bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vaccine Effectiveness Against Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations Among Adults, 2018–2019, US Hospitalized Adult Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network
Authors: Ferdinands Jill M , Gaglani Manjusha , Ghamande Shekhar , Martin Emily T , Middleton Donald , Monto Arnold S , Silveira Fernanda , Talbot Helen K , Zimmerman Richard , Smith Emily R , Patel Manish ,   US Hospitalized Adult Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network (HAIVEN) Study Investigators, Le Shoshona , DaSilva Juliana , Keong Lisa M , Stark Thomas J , Petrie Joshua G , Lamerato Lois E , Malani Anurag , Lauring Adam , Malosh Ryan E , Wyatt Dayna , Zhu Yuwei , Liu Zhouwen , Longmire Stephanie , Graves Kellie , Sedillo Emily , Simion Alina , Speer Karen , Alicie Bethany , Krantz Briana , Carillo Donna , Adams Laura , Drennan Amelia , Orga Jan , Peterson Lynn , Halasa Natasha , McHenry Rendi , Pulido Claudia Guevara , Murthy Kempapura , Bounds Kelsey , Zunie Tnelda , Clipper Lydia , Ghamande Shekhar , White Heath , Raiyani Chandni , Chang Kevin , Rao Arundhati , Mutnal Manohar , Arroliga Alejandro , Nowalk Mary Patricia , Balasubramani G K , Eng Heather , Saul Sean G , Hughes Kailey , Wheeler Nicole , Stiefel Lori , Yassin Mohamed , Williams John V 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
We estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) for prevention of influenza-associated hospitalizations among adults during the 2018–2019 influenza season. Adults admitted with acute respiratory illness to 14 hospitals of the US Hospitalized Adult Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network (HAIVEN) and testing positive for influenza were cases; patients testing negative were controls. VE was estimated using logistic regression and inverse probability of treatment weighting. We analyzed data from 2863 patients with a mean age of 63 years. Adjusted VE against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09–associated hospitalization was 51% (95% confidence interval [CI], 25%–68%). Adjusted VE against influenza A(H3N2) virus–associated hospitalization was −2% (95% CI, −65% to 37%) and differed significantly by age, with VE of −130% (95% CI, −374% to −27%) among adults 18 to ≤56 years of age. Although vaccination halved the risk of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09–associated hospitalizations, it conferred no protection against influenza A(H3N2)–associated hospitalizations. We observed negative VE for young and middle-aged adults but cannot exclude residual confounding as a potential explanation.
IL-6 in inflammation, autoimmunity and cancer
Authors: Hirano Toshio 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
IL-6 is involved both in immune responses and in inflammation, hematopoiesis, bone metabolism and embryonic development. IL-6 plays roles in chronic inflammation (closely related to chronic inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases and cancer) and even in the cytokine storm of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Acute inflammation during the immune response and wound healing is a well-controlled response, whereas chronic inflammation and the cytokine storm are uncontrolled inflammatory responses. Non-immune and immune cells, cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and transcription factors nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) play central roles in inflammation. Synergistic interactions between NF-κB and STAT3 induce the hyper-activation of NF-κB followed by the production of various inflammatory cytokines. Because IL-6 is an NF-κB target, simultaneous activation of NF-κB and STAT3 in non-immune cells triggers a positive feedback loop of NF-κB activation by the IL-6–STAT3 axis. This positive feedback loop is called the IL-6 amplifier (IL-6 Amp) and is a key player in the local initiation model, which states that local initiators, such as senescence, obesity, stressors, infection, injury and smoking, trigger diseases by promoting interactions between non-immune cells and immune cells. This model counters dogma that holds that autoimmunity and oncogenesis are triggered by the breakdown of tissue-specific immune tolerance and oncogenic mutations, respectively. The IL-6 Amp is activated by a variety of local initiators, demonstrating that the IL-6–STAT3 axis is a critical target for treating diseases.
Predictors of hospital-acquired bacterial and fungal superinfections in COVID-19: a prospective observational study
Authors: Falcone Marco , Tiseo Giusy , Giordano Cesira , Leonildi Alessandro , Menichini Melissa , Vecchione Alessandra , Pistello Mauro , Guarracino Fabio , Ghiadoni Lorenzo , Forfori Francesco , Barnini Simona , Menichetti Francesco ,   the Pisa COVID-19 Study Group, O Degl’Innocenti Sabrina Agostini , Barbieri Greta , Biancalana Martina , Borselli Matteo , Nencini Elia , Spinelli Stefano , Antognoli Rachele , Calsolario Valeria , Monzani Fabio , Paterni Simone , Baldassarri Rubia , Bertini Pietro , Brizzi Giulia , Rocca Alessandra Della , Malacarne Paolo , Monfroni Marco , Piagnani Chiara , Carpenè Nicoletta , Carrozzi Laura , Celi Alessandro , Desideri Massimiliano , Gherardi Marco , Serradori Massimiliano , Cinotti Francesco , Cipriano Alessandro , Park Naria , Forotti Giovanna , Mengozzi Alessandro , Masi Stefano , Ruberti Francesca , Sciuto Maria , Virdis Agostino , Maggi Fabrizio , Galfo Valentina 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background
Bacterial and fungal superinfections may complicate the course of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Objectives
To identify predictors of superinfections in COVID-19.

Methods
Prospective, observational study including patients with COVID-19 consecutively admitted to the University Hospital of Pisa, Italy, between 4 March and 30 April 2020. Clinical data and outcomes were registered. Superinfection was defined as a bacterial or fungal infection that occurred ≥48 h after hospital admission. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with superinfections.

Results
Overall, 315 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 109 episodes of superinfections were documented in 69 (21.9%) patients. The median time from admission to superinfection was 19 days (range 11–29.75). Superinfections were caused by Enterobacterales (44.9%), non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli (15.6%), Gram-positive bacteria (15.6%) and fungi (5.5%). Polymicrobial infections accounted for 18.3%. Predictors of superinfections were: intestinal colonization by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (OR 16.03, 95% CI 6.5–39.5, P &lt; 0.001); invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 5.6, 95% CI 2.4–13.1, P &lt; 0.001); immunomodulatory agents (tocilizumab/baricitinib) (OR 5.09, 95% CI 2.2–11.8, P &lt; 0.001); C-reactive protein on admission &gt;7 mg/dl (OR 3.59, 95% CI 1.7–7.7, P = 0.001); and previous treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam (OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.1–7.2, P = 0.028). Length of hospital stay was longer in patients who developed superinfections ompared with those who did not (30 versus 11 days, P &lt; 0.001), while mortality rates were similar (18.8% versus 23.2%, P = 0.445).

Conclusions
The risk of bacterial and fungal superinfections in COVID-19 is consistent. Patients who need empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics and immunomodulant drugs should be carefully selected. Infection control rules must be reinforced.
In vivo activity of WCK 4282 (high-dose cefepime/tazobactam) against serine β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the neutropenic murine thigh infection model
Authors: Gill Christian M , Abdelraouf Kamilia , Nicolau David P 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Objectives
WCK 4282, high-dose cefepime/tazobactam, possesses potent in vitro activity against Gram-negative organisms including ESBL- and cephalosporinase-harbouring strains. The purpose of this evaluation was to investigate the in vivo activity of human-simulated exposures of WCK 4282 against serine-β-lactamase-harbouring Enterobacterales and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Methods
Nineteen clinical isolates were evaluated (ESBL/cephalosporinase producers, n = 8 Escherichia coli, n = 4 P. aeruginosa; KPC producers, n = 3 Klebsiella pneumoniae, n = 1 Klebsiella aerogenes; OXA-48/181 producers, n = 2 K. pneumoniae, n = 1 E. coli). WCK 4282 MICs ranged from 4 to 32 mg/L compared with 16 to &gt;128 mg/L for cefepime. Thigh-infected neutropenic mice received cefepime, WCK 4282 or sham control over 24 h prior to harvest. Cefepime and tazobactam dosing regimens produced plasma profiles of fAUC, fT&gt;MIC and fCmax similar to human exposure after WCK 4282 2/2 g every 8 h (1.5 h infusion).

Results
Bacterial burdens (log10 cfu/thigh) were 5.81 ± 0.36 at 0 h and 9.29 ± 0.88 at 24 h in untreated controls. WCK 4282 produced potent activity against ESBL/cephalosporinase-producing strains with WCK 4282 MIC ≤16 mg/L; mean changes in log10 cfu/thigh from 0 h were −1.70 ± 0.77 and +1.86 ± 2.03 log10 cfu/thigh for WCK 4282 and cefepime human-simulated regimens, respectively. WCK 4282 produced variable activity against serine-carbapenemase-harbouring isolates. For the KPC-harbouring strains, WCK 4282 produced bacteriostasis with a mean −0.1 ± 0.61 log10 cfu/thigh. Against OXA-48/181-harbouring isolates, WCK 4282 produced a range of change in bacterial burden of −1.23 ± 0.33 to +1.04 ± 0.7 log10 cfu/thigh.

Conclusions
Human-simulated exposures of WCK 4282 produced in vivo efficacy against ESBL/cephalosporinase-producing, piperacillin/tazobactam- and ceftolozane/tazobactam-non-susceptible Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa. These findings support further development of this combination as a carbapenem-sparing agent.
Secular Dreams and Myths of Irreligion: On the Political Control of Religion in Public Bioethics
Authors: Goss Boaz W , Bishop Jeffrey P 
Published: December 2020

AbstractFull-Blooded religion is not acceptable in mainstream bioethics. This article excavates the cultural history that led to the suppression of religion in bioethics. Bioethicists typically fall into one of the following camps. 1) The irreligious, who advocate for suppressing religion, as do Timothy F. Murphy, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins. This irreligious camp assumes American Fundamentalist Protestantism is the real substance of all religions. 2) Religious bioethicists, who defend religion by emphasizing its functions and diminishing its metaphysical commitments. Religious defenders empty religion of its theology to present its feel-good functions in a way that is acceptable to the irreligious. However, religion reduced to its functions dissolves into a counter-culture that may counteract materialism but lacks the power to motivate much more. This article criticizes both camps, as both presume Enlightenment myths and consequently neuter religion. Both irreligious and religious bioethicists commonly presume Enlightenment myths about secularity and religion. Secularity is presumed neutral and rational. Religion is presumed divisive and irrational. This myth provides built-in value-judgements; we have already judged secularity as good and religion as bad. Much of the debate over religion in bioethics is arguing over false stereotypes of religion. Consequently, mainstream bioethics neuters religion, while the irreligious are gifted political power to define the field.
Using Prediction Models to Reduce Persistent Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Draft 2020 USPSTF Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines
Authors: Landy Rebecca , Young Corey D , Skarzynski Martin , Cheung Li C , Berg Christine D , Rivera M Patricia , Robbins Hilary A , Chaturvedi Anil K , Katki Hormuzd A 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
We examined whether draft 2020 United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening recommendations “partially ameliorate racial disparities in screening eligibility” compared with the 2013 guidelines, as claimed. Using data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey, USPSTF-2020 increased eligibility by similar proportions for minorities (97.1%) and Whites (78.3%). Contrary to the intent of USPSTF-2020, the relative disparity (differences in percentages of model-estimated gainable life-years from National Lung Screening Trial–like screening by eligible Whites vs minorities) actually increased from USPSTF-2013 to USPSTF-2020 (African Americans: 48.3%–33.4% = 15.0% to 64.5%–48.5% = 16.0%; Asian Americans: 48.3%–35.6% = 12.7% to 64.5%–45.2% = 19.3%; Hispanic Americans: 48.3%–24.8% = 23.5% to 64.5%–37.0% = 27.5%). However, augmenting USPSTF-2020 with high-benefit individuals selected by the Life-Years From Screening with Computed Tomography (LYFS-CT) model nearly eliminated disparities for African Americans (76.8%–75.5% = 1.2%) and improved screening efficiency for Asian and Hispanic Americans, although disparities were reduced only slightly (Hispanic Americans) or unchanged (Asian Americans). The draft USPSTF-2020 guidelines increased the number of eligible minorities vs USPSTF-2013 but may inadvertently increase racial and ethnic disparities. LYFS-CT could reduce disparities in screening eligibility by identifying ineligible people with high predicted benefit regardless of race and ethnicity.
Common carotid to vertebral artery bypass to facilitate endovascular treatment of a basilar artery aneurysm
Authors: Senanayake Tharindu , Kader Imran , Miteff Ferdinand , Deshpande Arvind 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Large posterior circulation intracranial aneurysms have a high risk of significant morbidity or mortality if left unmanaged. Endovascular techniques are well established as primary treatment for such aneurysms. This includes placement of endovascular flow diversion stents that result in progressive thrombosis and resolution of aneurysms. Successful stent placement is reliant on suitable cervical vascular access. We report a case of a 60-year-old male without direct vertebral artery access to a fusiform basilar artery aneurysm. Successful endovascular treatment required a novel hybrid technique utilizing a right common carotid to V3 segment vertebral arterial bypass to gain endovascular access to the aneurysm.
Educating the China-Born: Colonial Cosmopolitanism in Shanghai’s Schools for Settler Children, 1870–1943
Authors: Ladds Catherine 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
By the 1920s, the schools of the Shanghai Municipal Council aimed to teach “China-born” children, whose upbringing in the International Settlement’s littoral milieu meant they were in danger of becoming deracinated and déclassé, how to be both productive Shanghailanders and imperial Britons. Whereas the history of colonial education is often considered in national, imperial, or exclusionary terms, Shanghai’s schools for foreign children instead shaped and responded to understandings of education that were multinational, local, and reluctantly inclusionary. Through an exploration of the council’s education policies, the ideologies of childhood that governed admissions decisions, and the ways in which graduates of these schools employed their education professionally and politically, this article contends that the political and demographic features of the colonial periphery shaped alternative visions of imperial Britishness that went beyond nation and empire. As this case study makes clear, discussion of these British spaces overseas should be anchored in specific social, spatial, and political conditions rather than analysis of “sentiment” alone. Colonial ideologies of childhood and the ways in which it was produced by the educational experience were central to these articulations of a cosmopolitan Britishness that could be sustained beyond the boundaries of British territory by social and cultural institutions such as schools. In Shanghai, young settlers, and especially mixed-race “Eurasian” children, who together embodied both elite fears about racial and cultural degeneration and also their hopes of cultivating a firmly rooted settler society, were at the center of debates about community identity, status, and cohesion.
Conserving native trees increases native bird diversity and community composition on commercial office developments
Authors: Dyson Karen 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
In cities, woody vegetation provides critical shelter, nesting and foraging habitat for bird species of interest. Human actions—including development and landscaping choices—determine vegetation community composition and structure, making these choices critically important to urban bird conservation. A better understanding of how bird communities are impacted by parcel-scale actions can help guide policy and management best practices to improve matrix habitat quality and quantity. Here, I examined how bird habitat use varies along a vegetation gradient created by different development and landscaping choices. I surveyed 20 commercial office developments near Seattle in the Puget Trough region of Washington, USA selected using stratified random sampling, where I quantified bird communities and observed feeding behavior. I used GLMM and PERMANOVA models with data likelihood metrics to identify the best supported variables for bird site use, along with TITAN models to identify changes in community composition along environmental gradients. I found that measures of bird effective species richness and bird community are positively influenced by the presence of more native conifers, including the presence of a stand predating development and the height and density of native conifers. Measures of the native bird community are negatively influenced by higher non-native tree density. In contrast to prior research, top-down landscape-scale variables did not explain variation in measures of the bird community on office developments. Importantly, I found that birds are associated with the same habitat on office developments as observed elsewhere. Together, my findings suggest an important role for developers, land owners, landscape architects, and tree protection policy in bird conservation.
The hypoxia–reoxygenation stress in plants
Authors: León José , Castillo Mari Cruz , Gayubas Beatriz 
Published: December 2020

AbstractPlants are very plastic in adapting growth and development to changing adverse environmental conditions. This feature will be essential for plants to survive climate changes characterized by extreme temperatures and rainfall. Although plants require molecular oxygen (O2) to live, they can overcome transient low-O2 conditions (hypoxia) until return to standard 21% O2 atmospheric conditions (normoxia). After heavy rainfall, submerged plants in flooded lands undergo transient hypoxia until water recedes and normoxia is recovered. The accumulated information on the physiological and molecular events occurring during the hypoxia phase contrasts with the limited knowledge on the reoxygenation process after hypoxia, which has often been overlooked in many studies in plants. Phenotypic alterations during recovery are due to potentiated oxidative stress generated by simultaneous reoxygenation and reillumination leading to cell damage. Besides processes such as N-degron proteolytic pathway-mediated O2 sensing, or mitochondria-driven metabolic alterations, other molecular events controlling gene expression have been recently proposed as key regulators of hypoxia and reoxygenation. RNA regulatory functions, chromatin remodeling, protein synthesis, and post-translational modifications must all be studied in depth in the coming years to improve our knowledge on hypoxia–reoxygenation transition in plants, a topic with relevance in agricultural biotechnology in the context of global climate change.
The APETALA2 transcription factor LsAP2 regulates seed shape in lettuce
Authors: Luo Chen , Wang Shenglin , Ning Kang , Chen Zijing , Wang Yixin , Yang Jingjing , Qi Meixia , Wang Qian 
Published: December 2020

AbstractSeeds are major vehicles of propagation and dispersal in plants. A number of transcription factors, including APETALA2 (AP2), play crucial roles during the seed development process in various plant species. However, genes essential for seed development and the regulatory networks that operate during seed development remain unclear in lettuce. Here, we identified a lettuce AP2 (LsAP2) gene that was highly expressed during the early stages of seed development. LsAP2 knockout plants obtained by the CRISPR/Cas9 system were used to explore the biological function of LsAP2. Compared with the wild type, the seeds of Lsap2 mutant plants were longer and narrower, and developed an extended tip at the seed top. After further investigating the structural characteristics of the seeds of Lsap2 mutant plants, we proposed a new function of LsAP2 in seed dispersal. Moreover, we identified several interactors of LsAP2. Our results showed that LsAP2 directly interacted with the lettuce homolog of BREVIPEDICELLUS (LsBP) and promoted the expression of LsBP. Transcriptome analysis revealed that LsAP2 might also be involved in brassinosteroid biosynthesis and signaling pathways. Taken together, our data indicate that LsAP2 has a significant function in regulating seed shape in lettuce.
The VMC Survey – XL. Three-dimensional structure of the Small Magellanic Cloud as derived from red clump stars
Authors: Tatton B L , van Loon J Th , Cioni M-R L , Bekki K , Bell C P M , Choudhury S , de Grijs R , Groenewegen M A T , Ivanov V D , Marconi M , Oliveira J M , Ripepi V , Rubele S , Subramanian S , Sun N-C 
Published: December 2020

ABSTRACT
Galaxy interactions distort the distribution of baryonic matter and can affect star formation. The nearby Magellanic Clouds are a prime example of an ongoing galaxy interaction process. Here, we use the intermediate-age (∼1–10 Gyr) red clump (RC) stars to map the 3D structure of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and interpret it within the context of its history of interaction with the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Milky Way. RC stars are selected from near-infrared colour–magnitude diagrams based on data from the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy survey of the Magellanic Clouds. Interstellar reddening is measured and removed, and the corrected brightness is converted to a distance, on a star-by-star basis. A flat plane fitted to the spatial distribution of RC stars has an inclination i = 35°–48° and position angle, PA=170°–186°. However, significant deviations from this plane are seen, especially in the periphery and on the eastern side of the SMC. In the latter part, two distinct populations are present, separated in distance by as much as 10 kpc. Distant RC stars are seen in the north of the SMC, and possibly also in the far west; these might be associated with the predicted ‘Counter-Bridge’. We also present a dust reddening map, which shows that dust generally traces stellar mass. The structure of the intermediate-age stellar component of the SMC bears the imprints of strong interaction with the LMC a few Gyr ago, which cannot be purely tidal but must have involved ram pressure stripping.