bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Origins
Authors: Greenhouse Linda
Published: June 2020

How does the Supreme Court in the early twenty-first century differ with regard to the intentions of the Framers in 1787? “Origins” looks at the Court’s development from a diffuse institution, with judges based at home or traveling around the country, to a secure base in the Capitol. Ever since Article III announced a national court with the authority to decide cases “arising under” the country’s Constitution, the role of the Supreme Court has been a matter of dispute. From the beginning, the Court has filled in the blanks contained in Article III. How has the modern Court become able to define and exercise its own power?
The chief justice
Authors: Greenhouse Linda
Published: June 2020

The chief justice is not mentioned in the judicial article of the Constitution (Article III), but “The chief justice” demonstrates how the role has grown in importance over time. It is a multifaceted role, like that of a chief executive of a company. A traditional legal background is not necessarily the best preparation. Some chief justices believed that casting one of the nine votes in a case is still one of their most useful functions. It was a chief justice, William Howard Taft, who decided that the Supreme Court’s caseload should be decided on a discretionary basis, putting the Court in a position to dictate America’s legal agenda.
5. Representing
Authors: Wright Tony
Published: June 2020

British politics is party politics, but with the changing behaviour of voters, representative democracy is less straightforward than it was. ‘Representing: voters and parties’ explores the importance of the party, and overwhelmingly the party label counts in elections, although party names only appeared on ballot papers in 1969. The dominance of the two major parties has been challenged by a substantial increase in floating voters, gains made by the smaller parties, and changes within the parties themselves, with traditionally ‘top-down’ Conservatives now more likely to dissent. The referendum result presented the greatest challenge to the party-based system, bringing the question of representation into sharp focus.
Fire: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Scott Andrew C.
Published: June 2020

Fire: A Very Short Introduction considers fire’s four-hundred-million-year history, its chemical composition, its role in human development, and its different meanings, from heat and comfort to death and destruction. Fires in buildings regularly make the headlines, and news of wildfires now reaches our computer and smartphone screens. Urban and pastoral attitudes to fire can differ and formulating fire suppression policies can be complex. Two things have fundamentally altered our understanding: increased knowledge about fire in the deep time before human evolution, and the growth of satellite technology, which has transformed how we observe fire. In the context of our changing climate, an improved understanding of fire worldwide is urgently needed.
4. Containing and suppressing fire
Authors: Scott Andrew C.
Published: June 2020

‘Containing and suppressing fire’ compares urban and pastoral understandings of fire. Prevention and suppression measures for one country may not be relevant in another, and even in the case of wildfires, one region may contain many different biomes, so formulating fire suppression policies can be complex. Some low-intensity surface fires may help prevent more dangerous crown fires; an urban understanding of all landscape fires as negative is not always helpful. With the increased popularity of living among flammable vegetation, the speed of wildfires can take some people by surprise. In urban fires, smoke has long been recognized as dangerous, but smoke from wildfires and peat burning can also cause health problems.
Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Keown Damien
Published: June 2020

Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction brings together two largely independent fields of knowledge: Buddhism and ethics. It begins by explaining Buddhist ethical teachings and then asking how these teachings might be classified in terms of more familiar Western theories of ethics. Following this overview, the remainder of the book considers how Buddhism might respond to six specific issues of contemporary concern that have proved controversial in the West. A separate chapter is devoted to each of the following topics: animals and the environment; sexuality and gender; war, violence, and terrorism; abortion; suicide and euthanasia; and biomedical technologies and Transhumanism. While Buddhism shares many moral values with other religions like Christianity, some aspects of its moral teachings—like karma and rebirth—are less familiar and result in positions that are more nuanced than might at first be imagined.
3. Animals and the environment
Authors: Keown Damien
Published: June 2020

Is Buddhism truly an ‘eco-friendly’ religion? ‘Animals and the environment’ examines the implications of Buddhist teachings such as that human beings can be reborn as animals and vice versa. While the Buddhist ‘sublime attitudes’ such as kindness and compassion seem at first to favour animals to a greater degree than we find in Christianity, human life still takes precedence in the hierarchy of living beings. Rules about plant life are unclear, with Buddhist writers acknowledging the beauty of both the wilderness and civilization. Vegetarianism is largely seen as a morally superior diet, but meat-eating was common at the time of the Buddha and is widely practised by monks today. Buddhist attitudes toward the natural world are complex and are to some extent overshadowed by the belief that the world as we know it is fundamentally flawed.
Implementation of a Standardized Prenatal Testing Protocol in an Integrated, Multihospital Health System
Authors: Sapatnekar Suneeti , Lu Wen , Bakdash Suzanne , Quraishy NurJehan
Published: June 2020

Objectives

When our institution grew into an integrated multihospital health system, we were faced with the need to standardize laboratory processes, including blood bank processes, across all locations. The purpose of this article is to describe our experience of standardizing the protocols for prenatal testing.

Methods

For each hospital in the system, we established service tiers to define tests offered on site or referred to another location. For each prenatal test, we examined the related processes for ways to improve uniformity, efficiency, and reliability. Throughout this process of standardization, we collaborated with the clinical services to gain concurrence on the interpretation and reporting of results.

Results

We created and implemented a uniform protocol for testing prenatal patients. The protocol standardized the definition of critical titer, instituted criteria to identify passively acquired anti-D, and established a process for the follow-up of women with inconsistent serologic results on Rh(D) typing.

Conclusions

Close collaboration with the clinical services ensured that our testing protocol is aligned with the needs of the integrated obstetrics service in the health system. The approach described in this article may provide a plan outline for pathologists facing similar challenges at other integrated health systems.
Life After Death
Authors: Gaur Kavita , Sakhuja Puja , Majumdar Kaushik , Thakral Divya Arora
Published: June 2020

Objectives

To test the performance characteristics of 69 primary immunohistochemistry antibodies after expiration and compare with fresh primary antibodies wherever possible.

Methods

A total of 69 expired primary antibodies were evaluated for specificity, background staining, and intensity. An optimal staining result corresponded to a semiquantitatively scored 2+ or 3+ intensity, with intact specificity devoid of moderate or strong background staining. Any deviation from a normal staining pattern was also considered to be a suboptimal result.

Results

Nearly half of the antibodies studied showed an optimally positive staining result after expiration (34/69, 49.2%). Overall, 10.1% (7/69) of antibodies could be compared with fresh primary antibodies of the same clone with equivalent results. Eight of 69 (11.6%) expired antibodies showed splotchy or granular staining.

Conclusions

Evidence from this study and previous work point to maintained functionality of a fair number of primary immunohistochemical antibodies after expiration. Decisions about the use of such reagents should be guided by a thorough assessment of functionality by the pathologist rather than a manufacturer-specified deadline. Quality maintenance should imply a sensible balance between histopathologic performance and economics.
The Impact of the Philtrum on Facial Attractiveness, Perioral Proportions, and Perceptions of Facial Aging
Authors: Nunes Diogo , Bran Gregor
Published: June 2020

Background

Lip enhancement continues to be one of the most popular facial procedures. State-of-the-art lip enhancement involves sculpting of perilabial soft tissue, in particular, the philtrum, but it is unclear how patients perceive their philtral contours.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to test the impact of the philtrum on attractiveness, and on the perception of facial proportions and age.

Methods

Respondents (1100, including 50 aesthetic specialists) were presented with 2 sets of identical portraits, 1 set of a young Caucasian female and 1 set of an aged Caucasian female, with 1 portrait in each set having an upper lip lacking any philtral contours. The respondents were asked to choose which upper lip was more attractive, appeared longer, and looked older. Rankings were analyzed according to population demographics.

Results

Overall, most respondents considered the young face (84%) and the aged face (68%) with philtral contours to be more attractive. Moreover, the majority of respondents (81%) considered the upper lip of the young face without a philtrum to appear longer in a craniocaudal orientation (67% for the aged image), and 67% of respondents described the image of the young woman with no philtral definition as appearing older (55% for the aged face with no philtrum).

Conclusions

This study confirms the authors’ hypothesis that the existence of philtral contours exerts a significant impact on perioral attractiveness, and that its absence can be related to a longer appearance of the upper lip as well as an older facial appearance.
The Role of the Social Worker at the End of Life: Paving the Way in an Academic Hospital Quality Improvement Initiative
Authors: Stilos Kalliopi (Kalli) , Takahashi Danielle , Nolen Amy Eleanor
Published: June 2020

The end-of-life (EOL) experience of patients dying in acute care has been highlighted as an area for quality improvement. Delivering comprehensive care to these patients involves addressing physical symptoms and psychosocial concerns. The social work role offers a range of interventions to address the common domains of EOL care. We report on results of an EOL survey evaluating satisfaction with social work interventions for imminently dying patients in acute care. This article is the first phase towards gaining an understanding of the contributions of the social worker in supporting dying patients and their families within our organisation.
High prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in individuals with rare nerve growth factor-beta mutation
Authors: Ridderström Mikael , Svantesson Mats , Thorell Oumie , Magounakis Theofilos , Minde Jan , Olausson Håkan , Nagi Saad S
Published: June 2020

In Sweden, a large family with a point mutation in the nerve growth factor-beta gene has previously been identified. The carriers of this mutation have reduced small-fibre density and selective deficits in deep pain and temperature modalities. The clinical findings in this population are described as hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type V. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type V based on clinical examinations and electrophysiological measurements. Furthermore, the cross-sectional area of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel inlet was measured with ultrasonography. Out of 52 known individuals heterozygous for the nerve growth factor-beta mutation in Sweden, 23 participated in the current study (12 males, 11 females; mean age 55 years; range 25–86 years). All participants answered a health questionnaire and underwent clinical examination followed by median nerve conduction study in a case–control design, and measurement of the nerve cross-sectional area with ultrasonography. The diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome was made based on consensus criteria using patient history and nerve conduction study. The prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in the hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy group was 35% or 52% depending on whether those individuals who had classic symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome but negative nerve conduction studies were included or not. Those who had a high likelihood of carpal tunnel syndrome based on classic/probable patient history with positive nerve conduction study had a significantly larger median nerve cross-sectional area than those who had an unlikely patient history with negative nerve conduction study. The prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome was 10–25 times higher in individuals heterozygous for the nerve growth factor-beta mutation than the general Swedish population. Further studies are needed to better understand the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.
Extravascular Dermal Trypanosomes in Suspected and Confirmed Cases of gambiense Human African Trypanosomiasis
Authors: Camara Mariame , Soumah Alseny M’mah , Ilboudo Hamidou , Travaillé Christelle , Clucas Caroline , Cooper Anneli , Kuispond Swar Nono-Raymond , Camara Oumou , Sadissou Ibrahim , Calvo Alvarez Estefania , Crouzols Aline , Bart Jean-Mathieu , Jamonneau Vincent , Camara Mamadou , MacLeod Annette , Bucheton Bruno , Rotureau Brice
Published: June 2020

Background

The diagnosis of gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (gHAT) typically involves 2 steps: a serological screen, followed by the detection of living trypanosome parasites in the blood or lymph node aspirate. Live parasites can, however, remain undetected in some seropositive individuals, who, we hypothesize, are infected with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense parasites in their extravascular dermis.

Methods

To test this hypothesis, we conducted a prospective observational cohort study in the gHAT focus of Forecariah, Republic of Guinea. Of the 5417 subjects serologically screened for gHAT, 66 were enrolled into our study and underwent a dermatological examination. At enrollment, 11 seronegative, 8 unconfirmed seropositive, and 18 confirmed seropositive individuals had blood samples and skin biopsies taken and examined for trypanosomes by molecular and immunohistological methods.

Results

In seropositive individuals, dermatological symptoms were significantly more frequent, relative to seronegative controls. T.b. gambiense parasites were present in the blood of all confirmed cases (n = 18) but not in unconfirmed seropositive individuals (n = 8). However, T. brucei parasites were detected in the extravascular dermis of all unconfirmed seropositive individuals and all confirmed cases. Skin biopsies of all treated cases and most seropositive untreated individuals progressively became negative for trypanosomes 6 and 20 months later.

Conclusions

Our results highlight the skin as a potential reservoir for African trypanosomes, with implications for our understanding of this disease’s epidemiology in the context of its planned elimination and underlining the skin as a novel target for gHAT diagnostics.
OPTIK: a database for understanding catchment areas to guide mobilization of cancer center assets
Authors: Mudaranthakam Dinesh Pal , Harlan-Williams Lisa M , Jensen Roy A , Kuo Hanluen , Garimella Vandita , Chen Ronald C , Mayo Matthew S , Krebill Hope
Published: June 2020

An increasingly diversified demographic landscape in rural and urban America warrants the attention of The University of Kansas Cancer Center (KU Cancer Center) researchers, clinicians, outreach staff and administrators as the institution assesses ways to reach its expansive, bi-state catchment area. Within the counties of the KU Cancer Center catchment area, patient level and public health data are available and categorized by varying geographic regional boundaries. Multiple data sources and different data collection processes complicate summarizing catchment area data. A curated data warehouse that retrieves and structures the data, with a common denominator, can support meaningful use of the data in a standard and consistent format. The KU Cancer Center built a data warehouse to Organize and Prioritize Trends to Inform KU Cancer Center (OPTIK), which functions to streamline the process of synthesizing data regarding Kansas and Missouri demographics, cancer risk factors and incidence and mortality rates. OPTIK standardizes these diverse data sources to enable analyses of the cancer burden at local, regional and national levels while upholding a strict standard of patient privacy. The OPTIK database enables researchers to use available data and create heat maps and other visualizations to aid in funding proposals, presentations and research activities. Furthermore, using knowledge provided by OPTIK, the KU Cancer Center is able to prioritize action items for research and outreach and more effectively communicate the impact of those efforts.
Intracoronary ALLogeneic heart STem cells to Achieve myocardial Regeneration (ALLSTAR): a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial
Authors: Makkar Raj R , Kereiakes Dean J , Aguirre Frank , Kowalchuk Glenn , Chakravarty Tarun , Malliaras Konstantinos , Francis Gary S , Povsic Thomas J , Schatz Richard , Traverse Jay H , Pogoda Janice M , Smith Rachel R , Marbán Linda , Ascheim Deborah D , Ostovaneh Mohammad R , Lima João A C , DeMaria Anthony , Marbán Eduardo , Henry Timothy D
Published: June 2020

Aims

Cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) are cardiac progenitor cells that exhibit disease-modifying bioactivity in various models of cardiomyopathy and in previous clinical studies of acute myocardial infarction (MI), dilated cardiomyopathy, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The aim of the study was to assess the safety and efficacy of intracoronary administration of allogeneic CDCs in the multicentre, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, intracoronary ALLogeneic heart STem cells to Achieve myocardial Regeneration (ALLSTAR) trial.

Methods and results

We enrolled patients 4 weeks to 12 months after MI, with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤45% and LV scar size ≥15% of LV mass by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A pre-specified interim analysis was performed when 6-month MRI data were available. The trial was subsequently stopped due to the low probability of detecting a significant treatment effect of CDCs based on the primary endpoint. Patients were randomly allocated in a 2:1 ratio to receive CDCs or placebo in the infarct-related artery by stop-flow technique. The primary safety endpoint was the occurrence, during 1-month post-intracoronary infusion, of acute myocarditis attributable to allogeneic CDCs, ventricular tachycardia- or ventricular fibrillation-related death, sudden unexpected death, or a major adverse cardiac event (death or hospitalization for heart failure or non-fatal MI or need for left ventricular assist device or heart transplant). The primary efficacy endpoint was the relative percentage change in infarct size at 12 months post-infusion as assessed by contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI. We randomly allocated 142 eligible patients of whom 134 were treated (90 to the CDC group and 44 to the placebo group). The mean baseline LVEF was 40% and the mean scar size was 22% of LV mass. No primary safety endpoint events occurred. There was no difference in the percentage change from baseline in scar size (P = 0.51) between CDCs and placebo groups at 6 months. Compared with placebo, there were significant reductions in LV end-diastolic volume (P = 0.02), LV end-systolic volume (P = 0.02), and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) (P = 0.02) at 6 months in CDC-treated patients.

Conclusion

Intracoronary infusion of allogeneic CDCs in patients with post-MI LV dysfunction was safe but did not reduce scar size relative to placebo at 6 months. Nevertheless, the reductions in LV volumes and NT-proBNP reveal disease-modifying bioactivity of CDCs.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01458405.
Influence of plot and sample sizes on aboveground biomass estimations in plantation forests using very high resolution stereo satellite imagery
Authors: Hosseini Zahra , Latifi Hooman , Naghavi Hamed , Bakhtiarvand Bakhtiari Siavash , Fassnacht Fabian Ewald
Published: June 2020

Regular biomass estimations for natural and plantation forests are important to support sustainable forestry and to calculate carbon-related statistics. The application of remote sensing data to estimate biomass of forests has been amply demonstrated but there is still space for increasing the efficiency of current approaches. Here, we investigated the influence of field plot and sample sizes on the accuracy of random forest models trained with information derived from Pléiades very high resolution (VHR) stereo images applied to plantation forests in an arid environment. We collected field data at 311 locations with three different plot area sizes (100, 300 and 500 m2). In two experiments, we demonstrate how plot and sample sizes influence the accuracy of biomass estimation models. In the first experiment, we compared model accuracies obtained with varying plot sizes but constant number of samples. In the second experiment, we fixed the total area to be sampled to account for the additional effort to collect large field plots. Our results for the first experiment show that model performance metrics Spearman’s r, RMSErel and RMSEnor improve from 0.61, 0.70 and 0.36 at a sample size of 24–0.79, 0.51 and 0.15 at a sample size of 192, respectively. In the second experiment, highest accuracies were obtained with a plot size of 100 m2 (most samples) with Spearman’s r = 0.77, RMSErel = 0.59 and RMSEnor = 0.15. Results from an analysis of variance type-II suggest that the overall most important factors to explain model performance metrics for our biomass models is sample size. Our results suggest no clear advantage for any plot size to reach accurate biomass estimates using VHR stereo imagery in plantations. This is an important finding, which partly contradicts the suggestions of earlier studies but requires validation for other forest types and remote sensing data types (e.g. LiDAR).
Targeted Deletion of Interleukin-6 in a Mouse Model of Chronic Inflammation Demonstrates Opposing Roles in Aging: Benefit and Harm
Authors: Ma Lina , Nidadavolu Lolita S , Yang Huanle , Langdon Jackie , Westbrook Reyhan , Tsui Benjamin M W , Lee Taek-Soo , Hinson Jared , Ling Shizhang , Marx-Rattner Ruth , Wu Yuqiong , Nguyen Tu , Tan Jessica , Khadeer Mohammed , Moaddel Ruin , Le Anne , Walston Jeremy D , Abadir Peter M
Published: June 2020

Chronic inflammation (CI) in older adults is associated with reduced health span and life span. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is one CI marker that is strongly associated with adverse health outcomes and mortality in aging. We have previously characterized a mouse model of frailty and chronic inflammatory pathway activation (IL-10tm/tm, IL-10 KO) that demonstrates the upregulation of numerous proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-6. We sought to identify a more specific role for IL-6 within the context of CI and aging and developed a mouse with targeted deletion of both IL-10 and IL-6 (IL-10tm/tm/IL-6tm/tm, DKO). Phenotypic characteristics, cytokine measurements, cardiac myocardial oxygen consumption, physical function, and survival were measured in DKO mice and compared to age- and gender-matched IL-10 KO and wild-type mice. Our findings demonstrate that selective knockdown of IL-6 in a frail mouse with CI resulted in the reversal of some of the CI-associated changes. We observed increased protective mitochondrial-associated lipid metabolites, decreased cardiac oxaloacetic acid, improved myocardial oxidative metabolism, and better short-term functional performance in DKO mice. However, the DKO mice also demonstrated higher mortality. This work shows the pleiotropic effects of IL-6 on aging and frailty.
Present-day deformation in the Upper Rhine Graben from GNSS data
Authors: Henrion Eric , Masson Frédéric , Doubre Cécile , Ulrich Patrice , Meghraoui Mustapha
Published: June 2020

The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) undergoes continuous microseismicity recorded by seismic monitoring networks and moderate-magnitude earthquakes, such as in the zone north of the Alpine front, which includes the Jura thrust front, the Vosges, the Black Forest, the Swabian Jura and the Alsace plain. The surface velocity field is a good indication of the occurrence and location of strain gradients likely associated with seismogenic structures. To explore that possibility, we use long time-series of displacements measured from 2002 to 2018 with the dense GURN network (GNSS URG Network). The processing based on double differences of phase measurements offers an up-to-date surface velocity field of the URG and surrounding areas. The surface velocity field relative to the Eurasia reference frame (ITR2014) points out some areas where coherent movements are present for groups of stations. The heterogeneous velocity field across the Rhine Graben (Vosges, URG, Black Forest and Swabian Jura) displays velocity values below 0.2 mm yr−1. We compute a deformation field from the GNSS velocities to link the deformation to the spatial distribution of earthquakes in the Rhine Graben. The earthquakes are concentrated south of an east–west line passing through Strasbourg to the Alpine front. Instrumental and historical seismicity presents spatial similarities in the Vosges and Swabian Jura. Considering the consistent northward movement observed in the Alpine front, we suggest that the strong seismicity in the south of the URG is caused by the shortening of the Alps. North of the URG, the seismicity is more dispersed where the velocity field does not show coherent movements.
Females as the Gatekeepers to Seasonal Breeding: What We Can Learn by Studying Reproductive Mechanisms in Both Sexes
Authors: Kimmitt Abigail A
Published: June 2020

Synopsis

Seasonal reproduction is a widespread adaptation in vertebrates, such that individuals time their reproductive efforts to match peak resource abundance. Individuals rely on environmental cues to regulate hormonal mechanisms governing timing of breeding. Historically, studies on physiological mechanisms of seasonal reproduction, specifically in birds, have disproportionately focused on males compared to females. For this review, I conducted a literature search of the last decade of avian research and found a persistent sex bias in the field of physiological mechanisms of seasonal reproduction. Using work conducted with the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) as a case study, I present a possible solution to combat the sex bias: natural comparisons of populations that differ in reproductive timing to investigate mechanisms of reproduction in both sexes. Populations of dark-eyed juncos that differ in migratory behavior (i.e., migrant and resident) exhibit overlapping ranges during winter and early spring; residents begin breeding in early spring prior to the departure of migrants. This system, and others like it, provides an opportunity to compare mechanisms of reproduction in populations that differ in reproductive timing despite experiencing the same environmental conditions in early spring. In juncos, migrant and resident females and males exhibit similar patterns of hypothalamic regulation of reproduction in early spring, but sex differences in gonadal sensitivity between the populations could be an important distinction that partially explains sex differences in reproductive development. Comparing mechanisms of reproduction in free-living populations and in captivity can reveal important mechanisms that determine the onset of reproductive development, as well as potential sex differences in these mechanisms. Understanding the mechanisms of reproductive phenology has important implications for understanding how species will survive and reproduce in a changing climate.
Northwest Atlantic mackerel population structure evaluated using otolith δ18O composition
Authors: Redding S Gray , Cooper L W , Castonguay M , Wiernicki C , Secor D H
Published: June 2020

The Northwest Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) population is comprised of northern and southern contingents, each with distinct natal regions in the United States and Canada. We tested hypotheses on natal origin and contingent mixing by analysing natal otolith δ18O values, evaluating the approach through an out-group comparison with the Northeast Atlantic population. Otolith δ18O values varied according to expectations between the Northeast (higher) and the Northwest (lower) Atlantic basins, and between contingents within the Northwest Atlantic stock, although contingent differences varied between years. Most adults (age-3+ years) sampled from US waters (1999–2003) represented the northern contingent (Canadian spawning site). The confirmation of the seasonal mixing of older and larger fish between the two contingents provides support and justification for the development of bi-national (United States–Canada) assessment and management of Northwest Atlantic mackerel.
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) predation on a coastal perch (Perca fluviatilis) population: estimated effects based on PIT tag mark-recapture experiment
Authors: Veneranta L , Heikinheimo O , Marjomäki T J
Published: June 2020

The number of cormorants has rapidly increased in the northernmost Baltic Sea. In 2018, 50 km × 50 km ICES catch rectangle 55H1 had 3140 breeding pairs. To estimate the predation effect of cormorants on perch populations, we Passive Integrated Tags tagged 1977 perch and 9.9% of tags were found. The median instantaneous cormorant-induced mortality during the breeding time, with consumption by non-breeding individuals, was estimated at 0.23 and at 0.35 during the whole residing period. We estimated with a yeild-per-recruit model that the long-term maximum loss of perch yield of tagged sub-population would be at 80% probability interval 32–67%, and when extended to the entire 55H1, 10–33%, respectively. The cormorants’ share of the >2-year-old perch biomass and production would be 8%, while that of other natural mortality would be 63% and that of fishing 29% in 55H1. The yield-per-recruit-results should be interpreted as an estimate of maximum cormorant effect because the dependence of predation rate on prey density was not accounted for, and density-dependence of growth, mortality, and reproduction of perch could partly compensate the loss. The results indicate that high density of cormorants can reduce the perch stocks and catches locally.
The Status of the Testimony of the Non-Appearing Witness in International Arbitration
Authors: Brown Chester , Still Patrick
Published: June 2020

A problem that arises from time to time in international arbitration proceedings is how an arbitral tribunal is to deal with the evidence of a non-appearing witness. The applicable rules of arbitration typically confirm that the tribunal has the authority to determine (e.g.) the “admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of the evidence offered,” but they rarely go any further than this. The purpose of this article is to seek to provide guidance to tribunals by reviewing the available arbitral practice. This reveals that there are circumstances in which tribunals have adopted broadly consistent approaches to the status of the non-appearing witness's written testimony (although this does not appear to extend to the treatment of a non-appearing expert's evidence), and that tribunals have generally not distinguished between the existence of a valid reason for a witness's failure to appear, or of exceptional circumstances which would warrant the witness's evidence being admitted. In addition, tribunals appear to be reluctant to place much weight on a non-appearing witness's written evidence unless it is corroborated by the testimony of other witnesses or documentary evidence, and they are also reluctant to draw adverse inferences from a witness's non-appearance.
Experimental studies on corrosion inhibition performance of acetylthiophene thiosemicarbazone for mild steel in HCl complemented with DFT investigation
Authors: Al-Baghdadi S , Gaaz T S , Al-Adili A , Al-Amiery A A , Takriff M S
Published: June 2020

The University of Technology in Baghdad addresses problems related to the corrosion of metals. In the present investigation, a thiophene derivative, namely, 2-acetylthiophene thiosemicarbazone (2-AT), was synthesized and examined as a corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in a 1-M hydrochloric acid environment by using weight loss and scanning electron microscopic techniques. The inhibition efficiency of this inhibitor increases with increase in concentration, which offered an inhibition efficiency up to 96%. It was found that the inhibition efficiency decreases with long immersion time. The temperature effect on the inhibition performance was studied at various immersion times and revealed that the inhibition efficiency decreases with increasing temperature. The adsorption of the inhibitor on the surface of mild steel in the corrosive environment followed the Langmuir isotherm. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveal that the 2-AT molecules confirmed the presence of a protective layer on the surface of a mild steel sample. The density-functional theory as a quantum modeling technique which is used to study the electronic structure reveals that the obtained findings were found to be consistent with the experimental results.
Zika Virus Changes Methylation of Genes Involved in Immune Response and Neural Development in Brazilian Babies Born With Congenital Microcephaly
Authors: Anderson Denise , Neri João I C F , Souza Cássio R M , Valverde Joanna G , De Araújo Josélio M G , Nascimento Maria D S B , Branco Rebeca C C , Arrais Nivia M R , Lassmann Timo , Blackwell Jenefer M , Jeronimo Selma M B
Published: June 2020

The recent increase in babies born with brain and eye malformations in Brazil is associated with Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in utero. ZIKV alters host DNA methylation in vitro. Using genome-wide DNA methylation profiling we compared 18 babies born with congenital ZIKV microcephaly with 20 controls. We found ZIKV-associated alteration of host methylation patterns, notably at RABGAP1L which is important in brain development, at viral host immunity genes MX1 and ISG15, and in an epigenetic module containing the causal microcephaly gene MCPH1. Our data support the hypothesis that clinical signs of congenital ZIKV are associated with changes in DNA methylation.
Opportunity for Real-Time, Longitudinal Clinical Laboratory Data to Enhance Diabetes Disease Surveillance: A Cross-Sectional, Laboratory Database–Enabled Population Study
Authors: Borunda Duque Teofilo , Dodd Monique , Mwithi Andrew , VanNess Richard , Swanson Kathleen
Published: June 2020

Background

Population disease surveillance can contribute to focused interventions to promote better disease management and prevention of noncommunicable diseases.

Methods

HbA1c results in TriCore Reference Laboratories’ (TriCore) data repository from residents in New Mexico (NM) from January 2014 to May 2019 were used in the study. Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) as the gold standard, a linear regression model was used to develop a model to estimate NM’s diabetes prevalence from HbA1cs. The American Diabetes Association guidelines HbA1c ranges were used to divide the population into groups according to their last HbA1c result, and patients were tracked by their TriCore identification number over the selected time period.

Results

The derived NM diabetes rate of 10.63%, 95% CI [10.1%–11.1%] was compared to the derived 10.4%, 95% CI [9.8%–11%] by the CDC. Moreover, TriCore’s longitudinal data were able to track a large number of patients’ transition between the different HbA1cs cut offs from 2014 to 2019.

Conclusion

Findings of this study substantiate the value of the laboratory outside of the traditional fee per service lab result model and support a possible novel role for clinical laboratories to play in population health.
Characteristics of primary and repeated recurrent retroperitoneal liposarcoma: outcomes after aggressive surgeries at a single institution
Authors: Ishii Kenta , Yokoyama Yukihiro , Nishida Yoshihiro , Koike Hiroshi , Yamada Suguru , Kodera Yasuhiro , Sassa Naoto , Gotoh Momokazu , Nagino Masato
Published: June 2020

Objective

This study sought to investigate the characteristics of primary and repeated recurrent retroperitoneal liposarcoma.

Methods

Patients treated with primary or recurrent retroperitoneal liposarcoma between 2005 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Survival time analysis of recurrence-free survival and overall survival was conducted using Kaplan–Meier analysis and log-rank test.

Results

Fifty-two patients with primary retroperitoneal liposarcoma were analysed. Amongst them, 46 patients (88%) had undergone surgery. Histologic grades included well-differentiated (n = 21), dedifferentiated (n = 21), myxoid (n = 3) and pleomorphic (n = 1) subtypes. The patients undergoing R0 resection in the first surgery had significantly higher recurrence-free survival rates compared with the patients undergoing non-R0 resection (3-year recurrence-free survival: 80 versus 38%; 5-year recurrence-free survival: 49 versus 29%, P = 0.033). Although overall survival rates tended to be higher in the patients undergoing R0 resection compared with the non-R0 resection, it did not reach to a statistical significant difference (5-year overall survival: 93 versus 75%; 10-year overall survival: 93 versus 59%, P = 0.124). The recurrence rates were 65, 67, 73 and 100%, and the median recurrence-free survival times were 46, 20, 9 and 3 months after the first, second, third and fourth surgeries, respectively. The 5-year overall survival rates were 82, 69, 40 and 0% after the first, second, third and fourth surgeries, respectively.

Conclusions

With repeated recurrence and surgeries, the time to recurrence decreased and the recurrence rate increased. R0 resection in the first surgery was considered the most important for longer recurrence-free survival and radical cure.
hTERT promoter methylation promotes small cell lung cancer progression and radiotherapy resistance
Authors: Zhai Guangsheng , Li Jianbin , Zheng Jianbo , An Peng , Chen Xiaohui , Wang Xiaodong , Li Chuanzhao
Published: June 2020

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has been a devastating actuality in clinic and the molecular mechanisms underlying this disease remain unclear. The epigenetic alterations located in the promoter region of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) have been demonstrated as one of the most prevalent non-coding genomic modifications in multiple cancers. However, alteration of hTERT promoter methylation in SCLC and the subsequently induced change in tumor cell behavior remains unclear. In this research, we hypothesized that abnormal methylation of hTERT promotor enhanced the progression of SCLC and the outcome of radiotherapy resistance. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot assays were performed to evaluate the RNA and protein levels of hTERT and enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), respectively. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to estimate the viability and X-ray sensitivity of H20 and H446 cell lines. Functionally, upregulation of hTERT promoted the proliferation and migration of H20 and H446 cells, and the high-level of methylation in the promoter region of hTERT induced by radiation caused radio-resistance in SCLC. Mechanically, methylation of hTERT promoter enhanced the progression and radio-resistance of SCLC through upregulating the expression of its downstream effector EZH2.
Hierarchical Bayesian CMB component separation with the No-U-Turn Sampler
Authors: Grumitt R D P , Jew Luke R P , Dickinson C
Published: June 2020

In this paper, we present a novel implementation of Bayesian cosmic microwave background (CMB) component separation. We sample from the full posterior distribution using the No-U-Turn Sampler (NUTS), a gradient-based sampling algorithm. Alongside this, we introduce new foreground modelling approaches. We use the mean shift algorithm to define regions on the sky, clustering according to naively estimated foreground spectral parameters. Over these regions we adopt a complete pooling model, where we assume constant spectral parameters, and a hierarchical model, where we model individual pixel spectral parameters as being drawn from underlying hyperdistributions. We validate the algorithm against simulations of the LiteBIRD and C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS) experiments, with an input tensor-to-scalar ratio of r = 5 × 10−3. Considering multipoles 30 ≤ ℓ < 180, we are able to recover estimates for r. With LiteBIRD-only observations, and using the complete pooling model, we recover r = (12.9 ± 1.4) × 10−3. For C-BASS and LiteBIRD observations we find r = (9.0 ± 1.1) × 10−3 using the complete pooling model, and r = (5.2 ± 1.0) × 10−3 using the hierarchical model. Unlike the complete pooling model, the hierarchical model captures pixel-scale spatial variations in the foreground spectral parameters, and therefore produces cosmological parameter estimates with reduced bias, without inflating their uncertainties. Measured by the rate of effective sample generation, NUTS offers performance improvements of ∼103 over using Metropolis–Hastings to fit the complete pooling model. The efficiency of NUTS allows us to fit the more sophisticated hierarchical foreground model that would likely be intractable with non-gradient-based sampling algorithms.
Health and Medicine
Authors: Ward Thomas J.
Published: June 2020

The medical and health care history of African Americans is a small but growing field of historical study. Much of the research done on the subject in the early 20th century was conducted by black medical professionals themselves. John Kenney, Booker T. Washington’s personal physician, authored one of the very first studies of black medical professionals, The Negro in Medicine, in 1912, while other a number of other black physicians, including Midian O. Bousfield and Paul Cornely, authored numerous books and articles on the black medical experience in the early and mid-20th century. The field was, in many ways, founded by the legendary Howard University Medical School Professor Dr. W. Montague Cobb, who, while not a historian by training, was among the first to chronicle the contributions of black physicians, hospitals, and medical schools in his articles for the Journal of the National Medical Association (the black counterpart to the Journal of the American Medical Association) and for the NAACP’s The Crisis. Perhaps the single most important activist in the struggle for integration in the medical profession, Cobb’s writings provide invaluable insights into the fight for the desegregation of hospitals, professional associations, and medical schools. Finally, Cobb was central in collecting and assembling the papers of prominent black physicians, and, due to his efforts, Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center houses the most significant manuscript collections regarding African-American health care and medicine. In addition to Howard University, important manuscript collections regarding black health care are housed at the Amistad Center at Tulane University, at Meharry Medical College Archives, and at Fisk University’s Special Collections. Not surprisingly, the focus of most historians of black healthcare has been on issues of slavery, including Todd L. Savitt’s classic work Medicine and Slavery: The Diseases and Health Care of Blacks in Antebellum Virginia (1981) and Deidre Cooper Owens’ Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology, as well as studies that focused on racial discrimination in the American health care system, such as Edward H. Beardsley’s, A History of Neglect (1987) and Thomas J. Ward’s Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South (2003). The Tuskegee syphilis study has been one of the few African-American healthcare topics that has received wide attention, most famously in James Jones’s Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (1984, 1993), and increasingly there has been more attention paid to issues regarding the impact that government policies have played in black health, including David Barton Smith’s Health Care Divided: Race and Healing a Nation (1999) and David McBride’s Caring for Equality: A History of African American Health and Health Care (2018).
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY)
Authors: Jiménez Miriam
Published: June 2020

Adriano de Jesús Espaillat is the first Dominican American congressperson in the history of the United States. He was elected in 2016 to represent New York State’s 13th Congressional District in the House of Representatives. This district includes the area of Harlem, located in New York City’s northern Manhattan, which is an iconic area of black culture and political history. Congressman Espaillat is the first nonblack official to represent Harlem in seven decades; the district was redrawn in 2012 and currently encompasses two areas of heavy Dominican concentration as well. While there have been many foreign-born members who became naturalized citizens before serving in the US Congress, Espaillat is one of the first two known to have had an undocumented immigration status for some time. His example of political ascent to Congress is relevant in the context of the current national immigration debates and marks a milestone in the political history of Dominican Americans—a group that started migrating significantly in the late 1960s and is currently one of the two largest Hispanic groups in New York City, and the fifth largest Hispanic group in the country. Espaillat’s election illustrates current interactions among minority groups in large cities and new trends in American urban politics; it also shows the great difficulties that candidates of new immigrant groups continue to face in achieving political success. Adriano Espaillat has attracted considerable attention—albeit nonuniform—from numerous printed and electronic political media. However, scholarly works about him are in incipient stages. Research on members of Congress usually takes the form of case studies, minority or Latino politics projects, or specialized encyclopedias or dictionaries. Few of them have been published since Espaillat’s election as a Democratic Representative to the 115th Congress in 2016. The process to create this bibliography has been twofold: first, this is a selection of substantive, informative, and overall balanced sources available in national and local political media, most of them primary sources and some published in Spanish. The collected materials are then placed in relation to different sets of scholarly work: Dominican Americans studies, urban politics, political incorporation of immigrants, and political ascent of ethnic politicians. They provide concepts for understanding—with depth and perspective—Congressman Espaillat’s success.