Insertion Patterns Research Articles

Open-ended molecular recording of sequential cellular events into DNA.

Genetically encoded DNA recorders noninvasively convert transient biological events into durable mutations in a cell's genome, allowing for the later reconstruction of cellular experiences by DNA sequencing. We present a DNA recorder, peCHYRON, that achieves high-information, durable, and temporally resolved multiplexed recording of multiple cellular signals in mammalian cells. In each step of recording, prime editor, a Cas9-reverse transcriptase fusion protein, inserts a variable triplet DNA sequence alongside a constant propagator sequence that deactivates the previous and activates the next step of insertion. Insertions accumulate sequentially in a unidirectional order, editing can continue indefinitely, and high information is achieved by coexpressing a variety of prime editing guide RNAs (pegRNAs), each harboring unique triplet DNA sequences. We demonstrate that the constitutive expression of pegRNA collections generates insertion patterns for the straightforward reconstruction of cell lineage relationships and that the inducible expression of specific pegRNAs results in the accurate recording of exposures to biological stimuli.

African cichlid fishes: morphological data and taxonomic insights from a genus-level survey of supraneurals, pterygiophores, and vertebral counts (Ovalentaria, Blenniiformes, Cichlidae, Pseudocrenilabrinae).

The iconic freshwater cichlid fishes (Cichlidae) comprise about 1750 validly named species and hundreds more that are known, but not yet described and named. Cichlids are an important source of protein for millions of people on several continents, are model organisms in studies of evolution, speciation, ecology, development, behaviour and physiology and are popular as aquarium fishes. Yet, comparative studies of cichlid internal anatomy are rare. Even their osteology has not been taxonomically surveyed. The cichlid postcranial skeleton has been especially neglected. Here, I provide the first survey in cichlids of the considerable variation in numbers of vertebrae, supraneurals and dorsal- and anal-fin supports (pterygiophores), as well as the patterns with which the pterygiophores insert between the neural or haemal spines. The study includes some 1700 specimens of nearly 400 cichlid species. Focusing on the largest subfamily, the African cichlids or Pseudocrenilabrinae, the survey furnishes data from species in all but one of its 166 genera. Limited data from species in the other cichlid subfamilies (Etroplinae, Ptychochrominae and Cichlinae) and from the related leaffishes, Polycentridae, are also presented. Key examples of pterygiophore insertion patterns from throughout the range of variation are illustrated and discussed. Detailed analytical tables and all raw data are provided in supplementary files.A bizarre specialisation in Cyprichromis is noted, evidently for the first time. Uniquely in this Lake Tanganyikan genus, five to seven anal pterygiophores are abdominal in position, located anterior to the anal fin and inserting toward or between successive pairs of pleural ribs.Taxonomic changes: The most speciose tribe of African cichlids, currently known as Haplochromini, is correctly called Pseudocrenilabrini. Based chiefly on the molecular phylogenetic findings of other workers, I propose four pseudocrenilabrine subtribes, one occurring in rivers and three endemic to Lake Malawi. I also re-assign the Lake Tanganyikan tribe Tropheini as another subtribe of Pseudocrenilabrini, in line with numerous molecular studies placing tropheines firmly within this tribe. The remaining genera of Pseudocrenilabrini remain incertae sedis in this tribe pending clarification of their phylogenetic relationships.The character complex here surveyed is a promising source of taxonomically and phylogenetically informative characteristics distinguishing or uniting cichlid taxa at multiple hierarchical levels, from species through subfamily. This reference set of novel character data can also provide information for palaeontological studies of African cichlids. These attributes are skeletal features potentially available for study in well preserved fossils and may help determine their correct taxonomic placement.

Complex genetic variation in nearly complete human genomes.

Diverse sets of complete human genomes are required to construct a pangenome reference and to understand the extent of complex structural variation. Here, we sequence 65 diverse human genomes and build 130 haplotype-resolved assemblies (130 Mbp median continuity), closing 92% of all previous assembly gaps1,2 and reaching telomere-to-telomere (T2T) status for 39% of the chromosomes. We highlight complete sequence continuity of complex loci, including the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), SMN1/SMN2, NBPF8, and AMY1/AMY2, and fully resolve 1,852 complex structural variants (SVs). In addition, we completely assemble and validate 1,246 human centromeres. We find up to 30-fold variation in α-satellite high-order repeat (HOR) array length and characterize the pattern of mobile element insertions into α-satellite HOR arrays. While most centromeres predict a single site of kinetochore attachment, epigenetic analysis suggests the presence of two hypomethylated regions for 7% of centromeres. Combining our data with the draft pangenome reference1 significantly enhances genotyping accuracy from short-read data, enabling whole-genome inference3 to a median quality value (QV) of 45. Using this approach, 26,115 SVs per sample are detected, substantially increasing the number of SVs now amenable to downstream disease association studies.

Why do Mandarin speakers code-switch? A case study of conversational code-switching in China

Multilingualism is becoming increasingly common worldwide, with multilingual studies becoming more popular and accelerating interpersonal language contacts; however, it remains controversial and ambiguous in China. The current study aims to explore code-switching (CS) patterns and factors among Mandarin-dominated mainland Chinese speakers and investigate multilingual development in China through CS, as it is a multilingual practice. Conversational analysis was conducted to analyse daily interactions in short videos posted online, categorise language varieties and frequencies, identify CS patterns, and examine the factors influencing CS patterns. The results revealed that foreign languages and dialects other than Mandarin were spoken by Mandarin-dominated speakers. Three of four CS patterns were also pinpointed regarding language practices in China. Insertion was the most predominant pattern, followed by backflagging and alternation. The CS patterns employed by Mandarin-dominated mainland Chinese speakers were influenced primarily by participant-related factors, followed by linguistic-related factors, sociopsychological factors, convenience, and situational factors. The prevalence of the insertional CS pattern and the influence of personal factors suggest that China’s Mandarin-speaking community is in an early phase of multilingual development.

The effect of screw insertion configuration of Sinus Tarsi plate on biomechanical performance using finite element analysis

Sinus Tarsi plates are used as implants for minimally invasive surgery of calcaneus bone fractures. This study evaluated the screw fixation patterns of Sinus Tarsi plates for optimal biomechanical performance. Six three-dimensional (3D) finite element models with different positional screws were evaluated for calcaneus fracture stabilization using Sinus Tarsi plates with 5, 6, and 7 holes. Walking stance conditions as heel strike, midstance, and push-off phases were used to compare loading. Results indicated that the equivalent (EQV) stress exhibited in the implant was higher than in the surrounding bone, with the highest value during the push-off phase. The maximum EQV stress or risk of failure decreased when an insertion screw was placed in the anterior bone using a 7-hole plate, and the most stable strain result at the fracture bone site was recorded for a Sinus Tarsi plate with 7 holes (TT 7-1). The screw insertion pattern and configuration of the Sinus Tarsi plate impacted the biomechanical performance of the calcaneal fracture.

Pendidikan Islam Moderat di Pondok Pesantren Tanbihul Ghofiliin Banjarnegara

This study aims to explore the practice of moderate Islamic education in pesantren. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The primary data sources come from interviews with the Kiai, the head of pesantren, the education section, and the board of supervisors of the pesantren management. This study's results indicate that moderate Islamic education in Islamic boarding schools refers to the teachings of Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah. The practice begins with the planning stage of activities and learning. This planning is the basis for moderate Islamic education by learning yellow books (kitab kuning) and various educational activities and cultures. In these activities, the values ​​and insights of Islamic moderation are internalized through insertion patterns. Pesantren has also collaborated with various parties outside the pesantren in socializing insights oriented towards moderate Islam. The experts presented are Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah scholars who have moderate views.

Loops are geometric catalysts for DNA integration.

The insertion of DNA elements within genomes underpins both genetic diversity and disease when unregulated. Most of DNA insertions are not random and the physical mechanisms underlying the integration site selection are poorly understood. Here, we perform Molecular Dynamics simulations to study the insertion of DNA elements, such as viral DNA or transposons, into naked DNA or chromatin substrates. More specifically, we explore the role of loops within the polymeric substrate and discover that they act as 'geometric catalysts' for DNA integration by reducing the energy barrier for substrate deformation. Additionally, we discover that the 1D pattern and 3D conformation of loops have a marked effect on the distribution of integration sites. Finally, we show that loops may compete with nucleosomes to attract DNA integrations. These results may be tested in vitro and they may help to understand patterns of DNA insertions with implications in genome evolution and engineering.

Morphological variation, modularity and integration in the scapula and humerus of Lissotriton newts.

The modular organization of tetrapod paired limbs and girdles, influenced by the expression of Hox genes is one of the primary driving forces of the evolution of animal locomotion. The increased morphological diversification of the paired limbs is correlated with reduced between-limb covariation, while correlation within the elements is usually higher than between the elements. The tailed amphibians, such as Lissotriton newts, have a biphasic lifestyle with aquatic and terrestrial environments imposing different constraints on limb skeleton. By employing the methods of computerized microtomography and 3D geometric morphometrics, we explored the pattern of morphological variation, disparity, modularity and morphological integration in the proximal parts of the anterior limbs of six species of Eurasian small bodied newts. Although the species significantly differ in limb shape, there is a great overlap in morphology of scapula and humerus, and there are no differences in morphological disparity. For the scapula, the shape differences related to the duration of the aquatic period are in length, depth and curvature. The shape of the humerus is not affected by the length of aquatic period, and shape differences between the species are related to robustness of the body. The length of aquatic period has statistically supported phylogenetic signal. The scapula and humerus are structures of varying modularity. For the humerus, the strongest support on the phylogenetic level was for the capitulum/shaft hypothesis, which can also be interpreted as functional modularity. For the scapula, the greatest support was for the antero-posterior hypothesis of modularity in case of Lissotriton vulgaris, which can be explained by different functional roles and muscle insertion patterns, while there was no phylogenetic modularity. The modularity patterns seem to correspond with the general tetrapod pattern, with modularity being more pronounced in the distal structure. The future research should include more salamandrid taxa with different habitat preferences and both adult and larval stages, in order to explore how size, phylogeny and ecology affect the morphology and covariation patterns of limbs.

Anatomic variations of the deltoid muscle insertion: a cadaveric study

The deltoid is a trisegmented muscle with anterior, middle, and posterior components. While the clinical relevance of the presence of anatomic variations of the deltoid origin and insertion continues to be debated, the architecture of the deltoid muscle is more complex than initially believed. This study aimed to evaluate the gross anatomy of the deltoid muscle insertion by qualitatively and quantitatively characterizing the insertion and location of the deltoid muscle's anterior, middle, and posterior components. This information is valuable to surgeons as it raises awareness of potential variants that could be encountered during surgery, promotes mindfulness of neurovascular proximities, and reduces the likelihood of confusion between adjacent muscle fibers. Eight nonpaired, fresh-frozen clavicle-to-fingertip cadaveric shoulders were acquired for the study (6 left, 2 right). The average age of the cadavers was 79.5 years (range: 64-92). The standard deltopectoral approach was carried out on all specimens. The planes dividing the anterior, middle, and posterior deltoid were identified and marked. Once complete exposure had been achieved, digital calipers were used to record the size of the deltoid insertion. The specimens were qualitatively assessed to characterize the style of insertion they demonstrated. The average length of the deltoid insertion was 39.45±9.33 mm (n=8). Six of the eight shoulders demonstrated an insertion style previously characterized in the literature. The remaining two shoulders highlighted an insertion pattern not previously described. The current study demonstrates a novel insertion pattern for the deltoid muscle that has not been previously characterized. This "step-off" insertion pattern shows that the anterior, middle, and posterior tendons are inserted superior-medial, directly on, and inferior-lateral to the deltoid tuberosity and was found in 2/8 of our cadaveric specimens.

Genomic surveillance and evolutionary dynamics of type 2 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in China spanning the African swine fever outbreak.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) poses a serious threat to the pig industry in China. Our previous study demonstrated that PRRSV persists with local circulations and overseas imports in China and has formed a relatively stable epidemic pattern. However, the sudden African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in 2018 caused serious damage to China's pig industry structure, which resulted in about 40 per cent of pigs being slaughtered. The pig yields recovered by the end of 2019. Thus, whether the ASF outbreak reframed PRRSV evolution with changes in pig populations and further posed new threats to the pig industry becomes a matter of concern. For this purpose, we conducted genomic surveillance and recombination, NSP2 polymorphism, population dynamics, and geographical spread analysis of PRRSV-2, which is dominant in China. The results showed that the prevalence of ASF had no significant effects on genetic diversities like lineage composition, recombination patterns, and NSP2 insertion and deletion patterns but was likely to lead to changes in PRRSV-2 recombination frequency. As for circulation of the two major sub-lineages of Lineage 1, there was no apparent transmission of NADC30-like among provinces, while NADC34-like had obvious signs of inter-provincial transmission and foreign importation during the ASF epidemic. In addition, two suspected vaccine recombinant epidemic strains suggest a slight safety issue of vaccine use. Herein, the interference of ASF to the PRRSV-2 evolutionary pattern was evaluated and vaccine safety was analyzed, in order to monitor the potential threat of PRRSV-2 to China's pig industry in the post-epidemic era of ASF.

Mage transposon: a novel gene delivery system for mammalian cells.

Transposons, as non-viral integration vectors, provide a secure and efficient method for stable gene delivery. In this study, we have discovered Mage (MG), a novel member of the piggyBac(PB) family, which exhibits strong transposability in a variety of mammalian cells and primary T cells. The wild-type MG showed a weaker insertion preference for near genes, transcription start sites (TSS), CpG islands, and DNaseI hypersensitive sites in comparison to PB, approaching the random insertion pattern. Utilizing in silico virtual screening and feasible combinatorial mutagenesis in vitro, we effectively produced the hyperactive MG transposase (hyMagease). This variant boasts a transposition rate 60% greater than its native counterpart without significantly altering its insertion pattern. Furthermore, we applied the hyMagease to efficiently deliver chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) into T cells, leading to stable high-level expression and inducing significant anti-tumor effects both in vitro and in xenograft mice models. These findings provide a compelling tool for gene transfer research, emphasizing its potential and prospects in the domains of genetic engineering and gene therapy.

Identifying Slim Modiolar Electrode Tip Fold-Over With Intracochlear Electrocochleography.

To evaluate the predictive value of intracochlear electrocochleography (ECochG) for identifying tip fold-over during cochlear implantation (CI) using the slim modiolar electrode (SME) array. Prospective cohort study. Tertiary referral center. From July 2022 to June 2023, 142 patients, including adults and children, underwent intracochlear ECochG monitoring during and after SME placement. Tone-bursts were presented from 250 Hz to 2 kHz at 108 to 114 dB HL. A fast Fourier transform (FFT) allowed for frequency-specific evaluation of ECochG response. ECochG patterns during insertion and postinsertion were evaluated using sensitivity and specificity analysis to predict tip fold-over. Intraoperative plain radiographs served as a reference standard. Fifteen tip fold-over cases occurred (10.6%) with significant ECochG response (>2 µV). Sixty-one cases without tip fold-over occurred (43.0%) with significant ECochG response. All tip fold-overs had both a nontonotopic postinsertion sweep and nonrobust active insertion pattern. No patients with robust insertion or tonotopic sweep patterns had tip fold-over. Sensitivity of detecting tip fold-over when having both nonrobust insertion and nontonotopic sweep patterns was 100% (95% confidence inteval [CI]78.2%-100%), specificity was 68.9% (95% CI55.7%-80.1%), and the overall accuracy was 72.0% (95% CI60.5%-81.7%). Intracochlear ECochG monitoring during cochlear implantation with the SME can be a valuable tool for identifying properly positioned electrode arrays. In cases where ECochG patterns are nonrobust on insertion and nontonotopic for electrode sweeps, there may be a concern for tip fold-over, and intraoperative imaging is necessary to confirm proper insertion.

Homoplasy of Retrotransposon Insertions in Toothed Whales.

Retrotransposon insertion patterns facilitate a virtually homoplasy-free picture of phylogenetic history. Still, a few most likely random parallel insertions or deletions result in rare cases of homoplasy in primates. The following question arises: how frequent is retrotransposon homoplasy in other phylogenetic clades? Here, we derived genome insertion data of toothed whales to evaluate the extension of homoplasy in a representative laurasiatherian group. Among more than a thousand extracted and aligned retrotransposon loci, we detected 37 cases of precise parallel insertions in species that are separated by over more than 10 million years, a time frame which minimizes the effects of incomplete lineage sorting. We compared the phylogenetic signal of insertions with the flanking sequences of these loci to further exclude potential polymorphic loci derived by incomplete lineage sorting. We found that the phylogenetic signals of retrotransposon insertion patterns exhibiting true homoplasy differ from the signals of their flanking sequences. In toothed whales, precise parallel insertions account for around 0.18-0.29% of insertion cases, which is about 12.5 times the frequency of such insertions among Alus in primates. We also detected five specific deletions of retrotransposons on various lineages of toothed whale evolution, a frequency of 0.003%, which is slightly higher than such occurrences in primates. Overall, the level of retrotransposon homoplasy in toothed whales is still marginal compared to the phylogenetic diagnostic retrotransposon presence/absence signal.

Effect of the drop out fuse connection scheme on the overvoltage and the surge arrester in a distribution system

Overvoltage is a critical problem of Thailand’ distribution system. The electrical protection device in the distribution system needs to be able to support this level of overvoltage. In the distribution system connecting the Chachoengsao2 substation and the Bang Khla substation, the overvoltage from a ferro resonance phenomenon affects the surge arrester directly. This research studies the effect of the drop-out fuse connection scheme on the voltage and surge arrester using the RMS/EMT Simulation mode in the DIgSILENT program. Normally, the surge arrester withstands a voltage of 1.9 p.u. of the phase voltage. If the overvoltage in the distribution system is higher than the voltage that the surge arrester can withstand, the surge arrester can be damaged. Therefore, it is necessary to study and analyze the drop out fuse insertion pattern that affects the overvoltage in the distribution system to understand the causes of overvoltage problems and their effects on each type of electrical protective equipment.

The genomic distribution of transposable elements is driven by spatially variable purifying selection.

It is widely accepted that the genomic distribution of transposable elements (TEs) mainly reflects the outcome of purifying selection and insertion bias (1). Nevertheless, the relative importance of these two evolutionary forces could not be tested thoroughly. Here, we introduce an experimental system, which allows separating purifying selection from TE insertion bias. We used experimental evolution to study the TE insertion patterns in Drosophila simulans founder populations harboring 1040 insertions of an active P-element. After 10 generations at a large population size, we detected strong selection against P-element insertions. The exception were P-element insertions in genomic regions for which a strong insertion bias has been proposed (2-4). Because recurrent P-element insertions cannot explain this pattern, we conclude that purifying selection, with variable strength along the chromosomes, is the major determinant of the genomic distribution of P-elements. Genomic regions with relaxed purifying selection against P-element insertions exhibit normal levels of purifying selection against base substitutions. This suggests that different types of purifying selection operate on base substitutions and P-element insertions. Our results highlight the power of experimental evolution to understand basic evolutionary processes, which are difficult to infer from patterns of natural variation alone.

Role of Cardiac CTA to Evaluate Branch Pulmonary Artery Stenosis and Ductal Insertion Pattern in Right-Sided Congenital Heart Defects.

There is limited experience in evaluating abnormal ductus arteriosus (DA) insertion pattern by contrast-enhanced cardiac computed tomography (cardiac CT) in patients with right-sided obstructive cardiac defects. Retrospective review of 38 infants with right-sided obstructive cardiac defects who underwent a preoperative cardiac CT between 2016 and 2021. We reviewed the types of cardiac lesions, patterns of ductal insertion, frequency of pulmonary artery (PA) stenosis requiring intervention, total dose length product (DLP), and effective radiation dose. Of 38 infants, 45% were female, the median gestational age and weight were 37 (range 34-40) weeks and 2.95 (range 2-4) kg. The most common pathologies were pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (24%) and tetralogy of Fallot (24%). The abnormal ductal insertion patterns were DA inserting into the left PA in 39%, DA bifurcating into branch PA in 32%, and DA inserting into the right PA in 13%. Of the 38 infants, 76% developed branch PA stenosis requiring intervention. Among patients with abnormal DA insertion, 44% required branch PA arterioplasty during their index surgery compared to 17% without abnormal DA insertion. Regardless of the type of abnormal DA insertion, 67% developed bilateral branch PA stenosis over time. The mean DLP was 8mGy-cm and the mean calculated effective radiation dose was 0.312mSv. The utilization of contrast-enhanced cardiac CT in infants with right-sided obstructive heart defects can offer crucial insights into abnormal ductus arteriosus insertion patterns. This information is valuable for effective procedure planning and for monitoring the development of branch pulmonary artery stenosis.

Reproducible evaluation of transposable element detectors with McClintock 2 guides accurate inference of Ty insertion patterns in yeast

BackgroundMany computational methods have been developed to detect non-reference transposable element (TE) insertions using short-read whole genome sequencing data. The diversity and complexity of such methods often present challenges to new users seeking to reproducibly install, execute, or evaluate multiple TE insertion detectors.ResultsWe previously developed the McClintock meta-pipeline to facilitate the installation, execution, and evaluation of six first-generation short-read TE detectors. Here, we report a completely re-implemented version of McClintock written in Python using Snakemake and Conda that improves its installation, error handling, speed, stability, and extensibility. McClintock 2 now includes 12 short-read TE detectors, auxiliary pre-processing and analysis modules, interactive HTML reports, and a simulation framework to reproducibly evaluate the accuracy of component TE detectors. When applied to the model microbial eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we find substantial variation in the ability of McClintock 2 components to identify the precise locations of non-reference TE insertions, with RelocaTE2 showing the highest recall and precision in simulated data. We find that RelocaTE2, TEMP, TEMP2 and TEBreak provide consistent estimates of sim50 non-reference TE insertions per strain and that Ty2 has the highest number of non-reference TE insertions in a species-wide panel of sim1000 yeast genomes. Finally, we show that best-in-class predictors for yeast applied to resequencing data have sufficient resolution to reveal a dyad pattern of integration in nucleosome-bound regions upstream of yeast tRNA genes for Ty1, Ty2, and Ty4, allowing us to extend knowledge about fine-scale target preferences revealed previously for experimentally-induced Ty1 insertions to spontaneous insertions for other copia-superfamily retrotransposons in yeast.ConclusionMcClintock (https://github.com/bergmanlab/mcclintock/) provides a user-friendly pipeline for the identification of TEs in short-read WGS data using multiple TE detectors, which should benefit researchers studying TE insertion variation in a wide range of different organisms. Application of the improved McClintock system to simulated and empirical yeast genome data reveals best-in-class methods and novel biological insights for one of the most widely-studied model eukaryotes and provides a paradigm for evaluating and selecting non-reference TE detectors in other species.

Experimental Analyses of Capture Reaction Rates for Epithermal and Resonance Neutrons in Source-Driven Subcritical Cores

Neutron irradiation experiments are carried out in source-driven subcritical cores with high-energy neutrons generated by spallation reactions between a 100-MeV proton beam and a lead-bismuth target at the Kyoto University Critical Assembly. The main objective of the experiments is to investigate the effect of epithermal and resonance neutrons on the accuracy of capture reaction rates with respect to a subcriticality variation. Activation foils of copper, indium, tantalum, and tungsten are employed to obtain capture reaction rates for epithermal and resonance neutrons by applying the cadmium difference method. Also, the applicability of the foils for the measurement of the reaction rates for epithermal and resonance neutrons is substantiated in the critical irradiation experiments performed prior to the subcritical experiments. The subcritical experiments are conducted with three different subcriticalities by changing the control rod insertion pattern. The measured reaction rates are compared with the calculated values obtained by the Monte Carlo code MVP with JENDL-4.0, and the ratio of the calculation and experiment values of the reaction rates shows equivalent values within the 1σ errors regardless of a difference in the subcriticality. The compared results indicate that the numerical analyses have a consistent accuracy of reaction rates in epithermal and resonance energy regions for a subcriticality variation in source-driven subcritical cores.

A three-dimensional analysis of the tibialis anterior tendon: emphasizing tendon insertion patterns for effective repair and understanding hallux valgus development.

The present study aimed to evaluate the insertion site of the tibialis anterior tendon three-dimensionally. Seventy lower limbs were dissected. The tibialis anterior tendon was dissected to verify the insertion site to the medial cuneiform and the base of the first metatarsal bone. The three-dimensional (3D) territory of the tibialis anterior tendon insertion on the medial cuneiform and the first metatarsal bones was measured on a reconstructed 3D model. The insertion pattern of the tibialis anterior tendon was classified into three types, the most common being Type I: a single tibialis anterior tendon dividing into two equal-sized bands to the medial cuneiform and base of the first metatarsal bone (57.1%, 40/70 of cases). The 3D territory of the tibialis anterior tendon was larger in the plantar aspect than in the medial side of both the medial cuneiform and the base of the first metatarsal bone. The width of the tendon inserted into the medial cuneiform was wider than that inserted into the first metatarsal bone. The tibialis anterior tendon was more commonly attached to the plantar part than the medial part in both the medial cuneiform and the base of the first metatarsal bone. This anatomical information will help surgeons perform anatomical reconstruction of the tibialis anterior tendon, reduce further tendon damage in the first metatarsocuneiform joint area and also provide valuable knowledge to improve understanding of hallux valgus pathogenesis.

Ecologically unequal exchange and uneven development patterns along global value chains

This paper relates participation in global value chains (GVCs) to development patterns and ecologically unequal exchange (EUE). We conduct a principal components analysis and a clustering analysis along six dimensions (GVC participation, GVC value capture, investment, socioeconomic development, domestic environmental impact and international environmental balance) for 133 countries between 1995 and 2015. We find three social, ecological, productive development and GVC insertion patterns: “curse of GVC marginalization”, “ecologically perverse upgrading” and “reproduction of the core”. While our results confirm the asymmetry in ecological degradation between high-income and low-income economies shown by EUE, it refines and nuances these findings. We argue that environmentalasymmetries are driven in large part by differences in how countries articulate within GVCs. Countries with a higher capacity to capture value from GVC participation (“reproduction of the core”) are able to displace environmental impacts to countries facing a trade-off between upgrading in GVCs and ecological degradation (“ecologically perverse upgrading”). Marginalization from GVCs, mitigates the impact of ecologically unequal exchange but constitutes a barrier to socio-economic benefits. Moreover, the lack of diffusion of more ecologically-efficient processes through GVCs has a negative impact on domestic ecological degradation for countries of the “curse of GVC marginalization” group.