bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preferences for coordinated care for rare diseases: discrete choice experiment
Authors: Morris Stephen , Walton Holly , Simpson Amy , Leeson-Beevers Kerry , Bloom Lara , Hunter Amy , Ramsay Angus I. G. , Fulop Naomi J. , Chitty Lyn S. , Kai Joe , Sutcliffe Alastair G. , Kokocinska Maria , Kerecuk Larissa , Taylor Christine A. , Ng Pei Li
Published: September 2024

Background

Evidence suggests that coordination of care for people affected by rare diseases is poor. In order to improve the way that care is coordinated it is necessary to understand the preferences of people affected by these conditions, and providers. The aim of this study was to examine patient, parent and carer, and health care professional preferences for different attributes of care coordination for people affected by rare diseases. We conducted a discrete choice experiment using online surveys. There were no restrictions on participants in terms of rare conditions, demographic factors other than age, or geographical location within the UK. Choice scenarios were based on the following attributes: annual cost of attending appointments; access to health records; access to clinical expertise; support of a care coordinator; access to a specialist centre; and, the existence of a documented plan for emergency care. Data were analysed using alternative-specific conditional logit regression models.

Results

Valid responses were obtained from 996 individuals (528 patients, 280 carers, 188 health care professionals) between August and December 2019. All attributes significantly influenced the type of service respondents preferred. Patients, carers and health professionals’ preferences for care coordination were influenced by: the cost of attending appointments; access to health records; clinical expertise; role of care coordinators; access to specialist centres; and the existence of plan for emergency care. There were no statistically significant differences in the preferences between patients and carers. Preferences of health professionals differed to those of patients and carers. Both patients and carers selected responses which granted them a greater degree of autonomy in relation to the role of care coordinators, whereas health professionals preferred services where care coordinators had more autonomy. Health care professionals also expressed a stronger preference for a documented formal emergency plan to be in place.

Conclusions

The findings highlight that people value better coordinated care, in line with policy documents emphasising commitments to coordinated care for people affected by rare diseases. This study highlights the factors that could be included in service provision as ways of improving the coordination of care for people affected by rare diseases.
Molecular xenomonitoring as an indicator of microfilaraemia prevalence for lymphatic filariasis in Samoa in 2019
Authors: Howlett Maddison , Mayfield Helen J. , McPherson Brady , Rigby Lisa , Thomsen Robert , Williams Steven A. , Pilotte Nils , Hedtke Shannon M. , Graves Patricia M. , Kearns Therese , Naseri Take , Sheridan Sarah , McLure Angus , Lau Colleen L.
Published: September 2024

Background

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a globally significant, vector-borne, neglected tropical disease that can result in severe morbidity and disability. As the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis makes progress towards LF elimination, there is greater need to develop sensitive strategies for post-intervention surveillance. Molecular xenomonitoring (MX), the detection of pathogen DNA in vectors, may provide a sensitive complement to traditional human-based surveillance techniques, including detection of circulating filarial antigen and microfilaraemia (Mf). This study aims to explore the relationship between human Mf prevalence and the prevalence of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive mosquitoes using MX.

Methods

This study compared Mf and MX results from a 2019 community-based survey conducted in 35 primary sampling units (PSUs) in Samoa. This study also investigated concordance between presence and absence of PCR-positive mosquitoes and Mf-positive participants at the PSU level, and calculated sensitivity and negative predictive values for each indicator using presence of any Mf-positive infection in humans or PCR-positive mosquitoes as a reference. Correlation between prevalence of filarial DNA in mosquitoes and Mf in humans was estimated at the PSU and household/trap level using mixed-effect Bayesian multilevel regression analysis.

Results

Mf-positive individuals were identified in less than half of PSUs in which PCR-positive mosquito pools were present (13 of 28 PSUs). Prevalence of PCR-positive mosquitoes (each species separately) was positively correlated with Mf prevalence in humans at the PSU level. Analysed at the species level, only Aedes polynesiensis demonstrated strong evidence of positive correlation (r) with human Mf prevalence at both PSU (r: 0.5, 95% CrI 0.1–0.8) and trap/household levels (r: 0.6, 95% CrI 0.2–0.9).

Conclusions

Findings from this study demonstrate that MX can be a sensitive surveillance method for identifying residual infection in low Mf prevalence settings. MX identified more locations with signals of transmission than Mf-testing. Strong correlation between estimated PCR-positive mosquitoes in the primary vector species and Mf in humans at small spatial scales demonstrates the utility of MX as an indicator for LF prevalence in Samoa and similar settings. Further investigation is needed to develop MX guidelines to strengthen the ability of MX to inform operational decisions.

Graphical abstract
Mental health problems in Somalia after decades of humanitarian crises: a qualitative exploration of perceptions and experiences
Authors: Islam Md Manirul , Siyad Abdiwali Ahmed , Malik Sk Md Mamunur Rahman
Published: September 2024

Background

Humanitarian crises increase the risk of mental health problems. Somalia has been affected by conflict, insecurity, and economic turmoil for over three decades, as well as climatic shocks. However, 80–90% of Somalis who have mental health problems do not have access to good-quality, and affordable mental health care. To develop an evidence-based, effective, equitable, and humane programme for mental health, we need to have a holistic understanding of mental health problems and care in relation to people’s perceptions, experiences, and behaviour related to mental health.

Methods

We undertook a qualitative study to explore Somalis’ perceptions and experiences of mental health problems. We conducted three key informant interviews, two in-depth interviews, nine focus group discussions, 12 observations in private and public health facilities and more than 12 informal discussions. We used case vignettes translated into Somali during our discussion. We also studied three cases with experience of mental health problems to understand care-seeking behaviour and the experiences with services available.

Results

Somalia has been moving from a traditional pastoral nomadic lifestyle to a settled one. A strong informal support system exists in the community within clans or family relations. Armed conflict often among clans, natural disasters, and khat use are the three main factors affecting mental health. The prevalence of mental problems is likely greater than is evident. It is perceived that about 95% of people suffering from mental illness remain outside of appropriate care. Few people seek care for mental health problems because they are not aware of it and because it is highly stigmatized and neglected. Those who do seek care usually go to traditional healers because of culture and cost. Resources for mental health care are grossly inadequate with a limited and often poorly trained workforce. At least two levels of barrier to mental health care exist, at the individual/family level (e.g. poor awareness of mental health and stigma) and service provider level (e.g. lack of staff and limited ability to diagnose, treat, or refer persons with mental health problems and stigma). No tool or evidence-based programme is available to address these barriers.

Conclusion

A qualitative data-driven mental health programme that addresses all these issues is needed with more trained mental health professionals. Given the stigma about mental health problems, there is also a need for a tool to raise awareness about mental health and the importance of mental health care among both the public and health workers.
In vitro and ex vivo metabolism of chemically diverse fructans by bovine rumen Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species
Authors: King Marissa L. , Xing Xiaohui , Reintjes Greta , Klassen Leeann , Low Kristin E. , Alexander Trevor W. , Waldner Matthew , Patel Trushar R. , Wade Abbott D.
Published: September 2024

Background

Inulin and inulin-derived fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are well-known prebiotics for use in companion animals and livestock. The mechanisms by which FOS contribute to health has not been fully established. Further, the fine chemistry of fructan structures from diverse sources, such as graminan-type fructans found in cereal crops, has not been fully elucidated. New methods to study fructan structure and microbial responses to these complex carbohydrates will be key for evaluating the prebiotic potency of cereal fructans found in cattle feeds. As the rumen microbiome composition is closely associated with their metabolic traits, such as feed utilization and waste production, prebiotics and probiotics represent promising additives to shift the microbial community toward a more productive state.

Results

Within this study, inulin, levan, and graminan-type fructans from winter wheat, spring wheat, and barley were used to assess the capacity of rumen-derived Bifidobacterium boum, Bifidobacterium merycicum, and Lactobacillus vitulinus to metabolize diverse fructans. Graminan-type fructans were purified and structurally characterized from the stems and kernels of each plant. All three bacterial species grew on FOS, inulin, and cereal crop fructans in pure cultures. L. vitulinus was the only species that could metabolize levan, albeit its growth was delayed. Fluorescently labelled polysaccharides (FLAPS) were used to demonstrate interactions with Gram-positive bacteria and confirm fructan metabolism at the single-cell level; these results were in agreement with the individual growth profiles of each species. The prebiotic potential of inulin was further investigated within naïve rumen microbial communities, where increased relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species occurred in a dose-dependent and temporal-related manner. This was supported by in situ analysis of rumen microbiota from cattle fed inulin. FLAPS probe derived from inulin and fluorescent in situ hybridization using taxon-specific probes confirmed that inulin interacts with Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli at the single-cell level.

Conclusion

This research revealed that rumen-derived Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli vary in their metabolism of structurally diverse fructans, and that inulin has limited prebiotic potential in the rumen. This knowledge establishes new methods for evaluating the prebiotic potential of fructans from diverse plant sources as prebiotic candidates for use in ruminants and other animals.
Implementation of a Novel Pathway to Integrate Palliative and Oncology Care for Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia in a Community Hospital
Authors: Sivendran Shanthi , McNaughton Caitlyn , Briguglio Avery , Webb Jason A. , LeBlanc Thomas W. , Lattanzio-Hale Annamaria , Horst Michael , Wilson Wendy , Newport Kristina
Published: September 2024

PURPOSE

Historically, patients with hematologic malignancies are referred to palliative care less often and later in the disease trajectory than those with solid tumors. Recent evidence demonstrates the benefit of early, integrated inpatient palliative care (PC) for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving chemotherapy at academic centers. The current study evaluated the feasibility of implementing standardized early palliative care services (PCS) during hospitalization for AML treatment in a community setting.

METHODS

Starting June 2018, automated consultations for PCS were incorporated into clinical pathways to encourage early, integrated services for patients receiving chemotherapy for AML with an expected hospital stay of 4-6 weeks. Expectations were established that consultations would be performed within 72 hours of request; patients would have two visits per week by a palliative care clinician and at least one visit by a member of the interdisciplinary team. To measure the feasibility of this intervention, data on number of patients who received palliative care consultation and time to palliative care consultation were compared with institutional historical controls.

RESULTS

On the basis of retrospective chart review, the postintervention group (n = 21) had greater PCS compared with historical controls (n = 28; 95% v 36%). The average number of PC team member visits per patient was significantly greater after the intervention: PC clinicians (1.04-8.05, P < .001), chaplains (1.3-3.3, P = .0085), and social workers (1.0-4.3, P < .001). Of those patients who received PCS, 74% had their initial palliative medicine consultation within 3 days of a clinician's order and 100% within 4 days.

CONCLUSION

We have demonstrated the feasibility of implementing standardized integration of PCS for patients with AML hospitalized for treatment in a community setting.
Estimating user influence in social networks under independent cascade model
Authors: Li Pei , Wei Yanzhuo , Chen Wuyi , Li Pei , Yuan Xiaorong
Published: September 2024

The rapid increase in social applications emphasizes the importance of estimating user influence. Heuristic methods like degree and betweenness centralities usually differ from the actual propagation process and yield unsatisfactory results. Traditional methods like Monte Carlo simulation are time-consuming. We modify the duplicate forwarding model to analyze the propagation process, which is proved to be close to the independent cascade model. We calculate the influence of a given source on a target. This approach allows for relatively accurate user influence estimation. Although this method is more efficient than traditional methods, it still requires traversing all users. Therefore, we introduce a virtual user who is connected to all users. By estimating the influence of any user on the virtual user, we can approximate the user influence efficiently. Experiments on real-world networks demonstrate that our method achieves not only better accuracy in user influence ranking but also lower computational cost.
Analytical QNMs of fields of various spin in the Hayward spacetime
Authors: Malik Zainab
Published: September 2024

By employing an expansion in terms of the inverse multipole number, we derive analytic expressions for the quasinormal modes (QNMs) of scalar, Dirac and Maxwell perturbations in the Hayward black hole (BH) background. The metric has three interpretations: as a model for a radiating BH, as a quantum-corrected BH owing to the running gravitational coupling in the Asymptotically Safe Gravity, and as a BH solution in the Effective Field Theory. We show that the obtained compact analytical formulas approximate QNMs with remarkable accuracy for ℓ > 0.
Peripheral Serotonin Controls Dietary Fat Absorption and Chylomicron Secretion via 5-HT4 Receptor in Males
Authors: Raka Fitore , Hoffman Simon , Nady Asal , Guan Henry , Zhang Rianna , Wang Huaqing , Khan Waliul I , Adeli Khosrow
Published: September 2024

Postprandial dyslipidemia is commonly present in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity and is characterized by overproduction of apolipoprotein B48-containing chylomicron particles from the intestine. Peripheral serotonin is emerging as a regulator of energy homeostasis with profound implications for obesity; however, its role in dietary fat absorption and chylomicron production is unknown. Chylomicron production was assessed in Syrian golden hamsters by administering an olive oil gavage and IP poloxamer to inhibit lipoprotein clearance. Administration of serotonin or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, increased postprandial plasma triglyceride (TG) and TG-rich lipoproteins. Conversely, inhibiting serotonin synthesis pharmacologically by p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) led to a reduction in both the size and number of TG-rich lipoprotein particles, resulting in lower plasma TG and apolipoprotein B48 levels. The effects of PCPA occurred independently of gastric emptying and vagal afferent signaling. Inhibiting serotonin synthesis by PCPA led to increased TG within the intestinal lumen and elevated levels of TG and cholesterol in the stool when exposed to a high-fat/high-cholesterol diet. These findings imply compromised fat absorption, as evidenced by reduced lipase activity in the duodenum and lower levels of serum bile acids, which are indicative of intestinal bile acids. During the postprandial state, mRNA levels for serotonin receptors (5-HTRs) were upregulated in the proximal intestine. Administration of cisapride, a 5-HT4 receptor agonist, alleviated reductions in postprandial lipemia caused by serotonin synthesis inhibition, indicating that serotonin controls dietary fat absorption and chylomicron secretion via 5-HT4 receptor.
Mixing Methods, Tasting Fingers: Notes on an Ethnographic Experiment
Authors: Mann Anna , Mol Annemarie , Satalkar Priya , Savirani Amalinda , Selim Nasima , Sur Malini , Yates-Doerr Emily
Published: September 2024

This chapter by Anna Mann, Annemarie Mol, Priya Satalkar, Amalinda Savirani, Nasima Selim, Malini Sur, and Emily Yates-Doerr reports on an ethnographic experiment. Four finger eating experts and three novices sat down for a hot meal and ate it with their hands. Drawing on the technique of playing with the familiar and the strange, it is not our aim to explain our responses, but to articulate them. As we seek words to do so, we stretch the verb to taste. Tasting, or so our ethnographic experiment suggests, need not be understood as an activity confined to the tongue. Instead, if given a chance, it may viscously spread out to the fingers and come to include appreciative reactions otherwise hard to name. Pleasure and embarrassment, food-like vitality, erotic titillation, the satisfaction or discomfort that follow a meal—we suggest that these may all be included in tasting. Thus teasing the language alters what speakers and eaters may sense and say. It complements the repertoires available for articulation. But is it okay? Are we allowed to mess with textbook biology in this way and interfere, not just with anthropological theory, but with the English language itself?
Transcription factor-based transdifferentiation of human embryonic to trophoblast stem cells
Authors: Balestrini Paula A. , Abdelbaki Ahmed , McCarthy Afshan , Devito Liani , Senner Claire E. , Chen Alice E. , Munusamy Prabhakaran , Blakeley Paul , Elder Kay , Snell Phil , Christie Leila , Serhal Paul , Odia Rabi A. , Sangrithi Mahesh , Niakan Kathy K. , Fogarty Norah M. E.
Published: September 2024

During the first week of development, human embryos form a blastocyst composed of an inner cell mass and trophectoderm (TE) cells, the latter of which are progenitors of placental trophoblast. Here, we investigated the expression of transcripts in the human TE from early to late blastocyst stages. We identified enrichment of the transcription factors GATA2, GATA3, TFAP2C and KLF5 and characterised their protein expression dynamics across TE development. By inducible overexpression and mRNA transfection, we determined that these factors, together with MYC, are sufficient to establish induced trophoblast stem cells (iTSCs) from primed human embryonic stem cells. These iTSCs self-renew and recapitulate morphological characteristics, gene expression profiles, and directed differentiation potential, similar to existing human TSCs. Systematic omission of each, or combinations of factors, revealed the crucial importance of GATA2 and GATA3 for iTSC transdifferentiation. Altogether, these findings provide insights into the transcription factor network that may be operational in the human TE and broaden the methods for establishing cellular models of early human placental progenitor cells, which may be useful in the future to model placental-associated diseases.
Retinoic acid, an essential component of the roof plate organizer, promotes the spatiotemporal segregation of dorsal neural fates
Authors: Rekler Dina , Ofek Shai , Kagan Sarah , Friedlander Gilgi , Kalcheim Chaya
Published: September 2024

Dorsal neural tube-derived retinoic acid promotes the end of neural crest production and transition into a definitive roof plate. Here, we analyze how this impacts the segregation of central and peripheral lineages, a process essential for tissue patterning and function. Localized in ovo inhibition in quail embryos of retinoic acid activity followed by single-cell transcriptomics unraveled a comprehensive list of differentially expressed genes relevant to these processes. Importantly, progenitors co-expressed neural crest, roof plate and dI1 interneuron markers, indicating a failure in proper lineage segregation. Furthermore, separation between roof plate and dI1 interneurons is mediated by Notch activity downstream of retinoic acid, highlighting their crucial role in establishing the roof plate–dI1 boundary. Within the peripheral branch, where absence of retinoic acid resulted in neural crest production and emigration extending into the roof plate stage, sensory progenitors failed to separate from melanocytes, leading to formation of a common glia-melanocyte cell with aberrant migratory patterns. In summary, the implementation of single-cell RNA sequencing facilitated the discovery and characterization of a molecular mechanism responsible for the segregation of dorsal neural fates during development.
Dynamic soaring decouples dynamic body acceleration and energetics in albatrosses
Authors: Conners Melinda G. , Green Jonathan A. , Phillips Richard A. , Orben Rachael A. , Cui Chen , Djurić Petar M. , Heywood Eleanor , Vyssotski Alexei L. , Thorne Lesley H.
Published: September 2024

Estimates of movement costs are essential for understanding energetic and life-history trade-offs. Although overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) derived from accelerometer data is widely used as a proxy for energy expenditure (EE) in free-ranging animals, its utility has not been tested in species that predominately use body rotations or exploit environmental energy for movement. We tested a suite of sensor-derived movement metrics as proxies for EE in two species of albatrosses, which routinely use dynamic soaring to extract energy from the wind to reduce movement costs. Birds were fitted with a combined heart-rate, accelerometer, magnetometer and GPS logger, and relationships between movement metrics and heart rate-derived V̇O2, an indirect measure of EE, were analyzed during different flight and activity modes. When birds were exclusively soaring, a metric derived from angular velocity on the yaw axis provided a useful proxy of EE. Thus, body rotations involved in dynamic soaring have clear energetic costs, albeit considerably lower than those of the muscle contractions required for flapping flight. We found that ODBA was not a useful proxy for EE in albatrosses when birds were exclusively soaring. As albatrosses spend much of their foraging trips soaring, ODBA alone was a poor predictor of EE in albatrosses. Despite the lower percentage of time flapping, the number of flaps was a useful metric when comparing EE across foraging trips. Our findings highlight that alternative metrics, beyond ODBA, may be required to estimate energy expenditure from inertial sensors in animals whose movements involve extensive body rotations.
Finding food: how generalist predators use contact-chemosensory information to guide prey preferences
Authors: Zimmer Richard K. , Ferrier Graham A. , Zimmer Cheryl A.
Published: September 2024

Understanding the processes that guide carnivores in finding and selecting prey is a fundamental, unresolved challenge in sensory biology. To our knowledge, no published work has yet revealed the complete structural identities of compounds that cue preferences by generalist predators for different prey species. With this research imperative in mind, we determined the chemistry driving consumer preferences for live intact prey using two generalist predatory species (sea stars, Pisaster ochraceus; whelks, Acanthinucella spirata), along with two foundation prey species (mussels, Mytilus californianus; barnacles, Balanus glandula), inhabiting rocky, wave-swept shores. Each prey species is known to secrete either a 29.6 kDa (named ‘KEYSTONEin’) or a 199.6 kDa (named ‘MULTIFUNCin’) glycoprotein as a contact-chemical cue. Here, experimental manipulations utilized faux prey consisting of cleaned barnacle or mussel shells infused with KEYSTONEin, MULTIFUNCin or seawater (control) gels. Whelks exhibited a strong penchant for MULTIFUNCin over KEYSTONEin, irrespective of shell type. In contrast, sea stars generally preferred KEYSTONEin over MULTIFUNCin, but this preference shifted depending on the experimental context in which they encountered physical (shell) and chemical (glycoprotein) stimuli. This study ultimately demonstrates clear and contrasting chemical preferences between sea stars and whelks. It highlights the importance of experimental setting in determining chemical preferences. Finally, it shows that prey preferences by these predators hinge only on one or two contact-protein cues, without the need for quality coding via fluid-borne compounds, low-molecular-weight substances or mixture blends.
Quantitative Biomarkers, Genomic Assays, and Demographics Associated with Breast-Conserving Surgery Following Neoadjuvant Therapy in Early-Stage, Hormone Receptor-Positive, HER-Negative Breast Cancer
Authors: Freeman Jincong Q. , Shubeck Sarah P. , Chen Nan , Yarlagadda Sudha R. , Nanda Rita , Huo Dezheng , Howard Frederick M.
Published: September 2024

Background

Given increased neoadjuvant therapy use in early-stage, hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer, we sought to quantify likelihood of breast-conserving surgery (BCS) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) or endocrine therapy (NET) as a function of ER%/PR%/Ki-67%, 21-gene recurrence scores (RS), or 70-gene risk groups.

Methods

We analyzed the 2010–2020 National Cancer Database. Surgery was categorized as “mastectomy/BCS.” Logistic regression was performed. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) were per 10-unit increase in ER%/PR%/Ki-67%.

Results

Overall, 42.3% underwent BCS after NACT, whereas 64.0% did after NET. Increasing ER% (AOR = 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.94–0.97) or PR% (AOR=0.98, 95% CI 0.96–0.99) was associated with lower odds of BCS after NACT. Increasing Ki-67% was associated with greater odds of BCS (AOR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.04–1.10). Breast-conserving surgery rates increased by ~20 percentage points, with Ki-67% ≥15 or RS >20. Patients with a low (43.0%, AOR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.29–0.88) or intermediate (46.4%, AOR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.41–0.81) RS were less likely than patients with a high RS (65.0%) to undergo BCS after NACT. Increasing ER% was associated with higher odds of BCS after NET (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.01–1.17). Breast-conserving surgery rates increased by ~20 percentage points between ER <50% and >80%. In both cohorts, the odds of BCS were similar between 70-gene low-risk and high-risk groups. Asian or uninsured patients had lower odds of BCS.

Conclusions

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is unlikely to downstage tumors with a low-intermediate RS, higher ER%/PR%, or lower Ki-67%. Breast-conserving surgery after NET was most dependent on ER%. Findings could facilitate treatment decision-making based on tumor biology and racial/socioeconomic disparities and improve patient counseling on the likelihood of successful BCS.
Methods of diagnosing infective endocarditis including nuclear imaging techniques - a review
Authors: Golemo Jagna , Małgorzata Miazga  , Serkis Barbara , Bentkowska Zuzanna , Dębińska Julia , Kałuża Izabela , Ostojska Magdalena , Górska Magdalena , Celichowska Magdalena , Dziuba Gabriela
Published: September 2024

Introduction and the purpose of work
Infective endocarditis (IE) is a disease diagnosed more and more often in recent years. Its treatment and diagnostics require a team of qualified specialists and are based on microbiological and imaging diagnostics. The purpose of this work is a summary and comparison of individual IE diagnostic methods, including their advantages and disadvantages.
State of knowledge: Diagnosis of infective endocarditis relies on positive blood cultures to identify the microorganism and its drug sensitivity. Advanced methods like MALDI-TOF MS and MIC are used for identification. The first-line imaging diagnostic method for IE is echocardiography, which assesses structural and functional heart damage. Variants include transthoracic (TTE), transesophageal (TOE), three-dimensional TOE, and intracardiac echocardiography. Echocardiography should be performed immediately when IE is suspected. Computed tomography (CT) is crucial for diagnosing infective endocarditis (IE), particularly perivalvular and periprosthetic complications. Whole-body CT, including the brain, detects distant lesions and sources of bacteremia. CT is more accessible in emergencies and effective in spotting ischemic and hemorrhagic complications. CT angiography identifies mycotic aneurysms in the vascular system. It also detects extracardiac sources of bacteremia, aiding treatment and pre-surgery planning. Nuclear imaging is also important in diagnosing IE, especially prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) when echocardiography is inconclusive. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/CT and SPECT/CT with labeled leukocytes are recommended. 
Conclusions: In addition to basic methods such as positive blood culture and echocardiography, there are more specialized methods that also allow for the assessment of treatment progress and prognosis.
Samorząd lokalny kolebką kreatywności obywatelskiej – uwarunkowania kulturowo-społeczne
Authors: Banaś Monika , Kaczmarczyk Wiktoria
Published: September 2024

The chapter addresses selected key factors influencing the shape and condition of pro-civil attitudes related to political participation, especially at its basic, local level. Factors such as trust, subjectivity, identity, and culture have been stressed, providing a background for outlining of the evolution of Polish self-government.
Análisis del consumo estético e ideológico del discurso de identidad nacional promovido por la marca país Colombia es Pasión
Authors: Gómez Prieto Pedro José
Published: September 2024

Entendiendo las dinámicas del mercado global y la necesidad de destacar en un entorno cada vez más competitivo, los países optan por transformarse en un producto de consumo atractivo a través de la marca país. En 2005, durante el Gobierno Álvaro Uribe, se lanzó la campaña Colombia es Pasión, cuyo objetivo consistía en promover una nueva imagen del país a nivel global. El objetivo de esta investigación fue identificar las formas estéticas e ideológicas que se dieron a través del discurso de identidad nacional de esta marca. Se desarrolló un estudio cualitativo, a partir del método hermenéutico y enfoque retrospectivo. Se aplicó una guía de entrevista semiestructurada a 24 participantes. La información fue sistematizada y analizada a través de NVivo 12. Se encontró que Colombia es Pasión se basó en la reproducción del sistema de creencias de una élite profesional, a través de procesos de estetización de la política en el espacio público, el cual fue aprendido, interiorizado y reproducido nuevamente por el individuo, estructurando un discurso de identidad nacional basado en la pasión. Esta investigación da fe del principio de originalidad al partir de una propuesta innovadora al plantear una perspectiva diferente en el abordaje del fenómeno de marca país.
Strategic Cross-Subsidization in Healthcare Capitation Programs: Evidence from Medicare Advantage
Authors: She Zhaowei , Ayer Turgay , Gokpinar Bilal , Hughes Danny R.
Published: September 2024

Problem definition: This study identifies a resource misallocation problem in Medicare Advantage (MA), the United States’ largest healthcare capitation program, which may result in discrepancies between patients’ health status and the healthcare resources allocated to them. Methodology/results: Utilizing a large commercial insurance database with claims from more than 2 million MA enrollees, this research investigates the allocation of MA capitation payments. By exploiting an exogenous policy shock on MA capitation payments through a difference-in-difference design, we find empirical evidence of an illegal practice known as “cross-subsidization.” This practice involves MA health plans strategically reallocating portions of the capitation payments intended for one group of patients to spend on another group of patients. Additionally, we show that this cross-subsidization practice is associated with the risk selection problem in MA, where low-risk patients are more likely to enroll in MA compared with high-risk patients. Managerial implications: This research unveils a previously undocumented healthcare resource misallocation problem, that is, strategic cross-subsidization. This practice is explicitly prohibited by law in the United States due to its heightened effect on the undesired risk selection within capitation programs, where health plans cherry-pick profitable enrollees through strategic benefit designs. Our study has direct practical implications as it underscores the need for greater transparency in MA claims data to enable the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to more effectively administer the MA program.

Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2023.0637 .
TRAVESSIAS URBANAS E BIOGRAFIAS DAS (I)MOBILIDADES: uma abordagem da geografia temporal desde as periferias na metrópole de São Paulo
Authors: Silva Ricardo Barbosa da
Published: September 2024

Os mais diversos campos do saber há séculos se debruçam à compreensão da dimensão espaço e tempo na sociabilidade humana. No campo da Geografia, em especial, é também um tema bastante tradicional em termos de pesquisas acadêmicas. Mas depois da segunda metade do século XX, ocorreu uma ampliação devido às pesquisas de Geografia temporal de Hagerstrand, bem como, decorrentes contribuições em perspectivas mais ampliadas e críticas. Mas ainda são escassos estudos no Brasil com esta temática. Este artigo pretende contribuir na compreensão dos fundamentos da geografia temporal para análise crítica das travessias urbanas e biografia das (i)mobilidades cotidianas das populações periféricas da metrópole de São Paulo. A metodologia mista de três etapas empregada neste artigo refere-se às abordagens quantitativas, qualitativas e usos de novas tecnologias de posicionamento ativo por GPS dos smartphones. Verificou-se que as travessias urbanas das populações periféricas são marcadas por constrangimentos cotidianos que limitam o prisma espaço-tempo e inviabilizam a acessibilidade às oportunidades nas bordas da metrópole de São Paulo.
FATORES DETERMINANTES DA RECENTE CRISE DO SETOR SUCROENERGÉTICO NO BRASIL
Authors: Santos Henrique Faria dos , Sampaio Mateus de Almeida Prado
Published: September 2024

O setor sucroenergético brasileiro passou, neste início de século XXI, por duas fases diametralmente distintas uma da outra. A primeira se caracterizou pela expansão acelerada da atividade (notadamente entre 2003 e 2010) e a segunda se marca pelo arrefecimento e mesmo retração (2011 a 2020). O presente artigo tem como objetivo discutir os principais fatores conjunturais e técnico-estruturais que levaram a essa recente crise do setor sucroenergético no Brasil, que resultou numa onda de casos de recuperação judicial e falências de usinas. A partir do levantamento e sistematização bibliográfica, reportagens jornalísticas e dados estatísticos, os resultados do estudo mostram que as consequências imediatas da crise financeira e econômica internacional de 2007-2008 sobre o crédito internacional, as taxas de câmbio e a queda nas cotações das commodities nas bolsas de valor; dificuldades do mercado interno brasileiro e os desafios oriundos da reestruturação produtiva da agroindústria sucroenergética culminaram na diminuição do ritmo dos investimentos e na situação financeira crítica de vários grupos nacionais e transnacionais, comprometendo a continuidade das operações produtivas de várias usinas do país.
ÍNDICE MUNICIPAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTÁVEL: UMA FERRAMENTA MULTIDIMENSIONAL PARA AVALIAR A SUSTENTABILIDADE MUNICIPAL DA REGIÃO METROPOLITANA DO VALE DO PARAÍBA E LITORAL NORTE (RMVPLN)
Authors: Bargos Danúbia Caporusso , Pereira Daniel Alves
Published: September 2024

A Região Metropolitana do Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte (RMVPLN) se destaca no cenário estadual e nacional devido à sua localização estratégica, à diversidade econômica, à qualidade de vida e aos seus atrativos naturais. Seu desenvolvimento foi fruto de uma série de fatores históricos e econômicos, que resultaram em problemas ambientais e desigualdade socioespacial na região. Este trabalho busca mensurar o grau de sustentabilidade municipal na RMVPLN calculando o Índice Municipal de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (IMDS) comparando o comportamento da região mediante as diferentes categorias utilizadas para a elaboração do IMDS a partir de 63 indicadores agrupados em 7 categorias: ambiental, social, econômico, demográfico, institucional, cultural e psicossocial. Para avaliar a situação dos municípios, utilizou-se a classificação proposta por Martins e Cândido (2012). Os resultados revelaram que há uma desigualdade entre os municípios em termos de sustentabilidade municipal, com os índices institucional, cultural e psicossocial sendo distribuídos de forma desigual. O município com pior índice foi Canas, com 0,401, enquanto São José dos Campos apresentou o melhor resultado, com 0,774. Apesar de economicamente ativa, a região ainda necessita de muitos avanços para chegar à igualdade em termos de sustentabilidade municipal.
NOVAS FORMAS DE ACUMULAÇÃO VIA NATUREZA:
Authors: ALECRIM ALVES GOMES JOHANA MAIY
Published: September 2024

O contexto atual do capitalismo contemporâneo é marcado por políticas neoliberais que promovem a aproximação entre Estado e empresariado, o que se reflete em diversos setores. A natureza, que sempre foi mercantilizada, hoje passa a fazer parte de um mercado ecológico, no sentido de que a proteção ambiental se tornou também estratégia de acumulação, com a privatização de áreas protegidas. O trabalho pretende apresentar o cenário da gestão privatizada de Parques Nacionais (PN) no Brasil, contribuindo para o debate acerca das novas configurações que surgem da apropriação corporativa da proteção ambiental. A metodologia foi fundamentada em pesquisa bibliográfica e documental. Entre os resultados atingidos, identificamos que dos 74 PN existentes, 25 estão em alguma etapa do processo de concessão privada da sua gestão, número que até 2016 era de apenas 3. Portanto, houve um aumento percentual de 733% de PN em processo de concessão privada.
INOVAÇÃO NA LOCAÇÃO RESIDENCIAL NAS METRÓPOLES LATINO-AMERICANAS
Authors: Lencioni Sandra , Tunes Regina
Published: September 2024

O texto debate a locação residencial em cidades da América Latina como inovações imobiliárias que vem transformando tanto a natureza das relações entre os sujeitos, proprietários e inquilinos, como a forma como essa relação se estabelece, hoje permeada pelas plataformas digitais e mistificada pela ideia da economia do compartilhamento. Ao tratar de relações mercantis baseadas na locação, trás para debate, a partir de uma perspectiva crítica, uma aproximação teórica sobre o fundamento do aluguel, buscando evidenciar que o aluguel não é um produto da propriedade imobiliária e não deve ser confundido com a renda da terra, mas sim produto de uma determinada relação social entre o proprietário e inquilino. Alguns exemplos de inovações nas formas de locação imobiliária residencial de curta temporada e a propriedade multifamiliar são analisados a partir de fontes de pesquisa primárias e secundárias. O que se conclui no texto é que essas inovações evidenciam a platamorfização contemporânea do imobiliário na sua relação com o financeiro, criando novos nichos de mercado e garantindo a reprodução ampliada do capital.
CONHECIMENTO E RELAÇÃO CAPITAL/TRABALHO NA DINÂMICA DO CAPITALISMO:
Authors: Vercellone Carlo
Published: September 2024

O papel crescente do conhecimento e da dimensão cognitiva do trabalho é um dos traços de destaque do novo capitalismo. Todavia, a importância do conhecimento na dinâmica econômica não é, enquanto tal, uma novidade histórica. Então a questão é saber quais são os instrumentos teóricos mais idôneos para entender o seu novo papel no desenvolvimento das metamorfoses contemporâneas dentro da relação capital-trabalho. No rastro da concepção smithiana sobre a divisão do trabalho e do progresso técnico, as teorias neoclássicas do crescimento endógeno e da economia do conhecimento interpretam esta evolução através de uma abordagem que faz uma abstração pelo tempo histórico e pelas relações sociais de produção. Este artigo propõe mostrar a atualidade da perspectiva crítica marxista, cuja antítese nesse contexto metodológico parte da centralidade do antagonismo capital-trabalho e dos conflitos de saber e de poder que dão a estrutura para o desenvolvimento das forças produtivas. Para este fim, depois de relembrar os fundamentos teóricos da abordagem de Marx sobre a elaboração de uma economia histórica do conhecimento, analisaremos algumas mutações persuasivas da organização da produção do capitalismo contemporâneo.
PROPRIEDADE PRIVADA, TERRITÓRIO E COLONIZAÇÃO
Authors: Garcia Romay
Published: September 2024

O presente artigo trata da propriedade privada, enquanto estrutura histórica do processo de territorialização e de ordenamento territorial. Sua importância estratégica na economia das formações pré-capitalistas será determinante tanto para a diferenciação entre espaço urbano e rural, configuração de cidades e campos, quanto para a construção de um modelo colonizador que, no Império Romano, dá origem a um sólido aparato jurídico e simbólico que persiste através do espaço e do tempo, numa história de longa duração, atravessando mares, confrontando povos, culturas e lugares. Trazida para o Brasil como unidade territorial básica da colonização portuguesa, segue até hoje como elemento determinante da organização do espaço social, seja através da urbanização, da segregação, do avanço do agronegócio e na degradação de biomas e modos de vida. Pensar e agir numa perspectiva decolonial impõe repensar da propriedade privada, sua função social e seu papel na configuração de territórios.
Vaccine mandates
Authors: Winter George
Published: September 2024

In this month's article, George Winter looks at the concept of mandatory vaccination and its role in future pandemics
Universitas Indonesia and Crossref 2024
Authors: Collins Susan , Bartell Amanda , Rosalien Robbykha
Published: September 2024

Crossref hosted a one-day in-person event for staff from Universitas Indonesia on 22 August at the Aston Hotel, Jakarta. Attendees had the opportunity to connect with Crossref staff and colleagues as we discussed various topics.
Historiographic Comics and Abina and the Important Men
Authors: Kunert-Graf Rachel
Published: September 2024

ABSTRACT: Comics have long been praised as a medium ideal for nonfiction, and especially for memoirs of experiences in historic events such as war and persecution. I analyze Liz Clarke and Trevor R. Getz’s Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History (first edition 2012), the first and most successful of Oxford University Press’s Graphic History Series. This series of collaborations between historians and artists exemplifies comics’ capability for nuanced historical representation. OUP’s Graphic History Series are graphic and prose textbooks aimed at high-school and college-level readers, the goal of which is not merely to relay historical facts, but rather to invite readers into historical inquiry, investigating how history becomes knowable as well as the material factors that limit and distort historical knowledge. Abina illuminates one woman’s quest to claim agency for her own life against the entangled forces of slavery, British colonialism, and West African patriarchy. Like the other titles that follow it in the series, Abina and the Important Men is composed of several parts, parts which combine to articulate “History” as a process rather than a simple object of knowledge. The comics portion of the textbook makes strategic use of the medium’s formal potential to complicate notions of time and space, and to exploit dissonances between individuals’ speeches, as well as between verbal and visual representation. These formal manipulations support Abina and the Important Men ’s interrogation of historical practices and invite inquiry into disciplinary history.
Sufficient Magic: Queer Prison Comix as Liberation Praxis
Authors: Morse Nicole
Published: September 2024

ABSTRACT: Prison art has many functions, from representation to healing to rehabilitation, and it can make use of many different kinds of media, including comix. For prison abolitionists, prison art is most powerful when it is connected to larger struggles against the criminal punishment system, and comix offer unique affordances to abolitionist movements. From cells to movement blur to the gutter, comix enable artists to interrogate carcerality and gendered oppression simultaneously. Through close readings of comix and correspondence with artists and organizers, this article examines the world-making praxis of incarcerated trans artists who are creating and distributing original comix with the abolitionist organization ABO Comix. While most scholarship on prison art explores state-sanctioned programs, ABO Comix is independent from the prison system, producing alternative possibilities as well as unique challenges for artists and organizers. In comix by trans artist Krysta Morningstarr* as well as other artists, incarcerated LGBTQ artists use comix as a form of world-making, mutual aid, and collective praxis within and beyond the prison borders.
Binary Amplitude Hologram Generation for Digital Micromirror Device-Based Holographic Displays
Authors: Velez-Zea Alejandro , Hoyos-Peláez Cesar Antonio , Barrera-Ramírez John Fredy
Published: September 2024

We compare several binary amplitude hologram generation methods used in holographic displays based on digital micromirror devices. We demonstrate that a combination of gradient descent, subsampling, and time multiplexing offers improved performance over conventional approaches.
3D holography using communication mode optics
Authors: de Angelis Vinicius S. , Dorrah Ahmed H. , Ambrosio Leonardo A. , Miller David A. B. , Capasso Federico
Published: September 2024

We demonstrate a holographic technique based on interfering the optimum orthogonal communication modes connecting a source plane and a receiver volume, enabling 3D holography with high resolution, low cross-talk, and realistic depth perception.
Aerial-imaging light-field camera and integral 3D video communication system
Authors: Kono Shoma , Kameyama Masanari , Kawakita Masahiro
Published: September 2024

We researched an aerial-imaging light-field camera with a wide viewing angle. We developed a real-time integral 3D video communication system using light-field camera.
Attention U-Net for denoising the multiplexed Digital Holographic Microscopy
Authors: Dodda Vineela Chandra , Kuruguntla Lakshmi , Kumar Manoj , Matoba Osamu , Muniraj Inbarasan
Published: September 2024

Here, we demonstrate the efficacy of an attention-based U-Net architecture for denoising the reconstructed noisy amplitude and phase from a multi-beam interference-based digital holographic microscopy. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed network.