bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dimensions: Calculating disruption indices at scale
Authors: Sixt Joerg , Pasin Michele
Published: September 2024

Assessing the disruptive nature of a line of research is a new area of academic evaluation that moves beyond standard citation-based metrics by taking into account the broader citation context of publications or patents. The “CD index” and a number of related indicators have been proposed in order to characterize the disruptiveness of scientific publications or patents. This research area has generated a lot of attention in recent years, yet there is no general consensus on the significance and reliability of disruption indices. More experimentation and evaluation would be desirable, but it is hampered by the fact that the calculation of these indicators is time-consuming, especially if done at scale on large citation networks. We present a novel SQL-based method to calculate disruption indices for the Dimensions publications data on Google BigQuery. This reduces the computational time taken to produce such indices by an order of magnitude, as well as making available such functionalities within an online environment that requires no setup efforts. We explain the novel algorithm and describe how its results align with preexisting implementations of disruption indicators. This method will enable researchers to develop, validate, and improve disruption models more quickly and with more precision.
Introduction
Authors: Fisher Barbara
Published: September 2024

This chapter introduces the scholarship on Trix, the lack of recognition for her literary work, and outlines the importance of reconstructing her life and work.
3. Rescue
Authors: Fisher Barbara
Published: September 2024

After an absence of six years, Alice returned to Lorne Lodge to rescue her children from their misery. She immediately whisked the children away to a country farm, where, joined by their cousin Stanley Baldwin, they generally ran wild. Later she took her children to London, settling across from the old Kensington Museum, where Trix and Rudyard happily roamed through the exhibits of natural wonders and art objects. Before returning to India, Mrs. Kipling enrolled Rudyard at a proper school and sent Trix, aged nine, to attend the Notting Hill School for Girls, where she was found to be poorly educated and oddly ignorant of the world, but surprisingly well-read in fiction, poetry, and Shakespeare, many of whose plays she could recite. During this period, Trix was introduced into social life, provided with intellectual stimulation, and enjoyed emotional calm. At fifteen, Trix made the voyage home, befriending on board Maud Marshall, a bookish girl who would become a life-long friend and correspondent. Returning to India, Trix began her new life with a family she hardly knew in a land she had only dreamed of.
7. A Pinchbeck Goddess
Authors: Fisher Barbara
Published: September 2024

In 1893, with Lockwood and Alice’s return to England and Rudyard’s marriage and relocation to Vermont, Trix was without family on the sub-continent. Fortunately, Trix reconnected with her girlhood friend Maud Marshall, now married and publishing stories under her married name, Maud Diver. With Maud’s encouragement, Trix wrote stories and a series of dialogues as well as a second novel, A Pinchbeck Goddess, which was published in 1897 under the name “Mrs. J. M. Fleming (Alice M. Kipling).” The novel, the title of which means false or counterfeit goddess, had a complicated plot of disgrace and disguise. It received some favorable reviews, but not favorable enough to keep Trix from feeling disappointed and dissatisfied. In 1897, Jack, always bedeviled by health issues, returned with Trix to Scotland, where isolated with the unsympathetic Flemings, Trix slipped from depression into despair.
8. Breakdown
Authors: Fisher Barbara
Published: September 2024

In the fall of 1898 while in Edinburgh with Jack’s family, Trix became more and more depressed. The Flemings were alarmed as Trix’s moods alternated wildly from periods of agitation and anger to periods of immobility and mutism. Trix was furious with Jack, refused to see him, and was adamant that she be allowed to separate from him. It is likely that Jack had betrayed her. Trix was sent to stay with her mother in Southern England, where she was treated with the standard care prescribed for women—rest, quiet, and a fattening diet. Freed from the marital and domestic duties—sexual and otherwise—imposed on her by Jack, Trix was amazingly productive during this period. She wrote poems in concert with her mother, which were eventually published as Hand in Hand, and composed one hundred pages of comic dialogue featuring a miserably mis-matched married couple. In the spring of 1901, Trix was well enough to travel with her parents to Italy. During the period, referred to by Rudyard’s biographers as Trix’s breakdown, from the late fall of 1898 to the early fall of 1902, she was more often than not utterly sane and unusually creative. With Alice’s cooperation, Trix gave herself almost four years of what was essentially a separation from Jack.
Augustus De Morgan, Polymath
Authors: Attar Karen , Rice Adrian , Stray Christopher
Published: September 2024

When Augustus De Morgan died in 1871, he was described as ‘one of the profoundest mathematicians in the United Kingdom’ and even as ‘the greatest of our mathematicians’. But he was far more than just a mathematician. Because much of his voluminous written output on various subjects was scattered throughout journals and encyclopaedias, the breadth of his interests and contributions has been underappreciated by historians. Now, renewed interest in De Morgan’s life and work has coincided with the digitization of his extensive library, revealing the extent to which he pioneered and influenced the development of not merely mathematics but also logic, astronomy, the history of mathematics, education, and bibliography.

This edited collection celebrates De Morgan as a polymath. Drawing together multiple elements of his activity from a range of publications and archives, its contributors re-assess his academic work, his place in his intellectual environment, and his legacy. The result offers new insight into De Morgan himself as well as the wider circles in which he moved, including his family life.
2. De Morgan and Logic
Authors: Heinemann Anna-Sophie
Published: September 2024

From 1847 onwards, Augustus De Morgan propounded an extension of classical syllogistic logic by the introduction of ‘contraries’. These are negative terms in the sense that, for example, x means non-x within a given ‘universe’. In this chapter, we will focus on De Morgan’s early research on logic between 1847 and 1850, and address De Morgan’s revisions of traditional syllogistic logic in his ‘system of contraries’ and his ‘numerically definite system’. We will discuss his approach to determining portions of ‘universes’, which is based on determining extensions by numbers of instances of terms. The main point will be that De Morgan conceived of logical quantities as scopes and of conjunctive or disjunctive enumeration as quantifications over given domains—which is one of the systematic reasons behind his being involved in a long-lasting debate over the ‘quantification of the predicate’. It will be argued that, despite its relative lack of influence on later developments, De Morgan’s work still represented a notable departure from traditional syllogistic methods and anticipated the modern understanding of quantification in logic.
3. Augustus De Morgan, Astronomy and Almanacs
Authors: Belteki Daniel
Published: September 2024

Augustus De Morgan never identified himself as an astronomer, and blindness in one eye rendered him unable to make reliable observations with astronomical instruments. Yet he participated actively in the British astronomical community during the mid-nineteenth century, becoming involved as Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society in major events and controversies that shaped both British and international astronomical practice during the 1840s, and making himself through his writings an authoritative ‘expounder and historian’ of astronomy and its instruments.

This chapter revisits De Morgan’s interest in astronomy and his close relationships with leading astronomers of the nineteenth century. It discusses his activities as a writer, arguing that while he raised awareness of history’s forgotten and overlooked astronomers, his publications also reaffirmed the contemporary and historical boundaries of the astronomical community. Finally, it examines De Morgan’s writings about calendrical reforms and an apparent paradox regarding the determination of the date of Easter, to demonstrate how he combined his interests in antiquarianism, ecclesiastical and legal history with his knowledge of mathematics and astronomy to participate in a debate of interest to the wider public.
4. De Morgan, Periodicals and Encyclopaedias
Authors: Bruneau Olivier
Published: September 2024

Through his many books and publications in various periodicals, Augustus De Morgan was a disseminator of mathematics, particularly to the general public. An active member of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, founded by the same people who established University College London, De Morgan was also a great promoter of mathematics via its publications. The most striking example is his significant involvement as a contributor to the Penny Cyclopaedia (27 vols., 1833-1843), for which he authored more than 700 articles on mathematics and astronomy, some of which are very long.

In this chapter we propose to contextualise these articles by comparing them with the mathematical production in other encyclopedic works of the time, such as the well-known Encyclopaedia Brittanica (with its several editions), Rees’ Encyclopaedia (1802-1820), the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia (1808-1830) and the Encyclopedia Metropolitana (1845). Through this comparative study, we will give an overview of De Morgan’s scholarly and journalistic output, showing the extent of his writings for a general audience, and revealing him to have been one of early Victorian Britain’s most prolific and gifted mathematical expositors.
7. De Morgan’s A Budget of Paradoxes
Authors: Rice Adrian
Published: September 2024

De Morgan was a man of many eccentricities, and nowhere were these idiosyncrasies more evident than in A Budget of Paradoxes. This was a 500-page book, published one year after his death, in 1872, which still remains his most accessible and oft-quoted work. The Budget focuses on the published output of mathematical cranks, frauds and pseudoscientists, presenting a multitude of rogue scientific theories, including attempts to prove the earth is flat, to disprove the law of universal gravitation and, of course, to square the circle. All of these are beautifully sent up by De Morgan in his wonderfully satirical style, providing the perfect forum for his whimsical, humorous, but above all, entertaining style of writing. The fondness with which the book was regarded appears near universal: one reviewer described it as ‘by very far the most individual book of the age’, while another called it ‘absolutely unique’. But what exactly did A Budget of Paradoxes contain? What was so attractive to its readers? And what made it so unusual? To answer these questions, this chapter presents a survey of what has been described as ‘one of the most delicious bits of satire of the nineteenth century’.
8. Augustus De Morgan and the Bloomsbury Milieu
Authors: Ashton Rosemary
Published: September 2024

Augustus De Morgan lived in Bloomsbury, never more than a quarter of an hour’s walk from University College’s premises, for around a decade and a half during the early part of his career; even after he and his family moved slightly north of Euston he worked in Bloomsbury until his resignation from the College in 1866. Always a sociable man with wide connections, he was part of several Bloomsbury-based networks, including staff of the London University (later, University College) and the somewhat overlapping group of writers involved in the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, as well as the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society, several of whom were near neighbours and close friends of the De Morgans in Bloomsbury. Drawing on recent historical work on Victorian literary and scientific life, this essay explores De Morgan in the context of the intellectual, political and social milieux of his Bloomsbury surroundings.
Irrigation Effects on Regional Circulation and Climate in the U.S. Great Plains: A Case Study
Authors: Hu Qi , Achugbu Ifeanyi Chukwudi , Chen Liang
Published: September 2024

Observations have indicated that compared to the six decades before 1960, the frequency of dry summers in the U.S. Great Plains was lowered by 20% in the six decades after 1960. In the meantime, there was a sharp increase in the recent six decades in both the rate and coverage of groundwater irrigation in the region repeated every summer for agricultural production. The potential effect of irrigation on the changes of growing season precipitation in the Great Plains is examined in this study using models from the perspective of regional circulation and climate, broadened from prior studies of irrigation effects focused on changes of specific weather elements. As the first step, the dry year of 2012 is used in this case study to minimize wet circulation impacts and also the possibility for the irrigation effect being skewed by decadal variations/trends in climate itself. It is found that massive irrigation in the Great Plains does not alter the frequency and duration of individual precipitation events. Irrigation does, however, modify the regional thermodynamic properties of the atmosphere enough to amplify the precipitation rate and amount in most weather events. In addition to these direct effects, irrigation further influences large-scale circulations, especially the Great Plains low-level jet (GPLLJ) and, through them, indirectly affects the growing season climate in the irrigated region. Analysis of physical processes explains the weakening of the GPLLJ and reduction of its northward moisture flux by irrigation. Budget analysis shows that this negative indirect effect of irrigation on moisture and precipitation is surpassed by the direct effect in the irrigated region, resulting in a net increased precipitation rate for individual rainfall events.
Mead on international mindedness and the war to end war
Authors: Huebner Daniel R.
Published: September 2024

Recent scholarship has begun to transform the traditional view of George Herbert Mead as a micro-sociological theorist unable to effectively conceptualize conflict, especially by returning to his writings articulated during and after the First World War. Building on this emerging literature with the help of primary source documents, the article traces Mead’s personal experiences during the war, including his contentious break with other pacifists, the pressures he felt to contribute war service at home, the serious battlefield injury of his son, his official duties inspecting officer training curricula, and his founding role in postwar political forums. This enables us to contextualize the ideas Mead developed on political institutions, the individual’s social conscience, hostile impulses, nationalistic solidarity, institution building, and value-commitments in relation to the events that prompted his reflection. The early evaluations of Mead’s ideas on war and politics by his colleagues help us understand how his late work on the development of “international-mindedness” revealed prescient social conditions and dynamics of inter-group conflict.
Interculturalism in student and teacher understandings of global citizenship education in three International Baccalaureate international schools
Authors: Ferguson Caroline
Published: September 2024

This article addresses the question of how global citizenship, often an aim of international schools, is conceptualised as interculturalism by students and teachers. It presents selected findings of global citizenship expressed as interculturalism and perceptions of learning through interculturalism, from a larger empirical study which investigated articulations of global citizenship education in three International Baccalaureate international schools in different locations: Finland, The Netherlands and Australia. Reflexive thematic analysis of phenomenological interviews with students, school leaders and teachers in the three schools revealed two important themes: that global citizenship is interpreted as simplistic interculturalism, with students focusing more on relational aspects of intercultural experiences, and that global citizenship is perceived as being learned through intercultural engagement. The article contributes to research into the expressions and practices of global citizenship in International Baccalaureate international schools. The article proposes that school leaders, teachers and students could engage further with critical and human rights constructivist approaches to interculturalism.
Plasmin generation analysis in patients with bleeding disorder of unknown cause
Authors: Mehic Dino , Reitsma Stéphanie E. , de Moreuil Claire , Haslacher Helmuth , Koeller Maximilian C. , de Laat Bas , Ay Cihan , Pabinger Ingrid , Wolberg Alisa S. , Gebhart Johanna
Published: September 2024

Bleeding disorder of unknown cause (BDUC) is a diagnosis of exclusion after evaluation of plasma coagulation and platelet function. Patients with BDUC (n = 375) recorded in the Vienna Bleeding Biobank were analyzed in comparison with healthy controls (HCs; n = 100) in this case-control study. Plasmin generation (PG) parameters were analyzed using calibrated fluorescence detection in citrated plasma. Turbidimetric plasma clot formation/lysis of 293 (78%) patients with BDUC and confocal microscopy of clots from representative patients with BDUC (n = 6) and HCs (n = 9) were assessed. In the PG analysis, patients with BDUC exhibited lower velocity and peak plasmin levels but a higher endogenous plasmin potential than HCs. Peak plasmin levels correlated with maximum clot absorbance but not with clot lysis time. Clot absorbance is an indicator of clot fiber density. Confocal microscopy analysis revealed a tendency towards thicker fibers in clots of patients with BDUC, which negatively correlated with peak plasmin (r = −0.561; P = .030). Peak plasmin correlated weakly with factor XIII, but not with other fibrinolytic factors (alpha2-antiplasmin, thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor, or plasminogen activator inhibitor 1) or bleeding severity. A model comprising fibrinogen and parameters of PG yielded high predictive power in discriminating between patients with BDUC and HCs across a fivefold stratified cross validation (80% of data; mean area under the curve [AUC], 0.847). The model generalized well to unseen data (20% of data; AUC, 0.856). Overall, patients with BDUC counterintuitively exhibited reduced peak plasmin levels, potentially related to altered clot structure.
Answering open questions in biology using spatial genomics and structured methods
Authors: Jena Siddhartha G. , Verma Archit , Engelhardt Barbara E.
Published: September 2024

Genomics methods have uncovered patterns in a range of biological systems, but obscure important aspects of cell behavior: the shapes, relative locations, movement, and interactions of cells in space. Spatial technologies that collect genomic or epigenomic data while preserving spatial information have begun to overcome these limitations. These new data promise a deeper understanding of the factors that affect cellular behavior, and in particular the ability to directly test existing theories about cell state and variation in the context of morphology, location, motility, and signaling that could not be tested before. Rapid advancements in resolution, ease-of-use, and scale of spatial genomics technologies to address these questions also require an updated toolkit of statistical methods with which to interrogate these data. We present a framework to respond to this new avenue of research: four open biological questions that can now be answered using spatial genomics data paired with methods for analysis. We outline spatial data modalities for each open question that may yield specific insights, discuss how conflicting theories may be tested by comparing the data to conceptual models of biological behavior, and highlight statistical and machine learning-based tools that may prove particularly helpful to recover biological understanding.
Cannabis consumers’ preferences for legal and illegal cannabis: evidence from a discrete choice experiment
Authors: Xing Jin , Shi Yuyan
Published: September 2024

Background

In U.S. states that legalized and commercialized recreational cannabis, cannabis sales in illegal markets are still sizable or even larger than those in legal markets. This study aimed to assess cannabis consumers’ preferences for purchasing cannabis from legal and illegal markets and estimate the trade-offs under various policy scenarios.

Methods

963 adults were recruited, who used cannabis in the past year and lived in a state with recreational cannabis legalization. In a discrete choice experiment, participants chose purchasing cannabis from a legal dispensary or an illegal dealer with varying levels in product attributes including quality, safety, accessibility, potency, and price. Mixed logit models were used to analyze preferences.

Results

The likelihood of choosing legal cannabis increased with a higher quality, the presence of lab test, a shorter distance to seller, a higher tetrahydrocannabinol level, and a lower price. The likelihood of choosing illegal cannabis increased with a higher quality, a shorter distance to seller, and a lower price. Among product attributes, quality and accessibility were perceived to be the most important for legal cannabis and price was perceived to be the most important for illegal cannabis. Policy simulations predicted that improving quality, ensuring safety, allowing delivery services, increasing dispensary density, and lowering prices/taxes of legal cannabis may reduce illegal cannabis market share.

Conclusions

In the U.S., cannabis consumers’ preferences for illegal cannabis were associated with both legal and illegal cannabis product attributes. Policies regulating legal cannabis markets should consider potential spillover effects to illegal markets.
Association between intra-articular hyaluronic acid injections in delaying total knee arthroplasty and safety evaluation in primary knee osteoarthritis: analysis based on Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) claim database in Republic of Korea
Authors: Park Jun-Gu , Sim Juho , Han Seung-Beom
Published: September 2024

Background

The prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), a progressive degenerative disease, is gradually increasing, and it is a progressive degenerative disease. In patients with mild-to-moderate KOA, intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IA-HA) has been shown to be an effective non-operative treatment option that can provide significant pain relief and symptom improvement by increasing intra-articular viscoelasticity. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of IA-HA injections in delaying total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and the safety of IA-HA according to IA-HA type and combination with intra-articular corticosteroid (IA-CS) using a large health insurance claim database.

Methods

For this retrospective cohort study, the study population included patients aged ≥ 50 years with a first diagnosis of KOA between 2009 and 2014, who underwent TKA by 2020, using the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service claim database in Republic of Korea. IA-HA injections were categorized as single or multiple injection regimen agents. Cox proportional hazard models estimated hazard ratios (HR) for TKA risk, adjusted for covariates. Logistic regression assessed the occurrence of adverse events after IA-HA administration.

Results

In all, 36,983 patients were included. Patients who received IA-HA injections had a significantly longer time to TKA compared to those who did not (mean delay of approximately 1 year). The IA-HA group had a significantly lower risk of TKA (HR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.60–0.62) than non-IA-HA group after adjusting for covariates, which included age, sex, medical history, number of hospital beds, and CS injection. Single injection IA-HA regimen agents showed the longest time to TKA and lowest risk (HR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.53–0.59). TKA risk decreased with the number of IA-HA cycles. Adverse events occurred in 6.7% of IA-HA cases without CS, with very low incidence of infection. Multiple injection regimen agents (multiple injection regimen 7.0% vs. single injection regimen 3.6%) and concurrent IA-CS use (concurrent IA-CS use 13.9% vs. IA-HA only 6.7%) were associated with higher infection risk.

Conclusion

IA-HA injections were associated with a significant delay in TKA among patients with KOA. Single-injection regimen agents had the lowest TKA risk. Infection risk increased with multiple injections and concurrent IA-CS use. These findings could suggest the use of IA-HA as an effective non-operative intervention option for managing KOA and delaying TKA. Careful selection of IA-HA type and consideration of concurrent IA-CS use could play a role in delaying the time to TKA and reducing complications.
Plasma activated water effects on behavior, performance, carcass quality, biochemical changes, and histopathological alterations in quail
Authors: Mahmoud Usama T. , El-Reda Ghada Abd , Ali Fatma Abo Zakaib , Mahmoud Manal A.M. , Abd-Allah Sherief M.S , El-Hossary F. M. , Khalil Nasser S. Abou
Published: September 2024

Background

Plasma-activated water (PAW) is an innovative promising technology which could be applied to improve poultry health. The current study investigated the effects of drinking water supply with PAW on quail behaviour, performance, biochemical parameters, carcass quality, intestinal microbial populations, and internal organs histopathology. A total of 54 twenty-one-day-old Japanese quail chicks were randomly allotted to three treatments provided with PAW at doses 0, 1 ml (PAW-1), and 2 ml (PAW-2) per one litter drinking water. Each treatment contained 6 replicates (3 birds/ cage; one male and two females).

Results

The results clarified that there were no significant (P > 0.05) changes in behaviour, and performance. For the biochemical indicators, the PAW-1 group showed significantly higher serum H2O2, total protein and globulin levels compared with the other groups (P = 0.015, < 0.001, and 0.019; respectively). PAW groups had significantly lower serum creatinine and urea levels than the control (P = 0.003). For the carcass quality, the internal organs relative weight between different treatments was not changed. In contrast, there was a significant increase in the meat colour, taste, and overall acceptance scores in PAW groups compared with the control one (P = 0.013, 0.001, and < 0.001; respectively). For the intestinal microbial population, lactobacilli count was significantly higher in PAW-2 compared with the control group (P = 0.014), while there were no changes in the total bacterial count between different treatment groups. Moreover, mild histological changes were recorded in the intestine, liver, and spleen of PAW groups especially PAW-2 compared with the control one.

Conclusions

PAW offered benefits, such as reducing creatine and urea levels, improving meat characteristics, and increasing lactobacilli count, all of which are crucial for sustainable quail farming. Therefore, further research is needed.
Evaluating the tailored implementation of a multisite care navigation service for mental health in rural and remote Australia (The Bridging Study): protocol for a community-engaged hybrid effectiveness-implementation study
Authors: Tyack Zephanie , McPhail Steven , Aarons Gregory A. , McGrath Kelly , Barron Andrew , Carter Hannah , Larkins Sarah , Barnett Adrian , Hummell Eloise , Tulleners Ruth , Fisher Olivia , Harvey Gillian , Jones Lee , Murray Kate , Abell Bridget
Published: September 2024

Background

A dramatic decline in mental health of people worldwide in the early COVID-19 pandemic years has not recovered. In rural and remote Australia, access to appropriate and timely mental health services has been identified as a major barrier to people seeking help for mental ill-health. From 2020 to 2021 a care navigation model, Navicare, was co-designed with rural and remote communities in the Greater Whitsunday Region of Central Queensland in Australia. The Exploration, Preparation, Implementation and Sustainment (EPIS) framework was used to design and guide multiple aspects of a multisite study, The Bridging Study, to evaluate the implementation of Navicare in Australia.

Methods

A community-engaged hybrid effectiveness-implementation study design will focus on the tailored implementation of Navicare at three new sites as well as monitoring implementation at an existing site established since 2021. Study outcomes assessed will include sustained access as the co-primary outcome (measured using access to Navicare mental health referral services) and Proctor’s Implementation Outcomes of feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, adoption, fidelity, implementation cost, and sustainability. Data collection for the implementation evaluation will include service usage data, community consultations, interviews, and workshops; analysed using mixed methods and guided by EPIS and other implementation frameworks. Pre-post effectiveness and cost-consequence study components are embedded in the implementation and sustainment phases, with comparison to pre-implementation data and value assessed for each EPIS phase using hospital, service, and resource allocation data. A scaling up strategy will be co-developed using a national roundtable forum in the final year of the study. Qualitative exploration of other aspects of the study (e.g., mechanisms of action and stakeholder engagement) will be conducted.

Discussion

Our study will use tailoring to local sites and a community-engaged approach to drive implementation of a mental health care navigation service in rural and remote Australia, with expected benefits to mental healthcare access. This approach is consistent with policy recommendations nationally and internationally as building blocks for rural health including the World Health Organization Framework for Action on Strengthening Health Systems to Improve Health Outcomes.

Trial registration

Prospectively registered on April 2, 2024, on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, no. ACTRN12624000382572.
https://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=386665&isReview=true.
Omentum preservation versus complete omentectomy in gastrectomy for gastric cancer (OMEGA trial): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Keywani K. , Eshuis W. J. , Borgstein A. B. J. , van Det M. J. , van Duijvendijk P. , van Etten B. , Grimminger P. P. , Heisterkamp J. , Lagarde S. M. , Luyer M. D. P. , Markar S. R. , Meijer S. L. , Pierie J. P. E. N. , Roviello F. , Ruurda J. P. , van Sandick J. W. , Sosef M. , Witteman B. P. L. , de Steur W. O. , Lissenberg-Witte B. I. , van Berge Henegouwen M. I. , Gisbertz S. S.
Published: September 2024

Background

Potentially curative therapy for locally advanced gastric cancer consists of gastrectomy, usually in combination with perioperative chemotherapy. An oncological resection includes a radical (R0) gastrectomy and modified D2 lymphadenectomy; generally, a total omentectomy is also performed, to ensure the removal of possible microscopic disease. However, the omentum functions as a regulator of regional immune responses to prevent infections and prevents adhesions which could lead to bowel obstructions. Evidence supporting a survival benefit of routine complete omentectomy during gastrectomy is lacking.

Methods

OMEGA is a randomized controlled, open, parallel, non-inferiority, multicenter trial. Eligible patients are operable (ASA < 4) and have resectable (≦ cT4aN3bM0) primary gastric cancer. Patients will be 1:1 randomized between (sub)total gastrectomy with omentum preservation distal of the gastroepiploic vessels versus complete omentectomy. For a power of 80%, the target sample size is 654 patients. The primary objective is to investigate whether omentum preservation in gastrectomy for cancer is non-inferior to complete omentectomy in terms of 3-year overall survival. Secondary endpoints include intra- and postoperative outcomes, such as blood loss, operative time, hospital stay, readmission rate, quality of life, disease-free survival, and cost-effectiveness.

Discussion

The OMEGA trial investigates if omentum preservation during gastrectomy for gastric cancer is non-inferior to complete omentectomy in terms of 3-year overall survival, with non-inferiority being determined based on results from both the intention-to-treat and the per-protocol analyses. The OMEGA trial will elucidate whether routine complete omentectomy could be omitted, potentially reducing overtreatment.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05180864. Registered on 6th January 2022.
Early-life milk replacer feeding mediates lipid metabolism disorders induced by colonic microbiota and bile acid profiles to reduce body weight in goat model
Authors: Zhang Ke , Zhang Ting , Guo Mengmeng , Cuoji Awang , Xu Yangbin , Zhao Yitong , Yang Yuxin , Brugger Daniel , Wang Xiaolong , Suo Langda , Wu Yujiang , Chen Yulin
Published: September 2024

Background

Dysregulation of lipid metabolism and its consequences on growth performance in young ruminants have attracted attention, especially in the context of alternative feeding strategies. This study aims to elucidate the effects of milk replacer (MR) feeding on growth, lipid metabolism, colonic epithelial gene expression, colonic microbiota composition and systemic metabolism in goat kids compared to breast milk (BM) feeding, addressing a critical knowledge gap in early life nutrition.

Methods

Ten female goat kids were divided into 2 groups: those fed breast milk (BM group) and those fed a milk replacer (MR group). Over a period of 28 d, body weight was monitored and blood and tissue samples were collected for biochemical, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. Profiling of the colonial microbiota was performed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Intestinal microbiota transplantation (IMT) experiments in gnotobiotic mice were performed to validate causality.

Results

MR-fed pups exhibited reduced daily body-weight gain due to impaired lipid metabolism as evidenced by lower serum and liver total cholesterol (TC) and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations. Transcriptomic analysis of the colonic epithelium revealed upregulated genes involved in negative regulation of lipid metabolism, concomitant with microbiota shifts characterized by a decrease in Firmicutes and an increase in Actinobacteria. Specifically, genera such as Bifidobacterium and Prevotella were enriched in the MR group, while Clostridium and Faecalibacterium were depleted. Metabolomics analyses confirmed alterations in bile acid and fatty acid metabolic pathways. IMT experiments in mice recapitulated the metabolic phenotype observed in MR-fed goats, confirming the role of the microbiota in modulating host lipid metabolism.

Conclusions

Milk replacer feeding in goat kids disrupts lipid metabolism and gut microbiota dynamics, resulting in reduced growth rates and metabolic alterations. These findings highlight the importance of early nutritional intervention on metabolic programming and suggest that modulation of the gut microbiota may be a target for improving growth and metabolic health in ruminants. This study contributes to the understanding of nutritional management strategies in livestock and their impact on animal health and productivity.
The Prevalence of Low Vitamin D in Elite Para-Athletes: A Systematic Review
Authors: Langley Christina Kate , Morse Christopher Ian , Buffey Aidan John
Published: September 2024

Background

Vitamin D insufficiency (25OHD, 50–75 nmolˑl− 1) is a common issue within healthy adults and elite athletes and is associated with decreased musculoskeletal health and performance. However, few studies have identified the prevalence and risk factors associated with vitamin D insufficiency within elite Para-Athletes.

Methods

An electronic search was completed on the 5th January 2023 and updated on the 21st June 2024, searching Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library and EASY (originally OpenGrey). To meet the eligibility criteria, retrieved studies were required to include at least one baseline measure of a vitamin D biomarker from elite Para-Athletes performing at national or international levels and therefore all quantitative study designs could be included. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist (8-item) for analytical cross-sectional studies. Data from the eligible studies was extracted and charted, with a supporting narrative synthesis.

Results

The search strategy retrieved 3083 articles, of which ten studies met the inclusion criteria. In total there were n = 355 Para-Athletes, 69.6% of which comprised of males in the included studies. Across the ten included studies, n = 546 samples were taken from n = 355 Para-Athletes across different seasons and based upon the 25(OH)D insufficiency and deficiency thresholds set by each individual study 43.2% of the samples were considered insufficient and 28.1% deficient. During the winter months vitamin D insufficiency was at its most prevalent at 74.1%, compared to 57.1% in summer of the 25(OH)D samples measured in Para-Athletes. Wheelchair athletes who competed in indoor sports were also more susceptible to low vitamin D.

Conclusion

This review has highlighted that vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is highly prevalent in elite level Para-Athletes, all year, across both summer and winter months. Therefore, this review highlights the need for education, treatment, and preventative measures in elite Para-Athletes throughout the year.

Registration

The following systematic review was prospectively registered through PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO registration ID number: CRD42022362149).
The Discrepancy Between External and Internal Load/Intensity during Blood Flow Restriction Exercise: Understanding Blood Flow Restriction Pressure as Modulating Factor
Authors: Bielitzki Robert , Behrens Martin , Behrendt Tom , Franz Alexander , Centner Christoph , Hughes Luke , Patterson Stephen D. , Owens Johnny , Behringer Michael , Schega Lutz
Published: September 2024

Physical exercise induces acute psychophysiological responses leading to chronic adaptations when the exercise stimulus is applied repeatedly, at sufficient time periods, and with appropriate magnitude. To maximize long-term training adaptations, it is crucial to control and manipulate the external load and the resulting psychophysiological strain. Therefore, scientists have developed a theoretical framework that distinguishes between the physical work performed during exercise (i.e., external load/intensity) and indicators of the body's psychophysiological response (i.e., internal load/intensity). However, the application of blood flow restriction (BFR) during exercise with low external loads/intensities (e.g., ≤ 30% of the one-repetition-maximum, ≤ 50% of maximum oxygen uptake) can induce physiological and perceptual responses, which are commonly associated with high external loads/intensities. This current opinion aimed to emphasize the mismatch between external and internal load/intensity when BFR is applied during exercise. In this regard, there is evidence that BFR can be used to manipulate both external load/intensity (by reducing total work when exercise is performed to exhaustion) and internal load/intensity (by leading to higher physiological and perceptual responses compared to exercise performed with the same external load/intensity without BFR). Furthermore, it is proposed to consider BFR as an additional exercise determinant, given that the amount of BFR pressure can determine not only the internal but also external load/intensity. Finally, terminological recommendations for the use of the proposed terms in the scientific context and for practitioners are given, which should be considered when designing, reporting, discussing, and presenting BFR studies, exercise, and/or training programs.
Anticoagulation management for cardiopulmonary bypass using TEG® 6 s in a patient receiving both heparin and dabigatran
Authors: Kawada Yu , Katori Nobuyuki , Kaji Keiko , Fujioka Shoko , Yamaguchi Tomoki
Published: September 2024

Background

It is difficult to evaluate adequate dose of heparin for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) by activated clotting time (ACT) in a patient receiving both heparin and dabigatran because dabigatran can also prolong ACT. We evaluated the effect of dabigatran by thromboelastography (TEG) to determine adequate heparin dose for CPB.

Case presentation

An 81-year-old woman receiving both heparin and dabigatran was scheduled for an emergency surgical repair of iatrogenic atrial septal perforation. Although ACT was prolonged to 419 s, we performed TEG to distinguish anticoagulation by dabigatran from heparin comparing R in CK and CHK. As the results of TEG indicated residual effect of dabigatran, we reversed dabigatran by idarucizumab and then dosed 200 U/kg of heparin to achieve adequate anticoagulation for CPB by heparin.

Conclusions

TEG could help physicians to determine need for idarucizumab and also an adequate dose of heparin to establish appropriate anticoagulation for CPB.
In-depth analysis of Bt cotton adoption: farmers' opinions, genetic landscape, and varied perspectives—a case study from Pakistan
Authors: Shahzad Rahil , Jamil Shakra , Chaudhry Urooj Fatima , Rahman Sajid Ur , Iqbal Muhammad Zaffar
Published: September 2024

Background

Bt technology has played significant role in controlling bollworms and increasing cotton yield in earlier days of its introduction, a subsequent decline in yield became apparent over time. This decline may be attributed to various environmental factors, pest dynamics, or combination of both. Therefore, the present biophysical survey and questionnaire were designed to evaluate the impact of Bt cotton on bollworms management and its effect on reducing spray costs, targeting farmers with varied landholdings and educational backgrounds. Additionally, data on farmers' cultivated varieties and the prevalence of bollworms and sucking insects in their fields were recorded. Subsequently, about eleven thousand cotton samples from farmer fields were tested for Cry1Ac, Cry2Ab and Vip3A genes by strip test.

Results

In this analysis, 83% of the farmers planting approved varieties believe that Bt technology control bollworms, while 17% hold contradictory views. Similarly, among farmers cultivating unapproved varieties, 77% agree on effectiveness of Bt technology against bollworms, while 23% disagree. On the other hand, 67% of farmers planting approved varieties believe that Bt technology does not reduce spray costs, while 33% agree with the effectiveness. Similarly, 78% of farmers cultivating unapproved varieties express doubt regarding its role to reduce spray costs, while 22% are in favour of this notion. Differences in opinions on the effectiveness of Bt cotton in controlling bollworms and reducing spray cost between farmers planting unapproved and approved varieties may stem from several factors. One major cause is the heavy infestation of sucking insects, which is probably due to the narrow genetic variation of the cultivated varieties. Additionally, the widespread cultivation of unapproved varieties (21.67%) is also an important factor to cause different opinions on the effectiveness of Bt cotton.

Conclusion

Based on our findings, we propose that the ineffective control of pests on cotton crop may be attributed to large scale cultivation of unapproved varieties and non-inclusion of double and triple transgene technologies in country’s sowing plan. On the basis of our findings, we suggest cotton breeders, regulatory bodies and legislative bodies to discourage the cultivation of unapproved varieties and impure seed. Moreover, the adoption of double and triple Bt genes in cottons with a broad genetic variation could facilitate the revival of the cotton industry, and presenting a promising way forward.
Evaluation of the ameliorative potency of spirulina platensis against cerebellar damage induced by methotrexate in male rats: histopathological, ultrastructural, molecular, and biochemical studies
Authors: Kandil Eman H. , elSamie Hany A. Abd , AbdElrahman Asmaa H. , Nofal Amany E.
Published: September 2024

Background

Methotrexate (MTX), a drug utilized in cancer and rheumatoid arthritis treatment, is associated with acute and chronic neurodegenerative alterations. Spirulina platensis (SP) has several important phytochemical substances that act as free radical scavengers or natural antioxidants. The current study investigated the possible effects of the blue-green alga Spirulina platensis on cerebellar damage in male rats exposed to methotrexate. Forty (40) adult male albino rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 10) and treated for one week: GI, the control group; GII was orally given 1000 mg SP/kg/daily, GIII was given a single intraperitoneal injection of MTX 75 mg/kg at the first day, and continued under the normal condition without other treatment till the end of the experiment, and GIV received both SP and MTX together with the same previous doses and duration. Neurobehavioral, histopathological, histochemical, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, molecular, and biochemical data were recorded.

Results

MTX caused severe cerebellar degeneration in 3 cortical layers, especially the Purkinje layer. The Purkinje layer displayed a disrupted monolayer arrangement with pyknotic nuclei, a significant decrease in cell number, and shrunken cells surrounded by empty spaces. The molecular and granular layers are degenerated with elevated immunoreactions and gene expression of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1), and neurofilament light chain antibody (NFL). Moreover, MTX significantly increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) while decreasing the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), serotonin, superoxide dismutase (SOD), acetylcholinesterase (ACHE), norepinephrine, and dopamine. These insults were noticeably mitigated by concomitant treatment with spirulina.

Conclusion

Spirulina improves neurological function by modulating the cerebellar damage elicited by MTX. This improvement may be attributed to the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of spirulina.
Anesthesiologists’ Role in Recognition, Prevention, and Treatment of Childbirth-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Authors: Mergler Blake D. , Kim Esther J. , Miranda James E. , Nilforoshan Maryam , Schlichter Rolf A. , Ejiogu Nwadiogo I. , Duffy Caoimhe C. , Mergler Reid J.
Published: September 2024

Childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) is increasingly common and consequential for pregnant patients. Throughout the labor experience and beyond, anesthesiologists are central to creating a psychological safe space for patients and play an essential role in preventing, recognizing, and treating CB-PTSD. This narrative review summarizes the current literature surrounding risk factors for CB-PTSD that are relevant to anesthesiologists; patients’ symptoms or signs anesthesiologists should look out for; and ways anesthesiologists may be involved in preventing and treating this condition.