bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Parasocial Relationship Dissolution and Deterioration
Authors: Hu Mu
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses how media users cope with challenges to their parasocial relationships (PSRs) and PSR termination. One of the most striking characteristics of modern mass media is the formation of PSRs, the relationships between audiences and media characters and figures. Researchers from a variety of disciplines have devoted substantial efforts to understanding its initiation, development, and maintenance. First, the chapter discusses how individuals cope with the termination of a PSR, particularly making sense of a celebrity’s death and coping with loss. Next, the chapter examines ways in which individuals can reconcile their feelings toward the celebrity and disapproval of the celebrity’s behavior, discussing parasocial forgiveness, denial, or parasocial breakup (PSB).
Amharic
Authors: Amberber Mengistu
Published: May 2023

This chapter covers Amharic, which is the working language of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. Amharic belongs to the Transversal branch of South Ethiosemitic within the Ethiosemitic language family. It is one of the best studied Ethiosemitic languages with a rich body of grammatical description going back to the 17th century. Furthermore, due to its role as a medium of instruction in schools, it has a number of traditional and pedagogical grammars including monolingual dictionaries going back to the 1930s. The Amharic writing system, known as Fidel, is an alpha-syllabary or abugida. Diachronically, there is evidence to suggest that Modern Amharic is distinct from Old Amharic both in terms of phonology and morphosyntax. Amharic has a root-and-pattern morphology which is more prevalent with verbs rather than with other word classes. There are two clearly open lexical classes: verbs and nouns. There is no obvious morphological distinction between common nouns and adjectives nor between common nouns and adverbs. The closed lexical classes are adpositions, conjunctions, copulas, demonstratives, interjections, and pronouns. Amharic is a nominative-accusative language with differential case marking properties: the nominative is unmarked while the accusative is marked typically if the noun is definite/specific. Verbs are marked for agreement: obligatorily for subject agreement but often optionally for object/oblique agreement. There are valency-decreasing and valency-increasing derivations. The former includes the passive, reflexive, anticausative and reciprocal, while the latter includes the causative and applicative. The unmarked constituent order in Amharic is SOV.
Argobba
Authors: Wetter Andreas
Published: May 2023

This chapter provides an overview of the grammar of Argobba, an Ethiosemitic minority language closely related to Amharic. The grammatical sketch comprises the outline of the phoneme inventory and the explanation of morphophonological processes, a description of the verbal and the nominal systems, as well as an introduction in to the syntax of the language. Argobba is an understudied language with several regional varieties which seem not be mutual intelligible. This chapter provides the first grammatical description of the most northerly Argobba variety spoken in the two villages of Shonke and T’ollaħa. It is characterized by many archaic features such as retention of pharyngal consonants, a much more complex verb morphology and allomorphy in object indexes.
Chaha group
Authors: Menuta Fekede , Völlmin Sascha
Published: May 2023

This chapter tackles the Chaha group, which consists of the Gurage varieties Chaha, Ezha, Gumer, and Gura. Labialization and palatalization abound across the Chaha group’s varieties both in lexicon and morphology. The depalatalization happens in the jussive base of verbs with palatal elements and weak verbs with final vocoid consonants I and U. Unlike Chaha, Gura, and Gumer, Ezha preserved gemination. Plural references of the language also manifest through pronominal means of verb agreement, possessive suffixes, and over pronouns.
Kistane
Authors: Wakjira Bedilu
Published: May 2023

This chapter describes the Kistane language. It discusses similar morphological features of Kistane and Gunnän Gurage languages. The major morphological processes in Kistane are deletion, insertion, assimilation, and palatalization. Nouns inflect for gender, number, definiteness and case, and are derived through templates, affixation, relativization, and compounding. Verbal morphology involves triconsonantal roots bearing the lexical semantics of a verb and a vowel pattern. Kistane also has a set of morphemes suffixed to affirmative indicative verbs in the main clause.
General overview of Nilo-Saharan
Authors: Dimmendaal Gerrit J.
Published: May 2023

This chapter introduces the expanse of the Nilo-Saharan region, the language family that spread across Central and Eastern Africa. It lists the range of languages and language groups within the region such as Kunama, Eastern Sudanic, Nara, Berta, Nilotic, and Surmic. The geographical spread probably reflects the chronological and historical diffusion of the ancestral languages from the west. The chapter also notes how scholars often argue the specificity of groups and subgroups included within the Nilo-Saharan phylum, as well as their genetic grouping.
Berta
Authors: Andersen Torben
Published: May 2023

This chapter is a description of Berta, a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in Benishangul-Gumuz Region. The description is based on the Mayu dialect. Berta is a tone language with tones having both lexical and grammatical functions. There are two major word classes, nouns and verbs, while adjectival concepts are expressed by verbs. Nouns are inflected for number, state and case, and verbs are inflected for mood and tense, and they may be marked as being applicative. There are several verbal derivational categories, including centripetal, reciprocal, and causative. In noun phrases, modifiers follow the head, which is in a construct state. Berta has both prepositions and postpositions. Independent declarative clauses have an obligatory preverbal topic position that may be occupied by a noun phrase unmarked for case, whether a subject, and object, or an adverbial, while a postverbal subject has a marked nominative case. There are two types of sequential clauses, which are syntactically dependent on the preceding discourse, but which are not subordinate clauses.
Mursi
Authors: Mütze Bettina , Ahland Colleen
Published: May 2023

This chapter describes the language spoken by the Mursi, who live in southwest Ethiopia between the Omo and the Mago river. Mursi belongs within the Chai-Tirmaga-Mursi dialect cluster within the South-East subgroup of Surmic. Mursi consists of 21 consonants and 7 vowels for its phoneme inventory but lacks the palatal and velar implosives found in Tirmaga and Chai. Polarity is recognized as a prominent Mursi tonal behaviour found in verbs as well as nouns, Polar tones are assigned to toneless syllables or syllables that have competing unassociated tones. The chapter discusses word classes and verb morphology including aspect and valence-increasing as well as valence-decreasing operations. The nominal morphology includes several nominalizers as well as the presentation of noun modification constructions in Mursi. Finally, basic clause types as well as coordination of phrases are covered.
Ethiopian Sign Language
Authors: Hailu Eyasu , Kassu Pawlos
Published: May 2023

This chapter explores information revolving around the Ethiopian Sign Language (EthSL). It defines sign language as a visual-gestural modality expressed by hands and perceived through sight. The history of EthSL is closely connected to deaf education prominent even before or after the arrival of foreign missionaries, who only used Nordic Sign Language and American Sign Language. The users of EthSL developed their own community with cultural profiles and became fully part of the larger Ethiopian society. The chapter clarifies that EthSL is not a replica of Amharic as it became obvious that it is independent of any spoken Ethiopian languages.
Linguistic avoidance and taboo in Ethiopian languages
Authors: Teferra Anbessa
Published: May 2023

This chapter examines the status of linguistic avoidance in the languages of Ethiopia. It offers a brief introduction regarding linguistic taboo and addresses topics related to them with examples from Ethiopian languages. The chapter also discusses the linguistic avoidance of in-laws, noting that it is widespread among speakers of Highland East Cushitic (HEC) languages—e.g. Sidaama, Kambaata, Hadiyya—and also in the nearby Arsi Oromo variety. It details the linguistic avoidance of in-laws in three Ethiopian languages: Sidaama, Kambaata, and Oromo. This chapter also reviews the less strict form of avoidance language in a few Semitic languages. Ultimately, the chapter elaborates on the avoidance of animal names and names of older kin (whether consanguine or not) in many Ethiopian languages. It also studies the taboo of body parts, sexual activity, and effluvia.
Language and music
Authors: Morand Katell
Published: May 2023

This chapter considers language and music in Ethiopia and looks at the state of the art from the point of view of an ethnomusicologist. This chapter first emphasizes that Ethiopia’s well-acknowledged linguistic and cultural diversity poses significant challenges to the present review, as only a fraction of Ethiopia’s musical styles is known in significant detail. Studies in linguistic and oral literature have also generally shown little concern for the description of voice, timbre, or melodic contour in instances of formalized speech. Given the lack of information on language and instrumental music, the chapter focuses on the singing voice, first raising issues of scale and comparison (do linguistic families and musical areas overlap?), then of pragmatics (why sing when one can speak?) and formal relationships, before offering a few suggestions for future research.
Henrich, Heyes, and Tomasello on the Cognitive Foundations of Cultural Evolution
Authors: Heyes Cecilia , Moore Richard
Published: May 2023

This chapter gives a brief overview of three accounts of the socio-cognitive abilities that facilitated the emergence and transmission of cumulative culture in the recent hominin lineage. These accounts have been developed and defended by Joseph Henrich (e.g. 2015), Cecilia Heyes (e.g. 2018), and Michael Tomasello (e.g. 1999, 2008, 2014) in collaboration with others. The chapter pays particular attention to the different abilities that these authors think are foundational to human cultural evolution – abilities that include imitation, theory of mind, norm cognition, shared intentionality, and metacognition; and to questions about whether these abilities first arose as products of genetic or cultural evolution. By clarifying the similarities and differences between these accounts, the authors identify points of disagreement that could be tested empirically, and areas where further conceptual clarification is required. Thus it is hoped this chapter might serve as prelude to a more sustained critical engagement with the details of the discussed views.
Fishes
Authors: Brown Culum
Published: May 2023

Social learning is widespread among vertebrates and perhaps even invertebrates. It provides a method to discover new information or adopt novel behaviour patterns rapidly without the need to explore the possibilities for one’s self. Social learning enables information to travel rapidly between peers but it can also transcend generations, leading to the establishment of novel behavioural patterns at the population scale, otherwise known as culture. As such it provides a means for information and or behaviour to be passed on between generations that is independent from genetic inheritance. Fishes have repeatedly proven to be a fantastic model to study the mechanisms of social learning and the development of behavioural traditions because they are relatively cheap to maintain in large numbers affording the opportunity to greatly enhance statistical power and detailed experimental design. This chapter explores the evidence of social learning and culture in fishes, the most diverse group of vertebrates on the planet. It reveals that social learning plays a vital role in nearly all aspect of fish behaviour and examples of fish traditions most often arise in the context of movement and migration. The chapter concludes with examples of practical applications and implications of social learning and culture in fisheries and aquaculture.
Cultural Responses to Total War, 1930s–1945
Authors: Culver Annika A.
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses comparative responses to total war and the arts by states and cultural producers in countries affected by World War II’s global reach throughout Europe and Asia from the 1930s until the end of the war in 1945. In comparing the responses of artists and intellectuals at a time when culture became an important component of wartime mobilization, it examines how national governments co-opted the arts, literature, and film in waging total war and considers the legacies of collaboration by intellectuals in occupied nations. It also includes descriptions of the arts in imperial Japan and occupied northeast China (Manchukuo), whose wartime cultural legacies remain understudied and reveal the intersections between politics and cultural production.
The Humanitarian Impulse
Authors: Sebeny Hillary
Published: May 2023

This chapter analyzes the role of humanitarian relief and international law in alleviating suffering among civilians, combatants, and POWs. The humanitarian impulse that animated the Geneva and Hague Conventions and the League of Nations evolved and attempted to meet global crises of an unprecedented scale during World War II. The global demand for refugee rescue, famine relief, disease prevention, and humane treatment of POWs existed in every theater of the war; however, competing military objectives and colonial hierarchies created disparities in the distribution of relief. Additionally, the smaller religious organizations and charitable groups that had led relief efforts during World War I and the interwar years were unable to match the catastrophic effects of World War II alone, leading to the creation of modern organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
Postwar Settlements and Internationalism
Authors: Gramer Regina , Sasaki Yutaka
Published: May 2023

Due to the unprecedented upheavals of World War II, a total war, the postwar settlements, devised by the wartime diplomacy of the Allied Powers from the Atlantic Charter to the Potsdam Conference, became a rare historical moment in which a new world order was painstakingly envisioned and put into practice. At the heart of the Allied postwar order was liberal internationalism, a vision of an open, rule-based, multilateral, cooperative political, economic and security system. Such an order came to be embodied in the Bretton Woods system and the United Nations. While American-led liberal internationalism, as limited as it was, survived the Cold War, it has been increasingly challenged by social and political crises triggered by the accelerating multi-polar globalized world after 1945 and especially in the post-Cold War Era.
Ideological values are parametrically associated with empathy neural response to vicarious suffering
Authors: Zebarjadi Niloufar , Adler Eliyahu , Kluge Annika , Sams Mikko , Levy Jonathan
Published: May 2023

Several studies in political psychology reported higher levels of empathy among political leftists (i.e. liberals) as compared to political rightists (i.e. conservatives). Yet, all those studies lean on self-reports, which are often limited by subjective bias and conformity to social norms. Here, we tested this putative asymmetry using neuroimaging: we recorded oscillatory neural activity using magnetoencephalography while 55 participants completed a well-validated neuroimaging paradigm for empathy to vicarious suffering. The findings revealed a typical rhythmic alpha-band ‘empathy response’ in the temporal–parietal junction. This neural empathy response was significantly stronger in the leftist than in the rightist group. In addition to this dichotomous division, the neural response was parametrically associated with both self-reported political inclination and right-wing ideological values. This is the first study to reveal an asymmetry in the neural empathy response as a function of political ideology. The findings reported in this study are in line with the current literature in political psychology and provide a novel neural perspective to support the ideological asymmetry in empathy. This study opens new vistas for addressing questions in political psychology by using neuroimaging.
The therapeutic benefit of antioxidants on the outcome of acute aluminum phosphide poisoning: a systemic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Sobh Zahraa K , Abd-Elhameed Asmaa
Published: May 2023

This systematic review and meta-analysis pool evidence available from clinical trials to verify the effect of antioxidants on the outcome of acute aluminum phosphide (AlP) poisoning. A systematic review complied with “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) Protocols. Meta-analysis was conducted on 10 studies that fulfill eligibility criteria. Four antioxidants were implemented: N-Acetyl cysteine (NAC), L-Carnitine, Vitamin E, and Co-enzyme Q10 (Co Q10). Risk of bias, publication bias, and heterogeneity were assessed to ensure the results’ reliability. Antioxidants significantly decrease mortality of acute AlP poisoning around three folds (OR = 2.684, 95% CI: 1.764–4.083; P < .001) and decrease the need for intubation and mechanical ventilation by two folds (OR = 2.391, 95% CI 1.480–3.863; P < .001) compared with control. Subgroup analysis revealed that NAC significantly decreases mortality by nearly three folds (OR = 2.752, 95% CI: 1.580–4.792; P < .001), and vitamin E significantly decreases mortality by nearly six folds (OR = 5.667, 95% CI: 1.178–27.254; P = .03) compared with control. L-Carnitine showed a borderline significance (P = .050). Co Q10 decreased the mortality compared with the control; however, the difference was not statistically significant (P = .263). This meta-analysis provides solid evidence regarding the efficacy of antioxidants in improving the outcome of acute AlP poisoning with reference to NAC. Wide confidence interval and small relative weight affect reliability regarding vitamin E efficacy. Future clinical trials and meta-analyses are recommended. To our knowledge, no previous meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the efficacy of treatment modalities for acute AlP poisoning.
Comparing dual heat pulse methods with Péclet’s number as universal switch to measure sap flow across a wide range
Authors: Ma Yuchen , Ren Ruiqi , Fu Han , Si Bingcheng , Kinar Nicholas J , Liu Gang , Steppe Kathy
Published: May 2023

Accurate determination of sap flow over a wide measurement range is important for assessing tree transpiration. However, this is difficult to achieve by using a single heat pulse method. Recent attempts have been made to combine multiple heat pulse methods and have successfully increased the sap flow measurement range. However, relative performance of different dual methods has not yet been addressed, and selection of the numerical threshold used to switch between methods has not been verified among different dual methods. This paper evaluates three different dual methods with respect to measurement range, precision and sources of uncertainty: (method 1) the heat ratio (HR) and compensation heat pulse method; (method 2) the HR and T-max method; and (method 3) the HR and double ratio method. Field experiments showed that methods 1, 2 with three needles and 3 compare well with the benchmark Sapflow+ method, having root mean square deviations of 4.7 cm h−1, 3.0 cm h−1 and 2.4 cm h−1, respectively. The three dual methods are equivalent in accuracy (P > 0.05). Moreover, all dual methods can satisfactorily measure reverse, low and medium heat pulse velocities. However, for high velocities (>100 cm h−1), the HR + T-max (method 2) performed better than the other methods. Another advantage is that this method has a three- instead of four-needle probe configuration, making it less error prone to probe misalignment and plant wounding. All dual methods in this study use the HR method for calculating low to medium flow and a different method for calculating high flow. The optimal threshold for switching from HR to another method is HR’s maximum flow, which can be accurately determined from the Péclet number. This study therefore provides guidance for an optimal selection of methods for quantification of sap flow over a wide measurement range.
Diphtheria update
Authors: Schweon Steven J.
Published: May 2023

Travelers from parts of the world where diphtheria is endemic and vaccines are underutilized may carry diphtheria and become ill. This article provides an overview of diphtheria as well as management updates that are particularly critical amid a pandemic with healthcare disruptions and vaccine hesitancy.
Preventing transfusion-associated circulatory overload in acute care settings
Authors: Fadeyi Oluwatoyin A. , Keresztes Patricia , Saha Amit K. , Fadeyi Emmanuel A.
Published: May 2023

Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) is a potentially life-threatening complication that can occur with the transfusion of any blood component, and accounts for up to 24% of transfusion-associated patient fatalities. This article discusses how to develop evidence-based continuing education and guideline recommendations that will increase nursing staff awareness of TACO and guide nurses in prevention and prompt intervention.
Sintilimab-induced Alopecia Universalis in a Patient With the Anti-tumor Effect of Complete Remission After Hepatectomy
Authors: Wen Liang , Zhao Jianhui , Yang Yixiao , Chen Wen , Bao Yingying , Zhang Jian , Wei Tao , Zhou Lijuan , Xi Bin , Zhang Yun , Liang Tingbo
Published: May 2023

Immune checkpoint blockades have been widely used to treat various malignancies. Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor-induced alopecia areata, one of the immune-related adverse events, is rarely reported. We present a case of alopecia universalis during the treatment of Sintilimab, a monoclonal anti-PD-1 antibody, in a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma. A 65-year-old male was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma in liver segment VI (S6) and chose to receive Sintilimab due to predicted insufficient residual liver volume for hepatectomy. He presented extensive hair loss in all the parts of the body 4 weeks after Sintilimab treatment. And without using any dermatologic drug, the alopecia areata gradually developed to be alopecia universalis after Sintilimab continuous treatment for 21 months. The pathological examination of skin revealed remarkable increased lymphocytes infiltration around the hair follicles, which contained predominantly CD8 positive T cells in the dermis. During single immunotherapy, the tumor marker of serum alpha-fetoprotein level soon decreased from 512.1 mg/L to a normal level within 3 months, accompanied with a remarkable tumor regression in liver S6 by magnetic resonance imaging scans. The patient received hepatectomy and pathological examination demonstrated the nodule was full of extensive necrosis. By combining immunotherapy and hepatectomy, the patient finally achieved a remarkable anti-tumor effect of complete remission. Immune checkpoint blockades-induced alopecia areata is a rare immune-related adverse event and accompanied with a good anti-tumor efficacy in our case. Regardless of alopecia treatment, PD-1 inhibitor treatment is recommended to be continued, especially when the immunotherapy is effective.
A National Survey of Perspectives of Physician Assistants in Academic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Authors: West Julie M. , Carraher Amanda , Jadallah Erin , Kearns Patrick , O’Brien Andrew L. , Huayllani Peralta Maria , Moore Amy M. , Janis Jeffrey E.
Published: May 2023

Background:

Physician assistants (PAs) are an essential part of the healthcare team who improve access and efficiencies in patient care. A better understanding of the impact and current utilization of PAs in plastic and reconstructive surgery is needed. The purpose of this national survey was to evaluate the role and scope of practice of PAs in academic plastic surgery, as well as characterize current trends of PA utilization, compensation, and perceived value from a PA perspective.

Methods:

A voluntary, anonymous 50-question survey was distributed via SurveyMonkey to practicing PAs at 98 academic plastic surgery programs. The survey included questions about employment characteristics, involvement in clinical research and academic work, structural organization, academic benefits, compensation, and position held.

Results:

Ninety-one PAs from 35 plastic surgery programs completed the survey and were included (overall program response rate = 36.8%, participants response rate = 30.4%). Practice environments included outpatient clinics, the operating room, and inpatient care. Most commonly, respondents supported multiple surgeons as opposed to one surgeon’s practice. For 57% of respondents, compensation is based on a tiered system that accounts for specialty and experience. The reported mode base salary range corroborates national averages and most reported annual bonuses based on merit. The majority of respondents felt valued in their role.

Conclusions:

Through this national survey, we provide granularity as to how PAs are utilized and compensated in academic plastic surgery. We offer insight into the overall perceived value from a PA perspective that helps define the role and will ultimately help strengthen collaboration.
Lower Lip Reconstruction Using a Sensory Anterolateral Thigh Flap as the First Choice
Authors: Tsuge Itaru , Yamanaka Hiroki , Katsube Motoki , Sowa Yoshihiro , Sakamoto Michiharu , Morimoto Naoki
Published: May 2023

Local flaps from the upper lip and cheeks have been the first choice for two-thirds to total resection of the lower lip. However, these local flap techniques involve many clinical problems, including small a mouth, drooling, scarring, and hypesthesia. The improvement of free anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap transfer can solve these problems with expansion of the application of free flaps for lower lip reconstruction. The patient in this case was a 56-year-old man with squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip (cT3N1M0). Subtotal lower lip resection preserving both corners of the mouth with bilateral neck dissection was performed. Simultaneously, a sensory ALT flap was elevated with an 8 × 6 cm skin island and a lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. The lateral and medial sides of the fascia lata were processed into 1-cm-wide strings, which were tunneled through the orbicularis oris muscle of the upper lip and sutured to the orbicularis oris muscle at the mucosal side of the philtrum. The lateral femoral cutaneous nerve and right mental nerve were sutured. At 3 months, a second surgery was performed to replace the ALT flap on the white labial side with a clavicle full-thickness skin graft. This surgery achieved four important factors: opening and closing of the mouth, sensory function of the lower lip, cosmetic appearance, and minimization of donor-site damage. We believe the worldwide improvement of microsurgery techniques enables lower lip reconstruction using the sensory ALT flap to be selected as the first choice for two-thirds to total lower lip defects.
Reduction of Very Rapid Emergency Transfers to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Kuehn Stacy E. , Melvin Jennifer E. , Creech Pamela S. , Fitch Jill , Noritz Garey , Perry Michael F. , Stewart Claire , Bode Ryan S.
Published: May 2023

Introduction:

Emergency transfers are associated with increased inpatient pediatric mortality. Therefore, interventions to improve system-level situational awareness were utilized to decrease a subset of emergency transfers that occurred within four hours of admission to an inpatient medical-surgical unit called very rapid emergency transfers (VRET). Specifically, we aimed to increase the days between VRET from non-ICU inpatient units from every 10 days to every 25 days over 1 year.

Methods:

Using the Model for Improvement, we developed an interdisciplinary team to reduce VRET. The key drivers targeted were the admission process from the emergency department and ambulatory clinics, sepsis recognition and communication, and expansion of our situational awareness framework. Days between VRET defined the primary outcome metric for this improvement project.

Results:

After six months of interventions, our baseline improved from a VRET every 10 days to every 79 days, followed by another shift to 177 days, which we sustained for 3 years peaking at 468 days between events.

Conclusion:

Interventions targeting multiple admission sources to improve early recognition and communication of potential clinical deterioration effectively reduced and nearly eliminated VRET at our organization.
Area-based socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality in Germany – widening, narrowing or reversing inequalities between 2003 and 2019?
Authors: Tetzlaff Fabian , Nowossadeck Enno , Jansen Lina , Michalski Niels , Barnes Ben , Kraywinkel Klaus , Hoebel Jens
Published: May 2023

Cancer mortality has declined in recent decades, but — due to a lack of national individual-level data — it remains unclear whether this applies equally to all socioeconomic groups in Germany. Using an area-based approach, this study investigated socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality and their secular trends on a German nationwide scale for the first time. Official cause-of-death data from 2003– 2019 were linked to the district-level German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation (GISD). Age-standardised mortality rates for all cancers combined and the most common site-specific cancers were calculated according to the level of regional socioeconomic deprivation. To quantify the extent of area-based socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality, absolute (SII) and relative (RII) indices of inequality were estimated using multilevel Poisson models. On average, cancer mortality was 50% (women) and 80% (men) higher in Germany’s most deprived than least deprived districts (absolute difference: 84 deaths per 100,000 in women and 185 deaths per 100,000 in men). As declines in cancer mortality were larger in less deprived districts, the socioeconomic gap in cancer mortality widened over time. This trend was observed for various common cancers. Exceptions were cancers of the lung in women and of the pancreas in both sexes, for which mortality rates increased over time, especially in highly deprived districts. Our study provides first evidence on increasing socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality on a nationwide scale for Germany. Area-based linkage allows to examine socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality across Germany and identify regions with high needs for cancer prevention and control.
The origin, evolution and molecular diversity of the chemokine system
Authors: Aleotti Alessandra , Goulty Matthew , Lewis Clifton , Giorgini Flaviano , Feuda Roberto
Published: May 2023

Chemokine signalling performs key functions in cell migration via chemoattraction, such as attracting leukocytes to the site of infection during host defence. The system consists of a ligand, the chemokine, usually secreted outside the cell, and a chemokine receptor on the surface of a target cell that recognises the ligand. Several non-canonical components interact with the system. These include a variety of molecules that usually share some degree of sequence similarity with canonical components and, in some cases, are known to bind to canonical components and/or to modulate cell migration (1, 2). While canonical components have been described in vertebrate lineages, the distribution of the non-canonical components is less clear. Uncertainty over the relationships between canonical and non-canonical components hampers our understanding of the evolution of the system. We used phylogenetic methods, including gene-tree to species-tree reconciliation, to untangle the relationships between canonical and non-canonical components, identify gene duplication events and clarify the origin of the system. We found that unrelated ligand groups independently evolved chemokine-like functions. We found non-canonical ligands outside vertebrates, such as TAFA “chemokines” found in urochordates. In contrast, all receptor groups are vertebrate-specific and all - except ACKR1 - originated from a common ancestor in early vertebrates. Both ligand and receptor copy numbers expanded through gene duplication events at the base of jawed vertebrates, with subsequent waves of innovation occurring in bony fish and mammals.
Early life PM2.5exposure, childhood cognitive ability and mortality between age 11 and 86: A record-linkage life-course study from Scotland
Authors: Baranyi Gergő , Williamson Lee , Feng Zhiqiang , Tomlinson Sam , Vieno Massimo , Dibben Chris
Published: May 2023

Background

Living in areas with high air pollution concentrations is associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Exposure in sensitive developmental periods might be long-lasting but studies with very long follow-up are rare, and mediating pathways between early life exposure and life-course mortality are not fully understood.

Methods

Data were drawn from the Scottish Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort of 1936, a representative record-linkage study comprising 5% of the Scottish population born in 1936. Participants had valid age 11 cognitive ability test scores along with linked mortality data until age 86. Fine particle (PM2.5) concentrations estimated with the EMEP4UK atmospheric chemistry transport model were linked to participants’ residential address from the National Identity Register in 1939 (age 3). Confounder-adjusted Cox regression estimated associations between PM2.5and mortality; regression-based causal mediation analysis explored mediation through childhood cognitive ability.

Results

The final sample consisted of 2734 individuals with 1608 deaths registered during the 1,833,517 person-months at risk follow-up time. Higher early life PM2.5exposure increased the risk of all-cause mortality (HR=1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.04 per 10μg m-3increment), associations were stronger for mortality between age 65 and 86. PM2.5increased the risk of cancer-related mortality (HR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.02-1.08), especially for lung cancer among females (HR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.02-1.21), but not for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Higher PM2.5in early life (≥50μg m-3) was associated with lower childhood cognitive ability, which, in turn, increased the risk of all-cause mortality and mediated 25% of the total associations.

Conclusions

In our life-course study with 75-year of continuous mortality records, we found that exposure to air pollution in early life was associated with higher mortality in late adulthood, and that childhood cognitive ability partly mediated this relationship. Findings suggest that past air pollution concentrations will likely impact health and longevity for decades to come.

HIGHLIGHTS

We explored PM2.5at age 3 and mortality between age 11 and 86 in a Scottish cohort

PM2.5increased the risk of all-cause mortality, especially between the age of 65 and 86

Childhood cognitive ability mediated 25% of the total association

Associations were prominent for (lung) cancer mortality, especially among females

Air pollution in early life may affect health and longevity across the life course
Livestock heat stress risk in response to the extreme heat event (heatwave) of July 2022 in the UK
Authors: Cooke A. S. , Rivero M. J.
Published: May 2023

On the 18thand 19thof July 2022, the UK experienced a record-breaking extreme heat event. For the first time, temperatures exceeding 40°C were recorded. Whilst this may seem exceptional or unprecedented, the progression of climate change is expected to increase both the likelihood and severity of such events. Livestock are vulnerable to heat stress, which manifests as losses to health and welfare, productivity, and sustainability. Here, we characterize the heatwave of July 2022 in the context of livestock heat-stress risk, with a focus on cattle. Meteorological data was obtained from 85 weather stations and the Comprehensive Climate Index (CCI) was calculated, hourly, for each station. The CCI was mapped across the UK for 18/07/22 and 19/07/22 and compared against heat stress risk thresholds. Across both days, >25% of sites experienced “severe” heat stress risk. On 19/07/22 there was an “extreme” risk across >5% of sites. The site that experienced the highest risk was near Rugby, in the West Midlands. Across all sites, night-time temperatures fell below risk thresholds and may have mitigated some of the heat stress risk. Whilst there was some evidence of productivity losses, this was not conclusive. The impacts of this event on livestock were not just direct, but indirect through negative impacts on water and forage availability. The heatwave of July 2022 must serve as a warning for the UK livestock industry and these results may act as a case study of what the sector may be increasingly likely to experience in the future.
A chromatinized origin reduces the mobility of ORC and MCM through interactions and spatial constraint
Authors: Sánchez Humberto , Liu Zhaowei , van Veen Edo , van Laar Theo , Diffley John F. X. , Dekker Nynke H.
Published: May 2023

Chromatin replication involves the assembly and activity of the replisome within the nucleosomal landscape. At the core of the replisome is the Mcm2-7 complex (MCM), which is loaded onto DNA after binding to the Origin Recognition Complex (ORC). In yeast, ORC is a dynamic protein that diffuses rapidly along DNA, unless halted by origin recognition sequences. However, less is known about the dynamics of ORC proteins in the presence of nucleosomes and attendant consequences for MCM loading. To address this, we harnessed anin vitrosingle-molecule approach to interrogate a chromatinized origin of replication. We find that ORC binds the origin of replication with similar efficiency independently of whether the origin is chromatinized, despite ORC mobility being reduced by the presence of nucleosomes. Recruitment of MCM also proceeds efficiently on a chromatinized origin, but subsequent movement of MCM away from the origin is severely constrained. These findings suggest that chromatinized origins in yeast are essential for the local retention of MCM, which may facilitate subsequent assembly of the replisome.
An interwoven network of transcription factors, with divergent influences from FoxP3, underlies Treg diversity
Authors: Chowdhary Kaitavjeet , Léon Juliette , Ramanan Deepshika , Mathis Diane , Benoist Christophe
Published: May 2023

FoxP3+CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs), essential for immunologic and organismal homeostasis, have diverse functions and corresponding gene expression programs. How the many controlling transcription factors (TFs) organize to determine Treg identity and diversity remains unclear. We combined single-cell chromatin accessibility profiling, machine learning, and high-density natural genetic variation, validated with TF knockout, CRISPR-editing, and binding data, to define the Treg regulatory network. Distal enhancers proved driven by imbricated multi-TF inputs, employing strategies different from promoter regions. Topic modelling resolved a framework of chromatin programs shaped by distinct TF motifs. This framework anchored surprisingly heterogenous responses to IL2. It identified an unrecognized role for the Smarcc1 remodeler. FoxP3 impacted only some segments of this framework, either activating or repressing programs, amplifying a core Treg identity defined independently. Its absence in Treg-like cells unleashed cytokine expression, but not Th de-differentiation. This work provides a unifying scaffold to understand and manipulate Treg states.
Three-dimensional Shear Wave Elastography Using Acoustic Radiation Force and A 2-D Row-Column Addressing (RCA) Array
Authors: Dong Zhijie , Lok U-Wai , Lowerison Matthew R. , Huang Chengwu , Chen Shigao , Song Pengfei
Published: May 2023

Acoustic radiation force (ARF)-based shear wave elastography (SWE) is a clinically available ultrasound imaging mode that noninvasively and quantitatively measures tissue stiffness. Current implementations of ARF-SWE are largely limited to 2-D imaging, which does not provide robust estimation of heterogeneous tissue mechanical properties. Existing 3-D ARF-SWE solutions that are clinically available are based on wobbler probes, which cannot provide true 3-D shear wave motion detection. Although 3-D ARF-SWE based on 2-D matrix arrays have been previously demonstrated, they do not provide a practical solution because of the need for a high channel-count ultrasound system (e.g., 1024-channel) to provide adequate volume rates and the delicate circuitries (e.g., multiplexers) that are vulnerable to the long-duration “push” pulses. To address these issues, here we propose a new 3-D ARF-SWE method based on the 2-D row-column addressing (RCA) array which has a much lower element count (e.g., 256), provides an ultrafast imaging volume rate (e.g., 2000 Hz), and can withstand the push pulses. In this study, we combined the comb-push shear elastography (CUSE) technique with 2-D RCA for enhanced SWE imaging field-of-view.In vitrophantom studies demonstrated that the proposed method had robust 3-D SWE performance in both homogenous and inclusion phantoms. Anin vivostudy on a breast cancer patient showed that the proposed method could reconstruct 3-D elasticity maps of the breast lesion, which was validated using a commercial ultrasound scanner. These results demonstrate strong potential for the proposed method to provide a viable and practical solution for clinical 3-D ARF-SWE.
Trends in occupational respiratory conditions with short latency from 1999 to 2019 in the UK - evidence from the Surveillance of Work-related and Occupational Respiratory Disease (SWORD) reporting scheme
Authors: Barradas Ana , Iskandar Ireny , Carder Melanie , Gittins Matthew , Byrne Laura , Taylor Susan , Daniels Sarah , Wiggans Ruth E. , Fishwick David , Seed Martin , van Tongeren Martie
Published: May 2023

Background

Occupational short-latency respiratory disease (SLRD; predominantly asthma, rhinitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and occupational infections) prevalence is difficult to determine but certain occupations may be associated with increased susceptibility.

Aims

This study aimed to examine which occupations and industries are currently at high risk for SLRD and determine their respective suspected causal agents based on cases reported by physicians to the Surveillance of Work-related and Occupational Respiratory Disease (SWORD) scheme in the UK.

Methods

SLRD cases reported to the SWORD scheme between 1999 and 2019 were analysed to determine directly standardised rate ratios (SRR) by occupation against the average rate for all other occupations combined.

Results

Bakers and flour confectioners showed significantly raised SRR for occupational rhinitis (234.4 [95% CI, 200.5 - 274.0]) and asthma (59.9 [95% CI, 51.6 - 69.5]). Chemical and related process operatives also presented raised SRR values for these two conditions, with SRR of 29.5 [95% CI, 24.3 - 35.7] and 21.0 [95% CI, 16.9 - 26.1] for rhinitis and asthma, respectively. SRR were also significantly raised for vehicle spray painters when considering occupational asthma (63.5 [95% CI, 51.5 - 78.3]) alone, and laboratory technicians were also amongst the top three increased SRR for rhinitis (18.7 [95% CI, 15.1 - 23.1]). The suspected agents most frequently associated with these occupations and conditions were flour, isocyanates, and laboratory animals and insects. Metal machining setters and setter-operators showed increased SRR for occupational hypersensitivity pneumonitis (42.0 [95% CI, 29.3 - 60.3]), largely due to cutting/soluble oils. The occupation mostly affected by infectious disease was welding trades (12.9 [95% CI, 5.7 - 29.3]) and the suspected causal agent predominantly reported for this condition was pathogens and microorganisms, with a predominance ofMycobacterium tuberculosis.

Conclusions

This study identified the occupational groups at increased risk of developing a SLRD based on data recorded over a recent two-decade period in the UK. Asthma and rhinitis were identified as the prevailing conditions and hypersensitivity pneumonitis as a potentially rising respiratory problem in the metalworking industry.
Drug Overdose Mortality Rates by Educational Attainment and Sex for Adults Aged 25–64 in the United States Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2015–2021
Authors: Xu Jay J. , Seamans Marissa J. , Friedman Joseph R.
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Dramatic increases in U.S. drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl, beginning around 2014 have driven a marked progression in overall drug overdose deaths in the U.S., sharply rising after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disparities in drug overdose deaths by educational attainment (EA) during the fentanyl era of the drug overdose epidemic and its intersection with the COVID-19 pandemic have not been widely scrutinized.

Methods

Utilizing restricted-use mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System and population estimates from the American Community Survey, we estimated annual national age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) from drug overdoses jointly stratified by EA and sex for adults aged 25–64 from 2015 to 2021. State-level AAMRs in 2015 and 2021 were also estimated to examine the geographic variation in the cumulative evolution of EA-related disparities over the course of the analysis period.

Results

Nationally, AAMRs rose fastest among persons with at most a high school-level education, whereas little to no change was observed for bachelor’s degree holders, widening pre-existing disparities. During the analysis period, the difference in national AAMRs between persons with at most a high school-level education and bachelor’s degree holders increased from less than 8-fold (2015) to approximately 13-fold (2021). The national widening of EA-related disparities accelerated amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and they widened in nearly every state. Among non-bachelor’s degree holders, national AAMRs increased markedly faster for males.

Conclusions

The widening disparities in drug overdose deaths by EA are a likely indicator of a rapidly increasing socioeconomic divide in drug overdose mortality more broadly. Policy strategies should address upstream socioeconomic drivers of drug use and overdose, particularly among males.
Gene prediction and evolutionary characterization of heat shock transcription factors inSalvia miltiorrhiza
Authors: Meng Xianwen , Yan Xiang
Published: May 2023

Background

Heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) serve as central regulators in plants and enable adaptations to dynamic environmental changes, such as heat stress.Salvia miltiorrhizais an important medicinal plant model. However, various biotic and abiotic stresses, pathogen infections, and degeneration of elite cultivars limit the yield and quality of S. miltiorrhiza. Therefore, it is important to predict and characterize the stress resistance genes ofS. miltiorrhizaand clarify potential molecular mechanisms for genetic improvement. However, the knowledge of HSF genes inS. miltiorrhizais limited.

Methods

Thus, we performed a genome-wide analysis of HSF genes inS. miltiorrhiza.

Results

Using high-quality genome sequences, we predicted 34 HSF genes distributed unevenly across eight chromosomes. Twenty-three genes were segmentally duplicated, suggesting that inS. miltiorrhiza, segmental duplications have significantly contributed to the expansion of the HSF gene family. The predicted genes were divided into 15 phylogenetic groups, among which the sequence characteristics were relatively well conserved. The Ka/Ks ratios indicated that duplicated HSF genes underwent negative selection. Most of the HSF genes displayed different expression characteristics under drought stress and salicylic acid induction. This study provides valuable data that may inform further functional studies of HSF genes inS. miltiorrhiza.