bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Embedding based learning for collection selection in federated search
Authors: Garba Adamu , Khalid Shah , Ullah Irfan , Khusro Shah , Mumin Diyawu
Published: October 2020

Purpose

There have been many challenges in crawling deep web by search engines due to their proprietary nature or dynamic content. Distributed Information Retrieval (DIR) tries to solve these problems by providing a unified searchable interface to these databases. Since a DIR must search across many databases, selecting a specific database to search against the user query is challenging. The challenge can be solved if the past queries of the users are considered in selecting collections to search in combination with word embedding techniques. Combining these would aid the best performing collection selection method to speed up retrieval performance of DIR solutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors propose a collection selection model based on word embedding using Word2Vec approach that learns the similarity between the current and past queries. They used the cosine and transformed cosine similarity models in computing the similarities among queries. The experiment is conducted using three standard TREC testbeds created for federated search.

Findings

The results show significant improvements over the baseline models.

Originality/value

Although the lexical matching models for collection selection using similarity based on past queries exist, to the best our knowledge, the proposed work is the first of its kind that uses word embedding for collection selection by learning from past queries.
A qualitative study of school leader experiences adopting and implementing a whole of school physical activity and sedentary behaviour programme: Transform-Us!
Authors: Cassar Samuel , Salmon Jo , Timperio Anna , Koch Sofie , Koorts Harriet
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Little is known about the experiences of school leaders adopting and implementing real-world, scaled-up physical activity interventions in the Australian educational system. Transform-Us! is a novel physical activity and sedentary behaviour intervention available to all primary schools in Victoria, Australia, since September 2018. This study explored barriers and facilitators experienced by school leaders during the adoption and early implementation phases of Transform-Us!.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative study involving seven semi-structured telephone interviews with school leaders implementing Transform-Us! in primary schools in Victoria, Australia. Interview schedules were developed based on the theoretical domains framework (TDF). Interviews were coded using a framework analysis approach.

Findings

Four key themes emerged relating to ten of the 14 TDF domains. Themes included: knowledge, goals, implementation factors and leadership. School leaders play a central role in creating a positive implementation environment including the delivery setting (classroom) and a supportive culture (knowledge sharing) in the school. The application of the TDF to the study bridges the gap between theory and practice and identifies potential future implementation strategies which may be further tested in professional practice future studies. Recommendations for increased adoption and sustained implementation related to seven core areas: presence of a school/programme champion(s); collaborative knowledge sharing; online training; school-based workshops; promotion of behavioural and mental health outcomes; teacher autonomy in delivery; and a supportive implementation environment.

Originality/value

School leaders have a unique scope to influence the adoption and implementation of physical activity and sedentary behaviour interventions. This study outlines specific barriers and facilitators for implementation of a physical activity programme in the Australian educational setting and offers recommendations for programme optimisation.
Teaching in the pandemic: reconceptualizing Chilean educators' professionalism now and for the future
Authors: González Álvaro , Fernández María Beatriz , Pino-Yancovic Mauricio , Madrid Romina
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This essay explores the effects of school buildings closure during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on Chilean teachers' and principals' professional role and values, highlighting implications for reconceptualizing educators' professionalism for the post-pandemic era.

Design/methodology/approach

Competing versions of Chilean educators' professionalism during the pandemic were analyzed based on government guidelines, national teachers' association statements, news reports and testimonies from teachers and principals collected from webinars.

Findings

The guidelines that the ministry issued after school building were required to close motivated educators to challenge a version of professionalism founded on new public management (NPM) policies, which mandated external control and emphasized students' academic outcomes. By challenging the dominant NPM perspective of professionalism, educators advocated for professional autonomy as well as students' and communities' well-being.

Originality/value

This essay offers insights into how the Chilean school system's response to the crisis evidenced competing notions of educators' professionalism. As the pandemic continues to be an ongoing phenomenon, four implications for reconceptualizing educators' professionalism are drawn, which could inform and offer guidance to practitioners and policymakers in the post-pandemic era.
Crisis and opportunity in teacher preparation in the pandemic: exploring the “adjacent possible”
Authors: Tsui Amy B.M. , Chan Carol K.K. , Harfitt Gary , Leung Promail
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper draws on Kauffman's theory of the “adjacent possible” to make sense of the practices which have emerged in response to school and university closures in Hong Kong and reflects on what opportunities exist in this current global crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper drew on qualitative data from two emergent practices – the e-practicum and co-teaching on an online platform – in a teacher preparation program at the University of Hong Kong. The data set included online teaching resources produced by student teachers (STs), reflections from STs, feedback from mentors and university tutors, interactions on an online platform and interviews with co-teaching team members.

Findings

The authors found “emergent practices” were developed in response to the pandemic by pushing the boundaries of existing practices and exploring the opportunities hovering at the edges of the possible. These practices were still evolving, but they contained elements that can morph into innovative practices in teacher preparation.

Originality/value

This paper provides a perspective on where opportunity in a crisis can be found and what innovation means in an educational context.
Climate’s role in Earth’s shifting spheres
Authors: Robertson Robin
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to present the physics of climate and climate change in an accessible manner to the layman in the context of shifting spheres.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents the physics of climate and climate change in an accessible manner to the layman in the context of shifting spheres. This is a viewpoint and more of a literature review than new findings.

Findings

Earth's climate is changing due to man's influence.

Social implications

Climate change will be a major factor in the future of our society.

Originality/value

The text is original. The information is not. There is recent information in this article. The author even updated things during the review process. The science is always improving.
Governance and administrative process of the Light Rail Train project in Palembang, Indonesia
Authors: Hairi Muhammad Akbar
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The paper investigates the governance and administrative process in the Palembang Light Rail Train (LRT) project in Indonesia and gives suggestions on the strategic development of the LRT project for creating a desakota technopole in Palembang.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts both STEEP (Social, Technological, Environmental, Economic, Political) analysis and desakota technopole theoretical framework. The STEEP analysis is used to explain the Palembang LRT project which is to meet one of the city’s high-tech urban transportation goals. The desakota technopole framework is used as a strategic urban planning guideline for the further development of Palembang.

Findings

This paper has three findings. First, based on STEEP analysis, Palembang needs smart urban transportation, such as LRT, to solve the present and future traffic problems. Second, the governance and administrative process in the LRT project is mandated to national companies as part of a national government infrastructure policy financed over multiple years through the national budget. Third, it is critical for national, provincial, and local governments to adopt a desakota technopole framework strategy to meet long-term targets.

Originality/value

This paper highlights Indonesia experience towards making a desakota technopole, using the Palembang LRT project policy as the key driver under investigation.
Volunteering: what drives and retains it? An analysis of motivational needs together with organizational policies and practices
Authors: Ashfaq Fouzia , Butt Mattiullah , Ilyas Sehrish
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Drawing on expectancy theory, this research explores how and when volunteers’ motivational drives for volunteering relate to organizational policies and practices. The paper analyses four areas of motivational association – affiliation, beliefs, career development and egoistic motives – together with organizational human resource (HR) policies and practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a qualitative approach and through 17 interviews of the volunteer managers associated with 13 non-profit organizations (NPOs) examined that how through HR policies and practices, an NPO efficiently taps motivational drives of volunteers and maintains their spirit of volunteering.

Findings

The findings of the study indicated that the same behaviour may serve different functions for different individuals. Most of the motivational drives need to be tapped with specific tasks and events to become a source of fulfilment for volunteers, this plays a vital role in their decisions to continue volunteering. NPOs’ HR practices without volunteers’ motivation cannot serve any purpose. In the same vein, volunteers’ motivation cannot sustain for a longer period if it is not properly linked with organizational HR practices.

Research limitations/implications

The research findings may lack generalizability because of the selected research approach.

Originality/value

A great part of existing research, not previously captured in literature, is focussed on the assessment of the motivational underpinnings with respect to HR policies and practices.
Encapsulation increases the in vitro bioaccessibility of probiotics in yoghurt
Authors: Ajlouni Said , Ranadheera Chaminda Senaka , Chua Ee Ling
Published: October 2020

This study examined the encapsulation efficacy of probiotics in yoghurts, product physicochemical properties, the best timing to add encapsulated probiotics during yoghurt manufacturing (before or after fermentation) and their in vitro bioaccessibility. Three different yoghurt types were produced including plain and with encapsulated probiotics added before and after fermentation. A significant (P < 0.05) reduction in total probiotic count was observed in yoghurts containing encapsulated probiotics after 21 days of refrigerated storage. However, the total probiotic count increased during the in vitro colonic fermentation when yoghurts containing encapsulated probiotics were used, indicating increased bioaccessibility of probiotics in the colon.
Migrants encounters of a lifestyle destination: From coastal idyll to activated city
Authors: Buckle Caitlin
Published: October 2020

Lifestyle destinations draw migrants in with a promise of certain place encounters. However, these place encounters are likely to change over time, particularly with increased amenity migration and associated development. In this article, I consider the lifestyle destination settlement of Maroochydore and surrounding suburbs in the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Plans to build a central business district (CBD) have been approved, with the local council aiming to build infrastructure for growing populations. However, these plans may jeopardise the imaginary of Maroochydore as a quiet sea change idyll that draws lifestyle migrants and tourists to the area. In order to understand the potential impact of a CBD to migrants' place encounters, I interviewed 34 migrants of different ages and life stages to Maroochydore and surrounds (the Maroochy area) as part of a larger study. I used narrative, visual, and virtual visitation methods to explore their prior place‐based experiences and current encounters with the area. Housing form and density were the most discussed material components related to the CBD, likely because of fears that high‐rise buildings affect an imagined coastal lifestyle. Employment and transport were the most discussed day‐to‐day practices potentially affected by the CBD. Participants thought the CBD positively affected public transport services but had little effect on future employment opportunities. The challenges discussed in this article have implications for how lifestyle communities manage and maintain positive place encounters, balancing the realities of growing development with idyllic expectations.
Outcomes of traumatised immature teeth treated with apexification or regenerative endodontic procedure: a retrospective study
Authors: Pereira Andrea Cardoso , Oliveira Matheus Lima , Cerqueira‐Neto Ana Carolina C. L. , Vargas‐Neto Júlio , Nagata Juliana Yuri , Gomes Brenda P.F.A. , Ferraz Caio Cezar Randi , de Almeida José Flávio Affonso , de‐Jesus‐Soares Adriana
Published: October 2020

This study compares the clinical success rate and continued radiographic root development of apexification and regenerative endodontic procedure in traumatised immature permanent teeth, and proposes a method to evaluate apical convergence, namely apical angle. Clinical and radiological data were collected from 44 treated teeth (22 with apexification and 22 with regenerative endodontic procedure). The preoperative and follow‐up periapical radiographs were analysed to calculate the percentage changes in root length, root width, apical diameter and apical angle. The success rates for complete healing with apexification and regenerative endodontic procedure were 86.36% and 95.45%, respectively. Radiographically, regenerative endodontic procedure showed significantly greater percentage changes in root width only (P < 0.05). Apexification and regenerative endodontic procedure provide satisfactory outcomes concerning clinical success rates. Continued root development in regenerative endodontic procedure was similar to apexification, except for root width. Apical angle allowed us to assess the convergence of the root canal walls.
Prevalence of CBAVD in azoospermic men carrying pathogenic CFTR mutations ‐ Evaluated in a cohort of 639 non‐vasectomized azoospermic men
Authors: Fedder Jens , Jørgensen Mette W. , Engvad Birte
Published: October 2020

Background

Men with obstructive azoospermia (OA) due to impaired development of the genital tract often carry at least one Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator CFTR mutation.

Objective

To determine the frequency of Congenital Bilateral Absence of Vas deferens (CBAVD) in men with azoospermia carrying CFTR gene mutations.

Materials and methods

Non‐vasectomized men with azoospermia referred to our andrological center were consecutively included. All men underwent palpation of the scrotal parts of the Vasa deferentia, ultrasonography of the testicles and hormone profile, and genetic analyses. Testicular biopsy was usually performed. A panel of 32 of the most important CFTR mutations was examined from genomic DNA isolated from blood lymphocytes. Either multiplex PCR analysis or a next‐generation sequencing technique was performed.

Results

Among the 639 men with azoospermia, 69 (10.8%) had at least one CFTR mutation. Of the 43 patients with at least one of the two CFTR mutations, ΔF508 and R117H, 19 (44.2%) showed CBAVD, 2 (4.7%) Congenital Unilateral Absence of Vas deferens (CUAVD), and 22 (51.2%) presence of the scrotal parts of the Vasa deferentia. In contrast, only 1/21 men (4.8%) with an isolated IVS8‐5T variant showed CBAVD. Among the further 20 men with an isolated IVS8‐5T variant, 11 had a history of cryptorchidism. Among the 570 men without CFTR mutations, CBAVD was found in only two men and CUAVD in one. FSH level was higher and testicular volume lower in men with present Vasa deferentia compared to those without (P < .001; Student's t test). Thirty‐one men with either ΔF508 or R117H mutations, or both, had a testicular biopsy. Motile spermatozoa were found in 100% of 16 cases with CBAVD but in only 6 out of 15 cases with present Vasa deferentia (P < .01; Fisher's exact test).

Discussion and conclusions

CBAVD was found in ~ 44% of men with ΔF508/R117H mutations. The data may support that CFTR mutations might affect male fertility through other mechanisms than obstruction of the genital tract. For a practical, clinical purpose analysis for only ΔF508, R117H and IVS8‐5T seems sufficient until further research shows anything else.
Enhancing same‐gender imitation by highlighting gender norms in Chinese pre‐school children
Authors: Wang Zhidan , Fong Frankie T. K. , Meltzoff Andrew N.
Published: October 2020

Children selectively imitate in‐group over outgroup individuals under certain experimental conditions. We investigated whether this bias applies to gender in‐groups in China. Three‐ and five‐year‐olds were shown how to operate novel objects by same‐gender and opposite‐gender models. Results indicate that the combination of verbally highlighting the gender identity of the model (e.g., ‘I am a girl’) and making gender norms explicit (e.g., ‘girls play this way’) significantly enhances high‐fidelity imitation. This ‘double social effect’ was more robust in 5‐year‐olds than 3‐year‐olds. Our results underscore how language about gender and the norms for gender‐based groups influence behavioural imitation. The pattern of findings enhances our knowledge about pre‐schoolers’ social learning and imitation as well as the powerful influence of language and group norms on children’s voluntary actions and learning.
Occupational Licensing and the Skills Mismatch of Highly Educated Migrants
Authors: Tani Massimiliano
Published: October 2020

This article studies occupational licensing as a possible cause of education–occupation mismatches of highly educated migrants. Based on data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (LSIA), the empirical analysis applies the Propensity Score Matching estimator to identify a suitable control group. Licensing raises hourly wages and reduces over‐education for those working in licensed jobs, and correspondingly it produces worse labour market outcomes for those who do not gain licensure. These results are robust to omitted variable bias and alternative matching approaches. They also persist over time, suggesting that the sole market forces of supply and demand are not enough to reduce the mismatch faced by highly educated migrants after settlement.
Oligodendrocyte‐specific deletion of FGFR2 ameliorates MOG35‐55‐induced EAE through ERK and Akt signalling
Authors: Kamali Salar , Rajendran Ranjithkumar , Stadelmann Christine , Karnati Srikanth , Rajendran Vinothkumar , Giraldo‐Velasquez Mario , Berghoff Martin
Published: October 2020

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) are involved in demyelinating pathologies including multiple sclerosis (MS). In our recent study, oligodendrocyte‐specific deletion of FGFR1 resulted in a milder disease course, less inflammation, reduced myelin and axon damage in EAE. The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of oligodendroglial FGFR2 in MOG35‐55‐induced EAE. Oligodendrocyte‐specific knockout of FGFR2 (Fgfr2ind−/−) was achieved by application of tamoxifen; EAE was induced using the MOG35‐55 peptide. EAE symptoms were monitored over 62 days. Spinal cord tissue was analysed by histology, immunohistochemistry and western blot. Fgfr2ind−/− mice revealed a milder disease course, less myelin damage and enhanced axonal density. The number of oligodendrocytes was not affected in demyelinated areas. However, protein expression of FGFR2, FGF2 and FGF9 was downregulated in Fgfr2ind−/− mice. FGF/FGFR dependent signalling proteins were differentially regulated; pAkt was upregulated and pERK was downregulated in Fgfr2ind−/− mice. The number of CD3(+) T cells, Mac3(+) cells and B220(+) B cells was less in demyelinated lesions of Fgfr2ind−/− mice. Furthermore, expression of IL‐1β, TNF‐α and CD200 was less in Fgfr2ind−/− mice than controls. Fgfr2ind−/− mice showed an upregulation of PLP and downregulation of the remyelination inhibitors SEMA3A and TGF‐β expression. These data suggest that cell‐specific deletion of FGFR2 in oligodendrocytes has anti‐inflammatory and neuroprotective effects accompanied by changes in FGF/FGFR dependent signalling, inflammatory cytokines and expression of remyelination inhibitors. Thus, FGFRs in oligodendrocytes may represent potential targets for the treatment of inflammatory and demyelinating diseases including MS.
Single‐cell analysis identified lung progenitor cells in COVID‐19 patients
Authors: Zhao Zixian , Zhao Yu , Zhou Yueqing , Wang Xiaofan , Zhang Ting , Zuo Wei
Published: October 2020

Objectives

The high mortality of severe 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) cases is mainly caused by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which is characterized by increased permeability of the alveolar epithelial barriers, pulmonary oedema and consequently inflammatory tissue damage. Some but not all patients showed full functional recovery after the devastating lung damage, and so far there is little knowledge about the lung repair process. We focused on crucial roles of lung progenitor cells in alveolar cell regeneration and epithelial barrier re‐establishment and aimed to uncover a possible mechanism of lung repair after severe SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.

Materials and methods

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of COVID‐19 patients was analysed by single‐cell RNA‐sequencing (scRNA‐seq). Transplantation of a single KRT5+ cell‐derived cell population into damaged mouse lung and time‐course scRNA‐seq analysis was performed.

Results

In severe (or critical) COVID‐19 patients, there is a remarkable expansion of TM4SF1+ and KRT5+ lung progenitor cells. The two distinct populations of progenitor cells could play crucial roles in alveolar cell regeneration and epithelial barrier re‐establishment, respectively. The transplanted KRT5+ progenitors could long‐term engraft into host lung and differentiate into HOPX+ OCLN+ alveolar barrier cell which restored the epithelial barrier and efficiently prevented inflammatory cell infiltration.

Conclusions

This work uncovered the mechanism by which various lung progenitor cells work in concert to prevent and replenish alveoli loss post‐severe SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.
Bidirectional plant‐mediated interactions between rhizobacteria and shoot‐feeding herbivorous insects: a community ecology perspective
Authors: Friman Julia , Pineda Ana , van Loon Joop J.A. , Dicke Marcel
Published: October 2020

Plants interact with various organisms, aboveground as well as belowground. Such interactions result in changes in plant traits with consequences for members of the plant‐associated community at different trophic levels. Research thus far focussed on interactions of plants with individual species. However, studying such interactions in a community context is needed to gain a better understanding.

Members of the aboveground insect community induce defences that systemically influence plant interactions with herbivorous as well as carnivorous insects. Plant roots are associated with a community of plant‐growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). This PGPR community modulates insect‐induced defences of plants. Thus, PGPR and insects interact indirectly via plant‐mediated interactions.

Such plant‐mediated interactions between belowground PGPR and aboveground insects have usually been addressed unidirectionally from belowground to aboveground. Here, we take a bidirectional approach to these cross‐compartment plant‐mediated interactions.

Recent studies show that upon aboveground attack by insect herbivores, plants may recruit rhizobacteria that enhance plant defence against the attackers. This rearranging of the PGPR community in the rhizosphere has consequences for members of the aboveground insect community. This review focusses on the bidirectional nature of plant‐mediated interactions between the PGPR and insect communities associated with plants, including (a) effects of beneficial rhizobacteria via modification of plant defence traits on insects and (b) effects of plant defence against insects on the PGPR community in the rhizosphere. We discuss how such knowledge can be used in the development of sustainable crop‐protection strategies.
An authority among authorities: knowledge and use of Augustine in the wider Carolingian world
Authors: Timmermann Josh
Published: October 2020

What knowledge of Augustine might a Carolingian subject outside the ecclesiastical elite have possessed? If the all‐pervasive influence of Augustine is one of the hallmarks of the Carolingian era, how far into the Carolingian world did that influence (and conscious knowledge of it as ‘Augustinian’) actually extend? Toward preliminary answers to these questions, this study will consider the presence and various uses of Augustine in textual media that may have reached beyond elite, court‐connected circles, arguing that from such texts Augustine would indeed have been known to ordinary Carolingian Christians, although mainly as one key source of traditional authority operating in fundamental harmony with other such authorities, rather than as a singular figure within the imagination of the Latin Christian west. This ubiquitous emphasis on ostensible agreement among the great authorities of the Christian past should be understood as intimately connected to the Carolingians’ efforts at effecting concord and unity in the broader social sphere of the present.
Three Welsh kings and Rome: royal pilgrimage, overlordship, and Anglo‐Welsh relations in the early Middle Ages
Authors: Thomas Rebecca
Published: October 2020

This article investigates the motivations behind royal pilgrimage to Rome in the early Middle Ages by examining the journeys of three Welsh kings (Cyngen ap Cadell in 854, Hywel in 886, and Hywel Dda in 928). These journeys have rarely been considered as a group, and in bringing them together this article proposes a new interpretation of Welsh royal pilgrimages, highlighting the important context of English overlordship. By scrutinizing the Welsh evidence in a comparative context, placing these Welsh journeys alongside examples from England and Ireland, this article also aims to contribute to our understanding of broader trends in early medieval royal pilgrimage.
‘The king and the bishops have much to offer’: episcopal appointments and the legitimacy conflict over the archiepiscopal see of Reims (989‐99)
Authors: Lisson Jelle
Published: October 2020

At the end of the tenth century, two clerics laid claim to the archiepiscopal see of Reims: Arnulf of Reims and Gerbert of Aurillac. This episode constitutes an unprecedented opportunity to explore episcopal appointments, because of the survival of three lengthy narratives: the council acts of Saint‐Basle (991), Gerbert’s letter collection and the Historiae of Richer of Reims. The primary goal of this article is to coax out the many parties involved in the decision‐making process preceding an episcopal appointment as well as the multifaceted, volatile ties between these participants. This enables us to identify their strategies and motives beyond the dichotomy between Carolingian and Capetian royal power, and beyond formulaic records in narrative, diplomatic and epistolary sources that merely echo canon law.
LGI1 downregulation increases neuronal circuit excitability
Authors: Lugarà Eleonora , Kaushik Rahul , Leite Marco , Chabrol Elodie , Dityatev Alexander , Lignani Gabriele , Walker Matthew C.
Published: October 2020

Objective

Leucine‐rich glioma‐inactivated 1 (LGI1) is a secreted transsynaptic protein that interacts presynaptically with Kv1.1 potassium channels and a disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) protein 23, and postsynaptically influences α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylisoxazole‐4‐propionate receptors through a direct link with the ADAM22 cell adhesion protein. Haploinsufficiency of LGI1 or autoantibodies directed against LGI1 are associated with human epilepsy, generating the hypothesis that a subacute reduction of LGI1 is sufficient to increase network excitability.

Methods

We tested this hypothesis in ex vivo hippocampal slices and in neuronal cultures, by subacutely reducing LGI1 expression with shRNA.

Results

Injection of shRNA‐LGI1 in the hippocampus increased dentate granule cell excitability and low‐frequency facilitation of mossy fibers to CA3 pyramidal cell neurotransmission. Application of the Kv1 family blocker, α‐dendrotoxin, occluded this effect, implicating the involvement of Kv1.1. This subacute reduction of LGI1 was also sufficient to increase neuronal network activity in neuronal primary culture.

Significance

These results indicate that a subacute reduction in LGI1 potentiates neuronal excitability and short‐term synaptic plasticity, and increases neuronal network excitability, opening new avenues for the treatment of limbic encephalitis and temporal lobe epilepsies.
Female swamp sparrows do not show evidence of discriminating between the songs of peak‐aged and senescent males
Authors: Zipple Matthew N. , Peters Susan , Searcy William A. , Nowicki Stephen
Published: October 2020

Sexual selection theory predicts that females face contrasting selection pressures when choosing the age of their mate. On the one hand, older males have demonstrated their ability to survive and they may be more experienced than younger males. At the same time, however, younger males are expected to have accumulated fewer deleterious mutations in their germline as compared to older males. These contrasting pressures on female preference may result in a preference for intermediate‐aged males. A preference for males of a particular age can only be expressed, however, if females are able to identify males of different ages. We have previously shown that male swamp sparrows display age‐related changes in vocal quality, such that males display sharp increases in vocal quality in early adulthood, followed by gradual senescent declines thereafter. We have also shown that territorial males discriminate these within‐individual differences, giving stronger aggressive responses to songs of peak‐aged males than to those of senescent males. Here, we use a copulation solicitation assay to test whether females also discriminate these within‐signaler markers of senescence in song. Contrary to our prediction, females did not show any evidence of discriminating between songs recorded from peak‐aged males as compared to songs from the same males following song senescence. We suggest that this difference in demonstrated discrimination between males and females may be the result of the two sexes attending to different song characteristics.
Challenges and key lessons from the design and implementation of an international haemophilia registry supported by a pharmaceutical company
Authors: Hay Charles R. M. , Shima Midori , Makris Michael , Jiménez‐Yuste Victor , Oldenburg Johannes , Fischer Kathelijn , Iorio Alfonso , Skinner Mark W. , Santagostino Elena , von Mackensen Sylvia , Kessler Craig M.
Published: October 2020

Introduction

Real‐world data are lacking regarding the relationship between prospectively collected patient‐reported outcomes (PROs), clinical outcomes and treatment in people with haemophilia (PWH). The Expanding Communications on Hemophilia A Outcomes (ECHO) registry was designed to address this data gap, but a range of difficulties led to early study closure.

Aim

To describe the challenges faced and lessons learned from implementing a multinational haemophilia registry.

Methods

The Expanding Communications on Hemophilia A Outcomes was planned as a five‐year observational cohort study to collect data from 2000 patients in nine countries. Based on direct observations, feedback from patients enrolled in ECHO, challenges of the study design and input from study‐sponsor representatives, the ECHO Steering Committee systematically identified the challenges faced and developed recommendations for overcoming or avoiding them in future studies.

Results

The study closed after two years because few countries were activated and patient recruitment was low. This was related to multiple challenges including delayed implementation, stringent pharmacovigilance requirements, objections of investigators and patients to the burden of multiple PROs, data collection issues, lack of resources at study sites, little engagement of patients and competing clinical trials, which further limited recruitment. At study closure, 269 patients had been enrolled in four of nine participating countries.

Conclusions

Researchers planning studies similar to ECHO may want to consider the barriers identified in this global registry of PWH and suggestions to mitigate these limitations, such as greater patient involvement in design and analysis, clearer assessment and understanding of local infrastructure and potential changes to the administration of the study.
Social, Human and Positive Psychological Capital in the Labour Market Re‐integration of People Deported to the Dominican Republic
Authors: Ceciliano‐Navarro Yajaira , Golash‐Boza Tanya
Published: October 2020

More than six million people have been deported from the United States since 1996. The Dominican Republic is one of the top ten countries to which deportees are sent. Most scholarship on deportation focuses on the challenges deportees face post‐deportation. There is also a long history of scholarship on how migrants draw from social, human and financial capital to integrate into host societies. This article thus asks what forms of capital are useful for deportees’ re‐integration and focuses on the forms of capital deportees draw from to survive in the aftermath of deportation. An analysis of 60 in‐depth interviews with Dominican deportees reveals how deportees’ combination of limited human capital, fractured social capital and positive psychological capital assists in their re‐integration. Results also show that access to employment is not only an important step in social and economic integration, but that it also helps deportees to achieve emotional stability.
Infection prevalence and pathology of the cymothoid parasite Olencira praegustator in Atlantic menhaden
Authors: Rose Dylan P. , Calhoun Dana M. , Johnson Pieter T. J.
Published: October 2020

Isopod parasites in the family Cymothoidae can cause reduced growth, castration, or even mortality in their hosts. Olencira praegustator is a cymothoid that parasitizes the mouth and gill chamber of Brevoortia tyrannus (Atlantic menhaden), which is the basis for the largest fishery along the eastern coast of the USA and an important link within estuarine food webs. To better characterize interactions between O. praegustator and B. tyrannus, including parasite‐induced pathology, we sampled hosts and parasites from three estuarine sites on Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Over 5 weeks, we collected, measured, and weighed 169 juvenile menhaden; remarkably, 96% of these fish were infected with O. praegustator, typically with one isopod found in the mouth of each host. Based on the external morphologies of 163 examined isopods, 58 were female (35.6%), 9 of which were gravid, and 105 were male (64.4%). Although fish size was unrelated to isopod length or mass, isopod length was a direct predictor of the amount of damage observed on the host operculum, which in severe cases involved tissue atrophy and hemorrhage. Considering the high infection prevalence, significant damage associated with infections, as well as the impairing effects of other cymothoids on their hosts, the consequences of interactions between B. tyrannus and O. praegustator warrant additional investigation for understanding the management and ecology of Atlantic menhaden.
Remodeling of the nervous system of the indirectly developing rotifer Cupelopagis vorax (Gnesiotrocha, Collothecaceae)
Authors: Preza Elizabeth , Walsh Elizabeth J. , Hochberg Rick
Published: October 2020

Cupelopagis vorax is a sessile, predatory rotifer with indirect development. The topology of its nervous system is partly known through histological examination of the female adult. However, there is no information on the larval stage, and so, no understanding of how metamorphosis might affect the configuration of neurites. Here, we use immunohistochemistry and confocal laser scanning microscopy to map the position of serotonin‐like immunoreactive (SLIR) neurites, which are hypothesized to be important in sensory innervation and stimulating locomotory activity. We found that the relative position and number of SLIR neurites were similar between larvae and adults despite differences in their ecologies and the drastic changes that occur at metamorphosis. Both life stages possess at least four pairs of perikarya in the cerebral ganglion, a pair of lateral nerve cords, and a pair of neurites that appear to innervate a portion of the digestive tract. The larval stage also possesses an SLIR neurite ring at the base of the corona that is postulated to function in stimulating ciliary activity and receiving sensory information from the apical field. Although the adult did not appear to possess this ring, we cannot rule out its presence, because immunoreactive signals in the anterior end were weak. In contrast to the larvae, the adult possessed a pair of SLIR neurites that appeared to innervate the neck region. We hypothesize that these neurites form a circuit that functions in prey detection and capture. Based on these results, it appears that despite their overall similarities, the two life stages show some unique neural patterns that correspond to their ecologies; neurites that function in the planktonic environment of larvae and neurites that likely function in prey detection in the sessile adults.
Genetics of facial telangiectasia in the Rotterdam Study: a genome‐wide association study and candidate gene approach
Authors: Mekić S. , Wigmann C. , Gunn D.A. , Jacobs L.C. , Kayser M. , Schikowski T. , Nijsten T. , Pardo L.M.
Published: October 2020

Background

The severity of facial telangiectasia or red veins is associated with many lifestyle factors. However, the genetic predisposition remains unclear.

Objectives

We performed a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) on facial telangiectasia in the Rotterdam Study (RS) and tested for replication in two independent cohorts. Additionally, a candidate gene approach with known pigmentation genes was performed.

Methods

Facial telangiectasia were extracted from standardized facial photographs (collected from 2010–2013) of 2842 northwestern European participants (median age 66.9, 56.8% female) from the RS. Our GWAS top hits (P‐value <10−6) were tested for replication in 460 elderly women of the SALIA cohort and in 576 additional men and women of the RS. Associations of top single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) in various tissues were reviewed (GTEx database) alongside phenotype associations in the UK biobank database. SNP‐based associations between known pigmentation genes and facial telangiectasia were tested. Conditional analysis on skin colour was additionally performed.

Results

Our most significant GWAS signal was rs4417318 (P‐value 5.38*10−7), an intergenic SNP on chromosome 12 mapping to the SLC16A7 gene. Other suggestive SNPs tagged genes ZNF211, ZSCAN4, ICOS and KCNN3; SNP eQTLs and phenotype associations tagged links to the vascular system. However, the top signals did not pass significance in the two replication cohorts. The pigmentation genes KIAA0930, SLCA45A2 and MC1R, were significantly associated with telangiectasia in a candidate gene approach but not independently of skin colour.

Conclusion

In this GWAS on telangiectasia in a northwestern European population, no genome‐wide significant SNPs were found, although suggestive signals indicate genes involved in the vascular system might be involved in telangiectasia. Significantly associated pigmentation genes underline the link between skin colour and telangiectasia.
Comprehensive evaluation of the learning curve to achieve satisfactory adenoma detection rate
Authors: Dong Zhiyu , Sun Huihui , Li Bo , Zhang Qiongmei , Sun Kejing , Wang Zhenxiang , Qian Xue , Wang Junwen , Zhan Tingting , Jiang Yuanxi , Chen Ying , Xu Shuchang
Published: October 2020

Background and Aim

The number of colonoscopies required to reach satisfactory adenoma detection rate (ADR) is not well established. The aim of this study was to identify the appropriate number of procedures required to attain satisfactory ADR for those well‐trained endoscopists who have a cecal intubation rate (CIR) ≥ 90% and start to perform colonoscopy independently.

Methods

All endoscopists with compelete independent colonoscopy data during career in our database were enrolled. The number of procedures required to achieve ADR ≥ 20% was identified by cumulative summation (Cusum), learning curve Cusum (LC‐Cusum), and moving average method. Mixed effect logistic regression model was developed to determine the relationship between endoscopist as well as patient‐related factors and adenoma detection.

Results

A total of 24 943 procedures and 14 endoscopists were enrolled. By Cusum analysis, the interest point was at 207 procedures. By LC‐Cusum analysis, 71% (10/14) and 86% (12/14) of endoscopists had attained satisfactory ADR after 200 and 300 procedures, respectively. By moving average method, endoscopists reached a mean ADR of 20% at 216 and 261 procedures over blocks of 50 and 100 procedures, respectively. The total number of procedures, number of daily procedures, patient age and gender, bowel preparation, sedation, and diverticulosis were significantly associated with adenoma detection.

Conclusions

This is the first study to investigate the learning curve of ADR for those well‐trained endoscopists who have a CIR ≥ 90% and start to perform colonoscopy independently. Two hundred procedures might be an optimal number required to reach an ADR ≥ 20%.
An analysis of travel reports of the Finnish botanical expeditions to Russian Lapland (Murmansk Region and northern Karelia) in 1861 and 1863
Authors: Kozhin Mikhail N. , Sennikov Alexander N.
Published: October 2020

Finnish botanical expeditions which were made to Russian Lapland (present‐day Murmansk Region and northern Karelia, Russia) in 1861 and 1863 published travel reports with preliminary information including numerous floristic novelties and phytogeographical observations, but they have been overlooked in present‐day studies. Two reports appeared in print, by Gustav Selin on the expedition made in 1861, and by Nils Isak Fellman on the expedition made in 1863. We analysed the records of vascular plant species published in these reports in order to trace and evaluate first records and localities of rare and legally protected species on the basis of herbarium vouchers kept at H. In spite of high self‐claims, Selin actually only reported nine species new to present‐day Murmansk Region and one species new to Republic of Karelia, and four species of vascular plants that are currently under legal protection in Murmansk Region, whereas Fellman reported 11 species new to Murmansk Region and five species new to Karelia, with 34 species under legal protection in Murmansk Region. First records of alien plants were seven species from Selin and four species from Fellman. These records brought the contemporary floristic knowledge in Russian Lapland to 504 species of native plants (50% of the current total) and 54 species of alien plants (11% of the current total). Fellman's report included the first phytogeographical observations from the Kola Peninsula, with the first botanical limits observed, and the first descriptions of key botanical territories which are currently under strict protection. This study contributes to botanical history, plant protection and management of plant invasions in Murmansk Region.
Hoya peninsularis (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae), a new species from Peninsular Malaysia, and notes on Hoya maingayi and Gongronema wrayi
Authors: Rodda Michele , Zakaria Rahmad
Published: October 2020

A new species of Hoya from the western part of Peninsular Malaysia is described and illustrated as H. peninsularis. It has long been confused with Hoya finlaysonii because both have leaves with prominent darker venation, but can be distinguished on the corona lobe size and corolla pubescence. In addition, Hoya maingayi, a species earlier considered ‘doubtful and excluded' is typified and illustrated for the first time, and its distribution is shown to extend to Thailand. Gongronema wrayi is recognised as an earlier name and a new synonym for Hoya omlorii, a species previously considered to occur only in Borneo and Sumatra. The name is typified. An updated checklist of Hoya of Peninsular Malaysia is provided.
ATTENTION: Workforce shortages as a barrier to optimal dialysis
Authors: Gaietto Karen J. , Williams Mark E.
Published: October 2020

Providing optimal end‐stage kidney disease (ESKD) management requires an adequately trained and sufficiently staffed workforce, including doctors, nurses, and patient care technicians (PCTs). The growing need for ESKD services for a surging population of dialysis‐dependent patients has made obvious a workforce crisis affecting nephrology. For a multitude of reasons, the physician workforce supply available to provide dialysis care has failed to expand commensurate with patients need in recent years. Of most importance, fewer US trainees are choosing to enter nephrology, and fewer international medical graduates are available to fill training program rosters. Equally important but less frequently cited are occupational shortages of trained dialysis nurses and PCTs. This article brings attention to this complex workforce shortage and addresses the limited information available regarding how it might constitute a barrier to optimal dialysis care.