bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of living wage impacts in Aotearoa New Zealand: towards a multi-level, contextualised conceptualisation
Authors: Parker Jane , Arrowsmith James , Young-Hauser Amanda , Hodgetts Darrin , Carr Stuart Colin , Haar Jarrod , Alefaio-Tugia Siatu
Published: May 2022

Purpose

The study maps workplace stakeholders’ perceptions of living wage (LW) impacts in New Zealand. Empirical findings inform an inaugural model of LW impacts and contingent factors at individual, organisation, sector/industry and national levels.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from a national employee survey, semi-structured interviews with business sector representatives, and staff in two LW organisation cases were subjected to thematic content analysis.

Findings

Informants emphasised anticipated LW impacts amid complex workplace and regulatory dynamics. Employers/managers stressed its cost effects. However, employees, human resource (HR) advocates and other LW proponents highlighted employee “investment” impacts that improve worker productivity and societal circumstances.

Research limitations/implications

This study highlights the need for further context-sensitive LW analysis. An initial model of LW impacts provides a framework for comparative and longitudinal work in other national contexts.

Practical implications

The proposed model categorises perceived LW effects and can inform policy development. Findings also stress a need for cross-agency initiatives to address LW concerns, including a key role for HR.

Social implications

The findings highlight perceptions of a LW impacting within and beyond the workplace. Whilst higher-quality management is seen to encourage better-informed decisions about “going living wage”, a LW's positive socio-economic impacts require multi-lateral initiatives, suggesting that those initiatives are is part of wider obligations for policy makers to encourage decent living standards.

Originality/value

This study provides a much-needed and inaugural focus on the intertwined workplace and wider impacts of a LW, extending extant econometric analyses. The paper also synthesizes different data sources to develop an inaugural, context-sensitive model of perceived LW effects.
Activity recognition on smartphones using an AKNN based support vectors
Authors: Abidine M'hamed Bilal , Oussalah Mourad , Fergani Belkacem , Lounis Hakim
Published: May 2022

Purpose

Mobile phone-based human activity recognition (HAR) consists of inferring user’s activity type from the analysis of the inertial mobile sensor data. This paper aims to mainly introduce a new classification approach called adaptive k-nearest neighbors (AKNN) for intelligent HAR using smartphone inertial sensors with a potential real-time implementation on smartphone platform.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed method puts forward several modification on AKNN baseline by using kernel discriminant analysis for feature reduction and hybridizing weighted support vector machines and KNN to tackle imbalanced class data set.

Findings

Extensive experiments on a five large scale daily activity recognition data set have been performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in terms of error rate, recall, precision, F1-score and computational/memory resources, with several comparison with state-of-the art methods and other hybridization modes. The results showed that the proposed method can achieve more than 50% improvement in error rate metric and up to 5.6% in F1-score. The training phase is also shown to be reduced by a factor of six compared to baseline, which provides solid assets for smartphone implementation.

Practical implications

This work builds a bridge to already growing work in machine learning related to learning with small data set. Besides, the availability of systems that are able to perform on flight activity recognition on smartphone will have a significant impact in the field of pervasive health care, supporting a variety of practical applications such as elderly care, ambient assisted living and remote monitoring.

Originality/value

The purpose of this study is to build and test an accurate offline model by using only a compact training data that can reduce the computational and memory complexity of the system. This provides grounds for developing new innovative hybridization modes in the context of daily activity recognition and smartphone-based implementation. This study demonstrates that the new AKNN is able to classify the data without any training step because it does not use any model for fitting and only uses memory resources to store the corresponding support vectors.
Trifolirhizin regulates the balance of Th17/Treg cells and inflammation in the ulcerative colitis mice through inhibiting the TXNIP‐mediated activation of NLRP3 inflammasome
Authors: Zhang Qing , Wang Shufang , Ji Shanyun
Published: May 2022

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic and recurrent autoimmune disease, characterized by recurrence and remission of mucosal inflammation. Although the understanding of the pathogenesis of UC has been improved, effective therapeutic drugs are required for treating patients with UC. In current work, the mouse model of colitis was established. Trifolirhizin was demonstrated to improve symptom in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced colitis mice. The body weight of mice was elevated, whereas the disease activity index (DAI) was reduced. Moreover, trifolirhizin was involved in inhibition of inflammation and regulation of the balance of T helper 17 (Th 17) cells and regulatory T (Treg) cells in DSS‐induced colitis mice. Further, the activation NLRP3 inflammasome was suppressed by trifolirhizin in DSS‐induced colitis mice. Trifolirhizin was also identified to regulate AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK)‐thioredoxin‐interacting protein (TXNIP) pathway. The trifolirhizin‐mediated anti‐inflammatory effect was inhibited by suppressing AMPK in DSS‐induced UC mice. In summary, the research suggested that administration of trifolirhizin significantly improved the symptoms and the pathological damage in DSS‐induced UC mice. Trifolirhizin regulated the balance of Th17/Treg cells and inflammation in the UC mice through inhibiting the TXNIP‐mediated activation of NLRP3 inflammasome.
Glaucocalyxin A induces apoptosis of non–small cell lung carcinoma cells by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/GSK3β pathway
Authors: Zhang De , Deng Ting , Yuan Wa , Chen Tongqiang , Jiang Shuping
Published: May 2022

Lung cancer is one of the fastest growing malignancies in morbidity and mortality, and current therapies are in general not sufficiently effective for this deadly disease. This study characterizes the anticancer effects of glaucocalyxin A (GLA) and explores the underlying mechanisms using human non‐small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cells. First, our data showed that GLA suppressed the viability of cancer cells, whereas no effect was observed in the normal bronchial epithelial cell BEAS‐2B cells. Second, GLA inhibited colony formation, induced apoptosis of cancer cells. Third, GLA downregulated the expression of B‐cell lymphoma‐2 (Bcl‐2) protein; upregulated the expression of Bcl2‐associated X protein (Bax), and strengthened cleavage of caspase 3 and polyadenyl diphosphate ribose polymerase (PARP). Fourth, GLA also diminished mitochondrial membrane potential and inhibited phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K)/Akt/ glycogen synthase kinase‐3β (GSK3β) pathway. In addition, injection of GLA (20 mg/kg) every 2 days significantly inhibited A549 xenograft tumour growth, accompanied by increased apoptosis and decreased proliferation. Together, our study provides evidence that the anticancer effect of GLA in NSCLC is mediated by inducing apoptosis through inhibiting PI3K/Akt/GSK3β pathway and suggests that GLA may be used as a promising natural medicine for NSCLC therapy.
Attitudes and regard for specific medical conditions among Australian emergency medicine clinicians
Authors: Howard Stuart , Akhlaghi Hamed , Watson Tess , O'Reilly Gerard M , Karro Jonathan
Published: May 2022

Objective

To quantify the attitude ED clinicians hold towards patients presenting with different medical conditions, including a novel pandemic condition.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study of emergency doctors and nurses utilising the Medical Condition Regard Scale (MCRS); a validated tool used to capture the bias and emotions of clinicians towards individual medical conditions. The five conditions presented to participants each represent a classical medical, complex medical, psychiatric/substance use, somatoform and a novel medical condition.

Results

One hundred and ninety‐six clinicians were included in the study including 116 nurses and 80 doctors. Concerning each condition, both medical and nursing staff demonstrated the highest regard for a classical medical condition (58 ± 5 and 57 ± 6, respectively). Significantly different from the classical medical condition, the lowest MCRS scores were for the somatoform condition (36 ± 10) for emergency doctors and the substance use condition (39 ± 11) for emergency nurses. Regard for a novel condition (i.e., COVID‐19 infection) was comparably high among both cohorts.

Conclusion

Emergency doctors and nurses generally hold lower regard for complex medical conditions with behavioural components, including substance use disorders and somatoform conditions.
Comparison of materials for rapid passive collection of environmental DNA
Authors: Bessey Cindy , Gao Yuan , Truong Yen Bach , Miller Haylea , Jarman Simon Neil , Berry Oliver
Published: May 2022

Passive collection is an emerging sampling method for environmental DNA (eDNA) in aquatic systems. Passive eDNA collection is inexpensive and efficient, and requires minimal equipment, making it suited to high‐density sampling and remote deployment. Here, we compare the effectiveness of nine membrane materials for passively collecting fish eDNA from a 3‐million‐litre marine mesocosm. We submerged materials (cellulose, cellulose with 1% and 3% chitosan, cellulose overlayed with electrospun nanofibres and 1% chitosan, cotton fibres, hemp fibres, and sponge with either zeolite or active carbon) for intervals between 5 and 1080 min. We show that for most materials, with as little as 5 min of submersion, mitochondrial fish eDNA measured with qPCR, and fish species richness measured with metabarcoding, was comparable to that collected by conventional filtering. Furthermore, PCR template DNA concentrations and species richness were generally not improved significantly by longer submersion. Species richness detected for all materials ranged between 11 and 37 species, with a median of 27, which was comparable to the range for filtered eDNA (19–32). Using scanning electron microscopy, we visualized biological matter adhering to the surface of materials, rather than entrapped, with images also revealing a diversity in size and structure of putative eDNA particles. eDNA can be collected rapidly from seawater with a passive approach and using a variety of materials. This will suit cost‐ and time‐sensitive biological surveys, and where access to equipment is limited.
Liquid biopsy assay for pulmonary adenocarcinoma using supernatants from core‐needle biopsy specimens
Authors: Kong Fanlei , Li Yuanming , Guo Runqi , Yang Li , Di Jing , He Lei , Wang Zheng , Liu Dongge , Li Xiaoguang
Published: May 2022

Background

Genomic testing is the cornerstone of the treatment of patients with non‐small‐cell lung cancer. However, comprehensive molecular testing of small specimens may be inadequate due to limited tissue. Liquid biopsy has emerged as a new method of genotyping. In this study, we evaluate the feasibility of using supernatants from core needle biopsy samples of lung adenocarcinoma for genomic testing.

Methods

Core needle biopsy specimens and their supernatants were collected from patients (n = 48) with lung adenocarcinoma. Genomic testing results of the supernatant samples were compared with results derived from paired tissue samples from the same patient.

Result

All 48 supernatant samples yield adequate cell‐free DNA, but the concentration of cell‐free RNA did not meet the criteria for analysis. The concordance rate between the genomic testing results of supernatants and the corresponding tissue samples was 95.8% (kappa = 0.899). The coincidence rate of detectable mutations at the DNA level in the supernatants was up to 100%.

Conclusion

Core needle biopsy supernatants can provide a valuable specimen source for genotyping pulmonary adenocarcinoma. However, the method of preserving and extracting RNA from supernatant specimens needs further improvement.
Intra‐annual variation in activity budgets of a wild Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) population in Southern Brazil
Authors: Delfino Henrique Cardoso , Carlos Caio José
Published: May 2022

Assessing animal behaviour is essential for understanding their relationship with the environment and assisting in the management and conservation of species in natural habitats, especially those that present large range distribution and occupy very dynamic environments. The Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis, Aves: Phoenicopteridae) breeds in the temperate regions of South America, going from Ecuador to the south of Argentina, but moves to regions on the southern coast of Brazil and Uruguay during the non‐breeding season. To understand activity patterns and behavioural variations on wild Chilean Flamingos in Brazil, we carried out monthly field trips to the Lagoa do Peixe National Park, on the middle coast of Rio Grande do Sul state, between May and November 2019, totalling 99.8 total hours of observation. Forty‐one different behaviours were detected, divided into six categories: Feeding, Locomotion, Resting, Preening, Social Agonist and Social Non‐Agonist. A significant variation in frequency, total duration and mean duration was detected for the behavioural categories over the months, mainly in the social categories, possibly indicating a strong influence of climatic aspects, such as temperature, rainfall and wind, but also of population aspects, such as flock density and stage of the reproductive cycle, in the behaviours observed in the lagoon. We also detected a variation in behavioural richness and active behaviours among the months, indicating that contranuptial areas like Lagoa do Peixe can be used for more than only feeding and resting.
Relation between ground‐dwelling and arboreal ant diversity in three vegetation types in the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon
Authors: Zephirin Tadu , Jean Pierre Guibai , Edith Blandine Messop‐ Youbi , Stephanie Edoa , Judicaël Fomekong‐Lontchi , Désirée Chantal Aléne , Champlain Djiéto‐Lordon
Published: May 2022

Though ant diversity was well documented, relations between ground‐dwelling and arboreal ants were poorly known. It was in this mind that we compared species diversity and composition between ground‐dwelling and arboreal ant in three type of habitats at Mfou, a suburban agglomeration of Yaoundé city in Cameroon. Ants were collected in secondary forests, cocoa farms, and palm groves using pitfall, baits and visual catch. Ant communities were characterised using species richness and Shannon diversity index. Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) and Venn diagrams were used to determine respectively species composition and the number of exclusive and shared species between types of habitats. We recorded 144 ant species belonging to 39 genera and 6 subfamilies. Ground‐dwelling ants were richest and diversified in secondary forests, while arboreal ant fauna was in cocoa farms. Arboreal ant community in palm groves was closed to that found on the ground in all type of habitats. Suggesting that, when a deep modifications occurred in a natural habitat, arboreal ant fauna could not establish permanent colonies. Therefore, trees canopies were colonised by some ground‐dwelling ant species who progressively substituted arboreal ant on the trees. Consequently, arboreal ant became progressively rare with intensification of anthropogenic disturbance and habitat loss.
Burying the basilisk of bioethics: What can be resolved, dissolved, and refocused in the ethics expertise debate
Authors: Brummett Abram
Published: May 2022

Since the inception of bioethics, some theorists have denied that clinical ethicists have ethics expertise, understood as the ability to give justified moral recommendations in patient cases. These denials have caused considerable alarm, leading some to argue that the entire discipline needs to be fundamentally reconsidered. Although this debate has been a source of academic attention for decades, these challenges to ethics expertise can now be either resolved by showing they are based on an untenable view of moral justification or dissolved by showing they result from a rash of equivocations on key phrases such as what it means to give a “moral recommendation,” or “furnish answers” in an ethics consultation. Like the blind men and the elephant, what sounds like disagreement may only be theorists describing different aspects of the same facilitation approach to clinical ethics endorsed by the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. While the question of whether ethicists have ethics expertise can be resolved or dissolved, theorists should refocus on how much (content‐thick vs. content‐thin) expertise ethicists have. Here, theorists need not commit themselves to a general view but can be content‐thick on some issues and content‐thin on others.
Tectonic evolution and subsidence history of the Cretaceous basins in southern Egypt: The Komombo Basin
Authors: Ali Moamen , Ali Mohammed Y. , Abdelhady Ahmed , Fairhead James Derek
Published: May 2022

The structure and tectonic evolution of the Cretaceous rift basins of southern Egypt are poorly understood. In this study, the tectonostratigraphy of the Komombo Basin has been determined using seismic, well and biostratigraphic data. The tectonostratigraphy of the basin is compared to the Kharit, Nuqra and Beni Suef basins in Egypt as well as Muglad Basin in Sudan. The Komombo Basin is a 58 km long, 28 km wide NW–SE trending half‐graben infilled with 2200 m of Berriasian‐Maastrichtian sediments and overlain by 400 m of Pliocene sediments. Four Berriasian to Maastrichtian syn‐rift and post‐rift sequences and three Pliocene channel systems of Nile sediments have been identified. Moreover, a series of normal faults, negative flower structures, reverse faults and folds are mapped in the basin. Backstripping reveals two rift phases during the Berriasian‐Barremian and Turonian‐Santonian, respectively. Additionally, the tectonic subsidence curves indicate that two major unconformities have occurred during the Aptian‐Albian and Maastrichtian‐Pliocene, which are correlated with a basement uplift during the Albian‐Cenomanian and the Oligocene‐Miocene flank uplift related to the opening of the Red Sea, respectively. The rift episodes are attributed to far‐field stress changes resulting from the initial opening of the South Atlantic and followed by the NW part of the African plate colliding and anticlockwise rotating into Europe. The highest β factors (1.20–1.11) for both rift phases are found at the centre of the basin. The rift phases thinned the crust from 32.5 to 28.2 km and 31.9 km in the depocenter and the western flank of the basin. The Komombo Basin has a similar rift history, stratigraphy and structural style to the Kharit, Nuqra and Mugland basins. All of these basins witnessed two major rift phases in the Early and Late Cretaceous, whereas the Beni Suef Basin encountered strike‐slip tectonic events in the Late Cretaceous.
Cluster analysis of nasal cytokines during rhinovirus infection identifies different immunophenotypes in both children and adults with allergic asthma
Authors: Muehling Lyndsey M. , Heymann Peter W. , Carper Holliday , Murphy Deborah D. , Rajadhyaksha Evan , Kennedy Joshua , Early Stephen V. , Soto‐Quiros Manuel , Avila Lydiana , Workman Lisa , Platts‐Mills Thomas A. E. , Woodfolk Judith A.
Published: May 2022

Background

Infection with rhinovirus (RV) is a major risk factor for disease exacerbations in patients with allergic asthma. This study analysed a broad set of cytokines in the noses of children and adults with asthma during RV infection in order to identify immunophenotypes that may link to virus‐induced episodes.

Methods

Nasal wash specimens were analysed in children (n = 279 [healthy, n = 125; stable asthma, n = 64; wheeze, n = 90], ages 2–12) who presented to a hospital emergency department, and in adults (n = 44 [healthy, n = 13; asthma, n = 31], ages 18–38) who were experimentally infected with RV, including a subset who received anti‐IgE. Cytokines were measured by multiplex bead assay and data analysed by univariate and multivariate methods to test relationships to viral load, allergic status, airway inflammation, and clinical outcomes.

Results

Analysis of a core set of 7 cytokines (IL‐6, CXCL8/IL‐8, IL‐15, EGF, G‐CSF, CXCL10/IP‐10 and CCL22/MDC) revealed higher levels in children with acute wheeze versus those with stable asthma or controls. Multivariate analysis identified two clusters that were enriched for acutely wheezing children; one displaying high viral load (“RV‐high”) with robust secretion of CXCL10, and the other displaying high IgE with elevated EGF, CXCL8 and both eosinophil‐ and neutrophil‐derived mediators. Broader assessment of 39 cytokines confirmed that children with acute wheeze were not deficient in type 1 anti‐viral responses. Analysis of 18 nasal cytokines in adults with asthma who received RV challenge identified two clusters; one that was “RV‐high” and linked to robust induction of anti‐viral cytokines and anti‐IgE; and the other associated with more severe symptoms and a higher inflammatory state featuring eosinophil and neutrophil factors.

Conclusions

The results confirm the presence of different immunophenotypes linked to parameters of airway disease in both children and adults with asthma who are infected with RV. Such discrepancies may reflect the ability to regulate anti‐viral responses.
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics profiles of enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium in female patients with difficult‐to‐treat lupus nephritis
Authors: Chariyavilaskul Pajaree , Phaisal Weeraya , Kittanamongkolchai Wonngarm , Rukrung Chutima , Anutrakulchai Sirirat , Avihingsanon Yingyos
Published: May 2022

Relapsed or resistant lupus nephritis (LN) is considered a difficult‐to‐treat type of LN, and enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium (EC‐MPS) has been used in this condition. Therapeutic drug monitoring using the area under the plasma mycophenolic acid concentration from 0 to 12 h postdose (MPA‐AUC0–12h) ≥45 μg.h/ml is a useful approach to achieve the highest efficiency. This study assessed EC‐MPS’s pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles and investigated an optimal level of the single time point of plasma MPA concentration. Nineteen biopsy‐proven patients with class III/IV LN received 1440 mg/day of EC‐MPS for 24 weeks. PK (maximum plasma MPA concentration [Cmax], time to Cmax, and MPA‐AUC0–12h) and PD (activity of inosine‐5′‐monophosphate dehydrogenase [IMPDH]) parameters were measured at weeks 2, 8, 16, and 24. We found that IMPDH activity decreased from baseline by 31–42% within 2–4 h after dosing, coinciding with the increased plasma MPA concentration. MPA‐AUC0–12h ≥45 μg.h/ml was best predicted by a single time point MPA concentration at C0.5, C2, C3, C4, and C8 (r2 = 0.516, 0.514, 0.540, 0.611, and 0.719, respectively), independent of dose, albumin, urine protein/creatinine ratio, and urinalysis. The MPA‐C0.5 cutoff of 2.03 g/ml yielded the highest overall sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 88.2% in predicting MPA‐AUC0–12h ≥45 μg.h/ml. A single timepoint of plasma MPA‐C0.5 ≥2.03 μg/ml may help guide EC‐MPS adjustment to achieve adequate drug exposure. Further study of EC‐MPS used to validate this cutoff is warranted.
1024. GYMNOSPERMIUM DARWASICUM: Berberidaceae
Authors: Shaw Julian M.H. , King Christabel
Published: May 2022

An account of the discovery, taxonomy and cultivation of Gymnospermium darwasicum is provided. Along with a supplement of Gymnospermium illustrations and studies published since Stearn's Monograph (2002).
1023 HAEMANTHUS HUMANII: Amaryllidaceae
Authors: Duncan Graham , Joubert Elbe
Published: May 2022

The new species, Haemanthus humanii G.D.Duncan, is described. This extraordinary, winter‐growing, summer‐flowering dwarf geophyte is endemic to flats and undulating plains in the southern Namaqualand region of the Western Cape, South Africa. Details of its history, taxonomy, habitat and cultivation are given.
The effects of catheter ablation of outflow tract premature ventricular complexes on atrial electromechanical delay
Authors: Çakır Hakan , Kanat Selçuk , Karagöz Ali , Tütüncü Ahmet , Yılmaz Fatih , Öcal Lütfi , Toprak Cüneyt , Emiroğlu Mehmet Yunus , Demir Mehmet , Kaymaz Cihangir , Tenekecioğlu Erhan
Published: May 2022

Background

Consistent data from several studies have shown that catheter ablation of frequent premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) results in substantial improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular diastolic function, and left atrial volume and mechanics. However, the effects of catheter ablation of PVCs on atrial electromechanical properties have not been documented yet.

Aims

In the present study, we investigated the short‐term effects of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of outflow tract PVCs on atrial electromechanical delay (EMD).

Methods

A total of 71 subjects with idiopathic outflow tract PVCs who underwent RFCA were included. Interatrial and intra‐atrial EMDs were measured by tissue Doppler imaging before and 3 months after catheter ablation.

Results

The study population was divided into normal ejection fraction (EF) and low‐EF subgroups according to their LVEF. In all study groups, substantial improvement was found in lateral electromechanical coupling time (PA), septal PA, right ventricular PA, interatrial EMD, left‐sided intra‐atrial EMD, and right‐sided intra‐atrial EMD. No treatment heterogeneity was observed when comparing low‐EF and normal‐EF subgroups with respect to atrial EMDs (interatrial EMD, interaction p = .29; left‐sided intra‐atrial EMD, interaction p = .13; right‐sided intra‐atrial EMD, interaction p = .88).

Conclusion

RFCA of outflow tract PVC has a favorable early effect on intra‐ and inter‐atrial EMDs irrespective of preprocedural LVEF.
Survey of the knowledge and perceptions of horse owners in Ireland of common clinical conditions and their impact
Authors: Golding Emma , Neavyn Neita Aoife , Walshe Nicola , Hanlon Alison , Mulcahy Grace , Duggan Vivienne
Published: May 2022

Background

As the primary decision‐maker for their horse's health and welfare, owners' knowledge of clinical conditions may impact their horse's health. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the emotional impact of equine illness on the owner can be severe but research is lacking.

Objectives

To evaluate horse owners' self‐declared knowledge of eight common equine health conditions and perceptions of the quality of information available; to ascertain respondents' perceptions of the severity of impact on their horse of the conditions and potential emotional impact on themselves and to establish the factors of greatest concern to owners when their horse has a health condition and influential factors on end‐of‐life decisions.

Study design

Online survey of horse owners.

Methods

An online survey comprising three sections was created: respondent demographics; vignettes of clinical conditions; concerns and decision‐making regarding illness and euthanasia. Vignettes focused on arthritis; Pars Pituitary Intermedia Dysfunction; Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS); gastric ulcers; high intestinal worm burden; dermatophilosis (‘mud rash’); quidding and head tossing; and equine asthma. Respondents were self‐selecting. The survey was circulated for completion by horse owners residing in Ireland and Northern Ireland obtaining 491 valid responses.

Results

Respondents declared that they had the highest knowledge of mud rash, with 84.1% rating their knowledge as very good compared to 42% of respondents for EMS. There was positive correlation between the perceived impact on their horse and emotional impact on the owner for all conditions ranging from weak (arthritis 0.36, P < 0.001) to strong (EMS 0.62, P < 0.001). Pain, discomfort, and quality of life were reported as the most common concerns when their horse has a medical condition or when considering euthanasia.

Main limitations

Potential bias among respondents towards computer literate owners, with good literacy and interest in equine health conditions.

Conclusions

Knowledge of equine health conditions, perceived impact of conditions on the horse and emotional impact on their owners varied significantly between conditions.
Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis: Investigating individual incisor disease patterns using radiological classification
Authors: Rehrl Sabine , Schulte Wiebke , Staszyk Carsten , Lischer Christoph
Published: May 2022

Background

Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) is a destructive, painful and underdiagnosed dental disorder. Radiography is necessary to fully assess the disease as early stages occur on clinically normal teeth.

Objectives

To investigate the distribution pattern of appearance of EOTRH within the incisor arcade. In particular, we aimed to determine the influence of tooth position and horse age on the severity of EOTRH as well as on the frequency of the individual severity stages.

Study design

Retrospective cross‐sectional radiographic case study.

Methods

Digital radiographs of 142 horses (10 years and older) presented for routine dental examination at our Equine Hospital were obtained and evaluated for changes related to EOTRH. Radiological findings were classified in terms of EOTRH severity, and each tooth was evaluated individually (tooth stage).

Results

The tooth stages of EOTRH showed a bilateral symmetrical distribution pattern over the entire incisor arcade. There was a significant positive correlation between age and tooth stages (p < 0.001, rho = 0.48, 95% CI 0.43–0.51), and the frequency of higher tooth stages increased from central incisors to middle and corner incisors.

Main limitations

Individual head anatomy in some male horses lead to superimposition of the lower jaw corner incisors and canine teeth. The radiographic technique proved difficult in smaller and uncooperative horses. Differentiating between mild pathological signs of EOTRH and age‐related radiological changes was not possible in all cases.

Conclusion

These results reconfirm an age‐correlated progression of EOTRH. EOTRH affects the incisor arcade in a bilaterally symmetrical pattern with the corner incisors being the most severely affected.
RETRACTED: Supply chain operation evaluation and management decision by fuzzy cognitive map model
Authors: Zheng Puyang
Published: May 2022

The components of the logistics and supply chain are analysed to meet the needs of supply chain management and decision support, aiming at the complexity and uncertainty of the supply chain system. First, the characteristics of logistics demand and logistics service types of some enterprises are analysed. The factors affecting supplier selection are obtained through the questionnaire survey of some enterprises. Second, the mutual feedback relationship between the influencing factors of logistics service demand is analysed, and a fuzzy cognitive graph model of the selection process of enterprise logistics service providers is established. Finally, the fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) model is used to conduct an empirical study on the choice of logistics service providers. The results show that the ranking results of the three candidate logistics service companies based on FCM are WL1 (0.7233) > WL3 (0.6823) > WL2 (0.6764). When each node of the concept does not affect each other, the ranking result of the three candidate logistics service companies based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is WL1 (0.7265) > WL2 (0.6949) > WL3 (0.6920). The final evaluation result will be affected by the mutual influence relationship between the concept nodes. Overall, the lowest evaluation score is WL2, and the highest is WL1. The most suitable logistics service provider for the enterprise is WL1. The FCM model selected by the manufacturing enterprise logistics service provider is reasonable and feasible. The mutual feedback between evaluation factors affects the selection of logistics service providers in a company. The FCM can get a more accurate evaluation weight value and can realize the optimal choice of logistics suppliers. It provides reference and decision support for other enterprises.
Training of interventionists and cultural adaptation procedures: A systematic review of culturally adapted evidence‐based parenting programs in Africa
Authors: Asiimwe Ronald , Dwanyen Lekie , Subramaniam Saila , Kasujja Rosco , Blow Adrian J.
Published: May 2022

There has been an increase in the implementation of evidence‐based parenting programs from high‐income countries to several African countries. In this review, we systematically evaluated intervention studies of culturally adapted parenting programs in nine African countries with the objective of examining the quality of training for interventionists and cultural adaptation procedures. A total of 18 studies, obtained from an electronic search of 6 databases, met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated following PRISMA guidelines. The Ecological Validity Model was adopted to organize data on cultural adaptation procedures. Sixteen of the 18 studies reported information regarding the clinical training of interventionists and the cultural adaptations undertaken. Live and interactive workshops were the most common format used to train interventionists in the focal intervention. Overall, cultural adaptations in most studies included translation of intervention protocols into the local language. However, studies varied in the way cultural adaptation procedures were reported with some studies failing to report on cultural adaptation procedures. Concurring with previous literature, attending to issues of culture, power, privilege, access, sustainability, and other relevant concepts to increase the cultural relevance is highly encouraged in parent intervention studies in Africa. This review provides a baseline upon which future training and adaptation procedures can be built.
A history of Greek inland fishery development during 1928–2019
Authors: Moutopoulos Dimitrios K. , Koutsikos Nicholas , Vardakas Leonidas , Perdikaris Costas
Published: May 2022

A few studies have used historical inland fisheries data for defining reference points necessary for fisheries management. We developed a historical baseline of catches for inland fisheries of Greece during 1928–2019, with the interwar period (1928–1939), a period of intense political and socio‐economic turmoil, serving as a pre‐development reference period. The main harvested species were cyprinids, represented predominantly by Cyprinus carpio and Rutilus rutilus. Species that are currently threatened (i.e., Rutilus ylikiensis/Rutilus panosi and Alosa macedonica) or even possibly extinct (Pelasgus epiroticus) were vital food sources for local populations. Inland catches during the interwar period (1928–1939) were more than double than during 2000–2019, even though the former period can be described as early‐fishery. Such historical data are of high importance because many inland ecosystems were lost during the last century, and thus can be viewed as reference points for future inland fisheries and ecosystem management.
Comparison of modified CEUS LI‐RADS with sonazoid and CT/MRI LI‐RADS for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Sugimoto Katsutoshi , Saito Kazuhiro , Shirota Natsuhiko , Kamiyama Naohisa , Sakamaki Kentaro , Takahashi Hiroshi , Wada Takuya , Kakegawa Tatsuya , Tomita Yusuke , Abe Masakazu , Yoshimasu Yu , Takeuchi Hirohito , Itoi Takao
Published: May 2022

Aim

To compare the diagnostic performance based on the modified CEUS Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI‐RADS), which includes Kupffer‐phase findings as a major imaging feature, with that of CT and MRI (CT/MRI) LI‐RADS for liver nodules in patients at high risk of HCC.

Methods

A total of 120 patients with 120 nodules were included in this retrospective study. The median size of the lesions was 20.0 mm (interquartile range, 14.0–30.8 mm). Of these lesions, 90.0% (108 of 120) were confirmed as HCCs, 6.7% (8 of 120) were intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, 1.7% (2 of 120) were metastases, and 1.7% (2 of 120) were dysplastic nodules. All nodules were diagnosed histopathologically. Each nodule was categorized according to the modified CEUS LI‐RADS and CT/MRI LI‐RADS version 2018. The diagnostic performance and inter‐modality agreement of each criterion was compared.

Results

The inter‐modality agreement for the modified CEUS LI‐RADS and CT/MRI LI‐RADS was slight agreement (kappa = 0.139, p = 0.015). The diagnostic accuracies of HCCs for the modified CEUS LR‐5 and CT/MRI LR‐5 were 70.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 61.0%, 78.0%) versus 70.8% (95% CI: 61.8%, 78.8%) (p = 0.876), respectively. The diagnostic accuracies of non‐HCC malignancies for the modified CEUS LR‐M and CT/MRI LR‐M were 84.2% (95% CI: 76.4%, 90.2%) versus 96.7% (95% CI: 91.7%, 99.1%) (p = 0.002), respectively.

Conclusions

The diagnostic performance for HCCs on the modified CEUS LR‐5 and CT/MRI LR‐5 are comparable. In contrast, CT/MRI LR‐M has better diagnostic performance for non‐HCC malignancy than that of the modified CEUS LR‐M.
Belief aggregation for representative agent models
Authors: Zimper Alexander
Published: May 2022

Representative agent models pin down equilibrium asset prices of an underlying heterogeneous agents economy through the utility maximization problem of a representative agent evaluated at aggregate endowment levels. This paper considers a complete markets asset exchange economy in which all economic agents are expected utility maximizers who share the same risk preferences but may have heterogeneous endowments and beliefs. For arbitrary well‐behaved Bernoulli utility functions we derive belief aggregation formulas that characterize the beliefs of an expected utility maximizing representative agent.
Advances in the study of CD47‐based bispecific antibody in cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Zhang Binglei , Li Wei , Fan Dandan , Tian Wenzhi , Zhou Jian , Ji Zhenyu , Song Yongping
Published: May 2022

Tumour therapy has entered the era of immunotherapy. Monoclonal antibodies (mAb), immune checkpoint inhibitors, chimeric antigen receptor T‐cell (CAR‐T), cytokine‐induced killer (CIK), tumour‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and other cellular immunotherapies have become the focus of current research. The CD47/SIRPα target is becoming another popular tumour immunotherapy target following the PDCD1/CD247(PD1/PD‐L1) checkpoint inhibitor. In recent years, a large number of CD47/SIRPα mAbs, fusion proteins, and CD47/SIRPα‐based bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) are undergoing preclinical and clinical trials and have good curative effects in the treatment of haematological tumours and solid tumours. They bring new vitality and hope for the treatment of patients with advanced tumours. This review summarizes the research progress of CD47/SIRPα‐based BsAbs with different targets for tumour treatment. There are 12 and 9 BsAbs in clinical trials and pre‐clinical research, respectively. We report on the mechanism of 15 BsAb molecules with different target and analyse the efficacy and safety of preclinical and clinical trials, discuss the issues that may be faced in the development of CD47‐based BsAbs, and dual‐target molecules, and summarize their development prospects. This review provides a reference for the safety and effectiveness of BsAbs in clinical application and in the future development of antibodies.
Why the parent's gaze is so powerful in organizing the infant's gaze: The relationship between parental referential cues and infant object looking
Authors: Sun Lichao , Yoshida Hanako
Published: May 2022

Parental scaffolding such as looking at and showing objects has long been considered to be helpful for early attention and language development. However, relatively little is known about how parental social multimodal cues work alone or together in guiding an infant's attention toward the referent items. The present study aims to document the dynamics of social referential input during an interactive play session and specify the different types of social cues in directing infant attention. Forty‐three parent‐infant dyads (infants aged from 5.0 to 18.0 months) in the U.S. completed a short play session recorded by head‐mounted camera with eye‐trackers. The present findings suggest that joint attention between parent and infant toward the same referent item often co‐occurred with other referential input. Infants were more likely to maintain sustained attention to an object under the circumstance that the parent looked at the same item and named it explicitly. This was not the case when parent object looking accompanied other utterances, like “Look!” or the child's name. The present study highlights the importance of multimodal referential input, which sets up enriched opportunities for children to become sensitive to social input and develop sustained attention for further learning.
Natural disaster management in Korea: Is it the “best”, or is it just “satisfactory”?
Authors: Ha Kyoo‐Man
Published: May 2022

This research has examined the reality of Korean natural disaster management by considering four analytical factors, namely, the characteristics of natural disasters, government policy, business strategy, and volunteer activity, towards drawing lessons for the international community. Qualitative content analysis has been used to test the following hypothesis: “If Korean natural disaster management is not the best but only satisfactory, then there will be implications for the international community.” The success and failure of Korean natural disaster management has been compared from the international perspective. By accepting the hypothesis, this research maintains that the Korean field of natural disaster management has always been surrounded by certain barriers, according to the bounded rationality of human beings.
Effect of ultrasound combined with sodium bicarbonate pretreatment on the taste and flavor of chicken broth
Authors: Wu Jianghong , Zhang Min , Zhang Lihui , Liu Yaping
Published: May 2022

As one of the five basic tastes, umami has the advantages of making the overall taste of food more harmoniously. Although various umami substances in food have been isolated and identified, in recent years, there are limit studies on the processing technology for improving food umami. Therefore, it is necessary to explore novel efficient umami improvement technologies to meet the urgentment of the food industry. This experiment was designed to study the effect of 0.1% (w/w) sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) combined with different power (0, 120, 180, 240, and 300 W) ultrasound treatment on the taste and flavor of chicken broth. Results demonstrated that the chicken broth under the power of 120 W ultrasound treatment combined with 0.1% (w/w) NaHCO3 was the most umami, and contained the largest amount of IMP. The chicken broth under the treatment of 180 W ultrasound combined with 0.1% (w/w) NaHCO3 has better flavor and sensory evaluation as the umami improved. In summary, 180 W ultrasound combined with 0.1% (w/w) NaHCO3 pretreatment is a simple and low‐cost processing technology, which is inclined to apply in industry.

Practical Applications

Compared with the traditional umami improvement method, ultrasound can significantly reduce the cost of food umami‐enhancing with the characteristics of high safety, environmental protection, low operating cost, and high instantaneous efficiency. Sodium bicarbonate is an inorganic salt. Moderate intake is beneficial to the body. It can help neutralize stomach acid and supplement sodium for the body. In this study, low‐power ultrasound combined with low‐concentration of sodium bicarbonate solution was used to cook chicken soup, and the umami taste was improved to a large extent, which provided a novel method for industrial application.
A review of system dynamics modeling for the sustainability assessment of biorefineries
Authors: Roy Bidhan Bhuson , Tu Qingshi
Published: May 2022

Bioeconomy has been incorporated into the national strategy for sustainable development by many countries, and the concept of biorefinery has been considered as one of the essential components of such strategies. The environmental, economic, and social implications of a biorefinery hinge upon both the endogenous interactions among its supply chain components and their responses to the exogenous factors. The system dynamics (SD) modeling approach is suitable for understanding such complex systems. This study provides a state‐of‐the‐art review of the methodological assumptions of existing SD studies relevant to the sustainability of biorefineries. Among the reviewed studies, common supply chain components of a biorefinery were feedstock supply, biomass conversion, market demand, distribution, and use of bioproducts. Components of a supply chain are interlinked through feedback loops. For instance, the preference for bioproduct use increases the corresponding market demand, which attracts more investment in biorefineries and changes the supply of feedstock. Exogenous variables investigated by the reviewed studies cover the market demand, population growth, GDP change, imposed regulations and incentives to evaluate endogenous factors such as the price of biomass and biofuel, change in land‐use pattern, and fuel or energy choices of consumers. Through analyzing the methodological assumptions, we also identified several limitations of the models/frameworks in the existing literature, including (1) the lack of a mechanism to represent the complex interactions within the supply chain of a biorefinery with a diverse product portfolio, and (2) the lack of feedback loops incorporating the environmental (e.g., via life cycle assessment), economic (e.g., via techno‐economic analysis), and social (e.g., via social life cycle assessment) influences into the interactions among supply chain components. Accordingly, we proposed a recommendation for methodology development to address these limitations.
Mammaliicoccus (Staphylococcus) sciuri‐induced suppurative meningoencephalitis and bacteremia in an infant western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
Authors: de Carvalho Thaynara Parente , Moreira Larissa Giannini Alves , Vieira André Duarte , da Silva Laice Alves , Santana Clarissa Helena , dos Santos Daniel Oliveira , Oliveira Ayisa Rodrigues , Tinoco Herlandes Penha , Coelho Carlyle Mendes , Xavier Rafael Gariglio Clark , Silva Rodrigo Otávio Silveira , da Paixão Tatiane Alves , Santos Renato Lima
Published: May 2022

Mammaliicoccus (Staphylococcus) sciuri has been rarely associated with infections and sepsis in humans. A 3‐month‐old male western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), born under human care, died after a traumatic event. Histologic, microbiologic, and molecular findings in postmortem demonstrated a suppurative meningoencephalitis and bacteremia associated with M. sciuri infection.