bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mind The Gap! The Role of Political Identity and Attitudes in the Emergence of Belief Gaps
Authors: Saldaña Magdalena , McGregor Shannon , Johnson Tom
Published: February 2021

To more fully understand the belief gap hypothesis, this study examines the effect of political identity, education, and partisan media consumption on the formation of attitudes and false beliefs. Using a two-wave, nationally representative online survey of the U.S., we assess people’s attitudes and beliefs toward climate change, on the one hand, and Syrian refugees, on the other. Building on previous studies, we demonstrate that the effect of one’s political identity on attitudes and false beliefs is contingent upon education, which appears to widen the belief gap in consort with political identity.
Dissecting and modelling the comparative adaptation to water limitation of sorghum and maize: role of transpiration efficiency, transpiration rate and height
Authors: van Oosterom E J , Kulathunga M R D L , Deifel K S , McLean G B , Barrasso C , Wu A , Messina C , Hammer G L
Published: February 2021

Maize is considered less drought-tolerant than sorghum, but sorghum is commonly grown as a short triple dwarf (3dwarf) type, so difference in plant height confounds the species comparison. The objectives of this study were to experimentally determine effects of species and plant height differences on transpiration efficiency (TE) and transpiration rate per unit green leaf area (TGLA) and use findings to explain input parameters in a simulation study on the comparative adaptation of 3dwarf sorghum and maize in environments with contrasting water availability. Maize, tall double dwarf (2dwarf) and short 3dwarf sorghum genotypes were grown in two lysimeter experiments in 2011 in SE Queensland, Australia. Each plant was harvested after anthesis and total transpiration, shoot and root dry mass were measured to estimate TE. Daily TGLA was used to compare transpiration rates. Species and height had limited effect on TE, but significantly affected TGLA. This was associated with differences in biomass allocation. The similar TE but higher TGLA in maize compared with 3dwarf sorghum meant it potentially produces more biomass, consistent with published differences in biomass accumulation and radiation use efficiency (RUE). The simulation study, which used similar TE for maize and 3dwarf sorghum, but captured differences in TGLA through differences in RUE, predicted crossover interactions for grain yield between species and total water use. The greater TGLA of maize decreased grain yield in water-limited environments, but increased yields in well-watered situations. Results highlight that similarity in TE and differences in TGLA can influence comparative adaptation to water limitation.
Genetic Differentiation and Demographic Trajectory of the Insular Formosan and Orii’s Flying Foxes
Authors: Lin Kung-Ping , Chaw Shu-Miaw , Lo Yun-Hwa , Kinjo Teruo , Tung Chien-Yi , Cheng Hsi-Chi , Liu Quintin , Satta Yoko , Izawa Masako , Chen Shiang-Fan , Ko Wen-Ya
Published: February 2021

Insular flying foxes are keystone species in island ecosystems due to their critical roles in plant pollination and seed dispersal. These species are vulnerable to population decline because of their small populations and low reproductive rates. The Formosan flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus formosus) is one of the 5 subspecies of the Ryukyu flying fox. Pteropus dasymallus formosus has suffered from a severe decline and is currently recognized as a critically endangered population in Taiwan. On the contrary, the Orii’s flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus inopinatus) is a relatively stable population inhabiting Okinawa Island. Here, we applied a genomic approach called double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing to study these 2 subspecies for a total of 7 individuals. We detected significant genetic structure between the 2 populations. Despite their contrasting contemporary population sizes, both populations harbor very low degrees of genetic diversity. We further inferred their demographic history based on the joint folded site frequency spectrum and revealed that both P. d. formosus and P. d. inopinatus had maintained small population sizes for a long period of time after their divergence. Recently, these populations experienced distinct trajectories of demographic changes. While P. d. formosus suffered from a drastic ~10-fold population decline not long ago, P. d. inopinatus underwent a ~4.5-fold population expansion. Our results suggest separate conservation management for the 2 populations—population recovery is urgently needed for P. d. formosus while long-term monitoring for adverse genetic effects should be considered for P. d. inopinatus.
An urban–rural spotlight: evolution at small spatial scales among urban and rural populations of common ragweed
Authors: Kostanecki Adam , Gorton Amanda J , Moeller David A
Published: February 2021

Urbanization produces similar environmental changes across cities relative to their neighboring rural environments. However, there may be high environmental heterogeneity across an urban–rural gradient. Previous research in Minneapolis, MN, USA, found mixed evidence that urban and rural plant populations of common ragweed have locally adapted and that urban populations exhibit greater among-population divergence in ecologically-important traits. To investigate whether there are parallel patterns of urban–rural trait divergence across different urban areas, we examined trait variation across an urban–rural gradient in a second city, St. Louis, MO, USA. We used growth chamber and greenhouse common environments to investigate variation in six traits within and among 16 populations of common ragweed (eight from each urban and rural area). Urban and rural plants diverged significantly in three of five traits, with rural plants having lower percent germination, greater height and lower leaf dissection index. We also found greater variance in plant height among urban compared to rural populations, potentially driven by heterogeneity in human management practices on urban populations. Patterns of urban-rural trait divergence (e.g. in flowering time) differ substantially from those found previously in the reciprocal transplant experiment in Minneapolis, contradicting the hypothesis of parallel evolution across different metropolitan areas. The results of this study suggest that there is considerable population variation in ecologically-important traits, but that urban populations do not consistently differ from neighboring rural populations.
Characterization of the variability in the O+B eclipsing binary HD 165246
Authors: Johnston C , Aimar N , Abdul-Masih M , Bowman D M , White T R , Hawcroft C , Sana H , Sekaran S , Dsilva K , Tkachenko A , Aerts C
Published: February 2021

O-stars are known to experience a wide range of variability mechanisms originating at both their surface and their near-core regions. Characterization and understanding of this variability and its potential causes are integral for evolutionary calculations. We use a new extensive high-resolution spectroscopic data set to characterize the variability observed in both the spectroscopic and space-based photometric observations of the O+B eclipsing binary HD 165246. We present an updated atmospheric and binary solution for the primary component, involving a high level of microturbulence ($13_{-1.3}^{+1.0}\,$ km s−1) and a mass of $M_1=23.7_{-1.4}^{+1.1}$ M⊙, placing it in a sparsely explored region of the Hertzsprung--Russell diagram. Furthermore, we deduce a rotational frequency of $0.690\pm 0.003\,$d−1 from the combined photometric and line-profile variability, implying that the primary rotates at 40 per cent of its critical Keplerian rotation rate. We discuss the potential explanations for the overall variability observed in this massive binary, and discuss its evolutionary context.
An enquiry on the origins of N-rich stars in the inner Galaxy based on APOGEE chemical compositions
Authors: Kisku Shobhit , Schiavon Ricardo P , Horta Danny , Mason Andrew , Mackereth J Ted , Hasselquist Sten , García-Hernández D A , Bizyaev Dmitry , Brownstein Joel R , Lane Richard R , Minniti Dante , Pan Kaike , Roman-Lopes Alexandre
Published: February 2021

Recent evidence based on APOGEE data for stars within a few kpc of the Galactic Centre suggests that dissolved globular clusters (GCs) contribute significantly to the stellar mass budget of the inner halo. In this paper, we enquire into the origins of tracers of GC dissolution, N-rich stars, that are located in the inner 4 kpc of the Milky Way. From an analysis of the chemical compositions of these stars, we establish that about 30 per cent of the N-rich stars previously identified in the inner Galaxy may have an accreted origin. This result is confirmed by an analysis of the kinematic properties of our sample. The specific frequency of N-rich stars is quite large in the accreted population, exceeding that of its in situ counterparts by near an order of magnitude, in disagreement with predictions from numerical simulations. We hope that our numbers provide a useful test to models of GC formation and destruction.
Cosmology with the Roman Space Telescope: synergies with the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time
Authors: Eifler Tim , Simet Melanie , Krause Elisabeth , Hirata Christopher , Huang Hung-Jin , Fang Xiao , Miranda Vivian , Mandelbaum Rachel , Doux Cyrille , Heinrich Chen , Huff Eric , Miyatake Hironao , Hemmati Shoubaneh , Xu Jiachuan , Rogozenski Paul , Capak Peter , Choi Ami , Doré Olivier , Jain Bhuvnesh , Jarvis Mike , Kruk Jeffrey , MacCrann Niall , Masters Dan , Rozo Eduardo , Spergel David N , Troxel Michael , von der Linden Anja , Wang Yun , Weinberg David H , Wenzl Lukas , Wu Hao-Yi
Published: February 2021

We explore synergies between the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and the Vera Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Specifically, we consider scenarios where the currently envisioned survey strategy for the Roman Space Telescope’s High Latitude Survey (HLS reference), i.e. 2000 deg2 in four narrow photometric bands is altered in favour of a strategy of rapid coverage of the LSST area (to full LSST depth) in one band. We find that in only five months, a survey in the W-band can cover the full LSST survey area providing high-resolution imaging for >95 per cent of the LSST Year 10 gold galaxy sample. We explore a second, more ambitious scenario where the Roman Space Telescope spends 1.5 yr covering the LSST area. For this second scenario, we quantify the constraining power on dark energy equation-of-state parameters from a joint weak lensing and galaxy clustering analysis. Our survey simulations are based on the Roman Space Telescope exposure-time calculator and redshift distributions from the CANDELS catalogue. Our statistical uncertainties account for higher order correlations of the density field, and we include a wide range of systematic effects, such as uncertainties in shape and redshift measurements, and modelling uncertainties of astrophysical systematics, such as galaxy bias, intrinsic galaxy alignment, and baryonic physics. We find a significant increase in constraining power for the joint LSST + HLS wide survey compared to LSST Y10 (FoMHLSwide = 2.4 FoMLSST) and compared to LSST + HLS (FoMHLSwide = 5.5 FoMHLSref).
Mock halo catalogues: assigning unresolved halo properties using correlations with local halo environment
Authors: Ramakrishnan Sujatha , Paranjape Aseem , Sheth Ravi K
Published: February 2021

Large-scale sky surveys require companion large volume simulated mock catalogues. To ensure precision cosmology studies are unbiased, the correlations in these mocks between galaxy properties and their large-scale environments must be realistic. Since galaxies are embedded in dark matter haloes, an important first step is to include such correlations – sometimes called assembly bias – for dark matter haloes. However, galaxy properties correlate with smaller scale physics in haloes which large simulations struggle to resolve. We describe an algorithm that addresses and largely mitigates this problem. Our algorithm exploits the fact that halo assembly bias is unchanged as long as correlations between halo property c and the intermediate-scale tidal environment α are preserved. Therefore, knowledge of α is sufficient to assign small-scale, otherwise unresolved properties to a halo in a way that preserves its large-scale assembly bias accurately. We demonstrate this explicitly for halo internal properties like formation history (concentration c200b), shape c/a, dynamics cv/av, velocity anisotropy β, and angular momentum (spin λ). Our algorithm increases a simulation’s reach in halo mass and number density by an order of magnitude, with improvements in the bias signal as large as 45 per cent for 30-particle haloes, thus significantly reducing the cost of mocks for future weak lensing and redshift space distortion studies.
A fully kinetic model for orphan gamma-ray flares in blazars
Authors: Sobacchi Emanuele , Nättilä Joonas , Sironi Lorenzo
Published: February 2021

Blazars emit a highly variable non-thermal spectrum. It is usually assumed that the same non-thermal electrons are responsible for the IR-optical-UV emission (via synchrotron) and the gamma-ray emission (via inverse Compton). Hence, the light curves in the two bands should be correlated. Orphan gamma-ray flares (i.e. lacking a luminous low-frequency counterpart) challenge our theoretical understanding of blazars. By means of large-scale two-dimensional radiative particle-in-cell simulations, we show that orphan gamma-ray flares may be a self-consistent by-product of particle energization in turbulent magnetically dominated pair plasmas. The energized particles produce the gamma-ray flare by inverse Compton scattering an external radiation field, while the synchrotron luminosity is heavily suppressed since the particles are accelerated nearly along the direction of the local magnetic field. The ratio of inverse Compton to synchrotron luminosity is sensitive to the initial strength of turbulent fluctuations (a larger degree of turbulent fluctuations weakens the anisotropy of the energized particles, thus increasing the synchrotron luminosity). Our results show that the anisotropy of the non-thermal particle population is key to modelling the blazar emission.
F-Seq2: improving the feature density based peak caller with dynamic statistics
Authors: Zhao Nanxiang , Boyle Alan P
Published: February 2021

Genomic and epigenomic features are captured at a genome-wide level by using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies. Peak calling delineates features identified in HTS experiments, such as open chromatin regions and transcription factor binding sites, by comparing the observed read distributions to a random expectation. Since its introduction, F-Seq has been widely used and shown to be the most sensitive and accurate peak caller for DNase I hypersensitive site (DNase-seq) data. However, the first release (F-Seq1) has two key limitations: lack of support for user-input control datasets, and poor test statistic reporting. These constrain its ability to capture systematic and experimental biases inherent to the background distributions in peak prediction, and to subsequently rank predicted peaks by confidence. To address these limitations, we present F-Seq2, which combines kernel density estimation and a dynamic ‘continuous’ Poisson test to account for local biases and accurately rank candidate peaks. The output of F-Seq2 is suitable for irreproducible discovery rate analysis as test statistics are calculated for individual candidate summits, allowing direct comparison of predictions across replicates. These improvements significantly boost the performance of F-Seq2 for ATAC-seq and ChIP-seq datasets, outperforming competing peak callers used by the ENCODE Consortium in terms of precision and recall.
Adherence to the vegetarian diet may increase the risk of depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
Authors: Fazelian Siavash , Sadeghi Erfan , Firouzi Somayyeh , Haghighatdoost Fahimeh
Published: February 2021

Context

Several epidemiological studies have investigated the association between a vegetarian diet and risk of depression, but because of inconsistency between studies, the exact association remains unclear.

Objective

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the relationship between vegetarian diets and risk of depression in observational studies was evaluated.

Data sources

The Medline, Embase, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception through September 1, 2020.

Study selection

Observational studies were included that examined mean levels of depression and risk for depression in vegetarians compared with nonvegetarians.

Data extraction

Pooled effect sizes were estimated using the random-effects model and were reported as standardized mean differences or odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding 95%CIs. Heterogeneity was tested using the I2 statistic.

Results

Combining 9 effect sizes in this meta-analysis illustrated that adherence to a vegetarian diet was associated with a 53% greater risk of depression compared with that of omnivores (95%CI, 1.14–2.07; I2 = 69.1%). Subgroup analysis of depression risk suggested that results depended on the type of vegetarian diet and country where the study was conducted. For studies that assessed a semivegetarian diet (OR, 1.86; 95%CI, 1.42–2.44; I2 = 35.7%) and those conducted in Europe and the United States (OR, 1.45; 95%CI, 1.06–1.98; I2 = 73.2%), there was a positive association between a vegetarian diet and depression, but in lacto-ovo vegetarians and Asian countries, a null association was found. Comparing mean depression scores showed no evidence of difference between vegetarians and nonvegetarians (n = 16; standardized mean difference, 0.10; 95%CI, –0.01 to 0.21; I2 = 79.1%).

Conclusion

Vegetarian diet significantly increased depression risk; however, the findings were not robust, and more studies are required to investigate the vegetarian diet and depression association.
Comparative Analysis of the Extradiol Ring-Cleavage Dioxygenase LigB from Arabidopsis and 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine Dioxygenase from Betalain-Producing Plants
Authors: Kasei Akane , Watanabe Hanako , Ishiduka Natsumi , Noda Kyoko , Murata Masatsune , Sakuta Masaaki
Published: February 2021

Diverse arrays of naturally occurring compounds in plants are synthesized by specialized metabolic enzymes, many of which are distributed taxonomically. Although anthocyanin pigments are widely distributed and ubiquitous, betalains have replaced anthocyanins in most families in Caryophyllales. Anthocyanins and betalains never occur together in the same plant. The formation of betalamic acid, catalyzed by 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) 4,5-extradiol dioxygenase (DOD), is a key step in betalain biosynthesis. DODs in betalain-producing plants are coded by LigB genes, homologs of which have been identified in a wide range of higher plant orders, as well as in certain fungi and bacteria. Two classes of LigB homologs have been reported: those found in anthocyanin-producing species and those found in betalain-producing species, which contain DOD. To gain insight into the evolution of specialized metabolic enzymes involved in betalain biosynthesis, we performed a comparative biochemical analysis of Arabidopsis LigB, an extradiol ring-cleavage dioxygenase in anthocyanin-producing Arabidopsis and Phytolacca DOD1 of betalain-producing Phytolacca americana. We show that Arabidopsis LigB catalyzes 2,3-extradiol cleavage of DOPA to synthesize muscaflavin, whereas Phytolacca DOD1 converts DOPA to betalamic acid via 4,5-extradiol cleavage. Arabidopsis LigB also converts caffeic acid, a ubiquitous phenolic compound in higher plants, to iso-arabidopic acid in vitro via 2,3-extradiol cleavage of the aromatic ring. Amino-acid substitution in Arabidopsis LigB and Phytolacca DOD1 led to variable extradiol ring-cleavage function, supporting the suggestion that catalytic promiscuity serves as a starting point for the divergence of new enzymatic activities.
Incidence and prevalence of systemic sclerosis globally: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Bairkdar Majd , Rossides Marios , Westerlind Helga , Hesselstrand Roger , Arkema Elizabeth V , Holmqvist Marie
Published: February 2021

Objectives

We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the incidence and prevalence of SSc covering the entire literature.

Methods

This study followed the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement of 2009. We conducted a systematic search in MEDLINE, Web of Science and Embase to identify articles reporting incidence and/or prevalence of SSc. Two authors conducted the search, reviewed articles for inclusion and extracted relevant data. We used random-effects models to estimate the pooled prevalence and incidence of SSc and performed subgroup analyses by sex, case definition and region to investigate heterogeneity. We explored the association between calendar period and reported estimates using meta-regression.

Results

Among 6983 unique records identified, we included 61 studies of prevalence and 39 studies of incidence in the systematic review. The overall pooled prevalence of SSc was 17.6 (95% CI 15.1, 20.5) per 100 000 and the overall pooled incidence rate of SSc was 1.4 (95% CI 1.1, 1.9) per 100 000 person-years. We observed significant regional variations in reported estimates; studies conducted in North America reported considerably higher estimates than other regions. The pooled incidence and prevalence in women were five times higher than in men. More recent studies reported higher estimates than older ones.

Conclusion

In this comprehensive review of the incidence and prevalence of SSc across the world, there was large heterogeneity among estimates, which should be taken into consideration when interpreting the results.
Quantitative Macromolecular Proton Fraction Mapping Reveals Altered Cortical Myelin Profile in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Sui Yu Veronica , Bertisch Hilary , Lee Hong-Hsi , Storey Pippa , Babb James S , Goff Donald C , Samsonov Alexey , Lazar Mariana
Published: February 2021

Myelin abnormalities have been reported in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) in white matter. However, in vivo examinations of cortical myeloarchitecture in SSD, especially those using quantitative measures, are limited. Here, we employed macromolecular proton fraction (MPF) obtained from quantitative magnetization transfer imaging to characterize intracortical myelin organization in 30 SSD patients versus 34 healthy control (HC) participants. We constructed cortical myelin profiles by extracting MPF values at various cortical depths and quantified their shape using a nonlinearity index (NLI). To delineate the association of illness duration with myelin changes, SSD patients were further divided into 3 duration groups. Between-group comparisons revealed reduced NLI in the SSD group with the longest illness duration (>5.5 years) compared with HC predominantly in bilateral prefrontal areas. Within the SSD group, cortical NLI decreased with disease duration and was positively associated with a measure of spatial working memory capacity as well as with cortical thickness (CT). Layer-specific analyses suggested that NLI decreases in the long-duration SSD group may arise in part from significantly increased MPF values in the midcortical layers. The current study reveals cortical myelin profile changes in SSD with illness progression, which may reflect an abnormal compensatory mechanism of the disorder.
The Coutinho index as a simple tool for screening patients with advanced forms of Schistosomiasis mansoni: a validation study
Authors: Barreto Ana V M S , Domingues Ana L C , Diniz George T N , Cavalcanti Ana M S , Lopes Edmundo P , Montenegro Silvia M L , Morais Clarice N L
Published: February 2021

Background

Periportal fibrosis (PPF) is the major pathological consequence of Schistosoma mansoni infection. The Coutinho index—the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) to platelet ratio ([ALP/upper limit of normality {ULN}]/platelet count [106/L] x 100)—was validated. Validation consisted of modest laboratory tests to predict advanced PPF.

Methods

A total of 378 individuals from an endemic area of Brazil with a previous history of the disease and/or a positive parasitological examination were evaluated. We used ultrasound examination as the gold standard for classification of the PPF pattern and measured the biological markers of the index.

Results

Forty-one individuals (10.8%) without PPF, 291 (77%) with moderate PPF and 46 (12.2%) with advanced PPF, were identified. ALP and platelet count were used for the index. The cut-off point ≥0.228 predicted the presence of fibrosis with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.56, sensitivity of 68.6% and specificity of 46.3%. There was an absence of PPF in 46.3% of individuals without fibrosis and the presence of PPF in 68.5% of cases with moderate and advanced ultrasound fibrosis. The identification of advanced fibrosis with a cut-off point ≥0.316 revealed an AUROC curve of 0.70, sensitivity of 67.4% and specificity of 68.3%, thus confirming the advanced phase in 65.2% of cases compared with ultrasound.

Conclusion

The Coutinho index was able to predict advanced PPF in most individuals. It is valid as a new tool, uses routine laboratory tests and therefore is more accessible for screening patients with a severe form of the disease in endemic areas.
Hydration Mediated G‐Protein‐Coupled Receptor Activation
Authors: Weerasinghe Nipuna , Fried Steven D.E. , Perera Suchithrang M.D.C. , Chawla Udeep , Brown Michael F.
Published: February 2021

G‐protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of cell membrane‐bound receptors in humans. They are involved with sensing molecules outside the cell and the subsequent transduction of this signal to activate intracellular signaling pathways. Rhodopsin is a canonical GPCR, which upon photoactivation undergoes a series of conformational changes leading to a chemical equilibrium between closed inactive Metarhodopsin I (Meta‐I ) and open active Metarhodopsin II (Meta‐II ) states. According to molecular dynamics simulation work carried out by Nicholas Leioatts et al [1] activation of rhodopsin leads to an increase in hydrated protein volume in the active Meta‐II state. Using UV‐visible spectroscopy, we tested this hypothesis by evaluating how the Meta‐I/Meta‐II equilibrium is influenced by changing the osmotic pressure of aqueous environment of the protein in native lipid membrane. We discovered that osmolytes of varying molar mass affect rhodopsin activation differently by altering the Meta‐I/Meta‐II equilibrium. Large osmolytes shift the equilibrium to the inactive Meta‐I state, in conjunction with the efflux of water. By contrast, small osmolytes shift the equilibrium toward Meta‐II state. We attribute the shift caused by large osmolytes to the ability of these osmolytes to remove large quantities of water from the protein interior. Since these osmolytes are large, they are entropically hindered from penetrating into the protein core, and thus withdraw water to collapse the protein into the inactive Meta‐I state. Small osmolytes are able to enter into the protein core, minimizing the effect of withdrawing water from the protein as seen with larger osmolytes, although the reversal effect is still not fully understood. Further work will seek to determine whether this effect is robust with respect to type of osmolyte (e.g. Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone, dextran), and how the effect is altered when the lipid environment of the protein is changed.

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
Preventing Clinician Suicide: A Call to Action During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Authors: Moutier Christine Yu , Myers Michael F. , Feist Jennifer Breen , Feist J. Corey , Zisook Sidney
Published: February 2021

In this commentary, the authors offer a call to action in the long-standing fight to prevent clinicians from dying by suicide. In April 2020, the nation was shocked by the suicide of New York City emergency physician Dr. Lorna Breen, who died while recovering from COVID-19. She joins an unknown number of clinicians who have taken their lives over the past year. The authors introduce Dr. Breen, a highly talented physician working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and examine how pervasive distress and suicide are in clinicians. Then, they explain the lived experience movement and highlight how clinicians speaking openly about their mental illness and treatment are making it easier for their colleagues to seek lifesaving help, despite the stigma still surrounding mental illness and treatment in medicine.

The authors sort through the science of clinician distress; critique how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the lives of clinicians; and describe existing national initiatives to address clinician stress, burnout, and suicide. Finally, they recommend evidence-based actions to prevent clinician suicide that multiple stakeholder groups can take, including regulatory agencies, licensing boards, and hospital privileging boards; specialty boards, professional associations, and continuing education organizations; medical educators; and individual clinicians. Suicide is a complex but generally preventable cause of death. Those in medicine must forge ahead with collective momentum. Dr. Breen, so many other clinicians, and those they have left behind deserve nothing less.
Bottoms Up: A History of Rectal Nutrition From 1870 to 1920
Authors: Barr Justin , Gulrajani Natalie B. , Hurst Alison , Pappas Theodore N.
Published: February 2021

From the 1870s through the early 20th century, physicians frequently relied upon nutritive enemata to succor patients suffering from bowel obstructions and other disorders of the gastrointestinal system. Far from extraordinary or outlandish, this therapy was used on paupers and presidents alike, including on Garfield and McKinley after their assassination attempts. The medical milieu of the late 19th century provided particularly promising circumstances for its practice, with the rise of allopathic medicine generally—and surgery especially—coinciding with flourishing research on the physiology of nutrition. Although ongoing discussions debated the merits of different methods and various ingredients, few in the United States or Europe doubted the efficacy of rectal alimentation. However, in the early 20th century, new studies utilizing biochemistry demonstrated the inability of such instillations to provide significant calories or protein, and the intervention fell from favor. Proctoclysis—or rectal hydration—remained standard of care for the next 20 years, strongly supported by John B. Murphy and other surgeons. Ultimately, intravenous hydration and, much later, total parenteral nutrition replaced the rectal route.
Observations of Acoustic Interruptions Versus Ambient Sound Levels With Perceived Sleep Quality During Critical Illness
Authors: Almberg Alexandra K. , Mitchell Nathan , Tonna Joseph E.
Published: February 2021

ICUs are loud and there is an association between ambient sound and worsened sleep quality. In contrast to ambient sound, short acoustic interruptions or sound spikes—for example, brief alarm tones—cause arousal from sleep in healthy patients, but remain understudied in critically ill patients, despite the observed frequency of ICU alarms. We collected greater than 2.3 million values of ambient sound (every second) among 14 patients in the ICU over a median of two nights (interquartile range, 1–2) each. We identified brief acoustic interruptions/sound spikes—increases of greater than or equal to 20 dB above ambient—over 1 second. Patients experienced a median of five interruptions greater than or equal to 20 dB (interquartile range, 2–12) per night. Each interruption was associated with a 1-point decrease in patient reported quality of sleep, as assessed by the Richards Campbell Sleep Questionnaire. Our observations suggest a possible relationship between acoustic interruptions and worsened perceived sleep.
A Case-Control Study of Prone Positioning in Awake and Nonintubated Hospitalized Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients
Authors: Nauka Peter C. , Chekuri Sweta , Aboodi Michael , Hope Aluko A. , Gong Michelle N. , Chen Jen-Ting
Published: February 2021

Objectives:

To determine the association between prone positioning in nonintubated patients with coronavirus disease 2019 and frequency of invasive mechanical ventilation or inhospital mortality.

Design:

A nested case-matched control analysis.

Setting:

Three hospital sites in Bronx, NY.

Patients:

Adult coronavirus disease 2019 patients admitted between March 1, 2020, and April 1, 2020. We excluded patients with do-not-intubate orders. Cases were defined by invasive mechanical ventilation or inhospital mortality. Each case was matched with two controls based on age, gender, admission date, and hospital length of stay greater than index time of matched case via risk-set sampling. The presence of nonintubated proning was identified from provider documentation.

Intervention:

Nonintubated proning documented prior to invasive mechanical ventilation or inhospital mortality for cases or prior to corresponding index time for matched controls.

Measurements and Main Results:

We included 600 patients, 41 (6.8%) underwent nonintubated proning. Cases had lower Spo2
/Fio
2 ratios prior to invasive mechanical ventilation or inhospital mortality compared with controls (case median, 97 [interquartile range, 90–290] vs control median, 404 [interquartile range, 296–452]). Although most providers (58.5%) documented immediate improvement in oxygenation status after initiating nonintubated proning, there was no difference in worst Spo2
/Fio
2 ratios before and after nonintubated proning in both case and control (case median Spo2
/Fio
2 ratio difference, 3 [interquartile range, –3 to 8] vs control median Spo2
/Fio
2 ratio difference, 0 [interquartile range, –3 to 50]). In the univariate analysis, patients who underwent nonintubated proning were 2.57 times more likely to require invasive mechanical ventilation or experience inhospital mortality (hazard ratio, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.17–5.64; p = 0.02). Following adjustment for patient level differences, we found no association between nonintubated proning and invasive mechanical ventilation or inhospital mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.34–2.45; p = 0.86).

Conclusions:

There was no significant association with reduced risk of invasive mechanical ventilation or inhospital mortality after adjusting for baseline severity of illness and oxygenation status.
Transferring Technical Knowledge to Turkey: American Engineers, Scientific Experts, and the Erzincan Earthquake of 1939
Authors: Tunc Tanfer Emin , Tunc Gokhan
Published: February 2021

On 27 December 1939, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Erzincan, Turkey, claiming close to 33 000 lives, and leaving 100 000 injured and 250 000 homeless. World War II was in its initial stages, and the USA was particularly concerned about the vulnerable situation in Turkey, since there was a possibility that it would join forces with Germany, as the Ottoman Empire had done in World War I. Consequently, the Turkish request for information on ‘a type of quake resistant concrete construction understood to have been developed in California’, resulted in a flurry of correspondence between numerous Turkish and American actors, including the US State Department, which supplied this material with notable attentiveness. As this article will argue, this request not only represents an early critical juncture in the transfer of earthquake engineering knowledge from the USA to Turkey, but also illustrates how diplomacy and engineering can intersect at pivotal points in time. Engineers and other scientific experts strengthened the Turkish–American relationship during this period, thereby laying the foundation of the technical cooperation that would flourish during the Cold War. This watershed moment also resulted in immediate developments in Turkey, such as the development of a comprehensive national disaster management programme, a seismic zone map, and earthquake building codes.
Florence Bell—the ‘Housewife’ with x-ray vision
Authors: Hall Kersten
Published: February 2021

After an award-winning portrayal by Nicole Kidman in a hit West End play, a Mars Rover named in her honour, and recently a commemorative 50 pence coin released by the Royal Mint, Rosalind Franklin's crucial work in the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA is well recognized. Far less well known, however, is the name of Florence Bell, the crystallographer who first showed that X-ray analysis could be used to reveal the regular, ordered structure of DNA. This paper explores her life and work, the legacy of which is ‘Photo 51’, the famous X-ray image of DNA taken by Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling in 1952 that now features on the new 50 pence coin.
Individual-based acoustic variation of the alarm calls in the long-tailed ground squirrel
Authors: Goncharov Denis , Policht Richard , Hambálková Lucie , Salovarov Viktor , Hart Vlastimil
Published: February 2021

Based on their phylogenetic position, Nearctic ground squirrels are closest relatives to the long-tailed ground squirrelUrocitellus undulateseven though it has Palaearctic distribution. We aimed to investigate the variability of alarm calls of the long-tailed ground squirrel to test the individual variation in alarm calls. This species is known to produce two types of alarm calls: whistle alarms and wideband calls. Although ground squirrels are a model group for the study of vocal individuality, this phenomenon has not yet been studied in a species producing two such completely different types of alarms. Most of ground squirrel species produce either whistle or wideband alarms and this species represents a unique model for testing the degree of individual variability depending on completely different acoustic structures. We analysed 269 whistle alarms produced by 13 individuals and 591 wideband alarms from 25 individuals at the western part of Lake Baikal. A discriminant function analysis (DFA) assigned 93.5% (88.9%, cross-validated result) of whistle alarms to the correct individual and 91.4% (84%) of wideband alarms. This is the first evidence of individual variation in wideband alarms compared with whistle alarms and occurrence of vocal individuality in two warning signals of a completely different acoustic structure produced by a ground squirrel.
Organic agriculture and rural networks in the mountain environments of Região serrana fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Authors: Aun Nádia Jarouche , de Assis Renato Linhares
Published: February 2021

This paper presents a case study on organic agriculture at Região Serrana Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. We sought to understand what was the role of organic farming, and if it can be considered as an aggregating element between different kinds of people or groups who were located in the same region. The methodology used to carry out this investigation was based on the concept of the rural network, which enabled us to comprehend the articulations and connections that comprise the organic agriculture circuit in the mountains of this specific region.
A survey of human judgement and quantitative forecasting methods
Authors: Zellner Maximilian , Abbas Ali E. , Budescu David V. , Galstyan Aram
Published: February 2021

This paper's top-level goal is to provide an overview of research conducted in the many academic domains concerned with forecasting. By providing a summary encompassing these domains, this survey connects them, establishing a common ground for future discussions. To this end, we survey literature on human judgement and quantitative forecasting as well as hybrid methods that involve both humans and algorithmic approaches. The survey starts with key search terms that identified more than 280 publications in the fields of computer science, operations research, risk analysis, decision science, psychology and forecasting. Results show an almost 10-fold increase in the application-focused forecasting literature between the 1990s and the current decade, with a clear rise of quantitative, data-driven forecasting models. Comparative studies of quantitative methods and human judgement show that (1) neither method is universally superior, and (2) the better method varies as a function of factors such as availability, quality, extent and format of data, suggesting that (3) the two approaches can complement each other to yield more accurate and resilient models. We also identify four research thrusts in the human/machine-forecasting literature: (i) the choice of the appropriate quantitative model, (ii) the nature of the interaction between quantitative models and human judgement, (iii) the training and incentivization of human forecasters, and (iv) the combination of multiple forecasts (both algorithmic and human) into one. This review surveys current research in all four areas and argues that future research in the field of human/machine forecasting needs to consider all of them when investigating predictive performance. We also address some of the ethical dilemmas that might arise due to the combination of quantitative models with human judgement.
Statics of fan vaulting: current state of knowledge and open issues
Authors: Bagi Katalin
Published: February 2021

Fan vaults, the most spectacular structural form of the English Gothic architecture, has been admired by architect lovers for many centuries. The mechanics of fan vaulting raises several interesting questions, most of which are still unanswered, even though the maintenance and restoration of historic buildings would require the deep understanding how these fascinating structures work, how they respond to mechanical effects and how they carry their loads. The last major study on fan vaulting was published four decades ago, still in 1980, and since then there were only a few publications about the topic, rare and rather scattered. On the other hand, several modern methods were born since then which could advantageously be used for the analysis of the mechanics of fan vault. This paper gives an overview on the history and constructional types of fan vaults, then introduces what we know today about their statics; shortly introduces the most important modern calculation methods that are potentially usable for such studies and gives a list of open issues worthy of investigating.
Within-trio tests provide little support for post-copulatory selection on major histocompatibility complex haplotypes in a free-living population
Authors: Huang W. , Pemberton J. M.
Published: February 2021

Sexual selection has been proposed as a force that could help maintain the diversity of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in vertebrates. Potential selective mechanisms can be divided into pre-copulatory and post-copulatory, and in both cases, the evidence for occurrence is mixed, especially in natural populations. In this study, we used a large number of parent-offspring trios that were diplotyped for MHC class II genes in a wild population of Soay sheep (
Ovis aries
) to examine whether there was within-trio post-copulatory selection on MHC class II genes at both the haplotype and diplotype levels. We found there was transmission ratio distortion of one of the eight MHC class II haplotypes (E) which was transmitted less than expected by fathers, and transmission ratio distortion of another haplotype (A) which was transmitted more than expected by chance to male offspring. However, in both cases, these deviations were not significant after correction for multiple tests. In addition, we did not find any evidence of post-copulatory selection at the diplotype level. These results imply that, given known parents, there is no strong post-copulatory selection on MHC class II genes in this population.
The preservation potential of terrestrial biogeographic patterns
Authors: Darroch Simon A. F. , Fraser Danielle , Casey Michelle M.
Published: February 2021

Extinction events in the geological past are similar to the present-day biodiversity crisis in that they have a pronounced biogeography, producing dramatic changes in the spatial distributions of species. Reconstructing palaeobiogeographic patterns from fossils therefore allows us to examine the long-term processes governing the formation of regional biotas, and potentially helps build spatially explicit models for future biodiversity loss. However, the extent to which biogeographic patterns can be preserved in the fossil record is not well understood. Here, we perform a suite of simulations based on the present-day distribution of North American mammals, aimed at quantifying the preservation potential of beta diversity and spatial richness patterns over extinction events of varying intensities, and after applying a stepped series of taphonomic filters. We show that taphonomic biases related to body size are the biggest barrier to reconstructing biogeographic patterns over extinction events, but that these may be compensated for by both the small mammal record preserved in bird castings, as well as range expansion in surviving species. Overall, our results suggest that the preservation potential of biogeographic patterns is surprisingly high, and thus that the fossil record represents an invaluable dataset recording the changing spatial distribution of biota over key intervals in Earth History.
Broadening the ecology of fear: non-lethal effects arise from diverse responses to predation and parasitism
Authors: Daversa D. R. , Hechinger R. F. , Madin E. , Fenton A. , Dell A. I. , Ritchie E. G. , Rohr J. , Rudolf V. H. W. , Lafferty K. D.
Published: February 2021

Research on the ‘ecology of fear’ posits that defensive prey responses to avoid predation can cause non-lethal effects across ecological scales. Parasites also elicit defensive responses in hosts with associated non-lethal effects, which raises the longstanding, yet unresolved question of how non-lethal effects of parasites compare with those of predators. We developed a framework for systematically answering this question for all types of predator–prey and host–parasite systems. Our framework reveals likely differences in non-lethal effects not only between predators and parasites, but also between different types of predators and parasites. Trait responses should be strongest towards predators, parasitoids and parasitic castrators, but more numerous and perhaps more frequent for parasites than for predators. In a case study of larval amphibians, whose trait responses to both predators and parasites have been relatively well studied, existing data indicate that individuals generally respond more strongly and proactively to short-term predation risks than to parasitism. Apart from studies using amphibians, there have been few direct comparisons of responses to predation and parasitism, and none have incorporated responses to micropredators, parasitoids or parasitic castrators, or examined their long-term consequences. Addressing these and other data gaps highlighted by our framework can advance the field towards understanding how non-lethal effects impact prey/host population dynamics and shape food webs that contain multiple predator and parasite species.