bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inaccurate cortical tracking of speech in adults with impaired speech perception in noise
Authors: Vander Ghinst Marc , Bourguignon Mathieu , Wens Vincent , Naeije Gilles , Ducène Cecile , Niesen Maxime , Hassid Sergio , Choufani Georges , Goldman Serge , De Tiège Xavier
Published: September 2021

Impaired speech perception in noise despite normal peripheral auditory function is a common problem in young adults. Despite a growing body of research, the pathophysiology of this impairment remains unknown. This magnetoencephalography study characterizes the cortical tracking of speech in a multi-talker background in a group of highly selected adult subjects with impaired speech perception in noise without peripheral auditory dysfunction. Magnetoencephalographic signals were recorded from 13 subjects with impaired speech perception in noise (six females, mean age: 30 years) and matched healthy subjects while they were listening to 5 different recordings of stories merged with a multi-talker background at different signal to noise ratios (No Noise, +10, +5, 0 and −5 dB). The cortical tracking of speech was quantified with coherence between magnetoencephalographic signals and the temporal envelope of (i) the global auditory scene (i.e. the attended speech stream and the multi-talker background noise), (ii) the attended speech stream only and (iii) the multi-talker background noise. Functional connectivity was then estimated between brain areas showing altered cortical tracking of speech in noise in subjects with impaired speech perception in noise and the rest of the brain. All participants demonstrated a selective cortical representation of the attended speech stream in noisy conditions, but subjects with impaired speech perception in noise displayed reduced cortical tracking of speech at the syllable rate (i.e. 4–8 Hz) in all noisy conditions. Increased functional connectivity was observed in subjects with impaired speech perception in noise in Noiseless and speech in noise conditions between supratemporal auditory cortices and left-dominant brain areas involved in semantic and attention processes. The difficulty to understand speech in a multi-talker background in subjects with impaired speech perception in noise appears to be related to an inaccurate auditory cortex tracking of speech at the syllable rate. The increased functional connectivity between supratemporal auditory cortices and language/attention-related neocortical areas probably aims at supporting speech perception and subsequent recognition in adverse auditory scenes. Overall, this study argues for a central origin of impaired speech perception in noise in the absence of any peripheral auditory dysfunction.
Neuronal VPS35 deletion induces spinal cord motor neuron degeneration and early post-natal lethality
Authors: Sargent Dorian , Cunningham Lindsey A , Dues Dylan J , Ma Yue , Kordich Jennifer J , Mercado Gabriela , Brundin Patrik , Cowell Rita M , Moore Darren J
Published: September 2021

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the selective degeneration of neuronal populations in different brain regions and frequently the formation of distinct protein aggregates that often overlap between diseases. While the causes of many sporadic neurodegenerative diseases are unclear, genes associated with familial or sporadic forms of disease and the underlying cellular pathways involved tend to support common disease mechanisms. Underscoring this concept, mutations in the Vacuolar Protein Sorting 35 Orthologue (VPS35) gene have been identified to cause late-onset, autosomal dominant familial Parkinson’s disease, whereas reduced VPS35 protein levels are reported in vulnerable brain regions of subjects with Alzheimer’s disease, neurodegenerative tauopathies such as progressive supranuclear palsy and Pick’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Therefore, VPS35 is commonly implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases. VPS35 plays a critical role in the retromer complex that mediates the retrieval and recycling of transmembrane protein cargo from endosomes to the trans-Golgi network or plasma membrane. VPS35 and retromer function are highly conserved in eukaryotic cells, with the homozygous deletion of VPS35 inducing early embryonic lethality in mice that has hindered an understanding of its role in the brain. Here, we develop conditional knockout mice with the selective deletion of VPS35 in neurons to better elucidate its role in neuronal viability and its connection to neurodegenerative diseases. Surprisingly, the pan-neuronal deletion of VPS35 induces a progressive and rapid disease with motor deficits and early post-natal lethality. Underlying this neurological phenotype is the relatively selective and robust degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord. Neuronal loss is accompanied and preceded by the formation of p62-positive protein inclusions and robust reactive astrogliosis. Our study reveals a critical yet unappreciated role for VPS35 function in the normal maintenance and survival of motor neurons during post-natal development that has important implications for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Assessing the Longitudinal Relationship between Theta-Gamma Coupling and Working Memory Performance in Older Adults
Authors: Brooks Heather , Mirjalili Mina , Wang Wei , Kumar Sanjeev , Goodman Michelle S , Zomorrodi Reza , Blumberger Daniel M , Bowie Christopher R , Daskalakis Zafiris J , Fischer Corinne E , Flint Alastair J , Herrmann Nathan , Lanctôt Krista L , Mah Linda , Mulsant Benoit H , Pollock Bruce G , Voineskos Aristotle N , Rajji Tarek K
Published: September 2021

Theta-gamma coupling (TGC) is a neurophysiologic mechanism that supports working memory (WM). TGC is associated with N-back performance, a WM task. Similar to TGC, theta and alpha event-related synchronization (ERS) and desynchronization (ERD) are also associated with WM. Few studies have examined the longitudinal relationship between WM performance and TGC, ERS, or ERD. This study aimed to determine if changes in WM performance are associated with changes in TGC (primary aim), as well as theta and alpha ERS or ERD over 6 to 12 weeks. Participants included 62 individuals aged 60 and older with no neuropsychiatric conditions or with remitted Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and no cognitive disorders. TGC, ERS, and ERD were assessed using electroencephalography (EEG) during the N-back task (3-back condition). There was an association between changes in 3-back performance and changes in TGC, alpha ERD and ERS, and theta ERS in the control group. In contrast, there was only a significant association between changes in 3-back performance and changes in TGC in the subgroup with remitted MDD. Our results suggest that the relationship between WM performance and TGC is stable over time, while this is not the case for changes in theta and alpha ERS and ERD.
Temporal Alterations to Central Auditory Processing without Synaptopathy after Lifetime Exposure to Environmental Noise
Authors: Occelli Florian , Hasselmann Florian , Bourien Jérôme , Puel Jean-Luc , Desvignes Nathalie , Wiszniowski Bernadette , Edeline Jean-Marc , Gourévitch Boris
Published: September 2021

People are increasingly exposed to environmental noise through the cumulation of occupational and recreational activities, which is considered harmless to the auditory system, if the sound intensity remains <80 dB. However, recent evidence of noise-induced peripheral synaptic damage and central reorganizations in the auditory cortex, despite normal audiometry results, has cast doubt on the innocuousness of lifetime exposure to environmental noise. We addressed this issue by exposing adult rats to realistic and nontraumatic environmental noise, within the daily permissible noise exposure limit for humans (80 dB sound pressure level, 8 h/day) for between 3 and 18 months. We found that temporary hearing loss could be detected after 6 months of daily exposure, without leading to permanent hearing loss or to missing synaptic ribbons in cochlear hair cells. The degraded temporal representation of sounds in the auditory cortex after 18 months of exposure was very different from the effects observed after only 3 months of exposure, suggesting that modifications to the neural code continue throughout a lifetime of exposure to noise.
Sex Differences and Exogenous Estrogen Influence Learning and Brain Responses to Prediction Errors
Authors: Joue Gina , Chakroun Karima , Bayer Janine , Gläscher Jan , Zhang Lei , Fuss Johannes , Hennies Nora , Sommer Tobias
Published: September 2021

Animal studies show marked sex differences as well as effects of estrogen (E2) in the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic (DA) pathways, which play a critical role in reward processing and reinforcement learning and are also implicated in drug addiction. In this computational pharmacological fMRI study, we investigate the effects of both factors, sex and estrogen, on reinforcement learning and the dopaminergic system in humans; 67 male and 64 naturally cycling female volunteers, the latter in their low-hormone phase, were randomly assigned, double-blind, to take E2 or placebo. They completed a reinforcement learning task in the MRI scanner for which we have previously shown reward prediction error (RPE)-related activity to be dopaminergic. We found RPE-related brain activity to be enhanced in women compared with men and to a greater extent when E2 levels were elevated in both sexes. However, both factors, female sex and E2, slowed adaptation to RPEs (smaller learning rate). This discrepancy of larger RPE-related activity yet smaller learning rates can be explained by organizational sex differences and activational effects of circulating E2, which both affect DA release differently to DA receptor binding capacities.
Preparatory Control Against Distraction Is Not Feature-Based
Authors: Liesefeld Heinrich R , Liesefeld Anna M , Müller Hermann J
Published: September 2021

Salient-but-irrelevant stimuli (distractors) co-occurring with search targets can capture attention against the observer’s will. Recently, evidence has accumulated that preparatory control can prevent this misguidance of spatial attention in predictable situations. However, the underlying mechanisms have remained elusive. Most pertinent theories assume that attention is guided by specific features. This widespread theoretical claim provides several strong predictions with regard to distractor handling that are disconfirmed here: Employing electrophysiological markers of covert attentional dynamics, in three experiments, we show that distractors standing out by a feature that is categorically different from the target consistently captures attention. However, equally salient distractors standing out in a different feature dimension are effectively down-weighted, even if unpredictably swapping their defining feature with the target. This shows that preparing for a distractor’s feature is neither necessary nor sufficient for successful avoidance of attentional capture. Rather, capture is prevented by preparing for the distractor’s feature dimension.
Shorter Contextual Timescale Rather Than Memory Deficit in Aging
Authors: Todd Juanita , Yeark Mattsen D , Paton Bryan , Jermyn Alexandra , Winkler István
Published: September 2021

Many aspects of cognitive ability and brain function that change as we age look like deficits on account of measurable differences in comparison to younger adult groups. One such difference occurs in auditory sensory responses that index perceptual learning. Meta-analytic findings show reliable age-related differences in auditory responses to repetitive patterns of sound and to rare violations of those patterns, variously attributed to deficits in auditory sensory memory and inhibition. Here, we determine whether proposed deficits would render older adults less prone to primacy effects, robustly observed in young adults, which present as a tendency for first learning to have a disproportionate influence over later perceptual inference. The results confirm this reduced sensitivity to primacy effects but do not support impairment in auditory sensory memory as the origin of this difference. Instead, the aging brain produces data consistent with shorter timescales of contextual reference. In conclusion, age-related differences observed previously for perceptual inference appear highly context-specific necessitating reconsideration of whether and to what function the notion of deficit should be attributed, and even whether the notion of deficit is appropriate at all.
Brain-Generated 17β-Estradiol Modulates Long-Term Synaptic Plasticity in the Primary Auditory Cortex of Adult Male Rats
Authors: Soutar Chloe N , Grenier Patrick , Patel Ashutosh , Kabitsis Pauline P , Olmstead Mary C , Bailey Craig D C , Dringenberg Hans C
Published: September 2021

Neuron-derived 17β-estradiol (E2) alters synaptic transmission and plasticity in brain regions with endocrine and non-endocrine functions. Investigations into a modulatory role of E2 in synaptic activity and plasticity have mainly focused on the rodent hippocampal formation. In songbirds, E2 is synthesized by auditory forebrain neurons and promotes auditory signal processing and memory for salient acoustic stimuli; however, the modulatory effects of E2 on memory-related synaptic plasticity mechanisms have not been directly examined in the auditory forebrain. We investigated the effects of bidirectional E2 manipulations on synaptic transmission and long-term potentiation (LTP) in the rat primary auditory cortex (A1). Immunohistochemistry revealed widespread neuronal expression of the E2 biosynthetic enzyme aromatase in multiple regions of the rat sensory and association neocortex, including A1. In A1, E2 application reduced the threshold for in vivo LTP induction at layer IV synapses, whereas pharmacological suppression of E2 production by aromatase inhibition abolished LTP induction at layer II/III synapses. In acute A1 slices, glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor-mediated currents were sensitive to E2 manipulations in a layer-specific manner. These findings demonstrate that locally synthesized E2 modulates synaptic transmission and plasticity in A1 and suggest potential mechanisms by which E2 contributes to auditory signal processing and memory.
Big Thunder, Little Rain: The Yellow Peril Framing of the Pandemic Campaign Against China
Authors: Sautman Barry
Published: September 2021

Yellow Peril ideology has long cast Chinese as cruel, deceitful, incompetent disease vectors. Many US elites now tie such notions to China’s response to Covid-19. Their racialized framing of the drive to condemn and sue China however exemplifies a Chinese idiom—“big thunder, little rain” (雷声大, 雨点小)—which means noisy, yet ineffective. There are empirical obstacles to convincing the world of Chinese responsibility for the pandemic, such as that the virus spread much more from Europe and the US than from China, many Western states failed against the virus, and pandemic-related agitation against China has resulted in many anti-Asian actions. The ongoing claims are thus unlikely to be convincing beyond the Anglosphere, but still spread racism and advance a US-led anti-China mobilization.
A Novel, Simple Rapid Reverse-Phase HPLC-DAD Analysis, for the Simultaneous Determination of Phenolic Compounds and Abscisic Acid Commonly Found in Foodstuff and Beverages
Authors: Whelan Laura Curtin , Geary Michael , Healy Jim
Published: September 2021

A novel, simple, rapid, 7-minute HPLC-DAD method for the determination of 10 phenolic compounds and abscisic acid commonly found in teas, wines, fruit and honey was successfully developed and validated according to the International Council of Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. This reverse-phase (RP) HPLC-DAD method boasts rapid separation and excellent resolution while introducing green chemistry techniques. The Agilent 1200 series diode array detector SL coupled with a reverse-phase Advanced Materials Technology Halo C18 column (100 × 3.0 mm i.d., 2.7 μm) contributed to the rapid analyses. This, together with a 0.1% formic acid in water (v/v) and methanol mobile phase, a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min and the utilization of a meticulous gradient elution resulted in a validated method for the determination of 10 phenolic compounds and abscisic acid commonly found in various foodstuffs. The resulting method proved to be rapid, accurate, precise and linear with sensitive detection limits from 0.025 μg/mL to 0.500 μg/mL and percentage recoveries of 98.07%–101.94%. Phenolic compounds have been acknowledged throughout literature for their therapeutic properties, interalia, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiaging due to free radical scavenging potentials. However, resulting analysis, can be frequently complicated and long and very often discounts green chemistry techniques. The developed and validated method successfully and rapidly analyses, gallic acid, caffeic acid, trans-p-coumaric acid, rutin, myricetin, abscisic acid, trans-cinnamic acid, quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol and chrysin with excellent resolution and precision.
Politics of discontent in Spain: the case of Vox and the Catalonian independence movement
Authors: Arana Arantza Gomez
Published: September 2021

Since the return to democracy, the negotiations on decentralisation of policies and decision-making developed with the framework of Comunidades Autónomas had been intended as a way of dealing with the existent tensions between Spanish and regional nationalisms. However, the escalation of the tension between regions reached a new level with the unofficial referendum in Catalonia over potential independence from Spain in October 2017 together with the increase in support for the first time in 40 years for a Spanish extreme right-wing party, VOX. The reasons behind both the support for VOX and the support for Catalonian independence can be linked to the degree of discontent over regional and Spanish nationalistic ideas respectively.
Epidemic thresholds of infectious diseases on tie-decay networks
Authors: Chen Qinyi , Porter Mason A
Published: September 2021

In the study of infectious diseases on networks, researchers calculate epidemic thresholds to help forecast whether or not a disease will eventually infect a large fraction of a population. Because network structure typically changes with time, which fundamentally influences the dynamics of spreading processes and in turn affects epidemic thresholds for disease propagation, it is important to examine epidemic thresholds in models of disease spread on temporal networks. Most existing studies of epidemic thresholds in temporal networks have focused on models in discrete time, but most real-world networked systems evolve continuously with time. In our work, we encode the continuous time-dependence of networks in the evaluation of the epidemic threshold of a susceptible–infected–susceptible (SIS) process by studying an SIS model on tie-decay networks. We derive the epidemic-threshold condition of this model, and we perform numerical experiments to verify it. We also examine how different factors—the decay coefficients of the tie strengths in a network, the frequency of the interactions between the nodes in the network, and the sparsity of the underlying social network on which interactions occur—lead to decreases or increases of the critical values of the threshold and hence contribute to facilitating or impeding the spread of a disease. We thereby demonstrate how the features of tie-decay networks alter the outcome of disease spread.
An Israeli–Palestinian Hecuba: Hanoch Levin’s Anti-Tragedy
Authors: Akavia Abigail
Published: September 2021

The Lost Women of Troy by Hanoch Levin, Israel’s foremost playwright of the twentieth century, is an adaptation of Euripides’ Trojan Women and Hecuba. Staged in Tel Aviv in 1984 during the First Lebanon War, Lost Women focuses on the bereavement and humiliation of Hecuba. Levin reconfigures this character to reflect mothers on both sides of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Through a subversion of the aesthetics of tragedy, Levin’s play is an indictment of the notion of heroism prevalent in Israeli society. It presents a bitter criticism of his public’s acceptance of the ideology of war and their participation in a narrative that glorifies those who die in combat as heroes. Levin’s critique, I argue, is formulated as a textual sparagmos, a violent tearing apart of Euripides’ tragedies and the conventions in which they operate. Levin’s metatheatrical violence against the tragic genre parallels the inherent violence of the discourse of heroism which his adaptation seeks to expose and denounce.
Jennifer Egan, New Sincerity, and the Genre Turn in Contemporary Fiction
Authors: Kelly Adam
Published: September 2021

This article traces a development in Jennifer Egan’s literary ethos across her career: from a worry about the negative effects of popular genre conventions in her early fiction to a dedicated embrace, in her most recent work, of genre writing and of realist fiction as itself a genre. I situate Egan’s development in the context of a shift in the American literary field more generally, from the moment of literary New Sincerity in the 1990s and early 2000s to the much remarked-upon “genre turn” in literary fiction since the mid-2000s. I argue that Egan’s work allows us to see how New Sincerity laid the ground for the genre turn and to understand this process of literary change in its aesthetic, economic, political, and gendered dimensions.
Spatial Associations of Key Lepidopteran Pests With Defoliation, NDVI, and Plant Height in Soybean
Authors: Greene Anthony Daniel , Reay-Jones Francis P F , Kirk Kendall R , Peoples Brandon K , Greene Jeremy K
Published: September 2021

In soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, production, losses to, and control costs for insect pests can be significant limiting factors. Although the heterogeneity of pests has typically been ignored in traditional field management practices, technological advancements have allowed for site-specific pest management systems to be developed for the precise control of pests within a field. In this study, we chose to determine how the in-field distributions of the larvae of three major lepidopteran pests [velvetbean caterpillar Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), soybean looper Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and green cloverworm Hypena scabra (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) (Fabricius)] were spatially associated with defoliation, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and plant height in soybean. Spatial analysis by distance indices (SADIE) of data from two South Carolina soybean fields in 2017 and 2018 revealed a limited number of spatial aggregations for insect datasets. However, 14% and 6% of paired plant–insect datasets were significantly associated or dissociated, respectively. NDVI was found to be more associated with pest distributions than soybean plant heights and defoliation estimates, and the majority of all plant–insect associations and dissociations occurred in the first 4 wk of sampling (late July–early August). If changes are to be implemented regarding how a pest is managed, critical factors explaining the spatial distribution of pests must be identified. Results from this study advocate for the relationship between early-season distributions of pests and important plant variables such as NDVI to be further investigated to better determine the strength of the correlations across years and sites.
Maine’s Bumble Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)—Part 2: Comparisons of a Common (Bombus ternarius) and a Rare (Bombus terricola) Species
Authors: Butler Ronald G , Lage Christopher , Dobrin Scott E , Staples Joseph K , Venturini Eric , Frank Jereme , Drummond Francis A
Published: September 2021

As part of a quantitative survey of Maine’s bumble bee fauna (Butler et al. 2021), we compared and contrasted genetic diversity, parasite and pathogen burdens, and pesticide exposure of the relatively common Bombus ternarius Say, 1937 and the spatially rare Bombus terricola Kirby, 1837. We recorded 11 Bombus species at 40 survey sites across three Maine ecoregions, and B. ternarius was the most common species, while B. terricola was spatially rare. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling indicated that B. terricola was associated with higher elevation sites in Maine, while B. ternarius was more broadly distributed in the state. Pollinator networks constructed for each bee indicated B. ternarius foraged on more plant species than B. terricola, but that there was considerable overlap (73%) in plant species visited. Genetic diversity was greater in the spatially restricted B. terricola, whereas the widely distributed B. ternarius was characterized by greater genetic differentiation among regions. Bombus terricola had higher molecular marker levels of the microsporidian fungi Nosema spp. and the trypanosome Crithidia spp., and both species had high levels of Trypanosoma spp. exposure. No Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera, Linnaeus, 1758) viruses were detected in either species. Pesticides were not detected in pollen samples collected from workers of either species, and B. ternarius worker tissue samples exhibited only trace levels of diflubenzuron.
Tolerances of Apple Maggot (Diptera: Tephritidae) Larvae and Different Age Puparia to Water Flotation and Immersion
Authors: Yee Wee L
Published: September 2021

Tolerance of terrestrial insects in temperate regions to water immersion and hypoxia has rarely been studied but can be an important adaptation to moist environments, with implications for insect dispersal through waterways. In the Pacific Northwest of the United States, apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) (Diptera: Tephritidae), can be found in riparian habitats subject to flooding. Here, survival of R. pomonella larvae and different age puparia after flotation or immersion in 13.3°C or 21.1°C water for 1–12 d was determined. Larvae sank in water and when submerged for 1 or 2 d suffered greater mortality than control larvae. Fewer young (1–2 d old) than older puparia (13–15 d old) floated in water. When immersed in water for 1–12 d, young puparia suffered greater mortality than older puparia, which were not affected by water immersion. Consequently, fewer adult flies eclosed from puparia that had been water treated when young than older. Adult flies from pre-chill and post-chill puparia that had been water treated eclosed later than control flies, but treatment flies survived about 60 d and reproduced. Although newly-formed puparia are susceptible to hypoxic water conditions, increased buoyancy and water tolerance occur rapidly after formation, perhaps making survival possible and allowing water-borne dispersal of older puparia.
Supplementary role of left ventricular global longitudinal strain for predicting sudden cardiac death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Authors: Lee Hyun Jung , Kim Hyung Kwan , Lee Sang Chol , Kim Jihoon , Park Jun Bean , Hwang In Chang , Choi You Jung , Lee Seung Pyo , Chang Sung A , Lee Whal , Park Eun Ah , Cho Goo Yeong , Kim Yong Jin
Published: September 2021

Aims

We investigated the prognostic role of left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) and its incremental value to established risk models for predicting sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Methods and results

LV-GLS was measured with vendor-independent software at a core laboratory in a cohort of 835 patients with HCM (aged 56.3 ± 12.2 years) followed-up for a median of 6.4 years. The primary endpoint was SCD events, including appropriate defibrillator therapy, within 5 years after the initial evaluation. The secondary endpoint was a composite of SCD events, heart failure admission, heart transplantation, and all-cause mortality. Twenty (2.4%) and 85 (10.2%) patients experienced the primary and secondary endpoints, respectively. Lower absolute LV-GLS quartiles, especially those worse than the median (−15.0%), were associated with progressively higher SCD event rates (P = 0.004). LV-GLS was associated with an increased risk for the primary endpoint, independent of the LV ejection fraction, apical aneurysm, and 2014 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) risk score [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.28] or 2011 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) risk factors (aHR 1.18, 95% CI 1.05–1.32). LV-GLS was also associated with a higher risk for the composite secondary endpoint (aHR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01–1.12). The addition of LV-GLS enhanced the performance of the ESC risk score (C-statistic 0.756 vs. 0.842, P = 0.007) and the 2011 ACC/AHA risk factor strategy (C-statistic 0.743 vs. 0.814, P = 0.007) for predicting SCD.

Conclusion

LV-GLS is an important prognosticator in patients with HCM and provides additional information to established risk stratification strategies for predicting SCD.
Evolution of right and left ventricle routine and speckle-tracking echocardiography in patients recovering from coronavirus disease 2019: a longitudinal study
Authors: Baruch Guy , Rothschild Ehud , Sadon Sapir , Szekely Yishay , Lichter Yael , Kaplan Alon , Taieb Philippe , Banai Ariel , Hochstadt Aviram , Merdler Ilan , Arbel Yaron , Laufer-Perl Michal , Beer Gil , Kapusta Livia , Topilsky Yan
Published: September 2021

Aims

We aim to assess changes in routine echocardiographic and longitudinal strain parameters in patients recovering from Coronavirus disease 2019 during hospitalization and at 3-month follow-up.

Methods and results

Routine comprehensive echocardiography and STE of both ventricles were performed during hospitalization for acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection as part of a prospective pre-designed protocol and compared with echocardiography performed ∼3 months after recovery in 80 patients, using a similar protocol. Significantly improved right ventricle (RV) fractional area change, longer pulmonary acceleration time, lower right atrial pressure, and smaller RV end-diastolic and end-systolic area were observed at the recovery assessment (P < 0.05 for all). RV global longitudinal strain improved at the follow-up evaluation (23.2 ± 5 vs. 21.7 ± 4, P = 0.03), mostly due to improvement in septal segments. Only eight (10%) patients recovering from COVID-19 infection had abnormal ejection fraction (EF) at follow-up. However, LV related routine (E, E/e′, stroke volume, LV size), or STE parameters did not change significantly from the assessment during hospitalization. A significant proportion [36 (45%)] of patients had some deterioration of longitudinal strain at follow-up, and 20 patients (25%) still had abnormal LV STE ∼3 months after COVID-19 acute infection.

Conclusion

In patients previously discharged from hospitalization due to COVID-19 infection, RV routine echocardiographic and RV STE parameters improve significantly concurrently with improved RV haemodynamics. In contrast, a quarter of patients still have LV systolic dysfunction based on STE cut-offs. Moreover, LV STE does not improve significantly, implying subclinical LV dysfunction may be part and parcel of recovering from COVID-19 infection.
The Stuff of International Law
Authors: Landauer Carl
Published: September 2021

This review essay addresses the call for a ‘material turn’ in international law announced with the publication of International Law’s Objects. It will engage the book’s methodological forays into a material culture studies approach to international law by analysing the theoretical positions of the introductory essays. It will do so, in part, by reviewing the various goals enunciated, including a revitalization of what the editors see as a dusty, text-centric discipline, as well as their hope to broaden the range of international legal study. It will do so also by engaging material culture studies in source disciplines, such as anthropology and archaeology. The review essay will then analyse four of the case studies of objects, how they work with their chosen objects and what the contributors add to our understanding of international law with their confrontation. The essay will offer the potential goals of using material culture study by proposing that international legal study is advanced by enhancing our apprehension of the lived experience of international law through an engagement with objects and by a linked opening up of all the senses to bring us a fuller apprehension of the workings and impact of international law.
Heterogeneous and conditional returns from DT maize for farmers in Southern Africa
Authors: Paul Laura A
Published: September 2021

This paper assesses the relative advantage of drought-tolerant (DT) maize, conditional on drought severity, using an unbalanced panel of 4 years of on-farm yield trials and high-resolution precipitation data (10-day measurements at a 0.05° resolution) in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Under rain-fed conditions, DT maize yield exceeds that of other varieties: 7 per cent higher yields on average and 15 per cent higher yields under moderate drought stress. While this contrasts with higher estimates measured in controlled trials, it nonetheless represents an economically significant advantage. This study further measures heterogeneity in the relative advantage conditional using conditional quantile analysis.
miR-181c level predicts response to exercise training in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction: an analysis of the OptimEx-Clin trial
Authors: Gevaert Andreas B , Witvrouwen Isabel , Van Craenenbroeck Amaryllis H , Van Laere Steven J , Boen Jente R A , Van de Heyning Caroline M , Belyavskiy Evgeny , Mueller Stephan , Winzer Ephraim , Duvinage André , Edelmann Frank , Beckers Paul J , Heidbuchel Hein , Wisløff Ulrik , Pieske Burkert , Adams Volker , Halle Martin , Van Craenenbroeck Emeline M ,   For the OptimEx-Clin Study Group
Published: September 2021

Aims

In patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), exercise training improves the quality of life and aerobic capacity (peakV·O2). Up to 55% of HF patients, however, show no increase in peakV·O2 despite adequate training. We hypothesized that circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) can distinguish exercise low responders (LR) from exercise high responders (HR) among HFpEF patients.

Methods and results

We selected HFpEF patients from the Optimizing Exercise Training in Prevention and Treatment of Diastolic HF (OptimEx) study which attended ≥70% of training sessions during 3 months (n = 51). Patients were defined as HR with a change in peakV·O2 above median (6.4%), and LR as below median (n = 30 and n = 21, respectively). Clinical, ergospirometric, and echocardiographic characteristics were similar between LR and HR. We performed an miRNA array (n = 377 miRNAs) in 14 age- and sex-matched patients. A total of 10 miRNAs were upregulated in LR, of which 4 correlated with peakV·O2. Validation in the remaining 37 patients indicated that high miR-181c predicted reduced peakV·O2 response (multiple linear regression, β = −2.60, P = 0.011), and LR status (multiple logistic regression, odds ratio = 0.48, P = 0.010), independent of age, sex, body mass index, and resting heart rate. Furthermore, miR-181c decreased in LR after exercise training (P-group = 0.030, P-time = 0.048, P-interaction = 0.037). An in silico pathway analysis identified several downstream targets involved in exercise adaptation.

Conclusions

Circulating miR-181c is a marker of the response to exercise training in HFpEF patients. High miR-181c levels can aid in identifying LR prior to training, providing the possibility for individualized management.
Point-of-care tests for pediatric urinary tract infections in general practice: a diagnostic accuracy study
Authors: Boon Hanne A , De Burghgraeve Tine , Verbakel Jan Y , Van den Bruel Ann
Published: September 2021

Background

Early diagnosis of pediatrics urinary tract infections in the outpatient settings is challenging but essential to prevent hospitalization and kidney damage.

Objective

We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic test accuracy of a selection of point-of-care tests for pediatric urinary tract infections in general practice.

Methods

A prospective cross-sectional study in 26 general practices in Flanders, Belgium (clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03835104). Urine was sampled systematically from children between 3 months to 18 years presenting with an acute illness of maximum 10 days. Samples were analyzed at the central laboratory with a routine dipstick test, the Utriplex test, the Uriscreen test and the Rapidbac as index tests, and with urine culture showing more than 105 colony-forming units per milliliter of one pathogen as reference standard. For each test, we calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and predictive values with 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Three-hundred urine samples were available for analysis of which 30 samples were culture positive (10%). Sensitivities and specificities were 32% (95% CI 16%–52%) and 86% (95% CI 82%–90%) for the dipstick test, 21% (95% CI 8%–40%) and 94% (95% CI 91%–97%) for the Utriplex test, 40% (95% CI 16%–68%) and 83% (95% CI 75%–88%) for the Rapidbac test, and 67% (95% CI 38%–88%) with 69% (95% CI 60%–76%) for the Uriscreen test.

Conclusion

All 4 point-of-care tests were suboptimal for use in the broad range of children presenting with acute illnesses to general practice. General practitioners need novel methods for obtaining reliable urine samples during the time of the consultation, especially for children not yet toilet-trained.
Effects of GP characteristics on unplanned hospital admissions and patient safety. A 9-year follow-up of all Norwegian out-of-hours contacts
Authors: Svedahl Ellen Rabben , Pape Kristine , Austad Bjarne , Vie Gunnhild Åberge , Anthun Kjartan Sarheim , Carlsen Fredrik , Bjørngaard Johan Håkon
Published: September 2021

Background

There are substantial differences in hospital referrals between general practitioners (GPs); however, there is little research on the consequences for patient safety and further healthcare use.

Objective

To investigate associations between out-of-hours GP characteristics, unplanned hospital admissions, and patient safety.

Methods

This cohort study included all Norwegian out-of-hours services contacts from 2008 to 2016, linked to registry data on patient characteristics, healthcare use and death, and GP age, sex, specialist status, out-of-hours service experience, and prior admission proportion. We estimated the impact from GP characteristics on (i) immediate unplanned hospital admissions for “all conditions,” (ii) immediate unplanned hospital admissions for “critical conditions,” (iii) 30-day unplanned hospital admissions, (iv) 30-day hospital costs, and (v) 30-day risk of death. To limit confounding, we matched patients in groups by age, time, and location, with an assumption of random assignment of GPs to patients with this design.

Results

Patients under the care of older and male GPs had fewer immediate unplanned hospital admissions, but the effects on cumulative 30-day unplanned hospital admissions and costs were small. The GPs’ prior admission proportion was strongly associated with both immediate and 30-day unplanned hospital admissions. Higher prior admission proportion was also associated with admitting more patients with critical conditions. There was little evidence of any associations between GP characteristics and 30-day risk of death.

Conclusions

GPs’ prior admission proportion was strongly associated with unplanned hospital admissions. We found little effects on 30-day mortality, but more restrictive referral practices may threaten patient safety through missing out on critical cases.
Simulating the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions limiting transmission in COVID-19 epidemics using a membrane computing model
Authors: Campos M , Sempere J M , Galán J C , Moya A , Llorens C , de-los-Angeles C , Baquero-Artigao F , Cantón R , Baquero F
Published: September 2021

Epidemics caused by microbial organisms are part of the natural phenomena of increasing biological complexity. The heterogeneity and constant variability of hosts, in terms of age, immunological status, family structure, lifestyle, work activities, social and leisure habits, daily division of time and other demographic characteristics make it extremely difficult to predict the evolution of epidemics. Such prediction is, however, critical for implementing intervention measures in due time and with appropriate intensity. General conclusions should be precluded, given that local parameters dominate the flow of local epidemics. Membrane computing models allows us to reproduce the objects (viruses and hosts) and their interactions (stochastic but also with defined probabilities) with an unprecedented level of detail. Our LOIMOS model helps reproduce the demographics and social aspects of a hypothetical town of 10 320 inhabitants in an average European country where COVID-19 is imported from the outside. The above-mentioned characteristics of hosts and their lifestyle are minutely considered. For the data in the Hospital and the ICU we took advantage of the observations at the Nursery Intensive Care Unit of the Consortium University General Hospital, Valencia, Spain (included as author). The dynamics of the epidemics are reproduced and include the effects on viral transmission of innate and acquired immunity at various ages. The model predicts the consequences of delaying the adoption of non-pharmaceutical interventions (between 15 and 45 days after the first reported cases) and the effect of those interventions on infection and mortality rates (reducing transmission by 20, 50 and 80%) in immunological response groups. The lockdown for the elderly population as a single intervention appears to be effective. This modeling exercise exemplifies the application of membrane computing for designing appropriate multilateral interventions in epidemic situations.
Call It Transmutation: The Radioactive Poetics of Gaston Leroux's And Maurice Leblanc’s Detective Fiction
Authors: Bielecki Emma
Published: September 2021

This article explores the role and representation of radioactivity in two popular novels of the first decades of the twentieth century: Gaston Leroux’s Le Mystère de la chambre jaune (1907) and Maurice Leblanc’s L’Île aux trente cercueils (1919). It examines how the idea of transmutation emerged as a key concept in the discourse surrounding radioactivity in the years immediately following its discovery, and how Leroux and Leblanc seized on this in their work, using radioactivity’s metaphorical energy to generate narratives which themselves enact various processes of transformation, and in doing so instantiate the transmutation of the adventure novel into the detective novel.
Infections by Transovarially Transmitted DMelSV in Drosophila Have No Impact on Ovarian Transposable Element Transcripts but Increase Their Amounts in the Soma
Authors: Roy Marlène , Viginier Barbara , Mayeux Camille A , Ratinier Maxime , Fablet Marie
Published: September 2021

Transposable elements (TEs) are genomic parasites, which activity is tightly controlled in germline cells. Using Sindbis virus, it was recently demonstrated that viral infections affect TE transcript amounts in somatic tissues. However, the strongest evolutionary impacts are expected in gonads, because that is where the genomes of the next generations lie. Here, we investigated this aspect using the Drosophila melanogaster Sigma virus. It is particularly relevant in the genome/TE interaction given its tropism to ovaries, which is the organ displaying the more sophisticated TE control pathways. Our results in Drosophila simulans flies allowed us to confirm the existence of a strong homeostasis of the TE transcriptome in ovaries upon infection, which, however, rely on TE-derived small RNA modulations. In addition, we performed a meta-analysis of RNA-seq data and propose that the immune pathway that is triggered upon viral infection determines the direction of TE transcript modulation in somatic tissues.
Health behaviours of teachers and other education professionals in France: can we do better?
Authors: Temam Sofia , Billaudeau Nathalie , Kab Sofiane , Zins Marie , Alexander Stéphanie , Vercambre Marie-Noël
Published: September 2021

Education professionals play a critical role in health education, both as knowledge providers and as role-models. Drawing on the CONSTANCES French cohort (baseline 2012–19) and adjusting for important confounders, we compared education professionals (n = 14 730) with a random sample of non-education sector employees (n = 34 244) on three indicators of high-risk behaviour (at-risk drinking, current smoking, past-year cannabis use) and three indicators of unhealthy lifestyle (low physical activity, poor adherence to nutritional guidelines, overweight/obesity). Among education professionals, we distinguished between teachers (n = 12 820), school principals (n = 372), senior education advisers (n = 189), school health professionals (n = 128) and school service staff (n = 1221). Compared with non-education sector employees with similar demographic and socioeconomic profiles, teachers were less likely to be at-risk drinkers, to smoke, to have used cannabis in the past year and to be overweight/obese. Other non-teaching education professionals were also less involved in high-risk behaviours than non-education employees, but results were more mixed concerning some lifestyle indicators, with certain non-teaching education professional groups showing a higher likelihood of being physically inactive or overweight/obese. In this nationwide French study, our results suggest a window of opportunity to promote school staff health but also indirectly, that of the youth with whom they interact daily. We suggest that school staff should be supported in health matters not only through the provision of health information but also most importantly, through the development of a favourable and supportive environment enabling them to put health knowledge into practice.
The bewildered peasant: family, migration and murder in the Greek Cypriot community in London
Authors: Panayi Panikos , Varnava Andrekos
Published: September 2021

Greek Cypriots became a key feature of early post-Second World War London. This article focuses on the case of the penultimate woman hanged in Britain, Styllou Christofi, who was executed in December 1954 for the murder of her German-born daughter-in-law, Hella. It outlines the emergence of the Cypriot community in London, tackles the image of the Cypriot in the British imperial imagination and investigates the hostility that this new community faced in Britain. The article investigates the nature of family in Cyprus and London and questions why Cypriots have received so little attention from historians, despite their numbers.
Fisheries connectivity measures of adaptive capacity in small-scale fisheries
Authors: Nomura Keiko , Samhouri Jameal F , Johnson Andrew F , Giron-Nava Alfredo , Watson James R
Published: September 2021

Small-scale fisheries (SSFs) around the world are increasingly facing pressures from a range of environmental, economic, and social sources. To sustain SSFs, it is imperative to understand how fishing communities adapt to these pressures. In particular, to manage economic risks fishers often catch many different species; diversifying harvest portfolios creates multiple income sources in case one species becomes less abundant, less valuable, or otherwise unavailable. Here, we apply fisheries connectivity network analysis to assess the portfolios and potential adaptive capacity of small-scale fishing communities in the Baja California Peninsula (BCP), Mexico. We found that network metrics like modularity and density varied by region and through time. The Pacific coast region of Baja California displayed increasingly modular fisheries connectivity networks, indicating fisheries landings became increasingly asynchronous with each other and the potential adaptive capacity increased. The remaining three regions of Baja California showed the opposite trend, where the temporal covariance between fisheries increased over time. Overall, this study shows that the potential adaptive capacity of fishing communities varies substantially throughout the BCP, and highlights how fisheries connectivity networks can offer a way to quantify and advance our understanding of adaptive capacity within small-scale fishing communities.