bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
(533) Penile Venous Stripping for Treating Patients with Erectile Dysfunction Secondary to a Minimally Invasive Prostatectomy
Authors: Hsu G , Chang Y , Chang C
Published: May 2023

Introduction

A minimally invasive prostatectomy becomes a treatment of choice in patients with operable prostate cancer. However, it is not uncommon to encounter patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) secondary to this procedure.

Objective

Although there are many ED treatment strategies, we want to report a physiological penile venous stripping surgery to those patients whose ED was secondary to prostatectomy and refractory to all medical treatments in the recent decade.

Methods

From 2012 to 2021, 15 consecutive patients, aged 62 to 79, sustained erectile dysfunction (ED) following a minimally invasive prostatectomy for treating prostate cancer. Meanwhile, their ED was refractory to contemporary varied treatment strategies, including one 70-year-old patient non-responsive to 800 mg sildenafil. All patients received dual cavernosography in which the penile venous anatomy was shown by a pilot cavernosograpy, PGE-1 test in-between, and a veno-occlusive dysfunction (VOD) was documented by pharmaco-cavernosography. Eventually, they underwent a physiologically penile venous stripping surgery (PVSS) for erection restoration from VOD. The ambulatory basis was unexceptionally conducted under acupuncture-assisted local anesthesia. PVSS begins with a circumferential approach, followed by degloving those tissues superficial to the Colles' fascia until the penile base. Next, it entailed stripping a deep dorsal vein and two cavernosal veins while fixing every emissary's vein with 6-0 nylon closest to the outer tunica. In contrast, the two pairs of para-arterial veins were only segmentally ligated. The abridged 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) score system and corporeal radio-opacity assessed erection restoration. Additionally, the erection hardness scale (EHS) confirmed improvement.

Results

The prostatectomy was performed in laparoscopic (n=7) and Da Vinci surgical system (n=8) elsewhere. The average follow-up period was 5.3±0.4 years. It was unexceptionally pronounced on the radiopacity of the corpora cavernosa to the femoral cortex, denoting the intracorporeal retention established in the corpora cavernosa after PVSS. It was statistically significant between the preoperative and postoperative IIEF-5 scores (5.9±1.8 vs. 11.8±2.6, P<0.01). The EHS improved at least one scale. Surprisingly, two patients reported gratifying outcomes although they were committed to Parkinsonism. Overall, just 42.9% (9/21) of patients reported unaided sex. The remaining patients required medication aid every five men depending on 20 mg sildenafil and 5 mg vardenafil, respectively. Eventually, four resorted to malleable penile implants, which firmly declined preoperatively.

Conclusions

PVSS is beneficial in managing some groups of males whose ED is secondary to a minimally invasive prostatectomy, although the sample size is limited.

Disclosure

No
(539) Preventive Effects of Pterorhachis Zenkeri Harm (Meliaceae) in Testosterone Propionate-induced Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy in Wistar Rat
Authors: Watcho P , Bonsou Fozin G R
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) is an androgen-dependent and age-related disease which significantly affects the patient’s life. BPH can lead to a number of symptoms for patients commonly referred to as lower urinary tract symptoms including obstructive and irritative disorders as well as complications such as renal failure and sexual disorders. In addition, medical health care remains problematic due to therapeutic limits such as the cost, the accessibility and the side effects.

Objective

The aim of the present study was to assess the preventive effects of the aqueous (62 mg/kg) and methanolic (10 mg/kg) extracts from Pterorhachis zenkeri (P. zenkeri) on testosterone propionate-induced benign prostatic hypertrophy in rats.

Methods

Adult Wistar rats were randomly partitioned into groups of 5 rats each and treated with one of the following: distilled water (10ml/kg)/soja oil (1 ml/kg), testosterone (10 mg/kg), aqueous extract (62 mg/kg), methanolic extract (10 mg/kg), testosterone plus bicalutamide (5 mg/kg) plus aqueous extract (62 mg/kg), testosterone plus bicalutamide plus methanol extract (10 mg/kg) during 2 or 4 weeks. At the end of the treatment periods, body and prostate related weight, biochemical, histological, histo-morphometrical and oxidative stress parameters were comparatively measured.

Results

Testosterone propionate induced a significant (p<0.001) increase in the size and relative weight of ventral prostate, plasmatic level of prostate specific antigen (PSA), length of prostate epithelial cells and prostate structural damages. Additionally, the levels of prostatic dihydrotestosterone and, plasmatic nitrogen monoxide and malondialdehyde were increased whereas the activity of superoxide dismutase was decreased. Administration or co-administrations of P. zenkeri extracts with bicalutamide time-dependently prevented the above-mentioned damages through its anti-androgenic and anti-oxidant properties.

Conclusions

The bioactive compounds present in P. zenkeri extracts could justify the reported findings. Present results therefore suggest that P. zenkeri could be a good candidate in the management of BPH.

Disclosure

No
(550) Sexual Arousal in Premenopausal Breast Cancer Patients on Antihormonal Treatment
Authors: Grosse-Rueschkamp M S , Kronthaler S M , Friedrich M , Oesterling C F , Beier K M , Hatzler L
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in women and is associated with a severe impairment of general life quality, body-related self-esteem and sexual function and satisfaction. Sexual satisfaction has been shown to have a significant impact on general health and well-being. Nevertheless, research aiming at understanding sexual function in breast cancer patients is very scarce, no vaginal plethysmography data measuring vaginal blood flow on breast cancer patients currently exists. A better understanding of the interplay of the physiological sexual response and subjective sexual arousal in breast cancer survivors could help develop new strategies for treating this specific target group and contributing to improve their health and life quality.

Objective

The aim of this study is to collect preliminary data on psychophysiological aspects of the sex.al function of premenopausal breast cancer patients on antihormonal therapy and compare them with healthy controls. Specifically, we hypothesized that (1) genital arousal following visual stimuli is less in breast cancer patients than in healthy controls, (2) genital arousal following tactile stimuli is the same in breast cancer patients and healthy controls, (3) genital arousal following tactile stimuli is greater than following visual stimuli in both breast cancer patients and healthy controls. Serum sex hormone levels and self-reported sexual function are analyzed as moderators.

Methods

Breast cancer survivors (n=60) treated with antihormonal therapy for breast cancer, who are in complete remission for at least one year and healthy controls (n=20), undergo vaginal plethysmography while sexual stimuli (visual, tactile, visual + tactile) are presented. Subjective arousal and genital arousal are recorded continuously. Hormone serum levels, self-reported sexual function, sexual self-esteem, and quality of life measures are analyzed as potential moderators.

Results

Intraindividual differences (subjective and genital arousal) and interindividual differences (breast cancer patients, healthy controls) are analyzed based on a 2-level mixed effect models for each outcome variable. Pearson correlations are calculated to assess the relationships between subjective arousal and genital arousal for each group.

Conclusions

This study is the first to provide data on genital and subjective arousal in premenopausal women with breast cancer on antihormonal treatment compared to healthy controls and explore the data in connection with serum hormone levels. Overall, it will give a further insight in sexual function of breast cancer survivors to reveal targets to improve sexual function in this target group.

Disclosure

Yes, this is sponsored by industry/sponsor: WOW Tech™ Group.

Clarification

Industry funding only - investigator initiated and executed study.
Measurement of parity-odd modes in the large-scale 4-point correlation function of Sloan Digital Sky Survey Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey twelfth data release CMASS and LOWZ galaxies
Authors: Hou Jiamin , Slepian Zachary , Cahn Robert N
Published: May 2023

A tetrahedron is the simplest shape that cannot be rotated into its mirror image in three-dimension (3D). The 4-point correlation function (4PCF), which quantifies excess clustering of quartets of galaxies over random, is the lowest order statistic sensitive to parity violation. Each galaxy defines one vertex of the tetrahedron. Parity-odd modes of the 4PCF probe an imbalance between tetrahedra and their mirror images. We measure these modes from the largest currently available spectroscopic samples, the 280 067 luminous red galaxies (LRGs) of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) twelfth data release (DR12) LOWZ ($\bar{z} = 0.32$ ) and the 803 112 LRGs of BOSS DR12 CMASS ($\bar{z} = 0.57$ ). In LOWZ, we find 3.1σ evidence for a non-zero parity-odd 4PCF, and in CMASS we detect a parity-odd 4PCF at 7.1σ. Gravitational evolution alone does not produce this effect; parity-breaking in LSS, if cosmological in origin, must stem from the epoch of inflation. We have explored many sources of systematic error and found none that can produce a spurious parity-odd signal sufficient to explain our result. Underestimation of the noise could also lead to a spurious detection. Our reported significances presume that the mock catalogues used to calculate the covariance sufficiently capture the covariance of the true data. We have performed numerous tests to explore this issue. The odd-parity 4PCF opens a new avenue for probing new forces during the epoch of inflation with 3D large-scale structure; such exploration is timely given large upcoming spectroscopic samples such as Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and Euclid.
TRIPBASE: a database for identifying the human genomic DNA and lncRNA triplexes
Authors: Lin Tzu-Chieh , Liu Yen-Ling , Liu Yu-Ting , Liu Wan-Hsin , Liu Zong-Yan , Chang Kai-Li , Chang Chin-Yao , Ni Hung Chih , Huang Jia-Hsin , Tsai Huai-Kuang
Published: May 2023

Long-non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are defined as RNA sequences which are >200 nt with no coding capacity. These lncRNAs participate in various biological mechanisms, and are widely abundant in a diversity of species. There is well-documented evidence that lncRNAs can interact with genomic DNAs by forming triple helices (triplexes). Previously, several computational methods have been designed based on the Hoogsteen base-pair rule to find theoretical RNA–DNA:DNA triplexes. While powerful, these methods suffer from a high false-positive rate between the predicted triplexes and the biological experiments. To address this issue, we first collected the experimental data of genomic RNA-DNA triplexes from antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)-mediated capture assays and used Triplexator, the most widely used tool for lncRNA–DNA interaction, to reveal the intrinsic information on true triplex binding potential. Based on the analysis, we proposed six computational attributes as filters to improve the in-silico triplex prediction by removing most false positives. Further, we have built a new database, TRIPBASE, as the first comprehensive collection of genome-wide triplex predictions of human lncRNAs. In TRIPBASE, the user interface allows scientists to apply customized filtering criteria to access the potential triplexes of human lncRNAs in the cis-regulatory regions of the human genome. TRIPBASE can be accessed at https://tripbase.iis.sinica.edu.tw/.
Consumer (Rights) Movements in Latin America
Authors: Rhodes Sybil
Published: May 2023

This chapter outlines the history of scholarship on consumption and consumer mobilization in Latin America. Three “generations” of writers (defined by the chronological and thematic focus of their studies but also somewhat by the timing and sequence of their work) have made original contributions drawn from the context of the region to broader, and interdisciplinary, academic debates. The first generation argued that “irrational” consumer behavior often has a negative impact on economic development. A second generation produced empirical studies of the evolution of consumers’ legal rights, especially in the larger and wealthier countries of the region. A major finding of the second generation is that social and political mobilization in favor of consumer rights is more common in political democracies with market economies. A third generation of scholarship has emphasized the importance of consumerism for expressing identity, especially but not limited to gender, and new values, particularly environmentalism, and working conditions and other ethical issues along the production chain. Recent developments such as social media, internet shopping, and big data-based consumer analytics present challenges that are only beginning to be analyzed from multiple disciplinary angles. Among Latin American scholars, consumption differences between haves and have-nots remain as a fundamental tension.
Experimental Archaeology Enables Inferences about Human Cognition
Authors: Wadley Lyn
Published: May 2023

Proxies derived from commonplace technology that was used in the Palaeolithic can be used to identify sophisticated human cognition because some procedures cannot be accomplished without specific cognitive attributes. Complex cognition like that of modern people can be inferred from components of technical processes that cannot be undertaken without cognitive attributes such as switching attention between actions, analogical reasoning, delayed gratification, and multi-tasking. Experiments to replicate everyday tasks performed in the past can thus provide insights into the minds of people who lived many thousands of years ago. Furthermore, experiments can provide a form of bridging theory between archaeological data and the interpretation of the cognitive abilities of people in the past. Control of fire, in particular, sets human tasks apart from technology used by other primates. Fire has been used, for example, in actualistic adhesive manufacture and for heat treatment of rocks and minerals to improve their flaking properties. While several cognitive attributes are required for both of these everyday tasks, adhesive production particularly requires planning and multitasking, while heat treatment involves analogical reasoning when rocks are buried under a fire.
Hominin Stone Tool Manufacture
Authors: Moore Mark W.
Published: May 2023

The process of controlled stone flaking is tightly constrained by the mechanics of fracture. The stone progressively shrinks during flaking and, as mass is removed, cannot return to its prior state. Modern flintknappers use their forward-planning abilities to work within these design space parameters to produce highly complex tools. Forward-planning abilities must have emerged at some point in hominin evolution, but it is unwarranted to project modern human stone-flaking strategies onto our earliest hominin ancestors. To avoid a reliance on the unconstrained actions of modern flintknappers, an experimental research program was designed that restricted a modern flintknapper in a way that mimicked cognitively simple stone-flaking behaviors of early hominins. The experiments were based on a design space model that parsed stone flaking into its constituent parts, called flake units, and hypothesized that it is possible to create ostensibly complex stone tools without invoking advanced forward-planning abilities; these stone tools are called “spandrels.” The experiments involved using a random number generator to disrupt a modern flintknapper’s propensity to plan, thus creating an assemblage that did not refer to an internal representation or mental template. Nevertheless, the spandrels included bifacial cores, handaxes, and Levallois-like cores and flakes. This challenges the dominant tool-based narratives of early hominin cognitive evolution, which infer that these techniques and tool types are proxies of advanced cognition. Experimental research into stone-flaking design space, combined with better theoretical understanding of the scope offered by that design space, offers an epistemologically robust avenue for evaluating the evolution of hominin cognitive abilities from stone tools.
Coalescence and Transcendence
Authors: Wragg Sykes Rebecca
Published: May 2023

The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic shift in evidence for composite objects and adhesive manufacture in the Palaeolithic. The oldest cases extend back beyond 200,000 years ago in both early H. sapiens and the Neandertals, and usewear studies point to far more ancient origins. This chapter reviews the metamorphosis in theoretical expectations around these technologies, and the cognitive models that have evolved in response to accumulating archaeological data. It also examines the increasing sophistication in the study of Palaeolithic adhesives and hafting, in particular in terms of material constituents and properties, and how that relates to choices made by their producers. Of course, adhesives and composite artifacts are closely bounded in practical and cognitive terms, and moreover are entangled with other aspects such as materiality, creativity, forethought, and memory. The wider implications for the minds of Neandertals and early H. sapiens are here examined within a landscape context of embodied engagement.
Datura, the Mimbres Flower World, and Ideational Cognition
Authors: VanPool Christine S. , Berlant Tony , Maurer Evan , VanPool Todd L. , Wynn Thomas
Published: May 2023

Prehistoric and historic Native Americans had a physical, practical, and spiritual engagement with the environment. These relationships caused their perception to become intertwined with specific creatures and plants, which became part of the basis of their ideational worldviews. In the case of the Mimbres people who lived between AD 1000–1140, their engagement with datura, a plant with powerful hallucinogenic properties, integrated into a cosmological framework called the Flower World. The visions provided by datura allowed people to travel into the otherwise hidden Flower World realm. To understand their ideational world, we employ an ethnosemantic approached based on ecological and neuropsychological models to analyze Classic Mimbres images depicted on Black-on-white pottery bowls. These images reflect ecological relationships (e.g., the association of the hawkmoth and datura, the opening of datura blossoms) and also the altered states of consciousness created by ingesting datura. These include depictions of geometric designs characteristic of datura intoxication, spinning (which coincides with the opening datura blossom) and the transformation of a person into a spirit being like a mothman. Applying cognitive models to Mimbres imagery consequently provides an understanding of Mimbres cosmology and the cultural importance of ecological relationships that structured the Mimbres ideational worldview.
Symbolism in the Middle Palaeolithic
Authors: van Mazijk Corijn
Published: May 2023

The existence and extent of symbolism among Middle Palaeolithic pre-modern humans present a significant point of controversy. As with any scientific dispute, there is a substantial conceptual component to these discussions, here in particular concerning the concept of symbolism, which is often poorly defined. The present chapter approaches the problem from a different, philosophical, angle. It opens with a brief reflection on the phenomenological method in philosophy and its largely unexplored potential for paleoanthropology and evolutionary psychology. The midpart develops a phenomenological framework involving separate levels of expressive and symbolic behavior. It is argued that Middle Palaeolithic pre-modern humans, given the current evidence, are best understood as capable of symbolic behavior, but that symbol use is still tied to expressive behavior and shared practices in the so-called living present. It is further argued that such “practice-embedded symbolism” represents a necessary stage in the evolution of symbolism in the hominin lineage, as its use and interpretation are significantly less cognitively demanding than the free symbolic activity of behaviorally modern humans. The final section reviews evidence for the decorative use of pigment and beadwork in Middle Palaeolithic communities. It is argued that while their production plausibly relied on practice-embedded symbols, free symbolism in the modern sense need not be presupposed, and it is unlikely that either pigment or beadwork had itself a symbolic function.
Deep Listening with Pauline Oliveros
Authors: Halstead Jill , Hilder Thomas R.
Published: May 2023

This chapter considers the work of Pauline Oliveros (1932–2016), in particular her philosophy and practice of ‘Deep Listening’. Oliveros’ life and work provide radical inspiration for those engaged in the field of music therapy, and anyone concerned with sound’s deep capacity to connect us to the present moment, each other, and the world. This chapter is based around our own responses to a selection of questions posed by Oliveros in her Listening Questions. Through writing, we attend to our own listening memories, habits, and disciplining; reflect on the socially power inflected nature of listening; and share our transformations and ethics in the sound-worlds of academia, musical culture, and everyday life. Drawing on our experiences as musicians, pedagogues, researchers, and activists, we propose a form of ‘queer listening’ nurtured through the ‘queer ear’, an artful disruption of the traditional hierarchies and power relations which continue to define western practices of listening. This queer ear invites us to attend to our broader collectives through the labour of radical care, and proposes an anti-oppressive philosophy and practice in different spheres of music making, research and education, thus providing fertile ground from which queer and trans music therapy can grow.
Defining Parasocial Relationship Experiences
Authors: Giles David
Published: May 2023

The chapter offers a conceptual definition of parasocial relationships as a distinct construct, and it explores its theoretical relationship to other related phenomena. It defines various types of parasocial relationships, and it outlines the scope of these experiences, including their prevalence across different media formats, channels, and platforms and different types of media content. The chapter explicates how parasocial relationships are different from, yet related to, other media experiences, such as parasocial interactions, parasocial attachment, fandom, celebrity worship, and character identification and to what extent they can be applied to describe other forms of engagement (e.g., with brands).
Experimental Studies of Cultural Evolution
Authors: Mesoudi Alex
Published: May 2023

This chapter reviews how experiments have played a growing role in the study of cultural evolution recently. Experiments occupy a middle ground between formal models and real-world observational and historical studies. Like models, they offer the advantages of control and manipulation in order to determine causal relations between variables. Like real-world studies, they involve actual human behaviour, albeit constrained within artificial boundaries. When interpreted within the context of this trade-off between external and internal validity, experiments can provide valuable insights into the processes and dynamics of cultural evolution. Given the centrality of social learning in theories of cultural evolution, experiments typically involve participants learning from at least one other participant. Various experimental designs have been employed including dyadic interactions, linear transmission chains, closed groups, replacement or migration methods, and economic games. Key findings relate to content and inductive biases that describe how the content of cultural traits affects their transmission and evolution; context biases concerning from whom traits are copied; studies probing the socio-cognitive and demographic factors that underpin cumulative cultural evolution; the burgeoning experimental study of non-human culture; and variation in learning strategies over the lifetime and across cultures. The chapter ends with some recommendations for future experimental research, including an awareness of the proper function and limitations of experimental methods; the need for closer links between experiments, theory, and real-world data; and the necessity for experiments to be both replicable and reproducible via open science practices, to ensure that new generations of scientists can build on reliable knowledge.
Impact of age and tumor size on the development of the Kasabach–Merritt phenomenon in patients with kaposiform hemangioendothelioma: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Zhou Jiangyuan , Lan Yuru , Qiu Tong , Gong Xue , Zhang Zixin , He Chunshui , Peng Qiang , Hu Fan , Zhang Xuepeng , Lu Guoyan , Qiu Liqing , Kong Feiteng , Zhang Yongbo , Chen Siyuan , Ji Yi
Published: May 2023

Introduction

The Kasabach–Merritt phenomenon (KMP) is a severe complication of kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE). The risk factors for KMP need further investigation.

Methods

The medical records of patients with KHE were reviewed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used for the risk factors for KMP, and the area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the predictive power of risk factors.

Results

A total of 338 patients with KHE were enrolled. The incidence of KMP was 45.9%. Age of onset (P < 0.001, odds ratio [OR] 0.939; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.914–0.966), lesion size (P < 0.001, OR 1.944; 95% CI 1.646–2.296), mixed type (P = 0.030, OR 2.428; 95% CI 1.092–5.397), deep type (P = 0.010, OR 4.006; 95% CI 1.389–11.556), and mediastinal or retroperitoneal lesion location (P = 0.019, OR 11.864; 95% CI 1.497–94.003) were correlated with KMP occurrence through multivariate logistic regression. ROC curve analysis revealed that the optimal cutoffs were 4.75 months for the age of onset (P < 0.001, OR 7.206, 95% CI 4.073–12.749) and a lesion diameter of 5.35 cm (P < 0.001, OR 11.817, 95% CI 7.084–19.714). Bounded by a lesion size of 5.35 cm, we found significant differences in tumor morphology, age of onset, treatments, and hematological parameters. Using an onset age of 4.75 months as a cutoff, we found significant differences in tumor morphology, lesion size, hematological parameters, and prognosis.

Conclusion

For KHE patients with an onset age <4.75 months and/or lesion diameter >5.35 cm, clinicians should be wary of the occurrence of KMP. Active management is recommended to improve the prognosis.
Metformin Improves Functional Outcomes, Activates Neural Precursor Cells, and Modulates Microglia in a Sex-Dependent Manner After Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Gilbert Emily A B , Livingston Jessica , Garcia-Flores Emilio , Kehtari Tarlan , Morshead Cindi M
Published: May 2023

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in devastating patient outcomes with few treatment options. A promising approach to improve outcomes following SCI involves the activation of endogenous precursor populations including neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs) which are located in the periventricular zone (PVZ), and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) found throughout the parenchyma. In the adult spinal cord, resident NSPCs are primarily mitotically quiescent and aneurogenic, while OPCs contribute to ongoing oligodendrogenesis into adulthood. Each of these populations is responsive to SCI, increasing their proliferation and migration to the site of injury; however, their activation is not sufficient to support functional recovery. Previous work has shown that administration of the FDA-approved drug metformin is effective at promoting endogenous brain repair following injury, and this is correlated with enhanced NSPC activation. Here, we ask whether metformin can promote functional recovery and neural repair following SCI in both males and females. Our results reveal that acute, but not delayed metformin administration improves functional outcomes following SCI in both sexes. The functional improvement is concomitant with OPC activation and oligodendrogenesis. Our data also reveal sex-dependent effects of metformin following SCI with increased activation of NSPCs in females and reduced microglia activation in males. Taken together, these findings support metformin as a viable therapeutic strategy following SCI and highlight its pleiotropic effects in the spinal cord.
Comparative whole genome analysis reveals re-emergence of human Wa-like and DS-1-like G3 rotaviruses after Rotarix vaccine introduction in Malawi
Authors: Mhango Chimwemwe , Banda Akuzike , Chinyama End , Mandolo Jonathan J , Kumwenda Orpha , Malamba-Banda Chikondi , Barnes Kayla G , Kumwenda Benjamin , Jambo Kondwani C , Donato Celeste M , Esona Mathew D , Mwangi Peter N , Steele A Duncan , Iturriza-Gomara Miren , Cunliffe Nigel A , Ndze Valentine N , Kamng’ona Arox W , Dennis Francis E , Nyaga Martin M , Chaguza Chrispin , Jere Khuzwayo C
Published: May 2023

G3 rotaviruses rank among the most common rotavirus strains worldwide in humans and animals. However, despite a robust long-term rotavirus surveillance system from 1997 at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, these strains were only detected from 1997 to 1999 and then disappeared and re-emerged in 2017, 5 years after the introduction of the Rotarix rotavirus vaccine. Here, we analysed representative twenty-seven whole genome sequences (G3P[4], n = 20; G3P[6], n = 1; and G3P[8], n = 6) randomly selected each month between November 2017 and August 2019 to understand how G3 strains re-emerged in Malawi. We found four genotype constellations that were associated with the emergent G3 strains and co-circulated in Malawi post-Rotarix vaccine introduction: G3P[4] and G3P[6] strains with the DS-1-like genetic backbone genes (G3-P[4]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A2-N2-T2-E2-H2 and G3-P[6]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A2-N2-T2-E2-H2), G3P[8] strains with the Wa-like genetic backbone genes (G3-P[8]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A1-N1-T1-E1-H1), and reassortant G3P[4] strains consisting of the DS-1-like genetic backbone genes and a Wa-like NSP2 (N1) gene (G3-P[4]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A2-N1-T2-E2-H2). Time-resolved phylogenetic trees demonstrated that the most recent common ancestor for each ribonucleic acid (RNA) segment of the emergent G3 strains was between 1996 and 2012, possibly through introductions from outside the country due to the limited genetic similarity with G3 strains which circulated before their disappearance in the late 1990s. Further genomic analysis revealed that the reassortant DS-1-like G3P[4] strains acquired a Wa-like NSP2 genome segment (N1 genotype) through intergenogroup reassortment; an artiodactyl-like VP3 through intergenogroup interspecies reassortment; and VP6, NSP1, and NSP4 segments through intragenogroup reassortment likely before importation into Malawi. Additionally, the emergent G3 strains contain amino acid substitutions within the antigenic regions of the VP4 proteins which could potentially impact the binding of rotavirus vaccine–induced antibodies. Altogether, our findings show that multiple strains with either Wa-like or DS-1-like genotype constellations have driven the re-emergence of G3 strains. The findings also highlight the role of human mobility and genome reassortment events in the cross-border dissemination and evolution of rotavirus strains in Malawi necessitating the need for long-term genomic surveillance of rotavirus in high disease–burden settings to inform disease prevention and control.
Cultured Skin Autograft in Subtotal Pediatric Scalp Avulsion
Authors: Powell Michael S. , Osborn Tamara , Mehta Sagar T.
Published: May 2023

Pediatric scalp avulsions represent a reconstructive challenge because of the unique features of scalp tissue. When microsurgical reimplantation is not feasible, alternative approaches such as skin grafting, free flap transfer with latissimus flap, or tissue expansion are considered. Generally, there is no consensus regarding management of this trauma, and, oftentimes, multiple reconstructive techniques may be needed for definitive coverage. This case study describes the reconstruction of a pediatric subtotal scalp avulsion using a dermal regeneration template and novel autologous homologous skin construct. This case was complicated by the absence of original tissue for reimplantation, excessive size of the defect relative to body habitus, and family concerns for future hair-bearing function. The reconstruction successfully provided definitive coverage and significantly reduced the size of the donor site and associated compilations. However, the hair-bearing potential of the tissue has yet to be determined.
Physical Activity in Youth with Down Syndrome and Its Relationship with Adiposity
Authors: Xanthopoulos Melissa S. , Walega Rachel , Xiao Rui , Pipan Mary E. , Cochrane Claire I. , Zemel Babette S. , Kelly Andrea , Magge Sheela N.
Published: May 2023

Purpose:

The aims of this study are to (1) compare physical activity (PA) and sedentary activity (SA) in youth with and without Down syndrome (DS and non-DS) and examine the relationships of PA and SA with their traditional risk factors (age, sex, race, and body mass index Z score [BMI-Z]) and (2) explore the relationship of PA with visceral fat (VFAT) in both groups.

Methods:

SenseWear accelerometry data from at least 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day were collected from youth with DS (N = 77) and non-DS (N = 57) youth. VFAT was measured by dual x-ray absorptiometry.

Results:

In age-, sex-, race-, and BMI-Z–adjusted models, those with DS engaged in more minutes of light PA (LPA) (p < 0.0001) and less SA (p = 0.003) and trended toward fewer minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (p = 0.08) than non-DS youth. No race or sex differences in MVPA were detected in those with DS, unlike non-DS. After additional adjustment for pubertal status, the relationship between MVPA and VFAT approached significance (p = 0.06), whereas the relationships of LPA and SA with VFAT were maintained (p ≤ 0.0001 for both).

Conclusion:

Youth with DS engage in more LPA compared with non-DS, which, in typically developing populations, can confer a more favorable weight status. Increasing the opportunity for youth with DS to engage in LPA as part of their activities of daily living may offer a viable strategy for achieving healthy weight when barriers restrict pursuit of more vigorous PA.
2022 Prentice Award Lecture: Advancing Retinal Imaging and Visual Function in Patient Management and Disease Mechanisms
Authors: Elsner Ann E.
Published: May 2023

Significance

Patient-based research plays a key role in probing basic visual mechanisms. Less-well recognized is the role of patient-based retinal imaging and visual function studies in elucidating disease mechanisms, which are accelerated by advances in imaging and function techniques, and are most powerful when combined with the results from histology and animal models.
Improving Adherence to Evidence-based Practice for Uncomplicated UTI in a Pediatric Emergency Department
Authors: Kline Jaclyn N , Powell Lauren N , Albert Jonathan D , Bishara Amy C , Heffren Joshua C , Badolato Gia M , Berkowitz Deena D
Published: May 2023

Introduction:

Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs) are among the more common pediatric bacterial infections. Despite their prevalence, significant variability exists in the treatment duration and antibiotic selection for uUTI. Our first aim was to improve adherence to a three-day course of antibiotic treatment for uUTI in children over 24 months old. Our second aim was to increase the selection of cephalexin in this population.

Methods:

We conducted a single-center quality improvement study from March 2021 to March 2022. One thousand four hundred thirty-five patients were included across our baseline and intervention periods. We created an order set with embedded discharge prescriptions and followed this with education and provider feedback. The outcome measures for this study were percent of children receiving 3 days of antibiotic treatment and percent of children prescribed cephalexin. In addition, we tracked order set use as a process measure, and 7-day emergency department revisit as a balancing measure.

Results:

Rates of 3-day prescriptions for uUTI demonstrated special cause variation with an increase from 3% to 44%. Prescription rates of cephalexin for uUTI demonstrated special cause variation with an increase from 49% to 74%. The process measure of order set use improved from 0% to 49% after implementation. No change occurred in 7-day emergency department revisits.

Conclusion:

We demonstrated improved use of shorter course therapy for uUTI with a first-generation cephalosporin throughout this project without adverse events. We leveraged an order set with embedded discharge prescriptions to achieve our goals.
The Impact of Medication Synchronization on Proportion of Days Covered within the Pediatric Setting
Authors: Maletic Brooke E. , Swick Alex , Murray Leanne , Abdel-Rasoul Mahmoud , Braughton Ashley , Petkus Kayla
Published: May 2023

Introduction:

Poor adherence to medication regimens accounts for the substantial worsening of disease, death, and increased healthcare costs of approximately $100 billion annually in the United States. Patients participating in medication synchronization had 3.4 to 6.1 times increased odds of adherence, depending on the drug class. Abundant literature supports medication synchronization within the adult population. This IRB-exempt, prospective quality improvement project is an example of implementing and assessing medication synchronization inclusive of the pediatric setting.

Methods:

This study is a single-center, prospective, quality improvement project for patients seen at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) Complex Care Clinic that also fill prescriptions at NCH Outpatient Pharmacies. The project assessed patient medication adherence using the Proportion of Days Covered and the number of trips to the pharmacy 90 days before and 90 days postimplementation. We also assessed patient and pharmacy staff satisfaction 3 months after project implementation.

Results:

There was a statistically significant increase in the number of days covered for patients 90 days postimplementation compared to 90 days before implementation (Difference: 3.60; 95% confidence interval: 1.87, 5.33; P = 0.001). Additionally, there was a statistically significant decrease in pharmacy trips pre- and postimplementation (Difference: 2.17; 95% confidence interval: 1.26, 3.07; P < 0.001). Overall, pharmacy staff and patients reported satisfaction with the service.

Conclusions:

Implementing a medication synchronization service improved medication adherence and decreased trips to the pharmacy within the pediatric population.
Characterization of four novel bacterial species of the genus Sphingomonas, Sphingomonas anseongensis, Sphingomonas alba, Sphingomonas brevis and Sphingomonas hankyongi sp.nov., isolated from wet land
Authors: Siddiqi Muhammad Zubair , Rajivgandhi Govindan , Lee Soon-Youl , Im Wan-Taek
Published: May 2023

Four novel bacterial strains, designated as RG327T, SE158T, RB56-2T and SE220T, were isolated from wet soil in the Republic of Korea. To determine their taxonomic positions, the strains were fully characterized. On the basis of genomic information (16S rRNA gene and draft genome sequences), all four isolates represent members of the genus

Sphingomonas

. The draft genomes of RG327T, SE158T, RB56-2T and SE220T consisted of circular chromosomes of 2 226 119, 2 507 338, 2 593 639 and 2 548 888 base pairs with DNA G+C contents of 64.6, 63.6, 63.0 and 63.1 %, respectively. All the isolates contained ubiquinone Q-10 as the predominant quinone compound and a fatty acid profile with C16 : 0, C17 : 1ω6c, C18 : 1 2-OH, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c) and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c/C18 : 1ω6c) as the major fatty acids, supporting the affiliation of strains RG327T, SE158T, RB56-2T and SE220T to the genus

Sphingomonas

. The major identified polar lipids in all four novel isolates were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingoglycolipid and phosphatidylcholine. Moreover, the physiological, biochemical results and low level of DNA–DNA relatedness and average nucleotide identity values allowed the phenotypic and genotypic differentiation of RG327T, SE158T, RB56-2T and SE220T from other species of the genus

Sphingomonas

with validly published names and indicated that they represented novel species of the genus

Sphingomonas

, for which the names Sphingomonas anseongensis sp. nov. (RG327T = KACC 22409T = LMG 32497T), Sphingomonas alba sp. nov. (SE158T = KACC 224408T = LMG 324498T), Sphingomonas brevis (RB56-2T = KACC 22410T = LMG 32496T) and Sphingomonas hankyongi sp. nov., (SE220T = KACC 22406T = LMG 32499T) are proposed.
Pedobacter montanisoli sp. nov., isolated from soil
Authors: You Yelim , Woo Chae Yung , Kim Jaisoo
Published: May 2023

A white-pigmented, non-motile, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, designated CYS-01T, was obtained from soil sampled at Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea. Cells were strictly aerobic, grew optimally at 28 °C. Phylogenetic analysis based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain CYS-01T formed a lineage within the family

Sphingobacteriaceae

and clustered with members of the genus

Pedobacter

. The closest relatives were

Pedobacter xixiisoli

CGMCC 1.12803T (95.70 % sequence similarity),

Pedobacter ureilyticus

THG-T11T (95.35 %),

Pedobacter helvus

P-25T (95.28 %),

Pedobacter chitinilyticus

CM134L-2T (94.94 %),

Pedobacter nanyangensis

Q-4T (94.73 %) and

Pedobacter zeaxanthinifaciens

TDMA-5T (94.07 %). The principal respiratory quinone was MK-7 and the major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminolipid, unidentified lipids and an unidentified glycolipid. The predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1
 ω7c and/or C16 : 1
 ω6c) and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The DNA G+C content was 36.6 mol%. Based on the results of genomic, chemotaxonomic, phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses, strain CYS-01T represents novel species in the genus

Pedobacter

, for which the name Pedobacter montanisoli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CYS-01T (=KACC 22655T=NBRC 115630T).
Prevalence of Soil Transmitted Helminths Among School Children in Aliade, Gwer- East Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria
Authors: Yaji Dorcas Asoo , Terzungwe Agba Jerome , Onah Isegbe Emmanuel
Published: May 2023

Objectives

Soil-transmitted helminthes (STHs) refer to the intestinal worms infecting humans that are transmitted through contaminated soil. STH is endemic in Nigeria. This study determined the prevalence among school aged children in Aliade, Gwer-East Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria.

Setting

The study was carried out among pupils aged 5-20 years from four schools in the Government Area.

Participants

Stool samples were collected from 342 pupils, 196(57.3%) male and 146(42.7%) female and examined for helminth eggs using Direct wet mount method and Formol Ether Concentration technique. Chi square was used to compare the relationship between variables.

Results

Overall prevalence of 96(28.1%) was recorded. Prevalence among male 55(28.1%) and female 41(28.1%) indicated no statistical significance(P=0.997). Eggs of three helminthes,Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm, andTrichuris trichiurawere observed with prevalence of 18.1%, 9.1% and 1.8% respectively. Prevalence ofA. lumbricoidesamong the male pupils (21.9%) was significantly different compared to prevalence among the female (13.0%) (P=0.034). while Hookworm exhibited higher prevalence among female (31.7%) than male (5.6%), this difference was statistically significant. Age group 9-12years had the highest overall prevalence of 32.1% closely followed by group 5-8years (29.4%), while least prevalence of 10.9% was observed in group13-16 years. There was a significant difference in prevalence by age among the pupils (P= 0.036). Playing in soil and eating of unwashed fruits were found to have a relationship with STHs infection among the children. The two factors have a statistically significant difference(P ≤0.05).

Conclusions

The overall prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections in Aliade, Gwer-East L.G.A is moderate (28.1%). Community health education and good sanitary and hygienic practices are essential in preventing soil-transmitted helminthiasis.
Analysis of regulatory network modules in hundreds of human stem cell lines reveals complex epigenetic and genetic factors contribute to pluripotency state differences between subpopulations
Authors: Arthur Timothy D. , Nguyen Jennifer P. , D’Antonio-Chronowska Agnieszka , Matsui Hiroko , Silva Nayara S. , Joshua Isaac N. ,   iPSCORE Consortium, Luchessi André D. , Young Greenwald William W. , D’Antonio Matteo , Pera Martin F. , Frazer Kelly A.
Published: May 2023

Stem cells existin vitroin a spectrum of interconvertible pluripotent states. Analyzing hundreds of hiPSCs derived from different individuals, we show the proportions of these pluripotent states vary considerably across lines. We discovered 13 gene network modules (GNMs) and 13 regulatory network modules (RNMs), which were highly correlated with each other suggesting that the coordinated co-accessibility of regulatory elements in the RNMs likely underlied the coordinated expression of genes in the GNMs. Epigenetic analyses revealed that regulatory networks underlying self-renewal and pluripotency have a surprising level of complexity. Genetic analyses identified thousands of regulatory variants that overlapped predicted transcription factor binding sites and were associated with chromatin accessibility in the hiPSCs. We show that the master regulator of pluripotency, the NANOG-OCT4 Complex, and its associated network were significantly enriched for regulatory variants with large effects, suggesting that they may play a role in the varying cellular proportions of pluripotency states between hiPSCs. Our work captures the coordinated activity of tens of thousands of regulatory elements in hiPSCs and bins these elements into discrete functionally characterized regulatory networks, shows that regulatory elements in pluripotency networks harbor variants with large effects, and provides a rich resource for future pluripotent stem cell research.