bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How to identify widespread corruption? New insights from geo‐spatial analysis
Authors: Gawthorpe Steven , Pozsgai‐Alvarez Joseph
Published: October 2023

How do we know when corruption has become widespread? Despite the rich body of literature on the problem, there are few proposed methods to conceptualize and empirically identify it within a geographic context. Using spatial analysis, this paper expands the means to identify corruption as an informal institution by examining the degree to which favoritism—in the form of preferential treatment for politically connected firms—is widespread in the Czech procurement sector. Using the conceptual guidance from literature on informal institutions, the empirical results show the prevalence throughout space, the stability over time, and the places by which preferential mechanisms coordinate widespread construction award disparities. These preferential patterns, which are not limited to one or a few individuals, exhibit characteristics that the problem is less of an exception and more of the rule.
Impact of visitation restrictions on the mental health of family caregivers during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A mixed methods study
Authors: Honda Ayumi , Liu Yin , Ono Mayo , Nishida Takahiro , Tsukigi Tatsuya , Fauth Elizabeth B. , Honda Sumihisa
Published: October 2023

Aim

To examine the mental health conditions of family caregivers residing away from their loved ones who experienced visitation restrictions during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Design

A mixed‐methods design applying the Kessler Scale‐10 for the quantitative measurement of psychological distress and an open‐ended question for qualitative analysis.

Methods

The participants were recruited from care facilities between February and September 2021. This cross‐sectional study included 197 family caregivers who were utilizing formal residential care services for their loved ones. Using thematic analyses, open‐ended responses regarding the impact of visitation restrictions were coded. These themes were then examined to determine thematic patterns across caregiver characteristics.

Results

Thirteen themes were identified regarding the impact of visitation restrictions. Many participants reported primary harmful effects as follows: ‘inability to confirm the type of care and lifestyle assistance provided to an older relative’ and ‘difficulty communicating with an older relative because of the inability to converse face‐to‐face’. Younger age, being employed, poor sleep, poor relationship quality with the care recipient and experiencing harmful effects from the visitation restrictions were associated with psychological distress.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that to maintain positive mental health after a care transition, it is important for family caregivers to take part in the care of their loved ones and ensure information sharing between the care recipient's family and institution.

Impact

These findings suggest that both residents and family caregivers living outside facilities may feel distressed due to separation. Therefore, institutional care staff needs to consider how to adjust facility procedures or communication with family caregivers.

Patient or Public Contribution

The comments obtained from the participants in this survey helped to shape the study design and are expected to contribute to the further development of quality facility care.
Smellscape as a healing factor in institutional gardens to enhance health and well‐being for older people with dementia: A scoping review
Authors: Huang Yidan , Yuan Xiaomei
Published: October 2023

Background

There is mounting evidence for the health benefits of aromatic scents for the older people with dementia. However, existing research has focused on indoor aromatherapy using essential oils. It is necessary to explore the health benefits of smellscapes in the outdoor environment for older people with dementia.

Aims and Objectives

This scoping review aims to examine existing evidence for smellscape as a healing factor in institutional garden for older people with dementia, try to bridge the knowledge gaps between outdoor sensory garden scents and aromatherapy to develop green care techniques that incorporate outdoor activities.

Methods

Seven databases (Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science) were searched with English language articles published between 1990 and 2022. The PRISMA‐ScR Checklist was used.

Results

Out of 1013 articles, 11 meet the inclusion criteria. The comprehensive health outcomes include five aspects: mental health; physical health; reduced agitation behaviour; improved cognitive function; and well‐being. These aspects are part of the rehabilitation model comprising the person (older people with dementia), environment (garden smellscapes) and outdoor activities (active or passive interventions or a combination).

Conclusions

The smellscape, as a healing factor in the garden, not only benefits from evidence on indoor aromatherapy but also creates a sensory environment for older people with dementia by compensating for functional impairment, activity support and environmental creation, thereby promoting enhanced health and well‐being.

Relevance to Clinical Practice

The research on the healing effects of smellscapes presented in this review offers a novel environmental intervention technique for transferring evidence on essential oils to outdoor sensory gardens. This green care technique is suggested to assist in the creation of healing environments and interventions for people with dementia who cannot be cured.

No Patient or Public Contribution

This scoping review did not directly involve patient or public contributions to the manuscript.
The popularity of Korean romance novels in contemporary China: A feminist interpretation
Authors: Yang Yi , Yoon Seokmin
Published: October 2023

This essay deals with Korean romance novels translated into Chinese, especially the works of Kim Ha‐in and Guiyeoni which forms a pattern of cross‐cultural communication from the marginal culture to the center. Most studies treat them as an aspect of fast‐food culture that undermines serious literature, with little attention to this literary and cultural phenomenon. Why are Korean romance novels so popular in contemporary China? There are some answers from different perspectives. However, it is obvious that Korean romance novels offered Chinese women the opportunity to reconceptualize gender. This article contributes to criticism on the interface between Korean romance novels and Chinese feminism and further unveils the relationship between Korean popular romance novels and new interpretations of femininity in contemporary China. The success of Korean romance novels benefits from the conscious choice of Chinese readers in the cross‐cultural context, influenced by changes in Chinese women's concept of gender. The response to the aesthetic needs and expectations of readers has prompted the appearance of inverted cultural export, wherein such novels influence other cultures, reflecting upon and even challenging the gender concepts of other countries, which manifests the symbiotic relationship between popular literature and feminism.
Aligning structures with values to sustain health professions education research
Authors: Poncelet Ann N. , O'Sullivan Patricia S.
Published: October 2023

This commentary highlights the role of leaders for sustaining health professions education research; in doing so, it advocates for identifying explicit values, derived through dialogue with stakeholders, and aligning investments with those values.
Invariantism, contextualism, and the explanatory power of knowledge
Authors: Mehta Neil
Published: October 2023

According to the Epistemic Theory of Mind, knowledge is part of the best overall framework for explaining behavior at the psychological level. This theory, which has become increasingly popular in recent decades, has almost always been conjoined with an invariantist theory of “knows.” In this paper, I argue that this is a mistake: the Epistemic Theory of Mind is far more explanatorily powerful when conjoined with contextualism. I conclude that if the Epistemic Theory of Mind is true, then there is a powerful new reason to accept contextualism.
Sexually concordant selection on floral traits despite greater opportunity for selection through male fitness
Authors: Hou Meng , Opedal Øystein H. , Zhao Zhi‐Gang
Published: October 2023

Pollinators are important drivers of floral trait evolution, yet plant populations are not always perfectly adapted to their pollinators. Such apparent maladaptation may result from conflicting selection through male and female sexual functions in hermaphrodites.

We studied sex‐specific mating patterns and phenotypic selection on floral traits in Aconitum gymnandrum. After genotyping 1786 offspring, we partitioned individual fitness into sex‐specific selfed and outcrossed components and estimated phenotypic selection acting through each.

Relative fitness increased with increasing mate number, and more so for male function. This led to greater opportunity for selection through outcrossed male fitness, though patterns of phenotypic selection on floral traits tended to be similar, and with better support for selection through female rather than male fitness components. We detected directional selection through one or more fitness component for larger flower number, larger flowers, and more negative nectar gradients within inflorescences.

Our results are consistent with Bateman's principles for sex‐specific mating patterns and illustrate that, despite the expected difference in opportunity for selection, patterns of variation in selection across traits can be rather similar for the male and female sexual functions. These results shed new light on the effect of sexual selection on the evolution of floral traits.
Association between maternal growth in the pre‐conception and early gestational period of nulliparous dairy heifers with anti‐Müllerian hormone in their female offspring
Authors: Thomson Eilidh E. , Beltman Marijke E. , Crowe Mark A. , McAloon Conor G. , Furlong John G. , Duane Mary M. , Brennan Jane P. N. , McDonald Michael M. , Kelly Emmet T.
Published: October 2023

Anti‐Müllerian hormone (AMH) is secreted by granulosa cells of healthy, growing follicles and is positively correlated with the ovarian reserve. Maternal and environmental factors, such as nutrition, disease, parity and endocrine disruptors, are thought to have a profound impact on ovarian reserve development during early foetal life. For genetic progress, it can be advantageous to breed dairy replacements from heifers to expedite the generation interval; however, there is some evidence that nulliparous animals produce female offspring with smaller ovarian reserves compared with multiparous animals. The objective of this prospective, observational study was to determine whether maternal growth in the pre‐conception and early gestational period of nulliparous dairy heifers is associated with pre‐weaning AMH concentrations in their female offspring. Our hypothesis was that excessive growth in this period would negatively impact AMH concentrations. Seasonal, pasture‐based dairy heifer calves (n = 156) born from nulliparous dams, from six Irish farms, were blood sampled at an average of 60 days of age in spring 2022 and tested for AMH. Mixed‐effects linear regression models were constructed with Box‐Cox transformed AMH concentration as the dependent variable. The independent variables tested included maternal average daily gain (ADG) from pre‐breeding examination (PBE) to pregnancy diagnosis (PD) between 30 and 60 days in calf (DIC), ADG from PBE to PD over 60 DIC and ADG between the two PDs. Calf breed and age at sampling were forced into the models, and the farm was treated as a random effect in all models. We found that as ADG increased from the pre‐breeding period to their first PD visit, the AMH concentration in their offspring reduced. However, ADG explained only a small amount of the variation in AMH concentrations (marginal R2 = 0.041). In conclusion, the results of our study suggest that excessive growth prior to conception and in early gestation of nulliparous heifers could impact the ovarian reserve of their female offspring, and may imply that farmers should avoid excessive growth in the immediate pre‐breeding and early gestational periods.
Musical taste preferences in Chinese hip‐hop: Between cultural openness and the rejection of vulgarity
Authors: Wang Yehan
Published: October 2023

Recent debates on musical taste have centred on the collapse of cultural boundaries between high art and popular culture. This paper examines Chinese hip‐hop as a unique case study to explore taste preferences in a relatively new popular cultural phenomenon in the understudied context of Eastern popular culture. Drawing from 42 interviews with Chinese young hip‐hop followers, the article examines musical taste preferences within Chinese hip‐hop and different modes of appreciation deployed by listeners. The findings reveal that young Chinese hip‐hop fans display cultural openness to foreign influences and genre mobility. The openness is employed as a marker of cultural capital for the Chinese middle class that values hybridity and innovation. However, even the most open‐minded individuals draw thematic hierarchies within hip‐hop through the unanimous rejection of vulgar and violent themes in favour of more serious and wholesome music. This rejection is framed as a strategy to authenticate hip‐hop within the broader popular culture arena while cultivating personal qualities of civility and wholesomeness that are highly valued in contemporary Chinese society. The paper contributes to the literature on musical taste preferences in cultural consumption by shedding light on the social relevance of cultural openness and music in contemporary Chinese popular culture.
Graph distance and feature‐guided multi‐view clustering: A novel method for clustering urban buildings
Authors: Yang Lin , Yang Ruolin , Zuo Zejun , Kwan Mei‐Po , Zhou Shunping
Published: October 2023

Urban buildings are an integral component of urban space, and accurately identifying their spatial configurations and grouping them is vital for various urban applications. However, most existing building clustering methods only utilize the original spatial and nonspatial features of buildings, disregarding the potential value of complementary information from multiple perspectives. This limitation hinders their effectiveness in scenarios with intricate spatial configurations. To address this, this article proposes a novel multi‐view building clustering method that captures cross‐view information from spatial and nonspatial features. Drawing inspiration from both spatial proximity characteristics and nonspatial attributes, three views are established, including two spatial distance graphs (centroid distance graph and the nearest outlier distance graph) and a building attribute graph (multiple‐attribute graph). The three graphs undergo iterative cross‐diffusion processes to amplify similarities within each predefined graph view, culminating in their fusion into a unified graph. This fusion facilitates the comprehensive correlation and mutual enhancement of spatial and nonspatial information. Experiments were conducted using 10 real‐world community‐building datasets from Wuhan and Chengdu, China. The results demonstrate that our approach achieves 21.27% higher accuracy and 22.28% higher adjusted rand index in recognizing diverse complex arrangements compared to existing methods. These findings highlight the importance of leveraging complementary and consensus information across different feature dimensions for improving the performance of building clustering.
Bird-of-paradise, thorn apple and maize pollens are promising alternative diets for the long-term rearing of predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae)
Authors: Yazdanpanah Shima , Pourbahram Pouya , Fathipour Yaghoub
Published: October 2023

Pollen grains can provide important nutrients for reproduction of different predators such as phytoseiid mites. Since mass rearing of phytoseiid predatory mites may be facilitated by feeding on alternative diets, the current study evaluated the utility of plant pollen as diet for mass rearing of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot, which is a commercially available biocontrol agent of phytophagous mites and insects. Demographic parameters of A. swirskii fed on pollens of bird-of-paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii), thorn apple (Datura stramonium), and maize (Zea mays) were determined over 10 continuous generations. In addition, the pollens of common hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus), and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) were assessed, but the predatory mite was unable to reach adulthood when fed on these pollens, and most of them died in nymphal stages. This study also evaluated the preying ability of A. swirskii on the natural prey Tetranychus urticae Koch before and after 10 generations. All experiments were conducted in the laboratory under controlled conditions of 25±1°C, 60±5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) h. According to the life table parameters, the pollen grains of bird-of-paradise, followed by maize and thorn apple, were shown to be promising diets for the long-term rearing of A. swirskii. Furthermore, the study found that A. swirskii reared on bird-of-paradise pollen had a high predation capability, with a mean of 677 prey per generation after 10 generations. Overall, it is concluded that while bird-of-paradise pollen was the most suitable alternative diet for the predatory mite, both maize and thorn apple pollen grains were also found to be promising diets for A. swirskii. These diets can be used for mass rearing of this predatory mite.
Phylogenetic diversity and functional potential of large and cell-associated viruses in the Bay of Bengal
Authors: Minch Benjamin , Akter Salma , Weinheimer Alaina , Rahman M. Shaminur , Parvez Md Anowar Khasru , Rezwana Rahman Sabita , Ahmed Md Firoz , Moniruzzaman Mohammad
Published: October 2023

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) is the world’s largest bay, offering essential services like fishing and recreation while holding significant economic value for coastal communities. However, the BoB faces environmental challenges from monsoons, freshwater inputs, rising sea levels, and intensified cyclones due to climate change. Human activities such as tourism and development also impact the region, necessitating a global change perspective. Despite its importance, microbial diversity and ecology in the BoB remain largely unexplored. We focused on large and cell-associated viruses (i.e., originating from the cellular size fraction), particularly giant viruses and large phages in two BoB coastal sites: Cox’s Bazar, a populated beach with freshwater influences, and Saint Martin Island, a less affected resort island. Metagenomic sequencing reveals a higher abundance and diversity of viruses in Cox’s Bazar and presence of viruses that suggest freshwater intrusion and runoff. We identified 1962 putative phage genomes (10–655 kbp). Notably, 16 “large” phages >100 kbp were found in Saint Martin, and a terminase large subunit marker gene phylogeny revealed substantial diversity of large phages along the BoB coast. The BoB virome encodes diverse functionalities, with a greater presence of auxiliary metabolic genes in the Cox’s Bazar viral community. Additionally, five giant virus genomes (phylum Nucleocytoviricota) encoding various functionalities are reconstructed from Cox’s Bazar (83–876 kbp). This pioneering study revealing the viral diversity and host interactions in coastal BoB lays the foundation for future investigations into viral impact on biogeochemical cycles and the microbial food web in this understudied environment.

IMPORTANCE

The BoB, the world’s largest bay, is of significant economic importance to surrounding countries, particularly Bangladesh, which heavily relies on its coastal resources. Concurrently, the BoB holds substantial ecological relevance due to the region’s high vulnerability to climate change-induced impacts. Yet, our understanding of the BoB’s microbiome in relation to marine food web and biogeochemical cycling remains limited. Particularly, there are little or no data on the viral diversity and host association in the BoB. We examined the viral community in two distinct BoB coastal regions to reveal a multitude of viral species interacting with a wide range of microbial hosts, some of which play key roles in coastal biogeochemical cycling or potential pathogens. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the BoB coast harbors a diverse community of large and giant viruses, underscoring the importance of investigating understudied environments to discover novel viral lineages with complex metabolic capacities.
Nonlinear Optical Response of an Excited 1/3 Laughlin Liquid
Authors: Kulik L. V. , Zhuravlev A. S. , Larionov A. V. , Van’kov A. B. , Zagitova A. A. , Kukushkin I. V. , Umansky V.
Published: October 2023

An ensemble of neutral excitations in a 1/3 Laughlin liquid is studied experimentally. It has been found that excitations induce a nonlinear optical response in the form of a quadratic dependence of the reflection signal on the pump power. The reported experimental results have shown that the observed effect is due to the contribution of the coherent anti-Stokes–Stokes scattering from the excited Laughlin liquid.
Coulomb Correlation Gap at Magnetic Tunneling between Graphene Layers
Authors: Khanin Yu. N. , Vdovin E. E. , Morozov S. V. , Novoselov K. S.
Published: October 2023

The strong suppression of equilibrium magnetic tunneling in a graphene/hBN/graphene heterostructure caused by the Coulomb correlation gap in the tunneling density of states has been found. Comparison has shown that the suppression of the equilibrium tunneling conductivity $${{G}_{0}}$$ in a high magnetic field with a decrease in the temperature and the dependence of the observed gap width Δ on the filling factor of Landau levels ν are qualitatively similar to the respective results of similar experiments in GaAs heterostructures and has confirmed our hypothesis concerning the nature of the effect. However, the determined gap width Δ is much larger than those measured in all previous works in semiconductor heterostructures probably because the cyclotron energy in graphene is much higher than that in GaAs in the region of low Landau levels.
New Soliton Regime of Generation of Broadband Terahertz Radiation by Laser Pulses with Tilted Wave Fronts
Authors: Sazonov S. V. , Ustinov N. V.
Published: October 2023

A new soliton-like regime of generation of terahertz radiation by optical pulses with tilted wave fronts is analyzed. It has been shown that the diffraction of an optical pulse is of fundamental importance for the formation of optical–terahertz soliton. A nonsoliton broadband terahertz component is generated synchronously with the soliton component of radiation. Two matching conditions called “super-Cherenkov” and “anti-Cherenkov” have been revealed under which generation is the most efficient. In the former and latter cases, the optical terahertz soliton propagates ahead and behind the nonsoliton terahertz component, respectively.
Effect of high-risk versus low-risk pregnancy at the first antenatal care visit on the occurrence of complication during pregnancy and labour or delivery in Kenya: a double-robust estimation
Authors: Bagayoko Moussa , Kadengye Damazo T , Odero Henry Owoko , Izudi Jonathan
Published: October 2023

Objectives

We evaluated the causal effects of high-risk versus low-risk pregnancy at the first antenatal care (ANC) visit on the occurrence of complications during pregnancy and labour or delivery among women in Kenya.

Methods

We designed a quasi-experimental study using observational data from a large mobile health wallet programme, with the exposure as pregnancy risk at the first ANC visit, measured on a binary scale (low vs high). Complications during pregnancy and at labour or delivery were the study outcomes on a binary scale (yes vs no). Causal effects of the exposure were examined using a double-robust estimation, reported as an OR with a 95% CI.

Results

We studied 4419 women aged 10–49 years (mean, 25.6±6.27 years), with the majority aged 20–29 years (53.4%) and rural residents (87.4%). Of 3271 women with low-risk pregnancy at the first ANC visit, 833 (25.5%) had complications during pregnancy while 1074 (32.8%) had complications at labour/delivery. Conversely, of 1148 women with high-risk pregnancy at the first ANC visit, 343 (29.9%) had complication during pregnancy while 488 (42.5%) had complications at labour delivery. Multivariable adjusted analysis showed that women with high-risk pregnancy at the time of first ANC attendance had a higher occurrence of complications during pregnancy (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.22, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.46) and labour or delivery (aOR 1.20, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.41). In the double-robust estimation, a high-risk pregnancy at first ANC visit increased the occurrence of complications during pregnancy (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.46) and labour or delivery (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.45).

Conclusion

Women with a high-risk pregnancy at the first ANC visit have an increased occurrence of complications during pregnancy and labour or delivery. These women should be identified early for close and appropriate obstetric and intrapartum monitoring and care to ensure maternal and neonatal survival.
Barbers’ compliance with biological hazard preventive measures and predictors in selected towns, Southeast Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Zenbaba Demisu , Sahiledengle Biniyam , Yassin Ahmed , Beressa Girma , Desta Fikreab , Engida Zinash Teferu , Nugusu Fikadu , Tufa Tilahun , Tekalegn Yohannes , Dibaba Diriba , Tasew Alelign , Wordofa Debebe , Assefa Tesfaye , Feleke Zegeye , Atlaw Daniel , Mesfin Telila , Geleta Eshetu Nigussie
Published: October 2023

Objective

The barber’s profession exposes their customers to several health risks. Negligence when using sharp instruments in barbershops can increase the risk of bloodborne infections, resulting in serious health problems for both the barber and the customer. Evidence for compliance with biological hazard preventive measures and predictors among barbers is critical and urgent. Thus, we aimed to assess compliance with biological hazard preventive measures and predictors among barbers in selected towns in Southeast Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 633 randomly selected barbers from 1 March to 30 March 2022. A multistage sampling followed by a systematic sampling and simple random sampling methods were used to select barbershops and barbers, respectively. We used a pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire and an observational checklist to collect data. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors. An adjusted OR (AOR), along with a 95% CI and p<0.05, was used to estimate the strength of the association.

Results

The good compliance level with biological hazard preventive measures was 47.10% (95% CI: 43.2%, 50.70%). Being married (AOR=3.04, 95% CI: 1.71, 8.56), aged from 25 to 34 years (AOR=2.75, 95% CI: 1.13, 8.06), served for ≤5 years (AOR=1.72, 95% CI: 1.24, 3.85), attending high school and above (AOR=4.32, 95% CI: 1.31, 12.73), being professional (AOR=6.34, 95% CI: 2.03, 11.36), having a positive attitude (AOR=2.95, 95% CI: 1.06, 8.22) and having good knowledge towards biological hazard preventive measures (AOR=3.14, 95% CI: 1.42, 9.25) were significant predictors of moderate and good compliance with biological hazard preventive measures.

Conclusion

The study’s findings revealed that almost half of the barbers were in good compliance with biological hazard preventive measures. As a result, improving barbers’ attitudes and knowledge through on-the-job training is indispensable.
Systematic review and narrative synthesis of the key barriers and facilitators to the delivery and uptake of primary healthcare services to women in Pakistan
Authors: Rizvi Jafree Sara , Barlow Jane
Published: October 2023

Objectives

The objective of this review is to (1) identify barriers and facilitators with respect to women’s health services at a primary care level based on a systematic review and narrative synthesis and (2) to conclude with recommendations for better services and uptake.

Design

Systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Data sources

PubMed, BMC Medicine, Medline, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library. Grey literature was also searched.

Eligibility criteria

Qualitative, quantitative and mixed studies were included in the review.

Data extraction and synthesis

The search took place at the beginning of June 2021 and was completed at the end of August 2021. Studies were included in the review based on the Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research type criteria. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data were synthesised using a narrative synthesis approach.

Results

A total of 33 studies were included in the review. We identified six barriers to the delivery of effective primary healthcare for women’s health which have been organised under two core themes of ‘service barriers’ and ‘family/cultural barriers’. Ten barriers to the uptake of primary healthcare for women have been identified, under three core themes of ‘perceptions about healthcare service’, ‘cultural factors’ and ‘practical issues’. Three facilitators of primary healthcare delivery for women were identified: ‘motivating community health workers (CHWs) with continued training, salary, and supervision’ and ‘selection of CHWs on the basis of certain characteristics’. Five facilitators of the uptake of primary healthcare services for women were identified, under two core themes of ‘development of trust and acceptance’ and ‘use of technology’.

Conclusions

Change is needed not only to address the limitations of the primary healthcare services themselves, but also the cultural practices and limited awareness and literacy that prevent the uptake of healthcare services by women, in addition to the wider infrastructure in terms of the provision of financial support, public transport and child care centres.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42020203472.
Comparison of SP263 and 22C3 immunohistochemistry PD-L1 assays for clinical efficacy of adjuvant atezolizumab in non-small cell lung cancer: results from the randomized phase III IMpower010 trial
Authors: Zhou Caicun , Srivastava Minu K , Xu Hao , Felip Enriqueta , Wakelee Heather , Altorki Nasser , Reck Martin , Liersch Rüdiger , Kryzhanivska Anna , Oizumi Satoshi , Tanaka Hiroshi , Hamm John , McCune Steven L , Bennett Elizabeth , Gitlitz Barbara , McNally Virginia , Ballinger Marcus , McCleland Mark , Zou Wei , Das Thakur Meghna , Novello Silvia
Published: October 2023

Background

Tumor samples from the phase III IMpower010 study were used to compare two programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry assays (VENTANA SP263 and Dako 22C3) for identification of PD-L1 patient subgroups (negative, positive, low, and high expression) and their predictive value for adjuvant atezolizumab compared with best supportive care (BSC) in resectable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

PD-L1 expression was assessed by the SP263 assay, which measured the percentage of tumor cells with any membranous PD-L1 staining, and the 22C3 assay, which scored the percentage of viable tumor cells showing partial or complete membranous PD-L1 staining.

Results

When examining the concordance at the PD-L1-positive threshold (SP263: tumor cell (TC)≥1%; 22C3: tumor proportion score (TPS)≥1%), the results were concordant between assays for 83% of the samples. Similarly, at the PD-L1–high cut-off (SP263: TC≥50%; 22C3: TPS≥50%), the results were concordant between assays for 92% of samples. The disease-free survival benefit of atezolizumab over BSC was comparable between assays for PD-L1-positive (TC≥1% by SP263: HR, 0.58 (95% CI: 0.40 to 0.85) vs TPS≥1% by 22C3: HR, 0.65 (95% CI: 0.45 to 0.95)) and PD-L1-high (TC≥50% by SP263: HR, 0.27 (95% CI: 0.14 to 0.53) vs TPS≥50% by 22C3: HR, 0.31 (95% CI: 0.16 to 0.60)) subgroups.

Conclusions

The SP263 and 22C3 assays showed high concordance and a comparable clinical predictive value of atezolizumab at validated PD-L1 thresholds, suggesting that both assays can identify patients with early-stage NSCLC most likely to experience benefit from adjuvant atezolizumab.

Trial registration number

NCT02486718.
TS-Fastformer: Fast Transformer for Time-series Forecasting
Authors: Lee Sangwon , Hong Junho , Liu Ling , Choi Wonik
Published: October 2023

Many real-world applications require precise and fast time-series forecasting. Recent trends in time-series forecasting models are shifting from LSTM-based models to Transformer-based models. However, the Transformer-based model has a limited ability to represent sequential relationships in time-series data. In addition, the transformer-based model suffers from slow training and inference speed due to the bottleneck incurred by a deep encoder and step-by-step decoder inference. To address these problems, we propose a time-series forecasting optimized Transformer model, called TS-Fastformer. TS-Fastformer introduces three new optimizations: First, we propose a Sub Window Tokenizer for compressing input in a simple manner. The Sub Window Tokenizer reduces the length of input sequences to mitigate the complexity of self-attention and enables both single and multi-sequence learning. Second, we propose Time-series Pre-trained Encoder to extract effective representations through pre-training. This optimization enables TS-Fastformer to capture both seasonal and trend representations as well as to mitigate bottlenecks of conventional transformer models. Third, we propose the Past Attention Decoder to forecast target by incorporating past long short-term dependency patterns. Furthermore, Past Attention Decoder achieves high performance improvement by removing a trend distribution that changes over a long period. We evaluate the efficiency of our model with extensive experiments using seven real-world datasets and compare our model to six representative time-series forecasting approaches. The results show that the proposed TS-Fastformer reduces MSE by 10.1% compared to state-of-the-art model and demonstrates 21.6% faster training time compared to the existing fastest transformer, respectively.
Salting-Out Assisted Liquid-Liquid Extraction of Cr (VI) from Water Samples before Its Determination by UV-Vis Spectrophotometry
Authors: Dame Jote , Wedajo Feyisa , Molole Guyo Jilo , Gure Abera
Published: October 2023

This paper proposes salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction for selective extraction of a Cr (VI)-1,5-diphenylcarbazide complex before its determination by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Parameters affecting the complexation process and the extraction efficiency of the method were studied. The highest extraction efficiency was obtained when acetonitrile was used as an extraction solvent and (NH4)2SO4 was used as a salting-out agent. Under optimum conditions, the calibration curve constructed at seven concentration points exhibited good linearity from 0.015 to 2.00 mg/L with a 0.9973 coefficient of determination. The method’s detection and quantification limits were 0.004 and 0.015 mg/L, respectively. The method showed a 5.8 enrichment factor. The intra- and inter-day precisions studied at two concentration levels (0.75 and 1.25 mg/L) showed relative standard deviation values of <9.0. The recoveries of the spiked water samples at the two concentration levels ranged from 88.0 ± 2.5 to 97.3 ± 0.1%. The method demonstrated negligible interferences (<5%) for Fe, Cu, V, and Cd up to 500 mg/L. The findings showed that the method is simple, rapid, efficient, and selective to be used as an alternative procedure for analyzing Cr (VI) from water and other related matrices.
GTP Signaling Links Metabolism, DNA Repair, and Responses to Genotoxic Stress
Authors: Zhou Weihua , Zhao Zitong , Lin Angelica , Yang John Z. , Xu Jie , Wilder-Romans Kari , Yang Annabel , Li Jing , Solanki Sumeet , Speth Jennifer M. , Walker Natalie , Scott Andrew J. , Wang Lu , Wen Bo , Andren Anthony , Zhang Li , Kothari Ayesha U. , Yao Yangyang , Peterson Erik R. , Korimerla Navyateja , Werner Christian K. , Ullrich Alexander , Liang Jessica , Jacobson Janna , Palavalasa Sravya , O’Brien Alexandra M. , Elaimy Ameer L. , Ferris Sean P. , Zhao Shuang G. , Sarkaria Jann N. , Győrffy Balázs , Zhang Shuqun , Al-Holou Wajd N. , Umemura Yoshie , Morgan Meredith A. , Lawrence Theodore S. , Lyssiotis Costas A. , Peters-Golden Marc , Shah Yatrik M. , Wahl Daniel R.
Published: October 2023

How cell metabolism regulates DNA repair is incompletely understood. Here, we define a GTP-mediated signaling cascade that links metabolism to DNA repair and has significant therapeutic implications. GTP, but not other nucleotides, regulates the activity of Rac1, a guanine nucleotide-binding protein, which promotes the dephosphorylation of serine 323 on Abl-interactor 1 (Abi-1) by protein phosphatase 5 (PP5). Dephosphorylated Abi-1, a protein previously not known to activate DNA repair, promotes nonhomologous end joining. In patients and mouse models of glioblastoma, Rac1 and dephosphorylated Abi-1 mediate DNA repair and resistance to standard-of-care genotoxic treatments. The GTP–Rac1–PP5–Abi-1 signaling axis is not limited to brain cancer, as GTP supplementation promotes DNA repair and Abi-1-S323 dephosphorylation in nonmalignant cells and protects mouse tissues from genotoxic insult. This unexpected ability of GTP to regulate DNA repair independently of deoxynucleotide pools has important implications for normal physiology and cancer treatment.

SIGNIFICANCE:

A newly described GTP-dependent signaling axis is an unexpected link between nucleotide metabolism and DNA repair. Disrupting this pathway can overcome cancer resistance to genotoxic therapy while augmenting it can mitigate genotoxic injury of normal tissues.

This article is featured in Selected Articles from This Issue, p. 5
Determinants for Antitumor and Protumor Effects of Programmed Cell Death
Authors: Workenhe Samuel T. , Inkol Jordon M. , Westerveld Michael J. , Verburg Shayla G. , Worfolk Sarah M. , Walsh Scott R. , Kallio Kaslyn L.F.
Published: October 2023

Cytotoxic anticancer therapies activate programmed cell death in the context of underlying stress and inflammatory signaling to elicit the emission of danger signals, cytokines, and chemokines. In a concerted manner, these immunomodulatory secretomes stimulate antigen presentation and T cell–mediated anticancer immune responses. In some instances, cell death–associated secretomes attract immunosuppressive cells to promote tumor progression. As it stands, cancer cell death–induced changes in the tumor microenvironment that contribute to antitumor or protumor effects remain largely unknown. This is complicated to examine because cell death is often subverted by tumors to circumvent natural, and therapy-induced, immunosurveillance. Here, we provide insights into important but understudied aspects of assessing the contribution of cell death to tumor elimination or cancer progression, including the role of tumor-associated genetics, epigenetics, and oncogenic factors in subverting immunogenic cell death. This perspective will also provide insights on how future studies may address the complex antitumor and protumor immunologic effects of cell death, while accounting for variations in tumor genetics and underlying microenvironment.
Figure S4 from Sigma1 Regulates Lipid Droplet–Mediated Redox Homeostasis Required for Prostate Cancer Proliferation
Authors: Oyer Halley M. , Steck Alexandra R. , Longen Charles G. , Venkat Sanjana , Bayrak Konuralp , Munger Eleanor B. , Fu Dan , Castagnino Paola A. , Sanders Christina M. , Tancler Nathalia A. , Mai My T. , Myers Justin P. , Schiewer Matthew J. , Chen Nan , Mostaghel Elahe A. , Kim Felix J.
Published: October 2023

VCaP and C4-2 ROS LD data
FIGURE 6 from Sigma1 Regulates Lipid Droplet–mediated Redox Homeostasis Required for Prostate Cancer Proliferation
Authors: Oyer Halley M. , Steck Alexandra R. , Longen Charles G. , Venkat Sanjana , Bayrak Konuralp , Munger Eleanor B. , Fu Dan , Castagnino Paola A. , Sanders Christina M. , Tancler Nathalia A. , Mai My T. , Myers Justin P. , Schiewer Matthew J. , Chen Nan , Mostaghel Elahe A. , Kim Felix J.
Published: October 2023

Sigma1 small-molecule inhibition disrupts GSH ratios and increases ROS levels in LNCaP and C4-2 cells. A, Quantification of CM-H2DCFDA signal per cell in LNCaP cells cultured in CSS medium for 3 days and treated for 3 days with DHT (1 nmol/L) alone or combined with 10 µmol/L IPAG for the last 16 hours. Data are presented as mean ± SEM from three independent experiments, *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001; ns, no significance. B, Representative fluorescent micrographs showing CM-H2DCFDA levels in LNCaP cells in A. C, Total GSH and GSH:GSSG measurements in LNCaP cells treated as in A. Data are presented as mean ± SEM from three independent experiments. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001; ns, no significance.
FIGURE 2 from Sigma1 Regulates Lipid Droplet–mediated Redox Homeostasis Required for Prostate Cancer Proliferation
Authors: Oyer Halley M. , Steck Alexandra R. , Longen Charles G. , Venkat Sanjana , Bayrak Konuralp , Munger Eleanor B. , Fu Dan , Castagnino Paola A. , Sanders Christina M. , Tancler Nathalia A. , Mai My T. , Myers Justin P. , Schiewer Matthew J. , Chen Nan , Mostaghel Elahe A. , Kim Felix J.
Published: October 2023

Sigma1 KD triggers lipophagy. A, Confocal micrographs showing colocalization of GFP-LC3 (LC3, green) and HCS LipidTox labeled LDs (red) in Sigma1 shRNA-transduced LNCaP (GFP-LC3) cells that were serum-starved for 3 days and treated with 1 nmol/L DHT for 3 days alone or combined with 10 nmol/L bafilomycin A1 (BafA1) for the final 8 hours prior to fixing the cells. B, Inset from column 8, Merge from A showing magnified view of autophagosome (LC3, green) colocalization with LD (red). Overlapping, colocalization events indicated by white arrows. C, Immunoblots of whole-cell protein extracts from parallel cell culture performed in parallel and using same experimental treatment conditions. GFP, GFP-LC3 I, and GFP-LC3 II were detected using an anti-GFP antibody. GFP-LC3 II band represents autophagosomes, similarly to canonical LC3B II immunoblot banding patterns. Independent GFP band indicates active autolysosomal degradation, autophagic flux.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Atherosclerotic Renal Artery Stenosis: The Update and Future Directions from Interventional Perspective
Authors: Fu Jia , Lin Zhiyong , Zhang Bihui , Song Li , Qin Naishan , Qiu Jianxing , Yang Min , Zou Yinghua
Published: October 2023

Background: Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) is a condition where the renal arteries become narrowed due to atherosclerosis, leading to reduced blood flow to the kidneys and various renal complications. The effectiveness of interventional treatments, such as renal artery angioplasty and stenting, remains debated, making patient selection for these procedures challenging. Summary: This review focuses on the diagnosis and management of ARAS, with a particular emphasis on the potential role of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in evaluating renal function and mechanisms. By summarizing current diagnostic approaches and outcomes of interventional treatments, the review highlights the importance of informed clinical decision-making in ARAS management. Functional MRI emerges as a promising noninvasive tool to assess renal function, aiding in patient stratification and treatment planning. Key Messages: The efficacy of interventional treatments for ARAS requires further investigation and careful patient selection. Functional MRI holds promise as a noninvasive means to assess renal function and mechanisms, potentially guiding more effective clinical decisions in ARAS management. Advancing research in diagnostic methods, particularly functional MRI, can enhance our understanding and improve the treatment outcomes for ARAS patients.
Challenges of implementing child-friendly school model in Surakarta, Indonesia
Authors: Liestyasari Siany Indria , Karsidi Ravik , Asrowi Asrowi , Rahman Abdul
Published: October 2023

Indonesia adopted the UNICEF’s child-friendly school (CFS) model as the attempt protection and fulfillment of children’s rights in education. The top-down implementation of child-friendly schools and bureaucratic imperatives have made many schools not ready to implement the model so the child-friendly school program is still far from expectations and reality. Many interests in the implementation of child-friendly schools make students vulnerable to being the victims of education political policies. This article aims to explain school challenges in child-friendly school implementation. Qualitative method with case study approach used through observations, interviews, and focus group discussions at three senior high schools in Surakarta City, Indonesia. The results show that the challenges of implementing child-friendly schools lead to three things, namely mentoring and sustainability, technical implementation, and evaluation mechanism. The simultaneous CFS declarations have not been adapted to the readiness, willingness, and needs of each school. Fulfilling the challenges of implementation is able to make CFS not just a slogan but a school’s need to provide protection and fulfillment of children’s rights.
Student’s acceptance of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Shaafi Nur Farha , Zulkipli Zulinda Ayu , Mohd Azam Nur Ainaa Najiha , Mohd Yusof Mohammad Mubarrak
Published: October 2023

Electronic learning (e-learning) has become the main method of teaching and learning for many educational institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to investigate the students’ acceptance of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantitative research methods were utilized in order to obtain the necessary data. A total of 100 respondents from three science courses, which were Biology (ED247), Chemistry (ED260), and Physics (ED248) in the Faculty of Education, University Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam answered a questionnaire given via Google Forms. The IBM SPSS version 25.0 software was used for data analysis. The results show that the students’ acceptance towards e-learning is low based on research question 1 (mean=3.05, SD=.796), research question 2 (mean=1.18, SD=.386), research question 3 (mean=1.18, SD=.435) and research question 4 (mean=1.44, SD=.608). In conclusion, the student’s acceptance of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic is significant to improve an educational process by creating and sustaining meaningful learning.