Complexity and hierarchical game of life

Hierarchical structure is an essential part of complexity, important notion relevant for a wide range of applications ranging from biological population dynamics through robotics to social sciences. In this paper we propose a simple cellular-automata tool for study of hierarchical population dynamics

Defining properties of neural crest-derived progenitor cells from the apex of human developing tooth

The connective tissue of the human tooth arises from cells that are derived from the cranial neural crest and, thus, are termed as "ectomesenchymal cells." Here, cells being located in a pad-like tissue adjacent to the apex of the developing tooth, which we designated the third molar pad, were separated by the microexplant technique. When outgrowing from the explant, dental neural crest-derived progenitor cells (dNC-PCs) adhered to plastic, proliferated steadily, and displayed a fibroblast-like morphology. At the mRNA level, dNC-PCs expressed neural crest marker genes like Sox9, Snail1, Snail2, Twist1, Msx2, and Dlx6. Cytofluorometric analysis indicated that cells were positive for CD49d (alpha4 integrin), CD56 (NCAM), and PDGFRalpha, while negative for CD31, CD34, CD45, and STRO-1. dNC-PCs could be differentiated into neurogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic lineages and were shown to produce bone matrix in athymic mice. These results demonstrate that human third molar pad possesses neural crest-derived cells that represent multipotent stem/progenitor cells. As a rather large amount of dNC-PCs could be obtained from each single third molar, cells may be used to regenerate a wide range of tissues within the craniofacial region of humans

Agricultural Market Integration in the Commonwealth of Independent States: What Are the Main Driving Forces and Challenges?

Utilizing a price transmission approach, we focus on price relationships between the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and how price changes on the world agricultural market are transmitted to the domestic CIS markets. In this study, we establish a unique price data set on five different agricultural products (i.e. wheat, pork, beef, poultry and whole milk powder) observed in eight different CIS countries. The results of the price transmission analysis indicate that regional integration within the CIS is strongest for pork and beef, followed by poultry and whole milk powder. The integration of CIS markets in world agricultural markets is strongest for wheat and beef, whereas it is relatively low for pork and poultry. Furthermore, beef markets in the CIS countries are the strongest integrated within the region, with the EU and the world market. Overall, our results indicate that domestic market support and trade policies, physical trade flows between countries, infrastructure, and bilateral or multilateral trade agreements play a key role in market integration of the CIS countries. These determinants should be particularly considered when designing recommendations for improving agri-food supply chain competitiveness in the CIS countries

Non-canonical Hedgehog signaling mediates profibrotic hematopoiesis-stroma crosstalk in myeloproliferative neoplasms

The role of hematopoietic Hedgehog signaling in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) remains incompletely understood despite data suggesting that Hedgehog (Hh) pathway inhibitors have therapeutic activity in patients. We aim to systematically interrogate the role of canonical vs. non-canonical Hh signaling in MPNs. We show that Gli1 protein levels in patient peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) mark fibrotic progression and that, in murine MPN models, absence of hematopoietic Gli1, but not Gli2 or Smo, significantly reduces MPN phenotype and fibrosis, indicating that GLI1 in the MPN clone can be activated in a non-canonical fashion. Additionally, we establish that hematopoietic Gli1 has a significant effect on stromal cells, mediated through a druggable MIF-CD74 axis. These data highlight the complex interplay between alterations in the MPN clone and activation of stromal cells and indicate that Gli1 represents a promising therapeutic target in MPNs, particularly that Hh signaling is dispensable for normal hematopoiesis.</p

Prospective individual patient data meta-analysis of two randomized trials on convalescent plasma for COVID-19 outpatients

Data on convalescent plasma (CP) treatment in COVID-19 outpatients are scarce. We aimed to assess whether CP administered during the first week of symptoms reduced the disease progression or risk of hospitalization of outpatients. Two multicenter, double-blind randomized trials (NCT04621123, NCT04589949) were merged with data pooling starting when = 50 years and symptomatic for <= 7days were included. The intervention consisted of 200-300mL of CP with a predefined minimum level of antibodies. Primary endpoints were a 5-point disease severity scale and a composite of hospitalization or death by 28 days. Amongst the 797 patients included, 390 received CP and 392 placebo; they had a median age of 58 years, 1 comorbidity, 5 days symptoms and 93% had negative IgG antibody-test. Seventy-four patients were hospitalized, 6 required mechanical ventilation and 3 died. The odds ratio (OR) of CP for improved disease severity scale was 0.936 (credible interval (CI) 0.667-1.311); OR for hospitalization or death was 0.919 (CI 0.592-1.416). CP effect on hospital admission or death was largest in patients with <= 5 days of symptoms (OR 0.658, 95%CI 0.394-1.085). CP did not decrease the time to full symptom resolution

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

The bmr freeness conjecture for the 2-reflection groups

We prove the freeness conjecture of Broue, Malle and Rouquier for the Hecke algebras associated to the primitive complex 2-reflection groups with a single conjugacy class of reflections

Price Damping and Price Insulating Effects of Wheat Export Restrictions in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine

This study analyzes the domestic price effects of export controls for all 3 KRU countries during the global commodity price peaks. We develop two indicators to measure the strength of the export controls’ price damping and price insulating effect within a non-linear long-run price transmission model. Our analysis comprises 11 cases of export controls. Our results indicate heterogeneity in the damping and insulating effects of the export controls among the KRU where only two cases recorded the strongest effects: export ban in Russia (2010) and export tax system in Ukraine (2011).We argue that the effectiveness of export controls in the KRU is generally rather limited

Regional wheat price effects of extreme weather events and wheat export controls in Russia and Ukraine

This paper further builds on the price transmission model framework of existing studies to identify domestic wheat price effects of wheat export controls. We explicitly take the fact into account that a harvest failure causes domestic price effects as well. Moreover, the analysis at the regional level provides further evidence of the functioning of export controls in a large country. Results suggest a pronounced regional heterogeneity in the strength of domestic price effects of the 2010/11 export ban in Russia. The wheat price dampening effects amount to up to 67 % and are strongest in the major wheat exporting region with direct access to the world market. This effect is transmitted to other regions by increased and reversed interregional trade flows. Contrasting, regional variation of export controls´ domestic price effects in Ukraine is rather small