bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optical coherence tomography and angiography in Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive disorders
Authors: Moussa Mohamed , Falfoul Yousra , Nasri Amina , El Matri Khaled , Kacem Imen , Mrabet Saloua , Chebil Ahmed , Gharbi Alya , Gouider Riadh , El Matri Leila
Published: January 2023

Aims

The aims of this study were to analyze retinal and choroidal changes on optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT-Angiography (OCT-A) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and compare them to other forms of major dementia. We also aimed to analyze the correlation between clinical severity of global cognitive deficiency assessed by the mini-mental state exam (MMSE) score and OCT/OCT-A parameters.

Methods

Retrospective cross-sectional evaluative study of AD, and age-and gender-matched patients with other dementias. Fundus examination, OCT and OCT-A were compared.

Results

Ninety-one eyes of AD patients and 53 eyes of patients with other dementias were included. Retinal deposits were found in 6.59% of AD cases. OCT highlighted the presence of hyperreflective deposits and localized areas of outer retina and ellipsoid zone disruption, respectively in 20.87% and 15.38% of AD cases. Hyperreflective foci were noted within inner retinal layers in 4.39% of AD cases. Quantitative analysis revealed a thicker nasal retinal nerve fiber layer (p = 0.001) and ganglion cell complex in superior (p = 0.011) and temporal quadrants (p = 0.009) in eyes of AD patients, compared to other dementias. OCT-A showed a significantly higher fractal dimension of both superficial and deep capillary plexus (p = 0.005), with lower choriocapillaris density (p = 0.003) in AD patients.

Conclusions

Structural OCT could highlight the presence of hyperreflective deposits in AD, probably reflecting beta-amyloid deposits, associated to outer retinal disruptions. Quantitative OCT analysis showed structural differences between AD patients and other dementias, and combined OCT-A could identify microvascular changes in AD patients representing new potential differential diagnosis criteria.
Effect of the pin temperature and SiC reinforcement on dry sliding tribological behavior of aluminium based silicon carbide metal matrix composite (Al-SiC) using Taguchi approach
Authors: Mhaske Milind S. , Navthar R.R. , Shirsat U.M.
Published: January 2023

This paper deals with the replacement of existing brake pad material based on its highest strength and stiffness-to-weight ratio. To overcome this problem, we have investigated the input process parameters: silicon carbide weight percentage, normal pressure, sliding speed or distance, and temperature, all of which affect tribological properties. The tribological behavior of an aluminum-based silicon carbide metal matrix (Al-SiC) is investigated at elevated temperatures in this study. The metal matrix composite brake pad material has been introduced recently due to its cost-effectiveness, stable coefficient of friction, lower wear rate, and constant contact pressure at high temperatures. In this investigation, an LM25-SiC composite was fabricated using the stir casting technique, in which SiC particles were reinforced at 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight in the base alloy LM25. The investigation was carried out for friction and wear studies on a pin on a disc tester at elevated temperatures for different loads and sliding distances. The investigation using the design of experimentation highlighted by the Taguchi technique highlights the effectiveness of replacing existing brake pad material. The experimental results show improved mechanical properties due to the addition of SiC, and it is also observed that a 15% SiC addition to base metal gives optimal sliding wear.
The ophthalmoscope and the physician: Technical innovations and professionalization of medicine
Authors: Doria Corinne
Published: January 2023

This article examines the impact of the ophthalmoscope on medical practice and the transformation the medical profession undertook during the second half of the nineteenth century. It argues that the ophthalmoscope had been at the same time an indicator and an accelerator of the transition of medicine from a learned profession to a discipline based on empirical observation, collection and interpretation of data performed by experts. The first six decades since the invention of the ophthalmoscope correspond to a moment when medicine became well established as a hospital-based discipline grounded on clinical observations. This explains the reasons for the instrument's success amongst physicians and the small number of hesitancies it provoked, especially when compared to earlier devices such as the stethoscope. The history of the ophthalmoscope shows hence the close connexion, characteristic of modern medicine, between the medical profession and the use of instruments capable of providing observable data about the patient's body. Furthermore, the ability to perform ophthalmoscopy demonstrated that a physician possessed solid observational, interpretive and analytical skills. Its use hence contributed significantly to shaping the professional identity of medical doctors.
“Digital kink obscurity: A sexual politics beyond visibility and comprehension”
Authors: Sundén Jenny
Published: January 2023

Based on an interview-driven ethnographic study of the Swedish digital BDSM, fetish and kink platform Darkside, this article explores digital kink expressions at a moment when kink communities are both marginalized and seemingly mainstream, navigating a tricky balance between visibility and invisibility, intelligibility and unintelligibility. Across queer, postcolonial, and digital media theorizing, “opacity” provides a way of rethinking these tensions, challenging the idea of public visibility and identification as that which legitimizes sexual otherness. Building on this work, I suggest the term “kink obscurity” as a way of conceptualizing a set of tactics for sexually marginalized groups to exist, resist, and transgress without becoming fully visible or graspable. To these ends, I foreground a “closet positive” analysis of Darkside, not primarily of shame, secrecy, and isolation, but of shared spaces of vulnerability and intensity, a temporary safe house which partly protects against normative regulation. Although the platform activist ethos speaks to the value of openness and outness for the sake of sexual justice, the users are quite invested in anonymous and pseudonymous online presence and sexual expression. Opacity implies a lack of clarity; something opaque may be both difficult to see clearly as well as to understand. Drawing on Édouard Glissant’s idea of opacity as a form resistance to surveillance and imperial domination, a digital sexual politics of obscurity could help provide recognition without a demand to fully understand sexual otherness, opening up for new modes of obscure and pleasurable sexual expressions and transgressions.
How homophobic propaganda produces vernacular prejudice in authoritarian states
Authors: Morris Jeremy
Published: January 2023

An understanding of gendered homophobia in authoritarian states like Russia provides insights into intolerance as a function of propaganda. What is the effect on ordinary attitudes of “political homophobia” (Boellstorf, 2009) disseminated at fever pitch by state-controlled media intent on dividing the world geopolitically into debauched gay-friendly states, and those willing to defend “traditional Christian” values? Despite authoritarian societies appearing very different from pluralist ones, attitudes are plastic, diverse views possible, and survey polling unreliable. The ethnographic materials presented here show the need to meaningfully engage with vernacular prejudice and differentiate it from regime and media messaging. Everyday forms of homophobia and heterosexism have their origins in complex social phenomena and historical legacies beyond geopolitically-motivated hatred.
Parental beliefs regarding adult and child motorcycle helmet-wearing practices in Vietnam
Authors: Jantz Paul B , Trinh Thi L
Published: January 2023

From a global perspective, low helmet-wearing rates in children are an ongoing concern. International studies show adult helmet-wearing rates are consistently higher than those of children. Research also shows parents are highly influential in promoting healthy behavior in their children. Parent-focused helmet-wearing campaigns are a practical way to actively feature parents influencing helmet-wearing in children. The current study obtained anonymous parent-focused survey data on parent and child helmet-wearing practices, perceived affects of helmet use on children’s health, and beliefs about brain injury prevention from a sample of Vietnams parents. Findings from this study are consistent with previous international research that shows adults wear helmets at higher rates than children. Data from this study may help those responsible for child helmet safety campaigns develop more effective child helmet-wearing campaigns, particularly in Southeast Asian countries.
Making friends with the family: A fresh look at coming out
Authors: Chandra Shiva , Wilkinson Jennifer
Published: January 2023

There is limited in-depth theorisation of positive coming-out experiences within families of origin. This is especially true for diasporic South Asian communities living in majority Anglophone contexts. The article draws on a study of 15 gay men of South Asian descent, in Australia, to analyse how coming out can lead to positive developments in family relations, even if they exist alongside negativity about one's sexuality. Coming out can introduce greater intimacy into family attachments, which at times turns family members into friends, and intimacy and friendship might serve as a reason for coming out in the first place. These processes strengthen familial ties, and data illustrates that concepts such as intimacy, friendship, and suffusion, can be used to conceptualise positive outcomes. We recommend further exploration of such stories in diasporic South Asian communities, to challenge the negativity often associated with this group in relation to their same-sex-attracted kin.
Extra-terrestrial landings: An ethnographic account of doing ethnography
Authors: Jaju Garima
Published: January 2023

The field site is the retail showrooms of a fast-expanding organized retail company selling budget eyewear products across shopping malls and high streets of urban India. Through a thick description of 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork – arriving, forging social relations, recording and writing – this article traces the practical, ethical and epistemological paradoxes in doing ethnography. The article identifies these paradoxes as inherent to ethnography given its radical intent. Not studying them as limitations or failures, the article makes the case for a more honest and critical reckoning with these internal contradictions by making them more present in ethnographic practice and writing. It is argued that in so doing we enrich our understanding of the complex and contradictory social worlds we inhabit and study.
A stranger at home? A multilevel analysis of anti-Muslim sentiment in Western European societies
Authors: Torres Chedraui Ana Maria , Wong Pui-Hang
Published: January 2023

The capability of accommodation policies to create inclusive and cohesive societies for social integration has recently been called into question. Some people worry that accommodation may upset those who disagree about the policy and create a backlash effect. This study examines these issues using the theory of cognitive dissonance and empirically tests whether individuals’ policy preference influences the impact of accommodation of Islam policies on anti-Muslim sentiments. Using survey data from 15 Western European countries, we find that accommodation of Islam policies produce socialising effects on those whose opinions resonate with the policies. However, we do not find statistical evidence of backlash on those whose opinions dissonate with the policies. The findings suggest that accommodation of Islam policies do not radicalise dissonant opinions and are likely to reduce anti-Muslim sentiments among those whose opinions resonate with the policies.
The showability of policing: How police officers’ use of videos in organizational contexts reproduces police culture
Authors: Keesman Laura D.
Published: January 2023

While much scholarly literature on police ‘canteen’ culture focuses on police storytelling, there is little research on the effects of camera phone technologies on police behaviours, particularly in organizational settings. This article introduces the concept of showability to examine how police officers use videos in their everyday police life, and how this relates to police culture. Based on an ethnographic study of the Dutch police, it illustrates that officers show, share, and discuss videos of various policing acts such as arrests, car chases, and use-of-force events, and do this in various locations such as office spaces, squad cars, and on the streets. First and foremost, officers show videos to entertain and to educate themselves and their fellow officers. Second, showing videos is a new occupational practice that, like in telling stories, reinforces and refutes aspects of police culture, for instance, a masculine ethos. The article contributes to criminological scholarship on the era of ‘new visibility’ by demonstrating that showability is a form of inward visibility wherein officers generate a visual world that fits their professional vision. It also contributes to a sociological understanding of the ‘everydayness’ of police culture. I claim that showability is a key feature of policing practices, which is relevant in light of increasing pressures on the police to account for their work.
Thermal comfort analysis of auto-racing suits using a dynamic thermal manikin
Authors: Riedy Reannan , McQuerry Meredith
Published: January 2023

Motorsports athletes compete at high speeds for, on average, three to four hours in a cockpit that can reach temperatures of 50°C. While engineers have worked to create a faster car and safer conditions, the comfort of the driver is often sacrificed. Motorsports governing bodies require that a driver’s racing suit meet at least one of several certification levels for thermal protection. While much research and testing go into certification, there continues to be a lack of information in the body of research regarding the impact of the racing suit on thermal comfort and heat stress. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to determine the impact of auto-racing personal protective clothing on the thermal comfort of race car drivers by utilizing a thermal manikin to observe the thermal insulation, evaporative resistance, and total heat loss (THL) of standard racing suits. Racing suit systems of varying SFI Foundation, Inc. (SFI) certification levels were purchased and analyzed using an ANDI sweating thermal manikin in an environmental chamber. Results from this research demonstrate that the average predicted THL for an SFI compliant racing ensemble is 172 W/m2. Findings indicate it is more beneficial for thermal comfort to wear a lower rated suit with base layers as opposed to a higher rated suit without undergarments. More research must be done to better understand how the predicted THL for racing ensembles effects the human body when performing under race day conditions, and to determine a minimum THL benchmark for racing ensembles.
Percutaneous Suture - Closure Device Used for Iatrogenic Carotid Artery Injury Management: Case Report and Review of Literature
Authors: Hu Yizhou , Al Khiami Belal
Published: January 2023

Accidental carotid artery injury is an uncommon but serious central venous catheter insertion complication. Hemostasis might not be readily achieved by manual compression; therefore, surgery or endovascular treatment remains the mainstay for accidental carotid artery injury. However, not all patients are suitable candidates for surgery.

Vascular closure devices are widely used in femoral arteries to achieve hemostasis and early ambulation. The use of vascular closure devices is occasionally reported in other vascular beds. Here we present a case of an iatrogenic left common carotid artery injury treated by vascular closure device, which is of help in the future management of this complication.
A single-center comparative study with large sample size on stent-assisted coiling versus coiling alone for the ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysms: Analysis of safety, efficacy, and prognosis based on propensity score matching
Authors: Shang Wei , Chang Xiaoting , Xu Yousong , Dong Bin
Published: January 2023

Objective

To compare the safety, efficacy, and prognosis of stent-assisted coiling (SAC) versus coiling alone (CA) in the treatment of ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysms (ACoAAs).

Methods

The clinical and follow-up data of ruptured ACoAAs treated with endovascular treatment in our center from January 2011 to January 2021 were retrospectively collected. Patients were divided into an SAC group and a CA group based on whether stents were used, after which the two groups were matched for propensity scores. The general clinical data, embolization effect, perioperative complications, clinical, and follow-up results after matching were compared.

Results

A total of 354 patients were enrolled, of whom 147 patients (41.5%) received SAC and the rest received CA. Comparison baseline of two groups showed that patients with a larger diameter, wide neck, irregular morphology, and anterior direction were more likely to receive SAC. After propensity score matching, 113 patients were included in each group. Immediately postoperative angiography results showed that the complete embolization rate of patients in the SAC group was significantly lower than that in the CA group (62.8% vs. 76.1%, p = 0.03). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the incidence of perioperative complications, mortality, poor prognosis at discharge or follow-up, mid-term complete occlusion rate and recurrence rate.

Conclusion

The stent-assisted treatment of ruptured ACoAAs did not increase the risk of perioperative complications or the probability of poor prognosis, indicating that SAC treatment of ruptured ACoAAs is safe and feasible and has a reliable mid-term cure rate.
Management paradigms of persistent primitive trigeminal artery aneurysms: A systematic review and analysis of techniques and complications from 1960s to 2022: From conservative to surgical to endovascular, how far along the right path are we?
Authors: Sreenivasan Sanjeev , Agarwal Neha , Roychowdhury Sudipta , Khandelwal Priyank , Sun Hai , Singla Amit , Sonig Ashish , Gupta Gaurav
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Aneurysms of persistent primitive trigeminal artery (PPTAAs) are increasingly reported and commonly managed by endovascular (EN) techniques. There are no systematic reviews or meta-analyses which analyse outcomes and complications of treatment modalities for PPTAAs. We aim to highlight the change in trend of management of PPTAAs and to identify clinical and radiological parameters which may influence management paradigms.

Methodology

A systematic search of literature was done in PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane library and Medline using keywords ‘persistent primitive trigeminal artery’, ’aneurysms’, ‘embolization’, ‘surgical clipping’, etc. Only cases reporting aneurysms of PPTA were included. Three subgroups, such as conservative, open surgical (OS) and EN interventional, were studied for outcome evaluation. In the EN subgroup, relation of clinical and radiological parameters with outcome (complete/partial occlusion) was analysed using Microsoft Excel Data Analysis ToolPak.

Results

Of the 101 articles found eligible for assessment, 54 were analysed quantitatively. Mortality in the conservative group was 12.5% and OS group was 9.09%. After EN treatment, complete angiographic occlusion was seen in 88.89% PPTAAs and 5.5% warranted retreatment. In the EN subgroup, location ( p=0.17), shape ( p=0.69), Saltzman circulation ( p=0.26) or status of rupture ( p=0.08) did not significantly impact angiographic occlusion outcome. Multivariate regression analysis showed 6.6% influence of independent variables, that is, age, gender, aneurysm location, side, shape (saccular/fusiform), rupture status and type of Saltzman circulation on aneurysm occlusion outcome [F(7,27) =1.34] ( p=0.27). Total mortality reported in the EN group was 8.57%.

Conclusion

Clinical or radiological parameters do not influence angiographic occlusion outcome. Although EN techniques are successful, meticulous reporting of outcomes and complications is important.
Implicit and explicit processing on base rate neglect problems
Authors: Ricco Robert B , Koshino Hideya , Bonsel Jasmine , Von Monteza Jay , Ware Stephen
Published: January 2023

Base rate reasoning as assessed on Base rate neglect (BRN) Tasks has been studied extensively, with a sizable body of findings indicating that both logical (base rate) and belief-based (case description) processing contribute to responses on the task. Various task conditions have been found to influence which type of processing controls responding. The present study compares two instructional sets, one which requires responding in terms of the base rate information and one which requires responding in accordance with the case description. This manipulation allows for a distinction between explicit processing (set-consistent) and implicit processing (set-inconsistent and potentially interfering). We also manipulated the extremity of the base rates employed in the task and the extremity of the stereotypes contained in the case description. We argue that extremity effects should be present in implicit, but not explicit, processing, suggesting that these effects are the result of limitations in the control of set-inconsistent processing. The results generally supported the predictions. In addition, a proclivity for analytical thinking, as measured by actively open-minded thinking (AOT), was associated with less interference of belief-based processing on logical responding, but greater interference of logical processing on belief-based responding.
MyDietCam: Development and usability study of a food recognition integrated dietary monitoring smartphone application
Authors: Kong Nadine Alvina , Moy Foong Ming , Ong Shu Hwa , Tahir Ghalib Ahmed , Loo Choo Kiong
Published: January 2023

Background

Diet monitoring has been linked with improved eating habits and positive health outcomes such as prevention of obesity. However, this is often unsustainable as traditional methods place a high burden on both participants and researchers through pen and paper recordings and manual nutrient coding respectively. The digitisation of dietary monitoring has greatly reduced these barriers. This paper proposes a diet application with a novel food recognition feature with a usability study conducted in the real world.

Methods

This study describes the development of a mobile diet application (MyDietCam) targeted at healthy Malaysian adults. Focus group discussions (FGD) were carried out among dietitians and potential users to determine ideal features in a diet application. Thirty participants were recruited from a local university to log their meals through MyDietCam for six days and submit the Malay mHealth Application Usability Questionnaire (M-MAUQ) at the end of the study.

Results

The findings from the FGD led to the implementation of the main features: individualised recommendations, food logging through food recognition to reduce steps for data entry and provide detailed nutrient analyses through visuals. An average overall usability score of 5.13 out of a maximum of seven was reported from the M-MAUQ which is considered acceptable.

Conclusion

The development of a local (Malaysian) mobile diet application with acceptable usability may be helpful in sustaining the diet monitoring habit to improve health outcomes. Future work should focus on improving the issues raised before testing the effectiveness of the application for improving health outcomes.
The Past as Prologue: Police Stops and Legacies of Complaints About Neighborhood Police Misconduct
Authors: McCarthy Bill , Hagan John , Herda Daniel , Skogan Wesley G.
Published: January 2023

Quantitative analyses show that police stop and frisks are highly concentrated by neighborhood. Interview and ethnographic studies show that police routinely share information about neighborhood attributes including crime rates and demographic characteristics such as racial and ethnic composition and economic conditions. Investigations suggest that police also share information about complaints against them. Our analysis bridges these three literatures and examines whether a neighborhood's historical and contemporary complaints about police mistreatment are a significant source of police stops. Our research focuses on complaints and stops in Chicago. We find that stops are more frequent in neighborhoods where historical and contemporary complaints are high, as well as in communities with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged, Hispanic, and especially Black residents. We find that these associations hold net of potential sources of spuriousness, including prior police stops and crime. Police perceptions of the race of the person stopped contextualize the relationships between stops and complaints: they are exacerbated for people the police identified as Black. Our findings suggest that complaints and the narratives they engender may be enduring systemic sources of bias in police behavior.
Comparative Effectiveness, Efficiency, and ED Nurse Preference Between Two Methods of Visualization for Midline Catheter Insertion: A Pilot Study
Authors: Alsbrooks Kimberly , Hoerauf Klaus
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Rapid and reliable peripheral IV access is essential for many patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) to ensure administration of life-saving medications, and successful intravenous cannulation can significantly affect patient care.

Objective

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a continuous needle tracking system on the accuracy, speed, and quality of ultrasound-guided peripheral venous catheter insertions.

Methods

A convenient sample study based on the study setting using simulated tissue was conducted with 49 US-based ED nurses to compare the insertion of a midline catheter using traditional ultrasound guidance versus an advanced needle-tracking technology along with ultrasound guidance. The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the impact of continuous needle tracking system. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants involved in this study. All participants were made aware that the results may be published. There was no IRB approval for this study. All sources were properly disclosed within the text.

Results

The addition of the advanced needle-tracking technology significantly reduced total insertion attempts, insertion time, backwall penetrations, and redirects (probes to hit the target vein), while improving image clarity and confidence for participants.

Conclusion

The innovative needle-tracking system evaluated in this pilot study has the potential to improve emergent difficult vascular access. EDs should assess the value of this technology to potentially improve the management of difficult intravenous access patients in their settings.
TTS2016R: A data set to study population and employment patterns from the 2016 Transportation Tomorrow Survey in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area, Ontario, Canada
Authors: Soukhov Anastasia , Páez Antonio
Published: January 2023

This paper describes and visualises the data contained within the {TTS2016R} data package created in R, the statistical computing and graphics language. {TTS2016R} contains home-to-work commute information for the Greater Golden Horseshoe area in Canada retrieved from the 2016 Transportation Tomorrow Survey (TTS). Included are all Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ), the number of people who are employed full-time per TAZ, the number of jobs per TAZ, the count of origin destination (OD) pairs and trips by mode per origin TAZ, calculated car travel time from TAZ OD centroid pairs and associated spatial boundaries to link TAZ to the Canadian Census. To illustrate how this information can be analysed to understand patterns in commuting, we estimate a distance-decay curve (i.e. impedance function) for the region. {TTS2016R} is a growing open data product built on R infrastructure that allows for the immediate access of home-to-work commuting data alongside complimentary objects from different sources. The package will continue expanding with additions by the authors and the community at-large by requests in the future. {TTS2016R} can be freely explored and downloaded in the associated Github repository where the documentation and code involved in data creation, manipulation and all open data products are detailed.
Gymnema inodorum Leaf Extract Improves Cardiac Function in Experimental Mice Infected with Plasmodium Berghei
Authors: Ounjaijean Sakaewan , Rattanatham Rujikorn , Somsak Voravuth , Boonhoh Worakan , Surinkaew Sirirat
Published: January 2023

Malaria-associated cardiac injury has been reported to be the primary cause of death due to severe malaria. The discovery of substances showing a protective effect on cardiac injury during malaria infection is urgently needed. Hence, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Gymnema inodorum leaf extract (GIE) on cardiac function in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. ICR mice were treated with 1 × 107 infected red blood cells of P. berghei ANKA (PbANKA), administered orally with GIE in 100, 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight of mice. Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and echocardiography were carried out. It was found that CPK and heart-weight to body-weight (HW/BW) ratios were significantly higher in untreated mice than the healthy control. Moreover, impaired cardiac function in the untreated group was observed as indicated by changes in echocardiography. Interestingly, GIE exerted a protective effect on cardiac injury induced by PbANKA infection. Our results demonstrated that the parasitemia percentage, CPK, HW/BW ratio, and echocardiography in GIE treated mice were improved. However, there was no significant difference between GIE dosages. Therefore, GIE possessed a cardio-protective effect during malaria infection in mice.
Comorbidities in transplant recipients with acute myeloid leukemia receiving low-intensity conditioning regimens: an ALWP EBMT study
Authors: Fein Joshua A. , Shouval Roni , Galimard Jacques-Emmanuel , Labopin Myriam , Socié Gérard , Finke Jürgen , Cornelissen Jan J. , Malladi Ram , Itälä-Remes Maija , Chevallier Patrice , Orchard Kim H. , Bunjes Donald , Aljurf Mahmoud , Rubio Marie Thérèse , Versluis Jurjen , Mohty Mohamad , Nagler Arnon
Published: January 2023

Older age and a high burden of comorbidities often drive the selection of low-intensity conditioning regimens in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients. However, the impact of comorbidities in the low-intensity conditioning setting is unclear. We sought to determine the contribution of individual comorbidities and their cumulative burden on the risk of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) among patients receiving low-intensity regimens. In a retrospective analysis of adults (≥18 years) who underwent transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia in the first complete remission between 2008 and 2018, we studied recipients of low-intensity regimens as defined by the transplantation conditioning intensity (TCI) scale. Multivariable Cox models were constructed to study associations of comorbidities with NRM. Comorbidities identified as putative risk factors in the low-TCI setting were included in combined multivariable regression models assessed for overall survival, NRM, and relapse. A total of 1663 patients with a median age of 61 years received low-TCI regimens. Cardiac comorbidity (including arrhythmia/valvular disease) and psychiatric disease were associated with increased NRM risk (hazard ratio [HR], 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-2.09 and HR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.02-2.82, respectively). Moderate pulmonary dysfunction, though prevalent, was not associated with increased NRM. In a combined model, cardiac, psychiatric, renal, and inflammatory bowel diseases were independently associated with adverse transplantation outcomes. These findings may inform patient and regimen selection and reinforce the need for further investigation of cardioprotective transplantation approaches.
Reference values of total respiratory resistance, determined with the "opening" interruption technique
Authors: Vooren PH , van Zomeren BC
Published: January 2023

In a large epidemiological survey of lung function the subjects performed maximum expiratory flow volume (MEFV) manoeuvres. They were also interviewed by trained interviewers using a standardized questionnaire. In a random subset of the subjects the resistance of the respiratory system was measured with the "opening" interruption technique, in which the mouth pressure before the end of the interruption period is divided by the flow shortly after the end of it. The subset contained men and women, and smokers as well as nonsmokers, 229 of whom were considered to be healthy because they had no history of complaints and a "normal" flow-volume curve. In this group mean inspiratory and expiratory resistances did not differ significantly (0.27 and 0.29 for men and 0.39 and 0.38 kPa.l-1.s for women). The averages of in- and expiratory resistance were 0.28 +/- 0.10 kPa.l-1.s for men and 0.39 +/- 0.11 kPa.l-1.s for women. The resistance values were slightly but significantly correlated with body height, FEV1 and MEF50, but not with smoking habits. Due to the considerable variability the method does not permit sharp discrimination between normal and abnormal subjects. However, it appears to be useful in histamine challenge testing, to detect and monitor bronchial asthma, being not subjected to the disturbing effect of forced ins- and expirations.
Fatal asthma in a young patient with severe bronchial hyperresponsiveness but stable peak flow records
Authors: Saetta M , Thiene G , Crescioli S , Fabbri LM
Published: January 2023

We report the sudden death of a 16 yr old boy with asthma. At presentation, the patient had symptoms of active asthma, mild bronchoconstriction, severe airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine, and increased variability of peak expiratory flow records. After the patient was placed on inhaled beclomethasone (1 mg b.i.d preceded by inhaled fenoterol 0.4 mg b.i.d) he rapidly felt better, lung function improved, but airway responsiveness remained severe. Four months later, on the day he died, he was well until a fatal attack of asthma occurred around midnight without identifiable precipitating factors. Taken to hospital, he was dead on arrival. Necroscopy and microscopy showed the characteristic features of asthma death. This case report suggests that; a) asthma death may occur suddenly and unexpectedly; b) asthma death may not be prevented by long-term treatment with high-dose inhaled beclomethasone; c) severe bronchial hyperresponsiveness, even in the presence of stable peak flow records, may identify asthmatic patients at risk of sudden death.
Effect of spinal fusion on joint space narrowing of the hip: comparison among non-fusion, short fusion, and middle or long fusion
Authors: Ukai Taku , Katoh Hiroyuki , Yokoyama Katsuya , Sato Masato , Watanabe Masahiko
Published: January 2023

Background

Lumbar fusion corrects spinal deformities and improves spinal complications. Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is strongly correlated with spinal mobility, and joint space narrowing of the hip after spinal fusion has gained attention. This study aimed to elucidate the effect of spinal fusion on hip joint space narrowing.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively examined 530 hips of 270 patients who underwent spinal surgery. All the patients underwent whole-spine radiography before and at the final follow-up. Patients were divided into three groups (N group: non-spinal fusion, S group: up to three interbody fusions, and L group: more than four interbody fusions). The rates of joint space narrowing, spinal parameters (sagittal vertical axis, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, sacral slope, pelvic tilt, and pelvic incidence), and limb length discrepancy at the final follow-up were compared. A multilinear regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for the rate of joint space narrowing.

Results

The rate of joint space narrowing was significantly higher in the L group than in the N and S groups (P < 0.001). No significant difference in the rate of joint space narrowing was observed between the N and S groups. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the number of fusion levels (p < 0.05) and follow-up period (p < 0.001) were independent risk factors for joint space narrowing. Spinal parameters at the final follow-up were not independent risk factors.

Conclusions

Long spinal fusion (more than four levels) led to significantly greater joint space narrowing of the hip than short (up to three levels) or no fusion. Spinal alignment did not affect joint space narrowing of the hip. Surgeons should be aware that more than four interbody fusions may result in worse joint space narrowing of the hip.

Level of evidence

IV, retrospective study
Role of the endocannabinoid system in fragile X syndrome: potential mechanisms for benefit from cannabidiol treatment
Authors: Palumbo Joseph M. , Thomas Brian F. , Budimirovic Dejan , Siegel Steven , Tassone Flora , Hagerman Randi , Faulk Christopher , O’Quinn Stephen , Sebree Terri
Published: January 2023

Multiple lines of evidence suggest a central role for the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in the neuronal development and cognitive function and in the pathogenesis of fragile X syndrome (FXS). This review describes the ECS, its role in the central nervous system, how it is dysregulated in FXS, and the potential role of cannabidiol as a treatment for FXS. FXS is caused by deficiency or absence of the fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1 (FMR1) protein, FMRP, typically due to the presence of >200 cytosine, guanine, guanine sequence repeats leading to methylation of the FMR1 gene promoter. The absence of FMRP, following FMR1 gene-silencing, disrupts ECS signaling, which has been implicated in FXS pathogenesis. The ECS facilitates synaptic homeostasis and plasticity through the cannabinoid receptor 1, CB1, on presynaptic terminals, resulting in feedback inhibition of neuronal signaling. ECS-mediated feedback inhibition and synaptic plasticity are thought to be disrupted in FXS, leading to overstimulation, desensitization, and internalization of presynaptic CB1 receptors. Cannabidiol may help restore synaptic homeostasis by acting as a negative allosteric modulator of CB1, thereby attenuating the receptor overstimulation, desensitization, and internalization. Moreover, cannabidiol affects DNA methylation, serotonin 5HT1A signal transduction, gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor signaling, and dopamine D2 and D3 receptor signaling, which may contribute to beneficial effects in patients with FXS. Consistent with these proposed mechanisms of action of cannabidiol in FXS, in the CONNECT-FX trial the transdermal cannabidiol gel, ZYN002, was associated with improvements in measures of social avoidance, irritability, and social interaction, particularly in patients who are most affected, showing ≥90% methylation of the FMR1 gene.
Rice Defense Responses Orchestrated by Oral Bacteria of the Rice Striped Stem Borer, Chilo suppressalis
Authors: Xue Rongrong , Li Qing , Guo Ruiqing , Yan Hui , Ju Xueyang , Liao Lu , Zeng Rensen , Song Yuanyuan , Wang Jie
Published: January 2023

Plant defenses in response to chewing insects are generally regulated by jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway, whereas salicylic acid (SA) signaling is mainly involved in plant defense against biotrophic pathogens and piercing-sucking insects. Previous studies showed that both JA- and SA-related defenses in rice plants were triggered by the infestation of the rice striped stem borer (SSB, Chilo suppressalis), a destructive pest causing severe damage to rice production. Herbivore-associated microbes play an important role in modulating plant–insect interaction, and thus we speculate that the SSB symbiotic microbes acting as a hidden player may cause this anomalous result. The antibiotics (AB) treatment significantly depressed the performance of field-collected SSB larvae on rice plants, and reduced the quantities of bacteria around the wounds of rice stems compared to non-AB treatment. In response to mechanical wounding and oral secretions (OS) collected from non-AB treated larvae, rice plants exhibited lower levels of JA-regulated defenses, but higher levels of SA-regulated defenses compared to the treatment of OS from AB-treated larvae determined by using a combination of biochemical and molecular methods. Among seven culturable bacteria isolated from the OS of SSB larvae, Enterobacter and Acinetobacter contributed to the suppression of JA signaling-related defenses in rice plants, and axenic larvae reinoculated with these two strains displayed better performance on rice plants. Our findings demonstrate that SSB larvae exploit oral secreted bacteria to interfere with plant anti-herbivore defense and avoid fully activating the JA-regulated antiherbivore defenses of rice plants.
Negation detection in Dutch clinical texts: an evaluation of rule-based and machine learning methods
Authors: van Es Bram , Reteig Leon C. , Tan Sander C. , Schraagen Marijn , Hemker Myrthe M. , Arends Sebastiaan R. S. , Rios Miguel A. R. , Haitjema Saskia
Published: January 2023

When developing models for clinical information retrieval and decision support systems, the discrete outcomes required for training are often missing. These labels need to be extracted from free text in electronic health records. For this extraction process one of the most important contextual properties in clinical text is negation, which indicates the absence of findings. We aimed to improve large scale extraction of labels by comparing three methods for negation detection in Dutch clinical notes. We used the Erasmus Medical Center Dutch Clinical Corpus to compare a rule-based method based on ContextD, a biLSTM model using MedCAT and (finetuned) RoBERTa-based models. We found that both the biLSTM and RoBERTa models consistently outperform the rule-based model in terms of F1 score, precision and recall. In addition, we systematically categorized the classification errors for each model, which can be used to further improve model performance in particular applications. Combining the three models naively was not beneficial in terms of performance. We conclude that the biLSTM and RoBERTa-based models in particular are highly accurate accurate in detecting clinical negations, but that ultimately all three approaches can be viable depending on the use case at hand.
Ensemble feature selection with data-driven thresholding for Alzheimer's disease biomarker discovery
Authors: Spooner Annette , Mohammadi Gelareh , Sachdev Perminder S. , Brodaty Henry , Sowmya Arcot ,   for the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: January 2023

Background

Feature selection is often used to identify the important features in a dataset but can produce unstable results when applied to high-dimensional data. The stability of feature selection can be improved with the use of feature selection ensembles, which aggregate the results of multiple base feature selectors. However, a threshold must be applied to the final aggregated feature set to separate the relevant features from the redundant ones. A fixed threshold, which is typically used, offers no guarantee that the final set of selected features contains only relevant features. This work examines a selection of data-driven thresholds to automatically identify the relevant features in an ensemble feature selector and evaluates their predictive accuracy and stability. Ensemble feature selection with data-driven thresholding is applied to two real-world studies of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with no known cure, that begins at least 2–3 decades before overt symptoms appear, presenting an opportunity for researchers to identify early biomarkers that might identify patients at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Results

The ensemble feature selectors, combined with data-driven thresholds, produced more stable results, on the whole, than the equivalent individual feature selectors, showing an improvement in stability of up to 34%. The most successful data-driven thresholds were the robust rank aggregation threshold and the threshold algorithm threshold from the field of information retrieval. The features identified by applying these methods to datasets from Alzheimer's disease studies reflect current findings in the AD literature.

Conclusions

Data-driven thresholds applied to ensemble feature selectors provide more stable, and therefore more reproducible, selections of features than individual feature selectors, without loss of performance. The use of a data-driven threshold eliminates the need to choose a fixed threshold a-priori and can select a more meaningful set of features. A reliable and compact set of features can produce more interpretable models by identifying the factors that are important in understanding a disease.
Comparative analysis of codon usage patterns in chloroplast genomes of ten Epimedium species
Authors: Wang Yingzhe , Jiang Dacheng , Guo Kun , Zhao Lei , Meng Fangfang , Xiao Jinglei , Niu Yuan , Sun Yunlong
Published: January 2023

Background

The Phenomenon of codon usage bias exists in the genomes of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The codon usage pattern is affected by environmental factors, base mutation, gene flow and gene expression level, among which natural selection and mutation pressure are the main factors. The study of codon preference is an effective method to analyze the source of evolutionary driving forces in organisms. Epimedium species are perennial herbs with ornamental and medicinal value distributed worldwide. The chloroplast genome is self-replicating and maternally inherited which is usually used to study species evolution, gene expression and genetic transformation.

Results

The results suggested that chloroplast genomes of Epimedium species preferred to use codons ending with A/U. 17 common high-frequency codons and 2–6 optimal codons were found in the chloroplast genomes of Epimedium species, respectively. According to the ENc-plot, PR2-plot and neutrality-plot, the formation of codon preference in Epimedium was affected by multiple factors, and natural selection was the dominant factor. By comparing the codon usage frequency with 4 common model organisms, it was found that Arabidopsis thaliana, Populus trichocarpa, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were suitable exogenous expression receptors.

Conclusion

The evolutionary driving force in the chloroplast genomes of 10 Epimedium species probably comes from mutation pressure. Our results provide an important theoretical basis for evolutionary analysis and transgenic research of chloroplast genes.