bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neural Correlates of Value-Driven Spatial Attention
Authors: Liao Ming-Ray , Kim Andy J. , Anderson Brian A.
Published: June 2021

Reward learning has been shown to habitually guide spatial attention to regions of a scene. However, the neural mechanisms that support this bias in spatial orienting are unknown. In the present study, participants learned to orient to a particular quadrant of a scene (high-value quadrant) to maximize monetary gains. This learning was scene-specific, with the high-value quadrant varying across different scenes. During a subsequent test phase, participants were faster at identifying a target if it appeared in the high-value quadrant (valid), and initial saccades were more likely to be made to the high-value quadrant. fMRI analyses during the test phase revealed learning-dependent priority signals in the bilateral caudate tail and superior colliculus, frontal eye field, substantia nigra, and insula, paralleling findings concerning feature-based value-driven attention. In addition, ventral regions typically associated with scene selective and spatial information processing, including the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and temporo-occipital cortex, were also implicated. Taken together, our findings offer new insights into the neural architecture subserving value-driven attention, both extending our understanding of nodes in the attention network previously implicated in feature-based value-driven attention and identifying a ventral network of brain regions implicated in reward’s influence on scene-dependent spatial orienting.
Optogenetic suppression of corticogeniculate feedback in anesthetized ferrets is overridden by visual stimulation
Authors: Zhu S. , Hasse J.M. , Briggs F.
Published: June 2021

The feedforward projection from the retina shapes the spatial receptive field properties of neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus (LGN). Corticogeniculate feedback from the visual cortex appears to exert a more subtle, modulatory influence on LGN responses. Studies involving manipulations of corticogeniculate feedback have yielded inconsistent findings, but the reasons for these inconsistencies are not known. To examine the functional contributions of corticogeniculate feedback, and to resolve past inconsistencies, we examined the effects of selective optogenetic suppression of corticogeniculate neurons in anesthetized ferrets. In particular, we examined the responses of LGN and V1 neurons during optogenetic suppression of corticogeniculate feedback in the presence and absence of visual stimulation and across conditions in which the frequency of LED illumination varied. Optogenetic suppression of corticogeniculate feedback decreased activity among LGN neurons in the absence of visual stimulation, dispelling the notion that anesthesia causes a floor effect. In contrast, suppressing corticogeniculate feedback did not affect the visual responses of LGN neurons, suggesting that feedforward visual stimulus drive overrides weak corticogeniculate influence. Optogenetic effects on LGN and V1 neuronal responses depended on the frequency of LED illumination, with higher frequency illumination inducing slow oscillations in V1, dis-inhibiting V1 neurons locally, and producing more suppression among LGN neurons. These results demonstrate that corticogeniculate influence depends on stimulation parameters including visual stimulus conditions and frequency of inactivation. Furthermore, weak corticogeniculate influence is overridden by strong feedforward visual stimulus drive – this attribute is the most likely source of inconsistencies in past studies.

Significance Statement

Although corticogeniculate synapses onto thalamic neurons far outnumber those coming from the retina, the function of corticogeniculate feedback in vision has remained a stubborn puzzle. Prior studies of corticogeniculate feedback have yielded inconsistent findings, but the source for these inconsistencies is unknown. We utilized selective optogenetic suppression of corticogeniculate feedback to examine its effects on thalamic neuronal responses and to resolve sources of prior inconsistencies. We found that suppression of corticogeniculate feedback reduced thalamic responses, but only in the absence of visual input. This suggests that the major source of inconsistencies across prior studies is the fact that weak corticogeniculate influence is overcome by strong feedforward visual stimulus drive.
Are microbes growing on flowers evil? Effects of old flower microbes on fruit set in a wild ginger with one-day flowers, Alpinia japonica (Zingiberaceae)
Authors: Elvira Nuria Jiménez , Ushio Masayuki , Sakai Shoko
Published: June 2021

Flowers are colonized and inhabited by diverse microbes. Plants rapidly replace flowers with short lifespan, and old flowers senesce. This may contribute to avoiding adverse effects of the microbes. In this study, we investigate if the flower microbial community on old flowers impedes fruit and seed production in a wild ginger with one-day flowers. We inoculated newly opened flowers with old flower microbes, and monitored the effects on fruit and seed set. We also assessed prokaryotic communities on the flowers using amplicon sequencing. We found six bacterial amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) whose proportions were increased on the inoculated flowers. These ASVs were also found on flower buds and flowers that were bagged by net or paper during anthesis, suggesting that they had been present in small numbers prior to flowering. Fruit set was negatively associated with the proportions of these ASVs, while seed set was not. The results suggest that old flowers harbor microbial communities different from those at anthesis, and that the microbes abundant on old flowers negatively affect plant reproduction. Though the short lifespan of flowers has gotten little attention, it might be an essential defense mechanism to cope with antagonistic microbes that rapidly proliferate on the flowers.
MICRA-Net: MICRoscopy Analysis Neural Network to solve detection, classification, and segmentation from a single simple auxiliary task
Authors: Bilodeau Anthony , Delmas Constantin V.L. , Parent Martin , De Koninck Paul , Durand Audrey , Lavoie-Cardinal Flavie
Published: June 2021

High throughput quantitative analysis of microscopy images presents a challenge due to the complexity of the image content and the difficulty to retrieve precisely annotated datasets. In this paper we introduce a weakly-supervised MICRoscopy Analysis neural network (MICRA-Net) that can be trained on a simple main classification task using image-level annotations to solve multiple the more complex auxiliary semantic segmentation task and other associated tasks such as detection or enumeration. MICRA-Net relies on the latent information embedded within a trained model to achieve performances similar to state-of-the-art architectures when no precisely annotated dataset is available. This learnt information is extracted from the network using gradient class activation maps, which are combined to generate detailed feature maps of the biological structures of interest. We demonstrate how MICRA-Net significantly alleviates the Expert annotation process on various microscopy datasets and can be used for high-throughput quantitative analysis of microscopy images.
Cryo-EM structure of MukBEF reveals DNA loop entrapment at chromosomal unloading sites
Authors: Bürmann Frank , Funke Louise F.H. , Chin Jason W. , Löwe Jan
Published: June 2021

The ring-like structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) complex MukBEF folds the genome of Escherichia coli and related bacteria into large loops, presumably by active DNA loop extrusion. MukBEF activity within the replication terminus macrodomain is suppressed by the sequence specific unloader MatP. Here we present the complete atomic structure of MukBEF in complex with MatP and DNA as determined by electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM). The complex binds two distinct DNA double helices corresponding to the arms of a plectonemic loop. MatP-bound DNA threads through the MukBEF ring, while the second DNA is clamped by the kleisin MukF, MukE and the MukB ATPase heads. Combinatorial cysteine cross-linking confirms this topology of DNA loop entrapment in vivo. Our findings illuminate how a class of near-ubiquitous DNA organizers with important roles in genome maintenance interacts with the bacterial chromosome.

Highlights

Complete atomic structures of the bacterial SMC complex MukBEF on and off DNA.

MukBEF entraps two DNA double helices when bound to the unloader MatP.

In vivo topology of DNA loop entrapment determined by cysteine cross-linking.

Arms of the DNA loop thread through separate compartments of MukBEF.

Graphical abstract
Force redistribution in clathrin-mediated endocytosis revealed by coiled-coil force sensors
Authors: Ren Yuan , Yang Jie , Fujita Barbara , Jin Huaizhou , Zhang Yongli , Berro Julien
Published: June 2021

Forces are central to countless cellular processes, yetin vivoforce measurement at the molecular scale remains difficult if not impossible. During clathrin-mediated endocytosis, forces produced by the actin cytoskeleton are transmitted to the plasma membrane by a multi-protein coat for membrane deformation. However, the magnitudes of these forces remain unknown. Here, we present newin vivoforce sensors that induces protein condensation under force. We measured the forces on the fission yeast HIP1R homologue End4p, a protein that links the membrane to the actin cytoskeleton. End4p is under ∼19 pN force near the actin cytoskeleton, ∼ 11 pN near the clathrin lattice, and ∼9 pN near the plasma membrane. Our results demonstrate that forces are collected and redistributed across the endocytic machinery.

One-Sentence Summary

Newin vivocoiled-coil force sensors reveal force redistribution during endocytosis.
Unbiased in vivo exploration of nuclear bodies-enhanced sumoylation reveals that PML orchestrates embryonic stem cell fate
Authors: Tessier Sarah , Ferhi Omar , Geoffroy Marie-Claude , Gonzalez-Prieto Roman , Canat Antoine , Quentin Samuel , Pla Marika , Niwa-Kawakita Michiko , Bercier Pierre , Rérolle Domitille , Therizols Pierre , Fabre Emmanuelle , Vertegaal Alfred C.O. , de Thé Hugues , Lallemand-Breitenbach Valérie
Published: June 2021

Membrane-less organelles are condensates formed by phase separation whose functions often remain enigmatic. Upon oxidative stress, PML scaffolds Nuclear Bodies (NBs) to regulate senescence or metabolic adaptation, but their role in pluripotency remains elusive. Here we establish that PML is required for basal SUMO2/3 conjugation in mESCs and oxidative stress-driven sumoylation in mESCs or in vivo. PML NBs create an oxidation-protective environment for UBC9-driven SUMO2/3 conjugation of PML partners, often followed by their poly-ubiquitination and degradation. Differential in vivo proteomics identified several members of the KAP1 complex as PML NB-dependent SUMO2-targets. The latter drives functional activation of this key epigenetic repressor. Accordingly, Pml−/− mESCs re-express transposable elements and display features of totipotent-like cells, a process further enforced by PML-controlled SUMO2-conjugation of DPPA2. Finally, PML is required for adaptive stress responses in mESCs. Collectively, PML orchestrates mESC fate through SUMO2-conjugation of key transcriptional or epigenetic regulators, raising new mechanistic hypotheses about PML roles in normal or cancer stem cells.
“Blackness is not just a single definition”: multimodal composition as an exercise for surfacing and scaffolding student theorizing in a Black Studies classroom
Authors: Ohito Esther O.
Published: July 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate multimodal composition as an exercise or tool for teaching students theory building. To illustrate, an analysis of artifacts comprising a student’s multimodal composition, which was created in response to a multipart literacy assignment on theorizing Blackness, is analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

Afrocentricity served as both theoretical moor and research methodology. Qualitative case study, focusing on the case of an individual student, was the research method used.

Findings

Multimodal composition was an effective exercise for surfacing the multidimensionality of a student’s complex knowledge while simultaneously placing the student in the powerful position of theorist. The process of composing multimodally integrated reading, writing and speaking skills while revealing the focal student’s need for targeted writing intervention.

Practical implications

The study evidences multimodal composition as a useful exercise for capturing students’ nuanced interpretations or students’ critical theorizing as well as meaningfully incorporating and assessing students’ literacy skills.

Originality/value

Exposure to preexisting theory alone relegates students to the realm of passive knowledge consumers. This undermines the emancipatory and justice-oriented objectives of critical education, which ideally contributes to social change by challenging dominant power structures and distorted perspectives of marginalized persons. To be empowered agentic learners, students need to be both taught how to theorize and engaged as theorists. This study shows how multimodal composition can be used as a liberatory literacy tool for those intertwined pedagogical purposes.
Board governance, ownership structure and foreign investment in the Saudi capital market
Authors: Bajaher Mohammed , Habbash Murya , Alborr Adel
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine whether board governance mechanisms and ownership structure play a role in foreign investors’ decisions when buying shares in Saudi listed companies

Design/methodology/approach

Foreign investment in the Saudi capital market started in 2015 and reached a peak in 2019, with corporate governance regulations having been updated in 2017. The authors tested the proposed relationships using hand collected data for all Saudi non-financial firms in 2019.

Findings

This study found that it does not play a role in attracting foreign investment in the Saudi capital market. Foreign investors also seem to avoid firms with concentrated ownership that either have high government or director ownership; however, accounting and market variables show significant impact on foreign investors' decisions. The outcomes of this study provide empirical evidence that current foreign investors in the Saudi stock market do not place enough merit on board governance and their investment decisions tend to depend on share performance. Thus, the results show that the current governance changes and capital market regulations in Saudi Arabia may not have been sufficient to stimulate the inflow of institutional foreign investment to the country to date, but rather they have attracted individual retail foreign investors.

Originality/value

This empirical study is one of only a small number of studies to investigate the impact of internal corporate governance on foreign ownership in developing countries and the first in the Saudi context. In fact, most previous governance research in Saudi Arabia focused on how board governance and ownership structure influences firm performance. A review of the prior studies found that only Badawi et al. (2019) examined the determinants of foreign ownership among Saudi listed firms. Thus, the present investigation extends that study by examining the role of board governance in attracting foreign investors.
Data mining techniques for predicting the financial performance of Islamic banking in Indonesia
Authors: Ledhem Mohammed Ayoub
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply various data mining techniques for predicting the financial performance of Islamic banking in Indonesia through the main exogenous determinants of profitability by choosing the best data mining technique based on the criteria of the highest accuracy score of testing and training.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper used data mining techniques to predict the financial performance of Islamic banking by applying all of LASSO regression, random forest (RF), artificial neural networks and k-nearest neighbor (KNN) over monthly data sets of all the full-fledged Islamic banks working in Indonesia from January 2011 until March 2020. This study used return on assets as a real measurement of financial performance, whereas the capital adequacy ratio, asset quality and liquidity management were used as exogenous determinants of financial performance.

Findings

The experimental results showed that the optimal task for predicting the financial performance of Islamic banking in Indonesia is the KNN technique, which affords the best-predicting accuracy, and gives the optimal knowledge from the financial performance of Islamic banking determinants in Indonesia. As well, the RF provides closer values to the optimal accuracy of the KNN, which makes it another robust technique in predicting the financial performance of Islamic banking.

Research limitations/implications

This paper restricted modeling the financial performance of Islamic banking to profitability through the main determinants of return of assets in Indonesia. Future research could consider enlarging the modeling of financial performance using other models such as CAMELS and Z-Score to predict the financial performance of Islamic banking under data mining techniques.

Practical implications

Owing to the lack of using data mining techniques in the Islamic banking sector, this paper would fill the literature gap by providing new effective techniques for predicting financial performance in the Islamic banking sector using data mining approaches, which can be efficient tools in business and management modeling for financial researchers and decision-makers in the Islamic banking sector.

Originality/value

According to the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first that provides data mining techniques for predicting the financial performance of the Islamic banking sector in Indonesia.
Does performance evaluation kill creativity? A(re) interpretation of existing literature
Authors: Speckbacher Gerhard
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Enabling employee creativity and channeling the creativity of employees toward process and product innovations is a starting point of value creation processes and strategy maps. The dominant view in early creativity research seemed to be that creativity and control are inconsistent. More recently, a number of studies have come to acknowledge that performance evaluations (and rewards linked to such evaluations) may well have positive effects on creativity. This paper aims to review existing results on the effects of performance evaluations on creativity from the perspectives of different research streams.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyzes a stream of research in social psychology which has promoted the notion of an overall negative effect of performance evaluations on creativity. The (reinterpreted) results from this research stream are contrasted with findings from the behaviorist perspective and with research in management accounting.

Findings

The review of the different research traditions in the analysis of the effects of performance evaluations on creativity indicates that the seemingly contradictory empirical results can be explained by the different settings used and by the different ways how performance evaluations and linked rewards are conceptualized.

Originality/value

The paper clarifies that, in contrast to common beliefs, performance evaluations and linked incentives do not kill creativity in general. Performance evaluations and incentives can support creativity and innovation if they are transparent about what kind of creativity is desired and how such creativity is measured and rewarded. Moreover, incentives can effectively support behaviors that are known to be important within creativity and innovation processes.
Disclosure effectiveness in the financial planning industry
Authors: Richards Daniel W. , Safari Maryam
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Scandals in the Australian financial services industry highlight the conflicts of interest between those who provide financial advice (financial planners) and their clients. Disclosure is a potential governance tool to manage these conflicts of interest by reducing asymmetries in information. Yet, the efficacy of disclosure is questionable as scandals persist, so this paper aims to research the effectiveness of disclosure in financial planning.

Design/methodology/approach

This research used a qualitative approach involving the triangulation of data from parliamentary inquiries in financial services with data collected in semi-structured interviews with financial planning professionals.

Findings

The findings draw a clear portrayal of the disclosure requirements and illustrate how disclosure processes are onerous and complex. Starting with detangling the complex interactions between the beneficial role of disclosure in reducing information asymmetry and unethical behaviour and the detrimental effect of information overload, the authors then highlight effective disclosure techniques used by financial planners, including visualisation of material information. The study reveals that financial planners perceive their role as filtering information for clients and ensuring clients’ comprehension, due to the onerous disclosure requirements.

Research limitations/implications

The study is of interest to researchers, practitioners, policymakers and society as it implies that how disclosure occurs is as important as what information is disclosed. Those who wish to foster effective disclosure in the financial services industry need to consider the quantity, quality and process of disclosure. A limitation is the research focusses on financial planning practices and not client outcomes, which could be considered in future research.

Originality/value

The study adds to the understanding of how disclosure is used as a governance tool and how the quantity of information may impede the effectiveness of disclosure in the financial planning industry. In addition, the study identifies and elaborates on the influential factors and best practices for enhancing the disclosure effectiveness by financial planners.
Ten‐year trends in lifestyle habits among community‐dwelling older people in Taiwan
Authors: Tsou Hsiao‐Ting , Wu Tai‐Yin , Kuo Kuan‐Liang , Hsiao Sheng‐Huang , Huang Sheng‐Jean , Tsai Ching‐Yao
Published: July 2021

Objective

Different lifestyles may contribute to chronic diseases or a health condition. We aimed to study trends in lifestyle habits among community‐dwelling older people.

Methods

This retrospective time‐trend study enrolled 429 108 participants from the Senior Citizen Health Examination in Taiwan over ten years (2001–2010). We analysed lifestyle habits including smoking, alcohol, betel nut chewing, milk drinking, fruit and vegetable intake, car driving and motorcycle riding. Joinpoint regression was used to identify changes in trend.

Results

The overall rate of smoking, alcohol and betel nut chewing was 8.2%, 18.1% and 0.3%, respectively. Smoking rates decreased gradually, but alcohol and betel nut chewing increased. We found that milk drinking, fruit and vegetable intake and car driving initially increased and then later decreased. The change in the trend was in 2003.

Conclusions

There were significant turning points in milk drinking, fruit and vegetable intake and car driving. Implementation of strategies to change the behaviors of citizens about the intake of fruit and vegetable and milk drinking is important.
The 90‐day cause‐specific mortality after radical prostatectomy: a nationwide population‐based study
Authors: Björklund Johan , Stattin Pär , Rönmark Erik , Aly Markus , Akre Olof
Published: July 2021

Objective

To investigate the cause‐specific mortality in the postoperative period after radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods

In the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden (NPCR), we identified all men who died within 90 days after RP performed 1998–2018 and we assessed cause of death in a chart review. We compared the adjudications of death from our medical record review with those in in the Swedish Cause of Death Registry (CDR).

Results

Out of 44 635, 58 (0.13%) men who had undergone RP from 1998 through 2018 died within 90 days after RP. Per medical record review the most common causes of death were cardiac disease (30%) and venous thromboembolic events (VTE; 21%). No men died of metastatic PCa as was first indicated in the CDR. After robot‐assisted RP (RARP) or open retropubic RP (RRP), the postoperative mortality was 0.09% (19/21 520) and 0.19% (37/19 635), respectively. The effect off modality was confounded mainly by year of surgery, age at surgery, Charlson Comorbidity Index score and the concomitant pelvic lymph node dissection.

Conclusion

The validated absolute 90‐day mortality after RP was 1.3/1000 during the 21‐year study period. Cardiovascular diseases were the most common causes of death after RP. Our validation of the CDR refuted the occurrence of postoperative deaths from metastatic PCa. There were differences in rates and type of mortality between RRP and RARP, but the RARP cohort was more recent than the RRP cohort, which likely explain the differences.
Astrocytes for brain repair: More than just a neuron’s sidekick
Authors: Weber Rebecca Z. , Perron Patrick , Rust Ruslan
Published: July 2021

Transplantation of glial enriched progenitors provides therapeutic effects on axonal damage, cognitive and motor function following white matter stroke.
Musculoskeletal anatomy and nomenclature of the mammalian epipubic bones
Authors: Guilhon Gabby , Braga Caryne , Milne Nick , Cerqueira Rui
Published: July 2021

Despite the well‐established anatomy nomenclature for the marsupial skeleton, there are no names for the epipubic bone structures. Epipubic bones are paired bones articulating with the pubis and projecting cranially in the ventral body wall, present on the pelvic girdle of cynodonts, monotremes and marsupials. These bones were commonly thought to be related to pouch support in marsupials and more recently associated with locomotion. The parts of the epipubic bones have not been named and this has impeded proper morphological analysis. We analyzed the epipubic bones of 302 skeletons comprising American and Australian marsupials, as well as 27 monotreme skeletons, and dissected 10 marsupials for myological attachments analysis. We suggest the following nomenclature for the epipubic bone structures: crest for the cranial end, shaft for the body of the bone, lateral tubercle and the medial articular process. Some markings on the epipubic bone include the oblique line, pertaining to the attachment of external abdominal oblique muscle from the opposite side. The pyramidalis line is the suggested nomenclature for the pyramidalis muscle attachment and the inguinal ligament line for the inguinal ligament attachment. Regarding myology and attachments, based on dissections and review of the literature, the muscles pyramidalis, pectineus, external and internal abdominal oblique, transversus abdominis and rectus abdominis and the structures linea alba, linea semilunaris and the inguinal ligament are connected to the epipubic bone. As has been previously noted, anatomically, epipubic bones are so named due to their position (epi—above, pubic—pubis), and the same applies to structures such as the “epipubic process” or “epipubic cartilage” in amphibians and reptiles. While testing epipubic bone homology in vertebrates is beyond the scope of this work, we believe that using “epipubic bones” or epipubic cartilage/process as standardized terms for the structures found in the most cranial part of the superior ramus of the pubis would facilitate better anatomical communication. This should be valid for other similar terms, such as “epipubes” or “prepubis”, that might occur in the literature in relation to this same physiographic position, and it should also be named as epipubic. We believe that this nomenclature will help in future morphologic studies.
On the Importance of Playing House: Belonging Work and the Making of Relational Citizens in Finnish Immigrant Integration Policies
Authors: Haapajärvi Linda
Published: July 2021

As participatory immigrant integration policies proliferate in Europe, it has become urgent to analyze the dynamics of citizenship these policies produce. This article forges the notion of belonging‐work to explore the practices that frontline social workers use to manage relations between immigrant women and their native neighbors. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Helsinki, Finland, the article accounts for belonging as a socially situated phenomenon—as an interactive process that takes place in concrete institutional settings. It attracts attention to the domestic mode of belonging toward which welfare professionals channel immigrant women's local participation by constructing collective identities as local mothers, cultivating extended practices of care, and orchestrating feelings of “hominess” between the mobilized women. A pragmatic solution to preventing social isolation in inactive migrant women, participatory integration measures—if practiced alone—appear to hold weak potential for producing equal citizenship.

Related Articles in this Special Issue

Barrault‐Stella, Lorenzo, and Thomas Douniès. 2021a. “From Good ‘User’ to Good Citizen? The Political Effects on Families of Education Policies in France.” Politics & Policy 49 (4).

Barrault‐Stella, Lorenzo, and Thomas Douniès. 2021b. “Introduction to the Special Issue: Citizenship as a Tool of Government in Europe.” Politics & Policy 49 (4).

Ewert, Benjamin. 2021. “Citizenship as a Form of Anticipatory Obedience? Implications of Preventive Health Policy in Germany.” Politics & Policy 49 (4).
Population structure and genetic diversity suggest recent introductions of Dothistroma pini in Slovakia
Authors: Adamčíková Katarína , Jánošíková Zuzana , van der Nest Ariska , Adamčík Slavomír , Ondrušková Emília , Barnes Irene
Published: June 2021

Dothistroma pini is one of two pathogens causing Dothistroma needle blight (DNB), a foliar disease of pines. The species was redefined in 2004 and subsequently recorded in several European countries. In Slovakia, the first report of the pathogen was in 2013. In this study, the population structure, genetic diversity, and reproductive mode of 105 isolates collected from 10 localities and seven hosts were determined in Slovakia. Species‐specific mating type markers, ITS haplotype determination, and 16 microsatellite markers were used to characterize and genotype the isolates. Overall, 15 unique multilocus haplotypes (MLHs) based on microsatellite markers and three ITS haplotypes were identified. Three independent methods (DAPC, STRUCTURE, EDENetwork) separated the isolates into two distinct population clusters corresponding with ITS haplotypes. A high level of clonality was recorded suggesting that conidia are the primary source of pathogen dispersal. The low genetic diversity, predominantly asexual reproductive mode of the pathogen, and the fact that most isolates were collected from introduced tree species and native species in artificially planted urban greenery, supports the hypothesis that D. pini has been recently introduced into Slovakia.
Beyond Urgenda: The role of the ECHR and judgments of the ECtHR in Dutch environmental and climate litigation
Authors: Krommendijk Jasper
Published: July 2021

Human rights have been championed as the new frontier in environmental and climate change litigation, especially since the Dutch Urgenda case. However, little is known about whether this alleged turn to rights is really happening beyond a few high‐profile judgments. This article examines how and when courts have relied on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in environmental cases in the Netherlands since 2016. In doing so, it will show the broad potential and wide range of environmental cases in which rights are used. Rights talk is at the same time frequently overlooked or avoided by the parties and the courts, partly because the added value is limited in the light of specific national (EU‐inspired) statutory provisions. To date, the actual impact of the EC(t)HR has been rather minimal beyond Urgenda, partly because of the limitations in the ECHR. This articles sketches avenues for further (empirical) research.
Clinical presentation, treatment and outcome in dogs with pemphigus foliaceus with and without vasculopathic lesions: an evaluation of 41 cases
Authors: Zhou Zijin , Corner Sarah , Petersen Annette , Rosser Edmund , Noland Erica L
Published: June 2021

Background

Concurrent vasculopathic lesions in dogs with pemphigus foliaceus (PF) have been observed anecdotally yet not reported in the literature. Any association with prognosis is unclear.

Hypothesis/Objectives

To compare clinical features and outcome of PF in dogs with and without vasculopathic lesions.

Animals

Archived, formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded biopsy samples of 41 dogs with PF.

Methods and materials

Archived, formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded biopsy samples with a histological diagnosis of PF were selected and re‐evaluated independently. Dogs were assigned to groups following histological evaluation: Group 1 (no vasculopathic lesions) and Group 2 (vasculopathic lesions present). Group 2 was subdivided into Group 2a (vasculopathic lesions without vasculitis – i.e. vasculopathy) and Group 2b (overt vasculitis). Medical records from identified cases were reviewed retrospectively for data on clinical presentation, treatment and outcome.

Results

Time to remission was longer in Group 2b (93.8 days) compared to Group 1 (41.8 days) (P = 0.047). Dogs in groups 2a and 2b were more likely to have systemic signs of illness at presentation (P = 0.028 and P = 0.032, respectively) compared to Group 1. Dogs in Group 2b were more likely to have adverse effects associated with treatment than dogs in Group 1 (P = 0.004). There were no significant differences in lesion type, distribution, rates of remission, recurrence or corticosteroid dosage between groups.

Conclusions and clinical importance

Dogs with PF and concurrent vasculitis took longer to achieve remission and were more likely to have systemic signs of illness or adverse effects associated with treatment than dogs with PF without concurrent vasculopathic lesions.
Importance of Peer Learning Among Part-Time Students in Preventing Drop Out
Authors: Brücknerová Karla
Published: June 2021

The paper aims to answer how peer learning among Czech part-time students studying in educational programs in public tertiary education prevents drop out. The analysis covers 28 narrative biographies, 94 written narratives, and 6 focus groups. Results show that involved part-time students perceive their peer learning as a crucial element of their studies. Peer learning helps them adapt to higher education studies, enables them to work meaningfully with studied contents, and enhances their motivation to complete their studies.
Shakedown and Limit Analysis of Kinematic Hardening Piping Elbows Under Internal Pressure and Bending Moments
Authors: Peng Heng , Liu Yinghua
Published: June 2021

In this paper, the stress compensation method (SCM) adopting an elastic-perfectly plastic (EPP) material is further extended to account for limited kinematic hardening (KH) material model based on the extended Melan's static shakedown theorem using a two-surface model defined by two hardening parameters, namely, the initial yield strength and the ultimate yield strength. Numerical analysis of a cylindrical pipe is performed to validate the outcomes of the extended SCM. The results agree well with ones from literature. Then the extended SCM is applied to the shakedown and limit analysis of KH piping elbows subjected to internal pressure and cyclic bending moments. Various loading combinations are investigated to generate the shakedown limit and the plastic limit load interaction curves. The effects of material hardening, elbow angle, and loading conditions on the shakedown limit and the plastic limit load interaction curves are presented and analyzed. The present method is incorporated in a commercial finite element simulation software and can be considered as a general computational tool for shakedown analysis of KH engineering structures. The obtained results provide a useful information for the structural design and integrity assessment of piping elbows.
Effect of the Heat Transfer Coefficient Reference Temperatures on Validating Numerical Models of Supercritical CO2
Authors: Chao Yang , Lopes Nicholas C. , Ricklick Mark A. , Boetcher Sandra K. S.
Published: June 2021

Validating turbulence models for cooling supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) in a horizontal pipe is challenging due to the lack of experimental data with spatially resolved local temperature measurements. Although many variables may be present to cause discrepancies between numerical and experimental data, this study focuses on how the choice of reference temperatures (both wall reference temperature and fluid bulk reference temperature) when calculating the heat transfer coefficient influences turbulence-model validation results. While it may seem straightforward to simply use the same parameters as the experimental setup, this has not been observed in practice. In this work, numerical simulations are performed for cooling sCO2 in a horizontal pipe for p = 8 MPa, d = 6 mm, G = 200, and 400 kg/(m2s), and qw = 12, 24, and 33 kW/m2. Local and average heat transfer coefficients with different reference temperatures, found to be frequently used in the literature, are presented and compared with commonly used experimental data. It was found that the choice of reference temperatures has a significant influence on the results of the numerical validation. Historically, the higher heat flux cases have been more difficult to validate, theorized due to using reference temperatures differing from the experiment; however, good agreement was found here using the reference temperatures that most closely matched the experiment. This not only highlights the need for careful selection of reference temperatures in simulations, but also the importance of clearly defining the reference temperature employed when reporting experimental results.
Why Train Together When Racing Is Performed Alone? Drafting in Long-Track Speed Skating
Authors: van den Brandt Floor A.P. , Stoter Inge K. , Otter Ruby T.A. , Elferink-Gemser Marije T.
Published: June 2021

Purpose: In long-track speed skating, drafting is a commonly used phenomenon in training; however, it is not allowed in time-trial races. In speed skating, limited research is available on the physical and psychological impact of drafting. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of “skating alone,” “leading,” or “drafting” on physical intensity (heart rate and blood lactate) and perceived intensity (perceived exertion) of speed skaters. Methods: Twenty-two national-level long-track speed skaters with a mean age of 19.3 (2.6) years skated 5 laps, with similar external intensity in 3 different conditions: skating alone, leading, or drafting. Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed differences between the 3 conditions, heart rate (F2,36 = 10.546, P < .001), lactate (F2,36 = 12.711, P < .001), and rating of perceived exertion (F2,36 = 5.759, P < .01). Results: Heart rate and lactate concentration were significantly lower (P < .001) when drafting compared with leading (heart rate Δ = 7 [8] beats·min–1, 4.0% [4.7%]; lactate Δ = 2.3 [2.3] mmol/L, 28.2% [29.9%]) or skating alone (heart rate Δ = 8 [7.1] beats·min–1, 4.6% [3.9%]; lactate Δ = 2.8 [2.5] mmol/L, 33.6% [23.6%]). Rating of perceived exertion was significantly lower (P < .01) when drafting (Δ = 0.8 [1.0], 16.5% [20.9%]) or leading (Δ = 0.5 [0.9], 7.7% [20.5%]) versus skating alone. Conclusions: With similar external intensity, physical intensity, as well as perceived intensity, is reduced when drafting in comparison with skating alone. A key finding of this study is the psychological effect: Skating alone was shown to be more demanding than leading, whereas leading and drafting were perceived to be similar in terms of perceived exertion. Knowledge about the reduction of internal intensity for a drafting skater compared with leading or skating alone can be used by coaches and trainers to optimize training conditions.
Dearborn SHINES During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Youth Experiences and Outcomes With Virtual Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Programming
Authors: Barcelona Jeanne , Centeio Erin , Arvidson Paige , Hijazi Kowsar
Published: June 2021

Purpose: This exploratory study evaluated how youth healthy eating (HE) and physical activity (PA) behaviors could be influenced by a whole-of-school program, which was transformed to a virtual setting at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors investigated how students experienced programming and the role of students’ perceptions of parental support in their self-reported engagement in HE and PA.Methods: PA and HE curricula were provided across 15 schools over 12 weeks. Students (N = 879,Mage = 12.12 years, 63% female) completed a survey evaluating the value and perceptions around programmatic aspects as well as their self-reported engagement in HE and PA.Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed positive relationships between parental support for PA and student engagement, as well as positive relationships between students’ self-efficacy and HE behaviors.Conclusion: Findings indicate that students utilized virtual HE and PA programming and that parent support helped to facilitate engagement in PA and HE behaviors beyond the school setting.
Integrating CUREs in Ongoing Research: Undergraduates as Active Participants in the Discovery of Biodegrading Thermophiles
Authors: Peyton Brent M. , Skorupa Dana J.
Published: June 2021

Research-based courses are a powerful way to engage undergraduates in the scientific process while simultaneously teaching participants relevant laboratory, analysis, and scientific communication skills. In most programs, students conduct a simulated project which effectively improves student conceptions of scientific thinking but does not produce research-quality data.
How Instructors Can Enhance Biology Students’ Motivation, Learning, and Grades through Brief Relevance Writing and Worked-Example Interventions
Authors: Mara Kyle R. , Kaplan Avi , Balsai Michael J. , Cromley Jennifer G. , Perez Tony , Dai Ting
Published: June 2021

The high failure rate of students in “gateway” science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses has been a persistent problem for biology programs nationwide. Common wisdom contends that addressing this problem requires major curricular overhauls.
Affordable Diffusion Microchamber Array Designs for Isolating Microbes in Classrooms and Laboratories
Authors: Braus Michael J. , Swader Robert , Petry George , Whitman Thea
Published: June 2021

Diffusion microchamber array (DMA) devices have provided contemporary microbiologists with a successful alternative to the century-old plating method using petri dishes to isolate and cultivate environmental bacteria. The “ichip” DMA device, developed by the research group of Slava Epstein, is exemplary of this technology, using membranes to culture rare or otherwise nonmodel bacterial taxa, whereby the target cells are nourished by environmental medium across the separating membrane.
Complete Genome Sequence of African Swine Fever Virus Isolated from a Domestic Pig in Timor-Leste, 2019
Authors: Mileto Patrick , da Conceição Felisiano , Stevens Vittoria , Cummins David , Certoma Andrea , Neave Matthew J. , Bendita da Costa Jong Joanita , Williams David T.
Published: July 2021

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of the African swine fever virus (ASFV) isolate ASFV/Timor-Leste/2019/1, isolated from a domestic pig during the first outbreak of ASF in Timor-Leste in 2019. Using target enrichment short-read Illumina data combined with long-read Oxford Nanopore data, we assembled a full-length genome sequence of 192,237 bp.
A Small Regulatory RNA Generated from the
malK
5′ Untranslated Region Targets Gluconeogenesis in
Vibrio
Species
Authors: Luo Xing , Esberard Marick , Bouloc Philippe , Jacq Annick
Published: June 2021

Juvenile pacific oysters have been subject in recent years to summer mortality episodes with deep economic consequences. The pathogen
Vibrio tasmaniensis
has been associated with such mortality events.
Older woman with abdominal pain and bilateral sequential vision loss due to syphilis
Authors: Kabanovski Anna , Jeeva-Patel Trishal , Kaplan Alexander , Bui Esther , Margolin Edward A
Published: June 2021

A 62-year-old woman presented with non-specific abdominal pain, elevated alkaline phosphatase levels and bilateral sequential visual loss. Visual acuity was counting fingers in right eye (RE) and 20/400 in left eye (LE). She was noted to have optic nerve pallor in RE and mildly elevated optic disc with signs of ocular inflammation in LE. After 2 weeks, vision deteriorated to light perception bilaterally with now extensive vitreal inflammation present in both eyes. Positive rapid plasma reagen andTreponema pallidum’s antibody tites confirmed syphilis infection. Unfortunately, as the diagnosis was delayed by many months, her visual acuity remained poor (hand motions in RE and 20/50 in LE) despite treatment with intravenous penicillin. This case reminds us of the re-emergence of this ‘great masquerader’ and highlights the importance of maintaining high suspicion for syphilis in patients with unexplained visual loss and systemic symptoms, even in older adults without identifiable risk factors.
Exploring smoke: an ethnographic study of air pollution in rural Malawi
Authors: Saleh Sepeedeh , Sambakunsi Henry , Mortimer Kevin , Morton Ben , Kumwenda Moses , Rylance Jamie , Chinouya Martha
Published: June 2021

Air pollution adversely affects human health, and the climate crisis intensifies the global imperative for action. Low-/middle-income countries (LMIC) suffer particularly high attributable disease burdens. In rural low-resource settings, these are linked to cooking using biomass. Proposed biomedical solutions to air pollution typically involve ‘improved cooking technologies’, often introduced by high-income country research teams. This ethnography, set in a rural Malawian village, aimed to understand air pollution within its social and environmental context. The results provide a multifaceted account through immersive participant observations with concurrent air quality monitoring, interviews and participatory workshops. Data included quantitative measures of individuals’ air pollution exposures paired with activity, qualitative insights into how smoke is experienced in daily life throughout the village, and participants’ reflections on potential cleaner air solutions. Individual air quality monitoring demonstrated that particulate levels frequently exceeded upper limits recommended by the WHO, even in the absence of identified sources of biomass burning. Ethnographic findings revealed the overwhelming impact of economic scarcity on individual air pollution exposures. Scarcity affected air pollution exposures through three pathways: daily hardship, limitation and precarity. We use the theory of structural violence, as described by Paul Farmer, and the concept of slow violence to interrogate the origins of this scarcity and global inequality. We draw on the ethnographic findings to critically consider sustainable approaches to cleaner air, without re-enacting existing systemic inequities.