test-score = 5.2/2.6, range = 0–10 versus 6.8/2.8, P = 0.001, range = 1–10). Decisions involving discharge planning were most often assessed (48%) followed by treatment (29%), discharge against medical advice (12%) and others (11%).

Conclusion

Mental capacity assessments were performed frequently and often repeated, justifying the need for robust training in the practical application of the principles of capacity assessment for staff managing complex older patients.
pLM-BLAST: distant homology detection based on direct comparison of sequence representations from protein language models
Authors: Kaminski Kamil , Ludwiczak Jan , Pawlicki Kamil , Alva Vikram , Dunin-Horkawicz Stanislaw
Published: September 2023

Motivation

The detection of homology through sequence comparison is a typical first step in the study of protein function and evolution. In this work, we explore the applicability of protein language models to this task.

Results

We introduce pLM-BLAST, a tool inspired by BLAST, that detects distant homology by comparing single-sequence representations (embeddings) derived from a protein language model, ProtT5. Our benchmarks reveal that pLM-BLAST maintains a level of accuracy on par with HHsearch for both highly similar sequences (with >50% identity) and markedly divergent sequences (with <30% identity), while being significantly faster. Additionally, pLM-BLAST stands out among other embedding-based tools due to its ability to compute local alignments. We show that these local alignments, produced by pLM-BLAST, often connect highly divergent proteins, thereby highlighting its potential to uncover previously undiscovered homologous relationships and improve protein annotation.

Availability and implementation

pLM-BLAST is accessible via the MPI Bioinformatics Toolkit as a web server for searching precomputed databases (https://toolkit.tuebingen.mpg.de/tools/plmblast). It is also available as a standalone tool for building custom databases and performing batch searches (https://github.com/labstructbioinf/pLM-BLAST).
Interventions to tackle health inequalities in cardiovascular risks for socioeconomically disadvantaged populations: a rapid review
Authors: Fu Yu , Yu Ge , Maulana Naswa , Thomson Katie
Published: September 2023

Introduction

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has shown significant health inequalities for people with low socioeconomic status associated with more risk factors. This review was to synthesize interventions that targeted CVD risks and outcomes among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and to understand the impact associated with these interventions.

Sources of data

Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL were searched for records published in the last decade using a systematic search strategy, complemented by screening the reference lists and citation indexes. Nineteen studies were included and a narrative synthesis with the effect direction plot was undertaken in which studies, interventions, participants and outcomes were examined according to the intervention type focusing on behaviours, lifestyle, education, medication and monitoring.

Areas of agreement

No universal definition of disadvantaged socioeconomic status was used with common factors relating to racial/ethnic minorities, low income and low or no health insurance. Mixed effects of interventions were reported on clinical outcomes including weight, body mass index, blood pressure, glycated haemoglobin and cholesterol.

Areas of controversy

Inconsistent effect was reported due to a large variety of settings, participants and intervention components although they are considered necessary to address the complex health needs of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.

Growing points

There is inadequate evidence to determine whether any of the intervention types are effective in optimising lipids management for socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.

Areas timely for developing research

Research is needed with mixed evidence using real world evaluation and lived experience combined with health economic evaluation, on both mental and physical health outcomes.
Interleukin-11 and its eminent role in tissue fibrosis: a possible therapeutic target
Authors: O’Reilly Steven
Published: September 2023

Interleukin-11 is a cytokine from the IL-6 family of cytokines that includes IL-6 and oncostatin-M. Initially described for its role in platelet generation, it is now appreciated that this cytokine has multiple functions. Recently it has been found that IL-11 is critical in fibrosis in multiple different organ systems and systemically as in the autoimmune disease systemic sclerosis. Animal models of fibrosis have determined that animals with IL-11 receptor deletions have retarded fibrosis and that in wild-type animals IL-11 is found at the organ of fibrosis. Recent evidence suggests that IL-11 may be a master regulator of fibrosis regardless of end target organ. With the development of neutralizing antibodies targeting the cytokine in pre-clinical models this could be a possible therapeutic, in a disease in which no specific therapies exist. This review appraises the evidence of the role of IL-11 in tissue fibrosis, its signalling properties, and therapeutic targeting. The review ends with an appraisal of indications for which IL-11 modulation is targeted.
The frontooccipital interaction mechanism of high-frequency acoustoelectric signal
Authors: Song Xizi , Huang Peishan , Chen Xinrui , Xu Minpeng , Ming Dong
Published: September 2023

Based on acoustoelectric effect, acoustoelectric brain imaging has been proposed, which is a high spatiotemporal resolution neural imaging method. At the focal spot, brain electrical activity is encoded by focused ultrasound, and corresponding high-frequency acoustoelectric signal is generated. Previous studies have revealed that acoustoelectric signal can also be detected in other non-focal brain regions. However, the processing mechanism of acoustoelectric signal between different brain regions remains sparse. Here, with acoustoelectric signal generated in the left primary visual cortex, we investigated the spatial distribution characteristics and temporal propagation characteristics of acoustoelectric signal in the transmission. We observed a strongest transmission strength within the frontal lobe, and the global temporal statistics indicated that the frontal lobe features in acoustoelectric signal transmission. Then, cross-frequency phase-amplitude coupling was used to investigate the coordinated activity in the AE signal band range between frontal and occipital lobes. The results showed that intra-structural cross-frequency coupling and cross-structural coupling co-occurred between these two lobes, and, accordingly, high-frequency brain activity in the frontal lobe was effectively coordinated by distant occipital lobe. This study revealed the frontooccipital long-range interaction mechanism of acoustoelectric signal, which is the foundation of improving the performance of acoustoelectric brain imaging.
Regulation of young-adult neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation by neural cell adhesion molecule 2 (NCAM2)
Authors: Ortega-Gascó Alba , Parcerisas Antoni , Hino Keiko , Herranz-Pérez Vicente , Ulloa Fausto , Elias-Tersa Alba , Bosch Miquel , García-Verdugo José Manuel , Simó Sergi , Pujadas Lluís , Soriano Eduardo
Published: September 2023

Adult neurogenesis persists in mammals in the neurogenic zones, where newborn neurons are incorporated into preexisting circuits to preserve and improve learning and memory tasks. Relevant structural elements of the neurogenic niches include the family of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), which participate in signal transduction and regulate the survival, division, and differentiation of radial glial progenitors (RGPs). Here we analyzed the functions of neural cell adhesion molecule 2 (NCAM2) in the regulation of RGPs in adult neurogenesis and during corticogenesis. We characterized the presence of NCAM2 across the main cell types of the neurogenic process in the dentate gyrus, revealing different levels of NCAM2 amid the progression of RGPs and the formation of neurons. We showed that Ncam2 overexpression in adult mice arrested progenitors in an RGP-like state, affecting the normal course of young-adult neurogenesis. Furthermore, changes in Ncam2 levels during corticogenesis led to transient migratory deficits but did not affect the survival and proliferation of RGPs, suggesting a differential role of NCAM2 in adult and embryonic stages. Our data reinforce the relevance of CAMs in the neurogenic process by revealing a significant role of Ncam2 levels in the regulation of RGPs during young-adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus.
Cross-modal exposure restores multisensory enhancement after hemianopia
Authors: Bean Naomi L , Stein Barry E , Rowland Benjamin A
Published: September 2023

Hemianopia is a common consequence of unilateral damage to visual cortex that manifests as a profound blindness in contralesional space. A noninvasive cross-modal (visual–auditory) exposure paradigm has been developed in an animal model to ameliorate this disorder. Repeated stimulation of a visual–auditory stimulus restores overt responses to visual stimuli in the blinded hemifield. It is believed to accomplish this by enhancing the visual sensitivity of circuits remaining after a lesion of visual cortex; in particular, circuits involving the multisensory neurons of the superior colliculus. Neurons in this midbrain structure are known to integrate spatiotemporally congruent visual and auditory signals to amplify their responses, which, in turn, enhances behavioral performance. Here we evaluated the relationship between the rehabilitation of hemianopia and this process of multisensory integration. Induction of hemianopia also eliminated multisensory enhancement in the blinded hemifield. Both vision and multisensory enhancement rapidly recovered with the rehabilitative cross-modal exposures. However, although both reached pre-lesion levels at similar rates, they did so with different spatial patterns. The results suggest that the capability for multisensory integration and enhancement is not a pre-requisite for visual recovery in hemianopia, and that the underlying mechanisms for recovery may be more complex than currently appreciated.
Distinct Features of Plasma Ultrashort Single-Stranded Cell-Free DNA as Biomarkers for Lung Cancer Detection
Authors: Cheng Jordan , Swarup Neeti , Li Feng , Kordi Misagh , Lin Chien-Chung , Yang Szu-Chun , Huang Wei-Lun , Aziz Mohammad , Kim Yong , Chia David , Yeh Yu-Min , Wei Fang , Zheng David , Zhang Liying , Pellegrini Matteo , Su Wu-Chou , Wong David T W
Published: September 2023

Background

Using broad range cell-free DNA sequencing (BRcfDNA-Seq), a nontargeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) methodology, we previously identified a novel class of approximately 50 nt ultrashort single-stranded cell-free DNA (uscfDNA) in plasma that is distinctly different from 167 bp mononucleosomal cell-free DNA (mncfDNA). We hypothesize that uscfDNA possesses characteristics that are useful for disease detection.

Methods

Using BRcfDNA-Seq, we examined both cfDNA populations in the plasma of 18 noncancer controls and 14 patients with late-stage nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). In comparison to mncfDNA, we assessed whether functional element (FE) peaks, fragmentomics, end-motifs, and G-Quadruplex (G-Quad) signatures could be useful features of uscfDNA for NSCLC determination.

Results

In noncancer participants, compared to mncfDNA, uscfDNA fragments showed a 45.2-fold increased tendency to form FE peaks (enriched in promoter, intronic, and exonic regions), demonstrated a distinct end-motif-frequency profile, and presented with a 4.9-fold increase in G-Quad signatures. Within NSCLC participants, only the uscfDNA population had discoverable FE peak candidates. Additionally, uscfDNA showcased different end-motif-frequency candidates distinct from mncfDNA. Although both cfDNA populations showed increased fragmentation in NSCLC, the G-Quad signatures were more discriminatory in uscfDNA. Compilation of cfDNA features using principal component analysis revealed that the first 5 principal components of both cfDNA subtypes had a cumulative explained variance of >80%.

Conclusions

These observations indicate that the distinct biological processes of uscfDNA and that FE peaks, fragmentomics, end-motifs, and G-Quad signatures are uscfDNA features with promising biomarker potential. These findings further justify its exploration as a distinct class of biomarker to augment pre-existing liquid biopsy approaches.
Recommendations for Setting a Criterion and Assessing Commutability of Sample Materials Used in External Quality Assessment/Proficiency Testing Schemes
Authors: Sandberg Sverre , Fauskanger Pernille , Johansen Jesper V , Keller Thomas , Budd Jeffrey , Greenberg Neil , Rej Robert , Panteghini Mauro , Delatour Vincent , Ceriotti Ferruccio , Deprez Liesbet , Camara Johanna E , MacKenzie Finlay , Lyle Alicia N , van der Hagen Eline , Burns Chris , Greg Miller W ,   for the IFCC Working Group on Commutability in Metrological Traceability
Published: September 2023

It is important for external quality assessment materials (EQAMs) to be commutable with clinical samples; i.e., they should behave like clinical samples when measured using end-user clinical laboratory in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVD-MDs). Using commutable EQAMs makes it possible to evaluate metrological traceability and/or equivalence of results between IVD-MDs.

The criterion for assessing commutability of an EQAM between 2 IVD-MDs is that its result should be within the prediction interval limits based on the statistical distribution of the clinical sample results from the 2 IVD-MDs being compared. The width of the prediction interval is, among other things, dependent on the analytical performance characteristics of the IVD-MDs. A presupposition for using this criterion is that the differences in nonselectivity between the 2 IVD-MDs being compared are acceptable. An acceptable difference in nonselectivity should be small relative to the analytical performance specifications used in the external quality assessment scheme. The acceptable difference in nonselectivity is used to modify the prediction interval criterion for commutability assessment.

The present report provides recommendations on how to establish a criterion for acceptable commutability for EQAMS, establish the difference in nonselectivity that can be accepted between IVD-MDs, and perform a commutability assessment. The report also contains examples for performing a commutability assessment of EQAMs.
Conventional and non-conventional antigen presentation by mast cells
Authors: Tung Chi-Ching , Rathore Abhay P S , St. John Ashley L
Published: September 2023

Mast cells (MCs) are multifunctional immune cells that express a diverse repertoire of surface receptors and pre-stored bioactive mediators. They are traditionally recognized for their involvement in allergic and inflammatory responses, yet there is a growing body of literature highlighting their contributions to mounting adaptive immune responses. In particular, there is growing evidence that MCs can serve as antigen-presenting cells, owing to their often close proximity to T cells in both lymphoid organs and peripheral tissues. Recent studies have provided compelling support for this concept, by demonstrating the presence of antigen processing and presentation machinery in MCs and their ability to engage in classical and non-classical pathways of antigen presentation. However, there remain discrepancies and unresolved questions regarding the extent of the MC’s capabilities with respect to antigen presentation. In this review, we discuss our current understanding of the antigen presentation by MCs and its influence on adaptive immunity.
Cardiorespiratory fitness and the incidence of surgery for aortic valve stenosis—the HUNT study
Authors: Nystøyl Benedikte Therese Smenes , Letnes Jon Magne , Nes Bjarne Martens , Slagsvold Katrine Hordnes , Wisløff Ulrik , Wahba Alexander
Published: September 2023

OBJECTIVES

Aortic valve stenosis (AVS) shares many risk factors with coronary disease, the latter being strongly and inversely associated with physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). However, the relationship between PA, CRF and AVS needs to be established. We explored whether PA habits and estimated CRF affect the risk of developing AVS demanding aortic valve replacement (AVR) and how these factors affect postoperative mortality.

METHODS

Participants from the second and third waves of Trøndelag Health Study were cross-linked with a local heart surgery registry and the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry. Estimated CRF was calculated through a developed algorithm based on clinical and self-reported data. Fine-Gray competing risk analyses were used to investigate how PA habits and estimated CRF were associated with the risk of AVR across CRF quintiles, PA groups and per 1-metabolic equivalent task (MET) (3.5 ml/min/kg).

RESULTS

In a study population of 57 214 participants, we found a 15% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1–27] reduced risk of AVR per 1-MET estimated CRF increment. Those in the highest CRF quintile had a 56% (95% CI 14–77) lower risk of surgery compared to the lowest quintile. Analyses on PA groups did not show significant results. Finally, we found a 37% (95% CI 17–53) lower risk of postoperative mortality per 1-MET increased estimated CRF.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate a strong and inverse relationship between estimated CRF and incidence of AVR due to AVS. Higher estimated CRF was associated with lower mortality after surgery.
Surgery for ventricular tachycardia originating from the left ventricular summit
Authors: Nitta Takashi , Sakamoto Shun-ichiro , Murata Hiroshige , Suzuki Kenji , Yamada Naoki , Iwasaki Yuki , Ishii Yosuke
Published: September 2023

OBJECTIVES

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) originating from the left ventricular summit region, the most superior region of the left ventricle surrounded by the major coronary arteries and veins, is frequently refractory to pharmacological therapies and endocardial and epicardial catheter ablation.

METHODS

Eleven patients with an age from 31 to 79 (median 56) years old, underwent map-guided surgery for left ventricular summit VT. All patients had undergone 1–5 unsuccessful sessions of catheter ablation for incessant VT, preoperatively. Five patients had suffered VT storm and 1 had a history of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Four patients had implanted with a defibrillator. Epicardium to endocardium transmural cryothermia was applied at the VT origin determined by intraoperative epicardial mapping with electro-anatomical mapping system. Harmonic scalpel was used to remove the epicardial fat and cryothermia was applied directly to the myocardium, avoiding thermal or mechanical injuries to the coronary vessels. Additional endocardial cryothermia at the VT origin was performed by a cryoprobe introduced into the left ventricular cavity through an aortotomy.

RESULTS

There was no surgical mortality or long-term mortality related to VT during a median follow-up period of 60 months (interquartile range: 34–82). Five-year freedom from preoperatively documented left ventricular summit VT and non-documented VT was 91% and 73%, respectively. All the patients with postoperative VT underwent successful catheter ablation. Other patients were free from VT during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

Epicardial to endocardial transmural cryothermia at the VT origin guided by intraoperative electro-anatomical mapping with a close collaboration with electrophysiologists was crucial in successful surgery for left ventricular summit VT.
Lack of association between fluoroquinolone and aortic aneurysm or dissection
Authors: Huh Kyungmin , Kang Minsun , Jung Jaehun
Published: September 2023

Background and Aims

An increased risk of aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection (AA/AD) has been reported with fluoroquinolone (FQ) use. However, recent studies suggested confounding factors by indication. This study aimed to investigate the risk of AA/AD associated with FQ use.

Methods

This nationwide population-based study included adults aged ≥20 years who received a prescription of oral FQ or third-generation cephalosporins (3GC) during outpatient visits from 2005 to 2016. Data source was the National Health Insurance Service reimbursement database. The primary outcome was hospitalization or in-hospital death with a primary diagnosis of AA/AD. A self-controlled case series (SCCS) and Cox proportional hazards model were used. Self-controlled case series compared the incidence of the primary outcome in the risk period vs. the control periods.

Results

A total of 954 308 patients (777 109 with FQ and 177 199 with 3GC use) were included. The incidence rate ratios for AA/AD between the risk period and the pre-risk period were higher in the 3GC group [11.000; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.420–85.200] compared to the FQ group (2.000; 95% CI 0.970–4.124). The overall incidence of AA/AD among the patients who received FQ and 3GC was 5.40 and 8.47 per 100 000 person-years. There was no significant difference in the risk between the two groups (adjusted hazard ratio 0.752; 95% CI 0.515–1.100) in the inverse probability of treatment-weighted Cox proportional hazards model. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis showed consistent results.

Conclusions

There was no significant difference in the risk of AA/AD in patients who were administered oral FQ compared to those administered 3GC. The study findings suggest that the use of FQ should not be deterred when clinically indicated.
Genome streamlining and clonal erosion in nutrient-limited environments: a test using genome-size variable populations
Authors: Stelzer Claus-Peter , Pichler Maria , Stadler Peter
Published: September 2023

Some selection-based theories propose that genome streamlining, favoring smaller genome sizes, is advantageous in nutritionally limited environments, particularly under P-limitation. To test this prediction, we conducted several experimental evolution trials on clonal populations of a facultatively asexual rotifer that exhibits intraspecific variation in genome size. Most trials showed a rapid decline in clonal diversity, which was accelerated in populations that were initially nonadapted. Populations consisting of three rotifer clones often became monoclonal within a few weeks, while populations starting with 120 clones eroded to 10 multilocus genotypes, of which only five were abundant in higher numbers. While P-limitation affected population growth during the experiments, it did not affect the outcome of clonal competition or the speed at which clonal diversity was lost. Common garden transplant experiments revealed that the evolved populations were better adapted to the experimental conditions than the ancestral controls. However, contrary to expectations, the evolved populations did not show an overrepresentation of small genomes. Intermediate genomes were also frequently abundant, although very large genomes were rare. Our findings suggest that fitness is more influenced by genotypic differences among clones than by differences in GS, and indicate that such differences might hinder genome streamlining during early adaptation to a new environment.
Aspergillus SUMOylation mutants exhibit chromosome segregation defects including chromatin bridges
Authors: Zhang Jun , Qiu Rongde , Bieger Baronger D , Oakley C Elizabeth , Oakley Berl R , Egan Martin J , Xiang Xin
Published: September 2023

Functions of protein SUMOylation remain incompletely understood in different cell types. Via forward genetics, here we identified ubaBQ247*, a loss-of-function mutation in a SUMO activation enzyme UbaB in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. The ubaBQ247*, ΔubaB, and ΔsumO mutants all produce abnormal chromatin bridges, indicating the importance of SUMOylation in the completion of chromosome segregation. The bridges are enclosed by nuclear membrane containing peripheral nuclear pore complex proteins that normally get dispersed during mitosis, and the bridges are also surrounded by cytoplasmic microtubules typical of interphase cells. Time-lapse sequences further indicate that most bridges persist through interphase prior to the next mitosis, and anaphase chromosome segregation can produce new bridges that persist into the next interphase. When the first mitosis happens at a higher temperature of 42°C, SUMOylation deficiency produces not only chromatin bridges but also many abnormally shaped single nuclei that fail to divide. UbaB-GFP localizes to interphase nuclei just like the previously studied SumO-GFP, but the nuclear signals disappear during mitosis when the nuclear pores are partially open, and the signals reappear after mitosis. The nuclear localization is consistent with many SUMO targets being nuclear proteins. Finally, although the budding yeast SUMOylation machinery interacts with LIS1, a protein critical for dynein activation, loss of SUMOylation does not cause any obvious defect in dynein-mediated transport of nuclei and early endosomes, indicating that SUMOylation is unnecessary for dynein activation in A. nidulans.
Living Longer But Frailer? Temporal Trends in Life Expectancy and Frailty in Older Swedish Adults
Authors: Tazzeo Clare , Rizzuto Debora , Calderón-Larrañaga Amaia , Dekhtyar Serhiy , Zucchelli Alberto , Xia Xin , Fratiglioni Laura , Vetrano Davide Liborio
Published: September 2023

Background

This study aims to examine temporal trends in frailty state transitions, and years spent frail, in older Swedish adults.

Methods

We followed the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen participants from baseline (2001–2004) for 15 (median: 9.6) years. A 40-deficit frailty index (FI) was constructed to identify 3 frailty states: robust (FI ≤ 0.125), mild frailty (0.125 < FI ≤ 0.25), and moderate and severe frailty (FI  > 0.25). Multistate survival analyses were implemented to obtain hazard ratios (HRs) for frailty state transitions, with birth year and sex as predictors. To examine temporal trends, frailty state-specific life expectancies at age 60 were forecasted for robust persons born in different years (1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940), also by sex.

Results

At baseline, the 2 941 participants’ mean age was 75 years and 65% were women. Predicted life expectancy and time spent frail from age 60 followed an increasing trend by birth year. Hazards of transitioning from mild frailty to death (HR: 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.83–0.97) and moderate and severe frailty to death (HR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97–1.00) were lower for those born later. Women were less likely to transition from robust to mild frailty (HR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.70–0.93), mild frailty to moderate and severe frailty (HR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.68–0.93), and moderate and severe frailty to death (HR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.59–0.78), but spent more time frail.

Conclusions

Our results point to an expansion of time spent frail among older Swedish adults over time.
Workforce Participation and Mortality Risk Among Chinese Older Adults: A Nationwide Population-Based Prospective Study
Authors: Guo Yujia , Qian Dongfu
Published: September 2023

Objectives

This study examines the association between workforce participation and mortality among Chinese older adults.

Methods

6,138 participants aged 60 and older from the 2011 to 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were studied and 79.5% of the sample were rural Hukou. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for the associations of work status, work types, and changes in work status with all-cause mortality. Cox models with penalized splines were performed to explore the dose–response relationship for hours worked per week and mortality.

Results

37,235.3 person-years observed 1,165 deaths (19.0%). Working reduced the mortality risk in older adults by 41% compared with those who did not work (HR: 0.59, 95% confidence interval: 0.50–0.69). This effect was consistent across subgroups. The mortality risk was lowest among self-employed older adults, followed by nonagricultural employment and then agricultural work, with adjusted HRs of (0.38, 0.21–0.70), (0.58, 0.36–0.93), and (0.61, 0.51–0.72), respectively. The mortality risk decreased with increasing hours of work per week and appeared to reach a threshold of about 45 hr of work per week. Compared with the older adults who continuously did not work, those who started and kept working had 28% (0.72, 0.53–0.97) and 48% (0.52, 0.41–0.65) lower mortality risks, respectively. When older adults transitioned from working to not working, the mortality risk would no longer be significantly different from that of older adults who were continuously not working (0.86, 0.65–1.12, p = 0.3).

Discussion

Workforce participation was associated with survival benefits among older adults in China.
Economics
Authors: Hayley Simon , Chrystal Alec
Published: September 2023

Economics starts off with an introduction to this subject. The first half of the book covers microeconomics. This includes examinations of demand and supply, consumer and producer decision-making, market failures, labour markets, finance, and behavioural economics. The second half turns towards macroeconomics. This part looks at measuring economic activity, unemployment, inflation, and international economics, growth and welfare.
PbrChiA: a key chitinase of pear in response to Botryosphaeria dothidea infection by interacting with PbrLYK1b2 and down-regulating ROS accumulation
Authors: Chen Qiming , Dong Huizhen , Li Qionghou , Sun Xun , Qiao Xin , Yin Hao , Xie Zhihua , Qi Kaijie , Huang Xiaosan , Zhang Shaoling
Published: September 2023

Pear ring rot, caused by the pathogenic fungi Botryosphaeria dothidea, seriously affects pear production. While the infection-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst of infected plants limits the proliferation of B. dothidea during the early infection stage, high ROS levels can also contribute to their growth during the later necrotrophic infection stage. Therefore, it is important to understand how plants balance ROS levels and resistance to pathogenic B. dothidea during the later stage. In this study, we identified PbrChiA, a glycosyl hydrolases 18 (GH18) chitinase-encoding gene with high infection-induced expression, through a comparative transcriptome analysis. Artificial substitution, stable overexpression, and virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) experiments demonstrated that PbrChiA can positively regulate pear resistance as a secreted chitinase to break down B. dothidea mycelium in vitro and that overexpression of PbrChiA suppressed infection-induced ROS accumulation. Further analysis revealed that PbrChiA can bind to the ectodomain of PbrLYK1b2, and this interaction suppressed PbrLYK1b2-mediated chitin-induced ROS accumulation. Collectively, we propose that the combination of higher antifungal activity from abundant PbrChiA and lower ROS levels during later necrotrophic infection stage confer resistance of pear against B. dothidea.
Hybrid neural-network FEM approximation of diffusion coefficient in elliptic and parabolic problems
Authors: Cen Siyu , Jin Bangti , Quan Qimeng , Zhou Zhi
Published: September 2023

In this work we investigate the numerical identification of the diffusion coefficient in elliptic and parabolic problems using neural networks (NNs). The numerical scheme is based on the standard output least-squares formulation where the Galerkin finite element method (FEM) is employed to approximate the state and NNs act as a smoothness prior to approximate the unknown diffusion coefficient. A projection operation is applied to the NN approximation in order to preserve the physical box constraint on the unknown coefficient. The hybrid approach enjoys both rigorous mathematical foundation of the FEM and inductive bias/approximation properties of NNs. We derive a priori error estimates in the standard $L^2(\varOmega )$ norm for the numerical reconstruction, under a positivity condition which can be verified for a large class of problem data. The error bounds depend explicitly on the noise level, regularization parameter and discretization parameters (e.g., spatial mesh size, time step size and depth, upper bound and number of nonzero parameters of NNs). We also provide extensive numerical experiments, indicating that the hybrid method is very robust for large noise when compared with the pure FEM approximation.
Gardnerella Vaginolysin Potentiates Glycan Molecular Mimicry by Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Authors: Morrill Sydney R , Saha Sudeshna , Varki Ajit P , Lewis Warren G , Ram Sanjay , Lewis Amanda L
Published: September 2023

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a dysbiotic condition of the vaginal microbiome associated with higher risk of infection by Neisseria gonorrhoeae—the cause of gonorrhea. Here we test if one known facet of BV—the presence of bacterial cytolysins—leads to mobilization of intracellular contents that enhance gonococcal virulence. We cloned and expressed recombinant vaginolysin (VLY), a cytolysin produced by the BV-associated bacterium Gardnerella, verifying that it liberates contents of cervical epithelial (HeLa) cells, while vector control preparations did not. We tested if VLY mediates a well-known gonococcal virulence mechanism—the molecular mimicry of host glycans. To evade host immunity, N. gonorrhoeae caps its lipooligosaccharide (LOS) with α2-3-linked sialic acid. For this, gonococci must scavenge a metabolite made inside host cells. Flow cytometry-based lectin-binding assays showed that gonococci exposed to vaginolysin-liberated contents of HeLa cells displayed greater sialic acid capping of their LOS. This higher level of bacterial sialylation was accompanied by increased binding of the complement regulatory protein factor H, and greater resistance to complement attack. Together these results suggest that cytolytic activities present during BV may enhance the ability of N. gonorrhoeae to capture intracellular metabolites and evade host immunity via glycan molecular mimicry.
Ebola Virus Uses Tunneling Nanotubes as an Alternate Route of Dissemination
Authors: Djurkovic Marija A , Leavitt Carson G , Arnett Eusondia , Kriachun Valeriia , Martínez-Sobrido Luis , Titone Rossella , Sherwood Laura J , Hayhurst Andrew , Schlesinger Larry S , Shtanko Olena
Published: September 2023

Ebola virus (EBOV) disease is marked by rapid virus replication and spread. EBOV enters the cell by macropinocytosis and replicates in the cytoplasm, and nascent virions egress from the cell surface to infect neighboring cells. Here, we show that EBOV uses an alternate route to disseminate: tunneling nanotubes (TNTs). TNTs, an actin-based long-range intercellular communication system, allows for direct exchange of cytosolic constituents between cells. Using live, scanning electron, and high-resolution quantitative 3-dimensional microscopy, we show that EBOV infection of primary human cells results in the enhanced formation of TNTs containing viral nucleocapsids. TNTs promote the intercellular transfer of nucleocapsids in the absence of live virus, and virus could replicate in cells devoid of entry factors after initial stall. Our studies suggest an alternate model of EBOV dissemination within the host, laying the groundwork for further investigations into the pathogenesis of filoviruses and, importantly, stimulating new areas of antiviral design.
Viral Interference During Influenza A–SARS-CoV-2 Coinfection of the Human Airway Epithelium and Reversal by Oseltamivir
Authors: Cheemarla Nagarjuna R , Watkins Timothy A , Mihaylova Valia T , Foxman Ellen F
Published: September 2023

To gain insight into interactions among respiratory viruses, we modeled influenza A virus (IAV)-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) coinfections using differentiated human airway epithelial cultures. Replicating IAV induced a more robust interferon response than SARS-CoV-2 and suppressed SARS-CoV-2 replication in both sequential and simultaneous infections, whereas SARS-CoV-2 did not enhance host cell defense during influenza infection or suppress IAV replication. Oseltamivir, an antiviral targeting influenza, reduced IAV replication during coinfection but also reduced the host antiviral response and restored SARS-CoV-2 replication. These results demonstrate how perturbations in one viral infection can impact its effect on a coinfecting virus.