Simulation of the Progression of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Northwest Syria Using a Basic and Adjusted SIR Model

Syria has experienced armed conflict since 2011, and the provision of health care has been severely compromised due to the hostilities. At the time of writing, Northwest Syria (NWS) was outside governmental control and faced the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the emergence of this disease, several studies have looked at the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission, predicted its progression, and determined the impact of different preventive measures. While most of these studies’ settings were in stable contexts, this study investigated the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northwest Syria, a conflict-affected region, for nine months (from July 2020 to March 2021) using the Suspected-Infected-Removed (SIR) model. We adjusted the SIR model to study the impact of wearing facial masks on the outbreak dynamics and progression. Based on available data and using the basic and adjusted SIR models, we estimated the value of the basic reproduction number (R0), which provides an initial prediction of disease progression. Using the basic SIR model, the estimated R0 for the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 in Northwest Syria was 2.38. The resulting figures were overestimated in comparison with the reported numbers and data on the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the results were significantly reasonable when we adjusted the model for a preventive measure (in this case, wearing face masks). Face masks, the most available preventive measure to be applied in emergency and conflict settings, remarkably affect the outbreak dynamics and may play a key role in controlling and limiting the spread of COVID-19. The novelty of the study is provided by simulating the progress of the COVID-19 outbreak in conflict settings, as it is the first study to predict the dynamics of COVID-19 disease in NWS by adjusting for face-mask-wearing as a preventive measure to explore its impact on outbreak dynamics

Simulation of the Progression of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Northwest Syria Using a Basic and Adjusted SIR Model

Syria has experienced armed conflict since 2011, and the provision of health care has been severely compromised due to the hostilities. At the time of writing, Northwest Syria (NWS) was outside governmental control and faced the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the emergence of this disease, several studies have looked at the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission, predicted its progression, and determined the impact of different preventive measures. While most of these studies’ settings were in stable contexts, this study investigated the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northwest Syria, a conflict-affected region, for nine months (from July 2020 to March 2021) using the Suspected-Infected-Removed (SIR) model. We adjusted the SIR model to study the impact of wearing facial masks on the outbreak dynamics and progression. Based on available data and using the basic and adjusted SIR models, we estimated the value of the basic reproduction number (R0), which provides an initial prediction of disease progression. Using the basic SIR model, the estimated R0 for the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 in Northwest Syria was 2.38. The resulting figures were overestimated in comparison with the reported numbers and data on the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the results were significantly reasonable when we adjusted the model for a preventive measure (in this case, wearing face masks). Face masks, the most available preventive measure to be applied in emergency and conflict settings, remarkably affect the outbreak dynamics and may play a key role in controlling and limiting the spread of COVID-19. The novelty of the study is provided by simulating the progress of the COVID-19 outbreak in conflict settings, as it is the first study to predict the dynamics of COVID-19 disease in NWS by adjusting for face-mask-wearing as a preventive measure to explore its impact on outbreak dynamics

Cdc42 promotes transendothelial migration of cancer cells through β1 integrin.

Cancer cells interact with endothelial cells during the process of metastatic spreading. Here, we use a small interfering RNA screen targeting Rho GTPases in cancer cells to identify Cdc42 as a critical regulator of cancer cell-endothelial cell interactions and transendothelial migration. We find that Cdc42 regulates β1 integrin expression at the transcriptional level via the transcription factor serum response factor (SRF). β1 integrin is the main target for Cdc42-mediating interaction of cancer cells with endothelial cells and the underlying extracellular matrix, as exogenous β1 integrin expression was sufficient to rescue the Cdc42-silencing phenotype. We show that Cdc42 was required in vivo for cancer cell spreading and protrusion extension along blood vessels and retention in the lungs. Interestingly, transient Cdc42 depletion was sufficient to decrease experimental lung metastases, which suggests that its role in endothelial attachment is important for metastasis. By identifying β1 integrin as a transcriptional target of Cdc42, our results provide new insight into Cdc42 function

Scope of partial least-squares regression applied to the enantiomeric composition determination of ketoprofen from strongly overlapped chromatographic profiles

Valuable quantitative information could be obtained from strongly overlapped chromatographic profiles of two enantiomers by using proper chemometric methods. Complete separation profiles where the peaks are fully resolved are difficult to achieve in chiral separation methods, and this becomes a particularly severe problem in case that the analyst need to measure the chiral purity, i.e., when one of the enantiomers is present in the sample in very low concentrations. In this report, we explore the scope of a multivariate chemometric technique based on unfolded partial least-squares regression, as a mathematical tool to solve this quite frequent difficulty. This technique was applied to obtain quantitative results from partially overlapped chromatographic profiles of R- and S-ketoprofen, with different values of enantioresolution factors (from 0.81 down to less than 0.2 resolution units), and also at several different S:R enantiomeric ratios. Enantiomeric purity below 1% was determined with excellent precision even from almost completely overlapped signals. All these assays were tested on the most demanding condition, i.e., when the minor peak elutes immediately after the main peak. The results were validated using univariate calibration of completely resolved profiles and the method applied to the determination of enantiomeric purity of commercial pharmaceuticals.Fil: Padro, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo de Métodos Analíticos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Osorio Grisales, Jaiver. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo de Métodos Analíticos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Arancibia, Juan Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto de Química Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Olivieri, Alejandro Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto de Química Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Castells, Cecilia Beatriz Marta. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo de Métodos Analíticos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Productivity trends and collaboration patterns: A diachronic study in the eating disorders field

[EN] Objective The present study seeks to extend previous bibliometric studies on eating disorders (EDs) by including a time-dependent analysis of the growth and evolution of multi-author collaborations and their correlation with ED publication trends from 1980 to 2014 (35 years). Methods Using standardized practices, we searched Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection (WoSCC) (indexes: Science Citation Index-Expanded [SCIE], & Social Science Citation Index [SSCI]) and Scopus (areas: Health Sciences, Life Sciences, & Social Sciences and Humanities) to identify a large sample of articles related to EDs. We then submitted our sample of articles to bibliometric and graph theory analyses to identify co-authorship and social network patterns. Results We present a large number of detailed findings, including a clear pattern of scientific growth measured as number of publications per five-year period or quinquennium (Q), a tremendous increase in the number of authors attracted by the ED subject, and a very high and steady growth in collaborative work. Conclusions We inferred that the noted publication growth was likely driven by the noted increase in the number of new authors per Q. Social network analyses suggested that collaborations within ED follow patters of interaction that are similar to well established and recognized disciplines, as indicated by the presence of a ¿giant cluster¿, high cluster density, and the replication of the ¿small world¿ phenomenon¿the principle that we are all linked by short chains of acquaintances.This work was performed with a subsidy from Universidad Catolica de Valencia "San Vicente Martir" to resarch group INDOTEI: Evaluacion de la Ciencia, for the years 2016-2017. This work is benefited from Spanish Government assistance through Government Delegation for the National Drugs Plan of the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality (project 2016/028); and National R+D+I (projects: CS02012-39632-C02-01 and CS02015-65594-C2-2-R) and 2015-Networks of Excellence Call (project CS02015-71867-REDT) of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Valderrama Zurian, JC.; Aguilar-Moya, R.; Cepeda-Benito, A.; Melero-Fuentes, D.; Navarro-Moreno, MÁ.; Gandía-Balaguer, A.; Aleixandre-Benavent, R. (2017). Productivity trends and collaboration patterns: A diachronic study in the eating disorders field. PLoS ONE. 12(8):1-17. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182760S117128McClelland, J., Bozhilova, N., Campbell, I., & Schmidt, U. (2013). A Systematic Review of the Effects of Neuromodulation on Eating and Body Weight: Evidence from Human and Animal Studies. 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The Validity and Clinical Utility of Binge Eating Disorder. FOCUS, 12(4), 489-505. doi:10.1176/appi.focus.120412Theander, S. S. (2002). Literature on eating disorders during 40 Years: increasing number of papers, emergence of bulimia nervosa. European Eating Disorders Review, 10(6), 386-398. doi:10.1002/erv.495Clinton, D. (2010). Towards an ecology of eating disorders: Creating sustainability through the integration of scientific research and clinical practice. European Eating Disorders Review, 18(1), 1-9. doi:10.1002/erv.986Soh, N. L.-W., & Walter, G. (2013). Publications on cross-cultural aspects of eating disorders. Journal of Eating Disorders, 1(1). doi:10.1186/2050-2974-1-4Wuchty, S., Jones, B. F., & Uzzi, B. (2007). The Increasing Dominance of Teams in Production of Knowledge. Science, 316(5827), 1036-1039. doi:10.1126/science.1136099Kumar, S. (2015). Co-authorship networks: a review of the literature. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 67(1), 55-73. doi:10.1108/ajim-09-2014-0116Barabási, A. ., Jeong, H., Néda, Z., Ravasz, E., Schubert, A., & Vicsek, T. (2002). Evolution of the social network of scientific collaborations. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 311(3-4), 590-614. doi:10.1016/s0378-4371(02)00736-7Newman, M. E. J. (2004). Coauthorship networks and patterns of scientific collaboration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(Supplement 1), 5200-5205. doi:10.1073/pnas.0307545100Aleixandre-Benavent, R., & Alonso-Arroyo, A. (2011). Indicadores bibliométricos, patología del aparato respiratorio y reducción del consumo de tabaco. Revista de Patología Respiratoria, 14(1), 1-3. doi:10.1016/s1576-9895(11)70095-9Pino-Díaz, J., Jiménez-Contreras, E., Ruíz-Baños, R., & Bailón-Moreno, R. (2011). Evaluación de redes tecnocientíficas: la red española sobre Áreas Protegidas, según la Web of Science. Revista española de Documentación Científica, 34(3), 301-333. doi:10.3989/redc.2011.3.804Valderrama-Zurián, J.-C., Aguilar-Moya, R., Melero-Fuentes, D., & Aleixandre-Benavent, R. (2015). A systematic analysis of duplicate records in Scopus. Journal of Informetrics, 9(3), 570-576. doi:10.1016/j.joi.2015.05.002Guardiola-Wanden-Berghe, R., Sanz-Valero, J., & Wanden-Berghe, C. (2012). Medical subject headings versus American Psychological Association Index Terms: indexing eating disorders. Scientometrics, 94(1), 305-311. doi:10.1007/s11192-012-0866-7Soh, N., Walter, G., Touyz, S., Russell, J., Malhi, G. S., & Hunt, G. E. (2012). Food for thought: Comparison of citations received from articles appearing in specialized eating disorder journals versus general psychiatry journals. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 45(8), 990-994. doi:10.1002/eat.22036Theander, S. S. (2004). Trends in the literature on eating disorders over 36 years(1965-2000): terminology, interpretation and treatment. European Eating Disorders Review, 12(1), 4-17. doi:10.1002/erv.559Kawamura, M., Thomas, C. D. L., Tsurumoto, A., Sasahara, H., & Kawaguchi, Y. (2000). Lotka’s law and productivity index of authors in a scientific journal. Journal of Oral Science, 42(2), 75-78. doi:10.2334/josnusd.42.75Lawani SM. Quality, collaboration and citations in cancer research: A bibliometric study. PhD thesis. Florida State University, Tallahassee. 1980.Watts, D. J., & Strogatz, S. H. (1998). Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks. Nature, 393(6684), 440-442. doi:10.1038/30918Jacomy, M., Venturini, T., Heymann, S., & Bastian, M. (2014). ForceAtlas2, a Continuous Graph Layout Algorithm for Handy Network Visualization Designed for the Gephi Software. PLoS ONE, 9(6), e98679. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098679Pike, K. M., & Dunne, P. E. (2015). The rise of eating disorders in Asia: a review. Journal of Eating Disorders, 3(1). doi:10.1186/s40337-015-0070-2El Ghoch, M., Soave, F., Calugi, S., & Dalle Grave, R. (2013). Eating Disorders, Physical Fitness and Sport Performance: A Systematic Review. Nutrients, 5(12), 5140-5160. doi:10.3390/nu5125140Jones, A. W. (2007). The distribution of forensic journals, reflections on authorship practices, peer-review and role of the impact factor. Forensic Science International, 165(2-3), 115-128. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.05.013Baker, T., Hatsukami, D., Lerman, C., O’Malley, S., Shields, A., & Fiore, M. (2003). Transdisciplinary science applied to the evaluation of treatments for tobacco use. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 5(6), 89-99. doi:10.1080/14622200310001625564González-Alcaide, G., Melero-Fuentes, D., Aleixandre-Benavent, R., & Valderrama-Zurián, J.-C. (2013). Productivity and Collaboration in Scientific Publications on Criminology. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 24(1), 15-37. doi:10.1080/10511253.2012.664153López-Muñoz, F., Alamo, C., Rubio, G., García-García, P., Martín-Agueda, B., & Cuenca, E. (2003). Bibliometric analysis of biomedical publications on SSRI during 1980-2000. Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 95-103. doi:10.1002/da.10121González-Alcaide, G., Aleixandre-Benavent, R., Navarro-Molina, C., & Valderrama-Zurián, J. C. (2008). Coauthorship networks and institutional collaboration patterns in reproductive biology. Fertility and Sterility, 90(4), 941-956. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.07.1378González-Alcaide, G., Park, J., Huamaní, C., Belinchón, I., & Ramos, J. M. (2015). Evolution of Cooperation Patterns in Psoriasis Research: Co-Authorship Network Analysis of Papers in Medline (1942–2013). PLOS ONE, 10(12), e0144837. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0144837Bordons, M., & Ángeles Zulueta, M. (2002). La interdisciplinariedad en los grupos españoles de investigación en el área cardiovascular. 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The Non-Catalytic Carboxyl-Terminal Domain of ARFGAP1 Regulates Actin Cytoskeleton Reorganization by Antagonizing the Activation of Rac1

The regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and membrane trafficking is coordinated in mammalian cells. One of the regulators of membrane traffic, the small GTP-binding protein ARF1, also activates phosphatidylinositol kinases that in turn affect actin polymerization. ARFGAP1 is a GTPase activating protein (GAP) for ARF1 that is found on Golgi membranes. We present evidence that ARFGAP1 not only serves as a GAP for ARF1, but also can affect the actin cytoskeleton.As cells attach to a culture dish foci of actin appear prior to the cells flattening and spreading. We have observed that overexpression of a truncated ARFGAP1 that lacks catalytic activity for ARF, called GAP273, caused these foci to persist for much longer periods than non-transfected cells. This phenomenon was dependent on the level of GAP273 expression. Furthermore, cell spreading after re-plating or cell migration into a previously scraped area was inhibited in cells transfected with GAP273. Live cell imaging of such cells revealed that actin-rich membrane blebs formed that seldom made protrusions of actin spikes or membrane ruffles, suggesting that GAP273 interfered with the regulation of actin dynamics during cell spreading. The over-expression of constitutively active alleles of ARF6 and Rac1 suppressed the effect of GAP273 on actin. In addition, the activation of Rac1 by serum, but not that of RhoA or ARF6, was inhibited in cells over-expressing GAP273, suggesting that Rac1 is a likely downstream effector of ARFGAP1. The carboxyl terminal 65 residues of ARFGAP1 were sufficient to produce the effects on actin and cell spreading in transfected cells and co-localized with cortical actin foci.ARFGAP1 functions as an inhibitor upstream of Rac1 in regulating actin cytoskeleton. In addition to its GAP catalytic domain and Golgi binding domain, it also has an actin regulation domain in the carboxyl-terminal portion of the protein

Inhibition of Monkeypox virus replication by RNA interference

The Orthopoxvirus genus of Poxviridae family is comprised of several human pathogens, including cowpox (CPXV), Vaccinia (VACV), monkeypox (MPV) and Variola (VARV) viruses. Species of this virus genus cause human diseases with various severities and outcome ranging from mild conditions to death in fulminating cases. Currently, vaccination is the only protective measure against infection with these viruses and no licensed antiviral drug therapy is available. In this study, we investigated the potential of RNA interference pathway (RNAi) as a therapeutic approach for orthopox virus infections using MPV as a model. Based on genome-wide expression studies and bioinformatic analysis, we selected 12 viral genes and targeted them by small interference RNA (siRNA). Forty-eight siRNA constructs were developed and evaluated in vitro for their ability to inhibit viral replication. Two genes, each targeted with four different siRNA constructs in one pool, were limiting to viral replication. Seven siRNA constructs from these two pools, targeting either an essential gene for viral replication (A6R) or an important gene in viral entry (E8L), inhibited viral replication in cell culture by 65-95% with no apparent cytotoxicity. Further analysis with wild-type and recombinant MPV expressing green fluorescence protein demonstrated that one of these constructs, siA6-a, was the most potent and inhibited viral replication for up to 7 days at a concentration of 10 nM. These results emphasis the essential role of A6R gene in viral replication, and demonstrate the potential of RNAi as a therapeutic approach for developing oligonucleotide-based drug therapy for MPV and other orthopox viruses