bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prescription of pressure injury preventative interventions following risk assessment: An exploratory, descriptive study
Authors: Lovegrove Josephine , Fulbrook Paul , Miles Sandra
Published: November 2018

This exploratory, descriptive study aimed to identify and describe the pressure injury preventative interventions prescribed by nurses following the assessment of a patient's pressure injury risk and to compare the prescribed interventions relative to the assessed risk level. A total of 200 inpatients in a tertiary Australian hospital were included. Patients' charts were audited within 24 hours of admission. Data collected included patient characteristics, pressure injury risk assessment score and level, and preventative interventions prescribed. Most patients were assessed as not being at risk, with the largest group of at‐risk patients assessed as being at high risk. Some not‐at‐risk patients were prescribed interventions intended for those at risk, while prescription rates of preventative interventions recommended for those at any level of risk were variable (6%–64%). Significant associations were found between assessed pressure injury risk and preventative intervention prescription. Preventative intervention prescription was inadequate, potentially exposing some patients to pressure injury. However, the association between intervention prescription and risk level suggests that nurses are prescribing interventions relative to risk. A more structured approach to intervention prescription according to risk level, such as a care bundle, may help to improve nurses' preventative intervention prescription and ensure that all at‐risk patients receive appropriate preventative interventions.
Exploring professional decision making in relation to safeguarding: A grounded theory study of social workers and community nurses in community learning (intellectual) disability teams in wales
Authors: Hodges Zoe , Northway Ruth
Published: November 2018

Background

People with intellectual disabilities are at increased risk of abuse which may not always be responded to appropriately. This study therefore sought to explore how nurses and social workers make decisions when safeguarding adults with intellectual disabilities.

Method

A situational analysis grounded theory study. Semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with social workers (n = 16) and community nurses (n = 9) working in Community Learning (Intellectual) Disability Teams in Wales. Data were transcribed and analysed thematically and cartographically in keeping with situational analysis.

Results

Four key themes emerged: The official line; Expectation and perception; Non‐vulnerable adult process options; Confidence and competence. Sites of silence were also identified: not making a decision, not asking further questions, preserving family relationships and the individual with intellectual disabilities.

Conclusion

Decision making in relation to safeguarding adults with intellectual disabilities is a complex process, influenced by many factors and in which discretion is exercised by professionals.
Bilateral sympathetic stellate ganglionectomy attenuates myocardial remodelling and fibrosis in a rat model of chronic volume overload
Authors: Zhang Mingjing , Zhu Pengfei , Wang Yuting , Wu Jie , Yu Yijun , Wu Xinying , Liu Xiaoyan , Gu Ye
Published: November 2018

Reducing sympathetic neurohormone expression is a key therapeutic option in attenuating cardiac remodelling. Present study tested the feasibility of attenuating cardiac remodelling through reducing sympathetic neurohormone level by partial cardiac sympathetic denervation in a rat model of chronic volume overload. Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were randomized into sham group (S, n = 7), aortocaval fistula group (AV, n = 7), and aortocaval fistula with bilateral sympathetic stellate ganglionectomy group (AD, n = 8). After 12 weeks, myocardial protein expression of sympathetic neurohormones, including tyrosine hydroxylase, neuropeptide Y, growth associated protein 43, and protein gene product 9.5, were significantly up‐regulated in AV group compared to S group, and down‐regulated in AD group. Cardiac remodelling was aggravated in AV group compared to S group and attenuated in AD group. The myocardial deposition of extracellular matrix, including collagen I and III, was enhanced in AV group, which was reduced in AD group. Myocardial angiotensin II and aldosterone expressions were significantly up‐regulated in AV group and down‐regulated in AD group. Our results show that bilateral sympathetic stellate ganglionectomy could attenuate cardiac remodelling and fibrosis by down‐regulating sympathetic neurohormones expression in this rat model of chronic volume overload.
Development of a proforma to improve quality of handover of surgical patients at the weekend
Authors: Mughal Zahir , Al‐Jazieh Iyad , Zaidi Hammad
Published: November 2018

Rationale, aims, and objectives

The introduction of shift pattern of working in the medical profession has led to an increase in reliance on effective handover of patient information. We evaluated the use of a weekend handover proforma in General Surgical patients at a University Teaching Hospital.

Methods

A standardized weekend handover proforma was implemented. A pre‐post survey of medical staff and prospective observational study on the use of the proforma was carried out. The impact of three strategies to reinforce change in clinical practice was investigated at random time‐points. These were (1) presentation at a clinical governance meeting; (2) email; and (3) induction training on handover combined with one‐to‐one interactive training. The two outcome measures were compliance with the proforma, and “handover score,” which was the amount of data transferred per patient.

Results

The survey highlighted inadequate provision for handover at the weekend. National guidelines were used to design the weekend handover proforma. There was 70% compliance with the new standardized proforma with a median handover score of 83% (IQR = 0‐100). The results were presented at a clinical governance meeting, and the proforma was refined. After this change, the proforma was used in 71% of patients, and the median score was 65% (IQR = 0‐80, P = 0.0516). Compliance after an email reminder was 69%, and median handover score was 80% (IQR = 0‐90, P = 0.1037). After induction training, there was a significant improvement in proforma compliance (94%) and median score (90%, IQR = 80‐90, P = 0.013).

Conclusion

Effective transfer of handover information can be achieved over the weekend with the use of a standardized proforma. Use of the proforma was greatest after providing junior doctors with didactic training on handover combined with interactive guidance on completing the proforma.
Blending technique‐determined distinct structured sodium alginate‐based films for cinnamon essential oils controlled release
Authors: Chen Xi , Lu Li‐xin , Qiu Xiaolin , Tang Yali
Published: November 2018

Sodium alginate (SA) bio‐based films with gelatin (G0) and Tween 80 (T) as emulsifiers for controlled release of cinnamon essential oils (CEOs) were fabricated via mechanical stirring emulsifying–blending technique (MB) and homogenized emulsifying‐blending technique (HB). Morphology results depicted distinct microstructures of MB‐prepared film (MBF) with symmetric porous oil‐rich cross‐sections, whereas HB‐prepared film (HBF) with asymmetric cross‐section consisted of compact polymer‐rich phase on top side (A) and porous oil‐rich phase on bottom side (B). The mechanical properties of HBF were significantly superior compared with MBF (p < .05). The diffusion coefficient (D) representing the release rate of CEO presented no significant difference between CEO releasing through A and B of MBF, whereas D of CEO releasing through A of HBF was significantly smaller than through B of HBF and A of MBF (p < .05). Moreover, D of CEO releasing through A of HBF decreased significantly with the increase in SA content (p < .05).

Practical applications

The blending technique‐controlled distinct structured films could be potentially applied as controlled release food packaging protecting the food inside. Sodium alginate content could also be potentially applied as control factor for controlled release food packaging protecting the food inside.
International survey on growth indices and impacting factors in children with food allergies
Authors: Meyer R. , Wright K. , Vieira M. C. , Chong K. W. , Chatchatee P. , Vlieg‐Boerstra B. J. , Groetch M. , Dominguez‐Ortega G. , Heath S. , Lang A. , Archibald‐Durham L. , Rao R. , De Boer R. , Assa'ad A. , Trewella E. , Venter C.
Published: November 2018

Background

Elimination diets required for the management of food allergies increase the risk for poor growth in children. Currently, no worldwide data exist on this topic and limited published data exist on the impact of atopic comorbidity, type of allergy and foods eliminated on growth. We therefore set out to perform a worldwide survey on growth and impacting factors in food allergic children.

Methods

A prospective growth survey was performed of children (aged 0–16 years) on an elimination diet with confirmed immunoglobulin (Ig)E and non‐IgE mediated food allergies. Data collected included: weight‐for‐age, weight‐for‐height, height‐for‐age, head circumference, body mass index, type of food allergy and eliminated foods, allergic comorbidities and replacement milk/breast milk. Multivariable regression analysis was used to establish factors that affected growth.

Results

Data from 430 patients from twelve allergy centres were analysed: median age at diagnosis and data collection was 8 months and 23 months, respectively. Pooled data indicated that 6% were underweight, 9% were stunted, 5% were undernourished and 8% were overweight. Cow's milk elimination lead to a lower weight‐for‐height Z‐scores than other food eliminations and mixed IgE and non‐IgE mediated allergy had lower height‐for‐age Z‐scores than IgE mediated allergy. Children with only non‐IgE mediated allergies had lower weight‐for‐height and body mass index. Atopic comorbidities did not impact on growth.

Conclusions

Stunting is more common in children with food allergies than low weight. Children particularly at risk of poor growth are those with non‐IgE and mixed IgE and non‐IgE mediated allergies, as well as those with cow's milk allergy.
Search, Financial Market Frictions, and Monetary Transmission
Authors: LI VICTOR E.
Published: November 2018

This paper evaluates the implications of search and matching frictions in the financial market for the bank lending channel of monetary policy. Borrowers and lenders participate in a decentralized loan market for the purpose of establishing long‐term credit relationships and the provision of loanable funds to productive firms. Locating credit relationships is costly in terms of time and real resources and the interest rate is negotiated via a bargaining mechanism. This structure is incorporated into an otherwise standard monetary business cycle framework and used to study how such frictions in the credit market contribute to explaining the contemporaneous impact and propagation of monetary growth shocks and inflation. While anticipated inflation negatively impacts real activity, it can also increase loan market participation and the inflow of newly established credit relationships. It is shown that (i) bargaining and costly search mitigates the traditional inflation tax effect of monetary injections and (ii) the existence of long‐term lending relations tends to dampen liquidity effects. Monetary shocks in this environment lead to larger liquidity effects relative to the frictionless case and are capable of generating persistence in the nominal interest rate, labor, consumption, and output. It can also explain the excess volatility of credit creation relative to output and the observation that overall credit creation can lead output over the business cycle.
A Prospective Study on the Effects of Medicaid Regulation and Other Barriers to Obtaining Postpartum Sterilization
Authors: Hahn Taylor A. , McKenzie Fatima , Hoffman Shelley M. , Daggy Joanne , Tucker Edmonds Brownsyne
Published: November 2018

Introduction

This study aimed to assess unfulfilled sterilization requests, specifically regarding issues with the Medicaid consent for sterilization, and determine the proportion of women who subsequently received interval sterilization by 3 months postpartum.

Methods

The authors conducted a prospective observational cohort study of women who gave birth over an 8‐month period and requested immediate postpartum sterilization. Records of women with unfulfilled requests were reviewed up to 3 months postpartum to determine rates of postpartum follow‐up and interval sterilization. Primary analysis examined unfulfilled sterilization requests associated with the Medicaid consent form and, secondarily, all other reasons for unfulfilled requests, as well as alternative contraceptive methods chosen.

Results

Of the 334 women who requested immediate postpartum sterilization, 173 (52%) received the requested sterilization and 161 (48%) did not. Among those whose request was unfulfilled, 91 (56.5%) still wanted the procedure, and of those women, more than two‐thirds were unable to receive it because of Medicaid consent issues. Within this group, only 6 received interval sterilization by 3 months postpartum; more than one‐third received a form of long‐acting reversible contraception, and 24.6% did not receive postpartum care.

Discussion

A sizable proportion of women requesting postpartum sterilization have unfulfilled requests because of an issue with the Medicaid consent and also have a low likelihood of receiving interval sterilization by 3 months postpartum. The Medicaid consent may create barriers for women requesting postpartum sterilization, the vast majority of whom face subsequent barriers obtaining interval sterilization, thereby increasing the risk for unintended pregnancy in an at‐risk population. This has important implications for reproductive justice efforts to protect vulnerable populations while minimizing barriers to desired care.
An Exploratory Study of the Relationship between Facility Design and the Provision of Childbirth Care
Authors: Plough Avery , Polzin‐Rosenberg Deb , Galvin Grace , Shao Amie , Sullivan Brendan , Henrich Natalie , Shah Neel T.
Published: November 2018

Introduction

Across health care, facility design has been shown to significantly affect quality of care; however, in maternity care, the mechanisms of how facility design affects provision of care are understudied. We aim to identify and illustrate key mechanisms that may explain how facility design helps or hinders clinicians in providing childbirth care.

Methods

We reviewed the literature to select design elements for inclusion. Using a modified Delphi consensus process, we engaged an interdisciplinary advisory board to prioritize these elements with regard to potential effect on care provision. The advisory board proposed mechanisms that may explain how the prioritized facility design elements help or hinder care, which the study team organized into themes. We then explored these themes using semistructured interviews with managers at 12 diverse birth centers and hospital‐based labor and delivery units from across the United States.

Results

The design of childbirth facilities may help or hinder the provision of care through at least 3 distinct mechanisms: 1) flexibility and adaptability of spaces to changes in volume or acuity; 2) physical and cognitive anchoring that can create default workflows or mental models of care; and 3) facilitation of sharing knowledge and workload across clinicians.

Discussion

Facility designs may intentionally or unintentionally influence the workflows, expectations, and cultures of childbirth care.
X11 and X11‐like proteins regulate the level of extrasynaptic glutamate receptors
Authors: Motodate Rika , Saito Haruka , Sobu Yuriko , Hata Saori , Saito Yuhki , Nakaya Tadashi , Suzuki Toshiharu
Published: November 2018

X11/Mint 1 and X11‐like (X11L)/Mint 2 are neuronal adaptor protein to regulate trafficking and/or localization of various membrane proteins. By analyzing the localization of neuronal membrane proteins in X11‐, X11L‐, and X11/X11L doubly deficient mice with membrane fractionation procedures, we found that deficient of X11 and X11L decreased the level of glutamate receptors in non‐PSD fraction. This finding suggests that X11 and X11L regulate the glutamate receptor micro‐localization to the extrasynaptic region. In vitro coimmunoprecipitation studies of NMDA receptors lacking various cytoplasmic regions with X11 and X11L proteins harboring domain deletion suggest that extrasynaptic localization of NMDA receptor may be as a result of the multiple interactions of the receptor subunits with X11 and X11L regulated by protein phosphorylation, while that of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionic acid receptor subunits is not dependent on the binding with X11 and X11L proteins. Because the loss of X11 and X11L tends to impair the exocytosis, but not endocytosis, of glutamate receptors, NMDA receptors are likely to be supplied to the extrasynaptic plasma membrane with a way distinct from the mechanism regulating the localization of NMDA receptors into synaptic membrane region. Reduced localization of NMDA receptor into the extrasynaptic region increased slightly the phosphorylation level of cAMP responsible element binding protein in brain of X11/X11L doubly deficient mice compare to wild‐type mice, suggesting a possible role of X11 and X11L in the regulation of signal transduction pathway through extrasynaptic glutamate receptors.

Open science badges

This article has received a badge for *Open Materials* because it provided all relevant information to reproduce the study in the manuscript. The complete Open Science Disclosure form for this article can be found at the end of the article. More information about the Open Practices badges can be found at https://cos.io/our-services/open-science-badges/.

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Nursing Diagnoses as Predictors of Hospital Length of Stay: A Prospective Observational Study
Authors: D'Agostino Fabio , Vellone Ercole , Cocchieri Antonello , Welton John , Maurici Massimo , Polistena Barbara , Spandonaro, Federico , Zega Maurizio , Alvaro Rosaria , Sanson Gianfranco
Published: November 2018

Purpose

To investigate whether the number of nursing diagnoses on hospital admission is an independent predictor of the hospital length of stay.

Design

A prospective observational study was carried out. A sample of 2,190 patients consecutively admitted (from July to December 2014) in four inpatient units (two medical, two surgical) of a 1,547‐bed university hospital were enrolled for the study.

Methods

Data were collected from a clinical nursing information system and the hospital discharge register. Two regression analyses were performed to investigate if the number of nursing diagnoses on hospital admission was an independent predictor of length of stay and length of stay deviation after controlling for patients’ sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender), clinical variables (disease groupers, disease severity morbidity indexes), and organizational hospital variables (admitting inpatient unit, modality of admission).

Findings

The number of nursing diagnoses was shown to be an independent predictor of both the length of stay (β = .15; p < .001) and the length of stay deviation (β = .19; p < .001).

Conclusions

The number of nursing diagnoses is a strong independent predictor of an effective hospital length of stay and of a length of stay longer than expected.

Clinical Relevance

The systematic inclusion of standard nursing care data in electronic health records can improve the predictive ability on hospital outcomes and describe the patient complexity more comprehensively, improving hospital management efficiency.
The moment arms of the muscles spanning the glenohumeral joint: a systematic review
Authors: Hik Freya , Ackland David C.
Published: November 2018

The moment arm of a muscle represents its leverage or torque‐producing capacity, and is indicative of the role of the muscle in joint actuation. The objective of this study was to undertake a systematic review of the moment arms of the major muscles spanning the glenohumeral joint during abduction, flexion and axial rotation. Moment arm data for the deltoid, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, teres major, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor were reported when measured using the geometric and tendon excursion methods. The anterior and middle sub‐regions of the deltoid had the largest humeral elevator moment arm values of all muscles during coronal‐ and scapular‐plane abduction, as well as during flexion. The pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi and teres major had the largest depressor moment arms, with each of these muscles exhibiting prominent leverage in shoulder adduction, and the latissimus dorsi and teres major also in extension. The rotator cuff muscles had the largest axial rotation moment arms regardless of the axial position of the humerus. The supraspinatus had the most prominent elevator moment arms during early abduction in both the coronal and scapular planes as well as in flexion. This systematic review shows that the rotator cuff muscles function as humeral rotators and weak humeral depressors or elevators, while the three sub‐regions of the deltoid behave as substantial humeral elevators throughout the range of humeral motion. The pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi and teres major are significant shoulder depressors, particularly during abduction. This study provides muscle moment arm data on functionally relevant shoulder movements that are involved in tasks of daily living, including lifting and pushing. The results may be useful in quantifying shoulder muscle function during specific planes of movement, in designing and validating computational models of the shoulder, and in planning surgical procedures such as tendon transfer surgery.
Narco‐frontiers: A spatial framework for drug‐fuelled accumulation
Authors: Ballvé Teo
Published: November 2018

Based on historical and ethnographic research conducted in a region of northwest Colombia and drawing on the stories of novelist Gabriel García Márquez, this article develops the analytical concept of “narco‐frontiers” to help disentangle the confusing political economy of agrarian spaces affected by the violence of the drug war. As socially produced spaces, narco‐frontiers emerge through the convergence of four interlocking processes: uneven development, internal colonialism, political violence, and narco‐fuelled dispossession. Although often depicted as “ungovernable” or “stateless” spaces, narco‐frontiers are wracked by extra‐legal regimes of rule in which the state is simply one actor among others. With the drug trade inducing violent agrarian change all over the world—from Colombia to Afghanistan, Burma to Central America—this article offers a spatial‐historical framework for understanding these dramatic transformations.
Remake Rates for Single‐Unit Crowns in Clinical Practice: Findings from The National Dental Practice‐Based Research Network
Authors: McCracken Michael S. , Litaker Mark S. , Gordan Valeria V. , Karr Thomas , Sowell Ellen , Gilbert Gregg H. ,   National Dental PBRN Collaborative Group
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Some crowns returned from the laboratory are clinically unacceptable, and dentists must remake them. The objectives of this study were to: (1) quantify the remake rate of single‐unit crowns; and (2) identify factors significantly associated with crown remakes and intraoral fit.

Materials and Methods

Dentists participating in the National Dental Practice‐Based Research Network recruited patients needing crowns and documented fabrication techniques, patient characteristics, and outcomes. Crowns were considered clinically acceptable or rejected. Also, various aspects of the clinical fit of the crown were graded and categorized as ‘Goodness of Fit (GOF).’ Dentist and patient characteristics were tested statistically for associations with crown acceptability and GOF.

Results

More than 200 dentists participated in this study (N = 205) and evaluated 3750 single‐unit crowns. The mean age (years) of patients receiving a crown was 55. The remake rate for crowns was 3.8%. The range of rejection rates among individual practitioners was 0% to 42%. Most clinicians (118, or 58%) did not reject any crowns; all rejections came from 42% of the clinicians (n = 87). The most common reasons for rejections were proximal misfit, marginal errors, and esthetic failures. Fewer years in practice was significantly associated with lower crown success rates and lower fit scores. GOF was also associated with practice busyness and patient insurance status, patient gender (dentists reported better fit for female patients), and patient ethnicity.

Conclusions

The crown remake rate in this study was about 4%. Remakes and crown GOF were associated with certain dentist and practice characteristics.
Paediatric immunisation and chemoprophylaxis in a Ugandan sickle cell disease clinic
Authors: Chen Chung‐Jen , Bakeera‐Kitaka Sabrina , Mupere Ezekiel , Kasirye Philip , Munube Deogratias , Idro Richard , Hume Heather , Pfeffer Betsy , LaRussa Philip , Green Nancy S
Published: November 2018

Aim

We aimed to assess the receipt of recommended care for young children with sickle cell disease (SCD) in a central SCD clinic in Kampala Uganda, focusing on standard vaccination and antibacterial and antimalarial prophylaxis.

Methods

A cross‐sectional assessment of immunisation status and timeliness and prescribed antibacterial and antimalarial prophylaxis was performed in a sample with SCD aged ≤71 months in Mulago Hospital SCD Clinic. Government‐issued immunisation cards and clinic‐issued visit records for prescribed prophylaxis were reviewed.

Results

Vaccinations were documented by immunisation cards in 104 patients, mean age 31.7 months (range 3–70 months). Only 48 (46.2%) received all doses of each of the four recommended vaccine types, including pneumococcal 10‐valent conjugate vaccine (pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)‐10), which became available in 2014. Vaccination completion was associated with younger age and, for polio, maternal employment. PCV‐10 series was completed in 54.8% of the sample and in 18.2% of those aged 48–71 months. Of children completing all vaccination types, an average 68.8% were immunised on time, defined as <60 days beyond the recommended age. Only 17 (13.5%) children were both fully and timely vaccinated. In an overlapping sample of 147 children, with a mean age of 38.4 months (4–70 months), 81.6% had ≥1 documented prescription for penicillin and/or antimalarial prophylaxis.

Conclusions

Standardised vaccination and antibacterial and antimalarial protective measures for young children at this central SCD clinic were incomplete, especially PCV‐10 for age ≥24 months, and often late. Child age, but not general maternal demographics, were associated with vaccination and chemoprophylaxis. Clinic‐based oversight may improve timely uptake of these preventative measures.
Feeding cluster preferences in four genera of Lories and Lorikeets (Loriinae) that should be considered in the diet of nectarivorous psittacine species in captivity
Authors: Cabana Francis , Lee Jessica G.
Published: November 2018

Lories and lorikeets are popular birds in the pet bird trade, captured from the wild and exported worldwide. Their captive propagation has not been so successful for many species due to health issues, low breeding success and reduced longevity. As a result, uptake from the wild is currently the only way to meet the market’s demand. Field studies on Asian species of loris and lorikeets are limited; therefore, dietary recommendations are based on the well‐studied Australian species such as the rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus). We aimed to provide an ad libitum diet to diverse Loriinae species at Jurong Bird Park (Singapore) which allowed for them to select between a low and moderate protein diet to compare their nutrient and energy intake with other Loriinae species. We measured the following variables: daily dry matter (DM) intake, nectar‐to‐fruit energy intake ratio (NF ratio), metabolisable energy (ME), protein and non‐protein energy (NPE)‐to‐protein energy (PE) ratio intake (all by kg metabolic body weight MBW, kg0.75) for 36 pairs over a 1‐month period. A Kruskal–Wallis test revealed every genus had significantly different intakes of DM, NF ratio, NPE‐to‐PE ratio, ME and protein than each other. Post hoc Mann–Whitney U tests confirmed that the majority of variables were ingested in different amounts for each genus except for NF ratio, NPE/PE ratio which Lorius spp. are not different to Charmosyna sp. or Trichoglossus spp. and protein intake of Eos spp. does not differ from Trichoglossus spp. Our conclusion is that no species should be used as a model for a species from another genus of Loriinae; future studies should be species‐specific for each genus to increase captive propagation success.
Wheat particle size, insoluble fibre sources and whole wheat feeding influence gizzard musculature and nutrient utilisation to different extents in broiler chickens
Authors: Abdollahi Mohammad Reza , Zaefarian Faegheh , Hunt Hayley , Anwar Muhammad Naveed , Thomas David G. , Ravindran Velmurugu
Published: November 2018

A 21‐day experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of wheat particle size, insoluble fibre source and whole wheat (WW) inclusion on the gizzard musculature, intestinal architecture and nutrient utilisation of broiler chickens. The following seven treatments, all in mash form, were tested: control diet using finely ground wheat (Fine); control diet using medium‐ground wheat (Medium); control diet using coarsely ground wheat (Coarse); fine diet diluted with 10 g/kg lignocellulose (LC); fine diet diluted with 30 g/kg oat hulls (OH); fine diet diluted with 30 g/kg wood shavings (WS); and ground wheat in the fine diet replaced with 50 and 100 g/kg WW during the second (day 8–14) and third (day 15–21) weeks of the study respectively. Except for the LC diet, all treatments increased (p < 0.05) the thickness of the caudodorsal thick muscle of gizzard compared to the fine diet. The highest (p < 0.05) caudoventral thin and cranioventral thick muscle diameters in the gizzard walls were achieved with the OH and WS diets. Feeding OH, WS and WW diets improved (p < 0.05) starch digestibility compared with the fine diet, while medium, coarse and LC diets had no effect (p > 0.05). All diets containing fibre sources (LC, OH and WS) reduced (p < 0.05) the energy digestibility compared to the fine diet. Birds fed OH and WS diets gained the lowest (p < 0.05) weights. Feeding LC, OH, WS and WW diets increased (p < 0.05) the feed per gain compared with the fine diet. The current results suggest that there is a potential for coarse particles, insoluble fibre sources and WW feeding to improve the gizzard musculature and digestibility of some nutrients, with the effect being more pronounced with the inclusion of structural fibre sources.
Parthenogenetic female populations in the brown alga Scytosiphon lomentaria (Scytosiphonaceae, Ectocarpales): decay of a sexual trait and acquisition of asexual traits
Authors: Hoshino Masakazu , Okino Tatsufumi , Kogame Kazuhiro
Published: November 2018

In isogamous brown algae, the sexuality of populations needs to be tested by laboratory crossing experiments, as the sexes of gametophytes are morphologically indistinguishable. In some cases, gamete fusion is not observed and the precise reproductive mode of the populations is unknown. In the isogamous brown alga Scytosiphon lomentaria in Japan, both asexual (gamete fusion is unobservable) and sexual populations (gamete fusion is observable) have been reported. In order to elucidate the reproductive mode of asexual populations in this species, we used PCR‐based sex markers to investigate the sex ratio of three asexual and two sexual field populations. The markers indicated that the asexual populations consisted only of female individuals, whereas sexual populations are composed of both males and females. In culture, female gametes of most strains from asexual populations were able to fuse with male gametes; however, they had little to no detectable sexual pheromones, significantly larger cell sizes, and more rapid parthenogenetic development compared to female/male gametes from sexual populations. Investigations of sporophytic stages in the field indicated that alternation of gametophytic and parthenosporophytic stages occur in an asexual population. These results indicate that the S. lomentaria asexual populations are female populations that lack sexual reproduction and reproduce parthenogenetically. It is likely that females in the asexual populations have reduced a sexual trait (pheromone production) and have acquired asexual traits (larger gamete sizes and rapid parthenogenetic development).
Improved liver transplant waitlist mortality and lower risk of disease progression among chronic hepatitis C patients awaiting liver transplantation after the introduction of direct‐acting antiviral therapies in the United States
Authors: Young Kellie , Liu Benny , Bhuket Taft , Gish Robert G. , Wong Robert J.
Published: November 2018

Direct‐acting antiviral (DAA) therapies for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection achieve high cure rates, reducing HCV‐related disease progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. We aim to evaluate the impact of DAAs on US liver transplant (LT) waitlist outcomes. We retrospectively evaluated US adults (age ≥18) with and without chronic HCV listed for LT before and after the widespread use of sofosbuvir, allowing a 6‐month period after approval (Era 1: 1/1/2002‐5/31/2014 vs Era 2: 6/1/2014‐12/31/2016) using the United Network for Organ Sharing registry. Overall, LT waitlist survival and likelihood of receiving LT were evaluated with multivariate Cox regression models. From 2002 to 2016, 158 045 patients were listed for LT. While the number of patients listed for HCV has been decreasing since 2012, the proportion of HCV patients with concurrent HCC is increasing by 3.33% per year (R2: 0.99, P < 0.001 by simple linear regression). While there was no difference in likelihood of LT between HCV and non‐HCV patients, those listed in Era 2 had lower likelihood of LT (HR: 0.91, P < 0.001), more pronounced in the HCV cohort (HR: 0.83, P < 0.001) compared to the non‐HCV cohort (HR: 0.93, P < 0.001). Compared to non‐HCV patients, higher waitlist mortality was seen in HCV patients in Era 1 (HR: 1.08, P < 0.001) but not in Era 2 (HR: 1.02, P = 0.75). Since the introduction of DAAs for HCV treatment, number of patients with HCV listed for LT has declined. In the post‐DAA era, HCV patients on the LT waitlist had improved waitlist mortality.
Do Linguistic Structures Affect Human Capital? The Case of Pronoun Drop
Authors: Feldmann Horst
Published: November 2018

This paper empirically studies the human capital effects of grammatical rules that permit speakers to drop a personal pronoun when used as a subject of a sentence. By de‐emphasizing the significance of the individual, such languages may perpetuate ancient values and norms that give primacy to the collective, inducing governments and families to invest relatively little in education because education usually increases the individual's independence from both the state and the family and may thus reduce the individual's commitment to these institutions. Carrying out both an individual‐level and a country‐level analysis, the paper indeed finds negative effects of pronoun‐drop languages. The individual‐level analysis uses data on 114,894 individuals from 75 countries over 1999‐2014. It establishes that speakers of such languages have a lower probability of having completed secondary or tertiary education, compared with speakers of languages that do not allow pronoun drop. The country‐level analysis uses data from 101 countries over 1972‐2012. Consistent with the individual‐level analysis, it finds that countries where the dominant languages permit pronoun drop have lower secondary school enrollment rates. In both cases, the magnitude of the effect is substantial, particularly among females.
Length–weight and length–length relationships of some of the most abundant species in the fish catches of Lake Nokoué and Porto‐Novo Lagoon (Benin, West Africa)
Authors: Lederoun Djiman , Lalèyè Kolawolé R. , Boni Abdel R. , Amoussou Gildas , Vodougnon Hamil , Adjibogoun Hermann , Lalèyè Philippe A.
Published: November 2018

The length–weight relationships (LWRs) and length–length relationships (LLRs) are presented for 18 commercial actinopterygian fish species found in Lake Nokoué and the Porto‐Novo Lagoon. The fish were collected monthly from fishermen from June 2015 to May 2016. The sample size, length range, weight range, LWRs, LLRs, 95% confidence intervals of b, coefficient of correlation r2 and growth type are given for each species. Values of b were between 2.495 (Elops lacerta) and 3.235 (Polydactylus quadrifilis), and r2 values between 0.884 (Elops lacerta) and 0.999 (Acanthurus moroviae). The present study introduces what will serve as the first references regarding LWRs and LLRs for two species (Eleotris vittata and Lutjanus goreensis) in Lake Nokoué and the Porto‐Novo Lagoon. These results will be very useful for future investigations pertaining to population assessment and sustainable conservation practices for the fish stocks in both study areas.
A fast‐evolving X‐linked duplicate of importin‐α2 is overexpressed in sex‐ratio drive in Drosophila neotestacea
Authors: Pieper Kathleen E. , Unckless Robert L. , Dyer Kelly A.
Published: November 2018

Selfish genetic elements that manipulate gametogenesis to achieve a transmission advantage are known as meiotic drivers. Sex‐ratio X chromosomes (SR) are meiotic drivers that prevent the maturation of Y‐bearing sperm in male carriers to result in the production of mainly female progeny. The spread of an SR chromosome can affect host genetic diversity and genome evolution, and can even cause host extinction if it reaches sufficiently high prevalence. Meiotic drivers have evolved independently many times, though only in a few cases is the underlying genetic mechanism known. In this study we use a combination of transcriptomics and population genetics to identify widespread expression differences between the standard (ST) and sex‐ratio (SR) X chromosomes of the fly Drosophila neotestacea. We found the X chromosome is enriched for differentially expressed transcripts and that many of these X‐linked differentially expressed transcripts had elevated Ka/Ks values between ST and SR, indicative of potential functional differences. We identified a set of candidate transcripts, including a testis‐specific, X‐linked duplicate of the nuclear transport gene importin‐α2 that is overexpressed in SR. We find suggestions of positive selection in the lineage leading to the duplicate and that its molecular evolutionary patterns are consistent with relaxed purifying selection in ST. As these patterns are consistent with involvement in the mechanism of drive in this species, this duplicate is a strong candidate worthy of further functional investigation. Nuclear transport may be a common target for genetic conflict, as the mechanism of the autosomal Segregation Distorter drive system in D. melanogaster involves the same pathway.
Quantifying long‐term recurrence in planktonic microbial eukaryotes
Authors: Giner Caterina R. , Balagué Vanessa , Krabberød Anders K. , Ferrera Isabel , Reñé Albert , Garcés Esther , Gasol Josep M. , Logares Ramiro , Massana Ramon
Published: November 2018

How much temporal recurrence is present in microbial assemblages is still an unanswered ecological question. Even though marked seasonal changes have been reported for whole microbial communities, less is known on the dynamics and seasonality of individual taxa. Here, we aim at understanding microbial recurrence at three different levels: community, taxonomic group and operational taxonomic units (OTUs). For that, we focused on a model microbial eukaryotic community populating a long‐term marine microbial observatory using 18S rRNA gene data from two organismal size fractions: the picoplankton (0.2–3 µm) and the nanoplankton (3–20 µm). We have developed an index to quantify recurrence in particular taxa. We found that community structure oscillated systematically between two main configurations corresponding to winter and summer over the 10 years studied. A few taxonomic groups such as Mamiellophyceae or MALV‐III presented clear recurrence (i.e., seasonality), whereas 13%–19% of the OTUs in both size fractions, accounting for ~40% of the relative abundance, featured recurrent dynamics. Altogether, our work links long‐term whole community dynamics with that of individual OTUs and taxonomic groups, indicating that recurrent and non‐recurrent changes characterize the dynamics of microbial assemblages.
First‐time isolation and quantification of Basidiobolus spp. from reptile faeces in KwaZulu‐Natal (South Africa) using selective media
Authors: Claussen Maike , Schmidt Stefan
Published: November 2018

Members of the genus Basidiobolus are potentially pathogenic fungi, known to cause mycoses in tropical and subtropical countries. Basidiobolus spp. can be associated with animals, and reptiles and amphibians are candidate vectors for the distribution of this fungus. The presence of Basidiobolus spp. was described for different reptiles in several African countries, although not for South Africa. In addition, quantitative data are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse faeces of selected South African reptiles for the presence and quantity of “viable Basidiobolus units.” Faecal samples of gecko and agama lizards were collected and analysed using spread plating, with confirmation by PCR. The addition of dichloran and benomyl to standard fungal media improved the selectivity and allowed quantification of Basidiobolus spp. in reptile faeces. The amount of Basidiobolus spp. varied between 300 and 1.4 × 106 CFU per gram of pooled gecko faeces, which mostly corresponds to >1000 CFU per outside dropping and <100 CFU per inside dropping. About 60% of analysed agama faeces carried Basidiobolus spp., ranging from 150 to 1.2 × 105 CFU per dropping. Our results show for the first time that faeces of South African reptiles frequently carry Basidiobolus spp., confirming that they can contribute to the distribution of this fungus.
Hydroxychloroquine‐induced autophagic vacuolar myopathy with mitochondrial abnormalities
Authors: Khosa Shaweta , Khanlou Negar , Khosa Gurveer S. , Mishra Shri K.
Published: November 2018

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine are used worldwide for malaria as well as connective and rheumatological disorders. They have been reported to be linked to myopathy in patients. We report four patients who were receiving HCQ as part of treatment for connective tissue disorder and who presented with myopathy. The muscle biopsy in these patients was consistent with findings of HCQ toxicity. HCQ muscle toxicity is usually self‐limiting after discontinuation of the drug. It also usually tends to be under‐reported due to presence of various confounding factors. This warrants close monitoring and consideration of muscle biopsy as part of initial work up of patients who present with myopathy while receiving HCQ.
Invisibility of the self: Reaching for the telos of nursing within a context of moral distress
Authors: Caram Carolina S , Peter Elizabeth , Brito Maria JM
Published: November 2018

Many studies have examined clinical and institutional moral problems in the practice of nurses that have led to the experience of moral distress. The causes and implications of moral distress in nurses, however, have not been understood in terms of their implications from the perspective of virtue ethics. This paper analyzes how nurses reach for the telos of their practice, within a context of moral distress. A qualitative case study was carried out in a private hospital in Brazil. Observation and semi‐semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 nurse participants. With the aid of ATLAS.ti software, the data were analyzed by using thematic content analysis using virtue ethics to theorize the findings. These nurses experienced a loss of their nursing identity as they encountered an ambiguous telos and the domination of institutional values. In their reach for the telos of their practice, nurses found an environment permeated by ethical challenges, which not only created moral distress but also created professional invisibility, a phenomenon referred to as ‘invisibility of the self’.
Nuclear protein phylogenies support the monophyly of the three bryophyte groups (Bryophyta Schimp.)
Authors: de Sousa Filipe , Foster Peter G. , Donoghue Philip C. J. , Schneider Harald , Cox Cymon J.
Published: November 2018

Unraveling the phylogenetic relationships between the four major lineages of terrestrial plants (mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and vascular plants) is essential for an understanding of the evolution of traits specific to land plants, such as their complex life cycles, and the evolutionary development of stomata and vascular tissue.

Well supported phylogenetic hypotheses resulting from different data and methods are often incongruent due to processes of nucleotide evolution that are difficult to model, for example substitutional saturation and composition heterogeneity. We reanalysed a large published dataset of nuclear data and modelled these processes using degenerate‐codon recoding and tree‐heterogeneous composition substitution models.

Our analyses resolved bryophytes as a monophyletic group and showed that the nonmonophyly of the clade that is supported by the analysis of nuclear nucleotide data is due solely to fast‐evolving synonymous substitutions.

The current congruence among phylogenies of both nuclear and chloroplast analyses lent considerable support to the conclusion that the bryophytes are a monophyletic group. An initial split between bryophytes and vascular plants implies that the bryophyte life cycle (with a dominant gametophyte nurturing an unbranched sporophyte) may not be ancestral to all land plants and that stomata are likely to be a symplesiomorphy among embryophytes.
Fight, love, and flee
Authors: Abdelmotagally Noha F.
Published: November 2018

Horane Smith, the Jamaican‐born award‐winning Canadian writer, reworks the Jamaican legend of Lovers’ Leap in his novelLover's Leap(1999), to renegotiate the past and uncover what is hushed up in history and literature. He brings to light the white mistress's relationship with the enslaved black man, a topic largely unexplored by writers and scholars. The enslaved black woman/free white mistress dichotomy places Jerome, the Jamaican black slave, in a constant state of dissonance. The subjectivity of the enslaved African is underexplored in the critical literature on Caribbean slavery, and besides, psychoanalysis in Caribbean literature is an underused critical approach; I am thus enticed to braid Leon Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance theory (1957) with Frantz Fanon's “psychoanalytical interpretation of the black problem” inBlack Skin White Masks(1952) to delve deep into Jerome's inner self and examine how he responds to attitude and behavior inconsistencies produced within various contexts of hegemonic power.