bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Declining demand in the antiques market: insights from an online community
Authors: Tohidinia Zahra
Published: March 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to study antiques enthusiasts’ perspectives on the recent stagnancy in the antiques market, along with their suggestions on how the antiques trade can forge a more secure path forward.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a qualitative analysis approach through netnography, this paper examines archived comments of antiques enthusiasts on a “r/antiques” subreddit.

Findings

This research studies connoisseurs’ insights into the reduction in antiques sales experienced by a wide cross-section of sellers, particularly independent and small business retailers. Specifically, the results of this paper’s discourse analysis show that technological advances on one hand and socioeconomic factors (e.g. income, family structure and lifestyle) on the other hand have had a significant negative impact on demand for antiques. In addition, specific attributes such as authenticity and sustainability emerged as potential key marketing elements for invigorating the broader public’s interest in purchasing antiques.

Originality/value

Despite their significant insights into the antiques market, antiques enthusiasts have not received the academic attention they deserve. Through discourse analysis of comments in an online antiques community, this paper draws attention to the vulnerabilities of antiques markets to a protracted climate of slow sales, while highlighting potential strategies on how to turn the tide for struggling antiques stores.
Leader-member exchange and discretionary work behaviors: the mediating role of perceived psychological safety
Authors: Dar Nasib , Kundi Yasir Mansoor , Umrani Waheed Ali
Published: March 2024

Purpose

This study examines the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and employee discretionary work behaviors in terms of job crafting, innovative work behavior and knowledge-sharing behavior by focusing on the mediating role of psychological safety.

Design/methodology/approach

Multi-source and multi-wave data were collected from 284 employees in the banking sector of Pakistan.

Findings

The findings reveal a positive relationship between LMX and psychological safety. Psychological safety, in turn, is positively related to discretionary work behaviors (i.e. job crafting, innovative work behavior and knowledge-sharing behavior). Moreover, psychological safety fully mediates the relationship between LMX and discretionary work behaviors.

Originality/value

Drawing upon the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study introduces psychological safety as a mediating mechanism in the relationship between LMX and three important discretionary work behaviors.
Opportunistic silence: ignited by psychological contract breach, instigated by hostile attribution bias
Authors: Jahanzeb Sadia , Bouckenooghe Dave , Fatima Tasneem , Akram Madiha
Published: March 2024

Purpose

Drawing on social exchange literature, this study explores the mediating role of affective commitment between employees' assessments of contract breaches and opportunistic silence, along with the invigorating effect of hostile attribution bias.

Design/methodology/approach

We tested the hypotheses using multi-wave data collected from employees working in higher education institutions in Pakistan.

Findings

Perceived contract breaches elicit intentional, selfish and retaliatory motives of silence, largely because employees lack emotional attachments to their organization. This mechanism is more prominent among employees who tend to blame others and perceive them as antagonistic even when they are not.

Practical implications

For human resource managers, this investigation highlights a crucial feature – affective commitment – by which employees' perceptions of psychological contract breaches facilitate opportunistic silence. Our results suggest that this process is more likely to intensify when employees have distorted thinking, motivating them to attribute the worst motives to their employer's actions.

Social implications

Perceived contract breaches within universities can have far-reaching societal consequences, affecting trust, reputation, economic stability, and the overall quality and accessibility of education and research. Addressing and preventing such breaches is essential to maintaining the positive societal role of universities.

Originality/value

This study provides novel insights into the process that underlies the connection between perceived contract breach and opportunistic silence by revealing the hitherto overlooked role of employees' hostile attribution bias, which renders them more susceptible to experiencing unfavorable forms of social exchange.
Rapid and chemically diverse C transfer from trees to mycorrhizal fruit bodies in the forest
Authors: Rapaport Alon , Livne‐Luzon Stav , Fox Hagar , Oppenheimer‐Shaanan Yaara , Klein Tamir
Published: March 2024

Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) are common belowground tree symbionts, supplying trees with water and nutrients. In return, large amounts of C assimilated by trees can be allocated into EMF. However, the chemical forms in which the C is transferred from trees to fungi under field conditions are mostly unknown.

In this study, we aimed to unravel the fate of tree‐derived C in EMF. We conducted 13CO2 pulse labelling of Pinus halepensis trees in two forest sites with adjacent EMF sporocarps, combined with a non‐targeted metabolomics profiling of root and sporocarp tissues. 13C was measured in sporocarps of Tricholoma terreum and Suillus collinitus up to 3 m from pine stems.

C was assimilated in the labelled trees' needles and transferred to their roots. Starting from Day 2 after labelling, the C was transferred to adjacent sporocarps, peaking on Day 5. We identified more than 100 different labelled metabolites of different chemical groups present in roots and sporocarps. Of them, 17 were common to pine roots and both EMF species, and additional eight common to roots and one of the two EMF. The major labelled metabolites in the root tips were amino acids and tricarboxylic acid intermediates. The major labelled metabolites in sporocarps were amino acids, nucleotides, and fatty acids. We also identified labelled carbohydrates in all tissues. Labelling patterns diverged across different tissues, which can hint at how the C was transferred.

Considering the young tree as a sole C source for these sporocarps, and with a diurnal assimilation of 5.4 g C, the total monthly C source is ~165 g C. On average, there were 10 sporocarps around each tree, each requiring ~1 g C. Therefore, a 10 g C investment would make 6% of total tree C allocation, and about 12% of net primary productivity. Overall, we found that this significant and ubiquitous transfer of metabolites from tree roots to EMF sporocarps is more rapid and chemically diverse than once thought.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
The State We're In
Authors: Smith David
Published: March 2024

UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) is a comparative newcomer among think tanks and it has produced a wide‐ranging report on the state of the UK economy. It asks whether the UK economy is caught in a ‘doom loop’ where performance is bad, but policy options are constrained by the fiscal position. Unlike some SWOT analyses it looks as strengths as well as weaknesses, but these may favour the more prosperous parts of the UK. The ideas presented could help prevent the UK falling into the doom loop, but politicians tend to favour solutions which have a short‐term payback. We need long‐term thinking.
Postoperative pain at Landspitali: A prospective study
Authors: Tomasson Andri M. , Jakobsdóttir Hilma , Gudnason Haraldur M. , Karason Sigurbergur , Sigurdsson Martin I.
Published: March 2024

Background

Moderate or severe postoperative pain is common despite advances in surgical technique and perioperative analgesia. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and severity of postoperative pain following procedures requiring anaesthesia and identify factors associated with increased risk of postoperative pain.

Methods

Surgical patients ≥18 years of age were prospectively questioned on level of current pain on a numerical rating scale (NRS) from 0 to 10 in the post‐anaesthesia care unit (PACU) and on resting, active and worst pain experienced in the first 24 h postoperatively. Clinical data was obtained from medical records. Descriptive statistics were applied, and predictors of worst pain assessed as moderate/severe (NRS 5) on postoperative day one were assessed using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Of 438 included participants, moderate/severe pain occurred in 29% on the day of surgery and 70% described their worst pain as moderate/severe on postoperative day one. Procedures with the highest incidence of moderate/severe pain on the day of surgery were gynaecology‐, plastic‐, abdominal‐, breast‐, and orthopaedic procedures. On postoperative day one, patients undergoing vascular‐, orthopaedic‐, and abdominal operations most commonly rated their worst pain as moderate/severe. Female sex (OR = 2.15, 95% Cl 1.21–3.88, p = .010), chronic preoperative pain (OR = 4.20, 95% Cl 2.41–7.51, p < .001), undergoing a major procedure (OR = 2.07, 95% Cl 1.15–3.80, p = .017), and any intraoperative remifentanil administration (OR = 2.16, 95% Cl 1.20–3.94, p = .01) had increased odds of rating the worst pain as moderate/severe. Increased age (OR = 0.66 per 10 years (95% Cl 0.55–0.78, p < .001)) and undergoing breast‐, gynaecology‐, otolaryngology‐, and neurosurgery (OR = 0.15–0.34, p < .038) was associated with lower odds of moderate/severe pain on postoperative day one.

Discussion

In our cohort, patients rated their current pain in the PACU similarly to other studies. However, the ratio of patients rating the worst pain experienced as moderate/severe on postoperative day one was relatively high. The identified patient‐ and procedural‐related factors associated with higher odds of postoperative pain highlight a subgroup of patients who may benefit from enhanced perioperative monitoring and pain management strategies.
Polr3b heterozygosity in mice induces both beneficial and deleterious effects on health during ageing with no effect on lifespan
Authors: Borland Gillian , Wilkie Stephen E. , Thomson Jackie , Wang Zhe , Tullet Jennifer M. A. , Alic Nazif , Selman Colin
Published: March 2024

The genetic pathways that modulate ageing in multicellular organisms are typically highly conserved across wide evolutionary distances. Recently RNA polymerase III (Pol III) was shown to promote ageing in yeast, C. elegans and D. melanogaster. In this study we investigated the role of Pol III in mammalian ageing using C57BL/6N mice heterozygous for Pol III (Polr3b+/−). We identified sexually dimorphic, organ‐specific beneficial as well as detrimental effects of the Polr3b+/− mutation on health. Female Polr3b+/− mice displayed improved bone health during ageing, but their ability to maintain an effective gut barrier function was compromised and they were susceptible to idiopathic dermatitis (ID). In contrast, male Polr3b+/− mice were lighter than wild‐type (WT) males and had a significantly improved gut barrier function in old age. Several metabolic parameters were affected by both age and sex, but no genotype differences were detected. Neither male nor female Polr3b+/− mice were long‐lived compared to WT controls. Overall, we find no evidence that a reduced Pol III activity extends mouse lifespan but we do find some potential organ‐ and sex‐specific benefits for old‐age health.
Disparities in pediatric anaphylaxis triggers and management across Asia
Authors: Leung Agnes Sze Yin , Tham Elizabeth Huiwen , Pacharn Punchama , Xing Yuhan , Trinh Hoang Kim Tu , Lee Sooyoung , Ahn Kangmo , Chatchatee Pantipa , Sato Sakura , Ebisawa Motohiro , Lee Bee Wah , Wong Gary Wing Kin ,   the Asia‐Pacific Research Network for Anaphylaxis (APRA)
Published: March 2024

Background

The epidemiology and management of anaphylaxis are not well‐reported in Asia.

Methods

A regional pediatric anaphylaxis registry was established by the Asia‐Pacific Research Network for Anaphylaxis (APRA), using standardized protocols for prospective data collection, to evaluate the triggers and management of anaphylaxis in the Asia‐Pacific region. Pediatric patients below 18 years presenting with anaphylaxis across four Asian countries/cities (Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong (HK), and Qingdao) were included. Allergen triggers, symptoms, anaphylaxis severity, and management were compared.

Results

Between 2019 and 2022, 721 anaphylaxis episodes in 689 patients from 16 centers were identified. The mean age at anaphylaxis presentation was 7.0 years (SD = 5.2) and 60% were male. Food was the most common trigger (62%), particularly eggs and cow's milk in children aged 3 years and below. In school‐age children, nut anaphylaxis was most common in HK and Singapore, but was rare in the other countries, and wheat was the top allergen in Bangkok. Shellfish anaphylaxis was most common in children aged 7–17. Adrenaline was administered in 60% of cases, with 9% given adrenaline before hospital arrival. Adrenaline devices were prescribed in up to 82% of cases in Thailand but none in Qingdao.

Conclusions

The APRA identified food as the main trigger of anaphylaxis in children, but causative allergens differed even across Asian countries. Fewer than two‐thirds of cases received adrenaline treatment, pre‐hospital adrenaline usage was low, and adrenaline device prescription remained suboptimal. The registry recognizes an unmet need to strengthen anaphylaxis care and research in Asia‐Pacific.
Why restrict medical effective altruism?
Authors: Quigley Travis
Published: March 2024

In a challenge trial, research subjects are purposefully exposed to some pathogen in a controlled setting, in order to test the efficacy of a vaccine or other experimental treatment. This is an example of medical effective altruism (MEA), where individuals volunteer to risk harms for the public good. Many bioethicists rejected challenge trials in the context of Covid‐19 vaccine research on ethical grounds. After considering various grounds of this objection, I conclude that the crucial question is how much harm research subjects can permissibly risk. But we lack a satisfying way of making this judgment that does not appeal simply to the intuitions of doctors or bioethicists. I consider one recent and structurally plausible approach to critically evaluating the harm question. Alex London defends a social consistency test for research risks: we should compare the risks undertaken by research subjects to relevantly similar risks which are accepted in other spheres of society. I argue there is no good reason not to consider volunteer military service as a relevant social comparison. This implies there is essentially no cap on acceptable risks on the social consistency rationale. In short, if soldiers can be heroes, why can't research volunteers?
Treatment of refractory/relapsed Diamond–Blackfan anaemia with eltrombopag
Authors: Duncan Brynn B. , Lotter Jennifer L. , Superata Jeanine , Barranta Ma Evette , Machado Tania , Darden Ivana , Venugopal Sanjay , Wu Colin O. , Abkowitz Janis L. , Dunbar Cynthia E. , Young David J.
Published: March 2024

Diamond–Blackfan anaemia (DBA) is a rare, inherited bone marrow failure syndrome with a ribosomal defect causing slowed globin chain production with normal haem synthesis, causing an overabundance of reactive iron/haem and erythroid‐specific cellular toxicity. Eltrombopag, a non‐peptide thrombopoietin receptor agonist, is a potent intracellular iron chelator and induced a robust durable response in an RPS19‐mutated DBA patient on another trial. We hypothesized eltrombopag would improve RBC production in DBA patients. We conducted a single‐centre, single‐arm pilot study (NCT04269889) assessing safety and erythroid response of 6 months of daily, fixed‐dose eltrombopag for DBA patients. Fifteen transfusion‐dependent (every 3–5 weeks) patients (median age 18 [range 2–56]) were treated. One responder had sustained haemoglobin improvement and >50% reduction in RBC transfusion frequency. Of note, 7/15 (41%) patients required dose reductions or sustained discontinuation of eltrombopag due to asymptomatic thrombocytosis. Despite the low response rate, eltrombopag has now improved erythropoiesis in several patients with DBA with a favourable safety profile. Dosing restrictions due to thrombocytosis may cause insufficient iron chelation to decrease haem production and improve anaemia in most patients. Future work will focus on erythropoiesis dynamics in patients and use of haem synthesis inhibitors without an impact on other haematopoietic lineages.
Beyond the bias! Sex distribution in paediatric growth hormone deficiency reexamined
Authors: Henry Rohan K. , Mamilly Leena , Chaudhari Monika , Klamer Brett G. , Nikahd Melica , Pyle‐Eilola Amy L.
Published: March 2024

Objectives

Various biases pertaining to stature account for a male sex predominance in growth hormone deficiency (GHD) cases diagnosed by endocrinology clinics. This manuscript will assess the sex distribution when biases are minimised.

Methods

Retrospective chart review was conducted on patients diagnosed with GHD between 3 and 16 years of age. The sex distribution of cases was ascertained according to: (1) peak GH (pGH) by groups; based on growth hormone provocative testing, (2) pituitary gland imaging results, and (3) isolated GHD (IGHD) versus multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies (MPHD). The relative frequency of each sex was compared according to these subgroups with significance evaluated at α = .05 level.

Results

Of the 5880 clinic referrals for short stature, there were 3709 boys (63%) and 2171 girls (37%). Of these, 20% of boys (n = 745) and 15.3% of girls (n = 332) underwent provocative testing for GHD. Of those tested, 39.2% of boys (n = 292) and 32.2% of girls (n = 107) were diagnosed with GHD, all p < .001. There was a male predominance in GHD cases based on pGH or GHD severity. Though not significant, girls were more likely than boys to have MPHD (p = .056), even across pGH groups (p = .06). Both boys and girls had a similar distribution of imaging abnormalities.

Conclusion

Stratifying by sex, we found similar percentages of pituitary imaging abnormalities (including tumours) and the number of pituitary hormone deficiencies in boys and girls as the cause of GHD. For these classifications, we did not find the historically reported male sex predominance.
Consumer characteristics and preferences for mobulid gill plates in China
Authors: Zhou Xuehong , Yang Ami , Miao Zhen , Zhang Wei , Wang Qiang , MacMillan Douglas C.
Published: March 2024

Mobulid species are endangered globally, and the market trade for gill plates is believed to be a major threat. Successful conservation and the sustainable use of mobulids therefore require an objective understanding of consumer characteristics and preferences for gill plates. Previous studies focused on qualitative descriptions, and reliable quantitative analyses are currently lacking. We used a latent class choice experiment method and a semistructured questionnaire to provide important new quantitative information about gill plate consumer characteristics and the heterogeneous nature of demand for gill plates. From May to July 2019, we conducted a field study in Guangzhou, the primary consumption hub for mobulid gill plates in mainland China. Utilizing a simple random sampling method, we engaged in face‐to‐face interviews with 428 consumers of gill plates in the major trading markets in Guangzhou. Our results showed that 59.8% of consumers of gill plates were over 40 years old, 62.6% were female, 80.7% had annual household incomes of <200,000 yuan, and 84.5% recognized the medical and health value of gill plates and purchased them. About seventy‐two percent of consumers preferred to purchase imported and less expensive gill plates from unprotected species, but they had a strong preference for large gill plates from protected species, such as Mobula birostris. This contradiction arose from consumers’ lack of knowledge of mobulids and their conservation status. We found, for example, female consumers over 40 years old had the least understanding of conservation status of mobulid species and the link between size of gill plates and rarity of mobulids. This suggests there may be opportunities to promote mobulid conservation through education and marketing targeted at this demographic. Consumers who had a positive preference for gill plates from protected species (regardless of price) (10%) may be harder to influence. Overall, we believe education alone is not enough and that the conservation of mobulids would benefit from an integrated approach that involves conservation education and strengthened trade regulations, such as the introduction of traceability systems and a stiffer legal framework for consumption of protected species.
Hydrogel dressings for diabetic foot ulcer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhao Hongjiao , Wu You , Xie Yuchen , Li Yanfei , Chen Chen , Li Chanjuan , Yang Fangzheng , Zhang Deteng , Wang Yaqin , Yuan Junhua
Published: March 2024

Aim

To investigate the differences in utility between conventional dressings and hydrogel dressings for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU).

Methods

The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang databases were systematically searched up to 21 January 2023. Fixed/random‐effect models were used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the effect size analysis, with heterogeneity determined by I2 statistics. Subgroup analyses of different classes of hydrogel were also conducted.

Results

A total of 15 randomized controlled trials with 872 patients were eligible for the present analysis. Compared with conventional dressings, hydrogel dressings significantly improved the healing rate (OR 4.09, 95% CI 2.83 to 5.91), shortened the healing time (MD −11.38, 95% CI −13.11 to −9.66), enhanced granulation formation (MD −3.60, 95% CI −4.21 to −3.00) and epithelial formation (MD −2.82, 95% CI −3.19 to −2.46), and reduced the incidence of bacterial infection (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.18).

Conclusion

The meta‐analysis showed that hydrogel dressings are more effective in treating DFU compared with conventional dressings.
The growth contribution of colonial Indian railways in comparative perspective
Authors: Bogart Dan , Chaudhary Latika , Herranz‐Loncán Alfonso
Published: March 2024

Railways were an important driver of global economic growth in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Whilst their role is well documented in industrial economies, we know less about their macro‐economic impact in developing countries. In this paper, we first estimate the aggregate growth impact of Indian railways, one of the largest networks in the world in the early twentieth century. Then, we compare their impact in India to four emerging Latin American economies (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay) and the Cape colony. Using growth accounting techniques common to the cross‐country estimates, we argue that the aggregate growth impact of Indian railways was significant, increasing Indian gross domestic product (GDP) per capita by 13.5 per cent by 1912. We also find that the growth impact of Indian railways was similar to Brazil and Mexico, but smaller than Argentina and the Cape. Compared with the latter, India had a smaller size of railway freight revenues in the economy and lower wages to fares leading to lower passenger time savings. Railways were the most important infrastructure driver of economic growth in India during the first era of globalization from 1860 to 1912, but they contributed less than in richer and more dynamic developing economies.
Evaluating the quality of soil legacy data used as input of digital soil mapping models
Authors: Lagacherie Philippe , Arregui Maider , Fages David
Published: March 2024

Most of the Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) products now available across the globe have been developed from the deposits of punctual soil observations inherited from several decades of soil survey activity. By using these legacy data as inputs for calibrating our DSM models, we implicitly make the assumption that these legacy soil data are accurate and therefore do not affect significantly our DSM products. However, this assumption has never been tested. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the accuracies of soil property measurements retrieved from legacy soil profiles, to analyse the different sources of error that may affect these measurements and to examine their impacts on the soil property predictions delivered by DSM models. The study was focused on a control sampling within the coastal plain of Languedoc (Southern France) at 129 locations where legacy measured soil profiles were collected between 1955 and 1992. At each location, four topsoil (0–20 cm) samples were collected at increasing distances (0, 5, 25 and 100 m) to characterize the local variabilities of the soil properties. Six soil properties—Clay, Silt, Sand, Soil Organic Carbon, Calcium Carbonate contents and Cation Exchange Capacity—were determined for each sample using certified soil laboratory methods. The results revealed that legacy soil property values had large overall errors and large biases. Biases likely induced by differences in soil analysis protocols could be corrected by linear functions calibrated onto the reference data obtained from the control sampling. The contributions of the errors propagated from the manual geo‐referencing errors (mean = 31 m) represented on average 52% of the errors after analytical bias corrections. These errors exhibited large variations from one property to another due to differences in the short‐range spatial variations (0–100 m) of these soil properties. A DSM exercise conducted on our control sampling revealed that the errors of legacy soil data were propagated to the soil property predictions provided by the DSM models. However, this propagation could be largely mitigated by applying the above‐evoked corrections. This study highlights the need to better control the quality of the legacy soil data used in DSM and to account for this source of uncertainty in the DSM models.
Culture as response
Authors: Schnegg Michael
Published: March 2024

To explain cultural diversity, many theories refer to the social construction of reality. In this telling, we frame the world to make it meaningful. In my analysis of what people in Namibia and Germany know about “SARS‐Cov‐2” and “climate change,” I propose an anti‐constructivist alternative. Drawing on the work of the phenomenologist Bernhard Waldenfels, I argue that experience comes first and exceeds language and the conceptual and symbolic orders we use to describe it. Waldenfels refers to this excess as “the alien” (das Fremde). This alienness calls us and demands a response. Only by responding, do we make the world meaningful. Since the alien is the excess to a particular order it becomes important to explore how orders are applied in situations. To explain this, I draw on recent developments in “4E” cognition that describe the mind‐world relation as fourfold intertwined: embedded, embodied, extended, and enacted. Combining Waldenfels’ responsive phenomenology and “4E” cognition thus allows it to be shown how knowledge emerges as an enactive response to the demands situations create. I conclude by showing how this opens up new possibilities for addressing the plurality and situatedness of knowledge in anthropology.
Conservation Mitonuclear Replacement: Facilitated mitochondrial adaptation for a changing world
Authors: Iverson Erik N. K.
Published: March 2024

Most species will not be able to migrate fast enough to cope with climate change, nor evolve quickly enough with current levels of genetic variation. Exacerbating the problem are anthropogenic influences on adaptive potential, including the prevention of gene flow through habitat fragmentation and the erosion of genetic diversity in small, bottlenecked populations. Facilitated adaptation, or assisted evolution, offers a way to augment adaptive genetic variation via artificial selection, induced hybridization, or genetic engineering. One key source of genetic variation, particularly for climatic adaptation, are the core metabolic genes encoded by the mitochondrial genome. These genes influence environmental tolerance to heat, drought, and hypoxia, but must interact intimately and co‐evolve with a suite of important nuclear genes. These coadapted mitonuclear genes form some of the important reproductive barriers between species. Mitochondrial genomes can and do introgress between species in an adaptive manner, and they may co‐introgress with nuclear genes important for maintaining mitonuclear compatibility. Managers should consider the relevance of mitonuclear genetic variability in conservation decision‐making, including as a tool for facilitating adaptation. I propose a novel technique dubbed Conservation Mitonuclear Replacement (CmNR), which entails replacing the core metabolic machinery of a threatened species—the mitochondrial genome and key nuclear loci—with those from a closely related species or a divergent population, which may be better‐adapted to climatic changes or carry a lower genetic load. The most feasible route to CmNR is to combine CRISPR‐based nuclear genetic editing with mitochondrial replacement and assisted reproductive technologies. This method preserves much of an organism's phenotype and could allow populations to persist in the wild when no other suitable conservation options exist. The technique could be particularly important on mountaintops, where rising temperatures threaten an alarming number of species with almost certain extinction in the next century.
Upregulated expression of lamin B receptor increases cell proliferation and suppresses genomic instability: implications for cellular immortalization
Authors: En Atsuki , Takemoto Kentaro , Yamakami Yoshimi , Nakabayashi Kazuhiko , Fujii Michihiko
Published: March 2024

Mammalian somatic cells undergo terminal proliferation arrest after a limited number of cell divisions, a phenomenon termed cellular senescence. However, cells acquire the ability to proliferate infinitely (cellular immortalization) through multiple genetic alterations. Inactivation of tumor suppressor genes such as p53, RB and p16 is important for cellular immortalization, although additional molecular alterations are required for cellular immortalization to occur. Here, we aimed to gain insights into these molecular alterations. Given that cellular immortalization is the escape of cells from cellular senescence, genes that regulate cellular senescence are likely to be involved in cellular immortalization. Because senescent cells show altered heterochromatin organization, we investigated the implications of lamin A/C, lamin B1 and lamin B receptor (LBR), which regulate heterochromatin organization, in cellular immortalization. We employed human immortalized cell lines, KMST‐6 and SUSM‐1, and found that expression of LBR was upregulated upon cellular immortalization and downregulated upon cellular senescence. In addition, knockdown of LBR induced cellular senescence with altered chromatin configuration. Additionally, enforced expression of LBR increased cell proliferation likely through suppression of genome instability in human primary fibroblasts that expressed the simian virus 40 large T antigen (TAg), which inactivates p53 and RB. Furthermore, expression of TAg or knockdown of p53 led to upregulated LBR expression. These observations suggested that expression of LBR might be upregulated to suppress genome instability in TAg‐expressing cells, and, consequently, its upregulated expression assisted the proliferation of TAg‐expressing cells (i.e. p53/RB‐defective cells). Our findings suggest a crucial role for LBR in the process of cellular immortalization.
Study of an FBXO7 patient mutation reveals Fbxo7 and PI31 co‐regulate proteasomes and mitochondria
Authors: Al Rawi Sara , Simpson Lorna , Agnarsdóttir Guðrún , McDonald Neil Q. , Chernuha Veronika , Elpeleg Orly , Zeviani Massimo , Barker Roger A. , Spiegel Ronen , Laman Heike
Published: March 2024

Mutations in FBXO7 have been discovered to be associated with an atypical parkinsonism. We report here a new homozygous missense mutation in a paediatric patient that causes an L250P substitution in the dimerisation domain of Fbxo7. This alteration selectively ablates the Fbxo7‐PI31 interaction and causes a significant reduction in Fbxo7 and PI31 levels in patient cells. Consistent with their association with proteasomes, patient fibroblasts have reduced proteasome activity and proteasome subunits. We also show PI31 interacts with the MiD49/51 fission adaptor proteins, and unexpectedly, PI31 acts to facilitate SCFFbxo7‐mediated ubiquitination of MiD49. The L250P mutation reduces the SCFFbxo7 ligase‐mediated ubiquitination of a subset of its known substrates. Although MiD49/51 expression was reduced in patient cells, there was no effect on the mitochondrial network. However, patient cells show reduced levels of mitochondrial function and mitophagy, higher levels of ROS and are less viable under stress. Our study demonstrates that Fbxo7 and PI31 regulate proteasomes and mitochondria and reveals a new function for PI31 in enhancing the SCFFbxo7 E3 ubiquitin ligase activity.
Resistance of fatigue crack propagation induced by large α colony in a Ti‐Al‐V‐Mo‐Zr alloy
Authors: Liu Yikui , Peng Shuxian , Wang Bin , Luo Wei , Fu Mingzhu , Feng Weizhong , Zhang Pinghui , Zhang Kai , Feng Chun , Liu Huiqun
Published: March 2024

For Ti alloys used in oil drilling pipe, the fatigue crack propagation (FCP) resistance is one of the key properties for petroleum industrial applications. In this work, the fatigue crack propagation behaviors of bimodal, equiaxed, lamellar, and Widmanstatten microstructures have been systematically investigated and characterized by SEM and EBSD. The results show that the Widmanstatten microstructure containing α colonies has higher yield strength (877 MPa), moderate elongation (9.3%), and better FCP resistance compared to other specimens. During the process of crack propagation, the large α colonies can effectively deflect the cracks and induce secondary cracks, which significantly impedes the main crack propagation. Additionally,
tensile twinning can occasionally occur within the large α colony along the crack, improving the plasticity of the crack tip and resulting in a decrease in fatigue crack propagation rate (FCPR).
Using evidence‐based co‐design to develop a hybrid delivered exercise intervention that aims to increase confidence to exercise in people with haemophilia
Authors: Taylor Stephanie , Barker Karen , Stephensen David , Williamson Esther
Published: March 2024

Introduction

Due to advances in treatments, people with haemophilia (PWH) are living longer. They are not as active as the general population due to joint damage and lack confidence to be active due to concerns about further bleeds and pain. There is a need to facilitate healthy aging through promotion of physical activity (PA) and exercise. Changing patient beliefs and increasing physical literacy and confidence to move are thought to be key to helping PWH become more active.

Aim

This paper describes the development of an exercise and behaviour change intervention to improve confidence to exercise in PWH.

Methods

The 4‐stage Medical Research Council framework for complex intervention development was used.

Results

Stakeholders included 17 PWH and 7 physiotherapists working in haemophilia. Seven online focus group meetings were held. The final intervention is a hybrid 12‐week physiotherapist led progressive exercise programme. Classes are 45 min including Pilates, High intensity interval training and balance elements, together with discussion sessions focusing on PA recommendations, the types and benefits of different exercise styles and the effects of PA, together with the effects of aging for PWH. The COM‐B model of behaviour change was used to develop the intervention.

Conclusion

Co‐design helps to produce an intervention that understands the stakeholders needs. Through this process the intervention developed to incorporate not only increasing PA but also confidence to exercise. The use of behaviour change theory identified the behaviour techniques included in the intervention and aims to increase physical literacy in this population.
AN ‘AMATEUR OF GENIUS’: C.S. LEWIS ON THE RISKS OF PROFESSIONAL THEOLOGY
Authors: Perez Jahdiel
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Six decades after his death, there is still no scholarly consensus regarding whether C.S. Lewis should be considered an important theologian of the twentieth century. This paper investigates where the belief that Lewis was not a theological writer worth taking seriously originated. Then it evaluates two approaches that have been introduced in recent scholarship, by P.H. Brazier and Alister McGrath, that seek to affirm Lewis as a modern theologian of distinction. The final and central part of this paper nuances McGrath's argument by surveying seven reasons Lewis had for not doing theology the way academics did – reasons that have often been overlooked in the relevant literature. I argue that Lewis's decision to remain ‘outside the inner ring’ of academic theologians was based on a set of risks he perceived were involved in doing theology professionally. In so doing, I suggest that Lewis's writings about religious topics deserve to be taken seriously by professional theologians and other readers. Besides Lewis scholarship in particular, this discussion matters for Christian theology in general because it explores what it means to be a theologian in an era of professionalisation and the conditions under which religious writers like Lewis can become theologians, both of which cast light on how we understand the nature of theology.
MAKING THE PAST SPEAK: ACCELERATION, RESONANCE, AND PRESENCE1
Authors: Hellerma Juhan
Published: March 2024

This review essay offers an extended analysis of Hartmut Rosa's Resonance: A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World. By proposing a critical theory for our present times, the book dissects modes of being related to the world and how these relations are conditioned by the dynamic of escalation that is inscribed into modern social formations. Rosa argues that the wide‐ranging compulsion to grow, accelerate, and innovate produces a distorted and alienated mode of being in the world, suppressing and limiting possibilities for developing dialogic and responsive relations that are characterized by the concept of resonance. This review essay parses the categorical distinction between alienation and resonance, critically interrogating Rosa's notion that resonant relations form the basis for a good and successful life. While my analysis argues that the structural shortage of resonant relations can make subjects and collectives vulnerable to acting on the promise of resonance—possibly giving rise to problematic and undesired effects—I nonetheless contend that the concept of resonance is an effective explanatory tool that exhibits significant potential for interdisciplinary engagement. To illustrate this potential, I explore the extent to which Rosa's theorizing can illuminate contemporary matters of history and historical temporality. More specifically, I consider the perspective that the framework of resonance provides a comprehensive background for the paradigm of presence and the related surge in interest to theorize bodily and perceptual modes of being connected to the past.
INFRAMARGINAL TRAVELERS AND TRANSPORTATION POLICY
Authors: Hall Jonathan D.
Published: March 2024

Structural models of traffic congestion, such as the bottleneck model, are used to answer important, policy‐relevant questions. However, existing models typically assume that no travelers are inframarginal regarding when to travel; that is, given equilibrium travel times, no travelers strictly prefer their ex ante departure time to all others. In this article, I address this shortcoming by incorporating inframarginal travelers into these models. This change significantly improves these models' ability to fit the data and changes policy prescriptions. In the case of congestion pricing, it typically changes the optimal toll by at least 25% and significantly worsens the distributional impacts.
Transforming settlement and integration services during a pandemic
Authors: Preston Valerie , Shields John , D'Souza Jayesh
Published: March 2024

Settlement services are key to Canada's success in welcoming and integrating immigrants. Offered mainly in person prior to COVID‐19 by non‐governmental agencies reliant on and regulated by government funders, services were forced online and delivered by staff working remotely. We document this transition between September 2020 and September 2021 in Ontario, Canada and the conditions that influenced it. Surveys completed by workers and managers at member agencies of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants reveal how agencies provided services and stabilized organizational resources and capacities. Their success is evident in staff satisfaction with management's responses to the pandemic. While our findings underscore the resilience of the agencies and their workforce, they also challenge many tenets of New Public Management. The survey and discussions with managers suggest that sustained and flexible funding, rapid and respectful communication between agencies and funders and collaborations with other agencies were key to overcoming pandemic challenges.
The effect of nurses' perceived workplace incivility on their presenteeism and turnover intention: The mediating role of work stress and psychological resilience
Authors: Durmuş Ayhan , Ünal Özgün , Türktemiz Halil , Öztürk Yunus Emre
Published: March 2024

Aim

This study aims to determine the effects of nurses' perceived workplace incivility on nurses' presenteeism and turnover intention and to reveal the mediating role of work stress and psychological resilience in the possible impact.

Background

Nurses directly contribute to the treatment of patients. The problems nurses encounter in the workplace can negatively affect nurses' attitudes towards work. Therefore, the problems faced by nurses should be determined.

Methods

This study complies with the STROBE checklist. This cross‐sectional survey was conducted with 302 nurses working in a university hospital in the Konya province of Turkey. Data were collected in May–July 2021. The questionnaire consisted of six parts: sociodemographic characteristics form, workplace incivility scale, psychological resilience scale, work stress scale, turnover intention scale and presenteeism scale. The data were analysed using descriptive statistical methods and partial least‐squares path analysis.

Results

It was determined that workplace incivility positively and significantly affected turnover intention, presenteeism and work stress. In contrast, it negatively and significantly affected psychological resilience. In addition, psychological resilience played a mediating role in the effect of workplace incivility on presenteeism.

Conclusion

The results reveal that the behaviours of incivility encountered by nurses in the workplace increase their presenteeism and turnover intention, and work stress further strengthens these effects. The psychological resilience of nurses is a factor that can help them eliminate their negative emotions and attitudes. Therefore, it is recommended that nursing and health managers first identify the stress factors in the workplace and be determined to fight them. In addition, organizing training and providing psychological support to increase nurses' psychological resilience may enable nurses to develop more positive feelings about their jobs and workplaces.

Implications for nursing and health policy

Nursing and health managers must determine workplace incivility behaviours and inform all employees about these behaviours, their consequences and how to deal with such incivility. In addition, nursing and health managers must determine the stress factors in the workplace and be adamant about combating these factors. In addition, nursing and health managers must give importance to training that will increase the psychological resilience of nurses.
Effects of folic acid supplementation on cognitive impairment: A meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Xu Manru , Zhu Yue , Chen Jinxin , Li Jie , Qin Jingbo , Fan Yiran , Ren Pan , Hu Huixue , Wu Wenbin
Published: March 2024

Objective

With the increasing number of patients with cognitive impairment, nonpharmacological ways to delay cognitive impairment have attracted people's attention, such as lifestyle changes and nutritional supplementation. Folic acid supplementation appears to be a promising treatment option. However, it remains controversial whether folic acid supplementation is effective in delaying adult's cognitive impairment. Therefore, we conducted a meta‐analysis to analyze the effects of folic acid supplementation on different cognitive impairments.

Methods

We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, EMbase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang and VIP databases for randomized controlled trials on January 22, 2024. The included population comprised those diagnosed with cognitive impairment. We included trials that compared folic acid treatment with placebo, other dosing regimens, or other intervention controls. Conducting quality evaluation of included studies according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Statistical analyses were performed using Review Manager software.

Results

Twenty‐two trials, including 3604 participants, met inclusion criteria. Compared with controls, the cognitive function of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients showed improvement with folic acid supplementation: supplementation with < 3 mg (standardized mean differences (SMD) = 0.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) –0.10 to 0.41), and supplementing with ≥ 3 mg folic acid could improve cognitive function in AD patients (SMD = 1.03, 95% CI 0.18 to 1.88). Additionally, it reduced homocysteine (HCY) levels (mean differences (MD) = –4.74, 95% CI –8.08 to –1.39). In mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, cognitive function improved with folic acid supplementation: supplementation with > 400 μg (SMD = 0.38, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.63), and supplementation with ≤ 400 μg (SMD = 1.10, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.31). It also reduced HCY levels at intervention ≤ 6 months (MD = –3.93, 95% CI –5.05 to –2.82) and intervention > 6 months (MD = –4.38, 95% CI –5.15 to –3.61). However, supplementing with folic acid did not improve cognitive function in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) patients, with folic acid supplements < 3 mg (SMD = –0.07, 95% CI –0.23 to –0.08), folic acid supplements ≥ 3 mg (SMD = 0.46, 95% CI –0.57 to 1.49), however, it reduced HCY levels at intervention > 6 months (MD = –5.91, 95% CI –7.13 to –4.69) and intervention ≤ 6 months (MD = –11.15, 95% CI –12.35 to –9.95).

Conclusions

Supplement folic acid is beneficial to the cognitive profile of patients with MCI, supplementation with ≥ 3 mg folic acid can improve cognitive function in AD patients.