bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Host density has limited effects on pathogen invasion, disease‐induced declines and within‐host infection dynamics across a landscape of disease
Authors: Wilber Mark Q. , Knapp Roland A. , Smith Thomas C. , Briggs Cheryl J.
Published: October 2022

1. Host density is hypothesized to be a major driver of variability in the responses and outcomes of wildlife populations following pathogen invasion. While the effects of host density on pathogen transmission have been extensively studied, these studies are dominated by theoretical analyses and small‐scale experiments. This focus leads to an incomplete picture regarding how host density drives observed variability in disease outcomes in the field.

2. Here, we leveraged a dataset of hundreds of replicate amphibian populations that varied by orders of magnitude in host density. We used these data to test the effects of host density on three outcomes following the arrival of the amphibian‐killing fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd): the probability that Bd successfully invaded a host population and led to a pathogen outbreak, the magnitude of the host population‐level decline following an outbreak and within‐host infection dynamics that drive population‐level outcomes in amphibian–pathogen systems.

3. Based on previous small‐scale transmission experiments, we expected that populations with higher densities would be more likely to experience Bd outbreaks and would suffer larger proportional declines following outbreaks. To test these predictions, we developed and fitted a Hidden Markov Model that accounted for imperfectly observed disease outbreak states in the amphibian populations we surveyed.

4. Contrary to our predictions, we found minimal effects of host density on the probability of successful Bd invasion, the magnitude of population decline following Bd invasion and the dynamics of within‐host infection intensity. Environmental conditions, such as summer temperature, winter severity and the presence of pathogen reservoirs, were more predictive of variability in disease outcomes.

5. Our results highlight the limitations of extrapolating findings from small‐scale transmission experiments to observed disease trajectories in the field and provide strong evidence that variability in host density does not necessarily drive variability in host population responses following pathogen arrival. In an applied context, we show that feedbacks between host density and disease will not necessarily affect the success of reintroduction efforts in amphibian‐Bd systems of conservation concern.
Resistance of termite mounds to variation in long‐term fire regimes across semi‐arid African savannas
Authors: Hockridge Evan G. , Singh Jenia , Boucher Peter B. , Davies Andrew B.
Published: October 2022

Fire regimes are expected to change with climate change, resulting in a crucial need to understand the specific ways in which variable fire regimes impact important contributors to ecosystem functioning, such as mound‐building termites. Termite mounds and fire are both important agents of savanna ecosystem heterogeneity and functioning, but there is little understanding of how they interact across savanna types.

We used very high‐resolution LiDAR remote sensing to measure the size and distribution of termite mounds across approximately 1300 ha of experimental burn plots in four South African savanna landscapes representing a wide range of fire treatments differing in seasonality and frequency of burning.

In nutrient‐poor granitic savannas, fire had no impact on termite mound size, densities and spatial distributions. In nutrient‐rich basaltic savannas with high mammalian herbivore abundance and intermediate rainfall, very frequent fires caused a decrease in termite mound size, whereas in arid nutrient‐rich basaltic savannas, fires that occurred at intermediate frequencies and in transitional seasons (i.e. late dry season and late wet season) decreased the degree of spatial overdispersal exhibited by mounds.

Overall, our results suggest that termite mounds are resistant to variation in fire seasonality and frequency, likely indicating that ecosystem services provided by mound‐building termites will be unaffected by changing fire regimes. However, consideration of changes to termite mound size and distribution could be necessary for land managers in specific savanna types, such as nutrient‐rich soils with high mammalian herbivore abundance.
Parenting with a physical disability: A scoping review of assessment methods
Authors: Pastor‐Bédard Nadielda , Pituch Evelina , Lamata Estelle , Grondin Myrian , Bottari Carolina
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Daily childcare can be challenging for parents with a physical disability who have young children. Occupational therapists are valuable facilitators to family participation. However, occupational therapists have reported significant gaps in knowledge when documenting the parenting role of parents with a physical disability in occupational therapy practice. This study explored and described the parenting assessment methods used with parents with a physical disability in the scientific literature.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted, and search results were reviewed by two separate reviewers. The search strategy was applied to five databases (Embase, CINAHL, MEDLINE, HaPI, PsycInfo). Numerical and thematic analyses were conducted.

Results

Four thousand one hundred fifty articles were screened, and 73 relevant scientific articles were included. Seventy‐six assessment methods were identified, including 20 assessment instruments with few reported population‐specific psychometric studies. Most assessments were conducted via interviews (n = 45), followed by questionnaires (n = 27), and only six were performance based. Parenting practices and experience were the two dimensions most assessed, with little attention given to parenting responsibility. Mothers with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, rheumatoid arthritis, and cerebral palsy were the most assessed.

Conclusion

Further research is needed to develop specific, multidimensional, and validated parenting assessments for all parents with a physical disability, including performance‐based assessments. Formal assessments should be conducted by professionals, including occupational therapists, who have the necessary training.
Constituting link working through choice and care: An ethnographic account of front‐line social prescribing
Authors: Griffith Bethan , Pollard Tessa , Gibson Kate , Jeffries Jayne , Moffatt Suzanne
Published: October 2022

Link worker social prescribing has become a prominent part of NHS England’s personalisation agenda. However, approaches to social prescribing vary, with multiple discourses emerging about the potential of social prescribing and different interpretations of personalisation. The transformational promise of social prescribing is the subject of ongoing debate, whilst the factors that shape the nature of front‐line link working practices remain unclear. Based on 11 months of in‐depth ethnographic research with link workers delivering social prescribing, we show how link workers’ practices were shaped by the context of the intervention and how individual link workers navigated varied understandings of social prescribing. Following the work of Mol, we show how link workers drew differentially on the interacting logics of choice and care and trace a multiplicity in front‐line link working practices within a single intervention. However, over time, it appeared that a logic of choice was becoming increasingly dominant, making it harder to deliver practices that aligned with a logic of care. We conclude that interpreting personalisation through a logic of choice could potentially undermine link working practices that privilege care whilst obscuring the need for wider investment in health care systems and the social determinants of health.
BETWEENCHAIANDQIAN: How Unfinishedness and Ruination Have Reshaped Urbanity in China's ‘Coal Capital’ after the Construction Boom
Authors: Audin Judith
Published: October 2022

Datong has for decades been known as China's ‘coal capital’. In 2008 Mayor Geng Yanbo redeveloped Datong's city centre in order to hide the coal stigma and redefine the city's identity based on its cultural heritage as a centre for Buddhist historical sites and ancient architecture. The project was interrupted in 2013 when the mayor was promoted to another city. In parallel, the coal industry was impacted by restructuring, falling prices, and stricter environmental policies. The interrupted project opened a liminal space between demolition and construction. This article studies unfinishedness and ruination in Datong after the construction boom by following the last residents living within the interrupted project. Drawing on fieldwork carried out between 2015 and 2019 that records the discourses and socio‐spatial practices of the last remaining residents, stuck betweenchai(demolition) andqian(relocation), it sheds light on their urban experiences as city dwellers in a landscape of ruins and unfinished architecture. The suspension of urban construction affects both these residents’ representations of the urban space and their ambivalent feelings towards the past, present and future, opening new perspectives for research on the urbanity of booms and busts in Chinese cities.
Review on the release mechanism and debittering technology of bitter peptides from protein hydrolysates
Authors: Liu Boye , Li Nana , Chen Fusheng , Zhang Jingsi , Sun Xiaorui , Xu Lei , Fang Fang
Published: October 2022

Recent scientific evidence indicates that protein hydrolysates contain bioactive peptides that have potential benefits for human health. However, the bitter‐tasting hydrophobic peptides in protein hydrolysates negatively affect the sensory quality of resulting products and limit their utilization in food and pharmaceutical industries. The approaches to reduce, mask, and remove bitter taste from protein hydrolysates have been extensively reported. This review paper focuses on the advances in the knowledge regarding the structure–bitterness relationship of peptides, the release mechanism of bitter peptides, and the debittering methods for protein hydrolysates. Bitter tastes generating with enzymatic hydrolysis of protein is influenced by the type, concentration, and bitter taste threshold of bitterness peptides. A “bell‐shaped curve” is used to describe the relationship between the bitterness intensity of the hydrolysates and the degree of hydrolysis. The bitter receptor perceives bitter potencies of bitter peptides by the hydrophobicity recognition zone. The intensity of bitterness is influenced by hydrophobic and electronic properties of amino acids and the critical spatial structure of peptides. Compared to physicochemical debittering (i.e., selective separation, masking of bitter taste, encapsulation, Maillard reaction, and encapsulation) and other biological debittering (i.e., enzymatic hydrolysis, enzymatic deamidation, plastein reaction), enzymatic hydrolysis is a promising debittering approach as it combines protein hydrolyzation and debittering into a one‐step process, but more work should be done to advance the knowledge on debittering mechanism of enzymatic hydrolysis and screening of suitable proteases. Further study can focus on combining physicochemical and biological approaches to achieve high debittering efficiency and produce high‐quality products.
A fatal case involving the highest ever reported 4‐CMC concentration
Authors: Tusiewicz Kaja , Chłopaś‐Konowałek Agnieszka , Wachełko Olga , Zawadzki Marcin , Szpot Paweł
Published: October 2022

Synthetic cathinones comprise a large amount of substances present on the dark market, which creates an undeniably worldwide problem and still is posing a threat. A 22‐year‐old man was brought to the Emergency Room from a party, where he had ingested orally 20 g of mephedrone. The man exhibited a disorder of consciousness with no logical verbal contact and dilated pupils. Moreover, a metabolic acidosis was present. The patient died after an hour from an admission to the ER. Blood and vitreous humor collected during an autopsy were analyzed with the use of an ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐QqQ‐MS/MS) with the use of C18 column in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Both biological specimens were prepared using liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) with the use of ethyl acetate and 0.5 M ammonium carbonate water solution (pH 9). The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 0.5 ng/ml in both matrices; precision and accuracy values did not exceed ±15%. Recovery of the method was in the range of 86.1%–102.7%. Determined concentrations of 4‐CMC were 8542 and 9874 ng/ml in blood and vitreous humor, respectively. Other substances present in both biological materials were: atropine, diazepam, lidocaine, and its metabolite norlidocaine, as well as methcathinone and ethyl alcohol. The concentration presented in here described case is the highest ever reported 4‐CMC concentration. Important aspect is also receiving other NPS by recreational users than intended, which lead to accidental poisoning (in presented case user assumed 4‐CMC was 4‐MMC).
Measuring occupational stress in emergency departments
Authors: McCormick Ellyse , Devine Susan , Crilly Julia , Brough Paula , Greenslade Jaimi
Published: October 2022

Objective

EDs are highly demanding workplaces generating considerable potential for occupational stress experiences. Previous research has been limited by a focus on specific aspects of the working environment and studies focussing on a range of variables are needed. The aim of the present study was to describe the perceptions of occupational stress and coping strategies of ED nurses and doctors and the differences between these two groups.

Methods

This cross‐sectional study was conducted at a public metropolitan hospital ED in Queensland, Australia. All ED nurses and doctors were invited to participate in an electronic survey containing 13 survey measures and one qualitative question assessing occupational stress and coping experiences. Descriptive statistics were employed to report stressors. Responses to open‐ended questions were thematically analysed.

Results

Overall, 104 nurses and 35 doctors responded (55.6% response rate). Nurses reported higher levels of both stress and burnout than doctors. They also reported lower work satisfaction, work engagement, and leadership support than doctors. Compared with doctors, nurses reported significantly higher stress from heavy workload/poor skill mix, high acuity patients, environmental concerns, and inability to provide optimal care. Thematic analysis identified high workload and limited leadership and management support as factors contributing to stress. Coping mechanisms, such as building personal resilience, were most frequently reported.

Conclusions

The present study found organisational stressors adversely impact the well‐being of ED nurses and doctors. Organisational‐focused interventions including leadership development, strategic recruitment, adequate staffing and resources may mitigate occupational stress and complement individual coping strategies. Expanding this research to understand broader perspectives and especially the impact of COVID‐19 upon ED workers is recommended.
Optimization of fermentation conditions of synbiotic legume‐based beverages and study of their antimicrobial and proteolytic activity
Authors: Chaturvedi Smriti , Chakraborty Snehasis
Published: October 2022

The objective of the present work is to optimize fermentation conditions for a set of three legume‐based synbiotic beverages made from green mung and red kidney beans, namely GMB (100% mung bean); RKB (100% kidney bean); and KB (7:3, kidney bean: mung bean) to attain desirable quality attributes. Face‐centered composite design (FCCD) was applied using fermentation time and temperature as independent variables. The responses, namely, pH, protein digestibility (PD), and total viable count (TVC) of probiotic Lacticaseibacillus casei ATCC 335, were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) followed by numerical optimization. The optimization was based on maximizing the desirability, which connected the responses and importance. The experimental and predicted values were similar, and the model was valid for all beverages with R2 > 0.9. The optimized condition suggested that fermentation at 20°C for 18 h in the case of KB and GMB and 21 h for RKB would lead to desired pH (6.0–6.5), maximum PD (> 60%), and highest TVC (> 8 log CFU/ml). A significant reduction in antinutritional factors (ANFs), namely, tannin (20–44%), saponin (43–52%), and phytate (43–46%) from an initial value of around 0.30, 0.40, and 0.50 mg/L respectively, for all the beverages at optimized fermentation conditions was observed. Similarly, a slight loss of < 3.5% in total phenol content (TPC) was seen. Additionally, good proteolytic and antibacterial activity was observed, with KB being the best. Hence, all developed legume‐based synbiotic beverages exhibit desirable goals when subjected to optimized fermentation conditions and enhanced functionality.

Practical Application

When subjected to optimized fermentation conditions, the developed synbiotic legume‐based beverages can be used as a potential functional food in the nondairy beverage industry with added health benefits and new tasting flavors.
A model of the U.S. food system: What are the determinants of the state vulnerabilities to production shocks and supply chain disruptions?
Authors: Nava Noé J. , Ridley William , Dall'erba Sandy
Published: October 2022

We adapt a Ricardian general equilibrium model to the setting of U.S. domestic agri‐food trade to assess states’ vulnerability to adverse production shocks and supply chain disruptions. To this end, we analyze how domestic crop supply chains depend on fundamental state‐level comparative advantages—which reflect underlying differences in states’ cost‐adjusted productivity levels—and thereby illustrate the capacity of states to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of such disruptions to the U.S. agricultural sector. Based on the theoretical framework and our estimates of the model's structural parameters obtained using data on U.S. production, consumption, and domestic trade in crops, we undertake simulations to characterize the welfare implications of counterfactual scenarios depicting disruptions to (1) states’ agricultural productive capacity, and (2) interstate supply linkages. Our results emphasize that the distributional impacts of domestic supply chain disruptions hinge on individual states’ agricultural productive capacities, and that the ability of states to mitigate the impacts of adverse production shocks through trade relies on the degree to which states are able to substitute local production shortfalls by sourcing crops from other states.
Morphologic, morphometric and contour shape variations of sagittal otoliths of Lepidorhombus spp. in the Aegean Sea
Authors: Yedier Serdar , Kontaş Yalçınkaya Seda , Bostanci Derya , Polat Nazmi
Published: October 2022

Otoliths are calcareous anatomical structures in the inner ear of fishes, and they can be used in the discrimination of fish species and stocks due to their species‐specific shape. Sagittal otoliths in the Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis and Lepidorhombus boscii, two flatfish species of the same genus distributed in the Aegean Sea, were compared using morphology, morphometry and contour shape analyses. Blind and eyed side otoliths of Lepidorhombus species were evaluated separately due to their morphological features and statistical differences in morphometric measurements (p < 0.05). Four analysis groups were formed: blind side otolith of L. whiffiagonis, eyed side otolith of L. whiffiagonis, blind side otolith of L. boscii and eyed side otolith of L. boscii. Morphometric differences in otolith shape were performed by canonical discriminant analysis, and the first discriminant axis explained 97.4% (Wilks λ = 0.270) of the variance between the groups, and the second axis explained 2.3% (Wilks λ = 0.620). Classification success between Lepidorhombus species based on CDA is 100%, and the overall CDA classification score between groups is 76.5%. The wavelet functions obtained in the contour analysis showed high variability in the anterior, posterior‐dorsal, antero‐dorsal and ventral regions of the otoliths among these four analysis groups. Consequently, it is thought that this study will contribute to the taxonomic classification of fish with the morphological and morphometric differences in the blind and eyed side otoliths and the analyses made with the high discrimination success obtained in Lepidorhombus species.
Networks of Speculation: Making Land Markets on Myanmar Facebook
Authors: Wittekind Courtney T. , Faxon Hilary Oliva
Published: October 2022

Digital platforms have changed how property is sold and valued in the Global North, yet little is known about digital tools in emerging land markets. Drawing on in situ and digital ethnography, we argue that Facebook plays a key role in making a new kind of market in Myanmar, one in which land is transformed into a speculative asset, exchanged across ever‐expanding networks. While commodification is familiar within longer histories of capitalism, this case highlights the significance of digital platforms to the contemporary remaking of property relations. Unlike classic cases of market‐making enabled by active state regulation, Myanmar’s digital land markets were forged in the context of state absence by brokers who harnessed the technological affordances of social media to increase the scale, scope and speed of transactions. This creative re‐appropriation of the platform forged new, unregulated digital markets that ultimately accumulated corporate profits and intensified participant risk.
Forty‐two normomenstruating adolescents with Müllerian obstructive anomalies: Presentation, pitfalls in the dagnosis and surgical management
Authors: Fontana Eleonora , Parma Marta , Fedele Francesco , Girardelli Serena , Parazzini Fabio , Candiani Massimo
Published: October 2022

Introduction

We analyzed the frequency, presentation and pitfalls in the diagnosis and surgical management of a large group of normomenstruating adolescents with obstructive reproductive tract anomalies.

Material and methods

Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Of the 143 outpatients referred for severe dysmenorrhea and persistent pelvic pain, 42 (29.3%) young women with obstructive Müllerian anomalies and regular menstrual flow were identified. These patients were divided into four groups: (1) patients with duplicate uterine cavities, obstructed hemivagina and ipsilateral renal agenesis (n = 34); (2) patients with unicornuate uterus and noncommunicating cavitated rudimentary horn (n = 5); (3) patients with accessory cavitated uterine mass (n = 2); (4) patients with partially obstructed transverse vaginal septum (n = 1). All 42 patients were conservatively treated via laparoscopy and 35/42 patients had also vaginal surgery.

Results

Of the four groups, patients in groups 2 and 3 (n = 7) were conservatively managed by laparoscopy alone; for patients in groups 1 and 4 (n = 35), laparoscopy and the vaginal approach were used. Patients of group 1 were treated by resecting the obstructed vaginal septum with drainage of retained collections. In patients in group 2, surgery consisted of the removal of the rudimentary horn. Patients of group 3 were treated by the removal of myometrial neoformations. In the patient in group 4, treatment consisted of removal of the septum. All surgical procedures were successful and no major complications were recorded. Follow‐up reports highlighted the disappearance of obstruction and clear improvement in pain symptoms.

Conclusions

Unilateral obstructive anomalies of the female genital tract are difficult to identify. Early diagnosis allows the preservation of reproductive activity and avoids potential complications.
Evaluating intraocular lens power formula constant robustness using bootstrap algorithms
Authors: Langenbucher Achim , Szentmáry Nóra , Cayless Alan , Wendelstein Jascha , Hoffmann Peter
Published: October 2022

Background

Bootstrapping is a modern technique mostly used in statistics to evaluate the robustness of model parameters. The purpose of this study was to develop a method for evaluation of formula constant uncertainties and the effect on the prediction error (PE) in intraocular lens power calculation with theoretical‐optical formulae using bootstrap techniques.

Methods

In a dataset with N = 888 clinical cases treated with the monofocal aspherical intraocular lens (Vivinex, Hoya) constants for the Haigis, the Castrop and the SRKT formula were optimised for the sum of squared PE using nonlinear iterative optimisation (interior point method), and the formula predicted spherical equivalent refraction (predSEQ) and the PE were derived. The PE was bootstrapped NB = 1000 times and added to predSEQ, and formula constants were derived for each bootstrap. The robustness of the constants was calculated from the NB bootstrapped models, and the predSEQ was back‐calculated from the NB formula constants.

Results

With bootstrapping, the 90% confidence intervals for the a0/a1/a2 constants of the Haigis formula were −0.8317 to −0.5301/0.3203 to 0.3617/0.1954 to 0.2100, for the C/H/R constants of the Castrop formula they were 0.3113 to 0.3272/0.1237 to 0.2149/0.0980 to 0.1621, and for the A constant of the SRKT formula they were 119.2320 to 119.3028. The back‐calculated PE from the NB bootstrapped formula constants standard deviation for the mean/median/mean absolute/root mean squared PE were 5.677/5.735/0.401/0.318 e‐3 dpt for the Haigis formula, 5.677/5.735/0.401/0.31829 e‐3 dpt for the Castrop formula and 14.748/14.790/0.561/0.370 e‐3 dpt for the SRKT formula.

Conclusion

We have been able to prove with bootstrapping that nonlinear iterative formula constant optimisation techniques for the Haigis, the Castrop and the SRKT formulae yield consistent results with low uncertainties of the formula constants and low variations in the back‐calculated mean, median, mean absolute and root mean squared formula prediction error.
Intimate extraction: Geological matter, extractive afterlives, and the denial of a Black sense of place in Southern Louisiana
Authors: Donoghoe Manannan
Published: October 2022

This paper centres geological matter in questions of marginality, inequality, and structural racism in the US. I follow the entanglements of geological matter with bodies, emotion‐laden imaginaries of place, and histories of slavery and colonialism, to illustrate how contemporary Black lives are intimately connected to processes of mineral extraction. Drawing on Saidiya Hartman's concept of ‘afterlives’, I situate heightened levels of ambient toxicity from geological refinement and industrial waste as extractive afterlives, connecting commonly felt precarity around extractive worlds to broader questions of race, inequality, and connections to place. Citing academic and artistic accounts of life in Southern Louisiana, a historically Black region with a large petrochemical industry, I demonstrate the relevance of geological entanglements to experiences of structural racism in the US.
Platforms and/as urban communication: Mediums, content, context
Authors: Leszczynski Agnieszka
Published: October 2022

This paper brings an urban communication lens to bear on the geographies of platformisation in cities. It does so by drawing on three select instances of platformised materialities in Toronto and Vancouver that represent familiar contours of urban platformisation: mobility (bike and car sharing), last‐mile logistics (on‐demand delivery), and labour (gig work). These examples are worked through Aiello and Tosoni's heuristic of cities as constituting the mediums, content, and contexts of urban communication, respectively. As mediums, platformised materialities in the form of street signs designate exclusive uses of public space by mobility platforms, communicating the spatial conditions of platform urbanism. As the contents of communication, stickers and signs advertising on‐demand meal delivery available at a restaurant venue express the platform‐driven transformation of the social relations that make the delivered meal take place. And as context, broader trends of the platformisation of labour render communication by other, non‐platform‐based materialities – such as posters calling on urban gig workers to unionise – meaningful. An urban communication perspective contributes to geographical scholarship on platform urbanism by nuancing our understandings of how platforms and platform technology capital secure and sustain themselves in cities through their material communicative capacities.
Agreeing about smartphones: Making opinions in online focus groups
Authors: Hitchings Russell
Published: October 2022

This paper is concerned with the situated production of opinions in human geography research. Drawing on an online focus group project in which university students were asked to discuss smartphone use in urban greenspace, I'm interested in how our methods can make opinions as much as collect those that are already assumed to exist. Why were these students inclined to speak of having and sharing opinions? How important should opinions be to us if they are not actively influencing the everyday lives of those who we hope to understand in our studies? And what does this all say about staging effective group discussion in the discipline?
Centring individual animals to improve research and citation practices
Authors: Volsche Shelly , Root‐Gutteridge Holly , Korzeniowska Anna T. , Horowitz Alexandra
Published: October 2022

Modern behavioural scientists have come to acknowledge that individual animals may respond differently to the same stimuli and that the quality of welfare and lived experience can affect behavioural responses. However, much of the foundational research in behavioural science lacked awareness of the effect of both welfare and individuality on data, bringing their results into question. This oversight is rarely addressed when citing seminal works as their findings are considered crucial to our understanding of animal behaviour. Furthermore, more recent research may reflect this lack of awareness by replication of earlier methods – exacerbating the problem. The purpose of this review is threefold. First, we critique seminal papers in animal behaviour as a model for re‐examining past experiments, attending to gaps in knowledge or concern about how welfare may have affected results. Second, we propose a means to cite past and future research in a way that is transparent and conscious of the abovementioned problems. Third, we propose a method of transparent reporting for future behaviour research that (i) improves replicability, (ii) accounts for individuality of non‐human participants, and (iii) considers the impact of the animals' welfare on the validity of the science. With this combined approach, we aim both to advance the conversation surrounding behaviour scholarship while also serving to drive open engagement in future science.
Yes‐associated protein 1 mediates initial cell survival during lorlatinib treatment through AKT signaling in ROS1‐rearranged lung cancer
Authors: Yamazoe Masatoshi , Ozasa Hiroaki , Tsuji Takahiro , Funazo Tomoko , Yoshida Hiroshi , Hashimoto Kentaro , Hosoya Kazutaka , Ogimoto Tatsuya , Ajimizu Hitomi , Yoshida Hironori , Itotani Ryo , Sakamori Yuichi , Kuninaga Kiyomitsu , Aoki Wataru , Hirai Toyohiro
Published: October 2022

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that target the ROS proto‐oncogene 1, receptor tyrosine kinase (ROS1) gene have shown dramatic therapeutic effects in patients with ROS1‐rearranged non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nevertheless, advanced ROS1‐rearranged NSCLC is rarely cured as a portion of the tumor cells can survive the initial stages of ROS1‐TKI treatment, even after maximum tumor shrinkage. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms underlying initial cell survival during ROS1‐TKI treatment is necessary to prevent cell survival and achieve a cure for ROS1‐rearranged NSCLC. In this study, we clarified the initial survival mechanisms during treatment with lorlatinib, a ROS1 TKI. First, we established a patient‐derived ezrin gene‐ROS1‐rearranged NSCLC cell line (KTOR71). Then, following proteomic analysis, we focused on yes‐associated protein 1 (YAP1), which is a major mediator of the Hippo pathway, as a candidate factor involved in cell survival during early lorlatinib treatment. Yes‐associated protein 1 was activated by short‐term lorlatinib treatment both in vitro and in vivo. Genetic inhibition of YAP1 using siRNA, or pharmacological inhibition of YAP1 function by the YAP1‐inhibitor verteporfin, enhanced the sensitivity of KTOR71 cells to lorlatinib. In addition, the prosurvival effect of YAP1 was exerted through the reactivation of AKT. Finally, combined therapy with verteporfin and lorlatinib was found to achieve significantly sustained tumor remission compared with lorlatinib monotherapy in vivo. These results suggest that YAP1 could mediate initial cell resistance to lorlatinib in KTOR71 cells. Thus, combined therapy targeting both YAP1 and ROS1 could potentially improve the outcome of ROS1‐rearranged NSCLC.
Presentation and subsequent care of dental injuries sustained by New Zealand adults
Authors: Scott Nina , Cathro Peter Robert , Thomson William Murray
Published: October 2022

Background/Aims

Injuries to permanent teeth are common and can have lasting effects, but knowledge of their consequences is deficient because there is a lack of information from longitudinal follow‐up studies of adult populations. The aim of this study was to use routinely collected adult dental trauma data from New Zealand's no‐fault, Government‐run social insurance scheme—the Accident Compensation Corporation—to investigate the presentation and subsequent care of dental injuries sustained by adults.

Methods

Cross‐sectional analysis of all new dental injuries recorded during 2008 was followed by prospective analysis of all treatment claimed in the following five years for all new injuries recorded in June 2008 for adults aged 18+ years. Those injuries were categorised into five clinically meaningful, ordinal groups of dental injuries, ranging from least severe (Minor injury) to most severe (Severe displacement). The prospective post‐injury treatment information was summarised as (1) restorations; (2) crowns and veneers; (3) completed root canal treatment (preparation and obturation of root canal[s]); (4) extraction (extraction; surgical removal); and (5) implant placement.

Results

Orofacial trauma details were recorded for 32 110 individuals (of all ages) in 2008; males predominated in all age groups, except for those aged 65+ years. Of the 68 890 separate injuries to permanent teeth recorded, 74.9% involved maxillary teeth, with almost 50% involving teeth 21 and 11. Some 66.9% of the dental injuries were classified as Minor; 21.7% involved Fractures or loosening, and 8.2% were Severe fractures. Displacement and Severe displacement injuries comprised 1.8% and 2.5% respectively. During June 2008, dental injuries were recorded for 1325 adults. More than 80% of those dental injuries underwent treatment during the subsequent five years, and more severe initial trauma required more complicated treatment. Minor injuries accounted for 33.5%, fractures/loosening for 50.8%, severe fractures for 1.2%, displacements for 8.8%, and severe displacements for 5.8% of the total cost of treatment provided over that five‐year period.

Conclusions

Although most injuries sustained were minor, their subsequent treatment burden is not only high but also greater with more severe initial trauma. The ongoing societal cost of orofacial trauma appears to be high.
Phenotypic expansion of KCNH1‐associated disorders to include isolated epilepsy and its associations with genotypes and molecular sub‐regional locations
Authors: Tian Mao‐Qiang , Li Ren‐Ke , Yang Fan , Shu Xiao‐Mei , Li Juan , Chen Jing , Peng Long‐Ying , Yu Xiao‐Hua , Yang Chang‐Jian
Published: October 2022

Purpose

Genotype‐phenotypic correlation of KCNH1 variant remains elusive. This study aimed to expand the phenotypic spectrum of KCNH1 and explore the correlations between epilepsy and molecular sub‐regional locations.

Methods

We performed whole‐exome sequencing in a cohort of 98 patients with familiar febrile seizure (FS) or epilepsy with unexplained etiologies. The damaging effects of variants were predicted by protein modeling and multiple in silico tools. All reported patients with KCNH1 pathogenic variants with detailed neurological phenotypes were analyzed to evaluate the genotype‐phenotype correlation.

Results

Two novel KCNH1 variants were identified in three cases, including two patients with FS with inherited variant (p.Ile113Thr) and one boy with epilepsy with de novo variant (p.Arg357Trp). Variant Ile113Thr was located within the eag domain, and variant p.Arg357Trp was located in transmembrane domain 4 of KCNH1, respectively. Two patients experienced refractory status epilepticus (SE), of which one patient died of acute encephalopathy induced by SE. Further analysis of 30 variants in 51 patients demonstrated that de novo variants were associated with epileptic encephalopathy, while mosaic/somatic or germline variants cause isolated epilepsy/FS. All hotspot variants associated with epileptic encephalopathy clustered in transmembrane domain (S4 and S6), while those with isolated epilepsy/seizures or TBS/ZLS without epilepsy were scattered in the KCNH1.

Conclusions

We found two novel missense variants of KCNH1 in three individuals with isolated FS/epilepsy. Variants in the KCNH1 cause a spectrum of epileptic disorders ranging from a benign form of genetic isolated epilepsy/FS to intractable form of epileptic encephalopathy. The genotypes and variant locations help explaining the phenotypic variation of patients with KCNH1 variant.
Inhibition of the expression of rgs‐3 alleviates propofol‐induced decline in learning and memory in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Zhao Ayang , Jin Hongjiang , Fan Guibo , Li Yan , Li Chenglong , Li Qi , Ma Xiaofei , Zhao Tianyang , Sun Siqi , Liu Shuai , Gao Yueyue , Qi Sihua
Published: October 2022

Background

Exposure to anesthesia leads to extensive neurodegeneration and long‐term cognitive deficits in the developing brain. Caenorhabditis elegans also shows persistent behavioral changes during development after exposure to anesthetics. Clinical and rodent studies have confirmed that altered expression of the regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) in the nervous system is a factor contributing to neurodegenerative and psychological diseases. Evidence from preclinical studies has suggested that RGS controls drug‐induced plasticity, including morphine tolerance and addiction. This study aimed to observe the effect of propofol exposure in the neurodevelopmental stage on learning and memory in the L4 stage and to study whether this effect is related to changes in rgs‐3 expression.

Methods

Caenorhabditis elegans were exposed to propofol at the L1 stage, and learning and memory abilities were observed at the L4 stage. The expression of rgs‐3 and the nuclear distribution of EGL‐4 were determined to study the relevant mechanisms. Finally, RNA interference was performed on rgs‐3‐expressing cells after propofol exposure. Then, we observed their learning and memory abilities.

Results

Propofol time‐ and dose‐dependently impaired the learning capacity. Propofol induced a decline in non‐associative and associative long‐term memory, rgs‐3 upregulation, and a failure of nuclear accumulation of EGL‐4/PKG in AWC neurons. Inhibition of rgs‐3 could alleviate the propofol‐induced changes.

Conclusion

Inhibition of the expression of rgs‐3 alleviated propofol‐induced learning and memory deficits in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Rethinking weight: Finding self‐compassion for ‘weight management’
Authors: Brenton‐Peters Jennifer M. , Vallis Michael , Grant Shannan , Consedine Nathan S. , Kirk Sara F. L. , Roy Rajshri , Serlachius Anna
Published: October 2022

Conventional weight management approaches emphasize engaging in health behaviours, such as healthy eating and physical activity, to control body weight and promote favourable health outcomes (e.g., lower blood pressure). However, weight management is a multi‐faceted, complex process influenced by numerous factors that limit the impact of behaviour change on weight. Self‐compassion, treating oneself kindly in times of increased distress or difficulty, may offer a way for individuals to cope with the challenges of managing weight. The objectives of this perspective paper are threefold: (1) to conceptualize weight management, (2) to describe the problem that arises when focusing solely on weight loss, and (3) to explore the theoretical rationale for integrating self‐compassion into weight management interventions. To support individual health and well‐being, there is a need to reframe measures of success and provide innovative ways to cope with the challenges of managing body weight. Continued research is needed to investigate whether self‐compassion can support health outcomes for those with weight management goals. This manuscript provides a proposed research agenda and implications for future practice.
Biotic homogenization and differentiation of plant communities in tropical and subtropical forests
Authors: Kramer Jean M. Freitag , Zwiener Victor P. , Müller Sandra Cristina
Published: October 2022

Anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity can lead to biotic homogenization (BH) and biotic differentiation (BD). BH is a process of increasing similarity in community composition (including taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic components), whereas BD is a process of decreasing similarity over space and time. Here, we conducted a systematic review of BH and BD in plant communities in tropical and subtropical forests to identify trends and knowledge gaps. Our bibliometric search in the Web of Science returned 1989 papers, of which 151 matched our criteria and were included in the analysis. The Neotropical region had the largest number of articles, and Brazil was the most represented country with 92 studies. Regarding the type of change, homogenization was more frequent than differentiation (noted in 69.6% of publications). The taxonomic diversity component was measured more often than functional and phylogenetic diversity components. Most studies (75.6%) assessed homogenization and differentiation based on a single observation in time; as opposed to few studies that monitored plant community over multiple years. Forest fragmentation was cited as the main determinant of homogenization and differentiation processes (57.2% of articles). Our results highlight the importance of evaluating community composition over time and more than taxonomic components (i.e., functional and phylogenetic) to advance understanding of homogenization and differentiation. Both processes were scale dependent and not mutually exclusive. As such, future research should consider differentiation as a potential transition phase to homogenization and that potential differences in both processes may depend on the spatial and temporal scale adopted. Understanding the complexity and causes of homogenization and differentiation is essential for biodiversity conservation in a world increasingly affected by anthropogenic disturbances.
Prioritizing livestock grazing right buyouts to safeguard Asiatic cheetahs from extinction
Authors: Daberger Michaela , Kuemmerle Tobias , Khaleghi Hamidi Amirhossein , Khalatbari Leili , Abolghasemi Hamed , Mirzadeh Hamid Reza , Ghoddousi Arash
Published: October 2022

Livestock husbandry exerts major pressures on wildlife across the world. Large carnivores are particularly at risk because they are often killed by pastoralists as a preventive or precautionary response to livestock depredation. Minimizing the overlap between pastures and carnivore habitat can thus be a conservation strategy, but it remains often unclear which pastures should be targeted to maximize conservation benefits given a limited budget. We addressed this question for the last viable population of the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) in northeastern Iran. By combining species distribution modeling with a spatial prioritization framework, we aimed to identify where grazing right buyouts should take place to reduce cheetah killing by herders and their dogs. We assessed the Asiatic cheetah habitat using species distribution models, highlighting large, contiguous areas that overlap with livestock pastures (5792 km2, equaling 72% of the total predicted suitable habitat). Subsequently, we used data on the number and distribution of livestock (~47,000 animals in 80 pastures) and applied a spatial prioritization method to identify pastures for grazing right buyouts for a range of budget scenarios (US$100,000–600,000). Pastures selected had a high level of irreplaceability and were generally stable across budget scenarios. Our results provide a novel approach to minimize encounter rates between cheetah and livestock, and thus the mortality risk, for one of the world's most endangered felids and highlight the potential of spatial prioritization as a tool to devise urgent conservation actions.
Histopathologic and molecular characterization of BAP‐1‐inactivated melanoma
Authors: Miller Elisabeth M. , Linos Konstantinos , Bacchi Carlos E. , Gru Alejandro A. , Raghavan Shyam S.
Published: October 2022

Background

BRCA1‐associated protein 1 (BAP‐1) is a deubiquitylase that functions as a tumor suppressor, regulating multiple cellular processes including cell cycle control, differentiation, cell death, and DNA repair. BAP‐1‐inactivated melanocytic tumors (BIMTs) have recently been described and are characterized by epithelioid cytomorphology, are often clonal in appearance, and typically do not recur or show malignant transformation on follow‐up.

Aim

To describe the histopathologic and molecular characterization of five cases of BAP‐1‐inactivated cutaneous malignant melanomas.

Methods

The archives at two separate institutions were retrospectively searched for tumors classified as melanoma with loss of BAP‐1 via immunohistochemistry. Five cases were identified. These cases were classified as malignant melanoma based on cytomorphology, immunohistochemistry, and ancillary molecular testing. The clinical demographics were recorded, along with the histomorphologic features of each case. Genomic analysis for all cases was performed via OncoScan.

Results

The five reviewed cases consisted of two females and three males ranging from 67 to 74 years in age. Molecular characterization of each case was performed using OncoScan. Microarray assay showed that there was a complete deletion of 3p in all cases, BRAF V600E mutation in two cases, NRAS missense variant in one case, and loss of 9p in three cases. All cases showed malignant copy number alterations.

Conclusions

Herein we describe five cases of BAP‐1‐inactivated melanomas confirmed by histomorphology and immunohistochemistry, all of which show malignant copy number profiles including loss of 3p. In addition, we provide a case of a likely BIMT showing progression to BAP‐1‐inactivated melanoma on a 16‐year follow‐up.