bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Healthcare services access, use, and barriers among migrants in Europe: a systematic review
Authors: Galanis Petros , Spyros Koureas , Siskou Olga , Konstantakopoulou Olympia , Angelopoulos Georgios , Kaitelidou Daphne 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundThe issue of migrants health and access to health services is dynamic and complex posing a challenge to health systems worldwide.AimTo investigate migrants’ access to health services in European countries, the use of health services by migrants and the barriers encountered by migrants in the use of health services.Material and methodsThe search was conducted in January 2022 in five databases; PubMed, Medline, Web of science, Scopus and Cinahl. We used the following keywords: migrants, immigrants, use, access, utilization, healthcare services, services, needs, health, difficulties, barriers. The inclusion criteria were the following: (a) the studies investigated the access of migrants to health services, the use of health services by migrants and the barriers encountered by migrants in using health services. (b) migrants self-assessed access, use and barriers. (c) studies were conducted in European countries. (d) studies included adult migrants. (e) the language of articles was English.ResultsSixty-five studies were met our inclusion criteria. among studies, 89.2% were quantitative and 11.8% were qualitative. All quantitative studies were cross-sectional. for data collection, 58.5% of studies used questionnaires and 30.8% used historical files. Also, personal interviews were performed in 9.2% of studies and focus groups in 1.5% of studies. in our studies, 73.8% of natives stated that they had better access to health services and used health services better than migrants, while 26.2% found that migrants stated that they had better access to health services and used health services better. The most common barriers were the following: inability to understand the language and communicate, lack of insurance, lack of information and knowledge, lack of family support, low educational level, short duration of stay in the country of migration, low income, lack of a family doctor and high costs.ConclusionsMigrants face several barriers both in accessing and using health services in Europe. Intensive efforts are needed to increase migrants’ knowledge, implement culturally sensitive interventions in migrant communities and better inform healthcare professionals so that they can approach migrants more effectively.
A pleiotropic flowering time QTL exhibits gene-by-environmental interaction for fitness in a perennial grass
Authors: Weng Xiaoyu , Haque Taslima , Zhang Li , Razzaque Samsad , Lovell John T , Palacio-Mejía Juan Diego , Duberney Perla , Lloyd-Reilley John , Bonnette Jason , Juenger Thomas E 
Published: March 2022

AbstractFlowering time is crucial for wild plant populations to adapt to their local environments. Although the genetic basis of flowering variation has been studied in many plant species, its mechanisms in non-model organisms and its adaptive value in the field are still poorly understood. Here, we report new insights into the genetic basis of flowering time and its effect on fitness inPanicum hallii, a native perennial grass. We conducted genetic mapping in populations derived from representative inland and coastal ecotypes to identify flowering time QTL and loci exhibited extensive QTL-by-environment interactions. Patterns of segregation within recombinant hybrids provide strong support for directional selection driving ecotypic divergence in flowering time. A major QTL on chromosome 5 (q-FT5) was detected in all experiments and is a key locus controlling flowering variation. Fine-mapping and expression studies identified aFLOWERING LOCUS Torthologue,FT-like 9(PhFTL9), as the candidate underlyingq-FT5. We used reciprocal transplant experiment to test for global local adaptation and the specific impact ofq-FT5on performance. We did not observe local adaptation in terms of fitness tradeoffs when contrasting ecotypes in home versus away habitats. However, we observed that the coastal allele ofq-FT5conferred a fitness advantage only in its local habitat but not at the inland site. Sequence analysis of thePhFTL9promoter identified ecotypic specificcis-element variation associated with environmental responsiveness. Together, our findings demonstrate the genetic basis of flowering variation in a perennial grass and provide evidence for conditional neutrality underlying flowering divergence.
Whole genome regulatory effect ofMoISW2and consequences for the evolution of the rice plant pathogenic fungusMagnaporthe oryzae
Authors: Pei Mengtian , Abubakar Yakubu Saddeeq , Ali Hina , Lin Lianyu , Dou Xianying , Lu Guodong , Wang Zonghua , Olsson Stefan , Li Ya 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIsw2 proteins are conserved in eukaryotes and are known to bind to DNA and dynamically influence local chromosome condensation close to their DNA binding site in an ATP-dependent manner making genes close to the binding sites more accessible for transcription and repression. A putativeMoISW2gene was deleted with large effects on plant pathogenicity as a result. The gene was complemented and a ChIP-sec was performed to identify binding sites. RNAsec showed effects on the overall regulation of genes along the chromosomes for mutant and background strains and this was compared with RNAseq from 55 downloaded RNA-seq datasets from the same strain and found similar. MoIsw2 binding and activities create genomic regions affected by MoIsw2 with high gene expression variability close to the MoIsw2 binding sites while surrounding regions have lower gene expression variability. The genes affected by the MoIsw2 activity are niche-determinant genes (secreted proteins, secondary metabolites and stress-coping genes) and avirulence genes. We further show that MoIsw2 binding sites with the DNA binding motifs coincide with known transposable elements (TE) making it likely that TE-transposition at the binding sites can affect the transcription profile ofM. oryzein a strain-specific manner. We conclude that MoIsw2 is a likely candidate for a master regulator, regulating the dynamic balance between biomass growth genes (like housekeeping genes) and nich-determinant genes important for ecological fitness. Stress-induced TE transposition is together with MoIsw2 activity a likely mechanism creating more mutations and faster evolution of the niche-determinant genes than for housekeeping genes.
Local Subspace Pruning (LSP) for Multichannel Data Denoising
Authors: de Cheveigné Alain 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThis paper proposes a simple algorithm to remove noise and artifact from multichannel data. Data are processed trial by trial: for each trial the covariance matrix of the trial is diagonalized together with that of the full data to reveal the subspace that is – locally – most eccentric relative to other trials. That subspace is then projected out from the data of that trial. This algorithm addresses a fundamental limitation of standard linear analysis methods (e.g. ICA) that assume that brain and artifact are linearly separable within the data. That assumption fails if there are more sources, including noise and brain sources, than data channels. The algorithm captitalizes on the fact that, if enough of those sources are temporally sparse, linear separation may succeed locally in time. The paper explains the rationale, describes the algorithm, and evaluates the outcome using synthetic and real brain data.
Nrf2 promotes thyroid development and hormone synthesis
Authors: Pierre Gillotay , Mirian Romitti , Benjamin Dassy , Benoit Haerlingen , Meghna Parakkal Shankar , Barbara Faria Fonseca , Panos Ziros G. , Sumeet Pal Singh , Gerasimos Sykiotis P. , Sabine Costagliola 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIn all vertebrates, the function of the thyroid gland is to capture iodide to synthesize hormones that act on almost all tissues and are essential for normal growth and metabolism. Thyroid hormone production is a multistep process that ultimately leads to the coupling of iodine to thyroglobulin, the matrix glycoprotein of hormone synthesis. This coupling is dependent on H2O2, the accumulation of which in thyroid tissue, a true iodine trap, causes a basal level of oxidative stress higher than in other tissues, which, if left unchecked, leads to cellular damage. The thyroid has efficient antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes that help it resist H202-induced oxidative stress and maintain the homeostasis necessary for hormone synthesis. By regulating the expression of genes involved in cellular detoxification processes, the transcription factor NRF2 acts as a master regulator of the cellular defense system against oxidative stress. Using zebrafish embryos and mouse thyroid organoids, we show here that direct control of thyroglobulin expression by NRF2 is an evolutionarily conserved chore mechanism in vertebrates to complete the necessary molecular defense arsenal against oxidative stress in thyroid tissue.
Interactions of C. elegans β-tubulins with the microtubule inhibitor albendazole
Authors: Pallotto Linda M. , Dilks Clayton M. , Park Ye-Jean , Smit Ryan B. , Lu Brian , Gopalakrishnan Chandrasekhar , Gilleard John S. , Andersen Erik C. , Mains Paul E. 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACTParasitic nematodes are major human and agricultural pests, and benzimidazoles are amongst the most important broad spectrum anthelmintic drug class used for their control. Benzimidazole resistance is now widespread in many species of parasitic nematodes in livestock globally and an emerging concern for the sustainable control of human soil transmitted helminths. β-tubulin is the major benzimidazole target, although other genes may influence resistance. Among the six C. elegans β-tubulin genes, loss of ben-1 causes resistance without other apparent defects. Here, we explored the genetics of C. elegans β-tubulin genes in relation to the response to the benzimidazole derivative albendazole. The most highly expressed β-tubulin isotypes, encoded by tbb-1 and tbb-2, were known to be redundant with each other for viability, and their products are predicted not to bind benzimidazoles. We found that tbb-2 mutants, and to a lesser extent tbb-1 mutants, were hypersensitive to albendazole. The double mutant tbb-2 ben-1 is uncoordinated and dumpy, resembling the wild type exposed to albendazole, but the tbb-1 ben-1 double mutant did not show the same phenotype. These results suggest that tbb-2 is a modifier of ABZ sensitivity. To better understand how BEN-1 mutates to cause benzimidazole resistance, we isolated mutants resistant to albendazole and found that 15 of 16 mutations occurred in ben-1. Mutations ranged from likely nulls to hypomorphs, and several corresponded to residues that cause resistance in other organisms. Null alleles of ben-1 are albendazole-resistant and BEN-1 shows high sequence identity with tubulins from other organisms, suggesting that many amino acid changes could cause resistance. However, our results suggest that missense mutations conferring resistance are not evenly distributed across all possible conserved sites. Independent of their roles in benzimidazole resistance, tbb-1 and tbb-2 may have specialized functions as null mutants of tbb-1 or tbb-2 were cold or heat sensitive, respectively.
Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the “COVID Stress Scales” in Greek
Authors: Galanis Petros , Vraka Irene , Katsiroumpa Aglaia , Konstantakopoulou Olympia , Siskou Olga , Zogaki Eleftheria , Kaitelidou Daphne 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, several instruments were developed to measure the psychological impact of COVID-19, such as fear, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, phobia, etc.ObjectiveTo adapt cross-cultural and validate the “COVID Stress Scales” in Greek.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study with 200 participants between November 2021 to February 2022. All participants were adults, and a convenience sample was obtained. We applied the forward-backward translation method to create a Greek version of the “COVID Stress Scales”. We assessed reliability of the questionnaire with test-retest method in a 10-day window, and we assessed validity of the questionnaire with exploratory factor analysis.ResultsOur five-factor model explained 72% of the variance and totally confirmed the factors of the initial “COVID Stress Scales”. In particular, we found the following five factors: (a) COVID-19 danger and contamination (eleven items), (b) COVID-19 socioeconomic consequences (six items), (c) COVID-19 xenophobia (six items), (d) COVID-19 traumatic stress (six items), and (e) COVID-19 compulsive checking (six items). Cronbach’s coefficients alpha for the five factors that emerged from the exploratory factor analysis were greater than 0.89 indicating excellent internal reliability.ConclusionsWe found that the “COVID Stress Scales” is a reliable and valid tool to measure stress due to the COVID-19 in the Greek population.
Person-specific Characteristics of People with Low Back Pain Moderate the Preferred Movement Pattern within Motor Skill Training and Strength and Flexibility Exercise
Authors: Hooker Quenten L. , Dillen Linda R. van 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundPeople with chronic low back pain (LBP) display an altered movement pattern where the lumbar spine moves more readily into its available range of motion relative to other joints when performing a movement. Recently a randomized controlled trial was completed to compare the effects of motor skill training (MST) to strength and flexibility exercise (SFE). MST improved the altered pattern to a greater extent than SFE. However, there was substantial variability in the baseline and the change over time in the pattern. Understanding factors that influence this variability may ultimately be used to better target treatment strategies to the person.ObjectiveExamine if gender, age, LBP duration, and the movement pattern at baseline moderate the baseline movement pattern and the change over time in the pattern within MST and SFE. Design: Secondary analysis of kinematic data from a single-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial.SettingInstitutionalPatients154 patients with chronic LBP.InterventionsMotor skill training and strength and flexibility exercise.Main outcome measureslumbar contribution (LC) to total movement.ResultsThere was not a significant difference in baseline LC between MST and SFE (β=-2.39, CI=[-7.74, 2.96], p=0.38). SFE did not change LC over time (β=-0.11, CI=[-0.47, 0.24], p=0.53). However, there was a significant change over time in LC within MST (β=-2.13, CI=[-2.54, -1.48], p<0.001). Irrespective of treatment group, there was a trend for gender (β=-5.29, CI=[-10.34, 0.30], p=0.05) and age (β=-0.22, CI=[-0.46, 0.00], p=0.05) to moderate baseline LC. Age (β=0.01, CI=[0.00, 0.02], p = 0.04) and baseline LC (β=-0.07, CI=[-0.10, -0.04], p<0.01) were associated with the change over time in LC within MST only.ConclusionsPerson-specific characteristics moderate the baseline altered movement pattern within MST and SFE, as well as the change over time in the pattern within MST.
Government restriction efficiency on curbing COVID-19 pandemic transmission in Western Europe
Authors: Lolli Simone , Vivone Gemine 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIn this article we assess the effectiveness of the restrictions, implemented at government level, to curb the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak (January-May 2020) in seven European countries. The analysis put in evidence a strong correlation (correlation coefficient greater than 0.85) between one of the statistical parameters of the distribution representing the temporal evolution of the weekly number of patients admitted into the Intensive Cure Unit (ICU), i.e., the skewness, and the Stringency Index, an aggregate synthetic variable that reflects the level of implemented restrictions by a specific country on a scale between 0 (no restrictions) and 100 (full lockdown). Then, to assess if the skewness is consistent in effectively reflecting the applied restrictions, we computed the skewness for non-Covid flu outbreaks during four years from 2014-2015 to 2018-2019 and Covid-19 outbreak, where no restrictions were applied in Italy. The results highlight a significant difference between the values of the skewness for the normal flu with respect to the COVID-19 outbreak. This large difference put in evidence that the implemented restrictions modify the skewness of the ICU hospitalized patient number distribution. The skewness then can be used as a valid indicator to assess if the restriction had any effect on pandemic transmission and can be used as a support for decision makers.
Unquantifiably low aldosterone concentrations are prevalent in hospitalised COVID-19 patients but may not be revealed by chemiluminescent immunoassay
Authors: Wiegand Martin , Halsall David J. , Cowan Sarah L. , Taylor Kevin , Goudie Robert J. B. , Preller Jacobus , Gurnell Mark 
Published: March 2022

ObjectivePrevious studies have reported conflicting findings regarding aldosterone levels in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. We therefore used the gold-standard technique of liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry (LCMSMS) to address this uncertainty.DesignAll patients admitted to Cambridge University Hospitals with COVID-19 between March 10, 2020 and May 13, 2021, and in whom a stored blood sample was available for analysis, were eligible for inclusion.MethodsAldosterone was measured by LCMSMS and by immunoassay; cortisol and renin were determined by immunoassay.ResultsUsing LCMSMS, aldosterone was below the limit of detection (<70 pmol/L) in 74 (58.7%) patients. Importantly, this finding was discordant with results obtained using a commonly employed clinical immunoassay (Liaison Diasorin®), which over-estimated aldosterone compared to the LCMSMS assay (intercept 14.1 [95% CI -34.4 to 54.1] + slope 3.16 [95% CI 2.09 to 4.15] pmol/L). The magnitude of this discrepancy did not clearly correlate with markers of kidney or liver function. Solvent extraction prior to immunoassay improved the agreement between methods (intercept -14.9 [95% CI -31.9 to -4.3] and slope 1.0 [95% CI 0.89 to 1.02] pmol/L) suggesting the presence of a water-soluble metabolite causing interference in the direct immunoassay. We also replicated a previous finding that blood cortisol concentrations were often increased, with increased mortality in the group with serum cortisol levels >744 nmol/L (p=0.005).ConclusionWhen measured by LCMSMS, aldosterone was found to be profoundly low in a significant proportion of patients with COVID-19 at the time of hospital admission. This has likely not been detected previously due to high levels of interference with immunoassays in patients with COVID-19, and this merits further prospective investigation.
Multi-ancestry meta-analysis identifies 2 novel loci associated with ischemic stroke and reveals heterogeneity of effects between sexes and ancestries
Authors: Surakka Ida , Wu Kuan-Han , Hornsby Whitney , Wolford Brooke N. , Shen Fred , Zhou Wei , Huffman Jennifer E. , Pandit Anita , Hu Yao , Brumpton Ben , Skogholt Anne Heidi , Gabrielsen Maiken E. , Walters Robin G. ,   The TOPMed Stroke Working Group, Million Veteran Program (MVP), Hveem Kristian , Kooperberg Charles , Zöllner Sebastian , Wilson Peter W.F. , Sutton Nadia R. , Daly Mark J. , Neale Benjamin M. , Willer Cristen J. 
Published: March 2022

SummaryCerebrovascular accident (stroke) is the second leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Stroke prevalence varies by sex and ancestry, which could be due to genetic heterogeneity between subgroups. We performed a genome-wide meta-analysis of 16 biobanks across multiple ancestries to study the genetic contributions underlying ischemic stroke (60,176 cases, 1,310,725 controls) as part of the Global Biobank Meta-analysis Initiative (GBMI). Two novel loci associated ischemic stroke with plausible candidate genes, FGF5 and CENPQ/MUT, were identified after replication in four additional datasets. One locus showed significant ancestry heterogeneity (PDE3A) and two loci showed significant sex-heterogeneity (SH3PXD2A and ALDH2). The ALDH2 locus had a male-specific association for stroke in GBMI (P-value males = 1.67e-24, P-value females = 0.126). To test whether we would see a difference in the predictive power of sex-specific polygenic risk scores (PRSs), we compared the C-indexes for sex-specific and sex-combined PRSs in HUNT dataset. A sex-combined PRS was more successful at predicting stroke cases than a sex-specific PRS, most likely due to more stable effect estimates from the sex-combined summary-statistics. These approaches can be applied to further unravel the genetic underpinnings of stroke and other complex diseases.
A causal inference approach for estimating effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions during Covid-19 pandemic
Authors: Barros Vesna , Manes Itay , Akinwande Victor , Cintas Celia , Bar-Shira Osnat , Ozery-Flato Michal , Shimoni Yishai , Rosen-Zvi Michal 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIn response to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), governments worldwide have introduced multiple restriction policies, known as non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). However, the relative impact of control measures and the long-term causal contribution of each NPI are still a topic of debate. We present a method to rigorously study the effectiveness of interventions on the rate of the time-varying reproduction number Rtand on human mobility, considered here as a proxy measure of policy adherence and social distancing. We frame our model using a causal inference approach to quantify the impact of five governmental interventions introduced until June 2020 to control the outbreak in 113 countries: confinement, school closure, mask wearing, cultural closure, and work restrictions. Our results indicate that mobility changes are more accurately predicted when compared to reproduction number. All NPIs, except for mask wearing, significantly affected human mobility trends. From these, schools and cultural closure mandates showed the largest effect on social distancing. We also found that closing schools, issuing face mask usage, and work-from-home mandates also caused a persistent reduction on Rtafter their initiation, which was not observed with the other social distancing measures. Our results are robust and consistent across different model specifications and can shed more light on the impact of individual NPIs.
C21orf2 mutations found in ALS disrupt primary cilia function
Authors: De Decker Mathias , Zelina Pavol , Moens Thomas G , Eggermont Kristel , Moisse Matthieu , Veldink Jan H. , Van Den Bosch Ludo , Pasterkamp R. Jeroen , Van Damme Philip 
Published: March 2022

SUMMARYAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects 1 in 400 people. Almost 40 genes have been associated with ALS, currently explaining about 15% of the ALS risk. These genes tend to cluster in certain disease pathways such as protein quality control, RNA metabolism and axonal function. Despite these advances, adequate treatments for ALS patients are still missing. In this study, we investigate the role of a newly discovered ALS gene, C21orf2, in ALS pathology. We show that C21orf2 is localized to the basal body of the primary cilium and plays an important role in ciliogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Knock down of C21orf2 also lowers cilia frequency and length in human iPSC-derived spinal motor neurons (sMNs). Furthermore, we show that intraflagellar transport is impaired, causing primary cilia to fail in transducing extracellular signals essential in the sonic hedgehog pathway. ALS-associated mutations in C21orf2 lead to loss of binding to centrosomal proteins, loss of proper localization at the basal body and hereby prevent C21orf2 from carrying out its normal function in cilia by loss-of-function. Finally, we confirm that sMNs derived from iPSCs from ALS patients with C21orf2 mutations display similar cilia dysfunction and have disturbed sonic hedgehog signaling. Collectively, our data reveal impaired cilia homeostasis as a novel disease mechanism at play in ALS, opening new avenues for further research.