bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Compliance with World Health Organization's COVID‐19 guidelines among Iraqi health workers
Authors: Hadi Burhan , Jassem Kadhim H. , Abadi Reheem M. , Igrish Mohamed A. , Hussein Ali F. A. , Lee Ka Y.
Published: February 2023

During the COVID‐19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced guidelines with respect to hygiene practices, quarantine policies, and medical practices for health institutions to follow. Most studies examining compliance with WHO guidelines have been conducted at individual level but not at institutional level. This study investigates the availability of resources of health institutions in Iraq and their compliance with WHO COVID‐19 guidelines. A total of 234 health workers, including physicians, nurses and medical technicians, were recruited in Babylon, Iraq. Self‐reported number of health workers available in the health centre and the levels of compliance with the WHO's guidelines were assessed. Implementation of preventive measures for infected persons, fogging procedures, and having a crisis management team in the health centre were the top three common practices as recommended by WHO. There was a weak but significant positive relationship between the number of health workers in the healthcare centre and the levels of compliance with the WHO's COVID‐19 guidelines (ρ = 0.243, p < 0.05), indicating that manpower may determine the implementation of these guidelines. There is a correlation between the quantity of health workers and the levels of compliance with the WHO's COVID‐19 guidelines, showing that it is important to ensure sufficient human resources available in the health centre to implement the standard practices. In addition, more financial resources are needed to provide sufficient protective equipment and disposable supplies to health workers in Iraq.
Dis-embedding or Re-embedding? Exploring Migrants’ Responses in Contexts of ‘Unsettling Events’
Authors: Ryan Louise
Published: February 2023

Over the last few years, a series of ‘unsettling events’ has profoundly impacted on migratory projects. As noted by Jakobson, King, Moroşanu and Vetik in the editors’ opening chapter of this book, migrants are impacted by ‘multiple layers of crises’. In this chapter, I contribute to this body of scholarship by using longitudinal data, a social networks lens and the conceptual framework of differentiated embedding to explore how migrants respond to unsettling events such as Brexit. In so doing, I seek to advance understanding of the different ways in which migrants mobilise resources and adopt strategies in their efforts to navigate and resist potentially unsettling forces.
Adapting to the New Normality: The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Seasonal Migration from Albania
Authors: Kopliku Bresena , Çaro Erka
Published: February 2023

The Covid-19 pandemic created economic turmoil and impacted various areas of life all over the world. One of the major socio-political aspects of this global crisis consisted of border closures and lockdowns imposed by governments. Migrant workers have been one of the most affected groups, because they are over-represented in vulnerable occupations and among workers with short-term labour contracts; hence, they are among the first to be laid off. Dependent for 30 years now on the financial capital coming from diverse types of migration – seasonal migration, circular mobility and remittances from international migration – the economy of Albania was negatively impacted by the consequences of these changes. Many migrant workers had to return to their country of origin and face the precarious situation from which they had already left. A lot of seasonal and circular migrant workers were trapped and could not emigrate. Outward mobility shrank or was postponed because of travel bans. The more significant consequences were experienced by seasonal migrants who are used to generating incomes through temporary work and who were unable to continue doing so due to being stuck in Albania. The fall in remittances during this period was partially caused by the strong impact that the crisis had on emigrant workers, be they temporary or permanent: the measures that prohibited many economic activities in the host countries; the difficulties of transferring money; as well as a significant portion of remittances normally making their way to Albania through informal channels.
Disrupted Mobilities: British-Bangladeshis Visiting Their Friends and Relatives During the Global Pandemic
Authors: Miah Md Farid
Published: February 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the cross-border mobilities of people and materials. The ramifications of such a sudden large-scale disruption of mobilities were hugely significant for migrants’ and diasporic citizens’ transnational way of life. Being ‘here’ and ‘there’ and maintaining intimate personal, familial and social ties between people and places transnationally suddenly became virtually impossible, and some of these blockages and brakes to mobility continue. National lockdowns by many countries across the globe and the virtual halting of international travel severely limited people’s capacity to physically travel. Visiting geographically distant relatives and friends, meeting them face-to-face and fulfilling cultural obligations and duties, such as providing care or attending a funeral, became very challenging. In this chapter, I examine the disruptions of human spatial-temporal mobilities of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) between members of the British-Bangladeshi diaspora in London and their home country, Bangladesh. Drawing from interviews both in-person and online via Zoom and WhatsApp, I analyse and interpret the complex experiences of their visits and the consequences of enforced immobilities for individuals and families during the pandemic.
The Assimilationist Drift of Italian Jurisprudence on Integration in the Years of the ‘Refugee Crisis’
Authors: Cavaggion Giovanni
Published: February 2023

The coexistence of different cultures in the same legal system is a given fact of contemporary ‘Western’ societies, produced by structural migratory phenomena that are not realistically reversible and that brought about the advent of the so-called ‘multicultural state’. In a multicultural state, a cultural majority lives side-by-side with one or more cultural, ethnic or religious minorities, who sometimes identify themselves with a set of values and principles that could be regarded as incompatible with those of the host country’s legal system, thus generating what has been described by scholars as a ‘meeting’ (or a ‘clash’) of cultures. This chapter documents the shift in Italian legal rulings on specific issues of migrant cultural practices in Italy towards a more assimilationist stance, reflecting the wider political dynamics of migrant and refugee arrivals in Italy.
Bootstrapping $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 4 sYM correlators using integrability
Authors: Caron-Huot Simon , Coronado Frank , Trinh Anh-Khoi , Zahraee Zahra
Published: February 2023

Abstract

How much spectral information is needed to determine the correlation functions of a conformal theory? We study this question in the context of planar supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, where integrability techniques accurately determine the single-trace spectrum at finite ’t Hooft coupling. Corresponding OPE coefficients are constrained by dispersive sum rules, which implement crossing symmetry. Focusing on correlators of four stress-tensor multiplets, we construct combinations of sum rules which determine one-loop correlators, and we study a numerical bootstrap problem that nonperturbatively bounds planar OPE coefficients. We observe interesting cusps at the location of physical operators, and we obtain a nontrivial upper bound on the OPE coefficient of the Konishi operator outside the perturbative regime.
Welche mikrobiotaorientierten Therapien sind heute gesichert effektiv?
Authors: Scharl Michael
Published: February 2023

Hintergrund

Das Interesse an der Mikrobiota (dazu zählen Bakterien, Pilze und Viren) und an mikrobiotaorientierten Therapien ist in den letzten Jahren stetig gewachsen. Der Zusammenhang zwischen der Entstehung verschiedenster Erkrankungen und der Zusammensetzung der intestinalen Mikrobiota ist hier von besonderem Interesse. Insbesondere die Chancen, die eine gezielte Manipulation der Mikrobiotazusammensetzung in Therapieansätzen eröffnet, scheinen vielversprechend.

Zielsetzung

Ziel dieses Übersichtsbeitrags ist es, die aktuelle Datenlage zu mikrobiotaorientierten Therapien zusammenzufassen sowie die mittels Studien nachweislich als effizient geltenden Therapieoptionen für bestimmte Erkrankungen aufzuzeigen.

Ergebnisse

Die aktuelle Datenlage zur Effektivität mikrobiotabasierter Therapien variiert stark zwischen den untersuchten Erkrankungen. Während bestimmte Therapien in der Behandlung einiger Erkrankungen nachweisliche Erfolge erzielten, ist die Datenlage für andere Erkrankungen noch mangelhaft. So beträgt die Erfolgsrate bei der Behandlung einer Clostridioides-difficile-Kolitis mittels fäkaler Mikrobiotatransplantation 80–90 %.

Schlussfolgerung

Die Behebung von Dysbiosen der intestinalen Mikrobiota kann eine Möglichkeit zur Behandlung der entsprechenden Erkrankungen darstellen. Mangels eines kausal-funktionellen Verständnisses und aufgrund der deskriptiven Natur der bisherigen Kenntnisse sind die Anwendungen bisher jedoch noch beschränkt. Die derzeit durchgeführten klinischen Studien zu Veränderungen und der Wichtigkeit unserer Darmmikrobiota könnten womöglich bald zu weiteren therapeutischen Optionen in der Behandlung verschiedener Erkrankungen führen.
Truncated Affine Rozansky–Witten Models as Extended TQFTs
Authors: Brunner Ilka , Carqueville Nils , Roggenkamp Daniel
Published: February 2023

We construct extended TQFTs associated to Rozansky–Witten models with target manifolds $$T^*\mathbb {C}^n$$

T
∗

C

n

. The starting point of the construction is the 3-category whose objects are such Rozansky–Witten models, and whose morphisms are defects of all codimensions. By truncation, we obtain a (non-semisimple) 2-category $$\mathcal C$$
C
of bulk theories, surface defects, and isomorphism classes of line defects. Through a systematic application of the cobordism hypothesis we construct a unique extended oriented 2-dimensional TQFT valued in $$\mathcal C$$
C
for every affine Rozansky–Witten model. By evaluating this TQFT on closed surfaces we obtain the infinite-dimensional state spaces (graded by flavour and R-charges) of the initial 3-dimensional theory. Furthermore, we explicitly compute the commutative Frobenius algebras that classify the restrictions of the extended theories to circles and bordisms between them.
Dimer–Dimer Correlations at the Rough–Smooth Boundary
Authors: Johansson Kurt , Mason Scott
Published: February 2023

Three phases of macroscopic domains have been seen for large but finite periodic dimer models; these are known as the frozen, rough and smooth phases. The transition region between the frozen and rough region has received a lot of attention for the last twenty years and recently work has been underway to understand the rough–smooth transition region in the case of the two-periodic Aztec diamond. We compute uniform asymptotics for dimer–dimer correlations of the two-periodic Aztec diamond when the dimers lie in the rough–smooth transition region. These asymptotics rely on a formula found in Chhita and Johansson (Adv Math 294:37–149, 2016) for the inverse Kasteleyn matrix, they also apply to the infinite square grid dimer model with a variable weighting which interpolates between the rough and smooth phase (Kenyon et al. Ann Math (2) 163(3):1019–1056, 2006). In particular, we find that distant dimers initially decay exponentially when the magnetic coordinates are very close to the bounded complementary component of the associated amoebae, they then transition to a power law decay once far enough apart.
Nash Equilibria Strategies and Equivalent Single-Objective Optimization Problems. The Case of Linear Partial Differential Equations
Authors: Ramos Angel Manuel
Published: February 2023

In this paper we study the existence and uniqueness of Nash equilibria (solution to competition-wise problems, with several controls trying to reach possibly different goals) associated to linear partial differential equations and show that, in some cases, they are also the solution of suitable single-objective optimization problems (i.e. cooperative-wise problems, where all the controls cooperate to reach a common goal). We use cost functions associated with a particular linear parabolic partial differential equation and distributed controls, but the results are also valid for more general linear differential equations (including elliptic and hyperbolic cases) and controls (e.g. boundary controls, initial value controls,...).
Slurry Tales: Newspaper Coverage of Livestock Slurry Reproduces Public Discourse on Agriculture in Germany
Authors: Artner-Nehls Astrid , Uthes Sandra
Published: February 2023

The rapid transition of livestock husbandry in the 20th century involved a broad adoption of slurry-based livestock housing systems that resulted in farm economic benefits, but also in societal debate related to the environment and animal welfare. In this article, we apply the method of topic modeling to four major German newspapers to identify thematic emphases and changes in coverage around “slurry”. We considered more than 2300 articles published between 1971 and 2020. Our results show that reporting encompasses economic, environmental, and social topics in which slurry is represented mostly critically (“poisonous substance”), occasionally neutrally (“scent of countryside”), or rarely positively (“input for the bioeconomy”). Three meta-themes overarch the majority of issues and reflect public discourse on agriculture: (i) the dichotomy of agricultural industrialization and family farming; (ii) contrasting actualities of factory farming and animal welfare; and (iii) the responsibility of policy for the emergence, existence and solution of livestock and slurry-related problems. A more balanced recognition of mutual values and constraints by the media could contribute to a discursive reconciliation of public and private interests.
Delay of laminar–turbulent transition by counter-rotating cylindrical roughness elements in a laminar flat plate boundary layer
Authors: Römer Tristan M. , Schulz Kai A. , Wu Yongxiang , Wenzel Christoph , Rist Ulrich
Published: February 2023

Delaying laminar–turbulent transition in boundary layers is of great interest since the skin-friction coefficient can be reduced by up to one order of magnitude. In this experimental research, it is shown that counter-rotating cylindrical roughness elements are able to delay transition under realistic flow conditions. Evidence is given by the intermittency, evaluated from hot-film measurements in a laminar water channel. An increase in rotation speed results in a delay of transition of up to $${6.5}{\%}$$

6.5

%

in the center of the plate. This trend can be explained by the streaks amplified by the rotating cylinders, resulting in a damping of the fluctuation amplitude in the boundary layer. The advantage of this method is that the transition delay can be actively controlled with conventional cylindrical roughness elements.

Graphical abstract
Distal shunt placement in pediatric ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery: an international survey of practice
Authors: Ruf Linus , Greuter Ladina , Guzman Raphael , Soleman Jehuda
Published: February 2023

Objective

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) surgery is a common treatment for hydrocephalus in children and adults, making it one of the most common procedures in neurosurgery. Children being treated with a VPS often require several revisions during their lifetime with a lifetime revision rate of up to 80%. Several different techniques exist for inserting the distal catheter, while mini-laparotomy, trocar, or laparoscopy is traditionally used. As opposed to adults, only few studies exist, comparing the outcome of the different distal catheter placement techniques in children. This international survey aims to investigate the current daily practice concerning distal shunt placement techniques in children.

Material and methods

An online questionnaire investigating the different techniques used to place the distal catheter in pediatric VPS surgery was distributed internationally. All results were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistics.

Results

A total of 139 responses were obtained. Mini-laparotomy was reported to be the most frequently used technique (n = 104, 74.8%) for distal shunt placement in children, while laparoscopic or trocar-assisted placements were only used by 3.6% (n = 5) and 21.6% (n = 30) of all respondents, respectively. Over half (n = 75, 54.0%) of all respondents do not believe that laparoscopic placement improves the outcome.

Conclusion

This international survey shows that mini-laparotomy is the most frequently used technique for distal VPS placement in children all over the world. Further randomized trials are needed to elucidate this matter.
Syringomatous dermatitis: a myth or an existing entity?
Authors: Hassab-El-Naby Hussein M. M. , Nouh Ahmed H.
Published: February 2023

Syringoma is rare disease that in classical variant occurs mainly on lower eyelids. In previously published researches, there is increasing evidence that eruptive syringomas must be discussed as an inflammatory dermal reaction pattern. And there was a proposal to change a name from eruptive syringoma to reactive syringomatous proliferation in appropriate cases. We conduct retrospective study on histopathological archived material to study the histopathological findings in cases of eruptive syringomas and correlate it with hypothesis that eruptive syringomas is not true adnexal neoplasms “de novo” but a hyperplastic response of the acrosyringium to an inflammatory process.

According to obtained data and literature correlation, we can conclude that there is apparent diversity in eruptive syringomas. Part of cases can be calculated as neoplastic lesions arising “de novo,” and another part as reactive syringomatous proliferation due to preceding cutaneous inflammatory process. Thus, term “eruptive syringoma” may be changed in appropriate cases to a “reactive syringomatous proliferation.”

Clinical variants of eruptive syringoma with evidence of underlying inflammatory process may be more responsive on types of treatments used for inflammatory disorders. Thus, more global clinicopathological correlative researches should be conducted and classification with terminology should be appropriately changed.
CIN2 + detection in high-risk HPV patients with no or minor cervical cytologic abnormalities: a clinical approach validated by machine learning
Authors: Wittenborn Julia , Kupec Tomas , Iborra Séverine , Najjari Laila , Kennes Lieven N. , Stickeler Elmar
Published: February 2023

Purpose

To evaluate the feasibility and diagnostic value of the combination of colposcopy, cytology and hrHPV (high-risk human papilloma virus) PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing in patients with no or minor cytologic abnormalities and HPV high risk infection and to find the best predictors for the presence of CIN2 + in this patient collective.

Methods

Three hundred and thirty-four hrHPV patients with normal cytology or minor cytologic abnormalities who had a colposcopic examination at the center of colposcopy at the university hospital Aachen in 2021 were enrolled in this retrospective cohort analysis. Multivariate logistic regression and a machine-learning technique (random forests, leave-one-out analysis) were used.

Results

The overall risk for CIN2 + in hrHPV-positive patients with normal cytology was 7.7% (N = 18) (5% for CIN3 +), 18% (N = 16) (10.1% for CIN3 +) in patients with PAP IIp (ASC-US) and 62.5% (N = 5) (25% for CIN3 +) in patients with PAP IIg (AGC). Variables that show a statistically significant influence for the CIN-status are ‘major change’ as the result of colposcopy, transformation zone type T1, PAP IIg upon referral (AGC) and hrHPV category 1a (HPV 16/18) detection. Using machine learning (random forests) techniques, the main influencing variables were confirmed. A monotonously decreasing risk for CIN2 + from hrHPV category 1a to 3 (in accordance to the IACR guidelines) was found.

Conclusion

In the collective of hrHPV patients with no or minor cytologic abnormalities, the result of colposcopy and HPV PCR status are key predictors for the detection of CIN2 + with a monotonously decreasing risk for CIN2 + from hrHPV category 1a to 3.
Skeletal injuries after cesarean section — a rare differential diagnosis of child abuse
Authors: Küppers L. , Schaffer C. , Helbig M. , Ritz-Timme S.
Published: February 2023

Birth-related fractures are an important differential diagnosis of child abuse in early infancy. While fractures associated to vaginal deliveries are well known, cesarean section is not necessarily known to cause such injuries. Nevertheless neonatal fractures have been described after cesarean sections. To give an overview over the frequency and typical locations of such fractures, the appearance of symptoms and the timespan until diagnosis, a literature research was conducted via Google scholar and Pubmed, using the key words “cesarean section” and “fractures”. Birth-related fractures after cesarean sections are rare but can occur, with the long bones being particularly affected. Therefore, birth injuries should always be considered in the forensic medical assessment of fractures in early infancy, even after cesarean section. To enable a differentiation between birth trauma and physical abuse, birth and operation records should be checked for surgical manoeuvres, possible difficulties during the procedure or other risk factors. Birth-related fractures are usually detected early; in rare cases, the diagnosis is made only weeks after birth.
Integrated care for children living with complex care needs: an evolutionary concept analysis
Authors: Cassidy Lorna , Quirke Mary Brigid , Alexander Denise , Greene Jo , Hill Katie , Connolly Michael , Brenner Maria
Published: February 2023

Children with complex care needs (CCNs) are in need of improved access to healthcare services, communication, and support from healthcare professionals to ensure high-quality care is delivered to meet their needs. Integrated care is viewed as a key component of care delivery for children with CCNs, as it promotes the integration of healthcare systems to provide family and child-centred care across the entire health spectrum. There are many definitions and frameworks that support integrated care, but there is a lack of conceptual clarity around the term. Furthermore, it is often unclear how integrated care can be delivered to children with CCNs, therefore reinforcing the need for further clarification on how to define integrated care. An evolutionary concept analysis was conducted to clarify how integrated care for children with CCNs is defined within current literature. We found that integrated care for children with CCNs refers to highly specialised individualised care within or across services, that is co-produced by interdisciplinary teams, families, and children, supported by digital health technologies.

  Conclusion: Given the variation in terms of study design, outcomes, and patient populations this paper highlights the need for further research into methods to measure integrated care.

What is Known:

• Children with complex care needs require long-term care, and are in need of improved services, communication, and information from healthcare professionals to provide them with the ongoing support they need to manage their condition.

• Integrated care is a key component in healthcare delivery for children with complex care needs as it has the potential to improve access to family-centred care across the entire health spectrum.

What is New:

• Integrated care for children with CCNs refers to highly specialised individualised care within or across services, that is co-produced by interdisciplinary teams, families, and children, supported by digital health technologies.

• There is a need for the development of measurement tools to effectively assess integrated care within practice.
Humour interventions for patients in palliative care—a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Linge-Dahl Lisa , Kreuz Rainer , Stoffelen Mieke , Heintz Sonja , Ruch Willibald , von Hirschhausen Eckart , Radbruch Lukas
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The effect of humour on end-of-life patients could be beneficial and is worth investigating. However, data on humour interventions for patients in palliative care are scarce. This study evaluated the effects of a humour intervention in a palliative care setting.

Methods

A two-step intervention was developed based on the humour habits programme by McGhee. Patients were assisted to remember funny episodes from their past and recognize humorous aspects of the present and encouraged to produce humour. The intervention and control group completed questionnaires on life satisfaction, cheerfulness, symptom burden, and perceived stress and if possible gave saliva samples to investigate oxytocin levels. The study was a randomized controlled monocentre study on patients treated in a palliative care ward. Participants had to be conscious and alert enough to complete data collection. Overall, 55 patients were included and randomized to the intervention or control group.

Results

Parameters in the control group did not change significantly. In the intervention group, seriousness, bad mood, and stress were reduced. Cheerfulness increased significantly after the intervention. However, the methodologically complex intervention setting was too exhausting for the majority of patients.

Conclusion

Patients who were able to participate benefited from the effects of the intervention on multiple levels. For future research simple interventions, biomarkers for well-being and assessments by staff or proxies are needed to include patients with reduced cognitive and physical performance status at the end of their lives.

Trial registration

DRKS00028978 German Registry of Clinical Studies.
Aggregation Properties of Triton X-100 in a Mixture of Ordinary and Heavy Water
Authors: Arkhipov Victor P. , Arkhipov Ruslan V. , Kuzina Natalia , Petrova Ekaterina V. , Filippov Andrei
Published: February 2023

The dynamic and aggregation properties of Triton X-100 in a mixture of ordinary and heavy water in a wide temperature range from room temperature to the cloud point and above were studied. The ratio of ordinary and heavy water was calculated in such a way as to ensure equal densities of Triton X-100 and the water mixture. This made it possible to exclude the effects of sedimentation and study the evolution of Triton X-100 micelles and aggregates, without complication by the effects of spatial phase separation above the cloud point. Self-diffusion coefficients of Triton X-100 molecules were measured by NMR, and the effective hydrodynamic radii of micelles and aggregates were calculated using the Stokes–Einstein relation. The anomalous temperature behavior of the diffusion coefficient of Triton X-100 molecules is explained by changes in the sizes of diffusing objects during their evolution from micelles to dehydrated aggregates below the cloud point and by changes in the sizes of aggregates above the cloud point. The results of the NMR studies are confirmed by data obtained by dynamic light scattering.
Application of the green analytical procedure index to the simultaneous analysis of co-formulated tinidazole and ciprofloxacin in pure form, tablet dosage form, and human plasma using an environmentally friendly micellar high-performance thin-layer chromatographic technology
Authors: Saraya Roshdy E. , Hassan Yasser F. , Eltoukhi Walid E. , Salman Baher I.
Published: February 2023

In individuals with chronic refractory pouchitis and other gastrointestinal disorders, the combination of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and tinidazole (TIN) is beneficial and safe. As a result, a green micellar high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) approach for the immediate analysis of TIN and CIP in pure, spiked human plasma, and co-formulated tablet dosage form has been developed. It is rapid, extremely easy, sensitive, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly. The stationary phase was Merck aluminum HPTLC plates covered with silica gel 60 F254, while the mobile phase was acetone–ethanol–2% watery sodium dodecyl sulfate (3:4:2, V/V). For quantification of both medications, the densitometric scanner was set at 310 nm. For TIN and CIP, this chromatographic separation yielded symmetric, compact peaks with RF values of (0.22 ± 0.009) and (0.42 ± 0.007), respectively. At 310 nm, the separated spots were densitometrically scanned. For TIN and CIP, the detection thresholds were 6.7 ng/band and 25.03 ng/band, respectively. For TIN and CIP, the quantification limits were 20.3 ng/band and 75.25 ng/band, respectively. The approach was validated according to International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) principles and then used to determine the researched medicines in their various pharmaceutical dosage forms, and human plasma yielding an exceptional percent of recovery. In terms of precision and accuracy, the results were in great accordance with the published approach. This method is suitable for the sequential analysis of the two drugs in pure form, tablet dosage forms, and spiked human plasma due to its simplicity, speed, greenness, robustness, and low cost.
Histopathological and immunohistochemical profiles of pulp tissues in immature dogs’ teeth to two recently introduced pulpotomy materials
Authors: Mohamed Mai , Hashem Ahmed Abdel Rahman , Obeid Maram Farouk , Abu-Seida Ashraf
Published: February 2023

Objective

The pulpal response to Hoffmann’s Pulpine mineral (PMIN) and Pulpine NE (PNE) was compared to mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) when used as pulpotomy materials in immature permanent teeth in dogs.

Materials and methods

Immature premolars were randomly divided according to the observation period into three equal groups (n = 24) (10 days, 30 days, and 90 days) then furtherly subdivided into 3 subgroups according to the material used. Histopathological analysis regarding inflammatory cell infiltration and dentin bridge (DB) formation was done. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using osteopontin marker.

Results

The results showed that after 90 days, both MTA and PMIN subgroups had 100% complete thick DB without inflammation in 87.5% of the samples, while the PNE subgroup failed to form DB in 37.5% of the samples and 50% of samples showed thin initial DB with heavy inflammation in 62.5% of the samples. There was no significant difference between MTA and PMIN, while there was a statistically significant difference between PNE and the two other subgroups in DB formation and inflammatory cell infiltration (P > 0.05). After 90 days, MTA showed the highest mean value of osteopontin positive fraction area followed by PMIN without statistically significant differences, while the least value was recorded in PNE subgroup with statistically significant difference with the remaining subgroups (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

PMIN is a promising alternative to MTA when used for pulpotomy.

Clinical relevance

Vital pulp therapy in immature teeth can be done using PMIN as an alternative to MTA.
Cohen syndrome and early-onset epileptic encephalopathy in male triplets: two disease-causing mutations in VPS13B and NAPB
Authors: AbdelAleem Alice , Haddad Naim , Al-Ettribi Ghada , Crunk Amy , Elsotouhy Ahmed
Published: February 2023

Cohen syndrome (CS) is a rare multisystem autosomal recessive disorder associated with mutations in VPS13B (vacuolar protein sorting homolog 13B). The NAPB-related neurodevelopmental disorder is characterized mainly by early-onset epileptic encephalopathy (EOEE) and is associated with mutations in NAPB that encodes for SNAP-beta (soluble NSF attachment protein beta). Here we describe male triplets, clinically presenting with the phenotype of subtle but distinctive facial features, intellectual disability, increased body weight, neonatal EOEE, and prominently variable abnormal behaviors of autism and sexual arousal. The EEG showed multifocal epilepsy, while the brain MRI showed no abnormalities. Diagnostic exome sequencing (ES), the applied next-generation sequencing approach, revealed the interesting finding of two novel homozygous variants in two genes: VPS13B missense variant (c.8516G > A) and NAPB splice-site loss (c.354 + 2 T > G). Sanger sequencing verified the segregation of the two recessive gene variants with the phenotype in family members. The prediction algorithms support the pathogenicity of these variants. Homozygosity mapping of ES data of this consanguineous family revealed multiple chromosomal regions of homozygosity stretches with the residing of VPS13B (chr8: 100830758G > A) and NAPB (Chr20: 23,375,774 A > C) variants within the largest homozygous blocks further supporting the disease-genes causal role. Interestingly, the functions of the two proteins; VPS13B, a transmembrane protein involved in intracellular protein transport, and SNAP-beta involved in neurotransmitters release at the neuronal synaptic complexes, have been associated with Golgi-mediated vesicular trafficking. Our ES findings provide new insights into the pathologic mechanism underlying the expansion of the neurodevelopmental spectrum in CS and further highlight the importance of Golgi and Golgi-membrane-related proteins in the development of neurodevelopmental syndromes associated with early-onset non-channelopathy epilepsy. To our knowledge, this is the first report documenting multifocal EOEE in CS patients with the association of a pathogenic NAPB variant.
Evaluating the capacity of paired comparison methods to aggregate rankings of separate groups
Authors: Orbán-Mihálykó Éva , Mihálykó Csaba , Gyarmati László
Published: February 2023

Ranking and rating methods have outstanding significance in sports, mainly due to their capacity to predict results. In this paper we turn to their capacity to aggregate separate groups’ rankings based on a small piece of information. We investigate under which conditions two or more separate groups can be trustworthily interwoven applying Thurstone motivated methods and an AHP based method. A theorem is proved which guarantees adequate unified ranking based on some links between the groups. We also analyse the robustness of the results.
Clinical relevance of PD-1 positive CD8 T-cells in gastric cancer
Authors: Choo Joan , Kua Ley Fang , Soe Mu Yar , Asuncion Bernadette Reyna , Tan Benjamin Kye Jyn , Teo Chong Boon , Tay Ryan Yong Kiat , So Jimmy , Shabbir Asim , Guowei Kim , Tan Hon Lyn , Chan Gloria , Ma Haoran , Ramachandran Gokula Krishnan , Lum Jeffrey H. Y. , Chee Cheng Ean , Sridharan Sriram , Tan Patrick , Sundar Raghav , Yong Wei Peng
Published: February 2023

Background

We evaluated the relevance of PD-1+CD8+ T-cells in gastric cancer (GC) including prognostic significance, association with chemotherapy and immunotherapy sensitivity and correlations with the tumor microenvironment (TME).

Methods

Discovery cohort: GC samples were evaluated for AE1/3, CD8, PD-1, Ki-67 and Granzyme-B expression with fluorescence-based multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC). Validation cohorts: we analyzed bulk RNAseq GC datasets from TCGA, the “3G” chemotherapy trial and an immunotherapy phase 2 trial. The cox proportional hazards model was used to identify factors that influenced overall survival (OS). To study the TME, we analyzed single-cell RNAseq performed on GCs.

Results

In the discovery cohort of 350 GCs, increased PD-1 expression of CD8 T-cells was prognostic for OS (HR 0.822, p = 0.042). PD-1 expression in CD8 T-cells highly correlated with cytolytic [Granzyme-B+] (r = 0.714, p < 0.001) and proliferative [Ki-67+] (r = 0.798, p < 0.001) activity. Analysis of bulk RNAseq datasets showed tumors with high PD-1 and CD8A expression levels had improved OS when treated with immunotherapy (HR 0.117, p = 0.036) and chemotherapy (HR 0.475, p = 0.017). Analysis of an scRNAseq dataset of 152,423 cells from 40 GCs revealed that T-cell and NK-cell proportions were higher (24% vs 18% and 19% vs 15%, p < 0.0001), while macrophage proportions were lower (7% vs 11%, p < 0.0001) in CD8PD-1high compared to CD8PD-1low tumors.

Conclusion

This is one of the largest GC cohorts of mIHC combined with analysis of multiple datasets providing orthogonal validation of the clinical relevance of PD-1+CD8+ T-cells being associated with improved OS. CD8PD-1high tumors have distinct features of an immunologically active, T-cell inflamed TME.
Radial nerve compression: anatomical perspective and clinical consequences
Authors: Węgiel Andrzej , Karauda Piotr , Zielinska Nicol , Tubbs R. Shane , Olewnik Łukasz
Published: February 2023

The radial nerve is the biggest branch of the posterior cord of the brachial plexus and one of its five terminal branches. Entrapment of the radial nerve at the elbow is the third most common compressive neuropathy of the upper limb after carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndromes. Because the incidence is relatively low and many agents can compress it along its whole course, entrapment of the radial nerve or its branches can pose a considerable clinical challenge. Several of these agents are related to normal or variant anatomy. The most common of the compressive neuropathies related to the radial nerve is the posterior interosseus nerve syndrome. Appropriate treatment requires familiarity with the anatomical traits influencing the presenting symptoms and the related prognoses. The aim of this study is to describe the compressive neuropathies of the radial nerve, emphasizing the anatomical perspective and highlighting the traps awaiting physicians evaluating these entrapments.
Integrity monitoring scheme for undifferenced and uncombined multi-frequency multi-constellation PPP-RTK
Authors: Zhang Wenhao , Wang Jinling , El-Mowafy Ahmed , Rizos Chris
Published: February 2023

The precise point positioning (PPP)-based real-time-kinematic (RTK) method attracts increasing attention from both academia and industry because of its potential for high accuracy positioning with a shorter convergence time compared to the traditional PPP. Besides high accuracy, integrity monitoring (IM) is indispensable for safety–critical real-time land vehicle and aviation applications. As the traditional advanced receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (ARAIM) method is designed for (smoothed) pseudorange-based positioning, the complexity of multi-frequency multi-constellation PPP-RTK using carrier phase measurements has not been given sufficient consideration. This study proposes an IM scheme for multi-frequency multi-constellation uncombined PPP-RTK applying the ARAIM theory, with a new comprehensive threat model to accommodate not only pseudorange measurements, but also carrier phase measurements, and other fault events arising from the network corrections that support PPP-RTK. Characteristics of different types of faults are analyzed with the aid of numerical experiments. In addition, the impact of ambiguity-fixed solutions on PPP-RTK integrity performance is investigated. The authors have also conducted case studies, including static and real-kinematic positioning experiments. Experiments have demonstrated that fast convergence in accuracy and the position error bounds, or protection levels, with a given integrity risk, in horizontal position components of PPP-RTK could be achieved. For the open sky environments on a highway, the protection levels estimated by PPP-RTK solutions have the potential to meet the alert limit requirement for road transportation using ambiguity-fixed PPP-RTK positioning under the assumption that the risks of wrong ambiguity fixing are very small and can be ignored.
Land use and land cover as a conditioning factor in landslide susceptibility: a literature review
Authors: Pacheco Quevedo Renata , Velastegui-Montoya Andrés , Montalván-Burbano Néstor , Morante-Carballo Fernando , Korup Oliver , Daleles Rennó Camilo
Published: February 2023

Landslide occurrence has become increasingly influenced by human activities. Accordingly, changing land use and land cover (LULC) is an important conditioning factor in landslide susceptibility models. We present a bibliometric analysis and review of how LULC was explored in the context of landslide susceptibility in 536 scientific articles from 2001 to 2020. The pattern of publications and citations reveals that most articles hardly focus on the relationship between LULC and landslides despite a growing interest in this topic. Most research outputs came from Asian countries (some of which are frequently affected by landslides), and mostly with prominent international collaboration. We recognised three major research themes regarding the characteristics of LULC data, different simulated scenarios of LULC changes, and the role of future scenarios for both LULC and landslide susceptibility. The most frequently studied LULC classes included roads, soils (in the broadest sense), and forests, often to approximate the negative impacts of expanding infrastructure, deforestation, or major land use changes involving agricultural practice. We highlight several articles concerned primarily with current practice and future scenarios of changing land use in the context of landslides. The relevance of LULC in landslide susceptibility analysis is growing slowly, though with much potential to be explored for future LULC scenario analysis and to close gaps in many study areas.
Fluid Mechanical Effects of Fetal Aortic Valvuloplasty for Cases of Critical Aortic Stenosis with Evolving Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
Authors: Wong Hong Shen , Li Binghuan , Tulzer Andreas , Tulzer Gerald , Yap Choon Hwai
Published: February 2023

Fetuses with critical aortic stenosis (FAS) are at high risk of progression to HLHS by the time of birth (and are thus termed “evolving HLHS”). An in-utero catheter-based intervention, fetal aortic valvuloplasty (FAV), has shown promise as an intervention strategy to circumvent the progression, but its impact on the heart’s biomechanics is not well understood. We performed patient-specific computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations based on 4D fetal echocardiography to assess the changes in the fluid mechanical environment in the FAS left ventricle (LV) directly before and 2 days after FAV. Echocardiograms of five FAS cases with technically successful FAV were retrospectively analysed.
FAS compromised LV stroke volume and ejection fraction, but FAV rescued it significantly. Calculations to match simulations to clinical measurements showed that FAV approximately doubled aortic valve orifice area, but it remained much smaller than in healthy hearts. Diseased LVs had mildly stenotic mitral valves, which generated fast and narrow diastolic mitral inflow jet and vortex rings that remained unresolved directly after FAV. FAV further caused aortic valve damage and high-velocity regurgitation. The high-velocity aortic regurgitation jet and vortex ring caused a chaotic flow field upon impinging the apex, which drastically exacerbated the already high energy losses and poor flow energy efficiency of FAS LVs. Two days after the procedure, FAV did not alter wall shear stress (WSS) spatial patterns of diseased LV but elevated WSS magnitudes, and the poor blood turnover in pre-FAV LVs did not significantly improve directly after FAV. FAV improved FAS LV’s flow function, but it also led to highly chaotic flow patterns and excessively high energy losses due to the introduction of aortic regurgitation directly after the intervention. Further studies analysing the effects several weeks after FAV are needed to understand the effects of such biomechanics on morphological development.
Elodea mediates juvenile salmon growth by altering physical structure in freshwater habitats
Authors: Carey Michael P. , Reeves Gordon H. , Sethi Suresh A. , Tanner Theresa L. , Young Daniel B. , Bartz Krista K. , Zimmerman Christian E.
Published: February 2023

Invasive species introductions in high latitudes are accelerating and elevating the need to address questions of their effects on Subarctic and Arctic ecosystems. As a driver of ecosystem function, submerged aquatic vegetation is one of the most deleterious biological invasions to aquatic food webs. The aquatic plant Elodea spp. has potential to be a widespread invader to Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems and is already established in 19 waterbodies in Alaska, USA. Elodea spp. has been found to alter ecosystem processes through multiple pathways; yet little is known about the impact of Elodea spp. on fish life history. A primary concern is the effect of Elodea spp. on juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), because this invading plant can form dense stands in littoral zones, potentially impacting important freshwater rearing habitats used by juvenile fish for foraging and refuge from predators. We used a field experiment to test the effect of Elodea spp. on juvenile coho salmon (O. kisutch) growth in an infested lake near Cordova, Alaska, USA. We found that Elodea spp. stands result in reduced growth and a lower trophic position for juvenile coho salmon over the summer compared to habitats dominated by a native assemblage of aquatic plants. While infested sites were not associated with significant changes in water condition or primary productivity compared to sites dominated by native vegetation, zooplankton densities were reduced, and Elodea spp. height and vegetation richness increased macroinvertebrate densities. Combined, these results indicate that Elodea spp. may alter the flow of energy to juvenile salmon by restructuring space and affecting prey resources for rearing fish. Furthermore, these results suggest that widespread establishment of Elodea spp. may alter the quality of habitat for juvenile salmon and, by affecting juvenile fish growth, could lead to population-level impacts on salmon returns.
Valorized soybean hulls as TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibril and polyethylenimine composite hydrogels and their potential removal of water pollutants
Authors: Nan Yufei , Gomez-Maldonado Diego , Iglesias Maria C. , Whitehead Daniel C. , Peresin Maria S.
Published: February 2023

Cellulose nanomaterial (CNM) and polyethylenimine (PEI) composites have attracted growing attention due to their multifunctional characteristics, which have been applied in different fields. In this work, soybean hulls were valorized into carboxyl cellulose nanofibrils (COOH-CNFs), and composited into hydrogels with PEI by combining them with cationic chelating and physical adsorption strategies. Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were produced from soybean hulls prior to oxidation by a TEMPO mediated reaction to obtain COOH–CNFs; then drops of zinc chloride were added to 1.5% aqueous COOH–CNF dispersions, which were left for 24 h to form COOH-CNF hydrogels. Finally, the hydrogels were functionalized using different concentration of PEI solutions over a range of pH values. Elemental analysis results showed that 20% aq. PEI at pH 11.6 is the optimum condition to synthesize the COOH–CNF/PEI hydrogels. Additionally, the adsorption efficiency for the removal of anionic methyl blue dyes and Cu(II) ions from water was tested, reaching 82.6% and 69.8%, respectively, after 24 h. These results demonstrate the great potential of COOH–CNF/PEI hydrogels as adsorbent materials for water remediation.

Graphical abstract