bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain IgG Response to AstraZeneca (AZD1222) COVID-19 Vaccination, Jamaica
Authors: Leys Ynolde E. , Nwokocha Magdalene , Walker Jerome P. , Butterfield Tiffany R. , Frater Velesha , Thompson Tamara K. , Anderson Mark , Cloherty Gavin A. , Anzinger Joshua J.
Published: October 2021

The Caribbean region is lacking an assessment of the antibody response and side effects experienced after AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination (AZD1222). We examined SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain (RBD) IgG levels and reported side effects in a Jamaican population after AZD1222 vaccination. Median RBD IgG levels for persons without evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection were 43.1 bIU/mL after 3-7 weeks post first dose, rising to 100.1 bIU/mL 3-7 weeks post second dose, and falling 46.9 bIU/mL 16-22 weeks post second dose. The median RBD IgG level 2-8 weeks after symptom onset for unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2 infected persons of all disease severities was 411.6 bIU/mL. Common AZD1222 side effects after first dose were injection site pain, headache and chills. Most persons reported no side effects after second dose. AZD1222 is widely used across the English-speaking Caribbean and the study provides evidence for its continued safe and effective use in vaccination programs.
A 6-CpG Validated Methylation Risk Score Model for Metabolic Syndrome: The HyperGEN and GOLDN Studies
Authors: Hidalgo Bertha A , Minniefield Bre , Patki Amit , Tanner Rikki , Bhagheri Minoo , Tiwari Hemant K. , Arnett Donna K. , Irvin M. Ryan
Published: October 2021

There has been great interest in genetic risk prediction using risk scores in recent years, however, the utility of scores developed in European populations and later applied to non-European populations has not been successful. In this study, we used cross-sectional data from the Hypertension Genetic Epidemiology Network (HyperGEN, N=614 African Americans (AA)) and the Genetics of Lipid Lowering Drugs and Diet Network (GOLDN, N=995 European Americans (EA)), to create a methylation risk score (MRS) for metabolic syndrome (MetS), demonstrating the utility of MRS across race groups. To demonstrate this, we first selected cytosine-guanine dinucleotides (CpG) sites measured on Illumina Methyl450 arrays previously reported to be significantly associated with MetS and/or component conditions (CPT1A cg00574958, PHOSPHO1 cg02650017, ABCG1 cg06500161, SREBF1 cg11024682, SOCS3 cg18181703, TXNIP cg19693031). Second, we calculated the parameter estimates for the 6 CpGs in the HyperGEN data and used the beta estimates as weights to construct a MRS in HyperGEN, which was validated in GOLDN. We performed association analyses using a logistic mixed model to test the association between the MRS and MetS adjusting for covariates. Results showed the MRS was significantly associated with MetS in both populations. In summary, a MRS for MetS was a strong predictor for the condition across two ethnic groups suggesting MRS may be useful to examine metabolic disease risk or related complications across ethnic groups.
Cloud-enabled Fiji for reproducible, integrated and modular image processing
Authors: Hung Ling-Hong , Straw Evan , Reddy Shishir , Schmitz Robert , Colburn Zachary , Yeung Ka Yee
Published: October 2021

Modern biomedical image analyses workflows contain multiple computational processing tasks giving rise to problems in reproducibility. In addition, image datasets can span both spatial and temporal dimensions, with additional channels for fluorescence and other data, resulting in datasets that are too large to be processed locally on a laptop. For omics analyses, software containers have been shown to enhance reproducibility, facilitate installation and provide access to scalable computational resources on the cloud. However, most image analyses contain steps that are graphical and interactive, features that are not supported by most omics execution engines. We present the containerized and cloud-enabled Biodepot-workflow-builder platform that supports graphics from software containers and has been extended for image analyses. We demonstrate the potential of our modular approach with multi-step workflows that incorporate the popular and open-source Fiji suite for image processing. One of our examples integrates fully interactive Fiji macros with Jupyter notebooks. Our second example illustrates how the complicated cloud setup of an computationally intensive process such as stitching 3D digital pathology datasets using BigStitcher can be automated and simplified. In both examples, users can leverage a form-based graphical interface to execute multi-step workflows with a single click, using the provided sample data and preset input parameters. Alternatively, users can interactively modify the image processing steps in the workflow, apply the workflows to their own data, change the input parameters and macros. By providing interactive graphics support to software containers, our modular platform supports reproducible image analysis workflows, simplified access to cloud resources for analysis of large datasets, and integrated workflows across imaging, genomics and transcriptomics data.
Do demographic processes change at extremely low population size in western monarch butterflies?
Authors: Edwards Collin B. , Schultz Cheryl B. , Crone Elizabeth
Published: October 2021

Allee effects – the breakdown of biological processes at low population densities – are ecologically important because they can potentially drag already struggling populations to extinction. However, identifying and documenting Allee effects is challenging, especially for natural populations, because it is difficult to know when populations have dropped to critically low densities, and to observe them both above and below this threshold. Here, we compared demographic processes in the western monarch butterfly,Danaus plexippus,before and after the population had fallen below the size at which Allee effects were hypothesized to take hold. Comparisons drew on data we collected after a dramatic population crash in 2018, previously published data from other researchers, and community science data. We found no evidence for Allee effects in winter survival, the fraction of females mated in early spring, or eggs laid per day. We did identify a 43% decline in the distance of seasonal range expansion, which could reflect Allee effects in terms of summer population growth rates or density-dependent movement behavior. In addition, overwinter survival of western monarch butterflies has substantially declined since first estimated in 1975 and may be contributing to the long-term population decline. The lack of evidence for Allee effects and the recent rebound in population size provide a more hopeful view for monarch conservation in the future but do not supersede the documented density-independent population decline across the last several decades.
Infants’ attention to eyes is an independent, heritable trait predicting later verbal competence
Authors: Viktorsson Charlotte , Portugal Ana Maria , Li Danyang , Rudling Maja , Sanchez Monica Siqueiros , Tammimies Kristiina , Taylor Mark J. , Ronald Angelica , Falck-Ytter Terje
Published: October 2021

From birth, infants orient preferentially to faces, and when looking at the face, they attend primarily to eyes and mouth – two areas that convey different types of information. Here, in a sample of 535 5-month-old infant twins, we assessed eye (relative to mouth) preference in early infancy. Eye preference was independent from all other concurrent traits measured, and had a moderate-to-high contribution from genetic influences (A = .57; 95% CI: .45, .66). Preference for eyes over mouth at 5 months predicted higher parent ratings of verbal competence in toddlerhood, but did not predict autistic traits. These results suggest that variation in eye looking reflects a type of biological niche picking emerging before infants can select their environments by other means (crawling or walking).
Cytidine deaminase protects pancreatic cancer cells from replicative stress and drives resistance to DNA-targeting drugs
Authors: Lumeau A. , Bery N. , Francès A. , Gayral M. , Ribeyre C. , Lopez C. , Névot A. , Elkaoutari S. , Labrousse G. , Madrid-Mencia M. , Pillaire M. , Pancaldi V. , Bergoglio V. , Dusetti N. , Hoffmann J. , Buscail L. , Lutzmann M. , Cordelier P.
Published: October 2021

Chronic DNA replication stress and genome instability are two hallmarks of cancer that fuel oncogenesis and tumor diversity. Therapeutic approaches aimed to leverage tumor-specific replication stress to intolerable levels or to expose vulnerabilities for synthetic lethality purposes have recently gained momentum, especially for pancreatic cancer, a disease with no cure. However, the current knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in the replication stress response in pancreatic tumors is limited. Cytidine deaminase (CDA) is involved in the pyrimidine salvage pathway for DNA and RNA synthesis. Loss of CDA induces genomic instability in Bloom Syndrome, and CDA protects tumor cells from chemotherapy with pyrimidine analogs. Here, we show that CDA is overexpressed in genetically unstable pancreatic tumors, associates with a DNA replication signature, and is instrumental for experimental tumor growth. In cancer cells, CDA promotes DNA replication, increases replication fork speed, and controls replication stress and genomic stability levels. CDA expression is predictive of DNA-damaging drug efficacy and targeting CDA relieves resistance to chemotherapy in patients models, both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings shed new light on the mechanisms by which pancreatic cancer cells control replication stress, and highlight targeting of CDA as a potential therapeutic strategy to defeat tumor resistance to treatment.
Stemness activity underlying whole brain regeneration in a basal chordate
Authors: Gordon Tal , Zaquin Tal , Kowarsky Mark Alec , Voskoboynik Yotam , Hendin Noam , Wurtzel Omri , Caicci Federico , Manni Lucia , Voskoboynik Ayelet , Shenkar Noa
Published: October 2021

Central nervous system (CNS) regeneration extent is highly diverse across the metazoans, with adult mammals demonstrating limited ability1,2. Understanding how neurons regenerate following injury remains a central challenge in regenerative medicine. Although conserved pathways associated with neural regeneration have been identified3,4, a study describing the stepwise morphogenetic changes that take place throughout a complete CNS regeneration is lacking. Utilizing the highly regenerative tunicate model Polycarpa mytiligera5, we characterized the morphological, cell proliferation, and transcriptomic dynamics that lead to entire CNS regeneration. The regenerated CNS of adult P. mytiligera expressed key neurodevelopmental markers that are not otherwise present in the adult CNS. Removal of the entire CNS resulted in high cell proliferation in the regenerated area. Transcriptome analysis revealed enhanced stem-cell related gene activity, with high expression of P53 and piRNA pathways preceding the activation of Notch, Wnt, and Nanos pathways. The CNS regeneration atlas created here depicts the transcriptomic landscape of the entire CNS regeneration process, revealing the core pathways that regulate neuronal response to injury, and the regeneration stage at which they are most pronounced. The molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling regenerative capacity that this atlas reveals could be used to develop approaches to enhancing neurogenesis in closely-related chordate species, including humans.
Density-dependent selection in Drosophila: evolution of egg size and hatching time
Authors: Venkitachalam Srikant , Das Srijan , Deep Auroni , Joshi Amitabh
Published: October 2021

Many different laboratory studies of adaptation to larval crowding in Drosophila spp. have all yielded the evolution of pre-adult competitive ability, even though the ecological context in which crowding was experienced varied across studies. However, the evolution of competitive ability was achieved through different suites of traits in studies wherein crowding was imposed in slightly different ways. Earlier studies showed the evolution of increased competitive ability via increased larval feeding rate and tolerance to nitrogenous waste, at the cost of food to biomass conversion efficiency. However, more recent studies, with crowding imposed at relatively low food levels, showed the evolution of competitive ability via decreased larval development time and body size, and an increase in the time efficiency of conversion of food to biomass, with no change in larval feeding rate or waste tolerance. Taken together, these studies have led to a more nuanced understanding of how the specific details of larval numbers, food amounts etc. can affect which traits evolve to confer increased competitive ability. Here, we report results from a study in which egg size and hatching time were assayed on three sets of populations adapted to larval crowding experienced in slightly different ways, as well as their low density ancestral control populations. Egg size and hatching time are traits that may provide larvae with initial advantages under crowding through increased starting larval size and a temporal head-start, respectively. In each set of populations adapted to some form of larval crowding, the evolution of longer and wider eggs was seen, compared to controls, thus making egg size the first consistent correlate of the evolution of increased larval competitive ability across Drosophila populations experiencing crowding in slightly different ways. Among the crowding-adapted populations, those crowded at the lowest overall eggs/food density, but the highest density of larvae in the feeding band, showed the largest eggs, on an average. All three sets of crowding-adapted populations showed shorter average egg hatching time than controls, but the difference was significant only in the case of populations experiencing the highest feeding band density. Our results underscore the importance of considering factors other than just eggs/food density when studying the evolution of competitive ability, as also the advantages of having multiple selection regimes within one experimental set up, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of the subtlety with which adaptive evolutionary trajectories can vary across even fairly similar selection regimes.
Integrative multi-omics analyses reveal multi-modal FOXG1 functions acting on epigenetic processes and in concert with NEUROD1 to regulate synaptogenesis in the mouse hippocampus
Authors: Akol Ipek , Heidrich Stefanie , ÓhAilín Darren , Hacker Christine , Villarreal Alejandro , Rauleac Tudor , Bella Chiara , Fischer Andre , Manke Thomas , Vogel Tanja
Published: October 2021

Background

FOXG1 has important functions for neuronal differentiation and balances excitatory/inhibitory network activity. Mutations in the humanFOXG1gene cause a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, FOXG1-syndrome, which manifests differing phenotypes, including severe cognitive dysfunction, microencephaly, social withdrawal, and communication and memory deficits. Changes at the molecular level underlying these functional abnormalities uponFOXG1haploinsufficiency are largely unexplored, in human patients as well as in animals modelling the debilitating disease.

Methods

We present multi-omics data and explore comprehensively how FOXG1 impacts neuronal maturation at the chromatin level in the adult mouse hippocampus. We used RNA-, ATAC- and ChIP-sequencing of primary hippocampal neurons and co-immunoprecipitation to explore various levels of epigenetic changes and transcription factor networks acting to alter neuronal differentiation upon reduction of FOXG1.

Results

We provide the first comprehensive multi-omics data set exploring FOXG1 presence at the chromatin and identifying the consequences of reduced FOXG1 expression in primary hippocampal neurons. Analyzing the multi-omics data, our study reveals that FOXG1 uses various different ways to regulate transcription at the chromatin level. On a genome-wide level, FOXG1 (i) both represses and activates transcription, (ii) binds mainly to enhancer regions, and (iii) bidirectionally alters the epigenetic landscape in regard to levels of H3K27ac, H3K4me3, and chromatin accessibility. Genes affected by the chromatin alterations upon FOXG1 reduction impact synaptogenesis and axonogenesis. This finding emphasizes the importance of FOXG1 to integrate and coordinate transcription of genes necessary for proper neuronal function by acting on a genome-wide level. Interestingly, FOXG1 acts through histone deacetylases (HDACs) and inhibition of HDACs partly rescued transcriptional alterations observed upon FOXG1 reduction. On a more detailed level of analysis, we show that FOXG1 (iv) operates synergistically with NEUROD1. Interestingly, we could not detect a clear hierarchy of these two key transcription factors, but instead provide first evidence that they act in highly concerted and orchestrated manner to control neuronal differentiation.

Conclusions

This integrative and multi-omics view of changes upon FOXG1 reduction reveals an unprecedented multimodality of FOXG1 functions converging on neuronal maturation, fueling novel therapeutic options based on epigenetic drugs to alleviate, at least in part, neuronal dysfunctions.
Tourists’ information literacy self-efficacy: its role in their adaptation to the “new normal” in the hotel context
Authors: Peco-Torres Francisco , Polo-Peña Ana I. , Frías-Jamilena Dolores M.
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This study aims to determine whether the consumer’s information literacy self-efficacy plays a role in their intention to resume their consumption of tourist services – specifically, hotel accommodation – in the context of the “new normal” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative empirical study is performed on hotel accommodation consumers and a structural equation modeling analysis is used to verify the proposed relationships.

Findings

The findings reveal that the tourist’s information literacy self-efficacy – their ability to find the information they need, use it efficiently and discount fake news – positively influences their perception of hotel safety; and perceived hotel safety increases tourist intention to return to consuming hotel services.

Practical implications

The results show how the consumer’s intention to return to using hotel services can be enhanced because of their management of information, especially in a crisis context. Hotel firms must position the provision of safety information at the heart of their marketing and communications strategies, and adapt this information to the different processing capabilities of consumers.

Social implications

This study provides valuable insights into the hotel industry – a major contributor to gross domestic product and employment worldwide that is being particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 crisis.

Originality/value

This study represents an advance in the literature as it demonstrates – as a novelty – the vital role of consumer information literacy self-efficacy in encouraging people to begin visiting hotels again in the “new normal.”
Corporate characteristics, audit quality and managerial entrenchment during the COVID-19 crisis: evidence from an emerging country
Authors: Dakhli Anissa , Mtiraoui Abderraouf
Published: October 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between some corporate characteristics, audit quality and managerial entrenchment in Tunisian companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The multivariate regression model is used for hypothesis testing using a sample of 224 listed observations on Tunisian Stock Exchange during 2014–2020. An exploratory factor analysis of four variables (chief executive officer (CEO) duality, CEO tenure, CEO seniority and CEO age) is used for calculating a unique index assessing the managerial entrenchment.

Findings

The results show a negative and significant relationship between audit quality and managerial entrenchment. The authors also find that firm characteristics affect management entrenchment. Precisely, corporate financial performance and firm leverage show positive connections with managerial entrenchment (ME). Additional analysis confirms the negative impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on managerial entrenchment level.

Practical implications

The study’s findings have practical implications that may be useful to different stakeholders, policymakers and regulatory bodies interested in reducing management entrenchment. This study offers signals to shareholders about specific governance attributes, namely audit quality, that control the extent of manager's entrenchment.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper consists in focusing on developing countries, namely the Tunisian context; while the managerial entrenchment phenomena has been widely examined in developed markets. Moreover, contrary to the overwhelming majority of previous studies that has used individual indexes for evaluating the entrenchment, the authors calculate a mixed index of managerial entrenchment using the principal component analysis based on four governance mechanisms (CEO duality, CEO age, CEO seniority and CEO tenure).
Socially responsible investment (SRI) Sukuk as a financing alternative for post COVID-19 development project
Authors: Hasan Rashedul , Velayutham Sivakumar , Khan Abu Faisal
Published: October 2021

Purpose

COVID-19 has disrupted the economic development of both advanced and emerging markets. In addition to the stimulus packages to adjust the economic shock from COVID-19, regulators around the world are searching for innovative mechanisms to rebuild the economy. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of SRI Sukuk to serve as an Islamic social finance solution for development projects to mitigate the adverse economic effects of COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a mixed-method research framework. The authors use a systematic literature review following the recommendations of Bowen (2009) to identify critical challenges financing PPP projects using SRI Sukuk. In the next phase, the authors interview participants involved in an SRI Sukuk financed PPP project to get more significant insights on the challenges identified through the literature review process.

Findings

The authors identify the need for greater transparency for SRI financed PPP projects. Also, organisational and legislative challenges are limiting the attractiveness of SRI Sukuk as a financing mechanisms for post-COVID development projects.

Practical implications

SRI Sukuk is an emerging financing concept, and the use of such an Islamic financial instrument in financing development projects can serve as a viable alternative for policymakers in a post-COVID economic environment.

Social implications

The successful completion of the development projects integrating the concept of Social Maslahah through SRI Sukuk in Malaysia could encourage other emerging economies to use such innovative Islamic financial instrument for economic development in post-COVID environment.

Originality/value

This paper is unique, as it provides evidence on the potential of SRI Sukuk to finance large scale public-private partnership projects.
Heritage-led urban regeneration: the case of “El-Shalalat District”, Alexandria
Authors: Abdelhamid Mona M. , El Hakeh Amira Hassan , Elfakharany Mohamed M.
Published: October 2021

Purpose

The paper aims to clarify threats facing heritage management in developing countries. It investigates the challenges facing the application of the historic urban landscape approach (HUL) in the city of Alexandria in Egypt, where heritage is trapped between unplanned developments from one side and deterioration from another side.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses SWOT analysis regarding the heritage management approach of the historic site. Site observation, documentary reviews, an online questionnaire (due to the COVID situation) and some interviews with park visitors and shopkeepers have been adopted to capture the changes in the site management, specifically capturing the current status of the site.

Findings

The paper presented an empirical study covering the evolution of heritage management practices. It suggests that building and maintaining the synergy between the government, the private sector and the public is essential for the sustainability of urban development in the city of Alexandria. It also asserts that heritage is a major catalyst of urban regeneration in the city.

Research limitations/implications

This paper highlights major threats facing Alexandrian heritage. However, it lacks generalizability.

Practical implications

It suggests inclusive urban conservation strategies that are based on the HUL approach that would revitalize the historic core and assist in preserving both its tangible and intangible heritage. These strategies can help decision makers to develop more sustainable approaches in managing city heritage and achieving sustainable development of the city core.

Social implications

The paper presents a social implication through involving stakeholders in the sustainable revitalization project of Al-Shalalat district located in the city center of Alexandria.

Originality/value

The paper presents an empirical study that fulfills an identified need for adopting more sustainable strategies in heritage management in Alexandria.
Liquidity issues: solutions for the asset rich, cash poor
Authors: Loutzenhiser Glen , Mann Elizabeth
Published: October 2021

Liquidity concerns are oft raised when considering wealth taxes, yet the issue has received scant attention in the extant literature. In this paper we provide the first comprehensive review of the liquidity problem. Our aims are to estimate the scale of the problem, to explore the extent to which archetypal examples are at risk of experiencing low liquidity, and to review the policy options to reduce the scale and impact of liquidity challenges. Using data from Round 6 of the Wealth and Assets Survey, we demonstrate that the scale of the problem depends largely on conceptual and design issues. We find that farmers and business owners are commonly over‐represented in the low‐liquidity group, but there is little evidence to support the typical narrative surrounding single pensioners. Finally, we conclude our review with a number of preferred solutions to address liquidity issues, including recognising that a net wealth tax can be paid out of income or by sale of assets, by withholding tax (e.g. by pension providers), by borrowing/financing, deferred payment arrangements and, possibly in limited circumstances, payment in specie.
The Long‐Term Consequences of Short‐Term Incentives
Authors: EDMANS ALEX , FANG VIVIAN W. , HUANG ALLEN H.
Published: October 2021

This paper studies the long‐term consequences of actions induced by vesting equity, a measure of short‐term incentives. Vesting equity is positively associated with the probability of a firm repurchasing shares, the amount of shares repurchased, and the probability of the firm announcing a merger and acquisition (M&A). However, it is also associated with more negative long‐term returns over two to three years following repurchases and four years following M&A, as well as future M&A goodwill impairment. These results are inconsistent with CEOs buying underpriced stock or companies to maximize long‐run shareholder value, but consistent with these actions being used to boost the short‐term stock price and thus equity sale proceeds. CEOs sell their own stock shortly after using company money to buy the firm's stock, also inconsistent with repurchases being motivated by undervaluation.
Magnetic sphincter augmentation in treating refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhuang Qian Jun , Tan Nian Di , Chen Song Feng , Zhang Meng Yu , Xiao Ying Lian
Published: October 2021

Objective

In this systematic review and meta‐analysis we aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) in the management of refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (rGERD).

Methods

Literature search was conducted in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, OpenGrey and ClincalTrials.gov for single‐arm studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of MSA in rGERD or comparative studies with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF) serving as the control published until April 2020. Primary outcome was the rate of postoperative PPI use, and secondary outcomes included postoperative GERD‐health‐related quality of life (GERD‐HRQL), normalization of acid exposure time (AET) and incidence of procedure‐related adverse events (AE).

Results

Ten single‐arm studies, one randomized controlled trial and three cohort studies involving 1138 participants were included. Post‐MSA PPI withdrawal, significant GERD‐HRQL improvement and AET normalization were achieved in 87.0%, 88.0% and 75.0% of the patients, respectively. The incidence of postoperative dysphagia was 29% and endoscopic dilation was required in 7.4% of patients undergoing MSA. MSA showed a better efficacy in symptom control than PPI (PPI cessation: 91% vs 0%; GERD‐HRQL improvement: 81% vs 8%) and similar effectiveness but a lower risk of gas‐bloat syndrome (risk ratio [RR] 0.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51‐0.93, P = 0.01) and better reserved ability to belch (RR 1.48, 95% CI 0.76‐2.86, P = 0.25) compared with LNF.

Conclusions

MSA was an effective and safe therapy for rGERD. Well‐designed randomized trials that compare the efficacy of MSA with other therapies are needed.
Asymptomatic myocardial dysfunction was revealed by feature tracking cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome
Authors: Yokoe Isamu , Kobayashi Hitomi , Nishiwaki Atsuma , Nagasawa Yosuke , Kitamura Noboru , Haraoka Masaki , Kobayashi Yasuyuki , Takei Masami , Nakamura Hideki
Published: October 2021

Aim

To evaluate subclinical left ventricular (LV) regional dysfunction in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) using feature tracking cardiac magnetic resonance (FT‐CMR) imaging and to identify pSS characteristics independently associated with LV regional dysfunction.

Method

Fifty patients with pSS and 20 controls without cardiovascular disease underwent non‐contrast CMR imaging. Labial gland biopsy was performed in 42 patients (84%). Disease activity was assessed using the European League Against Rheumatism Sjögren's syndrome disease activity index (ESSDAI). LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS), and global radial strain (GRS) were measured using FT‐CMR.

Results

No significant differences in cardiovascular risk factors were found between the pSS group and controls. The pSS group had significantly lower GLS (P = .015) and GCS (P = .008) than the control group. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that GCS was significantly associated with Raynaud's phenomenon (P = .015), focus score ≥2 (P = .032), and total ESSDAI score ≥8 (P = .029).

Conclusion

FT‐CMR can reveal subclinical LV regional dysfunction in patients with pSS without cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, patients with pSS and Raynaud's phenomenon, a focus score ≥2, or an ESSDAI score ≥8 were considered to be at high risk for myocardial dysfunction.
Transnational linkages, power relations and the migration–development nexus: China and its diaspora
Authors: Tan Yan , Liu Xuchun , Rosser Andrew
Published: October 2021

While accepting that the migration–development nexus is best understood from a transnational perspective, recent studies analyse this nexus in a partial way rather than holistically. We review the literature, then attempt an enriched account of the complex and rapidly evolving relationship between diaspora and development in China – a country undergoing profound demographic, economic and social changes. Using in‐depth interviews with a variety of key informants or stakeholders and a transnationally oriented framework, we analyse features across three core policy dimensions that incorporate both international and domestic dynamics: citizenship, top talent recruitment and soft power. Our findings contribute to the literature on Chinese‐state‐diaspora relations. They show that China's approach to its diaspora policy and development, practice and outcomes reaches with powerful new effects across national borders. The transnational–relational perspective gives an optimal paradigm for researchers and policymakers to understand changing strengths and complexities in interactions (contestation, conflict, negotiation, cooperation) between multi‐scalar and multi‐dimensional linkages, and to form diaspora policy and engagement programmes responsive to unprecedented global political, economic and social disruption.
Examining the role of solar activity, climate, and the socio‐historical context in high all‐cause mortality (northern Portugal, 1700–1880)
Authors: Moreno João , Moreno Filipa , Fatela Francisco , Leorri Eduardo
Published: October 2021

The far‐reaching impact of the Sun on Earth's climate and on people's health and well‐being is a poorly understood and non‐consensual scientific issue, with empirical literature stressing the need to expand the knowledge of such relationships. Here, the interplay between solar activity (SA) and climate, and its likely cascading effects on all‐cause mortality, were examined at several time scales. To this end, the parish records of Braga (1700–1880) and Torre de Moncorvo (1700–1850), in two different geographical locations of northern Portugal (Iberia, SW Europe), were used. Crude mortality rate (CMR) and winter–summer ratio (W/S) values were computed to characterize mortality patterns/trends and couple them with potential relevant drivers: total solar irradiance (TSI) as a proxy of SA, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and key historical events. What emerged, albeit incomplete, was a complex picture of death deeply embedded in people’s physical and socioeconomic environments, at a time when ubiquitous poverty (and co‐morbid malnutrition) was the most inveterate cause of ill health. After identifying the positive mortality episodes in both municipalities, their incidence was found to be higher in periods of weakened SA (normal/grand minima). Standard inference statistics were used to estimate the significance of the observations. The highest CMR peaks matched not only with wars but also with known wide‐ranging mortality crises, which seem to have been triggered by major agricultural production shortfalls, followed by substantial increases in food prices, driven, in turn, by climate deterioration, including extreme weather occurrences. The outcome was social unrest, famines, and outbreaks of infectious diseases, heightening the death toll. The influence of prominent solar/climate variations was investigated using wavelet transform coherence analysis (WTC). The results showed (multi)decadal oscillations in both (TSI and NAO) somehow regulating mortality. But the WTC analysis also estimated SA signals in low‐frequency mortality dynamics disguised by time‐varying determinants, where distinct players of space weather might have been implicated.
The syn‐rift tectono‐stratigraphic record of rifted margins (Part I): Insights from the Alpine Tethys
Authors: Manatschal Gianreto , Chenin Pauline , Ghienne Jean‐François , Ribes Charlotte , Masini Emmanuel
Published: October 2021

The tectono‐stratigraphic evolution of rift systems is at present poorly understood, especially the one preceding the onset of oceanic seafloor spreading. Improving our understanding of the complex, polyphase tectonic evolution of the fossil Alpine Tethys, one of the best calibrated magma‐poor rift systems worldwide, offers great potential for the interpretation of the distal part of global rifted margins, which notoriously lack data. In this paper, we propose a tectono‐stratigraphic model for the former Alpine Tethys, whose remnants are exposed in the Alps of Western Europe. We first review the historical evolution of some concepts grounding present knowledge on the Alpine‐ and global magma‐poor rifted margins. Then we present a spatial and temporal template for the Alpine Tethys rift system using a ‘building block (BB)’ approach. This new approach is powerful in that it can integrate high‐resolution, structural, stratigraphic, thermochronological, and petrological observations from dismembered outcrops into a margin‐scale template compatible with the first‐order seismic architecture defined at present‐day, magma‐poor rifted margins. The detailed analysis of the syn‐rift sequence of the Alpine Tethys margins demonstrates that extension migrated and localised while evolving from the stretching to the necking phase. During hyperextension, rifting was asymmetric and controlled by in‐sequence detachment faulting. Then, the rift system evolved back into a more symmetric, embryonic spreading system. With this contribution, we aim to allow readers without knowledge of the Alps to access this unique ‘archive’ preserving some of the world's best‐exposed rift structures. Recognising these structures is critical to understand the origin of some new concepts used to explain present‐day, deep‐water rifted margins, and to interpret and predict the tectono‐stratigraphic evolution during advanced stages of rifting.
The influence of spatial patterns in foraging habitat on the abundance and home range size of a vulnerable arboreal marsupial in southeast Australia
Authors: Wagner Benjamin , Baker Patrick J. , Nitschke Craig R.
Published: October 2021

Wildlife can persist in a range of landscape configurations, but population densities can vary due to resource availability. Resources and environmental conditions shaping habitat suitability may be spatially dispersed or clumped, which can drive habitat availability. We explored how spatial configuration and aggregation of favorable feeding resources and climatic conditions affect populations of the greater glider (Petauroides volans), an arboreal marsupial in southeast Australia, vulnerable to climate change and disturbances. We hypothesized home‐range functionality from literature and field observations and used a generalized spatial framework based on neutral landscape models to test how spatial aggregation influences home‐range sizes and population structure. At the landscape scale, any decrease in climatic suitability also decreased potential population density, independent of the initial spatial configuration of the feeding landscape. At the stand scale however, the spatial configuration of feeding habitat drove population density. Dispersed resources required increased home‐range sizes for individual greater gliders to obtain feeding resources and resulted in smaller populations. Clumped resources supported larger populations, even when only small fractions of the stand contained feeding habitat. Disturbances to these resources could either retain populations or lead to extinction, depending on spatial aggregation and disturbance intensity. Increasingly severe dispersed disturbances caused potential home ranges to disappear more rapidly and remaining home ranges to become larger and contain less feeding habitat. The ability of greater gliders to establish populations and persist under disturbance was therefore highly dependent on the spatial aggregation of habitat resources and the type and severity of disturbance. Changes in climate act at a different scale and may override favorable habitat conditions at the stand level. Our results have implications for the conservation and retention of critical feeding habitat for greater gliders and provide insights into important factors to ensure population persistence under climate change and forest management.
Equine multisystemic eosinophilic epitheliotropic disease in two horses in Italy
Authors: Stucchi L. , Lo Feudo C. M. , Valli C. , Serra A. , Riccaboni P. , Zucca E. , Ferrucci F.
Published: October 2021

Equine multisystemic eosinophilic epitheliotropic disease (EMEED) is a rare condition characterised by eosinophilic infiltration of multiple organs. The aim of the present work was to describe two clinical cases that occurred in Italy, where no previous EMEED cases have been reported. A 2‐year‐old Standardbred colt was referred for poor body condition, multiple oral ulcerations, ventral and limb oedema, nasal discharge and coughing. Relative eosinophilia, increased ALP, GGT, LDH and hypoalbuminaemia were detected. Abdominal ultrasonography showed hepatomegaly and hepatic biopsy revealed eosinophilic hepatitis. After euthanasia, post‐mortem examination revealed eosinophilic infiltration and fibrosis of intestinal wall, liver, pancreas and mesenteric lymph nodes. The second case was a 13‐year‐old pony hospitalised for acute respiratory distress, poor body condition, nasal discharge, cough and dyspnoea. Leucocytosis with relative eosinophilia was detected. Thoracic ultrasonography showed disseminated comet tail artefacts. Endoscopy of the airways revealed disseminated white nodules in the nasal cavities and nasopharynx; biopsy showed eosinophilic infiltrates. After euthanasia, post‐mortem examination revealed eosinophilic infiltration of intestinal wall, liver, mediastinal lymph nodes, lungs and kidneys. Both patients presented with poor body condition, which is the most common sign of EMEED. They also showed nasal discharge, and the second case showed respiratory distress and disseminated white nodules, which have not been reported previously. In both cases, liver involvement was observed. Post‐mortem examination provided the most specific findings, such as lymphadenomegaly and eosinophilic infiltration of multiple organs. Although weight loss remains the main sign of EMEED, liver and airway evaluation was extremely useful for the diagnosis in these cases.
Evolution of innate defense in human skin
Authors: Christophers Enno , Schröder Jens‐Michael
Published: October 2021

More often as compared to other barrier systems (gastrointestinal, urogenital, and respiratory linings) human skin over millions of years has been subject to fundamental changes in structure and function. When life on land started, the first changes consisted in the formation of a coherent impermeable stratum corneum. Two‐legged locomotion was followed by loss of body hair and formation of sweat glands. Major changes took place after the agricultural revolution, investigating settlements with domestication of animals and plants. Living together after giving up nomadic life, hairless skin became a battlefield for pathogens, members of the skin microbiome, and arthropod visits. Human skin became exceptional in showing a boosted, highly developed immune system which is much more complex as compared to the "skins" of other species. A recently found skin disinfection system ("Cationic Intrinsically Disordered Antimicrobial Peptides, CIDAMPs") dates back to the origins of life and still is active in present‐day integuments. As a skin‐restricted and effective principle, keratinocyte‐ myeloid synergy (KMS) is recognized. As a consequence of such highly developed immune defense, the basic contributions of KMS ‐ cells (keratinocytes, neutrophils, macrophages) in regulating innate immunity is emphasized. Antimicrobial peptides and chemokines became major keratinocyte products. The formation of impermeable str. corneum membrane has enabled KMS ‐ cells to accumulate within upper skin levels and cause a special group of human skin diseases, pustular dermatoses.
Sodium zirconium phosphate‐based glass‐ceramics as potential wasteforms for the immobilization of nuclear wastes
Authors: Scales Nicholas , Dayal Pranesh , Aughterson Robert D. , Zhang Yingjie , Gregg Daniel J.
Published: October 2021

A comprehensive study on the development of sodium zirconium phosphate (NZP)‐based glass‐ceramic composites as potential wasteforms for the immobilization of nuclear wastes is reported. Two complementary waste treatment routes, the ex situ and in situ crystallisation of NZP with a sodium aluminoborosilicate glass, were investigated with various processing conditions including sintering temperature, cooling rate and NZP to glass ratios. While the ex situ route with mixing of pre‐made NZP and glass is a robust and reliable means of producing the glass‐ceramic composites, the in situ crystallisation of NZP from an amorphous NZP precursor is a more realistic processing route. The formation of ZrO2 as a minor phase was observed especially for high NZP to glass ratios due to the solubility difference between Zr and P oxides in glass. The addition of extra phosphate can overcome this and yield glass‐ceramic composites with appropriate NZP stoichiometry. Overall, the NZP glass‐ceramic system is versatile offering multiple processing options for nuclear waste management.
Drivers of genetic differentiation and recent evolutionary history of an Eurasian wild pea
Authors: Hellwig Timo , Abbo Shahal , Ophir Ron
Published: October 2021

Aim

Genetic diversity is a major determinant for the capacity of species to persist and adapt to their environments. Unravelling the factors affecting genetic differentiation is crucial to understand how genetic diversity is shaped and species may react to changing environments. We investigated the drivers of genetic differentiation and their interplay with the evolutionary history in a wild pea to test how those may have affected the distribution of genetic diversity.

Location

Mediterranean basin, western Asia.

Taxon

Pisum sativum (Fabaceae).

Methods

We employed restriction site associated DNA (RAD) sequencing of a collection of 81 wild pea samples. The influence of environmental factors on genetic differentiation was tested by estimating the association of these factors and genetic variation using gradient forest analysis. Stairwayplots were used to estimate past effective population sizes and clines of allele frequencies were analysed to detect past expansion patterns. Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms with environmental variables was tested to find signatures of local adaptation.

Results

The effect of the tested factors influencing genetic differentiation was variable among genetic clusters. Climate predictors were most important in all clusters. Land cover was more important in clusters from areas strongly influenced by human land use. We found statistically significant associations of 3623 SNPs with environmental variables. Most of these SNPs were correlated with latitude followed by temperature. Wild peas went through a genetic bottleneck during the last glacial period followed by population recovery. The detected range expansion patterns suggested an eastward range expansion of the European cluster to Turkey and thereof southwards and eastwards.

Main conclusion

Drivers of genetic differentiation do not act in a uniform manner within a species. The distribution of genetic variation and the processes affecting this distribution have to be viewed in the context of the hierarchical structure of genetic variation and the environment of its entities to understand how genetic diversity was shaped and may change in the future.