bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Costs of Medical/Anesthesia Care and Operating Room Management
Authors: Lebovitz Evan E. , Tsai Mitchell H.
Published: March 2023

Understanding operating room cost management is critical to hospital financial solvency. First, strategic decisions focus on long-term planning to set the perioperative players up for success. Tactical decisions occur several times per year and allow for optimum scheduling of cases and clinicians. Last, operational decisions are the daily bread and butter of clinical operating room directors in which they flex staff and cases as necessary to meet clinical demands. A keen focus on optimizing operational metrics that matter, including decreasing surgical case variability and overutilized time and putting decreased focus on less important factors, such as first-case start delays and turnover times, puts clinical directors in a position to succeed. In the future, software platforms guided by artificial intelligence are likely to assist schedule makers to allow for enhanced optimization of perioperative efficiency.
Reporting
Authors: Saad Ramsey , Hanna Joseph Salama
Published: March 2023

The advances in the field of anesthesia and safety in the operating room have been attributed to the various quality improvement programs, the first step of which involves adequate and efficient reporting. This chapter outlines the various reporting systems and their role in promoting patient safety. Medical errors are an unfortunate occurrence in medicine; however, when they do occur, reporting then becomes the ethical and professional responsibility of the physician and institution. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) established the Anesthesia Incident Reporting System (AIRS) in 2011 for anesthesia providers to report near misses or actual events. These reports are confidential.
Root Cause Analysis
Authors: Tueme Luis , Ragheb-Mueller Nawal E.
Published: March 2023

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a tool intended to analyze the roots of a problem in a structured and meticulous manner so that the underlying cause, contributing factors, or system vulnerabilities of an incident are identified and addressed in an effort to prevent future adverse events. Sentinel events (those that can cause death or severe temporary or permanent harm) are the usual focus of an RCA. To enhance the likelihood of preventing future events, RCA focuses on systemic and procedural flaws, rather than on individual performance. An RCA begins with the formation of a team to investigate a specific sentinel event. The team will define all issues clearly and in chronological order, brainstorm all possible contributing factors, and analyze each factor. Ultimately, the goal is to develop and implement systemic changes that will prevent future harmful events.
Pulmonary Function Tests
Authors: Helwege Sarah , Sharma Archit
Published: March 2023

Respiratory mechanics are an integral aspect of applied anesthetic practice for a multitude of reasons, including ventilator management, oxygenation and ventilation, use of inhalational agents, and respiratory consequences of hemodynamics. General anesthesia causes an alteration in the balance between inward forces (lung recoil) and outward forces (chest wall expansion) at the resting volume, namely, functional residual capacity (FRC), with a decrease in the outward forces, reducing the resting lung volume. Understanding the physiology behind the respiratory system allows one to troubleshoot, diagnose, and treat causes of hypoxemia and hypercapnia. This chapter focuses on ventilation, perfusion, alveolar-arterial O2 gradient, alveolar-arterial CO2 gradient, dead space ventilation, and intrapulmonary shunt.
Acute and Chronic Neck and Low Back Pain
Authors: Tennant Richard , Abd-Elsayed Alaa
Published: March 2023

Neck and back pain are among the most common pain conditions. Neck pain is the fourth leading cause of disability and has numerous causes. It is one of the top five most prevalent chronic pain conditions. Low back pain generally refers to pain over the lumbosacral area. Low back pain is one of the most common medical conditions leading patients to seek medical care and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. While most acute episodes resolve spontaneously, pain can become chronic in a small proportion of these patients. Both acute neck and acute back pain have a high rate of recurrence. There are many potential causes for pain, and attempting to find the underlying cause will help tremendously when considering the best treatment option.
Personality Disorders
Authors: Berman Carol W.
Published: March 2023

A personality disorder is an inflexible, lasting pattern of thinking, feeling, and behavior. Patients with personality disorders are stuck. They may be acting against themselves and others, but they cannot change. Many examples are seen in plays. Shakespeare presented Richard III, Iago, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth, who were all antisocial personalities. Chekhov showed us Lomov in The Marriage Proposal as a passive-aggressive personality who cannot propose to his prospective bride. The categorizing of personality disorders does not help with predicting clinical outcomes or in treatment planning. There is also the problem of diagnostic reliability, co-occurrence, and inconsistent and arbitrary boundaries.
Radiotherapy side effects and their management
Authors: Ajithkumar Thankamma
Published: March 2023

Radiotherapy side effects occurring during or within 6 weeks of completion of radiotherapy are called early or acute, those occurring after 6 weeks but within 3 months of treatment are called subacute, and those occurring after 3 months are called late. The development of side effects depends on the total radiotherapy dose, dose fractionation, and kinetics of individual tissue. Acute effects are due to effects of radiotherapy on rapidly multi-plying normal tissues such as skin and mucosa, whereas late toxicities may be due to depletion of slowly proliferating stem cells and/or progressive damage to the microvasculature. This chapter discusses various side effects, their relationship with dose fractionation, and their management.
Emergency and palliative radiotherapy
Authors: Ajithkumar Thankamma
Published: March 2023

Emergency radiotherapy is given to achieve immediate symptom relief or preservation of function, or both, and should be given within 24 hours of diagnosis. Palliative radiotherapy aims to improve quality of life by preventing or improving symptoms in patients with limited life expectancy, and should be given as soon as possible. Studies have shown that most patients with advanced metastatic solid tumours do not live beyond a few weeks or months. Therefore, any theoretical risk of long-term toxicities should not deter clinicians from offering a potentially effective palliative treatment. This chapter discusses the role of radiotherapy in the emergency and palliative care settings and summarizes the evidence underpinning current clinical practice.
Could the serum glucose/potassium ratio offer an early reliable predictor of life-threatening events in acute methylxanthine intoxication?
Authors: Sharif Asmaa F , Kasemy Zeinab A , Mabrouk Heba A , Shoeib Osama , Fayed Manar M
Published: March 2023

Methylxanthines are widely used to manage pulmonary disorders, particularly in developing countries. Methylxanthines are unsafe due to their narrow therapeutic index and associated morbidity and mortality. The current study aimed to investigate the role of glucose/potassium ratio as a substantially useful early predictor of life-threatening events (LTEs) in the form of cardiovascular and neurological complications among methylxanthine users. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using medical records of patients diagnosed with acute methylxanthine intoxications and presented to an Egyptian Poison Control Center for 2 years. A total of 366 patients were enrolled. Of them, 59 patients (16.1%) were complicated with LTEs. The most frequent serious arrhythmia was T wave inversion (45.6% of patients with LTEs). Laboratory investigations that could significantly predict LTEs were the random blood glucose and potassium levels, glucose/potassium ratio, pH, liver transaminases, HCO3 level, hemoglobin, and platelet count (P < 0.05). The glucose/potassium ratio was the best predictor of LTEs (odds ratio = 2.92, and 95% confidence interval = 2.02–4.23). With an excellent area under the curve (0.906) and at a cutoff of 2.44, that ratio could correctly classify the patients based on their risk of LTEs with an overall accuracy of 73% (sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 70%). The current study endorsed an important, feasible, and easily obtainable ratio that could predictor stratify the patients according to severity and risk of LTEs, which guides the decision-making and prioritizes the treatment lines in methylxanthine intoxicated patients.
Prognosis and conditional nomogram of cervical spine fracture in patients with severe spinal cord injury: a multicenter retrospective study
Authors: Huang Jinfeng , Yan Kang , Wu Chenyu , Tan Quan-Chang , Bai Hao , Wang Jing , Liao Bo , Wu Zi-Xiang
Published: March 2023

Introduction:

Cervical spine fractures with severe spinal cord injury (SCI) are common following cervical spine trauma and are associated with a high mortality rate. Understanding the mortality patterns of patients with cervical spine fractures and severe SCI can offer valuable evidence to surgeons and family members who are required to make critical healthcare decisions. The authors aimed to evaluate the instantaneous death risk and conditional survival (CS) of such patients and developed conditional nomograms to account for different periods of survivors and predict the survival rates.

Methods:

Their instantaneous death risks were calculated using the hazard function, and the Kaplan–Meier method was used to evaluate the survival rates. Cox regression was used to choose the variables for the construction of the nomograms. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and calibration plots were used to validate the performance of the nomograms.

Results:

The authors finally included 450 patients with cervical spine fractures and severe SCI using propensity score matching. The instantaneous death risk was the highest during the first 12 months after injury. Surgical treatment can help decrease the instantaneous death risk quickly, especially in early-term surgery. The 5-year CS increased constantly from 73.3% at baseline to 88.0% after 2 years of survival. Conditional nomograms were constructed at baseline and in those who survived for 6 and 12 months. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and calibration curves indicated that the nomograms had a good performance.

Conclusion:

Their results improve our understanding of the instantaneous death risk of patients in different periods following injury. CS demonstrated the exact survival rate among medium-term and long-term survivors. Conditional nomograms are suitable for different survival periods in predicting the probability of survival. Conditional nomograms help in understanding the prognosis and improve the shared decision-making approaches.
Migrating hook wire that travels to the heart via the bloodstream: A case report
Authors: Chen Kuan-Hua , Wu Chen-Hao , Wei Hao-Ji , Chan Cheng-Wei , Hsia Jiun-Yi
Published: March 2023

Rationale:

This report documents the intracardiac migration of a hook wire in a 47-year-old male patient after computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous hook wire localization of pulmonary ground-glass opacities.

Patient concerns:

The patient underwent CT-guided hook wire localization before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) wedge resection for a pulmonary nodule in the right upper lung field. However, the hook wire was not found in the specimen obtained from the wedge resection. A right upper lobectomy was performed to locate the hook wire; however, it was not found.

Diagnosis:

A transesophageal echocardiogram was performed, and the hook wire was found in the left ventricle (LV).

Interventions:

The patient subsequently underwent exploratory cardiotomy to remove the foreign body. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit for postoperative care.

Outcomes:

Postoperatively, no complications were observed, and the patient was discharged from the hospital 7 days postoperatively. He received standard lung cancer treatment afterwards.

Lessons:

The present case was unique because the hook wire migrated through the bloodstream from the pulmonary vein to the left atrium, before finally reaching the LV. Based on the patient preoperative CT images, the ground glass opacities were proximal to a 2.5 mm wide vein, which drained into the pulmonary vein. The proximity of the hook wire to a blood vessel was reportedly attributed to an increased risk of hook wire migration through the bloodstream. Hematogenous hook wire migration into the heart can result in fatal complications. Early diagnosis and timely removal of the hook wire are recommended to prevent the worsening of this complication.
Ultrasound-guided brachial plexus nerve block in a patient with a left palmar schwannoma: A case report
Authors: Qu Yan , Yang Haomin , Wei Lichun , Su Guoning
Published: March 2023

Rationale:

Ultrasound-guided brachial plexus block is a common anesthetic procedure used in upper extremity surgery. However, it may not be a suitable option for some patients.

Patient concerns:

A 17-year-old woman with the left palmar schwannoma scheduled for surgical treatment received ultrasound-guided brachial plexus block. The anesthesia modalities of the disease were discussed.

Diagnoses:

Based on the patient’s complaints and clinical appearance, provisional diagnosis of neurofibroma was considered.

Interventions:

In this case, we present a case of ultrasound-guided axillary brachial plexus block used for upper extremity surgery in this patient. It was not easily and painlessly reduced in the surgery, although the visual analogue scale score was 0 and no motor movements of the left arm and palm were observed. The pain was relieved by intravenous injection of 50 mcg remifentanil.

Outcomes:

Immunohistochemically labeled pathological examination confirmed the mass to be a schwannoma. There was no need to apply additional analgesia after surgery, although the patient felt numbness in the left thumb for 3 days follow up.

Lessons:

Even if there is painless when skin-cutting after implementation of brachial plexus block, the patient is painful when pulls the nerve around the tumor during excision. It is necessary to give an analgesic drug or anesthetize a single terminal nerve as a supplement for brachial plexus block in patients with schwannoma.
Jejunal Feeding by Gastrojejunal Tube in Pediatric Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Authors: Faccioli Nathan , Sierra Anaïs , Mosca Alexis , Bellaïche Marc , Lengliné Hélène , Bonnard Arnaud , Viala Jérôme
Published: March 2023

Objectives:

The objective of this study is to determine whether jejunal nutrition by gastrojejunal tube (GJT) could be a therapeutic option for refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), avoiding further antireflux surgery.

Methods:

A monocentric retrospective study was conducted for all children <18 years who underwent GJT placement to treat GERD. We collected data at the first GJT placement, 5 months after last GJT withdrawal, and at the end of the follow-up (June 2021).

Results:

Among 46 GERD patients with 86 GJT, 32 (69.6%) and 30 (65.2%) avoided antireflux surgery 5 and 28 months, respectively, after the definitive GJT removal. Five months after GJT removal, discharge from hospital, transition to gastric nutrition, GERD complications, and treatment were significantly improved. Median age and weight at the first GJT placement were 7 months and 6.8 kg. Patients had digestive comorbidities or complicated GERD in 69.6% and 76.1% patients, respectively. The median duration of jejunal nutrition using GJT was 64.5 days. GJT had to be removed in 63 (75.9%) cases for technical problems.

Conclusions:

Jejunal nutrition by GJT could be an alternative to antireflux surgery avoiding sustainably antireflux surgery in most of complicated GERD patients. The high frequency of mechanical complications raises that these devices should be technically improved.
Evaluating the role of inhibiting the biosynthesis of estrogens in the sex-specific antidepressant-like effects of ketamine in rats
Authors: Ledesma-Corvi Sandra , Jornet-Plaza Jordi , García-Fuster M. Julia
Published: March 2023

Ketamine has been recently approved to treat resistant depression; however preclinical studies showed sex differences in its efficacy. Sex steroids, such as estrogen and testosterone, both in the periphery and locally in the brain, are regarded as important modulators of these sex differences. Therefore, the present study evaluated the role of inhibiting estrogen biosynthesis with letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor that catalyzes the conversion of androgen into estrogen, in the differential antidepressant-like-response induced by ketamine with sex. We performed several consecutive studies in adult Sprague-Dawley rats to evaluate potential sex differences in the antidepressant-like effects of ketamine (5 mg/kg, 7 days, i.p.), letrozole (1 mg/kg, 8 days, i.p.) and their combination (letrozole pre-treatment 3 h before ketamine). Acute and repeated antidepressant-like responses were ascertained in a series of behavioral tests (forced-swim, novelty-suppressed feeding, two-bottle choice for sucrose preference). The main results proved clear sex differences in the antidepressant-like response induced by ketamine, which was observed following a repeated paradigm in adult male rats, but rendered inefficacious in female rats. Moreover, decreasing estrogen production with letrozole induced on itself an antidepressant-like response in female rats, while also improved ketamine’s response in male rats (i.e., quicker response, only after a single dose). Interestingly, both the antidepressant-like effects induced by ketamine in male rats or letrozole in female rats persisted over time up to 65 days post-treatment, suggesting long-term sex-directed benefits for these drugs. The present results demonstrated a sex-specific role for inhibiting estrogen biosynthesis in the antidepressant-like response induced by ketamine in male rats. Moreover, letrozole presented itself as a potential antidepressant for females with persistent effects over time. Clearly, estrogen production is key in modulating, in a sex-specific manner, affective-like responses and thus deserve further studies.
The Breadth of the Neutralizing Antibody Response to Original SARS-CoV-2 Infection is Linked to the Presence of Long COVID Symptoms
Authors: Buck Amanda M. , Deitchman Amelia N. , Takahashi Saki , Lu Scott , Goldberg Sarah A. , Hoh Rebecca , Williams Meghann C. , Kerbleski Marian , Deveau Tyler-Marie , Munter Sadie E. , Lombardo James , Wrin Terri , Petropoulos Christos J. , Durstenfeld Matthew S. , Hsue Priscilla Y. , Kelly J. Daniel , Greenhouse Bryan , Martin Jeffrey N. , Deeks Steven G. , Peluso Michael J. , Henrich Timothy J.
Published: March 2023

Background

The associations between longitudinal dynamics and the breadth of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody response with various Long COVID (LC) phenotypes prior to vaccination are not known. The capacity of antibodies to cross neutralize a variety of viral variants may be associated with ongoing pathology and persistent symptoms.

Methods

We measured longitudinal neutralizing and cross-neutralizing antibody responses to pre- and post-SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants in participants infected during the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, prior to wide-spread rollout of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Cross sectional regression models adjusted for various clinical covariates and longitudinal mixed effects models were used to determine the impact of the breadth and rate of decay of neutralizing responses on the development of Long COVID symptoms in general, as well as LC phenotypes.

Results

We identified several novel relationships between SARS-CoV-2 antibody neutralization and the presence of LC symptoms. Specifically, we show that, although neutralizing antibody responses to the original, infecting strain of SARS-CoV-2 were not associated with LC in cross-sectional analyses, cross-neutralization ID50 levels to the Omicron BA.5 variant approximately 4 months following acute infection was independently and significantly associated with greater odds of LC and with persistent gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms. Longitudinal modeling demonstrated significant associations in the overall levels and rates of decay of neutralization capacity with LC phenotypes. A higher proportion of participants had antibodies capable of neutralizing Omicron BA.5 compared with BA.1 or XBB.1.5 variants.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that relationships between various immune responses and LC are likely complex but may involve the breadth of antibody neutralization responses.

SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody neutralization of Omicron BA.5 variant approximately 4 months following acute infection with wild-type virus prior to vaccination was independently and significantly associated with greater odds of distinct Long COVID phenotypes.
Anterior cingulate sulcation is associated with onset and survival in frontotemporal dementia
Authors: Harper Luke , de Boer Sterre , Lindberg Olof , Lätt Jimmy , Cullen Nicholas , Clark Lyles , Irwin David , Massimo Lauren , Grossman Murray , Hansson Oskar , Pijnenburg Yolande , McMillan Corey T. , Santillo Alexander F
Published: March 2023

Background

Frontotemporal dementia is the second most common form of early onset dementia (< 65 years). Despite this there are few known disease modifying factors. The anterior cingulate is a focal point of pathology in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. Sulcation of the anterior cingulate is denoted by the presence of a paracingulate sulcus, a tertiary sulcus developing, where present during the third gestational trimester and remaining stable throughout life. This study aims to examine the impact of right paracingulate sulcal presence on the expression and prognosis of behavioural variant Frontotemporal Dementia.

Methods

This retrospective analysis drew it’s population from two clinical samples recruited from memory clinics at University Hospitals in The United States of America and The Netherlands. Individuals with sporadic behavioural variant Frontotemporal Dementia were enrolled between 2004 and 2022 and followed up for an average of 7.71 years. T1-MRI data were evaluated for hemispheric paracingulate sulcal presence in accordance with an established protocol by two blinded raters. Outcome measures included age at onset, survival, cortical thickness, and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration-modified Clinical Dementia Rating determined clinical disease progression.

Results

The study population consisted of 186 individuals with sporadic behavioural variant Frontotemporal Dementia, (113 males and 73 females) mean age 63.28 years (SD 8.32). The mean age at onset was 2.44 years later in individuals possessing a right paracingulate sulcus (60.2 years (SD 8.54)) versus individuals who did not (57.76 (8.05)), 95% CI >0.41,P= 0.02. Education was not associated with age at onset (β = -0.05,P=0.75). Presence of a right paracingulate sulcus was associated with a 119% increased risk of death per year after age at onset (HR 2.19, CI [1.21 - 3.96],P<0.01), whilst the mean age at death was similar for individuals with a present and absent right paracingulate sulcus (P= 0.7). Right paracingulate sulcal presence was not associated with baseline cortical thickness.

Conclusion

Right paracingulate sulcal presence is associated with disease expression and survival in sporadic behavioural variant Frontotemporal Dementia. Findings provide evidence of neurodevelopmental brain reserve in behavioural variant Frontotemporal Dementia which may be important in the design of trials for future therapeutic approaches.
Regulation of oncogene-induced senescence by the MRE11 and TREX1 nucleases
Authors: Técher Hervé , Gopaul Diyavarshini , Heuzé Jonathan , Leray Baptiste , Vernet Audrey , Mettling Clément , Moreaux Jérôme , Lin Yea-Lih , Pasero Philippe
Published: March 2023

Oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) is a tumor-suppressive mechanism that arrests cell proliferation in response to oncogene-induced replication stress (RS). OIS also depends on the cGAS-STING pathway, which detects cytosolic DNA and promotes the expression of type I interferons (IFN) and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Whether and how the RS and IFN responses cooperate to promote OIS is currently unknown. Here, we show that the MRE11 nuclease promotes OIS in immortalized human fibroblasts overexpressing the H-RASV12oncogene both by slowing replication forks and by activating the cGAS-STING pathway in response to RS. Interestingly, overexpression of TREX1, the major nuclease degrading cytosolic DNA, prevented RAS-induced senescence. In contrast, overexpression of a dominant negative mutant of TREX1 was sufficient to induce senescence in human fibroblasts, even in the absence of H-RASV12induction. Collectively, these data suggest that the RS and IFN responses in OIS are functionally linked through a process involving the nucleases MRE11 and TREX1.
Polygenic risk associations with developmental and mental health outcomes in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review
Authors: Moyakhe L.B. , Dalvie S. , Mufford M.S. , Stein D.J. , Koen N.
Published: March 2023

Background

Neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders in childhood constitute an emerging global concern, with adverse sequelae which span children’s physical, psychological and social well-being. The aetiology of these disorders is likely complex, multifactorial and polygenic. Polygenic risk scores (PRS), an estimate of an individual’s genetic liability toward a disorder, have been increasingly used in psychiatric research to explore genetic associations with disorders of interest. However, limited work delineates polygenic associations with development and mental health in childhood populations.

We aimed to systematically review existing literature on associations between genetic risk (as measured by PRS) and neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes in childhood and adolescence.

Methods

Following the recommended Preferred Reporting Items for Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, databases were searched using key search terms. The search commenced in March 2021 and concluded in June 2021. The studies eligible for inclusion were full-text articles investigating polygenic risk associations with neurodevelopmental and/or mental health outcomes in childhood or adolescence.

Results

Fourteen studies were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review. The association between higher PRS for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and adverse developmental/mental health outcomes in childhood and adolescence was reported by five studies. Additionally, associations between PRS for bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder and adverse outcomes of interest were also described by two studies; and two studies highlighted associations between schizophrenia PRS and mental health disorders in childhood. The remaining studies highlighted shared polygenic contributions between and within NDDs and mental health disorders in children.

Conclusion

The findings of this systematic review suggest that PRS for neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders may associate with adverse neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes from early childhood to adolescence. In addition, these associations seemed not to be phenotype-specific, suggesting potential shared genetic variation across the phenotypes of interest.
Embracing supply chain digitalization and unphysicalization to enhance supply chain performance: a conceptual framework
Authors: Perano Mirko , Cammarano Antonello , Varriale Vincenzo , Del Regno Claudio , Michelino Francesca , Caputo Mauro
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The paper presents a research methodology that could be used to carry out a systematic literature review on the current state of the art of the technological development in the field of the digitalization and unphysicalization of supply chains (SCs). A three-dimensional conceptual framework focusing on the relationship between Digital Technologies (DTs), business processes and SC performance is presented. The study identifies the emerging practices and areas of SC management that could be positively affected by the implementation of DTs. With this in mind, the emerging practices have a high probability to be considered future best practices.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review was conducted on DTs in SC management. The methodology used aims to algorithmically and objectively standardize the information incorporated into thousands of scientific documents. Selected papers were analyzed to investigate the recent literature on SC digitalization and unphysicalization. A total of 87 DTs were selected to be analyzed and subsequently grouped into 11 macro-categories. 17 business processes linked to SC management are taken into account and 17 different impacts on SC management are presented. From a set of 1,585 papers, 5,060 emerging practices were collected and singularly summarized combining DT, business process and impact on SC performance.

Findings

A unique analytical perspective provided represents an important evolution when trying to organize the current literature on SC management. The widely used DTs in the practices and the most considered business processes and impacts are highlighted and described. The three-dimensional conceptual framework is graphically represented to allow for the emergence of the best combinations of DT, business process and impact on SC performance. These combinations suggest the most promising areas for the implementation of the emerging practices for SC digitalization and unphysicalization. Additional findings identify and define the most important contexts in which Big Data contributes to SC performance.

Originality/value

The research methodology used is offering progress through which to systemize the current practices as well as detect the potential of digitalization and unphysicalization under the three-dimensional conceptual framework. The paper provides a structured proposal for promising future research directions, assuming that the five research gaps as findings of this research could be the basis for prescriptions, as well as a future research agenda and theory development. Moreover, this research contributes to current managerial issues concerning SC management, referred to data and information management, efficiency and productivity of SC processes, market performance, SC relationship management and risk management in SC.
Russia–Ukraine conflict and its impact on global inflation: an event study-based approach
Authors: Maurya Prince Kumar , Bansal Rohit , Mishra Anand Kumar
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study investigates how the conflict between Russia and Ukraine impacts global inflation.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses monthly consumer price index (CPI) data from 60 countries for 30 months, from January 2020 to June 2022. An event study methodology has been employed to check abnormal variation in the CPI, after classifying country-specific monthly data into nine groups.

Findings

The outcome revealed that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered inflation globally. However, the severity of inflation in the sample countries is determined by their geographical proximity and trading activity with the countries in conflict. A significant rise in inflation was observed among major European economies during the invasion. As the war continues, the increase in the price of essential commodities is evident worldwide.

Originality/value

The war literature till now has concentrated on stock markets, energy markets, exchange rates and precious metals. Since no previous research has attempted to quantify the abnormal effect of the war on domestic and global inflation, the current study will shed much-needed light on the subject.
Temperature drives the coordination between above‐ground nutrient conservation and below‐ground nutrient acquisition in alpine coniferous forests
Authors: Ding Junxiang , Ge Wenjing , Liu Qing , Wang Qitong , Kong Deliang , Yin Huajun
Published: March 2023

Above‐ground nutrient conservation via resorption processes and below‐ground nutrient acquisition from soils are two important mechanisms for plants to maintain nutrition and ecosystem functions. However, the mechanism by which plants coordinate these two nutrient strategies, especially for ectomycorrhizal (ECM)‐dominated conifers in alpine forests, remains unclear.

We investigated the relationships between above‐ground nutrient conservation and below‐ground nutrient acquisition and their environmental drivers by measuring leaf nutrient (i.e. nitrogen [N] and phosphorous [P]) resorption efficiency, resource foraging‐ and uptake‐related root morphological (root diameter [RD], specific root length [SRL]/area [SRA]) and physiological (root tissue density [RTD], root N and P concentration) traits, mycorrhizal colonization rate (MCR), rhizosphere effect on soil N and P cycling, and environmental factors of 40 ECM coniferous populations on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China.

Our results showed that with increasing leaf nutrient (N and P) resorption efficiency, conifers shifted from depending on the ‘outsourcing’ strategy by mycorrhizal fungi (high MCR) to relying on the ‘do‐it‐yourself’ strategy of root mining (high rhizosphere effect on N‐ and P‐mining‐related enzyme activities) rather than on root foraging (high SRL and SRA) and preferred more conservative roots (high RTD and low root N and P concentrations). Temperature was the main factor driving a negative relationship of ECM fungi foraging, root uptake and a positive relationship of root mining with leaf nutrient resorption, while precipitation resulted in a decoupled relationship between root foraging and leaf nutrient resorption.

Our findings demonstrate temperature‐driven and diverse collaborations (e.g. trade‐off or synergy) between below‐ground nutrient acquisition and above‐ground nutrient conservation strategies in alpine ECM conifers and highlight that the preference for below‐ground nutrient acquisition strategies could influence the above‐ground nutrient utilization strategy. This is insightful for a holistic understanding of the adaptation and responses of alpine forests to climatic change.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Pulp volume quantification methods in cone‐beam computed tomography for age estimation: A critical review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Barbosa Marcella Guedes , Franco Ademir , de Oliveira Renata Dantas Barreto , Mamani Mariela Peralta , Junqueira José Luís Cintra , Soares Mariana Quirino Silveira
Published: March 2023

The secondary dentin deposition that occurs after the tooth formation process results in a decrease in pulp cavity volume in adolescents and adults. The purpose of this critical review was to correlate pulpal and/or dental volume on cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) with chronological age approximation. A subobjective was to investigate which methodology and CBCT technical parameters would be most appropriate to evaluate this correlation. This critical review followed the PRISMA guidelines, and it was conducted by a search through PubMed, Embase, SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library databases, as well as gray literature. Primary studies that used pulp volume, or pulp chamber to tooth volume ratio measured using CBCT were included. Seven hundred and eight indexed and 31 non‐indexed records were identified. A qualitative analysis was performed including 25 selected studies with a total of 5100 individuals, age ranging from 8 to 87 years without sex predilection. The most used method was pulp volume/tooth volume. CBCT voxel size ranged between 0.09 and 0.5. Manual segmentation associated with threshold algorithms was used in most of the studies. Correlation between the pulp volume/tooth volume ratio was moderate: −0.66 for the upper central incisors, −0.59 for upper canines and −0.56 for lower canines. High heterogeneity was observed among the studies. It is concluded that pulp volume should be used with caution in age estimation. Evidence supports the preferable use of upper incisors with pulp volume/tooth volume ratio for age estimation. There is not enough evidence that voxel size interferes in age estimation by pulp volume.
Effects of language mismatch in automatic forensic voice comparison using deep learning embeddings
Authors: Sztahó Dávid , Fejes Attila
Published: March 2023

In forensic voice comparison, deep learning has become widely popular recently. It is mainly used to learn speaker representations, called embeddings or embedding vectors. Speaker embeddings are often trained using corpora mostly containing widely spoken languages. Thus, language dependency is an important factor in automatic forensic voice comparison, especially when the target language is linguistically very different from that the model is trained on. In the case of a low‐resource language, developing a corpus for forensic purposes containing enough speakers to train deep learning models is costly. This study aims to investigate whether a model pre‐trained on multilingual (mostly English) corpus can be used on a target low‐resource language (here, Hungarian), not represented by the model. Often multiple samples are not available from the offender (unknown speaker). Samples are therefore compared pairwise with and without speaker enrollment for suspect (known) speakers. Two corpora are used that were developed especially for forensic purposes and a third that is meant for traditional speaker verification. Speaker embedding vectors are extracted by the x‐vector and ECAPA‐TDNN techniques. Speaker verification was evaluated in the likelihood‐ratio framework. A comparison is made between the language combinations (modeling, LR calibration, and evaluation). The results were evaluated by Cllrmin and EER metrics. It was found that the model pre‐trained on a different language but on a corpus with a significant number of speakers can be used on samples with language mismatch. Sample duration and speaking style also seem to affect the performance.
Automatic detection of irregular vanishing and reappearing parts of objects in two interwoven sequences: A visual mismatch negativity study
Authors: Csikós Nóra , Petro Bela , Kojouharova Petia , Scheiling Katalin , Gaál Zsófia Anna , Czigler István
Published: March 2023

The cognitive system automatically develops predictions on the basis of regularities of event sequences and reacts to the violation of these predictions. In the visual modality, the electrophysiological signature of this process is an event‐related potential component, the visual mismatch negativity (vMMN). So far, we have no data, whether the system underlying vMMN is capable of dealing with more than one event sequence simultaneously. To disclose this aspect of the capacity of the system, in a passive oddball paradigm, we presented two interwoven sequences. The stimuli were objects (diamond patterns with their diagonals), one of the sequences was presented to the left side and the other to the right side of the visual field. From time to time, two parallel lines of the diamonds disappeared (OFF event) and then reappeared (ON event). The frequently vanishing pair of lines on the left side (standard) was identical to the rarely vanishing lines of the objects on the right side (deviant) and vice versa. We found that deviant ON events elicited vMMN only for left‐side deviants and deviant OFF events elicited vMMN only for right‐side deviants. The standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) source localization showed vMMN sources both in posterior visual structures and in anterior locations, and activity was stronger in the hemisphere contralateral to the deviant event. According to the results, the system underlying vMMN is capable of dealing with two sequences, but within a sequence, it detected only one type (either OFF or ON) of deviancy.
Effects of anthropogenic stress on hosts and their microbiomes: Treated wastewater alters performance and gut microbiome of a key detritivore (Asellus aquaticus)
Authors: Lafuente Elvira , Carles Louis , Walser Jean‐Claude , Giulio Marco , Wullschleger Simon , Stamm Christian , Räsänen Katja
Published: March 2023

Human activity is a major driver of ecological and evolutionary change in wild populations and can have diverse effects on eukaryotic organisms as well as on environmental and host‐associated microbial communities. Although host–microbiome interactions can be a major determinant of host fitness, few studies consider the joint responses of hosts and their microbiomes to anthropogenic changes. In freshwater ecosystems, wastewater is a widespread anthropogenic stressor that represents a multifarious environmental perturbation. Here, we experimentally tested the impact of treated wastewater on a keystone host (the freshwater isopod Asellus aquaticus) and its gut microbiome. We used a semi‐natural flume experiment, in combination with 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, to assess how different concentrations (0%, 30%, and 80%) of nonfiltered wastewater (i.e. with chemical toxicants, nutrients, organic particles, and microbes) versus ultrafiltered wastewater (i.e. only dissolved pollutants and nutrients) affected host survival, growth, and food consumption as well as mid‐ and hindgut bacterial community composition and diversity. Our results show that while host survival was not affected by the treatments, host growth increased and host feeding rate decreased with nonfiltered wastewater – potentially indicating that A. aquaticus fed on organic matter and microbes available in nonfiltered wastewater. Furthermore, even though the midgut microbiome (diversity and composition) was not affected by any of our treatments, nonfiltered wastewater influenced bacterial composition (but not diversity) in the hindgut. Ultrafiltered wastewater, on the other hand, affected both community composition and bacterial diversity in the hindgut, an effect that in our system differed between sexes. While the functional consequences of microbiome changes and their sex specificity are yet to be tested, our results indicate that different components of multifactorial stressors (i.e. different constituents of wastewater) can affect hosts and their microbiome in distinct (even opposing) manners and have a substantial impact on eco‐evolutionary responses to anthropogenic stressors.
Treatment response to isotretinoin correlates with specific shifts in Cutibacterium acnes strain composition within the follicular microbiome
Authors: Nolan Zachary T. , Banerjee Kalins , Cong Zhaoyuan , Gettle Samantha L. , Longenecker Amy L. , Kawasawa Yuka I. , Zaenglein Andrea L. , Thiboutot Diane M. , Agak George W. , Zhan Xiang , Nelson Amanda M.
Published: March 2023

There are no drugs as effective as isotretinoin for acne. Deciphering the changes in the microbiome induced by isotretinoin in the pilosebaceous follicle of successfully treated patients can pave the way to identify novel therapeutic alternatives. We determined how the follicular microbiome changes with isotretinoin and identified which alterations correlate with a successful treatment response. Whole genome sequencing was done on casts from facial follicles of acne patients sampled before, during and after isotretinoin treatment. Alterations in the microbiome were assessed and correlated with treatment response at 20 weeks as defined as a 2‐grade improvement in global assessment score. We investigated the α‐diversity, β‐diversity, relative abundance of individual taxa, Cutibacterium acnes strain composition and bacterial metabolic profiles with a computational approach. We found that increased β‐diversity of the microbiome coincides with a successful treatment response to isotretinoin at 20 weeks. Isotretinoin selectively altered C. acnes strain diversity in SLST A and D clusters, with increased diversity in D1 strains correlating with a successful clinical response. Isotretinoin significantly decreased the prevalence of KEGG Ontology (KO) terms associated with four distinct metabolic pathways inferring that follicular microbes may have limited capacity for growth or survival following treatment. Importantly, these alterations in microbial composition or metabolic profiles were not observed in patients that failed to achieve a successful response at 20 weeks. Alternative approaches to recapitulate this shift in the balance of C. acnes strains and microbiome metabolic function within the follicle may be beneficial in the future treatment of acne.
Telomere length in multiple cancer: insight into recurrence risk from a meta‐analysis
Authors: Gao Mingtong , Zheng Gege , Li Yun , Zhang Yingying , Hu Po , Pan Yang
Published: March 2023

Background

Several studies have revealed the relationships between telomere length and the risk and mortality of numerous cancers. This meta‐analysis aims to insightfully clarify the potential relationship between telomere length and the recurrence of multiple cancers.

Methods

PubMed database was used to search and identify interrelated citations. These reports investigated the relationship between telomere length and various cancer recurrences. Meta‐analysis pooled data from studies that reported risk ratio (RR) of 95 (CI = 95%) confidence intervals and/or P‐values. The cancer recurrence was investigated from an overall standpoint to the multiple levels of subtypes of cancers.

Results

The meta‐analysis involved 5907 recurrent multiple cancer patients from 13 cohort studies. Compared to these cancer recurrence cases and the telomere length differences, there was no significant correlation between telomere length and cancer recurrence risk (short telomeres vs long telomeres; RR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.72–1.20, P = 0.59). Additionally, a negative association was observed between telomere length and cancer recurrence in gastrointestinal cancer and a positive association in head and neck cancer, while telomere length had little effect on the recurrence of hematological malignancies and genitourinary cancer in this analysis.

Conclusion

There was no significant relationship between recurrence and telomere length in 5907 cases in 13 studies. However, there was a correlation between specific tumors. These results suggested that telomere length as a recurrence marker or telomere length to determine the possibility of recurrence must be evaluated on the specific type of cancer.