bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Presence of microbiome decreases fitness and modifies phenotype in the aquatic plant Lemna minor
Authors: Jewell Mark Davidson , van Moorsel Sofia J , Bell Graham
Published: June 2023

Plants live in close association with microbial organisms that inhabit the environment in which they grow. Much recent work has aimed to characterize these plant–microbiome interactions, identifying those associations that increase growth. Although most work has focused on terrestrial plants, Lemna minor, a floating aquatic angiosperm, is increasingly used as a model in host–microbe interactions and many bacterial associations have been shown to play an important role in supporting plant fitness. However, the ubiquity and stability of these interactions as well as their dependence on specific abiotic environmental conditions remain unclear. Here, we assess the impact of a full L. minor microbiome on plant fitness and phenotype by assaying plants from eight natural sites, with and without their microbiomes, over a range of abiotic environmental conditions. We find that the microbiome systematically suppressed plant fitness, although the magnitude of this effect varied among plant genotypes and depended on the abiotic environment. Presence of the microbiome also resulted in phenotypic changes, with plants forming smaller colonies and producing smaller fronds and shorter roots. Differences in phenotype among plant genotypes were reduced when the microbiome was removed, as were genotype by environment interactions, suggesting that the microbiome plays a role in mediating the plant phenotypic response to the environment.
New methods for sorghum transformation in temperate climates
Authors: Miller Sara , Rønager Asta , Holm Rose , Fontanet-Manzaneque Juan B , Caño-Delgado Ana I , Bjarnholt Nanna
Published: June 2023

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is an emerging cereal crop in temperate climates due to its high drought tolerance and other valuable traits. Genetic transformation is an important tool for the improvement of cereals. However, sorghum is recalcitrant to genetic transformation which is almost only successful in warmer climates. Here, we test the application of two new techniques for sorghum transformation in temperate climates, namely transient transformation by Agrobacterium tumefaciens–mediated agroinfiltration and stable transformation using gold particle bombardment and leaf whorls as explants. We optimized the transient transformation method, including post-infiltration incubation of plants in the dark and using Agrobacterium grown on plates with a high cell density (OD600 = 2.0). Expression of the green fluorescence protein (GFP)-tagged endogenous sorghum gene SbDHR2 was achieved with low transformation efficiency, and our results point out a potential weakness in using this approach for localization studies. Furthermore, we succeeded in the production of callus and somatic embryos from leaf whorls, although no genetic transformation was accomplished with this method. Both methods show potential, even if they seem to be influenced by climatic conditions and therefore need further optimization to be applied routinely in temperate climates.
Observation, Interaction, Communication: The Role of the Second Person
Authors: Zahavi Dan
Published: June 2023

Recent years have seen an upsurge of interest in the second-person perspective, not only in philosophy of mind, language, law and ethics, but also in various empirical disciplines such as cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychology. A distinctive and perhaps also slightly puzzling feature of this ongoing discussion is that whereas many contributors insist that a proper consideration of the second-person perspective will have an impact on our understanding of social cognition, joint action, communication, self-consciousness, morality, and so on, there remains considerable disagreement about what exactly a second-person perspective amounts to (see Eilan 2014; Conant and Rödl 2014). What is the difference between adopting a second-person and a third-person perspective on another? How does one relate to another as a you and how does that differ from relating to another as a he, she or they? In the following, I will consider three different proposals and argue that a promising but somewhat overlooked account can be found in the work of Husserl.
Normative Isolation: The Dynamics of Power and Authority in Gaslighting
Authors: Bagnoli Carla
Published: June 2023

Gaslighting is a form of domination which builds upon multiple and mutually reinforcing strategies that induce rational acquiescence. Such abusive strategies progressively insulate the victims and inflict a loss in self-respect, with powerful alienating effects. In arguing for these claims, I reject the views that gaslighting is an epistemic or structural wrong, or a moral wrong of instrumentalization. In contrast, I refocus on personal addresses that use, affect, and distort the very practice of rational justification. Further, I argue that the social dimension of gaslighting cannot be fully explained by reference to bare social structures because this compound wrong succeeds via emotional person-to-person addresses. Rational justification becomes, then, the locus where the struggle for power takes place. This struggle involves and is operated by not only victims and wrongdoers but also third parties. They are crucial actors in wrongdoing as well as in rescuing the victims and restoring their normative status. Ultimately, this study shows that the deontic structure of wrong is multifocal, and its relationality points to modes of epistemic and moral rehabilitation that are also modes of social empowerment.
Aesthetic Appreciation without Inversion
Authors: Friend Stacie
Published: June 2023

C. Thi Nguyen claims that although we can make aesthetic judgements based on testimony or inference, we resist doing so owing to a contingent norm of our social practice. For Nguyen, aesthetic engagement involves a ‘motivational inversion’ similar to games in which we adopt inefficient means of winning so that we can enjoy the process of playing. Similarly, he says, adopting the norm enables us to engage in the autonomous activity of appreciation. I argue that Nguyen is right that the purpose of our practice is appreciation, but wrong to think any motivational inversion is required in pursuing it.
TRAmHap: accurate prediction of transcriptional activity from DNA methylation haplotypes in bisulfite-sequencing data
Authors: Gao Siqi , Zhu Hanwen , Cai Kangwen , Liu Leiqin , Zhang Zhiqiang , Ding Yi , Xu Yaochen , Zheng Xiaoqi , Shi Jiantao
Published: June 2023

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation (DNAm) is an important epigenetic mechanism that plays a role in chromatin structure and transcriptional regulation. Elucidating the relationship between DNAm and gene expression is of great importance for understanding its role in transcriptional regulation. The conventional approach is to construct machine-learning-based methods to predict gene expression based on mean methylation signals in promoter regions. However, this type of strategy only explains about 25% of gene expression variation, and hence is inadequate in elucidating the relationship between DNAm and transcriptional activity. In addition, using mean methylation as input features neglects the heterogeneity of cell populations that can be reflected by DNAm haplotypes. We here developed TRAmaHap, a novel deep-learning framework that predicts gene expression by utilizing the characteristics of DNAm haplotypes in proximal promoters and distal enhancers. Using benchmark data of human and mouse normal tissues, TRAmHap shows much higher accuracy than existing machine-learning based methods, by explaining 60~80% of gene expression variation across tissue types and disease conditions. Our model demonstrated that gene expression can be accurately predicted by DNAm patterns in promoters and long-range enhancers as far as 25 kb away from transcription start site, especially in the presence of intra-gene chromatin interactions.
Rigorous benchmarking of T-cell receptor repertoire profiling methods for cancer RNA sequencing
Authors: Peng Kerui , Nowicki Theodore S , Campbell Katie , Vahed Mohammad , Peng Dandan , Meng Yiting , Nagareddy Anish , Huang Yu-Ning , Karlsberg Aaron , Miller Zachary , Brito Jaqueline , Nadel Brian , Pak Victoria M , Abedalthagafi Malak S , Burkhardt Amanda M , Alachkar Houda , Ribas Antoni , Mangul Serghei
Published: June 2023

The ability to identify and track T-cell receptor (TCR) sequences from patient samples is becoming central to the field of cancer research and immunotherapy. Tracking genetically engineered T cells expressing TCRs that target specific tumor antigens is important to determine the persistence of these cells and quantify tumor responses. The available high-throughput method to profile TCR repertoires is generally referred to as TCR sequencing (TCR-Seq). However, the available TCR-Seq data are limited compared with RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). In this paper, we have benchmarked the ability of RNA-Seq-based methods to profile TCR repertoires by examining 19 bulk RNA-Seq samples across 4 cancer cohorts including both T-cell-rich and T-cell-poor tissue types. We have performed a comprehensive evaluation of the existing RNA-Seq-based repertoire profiling methods using targeted TCR-Seq as the gold standard. We also highlighted scenarios under which the RNA-Seq approach is suitable and can provide comparable accuracy to the TCR-Seq approach. Our results show that RNA-Seq-based methods are able to effectively capture the clonotypes and estimate the diversity of TCR repertoires, as well as provide relative frequencies of clonotypes in T-cell-rich tissues and low-diversity repertoires. However, RNA-Seq-based TCR profiling methods have limited power in T-cell-poor tissues, especially in highly diverse repertoires of T-cell-poor tissues. The results of our benchmarking provide an additional appealing argument to incorporate RNA-Seq into the immune repertoire screening of cancer patients as it offers broader knowledge into the transcriptomic changes that exceed the limited information provided by TCR-Seq.
Differences in male calling song and female mate location behaviour between urban and rural crickets
Authors: Kuriwada Takashi
Published: June 2023

Traffic noise is one of the selection pressures of urban habitats. Because noise interferes with acoustic communication, many studies have shown that the temporal structures of acoustic signals change depending on the noise. However, it is often unknown whether the changes are adaptive, such as changes being more easily located by females under noisy conditions. To investigate the phenomena, bend-legged ground crickets (Dianemobius nigrofasciatus) were collected from three urban and three rural habitats and reared in a common garden conditions. Male calling songs and female mate location behaviour of the progeny were measured. Urban males emitted a calling song with a higher dominant frequency and shorter chirp than did rural males. The playback experiment of female response and localization to songs of urban and rural males, controlling for noise, showed that there were no significant effects of the song on the mate location behaviour between urban and rural songs under noisy conditions. Although the song of urban males elicited a faster response of females, the effect was limited. These results indicate the change in song is not adaptive in terms of female choice. Urban females located more quickly to song under noisy conditions. The results suggest adaptive changes in female mating behaviour occur in urban habitats.
Sexual dimorphism in ichneumonine parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ichneumoninae) and the neglected influence of the ecological niche
Authors: Mathou Adrien , Wahl David B , Quentel Uriell , Claridge Brandon , Santos Bernardo F
Published: June 2023

Sexual dimorphism is a ubiquitous phenomenon, but its ecological role and evolutionary significance are still poorly understood in many hyperdiverse lineages. We used geometric morphometrics to characterize and quantify sexual dimorphism in the head and mesosoma of 24 species in the wasp subfamily Ichneumoninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Our results show that sexual dimorphism varies substantially among species but is generally more pronounced on the head, with males occupying a noticeably smaller region of the morphospace than females. Phenotypic trajectory analyses showed a trend towards conserved trajectories in the difference between males and females, indicating that dimorphism seems to manifest as predictable shape changes across species. Species parasitizing pupae, particularly in concealed substrates, were found to have higher sexual dimorphism for the head than species parasitizing more exposed hosts such as larvae. For the mesosoma, this difference was not significant, with the degree of sexual dimorphism more influenced by phylogenetic history. We hypothesize that female head shape has adapted to the demands related to finding hosts in concealed habitats, whereas species that attack exposed or weakly concealed hosts have kept a generalized head shape in both sexes. These results highlight the importance of investigating intersex ecological differences as drivers of sexual dimorphism.
Low Ki-67 Positive Index is a Prognostic Factor for Better Survival Outcomes of Patients Treated with Intracavitary Cisplatin-Fibrin
Authors: Meerang M , Mengers J , Haberecker M , Kirschner M B , Bosbach N , Lauk O , Opitz I
Published: June 2023

Background

Novel therapeutic approaches are needed for patients with pleural mesothelioma (PM), an aggressive cancer driven by asbestos exposure. Our phase II clinical trial for localized chemotherapy with cisplatin-fibrin after surgery (INFLuenCe – Meso) investigated safety and efficacy of this novel approach.

Aims

To identify biomarkers associated with outcomes for future application in patient selection.

Methods

We collected tumor tissues at surgery, before start of localized treatment, from all patients enrolled (n=23). FFPE tissues were immunohistochemically stained for p21 (cisplatin resistance) and Ki-67 (proliferation). Using Qupath software, we classified tumor cells from stroma. Number of positive cells (%) were automatically counted from 1,050 - 208,751 tumor cells/slide. For P21, we also differentiated weak (1), moderate (2) and strong (3) staining. Thus, we also acquired H-score (sum of intensity x % positive cells). The association between marker expression and clinical parameters and disease outcomes including progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was analysed by SPSS software.

Results

Ki-67 staining index (%) ranged from 1.2 - 44 (median 12.4). P21 staining index and H–score (range (median)) are 0 - 96 (21) and 0 - 225 (32), respectively. High Ki-67 labelling index was significantly associated with shorter PFS (p=0.001, median (95% CI): 26.6 (11.7 - 41.6) vs 8.6 (6.8 -10.4) months) and OS (p<0.001, 39 (27.2–50.9) vs 16 (12.3–19.6) months). There was no association between clinical parameters and Ki-67 or p21 staining. P21 staining index and H-score showed no association with disease outcomes.

Conclusions

Although a small patient cohort, Ki-67 showed significant association with disease outcomes for patients receiving localized cisplatin-fibrin. We are currently assessing Ki-67 in tissues collected at diagnosis to confirm the association with survival prior to therapy. Ki-67 may be useful for the selection of patients for this treatment regimen.
Neoadjuvant Treatment versus Upfront Surgery for Primary Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: An Update Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies
Authors: Roesel R , Cristaudi A , Deantonio L , de Dosso S , Berneardi L
Published: June 2023

Background

The role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy in resectable pancreatic cancer has yet to be defined.

Aims

This meta-analysis aims to explore the benefit of a neoadjuvant treatment in resectable pancreatic cancer compared with upfront surgery in terms of overall survival.

Methods

MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies reporting median overall survival by intention to treat in patients with primary resectable pancreatic cancer treated with or without neoadjuvant treatment from January 2000 to December 2022. The quality assessment of the included studies was based on the Newcastle–Ottawa quality scale. Secondary outcomes included disease free survival, pathological lymph-node rate, overall and R0 resection rate.

Results

A total of eleven studies (seven randomized controlled trials and four cohort studies) with 9774 patients were included. Neoadjuvant treatment was found to be significantly associated to increased overall survival (p<0.001; OR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.73–0.92) and disease-free survival (p<0.001; OR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.59–0.89). The association of radiotherapy showed no additional benefit to chemotherapy alone in terms of overall survival in the subgroup analysis. Patients undergoing neo-adjuvant treatment were also found to be significantly associated with a higher R0 resection rate (p<0.001; OR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.31–2.15) and negative lymph-node status (p<0.001; OR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.26–0.64).

Conclusions

Neoadjuvant treatment seems to offer an advantage in terms of overall and disease-free survival in comparison to patients undergoing up-front surgery for primary resectable pancreatic cancer. Further RCTs should confirm these findings to generalize the indication of neoadjuvant treatment in this setting.
Fertility in patients with Hirschsprung's disease: population-based cohort study
Authors: Byström Cornelia , Örtqvist Lisa , Gunnarsdóttir Anna , Wester Tomas , Löf Granström Anna
Published: June 2023

Background

The aim of this study was to assess fertility in patients treated for Hirschsprung’s disease.

Methods

This was a nationwide, population-based cohort study, including all patients with Hirschsprung’s disease registered in the Swedish National Patient Register between 1964 and 2004. Five age- and sex-matched controls per patient were randomly selected by Statistics Sweden. Outcome data were retrieved from the Multi-Generation Register, and the Swedish National Patient Register. Study exposure was Hirschsprung’s disease and the primary outcome was fertility, defined as having one or more children. Individuals with chromosomal anomalies were excluded.

Results

The study cohort comprised 597 patients with Hirschsprung’s disease (143 female) and 2969 controls (714 female). The mean(s.d.) age at follow-up was 29.6(10.0) years for patients and 29.8(10.1) years for the controls. A total of 191 (32.0 per cent) patients compared with 1072 (36.1 per cent) controls had one or more children (P = 0.061). The analysis showed that fewer female patients with Hirschsprung’s disease had a child (29.4 versus 38.7 per cent, P = 0.037), they were older when they gave birth to their first child (28.1 versus 26.4 years, P = 0.033), and they had fewer children. Of the female patients with Hirschsprung’s disease, 19 (45.2 per cent) had only one child, compared with 79 (28.6 per cent) of the female control group (P = 0.047). No difference was noted in the male group in this regard.

Conclusion

Female patients with Hirschsprung’s disease were less likely to have a child, had fewer children, and were older when they gave birth to their first child compared with the controls, indicating impaired fertility. There was no significant difference between male patients with Hirschsprung's disease and controls.
Back to Basics on Economic Value: Review Article of Dave Elder-Vass’s Inventing Value: The Social Construction of Monetary Worth, Cambridge University Press, 2022
Authors: Sayer Andrew
Published: June 2023

The paper discusses concepts of economic value via a review of Dave Elder-Vass’s book Inventing Value. Setting the review in the context of the need to re-evaluate theories of economic value in light of the environmental crisis, it outlines and assesses the book’s critical realist approach to the subject, its critiques of existing value theories, the alternative offered by the author—‘the social construction of monetary worth’—and its application to the valuation of financial assets. It goes on to discuss whether economic value can be said to be ‘invented’, the relation between positive and normative theories of value, and what can be salvaged from existing theories of value. It ends by briefly summarising where value theory in the context of the wider economy might go from here.
Cardiac-specific BACH1 ablation attenuates pathological cardiac hypertrophy by inhibiting the Ang II type 1 receptor expression and the Ca2+/CaMKII pathway
Authors: Wei Xiangxiang , Jin Jiayu , Wu Jian , He Yunquan , Guo Jieyu , Yang Zhaohua , Chen Liang , Hu Kui , Li Liliang , Jia Mengping , Li Qinhan , Lv Xiaoyu , Ge Fei , Ma Siyu , Wu Huijie , Zhi Xiuling , Wang Xinhong , Jiang Lindi , Osto Elena , Zhang Jianyi , Meng Dan
Published: June 2023

Aims

BACH1 is up-regulated in hypertrophic hearts, but its function in cardiac hypertrophy remains largely unknown. This research investigates the function and mechanisms of BACH1 in the regulation of cardiac hypertrophy.

Methods and results

Male cardiac-specific BACH1 knockout mice or cardiac-specific BACH1 transgenic (BACH1-Tg) mice and their respective wild-type littermates developed cardiac hypertrophy induced by angiotensin II (Ang II) or transverse aortic constriction (TAC). Cardiac-specific BACH1 knockout in mice protected the hearts against Ang II- and TAC-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, and preserved cardiac function. Conversely, cardiac-specific BACH1 overexpression markedly exaggerated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis and reduced cardiac function in mice with Ang II- and TAC-induced hypertrophy. Mechanistically, BACH1 silencing attenuated Ang II- and norepinephrine-stimulated calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) signalling, the expression of hypertrophic genes, and hypertrophic growth of cardiomyocytes. Ang II stimulation promoted the nuclear localization of BACH1, facilitated the recruitment of BACH1 to the Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R) gene promoter, and then increased the expression of AT1R. Inhibition of BACH1 attenuated Ang II-stimulated AT1R expression, cytosolic Ca2+ levels, and CaMKII activation in cardiomyocytes, whereas overexpression of BACH1 led to the opposite effects. The increased expression of hypertrophic genes induced by BACH1 overexpression upon Ang II stimulation was suppressed by CaMKII inhibitor KN93. The AT1R antagonist, losartan, significantly attenuated BACH1-mediated CaMKII activation and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy under Ang II stimulation in vitro. Similarly, Ang II-induced myocardial pathological hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, and dysfunction in BACH1-Tg mice were blunted by treatment with losartan.

Conclusion

This study elucidates a novel important role of BACH1 in pathological cardiac hypertrophy by regulating the AT1R expression and the Ca2+/CaMKII pathway, and highlights potential therapeutic target in pathological cardiac hypertrophy.
Preheating Prosocial Behaviour
Authors: Wichman Casey J , Chan Nathan W
Published: June 2023

We provide new evidence on motivations for voluntary contributions to public goods in a natural setting. Using natural language processing on users’ Twitter posts, we measure revealed sentiment changes before and after making a donation to Wikipedia. We find strong evidence that sentiment improves in the hour and minutes directly before contributing, which we call ‘preheating’. Results are robust to alternative fixed effects and approaches to inference and supported by a complementary online experiment with randomised mood inducement among Twitter users. Preheating suggests that affective states influence giving in addition to reward-seeking, utility-maximising behaviour that has been documented in other contexts.
Core outcomes for orofacial clefts: reconciling traditional and ICHOM minimum datasets
Authors: Mossey Peter A , Lai Jason , Meazzini Maria Costanza , Breugem Corstiaan , Mark Hans , Mink van der Molen Aebele B , Persson Martin , Davies Gareth , Ozawa Terumi Okada
Published: June 2023

Objective/Design/Setting

This retrospective study sought voluntary participation from leading cleft centres from Europe and Brazil regarding core outcome measures. The results of this study would inform the debate on core outcome consensus pertaining to the European Reference Network for rare diseases (ERN CRANIO) and achieve a core outcome set for cleft care providers worldwide.

Intervention/Method

Five orofacial cleft (OFC) disciplines were identified, within which all of the International Consortium of Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) outcomes fall. One questionnaire was designed for each discipline and comprised 1. the relevant ICHOM’s outcomes within that discipline, and 2. a series of questions targeted to clinicians. What core outcomes are currently measured and when, did these align with the ICHOM minimum, if not how did they differ, and would they recommend modified or additional outcomes?.

Results

For some disciplines participants agreed with the ICHOM minimums but urged for earlier and more frequent intervention. Some clinicians felt that some of the ICHOM standards were compatible but that different ages were preferred and for others the ICHOM standards were acceptable but developmental stages should be preferred to absolute time points.

Conclusion/Implications

Core outcomes for OFC were supported in principle but there are differences between the ICHOM recommendations and the 2002 WHO global consensus. The latter are established in many centres with historical archives of OFC outcome data, and it was concluded that with some modifications ICHOM could be moulded into useful core outcomes data for inter-centre comparisons worldwide.
Usability of a digital health platform to support home hospitalization in heart failure patients: a multicentre feasibility study among healthcare professionals
Authors: Leenen Jobbe P L , Scherrenberg Martijn , Bruins Wendy , Boyne Josiane , Vranken Julie , Brunner la Rocca Hans-Peter , Dendale Paul , van der Velde Astrid E
Published: June 2023

Aims

Heart failure (HF) is a common cause of mortality and (re)hospitalizations. The NWE-Chance project explored the feasibility of providing hospitalizations at home (HH) supported by a newly developed digital health platform. The aim of this study was to explore the perceived usability by healthcare professionals (HCPs) of a digital platform in addition to HH for HF patients.

Methods and results

A prospective, international, multicentre, single-arm interventional study was conducted. Sixty-three patients and 22 HCPs participated. The HH consisted of daily home visits by the nurse and use of the platform, consisting of a portable blood pressure device, weight scale, pulse oximeter, a wearable chest patch to measure vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, activity level, and posture), and an eCoach for the patient. Primary outcome was usability of the platform measured by the System Usability Scale halfway and at the end of the study. Overall usability was rated as sufficient (mean score 72.1 ± 8.9) and did not differ between the measurements moments (P = 0.690). The HCPs reported positive experiences (n = 7), negative experiences (n = 13), and recommendations (n = 6) for the future. Actual use of the platform was 79% of the HH days.

Conclusion

A digital health platform to support HH was considered usable by HCPs, although actual use of the platform was limited. Therefore, several improvements in the integration of the digital platform into clinical workflows and in defining the precise role of the digital platform and its use are needed to add value before full implementation.

Registration

clinicaltrials.gov NCT04084964.
Ancient hybridization leads to the repeated evolution of red flowers across a monkeyflower radiation
Authors: Short Aidan W , Streisfeld Matthew A
Published: June 2023

The reuse of old genetic variation can promote rapid diversification in evolutionary radiations, but in most cases, the historical events underlying this divergence are not known. For example, ancient hybridization can generate new combinations of alleles that sort into descendant lineages, potentially providing the raw material to initiate divergence. In the Mimulus aurantiacus species complex, there is evidence for widespread gene flow among members of this radiation. In addition, allelic variation in the MaMyb2 gene is responsible for differences in flower color between the closely related ecotypes of subspecies puniceus, contributing to reproductive isolation by pollinators. Previous work suggested that MaMyb2 was introgressed into the red-flowered ecotype of puniceus. However, additional taxa within the radiation have independently evolved red flowers from their yellow-flowered ancestors, raising the possibility that this introgression had a more ancient origin. In this study, we used repeated tests of admixture from whole-genome sequence data across this diverse radiation to demonstrate that there has been both ancient and recurrent hybridization in this group. However, most of the signal of this ancient introgression has been removed due to selection, suggesting that widespread barriers to gene flow are in place between taxa. Yet, a roughly 30 kb region that contains the MaMyb2 gene is currently shared only among the red-flowered taxa. Patterns of admixture, sequence divergence, and extended haplotype homozygosity across this region confirm a history of ancient hybridization, where functional variants have been preserved due to positive selection in red-flowered taxa but lost in their yellow-flowered counterparts. The results of this study reveal that selection against gene flow can reduce genomic signatures of ancient hybridization, but that historical introgression can provide essential genetic variation that facilitates the repeated evolution of phenotypic traits between lineages.
Development of a monitoring system for Huangjiu storage based on electrical conductivity
Authors: Hu Jian , Liu Shuangping , Nan Mujia , Liu Caixia , Han Xiao , Mao Jian
Published: June 2023

In order to quickly detect the rancidification of Huangjiu in pottery jars, this study developed a fast detection method based on the principle of electrical conductivity changes caused by microbial contamination. The change in total acid in Huangjiu was positively correlated with the increase of electrical conductivity. This method was applied to an online monitoring system for Huangjiu storage in stainless steel tanks. When the electrical conductivity exceeds the normal fluctuation range (mean+3 standard deviations) of previous data, the monitoring system recognizes microbial contamination. By optimizing the conductivity-temperature compensation coefficient and conductivity statistical method, the standard deviation of the method was reduced and the sensitivity of microbial pollution monitoring was improved. The ranges of conductivity and compensation coefficient of common types of Huangjiu were estimated. Interference in conductivity measurements due to environmental factors was minimised through the synchronous comparison of conductivity data for multiple tanks of Huangjiu. The standard deviation, which indicates the fluctuation range of the system, decreased from 143 to 2 μS/cm. The monitoring system was then applied in Huangjiu storage tanks with capacities of 60 t and 300 t. Through the comparison of conductivity data change, the abnormal signals caused by microbial contamination during the storage of Huangjiu were found over time. Meanwhile, through offline detection of total acid in Huangjiu, the effectiveness of microbial contamination online detection was verified.
Berberine alleviates non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis partially by promoting SIRT1 deacetylation of CPT1A in mice
Authors: Wang Peng , Li Ruikai , Li Yuqi , Tan Siwei , Jiang Jie , Liu Huiling , Wei Xiuqing
Published: June 2023

Background

Berberine effectively alleviates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Nevertheless, the mechanism is incompletely comprehended. It has been reported that SIRT1 mediates lipid metabolism in liver and berberine promotes the expression of SIRT1 in hepatocytes. We hypothesized that SIRT1 mediated the effect of berberine on NAFLD.

Methods

The effects of berberine on NAFLD were evaluated in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) and in mouse primary hepatocytes and cell lines exposed to palmitate. The change of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and the activity of CPT1A were observed in HepG2 cells. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were employed to observe the expression of SIRT1 and lipid metabolism-related molecules. The interaction between SIRT1 and CPT1A was investigated by using co-immunoprecipitation assay in HEK293T cells.

Results

Berberine treatment attenuated hepatic steatosis, reduced triglyceride (190.1 ± 11.2 μmol/g liver vs 113.6 ± 7.6 μmol/g liver, P < 0.001) and cholesterol (11.3 ± 2.5 μmol/g liver vs 6.3 ± 0.4 μmol/g liver, P < 0.001) concentration in the liver, and improved lipid and glucose metabolism disorders compared with the HFD group. The expression of SIRT1 was reduced in the liver of NAFLD patients and mouse models. Berberine increased the expression of SIRT1 and promoted the protein level of CPT1A and its activity in HepG2 cells. SIRT1 overexpression mimicked the effect of berberine on reducing triglyceride levels in HepG2 cells, whereas SIRT1 knock-down attenuated the effect of berberine. Mechanistically, berberine increased the expression of SIRT1. SIRT1 deacetylated CPT1A at the Lys675 site, which suppressed its ubiquitin-dependent degradation, thereby promoting FAO and alleviating non-alcoholic liver steatosis.

Conclusions

Berberine promoted SIRT1 deacetylation of CPT1A at the Lys675 site, which reduced the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of CPT1A and ameliorated non-alcoholic liver steatosis.
Co-Design of a Financial and Legal Planning Tool for Care Partners of People Living With Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
Authors: Jolliff Anna , Dudek Alex , Zuraw Matthew , Parks Reid , Linden Anna , Elliott Christian , Werner Nicole E
Published: June 2023

Background and Objectives

Care partners of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) are faced with substantial legal and financial planning related to their care partner role. However, many care partners lack the legal and financial support needed to manage this role. The purpose of this study was to engage ADRD care partners in a remote participatory design process to create a technology-based financial and legal planning tool that meets care partner needs.

Research Design and Methods

We formed 2 researcher-facilitated co-design teams comprised of n = 5 ADRD care partners each. We conducted a series of 5 parallel co-design sessions aimed to engage co-designers in interactive discussions and design activities to create the financial and legal planning tool. We used inductive thematic analysis of design session recordings to identify design requirements.

Results

Co-designers were 70% female with a mean age of 67.3 years (standard deviation 9.07) and cared for a spouse (80%) or a parent (20%). Between Sessions 3 and 5, the average system usability scale score of the prototype increased from 89.5 to 93.6, indicating high usability. Analyses yielded 7 overarching design requirements for a legal and financial planning tool: support for action now (eg, prioritized to-do lists); support for action later (eg, reminders for keeping legal documents up-to-date); knowledge when I need it (eg, tailored learning modules); connection to resources I need (eg, state-specific financial support opportunities); everything where I can see it (eg, comprehensive care budgeting tool); sense of privacy and security (eg, password protection); and accessibility for all (eg, tailoring for low-income care partners).

Discussion and Implications

The design requirements identified by co-designers provide a foundation from which we can build technology-based solutions to support ADRD care partners in financial and legal planning.
“Drugs Can Be a Great Coercion”: Service Providers’ Perspectives on the Relationship between Substance Use and Trauma Bonding among Survivors of Sex Trafficking
Authors: Casassa Kaitlin , Ploss Alexa , Karandikar Sharvari
Published: June 2023

While research has demonstrated a complex relationship between sex trafficking and substance use, the relationship between substance use and trauma bonding is not well understood. A trauma bond refers to an emotional attachment that can develop between victims and their abusers. This study aims to explore the relationship between substance use and trauma bonding among survivors of sex trafficking from the perspective of service providers working directly with survivors of sex trafficking. This qualitative study involved in-depth interviews with 10 participants. Purposeful sampling was employed among licensed social workers or counselors working directly with survivors of sex trafficking. Audio recordings of interviews were transcribed and coded using aspects of a grounded theory approach. Three themes emerged from the data regarding the relationship between substance use and trauma bonding among survivors of sex trafficking: substance use as a tactic, substance use as a risk factor, and substance use as a potential trauma bond. These findings support the need to treat substance use and mental health concerns concurrently among sex trafficking survivors. Additionally, these findings can inform legislators and policymakers as they consider the needs of survivors.
Developmental Plasticity in Anurans: Meta-analysis Reveals Effects of Larval Environments on Size at Metamorphosis And Timing of Metamorphosis
Authors: Albecker Molly A , Strobel Sarah McKay , Womack Molly C
Published: June 2023

Synopsis

Many anuran amphibians (frogs and toads) rely on aquatic habitats during their larval stage. The quality of this environment can significantly impact lifetime fitness and population dynamics. Over 450 studies have been published on environmental impacts on anuran developmental plasticity, yet we lack a synthesis of these effects across different environments. We conducted a meta-analysis and used a comparative approach to understand whether developmental plasticity in response to different larval environments produces predictable changes in metamorphic phenotypes. We analyzed data from 124 studies spanning 80 anuran species and six larval environments and showed that intraspecific variation in mass at metamorphosis and the duration of the larval period is partly explained by the type of environment experienced during the larval period. Changes in larval environments tended to reduce mass at metamorphosis relative to control conditions, with the degree of change depending on the identity and severity of environmental change. Higher temperatures and lower water levels shortened the duration of the larval period, whereas less food and higher densities increased the duration of the larval period. Phylogenetic relationships among species were not associated with interspecific variation in mass at metamorphosis plasticity or duration of the larval period plasticity. Our results provide a foundation for future studies on developmental plasticity, especially in response to global changes. This study provides motivation for additional work that links developmental plasticity with fitness consequences within and across life stages, as well as how the outcomes described here are altered in compounding environments.
Adapting the sampling design of research surveys to improve the biomass estimation of secondary species—the case study of Raja clavata
Authors: Silva D , Menezes R , Serra-Pereira B , Azevedo M , Figueiredo I
Published: June 2023

Research surveys are important to evaluate fishery resources’ spatial distribution and abundance. Although the underlying sampling is usually conceived with a focus on specific species, efficient designs can also collect data on secondary species. We present a framework to explore and evaluate the adequacy of alternative sampling designs for fishery research surveys aiming to maximize accuracy estimates of the secondary species abundance while maintaining the quality of the abundance estimates of primary species. A geostatistical model-based approach was developed considering the semi-continuous nature of the data and the excess of zero values commonly observed for secondary species. New sampling designs were defined according to optimization weights and evaluated based on the resulting prediction exactness. The framework was applied to the bottom trawl survey conducted along the Portuguese continental coast with European hake, Merluccius merluccius, as the primary species and thornback ray, Raja clavata, as the secondary species. The sampling design URSI provided the best balance between the accuracy for both primary and secondary species. The methodology can be replicated for other bottom trawl research surveys and an extended set of species. We recommend that a decision on which sampling design to adopt in future surveys should consider a cost-efficiency analysis.
Using bedside whiteboard to improve patient-centered care for hospitalized patients in a resource-limited setting: A quality improvement report
Authors: Solela Gashaw , Melkie Addisu
Published: June 2023

Background

In our assessment, hospitalized patients have difficulty of identifying their assigned health-care providers because of frequent rotation of physicians, residents, and interns in a teaching hospital like Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital. In addition, patients are not routinely communicated about their daily plan of care and estimated date of discharge. As a solution to these problems, bedside whiteboards could be used with an ultimate goal of improving patient-centered care.

Methods

Pre-intervention survey was conducted on patients from selected medical wards of the hospital over 3 months (N = 52). Whiteboards were then used on newly admitted patients in the same medical wards, and a post-intervention survey was conducted on these patients over 3 months (N = 47). Responses to the Stanford’s Quality Improvement Team patients’ knowledge assessment and Press Ganey patient satisfaction questionnaires were used as the outcome measures. A pre-/post-intervention study design was used, and all statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Statistical Software 25.

Results

Most patients were literate, and use of whiteboards significantly increased the proportion of patients who knew their attending doctors and nurses (P < 0.001), daily plans of investigations and treatment options (P < 0.001), and their estimated discharge date (P < 0.001). Patients were also more satisfied with their treatment in all satisfaction assessment questionnaires with significantly higher mean Likert scores in the intervention group compared to the non-intervention group (P ≤ 0.001).

Conclusion

The findings of this quality improvement project show that bedside whiteboards are effective tools to improve patients’ awareness of their care team, daily care plans, and estimated date of discharge and increase their satisfaction.
Continuous interior penalty stabilization for divergence-free finite element methods
Authors: Barrenechea Gabriel R , Burman Erik , Cáceres Ernesto , Guzmán Johnny
Published: June 2023

In this paper, we propose, analyze and test numerically a pressure-robust stabilized finite element for a linearized problem in incompressible fluid mechanics, namely, the steady Oseen equation with low viscosity. Stabilization terms are defined by jumps of different combinations of derivatives for the convective term over the element faces of the triangulation of the domain. With the help of these stabilizing terms, and the fact the finite element space is assumed to provide a point-wise divergence-free velocity, an $\mathcal O\big(h^{k+\frac 12}\big)$ error estimate in the $L^2$-norm is proved for the method (in the convection-dominated regime), and optimal order estimates in the remaining norms of the error. Numerical results supporting the theoretical findings are provided.
Developing online medical service quality indicators in China from the perspective of online and offline integration: a modified Delphi–analytic hierarchy process study
Authors: Li Zhenlin , Guo Rui
Published: June 2023

Online medical services (OMSs) are developing rapidly worldwide, and policies encourage the integrated development of online and offline services in China. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and systematic quality indicators for OMSs to ensure patients’ safety. This study aimed to construct a set of quality indicators from the perspective of online and offline integration to provide a basis for the evaluation and management of OMS quality. Based on the literature review, we included 53 potential indicators. In two rounds of consultations, we invited 21 and 19 experts, respectively, to rate the importance and feasibility of each indicator via email. We used the modified Delphi method and analytic hierarchy process to determine the final indicators and their weights. We used experts’ positive coefficient, authority coefficient, and opinion coordination degree to test the reliability and validity of experts. After two rounds of Delphi consultation, the experts’ positive coefficients were 90.48% and 89.47%, respectively, and the authoritative coefficients were both >0.7. An OMS quality index system for public hospitals in China was developed with 4 primary indicators, 13 secondary indicators, and 34 tertiary indicators. Among the primary indicators, the weights of structure, process, outcome, and integration quality were 0.22, 0.26, 0.34, and 0.18, respectively. We constructed the first set of OMS quality indicators for public hospitals in China from the perspective of online and offline integration. It could be applied as a standardized and meaningful guide for OMS evaluation and quality development.
A Theory of Change for Artistic Activism
Authors: Duncombe Stephen
Published: June 2023

Artistic activism intervenes in, and through, culture to animate ideas with emotions—charge them with affect—to motivate action, and change material conditions. Artistic activism also animates lived experience through emotions and, through its representation, gives rise to ideas and ideals. Yet we have no theory of change for how this might work. This article provides a model to think through and reflect upon “artistic activism,” or whatever name it goes by, as a complex practice that combines the affective power of the arts with the effective aims of activism. This gives us a wide-angle lens with which to see how artistic activism might create change. The model is then applied to a real-world creative activism example: the Undocubus, an intervention by young undocumented immigrants in the southern United States. The model’s macro view aids with thinking through and assessing more specific and necessarily contextual micro theories of change that are applied, consciously or unconsciously, by artistic activists and those they work with. The applied micro-view tests out its alignment with an example of practice. Most importantly, a comprehensive theory of change for artistic activism can provide clarity and direction as to where to intervene to maximize change.