bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
764 Burn Advanced Practice Provider Fluorescein Dye Staining Reduces Ophthalmology Consults
Authors: Laramie Kate E , Mueller Scott W , Wiktor Arek J , Gibson Cameron
Published: April 2024

Introduction

Facial burn injury patients typically receive ophthalmology consultations irrespective of the severity of their peri-ocular or ocular involvement. Minor facial burns without significant eye involvement or ocular complaints often do not require in-patient ophthalmologist assessment. We sought to assess ocular fluorescein dye staining by burn unit Advanced Practice Providers (APP; Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners) to decrease unnecessary ophthalmology consults.

Methods

A prospective evaluation was performed at our ABA-verified burn center for all facial burn injury patients admitted between January 1 through August 31, 2023. Patients who presented with full-thickness injuries to their eyelids or peri-ocular area, those exhibiting tense eyelids raising concern for ocular compartment syndrome, those with severe eye pain and anyone with acute vision loss were excluded from staining and received an immediate ophthalmology consult. For patients with facial burns who did not meet the aforementioned criteria, fluorescein dye stains were administered upon admission by APPs, if available. Ophthalmology consults were only ordered for patients with positive stains.

Results

83 patients were admitted with facial burns between January 1 and August 31, 2023. Of these, 42 patients received fluorescein dye stains by APPs. Among those stained, 79% were male and 21% female. The average age was 49 years old (range 19 to 82). The average TBSA affected was 8.46% (range 0.1% to 38.5%). The majority of patients (83%) had flame/flash burns, 7% had scald burns, 2% had chemical burns, 2% had sun burns and the remainder had unclear etiology. 34 patient dye stains (80%) yielded negative results, obviating the need for an ophthalmology consult. The remaining 8 had positive results, necessitating a consult. Among these, 4 were false positives with no ocular injury found by ophthalmology. The remaining 4 exhibited ocular chemosis, trace punctate epithelial erosions, thermal keratopathy and chronic central epithelial defects from prior Lasik surgery. Ophthalmology was consulted in 37 out of 83 patients, with only 8 consults resulting from APP staining. This signifies a 48% overall reduction in consults placed during this 8-month time frame, and an 80% reduction of consults in whom qualified for the pathway.

Conclusions

Fluorescein dye staining by burn unit APPs minimizes unnecessary ophthalmology consults, likely reducing healthcare costs for patients and healthcare facilities.

Applicability of Research to Practice

Burn centers should consider fluorescein dye stain screening as part of routine practice for burn patients.
787 A 13-year Experience with a 3-stage Dermal Regeneration Matrix Approach to Acute Hand Burns
Authors: Arellano Jose Antonio , Jeong Tiffany , Alessandri-Bonetti Mario , Liu Hilary , Pandya Sumaarg , Stofman Guy M , Egro Francesco
Published: April 2024

Introduction

Dermal regeneration matrix (DRM) has been demonstrated to be safe and beneficial in improving functional outcomes for the management of acute hand burns. DRM followed by split thickness skin graft (STSG) allows for a two-stage reconstruction for most operative hand burn injuries. Our site routinely implements a 3-staged approach with cadaver allograft at the first stage. The aim of this study is to compare the surgical and functional outcomes of 2-staged DRM reconstruction and 3-staged reconstruction.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted to review surgical and functional outcomes of patients treated for hand burns. All patients seen from April 2009 and December 2022 with hand burns, for whom objective hand measurements were available, were considered for the study.

Results

From 2009 to 2023, 227 patients were treated for hand burns. Of them, 44 patients had objective hand measurements and were included in the study. Patient (77.3% males,22.7% females) mean age was 39.3±16.1 and the mean BMI was 27.1±6.4. Patients suffered from 1.3±1.4 comorbidities. Patients were followed for 22.0±25.0 months. Most burns were full thickness (97.7%, n=43) and involved 15.3±16.7% TBSA. Patients suffered thermal injuries (93.2%, n=41) and electrical burns (6.8%, n=3). Many patients had bilateral hand involvement (52.3%, n=23).

Most cases (n=27) received a 3-staged approach with cadaver allograft at first stage, dermal regeneration matrix (DRM) at second stage, and split thickness skin graft (STSG) for final reconstruction. Fewer cases received a 2-staged approach with DRM and STSG (n=10). No 3-staged cases required repeat STSG, while 40% of 2-staged cases required repeat STSG. Repeat STSG in acute management was significantly associated with patients who received the 2-staged (p < 0.01).

There was no significant difference in mean baseline DASH scores for patients who received cadaveric allograft during acute management (46.5±22.3%) when compared to those who did not (48.7±22.5%) (p=0.8033).

Conclusions

These data suggest a 3-stage approach may conserve autologous STSG, with fewer instances of repeat grafting. This approach may be especially useful when autologous skin is limited. Patients who received a 3-staged approach had comparable mean DASH scores when compared to patients who received a 2-staged approach, suggesting that a 3-staged approach does not diminish the functional benefits of DRM previously demonstrated in the literature.

Applicability of Research to Practice

When autologous skin is limited for grafting complex burn patients, surgeons may consider a 3-stage approach to using DRM.
792 Evaluating the Efficacy of Postoperative IV Antibiotics on Graft Take: A Pilot Study
Authors: Azzam Seham Z , Bingi Sai Pranathi , Keshvani, Caezaan , Clark Junior , Pang Alan , Griswold John A
Published: April 2024

Introduction

Burn wounds present as one of the most devastating forms of trauma. In the United States, an estimated 486,000 patients are treated for burn injuries yearly, with 40,000 requiring hospital admission. While severe burn wound survival rates have improved significantly in recent decades due to advances in the treatment of burn-related complications, approximately 5,000 patients in the U.S. die from severe burn wounds each year.

While there are many different treatments for burn wounds depending on their severity, skin grafting remains one of the most prominent and effective solutions to achieving a good patient outcome for partial and full thickness burns. One obstacle that can prevent proper healing with a skin graft is infection of the grafted wound. To mitigate this risk, IV antibiotics are given peri-operationally and are shown to increase graft survival and decrease partial graft loss suggesting potential benefit for the patient. However, there is currently little research on the efficacy of administering antibiotics postoperatively between the initial grafting procedure and undressing of the grafted wound. To better understand this association, our pilot study investigated the impact that systemic IV antibiotics have on graft outcomes when administered between graft take and dressing takedown.

Methods

We queried the electronic health records of 166 burn patients who received grafting between January 1, 2011, through September 1, 2021 at a burn intensive care unit. All patients selected for this study were between 18 and 89 years of age and were divided based on those with graft success versus graft rejection. The patients were then subsequently divided into those who received post-operative antibiotics and those who did not. Using Fisher’s exact test, we compared the graft take percentages between the two groups.

Results

Our study revealed no significant correlation (p=0.6054) between graft take and the use of postoperative intravenous (IV) antibiotics.

Conclusions

This observation suggests that IV antibiotics given post-operative do not improve graft take in burn patients. This supports the idea that post-operative antibiotics may currently be overprescribed for patients receiving burn grafts.

Applicability of Research to Practice

Although existing grafting guidelines do not discuss post-operative IV antibiotic administration, our results suggest a need for consideration. Overuse of antibiotics is well-documented to contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Furthermore, burn patients are already at risk of infections due to burn injuries resulting in a state of immunosuppression that predisposes patients to infection by various pathogens.
793 Lightning Burns and General Recommendations
Authors: Arora Shreya , Criscione Jaynie X , Koussayer Bilal , Mikhael Marian , Randolph Ellie , Le Nicole K , Whalen Kristen , Buller Kristina , Troy Jared , Laun Jake
Published: April 2024

Introduction

The odds of being struck by lightning are one in a million, however lightning strike accounts for 24,000 annual fatalities worldwide (Jensen et al, 2023). Due to its rarity, guidelines for the management of burns acquired by lightning strike are scarce. Current standard of treatment is to treat burns acquired as one would treat electrical burns (Stander & Wallace, 2011). We present a case series of three patients that were struck by lightning and contrast their outcomes to patients with electrical burns. We attempt to provide general recommendations for lightning burns.

Methods

We conducted retrospective chart review of patients presenting between 2015- 2022 for electrical and lightning burns. SPSS V28 was used for statistical analysis. Lightning burn patients were matched to electric burn patients by age, gender, Total Burn Surface Area (TBSA), and comorbidities. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted between the three groups due to discrepancies in sample size.

Results

We report three lightning burn cases: 2 adult males with 1-1.5% TBSA second-degree burns and 1 pediatric case with 4% TBSA. The pediatric case had a more complex hospital course: longer stay (15 vs 4-5 days), ICU stay (13 vs 2 days), and required ventilation but no surgery.

In adults aged 19-29, electrical burns patients had longer hospital stays (6.38 vs 5.00 days), similar ICU stays (2.25 vs 2 days), and lower initial CPK (1624.29 vs 3506.00) than lightning burn patients. In those 50+ with TBSA < 5% and hypertension, electrical burns patients had longer stays (6.75 vs 4 days), longer ICU stays (3.25 vs 2.00 days), and lower initial CPK levels (435.5 vs 648.00). CPK normalization took longer for electric burns (29.5 vs 6 hours). In younger patients, lightning burns had lower initial myoglobin (569.30 vs 759.01) but faster normalization (8.5 vs 15.92 hours), while in older patients, myoglobin trends favored lightning burns (6 vs 3.25 hours). Pediatric patients with TBSA < 5% had shorter stays (3.83 vs 15.00 days), ICU stays (0.83 vs 13 days), lower initial CPK (508.25 vs 17393.00), lower myoglobin (91.50 vs 10000.00), and quicker CPK normalization (10.00 vs 14.00) in electric burns compared to lightning burns.

Conclusions

Electric burns and lightning burns present similarly in adults. Although initial CPK levels are elevated in lightning burn patients, time taken for CPK to trend down was less than electric burn patients. More research is needed on lightning burn management in a pediatric population.

Applicability of Research to Practice

Lightning burns can be managed similarly to electric burns. Providers ought to expect an increased length of stay in patients who sustain electric burns as well as an extended recovery time for muscular injury.
795 A 12-Year Experience in Lower Extremity Acute Burns Reconstruction
Authors: Arellano Jose Antonio , Jeong Tiffany , Alessandri-Bonetti Mario , Liu Hilary , Stofman Guy M , Egro Francesco
Published: April 2024

Introduction

A paucity of studies investigated the outcomes of flap reconstruction in lower extremity acute burn. The aim of this study is to report outcomes of lower extremity acute burn needing pedicled or free flap coverage.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study to review patients with lower extremity acute burns needing either pedicled or free muscle flap coverage between August 2010 and December 2022 at an ABA-certified burn center. Gathered data included demographics, comorbidities, type of injury, total body surface area involved, anatomical location, indication for flap coverage, timing of reconstruction, follow-up, number and type of re-operations, and complications. Chi-square test was used to measure differences in complication rate between pedicled and free flaps.

Results

Over a 12-year period, 31 patients underwent 38 muscle flaps for lower extremity acute burn and were included in the study. In total, 81% were males and 19% females, with a mean age of 47±12 years and a mean BMI of 28.4±7.2. Thermal injury was the most common cause of soft tissue defects (92%), while electrocution caused the remaining 8%. Most common injured area was the lower leg (82%). Mean time between the day of injury and reconstructive surgery was 21.3±9.5 days and the mean follow up period was 11.2±11.8 months.

Out of 38 flaps, 28 were pedicled muscle flaps (14 gastrocnemius flaps, 12 soleus flaps, 1 anterior tibial muscle flap, 1 abductor digiti minimi muscle flap) and 10 were free muscle flaps (8 rectus abdominis flaps, 1 vastus lateralis flap, 1 latissimus dorsi flap).

In the free flap group complications were: total flap loss (20%), wound healing issues (30%), hematoma (20%), infection (10%). In the pedicled flap group complications were wound healing issues (14.3%), skin graft loss (10.7%), tip necrosis (7.1%) and infection (3.6%).

Free flaps showed a significantly higher rate of need for re-operation (50% vs 35.7%, p=0.048) and total flap loss (20% vs 0%, p=0.015) compared to pedicled flaps.

Conclusions

Flap coverage in lower extremity acute burns is rarely employed. Yet, in the case of critical structure exposure, it is often necessary. However, it is important to be aware of the high risk of complications, especially for more complex reconstructions needing a free tissue transfer.

Applicability of Research to Practice

Surgeons and patients will benefit from a greater awareness of the high risk of complications seen in free tissue transfer during lower extremity acute burn reconstruction.
Food and feeding strategies of the green tiger shrimp, Penaeus semisulcatus, in southeastern India
Authors: Rajkumar Muthusamy , Pillai Saraswathy L , Saravanan Raju , Thirumalaiselvan Shanmugam , Remya Lalitha
Published: April 2024

Observations and analysis of the food and feeding habits of penaeid shrimp are decisive for understanding food webs and ecological processes. Published information on the feeding habits of the green shrimp, Penaeus semisulcatusDe Haan, 1844, from Indian waters, however, dates back four decades, despite the fact that green tiger shrimp is one of the important shrimp species that forms a unique fishery in Palk Bay, on the southeastern India. Hence, its dietary preferences were analysed concerning sex, season, gonad maturity, and size. The species preyed on were composed of diversified components, with mollusc remains being the most common food item in females, followed by crustacean remains, whereas in males, the crustacean remains were the most common food items followed by mollusc remains. There was no significant difference in the gastrosomatic index of females and gonadal maturity stages among seasons, but a significant difference among size groups. In males, there was no significant difference among seasons, gonadal maturity, and size groups. Females were more active feeders than males, and the difference could be seen in their size groups. Larger groups fed more actively than smaller groups. Feeding was more active in the post-monsoon and summer monsoon seasons. Penaeus semisulcatus dominates the ecosystem among the shrimp species due to its carnivorous behaviour. The observations made in this study form key inputs for trophic modelling and ecosystem-based studies, which could help develop suitable strategies for managing the shrimp resource in Palk Bay.
Effect of entomopathogenic fungi on behavior and physiology of Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
Authors: Hassan Ali , Kang Lidong , Zhang Kaixiong , Wang Lei , Qin Xianjiao , Fang Guobin , Lu Yongyue , Huang Qiuying
Published: April 2024

In an ant colony, a large number of nestmates with a similar gene pool coexist, making them more vulnerable to pathogenic attacks. These pathogens influence the behavior and physiology of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren. Here, we evaluated the impact of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) Metarhizium anisopliae on the behavior (locomotion and foraging) and physiology (biological molecules, anti-fungal activity, and survival) of S. invicta. Distance traveled and velocity significantly decreased, while turn angle and angular velocity significantly increased in ants exposed to a higher concentration of M. anisopliae compared to ants exposed to control after 36 h, which showed disturbed locomotion. Fungus infection significantly affected the foraging behavior of ants. Fungus-exposed ants spent significantly less time in the food zone (area with food) than in the inner zone (area without food). The activities of 4 enzymes, peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and carboxylesterase were significantly decreased. In contrast, catalase and anti-fungal activities were increased after fungal exposure compared to the control. The activity of acetylcholinesterase, which hydrolyses the important neurotransmitter acetylcholine, also decreased after fungal application compared to the control. Survival of ants was also significantly reduced after fungus infection compared to the control. Our findings help to understand the influence of M. anisopliae on the behavior and physiology of S. invicta, which will help in the management of S. invicta using the EPF M. anisopliae.
Late fall synthetic acaricide application is effective at reducing host-seeking adult and nymphal Ixodes scapularis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) abundances the following spring
Authors: Williams Scott C , Linske Megan A
Published: April 2024

Based on increases in reported cases of tick-borne illnesses, expanding ranges of native ticks, and repeated documentation of arrivals of nonnative tick species, there is a clear need for their effective management in the United States. Synthetic acaricides have proven efficacious in tick management, but real/perceived negative impacts to the environment and nontarget, beneficial insects must be addressed. We sought to determine whether late fall synthetic acaricide application, when most susceptible beneficial insects are presumably dormant or have migrated, could effectively manage host-seeking spring Ixodes scapularis Say abundances as compared to traditional spring application. We compared results of delivery of Demand CS (lambda-cyhalothrin) via truck-mounted high-pressure spray and powered backpack blower as well as delivery of granular Demand G to experimental control (water) in peridomestic habitats in fall 2021, spring 2022, and combined fall 2021/spring 2022. High-pressure fall delivery of Demand CS and backpack delivery of Demand G significantly reduced host-seeking adult I. scapularis abundances within-season and the following spring combined by 100% and 94%, respectively. No host-seeking nymphal I. scapularis were documented in spring after fall only, spring only, or fall and spring combined delivery of Demand CS via high-pressure or powered backpack blower. No adult I. scapularis were documented at any time posttreatment on locations that received high-pressure delivery of Demand CS. We conclude that high-pressure delivery of Demand CS in late fall successfully eliminated multiple stages of host-seeking I. scapularis through the following spring while likely limiting exposure of beneficial insects to synthetic pyrethroids.
Measuring local genetic variation in permethrin-resistant head lice (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) from Buenos Aires, Argentina
Authors: Toloza Ariel C , Ascunce Marina S , Reed David L
Published: April 2024

The cosmopolitan ectoparasite human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis (De Geer)(Phthiraptera:Pediculidae), affects mostly school-aged children, with infestations reported every year mainly due to louse resistance to pyrethroids. One of the main resistance mechanisms of pyrethroids is the target site insensitivity (kdr), which is caused by single-nucleotide point mutations (SNPs) located in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel gene. In this study, we analyzed individual head lice toxicologically via the description of their susceptibility profile to permethrin and genetically through the genotypification of their kdr alleles as well as nuclear microsatellite loci. Lice were collected from 4 schools in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The resistance ratios varied from 33.3% to 71.4%, with a frequency of the T917I kdr mutation of 87.31% and with 83.6% of the head lice being homozygous resistant to pyrethroids. Microsatellite data indicated that all the louse school populations had genotype proportions that deviated from Hardy–Weinberg expectations, with FIS > 0 reflecting a deficit of heterozygotes. Bottleneck analysis suggested that all louse school populations underwent a recent reduction in population sizes, while 3 of the 4 schools had gene flow values around 1, indicating ongoing gene flow among those schools. Our study suggests that school louse populations in the city of Buenos Aires may form a metapopulation, where each school represents a small population that undergoes extinction and recolonization processes under strong permethrin selection. This is the first multilevel analysis integrating toxicological, kdr-genotyping, and microsatellite data in human louse populations.
Sustained activation of the FGF1–MEK–ERK pathway inhibits proliferation, invasion and migration and enhances radiosensitivity in mouse angiosarcoma cells
Authors: Miura Taichi , Kado Junko , Ashisuke Kazuma , Masuzawa Mikio , Nakayama Fumiaki
Published: April 2024

Angiosarcoma is a rare refractory soft-tissue tumor with a poor prognosis and is treated by radiotherapy. The fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) mutant, with enhanced thermostability due to several substituted amino acids, inhibits angiosarcoma cell metastasis, yet the mechanism of action is unclear. This study aims to clarify the FGF1 mutant mechanism of action using ISOS-1 mouse angiosarcoma cells. The wild-type FGF1 or FGF1 mutant was added to ISOS-1 cells and cultured, evaluating cell numbers over time. The invasive and migratory capacity of ISOS-1 cells was assessed by transwell analysis. ISOS-1 cell radiosensitivity was assessed by colony formation assay after X-ray irradiation. To examine whether mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) inhibitor counteracts the FGF1 mutant effects, a combination of MEK inhibitor and FGF1 mutant was added to ISOS-1 cells and cultured. The FGF1 mutant was observed to inhibit ISOS-1 cell proliferation, invasion and migration by sustained FGF1 signaling activation. A MEK inhibitor suppressed the FGF1 mutant-induced inhibition of proliferation, invasion and migration of ISOS-1 cells. Furthermore, the FGF1 mutant enhanced radiosensitivity of ISOS-1 cells, but MEK inhibition suppressed the increased radiosensitivity. In addition, we found that the FGF1 mutant strongly inhibits actin polymerization, suggesting that actin cytoskeletal dynamics are closely related to ISOS-1 cell radiosensitivity. Overall, this study demonstrated that in ISOS-1 cells, the FGF1 mutant inhibits proliferation, invasion and migration while enhancing radiosensitivity through sustained activation of the MEK-mediated signaling pathway.
Endoscopic management of ingested toothpick resulting in duodeno-ureteric fistula
Authors: Roberts Georgia , McKay Bartholomew , Nathanson Andrew , Hii Michael W , Banting Simon
Published: April 2024

Toothpicks are commonly used but rarely ingested. Unlike most foreign bodies, if accidentally swallowed these rarely spontaneously pass. The duodenum has been reported as the most common site of toothpick foreign body lodgement in the upper gastrointestinal tract. We report the case of a 57-year-old presenting with recurrent urosepsis after non recognition of a toothpick impaction in the duodenum with fistulisation into the right renal pelvis. Endoscopic removal of the foreign body was successful in management of the urosepsis.
Mucoepidermoid microcarcinoma in the context of parotid gland cyst
Authors: Luizetti João P B , Milanez Pedro P M , Castro Mario A F , de Almeida Ricardo C , Dedivitis Rogério A
Published: April 2024

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a type of salivary gland cancer that can develop in the context of a parotid gland cyst. This type of tumor is composed of mucous, epidermoid, and intercalated cells, and usually presents as a slow-growing and painless mass. A parotid gland cyst is a condition in which a fluid-filled sac forms in the parotid gland. The tumor can be masked as it develops within the parotid cyst. A 45-year-old female patient presented with a suspect of benign neoplasm of the major salivary gland. She underwent partial right parotidectomy, which upon pathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of mucoepidermoid microcarcinoma associated with parotid gland cysts. The patient did well and continues under regular follow-up with no further treatment.
Scaling of leaf area with biomass in trees reconsidered: constant metabolically active sapwood volume per unit leaf area with height growth
Authors: Berry Eapsa , Anfodillo Tommaso , Castorena Matiss , Echeverría Alberto , Olson Mark E
Published: April 2024

Hypoallometric (slope<1) scaling between metabolic rate and body mass is often regarded as near-universal across organisms. However, there are compelling reasons to question hypoallometric scaling in woody plants, where metabolic rate is directly proportional to leaf area. This leaf area must provide carbon to the volume of the metabolically active sapwood (VMASW). Within populations of a species, variants in which VMASW increases per unit leaf area with height growth (e.g. ⅔ or ¾ scaling) would have proportionally less carbon for growth and reproduction as they grow taller. Therefore, selection should favor individuals in which, as they grow taller, leaf area scales isometrically with shoot VMASW (slope=1). Using tetrazolium staining, we measured total VMASW and total leaf area (LAtot) across 22 individuals of Ricinus communis and confirmed that leaf area scales isometrically with VMASW, and that VMASW is much smaller than total sapwood volume. With the potential of the LAtot–VMASW relationship to shape factors as diverse as the crown area–stem diameter relationship, conduit diameter scaling, reproductive output, and drought-induced mortality, our work indicates that the notion that sapwood increases per unit leaf area with height growth requires revision.
Delayed senescence and crop performance under stress: always a functional couple?
Authors: Antonietta Mariana , Martinez Dana , Guiamet Juan J
Published: April 2024

Exposure to abiotic stresses accelerates leaf senescence in most crop plant species, thereby reducing photosynthesis and other assimilatory processes. In some cases, genotypes with delayed leaf senescence (i.e. ‘stay-green’) show stress resistance, particularly in cases of water deficit, and this has led to the proposal that senescence delay improves crop performance under some abiotic stresses. In this review, we summarize the evidence for increased resistance to abiotic stress, mostly water deficit, in genotypes with delayed senescence, and specifically focus on the physiological mechanisms and agronomic conditions under which the stay-green trait may ameliorate grain yield under stress.
Gravitational waves from non-radial oscillations of stochastically accreting neutron stars
Authors: Dong Wenhao , Melatos Andrew
Published: April 2024

Oscillating neutron stars are sources of continuous gravitational waves. We study analytically the excitation of stellar oscillations by the mechanical impact on the stellar surface of ‘clumps’ of stochastically accreted matter. We calculate the waveform and spectrum of the gravitational wave signal emitted by the accretion-driven pulsations. Results are generated for an idealized model of a non-rotating, unmagnetized, one-component star with uniform polytropic index npoly assuming Newtonian gravity and the Cowling approximation. We find that the excited mode amplitudes grow with increasing npoly and mode order n. The gravitational wave signal forms a sequence of amplitude-modulated packets for npoly = 1, lasting ∼10−3 s after each impact. The gravitational wave strain increases with increasing npoly, but decreases with increasing n and increasing multipole order l for npoly = 1. In the observing band of current long-baseline interferometers, g modes emit higher, narrower peaks in the amplitude spectral density than f and p modes, with the highest peaks reaching ∼10−26 Hz−1/2 for modes with damping time τnl ∼ 108 yr. The root-mean-square strain hrms, calculated by summing over modes with 2 ≤ l ≤ 4 and τnl ≤ 108 yr, spans the range 10−33 ≤ hrms ≤ 10−32 for 1 ≤ npoly ≤ 2.
Insights into the 21 cm field from the vanishing cross-power spectrum at the epoch of reionization
Authors: Moriwaki Kana , Beane Angus , Lidz Adam
Published: April 2024

The early stages of the epoch of reionization, probed by the 21 cm line, are sensitive to the detailed properties and formation histories of the first galaxies. We use 21cmfast and a simple, self-consistent galaxy model to examine the redshift evolution of the large-scale cross-power spectrum between the 21 cm field and line-emitting galaxies. A key transition in redshift occurs when the 21 cm field shifts from being positively correlated with the galaxy distribution to being negatively correlated. Importantly, this transition redshift is insensitive to the properties of the galaxy tracers but depends sensitively on the thermal and ionization histories traced through the 21 cm field. Specifically, we show that the transition occurs when both ionization fluctuations dominate over 21 cm spin temperature fluctuations and when the average spin temperature exceeds the temperature of the cosmic microwave background. We illustrate this with three different 21 cm models which have largely the same neutral fraction evolution but different heating histories. We find that the transition redshift has a scale dependence, and that this can help disentangle the relative importance of heating and ionization fluctuations. The best prospects for constraining the transition redshift occur in scenarios with late X-ray heating, where the transition occurs at redshifts as low as z ∼ 6–8. In our models, this requires high-redshift galaxy surveys with sensitivities of $\sim 10^{-18}~\rm erg\,s^{-1}\,cm^{-2}$ for optical lines and $\sim 10^{-19}~\rm erg\,s^{-1}\,cm^{-2}$ for far-infrared lines. Future measurements of the transition redshift can help discriminate between 21 cm models and will benefit from reduced systematics.
Interplay of the Tfb1 pleckstrin homology domain with Rad2 and Rad4 in transcription coupled and global genomic nucleotide excision repair
Authors: Gong Wenzhi , Holmberg Hannah , Lu Cheng , Huang Michelle , Li Shisheng
Published: April 2024

Transcription-coupled repair (TCR) and global genomic repair (GGR) are two subpathways of nucleotide excision repair (NER). The TFIIH subunit Tfb1 contains a Pleckstrin homology domain (PHD), which was shown to interact with one PHD-binding segment (PB) of Rad4 and two PHD-binding segments (PB1 and PB2) of Rad2 in vitro. Whether and how the different Rad2 and Rad4 PBs interact with the same Tfb1 PHD, and whether and how they affect TCR and GGR within the cell remain mysterious. We found that Rad4 PB constitutively interacts with Tfb1 PHD, and the two proteins may function within one module for damage recognition in TCR and GGR. Rad2 PB1 protects Tfb1 from degradation and interacts with Tfb1 PHD at a basal level, presumably within transcription preinitiation complexes when NER is inactive. During a late step of NER, the interaction between Rad2 PB1 and Tfb1 PHD augments, enabling efficient TCR and GGR. Rather than interacting with Tfb1 PHD, Rad2 PB2 constrains the basal interaction between Rad2 PB1 and Tfb1 PHD, thereby weakening the protection of Tfb1 from degradation and enabling rapid augmentation of their interactions within TCR and GGR complexes. Our results shed new light on NER mechanisms.
National Urban League
Authors: Carle Susan
Published: April 2024

The National Urban League (NUL) is a historically important policy and social welfare organization dedicated to eliminating race discrimination and helping to empower African Americans and other underserved communities by increasing economic and educational opportunities and engaging in civil rights advocacy. The NUL has been in existence since 1910. Its history can be divided into several eras; literatures exist that explore each era, along with the changing priorities and methods the NUL used in each period. The general historiography on the NUL has largely focused on situating the organization in the broader story of 20th-century racial justice activism. Various other literatures addressing the NUL’s work arise from the fields of social work, education, and sociology, focusing on the NUL’s many areas of substantive focus. Those literatures tend to concentrate on the NUL’s more recent years of activity and will be summarized under the sections addressing these more recent periods of the NUL’s work.
Archaic Latin
Authors: Clackson James
Published: April 2024

Archaic Latin refers to the earliest attested stages of Latin (other labels are (Very) Old Latin and Early Latin) and is often used in contrast to classical Latin, with the dividing line between the two periods placed around 100 bce. Archaic Latin is attested through three principal sources. First, around fifteen hundred Latin inscriptions are recorded from the seventh century to the end of the second century bce; although many of these are short, and some fragmentary or not well understood, these texts show how speakers at the time wrote Latin. Second, literary, legal, and religious texts are transmitted through the manuscript tradition. The bulk of this material is comprised by twenty complete or near-complete verse plays of Plautus and six of Terence; only one short prose work, Cato’s De agri cultura, survives in its entirety. Many other literary works, including the Annales of Ennius and the Saturae of Lucilius, are attested in citations of later writers, most of which are less than two lines in length. Texts transmitted in the manuscript tradition usually show spellings adapted to later classical norms, including, for example, the Greek letters Y and Z, which do not occur in the epigraphic record at this date. The third source of information is given by statements about the earlier stages of the language or citation of individual words in grammarians and other Roman writers from later periods. A number of significant sound changes took place during the archaic Latin period, including rhotacism, monophthongization, and vowel weakening, and as a result some of the oldest archaic Latin forms have a very different appearance to their classical counterparts. The morphology, syntax, and vocabulary of archaic Latin are also distinctive, and sometimes are better explained by comparison with phenomena in the other Italic languages of Italy, including Oscan and Umbrian, or the older languages of the Indo-European family. During the archaic Latin period, Roman writers started composing verse in adaptations of Greek meters, but some inscriptions, and the epic poetry of Livius Andronicus and Naevius, make use of what appears to be a native verse form, known as the Saturnian, the analysis of which is disputed. Despite the general paucity of surviving textual materials, it is possible to arrive at some definite conclusions about different registers or regional and social varieties of archaic Latin. Faliscan, attested epigraphically between the seventh and third centuries bce, is now identified by many scholars as a dialect of Latin, rather than a separate language.
Cato the Younger
Authors: Drogula Fred Kilday
Published: April 2024

Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger (95–46 bce), also identified as Uticensis from the place of his death, was a Roman politician in the final decades of the Republic. Orphaned as a young boy, he was raised by his maternal uncles, first by M. Livius Drusus (trib. pleb. 91 bce) and then by Mam. Aemilius Lepidus Livianus (cos. 77 bce). Upon entering politics he promoted himself as a champion of traditional Roman values by adopting extremely old-fashioned clothing, habits, and values, probably in emulation of his famous great-grandfather, Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder. As quaestor in 64 bce he gained fame for his careful and scrupulously honest management of the state treasury, and as plebeian-tribune-elect at the end of 63 bce he played a decisive role in convincing the Senate to direct the consul M. Tullius Cicero to put to death without trial the captured Catilinarian conspirators, an illegal action that would later lead to Cicero’s exile. His enmity for C. Julius Caesar (cos. 59 bce) became obvious during the trial of the Catilinarian conspirators when he assisted those who were attempting (unsuccessfully) to implicate Caesar falsely in the crime. Cato acquired a leadership role among the optimates despite his relative youth, and he opposed the ambitions of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus with such success that he was in large part responsible for driving them to join forces and form the first triumvirate at the end of 60 bce. The triumvirs and their allies temporarily removed Cato from Rome by giving him the dubious honor of a special mission to annex the kingdom of Cyprus from 58 to 56 bce. As the triumvirate lost popular support, Cato succeeded in being elected praetor in 54 bce, in which capacity he presided over the extortion court. After Crassus died at Carrhae in 53 bce, Cato and the optimates successfully pulled Pompey over to their side, setting up the conditions that led to the outbreak of civil war. Cato worked with those who pushed to have Caesar declared a public enemy, but he may not have expected the political conflict to descend into civil war, since he openly lamented the deaths it caused and was given only secondary roles, including being left to guard Pompey’s camp at the decisive battle of Pharsalus in 48 bce. After Pompey’s defeat and death, Cato led the soldiers under his command to join the army of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica in North Africa. Cato was in command of the strategic city of Utica when Caesar defeated Scipio in the Battle of Thapsus in 46 bce, and he famously took his own life rather than surrender to Caesar.
Mental Health Services from 1990 to 2023
Authors: Manderscheid Ronald , Ward Amy
Published: April 2024

Mental health services in the United States have changed dramatically over the past century. At that time, only inpatient services were generally available, principally through state mental hospitals. In the intervening period, a community-based mental health system has been developed that runs in parallel with inpatient services but also allows for a much broader continuum of care. This community-based system includes brief psychotherapy, pharmacology, other forms of ambulatory care, and short-term residential care. The ongoing transition from inpatient to community-based mental health services has not been without internal controversies, particularly the issues surrounding the availability and use of inpatient care for community programs. The purpose of this bibliography is to examine US mental health services and the system that embeds them.
Child Welfare and Parents with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities
Authors: LaLiberte Traci , Piescher Kristine
Published: April 2024

The articles contained in this bibliography are positioned within the past twenty years of research literature. The bibliography begins by highlighting three special issues dedicated to parenting with IDD. Next are articles focused more broadly in the area of parenting with IDD, examining what is known about parents living with this particular type of disability, the attitudes and biases directed toward this group of parents, and the experiences and outcomes of children raised by parents with IDD. The second section of the bibliography focuses more specifically on parenting with IDD and the times when child welfare services become involved. The works presented in this bibliography represent an international community of researchers and reflect experiences of parents with IDD that are similar across the world. That said, research articles and professional reports on parenting with IDD are largely authored within the context of the Global North, leaving little known about this population in the Global South (previously referred to as “developing countries”). The field of child welfare has largely ignored the need to understand the population of parents with IDD and struggled to train its professionals and collaborative partners in effective practices for working with parents with IDD. In fact, not all countries have adopted common disability language or definitions. For instance, some follow the language of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), while others simply do not. Thus, the literature describing the intersection of disability and child welfare is not consistent over time or geographical location with respect to definitions, making it hard to compare across studies (e.g., prevalence of disability in child welfare). Language (and therefore policy) also differs around the world as it relates to parenting with intellectual differences. Frameworks for understanding the characteristics, abilities, experiences, and outcomes of these parents include intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD), cognitive impairments, and learning difficulties. In some cases, “learning difficulties” is used to be more inclusive, particularly for parents who have intellectual and/or developmental differences that may have not received a disability diagnosis. For the remainder of this article, “IDD” will be used as a broad umbrella term inclusive of the aforementioned frameworks.
Edward Yang
Authors: Fung Paul
Published: April 2024

Edward Yang (楊德昌) (b. 6 November 1947 – d. 29 June 2007), a key figure in the Taiwanese New Wave in the 1980s, was born in Shanghai, China, in 1947. He emigrated to Taiwan in 1949 with his family after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on the mainland. During his childhood, Yang was exposed to films by Federico Fellini and Robert Bresson. After his undergraduate study in electrical engineering in Taiwan, he pursued his postgraduate study on the same subject at the University of Florida. He worked for a few years at the Center for Informatics Research at the same university. He studied briefly at the University of Southern California film school and applied to Harvard’s architecture school. He did not complete any of these programs and ended up working on microcomputers and defense software in Seattle. Yang watched Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) in a cinema in Seattle. He had an epiphany and decided that he should become a film director. Yang would go on to produce some of the most influential films in world cinema: Taipei Story (青梅竹馬) (1985) The Terrorizers (恐怖分子) (1986), A Bridger Summer Day (牯嶺街少年殺人事件) (1991), A Confucian Confusion (獨立時代) (1994), Mahjong (麻將) (1996) and Yi Yi (一一) (2000). It was for the last film that Yang won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival. Yang died of colon cancer in Beverly Hills at the age of fifty-nine. Yang worked with several notable artists in his relatively short career, including the actress Sylvia Cheng, the cinematographer Christopher Doyle, the film director Hou Hsiao-hsien, the playwright and theater director Stan Lai, the singer Tsai Chin, and the screenwriter Wu Nien-jen.
Traumatic Brain Injury and Risk of Schizophrenia and Other Non-mood Psychotic Disorders: Findings From a Large Inpatient Database in the United States
Authors: Trivedi Chintan , Reddy Preetam , Rizvi Abid , Husain Karrar , Brown Kimberly , Mansuri Zeeshan , Nabi Mahamudun , Jain Shailesh
Published: April 2024

Background

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is linked with an increased risk of schizophrenia and other non-mood psychotic disorders (psychotic disorders), but the prevalence and contributing factors of these psychiatric conditions post-TBI remain unclear. This study explores this link to identify key risk factors in TBI patients.

Methods

We used the 2017 National Inpatient Sample dataset. Patients with a history of TBI (n = 26 187) were identified and matched 1:1 by age and gender to controls without TBI (n = 26 187). We compared clinical and demographic characteristics between groups. The association between TBI and psychotic disorders was explored using the logistic regression analysis, and results were presented as Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results

Psychotic disorders were significantly more prevalent in TBI patients (10.9%) vs controls (4.7%) (P < .001). Adjusted odds of psychotic disorders were 2.2 times higher for TBI patients (95% CI 2.05–2.43, P < .001). Male TBI patients had higher psychotic disorders prevalence than females (11.9% vs 8.4%). Younger age, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, personality disorders, and intellectual disability are associated with an increased risk of psychotic disorders in men.

Conclusion

Our study found that hospitalized TBI patients had 2.2 times higher odds of Schizophrenia non-mood psychotic disorder, indicating an association. This highlights the need for early screening of psychotic disorders and intervention in TBI patients, calling for more research.