bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Potato plant spheres and to a lesser extent the soil type influence the proportion and diversity of bacterial isolates with in vitro antagonistic activity towards Ralstonia solanacearum
Authors: Elsayed Tarek R , Grosch Rita , Smalla Kornelia 
Published: February 2021

ABSTRACT
Ralstonia solanacearum biovar2-race3 (Rs r3b2) is an epidemic soil-borne bacterial phytopathogen causing brown rot disease in potato. In this study, we assessed how three soil types stored at the same field site influenced the proportion and diversity of bacterial isolates with in vitro antagonistic activity towards Rs in bulk soil and different potato plant spheres (rhizosphere, endorhiza and endocaulosphere; ecto- and endosphere of seed and yield tubers). In general, the plate counts observed for each sample type were not significantly different. A total of 96 colonies per sample type was picked and screened for in vitro antagonistic activity against Rs. Antagonists were obtained from all bulk soils and plant spheres with the highest proportion obtained from the endorhiza and endocaulosphere of potato plants. BOX-PCR fingerprints of antagonists showed that some were specific for particular plant spheres independent of the soil type, while others originated from different plant spheres of a particular soil type. The majority of antagonists belonged to Pseudomonas. A high proportion of antagonists produced siderophores, and interestingly antagonists from potato tubers frequently carried multiple antibiotic production genes. Our data showed an enrichment of bacteria with genes or traits potentially involved in biocontrol in the rhizosphere and in endophytic compartments. We report that the proportion and diversity of in vitro antagonists towards Rs isolated from bulk soil and different spheres of potato plants grown under field conditions in three different soil types was mainly shaped by the plant sphere and to a lesser extent by the soil type. Bacteria with antagonistic activity towards Ralstonia solanacearum were isolated from all plant spheres and bulk soils but their proportion was highest in endophytic compartments
A New Transgenic Mouse Line for Imaging Mitochondrial Calcium Signals
Authors: Redolfi Nelly , Greotti Elisa , Zanetti Giulia , Hochepied Tino , Fasolato Cristina , Pendin Diana , Pozzan Tullio 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Mitochondria play a key role in cellular calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis. Dysfunction in the organelle Ca2+ handling appears to be involved in several pathological conditions, ranging from neurodegenerative diseases, cardiac failure and malignant transformation. In the past years, several targeted green fluorescent protein (GFP)-based genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators (GECIs) have been developed to study Ca2+ dynamics inside mitochondria of living cells. Surprisingly, while there is a number of transgenic mice expressing different types of cytosolic GECIs, few examples are available expressing mitochondria-localized GECIs, and none of them exhibits adequate spatial resolution. Here we report the generation and characterization of a transgenic mouse line (hereafter called mt-Cam) for the controlled expression of a mitochondria-targeted, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based Cameleon, 4mtD3cpv. To achieve this goal, we engineered the mouse ROSA26 genomic locus by inserting the optimized sequence of 4mtD3cpv, preceded by a loxP-STOP-loxP sequence. The probe can be readily expressed in a tissue-specific manner upon Cre recombinase-mediated excision, obtainable with a single cross. Upon ubiquitous Cre expression, the Cameleon is specifically localized in the mitochondrial matrix of cells in all the organs and tissues analyzed, from embryos to aged animals. Ca2+ imaging experiments performed in vitro and ex vivo in brain slices confirmed the functionality of the probe in isolated cells and live tissues. This new transgenic mouse line allows the study of mitochondrial Ca2+ dynamics in different tissues with no invasive intervention (such as viral infection or electroporation), potentially allowing simple calibration of the fluorescent signals in terms of mitochondrial Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]).
Imaging upper mantle anisotropy with teleseismicP-wave delays: insights from tomographic reconstructions of subduction simulations
Authors: VanderBeek Brandon P , Faccenda Manuele 
Published: February 2021

SUMMARYDespite the well-established anisotropic nature of Earth’s upper mantle, the influence of elastic anisotropy on teleseismic P-wave imaging remains largely ignored. Unmodelled anisotropic heterogeneity can lead to substantial isotropic velocity artefacts that may be misinterpreted as compositional heterogeneities. Recent studies have demonstrated the possibility of inverting P-wave delay times for the strength and orientation of seismic anisotropy. However, the ability of P-wave delay times to constrain complex anisotropic patterns, such as those expected in subduction settings, remains unclear as synthetic testing has been restricted to the recovery of simplified block-like structures using ideal self-consistent data (i.e. data produced using the assumptions built into the tomography algorithm). Here, we present a modified parametrization for imaging arbitrarily oriented hexagonal anisotropy and test the method by reconstructing geodynamic simulations of subduction. Our inversion approach allows for isotropic starting models and includes approximate analytic finite-frequency sensitivity kernels for the simplified anisotropic parameters. Synthetic seismic data are created by propagating teleseismic waves through an elastically anisotropic subduction zone model created via petrologic-thermomechanical modelling. Delay times across a synthetic seismic array are measured using conventional cross-correlation techniques. We find that our imaging algorithm is capable of resolving large-scale features in subduction zone anisotropic structure (e.g. toroidal flow pattern and dipping fabrics associated with the descending slab). Allowing for arbitrarily oriented anisotropy also results in a more accurate reconstruction of isotropic slab structure. In comparison, models created assuming isotropy or only azimuthal anisotropy contain significant isotropic and anisotropic imaging artefacts that may lead to spurious interpretations. We conclude that teleseismic P-wave traveltimes are a useful observable for probing the 3-D distribution of upper mantle anisotropy and that anisotropic inversions should be explored to better understand the nature of isotropic velocity anomalies particularly in subduction settings.
The costs of scaling up HIV and syphilis testing in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review
Authors: Adawiyah Rabiah al , Saweri Olga P M , Boettiger David C , Applegate Tanya L , Probandari Ari , Guy Rebecca , Guinness Lorna , Wiseman Virginia 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Around two-thirds of all new HIV infections and 90% of syphilis cases occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Testing is a key strategy for the prevention and treatment of HIV and syphilis. Decision-makers in LMICs face considerable uncertainties about the costs of scaling up HIV and syphilis testing. This paper synthesizes economic evidence on the costs of scaling up HIV and syphilis testing interventions in LMICs and evidence on how costs change with the scale of delivery. We systematically searched multiple databases (Medline, Econlit, Embase, EMCARE, CINAHL, Global Health and the NHS Economic Evaluation Database) for peer-reviewed studies examining the costs of scaling up HIV and syphilis testing in LMICs. Thirty-five eligible studies were identified from 4869 unique citations. Most studies were conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa (N = 17) and most explored the costs of rapid HIV in facilities targeted the general population (N = 19). Only two studies focused on syphilis testing. Seventeen studies were cost analyses, 17 were cost-effectiveness analyses and 1 was cost–benefit analysis of HIV or syphilis testing. Most studies took a modelling approach (N = 25) and assumed costs increased linearly with scale. Ten studies examined cost efficiencies associated with scale, most reporting short-run economies of scale. Important drivers of the costs of scaling up included testing uptake and the price of test kits. The ‘true’ cost of scaling up testing is likely to be masked by the use of short-term decision frameworks, linear unit-cost projections (i.e. multiplying an average cost by a factor reflecting activity at a larger scale) and availability of health system capacity and infrastructure to supervise and support scale up. Cost data need to be routinely collected alongside other monitoring indicators as HIV and syphilis testing continues to be scaled up in LMICs.
Professionalism, perfidy and personal circumstance in the life of Marchamont Nedham
Authors: Macadam Joyce 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Marchamont Nedham, the English revolutionary journalist, for whom ostentatious side-changing became an occupational hazard, has earned a reputation among both contemporaries and many historians for perfidy and venality. This article proposes another interpretation of his career. A close contextualization of his canon of works and his professional circumstances with the varying political climates shows that his apparent changes of allegiance can be explained by his long-standing attachments to political patrons. Such fidelity is also evident in his duty to his family and in his personal friendships. His career exemplified professionalism, rational pragmatism and loyalty, often in difficult circumstances.
Barbados, Jamaica and the development of news culture in the mid seventeenth century
Authors: Greenspan Nicole 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
This article examines the production and circulation of news across the British Atlantic, focusing on two main events: the royalist rebellion at Barbados (1650-2) and the conquest of Jamaica (1655). Royalists and commonwealth supporters alike cast the rising on Barbados as an extension of the wars of the 1640s and early 1650s, which moved beyond England, Scotland, and Ireland into the Atlantic world. The conquest of Jamaica offered a new war against a different enemy, Spain, and a new imperial vision. Together, the Barbados rebellion and Jamaica conquest allow us to examine role of news in shaping political, military, and imperial goals.
Maternal age at birth and daughter’s fecundability
Authors: Basso Olga , Willis Sydney K , Hatch Elizabeth E , Mikkelsen Ellen M , Rothman Kenneth J , Wise Lauren A 
Published: February 2021

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONDo daughters of older mothers have lower fecundability?SUMMARY ANSWERIn this cohort study of North American pregnancy planners, there was virtually no association between maternal age ≥35 years and daughters’ fecundability.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYDespite suggestive evidence that daughters of older mothers may have lower fertility, only three retrospective studies have examined the association between maternal age and daughter’s fecundability.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONProspective cohort study of 6689 pregnancy planners enrolled between March 2016 and January 2020.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSPregnancy Study Online (PRESTO) is an ongoing pre-conception cohort study of pregnancy planners (age, 21-45 years) from the USA and Canada. We estimated fecundability ratios (FR) for maternal age at the participant’s birth using multivariable proportional probabilities regression models.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEDaughters of mothers ≥30 years were less likely to have previous pregnancies (or pregnancy attempts) or risk factors for infertility, although they were more likely to report that their mother had experienced problems conceiving. The proportion of participants with prior unplanned pregnancies, a birth before age 21, ≥3 cycles of attempt at study entry or no follow-up was greater among daughters of mothers &lt;25 years. Compared with maternal age 25–29 years, FRs (95% CI) for maternal age &lt;20, 20–24, 30–34, and ≥35 were 0.72 (0.61, 0.84), 0.92 (0.85, 1.00), 1.08 (1.00, 1.17), and 1.00 (0.89, 1.12), respectively.LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTIONAlthough the examined covariates did not meaningfully affect the associations, we had limited information on the participants’ mother. Differences by maternal age in reproductive history, infertility risk factors and loss to follow-up suggest that selection bias may partly explain our results.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSOur finding that maternal age 35 years or older was not associated with daughter’s fecundability is reassuring, considering the trend towards delayed childbirth. However, having been born to a young mother may be a marker of low fecundability among pregnancy planners.STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)PRESTO was funded by NICHD Grants (R21-HD072326 and R01-HD086742) and has received in-kind donations from Swiss Precision Diagnostics, FertilityFriend.com, Kindara.com, and Sandstone Diagnostics. Dr Wise is a fibroid consultant for AbbVie, Inc.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERn/a
The End of Human Rights Dynamism? Judgments of the ECtHR on ‘Hot Returns’ and Humanitarian Visas as a Focal Point of Contemporary European Asylum Law and Policy
Authors: Thym Daniel 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Two controversial rulings of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) deserve global attention, since they declined to scrutinize on human rights grounds the prevalent move towards enhanced border controls and externalization practices that define European asylum law and policy at this juncture. In ND and NT, judges deemed the Spanish policy of ‘hot returns’, without access to basic procedural guarantees, of those climbing border fences to be compatible with human rights. A few weeks later, the Grand Chamber thwarted enduring hopes for judicial innovation in MN when it reasserted a ‘primarily territorial’ understanding of State jurisdiction and declared inadmissible the claim of a Syrian family from the war-torn town of Aleppo to a humanitarian visa. While the decision on humanitarian visas means that ‘non-arrival’ policies cannot usually be challenged, critical inspection of the ND and NT judgment displays a confounding combination of restrictive arguments and dynamic elements beneath the surface of a seemingly clear-cut outcome. This lack of judicial precision, which was bound to cause heated debate about the practical implications of the judgment, reflects the basic tension between the prohibition of refoulement and the absence of a right to asylum in classic accounts of international refugee law. It will be argued that the judicial vindication of the Spanish ‘hot returns’ policy does not call into question non-refoulement obligations; it aims at identifying graded procedural standards for different categories of refugees and migrants. By contrast, the novel insistence on the abstract availability of legal channels of entry presents itself as a humanitarian fig leaf for the acceptance of strict control practices. At an intermediate level of abstraction, the two rulings mark a watershed moment, indicating the provisional endpoint of an impressive period of interpretative dynamism on the part of the ECtHR, which has played a critical role in the progressive evolution of international refugee and human rights law over the past three decades. Experts in asylum law who have become accustomed to supranational courts advancing the position of individuals will benefit from the insights of constitutional theory and the social sciences to rationalize why the former vigour has given way to a period of hesitation and potential standstill, at least in Europe. This analysis employs the perspective of strategic litigation to discuss contextual factors hindering the continued dynamism of human rights jurisprudence in Europe at this juncture.
Ramified Covering Maps and Stability of Pulled-back Bundles
Authors: Biswas Indranil , Parameswaran A J 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Let $f\,:\,C\,\longrightarrow \,D$ be a nonconstant separable morphism between irreducible smooth projective curves defined over an algebraically closed field. We say that $f$ is genuinely ramified if ${\mathcal O}_D$ is the maximal semistable subbundle of $f_*{\mathcal O}_C$ (equivalently, the induced homomorphism $f_*\,:\, \pi _1^{\textrm{et}}(C)\,\longrightarrow \, \pi _1^{\textrm{et}}(D)$ of étale fundamental groups is surjective). We prove that the pullback $f^*E\,\longrightarrow \, C$ is stable for every stable vector bundle $E$ on $D$ if and only if $f$ is genuinely ramified.
Emergence of aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia-positive enterococci with non-high-level gentamicin resistance mediated by IS1216V: adaptation to decreased aminoglycoside usage in Taiwan
Authors: Chen You-Han , Lin Shang-Yi , Lin Yu-Tzu , Tseng Sung-Pin , Chang Chen-Chia , Yu Song-Yih , Hung Wei-Wen , Jao Ya-Ting , Lin Chun-Yu , Chen Yen-Hsu , Hung Wei-Chun 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Objectives
To explore the mechanisms mediating the different levels of gentamicin resistance in enterococci.

Methods
Susceptibility testing with gentamicin and PCR of resistance determinants were performed in 149 enterococcal isolates. Genetic relatedness was characterized by MLST and PFGE analysis. Sequences of the aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia gene and its surrounding environment were determined by Illumina sequencing. Stability assays of gentamicin resistance were carried out to evaluate the probability of loss of the high-level gentamicin resistance (HLGR) phenotype.

Results
A total of 17 (11.4%) aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia-positive enterococcal isolates (2 Enterococcus faecalis and 15 Enterococcus faecium) with non-HLGR phenotype were found. MLST analysis revealed that the 2 E. faecalis belonged to ST116 and ST618, while all the 15 E. faecium belonged to clonal complex 17. Sequence analysis demonstrated that IS1216V was inserted into the 5′-end of aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia, leading to loss of HLGR phenotype. Three IS1216V insertion types were found, and type II and III were frequently found in E. faecium. Interestingly, a total of 38 aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia-positive E. faecium with HLGR phenotype also had type II or type III IS1216V insertion. Sequencing of the aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia-positive HLGR E. faecium E37 revealed that an intact aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia was located adjacent to IS1216V-disrupted aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia. In a non-antibiotic environment, E37 tended to lose HLGR phenotype with a probability of 1.57 × 10−4, which was largely attributed to homologous recombination between the intact and disrupted aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia.

Conclusions
This is first study to elucidate that the E. faecium is capable of changing its HLGR phenotype, which may contribute to adaptation to hospital environments with decreased usage of gentamicin.
Mental Health Resource Use Among Patients Undergoing Curative Intent Treatment for Bladder Cancer
Authors: Raphael Michael J , Griffiths Rebecca , Peng Yingwei , Gupta Sumit , Siemens D Robert , Soares Claudio N , Booth Christopher M 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Background
Patients with bladder cancer may experience mental health distress. Mental health-care service (MHS) use can quantify the magnitude of the problem.

Methods
The Ontario Cancer Registry was used to identify all patients with bladder cancer treated with curative-intent cystectomy or radiotherapy in Ontario, Canada (2004-2013). Population-level databases were used to identify MHS use (visits to general practitioner, psychiatrist, emergency department, or hospitalization). Generalized estimating equations were used to compare rates of MHS use. Baseline, peritreatment, and posttreatment MHS use were defined as visits from 2 years to 3 months before, 3 months before to 3 months after, and from 3 months after to 2 years after start of treatment, respectively.

Results
From 2004 to 2013, 4296 patients underwent cystectomy (n = 3332) or curative-intent radiotherapy (n = 964). Compared with baseline, the rate of MHS use was higher in the peritreatment (adjusted rate ratio [aRR] = 1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.48 to 1.82) and posttreatment periods (aRR = 1.45, 95% CI =1.30 to 1.63). By 2 years posttreatment, 24.6% (95% CI = 23.4% to 25.9%) of all patients had MHS use. Patients with baseline MHS use had substantially higher MHS use in the peritreatment (aRR = 5.77, 95% CI = 4.86 to 6.86) and posttreatment periods (aRR = 4.58, 95% CI = 3.78 to 5.55). Female patients had higher use MHS use overall, but males had a higher incremental increase in the posttreatment period compared with baseline (2-sided Pinteraction = .02). Male patients had a statistically significant increase in MHS use following surgery or radiotherapy, whereas female patients only had an increase following surgery.

Conclusions
MHS use is common among patients undergoing treatment for bladder cancer, particularly in the peritreatment period. Screening for mental health concerns in this population is warranted.
Cutting the line: manipulation of plant immunity by bacterial type III effector proteases
Authors: Mooney Brian C , Mantz Melissa , Graciet Emmanuelle , Huesgen Pitter F 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Pathogens and their hosts are engaged in an evolutionary arms race. Pathogen-derived effectors promote virulence by targeting components of a host’s innate immune system, while hosts have evolved proteins that sense effectors and trigger a pathogen-specific immune response. Many bacterial effectors are translocated into host cells using type III secretion systems. Type III effector proteases irreversibly modify host proteins by cleavage of peptide bonds and are prevalent among both plant and animal bacterial pathogens. In plants, the study of model effector proteases has yielded important insights into the virulence mechanisms employed by pathogens to overcome their host’s immune response, as well as into the mechanisms deployed by their hosts to detect these effector proteases and counteract their effects. In recent years, the study of a larger number of effector proteases, across a wider range of pathogens, has yielded novel insights into their functions and recognition. One key limitation that remains is the lack of methods to detect protease cleavage at the proteome-wide level. We review known substrates and mechanisms of plant pathogen type III effector proteases and compare their functions with those of known type III effector proteases of mammalian pathogens. Finally, we discuss approaches to uncover their function on a system-wide level.