bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Utilization of seashells in matte glaze preparation
Authors: Peksen Ceren , Koroglu Levent , Kartal Hilal
Published: March 2020

In this study, the investigation of the optical properties and microstructural development of matte glaze compositions prepared with the addition of seashells was aimed. The seashells obtained from Black Sea beaches of Samsun, Turkey were characterized using XRF, XRD, FTIR, TG‐DTA techniques, and heating microscope. The calcite‐aragonite polymorphic transition was provided by heat treatment of seashell powders at 700°C for 1 hour and then, aragonite‐based seashell powders were incorporated to matte glaze compositions up to 30 wt%. Firstly, four different types of fired body specimens (red clay, chamotte, white, and porcelain) were produced at 800ºC for 7 hour. Secondly, the prepared glazes were applied on surface of all fired bodies and then, all bodies were sintered at 1100ºC for 8 hour. Finally, coloring parameters and microstructural features of seashell added glazes were determined. The addition of seashells to glaze composition by 10 and 20 wt% resulted in higher transparency. The matte glaze was formed with increment of seashell content to 30 wt%. The more reduced fluidity of the glaze caused nonhomogenous matte appearance. As a result, it is possible to produce transparent glazes in eco‐friendly and cost‐effective way by addition of seashells into glaze composition in 20 wt%.
Piloting the Describing and Evaluating community Pharmacy practice to Improve patients' Care and Treatment tool
Authors: Chevalier Bernadette , Cottrell William N , Hegerty Tobias , Morgan Ashleigh , Freeman Christopher
Published: March 2020

Objective

To pilot the Describing and Evaluating community Pharmacy practice to Improve patients' Care and Treatment (DEPICT) tool to determine its utility in collecting data about Australian community pharmacist activities and patient-related encounters.

Methods

DEPICT tool was developed and tested. Two pharmacy students recruited study patients and collected data in four urban pharmacies.

Key findings

Fourteen pharmacists completed 189 DEPICT forms. Pharmacists' evaluations indicated overall high levels of satisfaction and provided valuable recommendations for improvement.

Conclusions

Pharmacists' feedback will be incorporated into future iterations of DEPICT that will include electronic collection of regional data in urban and rural settings.
Implementing ‘Goals of Care’ discussion and palliative care referral for patients with advanced lung cancer: an outpatient‐based pilot project
Authors: Conduit Ciara , Thompson Michael , Thomas Robyn , Nott Louise , Wuttke Melanie
Published: March 2020

Background

Early involvement of palliative care and advance care planning improves quality‐of‐life outcomes and survival for patients with advanced lung cancer; however, there are barriers to implementation.

Aims

A single‐centre prospective audit reviewing ‘Goals of Care’ (GOC) form completion and palliative care referrals in an oncology clinic was undertaken with the aim of increasing GOC completion and palliative care referrals for patients with advanced lung cancer.

Methods

Involved physicians attended a communication skills course and then received a communication‐priming intervention. Clinicopathological factors associated with GOC completion and palliative care referral were explored.

Results

A total of 84 patients receiving palliative treatment for advanced lung cancer was enrolled. Clinicopathological factors, such as poorer performance status, were associated with higher likelihood of GOC completion (P = 0.018) prior to the intervention. Male sex (P = 0.023), absence of sensitising epidermal growth factor receptor mutation or anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangement (P = 0.017), type of systemic therapy (P = 0.031) and poorer performance status (P < 0.001) were associated with higher likelihood of palliative care referral. The intervention improved GOC completion (relative risk (RR) 1.29, P = 0.004); however, this was not sustained in a follow‐up audit (RR 0.98, P = 0.92) and there was no change in palliative care referral rate (RR 2.5, P = 0.16). Predictors of palliative referral following clinical review included age (RR 1.16, P = 0.001), male sex (RR 14.2, P = 0.02) and poorer performance status (RR 1.76, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Communication‐priming interventions can improve GOC completion for patients with advanced lung cancer. Further investigation is needed to pursue sustainable options for managing this complex patient group and improve guideline‐adherence and patient care.
Predictors of nurses’ turnover intention at one and five years’ time
Authors: Labrague L.J. , De los Santos J.A.A. , Falguera C.C. , Nwafor C.E. , Galabay J.R. , Rosales R.A. , Firmo C.N.
Published: March 2020

Aim

This study examined the role of job dimensions, job satisfaction, psychological stress and job burnout in predicting turnover intention at one and five years’ time among professional nurses in the Philippines.

Methods

A cross‐sectional design was utilized in the study using a convenience sample of 549 registered nurses from six hospitals in the Central Philippines during the period of October 2018 to January 2019. Five self‐report scales were used in this study.

Results

Overall, 46.1% (n = 253) and 78.9% (n = 433) of nurses reported planning to leave the organization at one and five years’ time, respectively. The type of hospital, job satisfaction and job burnout explained variances for turnover intention at one and five years’ time. Separately, hospital bed capacity and job stress predicted turnover intention at five years’ time. None of the job dimensions accurately predicted turnover intention in nurses.

Conclusion

Higher turnover intention results at one and five years’ time were dependent on nurses’ psychological stress, job burnout and job satisfaction.

Implications for nursing practice and policy

Organizational measures aimed at reducing stress and burnout and increasing job satisfaction in nurses are critically important to enhance the retention of nurses and ensure continued quality of nursing care.
When a child is born to a homo‐parental family, how does the work of differentiation occur?
Authors: Veuillet‐Combier Claudine , Atani Torasso Louise
Published: March 2020

The Taubira law in France has, since 2013, allowed same sex couples to marry and adopt children. This progressive law has created numerous debates in the public arena with passionate arguments which question the potential psychological development of a child in gay and lesbian families. How can a child from same sex parents construct a sense of difference between the generations and sexes in a way that builds psychic structure? The research DEVHOM, centred on the development and socialisation of children, has allowed for a specific study of this question in its use of a qualitative psychoanalytic orientation through individual clinical cases. This paper presents a clinical research encounter with ten‐year‐old Maëla, who was born through gestational surrogacy. The clinical monograph illustrates her creative resources to engage in the work of differentiation, and the ability to understand her place in the family structure in spite of a set of exceptionally complex family relationships. These results demonstrate that in this particular situation, as in other situations, the wellbeing of the child is determined by the quality of the relationships sustained in the family group.
Corporate Insurance Strategy: The Case of British Petroleum
Authors: Doherty Neil A. , Smith Clifford
Published: March 2020

The authors provide a fundamental rethinking of how corporations should evaluate various kinds of risks and risk management solutions—a rethinking that leads to a major shift in British Petroleum's approach to insuring property and casualty losses, product liability suits, and other insurable events. Conventional corporate practice—and until the early 1990s (when this article was written) the longstanding policy of BP and most large oil companies—was to insure against large losses while self‐insuring against smaller ones. In this article, the authors explain why BP has chosen to go against the conventional wisdom and instead buy insurance for mainly smaller losses while self‐insuring larger ones.

The BP decision came down to factors affecting the market supply of insurance as well as the corporate demand for it. On the demand side, the authors demonstrate that the primary source of demand for insurance by large public companies is not, as standard insurance textbooks assume, to transfer risk away from the corporation's owners. Because corporate stockholders and bondholders effectively manage the effects of such risks by diversifying their own portfolios, the corporate demand for insurance in BP's case stems from the insurers' comparative advantage in evaluating and monitoring BP's smaller risks and in processing claims.

On the supply side, the authors explain why the capacity of insurance companies and markets to underwrite very large or highly specialized exposures—when compared to the industry expertise and financial resources of companies like BP—is quite limited, and likely to remain so. Since premiums would be experience‐rated and prior years' losses simply rolled into the following years' premiums, there would be no effective transfer of risk, and so no gain to BP from buying insurance.
The Economics of Organizational Architecture
Authors: Brickley James , Smith Clifford , Zimmerman Jerold
Published: March 2020

Drawing on the work of Michael Jensen and William Meckling, the co‐formulators of “agency cost theory,” the authors argue that there are two main challenges in designing the structure of organizations: (1) the “rights assignment” problem—that is, ensuring that decision‐making authority is vested in managers and employees with the “specific knowledge” necessary to make the best decisions; and (2) the “control” or “agency” problem—designing performance‐evaluation and reward systems that give decision‐makers strong incentives to exercise their decision rights in ways that increase the long‐run value of the organization.

The authors provide a number of instructive applications and extensions of the Jensen‐Meckling organizational framework. Using a series of short case studies that range from the Barings Brothers' debacle in the early 1990s and the decade‐long restructuring of ITT to the cases of McDonald's and Century 21, the authors demonstrate the importance of designing performance‐measurement and reward systems that are consistent with the assignment of decision rights.

In so doing, the authors also work to dispel the widespread notion, popular among advocates of Total Quality Management, that the widespread use of performance measures and incentives undermines efforts to promote teamwork within large organizations. A number of brief case histories of companies like Xerox and Mary Kay Cosmetics are used to show the critical role of performance measurement and individual rewards in reinforcing a quality‐centered corporate culture. As the authors conclude, “It is a mistake to think of the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ aspects of organizations as mutually exclusive or even as competing.”
Transfer Pricing and the Control of Internal Corporate Transactions
Authors: Brickley James , Smith Clifford , Zimmerman Jerold
Published: March 2020

One potential weakness of all divisional profitability schemes is their inability to capture synergies among business units. One way of managing this problem is to design a transfer pricing scheme that attempts to assign common costs and benefits to different business units. What makes transfer pricing both so interesting, and such a challenge, is that the solution involves finding a way to encourage divisional managers whose pay is likely to depend on such transfer prices to reveal their private or unbiased information about the firm's costs in a way that serves the interest of the rest of the firm.

With that end in view, the authors provide a general analytical framework for setting transfer prices and go on to discuss the costs and benefits of each of the most common transfer‐pricing methods: (1) market pricing; (2) marginal cost pricing; (3) full‐cost pricing; and (4) negotiated prices.
First responder’s care package on management of road traffic accident victims of Udupi: Study protocol
Authors: Vinish V. , Chakrabarty Jyothi , Vijayan Sandeep , Kulkarni Mahesh , Shashidhara Y.N. , Nayak Baby S. , George Anice
Published: March 2020

Aim

To evaluate the effectiveness of ‘first responder's care package’ on knowledge and skill on the management of road traffic accident (RTA) victims. The outcomes relate to the quality of first responder's care by autorickshaw drivers.

Methods

Autorickshaw drivers (N = 1,040) will be assessed to identify the impediments and knowledge to provide the first responder's care to RTA victims following which, 150 autorickshaw drivers will be selected based on a cut‐off knowledge score to train half of them using workshops. Drivers below 55 years and willing to participate will be recruited and drivers with serious health issues, homophobia and who cannot read English or Kannada will be excluded. Randomized controlled trial with repeated measures design will be adopted. Funding for the research is by the Indian Council of Medical Research and it is registered in the Clinical Trial Registry of India.

Discussion

Road traffic accidents are responsible for 85% of the total global mortality and 90% of the ‘Disability Adjusted Life Years’ in the developing countries amounting to an annual loss of $65 billion to $100 billion. India's rate of RTA deaths is high and postcrash care is not addressed efficiently by any agencies in India. Autorickshaw drivers could be ideal candidates for teaching the first responder's care package in India as they are a constant presence on the roads and reach all the main roads and small lanes of the country.

Impact

The research will add to knowledge on quality of first responder's care provided to accident victims. If the intervention is found to be fruitful for the accident victims of the locality, it can be recommended to be implemented all over the state.
Raking the ocean surface: new patterns of coordinated motion in seabirds
Authors: Assali Camille , Bez Nicolas , Tremblay Yann
Published: March 2020

Coordinated movements of seabirds exploiting a prey patch are known to increase prey encounter and capture rates of individuals. These behaviours, based on effective cooperation between seabirds, have only been reported at small scale, i.e. the scale of the prey patch. However, the efficient prey exploitation by seabirds in vast oceans require larger scale processes such as information transfers between individuals. Indeed, information transfers between foraging seabirds (e.g. changes in behaviour) reduce their search cost while increasing their prey encounter rate. Whether or not these information transfer processes imply active cooperation is unknown. Using images from fishing boat radars in the eastern tropical Atlantic, we show the existence of frequent medium‐scale patterns of coordinated flights of seabird groups, consisting in seabird fronts (‘rake’ patterns) of 0.3–4.4 km width, displacing cohesively over 1.2–10.6 km and lasting between 2 and 19 min. For these rakes to be maintained, seabird groups have to adjust their flight speeds and directions, while they are on average distant of 500 m from each other, what cannot occur by chance. These findings suggest the existence of collective and coordinated movements in seabirds during prey searching at several kilometres’ scale. This potential cooperation between foraging seabird groups brings new insight in the evolutionary trajectories of seabirds life‐style.
Meta‐analysis of pulmonary vein isolation ablation for atrial fibrillation conventional vs low‐ and zero‐fluoroscopy approaches
Authors: Huang Henry D. , Abid Qurrat‐ul‐ain , Ravi Venkatesh , Sharma Parikshit , Larsen Timothy , Krishnan Kousik , Trohman Richard G.
Published: March 2020

Introduction

Radiation exposure during catheter ablation procedures is a significant hazard for both patients and operators. Atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation procedures have been historically associated with higher fluoroscopy usage than other electrophysiology procedures. Recent efforts have been made to reduce dependence on fluoroscopy during pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) ablation procedures using alternative techniques.

Methods

We performed a meta‐analysis of studies comparing zero or low fluoroscopy (LF) vs conventional fluoroscopy (CF) approaches for AF ablation. Outcomes of interest included acute and 12‐month procedural efficacy, safety, procedure duration, fluoroscopy time, and dose area product. Aggregated data were analyzed with random‐effects models, using a Bayesian hierarchical approach.

Results

A total of 2228 participants (LF, n = 1190 vs CF, n = 1038) from 15 studies were included in the meta‐analysis. Risk of AF recurrence in 12 months (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.343 [0.771‐2.340]; P = .297), redo‐ablation procedures (OR [95% CI] = 0.521 [0.198‐1.323]; P = .186), and procedural complications (OR [95% CI] = 0.99 [0.485‐2.204]; P = .979) were similar between LF‐ and CF‐ablation groups. In comparison to CF ablation, LF ablation led to shorter procedure duration (weighted mean differences [WMDs] [95% CI] = −14.6 minutes [−22.5 to −6.8]; P < .001), fluoroscopy time (WMD [95% CI] = −8.8 minutes [−11.9 to −5.9]; P < .001), and dose area product (WMD [95% CI] = −1946 mGy/cm2 [−2685 to 1207]; P < .001).

Conclusion

LF approaches have similar clinical efficacy and safety as CF approaches for PVI. LF approaches are associated with shorter procedure time, fluoroscopy usage, and dose area product during PVI.
Evaluating food safety and hygiene knowledge and practices among foodservice staff of feeding scheme in the primary schools in Soweto, South Africa
Authors: Mgqibandaba Pretty Z. , Madilo Felix K. , Du‐Preez Cornelia J. , Mjoka Joanne , Unathi Kolanisi
Published: March 2020

The study was to evaluate the food safety knowledge and hygiene practices among food handlers. A total of 42 food handlers in 13 basic schools under the School Feeding Scheme, Soweto, South Africa were recruited for the study using purposive and convenience sampling methods for the respondents and institutions, respectively. A piloted self‐administered questionnaire was used. All the respondents were female (100%) with the majority being between the ages of 31 and 40 (40%) and had secondary education (63%). About (90.5%) of the respondents indicated that food safety is very important. Frequent hand washing (95.2%); cleaning and sanitizing knives/cutting boards (95.3%); checking best before date (92.8); keeping kitchen surfaces clean (80.9%) among others were indicated as very important food safety and hygiene practices. However, they failed to agree that frozen foods, particularly meat are to be thawed using room temperature (4.8%) and also in the lower shelf in the refrigerators (26.2) as the best practices. Spearman's correlation coefficient revealed that no correlation exists between food safety knowledge and hygiene practices (p< .05), but strong correlations among educational levels, knowledge, and practices (p< .05). Hence, training and workshops particularly in hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) is needed to cover‐up the lapses.
Nogo receptor antagonist LOTUS exerts suppression on axonal growth‐inhibiting receptor PIR‐B
Authors: Kurihara Yuji , Takai Toshiyuki , Takei Kohtaro
Published: March 2020

Damaged axons in the adult mammalian central nervous system have a restricted regenerative capacity mainly because of Nogo protein, which is a major myelin‐associated axonal growth inhibitor with binding to both receptors of Nogo receptor‐1 (NgR1) and paired immunoglobulin‐like receptor (PIR)‐B. Lateral olfactory tract usher substance (LOTUS) exerts complete suppression of NgR1‐mediated axonal growth inhibition by antagonizing NgR1. However, the regulation of PIR‐B functions in neurons remains unknown. In this study, protein–protein interactions analyses found that LOTUS binds to PIR‐B and abolishes Nogo‐binding to PIR‐B completely. Reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemistry revealed that PIR‐B is expressed in dorsal root ganglions (DRGs) from wild‐type and Ngr1‐deficient mice (male and female). In these DRG neurons, Nogo induced growth cone collapse and neurite outgrowth inhibition, but treatment with the soluble form of LOTUS completely suppressed them. Moreover, Nogo‐induced growth cone collapse and neurite outgrowth inhibition in Ngr1‐deficient DRG neurons were neutralized by PIR‐B function‐blocking antibodies, indicating that these Nogo‐induced phenomena were mediated by PIR‐B. Our data show that LOTUS negatively regulates a PIR‐B function. LOTUS thus exerts an antagonistic action on both receptors of NgR1 and PIR‐B. This may lead to an improvement in the defective regeneration of axons following injury.

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Audiogenic kindling activates expression of vasopressin in the hypothalamus of Krushinsky‐Molodkina rats genetically prone to reflex epilepsy
Authors: Harbachova Eugenia L. , Chernigovskaya Elena V. , Glazova Margarita V. , Nikitina Liubov S.
Published: March 2020

The present study analysed the effects of audiogenic kindling on the functional state of the vasopressinergic system of Krushinsky‐Molodkina (KM) rats. KM rats represent a genetic model of audiogenic reflex epilepsy. Multiple audiogenic seizures in KM rats lead to the involvement of the limbic structures and neocortex in the epileptic network. The phenomenon of epileptic activity that overspreads from the brain stem to the forebrain is called audiogenic kindling and represents a model of limbic epilepsy. In the present study, audiogenic kindling was induced by 25 repetitive audiogenic seizures (AGS) with 1 AGS per day. A proportion of KM rats did not express AGS to sound stimuli, and these rats were characterised as the AGS‐resistant group. The data demonstrated that audiogenic kindling did not change activity of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 or cAMP response element‐binding protein, although it led to an increase in vasopressin (VP) expression in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and in the magnocellular division of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Additionally, we observed a decrease in GABAergic innervation of the hypothalamic neuroendocrine neurones after audiogenic kindling, whereas glutamatergic innervation of the SON and PVN was not altered. By contrast, analysis of AGS‐resistant KM rats did not reveal any changes in the activity of the VP‐ergic system, confirming that the activation of VP expression was caused by repetitive AGS expression, rather than by repetitive acoustic stress. Thus, we suggest that overspread of epileptiform activity in the brain is the main factor that affects VP expression in the hypothalamic magnocellular neurones.
Celastrol ameliorates endoplasmic stress-mediated apoptosis of osteoarthritis via regulating ATF-6/CHOP signalling pathway
Authors: Liu Da Dong , Zhang Ben Li , Yang Ji Bin , Zhou Kunpeng
Published: March 2020

Objectives

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint disease with the pathological features of the reduced cartilage cellularity. Celastrol, a compound from Tripterygium wilfordii, exerted therapeutic effects on arthritis, but the potential mechanism remains unclear.

Methods

Tunicamycin was used to establish a model of OA in vitro, and ACLT surgery model in rats was applied to verify the mechanism. Chondrocytes were isolated from the knee articular cartilage of rabbit. MTT and flow cytometry assay were used to detect cell viability and apoptosis rate. Haematoxylin–eosin staining was used to assess for the histopathological changes. The activity and expression of apoptosis-related factors and ERs (endoplasmic reticulum stress)-related factors were detected by ELISA, WB, PCR and IHC, respectively.

Key findings

Celastrol exhibited significant enhancement on cell viability and reduced the rate of apoptosis in Tm-exposed chondrocytes. Celastrol reduced enzyme activity and protein expression of caspase-3, caspase-6 and caspase-9, decreased Bip, Atf6, Chop and Xbp-1 expression both at protein and mRNA levels. Celastrol showed a more significant effect on cell apoptosis rate and mRNA expression in the combination with 4-PBA.

Conclusions

This study reveals that celastrol may prevent OA by inhibiting the ERs-mediated apoptosis. All these might supply beneficial hints for celastrol on OA treatment.
The dual roles of melatonin biosynthesis enzymes in the coordination of melatonin biosynthesis and autophagy in cassava
Authors: Wei Yunxie , Bai Yujing , Cheng Xiao , Zhu Binbin , Reiter Russel J. , Shi Haitao
Published: March 2020

Both autophagy and melatonin play important roles in plant development and stress response. However, the direct correlation between autophagy and melatonin as well as the underlying mechanism remains elusive in plants. In this study, we discovered that the expression of three autophagy‐associated genes (MeATG8b, 8c, and 8e) and autophagic activity were induced by exogenous melatonin treatment in cassava. In addition, three melatonin biosynthesis enzymes (tryptophan decarboxylase 2 (MeTDC2), N‐aceylserotonin O‐methyltransferase 2 (MeASMT2), and MeASMT3) positively regulate endogenous melatonin level and autophagic activity. Further investigation showed that these melatonin biosynthesis enzymes interacted with MeATG8b/8c/8e in vivo and in vitro. Consistently, MeTDC2, MeASMT2, and MeASMT3 also positively regulate endogenous melatonin level and autophagic activity in cassava. Notably, overexpression of MeATG8b, 8c, and 8e facilitated the protein expression level of MeTDC2, MeASMT2, and MeASMT3 in vivo. Taken together, melatonin synthesis enzymes (MeTDC2, MeASMT2/3) interact with MeATG8b/8c/8e and thus coordinate the dynamics of melatonin biosynthesis and autophagic activity in cassava, highlighting the links between melatonin biosynthesis and autophagic activity in cassava.
Effect of dry medicinal plants (wormwood, chamomile, fumitory and mallow) on in vitro ruminal antioxidant capacity and fermentation patterns of sheep
Authors: Petrič Daniel , Mravčáková Dominika , Kucková Katarína , Čobanová Klaudia , Kišidayová Svetlana , Cieslak Adam , Ślusarczyk Sylwester , Váradyová Zora
Published: March 2020

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dry medicinal plants (wormwood, chamomile, fumitory and mallow) and dietary substrates containing a mix of the plants on the end products of in vitro ruminal and intestinal fermentation, rumen protozoan population and ruminal antioxidant capacity of sheep. The experiment consisted of fermentations with the four plants used individually as the sole substrate and fermentation of a mix of medicinal plants (Plants): meadow hay:barley grain (MH:B), 700/300 w/w and Plants:MH:B, 100/600/300 w/w/w. The experiment was conducted using the in vitro gas production technique (IVGPT) with 35 ml of buffered inocula and approximately 250 mg (DM basis) of substrate incubated for 24 hr at 39°C in anaerobic conditions. Quantitative analyses of the bioactive compounds by ultra‐high‐resolution mass spectrometry in Plants identified three main groups: flavonoids (22 mg/g DM), phenolic acids (15 mg/g DM) and alkaloids (3 mg/g DM). The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the plant extracts and rumen fluid was analysed using a ferric reducing antioxidant power assay. The values of total and individual short‐chain fatty acids, acetate:propionate ratio, pH and total gas production were significantly affected by the single plant substrates and inocula (p < .001). Apart from these parameters, the values of ammonia N, methane production and total gas produced were decreased in Plants:MH:B in comparison with MH:B (p < .001). A positive correlation was recorded between total polyphenols content and TAC of plant extracts (R2 = .778, p < .001). The counts of the total ciliate protozoan population in rumen fluid after 24 hr of fermentation were not significantly different (p > .05). Results suggest that the dietary substrate containing the medicinal plant mix possessed strong ruminal antioxidant capacity, had the potential to reduce methane emission and ammonia concentration and caused desirable changes in the gastrointestinal ecosystem.
Parallel enlargement of Marinesco bodies and nuclei and progressive deposition of p62 in pigmented neurons of the substantia nigra
Authors: Amano Ryota , Toru Shuta , Yamane Michio , Kitagawa Masanobu , Hirokawa Katsuiku , Uchihara Toshiki
Published: March 2020

Marinesco bodies (MBs) are spherical nuclear inclusions found in pigmented neurons of the substantia nigra. Although MBs are abundant in senescent brains, how they are related to aging processes remains unclear. Here, we performed a morphometric analysis of midbrain pigmented neurons to identify the possible influence of MBs on nuclear size. The transected area of the nucleus (nuclear area) was larger in the presence of MBs and was correlated with the area of MB (MB area) in all tested brains. The MB‐associated nuclear enlargement was significant even after MB areas were subtracted from nuclear areas. Moreover, higher MB immunoreactivity of p62 was detected in the nucleoplasm of the enlarged MB‐associated nuclei. This study on human brains is the first quantitative approach demonstrating MB‐associated nuclear enlargement and progressive accumulation of small nucleoplasmic materials. Although cellular hypertrophy is usually considered to be an indication of the upregulation of cellular function, this might not always be the case. These findings suggest that an age‐related decline of ubiquitin‐proteasome and autophagy system activity and stagnation of undegradable materials are one of the candidate mechanisms to explain the age‐related decline of neural activity in the substantia nigra.
Three‐dimensional measurement and analysis of mandibular characteristics in subjects with impacted mandibular second molars
Authors: Fan Wei , Gao Deguo , Wang Yuting , Chen Yutong , Li Yusheng , Lu Shijun , Wang Zhendong
Published: March 2020

Objective

To investigate the morphological characteristics of the mandible in subjects with impacted mandibular second molars by measuring and analysing the mandible in three dimensions.

Setting and Sample Population

In this retrospective study, the data of a total of 52 609 subjects who underwent cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) for diagnosis and treatment were reviewed. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 183 subjects with impacted mandibular second molars and 176 age‐ and sex‐matched controls were included.

Methods

A retrospective case‐control study was designed. The 183 subjects were divided into two groups: group 1 (G1) comprised 120 patients with unilaterally impacted mandibular second molars, and group 2 (G2) comprised 63 patients with bilaterally impacted mandibular second molars. Group 3 (G3) contained 176 age‐ and sex‐matched controls. The mandible was reconstructed with nineteen landmarks using Mimics software. Twelve linear lengths and 3 angles were measured.

Results

The bilateral germination gap, mandibular body width and gonion width in G1 were significantly lower than those in G3 (P < .05), while the gnathion angle and first molar width values in G1 were significantly higher than those in G3 (P < .05). The results in G2 were similar to those in G1, but the differences between G2 and G3 were greater than those between G1 and G3. There were no significant differences in the other measurements among the groups.

Conclusion

The mandibles of the subjects with impacted second molars were constricted in terms of the sagittal length and transverse width.
Consistent individual differences in ecto‐parasitism of a long‐lived lizard host
Authors: Payne Eric , Sinn David L. , Spiegel Orr , Leu Stephan T. , Wohlfeil Caroline , Godfrey Stephanie S. , Gardner Michael , Sih Andy
Published: March 2020

Individual hosts vary substantially in their parasite loads. However, whether individual hosts have consistently different loads remains uncertain. If so, hosts that have consistently high parasite loads may serve as key reservoirs or super‐spreaders. Thus, identifying whether individuals persistently differ in their parasitism and the factors that explain these patterns constitute important issues for disease ecology and management. To investigate these topics, we examined nine years of tick counts in a wild population of sleepy lizardsTiliqua rugosa. Lizards were individually marked, and throughout their activity season, often across several years, we repeatedly assessed lizards’ ticks (to stage – larva, nymph, adult male and adult female – and species, eitherBothriocroton hydrosauriorAmblyomma limbatum). Using these repeated individual measures, we determined whether tick counts were repeatable. Then, we tested predictors of average tick counts, particularly lizard mass, sex, behavioural type (aggression and boldness), and the distance between lizards’ home range centre and a road transecting the study site (an area of greater food and lizard activity). We found that lizards exhibited consistent individual differences in tick loads both within and across years. Within‐lizard yearly average counts of larvae and nymphs were positively correlated. Lizards closer to the road tended to have more larvae and nymphs of both species and more adultB. hydrosauri. Sex did not affect tick counts. Mass differentially affected adult femaleA. limbatumand adult maleB. hydrosauritick counts. Intriguingly, lizards with above average aggression but below average boldness, or vice versa, tended to have higher average adult femaleB. hydrosauritick counts. Ultimately, our results demonstrate that lizards differed consistently in their tick counts, indicating that lizard parasitism may constitute a phenotypic trait of the individual, with implications for both host–parasite dynamics and broader host ecology.
Phenological responses to climate warming in temperate moths and butterflies: species traits predict future changes in voltinism
Authors: Teder Tiit
Published: March 2020

Changes in the number of generations per year (voltinism) have been among the most common phenological responses to climate warming in insects inhabiting seasonal environments. Nevertheless, numerous species have maintained univoltine (one generation per year) phenology with increasing temperatures, indicating the involvement of phylogenetic, ecological or some other constraints on phenological change. I examined geographic variation in voltinism in moths and butterflies of northern Europe to identify species traits that might predispose species to univoltine/multivoltine phenology. I focused on species with a wide latitudinal distribution range (15 degrees as a minimum) which makes it unlikely that constraints imposed by season length could preclude multivoltinism across their distribution. Almost half of the 731 moth and butterfly species considered appear to have a single generation throughout their entire European range. A univoltine life‐cycle across a wide latitudinal gradient suggests the presence of some constraint that makes additional generations either impossible or at least strongly disadvantageous, which will unlikely change with future climate warming. The scattered distribution of univoltine and multivoltine species across the lepidopteran phylogeny indicates that phylogenetic constraints do not strongly limit changes in voltinism, and the trait is open to ecologically‐driven adaptive evolution. My data show that species with one generation per year are generally larger than multivoltine species, but size forms no absolute constraint to having multiple generations per year. Obligately univoltine species dominate among egg and adult overwinterers (life‐histories typical of so‐called spring‐feeders), whereas species with capacity for multiple generations prevail among pupal overwinterers. Multivoltinism is also infrequent among species feeding on grasses, particularly in endophagous grass‐feeders. Larval diet breadth has no discernible effect on voltinism. Given the diverse ecological consequences of voltinism and its changes, accounting for the species’ capacity for multivoltinism may be a key to address future challenges in biodiversity conservation and pest management.
Maternal common mental disorder over time and asthma control: The role of social support
Authors: da Costa Auxiliadora Damianne Pereira Vieira , dos Santos Leticia Marques , Feitosa Caroline Alves , de Miranda Claudio Torres
Published: March 2020

Background

Despite therapeutic advances, asthma prevalence remains high. Psychosocial factors, including maternal mental disorders, may be involved. This study aims to evaluate the association of maternal common mental disorders (CMDs) and their change over time with asthma morbidity in the child and to observe the effect of social support on this association.

Methods

This prospective study involved 189 dyads of mothers and their asthmatic children aged between 2 and 14 years, assisted in specialized outpatient clinics. We measured the association of maternal CMD evolution (absent, maintained, or improved over time) with asthma control and visits to the emergency department (ED) due to asthma attacks through Poisson regression analysis. We further stratified the sample according to social support levels to identify a possible effect of this variable on the association of maternal psychological symptoms with asthma morbidity.

Results

Compared with mothers who maintained CMD over time, maternal CMD absence had a protective effect on the occurrence of visits to the ED (RR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.26‐0.79) and maternal CMD improvement was associated with lower risk of uncontrolled asthma in the child (RR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.37‐0.97). There was a stronger association of maternal CMD improvement with asthma control in the child only for the stratum of mothers with high social support in its three dimensions (affective‐social interaction, emotional‐informational, and material dimensions).

Conclusions

Maternal CMD absence and improvement over the study period were protective factors for uncontrolled asthma in the child, mainly in the presence of high social support.
Ibrutinib for the treatment of chronic graft‐vs‐host disease in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients: A single‐center experience
Authors: Teusink‐Cross Ashley , Davies Stella M. , Grimley Michael S. , Chandra Sharat , Flannery Amanda , Dandoy Christopher E. , Nelson Adam S. , Marsh Rebecca A. , Jacoby Brandon , Lane Adam , Khandelwal Pooja
Published: March 2020

cGVHD is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality after transplant. Ibrutinib has been studied as treatment for cGVHD in the adult population. Pediatric dosing and safety of ibrutinib are unknown. We conducted a retrospective review on the use of ibrutinib in 22 children with cGVHD at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. All patients received a dose of 250 mg/m2 orally, once daily. Responses were measured at 6 months after drug initiation using the 2014 NIH consensus panel response criteria. Twenty‐two patients of median age 13.5 years received ibrutinib. cGVHD grades were severe (n = 15), moderate (n = 6), and mild (n = 1). Eight patients stopped ibrutinib prior to 3 months due to adverse events or death and could not be evaluated for 6‐month response. Of the 14 evaluable patients, 12 achieved a partial response at 6 months and two patients had progressive disease. Seven evaluable patients with lung involvement had stable lung function at 6 months. One patient had EBV reactivation, and one patient developed pneumococcal sepsis despite appropriate prophylaxis while on ibrutinib therapy. No fungal infections occurred while on ibrutinib. Adverse events leading to discontinuation included recurrent fevers without a source, extensive bruising, oral bleeding, gastrointestinal distress, lower GI bleeding, dizziness, elevated transaminases, and pneumococcal sepsis. Ibrutinib administration of 250 mg/m2 oral daily shows promising responses in pediatric cGVHD. Pediatric‐focused pharmacokinetic‐directed studies are needed to establish optimal dosing and define efficacy in children.
Moving beyond belief: A narrative review of potential biomarkers for transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation
Authors: Burger Andreas Michael , D’Agostini Martina , Verkuil Bart , Van Diest Ilse
Published: March 2020

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a non‐invasive neurostimulation technique that is currently being tested as a potential treatment for a myriad of neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, the working mechanisms underlying tVNS are poorly understood and it remains unclear whether stimulation activates the vagus nerve for every participant. Finding a biological marker of tVNS is imperative, as it can help guide research on clinical applications and can inform researchers on optimal stimulation sites and parameters to further optimize treatment efficacy. In this narrative review, we discuss five potential biomarkers for tVNS and review currently available evidence for these markers for both invasive and tVNS. While some of these biomarkers hold promise from a theoretical perspective, none of the potential biomarkers provide clear and definitive indications that tVNS increases the vagal activity or augments activity in the locus coeruleus‐noradrenaline network. We conclude the review by providing several recommendations for how to tackle the challenges and opportunities when researching potential biomarkers for the effects of tVNS.
Developing web‐based health guidance for coaches and parents in child athletics (track and field)
Authors: Jacobsson Jenny , Ekberg Joakim , Timpka Toomas , Haggren Råsberg Lena , Sjöberg Marina , Mirkovic Dejan , Nilsson Sverker
Published: March 2020

The aim of this study was to develop athletics health guidance (AHG) aimed at supporting coaches and parents involved in organized child athletics by providing practical advice and tools for the management of the most common health problems experienced in athletics by the 12‐ to 15‐year olds. The study used participatory action research (PAR) and an established health service guideline development procedure modified to fit AHG development in child athletics. A sequential process consisting of four steps with associated subgoals was employed. The collected data were structured according to the AHG development steps and analyzed using qualitative methods. The most common health concern identified was injuries related to growth and overuse. No randomized controlled studies investigating injury prevention programs or any existing concepts/guidelines in child athletics were found that could be used in the development of the AHG. A requirements document was instead defined in a nominal group process and used for the AHG development. The areas included in the final AHG were as follows: training youth athletes, growth and puberty, recovery, injury prevention, injuries and illnesses, mental illness, safe sport, and anti‐doping. The evidence regarding health issues in child athletics is limited, indicating that actions to support good health in the sport are currently based essentially on best practice. The long‐term aim of the AHG and associated website is to systematically create and introduce conditions that can bridge the "know‐do gap" and provide coaches and parents with easy‐to‐access and up‐to‐date knowledge in the field of child athlete health in athletics.
Cytologic appearance of hibernoma in two dogs
Authors: Piccione Julie , Dial Sharon M.
Published: March 2020

Hibernomas are rare benign tumors of brown fat (adipose tissue) that have been reported in several different species. The cytologic characterization of these tumors has not been described in dogs. In this case report, we describe two dogs with hibernomas, focusing on the cytologic appearance of these unique neoplasms. Both cytologic specimens were highly cellular and predominated by vacuolated neoplastic cells with no evidence of concurrent inflammation. The cells contained a moderate to large number of variably sized cytoplasmic vacuoles, with occasional, irregularly shaped pink granular material. Most cells contained a single nucleus; however, cells displayed moderate anisokaryosis. A biopsy with histologic examination was performed in both cases, confirming the cytologic suspicion of hibernoma. Immunohistochemistry revealed that both tumors were positive for UCP1 and vimentin, and negative for cytokeratin. Hibernoma is an important differential diagnosis in dogs with conjunctival and periocular swellings that exfoliate numerous, mildly atypical, vacuolated cells.
A small allelic variant in donor class I MHC is sufficient to induce alloantibodies following transfusion of standard or pathogen‐reduced platelets in mice
Authors: Jackman Rachael P. , Heitman John W. , Muench Marcus O.
Published: March 2020

Background and objectives

Alloimmunization targeting major histocompatibility (MHC) antigens is common following platelet transfusion. Pathogen reduction of platelets can block alloimmunization to MHC in mice and induce partial antigen‐specific tolerance to subsequent transfusions. This study utilized small allelic variants to evaluate the relative contributions of class I and class II MHC to the alloresponse against untreated or pathogen‐reduced platelets.

Materials and methods

C57BL/6 (B6) Kbm1 and B6 IAbm12 mice with small variants in the class I Kb and class II IAb alleles, respectively, were used as platelet donors for wild‐type B6 recipients. Both untreated and pathogen‐reduced platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) transfusions were evaluated for immunogenicity by measuring antibody responses and ex vivo cytokine production.

Results

Both the Kbm1 and IAbm12 alleles induced antibody responses, though the response to Kbm1 was greater. Pathogen reduction blocked the antibody responses to IAbm12, but not to Kbm1. Both the Kbm1 and IAbm12 alleles primed ex vivo cytokine responses that were blocked with pathogen reduction, though responses to IAbm12 were broader and larger (Kbm1 responses: IFN‐γ, TNFα, and MIP‐1β; IAbm12 responses: IFN‐γ, TNFα, IL‐1β, IL‐10, IL‐13, and GM‐CSF). Pathogen‐reduced Kbm1 PRP did not appear to induce any tolerance to subsequent untreated Kbm1 PRP transfusions.

Conclusion

Minor allelic variants in both the class I and class II MHC are capable of inducing an alloresponse to transfusion. The Kbm1 PRP induced alloantibodies even with pathogen reduction and did not show signs of inducing the partial tolerance to subsequent transfusions observed with a larger MHC mismatch.
Period-1 to Period-8 Motions in a Nonlinear Jeffcott Rotor System
Authors: Xu Yeyin , Luo Albert C. J.
Published: March 2020

In this paper, a bifurcation tree of period-1 to period-8 motions in a nonlinear Jeffcott rotor system is obtained through the discrete mapping method. The bifurcations and stability of periodic motions on the bifurcation tree are discussed. The quasi-periodic motions on the bifurcation tree are caused by two Neimark bifurcations (NBs) of period-1 motions, one NB of period-2 motions, and four NBs of period-4 motions. The specific quasi-periodic motions are mainly based on the skeleton of the corresponding periodic motions. One stable and one unstable period-doubling (PD) bifurcations exist for the period-1, period-2, and period-4 motions. The unstable PD bifurcation is from an unstable period-m motion to an unstable period-2m motion, and the unstable period-m motion becomes stable. Such an unstable PD bifurcation is the third order source pitchfork bifurcation. Periodic motions on the bifurcation tree are simulated numerically, and the corresponding harmonic amplitudes and phases are presented for harmonic effects on periodic motions in the nonlinear Jeffcott rotor system. Such a study gives a complete picture of periodic and quasi-periodic motions in the nonlinear Jeffcott rotor system in the specific parameter range. One can follow the similar procedure to work out the other bifurcation trees in the nonlinear Jeffcott rotor systems.