First released in 1991 with the name MaizeDB, the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database, now MaizeGDB, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. MaizeGDB has transitioned from a focus on comprehensive curation of the literature, genetic maps and stocks to a paradigm that accommodates the recent release of a reference maize genome sequence, multiple diverse maize genomes and sequence-based gene expression data sets. The MaizeGDB Team is relatively small, and relies heavily on the research community to provide data, nomenclature standards and most importantly, to recommend future directions, priorities and strategies. Key aspects of MaizeGDB's intimate interaction with the community are the co-location of curators with maize research groups in multiple locations across the USA as well as coordination with MaizeGDB's close partner, the Maize Genetics Cooperation--Stock Center. In this report, we describe how the MaizeGDB Team currently interacts with the maize research community and our plan for future interactions that will support updates to the functional and structural annotation of the B73 reference genome.

Arm-amputation involves two powerful drivers for brain plasticity-sensory deprivation and altered use. However, research has largely focused on sensory deprivation and maladaptive change. Here we show that adaptive patterns of limb usage after amputation drive cortical plasticity. We report that individuals with congenital or acquired limb-absence vary in whether they preferentially use their intact hand or residual arm in daily activities. Using fMRI, we show that the deprived sensorimotor cortex is employed by whichever limb individuals are over-using. Individuals from either group that rely more on their intact hands (and report less frequent residual arm usage) showed increased intact hand representation in the deprived cortex, and increased white matter fractional anisotropy underlying the deprived cortex, irrespective of the age at which deprivation occurred. Our results demonstrate how experience-driven plasticity in the human brain can transcend boundaries that have been thought to limit reorganisation after sensory deprivation in adults. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01273.001.

Bodily self-consciousness depends on the coherent integration of sensory information. In addition to visual and somatosensory information processing, vestibular contributions have been proposed and investigated. Vestibular information seems especially important for self-location, but remains difficult to study.

This research investigated how an individual's endorsements of mitigation and adaptation relate to each other, and how well each of these can be accounted for by relevant social psychological factors. Based on survey data from two European convenience samples (N = 616 / 309) we found that public endorsements of mitigation and adaptation are strongly associated: Someone who is willing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) is also willing to prepare for climate change impacts (adaptation). Moreover, people endorsed the two response strategies for similar reasons: People who believe that climate change is real and dangerous, who have positive attitudes about protecting the environment and the climate, and who perceive climate change as a risk, are willing to respond to climate change. Furthermore, distinguishing between (spatially) proximal and distant risk perceptions suggested that the idea of portraying climate change as a proximal (i.e., local) threat might indeed be effective in promoting personal actions. However, to gain endorsement of broader societal initiatives such as policy support, it seems advisable to turn to the distant risks of climate change. The notion that "localising" climate change might not be the panacea for engaging people in this domain is discussed in regard to previous theory and research.

Hand eczema is a common inflammatory condition of the skin that has been linked to hand hygiene. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to determine the risks of hand eczema associated with hand hygiene, including frequency of hand washing, wet work and use of alcohol hand rub. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library was performed for cohort, case-control or cross-sectional studies that analysed the association between hand hygiene and risk of hand eczema. Results of individual studies were presented in respective forest plots and pooled summary relative risks were estimated using a random-effects model. Forty-five studies were included in the analysis. Hand washing at least 8-10 times daily significantly increased risk of hand eczema (relative risk [RR] 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.35-1.68; p < 0.001). The risk was related to hand washing frequency, with higher pooled RR of 1.66 (95% CI: 1.51-1.83; p < 0.001) with increased hand washing at least 15-20 times daily. However, use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer was not significantly associated with risk of hand eczema. Given the widespread implementation of hand hygiene practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a pertinent need to understand skin care habits specific to the hands to avoid a greater incidence of hand eczema.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC?: Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) causes blistering and scarring of the hands resulting in contractures fused web spaces and altered function. Surgery is needed to release contractures and web spaces and hand therapy is essential to maintain results, approaches for both differ. WHAT DOES THIS STUDY ADD?: These guidelines aim to provide information on the surgical and conservative therapeutic hand management of children and adults diagnosed with EB. They are based on available evidence and expert consensus to assist hand surgeons and therapists in decision making, planning and treatment. They highlight the importance of a holistic multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach, where patient priorities are paramount.

Perforin-2 (PFN2, MPEG1) is a pore-forming protein that acts as a first line of defense in the mammalian immune system, rapidly killing engulfed microbes within the phagolysosome in macrophages. PFN2 self-assembles into hexadecameric pre-pore rings that transition upon acidification into pores damaging target cell membranes. Here, using high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) imaging and line-scanning and molecular dynamics simulation, we elucidate PFN2 pre-pore to pore transition pathways and dynamics. Upon acidification, the pre-pore rings (pre-pore-I) display frequent, 1.8 s-1, ring-opening dynamics that eventually, 0.2 s-1, initiate transition into an intermediate, short-lived, ~75 ms, pre-pore-II state, inducing a clockwise pre-pore-I to pre-pore-II propagation. Concomitantly, the first pre-pore-II subunit, undergoes a major conformational change to the pore state that propagates also clockwise at a rate ~15 s-1. Thus, the pre-pore to pore transition is a clockwise hand-over-hand mechanism that is accomplished within ~1.3 s. Our findings suggest a clockwise mechanism of membrane insertion that with variations may be general for the MACPF/CDC superfamily.

Former amputees who undergo allogeneic hand transplantation or autogenic hand replantation (jointly, "hand restoration") present a unique opportunity to measure the range of post-deafferentation plastic changes in the nervous system, especially primary somatosensory cortex (S1). However, few such patients exist, and previous studies compared single cases to small groups of typical adults. Here, we studied 5 individuals (n = 8 sessions: a transplant with 2 sessions, a transplant with 3 sessions, and three replants with 1 session each). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure S1 responsiveness to controlled pneumatic tactile stimulation delivered to each patient's left and right fingertips and lower face. These data were compared with responses acquired from typical adults (n = 29) and current unilateral amputees (n = 19). During stimulation of the affected hand, patients' affected S1 (contralateral to affected hand) responded to stimulation in a manner similar both to amputees and to typical adults. The presence of contralateral responses indicated grossly typical S1 function, but responses were universally at the low end of the range of typical variability. Patients' affected S1 showed substantial individual variability in responses to stimulation of the intact hand: while all patients fell within the range of typical adults, some patient sessions (4/8) had substantial ipsilateral responses similar to those exhibited by current amputees. Unlike hand restoration patients, current amputees exhibited substantial S1 reorganization compared to typical adults, including bilateral S1 responses to stimulation of the intact hand. In all three participant groups, we assessed tactile localization by measuring individuals' ability to identify the location of touch on the palm and fingers. Curiously, while transplant patients improved their tactile sensory localization over time, this was uncorrelated with changes in S1 responses to tactile stimuli. Overall, our results provide the first description of cortical responses to well-controlled tactile stimulation after hand restoration. Our case studies indicate that hand restoration patients show S1 function within the range of both typical adults and amputees, but with low-amplitude and individual-specific responses that indicate a wide range of potential cortical neurological changes following de-afferentation and re-afferentation.

Return to work (RTW) in patients with hand disorders and hand injuries is determined by several determinants not directly related to the physical situation. Besides biomedical determinants, work-related and psychosocial determinants may influence RTW as well. This study is conducted to investigate the influence of these potential determinants on RTW in patients with hand disorders and hand injuries.

Patients with hand trauma are usually examined in emergency departments of hospitals. Hand fractures are frequently observed in patients with hand trauma. Here, we aim to develop a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) method to assist physicians in the diagnosis of hand fractures using deep learning methods.

Handedness has been associated with behavioral asymmetries between limbs that suggest specialized function of dominant and non-dominant hand. Whether patterns of muscle co-activation, representing muscle synergies, also differ between the limbs remains an open question. Previous investigations of proximal upper limb muscle synergies have reported little evidence of limb asymmetry; however, whether the same is true of the distal upper limb and hand remains unknown. This study compared forearm and hand muscle synergies between the dominant and non-dominant limb of left-handed and right-handed participants. Participants formed their hands into the postures of the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet, while EMG was recorded from hand and forearm muscles. Muscle synergies were extracted for each limb individually by applying non-negative-matrix-factorization (NMF). Extracted synergies were compared between limbs for each individual, and between individuals to assess within and across participant differences. Results indicate no difference between the limbs for individuals, but differences in limb synergies at the population level. Left limb synergies were found to be more similar than right limb synergies across left- and right-handed individuals. Synergies of the left hand of left dominant individuals were found to have greater population level similarity than the other limbs tested. Results are interpreted with respect to known differences in the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of proximal and distal upper limb motor control. Implications for skill training in sports requiring dexterous control of the hand are discussed.

Hand function is a central determinant of independence after stroke. Measuring hand use in the home environment is necessary to evaluate the impact of new interventions, and calls for novel wearable technologies. Egocentric video can capture hand-object interactions in context, as well as show how more-affected hands are used during bilateral tasks (for stabilization or manipulation). Automated methods are required to extract this information. The objective of this study was to use artificial intelligence-based computer vision to classify hand use and hand role from egocentric videos recorded at home after stroke. Twenty-one stroke survivors participated in the study. A random forest classifier, a SlowFast neural network, and the Hand Object Detector neural network were applied to identify hand use and hand role at home. Leave-One-Subject-Out-Cross-Validation (LOSOCV) was used to evaluate the performance of the three models. Between-group differences of the models were calculated based on the Mathews correlation coefficient (MCC). For hand use detection, the Hand Object Detector had significantly higher performance than the other models. The macro average MCCs using this model in the LOSOCV were 0.50 ± 0.23 for the more-affected hands and 0.58 ± 0.18 for the less-affected hands. Hand role classification had macro average MCCs in the LOSOCV that were close to zero for all models. Using egocentric video to capture the hand use of stroke survivors at home is technically feasible. Pose estimation to track finger movements may be beneficial to classifying hand roles in the future.

During the early postnatal life, gut microbiota development experiences dynamic changes in their structural and functional composition. The postnatal period is the critical window to develop a host defense mechanism. The maturation of intestinal mucosal barrier integrity is one of the essential defense mechanisms to prevent the entry of pathogens. However, the co-development of intestinal microbial colonization, formation of barrier integrity, and intestinal epithelial cell layer is not entirely understood.

Hand washing is an important targeted hygiene intervention for limiting the spread of infectious agents, including the Ebola virus, which continues to re-emerge. We have assessed the virucidal efficacy of a commercially available liquid hand wash product (LHW) for inactivating Ebola virus.

This study aimed to explore the prevalence of and possible risk factors for hand eczema with respect to the dissemination of information about new hand hygiene habits to protect against ongoing COVID-19 cross-transmission. The authors conducted a survey among health care workers (HCWs) and non-HCW populations in Khon Kaen, Thailand.

Impact of appearance of congenital hand anomalies has not previously been reported. The purpose of this study was to describe the common perception about how different congenitally malformed hands look.

Vascular leiomyomas or angioleiomyomas are benign solitary smooth muscle tumors that occur uncommonly in the hand. The peak incidence is in the third to fifth decades of life, and men are more often affected than women. This tumor is rarely diagnosed before surgery. The usual treatment is simple excision of the mass and ligation of feeder vessels. Although the tumors occur anywhere in the hand, there are only two previous cases of vascular leiomyoma involving the digital artery. A recent case of this tumor involving a digital artery documented by arteriography and treated by excision of the mass and end-to-end anastomosis of the artery is presented. The authors review their experience with vascular leiomyomas in the hand and present four cases along with a review of 105 cases found in the English literature.

Radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) is most prevalent in the hand. The association of hand injury with pain or OA is unclear. The objective was to describe the relationship between hand injury and ipsilateral pain and OA in cricketers. Data from former and current cricketers aged ≥ 30 years was used. Data included history of cricket-related hand/finger injury leading to > 4 weeks of reduced exercise, hand/finger joint pain on most days of the last month, self-reported history of physician-diagnosed hand/finger OA. Logistic regression assessed the relationship between injury with hand pain (in former cricketers) and with OA (in all cricketers), adjusted for age, seasons played, playing standard. Of 1893 participants (844 former cricketers), 16.9% reported hand pain, 4.3% reported OA. A history of hand injury increased the odds of hand pain (OR (95% CI) 2.2, 1.4 to 3.6). A history of hand injury also had increased odds of hand OA (3.1, 2.1 to 4.7). Cricket-related hand injury was related to an increased odds of hand pain and OA. This highlights the importance of hand injury prevention strategies within cricket. The high prevalence of hand pain is concerning, and further research is needed to determine the impacts of hand pain.

1. EMG responses evoked in hand muscles by transcranial stimulation over the motor cortex were conditioned by a single motor threshold electrical stimulus to the median nerve at the wrist in a total of ten healthy subjects and in five patients who had electrodes implanted chronically into the cervical epidural space. 2. The median nerve stimulus suppressed responses evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in relaxed or active muscle. The minimum interval between the stimuli at which this occurred was 19 ms. A similar effect was seen if electrical stimulation was applied to the digital nerves of the first two fingers. 3. Median or digital nerve stimulation could suppress the responses evoked in active muscle by transcranial electrical stimulation over the motor cortex, but the effect was much less than with magnetic stimulation. 4. During contraction without TMS, both types of conditioning stimuli evoked a cutaneomuscular reflex that began with a short period of inhibition. This started about 5 ms after the inhibition of responses evoked by TMS. 5. Recordings in the patients showed that median nerve stimulation reduced the size and number of descending corticospinal volleys evoked by magnetic stimulation. 6. We conclude that mixed or cutaneous input from the hand can suppress the excitability of the motor cortex at short latency. This suppression may contribute to the initial inhibition of the cutaneomuscular reflex. Reduced spinal excitability in this period could account for the mild inhibition of responses to electrical brain stimulation.

Information on the fraction of total hand surface area touching a contaminated object is necessary in accurately estimating contaminant (e.g., pesticides, pathogens) loadings onto the hands during hand-to-object contacts. While several existing physical-stochastic human exposure models require such surface area data to estimate dermal and non-dietary ingestion exposure, there are very limited data sets. This paper provides statistical distributions of fractional surface areas (FSAs) for children's outdoor hand contacts. These distributions were constructed by combining information collected from two distinct studies exploring children's activity patterns and quantifying hand contact surface area. Results show that for outdoor contacts with "All Objects", a range of 0.13-0.27 captured median FSAs, while a range of 0.12-0.24 captured time-weighted FSAs. Overall, an FSA of 0.31 captured 80-100% of FSAs involved in each child's outdoor hand contacts, depending upon the object of interest. These values are much lower than the often conservative assumptions of up to 1 (i.e., the entire hand) that researchers currently make regarding FSAs involved in indoor and outdoor contacts [USEPA, 1997. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for residential exposure assessments. Contract no. 68-W6-0030. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/trac/science/trac6a05.pdf].