bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Population Attributable Fraction of Nonvaccination of Child and Adolescent Vaccines Attributed to Parental Vaccine Hesitancy, 2018–2019
Authors: Nguyen Kimberly H , Srivastav Anup , Vaish Akhil , Singleton James A
Published: March 2022

Understanding the role of vaccine hesitancy in undervaccination or nonvaccination of childhood vaccines is important for increasing vaccine confidence and uptake. We used data from April to June interviews in the 2018 and 2019 National Immunization Survey–Flu (n = 78,725, United States), a nationally representative cross-sectional household cellular telephone survey. We determined the adjusted population attributable fraction (PAF) for each recommended childhood vaccine to assess the contribution of vaccine hesitancy to the observed nonvaccination level. Hesitancy is defined as being somewhat or very hesitant toward childhood vaccines. Furthermore, we assessed the PAF of nonvaccination for influenza according to sociodemographic characteristics, Department of Health and Human Services region, and state. The proportion of nonvaccination attributed to parental vaccine hesitancy was lowest for hepatitis B birth dose vaccine (6.5%) and highest for ≥3-dose diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (31.3%). The PAF of influenza nonvaccination was highest for non-Hispanic Black populations (15.4%), households with high educational (17.7%) and income (16.5%) levels, and urban areas (16.1%). Among states, PAF ranged from 25.4% (New Hampshire) to 7.5% (Louisiana). Implementing strategies to increase vaccination confidence and uptake are important, particularly during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Spectral clustering of single cells using Siamese nerual network combined with improved affinity matrix
Authors: Jiang Hanjing , Huang Yabing , Li Qianpeng
Published: March 2022

Limitations of bulk sequencing techniques on cell heterogeneity and diversity analysis have been pushed with the development of single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq). To detect clusters of cells is a key step in the analysis of scRNA-seq. However, the high-dimensionality of scRNA-seq data and the imbalances in the number of different subcellular types are ubiquitous in real scRNA-seq data sets, which poses a huge challenge to the single-cell-type detection.We propose a meta-learning-based model, SiaClust, which is the combination of Siamese Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and improved spectral clustering, to achieve scRNA-seq cell type detection. To be specific, with the help of the constrained Sigmoid kernel, the raw high-dimensionality data is mapped to a low-dimensional space, and the Siamese CNN learns the differences between the cell types in the low-dimensional feature space. The similarity matrix learned by Siamese CNN is used in combination with improved spectral clustering and t-distribution Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) for visualization. SiaClust highlights the differences between cell types by comparing the similarity of the samples, whereas blurring the differences within the cell types is better in processing high-dimensional and imbalanced data. SiaClust significantly improves clustering accuracy by using data generated by nine different species and tissues through different scNA-seq protocols for extensive evaluation, as well as analogies to state-of-the-art single-cell clustering models. More importantly, SiaClust accurately locates the exact site of dropout gene, and is more flexible with data size and cell type.
Benchmarking CKD: incidence of CKD in a European country with low prevalence of CKD and kidney replacement therapy
Authors: Ortiz Alberto
Published: March 2022

Iceland was one of six European countries with an adjusted incidence of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) in 2018 lower than 100 per million persons (pmp), along with Estonia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Finland. It was also one of 10 countries with an adjusted KRT prevalence <900 pmp. Furthermore, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Iceland is up to 2.44-fold lower and the death rate from CKD up to 3.44-fold lower than in other countries with a low incidence of KRT, suggesting that the low KRT incidence actually reflects a low need for KRT rather than low uptake or availability of KRT. This identifies Iceland as a benchmark for countries trying to reduce KRT incidence. Iceland also represents one of the best genetically characterized populations in the world, facilitating studies on the influence of the genetic background versus environment and lifestyle on CKD. This issue of CKJ reports the incidence and risk factors for CKD in Icelandic adults. Diabetes, acute kidney injury, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, malignancy and major psychiatric illness were associated with an increased risk of incident CKD, as were obesity and sleep apnea in women. However, in 75% of incident CKD cases, CKD was first detected in category G3 or higher, emphasizing the need for new tools that allow an earlier diagnosis of CKD that precedes the loss of >50% of the functioning kidney mass and/or wider use of albuminuria as a screening tool. The European Society of Cardiology just recommended assessing albuminuria for routine cardiovascular risk workups for all.
Modeling and Approximating the Visit of a Set of Sites With a Fleet of UAVs
Authors: Calamoneri Tiziana , Tavernelli Daniele
Published: March 2022

In this paper, we consider the problem of flying over an area affected by a natural disaster (e.g. an earthquake) with a fleet of self-piloting unmanned aerial vehicles with cameras or other kinds of sensors on board; the aim is to acquire knowledge of the situation before rescuers start working. We model this situation as a new graph theoretical problem; then, we study its complexity providing an approximation ratio that becomes constant in some special (though practically reasonable) cases; finally, we put in relation the approximability of this new problem and of a well-known one. To the best of our knowledge, no previous work has ever considered all together the constraints we take into account from a theoretical point of view, so this is the first very general graph theoretical model for this problem.
A Novel SGD-U-Network-Based Pixel-Level Road Crack Segmentation and Classification
Authors: Sekar Aravindkumar , Perumal Varalakshmi
Published: March 2022

Automatic road crack detection plays a major role in developing an intelligent transportation system. The traditional approach of in-situ inspection is expensive and requires more man-power. In-order to solve this problem, a novel approach for automatic road crack segmentation was developed using Stack Generative adversarial network Discriminator-U-Network (SGD-U-Network). We have collected 19 300 crack and non-crack images (MIT-CHN-ORR dataset) from the Outer Ring Road of Chennai, TamilNadu, India. The MIT-CHN-ORR dataset was initially pre-processed using traditional image processing techniques for ground truth image generation. A stage-I and stage-II stack Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) model was introduced for generating high-resolution non-crack images. Then, the extracted features from Stack GAN Discriminator of stage II (SGD2) was concatenated with every level of expansion path in SGD-U-Network for segmenting the crack regions of the input crack images. Also, multi-feature-based classifier was developed using the features extracted from SGD2 and the bottleneck layer of SGD-U-Network. Our proposed model was implemented on MIT-CHN-ORR dataset and also analyzed our model performance using other existing benchmark datasets. The experimental analysis showcased that the proposed method outperformed the other state-of-the-art approaches.
Dispersal syndrome and landscape fragmentation in the salt-marsh specialist spiderErigone longipalpis
Authors: Dahirel Maxime , Wullschleger Marie , Berry Tristan , Croci Solène , Pétillon Julien
Published: March 2022

Dispersal and its evolution play a key role for population persistence in fragmented landscapes where habitat loss and fragmentation increase the cost of between-habitat movements. In such contexts, it is important to know how variation in dispersal and other traits is structured, and whether responses to landscape fragmentation are aligned with underlying dispersal-trait correlations, or dispersal syndromes. We, therefore, studied trait variation in Erigone longipalpis, a European spider species specialist of (often patchy) salt marshes. We collected spiders in two salt-marsh landscapes differing in habitat availability. We then reared lab-born spiders for two generations in controlled conditions, and measured dispersal and its association with various key traits. Erigone longipalpis population densities were lower in the more fragmented landscape. Despite this, we found no evidence of differences in dispersal, or any other trait we studied, between the two landscapes. While a dispersal syndrome was present at the among-individual level (dispersers were more fecund and faster growing, among others), there was no indication it was genetically driven: among-family differences in dispersal were not correlated with differences in other traits. Instead, we showed that the observed phenotypic covariations were mostly due to within-family correlations. We hypothesize that the dispersal syndrome is the result of asymmetric food access among siblings, leading to variation in development rates and carrying over to adult traits. Our results show we need to better understand the sources of dispersal variation and syndromes, especially when dispersal may evolve rapidly in response to environmental change.
Chromosome-level genome assembly of a xerophytic plant, Haloxylon ammodendron
Authors: Wang Mingcheng , Zhang Lei , Tong Shaofei , Jiang Dechun , Fu Zhixi
Published: March 2022

Haloxylon ammodendron is a xerophytic perennial shrub or small tree that has a high ecological value in anti-desertification due to its high tolerance to drought and salt stress. Here, we report a high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly of H. ammodendron by integrating PacBio’s high-fidelity sequencing and Hi-C technology. The assembled genome size was 685.4 Mb, of which 99.6% was assigned to nine pseudochromosomes with a contig N50 value of 23.6 Mb. Evolutionary analysis showed that both the recent substantial amplification of long terminal repeat retrotransposons and tandem gene duplication may have contributed to its genome size expansion and arid adaptation. An ample amount of low-GC genes was closely related to functions that may contribute to the desert adaptation of H. ammodendron. Gene family clustering together with gene expression analysis identified differentially expressed genes that may play important roles in the direct response of H. ammodendron to water-deficit stress. We also identified several genes possibly related to the degraded scaly leaves and well-developed root system of H. ammodendron. The reference-level genome assembly presented here will provide a valuable genomic resource for studying the genome evolution of xerophytic plants, as well as for further genetic breeding studies of H. ammodendron.
Production of abscisic acid in the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica
Authors: Arnesen Jonathan Asmund , Jacobsen Irene Hjorth , Dyekjær Jane Dannow , Rago Daniela , Kristensen Mette , Klitgaard Andreas Koedfoed , Randelovic Milica , Martinez José Luis , Borodina Irina
Published: March 2022

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a phytohormone with applications in agriculture and human health. ABA can be produced by Botrytis cinerea, a plant pathogenic filamentous fungus. However, the cultivation process is lengthy and strain improvement by genetic engineering is difficult. Therefore, we engineered the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica as an alternative host for ABA production. First, we expressed five B. cinerea genes involved in ABA biosynthesis (BcABA1,BcABA2,BcABA3,BcABA4 and BcCPR1) in a Y. lipolytica chassis with optimized mevalonate flux. The strain produced 59.2 mg/L of ABA in small-scale cultivation. Next, we expressed an additional copy of each gene in the strain, but only expression of additional copy of BcABA1 gene increased the ABA titer to 168.5 mg/L. We then integrated additional copies of the mevalonate pathway and ABA biosynthesis encoding genes, and we expressed plant ABA transporters resulting in an improved strain producing 263.5 mg/L and 9.1 mg/g dry cell weight (DCW) ABA. Bioreactor cultivation resulted in a specific yield of 12.8 mg/g DCW ABA; however, surprisingly, the biomass level obtained in bioreactors was only 10.5 g DCW/L, with a lower ABA titer of 133.6 mg/L. While further optimization is needed, this study confirms Y. lipolytica as a potential alternative host for the ABA production.
The zinc-finger transcription factor LSL-1 is a major regulator of the germline transcriptional program in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Rodriguez-Crespo David , Nanchen Magali , Rajopadhye Shweta , Wicky Chantal
Published: March 2022

Specific gene transcriptional programs are required to ensure the proper proliferation and differentiation processes underlying the production of specialized cells during development. Gene activity is mainly regulated by the concerted action of transcription factors and chromatin proteins. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, mechanisms that silence improper transcriptional programs in germline and somatic cells have been well studied, however, how are tissue-specific sets of genes turned on is less known. LSL-1 is herein defined as a novel crucial transcriptional regulator of germline genes in C. elegans. LSL-1 is first detected in the P4 blastomere and remains present at all stages of germline development, from primordial germ cell proliferation to the end of meiotic prophase. lsl-1 loss-of-function mutants exhibit many defects including meiotic prophase progression delay, a high level of germline apoptosis, and production of almost no functional gametes. Transcriptomic analysis and ChIP-seq data show that LSL-1 binds to promoters and acts as a transcriptional activator of germline genes involved in various processes, including homologous chromosome pairing, recombination, and genome stability. Furthermore, we show that LSL-1 functions by antagonizing the action of the heterochromatin proteins HPL-2/HP1 and LET-418/Mi2 known to be involved in the repression of germline genes in somatic cells. Based on our results, we propose LSL-1 to be a major regulator of the germline transcriptional program during development.
Ustekinumab and Vedolizumab Are Not Associated With Subsequent Cancer in IBD Patients with Prior Malignancy
Authors: Hong Simon J , Zenger Cameron , Pecoriello Jillian , Pang Alice , Vallely Margaret , Hudesman David P , Chang Shannon , Axelrad Jordan E
Published: March 2022

Background

There is little data regarding the risk of new or recurrent cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and a prior history of cancer who are exposed to ustekinumab or vedolizumab. We assessed the risk of subsequent cancer in patients exposed to these agents.

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with IBD and a history of cancer at an academic medical center between January 2013 and December 2020. We collected data on demographics, IBD and cancer disease characteristics, and drug exposures. The primary exposure was immunosuppressive therapy after diagnosis of cancer. The primary outcome was interval development of new or recurrent cancer.

Results

Of 390 patients with IBD and a previous history of cancer, 37 were exposed to vedolizumab, 14 ustekinumab, 41 antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF), and 31 immunomodulator; and 267 were not exposed to immunosuppression following cancer diagnosis. During a total median follow-up time of 52 months, 81 (20%) patients developed subsequent cancer: 6 (16%) were exposed to vedolizumab, 2 (14%) to ustekinumab, 3 (10%) to immunomodulators, 12 (29%) to anti-TNF, and 56 (21%) with no immunosuppression (P = .41). In a multivariable Cox model adjusting for age, IBD subtype, smoking, cancer recurrence risk, and cancer stage, there was no increase in subsequent cancer with vedolizumab (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 0.27-7.01) or ustekinumab (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.17-5.41). Patients with more than 1 biologic exposure also did not have an increased risk of subsequent cancer.

Conclusions

Exposure to ustekinumab or vedolizumab in patients with IBD and a prior history of cancer does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of subsequent new or recurrent cancer.
Environment pollutants removal with non-thermal plasma technology
Authors: Chen Buyong , Wang Yuanhao , Li Sen , Xu Naijiao , Fu Yuhong
Published: March 2022

In recent years, non-thermal plasma technology has gained considerable attention. It can produce highly reactive hydroxyl radicals and other strong oxidants, which is promising in environment pollutants removal. This article mainly reviews the recent advances in environment contaminants removal with several well-known non-thermal plasma technologies. We first introduce non-thermal plasma technology and its development, then summarize their applications for air purification organic wastewater treatment and sludge organic crack and prospect their further development in the future.
Defining legal technology and its implications
Authors: Whalen Ryan
Published: March 2022

Legal technological developments have been both lauded as the promising future of the law and derided as a danger to the fundamentals of justice. This article helps reconcile these divergent perspectives by providing a definition of legal technology and a framework through which to understand its different types and their potential implications for the legal system and society more generally. Mapping technologies according to how specifically they afford legal uses, and the directness with which they engage in unmediated legal activities reveals different technological categories and their differing propensities to have legal, functional or general implications. This framework can help inform discussions both about which types of legal technologies to be excited about, and which to be concerned about, while also helping guide research, policymaking, design and adoption considerations.
Card Sorting for User Experience Design
Authors: de Quincey Ed , Mitchell James
Published: March 2022

This paper reviews types and uses of card sorting and how a relatively unpopularized variation of card sorting—‘repeated single-criterion sorting’—can be applied to the information architecture design of digital music services. A total of 52 respondents were asked to sort, using their own choice of criteria, 12 popular songs using an online card sorting tool. Once respondents had chosen a construct for a particular sort e.g. ‘Genre’, they placed each card into a named category, e.g. ‘Rock’, ‘Pop’, and were encouraged to repeat this process until they could think of no more constructs. High levels of agreement were found for a small number of constructs such as ‘genre’, ‘gender’ and ‘speed of song’, but the remaining constructs were individual to each respondent e.g. ‘songs that make me cry’. The results highlighted differences with current approaches to music categorization, as well as the potential for repeated single-criterion sorting to be used to design faceted navigation structures and form part of the user-centred design process.
Science communication challenges about antimicrobial resistance in animal agriculture: insights from stakeholders
Authors: King Andy J. , Wald Dara M. , Coberley Denise D. , Dahlstrom Michael F. , Plummer Paul J.
Published: March 2022

Background

Communicating about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) requires technical knowledge, consideration of audience values and appropriate identification of communication strategies for multiple audiences. Within the context of animal agriculture, communicating about AMR represents an important and complex endeavour for veterinarians, governmental agencies, producers and the industry to convey policy and practice information regarding the use of antimicrobials in food animals.

Objectives

To assess the science communication challenges related to AMR by identifying the motivations, goals and struggles of animal agriculture stakeholders when communicating about AMR and AMS.

Methods

Participants attending a meeting on AMR communication in animal agriculture (N = 80) completed a workshop on science communication, including small group meetings with oral/written comments collected. Participants included veterinarians, government agency representatives, industry stakeholders and producers.

Results

Results indicated participants believed providing more accurate information would resolve misunderstanding and concern about AMR to other stakeholders, counter to recommendations of science communicators. Other participants noted beliefs about the utility of stories in trying to explain how AMS is normative and consistent with the values of all parties interested in animal agriculture. Participants noted the importance of public engagement, even if the participants’ perceived target audiences did not include the public.

Conclusions

Communicating about AMR and AMS in animal agriculture contexts provide unique challenges. Few evidence-based recommendations are available for science communicators in these contexts and more research is needed to improve the quality of communication about AMR and AMS in animal agriculture.
Inviting patients to identify diagnostic concerns through structured evaluation of their online visit notes
Authors: Giardina Traber D , Choi Debra T , Upadhyay Divvy K , Korukonda Saritha , Scott Taylor M , Spitzmueller Christiane , Schuerch Conrad , Torretti Dennis , Singh Hardeep
Published: March 2022

Background

The 21st Century Cures Act mandates patients’ access to their electronic health record (EHR) notes. To our knowledge, no previous work has systematically invited patients to proactively report diagnostic concerns while documenting and tracking their diagnostic experiences through EHR-based clinician note review.

Objective

To test if patients can identify concerns about their diagnosis through structured evaluation of their online visit notes.

Methods

In a large integrated health system, patients aged 18–85 years actively using the patient portal and seen between October 2019 and February 2020 were invited to respond to an online questionnaire if an EHR algorithm detected any recent unexpected return visit following an initial primary care consultation (“at-risk” visit). We developed and tested an instrument (Safer Dx Patient Instrument) to help patients identify concerns related to several dimensions of the diagnostic process based on notes review and recall of recent “at-risk” visits. Additional questions assessed patients’ trust in their providers and their general feelings about the visit. The primary outcome was a self-reported diagnostic concern. Multivariate logistic regression tested whether the primary outcome was predicted by instrument variables.

Results

Of 293 566 visits, the algorithm identified 1282 eligible patients, of whom 486 responded. After applying exclusion criteria, 418 patients were included in the analysis. Fifty-one patients (12.2%) identified a diagnostic concern. Patients were more likely to report a concern if they disagreed with statements “the care plan the provider developed for me addressed all my medical concerns” [odds ratio (OR), 2.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.45–4.87) and “I trust the provider that I saw during my visit” (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.19–3.71) and agreed with the statement “I did not have a good feeling about my visit” (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.09–2.01).

Conclusion

Patients can identify diagnostic concerns based on a proactive online structured evaluation of visit notes. This surveillance strategy could potentially improve transparency in the diagnostic process.
Assessment of electronic surveillance and knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) survey toward imported malaria surveillance system acceptance in France
Authors: Thellier Marc , Houzé Sandrine , Pradine Bruno , Piarroux Renaud , Musset Lise , Kendjo Eric ,   French Imported Malaria Study Group
Published: March 2022

Objective

An electronic surveillance system was released to monitor morbidity and mortality incidence of imported malaria cases, investigate autochthonous cases, and assess chemosensitivity of Plasmodium isolates among travelers to and from endemic areas. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of an electronic surveillance system for imported malaria in France.

Materials and Methods

Three main indicators were used to assess the online malaria web-based surveillance system: (1) the quality of the surveillance system; (2) the capacity of the online system to early warning in case of particular events of public health; (3) the knowledge, attitude, and practice of online electronic system by practitioners of malaria network in France.

Results

Overall, the median time onset a case is reported to the system decrease by 99%, ranging from 227 days (144–309) to 2 days (1–6) in 2006 and 2020, respectively.

Conclusion

The online malaria surveillance system in France has demonstrated its effectiveness and can therefore be extended to carry out numerous investigations linked to research on malaria.
Transfer Payment Systems and Financial Distress: Insights from Health Insurance Premium Subsidies
Authors: Schmid Christian P R , Schreiner Nicolas , Stutzer Alois
Published: March 2022

How should payment systems of means-tested benefits be designed to improve the financial situation of needy recipients most effectively? We study this question in the context of mandatory health insurance in Switzerland, where recipients initially receive either a cash transfer or subsidized insurance premiums (a form of in-kind transfer). A federal reform in 2014 forced cantons (i.e. states) to universally switch to in-kind provision. We exploit this setting based on a difference-in-differences design, analyzing eight years of rich individual-level accounting data and applying a machine learning approach to identify cash recipients prior to the reform. We find that switching from cash to in-kind transfers persistently reduces the likelihood of late premium payments by about 20% and of government debt collection for long-term missed payments by approximately 12%. There is no evidence for a negative spillover effect on the timely payment of the non-subsidized co-pay bills for health services after the regime change.
Gap carving by a migrating planet embedded in a massive debris disc
Authors: Friebe Marc F , Pearce Tim D , Löhne Torsten
Published: March 2022

When considering gaps in debris discs, a typical approach is to invoke clearing by an unseen planet within the gap, and derive the planet mass using Wisdom overlap or Hill radius arguments. However, this approach can be invalid if the disc is massive, because clearing would also cause planet migration. This could result in a calculated planet mass that is incompatible with the inferred disc mass, because the predicted planet would in reality be too small to carve the gap without significant migration. We investigate the gap that a single embedded planet would carve in a massive debris disc. We show that a degeneracy is introduced, whereby an observed gap could be carved by two different planets: either a high-mass, barely migrating planet, or a smaller planet that clears debris as it migrates. We find that, depending on disc mass, there is a minimum possible gap width that an embedded planet could carve (because smaller planets, rather than carving a smaller gap, would actually migrate through the disc and clear a wider region). We provide simple formulae for the planet-to-debris disc mass ratio at which planet migration becomes important, the gap width that an embedded planet would carve in a massive debris disc, and the interaction time-scale. We also apply our results to various systems, and in particular show that the disc of HD 107146 can be reasonably well-reproduced with a migrating, embedded planet. Finally, we discuss the importance of planet–debris disc interactions as a tool for constraining debris disc masses.
Association between magnitude of femoral head collapse and quality of life in patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head
Authors: Iwasa Makoto , Ando Wataru , Uemura Keisuke , Hamada Hidetoshi , Takao Masaki , Sugano Nobuhiko
Published: March 2022

Objectives

The magnitude of femoral head collapse (MFHC) is one of the criteria for staging osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). The present study aimed to clarify the relationship between MFHC and hip pain or functional quality of life (QOL) scores in patients with ONFH.

Methods

Seventy patients with ONFH who had femoral head collapse without osteoarthritic changes were divided into four groups based on MFHC by 1 mm. Pain was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS). QOL was evaluated using patient-reported outcome measures such as the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Hip-Disease Evaluation Questionnaire (JHEQ), Oxford Hip Score (OHS), and Short Form-12 Health Survey, version 2 (SF-12v2). We also explored the relationship between MFHC and QOL.

Results

Pain score and satisfaction score in the VAS, JHEQ pain subscale, JHEQ movement subscale, and JHEQ total score were significantly associated with MFHC, and no significant differences were found between groups in any subscale or total score for OHS and SF-12v2.

Conclusion

In patients with ONFH, differences in MFHC by 1 mm were associated with deterioration of some pain VAS and QOL outcomes.
Impacts of import restrictions on poultry producers in Ghana
Authors: Zamani Omid , Chibanda Craig , Pelikan Janine
Published: March 2022

This paper investigates the potential effects of trade restrictions and alternative tariff policies, including a tariff wedge between feed and final products on the Ghanaian poultry producers. We apply a hybrid approach that uses qualitative results of a Delphi study to define scenarios for a modified global general equilibrium model. The projected production changes are then used as inputs into a typical farm analysis that disentangles the effects for broiler farm types in Ghana. The effect of expanding a tariff wedge between final and feed products by 5 per cent, either through increasing the tariff rates of the final product or through abolishing the tariffs on feed products, is small in our case. However, increasing the tariff rate of the final product to the maximum level of bound tariff (i.e. 99 per cent) or a complete ban has a larger effect on domestic production. It increases the production by 104 per cent and up to 254 per cent, respectively. The typical farm analysis reveals that large-scale farms are better positioned to increase production than small and medium farm types.
Tocilizumab for the treatment of giant cell arteritis in Scotland: a report on behalf of the Scottish Society for Rheumatology standards subgroup
Authors: Cronin Owen , Preston Hannah , Fahmy Heba , Kuske Barbara , Singh Malinder , Scott Naomi , Kerrigan Sean , Moran Lucy , Harvie John , Harris Helen , Hauser Barbara , McKay Neil D
Published: March 2022

Objectives

The aim was to describe a modern National Health Service (NHS) Scotland cohort of patients with GCA over 12 months of care to include clinical presentation, practices relating to assessment and treatment, and specifically, the use of tocilizumab.

Methods

A multicentre audit of patients newly diagnosed with GCA between November 2019 and October 2021 was established on behalf of the Scottish Society for Rheumatology. Clinical data were collected retrospectively by rheumatology teams at participating NHS centres using electronic patient records. An extended cohort of patients from NHS Lothian was examined to investigate outcomes of tocilizumab use for >1 year.

Results

Sixty-three patients from three NHS Scotland health boards were included, with analysis of data from 216 clinic episodes. Mean follow-up was 371 days. Mean age was 71 years; 62% were female. The most common presenting features were headache (93.6%), scalp tenderness (82.5%) and ocular symptoms (24%). At baseline, 63% of patients had at least one existing risk factor for adverse outcomes from high-dose CS use, namely hypertension (57.1%), diabetes (24%) and osteoporosis (11%). Thirty per cent of all patients (19 of 63) received tocilizumab, with only 11% (7 of 63) receiving tocilizumab owing to glucocorticoid risk factors at baseline. One-quarter of all patients (16 of 63) experienced relapse of GCA during follow-up, of whom six were subsequently treated with tocilizumab.

Conclusion

This multicentre audit demonstrates that despite its availability for patients with risk factors for CS adversity and those who suffer relapse of GCA, tocilizumab is used in less than one-quarter of patients who might benefit. The reasons for this require further exploration.
Nitroglycerin-induced downregulation of AKT- and ERK1/2-mediated radiation-sensitive 52 expression to enhance pemetrexed-induced cytotoxicity in human lung cancer cells
Authors: Ko Jen-Chung , Chen Jyh-Cheng , Tseng Pei-Yu , Hsieh Jou-Min , Chiang Chen-Shan , Liu Li-Ling , Chien Chin-Cheng , Huang I-Hsiang , Lin Yun-Wei
Published: March 2022

Nitroglycerin (NTG)—a nitric oxide–donating drug—is traditionally administered via the sublingual route to treat acute myocardial angina attacks. NTG also increases tumor blood flow and, consequently, cancer drug delivery to tumor cells. In the homologous recombination pathway, radiation-sensitive 52 (Rad52) plays a crucial role in DNA repair by promoting the annealing of complementary single-stranded DNA and stimulating radiation-sensitive 51 (Rad51) recombinase activity. Pemetrexed—a multitargeted antifolate agent—exhibits satisfactory clinical activity in wild-type nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. However, the synergistic activity of combination therapy with NTG and pemetrexed against NSCLC cells has not yet been clarified. In 2 NSCLC cell lines (i.e. lung squamous cell carcinoma H520 and lung adenocarcinoma H1975 cells), NTG reduced Rad52 expression; in addition, decreased phospho-AKT and phospho-ERK1/2 protein levels were observed. Enhancement of AKT or ERK1/2 activity through transfection with a constitutively active AKT (AKT-CA) vector or constitutively active mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MKK1-CA) vector increased the Rad52 protein level and cell survival, which were suppressed by NTG. The knockdown of Rad52 expression by using small interfering RNA or by inhibiting AKT and ERK1/2 activity enhanced the cytotoxicity and cell growth inhibition induced by NTG. Moreover, NTG synergistically enhanced the cytotoxicity and cell growth inhibition induced by pemetrexed in NSCLC cells; these effects were associated with AKT and ERK1/2 inactivation and, consequently, Rad52 downregulation in H520 and H1975 cells. The results provide a rationale for combining NTG and pemetrexed in lung cancer treatment to improve lung cancer control.
Defensive role of Nigella sativa against antituberculosis drugs induced renal toxicity
Authors: Jaswal Amita , Sharma Samta , Uthra Chhavi , Yadav Deepa , Shrivastava Sadhana , Shukla Sangeeta
Published: March 2022

Drug-induced nephrotoxicity is a common problem in clinical medicine and the frequency of drug-related acute and chronic kidney dysfunction worldwide. One of them is anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs that cause renal function impairment during TB treatment. Medicinal plants contain bioactive compounds that are capable for treating drug or toxin-induced renal disorders. The aim of the present study was to assess the protective effect of the ethanolic extract of Nigella sativa seeds (NS) against anti-TB drugs (ATDs) induced nephrotoxicity in Wistar albino rats. Rats were treated with ATDs for 12weeks (3 alternative days in a week). Supplementation with 125mg NS/kg, p.o. was administered to the experimental rats for 12weeks (3 alternative days in a week considering next day of ATDs treatment).

The results demonstrated that NS treatment protected against renal damage induced by ATDs, as evidenced by the reduction in serum urea, creatinine, uric acid, urea nitrogen levels, pro-inflammatory markers (TNF-α and IL-6), whereas improvement in histological tubular and glomerular damage. In addition, NS enhanced the antioxidant enzyme activity (superoxide dismutase and catalase) and decreased the lipid peroxidation and glutathione level in the kidney. In conclusion, NS could reduce chronic nephritis in ATDs treated group through suppressing inflammation and oxidative stress. It suggests that NS can be used as supplementary preventive and protective drug against kidney injury during anti-TB treatment.
K-solubilizing bacteria (Bacillus) promote theanine synthesis in tea roots (Camellia sinensis) by activating CsTSI activity
Authors: Zhou Ziwen , Chang Na , Lv Yaning , Jiang Hong , Yao Cheng , Wan Xiaochun , Li Yeyun , Zhang Xianchen
Published: March 2022

Theanine is an important quality parameter referring to tea quality. Applying nitrogen fertilizers is one strategy to improve the level of theanine; however, the effect of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on theanine synthesis in tea roots has been less studied. In this study, the bacteria isolated from Qimen County with the maximum potassium (K) solubilization were identified as Bacillus by biochemical and molecular analyses. We show that tartaric and pyruvic acids produced by Bacillus were important components related to K solubilization in vitro. Pot experiments and enzymatic assays in vitro showed that inoculation with Bacillus-secreted organic acids increased the level of available potassium in the soil. The increased K level activated recombinant CsTSI activity (theanine biosynthesis enzyme) and increased ethylamine content (the synthesis precursor of theanine), resulting in promoted theanine synthesis in tea roots. Therefore, our study indicates that Bacillus can be a potential bioinoculant for biofortification of tea.
Do unmanned aerial vehicles reduce the duration and costs in transporting sputum samples? A feasibility study conducted in Himachal Pradesh, India
Authors: Thakur Vishal , Ganeshkumar Parasuraman , Lakshmanan Sundaramoorthy , Rubeshkumar Polani
Published: March 2022

Background

The feasibility of and advantages of using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for sputum transportation for TB in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India, were evaluated.

Methods

We conducted a non-randomized interventional study and compared the advantages of sputum transport between UAVs and motorbikes (conventional).

Results

We completed 151 transportations. Transportation by UAV (7.1±0.8 min) was faster than by motorbike (22.7±4.6 min, p<0.001). Motorbikes covered a greater distance (12.09±1.6 km) than UAVs (2.89±0.35 km, p<0.001). The recurrent cost per transport using an UAV (US${\$}$0.68) was less than by motorbike (US${\$}$1.4). All 26 stakeholders agreed that UAVs would reduce the turnaround time for diagnosis of drug-resistant TB.

Conclusions

Sputum transportation by UAVs was feasible, cheaper and an efficacious potential alternative to conventional modes of transportation.
Variable or Fixed? Exploring Entrustment Decision Making in Workplace- and Simulation-Based Assessments
Authors: Jeyalingam Thurarshen , Walsh Catharine M. , Tavares Walter , Mylopoulos Maria , Hodwitz Kathryn , Liu Louis W.C. , Heitman Steven J. , Brydges Ryan
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Many models of competency-based medical education (CBME) emphasize assessing entrustable professional activities (EPAs). Despite the centrality of EPAs, researchers have not compared rater entrustment decisions for the same EPA across workplace- and simulation-based assessments. This study aimed to explore rater entrustment decision making across these 2 assessment settings.

Method

An interview-based study using a constructivist grounded theory approach was conducted. Gastroenterology faculty at the University of Toronto and the University of Calgary completed EPA assessments of trainees’ endoscopic polypectomy performance in both workplace and simulation settings between November 2019 and January 2021. After each assessment, raters were interviewed to explore how and why they made entrustment decisions within and across settings. Transcribed interview data were coded iteratively using constant comparison to generate themes.

Results

Analysis of 20 interviews with 10 raters found that participants (1) held multiple meanings of entrustment and expressed variability in how they justified their entrustment decisions and scoring, (2) held personal caveats for making entrustment decisions “comfortably” (i.e., authenticity, task-related variability, opportunity to assess trainee responses to adverse events, and the opportunity to observe multiple performances over time), (3) experienced cognitive tensions between formative and summative purposes when assessing EPAs, and (4) experienced relative freedom when using simulation to formatively assess EPAs but constraint when using only simulation-based assessments for entrustment decision making.

Conclusions

Participants spoke about and defined entrustment variably, which appeared to produce variability in how they judged entrustment across participants and within and across assessment settings. These rater idiosyncrasies suggest that programs implementing CBME must consider how such variability affects the aggregation of EPA assessments, especially those collected in different settings. Program leaders might also consider how to fulfill raters’ criteria for comfortably making entrustment decisions by ensuring clear definitions and purposes when designing and integrating workplace- and simulation-based assessments.
A new cell death program regulated by toll-like receptor 9 through p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway in a neonatal rat model with sepsis associated encephalopathy
Authors: Zhou Ruixi , Ying Junjie , Qiu Xia , Yu Luting , Yue Yan , Liu Qian , Shi Jing , Li Xihong , Qu Yi , Mu Dezhi
Published: March 2022

Background:

Sepsis, a serious condition with high mortality, usually causes sepsis associated encephalopathy (SAE) that involves neuronal cell death. However, the cell death programs involved and their underlying mechanisms are not clear. This study aimed to explore the regulatory mechanisms of different cell death programs in SAE.

Methods:

A neonatal rat model of SAE was established by cecal ligation and perforation. Survival rate and vital signs (mean arterial pressure and heart rate) were monitored, nerve reflexes were evaluated, and cortical pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The expression of pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis (PANoptosis)-related proteins, mitogen- activated protein kinase (MAPK), and its upstream regulator toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) were detected. The expression of TLR9 in neurons was observed by immunofluorescence staining. The ultrastructure of neurons was observed by transmission electron microscope.

Results:

First, PANoptosis was found in cortical nerve cells of the SAE rats. Meanwhile, the subunits of MAPKs, p38 MAPK, Jun N- terminal kinase, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) were activated. After pharmacologically inhibiting each of the subunits, only p38 MAPK was found to be associated with PANoptosis. Furthermore, blocking the p38 MAPK signaling pathway activated necroptosis but inhibited apoptosis and pyroptosis. When necroptosis was pharmacologically inhibited, apoptosis and pyroptosis were reactivated. Finally, we found that the expression of TLR9, a regulator of MAPKs, was significantly increased in this model. After down-regulation of TLR9, p38 MAPK, and ERK signaling pathways were inhibited, which led to the inhibition of PANoptosis. Further analysis found that down-regulation of TLR9 improved the survival rate and reduced the pathological changes in SAE rats.

Conclusions:

Our study showed that the programs comprising PANoptosis are activated simultaneously in SAE rats. TLR9 activated PANoptosis through the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. TLR9 may work as a potential target for SAE treatment.
Features of hyperintense white matter lesions and clinical relevance in systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Guo Qian , He Yang , Liu Xia , Gao Xuguang , Xu Jing , Li Xue , Sun Yue , Xiang Yajuan , Li Ru , Li Zhanguo
Published: March 2022

Background:

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disease characterized by complex and various clinical manifestations. The study aimed to analyze clinical features and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes of hyperintense white matter (WM) lesions in SLE patients.

Methods:

This was a retrospective study based on a consecutive cohort of 1191 SLE patients; 273 patients for whom cerebral MRI data were available were enrolled to assess hyperintense WM lesions associated with SLE. Patients were assigned to two groups, i.e., with or without hyperintense WM lesions. The MRI assessment showed that the hyperintense WM lesions could be classified into three categories: type A, periventricular hyperintense WM lesions; type B, subcortical hyperintense WM lesions; and type C, multiple discrete hyperintense WM lesions. The clinical and MRI characteristics were analyzed. Factors related to hyperintense WM lesions were identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results:

Among the 273 SLE patients with available cerebral MRI scans, 35.9% (98/273) had hyperintense WM lesions associated with SLE. The proportions of types A, B, and C were 54.1% (53/98), 11.2% (11/98), and 92.9% (91/98), respectively. Fifty-one percents of the patients showed an overlap of two or three types. Type C was the most common subgroup to be combined with other types. Compared with those without hyperintense WM lesions, the patients with hyperintense WM lesions were associated with neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE), lupus nephritis (LN), hypertension, and hyperuricemia (P = 0.002, P = 0.018, P = 0.045, and P = 0.036, respectively). Significantly higher rates of polyserous effusions and cardiac involvement were found in the patients with hyperintense WM lesions (P = 0.029 and P = 0.027, respectively), and these patients were more likely to present with disease damage (P < 0.001). In addition, the patients with hyperintense WM lesions exhibited a higher frequency of proteinuria (P = 0.009) and higher levels of CD8
+
T cells (P = 0.005). In the multivariate logistic analysis, hyperuricemia and higher CD8+ T cells percentages were significantly correlated with hyperintense WM lesions in SLE patients (P = 0.019; OR 2.129, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.313–4.006 and P < 0.001; OR 1.056, 95% CI 1.023–1.098, respectively).

Conclusions:

Hyperintense WM lesions are common in SLE patients and significantly associated with systemic involvement, including NPSLE, LN, polyserous effusions, cardiac involvement, and disease damage. Hyperuricemia and a higher number of CD8+ T cells were independent factors associated with hyperintense WM lesions in SLE.