bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of site‐selection bias on estimates of biodiversity change
Authors: Mentges Andrea , Blowes Shane A. , Hodapp Dorothee , Hillebrand Helmut , Chase Jonathan M.
Published: September 2020

Estimates of biodiversity change are essential for the management and conservation of ecosystems. Accurate estimates rely on selecting representative sites, but monitoring often focuses on sites of special interest. How such site‐selection biases influence estimates of biodiversity change is largely unknown. Site‐selection bias potentially occurs across four major sources of biodiversity data, decreasing in likelihood from citizen science, museums, national park monitoring, and academic research. We defined site‐selection bias as a preference for sites that are either densely populated (i.e., abundance bias) or species rich (i.e., richness bias). We simulated biodiversity change in a virtual landscape and tracked the observed biodiversity at a sampled site. The site was selected either randomly or with a site‐selection bias. We used a simple spatially resolved, individual‐based model to predict the movement or dispersal of individuals in and out of the chosen sampling site. Site‐selection bias exaggerated estimates of biodiversity loss in sites selected with a bias by on average 300–400% compared with randomly selected sites. Based on our simulations, site‐selection bias resulted in positive trends being estimated as negative trends: richness increase was estimated as 0.1 in randomly selected sites, whereas sites selected with a bias showed a richness change of −0.1 to −0.2 on average. Thus, site‐selection bias may falsely indicate decreases in biodiversity. We varied sampling design and characteristics of the species and found that site‐selection biases were strongest in short time series, for small grains, organisms with low dispersal ability, large regional species pools, and strong spatial aggregation. Based on these findings, to minimize site‐selection bias, we recommend use of systematic site‐selection schemes; maximizing sampling area; calculating biodiversity measures cumulatively across plots; and use of biodiversity measures that are less sensitive to rare species, such as the effective number of species. Awareness of the potential impact of site‐selection bias is needed for biodiversity monitoring, the design of new studies on biodiversity change, and the interpretation of existing data.
Conservation lessons from taboos and trolley problems
Authors: Schwartz Mark W.
Published: September 2020

Governments pass conservation laws, adopt policies, and make plans yet frequently fail to implement them. Implementation of conservation, however, often requires costly sacrifice: people foregoing benefit for the benefit of biodiversity. Decisions involve trade‐offs with outcomes that depend on the values at stake and people's perceptions of those values. Psychology, ethics, and behavioral science have each addressed the challenge of making difficult, often tragic, trade‐off decisions. Based on these literatures, values can be classified as secular or sacred, where sacred values are those for which compensation may be unthinkable (e.g., freedom). Taboo trade‐offs emerge when secular values are pitted against sacred ones. These are difficult to discuss, much less negotiate. Confronting taboo trade‐offs in conservation may require discursive approaches to better understand particular attributes of decisions that place sacred human values at risk. Tragic trade‐offs emerge when sacred values are pitted against one another. The trolley problem—a forced choice between 2 unthinkable outcomes—is a simple heuristic illustrating ethical challenges of tragic trade‐offs. Behavior studies illustrate that people have a strong aversion to losses where an active choice was made, resulting in a bias toward status quo decisions. Faced with tragic, trolley‐problem‐like choices, people tend to avoid taking responsibility for action, defer decisions, evade opinions on painful choices, and regret unfortunate outcomes of actions. To help close the implementation gap, conservation actors may need to directly address the psychological, ethical, and behavioral barriers created by the remorse, regret, and moral residue of implementing conservation choices that have tragic outcomes. Recognition of these predictable features of the human psyche may foster better administrative structures to support action with durable outcomes as well as new research directions.
Feasibility of biliary stenting to distal malignant biliary obstruction using a novel designed metal stent with duckbill‐shaped anti‐reflux valve
Authors: Kin Toshifumi , Ishii Kentaro , Okabe Yoshinobu , Itoi Takao , Katanuma Akio
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Anti‐reflux metal stent (ARMS) has been used to prevent recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO) due to sludge formation or food impaction. However, the most suitable ARMS remains to be identified. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of biliary drainage using duckbill‐shaped ARMS (D‐ARMS).

Methods

This was a multicenter, retrospective observational study conducted at three Japanese tertiary institutions. Patients with distal malignant biliary obstruction who underwent biliary stenting using D‐ARMS were eligible to participate. Technical success, functional success, adverse event (AE), and time to RBO (TRBO) were evaluated.

Results

Thirty patients underwent biliary stenting using D‐ARMS from December 2018 to October 2019. The technical success rate and functional success rate were 93% and 87%, respectively. However, nonvisibility of the markers at the tip of the metal stent or spontaneous extension was occasionally observed, making biliary stenting using D‐ARMS difficult. Early AE occurred in 10% of the patients including cholangitis and pancreatitis. During the median postprocedural observation time of 5.1 months (range, 0.8–22.8), RBO occurred in 33% and the median TRBO was 261 days. As for reintervention, D‐ARMS could be extracted in 67% of the patients with RBO. However, the stent was torn off on removal in half of the patients.

Conclusions

Although some modifications are still needed, D‐ARMS was feasible and safe for biliary drainage, and sufficient TRBO was achieved. Subsequent multi‐institutional studies involving a larger number of patients and a longer follow‐up period are warranted to validate the present results.
Efficacy of low dose rectal diclofenac for preventing post‐endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis: Propensity score‐matched analysis
Authors: Tomoda Takeshi , Kato Hironari , Miyamoto Kazuya , Matsumi Akihiro , Ueta Eijiro , Fujii Yuuki , Saragai Yousuke , Yamazaki Tatsuhiro , Uchida Daisuke , Matsumoto Kazuyuki , Horiguchi Shigeru , Tsutsumi Koichiro , Okada Hiroyuki
Published: September 2020

Background

Acute pancreatitis is a major adverse event of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Rectal administration of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) decreases the incidence of post‐ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). However, the efficacy of low dose rectal NSAIDs for preventing PEP remains controversial.

Methods

We performed a retrospective study of 301 patients with native papilla and a body weight of <50 kg who underwent ERCP between September 2010 and October 2019. After July 2016, a 25 mg dose of rectal diclofenac was routinely administered within 15 min before ERCP (NSAIDs group, n = 72) and the control group (n = 229) consisted of patients undergoing ERCP before this date without treatment. We compared the incidence of PEP between the two groups using propensity score matching.

Results

A total of 66 pairs of patients in each group were selected. The patients and procedural‐related factors were similar in both groups. In total, 15 patients (11.4%) developed PEP: 12.1% (8/66) in the NSAIDs group and 10.6% (7/66) in the control group (Odds ratio (OR) 1.2; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.4–3.5; P = 0.78). There was no significant difference in incidence of other adverse events related to ERCP between the two groups.

Conclusions

Prophylactic administration of a 25 mg dose of rectal diclofenac did not reduce the incidence of PEP in patients with a native papilla and a body weight of <50 kg in this study and a certain dose of rectal NSAIDs, such as a 100‐mg dose, should be administered regardless of body weight to prevent PEP.
Mutations in PIGA cause a CD52‐/GPI‐anchor‐deficient phenotype complicating alemtuzumab treatment in T‐cell prolymphocytic leukemia
Authors: Johansson Patricia , Klein‐Hitpass Ludger , Röth Alexander , Möllmann Michael , Reinhardt Hans Christian , Dührsen Ulrich , Dürig Jan
Published: September 2020

Objective

Infusional alemtuzumab followed by consolidating allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in eligible patients is considered a standard of care in T‐cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T‐PLL). Antibody selection against CD52 has been associated with the development of CD52‐negative leukemic T cells at time of relapse. Clinical implications and molecular mechanisms underlying this phenotypic switch are unknown.

Methods

We performed flow cytometry and real‐time‐PCR for CD52‐expression and next generation sequencing for PIGA mutational analyses.

Results

We identified loss of CD52 expression after alemtuzumab treatment in two of 21 T‐PLL patients resulting from loss of GPI‐anchor expression caused by inactivating mutations of the PIGA gene. One patient with relapsed T‐PLL exhibited a single PIGA mutation, causing a CD52‐negative escape variant of the initial leukemic cell clone, preventing alemtuzumab‐retreatment. The second patient with continued complete remission after alemtuzumab treatment harbored three different PIGA mutations that affected either the non‐neoplastic T cell or the mononuclear cell compartment and resulted in symptomatic paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Next generation sequencing of T‐PLL cells collected before the initiation of treatment revealed PIGA wild‐type sequence reads in all 16 patients with samples available for testing.

Conclusion

These data indicate that PIGA mutations were acquired during or after completion of alemtuzumab treatment.
Humour in Nietzsche's style
Authors: Boddicker Charles
Published: September 2020

Nietzsche's writing style is designed to elicit affective responses in his readers. Humour is one of the most common means by which he attempts to engage his readers' affects. In this article, I explain how and why Nietzsche uses humour to achieve his philosophical ends. The article has three parts. In part 1, I reject interpretations of Nietzsche's humour on which he engages in self‐parody in order to mitigate the charge of decadence or dogmatism by undermining his own philosophical authority. In part 2, I look at how Nietzsche uses humour and laughter as a critical tool in his polemic against traditional morality. I argue that one important way in which Nietzsche uses humour is as a vehicle for enhancing the effectiveness of his ad hominem arguments. In part 3, I show how Nietzsche exploits humour's social dimension in order to find and cultivate what he sees as the right kinds of readers for his works.
The Light and the Dark of Mindful Social Capital: Right Mindfulness and Social Capital Development
Authors: Burton Nicholas , Vu Mai Chi
Published: September 2020

Despite the literatures on spirituality and social capital development remaining largely disconnected, we address how right mindfulness encourages organizational‐level social capital. We connect the philosophical foundations of ‘right mindfulness’ to bonding and bridging social capital, and the structural, relational and cognitive dimensions of social capital. We conclude that a skilful approach to right mindfulness, coupled with organizational learning heuristics, has much to offer the conversation on social capital development, and yet its potential has not been fully recognized. Despite this promise, we draw attention to a ‘dark side’ to the co‐optation by organizations of mindfulness practices and draw some further boundary conditions. We argue that a secular interpretation of right mindfulness limits its potential in organizational contexts. We conclude with managerial implications and pathways for future research.
Collaborative Cross mice reveal extreme epilepsy phenotypes and genetic loci for seizure susceptibility
Authors: Gu Bin , Shorter John R. , Williams Lucy H. , Bell Timothy A. , Hock Pablo , Dalton Katherine A. , Pan Yiyun , Miller Darla R. , Shaw Ginger D. , Philpot Benjamin D. , Pardo‐Manuel de Villena Fernando
Published: September 2020

Objective

Animal studies remain essential for understanding mechanisms of epilepsy and identifying new therapeutic targets. However, existing animal models of epilepsy do not reflect the high level of genetic diversity found in the human population. The Collaborative Cross (CC) population is a genetically diverse recombinant inbred panel of mice. The CC offers large genotypic and phenotypic diversity, inbred strains with stable genomes that allow for repeated phenotypic measurements, and genomic tools including whole genome sequence to identify candidate genes and candidate variants.

Methods

We evaluated multiple complex epileptic traits in a sampling of 35 CC inbred strains using the flurothyl‐induced seizure and kindling paradigm. We created an F2 population of 297 mice with extreme seizure susceptibility and performed quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping to identify genomic regions associated with seizure sensitivity. We used quantitative RNA sequencing from CC hippocampal tissue to identify candidate genes and whole genome sequence to identify genetic variants likely affecting gene expression.

Results

We identified new mouse models with extreme seizure susceptibility, seizure propagation, epileptogenesis, and SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy). We performed QTL mapping and identified one known and seven novel loci associated with seizure sensitivity. We combined whole genome sequencing and hippocampal gene expression to pinpoint biologically plausible candidate genes (eg, Gabra2) and variants associated with seizure sensitivity.

Significance

New mouse models of epilepsy are needed to better understand the complex genetic architecture of seizures and to identify therapeutics. We performed a phenotypic screen utilizing a novel genetic reference population of CC mice. The data we provide enable the identification of protective/risk genes and novel molecular mechanisms linked to complex seizure traits that are currently challenging to study and treat.
A new era in electroencephalographic monitoring? Subscalp devices for ultra–long‐term recordings
Authors: Duun‐Henriksen Jonas , Baud Maxime , Richardson Mark P. , Cook Mark , Kouvas George , Heasman John M. , Friedman Daniel , Peltola Jukka , Zibrandtsen Ivan C. , Kjaer Troels W.
Published: September 2020

Inaccurate subjective seizure counting poses treatment and diagnostic challenges and thus suboptimal quality in epilepsy management. The limitations of existing hospital‐ and home‐based monitoring solutions are motivating the development of minimally invasive, subscalp, implantable electroencephalography (EEG) systems with accompanying cloud‐based software. This new generation of ultra–long‐term brain monitoring systems is setting expectations for a sea change in the field of clinical epilepsy. From definitive diagnoses and reliable seizure logs to treatment optimization and presurgical seizure foci localization, the clinical need for continuous monitoring of brain electrophysiological activity in epilepsy patients is evident. This paper presents the converging solutions developed independently by researchers and organizations working at the forefront of next generation EEG monitoring. The immediate value of these devices is discussed as well as the potential drivers and hurdles to adoption. Additionally, this paper discusses what the expected value of ultra–long‐term EEG data might be in the future with respect to alarms for especially focal seizures, seizure forecasting, and treatment personalization.
The equine mononuclear phagocyte system: The relevance of the horse as a model for understanding human innate immunity
Authors: Karagianni Anna E. , Lisowski Zofia M. , Hume David A. , Scott Pirie R.
Published: September 2020

The mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) is a family of cells of related function that includes bone marrow progenitors, blood monocytes and resident tissue macrophages. Macrophages are effector cells in both innate and acquired immunity. They are a major resident cell population in every organ and their numbers increase in response to proinflammatory stimuli. Their function is highly regulated by a wide range of agonists, including lymphokines, cytokines and products of microorganisms. Macrophage biology has been studied most extensively in mice, yet direct comparisons of rodent and human macrophages have revealed many functional differences. In this review, we provide an overview of the equine MPS, describing the variation in the function and phenotype of macrophages depending on their location and the similarities and differences between the rodent, human and equine immune response. We discuss the use of the horse as a large animal model in which to study macrophage biology and pathological processes shared with humans. Finally, following the recent update to the horse genome, facilitating further comparative analysis of regulated gene expression between the species, we highlight the importance of future transcriptomic macrophage studies in the horse, the findings of which may also be applicable to human as well as veterinary research.
Sebaceous gland: Milestones of 30‐year modelling research dedicated to the “brain of the skin”
Authors: Zouboulis Christos C. , Yoshida Go J. , Wu Yaojiong , Xia Longqing , Schneider Marlon R.
Published: September 2020

In 2018, Schneider and Zouboulis analysed the available tools for studying sebaceous gland pathophysiology in vitro. Since then, the interest in this field remains unbroken, as demonstrated by recent reviews on sebaceous gland physiology, endocrinology and neurobiology, the role of sebaceous glands beyond acne, and several original works on different areas of sebaceous gland function, including sebaceous lipogenesis. Landmark developments in the first part of the 30‐year modelling research dedicated to the sebaceous gland, which is considered by several scientists as the brain of the skin, were the short‐term culture of human sebaceous glands, the culture of human sebaceous gland cells and the development of immortalized sebaceous gland cell lines exhibiting characteristics of normal sebocytes. On the other hand, current developments represent the establishment of sebaceous gland spheroids, the 3D‐SeboSkin model of viable skin explants ex vivo, the combination of culture‐expanded epidermal stem cells of mice and adult humans to form de novo hair follicles and sebaceous glands, when they are transplanted into excisional wounds in mice, and 3D‐printed scaffolds coated with decellularized matrix of adipose‐derived mesenchymal stromal cells and SZ95 sebocytes. These novel tools may become useful platforms for better understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms governing sebocyte biology and sebaceous gland homeostasis, such as the changes in sebum synthesis and composition, the infundibular differentiation and the influence of the innate immunity and the cutaneous microbiome and for identifying potential therapeutic targets of skin diseases affecting the sebaceous glands.
From mobility data to habits and common pathways
Authors: Andrade Thiago , Cancela Brais , Gama João
Published: September 2020

Many aspects of our lives are associated with places and the activities we perform on a daily basis. Most of them are recurrent and demand displacement of the individual between regular places like going to work, school or other important personal locations. To accomplish these recurrent daily activities, people tend to follow regular paths with similar temporal and spatial characteristics, especially because humans are frequently looking for uniformity to support their decisions and make their actions easier or even automatic. In this work, we propose a method for discovering common pathways across users' habits from human mobility data. By using a density‐based clustering algorithm, we identify the most preferable locations the users visit, we apply a Gaussian mixture model over these places to automatically separate among all traces, the trajectories that follow patterns in order to discover the representations of individual's habits. By using the longest common sub‐sequence algorithm, we search for the trajectories that are more similar over the set of users' habits trips by considering the distance that pairs of users or habits share on the same path. The proposed method is evaluated over two real‐world GPS datasets and the results show that the approach is able to detect the most important places in a user's life, detect the routine activities and identify common routes between users that have similar habits paving the way for research techniques in carpooling, recommendation and prediction systems.
Comparing biodiversity databases: Greater Caribbean reef fishes as a case study
Authors: Chollett Iliana , Robertson D. Ross
Published: September 2020

There is a widespread need for reliable biodiversity databases for science and conservation. Among the many public databases available, we lack guidance as to how their data quality varies. Here, we compare species distribution data for a well known regional reef fish fauna extracted from five global online databases that supply “as is” data (GBIF, OBIS, IDigBio, FishNet2 and FishBase) and our own curated regional database (STRI, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) using quantitative criteria, and assess how they affect biogeographical analyses. We first describe the databases and quantify overlap between them. We then describe variation in the geographical distributions of species records and species richness and in the completeness of local species lists. Finally, we assess the consequences of using these different databases in biogeographical analyses by comparing patterns of species turnover (beta diversity) and bioregionalization. The databases vary considerably in size and show high overlap in species lists, but low overlap in georeferenced species records. Levels of completeness of local inventories are spatially heterogeneous and low in most databases. Spatial biases produced artefactual variation in patterns of species turnover and delineation of bioregions in all databases. Although not the largest, STRI database has the most complete geographic coverage of data, showed relatively low turnover and the clearest biogeographic regionality. Incorporating data from a wide range of other sources, curating data to reduce errors, and assessing effects of spatial biases in data is critical to obtaining an accurate picture of the geography of biodiversity and its change.
Lessons Learned From 11 Countries on Programs Promoting Intergenerational Solidarity
Authors: Zlotnick Cheryl , van Groenou Marjolein Broese , Orban Annamaria , Corrigan Trudy , Coimbra Susana , Kirtava Zviad , Holdsworth Clare , Comas‐d'Argemir Dolors , Aliprant Laura , Gadet Carole , Pavia George
Published: September 2020

Objective

The goal of this project was to develop a systematic framework through which interventions promoting intergenerational solidarity in 11 countries could be assessed.

Background

Although intergenerational solidarity—the exchange of material, social, and emotional support and care between family generations—benefits both the country's economic well‐being (macro‐level) and the individual's physical, mental, and social well‐being (micro‐level), decreasing intergenerational solidarity is evident in many industrialized countries. Interventions promoting intergenerational solidarity are increasingly being developed, but few are described in the literature. Moreover, no unifying framework describing them exists.

Method

Representatives from 11 countries convened to identify interventions promoting intergenerational solidarity. After several meetings, a unifying framework was created. Representatives selected a convenience sample of programs and abstracted information based on the framework.

Results

The outcome of social well‐being was virtually ubiquitous in most programs. Countries appeared to take a broad view of intergenerational solidarity, focusing on interactions among generations, rather than interactions within families.

Discussion and Implications

The framework enabled the systematic abstraction and assessment of programs. Most programs had no standard method of evaluating their outcomes. Longitudinal evaluations would be optimal if we want to identify the best practices in intergenerational solidarity programs.
Assessing Family Functioning: Psychometric Evaluation of the Family Star Plus
Authors: Good Anna , MacKeith Joy
Published: September 2020

Objective

To examine the psychometric properties of the Family Star Plus, an assessment of family functioning using a collaborative mode of completion between the caseworker and service user.

Background

The Family Star Plus is widely used to assess strengths and needs within services supporting families.

Method

In Phase 1, interrater reliability was assessed. Phase 2 established factor structure, internal consistency, item redundancy, and responsiveness. In Phase 3, the Family Star Plus was used to predict children's unauthorized school absence.

Results

Workers reliably applied Family Star Plus scales. A unidimensional factor structure was found with good internal consistency and responsiveness. School absence was predicted by the Family Star Plus.

Conclusions

These findings demonstrate the validity of the Family Star Plus as a tool for assessing needs and measuring progress of family support interventions.

Implications

The Family Star Plus can be confidently used and recommended as an outcomes measurement tool.
Improved lignocellulose saccharification of a Miscanthus reddish stem mutant induced by heavy‐ion irradiation
Authors: Wang Congpeng , He Guo , Meng Jie , Wang Shumin , Kong Yingzhen , Jiang Jianxiong , Hu Ruibo , Zhou Gongke
Published: September 2020

Miscanthus is a promising lignocellulosic bioenergy crop for the production of cellulosic ethanol. The recalcitrance of lignocellulose hampers the efficient conversion of Miscanthus biomass to fermentable sugars. Therefore, screening of Miscanthus germplasms with enhanced lignocellulose saccharification efficiency is of important significance to the cellulosic ethanol production from Miscanthus biomass. In this study, we utilize heavy‐ion irradiation mutagenesis to establish a mutant library of Miscanthus lutarioriparius, and screened a reddish stem (rs) mutant with improved lignocellulose saccharification efficiency. The rs mutant was characterized by a noticeable reddish coloration in various lignified cell walls in phloem and vascular bundle sheath, whereas the biomass yield was not compromised. The reddish coloration was attributed to the reduced incorporation of several phenolic compounds including 3‐caffeoylquinic acid, dihydroflavonol and proanthocyanin A, which shared common precursors with lignin monolignol biosynthesis via the phenylpropanoid pathway. Correspondingly, the lignin content was decreased by 10.2% and the cellulose content was concomitantly increased by 9.5% in rs mutant compared with the control plant. Meanwhile, the saccharification efficiency was substantially improved by 22.4%–25.6% in rs mutant compared to the control, when the lignocellulosic biomass was pretreated with or without 1.5% H2SO4. The rs mutant identified here holds a potential utilization as an ideal candidate feedstock in cellulosic bioethanol production.
Reactive leukocytosis in older patients with acute colonic diverticulitis: A retrospective study utilizing logistic regression analysis
Authors: Sasaki Yosuke , Komatsu Fumiya , Kashima Naoyasu , Maeda Tadashi , Urita Yoshihisa
Published: September 2020

Aim

Although various neutrophilic immunosenescence mechanisms have been shown, there are few clinical studies on age‐related differences in leukocytosis against acute bacterial infections, including acute colonic diverticulitis.

Methods

We performed a retrospective study of 26 patients ≥65 years old and 211 patients 16–64 years old who were hospitalized for acute colonic diverticulitis at Toho University Medical Center Omori Hospital between 2010 and 2016. We compared patients' characteristics, including sex, immunocompromised status, diverticulitis site, complications, severity, previous diverticulitis, vital signs, leukocyte counts, neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio and serum C‐reactive protein on admission. To adjust for confounding factors, we performed a logistic regression analysis.

Results

Univariate comparisons showed that leukocyte count (older: 10 850 [interquartile range, 9400–12 000]/mm3 vs. younger: 12 600 [interquartile range, 10 500–15 000]/mm3, P = 0.004) and prevalence of leukocytosis (leukocytes >11 000/mm3) were lower in older compared with younger patients. There were significantly more female, left‐sided diverticulitis and immunocompromised patients in the older compared with the younger group. Logistic regression showed that leukocyte count, prevalence of female patients, and left‐sided diverticulitis were independent predictors for the older patients: Their odds ratios were 0.866 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.753–0.996), 2.631 (95% CI, 1.032–6.707) and 5.810 (95% CI, 2.328–14.497), respectively.

Conclusion

Caution should be taken when managing older patients with colonic diverticulitis because reactive leukocytosis might be poor, possibly reflecting immunosenescence. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 951–955.
(Un)principled principals, (un)principled agents: The differential effects of managerial civil service reforms on corruption in developing and OECD countries
Authors: Schuster Christian , Meyer‐Sahling Jan‐Hinrik , Mikkelsen Kim Sass
Published: September 2020

Do management practices have similar anticorruption effects in OECD and developing countries? Despite prominent cautions against “New Zealand” reforms which enhance managerial discretion in developing countries, scholars have not assessed this question statistically. Our article addresses this gap through a conjoint experiment with 6,500 public servants in three developing countries and one OECD country. Our experiment assesses Weberian relative to managerial approaches to recruitment, job stability, and pay. We argue that in developing countries with institutionalized corruption and weak rule of law—yet not OECD countries without such features—“unprincipled” principals use managerial discretion over hiring, firing, and pay to favor “unprincipled” bureaucratic agents who engage in corruption. Our results support this argument: managerial practices are associated with greater bureaucratic corruption in our surveyed developing countries, yet have little effect in our OECD country. Alleged “best practices” in public management in OECD countries may thus be “worst practices” in developing countries.
The Spectrum of Response to Erenumab in Patients With Episodic Migraine and Subgroup Analysis of Patients Achieving ≥50%, ≥75%, and 100% Response
Authors: Broessner Gregor , Reuter Uwe , Bonner Jo H. , Dodick David W. , Hallström Yngve , Picard Hernan , Zhang Feng , Lenz Robert A. , Klatt Jan , Mikol Daniel D.
Published: September 2020

Objective

To assess the efficacy of erenumab at the ≥50%, ≥75%, and 100% reduction in monthly migraine days (MMD) response thresholds, using data from the 6‐month double‐blind treatment phase (DBTP) of the Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Erenumab in Migraine Prevention (STRIVE) pivotal clinical trial.

Methods

Enrolled patients with episodic migraine (EM; ≥4 MMD and <15 monthly headache days) were randomized (1:1:1) to erenumab 70 mg (n = 312), erenumab 140 mg (n = 318), or placebo (n = 316) once monthly. We determined the proportions of patients with ≥50%, ≥75% and 100% reduction in MMD over the last 3 months of the STRIVE DBTP (months 4 through 6) and conducted post hoc analyses to contextualize the treatment benefit in patient subgroups achieving, and not achieving, these response thresholds. Outcome measures included changes in MMD, acute migraine‐specific medication days (MSMD), and patient‐reported outcomes.

Results

The proportions of patients with a reduction in MMD from baseline were greater for erenumab than for placebo at all response thresholds. As previously reported for the ≥50% response threshold, 135/312 (43.3%) of patients on erenumab 70 mg and 159/318 (50.0%) on erenumab 140 mg responded, vs 84/316 (26.6%) for placebo. At months 4 through 6, 65/312 (20.8%) and 70/318 (22.0%) of those on erenumab 70 mg and erenumab 140 mg, respectively, achieved ≥75% reductions vs 25/316 (7.9%) on placebo. A reduction of 100% response, which required no migraine days over 3 consecutive months based on observed data, was achieved by 10/312 (3.2%) of patients treated with erenumab 70 mg and 16/318 (5.0%) for erenumab 140 mg, vs 9/316 (2.8%) for placebo. At all response thresholds, responders achieved numerically greater reductions in mean MMD and MSMD, and greater improvements in disability than did the overall population; importantly, these remarkable responses were noted early. Meanwhile, 60/312 (19.2%) and 53/318 (16.7%) patients on erenumab 70 and 140 mg, respectively, had no reduction in MMD from baseline in months 4 through 6, compared with 104/316 (32.9%) patients on placebo.

Conclusions

The responses at the ≥50%, ≥75%, and 100% thresholds provide context for establishing realistic patient and physician expectations regarding the magnitude of treatment benefit that may be achieved by patients with EM responding to erenumab (STRIVE, NCT02456740).
Attenuation imaging based on ultrasound technology for assessment of hepatic steatosis: A comparison with magnetic resonance imaging‐determined proton density fat fraction
Authors: Tada Toshifumi , Kumada Takashi , Toyoda Hidenori , Nakamura Shinichiro , Shibata Yusuke , Yasuda Satoshi , Watanuki Yutaka , Tsujii Kazuyuki , Fukuda Naoya , Fujioka Mamoru , Takeshima Kenji , Niwa Fumihiko , Ogawa Sadanobu , Hashinokuchi Shinichi , Kataoka Saki , Ichikawa Hironori , Iijima Hiroko
Published: September 2020

Aim

A new method has recently been developed for diagnosing hepatic steatosis based on attenuation measurement using ultrasound. We investigated the ability of attenuation imaging (ATI) to detect steatosis that was identified by proton density fat fraction (PDFF) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with chronic liver disease.

Methods

A total of 119 patients with chronic liver disease (non‐B, non‐C) were analyzed. The relationship between ATI values and steatosis grades determined by PDFF was evaluated. Additionally, the diagnostic ability of ATI was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, and the correlation between ATI values and PDFF values was determined.

Results

The ATI values of steatosis grades 0, 1, 2, and 3 were 0.55, 0.61, 0.74, and 0.84 dB/cm/MHz, respectively (P < 0.001). There was a statistically significant trend of higher ATI values with higher steatosis grades (P < 0.001). The correlation coefficient (r) between PDFF values and ATI values was 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59–0.78; P < 0.001), corresponding to a strong relationship. The diagnostic ability of ATI for steatosis grades ≥1, ≥2, and 3, as determined by PDFF, were 0.81 (95% CI 0.73–0.89), 0.87 (95% CI 0.79–0.96), and 0.94 (95% CI 0.89–0.98), respectively. The r between PDFF values and ATI values was 0.49 (95% CI 0.31–0.63; P < 0.001) for patients with mild or no steatosis (grade ≤1), and 0.75 (95% CI 0.57–0.86; P < 0.001) for obese patients (body mass index ≥25 kg/m2).

Conclusion

ATI values had an excellent diagnostic ability to detect hepatic steatosis.
THE ORIGINS OF RACISM: A CRITIQUE OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS
Authors: SETH VANITA
Published: September 2020

This essay has two objectives. First, it seeks to engage critically with contemporary scholarship on the origins of racism through the lens of an older debate centered around the history of ideas. Specifically, it argues that Quentin Skinner's influential critique of the history of ideas can help identify the pitfalls of our current fascination with the origins of racism—most particularly when such origins are traced back to antiquity and the European pre‐ and early modern periods. In pursuing its second objective, the essay turns from histories cataloguing ancient, medieval, and early modern racisms to objections leveled, in these same literatures, against scholarship defending the modernity of race. The defense of a premodern origin to race is, I argue, not just a historical argument but a contemporary politics embedded in a narrative of continuity that insists on the relevance of the medieval past to the racial configurations of our current moment. Rather than demonstrating continuity and sameness, this essay seeks to draw attention to alternative modes of historicizing that are more attentive to the alterity of the past.
2. SOME KEYWORDS TOWARD DECOLONIAL METHODS: STUDYING SETTLER COLONIAL HISTORIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLENCE FROM TKARONTO
Authors: MURPHY MICHELLE
Published: September 2020

This article provides keywords and reflections for decolonial methods, drawing on insights from the Indigenous‐led Land and the Refinery project, which concerns the history of Canada's Chemical Valley. This project is crucially organized as Indigenous people co‐researching the Imperial Oil Refinery, not as academics studying Aamjiwnaang, and asks how Indigenous and decolonial methods might reorient the use of archives toward other futures. Together, the keywords begin to outline a particular place‐based theory of change within decolonial historical practice.
HOW TO REINVENT THE FUTURE?
Authors: Tamm Marek
Published: September 2020

This review essay discusses the historical Zeitdiagnosen in recent scholarly literature, focusing in particular on Jérôme Baschet's Défaire la tyrannie du présent: Temporalités émergentes et futurs inédits (2018). Baschet's book constitutes an original contribution to ongoing debates about our temporal condition in at least three aspects. First, although relying partly on earlier theoretical literature (principally the works of François Hartog), it more significantly draws on the author's long‐term engagement with the Zapatista movement. Second, it does not confine itself merely to diagnosing our temporal situation (presentism) but proposes strategies for exiting it. And finally, Baschet's theory of temporality is one part of his far more extensive enterprise of “exiting capitalism,” a project aimed at reconceptualizing the existing foundations of Western civilization. Although previous authors have defined our contemporary regime of temporality by focusing on the present and the disappearance of the future, Baschet claims that it is more accurate to speak about a burgeoning of futures—of completely new modalities of the future that differ significantly from modernist notions of it.
Gender difference in all‐cause mortality of people living with HIV in Iran: findings from a 20‐year cohort study
Authors: Gheibi Z , Dianatinasab M , Haghparast A , Mirzazadeh A , Fararouei M
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Gender differences in the efficacy of treatment and the mortality of HIV‐infected patients have not yet been fully elucidated. For the first time, we used data from a 20‐year cohort of people living with HIV (PLWH) in four provinces (Fars, Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer‐Ahmad) in the southern part of Iran to assess the gender difference in all‐cause mortality in PLWH in Iran.

Methods

We analysed data for 1216 patients aged ≥ 15 years who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS between 1997 and 2017. Three hundred and fourteen (25.8%) were women.

Results

The death rate from all causes among women was 13.7% vs. 43.8% among men (P < 0.001). All‐cause mortality was significantly associated with gender [the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for men compared with women was 3.20], not being on antiretroviral therapy (ART) compared with being on ART at the last visit (aHR 5.42), older age (aHR 1.03), delayed HIV diagnosis compared with early diagnosis (aHR 1.72), history of incarceration (aHR 1.57), higher log CD4 count at diagnosis (aHR 0.54), and prophylaxis for Pneumocystis pneumonia (aHR 0.09).

Conclusions

The results of this 20‐year cohort study suggest that gender is an important predictor of survival among HIV‐infected patients. Improving early HIV diagnosis and early ART initiation in men, as well as increased access to hepatitis C virus treatment are needed to increase the survival rate of HIV‐infected patients in Iran.
Four‐legged foes: dogs disturb nesting plovers more than people do on tourist beaches
Authors: Gómez‐Serrano Miguel Ángel
Published: September 2020

Recreational activities in nature have increased considerably in recent decades. Human disturbance may trigger similar trade‐offs in birds that the natural risk of predation generates on productivity through parental investment decisions. To estimate how the impact of human presence affects breeding birds on Mediterranean beaches, the behaviour of incubating Kentish Plovers Charadrius alexandrinus was studied in relation to the approach of people, vehicles and dogs. Observational data were collected and control experiments were performed with a standardized stimulus. The response variability of birds in the decision to flush from the nest was studied depending on the type of beach user, the location of the disturbance event and thermal stress. Walkers, when accompanied by dogs, flushed plovers 93.8% of the time when walking through dunes and 80.0% of the time when walking on paths, whereas pedestrians alone flushed plovers 47.6% of the time when in dunes and only 12.9% of the time when on paths. Lone dogs triggered a flushing response 100% of the time when they roamed the dunes and 50% on the shore. The number of users in each disturbance event did not affect the flushing behaviour. Nest return times were shorter on disturbed beaches, suggesting habituation to the human disturbance stimulus. The ambient temperature for the nests in which plovers flushed was lower and nest return time decreased proportionally with ambient temperature, both suggesting that habituation to the human disturbance stimulus encourages relaxation of the trade‐off between escape behaviour to avoid predation risk and the effects of thermal stress on unattended eggs. Females flushed more frequently (57.1%) than males (32.0%), suggesting that they may perceive risk differently. Establishing buffers between nesting areas and people may help birds habituate to the predictable and non‐lethal stimulus of human presence, facilitating coexistence between conservation and recreation.
THE FACE VALUE OF ARGUMENTS WITH AND WITHOUT MANIPULATION
Authors: Felgenhauer Mike , Xu Fangya
Published: September 2020

A sender wishes to persuade a receiver with a (surprising) result that challenges the prior belief. The result stems either from sequential private experimentation or manipulation. The incentive to experiment and to manipulate depends on the quality threshold for persuasion. Higher thresholds make it harder to find a surprising outcome via experimentation and may encourage manipulation. Suppose there are observable nonmanipulable and manipulable research methods. For the decision quality, the quality threshold for persuasion for nonmanipulable methods should be higher than for manipulable methods. We discuss philosophy of science implications, such as field contingent quality standards and P‐value adjustments.
High‐efficiency mechanochemical synthesis of Strontium carbonate nanopowder from Celestite
Authors: Dayani Nastaran , AmirArjmand Ali , Nouri‐Khezrabad Mohsen , Hasani Saeed
Published: September 2020

In this study, the conversion of Celestite to SrCO3 was studied by wet mechanochemical synthesis in a high‐energy ball mill and treatment with Na2CO3. For this purpose, solid strontium carbonate and soluble Na2SO4 were obtained after wet milling of Celestite powder and sodium carbonate. The solid phase was washed with water at room temperature by filter pressing. X‐Ray diffraction patterns showed that the SrCO3 nanopowder was synthesized and conversion boosted with increasing the milling time up to 8 hours Also, Rietveld refinement analysis was used to calculate the fraction of SrCO3 as well as structural properties of synthesized samples. It was found that initial Celestite could be converted to strontium carbonate with a purity more than 98% using high‐energy milling without simultaneous heating. The optimum milling time was determined as 4 hours resulting in formation of nanopowders with an average particle size around 90 nm. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE‐SEM), clearly showed the nanoscale structure of the synthesized powders.
Usefulness of automated fragmented red blood cell percentage in the diagnosis of paediatric haemolytic uraemic syndrome
Authors: Govindarajan Srinivasavaradan , Bhatia Prateek , Dawman Lesa , Tiewsoh Karalanglin
Published: September 2020

Introduction

Presence of schistocytes in peripheral blood smear supporting haemolysis is important for diagnosis and decision‐making in paediatric haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS). High observer dependency and requirement of expertise for peripheral smear evaluation propels us to think of other modalities to overcome these issues. We envisage that newer techniques like automated fragmented red blood cell percentage (FRC %), whose role has been described in transplant associated HUS and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, can serve the purpose.

Methods

Twenty‐eight children with HUS after excluding secondary causes were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were analysed for FRC% at admission, using SYSMEX XN‐1000 (Japan) haematology analyser, and simultaneously, schistocytes in peripheral smear were reported by a single expert haematopathologist.

Results

Median age was 56 months ranging from 2 to 140 months. FRC% was elevated in 85.8% (n‐24/28) with a mean of 4.56 ± 3.1%. FRC% had a sensitivity of 95.4% (C.I: 77.16% to 99.88%) in children who had FRC% >1.49% with an accuracy of 85.71% (C.I: 67.33% to 95.97%). However, specificity was only 50% (C.I: 11.81% to 88.19%) with a positive likelihood ratio of 1.91. Receiver‐operator curve showed an AUC value of 0.841.

Conclusion

We suggest automated FRC% as a rapid and highly sensitive index for screening of paediatric HUS; however, a peripheral blood film examination is a must in cases with count >2% to avoid false positives as the index has low specificity.