COVID-19 hotspot detection in a university setting.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic commenced an era of widespread disruptions in the academic world, including shut downs, periodic shifts to online learning, and disengagement from students. In an effort to transition back to in-person learning, many universities and schools tried to implement policy that balanced student learning with community health. While academic administrators have little control over some aspects of COVID-19 spread, they often choose to use temporary shutdowns of in-person teaching based on perceived hotspots of COVID-19.

Gods are watching and so what? Moralistic supernatural punishment across 15 cultures.

Psychological and cultural evolutionary accounts of human sociality propose that beliefs in punitive and monitoring gods that care about moral norms facilitate cooperation. While there is some evidence to suggest that belief in supernatural punishment and monitoring generally induce cooperative behaviour, the effect of a deity's moral concerns on cooperation remains unclear. Here, we report a pre-registered set of analyses to assess whether perceiving a locally relevant deity as moralistic predicts cooperative play in two permutations of two economic games using data from up to 15 diverse field sites.

AI4Green: An Open-Source ELN for Green and Sustainable Chemistry.

An Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN) combining features, including data archival, collaboration tools, and green and sustainability metrics for organic chemistry, is presented. AI4Green is a web-based application, available as open-source code and free to use. It offers the core functionality of an ELN, namely, the ability to store reactions securely and share them among different members of a research team.

Dynamic tilting in perovskites.

A new computational analysis of tilt behaviour in perovskites is presented. This includes the development of a computational program - PALAMEDES - to extract tilt angles and the tilt phase from molecular dynamics simulations. The results are used to generate simulated selected-area electron and neutron diffraction patterns which are compared with experimental patterns for CaTiO.

Body shape perception in men and women without obesity during caloric restriction: a secondary analysis from the CALERIE study.

Objective: To examine body shape perception in 218 adults without obesity or history of eating disorders during caloric restriction (CR).

Methods: Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) is a 2-year, randomized clinical trial using a 2:1 assignment (CR, 25% reduction in calories; Control, typical diet). For this secondary analysis, we examined perceived body shape using the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ).

Genomic analysis reveals geography rather than culture as the predominant factor shaping genetic variation in northern Kenyan human populations.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize the genetic relationships within and among four neighboring ethnolinguistic groups in northern Kenya in light of cultural relationships to understand the extent to which geography and culture shape patterns of genetic variation.

Materials And Methods: We collected DNA and demographic information pertaining to aspects of social identity and heritage from 572 individuals across the Turkana, Samburu, Waso Borana, and Rendille of northern Kenya. We sampled individuals across a total of nine clans from these four groups and, additionally, three territorial sections within the Turkana and successfully genotyped 376 individuals.

Adaptations to water stress and pastoralism in the Turkana of northwest Kenya.

The Turkana people inhabit arid regions of east Africa-where temperatures are high and water is scarce-and they practice subsistence pastoralism, such that their diet is primarily composed of animal products. Working with Turkana communities, we sequenced 367 genomes and identified 8 regions putatively involved in adaptation to water stress and pastoralism. One of these regions includes a putative enhancer for STC1-a kidney-expressed gene involved in the response to dehydration and the metabolism of purine-rich foods such as red meat.

Carnosine as a potential therapeutic for the management of peripheral vascular disease.

Aims: To evaluate the potential role of carnosine in the management of peripheral vascular disease.

Data Synthesis: Peripheral vascular disease is growing in its burden and impact; however it is currently under researched, and there are a lack of strong, non-invasive therapeutic options for the clinicians. Carnosine is a dipeptide stored particularly in muscle and brain tissue, which exhibits a wide range of physiological activities, which may be beneficial as an adjunct treatment for peripheral vascular disease.

A high throughput computational investigation of the solid solution mechanisms of actinides and lanthanides in zirconolite.

In this work, we perform a theoretical investigation of the actinide and lanthanide solid solution mechanisms of zirconolite-2M, prototypically CaZrTiO, as a candidate immobilisation matrix for plutonium. Solid solution energies were calculated using static atomistic simulations by means of the General Utility Lattice Program, for formulations of relevance to ceramic wasteform deployment, with substitution on the Ca and Zr sites by Ce, Pu, Th, and U, and appropriate charge balance by substitution of Al or Fe on Ti sites. In simple solid solutions involving substitution on the Zr site, we found that whereas substitution of Ce, U and Pu were energetically favoured, substitution of Th was not energetically favoured.

Refractory portal hypertension complications successfully managed by parallel transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS): a case report.

Background: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is an established intervention to treat complicated portal hypertension refractory to medical or endoscopic management. TIPS dysfunction results in the recurrence of portal hypertension symptoms. In cases of TIPS dysfunction or persistent portal hypertension despite a patent primary TIPS, the creation of parallel TIPS may be the only intervention to effectively reduce portal pressure.

Transplantation of liver from hepatitis C-infected donors to hepatitis C RNA-negative recipients: Histological and virologic outcome.

Background: The virologic and histologic outcomes of a hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected liver graft into an HCV-negative recipient are not well understood. We aimed to evaluate the sustained virologic response (SVR) rate and the liver histology at 1 year post-Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) with an HCV-infected graft.

Methods: A total of 33 patients received the HCV antibody (Ab)+/nucleic acid amplification test (NAT)+ graft.

Residential churn moderates the relationship between economic deprivation and psychiatric admission: evidence from Wales.

Background: There is a well-established link between area-level socioeconomic deprivation and psychiatric admission rates. Social capital has been proposed as a possible protective factor that may buffer economically deprived communities, but it may be disrupted in areas with high population turnover. This study aims to test whether population turnover, hereafter called churn, moderates the social gradient of psychiatric admissions.

Human large-scale cooperation as a product of competition between cultural groups.

A fundamental puzzle of human evolution is how we evolved to cooperate with genetically unrelated strangers in transient interactions. Group-level selection on culturally differentiated populations is one proposed explanation. We evaluate a central untested prediction of Cultural Group Selection theory, by assessing whether readiness to cooperate between individuals from different groups corresponds to the degree of cultural similarity between those groups.

Evaluation of a professional development experience designed to equip school support staff with skills to facilitate youth mental health promotion.

Public policy across the world is increasingly focusing on the role of mental health promotion in whole of health strategies. There is a growing evidence-base that mental health promotion, delivered by trained facilitators, is effective in promoting self-awareness and self-care to prevent the damaging effects of ongoing stress in one's life and to promote early detection of any possible emerging mental health problems. Within Australia, however, few clinicians or school staff are confident or trained in mental health promotion.

Transplantation of kidneys from hepatitis C-infected donors to hepatitis C-negative recipients: Single center experience.

Our aim was to evaluate the safety of transplanting kidneys from HCV-infected donors in HCV-uninfected recipients. Data collected from 53 recipients in a single center, observational study included donor and recipient characteristics, liver and kidney graft function, new infections and de novo donor-specific antibodies and renal histology. Treatment with a direct-acting antiviral regimen was initiated when HCV RNA was detected.

Moralizing gods, impartiality and religious parochialism across 15 societies.

The emergence of large-scale cooperation during the Holocene remains a central problem in the evolutionary literature. One hypothesis points to culturally evolved beliefs in punishing, interventionist gods that facilitate the extension of cooperative behaviour toward geographically distant co-religionists. Furthermore, another hypothesis points to such mechanisms being constrained to the religious ingroup, possibly at the expense of religious outgroups.

Correction: A new potential for methylammonium lead iodide.

Correction for 'A new potential for methylammonium lead iodide' by C. M. Handley et al.

A new potential for methylammonium lead iodide.

We present a new set of interatomic potentials for modelling methylammonium lead iodide. The potential model uses existing potentials for lead iodide and methylammonium, and new functions are fitted to enable these pre-existing potentials to be used together, while still being capable of modelling lead iodide and methylammonium iodide as separate materials. Fitting was performed using a combination of ab initio and experimental reference data.

The MMP3 gene in musculoskeletal soft tissue injury risk profiling: A study in two independent sample groups.

Matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3) is a mediator of matrix remodelling and a proposed susceptibility locus in the genetic profile of musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries. Therefore, this study aimed to validate the MMP3 gene as a risk marker for these injuries by conducting a case control genetic association study in two independent samples groups. Three previously investigated MMP3 variants (rs679620, rs591058 and rs650108) in addition to the functional promoter variant (rs3025058) were genotyped in 195 Australian control participants and 79 Australian individuals with chronic Achilles tendinopathy.

Extracellular matrix proteins interact with cell-signaling pathways in modifying risk of achilles tendinopathy.

The aim of this study was to investigate interactions between variants within genes encoding components of the collagen fibril and components of cell-signaling pathways within the extracellular matrix, and determine the relative contribution of these variants to Achilles tendinopathy risk in a polygenic model. A total of 339 asymptomatic control participants and 179 participants clinically diagnosed with Achilles tendinopathy were genotyped for variants within six genes encoding components of the collagen fibril and three genes encoding components of cell-signaling pathways. Logistic regression, stepwise selection, and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to select and evaluate genetic interactions and determine the relative contribution of these variants to overall genetic risk.

Mesenchymal stem cell tracking in the intervertebral disc.

Low back pain is a common clinical problem, which leads to significant social, economic and public health costs. Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is accepted as a common cause of low back pain. Initially, this is characterized by a loss of proteoglycans from the nucleus pulposus resulting in loss of tissue hydration and hydrostatic pressure.

ELN and FBN2 gene variants as risk factors for two sports-related musculoskeletal injuries.

The proteins ELN and FBN2 are important in extracellular matrix function. The ELN rs2071307 and FBN2 rs331079 gene variants have been associated with soft tissue pathologies. We aimed to determine whether these variants were predisposing factors for both Achilles tendinopathy (AT) and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures.

Wolbachia infection and Lepidoptera of conservation concern.

Conservation of at-risk species requires multi-faceted and carefully-considered management approaches to be successful. For arthropods, the presence of endosymbiotic bacteria, such as Wolbachia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae), may complicate management plans and exacerbate the challenges faced by conservation managers. Wolbachia poses a substantial and underappreciated threat to the conservation of arthropods because infection may induce a number of phenotypic effects, most of which are considered deleterious to the host population.