bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of 2017 ACC/AHA guideline on prevalence, awareness, treatment, control, and determinants of hypertension: a population-based cross-sectional study in southwest of Iran
Authors: Sadeghi Fatemeh , Cheraghian Bahman , Mohammadi Zahra , Sepanlou Sadaf G. , Masoudi Sahar , Rahimi Zahra , Danehchin Leila , Paridar Yousef , Abolnezhadian Farhad , Noori Mohammad , Mard Seyed Ali , Shayesteh Ali Akbar , Poustchi Hossein
Published: May 2021

Background

In 2017, the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) provided a new guideline for hypertension prevention and management. We aimed to update the prevalence, awareness, control, and determinants of hypertension based on this guideline in Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran, and to estimate the number of people who are eligible for non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic intervention.

Methods

This population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Khuzestan, a large province in the southwest of Iran. Comprehensive information about the potential relating factors of hypertension was collected, blood pressure was measured, and anthropometric measurements were obtained. Moreover, the dietary pattern was evaluated in 2830 individuals, using a qualitative food frequency questionnaire.

Results

Among 30,506 participants, 30,424 individuals aged 20–65 years were eligible for the study. In comparison with the previous guideline released by the Joint National Committee (JNC8), the prevalence of hypertension in Khuzestan dramatically increased from 15.81 to 42.85% after implementation of the ACC/AHA guideline, which was more dominant in the male population and the 45–54 age group. The sex and age adjustment of the hypertension prevalence was estimated to be 39.40%. The percentage of hypertension awareness, treatment, and control were 45.85%, 35.42%, and 59.63%, which dropped to 22.72%, 26.37%, and 28.94% after implementation of new guideline, respectively.

Conclusions

In the ACC/AHA guideline, a higher number of individuals with the pre-hypertension condition were shifted into the hypertension category and the level of awareness, treatment, and control were dramatically decreased, which highlight a great need to expand the public health infrastructure for further managing the substantial increased burden on healthcare system. However, further studies with population over 65 years are required to estimate the eligibility for antihypertensive treatment in this province after implementation of new guideline.
Gene Ontology Meta Annotator for Plants (GOMAP)
Authors: Wimalanathan Kokulapalan , Lawrence-Dill Carolyn J.
Published: May 2021

Annotating gene structures and functions to genome assemblies is necessary to make assembly resources useful for biological inference. Gene Ontology (GO) term assignment is the most used functional annotation system, and new methods for GO assignment have improved the quality of GO-based function predictions. The Gene Ontology Meta Annotator for Plants (GOMAP) is an optimized, high-throughput, and reproducible pipeline for genome-scale GO annotation of plants. We containerized GOMAP to increase portability and reproducibility and also optimized its performance for HPC environments. Here we report on the pipeline’s availability and performance for annotating large, repetitive plant genomes and describe how GOMAP was used to annotate multiple maize genomes as a test case. Assessment shows that GOMAP expands and improves the number of genes annotated and annotations assigned per gene as well as the quality (based on $$F_{max}$$

F

max

) of GO assignments in maize. GOMAP has been deployed to annotate other species including wheat, rice, barley, cotton, and soy. Instructions and access to the GOMAP Singularity container are freely available online at https://bioinformapping.com/gomap/. A list of annotated genomes and links to data is maintained at https://dill-picl.org/projects/gomap/.
COVID-19 among patients with orthopedic surgery: our experience from the Middle East
Authors: Bagherifard Abolfazl , Arasteh Peyman , Salehpour Mostafa , Zadeh Hooman Shariat , Mazhar Farid Najd , Ghandhari Hasan , Bahaeddini Mohammad Reza , Tabrizian Pouria , Askari Alireza
Published: May 2021

Background

We report our experiences with COVID-19 in one of the largest referral orthopedic centers in the Middle East and aimed to describe the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of these patients.

Methods

During February 20 and April 20, 2020, patients who underwent orthopedic surgery and healthcare staff who were in contact with these patients were screened for COVID-19. To identify patients who were in the incubation period of COVID-19 during their hospital stay, all patients were tested again for COVID-19 4 weeks after discharge.

Results

Overall, 1244 patients underwent orthopedic surgery (1123 emergency and 121 elective) during the study period. Overall, 17 patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 during hospital admission and seven after discharge. Among the total 24 patients with COVID-19, 15 were (62.5%) males with a mean (SD) age of 47.0±1.6 years old. Emergency surgeries were performed in 20 (83.3%) patients, and elective surgery was done in the remaining 4 patients which included one case of posterior spinal fusion, spondylolisthesis, acromioclavicular joint dislocation, and one case of leg necrosis. A considerable number of infections occurred in patients with intertrochanteric fractures (n=7, 29.2%), followed by pelvic fractures (n=2, 8.3%), humerus fractures (n=2, 8.3%), and tibial plateau fractures (n=2, 8.3%). Fever (n=11, 45.8%) and cough (n=10, 37.5%) were the most common symptoms among patients. Laboratory examinations showed leukopenia in 2 patients (8.3%) and lymphopenia in 4 (16.7%) patients. One patient with a history of cancer died 2 weeks after discharge due to myocardial infarction.

Among hospital staff, 26 individuals contracted COVID-19 during the study period, which included 13 (50%) males. Physicians were the most commonly infected group (n = 11), followed by operation room technicians (n = 5), nurses (n = 4), and paramedics (n = 4).

Conclusions

Patients who undergo surgical treatment for orthopedic problems, particularly lower limb fractures with limited ambulation, are at a higher risk of acquiring COVID-19 infections, although they may not be at higher risks for death compared to the general population. Orthopedic surgeons in particular and other hospital staff who are in close contact with these patients must be adequately trained and given appropriate personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 outbreak.
GRiNCH: simultaneous smoothing and detection of topological units of genome organization from sparse chromatin contact count matrices with matrix factorization
Authors: Lee Da-Inn , Roy Sushmita
Published: May 2021

High-throughput chromosome conformation capture assays, such as Hi-C, have shown that the genome is organized into organizational units such as topologically associating domains (TADs), which can impact gene regulatory processes. The sparsity of Hi-C matrices poses a challenge for reliable detection of these units. We present GRiNCH, a constrained matrix-factorization-based approach for simultaneous smoothing and discovery of TADs from sparse contact count matrices. GRiNCH shows superior performance against seven TAD-calling methods and three smoothing methods. GRiNCH is applicable to multiple platforms including SPRITE and HiChIP and can predict novel boundary factors with potential roles in genome organization.
Clinical and epigenetic features of colorectal cancer patients with somatic POLE proofreading mutations
Authors: Kawai Takashi , Nyuya Akihiro , Mori Yoshiko , Tanaka Takehiro , Tanioka Hiroaki , Yasui Kazuya , Toshima Toshiaki , Taniguchi Fumitaka , Shigeyasu Kunitoshi , Umeda Yuzo , Fujiwara Toshiyoshi , Okawaki Makoto , Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki , Goel Ajay , Nagasaka Takeshi
Published: May 2021

Background

Mutations in the POLE gene result in an ultra-hypermutated phenotype in colorectal cancer (CRC); however, the molecular characterisation of epigenetic alterations remains unclear. We examined the genetic and epigenetic profiles of POLE-mutant CRC to elucidate the clinicopathological features of the associated genetic and epigenetic alterations.

Results

Tumour tissues (1,013) obtained from a cohort of patients with CRC were analysed to determine associations between the proofreading domain mutations of POLE with various clinicopathological variables, microsatellite instability (MSI) status, BRAF and KRAS mutations, and the methylation status of key regions of MLH1, MGMT, and SFRP2 promoters by calculating the methylation scores (range 0–6). Only four cases (0.4%) exhibited pathogenic POLE hotspot mutations (two p.P286R [c.857C > G], one p.V411L [c.1231G > C], and p.S459F [c.1376C > T] each), which were mutually exclusive to BRAF and KRAS mutations and MSI. CRC patients were divided into four subgroups: patients with POLE mutations (POLE, 0.4%, n = 4), patients with both MSI and extensive methylation in MLH1 (MSI-M, 2.9%, n = 29), patients with MSI but no extensive methylation in MLH1 (MSI-U, 3.6%, n = 36), and patients without MSI (non-MSI, 93.2%, n = 944). The POLE group was younger at diagnosis (median 52 years, P < 0.0001), with frequent right-sided tumour localisation (frequency of tumours located in the right colon was 100%, 93.1%, 36.1%, and 29.9% in POLE, MSI-M, MSI-U, and non-MSI, respectively; P < 0.0001), and was diagnosed at an earlier stage (frequency of stages I–II was 100%, 72.4%, 77.8%, and 46.6% in POLE, MSI-M, MSI-U, and non-MSI, respectively, P < 0.0001). The mean methylation score in POLE was not different from that in MSI-U and non-MSI, but the methylation signature was distinct from that of the other subgroups. Additionally, although the examined number of POLE-mutant tumours was small, the number of CD8-positive cells increased in tumours with partial methylation in the MLH1 gene.

Conclusions

CRC patients with POLE proofreading mutations are rare. Such mutations are observed in younger individuals, and tumours are primarily located in the right colon. Diagnosis occurs at an earlier stage, and distinct epigenetic alterations may be associated with CD8 cell infiltration.
SYNCRIP facilitates porcine parvovirus viral DNA replication through the alternative splicing of NS1 mRNA to promote NS2 mRNA formation
Authors: Chen Songbiao , Miao Bichen , Chen Nannan , Chen Caiyi , Shao Ting , Zhang Xuezhi , Chang Lingling , Zhang Xiujuan , Du Qian , Huang Yong , Tong Dewen
Published: May 2021

Porcine Parvovirus (PPV), a pathogen causing porcine reproductive disorders, encodes two capsid proteins (VP1 and VP2) and three nonstructural proteins (NS1, NS2 and SAT) in infected cells. The PPV NS2 mRNA is from NS1 mRNA after alternative splicing, yet the corresponding mechanism is unclear. In this study, we identified a PPV NS1 mRNA binding protein SYNCRIP, which belongs to the hnRNP family and has been identified to be involved in host pre-mRNA splicing by RNA-pulldown and mass spectrometry approaches. SYNCRIP was found to be significantly up-regulated by PPV infection in vivo and in vitro. We confirmed that it directly interacts with PPV NS1 mRNA and is co-localized at the cytoplasm in PPV-infected cells. Overexpression of SYNCRIP significantly reduced the NS1 mRNA and protein levels, whereas deletion of SYNCRIP significantly reduced NS2 mRNA and protein levels and the ratio of NS2 to NS1, and further impaired replication of the PPV. Furthermore, we found that SYNCRIP was able to bind the 3′-terminal site of NS1 mRNA to promote the cleavage of NS1 mRNA into NS2 mRNA. Taken together, the results presented here demonstrate that SYNCRIP is a critical molecule in the alternative splicing process of PPV mRNA, while revealing a novel function for this protein and providing a potential target of antiviral intervention for the control of porcine parvovirus disease.
Biofilm formation by Streptococcus mutans and its inhibition by green tea extracts
Authors: Zayed Sara Moataz , Aboulwafa Mohammad Mabrouk , Hashem Abdelgawad Mohamed , Saleh Sarra Ebrahim
Published: May 2021

Dental Caries is considered one of the most existing and worldwide common diseases related to the oral cavity affecting both children and adults. Streptococcus mutans is the main cariogenic microorganism involved in the dental caries progression. Natural products such as herbal plants were found to have less side effects and economic value than those of the chemically synthesized antibiofilm agents. This study aimed to isolate Streptococcus mutans from different oral samples taken from saliva and dental plaques specimens to determine their capability for biofilm formation and to evaluate the antibiofilm activity of aqueous and alcoholic green tea extracts. The results revealed that 35, 4 and 1% of recovered dental plaque isolates exhibited strong, moderate and weak biofilm formation capabilities versus 26, 12 and 2% for those recovered from saliva. Two green tea extracts (aqueous and alcoholic) were tested for their antibiofilm formation activity against some selected S. mutans isolates. The results showed that the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBICs) of the alcoholic and aqueous green tea extracts were in the range of 3.1 to 12.5 mg/ml and 6.5 to 50 mg/ml, respectively. Accordingly, green tea extracts can be incorporated in various oral preparations for preventing dental caries.
Infectious events in patients with severe COVID-19: results of a cohort of patients with high prevalence of underlying immune defect
Authors: Saade Anastasia , Moratelli Giulia , Dumas Guillaume , Mabrouki Asma , Tudesq Jean-Jacques , Zafrani Lara , Azoulay Elie , Darmon Michael
Published: May 2021

Background

Empirical antibiotic has been considered in severe COVID-19 although little data are available regarding concomitant infections. This study aims to assess the frequency of infections, community and hospital-acquired infections, and risk factors for infections and mortality during severe COVID-19.

Methods

Retrospective single-center study including consecutive patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for severe COVID-19. Competing-risk analyses were used to assess cumulative risk of infections. Time-dependent Cox and fine and gray models were used to assess risk factors for infections and mortality. Propensity score matching was performed to estimate the effect of dexamethasone.

Results

We included 100 patients including 34 patients with underlying malignancies or organ transplantation. First infectious event was bacterial for 35 patients, and fungal for one. Cumulative incidence of infectious events was 27% [18–35] at 10 ICU-days. Prevalence of community-acquired infections was 7% [2.8–13.9]. Incidence density of hospital-acquired infections was 125 [91–200] events per 1000 ICU-days. Risk factors independently associated with hospital-acquired infections included MV. Patient’s severity and underlying malignancy were associated with mortality. Dexamethasone was associated with increased infections (36% [20–53] vs. 12% [4–20] cumulative incidence at day-10;p = 0.01). After matching, dexamethasone was associated with hospital-acquired infections (35% [18–52] vs. 13% [1–25] at 10 days, respectively,p = 0.03), except in the subset of patients requiring MV, and had no influence on mortality.

Conclusions

In this population of COVID-19 patients with high prevalence of underlying immune defect, a high risk of infections was noted. MV and use of steroids were independently associated with infection rate.
Facilitating rapid access to addiction treatment: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Srivastava Anita , Clarke Sarah , Hardy Kate , Kahan Meldon
Published: May 2021

Background

Obtaining timely access to addiction medicine treatment for patients with substance use disorders is challenging and patients often have to navigate complex referral pathways. This randomized controlled trial examines the effect of providing an expedited pathway to addiction medicine treatment on initial treatment engagement and health care utilization.

Methods

Individuals with possible alcohol or opioid use disorder were recruited from three residential withdrawal management services (WMS). Subjects randomized to the Delayed Intervention (DI) group were given contact information for a nearby addiction medicine clinic; those randomized to the Rapid Intervention (RI) group were given an appointment at the clinic within 2 days and were accompanied to their first appointment.

Results

Of the 174 individuals who were screened, 106 were randomized to either the DI or RI group. The two groups were similar in demographics, housing status, and substance use in the last 30 days. In the 6-month period following randomization, 85% of the RI group attended at least one clinic appointment, compared to only 29% in the DI group (p < 0.0001). The RI group had a mean of 6.39 ED visits per subject in the 12 months after randomization, while the DI group had a mean of 13.02 ED visits per subject in the same 12-month period (p = 0.0469). Other health utilization measures did not differ between the two groups.

Conclusion

Providing immediate facilitated access to an addiction medicine service resulted in greater initial engagement and reduced emergency department visits at 6 months.

Trial registration This trial is registered at the National Institutes of Health (ClinicalTrials.gov) under identifier #NCT01934751.
Are there any turning points for external debt in Malaysia? Case of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems model
Authors: Karia Abdul Aziz Bin
Published: May 2021

This paper intends to investigate whether the turning points exist between tax revenue, gross domestic product, government expenditure, and gross domestic saving towards Malaysia’s total external debt. The researcher implements the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system model to forecast the total external debt in Malaysia. The total external debt prediction then projects the three-dimensional surface diagrams to depict whether the turning points exist among the variables. This study’s empirical finding reveals that the turning points are noticeable between the tax revenue, gross domestic product, and gross domestic saving toward external debt in Malaysia. However, government expenditure depicts a direct relationship with external debt. This finding demonstrates that the anomaly between the theories and scholarly activities. This study also recommends that the tax revenue be collected at maximum holding the government expenditure and gross domestic product are maximum statistics to reduce Malaysia’s external debt.
Epigenetics and microRNAs in UGT1As
Authors: Meng Cui-Lan , Zhao Wei , Zhong Dan-Ni
Published: May 2021

UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) are the main phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes mediating the most extensive glucuronidation-binding reaction in the human body. The UGT1A family is involved in more than half of glucuronidation reactions. However, significant differences exist in the distribution of UGT1As in vivo and the expression of UGT1As among individuals, and these differences are related to the occurrence of disease and differences in metabolism. In addition to genetic polymorphisms, there is now interest in the contribution of epigenetics and noncoding RNAs (especially miRNAs) to this differential change. Epigenetics regulates UGT1As pretranscriptionally through DNA methylation and histone modification, and miRNAs are considered the key mechanism of posttranscriptional regulation of UGT1As. Both epigenetic inheritance and miRNAs are involved in the differences in sex expression and in vivo distribution of UGT1As. Moreover, epigenetic changes early in life have been shown to affect gene expression throughout life. Here, we review and summarize the current regulatory role of epigenetics in the UGT1A family and discuss the relationship among epigenetics and UGT1A-related diseases and treatment, with references for future research.
Control programs for strongyloidiasis in areas of high endemicity: an economic analysis of different approaches
Authors: Buonfrate Dora , Zammarchi Lorenzo , Bisoffi Zeno , Montresor Antonio , Boccalini Sara
Published: May 2021

Background

Implementation of control programmes forStrongyloides stercoralisinfection is among the targets of the World Health Organization Roadmap to 2030. Aim of this work was to evaluate the possible impact in terms of economic resources and health status of two different strategies of preventive chemotherapy (PC) compared to the current situation (strategy A, no PC): administration of ivermectin to school-age children (SAC) and adults (strategy B) versus ivermectin to SAC only (strategy C).

Methods

The study was conducted at the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, Verona, Italy, at the University of Florence, Italy, and at the WHO, Geneva, Switzerland, from May 2020 to April 2021. Data for the model were extracted from literature. A mathematical model was developed in Microsoft Excel to assess the impact of strategies B and C in a standard population of 1 million subjects living in a strongyloidiasis endemic area. In a case base scenario, 15% prevalence of strongyloidiasis was considered; the 3 strategies were then evaluated at different thresholds of prevalence, ranging from 5 to 20%. The results were reported as number of infected subjects, deaths, costs, and Incremental-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER). A 1-year and a 10-year horizons were considered.

Results

In the case base scenario, cases of infections would reduce dramatically in the first year of implementation of PC with both strategy B and C: from 172 500 cases to 77 040 following strategy B and 146 700 following strategy C. The additional cost per recovered person was United States Dollar (USD) 2.83 and USD 1.13 in strategy B and C, respectively, compared to no treatment in the first year. For both strategies, there was a downtrend in costs per recovered person with increasing prevalence. The number of adverted deaths was larger for strategy B than C, but cost to advert one death was lower for strategy C than B.

Conclusions

This analysis permits to estimate the impact of two PC strategies for the control of strongyloidiasis in terms of costs and adverted infections/deaths. This could represent a basis on which each endemic country can evaluate which strategy can be implemented, based on available funds and national health priorities.
Zika virus induces neuronal and vascular degeneration in developing mouse retina
Authors: Li Yi , Shi Shuizhen , Xia Fan , Shan Chao , Ha Yonju , Zou Jing , Adam Awadalkareem , Zhang Ming , Wang Tian , Liu Hua , Shi Pei-Yong , Zhang Wenbo
Published: May 2021

Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, can cause severe eye disease and even blindness in newborns. However, ZIKV-induced retinal lesions have not been studied in a comprehensive way, mechanisms of ZIKV-induced retinal abnormalities are unknown, and no therapeutic intervention is available to treat or minimize the degree of vision loss in patients. Here, we developed a novel mouse model of ZIKV infection to evaluate its impact on retinal structure. ZIKV (20 plaque-forming units) was inoculated into neonatal wild type C57BL/6J mice at postnatal day (P) 0 subcutaneously. Retinas of infected mice and age-matched controls were collected at various ages, and retinal structural alterations were analyzed. We found that ZIKV induced progressive neuronal and vascular damage and retinal inflammation starting from P8. ZIKV-infected retina exhibited dramatically decreased thickness with loss of neurons, initial neovascular tufts followed by vessel dilation and degeneration, increased microglia and leukocyte recruitment and activation, degeneration of astrocyte network and gliosis. The above changes may involve inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated cell apoptosis and necroptosis. Moreover, we evaluated the efficacy of preclinical drugs and the safety of ZIKV vaccine candidate in this mouse model. We found that ZIKV-induced retinal abnormalities could be blocked by a selective flavivirus inhibitor NITD008 and a live-attenuated ZIKV vaccine candidate could potentially induce retinal abnormalities. Overall, we established a novel mouse model and provide a direct causative link between ZIKV and retinal lesion in vivo, which warrants further investigation of the underlying mechanisms of ZIKV-induced retinopathy and the development of effective therapeutics.
An update on the neurological short tandem repeat expansion disorders and the emergence of long-read sequencing diagnostics
Authors: Chintalaphani Sanjog R. , Pineda Sandy S. , Deveson Ira W. , Kumar Kishore R.
Published: May 2021

Background

Short tandem repeat (STR) expansion disorders are an important cause of human neurological disease. They have an established role in more than 40 different phenotypes including the myotonic dystrophies, Fragile X syndrome, Huntington’s disease, the hereditary cerebellar ataxias, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia.

Main body

STR expansions are difficult to detect and may explain unsolved diseases, as highlighted by recent findings including: the discovery of a biallelic intronic ‘AAGGG’ repeat in RFC1 as the cause of cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy, and vestibular areflexia syndrome (CANVAS); and the finding of ‘CGG’ repeat expansions in NOTCH2NLC as the cause of neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease and a range of clinical phenotypes. However, established laboratory techniques for diagnosis of repeat expansions (repeat-primed PCR and Southern blot) are cumbersome, low-throughput and poorly suited to parallel analysis of multiple gene regions. While next generation sequencing (NGS) has been increasingly used, established short-read NGS platforms (e.g., Illumina) are unable to genotype large and/or complex repeat expansions. Long-read sequencing platforms recently developed by Oxford Nanopore Technology and Pacific Biosciences promise to overcome these limitations to deliver enhanced diagnosis of repeat expansion disorders in a rapid and cost-effective fashion.

Conclusion

We anticipate that long-read sequencing will rapidly transform the detection of short tandem repeat expansion disorders for both clinical diagnosis and gene discovery.
Reappraising the spectrum of bleeding gastrointestinal angioectasia in a degenerative calcific aortic valve stenosis: Heyde’s syndrome
Authors: Musilanga Nelson , Hongli Zhou , Hongyu Cai
Published: May 2021

Background

The occurrence of bleeding gastrointestinal angioectasia in elderly patients with degenerative calcific aortic stenosis is one of the most challenging clinical scenarios. A number of studies have shown that this clinical phenomenon is known as Heyde’s syndrome.

Main body of the abstract

The pathogenesis of Heyde’s syndrome is mainly due to the loss of high-molecular-weight von Willebrand factor (HMW vWF) multimers, as a consequent fragmentation of HMW vWF multimers as they pass through the stenosed aortic valve leading to acquired von Willebrand syndrome type IIA. Aortic valve replacement has proven to be a more effective management approach in the cessation of recurrent episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Short conclusion

Physicians should have a high index of suspicion when dealing with elderly patients with established aortic stenosis presenting with iron deficiency anemia or unclear gastrointestinal bleeding. Parallel consultations between different specialties are essential for appropriate management.
Attenuation of Muscle Mass and Density Is Associated With Poor Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Major Gynecologic Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Che Lu , Zhang Yan , Yu Jiawen , Xu Li , Huang Yuguang
Published: May 2021

BACKGROUND:

The aim of this study was to explore the associations of preoperative sarcopenia (muscle mass depletion) and myosteatosis (muscle quality attenuation) with the incidence of postinduction hypotension (PIH) and postoperative complications among patients undergoing major gynecologic surgery.

METHODS:

Based on a previous prospective surgical registry of gynecologic patients, we included patients with an available preoperative abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan performed within 3 months before surgery. The cross-sectional muscle mass and density at the third lumbar vertebra (L3) level were measured from the CT scan. The primary outcome was PIH, which was defined as a blood pressure reduction >30% from baseline. The secondary outcome was postoperative complications based on the Clavien-Dindo classification. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the associations between the muscle parameters and outcomes.

RESULTS:

Of the 167 gynecologic surgical patients included in this study, the mean (standard deviation [SD]) age was 53.0 (12.2) years. Sarcopenia was present in 86 (51.5%) patients. Fifty-six (33.5%) patients experienced PIH, and 89 (53.3%) patients experienced different degrees of postoperative complications. Multivariable analysis showed that myosteatosis was significantly associated with an increased risk of PIH (odds ratio [OR] = 2.95, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-7.04; P = .015), and sarcopenia was associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications (OR = 2.30; 95% CI, 1.16-4.57; P = .018).

CONCLUSIONS:

Muscle assessments using preoperative CT scans may help identify high-risk patients and determine perioperative management strategies among gynecologic patients.
Beaches and Ports
Authors: Freed-Thall Hannah
Published: May 2021

This introduction theorizes the littoral zone as a space for rethinking comparative literature and the environmental humanities. Beaches and ports are among the twentieth century’s most vexed and polyvalent cultural geographies. The article contends that the tidelands should be approached as a representational and geophysical overlap, an amalgamation of industry, biology, text, and image. Beaches and ports are ecological and industrial force fields: spaces of prohibition and pleasure, labor and play, exposure and refuge. They are the staging grounds and terraformed dreamscapes of carbon-based capitalism—but they are also potential commons in which different rhythms of existence come into view.
At the Edges of Unmeeting: Geometries of Sea and Land in Marianne Moore’s Seascapes
Authors: Smailbegović Ada
Published: May 2021

This article theorizes the edge between the land and the sea in Marianne Moore’s poetry and in Jeff Wall’s photograph “The Flooded Grave.” For these artists, the edge is constituted as an array of fluctuating temporal rhythms created by living organisms and dynamic abiotic elements, such as changing tides and the rocky or sandy substrates that make up the geological formation of the coastline. The edge appears in a number of Moore’s poems, including “The Fish,” which depicts the intertidal zone populated by injured “crow-blue mussel-shells,” “ink- / bespattered jelly fish,” and sea-stars, which resemble “pink / rice-grains.” Wall’s photograph, in turn, portrays a transposition between an aquatic and a terrestrial environment by placing an intertidal pool filled with star fish and sea anemones into the rectangular space of a grave. This article reads such moments as experiments in the textured edges of displacement. In these instances of intertidal encounter, organisms find themselves in unlikely configurations of space and time as a consequence of geophysical and ecological redistributions associated with effects of climate change.
At the Shores of Work
Authors: Wells Sarah Ann
Published: May 2021

Shifting away from the paradigmatic factory gates, this article examines what comes into view as cinema approaches the port. Through a reading of Aloysio Raulino’s experimental short film Santos Port (Brazil, 1978), it shows how the port film is uniquely poised to view livelihoods that trouble narrow definitions of work and its spatial, temporal, and corporeal limits. Through its montage and unusual soundscape, Santos Port presents laboring bodies in excess of their labor in an elusive portrait of both a strike and of work-life relationships. Unwaged, overlooked forms of work and their relationship to broader modes of life are subject to an unprecedented attention. In the process, the port film queries what is meant by work, and in particular its spatial-temporal dimensions—the work site and the working day, the key site of struggle for labor under capitalism. Crucially, the port film is also where the labor of gender is thrown into stark relief, for understandings of work-time and work-space are indelibly and insistently gendered. The article concludes by suggesting how these expanded understandings of work are inflected by the geopolitical position of port films and their relationship to global capitalism.
“The Chalk Wall Falls to the Foam”: Reimagining Littoral Space in the Poetry of the Dover Cliffs
Authors: Uphaus Maxwell
Published: May 2021

Where beaches and harbors have frequently been taken to signify openness and intermingling, a different coastal setting, the cliffs of Dover, overtly bespeaks opposition and closure. Demarcating the British coast at its closest point to continental Europe, the cliffs often stand for Britain’s supposedly elemental insularity. However, the chalk composing the cliffs makes them, in their own way, as malleable and permeable as a beach. I argue that poems by Matthew Arnold, W. H. Auden, and Daljit Nagra contest the cliffs’ association with an exclusive Britishness by focusing on their material composition. In these poems, the cliffs’ chalk—formed by fossilized marine microorganisms at a time when what would become Britain was at the bottom of a prehistoric sea—attests to Britain’s geohistorical contingency. Arnold, Auden, and Nagra use this chalk geology to develop a new model of British identity as contingent, permeable, and linked with the wider world. In these poems, that is, Dover’s cliffs collapse oppositions rather than enforcing them: they blur the lines between Britain and the world, past and present, organic and inorganic, human history and geological history. The literature of the Dover cliffs thus highlights the revisionary potential of this distinctive kind of littoral space.
Oil, Water, World, Wax, Mind: Jean Rolin’sOrmuz
Authors: Ravindranathan Thangam
Published: May 2021

This essay considers the unworldly setting of Jean Rolin’s novel Ormuz (2013), composed around the attempt by a shadowy character named Wax to swim across the Strait of Hormuz. This twenty-one-nautical-mile-wide stretch of sea separating Iran from the Arabian Peninsula, through which is shipped 35 percent of the world’s petroleum, is a waterway of the utmost geopolitical importance, its harbors built not for dreamy swimmers but for giant oil tankers and the elaborate maritime-military infrastructure assuring their passage. Such a setting would seem to stand as a bleak other to the novel as genre. Yet if one thinks of the history of the novel as inseparable from that of carbon capitalism (as Amitav Ghosh has argued), such a claim is reversed—this site where powerful strategic interests drive the flow of oil, capital, and power is the place of the continual making and unmaking, by night and day, of the world order, and thereby of the modern novel. The essay reflects on what Wax’s weird wager—as an emblem for a remarkable narrative wager—may owe to such intertexts as Google, Descartes’s Meditations, and Jules Verne’s Tour du monde, and argues for reading Ormuz as an ecological novel for our times.
Mechanosensitive expression of lamellipodin promotes intracellular stiffness, cyclin expression and cell proliferation
Authors: Brazzo Joseph A. , Biber John C. , Nimmer Erik , Heo Yuna , Ying Linxuan , Zhao Ruogang , Lee Kwonmoo , Krause Matthias , Bae Yongho
Published: May 2021

Cell cycle control is a key aspect of numerous physiological and pathological processes. The contribution of biophysical cues, such as stiffness or elasticity of the underlying extracellular matrix (ECM), is critically important in regulating cell cycle progression and proliferation. Indeed, increased ECM stiffness causes aberrant cell cycle progression and proliferation. However, the molecular mechanisms that control these stiffness-mediated cellular responses remain unclear. Here, we address this gap and show good evidence that lamellipodin (symbol RAPH1), previously known as a critical regulator of cell migration, stimulates ECM stiffness-mediated cyclin expression and intracellular stiffening in mouse embryonic fibroblasts. We observed that increased ECM stiffness upregulates lamellipodin expression. This is mediated by an integrin-dependent FAK–Cas–Rac signaling module and supports stiffness-mediated lamellipodin induction. Mechanistically, we find that lamellipodin overexpression increased, and lamellipodin knockdown reduced, stiffness-induced cell cyclin expression and cell proliferation, and intracellular stiffness. Overall, these results suggest that lamellipodin levels may be critical for regulating cell proliferation.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Effects of Marathon Running on Cognition and Retinal Vascularization: A Longitudinal Observational Study
Authors: ROEH ASTRID , SCHOENFELD JULIA , RAAB RAFFAELA , LANDES VIOLA , PAPAZOVA IRINA , HALLER BERNHARD , STRUBE WOLFGANG , HALLE MARTIN , FALKAI PETER , HASAN ALKOMIET , SCHERR JOHANNES
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Physical activity has beneficial effects on both cardiovascular and neurocognitive parameters, and these two modalities are known to interact at rest. However, findings on their interaction during exercise are inconclusive.

Purpose

Therefore, this longitudinal study aimed to investigate the effects of different forms of exercise (training period, marathon race, and recovery period) on both parameters and their interaction.

Methods

We included 100 marathon runners (MA) (mean ± SD age = 43.6 ± 10.0 yr, 80 males) and 46 age- and sex-matched sedentary controls (SC, for baseline comparison). Over the 6-month study period with six visits (12 and 2 wk before the marathon; immediately, 24 h, 72 h, and 12 wk after the marathon), we assessed cognitive parameters by evaluating the 1- to 3-back d prime, the d2 task, and the Trail Making Tests A (TMT A) and B (TMT B), and the retinal vessel parameters by assessing arteriolar-to-venular ratio (AVR), central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE), and central retinal venular equivalent (CRVE).

Results

In the long-term analysis, 3-back d prime correlated positively with AVR (P = 0.024, B = 1.86, SE = 0.824) and negatively with CRVE (P = 0.05, B = −0.006, SE = 0.003), and TMT B correlated negatively with CRAE (P = 0.025, B = −0.155, SE = 0.069), even after correcting for age and systolic blood pressure as possible confounders. Acute effects were inconsistent with maximal cognitive improvement 24 h after the marathon. AVR was significantly smaller in SC compared with MA.

Conclusion

Chronic exercise seems to prime the central nervous system for acute, intensive bouts of exercise. Our findings indicate a possible relationship between cognitive performance in high-demand tasks and retinal vasculature and support the idea of a neuroplastic effect of exercise.
No effects of waterproof marking on the behaviour and growth of Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805 (Gastropoda: Hygrophila: Physidae) in the laboratory
Authors: Lombardo Paola , Miccoli Francesco Paolo , Cichy Anna , Stanicka Anna , Żbikowska Elżbieta
Published: May 2021

Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805 is one of the most common freshwater gastropod species, with worldwide distribution. It is an effective periphyton grazer and a potential keystone species in shallow-water systems, where it can boost macrophyte well-being and thus help maintain high water clarity even in nutrient-rich habitats. P. acuta also has been extensively studied in ecotoxicological and behavioural investigations. Such investigations may require observations on individual snails. A method to distinguish individual snails in small-scale experiments is marking their shells with paint dots. However, such marking must not influence snail behaviour (nutritional, reproductive, respiratory, etc.) or growth to avoid confounding effects. Earlier investigations point to no or very limited effects of marking on aquatic and terrestrial snail survival, behaviour, and growth. We tested whether marking could affect the behaviour (as snail activity) and growth of P. acuta using a waterproof, oil-based, non-toxic, fine-point car-body paint marker. Snails were divided into a “marked” and an “unmarked” (control) group of ten snails each in an eight-day experiment. The marking had no effect on the snail activity or growth. The snails survived the experiment and produced egg clutches well beyond the eight-day period. The marking persisted without fading during and beyond the experimental period. Our results support earlier findings that the use of oil-based, non-toxic markers can assist in carrying out reliable observations on individual snails, including the small-bodied P. acuta. Combinations of two dots of different colours allow simultaneous observations on a high number of replicate individuals.
Η ενωσιακή δημόσια διοίκηση και το υπηρεσιακό - πειθαρχικό καθεστώς των υπαλλήλων της
Authors: Ανθυμίδης Παύλος
Published: May 2021

H ενωσιακή Δημόσια Διοίκηση σχηματίστηκε υπό την επιρροή των εθνικών εννόμων τάξεων, ιδίως της Γαλλίας και της Γερμανίας. Σύμφωνα με τα κρατούντα στη Γαλλία πρότυπα, οι υπάλληλοι της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης διακρίνονται στους διοικητικούς (“administrateurs” - AD) και στους βοηθητικούς (“assistants - AST”). Κατά τον Κανονισμό Υπηρεσιακής Κατάστασης, ο υπάλληλος οφείλει να ασκεί τα καθήκοντά του και να ρυθμίζει τη συμπεριφορά του, λαμβάνοντας αποκλειστικά υπόψη του τα συμφέροντα της Ένωσης. Επίσης, ο υπάλληλος απέχει από κάθε πράξη ή συμπεριφορά που μπορούν να θίξουν την αξιοπρέπεια του λειτουργήματός του και απέχει από την χωρίς άδεια κοινολόγηση των πληροφοριών που περιέρχονται στην αντίληψή του εξαιτίας των καθηκόντων του. Επιπλέον, ο ενωσιακός υπάλληλος απολαμβάνει ορισμένα δικαιώματα που του παρέχονται από τον ανωτέρω Κανονισμό, όπως το δικαίωμα της ελευθερίας της έκφρασης, το δικαίωμα αρωγής (παροχής βοήθειας) από την Ένωση, ιδίως σε περίπτωση δίωξης των δραστών απειλών, προσβολών, εξυβρίσεων ή αποπειρών εναντίον του προσώπου και της περιουσίας είτε του ιδίου είτε των μελών της οικογένειάς του, λόγω της ιδιότητάς του ή των καθηκόντων του καθώς και το δικαίωμα σε μισθό, σε σύνταξη και σε παροχές κοινωνικής ασφάλειας. Η πειθαρχική διαδικασία λαμβάνει χώρα σύμφωνα με το Παράρτημα IX του Κανονισμού Υπηρεσιακής Κατάστασης. Αναφορικά με τα πειθαρχικά μέτρα, η αρμόδια για τους διορισμούς αρχή μπορεί να επιβάλει μια από τις ακόλουθες κυρώσεις: α. έγγραφη προειδοποίηση, β. επίπληξη, γ. αναστολή της προαγωγής κατά κλιμάκιο για διάστημα μεταξύ ενός μηνός και είκοσι τριών μηνών, δ. τοποθέτηση σε κατώτερο κλιμάκιο, ε. προσωρινό υποβιβασμό για περίοδο μεταξύ 15 ημερών και ενός έτους, στ. υποβιβασμό στο εσωτερικό της ίδιας ομάδας καθηκόντων, ζ. κατάταξη σε κατώτερη ομάδα καθηκόντων, με ή χωρίς υποβιβασμό και η. παύση. Σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 10 του Παραρτήματος IX του Κανονισμού Υπηρεσιακής Κατάστασης, η αυστηρότητα της επιβαλλόμενης πειθαρχικής κύρωσης πρέπει να είναι ανάλογη προς τη βαρύτητα του παραπτώματος. Για τον καθορισμό της βαρύτητας του παραπτώματος και τη λήψη απόφασης για την πειθαρχική κύρωση που πρέπει να επιβληθεί, λαμβάνονται υπόψη, ιδίως, (inter alia) η φύση του παραπτώματος και οι περιστάσεις υπό τις οποίες έχει διαπραχθεί, τα κίνητρα που οδήγησαν τον υπάλληλο να διαπράξει το παράπτωμα και ο βαθμός και η αρχαιότητα του υπαλλήλου.
Baugeschichtliche Untersuchungen im Jahre 2004
Authors: Badrutt Conradin , Brandenberger Rebekka , Jaggi Bernard , Reicke Daniel , Ritzmann Hans , Tramèr Stephan
Published: May 2021

Im Verlauf des Jahres 2004 war die Bauforschung der Basler Denkmalpflege mit 39 Dossiers beschäftigt. Im vorliegenden Befundbericht sollen nur die im Berichtsjahr 2004 abgeschlossenen Einsätze vorgestellt und besprochen werden. Berichtet wird über die Ergebnisse von 17 Untersuchungen.
Anesthesia modality does not affect clinical outcomes of intra-arterial vasodilator treatment in patients with symptomatic cerebral vasospasms
Authors: Fischer Corinne , Vulcu Sonja , Goldberg Johannes , Wagner Franca , Rodriguez Belén , Söll Nicole , Mordasini Pasquale , Haenggi Matthias , Schefold Joerg C. , Raabe Andreas , Z'Graggen Werner J.
Published: May 2021

Background: Delayed cerebral ischemia and cerebral vasospasm remain the leading causes of poor outcome in survivors of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Refractory cerebral vasospasms can be treated with endovascular vasodilator therapy, which can either be performed in conscious sedation or general anesthesia. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of the anesthesia modality on long-term clinical outcomes in patients undergoing endovascular vasodilator therapy due to cerebral vasospasm and hypoperfusion.

Methods: Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores were retrospectively analyzed at time of discharge from the hospital and six months after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Additionally, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was assessed 24 hours before, immediately before, immediately after, and 24 hours after endovascular vasodilator therapy, and at discharge and six months. Interventional parameters such as duration of intervention, choice and dosage of vasodilator and number of arteries treated were also recorded.

Results: A total of 98 patients were included in this analysis and separated into patients who had interventions in conscious sedation, general anesthesia and a mix of both. Neither mRS at discharge nor at six months showed a significant difference for functionally independent outcomes (mRS 0-2) between groups. NIHSS before endovascular vasodilator therapy was significantly higher in patients receiving interventions in general anesthesia but did not differ anymore between groups six months after the initial bleed.

Conclusion: This study did not observe a difference in outcome whether patients underwent endovascular vasodilator therapy in general anesthesia or conscious sedation for refractory cerebral vasospasms. Hence, the choice should be made for each patient individually.
The power of the people: the meaning of kratos in dēmokratia
Authors: McGuire John
Published: May 2021

In this paper, I reconstruct the notion of kratos as a unique and distinguishable exercise of political power. Using examples from 5th- and 4th-century Attic tragedy, Old Comedy, and forensic oratory, I show how kratos was used in Athenian cultural and political discourse to convey the irrefutability of a claim, the recognition of someone’s prevailing over another, and the sense of having the last word—all of which makes kratic power dependent upon its own continued demonstrability. I argue that the peculiarly performative character of kratos has little or no role within contemporary democratic thinking because the agency of the dēmos is largely mediated through the mechanisms of electoral success and constitutional rights. Nevertheless—and regardless of whether they are ultimately successful in achieving their stated political aims—the spontaneous, organisationally diffuse protests operating extra-institutionally under the banners of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter reveal how the attempted ‘domestication’ of kratos, and the sublimation of its peculiar power into piecemeal reform, was never a realistic or satisfactory answer for democratic discontent.