bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On Genetic Map Functions
Authors: Zhao Hongyu , Speed Terence P
Published: April 2021

Various genetic map functions have been proposed to infer the unobservable genetic distance between two loci from the observable recombination fraction between them. Some map functions were found to fit data better than others. When there are more than three markers, multilocus recombination probabilities cannot be uniquely determined by the defining property of map functions, and different methods have been proposed to permit the use of map functions to analyze multilocus data. If for a given map function, there is a probability model for recombination that can give rise to it, then joint recombination probabilities can be deduced from this model. This provides another way to use map functions in multilocus analysis. In this paper we show that stationary renewal processes give rise to most of the map functions in the literature. Furthermore, we show that the interevent distributions of these renewal processes can all be approximated quite well by gamma distributions.
Compensation for the absence of the catalytically active half of DNA polymerase ε in yeast by positively selected mutations in CDC28
Authors: Stepchenkova Elena I , Zhuk Anna S , Cui Jian , Tarakhovskaya Elena R , Barbari Stephanie R , Shcherbakova Polina V , Polev Dmitrii E , Fedorov Roman , Poliakov Eugenia , Rogozin Igor B , Lada Artem G , Pavlov Youri I
Published: April 2021

Current eukaryotic replication models postulate that leading and lagging DNA strands are replicated predominantly by dedicated DNA polymerases. The catalytic subunit of the leading strand DNA polymerase ε, Pol2, consists of two halves made of two different ancestral B-family DNA polymerases. Counterintuitively, the catalytically active N-terminal half is dispensable, while the inactive C-terminal part is required for viability. Despite extensive studies of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains lacking the active N-terminal half, it is still unclear how these strains survive and recover. We designed a robust method for constructing mutants with only the C-terminal part of Pol2. Strains without the active polymerase part show severe growth defects, sensitivity to replication inhibitors, chromosomal instability, and elevated spontaneous mutagenesis. Intriguingly, the slow-growing mutant strains rapidly accumulate fast-growing clones. Analysis of genomic DNA sequences of these clones revealed that the adaptation to the loss of the catalytic N-terminal part of Pol2 occurs by a positive selection of mutants with improved growth. Elevated mutation rates help generate sufficient numbers of these variants. Single nucleotide changes in the cell cycle-dependent kinase gene, CDC28, improve the growth of strains lacking the N-terminal part of Pol2, and rescue their sensitivity to replication inhibitors and, in parallel, lower mutation rates. Our study predicts that changes in mammalian homologs of cyclin-dependent kinases may contribute to cellular responses to the leading strand polymerase defects.
Climate Change and Companion Animals: Identifying Links and Opportunities for Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies
Authors: Protopopova Alexandra , Ly Lexis H , Eagan Bailey H , Brown Kelsea M
Published: April 2021

Synopsis

Recent natural disasters and weather extremes are a stark reminder that we live in a climate crisis. Climate scientists and policymakers have asked each discipline to anticipate and create mitigation and adaptation plans in preparation for a worsening future. Companion animals both impact and are impacted by the changing climate through their intrinsically linked relationships to human society. In this theoretical paper, we argue that companion animal scientists are well-suited to address climate change issues. We identify several anticipated climate change outcomes, such as an increase in extreme weather events, human migration, disasters, and an increase in human inequity, and connect these outcomes to identified or hypothesized impacts on companion animals and the human–animal bond. We suggest opportunities to reduce climate change impacts on companion animals that include alterations to owner caretaking behaviors and breeding practices, and education of owners and governments on zoonosis and disaster preparedness. Furthermore, building climate resilience through decreasing inequity in companion animal fields is paramount; and we propose that a starting place can be in animal sheltering and other support services. We also summarize how companion animals and owners’ caretaking behaviors are impacting climate change through the use of finite natural resources as well as pollution and carbon emissions. We propose that replacement, reduction, and refinement, that guide laboratory animal research, can also be useful to mitigate the effects of companion animals on the environment. We suggest criteria for successful mitigation and adaptation plans to include equitability, sustainability, respect for animals, and measurability. Finally, we end on a call to all companion animal professionals to actively consider their role in mitigating the impact of companion animals on the climate and preparing for the fallout of climate change in their communities.
A hole where Ely could be: Democracy and trust in South Africa
Authors: Fowkes James
Published: April 2021

At first glance, Ely’s theory of judicial review in Democracy and Distrust may seem an obviously poor fit for South Africa’s extensive and value-based constitutionalism. South African scholars have indeed mostly paid his theory little attention and, when they do, have mostly done so in support of arguments for judicial review, rather than to impose limits on it. On closer inspection, however, the way Ely has been used in South Africa has much to tell us about South African constitutionalism. The patterns of democratic deference of his theory can be a better fit for actual South African practice than it is for much of the scholarship interpreting that practice. Arguments for trust in democratic institutions, though suggested rather than developed in his book, have a powerful constitutional value in emerging systems like the South Africa one. Finally, though concerns for democracy that underpin Ely’s account have fallen somewhat between the lines of existing South African constitutional talk, the constitutional value of majoritarian democracy has a resonance in post-apartheid South Africa that should be felt more in its scholarship, and may yet be.
Ely in the world: The global legacy of Democracy and Distrust forty years on
Authors: Dixon Rosalind , Hailbronner Michaela
Published: April 2021

John Hart Ely’s Democracy and Distrust is a classic among US theories of judicial review. But how far does Ely’s global influence reach? And how useful is Ely’s process-based theory for judges operating in systems with a thicker, more substantive understanding of rights and constitutionalism, as prevails in many countries of the Global South, or in a system like Germany? In this introduction to a Symposium on Ely’s broader global influence, we sketch out some first answers to these questions, based on the contributions, which cover Mexico, Chile and Bolivia, South Africa, and Germany, as well as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. If Ely’s influence is considerable in some states, most notably New Zealand, it is marginal in others. Even where Ely arguably has been influential, however, his theory has usually been subject to a process of comparative adaptation, to increase its fit with the local legal and political context. Tweaked and adapted, Ely’s work can also inspire the construction of new comparative “political process” theories, including in systems where we encounter a thicker, or even transformative, understanding of constitutionalism.
Regulating On-demand Work in China: Just Getting Started?
Authors: Lin Ou
Published: April 2021

In China, a significant and rising number of workers are engaged in on-demand work. The legal status of on-demand workers has been widely debated, and it seems that the vast majority are not protected by labour law, since the law accords rights only to those workers with ‘labour relationships’. While there is widespread consensus in China that on-demand workers need more protection, steps taken in that direction to date have been small indeed. This paper seeks to explain the current legal situation of Chinese on-demand workers by outlining the responses to the spread of on-demand work of the judicial and arbitration system, national government, trade unions and workers themselves. Addressing the question why on-demand workers have not yet been accorded labour protections, it points in particular to the national government’s concern to maintain high levels of employment and ensure economic growth.
Human Rights and Caribbean Philosophy: Implications for Teaching
Authors: Davis Benjamin P
Published: April 2021

This note on human rights practice observes that some pedagogical methods in human rights education can have the effect of making human rights violations both seem to be performed by abnormal, bad actors and seem to occur in places far away from US classrooms. This effect is not intended by instructors; a methodological corrective would be helpful to human rights education. This note provides a corrective by suggesting two practices: (1) a pedagogical emphasis on what the Martinican philosopher Édouard Glissant calls ‘entanglements’, or the way in which normal, local actions are tied to global consequences in our contemporary world; and (2) a pedagogical exercise of performing a phenomenology of, or first-person reflection on, daily life as it relates to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The emphasis and exercise work together to implicate the actor in larger patterns of human rights violations and protections. Overall, the emphasis and exercise prevent an insidious insinuation of some human rights education: that human rights violations are to be theorized in the global North but suffered in the global South.
Estimation with Errors in Variables via the Characteristic Function
Authors: Malloch H , Philip R , Satchell S
Published: April 2021

Errors in variables in linear regression continue to be a significant empirical issue in financial econometrics. We propose using the characteristic function (CF) to obtain estimates for linear models with errors in the variables. By assuming that the explanatory variable follows a flexible double gamma distribution, we obtain closed-form expressions for the analytic CF of the data generating process. We show that our method performs well relative to existing techniques that address error-in-variables (EIVs) through simulations. We further extend our CF technique to a multivariate setting where it continues to produce accurate estimates. We illustrate the performance of our procedure by estimating the capital asset pricing model and a two-factor model.
Ideal related algebras and their logics
Authors: DÜntsch Ivo , Dzik Wojciech
Published: April 2021

We investigate modal algebras that generalize the unary discriminator into two directions related to an ideal of the algebra. It turns out that some classes lead to well-known logics, while others have not yet been explored.
Dynamics of a superdense cluster of black holes and the formation of the Galactic supermassive black hole
Authors: Chassonnery P , Capuzzo-Dolcetta R
Published: April 2021

The centre of our Galaxy is known to host a massive compact object, Sgr A*, which is commonly considered as a supermassive black hole of ${\sim} 4\times 10^6 \, \text{${\rm M}_{\odot } \, $}$. It is surrounded by a dense and massive nuclear star cluster, with a half-mass radius of about 5 pc and a mass larger than $10^{7} \, \text{${\rm M}_{\odot } \, $}$. In this paper, we studied the evolutionary fate of a very dense cluster of intermediate-mass black holes, possible remnants of the dissipative orbital evolution of massive globular cluster hosts. We performed a set of high-precision N-body simulations taking into account deviations from pure Newtonian gravitational interaction via a post-Newtonian development up to 2.5 order, which is the one accounting for energy released by gravitational wave emission. The violent dynamics of the system leads to various successive merger events to grow a single object containing ∼25 per cent of the total cluster mass before partial dispersal of the cluster, and to generate, in different bursts, a significant quantity of gravitational wave emission. If generalized, the present results suggest a mechanism of mass growth up to the scale of a supermassive black hole.
Probing possible effects of circumgalactic media on the metal content of galaxies through the mass–metallicity relationship
Authors: Zhai Sai , Shi Yong , Chen Jianhang , Bing Longji , Chen Yanmei , Yu Xiaoling , Li Songlin
Published: April 2021

The circumgalactic medium (CGM) connects the gas between the interstellar medium and the intergalactic medium, which plays an important role in galaxy evolution. We use the stellar mass–metallicity relationship to investigate whether sharing the CGM will affect the distribution of metals in galaxy pairs. The optical emission lines from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release are used to measure the gas-phase metallicity. We find that there is no significant difference in the distribution of the metallicity difference between two members in star forming–star forming pairs ($\rm \Delta log(O/H)_{diff}$), metallicity offset from the best-fitting stellar mass–metallicity relationship of galaxies in pairs ($\rm \Delta log(O/H)_{MS}$), as compared to ‘fake’ pairs. By looking at and as a function of the star formation rate (SFR), specific SFR, and stellar mass ratio, no difference is seen between galaxies in pairs and control galaxies. From our results, the share of the CGM may not play an important role in shaping the evolution of metal contents of galaxies.
The Colorado River Delta and California’s Central Valley are critical regions for many migrating North American landbirds
Authors: DeLuca William V , Meehan Tim , Seavy Nat , Jones Andrea , Pitt Jennifer , Deppe Jill L , Wilsey Chad B
Published: April 2021

Migration is an important component of some species full annual cycle. California’s Central Valley and the Colorado River Delta provide important riparian and wetland habitats for migrating waterbirds in the arid west of North America, but little is known about whether these locations are important at the population level to migrating landbirds. We used eBird Status and Trends abundance data to quantify the importance of the Central Valley and Colorado River Delta to landbirds by estimating the proportion of the breeding population of 112 species that use each site during migration. We found that ~17 million landbirds use the Colorado River Delta in the spring and ~14 million in the fall. Across 4 study regions in the Central Valley, up to ~65 million landbirds migrate through in the spring and up to ~48 million in the fall. In the spring and fall, respectively, up to 37 and up to 30 species had at least 1% of their continental population migrate through the study regions. We also quantified the spatial concentration of each species across latitudinal transects to determine the extent to which study regions were acting as migratory bottlenecks. Landbird abundances were spatially concentrated in study regions 29.4% of all migration weeks, indicating that each study region acts as a migratory bottleneck. This application of eBird data is a powerful approach to quantifying the importance of sites to migrating birds. Our results provide evidence of population-level importance of the Central Valley and Colorado River Delta for many migratory landbirds.
Irruptive White Ibis breeding is associated with use of freshwater crayfish in the coastal Everglades
Authors: Cocoves Tasso C , Cook Mark I , Kline Jeffrey L , Oberhofer Lori , Dorn Nathan J
Published: April 2021

As avian reproductive success is generally prey limited, identifying important prey types or sizes and understanding mechanisms governing prey availability are important objectives for avian conservation ecology. Irruptive White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) nesting at coastal colonies in the southern Everglades numbered over 100,000 nests in the 1930s. A century of drainage and altered hydrologic patterns reduced aquatic prey availability and eliminated large nesting events; nesting activity in recent decades has been typically less than 5% of historical peaks. Hydrologic restoration is expected to increase ibis nesting activity, but which prey types will support high nesting effort is less clear. In 2017 and 2018, we collected food boluses from White Ibis chicks at coastal colonies in Everglades National Park. We also monitored regional nesting activity from 1999 to 2018. In 2017, the region had 1,075 nests, typical of the past several decades; but in 2018, there were 30,420 nests, representing the highest recorded nesting activity in 87 yr. Prey composition varied between years; estuarine crabs dominated nestling boluses in 2017, while crayfish and fish were dominant prey in 2018. Crayfish, especially Procambarus alleni, were heavily exploited by ibis early in the 2018 breeding season, while fish were used more at the end. Crayfish abundances in wetlands near the colonies were higher prior to 2018, and more crayfish-producing short-hydroperiod wetlands remained available for ibis foraging in 2018. Our results support previous studies indicating that crayfish are important prey for breeding ibises and suggest that unprecedented, extensive flooding of seasonal wetlands promoted crayfish production and initiated the irruptive breeding in 2018. Our observations indicate that rehydration of the southern Everglades could restore ibis nesting activity at coastal colonies, but further investigations of hydrologic variation, crayfish production, and ibis foraging and nesting activity will be helpful to understand these dynamics and the importance of short-hydroperiod wetlands.
Anthelmintic drugs modulate the acute phase immune response but not the microbiota in wild Song Sparrows
Authors: Vaziri Grace J , Jusino Michelle A , Palmer Jon M , Brewer Matthew T , Adelman James S
Published: April 2021

Co-infection with microparasites (e.g., bacteria) and macroparasites (e.g., helminths) is often the natural state for wild animals. Despite evidence that gut helminths can bias immune responses away from inflammatory processes, few field studies have examined the role that helminths, or their potential interactions with internal microbial communities, play in modulating immunity in free-living, wild birds. Here, we used anthelmintic drugs to treat wild Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) for helminth infections and measured markers of systemic inflammation (heterothermia and locomotor activity) in response to an immune challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a cell wall component of gram-negative bacteria. Using birds from a population that previously showed high helminth prevalence, we monitored skin temperature and activity remotely using automated radio telemetry. We also collected cloacal swabs to determine whether drug treatment was associated with changes in the cloacal microbiota, and whether cloacal microbial community structure was associated with the severity of birds’ immune responses. Because helminths can reduce the severity of inflammatory immune responses in other species, we predicted that in comparison with untreated control birds, anthelmintic-treated birds would be more lethargic and display higher fevers when challenged with LPS. Consistent with these predictions, anthelmintic-treated birds expressed higher fevers in response to immune challenge. However, all LPS-challenged birds decreased locomotor activity to a similar degree, regardless of anthelmintic treatment. Although several individual indicator bacterial taxa were strongly associated with anthelmintic treatment, this treatment did not alter overall bacterial alpha- and beta- diversity. Similarly, we did not find evidence that bacterial community diversity influenced the severity of immune responses to LPS. These results suggest that under field conditions, natural helminth infection can reduce the severity of songbirds’ thermoregulatory responses (fever) during an immune challenge, without major impacts on internal microbial communities or behavioral responses to infection.
Evolution of the preformative molt in Cardinalidae correlates with transitions from forest to open habitats
Authors: Guallar Santi , Rueda-Hernández Rafael , Pyle Peter
Published: April 2021

We explored adaptive factors affecting the preformative molt in the passerine family Cardinalidae, and concluded that the ancestor inhabited forest habitats and underwent a partial preformative molt that included wing coverts but not primaries. Later radiations within the family appeared to be characterized by transitions from forests toward more open habitats, and such transitions also correlated positively with increased preformative molt investment, plumage signaling, and flight. While previous studies had highlighted the role of time and energy constraints in the evolution of the preformative molt in passerines, we conclude that adaptation to the physical environment has had a greater influence than constraints on the evolution of this molt in Cardinalidae. Using molt data from 430 individuals from 41 of the 51 Cardinalidae species, we tested whether social and environmental factors (delayed plumage maturation and habitat openness), as well as that of physiological and time constraints (body mass, migration distance, and breeding latitude), have influenced the evolution of the preformative molt in this family. We predicted that these five factors could relate to the extent of the preformative molt in terms of energy investment, plumage signaling, and flight. We also examined whether or not the presence of an auxiliary preformative molt correlated to the extent of the preformative molt. We found a strong phylogenetic signal for the preformative molt in Cardinalidae due to shared ancestry, with habitat openness correlating significantly with increased molt extent. We also found a very strong relationship with the auxiliary preformative molt, indicating that both episodes form part of the early life molt strategy in this family. Evolutionary histories and the environments to which each taxonomic group has adapted can diverge across passerines, and we expect that future studies will further discover the nature and strength of the evolutionary drivers of preformative molt.
Manipulating parental condition affects brood sex ratio, immunocompetence, and early chick mortality in two gull species differing in sexual size dimorphism
Authors: Bukaciński Dariusz , Bukacińska Monika , Chylarecki Przemysław
Published: April 2021

Sex allocation theory predicts that parents should adjust their brood sex ratio to maximize fitness returns in relation to parental investment. Adaptive adjustment of sex ratio may be driven by differential costs of rearing sons and daughters or differential benefits of investing limited resources into offspring of different sex. In both cases, possible sex ratio bias should depend on parental condition. For sexually dimorphic birds with males larger than females, sons may be less likely to fledge since they are more vulnerable to food shortages or because they have impaired immunocompetence due to higher testosterone levels. Poor condition females should thus overproduce daughters to minimize possible reproductive failure. We manipulated the number of eggs laid and the amount of food available to laying females to induce differences in the condition in 2 gull species differing in sexual size dimorphism. In the Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), sexual size differences are marginal; but in the Mew Gull (Larus canus), males are 11% larger. In both species, females forced to lay an additional egg (presumed in worse condition) overproduced daughters, whereas females receiving supplemental food before laying (presumed improved condition) overproduced sons. This sex ratio skew was larger in Mew Gull, a species with larger size dimorphism. Chick immunocompetence at hatching was unrelated to sex, being higher in broods of fed mothers and lower for chicks hatched from last-laid eggs. Chick survival between hatching and day 5 post-hatch was positively related to their immunocompetence, but chicks from last-laid eggs and males of Mew Gull, the more dimorphic species, survived less well. Results indicate that costs of raising larger sex offspring coupled with parental condition shape brood sex ratio in populations studied. Adaptive brood sex ratio adjustment occurs mostly before egg laying and includes differential sex allocation in eggs depending on the probability of producing a fledged chick.
Integrative taxonomy and geographic sampling underlie successful species delimitation
Authors: Cicero Carla , Mason Nicholas A , Jiménez Rosa Alicia , Wait Daniel R , Wang-Claypool Cynthia Y , Bowie Rauri C K
Published: April 2021

Species delimitation requires a broad assessment of population-level variation using multiple lines of evidence, a process known as integrative taxonomy. More specifically, studies of species limits must address underlying questions of what limits the distribution of populations, how traits vary in association with different environments, and whether the observed trait differences may lead to speciation through reproductive isolation. While genomic data have revolutionized the process of delimiting species, such data should be analyzed along with phenotypic, behavioral, and ecological traits that shape individuals across geographic and environmental space. The integration of multiple traits promotes taxonomic stability and should be a major guiding principle for species delimitation. Equally important, however, is thorough geographic sampling to adequately represent population-level variation—both in allopatry and across putative contact zones. We discuss the importance of both of these factors in the context of species concepts and traits and present different examples from birds that illustrate criteria for species delimitation. In addition, we review a decade of proposals for species-level taxonomic revisions considered by the American Ornithological Society’s North American Classification Committee, and summarize the basis for decisions on whether to split or lump species. Finally, we present recommendations and discuss challenges (specifically permits, time, and funding) for species delimitation studies. This is an exciting time to be studying species delimitation in birds: many species-level questions remain, and methodological advances along with increased access to data enable new approaches to studying age-old problems in avian taxonomy.
Get Real! Individuals Prefer More Sustainable Investments
Authors: Bauer Rob , Ruof Tobias , Smeets Paul
Published: April 2021

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have created societal and political pressure for pension funds to address sustainable investing. We run two field surveys (n = 1,669, n = 3,186) with a pension fund that grants its members a real vote on its sustainable-investment policy. Two-thirds of participants are willing to expand the fund’s engagement with companies based on selected SDGs, even when they expect engagement to hurt financial performance. Support remains strong after the fund implements the choice. A key reason is participants’ strong social preferences.
Abnormal Gesture Perception and Clinical High-Risk for Psychosis
Authors: Gupta Tina , Osborne K Juston , Mittal Vijay A
Published: April 2021

Individuals diagnosed with psychotic disorders exhibit abnormalities in the perception of expressive behaviors, which are linked to symptoms and visual information processing domains. Specifically, literature suggests these groups have difficulties perceiving gestures that accompany speech. While our understanding of gesture perception in psychotic disorders is growing, gesture perception abnormalities and clues about potential causes and consequences among individuals meeting criteria for a clinical high-risk (CHR) syndrome is limited. Presently, 29 individuals with a CHR syndrome and 32 healthy controls completed an eye-tracking gesture perception paradigm. In this task, participants viewed an actor using abstract and literal gestures while presenting a story and eye gaze data (eg, fixation counts and total fixation time) was collected. Furthermore, relationships between fixation variables and both symptoms (positive, negative, anxiety, and depression) and measures of visual information processing (working memory and attention) were examined. Findings revealed that the CHR group gazed at abstract gestures fewer times than the control group. When individuals in the CHR group did gaze at abstract gestures, on average, they spent significantly less time fixating compared to controls. Furthermore, reduced fixation (ie, count and time) was related to depression and slower response time on an attentional task. While a similar pattern of group differences in the same direction appeared for literal gestures, the effect was not significant. These data highlight the importance of integrating gesture perception abnormalities into vulnerability models of psychosis and inform the development of targeted treatments for social communicative deficits.
The effect of sleep restriction on cognitive performance in elite cognitive performers: a systematic review
Authors: Smithies Tim D , Toth Adam J , Dunican Ian C , Caldwell John A , Kowal Magdalena , Campbell Mark J
Published: April 2021

Study Objectives

To synthesize original articles exploring the effects of sleep restriction on cognitive performance specifically for Elite Cognitive Performers, i.e. those who engage in cognitively demanding tasks with critical or safety-critical outcomes in their occupation or area of expertise.

Methods

Backward snowballing techniques, gray literature searches, and traditional database searches (Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PSYCinfo, and SportDiscus) were used to obtain relevant articles. A quality assessment was performed, and the risk of training effects was considered. Results were narratively synthesized. Fourteen articles fit the criteria. Cognitive outcomes were divided into three categories defined by whether cognitive demands were “low-salience,” “high-salience stable,” or “high-salience flexible.”

Results

Low-salience tests (i.e. psychomotor vigilance tasks & serial reaction tests), mainly requiring vigilance and rudimentary attentional capacities, were sensitive to sleep restriction, however, this did not necessarily translate to significant performance deficits on low-salience occupation-specific task performance. High-salience cognitive outcomes were typically unaffected unless when cognitive flexibility was required.

Conclusions

Sleep restriction is of particular concern to occupations whereby individuals perform (1) simple, low-salience tasks or (2) high-salience tasks with demands on the flexible allocation of attention and working memory, with critical or safety-critical outcomes.
Married Mothers’ Bargaining Power and Their Accrual of Pension Entitlements: Evidence From East and West Germany
Authors: Weiland Andreas
Published: April 2021

This study investigates how married mothers’ relative bargaining power before the birth of their first child affects their subsequent accumulation of pension entitlements in East versus West Germany. I use a novel data linkage between the German sample of the “Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe” and administrative records from the German pension insurance (SHARE-RV) to analyze monthly life-course data on married mothers from East (N = 226) and West Germany (N = 586) who were born between 1925 and 1967. Applying random effects growth curve models and mediation analyses, I find that women’s relative bargaining power before parenthood is linked to their subsequent accumulation of pension entitlements in West (but not East) Germany. The results support the notion that bargaining power early in couples’ linked lives has long-term consequences for women’s pension income. Moreover, the results indicate that negotiations within the couple are constricted by the extent to which the institutional context supports or hinders the reconciliation of women’s work–family conflict.
A Call for Research: A Resource of Core Microbial Symbionts of the Arabidopsis thaliana Microbiome Ready and Awaiting Experimental Exploration
Authors: Dumack Kenneth , Sapp Melanie , von Steimker Tiemo , Mänz Anna Tatjana , Rose Laura Ellen , Bonkowski Michael
Published: April 2021

The characterization of specific subsets of soil microbiota in the rhizosphere and endosphere has led to the recognition of plant species-specific microbiomes. Most attention has been given to microbial prokaryotes and fungi. Only recently was convincing evidence for the existence of plant species-specific protist microbiomes presented. Although protists are expected to shape the composition of bacterial and fungal communities and, thereby, directly impact plant health, a lack of cultures of these important plant-symbiotic protists has hampered their experimental exploration. To facilitate empirical plant microbiome research, we sampled Arabidopsis thaliana, established 79 cultures covering nearly all major groups of plant-symbiotic Cercozoa (protists), and have made these publicly available. We discuss our findings and propose potential roles that these protists may have in structuring the plant microbiome.
Barriers to Care Experienced by Patients Who Inject Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis
Authors: Gleason Emily , Nolan Nathanial S. , Marks Laura R. , Habrock Tracey , Liang Stephen Y. , Durkin Michael J.
Published: April 2021

Objectives:

To identify the barriers to accessing health care and social services faced by people who inject drugs (PWID) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods:

This report is a sub-analysis of a larger qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with PWID admitted to an academic medical center from 2017 to 2020 for an invasive injection-related infection. Standard qualitative analysis techniques, consisting of both inductive and deductive approaches, were used to identify and characterize the effects of COVID-19 on participants.

Results:

Among the 30 PWID interview participants, 14 reported barriers to accessing health and addiction services due to COVID-19. As facilities decreased appointment availability or transitioned to telemedicine, PWID reported being unable to access services. Social distancing led to isolation or loneliness during hospital stays and in the community. Recovery meetings and support groups, critical to addiction recovery, were particularly affected. Other participants reported that uncertainty and fear of contracting the virus generated changes in behavior that led them to avoid seeking services.

Conclusions:

COVID-19 has disrupted health systems and social services, leading PWID to experience unprecedented barriers to accessing and maintaining health and addiction services in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Opioid use disorder management must be understood as a holistic process, and a multidisciplinary approach to ensuring comprehensive care, even in the midst of this pandemic, is needed.
Hip Morphology in Early-stage LCPD: Is There an Argument for Anatomic-specific Containment?
Authors: Selberg Courtney M. , Bram Joshua T. , Carry Patrick , Goldstein Rachel Y. , Schrader Tim , Laine Jennifer C. , Kim Harry K.W. , Sankar Wudbhav N.
Published: April 2021

Background:

Early containment surgery has become increasingly popular in Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease (LCPD), especially for older children. These procedures treat the proximal femur, the acetabulum, or both, and most surgeons endorse the same surgical option regardless of an individual patient’s anatomy. This “one-surgery-fits-all” approach fails to consider potential variations in baseline anatomy that may make one option more sensible than another. We sought to describe hip morphology in a large series of children with newly diagnosed LCPD, hypothesizing that variation in anatomy may support the concept of anatomic-specific containment.

Methods:

A retrospective review of a prospectively collected multicenter database was conducted for patients aged 6 to 11 at diagnosis. To assess anatomy before significant morphologic changes secondary to the disease itself, only patients in Waldenström stages IA/IB were included. Standard hip radiographic measurements including acetabular index, lateral center-edge angle, proximal femoral neck-shaft angle (NSA), articulotrochanteric quartiles, and extrusion index (EI) were made on printed anteroposterior pelvis radiographs. Age-specific percentiles were calculated for these measures using published norms. Significant outliers (≤10th/≥90th percentile) were reported where applicable.

Results:

A total of 168 patients with mean age at diagnosis of 8.0±1.3 years met inclusion criteria (81.5% male). Mean acetabular index for the entire cohort was 16.8±4.1 degrees; 58 hips (34.5%) were significantly dysplastic compared with normative data. Mean lateral center-edge angle was 15.9±5.2 degrees at diagnosis; 110 (65.5%) were ≤10th percentile indicating dysplasia (by this metric). Mean NSA overall was 136.5±7.0 degrees. Fifty-one (30.4%) and 20 (11.9%) hips were significantly varus (≤10th percentile) or valgus (≥90th percentile), respectively. Thirty-five hips (20.8%) were the third articulo-trochanteric quartiles or higher suggesting a higher-riding trochanter at baseline. Mean EI was 15.5%±9.0%, while 63 patients (37.5%) had an EI ≥20%.

Conclusions:

The present study finds significant variation in baseline anatomy in children with early-stage LCPD, including a high prevalence of coexisting acetabular dysplasia as well as high/low NSAs. These variations suggest that the “one-surgery-fits-all” approach may lack specificity for a particular patient; a potentially wiser option may be an anatomic-specific containment operation (eg, acetabular-sided osteotomy for coexisting dysplasia, varus femoral osteotomy for valgus NSA).

Level of Evidence:

Level IV.
Digital Salvage by Transposing Adjacent Ray Components
Authors: Persing J. Scott , Saberski Ean , Moores Craig , Tsai David , Fishman Felicity , Thomson J. Grant
Published: April 2021

Background:

Ballistic hand injuries often devastate bone and soft tissue and may ultimately require debridement of critical structures. Long-term hand function is frequently compromised as a result of distorted anatomy. Careful assessment at the time of injury affords the opportunity to critically appraise the anatomy and creatively design a reconstructive strategy.

Methods:

Herein we describe 2 cases of gunshot injuries to the hand that resulted in devastation to adjacent yet opposing metacarpal and phalangeal joint surfaces. Our reconstructive strategy aimed to maximize hand function by preserving undamaged tissue and transposing adjacent ray components.

Results:

In both instances, our patients’ reconstructive surgeries resulted in acceptable cosmesis and improved functional outcome relative to more traditional approaches to these ballistic injuries.

Conclusions:

Our experience shows that a creative appraisal of devastating hand injuries allows for unique reconstructive strategies. Our cases further demonstrate the utility of transposing adjacent ray components to reconstruct digital mobility and hand function.
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Erlotinib in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma: A Case Study
Authors: Catalán-Latorre Ana , Sureda Manuel , Brugarolas-Masllorens Antonio , Escudero-Ortiz Vanesa
Published: April 2021

We describe a clinical case of an 84-year-old man diagnosed with non-small cell lung carcinoma and epidermal growth factor receptor mutation, who was treated with erlotinib, with doses adjusted by therapeutic drug monitoring. This case involved a clearance fluctuation leading to over-therapeutic drug concentrations of erlotinib and toxicity. The intrapatient and interpatient variability of erlotinib, in addition to other factors such as age or variations in liver clearance, create situations that are challenging in clinical practice. During treatment, erlotinib serum concentrations were measured, and the dose was accordingly adjusted. The erlotinib dose required to reduce toxicity (rash grade III) and maintain effective plasma concentrations, as well as clinical and radiological responses, was 50% of the initial dose, underscoring the relevance of therapeutic drug monitoring for tyrosine kinase inhibitors in routine clinical practice.
Endometrial stem cells: origin, biological function, and therapeutic applications for reproductive disorders
Authors: Abuwala Nafeesa , Tal Reshef
Published: April 2021

Purpose of review

Endometrial stem cells (ESCs) are multipotent cells that are thought to originate locally in the endometrium as well as in the bone marrow (BM). They have remarkable plasticity and hold promise as an autologous source for regenerative medicine. This review focuses on recent studies that have advanced our understanding of the biology and function of ESCs and BM-derived stem cells (BMDSCs) as related to physiological reproductive processes and pathologies. Moreover, it reviews recent data on potential therapeutic applications of stem cells to endometrial disorders that lead to reproductive failure.

Recent findings

Growing evidence from basic and preclinical studies suggests that ESCs participate in endometrial tissue regeneration and repair. Recent evidence also suggests that ESCs and BMDSCs play important roles in physiological reproductive functions including decidualization, implantation, pregnancy maintenance, and postpartum uterine remodeling. Initial preclinical and clinical studies with ESCs and BMDSCs suggest they have the potential to provide new therapies for various endometrial disorders associated with reproductive failure.

Uterine ESCs and BMDSCs appear to play an important biological role in reproductive success and failure, and have the potential to become treatment targets for reproductive diseases including recurrent implantation failure, thin endometrium, Asherman, and recurrent pregnancy loss.
AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN STELLATE NONHEREDITARY IDIOPATHIC FOVEOMACULAR RETINOSCHISIS, PERIPHERAL RETINOSCHISIS, AND POSTERIOR HYALOID ATTACHMENT
Authors: Bloch Edward , Flores-Sánchez Blanca , Georgiadis Odysseas , Sundaram Venki , Saihan Zubin , Mahroo Omar A. , Webster Andrew R. , da Cruz Lyndon
Published: April 2021

Purpose:

Stellate nonhereditary idiopathic foveomacular retinoschisis is a disorder characterized by splitting of the retina at the macula, without a known underlying mechanical or inherited cause. This study investigates demographic, anatomical, and functional characteristics of subjects with stellate nonhereditary idiopathic foveomacular retinoschisis, to explore potential underlying mechanisms.

Methods:

In this single-site, retrospective, and cross-sectional, observational study, data were collected from 28 eyes from 24 subjects with stellate nonhereditary idiopathic foveomacular retinoschisis. Descriptive statistics were reported, based on the observed anatomico-functional features.

Results:

The visual acuity remained stable (median 20/20) in all subjects over a median follow-up of 17 months. All cases demonstrated foveomacular retinoschisis within Henle's fiber layer, at the junction of the outer plexiform and outer nuclear layers. This schisis cavity extended beyond the limits of the macular OCT temporally in all eyes. In most affected eyes, there were documented features of peripheral retinoschisis and broad attachment of the posterior hyaloid at the macula. Functional testing in a cross-sectional subset demonstrated normal retinal sensitivity centrally but an absolute scotoma peripherally.

Conclusion:

Stellate nonhereditary idiopathic foveomacular retinoschisis seems to be associated with peripheral retinoschisis and anomalous or incomplete posterior hyaloid detachment. Despite chronic manifestation, this does not significantly affect central visual function but can manifest with profound loss of peripheral visual function.
Nail Psoriasis in a Child Observed Under Ultraviolet Dermoscopy Treated by a Topical Biological Agent Cream: A Case Report
Authors: Gao Run-Yan , Pradhan Sushmita , Ran Yu-Ping
Published: April 2021

Introduction:

Nail psoriasis is a type of psoriasis involving nail lesions characterized by pitting, onycholysis, longitudinal ridges, and subungual hyperkeratosis. We herein describe a 9-year-old girl with nail psoriasis who presented with nail crumbling and was treated with topical cream containing 45 μg/g mouse monoclonal antibody to human interleukin -8.

Case presentation:

A 9-year-old Chinese girl presented with a 6-month history of a rough, thickened fingernail and toenails. Nail plate crumbling, onycholysis, and fissured periungual folds were observed under dermoscopy and ultraviolet dermoscopy. The nails were soaked in warm water, then topical wrapped with Abcream cream overnight. After about 4 months of treatment, the nails significantly improved by both dermoscopy and ultraviolet-dermoscopy evaluattion.

Discussion:

Due to the different wavelengths of light emitted by polarized light dermatoscope and ultraviolet-dermatoscope, the characteristics of observation will be different. Abcream acts by antagonizing human interleukin -8, inhibiting leukocyte chemotaxis and neovascularization, and regulating the abnormal proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes.

Conclusion:

Ultraviolet-dermoscopy is pivotal in evaluating the severity and potency of nail psoriasis. And Abcream can be regarded as a new drug for the treatment of nail psoriasis in children.
Complex interventions in the failing heart
Authors: Bath Anandbir S. , Raja Joel , Maturana Miguel A. , Khouzam Rami N.
Published: April 2021

Purpose of review

Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome with a substantial disease burden. We aim to review the interventional aspects of management of advanced heart failure, focusing on the role of management of coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and mechanical circulatory support.

Recent findings

The patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure requiring revascularization are at higher risk than the rest of the general population. Coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous intervention can be used depending on varied patient characteristics and coronary anatomy. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation, Mitraclip and transcatheter ventricular restoration help in tackling the valvular and left ventricular remodeling concerns often seen in this patient population. Temporary hemodynamic circulatory support helps stabilizing patients in cardiogenic shock while long-term support can help bridge them to more definitive therapies.

The management strategies in this disease state are ever evolving with robust evidence coming in support of interventional therapies whenever deemed appropriate. It is the multidisciplinary patient-centered approach, which yields maximum benefit out of these complex interventions.