bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An advanced approach for rapid visual identification of Liposcelis bostrychophila (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae) based on CRISPR/Cas12a combined with RPA
Authors: Deng Wenxin , Feng Shiqian , Stejskal Vaclav , Opit George , Li Zhihong
Published: July 2023

Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae) is a booklouse pest that is a threat to commodity storage security worldwide. Accurate and sensitive methods of L. bostrychophila on-site identification are essential prerequisites for its effective management. Evidence suggests that L. bostrychophila contains 3 intraspecific biotypes that are morphologically indistinguishable but can be discriminated at the level of mitochondrial genome organization and sequences. The traditional molecular identification methods, such as DNA barcoding and PCR-RFLP, are instrumentally demanding and time-consuming, limiting the application of the identification in the field. Therefore, this study developed a new CRISPR/Cas12a-based visual nucleic acid system based on the mitochondrial gene coding for NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (nad2), combined with recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) to accurately identify L. bostrychophila from 4 other common stored-product booklice, and also differentiate 3 biotypes of this species at the same time. The entire identification process could be completed at 37 °C within 20 min with high sensitivity. The system could stably detect at least 1 ng/μl of DNA template. The green fluorescence signal produced by the trans-cleaving of the single-stranded DNA reporter could be observed by the naked eye under blue light. Additionally, the suggested system combined with the crude DNA extraction method to extract DNA rapidly, enabled identification of all developmental stages of L. bostrychophila. With crude DNA, this novel diagnostic system successfully identified an unknown booklouse by holding the reaction tubes in the hand, thus can be considered as an accurate, rapid, highly sensitive, and instrument-flexible method for on-site visual identification of L. bostrychophila.
Unique fluorophilic pores engineering within porous aromatic frameworks for trace perfluorooctanoic acid removal
Authors: Zhang Chi , Dong Junchao , Zhang Panpan , Sun Lei , Yang Liu , Wang Wenjian , Zou Xiaoqin , Chen Yunning , Shang Qingkun , Feng Danyang , Zhu Guangshan
Published: July 2023

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a representative of per/polyfluorinated alkyl substances, has become a persistent water pollutant of widespread concern due to its biological toxicity and refractory property. In this work, we design and synthesize two porous aromatic frameworks (PAF) of PAF-CF3 and PAF-C2F5 using fluorine-containing alkyl based monomers in tetrahedral geometry. Both PAFs exhibit nanosized pores (∼1.0 nm) of high surface areas (over 800 m2 g−1) and good fluorophilicity. Remarkable adsorption capacity (˃740 mg g−1) and superior efficiency (˃24 g mg−1 h−1) are achieved toward the removal of PFOA with 1 μg L−1 concentration owing to unique C–F···F–C interactions. In particular, PAF-CF3 and PAF-C2F5 are able to reduce the PFOA concentration in water to 37.9 ng L−1 and 43.3 ng L−1, below EPA regulations (70 ng L−1). The reusability and high efficiency give both PAFs a great potential for sewage treatment.
Nutritional interventions for exercise-induced muscle damage: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized trials
Authors: Talebi Sepide , Mohammadi Hamed , Zeraattalab-Motlagh Sheida , Arab Arman , Keshavarz Mohammadian Mohammad , Ghoreishy Seyed Mojtaba , Abbaspour Tehrani Fard Maryam , Amiri Khosroshahi Reza , Djafarian Kurosh
Published: July 2023

Context

Several meta-analyses have been conducted on the effect of nutritional interventions on various factors related to muscle damage. However, the strength of the evidence and its clinical significance are unclear.

Objectives

This umbrella review aimed to provide an evidence-based overview of nutritional interventions for exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD).

Data sources

PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science were systematically searched up to May 2022.

Data Extraction

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials investigating nutritional interventions' effects on recovery following EIMD were included. The certainty of the evidence was rated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE).

Results

Fifty-three randomized controlled trial meta-analyses were included, evaluating 24 nutritional interventions on 10 different outcomes. The results revealed a significant effect of hydroxymethylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation and l-carnitine supplementation for reducing postexercise creatine kinase; HMB supplementation for reducing lactate dehydrogenase; branched-chain amino acids and leaf extract supplementation for reducing the delayed onset of muscle soreness; and l-carnitine, curcumin, ginseng, polyphenols, and anthocyanins for reducing muscle soreness, all with moderate certainty of evidence.

Conclusions

Supplementation with HMB, l-carnitine, branched-chain amino acids, curcumin, ginseng, leaf extract, polyphenols, and anthocyanins showed favorable effects on some EIMD-related outcomes.

Protocol Registration

PROSPERO registration no. CRD42022352565.
Folktron
Authors: Draganova Asya
Published: July 2023

As Bulgarian popular music strives for distinctiveness within the global cultural field, folklore has taken on a central position as a source of inspiration. The incorporation of folkloristic references—presented subtly or as central motifs—can be observed across commercial genres such as pop-folk as well as within areas of music experimentation in styles like electronica, jazz, and rock. This chapter draws upon open-ended interviews with musicians and industry figures, textual analyses, and a range of ethnographic observations. It interprets the use of folklore elements in Bulgarian popular music in relation to Bulgaria’s “crossroad” position between the imagined constructs of “East” and “West” as well as the notion of Balkanism: a concept akin to orientalism, which refers to a set of inferiority stereotypes. The chapter suggests that the use of folklore elements can result in both trivialization and innovation and that drawing upon folklore tradition comes with significant cultural responsibilities.
Jorge Luis Borges and the Interview as Theater
Authors: Hanson Cody C.
Published: July 2023

Jorge Luis Borges was interviewed hundreds of times and whereas interviews are generally thought to be nonfiction, a few critics have recognized the literary and performative qualities of his interviews. This chapter theorizes that interviews with Borges are best understood as theatrical performances akin to Readers Theater and the Theater of the Absurd. Borges’s performance in interviews is comparable to Readers Theater in that he and his interlocutors perform scripted dialogue for public consumption. Their interactions often devolve into a type of spontaneous literary production similar to the Theater of the Absurd, in which two characters entangle themselves in (meaningless) dialogue full of wordplay, humor, clichés, tired tropes, and recurring ideas.
Approaching Religious Authority Through the Rise of New Leadership Roles Online
Authors: Campbell Heidi A.
Published: July 2023

This chapter explores the relationship and understanding of religious authority as it is conceived and enacted by traditional and new forms of religious leadership emerging in the digital age. The term religious digital creatives is used to describe this new class of religious authorities, which have gained public influence on online platforms by their strategic use of digital media. Religious digital creatives rise to position of influence not through traditional forms of leadership selection, training or religious expertise, but through their digital and communication skill sets. Their rise and presence challenges to traditional views of who, as well as what structures, hold authority in contemporary religious communities and organization. Overall, this chapter presents an in-depth understanding of how religious authority roles approached within media studies and digital religion studies, and suggests the importance of considering the new ways religious authority is enacted by actors in digital media environments.
Obligations and Economic and Social Rights
Authors: Sen Amartya
Published: July 2023

This entry provides a shortened restatement of Amartya Sen’s influential presentation of a theory of human rights. Professor Sen’s arguments about human freedom, which includes human capabilities, has enormous resonance for understanding the importance, scope, and pathways for implementation, of economic and social rights. In this entry, Professor Sen argues that human rights are best understood as pronouncements in social ethics, sustainable by open public reasoning. He draws on historical examples to show that rights are often reflected in, or designed for, a legal framework. And yet such examples also indicate the importance of human rights outside of that framework. The public recognition, agitation, and monitoring of these ethical demands help sustain their obligatory character. Professor Sen also draws out the distinction between the perfect and imperfect obligations that correspond to human rights. Understanding the role of imperfect obligations is particularly important for understanding the realization of economic and social rights. Where imperfect, such obligations ground a firm duty to reasonably consider undertaking actions which can defend or promote the relevant freedom, both in process and opportunity terms. As Professor Sen claims, obligations place implicit and explicit pressure on all who are in a plausible position to prevent the violation of economic and social rights.
Vernon Lee, Influenced and Influencer
Authors: Blackburn-Daniels Sally
Published: July 2023

Violet Paget adopted the pseudonym “Vernon Lee” in an attempt to leave her gender undecided in the reader’s mind. As she explained to her mentor Camilla Jenkin on December 18, 1878, she felt that “no one reads a woman’s writing on art, history or aesthetics with anything but unmitigated contempt.” Yet despite being “outed” as Paget by Fraser’s Magazine that same year, Lee became a key figure in the philosophical and psychological debates around aesthetics. This chapter charts Lee’s aesthetic entanglement and argues that a sense of collaboration and comradeship was integral to her work within the discipline. Evidence from her oeuvre presents Lee as both influenced and influencer: absorbing A. Mary F. Robinson’s guidance in the philosophy of beauty and developing a queer contemplation of art with partner Clementina (“Kit”) Anstruther-Thomson in Beauty and Ugliness.
Literature as Philosophy
Authors: Fessenbecker Patrick
Published: July 2023

The great Victorian novelist George Eliot has long been recognized as a major intellectual, and to that extent, the idea that she needs to be or even could be rediscovered in the fashion of many other writers seems odd. Yet because of the disciplinary history that has placed studies of George Eliot primarily in literature departments, there is a kind of philosophical writing about her work that is surprisingly rare: straightforward rational reconstructions that explain her views and her reasons for holding them as charitably as possible. The absence of this scholarship is particularly striking with regard to her theory of sympathy, where philosophical writing has more or less ignored the sophisticated approach that literary criticism has developed for understanding the moral psychology of the distinctive sympathy exemplified by Eliot’s narrators. To that extent, there is perhaps a way in which philosophy has not yet really discovered Eliot’s moral philosophy.
Feminism and Women’s Rights in Great Britain and Ireland
Authors: Smith Janet
Published: July 2023

This chapter charts the changes, continuities, and diversity of nineteenth-century feminism in Britain using the work of the political and social reformer Helen Taylor as a prism. The terms feminist and feminism are employed, although neither was in use until the 1890s. Taylor’s promotion of women’s rights across a wide spectrum of political organizations, social movements, and areas—suffrage, education, employment, family life, sexuality—reveals dominant and recessive trends, developments, and conflicts within feminist ideology. The classic relational feminism of Taylor’s early life, which mostly demanded rights based on women’s innate difference and their moral superiority as wives and mothers, was challenged toward the end of the century by individualist feminism. Women began to demand, as a human right, an independent life not restricted to family relationships. Younger feminist socialists challenged the bourgeois feminism of their elders. Examining Taylor’s political campaigning shows that feminism was disparate, even among the white, middle-class groups that are the focus of the chapter. An anti-imperial feminism existed alongside the dominant imperial feminism of the mainstream British women’s rights movement. Differences in feminist ideology emerged at the intersection of class, national identity, and political affiliation, making it more accurate to talk, not of nineteenth-century feminism, but of feminisms in the plural.
Suffrage as Philosophy
Authors: Chernock Arianne
Published: July 2023

Suffragists often get treated as theorists or practitioners. Many, however, were both. This chapter examines the centrality of theory, broadly construed, to suffragist and suffragette activity. Specifically, it considers the ways in which philosophy animated British suffragism. For while most women suffragists would not have defined themselves as philosophers (a label they often reserved for men, such as John Stuart Mill), they, too, explored and expanded on arguments that stretched back to the Enlightenment, if not earlier. The chapter highlights some of the arguments they made, including those regarding natural rights and the shared capacity to reason, the uses of history, the relationship between property and citizenship, and sexual difference and the place of women. In doing so, it seeks to (a) place women at the center of intellectual histories of the suffrage movement and (b) stress some of the ideational continuities within the suffrage movement (even as different generations and organizations privileged different concepts and strategies).
Harriet Martineau and the Empire Question
Authors: Logan Deborah A.
Published: July 2023

Harriet Martineau was a prolific nineteenth-century intellectual and writer, a “popularizer” of political economy, a founder of sociological methodology, and “the first and greatest” woman journalist, historian, and social reformer. During her half-century career, she produced more than two thousand periodical articles and hundreds of volumes, in fiction and nonfiction genres; she was exceptionally well-traveled, with extended journeys to the United States, Ireland, and the Middle East; and she had a prodigious circle of correspondents, friends, and professional associates that included many of the era’s best-known intellectual and political figures. Martineau’s writing offers authoritative, intellectually informed, and liberal-minded commentary on the pressing topics and issues of the period. Her prediction that subsequent generations will inherit the dubious fruits of imperialism in often unimaginable ways is one we continue to navigate in the twenty-first century.
Aligned with Whom?
Authors: Korinek Anton , Balwit Avital
Published: July 2023

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more powerful and widespread, the AI alignment problem—how to ensure that AI systems pursue the goals that we want them to pursue—has garnered growing attention. This chapter distinguishes two types of alignment problems depending on whose goals we consider, and analyzes the different solutions necessitated by each. The direct alignment problem considers whether an AI system accomplishes the goals of the entity operating it. In contrast, the social alignment problem considers the effects of an AI system on larger groups or on society more broadly. In particular, it also considers whether the system imposes externalities on others. Whereas solutions to the direct alignment problem typically center around more robust implementation, social alignment problems typically arise because of conflicts between individual- and group-level goals, elevating the importance of AI governance to mediate such conflicts. Addressing the social alignment problem requires both enforcing existing norms on their developers and operators and designing new norms that apply directly to AI systems.
Bengal from Both Sides
Authors: Anam Nasia
Published: July 2023

This chapter contrasts literary depictions of partitioned Bengal from opposing perspectives: of East Bengali Hindus migrating to Indian West Bengal in Amitav Ghosh’s celebrated novel The Shadow Lines (1988) and of West Bengali Muslims migrating to Pakistani East Bengal in Mahmudul Haque’s Kalo Borof (1977, translated as Black Ice). Both novels portray the complex, mutable parameters of religious, linguistic, national, and regional allegiances for those who lost and gained new homelands by migrating from East to West Bengal and vice versa across the Bengal border, itself thrice drawn during the 20th century. The Shadow Lines centers on an uprooted, upper-caste family’s negotiations of belonging and identity after Partition, complicated further by a seemingly inexplicable and mortal act of aggression between West Bengali Hindus and East Bengali Muslims. Ghosh emphasizes the “mysterious” nature of sectarian violence in the novel by rendering his Muslim characters irrational and illegible. By contrast, Haque shows how large-scale aggression between Bengali Hindus and Muslims have been perpetuated by small acts of violence accrued over hundreds of years of colonial divide-and-rule policies. By granting his characters rich interiority, Haque troubles prominent 20th-century portrayals of East Bengali Muslims as voiceless and inscrutable in canonical West Bengali writing, from Rabindranath Tagore to Ghosh. Placing these texts in conversation highlights how emphasizing Indian Bengali representations of 1947 in culture and scholarship effectively erases the experience of East Bengalis/East Pakistanis/Bangladeshis from the archive of Partition’s manifold legacies—an indispensable perspective without which understandings of postcolonial South Asia remain profoundly incomplete.
Creatine supplementation protects spatial memory and long-term potentiation against chronic restraint stress
Authors: Bahari Zahra , Jangravi Zohreh , Hatef Boshra , Valipour Habib , Meftahi Gholam Hossein
Published: July 2023

Stress contributes to numerous psychopathologies, including memory impairment, and threatens one’s well-being. It has been reported that creatine supplementation potentially influences cognitive processing. Hence, in this study, we examined the effects of creatine supplementation on memory, synaptic plasticity, and neuronal arborization in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in rats under chronic restraint stress (CRS). Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats (8 weeks old) weighing 200–250 g were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8/per group): control, stress, creatine, and stress + creatine. CRS was induced for 6 h per day for 14 days, and creatine supplementation was carried out by dissolving creatine (2 g/kg body weight per day) in the animals’ drinking water for 14 days. We used the Barnes maze and shuttle box for spatial and passive avoidance memory examination. The in-vivo field potential recording and Golgi-Cox staining were also used to investigate long-term potentiation (LTP) and dendrite arborization in the CA1 pyramidal neurons. Chronic stress impaired spatial memory, dysregulated LTP parameters, and decreased the number of dendrites in the CA1 pyramidal neurons of stressed rats, and creatine supplementation modified these effects in stressed rats. It seems that creatine supplementation can improve spatial memory deficits and synaptic plasticity loss induced by CRS in hippocampal CA1 neurons, possibly by reducing the dendrite arborization damages. However, understanding its mechanism needs further investigation.
SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF VON HIPPEL–LINDAU DISEASE–ASSOCIATED RETINAL CAPILLARY HEMANGIOBLASTOMA WITH BELZUTIFAN IN A PEDIATRIC PATIENT
Authors: Jones Anthony A. , Schloemer Nathan J. , Wirostko William J.
Published: July 2023

Purpose:

The authors describe a case of a retinal capillary hemangioblastoma (RCH) in a pediatric patient with von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) syndrome that was successfully treated with systemic belzutifan.

Methods:

The clinical course was documented with serial fundus examinations and multimodal imaging, including Optos widefield fundus photography and optical coherence tomography. A literature review was conducted to look for similar cases and/or discussion.

Results:

A left RCH was noted on a standard VHL surveillance retinal examination of a then 15-year-old male patient with VHL syndrome. Over the course of 17 months, this RCH was treated with focal laser therapy, photodynamic therapy, cryotherapy, bevacizumab injection, and endolaser ablation. Complications of these treatments included subretinal fluid and vitreomacular traction necessitating laser retinopexy, scleral buckle, and pars plana vitrectomy with membrane stripping. After a 6-month interval from the last local therapy (endolaser treatment), there was minimal regression of the lesion, and many concerning features persisted. At 22 months from presentation, the patient started belzutifan 120 mg PO daily with subsequent regression in size and less perfusion to the hemangioblastoma within 4 months. The patient is tolerating the systemic belzutifan with only the expected normocytic anemia and has not required transfusion therapy after 12 months of treatment.

Conclusion:

von Hippel-Lindau disease is a rare and serious condition associated with multiple types of benign and malignant tumors. Belzutifan is tolerated in the adolescent population and can provide a systemic treatment alternative for VHL-associated RCH.
Subcortical brain anatomy as a potential biomarker of persistent pain after total knee replacement in osteoarthritis
Authors: Barroso Joana , Branco Paulo , Pinto-Ramos João , Vigotsky Andrew D. , Reis Ana Mafalda , Schnitzer Thomas J. , Galhardo Vasco , Apkarian A. Vania
Published: July 2023

The neural mechanisms for the persistence of pain after a technically successful arthroplasty in osteoarthritis (OA) remain minimally studied, and direct evidence of the brain as a predisposing factor for pain chronicity in this setting has not been investigated. We undertook this study as a first effort to identify presurgical brain and clinical markers of postarthroplasty pain in knee OA. Patients with knee OA (n = 81) awaiting total arthroplasty underwent clinical and psychological assessment and brain magnetic resonance imagining. Postoperative pain scores were measured at 6 months after surgery. Brain subcortical anatomic properties (volume and shape) and clinical indices were studied as determinants of postoperative pain. We show that presurgical subcortical volumes (bilateral amygdala, thalamus, and left hippocampus), together with shape deformations of the right anterior hippocampus and right amygdala, associate with pain persistence 6 months after surgery in OA. Longer pain duration, higher levels of presurgical anxiety, and the neuropathic character of pain were also prognostic of postsurgical pain outcome. Brain and clinical indices accounted for unique influences on postoperative pain. Our study demonstrates the presence of presurgical subcortical brain factors that relate to postsurgical persistence of OA pain. These preliminary results challenge the current dominant view that mechanisms of OA pain predominantly underlie local joint mechanisms, implying novel clinical management and treatment strategies.
Biodegradable nanoparticles targeting circulating immune cells reduce central and peripheral sensitization to alleviate neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury
Authors: Saunders Michael N. , Griffin Kate V. , Kalashnikova Irina , Kolpek Daniel , Smith Dominique R. , Saito Eiji , Cummings Brian J. , Anderson Aileen J. , Shea Lonnie D. , Park Jonghyuck
Published: July 2023

Neuropathic pain is a critical source of comorbidity following spinal cord injury (SCI) that can be exacerbated by immune-mediated pathologies in the central and peripheral nervous systems. In this article, we investigate whether drug-free, biodegradable, poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) nanoparticle treatment mitigates the development of post-SCI neuropathic pain in female mice. Our results show that acute treatment with PLG nanoparticles following thoracic SCI significantly reduces tactile and cold hypersensitivity scores in a durable fashion. Nanoparticles primarily reduce peripheral immune-mediated mechanisms of neuropathic pain, including neuropathic pain-associated gene transcript frequency, transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 nociceptor expression, and MCP-1 (CCL2) chemokine production in the subacute period after injury. Altered central neuropathic pain mechanisms during this period are limited to reduced innate immune cell cytokine expression. However, in the chronic phase of SCI, nanoparticle treatment induces changes in both central and peripheral neuropathic pain signaling, driving reductions in cytokine production and other immune-relevant markers. This research suggests that drug-free PLG nanoparticles reprogram peripheral proalgesic pathways subacutely after SCI to reduce neuropathic pain outcomes and improve chronic central pain signaling.
Comparison of upfront versus deferred cytoreductive nephrectomy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma receiving systemic therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Li Kun-peng , He Miao , Wan Shun , Chen Si-yu , Wang Chen-yang , Li Xiao-ran , Yang Li
Published: July 2023

Background:

This study aimed to conduct a pooled analysis to compare the outcomes of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) who received presurgical systemic therapy (ST; including immunotherapy and/or targeted therapy) followed by cytoreductive nephrectomy (deferred CN; dCN) with those who underwent upfront CN (uCN) followed by ST.

Methods:

The present study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library database to identify eligible comparative studies up to April 2023. To evaluate their relevance, pooled hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

Results:

A total of 3157 patients were included in nine studies. The dCN group was observed to be correlated with superior overall survival (OS) compared to the uCN group (HR=0.71, 95% CI 0.57-0.89, P=0.003). Moreover, we conducted subgroup analyses according to the type of ST, sample size, gender, age, and risk score, and observed similar outcomes for OS across most subgroups.

Conclusions:

The results of this study demonstrated that dCN may be associated with improved OS compared to uCN in patients with mRCC receiving ST. However, no significant differences were found between uCN and dCN groups in the immunotherapy-based combinations subgroup. Further research is needed to confirm these results.
Organ involvement and assessment in sarcoidosis
Authors: Janssen Marlou T.H.F. , Landewé Robert B.M. , Post Marco C. , Erckens Roel J. , Mostard Rémy L.M.
Published: July 2023

Purpose of review

In recent years new recommendations have been published about organ assessment in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis.

Recent findings

Screening for pulmonary, cardiac, ocular, neurologic and renal involvement and hypercalcemia is recommended in the work-up for sarcoidosis, additionally, screening for hypercalciuria at the time of the diagnosis might be beneficial.

One of the goals in the work-up of sarcoidosis is to assess the extent and severity of organ involvement. Timely and accurate assessment leads to determination of treatment indication. Screening for pulmonary involvement should include pulmonary imaging and pulmonary function tests. Screening for cardiac involvement should include a clear history including palpitations and collapse and a baseline electrocardiogram or 24-h Holter monitoring. At diagnosis, ophthalmological assessment is recommended. Furthermore, serum calcium level and serum creatinine level should be obtained. Although routine 24-h urinary calcium excretion is not included in the guidelines, performing this test routinely can be considered. On indication, neurologic, rheumatologic or dermatologic assessment can be performed.
The Digital Evolution in Healthcare
Authors: Schultz Mary Anne
Published: July 2023

The advancement of huge data sets in healthcare has spawned unique insights into care provision. Formerly known as the “Digital Revolution,” now more commonly and correctly termed an “evolution,” the deployment of Big Data continues to inspire implications for how care is provided, evaluated, and experienced. This commentary reviews foremost developments that offer direction for acquisition of digital competencies by nurses.
Combatting Social Isolation, Anxiety, and Loneliness in Hospitalized Patients
Authors: Keen Alyson , Deike Lauren , Haan Jaimee
Published: July 2023

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an intervention related to social isolation and loneliness among hospitalized patients by improving: 1) social connectedness; 2) anxiety; and 3) loneliness and to evaluate experiences of the connection intervention.

BACKGROUND

Social isolation and loneliness can lead to detrimental effects on morbidity/mortality and health indices. A connection intervention was developed by investigators using key strategies to promote connectedness, providing in-person contact for hospitalized patients to meet individual and self-care needs.

METHODS

This quasi-experimental study was conducted in a Midwest adult academic health center. Social connectedness, anxiety, and loneliness were evaluated at baseline and postintervention using a paired-sample t test. Experience responses were analyzed using content analysis.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in social connectedness, anxiety, or loneliness when comparing baseline with postintervention. Experience themes included sharing personal stories back and forth, treating me as a person, mitigating loneliness, and finding benefit.

CONCLUSION

Despite nonsignificant findings, participants found benefit in filling the social void of being an inpatient. Clinicians should ensure that holistic care is delivered to hospitalized inpatients. Inclusive patient-centered strategies targeted to decrease social isolation and loneliness among acute care inpatients should continue to be developed and tested.
Nurse Resiliency and Health in Practicing Nurses Before and During COVID-19
Authors: Stallings Welden Lois M. , Chen Chen , Willegal-Russ Kate , Kalb Elizabeth
Published: July 2023

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to compare the degree of resilience and self-perceived physical and mental health in nurses before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND

Work-related stress among nurses is recognized as an antecedent of burnout, which in turn impacts resiliency and well-being. The work of nursing has long been noted as stressful. Although nurse resilience and perceived well-being have been shown to decrease during a period of usual stress (constant and chronic), the impact and significance of prolonged stress on nurse resilience and well-being illuminates throughout the literature.

METHODS

Replicating a cross-sectional prepandemic study, nurses were resurveyed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In both studies, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and PROMIS Global Health was used to measure respondent's: 1) resilience level; 2) physical health status; and 3) mental health status, respectively. Independent 2-sample t tests were performed to compare the pre-and-post score differences in the 3 outcomes. To identify characteristics that were associated with the pre-and-post differences, comparison analyses were also performed within each level of the respondents' characteristic variables.

RESULTS

A higher proportion of postsurvey respondents reported working more than 8 hours of overtime per week, had thoughts of quitting their current job, and thought their workload was too much compared with the presurvey respondents. Generally, the postgroup resilience scores and self-perceived physical and mental scores were statistically significantly lower compared with the pregroup scores, but those differences were only observed in certain subgroups defined by respondents' characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Self-perceived physical and mental health are significantly associated with the degree of resilience and worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in younger and older nurse cohorts. Engaged nurse leaders are key to implement interventions that build resilience and perceived well-being during periods of usual and prolonged stress.
Combined Plate and Long Screw Fixation of Transverse Condylar Head Fractures
Authors: Diarra Drissa , Ni Xiao-Qi , Li Zhi
Published: July 2023

We describe a method of fixing transverse condylar head fractures using a combination of a plate and long screw fixation. In the technical procedure, a 4-hole mini-plate was placed on the lateral side of the condylar head and the condylar stump after the fracture reduction. The first hole was drilled in the lateral side of the condylar head, and one 9 mm mini-screw was inserted, a second hole drilled from the lateral side of the condyle stump through the medial pole of the condylar head and a 16 mm screw was inserted in an oblique direction from inferior to superior, then 2 more 9 mm mini-screws were inserted just below the long one to complete the procedure. This technique showed excellent results in both short and long-term stability of and healing of the fracture. Furthermore, it is more standardized, reproducible, and less technically demanding.
The scientific chaos phase of the Great Pandemic: A longitudinal analysis and systematic review of the first surge of clinical research concerning COVID-19
Authors: Adami Till , Ries Markus
Published: July 2023

Background

Early stages of catastrophes like COVID-19 are often led by chaos and panic. To characterize the initial chaos phase of clinical research in such situations, we analyzed the first surge of more than 1000 clinical trials about the new disease at baseline and after two years follow-up. Our 3 main objectives were: (1) Assessment of spatial and temporal evolution of clinical research of COVID-19 across the globe, (2) Assessment of transparency and quality - trial registration, (3) Assessment of research waste and redundancies.

Methods

By entering the keyword “COVID-19” we screened the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of the WHO and downloaded the search output when our goal of 1000 trials was reached on the 1stof April. Additionally, we verified the integrity of the downloaded data from the meta registry by comparing the data with each individual registration record on their source register. Also, we conducted a follow-up after two years to track their progress.

Results

(1) The spatial evolution followed the geographical spread of the disease as expected, however, the temporal development suggested that panic was the main driver for clinical research activities. (2) Trial registrations and registers showed a huge lack of transparency by allowing retrospective registrations and not keeping their registration records up to date. Quality of trial registration seems to have improved over the last decade, yet crucial information still was missing. (3) Research waste and redundancies were present as suggested by discontinuation of trials, preventable flaws in study design, and similar but uncoordinated research topics operationally fragmented in isolated silo-structures.

Conclusion

The scientific response mechanism across the globe was intact during the chaos phase. However, supervision, leadership, and accountability are urgently needed to prevent research waste, to ensure effective structure, quality, and validity to ultimately break the “panic-then-forget” cycle in future catastrophes.
Multivariate prediction of temper outbursts in youth enriched for irritability using Ecological Momentary Assessment data
Authors: Saha Dipta , Naim Reut , Pereira Francisco , Brotman Melissa A. , Zheng Charles Y.
Published: July 2023

Irritability and temper outbursts are among the most common reasons youth are referred for psychiatric assessment and care. Identifying clinical variables (e.g. momentary anxiety) that precede the onset of temper outbursts would provide valuable clinical utility. Here, we provide the rationale for a study to test the performance of classifiers trained to predict temper outbursts in a group of clinically-referred youth, in a home setting, enriched for symptoms of irritability and temper outbursts. Using observational data--digital based event sampling from previous Ecological Momentary Assessment data, we demonstrate promising results in our ability to predict the presence of a temper outburst based on clinical responses (e.g., whether the participant is grouchy, hungry, happy, sad, anxious, tired, etc.) prior to the emotional event, as well as external features (e.g., time of day, day of week). In exploratory analyses of existing data, consisting of n=57 subjects with a total of 1296 time points, we evaluate the feasibility of using a logistic regression-based classifier and a random-forest based classifier for predicting the temper outburst prospectively. In order to more rigorously assess these classifiers, we propose the collection of a large confirmatory set, consisting of at least an additional 20 subjects with an expected total of 400 time points, and will perform confirmatory analyses of the precision and recall of several classifiers for predicting temper outbursts. This work provides the foundation for the identification of features predictive of risk and future development of novel mobile-device-based interventions in youth affected with severe and impairing psychopathology.
Mycobacterium tuberculosisinfection associated immune perturbations correlate with antiretroviral immunity
Authors: Tepekule Burcu , Jörimann Lisa , Schenkel Corinne D. , Opitz Lennart , Tschumi Jasmin , Wolfensberger Rebekka , Neumann Kathrin , Kusejko Katharina , Zeeb Marius , Boeck Lucas , Kälin Marisa , Notter Julia , Furrer Hansjakob , Hoffmann Matthias , Hirsch Hans H. , Calmy Alexandra , Cavassini Matthias , Labhardt Niklaus D. , Bernasconi Enos , Metzner Karin J , Braun Dominique L. , Günthard Huldrych F. , Kouyos Roger D. , Duffy Fergal , Nemeth Johannes ,   the Swiss HIV Cohort Study
Published: July 2023

Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) remains one of the most important opportunistic infections in people with HIV-1 (PWH). While active Tuberculosis (TB) leads to rapid progression of immunodeficiency in PWH, the interaction between MTB and HIV-1 during the asymptomatic phase of both infections remains poorly understood.

In a cohort of individuals with HIV (PWH) with and without suppressed HIV-1 viral load, the transcriptomic profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) clustered in individuals infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) compared to carefully matched controls. Subsequent functional annotation analysis disclosed alterations in the IL-6, TNF, and KRAS pathways. Notably, MTB-associated genes demonstrated an inverse correlation with HIV-1 viremia, evident at both on individual gene level and when employed as a gene score.

In sum, our data show that MTB infection in PWH is associated with a shift in the activation state of the immune system, displaying an inverse relationship with HIV-1 viral load. These results could provide an explanation for the observed increased antiretroviral control associated with MTB infection in PWH.
Towards the automated detection of interictal epileptiform discharges with magnetoencephalography
Authors: Fernández-Martín Raquel , Feys Odile , Juvené Elodie , Aeby Alec , Urbain Charline , De Tiège Xavier , Wens Vincent
Published: July 2023

The analysis of clinical magnetoencephalography (MEG) in patients with epilepsy traditionally relies on the visual identification of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), which is time consuming and dependent on (subjective) human criteria. Data-driven approaches enabling both spatial and temporal localization of epileptic spikes would represent a major leap forward in clinical MEG practice. Here, we explore the ability of Independent Components Analysis (ICA) and Hidden Markov Modeling (HMM) to automatically detect and localize IEDs. Combined with kurtosis mapping, we developed a fully automated identification of epileptiform independent components (ICs) or HMM states. We tested our pipeline on MEG recordings at rest from 10 school-age children with either focal or multifocal epilepsy and compared results with the traditional MEG analysis performed by an experienced clinical magnetoencephalographer. In patients with focal epilepsy, both ICA- and HMM-based pipelines successfully detected visually identified IEDs with high sensitivity, but also revealed low-amplitude IEDs unidentified by the visual detection. Success was more mitigated in patients with multifocal epilepsy, as our automated pipeline missed IED activity associated with some foci—an issue that could be alleviated bypost-hocmanual selection of epileptiform ICs or HMM states. Therefore, IED detection based on ICA or HMM represents an efficient way to identify spike localization and timing, with heightened sensitivity to IEDs compared to visual MEG signal inspection and requiring minimal input from clinical practitioners.
Systematic analysis of microorganisms’ metabolism for selective targeting
Authors: Manshadi Mehdi Dehghan , Setoodeh Payam , Zare Habil
Published: July 2023

Selective drug targets (i.e., narrow-spectrum antibiotics) can minimize side effects of antibiotic treatments compared to broad-spectrum antibiotics due to their specific targeting of the organisms responsible for the infection. Furthermore, combating an infectious pathogen, especially a drug-resistant organism, is more efficient by attacking multiple targets. Here, we combined synthetic lethality with selective drug targeting to obtain multi-target and organism-specific potential drug candidates by systematically analyzing the genome-scale metabolic models of six different microorganisms. By considering microorganisms as targeted or conserved in one- to six-member groups, we designed 665 individual case studies. For each case, we identified single essential reactions as well as double, triple, and quadruple synthetic lethal reaction sets that are lethal for targeted microorganisms and neutral for conserved ones. As expected, the number of obtained solutions for each case depends on the genomic similarity between the studied microorganisms. Mapping the identified potential drug targets to their corresponding pathways showed the importance of key subsystems such as cell envelope biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, membrane lipid metabolism, and the nucleotide salvage pathway. To assist validation and further investigation of our proposed potential drug targets, we introduced two sets of targets that can potentially address a substantial portion of the 665 cases. We expect that the obtained solutions provide helpful insights into designing narrow-spectrum drugs that selectively cause system-wide damage only to the target microorganisms.
Intercellular communication atlas reveals Oprm1 as a neuroprotective factor for retinal ganglion cells
Authors: Qian Cheng , Xin Ying , Qi Cheng , Wang Hui , Dong Bryan C. , Zack Donald , Blackshaw Seth , Hattar Samer , Zhou Feng-Quan , Qian Jiang
Published: July 2023

The progressive death of mature neurons often results in neurodegenerative diseases. While the previous studies have mostly focused on identifying intrinsic mechanisms controlling neuronal survival, the extracellular environment also plays a critical role in regulating cell viability. Here we explore how intercellular communication contributes to the survival of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) following the optic nerve crush (ONC). Although the direct effect of the ONC is restricted to the RGCs, we observed transcriptomic responses in other retinal cells to the injury based on the single-cell RNA-seq, with astrocytes and Müller glia having the most interactions with RGCs. By comparing the RGC subclasses with distinct resilience to ONC-induced cell death, we found that the high-survival RGCs tend to have more ligand-receptor interactions with other retinal cells, suggesting that these RGCs are intrinsically programmed to foster more communication with their surroundings. Furthermore, we identified the top 47 interactions that are stronger in the high-survival RGCs, likely representing neuroprotective interactions. We performed functional assays on one of the receptors, μ-opioid receptor (Oprm1), a receptor known to play roles in regulating pain, reward, and addictive behavior. Although Oprm1 is preferentially expressed in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC), its neuroprotective effect could be transferred to multiple RGC subclasses by selectively overexpressing Oprm1 in pan-RGCs in ONC, excitotoxicity, and glaucoma models. Lastly, manipulating Oprm1 activity improved visual functions or altered pupillary light response in mice. Our study provides an atlas of cell-cell interactions in intact and post-ONC retina, and a strategy to predict molecular mechanisms controlling neuroprotection, underlying the principal role played by extracellular environment in supporting neuron survival.
Prior probability cues bias sensory encoding with increasing task exposure
Authors: Walsh Kevin , McGovern David P. , Dully Jessica , Kelly Simon , O’Connell Redmond
Published: July 2023

When observers have prior knowledge about the likely outcome of their perceptual decisions, they exhibit robust behavioural biases in reaction time and choice accuracy. Computational modelling typically attributes these effects to strategic adjustments in the criterion amount of evidence required to commit to a choice alternative - usually implemented by a starting point shift - but recent work suggests that expectations may also fundamentally bias the encoding of the sensory evidence itself. Here, we recorded neural activity with EEG while participants performed a contrast discrimination task with valid, invalid, or neutral probabilistic cues across multiple testing sessions. We measured sensory evidence encoding via contrast-dependent steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEP), while a read-out of criterion adjustments was provided by effector-selective mu-beta band activity over motor cortex. In keeping with prior modelling and neural recording studies, cues evoked substantial biases in motor preparation consistent with criterion adjustments, but we additionally found that the cues produced a significant modulation of the SSVEP during evidence presentation. While motor preparation adjustments were observed in the earliest trials, the sensory-level effects only emerged with extended task exposure. Our results suggest that, in addition to strategic adjustments to the decision process, probabilistic information can also induce subtle biases in the encoding of the evidence itself.