bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Behavior of a novel corrugated grouted sleeve splice for prefabricated construction under uniaxial tensile loading
Authors: Wei Muwang , Jinru Du , Huawei Li , Nengzhong Lei , Yiyang Huang , Boren Xiao
Published: March 2023

A corrugated grouted sleeve (CGS) made of a seamless tube, which is easy to produce at low cost, is presented. To investigate the connection behavior of CGS splices, a total of 33 specimens are manufactured and tested under monotonic loads. The effects of the corrugation number, groove depth, and steel bar diameter on the connection performance of the CGS are examined. The test results show that the proposed CGS is deemed an effective and reliable steel bar connector for precast structure buildings due to the groove in the corrugation, which plays a key role as a wedge to prevent bond failure of the steel bar splice and enhance the confinement action of the sleeve; one corrugation formed by the roll extrusion method at the end of the seamless tube is sufficient to provide a wedge action to ensure steel bar failure first; the depth of the groove is suggested to be more than 2 mm to ensure that the bond strength is sufficient before steel bar fracture. Finally, an analytical model is proposed to predict the tensile resistance of the CGS considering the influence of confinement caused by the corrugations, and the predictions are in good agreement with the experimental data.
In Brief
Authors: Zhang Rose Xueqing , Muzzerall Parker , Liu Sophie X.
Published: March 2023

Trans joy, curated complaints, femininity anchors, and hamburgers after our hearts and minds: A snapshot of new research.
Heterosex on Campus: Laced with Double-Binds
Authors: Cooper Chiara Elena
Published: March 2023

Interviews with race- and class-privileged college students reveal a web of double-binds and compromises–and a whole lot of unwanted sex.
Caught in the Dragnet: How Punitive Immigration Laws Harm Immigrant Community Helpers
Authors: Canizales Stephanie L.
Published: March 2023

Legal violence, or the effects of an intertwining of immigration and criminal law, harms asylum seekers and immigrants, as well as the U.S. attorneys, social workers, health professionals, and advocates who help them.
Medical and nursing clinician perspectives on the usability of the hospital electronic medical record: A qualitative analysis
Authors: Lloyd Sheree , Long Karrie , Probst Yasmine , Di Donato Josie , Oshni Alvandi Abraham , Roach Jeremy , Bain Christopher
Published: March 2023

Background

Electronic medical records (EMRs) have been widely implemented in Australian hospitals. Their usability and design to support clinicians to effectively deliver and document care is essential, as is their impact on clinical workflow, safety and quality, communication, and collaboration across health systems. Perceptions of, and data about, usability of EMRs implemented in Australian hospitals are key to successful adoption.

Objective

To explore perspectives of medical and nursing clinicians on EMR usability utilising free-text data collected in a survey.

Method

Qualitative analysis of one free-text optional question included in a web-based survey. Respondents included medical and nursing/midwifery professionals in Australian hospitals (85 doctors and 27 nurses), who commented on the usability of the main EMR used.

Results

Themes identified related to the status of EMR implementation, system design, human factors, safety and risk, system response time, and stability, alerts, and supporting the collaboration between healthcare sectors. Positive factors included ability to view information from any location; ease of medication documentation; and capacity to access diagnostic test results. Usability concerns included lack of intuitiveness; complexity; difficulties communicating with primary and other care sectors; and time taken to perform clinical tasks.

Conclusion

If the benefits of EMRs are to be realised, there are good reasons to address the usability challenges identified by clinicians. Easy solutions that could improve the usability experience of hospital-based clinicians include resolving sign-on issues, use of templates, and more intelligent alerts and warnings to avoid errors.

Implications

These essential improvements to the usability of the EMR, which are the foundation of the digital health system, will enable hospital clinicians to deliver safer and more effective health care.
Intraoperative Sapien S3 Valve Placement in 2 Patients With Multi-Valvar Disease Operation: A Unique Hybrid Procedure
Authors: Aldoss Osamah , Mohammad Nijres Bassel , Shibbani Kamel , Porayette Prashob , Karimi Mohsen , Ricci Marco
Published: March 2023

There has been a paradigm shift in the management of patients with congenital heart disease with a move away from conventional surgical treatment in favor of a percutaneous catheter-based approach across the spectrum of valvular heart diseases. The Sapien S3 valve implantation in the pulmonary position has been previously reported using a conventional transcatheter approach in patients with pulmonary insufficiency due to an enlarged right ventricular outflow tract. In this report, we present 2 unique cases of intraoperative hybrid implantation of Sapien S3 valves in patients with complex pulmonic and tricuspid valvular disease.
Impact of Genetic Disorders in the Surgical Management of Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: Stephens Elizabeth H , Dearani Joseph A , Connolly Heidi M , Gleich Stephen J , Deyle David R , Johnson Jonathan N
Published: March 2023

The congenital heart surgeon frequently encounters patients with various genetic disorders requiring surgical intervention. Although the specifics of the genetics for these patients and their families lie in the purview of specialists in genetics, the surgeon is well-served to be familiar with aspects of specific syndromes that impact surgical management and perioperative care. This aids in counseling families in expectations for the hospital course and recovery as well as can impact intraoperative and surgical management. This review article summarizes key characteristics for the congenital heart surgeon to be familiar with for common genetic disorders as they help coordinate care.
A mechanism of platelet integrin aIIbb3 outside-in signaling through a novel integrin aIIb subunit-filamin-actin linkage
Authors: Lu Fan , Liu Jianmin , Ithychanda Sujay Subbayya , Apostol Marcin , Das Mitali , Deshpande Gauravi , Plow Edward F. , Qin Jun
Published: March 2023

The communication of talin-activated integrin aIIbb3 with cytoskeleton (integrin outside-in signaling) is essential for platelet aggregation, wound healing, and hemostasis. Filamin, a large actin cross-linker and integrin binding partner critical for cell spreading and migration, is implicated as a key regulator of integrin outside-in signaling. However, the current dogma is that filamin, which stabilizes inactive aIIbb3, is displaced from aIIbb3 by talin to promote the integrin activation (inside-out signaling) and how filamin further functions remains unresolved. Here we show that while associating with the inactive aIIbb3, filamin also associates with the talin-bound active aIIbb3 to mediate platelet spreading. FRET-based analysis reveals that while associating with both aIIb and b3 cytoplasmic tails (CTs) to maintain the inactive aIIbb3, filamin is spatiotemporally re-arranged to associate with aIIb CT alone on activated aIIbb3. Consistently, confocal cell imaging indicates that integrin a CT-linked filamin gradually delocalizes from b CT-linked focal adhesion marker - vinculin likely due to the separation of integrin a/b CTs occurring during integrin activation. High-resolution crystal and NMR structure determinations unravel that the activated integrin aIIb CT binds to filamin via a striking a-helix→b-strand transition with strengthened affinity that is dependent on the integrin-activating membrane environment containing enriched phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. These data suggest a novel integrin aIIb CT-filamin-actin linkage that promotes integrin outside-in signaling. Consistently, disruption of such linkage impairs the activation state of aIIbb3, phosphorylation of FAK/Src kinases, and cell migration. Together, our findings advance the fundamental understanding of integrin outside-in signaling with broad implications in blood physiology and pathology.
Introduction to a review series on classic myeloproliferative neoplasms
Authors: Cazzola Mario
Published: March 2023

Our knowledge about the biology of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) has exploded in the last 20 years, and this increased knowledge has led to advances in therapy. Introduced by Associate Editor Mario Cazzola, this Review Series brings readers up to date on our understanding of the natural history of the classical MPNs—polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and myelofibrosis—and the approaches to diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment for patients with these conditions.
Reverse engineering environmental metatranscriptomes clarifies best practices for eukaryotic assembly
Authors: Krinos Arianna I. , Cohen Natalie R. , Follows Michael J. , Alexander Harriet
Published: March 2023

Background

Diverse communities of microbial eukaryotes in the global ocean provide a variety of essential ecosystem services, from primary production and carbon flow through trophic transfer to cooperation via symbioses. Increasingly, these communities are being understood through the lens of omics tools, which enable high-throughput processing of diverse communities. Metatranscriptomics offers an understanding of near real-time gene expression in microbial eukaryotic communities, providing a window into community metabolic activity.

Results

Here we present a workflow for eukaryotic metatranscriptome assembly, and validate the ability of the pipeline to recapitulate real and manufactured eukaryotic community-level expression data. We also include an open-source tool for simulating environmental metatranscriptomes for testing and validation purposes. We reanalyze previously published metatranscriptomic datasets using our metatranscriptome analysis approach.

Conclusion

We determined that a multi-assembler approach improves eukaryotic metatranscriptome assembly based on recapitulated taxonomic and functional annotations from an in-silico mock community. The systematic validation of metatranscriptome assembly and annotation methods provided here is a necessary step to assess the fidelity of our community composition measurements and functional content assignments from eukaryotic metatranscriptomes.
Which data subset should be augmented for deep learning? a simulation study using urothelial cell carcinoma histopathology images
Authors: Ameen Yusra A. , Badary Dalia M. , Abonnoor Ahmad Elbadry I. , Hussain Khaled F. , Sewisy Adel A.
Published: March 2023

Background

Applying deep learning to digital histopathology is hindered by the scarcity of manually annotated datasets. While data augmentation can ameliorate this obstacle, its methods are far from standardized. Our aim was to systematically explore the effects of skipping data augmentation; applying data augmentation to different subsets of the whole dataset (training set, validation set, test set, two of them, or all of them); and applying data augmentation at different time points (before, during, or after dividing the dataset into three subsets). Different combinations of the above possibilities resulted in 11 ways to apply augmentation. The literature contains no such comprehensive systematic comparison of these augmentation ways.

Results

Non-overlapping photographs of all tissues on 90 hematoxylin-and-eosin-stained urinary bladder slides were obtained. Then, they were manually classified as either inflammation (5948 images), urothelial cell carcinoma (5811 images), or invalid (3132 images; excluded). If done, augmentation was eight-fold by flipping and rotation. Four convolutional neural networks (Inception-v3, ResNet-101, GoogLeNet, and SqueezeNet), pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset, were fine-tuned to binary classify images of our dataset. This task was the benchmark for our experiments. Model testing performance was evaluated using accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Model validation accuracy was also estimated. The best testing performance was achieved when augmentation was done to the remaining data after test-set separation, but before division into training and validation sets. This leaked information between the training and the validation sets, as evidenced by the optimistic validation accuracy. However, this leakage did not cause the validation set to malfunction. Augmentation before test-set separation led to optimistic results. Test-set augmentation yielded more accurate evaluation metrics with less uncertainty. Inception-v3 had the best overall testing performance.

Conclusions

In digital histopathology, augmentation should include both the test set (after its allocation), and the remaining combined training/validation set (before being split into separate training and validation sets). Future research should try to generalize our results.
Pharmacologic antagonism of CB1 receptors improves electrophysiological alterations in Purkinje cells exposed to 3-AP
Authors: Ranjbar Hoda , Soti Monavareh , Kohlmeier Kristi A. , Janahmadi Mahyar , Shabani Mohammad
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Although ataxia is associated with cerebellar dysfunction, little is known about the effects of 3-AP exposure on Purkinje cell electrophysiological properties. Here, we evaluated these parameters in cerebellar vermis brain slices.

Methods

Purkinje cells were exposed to artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) (control) or to 1 mM 3-acetylpyridine (3-AP) in the recording chamber. The effects of a cannabinoid agonist (WIN; 7.5 nmol) and a cannabinoid antagonist (AM; 20 nmol) were evaluated under both conditions.

Results

Exposure to 3-AP induced dramatic changes in cellular excitability that likely would affect Purkinje cell output. In whole-cell current clamp recordings, 3-AP-exposed Purkinje cells demonstrated a significantly higher frequency of action potentials, a larger afterhyperpolarization (AHP), and a larger rebound of action potentials. In addition, 3-AP caused a significant decrease in the interspike interval (ISI), half-width, and first spike latency. Remarkably, the action potential frequency, AHP amplitude, rebound, ISI, action potential halfwidth, and first spike latency were no longer different from controls in 3-AP cells treated with AM. Sag percentage, on the other hand, showed no significant difference under any treatment condition, indicating that cannabinoids' actions on 3-AP-mediated Purkinje cell changes may not include effects on neuronal excitability through changes of Ih.

Conclusions

These data show that cannabinoid antagonists reduce the excitability of Purkinje cells following exposure to 3-AP and suggest their potential as therapeutics in cerebellar dysfunctions.
Integrative analysis of green ash phloem transcripts and proteins during an emerald ash borer infestation
Authors: Chiu Christine C. , Pelletier Gervais , Stival Sena Juliana , Roux-Dalvai Florence , Prunier Julien , Droit Arnaud , Séguin Armand
Published: March 2023

Background

Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis; EAB) is an Asian insect species that has been invasive to North America for 20 years. During this time, the emerald ash borer has killed tens of millions of American ash (Fraxinus spp) trees. Understanding the inherent defenses of susceptible American ash trees will provide information to breed new resistant varieties of ash trees.

Results

We have performed RNA-seq on naturally infested green ash (F. pennsylvanica) trees at low, medium and high levels of increasing EAB infestation and proteomics on low and high levels of EAB infestation. Most significant transcript changes we detected occurred between the comparison of medium and high levels of EAB infestation, indicating that the tree is not responding to EAB until it is highly infested. Our integrative analysis of the RNA-Seq and proteomics data identified 14 proteins and 4 transcripts that contribute most to the difference between highly infested and low infested trees.

Conclusions

The putative functions of these transcripts and proteins suggests roles of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and oxidation, chitinase activity, pectinesterase activity, strigolactone signaling, and protein turnover.
Comparative effectiveness of interventions for managing urological postoperative catheter-related bladder discomfort: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Authors: Ren Jingwen , Yu Ting , Tian Ye , Luo Guangheng
Published: March 2023

Background

Catheter-related bladder discomfort (CRBD) is a common postoperative bladder pain syndrome. Many drugs and interventions for managing CRBD have been studied, but their comparative effectiveness remains controversial. We made a study to assess the comparative effectiveness of interventions included Ketorolac, Lidocaine, Chlorpheniramine, Gabapentin, Magnesium, Nefopam, Oxycodone, Parecoxib, Solifenacin, Tolterodine, Bupivancaine, Dexmedetomidine, Hyoscine N-butyl bromide, Ketamine, Penile nerve block on urological postoperative CRBD.

Methods

We performed a network meta-analysis via Aggregate Data Drug Inormation System software included 18 studies with 1816 patients and assessed the risk of bias by Cochrane Collaboration tool. The incidence of moderate to severe CRBD at 0, 1, and 6 h after surgery and the incidence severe CRBD at 1 h after surgery were compared.

Result

The number of best rank is 0.48(Nefopam) and 0.22(Nefopam) in the incidence of moderate to severe CRBD at 1 h and incidence severe CRBD at 1 h. More than half of studies at unclear or high risk of bias.

Conclusion

Nefopam reduced the incidence of CRBD and prevented severe events, but limited by the small number of studies for each intervention and heterogeneous patients.
Performance of machine learning algorithms for dementia assessment: impacts of language tasks, recording media, and modalities
Authors: Parsapoor Mahboobeh , Alam Muhammad Raisul , Mihailidis Alex
Published: March 2023

Objectives

Automatic speech and language assessment methods (SLAMs) can help clinicians assess speech and language impairments associated with dementia in older adults. The basis of any automatic SLAMs is a machine learning (ML) classifier that is trained on participants’ speech and language. However, language tasks, recording media, and modalities impact the performance of ML classifiers. Thus, this research has focused on evaluating the effects of the above-mentioned factors on the performance of ML classifiers that can be used for dementia assessment.

Methodology

Our methodology includes the following steps: (1) Collecting speech and language datasets from patients and healthy controls; (2) Using feature engineering methods which include feature extraction methods to extract linguistic and acoustic features and feature selection methods to select most informative features; (3) Training different ML classifiers; and (4) Evaluating the performance of ML classifiers to investigate the impacts of language tasks, recording media, and modalities on dementia assessment.

Results

Our results show that (1) the ML classifiers trained with the picture description language task perform better than the classifiers trained with the story recall language task; (2) the data obtained from phone-based recordings improves the performance of ML classifiers compared to data obtained from web-based recordings; and (3) the ML classifiers trained with acoustic features perform better than the classifiers trained with linguistic features.

Conclusion

This research demonstrates that we can improve the performance of automatic SLAMs as dementia assessment methods if we: (1) Use the picture description task to obtain participants’ speech; (2) Collect participants’ voices via phone-based recordings; and (3) Train ML classifiers using only acoustic features. Our proposed methodology will help future researchers to investigate the impacts of different factors on the performance of ML classifiers for assessing dementia.
Being a nursing student during the coronavirus pandemic: a mixed methods study
Authors: Rohde Gudrun , Johannessen Berit , Maaseide Markus , Flateland Sylvi , Skisland Anne Valen , Moi Ellen Benestad , Haraldstad Kristin
Published: March 2023

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic led to major changes in people’s lives via protective strategies aimed at limiting the transmission of COVID-19, including social distancing, lockdowns, cancelled or limited leisure activities and tutorials and supervision for students taking place digital. All of these changes may have influenced students’ health and quality of life.

Aim

To describe and explore fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress, as well as general health and quality of life, among baccalaureate nursing students at 1 year into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

We used a mixed method study design, including quantitative data from University of Agder, data that was a part of a national survey of baccalaureate nursing students nearly one year into the pandemic. All the nursing students at the university were invited to take part between 27 January and 28 February 2021. The quantitative survey included 396 (out of total 858) baccalaureate nursing students (response rate: 46%). The quantitative data were collected using well-validated measures of fear of COVID-19, psychological distress, general health and quality of life, and the data were analysed using the ANOVA-tests for continuous data and chi-square tests for categorical data. Qualitative data were gathered from focus group interviews from the same university two-three months later. Five focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 23 students (7 men, 16 women). The qualitative data were analysed using systematic text condensation.

Results

The mean score (standard deviation [SD]) for fear of COVID-19 was 2.32 (0.71), for psychological distress was 1.53 (1.00), for general health was 3.51 (0.96) and for overall quality of life was 6.01 (2.06). In the qualitative data, we identified the overarching theme effect of COVID-19 on students’ quality of life and the three main themes; importance of personal relations, physical health challenges and mental health challenges.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced negatively nursing students’ quality of life and physical and mental health, and they often felt lonely. However, most of the participants also adapted strategies and resilience factors to cope with the situation. Via the pandemic situation, the students learned additional skills and mental mindsets that may be useful in their future professional lives.
The variables in the rationing of nursing care in cardiology departments
Authors: Wagner-Łosieczka Barbara , Kolarczyk Ewelina , Młynarska Agnieszka , Owczarek Darek , Sadowski Mikołaj , Kowalczuk Krystyna , Guzak Beata , Czapla Michał , Uchmanowicz Izabella
Published: March 2023

Background

The rationing of nursing care is a complex process that affects the quality of medical services.

Purpose

An assessment of the impact of nursing care rationing on burnout and life satisfaction in cardiology departments.

Methods

The study included 217 nurses working in the cardiology department. The Perceived Implicit Rationing of Nursing Care, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were used.

Results

A greater emotional exhaustion, the more frequently the rationing of nursing care (r = 0.309, p < 0.061) and the lower the job satisfaction (r=-0.128, p = 0.061). Higher life satisfaction was associated with less frequent rationing of nursing care (r=-0.177, p = 0.01), better quality of care provided (r = 0.285, p < 0.001), and higher job satisfaction (r = 0.348, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

Higher levels of burnout contribute to more frequent rationing of nursing care, poorer evaluation of the quality of care provided, and lower job satisfaction. Life satisfaction is associated with less frequent rationing of care, better evaluation of the quality of care provided, and greater job satisfaction.
Social jetlag and quality of life among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Jang Sun Joo , Lee Haeyoung
Published: March 2023

Background

Amid drastic changes in the educational environment and continued substitution of in-person learning with online learning owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to analyze the predictors of quality of life among nursing students to devise strategies to enhance their quality of life. This study aimed to identify the predictors of nursing students’ quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on social jetlag.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 198 Korean nursing students in 2021, using an online survey. Chronotype, social jetlag, depression symptoms, and quality of life were assessed using the Korean version of the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale abbreviated version, respectively. Multiple regression analyses were performed to identify the predictors of quality of life.

Results

Factors affecting participants’ quality of life were age (β = − 0.19, p = .003), subjective health status (β = 0.21, p = .001), social jetlag (β = − 0.17, p = .013), and depression symptoms (β = − 0.33, p < .001). These variables accounted for 27.8% of the variance in quality of life.

Conclusion

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the social jetlag of nursing students has decreased compared to before the pandemic. Nevertheless, the results showed that mental health issues such as depression affect their quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to devise strategies to support students’ ability to adapt to the rapidly changing educational environment and promote their mental and physical health.
IL-27 induces autophagy through regulation of the DNMT1/lncRNA MEG3/ERK/p38 axis to reduce pulmonary fibrosis
Authors: Ting Li , Feng Yingying , Zhou Ying , Tong Zhongkai , Dong Zhaoxing
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Previous studies have shown that interleukin-27 (IL-27) can reduce bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis (PF). However, the underlying mechanism by which IL-27 attenuates PF is not fully clear.

Methods

In this research, we used BLM to construct a PF mouse model, and MRC-5 cells stimulated by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) were used to construct a PF model in vitro. The lung tissue status was observed by Masson and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. To detect gene expression, RT‒qPCR was used. The protein levels were detected by western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. EdU and ELISA were used to detect cell proliferation viability and hydroxyproline (HYP) content, respectively.

Results

Aberrant IL-27 expression was observed in BLM-induced mouse lung tissues, and the use of IL-27 attenuated mouse lung tissue fibrosis. TGF-β1 induced autophagy inhibition in MRC-5 cells, and IL-27 alleviated MRC-5 cell fibrosis by activating autophagy. The mechanism is inhibition of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1)-mediated lncRNA MEG3 methylation and ERK/p38 signaling pathway activation. Overexpression of DNMT1, knockdown of lncRNA MEG3, autophagy inhibitor or ERK/p38 signaling pathway inhibitors reversed the positive effect of IL-27 in a lung fibrosis model in vitro.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our study shows that IL-27 upregulates MEG3 expression through inhibition of DNMT1-mediated lncRNA MEG3 promoter methylation, which in turn inhibits ERK/p38 signaling pathway-induced autophagy and attenuates BLM-induced PF, providing a contribution to the elucidation of the potential mechanisms by which IL-27 attenuates PF.
Low-dose celecoxib-loaded PCL fibers reverse intervertebral disc degeneration by up-regulating CHSY3 expression
Authors: Wang Yunhao , Zheng Genjiang , Xie Xiaoxing , Yu Wei , Wang Jianxi , Zang Fazhi , Yang Chen , Xiao Qiangqiang , Zhang Rongcheng , Wei Leixin , Wu Xiaodong , Liang Lei , Cao Peng , Xu Chen , Li Jing , Hu Bo , Zhang Tao , Wu Jinglei , Chen Huajiang
Published: March 2023

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) has been identified as one of the predominant factors leading to persistent low back pain and disability in middle-aged and elderly people. Dysregulation of Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) can cause IDD, while low-dose celecoxib can maintain PGE2 at the physiological level and activate the skeletal interoception. Here, as nano fibers have been extensively used in the treatment of IDD, novel polycaprolactone (PCL) nano fibers loaded with low-dose celecoxib were fabricated for IDD treatment. In vitro studies demonstrated that the nano fibers had the ability of releasing low-dose celecoxib slowly and sustainably and maintain PGE2. Meanwhile, in a puncture-induced rabbit IDD model, the nano fibers reversed IDD. Furthermore, low-dose celecoxib released from the nano fibers was firstly proved to promote CHSY3 expression. In a lumbar spine instability-induced mouse IDD model, low-dose celecoxib inhibited IDD in CHSY3wt mice rather than CHSY3−/− mice. This model indicated that CHSY3 was indispensable for low-dose celecoxib to alleviate IDD. In conclusion, this study developed a novel low-dose celecoxib-loaded PCL nano fibers to reverse IDD by maintaining PGE2 at the physiological level and promoting CHSY3 expression.
An optimised liver-first strategy for synchronous metastatic rectal cancer leads to higher protocol completion and lower surgical morbidity
Authors: Bonnet Julien , Meillat Hélène , Garnier Jonathan , Brunelle Serge , Ewald Jacques , Palen Anaïs , de Chaisemartin Cécile , Turrini Olivier , Lelong Bernard
Published: March 2023

Introduction

The optimal management of rectal cancer with synchronous liver metastases remains debatable. Thus, we propose an optimised liver-first (OLF) strategy that combines concomitant pelvic irradiation with hepatic management. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and oncological quality of the OLF strategy.

Materials and methods

Patients underwent systemic neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by preoperative radiotherapy. Liver resection was performed in one step (between radiotherapy and rectal surgery) or in two steps (before and after radiotherapy). The data were collected prospectively and analysed retrospectively as intent to treat.

Results

Between 2008 and 2018, 24 patients underwent the OLF strategy. The rate of treatment completion was 87.5%. Three patients (12.5%) did not proceed to the planned second-stage liver and rectal surgery because of progressive disease. The postoperative mortality rate was 0%, and the overall morbidity rates after liver and rectal surgeries were 21% and 28.6%, respectively. Only two patients developed severe complications. Liver and rectal complete resection was performed in 100% and 84.6%, respectively. A rectal-sparing strategy was performed in 6 patients who underwent local excision (n = 4) or a watch and wait strategy (n = 2). Among patients who completed treatment, the median overall and disease-free survivals were 60 months (range 12–139 months) and 40 months (range 10–139 months), respectively. Eleven patients (47.6%) developed recurrence, among whom five underwent further treatment with curative intent.

Conclusion

The OLF approach is feasible, relevant, and safe. Organ preservation was feasible for a quarter of patients and may be associated with reduced morbidity.
Multiomics analysis revealed the mechanisms related to the enhancement of proliferation, metastasis and EGFR-TKI resistance in EGFR-mutant LUAD with ARID1A deficiency
Authors: Sun Dantong , Feng Feiyue , Teng Fei , Xie Tongji , Wang Jinsong , Xing Puyuan , Qian Haili , Li Junling
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Dysregulated ARID1A expression is frequently detected in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and mediates significant changes in cancer behaviors and a poor prognosis. ARID1A deficiency in LUAD enhances proliferation and metastasis, which could be induced by activation of the Akt signaling pathway. However, no further exploration of the mechanisms has been performed.

Methods

Lentivirus was used for the establishment of the ARID1A knockdown (ARID1A-KD) cell line. MTS and migration/invasion assays were used to examine changes in cell behaviors. RNA-seq and proteomics methods were applied. ARID1A expression in tissue samples was determined by IHC. R software was used to construct a nomogram.

Results

ARID1A KD significantly promoted the cell cycle and accelerated cell division. In addition, ARID1A KD increased the phosphorylation level of a series of oncogenic proteins, such as EGFR, ErbB2 and RAF1, activated the corresponding pathways and resulted in disease progression. In addition, the bypass activation of the ErbB pathway, the activation of the VEGF pathway and the expression level changes in epithelial–mesenchymal transformation biomarkers induced by ARID1A KD contributed to the insensitivity to EGFR-TKIs. The relationship between ARID1A and the sensitivity to EGFR-TKIs was also determined using tissue samples from LUAD patients.

Conclusion

Loss of ARID1A expression influences the cell cycle, accelerates cell division, and promotes metastasis. EGFR-mutant LUAD patients with low ARID1A expression had poor overall survival. In addition, low ARID1A expression was associated with a poor prognosis in EGFR-mutant LUAD patients who received first-generation EGFR-TKI treatment.
A modified aeroponic system for growing small-seeded legumes and other plants to study root systems
Authors: Cai Jingya , Veerappan Vijaykumar , Arildsen Kate , Sullivan Catrina , Piechowicz Megan , Frugoli Julia , Dickstein Rebecca
Published: March 2023

Background

Various growth systems are available for studying plant root growth and plant–microbe interactions including hydroponics and aeroponics. Although some of these systems work well with Arabidopsis thaliana and smaller cereal model plants, they may not scale up as well for use with hundreds of plants at a time from a larger plant species. The aim of this study is to present step-by-step instructions for fabricating an aeroponic system, also called a “caisson,” that has been in use in several legume research labs studying the development of symbiotic nitrogen fixing nodules, but for which detailed directions are not currently available. The aeroponic system is reusable and is adaptable for many other types of investigations besides root nodulation.

Results

An aeroponic system that is affordable and reusable was adapted from a design invented by French engineer René Odorico. It consists of two main components: a modified trash can with a lid of holes and a commercially available industrial humidifier that is waterproofed with silicon sealant. The humidifier generates a mist in which plant roots grow, suspended from holes in trash can lid. Results from use of the aeroponic system have been available in the scientific community for decades; it has a record as a workhorse in the lab.

Conclusions

Aeroponic systems present a convenient way for researchers to grow plants for studying root systems and plant–microbe interactions in root systems. They are particularly attractive for phenotyping roots and following the progress of nodule development in legumes. Advantages include the ability to precisely control the growth medium in which the plants grow and easy observations of roots during growth. In this system, mechanical shear potentially killing microbes found in some other types of aeroponic devices is not an issue. Disadvantages of aeroponic systems include the likelihood of altered root physiology compared to root growth on soil and other solid substrates and the need to have separate aeroponic systems for comparing plant responses to different microbial strains.
IL-1β contributes to the secretion of sclerostin by osteocytes and targeting sclerostin promotes spinal fusion at early stages
Authors: Jiang Zengxin , Jin Lixia , Jiang Chang , Yan Zuoqin , Cao Yuanwu
Published: March 2023

Background

Despite extensive research, there is still a need for safe and effective agents to promote spinal fusion. Interleukin (IL)-1β is an important factor which influences the bone repair and remodelling. The purpose of our study was to determine the effect of IL-1β on sclerostin in osteocytes and to explore whether inhibiting the secretion of sclerostin from osteocytes can promote spinal fusion at early stages.

Methods

Small-interfering RNA was used to suppress the secretion of sclerostin in Ocy454 cells. MC3T3-E1 cells were cocultured with Ocy454 cells. Osteogenic differentiation and mineralisation of MC3T3-E1 cells were evaluated in vitro. SOST knock-out rat generated using the CRISPR-Cas9 system and rat spinal fusion model was used in vivo. The degree of spinal fusion was assessed by manual palpation, radiographic analysis and histological analysis at 2 and 4 weeks.

Results

We found that IL-1β level had a positive association with sclerostin level in vivo. IL-1β promoted the expression and secretion of sclerostin in Ocy454 cells in vitro. Inhibition of IL-1β-induced secretion of sclerostin from Ocy454 cells could promote the osteogenic differentiation and mineralisation of cocultured MC3T3-E1 cells in vitro. The extent of spinal graft fusion was greater in SOST-knockout rats than in wild-type rats at 2 and 4 weeks.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate that IL-1β contributes to a rise in the level of sclerostin at early stages of bone healing. Suppressing sclerostin may be an important therapeutic target capable of promoting spinal fusion at early stages.
Treatment fidelity in a pragmatic clinical trial of music therapy for premature infants and their parents: the LongSTEP study
Authors: Gaden Tora Söderström , Gold Christian , Assmus Jörg , Kvestad Ingrid , Stordal Andreas Størksen , Bieleninik Łucja , Ghetti Claire
Published: March 2023

Background

Treatment fidelity (TF) refers to methodological strategies used to monitor and enhance the reliability and validity of interventions. We evaluated TF in a pragmatic RCT of music therapy (MT) for premature infants and their parents.

Methods

Two hundred thirteen families from seven neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) were randomized to receive standard care, or standard care plus MT during hospitalization, and/or during a 6-month period post-discharge. Eleven music therapists delivered the intervention. Audio and video recordings from sessions representing approximately 10% of each therapists’ participants were evaluated by two external raters and the corresponding therapist using TF questionnaires designed for the study (treatment delivery (TD)). Parents evaluated their experience with MT at the 6-month assessment with a corresponding questionnaire (treatment receipt (TR)). All items as well as composite scores (mean scores across items) were Likert scales from 0 (completely disagree) to 6 (completely agree). A threshold for satisfactory TF scores (≥4) was used in the additional analysis of dichotomized items.

Results

Internal consistency evaluated with Cronbach’s alpha was good for all TF questionnaires (α ≥ 0.70), except the external rater NICU questionnaire where it was slightly lower (α 0.66). Interrater reliability measured by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was moderate (NICU 0.43 (CI 0.27, 0.58), post-discharge 0.57 (CI 0.39, 0.73)). Gwet’s AC for the dichotomized items varied between 0.32 (CI 0.10, 0.54) and 0.72 (CI 0.55, 0.89). Seventy-two NICU and 40 follow-up sessions with 39 participants were evaluated. Therapists’ mean (SD) TD composite score was 4.88 (0.92) in the NICU phase and 4.95 (1.05) in the post-discharge phase. TR was evaluated by 138 parents. The mean (SD) score across intervention conditions was 5.66 (0.50).

Conclusions

TF questionnaires developed to assess MT in neonatal care showed good internal consistency and moderate interrater reliability. TF scores indicated that therapists across countries successfully implemented MT in accordance with the protocol. The high treatment receipt scores indicate that parents received the intervention as intended. Future research in this area should aim to improve the interrater reliability of TF measures by additional training of raters and improved operational definitions of items.

Trial registration

Longitudinal Study of music Therapy’s Effectiveness for Premature infants and their caregivers – “LongSTEP”. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03564184. Registered on June 20, 2018
Structured channel covariance estimation from limited samples for large antenna arrays
Authors: Yang Tianyu , Barzegar Khalilsarai Mahdi , Haghighatshoar Saeid , Caire Giuseppe
Published: March 2023

In massive multiuser multiple antenna systems, the knowledge of the users’ channel covariance matrix is crucial for minimum mean square error channel estimation in the uplink and it plays an important role in several multiuser beamforming schemes in the downlink. Due to the large number of base station antennas, accurate covariance estimation is challenging especially in the case where the number of samples is limited and thus comparable to the channel vector dimension. As a result, the standard sample covariance estimator may yield a too large estimation error which in turn may yield significant system performance degradation with respect to the ideal channel covariance knowledge case. To address such problem, we propose a method based on a parametric representation of the channel angular scattering function. The proposed parametric representation includes a discrete specular component which is addressed using the well-known MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) method, and a diffuse scattering component, which is modeled as the superposition of suitable dictionary functions. To obtain the representation parameters, we propose two methods, where the first solves a nonnegative least-squares problem and the second maximizes the likelihood function using expectation–maximization. Our simulation results show that the proposed methods outperform the state of the art with respect to various estimation quality metrics and different sample sizes.
Hack your organizational innovation: literature review and integrative model for running hackathons
Authors: Heller Ben , Amir Atar , Waxman Roy , Maaravi Yossi
Published: March 2023

This article aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the existing literature on the hackathon phenomenon to offer scholars a common ground for future research and managers and practitioners research-based guidelines on best planning and running a hackathon. A review of the most relevant literature on hackathons was conducted to serve as the research basis for our integrative model and guidelines. This article synthesizes the research on hackathons to offer comprehensible guidelines for practitioners while also providing questions for future hackathon researchers. We differentiate between the different design characteristics of hackathons while noting their advantages and disadvantages, discuss tools and methodologies for successful hackathon setup and execution step-by-step, and provide recommendations to encourage project continuity.
Active surveillance testing to reduce transmission of carbapenem-resistant, gram-negative bacteria in intensive care units: a pragmatic, randomized cross-over trial
Authors: Jung Jiwon , Park Joung Ha , Yang Hyejin , Lim Young-Ju , Kim Eun Ok , Lim Chae-Man , Kim Mi-Na , Jo Min-Woo , Yun Sung-Cheol , Kim Sung-Han
Published: March 2023

Background

In intensive care unit (ICU) settings, the transmission risk of carbapenem-resistant, gram-negative bacteria (CRGNB) is high. There is a paucity of data regarding the effectiveness of interventions, including active screening, preemptive isolation, and contact precautions, to reduce transmission of CRGNB.

Methods

We conducted a pragmatic, cluster-randomized, non-blinded cross-over study in 6 adult ICUs in a tertiary care center in Seoul, South Korea. ICUs were randomly assigned to perform active surveillance testing with preemptive isolation and contact precautions (intervention) or standard precautions (control) during the initial 6-month study period, followed by a 1-month washout period. During a subsequent 6-month period, departments that used standard precautions switched to using interventional precautions and vice versa. The incidence rates of CRGNB were compared between the two periods using Poisson regression analysis.

Results

During the study period, there were 2268 and 2224 ICU admissions during the intervention and control periods, respectively. Because a carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales outbreak occurred in a surgical ICU (SICU), we excluded admissions to the SICU during both the intervention and control periods and performed a modified intention-to-treat (mITT) analysis. In mITT analysis, a total of 1314 patients were included. The acquisition rate of CRGNB was 1.75 cases per 1000 person-days during the intervention period versus 3.33 cases per 1000 person-days during the control period (IRR, 0.53 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.23–1.11]; P = 0.07).

Conclusions

Although this study was underpowered and showed borderline significance, active surveillance testing and preemptive isolation could be considered in settings with high baseline prevalence of CRGNB.

Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03980197.
Feeding broiler chickens with arginine above recommended levels: effects on growth performance, metabolism, and intestinal microbiota
Authors: Brugaletta Giorgio , Zampiga Marco , Laghi Luca , Indio Valentina , Oliveri Chiara , De Cesare Alessandra , Sirri Federico
Published: March 2023

Background

Arginine is an essential amino acid for chickens and feeding diets with arginine beyond the recommended levels has been shown to influence the growth performance of broiler chickens in a positive way. Nonetheless, further research is required to understand how arginine supplementation above the widely adopted dosages affects metabolism and intestinal health of broilers. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the effects of arginine supplementation (i.e., total arginine to total lysine ratio of 1.20 instead of 1.06–1.08 recommended by the breeding company) on growth performance of broiler chickens and to explore its impacts on the hepatic and blood metabolic profiles, as well as on the intestinal microbiota. For this purpose, 630 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were assigned to 2 treatments (7 replicates each) fed a control diet or a crystallineL-arginine-supplemented diet for 49 d.

Results

Compared to control birds, those supplemented with arginine performed significantly better exhibiting greater final body weight at D49 (3778 vs. 3937 g;P < 0.001), higher growth rate (76.15 vs. 79.46 g of body weight gained daily;P < 0.001), and lower cumulative feed conversion ratio (1.808 vs. 1.732;P < 0.05). Plasma concentrations of arginine, betaine, histidine, and creatine were greater in supplemented birds than in their control counterparts, as were those of creatine, leucine and other essential amino acids at the hepatic level. In contrast, leucine concentration was lower in the caecal content of supplemented birds. Reduced alpha diversity and relative abundance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria (specificallyEscherichia coli), as well as increased abundance of Bacteroidetes andLactobacillus salivariuswere found in the caecal content of supplemented birds.

Conclusions

The improvement in growth performance corroborates the advantages of supplementing arginine in broiler nutrition. It can be hypothesized that the performance enhancement found in this study is associated with the increased availability of arginine, betaine, histidine, and creatine in plasma and the liver, as well as to the ability of extra dietary arginine to potentially ameliorate intestinal conditions and microbiota of supplemented birds. However, the latter promising property, along with other research questions raised by this study, deserve further investigations.