bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Role of platelet to albumin ratio for predicting persistent acute kidney injury in patients admitted to the intensive care unit
Authors: Zhai Yuanwei , Liu Xiaoqiang , Li Yu , Hu Qionghua , Zhang Zhengwei , Hu Tianyang
Published: July 2023

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic role of platelet to albumin ratio (PAR) and in persistent acute kidney injury (pAKI) of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods

We involved pAKI patients from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV (MIMIC-IV) database and eICU Collaborative Research Database (eICU-CRD). Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the optimal cut-off PAR.

Results

A total of 7,646 patients were finally included in the present study. The optimal cut-off value of PAR was 7.2. The high-PAR group was associated with pAKI (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.25, 95% CI: 2.85–3.72, P < 0.001). We also performed this in the validation cohort, the results further confirmed that the high-PAR group was associated with pAKI (HR: 2.24, 95% CI: 1.86–2.71, P < 0.001). The PAR exhibited good pAKI predictive abilities in the original cohort (C-index: 0.726, 95%CI: 0.714–0.739) and in the validation cohort (C-index: 0.744, 95%CI:0.722–0.766) Moreover, as a systemic inflammatory indicator, PAR depicted better predictive ability compared to other systemic inflammatory indicators.

Conclusion

The present study manifested that elevated PAR could predicts pAKI in patients admitted to ICU. PAR may be an easily obtained and useful biomarker to clinicians for the early identification of pAKI.
Health professionals’ readiness to implement electronic medical record system in Gamo zone public hospitals, southern Ethiopia: an institution based cross-sectional study
Authors: Hailegebreal Samuel , Dileba Temesgen , Haile Yosef , Abebe Sintayehu
Published: July 2023

Background

The adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) by the healthcare sector can improve patient care and safety, facilitate structured research, and effectively plan, monitor, and assess disease. EMR adoptions in low-income countries like Ethiopia were delayed and failing more frequently, despite their critical necessity. The most popular way to solve the issue is to evaluate user preparedness prior to the adoption of EMR. However, little is known regarding the EMR readiness of healthcare professionals in this study setting. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the readiness and factors associated with health professional readiness toward EMR in Gamo Zone, Ethiopia.

Methods

An institution-based cross-sectional survey was conducted by using a pretested self-administered questionnaire on 416 study participants at public hospital hospitals in southern Ethiopia. STAT version 14 software was used to conduct the analysis after the data was entered using Epi-data version 3.2. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with readiness. Finally, the results were interpreted using an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value less than 0.05.

Results

A total of 400 participants enrolled in the study, with a response rate of 97.1%. A total of 65.25% (n = 261) [95% CI: 0.60, 0.69] participants had overall readiness, 68.75% (n = 275) [95% CI: 0.64, 0.73] had engagement readiness, and (69.75%) (n = 279) [95% CI: 0.65, 0.74] had core EMR readiness. Computer skills (AOR: 3.06; 95% CI: 1.49–6.29), EMR training (AOR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.06–3.67), good EMR knowledge (AOR: 2.021; 95% CI: 1.19–3.39), and favorable attitude (AOR: 3.00; 95% CI: 1.76–4.97) were factors significantly associated with EMR readiness.

Conclusion

Although it was deemed insufficient, more than half of the respondents indicated a satisfactory level of overall readiness for the adoption of EMR. Moreover, having computer skills, having EMR training, good EMR knowledge, and favorable EMR attitude were all significantly and positively related to EMR readiness.
Production of virus-like particles of porcine circovirus 2 in baculovirus expression system and its application for antibody detection
Authors: Li Yanwei , Yu Pingping , Bao Yaxuan , Ren Yuwen , Zhao Shaowei , Zhang Xuexian
Published: July 2023

Background

Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2) is one of the pathogens that leads to a growing and persistent threat in pigs. Thus, the development of serological detection methods for PCV-2 is of great necessity for clinical diagnosis as well as epidemiological investigations. This study aimed to establish an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to examine antibodies against PCV-2 based on virus-like particles (VLPs).

Results

Recombinant PCV-2 Cap protein was expressed in the baculovirus-insect cells system and PCV-2 VLPs were observed over transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The PCV-2 VLPs were shown to have good immunogenicity in mice and stimulated a high level of PCV-2 antibody titers. Using PCV-2 VLPs as coating antigen, the indirect ELISA can detect PCV-2 antibodies in animals with diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 98.33% and 93.33% compared to immunofluorescence assay (IFA), respectively. The intra- and inter-assay coefficient variations (CVs) were < 10% in a batch, and < 15% in different batches, indicating good repeatability. There was no cross-reaction of this ELISA with antibodies against other porcine viruses. A total of 170 serum samples collected from different pig farms in China were tested for PCV-2 antibodies, and 151 (88.8%) samples were PCV-2 antibody positive.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that this ELISA was rapid, specific, and reproducible and can be used for large-scale serological investigations of PCV-2 antibodies in pigs.
Nanotube patterning reduces macrophage inflammatory response via nuclear mechanotransduction
Authors: Fu Yiru , Jing Zheng , Chen Tao , Xu Xinxin , Wang Xu , Ren Mingxing , Wu Yanqiu , Wu Tianli , Li Yuzhou , Zhang He , Ji Ping , Yang Sheng
Published: July 2023

The inflammatory immune environment surrounding titanium bone implants determines the formation of osseointegration, and nanopatterning on implant surfaces modulates the immune microenvironment in the implant region. Among many related mechanisms, the mechanism by which nanopatterning controls macrophage inflammatory response still needs to be elucidated. In this paper, we found that inhibition of the nuclear envelope protein lamin A/C by titania nanotubes (TNTs) reduced the macrophage inflammatory response. Knockdown of lamin A/C reduced macrophage inflammatory marker expression, while overexpression of lamin A/C significantly elevated inflammatory marker expression. We further found that suppression of lamin A/C by TNTs limited actin polymerization, thereby reducing the nuclear translocation of the actin-dependent transcriptional cofactor MRTF-A, which subsequently reduced the inflammatory response. In addition, emerin, which is a key link between lamin A/C and actin, was delocalized from the nucleus in response to mechanical stimulation by TNTs, resulting in reduced actin organization. Under inflammatory conditions, TNTs exerted favourable osteoimmunomodulatory effects on the osteogenic differentiation of mouse bone marrow-derived stem cells (mBMSCs) in vitro and osseointegration in vivo. This study shows and confirms for the first time that lamin A/C-mediated nuclear mechanotransduction controls macrophage inflammatory response, and this study provides a theoretical basis for the future design of immunomodulatory nanomorphologies on the surface of metallic bone implants.
Proton therapy and oral mucositis in oral & oropharyngeal cancers: outcomes, dosimetric and NTCP benefit
Authors: Nangia Sapna , Gaikwad Utpal , Noufal M. P. , Sawant Mayur , Wakde Manoj , Mathew Ashwathy , Chilukuri Srinivas , Sharma Dayananda , Jalali Rakesh
Published: July 2023

Introduction

Radiation-induced oral mucositis (RIOM), is a common, debilitating, acute side effect of radiotherapy for oral cavity (OC) and oropharyngeal (OPx) cancers; technical innovations for reducing it are seldom discussed. Intensity-modulated-proton-therapy (IMPT) has been reported extensively for treating OPx cancers, and less frequently for OC cancers. We aim to quantify the reduction in the likelihood of RIOM in treating these 2 subsites with IMPT compared to Helical Tomotherapy.

Material and methods

We report acute toxicities and early outcomes of 22 consecutive patients with OC and OPx cancers treated with IMPT, and compare the dosimetry and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of ≥ grade 3 mucositis for IMPT and HT.

Results

Twenty two patients, 77% males, 41% elderly and 73% OC subsite, were reviewed. With comparable target coverage, IMPT significantly reduced the mean dose and D32, D39, D45, and D50, for both the oral mucosa (OM) and spared oral mucosa (sOM). With IMPT, there was a 7% absolute and 16.5% relative reduction in NTCP for grade 3 mucositis for OM, compared to HT. IMPT further reduced NTCP for sOM, and the benefit was maintained in OC, OPx subsites and elderly subgroup.

Acute toxicities, grade III dermatitis and mucositis, were noted in 50% and 45.5% patients, respectively, while 22.7% patients had grade 3 dysphagia. Compared with published data, the hospital admission rate, median weight loss, feeding tube insertion, unplanned treatment gaps were lower with IMPT. At a median follow-up of 15 months, 81.8% were alive; 72.7%, alive without disease and 9%, alive with disease.

Conclusion

The dosimetric benefit of IMPT translates into NTCP reduction for grade 3 mucositis compared to Helical Tomotherapy for OPx and OC cancers and encourages the use of IMPT in their management.
Morphological and DNA-based description of Trichophoromyia peixotoi n. sp. (Diptera: Psychodidae), a new sand fly species from the Brazilian Amazon
Authors: Rodrigues Bruno Leite , de Souza Pinto Israel , Galati Eunice Aparecida Bianchi
Published: July 2023

Background

Phlebotomine sand flies of the genus Trichophoromyia Barretto, 1962 are of great relevance to public health as vectors of Leishmania protozoans. A new phlebotomine species named Trichophoromyia peixotoi n. sp. is here described based on both male morphology and COI DNA barcodes.

Methods

The sand fly specimens were collected in the Parque Nacional da Amazônia (PNA), situated in the municipality of Itaituba, state of Pará, Brazil. Morphological description was done based on 10 male specimens. Five specimens were DNA barcoded for the COI gene.

Results

The morphological and molecular analyses allowed the delimitation of this new species from others of Trichophoromyia. Trichophoromyia peixotoi n. sp. is closely related to other species with aedeagal ducts > 4 times the length of the sperm pump, from which it may be distinguished by the gonocoxite bristles and paramere shape.

Conclusions

The description of T. peixotoi n. sp. brings the number of species of Trichophoromyia to 45, including 24 for Brazil. The integrative taxonomy effort through the analysis of COI barcodes proved to be effective in the species delimitation of some Trichophoromyia spp.

Graphical Abstract
Quantifying metabolic activity of Ascaris suum L3 using resazurin reduction
Authors: Kundik Arkadi , Musimbi Zaneta D. , Krücken Jürgen , Hildebrandt Thomas , Kornilov Oleg , Hartmann Susanne , Ebner Friederike
Published: July 2023

Background

Helminth infections are an important public health problem in humans and have an even greater impact on domestic animal and livestock welfare. Current readouts for anthelmintic drug screening assays are stage development, migration, or motility that can be subjective, laborious, and low in throughput. The aim of this study was to apply and optimize a fluorometric technique using resazurin for evaluating changes in the metabolic activity of Ascaris suum third-stage larvae (L3), a parasite of high economic relevance in swine.

Methods

Ascaris suum L3 were mechanically hatched from 6- to 8-week embryonated and sucrose-gradient-enriched eggs. Resazurin dye and A. suum L3 were titrated in 96-well microtiter plates, and resazurin reduction activity was assessed by fluorometry after 24 h of incubation. Fluorescence microscopy was used to localize the resazurin reduction site within the larvae. Finally, we exposed A. suum L3 to various stress conditions including heat, methanol, and anthelmintics, and investigated their impact on larval metabolism through resazurin reduction activity.

Results

We show that the non-fluorescent dye resazurin is reduced inside vital A. suum L3 to fluorescent resorufin and released into the culture media. Optimal assay parameters are 100–1000 L3 per well, a resazurin concentration of 7.5 µg/ml, and incubation at 37 °C/5% CO2 for 24 h. An intact L2 sheath around the L3 of A. suum completely prevents the uptake of resazurin, while in unsheathed L3, the most intense fluorescence signal is observed along the larval midgut. L3 exposed to methanol or heat show a gradually decreased resazurin reduction activity. In addition, 24 h exposure to ivermectin at 0.625 µM, mebendazole at 5 µM, and thiabendazole from 10 to 100 µM significantly decreased larval metabolic activity by 55%, 73%, and 70% to 89%, respectively.

Conclusions

Together, our results show that both metabolic stressors and anthelmintic drugs significantly and reproducibly reduce the resazurin reduction activity of A. suum L3, making the proposed assay a sensitive and easy-to-use method to evaluate metabolic activity of A. suum L3 in vitro.

Graphical Abstract
Enterovirus A71-associated acute flaccid paralysis in a pediatric patient: a case report
Authors: Akinnurun Oluwafemi M. , Narvaez Encalada Marco , Orth Julia , Petzold Markus , Böttcher Sindy , Diedrich Sabine , Smitka Martin , Schröttner Percy
Published: July 2023

Background

Enterovirus A71 is one of the causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease, which is usually a self-limiting disease. Complications of enterovirus infection are also very rare. However, when such complications occur, they can lead to serious neurological diseases or even death.

Case presentation

In this report, we describe a case of enterovirus A71-associated acute flaccid paralysis in a 13-month-old Caucasian girl that was managed in our hospital. The patient presented with sudden onset of left arm paresis that could not be attributed to any other cause. Establishing a diagnosis was furthermore complicated by negative virological investigations of cerebrospinal fluid and non-pathological radiological findings. A polymerase chain reaction test of the child’s stool sample however tested positive for enterovirus and sequencing results revealed the presence of enterovirus A71. A previous history of febrile gastroenteritis just before the paresis started also supported the suspected diagnosis of enterovirus-associated acute flaccid paralysis. Following this, the child was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin over 5 days and a remarkable improvement was observed in the child’s paresis.

Conclusion

This case report describes a possible complication of enterovirus A71 infection in a child. It also highlights the prolonged detection of enterovirus in the child’s stool sample as compared with cerebrospinal fluid weeks after the primary infection occurred. Finally, it shows the need for increased clinical and diagnostic awareness especially in the management of sudden and unknown causes of paresis or paralysis in children.
Racial diversity amongst Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery programs in Canada
Authors: Horton Garret , Grose Elysia , Chen Tanya , Davies Oluwaseun Daniel , Shin Dongho , Witterick Ian , Campisi Paolo , Chan Yvonne
Published: July 2023

Background

The Canadian landscape of racial diversity in academic OHNS programs is currently unknown, as to date Canadian medical organizing bodies have refrained from collecting race-based data. However, new policy guidelines by the Canadian Medical Association support the collection of data that may be used to support equity, diversity and inclusion programs. This study aims to describe the representation of visible minorities amongst academic OHNS departments and divisions in Canada at various levels of academic seniority.

Methods

An online survey was distributed to members of the 13 academic OHNS department in Canada in 2022. The survey collected demographic data as well as each participant's self-reported race and gender. The primary outcome was the comparison of the racial demographics of Canadian academic OHNS programs to Canadian census data. Secondary outcome measures assessed how demographics varied based on academic position and gender. Simple descriptive statistics were tabulated for all demographic variables. Chi-square goodness of fit analysis was used to compare survey results to anticipated demographics based on 2016 Canadian census data.

Results

Of 545 surveys distributed, 224 surveys were completed (response rate of 41%); 67.9% or respondents were male and 32.1% were female. Of these respondents, 71 were residents, 26 lecturers, 54 assistant professors, 39 associate professors, and 34 full professors. There was significantly greater minority representation amongst residents (47.9%), assistant professors (39.6%), and lecturers (40.7%) compared to the Canadian population (25.3%) p < 0.001. Results also showed that there were significantly fewer female lecturers (25.9%, p = 0.01), assistant professors (31.5%, p = 0.006), and full professors (2.9%, p < 0.001) compared to an assumed even proportion of men and women in the population.

Conclusions

Academic OHNS programs in Canada are more racially diverse than the Canadian population. However, women continue to be under-represented in more senior positions, especially women who are visible minorities. Further investigation into the systemic factors that may contribute to this disparity is needed as well as effective ways to promote diversity amongst academic OHNS departments at all levels of academic seniority.

Graphical Abstract
Detecting bots in social-networks using node and structural embeddings
Authors: Dehghan Ashkan , Siuta Kinga , Skorupka Agata , Dubey Akshat , Betlen Andrei , Miller David , Xu Wei , Kamiński Bogumił , Prałat Paweł
Published: July 2023

Users on social networks such as Twitter interact with each other without much knowledge of the real-identity behind the accounts they interact with. This anonymity has created a perfect environment for bot accounts to influence the network by mimicking real-user behaviour. Although not all bot accounts have malicious intent, identifying bot accounts in general is an important and difficult task. In the literature there are three distinct types of feature sets one could use for building machine learning models for classifying bot accounts. These feature-sets are: user profile metadata, natural language features (NLP) extracted from user tweets and finally features extracted from the the underlying social network. Profile metadata andNLPfeatures are typically explored in detail in the bot-detection literature. At the same time less attention has been given to the predictive power of features that can be extracted from the underlying network structure. To fill this gap we explore and compare two classes of embedding algorithms that can be used to take advantage of information that network structure provides. The first class are classical embedding techniques, which focus on learning proximity information. The second class are structural embedding algorithms, which capture the local structure of node neighbourhood. We show that features created using structural embeddings have higher predictive power when it comes to bot detection. This supports the hypothesis that the local social network formed around bot accounts on Twitter contains valuable information that can be used to identify bot accounts.
The growth of sengon (Parasarienthes falcataria) and citronella (Cymbopogon nardus) productivity performance in agroforestry system
Authors: RAHMAH HANIFA , WIJAYANTO NURHENI , WULANDARI ARUM SEKAR
Published: July 2023

Abstract. Rahmah H, Wijayanto N, Wulandari AS. 2023. The growth of sengon (Parasarienthes falcataria) and citronella (Cymbopogon nardus) productivity performance in agroforestry system. Biodiversitas 24: 3114-3119. Sengon is a fast-growing plant species widely planted in community forests. Sengon is widely cultivated in agroforestry systems with seasonal crops. The main obstacle to cultivation in agroforestry systems is low growth due to competition for nutrients and low absorption of sunlight. This study aims to analyze the growth of sengon varieties and citronella varieties. The research was conducted for six months in the Cikabayan field, Faculty of Forestry, IPB University, Bogor, West Java. This study consisted of two activities: (i) analyzing the effect of the two-year-old sengon variety on the growth of tree height, diameter, crown, and volume, (ii) analyzing the effect of the citronella variety on the growth and yield of citronella oil. The experiment was designed with three factors, a completely randomized design with three replications. The results showed that Sengon Solomon had higher growth than Sengon Kendal. Sengon Solomon F2 had better growth than Sengon Solomon F1 and Kendal locale. Citronella plants grown under the local stands of Sengon Kendal had the best productivity. Lemongrass variety G1 had better growth than the Sitrona 2 Agribun variety in the shaded condition of sengon stands. However, the Sitrona 2 Agribun variety's yield has a higher value than the G1 citronella variety.
THE INCIDENCE OF SIMULATOR SICKNESS IN PILOTS AND NON-PILOTS EXPOSED TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION EVENTS IN THE GYRO-IPT SIMULATOR
Authors:   Military Institute of Aviation Medicine, Warsaw, Poland, Lewkowicz Rafał , Bałaj Bibianna ,   Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland, Francuz Piotr ,   John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
Published: July 2023

Introduction: A previous study conducted in the Gyro-IPT simulator revealed that applied flight scenarios induced minor severity of simulator sickness symptoms in participants. In this study, however, we did not investigate how the severity of symptoms differs between pilots and non-pilots. Therefore, the presented study aimed to examine whether the symptoms of simulator sickness induced in pilots and non-pilots during spatial disorientation (SD) training are significantly different. We were particularly interested in whether the standard flight scenario used in SD training could be a contributing factor in increasing simulator sickness in novice, inexperienced pilots. Method: We used the data from the previous study, where twenty male military pilots (age 31.6 ±8.22) with flight experience (total flight hours 1300 ±1167.4) and 20 non-pilots (age 30.9 ±7.72) were assigned to one of two groups and then exposed to a 1-hour long flight session (12 flight profiles, six involved an SD-conflict) with active control in the Gyro IPT simulator. To measure simulator sickness symptoms, the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) was administered pre and post-simulator exposure. In the presented study, the SSQ scores were analyzed independently for the total SSQ and subscores for nausea, oculomotor, and disorientation, and then were compared between groups. Results: The score of the total severity and for each subscale of SSQ symptoms in the non-pilots‘ group were higher than those in the pilots group, however, these differences were not significant. Despite the observed differences, according to the SSQ scoring criteria the simulator sickness symptoms reported by the participants after exposure to the applied flight scenario were negligible. Conclusion: The flight scenarios used in SD training did not generate significantly different symptoms of simulator sickness between non-pilots and pilots. The low level of severity of simulator sickness symptoms in these two study groups may indicate difficulty in predicting simulator sickness based on SSQ only.
Translating and disseminating a localised economic model to support implementation of the ‘Ending the HIV Epidemic’ initiative to public health policymakers
Authors: Abrams Matthew P. , Weiner Janet , Piske Micah , Enns Benjamin , Krebs Emanuel , Zang Xiao , Nosyk Bohdan , Meisel Zachary F.
Published: July 2023

Background:

Despite significant progress in HIV treatment and prevention, the US remains far from its goal of ‘Ending the HIV Epidemic’ by 2030. Economic models using local data can synthesise the evidence to help policymakers allocate HIV resources efficiently, but persistent research-to-practice gaps remain. Little is known about how to facilitate the use of economic modelling data among local public health policymakers in real-world settings.

Aims and objectives:

To explore the dissemination of results from a locally-calibrated economic model for HIV prevention and treatment and identify the factors influencing potential uptake of the model for public health decision making at the local level.

Methods:

Four virtual focus groups with 26 local health department policymakers in Baltimore, Miami, Seattle, and New York City were held between July 2020 and May 2021. Qualitative content analysis of transcripts identified key themes around using the localised economic model in policy decisions.

Results:

Participants were interested in using local data in their decisions to allocate resources for HIV prevention/treatment. Six themes emerged: 1) importance of understanding local policy context; 2) health equity considerations; 3) using evidence to support current priorities; 4) difficulty of changing strategies, even incrementally; 5) bang for the incremental buck (efficiency) vs. previous impact; and 6) community values.

Conclusion and relevance:

To optimise acceptance and use of results from economic models, researchers should engage with local community members and public health decision makers early to understand budgetary and community priorities. Participants prioritised evidence that supports their existing strategies, considers budgets and funding streams, and improves health equity; however, real-world budget constraints and conflicting interests serve as barriers to implementing model recommendations and reaching national goals.
Freeform concentrator design for IR wireless-to-fiber link communications
Authors: García-Márquez J. , Valencia-Estrada J. C.
Published: July 2023

Airplanes use heavy wired harnesses to provide multimedia services to the seats. Optical wireless communications (OWC) are a natural choice to reduce the amount of weight, reduce the wiring complexity, and avoid possible spurious electromagnetic radiation that risks affecting the airplane’s navigation systems. The light’s dual use as lighting and optical communications functionalities allows for providing light and multimedia content through the reading lamp. Thus, an optical system using optical fibers to replace wires and a reading lamp can provide a cabin seat with lighting and onboard connectivity. However, changing shielded harnesses by optical fibers is—from an optical design point of view—a challenging task as the reading lamp must also meet the stringent requirements to link the optical wireless transmissions to the optical fiber. The difficulty up to now lies in injecting the light emitted from the passenger’s device into the optical fiber using the reading lamp as the receiving antenna and light injector. Here, we describe a proof-of-concept device that experimentally allowed for establishing a link between a transmitter and a photodetector coupled to an optical fiber-end, i.e., the link consisted of an optical wireless communication and the launching of the light modulated signal into an optical fiber. Additionally, from the experimental experience, we will describe the optical design strategies permitting designing a compound freeform concentrator to allow optical free space-to-fiber links.
The estimated distribution of autochthonous leishmaniasis by Leishmania infantum in Europe in 2005–2020
Authors: Maia Carla , Conceição Cláudia , Pereira André , Rocha Rafael , Ortuño Maria , Muñoz Clara , Jumakanova Zarima , Pérez-Cutillas Pedro , Özbel Yusuf , Töz Seray , Baneth Gad , Monge-Maillo Begoña , Gasimov Elkhan , Van der Stede Yves , Torres Gregorio , Gossner Céline M. , Berriatua Eduardo
Published: July 2023

Background

This study describes the spatial and temporal distribution between 2005 and 2020 of human and animal leishmaniasis by Leishmania infantum in European countries reporting autochthonous cases, and highlights potential activities to improve disease control.

Methodology/Principal findings

It was based on a review of the scientific literature and data reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) and the Ministries of Health, including hospital discharges in some countries. Autochthonous infections were reported in the scientific literature from 22 countries, including 13 and 21 countries reporting human and animal infections, respectively. In contrast, only 17 countries reported autochthonous human leishmaniasis cases to the WHO and 8 countries animal infections to the WOAH. The number of WOAH reported cases were 4,203, comprising 4,183 canine cases and 20 cases in wildlife. Of 8,367 WHO reported human cases, 69% were visceral leishmaniasis cases—of which 94% were autochthonous—and 31% cutaneous leishmaniasis cases—of which 53% were imported and mostly in France. The resulting cumulative incidence per 100,000 population of visceral leishmaniasis between 2005–2020, was highest in Albania (2.15 cases), followed by Montenegro, Malta, Greece, Spain and North Macedonia (0.53–0.42), Italy (0.16), Portugal (0.09) and lower in other endemic countries (0.07–0.002). However, according to hospital discharges, the estimated human leishmaniasis incidence was 0.70 in Italy and visceral leishmaniasis incidences were 0.67 in Spain and 0.41 in Portugal.

Conclusions/Significance

Overall, there was no evidence of widespread increased incidence of autochthonous human leishmaniasis by L. infantum in European countries. Visceral leishmaniasis incidence followed a decreasing trend in Albania, Italy and Portugal, and peaked in Greece in 2013, 2014 and 2017, and in Spain in 2006–2007 and 2011–2013. Animal and human cutaneous leishmaniasis remain highly underreported. In humans, hospital discharge databases provide the most accurate information on visceral leishmaniasis and may be a valuable indirect source of information to identify hotspots of animal leishmaniasis. Integrated leishmaniasis surveillance and reporting following the One Health approach, needs to be enhanced in order to improve disease control.
Ear health and quality of life in pet rabbits of differing ear conformations: A UK survey of owner-reported signalment risk factors and effects on rabbit welfare and behaviour
Authors: Chivers Benedict D. , Keeler Melissa R. D. , Burn Charlotte C.
Published: July 2023

The impacts of ear disease on animal welfare and behaviour are little documented. Ear disease may be common in rabbits, but difficult to recognise, and lop-ears have previously been indicated as a risk factor for ear disease. We aimed to better understand the range of ear conditions in pet rabbits, signalment risk factors, and impacts on welfare and behaviour. Through an online questionnaire, we investigated owner-reported signalment, veterinary diagnosis of ear conditions, impaired hearing, and ear pain for UK pet rabbits. Relationships between ear condition measures and ear conformation, quality of life, and behaviour were analysed using logistic regression. Of 551 valid responses, 28.5% of rabbits reportedly had experienced ear conditions; 21.2% diagnosed or mentioned by vets, with otitis and excess cerumen most common. Approximately 25% of lop-eared rabbits had ear conditions indicated by a vet versus 10% of erect-eared rabbits. Lop-eared, half-lop, and older rabbits were most at risk (P<0.050). Rabbits reported as showing ear pain responses had reduced owner-reported quality of life compared with other rabbits (P<0.050). Rabbits with ear problems were less likely to be responsive to relevant sounds, and performed binky behaviour (joy jumps) less frequently, than rabbits without such issues. Understanding prevalence and risk factors for ear conditions is critical to improving welfare standards across this widely owned pet species. The findings suggest that improved recognition and treatment of ear conditions, and avoiding breeding from rabbits with early signs, or a family history, of ear disease are necessary to help combat this animal welfare issue.
FAVIS: Fast and versatile protocol for non-destructive metabarcoding of bulk insect samples
Authors: Iwaszkiewicz-Eggebrecht Elzbieta , Łukasik Piotr , Buczek Mateusz , Deng Junchen , Hartop Emily A. , Havnås Harald , Prus-Frankowska Monika , Ugarph Carina R. , Viteri Paulina , Andersson Anders F. , Roslin Tomas , Tack Ayco J. M. , Ronquist Fredrik , Miraldo Andreia
Published: July 2023

Insects are diverse and sustain essential ecosystem functions, yet remain understudied. Recent reports about declines in insect abundance and diversity have highlighted a pressing need for comprehensive large-scale monitoring. Metabarcoding (high-throughput bulk sequencing of marker gene amplicons) offers a cost-effective and relatively fast method for characterizing insect community samples. However, the methodology applied varies greatly among studies, thus complicating the design of large-scale and repeatable monitoring schemes. Here we describe a non-destructive metabarcoding protocol that is optimized for high-throughput processing of Malaise trap samples and other bulk insect samples. The protocol details the process from obtaining bulk samples up to submitting libraries for sequencing. It is divided into four sections: 1) Laboratory workspace preparation; 2) Sample processing—decanting ethanol, measuring the wet-weight biomass and the concentration of the preservative ethanol, performing non-destructive lysis and preserving the insect material for future work; 3) DNA extraction and purification; and 4) Library preparation and sequencing. The protocol relies on readily available reagents and materials. For steps that require expensive infrastructure, such as the DNA purification robots, we suggest alternative low-cost solutions. The use of this protocol yields a comprehensive assessment of the number of species present in a given sample, their relative read abundances and the overall insect biomass. To date, we have successfully applied the protocol to more than 7000 Malaise trap samples obtained from Sweden and Madagascar. We demonstrate the data yield from the protocol using a small subset of these samples.
Interindividual variability in the benefits of personal sound amplification products on speech perception in noise: A randomized cross-over clinical trial
Authors: Perron Maxime , Lau Brian , Alain Claude
Published: July 2023

Objective

The aging population is prone to hearing loss, which has several adverse effects on quality of life, including difficulty following conversations in noisy environments. Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs) are a less expensive, over-the-counter alternative to traditional, more expensive hearing aids. Although some studies have shown that PSAPs can mitigate hearing loss, the literature generally only addresses group differences without considering interindividual variability. This study aimed to 1) determine how PSAPs affect listening effort and speech perception in noise and 2) measure interindividual variability and identify contributing demographic and health factors.

Design

We used a cross-over design in which all participants were assigned to each condition.

Participants

Twenty-eight adults aged 60 to 87 years with normal hearing and mild hearing loss fulfilled the study requirements.

Intervention

In one session, speech-in-noise perception tasks were performed without PSAPs, and in the other, the tasks were performed with bilateral PSAPs. The two sessions were separated by one week, and the order of the sessions was balanced across participants.

Main outcome measures

In both sessions, participants performed the Quick speech-in-noise test and a word discrimination task in noise, in which their self-reported listening effort was measured.

Results

PSAPs use improved speech perception in noise in both tasks and reduced listening effort. There was considerable variability between individuals, with approximately 60–70% of participants showing benefit. Age, hearing and cognitive status were significant predictors of the benefits.

Conclusion

Not all individuals may benefit from the effect of PSAPs to the same extent at their first use, and this depends on specific health and demographic factors, particularly age, hearing, and cognitive status. These results underscore the importance of demographic and health factors in assessing the benefits of hearing amplification in older adults.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov,NCT05076045.
What influences parental decisions about antibiotic use with their children: A qualitative study in rural Australia
Authors: Marsh Stephanie A. , Byrne Mitchell K. , Parsafar Sara
Published: July 2023

Background

Inappropriate use of antibiotics can promote bacterial resistance, which is a growing public health concern. As children are amongst the highest recipients of antibiotics, understanding the drivers of parental decisions towards their children’s antibiotic use is imperative for the development of strategies to assist parents in making more informed decisions. This is particularly relevant to the decisions of parents living in resource-limited settings. This study explored the perspectives and practices of parents living in a rural setting about the use of antibiotics in their children.

Methods

Three focus group interviews were conducted with 10 parents of children under 12yrs, living in rural and remote areas of the Northern Territory, Australia. A focus group guide was developed to facilitate discussions, which was informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Transcripts were analysed abductively using thematic analysis.

Findings

Four themes emerged explaining factors that contributed to parent decisions about their children’s antibiotic use: 1) Parental knowledge, attitudes and decision making; 2) Perceptions of antimicrobial resistance; 3) Healthcare challenges; 4) Behaviours with antibiotics. While parents demonstrated accurate knowledge of the indications for antibiotic use, their decisions about the need for antibiotics were often driven by fear of serious illness. This fear was exacerbated by resource limitations associated with living in a resource-limited setting. Additional drivers of parental decision making included what parents have read or heard from both medical and non-medical networks, underscoring the importance of Social Norms in predicting behavioural intentions.

Conclusion

Mothers living in remote areas experiencing reduced access to health services may make decisions about antibiotic use out of fear and based on the advice of their personal network when they perceive their child is vulnerable to a health threat. Findings from this study provide guidance for future research in the prediction of antibiotic use behaviours and for context-specific interventions.
Strategies to increase childhood tuberculosis case detection at the primary health care level: Lessons from an active case finding study in Zambia
Authors: Kagujje Mary , Nyangu Sarah , Maimbolwa Minyoi M. , Shuma Brian , Mutti Lilungwe , Somwe Paul , Sanjase Nsala , Chungu Chalilwe , Kerkhoff Andrew D. , Muyoyeta Monde
Published: July 2023

Introduction

In high TB burden settings, it is estimated that 10–20% of total notifications should be children, however, currently only 6–8% of the total TB notifications in Zambia are children. We assessed whether the implementation of a multicomponent strategy, at primary healthcare facilities, that systematically targets barriers at each step of the childhood TB diagnostic cascade can increase childhood TB case detection.

Methods

We conducted a controlled, interrupted time series analysis to compare childhood TB case notifications before (January 2018—December 2019), and during implementation (January 2020—September 2021) in two intervention and two control Level 1 hospitals in Lusaka, Zambia. At each of the intervention facilities, we implemented a multicomponent strategy constituting: (1) capacity development on childhood TB and interpretation of chest x-ray, (2) TB awareness-raising and demand creation activities, (3) setting up fast track TB services, (4) strengthening of household contact tracing, and (5) improving access to digital chest X-ray for TB screening and Xpert MTB/Rif Ultra for TB diagnosis, through strengthening sample collection in children.

Findings

Among 5,150 children < 15 years screened at the two intervention facilities during the study period, 503 (9.8% yield) were diagnosed with TB. Of these, 433 (86.1%) were identified through facility-based activities (10.5% yield) and 70 (13.9%) were identified through household contact tracing (6.9% yield). Overall, 446 children (88.7%) children with TB were clinically diagnosed. Following implementation of the multicomponent strategy, the proportion children contributed to total TB notifications immediately changed by +1.5% (95%CI: -3.5, 6.6) and -4.4% (95%CI: -7.5, 1.4) at the intervention and control sites, respectively (difference 6.0% [95%CI: -0.7, 12.7]), p = 0.08); the proportion of childhood notifications increased 0.9% (95%CI: -0.7, 2.5%) each quarter at the intervention sites relative to pre-implementation trends, while declining 1.2% (-95%CI: -1.8, -0.6) at the control sites (difference 2.1% [95%CI: 0.1, 4.2] per quarter between, p = 0.046); this translated into 352 additional and 85 fewer childhood TB notifications at the intervention and control sites, respectively, compared to the pre-implementation period.

Conclusion

A standardized package of strategies to improve childhood TB detection at primary healthcare facilities was feasible to implement and was associated with a sustained improvement in childhood TB notifications.
The speech act of offer in Jordanian arabic
Authors: Haddad Sami Abdel-Karim Abdullah
Published: July 2023

A javaslás vagy felajánlás (offer) egy jól ismert beszédaktus, mellyel a hétköznapi kommunikációtól kezdve a reklámokig találkozhatunk. Ez a beszédaktus a jordán kultúrában kitüntetett szerepet játszik, mindezidáig azonban nem vizsgálták komplex módon. A jelen kutatás elméleti, empirikus és összehasonlító perspektívából közelíti meg a témát. Az elméleti perspektíva a javaslás beszédaktusának leírására összpontosít korábbi elméleti megfontolások és empirikus kutatások alapján, majd a javaslás jellemzőinek lehetséges elrendeződését vázolja fel a szaliencia és a performancia fogalmainak segítségével jordán arab szempontból. A kutatás második, empirikus perspektívája azt vizsgálta, hogy a jordán arab javaslás beszédaktusa hogyan jelenik meg három különböző korpuszban. (1) 100 utazási és turisztikai témájú Facebook hirdetésben; (2) 100 ‘Open Market’ weboldalról származó ingatlan hirdetésben, melyek szerzője magántulajdonos vagy ingatlanügynök; (3) 100 jordán arabok által kitöltött diskurzuskiegészítő tesztben, amely tíz szituációt tartalmazott. A három korpuszt adathalmazát kvantitatív-kvalitatív vizsgálatnak lett alávetve: az adatokat számszerűsítve táblázatba foglaltam, hogy a javaslási stratégiák, az azokat megvalósító nyelvi mintázatok, és az udvariassági stratégiák apró különbségei nyilvánvalóvá váljanak. Mivel a jordán arab javaslás kutatása igencsak gyermekcipőben jár, két nyelvi taxonómiát hoztam létre, hogy az írásbeli és a szóbeli javaslás folyamatának adatelemzése megvalósítható legyen. Az adatok elemzése azt mutatja, hogy a jordán kultúra hatással van nemcsak a javaslási stratégia meghatározására, hanem az udvariassági módosítási stratégiák kiválasztására is. Mindhárom korpuszban a közvetlen javaslás bizonyult a leggyakoribbnak. Az udvariassági stratégiák használata a Facebook és az Open Market esetében is a platform és a javasolt dolog függvényében változott. A szóbeli javaslatok alapos elemzésnek lettek alávetve, mely azt mutatja, hogy a javaslatban/felajánlásban használt udvariassági módosítókat a címzett társadalmi-kulturális tulajdonságai határozzák meg, úgy mint a kor, a társadalmi státusz és a nem. Ebből az következik, hogy a jelen kutatás megkérdőjelezi Brown és Levinson (1987) arcvédő udvariasság-elméletének univerzális érvényességét, mivel az nem vette figyelembe a kor és a nem változóit, amely pedig a jordán arab számára meghatározza az udvariasság mértékét. A harmadik perspektíva az írásbeli és a szóbeli javaslás eredményeit veti össze. A három korpusz egyaránt mutat hasonlóságokat és különbségeket is. Ezek alapján négy fő következtetés vonható le: (1) a jordán arab javaslás arcvédő és arcfenyegető is lehet, amelyek (2) direkt és indirekt módon valósulnak meg. (3) A jordán arabban a közvetlen javaslás népszerűbb mint az indirekt, valamint (4) az udvariasság a meggyőzés jelenségével is kapcsolatban áll.
Solid Waste Disposal and Extent of Selected Heavy Metals in Fadama Area of Sokoto City, Nigeria
Authors: Sarkingobir Yusuf , Tambari Umar , Imam Aminu Umar , Abubakar Marwanu , Sahabi Mustapha
Published: July 2023

This study was carried out with the purpose of assessing solid waste disposal and levels of heavy metals in Fadama area of Sokoto city. A survey using questionnaire and atomic absorp-tion spectroscopy was employed for the study. The descriptive statistics and X2 test were done. The types of pollution noticed include: land (40.0%), air (40.0%), and water (20.0%). The possible causes of the pollution include, mostly open dumping of solid waste (41.7%), then open defecation (33.3%), and lastly burning (25.0%). Spread of diseases was most (40.0%) perceived effect, then effect on children (20.0%) and gastroenteritis (20.0%). Other effects are: sickness (13.3%) and accidents (6.7%). The efforts to address the waste disposal are: burning (60.0%), pushing it away from road (20.0%) and provision of containers (20.0%). Effort did by the government involves, promising to bring con-tainers (30.0%), and doing nothing (70.0%). Wastes found are: plastics (70.0%), organic and defeca-tions (23.3%), metal and relations. The heavy metals analysis shows, the lead ranges from 5.1 ± 1.2 to 10.0 ± 0.80 (ppm); chromium ranges from 0.59 ± 0.01 to 2.10 ± 0.02 (ppm); zinc ranges from not detected to 0.81 ± 0.3 (ppm); cadmium from 0.25 ± 0.02; and mercury ranges from 0.95 ± 0.02 to 10.20 ± 0.11 (ppm). There is poor waste management in an agricultural area, a trend that can seep harmful chemicals to be taken up by plants to the upward food chain/web, coupled with other harmful ef-fects of waste such as instigation of diseases and environmental degradation.
Multivariate Analysis-Suitable T-Splines of Arbitrary Degree
Authors: Hiniborch Robin , Morgenstern Philipp
Published: July 2023

This paper defines analysis-suitable T-splines for arbitrary degree (including even and mixed degrees) and arbitrary dimension.
We generalize the concept of anchor elements known from the two-dimensional setting, extend existing concepts of analysis-suitability and show their sufficiency for linearly independent T-splines.