bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How peer status and ability track shape behavioral disengagement over the transition from primary to secondary school
Authors: Lorijn Sofie J. , Laninga‐Wijnen Lydia , Ryan Allison M.
Published: August 2024

The transition from primary to secondary school is often associated with an increase in behavioral disengagement, which undermines students' academic development. Prior studies examined the average development of behavioral disengagement across school transitions. This study examined how students' peer status in primary school and ability track in secondary school relate to trajectories of behavioral disengagement. We followed n = 1564 students who transitioned to secondary school across three time points: February/March, and May/June in students' final year of primary school and January/February, roughly 6 months after students transited to secondary school. Latent Growth Curve Analyses showed that on average, behavioral disengagement increased, but this increase mostly occurred before transitioning to secondary school. Peer status and track related to students' initial levels of behavioral disengagement, but not to their development in behavioral disengagement over the transition. Specifically, students who were viewed as more popular by peers, and students who ended up in the lowest track showed more behavioral disengagement in primary school, whereas students who were more accepted by peers were less disengaged in primary school.
Conversational Agent Dynamics with Minority Opinion and Cognitive Conflict in Small‐Group Decision‐Making
Authors: Nishida Yuki , Shimojo Shigen , Hayashi Yugo
Published: August 2024

This study investigated the impact of group discussions with text‐based conversational agents on risk‐taking decision‐making, which has been under‐researched. We also focused on the influence of opinion patterns presented by the agents during discussions and attitudes toward these agents. Through an online experiment, 430 participants read a decision‐seeking scenario and expressed the degree of risk they were willing to take. After viewing the text‐based opinions of six agents and having a discussion with the agents, participants expressed the degree of risk they were willing to take for the same scenario. The result showed that participants' risk‐taking decisions shifted toward the agents' group opinions, regardless of whether the agents' opinions tended to be risky or cautious. Additionally, when the agents' group opinions were more risk‐biased and included a minority opinion, a significant association existed between the degree of the participants' shift to a riskier decision and their positive attitudes toward the agents. The agents' group opinions guided participants toward both risky and cautious decisions, and participants' attitudes toward the agents were associated with their decision‐making, albeit to a limited extent.
Evaluation of presentation, treatment and outcome in dogs with granulomatous steatitis associated with hypercalcaemia: six cases (2019‐2023)
Authors: Reyes‐Hughes H. , Bivand A. , Waters C. , Valiente P. , Adam F. , Rapastella S. , Barker E. N.
Published: August 2024

Objectives

To report the presentation, treatment and outcome of dogs with granulomatous steatitis associated with total and ionised hypercalcaemia.

Methods

Six dogs diagnosed with ionised and/or total hypercalcaemia and histologically diagnosed granulomatous steatitis were evaluated to determine the clinical signs, clinical findings, response to treatment and outcome. These cases were seen at different primary care and referral veterinary hospitals in the United Kingdom between 2019 and 2023.

Results

No alternative aetiology to explain the total and/or ionised hypercalcaemia or steatitis was identified. The most common presenting signs were lethargy, anorexia or hyporexia, vomiting and polyuria/polydipsia. Other clinical signs included weight loss, discomfort and panting. Five out of the six dogs responded to prednisolone. Four dogs were alive at the time of writing, one dog was lost to follow‐up and one dog died 2 weeks post‐diagnosis.

Clinical Significance

It is well‐established that granulomatous disease can cause hypercalcaemia. In this case series we found granulomatous steatitis associated with total and/or ionised hypercalcaemia. Dogs diagnosed with granulomatous steatitis should have ionised calcium measured, which may prompt further diagnostics and treatment options. Dogs with hypercalcaemia should be evaluated for evidence of steatitis where more common differentials have been excluded.
Incidence and risk factors of nocturnal penetrations and aspirations in patients with obstructive sleep apnea during drug‐induced sedation endoscopy
Authors: Vainer Igor , Allon Raviv , Shapira‐Galitz Yael , Strinkovsky Lior , Toh Song Tar , Loh Shaun , Alkan Uri
Published: August 2024

Obstructive sleep apnea has been linked to an increased risk of pneumonia, possibly due to higher rates of nighttime aspirations. Few studies have directly investigated such aspirations in individuals with sleep apnea. This retrospective study included 142 adult patients with obstructive sleep apnea who underwent drug‐induced sedation endoscopy between 2017 and 2020. The incidence of penetrations and aspirations during the procedure was assessed, along with potential associated factors. The results showed that 28.1% of the patients experienced penetrations, 48.5% had aspirations, and 23.2% had neither. Male gender and epiglottic collapse were significantly associated with both penetrations and aspirations, while oropharyngeal collapse was more common in those without these events. This study highlights a high rate of aspirations during the procedure in individuals with sleep apnea, with epiglottic collapse and male gender identified as potential risk factors. These findings underscore the need for further research to understand the mechanisms of nighttime aspirations in sleep apnea and to develop targeted strategies to reduce pneumonia risk in this population.
Benzodiazepine‐receptor agonist prescription in a population of hospitalised patients in four psychogeriatric units in Switzerland
Authors: Dalmau i Ribas Maria , Sauser Julien , Gillès de Pélichy Estelle , Méndez Rubio Montserrat , Schuster Jean‐Pierre , Von Gunten Armin , Haba‐Rubio José
Published: August 2024

The aim of this study is to describe the patterns of prescription of benzodiazepine‐receptor agonists in hospitalised patients in four psychogeriatric units in Switzerland. This is a retrospective cross‐sectional study that included patients aged 65 years or more hospitalised in one of the four psychogeriatric units of a university hospital in Switzerland during 2019. The presence, type and dose of benzodiazepine‐receptor agonists was assessed at admission and at discharge. Three‐hundred and eighty‐six patients (214 women, 78.2 ± 8.1 years) were included in the study; 33.4% of patients had at least one benzodiazepine‐receptor agonist at admission and 22.5% at discharge. The relative reduction of benzodiazepine‐receptor agonists prescription in standardised dose was 78%. Age was found to be a protective factor against benzodiazepine‐receptor agonists prescription at admission (adjusted odds ratio 0.94, confidence interval 0.91–0.98), and diagnosis of substance abuse was found to be a risk factor (adjusted odds ratio 4.43, confidence interval 1.42–17.02). Longer hospital stays (> 14 days) were associated with higher reduction of benzodiazepine‐receptor agonists. The prevalence of a prescription of benzodiazepine‐receptor agonists at admission was high, but during the psychogeriatric hospitalisation benzodiazepine‐receptor agonists prescription decreased both in absolute and relative terms.
Bonding positional accuracy of attachments and marginal adaptation of in‐house aligners – A quality improvement laboratory study
Authors: Brandão Nathália Moraes Carvalho Barreto , Maia Raiane Machado , Gomes Victor de Morais , Resende Carolina , Antunes Alberto Nogueira da Gama , Souki Bernardo Quiroga
Published: August 2024

Objectives

To evaluate the 3D accuracy of attachment positioning and the adaptation of aligners to attachments using in‐house templates made with either polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) or ethylene‐vinyl acetate (EVA) and either pressure or vacuum thermoforming machines.

Materials and Methods

Overall, 140 test specimens were resin‐printed. Templates for the attachment bonding were made with 1‐mm EVA or 0.5‐mm PETG laminates. Orthodontic aligners were manufactured with 0.75‐mm PETG. The thermoplastification process was carried out using either vacuum or pressure machines. The positional differences between the virtual and bonded attachments were assessed in the X, Y and Z coordinates. The marginal adaptation between the aligners and the attachments was measured.

Results

Minor inaccuracies in the positioning of the attachments were observed in all combinations of thermoforming machines and plastic laminates used to fabricate the templates, mainly in the superior–inferior (Z) dimension. PETG performed better than EVA in the anterior region (p < .05). No association was found between thermoplastification machines and the accuracy of the positioning of the attachments (p > .05). While small misadaptations between the aligners and the attachments were observed, the EVA templates performed better than the PETG templates.

Conclusions

The inaccuracy of the attachment positioning and the misadaptation of the aligners to the attachments were slight. The vacuum and pressure thermoplastification machines showed no difference in attachment positioning accuracy. The PETG template was better than the EVA template in the anterior region, but the EVA attachments presented a better adaptation to the aligners than the PETG attachments.
Prevalence and Diagnostic Agreement of Sarcopenia Based on Handgrip Strength and 5‐Time Chair‐Stand Test Among Chinese Community‐Dwelling Older Adults
Authors: Li Yu‐Hua , Wang Xiu‐Hua , Ya Shi
Published: August 2024

Introduction

Handgrip strength and the 5‐time chair‐stand test are the two important muscle strength measures run through the whole sarcopenia diagnosis algorithm. There is a lack of evidence to confirm which muscle strength measures have a higher detection rate of sarcopenia among Chinese older adults, which is a challenge for community workers to choose the muscle strength measures and to identify more sarcopenia in clinical practice.

Objective

We aimed to investigate the prevalence and diagnostic agreement of sarcopenia based on handgrip strength and the 5‐time chair‐stand test among Chinese community‐dwelling older adults.

Methods

This cross‐sectional study sampled 1027 community‐dwelling older adults from Hunan, China. We used handgrip strength and the 5‐time chair‐stand test to assess participants' muscle strength and used gait speed and bioimpedance analysis (BIA) to assess physical performance and skeletal muscle mass, respectively. The kappa values of the agreement test were used to evaluate the agreement of handgrip strength and 5‐time chair‐stand tests in the assessment of sarcopenia.

Results

A total of 1027 participants were included in this analysis including 337 males and 690 females with an average age of 70.35 ± 7.24 years. The prevalence of possible sarcopenia, confirmed sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia based on handgrip strength was 50.8%, 20.3% and 14.5% respectively, while the corresponding prevalence for using the 5‐time chair‐stand test was 27.6%, 10.8% and 10.9%. The kappa value of the consistency test between handgrip strength and 5‐time chair‐stand test in the assessment of possible sarcopenia, confirmed and severe sarcopenia was 0.26, 0.51 and 0.62, respectively (p < 0.001 for all).

Conclusions

The prevalence of possible sarcopenia, confirmed sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia based on handgrip strength was significantly higher than that of the 5‐time chair‐stand test. We recommend handgrip strength as the preferred method of muscle strength measurement for Chinese community‐dwelling older adults and use 5‐time chair‐stand tests when handgrip strength is not available.

Implications for Practice

The findings provide information and suggestions to healthcare providers for choosing the muscle strength measures to detect more sarcopenia in clinical practice. Compared with the 5‐time chair‐stand test, handgrip strength has a better performance to identify sarcopenia in Chinese community‐dwelling older adults.
Soybean transcription factor GmNF‐YB20 confers resistance to stripe rust in transgenic wheat by regulating nonspecific lipid transfer protein genes
Authors: Bai Xingxuan , Goher Farhan , Qu Chenfei , Guo Jia , Liu Shuai , Pu Lefan , Zhan Gangming , Kang Zhensheng , Guo Jun
Published: August 2024

Worldwide food security is severely threatened by the devastating wheat stripe rust disease. The utilization of resistant wheat cultivars represents the most cost‐effective and efficient strategy for combating this disease. However, the lack of resistant resources has been a major bottleneck in breeding for wheat disease resistance. Therefore, revealing novel gene resources for combating stripe rust and elucidating the underlying resistance mechanism is of utmost urgency. In this study, we identified that the soybean NF‐YB transcription factor GmNF‐YB20 in wheat provides resistance to the stripe rust fungus (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, Pst). Wheat lines with stable overexpression of the GmNF‐YB20 enhanced resistance against multiple Pst races. Transcriptome profiling of GmNF‐YB20 transgenic wheat under Pst infection unveiled its involvement in the lipid signaling pathway. RT‐qPCR assays suggested that GmNF‐YB20 increased transcript levels of multiple nonspecific lipid transfer protein (LTP) genes during wheat‐Pst interaction, luciferase reporter analysis illustrates that it activates the transcription of TaLTP1.50 in wheat protoplast, and GmNF‐YB20 overexpressed wheat plants had higher total LTP content in vivo during Pst infection. Overexpression of TaLTP1.50 in wheat significantly increased resistance to Pst, whereas knockdown of TaLTP1.50 exhibited the opposite trends, indicating that TaLTP1.50 plays a positive role in wheat resistance. Taken together, our findings provide perspective regarding the molecular mechanism of GmNF‐YB20 in wheat and highlight the potential use for wheat breeding.
An update on tinea capitis in children
Authors: Gupta Aditya K. , Polla Ravi Shruthi , Wang Tong , Faour Sara , Bamimore Mary A. , Heath Candrice R. , Friedlander Sheila Fallon
Published: August 2024

Tinea capitis presents a significant public health care challenge due to its contagious nature, and potential long‐term consequences if unrecognized and untreated. This review explores the prevalence, risk factors, diagnostic methods, prevention strategies, impact on quality of life, and treatment options for pediatric tinea capitis. Epidemiological analysis spanning from 1990 to 1993 and 2020 to 2023 reveals prevalence patterns of pediatric tinea capitis influenced by geographic, demographic, and environmental factors. Notably, Trichophyton species is most prevalent in North America; however, Microsporum species remain the primary causative agent globally, with regional variations. Risk factors include close contact and environmental conditions, emphasizing the importance of preventive measures. Accurate diagnosis relies on clinical evaluation, microscopic examination, and fungal culture. Various treatment modalities including systemic antifungals show efficacy, with terbinafine demonstrating superior mycological cure rates particularly for Trichophyton species. Recurrent infections and the potential development of resistance can pose challenges. Therefore, confirming the diagnosis, appropriately educating the patient/caregiver, accurate drug and dose utilization, and compliance are important components of clinical cure. Untreated or poorly treated tinea capitis can lead to chronic infection, social stigma, and psychological distress in affected children. Prevention strategies focus on early detection and healthy lifestyle habits. Collaborative efforts between healthcare providers and public health agencies are important in treating pediatric tinea capitis and improving patient outcomes. Education and awareness initiatives play a vital role in prevention and community‐level intervention to minimize spread of infection. Future research should explore diagnostic advances, novel treatments, and resistance mechanisms in order to mitigate the disease burden effectively.
Intelligent skin lesion segmentation using deformable attention Transformer U‐Net with bidirectional attention mechanism in skin cancer images
Authors: Cai Lili , Hou Keke , Zhou Su
Published: August 2024

Background

In recent years, the increasing prevalence of skin cancers, particularly malignant melanoma, has become a major concern for public health. The development of accurate automated segmentation techniques for skin lesions holds immense potential in alleviating the burden on medical professionals. It is of substantial clinical importance for the early identification and intervention of skin cancer. Nevertheless, the irregular shape, uneven color, and noise interference of the skin lesions have presented significant challenges to the precise segmentation. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a high‐precision and intelligent skin lesion segmentation framework for clinical treatment.

Methods

A precision‐driven segmentation model for skin cancer images is proposed based on the Transformer U‐Net, called BiADATU‐Net, which integrates the deformable attention Transformer and bidirectional attention blocks into the U‐Net. The encoder part utilizes deformable attention Transformer with dual attention block, allowing adaptive learning of global and local features. The decoder part incorporates specifically tailored scSE attention modules within skip connection layers to capture image‐specific context information for strong feature fusion. Additionally, deformable convolution is aggregated into two different attention blocks to learn irregular lesion features for high‐precision prediction.

Results

A series of experiments are conducted on four skin cancer image datasets (i.e., ISIC2016, ISIC2017, ISIC2018, and PH2). The findings show that our model exhibits satisfactory segmentation performance, all achieving an accuracy rate of over 96%.

Conclusion

Our experiment results validate the proposed BiADATU‐Net achieves competitive performance supremacy compared to some state‐of‐the‐art methods. It is potential and valuable in the field of skin lesion segmentation.
A new view on estimating China's capital flight through the travel channel
Authors: Wang Wei , Wen Yun , Xu Zitong , Yang Haoxi
Published: August 2024

This paper proposes a novel approach to quantitatively estimating the magnitude of China's capital flight through the travel channel from 2014 to 2019. We set 2014 as the break point to account for a change in the methodology of compiling outbound travel expenditure and adopt a counterfactual method to calculate the magnitude of China's capital flight through the travel channel. Our results show that, from 2014 to 2019, China's capital flight through the travel channel reached a total of US$602 billion, with a quarterly average of about US$25 billion, accounting for about 40% of the total Chinese outbound travel expenditure. We further construct a gravity model using data from the United Nations' World Tourism Organisation to empirically show that China's capital flight tends to flow to economies with a high degree of financial development and often appears when the RMB depreciates against the US dollar.
Optimal Drop Heights for Determining Reactive Strength Performance in Youth—Is 1 Drop Height Sufficient to Generate Trustworthy Conclusions for Training Practice?
Authors: Keiner Michael , Möck Sebastian , Hartmann Hagen , Wirth Klaus
Published: August 2024

This study critically examines the suitability of using a single drop height to assess the reaction strength index in trained and active participants, a key component of athletic performance. Using a cross-sectional design, 377 trained (n = 163) and active (n = 214) participants aged 14–18 years performing drop jumps from 4 different heights (24, 32, 40, and 48 cm) were studied. The primary aim was to explore the individual differences in reaction strength index at these heights and to assess whether a single height can reliably represent stretch-shortening cycle capabilities. While the repeated measures analysis of variance did not reveal any significant differences, the Bland–Altmann analysis revealed significant individual discrepancies between the performance of the drop heights, resulting in a mean absolute error of 32.1 and a mean absolute percentage error of 20.6%. These results strongly suggest that a single drop height is not sufficient to determine performance in the stretch-shortening cycle. This has important practical implications as it can lead to underestimates of performance trends. The study advocates the inclusion of a range of drop heights in routine testing to accurately measure reactive power and thus improve the effectiveness of individualized training programs for young athletes/active youth.
Strengthening gold with dispersed nanovoids
Authors: Chen Jia-Ji , Xie Hui , Liu Ling-Zhi , Guan Huai , You Zesheng , Zou Lijie , Jin Hai-Jun
Published: August 2024

Materials often fail prematurely or catastrophically under load while containing voids, posing a challenge to materials manufacturing. We found that a metal (gold) containing spherical voids with a fraction of up to 10% does not fracture prematurely in tension when the voids are shrunk to the submicron or nanometer scale. Instead, the dispersed nanovoids increase the strength and ductility of the material while simultaneously reducing its weight. Apart from the suppressed stress or strain concentration, such structure provides enormous surface area and promotes surface-dislocation interactions, which enable strengthening and additional strain hardening and thus toughening. Transforming voids from crack-like detrimental defects into a beneficial “ingredient” provides an inexpensive and environmentally friendly approach for the development of a new class of lightweight, high-performance materials.
Wrinkled metal-organic framework thin films with tunable Turing patterns for pliable integration
Authors: Luo Xinyu , Zhang Ming , Hu Yubin , Xu Yan , Zhou Haofei , Xu Zijian , Hao Yinxuan , Chen Sheng , Chen Shengfu , Luo Yingwu , Lin Yiliang , Zhao Junjie
Published: August 2024

Flexible integration spurs diverse applications in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). However, current configurations suffer from the trade-off between MOF loadings and mechanical compliance. We report a wrinkled configuration of MOF thin films. We established an interfacial synthesis confined and controlled by a polymer topcoat and achieved multiple Turing motifs in the wrinkled thin films. These films have complete MOF surface coverage and exhibit strain tolerance up to 53.2%. The enhanced mechanical properties allow film transfer onto various substrates. We obtained membranes with large H
2
/CO
2
selectivity (41.2) and high H
2
permeance (8.46 × 10
3
gas permeation units), showcasing negligible defects after transfer. We also achieved soft humidity sensors on delicate electrodes by avoiding exposure to harsh MOF synthesis conditions. These results highlight the potential of wrinkled MOF thin films for plug-and-play integration.
Giant polyketide synthase enzymes in the biosynthesis of giant marine polyether toxins
Authors: Fallon Timothy R. , Shende Vikram V. , Wierzbicki Igor H. , Pendleton Amanda L. , Watervoot Nathan F. , Auber Robert P. , Gonzalez David J. , Wisecaver Jennifer H. , Moore Bradley S.
Published: August 2024

Prymnesium parvum
are harmful haptophyte algae that cause massive environmental fish kills. Their polyketide polyether toxins, the prymnesins, are among the largest nonpolymeric compounds in nature and have biosynthetic origins that have remained enigmatic for more than 40 years. In this work, we report the “PKZILLAs,” massive
P. parvum
polyketide synthase (PKS) genes that have evaded previous detection. PKZILLA-1 and -2 encode giant protein products of 4.7 and 3.2 megadaltons that have 140 and 99 enzyme domains. Their predicted polyene product matches the proposed pre-prymnesin precursor of the 90-carbon–backbone A-type prymnesins. We further characterize the variant PKZILLA-B1, which is responsible for the shorter B-type analog prymnesin-B1, from
P. parvum
RCC3426 and thus establish a general model of haptophyte polyether biosynthetic logic. This work expands expectations of genetic and enzymatic size limits in biology.
A long section of serpentinized depleted mantle peridotite
Authors: Lissenberg C. Johan , McCaig Andrew M. , Lang Susan Q. , Blum Peter , Abe Natsue , Brazelton William J. , Coltat Rémi , Deans Jeremy R. , Dickerson Kristin L. , Godard Marguerite , John Barbara E. , Klein Frieder , Kuehn Rebecca , Lin Kuan-Yu , Liu Haiyang , Lopes Ethan L. , Nozaka Toshio , Parsons Andrew J. , Pathak Vamdev , Reagan Mark K. , Robare Jordyn A. , Savov Ivan P. , Schwarzenbach Esther M. , Sissmann Olivier J. , Southam Gordon , Wang Fengping , Wheat C. Geoffrey , Anderson Lesley , Treadwell Sarah
Published: August 2024

The upper mantle is critical for our understanding of terrestrial magmatism, crust formation, and element cycling between Earth’s solid interior, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Mantle composition and evolution have been primarily inferred by surface sampling and indirect methods. We recovered a long (1268-meter) section of serpentinized abyssal mantle peridotite interleaved with thin gabbroic intrusions. We find depleted compositions with notable variations in mantle mineralogy controlled by melt flow. Dunite zones have predominantly intermediate dips, in contrast to the originally steep mantle fabrics, indicative of oblique melt transport. Extensive hydrothermal fluid-rock interaction is recorded across the full depth of the core and is overprinted by oxidation in the upper 200 meters. Alteration patterns are consistent with vent fluid composition in the nearby Lost City hydrothermal field.
PERK-ATAD3A interaction provides a subcellular safe haven for protein synthesis during ER stress
Authors: Brar Karinder K. , Hughes Daniel T. , Morris Jordan L. , Subramanian Kelly , Krishna Shivaani , Gao Fei , Rieder Lara-Sophie , Uhrig Sebastian , Freeman Joshua , Smith Heather L. , Jukes-Jones Rebekkah , Avezov Edward , Nunnari Jodi , Prudent Julien , Butcher Adrian J. , Mallucci Giovanna R.
Published: August 2024

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induces the repression of protein synthesis throughout the cell. Attempts to understand how localized stress leads to widespread repression have been limited by difficulties in resolving translation rates at the subcellular level. Here, using live-cell imaging of reporter mRNA translation, we unexpectedly found that during ER stress, active translation at mitochondria was significantly protected. The mitochondrial protein ATPase family AAA domain-containing protein 3A (ATAD3A) interacted with protein kinase RNA–like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) and mediated this effect on localized translation by competing for binding with PERK’s target, eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2). PERK-ATAD3A interactions increased during ER stress, forming mitochondria-ER contact sites. Furthermore, ATAD3A binding attenuated local PERK signaling and rescued the expression of some mitochondrial proteins. Thus, PERK-ATAD3A interactions can control translational repression at a subcellular level, mitigating the impact of ER stress on the cell.
Locking away depression
Authors: Silva Jose Cesar Hernandez , Proulx Christophe D.
Published: August 2024

The antidepressant ketamine blocks neuroreceptors in hyperactive brain regions
Science should save all, not just some
Authors: Pai Madhukar , Abimbola Seye
Published: August 2024

Discussions around global equity and justice in science typically emphasize the lack of diversity in the editorial boards of scientific journals, inequities in authorship, “parachute research,” dominance of the English language, or scientific awards garnered predominantly by Global North scientists. These inequities are pervasive and must be redressed. But there is a bigger problem. The legacy of colonialism in scientific research includes an intellectual property system that favors Global North countries and the big corporations they support. This unfairness shows up in who gets access to the fruits of science and raises the question of who science is designed to serve or save.
Fire-against-fire HIV therapy passes key test in monkeys
Authors: Cohen Jon
Published: August 2024

A stripped-down HIV genome can interfere with normal virus replication
Choosing Wisely in oncology: are guidelines effective at preventing unnecessary diagnostics? The example of surveillance positron emission tomography for patients with localised colorectal cancer
Authors: Goldstein Daniel A , Tschernichovsky Roi , Razi Talish , Filosof Keren , Menashe Idan , Arbel Ronen , Netzer Doron
Published: August 2024

Objective

Healthcare overuse is a major challenge for healthcare systems and patients worldwide. Professional guidelines such as the ‘Choosing Wisely’ guidelines have attempted to reduce specific examples of overuse. We examined the use of surveillance positron emission tomography CT (PETCT) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with curative intent.

Methods and analysis

We used the large Clalit Health Services dataset in Israel to identify patients with CRC who received adjuvant chemotherapy between January 2017 and December 2021. We examined the number of PETCTs performed for each patient.

Results

We included 1799 patients in our study cohort. We distinguished localised from metastatic cases based on specific drugs administered or not administered during the follow-up period (ie, biologics). For the entire cohort, the median number of PETCTs performed per patient over the study period was 3364 (20.2%) patients underwent a single PETCT, 946 (52.6%) patients underwent ≥2 PETCTs and 25 patients underwent ≥10 PETCTs. If none or a single PETCT is considered ‘guideline-concordant’ during diagnosis and treatment of localised CRC, 69% of 4231 PETCTs performed were ‘guideline-discordant’.

Conclusion

Despite the professional guidelines recommending against routine PETCT to monitor for recurrence following curative-intent treatment of CRC, there remains a large volume of guideline-discordant PETCTs, constituting healthcare overuse of an expensive diagnostic procedure.
Longitudinal change in cardiorespiratory fitness and the association with cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in young Asian men: a cohort study
Authors: Gorny Alexander Wilhelm , Prakaash Suriya , Neo Jia Wei , Chow Weien , Yeo Khung Keong , Yap Jonathan , Müller-Riemenschneider Falk
Published: August 2024

Introduction

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in young adulthood is a determinant of chronic disease risk. To better understand whether CRF might also behave as a modifiable risk factor, we examined the associations between longitudinal changes in 2.4 km run times and health outcomes in a cohort of healthy young men.

Methods

Our dataset comprised individual run times and health outcomes captured in four national registries. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association between baseline run times and relative hazards of first major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and all-cause mortality (ACM). Relative hazards associated with longitudinal change in run times were estimated using models that were adjusted for run-time at baseline.

Results

The study sample comprised 148 825 healthy men ages 18–34 years who had undergone at least two routine fitness tests that were 5–9 years apart. During 1 294 778 person-years of follow-up, we observed 1275 first MACE and 764 ACM events occurring at mean ages of 43.2 (SD 6.0) years and 39.2 (SD 6.6) years, respectively. A 1% increase in run-time per annum was associated with a 1.13 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.16) times greater hazard of first MACE and a 1.06 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.10) times greater hazard of ACM. The association between longitudinal change in run times and first MACE was preserved in sensitivity analyses using models adjusted for body mass index at baseline.

Conclusion

Among men under the age of 35 years, longitudinal change in run times was associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease two decades onwards.
Epidemiology and clinical profile of sports injuries treated in the Douala General and Laquintinie Hospitals, in Cameroon
Authors: Tankeng Leonard Tanko , Ngatchou Djomo William , Nana Theophile Chunteng , Akwa Gilbert Mua , Mbianyor Bill-Erich , Lifafa Kinge Kange , Bonny Aimé
Published: August 2024

Objectives

To describe the epidemiological patterns and clinical characteristics of sports injuries treated at two hospitals in Douala.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Douala General Hospital and Douala Laquintinie Hospital, involving medical records of patients treated for sports injuries from January 2012 to April 2022. Data extracted from records were entered into a data collection software and analysed using Microsoft Excel 2016. Severe injuries were defined as an injury score greater than or equal to 3 on the Abbreviated Injury Scale.

Results

The prevalence of sports injuries was 1.12% among all trauma cases. There was a male predominance with 62 (86.1%) males and 10 (13.9%) females. The mean age was 24.97±13.8 years. Most injured persons were students 35 (48.6%), followed by the employed 26 (36.1%), athletes 6 (8.3%) and the unemployed 5 (6.9%). Recreational sports accounted for 43 (59.7%) injuries while 16 (22.2%) injuries occurred during physical education, 8 (11.1%) during trainings and 5 (6.9%) during competitions. Football injuries were 48 (66.7%), running injuries 10 (13.9%) and 9 (12.5%) occurred during long, high and triple jump. Among all injuries, fractures were 43 (59.7%), 11 (15.3%) joint sprains, 5 (6.9%) muscle injuries, 4 (5.6%) brain injuries while 9 (12.5%) were contusions and lacerations. Lower extremity injuries were 34 (47.2%), 21 (29.2%) injuries were on the upper extremities, 4 (5.6%) abdominopelvic, 3 (4.2%) thoracic injuries, 9 (12.5%) head injuries and 1 (1.4%) on the neck. Overall, 53 (73.7%) were severe injuries.

Conclusion

The majority of sports injuries treated in these hospitals are fractures that occur during recreational sports, particularly football and predominantly involve the lower extremity. A significant proportion are severe injuries.
Circulating biomarkers of myocardial remodelling: current developments and clinical applications
Authors: López Begoña , Ravassa Susana , San José Gorka , Latasa Iñigo , Losada-Fuentenebro Blanca , Tapia Leire , Díez Javier , Bayés-Genís Antoni , González Arantxa
Published: August 2024

Myocardial remodelling, entailing cellular and molecular changes in the different components of the cardiac tissue in response to damage, underlies the morphological and structural changes leading to cardiac remodelling, which in turn contributes to cardiac dysfunction and disease progression. Since cardiac tissue is not available for histomolecular diagnosis, surrogate markers are needed for evaluating myocardial remodelling as part of the clinical management of patients with cardiac disease. In this setting, circulating biomarkers, a component of the liquid biopsy, provide a promising approach for the fast, affordable and scalable screening of large numbers of patients, allowing the detection of different pathological features related to myocardial remodelling, aiding in risk stratification and therapy monitoring. However, despite the advances in the field and the identification of numerous potential candidates, their implementation in clinical practice beyond natriuretic peptides and troponins is mostly lacking. In this review, we will discuss some biomarkers related to alterations in the main cardiac tissue compartments (cardiomyocytes, extracellular matrix, endothelium and immune cells) which have shown potential for the assessment of cardiovascular risk, cardiac remodelling and therapy effects. The hurdles and challenges for their translation into clinical practice will also be addressed.
Public support for logbooks during the supervised practice driving phase of graduated driver licensing: a national survey of teens and parents in the USA
Authors: Ehsani Johnathon P , Duren Michelle L , Hellinger Andrew , Sabit Ahmed
Published: August 2024

Background

Verification of the completion of supervised practice driving hours for teenagers is challenging. Electronic logbooks could provide an objective alternative to paper logbooks. Factors influencing the adoption of electronic logbooks are poorly understood. We conducted a survey of a nationally representative sample of teenagers and parents in the USA to address these gaps in understanding.

Methods

The survey was fielded to teenagers who were currently learning to drive or had a full driver’s licence, and parents of teenager with a learner’s permit or a driver’s licence. We measured (1) support for supervised practice driving requirements and logbook requirements, (2) preferences between paper and electronic logbooks and (3) features that would make an electronic logbook useful.

Results

Most parents and teenagers supported both supervised practice driving and logbook requirements. The overwhelming majority of teenagers and parents preferred an electronic logbook over paper. Electronic logbooks that provide (1) summary information about completed drives, (2) parent certification of drives and (3) automatic trip detection were features that were rated most useful by respondents.

Discussion

This is the first study to measure teen and parent support for the logbook format to track supervised practice driving. Public support for electronic logbooks is high, suggesting that policy makers could consider adding an electronic logbook requirement to graduated driver licensing systems to objectively measure completed practice driving hours. Driver educators could also promote the use electronic logbooks to track practice and calibrate behind-the-wheel lessons to the amount of practice driving that has been completed.
Are clinicians ethically obligated to disclose their use of medical machine learning systems to patients?
Authors: Hatherley Joshua
Published: August 2024

It is commonly accepted that clinicians are ethically obligated to disclose their use of medical machine learning systems to patients, and that failure to do so would amount to a moral fault for which clinicians ought to be held accountable. Call this ‘the disclosure thesis.’ Four main arguments have been, or could be, given to support the disclosure thesis in the ethics literature: the risk-based argument, the rights-based argument, the materiality argument and the autonomy argument. In this article, I argue that each of these four arguments are unconvincing, and therefore, that the disclosure thesis ought to be rejected. I suggest that mandating disclosure may also even risk harming patients by providing stakeholders with a way to avoid accountability for harm that results from improper applications or uses of these systems.
Chronic challenges: picturing chronic disease by the World Health Organization
Authors: Medcalf Alexander , Atkin Karl
Published: August 2024

Chronic diseases are among the leading causes of mortality in the world, the subject of major regional and international efforts to tackle shared risk factors, implement prevention and control measures and set national targets as part of the drive towards universal health coverage. Yet there is a growing conviction that chronic diseases suffer an image problem. It has been suggested that the terminology ‘dulls the senses' to the problems, and in an age where the mass media affords unprecedented opportunities to inform and persuade people to care about their health and that of others, chronic disease representation remains a contested and much debated issue.

This article investigates how WHO created and disseminated visual narratives to raise popular consciousness and build a visual vocabulary around chronic disease in the second half of the 20th century. It examines the measures taken to conceptualise, photograph and publicise chronic diseases, and considers who had control over their representation. In focussing predominantly on cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, it reveals different narratives; the power of scientific and technological progress; individual and community action for health; promising utopian and parallel dystopian visions. It embeds these in a production context which reveals an intricate picturing process involving overcoming challenges of representation. It uses this historical background to discuss issues relating to how chronic disease and chronic pain have been narrated visually, such as the ideas of emotional response, moral failure, how people navigate the ‘risk society’ and ultimately the concerns regarding the intentional and unintentional influence that the media can have on the image of disease given to society.
Effect of chemical modification on the distribution of electrophoretic mobilities of individual molecules of E. coli β-galactosidase
Authors: Riehl Brynne K. , Klassen Allyster B.T. , Abas Sumaiya , Pathak Winner , Craig Douglas B.
Published: August 2024

Escherichia coli  β-galactosidase was labelled with 1 mmol/L fluorescein 5-carbamoylmethylthiopropanoic N-hydroxysuccinimidyl ester for 1 and 3 min. The samples were separated by capillary electrophoresis and peak areas compared to that of labelled BSA for the purpose of quantification of the concentration of attached label. Enzyme concentration in the samples was determined by single molecule counting. The average number of labels attached to each molecule of enzyme was found to be 3.1 and 4.5 when labelled for 1 and 3 min, respectively. The distribution of single enzyme molecule electrophoretic mobilities for the unlabelled enzyme and that labelled for 1 and 3 min were measured using capillary electrophoresis. The average mobilities were found determined to be −(1.99 ± 0.13) × 10–8 m2 V−1 s−1 ( N = 39), −(2.16 ± 0.19) × 10–8 m2 V−1 s−1 ( N = 46), and –(2.18 ± 0.21) × 10–8 m2 V−1 s−1 ( N = 39), respectively. A protein electrophoresis model was applied and predicted that the differences in average mobilities could be explained through relatively minor changes in overall charge, Stokes radius, and shape. This difference was similar to the range in mobilities observed in the unlabelled protein. This is consistent with the electrophoretic heterogeneity of the unmodified enzyme being caused by relatively small differences in charge, size, and shape of the individual molecules in the population.
NMSSM explanation for excesses in the search for neutralinos and charginos and a 95 GeV Higgs boson
Authors: Ellwanger Ulrich , Hugonie Cyril , King Stephen F. , Moretti Stefano
Published: August 2024

The observed excesses in the search for neutralinos and charginos by ATLAS and CMS can be fitted simultaneously in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) assuming a light higgsino mass, of magnitude less than about 250 GeV, and a compressed higgsino dominated neutralino and chargino spectrum, with 5–10% mass splittings. However, light higgsinos as dark matter would have far too large direct detection cross sections. We consider the Next-to-MSSM (NMSSM) with an additional singlino-like lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) a few GeV below the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP). Sparticles prefer to decay first into the NLSP and remnants from the final decay into the LSP are too soft to contribute to the observed signals. Co-annihilation in the higgsino-sector can generate a relic density in the WMAP/Planck window. The singlino-like LSP has automatically a direct detection cross section below present and future sensitivities: a direct detection signal in the near future would exclude this scenario. The singlet-like Higgs scalar of the NMSSM can have a mass around 95 GeV and signal cross sections in the $$b\bar{b}$$

b

b

¯

channel at LEP and in the $$\gamma \gamma $$

γ
γ

channel at the LHC compatible with the respective observations.
Two syenitic phases in the Early Paleogene Silhouette Island volcano-plutonic complex, Seychelles
Authors: Shellnutt J. Gregory , Lee Tung-Yi , Iizuka Yoshiyuki , Lee Hao-Yang , Suga Kenshi , Pham Chi Thi
Published: August 2024

The Silhouette alkaline volcano-plutonic complex is the largest exposed Early Paleogene (62–64 Ma) igneous complex of the Seychelles microcontinent. The rocks of this study were collected from Baie Cipailles, Pte Vareur and Pte Ramasse Tout and include syenite (SiO
2
 = 60–63 wt%), microgranite (SiO
2
 = 70–74 wt%), tuffaceous trachyte (SiO
2
 = 64–65 wt%) and a basaltic xenolith (SiO
2
 = 44 wt%; MgO = 6.4 wt%; Mg# = 47.6). The silicic rocks of this study are ferroan, metaluminous to weakly peralkaline and classify as A1-type granitoids. The whole-rock Sr–Nd (
87
Sr/
86
Sr
i
 = 0.703894–0.706534;

ε

Nd
(
t
) = +0.5–+1.8) isotopes of the silicic rocks are similar to those of the basalt xenolith (
87
Sr/
86
Sr
i
 = 0.703576;

ε

Nd
(
t
) = +1.9). There is limited to no geochemical evidence for crustal contamination in any of the rocks. The syenitic rocks were probably derived by fractional crystallization of an alkaline basaltic parental magma in the upper crust and under reducing conditions (

Δ

FMQ = −1). The Sr–Nd isotopes and zircon Hf (

ε

Hf
(
t
) = +3.3–+9.1) isotopes of the silicic rocks are indicative of a moderately depleted source. We found distinct textural, mineralogical and compositional differences between the syenitic rocks, suggesting that the Silhouette complex is composed of at least two syenitic magma pulses.
Tight Bounds for Monotone Minimal Perfect Hashing
Authors: Assadi Sepehr , Farach-Colton Martín , Kuszmaul William
Published: August 2024

The
monotone minimal perfect hash function
(MMPHF) problem is the following indexing problem. Given a set

\(S=\{s_{1},\ldots,s_{n}\}\)

of

\(n\)

distinct keys from a universe

\(U\)

of size

\(u\)

, create a data structure

\(\text{D}\)

that answers the following query:

\(\begin{equation*} \rm{R\small{ANK}}(q) = \begin{cases} \text{rank of } q \text{ in } S & q\in S\\ \text{arbitrary answer} & \text{otherwise.}\end{cases}\end{equation*}\)

Solutions to the MMPHF problem are in widespread use in both theory and practice.

The best upper bound known for the problem encodes

\(\text{D}\)

in

\(O(n\log\log\log u)\)

bits and performs queries in

\(O(\log u)\)

time. It has been an open problem to either improve the space upper bound or to show that this somewhat odd looking bound is tight.

In this paper, we show the latter: any data structure (deterministic or randomized) for monotone minimal perfect hashing of any collection of

\(n\)

elements from a universe of size

\(u\)

requires

\(\Omega(n\cdot\log\log\log{u})\)

expected bits to answer every query correctly.

We achieve our lower bound by defining a graph

\(\mathbf{G}\)

where the nodes are the possible

\({u\choose n}\)

inputs and where two nodes are adjacent if they cannot share the same

\(\text{D}\)

. The size of

\(\text{D}\)

is then lower bounded by the log of the chromatic number of

\(\mathbf{G}\)

. Finally, we show that the fractional chromatic number (and hence the chromatic number) of

\(\mathbf{G}\)

is lower bounded by

\(2^{\Omega(n\log\log\log u)}\)

.