bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of government ownership on the cost of debt and valuation of Vietnamese listed companies
Authors: Le Ben
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the impact of government ownership on the cost of debt and firm valuation in listed Vietnamese companies for the period 2007 to 2016.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use both the generalised methods of the moment (GMM) and the ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to analyse a panel data spanning over the period 2007 to 2016 in the markets of Vietnam. Further, the instrumental variable is used in the paper.

Findings

The authors find that firms with relative higher government stockholdings or state-owned companies where the government owns 50 per cent or more of shares outstanding enjoy a lower cost of debt compared to the other firms. Consequently, these firms have higher firm valuation and profitability. The results are robust for both the GMM and the OLS regressions. Further, firms that no longer retain government ownership have a higher cost of debt than the other firms. The results of the paper imply the importance of political connections in businesses in the market of Vietnam.

Originality/value

This paper connects the relationship between government ownership and the cost of debt with the relationship between government ownership and firm valuation. The paper tests the relationship between the cost of debt and government ownership using both OLS and GMM specifications and the results are robust for both approaches. The manuscript uses an instrumental variable to show that government ownership has a positive impact on higher firm performance through reducing cost of debt. Further, this paper addresses the possible issue of endogeneity.
Relationship between initiation of 340B participation and hospital safety‐net engagement
Authors: Nikpay Sayeh S. , Buntin Melinda B. , Conti Rena M.
Published: March 2020

Objective

The 340B program allows safety‐net hospitals to acquire discounted outpatient drugs and charge payers full price. We examined whether 340B participation increases safety‐net engagement.

Data Sources

340B participation data, Medicare hospital cost reports, American Hospital Association Survey, and Schedule 990 nonprofit hospital tax returns.

Study Design

Quasi‐experimental difference‐in‐differences design comparing 340B hospitals (the “treatment” group) before and after participating to changes over time to three alternative “control” groups: all other nonprofit and public hospitals, hospitals that are not participating during our study, and hospitals that were not‐yet‐participating but started after 2015. Outcome measures include a range of safety‐net care measures that are alternatives to the standard uncompensated care: charity care, community benefit spending, charity care policies, and low‐profit service‐line provision.

Data Extraction

We extracted data on all nonprofit and public hospitals from 2011 to 2015. We linked 340B participation data to Medicare hospital cost reports and American Hospital Association data using Medicare hospital identifiers. 990 Data was linked on name and address.

Principal Findings

New 340B participation was not associated with a change in uncompensated care, but was associated with a 28.9 percent increase in charity care spending (SE = 8.8), or about $880,000 per hospital. However, total community benefit spending (including charity care) did not change. 340B was associated with an increase in the probability of offering discounted care (4.3 percentage points, SE = 1.6) from 84 to 88 percent and an increase in the income eligibility limit for discounted care (18.9 percentage points, SE = 5.6) from 294 to 313 percent. Participation was not associated with the probability of offering low‐profit medical care services.

Conclusions

Alternative measures show that newly participating hospitals may increase charity care, potentially through offering more patients discounted care. However, increases appear to be fully offset by reductions in other community benefit programs.
Noninvasive prenatal testing and maternal obesity: A review
Authors: Juul Laura A. , Hartwig Tanja S. , Ambye Louise , Sørensen Steen , Jørgensen Finn S.
Published: March 2020

Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has become a popular screening test for the most common fetal aneuploidies. The performance of NIPT is affected by several factors including maternal obesity, which results in a greater rate of no‐calls for obese pregnant women. Guidelines regarding NIPT in prenatal screening have been published, but with few and divergent recommendations on the issue. We aimed to review the medical literature, guidelines from scientific societies and information material from commercial NIPT providers on no‐calls and maternal obesity. We systematically identified medical literature and guidelines from scientific societies using the database MEDLINE. Information material from commercial NIPT providers was found via a systematic search on Google.com. Nine medical studies investigating the association between maternal obesity and NIPT no‐calls were included. They all showed the same trend: increasing no‐call rate with increasing maternal obesity. The no‐call rate ranged from 0% to 4.2% for women with body mass index (BMI) 18.5‐24.9 and from 5.4% to 70.1% for women BMI ≥40. We identified 17 scientific societies with guidelines and 13 commercial NIPT providers. All were checked for information material on no‐calls and maternal obesity. To allow comparison, all guidelines were examined to answer the same three predefined questions. Of the 17 included scientific societies, 13 (76.5%) mentioned the association between maternal obesity and NIPT no‐calls, two (11.8%) specified weight limits and three (17.6%) advised against NIPT for severely obese pregnant women. None of the 13 commercial NIPT providers provided specific recommendations, but four (30.8%) cite maternal obesity as a potential cause for a no‐call. Because of the increasing number of patients in this group, we advocate updated recommendations to guide decision making in prenatal screening for obese pregnant women.
Randomised control language intervention for infants of adolescent mothers
Authors: Hoffman Laurie , Hersey Alicia , Tucker Richard , Vohr Betty
Published: March 2020

Aim

Create a Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA)‐based intervention to increase adolescent and infant speech and improve 12‐month language outcomes.

Methods

Randomised control trial of adolescent (15‐19 years) mother‐infant pairs comparing language‐motor (intervention) and motor (control) groups. Intervention included reviewing language‐motor curriculums, formative feedback on 4 LENA recordings (baseline, post‐curriculum, 4 and 12‐months) and 16‐weekly language‐motor texts. Controls reviewed a motor curriculum, summative feedback of four recordings after study completion and 4‐monthly motor texts. Primary outcome was 12‐month MacArthur scores. Secondary outcomes were LENA counts and social impacts to language outcomes.

Results

A total of 108 infants were randomised. Groups had similar baseline characteristics and LENA counts. Both groups had low maternal Peabody Picture Vocabulary age‐equivalents (14.2 years). On post‐curriculum recording, intervention infants had higher vocalisations (188 vs 109, P = .02) and conversations (49 vs 30, P = .005) than controls. Group 4‐month and 12‐month LENA counts and 12‐month MacArthur scores were similar. In regression analyses, more people in the home and cohabiting with the infant's father were associated with higher MacArthur scores.

Conclusions

Linguistic feedback and a simple curriculum resulted in short‐term increased vocalisations and conversational turns for infants of adolescent mothers that were not sustained over time. Household characteristics provided protective effects on outcomes.
Leisure Choices and Employee Well‐Being: Comparing Need Fulfillment and Well‐Being during TV and Other Leisure Activities
Authors: Kuykendall Lauren , Lei Xue , Zhu Ze , Hu Xinyu
Published: March 2020

Background

Working adults spend most of their leisure time watching TV. In this paper, we seek to clarify how experiences of psychological need fulfillment and well‐being differ when watching TV and engaging in other leisure activities. We suggest that, compared to other leisure activities, watching TV is equally conducive to fulfilling needs for: (a) relaxation and detachment from stress and (b) autonomy, but is less conducive to fulfilling needs for (c) meaning, (d) mastery, and (e) affiliation and thus also less conducive to promoting subjective wellbeing.

Methods

We tested our predictions in two day reconstruction studies and a daily diary study.

Results

People experienced similar levels of detachment and relaxation when watching TV and engaging in other types of leisure. However, they experienced less fulfillment of other needs, and lower levels of satisfaction and some aspects of affective well‐being, when watching TV compared to other activities. Further, unlike time spent watching TV, daily time spent in physical activities was positively associated with positive activated affect.

Conclusions

Given that watching TV tends to be associated with lower levels of need fulfillment and well‐being than other leisure activities, leisure choices may be an important target for improving employee well‐being.
Is an Auditor's Propensity to Issue Going Concern Opinions a Valid Measure of Audit Quality?
Authors: Guo Yihan , Delaney Deborah , Ahmed Ammad
Published: March 2020

A number of previous studies use auditor propensity to issue a going concern opinion (GCO) as a proxy of audit quality when examining a sample of financially distressed firms. This study examines whether audit quality (measured by discretionary accruals) influences the probability of financially distressed firms receiving GCOs using a non‐specific sample of 2937 firm‐year observations from Australia over the period 2011–2015. The study first investigates the association between financially distressed firms and the issuance of GCOs. This association is then re‐tested after separating the total sample into low and high audit quality subsamples. The results indicate that financially distressed firms are more likely to receive GCOs, confirming the application of ASA 570 Going Concern. However, financially distressed firms that receive GCOs from their auditors are limited to firms that have higher‐quality audits.
Is the hybridization phenomenon traceable in the otolith and scale of extant Aphanius species? – A case study on hybrid offsprings of Aphanius farsicus X A. sophiae (Teleostei: Aphaniidae)
Authors: Masoudi Mojtaba , Esmaeili Hamid Reza , Teimori Azad , Ebrahimi Mehregan , Seifali Mahvash
Published: March 2020

The otolith and scale were analysed in the hybrid offsprings between two Aphanius species, that is, A. farsicus and A. sophiae to evaluate if they are suitable to trace hybridization. An artificial reciprocal hybridization was performed between two species. The hybrids of A. farsicus♂ × A. sophiae♀ had otoliths with long and pointed rostrum with a narrow depression in the middle of the ventral rim. The otoliths of hybrids between A. farsicus♀ × A. sophiae♂ were more close to A. sophiae♂. As a result, the otolith contour of the hybrids was intermediate to those of the parents. Therefore, we suggest that some variations observed in the otoliths of Aphanius species may be resulted by hybridization particularly when they are sympatric or has geographic overlap. Also, no remarkable differences were found between the scales of hybrids and parents. This indicated that scale morphology and surface microstructures are not suitable for tracing the hybridization. If these species are sympatric due to possible translocation, it causes the genetic introgression of a native species through hybridization. This must be particularly considered in the conservation programme of endangered A. farsicus because artificial transplantation and consequent hybridization can lead to the extinction of this critically endangered species.
Horizontal ridge augmentation using native collagen membrane vs titanium mesh in atrophic maxillary ridges: Randomized clinical trial
Authors: Atef Mohammed , Tarek Ahmed , Shaheen Mostafa , Alarawi Reem M. , Askar Niveen
Published: March 2020

Background

Several techniques have been proposed to reconstruct deficient alveolar ridges including bone blocks, ridge splitting and guided bone regeneration (GBR). GBR has been successfully established in restoring horizontal bone deficiency. However, yet still there is a debate regarding the ideal barrier for GBR.

Purpose

To evaluate the quantity and the quality of the bone gained using collagen membrane with 1:1 mixture of autogenous and anoraganic bovine bone mineral compared to titanium mesh with the same mixture of bone for GBR of horizontally deficient maxillary ridges.

Materials and Methods

Two different grafting techniques were evaluated, 10 patients receiving GBR using native collagen membrane using 1:1 autogenous and anorganic bovine bone mineral (ABBM) bone mixture, and 10 patients receiving GBR using titanium mesh with same mixture of bone.

Results

Statistical analysis showed a significant increase in alveolar bone width in both techniques with a mean bone gain of 4.0 mm for Collagen group and 3.7 mm for titanium mesh group. Bone area percent was almost 28% for both groups. For Ti‐mesh group, six sites soft tissue healing was uneventfully with no signs of wound dehiscence. However, four cases showed mesh exposure first 3 patients showed this exposure 3 weeks postoperatively while the fourth patient showed exposure 4 months postoperatively. The mean graft resorption in the Collagen and mesh group 6 months postoperative was considered nonsignificant.

Conclusions

GBR with both collagen membrane and titanium mesh using a 1:1 mixture of autogenous and ABBM is a viable technique for horizontal augmentation of deficient maxillary alveolar ridges. Titanium mesh is a more technique sensitive compared to collagen membrane. Soft tissue dehiscence and difficulty during second stage removal should limit its use in augmentation of horizontally deficient maxillary ridges.
Projected effects of climate change on boreal bird community accentuated by anthropogenic disturbances in western boreal forest, Canada
Authors: Cadieux Philippe , Boulanger Yan , Cyr Dominic , Taylor Anthony R. , Price David T. , Sólymos Péter , Stralberg Diana , Chen Han Y.H. , Brecka Aaron , Tremblay Junior A.
Published: March 2020

Aim

Climate change is expected to influence boreal bird communities significantly, notably through changes in forest habitat (composition and age structure), in the coming decades. How these changes will accumulate and interact with anthropogenic disturbances remains an open question for most species.

Location

Northeastern Alberta, Canada.

Methods

We used the LANDIS‐II forest landscape model to project changes in forest landscapes, and associated bird populations (72 passerine species), according to three climatic scenarios (baseline, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) and three forest harvesting scenarios of differing intensity.

Results

Both forest harvesting and climate‐related drivers were projected to have large impacts on bird communities in this region. As a result of climate‐induced increases in fire activity as well as decreased conifer productivity, our simulations projected that an important proportion of Alberta's boreal forests would transition to treeless habitat (i.e. grass‐ or shrub‐dominated vegetation) while many conifer‐dominated stands would likely be replaced by broadleaf tree cover. Consequently, the abundance of bird species associated with open and deciduous habitats were projected to increase. With a strong anthropogenic climate‐forcing scenario (RCP 8.5), sharp declines in abundance of coniferous trees were also projected, particularly in mature and old forest stands, triggering major declines for bird species associated with coniferous and mixedwood forest types.

Main conclusions

As the most comprehensive simulation of climate change and harvesting impacts on avian habitats in the North American boreal region to date, our study stresses the importance of considering key habitat characteristics like forest age structure and composition through forest landscape modelling and identifies 18 bird species particularly sensitive to climate change. Our simulations suggest that a change in forest management practices could play an important role in the conservation of boreal bird species vulnerable to climate change. The intensive forest harvesting simulated accelerated declines in bird abundance compared to a “no harvesting” scenario.
Underground deserts below fertility islands? Woody species desiccate lower soil layers in sandy drylands
Authors: Tölgyesi Csaba , Török Péter , Hábenczyus Alida Anna , Bátori Zoltán , Valkó Orsolya , Deák Balázs , Tóthmérész Béla , Erdős László , Kelemen András
Published: March 2020

Woody plants in water‐limited ecosystems affect their environment on multiple scales: locally, natural stands can create islands of fertility for herb layer communities compared to open habitats, but afforestation has been shown to negatively affect regional water balance and productivity. Despite these contrasting observations, no coherent multiscale framework has been developed for the environmental effects of woody plants in water‐limited ecosystems. To link local and regional effects of woody species in a spatially explicit model, we simultaneously measured site conditions (microclimate, nutrient availability and topsoil moisture) and conditions of regional relevance (deeper soil moisture), in forests with different canopy types (long, intermediate and short annual lifetime) and adjacent grasslands in sandy drylands. All types of forests ameliorated site conditions compared to adjacent grasslands, although natural stands did so more effectively than managed ones. At the same time, all forests desiccated deeper soil layers during the vegetation period, and the longer the canopy lifetime, the more severe the desiccation in summer and more delayed the recharge after the active period of the canopy. We conclude that the site‐scale environmental amelioration brought about by woody species is bound to co‐occur with the desiccation of deeper soil layers, leading to deficient ground water recharge. This means that the cost of creating islands of fertility for sensitive herb layer organisms is an inevitable negative impact on regional water balance. The canopy type or management intensity of the forests affects the magnitude but not the direction of these effects. The outlined framework of the effects of woody species should be considered for the conservation, restoration or profit‐oriented use of forests as well as in forest‐based carbon sequestration and soil erosion control projects in water‐limited ecosystems.
Colony size, nestmate density and social history shape behavioural variation in Formica fusca colonies
Authors: Somogyi Anna Ágnes , Tartally András , Maák István Elek , Barta Zoltán
Published: March 2020

In ants, individuals live in tightly integrated units (colonies) and work collectively for its success. In such groups, stable intraspecific variation in behaviour within or across contexts (personality) can occur at two levels: individuals and colonies. This paper examines how colony size and nestmate density influence the collective exploratory behaviour of Formica fusca (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in the laboratory. The housing conditions of the colonies were manipulated to vary the size of colonies and their densities under a fully factorial design. The results demonstrate the presence of colony behavioural repeatability in this species, and contrary to our expectations, colonies were more explorative on average when they were kept at lower nestmate densities. We also found that experimental colonies created from larger source colonies were more explorative, which conveys that a thorough understanding of the contemporary behaviour of a colony may require knowing its social history and how it was formed. Our results also convey that the colony size and nestmate density can have significant effects on the exploratory behaviour of ant colonies.
Diversity and seasonal changes in carabid assemblages of a mature, secondary and plantation forest mosaic in the Zhangguangcai Mountains in northeastern China
Authors: Sun Xiaojie , Diekman Maryse , Yan Xin , Zou Yi , Sang Weiguo , Axmacher Jan Christoph
Published: March 2020

While China is promoting the re‐establishment of forests across the country on a globally unprecedented scale, the biodiversity harboured by the resulting secondary and plantation forests remains poorly understood. Here, we assess the carabid diversity at Zhangguangcai Mountains in northeastern China that comprise a unique mosaic of mature forest remnants, secondary forests and forest plantations.

We located pitfall traps in five distinct forest types: mature conifer and mature mixed forest, secondary mixed forest, secondary broadleaved forest dominated by birch (Betula platyphylla) and poplar (Populus davidiana), and in larch plantations. We recorded 9073 carabid beetles representing 42 species, with richness, abundance and diversity of ground beetles all peaking in secondary broadleaved forests. Assemblages sampled in larch plantations were least species rich, but species extrapolation curves indicate a potentially high overall species richness.

Carabid communities were clearly differentiated according to forest type, with larch plantations and secondary broadleaved forests containing beetle assemblages distinct from the other three forest types, while the mixed secondary and mature forest types harboured similar assemblages.

Carabid communities also showed a clear seasonality in all forest types, with the plantation forest communities remaining distinctly different from the clustered communities of the mature and mixed secondary forest types throughout the year. Broadleaved secondary forest assemblages occupy an intermediate position throughout the sampling season.
Which glass stability parameters can assess the glass‐forming ability of oxide systems?
Authors: Jiusti Jeanini , Cassar Daniel R. , Zanotto Edgar D.
Published: March 2020

Glass‐forming ability (GFA) is a property of utmost importance in glass science and technology. In this paper, we used a statistical methodology—involving bootstrap sampling and the Wilcoxon test—to find out which glass stability (GS) parameters best predict the GFA. The GS parameters are based on the characteristic temperatures: glass transition temperature (Tg), onset of crystallization (Tx), crystallization peak (Tc) and liquidus (Tl). We collected the necessary data for twelve stoichiometric oxide glasses using finely ground powders to favor heterogeneous nucleation (the most common case). We found that some GS parameters predict the GFA of these oxide glasses quite well, whereas others perform poorly. The Weinberg parameter Kw = (Tc − Tg)/Tl ranked first, closely followed by the Hrüby and the Lu‐Liu parameter. Our results corroborate previous reports carried out using a smaller number of glasses, much less GS parameters, and less rigorous statistics. We also found that using Tc instead of Tx improved the predictive power of these parameters. Finally, the Jezica = η (Tl)/Tl2 (η = viscosity) parameter also ranked reasonable well, and it is the only parameter considered here that predicts the GFA without requiring the production of a glass piece, ie, without relying on any crystallization information.
Revisiting genre effects on linguistic features of L2 writing: A usage‐based perspective
Authors: Bi Peng
Published: March 2020

This study examines to what extent the linguistic features in argumentative and narrative essays of L2 learners are influenced by the communicative functions of genres and learners' genre experience. The genres of texts in textbooks were used as a rough estimation of students' genre exposure and 11 linguistic complexity measures were analyzed to check the linguistic differences between genres. The results indicated that linguistic features in L2 writing were not solely decided by the communicative function of genres. Furthermore, due to the effects of genre input, learners' genre knowledge may change, which could influence their language use in writing. This study first attempts to explore genre effects from a perspective of learners and its findings have important implications for future research, language instruction and assessment.
Beyond ‘mobility’: A new understanding of moving with technology
Authors: Hafermalz Ella , Johnston Robert B. , Hovorka Dirk S. , Riemer Kai
Published: March 2020

We report a surprising experience with mobile technology: the lead author found herself seeing and acting differently while running over part of her usual running track with the exercise‐tracking application ‘Strava’ on her phone, even without focal attention to the app. We apply the method of problematization to a detailed empirical account of this experience, in conjunction with a literature analysis of taken‐for‐granted assumptions underpinning research on ‘mobile technology use’. This reveals that, while the relationship of attention, perception, movement and technology was a key element of the surprise, these themes are not well accounted for in current IS literature. In response, we employ J. J. Gibson's ecological theory of visual perception to reinterpret the empirical account and thereby build a new understanding of the human plus mobile technology that we term moving‐with‐technology. We introduce to IS: moving‐with‐technology as a new analytical perspective; the new phenomena of digital sub‐species, digital‐niches and asynchronous co‐location; and stimulus for new ecologically oriented ‘mobile methods’. Moving‐with‐technology also has practical implications for urban planners who are using data from digital trace‐making tools such as Strava in their decision‐making, thereby generating what we call ecological feedback loops.
A review: Recent advances in sol‐gel‐derived hydroxyapatite nanocoatings for clinical applications
Authors: Choi Gina , Choi Andy H. , Evans Louise A. , Akyol Sibel , Ben‐Nissan Besim
Published: March 2020

The prospect of modifying the surface properties of the substrate (or base) material to enhance its corrosion and wear resistance as well as its reliability, performance, and more importantly its bioactivity is made possible using nanocoatings. An effective technique of synthesizing high purity nanocoatings in addition to nanopowders and fibers is to utilize the sol‐gel approach. It is an attractive and versatile method that can be carried out with relative ease. Ceramic coatings, such as hydroxyapatite (HAp), can be fabricated through chemical means from solutions and consequently complex shapes can be coated economically. Given the fact that mixing takes place on the atomic scale, one of the key advantages of the sol‐gel technique is its capacity to produce homogeneous materials, and it has been shown that the mechanical properties of sol‐gel coatings are enhanced due to the presence of nanocrystalline grain structures. This review covers a brief insight into the recent application of HAp nanocoatings derived from sol‐gel technique.
A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effects of global health competency improvement programs on nurses and nursing students
Authors: Kang Jiwon , Song Jeongeun , Noh Wonjung
Published: March 2020

Aims

To identify trends in global health competency improvement programs for nurses and to verify their effects.

Design

Systematic review and meta‐analysis.

Data sources

Articles published from 2000–2017 in Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and ProQuest and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature database, Cochrane Library, Research Information Sharing Service, DataBase Periodical Information Academic, Korean Studies Information Service System, and National Assembly Library.

Review methods

Cochrane methods were used to conduct a systematic review, meta‐analysis, and sensitivity analysis.

Results

Nineteen studies were reviewed. Among them, 12 studies were used for the meta‐analysis. The meta‐analysis indicated that global health competency improvement programs affected multicultural self‐efficacy and cultural competence.

Conclusion

The findings can be used as the basis for global health competency improvement programs. More studies are needed to clarify their effectiveness.

Impact

Global health competency improvement programs can be beneficial to improve cultural competence and multicultural self‐efficacy for nurses and nursing students.
The relative influence of intellectual disabilities and autism on sensory impairments and physical disability: A whole‐country cohort of 5.3 million children and adults
Authors: Kinnear Deborah , Rydzewska Ewelina , Dunn Kirsty , Hughes‐McCormack Laura , Melville Craig , Henderson Angela , Cooper Sally‐Ann
Published: March 2020

Background

Intellectual disabilities and autism are lifelong and often co‐occur. Little is known on their extent of independent association with sensory impairments and physical disability.

Methods

For Scotland's population, logistic regressions investigated age–gender‐adjusted odds ratios (OR) of associations, independently, of intellectual disabilities and autism with sensory impairments and physical disability.

Results

1,548,819 children/youth, and 3,746,584 adults. In children/youth, the effect size of intellectual disabilities and autism, respectively, was as follows: blindness (OR = 30.12; OR = 2.63), deafness (OR = 13.98; OR = 2.31), and physical disability (OR = 43.72; OR = 5.62). For adults, the effect size of intellectual disabilities and autism, respectively, was as follows: blindness (OR = 16.89; OR = 3.29), deafness (OR = 7.47; OR = 2.36), and physical disability (OR = 6.04; OR = 3.16).

Conclusions

Intellectual disabilities have greater association with the population burden of sensory impairments/physical disability, but autism is also associated regardless of overlap with intellectual disabilities. These may impact further on communication limitations due to autism and intellectual disabilities, increasing complexity of assessments/management of other health conditions. Clinicians need to be aware of these important issues.
Metastasis‐associated protein 1 promotes epithelial‐mesenchymal transition in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by up‐regulating Snail expression
Authors: Qian Weibin , Cai Xinrui , Qian Qiuhai , Zhang Wei , Tian Li
Published: March 2020

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and usually fatal lung disease that lacking effective interventions. It is well known that aberrant activation of transforming growth factor‐beta1 (TGF‐β1) frequently promotes epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) in IPF. Metastasis‐associated gene 1 (MTA1) has identified as an oncogene in several human tumours, and aberrant MTA1 expression has been related to the EMT regulation. However, its expression and function in IPF remain largely unexplored. Using a combination of in vitro and in vivo studies, we found that MTA1 was significantly up‐regulated in bleomycin‐induced fibrosis rats and TGF‐β1‐treated alveolar type Ⅱ epithelial (RLE‐6TN) cells. Overexpression of MTA1 induced EMT of RLE‐6TN cells, as well as facilitates cell proliferation and migration. In contrast, knockdown of MTA1 reversed TGF‐β1‐induced EMT of RLE‐6TN cells. The pro‐fibrotic action of MTA1 was mediated by increasing Snail expression through up‐regulating Snail promoter activity. Moreover, inhibition of MTA1 effectively attenuated bleomycin‐induced fibrosis in rats. Additionally, we preliminarily found astragaloside IV (ASV), which was previously validated having inhibitory effects on TGF‐β1‐induced EMT, could inhibit MTA1 expression in TGF‐β1‐treated RLE‐6TN cells. These findings highlight the role of MTA1 in TGF‐β1‐mediated EMT that offer novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of IPF.
Southernmost distribution limit for endangered Peladillas (Aplochiton taeniatus) and non‐native coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) coexisting within the Cape Horn biosphere reserve, Chile
Authors: Maldonado‐Márquez Alan , Contador Tamara , Rendoll‐Cárcamo Javier , Moore Sabrina , Pérez‐Troncoso Carolina , Gomez‐Uchida Daniel , Harrod Chris
Published: March 2020

The Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, one of the last wild areas of the planet, is not exempt from the pressures of global change, such as non‐native species introductions. During 2018 and 2019 we studied the Róbalo river basin in order to update the diversity and distribution of fishes. Here, we report for the first time the native and endangered “Peladillas” Aplochiton taeniatus and the non‐native coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch. The coexistence of native and non‐native fishes poses a challenge for the management and conservation of aquatic biota from the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve.
Promotion of esophageal adenocarcinoma metastasis via Wnt/ß‐catenin signal pathway by sorting nexins 3
Authors: Pan Biran , Liu Lei , Hu Xia , Sun Xiaobin , Zhu Yifang , Zhang Tongtong , Wei Danfeng , Guo Yuanbiao , Shan Jing
Published: March 2020

Background

Esophageal adenocarcinoma is often associated with late diagnoses, poor prognoses, significant morbidities, and high mortality rates. Aberrant expression of Wnt/β‐catenin signal pathways were observed in the tumorigenesis and metastasis of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Sorting nexins 3 has been shown to participate in Wnt protein sorting and regulate Wnt/β‐catenin signal transduction. Thus, we studied the role and molecular mechanism of sorting nexins 3 in esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Methods

Tissue microassay were used to analyze the expression of sorting nexins 3 in esophageal adenocarcinoma tissue and its relationship with survival rate. Using in vivo and in vitro models, we further investigated the effect of sorting nexins 3 on tumor growth and metastasis and underling mechanism.

Results

Immunohistochemical staining of human esophageal adenocarcinoma tissue microassay revealed an increased sorting nexins 3 level in esophageal adenocarcinoma tissue and high expression of sorting nexins 3 correlated with the poor prognosis. In vitro study showed that sorting nexins 3 knockdown suppressed esophageal adenocarcinoma cell invasion, metastasis, and epithelial‐mesenchymal translation (EMT) process, and this result was confirmed by in vivo tumor metastasis assays. Moreover, we further proved that sorting nexins 3 affected cell invasion and EMT through Wnt/β‐catenin signal pathway.

Conclusion

Our data provided strong evidence that sorting nexins 3 played a critical role in esophageal adenocarcinoma metastasis through Wnt/β‐catenin signal pathway.
Residential Setting and the Cumulative Financial Burden of Dementia in the 7 Years Before Death
Authors: Kelley Amy S. , McGarry Kathleen , Bollens‐Lund Evan , Rahman Omari‐Khalid , Husain Mohammed , Ferreira Katelyn B. , Skinner Jonathan S.
Published: March 2020

OBJECTIVES

Care for older adults with dementia during the final years of life is costly, and families shoulder much of this burden. We aimed to assess the financial burden of care for those with and without dementia, and to explore differences across residential settings.

DESIGN

Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and linked claims, we examined total healthcare spending and proportion by payer—Medicare, Medicaid, out‐of‐pocket, and calculated costs of informal caregiving—over the last 7 years of life, comparing those with and without dementia and stratifying by residential setting.

SETTING

The HRS is a nationally representative longitudinal study of older adults in the United States.

PARTICIPANTS

We sampled HRS decedents from 2004 to 2015. To ensure complete data, we limited the sample to those 72 years or older at death who had continuous fee‐for‐service Medicare Parts A and B coverage during the 7‐year period (n = 2909).

MEASUREMENTS

We compared decedents with dementia at last HRS assessment with those without dementia across annual and cumulative 7‐year spending measures, and personal characteristics. We present annual and cumulative spending by payer, and the changing proportion of spending by payer over time, comparing those with and without dementia and stratifying results by residential setting.

RESULTS

We found that, consistent with prior studies, people with dementia experience significantly higher costs, with a disproportionate share falling on patients and families. This pattern is most striking among community residents with dementia, whose families shoulder 64% of total expenditures (including $176,180 informal caregiving costs and $55,550 out‐of‐pocket costs), compared with 43% for people with dementia residing in nursing homes ($60,320 informal caregiving costs and $105,590 out‐of‐pocket costs).

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrate disparities in financial burden shouldered by families of those with dementia, particularly among those residing in the community. They highlight the importance of considering the residential setting in research, programs, and policies. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1319–1324, 2020.
Top 10 candidate aortic disease trials
Authors: Dalman R. L. , Wanhainen A. , Mani K. , Modarai B.
Published: March 2020

Aortic pathologies such as aneurysm, dissection and trauma are relatively common and potentially fatal diseases. Over the past two decades, we have experienced unprecedented technical and medical developments in the field. Despite this, there is a great need, and great opportunities, to further explore the area. In this review, we have identified important areas that need to be further studied and selected priority aortic disease trials. There is a pressing need to update the AAA natural history and the role for endovascular AAA repair as well as to define biomarkers and genetic risk factors as well as influence of gender for development and progression of aortic disease. A key limitation of contemporary treatment strategies of AAA is the lack of therapy directed at small AAA, to prevent AAA expansion and need for surgical repair, as well as to reduce the risk for aortic rupture. Currently, the most promising potential drug candidate to slow AAA growth is metformin, and RCTs to verify or reject this hypothesis are warranted. In addition, the role of endovascular treatment for ascending pathologies and for uncomplicated type B aortic dissection needs to be clarified.
Innovative education for people with chronic kidney disease: an evaluation study
Authors: Rainey Helen , Hussain Shaila , Thomas Nicola
Published: March 2020

Background

An innovative Community Kidney Service has been running since 2016 in four health regions in East London, United Kingdom. This paper focuses on the patient education (self‐management) programme within the service.

Objective

To understand the experiences of people with stage 1–3b chronic kidney disease invited to individual or group education sessions. To assess the usefulness of the programme's educational resources to primary care nurses.

Design

A mixed‐method project. A steering group involving patients shaped both survey and interview questions.

Participants

Paper surveys (n = 266) were sent to patients 7–19 months after they had attended. Semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with patients who returned the survey and indicated they were willing to be interviewed (n = 9). Survey links were sent electronically to primary care nurses.

Results

Fifty‐four surveys were returned from patients. The education session increased self‐reported knowledge about kidney disease and two‐thirds of patients reported making lifestyle changes. Analysis of interview data identified recognition of kidney disease, motivation to change and reliance on “experts” as key themes. Surveys were returned from 21 nurses. Most were aware of the community kidney service but only one‐third had used the education resources with their patients.

Conclusion

Secondary care nursing involvement in primary care‐based education for people with kidney disease is rare in the United Kingdom and internationally. This educational intervention, developed with patients, supports people to make changes that have the potential to reduce progression of kidney disease and our findings have significance for other teams working in chronic kidney disease management.
An ancient solution to a modern problem
Authors: Davies Julian E. , Behroozian Shekooh
Published: March 2020

The dearth of new antibiotics and escalating emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria have created a global healthcare crisis and highlight the drastic need for novel antimicrobial agents. Complementary and alternative strategies including the investigation of ancient medicinals could address this problem. Natural clay minerals with a long history of medicinal and biomedical applications have become an interest due to their broad‐spectrum antimicrobial activity. Such untapped natural sources may provide new therapeutic agents in the battle against infectious diseases in the post‐antibiotic era.
Superficial fungal infections in the department of dermatology, University Hospital Jena: A 7‐year retrospective study on 4556 samples from 2007 to 2013
Authors: Gamage Hasanga , Sivanesan Pirabakaran , Hipler Uta‐Christina , Elsner Peter , Wiegand Cornelia
Published: March 2020

Background

Superficial fungal infections are often seen in day‐to‐day clinical practice, and their prevalence continues to rise worldwide. Over the years, a change in the pattern of dermatophytoses has been noted.

Objectives

This study aimed to determine the epidemiologic profile of dermatophytes at the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Jena, from 2007 to 2013.

Methods

The retrospective study was carried out with a total of 4556 samples collected from 3607 patients suspected of superficial fungal infections during the 7‐year study period.

Results

Among the 3607 suspected patients, 1951 (54.09%) were men and 1656 (45.91%) were women. Of 4556 samples, 703 (15.43%) samples were positive for fungal culture, which included 585 (83.21%) dermatophytes and 118 (16.79%) non‐dermatophytes. Trichophyton (T.) rubrum was the most common isolated pathogen in 73.33% of the dermatophyte cases. Among dermatophyte‐infected patients, men were most likely to be affected (63.48%) as well as those of higher age (61 to 80). The most commonly affected areas were nails (33.16%) and feet (33%). T rubrum was recurrently isolated in several regions with exception of the scalp where M canis (58.33%) was the most frequently isolated pathogen. About 16.04% of cases had a history of treatment taken prior to sampling. The majority of the affected individuals did not have any prior animal contact (77.26%). T benhamiae was exclusively associated with contact to guinea pigs.

Conclusion

Trichophyton rubrum was the most frequently isolated pathogen in several regions except the scalp. New dermatophyte species emerged with time especially T benhamiae.
Fluorescence Intensity Enhancement of Green Carbon Dots: Synthesis, Characterization and Cell Imaging
Authors: Hashemi Fatemeh , Heidari Fatemeh , Mohajeri Nasrin , Mahmoodzadeh Farideh , Zarghami Nosratollah
Published: March 2020

The hydrothermal treatment of green carbon dots (CDs) is an appropriate fluorescent probe synthesis method. CDs are exploited as biological staining agents, especially for cellular detection and imaging. The nitrogen‐doped green carbon dots (N‐CDs) formation can improve the fluorescence intensity property in a one‐step process. Here, we report two N‐CDs from lemon and tomato extraction in the presence of hydroxylamine. Lemon and tomato N‐CDs showed the blue fluorescence under ultraviolet radiation of about 360 nm. The characterization of CDs and N‐CDs showed the presence of N‐H and C–N bonds which enhanced the fluorescence efficiency. The mean size of lemon and tomato N‐CDs were about 2 and 3 nm with an increased quantum yield (QY) of 5% and 3.38%, respectively. The CDs and N‐CDs cytotoxicity assay exhibited high cell viability approximately 85% and 73%, respectively. N‐CDs show superior fluorescent intensity in different solvents and significant stability under long‐time UV irradiation, different PH and high ionic strength. Our results indicated that the use of N‐CDs in cell imaging can lead to fluorescence intensity enhancement as well as proper biocompatibility. Therefore, the safe and high fluorescence intensity of green N‐CDs can be utilized for fluorescent probes in biolabeling and bioimaging applications.
Pre‐race screening and stratification predicts adverse events—A 4‐year study in 29585 ultra‐marathon entrants, SAFER X
Authors: Sewry Nicola , Schwellnus Martin , Borjesson Mats , Swanevelder Sonja , Jordaan Esme
Published: March 2020

Background

Pre‐race screening and risk stratification in recreational endurance runners may predict adverse events (AEs) during a race.

Aim

To determine if pre‐race screening and risk stratification predict AEs during a race.

Methods

A total of 29 585 participants (Male 71.1%, average age = 42.1 years; Female 28.9%, average age = 40.2 years) at the Two Oceans ultra‐marathon races (56 km) completed a pre‐race medical screening questionnaire and were risk stratified into four pre‐specified groups [very high risk (VHR; existing cardiovascular disease–CVD:3.2%), high risk (HR; risk factors for CVD:10.5%), intermediate risk (IR; existing other chronic disease, medication use or injury:53.3%), and low risk (LR:33.0%)]. Race starters, finishers, and medical encounters (ME) were recorded. Did‐not‐start (DNS) rate (per 1000 entrants that did‐not‐start), did‐not‐finish (DNF) rate (per 1000 starters that did‐not‐finish), AE rate [per 1000 starters that either DNF or had an ME], and ME rate (per 1000 starters with an ME) were compared across risk categories.

Results

Adverse events were significantly higher (per 1000 starters; 95%CI) in the VHR (68.9; 52.4‐89.9:P = .0407) compared with the LR (51.3; 46.5‐56.7). The DNS rate was significantly different between the IR (190.3; 184.0‐196.9) and LR (207.4; 199.2‐216.0: P = .0011). DNF rates were not different in the VHR (56.4; 41.9‐75.9) compared to LR (44.2; 39.7‐49.1: P = .1295), and ME rate was also not different between risk categories, however, VHR (12.9; 7.0‐23.9) was approaching significance compared to LR (6.9; 5.2‐9.1: P = .0662).

Conclusion

Pre‐race medical screening and risk stratification may identify athletes at higher risk of AEs. Further studies should be performed in larger cohorts to clarify the role of pre‐race medical screening in reducing AEs in endurance runners.
The novel HLA‐DRB3*03:39 allele, identified by next‐generation sequencing in a Saudi individual
Authors: Jawdat Dunia , Algharib Riyadh , Almusa Abdullah , Alaskar Ahmed S. , Hajeer Ali H.
Published: March 2020

HLA‐DRB3*03:39 differs from HLA‐DRB3*03:01:01 by a single nucleotide substitution in codon 22 (Glutamic acid to Lysine).