bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Purification in religious sojourns: consuming in relatively sacred spaces
Authors: Abdul Rauf Ateeq
Published: November 2022

Purpose

Using the canvas of the author’s sojourn with the Islamic preaching group Tablighi Jamaat, this study aims to exhibit reflections on how spaces can be categorized as more sacred or less sacred according to a specific religious worldview. The paper extends the conversation on Mary Douglas’s concepts of purity and danger by sharpening the focal lens on place in Douglas’s theoretics. The paper also proffers the idea of a sojourn as a vehicle of purification.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper depicts findings from the author’s multi-sited ethnographic field notes carried out from a 40-day sojourn with the Islamic preaching group Tablighi Jamaat in Pakistan.

Findings

The study unveils the concept of relative sacredness or how some spaces can be considered more sacred than others. The differential sacred status of these variegated spaces, each with its own etiquettes, meaning and consumption rituals is a means for purification for sojourners.

Originality/value

This paper prioritizes a focus on place in Mary Douglas’s arguments on purity and impurity in a religious consumption context. The thesis argues that place is a significant concept associated with metaphorical cleanliness/sacredness, which in religious terms guides consumer action.
Knowledge and practice toward basic life support among nurses working with SARS-CoV-2 patients in Jordanian hospitals
Authors: Al-smadi Ahmed Mohammad , Bani Hani Salam , Shajrawi Abedalmajeed , Ashour Ala , Halabi Marwa , Mousa Areej , Al Smadi Mustafa Mohammad
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess nurse’s knowledge and practice regarding basic life support (BLS) skills while working with SARS-CoV-2 patients in Jordanian hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 386 nurses with direct contact with SARS-CoV-2 patients at Jordanian hospitals. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used based on the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines.

Findings

A total of 386 participants were recruited. The mean years of experience were 7.89 (SD = 5.97). About three quarters of participants revealed they deal with SARS-CoV-2 patients directly (n = 284, 73.6%). The total mean score of nurse’s knowledge was 4.44 (SD = 1.22), while the total mean score of practice was 8.44 (SD = 2.05). Independent t-test was used, which revealed a statistically significant difference between educational level and total score of nurse’s knowledge [t(386) = 0.215 and p = 0.001] and between training to deal with SARS-CoV-2 during BLS and total score of practice [t(386) = 2.66 and p = 0.008]. Pearson correlation discloses a positive correlation between the total score of knowledge and practice (r = 0.343 and p = 0.001).

Research limitations/implications

In general, nurses revealed a moderate level of knowledge and practice of BLS skills. However, assessing nurse’s knowledge and practice during the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 plays a key role in identifying the gap in nurse’s knowledge and practice, and therefore, it will have an impact on providing high-quality BLS to save infected patients while providing maximum safety according to AHA guidelines.

Originality/value

This study is the first study that examined the level of knowledge and practice of BLS skills during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Jordan.
Structural information derived from ambient noise tomography over a hydrocarbon‐producing region in the Cachar fold belt, lower Assam, northeast India
Authors: Shekar Bharath , Mohan Gollapally , Singh Sunil Kumar
Published: November 2022

Ambient noise tomography is a powerful tool that has found increasing application in reservoir analysis and imaging. The Cachar fold belt in lower Assam, northeast India encompasses several wells under active hydrocarbon production, along with several dry wells. To overcome the lack of active seismic data over the entire fold belt, a passive seismic study was carried out to image the concealed three‐dimensional sub‐surface structures. The data were recorded from February to November 2011 by a network of 65 wideband seismometers spanning an area of about 40 × 60 km2. The data are crosscorrelated in the 2–5 s band, followed by phase‐weighted stacking to estimate noise correlation functions with surface wave signatures. The traveltimes picked from the frequency‐time analysis are utilized in a tomographic inversion for Rayleigh wave group velocities. The group velocity anomalies have a lateral resolution of ~ 3.5 × 5.5 km2 and variations of up to for each period. The group velocities are in turn inverted for S‐wave velocity distribution as a function of depth. The three‐dimensional S‐wave velocity tomograms reveal the tight anticlines and broad synclines, with high‐ and low‐velocity zones corresponding to structural highs and lows, respectively. The structural interpretation is supported for the part of the region with producing wells and covered by active seismic data, wherein the post‐stack time migrated seismic section shows anticlinal and synclinal features similar to those obtained from ambient noise tomography. The structures revealed by ambient noise tomography can help identify zones of interest to be targeted by active seismic surveys in the Cachar fold belt.
Ectomycorrhizal (dipterocarp) and arbuscular mycorrhizal (non‐dipterocarp) tree hosts and their relative distribution in a tropical forest predict soil bacterial communities
Authors: Cowan Jacob A. , Gehring Catherine A. , Axelsson E. Petter , Ilstedt Ulrik , Subbiah Vijay Kumar , Grady Kevin C.
Published: November 2022

The type of mycorrhizal associations (i.e. ectomycorrhizal [EM] or arbuscular mycorrhizal [AM]) formed by trees is of fundamental importance for a range of soil properties and processes in forests, yet their importance for the distribution of other important soil biota such as bacteria is largely unknown.

We used an experimental common garden and amplicon sequencing to assess how abiotic and biotic variation differentially influenced bacterial communities associated with 13 climax tree species (8 EM members of the Dipterocarpaceae and 5 AM species from different families) planted into a secondary tropical forest in Borneo.

Rhizosphere bacterial (RB) communities differed significantly between EM and AM trees but not among EM species and only marginally among AM species.

RB communities were related to the density and size of neighbouring EM but not AM trees. Diversity of RB on AM trees responded positively to AM neighbours and negatively to EM neighbours but RB diversity associated with EM trees was unaffected by neighbourhood. Plant‐growth‐promoting taxa of RB assorted similarly to total RB but more strongly.

Synthesis. Our results suggest that the distribution of RB communities is associated with plant mycorrhizal type and plant neighbourhood. Because rhizosphere bacteria alter nutrient cycling and influence plant species composition, their distributions are likely important for understanding ecosystem processes and plant demographics in forest ecosystems.
Insufficient evidence for the validity of the Language Development Survey and the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories as screening tools: A critical review
Authors: Eriksson Mårten
Published: November 2022

Background

The Language Development Survey (LDS) and the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MB‐CDI) are two parental report forms that have been productive in providing data on early child language during the past 30 years. The instruments have been used both in studies relating to typical developing children and in screening for language difficulties.

Aim

To review the evidence for the LDS and the MB‐CDI utility as screening instruments.

Methods

A literature search in PubMed and PsychInfo identified 16 articles based on LDS or MB‐CDI that reported statistics pertinent to early screening for language difficulties.

Main Contribution

It was found that most reviewed studies were explorative in nature and tried out different versions of the screening test, including different cut‐off values, multiple reference tests, small sample sizes and rarely reported confidence intervals. Spectrum, verification and review biases were common. Moreover, no study could convincingly show that the actual diagnostic accuracy was sufficient for clinical use.

Conclusions

There is insufficient evidence that the LDS or any version of the MB‐CDI is a valid tool for screening for language difficulties. Of course, this is not to say that sufficient evidence will not be achieved in future studies, or that the instruments do not work well for purposes other than screening.

WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS

What is already known on this subject

The LDS and the MB‐CDI are two often‐used instruments assessing various aspects of early child language by parental reports. Both instruments have also been used in screening for early language difficulties.

What this study adds

This study reveals that most published studies in which the classification accuracy of LDS and the MB‐CDI has been investigated contain serious methodological shortcomings limiting conclusions about their validity. Currently, there is no good evidence about the usefulness of the LDS and the MB‐CDI as general screening tools for language difficulties.

What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?

The LDS and MB‐CDI should not be used as screening tools for language difficulties until better evidence of their effectiveness has been demonstrated.
The Future of Football Fanzines: Have they Lost their Voice in this Digitalised and Deregulated Age?
Authors: Breen Paul , Hoey Paddy
Published: November 2022

Football fanzines once stood at the vanguard of fan activism. Historically, they have served as the voice of supporters, largely independent of the clubs they are associated with. Indeed, a recurring characteristic of these fanzines is that they often challenge and question authority. In the halcyon days of past decades, they proliferated and often acted as a powerful vector of change within football. Increasingly though, they have been pushed to the margins, for a number of reasons, ranging from the increasing digitalisation of media to the growing distance between fans and club owners as a consequence of the money that's now in the game. Football's inexorable drift towards deregulation means that fanzines alone can no longer act as agents of change and challenge. They need to work in synch with supporters’ groups in order to make their voices heard. More than that, this needs to happen not just at a local, but a national level, so that supporters from top to bottom of English football's shaky pyramid are seen to speak with one voice. Perhaps above all, there is a need for independent regulation of the game's governance.
Patient informed choice in the age of evidence‐based medicine: IVF patients’ approaches to biomedical evidence and fertility treatment add‐ons
Authors: Perrotta Manuela , Hamper Josie
Published: November 2022

With the increasing offer of fertility treatment by a largely privatised sector, which has involved the proliferation of treatment add‐ons lacking evidence of effectiveness, In‐Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) patients are expected to make informed choices on what to include in their treatment. Drawing on interviews with 51 individuals undergoing fertility treatment, this article explores patients’ approaches to medical evidence interpretation and its role in their decisions to include add‐ons. While most IVF patients share understandings of what counts as medical evidence, our findings show how their approaches also differ. Our analysis focuses on how patients negotiate the notion of medical evidence and its relation to other forms of experience or knowledge. We present four different approaches to evidence in IVF: (1) delegating evaluations of evidence to experts; (2) critically assessing available evidence; (3) acknowledging the process of making evidence; and (4) contextualising evidence in their lived experience of infertility. We suggest that patients’ choice to include add‐ons is not due to a lack of information on or understanding of evidence, but rather should be interpreted as part of the complexity of patients’ experiences of infertility.
Sensemaking in the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic: A narrative exploration of polarised morality in an NHS Trust
Authors: Faux‐Nightingale Alice , Kelemen Mihaela , Lilley Simon , Stewart Caroline
Published: November 2022

This article presents an analysis of personal diaries kept by health‐care staff within a specialist NHS Trust in England during the initial 3 months of the COVID‐19 pandemic. It adopts a moral sensemaking perspective to explore how NHS employees mobilised and reframed ideas of right and wrong in order to make sense of unprecedented uncertainty and displacement. By focussing on how the macro and micro politics of the pandemic were played out in the organisation, the study finds that polarised moral judgements were invoked in order to justify and rationalise a broad array of associated emergent emotions, intuitions, behaviours and practices. This polarisation of moral responses could be seen as a desire to bring order out of chaos and put matters back into place following displacement. This is inevitably an ongoing, complex and variegated enterprise whose results can be as often discomforting as they can be reassuring. Indeed, while moral sensemaking was partly beneficial for staff in that it promoted a greater sense of camaraderie and support for others, it also appeared to have darker consequences in terms of staff wellbeing and the development of more impermeable social boundaries across the organisation through processes of moral ‘othering’.
Assessing a touchy subject: The problem of evaluating sex education then and now
Authors: Andersen Lisa , Bialystok Lauren
Published: November 2022

Assessment is a necessary task in all areas of education, but there is no agreement on how to assess the impacts of different approaches to sex education, both on an individual level and on a population level over time. The history of mid-20th Century Family Life Education in the United States illuminates some of the obstacles that have made assessing sex education programmes so difficult: control groups, access to large numbers of research subjects and the means to verify self-reporting are elusive. These persistent challenges have to do with the nature of the subject, which is, in contrast to most subjects, not supposed to be practised at school. Standards of reliability, validity and classroom authenticity, therefore, apply partially at best. We argue that some approaches to sex education are valuable whether or not they are assessable, and that some things that are assessable may not be valuable in the way they are thought to be.
Re‐thinking the Mental Capacity Act 2005: Towards the Next Generation of Law
Authors: Bartlett Peter
Published: November 2022

It is now more than a quarter of a century since the Law Commission completed its ground‐breaking report on mental capacity, a report that became the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Since that time, there have been fundamental changes in the legal, social, and academic understanding of people with mental disabilities, and the pragmatics of legislative implementation have exposed difficulties that the Law Commission did not foresee. This paper considers key elements of the Act in light of those changed expectations and the experience of implementation
Time‐varying connectedness of metropolitan housing markets
Authors: Payne James E. , Sun Xiaojin
Published: November 2022

We construct a time‐varying measure of connectedness for 382 U.S. metropolitan housing markets using monthly house price data from 1975 to the present. Housing connectedness in the long run is found to be much stronger than the instantaneous connectedness, both of which exhibit notable variation over time and across metropolitan areas. Unlike stock market connectedness, housing market connectedness leads the business cycle; it helps predict the likelihood of future recessions.
Antioxidant peptides: Overview of production, properties, and applications in food systems
Authors: Mardani Mohsen , Badakné Katalin , Farmani Jamshid , Aluko Rotimi E.
Published: November 2022

In recent years, several studies have reported the beneficial effects of antioxidant peptides in delaying oxidation reactions. Thus, a growing number of food proteins have been investigated as suitable sources for obtaining these antioxidant peptides. In this study, some of the most critical developments in the discovery of peptidic antioxidants are discussed. Initially, the primary methods to release, purify, and identify these antioxidant peptides from various food‐derived sources are reviewed. Then, computer‐based screening methods of the available peptides are summarized, and methods to interpret their structure–activity relationship are illustrated. Finally, approaches to the large‐scale production of these bioactive peptides are described. In addition, the applications of these antioxidants in food systems are discussed, and gaps, future challenges, and opportunities in this field are highlighted. In conclusion, various food items can be considered promising sources to obtain these novel antioxidant peptides, which present various opportunities for food applications in addition to health promotion. The lack of in‐depth data on the link between the structure and activity of these antioxidants, which is critical for the prediction of possible bioactive amino acid sequences and their potency in food systems and in vivo conditions (rather than in vitro systems), requires further attention. Consequently, future collaborative research activities between the industry and academia are required to realize the commercialization objectives of these novel antioxidant peptides.
Neoarchean Magmatic Events in the Western Songnen Massif, Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Timing and Tectonic Significance
Authors: WU Xinwei , LIU Zhenghong , LIU Yongjiang , ZHANG Chao , SHAO Jun , ZHANG Chao , ZHANG Yujin , GUO Wei , LIU Baoshan , ZHANG Guangyu
Published: November 2022

Whether a Neoarchean basement existing in the Songnen massif is currently debated. Identification of Archean magmatism from the Songnen Massif is helpful to resolve this issue. Here, we report newly discovered Neoarchean Shanquan pluton in the Western Songnen Massif. These Neoarchean Shanquan pluton are mainly composed of granites that are exposed near the town of Shanquan in Heilongjiang Province. LA‐ICP‐MS zircon U‐Pb dating reveals that the sample 2015TW1 has an upper intercept age of 2801 ± 69 Ma and a weighted mean age of 2708 ± 18 Ma, while samples LJ27QY1 and LJ27QY2 have upper intercept ages of 2677 ± 57 Ma and 2653 ± 18 Ma, and weighted mean ages of 2649 ± 10 Ma and 2653 ± 15 Ma, respectively. This indicates that these granites were formed at ~2.7 Ga. Most of the ~2.7 Ga zircons have olderTDM2ages of 2762–3326 Ma with positiveεHf(t) values ranging from 0 to 6.4, while a few of the zircons have negativeεHf(t) values ranging from −8.1 to −11.5 and olderTDM2ages varying from 3158 to 3264 Ma. The zircon Hf isotopes indicate that Paleo‐Mesoarchean crusts might once existed in the Songnen Massif, and the studied Neoarchean magmas were principally derived from partial melting of these Paleo‐Mesoarchean ancient crust. Based on the geochronological spectrum of magmatic and detrital zircons, the Songnen, Erguna, Jiamusi, Bureya massifs may have a common basement prior to the Neoproterozoic and may even be linked with the Triam Craton.
The Himalayan Collisional Orogeny: A Metamorphic Perspective
Authors: WANG Jiamin , WU Fuyuan , ZHANG Jinjiang , KHANAL Gautam , YANG Lei
Published: November 2022

This paper introduces how crustal thickening controls the growth of the Himalaya by summarizing the P‐T‐t evolution of the Himalayan metamorphic core. The Himalayan orogeny was divided into three stages. Stage 60–40 Ma: The Himalayan crust thickened to ∼40 km through Barrovian‐type metamorphism (15–25 °C/km), and the Himalaya rose from <0 to ∼1000 m. Stage 40–16 Ma: The crust gradually thickened to 60–70 km, resulting in abundant high‐grade metamorphism and anatexis (peak‐P, 15–25 °C/km; peak‐T, >30 °C/km). The three sub‐sheets in the Himalayan metamorphic core extruded southward sequentially through imbricate thrusts of the Eo‐Himalayan thrust, High Himalayan thrust, and Main Central thrust, and the Himalaya rose to ≥5,000 m. Stage 16–0 Ma: the mountain roots underwent localized delamination, causing asthenospheric upwelling and overprinting of the lower crust by ultra‐high‐temperature metamorphism (30–50 °C/km), and the Himalaya reached the present elevation of ∼6,000 m. Underplating and imbricate thrusting dominated the Himalaya' growth and topographic rise, conforming to the critical taper wedge model. Localized delamination of mountain roots facilitated further topographic rise. Future Himalayan metamorphic studies should focus on extreme metamorphism and major collisional events, contact metamorphism and rare metal mineralization, metamorphic decarbonation and the carbon cycle in collisional belts.
Trends in cigarette use and health insurance coverage among US adults with mental health and substance use disorders
Authors: Creedon Timothy B. , Wayne Geoffrey Ferris , Progovac Ana M. , Levy Douglas E. , Cook Benjamin Lê
Published: November 2022

Aims

To estimate recent trends in cigarette use and health insurance coverage for United States adults with and without mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD).

Design

Event study analysis of smoking and insurance coverage trends among US adults with and without MH/SUD using 2008–19 public use data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual, cross‐sectional survey.

Setting

USA.

Participants

A nationally representative sample of non‐institutionalized respondents aged 18–64 years (n = 448 762).

Measurements

Outcome variables were three measures of recent cigarette use and one measure of past‐year health insurance coverage. We compared outcomes between people with and without MH/SUD (MH disorder: past‐year mental illness, predicted from Kessler‐6 and the World Health Organization–Disability Assessment Schedule impairment scale; SUD: met survey‐based DSM‐IV criteria for past‐year alcohol, cannabis, cocaine or heroin use disorder) and over time.

Findings

Comparing pooled data from 2008 to 2009 and from 2018 to 2019, current smoking rates of adults with MH/SUD decreased from 37.9 to 27.9% while current smoking rates of adults without MH/SUD decreased from 21.4 to 16.3%, a significant difference in decrease of 4.9 percentage points (pts) [95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.3–6.6 pts]. Daily smoking followed similar patterns (difference in decrease of 3.9 pts (95% CI = 2.3–5.4 pts). Recent smoking abstinence rates for adults with MH/SUD increased from 7.4 to 10.9%, while recent smoking abstinence rates for adults without MH/SUD increased from 9.6 to 12.0%, a difference in increase of 1.0 pts (95% CI = −3.0 to 0.9 pts). In 2018–19, 11% of net reductions in current smoking, 12% of net reductions in daily smoking and 12% of net increases in recent smoking abstinence coincided with greater gains in insurance coverage for adults with MH/SUD compared to those without MH/SUD.

Conclusions

Improvements in smoking and abstinence outcomes for US adults with mental health and substance use disorders appear to be associated with increases in health insurance coverage.
Variation in the length of terminal ileum specimen in right hemicolectomy: a descriptive study
Authors: Ismail Fatima Qays , Öberg Stina , Wozniak Anita Bilde , Oggesen Birthe Thing , Rosenberg Jacob
Published: November 2022

Aim

The aim of this study was to clarify the length of the bowel specimen and to assess if the length was affected by certain characteristics.

Methods

Eligible patients were adults who had undergone right hemicolectomy for cancer in caecum, appendix, ascending colon or transverse colon from September 2019 to September 2020 at Herlev Hospital, Denmark. Data were collected from medical records. The primary outcome was the length of the resected terminal ileum. Secondary outcomes were to assess if body mass index (BMI), surgical approach, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy affected the length of the terminal ileum specimen, and to report the length of the colon specimen subdivided on the cancer locations.

Results

In total, 50 patients were included. The median age was 74 years (range 36–91), 30 patients (60%) were females, and BMI was median 26 (range 17–45). The variation in the length of terminal ileum specimen was median 5 cm (range 1–17). The explorative analyses showed significant positive correlation between the length of terminal ileum specimen and BMI (P = 0.050) but not surgical approach (P = 0.23) nor neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.51). The length of the colon specimen naturally differed according to the cancer location with a median length of 26 cm (range 14–90).

Conclusion

We found a variation in the length of the terminal ileum specimen without an apparent explanation for this variation. The colon specimen also varied naturally according to cancer location.
Impairment of patient‐reported outcomes among patients with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease: a registry‐based study
Authors: Yilmaz Yusuf , Toraman Ahmet Eren , Alp Ceyda , Doğan Zehra , Keklikkiran Caglayan , Stepanova Maria , Younossi Zobair
Published: November 2022

Background

Patients with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and more advanced fibrosis tend to have more impairment in their health‐related quality of life and other patient‐reported outcomes (PROs).

Aim

To assess the association of PROs with select non‐invasive tests (NITs) for fibrosis including FAST, Agile 3+ and Agile 4 scores

Methods

We enrolled patients with an established diagnosis of NAFLD who were seen in a tertiary care clinic into the NAFLD/NASH Registry. The FAST, Agile 3+ and Agile 4 scores were calculated using liver stiffness measurements by transient elastography and laboratory parameters. PROs were assessed using FACIT‐F, CLDQ‐NASH and WPAI instruments (total of 17 domain and summary scores).

Results

There were 1509 patients with NAFLD (mean age: 49 ± 11 years, 50% men, 41% employed, 30% advanced fibrosis and 20% cirrhosis). The mean FAST, Agile 3+ and Agile 4 scores were 0.39 ± 0.26, 0.35 ± 0.31 and 0.12 ± 0.23, respectively. Subjects with lower FAST, Agile 3+ and Agile 4 scores had the highest scores in select domains of FACIT‐F, CLDQ‐NASH and WPAI (p < 0.05 in comparison to subjects with elevated or high‐risk NIT scores). Correlations with continuous NITs were significantly negative for Emotional and Functional well‐being (FACIT‐F), Activity/energy, Systemic symptoms, Worry and total scores (CLDQ‐NASH), and Activity of WPAI (p < 0.05); the strongest was for Worry (CLDQ‐NASH) with FAST (R = −0.17, p < 0.0001). The PRO scores of patients with NAFLD were lower than those of matched patients with chronic hepatitis B (p < 0.05 for 9/17 domain and summary scores).

Conclusion

Patients with NAFLD and high FAST, Agile 3+ or Agile 4 scores experience impairment of health‐related quality of life.
Mental health in the veterinary profession: an individual or organisational focus?
Authors: Hilton KR , Burke KJ , Signal T
Published: November 2022

The veterinary profession is experiencing a shortage of veterinarians, with attrition recognised as a substantial contributor. Research has also indicated increased levels of mental ill health and alarming suicide rates in practitioners. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the impact of eleven modifiable workplace factors on mental health outcomes, job appreciation and intention to leave the veterinary profession. The second aim was to ascertain whether workplace factors influence mental health outcomes after controlling for individual resilience. An online survey was completed by 73 practising Australian veterinarians. Unfavourable workplace factors correlated with adverse outcomes including depression, stress, reduced job appreciation and increased likelihood of leaving both the role and the profession. Workplace factors remained linked with the outcomes of job appreciation, depression and stress whilst controlling for practitioner resilience. Job appreciation was a significant predictor of intention to leave both the current role and the profession. Via multiple linear regression, two categories were identified as associated with improved psychological outcomes and job appreciation. These were workplace factors that represent breaks from workload and control or decision latitude in the workplace. Whilst resilience represents a key area for intervention, workplace factors potentially represent an easier‐to‐modify area for intervention.
Retrospective assessment of tolerability and efficacy of zoledronate in the palliative treatment of cancer‐bearing dogs
Authors: Lopes MG , Tosi G , McNaught KA , Morris JS
Published: November 2022

Zoledronate is a bisphosphonate frequently used for the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy and tumour‐associated bone pain in dogs, however, there is a paucity of information regarding its use in veterinary medicine. The aim of this retrospective study was to report the tolerability of zoledronate in the palliative treatment of cancer‐bearing dogs and secondarily to to assess the efficacy of zoledronate for the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy. Thirty‐seven dogs (22 with tumour‐associated bone pain and 15 with hypercalcaemia of malignancy) that received 114 zoledronate infusions were included. Tolerability was assessed by the absence of post‐zoledronate hypocalcaemia or other adverse events as defined by Veterinary Cooperative Oncology Group‐Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events criteria. Efficacy was assessed by comparison of available ionized calcium levels before and after zoledronate administration in hypercalcaemic dogs. In 79% of zoledronate infusions, no adverse events were reported. The majority of adverse events which occurred in the other 21% of infusions could be attributed to concurrent chemotherapy or the underlying neoplastic disease. There was a small but significant increase in creatinine following treatment with zoledronate, however, none of the dogs developed clinically significant renal disease. In eight hypercalcaemic dogs with available ionized calcium following zoledronate administration, ionized calcium decreased rapidly within 7 days following treatment with zoledronate. Zoledronate is well‐tolerated with few recorded adverse events, however, monitoring of serum creatinine is advised. Zoledronate seems to be effective in the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy.
Falsely low phosphatidylethanol may be associated with biomarkers of haemolytic disease
Authors: Årving Alexander , Hilberg Thor , Sovershaev Michael , Bogstrand Stig Tore , Høiseth Gudrun
Published: November 2022

Aims

Falsely lower or even negative phosphatidylethanol (PEth) levels may theoretically be seen in patients with haemolytic diseases, and the present study aimed to elucidate this hypothesis.

Methods

PEth and carbohydrate‐deficient transferrin (CDT) from 9893 serum and whole blood samples were included along with markers of haemolysis (i.e. haptoglobin, HbA1c, reticulocytes, LD and Hb). Cases showing discrepancy between PEth and CDT, that is, a low PEth value and a high CDT value, were considered to be possibly caused by falsely lowered PEth despite high alcohol consumption. These cases (N = 233) were compared to the control group without PEth and CDT mismatch.

Results

The levels of haptoglobin were significantly lower in the cases showing low PEth and high CDT (estimate = −0.62, p = 0.002). The levels of HbA1c (estimate = −3.26, p = 0.001) and Hb (estimate = −0.507, p < 0.001) were also significantly lower in this group. These findings indicate haemolytic diseases in the low PEth/high CDT group. There were no significant differences for reticulocytes and LD concentrations between the low PEth/high CDT group and the control group.

Conclusions

These results indicate that falsely low PEth values could be associated with markers of haemolytic diseases, although more research is needed to highlight this further.
Discussion on “Instrumented Difference-in-Differences” by Ting Ye, Ashkan Ertefaie, James Flory, Sean Hennessy, and Dylan S. Small
Authors: Beyhum Jad , Florens Jean-Pierre , Van Keilegom Ingrid
Published: November 2022

We discuss Ye et al. 2022, which combines instrumental variables methods with difference in differences. First, we compare the paper to other works in the difference in differences literatures and argue that the main contribution lies in the multiply robust estimation approach. Then, we reformulate the causal assumptions in Ye et al. 2022 in the usual theoretical framework of the instrumental variables literature. This clarifies in which sense the difference in differences design can weaken the standard instrumental variable conditions.
Experiences of midwifery care in English prisons
Authors: Abbott Laura , Scott Tricia , Thomas Hilary
Published: November 2022

Background

In the United Kingdom (UK), all prisoners must receive healthcare equivalent to that available in the community. However, evidence suggests that equality in healthcare provision for perinatal women in UK prisons is not always achieved. The aim of this research was to examine pregnant women prisoners' and custody staffs' experiences and perceptions of midwifery care in English prisons.

Methods

A qualitative approach based on institutional ethnography was used to research women's experiences in three English prisons over a period of 10 months. In total, 28 women participated in audio‐recorded, semi‐structured interviews. Ten staff members were interviewed, including six prison service staff and four health care personnel. Ten months of prison fieldwork enabled observations of everyday prison life. NVivo was used for data organization with an inductive thematic analysis method.

Results

Women's experiences included: disempowerment due to limited choice; fear of birthing alone; and a lack of information about rights, with a sense of not receiving entitlements. Some women reported favorably on the continuity of midwifery care provided. There was confusion around the statutory role of UK midwifery.

Discussion

Experiences of perinatal prisoners contrast starkly with best midwifery practice—women are unable to choose their care provider, their birth companions, or their place of birth. In addition, a reliance upon “good behavior” in return for appropriate treatment may be detrimental to the health, safety, and well‐being of the pregnant woman and her unborn baby.

Conclusion

Prison is an adverse environment for a pregnant woman. This study provides key insights into imprisoned women's experiences of midwifery care in England and shows that midwives play an essential role in ensuring that perinatal prisoners receive safe, high‐quality, respectful care.
A uniform conditioning regimen of busulfan, fludarabine, and antithymocyte globulin for allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation from haploidentical family, matched sibling, or unrelated donors—A single‐centre, prospective, explorative study
Authors: Choi Yunsuk , Choi Eun‐Ji , Park Han‐Seung , Lee Jung‐Hee , Lee Je‐Hwan , Lee Young‐Shin , Kang Young‐A , Jeon Mijin , Woo Ji Min , Kang Hyeran , Baek Seunghyun , Kim Su Mi , Bong Chae‐Eun , Lee Kyoo‐Hyung
Published: November 2022

In a prospective, explorative study, the donor‐source difference of haploidentical family (HF), matched sibling (MS), and unrelated donors (UD) was evaluated for the outcome of haematopoietic cell transplantations (HCT) in 101 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in complete remission (CR). To eliminate compounding effects, a uniform conditioning regimen containing antithymocyte globulin (ATG) was used. After transplantation, there was a significantly higher cumulative incidence of acute graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) in HF‐HCT patients (49%, 7%, and 16% for HF‐, MS‐ and UD‐HCT respectively; p < 0.001). A quarter of acute GVHD cases observed in HF‐HCT patients occurred within three days of engraftment and were characterized by diffuse skin rash, fever, weight gain, and hypoalbuminaemia. This peri‐engraftment acute GVHD was not observed in MS‐HCT or UD‐HCT patients. Additionally, a significantly higher proportion of HF‐HCT patients achieved complete donor chimaerism in the peripheral mononuclear cells at one month (88%, 46%, and 69% for HF‐, MS‐ and UD‐HCT respectively; p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in engraftment, chronic GVHD, leukaemia recurrence, non‐relapse mortality, and patient survival. In patients with AML in CR who received HCT using ATG‐containing conditioning, stronger donor–patient alloreactivity was observed in HF‐HCT, in terms of increased acute GVHD and higher likelihood of complete donor chimaerism.
Early and extensive alterations of glial connexins, distal oligodendrogliopathy type demyelination, and nodal/paranodal pathology are characteristic of multiple system atrophy
Authors: Nishimura Yuji , Masaki Katsuhisa , Matsuse Dai , Yamaguchi Hiroo , Tanaka Tatsunori , Matsuo Eriko , Hayashida Shotaro , Watanabe Mitsuru , Matsushita Takuya , Sadashima Shoko , Sasagasako Naokazu , Yamasaki Ryo , Isobe Noriko , Iwaki Toru , Kira Jun‐ichi
Published: November 2022

The pathological hallmark of multiple system atrophy (MSA) is aberrant accumulation of phosphorylated α‐synuclein in oligodendrocytes, forming glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs). Extensive demyelination occurs particularly in the olivopontocerebellar and striatonigral pathways, but its precise mechanism remains elusive. Glial connexins (Cxs), which form gap junction channels between astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, play critical roles in myelin maintenance, and have not been studied in MSA. Therefore, we immunohistochemically investigated glial Cx changes in the cerebellar afferent fibers in 15 autopsied patients with MSA. We classified demyelinating lesions into three stages based on Klüver–Barrera staining: early (Stage I), intermediate (Stage II), and late (Stage III) stages showing subtle, moderate, and severe myelin reduction, respectively. Myelin‐associated glycoprotein, but not myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, was preferentially decreased in Stage I, suggesting distal oligodendrogliopathy type demyelination. Accumulation of phosphorylated α‐synuclein in oligodendrocytes was frequently seen in Stage I but less frequently observed in Stages II and III. Tubulin polymerization‐promoting protein (TPPP/p25α)‐positive oligodendrocytes were preserved in Stage I but successively decreased in Stages II and III. Even at Stage I, Cx32 was nearly absent from myelin, despite the relative preservation of other nodal proteins, such as neurofascin, claudin‐11/oligodendrocyte‐specific protein, and contactin‐associated protein 1, which successively decreased in the later stages. Cx32 was re‐distributed in the oligodendrocyte cytoplasm and co‐localized with GCIs. Cx47 gradually decreased at the oligodendrocyte surface in a stage‐dependent manner but was not co‐localized with GCIs. Astrocytic Cx43 was down‐regulated in Stage I but up‐regulated in Stages II and III, reflecting astrogliosis. Cx43/Cx47 gap junctions significantly decreased from Stage I to III. Activated microglia/macrophages and T cells infiltrated in Stage I rather than Stages II and III. Therefore, early and extensive alterations of glial Cxs, particularly Cx32 loss, occur in MSA and may accelerate distal oligodendrogliopathy type demyelination and nodal/paranodal dysfunction through disruption of inter‐glial communication.
Determinants of resource use in lizard assemblages from the semiarid Caatinga, Brazil
Authors: Gonçalves‐Sousa José Guilherme , Cavalcante Leonides Azevedo , Mesquita Daniel Oliveira , Ávila Robson Waldemar
Published: November 2022

Nonsessile animals could partition the use of resources in different axes, reducing the effects of competition and allowing coexistence. Here, we investigated the spatial and trophic niche dimensions in four lizard assemblages in the Neotropical semiarid Caatinga to investigate the determinants of resource use and the extent to which lizards partition their niches. We sampled each lizard assemblage once, for 10 days, in the dry season of 2017 and 2018. In two lizard assemblages, we detected nonrandom niche overlap patterns that were higher or lower than expected by chance. The high niche overlap patterns suggest that either there is intense current competition for available microhabitats or an abundance of microhabitats. The lower niche overlap may be influenced by the presence of species adapted to sandy habitats (psammophilous), suggesting that spatial partitioning detected has historical basis, which is supported by the pPCA results and by the lack of patterns in the realized niche distribution of species across niche space. We detected trophic niche partitioning in three lizard assemblages. In one assemblage, we discovered random spatial and trophic niche overlap patterns, revealing that competition is not a determining factor in the structure of that assemblage. In fact, phylogenetic effects were predominantly the main determinants of resource use in the four studied lizard assemblages. Arid and semiarid habitats cover about one third of land surface of the world. Comparisons between our findings and those from other regions of the world may aid identify general trends in the lizard ecology of dry environments.
Advisory machinery for large‐scale crises and a risky future
Authors: Mitchell James R.
Published: November 2022

This short article provides a practitioner's perspective in response to Iacobucci and Trebilcock's (2022) article “Existential threats: Climate change, pandemics and institutions.” It offers some thoughts on: the many kinds of advisory bodies on whose advice governments can draw; the options for and constraints on institutional change; and what the federal and provincial governments could do to better equip themselves for dealing with the next “existential crisis.” The goal is to point to the full range of sources of scientific and policy advice for governments, to encourage better appreciation of when different sources of advice might be best served by different institutional underpinnings, and to emphasize the important role of the public service and “soft” machinery in fielding advice from diverse sources in an increasingly risky future.
Existential threats: Climate change, pandemics and institutions
Authors: Iacobucci Edward , Trebilcock Michael
Published: November 2022

This article considers the optimal structure of institutions that respond to existential threats such as climate change and pandemics. While science must play a central role in guiding policy responses, there are many values at stake that ought to be reflected in institutional design. There is a distinction between risk assessment, a science‐driven analysis in these contexts, and risk management, in which trade‐offs are considered in responding to the threats. Moreover, the nature of these threats depends on complex, uncertain and fluid scientific knowledge that requires institutions to be sensitive to communication challenges. Finally, institutions should consider collective action problems and defer or delegate to jurisdictions and institutions whose scope of mandate is appropriate. We assess the Canadian response to the COVID‐19 pandemic from an institutional perspective and conclude that, amongst other things, it was insufficiently multidisciplinary, which risked marginalizing the non‐public health costs of policy responses to the pandemic.
Cancer‐associated fibroblasts promote tumor cell growth via miR‐493‐5p in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Toshida Katsuya , Itoh Shinji , Harada Noboru , Morinaga Akinari , Yugawa Kyohei , Tomiyama Takahiro , Kosai‐Fujimoto Yukiko , Tomino Takahiro , Kurihara Takeshi , Nagao Yoshihiro , Morita Kazutoyo , Oda Yoshinao , Yoshizumi Tomoharu
Published: November 2022

The association between tumor microenvironment (TME) and cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) progression is poorly understood. This study aimed to reveal whether specific microRNAs (miRNAs) in extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from CAFs were involved in ICC progression. Conditioned medium (CM) and EVs in the CM of CAFs and normal fibroblasts (NFs) derived from ICC specimens were used to investigate the effects on tumor cell lines. miRNA microarray assay was used to examine the miRNAs of EVs derived from CAFs and NFs in ICC, and the effects of miR‐493‐5p on tumor cell lines were examined. Additionally, databases were used to identify miR‐493‐5p targets, and the relationship between prognosis of ICC patients and cocaine‐ and amphetamine‐regulated transcript propeptide (CARTPT), one of the targets of miR‐493‐5p, expression in ICC tissues was retrospectively analyzed. Compared with NF‐derived CM and EVs, CAF‐derived CM and EVs promoted cell lines in proliferation, scratch, migration, and invasion assays. miRNA microarray analysis revealed that miR‐493‐5p was significantly increased in CAF‐derived EVs compared to NF‐derived EVs. Tumor cell lines transfected with miR‐493‐5p were promoted in proliferation and scratch assays. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on 76 ICC specimens; both overall and recurrence‐free survival rates were significantly worse in the CARTPT‐negative group. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that low CARTPT expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for overall and recurrence‐free survival. Overall, our data suggest that CAFs in the ICC TME suppress CARTPT in tumor cells and promote tumor cells via miR‐493‐5p in EVs.
Immunostimulatory oncolytic activity of coxsackievirus A11 in human malignant pleural mesothelioma
Authors: Okamura Koji , Inoue Hiroyuki , Tanaka Kentaro , Ikematsu Yuki , Furukawa Rie , Ota Keiichi , Yoneshima Yasuto , Iwama Eiji , Okamoto Isamu
Published: November 2022

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive solid cancer with a poor prognosis, whereas coxsackievirus A11 (CVA11) is a potential oncolytic virus for cancer treatment. We here investigated the oncolytic activity of CVA11 with human MPM cell lines. CVA11 infection was cytotoxic in all six MPM cell lines examined and showed no or minimal cytotoxicity toward normal human normal cell lines. MPM cells with a higher surface level of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) expression tended to be more susceptible to CVA11‐induced cytotoxicity, and a neutralizing antibody to ICAM‐1 attenuated such cytotoxicity. CVA11 infection activated signaling by Akt and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) pathways, and inhibitors of such signaling also abrogated CVA11‐mediated cytotoxicity. Furthermore, CVA11 infection‐triggered multiple modes of tumor cell death including apoptosis, pyroptosis, and necroptosis, and such death was accompanied by the release or exposure of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin‐1β and damage‐associated molecular patterns such as calreticulin, high‐mobility group box‐1, annexin A1, and heat shock protein 70, which are hallmarks of immunogenic cell death. Notably, in vivo treatment of human MPM xenografts with intratumoral CVA11 injection resulted in significant suppression of tumor growth in SCID mice, and all mice infected with CVA11 showed no significant change in body weight. Our findings collectively suggest that the oncolytic activity of CVA11 for MPM is dependent on ICAM‐1 as a virus receptor, as well as on Akt and ERK signaling, and that oncolytic virotherapy with CVA11 is a promising treatment modality with immunostimulatory activity for human MPM.