bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experience of treating pediatric hepatoblastoma at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Timely surgical intervention playing a key role
Authors: AlFawaz Ibrahim , Ahmed Basheer , Ali Afshan , Ayas Mouhab , AlKofide Amani , Habib Zakaria , Siddiqui Khawar
Published: November 2020

Background:

Many studies have demonstrated that outcome in patients with hepatoblastoma is determined by tumor resectability and the presence or absence of metastatic disease.

Purpose:

To evaluate and disseminate information on diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of hepatoblastoma patients at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Patients and methods:

Twenty-four pediatric patients with hepatoblastoma were treated at our institution between January 2005 and December 2012. The majority of our patients were stage III and above, while one-third of them presented with metastatic disease. Four (16.7%) had vascular invasion. Two-thirds of our patients (n = 16, 66.7%) had alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level above 100,000 ng/mL. Twenty-one patients underwent surgery; two had upfront surgery before getting any chemotherapy, and 15 had surgery on schedule after pre-operative chemotherapy. Four patients had delayed surgery as the tumor was not resectable and received extra cycles of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy regimens used were based on SIOPEL study protocols until 2011 and Children's Oncology Group (COG) protocol from 2012 onwards. Relapse, progressive disease, or death from any cause were defined as events.

Results:

Five-year overall survival (OS) of the cohort over a median follow-up time of 56.1 months was 70.6% ± 9.4% with seven (29.2%) events of mortality. No significant difference was found for age at diagnosis (less than 2 years vs. more), stage of disease, AFP levels (less than 100,000 vs. more), vascular invasion, or presence of metastatic disease at presentation in terms of OS. However, children receiving upfront or scheduled as-per-protocol surgery fared better than those who had delayed surgery (as the tumor was not resectable and they received extra cycles of chemotherapy) or did not undergo any surgery (P-Value .001).

Conclusion:

Favorable survival outcome could be achieved with complete tumor excision and adjuvant chemotherapy. Inability to perform surgical excision was the single most important predictor of mortality in our patients.
How Much Can We Ask of Collective Agents?
Authors: Collins Stephanie
Published: November 2020

Are obligations of collective agents—such as states, businesses, and non-profits—ever overdemanding? I argue they are not. I consider two seemingly attractive routes to collective overdemandingness: that an obligation is overdemanding on a collective just if the performance would be overdemanding for members; and that an obligation is overdemanding on a collective just if the performance would frustrate the collective’s permissible deep preferences. I reject these. Instead, collective overdemandingness complaints should be reinterpreted as complaints about inability or third-party costs. These are not the same as overdemandingness. Accordingly, we can ask an awful lot of collective agents.
Safety and Confidence in Local Law Enforcement and Government During Serial Shooting Events: Association With Daily Life Activities
Authors: Mash Holly B. Herberman , Fullerton Carol S. , Ursano Robert J.
Published: November 2020

Objective:

This study examined the relationship of perceived safety and confidence in local law enforcement and government to changes in daily life activities during the Washington, DC, sniper attacks.

Methods:

Participants were 1238 residents from the Washington, DC metropolitan area who were assessed using an Internet survey that included items related to safety at work, at home, and in general, confidence in law enforcement/government, and changes in routine daily life activities.

Results:

A majority of participants (52%, n = 640) reported changing their daily life activities, with approximately one-third identifying changes related to being in large places and getting gas. Perceived safety was associated with confidence in local law enforcement/government. After adjusting for demographics, lower feelings of safety and less confidence in law enforcement/government were related to a higher likelihood of altered daily activities. Confidence in local law enforcement/government modified the association of safety with changes in daily activities. Among participants with high safety, less confidence in local law enforcement/government was associated with greater changes in daily life activities.

Conclusions:

Serial shooting events affect feelings of safety and disrupt routine life activities. Focus on enhancing experiences of safety and confidence in local law enforcement and government may decrease the life disruption associated with terrorist shootings.
Boolean lattices in finite alternating and symmetric groups
Authors: Lucchini Andrea , Moscatiello Mariapia , Palcoux Sebastien , Spiga Pablo
Published: November 2020

Given a group G and a subgroup H, we let

$\mathcal {O}_G(H)$

denote the lattice of subgroups of G containing H. This article provides a classification of the subgroups H of G such that

$\mathcal {O}_{G}(H)$

is Boolean of rank at least

$3$

when G is a finite alternating or symmetric group. Besides some sporadic examples and some twisted versions, there are two different types of such lattices. One type arises by taking stabilisers of chains of regular partitions, and the other arises by taking stabilisers of chains of regular product structures. As an application, we prove in this case a conjecture on Boolean overgroup lattices related to the dual Ore’s theorem and to a problem of Kenneth Brown.
The Brouwer invariance theorems in reverse mathematics
Authors: Kihara Takayuki
Published: November 2020

In [12], John Stillwell wrote, ‘finding the exact strength of the Brouwer invariance theorems seems to me one of the most interesting open problems in reverse mathematics.’ In this article, we solve Stillwell’s problem by showing that (some forms of) the Brouwer invariance theorems are equivalent to the weak König’s lemma over the base system

${\sf RCA}_0$

. In particular, there exists an explicit algorithm which, whenever the weak König’s lemma is false, constructs a topological embedding of

$\mathbb {R}^4$

into

$\mathbb {R}^3$

.
Across the Divides: Beyond School, Nation, and the 1965 Immigration Act in the History of Asian American Education
Authors: Hinnershitz Stephanie
Published: November 2020

The importance of education for Asian Americans looking to fight race-based discrimination, create a sense of community, and reclaim and establish an identity is well documented. In 1884, Mary and Joseph Tape, Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco, sued the San Francisco Board of Education and the principal of the Spring Valley Primary School—Jennie Hurley--after Hurley denied their daughter, Mamie, admission because she was “Chinese” (though born in the United States). The Superior Court ruled in favor of the Tapes, but in 1885, the School Board appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of California where justices upheld the lower court's decision. Though Mamie would not be able to attend Spring Valley after the School Board successfully pushed for state-wide school segregation legislation, many “white-only” institutions began to admit Chinese American children after the Tape case.
Catholic inheritance under the penal laws in Ireland
Authors: Fitzpatrick Richard
Published: November 2020

Recent decades have witnessed a continued interest among historians in Ireland's eighteenth-century penal laws. Earlier broad surveys of the laws and their impact have given way to case studies that have highlighted the varied experiences of individual families, with many focusing on the strategies, whether legal or otherwise, that were utilised in attempts to circumvent these restrictions. Despite these advances, however, our understanding of the laws remains incomplete. This is particularly the case in relation to the gavelling clause within the 1704 popery act. This was one of Ireland's most infamous penal laws, yet it remains one of the least studied and least understood set of restrictions against Catholics. It is clear that the restrictions it placed on the sole inheritance of land could be circumvented in certain instances, but how exactly this was achieved without suffering prosecution requires further study. This article will advance our understanding of the gavelling clause through an in-depth examination of the law and its interpretation by Irish courts, which in turn will highlight the avenues that were open to Catholics in their attempts to either neutralise or evade the restrictions and other related legal provisions. This will demonstrate how successful circumvention did not depend on breaking the law per se, but instead relied upon loopholes in the law itself.
Cyclic strengthening of lake ice
Authors: Murdza Andrii , Marchenko Aleksey , Schulson Erland M. , Renshaw Carl E.
Published: November 2020

Further to systematic experiments on the flexural strength of laboratory-grown, fresh water ice loaded cyclically, this paper describes results from new experiments of the same kind on lake ice harvested in Svalbard. The experiments were conducted at −12 °C, 0.1 Hz frequency and outer-fiber stress in the range from ~ 0.1 to ~ 0.7 MPa. The results suggest that the flexural strength increases linearly with stress amplitude, similar to the behavior of laboratory-grown ice.
RANK-TO-RANK EMBEDDINGS AND STEEL’S CONJECTURE
Authors: GOLDBERG GABRIEL
Published: November 2020

This paper establishes a conjecture of Steel [7] regarding the structure of elementary embeddings from a level of the cumulative hierarchy into itself. Steel’s question is related to the Mitchell order on these embeddings, studied in [5] and [7]. Although this order is known to be illfounded, Steel conjectured that it has certain large wellfounded suborders, which is what we establish. The proof relies on a simple and general analysis of the much broader class of extender embeddings and a variant of the Mitchell order called the internal relation.
‘There shall be no musical servitude’: Towards a Multitudinous Shostakovich in the West
Authors: DIAMANTOULI EIRINI
Published: November 2020

Ideologically motivated attempts to elucidate Shostakovich’s political views and to determine whether and how they may be coded into his compositions have come to characterize the Western reception of the composer’s works since his death in 1975. Fuelled by the political oppositions of the cold war, Shostakovich’s posthumous reputation in the West has been largely shaped by two conflicting perspectives. These have positioned him on the one hand as a secret dissident, bent and broken under the unbearable strain of totalitarianism, made heroic through his veiled musical resistance to Communism; and on the other hand as a composer compromised by his capitulation to the regime – represented in an anachronistic musical style. Both perspectives surrender Shostakovich and his music to a crude oversimplification driven by vested political interests. Western listeners thus conditioned are primed to hear either the coded dissidence of a tragic victim of Communist brutality or the sinister submission of a ‘loyal son of the Communist Party’.1 For those prepared to accept Shostakovich as a ‘tragic victim’, the publication of his purported memoirs in 1979, ‘as related to and edited by’ the author Solomon Volkov, presents a tantalizing conclusion: bitterly yet discreetly scornful of the Stalinist regime, Shostakovich was indeed a secret dissident and this dissidence was made tangible in his music.
THE POET'S IVY: NICANDER, GEORGICA FR. 74.17–24
Authors: Kayachev Boris
Published: November 2020

Like most other fragments of Nicander's Georgica, fr. 74 is preserved by Athenaeus, who presents it as a catalogue of flowers used for making wreaths (15.683a Νίκανδρος δ’ ἐν δευτέρῳ Γεωργικῶν καταλέγων καὶ αὐτὸς στεφανωτικὰ ἄνθη). Transmitted in the only independent manuscript of the fuller text of Athenaeus (A, cod. Ven. Marc. 447), the fragment's text is extremely corrupt, which, coupled with its technical subject matter and intricate style, renders its restoration an arduous and uncertain job. In what follows I challenge the established reconstruction and interpretation of the section dealing with the ivy, and propose my own instead.
PINDAR,ISTHMIAN4.47
Authors: Lane Nicholas
Published: November 2020

45 τόλμᾳ γὰρ εἰκώϲθυμὸν ἐριβρεμετᾶν θηρῶν λεόντωνἐν πόνῳ, μῆτιν δ᾽ ἀλώπηξ,αἰετοῦ ἅ τ᾽ ἀναπιτναμένα ῥόμβον ἴϲχει·χρὴ δὲ πᾶν ἔρδοντ᾽ ἀμαυρῶϲαι τὸν ἐχθρόν.

46 θηρᾶν: Heyne

For he [sc. Melissus, the victor] resembles the boldness of loudly roaring wild lions in his heart during the struggle, but in skill he is a fox, which rolls on its back to check the eagle's swoop. One must do everything to diminish one's opponent.
Functional connectivity associated with improvement in emotion management after cognitive enhancement therapy in early-course schizophrenia
Authors: Guimond Synthia , Ling George , Drodge Jessica , Matheson Hannah , Wojtalik Jessica A. , Lopez Betzamel , Collin Guusje , Brady Roscoe , Mesholam-Gately Raquelle I. , Thermenos Heidi , Eack Shaun M. , Keshavan Matcheri S.
Published: November 2020

Background

The ability to manage emotions is an important social-cognitive domain impaired in schizophrenia and linked to functional outcome. The goal of our study was to examine the impact of cognitive enhancement therapy (CET) on the ability to manage emotions and brain functional connectivity in early-course schizophrenia.

Methods

Participants were randomly assigned to CET (n = 55) or an enriched supportive therapy (EST) control group (n = 45). The resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans and measures of emotion management performances were collected at baseline, 9, and 18 months follow-up. The final sample consisted of 37 CET and 25 EST participants, including 19 CET and 12 EST participants with imaging data. Linear mixed-effects models investigated the impact of treatment on emotion management and functional connectivity from the amygdala to ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC).

Results

The CET group showed significant improvement over time in emotion management compared to EST. Neither functional connectivity changes nor main group differences were observed following treatment. However, a significant between-group interaction showed that improved emotion management ability was associated with increased functional connectivity between the left amygdala and the left dlPFC in the CET group exclusively.

Conclusion

Our results replicate the previous work demonstrating that CET is effective at improving some aspects of social cognition in schizophrenia. We found evidence that improvement in emotion management may be associated with a change in amygdala-dlPFC connectivity. This fronto-limbic circuit may provide a mechanistic link between the biology of emotion management processes that can be enhanced in individuals with schizophrenia.
Distribution of health anxiety in a general adult population and associations with demographic and social network characteristics
Authors: Norbye Anja Davis , Abelsen Birgit , Førde Olav Helge , Ringberg Unni
Published: November 2020

Background

Health anxiety (HA) is associated with increased risk of disability, increased health care utilization and reduced quality of life. However, there is no consensus on which factors are important for the level of HA. The aim of this study was to explore the distribution of HA in a general adult population and to investigate whether demographic and social factors were associated with HA.

Methods

This study used cross-sectional data from the seventh Tromsø study. A total of 18 064 participants aged 40 years or older were included in the analysis. The six-item Whiteley Index (WI-6) with a 5-point Likert scale was used to measure HA. Sociodemographic factors included age, sex, education, household income, quality of friendship and participation in an organized activity.

Results

HA showed an exponential distribution among the participants with a median score of 2 points out of 24 points. In total, 75% had a total score of 5 points or less, whereas 1% had a score >14 points. Education, household income, quality of friendship and participation in organized activity were significantly associated with HA. The variable quality of friendship demonstrated the strongest association with HA.

Conclusion

Our study showed an exponential distribution of HA in a general adult population. There was no evident cut-off point to distinguish participants with severe HA based on their WI-6 score, indicating the importance of analysing HA as a complex, continuous construct. HA demonstrated strong associations with quality of friendship and participation in an organized activity.
ANALYTICAL RESULTS ON THE SERVICE PERFORMANCE OF STOCHASTIC CLEARING SYSTEMS
Authors: Wei Bo , Çetinkaya Sıla , Cline Daren B. H.
Published: November 2020

Stochastic clearing theory has wide-spread applications in the context of supply chain and service operations management. Historical application domains include bulk service queues, inventory control, and transportation planning (e.g., vehicle dispatching and shipment consolidation). In this paper, motivated by a fundamental application in shipment consolidation, we revisit the notion of service performance for stochastic clearing system operation. More specifically, our goal is to evaluate and compare service performance of alternative operational policies for clearing decisions, as quantified by a measure of timely service referred to as Average Order Delay ($AOD$). All stochastic clearing systems are subject to service delay due to the inherent clearing practice, and $\textrm {AOD}$ can be thought of as a benchmark for evaluating timely service. Although stochastic clearing theory has a long history, the existing literature on the analysis of $\textrm {AOD}$ as a service measure has several limitations. Hence, we extend the previous analysis by proposing a more general method for a generic analytical derivation of $\textrm {AOD}$ for any renewal-type clearing policy, including but not limited to alternative shipment consolidation policies in the previous literature. Our proposed method utilizes a new martingale point of view and lends itself for a generic analytical characterization of $\textrm {AOD}$, leading to a complete comparative analysis of alternative renewal-type clearing policies. Hence, we also close the gaps in the literature on shipment consolidation via a complete set of analytically provable results regarding $\textrm {AOD}$ which were only illustrated through numerical tests previously.
Paul in the Eyes of Profayt Duran: Constructing a Jewish Paul
Authors: Ben-Shalom Ram
Published: November 2020

This article offers a new approach to Profayt Duran's Reproach of the Gentiles (Kelimat ha-goyim), emphasizing the particular place accorded to Paul in this work and reading it against the background of converso Paulinism. This article integrates the idea of Paul the Jew in Reproach of the Gentiles with the broader ideology that Duran developed regarding the forced converts (ʾanusim) in his other writings. To some extent, based on the ambivalence in his views and his divided personality, Paul could serve as a model for those conversos now required to develop, like him, a divided identity and ambivalent positions. Thus, Profayt Duran should be considered a forerunner of converso Paulinism.
Leaving Agent-Relative Value Behind
Authors: Johnson Christa M.
Published: November 2020

Commonsense morality seems to feature both agent-neutral and agent-relative elements. For a long time, the core debate between consequentialists and deontologists was which of these features should take centerstage. With the introduction of the consequentializing project and agent-relative value, however, agent-neutrality has been left behind. While I likewise favor an agent-relative view, agent-neutral views capture important features of commonsense morality.

This article investigates whether an agent-relative view can maintain what is attractive about typical agent-neutral views. In particular, I argue that the agent-relative reasons-wielding deontologist is ultimately able to capture those features ordinarily associated with agent-neutral views, while the agent-relative value wielding consequentialist is left with a dilemma. The consequentializer either succumbs to the concerns of her agent-neutral opponents or else abandons the distinctive and attractive features of her view. Either way, I conclude that agent-relative value is best left behind.
Development of an index to assess adherence to the traditional Mexican diet using a modified Delphi method
Authors: Valerino-Perea Selene , Armstrong Miranda Elaine Glynis , Papadaki Angeliki
Published: November 2020

Objective:

Promoting a traditional Mexican diet (TMexD) could potentially reduce high rates of non-communicable diseases (NCD) and support food sustainability in Mexico. This study aimed to develop an index to assess adherence to the TMexD.

Design:

A three-round Delphi study was conducted to examine the food groups, specific foods and food-related habits that would constitute a TMexD index. Participants selected the TMexD items using Likert scales, lists of responses, and yes/no questions. Consensus was determined using percentages of agreement, mean values and/or coefficients of variation.

Setting:

Online Delphi study.

Participants:

Seventeen nutrition and food experts in Mexico completed all three rounds.

Results:

The resulting index (ranging from 0 to 21 points) consisted of 15 food groups, containing 102 individual foods. Food groups included in higher quantities were maize, other grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts and seeds, and tubers. Animal foods, vegetable fats and oils, homemade beverages, maize-based dishes, and plain water were also included, but in lower quantities. The food-related habits included were consuming homemade meals, socialising at meals and buying food in local markets. Consensus was reached for all index items apart from quantities of consumption of six food groups (herbs, nuts, grains, tubers, dairy and eggs).

Conclusions:

Although future research could improve the measures for which consensus was not reached, the TMexD index proposed in this study potentially displays a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern and could be used to examine links between the TMexD and health outcomes in Mexican populations.
Spatio-temporal trends in anaemia among pregnant women, adolescents and preschool children in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Weze Kelechi , Abioye Ajibola Ibraheem , Obiajunwa Chiagoziem , Omotayo Moshood
Published: November 2020

Objective:

We investigated the spatiotemporal trends in the burden of maternal, adolescent and child anaemia in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and evaluated some individual and household predictors of anaemia.

Design:

Average Hb concentrations and anaemia prevalence were estimated, plotted over time and mapped by country and sub-region. Multilevel linear regression models were used to evaluate individual and household predictors of Hb concentration.

Participants:

Data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) spanning 2000–2018 were merged into data sets for 37 623 pregnant women, 89 815 older adolescent girls and 401 438 preschool children.

Setting:

The merged DHS represent nationally representative samples from thirty-three countries.

Results:

Prevalence of anaemia remains high in SSA, affecting 60, 36 and 44 % of children, adolescents and pregnant women, respectively. Anaemia prevalence among children did not materially improve from 2000 to 2018. Anaemia prevalence among older adolescent girls and pregnant women did not also improve, but this masks a period of improvement followed by depreciation in population anaemia status. Pregnant adolescents had 12·5 g/l (95 % CI: 11·3, 13·6) lower Hb concentration compared with non-pregnant adolescents and 1·7 g/l (95 % CI: 0·7, 2·6) lower Hb concentration compared with pregnant women > 40 years, respectively. Stunting and wasting were associated with 1·3–3·3 g/l lower Hb concentration among children. Other significant predictors of Hb concentration were educational attainment, wealth quintiles, source of drinking water, number of children < 5 years in the household and possession of bed-nets.

Conclusion:

Anaemia in SSA has not improved remarkably since year 2000 and remains excessive among children.
Antarctica in a Changing Climate
Authors: Noble Taryn , Rohling Eelco , McCormack Felicity
Published: November 2020

The impacts of the Antarctic Ice Sheet response to climate change will have global consequences for millions living near the coast. It’s just a matter of when.
Graumlich to Be AGU President-Elect/AGU Leadership Transitions
Authors: Davidson Eric
Published: November 2020

As new AGU leaders assume their governance roles in 2021, about half of the organization’s current officers will continue to serve and provide leadership continuity.
2020 AGU Election Statistics
Authors: Davidson Eric , Dolan Aisling , Duce Robert , Hofmann Eileen , Gonzalez Luis , Griffith Peter , Johnson Betty , Kruse Sarah , Pizzuto Jim , Stanley Sabine , Zhou Meng , Fiser Randy , Enderlein Cheryl
Published: November 2020

AGU’s Leadership Development/Governance Committee recaps the timing, participation, and other details of the organization’s recently completed 2020 leadership election.
Natural Variability of Skeletal Elemental Phosphorus (P/Ca), Lead (Pb/Ca), and Barium (Ba/Ca) in the Western Pacific Sclerosponges Acanthoceatetes wellsi and Astrosclera welleyana
Authors: Grottoli Andréa G. , Chapron Leila , Gava Dana , Olesik John W.
Published: November 2020

Elemental proxies are used to reconstruct oceanic conditions that predate modern records. Such proxies have been established in corals, but few attempts have been made in sclerosponges. However, their wide distribution and slow growth make sclerosponges good candidates for multicentury recorders of local oceanographic conditions. Here, we investigated the elements P, Pb, and Ba (standardized to Ca) in the accretionary skeleton of two sclerosponge species, Acanthocheatetes wellsi (high‐Mg calcite) collected from Palau and Saipan, and Astrosclera willeyana (aragonite) collected in Saipan. All specimens were stained in situ and left to grow on the reef for two years. We measured these elements in (1) 2‐year bulk skeletal samples to explore the effect of local environmental conditions and mineralogy on the skeletal composition and (2) at high resolution to determine the temporal variability of these elements and evaluate their potential as paleo‐proxies. We found that for A. wellsi, bulk P/Ca was higher and Pb/Ca lower in Palau than in Saipan suggesting that these elements vary in response to the local seawater elemental composition. In Saipan, bulk P/Ca was higher in A. wellsi compared to A. willeyana, which is most likely due to differences in mineralogy. At high resolution, only P/Ca signatures appeared to be moderately reproducible within and among species suggesting that sclerosponges are recording seawater P/Ca. In Saipan, A. willeyana P/Ca variability also correlated with temperature suggesting that variation in seawater P concentrations co‐varied with temperature. Additional study is needed to determine if sclerosponge P/Ca is a reliable proxy of seawater nutrient variability.
Compound Risks of Hurricane Evacuation Amid the COVID‐19 Pandemic in the United States
Authors: Pei Sen , Dahl Kristina A. , Yamana Teresa K. , Licker Rachel , Shaman Jeffrey
Published: November 2020

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was extremely active and included, as of early November, six hurricanes that made landfall in the United States during the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Such an event would necessitate a large‐scale evacuation, with implications for the trajectory of the pandemic. Here we model how a hypothetical hurricane evacuation from four counties in southeast Florida would affect COVID‐19 case levels. We find that hurricane evacuation increases the total number of COVID‐19 cases in both origin and destination locations; however, if transmission rates in destination counties can be kept from rising during evacuation, excess evacuation‐induced case numbers can be minimized by directing evacuees to counties experiencing lower COVID‐19 transmission rates. Ultimately, the number of excess COVID‐19 cases produced by the evacuation depends on the ability of destination counties to meet evacuee needs while minimizing virus exposure through public health directives. These results are relevant to disease transmission during evacuations stemming from additional climate‐related hazards such as wildfires and floods.
Enrichment and physiological characterization of a novel comammox Nitrospira indicates ammonium inhibition of complete nitrification
Authors: Sakoula Dimitra , Koch Hanna , Frank Jeroen , Jetten Mike S M , van Kessel Maartje A H J , Lücker Sebastian
Published: November 2020

The recent discovery of bacteria within the genus Nitrospira capable of complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) demonstrated that the sequential oxidation of ammonia to nitrate via nitrite can also be performed within a single bacterial cell. Although comammox Nitrospira exhibit a wide distribution in natural and engineered ecosystems, information on their physiological properties is scarce due to the limited number of cultured representatives. Additionally, most available genomic information is derived from metagenomic sequencing and high-quality genomes of Nitrospira in general are limited. In this study, we obtained a high (90%) enrichment of a novel comammox species, tentatively named “Candidatus Nitrospira kreftii”, and performed a detailed genomic and physiological characterization. The complete genome of “Ca. N. kreftii” allowed reconstruction of its basic metabolic traits. Similar to Nitrospira inopinata, the enrichment culture exhibited a very high ammonia affinity (Km(app)_NH3 ≈ 0.040 ± 0.01 µM), but a higher nitrite affinity (Km(app)_NO2- = 12.5 ± 4.0 µM), indicating an adaptation to highly oligotrophic environments. Furthermore, we observed partial inhibition of ammonia oxidation at ammonium concentrations as low as 25 µM. This inhibition of “Ca. N. kreftii” indicates that differences in ammonium tolerance rather than affinity could potentially be a niche determining factor for different comammox Nitrospira.
Comparing isolated-check visual evoked potential, pattern visual evoked potential, and standard automated perimetry in dysthyroid optic neuropathy eyes
Authors: Qi Xin , Tong Boding , Hu Weikun , Luo Ban
Published: November 2020

Objective

To determine the diagnostic ability of isolated-check visual evoked potential (icVEP), pattern visual evoked potential (pVEP), and standard automated perimetry (SAP) between dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) and thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) without DON (non-DON).

Methods

This is a case-control study, 49 bilateral patients (26 DON and 23 non-DON) were included. icVEP, pVEP, and SAP were conducted in all the subjects, icVEP parameters compared were signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) under 8, 16, and 32% depth of modulation (DOM). pVEP parameters compared were amplitude and latency. SAP parameters were mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), net reclassification index (NRI), integrated discrimination index (IDI), and decision curve analysis (DCA) were applied for analysis.

Results

In icVEP, values of SNR in DON were significantly smaller than non-DON (p < 0.05). In pVEP, P100 latent time in DON was significantly larger than non-DON (p = 0.0026). In SAP, value of PSD in DON was larger than non-DON (p = 0.0006), and value of MD in DON was smaller (p = 0.0007). AUC, NRI, and IDI among the three tests were not significantly different. DCA showed that SNR of icVEP under 8% DOM was the farthest from the two extreme curves.

Conclusions

icVEP, pVEP, and SAP have equal diagnostic capabilities to discern between DON and non-DON. In addition, icVEP may represent a significant ancillary diagnostic approach to DON detection, with more clinical benefit.
Unilateral retinoblastoma; natural history and an age-based protocol in 248 patients
Authors: El Zomor Hossam , Nour Radwa , Saad Anas , Taha Hala , Shelil Abdallah E. , Aleieldin Adel , Saad Zaghloul M. , Alfaar Ahmad S.
Published: November 2020

Objectives

We aimed to study the clinical state and prognosis of patients with unilateral retinoblastoma who were being treated at a paediatric comprehensive cancer centre in a limited-resource country, to assess the different phases of treatment and the success of different, more complex real-life models.

Subjects

In this retrospective study, we created a snapshot of our retinoblastoma database for the period between 2007 and 2015. Patients whose data were included in the study were followed up until 2016. Out of a total of 744 screened patients, we included data of 248 patients who had been diagnosed with unilateral retinoblastoma.

Results

As classified as per the International Retinoblastoma Classification, 1 patient presented with group A, 21 with group B, 39 with group C, 104 with group D and 83 with group E retinoblastoma. Chemotherapy was the initial line of treatment in 115 patients and enucleation in 133 others. Later, 141 patients (56.9%) required further management. Patients had a mean ocular survival time of 20.8 months. Nine patients developed extraocular disease at a later stage of management: five after upfront enucleation and four after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Mean overall survival time stood at 90.2 months. Four and three deaths were recorded in groups D and E, respectively. A single patient died in the initial chemotherapy arm, while six passed away in the initial enucleation arm.

Conclusion

Our study highlights the importance of initial chemotherapy and close follow-up after enucleation of classes D and E affected eyes even in absence of germline mutations.
Structural basis for tuning activity and membrane specificity of bacterial cytolysins
Authors: Shah Nita R. , Voisin Tomas B. , Parsons Edward S. , Boyd Courtney M. , Hoogenboom Bart W. , Bubeck Doryen
Published: November 2020

Cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) are pore-forming proteins that serve as major virulence factors for pathogenic bacteria. They target eukaryotic cells using different mechanisms, but all require the presence of cholesterol to pierce lipid bilayers. How CDCs use cholesterol to selectively lyse cells is essential for understanding virulence strategies of several pathogenic bacteria, and for repurposing CDCs to kill new cellular targets. Here we address that question by trapping an early state of pore formation for the CDC intermedilysin, bound to the human immune receptor CD59 in a nanodisc model membrane. Our cryo electron microscopy map reveals structural transitions required for oligomerization, which include the lateral movement of a key amphipathic helix. We demonstrate that the charge of this helix is crucial for tuning lytic activity of CDCs. Furthermore, we discover modifications that overcome the requirement of cholesterol for membrane rupture, which may facilitate engineering the target-cell specificity of pore-forming proteins.
Vav2 catalysis-dependent pathways contribute to skeletal muscle growth and metabolic homeostasis
Authors: Rodríguez-Fdez Sonia , Lorenzo-Martín L. Francisco , Fernández-Pisonero Isabel , Porteiro Begoña , Veyrat-Durebex Christelle , Beiroa Daniel , Al-Massadi Omar , Abad Antonio , Diéguez Carlos , Coppari Roberto , Nogueiras Rubén , Bustelo Xosé R.
Published: November 2020

Skeletal muscle promotes metabolic balance by regulating glucose uptake and the stimulation of multiple interorgan crosstalk. We show here that the catalytic activity of Vav2, a Rho GTPase activator, modulates the signaling output of the IGF1- and insulin-stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway in that tissue. Consistent with this, mice bearing a Vav2 protein with decreased catalytic activity exhibit reduced muscle mass, lack of proper insulin responsiveness and, at much later times, a metabolic syndrome-like condition. Conversely, mice expressing a catalytically hyperactive Vav2 develop muscle hypertrophy and increased insulin responsiveness. Of note, while hypoactive Vav2 predisposes to, hyperactive Vav2 protects against high fat diet-induced metabolic imbalance. These data unveil a regulatory layer affecting the signaling output of insulin family factors in muscle.
Germline AGO2 mutations impair RNA interference and human neurological development
Authors: Lessel Davor , Zeitler Daniela M. , Reijnders Margot R. F. , Kazantsev Andriy , Hassani Nia Fatemeh , Bartholomäus Alexander , Martens Victoria , Bruckmann Astrid , Graus Veronika , McConkie-Rosell Allyn , McDonald Marie , Lozic Bernarda , Tan Ee-Shien , Gerkes Erica , Johannsen Jessika , Denecke Jonas , Telegrafi Aida , Zonneveld-Huijssoon Evelien , Lemmink Henny H. , Cham Breana W. M. , Kovacevic Tanja , Ramsdell Linda , Foss Kimberly , Le Duc Diana , Mitter Diana , Syrbe Steffen , Merkenschlager Andreas , Sinnema Margje , Panis Bianca , Lazier Joanna , Osmond Matthew , Hartley Taila , Mortreux Jeremie , Busa Tiffany , Missirian Chantal , Prasun Pankaj , Lüttgen Sabine , Mannucci Ilaria , Lessel Ivana , Schob Claudia , Kindler Stefan , Pappas John , Rabin Rachel , Willemsen Marjolein , Gardeitchik Thatjana , Löhner Katharina , Rump Patrick , Dias Kerith-Rae , Evans Carey-Anne , Andrews Peter Ian , Roscioli Tony , Brunner Han G. , Chijiwa Chieko , Lewis M. E. Suzanne , Jamra Rami Abou , Dyment David A. , Boycott Kym M. , Stegmann Alexander P. A. , Kubisch Christian , Tan Ene-Choo , Mirzaa Ghayda M. , McWalter Kirsty , Kleefstra Tjitske , Pfundt Rolph , Ignatova Zoya , Meister Gunter , Kreienkamp Hans-Jürgen
Published: November 2020

ARGONAUTE-2 and associated miRNAs form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which targets mRNAs for translational silencing and degradation as part of the RNA interference pathway. Despite the essential nature of this process for cellular function, there is little information on the role of RISC components in human development and organ function. We identify 13 heterozygous mutations in AGO2 in 21 patients affected by disturbances in neurological development. Each of the identified single amino acid mutations result in impaired shRNA-mediated silencing. We observe either impaired RISC formation or increased binding of AGO2 to mRNA targets as mutation specific functional consequences. The latter is supported by decreased phosphorylation of a C-terminal serine cluster involved in mRNA target release, increased formation of dendritic P-bodies in neurons and global transcriptome alterations in patient-derived primary fibroblasts. Our data emphasize the importance of gene expression regulation through the dynamic AGO2-RNA association for human neuronal development.
Time reversed optical waves by arbitrary vector spatiotemporal field generation
Authors: Mounaix Mickael , Fontaine Nicolas K. , Neilson David T. , Ryf Roland , Chen Haoshuo , Alvarado-Zacarias Juan Carlos , Carpenter Joel
Published: November 2020

Lossless linear wave propagation is symmetric in time, a principle which can be used to create time reversed waves. Such waves are special “pre-scattered” spatiotemporal fields, which propagate through a complex medium as if observing a scattering process in reverse, entering the medium as a complicated spatiotemporal field and arriving after propagation as a desired target field, such as a spatiotemporal focus. Time reversed waves have previously been demonstrated for relatively low frequency phenomena such as acoustics, water waves and microwaves. Many attempts have been made to extend these techniques into optics. However, the much higher frequencies of optics make for very different requirements. A fully time reversed wave is a volumetric field with arbitrary amplitude, phase and polarisation at every point in space and time. The creation of such fields has not previously been possible in optics. We demonstrate time reversed optical waves with a device capable of independently controlling all of light’s classical degrees of freedom simultaneously. Such a class of ultrafast wavefront shaper is capable of generating a sequence of arbitrary 2D spatial/polarisation wavefronts at a bandwidth limited rate of 4.4 THz. This ability to manipulate the full field of an optical beam could be used to control both linear and nonlinear optical phenomena.
Superiority of albumin–globulin ratio over albumin to predict mortality in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis
Authors: Tsai Chun-Chieh , Hsieh Yao-Peng , Tsai Shr-Mei , Kor Chew-Teng , Chiu Ping-Fang
Published: November 2020

There is increasing evidence showing that albumin–globulin ratio (AGR) can predict the survival of patients in many types of malignancies. However, no study was done to explore the value of AGR in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. A total of 554 incident patients undergoing PD from January 2001 through July 2016 were enrolled for this retrospective observational study. The outcomes of interest were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Baseline patient’s socio-demographic data, pharmacotherapy, comorbidities, laboratory and PD-related parameters were collected and used in the multivariate Cox models. The predictive value of AGR on mortality risk was compared with other markers using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis. Among the study participants, there were 265 (47.83%) men and the mean follow-up time was 3.87 ± 3.15 years. Univariate Cox analysis showed that low AGR was significantly associated with worse outcomes in terms of all-cause and CVD mortality and it remained an independent predictor in the multivariate models. The fully adjusted hazard ratios for the low AGR group versus high AGR group were 2.12 (95% CI 1.34–3.35, p = 0.001) and 2.58 (95% CI 1.42–4.7, p = 0.002) for all-cause and CVD mortality, respectively. The predictive ability of AGR for mortality risk was superior to that of other biomarkers based on AUC calculations. In conclusion, low AGR was independently associated with higher all-cause and CVD mortality risks in patients undergoing PD.
Study of spatial and temporal aging characteristic of catalyzed diesel particulate filter catalytic performance used for diesel vehicle
Authors: Zhang Yun-hua , Lou Di-ming , Tan Pi-qiang , Hu Zhi-yuan
Published: November 2020

Catalyzed diesel particulate filters (CDPFs) have been widespread used as a technically and economically feasible mean for meeting increasingly stringent emissions limits. An important issue affecting the performance of a CDPF is its aging with using time. In this paper, the effects of noble metal loadings, regions and using mileage on the aging performance of a CDPF were investigated by methods of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and catalytic activity evaluation. Results showed that aging of the CDPF shifted the XRD characteristic diffraction peaks towards larger angles and increased the crystallinity, showing a slowing downward trend with the increase of the noble metal loadings. In addition, the increase of the noble metal loading would slow down the decline of Pt and Pt4+ concentration caused by aging. The characteristic temperatures of CO, C3H8 conversion and NO2 production increased after aging, and the more the noble metal loadings, the higher the range of the increase. But noticeably, excessive amounts of noble metals would not present the corresponding anti-aging properties. Specifically, the degree of aging in the inlet region was the deepest, the following is the outlet region, and the middle region was the smallest, which were also reflected in the increase range of crystallinity, characteristic temperatures of CO, C3H8 conversion and NO2 production, as well as the decrease range of Pt and Pt4+ concentrations. The increase of aging mileage reduced the size of the aggregates of the soot and ash in CDPFs, however, improved the degree of tightness between particles. Meanwhile Carbon (C) concentration in the soot and ash increased with the aging mileage.
Differential parameters between activity flare and acute infection in pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Luo Kai-Ling , Yang Yao-Hsu , Lin Yu-Tsan , Hu Ya-Chiao , Yu Hsin-Hui , Wang Li-Chieh , Chiang Bor-Luen , Lee Jyh-Hong
Published: November 2020

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients are vulnerable to infections. We aim to explore the approach to differentiate active infection from disease activity in pediatric SLE patients. Fifty pediatric SLE patients presenting with 185 clinical visits were collected. The associations between both clinical and laboratory parameters and the outcome groups were analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEEs). These 185 visits were divided into 4 outcome groups: infected-active (n = 102), infected-inactive (n = 11), noninfected-active (n = 59), and noninfected-inactive (n = 13) visits. Multivariate GEE (generalized estimating equation) analysis showed that SDI, SLEDAI-2K, neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR), hemoglobin, platelet, RDW-to-platelet ratio (RPR), and C3 are predictive of flare (combined calculated AUC of 0.8964 and with sensitivity of 82.2% and specificity of 90.9%). Multivariate GEE analysis showed that SDI, fever temperature, CRP, procalcitonin (PCT), lymphocyte percentage, NLR, hemoglobin, and renal score in SLEDAI-2k are predictive of infection (combined calculated AUC of 0.7886 and with sensitivity of 63.5% and specificity of 89.2%). We can simultaneously predict 4 different outcome with accuracy of 70.13% for infected-active group, 10% for infected-inactive group, 59.57% for noninfected-active group, and 84.62% for noninfected-inactive group, respectively. Combination of parameters from four different domains simultaneously, including inflammation (CRP, ESR, PCT), hematology (Lymphocyte percentage, NLR, PLR), complement (C3, C4), and clinical status (SLEDAI, SDI) is objective and effective to differentiate flares from infections in pediatric SLE patients.
Author Correction: CD8+ T cell activation by murine erythroblasts infected with malaria parasites
Authors: Imai Takashi , Ishida Hidekazu , Suzue Kazutomo , Hirai Makoto , Taniguchi Tomoyo , Okada Hiroko , Suzuki Tomohisa , Shimokawa Chikako , Hisaeda Hajime
Published: November 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Understanding Hydrogen Bonds
Authors: Grabowski Sławomir J
Published: November 2020

Hydrogen bonded systems play an important role in all aspects of science but particularly chemistry and biology. Notably, the helical structure of DNA is heavily reliant on the hydrogens bonds between the DNA base pairs. Although the area of hydrogen bonding is one that is well established, our understanding has continued to develop as the power of both computational and experimental techniques has improved.

Understanding Hydrogen Bonds presents an up-to-date overview of our theoretical and experimental understanding of the hydrogen bond. Well-established and novel approaches are discussed, including quantum theory of ‘atoms in molecules’ (QTAIM); the electron localization function (ELF) method and Car–Parinnello molecular dynamics; the natural bond orbital (NBO) approach; and X-ray and neutron diffraction and spectroscopy. The mechanism of hydrogen bond formation is described and comparisons are made between hydrogen bonds and other types of interaction. The author also takes a look at new types of interaction that may be classified as hydrogen bonds with a focus on those with multicentre proton acceptors or with multicentre proton donors.

Understanding Hydrogen Bonds is a valuable reference for experimentalists and theoreticians interested in updating their understanding of the types of hydrogen bonds, their role in chemistry and biology, and how they can be studied.