bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Symmetric Decompositions and Real-Rootedness
Authors: Brändén Petter , Solus Liam
Published: March 2019

In algebraic, topological, and geometric combinatorics, inequalities among the coefficients of combinatorial polynomials are frequently studied. Recently, a notion called the alternatingly increasing property, which is stronger than unimodality, was introduced. In this paper, we relate the alternatingly increasing property to real-rootedness of the symmetric decomposition of a polynomial to develop a systematic approach for proving the alternatingly increasing property for several classes of polynomials. We apply our results to strengthen and generalize real-rootedness, unimodality, and alternatingly increasing results pertaining to colored Eulerian and derangement polynomials, Ehrhart $h^\ast$-polynomials for lattice zonotopes, $h$-polynomials of barycentric subdivisions of doubly Cohen–Macaulay level simplicial complexes, and certain local $h$-polynomials for subdivisions of simplices. In particular, we prove two conjectures of Athanasiadis.
Space and Shelter Requirement of Nymphs in the Mass-Rearing of the Edible Ruspolia differens (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae)
Authors: Lehtovaara V J , Tahvanainen J , Sorjonen J , Valtonen A , Roininen H
Published: March 2019

The ability to mass-rear insects in high densities is a precondition for the edible insect industry but the space requirement has to be determined specifically for each species. Mass-rearing methods for Ruspolia differens Serville (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), one of the most consumed edible insect species in East Africa, are currently lacking. Though, these methods are urgently needed to enhance the food security in the region and to reduce the pressure on the wild populations. Here, we experimentally evaluated the effect of rearing density and rearing environment on the survival of R. differens nymphs. We conducted two experiments; in Experiment 1 we used small 0.15-liter rearing containers and in Experiment 2, larger 0.75-liter containers. The rearing densities ranged from 4 to 300 individuals per liter and we used three different rearing environments (‘net’, ‘spikes’, and ‘oat sprouts’). We found that the survival of R. differens nymphs is strongly density-dependent. The suitable rearing density for young R. differens nymphs should be ≤36 nymphs per liter, as in higher densities the mortality of nymphs increases rapidly over the course of time. With rearing densities ≤36 nymphs per liter, a survival rate of 60% can be expected up to 28 d after rearing. The studied environments only had a minor effect on the survival. These results create the basis for the efforts to upscale the rearing of R. differens in the future.
Individual Preference for Longshots
Authors: Chark Robin , Chew Soo Hong , Zhong Songfa
Published: March 2019

Results from studies on risk taking behavior suggest that people tend to be risk seeking when making choices over lotteries that involve longshots: small probabilities of winning sizable payoffs. To investigate preferences over longshots systematically, we conduct an incentivized experiment using state lotteries in China, each involving a single prize and fixed winning odds. This enables our construction of single-prize lotteries involving winning odds between 10-5 and 10-1 and winning prizes ranging from RMB10 (about USD1.60) to RMB10,000,000 (about USD1.60 million) across different expected payoffs. For lotteries with expected payoffs of 1 and 10, subjects exhibit heterogeneous preferences for longshots: some prefer the smallest winning probability whereas others favor intermediate winning probabilities. As the expected payoff increases to 100, subjects become predominantly risk averse, even for the lowest winning probability of 10-5. Our findings pose challenges for utility models of decision making under risk.
Genomic Approaches Identify Novel Gene Associations with Out of Season Lambing in Sheep
Authors: Posbergh Christian J , Thonney Michael L , Huson Heather J
Published: March 2019

Sheep are seasonally polyestrous, traditionally breeding when the day length shortens in the autumn. The changing photoperiod stimulates reproductive hormones through a series of chemical pathways, ultimately leading to cyclicity. Some breeds of sheep, such as the Polypay and Dorset, have been selected for reduced seasonality and can lamb year-round. Despite this selection, there is still variation within these breeds in the ability to lamb out of season. The identification of out of season lambing quantitative trait loci has the potential to improve genetic progress using genomic selection schemes. Association studies, fixation index (FST), and runs of homozygosity (ROH) were evaluated to identify regions of the genome that influence the ability of ewes to lamb out of season. All analyses used genotypic data from the Illumina Ovine HD beadchip. Genome-wide associations were tested both across breeds in 257 ewes and within the Dorset and Polypay breeds. FST was measured across breeds and between UK and US Dorsets to assess population differences. ROH were estimated in ewes to identify homozygous regions contributing to out of season lambing. Significant associations after multiple testing correction were found through these approaches, leading to the identification of several candidate genes for further study. Genes involved with eye development, reproductive hormones, and neuronal changes were identified as the most promising for influencing the ewe’s ability to lamb year-round. These candidate genes could be advantageous for selection for improved year-round lamb production and provide better insight into the complex regulation of seasonal reproduction.
Early Accountable Care Organization Results in End-of-Life Spending Among Cancer Patients
Authors: Lam Miranda B , Zheng Jie , Orav E John , Jha Ashish K
Published: March 2019

Background

Spending on cancer patients is substantial and has increased in recent years. Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are arguably the most important national experiment to control health-care spending. How ACOs are managing patients with cancer at the end of life (EOL) is largely unknown. We conducted this study with the objective of determining whether becoming an ACO is associated with subsequent changes in EOL spending or utilization among patients with cancer.

Methods

Using national Medicare claims from 2011 to 2015, we identified patients who died in 2012 (pre-ACO, n = 12 248) and 2015 (post-ACO, n = 12 248), assigning each decedent to a practice. ACOs were matched to non-ACOs within the same geographic region. We used a difference-in-difference model to examine changes in EOL spending and utilization associated with becoming an ACO in the Medicare Shared Savings Program for beneficiaries with cancer.

Results

We found that the introduction of ACOs had no meaningful impact on overall EOL spending in cancer patients (change in overall spending in ACOs = -$1687 vs -$1434 in non-ACOs, difference = $253, 95% confidence interval = -$1809 to $1304, P= .75). We found no changes in total patient spending by cancer type examined or by spending categories, including cancer-specific categories of radiation, therapy, and hospice services. Finally, emergency department visits, inpatient hospitalization, intensive care unit admissions, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hospice use did not meaningfully differ between ACO and non-ACO patients.

Conclusions

The introduction of ACOs does not appear to have had any meaningful effect on EOL spending or utilization for patients with a cancer diagnosis.
A 5deg x 5deg deep H i survey of the M81 group
Authors: Sorgho A , Foster T , Carignan C , Chemin L
Published: March 2019

A $25\, \rm deg^2$ region, including the M81 complex (M81, M82, and NGC 3077), NGC 2976, and IC2574, was mapped during ∼3000  h with the DRAO synthesis telescope. With a physical resolution of ∼1 kpc, these observations allow us to probe a large region down to column density levels of ${\sim }1\times 10^{18}\, \rm cm^{-2}$ over 16 km s−1, mapping the extent of the H i arm connecting the system and NGC 2976, and resolving the H i clouds adjacent to the arm. The observations also reveal a few clouds located between the system and IC 2574, probably tidally stripped from a past interaction between the two systems. Given the regular velocity distribution in the H i envelope of the system, we attempt and derive an idealized large-scale rotation curve of the system. We observe a flat trend for the rotation velocity of the overall system from 20 kpc out to 80 kpc, well beyond the outskirts of the M81 disk, although with asymmetries like a wiggle at the vicinity of M82. This supports the assumption that intergalactic gas and galaxies in the system participate to a large-scale ordered rotation motion which is dominated by M81. Also, our H i analysis of the group further supports the hypothesis that the galaxies forming the system moved closer from afar, in agreement with numerical simulations.
Integrating Genome-Wide Association and eQTLs Studies Identifies the Genes Associated with Age at Menarche and Age at Natural Menopause
Authors: Wang Gang , Lv Jian , Qiu Xiaoxin , An Yujun
Published: March 2019

Objective

An early onset of menarche and, later, menopause are well-established risk factors for the development of breast cancer and endometrial cancer. Although the largest GWASs have identified 389 independent signals for age at menarche (AAM) and 44 regions for age at menopause (ANM), GWAS can only identify the associations between variants and traits. The aim of this study was to identify genes whose expression levels were associated with AAM or ANM due to pleiotropy or causality by integrating GWAS data with genome-wide expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) data. We also aimed to identify the pleiotropic genes that influenced two phenotypes.

Method

We employed GWAS data of AAM and ANM and Genome-wide eQTL data from whole blood. The summary data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR) method was used to prioritize the associated genes for further study. The colocalization analysis was used to identify the pleiotropic genes.

Results

We identified 31 genes whose expression was associated with AAM and 24 genes whose expression was associated with ANM due to pleiotropy or causality. Two pleiotropic genes were identified to be associated with two phenotypes.

Conclusion

The results point out the most possible genes which were responsible for the association. Our study prioritizes the associated genes for further functional mechanistic study of AAM and ANM and illustrates the benefit of integrating different omics of data into the study of complex traits.
Cdc42EP5/BORG3 modulates SEPT9 to promote actomyosin function and melanoma invasion and metastasis
Authors: Farrugia Aaron J , Rodríguez Javier , Orgaz Jose L , Lucas María , Sanz-Moreno Victoria , Calvo Fernando
Published: March 2019

Fast amoeboid migration in the invasive fronts of melanoma is controlled by high levels of actomyosin contractility, which underlie its highly metastatic potential. How this migratory behaviour is coupled to other cytoskeletal components is poorly understood. Septins are increasingly recognized as novel cytoskeletal components, but details on their regulation and contribution to cancer migration and metastasis are lacking. Here, we show that the septin regulator Cdc42EP5 is consistently required for melanoma cells to migrate and invade into collagen-rich matrices, and to locally invade and disseminate in vivo. Cdc42EP5 associates with actin structures leading to increased actomyosin contractility and amoeboid migration. Cdc42EP5 effects these functions through SEPT9-dependent F-actin crosslinking, which enables the generation of F-actin bundles required for the sustained stabilisation of highly contractile actomyosin structures. This study provides evidence for Cdc42EP5 as a regulator of cancer cell motility that coordinates actin and septin networks. It also describes a unique role for SEPT9 in invasion and metastasis, and illustrates a mechanism that regulates its function in melanoma.
Shotgun metagenomics reveals an enrichment of potentially cross-reactive bacterial epitopes in ankylosing spondylitis patients, as well as the effects of TNFi therapy and the host’s genotype upon microbiome composition
Authors: Yin Jian , Sternes Peter R. , Wang Mingbang , Morrison Mark , Song Jing , Li Ting , Zhou Ling , Wu Xin , He Fusheng , Zhu Jian , Brown Matthew A. , Xu Huji
Published: March 2019

Diverse evidence including clinical, genetic and microbiome studies support a major role of the gut microbiome in the common immune-mediated arthropathy, ankylosing spondylitis (AS). To further investigate this we performed metagenomic analysis of a case-control cohort of 250 Han-Chinese subjects. Previous reports of gut dysbiosis in AS were re-confirmed and several notable bacterial species and functional categories were differentially abundant. TNF-inhibitor (TNFi) therapy at least partially restored the perturbed microbiome observed in untreated AS cases to that of healthy controls, including several important bacterial species that have been previously associated with AS and other related diseases. Enrichment of bacterial peptides homologous to HLA-B27-presented epitopes was observed in the stools of AS patients, suggesting that either HLA-B27 fails to clear these or that they are involved in driving HLA-B27-associated immune reactions. TNFi therapy of AS patients was also associated with a reduction of potentially arthritogenic bacterial peptides, relative to untreated patients. An AS-associated SNP inRUNX3significantly influenced the microbiome in two independent cohorts, highlighting a host genotype (other thanHLA-B27) potentially influencing AS via the microbiome. These findings emphasise the key role that the gut microbiome plays in driving the pathogenesis of AS.
Iron nanoparticle-labeled murine mesenchymal stromal cells in an osteoarthritic model persists and demonstrates anti-inflammatory mechanism of action
Authors: Hamilton Amanda M. , Cheung Wing-Yee , Gómez-Aristizábal Alejandro , Nakamura Sayaka , Chaboureau Amélie , Bhatt Shashank , Sharma Anirudh , Kapoor Mohit , Foster Paula J. , Viswanathan Sowmya
Published: March 2019

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by cartilage degradation and chronic joint inflammation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown promising results in OA, but their mechanism of action is not fully understood. We hypothesize that MSCs polarize macrophages, which are strongly associated with joint inflammation to more homeostatic sub-types. We tracked ferumoxytol (Feraheme™, iron oxide nanoparticle)-labeled murine MSCs (Fe-MSCs) in murine OA joints, and quantified changes to homeostatic macrophages.

10-week-old C57BL/6 male mice (n=5/group) were induced to undergo osteoarthritis by destabilization of medical meniscus (DMM) or sham surgery. 3 weeks post-surgery, mice were injected intra-articularly with either fluorescent dye-(DiR) labeled or DiR+ferumoxytol-labeled (DiR+Fe) bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC, 50×103MSCs/mouse) or saline (control), to yield 4 groups (n=5 per group for each timepoint [1, 2 and 4weeks]): i) DMM+Saline; ii) DMM+DiR+Fe-MSC; iii) DMM+DiR MSC; iv) SHAM+DiR+Fe-MSC and saline in contralateral knee. 4 weeks after injection, mice were imaged by MRI, and scored for i) OARSI to determine cartilage damage and ii) immunohistochemical changes in CD206, F480 and Prussian Blue/Sca-1 to detect homeostatic macrophages, total macrophages and ferumoxytol-labeled MSCs respectively.

Ferumoxytol-labeled MSCs persisted in DMM knee joints at greater levels than in SHAM-MSC knee joints. We observed no difference in OARSI scores between MSC and vehicle groups. Sca-1 and Prussian Blue co-staining confirmed the ferumoxytol label resides in MSCs, although some ferumoxytol label was detected in proximity to MSCs in macrophages, likely due to phagocytosis of apoptotic MSCs, increasing functionality of these macrophages through MSC efferocytosis. We showed decreased MRI synovitis scores in MSC-treated compared to control animals. For the first time we show that MSC-treated OA mice had increased macrophage infiltration (p<0.08) with an increased proportion of CD206+ (homeostatic) macrophages (p<0.01), supporting our hypothesis that MSCs modulate synovial inflammation.
Accurate analysis of genuine CRISPR editing events with ampliCan
Authors: Labun Kornel , Guo Xiaoge , Chavez Alejandro , Church George , Gagnon James A. , Valen Eivind
Published: March 2019

We present ampliCan, an analysis tool for genome editing that unites highly precise quantification and visualization of genuine genome editing events. ampliCan features nuclease-optimized alignments, filtering of experimental artifacts, event-specific normalization, and off-target read detection and quantifies insertions, deletions, HDR repair, as well as targeted base editing. It is scalable to thousands of amplicon sequencing–based experiments from any genome editing experiment, including CRISPR. It enables automated integration of controls and accounts for biases at every step of the analysis. We benchmarked ampliCan on both real and simulated data sets against other leading tools, demonstrating that it outperformed all in the face of common confounding factors.
Flawed organizational purpose? Changing the narrative in management education and practice
Authors: Marques Joan F.
Published: March 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to challenge current and future organizational managers toward engaging in a process of reflecting on the purpose of their performance and the purpose of the organization they serve and also to challenge management educators and coaches to reflect on the emphasis of their training of those who will step into management positions.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews the current criticism on organizational management education and practice, and brings global inequality in the scope to underscore the importance of correcting a flawed system based on a flawed perspective.

Findings

It is critical to change the narrative the authors use for management in organizations from, “organizations exist to maximize the value of their shareholders, and the managers in those organizations need to ensure that this happens” to, “organizations exist to support the communities in which they operate, and managers in those organizations need to ensure that this happens.”

Practical implications

Organizational managers will focus on a more socially acceptable set of priorities when adopting the narrative promoted in this paper. Business educators will focus on more transdisciplinary approaches to help their students think beyond self-centered and sheer profit-based boundaries, and plant seeds toward constructive and morally sound social change early on.

Social implications

Communities will fare much better when the organizations in their areas will focus more on well-being of those who reside in the community rather than a handful of often absent shareholders.

Originality/value

This paper questions the core of organizational existence and managerial performance therein. It reaches beyond technological, operational, and tactical levels of performance and questions the grand strategy of organizational existence and performance.
Alibaba strategist Ming Zeng: “Smart business” in the era of business ecosystems
Authors: Leavy Brian
Published: March 2019

Purpose

Alibaba strategist Ming Zeng explains how the company operates its “smart business” in the era of business ecosystems

Design/methodology/approach

Alibaba today presents a vivid picture of the new business world emerging, one that operates using the data generated by the network of participants, as processed by machine learning, to automatically respond to customer behavior and preferences in real time.

Findings

At Alibaba link after link in the value chain is being modularized and reconfigured into technologically optimized networks and much of business decision-making is powered by algorithms.

Practical implications

Creativity becomes the crucial productive factor and thus the purpose of an organization is to enable, rather than manage creative people.

Originality/value

In the emerging world of “smart business,” entrepreneurs and strategists must learn to assess the entire network as a whole when deciding how to position their business and create value. Then the strategy making process is one of generating, coordinating and modulating experimentation
How design thinking opens new frontiers for strategy development
Authors: Liedtka Jeanne , Kaplan Saul
Published: March 2019

Purpose

This article explains how design thinking and practices can identify unexplored opportunities for strategic growth. Increasingly practitioners are learning about powerful ways they can work together, with design mindsets and practices improving the strategy development process in multiple ways.

Design/methodology/approach

By integrating design practices into strategy development, practitioners can produce both incremental improvement in the performance of today’s business model and open opportunities to completely transform it.

Findings

Using design thinking, to understand the job customers are trying to do and the problem they have doing it allows strategists to craft a new potential offering and shape a value proposition that creates greater value than existing alternatives.”

Practical implications

The first design practice worth integrating into strategy development is human-centered design (HCD), with its tools that explore multiple pathways for growth through the experience of customers, the perspectives of “uncommon” partners, and the untapped local intelligence of employees.

Originality/value

The capability set design thinking offers – the focus on customers’ job-to-be-done, the ability to prototype and experiment, to manage a portfolio of bets, and to foster engagement and alignment – can provide what successful growth, whether incremental or disruptive, demands.
Target‐oriented imaging using extended image volumes: a low‐rank factorization approach
Authors: Kumar Rajiv , Graff Marie , Vasconcelos Ivan , Herrmann Felix J.
Published: March 2019

Imaging in geological challenging environments has led to new developments, including the idea of generating reflection responses by means of interferometric redatuming at a given target datum in the subsurface, when the target datum lies beneath a complex overburden. One way to perform this redatuming is via conventional model‐based wave‐equation techniques. But those techniques can be computationally expensive for large‐scale seismic problems since the number of wave‐equation solves is equal to two times the number of sources involved during seismic data acquisition. Also conventional shot‐profile techniques require lots of memory to save full subsurface extended image volumes. Therefore, we can only form subsurface image volumes in either horizontal or vertical directions. To exploit the information hidden in full subsurface extended image volumes, we now present a randomized singular value decomposition‐based approach built upon the matrix probing scheme, which takes advantage of the algebraic structure of the extended imaging system. This low‐rank representation enables us to overcome both the computational cost associated with the number of wave‐equation solutions and memory usage due to explicit storage of full subsurface extended image volumes employed by conventional migration methods. Experimental results on complex geological models demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methodology and allow practical reflection‐based extended imaging for large‐scale five‐dimensional seismic data.
Wild bacterial probiotics fed to larvae of mass‐reared Queensland fruit fly [Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt)] do not impact long‐term survival, mate selection, or locomotor activity
Authors: Shuttleworth Lucas A. , Khan Mohammed Abul Monjur , Collins Damian , Osborne Terry , Reynolds Olivia L.
Published: March 2019

Queensland fruit fly [Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt), Diptera, Tephritidae] is the most devastating insect pest impacting Australian horticulture. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is an important component of tephritid pest management programs. However, mass‐rearing and irradiation (to render insects sterile) may reduce the fitness and performance of the insect, including the ability of sterile males to successfully compete for wild females. Manipulation of the gut microbiome, including the supplementation with bacterial probiotics shows promise for enhancing the quality of mass‐reared sterile flies, however there are fewer published studies targeting the larval stage. In this study, we supplemented the larval stage of mass‐reared B. tryoni with bacterial probiotics. We tested several individual bacteria that had been previously isolated and characterized from the gut of wild B. tryoni larvae including Asaia sp., Enterobacter sp., Lactobacillus sp., Leuconostoc sp. We also tested a consortium of all four of these bacterial isolates. The fitness parameters tested included adult survival in field cages, laboratory mate selection of bacteria supplemented males by bacteria nonsupplemented females, and laboratory locomotor activity of adult flies. None of the bacterial probiotic treatments in the current study was significantly different to the control for field survival, mate selection or locomotor activity of adult B. tryoni, which agree with some of the other studies regarding bacterial probiotics fed to the larval stage of tephritids. Future work is needed to determine if feeding the same, and/or other probiotics to adults, as opposed to larvae can positively impact survival, mating performance, mating competitiveness and locomotor activity of B. tryoni. The bacterial group(s) and function of bacterial species that increase fitness and competitiveness is also of interest to tephritid mass‐rearing programs.
Leaning Tower of Pizza: A Business Start‐up
Authors: Shepherd John D. , Amlani Alym A.
Published: March 2019

The following take‐out pizzeria restaurant simulation highlights the information sources that an entrepreneur can use to prepare a cash budget and financial forecast for a new business venture. Based on the information contained in this simulation, students make a capital budgeting decision and prepare pro forma financial statements.
Association between leptin levels and severity of suicidal behaviour in schizophrenia spectrum disorders
Authors: Gohar S. M. , Dieset I. , Steen N. E. , Mørch R. H. , Vedal T. S. J. , Reponen E. J. , Steen V. M. , Andreassen O. A. , Melle I.
Published: March 2019

Objective

Associations between suicidality and lipid dysregulation are documented in mental illness, but the potential role of leptin remains unclear. We examined the association between leptin and suicidal behaviour in schizophrenia, together with the influence of other clinical and biological indices.

Method

We recruited a sample of 270 participants with schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses. Blood samples were analysed for leptin, while symptom severity was assessed by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS‐C). Patients' history of suicidal behaviour was categorized into three subgroups based on IDS‐C suicide subscale: No suicidal behaviour, mild/moderate suicidal behaviour and severe suicidal behaviour with/without attempts.

Results

Mild/moderate suicidal behaviour was present in 17.4% and severe suicidal behaviour in 34.8%. Both groups were significantly associated with female gender (OR = 6.0, P = 0.004; OR = 5.9, P = 0.001), lower leptin levels (OR = 0.4, P = 0.008; OR = 0.5, P = 0.008) and more severe depression (OR = 1.2, P < 0.001; OR = 1.1, P < 0.001) respectively. Smoking (OR = 2.6, P = 0.004), younger age of onset (OR = 0.9, P = 0.003) and less use of leptin‐increasing medications (OR = 0.5, P = 0.031) were associated with severe/attempts group, while higher C‐reactive protein CRP (OR = 1.3, P = 0.008) was associated with mild/moderate group.

Conclusion

Lower leptin levels were associated with higher severity of suicidal behaviour in schizophrenia.
From First Canoe to Statehood: Eight Hundred Years of Economic and Political Change in Hawaii
Authors: La Croix Sumner
Published: March 2019

The Hawaiian archipelago was the last major land area on the planet to be settled, with Polynesians making the long voyage just under a millennium ago. Building on new archaeological and historical research, the lecture provides an overview of the economic and political history of Hawai‘i from the first Polynesian settlements in the thirteen century through U.S. colonisation and statehood. The analysis considers how the political and economic institutions that emerged and evolved in Hawai‘i during its centuries of global isolation changed in response to Hawai‘i's post‐1778 integration into a new world of global markets and colonial politics.
Portrayal of bariatric surgery in the New Zealand print news media
Authors: Rahiri Jamie‐Lee , Barazanchi Ahmed , Gillon Ashlea , MacCormick Andrew , Harwood Matire , Hill Andrew
Published: March 2019

Background

Bariatric surgery has become topical in the media worldwide, influencing wider societal attitudes towards obesity and obesity management. This study aims to explore the media portrayal of bariatric surgery in all print news articles published in New Zealand (NZ) over a decade.

Methods

An electronic search of two databases (Proquest Australia/NZ Newsstream and Newztext) and two NZ news media websites (Stuff and the NZ Herald) was performed to retrieve print news articles reporting stories, opinion pieces or editorials regarding bariatric surgery published between January 2007 to June 2017. Qualitative thematic analysis was performed on all included articles.

Results

From January 2007 to December 2017, 252 articles related to bariatric surgery were published. Seven major themes emerged centred around barriers to accessing bariatric surgery, deficit attitudes towards obesity and social justice. These views were driven by articles that debated the limited number of publicly funded bariatric procedures offered in NZ. In addition, healthcare professionals used the media as a platform to challenge discriminatory attitudes towards obesity and bariatric surgery.

Conclusion

The NZ media is a powerful tool that still bolsters binary perspectives of obesity and bariatric surgery which may work against addressing the obesity epidemic.
Clinical decision support improves quality of care in patients with ulcerative colitis
Authors: Jackson Belinda , Begun Jake , Gray Kathleen , Churilov Leonid , Liew Danny , Knowles Simon , De Cruz Peter
Published: March 2019

Background

Decision support tools may facilitate shared decision‐making and improve quality of care.

Aim

To assess the effectiveness of a decision support tool on improving quality of care in ulcerative colitis.

Methods

A prospective quality of care intervention was conducted at two Australian hospitals comparing out‐patient–based ulcerative colitis care with, and without, a tablet‐based decision support tool. This included questions on disease activity management; psychological well‐being; and preventive care, with 13 process indicators relevant to each domain. Participants included adult out‐patients with mild‐to‐moderate ulcerative colitis and their clinicians who were divided into two cohorts. The first cohort were followed up immediately after their clinical review to check whether their clinician had discussed the 13 process indicators during the consultation. The second cohort of patients used the decision support tool immediately prior to their consultation which then generated a suggested management plan for the patient and clinician to discuss during the consultation. Management between the 2 cohorts was compared to assess the effectiveness of the decision support tool in improving the primary outcome, defined as the proportion of quality process indicators used for ulcerative colitis care, with and without the decision support tool.

Results

Thirteen physicians and 100 patients participated. Fifty patients were managed without the decision support tool using standard care (median age 40; 44% male), and 50 patients used the decision support tool (median age 40; 46% male) over a 20‐week period. Increase in the median use of process indicators overall was observed following use of the decision support tool (27% vs 100%; P < 0.001). Improvements were seen in psychological well‐being management (30% vs 100%; P < 0.001), preventive care (16% vs 100%; P < 0.001) and process indicators related to disease activity management (50% vs 100%; P < 0.001). The decision support tool was found to be usable and acceptable. Shared decision‐making was greater in the post‐intervention group (mean decision conflict score of 18.0 vs 33.5; P = 0.002).

Conclusions

The decision support tool substantially improved the quality of the delivery of care. Decision support tools have the potential to minimise errors of omission via a standardised approach to care.
Prevotella copri, a potential indicator for high feed efficiency in western steers
Authors: Brooke Charles G. , Najafi Negeen , Dykier Katherine C. , Hess Matthias
Published: March 2019

There has been a great interest to identify a microbial marker that can be used to predict feed efficiency of beef cattle. Such a marker, specifically one that would allow an early identification of animals with high feed efficiency for future breeding efforts, would facilitate increasing the profitability of cattle operations and simultaneously render them more sustainable by reducing their methane footprint. The work presented here suggests that Prevotella copri might be an ideal microbial marker for identifying beef cattle with high feed efficiency early in their life span and in the production cycle. Developing more refined quantification techniques that allow correlation of P. copri to feed efficiency of beef cattle that can be applied by lay people in the field holds great promise to improve the economy of cattle operations while simultaneously reducing their environmental impact by mitigating methane production from enteric fermentation.
Exploring primary school teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in online collaborative discourse: An epistemic network analysis
Authors: Zhang Si , Liu Qingtang , Cai Zhiqiang
Published: March 2019

The contextual influences on technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) enactment and the method of TPACK assessment remain to be important research topics. Discourse data of 81 teachers in an online professional learning community were collected and analyzed based on the framework of TPACK. Frequency distribution and time series characteristics of teachers’ knowledge domains were analyzed. In addition, epistemic network analysis was used to compare the epistemic network characteristics of teachers in the higher‐score and the lower‐score groups, different age groups, and post and reply groups. Results showed that teachers’ knowledge domains enacted in the context of online discourse were mainly pedagogical content knowledge and general pedagogical knowledge. The teachers in the higher‐score group had a rich, organized and flexible knowledge structure of TPACK. Younger teachers had more connections between pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, while senior teachers had more connections between technological knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. The teachers in the reply group had more connections among the different categories of knowledge as compared to the post group. Finally, implications, limitations and future research were discussed.
Subacute fatigue in primary care – two sides of the story
Authors: Hulme Katrin , Little Paul , Burrows Abigail , Julia Anna , Moss‐Morris Rona
Published: March 2019

Objectives

Fatigue is a common symptom in primary care. Chronic fatigue research highlights the value of preventing chronicity, but little research has investigated the early, subacute stage of the fatigue trajectory (<3 months). We aimed to examine patient and general practitioner (GP) perspectives of subacute fatigue in primary care: (1) to gain a better understanding of fatigue during this stage and (2) to explore how management could be improved.

Design

A qualitative study design was used. In‐depth, semi‐structured telephone interviews were conducted with 14 patients and 14 GPs (non‐dyadic), recruited from 19 primary care practices.

Methods

Interview transcripts were thematically analysed. Initially, patient and GP accounts were analysed separately, before themes were merged to identify shared and independent perspectives.

Results

Three main themes were identified. Within these, subthemes from patients’, GPs’, or shared patient/GP perspectives emerged. The main themes encompassed the following: (1) Change from normal – the impact of fatigue; (2) The challenges of managing fatigue; and (3) The consultation GPs’ knowledge was often not reflected in patients’ accounts, even for those reporting positive experiences, suggesting knowledge was not effectively translated.

Conclusions

Some findings, such as impact, mirror those described in chronic fatigue. New insights into early‐stage fatigue management also arose, including mismatches in patient and GP perceptions on negative tests and not re‐presenting. These highlight the need for better communication and shared understanding. GPs should pre‐emptively present a biopsychosocial model of fatigue and keep communication channels open, particularly in the light of negative physiological tests.

Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject?

Patients with chronic fatigue retrospectively report lack of understanding from GPs in early stage of illness.

Little research has investigated the early stages of the fatigue trajectory.

What does this study add?

Consequences of an episode of subacute fatigue are similar to those reported for CFS.

There is discordance between GPs’ positive view of negative tests and patients’ need for explanation of symptoms.

The length of appointments is a significant barrier for creating shared understanding.
NOMINAL GDP TARGETING AND CENTRAL BANK CONSERVATIVENESS
Authors: Dai Yuwen , Xu Bin
Published: March 2019

In the literature on monetary economics, there is the ‘inflationary bias’ result which predicts that the rate of inflation will be biased towards a higher level under discretionary monetary policy than under a rule‐based policy regime. It is established that a credible nominal target can eliminate this ‘inflationary bias’. In this paper, we examine the case of nominal GDP targeting, which is a rule‐based monetary regime. Depending on the degree of conservativeness by the central bank, we show in a stylized model the choice of different combination of inflation and real GDP targets can still result in an ‘inflationary bias’, and there also exists the possibility of a ‘dis‐inflationary bias’.
Age at death and the effect of lead‐time bias in patients with colorectal cancer: a 10‐year follow‐up
Authors: Nair H. S. , Knight S. R. , McKenzie C. , MacDonald A. J. , Macdonald A.
Published: March 2019

Aim

Studies addressing the benefit of early intervention are prone to lead‐time bias, which results in an artificial improvement in cancer‐specific mortality. We have previously compared the age at death for patients with colorectal cancer presenting on an emergency or elective basis. In this study, we aimed to repeat the analysis with a minimum follow‐up of 10 years.

Method

A nonscreen‐detected cohort of patients presenting with colorectal cancer to three Lanarkshire Hospitals between 2000 and 2006 were entered into a prospective database, with analysis performed on 28 November 2016. The following data were collected: age at death, presentation type (emergency/elective), operative intent (palliative/curative) and Dukes stage. Results are presented as [mean (95% confidence intervals)]. Statistical analysis was undertaken using Student's t‐test and multivariate analysis performed using Cox proportional hazard models.

Results

One thousand six hundred and thirty‐six patients were identified. Elective patients presented younger than emergency patients [67.9 (67.3–68.5) vs 70.9 (69.6–72.2) years; P < 0.0001]. Overall mortality was 71.1% at time of analysis; no difference was seen in the mean age at death between emergency and elective presentation [73.5 (72.4–74.8) vs 73.6 (72.3–74.9) years; P = 0.841].

Conclusion

Current early detection strategies to diagnose colorectal cancer may improve cancer‐specific survival by increasing lead‐time bias. However, in our cohort of symptomatic patients, treatment on an elective or emergency basis does not influence overall survival. These data suggest that in selected patients, particularly where there is comorbidity, it may be reasonable to adopt a more expectant approach to investigate and treat colorectal symptoms.
Fine needle aspiration cytology of paediatric soft tissue tumours highlighting challenges in diagnosis of benign lesions and unusual malignant tumours
Authors: Agrawal Parimal , Srinivasan Radhika , Rajwanshi Arvind , Gupta Nalini , Dey Pranab , Kakkar Nandita , Samujh Ram
Published: March 2019

Introduction

The type of soft tissue lesions seen in children differs from that seen in adults. The role of fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology in their diagnosis is not well documented.

Aim

To study the cytopathological spectrum of paediatric soft tissue tumours to highlight uncommon benign and malignant lesions and the challenges in their diagnosis.

Methods

A 3‐year retrospective audit of all paediatric soft tissue FNA cytology cases from 2015 to 2017 was performed. Smears were reviewed along with cell block immunocytochemistry and follow‐up histopathology of resected specimens wherever available.

Results

A total of 127 cases were reviewed, which included 72 benign and 55 malignant soft tissue tumours. Uncommon lesions described herein are myxoid fibrohistiocytic tumour, myxoma, lipoblastoma, Bednar tumour, malignant extra‐renal rhabdoid tumour and desmoplastic small round cell tumour. Histopathology confirmation was available in 25 cases, out of which 16 cases were completely concordant. In eight cases, all benign diagnoses, histopathology provided more accurate subtyping than FNA. These included cases of lipoblastoma, myxoma and spindle cell haemangioma.

Conclusion

FNA cytology of paediatric soft tissue tumours is accurate in classifying lesions as benign or malignant which helps in treatment planning. Immunocytochemistry performed on cell blocks is useful for subtyping malignant lesions.
First report of Lecanosticta acicola on non‐native Pinus mugo in southern Sweden
Authors: Cleary Michelle , Laas Marili , Oskay Funda , Drenkhan Rein
Published: March 2019

In 2017, severe symptoms of brown spot needle blight, similar to those caused by Lecanosticta acicola, were observed on needles of non‐native Pinus mugo var. Hesse planted in an arboretum in southern Sweden. Microscopic characterization and molecular diagnostics of isolates obtained from diseased needles confirmed the identity of L. acicola. This is the first report of the quarantine pathogen L. acicola in Sweden. Subsequent surveys are urgently needed to assess the presence and extent of the L. acicola invasion in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries.
Smart is the new sexy: female mountain chickadees increase reproductive investment when mated to males with better spatial cognition
Authors: Branch Carrie L. , Pitera Angela M. , Kozlovsky Dovid Y. , Bridge Eli S. , Pravosudov Vladimir V.
Published: March 2019

Understanding the evolution of inter and intraspecific variation in cognitive abilities is one of the main goals in cognitive ecology. In scatter‐caching species, spatial memory is critical for the recovery of food caches and overwinter survival, but its effects on reproduction are less clear. Better spatial cognition may improve pre‐breeding condition allowing for earlier reproduction. Alternatively, when mated to males with better spatial memory, females may be able to invest more in reproduction which may allow increased offspring survival and hence higher fitness. Using wild food‐caching mountain chickadees, we found that when environmental conditions were favourable for breeding, females mated to males with better spatial cognition laid larger clutches and fledged larger broods than females mated to males with worse cognitive performance. Our results support the hypothesis that females may increase their reproductive investment to gain indirect, genetic benefits when mated to high‐quality males with better spatial cognitive abilities.
Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug prescriptions from the 6th month of pregnancy: impact of advice from health authorities
Authors: Araujo Mélanie , Hurault‐Delarue Caroline , Bouilhac Claire , Petiot Dominique , Benevent Justine , Vayssière Christophe , Vidal Sabine , Montastruc Jean‐Louis , Damase‐Michel Christine , Lacroix Isabelle
Published: March 2019

Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most widely used drugs. On June 2008 and February 2009, Dear Doctor Letters (DDLs) were sent by the French Health Authorities (AFSSAPS) to remind practitioners of risks with NSAIDs after the fifth month of pregnancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of these letters on NSAID prescriptions during late pregnancy. EFEMERIS is a French database that registers drugs prescribed and reimbursed during pregnancy and outcomes between 2004 and 2015. We performed a descriptive study and a ‘before‐and‐after’ comparison of NSAID prescriptions between 3 June 2006 and 3 June 2008 (‘before group’), and between 1 March 2010 and 1 March 2012 (‘after group’). We carried out a Cochran Armitage trend test to check whether the rate of women exposed to NSAIDs varies linearly over time. We identified 948 (4.38%) pregnant women in the ‘before group’ and 678 (2.73%) in the ‘after group’ receiving at least one NSAID prescription in late pregnancy (P < 0.0001). Between 2006 and 2012, mainly prescriptions for morniflumate/niflumic acid (1.7% vs. 0.9%; P < 0.0001), ibuprofen (0.8% vs. 0.6%; P = 0.01) and ketoprofen (0.7% vs. 0.3%; P < 0.0001) fell significantly after DDLs. The Cochran Armitage trend test shows that the percentage of women exposed to NSAIDs in late pregnancy decreased significantly during the study period (P < 0.0001). This study highlighted a significant decrease in the percentage of women receiving NSAID prescriptions during late pregnancy after DDLs. This decrease is not linked to a specific women's profile or prescriber's medical discipline.