bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deformation modulus tested by the falling ball test method and the experimental verification
Authors: Xue Yingqi , Han Xiaokun , He Huayang , Luo Zhu
Published: February 2021

In filling engineering, the mechanical properties of geomaterials are the most important mechanical indicators. With the improvement of the measurement technology, the falling ball test (FBT) method has been gradually popularized and applied to the testing of geomaterials mechanical properties. In order to verify the testing accuracy of the FBT method, experimental results of the deformation modulus tested for the homogeneous fine-grained materials and the layered structures using the FBT method are compared with the K
30 plate load test, which is the earliest and the most widely used in-situ test method. And some conclusions are drawn in this present paper.
Influence of diameter thickness ratio of main tube on bearing capacity of steel tube tower joints
Authors: Zhang Liang , Hou Shifeng , Chen Chen , Tang Yake , Niu Kai , Pei Haowei , Ju Yanzhong , Lin Tiantian
Published: February 2021

In order to study the influence of steel tube diameter thickness ratio on the bearing capacity of steel tube angle steel tower joint, the finite element model of tube plate joint was established, and the failure mode and bearing capacity of the joint under different steel tube diameter thickness ratios were studied, and the influence law of steel tube diameter thickness ratio on the bearing capacity of steel tube tower joint was obtained, and the relationship between steel tube diameter thickness ratio and steel tube tower joint bearing capacity was established through regression analysis in this paper. The results show that angel steel tube plate K-type joint has two kinds of failure mode, and in a certain range, the bearing capacity of the joints increases with the increase of the steel tube diameter thickness ratio, and decreases after reaching the maximum bearing capacity.
Analysis of surrounding rock anchoring effect under the condition of squeezed mountain
Authors: Ma Yujun , Su Chao , Zhang Heng
Published: February 2021

In the process of orogenesis, the geological conditions of vertical strata were formed due to the intense compressive tectonic movement, and lithologic stratification occurred in the rock mass of the plant along the horizontal plane and vertically upstream and downstream. The main powerhouse of a power station straddles two types of rock formations along the axis. Considering the lithological differences between the two ends, traditional support methods will inevitably fail to meet the requirements of safety and economy. In this paper, under the condition of systematic bolt support for the whole plant, prestressed anchor cables are added to the upstream and downstream side walls of the plant in the type III surrounding rock area to increase the stability, and the anchoring effect is analyzed and compared with the calculation of the burrow. The results show that the deformation around the cave in the surrounding rock areas of type II and III under unsupported conditions differs by 31.48%, and the depth of the plastic zone in the surrounding rock area of type III exceeds the anchoring depth of the bolt; After partition support, The horizontal displacements of typical cross-sections in the two types of surrounding rock areas have decreased by 8.66% and 17.11% respectively, the stress distribution is more uniform, the distribution range of the plastic zone in the downstream wall of the plant is significantly reduced, and the stability of the surrounding rock is guaranteed.
Prediction of the Probability of Earthquake in Seismic Risk Analysis Using Bayesian Method
Authors: Shang Shiyao
Published: February 2021

Because of the randomness and uncertainties of earthquake and its structures, it is a natural choice to analyze and evaluate the risk of earthquake in the way of seismic risk analysis. Effective prediction of earthquakes can minimize property losses and protect citizens’ safety. In this article, Bayes rule was used to make a simple prediction of the risk of a strong earthquake in a certain area. Then we conducted probabilistic seismic risk analysis (PSHA) to tackle the problem of a specific earthquake about where the earthquake will occur, how big the earthquake will be and when will the earthquake occur. Furthermore, we dived into spatial uncertainty, temporal uncertainty, and size uncertainty, respectively. Since earthquake intensity is significant for seismic vulnerability analysis, PGA (peak ground acceleration) was used as the index of earthquake intensity in this article. To be more specific, Wenchuan city in Sichuan province in China was chosen as the subject. Finally, seismic risk analysis was performed and the failure probability of the system was gained.
Designing phthalonitrile/hydroxyl compound systems for high performance CFRP composites
Authors: Yang Xulin , Li Kui , Liu Qiancheng , Lei Wenwu , Liu Hai , Feng Wei , Wang Pan , Liu Xiaobo
Published: February 2021

High mechanical residues at/after elevated temperatures are basic prerequisites for the engineering applications of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites in special fields like aerospace. In this study, phthalonitrile (PNP) copolymers based on hydroxyl compounds of BP monomer, PEP and BZCN resin were designed and their curing behavior and processability were investigated for realizing the corresponding CFRP composites. High temperature mechanical performances of PNP/hydroxyl compound/CF composites under instantaneous and non-instantaneous states are systematically assessed. At 300 °C, PNP/hydroxyl compounds/CF composite showed a retention rate of tensile, compressive, flexural strength and flexural modulus higher than 35%, 95%, 80% and 90%, respectively. After 300 °C/50 h thermal aging, their flexural properties show no obvious attenuation. Even after being aged at 350 °C for 50 h, the residue of flexural modulus is above 90% while that of flexural strength is over 60%. The mass residue of PNP/hydroxyl compounds/CF composites were all higher than 98% and 90% after aging at 300 °C and 350 °C for 50 h. PNP/hydroxyl compounds/CF composites, with the excellent comprehensive mechanical properties, can be used as high performance engineering materials.
Full printed flexible pressure sensor based on microcapsule controllable structure and composite dielectrics
Authors: Mo Lixin , Meng Xiangyou , Zhao Jing , Pan Yaqin , Sun Zhicheng , Guo Zhenxin , Wang Wei , Peng Zhengchun , Shang Chao , Han Shaobo , Hu Kun , Cao Meijuan , Chen Yinjie , Xin Zhiqing , Lu Jiasheng , Li Luhai
Published: February 2021

Flexible pressure sensors have attracted a great deal of attention due to their significant potential for applications in electronic skins, artificial intelligence and wearable health care devices. It is still challenging to obtain the flexible pressure sensor with high sensitivity and large linear measuring range in a low cost and facile way. In this paper, the composite dielectrics ink based on thermal expansion microcapsules (TEMs), silver nanowires (Ag NWs) and polydimethylsiloxane was employed to improve the performance of the flexible capacitive pressure sensor. The screen printing method was used to prepare the electrodes and microstructural composite dielectric layer. The results indicated that the flexible sensor with composite dielectrics of 1 wt.% TEMs and 0.5 wt.% Ag NWs demonstrated the excellent performance including the maximum sensitivity of 2.1 kPa−1 and wide linear pressure range. The dramatic improvement in the sensor’s sensitivity and linear pressure range could be attributed to the synergetic effects of the TEMs controllable microstructure and relative permittivity increase of composite dielectrics under pressure. In addition, the full printed flexible pressure sensor showed its limit of detection of 1.3 Pa, responding time of 50 ms, proximity sensing distance of 24 cm and good mechanical durability over 3600 cyclic compress–release testing. To our best knowledge, these characteristics are superior to the printed capacitive flexible sensor in reporting. In this paper, the full printed flexible pressure sensor demonstrates it is a good candidate to be applied in the field of E-skin, pressure mapping and wearable health care devices, etc.
Clutch quality is related to embryonic development duration, hatchling body size and telomere length in the spined toad (Bufo spinosus)
Authors: Cheron Marion , Angelier Frédéric , Ribout Cécile , Brischoux François
Published: February 2021

Reproductive success is often related to parental quality, a parameter expressed through various traits, such as site selection, mate selection and energetic investment in the eggs or progeny. Owing to the complex interactions between environmental and parental characteristics occurring at various stages of the reproductive event, it is often complicated to tease apart the relative contributions of these different factors to reproductive success. Study systems where these complex interactions are simplified (e.g. absence of parental care) can help us to understand how metrics of parental quality (e.g. gamete and egg quality) influence reproductive success. Using such a study system in a common garden experiment, we investigated the relationships between clutch hatching success (a proxy of clutch quality) and offspring quality in an amphibian species lacking post-oviposition parental care. We found a relationship between clutch quality and embryonic development duration and hatchling phenotype. We found that hatchling telomere length was linked to hatching success. These results suggest that clutch quality is linked to early life traits in larval amphibians and that deciphering the influence of parental traits on the patterns we detected is a promising avenue of research.
Top-Down Attention Guidance Shapes Action Encoding in the pSTS
Authors: Stehr Daniel A , Zhou Xiaojue , Tisby Mariel , Hwu Patrick T , Pyles John A , Grossman Emily D
Published: February 2021

The posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is a brain region characterized by perceptual representations of human body actions that promote the understanding of observed behavior. Increasingly, action observation is recognized as being strongly shaped by the expectations of the observer (Kilner 2011; Koster-Hale and Saxe 2013; Patel et al. 2019). Therefore, to characterize top-down influences on action observation, we evaluated the statistical structure of multivariate activation patterns from the action observation network (AON) while observers attended to the different dimensions of action vignettes (the action kinematics, goal, or identity of avatars jumping or crouching). Decoding accuracy varied as a function of attention instruction in the right pSTS and left inferior frontal cortex (IFC), with the right pSTS classifying actions most accurately when observers attended to the action kinematics and the left IFC classifying most accurately when observed attended to the actor’s goal. Functional connectivity also increased between the right pSTS and right IFC when observers attended to the actions portrayed in the vignettes. Our findings are evidence that the attentive state of the viewer modulates sensory representations in the pSTS, consistent with proposals that the pSTS occupies an interstitial zone mediating top-down context and bottom-up perceptual cues during action observation.
Cortical Networks Underpinning Compensation of Verbal Fluency in Normal Aging
Authors: Gonzalez-Burgos Lissett , Pereira Joana B , Mohanty Rosaleena , Barroso José , Westman Eric , Ferreira Daniel
Published: February 2021

Elucidating compensatory mechanisms underpinning phonemic fluency (PF) may help to minimize its decline due to normal aging or neurodegenerative diseases. We investigated cortical brain networks potentially underpinning compensation of age-related differences in PF. Using graph theory, we constructed networks from measures of thickness for PF, semantic, and executive–visuospatial cortical networks. A total of 267 cognitively healthy individuals were divided into younger age (YA, 38–58 years) and older age (OA, 59–79 years) groups with low performance (LP) and high performance (HP) in PF: YA-LP, YA-HP, OA-LP, OA-HP. We found that the same pattern of reduced efficiency and increased transitivity was associated with both HP (compensation) and OA (aberrant network organization) in the PF and semantic cortical networks. When compared with the OA-LP group, the higher PF performance in the OA-HP group was associated with more segregated PF and semantic cortical networks, greater participation of frontal nodes, and stronger correlations within the PF cortical network. We conclude that more segregated cortical networks with strong involvement of frontal nodes seemed to allow older adults to maintain their high PF performance. Nodal analyses and measures of strength were helpful to disentangle compensation from the aberrant network organization associated with OA.
The revolution that did not happen: Terence Hutchison on the political economy of Jeremy Bentham
Authors: Denis Andy
Published: February 2021

The three-volume edition of Jeremy Bentham’s Economic Writings, edited by Werner Stark, was published between 1952 and 1954, and reviewed by Terence Hutchison in the Economic Journal in 1956. Based on the Stark edition, Hutchison argued that there had been a dramatic shift in Bentham’s views and policy recommendations between his earlier and later writings on political economy. With the benefit of a new, five-volume edition of Bentham’s Writings on Political Economy, edited by Michael Quinn, it can now be seen that the revolution in Bentham’s views on political economy proposed by Hutchison did not take place. On the contrary, an examination of Bentham’s treatment of fiscal and monetary policy in his principal general works on political economy, the Manual of Political Economy and the Institute of Political Economy, show a remarkable consistency, both in policy recommendations, and in the body of economic analysis in which they were based.
Intrastate Armed Conflict Termination and Foreign Direct Investment
Authors: Bak Daehee , Lee Hoon
Published: February 2021

Does intrastate conflict termination increase foreign direct investment (FDI)? Why do some countries receive rapid FDI inflows after an internal armed conflict ends, while others do not? As a key explanation, we focus on the different types of conflict termination that send different signals to foreign investors. We argue that post-conflict countries receive more FDI when an intrastate conflict ends in a decisive manner because decisive termination lowers the risk of conflict resumption that creates precarious investment climates. Using the UCDP armed conflict termination data from 1970 to 2009, we empirically find that countries emerging from an intrastate conflict that ends in one side's victory, in particular government victory, and that ends in a peace agreement with major power involvement attract more FDI over the course of post-conflict years.
Theoretical size at the onset of maturity and its density-dependent variability as an option in crustacean fisheries management
Authors: da Silva Santana Cesar Augusto , Lordan Colm , Power Anne Marie
Published: February 2021

Theoretical size at the onset of maturity (TSOM) for female Norway lobster was estimated by a new methodology based on the probability distributions of mature individuals built on physiological maturity measures. Onset of maturity using TSOM varied from 18.4- to 33.7-mm carapace length for the Irish functional management units (FUs). These estimates showed a significant negative linear relationship (R2 = 0.60) with population density and a significant positive linear relationship with average size in females (R2 = 0.84). The size class at which 50% of the females are sexually mature (L50) was linked to the new TSOM metric by a significant positive linear relationship (R2 = 0.40). This set of linear relationships ultimately allowed TSOM and L50 to be estimated without a requirement for maturity stages to be distinguished. As well as contributing to the stock assessment and management of Nephrops (e.g. in data-limited FUs) and its potential for the calibration of more routinely used estimates, TSOM might be applied in new species and meta-analyses where size of maturity data are scarce. This new metric also better-defines the maturity process since, taken together, TSOM, L50, and smallest berried female represent sequential maturity events: (i) onset of maturity, (ii) 50% mature (from gonad staging), and (iii) berried females.
Long-term weight change and risk of breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study
Authors: Ellingjord-Dale Merete , Christakoudi Sofia , Weiderpass Elisabete , Panico Salvatore , Dossus Laure , Olsen Anja , Tjønneland Anne , Kaaks Rudolf , Schulze Matthias B , Masala Giovanna , Gram Inger T , Skeie Guri , Rosendahl Ann H , Sund Malin , Key Tim , Ferrari Pietro , Gunter Marc , Heath Alicia K , Tsilidis Konstantinos K , Riboli Elio ,   additional authors
Published: February 2021

Background

The role of obesity and weight change in breast-cancer development is complex and incompletely understood. We investigated long-term weight change and breast-cancer risk by body mass index (BMI) at age 20 years, menopausal status, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and hormone-receptor status.

Methods

Using data on weight collected at three different time points from women who participated in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, we investigated the association between weight change from age 20 years until middle adulthood and risk of breast cancer.

Results

In total, 150 257 women with a median age of 51 years at cohort entry were followed for an average of 14 years (standard deviation = 3.9) during which 6532 breast-cancer cases occurred. Compared with women with stable weight (±2.5 kg), long-term weight gain >10 kg was positively associated with postmenopausal breast-cancer risk in women who were lean at age 20 [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.42; 95% confidence interval 1.22–1.65] in ever HRT users (HR = 1.23; 1.04–1.44), in never HRT users (HR = 1.40; 1.16–1.68) and in oestrogen-and-progesterone-receptor-positive (ER+PR+) breast cancer (HR = 1.46; 1.15–1.85).

Conclusion

Long-term weight gain was positively associated with postmenopausal breast cancer in women who were lean at age 20, both in HRT ever users and non-users, and hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer.
Maintaining Momentum in Infant Mental Health Research During COVID-19: Adapting Observational Assessments
Authors: Tesson Stephanie , Swinsburg Dianne , Kasparian Nadine A
Published: February 2021

Understanding the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the developing parent-infant relationship is a priority, especially for medically-fragile infants and their caregivers who face distinct challenges and stressors. Observational assessments can provide important insights into parent-child behaviors and relational risk; however, stay-at-home directives and physical distancing measures associated with COVID-19 have significantly limited opportunities for in-person observational parent-infant assessment. To maintain momentum in our research program during the pandemic, we rapidly pivoted to remote, technology-assisted parent-infant observational assessments. In this commentary, we offer a series of strategies and recommendations to assist researchers in adapting observational parent-infant paradigms. We also discuss the benefits, challenges, and limitations of distance-delivered assessments, and offer considerations for clinical service provision and future research during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.
Life in the fast lane: roadkill risk along an urban–rural gradient
Authors: Kent Eleri , Schwartz Amy L W , Perkins Sarah E
Published: February 2021

Wildlife-vehicle collisions are a major cause of mortality in animal populations and can cause significant population-level effects. Urban areas are typically associated with higher road densities and unique wildlife communities in comparison to rural areas, and therefore have the potential to be associated with high numbers of collisions, and roadkill risk. Here, we use a citizen science database of wildlife roadkill and species distribution models to assess how roadkill risk (probability of roadkill observation per km2) varied along an urban–rural gradient for British wildlife. Roadkill risk was positively associated with road density, until around 5000 m/km2, a value representing villages or the outskirts of towns and cities. Beyond 5000 m/km2, risk remained high for some species (hedgehog, fox, pigeons and gulls) but reduced for other species (badger, rabbit, pheasant). Roadkill risk was a function of live species distribution for badger, hedgehog and rabbit, with significant overlap between spatial patterns of roadkill risk and the species’ live distribution. This was not the case for fox, pheasant, pigeons and gulls. Fox roadkill risk was underrepresented in rural areas, possibly due to low road density, while pheasant risk was overrepresented. For pigeons and gulls—well-known urban exploiters—roadkill risk was overrepresented in urban areas given their live distributions, possibly due to risks associated with foraging, particularly roadkill scavenging by gulls. Our results highlight the dangers of the UK’s dense road networks to wildlife, even to species considered adapted to urban environments and human disturbance.
Winter bird abundance, species richness and functional guild composition at Delhi’s ponds: does time of day and wetland extent matter?
Authors: Rawal Prakhar , Kittur Swati , Chatakonda Murali Krishna , Sundar K S Gopi
Published: February 2021

Urbanisation can limit species persistence and bias composition of functional guilds with serious consequences for ecosystem functioning and conservation planning. Standardised biodiversity surveys are missing at most tropical urban cities where biodiversity levels are high alongside rapidly increasing rates of urbanisation. We explored the utility of time-bound surveys to document winter birds at ponds (wetlands ≤ 5 ha) in Delhi, India at two different times of the day (morning and evening) and in areas with varying extents of wetlands. Systematic surveys at 39 ponds during January–March 2020 yielded an estimated 173 ± 22 bird species (∼37% of Delhi’s birds). The total bird species assemblage at ponds did not vary significantly with time of day, but β-diversity increased marginally with increasing extent of wetlands. Total bird abundance and species richness varied substantially with time of day, with differences apparent across several species rich functional feeding and habitat guilds. Abundance and species richness of some guilds, including species-poor guilds, varied in ponds located in areas with differing extent of wetlands. Reliable and comparable measures of species abundance and species richness (both total and across functional guilds)— metrics commonly used to set research and conservation priorities—in urban habitats can be obtained after appropriately standardising field effort. Such standardised efforts can help underscore the importance of maintaining and improving erstwhile-ignored habitats such as unprotected ponds that are providing refugia to hundreds of bird species in mega-cities like Delhi.
The effect of increasing temperature on crop photosynthesis: from enzymes to ecosystems
Authors: Moore Caitlin E , Meacham-Hensold Katherine , Lemonnier Pauline , Slattery Rebecca A , Benjamin Claire , Bernacchi Carl J , Lawson Tracy , Cavanagh Amanda P
Published: February 2021

As global land surface temperature continues to rise and heatwave events increase in frequency, duration, and/or intensity, our key food and fuel cropping systems will likely face increased heat-related stress. A large volume of literature exists on exploring measured and modelled impacts of rising temperature on crop photosynthesis, from enzymatic responses within the leaf up to larger ecosystem-scale responses that reflect seasonal and interannual crop responses to heat. This review discusses (i) how crop photosynthesis changes with temperature at the enzymatic scale within the leaf; (ii) how stomata and plant transport systems are affected by temperature; (iii) what features make a plant susceptible or tolerant to elevated temperature and heat stress; and (iv) how these temperature and heat effects compound at the ecosystem scale to affect crop yields. Throughout the review, we identify current advancements and future research trajectories that are needed to make our cropping systems more resilient to rising temperature and heat stress, which are both projected to occur due to current global fossil fuel emissions.
Ecological Specialization and Evolutionary Reticulation in Extant Hyaenidae
Authors: Westbury Michael V , Le Duc Diana , Duchêne David A , Krishnan Arunkumar , Prost Stefan , Rutschmann Sereina , Grau Jose H , Dalén Love , Weyrich Alexandra , Norén Karin , Werdelin Lars , Dalerum Fredrik , Schöneberg Torsten , Hofreiter Michael
Published: February 2021

During the Miocene, Hyaenidae was a highly diverse family of Carnivora that has since been severely reduced to four species: the bone-cracking spotted, striped, and brown hyenas, and the specialized insectivorous aardwolf. Previous studies investigated the evolutionary histories of the spotted and brown hyenas, but little is known about the remaining two species. Moreover, the genomic underpinnings of scavenging and insectivory, defining traits of the extant species, remain elusive. Here, we generated an aardwolf genome and analyzed it together with the remaining three species to reveal their evolutionary relationships, genomic underpinnings of their scavenging and insectivorous lifestyles, and their respective genetic diversities and demographic histories. High levels of phylogenetic discordance suggest gene flow between the aardwolf lineage and the ancestral brown/striped hyena lineage. Genes related to immunity and digestion in the bone-cracking hyenas and craniofacial development in the aardwolf showed the strongest signals of selection, suggesting putative key adaptations to carrion and termite feeding, respectively. A family-wide expansion in olfactory receptor genes suggests that an acute sense of smell was a key early adaptation. Finally, we report very low levels of genetic diversity within the brown and striped hyenas despite no signs of inbreeding, putatively linked to their similarly slow decline in effective population size over the last ∼2 million years. High levels of genetic diversity and more stable population sizes through time are seen in the spotted hyena and aardwolf. Taken together, our findings highlight how ecological specialization can impact the evolutionary history, demographics, and adaptive genetic changes of an evolutionary lineage.
Highly pleiotropic functions of CYP78As and AMP1 are regulated in non-cell-autonomous/organ-specific manners
Authors: Nobusawa Takashi , Kamei Misaki , Ueda Hiroaki , Matsushima Naoya , Yamatani Hiroshi , Kusaba Makoto
Published: February 2021

The cytochrome P450 CYP78A5/KLUH in Arabidopsis thaliana is predicted to be involved in the synthesis of a mobile signal molecule that has a pleiotropic function that is distinct from classical phytohormones. CYP78A5 has five close relatives in Arabidopsis. We first investigated their functions, focusing on the plastochron, leaf size, and leaf senescence. Our analyses revealed that CYP78A5 and CYP78A7 are involved in the plastochron and leaf size, and CYP78A6 and CYP78A9 are involved in leaf senescence. Complementation analyses using heterologous promoters and expression analyses suggested that CYP78A isoforms have a common biochemical function and are functionally differentiated via organ-specific expression. The altered meristem program1 (amp1) carboxypeptidase mutant shows a phenotype very similar to that of the cyp78a5 mutant. Complementation analyses using boundary and organizing center-specific promoters suggested that both CYP78A5 and AMP1 act in a non-cell-autonomous manner. Analyses of multiple cyp78a mutants and crosses between cyp78a and amp1 mutants revealed that AMP1/LIKE AMP1 (LAMP1) and CYP78A isoforms regulate plastochron length and leaf senescence in the same genetic pathway, whereas leaf size is independently regulated. Furthermore, we detected feedback regulation between CYP78A6/CYP78A9 and AMP1 at the gene expression level. These observations raise the possibility that AMP1 and CYP78A isoforms are involved in the synthesis of the same mobile signal molecule, and suggest that AMP1 and CYP78A signaling pathways have a very close, albeit complex, functional relationship.
A Role for Auxin in Triggering Lamina Outgrowth of Unifacial Leaves
Authors: Nukazuka Akira , Yamaguchi Takahiro , Tsukaya Hirokazu
Published: February 2021

A common morphological feature of typical angiosperms is the patterning of lateral organs along primary axes of asymmetry—a proximodistal, a mediolateral, and an adaxial–abaxial axis. Angiosperm leaves usually have distinct adaxial–abaxial identity, which is required for the development of a flat shape. By contrast, many unifacial leaves, consisting of only the abaxial side, show a flattened morphology. This implicates a unique mechanism that allows leaf flattening independent of adaxial–abaxial identity. In this study, we report a role for auxin in outgrowth of unifacial leaves. In two closely related unifacial-leaved species of Juncaceae, Juncus prismatocarpus with flattened leaves, and Juncus wallichianus with transversally radialized leaves, the auxin-responsive gene GLYCOSIDE HYDROLASE3 displayed spatially different expression patterns within leaf primordia. Treatment of J. prismatocarpus seedlings with exogenous auxin or auxin transport inhibitors, which disturb endogenous auxin distribution, eliminated leaf flatness, resulting in a transversally radialized morphology. These treatments did not affect the radialized morphology of leaves of J. wallichianus. Moreover, elimination of leaf flatness by these treatments accompanied dysregulated expression of genetic factors needed to specify the leaf central-marginal polarity in J. prismatocarpus. The findings imply that lamina outgrowth of unifacial leaves relies on proper placement of auxin, which might induce initial leaf flattening and subsequently act to specify leaf polarity, promoting further flattening growth of leaves.
The International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology moves to ‘true continuous publication’ at the beginning of 2021: Proposals to emend Rule 24b (2), Note 1 to Rule 27 and Note 2 to Rule 33b of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes
Authors: Oren Aharon , Garrity George M. , Moore Edward R. B. , Sutcliffe Iain C. , Trujillo Martha E.
Published: February 2021

The International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (IJSEM) will move to ‘true continuous publication’ during the first months of 2021 to modernize the workflow and align it with the current online-only nature of the journal. In the new format, articles will be cited using an article number rather than page numbering. The article number will be the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) suffix, i.e., the last six digits of the DOI. Benefits of the new system include streamlining in-house processes, hence, reducing time and costs, and speeding up the publication time of the final ‘Version of Record’. Because of the new format of the IJSEM, it is necessary to emend Rule 24b (2) and Note 1 paragraph 3 of Rule 27 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) to regulate matters of priority for papers published after January 2021. We also propose adding another example to Note 2 of Rule 33b to clarify how nomenclatural authorities of names published in the IJSEM from 2021 onward must be cited.
Long SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid sequences in blood monocytes collected soon after hospital admission
Authors: Pagano Nathan , Laurent-Rolle Maudry , Hsu Jack Chun-Chieh ,   the Yale IMPACT Research Team, Vogels Chantal BF , Grubaugh Nathan D , Manuelidis Laura
Published: February 2021

Many viruses infect circulating mononuclear cells thereby facilitating infection of diverse organs. Blood monocytes (PBMC) are being intensively studied as immunologic and pathologic responders to the new SARS-CoV-2 virus (CoV19) but direct evidence showing CoV19 in monocytes is lacking. Circulating myeloid cells that take up residence in various organs can harbor viral genomes for many years in lymphatic tissues and brain, and act as a source for re-infection and/or post-viral organ pathology. Because nucleocapsid (NC) proteins protect the viral genome we tested PBMC from acutely ill patients for the diagnostic 72bp NC RNA plus adjacent longer (301bp) transcripts. In 2/11 patient PBMC, but no uninfected controls, long NCs were positive as early as 2-6 days after hospital admission as validated by sequencing. Pathogenic viral fragments, or the infectious virus, are probably disseminated by rare myeloid migratory cells that incorporate CoV19 by several pathways. Predictably, these cells carried CoV19 to heart and brain educing the late post-viral pathologies now evident.
Increased hazard of mortality in cases compatible with SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern 202012/1 - a matched cohort study
Authors: Challen Robert , Brooks-Pollock Ellen , Read Jonathan M , Dyson Louise , Tsaneva-Atanasova Krasimira , Danon Leon
Published: February 2021

Objectives

To establish whether there is any change in mortality associated with infection of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, designated a Variant of Concern in December 2020 (VOC-202012/1) compared to that associated with infection with circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Design

Matched cohort study. Cases are matched by age, gender, ethnicity, index of multiple deprivation, lower tier local authority region, and sample date of positive specimen, and differing only by detectability of the spike protein gene using the TaqPath assay - a proxy measure of VOC-202012/1 infection.

Setting

United Kingdom, community - based (Pillar 2) COVID-19 testing centres using the TaqPath assay.

Participants

54,906 pairs of participants testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Pillar 2 between 1st October 2020 and 29th January 2021, followed up until the 12th February 2021.

Main outcome measures

Death within 28 days of first positive SARS-CoV-2 test.

Results

There is a high probability that the risk of mortality is increased by infection with VOC-202012/01 (p <0.001). The mortality hazard ratio associated with infection with VOC-202012/1 compared to infection with previously circulating variants is 1.64 (95% CI 1.32 - 2.04) in patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the community. In this comparatively low risk group, this represents an increase from 2.5 to 4.1 deaths per 1000 detected cases.

Conclusions

If this finding is generalisable to other populations, VOC-202012/1 infections have the potential to cause substantial additional mortality compared to previously circulating variants. Healthcare capacity planning, national and international control policies are all impacted by this finding, with increased mortality lending weight to the argument that further coordinated and stringent measures are justified to reduce deaths from SARS-CoV-2.
Investigation and public health response to a COVID-19 outbreak in a rural resort community — Blaine County, Idaho, 2020
Authors: Dunne Eileen M. , Maxwell Tanis , Dawson-Skuza Christi , Burns Matthew , Ball Christopher , Turner Kathryn , Hahn Christine G. , Bowyer Melody , Carter Kris K. , Hudson Logan
Published: February 2021

Blaine County, Idaho, a rural area with a renowned resort, experienced an outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We undertook an epidemiologic investigation to describe the outbreak and guide public health action. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 were identified from reports of SARS-CoV-2-positive laboratory test results to South Central Public Health District.

Information on symptoms, hospitalization, recent travel, healthcare worker status, and close contacts was obtained by medical record review and patient interviews. Viral sequence analysis was conducted on a subset of available specimens. During March 13–April 10, 2020, a total of 451 COVID-19 cases occurred among Blaine County residents (1,959 cases per 100,000 population). An additional 37 cases occurred in out-of-state residents. Among the 451 COVID-19 patients, the median age was 51 years (Interquartile range [IQR]: 37–63), 52 (11.5%) were hospitalized, and 5 (1.1%) died. The median duration between specimen collection and a positive laboratory result was 9 days (IQR: 4–10). Forty-four (9.8%) patients reported recent travel. Healthcare workers comprised 56 (12.4%) cases; 33 of whom worked at the only hospital in the county, leading to a 15-day disruption of hospital services. Of 562 close contacts monitored by public health authorities, 22 (3.9%) had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and an additional 29 (5.2%) experienced compatible symptoms. Sequencing results from 34 Idaho specimens supported epidemiologic findings indicating travel as a source of SARS-CoV-2, and identified multiple lineages among hospital workers. Community mitigation strategies included school and resort closure, stay-at-home orders, and restrictions on incoming travelers. COVID-19 outbreaks in rural communities can disrupt health services. Lack of local laboratory capacity led to long turnaround times for COVID-19 test results. Rural communities frequented by tourists should consider implementing restrictions on incoming travelers among other mitigation strategies to reduce COVID-19 transmission.
'Trained immunity' from Mycobacterium spp. (environmental or BCG) exposure predicts protection from Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Authors: Singh Samer , Singh Rakesh K , Kishore Dhiraj
Published: February 2021

Endeavors to identify potentially protective variables for COVID-19 impact on certain populations have remained a priority. Multiple attempts have been made to attribute the reduced COVID-19 impact on populations to their bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination coverage ignoring the fact that the effect of childhood BCG vaccination wanes within 5 years while most of the COVID-19 cases and deaths have occurred in aged with comorbidities. Since the supposed protection being investigated could come from heterologous ′trained immunity′ (TI) conferred by exposure to Mycobacterium spp. (i.e., environmental and BCG), it is argued that the estimates of the prevalence of TI of populations currently available as latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) prevalence would be a better variable to evaluate such assertions. Indeed, when we analyze the European populations (twenty-four), and erstwhile East and West Germany populations completely disregarding their BCG vaccination coverage, the populations with higher TI prevalence consistently display reduced COVID-19 impact as compared to their lower TI prevalence neighbors. The TI estimates of the populations not the BCG coverage per se, negatively correlated with pandemic phase-matched COVID-19 incidences (r(24): -0.79 to -0.57; p-value: <0.004), mortality (r(24): -0.63 to -0.45; p-value: <0.03), and interim case fatality rates(i-CFR) data. To decisively arrive at dependable conclusions about the potential protective benefit gained from BCG vaccination in COVID-19, the ongoing/planned randomized controlled trials should consciously consider including measures of TI as - a) all individuals immunized do not respond equally, b) small study groups from higher background TI could fail to indicate any protective effect.
Use of convalescent plasma in patients with coronavirus disease (Covid-19): Systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Tortosa Fernando , Carrasco Gabriela , Ragusa Martin , Haluska Pedro , Izcovich Ariel
Published: February 2021

Objetives

To assess the effects of convalescent plasma treatment in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Study design

Systematic review and Meta-analysis

Data sources

A systematic search was carried out on the L · OVE (Living OVerview of Evidence) platform for COVID-19 until October 31, 2020

Study selection

Randomized clinical trials in which people with probable or confirmed COVID-19 were randomized to drug treatment, standard care, or placebo. Pairs of reviewers independently screened potentially eligible articles.

Methods

The PRISMA guidelines were followed for conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. The risk of bias of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool 2.0, and the certainty of the evidence using the recommendation assessment, development and evaluation (GRADE) approach. For each outcome, the interventions were classified into groups, from most to least beneficial or harmful.

Results

We identified 10 RCTs (randomized controlled trials) involving 11854 patients in which convalescent plasma was compared with standard of care or other treatments. The results of five RCTs that evaluated the use of convalescent plasma in patients with COVID-19 did not show significant differences in the effect on mortality and the need for invasive mechanical ventilation.

Conclusions

Current evidence is insufficient to recommend the use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of moderate or severe COVID-19.

Contribution of the authors
Evaluating the effect of COVID-19 on dispensing patterns: a national cohort analysis
Authors: Torabi Fatemeh , Akbari Ashley , North Laura , Harris Daniel , Davies Gareth , Gravenor Mike , Griffiths Rowena , Lyons Jane , Jenkins Neil , Morris Andrew , Halcox Julian , Lyons Ronan A.
Published: February 2021

Background

Medication prescribing and dispensing often regarded as one of the most effective ways to manage and improve population health. Prescribed and dispensed medications can be monitored through data linkage for each patient. We hypothesised that changes in patient care resulting from COVID-19, changed the way patients access their prescribed medication.

Objective

To develop an efficient approach for evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 on drug dispensing patterns.

Methods

Retrospective observational study using national patient-level dispensing records in Wales-UK. Total dispensed drug items between 01-Jan-2016 and 31-Dec-2019 (counterfactual pre-COVID-19) were compared to 2020 (COVID-19 year). We compared trends of dispensed items in three main British National Formulary (BNF) sections(Cardiovascular system, Central Nervous System, Immunological & Vaccine) using European Age-Standardized rates. We developed an online tool to enable monitoring of changes in dispensing as the pandemic evolves.

Result

Amongst all BNF chapters, 52,357,639 items were dispensed in 2020 compared to 49,747,141 items in 2019 demonstrating a relative increase of 5.25% in 2020(95%CI[5.21,5.29]). Comparison of monthly patterns of 2020 and 2019 dispensed items showed a notable difference between the total number of dispensed drug items each month, with an average difference (D) of +290,055 and average Relative Change (RC) of +5.52%. The greatest RC was observed in a substantial March-2020 increase (D=+1,501,242 and RC=+28%), followed by second peak in June (D=+565,004, RC=+10.97%). May was characterised by lower dispensing (D=-399,244, RC=-5.9%). Cardiovascular categories were characterised, across all age groups, by dramatic March-2020 increases, at the epidemic peak, followed by months of lower than expected dispensing, and gradual recovery by September. The Central Nervous System category was similar, but with only a short decline in May, and quicker recovery. A stand-out grouping was Immunological and Vaccine, which dropped to very low levels across all age groups, and all months (including the March dispensing peak).

Conclusions

Aberration in clinical service delivery during COVID-19 led to substantial changes in community pharmacy drug dispensing. This change may contribute to a long-term burden of COVID-19, raising the importance of a comprehensive and timely monitoring of changes for evaluation of the potential impact on clinical care and outcomes
Predictors of suicidal thoughts and behavior in children: results from penalized logistic regression analyses in the ABCD study
Authors: van Velzen Laura S. , Toenders Yara J. , Avila-Parcet Aina , Dinga Richard , Rabinowitz Jill A. , Campos Adrián I. , Jahanshad Neda , Rentería Miguel E. , Schmaal Lianne
Published: February 2021

Despite numerous efforts to predict suicide risk in children, the ability to reliably identify youth that will engage in suicide thoughts or behaviors (STB) has remained remarkably unsuccessful. To further knowledge in this area, we apply a novel machine learning approach and examine whether children with STB could be differentiated from children without STB based on a combination of sociodemographic, physical health, social environmental, clinical psychiatric, cognitive, biological and genetic characteristics. The study sample included 5,885 unrelated children (50% female, 67% white) between 9 and 11 years old from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Both parents and youth reported on children’s STB and based on these reports, we divided children into three subgroups: 1. children with current or past STB, 2. children with psychiatric disorder but no STB (clinical controls) and 3. healthy control children. We performed binomial penalized logistic regression analysis to distinguish between groups. The analyses were performed separately for child-reported STB and parent-reported STB. Results showed that we were able to distinguish the STB group from healthy controls and clinical controls (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) range: 0.79-0.81 and 0.70-0.78 respectively). However, we could not distinguish children with suicidal ideation from those who attempted suicide (AUROC range 0.49-0.59). Factors that differentiated the STB group from the clinical control group included family conflict, prodromal psychosis symptoms, impulsivity, depression severity and a history of mental health treatment. Future research is needed to determine if these variables prospectively predict subsequent suicidal behavior.