bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Global genomic pathogen surveillance to inform vaccine strategies: a decade-long expedition in pneumococcal genomics
Authors: Bentley Stephen D. , Lo Stephanie W.
Published: May 2021

Vaccines are powerful agents in infectious disease prevention but often designed to protect against some strains that are most likely to spread and cause diseases. Most vaccines do not succeed in eradicating the pathogen and thus allow the potential emergence of vaccine evading strains. As with most evolutionary processes, being able to capture all variations across the entire genome gives us the best chance of monitoring and understanding the processes of vaccine evasion. Genomics is being widely adopted as the optimum approach for pathogen surveillance with the potential for early and precise identification of high-risk strains. Given sufficient longitudinal data, genomics also has the potential to forecast the emergence of such strains enabling immediate or pre-emptive intervention. In this review, we consider the strengths and challenges for pathogen genomic surveillance using the experience of the Global Pneumococcal Sequencing (GPS) project as an early example. We highlight the multifaceted nature of genome data and recent advances in genome-based tools to extract useful information relevant to inform vaccine strategies and treatment options. We conclude with future perspectives for genomic pathogen surveillance.
Shortcomings of SARS-CoV-2 genomic metadata
Authors: Gozashti Landen , Corbett-Detig Russell
Published: May 2021

Objective

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has prompted one of the most extensive and expeditious genomic sequencing efforts in history. Each viral genome is accompanied by a set of metadata which supplies important information such as the geographic origin of the sample, age of the host, and the lab at which the sample was sequenced, and is integral to epidemiological efforts and public health direction. Here, we interrogate some shortcomings of metadata within the GISAID database to raise awareness of common errors and inconsistencies that may affect data-driven analyses and provide possible avenues for resolutions.

Results

Our analysis reveals a startling prevalence of spelling errors and inconsistent naming conventions, which together occur in an estimated ~ 9.8% and ~ 11.6% of “originating lab” and “submitting lab” GISAID metadata entries respectively. We also find numerous ambiguous entries which provide very little information about the actual source of a sample and could easily associate with multiple sources worldwide. Importantly, all of these issues can impair the ability and accuracy of association studies by deceptively causing a group of samples to identify with multiple sources when they truly all identify with one source, or vice versa.
Fairness in household financial contribution to the Iran’s healthcare system from 2008 to 2018
Authors: Darvishi Ali , Amini-Rarani Mostafa , Mehrolhassani Mohammad Hossein , Yazdi-Feyzabadi Vahid
Published: May 2021

Objective

Enhancing financial protection in health is one of the main goals of Iran’s health transformation program (HTP), a recent reform conducted in early 2014. This study aimed to measure financial protection using the fair financial contribution index (FFCI) in urban and rural areas before (2008–2013) and after (2014–2018) the HTP implementation. Using a retrospective study on annual national cross-sectional surveys of households' income and expenditure, FFCI was measured. The total sample sizes for urban and rural areas from 2008 to 2018 were 207,980 and 212,249 households, respectively.

Results

The worst fair contributions to health expenditure in urban (FFCI = 0.684) and rural areas (FFCI = 0.530) were related to 2010 and 2009, respectively. Otherwise, the best fair contributions for urban (FFCI = 0.858) and rural (FFCI = 0.836) areas were made in 2011. Before the HTP implementation began, FFCI showed minor changes from 0.834 in 2008 to 0.833 in 2013. Following the HTP implementation, the FFCI values in urban and rural populations declined (worsened) from 0.842 to 0.836 and 0.816 to 0.809, respectively.On average more
fair financial contributions had been made following five years after the HTP, especially
in rural areas, but less than that expected in upstream documents (as
determined 0.9).
Correction to: Next-generation UWB antennas gadgets for human health care using SAR
Authors: Ali Aysha Maryam , Al Ghamdi Mohammed A. , Iqbal Muhammad Munwar , Khalid Shehzad , Aldabbas Hamza , Saeed Saqib
Published: May 2021

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
Global existence of positive periodic solutions of a general differential equation with neutral type
Authors: Liu Ming , Cao Jun , Xu Xiaofeng
Published: May 2021

In this paper, the dynamics of a general differential equation with neutral type are investigated. Under certain assumptions, the stability of positive equilibrium and the existence of Hopf bifurcation are obtained by analyzing the distribution of eigenvalues. And global existence of positive periodic solutions is established by using the global Hopf bifurcation result of Krawcewicz et al. Finally, by taking neutral Nicholson’s blowflies model and neutral Mackey–Glass model as two examples, some numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the analytical results.
Exponential stability in the Lagrange sense for Clifford-valued recurrent neural networks with time delays
Authors: Rajchakit G. , Sriraman R. , Boonsatit N. , Hammachukiattikul P. , Lim C. P. , Agarwal P.
Published: May 2021

This paper considers the Clifford-valued recurrent neural network (RNN) models, as an augmentation of real-valued, complex-valued, and quaternion-valued neural network models, and investigates their global exponential stability in the Lagrange sense. In order to address the issue of non-commutative multiplication with respect to Clifford numbers, we divide the originaln-dimensional Clifford-valued RNN model into$2^{m}n$2mnreal-valued models. On the basis of Lyapunov stability theory and some analytical techniques, several sufficient conditions are obtained for the considered Clifford-valued RNN models to achieve global exponential stability according to the Lagrange sense. Two examples are presented to illustrate the applicability of the main results, along with a discussion on the implications.
Solution of the system of nonlinear PDEs characterizing CES property under quasi-homogeneity conditions
Authors: Alodan Haila , Chen Bang-Yen , Deshmukh Sharief , Vîlcu Gabriel-Eduard
Published: May 2021

The constant elasticity of substitution (CES for short) is a basic property widely used in some areas of economics that involves a system of second-order nonlinear partial differential equations. One of the most remarkable results in mathematical economics states that under homogeneity condition i.e. the production function is a homogeneous function of a certain degree, there are no other production models with the CES property apart from the famous Cobb–Douglas and Arrow–Chenery–Minhas–Solow production functions. In this paper we generalize this classification result to a much wider framework of production functions under quasi-homogeneity conditions, showing in particular the existence of three new classes of production models with the CES property.
A reduction method for magnetic disturbance caused by DC railway system
Authors: Ding Xuezhen , Li Yuguo , Wu Yunju , Duan Shuangmin , Li Zhuoxuan , Yin Yanxin , Pan Lindong
Published: May 2021

The stray current of direct current (DC) railway systems causes magnetic disturbance in geomagnetic measurements, which may complicate the identification of useful information. The magnetic disturbance exhibits broadband characteristics in the frequency domain. In this paper, we propose a noise reduction method based on the adaptive Kalman filter to extract useful signals from the geomagnetic data with a high level of noise. The covariance matrixes of both the process noise (Q) and measurement noise (R) can be adaptively estimated to improve the performance of the adaptive Kalman filter. The proposed method is adopted to process the geomagnetic data collected at the Beijing Geomagnetic Observatory (BJI), which is affected by the DC railway system. The magnetic disturbance is largely reduced, and the signal-to-noise ratios of the horizontal and vertical components of the geomagnetic field are improved by more than 14 dB and 27 dB, respectively. The K-indices are calculated to evaluate the performance of the adaptive Kalman filter method. To assess the influence of the adaptive Kalman filter on natural signals, the geomagnetic data that contain rapid variations are processed. The denoising results show that the adaptive Kalman filter can effectively reduce the magnetic disturbance caused by DC railway system without large impact on the natural geomagnetic rapid variations.
Teaching trainee psychiatrists a Mentalization-Based Treatment approach to personality disorder: effect on attitudes
Authors: Lee Tennyson , Grove Patrick , Garrett Chris , Whitehurst Thomas , Kanter-Bax Orestis , Bhui Kamaldeep
Published: May 2021

Aims and method

To evaluate whether a brief training using a Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) model improves attitudes of trainee psychiatrists working with patients with personality disorder. Trainee psychiatrists (n = 49) completed the Attitudes to Personality Disorder Questionnaire before and after a training consisting of two 3 h lectures on (a) theory of personality disorder and (b) practical skills using an MBT role-play.

Results

There was a significant improvement on composite scores of attitude, with small to moderate effect size (Wilcoxon signed-rank test Z = 3.961, P < 0.001, r = 0.40).

Clinical implications

Brief MBT-informed teaching oriented to the clinical situation appears to have a positive effect on attitudes towards people with personality disorder.
Towards community care: Qatar's rapidly evolving mental health landscape
Authors: Solaiman Barry , Ghuloum Suhaila
Published: May 2021

An undercurrent of change is occurring in Qatar's approach towards mental healthcare. In the past 5 years, significant attention has been given to community care initiatives. There is much progress to be made, but the provision of psychiatric support outside of hospitals, the launch of several community services and the tackling of the associated social stigma represent a marked step away from the norm that has usually pervaded in the region. This article analyses these changes and identifies the challenges that remain.
Survival Outcomes of Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma at a Tertiary Care Center in North India (IMAGe: 001A Study)
Authors: Yanamandra Uday , Sharma Rajni , Shankar Siddharth , Yadav Shikha , Kapoor Rajan , Pramanik Suman , Ahuja Ankur , Kumar Rajiv , Sharma Sanjeevan , Das Satyaranjan , Chatterjee Tathagata , Somasundaram Venkatesan , Verma Tarun , Mishra Kundan , Singh Jasjit , Sharma Ajay , Nair Velu
Published: May 2021

PURPOSE

The outcomes of patients with myeloma from developing countries are often lacking because of poor record maintenance. Publications from such settings are also limited because of the retrospective nature of the data collection. Information technology can bridge these gaps in developing countries with real-time data maintenance. We present the real-time survival data of the patients with myeloma from a tertiary care center in North India using one such indigenously built software.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

These are real-time data of all patients with myeloma presenting to a tertiary care center from North India. The patient characteristics (demographics, baseline disease characteristics, risk stratification, and outcomes) were recorded contemporaneously. The survival of the study population was analyzed and grouped based on various disease characteristics at diagnosis.

RESULTS

The median age of the study population (N = 696) was 65.9 (34.9-94.9) years with male predominance (65%). The median follow-up was 3.7 years (0-18.6 years) with the median overall survival (OS) not achieved. The OS of the study population at 1, 3, and 5 years was 94% (n = 558), 87.5% (n = 394), and 83.1% (n = 267), respectively. Most of the patients presented in advanced stages based on International Staging System (III:70%). On Kaplan-Meier analysis, the presence of weight loss ( P = .01), renal dysfunction ( P = .047), and anemia at diagnosis ( P = .004) had a significant impact on survival. On Cox proportional model univariate analysis, the presence of renal dysfunction, anemia, and weight loss had the significant hazard ratio of 1.68 (1-2.82, P = .049), 3.18 (1.39-7.29, P = .0063), and 2.81 (1.22-6.42, P = .014), respectively, whereas on multivariate analysis of hypercalcemia, renal disease, anemia, and bone disease (CRAB) features, only anemia was found to have a significant hazard ratio of 2.56 (1.01-6.47, P = .046).

CONCLUSION

The real-world data show OS comparable with the published western literature. Only anemia was found to have significant impact on survival. The use of such software can aid in better data-keeping in resource-constrained settings.
Feasibility and Acceptability of Smartphone-Based Cervical Cancer Screening Among HIV-Positive Women in Western Kenya
Authors: Mungo Chemtai , Osongo Cirilus Ogollah , Ambaka Jeniffer , Randa Magdalene A. , Samba Benard , Ochieng Catherine A. , Barker Emily , Guliam Anagha , Omoto Jackton , Cohen Craig R.
Published: May 2021

PURPOSE

Adjunct cervical cancer screening methods are under evaluation to improve the diagnostic accuracy of human papillomavirus (HPV)-based screening in low- and middle-income countries. We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of smartphone-based cervicography among HPV-positive women living with HIV (WLWH) in Western Kenya.

METHODS

HPV-positive WLWH of 25-49 years of age enrolled in a clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04191967 ) had digital images of the cervix taken using a smartphone by a nonphysician provider following visual inspection with acetic acid. All participants had colposcopy-directed biopsy before treatment. Cervical images were evaluated by three off-site colposcopists for quality, diagnostic utility, and assigned a presumed diagnosis. We determined the proportion of images rates as low, medium, or high quality, interobserver agreement using Cohen’s Kappa statistic, and the off-site colposcopist’s sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) compared with histopathology. Acceptability was evaluated using a questionnaire.

RESULTS

One hundred sixty-four HPV-positive WLWH underwent cervicography during the study period. Mean age was 37.3 years. Images from the first 94 participants were evaluated by off-site colposcopists, with a majority (70.9%) rated as high quality. Off-site colposcopists had a sensitivity ranging from 21.4% (95% CI, 0.06 to 0.43) to 35.7% (95% CI, 0.26 to 0.46) and a specificity between 85.5% (95% CI, 0.81 to 0.90) to 94.9% (95% CI, 0.92 to 0.98) for diagnosis of CIN2+ based compared with histopathology. The majority of women, 99.4%, were comfortable having an image of their cervix taken as part of screening.

CONCLUSION

Cervicography by a nonphysician provider as an adjunct to HPV-based screening among WLWH in a low- and middle-income country setting is feasible and acceptable. However, low sensitivity for diagnosis of CIN2+ by off-site expert colposcopists highlights the limitations of cervicography.
Active engines: Thermodynamics moves forward
Authors: Fodor Étienne , Cates Michael E.
Published: May 2021

The study of thermal heat engines was pivotal to establishing the principles of equilibrium thermodynamics, with implications far wider than only engine optimization. For nonequilibrium systems, which by definition dissipate energy even at rest, how to best convert such dissipation into useful work is still largely an outstanding question, with similar potential to illuminate general physical principles. We review recent theoretical progress in studying the performances of engines operating with active matter, where particles are driven by individual self-propulsion. We distinguish two main classes, either autonomous engines exploiting a particle current, or cyclic engines applying periodic transformation to the system, and present the strategies put forward so far for optimization. We delineate the limitations of previous studies, and propose some future perspectives, with a view to building a consistent thermodynamic framework far from equilibrium.
Running vacuum against the H
0 and σ8
tensions
Authors: Solà Peracaula Joan , Gómez-Valent Adrià , de Cruz Pérez Javier , Moreno-Pulido Cristian
Published: May 2021

The cosmological term, Λ, was introduced 104 years ago by Einstein in his gravitational field equations. Whether Λ is a rigid quantity or a dynamical variable in cosmology has been a matter of debate for many years, especially after the introduction of the general notion of dark energy (DE). Λ is associated to the vacuum energy density,

, and one may expect that it evolves slowly with the cosmological expansion. Herein we present a devoted study testing this possibility using the promising class of running vacuum models (RVMs). We use a large string SNIa+BAO+H(z)+LSS+CMB of modern cosmological data, in which for the first time the CMB part involves the full Planck 2018 likelihood for these models. We test the dependence of the results on the threshold redshift

at which the vacuum dynamics is activated in the recent past and find positive signals up to

for

. The RVMs prove very competitive against the standard ΛCDM model and give a handle for solving the

tension and alleviating the H
0 one.
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preoperative Frailty Instruments Derived From Electronic Health Data
Authors: Alkadri Jamal , Hage Dima , Nickerson Leigh H. , Scott Lia R. , Shaw Julia F. , Aucoin Sylvie D. , McIsaac Daniel I.
Published: May 2021

BACKGROUND:

Frailty is a strong predictor of adverse outcomes in the perioperative period. Given the increasing availability of electronic medical data, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis with primary objectives of describing available frailty instruments applied to electronic data and synthesizing their prognostic value. Our secondary objectives were to assess the construct validity of frailty instruments that have been applied to perioperative electronic data and the feasibility of electronic frailty assessment.

METHODS:

Following protocol registration, a peer-reviewed search strategy was applied to Medline, Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Cochrane databases, and the Comprehensive Index to Nursing and Allied Health literature from inception to December 31, 2019. All stages of the review were completed in duplicate. The primary outcome was mortality; secondary outcomes included nonhome discharge, health care costs, and length of stay. Effect estimates adjusted for baseline illness, sex, age, procedure, and urgency were of primary interest; unadjusted and adjusted estimates were pooled using random-effects models where appropriate or narratively synthesized. Risk of bias was assessed.

RESULTS:

Ninety studies were included; 83 contributed to the meta-analysis. Frailty was defined using 22 different instruments. In adjusted data, frailty identified from electronic data using any instrument was associated with a 3.57-fold increase in the odds of mortality (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.68–4.75), increased odds of institutional discharge (odds ratio [OR], 2.40; 95% CI, 1.99–2.89), and increased costs (ratio of means, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.46–1.63). Most instruments were not multidimensional, head-to-head comparisons were lacking, and no feasibility data were reported.

CONCLUSIONS:

Frailty status derived from electronic data provides prognostic value as it is associated with adverse outcomes, even after adjustment for typical risk factors. However, future research is required to evaluate multidimensional instruments and their head-to-head performance and to assess their feasibility and clinical impact.
Appropriate Delivery of Antitachyarrhythmia Therapy Despite Magnet Placement Over Implanted Cardioverter-Defibrillator: A Case Report
Authors: Gajendran Vishal K. , Contractor Tahmeed , Tone Ryan C. , Mascetti Carin R. , McCabe Melissa D.
Published: May 2021

The fundamental perioperative concern for patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) is the potential for electromagnetic interference (EMI) from monopolar electrosurgery. The ICD may interpret electromagnetic signals as a tachyarrhythmia and deliver an inappropriate shock to the patient. Magnet placement is often used to avoid this problem since a magnet will often deactivate an ICD’s tachyarrhythmia therapy. We report a case in which magnet placement over an ICD failed to suspend tachyarrhythmia therapy because of imprecise magnet positioning. This case demonstrates the possibility for error when relying on a magnet to suspend tachyarrhythmia therapies.
Prevalence of Preoperative Iron Deficiency Anemia: A Case Series Among Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy
Authors: Patel Sephalie Y. , Kubal Timothy E. , Li Roger , Manley Brandon J. , Gilbert Scott M. , Sexton Wade J. , Spiess Philippe E. , Boulware David , Poch Michael A.
Published: May 2021

Anemia occurs in a significant group of patients with bladder cancer before radical cystectomy. Iron deficiency is a readily identifiable cause of anemia, which can be treated before surgery. The proportion of patients with bladder cancer with iron deficiency anemia is unknown. Laboratory and clinical outcomes were collected on 47 consecutive patients presenting for radical cystectomy. Iron studies found 30% of patients had iron deficiency anemia. These findings present an opportunity to treat anemia before surgery, to reduce blood transfusions during radical cystectomy.
Habituation in mosquito larvae Aedes aegypti is context-specific
Authors: A.L. Pietrantuono , M.B. Aguirre , O.A. Bruzzone , F.J. Guerrieri
Published: May 2021

Mosquito larvae live in water and perform a stereotyped escape response when a moving object projects its shadow on the surface, indicating potential risk of predation. Repeated presentations of the shadow induce a decrease in the response due to habituation, a form of non-associative learning defined as the progressive and reversible decrease in response to a specific reiterative innocuous stimulus. Nevertheless, habituation can be context-specific, which indicates an association between the context and the stimulus. The aim of this work was to study context-specificity in habituation in mosquito larvae Aedes aegypti. Larvae were individually placed in Petri dishes. Underneath, black, white or black-white striped cardboards were placed as backgrounds (visual context). Larvae were presented with a shadow produced by a cardboard square (training) over the course of 15 trials. After the fifteenth trial, the background was shifted and the stimulus was presented once again (test). To analyse habituation in different contexts, we developed a series of learning curve models. We performed a Bayesian model selection procedure using those models and the data from the experiments to find which model best described the results. The selected model was a Power-Law learning curve with six parameters (habituation rate, context-specific asymptotic habituation response -with one parameter per context, i.e. 3 parameters-, response-increase, and autocorrelation) describing the whole experimental setup with a generalised r2 of 0.96. According to the model, a single habituation rate would indicate that habituation was independent of the context, whilst asymptotic habituation would be context-specific. If the background was shifted after training, there was an increase in the response in the test, evincing context specificity in habituation.
Δίκαιο και δεοντολογία στις εφαρμογές της επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας
Authors: Μιχαηλάκη Αναστασία
Published: May 2021

Στην παρούσα διατριβή αναλύονται τα τρέχοντα ζητήματα που άπτονται των θεμάτων των αναδυομένων τεχνολογιών της επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας, εστιάζοντας κυρίως στο διαδίκτυο των πραγμάτων, τις εφαρμογές της εικονικής κι επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας, τα κρυπτονομίσματα και την τεχνητή νοημοσύνη, εξεταζόμενα από την πλευρά του νόμου και των διαφόρων δεοντολογικών τους προεκτάσεων.
Care Quality Commission slams blanket ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ decisions during the pandemic
Authors: Glasper Alan
Published: May 2021

Emeritus Professor Alan Glasper from the University of Southampton examines why the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has raised serious concerns relating to the use of ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ (DNACPR) orders throughout the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Treatment advances in mental health
Authors: Robertson Deborah
Published: May 2021

Deborah Robertson provides an overview of recently published articles that may be of interest to non-medical prescribers. Should you wish to look at any of the papers in more detail, a full reference is provided
Diabetes care: a time to review prescribing approaches and reach out to local communities
Authors: Phillips Anne
Published: May 2021

Diabetes care has undergone a rapid change in delivery since the first lockdown from COVID-19 in March 2020. As such, services have had to reshape and transform into virtual diabetes reviews. Vulnerable communities with high diabetes incidence or risk have experienced health disparities, not least because of COVID-19, but also as a result of slower medication reviews and escalation of diabetes prescribing as required. This article critically examines the presenting inequalities in diabetes care provision in the UK. In particular focusing on the experience of minority ethnic populations, who experience inequality and health disparities, especially related to prescribing of newer medications in type 2 diabetes. Evidence from studies and reports underpins the debates presented about reconsidering diabetes care delivery and in particular listening to and working with local practices and their communities to disseminate health messages and provide person-centred educational opportunities.
Metabolic programming and monitoring tools in pre-weaned dairy calves
Authors: Plate Peter
Published: May 2021

The current knowledge on the effects of nutritional and environmental factors in the late embryonic and neonatal phase of dairy calves on performance later in life is summarised. The importance of epigenetic factors is increasingly recognised in this context.

Prolonged colostrum feeding, discouraged on most farms to prevent the spread of Johne's disease, can have beneficial effects on the calf's immune system and has been shown to give protection against rotavirus. The importance of colostrum hygiene for uptake of antibodies is explained. Intensive milk or milk replacer feeding leads to a more productive animal while reducing the rearing costs.

Iron deficiency anaemia is a common condition in whole milk fed dairy calves, and monitoring haemoglobin and supplementing iron where necessary leads to higher growth rates in calves. Other monitoring tools like lung ultrasound scanning, and beta-hydroxy-butyrate testing at weaning are briefly introduced. In conclusion, the benefits of many early intervention measures are likely to be underestimated.
Cattle Review
Authors: Barrett David C
Published: May 2021

Introduction:

In this Cattle Review we consider two open access papers from the journal Veterinary Research, looking at aspects of Johne's disease, and a Canadian paper from Journal of Dairy Science considering sedation for disbudding.
GNAQ knockdown promotes bone metastasis through epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung cancer cells
Authors: Choi Ji-Yoon , Lee Yun Sun , Shim Da Mi , Lee Young Keun , Seo Sung Wook
Published: May 2021

Aims

Bone metastasis ultimately occurs due to a complex multistep process, during which the interactions between cancer cells and bone microenvironment play important roles. Prior to colonization of the bone, cancer cells must succeed through a series of steps that will allow them to gain migratory and invasive properties; epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is known to be integral here. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of G protein subunit alpha Q (GNAQ) on the mechanisms underlying bone metastasis through EMT pathway.

Methods

A total of 80 tissue samples from patients who were surgically treated during January 2012 to December 2014 were used in the present study. Comparative gene analysis revealed that the GNAQ was more frequently altered in metastatic bone lesions than in primary tumour sites in lung cancer patients. We investigated the effects of GNAQ on cell proliferation, migration, EMT, and stem cell transformation using lung cancer cells with GNAQ-knockdown. A xenograft mouse model tested the effect of GNAQ using micro-CT analyses and histological analyses.

Results

GNAQ-knockdown showed down-regulation of tumour growth through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling in lung cancer cells, but not increased apoptosis. We found that GNAQ-knockdown induced EMT and promoted invasiveness. GNAQ-knockdown cells injected into the bone marrow of murine tibia induced tumour growth and bone-to-lung metastasis, whereas it did not in control mice. Moreover, the knockdown of GNAQ enhanced cancer stem cell-like properties in lung cancer cells, which resulted in the development of resistance to chemotherapy.

Conclusion

The present study reveals that the GNAQ-knockdown induced cancer stem cell-like properties. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2021;10(5):310–320.
Police culture and gender: an evaluation of police officers' practices and responses to domestic abuse
Authors: Carrillo Deisy
Published: May 2021

This research reviews police officers' practices and responses to domestic abuse, which since the mid-1980s has been a central topic of debate amongst scholars, campaigners and policymakers. The last four decades have seen a growing body of research and government inquiries that focus specifically on officers' procedures and perception of gender-based crimes, such as domestic abuse. Nevertheless, many questions remain unanswered, or at least contested, including the extent to which police officers can influence how domestic abuse incidents are reported and recorded. In this context, studies in the field have revealed that many different factors can impact officers' behaviours, including lack of knowledge of the dynamics of the crime, misogynistic views, cultural beliefs and gender stereotypes, which are deep-rooted in social norms. These attitudes and traditional gender views are extremely concerning when they are held by some male officers, as males are over-represented in the police force and they play a pivotal role in the fight against domestic abuse.
Power, politics and policing: how the pandemic has highlighted
fractures and fault lines in our society
Authors: Jarman Rod
Published: May 2021

This paper considers the issues of policing in the pandemic and describes the
relationship between the use of power within society with political systems and
the ways in which police outcomes are achieved. The year 2020 created a unique
opportunity to reflect upon the way policing systems are structured and how this
affects the whole of society, and this paper looks at how the dynamics of race
and oppression played into this. The risk for policing is that it fails to make
use of its community assets to engage effectively with the community, and
becomes reliant on the use of blunt tools and force. This paper concludes that
the challenge for police leadership is defined by how society (and their forces)
manage issues of fairness to reduce the amount of force and violence in society
and ensure the state is there to protect all citizens.
Deep learning wavefront sensing method for Shack-Hartmann sensors with sparse sub-apertures
Authors: He Yulong , Liu Zhiwei , Ning Yu , Li Jun , Xu Xiaojun , Jiang Zongfu
Published: May 2021

In this letter, we proposed a deep learning wavefront sensing approach for the Shack-Hartmann sensors (SHWFS) to predict the wavefront from sub-aperture images without centroid calculation directly. This method can accurately reconstruct high spatial frequency wavefronts with fewer sub-apertures, breaking the limitation of d/r0 ≈ 1 (d is the diameter of sub-apertures and r0 is the atmospheric coherent length) when using SHWFS to detect atmospheric turbulence. Also, we used transfer learning to accelerate the training process, reducing training time by 98.4% compared to deep learning-based methods. Numerical simulations were employed to validate our approach, and the mean residual wavefront root-mean-square (RMS) is 0.08λ. The proposed method provides a new direction to detect atmospheric turbulence using SHWFS.
Time-resolved study of nonlinear photoemission in radio-frequency photoinjectors
Authors: Pompili R. , Chiadroni E. , Cianchi A. , Curcio A. , Del Dotto A. , Ferrario M. , Galletti M. , Romeo S. , Scifo J. , Shpakov V. , Villa F. , Zigler A.
Published: May 2021

Photoemission is one of the fundamental processes that describes the generation of charged particles from materials irradiated by photons. The continuous progress in the development of ultrashort lasers allows investigation into the dynamics of the process at the femtosecond timescale. Here we report about experimental measurements using two ultrashort ultraviolet laser pulses to temporally probe the electrons release from a copper cathode in a radio-frequency photoinjector. By changing their relative delay, we studied how the release mechanism is affected by two-photon photoemission when tens of

G
W

/

c
m

2

intensities are employed. We evaluated the limits it poses on the achievable beam brightness and analyzed the resulting emission yield in terms of the electronic temperature by modeling the cathode as a two-temperature system.
40 GHz high-efficiency Michelson interferometer modulator on a silicon-rich nitride and thin-film lithium niobate hybrid platform
Authors: Huang Xingrui , Liu Yang , Li Zezheng , Guan Huan , Wei Qingquan , Tan Manqing , Li Zhiyong
Published: May 2021

We propose and demonstrate a Michelson interferometer modulator with integrated Bragg reflectors on a silicon-rich nitride–thin-film lithium niobate hybrid platform. High-reflectivity Bragg reflectors are placed at the ends of both arms, which double the electro-optic (E-O) interaction length and reduce the velocity mismatch between the microwave and optical wave. The presented Michelson interferometer modulator achieves a measured half-wave voltage length product as low as 1.06 V cm and high-speed modulation up to 70 Gbps. A 3-dB E-O bandwidth beyond 40 GHz is also achieved, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest modulation bandwidth of Michelson interferometer modulators.
Effects of juvenile hormone in fertility and fertility-signaling in workers of the common wasp Vespula vulgaris
Authors: Oi Cintia Akemi , Ferreira Helena Mendes , da Silva Rafael Carvalho , Bienstman Andreas , Nascimento Fabio Santos do , Wenseleers Tom
Published: May 2021

In the highly eusocial wasp, Vespula vulgaris, queens produce honest signals to alert their subordinate workers of their fertility status, and therefore they are reproductively suppressed and help in the colony. The honesty of the queen signals is likely maintained due to hormonal regulation, which affects fertility and fertility cue expression. Here, we tested if hormonal pleiotropy could support the hypothesis that juvenile hormone controls fertility and fertility signaling in workers. In addition, we aimed to check oocyte size as a proxy of fertility. To do that, we treated V. vulgaris workers with synthetic versions of juvenile hormone (JH) analogue and a JH inhibitor, methoprene and precocene, respectively. We dissected the treated females to check ovary activation and analyzed their chemical profile. Our results showed that juvenile hormone has an influence on the abundance of fertility linked compounds produced by workers, and it also showed to increase oocyte size in workers. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that juvenile hormone controls fertility and fertility signaling in workers, whereby workers are unable to reproduce without alerting other colony members of their fertility. This provides supports the hypothesis that hormonal pleiotropy contributes to keeping the queen fertility signals honest.
Altering mammalian transcription networking with ADAADi: An inhibitor of ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling
Authors: Rakesh Radhakrishnan , Chanana Upasana Bedi , Hussain Saddam , Sharma Soni , Goel Kaveri , Bisht Deepa , Patne Ketki , Swer Pynskhem Bok , Hockensmith Joel W. , Muthuswami Rohini
Published: May 2021

Active DNA-dependent ATPase A Domain inhibitor (ADAADi) is the only known inhibitor of ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling proteins that targets the ATPase domain of these proteins. The molecule is synthesized by aminoglycoside phosphotransferase enzyme in the presence of aminoglycosides. ADAADi interacts with ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling proteins through motif Ia present in the conserved helicase domain, and thus, can potentially inhibit all members of this family of proteins. We show that mammalian cells are sensitive to ADAADi but with variable responses in different cell lines. ADAADi can be generated from a wide variety of aminoglycosides; however, cells showed differential response to ADAADi generated from various aminoglycosides. Using HeLa and DU145 cells as model system we have explored the effect of ADAADi on cellular functions. We show that the transcriptional network of a cell type is altered when treated with sub-lethal concentration of ADAADi. Although ADAADi has no known effects on DNA chemical and structural integrity, expression of DNA-damage response genes was altered. The transcripts encoding for the pro-apoptotic proteins were found to be upregulated while the anti-apoptotic genes were found to be downregulated. This was accompanied by increased apoptosis leading us to hypothesize that the ADAADi treatment promotes apoptotic-type of cell death by upregulating the transcription of pro-apoptotic genes. ADAADi also inhibited migration of cells as well as their colony forming ability leading us to conclude that the compound has effective anti-tumor properties.
Characterization of oral swab samples for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis
Authors: Wood Rachel C. , Andama Alfred , Hermansky Gleda , Burkot Stephen , Asege Lucy , Job Mukwatamundu , Katumba David , Nakaye Martha , Mwebe Sandra Z. , Mulondo Jerry , Bachman Christine M. , Nichols Kevin P. , Le Ny Anne-Laure M. , Ortega Corrie , Olson Rita N. , Weigel Kris M. , Olson Alaina M. , Madan Damian , Bell David , Cattamanchi Adithya , Worodria William , Semitala Fred C. , Somoskovi Akos , Cangelosi Gerard A. , Minch Kyle J.
Published: May 2021

Oral swab analysis (OSA) has been shown to detectMycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB) DNA in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). In previous analyses, qPCR testing of swab samples collected from tongue dorsa was up to 93% sensitive relative to sputum GeneXpert, when 2 swabs per patient were tested. The present study modified sample collection methods to increase sample biomass and characterized the viability of bacilli present in tongue swabs. A qPCR targeting conserved bacterial ribosomal rRNA gene (rDNA) sequences was used to quantify bacterial biomass in samples. There was no detectable reduction in total bacterial rDNA signal over the course of 10 rapidly repeated tongue samplings, indicating that swabs collect only a small portion of the biomass available for testing. Copan FLOQSwabs collected ~2-fold more biomass than Puritan PurFlock swabs, the best brand used previously (p = 0.006). FLOQSwabs were therefore evaluated in patients with possible TB in Uganda. A FLOQSwab was collected from each patient upon enrollment (Day 1) and, in a subset of sputum GeneXpert Ultra-positive patients, a second swab was collected on the following day (Day 2). Swabs were tested for MTB DNA by manual IS6110-targeted qPCR. Relative to sputum GeneXpert Ultra, single-swab sensitivity was 88% (44/50) on Day 1 and 94.4% (17/18) on Day 2. Specificity was 79.2% (42/53). Among an expanded sample of Ugandan patients, 62% (87/141) had colony-forming bacilli in their tongue dorsum swab samples. These findings will help guide further development of this promising TB screening method.
Understanding TAVR device expansion as it relates to morphology of the bicuspid aortic valve: A simulation study
Authors: Kusner Jonathan , Luraghi Giulia , Khodaee Farhan , Rodriguez Matas José Félix , Migliavacca Francesco , Edelman Elazer R. , Nezami Farhad R.
Published: May 2021

The bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a common and heterogeneous congenital heart abnormality that is often complicated by aortic stenosis. Although initially developed for tricuspid aortic valves (TAV), transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) devices are increasingly applied to the treatment of BAV stenosis. It is known that patient-device relationship between TAVR and BAV are not equivalent to those observed in TAV but the nature of these differences are not well understood. We sought to better understand the patient-device relationships between TAVR devices and the two most common morphologies of BAV. We performed finite element simulation of TAVR deployment into three cases of idealized aortic anatomies (TAV, Sievers 0 BAV, Sievers 1 BAV), derived from patient-specific measurements. Valve leaflet von Mises stress at the aortic commissures differed by valve configuration over a ten-fold range (TAV: 0.55 MPa, Sievers 0: 6.64 MPa, and Sievers 1: 4.19 MPa). First principle stress on the aortic wall was greater in Sievers 1 (0.316 MPa) and Sievers 0 BAV (0.137 MPa) compared to TAV (0.056 MPa). TAVR placement in Sievers 1 BAV demonstrated significant device asymmetric alignment, with 1.09 mm of displacement between the center of the device measured at the annulus and at the leaflet free edge. This orifice displacement was marginal in TAV (0.33 mm) and even lower in Sievers 0 BAV (0.23 mm). BAV TAVR, depending on the subtype involved, may encounter disparate combinations of device under expansion and asymmetry compared to TAV deployment. Understanding the impacts of BAV morphology on patient-device relationships can help improve device selection, patient eligibility, and the overall safety of TAVR in BAV.
Endothelial glycocalyx during early reperfusion in patients undergoing cardiac surgery
Authors: Passov Arie , Schramko Alexey , Salminen Ulla-Stina , Aittomäki Juha , Andersson Sture , Pesonen Eero
Published: May 2021

Background

Experimental cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury causes degradation of the glycocalyx and coronary washout of its components syndecan-1 and heparan sulfate. Systemic elevation of syndecan-1 and heparan sulfate is well described in cardiac surgery. Still, the events during immediate reperfusion after aortic declamping are unknown both in the systemic and in the coronary circulation.

Methods

In thirty patients undergoing aortic valve replacement, arterial concentrations of syndecan-1 and heparan sulfate were measured immediately before and at one, five and ten minutes after aortic declamping (reperfusion). Parallel blood samples were drawn from the coronary sinus to calculate trans-coronary gradients (coronary sinus–artery).

Results

Compared with immediately before aortic declamping, arterial syndecan-1 increased by 18% [253.8 (151.6–372.0) ng/ml vs. 299.1 (172.0–713.7) ng/ml, p < 0.001] but arterial heparan sulfate decreased by 14% [148.1 (135.7–161.7) ng/ml vs. 128.0 (119.0–138.2) ng/ml, p < 0.001] at one minute after aortic declamping. There was no coronary washout of syndecan-1 or heparan sulfate during reperfusion. On the contrary, trans-coronary sequestration of syndecan-1 occurred at five [-12.96 ng/ml (-36.38–5.15), p = 0.007] and at ten minutes [-12.37 ng/ml (-31.80–6.62), p = 0.049] after reperfusion.

Conclusions

Aortic declamping resulted in extracardiac syndecan-1 release and extracardiac heparan sulfate sequestration. Syndecan-1 was sequestered in the coronary circulation during early reperfusion. Glycocalyx has been shown to degrade during cardiac surgery. Besides degradation, glycocalyx has propensity for regeneration. The present results of syndecan-1 and heparan sulfate sequestration may reflect endogenous restoration of the damaged glycocalyx in open heart surgery.
MADRID+90 study on factors associated with longevity: Study design and preliminary data
Authors: Fernández-Blázquez Miguel A. , del Ser Teodoro , Frades-Payo Belén , Ávila-Villanueva Marina , Valentí-Soler Meritxell , Benítez-Robredo María T. , Bermejo-Aguña Antonio , Pedrero-Pérez Eduardo J. , Quilis-Sancho Javier , Pastor Ana B. , Fernández-Garrido Concepción , Morales-Alonso Sara , Diaz-Olalla José M. , Santos Nadine Correia , Maestú Fernando , Gómez-Ramírez Jaime
Published: May 2021

The progressive aging of the population represents a challenge for society. In particular, a strong increase in the number of people over 90 is expected in the next two decades. As this phenomenon will lead to an increase in illness and age-related dependency, the study of long-lived people represents an opportunity to explore which lifestyle factors are associated with healthy aging and which with the emergence of age-related diseases, especially Alzheimer’s type dementia. The project “Factors associated with healthy and pathologically aging in a sample of elderly people over 90 in the city of Madrid” (MADRID+90) brings together a multidisciplinary research team in neurodegenerative diseases that includes experts in epidemiology, neurology, neuropsychology, neuroimaging and computational neuroscience. In the first phase of the project, a stratified random sampling was carried out according to the census of the city of Madrid followed by a survey conducted on 191 people aged 90 and over. This survey gathered information on demographics, clinical data, lifestyles and cognitive status. Here, the main results of that survey are showed. The second phase of the project aims to characterize individual trajectories in the course of either healthy and pathological aging, from a group of 50 subjects over 90 who will undergo a comprehensive clinical examination comprised of neurological and cognitive testing, MRI and EEG. The ultimate goal of the project is to characterize the biophysical and clinical profiles of a population that tends to receive little attention in the literature. A better understanding of the rapidly increasing group of nonagenarians will also help to design new policies that minimize the impact and future social and economic consequences of rapidly aging societies.