bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Patterns of recurring dispensing of guideline antibiotics for uncomplicated urinary tract infection in women over a 5-year period: Longitudinal patterns of recurring dispensings of Dutch guideline UTI antibiotics
Authors: Lelie- van der Zande Rian C , Bouvy Marcel L , Teichert and Martina
Published: September 2020

Background

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most prevalent medical conditions among women seeking primary care. About 20–40% of the women have a UTI recurrence during their lifetime.

Objective

To provide insight in the patterns of recurring annual dispensing for antibiotics commonly used for UTI treatment in women, aged 18 years or older, during a 5-year follow-up period in the Netherlands.

Methods

The Dutch Foundation of Pharmaceutical statistics collects dispensing data from more than 90% of all community pharmacies. Pharmacies with complete data between years 2011 and 2017 were included. Women of age 18 years or older with a first dispensing of nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin, or trimethoprim in 2012 and a dispensing of any medication in 2017 were selected. For each year between 2013 and 2017, the proportions of women with recurring dispensing of nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin or trimethoprim were calculated and stratified for age categories.

Results

Within 1517 eligible community pharmacies, 463 821 women, aged 18 years or older, were dispensed one of the antibiotics in 2012, and 239 292 women still visited the same pharmacy in 2017. About 56% of them received at least one recurring dispensing during 5 years of follow-up. Each year, ~20% of the source population had at least one recurring dispensing. Approximately 2% of the source population had at least one recurring dispensing in each year of follow-up.

Conclusions

Over the 5-year study period, more than 50% of the source population had at least one recurring dispensing for uncomplicated UTI, most of them with at least 1 year without UTI dispensing in between.
Rotifers weaken the efficiency of the cyanobacterium defence against ciliate grazers
Authors: Pajdak-Stós Agnieszka , Fiałkowski Wojciech , Fiałkowska Edyta
Published: September 2020

Cyanobacteria can protect themselves through limited dispersion and by increasing the compactness of the mucilage-covered cyanobacterial mat as well as by producing sheaths covering their trichomes. These features have been used in research to measure their degree of inducible defence. The influence of the presence of the rotifers Lecane inermis on the effectiveness of Phormidium sp. (Ph2) cyanobacterium defence was investigated. Experiments were conducted on the ciliates Pseudomicrothorax dubius and Furgasonia blochmanni, specialised in the ingestion of filamentous cyanobacteria. The most compact were cyanobacterial mats that were subjected exclusively to ciliates and the most dispersed were mats in the presence of rotifers alone. The presence of rotifers feeding on cyanobacterial mucilage led to the decreased effectiveness of the defence in two ways, by increasing the dispersion of cyanobacterial trichomes, thus loosening the cyanobacterial mat, and through the ingestion of the exopolysaccharide material covering the trichomes. As a result, in the presence of rotifers and the high density of ciliates, almost all the trichomes were removed. Moreover, in comparison with other treatments, a higher number of ciliates and rotifers remained active until the end of the experiments. This is the first report to show how rotifers can weaken the defence of cyanobacteria.
Curatorial labour, voice and legacy: Mary Dorothy George and the Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires, 1930–54*
Authors: Baker James , Salway Andrew
Published: September 2020

Between 1930 and 1954 Mary Dorothy George wrote catalogue entries for 12,553 ‘Golden Age’ satirical prints, entries that have become foundational to the historiography of British History in the long eighteenth century. This article examines George as a curatorial voice, an interlocutor between the archived past and her readers. It examines the labour processes that produced George’s contributions to the British Museum’s Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, her writing as a corpus, and her interpretations therein. It is argued that focusing attention on linguistic and procedural choices requires us to rethink the legacy of both this remarkable catalogue and other comparable systems of knowledge organization.
Diethylstilbestrol exposure during pregnancy with primary clear cell carcinoma of the cervix in an 8-year-old granddaughter: a multigenerational effect of endocrine disruptors?
Authors: Gaspari Laura , Paris Françoise , Cassel-Knipping Nathalie , Villeret Julia , Verschuur Arnauld , Soyer-Gobillard Marie-Odile , Carcopino-Tusoli Xavier , Hamamah Samir , Kalfa Nicolas , Sultan Charles
Published: September 2020

To date, vaginal/cervical clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCAC) has not been reported in the granddaughters of women treated with diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy. We present an 8-year-old girl with a history of severe vaginal bleeding who was diagnosed with cervical CCAC. She underwent fertility-sparing surgery and radiotherapy. No sign of recurrence was detected throughout a 10-year follow-up. Her grandmother had received DES therapy during pregnancy with the patient’s mother. Although no direct causal link is demonstrated, this case raises for the first time, the hypothesis of multigenerational effects of DES in girls and strongly suggests the need to follow the granddaughters of DES-treated women.
Whole-Exome Sequencing of Patients With Recurrent HSV-2 Lymphocytic Mollaret Meningitis
Authors: Hait Alon Schneider , Thomsen Michelle M , Larsen Simon M , Helleberg Marie , Mardahl Maibritt , Barfod Toke S , Christiansen Mette , Brandt Christian , Mogensen Trine H
Published: September 2020

Recurrent lymphocytic meningitis, also referred to as Mollaret meningitis, is a rare neurological disease characterized mainly by reactivation of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) from sensory ganglia. However, the underlying host immune determinants and viral factors rendering some individuals unable to maintain HSV-2 latency are largely unknown. We collected a cohort of 15 patients diagnosed with Mollaret meningitis. By whole-exome sequencing we identified rare host genetic variants predicted to be deleterious in molecules involved in (1) ubiquitin-proteasome pathways, (2) the autophagy machinery, and (3) cell proliferation/apoptosis. Moreover, infection of patient cells with HSV-2 or stimulation by virus-derived double-stranded DNA ligands revealed reduced antiviral interferon responses in most patients. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and protective immunity to HSV in the central nervous system, and may ultimately be of importance for identification of targets for development of improved prophylaxis and treatment of this disease.
Occurrence of Accelerated Epigenetic Aging and Methylation Disruptions in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Before Antiretroviral Therapy
Authors: Yang Chen Xi , Schon Emma , Obeidat Ma’en , Kobor Michael S , McEwen Lisa , MacIsaac Julie , Lin David , Novak Richard M , Hudson Fleur , Klinker Hartwig , Dharan Nila , Horvath Steve , Bourbeau Jean , Tan Wan , Sin Don D , Man S F Paul , Kunisaki Ken , Leung Janice M
Published: September 2020

Background

Whether accelerated aging develops over the course of chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or can be observed before significant immunosuppression on is unknown. We studied DNA methylation in blood to estimate cellular aging in persons living with HIV (PLWH) before the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Methods

A total of 378 ART-naive PLWH who had CD4 T-cell counts >500/µL and were enrolled in the Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Therapy trial (Pulmonary Substudy) were compared with 34 HIV-negative controls. DNA methylation was performed using the Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip. Differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in PLWH compared with controls were identified using a robust linear model. Methylation age was calculated using a previously described epigenetic clock.

Results

There were a total of 56 639 DMPs and 6103 DMRs at a false discovery rate of <0.1. The top 5 DMPs corresponded to genes NLRC5, VRK2, B2M, and GPR6 and were highly enriched for cancer-related pathways. PLWH had significantly higher methylation age than HIV-negative controls (P = .001), with black race, low CD4 and high CD8 T-cell counts, and duration of HIV being risk factors for age acceleration.

Conclusions

PLWH before the initiation of ART and with preserved immune status show evidence of advanced methylation aging.
Use of antibiotics to treat humans and animals in Uganda: a cross-sectional survey of households and farmers in rural, urban and peri-urban settings
Authors: Nayiga Susan , Kayendeke Miriam , Nabirye Christine , Willis Laurie Denyer , Chandler Clare I R , Staedke Sarah G
Published: September 2020

Background

Use of antibiotics to treat humans and animals is increasing worldwide, but evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited. We conducted cross-sectional surveys in households and farms in Uganda to assess patterns of antibiotic use among humans and animals.

Methods

Between May and December 2018, a convenience sample of 100 households in Nagongera (rural), 174 households in Namuwongo (urban) and 115 poultry and piggery farms in Wakiso (peri-urban) were selected and enrolled. Using the ‘drug bag’ method, participants identified antibiotics they used frequently and the sources of these medicines. Prevalence outcomes were compared between different sites using prevalence ratios (PRs) and chi-squared tests.

Results

Nearly all respondents in Nagongera and Namuwongo reported using antibiotics to treat household members, most within the past month (74.7% Nagongera versus 68.8% Namuwongo, P = 0.33). Use of metronidazole was significantly more common in Namuwongo than in Nagongera (73.6% versus 40.0%, PR 0.54, 95% CI: 0.42–0.70, P < 0.001), while the opposite was true for amoxicillin (33.3% versus 58.0%, PR 1.74, 95% CI: 1.33–2.28, P < 0.001).Veterinary use of antibiotics within the past month was much higher in Wakiso than in Nagongera (71.3% versus 15.0%, P < 0.001). At both sites, oxytetracycline hydrochloride was the most frequently used veterinary antibiotic, but it was used more commonly in Wakiso than in Nagongera (76.5% versus 31.0%, PR 0.41, 95% CI: 0.30–0.55, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Antibiotics are used differently across Uganda. Further research is needed to understand why antibiotics are relied upon in different ways in different contexts. Efforts to optimize antibiotic use should be tailored to specific settings.
Factors influencing choices of empirical antibiotic treatment for bacterial infections in a scenario-based survey in Vietnam
Authors: Vu Thi Lan Huong , Vu Quoc Dat , Hoang Bao Long , Nguyen Thi Cam Tu , Ta Thi Dieu Ngan , Nadjm Behzad , van Doorn H Rogier
Published: September 2020

Background

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes have been implemented around the world to guide rational use of antibiotics but implementation is challenging, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, including Vietnam. Understanding factors influencing doctors’ prescribing choices for empirical treatment can help design AMS interventions in these settings.

Objectives

To understand doctors’ choices of antibiotics for empirical treatment of common bacterial infections and the factors influencing decision-making.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey among medical professionals applying for a postgraduate programme at Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam. We used a published survey developed for internal medicine doctors in Canada. The survey was self-administered and included four clinical scenarios: (i) severe undifferentiated sepsis; (ii) mild undifferentiated sepsis; (iii) severe genitourinary infection; and (iv) mild genitourinary infection.

Results

A total of 1011/1280 (79%), 683/1188 (57.5%), 718/1157 (62.1%) and 542/1062 (51.0%) of the participants selected combination therapy for empirical treatment in scenarios 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Undifferentiated sepsis (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.46–2.27 and 2.18, 1.51–3.16 compared with genitourinary) and severe infection (1.33, 1.24–1.43 and 1.38, 1.21–1.58 compared with mild) increased the likelihood of choosing a combination therapy and a carbapenem regimen, respectively. Participants with higher acceptable minimum threshold for treatment coverage and young age were also more likely to prescribe carbapenems.

Conclusions

Decision-making in antibiotic prescribing among doctors in Vietnam is influenced by both disease-related characteristics and individual factors, including acceptable minimum treatment coverage. These findings are useful for tailoring AMS implementation in Vietnam and other, similar settings.
A Bayesian framework for estimating the risk ratio of hospitalization for people with comorbidity infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus
Authors: Gao Xiang , Dong Qunfeng
Published: September 2020

Objective

Estimating the hospitalization risk for people with comorbidities infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is important for developing public health policies and guidance. Traditional biostatistical methods for risk estimations require: (i) the number of infected people who were not hospitalized, which may be severely undercounted since many infected people were not tested; (ii) comorbidity information for people not hospitalized, which may not always be readily available. We aim to overcome these limitations by developing a Bayesian approach to estimate the risk ratio of hospitalization for COVID-19 patients with comorbidities.

Materials and Methods

We derived a Bayesian approach to estimate the posterior distribution of the risk ratio using the observed frequency of comorbidities in COVID-19 patients in hospitals and the prevalence of comorbidities in the general population. We applied our approach to 2 large-scale datasets in the United States: 2491 patients in the COVID-NET, and 5700 patients in New York hospitals.

Results

Our results consistently indicated that cardiovascular diseases carried the highest hospitalization risk for COVID-19 patients, followed by diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, and obesity, respectively.

Discussion

Our approach only needs (i) the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and their comorbidity information, which can be reliably obtained using hospital records, and (ii) the prevalence of the comorbidity of interest in the general population, which is regularly documented by public health agencies for common medical conditions.

Conclusion

We developed a novel Bayesian approach to estimate the hospitalization risk for people with comorbidities infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Size optimization methods to approximate equivalent mechanical behaviour in thermoplastics
Authors: Althammer Florian , Ruf Florian , Middendorf Peter
Published: September 2020

This paper investigates the possibility of producing an equivalent structural behaviour of two components each consisting of a different material. This is achieved through the implementation of structural optimizations. It is assumed that the initial structure is produced by conventional injection moulding and the structure to be optimized is 3D printed. For comparison, two material pairings currently used in both processes are considered. As a structural optimization method, thickness optimizations are performed in order to change the resulting cross-section of the prototype. At the beginning, the mechanical problem is formulated analytically and methods for structural optimization are evaluated. With finite element analysis, two methods are presented, which introduce the generation of a variable thickness distribution in rib structures. The first method represents a state-of-the art optimization. Ribs are directly optimized by approximating cross-section forces and moments of the prototype rib and the initial rib. The second method represents a new approach to the optimization of thin-walled structures. Local stress distributions and resulting triaxiality states, which are approximated in an intermediate step, are analysed. A newly developed finite element structure is presented, with which it is possible to generate discrete triaxiality fields and determine the necessary local thickening. This method can be used in order to produce functional prototypes in early design stage. The substituted plastic parts are usually produced by injection moulding, which initially requires a high expenditure of time and money for tool construction. Additive manufacturing represents a solution here to accelerate the development process. However, these 3D-printed prototypes are, regarding the material properties and resulting mechanical behaviour, different to the injection-moulded ones.
TEM observation of compacted DNA of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 using DRAQ5 labeling with DAB photooxidation and osmium black
Authors: Ghosh Ilika , Atsuzawa Kimie , Arai Aoi , Ohmukai Ryuzo , Kaneko Yasuko
Published: September 2020

To visualize the fine structure of compacted DNA of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, which appears at a specific time in the regular light/dark cycle prior to cell division, ChromEM with some modifications was applied. After staining DNA with DRAQ5, the cells were fixed and irradiated by red laser in the presence of 3,3ʹ-diaminobenzidine and subsequently fixed with OsO4. A system with He–Ne laser (633 nm) was set up for efficient irradiation of the bacterial cells in aqueous solution. The compacted DNA was visualized by transmission electron microscopy, in ultrathin sections as electron dense staining by osmium black.
A case of colonic intussusception and obstruction secondary to giant colonic lipoma
Authors: Law Yi Ying , Patel Rhea , Cusick Marianne , Van Eps Jeffrey L
Published: September 2020

Lipomas are benign soft tissue tumors found throughout the body including the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Colonic lipomas are typically asymptomatic, incidentally identified during endoscopy or at the time of autopsy. However, giant lipomas larger than 4 cm usually manifest symptoms such as abdominal pain, obstruction, melena or intussusception. The transverse colon is the least common location for colonic lipoma. We report on a 54-year-old man with acute large bowel obstruction secondary to a long segment colo-colonic intussusception from a giant lipoma originating in the transverse colon. The diagnosis was suggested by advanced imaging and confirmed on endoscopy. He was treated successfully by laparoscopic extended right hemicolectomy with ileocolonic anastomosis. This case highlights the complexity of presentation and surgical management of large bowel obstruction and colonic intussusception, as well as the rare entity of giant colonic lipoma.
The Semantics and Syntax of Stem IV in Soqotri1
Authors: Bulakh M.
Published: September 2020

The present study considers the function of the pattern of the so-called stem IV, primarily associated with causatives, in Soqotri (Modern South Arabian). It focuses on the correlation between the semantics of the source verb and that of the derived verb, examines the semantic classes which are compatible with the causative morpheme, and establishes several factors which influence the employment of stem IV. A special subsection deals with syntax of stem IV verbs.
Evidentiality and Mirativity in Traditional Negev Arabic: Morphological, Lexical and Discourse-Syntactic Strategies
Authors: Henkin Roni
Published: September 2020

Evidentiality as a typological category pertains to the source of information from the speaker's point of view without specifying it. This information may be conveyed as non-witnessed, inferred or surprising (mirative), among other possibilities. Evidentiality strategies and mirativity strategies are usually secondary extensions of other primary functions, such as resultativity. These strategies may be grammatical, syntactic or discursive, and I also include here lexical items with no other function. In Traditional Negev Arabic, as spoken by elderly Bedouin in Southern Israel, grammatical evidentiality was noted in 1992. Since then, however, evidentiality in Arabic has only been recognized in some peripheral dialects in contact with evidential languages. This study analyses the interaction and pragmatic-rhetorical effects of three strategies for evidentiality and mirativity in oral narrative texts in Traditional Negev Arabic: a grammatical strategy via the evidential participle; a lexical strategy via evidential particles; and a discourse-syntactic strategy via presentatives, combining visual evidence with mirativity and often inference. These strategies tend to cluster together in narrative peaks, creating saturated environments of high dramatic tension. Their complex interaction is highly effective in focalizing and achieving pragmatic and rhetorical ends in this under-studied and rapidly disappearing oral narrative tradition.
Novel cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase inhibitors for enhancing grain yield in crop plants and potential applications in the biotechnology industry
Authors: Gupta Manoj Kumar , Gouda Gayatri , Donde Ravindra , Vadde Ramakrishna , Behera Lambodar
Published: September 2020

This article comments on:

Nisler J, Kopečný D, Pěkná Z, Končitíková R, Koprna R, Murvanidze N, Werbrouck SPO, Havlíček L, De Diego N, Wimmer Z, Briozzo P, Moréra S, Zalabák D, Spíchal L, Strnad M. 2021. Diphenylurea-derived cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase inhibitors for biotechnology and agriculture. Journal of Experimental Botany 72, 355–370.
Search for intrinsic NALs in BAL/mini-BAL quasar spectra
Authors: Itoh Daisuke , Misawa Toru , Horiuchi Takashi , Aoki Kentaro
Published: September 2020

Some fraction of narrow absorption lines (NALs) are physically associated to the quasar/host-galaxy materials (i.e. intrinsic NALs) like those of broad absorption lines (BALs) and mini-BALs. The relation between these three types of absorption lines has not been understood yet, however one interpretation is that these absorption features correspond to different inclination angles. In this study, we search for intrinsic NALs in 11 BAL/mini-BAL quasar spectra retrieved from VLT/UVES public archive, in order to test a possible relation of intrinsic NALs and BALs/mini-BALs in the geometry models. We use partial coverage analysis to separate intrinsic NALs from ones which are associated to cosmologically intervening materials like foreground galaxies and intergalactic medium (i.e. intervening NALs). We identify one reliable and two possible intrinsic NAL systems out of 36 NAL systems in 9 BAL/mini-BAL quasar spectra after removing two quasars without clear BAL features. In spite of a small sample size, we placed a lower limit on the fraction of BAL/mini-BAL quasars that have at least one intrinsic C iv NAL ($\sim 33^{+33}_{-18}{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$). This can be interpreted that intrinsic NAL absorbers exist everywhere regardless of inclination angle. We found that one of the intrinsic NAL systems detected in SDSS J121549.80−003432.1 is located at a large radial distance of R > 130 kpc, using a method of photoionization model with ground/excited-state lines. Considering the wide range of intrinsic NAL absorber distribution in inclination angles and radial distances, it suggests that origins and geometry of them are more complicated than we expected.
Radial derivatives as a test of pre-big bang events on the Planck data
Authors: Fernández-Cobos R , Marcos-Caballero A , Martínez-González E
Published: September 2020

Although the search for azimuthal patterns in cosmological surveys is useful to characterize some effects depending exclusively on an angular distance within the standard model, they are considered as a key distinguishing feature of some exotic scenarios, such as bubble collisions or conformal cyclic cosmology (CCC). In particular, the CCC is a non-stardard framework that predicts circular patterns on the cosmic microwave background intensity fluctuations. Motivated by some previous works that explore the presence of radial gradients, we apply a methodology based on the radial derivatives to the latest release of Planck data. The new approach allows exhaustive studies to be performed at all-sky directions at a healpix resolution of Nside = 1024. Specifically, two different analyses are performed focusing on weight functions in both small (up to a 5-deg radius) and large scales. We present a comparison between our results and those shown by An, Meissner & Nurowski (2017) and An et al. (2018). In addition, a possible polarization counterpart of these circular patterns is also analysed for the most promising case. Taking into account the limitations to characterize the significance of the results, including the possibility of suffering a look-elsewhere effect, no strong evidence of the kind of circular patterns expected from CCC is found in the Planck data for either the small or the large scales.
Illuminating dark matter halo density profiles without subhaloes
Authors: Fielder Catherine E , Mao Yao-Yuan , Zentner Andrew R , Newman Jeffrey A , Wu Hao-Yi , Wechsler Risa H
Published: September 2020

Cold dark matter haloes consist of a relatively smooth dark matter component as well as a system of bound subhaloes. It is the prevailing practice to include all mass, including mass in subhaloes, in studies of halo density profiles in simulations. However, often in observational studies satellites are treated as having their own distinct dark matter density profiles in addition to the profile of the host. This difference can make comparisons between theoretical and observed results difficult. In this work, we investigate density profiles of the smooth components of host haloes by excluding mass contained within subhaloes. We find that the density profiles of the smooth halo component (without subhaloes) differ substantially from the conventional halo density profile, declining more rapidly at large radii. We also find that concentrations derived from smooth density profiles exhibit less scatter at fixed mass and a weaker mass dependence than standard concentrations. Both smooth and standard halo profiles can be described by a generalized Einasto profile, an Einasto profile with a modified central slope, with smaller residuals than either a Navarro–Frenk–White or Einasto profile. These results hold for both Milky Way-mass and cluster-mass haloes. This new characterization of smooth halo profiles can be useful for many analyses, such as lensing and dark matter annihilation, in which the smooth and clumpy components of a halo should be accounted for separately.
CancerImmunityQTL: a database to systematically evaluate the impact of genetic variants on immune infiltration in human cancer
Authors: Tian Jianbo , Cai Yimin , Li Yue , Lu Zequn , Huang Jinyu , Deng Yao , Yang Nan , Wang Xiaoyang , Ying Pingting , Zhang Shanshan , Zhu Ying , Zhang Huilan , Zhong Rong , Chang Jiang , Miao Xiaoping
Published: September 2020

Tumor-infiltrating immune cells as integral component of the tumor microenvironment are associated with tumor progress, prognosis and responses to immunotherapy. Genetic variants have been demonstrated to impact tumor-infiltrating, underscoring the heritable character of immune landscape. Therefore, identification of immunity quantitative trait loci (immunQTLs), which evaluate the effect of genetic variants on immune cells infiltration, might present a critical step toward fully understanding the contribution of genetic variants in tumor development. Although emerging studies have demonstrated the determinants of germline variants on immune infiltration, no database has yet been developed to systematically analyze immunQTLs across multiple cancer types. Using genotype data from TCGA database and immune cell fractions estimated by CIBERSORT, we developed a computational pipeline to identify immunQTLs in 33 cancer types. A total of 913 immunQTLs across different cancer types were identified. Among them, 5 immunQTLs are associated with patient overall survival. Furthermore, by integrating immunQTLs with GWAS data, we identified 527 immunQTLs overlapping with known GWAS linkage disequilibrium regions. Finally, we constructed a user-friendly database, CancerImmunityQTL (http://www.cancerimmunityqtl-hust.com/) for users to browse, search and download data of interest. This database provides an informative resource to understand the germline determinants of immune infiltration in human cancer and benefit from personalized cancer immunotherapy.
Horizontally acquired regulatory gene activates ancestral regulatory system to promote Salmonella virulence
Authors: Choi Jeongjoon , Groisman Eduardo A
Published: September 2020

Horizontally acquired genes are typically regulated by ancestral regulators. This regulation enables expression of horizontally acquired genes to be coordinated with that of preexisting genes. Here, we report a singular example of the opposite regulation: a horizontally acquired gene that controls an ancestral regulator, thereby promoting bacterial virulence. We establish that the horizontally acquired regulatory gene ssrB is necessary to activate the ancestral regulatory system PhoP/PhoQ of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) in mildly acidic pH, which S. Typhimurium experiences inside macrophages. SsrB promotes phoP transcription by binding upstream of the phoP promoter. SsrB also increases ugtL transcription by binding to the ugtL promoter region, where it overcomes gene silencing by the heat-stable nucleoid structuring protein H-NS, enhancing virulence. The largely non-pathogenic species S. bongori failed to activate PhoP/PhoQ in mildly acidic pH because it lacks both the ssrB gene and the SsrB binding site in the target promoter. Low Mg2+ activated PhoP/PhoQ in both S. bongori and ssrB-lacking S. Typhimurium, indicating that the SsrB requirement for PhoP/PhoQ activation is signal-dependent. By controlling the ancestral genome, horizontally acquired genes are responsible for more crucial abilities, including virulence, than currently thought.
HIV-1 infection activates endogenous retroviral promoters regulating antiviral gene expression
Authors: Srinivasachar Badarinarayan Smitha , Shcherbakova Irina , Langer Simon , Koepke Lennart , Preising Andrea , Hotter Dominik , Kirchhoff Frank , Sparrer Konstantin M J , Schotta Gunnar , Sauter Daniel
Published: September 2020

Although endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are known to harbor cis-regulatory elements, their role in modulating cellular immune responses remains poorly understood. Using an RNA-seq approach, we show that several members of the ERV9 lineage, particularly LTR12C elements, are activated upon HIV-1 infection of primary CD4+ T cells. Intriguingly, HIV-1-induced ERVs harboring transcription start sites are primarily found in the vicinity of immunity genes. For example, HIV-1 infection activates LTR12C elements upstream of the interferon-inducible genes GBP2 and GBP5 that encode for broad-spectrum antiviral factors. Reporter assays demonstrated that these LTR12C elements drive gene expression in primary CD4+ T cells. In line with this, HIV-1 infection triggered the expression of a unique GBP2 transcript variant by activating a cryptic transcription start site within LTR12C. Furthermore, stimulation with HIV-1-induced cytokines increased GBP2 and GBP5 expression in human cells, but not in macaque cells that naturally lack the GBP5 gene and the LTR12C element upstream of GBP2. Finally, our findings suggest that GBP2 and GBP5 have already been active against ancient viral pathogens as they suppress the maturation of the extinct retrovirus HERV-K (HML-2). In summary, our findings uncover how human cells can exploit remnants of once-infectious retroviruses to regulate antiviral gene expression.
Personalized Nutrition Through The Gut Microbiota: Current Insights And Future Perspectives
Authors: Vandeputte Doris
Published: September 2020

This narrative review discusses how to preserve or increase health through personalized nutritional products and services using microbiome data. In contrast to other reviews, which discuss this subject in the light of metabolic disorders and/or with a nutrition-affects-the-microbiota view, this review takes the perspective that the gut microbiota (GM) affects nutrition. Gut microbes affect host nutritional status through their role in energy harvest and nutrient availability. Consequently, GM modulation could contribute to fulfil nutritional requirements and in this way conquer malnutrition and disease. This review provides an overview of microbiota modulation methods that could be used to improve nutritional status as well as the personalization of these approaches. While some of these methods are immediately applicable, others require more development to assess their feasibility and safety.
Is This Feasible?
Authors: Grisold Andrea , Rieder Maria , Theine Hendrik
Published: September 2020

This chapter presents an analysis of the corpus of newspaper articles focused on how news media engage with themes and issues related to redistribution policies. One frequently posed question in this context concerns the feasibility and effectiveness of enhanced redistribution policies. Another set of questions concern the scope, role, and optimal approach to novel forms of global wealth tax, the redistribution policy most commonly referred to in the corpus of news media discourses. In the effort to unveil the interrelatedness of dominance, power, and control of readership opinion so often manifest in the news media texts, it becomes clear that the use of language is crucial in discourses related to policy options. Thus, this chapter draws on primary research materials to provide distinctive insights on the approach and discourses of the news media in shaping the readers’ knowledge, opinion, or beliefs with respect to the wider potential, role, and scope of redistribution policies. Chapter 9 provides an in-depth analysis of the ways redistribution policies are portrayed within the overall Piketty debate. After a short quantitative section examining what types of redistribution policies are mentioned or discussed, the chapter provides a detailed analysis of the legitimation strategies expressing a negative or a positive stance towards redistribution policies. Finally, the chapter discusses two common themes in the overall corpus: that articles ascribe a highly ambivalent role to the state, and a positive role to the entrepreneur as innovator.
Choreographing in Color
Authors: Perillo J. Lorenzo
Published: September 2020

In Choreographing in Color, J. Lorenzo Perillo investigates the development of Filipino popular dance and performance since the late 20th century. Drawing from nearly two decades of ethnography, choreographic analysis, and community engagement with artists, choreographers, and organizers, Perillo asserts the importance in shifting attention away from the predominant Philippine neoliberal and US imperialist emphasis on Filipinos as superb mimics, heroic migrants, model minorities, and natural dancers, and instead asks: what does it mean for Filipinos to navigate the violent forces of empire and neoliberalism with street dance and hip-hop? Employing critical race, feminist, and performance studies, Perillo analyzes the conditions of possibility that gave rise to Filipino dance phenomena across viral, migrant, theatrical, competitive, and diplomatic performance in the Philippines and diaspora. Advocating for serious engagements with the dancing body, Perillo rethinks a staple of hip-hop’s regulation, the “euphemism,” as a mode of social critique for understanding how folks have engaged with both racial histories of colonialism and gendered labor migration. Figures of euphemism—the zombie, hero, robot, and judge—constitute a way of seeing Filipino hip-hop as contiguous with a multi-racial repertoire of imperial crossing, thus uncovering the ways Black dance intersects Filipino racialization and reframing the ongoing, contested underdog relationship between Filipinos and US global power.
Zombies and Prisoner Rehabilitation
Authors: Perillo J. Lorenzo
Published: September 2020

This chapter looks at how, in 2007, 1,500 inmates in the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) went “viral” with their online rendition of Michael Jackson’s music video “Thriller.” Representing an exercise program aimed at building teamwork and reducing gang activity through dance, the CPDRC’s “Thriller” circulated as performance-based proof of prisoner rehabilitation. This chapter argues that central to the production’s worldwide popularity are narratives of discipline, colonial choreography, and the alterity of Wenjiel Resane, the cross-dressed leading lady. It situates the dance in relation to the African American original, the actions of the prison administrators, and ideologies of Filipino mimicry. This chapter examines how neocolonial and market-oriented reforms fundamentally influenced the social construction of Filipino Otherness presented in the dance and thus shaped its popularity in unexpected ways.
Introduction
Authors: Somin Ilya
Published: September 2020

Ballot box voting has great value, but it also has significant flaws. Individual voters almost never significantly affect the outcome of an election. They therefore have little in the way of meaningful political choice. The insignificance of the individual vote also ensures that ballot box voters have little incentive to become well-informed, and therefore often make poor decisions. Voting with your feet—or “foot voting”—is in many ways a superior alternative. You can vote with your feet between jurisdictions in a federal system, through international migration, and in the private sector. Foot voting offers individuals a chance to make decisions that actually matter. Consequently, foot voters tend to seek out information and use it wisely. The purpose of this book is to show how the advantages of foot voting of all three types make it a powerful tool for expanding political freedom. The last part of the Introduction provides an overview of the remaining chapters in the book.
Conclusion
Authors: Burns Amy M.
Published: September 2020

Technology integration can look different depending on the specific music classroom. Think of technology as a way to reach students who are not being reached with current methods. In addition, think of technology as a tool that can help a student in achieving success in music-making where traditional methods could not. It will never be the end-all-be-all or replace the music educator. However, it can be used to assist all students with active music-making.
Viruses, Plagues, and History
Authors: Oldstone Michael B. A.
Published: September 2020

“Viruses, Plagues, & History” focuses on the effects of viral diseases on human history. Written by an eminent internationally respected virologist, it couples the fabric of history with major concepts developed in virology, immunology, vaccination, and accounts by people who first had, saw and acted at the times these events occurred. Much of the preventive and therapeutic progress (vaccines, antiviral drugs) has been made in the last 60 years. Many of those who played commanding roles in the fight to understand, control and eradicate viruses and viral diseases are (were) personally known to the author and several episodes described in this book reflect their input. The book records the amazing accomplishments that led to the control of lethal and disabling viral diseases caused by Smallpox, Yellow Fever, Measles, Polio, Hepatitis A, B and C, and HIV. These six success stories are contrasted with viral infections currently out of control—COVID-19, Ebola virus, Lassa Fever virus, Hantavirus, West Nile virus, and Zika. Influenza, under reasonable containment at present, but with the potential to revert to a world-wide pandemic similar to 1918–1919 where over 50 million people were killed. The new platforms to develop inhibitory and prophylactic vaccines to limit these and other viral diseases is contrasted to the anti-vaccine movement and the false prophets of autism.
Introduction to the Principles of Immunology
Authors: Oldstone Michael B. A.
Published: September 2020

This chapter discusses how the human immune system combats viruses, either by spontaneously eliminating infections or by becoming stimulated via vaccination to prevent viral diseases. The proteins in viruses and bacteria that trigger an immune response are called antigens or immunogens, and the result of a satisfactory immune response to these antigens is immunity—long-term protection from repeated disease caused by a specific type of virus or bacteria. Similarly, a vaccine primes the immune response by programming it to anticipate and resist future pathogens like those in that particular vaccine. The immune system has evolved to deal with enormous numbers and varieties of every conceivable foreign antigen. However, the immune system must discriminate between foreign antigens, such as viral proteins, that are non-self and those antigens that are self, one’s own proteins (i.e., hormones such as insulin and cell proteins that make up muscle or nerve cells). Ultimately, the success of this system defines an organism’s capacity for survival.
Yellow Fever
Authors: Oldstone Michael B. A.
Published: September 2020

This chapter examines the history of yellow fever, the role it played in shaping slavery in the United States, and its part in the country’s westward expansion. Yellow fever was an endemic disease of West Africa that traveled to the New World and elsewhere aboard trading ships with their cargoes of slaves. The black African peoples, although easily infected, nevertheless withstood the effects in that fewer died from the infection than Caucasians, American Indians, or Asians. Ironically, as smallpox and measles devastated natives along the Caribbean coast and islands, growing numbers of African slaves were brought to replace those plantation laborers. When the value of Africans over natives became apparent, by virtue of the blacks’ resistance to yellow fever, the importation of these Africans increased still further. Because it was so lethal to susceptible humans, yellow fever actually disrupted exploration into the Caribbean. In fact, American expansion became possible only after a team led by Walter Reed arrived in Cuba to combat the disease and prove it was transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
Capabilities
Authors: Tannenbaum Scott , Salas Eduardo
Published: September 2020

Capabilities, one of the seven key drivers of team effectiveness, refers to fairly stable competencies and predispositions that have been shown to consistently contribute to or detract from team effectiveness. While high capability levels don’t ensure success, and adding a “star” won’t always boost performance, a significant lack of capability will hurt team effectiveness. You can’t “team” away a large capability gap. This chapter highlights 11 transportable team capabilities that are beneficial in almost any team including communicating, giving and receiving feedback, dealing with conflict, interpersonal skill, and teamwork savvy. These competencies can be developed over time. Several personal traits are usually related to team effectiveness, including collective orientation, adaptability, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. Three toxic traits, referred to as the dark triad—Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—adversely affect teamwork. Traits are quite difficult to change, so it is worth the effort to choose the right people to join your team.
Cooperation
Authors: Tannenbaum Scott , Salas Eduardo
Published: September 2020

This chapter examines cooperation, the term the authors use to describe attitudes and beliefs that team members have about their team. These attitudes and beliefs are formed based on experiences with their current (and previous) team, and they “emerge” from the other six drivers of team effectiveness. In turn, cooperative attitudes and beliefs can help facilitate collaboration, communication, and cognitions. Four cooperative beliefs consistently impact team effectiveness—trust, psychological safety, collective efficacy, and cohesion. It is important to keep an eye on them, and if you see signs that they might be declining, take prompt action—particularly if team members must rely on one another for the team to be successful. The chapter contains tips for understanding and promoting the formation of cooperative beliefs, for example, how to help build trust and boost psychological safety.
Coordination
Authors: Tannenbaum Scott , Salas Eduardo
Published: September 2020

This chapter is about coordination, or the behaviors that underlie effective teamwork. It is what people often think of when they use the term teamwork. As expected, research shows that whenever team members must rely on one another in any way, coordination matters. This chapter identified four key coordination behaviors that consistently influence team performance: (a) monitoring (maintaining situation awareness), (b) providing back-up/support, (c) adapting; and (d) managing team emotions and conflict. Tips are provided to help team members effectively monitor one another, the team’s performance, and the conditions in which they operate; to enable smoother backup such as assisting or filling in for one another; to encourage constructive adaptation, including how to use team debriefs to make periodic adjustments; and to promote collaborative rather than competitive conflict.
Senior Leaders
Authors: Tannenbaum Scott , Salas Eduardo
Published: September 2020

Senior leaders set the tone for teamwork and collaboration in their organization. Although most employees may not see and talk with senior leaders on a regular basis, research shows that what happens among senior leaders somehow finds its way through the organization. The actions senior leaders take (and don’t take) and the things they say (and don’t say) send signals about whether collaboration is truly valued. This chapter offers 10 pieces of advice for senior leaders who believe that teamwork is an ingredient for business and personal success, and want to reinforce that message. The tips are based on the science of teamwork.
University-Based Consulting Centers as Part of an Industrial-Organizational Master’s Program
Authors: Hein Michael , Moffett Richard G. , Nakai Yoshie
Published: September 2020

This chapter details key considerations for starting and maintaining a consulting center. University-based consulting centers provide unique out-of-classroom training opportunities for students in industrial-organizational psychology master’s programs to develop professional skills. Students work in groups with faculty and peers to provide services to organizational clients. Through the centers, students gain applied experience in project management, proposal writing, and business communications. Key considerations for establishing and maintaining a university-based consulting center include evaluating the needs and readiness of the stakeholders, aligning the centers with the objectives of the program and university, creating the center’s infrastructure to meet the administrative responsibilities, and networking with existing and potential clients.
Transforming Campus Rape Culture
Authors: Crocker Diane , Sibley Marcus A.
Published: September 2020

This chapter explores how rape culture, as a concept, is used to mobilize efforts to reduce campus sexual violence. While rape culture is not simple, institutional responses assume it is. This insight is informed by complexity theory. Rape culture is a complex context that does not respond well to solutions that assume static, cause–effect relationships. The chapter describes a Canadian project that used narrative methods to solicit stories about rape culture from students and invited them to code their own stories and how they would characterize aspects of their experiences. The chapter explores how students make meaning of and understand rape culture in contrast to dominant narratives in research and advocacy. Additionally it explores the students’ stories’ themes to illustrate limitations inherent in current efforts to transform campus rape culture.