bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Shear-wave splitting beneath Fennoscandia — evidence for dipping structures and laterally varying multilayer anisotropy
Authors: Grund Michael , Ritter Joachim R R
Published: August 2020

The geodynamic evolution of Fennoscandia in northern Europe (Finland, Sweden and Norway) is coined by ca. 3 Ga history of tectonic processes including continental growth in its central and eastern parts and Neogene uplift processes of the Scandinavian mountains (Scandes) located along its western edge. Many details are still under debate and we contribute with new findings from studying deep-seated seismic anisotropy. Using teleseismic waveforms of more than 260 recording stations (long-running permanent networks, previous temporary experiments and newly installed temporary stations) in the framework of the ScanArray experiment, we present the most comprehensive study to date on seismic anisotropy across Fennoscandia. The results are based on single and multi-event shear-wave splitting analysis of core refracted shear waves (SKS, SKKS, PKS and sSKS). The splitting measurements indicate partly complex, laterally varying multilayer anisotropy for individual areas. Consistent measurements at permanent and temporary recording stations over several years and for seismic events of specific source regions allow us to robustly constrain dipping anisotropic structures by adding systematic forward modelling. Although the data coverage is partly limited to only few source regions, our findings support concepts of continental growth due to individual episodes of (paleo-) subduction, each affecting a plunging of the anisotropic fast axis direction due to collisional deformation. Along the northern Scandes the fast axis direction (ϕ) is parallel to the mountain range (NE-SW), whereas an NNW-SSE trend dominates across the southern Scandes. In the south, across the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone, a NW-SE trend of ϕ dominates which is parallel to this suture zone. The Oslo Graben is characterized by an NNE-SSW trend of ϕ. In northern Norway and Sweden (mainly Paleoproterozoic lithosphere), a dipping anisotropy with ϕ towards NE prevails. This stands in contrast to the Archean domain in the NE of our study region where ϕ is consistently oriented NNE-SSW. In the Finnish part of the Svecofennian domain, a complex two-layer anisotropy pattern is found which may be due to lateral variations around the seismic stations and which requires a higher data density than ours for a unique model building. Based on these findings our study demonstrates the importance of long recording periods (in the best case > 10 yr) to obtain a sufficient data coverage at seismic stations, especially to perform meaningful structural modelling based on shear-wave splitting observations.
ESHRE PGT Consortium data collection XVI–XVIII: cycles from 2013 to 2015†
Authors: Coonen E , van Montfoort A , Carvalho F , Kokkali G , Moutou C , Rubio C , De Rycke M , Goossens V
Published: August 2020

STUDY QUESTION

What are the trends and developments in preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) in 2013–2015 as compared to previous years?

SUMMARY ANSWER

The main trends observed in the retrospective data collections 2013–2015, representing valuable data on PGT activity in (mainly) Europe, are the increased application of trophectoderm biopsy at the cost of cleavage stage biopsy and the continuing expansion of comprehensive testing technology in PGT for chromosomal structural rearrangements and for aneuploidies (PGT-SR and PGT-A).

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

Since it was established in 1997, the ESHRE PGT Consortium has been collecting data from international PGT centres. To date, 15 data sets and an overview of the first 10 years of data collections have been published.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

Collection of (mainly) European data by the PGT Consortium for ESHRE. The data for PGT cycles performed between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2015 were provided by participating centres on a voluntary basis. For the collection of cycle, pregnancy and baby data, separate, pre-designed MS Excel tables were used.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

Data were submitted by 59, 60 and 59 centres respectively for 2013, 2014 and 2015 (full PGT Consortium members). Records with incomplete or inconsistent data were excluded from the calculations. Corrections, calculations, figures and tables were made by expert co-authors.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

For data collection XVI/XVII/XVIII, 59/60/59 centres reported data on 8164/9769/11 120 cycles with oocyte retrieval: 5020/6278/7155 cycles for PGT-A, 2026/2243/2661 cycles for PGT for monogenic/single gene defects, 1039/1189/1231 cycles for PGT-SR and 79/59/73 cycles for sexing for X-linked diseases. From 2013 until 2015, the uptake of biopsy at the blastocyst stage was mainly observed in cycles for PGT-A (from 23% to 36%) and PGT-SR (from 22% to 36%), alongside the increased application of comprehensive testing technology (from 66% to 75% in PGT-A and from 36% to 58% in PGT-SR).

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

The findings apply to the 59/60/59 participating centres and may not represent worldwide trends in PGT. Data were collected retrospectively and no details of the follow-up on PGT pregnancies and babies born were provided.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

Being the largest data collection on PGT worldwide, detailed information about ongoing developments in the field is provided.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

The study has no external funding and all costs are covered by ESHRE. There are no competing interests declared.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

N/A.
Different roles with different goals: Designing to support shared situational awareness between patients and clinicians in the hospital
Authors: Pollack Ari H , Mishra Sonali R , Apodaca Calvin , Khelifi Maher , Haldar Shefali , Pratt Wanda
Published: August 2020

Objective

Team situational awareness helps to ensure high-quality care and prevent errors in the complex hospital environment. Although extensive work has examined factors that contribute to breakdowns in situational awareness among clinicians, patients’ and caregivers’ roles have been neglected. To address this gap, we studied team-based situational awareness from the perspective of patients and their caregivers.

Materials and Methods

We utilized a mixed-methods approach, including card sorting and semi-structured interviews with hospitalized patients and their caregivers at a pediatric hospital and an adult hospital. We analyzed the results utilizing the situational awareness (SA) theoretical framework, which identifies 3 distinct stages: (1) perception of a signal, (2) comprehension of what the signal means, and (3) projection of what will happen as a result of the signal.

Results

A total of 28 patients and 19 caregivers across the 2 sites participated in the study. Our analysis uncovered how team SA helps patients and caregivers ensure that their values are heard, their autonomy is supported, and their clinical outcomes are the best possible. In addition, our participants described both barriers—such as challenges with communication—and enablers to facilitating shared SA in the hospital.

Discussion

Patients and caregivers possess critical knowledge, expertise, and values required to ensure successful and accurate team SA. Therefore, hospitals need to incorporate tools that facilitate patients and caregivers as key team members for effective SA.

Conclusions

Elevating patients and caregivers from passive recipients to equal contributors and members of the healthcare team will improve SA and ensure the best possible outcomes.
Supplementing a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product modulates innate immune function and ameliorates bovine respiratory syncytial virus infection in neonatal calves
Authors: Mahmoud Asmaa H A , Slate Jamison R , Hong Suyeon , Yoon Ilkyu , McGill Jodi L
Published: August 2020

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of oral supplementation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products (SCFP; SmartCare and NutriTek; Diamond V, Cedar Rapids, IA) on immune function and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) infection in preweaned dairy calves. Twenty-four Holstein × Angus, 1- to 2-d-old calves (38.46 ± 0.91 kg initial body weight [BW]) were assigned two treatment groups: control or SCFP treated, milk replacer with 1 g/d SCFP (SmartCare) and calf starter top-dressed with 5 g/d SCFP (NutriTek). The study consisted of one 31-d period. On days 19 to 21 of the supplementation period, calves were challenged via aerosol inoculation with BRSV strain 375. Calves were monitored twice daily for clinical signs, including rectal temperature, cough, nasal and ocular discharge, respiration effort, and lung auscultation. Calves were euthanized on day 10 postinfection (days 29 to 31 of the supplementation period) to evaluate gross lung pathology and pathogen load. Supplementation with SCFP did not affect BW (P = 0.762) or average daily gain (P = 0.750), percentages of circulating white blood cells (P < 0.05), phagocytic (P = 0.427 for neutrophils and P = 0.460 for monocytes) or respiratory burst (P = 0.119 for neutrophils and P = 0.414 for monocytes) activity by circulating leukocytes either before or following BRSV infection, or serum cortisol concentrations (P = 0.321) after BRSV infection. Calves receiving SCFP had reduced clinical disease scores compared with control calves (P = 0.030), reduced airway neutrophil recruitment (P < 0.002), reduced lung pathology (P = 0.031), and a reduced incidence of secondary bacterial infection. Calves receiving SCFP shed reduced virus compared with control calves (P = 0.049) and tended toward lower viral loads in the lungs (P = 0.051). Immune cells from the peripheral blood of SCFP-treated calves produced increased (P < 0.05) quantities of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in response to toll-like receptor stimulation, while cells from the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of SCFP-treated calves secreted less (P < 0.05) proinflammatory cytokines in response to the same stimuli. Treatment with SCFP had no effect on virus-specific T cell responses in the blood but resulted in reduced (P = 0.045) virus-specific IL-17 secretion by T cells in the BAL. Supplementing with SCFP modulates both systemic and mucosal immune responses and may improve the outcome of an acute respiratory viral infection in preweaned dairy calves.
Kinetics and thermodynamics of thermal inactivation for recombinant Escherichia coli cellulases, cel12B, cel8C, and polygalacturonase, peh28; biocatalysts for biofuel precursor production
Authors: Ibrahim Eman , Mahmoud Ahmed , Jones Kim D , Taylor Keith E , Hosseney Ebtesam N , Mills Patrick L , Escudero Jean M
Published: August 2020

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion using cellulases/polygalacturonases is a process that can be progressively influenced by several determinants involved in cellulose microfibril degradation. This article focuses on the kinetics and thermodynamics of thermal inactivation of recombinant Escherichia coli cellulases, cel12B, cel8C and a polygalacturonase, peh 28, derived from Pectobacterium carotovorum sub sp. carotovorum. Several consensus motifs conferring the enzymes’ thermal stability in both cel12B and peh28 model structures have been detailed earlier, which were confirmed for the three enzymes through the current study of their thermal inactivation profiles over the 20–80°C range using the respective activities on carboxymethylcellulose and polygalacturonic acid. Kinetic constants and half-lives of thermal inactivation, inactivation energy, plus inactivation entropies, enthalpies and Gibbs free energies, revealed high stability, less conformational change and protein unfolding for cel12B and peh28 due to thermal denaturation compared to cel8C. The apparent thermal stability of peh28 and cel12B, along with their hydrolytic efficiency on a lignocellulosic biomass conversion as reported previously, makes these enzymes candidates for various industrial applications. Analysis of the Gibbs free energy values suggests that the thermal stabilities of cel12B and peh28 are entropy-controlled over the tested temperature range.
The March of the Beetles: Epistatic Components Dominate Divergence in Dispersal Tendency in Tribolium castaneum
Authors: Ruckman Sarah N , Blackmon Heath
Published: August 2020

The genetic underpinnings of traits are rarely simple. Most traits of interest are instead the product of multiple genes acting in concert to determine the phenotype. This is particularly true for behavioral traits, like dispersal. Our investigation focuses on the genetic architecture of dispersal tendency in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. We used artificial selection to generate lines with either high or low dispersal tendency. Our populations responded quickly in the first generations of selection and almost all replicates had higher dispersal tendency in males than in females. These selection lines were used to create a total of 6 additional lines: F1 and reciprocal F1, as well as 4 types of backcrosses. We estimated the composite genetic effects that contribute to divergence in dispersal tendency among lines using line cross-analysis. We found variation in the dispersal tendency of our lines was best explained by autosomal additive and 3 epistatic components. Our results indicate that dispersal tendency is heritable, but much of the divergence in our selection lines was due to epistatic effects. These results are consistent with other life-history traits that are predicted to maintain more epistatic variance than additive variance and highlight the potential for epistatic variation to act as an adaptive reserve that may become visible to selection when a population is subdivided.
Anti-Corruption Provisions in International Investment Agreements: Investor Obligations, Sustainability Considerations, and Symmetric Balance
Authors: Yan Yueming
Published: August 2020

Incorporating anti-corruption provisions into international investment agreements is a vital step for governments to address transnational corruption in international investment. This empirical study analyses a category of anti-corruption provisions that fosters compliance by investors. These anti-corruption provisions address anti-corruption issues either within corporate social responsibility clauses or through ‘carve-out’ statements. The former encourages investors to voluntarily comply with corporate social responsibility, including anti-corruption commitments, while the latter imposes direct obligations on investors by denying substantive treaty protection or access to arbitration if their investments were obtained through corruption. However, these provisions are unsatisfactory in terms of achieving their intended objectives: promoting sustainable development and achieving a symmetrical balance between investors and states. This paper addresses two central weaknesses of anti-corruption provisions. First, corporate social responsibility-based anti-corruption provisions are soft law norms that result in limited obligations or effects. Second, ‘carve-out’ anti-corruption provisions actually favour states’ interests, because they solely evaluate investors’ conduct without considering a state’s corrupt act. This paper recommends that, in addition to promoting responsible and corruption-free investments on the investor side, states should commit to take necessary measures to promote the integrity of public officials, establish cooperation and improve anti-corruption standards, and preserve sufficient remedial measures for investors in cases of solicitation by state officials.
Cording in Disseminated Mycobacterium chelonae Infection in an Immunocompromised Patient
Authors: Olson Gregory , McNulty Moira C , Mullane Kathleen , Beavis Kathleen G , Tesic Vera
Published: August 2020

Cording is a phenomenon in which acid fast bacilli grow in parallel and was previously used as a means of presumptive microscopic identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). However, this process has been shown in multiple other nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) species. Here we present the case of an immunocompromised adult who presented with wrist pain, weight loss, and cough. A positron emission tomography scan showed uptake in the right ulna, multiple soft tissue sites, and the left lung. Biopsies and cultures were obtained from multiple sites, and the patient was ultimately diagnosed with disseminated Mycobacterium chelonae infection. The organism showed cording in culture. As seen in this patient, cording may occur in multiple NTM species and is not reliable as the sole indicator of the presence of TB.
H i imaging of dwarf star-forming galaxies: masses, morphologies, and gas deficiencies
Authors: Jaiswal S , Omar A
Published: August 2020

The Giant Meter-wave Radio Telescope observations of the H i 21 cm-line emission from 13 nearby dwarf star-forming galaxies are presented. These galaxies are selected from the catalogues of Wolf−Rayet galaxies having very young (≤10 Myr) star formation. The ranges of star formation rates and stellar masses of the sample galaxies are 0.03–1.7 M⊙ yr−1 and 0.04–22.3 × 108 M⊙, respectively. The H i line emission is detected from 12 galaxies with peak column density >1 × 1021 cm−2. The 3σ H i column density sensitivities per channel width of 7 km s−1 for low (60 arcsec × 60 arcsec) resolution images are in the range 0.8–1.9 × 1019 cm−2. The H i channel images, moment images, global profiles, and mass surface density profiles are presented here. The average value of the peak H i mass surface density is estimated to be ∼2.5 M⊙ pc−2, which is significantly less compared to that in massive spiral galaxies. The scaling relations of $(M_{stars} + M_{\rm H\, I} + M_{\rm He})$versus Mdyn, gas fraction versus MB, $M_{\rm H\, I}$versus Mstars, H i-to-stellar mass ratio versus Mstars, and $M_{\rm H\, I}$versus $D_{\rm H\, I}$for the sample galaxies are estimated. These scaling relations can be used to constraint the key parameters in the galaxy evolution models. These galaxies are residing in group environment with galaxy density up to eight galaxy Mpc−3. An H i mass deficiency (with DEFH i > 0.3) is noticed in majority of galaxies for their optical diameters as compared to galaxies in field environments. Clear signatures of tidal interactions in these galaxies could be inferred using the H i images. Isolated H i clouds without known optical counterparts are seen in the vicinity of several galaxies. H i emission envelope is found to be having an offset from the optical envelope in several galaxies. Consistent with the previous studies on galaxy evolution in group environments, tidal interactions seem to play an important role in triggering recent star formation.
Tight constraints on the excess radio background at z = 9.1 from LOFAR
Authors: Mondal R , Fialkov A , Fling C , Iliev I T , Barkana R , Ciardi B , Mellema G , Zaroubi S , Koopmans L V E , Mertens F G , Gehlot B K , Ghara R , Ghosh A , Giri S K , Offringa A , Pandey V N
Published: August 2020

The ARCADE2 and LWA1 experiments have claimed an excess over the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at low radio frequencies. If the cosmological high-redshift contribution to this radio background is between 0.1 per cent and 22 per cent of the CMB at 1.42 GHz, it could explain the tentative EDGES low-band detection of the anomalously deep absorption in the 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen. We use the upper limit on the 21-cm signal from the Epoch of Reionization (z = 9.1) based on 141 h of observations with LOFAR to evaluate the contribution of the high-redshift Universe to the detected radio background. Marginalizing over astrophysical properties of star-forming haloes, we find (at 95 per cent CL) that the cosmological radio background can be at most 9.6 per cent of the CMB at 1.42 GHz. This limit rules out strong contribution of the high-redshift Universe to the ARCADE2 and LWA1 measurements. Even though LOFAR places limit on the extra radio background, excess of 0.1–9.6 per cent over the CMB (at 1.42 GHz) is still allowed and could explain the EDGES low-band detection. We also constrain the thermal and ionization state of the gas at z = 9.1, and put limits on the properties of the first star-forming objects. We find that, in agreement with the limits from EDGES high-band data, LOFAR data constrain scenarios with inefficient X-ray sources, and cases where the Universe was ionized by stars in massive haloes only.
The VISCACHA survey – II. Structure of star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds periphery
Authors: Santos João F C , Maia Francisco F S , Dias Bruno , Kerber Leandro de O , Piatti Andrés E , Bica Eduardo , Angelo Mateus S , Minniti Dante , Pérez-Villegas Angeles , Roman-Lopes Alexandre , Westera Pieter , Fraga Luciano , Quint Bruno , Sanmartim David
Published: August 2020

We provide a homogeneous set of structural parameters of 83 star clusters located at the periphery of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The clusters’ stellar density and surface brightness profiles were built from deep, AO assisted optical images, and uniform analysis techniques. The structural parameters were obtained from King and Elson et al. model fittings. Integrated magnitudes and masses (for a subsample) are also provided. The sample contains mostly low surface brightness clusters with distances between 4.5 and 6.5 kpc and between 1 and 6.5 kpc from the LMC and SMC centres, respectively. We analysed their spatial distribution and structural properties, comparing them with those of inner clusters. Half-light and Jacobi radii were estimated, allowing an evaluation of the Roche volume tidal filling. We found that: (i) for our sample of LMC clusters, the tidal radii are, on average, larger than those of inner clusters from previous studies; (ii) the core radii dispersion tends to be greater for LMC clusters located towards the southwest, with position angles of ∼200° and about ∼5° from the LMC centre, i.e. those LMC clusters nearer to the SMC; (iii) the core radius evolution for clusters with known age is similar to that of inner clusters; (iv) SMC clusters with galactocentric distances closer than 4 kpc are overfilling; (v) the recent Clouds collision did not leave marks on the LMC clusters’ structure that our analysis could reveal.
An uncertainty principle for star formation – III. The characteristic emission time-scales of star formation rate tracers
Authors: Haydon Daniel T , Kruijssen J M Diederik , Chevance Mélanie , Hygate Alexander P S , Krumholz Mark R , Schruba Andreas , Longmore Steven N
Published: August 2020

We recently presented a new statistical method to constrain the physics of star formation and feedback on the cloud scale by reconstructing the underlying evolutionary timeline. However, by itself this new method only recovers the relative durations of different evolutionary phases. To enable observational applications, it therefore requires knowledge of an absolute ‘reference time-scale’ to convert relative time-scales into absolute values. The logical choice for this reference time-scale is the duration over which the star formation rate (SFR) tracer is visible because it can be characterized using stellar population synthesis (SPS) models. In this paper, we calibrate this reference time-scale using synthetic emission maps of several SFR tracers, generated by combining the output from a hydrodynamical disc galaxy simulation with the SPS model slug2. We apply our statistical method to obtain self-consistent measurements of each tracer’s reference time-scale. These include H α and 12 ultraviolet (UV) filters (from GALEX, Swift, and HST), which cover a wavelength range 150–350 nm. At solar metallicity, the measured reference time-scales of H α are ${4.32^{+0.09}_{-0.23}}$ Myr with continuum subtraction, and 6–16 Myr without, where the time-scale increases with filter width. For the UV filters we find 17–33 Myr, nearly monotonically increasing with wavelength. The characteristic time-scale decreases towards higher metallicities, as well as to lower star formation rate surface densities, owing to stellar initial mass function sampling effects. We provide fitting functions for the reference time-scale as a function of metallicity, filter width, or wavelength, to enable observational applications of our statistical method across a wide variety of galaxies.
Computational studies into urea formation in the interstellar medium
Authors: Slate Eren C S , Barker Rory , Euesden Ryan T , Revels Max R , Meijer Anthony J H M
Published: August 2020

Formation routes, involving closed shell, radical, and charged species for urea, have been studied using computational methods to probe their feasibility in the interstellar medium. All reactions involving closed shell species were found to have prohibitive barriers. The radical–radical reaction possesses a barrier of only 4 kJ mol−1, which could be surmountable. A charged species based route was also investigated. A barrier of only 8 kJ mol−1 was found in that case, when a partial water ice shell was included.
A clustering-based self-calibration of the richness-to-mass relation of CAMIRA galaxy clusters out to z ≈ 1.1 in the Hyper Suprime-Cam survey
Authors: Chiu I-Non , Okumura Teppei , Oguri Masamune , Agrawal Aniket , Umetsu Keiichi , Lin Yen-Ting
Published: August 2020

We perform a self-calibration of the richness-to-mass (N–M) relation of CAMIRA galaxy clusters with richness N ≥ 15 at redshift 0.2 ≤ z < 1.1 by modelling redshift-space two-point correlation functions. These correlation functions are the autocorrelation function ξcc of CAMIRA clusters, the autocorrelation function ξgg of the CMASS galaxies spectroscopically observed in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, and the cross-correlation function ξcg between these two samples. We focus on constraining the normalization AN of the N–M relation with a forward-modelling approach, carefully accounting for the redshift-space distortion, the Finger-of-God effect, and the uncertainty in photometric redshifts of CAMIRA clusters. The modelling also takes into account the projection effect on the halo bias of CAMIRA clusters. The parameter constraints are shown to be unbiased according to validation tests using a large set of mock catalogues constructed from N-body simulations. At the pivotal mass $M_{500}=10^{14}\, h^{-1}\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ and the pivotal redshift zpiv = 0.6, the resulting normalization AN is constrained as $13.8^{+5.8}_{-4.2}$, $13.2^{+3.4}_{-2.7}$, and $11.9^{+3.0}_{-1.9}$ by modelling ξcc, ξcc + ξcg, and ξcc + ξcg + ξgg, with average uncertainties at levels of 36, 23, and $21{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, respectively. We find that the resulting AN is statistically consistent with those independently obtained from weak-lensing magnification and from a joint analysis of shear and cluster abundance, with a preference for a lower value at a level of ≲ 1.9σ. This implies that the absolute mass scale of CAMIRA clusters inferred from clustering is mildly higher than those from the independent methods. We discuss the impact of the selection bias introduced by the cluster finding algorithm, which is suggested to be a subdominant factor in this work.
The conserved ribonuclease aCPSF1 triggers genome-wide transcription termination of Archaea via a 3′-end cleavage mode
Authors: Yue Lei , Li Jie , Zhang Bing , Qi Lei , Li Zhihua , Zhao Fangqing , Li Lingyan , Zheng Xiaowei , Dong Xiuzhu
Published: August 2020

Transcription termination defines accurate transcript 3′-ends and ensures programmed transcriptomes, making it critical to life. However, transcription termination mechanisms remain largely unknown in Archaea. Here, we reported the physiological significance of the newly identified general transcription termination factor of Archaea, the ribonuclease aCPSF1, and elucidated its 3′-end cleavage triggered termination mechanism. The depletion of Mmp-aCPSF1 in Methanococcus maripaludis caused a genome-wide transcription termination defect and disordered transcriptome. Transcript-3′end-sequencing revealed that transcriptions primarily terminate downstream of a uridine-rich motif where Mmp-aCPSF1 performed an endoribonucleolytic cleavage, and the endoribonuclease activity was determined to be essential to the in vivo transcription termination. Co-immunoprecipitation and chromatin-immunoprecipitation detected interactions of Mmp-aCPSF1 with RNA polymerase and chromosome. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the aCPSF1 orthologs are ubiquitously distributed among the archaeal phyla, and two aCPSF1 orthologs from Lokiarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota could replace Mmp-aCPSF1 to terminate transcription of M. maripaludis. Therefore, the aCPSF1 dependent termination mechanism could be widely employed in Archaea, including Lokiarchaeota belonging to Asgard Archaea, the postulated archaeal ancestor of Eukaryotes. Strikingly, aCPSF1-dependent archaeal transcription termination reported here exposes a similar 3′-cleavage mode as the eukaryotic RNA polymerase II termination, thus would shed lights on understanding the evolutionary linking between archaeal and eukaryotic termination machineries.
Do the P1 and P2 hairpins of the Guanidine-II riboswitch interact?
Authors: Wuebben Christine , Vicino Maria F , Mueller Marcel , Schiemann Olav
Published: August 2020

Riboswitches regulate genes by adopting different structures in responds to metabolite binding. The guanidine-II riboswitch is the smallest representative of the ykkC class with the mechanism of its function being centred on the idea that its two stem loops P1 and P2 form a kissing hairpin interaction upon binding of guanidinium (Gdm+). This mechanism is based on in-line probing experiments with the full-length riboswitch and crystal structures of the truncated stem loops P1 and P2. However, the crystal structures reveal only the formation of the homodimers P1 | P1 and P2 | P2 but not of the proposed heterodimer P1 | P2. Here, site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) in combination with Pulsed Electron–Electron Double Resonance (PELDOR or DEER) is used to study their structures in solution and how they change upon binding of Gdm+. It is found that both hairpins adopt different structures in solution and that binding of Gdm+ does indeed lead to the formation of the heterodimer but alongside the homodimers in a statistical 1:2:1 fashion. These results do thus support the proposed switching mechanism.
The United States National Cancer Institute’s Coordinated Research Effort on Tobacco Use as a Major Cause of Morbidity and Mortality among People with HIV
Authors: Ashare Rebecca L , Bernstein Steven L , Schnoll Robert , Gross Robert , Catz Sheryl L , Cioe Patricia , Crothers Kristina , Hitsman Brian , Marhefka Stephanie L , McClure Jennifer B , Pacek Lauren R , Vidrine Damon J , Vilardaga Roger , Kaufman Annette , Edelman E Jennifer
Published: August 2020

The use of antiretroviral therapy for people with HIV (PWH) has improved life expectancy. However, PWH now lose more life-years to tobacco use than to HIV infection. Unfortunately, PWH smoke at higher rates and have more difficulty maintaining abstinence than the general population, compounding their risk for chronic disease. In this Commentary, we describe a United States National Cancer Institute-led initiative to address the relative lack of research focused on developing, testing, and implementing smoking cessation interventions for PWH. This initiative supports seven clinical trials designed to systematically test and/or develop and test adaptations of evidence-based smoking cessation interventions for PWH (eg, combination of behavioral and pharmacological). We summarize each project, including setting/recruitment sites, inclusion/exclusion criteria, interventions being tested, and outcomes. This initiative provides critical opportunities for collaboration and data harmonization across projects. The knowledge gained will inform strategies to assist PWH to promote and maintain abstinence, and ensure that these efforts are adaptable and scalable, thereby addressing one of the major threats to the health of PWH. Reducing smoking behavior may be particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic given that smokers who become infected with SARS-CoV-2 may be at risk for more severe disease.

Implications

This Commentary describes a National Cancer Institute-led initiative to advance the science and practice of treating tobacco use among PWH, which is now responsible for more life years lost than HIV. We describe the scope of the problem, the objectives of the initiative, and a summary of the seven funded studies. Harmonization of data across projects will provide information related to treatment mediators and moderators that was not previously possible. Stakeholders interested in tobacco cessation, including researchers, clinicians and public health officials, should be aware of this initiative and the evidence-base it will generate to advance tobacco treatment among this high-risk population.
Evolution of Labdane-Related Diterpene Synthases in Cereals
Authors: Toyomasu Tomonobu , Shenton Matthew R , Okada Kazunori
Published: August 2020

Gibberellins (GAs) are labdane-related diterpenoid phytohormones that regulate various aspects of higher plant growth. A biosynthetic intermediate of GAs is ent-kaurene, a tetra-cyclic diterpene that is produced through successive cyclization of geranylgeranyl diphosphate catalyzed by the two distinct monofunctional diterpene synthases—ent-copalyl diphosphate synthase (ent-CPS) and ent-kaurene synthase (KS). Various homologous genes of the two diterpene synthases have been identified in cereals, including rice (Oryza sativa), wheat (Triticum aestivum) and maize (Zea mays), and are believed to have been derived from GA biosynthetic ent-CPS and KS genes through duplication and neofunctionalization. They play roles in specialized metabolism, giving rise to diverse labdane-related diterpenoids for defense because a variety of diterpene synthases generate diverse carbon-skeleton structures. This review mainly describes the diterpene synthase homologs that have been identified and characterized in rice, wheat and maize and shows the evolutionary history of various homologs in rice inferred by comparative genomics studies using wild rice species, such as Oryza rufipogon and Oryza brachyantha. In addition, we introduce labdane-related diterpene synthases in bryophytes and gymnosperms to illuminate the macroscopic evolutionary history of diterpene synthases in the plant kingdom—bifunctional enzymes possessing both CPS and KS activities are present in bryophytes; gymnosperms possess monofunctional CPS and KS responsible for GA biosynthesis and also possess bifunctional diterpene synthases facilitating specialized metabolism for defense.
Reactive Carbonyl Species Mediate Methyl Jasmonate-Induced Stomatal Closure
Authors: Islam Md. Moshiul , Ye Wenxiu , Akter Fahmida , Rhaman Mohammad Saidur , Matsushima Daiki , Munemasa Shintaro , Okuma Eiji , Nakamura Yoshimasa , Biswas Md. Sanaullah , Mano Jun’ichi , Murata Yoshiyuki
Published: August 2020

Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a key signal event for methyl jasmonate (MeJA)- and abscisic acid (ABA)-induced stomatal closure. We recently showed that reactive carbonyl species (RCS) stimulates stomatal closure as an intermediate downstream of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production in the ABA signaling pathway in guard cells of Nicotiana tabacum and Arabidopsis thaliana. In this study, we examined whether RCS functions as an intermediate downstream of H2O2 production in MeJA signaling in guard cells using transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing A. thaliana 2-alkenal reductase (n-alkanal + NAD(P)+ ⇌ 2-alkenal + NAD(P)H + H+) (AER-OE tobacco) and Arabidopsis plants. The stomatal closure induced by MeJA was impaired in the AER-OE tobacco and was inhibited by RCS scavengers, carnosine and pyridoxamine, in the wild-type (WT) tobacco plants and Arabidopsis plants. Application of MeJA significantly induced the accumulation of RCS, including acrolein and 4-hydroxy-(E)-2-nonenal, in the WT tobacco but not in the AER-OE plants. Application of MeJA induced H2O2 production in the WT tobacco and the AER-OE plants and the H2O2 production was not inhibited by the RCS scavengers. These results suggest that RCS functions as an intermediate downstream of ROS production in MeJA signaling and in ABA signaling in guard cells.
Alcohol Dehydrogenase Activity Converts 3″-Hydroxy-geranylhydroquinone to an Aldehyde Intermediate for Shikonin and Benzoquinone Derivatives in Lithospermum erythrorhizon
Authors: Yamamoto Hirobumi , Tsukahara Mika , Yamano Yumiko , Wada Akimori , Yazaki Kazufumi
Published: August 2020

Shikonin derivatives are red naphthoquinone pigments produced by several boraginaceous plants, such as Lithospermum erythrorhizon. These compounds are biosynthesized from p-hydroxybenzoic acid and geranyl diphosphate. The coupling reaction that yields m-geranyl-p-hydroxybenzoic acid has been actively characterized, but little is known about later biosynthetic reactions. Although 3″-hydroxy-geranylhydroquinone produced from geranylhydroquinone by CYP76B74 has been regarded as an intermediate of shikonin derivatives, the next intermediate has not yet been identified. This study describes a novel alcohol dehydrogenase activity in L. erythrorhizon cell cultures. This enzyme was shown to oxidize the 3″-alcoholic group of (Z)-3″-hydroxy-geranylhydroquinone to an aldehyde moiety concomitant with the isomerization at the C2′–C3′ double bond from the Z-form to the E-form. An enzyme oxidizing this substrate was not detected in other plant cell cultures, suggesting that this enzyme is specific to L. erythrorhizon. The reaction product, (E)-3″-oxo-geranylhydroquinone, was further converted to deoxyshikonofuran, another meroterpenoid metabolite produced in L. erythrorhizon cells. Although nonenzymatic cyclization occurred slowly, it was more efficient in the presence of crude enzymes of L. erythrorhizon cells. This activity was detected in both shikonin-producing and nonproducing cells, suggesting that the aldehyde intermediate at the biosynthetic branch point between naphthalene and benzo/hydroquinone ring formation likely constitutes a key common intermediate in the synthesis of shikonin and benzoquinone products, respectively.
Overview of KAGRA: Detector design and construction history
Authors: Akutsu T , Ando M , Arai K , Arai Y , Araki S , Araya A , Aritomi N , Aso Y , Bae S , Bae Y , Baiotti L , Bajpai R , Barton M A , Cannon K , Capocasa E , Chan M , Chen C , Chen K , Chen Y , Chu H , Chu Y -K , Eguchi S , Enomoto Y , Flaminio R , Fujii Y , Fukunaga M , Fukushima M , Ge G , Hagiwara A , Haino S , Hasegawa K , Hayakawa H , Hayama K , Himemoto Y , Hiranuma Y , Hirata N , Hirose E , Hong Z , Hsieh B H , Huang C -Z , Huang P , Huang Y , Ikenoue B , Imam S , Inayoshi K , Inoue Y , Ioka K , Itoh Y , Izumi K , Jung K , Jung P , Kajita T , Kamiizumi M , Kanda N , Kang G , Kawaguchi K , Kawai N , Kawasaki T , Kim C , Kim J C , Kim W S , Kim Y -M , Kimura N , Kita N , Kitazawa H , Kojima Y , Kokeyama K , Komori K , Kong A K H , Kotake K , Kozakai C , Kozu R , Kumar R , Kume J , Kuo C , Kuo H -S , Kuroyanagi S , Kusayanagi K , Kwak K , Lee H K , Lee H W , Lee R , Leonardi M , Lin L C -C , Lin C -Y , Lin F -L , Liu G C , Luo L -W , Marchio M , Michimura Y , Mio N , Miyakawa O , Miyamoto A , Miyazaki Y , Miyo K , Miyoki S , Morisaki S , Moriwaki Y , Nagano K , Nagano S , Nakamura K , Nakano H , Nakano M , Nakashima R , Narikawa T , Negishi R , Ni W -T , Nishizawa A , Obuchi Y , Ogaki W , Oh J J , Oh S H , Ohashi M , Ohishi N , Ohkawa M , Okutomi K , Oohara K , Ooi C P , Oshino S , Pan K , Pang H , Park J , Arellano F E Peña , Pinto I , Sago N , Saito S , Saito Y , Sakai K , Sakai Y , Sakuno Y , Sato S , Sato T , Sawada T , Sekiguchi T , Sekiguchi Y , Shibagaki S , Shimizu R , Shimoda T , Shimode K , Shinkai H , Shishido T , Shoda A , Somiya K , Son E J , Sotani H , Sugimoto R , Suzuki T , Suzuki T , Tagoshi H , Takahashi H , Takahashi R , Takamori A , Takano S , Takeda H , Takeda M , Tanaka H , Tanaka K , Tanaka K , Tanaka T , Tanaka T , Tanioka S , Tapia San Martin E N , Telada S , Tomaru T , Tomigami Y , Tomura T , Travasso F , Trozzo L , Tsang T , Tsubono K , Tsuchida S , Tsuzuki T , Tuyenbayev D , Uchikata N , Uchiyama T , Ueda A , Uehara T , Ueno K , Ueshima G , Uraguchi F , Ushiba T , van Putten M H P M , Vocca H , Wang J , Wu C , Wu H , Wu S , Xu W- R , Yamada T , Yamamoto K , Yamamoto K , Yamamoto T , Yokogawa K , Yokoyama J , Yokozawa T , Yoshioka T , Yuzurihara H , Zeidler S , Zhao Y , Zhu Z -H
Published: August 2020

KAGRA is a newly built gravitational-wave telescope, a laser interferometer comprising arms with a length of 3 km, located in Kamioka, Gifu, Japan. KAGRA was constructed under the ground and it is operated using cryogenic mirrors that help in reducing the seismic and thermal noise. Both technologies are expected to provide directions for the future of gravitational-wave telescopes. In 2019, KAGRA finished all installations with the designed configuration, which we call the baseline KAGRA. For this occasion, we present an overview of the baseline KAGRA from various viewpoints in a series of articles. In this article, we introduce the design configurations of KAGRA with its historical background.
Elizabeth Bishop’s Pink
Authors: Gill Jo
Published: August 2020

This article argues for the significance of the colour pink in the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop. While Bishop’s interest in painting, architecture and sculpture has been widely noted, the importance of colour—and the specific resonance of pink—has hitherto been overlooked. I propose that across Bishop’s career, from early New York and Key West poems and drafts through the poetry of Brazil, such as ‘The Armadillo’, to the late great poems, ‘In the Waiting Room’ and finally, and disturbingly, ‘Pink Dog’, shades of pink operate to crucial effect. This is the case even, or especially, where pink is only tacitly registered (see, for example, ‘In the Waiting Room’ where the pink body is strategically covered by ‘gray’ clothes). Whether directly or by allusion, Bishop uses pink to suggest difference, unease and alarm, particularly in relation to gender, sexuality and the temptations and risks of self-exposure. In pursuing the point, I look to representations of pink in contemporary popular culture, to colour theory such as the work of Johannes Itten, and to the psychology and physiology of shame. By tracing the significance of pink, I suggest, we reach a better understanding of Bishop’s aesthetics of self-knowledge, subjectivity and display.
Clinical course of 602 patients with Takayasu's arteritis: comparison between Childhood-onset versus adult onset disease
Authors: Danda Debashish , Goel Ruchika , Joseph George , Kumar Sathish T , Nair Aswin , Ravindran Raheesh , Jeyaseelan L , Merkel Peter A , Grayson Peter C
Published: August 2020

Objectives

To describe the clinical profile of Asian Indian patients with Takayasu’s arteritis (TAK) and to compare clinical features and outcome of childhood-onset Takayasu’s arteritis (cTAK) with adult-onset TAK (aTAK).

Methods

Data related to clinical features and response to treatment of patients with cTAK (age of onset <16 years) and aTAK from a large observational cohort in our tertiary care teaching hospital were noted and compared.

Results

Altogether, 602 patients (cTAK = 119; aTAK = 483) were studied. Patients with cTAK had a blunted female: male ratio; but fever, elevated acute phase reactants, involvement of abdominal aorta or its branches, hypertension, abdominal pain, elevated serum creatinine and cardiomyopathy were more common in cTAK as compared with aTAK. Patients with aTAK were more likely to have aortic-arch disease and claudication than cTAK. During follow-up, complete remission was more common in cTAK (87% vs 66%; P < 0.01), but subsequent relapses were equally common (30% vs 27%; P = 0.63). Independent associations of disease duration at presentation with disease extent [Disease Extent Index in TAK (DEI.Tak)] and damage [TAK Damage Score (TADS)] were observed (P ≤ 0.01). Moreover, 54% of patients with symptom duration of >5 years at presentation still continued to have elevated CRP suggesting continued and active inflammation warranting escalation or inititation of immunosuppression.

Conclusion

Patients with cTAK are more likely to have arterial disease below the diaphragm, systemic inflammation and achieve remission. Disease of the aortic arch is more common in patients with aTAK. Longer duration of symptoms prior to initiation of immunosuppression, thereby leading to extensive disease and damage, reflects ongoing disease activity as the rule rather than exception in untreated TAK.
The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Older Workers: The Role of Self-Regulation and Organizations
Authors: Kooij Dorien T A M
Published: August 2020

We live in an unusual time, which effects all of us in different ways. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some people are working harder than ever, some people have lost their job, some people can only work from home, and some people have to reinvent how they work (Kniffin et al., 2020). Older 50+ workers might even be more affected by the pandemic compared to younger workers because they are labeled as vulnerable and as being at risk in terms of Covid-19 (Ayalon et al., 2020). However, emerging studies on the impact of Covid-19 suggest that older workers respond more effectively to measures that counter Covid-19 (Losada-Balter et al., 2020). This is in line with the lifespan developmental perspective, which theorizes and demonstrates that older adults generally are very capable of adapting and very effective in dealing with the aging process (Baltes and Baltes, 1990; Freund, 2008). Multiple studies show that older adults engage in various self-regulation strategies aimed at continuously maintaining or restoring person-environment fit (e.g., Kooij et al., 2020; Taneva and Arnold, 2018; Zacher, Kooij, & Beier, 2018a) thus helping them to age successfully at work. In this commentary, I will take a more positive perspective on older workers and discuss the self-regulation strategies that older workers engage in and how organizations can stimulate this. I will end my commentary with some suggestions for future research.
Molecular Characterization of a Pathogen-Inducible Bidirectional Promoter from Hot Pepper (Capsicum annuum)
Authors: In Solhee , Lee Hyun-Ah , Woo Jongchan , Park Eunsook , Choi Doil
Published: August 2020

In hot pepper, the sesquiterpene phytoalexin capsidiol is catalyzed by the two final-step enzymes, a sesquiterpene cyclase (EAS) and a hydroxylase (EAH), which are genetically linked and present as head-to-head orientation in the genome. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that a subset of EAS and EAH is highly induced following pathogen infection, suggesting the coregulation of EAS and EAH by a potential bidirectional activity of the promoter (pCaD). A series of the nested deletions of pCaD in both directions verified the bidirectional promoter activity of the pCaD. Promoter deletion analysis revealed that the 226 bp of the adjacent promoter region of EAS and GCC-box in EAH orientation were determined as critical regulatory elements for the induction of each gene. Based on promoter analyses, we generated a set of synthetic promoters to maximize reporter gene expression within the minimal length of the promoter in both directions. We found that the reporter gene expression was remarkably induced upon infection with Phytophthora capsici, Phytophthora infestans, and bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 but not with necrotrophic fungi Botrytis cinerea. Our results confirmed the bidirectional activity of the pCaD located between the head-to-head oriented phytoalexin biosynthetic genes in hot pepper. Furthermore, the synthetic promoter modified in pCaD could be a potential tool for pathogen-inducible expression of target genes for developing disease-resistant crops.

[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .