bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a conduit to providing insights into cellular responses using hypothesis-generating technology
Authors: J Higgins Vincent
Published: April 2020

In the post-genomic era, hypothesis-generating methods of data collection have facilitated rapid advances in many areas of research. Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae in conjunction with these methods we have been able to gain insight into the ?bigger picture? of our particular research fields. This has provided the means of generating more ?informed? hypotheses that have subsequently been used in traditional hypothesis-driven research. As a result, important issues have been elucidated in the areas of flavour profile management in industrial fermentations, identification of cellular pathways involved in the biological activity of anticancer drugs and gaining a holistic view of the diverse molecular systems in which cells combat the negative effect of reactive oxygen species.
Molecular characterisation of the wine spoilage yeast ? Dekkera (Brettanomyces) bruxellensis
Authors: Henschke Paul , Curtin Chris , Grbin Paul
Published: April 2020

How would you react if, upon opening that expensive bottle of red wine you had been saving for a special occasion, all you could smell was a box of Band-aid medical plasters. ?Band-aid?, or ?medicinal? aroma in red wine is but one spectrum of the (generally) negative sensory characteristics that have become synonymous with wine ?spoiled? by the yeast species Dekkera bruxellensis, and its non-sporulating form Brettanomyces bruxellensis.
Antimicrobial resistance in animals and impacts on food safety and public health
Authors: Jordan David
Published: April 2020

Few issues in applied microbiology excite as much debate as the threatened transfer of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from animals to cause disease in humans. Yet, almost four decades after the first warning of the potential risk to human health from the use of antimicrobials in agriculture 1, and after a plethora of national and international reports with similar conclusions, broad agreement is lacking on key elements of scientific fact, responsibilities and interventions. This article briefly considers some areas of concern and misunderstanding in the debate about public health impacts from the use of antimicrobials in animals. What is clear is that progress requires viewing the problem from the context of ?the whole system? rather than from the narrow confines of specific disciplines, professional groups, institutions, or commercial interests.
Microbial lignocellulolytic enzymes: industrial applications and future perspectives
Authors: Sette Lara D , de Oliveira Valéria M , Rodrigues Maria Filomena A
Published: April 2020

The demand for microbial industrial enzymes is ever increasing due to their use in a wide variety of processes. Lignocellulolytic enzymes have potential applications in a large number of fields, including the chemical, fuel, food, agricultural, paper, textile and cosmetic industrial sectors. Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant renewable resource composed of cellulose (a polymer of glucose that represents the major fraction of lignocellulose), hemicellulose (also a sugar polymer) and lignin (a complex phenylpropane polymer). Lignocellulosic material can be broken down by microorganisms into its sugar components, thereby providing a readily fermentable substrate. One of the most significant potential applications of lignocellulolytic enzymes is fuel production from agricultural and forest wastes as an alternative renewable energy resource. The need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions provides an additional incentive for the development of processes for production of fuels from lignocellulosic biomass and has attracted the interest of biotechnologists and microbiologists in recent decades.
Pathogenesis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in pregnancy
Authors: Scott Gillian M , Steller Alicia , Wang Shu , Teng Karen WW , Chow Sharon SW
Published: April 2020

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy can have devastating effects on the developing fetus. Maternal CMV infection can affect the fetus in two ways: firstly by transmission to, and replication in, fetal tissue resulting in direct damage to developing organs; or, less well recognised, through cellular changes that potentially affect placentation and transfer of nutrients and gases to the developing fetus.
Emergence of bacterial resistance to microbicides and antibiotics
Authors: Maillard Jean-Yves
Published: April 2020

Public awareness of the role of microorganisms in infection and spoilage and the role of the media in highlighting poor hygiene and the failure of healthcare settings in preventing hospital-acquired infections, have fuelled the use of products containing one or several microbicides in the healthcare environment but also at home. The number of such products with a microbicidal claim is increasing rapidly, although their impact on the microbial flora, notably in terms of emerging antimicrobial resistance has not been documented. With increasing evidence that microbicides can lead to bacterial resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics, concerns have been expressed regarding the indiscriminate used of microbicidal products. This review aims to provide up-to-date information on the use of microbicides in the healthcare settings.
Preservatives in personal care products
Authors: Roden Kevin
Published: April 2020

Studies conducted on personal care products (cosmetics) in the 1960s and 1970s found up to 24% of unopened products were contaminated, mainly with Pseudomonads, while up to 49% of used samples were also contaminated. These studies highlighted the need for the incorporation of preservatives into water-based formulations along with improvements to manufacturing practices.
Biocides in antimicrobial paints
Authors: Roden Kevin
Published: April 2020

There is a real need to take all means possible to control the spread of pathogenic bacteria and fungi in health facilities. The use of biocide containing antimicrobial surfaces is one additional option being strongly promoted to complement the standard cleaning and disinfection practices. The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in medical facilities has resulted in significant media attention and the widespread dissemination of information to the general population. The fear of germs, fuelled by headlines of ?superbugs? plus recent viral pandemics, is also being used to support advertising campaigns to sell similar products for household use.
How did the 2009 pandemic compare with previous pandemics?
Authors: Matthews John D
Published: April 2020

The pandemic spread of the novel H1N1 virus in 2009 was unusual in that the attack rates and mortality rates were often lower than in earlier pandemics. However, most affected populations reported that morbidity and mortality were greater in younger adults than in children or older persons, reproducing the age distribution of earlier pandemics. A small proportion of affected persons became so ill that they required intensive care or died. Aboriginality, pregnancy and obesity were risk factors for severe disease, but many patients requiring intensive care had no identifiable risk factors. The pandemic features in 2009 can be explained, at least in part, in immunological terms. As with earlier pandemics, older people were probably protected by specific antibodies resulting from exposure to a similar virus which last circulated when they were children. In 2009, as in earlier pandemics, children were relatively protected against their first exposure to the new virus by the strength of their innate immune response, while many people of all ages were protected in whole or in part by short-lived, strain-transcending immunity resulting from their most recent exposure to seasonal influenza. On this view, the individuals developing severe disease were those who were too young to be protected by specific high-avidity antibodies, too old to be well-protected by innate immunity, and unlucky enough to have missed out on recent exposures to seasonal influenza.
How can actinomycete taxonomy and natural product research work together? The Sanofi-Aventis approach
Authors: Wink Joachim
Published: April 2020

The role of taxonomy in natural product research can be estimated in different ways. As the biological active secondary metabolite is in the focus, different companies have developed their own philosophy, as Sanofi-Aventis has done. Surveying the patent literature and journals for the description of natural products, for example, the Journal of Antibiotics, it is found that most actinomycetes reported to produce biological active compounds are described only to the genus level1 or with an invalid taxonomic name. Many of them belong to novel species, as shown in our studies of members of the genus Actinoplanes during a research program for new lantibiotics2 which resulted in the validation of Actinoplanes liguriensis and A. teichnomyceticus which have been invalidly published by Parenti and co-workers. The characterisation and description of the antibiotic-producing actinomycetes at Sanofi-Aventis or its predecessors has a long history going back to the publication of three novel species of the genus Streptomyces that produce moenomycin6, an antibiotic compound which is still in fermentative production today.
Role of transmission electron microscopy in the study of gastroenteritis viruses
Authors: Marshall John
Published: April 2020

The technique of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was crucial in the discovery of the major viral causes of gastroenteritis in humans (norovirus, rotavirus, astrovirus, sapovirus, adenovirus) and subsequently played a valuable role in the detection of these viruses. In the 21st century, TEM continues to play a role in the understanding of viral gastroenteritis but chiefly in a research role rather than in a diagnostic context.
One Health: its recent evolution and driving issues
Authors: MacKenzie John , Jeggo Martyn
Published: April 2020

Global health security has become a major concern, particularly the threats to human and animal health from the emergence and re-emergence of epidemic-prone infectious diseases, as well as the significant and growing impact of these outbreaks on national and international economies. It has long been known that many of these diseases can cross the species barrier between humans, wildlife and domestic animals, and indeed over 70% of novel emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, that is, have their origins in animal reservoirs. There have been many recent examples of this trend, the most dramatic being recently the SARS epidemic – the first major threat to global health from a novel zoonotic disease in the new Millennium. Other recent examples include the H1N1 influenza virus pandemic; the spread of Nipah virus into Bangladesh and India; and perhaps the most important of all, the ongoing concerns of a highly virulent influenza pandemic due to avian influenza virus (H5N1).
Vertical Transmission
Authors: Robins-Browne Roy
Published: April 2020

I recently returned from Hobart, where I attended another hugely successful Annual Scientific Meeting of our Society. The conference attracted many outstanding international and Australian participants, who spoke on a wide range of topics. The overall theme of ‘Planetary Health’ worked well with a number of speakers alluding to this vitally important issue in their presentations.
Vertical Transmission
Authors: Lyras Dena
Published: April 2020

The ASM Council and Executive Committee had a very productive meeting in February to review our activities and to plan ahead for the coming year, and I would like to bring to your attention several new and ongoing initiatives that give our members maximum value for their membership.
Antimicrobial resistance
Authors: Iredell Jonathan
Published: April 2020

In this issue, we present a series of short overviews on important topics with a common theme. In their paper, Djordjevic and Morgan point out the impact of antimicrobial resistance on food security and remind us of the importance of understanding the relationships between animals (including humans) and the environment when considering antibiotic resistance, particularly those elements of it that are part of normal genomic plasticity and readily transferable. This sentiment is echoed in a sobering description of the classic post-antibiotic opportunist, Clostridium difficile, in Australia and overseas, by Hong et al.
Cryo-EM structure of eastern equine encephalitis virus in complex with heparan sulfate analogues
Authors: Chen Chun-Liang , Hasan S. Saif , Klose Thomas , Sun Yingyuan , Buda Geeta , Sun Chengqun , Klimstra William B. , Rossmann Michael G.
Published: April 2020

Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), a mosquito-borne icosahedral alphavirus found mainly in North America, causes human and equine neurotropic infections. EEEV neurovirulence is influenced by the interaction of the viral envelope protein E2 with heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans from the host’s plasma membrane during virus entry. Here, we present a 5.8-Å cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of EEEV complexed with the HS analog heparin. “Peripheral” HS binding sites were found to be associated with the base of each of the E2 glycoproteins that form the 60 quasi-threefold spikes (q3) and the 20 sites associated with the icosahedral threefold axes (i3). In addition, there is one HS site at the vertex of each q3 and i3 spike (the “axial” sites). Both the axial and peripheral sites are surrounded by basic residues, suggesting an electrostatic mechanism for HS binding. These residues are highly conserved among EEEV strains, and therefore a change in these residues might be linked to EEEV neurovirulence.
Scaling up psychology via Scientific Regret Minimization
Authors: Agrawal Mayank , Peterson Joshua C. , Griffiths Thomas L.
Published: April 2020

Do large datasets provide value to psychologists? Without a systematic methodology for working with such datasets, there is a valid concern that analyses will produce noise artifacts rather than true effects. In this paper, we offer a way to enable researchers to systematically build models and identify novel phenomena in large datasets. One traditional approach is to analyze the residuals of models—the biggest errors they make in predicting the data—to discover what might be missing from those models. However, once a dataset is sufficiently large, machine learning algorithms approximate the true underlying function better than the data, suggesting, instead, that the predictions of these data-driven models should be used to guide model building. We call this approach “Scientific Regret Minimization” (SRM), as it focuses on minimizing errors for cases that we know should have been predictable. We apply this exploratory method on a subset of the Moral Machine dataset, a public collection of roughly 40 million moral decisions. Using SRM, we find that incorporating a set of deontological principles that capture dimensions along which groups of agents can vary (e.g., sex and age) improves a computational model of human moral judgment. Furthermore, we are able to identify and independently validate three interesting moral phenomena: criminal dehumanization, age of responsibility, and asymmetric notions of responsibility.
Pressure-induced amorphization and existence of molecular and polymeric amorphous forms in dense SO
2
Authors: Zhang Huichao , Tóth Ondrej , Liu Xiao-Di , Bini Roberto , Gregoryanz Eugene , Dalladay-Simpson Philip , De Panfilis Simone , Santoro Mario , Gorelli Federico Aiace , Martoňák Roman
Published: April 2020

Significance

Some substances are known to exist in several different structurally disordered solid states and transform between them similarly to structural phase transitions between crystalline polymorphs. This interesting and yet not fully understood phenomenon is called polyamorphism, and notable examples include water, SiO
2
, Si, etc. Here we present an example of such behavior in a simple molecular substance, SO
2
. By using experimental high-pressure techniques, we observe a reversible transition between different amorphous states around 26 GPa. Experimental results are well supported by ab initio simulations, which identify the high-pressure amorphous form as a nonmolecular, polymeric one consisting of intertwined chains. Our findings contribute to the fundamental understanding of structure of disordered matter as well as high-pressure behavior of simple archetypal molecules.
Trade-off between somatic and germline repair in a vertebrate supports the expensive germ line hypothesis
Authors: Chen Hwei-yen , Jolly Cecile , Bublys Kasparas , Marcu Daniel , Immler Simone
Published: April 2020

The disposable soma theory is a central tenet of the biology of aging where germline immortality comes at the cost of an aging soma [T. B. L. Kirkwood,
Nature
270, 301–304 (1977); T. B. L. Kirkwood,
Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci.
205, 531–546 (1979); T. B. L. Kirkwood, S. N. Austad,
Nature
408, 233–238 (2000)]. Limited resources and a possible trade-off between the repair and maintenance of the germ cells and growth and maintenance of the soma may explain the deterioration of the soma over time. Here we show that germline removal allows accelerated somatic healing under stress. We tested “the expensive germ line” hypothesis by generating germline-free zebrafish
Danio rerio
and testing the effect of the presence and absence of the germ line on somatic repair under benign and stressful conditions. We exposed male fish to sublethal low-dose ionizing radiation, a genotoxic stress affecting the soma and the germ line, and tested how fast the soma recovered following partial fin ablation. We found that somatic recovery from ablation occurred substantially faster in irradiated germline-free fish than in the control germline-carrying fish where somatic recovery was stunned. The germ line did show signs of postirradiation recovery in germline-carrying fish in several traits related to offspring number and fitness. These results support the theoretical conjecture that germline maintenance is costly and directly trades off with somatic maintenance.
Noncoding RNA
MaIL1
is an integral component of the TLR4–TRIF pathway
Authors: Aznaourova Marina , Janga Harshavardhan , Sefried Stephanie , Kaufmann Andreas , Dorna Jens , Volkers Sarah M. , Georg Philipp , Lechner Marcus , Hoppe Judith , Dökel Simon , Schmerer Nils , Gruber Achim D. , Linne Uwe , Bauer Stefan , Sander Leif E. , Schmeck Bernd , Schulte Leon N.
Published: April 2020

RNA has been proposed as an important scaffolding factor in the nucleus, aiding protein complex assembly in the dense intracellular milieu. Architectural contributions of RNA to cytosolic signaling pathways, however, remain largely unknown. Here, we devised a multidimensional gradient approach, which systematically locates RNA components within cellular protein networks. Among a subset of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) cosedimenting with the ubiquitin–proteasome system, our approach unveiled ncRNA
MaIL1
as a critical structural component of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) immune signal transduction pathway. RNA affinity antisense purification–mass spectrometry (RAP-MS) revealed
MaIL1
binding to optineurin (OPTN), a ubiquitin-adapter platforming TBK1 kinase.
MaIL1
binding stabilized OPTN, and consequently, loss of
MaIL1
blunted OPTN aggregation, TBK1-dependent IRF3 phosphorylation, and type I interferon (IFN) gene transcription downstream of TLR4.
MaIL1
expression was elevated in patients with active pulmonary infection and was highly correlated with IFN levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Our study uncovers
MaIL1
as an integral RNA component of the TLR4–TRIF pathway and predicts further RNAs to be required for assembly and progression of cytosolic signaling networks in mammalian cells.
On the status ofwh-exclamatives in English
Authors: Heine Bernd , Kaltenböck Gunther , Kuteva Tania
Published: April 2020

Exclamative expressions likeWhat an enormous crowd came!andHow wonderful this journey is!have been described as forming one of the four basic sentence (or clause) types of English. The present paper discusses the main features of this type and analyzes them with reference to the framework of Discourse Grammar. It is argued that the structure of exclamatives can be related to other sentence types in terms of discourse strategies that are used for constructing texts, in particular by means of cooptation, a cognitive-communicative strategy that enables speakers to use existing text pieces for new discourse functions.
Dual frequency DBD: influence of the amplitude and the frequency of applied voltages on glow, Townsend and radiofrequency DBDs
Authors: Bazinette Rémy , Sadeghi Nader , Massines Francoise
Published: April 2020

To study dual frequency Townsend glow and radio frequency DBDs in an Ar/NH3 Penning mixture, different voltages are applied on each electrode of a plane/plane DBD. The one which has the higher amplitude and frequency, V
H, determines the discharge regime. The other one, which has a lower amplitude and frequency, V
L, is more similar to a bias voltage. V
H frequency ranges from 50 kHz to 13.56 MHz and V
L frequency from 1 kHz to 2 MHz. The amplitude of V
L is always kept lower than the breakdown voltage. The discharge behavior is characterized by space and phase resolved optical emission spectroscopy and Fourier transform of the plasma induced light intensity. When the frequencies of two voltages are close to each other, V
L higher than 150 V increases the discharge light intensity. In glow and Townsend discharges, this increase is attributed to the enhancement of the plasma density, due to the ions drift from the plasma bulk to the cathode, which produces a higher secondary electron emission. For the radiofrequency discharge, the enhancement of the light intensity is attributed to an enhancement of the positive space charge due to the higher voltage amplitude.

When the frequencies of two voltages are very different, e.g. for V
L between 1 and 100 kHz and a 5.5 MHz α-RF discharge, the behavior largely depends on V
L amplitude. Above some low frequency (LF), the discharge tends to extinguish when V
L amplitude is at its maximum. This is explained by a diminution of the plasma density resulting from the ion drift to the cathode due to V
L. When V
L is very high, it enhances the discharge intensity. This discharge amplification is associated with a transition from α to γ RF mode, which only occurs when the two voltages have the same polarity. Whatever the RF discharge mode, γ or α, the discharge is diffuse. To determine the interest of LF-RF dual frequency DBD for the PECVD, SiOx coatings, made with a single and a dual LF-RF frequency DBDs, are compared. It is concluded that the ɣ dual frequency removes OH functions from the material lattice and densifies the layer.
Unifying thermodynamic uncertainty relations
Authors: Falasco Gianmaria , Esposito Massimiliano , Delvenne Jean-Charles
Published: April 2020

We introduce a new technique to bound the fluctuations exhibited by a physical system, based on the Euclidean geometry of the space of observables. Through a simple unifying argument, we derive a sweeping generalization of so-called thermodynamic uncertainty relations (TURs). We not only strengthen the bounds but extend their realm of applicability and in many cases prove their optimality, without resorting to large deviation theory or information-theoretic techniques. In particular, we find the best TUR based on entropy production alone. We also derive a periodic uncertainty principle of which previous known bounds for periodic or stationary Markov chains known in the literature appear as limit cases. From it a novel bound for stationary Markov processes is derived, which surpasses previous known bounds. Our results exploit the non-invariance of the system under a symmetry which can be other than time reversal and thus open a wide new spectrum of applications.
Only a unified ontology can remedy disunification
Authors: Styrman Avril
Published: April 2020

Contemporary theoretical physics is divided into diversified theories of different phenomena. These are characteristically frameworks for giving mathematical descriptions of perceptions, in the absence of understandable explanations or a unified worldview. This is not an optimal state of affairs, for people by nature desire to understand; this sets a major obstacle for an optimal progress rate of physics, for understandable explanations are more prolific of new predictions and applications than non-understandable explanations. Disunification in physics can be remedied only by discovering an understandable ontology and applying it as the basis of unifying explanations of phenomena that were earlier explained by different theories. Due to disunified physics and the nature of traditional analysis in philosophy, there is no consensus about central concepts such as time, possibility and truth. It is suggested that philosophical analysis would be more prolific of understandable and applicable concepts, were it complemented by a method of unification.
Dynamic Universe – natural science and philosophy in unison
Authors: Kallio-Tamminen Tarja
Published: April 2020

In a coherent conception of reality, physics and metaphysics should both come together to create a comprehensible worldview. This was the case in the Newtonian picture of reality which turned out to be limited at the beginning of the 20th century. The quest for a new synthesis, a more reliable picture of reality incorporating current theories and observations, has not been fulfilled in spite of a hundred years of interpretive discussions. The claim of this paper is that the missed unison can be found in Tuomo Suntola’s Dynamic Universe (DU). This exceptional theory covers the domains of the theory of relativity and quantum phenomena and fairly exceeds their level in philosophical virtues. DU is studied here from the perspective of natural philosophy concentrating on the basic principles of the theory, and the prominent metaphysical features that in addition to the mathematical structure can be found in a proper physical theory. Relying on the zero-energy principle, DU opens up a new kind of holistic framework where the Newtonian furnishings for reality are left behind. By transforming the Newtonian clockwork into a pendulating, spherically closed 4D-sphere, DU discloses a seamless connection between mass, space, motion, and energy. In this representation all the seemingly separated objects are parts of a single totality and ultimately constructed of waves. Their interrelations can be universally formulated as their state of motion does not depend on the time or the site of observation. In addition to its importance for physics, the framework provides justified answers to many age-old disputes in natural philosophy starting from the basic substance of being, the origin and reference of movement, and the possibility of empty space – the most basic questions pondered by giants like Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Leibniz, and Newton. Most importantly, in DU mental properties can be neatly incorporated into the physical world, and conscious activity of human beings can be befitted into the overall evolutionary scheme.
A New Gravitational Paradigm for Relativity and Dynamics, and its Philosophical Scope
Authors: Unnikrishnan C. S.
Published: April 2020

The present framework of dynamics and relativity is based on Albert Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity. However, the empty featureless space and its time that are assumed in constructing these theories are in direct conflict with the reality of the vast universe with enormous quantity of matter-energy and its gravity. Gravitational interaction affects spatio-temporal intervals and dynamics in general. Since all the physical phenomena as well as the theories that attempt to describe them are operative in this single real universe, really existing as given, the factual gravitational background of cosmic matter should be the inseparable basis of our theories of relativity and dynamics. After proving the need for a new paradigm of relativity and dynamics based on cosmic gravity, I will outline the empirically consistent theory and its crucial experimental support. I will show that the factual results on the one-way propagation of light and relativistic motional corrections of clocks contradict the current theoretical framework. The gravitational paradigm, called Cosmic Relativity, is Galilean and Machian, and includes all relativistic physical effects, with the universe as the determining master frame. It accords a physical measure of real motion and also, a universal time. Most importantly, Cosmic Relativity is in perfect agreement with all known experimental results. These remarkable developments in physics support and vindicate Henri Bergson’s criticism of Einstein’s theory and his philosophical stand on the notions of universal time and absolute simultaneity.
The world’s growing municipal solid waste: trends and impacts
Authors: Chen David Meng-Chuen , Bodirsky Benjamin Leon , Krueger Tobias , Mishra Abhijeet , Popp Alexander
Published: April 2020

Global municipal waste production causes multiple environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, ocean plastic accumulation, and nitrogen pollution. However, estimates of both past and future development of waste and pollution are scarce. We apply compositional Bayesian regression to produce the first estimates of past and future (1965–2100) waste generation disaggregated by composition and treatment, along with resultant environmental impacts, for every country. We find that total wastes grow at declining speed with economic development, and that global waste generation has increased from 635 Mt in 1965 to 1999 Mt in 2015 and reaches 3539 Mt by 2050 (median values, middle-of-the-road scenario). From 2015 to 2050, the global share of organic waste declines from 47% to 39%, while all other waste type shares increase, especially paper. The share of waste treated in dumps declines from 28% to 18%, and more sustainable recycling, composting, and energy recovery treatments increase. Despite these increases, we estimate environmental loads to continue increasing in the future, although yearly plastic waste input into the oceans has reached a peak. Waste production does not appear to follow the environmental Kuznets curve, and current projections do not meet UN SDGs for waste reduction. Our study shows that a continuation of current trends and improvements is insufficient to reduce pressures on natural systems and achieve a circular economy. Relative to 2015, the amount of recycled waste would need to increase from 363 Mt to 740 Mt by 2030 to begin reducing unsustainable waste generation, compared to 519 Mt currently projected.
Multi-year data-model evaluation reveals the importance of nutrient availability over climate in arctic ecosystem C dynamics
Authors: López-Blanco Efrén , Jackowicz-Korczynski Marcin , Mastepanov Mikhail , Skov Kirstine , Westergaard-Nielsen Andreas , Williams Mathew , Christensen Torben R
Published: April 2020

Arctic tundra is a globally important store for carbon (C). However, there is a lack of reference sites characterising C exchange dynamics across annual cycles. Based on the Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring (GEM) programme, here we present 9–11 years of flux and ecosystem data across the period 2008–2018 from two wetland sites in Greenland: Zackenberg (74°N) and Kobbefjord (64°N). The Zackenberg fen was a strong C sink despite its higher latitude and shorter growing seasons compared to the Kobbefjord fen. On average the ecosystem in Zackenberg took up ∼−50 g C m−2 yr−1 (range of +21 to −90 g C m−2 yr−1), more than twice that of Kobbefjord (mean ∼−18 g C m−2 yr−1, and range of +41 to − 41 g C m−2 yr−1). The larger net carbon sequestration in Zackenberg fen was associated with higher leaf nitrogen (71%), leaf area index (140%), and plant quality (i.e. C:N ratio; 36%). Additional evidence from in-situ measurements includes 3 times higher levels of dissolved organic carbon in soils and 5 times more available plant nutrients, including dissolved organic nitrogen (N) and nitrates, in Zackenberg. Simulations using the soil-plant-atmosphere ecosystem model showed that Zackenberg’s stronger CO2 sink could be related to measured differences in plant nutrients, and their effects on photosynthesis and respiration. The model explained 69% of the variability of net ecosystem exchange of CO2, 80% for photosynthesis and 71% for respiration over 11 years at Zackenberg, similar to previous results at Kobbefjord (73%, 73%, and 50%, respectively, over 8 years). We conclude that growing season limitations of plant phenology on net C uptake have been more than counterbalanced by the increased leaf nutrient content at the Zackenberg site.
Cauchy and uniform temporal functions of globally hyperbolic cone fields
Authors: Bernard Patrick , Suhr Stefan
Published: April 2020

We study a class of time functions called uniform temporal functions in the general context of globally hyperbolic closed cone fields. We prove some existence results for uniform temporal functions, and establish the density of uniform temporal functions in Cauchy causal functions.
A note on the stability of nonsurjective 𝜖-isometries of Banach spaces
Authors: Cheng Lixin , Dong Yunbai
Published: April 2020

Let

X
,
Y

X, Y

be Banach spaces, and let

f
:
X
→
Y

f: X\rightarrow Y

be an

ε
\varepsilon

-isometry with

f
(
0
)
=
0

f(0)=0

for some

ε
≥
0

\varepsilon \geq 0

. In this paper, we show that for every

x
∗

∈

X
∗

x^*\in X^*

, there exists

φ
∈

Y
∗

\varphi \in Y^*

with

‖
φ
‖
=
‖

x
∗

‖
≡
r

\|\varphi \|=\|x^*\|\equiv r

such that
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="StartAbsoluteValue mathematical left-angle x Superscript asterisk Baseline comma x mathematical right-angle minus mathematical left-angle phi comma f left-parenthesis x right-parenthesis mathematical right-angle EndAbsoluteValue less-than-or-equal-to 3 r epsilon comma for-all x element-of upper X period">

|

⟨

x
∗

,
x
⟩
−
⟨
φ
,
f
(
x
)
⟩

|

≤
3
r
ε
,

∀

x
∈
X
.

\begin{equation} \big |\langle x^*,x\rangle -\langle \varphi ,f(x)\rangle \big |\leq 3r\varepsilon ,\;\;\forall \;x\in X.\nonumber \end{equation}

Moreover, the constant “3” is the best one in general.
Quinine exposure and the risk of acute kidney injury: a population-based observational study of older people
Authors: Duncan Andrew D S , Hapca Simona , De Souza Nicosha , Morales Daniel , Bell Samira
Published: April 2020

Objectives

to establish and quantify any observable association between the exposure to community prescriptions for quinine and acute kidney injury (AKI) events in a population of older adults.

Design

two observational studies using the same dataset, a retrospective longitudinal cohort study and a self-controlled case series (SCCS).

Setting

NHS health board in Scotland.

Participants

older adults (60+ years) who received quinine prescriptions in Tayside, Scotland, between January 2004 and December 2015. The first study included 12,744 individuals. The SCCS cohort included 5,907 people with quinine exposure and more than or equal to one AKI event.

Main outcome measured

in the first study, multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for AKI comparing between episodes with and without recent quinine exposure after adjustment for demographics, comorbidities and concomitant medications. The SCCS study divided follow-up for each individual into periods ‘on’ and ‘off’ quinine, calculating incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for AKI adjusting for age.

Results

during the study period, 273,596 prescriptions for quinine were dispensed in Tayside. A total of 13,616 AKI events occurred during follow-up (crude incidence 12.5 per 100 person-years). In the first study, exposure to quinine before an episode of care was significantly associated with an increased probability of AKI (adjusted OR = 1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21–1.33). In the SCCS study, exposure to quinine was associated with an increased relative incidence of AKI compared to unexposed periods (IRR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.15–1.26), with the greatest risk observed within 30 days following quinine initiation (IRR = 1.48, 95% CI 1.35–1.61).

Conclusion

community prescriptions for quinine in an older adult population are associated with an increased risk of AKI.
Bilateral facial palsy in an older person
Authors: Méreaux Jean-Loup , Hébant Benjamin , Magne Nicolas , Quesney Gérald , Lefaucheur Romain
Published: April 2020

Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes and other related species that are transmitted through an infected tick bite. We report the case of an older patient presenting with bilateral facial palsy due to Lyme disease. Multiple non-specific clinical signs preceded facial palsy with falls, fatigue and pain of both legs especially during the night. Our case illustrates the difficulty to diagnose this infectious disease, especially in older patients who have rare outdoor activities and a low risk of tick exposure.
Systematic evaluation of machine learning methods for identifying human–pathogen protein–protein interactions
Authors: Chen Huaming , Li Fuyi , Wang Lei , Jin Yaochu , Chi Chi-Hung , Kurgan Lukasz , Song Jiangning , Shen Jun
Published: April 2020

In recent years, high-throughput experimental techniques have significantly enhanced the accuracy and coverage of protein–protein interaction identification, including human–pathogen protein–protein interactions (HP-PPIs). Despite this progress, experimental methods are, in general, expensive in terms of both time and labour costs, especially considering that there are enormous amounts of potential protein-interacting partners. Developing computational methods to predict interactions between human and bacteria pathogen has thus become critical and meaningful, in both facilitating the detection of interactions and mining incomplete interaction maps. In this paper, we present a systematic evaluation of machine learning-based computational methods for human–bacterium protein–protein interactions (HB-PPIs). We first reviewed a vast number of publicly available databases of HP-PPIs and then critically evaluate the availability of these databases. Benefitting from its well-structured nature, we subsequently preprocess the data and identified six bacterium pathogens that could be used to study bacterium subjects in which a human was the host. Additionally, we thoroughly reviewed the literature on ‘host–pathogen interactions’ whereby existing models were summarized that we used to jointly study the impact of different feature representation algorithms and evaluate the performance of existing machine learning computational models. Owing to the abundance of sequence information and the limited scale of other protein-related information, we adopted the primary protocol from the literature and dedicated our analysis to a comprehensive assessment of sequence information and machine learning models. A systematic evaluation of machine learning models and a wide range of feature representation algorithms based on sequence information are presented as a comparison survey towards the prediction performance evaluation of HB-PPIs.
Health indicators of the National Roma Integration Strategy in Spain in the years 2006 and 2014
Authors: La Parra-Casado Daniel , Arza-Porras Javier , Estévez Jesús Francisco
Published: April 2020

Background

In 2011, the European Commission adopted the European framework for the National Roma Integration Strategies (NRISs) 2020, which focussed on four areas: education, employment, health and housing. In 2012 Spain approved its Strategy 2012–20, one of the central aims of which is to reduce social inequalities in health that affect the Roma population. Our objective was to analyze changes in health inequalities between the Roma population and the general population in Spain in the years 2006 and 2014.

Methods

The Spanish National Health Surveys (NHSs) 2006 (n = 29 478) and 2012 (n = 20 884) and the NHS of the Spanish Roma Population 2006 (n = 933) and 2014 (n = 1155) were compared. This study considered the variables included in NRIS 2012–20: self-perceived health, tobacco use in men, traffic accidents in men and women, obesity in women and gynaecological visits.

Results

Despite the adoption of the NRIS 2012–20, there were no observed improvements in health between 2006 and 2014 in the Roma population. Nor was there a reduction in inequalities in health concerning the general population in Spain. Also, there was no reduction in the health inequalities by gender for the two populations.

Conclusions

Health is determined in part by social factors including education, employment, housing and also by anti-Roma discourses and discrimination. Improving the health of the Roma population requires a multi-sectoral approach with a gender perspective.
Antibodies for Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Cure Strategies
Authors: Rossignol Evan , Alter Galit , Julg Boris
Published: April 2020

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection leads to the establishment of a long-lived latent cellular reservoir. One strategy to eliminate quiescent reservoir cells is to reactivate virus replication to induce HIV envelope glycoprotein (Env) expression on the cell surface exposing them to subsequent antibody targeting. Via the interactions between the antibody Fc domain and Fc-γ receptors (FcγRs) that are expressed on innate effector cells, such as natural killer cells, monocytes, and neutrophils, antibodies can mediate the elimination of infected cells. Over the last decade, a multitude of human monoclonal antibodies that are broadly neutralizing across many HIV-1 subtypes have been identified and are currently being explored for HIV eradication strategies. Antibody development also includes novel Fc engineering approaches to increase engagement of effector cells and optimize antireservoir efficacy. In this review, we discuss the usefulness of antibodies for HIV eradication approaches specifically focusing on antibody-mediated strategies to target latently infected cells and options to increase antibody efficacy.
A Technique for Dissecting the Salivary Glands From the Abdomens of Deer Keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Lipoptena Nitzsch, 1818 and Neolipoptena Bequaert, 1942)
Authors: Skvarla Michael J , Poh Karen C , Evans Jesse R , Machtinger Erika
Published: April 2020

Deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Lipoptena Nitzsch, 1818 and Neolipoptena Bequaert, 1942) are hematophagous ectoparasites of cervids that occasionally bite other mammals, including humans. In recent years, a number of arthropod-borne pathogens have been sequenced from deer keds. However, it is unclear if the pathogens are just present in host blood in the gut or if the pathogens are present in other organs (e.g., salivary glands) that would suggest that keds are competent vectors. Like other hippoboscoid flies, deer keds have extensive salivary glands that extend through the thorax and into the abdomen, so simply disarticulating and sequencing the thorax and abdomen separately does not circumvent the issues surrounding whole-body sequencing. Herein, we describe a technique for dissecting the terminal portion of the salivary glands from the abdomen in order to screen the thorax and salivary glands separately from the abdomen for arthropod-borne pathogens.
Forced Migration Magnitude and violence in international crises: 1945–2015
Authors: Ben-Yehuda Hemda , Goldstein Rami
Published: April 2020

This study focuses on forced migration and interstate violence during international crises, as a major security concern with salient implications for international relations stability. The empirical data consists of 229 crises designated as Forced Migration Crises (FMC), identified within the 374 crises of the International Crisis Behavior (ICB) project. The study outlines a framework for analyzing FMC compared with Non-Forced Migration Crises (NFMC), presents an index of Forced Migration Magnitude (FMM), and probes three hypotheses. It points to transformations in forced migration since WWII, compares crises with and without forced migration, and explores patterns of FMM and violence. Results lead to rejection of hypothesis 1 on similarities between FMC and NFMC, supporting hypothesis 2 on considerable diversity between them. Findings on extended scope, strategic locale, enduring forced migration problems and increased violence support hypothesis 3, challenging the placement of forced migration merely as a social or humanitarian domestic concern. Instead, results show a salient increase in FMM, coupled with more severe interstate violence and war, dangerously destabilizing regions worldwide. These patterns require the integration of forced migration within crisis frameworks, as a new research agenda, to understand the nature of forced migration in the 21st century and its impact.
CDPK6 phosphorylates and stabilizes MYB30 to promote hyperoside biosynthesis that prolongs the duration of full-blooming in okra
Authors: Yang Qing , Dong Biying , Wang Litao , Song Zhihua , Niu Lili , Li Hanghang , Cao Hongyan , Meng Dong , Fu Yujie
Published: April 2020

The flowers of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) open and wilt within only a few hours, and this is accompanied by accumulation of hyperoside, a secondary metabolite in the flavonoid pathway. However, little is known about the relationship between flavonoids and flowering. Here, we found that exogenous application of hyperoside extended the duration of the full-blooming period by more than 3-fold, and this was accompanied by a 14.7-fold increase in the expression of CALCIUM-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE6 (AeCDPK6). Gene expression profiling indicated that the transcription factor AeMYB30 was co-expressed with AeCDPK6, and detailed protein interaction and phosphorylation experiments together with yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays demonstrated an interaction between AeMYB30 and AeCDPK6. AeCDPK6 specifically phosphorylated AeMYB30S191, leading to increased protein stability and prevention of degradation. Furthermore, AeMYB30 directly bound to the promoter of AeUF3GaT1, a key enzyme in the hyperoside biosynthesis pathway. Analysis of transgenic plants showed that AeCDPK6 was required for the hyperoside-induced phosphorylation of AeMYB30 to enhance its stability and transcriptional activity. Ectopic expression of AeCDPK6 promoted hyperoside accumulation and prolonged the full-blooming period in an AeMYB30-dependent manner. Our results indicate the role of AeCDPK6–AeMYB30 in the molecular mechanism by which hyperoside regulates the period of full blooming in okra, a plant with a short duration of flowering.