bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Opening the black box of big data sustainable value creation: the mediating role of supply chain management capabilities and circular economy practices
Authors: Riggs Randy , Roldán José L. , Real Juan C. , Felipe Carmen M.
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This article examines the mechanisms through which big data analytics capabilities (BDAC) contribute to creating sustainable value and analyzes the mediating roles that supply chain management capabilities (SCMC), as well as circular economy practices (CEP), play through their impact on sustainable performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a literature review, a serial mediation model is presented. Hypotheses regarding direct and mediating relationships are tested to determine their potential for sustainability impact and circularity. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) has been applied for causal and predictive purposes.

Findings

The results indicate that big data analytics capabilities do not have a direct positive impact on sustainable performance but influence indirectly through SCMC and CEP.

Originality/value

Although some authors have addressed the associations between IT business value, supply chain (SC), and sustainability, this paper provides empirical evidence related to these relationships. Additionally, this study performs novel predictive analyses.
Efficacy of public spending for agricultural development in India: a disaggregate analysis contextualizing subsidies vs investment debate
Authors: Zafar Shadman , Tarique Md.
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The primary objective of the present study is to figure out the relative effectiveness of alternate public expenditure with regard to agricultural development particularly in the context of input subsidies vis-a-vis investment. Besides, the authors also endeavour to test the applicability of crowding-out hypothesis in the present context.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, unit root tests are applied for checking stationarity of the underlying data using Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) tests. Further, the highly celebrated autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) model is applied on annual time series data for the period 1991–2020 to investigate the long-run and short-run impact of the said relationship.

Findings

The authors observe that public investment is more productive than input subsidies for overall agricultural development. Besides, the findings document the existence of crowding-in hypothesis, i.e. complementarity between public investment and private investment in case of the agricultural sector in India.

Research limitations/implications

The outcome of the research recommends to reprioritize state expenditure and reformulate agricultural policy regarding the public financing of agriculture. More to invest and less to subsidize seems a better policy intervention to achieve desirable outcomes from the Indian agriculture in the long run.

Originality/value

This study is novel in the sense that the subsidies vs investment debate is revisited in the current scenario of agricultural development so that resource allocation be optimized. To ensure robustness of the study, the authors specifically took four proxies of agricultural development, namely, productivity growth, private investment, food security and farmers’ income.
Financial resilience of Spanish wineries during the COVID-19 lockdown
Authors: Arimany-Serrat Núria , Farreras-Noguer M. Àngels , Coenders Germà
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This study aims to focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the Spanish wine sector and the financial resilience of Spanish wineries in the period 2019–2020.

Design/methodology/approach

The data set contains 355 limited companies of the Spanish wine sector which were active in the period 2019–2020. The explanatory variables used are size and age of the company, exports, subsidies and gender distribution in the workforce. The financial statements of the companies are treated as compositional data, using log-ratios for asset structure, leverage, margin, turnover and debt maturity. The first-difference estimator is used for the panel-data model relating the differences in the log-ratios between 2020 and 2019 to the explanatory variables.

Findings

In average terms, margin and turnover have significantly worsened between 2019 and 2020, while debt maturity has increased. A larger firm size, a greater age, a higher share of women in the workforce and subsidies have made wineries more resilient between 2019 and 2020.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first financial statement analysis of the impact of COVID-19 in the winery sector.
Data, analytical techniques and collaboration between researchers and practitioners in humanitarian health supply chains: a challenging but necessary way forward
Authors: De Boeck Kim , Besiou Maria , Decouttere Catherine , Rafter Sean , Vandaele Nico , Van Wassenhove Luk N. , Yadav Prashant
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a discussion on the interface and interactions between data, analytical techniques and impactful research in humanitarian health supply chains. New techniques for data capturing, processing and analytics, such as big data, blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, are increasingly put forward as potential “game changers” in the humanitarian field. Yet while they have potential to improve data analytics in the future, larger data sets and quantification per se are no “silver bullet” for complex and wicked problems in humanitarian health settings. Humanitarian health supply chains provide health care and medical aid to the most vulnerable in development and disaster relief settings alike. Unlike commercial supply chains, they often lack resources and long-term collaborations to enable learning from the past and to improve further.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a combination of the authors’ research experience, interactions with practitioners throughout projects and academic literature, the authors consider the interface between data and analytical techniques and highlight some of the challenges inherent to humanitarian health settings. The authors apply a systems approach to represent the multiple factors and interactions between data, analytical techniques and collaboration in impactful research.

Findings

Based on this representation, the authors discuss relevant debates and suggest directions for future research to increase the impact of data analytics and collaborations in fostering sustainable solutions.

Originality/value

This study distinguishes itself and contributes by bringing the interface and interactions between data, analytical techniques and impactful research together in a systems approach, emphasizing the interconnectedness.
Creation of smart compression garment using magnetic nanotextiles
Authors: Riabchykov Mykola , Nazarchuk Liudmyla , Tkachuk Oksana , Stytsyuk Victoria
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to prove the expediency and effectiveness of magnetic textiles use obtained by adding nanopowder synthesized on the basis of oxides of divalent and trivalent iron oxides, taking into account bacteriostatic, magnetotherapeutic and compressive properties.

Design/methodology/approach

The research includes methods of synthesis of nanoelements of bivalent and trivalent iron, methods of the theory of elasticity for determining the pressure between compression clothing and a limb, methods of creating an annular magnetic field with determination of its voltage, methods of determining the growth dynamics of mold bacteria and methods of approximation of experimental data.

Findings

On the base of the determination of the forces arising from the interaction of magnetic nanotextiles with a magnetic field, the expediency of using these materials in the creation of compression clothing has been proven. An additional medical value of magnetic textiles is the bacteriostatic effect. The content of magnetic nanoelements in the textile composition of 0.2% almost completely suppresses mold infections

Research limitations/implications

Cotton samples with the addition of nanocomponents based on ferric and ferric oxides were studied.

Practical implications

Magnetotextile materials can be used in magnetotherapy, compression clothing, in textile products that provide bacteriostatic properties.

Originality/value

The use of magnetic textile materials is a perspective direction for the creation of medical textile products with complex properties.
Seismic migration in viscoacoustic vertical transversely isotropic media using a pure qP wave equation
Authors: Wu Han , Sun Chengyu , Deng Xiaofan
Published: February 2023

Seismic anisotropic attenuation and anisotropic velocity exist widely in the earth's interior and have a great influence on the propagation of seismic waves. Ignoring the effects of attenuation anisotropy may lead to amplitude imbalance or noise in reflection seismic imaging, thus reducing the quality of the imaging results. In order to incorporate attenuation anisotropy into imaging methods and explore its effect on imaging, based on a novel two‐way pure qP wave equation in viscoacoustic vertical transversely isotropy media, we propose the corresponding reverse time migration and least‐squares reverse time migration method. Both imaging methods can accurately obtain subsurface structure information, especially the least‐squares reverse time migration has the potential to compute accurate subsurface reflectivity. In this paper, we first introduce the pure qP wave equation in viscoacoustic vertical transversely isotropy media. As the equation is derived from the complex dispersion relation of P wave, wave propagation can be simulated without interference of SV wave and limitation of anisotropic parameters. Then, we derive the corresponding linearized wave equation and adjoint gradient for updating the imaging result. Finally, using two synthetic models, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the imaging method and discuss the effect of attenuation anisotropy on seismic imaging.
The recovery of plant community composition following passive restoration across spatial scales
Authors: Ladouceur Emma , Isbell Forest , Clark Adam T. , Harpole W. Stanley , Reich Peter B. , Tilman G. David , Chase Jonathan M.
Published: February 2023

Human impacts have led to dramatic biodiversity change which can be highly scale‐dependent across space and time. A primary means to manage these changes is via passive (here, the removal of disturbance) or active (management interventions) ecological restoration. The recovery of biodiversity, following the removal of disturbance, is often incomplete relative to some kind of reference target. The magnitude of recovery of ecological systems following disturbance depends on the landscape matrix and many contingent factors. Inferences about recovery after disturbance and biodiversity change depend on the temporal and spatial scales at which biodiversity is measured.

We measured the recovery of biodiversity and species composition over 33 years in 17 temperate grasslands abandoned after agriculture at different points in time, collectively forming a chronosequence since abandonment from 1 to 80 years. We compare these abandoned sites with known agricultural land‐use histories to never‐disturbed sites as relative benchmarks. We specifically measured aspects of diversity at the local plot‐scale (α‐scale, 0.5 m2) and site‐scale (γ‐scale, 10 m2), as well as the within‐site heterogeneity (β‐diversity) and among‐site variation in species composition (turnover and nestedness).

At our α‐scale, sites recovering after agricultural abandonment only had 70% of the plant species richness (and ~30% of the evenness), compared to never‐ploughed sites. Within‐site β‐diversity recovered following agricultural abandonment to around 90% after 80 years. This effect, however, was not enough to lead to recovery at our γ‐scale. Richness in recovering sites was ~65% of that in remnant never‐ploughed sites. The presence of species characteristic of the never‐disturbed sites increased in the recovering sites through time. Forb and legume cover declines in years since abandonment, relative to graminoid cover across sites.

Synthesis. We found that, during the 80 years after agricultural abandonment, old fields did not recover to the level of biodiversity in remnant never‐ploughed sites at any scale. β‐diversity recovered more than α‐scale or γ‐scale. Plant species composition recovered, but not completely, over time, and some species groups increased their cover more than others. Patterns of ecological recovery in degraded ecosystems across space and long time‐scales can inform targeted active restoration interventions and perhaps, lead to better outcomes.
Synthesis and discovery of potential tyrosinase inhibitor of new coumarin‐based thiophenyl‐pyrazolylthiazole nuclei: In vitro evaluation, cytotoxicity, kinetic, and computational studies
Authors: Hosseini Nasab Narges , Raza Hussain , Eom Young Seok , Hassan Mubashir , Kloczkowski Andrzej , Kim Song Ja
Published: February 2023

A well‐known key enzyme in melanogenesis and hyperpigmentation is tyrosinase. The present study introduces a novel series of thiophenyl‐pyrazolylthiazole‐coumarin hybrids (6a–6h) as tyrosinase inhibitors. The in‐vitro tyrosinase inhibition results indicated that all compounds have strong tyrosinase inhibitory activity, particularly compound 6g (IC50 = 0.043 ± 0.006 μM), was identified as the most active compound compared to the positive control (kojic acid, IC50 = 18.521 ± 1.162 μM). Lineweaver‐Burk plots were employed to analyze the kinetic mechanism, and compound 6g formed an enzyme‐inhibitor complex by inhibiting tyrosinase non‐competitively. Furthermore, all compounds demonstrated excellent antioxidant activity against DPPH. MTT assay was used to screen the cytotoxicity of all compounds on B16F10 melanoma cells, and they had no toxic effect on the cells. The binding affinity of compounds with tyrosinase was also investigated using molecular docking, and the ligands displayed good binding energy values. These molecules could be a promising lead for skin pigmentation and associated diseases as nontoxic pharmacological scaffolds.
From micro to macro: Structural determinants and oral health
Authors: Broomhead Tom , Baker Sarah R.
Published: February 2023

The structural determinants of health include social, economic and political mechanisms which generate social stratification and the socioeconomic positions of individuals within society. Despite their importance, these ‘causes of the causes’ are still relatively under‐studied within oral health research. Yet it is important to assess the effects of these ‘upstream’ determinants, given that most individuals cannot influence or change them. It is also important to move beyond focusing primarily on downstream determinants and approaches at the individual or household level. This review will offer a brief overview of what is currently known about structural determinants and upstream interventions in relation to oral health. The review starts by briefly summarizing oral health focused studies of structural determinants, including welfare regimes, governance and macroeconomic, social and public policies. Current knowledge on upstream interventions associated with oral health such as community water fluoridation, sugar sweetened beverage taxes and dental payment structures will also be covered. The article will then assess gaps in the research base, including current limitations and barriers—as well as opportunities—in analysing the effects of structural determinants and upstream interventions. The review finishes by suggesting next steps for better understanding and addressing these determinants and interventions—including considerations around theory, data and approaches from other fields such as systems science—with the hope that these can help make contributions to future policy decision making processes.
Transplantation of Wnt4‐modified neural stem cells mediate M2 polarization to improve inflammatory micro‐environment of spinal cord injury
Authors: Pan Baiqi , Wu Xiaoyu , Zeng Xiaolin , Chen Jiewen , Zhang Wenwu , Cheng Xing , Wan Yong , Li Xiang
Published: February 2023

Neural stem cells (NSCs) transplantation has been considered as a potential strategy to reconnect the neural circuit after spinal cord injury (SCI) but the therapeutic effect was still unsatisfied because of the poor inflammatory micro‐environment of SCI. Previous study reported that neuroprotection and inflammatory immunomodulation were considered to be most important mechanism of NSCs transplantation. In addition, Wnt4 has been considered to be neurogenesis and anti‐inflammatory so that it would be an essential assistant agent for NSCs transplantation. Our single cells sequence indicates that macrophages are the most important contributor of inflammatory response after SCI and the interaction between macrophages and astrocytes may be the most crucial to inflammatory microenvironment of SCI. We further report the first piece of evidence to confirm the interaction between Wnt4‐modified NSCs and macrophages using NSCs‐macrophages co‐cultured system. Wnt4‐modified NSCs induce M2 polarization and inhibit M1 polarization of macrophages through suppression of TLR4/NF‐κB signal pathway; furthermore, M2 cells promote neuronal differentiation of NSCs through MAPK/JNK signal pathway. In vivo, transplantation of Wnt4‐modified NSCs improves inflammatory micro‐environment through induce M2 polarization and inhibits M1 polarization of macrophages to promote axonal regeneration and tissue repair. The current study indicated that transplantation of Wnt4‐modified NSCs mediates M2 polarization of macrophages to promote spinal cord injury repair. Our novel findings would provide more insight of SCI and help with identification of novel treatment strategy.
Model‐informed precision dosing of teicoplanin for the rapid achievement of the target area under the concentration‐time curve: A simulation study
Authors: Oda Kazutaka , Yamada Tomoyuki , Matsumoto Kazuaki , Hanai Yuki , Ueda Takashi , Samura Masaru , Shigemi Akari , Jono Hirofumi , Saito Hideyuki , Kimura Toshimi
Published: February 2023

Teicoplanin, a glycopeptide antimicrobial, is recommended for therapeutic drug monitoring, but it remains unclear how to target the area under the concentration‐time curve (AUC). This simulation study purposed to demonstrate the potential of the Bayesian forecasting approach for the rapid achievement of the target AUC for teicoplanin. We generated concordant and discordant virtual populations against a Japanese population pharmacokinetic model. The predictive performance of the Bayesian posterior AUC in limited sampling on the first day against the reference AUC was evaluated as an acceptable target AUC ratio within the range of 0.8–1.2. In the concordant population, the probability for the maximum a priori or Bayesian posterior AUC on the first day (AUC0–24) was 61.3% or more than 77.0%, respectively. The Bayesian posterior AUC on the second day (AUC24–48) was more than 75.1%. In the discordant population, the probability for the maximum a priori or Bayesian posterior AUC0–24 was 15.5% or 11.7–80.7%, respectively. The probability for the maximum a priori or Bayesian posterior AUC24–48 was 23.4%, 30.2–82.1%. The AUC at steady‐state (AUCSS) was correlated with trough concentration at steady‐state, with a coefficient of determination of 0.930; the coefficients on days 7 and 4 were 0.442 and 0.125, respectively. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that early sampling could improve the probability of AUC0–24 and AUC24–48 but did not adequately predict AUCSS. Further studies are necessary to apply early sampling‐based model‐informed precision dosing in the clinical settings.
A realist review of residential treatment for adults with substance use disorder
Authors: De Salis Henry F. , Martin Rachelle , Mansoor Zara , Newton‐Howes Giles , Bell Elliot
Published: February 2023

Issues

Completion of residential treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) relates to improvements in substance use and mental health. Findings from systematic reviews have been equivocal about which interventions work best for clients. There has been limited attention to the theories that explain the effectiveness of residential treatment.

Approach

We conducted a realist review of the literature to identify program theories that would explain successful and unsuccessful outcomes from residential treatment for SUD. The unit of analysis was context–mechanism–outcome (CMO). Inclusion criteria were studies of residential treatment of more than 30 days for adults with SUD. Pharmacological studies were excluded.

Key Findings

We identified 24 studies from 5748 screened. The studies were from settings comprising Indigenous programs, faith‐based programs, psycho‐social interventions and therapeutic communities and were conducted in North America, Scandinavia, Continental Europe and Australasia. We chose six CMO configurations as the best explanations for outcomes from residential treatment. Theories that best explained the mechanisms of change were the need to belong, meaning in life, and self‐determination theory.

Implications

Previous research has noted similar outcomes from different residential treatment interventions, but has not been able to explain these similarities. In contrast, our findings suggest that the outcomes can be explained by causal mechanisms that apply across all programs, regardless of the philosophy of treatment.

Conclusion

We identified six CMO configurations whose mechanisms of change could be explained by three overarching theories—the need to belong, meaning in life and self‐determination theory. The findings apply across ethnicities and genders.
Delayed nitrogen application after straw and charred straw addition altered the hot moment of soil N2O emissions
Authors: Ye Xin , Ran Hongyu , Wang Xiao , Li Guitong , Ambus Per , Wang Gang , Zhu Kun
Published: February 2023

The combination of nitrogen (N) fertilization and straw incorporation has complex influences on soil N transformations and derived nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. This study aimed to reveal the coupled effects of straw returning forms and N fertilizer management on soil N2O emissions. Here, carbon (C) sources with varied availabilities were supplied by different straw returning forms, including straw, charred straw, and combined application of straw and charred straw. The time gaps between additions of exogenous N and C sources were carried out by managing the timing of N fertilization, including N application simultaneous with or delayed after straw return. Soil N2O emissions under different straw returning forms and their response relationships to soil C, N, microbial biomass, as well as soil pH and oxygen (O2) were explored. Co‐application of straw and N fertilizer provided sufficient C and N sources, enhanced the microbial biomass, and consequently increased N2O emissions. Delayed N fertilization could decouple the response of N2O emissions to straw addition, because of constrained N availability and limited pH decline, which decreased the cumulative N2O emissions significantly. Possibly due to straw induced N immobilization coupled with charred straw induced pH elevation, the combined application of straw and charred straw constrained soil N2O emissions compared with straw only application, regardless of N fertilizer management. By shaping the microbial biomass and soil C, N, and O2 dynamics, delayed application of N fertilizer could further enhance the inhibition effect of the charred straw and straw combination on soil N2O emissions. Therefore, the varied straw returning forms and the timing of N fertilization could affect the supply of available C and N, influencing the hot moments of N2O emissions, and the joint addition of straw and charred straw with a few weeks delayed N application could possibly reduce the risk of soil N2O emissions from straw return systems. Such mitigation potential should be evaluated further under field conditions.

Highlights

Delayed N fertilization attenuated the magnitude of N2O emissions after straw additions.

Combination of charred straw with straw mitigated N2O emissions, further enhanced by delayed N fertilization.

Soil pH was the chief regulator for N2O emissions under different straw returning forms and N application.
An examination of different types of parental control on the well‐being of Turkish emerging adults
Authors: Taşkın Sayıl Dilara , Erdem Gizem
Published: February 2023

Objective

The present study explored the association between emerging adults' perceptions of different types of parental control and their well‐being.

Background

There is a lack of research investigating parental control in Turkey during emerging adulthood. The current study addresses the gap by examining the role of basic psychological needs frustration (BPNF), guided by the self‐determination theory.

Method

The sample included 714 participants who were unmarried, aged 18 to 24 years, and Turkish. Participants answered self‐report questionnaires on parental control, BPNF, and mental and sexual well‐being.

Results

Perceived parental psychological and sexual control were positively and behavioral control was negatively associated with BPNF. The BPNF mediated the relationship between perceived parental psychological and behavioral control, mental well‐being, and the relationship between perceived parental sexual control and sexual well‐being. The association between perceived parental sexual control and sexual well‐being was moderated by gender and religiosity.

Conclusion

Findings highlight the importance of examining parental control while investigating the well‐being of Turkish emerging adults.

Implications

Interference with meeting basic psychological needs may be linked to distress for emerging adults. Future research should explore the long‐term consequences of parental control on youth development, taking gender and religiosity into account.
A thickness‐sensitive and orientation‐related creep lifetime prediction method of nickel‐based single crystal superalloy
Authors: Zhang Bin , Wang Rongqiao , Liu Haiyan , Chen Xiaosheng , Hu Dianyin , Jiang Kanghe , Jing Fulei
Published: February 2023

Considering the anisotropy of nickel‐based single crystal superalloy, an anisotropic creep lifetime prediction model based on slip plane damage is developed. The predicted results indicate that the lifetime prediction model could predict the creep lifetimes of nickel‐based single crystal superalloy with different orientations accurately. Furthermore, in order to reveal the damage mechanism of nickel‐based single crystal thin‐walled specimen, creep experiment and failure analysis of thin‐walled specimen are conducted, and there are obvious differences in damage mechanisms between surface and interior of the thin‐walled specimen. In this paper, both thickness debit effect and abnormal thickness debit effect are considered to be caused by the damage differences between surface and interior of the thin‐walled specimen, and zone‐based failure criteria considering thickness debit effect and abnormal thickness debit effect are proposed. Finally, combining the anisotropic creep lifetime prediction model and zone‐based failure criteria, the creep lifetime prediction of DD6 specimen with different thickness is conducted. The predicted lifetimes are within a scatter band of factor 2.26, and the predicted laws between creep lifetimes and thicknesses of the specimens are in good agreement with the experimental results, which verifies the rationality and accuracy of the thickness‐sensitive creep lifetime prediction method established in this paper.
Prevalence of apical periodontitis in patients with autoimmune diseases: A case‐control study
Authors: Allihaibi Marwa , Niazi Sadia Ambreen , Farzadi Samira , Austin Rupert , Ideo Francesca , Cotti Elisabetta , Mannocci Francesco
Published: February 2023

Aim

The purpose of this case–control study was to compare the prevalence of apical periodontitis (AP) in patients affected by autoimmune disorders (AD) (inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], rheumatoid arthritis [RA] and psoriasis [Ps]) with the prevalence of AP in subjects without AD. The prevalences of AP in patients taking biologic medications, conventional medications and no medication were also compared.

Methodology

Eighty‐nine patients (2145 teeth) with AD were investigated and the control group included 89 patients (2329 teeth) with no systemic diseases. Full dental panoramic tomograms were used to determine the periapical status of the teeth. Additional variables investigated included patient's socio‐demographic characteristics, medications taken by AD patients, the decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index. The chi‐square test and logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the correlation between AD and AP. p‐Values lower than .05 were considered to be statistically significant.

Results

The prevalence of AP was 89.9% in AD patients and 74.2% in control subjects (odds ratio [OR] = 3.75, p = .015). The DMFT score was found to be significantly higher in the AD group (p = .004). Patients with RA had the highest risk of being affected by AP, whereas those with IBD had the lowest risk. Multiple binary logistic regression analysis indicated that the teeth of AD patients who were not taking any medication or were being treated with biologic disease‐modifying anti‐rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) had a higher risk of being affected by AP than did the teeth of the control subjects (OR = 1.42 and OR = 2.03, respectively; p = .010). The teeth of patients taking conventional DMARDs (cDMARDs) were less affected by AP compared with those of patients taking bDMARDs.

Conclusions

Patients with AD, whether treated or not with biologic medications, showed a higher prevalence of AP than did those in the control group. The DMFT index score, which was higher in AD patients compared with controls was identified as a significant predictor of AP prevalence.
Stereotactic body radiation therapy for kidney cancer. Where do we stand?
Authors: Sosa‐Fajardo Paloma , Blanco‐Suarez Jesús M. , Pineda‐Munguía Álvaro , Rubí‐Olea Luz , Peleteiro‐Higuero Paula , Gajate Pablo , Zafra‐Martín Juan , Siva Shankar , Bossi Alberto , López‐Campos Fernando , Couñago Felipe
Published: February 2023

At present, surgery is still the gold standard for the local treatment of renal cancer. Nonetheless, in several clinical scenarios, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) also known as stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is emerging as a highly effective ablative technique in fragile patients and those with significant comorbidities, as well as in cases where percutaneous therapy (cryoablation or radiofrequency) is not viable. However, considering the intrinsic radioresistance of renal tumors, the optimal treatment schemes have not been established. In oligometastatic patients, it has been reported that the control of the oligometastases can be a potentially curable approach. Being a technique than can be administered exclusively or in combination with systemic therapy, treatment individualization based on patient characteristics is key. Another scenario under investigation is oligoprogression, where SBRT offers the possibility of delaying further lines of systemic therapy by eliminating subclones of resistant tumor with ablative doses, with the additional opportunity of stimulating the immune system (immunomodulatory role). In this review, we have conducted an analysis of recently published studies that test the role of this technique in different clinical scenarios of this disease. We have found promising results that make SBRT a potent therapeutic approach with low toxicity. We also comment on ongoing studies that will generate the necessary evidence needed for the implementation of this technique in our daily clinical practice.
Wogonin attenuates the pathogenicity of Streptococcus pneumoniae by double‐target inhibition of Pneumolysin and Sortase A
Authors: Gu Kuan , Ding Lizhong , Wang Zhongtian , Sun Yingying , Sun Xiaozhou , Yang Wenbo , Sun Haihang , Tian Ye , Wang Zeyu , Sun Liping
Published: February 2023

Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is a major causative agent of respiratory disease in patients and can cause respiratory distress and other symptoms in severe cases. Pneumolysin (PLY) is a pore‐forming toxin that induces host tissue injury and inflammatory responses. Sortase A (SrtA), a catalytic enzyme that anchors surface‐associated virulence factors, is critical for S. pneumoniae virulence. Here, we found that the active ingredient of the Chinese herb Scutellaria baicalensis, wogonin, simultaneously inhibited the haemolytic activity of PLY and SrtA activity. Consequently, wogonin decreased PLY‐mediated cell damage and reduced SrtA‐mediated biofilm formation by S. pneumoniae. Furthermore, our data indicated that wogonin did not affect PLY expression but directly altered its oligomerization, leading to reduced activity. Furthermore, the analysis of a mouse pneumonia model further revealed that wogonin reduced mortality in mice infected with S. pneumoniae laboratory strain D39 and S. pneumoniae clinical isolate E1, reduced the number of colony‐forming units in infected mice and decreased the W/D ratio and levels of the inflammatory factors TNF‐α, IL‐6 and IL‐1β in the lungs of infected mice. Thus, wogonin reduces S. pneumoniae pathogenicity by inhibiting the dual targets PLY and SrtA, providing a treatment option for S. pneumoniae infection.
PYK2 is overexpressed in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: A potential new therapeutic target
Authors: Sbrana Francesca Vittoria , Fiordi Benedetta , Bordini Jessica , Belloni Daniela , Barbaglio Federica , Russo Luca , Scarfò Lydia , Ghia Paolo , Scielzo Cristina
Published: February 2023

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) is the most common adult B‐cell leukaemia and despite improvement in patients' outcome, following the use of targeted therapies, it remains incurable. CLL supportive microenvironment plays a key role in both CLL progression and drug resistance through signals that can be sensed by the main components of the focal adhesion complex, such as FAK and PYK2 kinases. Dysregulations of both kinases have been observed in several metastatic cancers, but their role in haematological malignancies is still poorly defined. We characterized FAK and PYK2 expression and observed that PYK2 expression is higher in leukaemic B cells and its overexpression significantly correlates with their malignant transformation. When targeting both FAK and PYK2 with the specific inhibitor defactinib, we observed a dose–response effect on CLL cells viability and survival. In vivo treatment of a CLL mouse model showed a decrease of the leukaemic clone in all the lymphoid organs along with a significant reduction of macrophages and of the spleen weight and size. Our results first define a possible prognostic value for PYK2 in CLL, and show that both FAK and PYK2 might become putative targets for both CLL and its microenvironment (e.g. macrophages), thus paving the way to an innovative therapeutic strategy.
Clinical significances of Bishop score and vaginal bleeding to controlled‐release dinoprostone delivery system (PROPESS) efficacy for cervical ripening: A retrospective single‐center study in Japan
Authors: Imai Kenji , Aoki Chieko , Tano Sho , Iitani Yukako , Nakamura Noriyuki , Ushida Takafumi , Kajiyama Hiroaki , Kotani Tomomi
Published: February 2023

Aims

To evaluate the effect of vaginal bleeding on the efficacy of controlled‐release dinoprostone delivery system (PROPESS) for cervical ripening and the factors affecting the PROPESS efficacy in a Japanese clinical setting.

Methods

A total of 100 term pregnant women in whom PROPESS was used due to an unfavorable cervix (Bishop score ≤ 6) were enrolled. We retrospectively investigated which factors, including vaginal bleeding, were associated with the success of cervical ripening using logistic regression analysis. Moreover, the effect of vaginal bleeding on vaginal acidity was examined in 24 selected cases (control, 11; rupture of membrane, 4; and vaginal bleeding, 8).

Results

A 25 women successfully ripened the cervix (effective group), and 75 were unsuccessful (noneffective group). Bishop score at insertion (adjusted odds ratio: 1.87; 95% confidence interval: 1.23–2.86; p = 0.004), and vaginal bleeding at PROPESS insertion (adjusted odds ratio 6.63; 95% confidence interval 1.21–36.36; p = 0.029) affected cervical ripening success. The cases with vaginal bleeding showed a significantly higher vaginal pH than the control cases (median value: 6.75 and 5.0, respectively). We identified no obvious adverse outcomes, such as tachysystole, fetal heart rate abnormality, or low Apgar/pH, associated with vaginal bleeding at insertion.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the PROPESS efficacy depends on Bishop score at insertion and that vaginal bleeding at PROPESS insertion might have a significantly positive effect on cervical ripening in term pregnant women.
Vaginal bleeding in children: A retrospective audit at a tertiary paediatric gynaecology service
Authors: Drever Natalie , Peek Sarah , Moussaoui Dehlia , Dkeidek Amira I , Grover Sonia R
Published: February 2023

Aim

The aim of this study was to describe the clinical features and investigations of vaginal bleeding in prepubertal children.

Methods

We performed a retrospective case series of children under the age of 10 who presented with vaginal bleeding to our institution between 2018 and 2019.

Results

There were 32 cases identified during the timeframe, with a mean age of 5.5 years (standard deviation 3.2 years, range 5.5 days to 9.6 years). Vulvovaginitis was the most common diagnosis (n = 12, 37.5%), followed by precocious puberty (n = 5, 15.6%). Uncommon but serious causes were vaginal rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 1), and sexual abuse (one patient presenting with gonorrhoea and one with a non‐accidental injury). Vaginoscopy was performed in nine patients (28.1%) for various reasons, and a vaginal foreign body was identified in two patients (6.3%). All the patients who had a serious cause of bleeding (neoplasm or sexual assault) or who required specific treatment (precocious puberty, lichen sclerosus, urethral prolapse) presented with red flags on history and/or examination: recurrent episodes of vaginal bleeding, heavy bleeding, associated general symptoms (poor feeding and growth), presence of thelarche, abdominal mass, associated profuse vaginal discharge and abnormal genital examination (skin changes, urethral prolapse or protruding mass from the vagina).

Conclusions

A thorough history‐taking and clinical examination aiming at identifying red flags may help to discriminate between benign causes of vaginal bleeding, where no further investigations are indicated, and alternative diagnoses with a poor outcome and/or requiring specific treatment and additional investigations.
Animal models of human insomnia
Authors: Fernandez Fabian‐Xosé , Perlis Michael L.
Published: February 2023

Insomnia disorder (chronic sleep continuity disturbance) is a debilitating condition affecting 5%–10% of the adult population worldwide. To date, researchers have attempted to model insomnia in animals through breeding strategies that create pathologically short‐sleeping individuals or with drugs and environmental contexts that directly impose sleeplessness. While these approaches have been invaluable for identifying insomnia susceptibility genes and mapping the neural networks that underpin sleep–wake regulation, they fail to capture concurrently several of the core clinical diagnostic features of insomnia disorder in humans, where sleep continuity disturbance is self‐perpetuating, occurs despite adequate sleep opportunity, and is often not accompanied by significant changes in sleep duration or architecture. In the present review, we discuss these issues and then outline ways animal models can be used to develop approaches that are more ecologically valid in their recapitulation of chronic insomnia's natural aetiology and pathophysiology. Conditioning of self‐generated sleep loss with these methods promises to create a better understanding of the neuroadaptations that maintain insomnia, including potentially within the infralimbic cortex, a substrate at the crossroads of threat habituation and sleep.
Genomic architecture underlying morphological and physiological adaptation to high elevation in a songbird
Authors: Lu Chia‐Wei , Huang Shih‐Ting , Cheng Shun‐Jen , Lin Chen‐Tau , Hsu Yu‐Cheng , Yao Cheng‐Te , Dong Feng , Hung Chih‐Ming , Kuo Hao‐Chih
Published: February 2023

Organisms often acquire physiological and morphological modifications to conquer ecological challenges when colonizing new environments which lead to their adaptive evolution. However, deciphering the genomic mechanism of ecological adaptation is difficult because ecological environments are often too complex for straightforward interpretation. Thus, we examined the adaptation of a widespread songbird—the rufous‐capped babbler (Cyanoderma ruficeps)—to a relatively simple system: distinct environments across elevational gradients on the mountainous island of Taiwan. We focused on the genomic sequences of 43 birds from five populations to show that the Taiwan group split from its sister group in mainland China around 1–2 million years ago (Ma) and colonized the montane habitats of Taiwan at least twice around 0.03–0.22 Ma. The montane and lowland Taiwan populations diverged with gene flow between them, suggesting strong selection associated with different elevations. We found that the montane babblers had smaller beaks than the lowland ones, consistent with Allen's rule, and identified candidate genes—COL9A1 and SOX11—underlying the beak size changes. We also found that altitudinally divergent mutations were mostly located in noncoding regions and tended to accumulate in chromosomal inversions and autosomes. The altitudinally divergent mutations might regulate genes related to haematopoietic, metabolic, immune, auditory and vision functions, as well as cerebrum morphology and plumage development. The results reveal the genomic bases of morphological and physiological adaptation in this species to the low temperature, hypoxia and high UV light environment at high elevation. These findings improve our understanding of how ecological adaptation drives population divergence from the perspective of genomic architecture.
Species of Dickinsonia Sprigg from the Ediacaran of South Australia
Authors: Evans Scott D. , Hunt Gene , Gehling James G. , Sperling Erik A. , Droser Mary L.
Published: February 2023

An iconic member of the Ediacara Biota, Dickinsonia Sprigg is one of few such taxa with multiple species. Here we use Gaussian finite mixture models to assess the validity of species distinctions for this genus. Our results indicate that the five described species of Dickinsonia from the Ediacara Member, South Australia are better classified as two based on multiple approaches. Two different methods for dimension reduction both provide strong support for two groups, with overlapping but distinct mixture models. The variable selection method produces the most biologically realistic clusters, indicating that the two species can be primarily differentiated based on the greater relative size of the anterior most unit of Dickinsonia costata Sprigg compared with Dickinsonia tenuis Glaessner & Wade. Despite differences in aspect ratio and number of modules, both species regulated growth to maintain overall shape. The greater likelihood of preservation of a midline and an irregular outer margin in D. tenuis highlights differential structural integrity and flexibility. Co‐occurrence in the Ediacara Member indicates that both species occupied the same environments and temporal distribution. Smaller maximum and average size for D. costata, combined with higher abundance, may suggest a comparatively shorter lifespan and increased rates of reproduction.
The Force of Habit
Authors: Hornett William
Published: February 2023

Habits figure in action‐explanations because of their distinctive force. But what is the force of habit, and how does it motivate us? In this paper, I argue that the force of habit is the feeling of familiarity one has with the familiar course of action, where this feeling reveals a distinctive reason for acting in the usual way. I do this by considering and rejecting a popular account of habit's force in terms of habit's apparent automaticity, by arguing that one can do something out of habit and from deliberation, before going on to defend The Familiarity View.
Mitigating conflict with collaboration: Reaching negotiated agreement amidst belief divergence in environmental governance
Authors: Koebele Elizabeth A. , Crow Deserai A.
Published: February 2023

High levels of conflict among coalitions in a policy process are often attributed to belief divergence and may lead to policy gridlock. Thus, reducing belief divergence may facilitate negotiation and open the door for policy change. Beliefs are notoriously difficult to change, however, especially in high‐conflict settings. Collaborative governance has been touted as one method for mitigating conflict to a level where negotiation is possible by means including but not limited to belief change. This study investigates the relationship between belief divergence as a driver of policy conflict and collaborative governance as a conflict mitigation tool by analyzing the beliefs of two opposing coalitions as they participate in a decade‐long collaborative environmental governance process that ended in negotiated agreement. Using longitudinal survey and interview data, we find that coalitions' beliefs diverge more at a later point in the process, due primarily to the reinforcement and strengthening of one coalition's beliefs; however, we also identify aspects of the collaborative process that helped foster negotiated agreement amidst this growing belief divergence. These findings can inform scholarship on conflict mitigation in environmental governance as well as the design of more effective collaborative processes in high‐conflict settings.