bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Various approaches for accessing the influence of human leukocyte antigens disparity in haploidentical stem cell transplantation
Authors: Grubic Zorana , Burek Kamenaric Marija , Maskalan Marija , Durakovic Nadira , Vrhovac Radovan , Stingl Jankovic Katarina , Serventi Seiwerth Ranka , Zunec Renata
Published: March 2022

Introduction

We investigated the association of HLA on clinical outcomes in our cohort of patients in the haplo‐HSCT program using the HLAMatchmaker (EM) and PIRCHE score (PS) algorithms.

Methods

The group comprised 64 patients (male = 35–54.7%, female 29–45.3%; median age 43 years) and their related haplo‐HSCT donors (male = 30–46.9%, female 34–53.1%). HLA‐A/B/C/DRB1/DQB1/DPB1 loci were analyzed.

Results

Multivariate analysis of the association between different HLA or patient/donor‐related parameters and clinical outcome revealed the following associations with statistical significance: GvHD and HLA class I PS in the GvH direction (p = .0420) and relapse with diagnosis (p = .0163). For OS, the only variable showing a tendency of association was the source of HSCT (p = .0965).

Conclusion

Combined results of univariate and multivariate analysis suggest that the patients awaiting the selection of the best haplo‐HSCT donor could benefit the most from the combination of all three approaches, in cases when a suitable donor can be chosen from a number of potential donors.
Does rapid rebound height growth come at a neurocognitive cost for previously institutionalized youth?
Authors: Reid Brie M. , Zhong Danruo , Donzella Bonny , Howland Mariann , Moua Bao , Gunnar Megan R.
Published: March 2022

Background

Height growth faltering is associated with less optimal behavioral outcomes and educational achievement. Although catch‐up growth after growth delay may result in developmental gains, it may also present as a double‐edged sword, with consequences for neurocognitive functioning such as symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity. As previously institutionalized (PI) children experience height delays at adoption and catch‐up growth after adoption, they provide a cohort to test associations between catch‐up growth and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.

Methods

This study used latent growth curve modeling to examine how catch‐up in height‐for‐age growth is related to attention problems in a population of PI youth followed from adoption in infancy through kindergarten. Participants were assessed within three months of arrival into their families (age at entry: 18–36 months). Anthropometrics were measured four times, approximately 7 months apart. Two visits measured behavioral outcomes with parent and teacher reports of ADHD, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms at age 5 and kindergarten.

Results

The slope of growth in height z‐scores, but not the intercept, was positively associated with parent‐ and teacher‐reported ADHD symptoms in children. A one standard deviation increase in the slope of height z‐scores across four assessments was associated with a 0.252 standard deviation increase in ADHD symptoms after controlling for internalizing and externalizing problems, iron status, duration of institutional care, sex, and age. The slope of growth was also associated with internalizing but not externalizing symptoms.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that PI children exhibit individual trajectories of height growth postadoption. Higher rates of change in height‐for‐age growth were associated with increased ADHD symptoms. These results suggest that catch‐up growth comes ‘at the cost’ of poor attention regulation and hyperactive behavior.
Sexual orientation disparities in the developmental trajectories of emotional and behavioral difficulties from childhood to early adolescence
Authors: Xu Yin , Rahman Qazi
Published: March 2022

Background

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and asexual adolescents are at increased risk of poor mental health outcomes but it remains unknown whether this disparity emerges from early childhood and through to adolescence. This study tested sexual orientation disparities in the developmental trajectories of emotional and behavioral difficulties from ages 5 to 14 years, and the influence of early life adversities upon them.

Methods

The Millennium Cohort Study, a British birth cohort, was used (4,838 boys and 5,016 girls). Parent‐report emotional and behavioral difficulties at ages 5, 7, 11, and 14 were measured using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Sexual orientation was measured via sexual attraction at age 17. Early life adversities in the first 5 years of life, including parental age at birth, birthweight, duration of breastfeeding, parent–child relationship quality, and parental absence, were collected prospectively.

Results

Latent growth modeling suggested that, for both sexes, sexual orientation disparities in emotional and behavioral difficulties increased from age 5 to 14 years. Homosexual and bisexual girls displayed significantly greater emotional and behavioral difficulties than heterosexual girls at ages 7, 11, and 14. Homosexual and bisexual boys displayed significantly greater emotional and behavioral difficulties than heterosexual boys at ages 11 and 14. Asexual boys and girls displayed significantly greater emotional and behavioral difficulties than their heterosexual counterparts at all four ages. For both sexes, sexual orientation disparities in emotional and behavioral difficulties only reduced slightly in magnitude after controlling for early life adversities.

Conclusions

Sexual minority disparities in emotional and behavioral difficulties increased from childhood to early adolescence, possibly due to the accumulation of susceptibility to minority‐related stressors. Sex and early life adversity may contribute to these developmental disparities.
Selfish migrants: How a meiotic driver is selected to increase dispersal
Authors: Runge Jan‐Niklas , Kokko Hanna , Lindholm Anna K.
Published: March 2022

Meiotic drivers are selfish genetic elements that manipulate meiosis to increase their transmission to the next generation to the detriment of the rest of the genome. One example is the t haplotype in house mice, which is a naturally occurring meiotic driver with deleterious traits—poor fitness in polyandrous matings and homozygote inviability or infertility—that prevent its fixation. Recently, we discovered and validated a novel effect of t in a long‐term field study on free‐living wild house mice and with experiments: t‐carriers are more likely to disperse. Here, we ask what known traits of the t haplotype can select for a difference in dispersal between t‐carriers and wildtype mice. To that end, we built individual‐based models with dispersal loci on the t and the homologous wildtype chromosomes. We also allow for density‐dependent expression of these loci. The t haplotype consistently evolves to increase the dispersal propensity of its carriers, particularly at high densities. By examining variants of the model that modify different costs caused by t, we show that the increase in dispersal is driven by the deleterious traits of t, disadvantage in polyandrous matings and lethal homozygosity or male sterility. Finally, we show that an increase in driver‐carrier dispersal can evolve across a range of values in driver strength and disadvantages.
Selection on dispersal drives evolution of metabolic capacities for energy production in female wing‐polymorphic sand field crickets, Gryllus firmus
Authors: Treidel Lisa A. , Quintanilla Ramirez Gessen S. , Chung Dillon J. , Menze Michael A. , Vázquez‐Medina José P. , Williams Caroline M.
Published: March 2022

Life history and metabolism covary, but the mechanisms and individual traits responsible for these linkages remain unresolved. Dispersal capability is a critical component of life history that is constrained by metabolic capacities for energy production. Conflicting relationships between metabolism and life histories may be explained by accounting for variation in dispersal and maximal metabolic rates. We used female wing‐polymorphic sand field crickets, Gryllus firmus, selected either for long wings (LW, flight‐capable) or short wings (SW, flightless) to test the hypothesis that selection on dispersal capability drives the evolution of metabolic capacities. While resting metabolic rates were similar, long‐winged crickets reached higher maximal metabolic rates than short‐winged crickets, resulting in improved running performance. We further provided insight into the mechanisms responsible for covariation between life history and metabolism by comparing mitochondrial content of tissues involved in powering locomotion and assessing the function of mitochondria isolated from long‐ and short‐winged crickets. Our results demonstrated that larger metabolic capacities in long‐winged crickets were underpinned by increases in mitochondrial content of dorsoventral flight muscle and enhanced bioenergetic capacities of mitochondria within the fat body, a tissue responsible for fuel storage and mobilization. Thus, selection on flight capability correlates with increases in maximal, but not resting metabolic rates, through modifications of tissues powering locomotion at the cellular and organelle levels. This allows organisms to meet high energetic demands of activity for life history. Dispersal capability should therefore explicitly be considered as a potential factor driving the evolution of metabolic capacities.
Comparative performance analysis of ohmic thawing and conventional thawing of spinach puree
Authors: Çabas Buse Melek , Azazi Işın , Döner Deniz , Bayana Damla , Çokgezme Ömer Faruk , İçier Filiz
Published: March 2022

Nowadays dietary habits of consumers have changed to more quick and easier but at the same time healthier meals. Therefore, ready‐to‐eat food production and home processing of such foods are gaining importance. Spinach is one of the main ingredients used in ready‐to‐eat baby foods, and it is produced in chopped, blanched, juice, and powder forms. Commonly ready‐to‐eat meals are sold frozen. Therefore, thawing process becomes an important processing step. Conventional thawing (CT) methods require a long process time and high‐energy consumption. In the present study, frozen blanched spinach puree samples were thawed by ohmic thawing (OT) (10 V/cm, 15 V/cm). The thawing at 4°C (refrigerator thawing) was selected as the control thawing method. The energetic and exergetic evaluations were compared. Accordingly, thawing times were shortened by about 70–80% with OT. The energy loss during the CT method was higher than the OT method. The most energy‐efficient (64.2% ± 4.0%) thawing condition was determined as 15 V/cm OT. In case of exergetic evaluation, the destroyed exergy value of the CT method was highest (19.0 ± 2.0 kJ) while those of thawed with 10 and 15 V/cm were 5.8 ± 0.7 and 3.8 ± 0.4 kJ, respectively. Similar to energetic efficiency, OT with 15 V/cm had the highest exergy efficiency value (40.5% ± 2.6%) while that of the CT method was 11.6% ± 1.0%. The result of the present study indicated that the OT process could be an alternative thawing method to CT to improve energy efficiency.

Practical applications

As the ready‐to‐eat meal habit is becoming more common, processing of such foods is becoming more important. While preparing food, it is desired that the process to be done quickly, homogeneously, and efficiently. Usage of current food technologies to provide fast and homogeneous heating is becoming widespread. However, examining and evaluating their efficiency also emerges as an important issue. In this study, the use of OT, which is one of the current methods, for the thawing of spinach puree was investigated and the efficiency of OT in different voltage gradients was evaluated. In this way, it is thought that important data about the efficiency of the ohmic heating process, which utilization is increasing day‐by‐day, during the thawing process are obtained. It is thought that these data will contribute to future studies and contribute to the widespread dissemination of OT.
CHESS‐ALARM score to stratify decompensation risk in compensated advanced chronic liver disease patients: An international multicenter study
Authors: Wong Yu Jun , Li Jia , Liu Chuan , Chen Zhaojin , Chan Yiong Huak , Putera Martin , Teh Kok Ban , Ang Tiing Leong , Zhao Lili , Yan Zhongfang , Kumar Rahul , Li Xin , Qi Xiaolong
Published: March 2022

Background and Aim

A combination of platelet and elastography (PE criteria) was proposed to identify compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD) patients at risk of liver decompensation. We aim to validate and refine PE criteria by developing a new predictive score to predict decompensation in Asian cACLD patients.

Methods

An international cohort of 633 cACLD patients with liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and esophagogastroduodenoscopy performed were included. We validated PE criteria to predict first liver decompensation using competing risk analysis, with death and hepatocellular carcinoma as competing events. We developed a predictive model using proportional subdistribution hazard regression. Prognostic accuracy was compared with the model of end‐stage liver disease (MELD), albumin–bilirubin (ALBI), and ALBI–FIB‐4 score using time‐dependent area under operative characteristic curve (tAUC).

Results

Sixty patients developed decompensation over the median follow‐up of 39 months. Favorable Baveno VI status ruled out cACLD patients at risk of liver decompensation. LSM > 25 kPa was suboptimal to predict cACLD patients who will develop liver decompensation. We developed CHESS‐ALARM score by incorporating age, platelet, and gender into LSM. CHESS‐ALARM score (tAUC = 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79–0.94) has significantly higher accuracy than MELD (tAUC: 0.61), ALBI (tAUC: 0.62), ALBI–FIB‐4 (tAUC: 0.70), and LSM > 25 kPa (tAUC: 0.54) to predict liver decompensation at 5 years (P < 0.05 for all). Patients with CHESS‐ALARM score ≥ −0.37 had an 11‐fold higher risk of decompensation (subdistribution hazard ratio = 11.2, 95% CI: 5.1–24.5).

Conclusion

CHESS‐ALARM score can be readily incorporated into clinical practice of cACLD patients to estimate individual risk of liver decompensation; however, more data are required in morbidly obese cACLD patients of nonviral etiology.
The Tyranny of Narco‐Power: Political Rule and Austere Domination in Michoacán, Mexico
Authors: Mendoza Marcos
Published: March 2022

This article analyzes narco‐power as a mode of political rule. Based on research in the Mexican state of Michoacán, this study focuses on rural villagers’ experiences of political rule by three criminal organizations: the Zetas, Familia Michoacana, and Caballeros Templarios. The article argues that narco‐power is understood as a tyrannical political force exercised over everyday life that involves extortion, limited governance, and armed social control. Drawing on Aristotle's theorization of tyranny, this study develops the concept of austere domination as a contribution to the comparative study of the tyrannies of narco‐power.
Which laboratory/ultrasonographic parameters affect the severity of hirsutism?
Authors: Rahimi Hoda , Kashi Majid , Tehranchinia Zohreh , Sharifan Mojgan
Published: March 2022

Background and Objectives

Hirsutism is associated with other androgen‐dependent signs/symptoms. This study was designed with the aim of a comprehensive investigation of laboratory and ultrasonographic findings in hirsute women and their probable association with the “severity” of the disease.

Patients and Methods

This cross‐sectional study included 123 hirsute women. Comprehensive medical history of each patient was recorded, and a broad physical examination was performed by a single dermatologist. Ferriman–Gallwey score was used to evaluate the hirsutism severity. Pelvic ultrasonography was done by a single radiologist for each patient, and serum levels of the follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), LH/FSH ratio, prolactin, thyroid‐stimulating hormone, total testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, 17‐alpha‐hydroxyprogesterone, and cortisol were measured. The association of hirsutism severity and these paraclinical parameters was investigated.

Results

A statistically significant association was observed between polycystic ovary disease (PCOD) and the severity of hirsutism. A past medical history of PCOD was found to cause more severe forms of hirsutism in the involved patients as well. The presence of hormonal abnormalities was also significantly associated with the severity of hirsutism.

Conclusions

More than half of the hirsute patients have endocrine abnormalities and/or PCOD. These two disorders are associated with the severity of hirsutism.
Broadening risk factor or disease definition as a driver for overdiagnosis: A narrative review
Authors: Bandovas João Pedro , Leal Beatriz , Reis‐de‐Carvalho Catarina , Sousa David Cordeiro , Araújo João Cruz , Peixoto Pedro , Henriques Susana Oliveira , Vaz Carneiro António ,   the Choosing Wisely Working Group of the European Federation of Internal Medicine
Published: March 2022

Medical overuse—defined as the provision of health services for which potential harms exceed potential benefits—constitutes a paradigm of low‐value care and is seen as a threat to the quality of care. Value in healthcare implies a precise definition of disease. However, defining a disease may not be straightforward since clinical data do not show discrete boundaries, calling for some clinical judgment. And, if in time a redefinition of disease is needed, it is important to recognize that it can induce overdiagnosis, the identification of medical conditions that would, otherwise, never cause any significant symptoms or lead to clinical harm. A classic example is the impact of recommendations from professional societies in the late 1990s, lowering the threshold for abnormal total cholesterol from 240 mg/dl to 200 mg/dl. Due to these changes in risk factor definition, literally overnight there were 42 million new cases eligible for treatment in the United States. The same happened with hypertension—using either the 2019 NICE guidelines or the 2018 ESC/ECC guidelines criteria for arterial hypertension, the proportion of people overdiagnosed with hypertension was calculated to be between 14% and 33%. In this review, we will start by discussing resource overuse. We then present the basis for disease definition and its conceptual problems. Finally, we will discuss the impact of changing risk factor/disease definitions in the prevalence of disease and its consequences in overdiagnosis and overtreatment (a problem particularly relevant when definitions are widened to include earlier or milder disease).
Regional multipliers across the Italian regions
Authors: Destefanis Sergio , Di Serio Mario , Fragetta Matteo
Published: March 2022

This paper estimates the multipliers of different types of government spending in the 20 Italian administrative regions throughout 1994–2016. We derive region‐specific multipliers through a Bayesian random effect panel vector autoregressive model. We find that the EU structural funds, compared to the other types of government spending, provide the largest and most pervasively significant GDP multipliers, whereas the effectiveness of nationally funded government investment and, especially, government consumption shocks is more limited. An exploratory analysis of the regional multipliers suggests that they are positively associated with the amount of unused resources and the size of the regional economy.
Do enterprise zones promote local business development? Evidence from Vietnam
Authors: Vu Tien Manh , Yamada Hiroyuki
Published: March 2022

We examined the effects of Vietnamese enterprise zones, under the initiative of the central government, on local businesses across different types of ownership of zone infrastructure developers (ZIDs). We constructed a panel of communes during 2000–2007 using data on zone‐based firms, local firms, and zones. We found that zones led to an increased number of firms and increased employment in the communes hosting the zones, even after excluding zone‐based firms. Our findings also suggest that private partnerships in ZIDs worked best in attracting firms to the zones. The spatial spillover effects of the zones occurred up to a distance of 14 km.
International coordination of debt rules with time‐inconsistent voters
Authors: Arawatari Ryo , Ono Tetsuo
Published: March 2022

In this study, we investigate the international coordination of debt rules in an economy consisting of several countries with varying degrees of present bias. A case wherein each country sets its own uncoordinated debt rules is compared with a case wherein all countries have common coordinated debt rules. Countries with weak present‐biased preferences increase their debt issuance and suffer from welfare losses by participating in coordination. In contrast, countries with strong present‐biased preferences reduce their debt issuance and can enjoy welfare improvement by participating in coordination. The contrasting results suggest the possibility that countries with weak present‐biased preferences have little incentive to follow the coordinated rule.
Gearing to success with national breastfeeding programmes: The Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) initiative experience
Authors: Pérez‐Escamilla Rafael , Dykes Fiona C. , Kendall Sally
Published: March 2022

Evidence‐based policy toolboxes are essential for decision makers to effectively invest in and scale up maternal‐child health and nutrition programs, and breastfeeding is no exception. This special issue focuses on the experiences implementing the Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) toolbox in England, Scotland, and Wales. BBF is an initiative that includes a toolbox for decision making based on the Complex Adaptive System‐based Breastfeeding Gear Model. The BBF initiative experience in Great Britain presented in this special issue illustrates how versatile BBF is as it can be readily adapted to the specific application context. In this instance one country, England was trained by the Yale School of Public Health team that developed BBF. England, in turn, trained and assisted Scotland and Wales with the implementation and oversight of BBF in those countries. The positive experience implementing BBF in Great Britain is fully consistent with findings related to this initiative in other countries with contrasting economic, social, political and health care systems; including Germany, Ghana, Mexico, Myanmar, and Samoa. In all instances BBF has led to breastfeeding policy improvements with strong implications for enabling breastfeeding environments including maternity benefits, workforce development, the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and behavior change communication campaigns. In conclusion, BBF is a powerful tool to help guide the effective scaling up of evidence‐based programmes to advance breastfeeding protection, promotion and support globally.
Ecological adaptation shaped the genetic structure of homoploid ferns against strong dispersal capacity
Authors: Liang Si‐Qi , Zhang Xian‐Chun , Wei Ran
Published: March 2022

The formation of spatial genetic structure with the presence of extensive gene flow, an evolutionary force which is generally expected to eliminate population‐specific variation and maintain genetic homogeneity, remains poorly understood. Homosporous ferns, which spread by spores through wind and possess long distance dispersal capacity, provide an ideal system to investigate such a process. Here, using a homoploid fern lineage, the Athyrium sinense complex, we used reduced‐representation genomic data to examine spatial genetic structure and explored potential driving forces including geographical distance, environment, climatic history and external dispersal constraints. Our findings showed a clear north‐south divergence at the genetic, morphological and ecological levels between both sides of 35°N in East Asia. Fluctuant and heterogeneous climatic condition was demonstrated to play a crucial role during the formation of the divergence. Our results suggested that this lineage was able to migrate southward and colonize new habitat as a result of the Quaternary climatic fluctuation. Furthermore, the present genetic structure is attributed to adaptation to heterogeneous environments, especially temperature difference. In addition to ecological adaptation, we found clues showing that canopy density, wind direction as well as habitat continuity were all likely to constrain the effect of gene flow. These results demonstrated a diversification process without ploidy changes in ferns providing new insights for our present knowledge on ferns’ spatio‐temporal evolutionary pattern. In particular, our study highlights the influence of environmental heterogeneity in driving genetic divergence against strong dispersal capacity.
Health educators' professional agency in negotiating their problem‐based learning (PBL) facilitator roles: Q study
Authors: Du Xiangyun , Nomikos Michail , Ali Kamran , Lundberg Adrian , Abu‐Hijleh Marwan
Published: March 2022

Background

University educators are expected to cope with emerging situations and complex issues in teaching and learning, and this requires them to be agentic and proactive. While professional agency of health educators has not been investigated adequately, this study explores health educators' perception of their enactment of professional agency in the PBL facilitation process in a postpandemic context.

Methods

Forty PBL facilitators from medical and dental programs in Qatar University participated in the study during the fall semester of 2021, after resuming in‐person PBL sessions. To collect and analyse data both qualitatively and quantitatively, Q methodology was employed. A 33‐statement Q‐set was established based on a proposed theoretical framework of professional agency in PBL facilitation, which included three dimensions—intrapersonal, action, and environment.

Results

Q factor analysis identified five significantly different viewpoints regarding how PBL facilitators perceive their professional agency sources, namely, (1) institutional resources, (2) policy guideline, (3) making efforts to improve support for students, (4) beliefs on PBL effectiveness, and (5) agentic actions. While four of the viewpoints were positive, participants with the second viewpoint reported negative perceptions and described lack of interest in facilitation work. All three dimensions of the framework were addressed and indicated complexity and interrelatedness of agency enactment. Consensus was observed regarding the need for more professional learning activities for faculty involved in PBL facilitation as source of professional agency.

Discussion

The results revealed a high variation of participants' perceptions of professional agency enactment throughout the three dimensions, indicating the need for establishing a common understanding of PBL facilitation work in a given context. For practical implications, further institutional efforts are required to support professional learning for PBL facilitation in a postpandemic context. Alternate approaches highlighting enforcement of agentic actions in all dimensions of intrapersonal values, stance and action taking, and active interactions with students, colleagues, and institutional environments are crucial. Q methodology provides new conceptual and empirical insights to explore the subjectivity of actors in health education.
Rouhani's Africa Policy: Disengagement, 2013–21
Authors: Bagheri Reza , Lob Eric
Published: March 2022

The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)’s relations with Africa declined to a considerable extent during Hassan Rouhani's presidency. Rouhani pursued a foreign policy that showed little interest in the continent and did not consider it a strategic partner. Some scholars argue this policy exclusively resulted from the IRI's regional involvement in Syria and Yemen, as well as its economic difficulties due to US sanctions. Using Rosenau's pre‐theory model of foreign‐policy analysis, this article holistically asserts that a combination of individual, societal, and systemic factors caused Rouhani and his administration to neglect Africa. At an individual level, these factors included Rouhani's preference to implement a westward‐leaning foreign policy, differentiate himself from his predecessor, and repair Iran's regional and international image. Societally, Rouhani downgraded relations with Africa due to the popularity of his westward‐leaning policy among his base of voters and supporters, alongside political factions and parties inside the government. Systemically, Rouhani disengaged from the continent in response to unfavorable, exogenous conditions, including the IRI's increased diplomatic and economic isolation by the United States, its intensified conflict with and pressure from regional rivals, and its rising challenges and setbacks in Africa.
Cyclic di‐GMP modulates sessile‐motile phenotypes and virulence in Dickeya oryzae via two PilZ domain receptors
Authors: Chen Yufan , Lv Mingfa , Liang Zhibin , Liu Zhiqing , Zhou Jianuan , Zhang Lian‐Hui
Published: March 2022

Dickeya oryzae is a bacterial pathogen causing the severe rice stem rot disease in China and other rice‐growing countries. We showed recently that the universal bacterial second messenger c‐di‐GMP plays an important role in modulation of bacterial motility and pathogenicity, but the mechanism of regulation remains unknown. In this study, bioinformatics analysis of the D. oryzae EC1 genome led to the identification of two proteins, YcgR and BcsA, both of which contain a conserved c‐di‐GMP receptor domain, known as the PilZ‐domain. By deleting all the genes encoding c‐di‐GMP‐degrading enzymes in D. oryzae EC1, the resultant mutant 7ΔPDE with high c‐di‐GMP levels became nonmotile, formed hyperbiofilm, and lost the ability to colonize and invade rice seeds. These phenotypes were partially reversed by deletion of ycgR in the mutant 7ΔPDE, whereas deletion of bcsA only reversed the hyperbiofilm phenotype of mutant 7ΔPDE. Significantly, double deletion of ycgR and bcsA in mutant 7ΔPDE rescued its motility, biofilm formation, and virulence to levels of wild‐type EC1. In vitro biochemical experiments and in vivo phenotypic assays further validated that YcgR and BcsA proteins are the receptors for c‐di‐GMP, which together play a critical role in regulating the c‐di‐GMP‐associated functionality. The findings from this study fill a gap in our understanding of how c‐di‐GMP modulates bacterial motility and biofilm formation, and provide useful clues for further elucidation of sophisticated virulence regulatory mechanisms in this important plant pathogen.
Implementing federalism: The case of Nepal
Authors: Bahl Roy W. , Timofeev Andrey , Yilmaz Serdar
Published: March 2022

The new Constitution of Nepal established a federal system of governance in 2015. Implementation began in 2018 following the 2017 subnational elections. The new system is comprised of seven provinces and 753 local governments. The constitution assigns important functional responsibilities to provincial and local governments and mandates that they have significant autonomy in deciding how services will be delivered. Subnational governments accounted for over one‐third of total government expenditures planned for FY2021, financed primarily by intergovernmental transfers. This paper describes the new federal system, discusses the early implementation successes and challenges, and draws some lessons from Nepal's experience.
Evaluation of the effect of conventional and natural antifungals on motility and kinetics of cooled stallion semen
Authors: Usuga Alexandra , Gutiérrez Víctor , López María Elisa , Pérez Luisa Fernanda , Jaramillo Lorena , Rojano Benjamín , Restrepo Giovanni
Published: March 2022

Microbial growth in semen may cause a decline of sperm quality and fertility; however, the addition of antifungals to semen extender has been shown to impair the overall fertility of the sperm. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of conventional and natural compounds, and their effect on the motility and kinetics of cooled stallion semen. A total of 15 ejaculates from five stallions were collected using the artificial vagina. Each ejaculate was supplemented with: fluconazole at 12.5 (F1), 25 (F2) and 50 (F3) mg/ml; amphotericin‐B at 6.5 (A1), 12.5 (A2) and 25 (A3) mg/ml (A3); clotrimazole at 12.5 (C1), 25 (C2) and 50 (C3) mg/ml; isoespintanol at 50 (I1), 100 (I2) and 150 (I3) µM; thymol at 50 (T1), 100 (T2) and 150 (T3) µM; and a control without supplementation. Motility and kinetics of semen at 0, 24 and 48 hr of cooling at 15°C were assessed using computer‐assisted sperm analysis (CASA). At hour 48 of cooling, the antifungal effect of the treatments was evaluated. At hour 0 of cooling, amphotericin‐B and I3 showed a reduction in most of the motility and kinetic parameters evaluated (p < .05). These treatments, and also C2 and C3, showed similar results at 24 and 48 hr of cooling. Thymol maintained motility and kinetics of the spermatozoa at all evaluated refrigeration times. Besides, I2 showed a decrease (p < .05) in the colony‐forming unit compared to that in the control. It is concluded that thymol and isospintanol could be added as natural antifungals in extenders for stallion semen refrigeration.
Longitudinal relationships between muscle dysmorphia symptoms and suicidal ideation
Authors: Grunewald William , Ortiz Shelby N. , Kinkel‐Ram Shruti S. , Smith April R.
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a severe subtype of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) that shares symptomatic overlap with eating disorders. Although associations between eating disorders/BDD and suicidality are well documented, research has rarely examined associations between MD symptoms and suicidality, which is concerning given MD is associated with additional suicide risk factors compared with these disorders. Further, existing associations between MD symptoms and suicidality have yet to establish temporal ordering for these relationships. Therefore, the current study investigated longitudinal relationships between MD symptoms and suicidal ideation to establish the direction of the MD‐suicidality relationship.

Methods

Participants were 272 US men displaying sub‐clinical MD symptoms who completed self‐report measurement at three time points over 6 weeks. Longitudinal relationships between MD symptoms and suicidal ideation were examined using a three‐wave autoregressive cross‐lagged model.

Results

Certain MD symptoms were longitudinally predicted by suicidal ideation. Specifically, suicidal ideation longitudinally predicted increased drive for size and appearance intolerance.

Conclusions

Results may suggest that individuals engage in MD symptoms potentially to cope with distressing thoughts of suicide. Clinicians should provide clients with comorbid MD and suicidality with appropriate coping tools to manage distress from suicidal thoughts outside of engaging in compulsive exercise characteristic of MD symptoms.
Comparing estimates of physical activity in children across different cut‐points and the associations with weight status
Authors: Leppänen Marja H. , Migueles Jairo H. , Abdollahi Anna M. , Engberg Elina , Ortega Francisco B. , Roos Eva
Published: March 2022

This study aimed to compare sedentary time (SED) and intensity‐specific physical activity (PA) estimates and the associations of SED and PA with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) using three different sets of cut‐points in preschool‐aged children. A total of 751 children (4.7 ± 0.9 years, boys 52.7%) wore an ActiGraph GT3X+BT accelerometer on their hip for 7 days (24 h). Euclidean norm −1 G with negative values rounded to zero (ENMO) and activity counts from vertical axis (VACounts) and vector magnitude (VMCounts) were derived. Estimates of SED and light, moderate, vigorous, and moderate‐to‐vigorous PA (MVPA) were calculated for commonly used cut‐points by Hildebrand et al., Butte et al., and Evenson et al. Furthermore, the prevalence of meeting the PA recommendation, 180 min/day of which at least 60 min/day being MVPA, were assessed for the cut‐points. Multilevel mixed analysis was used to examine associations of SED and PA with BMI and WC. In accordance with the results, SED and PA intensity estimates differed largely across cut‐points (i.e., SED = 22–341 min/day; light PA = 52–257 min/day; moderate PA = 5–18 min/day; vigorous PA = 7–17 min/day; MVPA = 13–35 min/day), and the prevalence of children meeting the PA recommendation varied from 4% to 70%. Associations of SED and PA with BMI or WC varied between the cut‐points. Our results indicate that SED and PA estimates in preschool‐aged children between studies using these cut‐points are poorly comparable. Methods facilitating accelerometer‐derived PA estimate comparison between studies are highly warranted.
Application of a three‐dimensional scanner to the quantitative assessment of the nail plate condition after a hybrid manicure procedure—Preliminary study
Authors: Zdrada Julita , Odrzywołek Wiktoria , Deda Anna , Machoy Monika , Koprowski Robert , Błońska‐Fajfrowska Barbara , Plesińska Katarzyna , Wilczyński Sławomir
Published: March 2022

Background

About 90% of women worldwide use nail care products, including manicure ones. A manicure procedure results in nail damage, therefore it is necessary to search for new, objective methods of assessing the impact of the procedures and products applied within the nail plate. In this study, an attempt was made to quantify the impact of manicure procedures on the nail plate condition.

Materials and methods

Twenty thumb nail plates were examined. Before the manicure procedures, alginate casts were prepared for each of the subjects. The analysis of the three‐dimensional (3D) nail surface structure included the assessment of the nail sections and the assessment of differences in the nail structure after superposition of 3D images of the nail plates before and after the manicure procedures.

Results

The obtained results show that the nail plate structure changed to a similar extent in each measured section after the manicure procedure. A change in the height of the nails is not a desirable phenomenon as it suggests damage to the nail caused by the substances included in the preparations applied to the nails, acetone, or filing the nail plate. This proves the great influence of the technique of removing artificial nails on the structure of the natural plate.

Conclusion

The use of a 3D scanner allows for precise, biometric, quantitative, and repeatable measurements of changes in the nail structure after a manicure procedure. The use of the hybrid and gel manicure procedure causes significant damage to the nail plate, especially in its distal portion.
Hair removal in dermoscopy images using variational autoencoders
Authors: Bardou Dalal , Bouaziz Hamida , Lv Laishui , Zhang Ting
Published: March 2022

Background

In recent years, melanoma is rising at a faster rate compared to other cancers. Although it is the most serious type of skin cancer, the diagnosis at early stages makes it curable. Dermoscopy is a reliable medical technique used to detect melanoma by using a dermoscope to examine the skin. In the last few decades, digital imaging devices have made great progress which allowed capturing and storing high‐quality images from these examinations. The stored images are now being standardized and used for the automatic detection of melanoma. However, when the hair covers the skin, this makes the task challenging. Therefore, it is important to eliminate the hair to get accurate results.

Methods

In this paper, we propose a simple yet efficient method for hair removal using a variational autoencoder without the need for paired samples. The encoder takes as input a dermoscopy image and builds a latent distribution that ignores hair as it is considered noise, while the decoder reconstructs a hair‐free image. Both encoder and decoder use a decent convolutional neural networks architecture that provides high performance. The construction of our model comprises two stages of training. In the first stage, the model has trained on hair‐occluded images to output hair‐free images, and in the second stage, it is optimized using hair‐free images to preserve the image textures. Although the variational autoencoder produces hair‐free images, it does not maintain the quality of the generated images. Thus, we explored the use of three‐loss functions including the structural similarity index (SSIM), L1‐norm, and L2‐norm to improve the visual quality of the generated images.

Results

The evaluation of the hair‐free reconstructed images is carried out using t‐distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (SNE) feature mapping by visualizing the distribution of the real hair‐free images and the synthesized hair‐free images. The conducted experiments on the publicly available dataset HAM10000 show that our method is very efficient.
Dematiaceous fungal infections in solid organ transplantation: Systematic review and Bayesian meta‐analysis
Authors: Radcliffe Christopher , Radcliffe Andrew J. , Azar Marwan M. , Grant Matthew
Published: March 2022

Background

Dematiaceous fungi cause a number of infectious syndromes referred to as phaeohyphomycosis among both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts. We performed a systematic review to characterize these infections in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR).

Methods

We searched PubMed database (last searched 1/6/2022) for English‐language reports on dematiaceous fungal infections in SOTR. Included reports needed individualized demographic, treatment, and outcome data; pediatric reports were excluded. A universally applicable bias assessment was performed on reports. Models for infection type and outcome were created using the Bayesian paradigm.

Results

We included 149 reports on 201 cases of dematiaceous fungal infections in SOTR. The mean age was 54 years, 72% were men, and kidney recipients accounted for 61% of cases. Skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI) was the most common infectious syndrome (73%). Death from infection occurred in 7% of cases (14/201), with disseminated (32%) cases having the highest mortality. Our model for infection type predicted the relative probability of central nervous system infection to be highest in liver recipients. Across all transplant types, higher relative probabilities of disseminated and pulmonary infections occur in the early post‐transplant period, and the predicted probabilities for these infection types decreased after 100 months post‐transplantation.

Discussion

We identified SSTI as the most common dematiaceous fungal infections in SOTR. Disseminated infections carried the worst prognosis. The evidence in this review is limited by the heterogeneity of included cases. No funding source was used, and this review's protocol was not registered.
Mycoplasma hominis infections in solid organ transplant recipients: Clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes, and comparison of phenotypic and genotypic susceptibility profiles
Authors: Chang Sandy Y. , Price Travis K. , Beaird Omer E. , Gaynor Pryce T. , Schaenman Joanna M. , Carlson Margrit E. , Kubak Bernard M. , Yang Shangxin , Multani Ashrit
Published: March 2022

Background

Mycoplasma hominis can cause significant infections after solid organ transplantation (SOT). Treatment should be guided by susceptibility testing, but conventional lab methods are laborious with prolonged turnaround time (TAT). This case series compares the phenotypic and genotypic susceptibility profiles of M. hominis isolates identified from SOT patients.

Methods

This is a single‐center retrospective study evaluating SOT recipients with confirmed M. hominis infections. Patients’ demographic, clinical, microbiological, and radiographic data were collected. Culture of M. hominis isolates was performed according to current Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Phenotypic susceptibility testing was performed by University of Alabama Diagnostic Mycoplasma Laboratory. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed followed by bioinformatic analysis of known genetic determinants of resistance.

Results

Seven SOT recipients with M. hominis infections were identified. Two out of seven (28.5%) patients had resistance detected by phenotypic susceptibility testing (Case 5 to levofloxacin and Case 7 to tetracycline). Genomic analyses confirmed the presence of mutations in the parC and parE topoisomerase genes at positions conferring to fluoroquinolone resistance in the isolate from Case 5, while the tetracycline‐resistant isolate from Case 7 harbored the tetM gene. The median TAT from the date of specimen collection was 24 days for phenotypic susceptibility testing and 14 days for genotypic susceptibility testing. All seven patients received antimicrobials directed toward M. hominis and recovered with complete resolution of infection.

Conclusions

WGS may offer a novel and more rapid methodology for M. hominis susceptibility testing to help optimize antimicrobial usage, but more data are needed.
Family support role in hospital rapid response teams: a scoping review
Authors: Howlett Owen , Gleeson Rebecca , Jackson Lana , Rowe Elizabeth , Truscott Myf , Maggs Julie-Anne
Published: March 2022

Objective:

The objective of this review was to identify and understand the primary research investigating the family support role in hospital rapid response teams.

Introduction:

Individual studies have described the benefits of providing emotional and psychosocial support to family members of a person receiving emergency medical care from a rapid response team in a hospital setting. To the authors’ knowledge, there are no studies that have identified and described these studies together.

Inclusion criteria:

All empirical qualitative and quantitative papers investigating a family support role delivered in a rapid response team in a hospital setting were included.

Methods:

This review followed a published a priori protocol. The databases searched were MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Cochrane Library, and OpenGrey. The search strategy was not limited by publication date or by language. The title and abstract of all citations were reviewed by two authors independently to assess against the inclusion criteria. The full text of the studies meeting the inclusion criteria were retrieved and reviewed by two authors independently. Data from eligible studies were extracted by two authors separately using a predetermined data extraction form and summarized in tabular and narrative format.

Results:

After a full-text review of 110 studies, six studies met all inclusion criteria. The studies were set in four countries. All rapid response teams were set in hospital locations. Charted data demonstrated that the family support role had been investigated predominantly by qualitative study designs from the perspective of staff delivering the support. One study reported health outcomes of family members who received family support. In all studies, the family support role was part of a resuscitation rapid response team. Family support was provided at all stages of the resuscitation procedure. The family support role was not consistently defined, with the activities of the family support person reported differently between studies. Twenty-five varying support activities were described, such as attending to the family members’comfort needs, explaining the process of resuscitation, and providing guidance to the family member. In all studies, the family support role was available to support the family witnessing the resuscitation. The family support role was delivered by professionals from varying disciplines, including social workers, nurses, health care workers, and health care chaplains.

Conclusions:

Family support roles are varied and are carried out by health professionals of diverse backgrounds, highlighting the importance of considering the support and training needs of the person performing the role. Future research using evaluation methods is recommended to deepen the understanding about the family support role in hospital-based rapid response teams.