bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Floral traits and their connection with pollinators and climate
Authors: Basnett Shweta , Krpan Julia , Espíndola Anahí
Published: March 2024

Background and Aims

Floral characteristics vary significantly among plant species, and multiple underlying factors govern this diversity. Although it is widely known that spatial variation in pollinator groups can exert selection on floral traits, the relative contribution of pollinators and climate to the variation of floral traits across large geographical areas remains a little-studied area. Besides furthering our conceptual understanding of these processes, gaining insight into the topic is also of conservation relevance: understanding how climate might drive variation in floral traits can serve to protect plant–pollinator interactions in globally change conditions.

Methods

We used Rhododendron as a model system and collected floral traits (corolla length, nectar volume and concentrations), floral visitors and climatic data on 21 Rhododendron species across two continents (North America, Appalachians and Asia, Himalaya). Based on this, we quantified the influence of climate and pollinators on floral traits using phylogeny-informed analyses.

Key Results

Our results indicate that there is substantial variation in pollinators and morphological traits across Rhododendron species and continents. We came across four pollinator groups: birds, bees, butterflies and flies. Asian species were commonly visited by birds, bees and flies, whereas bees and butterflies were the most common visitors of North American species. The visitor identity explained nectar trait variation, with flowers visited by birds presenting higher volumes of dilute nectar and those visited by insects producing concentrated nectar. Nectar concentration and corolla length exhibited a strong phylogenetic signal across the analysed set of species. We also found that nectar trait variation in the Himalayas could also be explained by climate, which presented significant interactions with pollinator identity.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that both pollinators and climate contribute and interact to drive nectar trait variation, suggesting that both can affect pollination interactions and floral (and plant) evolution individually and in interaction with each other.
IV—Emotionless Animals? Constructionist Theories of Emotion Beyond the Human Case
Authors: Birch Jonathan
Published: March 2024

Could emotions be a uniquely human phenomenon? One prominent theory in emotion science, Lisa Feldman Barrett’s Theory of Constructed Emotion (tce), suggests they might be. The source of the sceptical challenge is that tce links emotions to abstract concepts tracking socio-normative expectations, and other animals are unlikely to have such concepts. Barrett’s own response to the sceptical challenge is to relativize emotion to the perspective of an interpreter, but this is unpromising. A more promising response may be to amend the theory, dropping the commitment to the abstract nature of emotion concepts and allowing that, like olfactory concepts, they have disjunctive sensory groundings. Even if other animals were emotionless, this would not imply they lack morally significant interests. Unconceptualized valenced experiences are a sufficient basis for morally significant interests, and such experiences may occur even in the absence of discrete, constructed emotions.
Interleukin-10: a novel metabolic inducer of macrophage differentiation and subsequently contributing to improved pregnancy outcomes of mice by orchestrating oxidative phosphorylation metabolism
Authors: Wang Huan , Wang Liling , Gong Guangshun , Lin Xinxiu , Luo Jing , Liu Chunyan , Mor Gil , Liao Aihua
Published: March 2024

Metabolism regulates the phenotype and function of macrophages. After recruitment to local tissues, monocytes are influenced by the local microenvironment and differentiate into various macrophages depending on different metabolic pathways. However, the metabolic mechanisms underlying decidual macrophage differentiation remain unknown. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an important decidual macrophage inducer and promotes oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) of bone marrow-derived macrophages. In this study, we mainly investigate the metabolic changes involved in IL-10-generated macrophages from monocytes using in vitro models. We demonstrate that exposure of monocytes (either peripheral or THP-1) to IL-10 altered the phenotype and function of resultant macrophages that are linked with OXPHOS changes. Interleukin-10 enhanced the mitochondrial complex I and III activity of THP-1 cell-differentiated macrophages and increased the mitochondrial membrane potential, intracellular adenosine triphosphate, and reactive oxygen species levels. Oxidative phosphorylation blockage with oligomycin changed the cell morphology of IL-10-generated macrophages and the expression levels of cytokines, such as transforming growth factor beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon gamma, and IL-10, apart from changes in the expression level of the surface markers CD206, CD209, and CD163. Moreover, in vivo IL-10 administration reduced the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced embryo resorption rate, and this effect was diminished when OXPHOS was inhibited, demonstrating that OXPHOS is important for the improved pregnancy outcomes of IL-10 in LPS-induced abortion-prone mice. Our findings provide deep insights into the roles of IL-10 in macrophage biology and pregnancy maintenance. Nevertheless, the direct evidence that OXPHOS is involved in decidual macrophage differentiation needs further investigations.
Metabolic pathways for glucose and fructose: I synthesis and metabolism of fructose by ovine conceptuses
Authors: Moses Robyn M , Stenhouse Claire , Halloran Katherine M , Sah Nirvay , Hoskins Emily C , Washburn Shannon E , Johnson Gregory A , Wu Guoyao , Bazer Fuller W
Published: March 2024

Fructose, the most abundant hexose sugar in fetal fluids and the blood of sheep and other ungulates and cetaceans, is synthesized from glucose via the polyol pathway in trophectoderm and chorion. However, the cell-specific and temporal expression of enzymes for the synthesis and metabolism of fructose in sheep conceptuses (embryo and placental membranes) and placentomes has not been characterized. This study characterized key enzymes involved in fructose synthesis and metabolism by ovine conceptuses throughout pregnancy. Day 17 conceptuses expressed mRNAs for the polyol pathway (SORD and AKR1B1) and glucose and fructose metabolism (HK1, HK2, G6PD, OGT, and FBP), but not those required for gluconeogenesis (G6Pase or PCK). Ovine placentomes also expressed mRNAs for SORD, AKR1B1, HK1, and OGT. Fructose can be metabolized via the ketohexokinase (KHK) pathway, and isoforms, KHK-A and KHK-C, were expressed in ovine conceptuses from Day 16 of pregnancy and placentomes during pregnancy in a cell-specific manner. The KHK-A protein was more abundant in the trophectoderm and cotyledons of placentomes, while KHK-C protein was more abundant in the endoderm of Day 16 conceptuses and the chorionic epithelium in placentomes. Expression of KHK mRNAs in placentomes was greatest at Day 30 of pregnancy (P < 0.05), but not different among days later in gestation. These results provide novel insights into the synthesis and metabolism of fructose via the uninhibited KHK pathway in ovine conceptuses to generate ATP via the tricarboxylic cycle, as well as substrates for the pentose cycle, hexosamine biosynthesis pathway, and one-carbon metabolism required for conceptus development throughout pregnancy.
Optimal regimes for algorithm-assisted human decision-making
Authors: Stensrud M J , Laurendeau J D , Sarvet A L
Published: March 2024

We consider optimal regimes for algorithm-assisted human decision-making. Such regimes are decision functions of measured pre-treatment variables and, by leveraging natural treatment values, enjoy a superoptimality property whereby they are guaranteed to outperform conventional optimal regimes. When there is unmeasured confounding, the benefit of using superoptimal regimes can be considerable. When there is no unmeasured confounding, superoptimal regimes are identical to conventional optimal regimes. Furthermore, identification of the expected outcome under superoptimal regimes in nonexperimental studies requires the same assumptions as identification of value functions under conventional optimal regimes when the treatment is binary. To illustrate the utility of superoptimal regimes, we derive identification and estimation results in a common instrumental variable setting. We use these derivations to analyse examples from the optimal regimes literature, including a case study of the effect of prompt intensive care treatment on survival.
Language matters for biodiversity
Authors: Fish Robert D , Austen Gail E , Bentley Jacob W , Dallimer Martin , Fisher Jessica C , Irvine Katherine N , Bentley Phoebe R , Nawrath Maximilian , Davies Zoe G
Published: March 2024

Language is central to the way people learn about the natural world. A salient concern of the biodiversity conservation arena has been to understand how language can be employed by scientists to communicate knowledge to nonexpert audiences and build ecological literacy. The use of analogy and narrative by scientists are prominent techniques. In this article, we consider how these two modes of language-based reasoning extend into ordinary conversational language use by the public, specifically when articulating everyday understanding and experiences of biodiversity. Drawing on a process of public engagement in a UK woodland environment, a typological framework based on principles of analogical and narrative reasoning is developed to characterize the precise character of processes of everyday biodiversity sense making. The implications of the framework are discussed in the context of future biodiversity research, particularly its participatory and educational dimensions.
Clown-based Social Work as Dissent in Child Protection Practice
Authors: Steggall David , Scollen Rebecca
Published: March 2024

This article presents Clown-Based Social Work (Steggall, 2023) as a form of dissent consistent with Paul Michael Garrett’s (2021a) conceptualisation of Dissenting Social Work. It contributes to the debate sparked by Chris Maylea (2020) and continued by Paul Michael Garrett (2021b) and Joe Whelan (2022). Clown-Based Social Work is an outcome of Steggall’s, doctoral research findings. Clown theory is a relational practice that offers an alternative way of being with people in an impossible situation. Correlations between Clown Theory and Social Work Theory were observed and explored. These correlations were conceptualised into Clown-Based Social Work as a new approach to child protection practice. Three key concepts of Clown-Based Social Work are discussed as forms of dissent from established ways of knowing and normative familial ideals in child protection work: Failure, Stupidity and Play. These three concepts are explored as relational practices that can enact dialogue between service users and social workers. This discussion is both a response to what Maylea (2020) has called the contemporary failures of social work and to Garrett’s (2021a, p. 226) call for dissenting imbued perspectives in social work practice.
Conversational production and comprehension: fMRI-evidence reminiscent of but deviant from the classical Broca–Wernicke model
Authors: Arvidsson Caroline , Torubarova Ekaterina , Pereira André , Uddén Julia
Published: March 2024

A key question in research on the neurobiology of language is to which extent the language production and comprehension systems share neural infrastructure, but this question has not been addressed in the context of conversation. We utilized a public fMRI dataset where 24 participants engaged in unscripted conversations with a confederate outside the scanner, via an audio-video link. We provide evidence indicating that the two systems share neural infrastructure in the left-lateralized perisylvian language network, but diverge regarding the level of activation in regions within the network. Activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus was stronger in production compared to comprehension, while comprehension showed stronger recruitment of the left anterior middle temporal gyrus and superior temporal sulcus, compared to production. Although our results are reminiscent of the classical Broca–Wernicke model, the anterior (rather than posterior) temporal activation is a notable difference from that model. This is one of the findings that may be a consequence of the conversational setting, another being that conversational production activated what we interpret as higher-level socio-pragmatic processes. In conclusion, we present evidence for partial overlap and functional asymmetry of the neural infrastructure of production and comprehension, in the above-mentioned frontal vs temporal regions during conversation.
Differentiation of salivary gland tumours using diffusion-weighted image-based virtual MR elastography: a pilot study
Authors: Jung Hye Na , Ryoo Inseon , Suh Sangil , Kim Byungjun , You Sung-Hye , Kim Eunju
Published: March 2024

Objectives

Differentiation among benign salivary gland tumours, Warthin tumours (WTs), and malignant salivary gland tumours is crucial to treatment planning and predicting patient prognosis. However, differentiation of those tumours using imaging findings remains difficult. This study evaluated the usefulness of elasticity determined from diffusion-weighted image (DWI)-based virtual MR elastography (MRE) compared with conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in differentiating the tumours.

Methods

This study included 17 benign salivary gland tumours, 6 WTs, and 11 malignant salivary gland tumours scanned on neck MRI. The long and short diameters, T1 and T2 signal intensities, tumour margins, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, and elasticity from DWI-based virtual MRE of the tumours were evaluated. The interobserver agreement in measuring tumour elasticity and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were also assessed.

Results

The long and short diameters and the T1 and T2 signal intensities showed no significant difference among the 3 tumour groups. Tumour margins and the mean ADC values showed significant differences among some tumour groups. The elasticity from virtual MRE showed significant differences among all 3 tumour groups and the interobserver agreement was excellent. The area under the ROC curves of the elasticity were higher than those of tumour margins and mean ADC values.

Conclusion

Elasticity values based on DWI-based virtual MRE of benign salivary gland tumours, WTs, and malignant salivary gland tumours were significantly different. The elasticity of WTs was the highest and that of benign tumours was the lowest. The elasticity from DWI-based virtual MRE may aid in the differential diagnosis of salivary gland tumours.
Artificial intelligence system for automatic maxillary sinus segmentation on cone beam computed tomography images
Authors: Bayrakdar Ibrahim Sevki , Elfayome Nermin Sameh , Hussien Reham Ashraf , Gulsen Ibrahim Tevfik , Kuran Alican , Gunes Ihsan , Al-Badr Alwaleed , Celik Ozer , Orhan Kaan
Published: March 2024

Objectives

The study aims to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) model based on nnU-Net v2 for automatic maxillary sinus (MS) segmentation in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) volumes and to evaluate the performance of this model.

Methods

In 101 CBCT scans, MS were annotated using the CranioCatch labelling software (Eskisehir, Turkey) The dataset was divided into 3 parts: 80 CBCT scans for training the model, 11 CBCT scans for model validation, and 10 CBCT scans for testing the model. The model training was conducted using the nnU-Net v2 deep learning model with a learning rate of 0.00001 for 1000 epochs. The performance of the model to automatically segment the MS on CBCT scans was assessed by several parameters, including F1-score, accuracy, sensitivity, precision, area under curve (AUC), Dice coefficient (DC), 95% Hausdorff distance (95% HD), and Intersection over Union (IoU) values.

Results

F1-score, accuracy, sensitivity, precision values were found to be 0.96, 0.99, 0.96, 0.96, respectively for the successful segmentation of maxillary sinus in CBCT images. AUC, DC, 95% HD, IoU values were 0.97, 0.96, 1.19, 0.93, respectively.

Conclusions

Models based on nnU-Net v2 demonstrate the ability to segment the MS autonomously and accurately in CBCT images.
‘Global Disordering’: Practices of Reflexivity in Global Economic Governance
Authors: Lang Andrew
Published: March 2024

In this article, I offer a reinterpretation of late 20th-century ‘neo-liberal’ transformations of global economic governance. My argumentative foil is a macro-institutional interpretation of the post-1980s period in which neo-liberalism appears as programmatic institutional form and disciplinary formation. I argue that a second, and complementary, dynamic also needs to be taken into account – namely, the emergence and operationalization of a set of critical technologies for embedding practices of reflexivity within the state. I suggest, moreover, that attention to this dimension of neo-liberalization provides a new perspective on the present. I offer an interpretation of the current moment of transition as one in which a similar repertoire of neo-liberal techniques of reflexivization is, in a second iteration, being trained on the architecture of global economic governance itself.
Trade liberalization, economic activity and political violence in the Global South: evidence from PTAs
Authors: Amodio Francesco , Baccini Leonardo , Chiovelli Giorgio , Di Maio Michele
Published: March 2024

This paper investigates the impact of agricultural trade liberalization on economic activity and political violence in emerging countries. We use data on all preferential trade agreements (PTAs) signed between 25 low- and middle-income countries and their high-income trade partners between 1995 and 2013. We exploit the implied reduction in agricultural tariffs over time combined with variation within countries in their suitability to produce liberalized crops to find that economic activity increases differentially in affected areas. We also find strong positive effects on political violence, and present evidence consistent with both producer- and consumer-side mechanisms: violence increases differentially in more urbanized areas that are suitable to produce less labour-intensive crops as well as crops that are consumed locally. Our estimates imply that economic activity and political violence would have been around 2% and 7% lower, respectively, across countries in our sample had the PTAs not been signed.
Conserved Noncoding Elements Evolve Around the Same Genes Throughout Metazoan Evolution
Authors: Gonzalez Paul , Hauck Quinn C , Baxevanis Andreas D
Published: March 2024

Conserved noncoding elements (CNEs) are DNA sequences located outside of protein-coding genes that can remain under purifying selection for up to hundreds of millions of years. Studies in vertebrate genomes have revealed that most CNEs carry out regulatory functions. Notably, many of them are enhancers that control the expression of homeodomain transcription factors and other genes that play crucial roles in embryonic development. To further our knowledge of CNEs in other parts of the animal tree, we conducted a large-scale characterization of CNEs in more than 50 genomes from three of the main branches of the metazoan tree: Cnidaria, Mollusca, and Arthropoda. We identified hundreds of thousands of CNEs and reconstructed the temporal dynamics of their appearance in each lineage, as well as determining their spatial distribution across genomes. We show that CNEs evolve repeatedly around the same genes across the Metazoa, including around homeodomain genes and other transcription factors; they also evolve repeatedly around genes involved in neural development. We also show that transposons are a major source of CNEs, confirming previous observations from vertebrates and suggesting that they have played a major role in wiring developmental gene regulatory mechanisms since the dawn of animal evolution.
The Costs of Coping: Long-Term Mortality Risk in Aging Men
Authors: Marino Victoria R , Trudel-Fitzgerald Claudia , Aldwin Carolyn M , Spiro Avron , Lee Lewina O
Published: March 2024

Objectives

Prospective associations between coping and all-cause mortality risk are understudied, particularly among nonmedical samples. We assessed independent and joint associations of multiple components of the transactional stress and coping model with all-cause mortality in a cohort of community-dwelling men. We were particularly interested in how coping effort related to mortality.

Methods

Participants included 743 men from the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study who completed 1+ stress and coping assessment in 1993–2002 (baseline age: M = 68.4, standard deviation [SD] = 7.1) and had mortality follow-up through 2020. The Brief California Coping Inventory assessed coping with a past-month stressor. Cox regression evaluated associations of problem stressfulness, coping strategies, total coping effort, and coping efficiency with all-cause mortality risk.

Results

Over a mean follow-up of 16.7 years (SD = 7.1), 473 (64%) men died. Problem stressfulness was not associated with mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98–1.17), adjusted for demographics and health conditions. When examining coping via specific strategies, only social coping was associated with higher mortality risk (HR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.05–1.26) after Bonferroni correction. Total coping effort was associated with 14% greater risk of all-cause mortality (95% CI: 1.04–1.26), independent of problem stressfulness, demographics, and health conditions. Coping efficiency, a benefit–cost ratio of coping efficacy to total coping effort, was not associated with mortality risk in adjusted models.

Discussion

Total coping effort may be an important indicator for longevity among aging men, above and beyond problem stressfulness and specific coping strategies, which have been the foci in prior research.
Contributions and limitations of environmental magnetism to characterize traffic-related particulate matter sources
Authors: Letaïef Sarah , Carvallo Claire , Franke Christine , Isambert Aude , Camps Pierre
Published: March 2024

The chronic exposure to particulate matter (PM) pollution causes societal and environmental issues, in particular in urban areas where most citizen are regularly exposed to vehicular traffic. Since almost two decades, environmental magnetic monitoring has demonstrated its efficiency to successfully map relative concentrations of airborne particle deposition on accumulative surfaces. A better understanding of the magnetic results requires discriminating the main traffic-related sources of the observed signal on particle collectors. To meet this objective, we investigated a sample set of exhaust and non-exhaust sources with respect to their magnetic fingerprints inferred from hysteresis loops, first-order reversal curve (FORC) diagrams, temperature dependency of initial susceptibility and unmixing of isothermal remanent magnetization acquisition curves. The source sample set comprises 14 diesel and gasoline exhaust smoke residues, 12 abrasive-fatigue wear test pieces from worn brake-pads, brake powders, worn tire-tread and three resuspension products: asphalt concrete, street dust and Saharan mineral dust deposited by precipitation after long-range eolian transport. Magnetic properties of the source samples were compared to those from various accumulative surfaces exposed to urban traffic (passive collectors, filters of facemasks for cycling, plant leaves and tree barks). We found some fingerprints of exhaust pipes and brake wear products on these collectors. The findings highlight the relevance of environmental magnetism tools to characterize different traffic-related source signals in accumulative surfaces in urban environment.
China in African American cosmopolitanism, 1919–29
Authors: Zhang Tao
Published: March 2024

The betrayal of the Western powers at the Paris Conference of 1919 directly led to the eruption of extensive anti-imperialism in China. This influenced Chinese politics throughout the 1920s and helped secure the return of tariff autonomy and the start of extraterritoriality talks at the end of the decade. The development, though not prominently anti-racist, struck African American observers as a notable achievement against white supremacy. Including it into their imaginary of a global offensive against racial discrimination, they regarded association with China as a unique opportunity to strengthen themselves and weaken white racists. But because of the ineffectiveness of China, African American reactions stemmed mainly from empathy rather than admiration. China, for its part, served as a resolute co-fighter for racial equality in a relationship of mutual usefulness.
Why we do science—marine ecosystems in context
Authors: Hessen Dag O
Published: March 2024

Any scientific career is a mix of planning and stochastic events, often with a fair share of the latter. I illustrate this by the evolution of my own career. Ecosystem studies of food webs under the impact of eutrophication (Master), and carbon cycling in DOC (Dissolved Organic Carbon)-rich lakes (PhD) led me to elemental ratios in organisms and the establishment of ecological stoichiometry. The role of phosphorus (P) in cellular processes again led to research on the evolution and regulation of genome size. As climate came higher on the agenda, it was time to apply the basic research on the C-cycle and climate in a wider context. As natural scientists, we should also engage in even wider contexts, and I have enjoyed discussions and co-operation with philosophers, psychologist, and social scientists. This helps seeing our own work in context. We should also reflect on why we do science. I have always felt that science should also add purpose to life by giving something back to society, and I have devoted much time to outreach, public talks, debates, and writing popular science books. It takes some time, but it is also rewarding and important—perhaps even more so than yet another paper.
In vitro activity of apramycin (EBL-1003) in combination with colistin, meropenem, minocycline or sulbactam against XDR/PDR Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from Greece
Authors: Galani I , Souli M , Katsala D , Karaiskos I , Giamarellou H , Antoniadou A
Published: March 2024

Objectives

To evaluate the in vitro activity of the combination of apramycin with colistin, meropenem, minocycline or sulbactam, against some well-characterized XDR Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates from Greece, to understand how apramycin can be best incorporated into clinical practice and optimize effectiveness.

Methods

In vitro interactions of apramycin (0.5×, 1× and 2× the MIC value) with colistin (2 mg/L), meropenem (30 mg/L), minocycline (3.5 mg/L) or sulbactam (24 mg/L) were tested using time–kill methodology. Twenty-one clinical A. baumannii isolates were chosen, exhibiting apramycin MICs of 4–16 mg/L, which were at or below the apramycin preliminary epidemiological cut-off value of 16 mg/L. These isolates were selected for a range of colistin (4–32 mg/L), meropenem (16–256 mg/L), minocycline (8–32 mg/L) and sulbactam (8–32 mg/L) MICs across the resistant range. Synergy was defined as a ≥2 log10 cfu/mL reduction compared with the most active agent.

Results

The combination of apramycin with colistin, meropenem, minocycline or sulbactam was synergistic, at least at one of the concentrations of apramycin (0.5×, 1× or 2× MIC), against 83.3%, 90.5%, 90.9% or 92.3% of the tested isolates, respectively. Apramycin alone was bactericidal at 24 h against 9.5% and 33.3% of the tested isolates at concentrations equal to 1× and 2× MIC, while the combination of apramycin at 2× MIC with colistin, meropenem or sulbactam was bactericidal against all isolates tested (100%). The apramycin 2× MIC/minocycline combination had bactericidal activity against 90.9% of the tested isolates.

Conclusions

Apramycin combinations may have potential as a treatment option for XDR/pandrug-resistant (PDR) A. baumannii infections and warrant validation in the clinical setting, when this new aminoglycoside is available for clinical use.
Antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of highly soluble polypyrrole against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Rosa Danillo Sales , Oliveira Samily Aquino de Sá , Souza Renata de Faria Silva , de França Chirles Araujo , Pires Isabelle Caroline , Tavares Márcio Rennan Santos , de Oliveira Helinando Pequeno , da Silva Júnior Fernando Antônio Gomes , Moreira Maria Aparecida Scatamburlo , de Barros Mariana , de Menezes Gustavo Batista , Antunes Maísa Mota , Azevedo Vasco Ariston de Carvalho , Naue Carine Rosa , da Costa Mateus Matiuzzi
Published: March 2024

Aims

The purpose was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of highly soluble polypyrrole (Hs-PPy), alone or combined with oxacillin, as well as its antibiofilm potential against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. Furthermore, the in silico inhibitory mechanism in efflux pumps was also investigated.

Methods and results

Ten clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and two reference strains were used. Antimicrobial activity was determined by broth microdilution, and the combination effect with oxacillin was evaluated by the checkerboard assay. The biofilm formation capacity of MRSA and the interference of Hs-PPy were evaluated. The inhibitory action of Hs-PPy on the efflux pump was evaluated in silico through molecular docking. Hs-PPy showed activity against the isolates, with inhibitory action between 62.5 and 125 µg ml−1 and bactericidal action at 62.5 µg ml−1, as well as synergism in association with oxacillin. The isolates ranged from moderate to strong biofilm producers, and Hs-PPy interfered with the formation of this structure, but not with mature biofilm. There was no in silico interaction with the efflux protein EmrD, the closest homolog to NorA.

Conclusions

Hs-PPy interferes with biofilm formation by MRSA, has synergistic potential, and is an efflux pump inhibitor.
Limited genetic variability and spatial population structure in grasshoppers between natural and metal-contaminated areas in Egypt
Authors: Soliman Mustafa , Almadiy Abdulrhman , Al-Akeel Rasha , Hesselberg Thomas , Mohamed Amr
Published: March 2024

Pollutants in an environment can have long-term implications for the species living there, resulting in local adaptations with implications for their genetic structure. Heavy metal pollutants infiltrate soils and groundwater, bioaccumulate in food webs, and negatively impact biota. In this study, we investigated the degree to which the genetic structure and variability of the slender green-winged grasshopper (Aiolopus thalassinus (Fabricius) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)) were impacted by heavy metal pollution and distance. We used the random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) method to examine the genetic variability of populations in 3 heavy metal-polluted and 3 unpolluted locations across varying geographical distances in Egypt. The heavy metal concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc were measured from the grasshopper tissue and soils. Sixty-nine unique and polymorphic bands were produced by 4 primers. Cluster and principal component analyses separated the populations inside and outside Cairo into 2 main branches, which were further divided into smaller branches corresponding to their geographical regions. We found no differences in the Shannon genetic diversity index between populations or with increasing heavy metal concentrations in either the soil or the grasshopper tissue. Our results showed a greater genetic variation among populations than between populations within the same location, indicating populations within locations were less differentiated than those between locations. The moderate correlation between genetic similarity and spatial distance suggests geographical isolation influenced grasshopper population differentiation. Based on the RAPD analysis, environmental pollutants and geographical distances impact the A. thalassinus population structure, potentially restricting gene flow between sites even at small spatial scales.
‘There seems to be some disparity then between our Syrian and Iraqi refugee children who seemed to have everything’: Constructing ‘good refugees’ and the ensuing equity issues in Australian schools
Authors: Reid Carol , Mourad Zainab
Published: March 2024

Australia took double the normal intake of refugees over 2015–17. On top of the usual humanitarian intake were refugees specifically from Syria and Iraq who were mostly Christian and were settled in metropolitan and regional NSW, Queensland, and Victoria. This article explores the responses of teachers in some of the schools where this cohort was settled. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, it argues that for the Australian population to accept this doubling of humanitarian migration it was important to ensure they were perceived as ‘good refugees’ in a discursive climate shaped by anti-Muslim, anti-refugee and anti-asylum seeker rhetoric. The insights provided in this article aim to support the educational needs and well-being of all refugee students by revealing how discursive positioning can lead to practices and processes of inclusion while simultaneously being exclusionary.
Bayesian modelling of effective and functional brain connectivity using hierarchical vector autoregressions
Authors: Wegmann Bertil , Lundquist Anders , Eklund Anders , Villani Mattias
Published: March 2024

Analysis of brain connectivity is important for understanding how information is processed by the brain. We propose a novel Bayesian vector autoregression hierarchical model for analysing brain connectivity within resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, and apply it to simulated data and a real data set with subjects in different groups. Our approach models functional and effective connectivity simultaneously and allows for both group- and single-subject inference. We combine analytical marginalization with Hamiltonian Monte Carlo to obtain highly efficient posterior sampling. We show that our model gives similar inference for effective connectivity compared to models with a common covariance matrix to all subjects, but more accurate inference for functional connectivity between regions compared to models with more restrictive covariance structures. A Stan implementation of our model is available on GitHub.
Text Messages to Facilitate the Transition to Web-First Sequential Mixed-Mode Designs in Longitudinal Surveys
Authors: Cabrera-Álvarez Pablo , Lynn Peter
Published: March 2024

This article is concerned with the transition of a longitudinal survey from a single-mode design to a web-first mixed-mode design and the role that text messages to sample members can play in smoothing that transition. We present the results of an experiment that investigates the effects of augmenting the contact strategy of letters and emails with text messages, inviting the sample members to complete a web questionnaire and reminding them of the invite. The experiment was conducted in a subsample of Understanding Society, a household panel survey in the United Kingdom, in the wave that transitioned from a CAPI-only design to a sequential design combining web and CATI. In the experiment, a quarter of the sample received letters and emails, while the rest received between one and three text messages with a personalized link to the questionnaire. We examine the effect of the text messages on response rates, both at the web phase of a sequential design and at the end of the fieldwork after a CATI follow-up phase, and explore various mechanisms that might drive the increase in response rates. We also look at the effects on the device used to complete the survey and field efforts needed at the CATI stage. The findings indicate that text messages did not help to significantly increase response rates overall, although some subgroups benefited from them, such as panel members who had not provided an email or postal address before. Likewise, the text messages increased web completion among younger panel members and those with an irregular response pattern. We only found a slight and nonsignificant effect on smartphone use and no effect on the web household response rate, a proxy for fieldwork efforts.
Multiband analyses of the bright GRB 230812B and the associated SN2023pel
Authors: Hussenot-Desenonges T , Wouters T , Guessoum N , Abdi I , Abulwfa A , Adami C , Agüí Fernández J F , Ahumada T , Aivazyan V , Akl D , Anand S , Andrade C M , Antier S , Ata S A , D’Avanzo P , Azzam Y A , Baransky A , Basa S , Blazek M , Bendjoya P , Beradze S , Boumis P , Bremer M , Brivio R , Buat V , Bulla M , Burkhonov O , Burns E , Cenko S B , Coughlin M W , Corradi W , Daigne F , Dietrich T , Dornic D , Ducoin J -G , Duverne P -A , Elhosseiny E G , Elnagahy F I , El-Sadek M A , Ferro M , Le Floc’h E , Freeberg M , Fynbo J P U , Götz D , Gurbanov E , Hamed G M , Hasanov E , Healy B F , Heintz K E , Hello P , Inasaridze R , Iskandar A , Ismailov N , Izzo L , Jhawar S , Jegou du Laz T , Kamel T M , Karpov S , Klotz A , Koulouridis E , Kuin N P , Kochiashvili N , Leonini S , Lu K -X , Malesani D B , Mašek M , Mao J , Melandri A , Mihov B M , Natsvlishvili R , Navarete F , Nedora V , Nicolas J , Odeh M , Palmerio J , Pang P T H , De Pasquale M , Peng H W , Pormente S , Peloton J , Pradier T , Pyshna O , Rajabov Y , Rakotondrainibe N A , Rivet J -P , Rousselot L , Saccardi A , Sasaki N , Schneider B , Serrau M , Shokry A , Slavcheva-Mihova L , Simon A , Sokoliuk O , Srinivasaragavan G , Strausbaugh R , Takey A , Tanvir N R , Thöne C C , Tillayev Y , Melo I Tosta e , Turpin D , de Ugarte Postigo A , Vasylenko V , Vergani S D , Vidadi Z , Xu D , Wang L T , Wang X F , Winters J M , Zhang X -L , Zhu Z
Published: March 2024

GRB 230812B is a bright and relatively nearby (z = 0.36) long gamma-ray burst (GRB) that has generated significant interest in the community and has thus been observed over the entire electromagnetic spectrum. We report over 80 observations in X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and submillimetre bands from the GRANDMA (Global Rapid Advanced Network for Multimessenger Addicts) network of observatories and from observational partners. Adding complementary data from the literature, we then derive essential physical parameters associated with the ejecta and external properties (i.e. the geometry and environment) of the GRB and compare with other analyses of this event. We spectroscopically confirm the presence of an associated supernova, SN2023pel, and we derive a photospheric expansion velocity of v ∼ 17 × 103 km s−1. We analyse the photometric data first using empirical fits of the flux and then with full Bayesian inference. We again strongly establish the presence of a supernova in the data, with a maximum (pseudo-)bolometric luminosity of 5.75 × 1042 erg s−1, at $15.76^{+0.81}_{-1.21}$ d (in the observer frame) after the trigger, with a half-max time width of 22.0 d. We compare these values with those of SN1998bw, SN2006aj, and SN2013dx. Our best-fitting model favours a very low density environment ($\log _{10}({n_{\rm ISM}/{\rm cm}^{-3}}) = -2.38^{+1.45}_{-1.60}$) and small values for the jet’s core angle $\theta _{\rm core} = 1.54^{+1.02}_{-0.81} \ \rm {deg}$ and viewing angle $\theta _{\rm obs} = 0.76^{+1.29}_{-0.76} \ \rm {deg}$. GRB 230812B is thus one of the best observed afterglows with a distinctive supernova bump.
The temperature of the neutral interstellar medium in the Galaxy
Authors: Patra Narendra Nath , Roy Nirupam
Published: March 2024

Atomic Hydrogen-21 cm transition (H i) is an excellent tracer to study and understand the properties of the atomic gas in the Galaxy. Using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, we observed 12 quasar sightlines to detect galactic H i in absorption. We achieve an optical depth rms of ∼1−2 × 10−3, essential to detect the warm neutral medium (WNM). We detect H i absorption in all our sightlines except along 1006+349, for which we set a strict upper limit on the spin temperature as 〈Ts〉 > 570 K. We find around 50 per cent of our sightlines have 〈Ts〉 > 500 K, indicating a WNM dominance. Further, we calculate an upper limit of the cold neutral medium (CNM) fraction along our sightlines and find a median CNM fraction of ∼0.12. With our observations, we reconfirm the existence of a threshold column density of ∼2 × 1020$\rm atoms \, cm^{-2}$ to form CNM in the interstellar medium (ISM). Using a two-temperature model of the H i disc, we explore the distribution of spin temperature in the Galactic ISM. We find that a simple fixed axisymmetric two-temperature model could not produce either the observed column density or the integral optical depth. This indicates the existence of a more complex distribution of spin temperatures in the Galaxy.
The first spectroscopic IR reverberation programme on Mrk 509
Authors: Mitchell J A J , Ward M J , Kynoch D , Santisteban J V Hernández , Horne K , Pott J -U , Esser J , Mercatoris P , Packham C , Ferland G J , Lawrence A , Fischer T , Barth A J , Villforth C , Winkler H
Published: March 2024

Near IR spectroscopic reverberation of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) potentially allows the infrared (IR) broad line region (BLR) to be reverberated alongside the disc and dust continua, while the spectra can also reveal details of dust astro-chemistry. Here, we describe results of a short pilot study (17 near-IR spectra over a 183 d period) for Mrk 509. The spectra give a luminosity-weighted dust radius of 〈Rd,lum〉 = 186 ± 4 light-days for blackbody (large grain dust), consistent with previous (photometric) reverberation campaigns, whereas carbon and silicate dust give much larger radii. We develop a method of calibrating spectral data in objects where the narrow lines are extended beyond the slit width. We demonstrate this by showing our resultant photometric band light curves are consistent with previous results, with a hot dust lag at >40 d in the K band, clearly different from the accretion disc response at <20 d in the z band. We place this limit of 40 d by demonstrating clearly that the modest variability that we do detect in the H and K band does not reverberate on time-scales of less than 40 d. We also extract the Pa β line light curve, and find a lag which is consistent with the optical BLR H β line of ∼70–90 d. This is important as direct imaging of the near-IR BLR is now possible in a few objects, so we need to understand its relation to the better studied optical BLR.
Tracing back the birth environments of Type Ia supernova progenitor stars: a pilot study based on 44 early-type host galaxies
Authors: Kim Young-Lo , Galbany Lluís , Hook Isobel , Kang Yijung
Published: March 2024

The environmental dependence of Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) luminosities is well established, and efforts are being made to find its origin. Previous studies typically use the currently observed status of the host galaxy. However, given the delay time between the birth of the progenitor star and the SN Ia explosion, the currently observed status may differ from the birth environment of the SN Ia progenitor star. In this paper, employing the chemical evolution and accurately determined stellar population properties of 44 early-type host galaxies, we, for the first time, estimate the SN Ia progenitor star birth environment, specifically [Fe/H]Birth and [α/Fe]Birth. We show that [α/Fe]Birth has a $30.4^{\text{+10.6}}_{-10.1}{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ wider range than the currently observed [α/Fe]Current, while the range of [Fe/H]Birth is not statistically different ($17.9^{\text{+26.0}}_{-27.1}{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) to that of [Fe/H]Current. The birth and current environments of [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] are sampled from different populations (p-values of the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test <0.01). We find that light-curve fit parameters are insensitive to [Fe/H]Birth (<0.9σ for the non-zero slope), while a linear trend is observed with Hubble residuals (HRs) at the 2.4σ significance level. With [α/Fe]Birth, no linear trends (<1.1σ) are observed. Interestingly, we find that [α/Fe]Birth clearly splits the SN Ia sample into two groups: SN Ia exploded in [α/Fe]Birth-rich or [α/Fe]Birth-poor environments. SNe Ia exploded in different [α/Fe]Birth groups have different weighted-means of light-curve shape parameters: 0.81 ± 0.33 (2.5σ). They are thought to be drawn from different populations (p-value = 0.01). Regarding SN Ia colour and HRs, there is no difference (<1.0σ) in the weighted-means and distribution (p-value > 0.27) of each [α/Fe]Birth group.
The role of density breaks in driving spiral structure in disc galaxies
Authors: Fiteni Karl , De Rijcke Sven , Debattista Victor P , Caruana Joseph
Published: March 2024

It is well established that stellar discs are destabilized by sharp features in their phase space, driving recurrent spiral modes. We explore the extent to which surface-density breaks in disc galaxies – which represent sharp changes in the gradient of the disc density – drive new spiral modes. We employ linear perturbation theory to investigate how disc breaks alter the eigenmode spectrum of an otherwise pure exponential disc. We find that the presence of a density break gives rise to a set of new, vigorously growing, modes. For a given multiplicity, these edge modes occur in pairs, with closely separated resonances between each pair. The growth rate of edge modes decreases when the break is weakened or moved outward to lower-density regions of the disc. Both down- and up-bending profiles excite edge modes, whose origin can be best understood via the gravitational torques they exert on the underlying disc. When the profile is down-bending (Type II) the faster growing mode is the inner one while in the up-bending (Type III) case the outer mode is faster growing. In both cases, the faster growing mode has a corotation almost coincident with the break. We show that the torques of the edge modes tend to smoothen the break.
Hinduism
Authors: Bakker Freek L.
Published: March 2024

Today the Caribbean counts more than half a million Hindus. Most of them live in Trinidad, but there are also many Hindus living in Guyana and Suriname. Since 1838 they succeeded in reconstructing the religion of their ancestors in their new environment. They started to perform rituals, built temples later, founded Hindu schools, and participated in the political developments of each of these three countries. They had to fight against discrimination. Currently, however, the position of the Hindus is relatively strong. In the course of this reconstruction the form of Hinduism they developed also got a special Caribbean flavor. One of its main characteristics is that it has become a congregational religion with temples fit for congregational worship, meetings, and services.
Espiritismo
Authors: Román Reinaldo
Published: March 2024

This chapter covers the influence of Espiritismo that is evident across religious domains throughout the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Espiritistas, who are the religion’s practitioners, refer to historical genealogies and religious taxonomies that do double duty as moral hierarchies when they proclaim their bona fides. Moreover, espiritistas among nineteenth-century liberals sought to free Spanish Caribbean societies from the constraints of conservatism and Catholicism. The chapter highlights the significance of Casa de las Almas, which is one of Puerto Rico’s best-known groups dedicated to the science and philosophy of Espiritismo. It considers the belief that the living can and should communicate with the spirits of the dead.