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After implementing a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection prevention bundle, the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of non–severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (non–SARS-CoV-2) hospital-acquired respiratory viral infection (HA-RVI) was significantly lower than the IRR from the pre–COVID-19 period (IRR, 0.322; 95% CI, 0.266–0.393; P < .01). However, HA-RVIs incidence rates mirrored community RVI trends, suggesting that hospital interventions alone did not significantly affect HA-RVI incidence.
Field studies were conducted in North Carolina in 2018 and 2019 to determine sweetpotato tolerance to indaziflam and its effectiveness in controlling Palmer amaranth in sweetpotato. Treatments included indaziflam pre-transplant; 7 d after transplanting (DATr) or 14 DATr at 29, 44, 58, or 73 g ai ha−1; and checks (weedy and weed-free). Indaziflam applied postemergence caused transient foliar injury to sweetpotato. Indaziflam pretransplant caused less injury to sweetpotato than other application timings regardless of rate. Palmer amaranth control was greatest when indaziflam was applied pretransplant or 7 DATr. In a weed-free environment, sweetpotato marketable yield decreased as indaziflam application was delayed. No differences in storage root length to width ratio were observed.
Copy number variants (CNVs) have been associated with the risk of schizophrenia, autism and intellectual disability. However, little is known about their spectrum of psychopathology in adulthood.
Methods
We investigated the psychiatric phenotypes of adult CNV carriers and compared probands, who were ascertained through clinical genetics services, with carriers who were not. One hundred twenty-four adult participants (age 18–76), each bearing one of 15 rare CNVs, were recruited through a variety of sources including clinical genetics services, charities for carriers of genetic variants, and online advertising. A battery of psychiatric assessments was used to determine psychopathology.
Results
The frequencies of psychopathology were consistently higher for the CNV group compared to general population rates. We found particularly high rates of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) (48%), mood disorders (42%), anxiety disorders (47%) and personality disorders (73%) as well as high rates of psychiatric multimorbidity (median number of diagnoses: 2 in non-probands, 3 in probands). NDDs [odds ratio (OR) = 4.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.32–16.51; p = 0.017) and psychotic disorders (OR = 6.8, 95% CI 1.3–36.3; p = 0.025) occurred significantly more frequently in probands (N = 45; NDD: 39[87%]; psychosis: 8[18%]) than non-probands (N = 79; NDD: 20 [25%]; psychosis: 3[4%]). Participants also had somatic diagnoses pertaining to all organ systems, particularly conotruncal cardiac malformations (in individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome specifically), musculoskeletal, immunological, and endocrine diseases.
Conclusions
Adult CNV carriers had a markedly increased rate of anxiety and personality disorders not previously reported and high rates of psychiatric multimorbidity. Our findings support in-depth psychiatric and medical assessments of carriers of CNVs and the establishment of multidisciplinary clinical services.
The fossil record is notoriously imperfect and biased in representation, hindering our ability to place fossil specimens into an evolutionary context. For groups with fossil records mostly consisting of disarticulated parts (e.g., vertebrates, echinoderms, plants), the limited morphological information preserved sparks concerns about whether fossils retain reliable evidence of phylogenetic relationships and lends uncertainty to analyses of diversification, paleobiogeography, and biostratigraphy in Earth's history. To address whether a fragmentary past can be trusted, we need to assess whether incompleteness affects the quality of phylogenetic information contained in fossil data. Herein, we characterize skeletal incompleteness bias in a large dataset (6585 specimens; 14,417 skeletal elements) of fossil squamates (lizards, snakes, amphisbaenians, and mosasaurs). We show that jaws + palatal bones, vertebrae, and ribs appear more frequently in the fossil record than other parts of the skeleton. This incomplete anatomical representation in the fossil record is biased against regions of the skeleton that contain the majority of morphological phylogenetic characters used to assess squamate evolutionary relationships. Despite this bias, parsimony- and model-based comparative analyses indicate that the most frequently occurring parts of the skeleton in the fossil record retain similar levels of phylogenetic signal as parts of the skeleton that are rarer. These results demonstrate that the biased squamate fossil record contains reliable phylogenetic information and support our ability to place incomplete fossils in the tree of life.
Documenting phylogenetic diversity for conservation practice allows elucidation of ecosystem functioning and processes by highlighting the commonality and divergence of species’ functional traits within their evolutionary context. Conserving distinct evolutionary histories has intrinsic value, and the conservation of phylogenetically diverse communities is more likely to preserve distinct or relic evolutionary lineages. We explored the potential for anthropogenic forest fragmentation to act as a selective filter of avian phylogenetic diversity within the community of forest-dependent birds of the critically endangered Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Forest (IOCBF), South Africa. We conducted avian point count surveys during the austral breeding season, and calculated fragmentation metrics of forest structural complexity, patch size and isolation. We constructed a maximum likelihood phylogeny using the combined analysis of two mitochondrial genes and three nuclear markers and measured the influence of the fragmentation metrics on six measures of phylogenetic diversity. Our results indicated that the avian community was variously affected by anthropogenic forest fragmentation, with the different metrics of phylogenetic diversity responding with no definitive overall pattern. However, forest structural complexity emerged as an important metric explaining phylogenetic structuring. While the avian community’s phylogenetic diversity displayed resilience to anthropogenic fragmentation, previous research showed a reduction in functional diversity along the fragmentation gradient. Therefore, we recommend studies that especially aim to guide conservation management, incorporate both phylogenetic and functional diversity measures to sufficiently interrogate communities’ resilience to the threats under investigation.
Food manufacturers are under increasing pressure to limit the amount of free sugars in their products. Many have reformulated products to replace sucrose, glucose and fructose with alternative sweeteners, but some of these have been associated with additional health concerns. Rare sugars are ‘monosaccharides and their derivatives that hardly exist in nature’, and there is increasing evidence that they could have health benefits. This review aimed to scope the existing literature in order to identify the most commonly researched rare sugars, to ascertain their proposed health benefits, mechanisms of action and potential uses and to highlight knowledge gaps. A process of iterative database searching identified fifty-five relevant articles. The reported effects of rare sugars were noted, along with details of the research methodologies conducted. Our results indicated that the most common rare sugars investigated are d-psicose and d-tagatose, with the potential health benefits divided into three topics: glycaemic control, body composition and CVD. All the rare sugars investigated have the potential to suppress postprandial elevation of blood glucose and improve glycaemic control in both human and animal models. Some animal studies have suggested that certain rare sugars may also improve lipid profiles, alter the gut microbiome and reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. The present review demonstrates that rare sugars could play a role in reducing the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes and/or CVD. However, understanding of the mechanisms by which rare sugars may exert their effects is limited, and their effectiveness when used in reformulated products is unknown.
Studying phenotypic and genetic characteristics of age at onset (AAO) and polarity at onset (PAO) in bipolar disorder can provide new insights into disease pathology and facilitate the development of screening tools.
Aims
To examine the genetic architecture of AAO and PAO and their association with bipolar disorder disease characteristics.
Method
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and polygenic score (PGS) analyses of AAO (n = 12 977) and PAO (n = 6773) were conducted in patients with bipolar disorder from 34 cohorts and a replication sample (n = 2237). The association of onset with disease characteristics was investigated in two of these cohorts.
Results
Earlier AAO was associated with a higher probability of psychotic symptoms, suicidality, lower educational attainment, not living together and fewer episodes. Depressive onset correlated with suicidality and manic onset correlated with delusions and manic episodes. Systematic differences in AAO between cohorts and continents of origin were observed. This was also reflected in single-nucleotide variant-based heritability estimates, with higher heritabilities for stricter onset definitions. Increased PGS for autism spectrum disorder (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), major depression (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), schizophrenia (β = −0.39 years, s.e. = 0.08), and educational attainment (β = −0.31 years, s.e. = 0.08) were associated with an earlier AAO. The AAO GWAS identified one significant locus, but this finding did not replicate. Neither GWAS nor PGS analyses yielded significant associations with PAO.
Conclusions
AAO and PAO are associated with indicators of bipolar disorder severity. Individuals with an earlier onset show an increased polygenic liability for a broad spectrum of psychiatric traits. Systematic differences in AAO across cohorts, continents and phenotype definitions introduce significant heterogeneity, affecting analyses.
Lines at the polls raise the cost of voting and can precipitate unequal treatment of voters. Research on voting lines is nonetheless hampered by a fundamental measurement problem: little is known about the distribution of time voters spend in line prior to casting ballots. We argue that early, in-person voter check-in times allow us identify individuals who waited in line to vote. Drawing on election administrative records from two General Elections in Florida—1,031,179 check-ins from 2012 and 1,846,845 from 2016—we find that minority voters incurred disproportionately long wait times in 2012 and that in-person voters who waited excessively in 2012 had a slightly lower probability—approximately one percent—of turning out to vote in 2016, ceteris paribus. These individuals also had slightly lower turnout probabilities in the 2014 Midterm Election, ceteris paribus. Our results draw attention to the ongoing importance of the administrative features of elections that influence the cost of voting and ultimately the extent to which voters are treated equally.
Systemic inflammation has been linked with mood disorder and cognitive impairment. The extent of this relationship remains uncertain, with the effects of serum inflammatory biomarkers compared to genetic predisposition toward inflammation yet to be clearly established.
Methods
We investigated the magnitude of associations between C-reactive protein (CRP) measures, lifetime history of bipolar disorder or major depression, and cognitive function (reaction time and visuospatial memory) in 84,268 UK Biobank participants. CRP was measured in serum and a polygenic risk score for CRP was calculated, based on a published genome-wide association study. Multiple regression models adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical confounders.
Results
Increased serum CRP was significantly associated with mood disorder history (Kruskal–Wallis H = 196.06, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.002) but increased polygenic risk for CRP was not (F = 0.668, p = 0.648, η2 < 0.001). Compared to the lowest quintile, the highest serum CRP quintile was significantly associated with both negative and positive differences in cognitive performance (fully adjusted models: reaction time B = −0.030, 95% CI = −0.052, −0.008; visuospatial memory B = 0.066, 95% CI = 0.042, 0.089). More severe mood disorder categories were significantly associated with worse cognitive performance and this was not moderated by serum or genetic CRP level.
Conclusions
In this large cohort study, we found that measured inflammation was associated with mood disorder history, but genetic predisposition to inflammation was not. The association between mood disorder and worse cognitive performance was very small and did not vary by CRP level. The inconsistent relationship between CRP measures and cognitive performance warrants further study.
The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years.
Establishing the specific habitat requirements of forest specialists in fragmented natural habitats is vital for their conservation. We used camera-trap surveys and microhabitat-scale covariates to assess the habitat requirements, probability of occupancy and detection of two terrestrial forest specialist species, the Orange Ground-thrush Geokichla gurneyi and the Lemon Dove Aplopelia larvata during the breeding and non-breeding seasons of 2018–2019 in selected Southern Mistbelt Forests of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A series of camera-trap surveys over 21 days were conducted in conjunction with surveys of microhabitat structural covariates. During the wet season, percentage of leaf litter cover, short grass cover, short herb cover, tall herb cover and saplings 0–2 m, stem density of trees 6–10 m and trees 16–20 m were significant structural covariates for influencing Lemon Dove occupancy. In the dry season, stem density of 2–5 m and 10–15 m trees, percentage tall herb cover, short herb cover and 0–2 m saplings were significant covariates influencing Lemon Dove occupancy. Stem density of trees 2–5 m and 11–15 m, percentage of short grass cover and short herb cover were important site covariates influencing Orange Ground-thrush occupancy in the wet season. Our study highlighted the importance of a diverse habitat structure for both forest species. A high density of tall/mature trees was an essential microhabitat covariate, particularly for sufficient cover and food for these ground-dwelling birds. Avian forest specialists play a vital role in providing ecosystem services perpetuating forest habitat functioning. Conservation of the natural heterogeneity of their habitat is integral to management plans to prevent the decline of such species.
The COVID-19 pandemic is having far-reaching political and social consequences across the globe. Published in collaboration with the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), this book addresses the greatest social challenges facing the world as a result of the pandemic. The authors propose public policy solutions to help refugees, migrant workers, victims of human trafficking, indigenous populations and the invisible poor of the Global South.
Welcome to the second, global-focused volume of Social Problems in the Age of COVID-19, a rapid-response project in public sociology intended to provide a broad audience with rigorous scholarly insight on social problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. All involved in this project have been compelled by the objective to provide timely and highquality scholarly insight on the effects of COVID-19 on social problems, which can be of use to scholars, students, activists, policymakers, journalists, and the interested public. The editors and authors expect these chapters will be of use to readers for making sense of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its after-effects, just as they will inform policy decisions and engagement in social action.
The volume fits within the scholarly rubric of public sociology, and the editors are members of the Society for the Study of Social Problems’ (SSSP) Justice 21 Committee (J-21), whose creation was inspired by the 2000 Presidential Address of Professor Robert Perrucci, 48th President of the SSSP and founding member of J-21 (Perrucci, 2001). In his address, Dr Perrucci reminded SSSP members that much scholarship in the social problems field had become esoteric and abstract, thereby diminishing its utility as a resource for mitigating or solving the very problems which are its focus of study. Dr Perrucci's reminder was that the SSSP and the journal Social Problems were established within a model of scholarship that saw research and publication as integrated with social action to address pressing social problems. Since its establishment, the J-21 group has published a series of volumes titled Agenda for Social Justice (US-focused) and Global Agenda for Social Justice (globally focused). (Links to open-access copies of the volumes are available in the Key Resources.)
Since the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, our editors, contributors, and publisher have not been satisfied to sit idly by watching massive social disruptions, especially as the negative effects of pandemic continue to fall upon marginalized populations. We were motivated by the sense that, especially in times of such crises, social scientists have something important to say, and that COVID-19 has complicated and accelerated existing global social problems and inequalities.