bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stellar classification with convolutional neural networks and photometric images: a new catalogue of 50 million SDSS stars without spectra
Authors: Shi Jing-Hang , Qiu Bo , Luo A-Li , He Zhen-Dong , Kong Xiao , Jiang Xia
Published: January 2023

Stellar classification is a central topic in astronomical research that relies mostly on the use of spectra. However, with the development of large sky surveys, spectra are becoming increasingly scarce compared to photometric images. Numerous observed stars lack spectral types. In Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), there are more than hundreds of millions of such stars. In this paper, we propose a convolutional neural network-based stellar classification network (SCNet) in an attempt to solve the stellar classification task from photometric images alone, distinguishing between seven classes, i.e. O, B, A, F, G, K, and M. A total of 46 245 identified stellar objects were collected from the SDSS as the training samples for our network. Compared to many typical classification networks in deep learning, SCNet achieves the best classification accuracy of 0.861. When we allow an error to be within three neighbouring subtypes for SCNet, the accuracy even reaches 0.907. We apply the final SCNet model to 50 245 638 SDSS stars without corresponding spectra and present a new star classification catalogue, containing 7438 O-type stars, 31 433 B-type stars, 201 189 A-type stars, 910 007 F-type stars, 10 986 055 G-type stars, 18 941 155 K-type stars, and 19 168 361 M-type stars.
Age-related differences in the clinical phenotypes of Behçet’s disease: The experience of two referral centres
Authors: Tekgöz Nilüfer , Tekgöz Emre , Çolak Seda , Sezer Müge , Çelikel Elif , Tekin Zahide , Çınar Muhammet , Yılmaz Sedat , Acar Banu
Published: January 2023

Objectives

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a multisystem disease and frequently occurs during the second–fourth decades of life, although disease onset may be seen at any age. This study aimed to analyze the influence of the age of onset on clinical manifestations of BD.

Materials and methods

This retrospective study analyzed two cohorts (paediatric and adult) to determine the association between the age of onset and clinical features in BD. Patients were classified into four groups to analyze the clinical characteristics according to the age of fulfilling the BD diagnostic criteria as follows: childhood onset (<12 years), adolescent onset (13–17 years), adult onset (18–39 years), and late onset (>40 years).

Results

The study included 801 patients with BD. Male predominance, pathergy test positivity, aphthosis (oral or genital), and skin and ocular involvements were higher among adult patients than paediatric patients. The presence of positive family history for BD, neuro-BD, and epididymitis were observed significantly common in the paediatric group.

Conclusion

There may be differences in clinical manifestations with regard to the age of disease onset. Disease presentations may differ from adult patients, and clinicians should be aware of the high familial aggregation rate of BD, especially in countries where the disease is endemic.
Passer, a highly active transposon from a fish genome, as a potential new robust genetic manipulation tool
Authors: Wang Saisai , Gao Bo , Miskey Csaba , Guan Zhongxia , Sang Yatong , Chen Cai , Wang Xiaoyan , Ivics Zoltán , Song Chengyi
Published: January 2023

The discovery of new, active DNA transposons can expand the range of genetic tools and provide more options for genomic manipulation. In this study, a bioinformatics analysis suggested that Passer (PS) transposons, which are members of the pogo superfamily, show signs of recent and current activity in animals and may be active in some species. Cell-based transposition assays revealed that the native PS transposases from Gasterosteus aculeatus and Danio rerio displayed very high activity in human cells relative to the Sleeping Beauty transposon. A typical overproduction inhibition phenomenon was observed for PS, and transposition capacity was decreased by ∼12% with each kilobase increase in the insertion size. Furthermore, PS exhibited a pronounced integration preference for genes and their transcriptional regulatory regions. We further show that two domesticated human proteins derived from PS transposases have lost their transposition activity. Overall, PS may represent an alternative with a potentially efficient genetic manipulation tool for transgenesis and mutagenesis applications.
Comparable outcomes between a combination of peritoneal dialysis with once-weekly haemodialysis and thrice-weekly haemodialysis: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Murashima Miho , Hamano Takayuki , Abe Masanori , Masakane Ikuto
Published: January 2023

Background

Outcomes of a combination of peritoneal dialysis (PD) and once-weekly haemodialysis (PD + HD) have not been extensively studied.

Methods

This prospective cohort study using the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy Renal Data Registry included those who transitioned from PD to PD + HD therapy or thrice-weekly HD from 2011 to 2018. Exposure was PD + HD therapy compared with thrice-weekly HD. The outcome was time to all-cause or cause-specific death. Associations between PD + HD therapy and outcomes were examined by Cox regression. Sensitivity analyses were performed by propensity score (PS) matching, PS matching with a shared frailty model in which dialysis facilities were treated as a random effect, inverse probability weighting (IPW), PS adjustment, PS stratification, competing risk regression and on-treatment analyses in which data were censored at the transition to thrice-weekly HD for those on PD + HD therapy.

Results

During the study period, 1001 subjects transitioned to PD + HD therapy and 2031 to thrice-weekly HD. During a median follow-up of 3.5 years, 575 subjects died. All-cause, cardiovascular, congestive heart failure–related or infection-related mortality were not significantly different between those on PD + HD and those on thrice-weekly HD [hazard ratio 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.78–1.16), 1.26 (0.92–1.72), 1.24 (0.77–1.99) and 0.89 (0.57–1.39), respectively]. Sensitivity analyses yielded similar results except that PD + HD therapy was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality by PS adjustment and PS matching with the shared frailty model and lower infection-related mortality by PS adjustment and IPW.

Conclusions

PD + HD therapy was associated with similar or potentially lower mortality compared with thrice-weekly HD. Considering a flexible lifestyle, PD + HD therapy could be a great option.
Annual cycle of mesozooplankton at the coastal waters of Cyprus (Eastern Levantine basin)
Authors: Fyttis G , Zervoudaki S , Sakavara A , Sfenthourakis S
Published: January 2023

This study is the first to explore monthly and seasonal succession of the zooplankton community in coastal waters of Cyprus using a 12-month period time series. A total of 192 taxa of mesozooplankton (MZ), 145 of which were copepods, were identified at three sites at the southern and one site at the northern coasts of the island. Zooplankton distribution and community structure were influenced mostly by stratification, temperature and Chl-a. The combination of upwelling and advection from the Rhodes Gyre during summer, causing cooler waters in the southern coast of Cyprus, seems to control the food supply and offered favorable feeding conditions to zooplankton, enhancing their numbers. The proximity to a fish farm also positively affected MZ abundance and biomass. This study also revealed the importance of smaller species (e.g. Clausocalanus paululus) and juvenile stages (e.g. Clausocalanus, Oithona and Corycaeus spp.) in composition, structure and functionality of the copepod community. These species seems to be more important in low Chl-a environments, where the relative size of primary consumers is expected to be smaller and the microbial components dominant. This baseline study paves the way for further investigation of the elements of marine food webs in the ultra-oligotrophic environment of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Auxin-independent effects of apical dominance induce changes in phytohormones correlated with bud outgrowth
Authors: Cao Da , Chabikwa Tinashe , Barbier Francois , Dun Elizabeth A , Fichtner Franziska , Dong Lili , Kerr Stephanie C , Beveridge Christine A
Published: January 2023

The inhibition of shoot branching by the growing shoot tip of plants, termed apical dominance, was originally thought to be mediated by auxin. Recently, the importance of the shoot tip sink strength during apical dominance has re-emerged with recent studies highlighting roles for sugars in promoting branching. This raises many unanswered questions on the relative roles of auxin and sugars in apical dominance. Here we show that auxin depletion after decapitation is not always the initial trigger of rapid cytokinin (CK) increases in buds that are instead correlated with enhanced sugars. Auxin may also act through strigolactones (SLs) which have been shown to suppress branching after decapitation, but here we show that SLs do not have a significant effect on initial bud outgrowth after decapitation. We report here that when sucrose or CK is abundant, SLs are less inhibitory during the bud release stage compared to during later stages and that SL treatment rapidly inhibits CK accumulation in pea (Pisum sativum) axillary buds of intact plants. After initial bud release, we find an important role of gibberellin (GA) in promoting sustained bud growth downstream of auxin. We are, therefore, able to suggest a model of apical dominance that integrates auxin, sucrose, SLs, CKs, and GAs and describes differences in signalling across stages of bud release to sustained growth.
“When They Hand You Your Uniform, They Forget to Say, ‘Hand Me Your Soul’”: Incidents and Impacts of Institutional Betrayal in Canadian Police Services
Authors: Bikos Lesley J
Published: January 2023

This interdisciplinary study applies Erving Goffman’s sociological theory of the total institution and the psychological framework of institutional betrayal to better understand how ongoing gendered and racialized power structures are maintained in Canadian policing. An intersectional analysis of 116 in-depth interviews with police officers from 31 police services and an on-line, national survey (N = 727) reveal that steep institutional requirements of assimilation and conformity, combined with various, commonly reported mechanisms of institutional betrayal effectively silenced, discredited, and/or minimized reports of sexual and gender and/or race-based workplace abuse. This led to significantly negative impacts on racialized women, men, and white women’s mental health, retention rates, and willingness to report workplace abuse. Overall, this study found the ongoing presence of systemic racism and sexism within police services across Canada, institutional knowledge of their existence, coordinated efforts to contain complaints, and ongoing resistance to meaningful change.
A 4-lineage Statistical Suite to Evaluate the Support of Large-Scale Retrotransposon Insertion Data to Reconstruct Evolutionary Trees
Authors: Churakov Gennady , Kuritzin Andrej , Chukharev Konstantin , Zhang Fengjun , Wünnemann Florian , Ulyantsev Vladimir , Schmitz Jürgen
Published: January 2023

Retrophylogenomics makes use of genome-wide retrotransposon presence/absence insertion patterns to resolve questions in phylogeny and population genetics. In the genomics era, evaluating high-throughput data requires the associated development of appropriately powerful statistical tools. The currently used KKSC 3-lineage statistical test for estimating the significance of retrophylogenomic data is limited by the number of possible tree topologies it can assess in one step. To improve on this, we have extended the analysis to simultaneously compare four lineages, enabling us to evaluate ten distinct presence/absence insertion patterns for 26 possible tree topologies plus 129 trees with different incidences of hybridization or introgression. The new tool provides statistics for cases involving multiple ancestral hybridizations/introgressions, ancestral incomplete lineage sorting, bifurcation, and polytomy. The test is embedded in a user-friendly web R application (http://retrogenomics.uni-muenster.de:3838/hammlet/) and is available for use by the scientific community. [ancestral hybridization/introgression; ancestral incomplete lineage sorting (ILS); empirical distribution; KKSC-statistics; 4-lineage (4-LIN) insertion polymorphism; polytomy; retrophylogenomics.]
A hierarchical model of ABA-mediated signal transduction in tea plant revealed by systematic genome mining analysis and interaction validation
Authors: Lu Jing , Zheng Dongqiao , Li Mengshuang , Fu Maoyin , Zhang Xianchen , Wan Xiaochun , Zhang Shihua , Chen Qi
Published: January 2023

As a critical signaling molecule, ABA plays an important role in plant growth, development and stresses response. However, tea plant [Camellia sinensis (L.)], an important economical perennial woody plant, has not been systematically reported in response to ABA signal transduction in vivo. In this study, we mined and identified the gene structure of CsPYL/CsPP2C-A/CsSnRK gene families in the ABA signal transduction pathway through the genome-wide analysis of tea plants. Spatiotemporal expression and stress response (drought, salt, chilling) expression patterns were characterized. The results showed that most members of CsPYLs were conserved, and the gene structures of members of A-type CsPP2Cs were highly similar, whereas the gene structure of CsSnRK2s was highly variable. The transcription levels of different family members were differentially expressed with plant growth and development, and their response to stress signal patterns was highly correlated. The expression patterns of CsPYL/CsPP2C-A/CsSnRK2 gene family members in different tissues of tea plant cuttings after exogenous ABA treatment were detected by qRT-PCR, and the hierarchical model of ABA signaling was constructed by correlation analysis to preliminarily obtain three potential ABA-dependent signaling transduction pathways. Subsequently, the protein interaction of the CsPYL4/7-CsPP2C-A2-CsSnRK2.8 signaling pathway was verified by yeast two-hybrid and surface plasmon resonance experiments, indicating that there is specific selectivity in the ABA signaling pathway. Our results provided novel insights into the ABA-dependent signal transduction model in tea plant and information for future functional characterizations of stress tolerance genes in tea plant.
Loss of aquaporin 5 contributes to the corneal epithelial pathogenesis via Wnt/β‐catenin pathway
Authors: Wang Yihui , Di Guohu , Zhang Kaier , Bai Ying , Cao Xin , Zhao Hui , Wang Dianqiang , Chen Peng
Published: January 2023

AQP5 plays a crucial role in maintaining corneal transparency and the barrier function of the cornea. Here, we found that in the corneas of Aqp5−/− mice at older than 6 months, loss of AQP5 significantly increased corneal neovascularization, inflammatory cell infiltration, and corneal haze. The results of immunofluorescence staining showed that upregulation of K1, K10, and K14, and downregulation of K12 and Pax6 were detected in Aqp5−/− cornea and primary corneal epithelial cells. Loss of AQP5 aggravated wound‐induced corneal neovascularization, inflammation, and haze. mRNA sequencing, western blotting, and qRT‐PCR showed that Wnt2 and Wnt6 were significantly decreased in Aqp5−/− corneas and primary corneal epithelial cells, accompanied by decreased aggregation in the cytoplasm and nucleus of β‐catenin. IIIC3 significantly suppressed corneal neovascularization, inflammation, haze, and maintained corneal transparent epithelial in Aqp5−/− corneas. We also found that pre‐stimulated Aqp5−/− primary corneal epithelial cells with IIIC3 caused the decreased expression of K1, K10, and K14, the increased expression of K12, Pax6, and increased aggregation in the cytoplasm and nucleus of β‐catenin. These findings revealed that AQP5 may regulate corneal epithelial homeostasis and function through the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway. Together, we uncovered a possible role of AQP5 in determining corneal epithelial cell fate and providing a potential therapeutic target for corneal epithelial dysfunction.
Optimal Timing of Fractional CO2 Laser on Cleft Lip Scars: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Cohort Study
Authors: Chi Haoshu , Zhao Xinran , Shen Lingyue , Liu Yiyun , Cai Ming
Published: January 2023

BACKGROUND

Scar is one of the most common complications for patients with cleft lip. Fractional CO2 laser is an effective method to improve the appearance of scars. However, there are no published articles about the optimal time for applying.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the optimal time to apply a fractional CO2 laser for the treatment of postsecondary repair scars in patients with cleft lip.

METHODS

Forty-two patients with linear scarring after cleft lip repair were recruited from November 2021 to October 2022. A single-blind, randomized, controlled cohort study was conducted to examine the impact of fractional CO2 laser treatment compared with conventional conservative treatment. Thirty patients started laser treatment at 1 month (n = 10), 3 months (n = 10), and 6 months (n = 10) postoperatively, and 12 patients were in the control group. Each patient was treated with high-energy low-density fractional CO2 laser treatment 3 times at an interval of 1 month. The Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) was used for scar evaluation to determine vascularity, pigmentation, pliability, and height.

RESULTS

The VSS scores decreased significantly after laser treatment (p < .05), with the most significant improvement in scars in the group that started treatment 1 month after the surgery.

CONCLUSION

Early postoperative fractional CO2 laser treatment of cleft lip scars is more effective than later treatment.
Retention and Predictors of Attrition Among HIV-infected Children on Antiretroviral Therapy in Côte d’Ivoire Between 2012 and 2016
Authors: Touré Fatoumata , Etheredge Gina D. , Brennan Claire , Parris KaeAnne , Diallo Mamadou Otto , Ouffoue Ange Fulgence , Ekra Alexandre , Prao Herve , Assamoua N’Da Viviane , Gnongoue Christian , Kone Foungnigue , Koffi Christian , Kamagaté Fathim , Rivadeneira Emilia , Carpenter Deborah
Published: January 2023

Background:

An estimated 21,000 children 0–14 years of age were living with HIV in Côte d’Ivoire in 2020, of whom only 49% have been diagnosed and are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Retention in HIV care and treatment is key to optimize clinical outcomes. We evaluated pediatric retention in select care and treatment centers (CTCs) in Côte d’Ivoire.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed medical records using 2-stage cluster sampling for children under 15 years initiated on ART between 2012 and 2016. Kaplan-Meier time-to-event analysis was done to estimate cumulative attrition rates per total person-years of observation. Cox proportional hazard regression was performed to identify factors associated with attrition.

Results:

A total of 1198 patient records from 33 CTCs were reviewed. Retention at 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months after ART initiation was 91%, 84%, 74%, 72% and 70%, respectively. A total of 309 attrition events occurred over 3169 person-years of follow-up [266 children were lost to follow-up (LTFU), 29 transferred to another facility and 14 died]. LTFU determinants included attending a “public-private” CTC [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 6.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.23–8.65], receiving care at a CTC without an on-site laboratory (aHR: 4.01; 95% CI: 1.70–9.46) or attending a CTC without an electronic medical record (EMR) system (aHR: 2.22; 95% CI: 1.59–3.12).

Conclusions:

In Cote d’Ivoire, patients attending a CTC that is public-private, does not have on-site laboratory or EMR system were likely to be LTFU. Decentralization of laboratory services and scaling use of EMR systems could help to improve pediatric retention.
Outcomes After Lysis of Adhesions and Dilator Placement for Treatment of Vulvovaginal Agglutination Due to Lichen Planus
Authors: Russell Colin B. , Welch Kathryn C. , Saunders Natalie A. , Haefner Hope K. , Schmidt Payton C.
Published: January 2023

Objective

The aim of the study is to determine intraoperative and postoperative surgical outcomes for the treatment of vulvovaginal agglutination secondary to lichen planus (LP) following a standard protocol using intraoperative dilator placement and postoperative intravaginal steroid use.

Materials and Methods

This was a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent surgical management of vulvovaginal agglutination due to LP following a protocol that included surgical lysis of vulvovaginal adhesions, intraoperative dilator placement and removal 48 hours later, and high-potency intravaginal corticosteroid and regular dilator use thereafter. Demographic and clinical data were abstracted from the medical record and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results

Thirty-four patients, with mean age 51.2 ± 11 years and body mass index 32.8 ± 8.5 kg/m2, underwent lysis of vulvovaginal adhesions between 1999 and 2021 with 8 different surgeons at a single institution. The mean preoperative, immediate postoperative, and 6-week postoperative vaginal lengths were 2.8 ± 1.8 cm (n = 18), 8.0 ± 1.9 cm (n = 21), and 7.9 ± 2.2 cm (n = 16), respectively. The mean estimated blood loss intraoperatively was 16 ± 15 mL. No patients had a documented surgical site infection or reoperation within 30 days after surgery. Of patients who had it documented (n = 26), 70% (18/26) reported postoperative sexual activity. Where documented, 100% (18/18) reported preoperative dyspareunia, while 17% (3/18) did postoperatively. Six percent (2/34) had recurrent severe agglutination and 3% (1/34) underwent reoperation.

Conclusions

Lysis of vulvovaginal adhesions, intraoperative dilator placement, and postoperative intravaginal corticosteroids with dilator use is a safe and effective treatment option to restore vaginal length for those with vulvovaginal LP.
Fifty years of basic and clinical renal stone research: have we achieved major breakthroughs? A debate
Authors: Rodgers Allen , Trinchieri Alberto
Published: January 2023

Purpose of review

After 50 years of basic and clinical renal stone research, it is appropriate to evaluate whether breakthroughs have been achieved and if so, how they may be harnessed to combat stone disease therapeutically and prophylactically.

Recent findings

Regarding stone therapeutics and prophylaxis, recent innovative studies are sparse. Researchers have resorted to publishing articles derived from data mining. Stone incidence and prevalence have increased during the past 50 years, suggesting the absence of any major breakthroughs. However, new sciences and technologies have created fresh opportunities. Information technology stores huge epidemiological databases leading to identification of new risk factors. Genetic coding has prompted identification of monogenic diseases associated with urolithiasis. Genome-wide association studies in combination with epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics are providing new insights. High-throughput and culture-independent techniques promise to define the impact of microbiome on stone formation while artificial intelligent techniques contribute to diagnosis and prediction of treatment outcomes. These technologies, as well as those which are advancing surgical treatment of stones represent major breakthroughs in stone research.

Although efforts to cure stones have not yielded major breakthroughs, technological advances have improved surgical management of this disease and represent significant headway in applied stone research.
Harm! foul! How acute kidney injury SHReDDs patient futures
Authors: Hebert Jessica F. , Funahashi Yoshio , Hutchens Michael P.
Published: January 2023

Purpose of review

Transition from acute kidney injury (AKI) to chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasingly accepted. Less well recognized, but supported by very similar data, is development of disease of other organ systems after AKI. Awareness of other-organ sequelae of AKI may inform efforts to improve the care of patients after AKI.

Recent findings

Stroke, hypertension, reproductive risk, dementia, and death (SHReDD) are sequelae, which occur with increased risk relative to that of non-AKI within 6 months–3 years after AKI diagnosis, and which are supported by preclinical/mechanistic study. Adjusted hazard ratios for these sequelae are strikingly similar to that of AKI–CKD, ranging from 1.2 to 3.0. Mechanistic studies suggest kidney-centric mechanisms including sodium regulation, volume status regulation, and the renin-angiotensin system are drivers of long-term, extra-renal, change.

Further clinical characterization and mechanistic insight is necessary, and may have considerable translational impact. Programs which screen or follow post-AKI patients may increase clinical utility if focus is expanded to include the SHReDD complications.
Neurocognitive, Psychosocial, and Quality of Life Outcomes After Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Admitted to the PICU*
Authors: Otten Marieke H. , Buysse Corinne M. P. , Buddingh Emmeline P. , Terheggen-Lagro Suzanne W. J. , von Asmuth Erik G. J. , de Sonnaville Eleonore S. V. , Ketharanathan Naomi , Bunker-Wiersma Heleen E. , Haverman Lotte , Hogenbirk Karin , de Hoog Matthijs , Humblet Martien , Joosten Koen F. M. , Kneyber Martin C. J. , Krabben Geanne , Lemson Joris , Maas Nienke M. , Maebe Sofie , Roeleveld Peter P. , van Schooneveld Monique , Timmers-Raaijmaakers Brigitte , van Waardenburg Dick , Walker Jennifer C. , Wassenberg Renske , van Woensel Job B. M. , de Wit Esther , Wolthuis Diana W. , van Zwol Annelies , Oostrom Kim J. , Knoester Hennie , Dulfer Karolijn
Published: January 2023

OBJECTIVES:

To investigate neurocognitive, psychosocial, and quality of life (QoL) outcomes in children with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) seen 3–6 months after PICU admission.

DESIGN:

National prospective cohort study March 2020 to November 2021.

SETTING:

Seven PICUs in the Netherlands.

PATIENTS:

Children with MIS-C (0–17 yr) admitted to a PICU.

INTERVENTIONS:

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:

Children and/or parents were seen median (interquartile range [IQR] 4 mo [3–5 mo]) after PICU admission. Testing included assessment of neurocognitive, psychosocial, and QoL outcomes with reference to Dutch pre–COVID-19 general population norms. Effect sizes (Hedges’ g) were used to indicate the strengths and clinical relevance of differences: 0.2 small, 0.5 medium, and 0.8 and above large. Of 69 children with MIS-C, 49 (median age 11.6 yr [IQR 9.3–15.6 yr]) attended follow-up. General intelligence and verbal memory scores were normal compared with population norms. Twenty-nine of the 49 followed-up (59%) underwent extensive testing with worse function in domains such as visual memory, g = 1.0 (95% CI, 0.6–1.4), sustained attention, g = 2.0 (95% CI 1.4–2.4), and planning, g = 0.5 (95% CI, 0.1–0.9). The children also had more emotional and behavioral problems, g = 0.4 (95% CI 0.1–0.7), and had lower QoL scores in domains such as physical functioning g = 1.3 (95% CI 0.9–1.6), school functioning g = 1.1 (95% CI 0.7–1.4), and increased fatigue g = 0.5 (95% CI 0.1–0.9) compared with population norms. Elevated risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was seen in 10 of 30 children (33%) with MIS-C. Last, in the 32 parents, no elevated risk for PTSD was found.

CONCLUSIONS:

Children with MIS-C requiring PICU admission had normal overall intelligence 4 months after PICU discharge. Nevertheless, these children reported more emotional and behavioral problems, more PTSD, and worse QoL compared with general population norms. In a subset undergoing more extensive testing, we also identified irregularities in neurocognitive functions. Whether these impairments are caused by the viral or inflammatory response, the PICU admission, or COVID-19 restrictions remains to be investigated.
Use of High-resolution Ultrasound in Characterizing a Breast Implant and Detecting a Rupture of the Device Before Reoperation in Women Receiving Augmentation Mammaplasty
Authors: Nam Sang Eun , Bang Bum Sik , Lee Eun Kyoung , Sung Jung Youp , Song Keun Yeong , Yoo Young Bum , Park Dong Wook , Kim Jae Hong
Published: January 2023

With the emergence of the state-of-the art implant technology and advanced surgical techniques, plastic surgeons face challenging problems, such as identification of a specific type of a device, diagnosis of postoperative complications, in managing patients receiving an implant-based augmentation mammaplasty. Here, we introduce a novel method for characterizing a breast implant based on diverse factors, such as filler properties, type of pocket, surface topography, shape type and manufacturer of the device and detecting a presence and scope of rupture using HRUS.
Perspectives of Kidney Transplant Recipients on eHealth: Semistructured Interviews
Authors: Tang James , Howell Martin , Roger Simon , Wong Germaine , Tong Allison
Published: January 2023

Background.

The acceptability and impact of eHealth on patient outcomes may be limited if their concerns and priorities are not addressed. This study aimed to describe the perspectives and experiences of eHealth among kidney transplant recipients.

Methods.

Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted with 30 adult kidney transplant recipients from New South Wales, Australia (urban and regional), in ambulatory clinics. We used purposive sampling to obtain a wide range of demographic and clinical characteristics. Transcripts were analyzed thematically. Ethics was approved by the Western Sydney Local Health District (6054-2019/ETH08718).

Findings.

Six themes were identified: seeking access to quality care (prioritizing and trusting clinician advice, better safety and timeliness, enabled by user-friendly content); supporting self-management (responsive to individualized informational need, empowerment through practical knowledge, encouraging connectedness); assessing reliability and trustworthiness (discerning information integrity, applying to own context, apprehensive about privacy and confidentiality); enhancing health system capabilities (synergy with routine consultations, essential to coordination, achieving goals by real-time monitoring); technology burden and limitation (uncertainty with navigation and comprehension, challenged by technical difficulties, requiring additional preparation, confrontation and distress); and lacking applicable value (diminished assurance of medical services, existing practice and procedures, hampered by low expectations and disinterest).

Conclusion.

Recipients felt eHealth could support healthcare delivery and self-management activities. However, they encountered challenges in navigating technology and were concerned about privacy, confidentiality, and misinformation. eHealth that is accessible, individualized, and secure may improve patient satisfaction and outcomes.
Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions: introduction to the theme issue
Authors: Carmel Yohay , Shavit Ayelet , Lamm Ehud , Szathmáry Eörs
Published: January 2023

Human societies are no doubt complex. They are characterized by division of labour, multiple hierarchies, intricate communication networks and transport systems. These phenomena and others have led scholars to propose that human society may be, or may become, a new hierarchical level that may dominate the individual humans within it, similar to the relations between an organism and its cells, or an ant colony and its members. Recent discussions of the possibility of this major evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI) raise interesting and controversial questions that are explored in the present issue from four different complementary perspectives. (i) The general theory of ETIs. (ii) The unique aspects of cultural evolution. (iii) The evolutionary history and pre-history of humans. (iv) Specific routes of a possible human ETI. Each perspective uses different tools provided by different disciplines: biology, anthropology, cultural evolution, systems theory, psychology, economy, linguistics and philosophy of science. Altogether, this issue provides a broad and rich application of the notion of ETI to human past, present and perhaps also future evolution. It presents important case studies, new theoretical results and novel questions for future research.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.
Human major transitions from the perspective of distributed adaptations
Authors: Lamm Ehud , Finkel Meir , Kolodny Oren
Published: January 2023

Distributed adaptations are cases in which adaptation is dependent on the population as a whole: the adaptation is conferred by a structural or compositional aspect of the population; the adaptively relevant information cannot be reduced to information possessed by a single individual. Possible examples of human-distributed adaptations are song lines, traditions, trail systems, game drive lanes and systems of water collection and irrigation. Here we discuss the possible role of distributed adaptations in human cultural macro-evolution. Several kinds of human-distributed adaptations are presented, and their evolutionary implications are highlighted. In particular, we discuss the implications of population size, density and bottlenecks on the distributed adaptations that a population may possess and how they in turn would affect the population's resilience to ecological change. We discuss the implications that distributed adaptations may have for human collective action and the possibility that they played a role in colonization of new areas and niches, in seasonal migration, and in setting constraints for minimal inter-population connectivity.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.
Can sociality facilitate learning of complex tasks? Lessons from bees and flowers
Authors: Keasar Tamar , Pourtallier Odile , Wajnberg Eric
Published: January 2023

The emergence of animal societies is a major evolutionary transition, but its implications for learning-dependent innovations are insufficiently understood. Bees, with lifestyles ranging from solitary to eusocial, are ideal models for exploring social evolution. Here, we ask how and why bees may acquire a new ‘technology’, foraging on morphologically complex flowers, and whether eusociality facilitates this technological shift. We consider ‘complex’ flowers that produce high food rewards but are difficult to access,
versus
‘simple’ flowers offering easily accessible yet lower rewards. Complex flowers are less profitable than simple flowers to naive bees but become more rewarding after a learning period. We model how social bees optimally choose between simple and complex flowers over time, to maximize their colony's food balance. The model predicts no effect of colony size on the bees' flower choices. More foraging on complex flowers is predicted as colony longevity, its proportion of foragers, individual longevity and learning ability increase. Of these traits, only long-lived colonies and abundant foragers characterize eusocial bees. Thus, we predict that eusociality supports, but is not mandatory for, learning to exploit complex flowers. A re-analysis of a large published dataset of bee–flower interactions supports these conclusions. We discuss parallels between the evolution of insect sociality and other major transitions that provide scaffolds for learning innovations.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.
Four reasons for scepticism about a human major transition in social individuality
Authors: McShea Daniel W.
Published: January 2023

The ‘major transitions in evolution’ are mainly about the rise of hierarchy, new individuals arising at ever higher levels of nestedness, in particular the eukaryotic cell arising from prokaryotes, multicellular individuals from solitary protists and individuated societies from multicellular individuals. Some lists include human societies as a major transition, but based on a comparison with the non-human transitions, there are reasons for scepticism. (i) The foundation of the major transitions is hierarchy, but the cross-cutting interactions in human societies undermine hierarchical structure. (ii) Natural selection operates in three modes—stability, growth and reproductive success—and only the third produces the complex adaptations seen in fully individuated higher levels. But human societies probably evolve mainly in the stability and growth modes. (iii) Highly individuated entities are marked by division of labour and commitment to morphological differentiation, but in humans differentiation is mostly behavioural and mostly reversible. (iv) As higher-level individuals arise, selection drains complexity, drains parts, from lower-level individuals. But there is little evidence of a drain in humans. In sum, a comparison with the other transitions gives reasons to doubt that human social individuation has proceeded very far, or if it has, to doubt that it is a transition of the same sort.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.
Communication for collaborative computation: two major transitions in human evolution
Authors: Dor Daniel
Published: January 2023

This paper presents and defends the following theoretical arguments: (1) The uniqueness of the human condition lies in the fact that only humans engage in
collaborative computation
, where different individuals work together on shared computational challenges. Collaborative computation is the foundation of our cumulative cultures. (2) Collaborative computation requires individuals to engage in
instructive communication
, where senders do not just send messages to receivers—but also send them instructions that the receivers are obliged to follow in the course of computing the messages. (3) The process of human evolution was driven throughout by the invention and development of tools of instructive communication. (4) In this process, two separate major transitions should be identified. The first was made possible by the toolkit of representational gestures (pointing, eye contact, manual demonstration, pantomime and more) that Merlin Donald called the toolkit of
mimesis
. Mimesis allows for collaborative computation as long as the information requiring computation is available for direct experiencing by the participants. The second was made possible by
language
, the tool that allowed its users, for the first time, to engage in collaborative computations of information they did not experience together—through the systematic instruction of the mental computations of imagination.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.
Major evolutionary transitions in individuality between humans and AI
Authors: Rainey Paul B.
Published: January 2023

That humans might undergo future evolutionary transitions in individuality (ETIs) seems fanciful. However, drawing upon recent thinking concerning the origins of properties that underpin ETIs, I argue that certain ETIs are imminently realizable. Central to my argument is recognition that heritable variance in fitness at higher levels of organization can be externally imposed (scaffolded) by specific ecological structures and cultural practices. While ETIs to eusociality seem highly improbable, ETIs involving symbioses between humans and artificial intelligence (AI) can be readily envisaged. A necessary requirement is that fitness-affecting interactions between humans and AI devices are inherited by offspring. The Mendelian nature of human reproduction ensures that offspring resemble parents. Reproduction of AI devices requires nothing more than transference of algorithms from parental AI devices to devices that are assigned to offspring. This simple copying, combined with societal structures that require humans to carry AI devices, ensures heritable variance in fitness at the level of both interacting partners. Selection at the collective level will drive alignment of replicative fates and increase co-dependency, thus alleviating need for continual imposition of externally imposed scaffolds. I conclude by drawing attention to the immediacy of such transitions and express concern over possibilities for malevolent manipulation.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.
Human societal development: is it an evolutionary transition in individuality?
Authors: Carmel Yohay
Published: January 2023

An evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI) occurs when a previously independent organism becomes a lower level unit within a higher hierarchical level (for example, cells in an organism, ants in a colony). Using archaeological and historical accounts from the last 12 000 years, I empirically examine the proposition that human society increasingly functions as a higher hierarchical level within which individuals integrate as lower level units. I evaluate human societal development with respect to three criteria that together indicate complexity in biological systems and serve as an operationalization scheme for ETIs: size, inseparability and specialization. Thesizeof the largest polity has increased seven orders of magnitude, from hundreds to billions.Inseparabilitybecame nearly complete since Mesopotamian city-states, following the first appearance of intricatespecialization(division of labour).Connectivitywithin a polity has increased rapidly during the last few centuries, and particularly within the last few decades. In view of these results, I formulate the following hypothesis:human society is undergoing an evolutionary transition in individuality,driven by socio-cultural-technological processes. This proposition requires a detailed theoretical basis and further empirical testing. I propose four predictions derived from the hypothesis that may be used to test it.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.
The interplay of social identity and norm psychology in the evolution of human groups
Authors: Kish Bar-On Kati , Lamm Ehud
Published: January 2023

People's attitudes towards social norms play a crucial role in understanding group behaviour. Norm psychology accounts focus on processes of norm internalization that influence people's norm-following attitudes but pay considerably less attention to social identity and group identification processes. Social identity theory in contrast studies group identity but works with a relatively thin and instrumental notion of social norms. We argue that to best understand both sets of phenomena, it is important to integrate the insights of both approaches. Social status, social identity and social norms are considered separate phenomena in evolutionary accounts. We discuss assumptions and views that support this separation, and suggest an integrated view of our own. We argue that we should be open to the early origins of human social complexity, and conjecture that the longer that the human social world involved multi-level societies the more probable it is that norm psychology and social identity interacted in rich ways.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.
Human cooperation and evolutionary transitions in individuality
Authors: Townsend Cathryn , Ferraro Joseph V. , Habecker Heather , Flinn Mark V.
Published: January 2023

A major evolutionary transition in individuality involves the formation of a cooperative group and the transformation of that group into an evolutionary entity. Human cooperation shares principles with those of multicellular organisms that have undergone transitions in individuality: division of labour, communication, and fitness interdependence. After the split from the last common ancestor of hominoids, early hominins adapted to an increasingly terrestrial niche for several million years. We posit that new challenges in this niche set in motion a positive feedback loop in selection pressure for cooperation that ratcheted coevolutionary changes in sociality, communication, brains, cognition, kin relations and technology, eventually resulting in egalitarian societies with suppressed competition and rapid cumulative culture. The increasing pace of information innovation and transmission became a key aspect of the evolutionary niche that enabled humans to become formidable cooperators with explosive population growth, the ability to cooperate and compete in groups of millions, and emergent social norms, e.g. private property. Despite considerable fitness interdependence, the rise of private property, in concert with population explosion and socioeconomic inequality, subverts potential transition of human groups into evolutionary entities due to resurgence of latent competition and conflict.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.
Telomeric DNA breaks in human induced pluripotent stem cells trigger ATR-mediated arrest and telomerase-independent telomere length maintenance
Authors: Estep Katrina N , Tobias John W , Fernandez Rafael J , Beveridge Brinley M , Johnson F Brad
Published: January 2023

Although mechanisms of telomere protection are well-defined in differentiated cells, it is poorly understood how stem cells sense and respond to telomere dysfunction. Recent efforts have characterized the DNA damage response (DDR) following progressive telomere erosion in human pluripotent cells, yet the broader impact of telomeric double-strand breaks (DSBs) in these cells is poorly characterized. Here, we report on DNA damage signaling, cell cycle, and transcriptome-level changes in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in response to telomere-internal DSBs. We engineered a novel human iPSC line with a targeted doxycycline-inducible TRF1-FokI fusion protein to acutely induce DSBs at telomeres. Using this model, we demonstrate that TRF1-FokI DSBs activate an ATR-dependent DDR in iPSCs, in contrast to an established ATM-dependent response to telomeric FokI breaks in differentiated cells. ATR activation leads to a potent cell cycle arrest in G2, which we show is p53-independent and can be rescued by treatment with an ATR inhibitor. Telomere lengths are remarkably well-maintained in the face of persistent TRF1-FokI induction. Using CRISPR-Cas9 to cripple the catalytic domain of telomerase, we show that telomerase is largely dispensable for survival and telomere length maintenance following telomeric breaks, which instead appear to be repaired by a mechanism bearing hallmarks of lengthening mediated by homologous recombination, so-called alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Our findings suggest a previously unappreciated role for ALT in telomere maintenance in telomerase-positive iPSCs and reveal distinct iPSC-specific responses to targeted telomeric damage.