关键词： Alternative food networks   Social media   China   Food materialities   Trust  

摘要： Trust is often an assumed outcome of participation in Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) as they directly connect producers with consumers. It is based on this potential for trust "between producers and consumers" that AFNs have emerged as a significant field of food studies analysis as it also suggests a capacity for AFNs to foster associated embedded qualities, like 'morality', 'social justice', 'ecology' and 'equity'. These positive benefits of AFNs, however, cannot be taken for granted as trust is not necessarily an outcome of AFN participation. Using Chinese case studies of AFNs, which are characterised by a distinct form of trust pressure-consumers who are particularly cynical about small scale farmers, food safety and the organic credentials of producers-this paper highlights how the dynamics of trust are in constant flux between producers and consumers. I suggest that it is the careful construction of the aesthetic and multi-sensory qualities of food, which is often celebrated via social media, that human centred relations in Chinese AFNs are mediated. This leads to two key conclusions: first, that the key variable for establishing trust is satisfying the consumer's desire for safe (i.e. "fresh") food;and second, the materiality of the food and the perception of foods materiality (especially through social media), must both be actively constructed by the farmer to fit the consumer's ideal of freshness.

关键词： Agricultural productivity   Soil fertility   Ecological intensification   Sub-Saharan Africa  

摘要： Currently, staple food self-sufficiency in Africa is just above 80%, and the population is expected to more than double until 2050. To cope with this challenge, technological solutions such as reactor food seem seductive. Western pilot projects have shown considerable production potentials, e.g., 7 t ha(-1) of starch within 150 days by algae in reactors that may also be used in Africa. Are these approaches suitable for Africa justifying extensive research activities? Here, we argue that both physical availability of substrates and missing profitability substantially limit the development of reactor food in SSA, also in a mid-term perspective. It is rather suggested to close the considerable existing yield gaps by implementing para-organic farming systems, which combine basic principles of organic farming such as crop diversification, legume growing, and manuring, with a reasonable use of inputs, in particular mineral fertilizers. In combination with irrigation, staple food production in SSA has the potential to keep pace with growing demand.

关键词： PIMS-TS   MIS-C   COVID-19   Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)   Critically unwell   Multi-system inflammatory Syndrome  

摘要： Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) is a new phenomenon reported worldwide with temporal association with Covid-19. The objective of this paper is to evaluate reported cases in children and adolescents. From 1726 papers, 35 documented papers related to MIS-C cases identified 783 individual cases of MIS-C between March-June 2020;with 55% being male (n = 435) and a median age of 8.6 years (IQR, 7-10 years;range 3 months-20 years). Patients with MIS-C were noted to have a high frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms (71%) including abdominal pain (34%) and diarrhea (27%). Cough and respiratory distress were reported in 4.5% and 9.6% cases respectively. Blood parameters showed neutrophilia in 345/418 (83%) of cases and a high CRP in 587/626 (94%). 362/619 (59%) cases were SARS-CoV-2 infection positive (serology or PCR) however only 41% demonstrated pulmonary changes on chest imaging. Severity of illness was high with 68% cases requiring intensive care admission;63% requiring inotropic support;244/783 (28%) cases needing some form of respiratory support (138 mechanically ventilated), and 31 required extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation. Treatment strategies included intravenous immunoglobulin (63%) and intravenous steroids (44%). 29 cases received Infliximab, 47 received IL1 (interleukin) receptor antagonist, and 47 received IL6- receptor antagonist. 12/783 (1.5%) children died. In summary, a higher incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms were noted in MIS-C. In contrast to acute Covid-19 infection in children, MIS-C appears to be a condition of higher severity with 68% of cases having required critical care support. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

关键词： C‐   circle assay   comparative oncology   human and dog   osteosarcoma   prognosis   telomere maintenance mechanism  

摘要： Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is a telomerase-independent telomere maintenance mechanism (TMM) with high prevalence in human osteosarcomas but remains unknown in canine osteosarcomas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of ALT by detection of extra-chromosomal circles of telomeric DNA and to assess clinical outcome in canine patients with spontaneous occurring appendicular osteosarcoma. Fifty dogs with histopathological confirmed osteosarcomas were included into this study. Medical records were retrospectively analysed for patient characteristics, oncologic therapy and survival. DNA was isolated from archived FFPE tumour tissue specimens and applied for C- and G-circle assay (CCA and GCA) and for telomeric content (TC) measurement with radiolabeled probes. ALT activity was detected for 10 of 50 (20%) cases by CCA. Four CCA positive cases were detected even with input DNA below 1 ng and demonstrated the high sensitivity of CCA for canine tumours. G-circles and TC were not suitable to distinguish CCA positive and negative cases. CCA-status showed an association with male gender and Rottweiler breed. Dogs with CCA positive osteosarcomas had shorter overall survival times than patients with CCA-tumours and CCA-status was a significant prognostic factor besides treatment in the Cox proportional hazard model. These findings make canine osteosarcomas an interesting model for comparative TMM research, but future studies are warranted to investigate if CCA-status can serve as novel prognostic marker.

关键词： Resuscitation   Neonatal   Intraosseous   i.o.   IO  

摘要： Aim: Intraosseous (IO)-access plays an alternative route during resuscitation. Our study in preterm and term stillborns was performed to find alternative IO puncture sites beside the recommended proximal tibia. Methods: The cadavers used were legal donations. 20 stillborns (mean: 29.2weeks, IQR 27.1 +/- 39.6) were investigated. Spectral-CT were analysed to calculate the diameter and circumferences of: i) proximal humerus ii) distal femur iii) proximal tibia iv) diaphyseal tibial. Contrast medium was applied under video documentation to investigate the drainage into the vascular system. Results: In term newborns, diameter of the cortex of the proximal humeral head is 12.1 +/- 1.8 mm, distal end of the femur 11.9 +/- 3.4 mm and the proximal tibial bone 12.0 +/- 2.4 mm with cross-sectional diameter of 113.5 +/- 19.7 mm(2), 120.6 +/- 28.2 mm(2) and 111.6 +/- 29.5 mm(2), respectively. Regarding the preterm groups, there is a strong age-related growth in diameter and cross-sectional size. The diaphyseal area is the smallest in all measured bones with an age-dependent increase and is about half of that of metaphyseal diameters (proximal and distal) and about one third of that of metaphyseal cross sectional areas. The proximal femoral head region has the largest diameter of all measured bones with an egg-shaped formation with an extensive joint capsula. All investigated metaphyseal areas lack a clearly enclosed bone marrow cavity. Infusion of contrast medium into the distal femoral end and the proximal humerus head demonstrate the drainage of contrast medium into the central venous system within seconds. Conclusion: Proximal humeral head and distal femoral end might be alternative IO areas which may lead to further IO puncture sites in neonates.

关键词： Critically ill children   hyperinflammation   intravenous immunoglobulin   MIS-C   SARS-CoV-2   Steroids  

摘要： Objectives: To describe the intensive care needs and outcome of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Methodology: This retrospective study was conducted in the pediatric emergency, pediatric intensive care unit (PICUs) and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) hospital of a tertiary teaching and referral hospital in North India over a period of 5 months (September 2020 to January 2021). Clinical details, laboratory investigations, intensive care needs, treatment and short-term outcome were recorded. Results: Forty children with median interquartile range age of 7 (5-10) years were enrolled. The common clinical features were fever (97.5%), mucocutaneous involvement (80%), abdominal (72.5%) and respiratory (50%) symptoms. Shock was noted in 80% children. Most cases (85%) required PICU admission where they received nasal prong oxygen (40%), non-invasive (22.5%) and invasive (22.5%) ventilation and vasoactive drug support (72.5%). The confirmation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure was in the form of positive serology (66.7%), reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (10%), and contact with SARS-CoV-2 positive case (12.5%). The common echocardiographic findings included myocardial dysfunction (ejection fraction <55%;72.5%), and coronary artery dilatation or aneurysm (22.5%). The immunomodulatory treatment included intravenous immunoglobulin (2 g/kg) (100%) and steroids (methylprednisolone 10-30mg/kg/day for 3-5 days) (85%). Aspirin was used in 80% and heparin (low molecular weight) in 7.5% cases. Two children died (5%) and median duration of PICU and hospital stay in survivors were 5 (2-8) and 7 (4-9) days, respectively. Children with shock showed higher total leucocyte count and higher rates of myocardial dysfunction. Conclusion: Cardiovascular involvement and shock are predominant features in severe disease. Early diagnosis can be challenging given the overlapping features with other diagnoses. A high in

摘要： BACKGROUND Lung recruitment manoeuvres and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) can improve lung function during general anaesthesia. Different recruitment manoeuvre strategies have been described in large international trials: in the protective ventilation using high vs. low PEEP (PROVHILO) strategy, tidal volume (V-T) was increased during volume-controlled ventilation;in the individualised peri-operative open-lung approach vs. standard protective ventilation in abdominal surgery (iPROVE) strategy, PEEP was increased during pressure-controlled ventilation. OBJECTIVES To compare the effects of the PROVHILO strategy and the iPROVE strategy on respiratory and haemodynamic variables. DESIGN Randomised crossover study. SETTING University hospital research facility. ANIMALS A total of 20 juvenile anaesthetised pigs. INTERVENTIONS Animals were assigned randomly to one of two sequences: PROVHILO strategy followed by iPROVE strategy or vice-versa (n = 10/sequence). In the PROVHILO strategy, V-T was increased stepwise by 4 ml kg(-1) at a fixed PEEP of 12 cmH(2)O until a plateau pressure of 30 to 35 cmH(2)O was reached. In the iPROVE strategy, at fixed driving pressure of 20 cmH(2)O, PEEP was increased up to 20 cmH(2)O followed by PEEP titration according to the lowest elastance of the respiratory system (E-RS). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES We assessed regional transpulmonary pressure (P-trans), respiratory system mechanics, gas exchange and haemodynamics, as well as the centre of ventilation (CoV) by electrical impedance tomography. RESULTS During recruitment manoeuvres with the PROVHILO strategy compared with the iPROV strategy, dorsal P-trans was lower at end-inspiration (16.3 +/- 2.7 vs. 18.6 +/- 3.1 cmH(2)O, P = 0.001) and end-expiration (4.8 +/- 2.6 vs. 8.8 +/- 3.4 cmH(2)O, P < 0.001), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) was higher (77 +/- 11 vs. 60 +/- 14 mmHg, P < 0.001). At 1 and 15 min after recruitment manoeuvres, E-RS was higher in the PROVHILO strategy than the iPROVE s

关键词： RNA splicing   polyadenylation   transcription pausing   sequence analysis   mammalian gene expression  

摘要： Recent studies have identified multiple polyadenylation sites in nearly all mammalian genes. Although these are interpreted as evidence for alternative polyadenylation, our knowledge of the underlying mechanisms is still limited. Most studies only consider the immediate surroundings of gene ends, even though in vitro experiments have uncovered the involvement of external factors such as splicing. Whereas in vivo splicing manipulation was impracticable until recently, we now used mutants in the Death Inducer Obliterator (DIDO) gene to study their impact on 3MODIFIER LETTER PRIME end processing. We observe multiple rounds of readthrough and gene fusions, suggesting that no arbitration between polyadenylation sites occurs. Instead, a window of opportunity seems to control end processing. Through the identification of T-rich sequence motifs, our data indicate that splicing and transcriptional pausing interact to regulate alternative polyadenylation. We propose that 3MODIFIER LETTER PRIME splice site activation comprises a variable timer, which determines how long transcription proceeds before polyadenylation signals are recognized. Thus, the role of core polyadenylation signals could be more passive than commonly believed. Our results provide new insights into the mechanisms of alternative polyadenylation and expand the catalog of related aberrations.

关键词： child   COVID-19   Kawasaki disease   multisystem inflammatory syndrome   MIS-C   pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome   septic shock  

摘要： Background: Following the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic a new disease entity emerged, defined as Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 (PIMS-TS), or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). In the absence of trials, evidence for treatment remains scarce. Purpose: To develop best practice recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of children with PIMS-TS in Switzerland. It is acknowledged that the field is changing rapidly, and regular revisions in the coming months are pre-planned as evidence is increasing. Methods: Consensus guidelines for best practice were established by a multidisciplinary group of Swiss pediatric clinicians with expertise in intensive care, immunology/rheumatology, infectious diseases, hematology, and cardiology. Subsequent to literature review, four working groups established draft recommendations which were subsequently adapted in a modified Delphi process. Recommendations had to reach >80% agreement for acceptance. Results: The group achieved agreement on 26 recommendations, which specify diagnostic approaches and interventions across anti-inflammatory, anti-infectious, and support therapies, and follow-up for children with suspected PIMS-TS. A management algorithm was derived to guide treatment depending on the phenotype of presentation, categorized into PIMS-TS with (a) shock, (b) Kawasaki-disease like, and (c) undifferentiated inflammatory presentation. Conclusion: Available literature on PIMS-TS is limited to retrospective or prospective observational studies. Informed by these cohort studies and indirect evidence from other inflammatory conditions in children and adults, as well as guidelines from international health authorities, the Swiss PIMS-TS recommendations represent best practice guidelines based on currently available knowledge to standardize treatment of children with suspected PIMS-TS. Given the absence of high-grade evidence, regular u