bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Primary and Booster COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination against Omicron Variant SARS-CoV-2 Infection in People with a Prior SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Authors: Lind Margaret L. , Robertson Alexander James , Silva Julio , Warner Frederick , Coppi Andreas C. , Price Nathan , Duckwall Chelsea , Sosensky Peri , Di Giuseppe Erendira C. , Borg Ryan , Fofana Mariam O , Ranzani Otavio T. , Dean Natalie E. , Andrews Jason R. , Croda Julio , Iwasaki Akiko , Cummings Derek A.T. , Ko Albert I. , Hitchings Matt DT , Schulz Wade L.
Published: April 2022

Background

The benefit of vaccination in people who experienced a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection remains unclear.

Objective

To estimate the effectiveness of primary (two-dose) and booster (third dose) vaccination against Omicron infection among people with a prior documented infection.

Design

Test-negative case-control study.

Setting

Yale New Haven Health System facilities.

Participants

Vaccine eligible people who received SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing between November 1, 2021, and January 31, 2022.

Measurements

We conducted two analyses, each with an outcome of Omicron BA.1 infection (S-gene target failure defined) and each stratified by prior SARS-CoV-2 infection status. We estimated the effectiveness of primary and booster vaccination. To test whether booster vaccination reduced the risk of infection beyond that of the primary series, we compared the odds among boosted and booster eligible people.

Results

Overall, 10,676 cases and 119,397 controls were included (6.1% and 7.8% occurred following a prior infection, respectively). The effectiveness of primary vaccination 14-149 days after 2nd dose was 36.1% (CI, 7.1% to 56.1%) for people with and 28.5% (CI, 20.0% to 36.2%) without prior infection. The odds ratio comparing boosted and booster eligible people with prior infection was 0.83 (CI, 0.56 to 1.23), whereas the odds ratio comparing boosted and booster eligible people without prior infection was 0.51 (CI, 0.46 to 0.56).

Limitations

Misclassification, residual confounding, reliance on TaqPath assay analyzed samples.

Conclusion

While primary vaccination provided protection against BA.1 infection among people with and without prior infection, booster vaccination was only associated with additional protection in people without prior infection. These findings support primary vaccination in people regardless of prior infection status but suggest that infection history should be considered when evaluating the need for booster vaccination.

Primary Funding Source

Beatrice Kleinberg Neuwirth and Sendas Family Funds, Merck and Co through their Merck Investigator Studies Program, and the Yale Schools of Public Health and Medicine.
Mechanosensitive hormone signaling promotes mammary progenitor expansion and breast cancer progression
Authors: Northey Jason J. , Yui Yoshihiro , Hayward Mary-Kate , Stashko Connor , Kai FuiBoon , Mouw Janna K. , Thakar Dhruv , Lakins Jonathon N. , Ironside Alastair J. , Samson Susan , Mukhtar Rita A. , Hwang E. Shelley , Weaver Valerie M
Published: April 2022

Tissue stem-progenitor cell frequency has been implicated in tumor risk and progression. Tissue-specific factors linking stem-progenitor cell frequency to cancer risk and progression remain ill defined. Using a genetically engineered mouse model that promotes integrin mechanosignaling with syngeneic manipulations, spheroid models, and patient-derived xenografts we determined that a stiff extracellular matrix and high integrin mechanosignaling increase stem-progenitor cell frequency to enhance breast tumor risk and progression. Studies revealed that high integrin-mechanosignaling expands breast epithelial stem-progenitor cell number by potentiating progesterone receptor-dependent RANK signaling. Consistently, we observed that the stiff breast tissue from women with high mammographic density, who exhibit an increased lifetime risk for breast cancer, also have elevated RANK signaling and a high frequency of stem-progenitor epithelial cells. The findings link tissue fibrosis and integrin mechanosignaling to stem-progenitor cell frequency and causally implicate hormone signaling in this phenotype. Accordingly, inhibiting RANK signaling could temper the tumor promoting impact of fibrosis on breast cancer and reduce the elevated breast cancer risk exhibited by women with high mammographic density.

Elevated mechano-signaling and matrix stiffness promote progesterone and RANK mediated expansion of mammary progenitors and breast cancer risk and progression.
Tissue-specific and tissue-agnostic effects of genome sequence variation modulating blood pressure
Authors: Lee Dongwon , Han Seong Kyu , Yaacov Or , Berk-Rauch Hanna , Mathiyalagan Prabhu , Ganesh Santhi K. , Chakravarti Aravinda
Published: April 2022

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have mapped thousands of variants for numerous polygenic traits and diseases. However, with some exceptions, mechanistic understanding of which precise variants affect which genes in which tissues to modulate trait variation is still lacking. To this end, we introduce a novel class of genomic analyses applicable to any complex trait using GWAS together with gene expression and chromatin accessibility data from multiple tissues. Here we identify the transcription factors (TFs) and regulatory variants within active enhancers regulating specific genes in individual tissues to explain trait heritability of blood pressure (BP), a classical polygenic trait. We show that kidney-, adrenal-, heart-, and arterial-specific regulatory variants contribute to 2.5%, 5.3%, 7.7%, and 11.8% of variant heritability, respectively. Collectively, ∼500,000 predicted regulatory variants across these four tissues explain 33.4% of variant heritability. We demonstrate that these variants are enriched in enhancers binding specific TFs in each tissue. Our findings suggest that gene regulatory networks perturbed by common regulatory variants in a tissue relevant to a phenotype are the primary source of interindividual variation of BP. These studies provide an approach to scan each human tissue for its physiological contribution to a trait.
Restriction of dietary fat, but not carbohydrate, affects brain reward regions in adults with obesity
Authors: Darcey Valerie L. , Guo Juen , Courville Amber , Gallagher Isabelle , Avery Jason A. , Simmons W. Kyle , Ingeholm John E. , Herscovitch Peter , Martin Alex , Hall Kevin D.
Published: April 2022

Weight loss diets often target restriction of dietary fat or carbohydrate, macronutrients that are sensed via distinct gut-brain pathways and differentially affect peripheral hormones and metabolism. However, the effects of such diet changes on human brain are unclear. We investigated whether selective isocaloric reductions in dietary fat or carbohydrate altered dopamine D2/3 receptor binding potential (D2BP) and neural activity in brain reward regions in response to visual food cues in 17 inpatient adults with obesity as compared to a eucaloric baseline diet. On the fifth day of dietary fat restriction, but not carbohydrate restriction, both D2BP and neural activity to food cues were decreased in brain reward regions. After the reduced fat diet,ad libitumintake shifted towards foods high in both fat and carbohydrates. These results suggest that dietary fat restriction increases tonic dopamine in brain reward regions and affects food choice in ways that may hamper diet adherence.
A robust and transformation-free joint model with matching and regularization for metagenomic trajectory and disease onset
Authors: Li Qian , Vehik Kendra , Li Cai , Triplett Eric , Roesch Luiz , Hu Yi-Juan , Krischer Jeffery
Published: April 2022

Background

To identify operational taxonomy units (OTUs) signaling disease onset in an observational study, a powerful strategy was selecting participants by matched sets and profiling temporal metagenomes, followed by trajectory analysis. Existing trajectory analyses modeled individual OTU or microbial community without adjusting for the within-community correlation and matched-set-specific latent factors.

Results

We proposed a joint model with matching and regularization (JMR) to detect OTU-specific compositional trajectory predictive of host disease status, using nested random effects and covariate taxa pre-selected by Bray-Curtis distance and elastic net regression. The inherent negative correlation in microbiota composition was adjusted by incorporating the top-correlated taxa as covariate. We designed a simulation pipeline to generate true biomarkers for disease onset and the pseudo biomarkers caused by compositionality or latent noises. We demonstrated that JMR effectively controlled the false discovery and pseudo biomarkers in a simulation study that generated temporal high-dimensional metagenomic counts with random intercept or slope. Application of the competing methods in the simulated data and the TEDDY cohort showed that JMR outperformed the other methods and identified important taxa in infants’ fecal samples with dynamics preceding host disease status.

Conclusion

Our method JMR is a robust framework that models taxon-specific compositional trajectory and host disease status in the matched participants, improving the power of detecting disease-predictive microbial features in certain scenarios.
TAF4b Transcriptional Regulation During Cellular Quiescence of Developing Prospermatogonia
Authors: Gura Megan A. , Bartholomew Myles A. , Abt Kimberly M. , Relovská Soňa , Seymour Kimberly A. , Freiman Richard N.
Published: April 2022

Prospermatogonia (ProSpg) link the embryonic development of male primordial germ cells to the healthy establishment of postnatal spermatogonia and long-term mammalian spermatogenesis. While these spermatogenic precursor cells undergo the characteristic transitions of cycling and quiescence, the transcriptional events underlying these developmental hallmarks remain unknown. Here we investigated the expression and function of TAF4b in the timely development of mouse ProSpg using an integration of gene expression profiling and chromatin mapping. We find that Taf4b mRNA expression is elevated during the transition of M-to-T1 ProSpg and Taf4b-deficient ProSpg are delayed in their entry into quiescence. Gene ontology, protein network analysis, and chromatin mapping demonstrate that TAF4b is both a direct and indirect regulator of cell cycle-related gene expression programs during ProSpg quiescence. By comparing the transcriptome changes in male and female Taf4b-deficient embryonic germ cells, we revealed that TAF4b promotes sex-independent and -dependent gene expression pathways, highlighting its unique and critical role in the fertility of both sexes.
Evolution of influenza A virus hemagglutinin H1 and H3 across host species
Authors: Trovão Nídia S. , Khan Sairah M. , Lemey Philippe , Nelson Martha I. , Cherry Joshua L.
Published: April 2022

The Influenza A virus (IAV) hemagglutinin protein (HA) has been studied extensively, but its evolution has not been thoroughly compared among major host species. We compared H3 and H1 evolutionary rates among 49 lineages differentiated by host (avian, canine, equine, human, swine), phylogeny, and geography. Rates of nonsynonymous evolution, relative to synonymous rates, were higher in mammalian than avian hosts. Human seasonal HA and classical swine H1 accumulated 11-13 glycosylation sites, primarily in the antigenically important head domain, whereas lower numbers were maintained in other hosts. Canines had the highest ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous changes in the more conserved stalk domain. Amino acid changes in canine viruses occurred disproportionately at residues located at protein interfaces. This suggests that they were adaptations affecting the major structural rearrangement of HA, which is critical for cell entry. These findings invite further study of how host ecology and physiology affect natural selection.

AUTHOR SUMMARY

Influenza virus evolution is of practical importance to health in addition to being an excellent system for the study of parasite/host evolution. Our work explores a largely untapped aspect of influenza evolution: sequence evolution in non-human hosts. This is important in its own right, in terms of both science and domestic animal health. It also puts the evolution of human influenza in a larger, comparative context. Our results also provide evidence concerning the evolution of the hemagglutinin stem domain, which has not been a focus of study but has new importance due to the development of stem-based universal influenza vaccines.
Efficiency enhancement in scintillation detectors by changing the valence-band electron density and crystal structure of the scintillation material
Authors: Couch Caitlynn , Halliwell Elijah , Begum Rahima , Ali Ghafar , Khan Tahirzeb , Maqbool Muhammad
Published: April 2022

Scintillation detectors are commonly used for detecting radiation in various situations. NaI:Tl, CsI:Tl, BaF2 and CaF2:Eu are a few compounds that act as scintillation crystals for these detectors. The efficiency of a scintillation detector is one of the most important factors in improving the detector's performance. The present work shows that the efficiency of a scintillation detector can be increased by increasing the valence-band electron density as a result of changing the crystal structure of the scintillating material. This will enhance the image quality of all imaging techniques based upon scintillation detectors. The results reveal that by changing the structure of the crystal from simple cubic to body-centered cubic or face-centered cubic the efficiency of the detector increases. The packing of more atoms into the crystal increases the number of atoms per unit cell and the density of the crystal. It is also observed that the increase in the number of atoms per unit cell and the density of the crystal will equally increase the efficiency of the detector. The additional atoms from changing the crystal structure contribute more valence-band electrons, which allows for a higher chance of interaction between the incoming radiation and the valence-band electrons to absorb more radiation energy.
Cavitation in oscillatory porous squeeze film: a numerical approach
Authors: Sobhi Said , Nabhani Mohamed , Zarbane Khalid , El Khlifi Mohamed
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study aims to present a numerical model to investigate cavitation effects on oscillatory porous squeeze film. This effect is able to cause considerable damage to the lubrication mechanisms, mainly in the form of surface erosion. The erosion process is caused by surface spalling due to alternating positive and negative contact stresses imposed by bubble collapse. If the process continues uncontrolled, the performance of the contact will rapidly deteriorate.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is conducted numerically using Elrod–Adams model for the modified Reynolds equation coupled with the Darcy’s law for the lubricant flow through the porous medium. The governing equations are numerically discretized and iteratively solved.

Findings

The numerical results show that frequency, amplitude and permeability have a significant influence on the generation of cavitation. A comparison of the present numerical results against available literature experimental data in particular case proved a good agreement.

Originality/value

The present paper is to develop a more realistic and efficient model. Indeed, the consideration of cavitation phenomena in this model will lead to a more accurate prediction of the squeeze film characteristics. The results of this paper are based on original work and have practical value.
Mapping the field of social capital with innovation and future research agenda: a bibliometric and visualization analysis
Authors: Gu Zhouyang , Meng Fanchen , Wang Siyuan
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Recent years have seen a substantial increase in academic interest in social capital and innovation. Nonetheless, the bibliometric and visualization study on this subject is inadequate. This study aims to analyse the leading trends in literature that have connected social capital with innovation over the past few decades.

Design/methodology/approach

This study attempts to provide an overview utilizing various bibliometric techniques combined with assorted themes and data extracted from the Scopus database. Results based on 716 documents reveal not only the principal modern trends but also the evolution of these scientific production developments.

Findings

Results based on 716 Scopus indexed documents reveal the trends and trajectories as well as specific topics, journals and countries of social capital and innovation research Furthermore, this study offers an overview of trends and trajectories, as well as a visual and schematic framework for further research on this subject.

Originality/value

Since there is lack of analyses the bibliographic data on social capital-related innovation, so this study is a unique contribution to the literature as complement. This may benefit researchers in identifying current trends and prospective study areas, as well as assisting future authors in conducting more efficient studies.
Nationality differences in Gen Z work values: an exploratory study
Authors: de Boer Peter , Bordoloi Prantik
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Generation Z (Gen Z) will account for a growing proportion of the global workforce in the coming years. Therefore, it is vitally important to understand this generation’s unique perspectives and preferences regarding work. This exploratory study aims to examine the prioritisation and desirability of Gen Z work values according to respondents’ nationality.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study were collected through a survey among 1,188 undergraduate students enrolled in one university each in China, Germany, the Netherlands and Thailand. ANOVA test and Tukey post hoc analysis were used to find out the difference between the groups based on nationality.

Findings

Findings indicate that nationality serves as a key differentiator in work value preferences. The findings challenge the concept of a global Gen Z as only two of the measured values, learning and visible results, were found to have universal appeal across the nationality groups. In spite of increased levels of global interconnectedness and accompanying crossvergence of values, the results show significant statistical differences in work values based on the respondents’ nationality.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the scope and explorative design of the present study, it cannot be certain that the findings are exclusively from Gen Z characteristics or influenced by other, non-cultural, variables.

Practical implications

This study suggests there is a need for study programmes at a tertiary level to embed experiential learning components and individual study pathways in their curricula to enable students to develop realistic expectations about the workplace and their place in it. In turn, these programmes will be able to develop a competitive advantage in higher education landscape.

Originality/value

The insights gained can be leveraged by internationally oriented study programmes, such as International Business (IB), to better address Gen Z needs and expectations.
Teacher candidates of Color experiences and perceptions of culturally responsive teaching within teacher education: “they hit the target, not the bullseye”
Authors: Navarro Oscar , Ronan Briana , Reyes Patron Ingrid
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study aims to examine how teacher candidates of Color (TCoCs) experienced and perceived culturally responsive teaching across three teacher education programs at a predominately White institution in the USA. At the time of the study, the campus was reeling from a series of racist incidents on- and off-campus, and the teacher education programs were attempting to recruit more TCoCs.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a critical race theory counternarrative approach and qualitative research focus-group interviews, the authors centered the voices of seven TCoCs and their experiences with culturally responsive teaching in their coursework.

Findings

The TCoCs experienced and perceived culturally responsive teaching as promising yet fleeting, missing the mark, and a misuse of culture and language that resulted in harm. The TCoCs urge teacher education to hire racially–ethnically–linguistically diverse faculty, provide affirming spaces for TCoCs, and curricular transformation.

Originality/value

Study findings contribute to recent calls for teacher education programs to attend to the lived experiences, concerns and expectations of future teachers of color.
Explosion of digital resources and its effects on the development of digital reading culture in Africa
Authors: Bouaamri Asmaa , Otike Fredrick , Barátné Hajdu Ágnes
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to highlight pertinent issues relating to digital access and the development of digital reading culture in Africa. This study established the appropriate strategies of promoting digital reading culture in African libraries and also the roles that libraries use in promoting the adoption of digital reading culture amidst various challenges and obstacles.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examined an extensive empirical and theoretical literature review. A thorough analysis of the literature was done, focusing on combining empirical studies and theoretical ones, to bring out the importance of the reading process and how it can be adapted to digital context to overcome the access issues in the digital environment.

Findings

The findings indicated the advantages of digital reading in the present era. Additionally, the results pointed out the challenges faced in developing countries in Africa when promoting a digital reading culture and proposed the important role of librarians in helping the population through digital literacy.

Originality/value

This paper provides significant approaches on promoting digital reading in developing countries. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to review the literature from different aspects and perspectives on this topic in the context of developing countries in Africa.
Police departments and care continuity for autistic youth in suicidal crisis
Authors: McGhee Hassrick Elizabeth , Weissinger Guy , VanFossen Catherine , Milani Rose , Ventimiglia Jonas , Hoffman Isaiah Delane-Vir , Wintersteen Matthew , Atte Tita , Fernandes Sherira , Diamond Guy
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Autistic youth face higher risks for experiencing mental health crises. To develop and test a county-level social network measure of care coordination between police departments and other systems that support autistic youth experiencing suicidal crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

To measure the structure of care coordination for autistic youth experiencing suicidal crisis, the authors created a roster of all police departments and youth servicing organizations in two East Coast counties in the United States. They met or exceeded the whole network recruitment threshold of 70% completion in both counties. From the data, the authors created a directed matrix for each county of all reported connections, which they used to create sociograms and calculate standard network measures, including indegree, outdegree and total degree for each organization in the network. Data management and processing were done using R-programming and ORA.

Findings

Social network findings indicated that about half of all police departments surveyed coordinate care for autistic youth in suicidal crisis. Coordination varied by county, with nonpolice organizations acting as connectors between police and other nonpolice organizations. Two structural configurations were found, including a nonpolice organizational hub structure and a lead police structure. More research is needed to determine how different police integration structures shape care coordination for autistic youth.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations include the small number of counties included in the study. A larger sample of counties is required for generalizable results.

Practical implications

This article introduces new tools and approaches to assist police in building their capacity to measure and improve their coordination of care with other community systems during crisis situations for youth on the autism spectrum. Network science (e.g. matrix and graph theoretic algebra methods) can be used to measure the configuration of relationships police departments have with complex multi-level healthcare systems.

Social implications

Implications for findings include the consideration of police integration across systems in ways that produce new collaboration possibilities to support autistic youth experiencing suicidal crisis.

Originality/value

While police departments play a critical role in coordinating care for youth in suicidal crisis, little is known if or how police departments collaborate with other systems to provide assistance for autistic youth during a suicidal crisis. Improving care continuity within and between systems could potentially address clinical and structural challenges and reduce risk for autistic youth experiencing a suicidal crisis.
Tacit coordination as a background practice to accounting practices – reflections on Vollmer’s case for a sociological super-theory of accounting
Authors: Ahrens Thomas
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is primarily methodological. This paper aims to complement the novel sociological argument of Hendrik Vollmer’s paper on tacit coordination of accounting practices with a more familiar theory of accounting practice nexuses that has been stimulating an emerging stream of accounting research. The intention is to suggest some ways in which Vollmer’s ideas can be given traction, especially in field studies of accounting.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses Theodore Schatzki’s practice theory to explore some of the ways in which elements of tacit coordination might be researched in accounting field studies.

Findings

Tacit coordination can be understood as a background practice that could operate as a dispersed practice in Schatzki’s sense. A practice theory perspective on tacit coordination is suggestive of a number of ways of studying the meaningful cultural contexts as part of which accounting operates. It emphasises, in particular, the active nature of silent, tacit coordination; attending to general knowledge practical know-how, rules and teleoaffectivity as four determinants of practices as specified by Schatzki; and the materiality of coordination.

Research limitations/implications

It has implications for field research insofar as it heightens the researcher’s awareness of tacit coordination as a potentially important set of practices and suggests a number of approaches for studying them. The main suggestions address some of the ways in which tacit coordination can be identified in field research.

Originality/value

This study reflects on the dispersed or integrated nature of tacit coordination practices in accounting.
A novel leaky splice variant in centromere protein J (CENPJ)‐associated Seckel syndrome
Authors: Yadav Navneesh , Kirola Laxmi , Geetha Thenral S , Mittal Kirti , Kadandale Jayarama , Yogev Yuval , Birk Ohad S. , Gupta Neerja , Balakrishnan Prahlad , Jana Manisha , Gupta Meena , Kabra Madhulika , Thelma Bittianda Kuttapa
Published: April 2022

Primary microcephaly and Seckel syndrome are rare genetically and clinically heterogenous brain development disorders. Several exonic/splicing mutations are reported for these disorders to date, but ∼40% of all cases remain unexplained. We aimed to uncover the genetic correlate(s) in a family of multiple siblings with microcephaly. A novel homozygous intronic variant (NC_000013.10:g.25459823T>C) in CENPJ (13q12) segregating with all four affected male siblings was identified by exome sequencing and validated by targeted linkage approach (logarithm of the odds score 1.8 at θ 0.0). RT‐PCR of CENPJ in affected siblings using their EBV derived cell lines showed aberrant transcripts suggestive of exon skipping confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Significantly reduced wild type transcript/protein in the affected siblings having the splice variant indicates a leaky gene expression of pathological relevance. Based on known CENPJ function, assessing for mitotic alterations revealed defect in centrosome duplication causing mono/multicentrosome(s) at prophase, delayed metaphase, and unequal chromosomal segregation in patient cells. Clinical features witnessed in this study expand the spectrum of CENPJ‐associated primary microcephaly and Seckel syndrome. Furthermore, besides the importance of regulatory variants in classical monogenic disorders these findings provide new insights into splice site biology with possible implications for ASO‐based therapies.
Human forkhead box protein 3 gene variants associated with altered susceptibility to idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss: A retrospective case‐control study
Authors: Bahia Wael , Zitouni Hedia , Kanabekova Perizat , Bauyrzhanova Zhansaya , Shaimardanova Moldir , Finan Ramzi R. , Aimagambetova Gulzhanat , Almawi Wassim Y.
Published: April 2022

Background

The pathogenesis of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is multifactorial and not completely elucidated. Dysregulated immunity was implicated with RPL, in which regulatory T cells (Tregs) are key. As Tregs development and function are regulated by forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) transcription factor, and as FOXP3 expression is genetically determined, a role for FOXP3 polymorphisms in RPL pathogenesis was suggested.

Aim

To investigate the association of rs2294021, rs2232365, rs3761548, and rs141704699 FOXP3 variants with idiopathic RPL in Lebanese women.

Methods

This retrospective case‐control study included 386 RPL cases and 398 age‐matched control women. Logistic odds ratios (OR) were estimated with 95% confidence interval after adjustment; a significance value of P<.05 was set.

Results

Significantly lower rs22944021 and rs2232365 minor allele frequency (MAF) was found in patients with idiopathic RPL in comparison with the control group. Furthermore, statistically significantly lower frequency of heterozygous and homozygous rs2294021 and rs2232365 genotypes was seen in controls, while significantly lower rs3761548 heterozygous genotype frequencies were found in the patient group. Obesity, antihypertension treatment, smoking, positive RPL family history, abortion state, and infertility treatment correlated negatively with rs2294021, while rs2232365 negatively correlated with obesity, and rs3761548 negatively correlated with infertility treatment. Marked linkage disequilibrium (LD) was noted among FOXP3 SNPs, with TGCC and CGAC haplotypes being positive, while CAAC, CACC, and TGAC haplotypes being negatively associated with RPL risk. Except for CGAC, the association of these haplotypes with RPL persisted after adjustment.

Conclusion

FOXP3 gene variants and haplotypes are associated with altered incidence of RPL, proposing the role of Treg in RPL pathogenesis.
Standardized 10‐step approach for successfully performing a hysterectomy via vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery
Authors: Housmans Susanne , Stuart Andrea , Bosteels Jan , Deprest Jan , Baekelandt Jan
Published: April 2022

Vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is a novel technique for minimally invasive gynecological surgery. Adequate training and standardization are key elements to patient safety and quality of care. Based on consensus statements and expert opinion; we report a step‐by‐step guidance for hysterectomy via natural orifice transluminal endoscopy. A detailed description is presented of pre‐ and postoperative care, and the instruments and equipment used, and surgical steps are illustrated by photographic images. This report can guide surgeons in their training to perform a hysterectomy via NOTES.
Cardiometabolic profile and urinary metabolomic alterations in non‐functioning adrenal incidentalomas: A review
Authors: Araujo‐Castro Marta
Published: April 2022

Background

The incidence of adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) has increased over the last 20 years, most of which are apparently non‐functioning adrenal adenomas. However, increased evidence supports the existence of an association between non‐functioning adrenal incidentalomas (NFAI) and an unfavourable cardio‐metabolic profile.

Methods

This study offers a comprehensive review of the available evidence supporting a higher cardiometabolic risk in NFAIs compared to controls without adrenal tumours. Moreover, it summarises the studies focused on the differential urinary metabolomic profile of NFAI and controls without adrenal lesions.

Results

This adverse metabolic profile of patients with NFAI includes a higher prevalence of insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia, and cardiovascular alterations and mortality compared to healthy controls without adrenal tumours. Although the pathophysiology that explains the association between NFAI and the parameters of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk is a relatively unexplored field of study, some evidence supports that there are a series of incipient alterations in cortisol metabolism not detected with the classical tests that led to this detrimental profile. These alterations may be potentially detected by a comprehensive metabolomics approach. Several studies detected a shift towards an increase of urinary cortisol metabolites excretion in NFAIs compared to controls without adrenal tumours.

Conclusion

In view of the higher cardiometabolic risk in NFAI than in controls without adrenal tumours, and the detected alterations in metabolomics profile of NFAI, I propose that the term of NFAI should be changed for another term that best fits to its linked cardiometabolic profile.
Automated measurement of coagulation and fibrinolytic activation markers: Outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patients
Authors: Gardiner Chris , Mackie Ian J. , MacCallum Peter , Platton Sean
Published: April 2022

Background

Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is characterized by marked hypoxaemia and lung oedema, often accompanied by disordered blood coagulation and fibrinolytic systems, endothelial damage and intravascular fibrin deposition.

Patients/Methods

We present a retrospective observational study of 104 patients admitted to hospital with COVID‐19. Plasma samples were collected within 72 h of admission. In addition to routine coagulation and haematology testing, soluble thrombomodulin (sTM), thrombin‐antithrombin (TAT), tissue plasminogen activator‐plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 complex (tPAI‐C) and plasmin‐α2 antiplasmin complex (PIC) were performed by automated chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassays.

Results

Significantly higher levels of D‐dimer, TAT, sTM and tPAI‐C were observed in non‐survivors compared to survivors. To confirm which parameters were independent risk factors for mortality, multiple logistic regression was performed on D‐dimer, TAT. sTM, tPAI‐C and PIC data. Only increasing sTM was significantly associated with mortality, with an odds ratio of 1.065 for each 1.0 TU/mL increment (95% CI 1.025–1.115).

Conclusions

Of the haemostatic variables measured, sTM, which can be rapidly assayed, is the best independent predictor of mortality in patients hospitalized with COVID‐19, and this suggests that endothelial dysfunction plays an important role in disease progression.
Online social support and collective empowerment: Serial mediation effect on self‐efficacy among mothers of children with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Uhm Ju‐Yeon , Kim Myoung Soo
Published: April 2022

Aim

To identify a serial multiple mediation effect of social support in online health communities and collective empowerment on the relationship between diabetes‐related burden (DRB) and self‐efficacy, among mothers using a continuous glucose monitoring device for children with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Design

A secondary analysis, cross‐sectional, descriptive study.

Methods

Data were obtained from 198 mothers of children with T1D via a web survey, from August to September 2020. Measures used were the Collective Empowerment in the Online Health Community Scale, a modified version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Problem Areas in Diabetes Survey—Parent Revised version and a modified version of the Maternal Self‐efficacy for Diabetes Management Scale. Data were analysed using SPSS 25.0, and PROCESS MACRO for SPSS v3.5.

Results

A serial multiple mediation model was used. The indirect effects of both social support in online health communities and collective empowerment were identified in the relationship between DRB and diabetes self‐efficacy (DSE). However, there was no indirect effect of social support in online health communities on these relationships.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that online social support alone has a limited role in chronic disease management self‐efficacy. Collective empowerment should be a strategic component in intervention development using online health communities to strengthen DSE in mothers of children with T1D.

Impact

This study provides novel insights into the functional mechanism of online health communities for T1D. Peer mentor coaching by parents of children with T1D effectively helps other children's parents with its recent diagnosis. The findings recognize a need for strategies enhancing collective empowerment among parents of children with T1D. Along with peer coaching, these strategies should strengthen knowledge of resources and methods to impact social change as well as resource mobilization for collective actions.
Social–economic impact of infection after cosmetic facial injection: A retrospective study
Authors: Zheng Shaoluan , Feng Zihao , Chen Chenxi , He Anqi , Liu Jiaqi
Published: April 2022

Background

The overwhelming interest in economically cost‐effective treatments had led to an increase in the development of cosmetic facial injections. Concomitantly, complications have been also on the increasing trend. This article aimed to investigate the social–economic impact caused by infection after cosmetic facial injection.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted between January 2014 and December 2019. Information including demographics, location of the original injection site, treatments, economic loss, and time away from work associated with complications was documented. Patients were asked to complete 2 FACE‐Q domains 4 weeks after the first presentation, including quality of life and patient experience.

Results

Complete data were available for 12 patients. All patients were female; the mean age was 32.66 years (range, 26–49 years). The mean therapeutic cost of atypical mycobacterium was 18170.58 USD. The mean time away from work was 51.25 days (range, 21–103 days). The mean cost of time away from work was 400.80 USD (range, 164.23–805.50 USD). From FACE‐Q, patients reported a decreased quality of social life, including social function (38.83 ± 12.10), psychological distress (48.67 ± 11.01), and early‐life impact (39.92 ± 10.15). Patients also reported low satisfaction with their decision to undergo the cosmetic facial injection.

Conclusions

Infection after cosmetic facial injection comes at a considerable social–economic impact on patients. Patients who responded in this study were extremely unsatisfied with the quality of life following the infection.
Associations among serum insulin, calprotectin, and C‐reactive protein concentrations in Miniature Schnauzers with idiopathic hyperlipidemia before and after feeding an ultra‐low‐fat diet
Authors: Xenoulis Panagiotis G. , Heilmann Romy M. , Stavroulaki Eva M. , Riggers Denise S. , Gneipel Laura J. , Suchodolski Jan S. , Steiner Jörg M.
Published: April 2022

Background

Miniature Schnauzers (MS) commonly have idiopathic hypertriglyceridemia (HTGL), which is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and a subclinical inflammatory phenotype.

Objectives

Determine the association between indicators of IR and inflammatory biomarkers in MS with and without HTGL and identify how indicators of IR are affected by dietary intervention in MS with HTGL.

Animals

Seventy MS with HTGL and 79 MS without HTGL. In addition, 15 MS with HTGL were placed on a low‐fat diet.

Methods

Serum concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol, calprotectin, insulin, and glucose were compared between groups.

Results

Serum glucose and calprotectin concentrations (shown to be higher in MS with HTGL than in MS without HTGL) were inversely correlated (ρ = −.28; P < .001). After dietary intervention, median serum insulin concentrations were 8.1 mU/L compared to 20.8 mU/L before dietary intervention (P = .06). Dogs with complete resolution of HTGL after dietary intervention (5 dogs) had significantly lower serum insulin concentrations compared to baseline (P = .03).

Conclusion and Clinical Importance

The subclinical inflammatory phenotype in MS with HTGL appears to be associated with IR. Resolution of HTGL by dietary intervention is associated with a decrease in serum insulin concentrations. The implication of the increase in serum calprotectin concentrations after resolution of HTGL warrants further study.
Richness, not evenness, of invasive plant species promotes invasion success into native plant communities via selection effects
Authors: Wang Xue , Wang Jiang , Hu Bing , Zheng Wei‐Long , Li Meng , Shen Zhi‐Xiang , Yu Fei‐Hai , Schmid Bernhard , Li Mai‐He
Published: April 2022

Native plant communities are often invaded by multiple alien species. It is still unclear how increasing diversity of alien invasive species suppresses the growth of native species and thus contributes to invasion success. In the subtropical monsoon region of southeast China, we experimentally created a native plant community with 18 herbaceous species. One week later, we let it be invaded by either zero (controls without invasion), one, two, four or eight alien plant species, with either high or low species evenness. After a four‐month growth period we harvested the aboveground biomass of each species. We found that increasing invasive species richness significantly increased invasive plant biomass, the biomass of all invasive and native plant species within the community, and invasion success (the ratio of invasive plant biomass to the biomass of all native and invasive plants), but it did not significantly reduce native plant biomass. Experimentally manipulating invasive species evenness did not influence invasion success and did not show any differential suppression effects on native plants. One invasive species,Sesbania cannabina, became dominant in terms of plant biomass, irrespective of its proportion in the alien plant mixtures. Throughout this experiment, effects of invasive species richness on invasion success were mainly due to such selection effects among the invasive species. On the other hand, the unchanged biomass of native species under increasing invasive plant richness suggests the presence of at least partly complementary resource niches between invasive and native species.
Comparing spatial interaction models and flow interpolation techniques for predicting “cold start” bike‐share trip demand
Authors: Liu Zheng , Oshan Taylor
Published: April 2022

Bike‐sharing systems are expanding rapidly in metropolitan areas all over the world and individual systems are updated frequently over space and time to dynamically meet demand. Usage trends are important for understanding bike demand, but an overlooked issue is that of “cold starts” or the prediction of demand at a new station with no previous usage history. In this article, we explore a methodology for predicting the bike trips from and to a cold start station in the NYC Citi Bike system. Specifically, gravity‐type spatial interaction model and spatial interpolation models, including natural neighbor interpolation and kriging, are employed. The overall results come from experiments of a real‐world bike‐sharing system in NYC and indicate that the regression kriging model outperforms the other models by taking advantage of the robustness and interpretability of gravity‐type spatial interaction regression models and the capability of ordinary kriging to capture spatial dependence.
Accuracy of artificial intelligence software for the detection of confirmed pleural effusion in thoracic radiographs in dogs
Authors: Müller Thiago Rinaldi , Solano Mauricio , Tsunemi Mirian Harumi
Published: April 2022

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in diagnostic radiology is a developing area in veterinary medicine and may provide substantial benefit in many clinical settings. These range from timely image interpretation in the emergency setting when no boarded radiologist is available to allowing boarded radiologists to focus on more challenging cases that require complex medical decision making. Testing the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) software in veterinary medicine is at its early stages, and only a scant number of reports of validation of AI software have been published. The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance of an AI algorithm (Vetology AI®) in the detection of pleural effusion in thoracic radiographs of dogs. In this retrospective, diagnostic case–controlled study, 62 canine patients were recruited. A control group of 21 dogs with normal thoracic radiographs and a sample group of 41 dogs with confirmed pleural effusion were selected from the electronic medical records at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The images were cropped to include only the area of interest (i.e., thorax). The software then classified images into those with pleural effusion and those without. The AI algorithm was able to determine the presence of pleural effusion with 88.7% accuracy (P < 0.05). The sensitivity and specificity were 90.2% and 81.8%, respectively (positive predictive value, 92.5%; negative predictive value, 81.8%). The application of this technology in the diagnostic interpretation of thoracic radiographs in veterinary medicine appears to be of value and warrants further investigation and testing.
Transmission loss for the Beaufort Lens and the critica frequency for mode propagation during ICEX-18
Authors: Baggeroer Arthur B. , Collis Jon M.
Published: April 2022

Complexities of acoustic propagation in ducts have long been known, e.g., shallow water environments and deep waters off Gibraltar. The “Beaufort Lens” (Lens) is a duct north of Alaska with nominal depths between 60 and 200 m and is reachable by oceanographic instruments and underwater unmanned vehicles and submarines. Propagation within the ducts is governed by waveguide physics. The frequencies must be high enough to support the modes within them such that there is a “critical frequency” (CF) where modes start to “detach” from surface loss mechanisms. Therefore, transmission losses (TLs) can abruptly decrease once a mode “fits” within a duct. This paper describes an experimental part of Ice Exercise 2018 supported by the U.S. Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory. The signals were transmitted from Camp Sargo north of Prudhoe Bay to the submarines SSN Hartford, SSN Connecticut, and HMS Trenchant. The data indicate low TLs near 100 Hz and an abrupt 10 dB decrease in TLs 244–280 Hz, both suggesting CFs. Modeling suggests CFs for modes 1 near 100 Hz and a higher CF when modes 3–6 “cascade” into the Lens starting near 250 Hz. There are also abrupt increases in TLs at other frequencies, which are explained by nulls in the product of the mode functions.