bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New expectations for diastolic function assessment in transthoracic echocardiography based on a semi-automated computing of strain–volume loops
Authors: Hubert Arnaud , Le Rolle Virginie , Galli Elena , Bidaud Auriane , Hernandez Alfredo , Donal Erwan
Published: April 2020

Aims

Early diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) by determination of diastolic dysfunction is challenging. Strain–volume loop (SVL) is a new tool to analyse left ventricular function. We propose a new semi-automated method to calculate SVL area and explore the added value of this index for diastolic function assessment.

Method and results

Fifty patients (25 amyloidosis, 25 HFpEF) were included in the study and compared with 25 healthy control subjects. Left ventricular ejection fraction was preserved and similar between groups. Classical indices of diastolic function were pathological in HFpEF and amyloidosis groups with greater left atrial volume index, greater mitral average E/e’ ratio, faster tricuspid regurgitation (P < 0.0001 compared with controls). SVL analysis demonstrated a significant difference of the global area between groups, with the smaller area in amyloidosis group, the greater in controls and a mid-range value in HFpEF group (37 vs. 120 vs. 72 mL.%, respectively, P < 0.0001). Applying a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier, results show a mean area under the curve of 0.91 for the comparison between HFpEF and amyloidosis groups.

Conclusion

SVLs area is efficient to identify patients with a diastolic dysfunction. This new semi-automated tool is very promising for future development of automated diagnosis with machine-learning algorithms.
Handgrip Strength Asymmetry and Weakness Together Are Associated With Functional Disability in Aging Americans
Authors: McGrath Ryan , Vincent Brenda M , Jurivich Donald A , Hackney Kyle J , Tomkinson Grant R , Dahl Lindsey J , Clark Brian C
Published: April 2020

Background

Evaluating handgrip strength (HGS) asymmetry may help to improve the prognostic value of HGS. This study sought to determine the associations of HGS asymmetry and weakness on future activities of daily living (ADL) disability in a national sample of aging Americans.

Methods

The analytic sample included 18,468 Americans aged ≥50 years from the 2006–2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. A handgrip dynamometer measured HGS. Those with HGS >10% stronger on either hand were considered as having any HGS asymmetry. Individuals with HGS >10% stronger on their dominant hand were considered as having dominant HGS asymmetry, while those with HGS >10% stronger on their nondominant hand were classified as having nondominant HGS asymmetry. Men with HGS <26 kg and women with HGS <16 kg were considered weak. ADLs were self-reported. Generalized estimating equations were used for analyses.

Results

Relative to those with symmetric HGS and no weakness, each HGS asymmetry and weakness group had increased odds for future ADL disability: 1.11 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.20) for any HGS asymmetry alone, 1.42 (CI: 1.16–1.74) for weakness alone, and 1.81 (CI: 1.52–2.16) for both any HGS asymmetry and weakness. Most weakness and HGS asymmetry dominance groups had increased odds for future ADL disability: 1.30 (CI: 1.13–1.50) for nondominant HGS asymmetry alone, 1.42 (CI: 1.16–1.74) for weakness alone, 1.72 (CI: 1.29–2.29) for both weakness and nondominant HGS asymmetry, and 1.86 (CI: 1.52–2.28) for both weakness and dominant HGS asymmetry.

Conclusions

HGS asymmetry and weakness together may increase the predictive utility of handgrip dynamometers.
2-D multiparameter viscoelastic shallow-seismic full-waveform inversion: reconstruction tests and first field-data application
Authors: Gao Lingli , Pan Yudi , Bohlen Thomas
Published: April 2020

2-D full-waveform inversion (FWI) of shallow-seismic wavefields has recently become a novel way to reconstruct S-wave velocity models of the shallow subsurface with high vertical and lateral resolution. In most applications, seismic wave attenuation is ignored or considered as a passive modelling parameter only. In this study, we explore the feasibility and performance of multiparameter viscoelastic 2-D FWI in which seismic velocities and attenuation of P and S waves, respectively, and mass density are inverted simultaneously. Synthetic reconstruction experiments reveal that multiple crosstalks between all viscoelastic material parameters may occur. The reconstruction of S-wave velocity is always robust and of high quality. The parameters P-wave velocity and density exhibit weaker sensitivity and can be reconstructed more reliably by multiparameter viscoelastic FWI. Anomalies in S-wave attenuation can be recovered but with limited resolution. In a field-data application, a small-scale refilled trench is nicely delineated as a low P- and S-wave velocity anomaly. The reconstruction of P-wave velocity is improved by the simultaneous inversion of attenuation. The reconstructed S-wave attenuation reveals higher attenuation in the shallow weathering zone and weaker attenuation below. The variations in the reconstructed P- and S-wave velocity models are consistent with the reflectivity observed in a ground penetrating radar (GPR) profile.
Fourier Coefficients of Modular Forms of Half-Integral Weight in Arithmetic Progressions
Authors: Darreye Corentin
Published: April 2020

We study the probabilistic behavior of sums of Fourier coefficients in arithmetic progressions. We prove a result analogous to previous work of Fouvry–Ganguly–Kowalski–Michel and Kowalski–Ricotta in the context of half-integral weight holomorphic cusp forms and for prime power modulus. We actually show that these sums follow in a suitable range a mixed Gaussian distribution that comes from the asymptotic mixed distribution of Salié sums.
Epidemiological Characteristics and Incubation Period of 7015 Confirmed Cases With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outside Hubei Province in China
Authors: Nie Xiuquan , Fan Lieyang , Mu Ge , Tan Qiyou , Wang Mengyi , Xie Yujia , Cao Limin , Zhou Min , Zhang Zhuang , Chen Weihong
Published: April 2020

Background

Disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 broke out in Wuhan in December 2019. We utilized confirmed cases outside Hubei Province to analyze epidemiologic characteristics and evaluate the effect of traffic restrictions implemented in Hubei beginning on 23 January 2020.

Methods

Information on 7015 confirmed cases from 19 January to 8 February 2020 in all provinces outside Hubei was collected from the national and local health commissions in China. Incubation period and interval times were calculated using dates of the following events: contact with an infected person, onset, first visit, and diagnosis. We evaluated changes in incubation period and interval times.

Results

The average age of all cases was 44.24 years. The median incubation period was 5 days and extended from 2 days on 23 January to 15 days on 8 February. The proportion of imported cases decreased from 85.71% to 33.19% after 23 January. In addition, lengths of intervals between onset and diagnosis, onset and first visit, and first visit and diagnosis decreased over time.

Conclusions

Rapidly transmitting COVID-19 has a short incubation period. The onset mainly occurred among young to middle-aged adults. Traffic restrictions played an important role in the decreased number of imported cases outside Hubei.
The Militarized Interstate Dispute Dataset: Putting Things in Perspective
Authors: Palmer Glenn , D'Orazio Vito , Kenwick Michael R , McManus Roseanne W
Published: April 2020

In their latest research note in our ongoing dialogue about the Militarized Interstate Dispute (MID) dataset, Gibler, Miller, and Little (GML) reiterate their concerns about a high error rate in the MID dataset and challenge our prior replication studies, which showed that GML's recommended changes to the dataset caused few substantive changes in the core findings of two published studies. In this rejoinder, we offer further explanation of our decision-making, put GML's claims about the error rate in context, defend our replication methodology and results, and offer advice for MID dataset users.
Efficacy and safety of selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) to prevent recurrent hepatic cyst infections in polycystic liver disease: a retrospective case series
Authors: Bernts Lucas H P , Dekker Shosha E I , Soonawala Darius , Brüggemann Roger J M , Wertheim Heiman F L , de Fijter Johan W , Drenth Joost P H , Lantinga Marten A
Published: April 2020

Background

Hepatic cyst infection is a complication of polycystic liver disease (PLD) that causes substantial morbidity. Repetitive infection is frequent and is increasingly difficult to treat. As translocated gut bacteria are considered the cause, we hypothesize that selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) reduces recurrence of hepatic cyst infection.

Methods

We performed a retrospective, observational study in two referral centres. All patients with PLD treated with SDD for hepatic cyst infection were included. Efficacy was determined by calculating the infection incidence (hepatic cyst infections per month) before and during SDD therapy. Adverse events were scored according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE).

Results

We identified eight patients who received SDD (88% female, 88% polycystic kidney disease). The median age was 65 years (IQR: 51–74 years). SDD lowered the median incidence from 0.09 episodes per month (IQR: 0.06–0.25 episodes per month) to 0.01 episodes per month (IQR: 0.00–0.05 episodes per month) (P = 0.12). Discontinuation of SDD led to rapid recurrence of cyst infection (71% within 6 weeks). SDD consisted of polymyxins with/without aminoglycosides. The median SDD treatment duration was 20 months (range: 3–89 months). Six patients (75%) developed adverse events [CTCAE Grade 1 (gastrointestinal: n = 3) or Grade 3 (ototoxicity: n = 1; fungal infection: n = 1)], mostly attributable to aminoglycosides; one patient developed polymyxin E resistance.

Conclusions

SDD prophylaxis provides a novel strategy for limiting recurrent hepatic cyst infection in PLD patients. However, adverse events are frequent and curtail its use. As most were attributable to aminoglycosides, polymyxin E is considered the preferred therapy.
Dalbavancin for the management of osteomyelitis: a major step forward?
Authors: Almangour Thamer A , Alhifany Abdullah A
Published: April 2020

Osteomyelitis is one of the most challenging infectious diseases to treat and is associated with a significant burden to healthcare systems. There are limited available therapeutic options to treat osteomyelitis caused by Gram-positive pathogens and these are not without limitations. Dalbavancin is a long-acting lipoglycopeptide, approved for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections caused by designated susceptible strains of Gram-positive microorganisms. It demonstrated promising pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties and safety data to be considered for the treatment of bone infections. However, information on the effectiveness and safety of dalbavancin in the treatment of invasive Gram-positive infections, such as osteomyelitis, is very limited. In this review, we describe the novel characteristics and potential utility of dalbavancin in the treatment of osteomyelitis and summarize its long-term clinical outcomes from published case reports, series and comparative studies.
Preoperative Wire Localization of the Breast on the Day Before Surgery
Authors: Sanders Linda M , Morgan Dina , Polini Nicole , Mehta Avani
Published: April 2020

Objective

To assess the feasibility and accuracy of preoperative wire localization performed one day prior to surgery and the relationship between the time interval following wire placement with migration distance within the time-window examined.

Methods

Two trials were performed with next-day mammography to assess migration. Trial 1 used a standard hooked wire (50 patients, 61 wires). Trial 2 employed a looped wire (50 patients, 59 wires). A third trial was subsequently performed (16 patients, 18 wires) using the looped wire without repeat mammograms. Complications were recorded. Comparative statistical analyses were performed between patients in Trial 1 and Trial 2.

Results

In Trials 1 and 2, no wires required readjustment on the day of surgery. Mean and maximum migration were less with the looped wire (range: 0–7 mm) compared to the hooked wire (range: 0–18 mm), allowing for the elimination of next-day mammograms in Trial 3. A Mann–Whitney U test showed no significant difference between the migration distances for the first two trials (P = 0.11). A Chi-square test showed no significant difference in the direction of the migration between the two trials (P = 0.15). There was no correlation between the time interval of localization and needle migration in the first two trials (r = -0.16, P = 0.22 and -0.12, P = 0.36). Specimen radiographs demonstrated the lesion/biopsy marker clip in all cases in all three trials. No infections or bleeding occurred. Two patients developed an allergic reaction to adhesive.

Conclusion

Wire localization performed on the day before surgery is feasible, inexpensive, did not compromise accuracy, and successfully unlinked the radiologic and surgical procedures.
Strategies to Prevent or Remediate Cancer and Treatment-Related Aging
Authors: Guida Jennifer L , Agurs-Collins Tanya , Ahles Tim A , Campisi Judith , Dale William , Demark-Wahnefried Wendy , Dietrich Jorg , Fuldner Rebecca , Gallicchio Lisa , Green Paige A , Hurria Arti , Janelsins Michelle C , Jhappan Chamelli , Kirkland James L , Kohanski Ronald , Longo Valter , Meydani Simin , Mohile Supriya , Niedernhofer Laura J , Nelson Christian , Perna Frank , Schadler Keri , Scott Jessica M , Schrack Jennifer A , Tracy Russell P , van Deursen Jan , Ness Kirsten K
Published: April 2020

Up to 85% of adult cancer survivors and 99% of adult survivors of childhood cancer live with an accumulation of chronic conditions, frailty, and/or cognitive impairments resulting from cancer and its treatment. Thus, survivors often show an accelerated development of multiple geriatric syndromes and need therapeutic interventions. To advance progress in this area, the National Cancer Institute convened the second of 2 think tanks under the auspices of the Cancer and Accelerated Aging: Advancing Research for Healthy Survivors initiative. Experts assembled to share evidence of promising strategies to prevent, slow, or reverse the aging consequences of cancer and its treatment. The meeting identified research and resource needs, including geroscience-guided clinical trials; comprehensive assessments of functional, cognitive, and psychosocial vulnerabilities to assess and predict age-related outcomes; preclinical and clinical research to determine the optimal dosing for behavioral (eg, diet, exercise) and pharmacologic (eg, senolytic) therapies; health-care delivery research to evaluate the efficacy of integrated cancer care delivery models; optimization of intervention implementation, delivery, and uptake; and patient and provider education on cancer and treatment-related late and long-term adverse effects. Addressing these needs will expand knowledge of aging-related consequences of cancer and cancer treatment and inform strategies to promote healthy aging of cancer survivors.
Video Game Violence and Interactivity: Effect or Equivalence?
Authors: Weber René , Behr Katharina M , Fisher Jacob T , Lonergan Chelsea , Quebral Christian
Published: April 2020

The effect of exposure to violent video game content on aggression is intensely debated. Meta-analyses have produced widely varying estimates as to the effect (or non-effect) of violent video games on subsequent aggressive thoughts and behaviors. Recent work suggests that interactivity and player skill may play key roles in moderating the effects of violent content in video games on aggression. This study investigates the effects of violence, interactivity, and player skill on mild aggressive behavior using a custom-developed first-person shooter game allowing for high levels of experimental control. We conduct effect and equivalence tests with effect size assumptions drawn from prominent meta-analyses in the video game violence literature, finding that aggressive behavior following violent video game play is statistically equivalent to that observed following non-violent game play. We also observe an interaction between violent game content, player skill, and interactivity. When player skill matched the interactivity of the game, violent content led to an increase in aggressive behavior, whereas when player skill did not match the interactivity of the game, violent content decreased aggressive behavior. This interaction is probed using a multiverse analysis incorporating both classical significance testing and Bayesian analyses.
Posterior retroperitoneoscopic resection of recurrent nonseminomatous tumor mass: a case report of the surgical procedure
Authors: Öztürk Çiğdem , Hoekstra Harald J , Hemmer Patrick H J , Gietema Jourik A , Kruijff Schelto
Published: April 2020

Treatment of stage II–IV nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors (NSTGCTs) consists of cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy and, when present, resection of residual retroperitoneal tumor mass (RRTM) by conventional laparotomy or laparoscopy. In case of a retroperitoneal recurrence, a second conventional or laparoscopic procedure may be challenging.

A case of late relapse after prior conventional resection of a RRTM and tailor-made surgical management with a posterior retroperitoneoscopic resection (PRR) is reported. A posterior retroperitoneoscopic RRTM resection was performed in a 26-year-old male with a history of stage IIC NSTGCT, presenting with a late left-sided retroperitoneal relapse, 6 years after initial treatment. Postoperative course was uneventful and at 1-year follow-up the patient had no evidence of disease. Reoperative surgery by a minimal invasive retroperitoneoscopic approach should be considered as an alternative for patients with a recurrent retroperitoneal tumor mass of a NSTGCT.
Prophylaxis and treatment of acute and chronic postoperative inguinal pain (CPIP)—association of pain with compression neuropathy†
Authors: Holzheimer René Gordon , Gaschütz Nikolai
Published: April 2020

Can open inguinal hernia repair (OIHR) and tailored neurectomy (TN) be effective for prophylaxis of chronic postoperative inguinal hernia repair (CPIP) (I) and treatment of CPIP (II)? Patients with symptomatic primary inguinal hernia (I group 1) and secondary hernia with CPIP (II, groups 2–5) were investigated for postoperative complications and nerve damage. About, 98% of patients with OIHR with TN reported preoperative pain (I group 1, n = 388, recurrence rate 1%). There were 73 cases (II) of CPIP after laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (LIHR) (group 2, n = 22), OIHR (group 3, n = 37), LIHR followed by OIHR/LIHR (group 4, n = 5) and OIHR followed by LIHR/OIHR (group 5, n = 9). The results were as follows: preoperative pain: 33–100%, recurrence rate 0–11% (II, groups 2–5), nerve damage 92–100% and persistent CPIP: n = 1 after trocar perforation of inguinal nerve elsewhere. OIHR is effective to avoid CPIP with compression neuropathy. This is the largest series of histological nerve damage in CPIP.
The impact of the rhizobia–legume symbiosis on host root system architecture
Authors: Concha Cristobal , Doerner Peter
Published: April 2020

Legumes form symbioses with rhizobia to fix N2 in root nodules to supplement their nitrogen (N) requirements. Many studies have shown how symbioses affect the shoot, but far less is understood about how they modify root development and root system architecture (RSA). RSA is the distribution of roots in space and over time. RSA reflects host resource allocation into below-ground organs and patterns of host resource foraging underpinning its resource acquisition capacity. Recent studies have revealed a more comprehensive relationship between hosts and symbionts: the latter can affect host resource acquisition for phosphate and iron, and the symbiont’s production of plant growth regulators can enhance host resource flux and abundance. We review the current understanding of the effects of rhizobia–legume symbioses on legume root systems. We focus on resource acquisition and allocation within the host to conceptualize the effect of symbioses on RSA, and highlight opportunities for new directions of research.
Searches for pulsar-like candidates from unidentified objects in the Third Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT Sources with machine learning techniques
Authors: Hui C Y , Lee Jongsu , Li K L , Kim Sangin , Oh Kwangmin , Luo Shengda , Leung Alex P , Kong A K H , Takata J , Cheng K S
Published: April 2020

We report the results of searching pulsar-like candidates from the unidentified objects in the Third Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT Sources (3FHL). Using a machine-learning-based classification scheme with a nominal accuracy of $\sim \!98{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$, we have selected 27 pulsar-like objects from 200 unidentified 3FHL sources for an identification campaign. Using archival data, X-ray sources are found within the γ-ray error ellipses of 10 3FHL pulsar-like candidates. Within the error circles of the much better constrained X-ray positions, we have also searched for the optical/infrared counterparts and examined their spectral energy distributions. Among our shortlisted candidates, the most secure identification is the association of 3FHL J1823.3–1339 and its X-ray counterpart with the globular cluster Mercer 5. The γ-rays from the source can be contributed by a population of millisecond pulsars residing in the cluster. This makes Mercer 5 as one of the slowly growing hard γ-ray population of globular clusters with emission >10 GeV. Very recently, another candidate picked by our classification scheme, 3FHL J1405.1–6118, has been identified as a new γ-ray binary with an orbital period of 13.7 d. Our X-ray analysis with a short Chandra observation has found a possible periodic signal candidate of ∼1.4 h and a putative extended X-ray tail of ∼20 arcsec long. Spectral energy distribution of its optical/infrared counterpart conforms with a blackbody of Tbb ∼ 40 000 K and Rbb ∼ 12 R⊙ at a distance of 7.7 kpc. This is consistent with its identification as an early O star as found by infrared spectroscopy.
The formation of young massive clusters by colliding flows
Authors: Dobbs C L , Liow K Y , Rieder S
Published: April 2020

Young massive clusters (YMCs) are the most intense regions of star formation in galaxies. Formulating a model for YMC formation while at the same time meeting the constraints from observations is, however, highly challenging. We show that forming YMCs requires clouds with densities ≳ 100 cm−3 to collide with high velocities (≳ 20 km s−1). We present the first simulations which, starting from moderate cloud densities of ∼100 cm−3, are able to convert a large amount of mass into stars over a time period of around 1 Myr, to produce dense massive clusters similar to those observed. Such conditions are commonplace in more extreme environments, where YMCs are common, but atypical for our Galaxy, where YMCs are rare.
Structural and functional insights into CWC27/CWC22 heterodimer linking the exon junction complex to spliceosomes
Authors: Busetto Virginia , Barbosa Isabelle , Basquin Jérôme , Marquenet Émelie , Hocq Rémi , Hennion Magali , Paternina Janio Antonio , Namane Abdelkader , Conti Elena , Bensaude Olivier , Le Hir Hervé
Published: April 2020

Human CWC27 is an uncharacterized splicing factor and mutations in its gene are linked to retinal degeneration and other developmental defects. We identify the splicing factor CWC22 as the major CWC27 partner. Both CWC27 and CWC22 are present in published Bact spliceosome structures, but no interacting domains are visible. Here, the structure of a CWC27/CWC22 heterodimer bound to the exon junction complex (EJC) core component eIF4A3 is solved at 3Å-resolution. According to spliceosomal structures, the EJC is recruited in the C complex, once CWC27 has left. Our 3D structure of the eIF4A3/CWC22/CWC27 complex is compatible with the Bact spliceosome structure but not with that of the C complex, where a CWC27 loop would clash with the EJC core subunit Y14. A CWC27/CWC22 building block might thus form an intermediate landing platform for eIF4A3 onto the Bact complex prior to its conversion into C complex. Knock-down of either CWC27 or CWC22 in immortalized retinal pigment epithelial cells affects numerous common genes, indicating that these proteins cooperate, targeting the same pathways. As the most up-regulated genes encode factors involved in inflammation, our findings suggest a possible link to the retinal degeneration associated with CWC27 deficiencies.
Synthetic promoter design in Escherichia coli based on a deep generative network
Authors: Wang Ye , Wang Haochen , Wei Lei , Li Shuailin , Liu Liyang , Wang Xiaowo
Published: April 2020

Promoter design remains one of the most important considerations in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology applications. Theoretically, there are 450 possible sequences for a 50-nt promoter, of which naturally occurring promoters make up only a small subset. To explore the vast number of potential sequences, we report a novel AI-based framework for de novo promoter design in Escherichia coli. The model, which was guided by sequence features learned from natural promoters, could capture interactions between nucleotides at different positions and design novel synthetic promoters in silico. We combined a deep generative model that guides the search for artificial sequences with a predictive model to preselect the most promising promoters. The AI-designed promoters were optimized based on the promoter activity in E. coli and the predictive model. After two rounds of optimization, up to 70.8% of the AI-designed promoters were experimentally demonstrated to be functional, and few of them shared significant sequence similarity with the E. coli genome. Our work provided an end-to-end approach to the de novo design of novel promoter elements, indicating the potential to apply deep learning methods to de novo genetic element design.
Effect of increased potassium intake on the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system and subcutaneous resistance arteries: a randomized crossover study
Authors: Dreier Rasmus , Abdolalizadeh Bahareh , Asferg Camilla L , Hölmich Lisbet R , Buus Niels H , Forman Julie L , Andersen Ulrik B , Egfjord Martin , Sheykhzade Majid , Jeppesen Jørgen L
Published: April 2020

Background

Increased potassium intake lowers blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive patients. The underlying mechanism is not fully understood but must be complex because increased potassium intake elevates circulating concentrations of the BP-raising hormone aldosterone.

Methods

In a randomized placebo-controlled crossover study in 25 normotensive men, we investigated the effect of 4 weeks of potassium supplement (90 mmol/day) compared with 4 weeks of placebo on the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS), urine composition and 24-h ambulatory BP. Vascular function was also assessed through wire myograph experiments on subcutaneous resistance arteries from gluteal fat biopsies.

Results

Higher potassium intake increased urinary potassium excretion (144.7 ± 28.7 versus 67.5 ± 25.5 mmol/24-h; P < 0.0001) and plasma concentrations of potassium (4.3 ± 0.2 versus 4.0 ± 0.2 mmol/L; P = 0.0002), renin [16 (12–23) versus 11 (5–16) mIU/L; P = 0.0047], angiotensin II [10.0 (6.2–13.0) versus 6.1 (4.0–10.0) pmol/L, P = 0.0025] and aldosterone [440 (336–521) versus 237 (173–386) pmol/L; P < 0.0001]. Despite RAAS activation, systolic BP (117.6 ± 5.8 versus 118.2 ± 5.2 mmHg; P = 0.48) and diastolic BP (70.8 ± 6.2 versus 70.8 ± 6.3 mmHg; P = 0.97) were unchanged. In the wire myograph experiments, higher potassium intake did not affect endothelial function as assessed by acetylcholine [logarithmically transformed half maximal effective concentration (pEC50): 7.66 ± 0.95 versus 7.59 ± 0.85; P = 0.86] and substance P (pEC50: 8.42 ± 0.77 versus 8.41 ± 0.89; P = 0.97) or vascular smooth muscle cell reactivity as assessed by angiotensin II (pEC50: 9.01 ± 0.86 versus 9.02 ± 0.59; P = 0.93) and sodium nitroprusside (pEC50: 7.85 ± 1.07 versus 8.25 ± 1.32; P = 0.25) but attenuated the vasodilatory response of retigabine (pEC50: 7.47 ± 1.16 versus 8.14 ± 0.90; P = 0.0084), an activator of Kv7 channels.

Conclusions

Four weeks of increased potassium intake activates the RAAS in normotensive men without changing BP and this is not explained by improved vasodilatory responses ex vivo.
Decoupling gene functions from knockout effects by evolutionary analyses
Authors: Liu Li , Liu Mengdi , Zhang Di , Deng Shanjun , Chen Piaopiao , Yang Jing , Xie Yunhan , He Xionglei
Published: April 2020

Genic functions have long been confounded by pleiotropic mutational effects. To understand such genetic effects, we examine HAP4, a well-studied transcription factor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that functions by forming a tetramer with HAP2, HAP3 and HAP5. Deletion of HAP4 results in highly pleiotropic gene expression responses, some of which are clustered in related cellular processes (clustered effects) while most are distributed randomly across diverse cellular processes (distributed effects). Strikingly, the distributed effects that account for much of HAP4 pleiotropy tend to be non-heritable in a population, suggesting they have few evolutionary consequences. Indeed, these effects are poorly conserved in closely related yeasts. We further show substantial overlaps of clustered effects, but not distributed effects, among the four genes encoding the HAP2/3/4/5 tetramer. This pattern holds for other biochemically characterized yeast protein complexes or metabolic pathways. Examination of a set of cell morphological traits of the deletion lines yields consistent results. Hence, only some deletion effects of a gene support related biochemical understandings with the rest being often pleiotropic and evolutionarily decoupled from the gene's normal functions. This study suggests a new framework for reverse genetic analysis.
Human Rights and Literature
Authors: Nayar Pramod K.
Published: April 2020

The field of human rights (HR) and literature has expanded in the last two decades. Fiction, poetry, memoirs, and graphic novels with HR themes have been examined, and also cognate fields like popular culture and HR, humanitarianism, and the history of HR itself. The literary, with its emphasis on the human ‘subject,’ the formation of this subject, and the hurdles that confront its formation, is appropriate for the study of how humans are conceptualized as deserving (or not) of rights, and the conditions in which the human loses her humanness. Victims, perpetrators, and bystanders are characters in literary texts that critics study as models of subjectivity. The literary text asks us to imagine the nature of the human person, the universal state of human vulnerability, and the situations in which this vulnerability is prised open for exploitation. The entries here consist of those that engage directly with literary texts but also with frames, contested and debated, that define the human, and without which a rights regime cannot be put in place or modified. Forms and aesthetics that are central to the documentation, witnessing, and communicating the urgency of HR themes in various genres are also necessarily a part of this bibliography. Various forms and genres in literature—across ages, geocultural formations, and nations—have addressed the theme of HR, explicitly or implicitly. The war novel, for instance, is more concerned with mass HR violations such as genocide, rape, and continuing trauma. The child-abuse novel is focused on individual HR. Plays by authors like Ariel Dorfman, (e.g., his Resistance trilogy) use theatre to speak of unspeakable horrors like torture. In the late 20th century, especially in the wake of Art Spiegelman’s pioneering Maus, numerous graphic novels, comics, and pieces of comics journalism have sought to document atrocity and HR. Testimonial texts and fiction by victims have constituted a globally visible genre, again since the last half of the 20th century.
Muslim Television Preachers
Authors: Floden Tuve
Published: April 2020

Muslim television preachers, also called Muslim televangelists or media preachers, became popular with the rise of television, satellite networks, and the Internet. However, these individuals can trace their roots to earlier preachers who used newspapers, radio, and cassettes, as well as the phenomenon of popular storytellers from the medieval period. Today, Muslim television preachers are found worldwide, both inside and outside the Arab world, in countries such as Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United States, and more. Some of these preachers have traditional religious educations, with degrees from Al-Azhar or elsewhere, but many do not, instead holding degrees in subjects like business, accounting, or engineering. Like their counterparts from other religions, Muslim television preachers have also expanded beyond the realm of television and often spread their message through other means, such as seminars and lectures, book publications, websites, videos on YouTube, and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Prominent examples of Muslim television preachers include Amr Khaled and Yusuf al-Qaradawi, as well as others like Muhammad al-Sha‘rawi and Moez Masoud of Egypt, Muhammad Hassan and Wagdi Ghoneim (Salafi preachers from Egypt), Javed Ahmad Ghamidi and Farhat Hashmi of Pakistan, Zakir Naik of India, Abdullah Gymnastiar (Aa Gym) and Arifin Ilham of Indonesia, Tareq al-Suwaidan of Kuwait, and Ahmad al-Shugairi of Saudi Arabia, to name a few.
Cities and International Relations
Authors: Pejic Daniel
Published: April 2020

The literature on cities and international relations (IR), or “global urban politics,” as it is sometimes termed, is a diverse stream of social science research that has developed in response to major demographic and economic shifts that began in second half of the 20th century and continue to today. During this time the world has witnessed dramatic globalization and urbanization, centralizing populations in cities. It is predicted that by 2050 close to 70 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas, meaning that 21st-century challenges will be largely urban in nature. Across areas such as migration, health, environmental sustainability, and economic development, citizens and city governments are constantly exposed, and need to respond to, the impacts of globalization on cities. At the international level, multilateral organizations have recognized this shift and are increasingly involving cities, or networks of cities, as interlocutors in global forums. IR has been slow to acknowledge the increasing importance of cities in international affairs, as it conflicts with the state-centric paradigm of mainstream theory. Most early scholarship on cities and globalization came from urbanists and political economists, who studied the development of “global cities” that were acting as the critical nodes in the architecture of the world economy. This literature predominately identified cities as the sites of global processes, with limited capacity to influence or shape them. It also offered a narrow, economistic conception of cities that vastly prioritized the experiences of wealthy cities in the Global North. More recently, scholars have begun to study and theorize the role of cities as actors in global affairs, particularly through forms of networked governance and involvement in key multilateral discussions. This bibliography tracks the evolution of this research agenda from its conception to the present day. It begins with a limited background in the study of urban politics, providing a crucial framework for understanding how the diverse streams of research developed. It then details the continuing work on “global cities,” which recognized the increasing importance of cities to international affairs in the late 20th century, although largely defined in narrow economic terms. What follows is a broader theorization of the role of cities in global governance, which begins to afford some agency to cities to shape international affairs across a range of policy areas and brings them directly into the purview of IR. While most of this literature has still been driven by, and focused on, cities of the Global North, there have been efforts to broaden the geographic focus and recognize the way globalization and urbanization have been experienced differently in cities across the globe. Finally, the bibliography draws on a recent literature exploring some of the political and legal implications of this shift to the “urban century.”
Populism and Global Politics
Authors: Martill Benjamin
Published: April 2020

The rise of populist movements and parties the world over in recent years has spurred much academic interest in the subject. Waves of rising insurgent parties and movements across Europe and Asia, the association of the Brexit vote with populism, and the election of Donald Trump as US president on an anti-establishment ticket have all raised the salience of populism in the discipline. While populism was often (but not always) considered a matter for scholars of domestic political processes, the seemingly coordinated rise of such movements in recent years, the extent of engagement between self-declared populist actors across borders, and the observance of a number of commonalities in the foreign policy positions of populist leaders and parties—most notably among populist radical right parties—has led to a greater interest in the topic by scholars of international and global politics. Scholars are increasingly motivated to ask about the international sources of rising populism, the reach of populist actors outside a country’s borders, the transnational linkages between populist parties, and the implications of populism for the future of the liberal international order. The time seems ripe, then, to offer an overview of populism in global politics as a field of study. This bibliography showcases works on populism (and allied concepts) that have an explicitly international angle, including those on the global determinants of populism, comparisons between movements, the foreign policies of populist parties, and transnational engagement between populist actors. Brexit and Donald Trump are considered also given their prominence in the debate on populism, but generally speaking individual cases are not the subject of this resource. The bibliography draws on literature from within political science, principally from the sub-disciplines of comparative politics and international relations, and from related fields of study. The study of populism and global politics lies astride this important disciplinary boundary, and many of the works contained herein discuss the reasons for this divide, and the problems associated with it. Only recently have sustained efforts been made to bridge this disciplinary divide, and the study of populism and global politics is thus continually evolving.
Hierarchies in International Relations
Authors: Lake David A. , Liu Feng
Published: April 2020

In international relations, hierarchy is understood in two related ways. In the most general usage, hierarchy refers to any ranked ordering, most commonly conceptualized in international relations as status rankings. In a more narrow usage, hierarchy refers to relations of authority in which a dominant state sets rules for or possesses more or less authority over one or more subordinate states. So defined, hierarchy in international relations is the antonym to the more common concept of anarchy. This bibliography focuses on the second, more narrow conception of hierarchy. The broader usage is examined in the Oxford Bibligraphies article Status in International Relations by Jonathan Renshon. There have been, of course, historical international systems structured by hierarchy, including the Roman Empire and China, examined by scholars of international relations for their own dynamics or as a contrast to the present international system. We address these historical systems in Hierarchical Systems. Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, however, the European international system and, through the diffusion of norms and practices, the global system have been understood as characterized by anarchy, or the absence of any authority higher than the nation-state. While not disputing that the current international system as a whole is anarchic, contemporary scholars of international hierarchy claim it is a fallacy of composition to assume that what is true of the system must also be true of its parts. Rather, this emerging literature allows for relations of authority between states at the level of dyads or sometimes regions. Hierarchy is a form of power but differs from power-as-coercion as understood in theories of international politics. Many studies of international relations place power at the center of their analyses, seeing it as the primary determinant of international diplomacy and bargaining outcomes. Authority, however, implies more than just the ability to coerce or even create incentives for states to alter their behavior. Rather, authority implies a “right to rule” in which subordinates accept that the dominant state can regulate legitimately certain limited actions, that they have an obligation to comply when possible with those regulations, and that the dominant state has the right to enforce its regulations in the event of non-compliance. In this way, authority constitutes a social relationship in which limited duties and obligations are recognized by both dominant and subordinate states. A now substantial literature has emerged that aims to explain when and how hierarchy between states will arise, how it functions, and with what consequences. After outlining works that contribute to this unfolding of hierarchy, we turn to historic international systems that were more clearly organized hierarchically.
Early Child Phonology
Authors: Vihman Marilyn
Published: April 2020

Child phonology is a relatively young discipline. Although diary studies provided data and analyses from the early 20th century, it was only in the 1970s that technological advances made it possible to record infants on audio and video, providing better documented accounts, and to investigate infant speech perception experimentally. The titles included here focus mainly on the first two years of life, the period of the most dramatic change. Two theoretical positions have long dominated production studies, reflecting divisions within linguistics more generally. The formalist generative model conceptualizes child phonology as an account of the stage-like development of constraint-based child output forms guided by universal principles. In contrast, functionalist or usage-based positions emphasize the sensorimotor origins of speech, self-organization, and individual variability. Longitudinal studies have revealed the kind of regression first reported for morphological development: Early accurate forms are followed by more systematic but less accurate ones, suggesting representational reorganization. As linguistic theories have evolved over the past half-century, so have approaches to child phonology. The proposal that speech is retained in the form of exemplars, for example, is currently reflected in both formalist and usage-based production models. Research on infant perception and processing of speech has largely followed a separate trajectory. After twenty years of investigation into infant discrimination of speech-sound contrasts in the first months of life researchers turned their attention to advances in segmentation, or word recognition within the speech stream; in the past twenty years that research has been extended to languages other than English. Another highly productive line of research is statistical or distributional learning, which provides implicit knowledge of ambient language patterns. This conceptualization, with experimental support, has helped to account for perceptual narrowing, or the loss of “universal” discrimination after about six months, and also for ambient language effects on babbling and first words. More recently, experimental studies have begun to address the relationship between production and perception, providing evidence of the effect of a child’s individual vocal patterns on the processing of input speech. Bilingual acquisition and the development of prosody in general and tones in particular have also received more serious attention in the past twenty years, again with parallel lines of research addressing perception and production.
Luchino Visconti
Authors: Hennessey Brendan
Published: April 2020

Luchino Visconti (b. 1906–d. 1976) was one of Italy’s foremost directors of cinema, theater, and opera. A cultural figurehead of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), Visconti was seen as a major cinematic interpreter of the Italian Hegelian-Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci. To this political affiliation, one can also attach his upbringing as a Milanese nobleman and background as a gay man that would also influence interpretations of his films. Following a tutelage under French director Jean Renoir on films Une partie de campagne (1936) and Tosca (1940), Visconti inaugurated his own career in cinema with Ossessione (1942), the presumptive first film of Italian neorealism when directors in Italy turned their attention to the plight of the commoner, struggling in the wake of the Fascist dictatorship and the Second World War. Ossessione was followed by neorealist landmarks La terra trema (1948) and Bellissima (1951) and, a few years later, the neorealist-inspired Rocco e i suoi fratelli (1960). These films introduced the conflux of realism, formalism, and melodrama for which Visconti’s cinema would be subsequently associated. Such characteristics were also evident in his parallel career on the Italian stage, where Visconti established himself as one of the nation’s preeminent directors of prose theater and opera. This activity on stage would contribute to Visconti’s reputation for working across media. In his cinema, structures from and allusions to theater, painting, and literature abound. Twelve of his eighteen films were based on one or more literary works, with Morte a Venezia (1971) celebrated as a groundbreaking chapter in European literary adaptation. His 1967 film, Lo straniero (1967), on the other hand, was panned for its slavish illustration of Camus’s book. To these and other literary-inspired works, Visconti added a few documentaries and numerous films set in contemporary Italy (episodes of Anna Magnani [1953] and Il lavoro [1961]; Le notti bianche [1957]; Vaghe stelle dell’Orsa [1965]) together with some of the largest-scale historical films in postwar European cinema. Senso (1954) and Il Gattopardo (1963) instantiate historiographically rich analyses of Italian independence in the late nineteenth century. The biopic Ludwig (1974) is set in Bavaria during the same period, while La caduta degli dei (1969) pictures the rise of Nazism in Germany of the 1930s. During the filming of Ludwig, Visconti suffered a stroke that would cast a pall over Gruppo di famiglia in un interno (1974) and the posthumous L’Innocente (1976), an ornate tragedy based on a novel by Gabriele D’Annunzio.