bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
HolistIC: Leveraging Hi-C and Whole Genome Shotgun Sequencing for Double Minute Chromosome Discovery
Authors: Hayes Matthew , Nguyen Angela , Islam Rahib , Butler Caryn , Tran Ethan , Mullins Derrick , Hicks Chindo
Published: March 2021

Double minute chromosomes are acentric extrachromosomal DNA artifacts that are frequently observed in the cells of numerous cancers. They are highly amplified and contain oncogenes and drug resistance genes, making their presence a challenge for effective cancer treatment. Algorithmic discovery of double minutes (DM) can potentially improve bench-derived therapies for cancer treatment. A hindrance to this task is that DMs evolve, yielding circular chromatin that shares segments from progenitor double minutes. This creates double minutes with overlapping amplicon coordinates. Existing DM discovery algorithms use whole genome shotgun sequencing in isolation, which can potentially incorrectly classify DMs that share overlapping coordinates. In this study, we describe an algorithm called “ HolistIC” that can predict double minutes in tumor genomes by integrating whole genome shotgun sequencing (WGS) and Hi-C sequencing data. The consolidation of these sources of information resolves ambiguity in double minute amplicon prediction that exists in DM prediction with WGS data used in isolation. We implemented and tested our algorithm on the tandem Hi-C and WGS datasets of three cancer datasets and a simulated dataset. Results on the cancer datasets demonstrated HolistIC’s ability to predict DMs from Hi-C and WGS data in tandem. The results on the simulated data showed the HolistIC can accurately distinguish double minutes that have overlapping amplicon coordinates, an advance over methods that predict extrachromosomal amplification using WGS data in isolation.

Availability

Our software is available athttp://www.github.com/mhayes20/HolistIC.
Increased ACTL6A Occupancy Within mSWI/SNF Chromatin Remodelers Drives Human Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Chang Chiung-Ying , Shipony Zohar , Kuo Ann , Loh Kyle M. , Greenleaf William J. , Crabtree Gerald R.
Published: March 2021

Mammalian SWI/SNF (BAF) chromatin remodelers play dosage-sensitive roles in many human malignancies and neurologic disorders. The gene encoding the BAF subunit, ACTL6A, is amplified at an early stage in the development of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), but its oncogenic role remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that ACTL6A overexpression leads to its stoichiometric assembly into BAF complexes and drives its interaction and engagement with specific regulatory regions in the genome. In normal epithelial cells, ACTL6A was sub-stoichiometric to other BAF subunits. However, increased ACTL6A levels by ectopic expression or in SCC cells led to near-saturation of ACTL6A within BAF complexes. Increased ACTL6A occupancy enhanced polycomb opposition over the genome activating SCC genes and also enhanced the recruitment of transcription factor TEAD with its co-activator YAP, promoting their chromatin binding and enhancer accessibility. Both of these mechanisms appeared to be critical and function as a molecular AND gate for SCC initiation and maintenance, thereby explaining the specificity of the role of ACTL6A amplification in SCCs.

Highlights

ACTL6A occupancy within BAF complexes is sub-stoichiometric in normal epithelial cells.

SCC cells upregulate ACTL6A thus increasing ACTL6A assembly with BAF complexes.

Genome-wide chromatin profiling identifies ACTL6A-dependent regulatory regions.

Increasing ACTL6A incorporation enhances TEAD-YAP binding to BAF complexes.

ACTL6A overexpression counteracts polycomb-mediated repression at SCC signature genes.
Molecular insights into the μ-opioid receptor biased signaling
Authors: Cong Xiaojing , Maurel Damien , Déméné Héléne , Vasiliauskaité-Brooks Ieva , Hagelberger Joanna , Peysson Fanny , Saint-Paul Julie , Golebiowski Jérôme , Granier Sébastien , Sounier Rémy
Published: March 2021

GPCR functional selectivity has opened new opportunities for the design of safer drugs. Ligands orchestrate GPCR signaling cascades by modulating the receptor conformational landscape. Our study provides insights into the dynamic mechanism enabling opioid ligands to preferentially activate the G protein over the β-arrestin pathways through the μ-opioid receptor (μOR). We combined functional assays in living cells, solution NMR spectroscopy and enhanced-sampling molecular dynamic simulations to identify the specific μOR conformations induced by G protein-biased agonists. In particular, we describe the dynamic and allosteric communications between the ligand-binding pocket and the receptor intracellular domains, through conserved motifs in class A GPCRs. Most strikingly, the biased agonists triggered μOR conformational changes in the intracellular loop 1 and helix 8 domains, which may impair β-arrestin binding or signaling. The findings may apply to other GPCR families and provide key molecular information that could facilitate the design of biased ligands.
WINFORT Services: the way forward
Authors: Faraz Naim Mohammad , Fatima Sumbul , Suhail Mohd
Published: March 2021

Learning outcomes

After a thorough analysis of the case, students will be able to do the following: understand the building blocks of incentive structure in an organizational setting. Review the existing incentive structure at WINFORT. Develop effective incentive approaches to motivate employees at workplace. Illustrate the importance of performance management review to motivate employees.

Case overview/synopsis

The case explores the motivational state of a talent acquisition executive or talent scout working for a staffing firm, WINFORT Services in New Delhi, India. The two main characters in the cast are Helena Stacy, the Lead Talent Scout at WINFORT and Sofia Williams, the Talent scout. There was a meeting conducted between Helena and Sofia regarding the latter’s performance review held annually. However, to Sofia’s surprise, she could to get any salary hike this time as she failed to achieve her given targets. This led to a serious altercation between the two and resulted in Sofia started thinking of looking for alternate job opportunities.

Complexity academic level

The case is suitable for any postgraduate course, in particular MBA or MBA executive development program on human resource management, talent management, compensation and benefits, and as a module on motivation in organizational behavior.

Subject code

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

Supplementary materials

In addition, there are more resources available to augment the understanding of the business operations of staffing firms in India. Interested instructors and students are advised to go through these resources to better understand the routine operations of a staffing organization. https://talentcorner.in/how-recruitment-industry-generates-wealth/ https://wowidea.in/how-recruitment-agencies-in-india-works/ https://www.michaelpage.be/about-us/our-recruitment-process?fbclid=iwar0ftzztbzm5afvdwv_oyvp1f1p8zgpuflrbt8z6yg9zakm5c0kaoaom6ha
Leadership through differentiation: Hero’s journey with Niloy Motors in the motorcycle industry of Bangladesh
Authors: Absar Mir Mohammed Nurul , Srivastava Ritu , Akhter Sadia
Published: March 2021

Learning outcomes

This case study can be taught in the core courses on marketing management and strategic management at the postgraduate level management programmes. This case would facilitate students’ to appreciate the context of a business-level strategy in congruence with the firm’s corporate goals in an emerging market. This case study discussion will enable students to: understand and appreciate the opportunities and the nature of the emerging market, explain the strategic decisions that can impact the survival of the global brands in new markets, explain different types of business-level strategy and their appropriate application, synthesise various industry and market-related information into the selection and justification of any particular business-level strategy and learn the technique of perceptual mapping.

Case overview/synopsis

Hero MotoCorp Limited of India; the world’s number one motorcycle company by volume, established its second global manufacturing facility in Bangladesh in 2018 with the Nitol-Niloy Group. A sister concern, Niloy Motors Limited (NML), had been in charge of the marketing, distribution and sales of the brand “Hero”. Abu Aslam, as the Chief Marketing Officer of NML soon had to confront this fast-paced and highly competitive motorcycle market of Bangladesh. He needed to meet the corporate goal of becoming the market leader by the year 2025. On the one hand, Hero was comparatively a late entrant; on the other hand, the market accommodated almost all popular global brands such as Bajaj, TVS and Honda. The high growth economy with a rising middle class and a favourable government policy had made the Bangladeshi motorcycle industry quite lucrative for the global manufacturers. Upon its entrance, Hero found a price-sensitive market where it soon became number two by adopting the cost-leadership strategy. However, the incessant price-cutting by the players led to the price war, and every company was losing profit. The resulting situation had created a strong challenge for Aslam as achieving the market leadership through cost-leadership seemed to be an impractical strategy. Towards the end of the 2019–2020 sales-year, Aslam introduced a new variant of Splendor Plus to the entry cc segment with some new features and a slightly higher price. Receiving a significant positive customer response, Aslam was seriously considering sailing away from cost-leadership. Now, Aslam was in a dilemma as he needed to choose from the three alternatives of adopting the differentiation strategy, namely, differentiation, focussed differentiation and broad differentiation.

Complexity academic level

Not applicable.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy.
The role of sustainability in media and communication studies’ curricula throughout Europe
Authors: Karmasin Matthias , Voci Denise
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This research aims to analyze to what extent sustainability and its related core aspects are integrated in media and communication's curricula of higher education institutions in Europe.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of n = 1068 bachelor and master’s degree programs, as well as their related curricula/program specifications, from 28 European countries were analyzed by means of content analysis.

Findings

Results show that the level of curricular integration of sustainability aspects in the field of media and communication is low (14%) to very low (6%) on module level. In most cases, sustainability remains an abstract guiding principle that is not translated into a dedicated course offer. This can indicate the difficulty of operationalizing such a concept as sustainability, which is experienced by not only higher education institutions but also policy and society as a whole. In addition, the results leave space for a reflection on the social and educational responsibility of higher education institutions.

Research limitations/implications

The authors are aware that not all teaching (content) is depicted in curricula. Especially where teaching is research-based, The authors assume that sustainability (communication) is more present as the curricula' analysis can represent it. In addition, the fact of solely investigating English language curricula can be seen as a further limitation.

Originality/value

This research is one of the few attempts to verify the actual integration level of sustainability aspects in the curricula of a specific sustainability-relevant discipline, which is neither conducted as a case study nor as a single-country analysis.
Schumpeter’s creative destruction and the credit crunch of 2007–2008: an Islamic banking perspective
Authors: Norton Simon D. , Molla Imeny Vahid
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to compare products traded in secular and Islamic banking environments prior to the credit crunch of 2007–2008; to locate the comparison in a Schumpeterian model of creative destruction of dynamic innovation in the capital markets; and to evaluate the implications for diversity of investor product choice.

Design/methodology/approach

Financial products are critiqued using qualitative criteria, including underestimation of risk implicit in mortgage-backed securities and securitisation, excessive speculative activity in credit default swaps and the magnification of leverage and volatility. Comparable Islamic products are considered for the extent to which they facilitate the same precursors of market crises.

Findings

Innovation in secular financial markets has traditionally led to asset bubbles, underestimation of risks and market exuberance. Islamic banking constrains creativity by prohibiting risk transference and disconnection of financing activity from social context and economic purpose. As such, the latter reduces Schumpeterian creative destruction but at the cost of reduced investor choice and market liquidity. Restriction of the reallocation of risk between those who do not wish to hold it and those who do dampens innovation but would have prevented the trading of products which contributed to the credit crunch.

Originality/value

The constraining effect of Islamic banking upon creativity and innovation is considered alongside its capacity to reduce market volatility, speculation and systemic instability. Schumpeterian theory deepens the analysis in terms of the drivers of innovation and market collapse.
From the desert to the city: how is Dubai branding itself through sustainable sport events?
Authors: Swart Kamilla , Cazorla Milla Asli , Mataruna-Dos-Santos Leonardo Jose
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of how the city of Dubai branded itself as a major event holder for sustainable sporting events in the Gulf Region.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses both academic and trade literature as well as key informant interviews to demonstrate how Dubai can sustain its position as a choice for sustainable sporting events. The study evaluates the use of a portfolio of major sport events for place event marketing of Dubai. Both primary and secondary data were used. The secondary data was collected from a range of event reports, media and journal articles. The primary data featured a qualitative design of key informant interviews with sport, tourism and event stakeholders in Dubai.

Findings

Dubai hosts a wide array of major international sport events, with many of them recurring annually. The key success factors that have positioned Dubai as a globally competitive sport destination are tourism attractiveness, good event management and the diversity of events hosted in the region. However, the sustainability aspects are considered to be a contemporary topic to promote these events and are sometimes neglected from the perspective of event organisation. Some of the challenges experienced in supporting such a wide portfolio of major sport events are examined.

Research limitations/implications

Insufficient key informant interviews were a major limitation for the data collection process. The key informant interviews were sent out to more than 30 key stakeholders however it was not possible to get their responses in time for our paper. A second limitation was the lack of first-hand observation on the sporting events’ sustainability practices. This study could be extended in future by incorporating a bigger set of primary data, event observations and a cross comparison between other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Practical implications

It is recommended that empirical insights on social and commercial aspects of sustainability are sought in future studies. It is also recommended that investigations be conducted with the residents of Dubai concerning their perceptions of sustainability practices of sport events.

Social implications

The paper also highlighted the importance of key success factors that have helped to position Dubai as a globally competitive sustainable sport destination as well as some of the challenges experienced in supporting such a wide portfolio of major sport events.

Originality/value

This study takes a closer look at the challenges of communication as well as the sustainability of sport events in branding of Dubai.
Outcomes reported in evaluations of programs designed to improve health in Indigenous people
Authors: Chando Shingisai , Howell Martin , Young Christian , Craig Jonathan C. , Eades Sandra J. , Dickson Michelle , Howard Kirsten
Published: March 2021

Objective

To assess the outcomes reported and measured in evaluations of complex health interventions in Indigenous communities.

Data Sources

We searched all publications indexed in MEDLINE, PreMEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, EconLit, and CINAHL until January 2020 and reference lists from included papers were hand‐searched for additional articles.

Study Design

Systematic review.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

We included all primary studies, published in peer‐reviewed journals, where the main objective was to evaluate a complex health intervention developed specifically for an Indigenous community residing in a high‐income country. Only studies published in English were included. Quantitative and qualitative data were extracted and summarized.

Principal Findings

Of the 3523 publications retrieved, 62 evaluation studies were included from Australia, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Most studies involved less than 100 participants and were mainly adults. We identified outcomes across 13 domains: clinical, behavioral, process‐related, economic, quality of life, knowledge/awareness, social, empowerment, access, environmental, attitude, trust, and community. Evaluations using quantitative methods primarily measured outcomes from the clinical and behavioral domains, while the outcomes reported in the qualitative studies were mostly from the process‐related and empowerment domains.

Conclusion

The outcomes from qualitative evaluations, which better reflect the impact of the intervention on participant health, remain different from the outcomes routinely measured in quantitative evaluations. Measuring the outcomes from qualitative evaluations alongside outcomes from quantitative evaluations could result in more relevant evaluations to inform decision making in Indigenous health.
Predictors of varying levels of risks posed by fixated individuals to British public figures
Authors: Gill Paul , Corner Emily , Farnham Frank , Wilson Simon , Marchment Zoe , Taylor Alice , Taylor Richard , James David
Published: March 2021

Concerning approaches and communications to the Royal Family and other British public figures are relatively numerous. This paper examines over 2000 such cases logged over a three‐year period in the United Kingdom. Using police and health data, the paper conducts a series of bivariate and multivariate analyses to demonstrate the predictors of what types of risk are posed by an individual case (e.g., communicate only, approach, security breach). The results showed that (a) the rates of serious mental disorders are higher among this sample than the general population base rate, (b) approachers were significantly more likely than communicators to suffer from serious mental disorders, (c) approachers were significantly more likely than communicators to have a history of substance use and abuse problems, (d) approachers were significantly more likely than communicators to have a history of violent behavior against property and persons, and (e) the motivations of approachers and communicators significantly differ. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications for threat assessment and management.
hiphop: Improved paternity assignment among close relatives using a simple exclusion method for biallelic markers
Authors: Cockburn Andrew , Peñalba Joshua V. , Jaccoud Damian , Kilian Andrzej , Brouwer Lyanne , Double Michael C. , Margraf Nicolas , Osmond Helen L. , Kruuk Loeske E. B. , van de Pol Martijn
Published: March 2021

Assignment of parentage with molecular markers is most difficult when the true parents have close relatives in the adult population. Here, we present an efficient solution to that problem by extending simple exclusion approaches to parentage analysis with single nucleotide polymorphic markers (SNPs). We augmented the previously published homozygote opposite test (hot), which counts mismatches due to the offspring and candidate parent having different homozygous genotypes, with an additional test. In this case, parents homozygous for the same SNP are incompatible with heterozygous offspring (i.e., “Homozygous Identical Parents, Heterozygous Offspring are Precluded”: hiphop). We tested this approach in a cooperatively breeding bird, the superb fairy‐wren, Malurus cyaneus, where rates of extra‐pair paternity are exceptionally high, and where paternity assignment is challenging because breeding males typically have first‐order adult relatives in their neighbourhood. Combining the tests and conditioning on the maternal genotype with a set of 1376 autosomal SNPs always allowed us to distinguish a single most likely sire from his relatives, and also to identify cases where the true sire must have been unsampled. In contrast, if just the hot test was used, we failed to identify a single most‐likely sire in 2.5% of cases. Resampling enabled us to create guidelines for the number of SNPs required when first‐order relatives coexist in the mating pool. Our method, implemented in the R package hiphop, therefore provides unambiguous parentage assignments even in systems with complex social organisation. We also identified a suite of Z‐ and W‐linked SNPs that always identified sex correctly.
Tracing evolutionary history and admixture in mixed‐ploidy systems
Authors: Kolář Filip
Published: March 2021

Polyploidy, resulting from whole genome duplication, is a widespread phenomenon throughout Eukaryotic kingdoms. It is estimated that 15% of speciation events in plants is due to polyploidization and 16% of plant species encompass ploidy variation. In spite of the evolutionary and economic significance of polyploidy, there is a limited set of tools that would allow routine population genetic and genomic analysis of polyploid systems, in particular for the inference of population diversity and differentiation from large genome‐wide data sets (Dufresne et al., 2014; Meirmans, 2020). Such a shortage is striking especially when compared to the rapid development of such tools in diploid systems over the last decade. Consequently, population genomic research in polyploids is still lagging behind diploids, especially in autopolyploids, for example, polyploids with multiple (>2) similar genome copies. In this issue of Molecular Ecology Resources, Shastry et al. (2021) develops the first software specifically designed to infer population structure and ancestry in large genome‐wide mixed‐ploidy data sets, opening novel opportunities for polyploid population genomic analysis.
Imputation of incomplete large‐scale monitoring count data via penalized estimation
Authors: Dakki Mohamed , Robin Geneviève , Suet Marie , Qninba Abdeljebbar , El Agbani Mohammed A. , Ouassou Asmâa , El Hamoumi Rhimou , Azafzaf Hichem , Rebah Sami , Feltrup‐Azafzaf Claudia , Hamouda Naoufel , Ibrahim Wed A. L. , Asran Hosni H. , Elhady Amr A. , Ibrahim Haitham , Etayeb Khaled , Bouras Essam , Saied Almokhtar , Glidan Ashrof , Habib Bakar M. , Sayoud Mohamed S. , Bendjedda Nadjiba , Dami Laura , Deschamps Clemence , Gaget Elie , Mondain‐Monval Jean‐Yves , Defos du Rau Pierre
Published: March 2021

In biodiversity monitoring, large datasets are becoming more and more widely available and are increasingly used globally to estimate species trends and conservation status. These large‐scale datasets challenge existing statistical analysis methods, many of which are not adapted to their size, incompleteness and heterogeneity. The development of scalable methods to impute missing data in incomplete large‐scale monitoring datasets is crucial to balance sampling in time or space and thus better inform conservation policies.

We developed a new method based on penalized Poisson models to impute and analyse incomplete monitoring data in a large‐scale framework. The method allows parameterization of (a) space and time factors, (b) the main effects of predictor covariates, as well as (c) space–time interactions. It also benefits from robust statistical and computational capability in large‐scale settings.

The method was tested extensively on both simulated and real‐life waterbird data, with the findings revealing that it outperforms six existing methods in terms of missing data imputation errors. Applying the method to 16 waterbird species, we estimated their long‐term trends for the first time at the entire North African scale, a region where monitoring data suffer from many gaps in space and time series.

This new approach opens promising perspectives to increase the accuracy of species‐abundance trend estimations. We made it freely available in the r package ‘lori’ (https://CRAN.R‐project.org/package=lori) and recommend its use for large‐scale count data, particularly in citizen science monitoring programmes.
The Na/K‐ATPase α1/Src interaction regulates metabolic reserve and Western diet intolerance
Authors: Kutz Laura C. , Cui Xiaoyu , Xie Jeffrey X. , Mukherji Shreya T. , Terrell Kayleigh C. , Huang Minqi , Wang Xiaoliang , Wang Jiayan , Martin Adam J. , Pessoa Marco T. , Cai Liquan , Zhu Hua , Heiny Judith A. , Shapiro Joseph I. , Blanco Gustavo , Xie Zijian , Pierre Sandrine V.
Published: March 2021

Aim

Highly prevalent diseases such as insulin resistance and heart failure are characterized by reduced metabolic flexibility and reserve. We tested whether Na/K‐ATPase (NKA)‐mediated regulation of Src kinase, which requires two NKA sequences specific to the α1 isoform, is a regulator of metabolic capacity that can be targeted pharmacologically.

Methods

Metabolic capacity was challenged functionally by Seahorse metabolic flux analyses and glucose deprivation in LLC‐PK1‐derived cells expressing Src binding rat NKA α1, non‐Src‐binding rat NKA α2 (the most abundant NKA isoform in the skeletal muscle), and Src binding gain‐of‐function mutant rat NKA α2. Mice with skeletal muscle‐specific ablation of NKA α1 (skα1−/−) were generated using a MyoD:Cre‐Lox approach and were subjected to treadmill testing and Western diet. C57/Bl6 mice were subjected to Western diet with or without pharmacological inhibition of NKA α1/Src modulation by treatment with pNaKtide, a cell‐permeable peptide designed by mapping one of the sites of NKA α1/Src interaction.

Results

Metabolic studies in mutant cell lines revealed that the Src binding regions of NKA α1 are required to maintain metabolic reserve and flexibility. Skα1−/− mice had decreased exercise endurance and mitochondrial Complex I dysfunction. However, skα1−/− mice were resistant to Western diet‐induced insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, a protection phenocopied by pharmacological inhibition of NKA α1‐mediated Src regulation with pNaKtide.

Conclusions

These results suggest that NKA α1/Src regulatory function may be targeted in metabolic diseases. Because Src regulatory capability by NKA α1 is exclusive to endotherms, it may link the aerobic scope hypothesis of endothermy evolution to metabolic dysfunction.
Combining ethics and compliance: A systems psychodynamic inquiry into praxis and outcomes
Authors: de Klerk Jeremias J.
Published: March 2021

Notwithstanding empirical evidence that combining ethics and compliance into one function or programme is likely to erode an ethical culture in organisations, the praxis to coalesce ethics and compliance conceptually and structurally remains attractive and continues in many organisations. Drawing on systems psychodynamic theory, this study enquires into unconscious complexities and drivers that may contribute to adverse consequences when combining ethics and compliance. Whereas previous research demonstrates that compliance dominates ethics because of self‐regulation issues, this research provides deeper insight into why this happens. On explicating the unconscious dynamics that underlie the apparent lure of combination, it becomes clear that this praxis remains attractive because of its function to repress anxieties, maintain phantasies, and provide psychological comfort. In recognising the role of unconscious dynamics in the decision to combine ethics and compliance and the consequences thereof, cognition of this combination and its outcomes is moved beyond a conscious rational process. This elucidates the commanding opposing unconscious forces potentially at play in this decision. Insights could lessen adverse outcomes by prompting organisations to think of the combination of ethics and compliance as unconsciously motivated systemic processes that require sincere consideration before pursuing them.
The Galápagos Islands: biogeographic patterns and geology
Authors: Heads Michael , Grehan John R.
Published: March 2021

In the traditional biogeographic model, the Galápagos Islands appeared a few million years ago in a sea where no other islands existed and were colonized from areas outside the region. However, recent work has shown that the Galápagos hotspot is 139 million years old (Early Cretaceous), and so groups are likely to have survived at the hotspot by dispersal of populations onto new islands from older ones. This process of metapopulation dynamics means that species can persist indefinitely in an oceanic region, as long as new islands are being produced. Metapopulations can also undergo vicariance into two metapopulations, for example at active island arcs that are rifted by transform faults. We reviewed the geographic relationships of Galápagos groups and found 10 biogeographic patterns that are shared by at least two groups. Each of the patterns coincides spatially with a major tectonic structure; these structures include: the East Pacific Rise; west Pacific and American subduction zones; large igneous plateaus in the Pacific; Alisitos terrane (Baja California), Guerrero terrane (western Mexico); rifting of North and South America; formation of the Caribbean Plateau by the Galápagos hotspot, and its eastward movement; accretion of Galápagos hotspot tracks; Andean uplift; and displacement on the Romeral fault system. All these geological features were active in the Cretaceous, suggesting that geological change at that time caused vicariance in widespread ancestors. The present distributions are explicable if ancestors survived as metapopulations occupying both the Galápagos hotspot and other regions before differentiating, more or less in situ.
Association between serum arsenic and oral cancer risk: A case‐control study in southeast China
Authors: Chen Qing , Qiu Yu , Chen Lin , Lin Jing , Yan Ling‐jun , Bao Xiao‐dan , Lin Li‐song , Pan Li‐zhen , Shi Bin , Zheng Xiao‐yan , Chen Fa , He Bao‐chang , Wang Jing , Liu Feng‐qiong
Published: March 2021

Objectives

Evidence on serum arsenic and oral cancer risk was limited. We aimed to evaluate the association between serum arsenic and the risk of oral cancer in a southeast China population.

Methods

Serum arsenic was determined for 325 oral cancer patients and 648 controls using inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS). Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline were analysed the association between serum arsenic level and oral cancer risk, and crude and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated. Factors adjusted for included age, gender, BMI, smoking, drinking, education, residence, marital status and dietary factors. Stratification analysis was further performed according to drinking, smoking and dietary characteristics.

Results

Serum arsenic level was lower in the case group (P50 = 19.2μg/L, IQR = 11.6 ~ 26.4μg/L) than in the control group (P50 = 30.2 μg/L, IQR = 25.0 ~ 36.4 μg/L). An inverse but nonlinear association was observed between arsenic level and oral cancer risk by restricted cubic spline. These with moderate serum arsenic levels had a lower risk of oral cancer than those with low levels (OR = 0.11; 95%CI: 0.07‐0.18), after adjusting for demographic and dietary intake factors. We also kept serum arsenic as a continuous variable in a regression model, where a similar inverse association between arsenic and oral cancer was observed, with OR = 0.86 (95%CI: 0.84‐0.88). Stratification analysis revealed no significant multiplicative interactions between serum arsenic and smoking, drinking or dietary intake.

Conclusion

Serum arsenic is inversely related to oral cancer risk. Relative to those with low levels of arsenic, people with moderate serum arsenic levels had a lower risk of oral cancer. If confirmed, serum arsenic level may be a useful predictive marker for oral cancer risk.
Validation of InBody 770 bioelectrical impedance analysis compared to a four‐compartment model criterion in young adults
Authors: Brewer Gabrielle J. , Blue Malia N.M. , Hirsch Katie R. , Saylor Hannah E. , Gould Lacey M. , Nelson Alyson G. , Smith‐Ryan Abbie E.
Published: March 2021

Background

Multi‐frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (MF‐BIA) offers enhanced body composition outcomes in a time‐efficient manner. The accuracy of stand‐up MF‐BIA compared against a four‐compartment (4C) criterion lacks evidence.

Objectives

To validate a stand‐up MF‐BIA compared to a 4C criterion for fat mass (FM), fat‐free mass (FFM) and body fat percentage (%fat).

Subjects/Methods

Eighty‐two healthy (32% men) normal‐weight (BMI: 18.5–24.9 kg/m2) young adults were measured for body composition determined from a stand‐up MF‐BIA and 4C model. Validity statistics included total error (TE) and standard error of the estimate (SEE) to examine prediction error between methods.

Results

For the total sample, prediction error was the highest for %fat (TE = 4.2%; SEE = 3.9%) followed by FM (TE = 2.4 kg; SEE = 2.2 kg) and FFM (TE = 2.4 kg; SEE = 2.2 kg). In men, %fat (TE = 2.5%; SEE = 2.2%) and FM (TE = 1.9 kg; SEE = 1.6 kg) were ideal; FFM was similar to FM (TE = 1.9 kg; SEE = 1.6 kg). In women, %fat (TE = 4.7%; SEE = 4.4%) ranged from good to fairly good, and FM was very good to excellent (TE = 2.6 kg; SEE = 2.4 kg); FFM was similar to FM (TE = 2.6 kg; SEE = 2.3 kg).

Conclusions

Stand‐up MF‐BIA may overestimate %fat and FM, and underestimate FFM compared to a 4C model. FM and FFM estimates from MF‐BIA demonstrate good agreement to a 4C model and may be a practical measure of body composition in normal‐weight adults. The highest error was seen in %fat for both sexes, with greater error in women.
Sputum processing by mechanical dissociation: A rapid alternative to traditional sputum assessment approaches
Authors: Barber Clair , Lau Laurie , Ward Jonathan A. , Daniels Thomas , Watson Alastair , Staples Karl J. , Wilkinson Tom M. A. , Howarth Peter H.
Published: March 2021

Background

Sputum cytology is currently the gold standard to evaluate cellular inflammation in the airways and phenotyping patients with airways diseases. Sputum eosinophil proportions have been used to guide treatment for moderate to severe asthma. Furthermore, raised sputum neutrophils are associated with poor disease control and impaired lung function in both asthma and COPD and small airways disease in cystic fibrosis. However, induced‐sputum analysis is subjective and resource heavy, requiring dedicated specialist processing and assessment; this limits its utility in most clinical settings. Indirect blood eosinophil measures have been adopted in clinical care. However, there are currently no good peripheral blood biomarkers of airway neutrophils. A resource‐light sputum processing approach could thus help integrate induced sputum more readily into routine clinical care. New mechanical disruption (MD) methods can rapidly obtain viable single cell suspensions from sputum samples.

Aims

The aim of this study was to compare MD sputum processing to traditional methods for cell viability, granulocyte proportions and sputum cytokine analysis.

Methods

Sputum plugs were split and processed using traditional methods and the MD method, and samples were then compared.

Results

The MD method produced a homogeneous cell suspension in 62 s; 70 min faster than the standard method used. No significant difference was seen between the cell viability (p = 0.09), or the concentration of eosinophils (p = 0.83), neutrophils (p = 0.99) or interleukin‐8 (p = 0.86) using MD.

Conclusion

This cost‐effective method of sputum processing could provide a more pragmatic, sustainable means of directly monitoring the airway milieu. Therefore, we recommend this method be taken forward for further investigation.
Mitral commissural prolapse
Authors: Papadimitraki Eva D. , Patrianakos Alexandros , Pitsis Antonios , Marketou Maria , Zacharaki Angeliki , Parthenakis Fragiskos
Published: March 2021

Mitral commissural prolapse or flail, either isolated or combined with more extensive degenerative valve disease, imposes several challenges both on its diagnosis and management while being a risk factor for valve reoperation after mitral valve repair. Accurate identification of the prolapsing segment is often not feasible with transthoracic 2D echocardiography, with transesophageal 3D imaging then required for correct diagnosis and surgical planning. Various surgical techniques employed alone or in combination have yielded good results in the repair of commissural prolapse. Herein, we analyze the specific characteristics of commissural disease focusing our attention on 2D and 3D echocardiographic findings and we briefly comment on techniques employed for surgical correction of the disease.
Legislating for profit and optimal Eighth‐Amendment review
Authors: Mungan Murat C. , Miceli Thomas J.
Published: March 2021

We compare a net‐revenue maximizing legislator's criminalization and punishment decisions to the optimal choices. The legislator over‐criminalizes and over‐punishes all criminalized acts when the degree to which it internalizes harms from crimes increases proportionally with the harm. An analysis of Eighth‐Amendment review, in the form of upper‐bounds on fines, reveals that it can both reduce fines to their optimal levels and remove the legislator's incentives to inefficiently criminalize low‐harm acts in the first place. These results provide a rationale for asymmetric judicial review wherein upper‐bounds are imposed on punishment, but lower‐bounds are not.
The longer the better? Trade‐offs in fisheries stock assessment in dynamic ecosystems
Authors: Zhang Fan , Reid Kevin B. , Nudds Thomas D.
Published: March 2021

Environmental change and anthropogenic activity, alone or in combination, may cause vital rates of fish populations to exhibit low‐frequency, large‐magnitude variation leading to non‐stationary population processes in inherently dynamic ecosystems. It remains unclear why, when and, so, whether, non‐stationary population processes should be taken into account in fisheries stock assessment models. Here, we clarify the necessity and conditions for including non‐stationary population processes in stock assessment models. Specifically, the convention of treating population vital rates with constant parameters might be unreliable under regime shifts characterized by low‐frequency, large‐magnitude variation in drivers of fish population dynamics. We hypothesized and simulated effects of a U‐shaped trade‐off between the length of time‐series data and model estimation error for fish populations exhibiting non‐stationary dynamics. In the case of low‐frequency, large‐magnitude variation, when measurement errors were small, the effects of non‐stationary population processes were stronger than otherwise. Including time‐varying parameters of population vital rates in the assessment model resolved this dilemma as anticipated, albeit at the cost of increased model complexity, suggesting that accounting for non‐stationarity with time‐varying parameters alone may not be sufficient to improve stock assessments and other approaches should also be considered.
Factor VIII concentrate dosing with lean body mass, ideal body weight and total body weight in overweight and obesity: A randomized, controlled, open‐label, 3 × 3 crossover trial
Authors: Seaman Craig D. , Yabes Jonathan G. , Lalama Christina M. , Ragni Margaret V.
Published: March 2021

Introduction

Obesity alters the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of drugs making it difficult to determine the appropriate dose when administering weight‐based medications. Alternative descriptors of body weight, such as lean body mass (LBM) and ideal body weight (IBW), are sometimes used in these situations.

Methods

We performed a single‐centre, randomized, controlled, open‐label, 3 × 3 crossover trial to determine whether recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) dosing based on LBM and IBW achieves a targeted FVIII recovery with better precision than based on total body weight (TBW) in overweight and obese, adult males with haemophilia A. Participants were randomized to 1 of 6 possible FVIII concentrate dosing sequence scenarios (TBW, LBM and IBW). Recombinant FVIII was administered on 3 separate weeks following a washout period of at least 72 hours.

Results

A total of 19 participants were randomized and completed the study. FVIII recovery was lower at 30 minutes post‐rFVIII infusion in LBM vs TBW and IBW vs TBW‐based dosing, mean difference −0.38 (95% CI: −0.56, −0.20) and −0.28 (95% CI: −0.47, −0.10) IU/dL per IU/kg, respectively. In LBM vs TBW and IBW vs TBW‐based dosing, there was a non‐significant increase in the proportion of participants with a targeted FVIII recovery of 2.00 ± 0.20 IU/dl per IU/kg, OR = 1.93 (95% CI: 0.44, 8.55) and OR = 3.65 (0.80, 16.72), respectively.

Discussion

Based on our study's findings, overweight and obese patients with haemophilia A may benefit from an individualized PK analysis using LBM and IBW to determine the most accurate, and potentially cost‐effective, method of achieving targeted FVIII recovery.
Presentation and non‐surgical endodontic treatment of two patients with X‐linked hypophosphatemia: a case report
Authors: Bradley H. , Dutta A. , Philpott R.
Published: March 2021

Aim

To describe two patients with X‐linked hypophosphatemia presenting with spontaneous signs of pulpal necrosis in multiple intact teeth. The presentation and management are discussed, along with the diagnostic and endodontic treatment challenges.

Two young male patients with X‐linked hypophosphatemia were referred to the Department of Restorative Dentistry at the Edinburgh Dental Institute, UK for management of dental infection. Both patients were referred due to their unusual clinical presentation and abnormal root canal morphology. They subsequently presented on multiple occasions with pain or sinus tracts over a 3‐ and 5‐year period whilst under care. Clinical examination revealed intact teeth with buccal swellings, draining buccal sinuses and negative responses to pulp sensibility testing. Radiographic examination, generally consisting of periapical radiographs, revealed intact teeth with a range of unusual morphological features including large pulp chambers, wide canals, short roots and open apices, all with associated periapical radiolucencies. Due to the unusual morphology, some teeth required apexification with a mineral trioxide aggregate plug. Patient 1 underwent root canal treatment on teeth 21 and 43 over a 3‐year period. Patient 2 underwent root canal treatment on 10 permanent teeth over a 5‐year period. At follow‐up, both patients were asymptomatic and clinically the teeth had no signs of infection or periapical inflammation. Radiographic examination confirmed complete resolution of the apical radiolucencies on 11 out of 12 teeth. Favourable outcomes have been demonstrated up to a follow‐up of 4.5 years.

Key learning points

Patients with X‐linked hypophosphatemia may present with ‘spontaneous’ signs of pulp necrosis in multiple teeth in the absence of caries and trauma posing a diagnostic challenge.

Abnormal morphological features, including wide canals and open apices, may present challenges during root canal treatment.

Outcomes demonstrate that an appropriate root canal treatment protocol, including the application of apexification procedures, may be implemented to successfully manage such cases.
Complete Blood Count as point of care testing QBC STAR™: Preliminary evaluation
Authors: Napolitano Gavino , Caracciolo Alessandra , Apassiti Esposito Sara , Della Malva Nunzia , Manenti Barbara , Guerra Giovanni , Ottomano Cosimo , Lippi Giuseppe , Buoro Sabrina
Published: March 2021

Introduction

Point of care testing (POCT) represents a valuable option when laboratory data shall be urgently available for timely clinical management, with a turnaround time (TAT) that is unfeasible using conventional laboratory instrumentation. This study was aimed to compare the performance of QBC STAR™ compared to Sysmex XN‐module and the reference optical microscopy (OM) assessment.

Material and Methods

One hundred peripheral blood samples, collected in K3EDTA tubes, and 50 capillary blood samples obtained by finger stick were analyzed with QBC STAR™, Sysmex XN‐module, and OM. Data were compared with Passing‐Bablok regression and Bland‐Altman plots.

Results

The Passing‐Bablok regression analysis (QBC STAR™ capillary sample vs XN‐module) yielded slopes comprised between 0.30 and 1.37, while the intercepts ranged between −17.57 and 232.6. Bland‐Altman plots yielded relative bias comprised between −4.87% (for MN QBC STAR™ capillary sample vs XN‐module) and 27% (PLT QBC STAR™ capillary sample vs XN‐module). A significant bias was found for all parameters except MN and WBC, RBC in all and pediatric samples, and HB in adults samples.

Conclusion

The results of this analytical evaluation suggest that QBC STAR™ may not be the ideal tool for performing complete blood count analysis for diagnostic purposes, while it could be more useful in urgent/emergent conditions, such as for rapid monitoring of some hematological parameters (eg, WBC and HB).
Missing links in the inclusive growth debate: Functional income distribution and labour market institutions
Authors: ÁLVAREZ Ignacio , KEUNE Maarten , CRUCES Jesús , UXÓ Jorge
Published: March 2021

This article examines the extent to which “inclusive growth” proposals made by various international organizations are consistent with their own objectives. The authors identify two commonly overlooked “missing links”: functional income distribution and collective bargaining coverage. Using a panel of 42 advanced countries for the period 1990–2018, they find that the first has an important influence on income inequality and the second plays a significant role in explaining increases in the wage share and reductions in income inequality. Consequently, these two factors must be fully integrated into the policy debate of international organizations if inclusive growth is to be successfully promoted.
How far can we compare? Migration studies, comparative urbanism and the potential of a trans‐Mediterranean perspective
Authors: Dines Nick
Published: March 2021

Through an analysis of migrant incorporation in Rome and Rabat, this article investigates the theoretical, methodological and policy consequences of comparing across the fault lines around which urban migration research is conventionally structured. It critically brings into conversation the “local turn” in migration policy research with debates around comparative urbanism, and discusses how the Mediterranean region and a reconsideration of temporal frames in migration studies can offer a generative framework for comparing cities across the Global “North” and “South.” The comparative analysis considers how, inter alia, legacies of internal mobility, non‐state service provision and divergent public discourses about “diversity” illuminate the different ways in which contemporary migration has been negotiated in the two cities. In doing so, the article challenges assumptions about policy path dependency or the smooth transfer of “best practices” and instead points to the possibility of learning from any city, be it Rome or Rabat.