bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Initial Fluid Balance Associated Outcomes in Children With Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock
Authors: Al-Eyadhy Ayman , Hasan Gamal , Temsah Mohamad-Hani , Alseneidi Sara , Alalwan Malak , Alali Fatimah , Alhaboob Ali , Alabdulhafid Majed , Alsohime Fahad , Almaziad Mohamed , Somily Ali Mohammed
Published: September 2021

Introduction

Net fluid balance and its role in sepsis-related mortality is not clear; studies suggest that aggressive fluid resuscitation can help in treatment, whereas others consider it is associated with poor outcomes. This study aimed to clarify the possible association of initial 24 hours' fluid balance with poor outcomes in pediatric patients with sepsis.

Methods

Retrospective data analysis included pediatric patients admitted with suspected or proven sepsis or septic shock to pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Results

The study included 47 patients; 13 (28%) died, and mortality rate was significant in children with neurologic failure (P < 0.02), mechanical ventilation within 24 hours of admission (P < 0.03), leukopenia (P < 0.02), abnormal international normalized ratio (P < 0.02), initial blood lactate levels higher than 5 mmol/L (P < 0.02), or positive fluid balance at 24 hours of admission to the PICU (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Among children with sepsis and/or septic shock, there is significant association between mortality and initial high blood lactate levels and positive fluid balance at 24 hours from admission to the PICU.
Altering the tuning parameter settings of a commercial powered prosthetic foot to increase power during push-off may not reduce collisional work in the intact limb during gait
Authors: Davidson Audra M. , Childers W. Lee , Chang Young-Hui
Published: September 2021

Background:

Increased knee osteoarthritis risk in patients with unilateral lower extremity limb loss is attributed to increased intact limb loading. Modulating powered ankle prosthesis push-off power may be an effective way to modulate intact limb loading. We examined how changes in the parameter settings of a commercial prosthetic ankle affect power delivery during push-off and the resulting collisional work experienced by the intact limb in persons with unilateral lower extremity limb loss.

Methods:

Five subjects with unilateral transtibial amputation were fitted with a commercially available powered ankle prosthesis (Ottobock Empower). Subjects walked on a treadmill in seven conditions, where ankle power delivery settings were adjusted using methods accessible to clinicians. Kinetics and kinematics data were collected.

Results:

Standard adjustment of parameter settings within the prosthetic foot did not alter timing of peak prosthesis power or intact limb collisional work but did have a significant effect on the magnitude of positive prosthesis ankle work. Increased prosthesis work did not decrease intact limb collisional work as predicted.

Conclusions:

Altering the parameter settings on a commercial powered ankle prosthesis affected the magnitude, but not the timing, of power delivered. Increased prosthesis push-off power did not decrease intact limb loading.
Wildy Prize Lecture, 2020–2021: Who wouldn’t want to discover a new virus?
Authors: Hatfull Graham F.
Published: September 2021

Innovations in science education are desperately needed to find ways to engage and interest students early in their undergraduate careers. Exposing students to authentic research experiences is highly beneficial, but finding ways to include all types of students and to do this at large scale is especially challenging. An attractive solution is the concept of an inclusive research education community (iREC) in which centralized research leadership and administration supports multiple institutions, including diverse groups of schools and universities, faculty and students. The Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Sciences (SEA-PHAGES) programme is an excellent example of an iREC, in which students explore viral diversity and evolution through discovery and genomic analysis of novel bacteriophages. The SEA-PHAGES programme has proven to be sustainable, to be implemented at large scale, and to enhance student persistence in science, as well as to produce substantial research advances. Discovering a new virus with the potential for new biological insights and clinical applications is inherently exciting. Who wouldn’t want to discover a new virus?
GraviKit: an easy-to-implement microscope add-on for observation of gravitation dependent processes
Authors: Feldhaus Christian , Kolb Martina , Küppers Michelle , Hardy Steffen , Palmisano Ralph
Published: September 2021

One of the most important environmental cues for living organisms is gravity and many developmental processes depend on it. However, when it comes to light microscopy, a majority of studies on these processes work with their objects of interest placed perpendicular to their natural orientation. One reason for that is probably that light microscopes with the required horizontal beampath are either costly or require advanced technical skills. To circumvent these obstacles and make imaging of gravity-dependent processes with a horizontal beampath possible for any lab we developed GraviKit. It converts a standard inverted research microscope into an imaging device with a horizontal beampath with a stage that rotates the sample around the optical axis. Like this, the direction of gravity can be freely chosen during an imaging experiment. The system is easy to implement and suitable for multi-user environments.
Laser Capture Microdissection optimization for high-quality RNA in mouse brain tissue
Authors: Nogueira Margareth , Golbert Daiane CF , Leão Richardson
Published: September 2021

Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) is a method that allows to select and dissecting specific structures, cell populations, or even single cells from different types of tissue to extract DNA, RNA, or proteins. It is easy to perform and precise, avoiding unwanted signals from irrelevant cells, because gene expression may be affected by a bulk of heterogeneous material in a sample. However, despite its efficiency, several steps can affect the sample RNA integrity. In comparison to DNA, RNA is a much more unstable molecule and represents a challenge in the LCM method. Here we describe an optimized protocol to provide good concentration and high-quality RNA in specific structures, such as Dentate Gyrus and CA1 in the hippocampus, basolateral amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex of mouse brain tissue.
Population dynamics of the thalamic head direction system during drift and reorientation
Authors: Ajabi Zaki , Keinath Alexandra T. , Wei Xue-Xin , Brandon Mark P.
Published: September 2021

The head direction (HD) system is classically modeled as a ring attractor network1,2 which ensures a stable representation of the animal’s head direction. This unidimensional description popularized the view of the HD system as the brain’s internal compass3,4. However, unlike a globally consistent magnetic compass, the orientation of the HD system is dynamic, depends on local cues and exhibits remapping across familiar environments5. Such a system requires mechanisms to remember and align to familiar landmarks, which may not be well described within the classic 1-dimensional framework. To search for these mechanisms, we performed large population recordings of mouse thalamic HD cells using calcium imaging, during controlled manipulations of a visual landmark in a familiar environment. First, we find that realignment of the system was associated with a continuous rotation of the HD network representation. The speed and angular distance of this rotation was predicted by a 2nd dimension to the ring attractor which we refer to as network gain, i.e. the instantaneous population firing rate. Moreover, the 360-degree azimuthal profile of network gain, during darkness, maintained a ‘memory trace’ of a previously displayed visual landmark. In a 2nd experiment, brief presentations of a rotated landmark revealed an attraction of the network back to its initial orientation, suggesting a time-dependent mechanism underlying the formation of these network gain memory traces. Finally, in a 3rd experiment, continuous rotation of a visual landmark induced a similar rotation of the HD representation which persisted following removal of the landmark, demonstrating that HD network orientation is subject to experience-dependent recalibration. Together, these results provide new mechanistic insights into how the neural compass flexibly adapts to environmental cues to maintain a reliable representation of the head direction.
Enzymatic Beacons for Specific Sensing of Dilute Nucleic Acid and Potential Utility for SARS-CoV-2 Detection
Authors: Zhang Xiaoyu , Kotikam Venubabu , Rozners Eriks , Callahan Brian P.
Published: September 2021

Enzymatic beacons, or E-beacons, are 1:1 bioconjugates of the nanoluciferase enzyme linked covalently at its C-terminus to hairpin forming DNA oligonucleotides equipped with a dark quencher. We prepared E-beacons biocatalytically using the promiscuous “hedgehog” protein-cholesterol ligase, HhC. Instead of cholesterol, HhC attached nanoluciferase site-specifically to mono-sterylated hairpin DNA, prepared in high yield by solid phase synthesis. We tested three potential E-beacon dark quenchers: Iowa Black, Onyx-A, and dabcyl. Prototype E-beacon carrying each of those quenchers provided sequence-specific nucleic acid sensing through turn-on bioluminescence. For practical application, we prepared dabcyl-quenched E-beacons for potential use in detecting the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2. Targeting the E484 codon of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, E-beacons (80 × 10−12 M) reported wild-type SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid at ≥1 × 10−9 M with increased bioluminescence of 8-fold. E-beacon prepared for the E484K variant of SARS-CoV-2 functioned with similar sensitivity. These E-beacons could discriminate their complementary target from nucleic acid encoding the E484Q mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 Kappa variant. Along with specificity, detection sensitivity with E-beacons is two to three orders of magnitude better than synthetic molecular beacons, rivaling the most sensitive nucleic acid detection agents reported to date.
A uniqueToxoplasma gondiihaplotype under strong selection has accompanied domestic cats in their global expansion
Authors: Galal Lokman , Ariey Frédéric , Gouilh Meriadeg Ar , Dardé Marie-Laure , Hamidović Azra , Letourneur Franck , Prugnolle Franck , Mercier Aurélien
Published: September 2021

Toxoplasma gondiiis a cyst-forming apicomplexan parasite of virtually all warm-blooded species, with all true cats (Felidae) as definitive hosts. It is the etiologic agent of toxoplasmosis, a disease causing substantial public health burden worldwide. Its wide range of host species and its global occurrence probably complicate the study of its evolutionary history, and conflicting scenarios have been proposed to explain its current global distribution. In this study, we analyse a global set of 156 genomes (including 105 new genomes) and we provide the first direct estimate ofT. gondiimutation rate and the first estimate of its generation time. We elucidate how the evolution ofT. gondiipopulations is intimately linked to the major events that have punctuated the recent history of cats. We show that a unique haplotype —whose length represents only 0.16% of the wholeT. gondiigenome— is common to all domesticT. gondiistrains worldwide and has accompanied wild cats (Felis silvestris) during their emergence from the wild to domestic settlements, their dispersal in the Old World and their recent expansion to the Americas in the last six centuries. By combining environmental and functional data to selection inference tools, we show that selection of this domestic haplotype is most parsimoniously explained by its role in initiation of sexual reproduction ofT. gondiiin domestic cats.
Subtle immunological differences in mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine induced Fc-functional profiles
Authors: Kaplonek Paulina , Cizmeci Deniz , Fischinger Stephanie , Collier Ai-ris , Suscovich Todd , Linde Caitlyn , Broge Thomas , Mann Colin , Amanat Fatima , Dayal Diana , Rhee Justin , de St. Aubin Michael , Nilles Eric J. , Musk Elon R. , Menon Anil S. , Saphire Erica Ollmann , Krammer Florian , Lauffenburger Douglas A. , Barouch Dan H. , Alter Galit
Published: September 2021

The successful development of several COVID-19 vaccines has substantially reduced morbidity and mortality in regions of the world where the vaccines have been deployed. However, in the wake of the emergence of viral variants, able to evade vaccine induced neutralizing antibodies, real world vaccine efficacy has begun to show differences across the mRNA platforms, suggesting that subtle variation in immune responses induced by the BNT162b2 and mRNA1273 vaccines may provide differential protection. Given our emerging appreciation for the importance of additional antibody functions, beyond neutralization, here we profiled the postboost binding and functional capacity of the humoral response induced by the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 in a cohort of hospital staff. Both vaccines induced robust humoral immune responses to WT SARS-CoV-2 and VOCs. However, differences emerged across epitopespecific responses, with higher RBD- and NTD-specific IgA, as well as functional antibodies (ADNP and ADNK) in mRNA-1273 vaccine recipients. Additionally, RBD-specific antibody depletion highlighted the different roles of non-RBD-specific antibody effector function induced across the mRNA vaccines, providing novel insights into potential differences in protective immunity generated across these vaccines in the setting of newly emerging VOCs.
Partial exogastrulation due to apical-basal polarity of F-actin distribution disruption in sea urchin embryo by omeprazole
Authors: Watanabe Kaichi , Yasui Yuhei , Kurose Yuta , Fujii Masashi , Yamamoto Takashi , Sakamoto Naoaki , Awazu Akinori
Published: September 2021

Gastrulation is a universal process in the morphogenesis of many animal embryos. Although morphological and molecular events in gastrulation have been well studied, the mechanical driving forces and underlying regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we investigated the gastrulation of embryos of a sea urchin,Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, which involves the invagination of a single-layered vegetal plate into the blastocoel. We observed that omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor capable of perturbing the left-right asymmetry of sea urchin embryo, induced “partial exogastrulation” where the secondary invagination proceeds outward. During early gastrulation, intracellular apical-basal polarity of F-actin distribution in vegetal half were higher than those in animal half, while omeprazole treatment disturbed the apical-basal polarity of F-actin distribution in vegetal half. Furthermore, gastrulation stopped and even partial exogastrulation did not occur when F-actin polymerization or degradation in whole embryo was partially inhibited viaRhoAorYAP1knockout. A mathematical model of the early gastrulation reproduced the shapes of both normal and exogastrulating embryos using cell-dependent cytoskeletal features based on F-actin. Additionally, such cell position-dependent intracellular F-actin distributions might be regulated by intracellular pH distributions. Therefore, apical-basal polarity of F-actin distribution disrupted by omeprazole may induce the partial exogastrulation via anomalous secondary invagination.
Two intrinsic timing mechanisms set start and end times for dendritic arborization of a nociceptive neuron
Authors: Suzuki Nobuko , Zou Yan , Sun HaoSheng , Eichel Kelsie , Shao Meiyu , Shen Kang , Chang Chieh
Published: September 2021

Choreographic dendritic arborization takes place within a defined time frame, but the timing mechanism is currently not known. Here, we report that the precisely timed lin-4-lin-14 regulatory circuit triggers an initial dendritic growth activity whereas the precisely timed lin-28-let-7-lin-41 regulatory circuit signals a subsequent developmental decline in dendritic growth ability, hence restricting dendritic arborization within a set time frame. Loss-of-function mutations in the lin-4 microRNA gene cause limited dendritic outgrowth whereas loss-of-function mutations in its direct target, the lin-14 transcription factor gene, cause precocious and excessive outgrowth. In contrast, loss-of-function mutations in the let-7 microRNA gene prevent a developmental decline in dendritic growth ability whereas loss-of-function mutations in its upstream regulator, the lin-28 RNA-binding protein gene, and its direct target, the lin-41 tripartite motif protein gene, cause further decline. lin-4 and let-7 regulatory circuits are expressed in the right place at the right time to set start and end times for PVD dendritic arborization. Replacing the endogenous lin-4 promoter at the lin-4 locus with a late-onset let-7 promoter delays PVD dendrite arborization whereas replacing the endogenous let-7 promoter at the let-7 locus with an early-onset lin-4 promoter causes precocious decline in dendritic growth ability in PVD neurons. Our results indicate that the lin-4-lin-14 and the lin-28-let-7-lin-41 regulatory circuits control the timing of dendrite arborization through antagonistic regulation of the DMA-1 receptor level on dendrites. The LIN-14 transcription factor directly represses the dma-1 gene expression through a transcriptional means whereas the LIN-41 tripartite motif protein indirectly activates the dma-1 gene expression through a post-transcriptional means.
Photoinactivation of catalase sensitizes Candida albicans and Candida auris to ROS-producing agents and immune cells
Authors: Dong Pu-Ting , Zhan Yuewei , Jusuf Sebastian , Hui Jie , Dagher Zeina , Mansour Michael K. , Cheng Ji-Xin
Published: September 2021

Nearly all organisms found in nature have evolved and developed their own specific strategies to cope with reactive oxygen species (ROS). Catalase, a heme-containing tetramer protein expressed in a broad range of aerobic fungi, has been utilized as an essential enzymatic ROS detoxifying mechanism, and shows remarkable efficiency in degrading hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for fungal cell survival and host invasion. Here, we demonstrate that catalase inactivation with blue light renders fungal cells highly susceptible to ROS attack, thus resembling a ‘strength-to-weakness optical switch’. To unveil catalase as the underlying molecular target of blue light and its inactivation mechanism, we systematically compared wild-type Candida albicans to a catalase-deficient mutant strain for susceptibility to ROS in the absence/presence of 410 nm treatment. Upon testing on a wide range of fungal species and strains, we found that intracellular catalase could be effectively and universally inactivated by 410 nm blue light. We find that the photoinactivation of catalase in combination with ROS-generating agents is highly effective and potent in achieving full eradication of multiple fungal species and strains, including multiple clinical strains of Candida auris, the causative agent of the global fungal epidemic. In addition, photoinactivation of catalase is shown to facilitate macrophage killing of intracellular Candida albicans. The antifungal efficacy of catalase photoinactivation is further validated using a Candida albicans-induced mouse model of skin abrasion. Taken together, our findings offer a novel catalase-photoinactivation approach to address multidrug-resistant Candida infections.
Information-based summary statistics for spatial genetic structure inference
Authors: Qin Xinghu , Gaggiotti Oscar E.
Published: September 2021

Inference of spatial patterns of genetic structure often relies on parameter estimation and model evaluation using a set of summary statistics (SS) that summarise the information present in the data. An important subset of these SS is best described as diversity indices, which are based on information theory principles that can be classified as belonging to three different ‘families’ encompassing a spectrum of information measures,qH. These include the richness family of orderq= 0,ArSS; the Shannon family of orderq= 1,HSS; and the heterozygosity family of orderq= 2,HeSS. Although commonly used by ecologists, the Shannon family has been rather neglected by population geneticists and evolutionary biologists. However, recent population genetic studies have advocated their use, yet the power of these SS for spatial structure discrimination has not been systematically assessed.

In this study, we performed a comprehensive assessment of the three families of SS, as well as a fourth family consisting of SS belonging to the Shannon family but expressed in terms of Hill numbers, for spatial structure inference using simulated microsatellites data under typical spatial scenarios. To give an unbiased evaluation, we used three machine learning methods, Kernel Local Fisher discriminant analysis (KLFDA), random forest classification (RFC), and deep neural network (DL), to test the performance of different SS to discriminate between spatial scenarios, and then identified the most informative metrics for discriminatory power.

Results showed that the SS family of orderq= 1 expressed in terms of Hill numbers,, outperformed the other two families (ArSS,HeSS) as well as the untransformed Shannon entropy (HSS) family. Jaccard dissimilarity (J) and its Mantel’srshowed the highest discriminatory power to discriminate all spatial scenarios, followed by Shannon differentiation ΔDand its Mantel’sr.

Information-based summary statistics, especially the diversity of orderq= 1 and Shannon differentiation measures, can increase the power of spatial structure inference. In addition, different sets of SS provide complementary power for discriminating between spatial scenarios.
Making Weak Antigens Strong: Coupling Antigens to Red Blood Cells
Authors: Greenfield Edward A. , DeCaprio James , Brahmandam Mohan
Published: September 2021

Coupling antigens to red blood cells (RBCs) can increase the immunogenicity of weak antigens. Their size slows dispersal; that, and their particulate nature, also make them good targets for phagocytosis. If the source of the cells is different from the animal to be injected, they can also provide good targets for MHC class II–T-cell receptor binding. The choice of coupling method will depend on the antigen, but because of the complexity of proteins found on the surface of the RBCs, almost all chemical groups are available for coupling. Commonly used coupling methods include tannic acid, chromic chloride, and glutaraldehyde.
Decoy Immunization for Mice, Rats, and Hamsters
Authors: Greenfield Edward A.
Published: September 2021

Decoy immunization relies on misdirecting the T and B cells of the immune system away from immunogenic regions against which one does not want to generate antibodies, allowing the desired region to be profiled. Essentially, it involves immunizing animals with two forms of the targeted protein on opposite sides of the body. One form, with the region of interest removed (i.e., a modified protein), is injected into the left side of animal, whereas the intact protein of interest is injected into the right side. In theory, undesired B cells are drawn to the left side of the animal, leaving the desired B cells to be drawn to the right (specifically, in the procedure presented here, to the right popliteal lymph node).
Cryosectioning and Immunostaining of Xenopus Embryonic Tissues
Authors: Ossipova Olga , Sokol Sergei Y.
Published: September 2021

The Xenopus embryo is a classical vertebrate model for molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. Despite many advantages of this organism, such as large egg size and external development, imaging of early embryonic stages is challenging because of nontransparent cytoplasm. Staining and imaging of thin tissue sections is one way to overcome this limitation. Here we describe a step-by-step protocol that combines cryosectioning of gelatin-embedded embryos with immunostaining and imaging. The purpose of this protocol is to examine various cellular and tissue markers after the manipulation of protein function. This protocol can be performed within a 2-d period and allows detection of many antigens by immunofluorescence.
Exploring opioid addictions and responsibilities: almost lost in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic
Authors: Smith Alan David
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to highlight the overshadowing of the opioid crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic. Opioids are affecting increasing numbers as the current opioid overdose death rate is increasing to 209 per day. While there appears light shining on the end of the Covid-19 pandemic with the advent of a fourth vaccine, there is no such light for the opioid epidemic. Based on a sample of 603 relatively educated adults in NE Ohio, the health harm caused by both crises, prescribing physician blaming, high levels of income loss and physical and emotional burdens shared by the respondents were obvious and striking.

Design/methodology/approach

Using Bertram et al. (2014) theory of the blame model, the number of results concerning gender and personally involvement of friends and family members, including men empathy increased with greater knowledge of numbers of addicted opioid users in their personal contracts.

Findings

Unfortunately, many women had to remain home taking care of children and elderly loved ones at greater percentages than their male counterparts may account for less empathy as such addicted users have become a burden to economically impaired families. This tendency for placing blame for circumstances with twin crises appears to follow a relatively predictable path as modeled by Bertram et al. (2014) (i.e. denial, justification and excuse).

Originality/value

These are few studies that are studying the amplification effects of the Covid-19 pandemic context on the current opioid crisis.
Digital competence of a teacher involved in the implementation of a cross-border lesson for classrooms in Brazil and Chile
Authors: Isoda Masami , Estrella Soledad , Zakaryan Diana , Baldin Yuriko , Olfos Raimundo , Araya Roberto
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the digital competence displayed by a primary school teacher who implemented an interdisciplinary cross-border lesson that was designed with the lesson study methodology and involved two countries: Brazil and Chile.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative methodology was adopted via the case study method through which the case of a sixth-grade Chilean teacher participating in the study was documented. The data were collected through a lesson plan, a videotape of the implemented lesson and a questionnaire. A professional digital competence framework for teachers provided an analytical perspective via data analysis.

Findings

The results show that the teacher displayed digital competence in a synchronous collaborative learning environment in which she had time to reflect on the educational value of technology and appropriate teaching methods involving information and communication technologies. Certain elements of the studied case contributed to this performance, namely the cross-border context, the classroom setting and the collaborative Lesson Study methodology.

Practical implications

The lesson study methodology facilitated the teacher's performance in the “Pedagogy and didactics” digital competence by enabling her to participate in planning and implementing a lesson that allowed all those who collaborated, including teachers and researchers, to reflect on teaching in a digital learning environment.

Social implications

The cross-border context, which involved co-designing and implementing a lesson in two countries, allowed the teacher to display her “School in society” and “Ethics” competencies. This was achieved through connecting two classrooms with different languages and cultures digitally and synchronously, thereby providing students the opportunity to debate and participate in a global and local problem such as a country's responsibility for energy consumption.

Originality/value

Modern society requires the transformation of school practices, and new teaching approaches should include the provision of collaborative spaces that incorporate digital technologies. In this sense, this paper shows that cross-border lessons involving a synchronous learning environment offer a potential alternative, as digital teaching competence enables teachers to bring together different social and cultural groups virtually, thereby contributing to the reduction of social gaps and to the promotion of positive identity among less advantaged students.
Four images of projectification: an integrative review
Authors: Jacobsson Mattias , Jałocha Beata
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The aim of this article is to give an overview of the development and current state of projectification research. The inquiry was driven by a threefold research question: How has projectification been understood and defined over time, what has the trajectory of the development been and what are the main trends and emerging ideas?

Design/methodology/approach

The article is an integrative literature review of research done on the notion of projectification to date. An interdisciplinary, integrative literature review was conducted using Scopus and Web of Science as primary sources of data collection. The full data set consists of 123 journal articles, books, book chapters and conference contributions. With the data set complete, a thematic analysis was conducted.

Findings

Among other things, the review outlines the development and scope of projectification research from 1995 until 2021 and discusses four emerging images of projectification: projectification as a managerial approach, projectification as a societal trend, projectification as a human state and projectification as a philosophical issue. These characteristics emphasize some common features of each of the images but also imply that the way projectification is understood changes depending on the paradigmatic perspective taken by the researcher, the time and place in which the observation was made and the level of observation.

Originality/value

The authors have outlined and discussed four images of projectification – projectification as a managerial approach, projectification as a societal trend, projectification as a human state and projectification as a philosophical issue – where each image represents a special take on projectification with some prevalent characteristics. By doing this, the authors provide a systematic categorization of research to date and thus a basis upon which other researchers can build when furthering the understanding of projectification at large.
Additive manufacturing a powerful tool for the aerospace industry
Authors: Khorasani Mahyar , Ghasemi AmirHossein , Rolfe Bernard , Gibson Ian
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers potential solutions when conventional manufacturing reaches its technological limits. These include a high degree of design freedom, lightweight design, functional integration and rapid prototyping. In this paper, the authors show how AM can be implemented not only for prototyping but also production using different optimization approaches in design including topology optimization, support optimization and selection of part orientation and part consolidation. This paper aims to present how AM can reduce the production cost of complex components such as jet engine air manifold by optimizing the design. This case study also identifies a detailed feasibility analysis of the cost model for an air manifold of an Airbus jet engine using various strategies, such as computer numerical control machining, printing with standard support structures and support optimization.

Design/methodology/approach

Parameters that affect the production price of the air manifold such as machining, printing (process), feedstock, labor and post-processing costs were calculated and compared to find the best manufacturing strategy.

Findings

Results showed that AM can solve a range of problems and improve production by customization, rapid prototyping and geometrical freedom. This case study showed that 49%–58% of the cost is related to pre- and post-processing when using laser-based powder bed fusion to produce the air manifold. However, the cost of pre- and post-processing when using machining is 32%–35% of the total production costs. The results of this research can assist successful enterprises, such as aerospace, automotive and medical, in successfully turning toward AM technology.

Originality/value

Important factors such as validity, feasibility and limitations, pre-processing and monitoring, are discussed to show how a process chain can be controlled and run efficiently. Reproducibility of the process chain is debated to ensure the quality of mass production lines. Post-processing and qualification of the AM parts are also discussed to show how to satisfy the demands on standards (for surface quality and dimensional accuracy), safety, quality and certification. The original contribution of this paper is identifying the main production costs of complex components using both conventional and AM.
‘The Lay Gaze’—Rural Norwegian men’s assessment of others’ health based on pictures
Authors: Hervik Stein Egil Kolderup , Skille Eivind Åsrum
Published: September 2021

In this article, we explore lay men's understanding of the relationship between other's bodily appearance and health—‘the Lay Gaze’. We applied the theoretical concepts of biopower, medical gaze, bodyism and healthism—the ideology where one feature is that a slim body is equivalent to a healthy body—and interviewed 18 adult and elderly men in rural Norway, representing a heterogeneous group regarding age, ethnicity and education. To explore the interviewees’ subjective perception or ‘gaze’, the interviewees were presented with eight pictures of different people. Our main findings were, first, that the sample of a relatively heterogeneous group of adult and elderly lay men in rural Norway talk similarly about body appearance and health and follow the healthism discourse with an embedded association between body appearance and health assessment. Second, we found some variation regarding how interviewees define other standards for the elderly and black people.
Crisis management: Regional approaches to geopolitical crises and natural hazards
Authors: Raikes Jonathan , Smith Timothy F. , Powell Neil , Thomsen Dana C. , Friman Eva , Kronlid David , Sidle Roy
Published: September 2021

Crisis management planning and response can be improved by regional governments and organisations learning from one another. Specifically, comparative learning may be a benefit when groups understand the perceived effectiveness of various regional approaches when responding to different types of hazards. This article presents findings from a comparative case study analysis of regional governance perspectives of crisis management for geopolitical events and natural hazards in the Sunshine Coast, Australia, and Gotland, Sweden. Data were collected and analysed using document analyses and semi‐structured interviews with regional practitioners. It was found that regional crisis management is increasingly influenced by global processes that are affecting the scales and characteristics of crises. As a result, prospective regional governance must evolve to include more international perspectives in crisis management and account for activities and processes that take place beyond arbitrary political boundaries.
Policy to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Is Agricultural Methane a Special Case?
Authors: Lynch John , Garnett Tara
Published: September 2021

Climate change mitigation will require significant efforts from all emitting sectors, including agriculture. However, agricultural emission reduction measures raise specific concerns, both in respect of their distinct climate outcomes and how their implementation might support or frustrate wider objectives. We highlight some special characteristics regarding agricultural methane emissions. As methane is a relatively short‐lived gas, we do not have the same strong physical requirement to completely eliminate net methane emissions as we do for carbon dioxide. An appreciation of the distinct nature and impacts of carbon dioxide and methane can bring nuance to discussions; especially around what different sectors must be expected to achieve, and thus help avoid negative trade‐offs that might result from heavy‐handed policy interventions. Nevertheless, significant and rapid methane emission reductions do remain important in realistically achieving our overall climate objectives. A number of technical measures to reduce ruminant methane are highlighted, but are not without their own challenges; and we are unlikely to meet climate or other environmental targets without systemic changes to the total food system, including overall consumption patterns. The appropriate policy tools to achieve these changes are emerging as a key, but contested, concern in Europe and beyond, making it vital we work through these arguments in a transparent manner.
Looking in the Rear‐View Mirror: Changes in the Common Agricultural Policy in the First Five years of EuroChoices
Authors: Azcárate Tomás García
Published: September 2021

In the field of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), it was widely expected that the end of the 20th century (and the beginning of the 21st) was going to end quietly. However, when the first issue of EuroChoices appeared in 2001, the CAP was again immersed in profound changes, in ‘a paradox: a CAP reform without budget, WTO or food safety crisis’. The article underlines the different factors, including the key role played by the Commissioner Franz Fischler, which explain the radical changes in the CAP which took place in the first years of this century. Fischler’s mandate marked several steps in the advancement of the modernisation of the CAP and confirmed the road towards its market orientation. The ‘CAP medical check’ promoted by his successor, the Danish Commissioner Marian Fischer‐Boel, deepened the reform process and even extended it to the sugar, milk and wine sectors. The time had then come to tackle more decisively other challenges such as the mitigation and adaptation to climate change, the imbalance in the food chain or the differences in public support to farmers across different European countries.
Are the COP26 Climate Change Negotiations Ready to Embrace Agriculture?
Authors: Matthews Alan
Published: September 2021

Even though agricultural and land sector emissions contribute almost one‐quarter of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, it has been a long struggle to properly recognise and discuss within the UNFCCC framework the contribution that these sectors can make to the global mitigation effort. This is despite the fact that many countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions highlight the potential for abatement in these sectors, though commitments are often made contingent on receipt of external finance. A major breakthrough occurred with the adoption of the Koronivia Joint Work Programme on Agriculture at COP23 in 2017. The two UNFCCC subsidiary bodies charged with implementing this work programme will report back on its outcomes at the COP26 in Glasgow in November. The UK government’s Campaign for Nature, under its COP Presidency to highlight the importance of nature‐based solutions, can also help to strengthen the focus on the importance of these sectors. This article describes the background to these discussions and discusses possible outcomes at COP26 of relevance to the agriculture and land sectors.
Reduction of Greenhouse Gases from Peat Soils in Dutch Agriculture
Authors: Poppe Krijn , van Duinen Lianne , de Koeijer Tanja
Published: September 2021

Peat soils that are drained to enable productive agriculture result in land subsidence and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These have negative effects on the environment, in particular climate change, and rural infrastructure. This article reviews the EU and Dutch regulatory requirements for reducing GHG emissions and discusses options to reduce the negative effects of peat soils. An optimisation farm model based on Dutch farm data provides estimates of farm income losses for three different changes in water levels in peat soils associated with changes in production methods for three options of NH3 emission reductions and three options for nature conservation areas. Model results suggest that carbon credits are an excellent method of financing the costs that farmers face when adapting to legal requirements for lower emissions, ideally raising water levels to –20 cm below field level. The comparison of scenario results also outlines the need to take account of different policy objectives simultaneously in policy evaluation, as do farmers when they adapt their farm practices to the policy environment. Opportunities to add value from markets could also help reduce the income loss from the adoption of more environmentally‐friendly practices.
The recognition of emotional prosody in students with blindness: Effects of early visual experience and age development
Authors: Chen Xiaomeng , Liu Zehui , Lu Ming‐Hui , Yao Xiaoxue
Published: September 2021

This study examined the role of early visual experience and age in the recognition of emotional prosody among students with visual impairments in China. A total of 75 primary and junior high school students participated in the study. The ability of participants to recognize the prosody of four basic emotions (sadness, anger, happiness, and neutrality) was explored. The findings were as follows. (1) Early visual experience had a significant effect on the recognition of emotional prosody. The accuracy rate of students with congenital blindness was lower than that of students with adventitious blindness, and the performance of students with congenital blindness was lower than that of sighted students. The students with congenital blindness exhibited the slowest recognition speeds. (2) Age had a significant effect on the emotional prosody recognition accuracy of the sighted students, but it had no effect on the students with blindness.
Persistent negative stakeholder perspectives limit recovery of a critically endangered carnivore
Authors: Titus Keifer L. , Jachowski David S.
Published: September 2021

The human component in endangered species conservation has the potential to significantly limit the ability to achieve recovery of these species globally. Across the Great Plains of North America there have been significant declines in populations of several grassland‐obligate species, including the black‐tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) and the critically endangered black‐footed ferret (Mustela nigripes). Social surveys conducted in Montana, USA, 27 years ago, immediately prior to reintroduction of black‐footed ferrets, described widely differing attitudes and knowledge among stakeholder groups—with most local and state residents being opposed to conservation and recovery of these two wildlife species. We conducted a mail survey replicating methods of the 1993 study to assess current attitudes and knowledge concerning prairie dogs and black‐footed ferrets among five stakeholder groups (local and statewide ranchers, urban and local residents, and members of conservation organizations). Our results demonstrate that despite concerted outreach efforts and a general rise in knowledge about black‐footed ferrets and prairie dogs across stakeholder groups, similar differences in attitudes persisted among stakeholder groups over time, with local stakeholders adjacent to recovery sites maintaining the most negative attitudes. We also observed that local stakeholders supported a significantly shorter time threshold (<10 years) for abandoning efforts to restore an endangered species should recovery goals not be met. Given the reliance on local public support for conserving these species, and other endangered species globally, our findings highlight the importance of continually reassessing stakeholder attitudes and knowledge over time to assess challenges and identify opportunities for endangered species restoration.
Screening for depression in psoriasis patients during a dermatological consultation: A first step towards treatment
Authors: Kromer Christian , Mohr Johannes , Celis Daniel , Poortinga Sietske , Gerdes Sascha , Mössner Rotraut , Wilsmann‐Theis Dagmar
Published: September 2021

Background and Objectives

Depression is a highly prevalent comorbidity in psoriatic patients. The aim of this prospective study was to follow up psoriasis patients at risk for depression and to evaluate individual pathways to mental health care and the efficacy of depression screening in a real‐life setting.

Patients and Methods

In this prospective multicenter study, 355 patients with psoriasis were screened for depressive symptoms with the revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI‐II). General practitioners of patients at risk for depression were asked for further evaluation. One year later, information on mental health care provision was gathered.

Results

130 patients were screened positive for depressive symptoms, and 71 patients were followed‐up (follow‐up rate: 54.6 %). Psychiatric treatment was recommended for 28.2 % and accepted by 23.9 % of patients. Parameters of disease activity of psoriasis (PASI: 3.1, ∆: –1.7, P = 0.018), quality of life (Dermatology Life Quality Index [DLQI]: 6.5, ∆: –2.8, P = 0.005), and depressive symptoms (BDI‐II: 13.2, ∆: –8.3, P < 0.001) improved significantly. Decrease of the BDI‐II score was more pronounced in patients with higher PASI decrease.

Conclusions

Screening for depressive symptoms led to increased utilization of mental health care and improvement of psoriasis, depressive symptoms, and quality of life. Thus, such screening should be implemented in routine care to optimize patient management.
NicheMapR – an R package for biophysical modelling: the endotherm model
Authors: Kearney Michael R. , Briscoe Natalie J. , Mathewson Paul D. , Porter Warren P.
Published: September 2021

Endothermic organisms typically maintain high and relatively constant body temperatures in the face of environmental variation by regulating their metabolic and water loss rates in conjunction with behavioural and postural adjustments. A mechanistic understanding of these processes provides a perspective of the fundamental niches of endotherms by quantifying their energy and water requirements, restrictions on habitat use and survival limits.

Here we introduce and document the endotherm model of NicheMapR, an R package that includes a suite of programs for the mechanistic modelling of energy and mass exchange between organisms and their environments. The NicheMapR endotherm model is based on a Fortran program that simultaneously solves for the metabolic rate, water loss rate, fur/feather temperature and skin temperature required to balance the heat budget in a given microclimate. These calculations are a function of traits relating to insulation, shape, physiological and behavioural responses. The program contains algorithms for computing heat transfer through a porous insulative layer (fur/feathers), including solar and infrared radiation fluxes as well as convective and conductive exchange, and can handle differing dorsal and ventral traits and environments.

Here we configure the program to be called from R as part of the NicheMapR package and describe the model in detail. We break the program into a set of modules that can be run in isolation, or jointly, and combined in different ways to capture species‐specific thermoregulatory responses. We explain the theory and underlying subroutines, and the default thermoregulatory settings. We discuss how the model can be adapted to incorporate species‐specific behaviours and extended to incorporate multiple body parts. We also compare the endotherm modelling setup with the ectotherm model of the NicheMapR package and discuss how the different modelling strategies they require reflect fundamental biological issues.