bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simulation of potential epidemics of downy mildew of grapevine in different scenarios of disease conduciveness
Authors: Bove Federica , Savary Serge , Willocquet Laetitia , Rossi Vittorio
Published: September 2020

The parameterisation process of a previously developed modelling structure of the grapevine-downy mildew pathosystem is described. The model incorporates primary and secondary infections, host crop growth and development, along with a linkage between disease on foliage and disease on clusters. This process-based model was developed with a main objective of understanding the behaviour of the pathosystem under different, variable, environmental conditions, or under climate change. Six scenarios of disease conduciveness were developed in order to capture the range of environmental conditions under which potential downy mildew of grapevine epidemics can develop. These climate scenarios were based on moisture and temperature factors. The scenarios were translated into vectors of parameters for primary and secondary infections in the model. Model testing was performed in three steps: (i) an analysis of potential epidemics was conducted from the literature on grapevine downy mildew in order to delineate the behaviour of the pathosystem under different scenarios; (ii) a simulation experiment was conducted to investigate the response of the model to different patterns of environmental conditions, corresponding to six scenarios of disease conduciveness; and (iii) expected and simulated epidemics under these scenarios were compared. In scenarios, the model mobilised existing quantitative information on downy mildew of grapevine and generated outputs that are congruent with expected patterns of potential epidemic. This study indicates that the model is a reliable tool for simulating accurate and robust potential epidemics of downy mildew of grapevine in a scenario analysis. This can have many applications, such as the understanding of the behaviour of the pathosystem under climate change or when partial host resistance is involved.
Correction to: Diffusion Coefficients of Methane in Methylbenzene and Heptane at Temperatures between 323 K and 398 K at Pressures up to 65 MPa
Authors: Taib Malyanah Binti Mohd , Trusler J. P. Martin
Published: September 2020

The original version of the article unfortunately contained some errors in Table 4 where the temperatures were out of the correct order. The corrected version of Table 4 is given below.
Evaluating a Postsecondary Education Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Leveraging the Parent Perspective
Authors: Agarwal Rumi , Heron Laura , Burke Shanna L.
Published: September 2020

Postsecondary education (PSE) programs serving individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) aim to improve life outcomes by increasing skills in three key areas: academics, independent living, and employment. To ensure that PSE programs are successful, ongoing evaluations are necessary. It is particularly important to gather parental perspectives given the integral role they play regarding decision making for students with ID. This qualitative study analyzed data from 58 interviews conducted with parents whose child was enrolled in a PSE program nested within a large public university. Thematic analysis with a deductive approach was the established theoretical model used to guide the analysis. Themes related to capability, opportunity, motivation, and behavior are presented, and future recommendations for PSE programs are discussed.
LncRNA-AK149641 associated with airway inflammation in an OVA-induced asthma mouse model
Authors: Zhang Jie , Zhou Yao , Gu Haiyan , Zhang Jiamin , Tang Heng , Rong Qiangquan , Gu Lina , Pan Jing , Zhao Deyu , Liu Feng
Published: September 2020

Asthma is defined as a heterogeneous disease, usually characterized by chronic airway inflammation. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in various biological processes. To know more about the relationships between lncRNAs and asthma, gene microarray analysis was performed to screen differentially expressed lncRNAs between the lung tissue of ovalbumin (OVA) mice and control mice. Further studies showed that downregulating differentially expressed lncRNA-AK149641 by adeno-associated virus 6 (AAV6) in OVA mice inhibited airway inflammation, with improved airway compliance and resistance, diminished infiltration of inflammatory cells, as well as less secretions of mucus, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Moreover, the activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in the lung tissue was reduced after downregulating lncRNA-AK149641. In conclusion, we proposed that downregulation of lncRNA-AK149641 attenuated the airway inflammatory response in an OVA-induced asthma mouse model, probably in association with modulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway.
Developing and Preliminary Validating an Automatic Cell Classification System for Bone Marrow Smears: a Pilot Study
Authors: Jin Hong , Fu Xinyan , Cao Xinyi , Sun Mingxia , Wang Xiaofen , Zhong Yuhong , Yang Suwen , Qi Chao , Peng Bo , He Xin , He Fei , Jiang Yongfang , Gao Haiyan , Li Shun , Huang Zhen , Li Qiang , Fang Fengqi , Zhang Jun
Published: September 2020

Bone marrow smear examination is an indispensable diagnostic tool in the evaluation of hematological diseases, but the process of manual differential count is labor extensive. In this study, we developed an automatic system with integrated scanning hardware and machine learning-based software to perform differential cell count on bone marrow smears to assist diagnosis. The initial development of the artificial neural network was based on 3000 marrow smear samples retrospectively archived from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine between June 2016 and December 2018. The preliminary field validating test of the system was based on 124 marrow smears newly collected from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University between April 2019 and November 2019. The study was performed in parallel of machine automatic recognition with conventional manual differential count by pathologists using the microscope. We selected representative 600,000 marrow cell images as training set of the algorithm, followed by random captured 30,867 cell images for validation. In validation, the overall accuracy of automatic cell classification was 90.1% (95% CI, 89.8–90.5%). In a preliminary field validating test, the reliability coefficient (ICC) of cell series proportion between the two analysis methods were high (ICC ≥ 0.883, P < 0.0001) and the results by the two analysis methods were consistent for granulocytes and erythrocytes. The system was effective in cell classification and differential cell count on marrow smears. It provides a useful digital tool in the screening and evaluation of various hematological disorders.
Regulating the international surrogacy market:the ethics of commercial surrogacy in the Netherlands and India
Authors: Blazier Jaden , Janssens Rien
Published: September 2020

It is unclear what proper remuneration for surrogacy is, since countries disagree and both commercial and altruistic surrogacy have ethical drawbacks. In the presence of cross-border surrogacy, these ethical drawbacks are exacerbated. In this article, we explore what would be ethical remuneration for surrogacy, and suggest regulations for how to ensure this in the international context. A normative ethical analysis of commercial surrogacy is conducted. Various arguments against commercial surrogacy are explored, such as exploitation and commodification of surrogates, reproductive capacities, and the child. We argue that, although commodification and exploitation can occur, these problems are not specific to surrogacy but should be understood in the broader context of an unequal world. Moreover, at least some of these arguments are based on symbolic rhetoric or they lack knowledge of real-world experiences. In line with this critique we argue that commercial surrogacy can be justified, but how and under what circumstances depends on the context. Surrogates should be paid a sufficient amount and regulations should be in order. In this article, the Netherlands and India (where commercial surrogacy was legal until 2015) are case examples of contexts that differ in many respects. In both contexts, surrogacy can be seen as a legitimate form of work, which requires the same wage and safety standards as other forms of labor. Payments for surrogacy need to be high enough to avoid exploitation by underpayment, which can be established by the mechanisms of either minimum wage (in high income countries such as the Netherlands), or Fair-Trade guidelines (in lower-middle income countries such as India). An international treaty governing commercial surrogacy should be in place, and local professional bodies to protect the interests of surrogates should be required. Commercial surrogacy should be permitted across the globe, which would also reduce the need for intended parents to seek surrogacy services abroad.
Cognitive labor shapes the desire for social and monetary compensation
Authors: Schmitz Laura , Bijleveld Erik , Veling Harm
Published: September 2020

When do people want something back for their mental labor? Based on equity theory, we propose that conscious experiences of success and effort—which emerge during cognitive work—shape people’s subsequent desire for social and monetary rewards. We examined this idea in a series of experiments, in which participants carried out a cognitive task, in which we manipulated task difficulty (easy vs. difficult) and performance feedback (high vs. low) within subjects. After each trial of this task, we probed people’s desire for compensation, in terms of social appreciation or money. Findings were in line with the entitlement hypothesis, which assumes that the experience of success can cause people to feel entitled to money. However, we found only indirect support for the effort compensation hypothesis, which assumes that the feeling of effort increases the subsequent desire for compensation, and no support for the intrinsic reward hypothesis, which assumes that people desire less social appreciation after already having experienced success. When considered together, our results suggest that labor-related feelings (of success and effort) shape people’s subsequent desire for money and social appreciation in several ways. These findings have potential implications for the effective use of performance feedback in work contexts.
Quantification of earthquake diagnostic effects to assess low macroseismic intensities
Authors: Sbarra Paola , Tosi Patrizia , De Rubeis Valerio , Sorrentino Diego
Published: September 2020

A large amount of data about earthquake effects, supplied by citizens through a web-based questionnaire, enabled the analysis of the occurrence of many of the effects on humans and objects listed in macroseismic scales descriptions. Regarding the other diagnostic effects (rattling, moving, shifting, falling or overturning depending of the object type of doors, windows, china, glasses, small objects, pictures, vases, books, as well as frightened people and animal behaviour), data from more than 300,000 questionnaires about earthquakes felt in Italy from June 2007 to August 2017, were analysed by stacking them together as a function of hypocentral distance and magnitude. The comparison of the resulting percentages with the intensity prediction equation showed that almost all the chosen effects are good diagnostics for macroseismic intensity evaluation, as their percentages are well differentiated. We did not analyse the oscillations of hanging objects and liquids because the differences in effect attenuations, highlighted by the maps of the occurrence percentage, suggested to not consider them as diagnostic effect. This result allowed us to quantify the occurrence of each diagnostic effect for the intensity degrees from II to VI of the European macroseismic scale for the people who felt the earthquake. The application of the intensity assessment method to internet macroseismic data, based on the specifications herein proposed, should mitigate the problem of “not felt” undersampling in crowdsourced web data.
When do the USPTO examiners cite as the EPO examiners? An analysis of examination spillovers through rejection citations at the international family-to-family level
Authors: Wada Tetsuo
Published: September 2020

This paper empirically examines coincidences between “rejection citations” (i.e., those cited as grounds for rejections) added by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and “X/Y patent citations,” which are also added as grounds for rejections at the European Patent Office (EPO) within the same patent family, based on more than forty thousand families of triadic application sample. We consider the release timing of European search reports and the timing of rejection actions by the USPTO for the same family of patent applications. We find that the frequency of rejection (X/Y-equivalent) citation coincidences between the USPTO and the EPO according to family-to-family citation criteria increases after the release of search reports by the EPO. It suggests that the US examiners capture spillovers of search efforts from the EPO, namely, the USPTO examiners rely on prior art information collected and disclosed by the EPO. The results also reveal that International Search Reports (ISRs) prepared for Patent Corporation Treaty (PCT) applications, as well as applicant-submitted citations, play important roles for the convergence of rejection citations between the two patent offices. We furthermore find that the US examiners are less likely to add the same patent citations as the EPO examiners when rejections are persistently repeated at the USPTO. The methodology in this paper introduces the novel use of patent examiner citations to compare examiners’ citing behavior across jurisdictions.
The non-ideal theory of the Aharonov–Bohm effect
Authors: Dougherty John
Published: September 2020

Elay Shech and John Earman have recently argued that the common topological interpretation of the Aharonov–Bohm (AB) effect is unsatisfactory because it fails to justify idealizations that it presupposes. In particular, they argue that an adequate account of the AB effect must address the role of boundary conditions in certain ideal cases of the effect. In this paper I defend the topological interpretation against their criticisms. I consider three types of idealization that might arise in treatments of the effect. First, Shech takes the AB effect to involve an idealization in the form of a singular limit, analogous to the thermodynamic limit in statistical mechanics. But, I argue, the AB effect itself features no singular limits, so it doesn’t involve idealizations in this sense. Second, I argue that Shech and Earman’s emphasis on the role of boundary conditions in the AB effect is misplaced. The idealizations that are useful in connecting the theoretical description of the AB effect to experiment do interact with facts about boundary conditions, but none of these idealizations are presupposed by the topological interpretation of the effect. Indeed, the boundary conditions for which Shech and demands justification are incompatible with some instances of the AB effect, so the topological interpretation ought not justify them. Finally, I address the role of the non-relativistic approximation usually presumed in discussions of the AB effect. This approximation is essential if—as the topological interpretation supposes—the AB effect constrains and justifies a relativistic theory of the electromagnetic interaction. In this case the ends justify the means. So the topological view presupposes no unjustified idealizations.
Patterns of genetic variation in leading-edge populations of Quercus robur: genetic patchiness due to family clusters
Authors: Vakkari Pekka , Rusanen Mari , Heikkinen Juha , Huotari Tea , Kärkkäinen Katri
Published: September 2020

The genetic structure of populations at the edge of species distribution is important for species adaptation to environmental changes. Small populations may experience non-random mating and differentiation due to genetic drift but larger populations, too, may have low effective size, e.g., due to the within-population structure. We studied spatial population structure of pedunculate oak, Quercus robur, at the northern edge of the species’ global distribution, where oak populations are experiencing rapid climatic and anthropogenic changes. Using 12 microsatellite markers, we analyzed genetic differentiation of seven small to medium size populations (census sizes 57–305 reproducing trees) and four populations for within-population genetic structures. Genetic differentiation among seven populations was low (Fst = 0.07). We found a strong spatial genetic structure in each of the four populations. Spatial autocorrelation was significant in all populations and its intensity (Sp) was higher than those reported in more southern oak populations. Significant genetic patchiness was revealed by Bayesian structuring and a high amount of spatially aggregated full and half sibs was detected by sibship reconstruction. Meta-analysis of isoenzyme and SSR data extracted from the (GD)2 database suggested northwards decreasing trend in the expected heterozygosity and an effective number of alleles, thus supporting the central-marginal hypothesis in oak populations. We suggest that the fragmented distribution and location of Finnish pedunculate oak populations at the species’ northern margin facilitate the formation of within-population genetic structures. Information on the existence of spatial genetic structures can help conservation managers to design gene conservation activities and to avoid too strong family structures in the sampling of seeds and cuttings for afforestation and tree improvement purposes.
The Cauchy–Neumann and Cauchy–Robin problems for a class of hyperbolic operators with double characteristics in presence of transition
Authors: Barbagallo Annamaria , Esposito Vincenzo
Published: September 2020

The mixed Cauchy–Neumann and Cauchy–Robin problems for a class of hyperbolic operators with double characteristics in presence of transition is investigated. Some a priori estimates in Sobolev spaces with negative indexes are proved. Subsequently, existence and uniqueness results for the mixed problems are obtained.
Efficacy of coronary imaging on bifurcation intervention
Authors: Takagi Kensuke , Nagoshi Ryoji , Kim Byeong-Keuk , Kim Woong , Kinoshita Yoshihisa , Shite Junya , Hikichi Yutaka , Song Young Bin , Nam Chang-Wook , Koo Bon-Kwon , Kim Soo-Joong , Murasato Yoshinobu
Published: September 2020

During the coronary bifurcation intervention procedure, imaging including intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography is essential to provide precise anatomy of the lesion and morphological information. This consensus document between the Korean Bifurcation Club and the Japanese Bifurcation Club summarizes practical guidelines and current evidences on lesion assessment, device selection, procedural guidance, and the optimization of bifurcation intervention by the imaging.
The Relationship Between ‘Coming Out’ as Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual and Experiences of Homophobic Behaviour in Youth Team Sports
Authors: Denison Erik , Jeanes Ruth , Faulkner Nick , O’Brien Kerry S.
Published: September 2020

Introduction

Homophobia appears to be greater in sport settings than in others. However, little is known about whether lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) young people experience discriminatory behaviour in team sports because of their sexuality and whether coming out to sport teammates is associated with homophobic behaviour.

Method

This study used a sample (N = 1173; 15–21 years; collected in 2014–2015) from six countries (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland) to examine whether LGB youth who ‘come out’ to teammates experience homophobic behaviour.

Results

Close to half of the sample (41.6%) reported having been the target of homophobic behaviour (e.g. verbal slurs, bullying, assaults). Multivariate logistic regression models adjusting for age, gender, country and contact sport participation found that participants who ‘came out’ as being LGB to sports teammates were significantly more likely to report being a target of homophobic behaviour. There appeared to be a dose response with coming out to more people associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing homophobic behaviour.

Conclusion

The study results suggest a relationship between coming out as LGB and encountering homophobic behaviour in team sports. LGB experiences of homophobic behaviour appear common overall in this sample, but are greater in those who have come out to teammates.

Policy Implication

Sports administrators and governments need to develop programs and enforce policies that create safe sports environments where LGB youth can participate without encountering homophobic behaviour.
Nonlinear stability of self-gravitating irrotational Chaplygin fluids in a FLRW geometry
Authors: LeFloch Philippe G. , Wei Changhua
Published: September 2020

We analyze the global nonlinear stability of FLRW (Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker) spacetimes in the presence of an irrotational perfect fluid. We assume that the fluid is governed by the so-called (generalized) Chaplygin equation of state

p = −\frac{A^{2}}{\rho ^{\alpha }}

relating the pressure to the mass-energy density, in which

A > 0

and

\alpha \in (0,1]

are constants. We express the Einstein equations in wave gauge as a system of coupled nonlinear wave equations and, after performing a conformal transformation, we analyze the global behavior of solutions toward the future. Under small perturbations, the

(3 + 1)

-spacetime metric, the mass-energy density, and the velocity vector describing the geometry and fluid unknowns remain globally close to a reference FLRW solution. Our analysis provides also the precise asymptotic behavior of the perturbed solutions toward the future.
A Comparison of the Sexual Well-Being of New Parents with Community Couples
Authors: Schwenck Gracielle C. , Dawson Samantha J. , Muise Amy , Rosen Natalie O.
Published: September 2020

Background

Changes in sexual well-being are common for new mothers and their partners after the birth of a baby. However, most research has sampled mothers not couples, assessed only one aspect of sexual well-being, and has not included a control sample of couples.

Aim

This study aimed to compare the sexual well-being (ie, sexual frequency, sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, sexual distress) of first-time mothers and their partners in the transition to parenthood (first 12-month postpartum) to community couples who are not actively in this transition. We also compared the sexual well-being within couples (eg, mothers to their partners).

Methods

Couples in the transition to parenthood (n = 99) completed measures of sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, sexual distress, and sexual frequency at 3, 6, and 12 months postpartum, and community couples (n = 104) completed the measures at a single time point.

Outcomes

Measures included the following: (i) Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction Scale; (ii) Female Sexual Function Index and International Index of Erectile Function sexual desire subscale; (iii) Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised; and (iv) checklist of sexual behaviors.

Results

Compared with community controls, new parents reported lower sexual satisfaction, lower sexual desire, and higher sexual distress at all time-points; however, these group differences became less pronounced by 12 months postpartum. By 6 months postpartum, there was no difference in sexual frequency between postpartum couples and the control group. Mothers experienced persistently lower sexual desire relative to their partners throughout the 12 months postpartum. Between 39% and 59% of mothers reported clinically low sexual desire, and 47–57% reported significant sexual distress at all time points. There were no significant differences reported in sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, or sexual distress between women and their partners in the community sample.

Clinical Implications

Clinicians should be aware that sexual well-being may be compromised in new parents, and some of these challenges are still present for new parents at 12 months postpartum. Findings can be used to educate new parents regarding their expectations about postpartum sexual well-being.

Strengths & Limitations

The strengths of the present study are the dyadic approach, assessing multiple aspects of sexual well-being in new parents over time, and the comparison with a community sample. An important limitation is that the control sample was not followed up over time.

Conclusion

Education regarding postpartum sexual well-being should be incorporated in routine perinatal and postnatal healthcare practices to support new parents in developing realistic expectations about changes during the transition to parenthood, potentially preventing undue distress.
A Positive Dialectic: Beps and The United States
Authors: Avi-Yonah Reuven S.
Published: September 2020

This essay addresses the interaction between the changes in the international tax regime identified by Mason and U.S. international tax policy. Specifically, I will argue that contrary to the general view, the United States actively implemented the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) recommendations through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). Moreover, the changes of the TCJA influenced the current OECD effort of BEPS 2.0. Thus, the current state of affairs can be characterized as a constructive dialogue: The OECD moves (BEPS 1), the United States responds (TCJA), the OECD moves again (BEPS 2). If the international tax regime is to survive, it is important that BEPS 2 will succeed, and that the US will then go along and amend the TCJA accordingly. From this kind of positive dialectic, a new international tax regime fit for the twenty-first century may emerge.
Viewing Corporations as Information Ecosystems: The Case of IBM, 1914–1980s
Authors: CORTADA JAMES W.
Published: September 2020

Corporations can be viewed as large information ecosystems, not more narrowly as corporate entities, and the author uses the example of IBM to defend this point. This essay illustrates issues and topics that can be studied to enhance understanding of corporate history, building on prior methods used by scholars. It builds on research the author performed in writing a history of IBM from the 1880s to the present.
First, Best, Forbidden and Worst: Memorable Experiences of Intimate Kisses Among Heterosexual and Sexual Minority U.S. Adults
Authors: Wasson Simpson Kendra S. , O'Sullivan Lucia F. , Thompson Ashley E. , Fortenberry J. Dennis
Published: September 2020

Intimate kissing is often viewed as a preliminary or ancillary behaviour in studies exploring sexual interactions. There is a lack of research that focuses on differentiating the types of intimate kisses, including the contexts in which they occur, and desirable and undesirable features. The current study was designed to assess memories of first, best, forbidden and worst kisses. Participants were 691 U.S. adults (mean age 32.27 years; 55% identified as male) who completed an online survey addressing kissing attitudes and experiences using both structured and open-ended survey tools. Four themes emerged through content analysis: physical components, connection to the partner, context, and emotions evoked; and these are discussed for all four types of kissing memories. Findings are discussed in terms of embodiment that intimate kisses capture, their role as a metric of one's attraction to a partner, and the means by which kissing experiences might solidify a sense of oneself as a sexual person.
Minimising aerosol spread during endoscopic sinus and skull base surgery. Experimental model evaluation of the efficacy of the microscope drape method
Authors: Ioannidis D , Tsagkovits A , Rokade A
Published: September 2020

Background

Endoscopic sinus and anterior skull base surgery is considered particularly high risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 transmission in the operating theatre setting. In this context, the use of a microscope drape method is proposed, to minimise aerosol spread in the wider operating theatre environment.

Methods

The efficacy of the method is assessed with a simulation model, using a CMI Concept Air Trace MK2 smoke generator for aerosol generation and a Fluke 985 air particle counter to measure air particles sized 0.3–10 μm in the operating theatre environment.

Results

Aerosol spread was contained almost to baseline levels with the application of the drape barrier and the negative pressure created using suction within the drape.

Conclusion

The method is an efficient adjunct that could reduce the risk of aerosol shedding and viral transmission to the operating theatre team. It potentially allows faster operating theatre turnover and more liberal use of powered instruments during endonasal surgery.
Real-time Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Cruise Route Optimization for Road Segment Surveillance using Decomposition Algorithm
Authors: Liu Xiaofeng , Ma Jian , Chen Dashan , Zhang Li-Ye
Published: September 2020

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was introduced for nondeterministic traffic monitoring, and a real-time UAV cruise route planning approach was proposed for road segment surveillance. First, critical road segments are defined so as to identify the visiting and unvisited road segments. Then, a UAV cruise route optimization model is established. Next, a decomposition-based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (DMEA) is proposed. Furthermore, a case study with two scenarios and algorithm sensitivity analysis are conducted. The analysis result shows that DMEA outperforms other two commonly used algorithms in terms of calculation time and solution quality. Finally, conclusions and recommendations on UAV-based traffic monitoring are presented.
ORDERINGS OF FINITE MIXTURE MODELS WITH LOCATION-SCALE DISTRIBUTED COMPONENTS
Authors: Barmalzan Ghobad , Kosari Sajad , Balakrishnan Narayanaswamy
Published: September 2020

In this paper, we consider finite mixture models with components having distributions from the location-scale family. We then discuss the usual stochastic order and the reversed hazard rate order of such finite mixture models under some majorization conditions on location, scale and mixing probabilities as model parameters.
Recognizing the Martuwarra's First Law Right to Life as a Living Ancestral Being
Authors: RiverOfLife Martuwarra , Poelina Anne , Bagnall Donna , Lim Michelle
Published: September 2020

Traditional custodians of the Martuwarra (Fitzroy River) derive their identity and existence from this globally significant river. The First Laws of the Martuwarra are shared by Martuwarra Nations through a common songline, which sets out community and individual rights and duties. First Law recognizes the River as the Rainbow Serpent: a living ancestral being from source to sea. On 3 November 2016, the Fitzroy River Declaration was concluded between Martuwarra Nations. This marked the first time in Australia when both First Law and the rights of nature were recognized explicitly in a negotiated instrument. This article argues for legal recognition within colonial state laws of the Martuwarra as a living ancestral being by close analogy with the case concerning the Whanganui River. We seek to advance the scope of native title water rights in Australia and contend that implementation of First Law is fundamental for the protection of the right to life of the Martuwarra.
Neopterin derivatives – a novel therapeutic target rather than biomarker for atherosclerosis and related diseases
Authors: Watanabe Takuya
Published: September 2020

Summary: This review provides an updated overview of the emerging roles of neopterin derivatives in atherosclerosis. Neopterin, a metabolite of guanosine triphosphate, is produced by interferon-γ-activated macrophages and is expressed at high levels in atheromatous plaques within the human carotid and coronary arteries as well as in the aorta. Plasma concentrations of neopterin are higher in patients with carotid, cerebral, and coronary artery diseases as well as aortic aneurysm. The concentration of neopterin is positively correlated with the severity of coronary artery disease. However, a prospective cohort study showed that neopterin contributes to protection against plaque formation in carotid arteries in patients with atherosclerosis. Moreover, using both in vitro and in vivo experiments, a recent study has shown the atheroprotective effects of neopterin. Neopterin suppresses the expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in endothelial cells, and thereby suppresses the adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells. It also suppresses the inflammatory phenotype of monocyte-derived macrophages. In addition, neopterin suppresses oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced foam cell formation in macrophages and the migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. Neopterin injection into apolipoprotein E-deficient ( Apoe-/-) mice suppresses the development of atherosclerotic lesions. A neopterin derivative tetrahydroneopterin (BH4), also known as a cofactor for nitric oxide (NO) synthases, suppresses atherosclerosis and vascular injury-induced neointimal hyperplasia in Apoe-/- mice. BH4 administration improves endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease. These findings suggest that neopterin production may increase to counteract the progression of atherosclerosis, as neopterin contributes to atheroprotection. Otherwise, the increased neopterin levels in atherosclerosis may reflect a compensatory mechanism associated with inducible NO synthase upregulation in macrophages to supply BH4 for high output NO production caused by decreased endothelial NO synthase in atherosclerosis. Therefore, neopterin derivatives are a novel therapeutic target for atherosclerosis and related diseases.
Extracellular microvesicles/exosomes: discovery, disbelief, acceptance, and the future?
Authors: Ratajczak Mariusz Z. , Ratajczak Janina
Published: September 2020

There are concepts in science that need time to overcome initial disbelief before finally arriving at the moment when they are embraced by the research community. One of these concepts is the biological meaning of the small, spheroidal vesicles released from cells, which are described in the literature as microparticles, microvesicles, or exosomes. In the beginning, this research was difficult, as it was hard to distinguish these small vesicles from cell debris or apoptotic bodies. However, they may represent the first language of cell–cell communication, which existed before a more specific intercellular cross-talk between ligands and receptors emerged during evolution. In this review article, we will use the term “extracellular microvesicles” (ExMVs) to refer to these small spheroidal blebs of different sizes surrounded by a lipid layer of membrane. We have accepted an invitation from the Editor-in-Chief to write this review in observance of the 20th anniversary of the 2001 ASH Meeting when our team demonstrated that, by horizontal transfer of several bioactive molecules, including mRNA species and proteins, ExMVs harvested from embryonic stem cells could modify hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and expand them ex vivo. Interestingly, the result that moved ExMV research forward was published first in 2005 in Leukemia, having been previously rejected by other major scientific journals out of simple disbelief. Therefore, the best judge of a new concept is the passage of time, although the speed of its adoption is aided by perseverance and confidence in one’s own data. In this perspective article, we will provide a brief update on the current status of, hopes for, and likely future of ExMV research as well as therapeutic and diagnostic applications, with a special emphasis on hematopoiesis.
The sixth revolution in pediatric vaccinology: immunoengineering and delivery systems
Authors: Soni Dheeraj , Bobbala Sharan , Li Sophia , Scott Evan A. , Dowling David J.
Published: September 2020

Infection is the predominant cause of mortality in early life, and immunization is the most promising biomedical intervention to reduce this burden. However, very young infants fail to respond optimally to most vaccines currently in use, especially neonates. In 2005, Stanley Plotkin proposed that new delivery systems would spur a new revolution in pediatric vaccinology, just as attenuation, inactivation, cell culture of viruses, genetic engineering, and adjuvantation had done in preceding decades. Recent advances in the field of immunoengineering, which is evolving alongside vaccinology, have begun to increasingly influence vaccine formulation design. Historically, the particulate nature of materials used in many vaccine formulations was empiric, often because of the need to stabilize antigens or reduce endotoxin levels. However, present vaccine delivery systems are rationally engineered to mimic the size, shape, and surface chemistry of pathogens, and are therefore often referred to as “pathogen-like particles”. More than a decade from his original assessment, we re-assess Plotkin’s prediction. In addition, we highlight how immunoengineering and advanced delivery systems may be uniquely capable of enhancing vaccine responses in vulnerable populations, such as infants.

Impact

Immunoengineering and advanced delivery systems are leading to new developments in pediatric vaccinology.

Summarizes delivery systems currently in use and development, and prospects for the future.

Broad overview of immunoengineering’s impact on vaccinology, catering to Pediatric Clinicians and Immunologists.
A Core Outcome Set and minimum reporting set for intervention studies in growth restriction in the NEwbOrN: the COSNEON study
Authors: Damhuis Stefanie E. , Bloomfield Frank H. , Khalil Asma , Daly Mandy , Ganzevoort Wessel , Gordijn Sanne J.
Published: September 2020

Background

Different interventions and treatments are available for growth-restricted newborns to improve neonatal and long-term outcomes. Lack of outcome standardization across trials of feeding interventions limits pooled analysis of intervention effects. This study aimed to develop a core outcome set (COS) and minimum reporting set (MRS) for this research field.

Methods

A scoping search identified relevant outcomes and baseline characteristics. These outcomes were presented to two stakeholder groups (lay experience and professional experts) in three rounds of online Delphi surveys. The professional experts were involved in the development of the MRS. All items were rated for their importance on a 5-point Likert scale and re-rated in subsequent rounds after presentation of the results at the group level. During a face-to-face consensus meeting the final COS and MRS were determined.

Results

Forty-seven of 53 experts (89%) who completed the first round completed all three survey rounds. After the consensus meeting, consensus was reached on 19 outcomes and 17 baseline characteristics.

Conclusions

A COS and MRS for feeding interventions in the newborn after growth restriction were developed. Use of these sets will promote uniform reporting of study characteristics and improve data synthesis and meta-analysis of multiple studies.

Impact

Both a COS and MRS for growth restriction in the newborn were developed.

This study provides the first international combined health-care professional and patient consensus on outcomes and baseline characteristics for intervention and treatment studies in growth-restricted newborns.

The use of COS and MRS results in the development of more uniform study protocols, thereby facilitating data synthesis/meta-analysis of multiple studies aiming to optimize treatment and interventions in growth restriction in the newborn.
Correction: Biomarkers of neonatal skin barrier adaptation reveal substantial differences compared to adult skin
Authors: Visscher Marty O. , Carr Andrew N. , Winget Jason , Huggins Thomas , Bascom Charles C. , Isfort Robert , Lammers Karen , Narendran Vivek
Published: September 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Cutting out the middle clam: lucinid endosymbiotic bacteria are also associated with seagrass roots worldwide
Authors: Martin Belinda C , Middleton Jen A , Fraser Matthew W , Marshall Ian P G , Scholz Vincent V , Hausl Bertram , Schmidt Hannes
Published: September 2020

Seagrasses and lucinid bivalves inhabit highly reduced sediments with elevated sulphide concentrations. Lucinids house symbiotic bacteria (Ca. Thiodiazotropha) capable of oxidising sediment sulphide, and their presence in sediments has been proposed to promote seagrass growth by decreasing otherwise phytotoxic sulphide levels. However, vast and productive seagrass meadows are present in ecosystems where lucinids do not occur. Hence, we hypothesised that seagrasses themselves host these sulphur-oxidising Ca. Thiodiazotropha that could aid their survival when lucinids are absent. We analysed newly generated and publicly available 16S rRNA gene sequences from seagrass roots and sediments across 14 seagrass species and 10 countries and found that persistent and colonising seagrasses across the world harbour sulphur-oxidising Ca. Thiodiazotropha, regardless of the presence of lucinids. We used fluorescence in situ hybridisation to visually confirm the presence of Ca. Thiodiazotropha on roots of Halophila ovalis, a colonising seagrass species with wide geographical, water depth range, and sedimentary sulphide concentrations. We provide the first evidence that Ca. Thiodiazotropha are commonly present on seagrass roots, providing another mechanism for seagrasses to alleviate sulphide stress globally.
Bridging the membrane lipid divide: bacteria of the FCB group superphylum have the potential to synthesize archaeal ether lipids
Authors: Villanueva Laura , Bastiaan von Meijenfeldt F A , Westbye Alexander B , Yadav Subhash , Hopmans Ellen C , Dutilh Bas E , Sinninghe Damsté Jaap S
Published: September 2020

Archaea synthesize membranes of isoprenoid lipids that are ether-linked to glycerol-1-phosphate (G1P), while Bacteria/Eukarya produce membranes consisting of fatty acids ester-bound to glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P). This dichotomy in membrane lipid composition (i.e., the ‘lipid divide’) is believed to have arisen after the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA). A leading hypothesis is that LUCA possessed a heterochiral ‘mixed archaeal/bacterial membrane’. However, no natural microbial representatives supporting this scenario have been shown to exist today. Here, we demonstrate that bacteria of the Fibrobacteres–Chlorobi–Bacteroidetes (FCB) group superphylum encode a putative archaeal pathway for ether-bound isoprenoid membrane lipids in addition to the bacterial fatty acid membrane pathway. Key genes were expressed in the environment and their recombinant expression in Escherichia coli resulted in the formation of a ‘mixed archaeal/bacterial membrane’. Genomic evidence and biochemical assays suggest that the archaeal-like lipids of members of the FCB group could possess either a G1P or G3P stereochemistry. Our results support the existence of ‘mixed membranes’ in natural environments and their stability over a long period in evolutionary history, thereby bridging a once-thought fundamental divide in biology.
Presynaptic dysfunction in CASK-related neurodevelopmental disorders
Authors: Becker Martin , Mastropasqua Francesca , Reising Jan Philipp , Maier Simon , Ho Mai-Lan , Rabkina Ielyzaveta , Li Danyang , Neufeld Janina , Ballenberger Lea , Myers Lynnea , Moritz Viveka , Kele Malin , Wincent Josephine , Willfors Charlotte , Sitnikov Rouslan , Herlenius Eric , Anderlid Britt-Marie , Falk Anna , Bölte Sven , Tammimies Kristiina
Published: September 2020

CASK-related disorders are genetically defined neurodevelopmental syndromes. There is limited information about the effects ofCASKmutations in human neurons. Therefore, we sought to delineateCASK-mutation consequences and neuronal effects using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons from two mutation carriers. One male case with autism spectrum disorder carried a novel splice-site mutation and a female case with intellectual disability carried an intragenic tandem duplication. We show reduction of CASK protein in maturing neurons from the mutation carriers, which leads to significant downregulation of genes involved in presynaptic development and of CASK protein interactors. Furthermore,CASK-deficient neurons showed decreased inhibitory presynapse size as indicated by VGAT staining, which may alter the excitatory–inhibitory (E/I) balance in developing neural circuitries. Using in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy quantification of GABA in the male mutation carrier, we further highlight the possibility to validate in vitro cellular data in the brain. Our data show that future pharmacological and clinical studies on targeting presynapses and E/I imbalance could lead to specific treatments forCASK-related disorders.
MT1DP loaded by folate-modified liposomes sensitizes erastin-induced ferroptosis via regulating miR-365a-3p/NRF2 axis in non-small cell lung cancer cells
Authors: Gai Chengcheng , Liu Chuanliang , Wu Xinghan , Yu Mengyu , Zheng Jie , Zhang Weifen , Lv Shijun , Li Wentong
Published: September 2020

Although ferroptosis has been recognized as a novel antitumoral treatment, high expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) has been reported to be an antioxidant transcript factor that protects malignant cells from ferroptosis. Previous findings indicated that metallothionein 1D pseudogene (MT1DP), a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), functioned to aggravate oxidative stress by repressing antioxidation. Here we aimed at assessing whether MT1DP could regulate erastin-induced ferroptosis on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and elucidating the mechanism. We found that ectopic expression of MT1DP sensitized A549 and H1299 cells to erastin-induced ferroptosis through downregulation of NRF2; in addition, ectopic MT1DP upregulated malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, increased intracellular ferrous iron concentration, and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in cancer cells exposed to erastin, whereas downregulation of MT1DP showed the opposite effect. RNA pulldown assay and dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that MT1DP modulated the expression of NRF2 via stabilizing miR-365a-3p. As low solubility of erastin limits its efficient application, we further prepared folate (FA)-modified liposome (FA-LP) nanoparticles for targeted co-delivery of erastin and MT1DP to enhance the bioavailability and the efficiency of the drug/gene combination. Erastin/MT1DP@FA-LPs (E/M@FA-LPs) sensitized erastin-induced ferroptosis with decreased cellular GSH levels and elevated lipid ROS. In vivo analysis showed that E/M@FA-LPs had a favorable therapeutic effect on lung cancer xenografts. In short, our findings identify a novel strategy to elevate erastin-induced ferroptosis in NSCLCs acting through the MT1DP/miR-365a-3p/NRF2 axis.