bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Agritourism Experiences on Consumer Behavior toward Local Food
Authors: Brune Sara , Knollenberg Whitney , Stevenson Kathryn T. , Barbieri Carla , Schroeder-Moreno Michelle
Published: July 2020

Agritourism—visiting a working farm for education or recreation—may serve as a tool to increase local food consumption as it often includes opportunities to purchase local food on-site. Yet, the influence of agritourism on consumers’ local food purchasing behavior remains underexplored. Thus, this study measures the impact of agritourism experiences on consumers’ intentions to purchase local food. To do so, visitors were surveyed at six agritourism farms with similar agritourism activities (e.g., U-pick, educational displays, and on-site market) located across North Carolina (USA) before (pre) and after (post) their visits ( n = 328). Data, collected during the 2018–2019 peak agritourism season, were analyzed using repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance. Findings indicate that agritourism experiences effectively increase consumers’ intentions to purchase local food. These findings advance the scholarship of agritourism. They also provide useful information to design effective marketing campaigns to promote the purchase and consumption of local food and strengthen local agricultural systems.
Consent and Privacy in the Era of Precision Medicine and Biobanking Genomic Data
Authors: Conboy Colleen
Published: July 2020

“Big Data represents a challenge that points to the need for collective and political approaches to self-protection rather than solely individual, atomistic approaches.”

– Anita Allen, “Protecting One's Own Privacy in a Big Data Economy”
Shedding Light on Telemedicine & Online Prescribing: The Need to Balance Access to Health Care and Quality of Care
Authors: Hoffman Laura C.
Published: July 2020

The issue of online prescribing through the use of telemedicine raises ethical concerns. In particular, several studies suggest a correlation between telemedicine and overprescribing. Meanwhile, new developments in the law also have the potential to significantly impact online prescribing using telemedicine. In the absence of concrete federal guidance and a continued delay in issuing required federal regulations, states have developed their own laws, which vary considerably, regarding the ability of physicians to engage in online prescribing through telemedicine. As legal developments open doors for physicians to prescribe through telemedicine, current evidence of overprescribing, although limited, suggests the need to carefully balance access to health care and quality of care in this context, especially when crafting innovative legislative responses.

This article attempts to explore this dynamic issue by closely evaluating the research on overprescribing involving telemedicine and the ethical issues surrounding online prescribing. It will continue by analyzing the current legal landscape for online prescribing for telemedicine at both the federal and state levels. Next, this article will examine ethics opinions offered by medical groups that touch this issue. Finally, this article will suggest several recommendations for law and policy moving forward by shedding light on the ethical issues surrounding telemedicine and online prescribing and how to strike a balance between access and quality of care.
Integration of affine ICP into the precise localization problem of smart-AGVs: Procedures, enhancements and challenges
Authors: Yilmaz Abdurrahman , Temeltas Hakan
Published: July 2020

The localization problem in robotics has been widely studied both for indoor and outdoor applications, but is still open for improvements. In indoor environments, GPS-based methods are not preferred due to reflections, and the pose of the robot is determined according to the measurements taken around with its sensors. One of them is iterative closest point (ICP)-based localization method. ICP is a point set registration method, the essence of which is to iteratively compute the transformation between two point sets. However, it is also utilized to solve the localization problem thanks to its high precision in registration. Precise localization is important for applications that require highly accurate pose estimation, such as for smart-AGVs to be used in smart factories to reach a station at industrial standards. Traditional ICP finds transformation in terms of a rotation and translation, and thus can be directly applied to the localization problem. On the other hand, the affine variant of ICP is not adapted to solve the localization problem. In this study, the necessary arrangements to make affine ICP suitable for precise localization are given as a procedure such that the transformation between point sets is found by affine ICP, the resulting transformation is projected to rotation plane by polar decomposition and then the pose is estimated. The enhancements achieved with the usage of affine ICP in precise localization problems are demonstrated in simulation by comparing localization performance of affine ICP with that of traditional ICP. For this purpose, in a factory environment, a scenario where a smart-AGV approaching the target autonomously to carry out an operation has been prepared. The performances of the algorithms have been evaluated for five different docking stations with 30 separate experiments. Moreover, the challenges related to the affine ICP-based fine localization, in particular about finding projection of affine transformation to rotation plane, are highlighted in this study.
Outcomes following grade V subarachnoid haemorrhage: A single-centre retrospective study
Authors: Ojha Minny , Finnis Mark E , Heckelmann Michael , Raith Eamon P , Moodie Stewart , Chapman Marianne J , Reddi Benjamin , Maiden Matthew J
Published: July 2020

Summary

Grade V subarachnoid haemorrhage is associated with high mortality and morbidity, yet there are few contemporary reports on the treatment provided and outcomes of these patients. In this single-centre retrospective cohort study, we primarily sought to determine the 12-month mortality of patients admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital intensive care unit between 2006 and 2016 with grade V subarachnoid haemorrhage. Secondary objectives were to describe treatments provided, patient destination following hospital discharge, organ donation and hospital financial costs. Over the 11-year study period, there were 139 patients admitted with grade V subarachnoid haemorrhage. The annual number of admissions did not change over time. The median age was 56 (interquartile range 48–70) years, 88 (63%) were female and 77 (55%) had a procedure to isolate an aneurysm. There were 77 (55%) patients who died in the intensive care unit, 87 (63%) died in hospital and 89 (64%) had died at 12 months. Of the 52 patients who survived to hospital discharge, 33 (63%) were transferred to a rehabilitation facility, 17 (33%) to another acute care hospital and two (4%) were discharged. Of the 87 patients who died in hospital, 45 (52%) donated organs. The total hospital cost of managing this cohort was A$8.3 million, with a median cost of A$41,824 (interquartile range A$9,933–A$97,332) per patient. Grade V subarachnoid haemorrhage has a high mortality rate, with one-third of patients alive after one year.
Determining Skid Resistance Needs on Horizontal Curves for Different Levels of Precipitation
Authors: Geedipally Srinivas R. , Das Subasish , Pratt Michael P. , Lord Dominique
Published: July 2020

Horizontal curves are a major cause of crashes that lead to fatal and serious injuries. Much research has been conducted on the safety implications of geometric and traffic characteristics of curves. Variables describing curve geometry and speed have been incorporated into safety prediction methodologies. However, relatively less research has been conducted on the effects of pavement friction and weather data on safety. The objective of this study is to develop a methodology for determining the pavement friction needs for different levels of precipitation. To accomplish the study objective, rural two-lane, four-lane undivided, and four-lane divided horizontal curve data from Texas were used. Safety prediction models were developed that included traffic and geometric characteristics, skid number, and annual precipitation rate. These models were then used to develop the guidelines for assessing the safety performance of a curve of interest by accounting for curve geometry, pavement skid resistance, and exposure to the wet-weather conditions that are most relevant for considerations of skid resistance. For conducting a planning-level analysis to identify candidate sites for pavement friction treatments, researchers developed thresholds based on the combined effect of skid number and annual precipitation variables. Researchers also provided skid number thresholds for high-priority sites for two example locations that experience significantly different levels of annual precipitation.
Utilizing an Analytical Hierarchy Process with Stochastic Return On Investment to Justify Connected Vehicle-Based Deployment Decisions
Authors: Arafat Mahmoud , Iqbal Shahadat , Hadi Mohammed
Published: July 2020

With the increasing interest in connected vehicles (CV), it becomes all the more important to support decisions by transportation agencies to invest in Connected Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) applications. This paper presents a method that can be used to justify the investment in CV-based safety applications considering the availability of existing solutions. The method utilizes a combination of stochastic return on investment (ROI) analysis and a multi-criteria decision-analysis (MCDA) procedure to account for uncertainties, to consider effects that cannot be converted to dollar values, and to account for stakeholder priorities. The stochastic ROI analysis is applied using Monte Carlo simulations and included as part of the selection criteria in the MCDA method using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). This paper applies the method to support the deployment of CV-based applications to address transportation safety concerns on urban arterials. These applications can be categorized as CV-based support of signalized intersection safety, CV-based support of unsignalized intersection safety, and CV-based hazard warning applications. The results of the Monte Carlo simulation analysis for a project case study indicated the cost-effectiveness of these applications. The results of the AHP analysis indicate that utilizing V2I applications is 41.3% more favorable than utilizing the investigated existing solutions to address safety concern on the arterial facility that is the subject of the case study.
Measuring Market Power in Professional Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Hockey
Authors: Healy Gerald T. , Tan Jing Ru , Orazem Peter F.
Published: July 2020

Using Forbes magazine’s estimates of the current value and revenues of professional sports teams, we derive a long-run variant of the Lerner Index. We apply the strategy to professional teams in baseball, basketball, football, and hockey over the 2006–2019 period. All teams have positive and significant price-cost margins over the entire period. Analysis of variance shows that local market factors and past team performance have less impact on a team’s market power than do common league-wide effects. The strongest market power is in leagues with more aggressive revenue sharing policies. Price-cost margins are higher for professional teams in North American than for the most valuable European soccer teams, consistent with the stronger exemption from antitrust law in the United States and the weaker revenue sharing policies in Europe.

JEL Classifications: L43, L13, L83
Bonded composite patch repair’s fiber VF effects on damaged Al-plates fatigue employing a multi-scale algorithm
Authors: Moallem M Davoodi , Barzegar M , Abedian A , Kordkheili SA Hosseini
Published: July 2020

Recently, bonded composite patch repair, because of its significant advantages over traditional methods, has been highly accepted in several industries, particularly in aerospace applications. In this paper, a multi-scale finite element algorithm is proposed to simulate crack growth of repaired plates under fatigue load by considering the effects of composite micro-scale properties. The algorithm is verified through conducting an experimental set up and the proposed model is in reasonable agreement with experiments. The influences of different fiber volume fractions (VF), number of layers and fiber orientation of composite patch on the fatigue responses of adhesively bonded patch are investigated. For this purpose, Python scripts are written to automatically increase the size of the crack in ABAQUS. In this study, glass–epoxy and boron–epoxy patches are selected with volume fraction 0.1 to 0.7, the numbers of layers of 4, 8 and 16 as well as 5 different fiber orientation lay-ups. The maximum enhancement of fatigue life experimented by the variation of volume fraction is 133% in the mentioned range. Also, increment in the number of cycles by about 287% and 172% were seen per different number of layers and fiber orientation, respectively.
Regional Planning and Institutional Norms in the United States: Civic Society, Regional Planning, and City-Region Building in the Chicago Metropolitan Region
Authors: Planey Donald
Published: July 2020

Willem Salet’s Public Norms and Aspirations poses the question of civic society’s role in twenty-first-century projects of regional planning and city-region building. This paper examines a regional policy coordination and planning tradition where civic society has been instrumental in reproducing and expanding regional planning capacity: the Chicago metropolitan region. Using archival methods and semi-structured interviews with regional policy coordination veterans, the author charts the critical role that civic society played in supporting regional planning capacity, where brokerage between public norms and institutionalized planning practice was critical to the survival of the Chicagoland planning tradition.
Classical complement activation on human erythrocytes in subjects with systemic lupus erythematosus and a history of autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Authors: Hair Pamela , Goldman Daniel W , Li Jessica , Petri Michelle , Krishna Neel , Cunnion Kenji
Published: July 2020

Introduction

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a serious manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In order to more fully understand the causative pathways, we utilized sera from subjects with SLE and active AIHA, or a history of AIHA, to evaluate the classical complement pathway, anti-erythrocyte antibodies, and immune complexes.

Methods

To evaluate antibody-mediated complement activation on the surface of erythrocytes, as occurs in AIHA, blood type O erythrocytes were incubated with sera from 19 subjects with SLE and a history of AIHA. Circulating anti-erythrocyte antibodies and immune complexes were measured with ELISA-based assays.

Results

In total, 90% of subjects with SLE and a history of AIHA, but not active clinical hemolysis, had measurable anti-erythrocyte antibodies. Of those with anti-erythrocyte antibody, 53% demonstrated complement opsonization on the erythrocyte surface >twofold above negative control and 29% generated the anaphylatoxin C5a.

Conclusions

For subjects with SLE and a history of AIHA, the persistence of circulating anti-erythrocyte antibodies and resultant erythrocyte complement opsonization and anaphylatoxin generation suggests the possibility that these complement effectors contribute to chronic morbidity and risk of AIHA relapse.
The German variety of grocery retailing: A historical institutionalist analysis of a non-core industry
Authors: Wortmann Michael
Published: July 2020

This article undertakes a historical institutionalist analysis of the German grocery retail industry. It shows that the institutions that shape this non-core industry are not just modifications of those that shape German export-oriented manufacturing core industries. Retail institutions are fundamentally different, and many of them do not promote coordinated relationships of firms. This challenges the assumption of comparative capitalisms research that all-encompassing national institutions characterize Germany as a coordinated market economy. Further, retail institutions have developed their specific characteristics not just over the last decades, as theories of dualization might suggest. Rather, they are frequently rooted in a German petite bourgeoisie or Mittelstand tradition reaching back to the 19th century. A second critical period was the 1960s and early 1970s, when political struggles that resulted from the retail revolution further transformed retail institutions. Based on the literature from various academic disciplines and on original empirical research, the article reconstructs the historical development of the whole set of institutions that has shaped a specific German grocery retail structure dominated by retailers’ cooperatives and hard discount chains. The analysis of an important non-core industry also intends to contribute to a fuller understanding of the institutions that frame the German economy as a whole, including conceivable complementarities between core and non-core sector institutions.
Circulating Vitronectin Predicts Liver Injury and Mortality in Children With Sepsis: A Prospective Observational Study
Authors: Wang Chunxia , Cui Yun , Miao Huijie , Sun Ting , Lu Ye , Zhang Yucai
Published: July 2020

Vitronectin (VTN) is a key regulator of coagulation, but clinical relevance of serum VTN in pediatric sepsis remains poorly defined. The aim of this study was to access the value of serum VTN level on pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission in children with sepsis. Pediatric patients with sepsis were enrolled from January 2018 to December 2018. The serum VTN levels were determined on PICU admission, and the association of serum VTN level with PICU mortality and organ dysfunction was assessed. Serum VTN levels were significantly lower in nonsurvivors compared with survivors, in patients with septic shock compared with patients with sepsis, or in patients with sepsis-associated acute liver injury (ALI) compared with patients without ALI. Serum VTN level was associated with PICU mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 0.958, 95% CI: 0.927-0.996; P = .010) or ALI (OR: 0.956, 95% CI: 0.915-0.999; P = .046), but not shock (OR: 0.996, 95% CI: 0.977-1.016; P =.716). The area under receiver operating characteristic curve for VTN in predicting the occurrence of ALI during PICU stay and PICU mortality were 0.760 (95% CI: 0.627- 0.893) and 0.737 (95% CI: 0.544-0.931), respectively. Moreover, VTN plus pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) III had a better clinical utility according to decision curve analysis compared with VTN or PRISM III alone. These findings suggest that serum VTN level is associated with sepsis-associated ALI and PICU mortality, and VTN plus PRISM III is a powerful predictor of PICU mortality in pediatric patients with sepsis, which have a better clinical benefit compared with VTN or PRISM III alone.
The Walter Benjamin Experience: Inquiry for Changing Reality
Authors: Kuecker Elliott
Published: July 2020

This article introduces a way of inquiry explored by Walter Benjamin in an effort to renew civilization by first investigating it and then re-writing it toward a better future. Recovering from the damage of World War I, and facing a coming World War II and Third Reich, Benjamin calls for mankind to declare bankruptcy with the present. Benjamin’s 1933 essay, “Experience and Poverty,” suggested taking civilization back to the drawing board, in the service of “changing reality rather than describing it” (p. 733), an uncanny desire to some present-day scholars who see our world as marked by gloomy prospects.
The Impact of Radical Love on Human Memory
Authors: Racionero-Plaza Sandra , Ugalde Leire , Vidu Ana , Melgar Patricia , Navarrete Nagore
Published: July 2020

The social impact of reading the book Radical Love cannot be grasped by the dominant discourse on the evaluation of social impact. A deep understanding of autobiographical memories must go beyond the quantitative analysis of details and episodes to qualitatively examine the meanings constructed through recollection. Thus, we explored young women’s memories of intimate partner violence through memory narratives and the way these memories were reconstructed when the women read Radical Love. In addition, we examined the personal meanings given to this reading experience through in-depth interviews and a focus group. The results showed that Radical Love made the participants more critical about their memories and made these memories unappealing. This reading led some women to leave violent relationships and transform their prospective thinking. In a time when impact is measured mainly by research articles, this qualitative analysis of the memory transformation promoted by reading Radical Love demonstrates that books can also have a social impact.
Tacrolimus dose modification in patients receiving concomitant isavuconazole after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Authors: Trifilio Steven , Rubin Halina , Monacelli Alexandra , Mehta Jayesh
Published: July 2020

Introduction

Isavuconazole is increasingly being used for antifungal prophylaxis during stem cell transplantation. Isavuconazole is a moderate inhibitor of Cytochrome P4503A4, and tacrolimus levels are anticipated to be elevated when given concomitantly with isavuconazole. We developed and validated a dose-modified tacrolimus regimen to better achieve and maintain target tacrolimus levels. Methods: Allogeneic stem cell transplantation recipients who received concomitant tacrolimus and isavuconazole from September 2017 to September 2018 were included. Tacrolimus was adjusted to achieve a target range 8–12 ng/ml. Intravenous tacrolimus was first initiated at 0.02 mg/kg/day on day 1, and transitioned to oral therapy using a 2:1 conversion ratio ( n = 48). Clinical observations showed high interpatient variability. The intravenous dose was then reduced to 0.017 mg/kg/day, and oral:intravenous conversion changed to 3.1:1 ( n = 24).

Results

Interpatient variability was high (lower in the 0.017 mg/kg/day group; P < 0.0217). Patients in the 0.017 mg/kg/day group required fewer dose changes ( P < 0.023) and had fewer levels >15 ng/ml ( P < 0.021). Median tacrolimus dose declined over time; 0.016, 0.012 and 0.011 on days 1, 7 and 10 for patients receiving 0.02 mg/kg/day and 0.017, 0.014 and 0.013 in the 0.017 mg/kg group. Day 10 tacrolimus accumulation factor was 1.42 Rac(Cmax) in the 0.02 mg/kg/day cohort compared to 1.23 Rac(Cmax) in the 0.017 mg/kg/day cohort ( P < 0.015). When transitioned to oral therapy, a oral:intravenous conversion ratio >3.1:1 was shown to improve chances for achieving target levels ( P > 0.0744).

Conclusion

We recommend initiating intravenous tacrolimus dose at 0.017 mg/kg/day and using a 3.1:1 oral:intravenous conversion to reduce interpatient variability, drug accumulation and the number of suboptimal tacrolimus levels. Tacrolimus requires frequent drug level monitoring.
Much to Do About Trauma: A Systematic Review of Existing Trauma-Informed Treatments on Youth Violence and Recidivism
Authors: Zettler Haley R.
Published: July 2020

Research has demonstrated a relationship between childhood trauma, violence, and justice involvement. As juvenile justice systems have become more attune to the needs of traumatized youth, a number of trauma-informed treatment programs have been developed to mitigate the effects of trauma. Evaluations of trauma-informed treatment demonstrate their effectiveness in reducing trauma-related symptoms. Further, prior research has found that trauma-informed treatment can reduce behavioral infractions and institutional violence. While there is indirect evidence that trauma-informed treatment reduces juvenile violence and recidivism, no research to date has assessed trauma-informed treatment on behavioral outcomes outside of residential facilities. This systematic review provides an overview of the use trauma-informed treatment in juvenile justice settings and provides recommendations for practice and future research.
Harnessing “Scale-Up and Spread” to Support Community Uptake of the HoMBReS por un Cambio Intervention for Spanish-Speaking Men: Implementation Science Lessons Learned by a CBPR Partnership
Authors: Rhodes Scott D. , Mann-Jackson Lilli , Alonzo Jorge , Nall Jennifer , Simán Florence M. , Song Eunyoung Y. , Garcia Manuel , Tanner Amanda E. , Eng Eugenia
Published: July 2020

Latinx men in the southern United States are affected disproportionately by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, few evidence-based prevention interventions exist to promote health equity within this population. Developed by a well-established community-based participatory research partnership, the HoMBReS por un Cambio intervention decreases sexual risk among Spanish-speaking, predominately heterosexual Latinx men who are members of recreational soccer teams in the United States. Scale-up and spread, an implementation science framework, was used to study the implementation of this evidence-based community-level intervention within three community organizations that represent typical community-based providers of HIV and STI prevention interventions (i.e., an AIDS service organization, a Latinx-serving organization, and a county public health department). Archival and interview data were analyzed, and 24 themes emerged that mapped onto the 12 scale-up and spread constructs. Themes included the importance of strong and attentive leadership, problem-solving challenges early, an established relationship between innovation developers and implementers, organizational capacity able to effectively work with men, trust building, timelines and incremental deadlines, clear and simple guidance regarding all aspects of implementation, appreciating the context (e.g., immigration-related rhetoric, policies, and actions), recognizing men’s competing priorities, and delineated supervision responsibilities. Scale-up and spread was a useful framework to understand multisite implementation of a sexual risk reduction intervention for Spanish-speaking, predominately heterosexual Latinx men. Further research is needed to identify how constructs, like those within scale-up and spread, affect the process across the implementation continuum, given that the uptake and implementation of an innovation is a process, not an event.
The populist campaigns against European public service media: Hot air or existential threat?
Authors: Sehl Annika , Simon Felix M. , Schroeder Ralph
Published: July 2020

Right-wing populists are gaining ground in Western democracies. Surveys show that they often distrust established media and public service media (PSM) in particular, claiming that they are biased against them. This paper examines how they have challenged PSM and proposes some potential responses to these challenges. The paper is based on an analysis of a number of recent and long-standing surveys of public attitudes towards the media, combined with an analysis of support for right-wing populists. It focuses on three purposively sampled national case studies: Austria, Germany and Sweden. We show several commonalities among PSM in these three countries, including similar right-wing populist attacks on PSM. The findings crystallise around two points: First, the impartiality and objectivity of news media has generally become less taken-for-granted in a ‘high-choice’ media environment offering various news products of different quality. Secondly, historical left-right distinctions have become less clear-cut, also because right-wing populists challenge them. Consequently, the role of PSM in creating a shared national conversation which represents the diversity of society has also come under siege. At the same time, partisan websites and social media platforms enable certain groups to showcase content that is more aligned with the perspectives of right-wing populists. The paper concludes by asking if right-wing populists are a growing threat to PSM and whether this threat is isolated or potentially indicative of a broader and more sustained pattern.
Modified Viegas dorsal capsuloplasty for chronic partial injury of the scapholunate ligament in young athletes: outcomes at 24 months
Authors: Rosa Norman Della , Sapino Gianluca , Vita Fabio , di Summa Pietro G. , Adani Roberto
Published: July 2020

The treatment of chronic scapholunate ligament tears in patients with high demand, such as young athletes, is difficult as traditional techniques are associated with some loss of wrist motion and grip strength. This retrospective investigation studied young athletes (≤20 years old) with chronic scapholunate ligament lesions and a minimum follow-up of 24 months, treated with a modified Viegas dorsal capsuloplasty. Twenty-six young athletes (mean age 17 years) were included. A partial scapholunate ligament tear (Geissler III) was seen in 25 patients. At the last follow-up, a significantly different improvement was seen in all measured parameters and all patients could return to their original competitive activity, within 6 months (range 4–12) after surgery.

Level of evidence: IV
Comparative Assessment of Primary Osteoarthritis Progression Using Conventional Histopathology, Polarized Light Microscopy, and Immunohistochemistry
Authors: Mantripragada V.P. , Gao W. , Piuzzi N.S. , Hoemann C.D. , Muschler G.F. , Midura R.J.
Published: July 2020

Objective

Evaluation of collagen orientation and arrangement in articular cartilage can improve our understanding of primary osteoarthritis (OA) progression and targeted therapies. Our goal was to determine if polarized light microscopy (PLM) for collagen organization is useful in identifying early primary OA features in comparison to current standard histopathological methods.

Design

Osteochondral specimens from 90 total knee arthroplasty patients with relatively preserved lateral femoral condyle were scored using (1) histological-histochemical grading system (HHGS); (2) Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI); (3) PLM-Changoor system for repair cartilage, scores ranging between 0 (totally disorganized cartilage) and 5 (healthy adult cartilage); and (4) new PLM system for primary OA cartilage with superficial zone PLM (PLM-SZ) and deep zone PLM (PLM-DZ) scores, each ranging between 0 (healthy adult SZ and DZ collagen organization) and 4 (total loss of collagen organization). Serial sections were stained for collagen I and II antibodies. Spearman correlation coefficients ( rs) were determined.

Results

The associations between: (1) PLM-Changoor and HHGS or OARSI were weak ( rs = −0.36) or moderate ( rs = −0.56); (2) PLM-SZ and HHGS or OARSI were moderate ( rs = 0.46 or rs = 0.53); and (3) PLM-DZ and HHGS or OARSI were poor ( rs = 0.31 or rs = 0.21), respectively. Specimens exhibiting early and mild OA (HHGS < 5 and OARSI < 8.6) had PLM-SZ and PLM-DZ scores between 0 and 4 and between 0 and 3, respectively, and indicated new histopathological features not currently considered by HHGS/OARSI.

Conclusions

PLM was effective at identifying early SZ and DZ collagen alterations that were not evident in the traditional scoring systems. Incorporating PLM scores and/or additional HHGS/OARSI features can help improve characterization of early primary OA cartilage.
‘Doing’ socio-political sustainability in early childhood: Teacher-as-researcher reflective practices
Authors: Paujik Yvonne M , Miller Melinda , Gibson Megan , Walsh Kerryann
Published: July 2020

Young children’s engagement in Education for Sustainability has focussed predominantly on their participation in environment-based initiatives or practices. Reasons for this include a notion that wider dimensions of sustainability, including social, political and economic areas of concern can be too complex and overwhelming for young children. When children experience learning around wider dimensions of sustainability, there is potential to develop genuine and critical understandings about global issues in a transformative and critical learning context. This article investigates how an early childhood teacher, in the role of teacher-as-researcher, engaged young children in a kindergarten classroom in an investigation of poverty as a socio-political aspect of sustainability. The authors focus on teacher-as-researcher critical reflections from action research data to contextualise how curriculum decision-making unfolded. Using critical theory as a guiding framework, the authors examine how knowledge around poverty was co-constructed between children and adults, thus unsettling the idea of teacher as ‘expert’. The authors advocate for early childhood teachers to employ a teacher-as-researcher role in sustainability education and to critically reflect on ways to embed a holistic approach to Education for Sustainability in early childhood contexts.
Perspectives From Rising Fourth Year Medical Students Regarding Strategies to Counteract the Effects of COVID-19 on Medical Education
Authors: Liesman Daniel R , Pumiglia Luke , Kemp Michael T , Alam Hasan B
Published: July 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has put those who oversee medical education in a challenging position. Medical school administrators, students, and national governing bodies have been forced to make difficult decision as a result of public health concerns and government-enforced restrictions. We, as rising fourth-year medical students, would like to shed light upon the hard work that many of those in leadership positions have done as well as lay out some concerns that medical students who are preparing to apply to residency have. Additionally, we would like to suggest several potential approaches that attempt to address some of the problems arising from the pandemic. Continuing to balance education with the hurdles presented by COVID-19 will require a multi-faceted and coordinated approach. We believe that implementing virtual rotations, delaying the opening of the application, decentralizing clinical skills evaluations, and modifying graduation requirements are possible options among many that could aid in addressing some of the current challenges presented by COVID-19.
MicroBVS: Dirichlet-tree multinomial regression models with Bayesian variable selection - an R package
Authors: Koslovsky Matthew D. , Vannucci Marina
Published: July 2020

Background

Understanding the relation between the human microbiome and modulating factors, such as diet, may help researchers design intervention strategies that promote and maintain healthy microbial communities. Numerous analytical tools are available to help identify these relations, oftentimes via automated variable selection methods. However, available tools frequently ignore evolutionary relations among microbial taxa, potential relations between modulating factors, as well as model selection uncertainty.

Results

We present MicroBVS, an R package for Dirichlet-tree multinomial models with Bayesian variable selection, for the identification of covariates associated with microbial taxa abundance data. The underlying Bayesian model accommodates phylogenetic structure in the abundance data and various parameterizations of covariates’ prior probabilities of inclusion.

Conclusion

While developed to study the human microbiome, our software can be employed in various research applications, where the aim is to generate insights into the relations between a set of covariates and compositional data with or without a known tree-like structure.
Diversity and distribution of marine heterotrophic bacteria from a large culture collection
Authors: Sanz-Sáez Isabel , Salazar Guillem , Sánchez Pablo , Lara Elena , Royo-Llonch Marta , Sà Elisabet L. , Lucena Teresa , Pujalte María J. , Vaqué Dolors , Duarte Carlos M. , Gasol Josep M. , Pedrós-Alió Carlos , Sánchez Olga , Acinas Silvia G.
Published: July 2020

Background

Isolation of marine microorganisms is fundamental to gather information about their physiology, ecology and genomic content. To date, most of the bacterial isolation efforts have focused on the photic ocean leaving the deep ocean less explored. We have created a marine culture collection of heterotrophic bacteria (MARINHET) using a standard marine medium comprising a total of 1561 bacterial strains, and covering a variety of oceanographic regions from different seasons and years, from 2009 to 2015. Specifically, our marine collection contains isolates from both photic (817) and aphotic layers (744), including the mesopelagic (362) and the bathypelagic (382), from the North Western Mediterranean Sea, the North and South Atlantic Ocean, the Indian, the Pacific, and the Arctic Oceans. We described the taxonomy, the phylogenetic diversity and the biogeography of a fraction of the marine culturable microorganisms to enhance our knowledge about which heterotrophic marine isolates are recurrently retrieved across oceans and along different depths.

Results

The partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of all isolates revealed that they mainly affiliate with the classes Alphaproteobacteria (35.9%), Gammaproteobacteria (38.6%), and phylum Bacteroidetes (16.5%). In addition, Alteromonas and Erythrobacter genera were found the most common heterotrophic bacteria in the ocean growing in solid agar medium. When comparing all photic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic isolates sequences retrieved from different stations, 37% of them were 100% identical. This percentage increased up to 59% when mesopelagic and bathypelagic strains were grouped as the aphotic dataset and compared to the photic dataset of isolates, indicating the ubiquity of some bacterial isolates along different ocean depths. Finally, we isolated three strains that represent a new species, and the genome comparison and phenotypic characterization of two of these strains (ISS653 and ISS1889) concluded that they belong to a new species within the genus Mesonia.

Conclusions

Overall, this study highlights the relevance of culture-dependent studies, with focus on marine isolated bacteria from different oceanographic regions and depths, to provide a more comprehensive view of the culturable marine bacteria as part of the total marine microbial diversity.
The diffuse-type gastric cancer epidemiology enigma
Authors: Assumpção Paulo Pimentel , Barra Williams Fernandes , Ishak Geraldo , Coelho Luiz Gonzaga Vaz , Coimbra Felipe José Fernandez , Freitas Helano Carioca , Dias-Neto Emmanuel , Camargo M. Constanza , Szklo Moyses
Published: July 2020

Background

Intestinal and diffuse gastric adenocarcinomas differ in clinical, epidemiological and molecular features. However, most of the concepts related to the intestinal-type are translated to gastric adenocarcinoma in general; thus, the peculiarities of the diffuse-type are underappreciated.

Results

Besides its growing importance, there are many gaps about the diffuse-type carcinogenesis and, as a result, its epidemiologic and pathogenetic features remain poorly understood.

Conclusions

Alternative hypotheses to explain these features are discussed, including the role of the gastric microbiota, medical therapies, and modifications in the stomach’s microenvironment.
Small intestinal microbiota composition and the prognosis of infants with ileostomy resulting from distinct primary diseases
Authors: Qian Tian , Zhu Haitao , Zhu Li , Chen Chao , Shen Chun , Zhang Rong
Published: July 2020

Background

Studies of microbiota composition of infants with small intestinal ostomy due to various etiologies are limited. Here, we characterized the intestinal microbiota of neonates with ileostomy resulting from distinct primary diseases.

Methods

Fifteen patients with necrotizing enterocolitis, eight patients with meconium peritonitis, and seven patients with Hirschsprung’s disease were included in the study. The small intestinal microbiota composition in infants with ileostomy caused by these diseases was studied.

Results

Microbial diversity in neonatal ileostomy fluid was generally low, and was dominated by members of the Proteobacteria and Firmicutes phyla. At the genus level, the most abundant were Klebsiella, Escherichia-Shigella, Streptococcus, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Enterococcus, and Lactobacillus. Streptococcus and Veillonella are related to carbohydrate metabolism and immunity, and breastfeeding can increase the proportion of these potentially beneficial bacteria. The proportion of Bifidobacterium in the breastfeeding group was higher than that in the non-breastfeeding group, and incidence of colitis and sepsis was reduced in the breastfeeding group. The proportion of Bifidobacterium increased and incidence of colitis and sepsis decreased in the breastfeeding group compared with the non- breastfeeding group, but there was no significant difference. The increase in body weight in the breastfeeding group was observed to be higher than in the non-breastfeeding group.

Conclusions

Excessive Klebsiella and Escherichia-Shigella and low abundance of Streptococcus, Veillonella and Faecalibacterium suggests that the small intestinal microbiota is in an unhealthy state after ileostomy. However, Streptococcus, Faecalibacterium, and Veillonella species were frequently present, suggesting that expansion of these bacteria might assist the development of the immune system after surgery.
The diagnostic value of the Short Physical Performance Battery for sarcopenia
Authors: Phu Steven , Kirk Ben , Bani Hassan Ebrahim , Vogrin Sara , Zanker Jesse , Bernardo Solange , Duque Gustavo
Published: July 2020

Background

Sarcopenia is defined as the age-related loss of muscle mass, strength, and physical performance. The original European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older Persons (EWGSOP1) definition, and its revision (EWGSOP2), provide new cut-points and alternate measures for sarcopenia diagnosis. However, sarcopenia is rarely diagnosed in clinical settings owing to its labor-intensive diagnostic process. Given the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) is a quick, easily administrable, and objective measure of muscle strength and physical performance, both of which are key components of sarcopenia, this study examined the diagnostic value of the SPPB for this muscle disease.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis of 294 community-dwelling older persons (≥65 years) was conducted. Appendicular lean body mass [(ALM) divided by height squared (ALM/h2)], muscle strength (handgrip/sit to stand), and physical performance [gait speed, timed up and go (TUG) and SPPB] were assessed using validated procedures, while participants were diagnosed with sarcopenia following the EWGSOP1 and EWGSOP2 criteria. Diagnostic ability of the SPPB independently and combined with ALM/h2 for sarcopenia was determined using area under the curve (AUC). Potential cut-points were identified, and sensitivity and specificity calculated.

Results

Prevalence of sarcopenia ranged from 4 to 16% depending on the definition. The SPPB demonstrated moderate (AUC = 0.644–0.770) value in diagnosing sarcopenia, and a cut-point of ≤8points in SPPB performance resulted in high sensitivity (82–100%) but low specificity (36–41%) for diagnosing those with severe sarcopenia.

Conclusions

The SPPB displayed acceptable value in diagnosing older adults with severe sarcopenia. Moreover, the high sensitivity of the SPPB when using the cut-point of ≤8 suggests it may be a favorable screening tool for sarcopenia in clinical settings where ALM measurements are not available.
Premature aging of circulating T cells predicts all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients
Authors: Xiang Fangfang , Chen Rongyi , Cao Xuesen , Shen Bo , Chen Xiaohong , Ding Xiaoqiang , Zou Jianzhou
Published: July 2020

Background

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) exhibit a premature aging phenotype of immune system, which is recently concerned as a significant factor for increased risk of various morbidities. Nevertheless, there are few dates explicating the relevancy of T cell senescence to mortality. In this study, we prospectively studied the predictive value of T cell senescence for mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Methods

Patients who had been on hemodialysis treatment for at least 6 months were enrolled. T cell senescence determined by differentiation status was evaluated by flow cytometry. Survival outcomes were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic impact of T cell premature aging and other clinical factors on all-cause mortality.

Results

A total of 466 patients (277 man and 169 women) were enrolled in this study. Decreased number of naïve T cell, as the most prominent feature of T cell senescence, did not change in parallel with age in these patients. Decreased absolute count of T cell, naïve T cell, CD4+ naïve T cell were independently associated with all-cause mortality. Decreased percentage of T cell and increased percentage of CD8+central-memory T cell were also independently associated with all-cause mortality. After including all the T cell parameters in one regression model, only decreased count of naïve T cell was significantly associated with increased mortality in these patients.

Conclusions

Aging-associated T cell changes are aggravated in ESRD patients. For the first time, our study demonstrates that naïve T cell depletion is a strong predictor of all-cause mortality in HD patients.
Corneae from body donors in anatomy department: valuable use for clinical transplantation and experimental research
Authors: Martin Cristina , Tschernig Thomas , Loic Hamon , Daas Loay , Seitz Berthold
Published: July 2020

Background

Explanted corneae are highly needed for the surgical management of patients with severe corneal diseases. The aim of this study was to determine whether the body donors from the Institute of Anatomy are a suitable source of donor corneae.

Methods

At the Institute of Anatomy at Saarland University Medical Center in Homburg, corneae are prelevated from body donors who had consented to the removal of tissues for transplantation purposes during their lifetime. Following the report of death, the LIONS Eye Bank is informed and the contraindications of corneal explantation are clarified. Obtaining a blood sample within 24 h postmortem is mandatory.

Results

The Institute of Anatomy had 150 body donors in the time period from January 2018 to June 2019. Out of these, 68 (45.3%) were reported to the Eye Bank. The age of the donors (median 82 years (range: 57–96)) is not critical since the quality of the corneae depends on the number of endothelial cells (mean: 2109 ± 67 cells/mm2 (range: 511–2944 cells/mm2)). Contraindications were present in 19 (12.6%) cases. The corneae were extracted from 49 (32.7%) body donors. Out of these 98 corneae, 46 (46.9%) were successfully transplanted. Of all non-transplanted corneae, 6 (6.1%) were microbiologically contaminated, 10 (10.2%) had a positive serology, 22 (22.5%) had an endothelial cell count < 2000 cells/mm2 and 6 (6.1%) are at time of this analysis still in culture medium. The non-transplanted tissues were used for research.

Conclusions

Explanted corneae from the Institute of Anatomy are a valuable option in obtaining grafts for corneal transplantation, which is why we are working toward on expanding cooperation with this department.