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The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has considerably heightened health and financial concerns for many individuals. Similar concerns, such as those associated with poverty, impair performance on cognitive control tasks. If ongoing concerns about COVID-19 substantially increase the tendency to mind wander in tasks requiring sustained attention, these worries could degrade performance on a wide range of tasks, leading, for example, to increased traffic accidents, diminished educational achievement, and lower workplace productivity. In two pre-registered experiments, we investigated the degree to which young adults' concerns about COVID-19 correlated with their ability to sustain attention. Experiment 1 tested mainly European participants during an early phase of the pandemic. After completing a survey probing COVID-related concerns, participants engaged in a continuous performance task (CPT) over two, 4-min blocks, during which they responded to city scenes that occurred 90% of the time and withheld responses to mountain scenes that occurred 10% of the time. Despite large and stable individual differences, performance on the scene CPT did not significantly correlate with the severity of COVID-related concerns obtained from the survey. Experiment 2 tested US participants during a later phase of the pandemic. Once again, CPT performance did not significantly correlate with COVID concerns expressed in a pre-task survey. However, participants who had more task-unrelated thoughts performed more poorly on the CPT. These findings suggest that although COVID-19 increased anxiety in a broad swath of society, young adults are able to hold these concerns in a latent format, minimizing their impact on performance in a demanding sustained attention task.

One of the challenges in global change research is the significant uncertainty in global historical land use and land cover (LUCC) datasets, which are widely used as foundational data. In addition to the regional cropland area reconstructions, improving the grid allocation method is another feasible way to raise the reliability of historical LUCC data. In this study, an integrated reconstruction of the national cropland areas over the past 200 years was developed for 36 European countries. After that, the allocation algorithm was built using physiogeographic variables and historical city sites for accounting for land suitability and cultivation preferences, respectively. Finally, cropland data in Europe with a spatial resolution of 5′×5′ at five time sections from AD 1800 to 2000 were generated using the optimal allocation algorithm in accordance with the stages of the regional history. The results were as follows: (1) The dominant factors governing the distribution of croplands in Europe vary at different agricultural stages, but the results can be merged together. Land suitability was more optimal for allocation during the modern agricultural stage (AD 1950 and 2000); the priority index combined with land suitability and cultivation preference was more reasonable for allocation during the traditional agricultural stage (AD 1800). The average of the allocations by priority index and the land suitability could be adopted as the allocation results during the transitional stage (AD 1850 and 1900) because the grids for absolute differences within ±10 and ±20 percentage points between the results obtained from the above two allocations were above 80% and 95%, respectively, which means the two allocation results could be merged. (2) Over the past 200 years, the total cropland area in Europe first increased to a peak in AD 1900 and then decreased. Spatially, the centre of the higher cropland fraction shifted from the western part of Europe in AD 1800 to the eastern part of the continent after AD 1950. (3) Both the cropland area and the spatial distribution in this study are more reasonable than the global dataset HYDE3.2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow water renewal endows the Baltic Sea a strong retention of pollutants/nutrients. Constraining water age is a practical way to depict the transport timescales for water masses and accompanying soluble substances. Although the water ages in the Baltic Sea have been resolved by 3D ocean models 20 year ago, the simulated results have not been verified. In this work, we exploited two anthropogenic radionuclides (129I and 236U) to constrain the ages of inflowing North Sea saline waters into the Baltic Sea by using the Tracer Age and Transit Time Distribution approaches. Our results indicate that the Baltic Sea has a highly stratified structure with a more diffusive bottom circulation and a more advective surface circulation. The circulation timescale for the saline water in the Baltic Sea was estimated to be >30 years from the bottom of Arkona Basin to the surface of central Baltic Sea. This work demonstrates the power of anthropogenic radiotracers in investigating circulation timescale and mixing processes in the Baltic Sea and provides the first observation‐based proof for the multi‐decadal retention of (radioactive) pollutants within the Baltic Sea. Plain Language Summary: This study focuses on using two man‐made radioisotopes, I‐129 and U‐236, to determine the ages of North Sea saline waters entering the Baltic Sea. Our results show that the Baltic Sea's circulation timescale is more than 30 years. This provides the first evidence, based on observations, of pollutants being retained within the Baltic Sea for several decades. The study highlights the usefulness of anthropogenic radioactive tracers in understanding hydrodynamic processes in the coastal areas of Northwestern Europe. Key Points: 129I and 236U released from nuclear reprocessing plants were used to determine the ages of saline water in the Baltic SeaThe transport timescales and mixing regimes are investigated by the tracer age and transit time distribution approachesThe saline water has a circulation timescale of >30 years within the interior Baltic Sea [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the global prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH), though it is known to vary across countries and time periods. This meta-analysis aims to estimate the global and regional prevalence of CH among births between 1969 and 2020. PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Embase databases were searched for relevant studies between January 1, 1975, and March 2, 2020. Pooled prevalence was calculated using a generalized linear mixed model, and expressed as a rate per 10,000 neonates. The meta-analysis involved 116 studies, which analyzed 330,210,785 neonates, among whom 174,543 were diagnosed with CH. The pooled global prevalence of CH from 1969 to 2020 was 4.25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.96–4.57). The geographic region with highest prevalence was the Eastern Mediterranean (7.91, 95% CI 6.09–10.26), where the prevalence was 2.48-fold (95% CI 2.04–3.01) that in Europe. The national income level with the highest prevalence was upper-middle (6.76, 95% CI 5.66–8.06), which was 1.91-fold (95% CI 1.65–2.22) that in high-income countries. Global prevalence of CH was 52% (95% CI 4–122%) higher in 2011–2020 than in 1969–1980, after adjusting for geographic region, national income level, and screening strategy. Conclusion: The global prevalence of CH increased from 1969 to 2020, which may reflect the implementation of national neonatal screening, neonatal testing for thyroid-stimulating hormone, and a lowering of the diagnostic level of this hormone. Additional factors are likely to be driving the increase, which should be identified in future research. What is Known: • Cumulated evidence had suggested that the occurrences of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) among newborns were varied in different countries.. • Up-trends of the birth prevalence of CH were observed in many European and American countries. What is New: • This is the first meta-analysis to estimate global and regional prevalence of CH among newborns. • The global prevalence of CH has increased by 127% since 1969. The Eastern Mediterranean has the highest prevalence and stands out with the most pronounced escalation in the prevalence of CH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European land carbon uptake has been heavily impacted by several recent severe droughts, yet quantitative estimates of carbon uptake anomalies are uncertain. Atmospheric CO2 inverse models (AIMs) provide observation‐based estimates of the large‐scale carbon flux dynamics, but how well they capture drought impacts on the terrestrial carbon uptake is poorly known. Here we assessed the capacity of state‐of‐the‐art AIMs in monitoring drought impacts on the European carbon uptake over 2001–2015 using observations of environmental variability and vegetation function and made comparisons with bottom‐up estimates of carbon uptake anomalies. We found that global inversions with only limited surface CO2 observations give divergent estimates of drought impacts. Regional inversions assimilating denser CO2 observations over Europe demonstrated some improved consistency, with all inversions capturing a reduction in carbon uptake during the 2012 drought. However, they failed to capture the reduction caused by the 2015 drought. Finally, we found that a set of inversions that assimilated satellite XCO2 or assimilated environmental variables plus surface CO2 observations better captured carbon uptake anomalies induced by both the 2012 and 2015 droughts. In addition, the recent Orbiting Carbon Observatory—2 XCO2 inversions showed good potential in capturing drought impacts, with better performances for larger‐scale droughts like the 2018 drought. These results suggest that surface CO2 observations may still be too sparse to fully capture the impact of drought on the carbon cycle at subcontinental scales over Europe, and satellite XCO2 and ancillary environmental data can be used to improve observational constraints in atmospheric inversion systems. Plain Language Summary: Atmospheric CO2 inverse models (AIMs) are useful tools for quantifying the response of large‐scale carbon uptake to climate extremes, but their capacity for monitoring drought impacts, particularly at regional scales, is not fully explored. In this study, we assessed the capacity of state‐of‐the‐art AIMs for monitoring drought impacts on the European land carbon uptake over 2001–2015 using a large array of observational and model data sets. We found: (a) global inversions with only limited surface CO2 observations face a great challenge in monitoring drought impacts on the European carbon uptake; (b) Regional inversions assimilated denser CO2 observations over Europe, for the EUROCOM project, demonstrated some improved consistency but are still deficient, showing divergent estimates in interannual variability of carbon uptake for most years; and (c) A set of inversion systems that assimilated satellite XCO2 or assimilated environmental variables plus surface CO2 observations better captured annual and seasonal anomalies caused by droughts. Our study demonstrates that surface CO2 observations may still be too sparse to fully capture the impact of drought on the carbon cycle at subcontinental scales over Europe, whereby satellite XCO2 and ancillary environmental data can offer observational constraints for improving the estimates. Key Points: Global inversions with only limited surface CO2 observations give divergent estimates of drought impacts on the European carbon uptakeRegional inversions assimilating denser CO2 observations over Europe demonstrate some improved consistency but are still deficientThe inversions assimilating satellite XCO2 or environmental variables in addition to surface CO2 largely improve the estimates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Evidence on the association between frailty and quality of life (QoL) is mostly limited to cross-sectional studies. Thus, the temporal order and potential mechanisms of this association are largely unknown. Our study examines both the directionality of this association and the role of cognition in this association in longitudinal data. Methods Cross-lagged panel models were employed to examine the temporal relationship between frailty and QoL, as well as cognition's role among 19,649 older adults in Europe. Frailty, QoL, and cognition were assessed using the health deficit index, CASP-12, and 3 standard cognitive tests, respectively. Results We observed a bidirectional association between frailty and QoL and their dynamics. High initial levels of frailty predicted poorer QoL later and vice versa (β = −0.151 and −0.052, p <.001). The early change in frailty predicted the late change in QoL, and vice versa (β = −0.093 and −0.061, p <.001). Frailty or its early change drives this interrelationship. Cognition at Wave 5 partially mediated frailty's effect at Wave 4 on QoL at Wave 6 (indirect effect: β = −0.005, 95% confidence interval = −0.006, −0.004). Discussion Our findings supported that early prevention of frailty and its risk factors may have more influential protective effects on later physical and mental health, as well as the need for ongoing screening for mental health in aging population. Also, the maintenance of good cognitive performance may help interrupt this possible vicious cycle linking frailty and QoL decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Randomized controlled trials in pediatric kidney transplantation are hampered by low incidence and prevalence of kidney failure in children. Real-World Data from patient registries could facilitate the conduct of clinical trials by substituting a control cohort. However, the emulation of a control cohort by registry data in pediatric kidney transplantation has not been investigated so far. Methods: In this multicenter comparative analysis, we emulated the control cohort (n = 54) of an RCT in pediatric kidney transplant patients (CRADLE trial; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01544491) with data derived from the Cooperative European Paediatric Renal Transplant Initiative (CERTAIN) registry, using the same inclusion and exclusion criteria (CERTAIN cohort, n = 554). Results: Most baseline patient and transplant characteristics were well comparable between both cohorts. At year 1 posttransplant, a composite efficacy failure end point comprising biopsy-proven acute rejection, graft loss or death (5.8% ± 3.3% vs. 7.5% ± 1.1%, P = 0.33), and kidney function (72.5 ± 24.9 vs. 77.3 ± 24.2 mL/min/1.73 m2P = 0.19) did not differ significantly between CRADLE and CERTAIN. Furthermore, the incidence and severity of BPAR (5.6% vs. 7.8%), the degree of proteinuria (20.2 ± 13.9 vs. 30.6 ± 58.4 g/mol, P = 0.15), and the key safety parameters such as occurrence of urinary tract infections (24.1% vs. 15.5%, P = 0.10) were well comparable. Conclusions: In conclusion, usage of Real-World Data from patient registries such as CERTAIN to emulate the control cohort of an RCT is feasible and could facilitate the conduct of clinical trials in pediatric kidney transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does the grand challenge of refugees influence nascent entrepreneurs in host countries? To explore this question, we build on social identity theory and analyse how the 2015 European refugee event is related to the strength of different founder social identities (i.e. Darwinian, Communitarian, and Missionary founder social identities) of nascent entrepreneurs in the countries accommodating the refugees. Using a dataset of 6,096 nascent entrepreneurs from 24 European countries, we reveal a positive relationship between the refugee event and the strength of the Communitarian founder social identity. This relationship is even stronger when the previous percentage of foreign migrants in a country is lower and is mediated by the human health and social work industry. Interestingly, we do not find significant relationships between the refugee event and the strengths of the Darwinian or Missionary founder social identity, respectively. Hence, refugees as a grand challenge are likely to have divergent influences on different types of entrepreneurship in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Observational studies suggest inverse associations between serum vitamin levels and the risk of heart failure (HF). However, the causal effects of vitamins on HF have not been fully elucidated. Here, we conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) study to investigate the causal associations between genetically determined vitamin levels and HF. METHODS Genetic instrumental variables for circulating vitamin levels, including vitamins A, B, C, D, and E, which were as- sessed as either absolute or metabolite levels were obtained from public genome-wide association studies. Summary statistics for single-nucleotide-polymorphisms and HF associations were retrieved from the HERMES Consortium (47,309 cases and 930,014 controls) and FinnGen Study (30,098 cases and 229,612 controls). Two-sample MR analyses were implemented to assess the causality between vitamin levels and HF per outcome database, and the results were subsequently combined by meta-analysis. RESULTS Our MR study did not find significant associations between genetically determined circulating vitamin levels and HF risk. For absolute vitamin levels, the odds ratio for HF ranged from 0.97 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85-1.09, P = 0.41) for vitamin C to 1.05 (95% CI: 0.61-1.82, P = 0.85) for vitamin A. For vitamin metabolites, the odds ratio ranged between 0.94 (95% CI: 0.75-1.19, P = 0.62) for α-tocopherol and 1.11 (95% CI: 0.98-1.26, P = 0.09) for γ-tocopherol. CONCLUSION Evidence from our study does not support the causal effects of circulating vitamin levels on HF. Therefore, there may be no direct beneficial effects of vitamin intake on the prevention of primary HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temoporfin (mTHPC) is approved in Europe for the photodynamic treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Although it has a promising profile, its lipophilic character hampers the full exploitation of its potential due to high tendency of aggregation and a reduced ROS generation that compromise photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy. Moreover, for its clinical administration, mTHPC requires the presence of ethanol and propylene glycol as solvents, often causing adverse effects in the site of injection. In this paper we explored the efficiency of a new mTHPC formulation that uses human serum albumin (HSA) to disperse the photosensitizer in solution (mTHPC@HSA), investigating its anticancer potential in two HNSCC cell lines. Through a comprehensive characterization, we demonstrated that mTHPC@HSA is stable in physiological environment, does not aggregate, and is extremely efficient in PDT performance, due to its high singlet oxygen generation and the high dispersion as monomolecular form in HSA. This is supported by the computational identification of the specific binding pocket of mTHPC in HSA. Moreover, mTHPC@HSA-PDT induces cytotoxicity in both HNSCC cell lines, increasing intracellular ROS generation and the number of γ-H2AX foci, a cellular event involved in the global response to cellular stress. Taken together these results highlight the promising phototoxic profile of the complex, prompting further studies to assess its clinical potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Simplification and standardization of interventions are critical challenges to improving performance in implant dentistry. This study aimed to systematically identify and schematically present the evidence base of the implant dentistry surgical interventions for the anterior maxilla as a basis for further development and standardization. Methods: Electronic searches were conducted in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL. Primary clinical studies reporting surgical interventions in the anterior maxilla, with a sample size of at least ten patients, were included. Bibliometric information and study details were extracted. Descriptive analysis and a mind map approach were used to describe the documentation of different surgical interventions. Results: Two hundred and seventy‐two studies reporting on 9001 patients were included. Within the past two decades, the number of literatures on implant placement in the anterior maxilla has increased dramatically (7 studies before 2005, 151 studies after 2016). Overall, the evidence map identified six primary operations and 33 variations. For hopeless tooth extraction, immediate implant placement was the most frequently reported (141 studies, 4670 patients); flapless implant placement with hard tissue augmentation and immediate provisionalization was the most commonly reported variation (33 studies, 987 patients). Type 3/4 implant placement (62 studies, 1902 patients) and implant site augmentation (33 studies, 788 patients) were frequently reported for missing teeth. Geographical differences were observed, with type 2 placement studies almost exclusively from Europe. Conclusions: Research on immediate implant placement was the most reported surgical intervention in the anterior maxilla. Hard tissue augmentation was frequently reported simultaneously with or before implant placement. Immediate provisionalization was mainly used for type 1 implant placement. The finding that six primary operations with 33 variations have been reported indicates the need for additional research to simplify and consolidate the surgical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Burnout among general practitioners (GPs) has attracted the attention of more and more researchers. An adequate understanding the prevalence and related factors of burnout to prevent and reduce burnout is necessary. This study systematically measured the global prevalence of burnout among GPs.Methods: Eligible original studies were identified from the PubMed, Ovid Embase, Ovid Medline (R), and Web of science databases. We searched the full-time period available for each database, up to 30 September 2021. The adjusted prevalence rate was estimated using a random-effects meta-analysis. The heterogeneity was evaluated using I2 statistic. Differences by study-level characteristics were estimated via subgroup analyses and meta-regression.Results: A total of 16 cross-sectional studies with 7,595 participants were included. The pooled burnout rate showed 37%, 28%, and 26% of general GPs suffer from high emotional exhaustion (EE), high depersonalization (DP), and low personal exhaustion (PA), respectively. Groups comparisons found that high EE, high DP, and low PA rate data obtained from 2001 to 2009, high DP rate data obtained from Europe, low PA rate data obtained from high-quality studies had much higher rates.Conclusions: This study demonstrated the prevalence of burnout in the GPs and alert health managers to tailor their strategies to retain this community. Targeted initiatives are needed to provide adequate GPs' well-being and maintain primary health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The colonization success of a species depends on the interplay between its phenotypic plasticity, adaptive potential and demographic history. Assessing their relative contributions during the different phases of a species range expansion is challenging, and requires large-scale experiments. Here, we investigated the relative contributions of plasticity, performance and demographic history to the worldwide expansion of the shepherd's purse, Capsella bursa-pastoris. We installed two large common gardens of the shepherd's purse, a young, self-fertilizing, allopolyploid weed with a worldwide distribution. One common garden was located in Europe, the other in Asia. We used accessions from three distinct genetic clusters (Middle East, Europe and Asia) that reflect the demographic history of the species. Several life-history traits were measured. To explain the phenotypic variation between and within genetic clusters, we analysed the effects of (i) the genetic clusters, (ii) the phenotypic plasticity and its association to fitness and (iii) the distance in terms of bioclimatic variables between the sampling site of an accession and the common garden, i.e. the environmental distance. Our experiment showed that (i) the performance of C. bursa-pastoris is closely related to its high phenotypic plasticity; (ii) within a common garden, genetic cluster was a main determinant of phenotypic differences; and (iii) at the scale of the experiment, the effect of environmental distance to the common garden could not be distinguished from that of genetic clusters. Phenotypic plasticity and demographic history both play important role at different stages of range expansion. The success of the worldwide expansion of C. bursa-pastoris was undoubtedly influenced by its strong phenotypic plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of deep learning technology to ionospheric prediction has become a new research hotspot. However, there are still some gaps, such as the prediction effect with different input solar and geomagnetic activity parameters, and the forecast accuracy with different prediction methods as well as the validation of long period data results, to be filled. We developed an ionospheric long short‐term memory network (Ion‐LSTM) with multiple input parameters to predict the global ionospheric total electron content (TEC). Two solutions with different ionospheric data based on Ion‐LSTM were assessed, namely spherical harmonic coefficients (SHC) and vertical TEC (VTEC) prediction solution. The results show two solutions, both perform well in accuracy and stability. The input of the geomagnetic activity index improves the prediction effect of the model in the storm period. For the 1‐ and 2‐day‐predicted global ionospheric maps (GIMs) from 2015 to 2020, the root mean square error (RMSE) of SHC prediction solution is 1.69 TECU and 1.84 TECU while that of the VTEC prediction solution is 1.70 TECU and 1.84 TECU, respectively. Over 70% of the absolute residuals are within 3 TECU in high solar activity and over 96% in low solar activity. Further, by comparing the predicted results between Ion‐LSTM and conventional methods (e.g., Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) predicted GIMs), the evaluation results show that the RMSE of Ion‐LSTM is 0.7 TECU lower than that of CODE predicted GIMs under different solar and geomagnetic activities. Additionally, the accuracy of the Ion‐LSTM prediction results decreases slightly as the input time span increases. Plain Language Summary: To fill some gaps of the ionospheric prediction research with deep learning technology, we develop an ionospheric long short‐term memory network (Ion‐LSTM) that considers the influencing factors of the solar activity, geomagnetic activity, and daily cycle indexes to predict the global ionospheric total electron content (TEC). The period of training data covered a solar cycle from 2004 to 2019, and the predicted results are evaluated during the years 2015–2020. And two different prediction solutions (spherical harmonic coefficients and vertical TEC prediction solution) based on the Ion‐LSTM model are analyzed and assessed in detail by comparison with the conventional mathematical methods. Additionally, the effect of different geomagnetic storms and the input time span on the predicted ionospheric TEC were investigated. The accuracy of the predicted global ionospheric maps using our proposed Ion‐LSTM model outperforms the conventional methods under different conditions. Key Points: An Ion‐long short‐term memory (LSTM) model with different input parameters is developed, and two prediction solutions are implemented based on this networkThe period of training data covered a solar cycle from 2004 to 2019, while the predicted results were evaluated during the years 2015–2020The accuracy of the predicted global ionospheric maps using Ion‐LSTM model outperforms the conventional mathematical methods under different conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mutations in the NIPA1 gene cause hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) type 6 (SPG6), which is a rare type of HSP with a frequency of less than 1% in Europe. To date, less than 30 SPG6 families and limited NIPA1 mutations have been reported in different ethnic regions. The clinical features are variable. Methods: We screened for NIPA1 mutations by whole exome sequencing or next generation sequencing in 35 unrelated Chinese families with HSP. The clinical manifestations were evaluated. Results: Two variants of NIPA1 were identified in three index patients (3/35, 8.6%), two of whom carried a previously reported common variant c.316G > A (p.G106R), and the third patient harbored a novel likely pathogenic variant c.126C > G (p.N42K). Both variants were de novo in the three index patients. The phenotype was pure HSP in two patients and complicated HSP with epilepsy in the third one. Conclusion: NIPA1 -related HSP is more common in China than it in Europe. Both pure and complicated form of HSP can be found. The variant c.316G > A is a hotspot mutation, and the novel variant c.126C > G expands the mutational spectrum. The phenomenon of de novo mutations in NIPA1 emphasizes the need to consider autosomal dominant HSP-related genes in sporadic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interrelationships between urban and rural areas are fundamental for the development and safeguarding of viable future living conditions and quality of life. These areas are not well-delineated or self-sufficient, and existing interrelations may privilege one over the other. Major urban challenges facing China and Europe are related to changes in climate, environment, and to decision-making that makes urban and rural landscapes more susceptible to environmental pressures. Focusing on the six European and Chinese cities and surrounding rural areas, under study in the joint EC and MOST-funded REGREEN project, we examine how nature-based solutions (NBS) may assist in counteracting these pressures. We explore urban-rural dependencies and partnerships regarding NBS that can enhance resilience in Europe and China. We analyse differences between European and Chinese systems of governance, reflecting on the significance of the scale of research needed to understand how NBS provide benefits. We highlight interactions between differently delineated sheds (watershed, airshed, natureshed, and peopleshed), which influence the interrelationships between urban and rural areas. There may be one-way or two-way interdependence, and the impact may be uni or multi-directional. The European and Chinese solutions, exemplified in this article, tackle the nexus of environmental and peoplesheds. We discuss complex human interactions (and how to model them) that may, or may not, lead to viable and equitable partnerships for implementing NBS in cities within Europe and in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Early-life development plays a key role in adult type 2 diabetes (T2D), but the extent to which this can be attenuated by lifestyle is unknown. Objectives The aim was to investigate the independent relevance of genetic predisposition to low birth weight and childhood obesity for T2D, and their attenuation, by adherence to a healthy lifestyle in adulthood. Methods Genetic risk scores (GRSs) were estimated for birth weight and childhood BMI with genetic risk categories according to their quintiles in 90,029 and 321,225 participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB; mean age, 53.0 y) and UK Biobank (UKB; 56.1 y). Healthy lifestyle scores were defined on noncurrent smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, healthy diet, regular physical activity, and nonobesity, and categorized into healthy (4∼5 factors), intermediate (2∼3 factors), and unhealthy (0∼1 factor) lifestyle. Results GRSs for low birth weight and childhood BMI were associated with higher T2D risks. Healthy lifestyle was related to lower T2D risk, and there was an additive interaction with increasing childhood BMI GRS and decreasing healthy lifestyle factors on T2D risk, whereas no additive interaction was observed for birth weight. Participants with a healthy compared with an unhealthy lifestyle had a 68% (HR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.47) and 77% (0.23; 0.19, 0.28) lower T2D risk among participants at high genetic risk (lowest quintile) of low birth weight in the CKB and UKB. Among participants with high genetic risk (highest quintile) of childhood obesity, compared with those with an unhealthy lifestyle, adherence to a healthy lifestyle was associated with a 69% (0.31; 0.22, 0.46) and 80% (0.20; 0.17, 0.25) lower risk of T2D in the CKB and UKB. Conclusions Genetic predisposition to low birth weight and childhood obesity were associated with higher risk of adult T2D and these excess risks were attenuated by adherence to a healthy lifestyle in adulthood, particularly among those at high genetic risk of childhood obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent cultural studies have discussed universality and diversity in human behavior using numerous samples investigated worldwide. We aimed to quantitatively extend this discussion to various research activities in psychology in terms of geographic regions and time trends. Most psychology departments have specialists in various fields of psychology. Further, research institutions in all regions typically aim to provide systematic and balanced research education. Nevertheless, most researchers recognize universal features and patterns of diversity in research activities in psychology in terms of regional differences and time trends. However, these arguments remain intuitive and vague, and no studies have conducted quantitative analyses. To this end, we conducted topic modeling for the abstracts of psychological articles with the regions of author affiliations and publication periods as covariates. The results showed that the topic proportions related to basic research were high in North-Central America, whereas those related to clinical research were high in Europe. Interestingly, the regional differences shown by topic modeling were not observed in the frequency analysis of keywords, indicating that topic modeling revealed implicit characteristics. Moreover, we observed an increasing trend of neuroscience topics across publication periods. However, this trend was not valid for the psychology journal Psychological Science. Taken together, our results suggest diversity of geographic regions and periods in research activities in psychology. More importantly, our findings indicate that universality holds neither for human behavior nor research activities on human mental processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The dieback epidemic decimating common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) in Europe is caused by the invasive fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. In this study we analyzed the genomes of H. fraxineus and H. albidus, its native but, now essentially displaced, non-pathogenic sister species, and compared them with several other members of Helotiales. The focus of the analyses was to identify signals in the genome that may explain the rapid establishment of H. fraxineus and displacement of H. albidus. Results: The genomes of H. fraxineus and H. albidus showed a high level of synteny and identity. The assembly of H. fraxineus is 13 Mb longer than that of H. albidus', most of this difference can be attributed to higher dispersed repeat content (i.e. transposable elements [TEs]) in H. fraxineus. In general, TE families in H. fraxineus showed more signals of repeat-induced point mutations (RIP) than in H. albidus, especially in Long-terminal repeat (LTR)/Copia and LTR/Gypsy elements. Comparing gene family expansions and 1:1 orthologs, relatively few genes show signs of positive selection between species. However, several of those did appeared to be associated with secondary metabolite genes families, including gene families containing two of the genes in the H. fraxineus-specific, hymenosetin biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC). Conclusion: The genomes of H. fraxineus and H. albidus show a high degree of synteny, and are rich in both TEs and BGCs, but the genomic signatures also indicated that H. albidus may be less well equipped to adapt and maintain its ecological niche in a rapidly changing environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High body mass index (BMI) is a major risk factor for cancer development, but its impact on the global burden of cancer remains unclear. We estimated global and regional temporal trends in the burden of cancer attributable to high BMI, and the contributions of various cancer types using the framework of the Global Burden of Disease Study. From 2010 to 2019, there was a 35 % increase in deaths and a 34 % increase in disability-adjusted life-years from cancers attributable to high BMI. The age-standardized death rates for cancer attributable to high BMI increased over the study period (annual percentage change [APC] +0.48 %, 95 % CI 0.22 to 0.74 %). The greatest number of deaths from cancer attributable to high BMI occurred in Europe, but the fastest-growing age-standardized death rates and disability-adjusted life-years occurred in Southeast Asia. Liver cancer was the fastest-growing cause of cancer mortality (APC: 1.37 %, 95 % CI 1.25 to 1.49 %) attributable to high BMI. The global burden of cancer-related deaths attributable to high BMI has increased substantially from 2010 to 2019. The greatest increase in age-standardized death rates occurred in Southeast Asia, and liver cancer is the fastest-growing cause of cancer mortality attributable to high BMI. Urgent and sustained measures are required at a global and regional level to reverse these trends and slow the growing burden of cancer attributed to high BMI. • From 2010 to 2019, there was a 35 % increase in deaths from cancers due to high BMI. • Similarly, there was a 34 % increase in disability-adjusted life-years. • The greatest number of deaths from cancer due to high BMI occurred in Europe. • Liver cancer is the fastest-growing cause of cancer mortality due to high BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work considering the contributions of the daughter nuclear charge and the orbital angular momentum taken away by the emitted proton, we propose a two-parameter formula of new Geiger-Nuttall law for proton radioactivity. A set of universal parameters of this law is obtained by fitting 44 experimental data of proton emitters in the ground state and isomeric state. The calculated results can reproduce the experimental data well. For a comparison, the calculations performed using other theoretical methods, such as UDLP proposed by Qi et al. (Phys. Rev. C 85, 011303(R) (2012)), the CPPM-Guo2013 analyzed by our previous work (Deng et al., Eur. Phys. J. A 55, 58 (2019)) and the modified Gamow-like model proposed by us (Chen et al., J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 96, 065107 (2019)) are also included. Meanwhile, we extend this new Geiger-Nuttall law to predict the proton radioactivity half-lives for 51 ≤ Z ≤ 91 nuclei, whose proton radioactivity is energetically allowed or observed but not yet quantified in NUBASE2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Since November 2017, mass mortalities of larvae of bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) were reported in hatcheries located at the southern area of Republic of Korea. Over 90% of larvae aged 5–10 days sank to the bottom of the tank and died. The hatcheries could not produce spat, and thus artificial seed production industry incurred huge losses. We identified Ostreid Herpesvirus‐1 μVar (OsHV‐1 μVar) associated with mass mortality by PCR, sequencing and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). All the samples were positive for OsHV‐1 μVar with 99% sequence identity to previously reported OsHV‐1 μVar sequences. Partial sequence of ORF‐4 of OsHV‐1 detected in this study was more closely related to sequences isolated from Europe. This is the first report to confirm the mortality caused by an OsHV‐1 infection in the bay scallop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: T cell-replete haploidentical stem cell transplantation (haplo-SCT) is a valid therapeutic option for adult patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) lacking an HLA-matched sibling or unrelated donor.Method: We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 912 AML patients ≥45 years of age who had undergone haplo-SCT with either myeloablative conditioning (MAC; n = 373) or reduced intensity conditioning (RIC; n = 539) regimens.Results: The median follow-up was 31.1 and 25.7 months for MAC and RIC, respectively. The incidence of relapse and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) were 25.1% versus 28.7% and 31.0% versus 30.3% for MAC and RIC, respectively; 2-year leukemia-free survival (LFS) was 43.9% for MAC versus 41.0% for RIC. In multivariate analysis, the use of MAC versus RIC was not associated with a difference in the outcomes. Results were confirmed in the propensity score-weighted analysis. Disease status and performance status at transplantation were associated with outcomes. Notably, the use of posttransplantation cyclophosphamide was associated with reduced acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) stage III-IV, and NRM and increased overall survival, LFS, and GVHD-free, relapse-free survival. The use of mobilized peripheral blood stem cells was associated with an increased risk of stage II-IV aGVHD.Conclusion: No differences were found between MAC and RIC regimens for haplo-SCT in adults with AML who were ≥45 years of age. The type of GVHD prophylaxis, disease status, and performance status were the major predictors of transplantation outcome. These results may serve as the background for randomized study comparing RIC versus MAC for haplo-SCT in adults with AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns of—and correlates associated with—bullying perpetration and peer victimization have received widespread research attention. Somewhat less research has considered how protective factors in the parental domain help to buffer against both adverse behaviors. And perhaps more importantly, even less research has considered potential racial differences in the manner in which family-level variables relate to both bullying perpetration and peer victimization. Using a nationwide sample of adolescents, the present study examines (a) how parent/guardian support, mother's parental monitoring, father's parental monitoring, and family satisfaction buffer against bullying perpetration and peer victimization; and (b) whether these relationships vary across race. Data are derived from the 2009 to 2010 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children study in the United States. A total of 8,998 adolescents were included in the study sample, which consisted of 6,521 European Americans and 2,477 African Americans. Findings show that both European American and African American youth who received parental/guardian support were less likely to report being bullied. Among both African American and European American sub-samples, results showed that mother's parental monitoring was negatively associated with both bullying perpetration and peer victimization. Father's parental monitoring was negatively associated with peer victimization and bullying perpetration for European Americans only. Both European and African American youth who reported being satisfied with their family were less likely to report being bullied while European American youth who reported higher family satisfaction were less likely to engage in bullying. In sum, several family variables help to buffer against both bullying perpetration and peer victimization, but for the most part these relationships are race-invariant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicotine is an alkaloid and a secondary plant metabolite that has been used as an insecticide. Despite their widespread application, the EU banned the use of nicotine-containing pesticides in December 2008. However, studies in Europe have found nicotine in mushrooms. Nicotine has also been detected in wild mushrooms, so there are other causes of contamination as well as pesticide. This study reports the development of GC-MS method for quantitatively analysing nicotine in mushrooms. This method provides recoveries of 89.5–92.5%, intra-day precisions of 0.32–0.85%, and inter-day precisions of 0.73–2.36%, with limits of detection and quantification of 0.38 and 1.15 μg kg-1, respectively. The relative expanded uncertainty result of 2.8–4.0% complies with CODEX requirements. The method was successfully applied to eleven mushroom samples in which nicotine was detected at levels of 0.033–1.713 mg kg-1. Therefore, this method is suitable for the quantification of nicotine in dried mushrooms to ensure pre-emptive food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies have presented conflicting results on Western diets and the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aimed to evaluate the role of a pre‐illness Western dietary pattern in the development of IBD. Methods: The Western dietary pattern was defined as that met at least two of the following, either a high intake of refined grains, red and processed meat, animal protein, animal fats or high‐fat dairy products, or with a low consumption of fruit and vegetables. Four medical databases (PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure) were searched to identify all relevant references. Risk estimate and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were pooled using a random‐effects model. Results: Nine studies (seven case‐control studies and two prospective cohorts) were included, with a total of 1491 IBD cases and 53 089 controls. A Western dietary pattern was associated with a risk of all IBD (relative risk [RR] 1.92, 95% CI 1.37‐2.68) and separately with Crohn's disease (CD) (RR 1.72, 95% CI 1.01‐2.93) and ulcerative colitis (UC) (RR 2.15, 95% CI 1.38‐3.34). Subgroup analysis by region showed that a Western dietary pattern was associated with the risk of CD and UC for studies performed in Europe (RR 2.25, 95% CI 1.44‐3.50 for CD; RR 2.65, 95% CI 1.61‐4.36 for UC). The pooled RR was 2.26 (95% CI 1.42‐3.59) in the pediatric CD subgroup. Conclusion: This meta‐analysis indicates that a pre‐illness Western dietary pattern may increase the risk of developing CD and UC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Research Domain Criteria seeks to bridge knowledge from neuroscience with clinical practice by promoting research into valid neurocognitive phenotypes and dimensions, irrespective of symptoms and diagnoses as currently conceptualized. While the Research Domain Criteria offers a vision of future research and practice, its 39 functional constructs need refinement to better target new phenotyping efforts. This study aimed to determine which Research Domain Criteria constructs are most relevant to understanding obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, based on a consensus between experts in the field of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Methods: Based on a modified Delphi method, 46 experts were recruited from Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Over three rounds, experts had the opportunity to review their opinion in light of feedback from the previous round, which included how their response compared to other experts and a summary of comments given. Results: Thirty-four experts completed round one, of whom 28 (82%) completed round two and 24 (71%) completed round three. At the final round, four constructs were endorsed by ⩾75% of experts as 'primary constructs' and therefore central to understanding obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Of these constructs, one came from the Positive Valence System (Habit), two from the Cognitive Control System (Response Selection/Inhibition and Performance Monitoring) and the final construct was an additional item suggested by experts (Compulsivity). Conclusion: This study identified four Research Domain Criteria constructs that, according to experts, cut across different obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. These constructs represent key areas for future investigation, and may have potential implications for clinical practice in terms of diagnostic processes and therapeutic management of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stripe rust of wheat, caused by the obligate biotrophic fungus Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici , is a major threat to wheat production worldwide with an estimated yearly loss of US $1 billion. The recent advances in long-read sequencing technologies and tailored-assembly algorithms enabled us to disentangle the two haploid genomes of Pst. This provides us with haplotype-specific information at a whole-genome level. Exploiting this novel information, we perform whole-genome comparative genomics of two P. striiformis f.sp. tritici isolates with contrasting life histories. We compare one isolate of the old European lineage (PstS0), which has been asexual for over 50 years, and a Warrior isolate (PstS7 lineage) from a novel incursion into Europe in 2011 from a sexual population in the Himalayan region. This comparison provides evidence that long-term asexual evolution leads to genome expansion, accumulation of transposable elements, and increased heterozygosity at the single nucleotide, structural, and allele levels. At the whole-genome level, candidate effectors are not compartmentalized and do not exhibit reduced levels of synteny. Yet we were able to identify two subsets of candidate effector populations. About 70% of candidate effectors are invariant between the two isolates, whereas 30% are hypervariable. The latter might be involved in host adaptation on wheat and explain the different phenotypes of the two isolates. Overall, this detailed comparative analysis of two haplotype-aware assemblies of P. striiformis f.sp. tritici is the first step in understanding the evolution of dikaryotic rust fungi at a whole-genome level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: SARC-F is recommended as a sarcopenia screening tool and comprised of five assessment items: strength, assistance walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs, and falls. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess whether the SARC-F questionnaire in elderly patients with hip fractures was a valid screening tool for sarcopenia by comparison of the results with criteria from the Europe, Asia, and international working groups. Measurements: 115 men and woman with hip fractures were assessed. The SARC-F self-reported questionnaire scores range from 0 to 10 and a score ≥ 4 defines sarcopenia. These survey questions were used to calculate the SARC-F score. Measurements, including appendicular muscle mass, were taken using dual-energy X-ray and grip strength using a dynamometer. Classification using the SARC-F score was compared using the consensus panel criteria from the international, European, and Asian sarcopenia working groups. The performance of all four methods was compared by examining the predictive ability using a ROC curve. Results: A total of 115 subjects were included and the sarcopenia prevalence rate (SARC-F score ≥ 4) was 63.5 percent. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value PPV with the EWGSOP-2 criteria in Older People as the reference standard were 95.35 %, 56.94 %, 56.94%, 95.35%, and 71.3%, respectively. In addition, we found similar results for sensitivity and specificity as studies using the EWGSOP and AWGS criteria. Conclusions: The SARC-F questionnaire is a useful screening tool for elderly patients with hip fractures. This finding supports the recommendation of SARC-F as a screening tool for sarcopenia from the EWGSOP2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BCC-ESM1 is the first version of a fully-coupled Earth System Model with interactive atmospheric chemistry and aerosols developed by Beijing Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration. Major aerosol species (including sulfate, organic carbon, black carbon, dust and sea salt) and greenhouse gases are interactively simulated with a whole panoply of processes controlling emission, transport, gas-phase chemical reactions, secondary aerosol formation, gravitational settling, dry deposition, and wet scavenging by clouds and precipitation. Effects of aerosols on radiation, cloud, and precipitation are fully treated. The performance of BCC-ESM1 in simulating aerosols and their optical properties is comprehensively evaluated as required by the Aerosol Chemistry Model Intercomparison Project (AerChemMIP), covering the preindustrial mean state and time evolution from 1850 to 2014. The simulated aerosols from BCC-ESM1 are quite coherent with CMIP5-recommended data and in-situ measurements from surface networks (such as IMPROVE in the U.S. and EMEP in Europe). A comparison of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm for all aerosols with the satellite AOD observations retrieved from MODIS and MISR and surface AOD observations from AERONET shows reasonable agreement between simulated and observed AOD. However, BCC-ESM1 seems to show weaker upward transport of aerosols from the surface to the middle and upper troposphere, likely reflecting the deficiency of representing deep convective transport of chemical species in BCC-ESM1. With an overall good agreement between BCC-ESM1 simulated and observed aerosol properties, it demonstrates a success of the implementation of interactive aerosol chemistry in BCC-ESM1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A novel rare allele of the barley host factor gene eIF4E for BaMMV/BaYMV infection was identified in an Iranian landrace that showed broad resistance to barley yellow mosaic virus disease, and molecular markers facilitating efficient selection were developed. The soil-borne yellow mosaic virus disease caused by different strains of barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV) and barley mild mosaic virus (BaMMV) is a major threat to winter barley (Hordeum vulgare) production in Europe and East Asia. However, the exploration of resistant germplasm or casual genes for barley breeding is rather limited in relation to the rapid diversification of viral strains. Here, we identified an Iranian barley landrace 'HOR3298,' which represented complete resistance to BaYMV and BaMMV. In contrast to rym4 and rym5, which act as the predominant source in Europe and East Asia for breeding resistant cultivars over decades and which have been overcome by several virulent isolates, this landrace showed broad-spectrum resistance to multiple isolates of BaYMV/BaMMV in the fields of Germany and China. By employment of bulked segregant RNA sequencing, test for allelism, and haplotype analysis, a recessive resistance gene in 'HOR3298' was genetically mapped coincident with the host factor eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E, causal gene of rym4 and rym5). The eIF4EHOR3298 allele encoded for a novel haplotype that contained an exclusive nucleotide mutation (G565A) in the coding sequence. The easily handled markers were developed based on the exclusively rare variation, providing precise selection of this allele. Thus, this work provided a novel reliable resistance source and the feasible marker-assisted selection assays that can be used in breeding for barley yellow mosaic virus disease resistance in cultivated barley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is an emerging pathogen in Europe and North Asia that causes tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). A simple, rapid method for detecting TBEV RNA is needed to control this disease. A reverse-transcription recombinase-aided amplification (RT-RAA) assay was developed. This assay can be completed in one closed tube at 39 °C within 30 minutes. The sensitivity and specificity of RT-RAA were validated using non-infectious synthetic RNA representing a fragment of the NS5 region of the wild-type (WT) TBEV genome and the Senzhang strain. Additionally, 10 batches of tick samples were used to evaluate the performance of the RT-RAA assay. The analytical limit of detection of the assay was 20 copies per reaction of the TBEV synthetic transcript and 3 plaque-forming units (pfu) per reaction of TBEV titers. With the specific assay, no signal due to other arboviruses was observed. Of the 10 batches of tick samples obtained from the Changbai Mountains of China, three were TBEV-positive, which was consistent with the results of the quantitative real-time PCR assay. A rapid, highly sensitive, specific, and easy-to-use method was developed for the detection of the TBEV Far-Eastern subtype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Data is lacking on types and severities of drug-related problems (DRPs) in hospitalized surgical patients in China. Objective To identify and categorize types and causes of DRPs, and to assess severities of these DRPs. Setting An academic teaching hospital in Chongqing, China. Method We retrospectively reviewed all medication orders for patients in six surgical departments during a six-month period. DRPs were classified using the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) classification, and the severity ratings of these DRPs were based on the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCCMERP) classification. Main outcome measure The number, types, causes and severities of the DRPs. Results A total of 291,944 medication orders in 10,643 patients were reviewed, and 3548 DRPs were identified. The average DRP number per patient was 0.3. The most common problem was treatment effectiveness (39.9%) and the major cause of the problems was dose selection (47.0%). Total 80.1% of the DRPs were rated at severity categories B to D (causing no or potential harm), whereas 19.9% were rated as categories E to H (causing actual harm). Conclusion DRPs are common in surgical patients, and prospective pharmacist medication order review services are needed to improve patients' pharmaceutical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective To evaluate the possible association between radon exposure and kidney cancer. Methods We performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis based on random effect models to provide a pooled association measure. Results We subjected 8 studies (overall relative risks and 95% confidence intervals: 1.01, 0.72 to 1.43, I 2 = 64.4%) to meta-analysis. Subgroup analysis revealed a marginally significant association between radon exposure and kidney cancer in studies conducted in Europe. Two population-based studies provided no evidence for the increased risk of kidney cancer in the general population. Conclusion The association between radon and kidney cancer remains unclear but cannot be excluded because of its biological plausibility and the limited number and quality of existing studies. Additional data from the general population and well-designed miner cohort studies are needed to reveal the real relationship between radon exposure and kidney cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: The Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP) aims to identify novel genes influencing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Variants within genes known to cause dementias other than AD have previously been associated with AD risk. We describe evidence of co-segregation and associations between variants in dementia genes and clinically diagnosed AD within the ADSP. Methods: We summarize the properties of known pathogenic variants within dementia genes, describe the co-segregation of variants annotated as “pathogenic” in ClinVar and new candidates observed in ADSP families, and test for associations between rare variants in dementia genes in the ADSP case-control study. The participants were clinically evaluated for AD, and they represent European, Caribbean Hispanic, and isolate Dutch populations. Results/Conclusions: Pathogenic variants in dementia genes were predominantly rare and conserved coding changes. Pathogenic variants within ARSA, CSF1R, and GRN were observed, and candidate variants in GRN and CHMP2B were nominated in ADSP families. An independent case-control study provided evidence of an association between variants in TREM2, APOE, ARSA, CSF1R, PSEN1, and MAPT and risk of AD. Variants in genes which cause dementing disorders may influence the clinical diagnosis of AD in a small proportion of cases within the ADSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to conduct a meta-analysis to clarify the epidemiologic characteristics of biopsy-proven lupus nephritis (BPLN), including those relating to its prevalence and prognosis. Patients and methods: A literature search for relevant studies was conducted in the electronic databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, and Cochrane trial register. The following search terms were used for original articles published between January 1982 and April 2016: "lupus nephritis" or systemic lupus erythematosus ('SLE') or 'systemic lupus erythematous' and "pathology" or 'epidemiology' or prevalence or incidence. Pooled estimates with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results: Nineteen studies were included (mean age of SLE patients at renal biopsy: ~30 years). Of total BPLN patients, 85% were females. BPLN developed in 29% of SLE patients, and accounted for 60% of secondary glomerular diseases in renal biopsy databases. BPLN prevalence among SLE patients was higher in Saudi Arabia compared with pooled Europe/USA data (43% vs 26%, p<0.05). Pooled BPLN prevalence among secondary glomerular diseases patients was higher in Asian/Latin American countries than in Europe (63% vs 34%, p<0.05). Overall five-, 10- and 20-year survival rates of BPLN patients were 94%, 86%, and 71%, respectively, which were higher than those before 1995 (84%, 72%, and 52%, respectively) and lower than those after 1995 (96%, 89%, and 80%, respectively) (all p<0.05). Class IV nephritis, present in 40% of BPLN patients, was a risk factor for renal failure that contributed to poor prognosis. Conclusion: Lupus nephritis is a common complication of young female patients with SLE, and the most prevalent etiology of secondary glomerular diseases. Attention should be paid to class IV nephritis due to its high frequency and association with poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies were conducted to investigate cultural differences in opportunity cost consideration between Chinese and Euro-Canadians. Opportunity cost is defined as the cost of a benefit that must be forgone in order to pursue a better alternative (Becker et al., 1974). In both studies, participants read about hypothetical purchase scenarios, and then decided whether they would buy a certain product. Opportunity cost consideration was measured in two ways: (1) participants' thoughts pertaining to other (nonfocal) products while making decisions; (2) participants' decisions not to buy a focal product (Study 1) or a more expensive product (Study 2). Across both indexes, we found that after controlling for individual difference variables and amount of pocket money, Chinese participants in China considered financial opportunity cost more than Euro-Canadians in Study 1. Similar results were observed in Study 2 when comparing Chinese in Canada with Euro-Canadians However, the cultural effect on opportunity cost consideration was confounded by family income in Study 2. Implications for resource management, limitations of the current research and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Special Issue takes on a new cross-regional comparison between Southern Europe and East Asia in an attempt to identify ‘new politics’ of welfare state adjustments. Departing from the previous literature that overemphasized regional peculiarities of East Asian and Southern European welfare states, our Special Issue highlights family resemblances – among Italy, Japan, Korea and Spain. We argue that these four welfare states – often labelled as ‘familialist’ – share key common characteristics, which in turn experienced very similar policy problems in recent years. Interestingly, despite their initial similarities, these four countries have been trying to cope with new policy problems in different ways. In this process, some are clearly becoming less familialist. The main aim of this introductory article is to demonstrate the theoretical advantages based on the new cross-regional comparison. This article proceeds in three steps. First, it establishes the usefulness of the concept of family resemblances in our cross-regional comparison. Second, it presents a brief historical account of recent policy differences across the four countries going beyond familialism and shows that the existing theories fail to account for the new divergences. Third, it provides the overview of the Special Issue by explaining the research puzzles each paper tackles. We argue that these four welfare states, which are moving beyond familialism to varying degrees, represent heuristically helpful cases to explore the effects of both domestic and international political factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Climate change is a global threat to health and wellbeing. Here we provide findings of an international research project investigating the health and wellbeing impacts of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in urban environments.Methods: Five European and two Chinese city authorities and partner academic organisations formed the project consortium. The methodology involved modelling the impact of adopted urban climate-change mitigation transport, buildings and energy policy scenarios, usually for the year 2020 and comparing them with business as usual (BAU) scenarios (where policies had not been adopted). Carbon dioxide emissions, health impacting exposures (air pollution, noise and physical activity), health (cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer and leukaemia) and wellbeing (including noise related wellbeing, overall wellbeing, economic wellbeing and inequalities) were modelled. The scenarios were developed from corresponding known levels in 2010 and pre-existing exposure response functions. Additionally there were literature reviews, three longitudinal observational studies and two cross sectional surveys.Results: There are four key findings. Firstly introduction of electric cars may confer some small health benefits but it would be unwise for a city to invest in electric vehicles unless their power generation fuel mix generates fewer emissions than petrol and diesel. Second, adopting policies to reduce private car use may have benefits for carbon dioxide reduction and positive health impacts through reduced noise and increased physical activity. Third, the benefits of carbon dioxide reduction from increasing housing efficiency are likely to be minor and co-benefits for health and wellbeing are dependent on good air exchange. Fourthly, although heating dwellings by in-home biomass burning may reduce carbon dioxide emissions, consequences for health and wellbeing were negative with the technology in use in the cities studied.Conclusions: The climate-change reduction policies reduced CO2 emissions (the most common greenhouse gas) from cities but impact on global emissions of CO2 would be more limited due to some displacement of emissions. The health and wellbeing impacts varied and were often limited reflecting existing relatively high quality of life and environmental standards in most of the participating cities; the greatest potential for future health benefit occurs in less developed or developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid spread of carbon trading in the world, the interaction of carbon prices and fossil energy prices has raised growing attention, but little research has discussed their time-varying correlation and dynamic volatility spillover. This paper employs the threshold dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model and the full Baba, Engle, Kraft and Kroner (BEKK) GARCH model to explore these issues, for the daily data of European carbon futures prices and the three fossil energy prices (coal, natural gas and Brent oil) from January 2 2008 to September 30 2014. The results indicate that, first, there is significant unidirectional volatility spillover from coal market to carbon market and from carbon market to natural gas market, whereas there exists no significant volatility spillover between carbon market and Brent oil market. Second, carbon market and fossil energy markets have significantly positive correlation across time. Specifically, among the three fossil fuels, coal market has the highest correlation with carbon market, followed by natural gas and Brent oil markets. Finally, as for the three fossil fuels, their price decrease may have stronger impact on carbon price volatility than their price increase with the same degree, while there is asymmetric impact of carbon price increase and decrease only on Brent oil price volatility. These results may help investors to well configure their portfolios and manage their investment risks, and help emission trading installations to join in carbon market in a cost-effective way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Over the past three decades, the World Health Organization expert panel proposed cesarean delivery rate of 10-15 percent was used as a doctrine for an optimal rate of cesarean delivery despite the lack of concrete evidence. We set out to compile cesarean delivery rates, socioeconomic indicators, and health outcomes by countries in the last three decades to explore the optimal rates for medically necessary cesarean delivery. Methods We selected 19 countries which have readily accessible cesarean delivery and low maternal and infant mortality, including countries in North and West Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Information on cesarean delivery rate, human development index ( HDI), gross domestic products ( GDP), maternal, neonatal, and infant mortality rates of each country in the past 30 years was collected from published reports. A two-level fractional polynomial model was used to model the association between cesarean rate and mortality rates. Results Most of the countries have experienced sharp increases in cesarean delivery rates. Once cesarean delivery rate reached 10 percent, with adjustment for HDI and GDP, further increase in cesarean delivery rate had no impact on maternal, neonatal, and infant mortality rates. Conclusions Our findings corroborate the statement that a population-level cesarean section rate above 10-15 percent is hardly justified from the medical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate differences in genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Han Chinese as compared with Europeans. Methods A genome-wide association study was conducted in China with 952 patients and 943 controls, and 32 variants were followed up in 2,132 patients and 2,553 controls. A transpopulation meta-analysis with results from a large European RA study was also performed to compare the genetic architecture across the 2 ethnic remote populations. Results Three non-major histocompatibility complex (non-MHC) loci were identified at the genome-wide significance level, the effect sizes of which were larger in anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive patients than in ACPA-negative patients. These included 2 novel variants, rs12617656, located in an intron of DPP4 (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, P = 1.6 × 10−21), and rs12379034, located in the coding region of CDK5RAP2 (OR 1.49, P = 1.1 × 10−16), as well as a variant at the known CCR6 locus, rs1854853 (OR 0.71, P = 6.5 × 10−15). The analysis of ACPA-positive patients versus ACPA-negative patients revealed that rs12617656 at the DPP4 locus showed a strong interaction effect with ACPAs ( P = 5.3 × 10−18), and such an interaction was also observed for rs7748270 at the MHC locus ( P = 5.9 × 10−8). The transpopulation meta-analysis showed genome-wide overlap and enrichment in association signals across the 2 populations, as confirmed by prediction analysis. Conclusion This study has expanded the list of alleles that confer risk of RA, provided new insight into the pathogenesis of RA, and added empirical evidence to the emerging polygenic nature of complex trait variation driven by common genetic variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Geographical variation in the incidence of Crohn's disease (CD) has been reported in Europe and North American. However, there are no comparable data in mainland China. Methods. We retrospectively identified incident cases of CD patients registered in Jinling hospital during 2003 to 2012. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was calculated for each area of Jiangsu province and a thematic map of CD was made according to the local SIR. The association between incidence and local economic status was revealed by correlation between SIR of CD and different local economic indicators. Results. A total of 653 CD patients (male-to-female ratio, 1.8: 1) from Jiangsu province were included. A steady increase was observed in the number of CD patients over the period of observation. Disease map of SIR showed a pronounced geographic concentration of CD in the south part of Jiangsu province. Spearman correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between local SIR of CD and local economic indicators. Conclusions. There is a marked geographic variability in CD incidence across Jiangsu province. CD incidence in affluent areas seems to be higher than that in less affluent areas. Further multicenter population-based studies are needed to assess the real disease map of CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome-wide association studies have identified 2q35-rs13387042 as a new breast cancer (BC) susceptibility locus in populations of European descent. Since then, the relationship between 2q35-rs13387042 and breast cancer has been reported in various ethnic groups; however, these studies have yielded inconsistent results. To investigate this inconsistency, we performed a meta-analysis of 26 studies involving a total of 101,529 cases and 167,363 controls for 2q35-rs13387042 polymorphism to evaluate its effect on genetic susceptibility for breast cancer. An overall random effects odds ratio of 1.14 (95% CI: 1.11–1.16, P<10−5) was found for rs13387042-A variant. Significant results were also observed using dominant (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.12–1.17, P<10−5), recessive (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.13–1.21, P<10−5) and co-dominant genetic model (heterozygous: OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.12–1.19, P<10−5; homozygous: OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.15–1.24, P<10−5). There was strong evidence of heterogeneity, which largely disappeared after stratification by ethnicity. Significant associations were found in East Asians, and White populations when stratified by ethnicity; while no significant associations were observed in Africans and other ethnic populations. An association was observed for both ER-positive (OR = 1.17, 95% 1.15–1.19; P<10−5) and ER-negative disease (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.04–1.13; P<10−4) and both progesterone receptor (PR)-positive (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.15–1.21; P<10−5) and PR-negative disease (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.05–1.15; P<10−4). In conclusion, this meta-analysis demonstrated that the A allele of 2q35-rs13387042 is a risk factor associated with increased breast cancer susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dense consensus genetic maps based on high-throughput genotyping platforms are valuable for making genetic gains in Brassica napus through quantitative trait locus identification, efficient predictive molecular breeding, and map-based gene cloning. This report describes the construction of the first B. napus consensus map consisting of a 1,359 anchored array based genotyping platform; Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT), and non-DArT markers from six populations originating from Australia, Canada, China and Europe. We aligned the B. napus DArT sequences with genomic scaffolds from Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea, and identified DArT loci that showed linkage with qualitative and quantitative loci associated with agronomic traits. Results: The integrated consensus map covered a total of 1,987.2 cM and represented all 19 chromosomes of the A and C genomes, with an average map density of one marker per 1.46 cM, corresponding to approximately 0.88 Mbp of the haploid genome. Through in silico physical mapping 2,457 out of 3,072 (80%) DArT clones were assigned to the genomic scaffolds of B. rapa (A genome) and B. oleracea (C genome). These were used to orientate the genetic consensus map with the chromosomal sequences. The DArT markers showed linkage with previously identified non-DArT markers associated with qualitative and quantitative trait loci for plant architecture, phenological components, seed and oil quality attributes, boron efficiency, sucrose transport, male sterility, and race-specific resistance to blackleg disease. Conclusions: The DArT markers provide increased marker density across the B. napus genome. Most of the DArT markers represented on the current array were sequenced and aligned with the B. rapa and B. oleracea genomes, providing insight into the Brassica A and C genomes. This information can be utilised for comparative genomics and genomic evolution studies. In summary, this consensus map can be used to (i) integrate new generation markers such as SNP arrays and next generation sequencing data; (ii) anchor physical maps to facilitate assembly of B. napus genome sequences; and (iii) identify candidate genes underlying natural genetic variation for traits of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the triangular intuitionistic fuzzy numbers are used to express the change factors of the underlying assets of the option in order to describe the uncertainty of the estimated value of the European option price and the hesitation degree of the investors, the intuitionistic fuzzy binomial tree pricing model is made, and the risk neutral pricing method is used to research the single period European call option pricing problem. The findings of the study are that the European option price expressed by a triangular intuitionistic fuzzy number, which can reflect the certainty degree, negation degree and hesitation degree of the investor on the estimated value of the option price, and then the interval value of European option price is obtained by using the cuts sets operation of the triangular intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. Some numerical examples show that European call option price obtained by the triangular intuitionistic fuzzy number can express more the hesitation degree of the investors than the one obtained by the fuzzy number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) cases in Quebec and Europe was reported to show linear hypointensities in T2-weighted and Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) images of the pons. We attempted to clarify the characteristics of the brain MRI findings in ARSACS cases. METHODS Eight Japanese early-onset ataxia patients with ARSACS confirmed molecularly were investigated. We performed neurological examination, SACS gene analysis, and MRI in the patients. RESULTS Hypointensity lesions in the middle cerebellar peduncles in addition to the pons were observed in T2-weighted and FLAIR images in all eight cases. Although superior cerebellar atrophy was seen in all cases, this MRI finding might not be specific for ARSACS. Upper cervical cord and medulla oblongata atrophy was not observed in 3 of the 7 patients examined. CONCLUSION Not only pontine but also middle cerebellar peduncle hypointensity lesions observed in T2-weighted and FLAIR images could be specific findings for ARSACS even in cases with variable clinical phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]