bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
XGDAG: explainable gene–disease associations via graph neural networks
Authors: Mastropietro Andrea , De Carlo Gianluca , Anagnostopoulos Aris
Published: August 2023

Motivation

Disease gene prioritization consists in identifying genes that are likely to be involved in the mechanisms of a given disease, providing a ranking of such genes. Recently, the research community has used computational methods to uncover unknown gene–disease associations; these methods range from combinatorial to machine learning-based approaches. In particular, during the last years, approaches based on deep learning have provided superior results compared to more traditional ones. Yet, the problem with these is their inherent black-box structure, which prevents interpretability.

Results

We propose a new methodology for disease gene discovery, which leverages graph-structured data using graph neural networks (GNNs) along with an explainability phase for determining the ranking of candidate genes and understanding the model’s output. Our approach is based on a positive–unlabeled learning strategy, which outperforms existing gene discovery methods by exploiting GNNs in a non-black-box fashion. Our methodology is effective even in scenarios where a large number of associated genes need to be retrieved, in which gene prioritization methods often tend to lose their reliability.

Availability and implementation

The source code of XGDAG is available on GitHub at: https://github.com/GiDeCarlo/XGDAG. The data underlying this article are available at: https://www.disgenet.org/, https://thebiogrid.org/, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004120.s003, and https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004120.s004.
The pericarp structure and histogenesis in Enkianthus: on the ancestral fruit type in Ericaceae family
Authors: Sorokin Alexey N , Yatsenko Olga V , Bobrov Alexey V F Ch , Romanov Mikhail S , Zdravchev Nikita S , Iovlev Petr S , Timchenko Anton S , Mikhaylova Anna A , Vasekha Natalia D , Kuptsov Kirill V
Published: August 2023

According to modern phylogenetic data, the monotypic subfamily Enkianthoideae is sister to all other subfamilies of the family Ericaceae s.l. Aiming to determine the peculiarities of development and structure of Enkianthus pericarp and to reveal the principal characters of its structure, which can be original for the Ericaceae, we have studied fruit anatomical structure at different stages of development in four species of the genus Enkianthus belonging to three sections: Meisteria, Enkiantella, Enkianthus. The pericarp of superior loculicidal capsule of Enkianthus is differentiated into three histogenetic zones: (i) one-layered exocarp, (ii) multilayered mesocarp differentiated into two histological zones: the peripheral parenchymatous one, and the inner sclerenchymatous one, and (iii) one-layered endocarp composed of tangentially elongated sclereids. It has been shown that the lignification of cells of the endocarp proceeds after the lignification of the inner zone of the mesocarp. Our investigation demonstrates that the superior loculicidal capsules of Enkianthus are capsules of Hamamelis type, which are recognized as the probable ancestral (plesiomorphic) fruit type for other subfamilies of Ericaceae. This fruit type is recognized as the original in several modes of morphogenetic transformations of fruit in Ericaceae family, from which other types of capsules, pyrenariums, and berries originated.
Sleep Quality Drives Next Day Pain and Fatigue in Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Short Report
Authors: Guadagnoli Livia , Horrigan Jamie , Walentynowicz Marta , Salwen-Deremer Jessica K
Published: August 2023

Background and Aims

Poor sleep is prevalent in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] and is associated with increased symptom severity and decreased quality of life. To date, research is mostly cross-sectional, limiting the ability to examine the causal direction between sleep and IBD symptoms. This short report aims to assess the temporal associations among sleep quality, pain, fatigue, and physical activity in adults with IBD.

Methods

Adult IBD patients [N = 18] completed a structured electronic diary two times per day [morning and evening] over 14 consecutive days. Morning diary items assessed sleep [sleep quality, wake after sleep onset, number of awakenings] and evening diary items assessed daytime IBD symptoms [abdominal pain, fatigue]. An actigraph measured daily step count [physical activity]. Generalised estimating equation models evaluated the lagged temporal associations between sleep ratings and next day pain, fatigue, and physical activity as well as reverse lagged temporal associations between daytime symptoms and physical activity and subsequent sleep ratings.

Results

Poor self-reported sleep quality predicted increased next day abdominal pain and fatigue scores. Increased time awake during the night predicted decreased next day physical activity. In the reverse analyses, only the relationship between daytime abdominal pain and wake after sleep onset was significant.

Conclusions

Poor sleep appears to drive IBD-related outcomes, such as pain and fatigue. These findings are a first step in demonstrating the key role of sleep in the IBD patient experience, potentially resulting in a treatment target for intervention. Future research is needed to confirm results in a larger sample.
Early substance use disorders and subsequent NEET-not in education, employment or training—a national cohort study
Authors: Manhica Hélio , Yacamán-Méndez Diego , Sjöqvist Hugo , Lundin Andreas , Danielsson Anna-Karin
Published: August 2023

Background

Substance use problems have been associated with poor labour market outcomes. This study investigated whether substance use disorders (SUD) in emerging adulthood increase the likelihood of later being not in employment, education or training (NEET).

Methods

A national cohort study of 23 5295 males and 227 792 females born between 1981 and 1987. SUD was assessed between ages 17 and 24 years. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) of NEET, between ages 25–34. Sibling-comparison analysis was performed to account for potential shared genetic and environmental factors.

Results

Having been diagnosed with a SUD was associated with the likelihood of being NEET among males [OR = 1.37, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.25–1.49] and females (1.19, 1.13–1.27) after adjusting for domicile, origin, psychiatric diagnosis and parental psychiatric diagnosis. Early SUD was also associated with a gradual increase in the ORs of accumulation of years being NEET. This was more evident among females. In the sibling-comparison analysis, we found a higher OR of NEET among same-sex sibling males 1.39 (1.06–1.82) and females 1.28 (0.99–1.66) with SUD. These risks were fully attenuated when another psychiatric diagnosis was adjusted for.

Conclusion

Early SUD was associated with an increased likelihood of being NEET in both males and females. Neither origin, domicile, psychiatric diagnoses nor parental psychiatric diagnoses did fully explain the association. The combination of unmeasured familial factors and having other psychiatric disorders largely explained these associations.
Evolutionary signatures of a trade-off in direct and indirect defenses across the wild grape genus, Vitis
Authors: Graham Carolyn D K , Forrestel Elisabeth J , Schilmiller Anthony L , Zemenick Ash T , Weber Marjorie G
Published: August 2023

Evolutionary correlations between chemical defense and protection by mutualist bodyguards have been long predicted, but tests of these patterns remain rare. We use a phylogenetic framework to test for evolutionary correlations indicative of trade-offs or synergisms between direct defense in the form of plant secondary metabolism and indirect defense in the form of leaf domatia, across 33 species in the wild grape genus, Vitis. We also performed a bioassay with a generalist herbivore to associate our chemical phenotypes with herbivore palatability. Finally, we tested whether defensive traits correlated with the average abiotic characteristics of each species’ contemporary range and whether these correlations were consistent with plant defense theory. We found a negative evolutionary correlation between domatia size and the diversity of secondary metabolites in Vitis leaf tissue across the genus, and also that leaves with a higher diversity and richness of secondary metabolites were less palatable to a generalist herbivore, consistent with a trade-off in chemical and mutualistic defense investment. Predictions from plant defense theory were not supported by associations between investment in defense phenotypes and abiotic variables. Our work demonstrates an evolutionary pattern indicative of a trade-off between indirect and direct defense strategies across the Vitis genus.
Hearing Loss and Physical Activity Among Older Adults in the United States
Authors: Assi Sahar , Twardzik Erica , Deal Jennifer A , Martin Ginis Kathleen , Palta Priya , Schrack Jennifer A , Reed Nicholas S , Martinez-Amezcua Pablo
Published: August 2023

Background

Hearing loss is associated with adverse health outcomes among older adults. Lower physical activity levels may partly explain these observations, yet the association between hearing loss, hearing aid use, and physical activity among older adults is understudied.

Methods

Cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Aging Trends Study (2021) participants. The better-hearing ear pure-tone average (BPTA) at speech frequencies (0.5–4 kHz) was modeled continuously (10-dB increments) and categorically (no: ≤25 dB, mild: 26–40 dB, moderate or greater: >40 dB hearing loss). Activity measures were wrist accelerometry-derived (Actigraph) total activity counts, daily active minutes, activity fragmentation (using active-to-sedentary transition probability), and self-reported participation in vigorous activities and walking for exercise in the last month. We used multivariable regression adjusted for sociodemographic and health covariates.

Results

Among 504 participants excluding hearing aid users (mean age = 79 years, 57% female, 9% Black), 338 (67%) had hearing loss. Worse hearing (continuously and categorically) was associated with fewer counts and active minutes, more fragmented activity, and greater odds of not reporting recent vigorous activities. Among 472 participants with hearing loss including hearing aid users, nonusers (n = 338) had more fragmented activity and greater odds of not reporting walking for exercise compared to users.

Conclusions

Older adults with hearing loss are less physically active. This may mediate the association between hearing loss and other adverse outcomes. Recognition of this potential association is essential for providers to better support older adults in maintaining an active lifestyle. Future research is warranted to understand the impact of hearing interventions.
10. Democratic innovations
Authors: Curato Nicole
Published: August 2023

This chapter introduces the theory and practice of democratic innovations, such as citizen-initiated referendums, participatory budgeting, and citizens’ assemblies. It characterizes what makes these approaches innovative and distinctly democratic by situating them in the traditions of direct, participatory, and deliberative democracy. The chapter critically examines the purpose and limits of democratic innovations, presents debates on how these approaches are being applied and institutionalized around the world, provides examples and case studies of democratic innovations from around the world, and concludes by putting forward provocative questions on what it means for citizens to meaningfully take part in democratic decision-making in contemporary times.
23. The EU as a new political system
Authors: Simon Hix
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines the development and operation of the European Union (EU) from a comparative politics perspective. It first considers the evolution of the EU, from the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1951 that established the European Coal and Steel Community to the admission of Lithuania in 2015 as the nineteenth member of the eurozone, and the UK’s decision to leave the EU in 2016. The chapter then explores the process of European integration and goes on to explain what it means to think of the EU as a political system. It also describes the two basic dimensions of the EU system: the vertical dimension (the EU as a ‘regulatory state’) and the horizontal dimension (the design and operation of EU decision-making). The chapter concludes by analysing the ‘missing link’ in the EU system—the lack of genuine democratic politics.
7. Challenges to the Dominant Ideologies
Authors: Garner Robert
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines a range of contemporary ideologies which challenge the traditional ones. Contemporary ideologies differ from traditional ideologies in a number of ways. First, they are less optimistic about the ability of ideology to construct an overarching explanation of the world. Second, they respect difference and variety, a product of social and economic change that has eroded the ‘Fordist’ economy and given rise to a number of powerful identity groups based on gender, culture, and ethnicity, and raised question marks over the environmental sustainability of current industrial practices. The chapter starts with a general discussion of how the ideologies covered in this chapter differ from those considered in Chapter 6 before examining a number of contemporary ideologies—postmodernism, feminism, environmentalism, multiculturalism, and religious fundamentalism—in detail.
9. Political Culture and Non-Western Political Ideas
Authors: Ferdinand Peter
Published: August 2023

This chapter begins by outlining the importance of political culture in structuring, but not determining, the behaviour of actors within individual political systems. It illustrates the persistence of its impact with the failure of Mao Zedong to eliminate traditional Chinese ways of thinking and create a wholly new political culture in the Cultural Revolution. On the other hand it cites fluctuations in Russian political culture over centuries to show that the perceived content of a particular political culture can be fundamentally contested and malleable, so that it does evolve. And it notes the recent claims of political leaders in Russia, China, and India, amongst others, that their nations’ historical achievements raise them to the status of ‘civilization states’. One feature of a nation’s political culture is the recurring trends of issues and preoccupations in political thinking there. Then it goes on to examine issues in thinking in non-Western countries, that structure political attitudes and political behaviour differently from the West. It begins by looking at traditional notions of legitimate political authority in other regions of the world, particularly Asia, that preceded the arrival of Western colonialists. These often assumed more ‘organic’ and more segmented communities, often based upon the social value and model of traditional families, than would be associated with Western individualist ones influenced by the legacy of the French revolution. Then it considers more recent non-Western political thinking, including renewed recent Russian nationalist enthusiasm for empire. It concludes with a survey of the diverse reception of liberalism in different regions of the world.
16. Introducing Global Politics
Authors: Lawson Stephanie
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses global politics in relation to the phenomenon of globalization. ‘Global politics’ as a field of study encompasses the traditional concerns of International Relations with how states interact under conditions of anarchy but lays greater emphasis on the role of non-state actors and processes in a globalizing world. The chapter first provides an overview of politics in a globalizing world before explaining the basic distinctions between ‘state’ and ‘nation’ in the context of contemporary global politics. It then considers the variation in state forms and the phenomenon of empire throughout history as well as the historical emergence of the modern state and state system in Europe along with ideas about sovereignty and nationalism against the background of ‘modernity’. It also examines the effective globalization of the European state system through modern imperialism and colonialism and the extent to which these have been productive of contemporary global order.
22. Global Political Economy
Authors: Lawson Stephanie
Published: August 2023

This chapter provides an overview of the field of Global Political Economy (GPE), also known as International Political Economy (IPE). It begins with a discussion of how GPE/IPE has developed as a major focus of study within the broader field of global politics over the last four decades. It then considers the rise of mercantilism as a theory of GPE, along with its relationship to nationalism and colonialism. It also examines the emergence of liberal political economy, Marxism and critical IPE, and the international economic order after World War II. In particular, it looks at the Bretton Woods system, which emerged after the war as a compromise between liberalism and nationalism. The chapter concludes with an analysis of international political, economic, and social problems associated with the North–South gap, globalization and regionalization in the post-Cold War period, and financial crises that rocked the global economic system.
1. Introduction: Approaches and Concepts
Authors: Hill Christopher , Smith Michael , Vanhoonacker Sophie
Published: August 2023

This chapter looks at how we consider the European Union (EU) today. The EU is now regarded as an international actor. In this way, the development of the EU, this chapter shows, as a system of international relations in itself can be related analytically to the place it occupies in the process of international relations, and to its position as a ‘power’ in the global arena. This sort of analysis, the chapter argues, facilitates an understanding of the ways in which the EU produces international action and the ways in which the international dimension enters into EU policymaking. This relates particularly to the many crises that have affected the EU in the last few years, such as the eurozone crisis, the war in Ukraine, Brexit, and the Covid-19 pandemic.
11. The European Union and International Development: Evolving Tensions and Contested Transformations
Authors: Carbone Maurizio
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines the evolution of the European Union’s (EU’s) development policy since the Treaty of Rome. It shows how the EU has used development policy as part of its wider external relations agenda in an attempt to establish itself as an influential global actor. The chapter first considers the transformation in the EU’s (post)colonial development policy before discussing the changes introduced since 2000, including the attempt to project a common vision on international development and to promote synergies between foreign aid and other policies. In particular, it analyses the EU partnership with ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States), the Lomé Convention, and the Cotonou Partnership Agreement. The chapter concludes with an assessment of EU development policy in the context of international relations.
17. The EU and the USA: Competitive Cooperation in a Turbulent World
Authors: Smith Michael , Steffenson Rebecca
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines the evolution of the European Union’s (EU’s) relations with the United States. More specifically, it looks at the ways in which EU–US relations enter into the international relations of the EU as well as the implications for key areas of the EU’s growing international activity. The chapter begins with an overview of the changing shape and focus of the EU–US relationship as it enters into economic, political, and security questions. It then considers the impact of EU–US relations on the EU’s system of international relations, on the EU’s role in the processes of international relations, and on the EU’s position as a ‘power’ in international relations. It shows that the EU–US relationship has played a key (and contradictory) role in development of the EU’s foreign policy mechanisms.
19. Principles in EU Foreign Policy: How Distinctive?
Authors: Sjursen Helene
Published: August 2023

Examination of the European Union’s (EU’s) foreign policies seems to rest on a dichotomy between interests and power on the one hand, and norms and values on the other. Based on this dichotomy, the EU is often portrayed as a unique international actor and as a voice of global values. But principles, values, and norms are key elements of any foreign policy, as they are in international politics in general, and different normative principles might induce the EU to exercise power in different ways. Looking at a difference between the principles of sovereignty, human rights, and a common good, this chapter challenges the conventional wisdom of the EU as a distinctive foreign policy actor. It suggests that while holding on to the importance of a transformation of international politics, of binding and constraining states, EU foreign policy mainly seeks to ensure the present system is sustained and improved. It does this via an emphasis on the principle of external sovereignty and its corollary norms. The unresolved tensions in the EU’s internal constitution, between its cosmopolitan vocation and the ambition of (EU) nation building, are thus reflected also in the EU’s foreign policy.
2. Politics
Authors: Hirst Aggie , de Merich Diego , Hoover Joe , Roccu Roberto
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses the meaning of politics and where it operates at the global level. Using a distinctive approach to theorising global politics, it explores the meaning of politics through everyday uses and understandings, considering ideas of coercion, authority, and legitimacy. The chapter also examines and challenges the myth that only powerful elites engage in politics, showing instead that politics is at work all the time in everyday lives and experience. It then looks at how influential thinkers define politics, studying the theories of political scientist Harold Lasswell and ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Finally, the chapter considers what it means to think theoretically about politics. Thinking critically and theoretically about politics is itself a political act that alters the everyday understanding of the world, and opens up new possibilities for action, challenging the myth that there is a natural way of organising politics.
7. Money
Authors: Hirst Aggie , de Merich Diego , Hoover Joe , Roccu Roberto
Published: August 2023

This chapter focuses on the origins and function of money within the field of global politics. It covers the myth that money developed in a politically neutral way as the most functional mode of exchange. Instead, money’s emergence and function has been deeply intertwined with the power and violence of the empire, including its conquests and enslavements. Thus, the influence of politics and economics on one another is impossible to detach in terms of contemporary global politics. The chapter then expounds on the historically strong connection between money and state power. Additionally, it also tackles the possible future of money which involves cyptocurrencies and local currencies.
2. How to study Global Political Economy
Authors: Seabrooke Leonard , Young Kevin L.
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses the question of how to study Global Political Economy (GPE), presenting three arguments. First, it makes the case for why the study of GPE is fundamentally exciting and wonderful. GPE is exciting because of its sheer scale and potential comprehensiveness in offering macrosocial explanations for the operation of the world. This fundamentally interdisciplinary orientation is very different from other areas of study, and it makes GPE a refreshing contrast to a lot of conventional thinking within the social sciences. The chapter also argues that the study of GPE is really hard. In order to navigate both the wonderfulness and the challenges of studying GPE, a particular conceptual device can be tremendously helpful. The chapter then identifies the different ‘modes’ of intellectual activity that operate within GPE scholarship: critique, advocacy, and discovery.
11. Crime
Authors: Efrat Asif
Published: August 2023

This chapter studies the joint efforts of states to tackle crime through bilateral or multilateral action. The criminal activities that fuel global concern are transnational in nature; they involve more than one country and thus require an internationally coordinated response. These transnational criminal activities involve illicit flows; that is, the movement between countries of people, goods, or money. What makes these flows illicit is that they are prohibited by the laws of the country that is the source of the flows and/or the laws of the country receiving them. Smuggling drugs or firearms across borders; laundering illegally obtained funds through international financial transactions; the sale of women to engage in sex work—these are some examples of the transnational flows that constitute the illicit global economy. The chapter examines each of these flows, the challenge of measuring them, and their relationship with globalization, before turning to the efforts against them.
4. Political violence
Authors: Guillaume Xavier , Grayson Kyle
Published: August 2023

This chapter presents a conceptual framework that identifies different forms of violence, their relation to security, and their political dimensions. It focuses on four types of violence: physical, psychological, material, and symbolic. To determine the potential political dimensions of violence, the chapter explores actors, intentions, structures, and its presence within socio-political orders. Security seeks to address something that an authority has determined to be a threat or under threat. In this context, violence can be deemed political when it is legitimized and authorized from a security claim, as well as when it is an effect of a security mobilization that has emerged from a security claim. Two key questions then arise. Firstly, when is violence legitimate? Secondly, who has the authority to exercise violence legitimately within a given socio-political order? The chapter concludes that understanding how violence emerges from security mobilizations is important to understanding security.
9. Identity and othering
Authors: Santos Melody Fonseca
Published: August 2023

This chapter focuses on the relationship between identity, difference, and (in)security. Identities are dimensions of our lives we subjectively use to make sense of ourselves, our actions, and those of others in the worlds around us; they are ways that we instil a sense of belonging. Subjectively felt identities are also shaped by discourses, practices, debates, tensions, and conflicts about what they are for ‘us’ as a collective. The idea that this ‘us’ is being challenged and might change, or is in the process of changing, generates various anxieties. The chapter then introduces a set of concepts to analyse identity and othering in relation to security. It considers the concept of ‘predatory identities’ before presenting alternative identity practices that might decouple identity from notions of threat, while building upon difference and heterogeneity. This has been called deep relationality or cosmopraxis.
11. Nationalism, racism, and xenophobia
Authors: Frowd Philippe M.
Published: August 2023

This chapter analyses the security implications of nationalism, racism, and xenophobia. Nationalism can foreground common identity and social cohesion but also exclusion and rejection. Nationalism then constitutes and legitimizes hierarchies as racism and xenophobia do. While racism as personal prejudice is easy to identify and critique, racism as a bigger and more pervasive social system is more resilient and adaptive—it also has deep impacts on institutions that affect who is secure and who is not secure. Xenophobia is related to racism but centres more obviously on negative views of human differences, whether it is those with another citizenship, culture, or religion. The chapter then considers three themes: nationalism and its transnational facets in an era of resurgent populism; racism as a structure of global politics with impacts on insecurity at a range of levels; and finally citizenship and the risks posed to it—and rights more broadly—by xenophobia.
15. Digital, (in)security, and violence
Authors: Bellanova Rocco
Published: August 2023

This chapter studies the connections between security and surveillance in order to discover how (in)security and violence are fostered by the digital. To do so, it is important to understand the digital in terms of datafication, computation, and materiality. These enable us to critically explore security through society and technology and tensions between the local and the global, while asking questions about the growing role of IT companies in our worlds. Datafication is at the core of modern statecraft—techniques for counting things and people allow authorities to maintain control over a population at a distance, imposing and collecting taxes that can be used to reinforce their military power. At the same time, showcasing the development of computing permits us to emphasize the key role of security imaginaries in shaping what is now called the digital age.
17. Weapons-systems
Authors: Bourne Mike
Published: August 2023

This chapter highlights weapons-systems as a central aspect of the question: ‘Security how?’ Weapons are a central and pervasive aspect of the material, institutional, and discursive mobilizations of security. As such, weapons have long been both a tool and a measure of power. Weapons-politics reveals what we might think of as lethal legitimations: the legitimation of killing, the preparation for killing, and the distinctions (racial, colonial, gendered, religious, class, civilizational) that allow us to take for granted that killing is inherent to security. The chapter poses three questions about security and violence that arise through weapons-politics: Does the manner of violence matter? How are weapons controlled? How is weapons-politics entangled with other forms of violence and security? These questions show that weapons-systems are the materialization of violence of all types.
Diabetes risk assessments and HbA1c-measurements in community pharmacies
Authors: Risøy Aslaug Johanne , Kjome Reidun Lisbet Skeide , Sandberg Sverre , Sølvik Una Ørvim
Published: August 2023

Objectives

Due to a lack of clear symptoms, type 2 diabetes (T2D) can remain undetected for many years. The aim of the study was to explore if Norwegian community pharmacies could identify individuals with a high risk of developing T2D by offering a diabetes risk assessment service. This study also investigated if the service recruited individuals that the national guideline recommends for diabetes risk assessment, and the proportion of participants who had visited their GP at least once a year.

Methods

During the inclusion period (September 2016 to the middle of April 2017), pharmacy customers 45 years or older wishing to participate contacted the pharmacy staff. Included participants completed a diabetes risk test and participants with a high risk were offered an HbA1c measurement. At two months after intervention, all participants were followed up.

Key findings

Of the 245 participants, 27% had a high risk of developing T2D. Of these, 46%, 43% and 9% had HbA1c values corresponding to normal (<39 mmol/mol [5.7%]), prediabetes (39–47 mmol/mol [5.7–6.4%]) or above cut-off for diabetes (≥48 mmol/mol [≥6.5%]), respectively. A total of 86% of the participants were in at least one category that the guideline recommends for a diabetes risk assessment, and 88% had visited their GP at least once a year.

Conclusions

Norwegian community pharmacies can identify individuals with a high risk of developing T2D by offering a diabetes risk assessment service. Individuals who sought out the service were within the relevant demographics for testing, and a high proportion visited their GP at least once a year.
Effect of dietary calcium concentration and exogenous phytase on inositol phosphate degradation, mineral digestibility, and gut microbiota in growing pigs
Authors: Klein Nicolas , Sarpong Naomi , Melzer Tanja , Feuerstein Dieter , Heyer Charlotte M E , Camarinha-Silva Amélia , Rodehutscord Markus
Published: August 2023

Variations in the dietary Ca concentration may affect inositol phosphate (InsP) degradation, and thereby, P digestibility in pigs. This study assessed the effects of dietary Ca concentration and exogenous phytase on InsP degradation, nutrient digestion and retention, blood metabolites, and microbiota composition in growing pigs with ileal cannulation. In a completely randomized row–column design with four periods, eight ileal-cannulated barrows (initial body weight 27 kg) were fed four corn–soybean- and rapeseed meal-based diets containing 5.5 or 8.5 g Ca/kg dry matter (DM), with or without 1,500 FTU of an exogenous hybrid-6-phytase/kg diet. No mineral P was added and the P concentration in the feed was 4.8 g P/kg DM. Prececal InsP6 disappearance in pigs fed diets containing exogenous phytase was lower (P = 0.022) with additional Ca than without. Concentrations of InsP2-4 isomers and myo-inositol in the distal ileal digesta and prececal P digestibility were greater (P < 0.001) with exogenous phytase than without exogenous phytase. In feces, InsP6 disappearance was lower (P < 0.002) and concentration of InsP5 and InsP4 isomers was higher (P ≤ 0.031) with additional Ca compared to without additional Ca. The prececal amino acid digestibility, energy digestibility, and hindgut disappearance of energy did not differ. The Shannon diversity index of the microbiota in the distal ileal digesta and feces was similar among the diets but was lower in the distal ileal digesta than in the feces (P < 0.001). Permutation analysis of variance revealed no dietary differences between the bacterial groups within the ileal digesta and fecal samples (P > 0.05). In conclusion, additional Ca reduced the effect of exogenous phytase on prececal InsP6 degradation. Endogenous InsP degradation was impaired by additional Ca only in the hindgut but the abundance of bacterial genera in feces was not affected.
Experimental Study on the Effect of Caffeine Hydrogel on the Expression of TGF -β1, α-SMA and Collagen in Hypertrophic Scar of Rabbit Ears
Authors: Ma Jiu-Cheng , Wang Zhao-Nan , Xi Ming-Fan , Yin Dong , Jiang LI-Fan , Qi Jun
Published: August 2023

This study evaluated the effects of topical use of caffeine hydrogel on hypertrophic scar in a rabbit ear wound model. Nine rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: control group, caffeine hydrogel group, and matrix group. Punched defects were established on each rabbit’s ear which resulted in a hypertrophic scar. When the wound epithelialization and scar hyperplasia could be seen, control group did not do any treatment, while caffeine hydrogel group and matrix group were treated with caffeine hydrogel and hydrogel matrix, respectively. After 3 weeks of administration, the general morphological changes of scar were observed, and the scar tissue of rabbit ears was stained with HE and Masson. The relative expressions of TGF β-1, α-SMA, type I collagen, and type III collagen in scar tissue were detected by Western blot. In all three groups, findings showed that caffeine hydrogel can inhibit scar growth by reducing the expression of TGF β-1, reducing the proliferation of fibroblasts, improving collagen arrangement and reducing collagen deposition. The overall study shows efficacy and mechanism of caffeine. It concluded that caffeine could be an effective therapeutic agent for hypertrophicscars.
Transforming entomology to adapt to global concerns: 2021 student debates
Authors: Prade Patricia , Kaur Sandhi Ramandeep , DePaolo Elzay Sarah , Arnold Katherine , Pickens Victoria , Freedman Andrew , Dillard DeShae , Gresham Sean , Morris Ashley , Pezzini Daniela , Oladipupo Seun O , Carroll Elijah P , Murphy Richard O , Ajibefun Festus K , Mendez Luis M , Carroll Katherine , Kaur Jasleen , Rooney Lillie M , Stacey Kendall , Tavares Yasmin , Dyer Jared E , Xie Na , Bielski Jason , Schepis John , Hauri Kayleigh C , Ternest John J , Pecenka Jacob , Gula Scott W , Constancio Natalie , Rampone Emily , Luppino Mario , Jocson Dowen , Onayemi Stephen , Rendleman Emily
Published: August 2023

The 2021 Student Debates of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) were held at the Annual Meeting in Denver, CO. The event was organized by the Student Debates Subcommittee (SDS) of the Student Affairs Committee (SAC). The theme of the 2021 Student Debates was “Transforming Entomology to Adapt to Global Concerns”, with 3 topics. Each topic had an unbiased introduction and 2 teams. The debate topics were (i) Nonnative insect introduction is an ethical approach for counteracting proliferation and overpopulation of consumers, (ii) What is the best technology to control undesirable insect pests in urban and agricultural settings? and (iii) Compared to other solutions, like plant-based diets, insect farming is the best method to address rising human global food and nutrient supply demands. Unbiased introduction speakers and teams had approximately 6 months to prepare for their presentations.
Millicent Fawcett and Eleanor Rathbone The Royal Statistical Society suffragists
Authors: Lorenzo-Arribas Altea
Published: August 2023

Around a century ago, the fifth and ninth women ever to join the RSS fought to ensure the members their sex would no longer be an “unknown quantity”. Altea Lorenzo-Arribas shines a light on their lives, careers and vital contribution to history
Discovering the mesoscale for chains of conflict
Authors: Kushwaha Niraj , Lee Edward D
Published: August 2023

Conflicts, like many social processes, are related events that span multiple scales in time, from the instantaneous to multi-year development, and in space, from one neighborhood to continents. Yet, there is little systematic work on connecting the multiple scales, formal treatment of causality between events, and measures of uncertainty for how events are related to one another. We develop a method for extracting causally related chains of events that addresses these limitations with armed conflict. Our method explicitly accounts for an adjustable spatial and temporal scale of interaction for clustering individual events from a detailed data set, the Armed Conflict Event & Location Data Project. With it, we discover a mesoscale ranging from a week to a few months and tens to hundreds of kilometers, where long-range correlations and nontrivial dynamics relating conflict events emerge. Importantly, clusters in the mesoscale, while extracted from conflict statistics, are identifiable with mechanism cited in field studies. We leverage our technique to identify zones of causal interaction around conflict hotspots that naturally incorporate uncertainties. Thus, we show how a systematic, data-driven, and scalable procedure extracts social objects for study, providing a scope for scrutinizing and predicting conflict and other processes.
Maternal-derived galectin-1 shapes the placenta niche through Sda terminal glycosylation: Implication for preeclampsia
Authors: Xie Yiran , Zhao Fangqi , Freitag Nancy , Borowski Sophia , Wang Yiru , Harms Charlotte , Pang Poh-Choo , Desforges Juliette , Wen Tianyu , Schwedhelm Edzard , Singh Manvendra , Dechend Ralf , Dell Anne , Haslam Stuart M , Dveksler Gabriela , Garcia Mariana G , Blois Sandra M
Published: August 2023

Placental abnormalities cause impaired fetal growth and poor pregnancy outcome (e.g. preeclampsia [PE]) with long-lasting consequences for the mother and offspring. The molecular dialogue between the maternal niche and the developing placenta is critical for the function of this organ. Galectin-1 (gal-1), a highly expressed glycan-binding protein at the maternal–fetal interface, orchestrates the maternal adaptation to pregnancy and placenta development. Down-regulation or deficiency of gal-1 during pregnancy is associated with the development of PE; however, the maternal- and placental-derived gal-1 contributions to the disease onset are largely unknown. We demonstrate that lack of gal-1 imposes a risk for PE development in a niche-specific manner, and this is accompanied by a placental dysfunction highly influenced by the absence of maternal-derived gal-1. Notably, differential placental glycosylation through the Sda-capped N-glycans dominates the invasive trophoblast capacity triggered by maternal-derived gal-1. Our findings show that gal-1 derived from the maternal niche is essential for healthy placenta development and indicate that impairment of the gal-1 signaling pathway within the maternal niche could be a molecular cause for maternal cardiovascular maladaptation during pregnancy.
Identification of an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) for chemical-induced craniofacial anomalies using the transgenic zebrafish model
Authors: Liu Shujie , Kawanishi Toru , Shimada Atsuko , Ikeda Naohiro , Yamane Masayuki , Takeda Hiroyuki , Tasaki Junichi
Published: August 2023

Craniofacial anomalies are one of the most frequent birth defects worldwide and are often caused by genetic and environmental factors such as pharmaceuticals and chemical agents. Although identifying adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) is a central issue for evaluating the teratogenicity, the AOP causing craniofacial anomalies has not been identified. Recently, zebrafish has gained interest as an emerging model for predicting teratogenicity because of high throughput, cost-effectiveness and availability of various tools for examining teratogenic mechanisms. Here, we established zebrafish sox10-EGFP reporter lines to visualize cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs) and have identified the AOPs for craniofacial anomalies. When we exposed the transgenic embryos to teratogens that were reported to cause craniofacial anomalies in mammals, CNCC migration and subsequent morphogenesis of the first pharyngeal arch were impaired at 24 hours post-fertilization. We also found that cell proliferation and apoptosis of the migratory CNCCs were disturbed, which would be key events of the AOP. From these results, we propose that our sox10-EGFP reporter lines serve as a valuable model for detecting craniofacial skeletal abnormalities, from early to late developmental stages. Given that the developmental process of CNCCs around this stage is highly conserved between zebrafish and mammals, our findings can be extrapolated to mammalian craniofacial development and thus help in predicting craniofacial anomalies in human.
QTL Mapping for Adult-Plant Resistance to Leaf Rust in Italian Wheat Cultivar Libellula
Authors: Gao Pu , Zhou Yue , Gebrewahid Takele Weldu , Zhang Peipei , Wang Siman , Liu Daqun , Li Zaifeng
Published: August 2023

Wheat leaf rust (Lr), which is caused by Puccinia triticina Eriks. (Pt), is one of the most important wheat diseases affecting wheat production globally. Using resistant wheat cultivars is the most economical and environmentally friendly way to control leaf rust. The Italian wheat cultivar Libellula has demonstrated good resistance to Lr in field studies. To identify the genetic basis of Lr resistance in ‘Libellula’, 248 F6 recombinant inbred lines from the cross ‘Libellula’/‘Huixianhong’ was phenotyped for Lr severity in seven environments: the 2014/2015, 2016/2017, 2017/2018, and 2018/2019 cropping seasons at Baoding, Hebei Province, and the 2016/2017, 2017/2018, and 2018/2019 crop seasons at Zhoukou, Henan Province. Bulked segregant analysis and simple sequence repeat markers were then used to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for Lr adult-plant resistance in the population. Six QTLs were consequently detected and designated as QLr.hebau-1AL and QLr.hebau-1AS that were presumed to be new and QLr.hebau-1BL, QLr.hebau-3AL, QLr.hebau-4BL, and QLr.hebau-7DS that were identified at similar physical positions as previously reported QTLs. Based on chromosome positions and molecular marker tests, QLr.hebau-1BL and QLr.hebau-7DS share similar flanking markers with Lr46 and Lr34, respectively. Lr46 and Lr34 are race nonspecific adult plant resistance (APR) genes for leaf rust and stripe rust and powdery mildew. QLr.hebau-4BL showed multiple disease resistance to leaf rust, stripe rust, Fusarium head blight, and powdery mildew. The QTL identified in this study, as well as their closely linked markers, may potentially be used in marker-assisted selection in wheat breeding.
Does the Sleeper Plate Application for Temporary Epiphysiodesis Make Life Easier or Complicated? Increased Risk of Tethering
Authors: Bakircioglu Sancar , Kolac Ulas Can , Yigit Yigit Aras , Aksoy Taha , Aksoy Mehmet Cemalettin , Yazici Muharrem , Yilmaz Guney
Published: August 2023

Background:

The present study aims to investigate the frequency of recurrence and tethering effect after only metaphyseal screw removal (sleeper plate technique) compared with the conventional complete plate removal in the treatment of lower extremity deformities with guided growth surgery.

Methods:

Seventy-two patients (107 limbs) treated by an 8-plate hemiepiphysiodesis technique around the knee joint were evaluated. After the desired correction, only metaphyseal screw was removed (sleeper plate group) in 35 limbs (25 patients), whereas both screws and plate were removed (plate removal group) in 72 limbs (47 patients). An increase of 5 degrees or more in joint orientation angles in the direction of the initial deformity was considered as recurrence. The rate of rebound, tethering, and maintenance of correction in groups was analyzed at the latest follow-up (mean of 49 mo).

Results:

The mean age of the patients was 97 months (range: 80 to 129 mo) at the time of index surgery. After a mean of 49 months (range: 16 to 86), 17 (48.5%) limbs maintained the desired stable correction in the sleeper plate group compared with 59 stable limbs (72.2%) in the plate removal group (P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference regarding recurrence between the sleeper plate group and the plate removal group (34.3% vs. 27.8%, respectively) (P=0.216). Reinsertion of the metaphyseal screw was possible 8/12 limbs, and the remaining 4 limbs underwent further surgeries. There were 6 limbs (17.3%) of tethering in the sleeper plate group, and 4/6 limbs required further corrective surgeries. The remaining 2 limbs with slight tethering did not require further surgeries.

Conclusions:

Removing only metaphyseal screw increases the risk of tethering. In addition, reinsertion of the screw may not be possible in all cases due to bony growth, and further corrective surgeries may be necessary. Close follow-up is required if the sleeper plate technique is to be applied.

Level of Evidence:

Level III.