bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epigraphy and the Study of Buddhism: South Asia’s Northern Corridor
Authors: Salomon Richard
Published: May 2021

Inscriptions constitute a fundamental source for the study of the history of Buddhism in India. Thousands of inscriptions with Buddhist content have been found in the Indian subcontinent, ranging in date from the 3rd century bce to the 13th century ce. The great majority of inscriptions record donations or benefactions to Buddhist institutions. Such gifts may take the form of a stūpa or elements thereof, utensils given to a monastery, images, or, especially in later periods, a grant by royal authority to a monastery of the agricultural revenue from a village or villages. Examples of the many aspects of Buddhist practice that are illuminated by epigraphic materials are the status of the contemporary canon, the cult of the relics of the buddha, the popular perceptions of karma and merit, the origin and development of buddha images, the geographical distribution of the various nikāya lineages, and the origin and history of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Before the beginning of the Common Era, Buddhist inscriptions were always written in one or another variety of Prakrit. In the early centuries of the Common Era, Buddhists in north India adopted a hybrid dialect combining features of Sanskrit and Prakrit, known as “Epigraphic Hybrid Sanskrit,” and parallel to the “Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit” of Buddhist literature from a similar period. Then, from about the 4th century ce, Buddhists adopted classical Sanskrit as their preferred epigraphic vehicle.

Most of the earlier inscriptions are written in Brāhmī script, and later ones in the various regional derivatives thereof. But until about the 3rd century ce, the numerous inscriptions of Gandhāra and adjoining areas in the northwestern reaches of the subcontinent were written in Kharoṣṭhī script and in the Gāndhārī Prakrit language.

Inscriptions reveal a great deal both about the overall contours of the history of Indian Buddhism and about the details of its monastic and doctrinal structures. In the earlier centuries, inscriptions typically recorded donations by individuals or small groups in the form of funding for a single component of a large stūpa complex, notably at the great stūpa sites of Sanchi and Bharhut. Succeeding centuries see a gradual shift toward larger-scale donations by royalty or wealthy individuals. During the later phases of Buddhism in India, inscriptions are increasingly concentrated in a limited set of sacred sites such as Bodh Gaya, Kasia (Kuśinagara), Saheth-Maheth (Śrāvastī), and Sarnath, indicating an overall contraction in monastic institutions and communities.
Three Turnings of the Wheel of Doctrine (Dharma-Cakra)
Authors: Powers John
Published: May 2021

The three turnings of the “wheel of doctrine” (dharma-cakra) is a Buddhist concept that has its origins in the Discourse Explaining the Thought (Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra), a 3rd–4th century Indian Mahāyāna work. According to the schema described in this text, in the first turning the Buddha laid out fundamental precepts such as the four noble truths and dependent arising. The Buddha subsequently taught a second wheel, comprising the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñā-pāramitā) discourses and related works, in which the teachings of the first wheel were subjected to the critique of emptiness (śūnyatā): the Buddha corrected the false impression some followers had developed that his words have a privileged truth status and transcend the limitations of mundane words and concepts. But in so doing he moved some followers toward an extreme of nihilism. And so in the third wheel he differentiated what is and is not being negated. This framework, only sketchily outlined in the Sūtra, was later extended and reinterpreted by Buddhist exegetes, most often as a polemical and sectarian strategy by which they valorized their own doctrines and preferred scriptures and relegated those of rivals to lower status while still acknowledging them as valid teachings of the Buddha delivered for the benefit of particular types of trainees with specific proclivities. In some tantric sources, Vajrayāna is characterized as part of the third wheel. As with the Discourse Explaining the Thought’s formulation, the tantric version of the three wheels presents them as sequential, with each requiring the others. Subsequent wheels build on and correct misconceptions in earlier ones, and the schema construes each successive dispensation as more profound than the preceding one(s) and as better representing the Buddha’s final thought.
Natural History, Exploration, and Landscape in 19th-Century Chile
Authors: Schell Patience
Published: May 2021

In the early 19th century, in recently independent Chile, a symbiosis emerged between various governments, on the one hand, and Chilean and foreign naturalists, on the other, who all realized that there was much to learn about Chile scientifically, and that this scientific knowledge had a range of uses. This joint interest resulted in state-sponsored projects and private trips that included mapping, investigating Chile’s natural resources, and gathering flora and fauna for cataloguing, collecting, and exchanging. Traveling naturalists, government-sponsored surveyors, amateur enthusiasts, and foreign visitors journeyed through Chile by foot, mule, horse, boat, and, eventually, train, heading north and south, to the mountains, plains, desert, and coast, in small and large groups, appropriating local knowledge, gathering materials, taking measurements, and writing letters, reports, and books on what they found, who they met, and what opportunities these regions offered. These trips contributed to the development of museums and collections in Chile and beyond, and to the discipline of natural history in Chile. Moreover, the circulation of objects and publications, not just in Chile but transnationally, brought Chile’s flora, fauna, and geography to greater international awareness and also into scientific discussions.

This natural history work also contributed to cultural change and territorial expansion, generating ideas about territories as hospitable or hostile, dreary or picturesque, offering opportunity or being without development potential. As these naturalists and explorers built on each other’s opinions, they created an accepted narrative about particular landscapes and geographies that moved into other arenas. In the 1840s and 1850s, one of these narratives was that the southern region of the indigenous Mapuche people, militarily occupied and incorporated into Chile (1860–1883), was both a landscape of impenetrable forests and constant rain and a picturesque landscape of fertile opportunity for Chilean national development, presuming the “right” settlers could be attracted. Meanwhile, the arid north, including the Atacama Desert, over which Chile went to war with Bolivia and Peru (the War of the Pacific, 1879–1884), was depicted as hostile, monotonous, and dangerous, with little aesthetic merit, but also as a region that offered opportunities through its mineral wealth. The snow-capped Andes and fertile valleys of central Chile, in which the capital Santiago and the main port city of Valparaíso are located, became landscapes that represented the nation. Thus, naturalists contributed to greater scientific knowledge about Chile, building collections and inserting new flora, fauna, and geography into global scientific debates, while also creating draft meanings about particular landscapes and regions that spread well beyond natural history.
Social and Solidarity Economy in Uruguay
Authors: Rieiro Anabel
Published: May 2021

The social and solidarity economy is a widely used concept to indicate economic logics based on solidarity and the centrality of sustainability in life, differentiating them from the hegemonic economy unilaterally based on rational individualism, the maximization of profits, and the free market. It involves dynamic and specific sociohistoric constructions.

In Uruguay, cooperative organizations, which have been in existence for more than a century, are traditionally identified with these types of practices. Cooperativism developed in dialogue with the distinct stages of Uruguayan history and over the last fifteen years, these experiences have tripled, based on the strengthening of public policies for the promotion and support of the sector. Institutional consolidation and the long trajectory of distinct sectors of cooperativism, mutualism, and rural development societies tend to be identified with the social economy.

On the other hand, around the dawn of the new century, there emerged a diversity of forms of organization and networks which emphasized the need for social transformation, appealing to practices based on solidarity and reciprocity, both between people and between them and the environment. In general, these are decentralized structures which, in a regional context marked by the socioeconomic crisis and the slogan of the World Social Forum of “another world is possible,” organize economic activities according to the principles of democratic management, cooperation, autonomy, and transformation.
Safety of oesophagogastroduodenoscopy in a nonagenarian population
Authors: Ellis Raphael , Livovsky Dan Meir , Shapiro Dvorah Sara , Friedmann Reuven , Shafrir Asher , Goldin Eran , Koslowsky Benjamin
Published: May 2021

Background

invasive gastrointestinal (GI) procedures are increasingly performed on much older patients but data regarding oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) in this population are limited. We compared the indications, safety and benefits of OGD for nonagenarians compared to octogenarians.

Methods

an observational retrospective review of patients who underwent OGD between 2013 and 2018 at a gastroenterology institute in one large hospital. Patients aged 90 and above ‘nonagenarians’ were compared to those aged 80–89 ‘octogenarians’.

Results

472 patients (231 nonagenarians and 241 octogenarians), median age of 91 for nonagenarians (201 aged 90–94, 30 aged 95 and older) and 82 (174 aged 80–84, 67 aged 85–89) for octogenarians. GI bleeding was a more common and dyspepsia, a less common, indication for nonagenarians compared to octogenarians (55 and 7%, versus 43 and 18%). Significant findings and need for endoscopic treatments were both more commonly found in nonagenarians compared to octogenarians (25 and 24% versus 15 and 8%, respectively). General anaesthesia was more commonly given to nonagenarians (35 versus 10%). Immediate complications and 30-day mortality rate were similar between the groups: (2.6% of nonagenarians versus 1.6% of octogenarians). Of 30 patients aged 95 and older, 13% had late adverse events, compared to 1% of the overall cohort.

Conclusions

OGD appears safe in nonagenarians. Pathological findings and endoscopic interventions are more common. Decisions regarding OGD should not be based on age alone.
Visual Analytics Dashboard Promises to Improve Hypertension Guideline Implementation
Authors: Fadel Raef Ali , Ross Jacob , Asmar Timothy , Sridasyam Karthik , Demertzis Zachary , Ahluwalia Guneet , Roumayah Tamara , Scott Megan , Ibrahim Hanan , Hammoudeh Rawan , Gandhi Nitesh , Flynn Meaghan , Haftka-George Alexis , Heidemann Danielle , Sims Sarah , Levy Phillip , Miller Joseph
Published: May 2021

BACKGROUND

Primary care management of hypertension under new guidelines incorporates assessment of cardiovascular disease risk and commonly requires review of electronic health record (EHR) data. Visual analytics can streamline the review of complex data and may lessen the burden clinicians face using the EHR. This study sought to assess the utility of a visual analytics dashboard in addition to EHR in managing hypertension in a primary care setting.

METHODS

Primary care physicians within an urban, academic internal medicine clinic were tasked with performing 2 simulated patient encounters for hypertension management: the first using standard EHR, and the second using EHR paired with a visual dashboard. The dashboard included graphical blood pressure trends with guideline-directed targets, calculated atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score, and relevant medications. Guideline-appropriate antihypertensive prescribing, correct target blood pressure goal, and total encounter time were assessed.

RESULTS

We evaluated 70 case simulations. Use of the dashboard with the EHR compared with use of the EHR alone was associated with greater adherence to prescribing guidelines (95% vs. 62%, P < 0.001) and more correct identification of blood pressure target (95% vs. 57%, P < 0.01). Total encounter time fell an average of 121 seconds (95% confidence interval 69–157 seconds, P < 0.001) in encounters that used the dashboard combined with the EHR.

CONCLUSIONS

The integration of a hypertension-specific visual analytics dashboard with EHR demonstrates the potential to reduce time and improve hypertension guideline implementation. Further widespread testing in clinical practice is warranted.
Trust your gut: Effect of a pharmacist-driven pilot project to decrease alvimopan use past gastrointestinal recovery in postsurgical patients
Authors: Shtoyko Ashley N , Cwikla Gregory M , Feldman Elizabeth A , Darko William , Miller Christopher D , Seabury Robert W
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Alvimopan is a peripherally acting opioid receptor antagonist indicated to accelerate gastrointestinal (GI) recovery following surgery, but its benefits past GI recovery are unknown and evidence suggests that it may increase risk for myocardial infarction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a pilot alvimopan stewardship program aimed at intervening to discontinue alvimopan use following GI recovery.

Methods

This was a retrospective, observational study examining the first 5 months of the alvimopan stewardship pilot program. During this initial period, a pharmacy resident assessed whether each patient met criteria for GI recovery, defined as solid food toleration and first bowel movement or flatus. If a patient met the criteria for GI recovery, the resident intervened and recommended that the primary team discontinue alvimopan. Primary outcomes were the percentage of patients with alvimopan continued past GI recovery and the percentage of patients for whom alvimopan ordered past GI recovery was discontinued following intervention by stewardship. Secondary outcomes included the percentage of accepted recommendations to discontinue alvimopan following GI recovery and the number of alvimopan doses ordered following GI recovery.

Results

In total, 73 patients were included in the study analysis, all of whom underwent abdominal and/or urologic surgery. Alvimopan was ordered to be administered in 35.6% (26/73) of patients after GI recovery. The stewardship program intervened and recommended discontinuation on 50% (13/26) of the alvimopan doses ordered past GI recovery. Recommendations were accepted by the primary team for 92.3% (12/13) of the patients. A total of 51 doses of alvimopan were ordered for administration past GI recovery, with an average of 2 doses per patient.

Conclusion

A pilot pharmacy-driven alvimopan stewardship program was able to identify and intervene on alvimopan orders continued past GI recovery. Interventions decreasing alvimopan use past GI recovery could be of benefit by minimizing potential risk and decreasing potential costs without a negative impact on patient outcomes.
Performance of Asbestos Enclosure Ventilation: Laboratory Evaluation of Complex Configuration
Authors: Kulmala Ilpo , Linnainmaa Markku , Kokkonen Anna , Heinonen Kimmo , Kanerva Tomi , Säämänen Arto
Published: May 2021

The aim of the study was to find out good practices for effective air distribution inside a complex shaped asbestos enclosure and for control of pressure differences between the enclosure and the surroundings. In addition, sufficient pressure difference for asbestos containment was tested. The effect of air distribution was studied in laboratory conditions by constructing an L-shaped asbestos enclosure and connecting it to a negative pressure unit. The efficiency of six different ventilation configurations was compared using a tracer decay method and the local air change indexes as the performance indicator. The sufficient negative pressure for containment was assessed by simulating person traffic to and from the enclosure and recording the pressure difference continuously. The effect of a pressure controller unit in maintaining the target pressure difference was also tested by simulating filter loadings of the negative pressure unit causing changes in the air flow rate. The results showed that high nominal air change rates alone do not guarantee good air distribution. Effective air distribution within an asbestos enclosure can be arranged by locating additional air supply openings far away from the air exhaustion point, using recirculation air with a pressure controller, or extending the exhaust location to the poorly ventilated areas. A pressure difference of at least −10 Pa is recommended to ensure a sufficient margin of safety in practical situations.
Reproductive aging and pace-of-life syndromes: more active females age faster
Authors: Han Chang S , Yang Gawon
Published: May 2021

A common pattern of reproductive aging is that reproductive performance increases during early life and reaches a peak, followed by a decline with age. Such quadratic reproductive aging patterns can differ among individuals. Moreover, if individual differences in reproductive aging patterns reflect individual-specific life-history trade-off strategies, they are also predicted to be associated with behavior according to the pace-of-life syndrome. For example, more active, aggressive, or bolder individuals may invest more in early reproduction, resulting in more rapid reproductive aging. In this study, we estimated individual differences in quadratic reproductive aging patterns and the relationship between reproductive aging and the activity of the virgin female bean bug (Riptortus pedestris) in the absence of mating costs. We found that the egg production of virgin females followed a parabolic trajectory with age and that individuals varied significantly in their quadratic reproductive aging patterns. In addition, we found that females that were relatively more active during early life invested in egg production more heavily at a young age and suffered from a sharper decline in egg production later in life. Thus, our results indicate that individual reproductive aging patterns may be a key component in the study of pace-of-life syndromes. We suggest that within-individual plastic characteristics of life-history traits such as reproductive aging patterns may explain the mixed results from multiple studies on pace-of-life syndromes.
Origins of Galápagos’ land-locked vertebrates: what, whence, when, how?
Authors: Ali Jason R , Fritz Uwe
Published: May 2021

Based on a synthesis of new molecular phylogenetic data, a detailed review is presented for the origins of the Galápagos’ native land-locked vertebrates [42 species; 11 clades: geckos (3), lava lizards (2), giant tortoises (1), iguanas (1), racer snakes (1) and oryzomyine rodents (3)]. Nine groups have roots in coastal Ecuador and Peru and would have been transported to the archipelago on rafts, many on the Humboldt Current. Inferring the sources of the giant tortoises, which probably floated over unaided, and the iguanas is more challenging because their closest living relatives occupy ground remote from the Pacific. Acknowledging uncertainties with the age-dating of both the phylogenetic tree nodes and the landmass emergences, seven, probably eight, of the colonizations likely involved beachings on the modern-day islands within the last 4 Myr. Three, possibly four, of the earlier arrivals may have been on now-submerged landmasses that were created by the Galápagos volcanic hotspot. Alternatively, the true sister taxa of the Galápagos species could be extinct and these colonizations, too, are more recent. This is likely for the giant tortoises. The assembled data set hints at the oldest/youngest clades showing the highest/lowest levels of diversification, although other factors also exert an influence.
Digital Pitfalls: The Politics of Digitalization in Bangladesh
Authors: Aziz Abdul
Published: May 2021

The state-led investment in digital infrastructure under the ruling party’s political agenda of “Digital Bangladesh” has given rise to scholarly and policy debates, especially around issues of digital surveillance and media censorship. Such concerns have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article analyzes contemporary Bangladesh in the context of emerging trends related to the digitalization of society. In particular, I employ the concept of “digital pitfalls” to explore the state’s use of surveillance and the politics of fear to limit freedom of expression and silence critical voices in the digital age.
Health of Asylees Compared to Refugees in the United States Using Domestic Medical Examination Data, 2014–2016: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Authors: Kumar Gayathri S , Pezzi Clelia , Payton Colleen , Mamo Blain , Urban Kailey , Scott Kevin , Montour Jessica , Cabanting Nuny , Aguirre Jenny , Ford Rebecca , Hughes Stephen E , Kawasaki Breanna , Kennedy Lori , Jentes Emily S
Published: May 2021

Background

Between 2008 and 2018, persons granted asylum (asylees) increased by 168% in the United States. Asylees are eligible for many of the same domestic benefits as refugees under the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), including health-related benefits such as the domestic medical examination. However, little is known about the health of asylees to guide clinical practice.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of domestic medical examination data from 9 US sites from 2014 to 2016. We describe and compare demographics and prevalence of several infectious diseases such as latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), hepatitis B and C virus (HBV, HCV), and select sexually transmitted infections and parasites by refugee or asylee visa status.

Results

The leading nationalities for all asylees were China (24%) and Iraq (10%), while the leading nationalities for refugees were Burma (24%) and Iraq (19 %). Approximately 15% of asylees were diagnosed with LTBI, and 52% of asylee adults were susceptible to HBV infection. Prevalence of LTBI (prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.8), hepatitis B (0.7), hepatitis C (0.5), and Strongyloides (0.5) infections were significantly lower among asylees than refugees. Prevalence of other reported conditions did not differ by visa status.

Conclusions

Compared to refugees, asylees included in our dataset were less likely to be infected with some infectious diseases but had similar prevalence of other reported conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guidance for the US Domestic Medical Examination for Newly Arrived Refugees can also assist clinicians in the care of asylees during the routine domestic medical examination.
Outcome analysis of the Gore Conformable Thoracic Stent Graft with active control system for the treatment of arch and descending thoracic aortic disease
Authors: Böckler Dittmar , Bischoff Moritz S , Kronsteiner Dorothea , Skrypnik Denis , Meisenbacher Katrin
Published: May 2021

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate technical/clinical outcomes of the Gore TAG Conformable Thoracic Stent Graft with Active Control System (CTAG with ACS) in thoracic aortic disease since its introduction in Europe in 2017.

METHODS

Patients undergoing thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) with the device between 2017 and 2020 were identified from a prospectively maintained single-centre database and retrospectively analysed. Predominant indications were aortic dissection (n = 46), thoracic/thoraco-abdominal aneurysm (n = 20/n = 7), penetrating ulcer (n = 14) and intramural haematoma (n = 12). Emergency procedures were performed in 47% (54/115). The primary outcome was technical success. Secondary outcomes were clinical success, serious adverse events and procedure-related reintervention. ACS was assessed regarding angulation, accuracy and apposition. The median follow-up was 8.46 months (interquartile range: 3.18–16.89 months).

RESULTS

A total of 115 consecutive patients (82 males, median age 63; interquartile range: 53–74 years) have been included. Technical success was achieved in 95.7% (110/115). Clinical success rate was 80.9% (93/115); mostly due to procedure-related death (n = 14). Overall mortality was 19.1% (22/115), with significant differences between elective/emergency procedures (log-rank: P < 0.001). Procedure-related serious adverse event rate was 44.3% (51/115). Procedure-related reintervention was performed in 20.9% (24/115). The cumulative incidence for reintervention differed significantly between elective/emergency cases (Gray’s test: P = 0.0033). Angulation was used in 40.9% of patients (47/115), mostly in type II arches (52.7%). Deployment accuracy was 87.8% (101/115). Sufficient apposition was present in 93.0% (107/115).

CONCLUSIONS

This single-centre study shows encouraging performance of the CTAG with ACS in an array of aortic pathologies. Although longer-term data must be awaited, ACS leads to overall favourable device placement. Despite ongoing advances in device technology, TEVAR remains challenging and is associated with significant burden inherent to the underlying disease.
Right ventricular function as a predictor of appropriate therapy of implantable cardioverter defibrillator
Authors: Chiba T , Kajiyama T , Sugawara M , Kitagawa M , Takahira H , Ito R , Nakano M , Nakano M , Kondo Y , Kobayashi Y
Published: May 2021

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: None.

Aim

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of RV function and appropriate therapy of ICD.Methods: This study was a single-center retrospective cohort study. Consecutive patients who underwent ICD implantation for any diseases were enrolled except for non-dilated phase hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and channelopathy. Transthoracic echocardiographic parameters including left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), RV basal diameter, RV end-diastolic area, and right ventricular fractional area change (RVFAC) were evaluated. RV systolic dysfunction was defined as RVFAC <35%. Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the effects of those parameters on appropriate ICD therapy after the implantation.

Results

In total, 151 patients (60.9 ± 13.6 years, 117 males) consisting of 67 old myocardial infarction, 34 dilated cardiomyopathy, 19 cardiac sarcoidosis, and 31 others were enrolled. Eighty patients received an ICD as a secondary prophylaxis. Mean LVEF and RVFAC were 37.8 ± 13.9% and 33.2 ± 10.8%, respectively. RV systolic dysfunction was present in 86 (57.0%) patients, which was significantly associated with ICD therapy (odds ratio 2.313; 95% confidence interval 1.067-5.014; P = 0.034) according to a univariate analysis. There was no correlation between RVFAC and LVEF (correlation coefficient =0.064). Regarding the subjects LVEF > 35%, RV systolic dysfunction was an independent predictor of ICD therapy in a multivariate analysis.

Conclusion

RV systolic dysfunction was independently associated with increased ICD therapy despite of relatively preserved LVEF.
Understanding Aging in Place: Home and Community Features, Perceived Age-Friendliness of Community, and Intention Toward Aging in Place
Authors: Choi Yeon Jin
Published: May 2021

Background and Objectives

Promoting age-friendliness of communities and supporting aging in place (AIP) are of great importance. Based on processes of belonging and agency, which suggest that person–environment interactions influence residents’ evaluations and behaviors related to the environment, this study aims to examine the interrelationship between the availability of age-friendly features, perceived age-friendliness of community, and intention toward AIP.

Research Design and Methods

This study used the 2015 AARP Age-Friendly Community Survey, which includes 66 home and neighborhood features under the 8 domains specified by the World Health Organization’s Age-Friendly Cities Guidelines. A series of regression and mediational analyses were conducted to test hypotheses.

Results

Overall, a greater availability of age-friendly features was positively associated with perceived age-friendliness of community and AIP intention. The relationship between age-friendly features and AIP intention was mediated by perceived age-friendliness of community (50.3%–96% of the total effects). When perceived age-friendliness of community was introduced to models, the direct effects of housing, outdoor spaces and buildings, and transportation domains remained significant.

Discussion and Implications

Findings suggest that a greater availability of age-friendly features influences older adults’ perception on their community, leading to the development of a desire to age in place, supporting processes of belonging and agency. Domains of housing, outdoor spaces and buildings, and transportation may be the most important features in promoting age-friendliness of community and the key determinants of AIP. Policymakers and practitioners may need to prioritize promoting an age-friendly built environment before the social environment in building age-friendly communities.
Universal Features in Panarthropod Inter-Limb Coordination during Forward Walking
Authors: Nirody Jasmine A
Published: May 2021

Synopsis

Terrestrial animals must often negotiate heterogeneous, varying environments. Accordingly, their locomotive strategies must adapt to a wide range of terrain, as well as to a range of speeds to accomplish different behavioral goals. Studies in Drosophila have found that inter-leg coordination patterns (ICPs) vary smoothly with walking speed, rather than switching between distinct gaits as in vertebrates (e.g., horses transitioning between trotting and galloping). Such a continuum of stepping patterns implies that separate neural controllers are not necessary for each observed ICP. Furthermore, the spectrum of Drosophila stepping patterns includes all canonical coordination patterns observed during forward walking in insects. This raises the exciting possibility that the controller in Drosophila is common to all insects, and perhaps more generally to panarthropod walkers. Here, we survey and collate data on leg kinematics and inter-leg coordination relationships during forward walking in a range of arthropod species, as well as include data from a recent behavioral investigation into the tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris. Using this comparative dataset, we point to several functional and morphological features that are shared among panarthropods. The goal of the framework presented in this review is to emphasize the importance of comparative functional and morphological analyses in understanding the origins and diversification of walking in Panarthropoda.

Introduction
The Dendrite Arbor of Purkinje Cells Is Altered Following to Tail Regeneration in the Leopard Gecko
Authors: Bradley Stefanie S , Howe Erika , Bailey Craig D C , Vickaryous Matthew K
Published: May 2021

Purkinje cells of the cerebellum have a complex arborized arrangement of dendrites and are among the most distinctive cell types of the nervous system. Although the neuromorphology of Purkinje cells has been well described for some mammals and teleost fish, for most vertebrates less is known. Here we used a modified Golgi–Cox method to investigate the neuromorphology of Purkinje cells from the lizard Eublepharis macularius, the leopard gecko. Using Sholl and Branch Structure Analyses, we sought to investigate whether the neuromorphology of gecko Purkinje cells was altered in response to tail loss and regeneration. Tail loss is an evolved mechanism commonly used by geckos to escape predation. Loss of the tail represents a significant and sudden change in body length and mass, which is only partially recovered as the tail is regenerated. We predicted that tail loss and regeneration would induce a quantifiable change in Purkinje cell dendrite arborization. Post hoc comparisons of Sholl analyses data showed that geckos with regenerated tails have significant changes in dendrite diameter and the number of dendrite intersections in regions corresponding to the position of parallel fiber synapses. We propose that the neuromorphological alterations observed in gecko Purkinje cells represent a compensatory response to tail regrowth, and perhaps a role in motor learning.
Dual antiplatelet therapy is under-prescribed in patients with surgically treated acute myocardial infarction
Authors: Roberto Marco , Radovanovic Dragana , Buttà Carmelo , Tersalvi Gregorio , Krüll Joël , Erne Paul , Rickli Hans , Pedrazzini Giovanni Battista , Moccetti Marco
Published: May 2021

OBJECTIVES

Despite guideline recommendations, previous reports, coming mainly from outside Europe, showed low rates of prescriptions for dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing surgical revascularization. The present study assesses this issue in the era of potent P2Y12 inhibitors in Switzerland.

METHODS

All patients with a diagnosis of AMI included in the Acute Myocardial Infarction in Switzerland Plus Registry from January 2014 to December 2019 were screened; 9050 patients undergoing either percutaneous (8727, 96.5%) or surgical (323, 3.5%) revascularization were included in the analysis.

RESULTS

Surgically treated patients were significantly less likely to receive DAPT at discharge (56.3% vs 96.7%; P < 0.001). Even when discharged with a prescription for DAPT, those patients were significantly less likely to receive a regimen containing a new P2Y12 inhibitor (67/182 [36.8%] vs 6945/8440 [83.2%]; P < 0.001). At multivariate analysis, surgical revascularization was independently associated with a lower likelihood of receiving a prescription for DAPT at discharge (odds ratio 0.03, 95% confidence interval 0.02–0.06).

CONCLUSIONS

DAPT prescriptions for patients with AMI undergoing surgical revascularization are not in line with current guideline recommendations. Efforts are necessary to clarify the role of DAPT for secondary prevention in these patients and increase the confidence of treating physicians in guideline recommendations.

Clinical trial registration

Acute Myocardial Infarction in Switzerland Plus Registry; registration number at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01305785.
Excess all-cause mortality and COVID-19-related mortality: a temporal analysis in 22 countries, from January until August 2020
Authors: Achilleos Souzana , Quattrocchi Annalisa , Gabel John , Heraclides Alexandros , Kolokotroni Ourania , Constantinou Constantina , Pagola Ugarte Maider , Nicolaou Nicoletta , Rodriguez-Llanes Jose Manuel , Bennett Catherine Marie , Bogatyreva Ekaterina , Schernhammer Eva , Zimmermann Claudia , Costa Antonio Jose Leal , Lobato Jackeline Christiane Pinto , Fernandes Ngibo Mubeta , Semedo-Aguiar Ana Paula , Jaramillo Ramirez Gloria Isabel , Martin Garzon Oscar Dario , Mortensen Laust Hvas , Critchley Julia A , Goldsmith Lucy P , Denissov Gleb , Rüütel Kristi , Le Meur Nolwenn , Kandelaki Levan , Tsiklauri Shorena , O’Donnell Joan , Oza Ajay , Kaufman Zalman , Zucker Inbar , Ambrosio Giuseppe , Stracci Fabrizio , Hagen Terje P , Erzen Ivan , Klepac Petra , Arcos González Pedro , Fernández Camporro Ángel , Burström Bo , Pidmurniak Nataliia , Verstiuk Olesia , Huang Qian , Mehta Neil Kishor , Polemitis Antonis , Charalambous Andreas , Demetriou Christiana A
Published: May 2021

Background

This study aimed to investigate overall and sex-specific excess all-cause mortality since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic until August 2020 among 22 countries.

Methods

Countries reported weekly or monthly all-cause mortality from January 2015 until the end of June or August 2020. Weekly or monthly COVID-19 deaths were reported for 2020. Excess mortality for 2020 was calculated by comparing weekly or monthly 2020 mortality (observed deaths) against a baseline mortality obtained from 2015–2019 data for the same week or month using two methods: (i) difference in observed mortality rates between 2020 and the 2015–2019 average and (ii) difference between observed and expected 2020 deaths.

Results

Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the UK (England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland) and the USA demonstrated excess all-cause mortality, whereas Australia, Denmark and Georgia experienced a decrease in all-cause mortality. Israel, Ukraine and Ireland demonstrated sex-specific changes in all-cause mortality.

Conclusions

All-cause mortality up to August 2020 was higher than in previous years in some, but not all, participating countries. Geographical location and seasonality of each country, as well as the prompt application of high-stringency control measures, may explain the observed variability in mortality changes.
The effect of single-nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region of bovinealpha-lactalbumin(LALBA) gene onLALBAexpression in milk cells and milk traits of cows
Authors: Ostrowska Malgorzata , Zwierzchowski Lech , Brzozowska Paulina , Kawecka-Grochocka Ewelina , Żelazowska Beata , Bagnicka Emilia
Published: May 2021

Polymorphisms of milk protein genes have been proposed as candidate markers for dairy production traits in cattle. In the present study, a polymorphism was detected in the 5′-flanking (promoter) region of the bovine alpha-lactalbumin (LALBA) gene, a T/C transition located at nucleotide −1,001 relative to the transcription start site g.-1001T > C (NC_037332.1:g.31183170T > C), which is recognizable with PstI restriction endonuclease. In silico analyses showed that this mutation created novel retinoid X receptor alpha and vitamin D receptor transcription factor binding sites. Real-time PCR found that cows with different genetic variants of the promoter demonstrated different levels of expression of LALBA mRNA in milk somatic cells (MSCs). The TT genotype cows demonstrated low expression, whereas those with CT demonstrated much higher expression (P < 0.05). ELISA analysis found milk LALBA protein levels also differed between the TT and CT cows (P < 0.05) and that these levels were not correlated with the mRNA abundance in MSC. Association analysis found that the g.-1001T > C polymorphism in the promoter region of the LALBA gene influenced milk production traits in Polish Holstein-Friesian cows. High daily milk yield and dry matter yield, and high lactose yield and concentration were associated with the TT genotype. The TT genotype cows also had a lower number of somatic cells in the milk, considered as an indicator of udder health status. Therefore, the TT genotype could be more desirable from the breeder’s perspective.
Birth, Life, and Afterlife of An Indonesian Graveyard: Environmental Rule and Its Discontents
Authors: Zakaria Faizah
Published: May 2021

The social history of graveyards in Asian cities is understudied but provides a uniquely apt ground from which to view socio-environmental concerns in an urban setting. Legally established in 1926, the Mandailing burial ground in the Indonesian city of Medan was produced through a set of legal and racial discourses introduced during the period of high colonialism. As this article demonstrates, these discourses were activated by large-scale land conversions that brought upland migrants down to coastal port cities and provoked them to question their identity. Placing the Mandailing graveyard within the context of “middle landscapes” that balance nature and culture illuminates how landscapes for the dead continue to manifest environmental change, including upland deforestation, flooding, and a rising tide of waste, in and beyond the city among the living. This article posits that such environmental anxieties were accompanied by social renovation from below, with the graveyard lending itself to a quest to enact a better future. The concentration of multiple issues within a single site makes the graveyard a singularly rich entry point for discussing how environmental rule and its discontents promote social change.
Logics for reasoning about degrees of confirmation
Authors: DautoviĆ Šejla , Doder Dragan , OgnjanoviĆ Zoran
Published: May 2021

In this paper, we present a first-order and a propositional logic for reasoning about degrees of confirmation. We define the appropriate formal languages and describe the corresponding classes of models. We provide infinitary axiomatizations for both logics and we prove that the axiomatizations are sound and strongly complete. We also show that our propositional logic is decidable. For some restrictions of the logics, we provide finitary axiomatic systems.
On the vertical shear instability in magnetized protoplanetary discs
Authors: Cui Can , Lin Min-Kai
Published: May 2021

The vertical shear instability (VSI) is a robust phenomenon in irradiated protoplanetary discs (PPDs). While there is extensive literature on the VSI in the hydrodynamic limit, PPDs are expected to be magnetized and their extremely low ionization fractions imply that non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic effects should be properly considered. To this end, we present linear analyses of the VSI in magnetized discs with Ohmic resistivity. We primarily consider toroidal magnetic fields, which are likely to dominate the field geometry in PPDs. We perform vertically global and radially local analyses to capture characteristic VSI modes with extended vertical structures. To focus on the effect of magnetism, a locally isothermal equation of state is employed. We find that magnetism provides a stabilizing effect to dampen the VSI, with surface modes, rather than body modes, being the first to vanish with increasing magnetization. Subdued VSI modes can be revived by Ohmic resistivity, where sufficient magnetic diffusion overcomes magnetic stabilization, and hydrodynamic results are recovered. We also briefly consider poloidal magnetic fields to account for the magnetorotational instability (MRI), which may develop towards surface layers in the outer regions of PPDs. The MRI grows efficiently at small radial wavenumbers, in contrast to the VSI. When resistivity is considered, the VSI dominates over the MRI for Ohmic Elsässer numbers ≲0.09 at plasma beta parameter βZ ∼ 104.
Tight multimessenger constraints on the neutron star equation of state from GW170817 and a forward model for kilonova light-curve synthesis
Authors: Nicholl Matt , Margalit Ben , Schmidt Patricia , Smith Graham P , Ridley Evan J , Nuttall James
Published: May 2021

We present a rapid analytic framework for predicting kilonova light curves following neutron star (NS) mergers, where the main input parameters are binary-based properties measurable by gravitational wave detectors (chirp mass and mass ratio, orbital inclination) and properties dependent on the nuclear equation of state (tidal deformability, maximum NS mass). This enables synthesis of a kilonova sample for any NS source population, or determination of the observing depth needed to detect a live kilonova given gravitational wave source parameters in low latency. We validate this code, implemented in the public mosfit package, by fitting it to GW170817. A Bayes factor analysis overwhelmingly (B > 1010) favours the inclusion of an additional luminosity source in addition to lanthanide-poor dynamical ejecta during the first day. This is well fit by a shock-heated cocoon model, though differences in the ejecta structure, opacity or nuclear heating rate cannot be ruled out as alternatives. The emission thereafter is dominated by a lanthanide-rich viscous wind. We find the mass ratio of the binary is q = 0.92 ± 0.07 (90 per cent credible interval). We place tight constraints on the maximum stable NS mass, MTOV  $=2.17^{+0.08}_{-0.11}$ M⊙. For a uniform prior in tidal deformability, the radius of a 1.4-M⊙ NS is R1.4 ∼ 10.7 km. Re-weighting with a prior based on equations of state that support our credible range in MTOV, we derive a final measurement R1.4  $=11.06^{+1.01}_{-0.98}$ km. Applying our code to the second gravitationally detected NS merger, GW190425, we estimate that an associated kilonova would have been fainter (by ∼0.7 mag at 1 d post-merger) and declined faster than GW170817, underlining the importance of tuning follow-up strategies individually for each GW-detected NS merger.
HELP: the Herschel Extragalactic Legacy Project
Authors: Shirley R , Duncan K , Campos Varillas M C , Hurley P D , Małek K , Roehlly Y , Smith M W L , Aussel H , Bakx T , Buat V , Burgarella D , Christopher N , Duivenvoorden S , Eales S , Efstathiou A , González Solares E A , Griffin M , Jarvis M , Faro B Lo , Marchetti L , McCheyne I , Papadopoulos A , Penner K , Pons E , Prescott M , Rigby E , Rottgering H , Saxena A , Scudder J , Vaccari M , Wang L , Oliver S J
Published: May 2021

We present the Herschel Extragalactic Legacy Project (HELP). This project collates, curates, homogenizes, and creates derived data products for most of the premium multiwavelength extragalactic data sets. The sky boundaries for the first data release cover 1270 deg2 defined by the Herschel SPIRE extragalactic survey fields; notably the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES) and the Herschel Atlas survey (H-ATLAS). Here, we describe the motivation and principal elements in the design of the project. Guiding principles are transparent or ‘open’ methodologies with care for reproducibility and identification of provenance. A key element of the design focuses around the homogenization of calibration, meta data, and the provision of information required to define the selection of the data for statistical analysis. We apply probabilistic methods that extract information directly from the images at long wavelengths, exploiting the prior information available at shorter wavelengths and providing full posterior distributions rather than maximum-likelihood estimates and associated uncertainties as in traditional catalogues. With this project definition paper, we provide full access to the first data release of HELP; Data Release 1 (DR1), including a monolithic map of the largest SPIRE extragalactic field at 385 deg2 and 18 million measurements of PACS and SPIRE fluxes. We also provide tools to access and analyse the full HELP data base. This new data set includes far-infrared photometry, photometric redshifts, and derived physical properties estimated from modelling the spectral energy distributions over the full HELP sky. All the software and data presented is publicly available.
Inferring Genome-Wide Correlations of Mutation Fitness Effects between Populations
Authors: Huang Xin , Fortier Alyssa Lyn , Coffman Alec J , Struck Travis J , Irby Megan N , James Jennifer E , León-Burguete José E , Ragsdale Aaron P , Gutenkunst Ryan N
Published: May 2021

The effect of a mutation on fitness may differ between populations depending on environmental and genetic context, but little is known about the factors that underlie such differences. To quantify genome-wide correlations in mutation fitness effects, we developed a novel concept called a joint distribution of fitness effects (DFE) between populations. We then proposed a new statistic w to measure the DFE correlation between populations. Using simulation, we showed that inferring the DFE correlation from the joint allele frequency spectrum is statistically precise and robust. Using population genomic data, we inferred DFE correlations of populations in humans, Drosophila melanogaster, and wild tomatoes. In these species, we found that the overall correlation of the joint DFE was inversely related to genetic differentiation. In humans and D. melanogaster, deleterious mutations had a lower DFE correlation than tolerated mutations, indicating a complex joint DFE. Altogether, the DFE correlation can be reliably inferred, and it offers extensive insight into the genetics of population divergence.