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Abstract Background While existing risk calculators focus on mortality and complications, elderly patients are concerned with how operations will affect their quality of life, especially their independence. We sought to develop a novel clinically relevant and easy-to-use score to predict elderly patients’ loss of independence after gastrointestinal surgery. Methods This retrospective cohort study included patients age ≥ 65 years enrolled in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database and Geriatric Pilot Project who underwent pancreatic, colorectal, or hepatic surgery (January 1, 2014- December 31, 2018). Primary outcome was loss of independence – discharge to facility other than home and decline in functional status. Patients from 2014 to 2017 comprised the training data set. A logistic regression (LR) model was generated using variables with p 1.83; p

The key role of our microbiome in influencing our health status, and its relationship with our environment and lifestyle or health behaviors, have been shown in the last decades. Therefore, the human microbiome has the potential to act as a biomarker or indicator of health or exposure to health risks in the general population, if information on the microbiome can be collected in population-based health surveys or cohorts. It could then be associated with epidemiological participant data such as demographic, clinical or exposure profiles. However, to our knowledge, microbiome sampling has not yet been included as biological evidence of health or exposure to health risks in large population-based studies representative of the general population. In this mini-review, we first highlight some practical considerations for microbiome sampling and analysis that need to be considered in the context of a population study. We then present some examples of topics where the microbiome could be included as biological evidence in population-based health studies for the benefit of public health, and how this could be developed in the future. In doing so, we aim to highlight the benefits of having microbiome data available at the level of the general population, combined with epidemiological data from health surveys, and hence how microbiological data could be used in the future to assess human health. We also stress the challenges that remain to be overcome to allow the use of this microbiome data in order to improve proactive public health policies.

Previous work has reported that the extent to which participants dehumanized criminals by denying them uniquely human character traits such as refinement, rationality and morality predicted the severity of the punishment endorsed for them. We revisit this influential finding across six highly powered and pre-registered studies. First, we conceptually replicate the effect reported in previous work, demonstrating that our method is sensitive to detecting relationships between trait-based dehumanization and punishment should they occur. We then investigate whether the apparent relationship between trait-based dehumanization and punishment is driven by the desirability of the traits incorporated into the stimulus set, their perceived humanness, or both. To do this, we asked participants to rate the extent to which criminals possessed uniquely human traits that were either socially desirable (e.g. cultured and civilized) or socially undesirable (e.g. arrogant and bitter). Correlational and experimental evidence converge on the conclusion that apparent evidence for the relationship between trait-based dehumanization and punishment is better explained by the extent to which participants attribute socially desirable attributes to criminals rather than the extent to which they attribute uniquely human attributes. These studies cast doubt on the hypothesized causal relationship between trait-based dehumanization and harm, at least in this context.

Abstract Background The impact of undernutrition in dogs with protein‐losing enteropathy (PLE) caused by inflammatory enteritis, intestinal lymphangiectasia, or both and which variables are most predictive of outcome are unknown. Objectives Develop an undernutrition screening score (USS) for use at the time of diagnosis of PLE in dogs, which is predictive of outcome. Animals Fifty‐seven dogs with PLE prospectively recruited from 3 referral hospitals in the United Kingdom. Methods An USS based on the presence and severity of 5 variables: appetite, weight loss, and body, muscle, and coat condition and scored out of 15, with higher scores reflecting worse undernutrition, was calculated at the time of diagnosis. Follow‐up information was obtained for at least 6 months. Results Dogs that failed to achieve clinical remission within 6 months had higher USS at diagnosis compared with dogs that achieved remission (median, 7.5; range, 2‐14 and median, 5; range, 0‐14, respectively). The USS at diagnosis gave an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.656 for predicting nonclinical remission within 6 months, whereas a score consisting of just epaxial muscle loss and coat condition resulted in a larger AUC of 0.728. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Of the 5 variables assessed in the USS, a combination of epaxial muscle loss and coat condition was most predictive of not achieving clinical remission within 6 months in dogs with PLE. Additional studies will help determine the effect of changes in USS and the 5 associated variables after diagnosis on outcome variables in these dogs.

IntroductionShotgun metagenomics has previously proven effective in the investigation of foodborne outbreaks by providing rapid and comprehensive insights into the microbial contaminant. However, culture enrichment of the sample has remained a prerequisite, despite the potential impact on pathogen detection resulting from the growth competition. To circumvent the need for culture enrichment, we explored the use of adaptive sampling using various databases for a targeted nanopore sequencing, compared to shotgun metagenomics alone.MethodsThe adaptive sampling method was first tested on DNA of mashed potatoes mixed with DNA of a Staphylococcus aureus strain previously associated with a foodborne outbreak. The selective sequencing was used to either deplete the potato sequencing reads or enrich for the pathogen sequencing reads, and compared to a shotgun sequencing. Then, living S. aureus were spiked at 105 CFU into 25 g of mashed potatoes. Three DNA extraction kits were tested, in combination with enrichment using adaptive sampling, following whole genome amplification. After data analysis, the possibility to characterize the contaminant with the different sequencing and extraction methods, without culture enrichment, was assessed.ResultsOverall, the adaptive sampling outperformed the shotgun sequencing. While the use of a host removal DNA extraction kit and targeted sequencing using a database of foodborne pathogens allowed rapid detection of the pathogen, the most complete characterization was achieved when using solely a database of S. aureus combined with a conventional DNA extraction kit, enabling accurate placement of the strain on a phylogenetic tree alongside outbreak cases.DiscussionThis method shows great potential for strain-level analysis of foodborne outbreaks without the need for culture enrichment, thereby enabling faster investigations and facilitating precise pathogen characterization. The integration of adaptive sampling with metagenomics presents a valuable strategy for more efficient and targeted analysis of microbial communities in foodborne outbreaks, contributing to improved food safety and public health.

Abstract Background Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is an inflammatory disease that may be complicated by abdominal pain, pancreatic dysfunction, nutritional deficiencies, and diminished bone density. Importantly, it is also associated with a substantially impaired quality of life and reduced life expectancy. This may partly be explained by suboptimal treatment, in particular the long-term management of this chronic condition, despite several national and international guidelines. Standardization of care through a structured implementation of guideline recommendations may improve the level of care and lower the complication rate of these patients. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to evaluate to what extent patient education and standardization of care, through the implementation of an evidence-based integrated management algorithm, improve quality of life and reduce pain severity in patients with CP. Methods The COMBO trial is a nationwide stepped-wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial. In a stepwise manner, 26 centers, clustered in 6 health regions, cross-over from current practice to care according to an evidence-based integrated management algorithm. During the current practice phase, study participants are recruited and followed longitudinally through questionnaires. Individual patients contribute data to both study periods. Co-primary study endpoints consist of quality of life (assessed by the PANQOLI score) and level of pain (assessed by the Izbicki questionnaire). Secondary outcomes include process measure outcomes, clinical outcomes (e.g., pancreatic function, nutritional status, bone health, interventions, medication use), utilization of healthcare resources, (in) direct costs, and the level of social participation. Standard follow-up is 35 months from the start of the trial. Discussion This is the first stepped-wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial to investigate whether an evidence-based integrated therapeutic approach improves quality of life and pain severity in patients with CP as compared with current practice. Trial registration ISRCTN, ISRCTN13042622. Registered on 5 September 2020.

In propaganda and hate speech, target groups are often compared to dangerous and disgusting animals. Exposure to these animalistic slurs is thought to increase endorsement of intergroup harm but the mechanism by which this happens remains unclear. Across two pre-registered and highly powered studies, we examined how animalistic language influences the cultural transmission of beliefs about target groups. In line with previous work, we found that describing a novel political group with animalistic slurs increased the extent to which participants endorsed harm towards them. Importantly, reading animalistic slurs did not influence the extent to which participants believed the target group possessed uniquely human qualities. Rather, the animalistic slurs influenced endorsement of harm by making the target group appear more undesirable. These findings offer a novel perspective into the nature of dehumanization and new insights into how hate speech functions.

Background: Venous thromboembolism is a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality after surgery. To ensure that patients receive appropriate venous thromboembolism chemoprophylaxis, a nonmandatory risk-stratification tool based on patient clinical condition was implemented through the electronic health record to stratify patient risk and recommend chemoprophylaxis. We hypothesized that implementing this tool would reduce postoperative venous thromboembolism events in general surgery as well as across all surgical services. Methods: All adult patients undergoing inpatient surgical operations (January 2012–December 2019) at a single quaternary care center and Level 1 trauma center were abstracted from institutional electronic health record database and stratified into patients admitted before and after venous thromboembolism risk-stratification tool implementation. Bivariable analyses compared venous thromboembolism chemoprophylaxis prescription and venous thromboembolism events with implementation and screening among all surgical patients as well as in general surgery patient subset. Results: A total of 64,377 adults underwent operations: 27,819 preimplementation and 36,558 postimplementation. A significant reduction in venous thromboembolism events occurred from pre- to post-tool implementation for all cases (0.77% vs 0.47%, P

Abstract We challenge the explanatory value of one of the most prominent psychological models of dehumanization—infrahumanization theory—which holds that outgroup members are subtly dehumanized by being denied human emotions. Of central importance to this theory is the claim that, to the extent that other people are ‘infrahumanized’, they are less likely to be helped. We examine this hypothesised relationship across four pre-registered and well powered studies. We do not find that attributing all uniquely human emotions to others is positively associated with helping intentions towards them. Instead, we find that attributing prosocial emotions is positively associated with helping intentions and attributing antisocial emotions is negatively associated with helping intentions, regardless of emotion humanness. In our data, what previously appeared to be an association between subtle dehumanization and reduced helping is better explained by the tendency to avoid helping others when we view them negatively.

Measuring the status of achievement of the SDGs is the task and concern of many countries in the world, including Indonesia. Indicators for achieving the SDGs enclose three main pillars, namely environmental, economic, and social. The updated land use/land cover information is needed for environmental pillars. One imperative land cover information is built-up land, which acts as a detector for expanding urban areas and measuring SDGs' target indicators. Indonesia's cultural diversity affects the distribution pattern of built-up land, especially settlements. This is a challenge in the up-to-date and rapid mapping of built-up land. This research aims to analyze the ability and transferability of the Random Forest model for built-up areas and settlements using Google Earth Engine (GEE) in Banyumas, Cilacap, and Tegal. Around 19 predictors from multi-sources satellites are integrated to identify four land cover classes. Discussion on predictor composition to improve model accuracy also carried on. The results showed that the algorithm separated four land cover classes, with the highest accuracy for separating water bodies and other classes (vegetation and open land), OA above 90%. Machine confusion regarding the separation between housing classes and other buildings was still found (F1 score 0.67 - 0.69). Applying the model to the other two areas resulted in a similar statistical trend to the trained model. However, the classification method developed in this paper can assist in the rapid description of land cover if up-to-date data from official sources are not available.

Background: The radioguided occult lesion localisation (ROLL) technique was introduced at Groote Schuur Hospital in 2003 replacing the wire-guided localisation (WGL) technique. In the case of preoperative histologically proven impalpable breast cancers, a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy was done simultaneously (sentinel node [SN] with occult lesion localisation or SNOLL). Aim: To assess the efficacy of the ROLL and SNOLL techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic excisions. Setting: A retrospective record analysis of 190 patients who underwent a ROLL procedure for diagnostic or therapeutic excision of occult breast lesions was performed at a large tertiary hospital in the Western Cape. Methods: Data were collected on patient and tumour characteristics, successful localisation rates, the volume of tissue removed, complete tumour resection rates, the number of re-operations performed and the proportion of SLN detection. The Pearson’s chi-squared test was used to test for significance between variables at α = 0.05. Results: Correct radiopharmaceutical placement was achieved in 177/190 (93.2%) lesions. Histologic examination of excised specimens confirmed 115/190 (61.0%) malignant and 75/190 (39.0%) benign lesions. Involved margins were found in 37/115 (32.2%). Complete excision with adequate margins occurred in 50/70 (71.4%) of cases of invasive cancer and in 11/45 (24.4%) of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The SN was successfully identified in 30/37 (81.1%) of SNOLL cases. Conclusion: Radioguided occult lesion localisation is an effective tool in the preoperative localisation of occult lesions for surgical biopsy as well as the removal of impalpable breast cancers. A single intratumoural injection with 99mTc nanocolloid combined with lymphoscintigraphy is a reliable method of localising the SN.

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by a CAG repeat expansion mutation in the gene encoding the huntingtin (Htt) protein, with mutant Htt protein subsequently forming aggregates within the brain. Mutant Htt is a current target for novel therapeutic strategies for HD, however, the lack of translation from preclinical research to disease-modifying treatments highlights the need to improve our understanding of the role of Htt protein in the human brain. This study aims to undertake an immunohistochemical screen of 12 candidate antibodies against various sequences along the Htt protein to characterize Htt distribution and expression in post-mortem human brain tissue microarrays (TMAs).Immunohistochemistry was performed on middle temporal gyrus TMAs comprising of up to 28 HD and 27 age-matched control cases, using 12 antibodies specific to various sequences along the Htt protein. From this study, six antibodies directed to the Htt N-terminus successfully immunolabeled human brain tissue. Htt aggregates and Htt protein expression levels for the six successful antibodies were subsequently quantified with a customized automated image analysis pipeline on the TMAs. A 2.5–12 fold increase in the number of Htt aggregates were detected in HD cases using antibodies MAB5374, MW1, and EPR5526, despite no change in overall Htt protein expression compared to control cases, suggesting a redistribution of Htt into aggregates in HD. MAB5374, MW1, and EPR5526 Htt aggregate numbers were positively correlated with CAG repeat length, and negatively correlated with the age of symptom onset in HD. However, the number of Htt aggregates did not correlate with the degree of striatal degeneration or the degree of cortical neuron loss. Together, these results suggest that longer CAG repeat lengths correlate with Htt aggregation in the HD human brain, and greater Htt cortical aggregate deposition is associated with an earlier age of symptom onset in HD. This study also reinforces that antibodies MAB5492, MW8, and 2B7 which have been utilized to characterize Htt in animal models of HD do not specifically immunolabel Htt aggregates in HD human brain tissue exclusively, thereby highlighting the need for validated means of Htt detection to support drug development for HD.

This study uses real-time FTIR spectroscopy to probe biochemical changes occurring in spores of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens during nutrient germination at T = 23 − 50°C and after sub-lethal injury by treatment with a nonthermal plasma (NTP). The FTIR identifies several spore structural components (e.g., stretching bands of the COO− group of dipicolinic acid at 1378 and 1616 cm−1; C−N vibrations in the DPA ring at 1570 cm−1, etc.) that are correlated to steps occurring during germination. The increase in peak intensity at 1570 cm−1 is interrelated to spore germination as measured with optical density at 600 nm (OD600) of refractile spores at T = 23 − 50°C and after NTP treatment. For the OD600 germination kinetics data, the Weibull model accurately fit the observed dynamics with values for the rate parameters α = 18.1 − 52.9 s−1 and shape parameter β = 0.9 − 1.2, and the Weibull model's performance was assessed by satisfactory values of the accuracy factor (1.00 < Af ≤ 1.15) and the bias factor (Bf in the ranges of 0.90 − 1.05), with the NTP-treated spores being the lone exception (Af = 1.22, Bf = 1.06).

Introduction: : Determining when a trainee can perform technically challenging bariatric operations can be difficult. Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass operations performed by residents were compared to fellows to determine if surgical outcomes were comparable. Materials and Methods: : Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program data (January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2018) were analyzed in this retrospective study. Categorical variables were analyzed with Chi-square test. Continuous variables are presented as means with standard deviations and analyzed with Student's t-test. Results: :Residents (R) assisted in 79 (42%) cases as surgeon while fellows (F) assisted in 109 (58%) cases. Patient age; sex; BMI kg/m2; and ASA ≥ 3 were comparable for both groups. Postoperative complications (R = 13%, F = 12%, p=0.83) and length of stay (R = 2.5 ± 1.9 days, F = 2.4 ± 0.8 days, p=0.62) were similar between groups as were unplanned 30-day readmissions (R=6% vs F=7%, p=0.78) and reoperations (R=3% vs F=1%, p=0.31). Duration of operation was longer for residents (173 ± 52.3 minutes) than fellows (166 ± 43.1 minutes, p=0.16) but not significantly different. Discussion: : While there have been several studies of bariatric surgery outcomes involving trainees, few have compared outcomes based on whether the assistant was a resident or a fellow. Operative times were similar for fellows and residents, in contrast to several other studies. We conclude that at our institution chief residents appear to be given similar autonomy to fellows, with fellows having slightly shorter operative duration as would be expected based on level of training. Conclusion: : In this study of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass patients at a single institution, no differences in post-operative complications, operative duration, length of stay, reoperation, or readmission were identified between cases performed with a resident versus minimally invasive surgery fellow. We conclude that trained chief residents can perform laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass as first assistant with outcomes comparable to those of postgraduate fellows.

The glial scar that forms after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is mostly composed of microglia, NG2 glia, and astrocytes and plays dual roles in pathophysiological processes induced by the injury. On one hand, the glial scar acts as a chemical and physical obstacle to spontaneous axonal regeneration, thus preventing functional recovery, and, on the other hand, it partly limits lesion extension. The complex activation pattern of glial cells is associated with cellular and molecular crosstalk and interactions with immune cells. Interestingly, response to SCI is diverse among species: from amphibians and fishes that display rather limited (if any) glial scarring to mammals that exhibit a well-identifiable scar. Additionally, kinetics of glial activation varies among species. In rodents, microglia become activated before astrocytes, and both glial cell populations undergo activation processes reflected amongst others by proliferation and migration toward the injury site. In primates, glial cell activation is delayed as compared to rodents. Here, we compare the spatial and temporal diversity of the glial response, following SCI amongst species. A better understanding of mechanisms underlying glial activation and scar formation is a prerequisite to develop timely glial cell-specific therapeutic strategies that aim to increase functional recovery.

The current routine laboratory practices to investigate food samples in case of foodborne outbreaks still rely on attempts to isolate the pathogen in order to characterize it. We present in this study a proof of concept using Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli spiked food samples for a strain-level metagenomics foodborne outbreak investigation method using the MinION and Flongle flow cells from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and we compared this to Illumina short-read-based metagenomics. After 12 h of MinION sequencing, strain-level characterization could be achieved, linking the food containing a pathogen to the related human isolate of the affected patient, by means of a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based phylogeny. The inferred strain harbored the same virulence genes as the spiked isolate and could be serotyped. This was achieved by applying a bioinformatics method on the long reads using reference-based classification. The same result could be obtained after 24-h sequencing on the more recent lower output Flongle flow cell, on an extract treated with eukaryotic host DNA removal. Moreover, an alternative approach based on in silico DNA walking allowed to obtain rapid confirmation of the presence of a putative pathogen in the food sample. The DNA fragment harboring characteristic virulence genes could be matched to the E. coli genus after sequencing only 1 h with the MinION, 1 h with the Flongle if using a host DNA removal extraction, or 5 h with the Flongle with a classical DNA extraction. This paves the way towards the use of metagenomics as a rapid, simple, one-step method for foodborne pathogen detection and for fast outbreak investigation that can be implemented in routine laboratories on samples prepared with the current standard practices.

Many histological techniques are used to identify and characterize myelin in the mammalian nervous system. Due to the high content of lipids in myelin sheaths, coherent anti-stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy is a label-free method that allows identifying myelin within tissues. CARS excites the CH2 vibrational mode at 2845 cm−1 and CH2 bonds are found in lipids. In this study, we have used CARS for a new biological application in the field of spinal cord analysis. We have indeed compared several parameters of spinal cord myelin sheath in three different species, i.e., mouse, lemur, and human using a label-free method. In all species, we analyzed the dorsal and the lateral funiculi of the adult thoracic spinal cord. We identified g-ratio differences between species. Indeed, in both funiculi, g-ratio was higher in mice than in the two primate species, and the myelin g-ratio in lemurs was higher than in humans. We also detected a difference in g-ratio between the dorsal and the lateral funiculi only in humans. Furthermore, species differences between axon and fiber diameters as well as myelin thickness were observed. These data may reflect species specificities of conduction velocity of myelin fibers. A comparison of data obtained by CARS imaging and fluoromyelin staining, a method that, similar to CARS, does not require resin embedding and dehydration, displays similar results. CARS is, therefore, a label-free alternative to other microscopy techniques to characterize myelin in healthy and neurological disorders affecting the spinal cord.

Abstract Background A number of studies have shown central adiposity, in particular visceral adipose tissue (VAT) accumulation to be a hallmark of metabolic syndrome (MetS). In clinical practice, waist circumference (WC) is used as a proxy for VAT. Aim To compare the ability of dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-derived VAT area and anthropometric measures of adiposity for diagnosing MetS in a sample of high risk South African women. Methods MetS was quantified using the Joint Interim Statement (JIS) criteria. Fasting glucose, insulin and lipid profile were measured in 204 post-menopausal women. Anthropometry measures included body mass index (BMI), WC, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and a body shape index (ABSI). The area under the curve (AUC) was used to assess their performance in detecting any two components of MetS (excluding WC). Optimal WC and VAT area cut-points were derived to compare their performance for diagnosing MetS and to compare to internationally recognised cut-points. Results The highest AUC for the prediction of MetS was recorded for VAT, followed by WHtR and WC (AUC, 0.767, 0.747 and 0.738 respectively), but these did not differ significantly (all p ≥ 0.192). In contrast, VAT was significantly better than BMI (p = 0.028), hip (p = 0.0004) and ABSI (p

Glyphosate is the world’s most widely-used herbicide. Here, Belbin et al. show that plant responses to glyphosate, and therefore herbicide activity, depend on plant circadian rhythms suggesting that considering the time-of-day of application could lead to more efficient agrochemical use.

Summary: Anamniotes, rodents, and young humans maintain neural stem cells in the ependymal zone (EZ) around the central canal of the spinal cord, representing a possible endogenous source for repair in mammalian lesions. Cell diversity and genes specific for this region are ill defined. A cellular and molecular resource is provided here for the mouse and human EZ based on RNA profiling, immunostaining, and fluorescent transgenic mice. This uncovered the conserved expression of 1,200 genes including 120 transcription factors. Unexpectedly the EZ maintains an embryonic-like dorsal-ventral pattern of expression of spinal cord developmental transcription factors (ARX, FOXA2, MSX1, and PAX6). In mice, dorsal and ventral EZ cells express Vegfr3 and are derived from the embryonic roof and floor plates. The dorsal EZ expresses a high level of Bmp6 and Gdf10 genes and harbors a subpopulation of radial quiescent cells expressing MSX1 and ID4 transcription factors. : A niche of stem cells is present around the central canal of the adult spinal cord. A better description of cell diversity and genes expressed in this niche may help to use it to promote spinal cord regeneration after lesions. In this article, based on several techniques, Ghazale and colleagues provide a cellular and molecular resource for the adult human and mouse stem cell niches. Keywords: spinal cord, niche, neural stem cells, regionalization, ependyma, ependymal cells, radial glial cells, transcription factors, Msx1, roof plate, floor plate

In this proof-of-concept study on food contaminated with norovirus, we investigated the feasibility of metagenomics as a new method to obtain the whole genome sequence of the virus and perform strain level characterization but also relate to human cases in order to resolve foodborne outbreaks. We tested several preparation methods to determine if a more open sequencing approach, i.e., shotgun metagenomics, or a more targeted approach, including hybrid capture, was the most appropriate. The genetic material was sequenced using Oxford Nanopore technologies with or without adaptive sampling, and the data were analyzed with an in-house bioinformatics workflow. We showed that a viral genome sequence could be obtained for phylogenetic analysis with shotgun metagenomics if the contamination load was sufficiently high or after hybrid capture for lower contamination. Relatedness to human cases goes well beyond the results obtained with the current qPCR methods. This workflow was also tested on a publicly available dataset of food spiked with norovirus and hepatitis A virus. This allowed us to prove that we could detect even fewer genome copies and two viruses present in a sample using shotgun metagenomics. We share the lessons learnt on the satisfactory and unsatisfactory results in an attempt to advance the field.

The presence of a genetically modified microorganism (GMM) or its DNA, often harboring antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes, in microbial fermentation products on the market is prohibited by European regulations. GMMs are currently screened for through qPCR assays targeting AMR genes and vectors, and then confirmed by targeting known specific GM constructs/events. However, when the GMM was not previously characterized and an isolate cannot be obtained, its presence cannot be proven. We present a metagenomics approach capable of delivering the proof of presence of a GMM in a microbial fermentation product, with characterization based on the detection of AMR genes and vectors, species and unnatural associations in the GMM genome. In our proof-of-concept study, this approach was performed on a case with a previously isolated and sequenced GMM, an unresolved case for which no isolate was obtained, and a non-GMM-contaminated sample, all representative for the possible scenarios to occur in routine setting. Both short and long read sequencing were used. This workflow paves the way for a strategy to detect and characterize unknown GMMs by enforcement laboratories.

In traumatic spinal cord injury, the initial trauma is followed by a cascade of impairments, including excitotoxicity and calcium overload, which ultimately induces secondary damages. The sigma-1 receptor is widely expressed in the central nervous system and is acknowledged to play a key role in calcium homeostasis. Treatments with agonists of the sigma-1 receptor induce beneficial effects in several animal models of neurological diseases. In traumatic injury the use of an antagonist of the sigma-1 receptor reversed several symptoms of central neuropathic pain. Here, we investigated whether sigma-1 receptor activation with PRE-084 is beneficial or detrimental following SCI in mice. First, we report that PRE-084 treatment after injury does not improve motor function recovery. Second, using ex vivo diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging completed by histological analysis, we highlight that σ1R agonist treatment after SCI does not limit lesion size. Finally, PRE-084 treatment following SCI decreases NeuN expression and increases astrocytic reactivity. Our findings suggest that activation of sigma-1 receptor after traumatic spinal cord injury is detrimental on tissue preservation and motor function recovery in mice.

In the post-Sandinista period, Nicaragua has adjusted to the new terms of a neoliberal economy by turning to tourism development as a leading industry. As the nation is refashioned as a safe and desirable tourist destination, efforts have been made to conceal evidence of the recent revolutionary past that might discourage visitors from traveling to the country. Nevertheless, there are indications that selected images and memories of revolution are making a reappearance and may prove marketable for tourism. This article argues that the twin projects of neoliberalism and nationalism may be served by this seemingly contradictory process. The Nicaraguan case offers an example of how the past figures in the remaking of postrevolutionary nations for tourism in the era of globalization.

Microglia are major players in scar formation after an injury to the spinal cord. Microglia proliferation, differentiation, and survival are regulated by the colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1). Complete microglia elimination using CSF1 receptor (CSF1R) inhibitors worsens motor function recovery after spinal injury (SCI). Conversely, a 1-week oral treatment with GW2580, a CSF1R inhibitor that only inhibits microglia proliferation, promotes motor recovery. Here, we investigate whether prolonged GW2580 treatment further increases beneficial effects on locomotion after SCI. We thus assessed the effect of a 6-week GW2580 oral treatment after lateral hemisection of the spinal cord on functional recovery and its outcome on tissue and cellular responses in adult mice. Long-term depletion of microglia proliferation after SCI failed to improve motor recovery and had no effect on tissue reorganization, as revealed by ex vivo diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Six weeks after SCI, GW2580 treatment decreased microglial reactivity and increased astrocytic reactivity. We thus demonstrate that increasing the duration of GW2580 treatment is not beneficial for motor recovery after SCI.

To show how important the equivalence of ST and TT in business law text is the main goal of this research. Besides that, the benefit of this research is to motivate a translator to become more critical and accurate in producing more quality translations. The results of research can be utilized as a benchmark to conduct further research in a similar study. The library research and field method are commonly administered in translation research. And the technique of analyzing data exerts comparative and causal model between the Source Text (ST) and the Target Text (TT). It is determined that the approach is pursuant to ST and TT both Nord Extra-textual and Intra-textual factors. In addition, the research scope is limited to addition and omission, the strategy of translating in word, phrase or term, clause, and sentence. The conformity of ST and TT to Grice’s maxim is also analyzed as the effect of employing strategy of translating, the addition and omission. These research findings, firstly verifies that extra-textual and intra-textual factors are mostly integrated in achieving equivalence of ST and TT. Secondly, it is also discovered that translation error of deviation, addition, and omission of meaning as the impact of translating strategy application, addition and omission. Thirdly, it is acquired that writing business law text in English is more conventional compared to Indonesian. In conclusion, the translation of business law text complies with faithful and conventional main criteria. Moreover, not only the mastery of other knowledge related but also good collaboration are required between concerned parties and determined the success of translation practice. Therefore, it is wished for these results and implications could be referred to proceed with comprehensive research in other legal texts. Hereafter, it is also advised that proofreading is performed more than twice to minimalize misinterpretation