bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tau mis-splicing correlates with motor impairments and striatal dysfunction in a model of tauopathy
Authors: Damianich Ana , Facal Carolina Lucia , Muñiz Javier Andrés , Mininni Camilo , Soiza-Reilly Mariano , Ponce De León Magdalena , Urrutia Leandro , Falasco German , Ferrario Juan Esteban , Avale María Elena
Published: March 2021

Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases caused by the abnormal metabolism of the microtubule associated protein tau (MAPT), which is highly expressed in neurons and critically involved in microtubule dynamics. In the adult human brain, the alternative splicing of exon 10 in MAPT pre-mRNA produces equal amounts of protein isoforms with either three (3R) or four (4R) microtubule binding domains. Imbalance in the 3R:4R tau ratio is associated with primary tauopathies that develop atypical parkinsonism, such as progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration. Yet, the development of effective therapies for those pathologies is an unmet goal. Here we report motor coordination impairments in the htau mouse model of tauopathy which harbour abnormal 3R:4R tau isoforms content, and in contrast to TauKO mice, are unresponsive to l-DOPA. Preclinical-PET imaging, array tomography and electrophysiological analyses indicated the dorsal striatum as the candidate structure mediating such phenotypes. Indeed, local modulation of tau isoforms by RNA trans-splicing in the striata of adult htau mice, prevented motor coordination deficits and restored basal neuronal firing. Together, these results suggest that abnormal striatal tau isoform content might lead to parkinsonian-like phenotypes and demonstrate a proof of concept that modulation of tau mis-splicing is a plausible disease-modifying therapy for some primary tauopathies.
Immune modulation attenuates infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis in mice before and after disease onset
Authors: Groh Janos , Berve Kristina , Martini Rudolf
Published: March 2021

Targeting neuroinflammation in models for infantile and juvenile forms of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL, CLN disease) with the clinically established immunomodulators fingolimod and teriflunomide significantly attenuates the neurodegenerative phenotype when applied preventively, i.e. before the development of substantial neural damage and clinical symptoms. Here, we show that in a mouse model for the early onset and rapidly progressing CLN1 form, more complex clinical phenotypes like disturbed motor coordination and impaired visual acuity are also ameliorated by immunomodulation. Moreover, we show that the disease outcome can be attenuated even when fingolimod and teriflunomide treatment starts after disease onset, i.e. when neurodegeneration is ongoing and clinical symptoms are detectable. In detail, treatment with either drug led to a reduction in T-cell numbers and microgliosis in the CNS, although not to the same extent as upon preventive treatment. Pharmacological immunomodulation was accompanied by a reduction of axonal damage, neuron loss and astrogliosis in the retinotectal system and by reduced brain atrophy. Accordingly, the frequency of myoclonic jerks and disturbed motor coordination were attenuated. Overall, disease alleviation was remarkably substantial upon therapeutic treatment with both drugs, although less robust than upon preventive treatment. To test the relevance of putative immune-independent mechanisms of action in this model, we treated CLN1 mice lacking mature T- and B-lymphocytes. Immunodeficient CLN1 mice showed, as previously reported, an improved neurological phenotype in comparison with genuine CLN1 mice which could not be further alleviated by either of the drugs, reflecting a predominantly immune-related therapeutic mechanism of action. The present study supports and strengthens our previous view that repurposing clinically approved immunomodulators may alleviate the course of CLN1 disease in human patients, even though diagnosis usually occurs when symptoms have already emerged.
Beyond good intentions: questioning the ‘leaving no one behind’ agenda in global development, evidence from Pakistan
Authors: Farooq Laila S
Published: March 2021

This paper looks at how global development projects implemented through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engage with the Sustainable Development Goals promise of ethnic inclusion. Using beneficiary representation as an indicator, we conducted Focus Group Discussions and interviews with non-profit sector practitioners in Pakistan. Responses show that NGOs often use practices that reinforce existing biases, including community outreach through public spaces, dominant languages and informal social circles. Such practices lead to ethnic minorities being underrepresented. Furthermore, international actors have encouraged the non-profit sector in Pakistan to be more competitive, pushing resources away from community mobilization and rewarding efficiency over commitment. This shift from normative ideas of inclusion leads to selection practices that are cost efficient but not inclusive. Several recommendations are made in this regard.
Decoding of Attentional State Using High-Frequency Local Field Potential Is As Accurate As Using Spikes
Authors: Prakash Surya S , Das Aritra , Kanth Sidrat Tasawoor , Mayo J Patrick , Ray Supratim
Published: March 2021

Local field potentials (LFPs) in visual cortex are reliably modulated when the subject’s focus of attention is cued into versus out of the receptive field of the recorded sites, similar to modulation of spikes. However, human psychophysics studies have used an additional attention condition, neutral cueing, for decades. The effect of neutral cueing on spikes was examined recently and found to be intermediate between cued and uncued conditions. However, whether LFPs are also precise enough to represent graded states of attention is unknown. We found in rhesus monkeys that LFPs during neutral cueing were also intermediate between cued and uncued conditions. For a single electrode, attention was more discriminable using high frequency (>30 Hz) LFP power than spikes, which is expected because LFP represents a population signal and therefore is expected to be less noisy than spikes. However, previous studies have shown that when multiple electrodes are used, spikes can outperform LFPs. Surprisingly, in our study, spikes did not outperform LFPs when discriminability was computed using multiple electrodes, even though the LFP activity was highly correlated across electrodes compared with spikes. These results constrain the spatial scale over which attention operates and highlight the usefulness of LFPs in studying attention.
Revisiting Co-trimoxazole Prophylaxis for African Adults in the Era of Antiretroviral Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Authors: Laurens Matthew B , Mungwira Randy G , Nampota Nginache , Nyirenda Osward M , Divala Titus H , Kanjala Maxwell , Mkandawire Felix A , Galileya Lufina Tsirizani , Nyangulu Wongani , Mwinjiwa Edson , Downs Matthew , Tillman Amy , Taylor Terrie E , Mallewa Jane , Plowe Christopher V , van Oosterhout Joep J , Laufer Miriam K
Published: March 2021

Background

Daily co-trimoxazole is recommended for African adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) irrespective of antiretroviral treatment, immune status, or disease stage. Benefits of continued prophylaxis and whether co-trimoxazole can be stopped following immune reconstitution are unknown.

Methods

We conducted a randomized controlled trial at 2 sites in Malawi that enrolled adults with HIV with undetectable viral load and CD4 count of >250/mm3 and randomized them to continue daily co-trimoxazole, discontinue daily co-trimoxazole and begin weekly chloroquine, or discontinue daily co-trimoxazole. The primary endpoint was the preventive effect of co-trimoxazole prophylaxis against death or World Health Organization (WHO) HIV/AIDS stage 3–4 events, using Cox proportional hazards modeling, in an intention-to-treat population.

Results

1499 adults were enrolled. The preventive effect of co-trimoxazole on the primary endpoint was 22% (95% CI: −14%–47%; P = .20) versus no prophylaxis and 25% (−10%–48%; P = .14) versus chloroquine. When WHO HIV/AIDS stage 2 events were added to the primary endpoint, preventive effect increased to 31% (3–51%; P = .032) and 32% (4–51%; P = .026), respectively. Co-trimoxazole and chloroquine prophylaxis effectively prevented clinical malaria episodes (3.8 and 3.0, respectively, vs 28/100 person-years; P < .001).

Conclusions

Malawian adults with HIV who immune reconstituted on ART and continued co-trimoxazole prophylaxis experienced fewer deaths and WHO HIV/AIDS stage 3–4 events compared with prophylaxis discontinuation, although statistical significance was not achieved. Co-trimoxazole prevented a composite of death plus WHO HIV/AIDS stage 2–4 events. Given poor healthcare access and lack of routine viral load monitoring, co-trimoxazole prophylaxis should continue in adults on ART after immune reconstitution in sub-Saharan Africa.

Clinical Trials Registration. NCT01650558.
The Collision Avoidance and Situation-Aware Media Access Scheme Using the Registered-Backoff-Time Method for the IEEE 802.11ah-Based IoT Wireless Networks
Authors: Cheng Rung-Shiang , Li Yin-Ming , Huang Chung-Ming
Published: March 2021

IEEE 802.11ah is a new protocol designed for Internet of Things (IoT). IEEE 802.11ah uses a hierarchical ID assignment schema and designs the corresponding channel access method such that stations can access channel alternatively through the four-level’s hierarchical channel access structure. Nevertheless, collisions still cannot be effectively avoided in a dense IOT networking environment using the legacy IEEE 802.11ah. The work proposed the registration-based situation-aware access extension (RSAE) control scheme to avoid collisions, decrease backoff’s waiting time and improve slot utilization through the following two ways: (i) in contrast to the traditional CSMA/CA protocol that generates the backoff time for the next channel access after the collision happened, registering the backoff time to AP for scheduling the next channel access before the collision happens; (ii) extending the channel accessing’s privilege of those stations that did not complete the data transmission/receiving in the current slot to the available time of the next slot. Comparing with the legacy IEEE 802.11ah, the performance evaluation of the proposed RSAE scheme shown that it still can have a better throughput and a lower collision rate when there is a bigger number of stations in a slot.
Hirofumi Uzawa: Between Minamata and Cambridge
Authors: Kubo Shin
Published: March 2021

This note sketches the life and career of Hirofumi Uzawa. It covers his contributions to economic theory and his contributions to social and political discourse in Japan during his lifetime. It seeks to bring to the attention of the wider discipline the range of his contributions and their political impact.
Piero Sraffa and Raffaello Piccoli: Two Italian Scholars in Cambridge 1929–1932
Authors: Morra Lucia
Published: March 2021

Sraffa’s diaries report that from June 1929 until late 1932 he often met with the literary scholar, poet and philosopher Raffaello Piccoli, Professor of Italian in the University of Cambridge. After a brief biographical sketch of Piccoli, the paper reconstructs the story of their friendship, thus contributing to the reconstruction of Sraffa’s biography in 1929–1932. It also considers their meetings with Carlo Rosselli in 1929–1931, together with their common friendship with Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Workers in the crowd: the labor market impact of the online platform economy
Authors: Cantarella Michele , Strozzi Chiara
Published: March 2021

We compare individuals engaged in online crowdwork against workers in traditional occupations from the United States and Europe, investigating the determinants of access into crowd employment and the nature of the deterioration of salary conditions and job quality characterizing these markets. We do so by matching responses from comparable working conditions surveys, and controlling for most individual and socio-economic characteristics affecting pay. We find that most differences in earnings are largely unexplained by the ability of individuals, and that labor in crowdwork is vastly under-utilized.
Ticagrelor Increases Platelet-Mediated Staphylococcus aureus Killing, Resulting in Clearance of Bacteremia
Authors: Ulloa Erlinda R , Uchiyama Satoshi , Gillespie Robert , Nizet Victor , Sakoulas George
Published: March 2021

Platelets are a critical immune defense against Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections. Staphylococcus aureus α-toxin is a virulence factor that decreases platelet viability and accelerates platelet clearance. It has been shown that ticagrelor blocks α-toxin–mediated platelet injury and resulting thrombocytopenia, protecting mice in a lethal S. aureus sepsis model. We now present the use of ticagrelor as adjunctive therapy in a patient with a S. aureus endovascular infection and thrombocytopenia, associated with restoration of platelet count and bacteremia clearance. Ticagrelor enhanced platelet killing of the S. aureus bloodstream isolate from the treated patient in vitro.
VraCP regulates cell wall metabolism and antibiotic resistance in vancomycin-intermediateStaphylococcus aureusstrain Mu50
Authors: Wang Wanying , Sun Baolin
Published: March 2021

Objectives

Vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) is increasingly being reported. Previous studies have shown that vraC and vraP may be involved in vancomycin resistance, although the molecular mechanism remains elusive.

Methods

The vraC (SAV0577), vraP (SAV0578) and vraCP mutants were constructed in Mu50 by allelic replacement. Some common VISA phenotypes were assessed in mutants, such as, susceptibility to the cell wall-associated antibiotics, cell wall thickness, autolysis activity and growth rate. RT-qPCR was performed to reveal the differential genes associated with these phenotypes. The binding abilities of VraC and VraCP to the promoters of target genes were determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA).

Results

VraP forms a stable complex with VraC to preserve their own stability. The vraC, vraP and vraCP mutants exhibited increased susceptibility to the cell wall-associated antibiotics and thinner cell walls compared with the WT strain. Consistent with these phenotypes, RT-qPCR revealed downregulated transcription of glyS, sgtB, ddl and alr2, which are involved in cell wall biosynthesis. Moreover, the transcription of cell wall hydrolysis genes, including sceD, lytM and isaA, was significantly downregulated, supporting the finding that mutants exhibited reduced autolysis rates. EMSA confirmed that both VraC and VraCP can directly bind to the sceD, lytM and isaA promoter regions containing the consensus sequence (5′-TTGTAAN2AN3TGTAA-3′), which is crucial for the binding of VraCP with target genes. GFP-reporter assays further revealed VraC and VraCP can enhance promoter activity of sceD to positively regulate its expression.

Conclusions

vraCP plays a significant role in cell wall metabolism and antibiotic resistance in Mu50.
β-Amyloid in Cerebrospinal Fluid: How to Keep It Floating (Not Sticking) by Standardization of Preanalytic Processes and Collection Tubes
Authors: Strand Heidi , Garabet Lamya , Bjelke Börje , Sithiravel Cindhya , Hardang Ingrid Marie , Moe Morten K
Published: March 2021

Background

Phosphorylated tau (pTau), total tau (tTau), and β-amyloid (Aβ) are established cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers used to help diagnose Alzheimer disease. Preanalytic workups of CSF samples lack harmonization, making interlaboratory comparison of these biomarkers challenging. The Aβ adsorbs to sample tubes, yielding underestimated concentrations, and may result in false Alzheimer disease diagnosis. Our primary aim was to compare Aβ recovery across multiple polypropylene tubes and to test the stability of tTau, pTau, and Aβ in the best performing tube.

Methods

Eight polypropylene tubes were tested using 3 CSF pools with Aβ concentrations <500, 500–1000, and >1000 ng/L. All samples were analyzed in duplicate. Tubes were cut open to assess their different infrared adsorption spectra. Freshly drawn CSF from 14 patients was distributed into 4 Sarstedt 5-mL (no. 63.504.027; Sar5CSF) tubes, left at room temperature for up to 7 days, and analyzed for pTau, tTau, and Aβ by ELISA.

Results

Two Sarstedt 5-mL tubes and a Sarstedt 10-mL (Sar10CSF) tube showed significantly higher Aβ recovery at all 3 concentrations compared with the 5 other tubes. The infrared adsorption spectra of Sar10CSF and Sar5CSF tubes were practically identical, unlike the other tubes. No significant loss of pTau, tTau, and Aβ was observed in CSF left at room temperature for up to 7 days (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

Recovery of Aβ from Sar5CSF tubes is equivalent to Aβ recovery from Sar10CSF tubes. Levels of pTau, tTau, and Aβ were stable for at least 7 days at room temperature but not at 37 °C.
CancelRx: a health IT tool to reduce medication discrepancies in the outpatient setting
Authors: Watterson Taylor L , Stone Jamie A , Brown Roger , Xiong Ka Z , Schiefelbein Anthony , Ramly Edmond , Kleinschmidt Peter , Semanik Michael , Craddock Lauren , Pitts Samantha , Woodroof Taylor , Chui Michelle A
Published: March 2021

Objective

Medication list discrepancies between outpatient clinics and pharmacies can lead to medication errors. Within the last decade, a new health information technology (IT), CancelRx, emerged to send a medication cancellation message from the clinic’s electronic health record (EHR) to the outpatient pharmacy’s software. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of CancelRx on reducing medication discrepancies between the EHR and pharmacy dispensing software.

Materials and Methods

CancelRx was implemented in October 2017 at an academic health system. For 12 months prior, and 12 months after CancelRx implementation, data were collected on discontinued medications in the health system’s EHR and whether those prescriptions were successfully discontinued in the pharmacy’s dispensing software. An interrupted time series analysis was conducted to model the occurrence of prescriptions successfully discontinued over time.

Results

There was an immediate (lag = 0), significant (P < 0.001), and sustained (post-implementation slope 0.02) increase in the proportion of successful medication discontinuations after CancelRx implementation (from 34% to 93%). CancelRx had variable impact based on whether the clinic was primary care (71.4% change prepost) or specialty care (53.9% change prepost). CancelRx reduced the time between when a medication was discontinued in the clinic EHR and pharmacy dispensing software.

Conclusion

CancelRx automated a manual process and illustrated the role for health IT in communicating medication discontinuations between clinics and pharmacies. Overall, CancelRx had a marked benefit on medication list discrepancies and illustrated how health IT can be used across different settings to improve patient care.
Changes in Mammography Use by Women’s Characteristics During the First 5 Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Sprague Brian L , Lowry Kathryn P , Miglioretti Diana L , Alsheik Nila , Bowles Erin J A , Tosteson Anna N A , Rauscher Garth , Herschorn Sally D , Lee Janie M , Trentham-Dietz Amy , Weaver Donald L , Stout Natasha K , Kerlikowske Karla
Published: March 2021

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a near-total cessation of mammography services in the United States in mid-March 2020. It is unclear if screening and diagnostic mammography volumes have recovered to prepandemic levels and whether use has varied by women’s characteristics.

Methods

We collected data on 461 083 screening mammograms and 112 207 diagnostic mammograms conducted during January 2019 through July 2020 at 62 radiology facilities in the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. We compared monthly screening and diagnostic mammography volumes before and during the pandemic stratified by age, race and ethnicity, breast density, and family history of breast cancer.

Results

Screening and diagnostic mammography volumes in April 2020 were 1.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5% to 2.4%) and 21.4% (95% CI = 18.7% to 24.4%) of the April 2019 prepandemic volumes, respectively, but by July 2020 had rebounded to 89.7% (95% CI = 79.6% to 101.1%) and 101.6% (95% CI = 93.8% to 110.1%) of the July 2019 prepandemic volumes, respectively. The year-to-date cumulative volume of screening and diagnostic mammograms performed through July 2020 was 66.2% (95% CI = 60.3% to 72.6%) and 79.9% (95% CI = 75.4% to 84.6%), respectively, of year-to-date volume through July 2019. Screening mammography rebound was similar across age groups and by family history of breast cancer. Monthly screening mammography volume in July 2020 for Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian women reached 96.7% (95% CI = 88.1% to 106.1%), 92.9% (95% CI = 82.9% to 104.0%), 72.7% (95% CI = 56.5% to 93.6%), and 51.3% (95% CI = 39.7% to 66.2%) of the July 2019 prepandemic volume, respectively.

Conclusions

Despite a strong overall rebound in mammography volume by July 2020, the rebound lagged among Asian and Hispanic women, and a substantial cumulative deficit in missed mammograms accumulated, which may have important health consequences.
Including beyond-linear halo bias in halo models
Authors: Mead A J , Verde L
Published: March 2021

We derive a simple prescription for including beyond-linear halo bias within the standard, analytical halo-model power spectrum calculation. This results in a corrective term that is added to the usual two-halo term. We measure this correction using data from N-body simulations and demonstrate that it can boost power in the two-halo term by a factor of ∼2 at scales $k\sim 0.7\, h\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, with the exact magnitude of the boost determined by the specific pair of fields in the two-point function. How this translates to the full power spectrum depends on the relative strength of the one-halo term, which can mask the importance of this correction to a greater or lesser degree, again depending on the fields. Generally, we find that our correction is more important for signals that arise from lower mass haloes. When comparing our calculation to simulated data, we find that the underprediction of power in the transition region between the two- and one-halo terms, which typically plagues halo-model calculations, is almost completely eliminated when including the full non-linear halo bias. We show improved results for the autospectra and cross-spectra of galaxies, haloes, and matter. In the specific case of matter–matter or matter–halo power, we note that a large fraction of the improvement comes from the non-linear biasing between low- and high-mass haloes. We envisage our model being useful in the analytical modelling of cross-correlation signals. Our non-linear bias halo-model code is available at https://github.com/alexander-mead/BNL.
Non-Keplerian spirals, a gas-pressure dust trap, and an eccentric gas cavity in the circumbinary disc around HD 142527
Authors: Garg H , Pinte C , Christiaens V , Price D J , Lazendic J S , Boehler Y , Casassus S , Marino S , Perez S , Zuleta A
Published: March 2021

We present ALMA observations of the 12CO, 13CO, C18O J = 2-1 transitions and the 1.3 mm continuum emission for the circumbinary disc around HD 142527, at an angular resolution of ≈ 0${_{.}^{\prime\prime}}$3. We observe multiple spiral structures in intensity, velocity, and velocity dispersion for the 12CO and 13CO gas tracers. A newly detected 12CO spiral originates from the dust horseshoe, and is rotating at super-Keplerian velocity or vertically ascending, whilst the interspiral gas is rotating at sub-Keplerian velocities. This new spiral possibly connects to a previously identified spiral, thus spanning >360°. A spatial offset of  30 au is observed between the 12CO and 13CO spirals, to which we hypothesize that the gas layers are propagating at different speeds (surfing) due to a non-zero vertical temperature gradient. Leveraging the varying optical depths between the CO isotopologues, we reconstruct temperature and column density maps of the outer disc. Gas surface density peaks at r ≈ 180 au, coincident with the peak of continuum emission. Here, the dust grains have a Stokes number of ≈ 1, confirming radial and azimuthal trapping in the horseshoe. We measure a cavity radius at half-maximum surface density of ≈ 100 au, and a cavity eccentricity between 0.3 and 0.45.
microRNA-mediated translation repression through GYF-1 and IFE-4 in C. elegans development
Authors: Mayya Vinay K , Flamand Mathieu N , Lambert Alice M , Jafarnejad Seyed Mehdi , Wohlschlegel James A , Sonenberg Nahum , Duchaine Thomas F
Published: March 2021

microRNA (miRNA)-mediated gene silencing is enacted through the recruitment of effector proteins that direct translational repression or degradation of mRNA targets, but the relative importance of their activities for animal development remains unknown. Our concerted proteomic surveys identified the uncharacterized GYF-domain encoding protein GYF-1 and its direct interaction with IFE-4, the ortholog of the mammalian translation repressor 4EHP, as key miRNA effector proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans. Recruitment of GYF-1 protein to mRNA reporters in vitro or in vivo leads to potent translation repression without affecting the poly(A) tail or impinging on mRNA stability. Loss of gyf-1 is synthetic lethal with hypomorphic alleles of embryonic miR-35–42 and larval (L4) let-7 miRNAs, which is phenocopied through engineered mutations in gyf-1 that abolish interaction with IFE-4. GYF-1/4EHP function is cascade-specific, as loss of gyf-1 had no noticeable impact on the functions of other miRNAs, including lin-4 and lsy-6. Overall, our findings reveal the first direct effector of miRNA-mediated translational repression in C. elegans and its physiological importance for the function of several, but likely not all miRNAs.
Genome-wide characterization of human minisatellite VNTRs: population-specific alleles and gene expression differences
Authors: Eslami Rasekh Marzieh , Hernández Yözen , Drinan Samantha D , Fuxman Bass Juan I , Benson Gary
Published: March 2021

Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTRs) are tandem repeat (TR) loci that vary in copy number across a population. Using our program, VNTRseek, we analyzed human whole genome sequencing datasets from 2770 individuals in order to detect minisatellite VNTRs, i.e., those with pattern sizes ≥7 bp. We detected 35 638 VNTR loci and classified 5676 as commonly polymorphic (i.e. with non-reference alleles occurring in >5% of the population). Commonly polymorphic VNTR loci were found to be enriched in genomic regions with regulatory function, i.e. transcription start sites and enhancers. Investigation of the commonly polymorphic VNTRs in the context of population ancestry revealed that 1096 loci contained population-specific alleles and that those could be used to classify individuals into super-populations with near-perfect accuracy. Search for quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), among the VNTRs proximal to genes, indicated that in 187 genes expression differences correlated with VNTR genotype. We validated our predictions in several ways, including experimentally, through the identification of predicted alleles in long reads, and by comparisons showing consistency between sequencing platforms. This study is the most comprehensive analysis of minisatellite VNTRs in the human population to date.
Introduction
Authors: Kelly Brine
Published: March 2021

The introduction describes how the qualities that give film its remarkable storytelling power can work against a story if not used skillfully. Mastering the craft of visual storytelling requires learning the meaning and emotional effects of the many types of shots, cuts, and transitions, as well as the effects of various types of blocking. This knowledge enables directors to heighten the drama of their stories by manipulating their audience’s thoughts and feelings as their story is told in a highly designed way. Film storytelling is not effective if the action is recorded using angles and cuts that do not suit the story. A storytelling plan must always consider mood, emphasis, time, and space. A simple scene of a prisoner in a jail cell is considered as an example of the range of moods that can be achieved through the choice of a single cinematic camera angle.
Seven Film Storytelling Essentials
Authors: Kelly Brine
Published: March 2021

Chapter 1 describes seven ideas that are the foundation of visual storytelling in film, video, animation, television, and game design. The application of these ideas minimizes the confusion about time and space that can easily be created and which distracts viewers from the narrative, reducing their understanding and enjoyment of a filmmaker’s story. This chapter introduces ideas that can be used to direct and hold an audience’s attention. It provides a quick start to students of filmmaking, as well as giving an overview of what is explored in detail in later chapters. The concepts described include juxtaposing images for meaning, telling a story in a series of dramatic beats, positioning the camera effectively for the action and drama, making cuts smooth, deciding when to using motivated and unmotivated camera moves, establishing screen geography, and using transitions.
Shot Composition Basics
Authors: Kelly Brine
Published: March 2021

Chapter 3 describes the fundamentals of shot composition for film. It includes rules of thumb to make shot design work at an abstract level, as well as for clarity, mood, and meaning in storytelling. These ideas can make a composition have more impact, be more interesting, and be more pleasing to the eye. Topics discussed include symmetry, balance, contrast, and using leading lines, as well as how to avoid distracting elements and unintended visual artifacts. The important question of when a shot should be framed off-center and when for film storytelling purposes the subject should be centered is addressed. The essentials of framing people are examined, including cropping, look-space, and walk-space. Several useful compositional techniques are described and illustrated, including creating a frame within a frame, using overlapping shapes, adding foreground and background, soft focus, silhouetting, backlighting, and finding camera angles that create dramatic perspective.
Storytelling Cuts and Film Grammar
Authors: Kelly Brine
Published: March 2021

Chapter 7 explores how film grammar is used to design shots that can be cut together in ways that conform to continuity editing. Using film grammar keeps discontinuities that create abrupt jumps in time and space from arising during cuts. Stories flow naturally and viewers are not conscious of the editing. Film is a language, and film grammar helps achieve the goal of clear communication. Film grammar would not be needed if cuts were never made, but cuts are almost always needed for both practical and storytelling reasons. This chapter examines cutting for such reasons as dramatic emphasis, to show reactions, to create meaningful juxtapositions, to continue the story at a different time or in a new location, to show parallel action, and to switch between objective and subjective coverage of a character.
3D Spatial Continuity and 2D Screen Geography
Authors: Kelly Brine
Published: March 2021

Chapter 8 explains and illustrates the importance of screen geography for keeping time and space clear, and shows how to achieve it by designing shots that can be juxtaposed without breaking continuity. When a new scene begins, viewers expect to understand the space of the new setting just as they would understand it if they’d stepped into it. If the sequences of images give contradictory information about where things are situated in space, and how the action is unfolding, viewers become momentarily confused and distracted from the story. The important two-dimensional elements of screen geography and how they relate to three-dimensional space are examined. Planning the positioning of characters on the screen, creating eyelines, and achieving continuity of screen motion are explained. Camera positioning relative to the axis of action is explored as the key to achieving continuity when shots are sequenced during editing.
Scenes with Stationary Action
Authors: Kelly Brine
Published: March 2021

Chapter 11 describes and storyboards various ways to enhance the cinematic storytelling of a film when a character is not moving about during a scene. Stories often contain scenes in which there is a single character who is stationary for a period of time while on the phone, working at a desk, reading, eating, sleeping, and so on. The techniques discussed include how to go from objective to subjective coverage and vice versa, ways to create point-of-view shots (POVs) and characters’ reaction shots, as well as how to use action to bridge a cut to a different shot size.
Two-Character Dialogue
Authors: Kelly Brine
Published: March 2021

Chapter 15 describes and illustrates using storyboards the basics of blocking and shooting two-character dialogue. Whether characters are standing, seated, or walking, conversations cut better when shots are designed to mirror each other and to maintain consistent screen geography. The geometry that arises from the positions, heights, and movement of characters is the basis of determining camera placement for proper matching and continuity editing. Several common configurations of characters are explored, including face to face, side by side, and walking. Standard templates of shots to cover conversations are presented. Several commonly used blocking techniques for getting two characters into and out of position for their dialogue are described and illustrated.
Group and Crowd Scenes
Authors: Kelly Brine
Published: March 2021

Chapter 17 provides approaches and blocking templates for shooting a large group in a cinematic way. Films often show families at the dinner table, business meetings, speeches, performances, crowds, and other gatherings. These scenes must present clear geography so that viewers can get their bearings and keep them as a scene’s story is told. In spite of the many people involved there is often little action: this makes it more important to add visual interest to the storytelling by using interesting angles, camera movement, wipes, foreground, and other techniques. Certain templates of camera coverage can be applied with minimal adjustment to a variety of scenarios. This chapter describes and illustrates blocking and shooting options that can provide the basis of good visual storytelling and continuity editing for scenes involving groups or crowds.
Shooting Driving Scenes
Authors: Kelly Brine
Published: March 2021

Chapter 18 explains and illustrates many options for blocking and shooting driving scenes to enhance the storytelling and maintain continuity. Driving sequences usually require both exterior shots of the vehicle in motion and interior shots of the occupants as they drive, have dialogue, and look out the windows. A range of effective cinematic camera angles for exterior shots are described. The various types of exterior shots serve to say something about the vehicle itself, the environment through which a car or other vehicle is being driven, the style of driving, or the length of the trip. Some of these shots begin with transitions, while others offer cutting points to interior car scenes. Standard camera angles to cover conversation in a car are described. The right combination of shots must be chosen to ensure that the shots match and that eyelines are logical, or the shots will not meet the needs of continuity editing and clear storytelling. Many examples are described and illustrated using storyboards, with both their visual storytelling and continuity editing aspects explained.
Misdirection
Authors: Ungemah Joe
Published: March 2021

This chapter uncovers the psychological tricks used by con men, beginning with the tale of the famous spirit photographer William Mumler, said to have captured an image of Lincoln’s ghost. Playing on his customers’ emotional needs to see a lost loved one, Mumler claimed to be able do the impossible and capture a glimpse of the afterlife. Cons utilize a combination of seven psychological levers, including distraction, social compliance, herding behavior, dishonesty, deception, appealing to needs, and time constraint. An analogy is drawn between understanding the mechanics of cons and the psychology underlying workplace interactions. With understanding, employees and their managers can take action to improve the workplace and prepare for the unprecedented change being experienced in the gig economy.
Sounding Jewish in Berlin
Authors: Alexander Phil
Published: March 2021

This book explores in lively detail the music, musical networks, and performance spaces of the contemporary Berlin klezmer and Yiddish music scene. It chronicles an avowedly international group of musicians (Jewish and non-Jewish) who collectively represent an important new transnational voice for this traditional Eastern European Jewish music. Through the words and music of the performers, the author reveals a rich and constantly developing scene that has embedded itself in the contemporary city in creative, diverse, and sometimes confrontational ways. This ongoing transformation of Berlin klezmer is powerful evidence that if traditional music is to remain audible amid the noise of the urban, it must stake its claim as a meaningful part of that noise. By engaging with the city itself, klezmer in Berlin has moved beyond “revival”—revealing how traditional culture can remain relevant within a shifting, overlapping, decidedly modern, urban cosmopolitanism.
Losing Time (The Vikings at Helgeland)
Authors: Gjesdal Kristin
Published: March 2021

Chapter 1 tracks Ibsen’s interest in philosophy, especially in thinkers such as Lessing and Herder. It shows how the Vikings at Helgeland draws on, but also further develops, the interplay between history and a modern mindset that had motivated mid-eighteenth-century philosophers of drama.
Concluding Remarks
Authors: Gjesdal Kristin
Published: March 2021

After Hedda Gabler, Ibsen wrote four more plays: The Master Builder, Little Eyolf, John Gabriel Borkman, and When We Dead Awaken. With its darker tone and dense, image-laden prose, his late work has been described as melancholy. In each of these late plays, the topic of the past, of individual and collective history, features centrally. At least two of the late plays—three, if we include ...
Negotiating Stalin’s Tolerance
Authors: Eden Jeff
Published: March 2021

This chapter shows that wartime patriotism among Soviet religious populations was developed not merely through rousing speeches and policy concessions; it was developed by knitting patriotic activities and devotional activities together so tightly that it was not clear where one ended and the other began. By channeling traditional Muslim charity (zakat) payments into the war effort, for example, Muslim charity became both pious and patriotic; by weaving patriotism into the fabric of Friday sermons, visiting a newly reopened mosque allowed Muslims to embody and enact that line quoted so often by the leading muftis: “Love for country is a part of faith.” In short, the war era was an age in which Islamic devotion itself became—for some at least—an expression of Soviet patriotism.
Mobile Technology
Authors: Greher Gena R. , Burton Suzanne L.
Published: March 2021

The chapter defines the promise and possibilities of twenty-first-century digital musicianship, with musical creativity and engagement at the core of music education via the use of mobile devices. Through the intentional use of iPads, tablets, or other hand-held devices, students are presented with myriad ways to create, perform, listen to, and respond to music. The authors discuss the turnaround in their own thinking about mobile devices, their conceptions of creative musicking, and the changes in their pedagogical approaches to a more inclusive, constructivist, and informal approach to teaching with and through mobile technology. They explore the enormous potential of rather small technological devices to transform the music-making experiences of students of any age.
Musical Creativity, Mobile Technology, and Middle School
Authors: Lee-Holmes Rue
Published: March 2021

The chapter focuses on examining musical creativity in middle school general music by the use of digital technology, from the perspective of a middle school music teacher who is working with digital natives. It provides practical lesson plans concerning the use of digital audio workstation (DAW) apps and Chrome Music Lab apps to compose music, music notation apps for notating compositions, and ScratchJr for creating music tutorials. Tablets and hand-held devices are morphed into tools for adolescents to express their creative musicianship, leading to a transformation of a middle school general music class.
Culture and Memory
Authors: Wagoner Brady , Brescó Ignacio , Awad Sarah H.
Published: March 2021

This chapter explores memory as a constructive process occurring at the intersection of a person and their social-cultural world. To do this, it moves away from the traditional metaphor of memory as storage and develops the alternative metaphor of construction. The foundations for this approach are found in Lev Vygotsky’s theory of mediation and microgenesis, together with Frederic Bartlett’s notion of reconstructive remembering and methods of repeated and serial reproduction. Their ideas are combined to develop an approach that analyzes remembering as part of an evolving cultural process, one that is also often conflictual and transformative. This approach is illustrated with studies of the emergence of memories in conversation, the narrative mediation of memory, the role of social positioning, and the dynamics of urban memory during periods of radical social change.
What Has Culture Got to Do with Emotions?
Authors: De Leersnyder Jozefien , Mesquita Batja , Boiger Michael
Published: March 2021

Emotions are relationship engagements that are dynamically and socioculturally constructed. Starting from the historic context in which the current research program originated, this chapter develops a theory in which cultural differences in emotion can be understood from the cultural context’s valued model of self and relating. It presents evidence for a “cultural logic” to emotion in the prevalence and content of emotion as well as to which experiences are associated with positive outcomes and well-being. Furthermore, it shows how a myriad of processes co-constitute the alignment of culture and emotion—processes that can be situated at the personal, interpersonal, and collective levels and that are highlighted when emotions are studied in acculturating individuals or biculturals. In concluding, this chapter presents a dynamic and sociocultural model of emotion in which people collectively construct their experiences in line with the prevalent meanings and practices of their sociocultural context.
The Psychological Foundations of Ritual Learning
Authors: Watson-Jones Rachel E. , Wen Nicole J. , Legare Cristine H.
Published: March 2021

Abstract ritual is a universal feature of human culture. A decade of psychological research provides new insight into the early emerging propensity for ritual learning. Children learn the ritual practices and instrumental skills of their communities by observing and imitating trusted group members such as adults and peers. They use social and contextual cues to determine when an action is an instrumental skill versus a ritual, and they modify their behavior accordingly. When behavior is interpreted as a ritual, children imitate with higher fidelity, engage in less innovation, are more accurate when detecting differences, and display more functional fixedness than when behavior is interpreted as instrumental. Children and adults also transmit ritual behavior to others with higher fidelity than they do instrumental behavior. The authors propose that affiliation with social groups motivates imitative fidelity of ritual. Species-specific social learning mechanisms facilitate the transmission of instrumental skills as well as rituals intergenerationally and enable cumulative cultural learning.
How We Read Now
Authors: Baron Naomi S.
Published: March 2021

The digital revolution has transformed reading. Onscreen text, audiobooks, podcasts, and videos often replace print. We make these swaps for pleasure reading, but also in schools. How We Read Now offers a ringside seat to the impact of reading medium on learning. Teachers, administrators, librarians, and policy makers need to select classroom materials. College students must weigh their options. And parents face choices for their children. Digital selections are often based on cost or convenience, not educational evidence. Current research offers essential findings about how print and digital reading compare when the aim is learning. Yet the gap between what scholars and the larger public know is huge. How We Read Now closes the gap. The book begins by sizing up the state of reading today, revealing how little reading students have been doing. The heart of the book connects research insights to practical applications. Baron draws on work from international researchers, along with results from her collaborative studies of student reading practices ranging from middle school through college. The result is an impartial view of the evidence, including points on which the jury is still out. The book closes with two challenges. The first is that students increasingly complain print is boring. And second, for all the educational buzz about teaching critical thinking, digital reading is inherently ill suited for cultivating these habits of mind. Since screens and audio are now entrenched—and valuable—platforms for reading, we need to rethink how to help learners use them wisely.
Strategies for Effective Reading Onscreen
Authors: Baron Naomi S.
Published: March 2021

Chapter 6 draws upon what we learned in Chapters 4 and 5 to identify effective strategies for onscreen reading, with both single and multiple texts. The chapter begins by emphasizing the importance of determining reading goals, along with thinking about who the reader is, how cost factors in, the importance of active learning, and ways of applying print strategies when reading onscreen. The first set of recommendations is for young children, while the rest of the chapter looks at strategies for school-age readers. In discussing use of single texts, we consider such issues as genre, complexity, scrolling, priming a reading mindset, annotation, and concept maps. The section on reading multiple texts includes the challenge of recognizing online fake news and the potential to use skills developed when scrutinizing online documents to advance the larger civic good.
The Road Ahead
Authors: Baron Naomi S.
Published: March 2021

Chapter 10 asks us to think about two paradoxes. The first is that while print usage in the trade world has largely stabilized, the education market is aggressively adopting digital textbooks. Moreover, many students now judge print reading to be boring. The second paradox is that as screens potentially become the default mode for reading in schools, one of the much-touted goals of education, critical thinking, is ill suited to digital reading. While the notion of critical thinking remains ill defined, it surely includes reasoned analysis and reflection, for which the evidence indicates print is better suited. Digital tools, which are effective for information-seeking and fact-checking, also appear to be undermining our motivation for using our memory capacity. But readers are not defenseless. The chapter closes with concrete suggestions for mapping a way forward.
Harlem
Authors: Gioia Ted
Published: March 2021

This chapter explores the emergence of Harlem as a center of jazz activity in the 1930s. It looks at the distinctive stride piano style that was popular in Harlem, and the work of pianists Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Art Tatum, and others. The divide between the so-called Harlem Renaissance and the popular jazz culture of the day is discussed, as well as important local practices such as the “rent party.” The rise of Duke Ellington and his role as bandleader at Harlem’s Cotton Club is examined in this context.