bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tuberculosis in Ukrainian War Refugees and Migrants in the Czech Republic and Slovakia: A Molecular Epidemiological Study
Authors: Dohál Matúš , Dvořáková Věra , Šperková Miluše , Pinková Martina , Ghodousi Arash , Omrani Maryam , Porvazník Igor , Rasmussen Erik Michael , Škereňová Mária , Krivošová Michaela , Wallenfels Jiří , Konstantynovska Olha , Walker Timothy M. , Nikolayevskyy Vladyslav , Cirillo Daniela Maria , Solovič Ivan , Mokrý Juraj
Published: December 2023

Background

The war in Ukraine has led to significant migration to neighboring countries, raising public health concerns. Notable tuberculosis (TB) incidence rates in Ukraine emphasize the immediate requirement to prioritize approaches that interrupt the spread and prevent new infections.

Methods

We conducted a prospective genomic surveillance study to assess migration's impact on TB epidemiology in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Ukrainian war refugees and migrants, collected from September 2021 to December 2022 were analyzed alongside 1574 isolates obtained from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Results

Our study revealed alarming results, with historically the highest number of Ukrainian tuberculosis patients detected in the host countries. The increasing number of cases of multidrug-resistant TB, significantly linked with Beijing lineage 2.2.1 (p < 0.0001), also presents substantial obstacles to control endeavors. The genomic analysis identified the three highly related genomic clusters, indicating the recent TB transmission among migrant populations. The largest clusters comprised war refugees diagnosed in the Czech Republic, TB patients from various regions of Ukraine, and incarcerated individuals diagnosed with pulmonary TB specialized facility in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, pointing to a national transmission sequence that has persisted for over 14 years.

Conclusions

The data showed that most infections were likely the result of reactivation of latent disease or exposure to TB before migration rather than recent transmission occurring within the host country. However, close monitoring, appropriate treatment, careful surveillance, and social support are crucial in mitigating future risks, though there is currently no evidence of local transmission in EU countries.
A mathematical model for efficient extraction of key locations from point-cloud data in track area
Authors: Chen Shuyue , Wu Jiaolv , Lu Jian , Wang Xizhao
Published: December 2023

During the construction of a metro system, it is inevitable that deviations will occur between the excavated tunnel and the original designed scheme. As such, it is necessary to adjust the designed scheme to accommodate these discrepancies. Specifically, the adjustment of the designed scheme involves a rigorous process of repeatedly selecting and verifying the feasibility of the proposed modifications using point-cloud data obtained from the tunnel. However, this process can be considerably time-consuming due to the large-scale and potentially redundant nature of the point-cloud data. This paper proposes a mathematical model for point-cloud data acquired in measuring a mined tunnel, which may deviate from the originally designed one. The modeling, which mainly includes determining its normal plane, and building the equation of tunnel point-cloud data, is to quickly extract several key locations in the tunnel surface for modifying the original design in order to achieve a minimum error between the modified design and the mined tunnel. In comparison with the conventional processing of extracting several key locations directly from point-cloud data, our model shows a significant promotion of extraction efficiency under an acceptable error bound. The model is tested in a real tunnel point-cloud data and the testing results confirm the increase of fitting accuracy and the decrease of computational load.
Bio-management of Fusarium wilt of tomato (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici) with multifacial Trichoderma species
Authors: Haque Ziaul , Pandey Kartikey , Zamir Seemab
Published: December 2023

Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici (FOL), the incitant of the Fusarium wilt of tomato, is a highly damaging and prevalent disease in the majority of tomato growing areas. Keeping into consideration of high disease occurrence and incidence of FOL in tomato crop, the present investigation was undertaken to develop an effective bio-management approach to combat this disease. Initially, the studies were conducted to evaluate six multi-facial biocontrol isolates of Trichoderma species viz., Trichoderma harzianum AMUTH-1, T. harzianum AMUTH-2, T. harzianum AMUTH-3, T. asperellum (= T. viride) AMUTV-1, T. asperellum AMUTV-3 and T. virens (= Gliocladium virens) AMUTS-1 against FOL in vitro. Among these antagonists, T. harzianum AMUTH-1 and T. asperellum AMUTV-3 exhibited the maximum inhibitory effect while T. virens AMUTS-1 was recorded as the least effective Trichoderma isolate against FOL in vitro. Interestingly, T. harzianum AMUTH-1 and T. asperellum AMUTV-3 were found to produce indole acetic acid, siderophore and possess high enzymatic activities (cellulase, chitinase, ligninase and protease) in vitro. Further, pot trials were conducted and the chemical fungicide, carbendazim was used to compare the effectiveness of Trichoderma isolates. Pot trials also verified the efficacy of T. harzianum AMUTH-1 with 9–28% enhancement in the plant-growth parameters and 15–21% biomass production, and 88% decrease in the soil population of FOL. The effect of T. harzianum AMUTH-1 was also at par with fungicides, carbendazim.
Wittgenstein on Realism and Idealism
Authors: Cerbone David R.
Published: December 2023

This Element concerns Wittgenstein's evolving attitude toward the opposition between realism and idealism in philosophy. Despite the marked – and sometimes radical – changes Wittgenstein's thinking undergoes from the early to the middle to the later period, there is an underlying continuity in terms of his unwillingness at any point to endorse either position in a straightforward manner. Instead, Wittgenstein can be understood as rejecting both positions, while nonetheless seeing insights in each position worth retaining. The author traces these “neither-nor” and “both-and” strands of Wittgenstein's attitude toward realism and idealism to his – again, evolving – insistence on seeing language and thought as worldly phenomena. That thought and language are about the world and happen amidst the world they are about undermines the attempt to formulate any kind of general thesis concerning their interrelation.
Predictive methods for initiation of delamination and intra-laminar damage in carbon fibre reinforced polymer laminates subject to impact
Authors: Raza H. , Rodera O. , Carpenter K. , Pärnänen T. , Jokinen J. , Kanerva M. , Bayandor J.
Published: December 2023

A comparison of the modelling methodologies to capture the damage onset and delamination initiation in Abaqus and LS-Dyna is presented. A quasi-isotropic carbon fibre reinforced polymer laminate is modelled under a low-energy impact scenario. Hashin, Puck and Cuntze criteria are implemented for assessing intra-laminar damage in Abaqus in the linear elastic regime without damage evolution, with Virtual Crack Closure Technique being used for inter-laminar failure. In LS-Dyna, the Chang-Chang criterion is used for the intra-lamina failure with damage evolution, whereas delamination is captured using cohesive zone model and the tiebreak contact algorithm. The implementations carried out by both finite element software result in a modelling work well set to analyse and predict the impact response at the initial stages of delamination and damage within the plies. The composite damage criteria used in both finite element codes overall predict stiffer results when compared with the experimental data, however, remain in close agreement with each other.
Early Chariots and Religion in South-East Europe and the Aegean During the Bronze Age: A Reappraisal of the Dupljaja Chariot in Context
Authors: Molloy Barry , Amicone Silvia , Pendić Jugoslav , Jovanović Dragan , Mitrović Jovan
Published: December 2023

The iconic Dupljaja chariot model from the Carpathian Basin informs us on cosmologies and technologies of Bronze Age societies in Europe between 1600 and 1200 BC. It communicates key elements of religious imagery and ritual practice alongside technical features of working chariots. Through a detailed reappraisal employing use-wear, compositional, and iconographic analyses as well as 3D modelling of the chariot model, the authors explore the social context of its creation and use. Integrating functional wheels with four spokes and iconographic depictions of the similar cross-in-circle symbol, the Dupljaja chariot combines and cross-references motifs with pan-European relevance in the Bronze Age. The study aims to better understand the interplay between the local and regional context of the Dupljaja chariot and how its distinct features arose from the material and ideological networks defining later Bronze Age Europe.
Critical globalisation: Productive capacity and capital productivity in the United States, 1945–2020
Authors: Pérez-Montiel José A. , Manera Carles , Navinés Ferran , Franconetti Javier
Published: December 2023

We study the dynamics of the profit rate of United States (US) non-financial resident firms between 1945 and 2020. The 1970s entailed the abandonment of industrial policy and the liberalisation and globalisation of markets. This left the US-resident productive sector at the mercy of an unstoppable growth of imports. These imports helped to contain inflation but cornered the US domestic market, which negatively affected the profit rate of non-financial resident firms. The increasing foreign competition forced US-resident firms to invest and increase their productive capacity. Such increasing productive capacity demanded higher market shares; however, US-resident firms continued to lose domestic and foreign markets. This explains the fall in the degree of productive capacity utilisation, capital productivity, and ultimately, the rate of profit since the 1980s.
Categorical and K-theoretic Donaldson–Thomas theory of (part II)
Authors: Pădurariu Tudor , Toda Yukinobu
Published: December 2023

Quasi-BPS categories appear as summands in semiorthogonal decompositions of DT categories for Hilbert schemes of points in the three-dimensional affine space and in the categorical Hall algebra of the two-dimensional affine space. In this paper, we prove several properties of quasi-BPS categories analogous to BPS sheaves in cohomological DT theory.

We first prove a categorical analogue of Davison’s support lemma, namely that complexes in the quasi-BPS categories for coprime length and weight are supported over the small diagonal in the symmetric product of the three-dimensional affine space. The categorical support lemma is used to determine the torsion-free generator of the torus equivariant K-theory of the quasi-BPS category of coprime length and weight.

We next construct a bialgebra structure on the torsion free equivariant K-theory of quasi-BPS categories for a fixed ratio of length and weight. We define the K-theoretic BPS space as the space of primitive elements with respect to the coproduct. We show that all localized equivariant K-theoretic BPS spaces are one-dimensional, which is a K-theoretic analogue of the computation of (numerical) BPS invariants of the three-dimensional affine space.
The Bureaucratic Politics of Urban Land Rights: (Non)Programmatic Distribution in São Paulo’s Land Regularization Policy
Authors: Alonso Ferreira Marcela
Published: December 2023

How do bureaucrats implement public policy when faced with political intermediation? This article examines this issue in the distribution of land rights to informal settlements in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. Land regularization is a policy established over three decades, where politicians’ requests for land titles to their constituencies play a relevant role. Based on interviews and documents, this study finds that bureaucrats adopt a twofold approach to regulate distribution: they document informal settlements, enacting eligibility criteria; then, they manage and prioritize beneficiaries, accommodating qualifying political demands. In this process, they enforce eligibility rules consistently across cases, constraining political intermediation to a rational scheme. Therefore, bureaucrats reconcile nonprogrammatic politics and policy rules by separating eligibility assessment from beneficiary selection. This paper bridges urban distributive politics and street-level bureaucracy literature by revealing that policy implementers may use technical expertise to curb political influence and negotiate conflicting interests and constraints.
Morphological trends across the Norian/Rhaetian boundary within Late Triassic conodonts in western Canada: implications for protracted paleoenvironmental disturbance preceding the end-Triassic mass extinction
Authors: Lei Jerry Z. X. , Golding Martyn L. , Husson Jon M.
Published: December 2023

The Late Triassic conodont species Mockina ex gr. carinata and Mockina ex gr. englandi were exceptionally prevalent among the marine fauna of the Panthalassan realm from the middle Norian through to the Rhaetian. Leading into the complete extinction of conodonts near the Triassic/Jurassic boundary, a significant turnover event occurred in conodont fauna across the Norian/Rhaetian boundary (NRB), with the pectiniform elements of common Rhaetian genera from Tethys exhibiting minimal or absent platforms. This intergeneric trend of platform reduction is not as evident in Panthalassa, where these genera are very rare, but morphometric analyses of M. ex gr. carinata and M. ex gr. englandi specimens from across the Canadian Cordillera demonstrate that comparable shifts in morphology occurred intraspecifically in Panthalassa across the NRB, confirming the global extent of these trends. Pectiniform elements of M. ex gr. carinata display a sequential reduction of platform width from the middle Norian to late Norian to Rhaetian, whereas pectiniform elements of M. ex gr. englandi display a reduction of platform width only from the late Norian to Rhaetian. Specimens of both species that have a mid-platform length to breadth ratio greater than 3:1 are restricted to the Rhaetian. Specimens from the Kennecott Point section on Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, demonstrate that this morphological shift occurred somewhat later than other biostratigraphic proxies for the NRB. The global trend of platform width reduction in many conodont pectiniform elements may reflect a change in primary diet away from hard food sources, perhaps suggesting some degree of carbonate biomineralization suppression beginning around the NRB. This interpretation would support CO2 outgassing as the causal mechanism of the environmental disturbance at the NRB and identify the NRB as a significant turning point for Late Triassic ecosystems, marking the beginning of a protracted, multiphase end-Triassic mass extinction.
Religion, Sexuality Politics, and the Transformation of Latin American Electorates
Authors: Smith Amy Erica , Boas Taylor C.
Published: December 2023

Right-wing candidates have rallied against same-sex marriage, abortion, and ‘gender ideology’ in several recent Latin American elections, attracting socially conservative voters. Yet, these issues are largely irrelevant to voting decisions in other parts of the region. Drawing on theories explaining partisan shifts in the US and Europe, we argue that elite and social movement debates on sexuality politics create conditions for electoral realignment. When politicians take polarized positions on newly salient ‘culture war’ issues, the masses’ voting behaviour shifts. Using region-wide multilevel analysis of the AmericasBarometer and Latinobarómetro and a conjoint experiment in Brazil, Chile, and Peru, we demonstrate that the rising salience of sexuality politics creates new electoral cleavages, magnifying the electoral impact of religion and sexuality politics attitudes and shrinking the impact of economic views. Whereas scholarship on advanced democracies posits the centrality of partisanship, our findings indicate that sexuality politics prompts realignments even in weak party systems.
U-Pb zircon dates from North American and British Avalonia bracket the Lower–Middle Cambrian boundary interval, with evaluation of the Miaolingian Series as a global unit
Authors: Landing Ed , Schmitz Mark D. , Westrop Stephen R. , Geyer Gerd
Published: December 2023

High-precision U-Pb zircon ages on SE Newfoundland tuffs now bracket the Avalonian Lower–Middle Cambrian boundary. Upper Lower Cambrian Brigus Formation tuffs yield depositional ages of 507.91 ± 0.07 Ma (Callavia broeggeriZone) and 507.67 ± 0.08 Ma and 507.21 ± 0.13 Ma (Morocconus-Condylopyge eliAssemblage interval). Lower Middle Cambrian Chamberlain’s Brook Formation tuffs have depositional ages of 506.34 ± 0.21 Ma (Kiskinella cristataZone) and 506.25 ± 0.07 Ma (Eccaparadoxides bennettiZone). The composite unconformity separating the Brigus and Chamberlain’s Brook formations is constrained between these ages. An Avalonian Lower–Middle Cambrian boundary between 507.2 ± 0.1 and 506.3 ± 0.2 Ma is consistent with maximum depositional age constraints from southwest Laurentia, which indicate an age for the base of the Miaolingian Series, as locally interpreted, of ≤ 506.6 ± 0.3 Ma. The Miaolingian Series’ base is interpreted as correlative within ≤ 0.3 ± 0.3 Ma between Cambrian palaeocontinents, although its exact synchrony is questionable due to taxonomic problems with a possibleOryctocephalus indicus-plexus, invariable dysoxic lithofacies control ofO. indicusand diachronous occurrence ofO. indicusin temporally distinct δ13C chemozones in South China and SW Laurentia. The lowest occurrence ofO. indicusassemblages is linked to onlap (epeirogenic or eustatic) of dysoxic facies. A united Avalonia is shown by late Early Cambrian volcanics in SW New Brunswick; Cape Breton Island; SE Newfoundland; and the Wrekin area, England. The new U-Pb ages revise Avalonian geological evolution as they show rapid epeirogenic changes through depositional sequences 4a–6.
Income or educational attainment: which is more effective in the fight against overweight? Evidence from Spain and Andalusia
Authors: Guarnido-Rueda Almudena , Amate-Fortes Ignacio , Oliver-Márquez Francisco J. , Martínez-Navarro Diego
Published: December 2023

Considered the epidemic of the 21st century by the WHO, obesity is a global problem that is on the rise and will continue to increase in the coming years. Spain and Andalusia, in particular, are no exception to this pathology, which has tripled since the 1970s, representing a public health challenge. The aim of this study is to analyse the socioeconomic determinants of this pathology, with special emphasis on answering the question of what has a greater influence on overweight, education level, or income. For this purpose, we have used the European Survey of Health in Spain (ESHS-2020), a microdata base, with a total of 22,072 valid individual observations (of which 2,820 belong to the Andalusian population). Results we obtain in our estimations of qualitative response models reveal that, although both income and educational attainment could be effective in the fight against overweight, the social gradient of this health problem is greater with respect to educational attainment. Additionally, there are many other variables and other factors related to the individual’s overweight (mental health, subjective state of health, oral health, among others) which are much less explored and which must be considered in health policies to combat this disease.
Polygenic risk for schizophrenia predicting social trajectories in a general population sample
Authors: Saarinen Aino , Hietala Jarmo , Lyytikäinen Leo-Pekka , Hamal Mishra Binisha , Sormunen Elina , Lavonius Veikka , Kähönen Mika , Raitakari Olli , Lehtimäki Terho , Keltikangas-Järvinen Liisa
Published: December 2023

Background

We investigated (a) whether polygenic risk for schizophrenia predicts different trajectories of social development among those who have not developed psychoses and (b) whether possible associations are PRSSCZ-specific or evident also for any polygenic risk for mental disorders, e.g. for major depression.

Methods

Participants came from the population-based Young Finns Study (n = 2377). We calculated a polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (PRSSCZ) and for major depression (PRSDEP). Diagnoses of psychotic disorders were derived from the hospital care register. Social development from adolescence to middle age was measured by (a) perceived social support from friends, family, and a close other, (b) perceived sociability, and (c) family structure (partnership status, number of children, age of first-time parenthood).

Results

Among those without manifest psychoses, high PRSSCZ predicted lower experienced support from friends (B = −0.04, p = 0.009–0.035) and family (B = −0.04, p = 0.009–0.035) especially after early adulthood, and also lower perceived sociability (B = −0.05, p = 0.010–0.026). PRSSCZ was not related to family structure. PRSDEP did not predict any domain of social development.

Conclusions

Individuals at high PRSSCZ (not converted to psychosis) seem to experience a lower preference to be with others over being alone. Individuals with high (v. low) PRSSCZ seem to have a similar family structure in terms of partnership status or number of children but, nevertheless, they experience less support from their family. Among those not converted to psychosis in a typical age period, high PRSSCZ may predict a ‘later risk phase’ and reduced functional resilience when approaching middle age.
A descriptive assessment of the informed consent document used by congenital cardiac surgery centres
Authors: Hock Kristal M. , Gist Katja , Fazeli Pariya L. , Zaccagni Hayden J. , Sorabella Robert A. , Patrician Patricia A.
Published: December 2023

Background:

Informed consent for surgery is a complex process particularly in paediatrics. Complexity increases with procedures such as CHD surgery. Regulatory agencies outline informed consent contents for surgery. We assessed and described CHD surgical informed consent contents through survey dissemination to paediatric CHD centres across United States of America.

Methods:

Publicly available email addresses for 125 paediatric cardiac clinicians at 70 CHD surgical centres were obtained. Nine-item de-identified survey assessing adherence to The Joint Commission informed consent standards was created and distributed via RedCap® 14 March, 2023. A follow-up email was sent 29 March, 2023. Survey link was closed 18 April, 2023.

Results:

Thirty-seven surveys were completed. Results showed informed consent documents were available in both paper (25, 68%) and electronic (3, 8%) format. When both (9, 24%) formats were available, decision on which format to use was based on centre protocols (1, 11%), clinician personal preference (3, 33%), procedure being performed (1, 11%), or other (4, 45%). Five (13%) centres’ informed consent documents were available only in English, with 32 (87%) centres also having a Spanish version. Review of informed consent documents demonstrated missing The Joint Commission elements including procedure specific risks, benefits, treatment alternatives, and expected outcomes.

Conclusions:

Informed consent for CHD surgery is a complex process with multiple factors involved. Majority of paediatric CHD surgical centres in the United States of America used a generic informed consent document which did not uniformly contain The Joint Commission specified information nor reflect time spent in discussion with families. Further research is needed on parental comprehension during the informed consent process.
Using latent variable analysis to capture individual differences in bilingual language experience
Authors: Navarro Ester , Rossi Eleonora
Published: December 2023

Bilingualism is an experience that varies across a continuum and can change across the lifespan. Psychometric research is an underexplored avenue with the potential to further our understanding of the mechanisms and traits underlying bilingual experiences. Here, we developed and validated a social network questionnaire to measure sociolinguistic features in 212 individuals via personal social network. Confirmatory factor analysis examined the measurement structure of the variables. Compared to a one-factor model, the best fitting model was a two-factor model in which the language experience of the individual (i.e., ego) and the language experience of the individual's network (i.e., alters) were correlated latent factors under which aspects of the bilingual experience loaded. Additional analyses revealed other potential ways to examine the data in future analyses. These results provide the first measurement model of bilingual experiences, and provide support for theoretical accounts suggesting differential neuropsychological outcomes based on individual bilingual variability. The results also support the use of social network tools to capture differences in bilingualism.
Reduction of anxiety symptoms among women within a collaborative care model and women’s health settings
Authors: Standeven Lindsay R. , Miller Kristen N. , Mallow Alissa , Berger Roni , Little Virna
Published: December 2023

Aim:

The purpose of this study is to focus on changes in anxiety symptoms among women treated in women’s health practices and under a collaborative care model.

Background:

Research on collaborative care has largely focused on improving depressive and anxiety symptoms among adults in primary care settings. The applicability of collaborative care in other healthcare settings is underreported with limited research investigating if collaborative care has advantages in subpopulations treated in both traditional primary care settings and other healthcare settings, such as women’s health practices.

Methods:

This study, completed through secondary data analysis of the electronic record of N = 219 women across three women’s healthcare centers, evaluated if instituting a collaborative care model is associated with reduced anxiety symptoms and which factors (eg, primary diagnosis, duration of care, and use of psychotropic medications) are associated with anxiety outcomes. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) at entry into and at termination from collaborative care services.

Results:

Overall, there was a significant reduction in average anxiety scores from baseline to termination of collaborative care (t(218) = 12.41, P < 0.001). There was a main effect for the duration of time receiving collaborative care services on anxiety score reduction (β = −0.28, SE = 0.06, P < 0.001) with a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms at the 90-day mark (t(218) = 10.58, P < 0.001). Therefore, collaborative care can be useful in women’s health practices in reducing anxiety symptoms over a 90-day time period.
(in) Accuracy in Algorithmic Profiling of the Unemployed – An Exploratory Review of Reporting Standards
Authors: Gallagher Patrick , Griffin Ray
Published: December 2023

Public Employment Services (PES) increasingly use automated statistical profiling algorithms (ASPAs) to ration expensive active labour market policy (ALMP) interventions to those they predict at risk of becoming long-term unemployed (LTU). Strikingly, despite the critical role played by ASPAs in the operation of public policy, we know very little about how the technology works, particularly how accurate predictions from ASPAs are. As a vital first step in assessing the operational effectiveness and social impact of ASPAs, we review the method of reporting accuracy. We demonstrate that the current method of reporting a single measure for accuracy (usually a percentage) inflates the capabilities of the technology in a peculiar way. ASPAs tend towards high false positive rates, and so falsely identify those who prove to be frictionally unemployed as likely to be LTU. This has important implications for the effectiveness of spending on ALMPs.
The micro-foundations of social democratic welfare chauvinism and inclusion: class demand and policy reforms in Western Europe, 1980−2018
Authors: Harris Eloisa , Enggist Matthias
Published: December 2023

In Western European welfare states, research shows that support for welfare chauvinism, or the notion that welfare benefits for immigrants should be restricted, is highest among white, blue-collar working-class voters. On the other hand, higher-educated, middle-class voters are more likely to reject welfare chauvinism and support the inclusion of immigrants into the welfare state. For social democratic parties, this might pose an electoral dilemma between generous welfare states and open borders: They rely on both middle- and working-class constituencies and are ideologically tied both to a universal welfare state and the protection of (national) workers. To what extent does such an electoral dilemma between classes exist for social democratic parties? How do social democratic parties solve this dilemma when in government? In this paper, we postulate that a class divide around welfare chauvinism exists within the electorate for social democratic parties and that these parties’ policies in government reflect these divides: If the social democratic electorate has a high share of working-class voters, they should act more welfare chauvinist than if their electorate is mostly middle class. We test these hypotheses by combining survey and macro-level policy data in 14 Western European countries from 1980 to 2018. We find consistent evidence of the existence of a working-class/middle-class divide regarding welfare chauvinism, even within social democratic electorates. On the macro-level, we find partial evidence that social democratic parties in power respond to the class demands of their electorate: They are less welfare chauvinist when they have a higher proportion of middle-class voters, whereas their working-class vote share does not significantly condition their policies at all, contrary to assumptions in the literature. We therefore conclude that as social democratic parties become parties of the middle classes, the likelihood that they will retrench immigrant welfare rights reduces.
Impact of El Niño Southern Oscillation on CO2 and Solar‐Induced Fluorescence Over the Indo‐Pacific Region
Authors: Albright Ronald , Gamalathge Thishan D. K. , Wang Xinyue , Jiang Xun , Li Liming
Published: December 2023

Over the tropical Indo‐Pacific, we explore the variations of Solar‐Induced Fluorescence (SIF), CO2, and precipitation during El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events verse other times. Based on various data sets, we analyze the time series of deseasonalized precipitation, vertical velocity, SIF, and CO2 across the Indo‐Pacific region. Our analysis reveals that there is less precipitation, more sinking air, lower SIF, and higher carbon dioxide over the Indo‐Pacific region during the El Niño events compared to other times. We also explore the spatial patterns of different variables to gain a deeper understanding of their relationships. The spatial analysis suggests that less precipitation resulting from predominant sinking air not only leads to lower SIF values by reducing photosynthetic activities but also triggers more biomass burning, which contribute to an increase in atmospheric CO2 levels across most areas of the Indo‐Pacific region. The comparative study between observational analyses and numerical simulation by the NOAA CarbonTracker model indicates that the model can simulate the increase of atmospheric column CO2 during the El Niño event, although there are some difficulties in capturing the correct spatial pattern. The results of this study can significantly enhance our understanding of the spatial‐temporal variabilities of atmospheric CO2 concentration and the observational characteristics can be used to enhance models. Furthermore, the complex interactions between ENSO and other variables revealed in this study improve our understanding of how ENSO influences the biosphere and carbon cycle.
Glacial Meltwater in the Current System of Southern Greenland
Authors: Beaird Nicholas L. , Straneo Fiamma , Le Bras Isabela , Pickart Robert , Jenkins William J.
Published: December 2023

The Greenland Ice Sheet is losing mass at an accelerating pace, increasing its contribution to the freshwater input into the Nordic Seas and the subpolar North Atlantic. It has been proposed that this increased freshwater may impact the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation by affecting the stratification of the convective regions of the North Atlantic and Nordic Seas. Observations of the transformation and pathways of meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet on the continental shelf and in the gyre interior, however, are lacking. Here, we report on noble gas derived observations of submarine meltwater distribution and transports in the East and West Greenland Current Systems of southern Greenland and around Cape Farewell. In southeast Greenland, submarine meltwater is concentrated in the East Greenland Coastal Current core with maximum concentrations of 0.8%, thus significantly diluted relative to fjord observations. It is found in water with density ranges from 1,024 to 1027.2 kg m−3 and salinity from 30.6 to 34, which extends as deep as 250 m and as far offshore as 60 km on the Greenland shelf. Submarine meltwater transport on the shelf averages 5.0 ± 1.6 mSv which, if representative of the mean annual transport, represents 60%–80% of the total solid ice discharge from East Greenland and suggests relatively little offshore export of meltwater east and upstream of Cape Farewell. The location of the meltwater transport maximum shifts toward the shelfbreak around Cape Farewell, positioning the meltwater for offshore flux in regions of known cross‐shelf exchange along the West Greenland coast.
Cytokine-responsive T- and NK-cells portray SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-responders and infection in multiple myeloma patients
Authors: Enssle Julius C. , Campe Julia , Moter Alina , Voit Isabel , Gessner Alec , Yu Weijia , Wolf Sebastian , Steffen Björn , Serve Hubert , Bremm Melanie , Huenecke Sabine , Lohoff Michael , Vehreschild Maria , Rabenau Holger F. , Widera Marek , Ciesek Sandra , Oellerich Thomas , Imkeller Katharina , Rieger Michael A. , von Metzler Ivana , Ullrich Evelyn
Published: December 2023

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) routinely receive mRNA-based vaccines to reduce COVID-19-related mortality. However, whether disease- and therapy-related alterations in immune cells and cytokine-responsiveness contribute to the observed heterogeneous vaccination responses is unclear. Thus, we analyzed peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with MM during and after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and breakthrough infection (BTI) using combined whole-transcriptome and surface proteome single-cell profiling with functional serological and T-cell validation in 58 MM patients. Our results demonstrate that vaccine-responders showed a significant overrepresentation of cytotoxic CD4+ T- and mature CD38+ NK-cells expressing FAS+/TIM3+ with a robust cytokine-responsiveness, such as type-I-interferon-, IL-12- and TNF-α-mediated signaling. Patients with MM experiencing BTI developed strong serological and cellular responses and exhibited similar cytokine-responsive immune cell patterns as vaccine-responders. This study can expand our understanding of molecular and cellular patterns associated with immunization responses and may benefit the design of improved vaccination strategies in immunocompromised patients.
Overexpressed Gαi1 exerts pro-tumorigenic activity in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Yin De-Pei , Zhang Huanle , Teng Hua , Zhang Dan , Chen Peipei , Xie Lixiao , Liu Ji-Sheng
Published: December 2023

The current study tested the expression and potential functions of Gαi1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database results demonstrate that Gαi1 transcripts’ number in NPC tissues is significantly higher than that in the normal nasal epithelial tissues. Its overexpression correlates with poor survival in certain NPC patients. Moreover, Gαi1 is significantly upregulated in NPC tissues of local primary patients and in different primary human NPC cells. Whereas its expression is relatively low in cancer-surrounding normal tissues and in primary nasal epithelial cells. Genetic silencing (via shRNA strategy) or knockout (via CRISPR-sgRNA method) of Gαi1 substantially suppressed viability, proliferation, cell cycle progression, and migration in primary NPC cells, causing significant caspase-apoptosis activation. Contrarily, ectopic Gαi1 expression exerted pro-tumorigenic activity and strengthened cell proliferation and migration in primary NPC cells. Gαi1 is important for Akt-mTOR activation in NPC cells. Akt-S6K phosphorylation was downregulated after Gαi1 shRNA or KO in primary NPC cells, but strengthened following Gαi1 overexpression. In Gαi1-silenced primary NPC cells, a S473D constitutively-active mutant Akt1 (caAkt1) restored Akt-S6K phosphorylation and ameliorated Gαi1 shRNA-induced proliferation inhibition, migration reduction and apoptosis. Bioinformatics analyses proposed zinc finger protein 384 (ZNF384) as a potential transcription factor of Gαi1. In primary NPC cells, ZNF384 shRNA or knockout (via CRISPR-sgRNA method) decreased Gαi1 mRNA and protein expression, whereas ZNF384 overexpression upregulated it. Importantly, there was an increased binding between ZNF384 protein and the Gαi1 promoter in human NPC tissues and different NPC cells. In vivo studies showed that intratumoral injection of Gαi1-shRNA-expressing adeno-associated virus (AAV) impeded subcutaneous NPC xenograft growth in nude mice. Gαi1 downregulation, Akt-mTOR inactivation, and apoptosis induction were detected in Gαi1-silenced NPC xenograft tissues. Gαi1 KO also effectively inhibited the growth of NPC xenografts in nude mice. Together, overexpressed Gαi1 exerts pro-tumorigenic activity in NPC possibly by promoting Akt-mTOR activation.
HECW1 induces NCOA4-regulated ferroptosis in glioma through the ubiquitination and degradation of ZNF350
Authors: Lin Yuancai , Gong Hailong , Liu Jinliang , Hu Zhiwen , Gao Mingjun , Yu Wei , Liu Jing
Published: December 2023

Tumor suppression by inducing NCOA4-mediated ferroptosis has been shown to be feasible in a variety of tumors, including gliomas. However, the regulatory mechanism of ferroptosis induced by NCOA4 in glioma has not been studied deeply. HECW1 and ZNF350 are involved in the biological processes of many tumors, but their specific effects and mechanisms on glioma are still unclear. In this study, we found that HECW1 decreased the survival rate of glioma cells and enhanced iron accumulation, lipid peroxidation, whereas ZNF350 showed the opposite effect. Mechanistically, HECW1 directly regulated the ubiquitination and degradation of ZNF350, eliminated the transcriptional inhibition of NCOA4 by ZNF350, and ultimately activated NCOA4-mediated iron accumulation, lipid peroxidation, and ferroptosis. We demonstrate that HECW1 induces ferroptosis and highlight the value of HECW1 and ZNF350 in the prognostic evaluation of patients with glioma. We also elucidate the mechanisms underlying the HECW1/ZNF350/NCOA4 axis and its regulation of ferroptosis. Our findings enrich the understanding of ferroptosis and provide potential treatment options for glioma patients.
Carboxypeptidase A4 negatively regulates HGS-ETR1/2-induced pyroptosis by forming a positive feedback loop with the AKT signalling pathway
Authors: Wang Luoling , Deng Rilin , Chen Shuishun , Tian Renyun , Guo Mengmeng , Chen Zihao , Zhang Yingdan , Li Huiyi , Liu Qian , Tang Songqing , Zhu Haizhen
Published: December 2023

Pyroptosis, a mode of inflammatory cell death, has recently gained significant attention. However, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. HGS-ETR1/2 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that can bind to DR4/5 on the cell membrane and induce cell apoptosis by activating the death receptor signalling pathway. In this study, by using morphological observation, fluorescence double staining, LDH release and immunoblot detection, we confirmed for the first time that HGS-ETR1/2 can induce GSDME-mediated pyroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Our study found that both inhibition of the AKT signalling pathway and silencing of CPA4 promote pyroptosis, while the overexpression of CPA4 inhibits it. Furthermore, we identified a positive regulatory feedback loop is formed between CPA4 and AKT phosphorylation. Specifically, CPA4 modulates AKT phosphorylation by regulating the expression of the AKT phosphatase PP2A, while inhibition of the AKT signalling pathway leads to a decreased transcription and translation levels of CPA4. Our study reveals a novel mechanism of pyroptosis induced by HGS-ETR1/2, which may provide a crucial foundation for future investigations into cancer immunotherapy.
Artificial light at night is a top predictor of bird migration stopover density
Authors: Horton Kyle G. , Buler Jeffrey J. , Anderson Sharolyn J. , Burt Carolyn S. , Collins Amy C. , Dokter Adriaan M. , Guo Fengyi , Sheldon Daniel , Tomaszewska Monika Anna , Henebry Geoffrey M.
Published: December 2023

As billions of nocturnal avian migrants traverse North America, twice a year they must contend with landscape changes driven by natural and anthropogenic forces, including the rapid growth of the artificial glow of the night sky. While airspaces facilitate migrant passage, terrestrial landscapes serve as essential areas to restore energy reserves and often act as refugia—making it critical to holistically identify stopover locations and understand drivers of use. Here, we leverage over 10 million remote sensing observations to develop seasonal contiguous United States layers of bird migrant stopover density. In over 70% of our models, we identify skyglow as a highly influential and consistently positive predictor of bird migration stopover density across the United States. This finding points to the potential of an expanding threat to avian migrants: peri-urban illuminated areas may act as ecological traps at macroscales that increase the mortality of birds during migration.
Transmembrane coupling of liquid-like protein condensates
Authors: Lee Yohan , Park Sujin , Yuan Feng , Hayden Carl C. , Wang Liping , Lafer Eileen M. , Choi Siyoung Q. , Stachowiak Jeanne C.
Published: December 2023

Liquid-liquid phase separation of proteins occurs on both surfaces of cellular membranes during diverse physiological processes. In vitro reconstitution could provide insight into the mechanisms underlying these events. However, most existing reconstitution techniques provide access to only one membrane surface, making it difficult to probe transmembrane phenomena. To study protein phase separation simultaneously on both membrane surfaces, we developed an array of freestanding planar lipid membranes. Interestingly, we observed that liquid-like protein condensates on one side of the membrane colocalized with those on the other side, resulting in transmembrane coupling. Our results, based on lipid probe partitioning and mobility of lipids, suggest that protein condensates locally reorganize membrane lipids, a process which could be explained by multiple effects. These findings suggest a mechanism by which signals originating on one side of a biological membrane, triggered by protein phase separation, can be transferred to the opposite side.
Gravitationally induced decoherence vs space-time diffusion: testing the quantum nature of gravity
Authors: Oppenheim Jonathan , Sparaciari Carlo , Šoda Barbara , Weller-Davies Zachary
Published: December 2023

We consider two interacting systems when one is treated classically while the other system remains quantum. Consistent dynamics of this coupling has been shown to exist, and explored in the context of treating space-time classically. Here, we prove that any such hybrid dynamics necessarily results in decoherence of the quantum system, and a breakdown in predictability in the classical phase space. We further prove that a trade-off between the rate of this decoherence and the degree of diffusion induced in the classical system is a general feature of all classical quantum dynamics; long coherence times require strong diffusion in phase-space relative to the strength of the coupling. Applying the trade-off relation to gravity, we find a relationship between the strength of gravitationally-induced decoherence versus diffusion of the metric and its conjugate momenta. This provides an experimental signature of theories in which gravity is fundamentally classical. Bounds on decoherence rates arising from current interferometry experiments, combined with precision measurements of mass, place significant restrictions on theories where Einstein’s classical theory of gravity interacts with quantum matter. We find that part of the parameter space of such theories are already squeezed out, and provide figures of merit which can be used in future mass measurements and interference experiments.
Dichotomy of heavy and light pairs of holes in the t−J model
Authors: Bohrdt A. , Demler E. , Grusdt F.
Published: December 2023

A key step in unraveling the mysteries of materials exhibiting unconventional superconductivity is to understand the underlying pairing mechanism. While it is widely agreed upon that the pairing glue in many of these systems originates from antiferromagnetic spin correlations, a microscopic description of pairs of charge carriers remains lacking. Here we use state-of-the art numerical methods to probe the internal structure and dynamical properties of pairs of charge carriers in quantum antiferromagnets in four-legged cylinders. Exploiting the full momentum resolution in our simulations, we are able to distinguish two qualitatively different types of bound states: a highly mobile, meta-stable pair, which has a dispersion proportional to the hole hopping t, and a heavy pair, which can only move due to spin exchange processes and turns into a flat band in the Ising limit of the model. Understanding the pairing mechanism can on the one hand pave the way to boosting binding energies in related models, and on the other hand enable insights into the intricate competition of various phases of matter in strongly correlated electron systems.
A biotin targeting chimera (BioTAC) system to map small molecule interactomes in situ
Authors: Tao Andrew J. , Jiang Jiewei , Gadbois Gillian E. , Goyal Pavitra , Boyle Bridget T. , Mumby Elizabeth J. , Myers Samuel A. , English Justin G. , Ferguson Fleur M.
Published: December 2023

Understanding how small molecules bind to specific protein complexes in living cells is critical to understanding their mechanism-of-action. Unbiased chemical biology strategies for direct readout of protein interactome remodelling by small molecules would provide advantages over target-focused approaches, including the ability to detect previously unknown ligand targets and complexes. However, there are few current methods for unbiased profiling of small molecule interactomes. To address this, we envisioned a technology that would combine the sensitivity and live-cell compatibility of proximity labelling coupled to mass spectrometry, with the specificity and unbiased nature of chemoproteomics. In this manuscript, we describe the BioTAC system, a small-molecule guided proximity labelling platform that can rapidly identify both direct and complexed small molecule binding proteins. We benchmark the system against µMap, photoaffinity labelling, affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry and proximity labelling coupled to mass spectrometry datasets. We also apply the BioTAC system to provide interactome maps of Trametinib and analogues. The BioTAC system overcomes a limitation of current approaches and supports identification of both inhibitor bound and molecular glue bound complexes.