bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A scoping review of risk-stratified bowel screening: current evidence, future directions
Authors: Cairns J. M. , Greenley S. , Bamidele O. , Weller D.
Published: March 2022

Purpose

In this scoping review, we examined the international literature on risk-stratified bowel screening to develop recommendations for future research, practice and policy.

Methods

Six electronic databases were searched from inception to 18 October 2021: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Forward and backwards citation searches were also undertaken. All relevant literature were included.

Results

After de-deduplication, 3,629 records remained. 3,416 were excluded at the title/abstract screening stage. A further 111 were excluded at full-text screening stage. In total, 102 unique studies were included. Results showed that risk-stratified bowel screening programmes can potentially improve diagnostic performance, but there is a lack of information on longer-term outcomes. Risk models do appear to show promise in refining existing risk stratification guidelines but most were not externally validated and less than half achieved good discriminatory power. Risk assessment tools in primary care have the potential for high levels of acceptability and uptake, and therefore, could form an important component of future risk-stratified bowel screening programmes, but sometimes the screening recommendations were not adhered to by the patient or healthcare provider. The review identified important knowledge gaps, most notably in the area of organisation of screening services due to few pilots, and what risk stratification might mean for inequalities.

Conclusion

We recommend that future research focuses on what organisational challenges risk-stratified bowel screening may face and a consideration of inequalities in any changes to organised bowel screening programmes.
Verifying Whiley Programs with Boogie
Authors: Pearce David J. , Utting Mark , Groves Lindsay
Published: March 2022

The quest to develop increasingly sophisticated verification systems continues unabated. Tools such as Dafny, Spec#, ESC/Java, SPARK Ada and Whiley attempt to seamlessly integrate specification and verification into a programming language, in a similar way to type checking. A common integration approach is to generate verification conditions that are handed off to an automated theorem prover. This provides a nice separation of concerns and allows different theorem provers to be used interchangeably. However, generating verification conditions is still a difficult undertaking and the use of more “high-level” intermediate verification languages has become commonplace. In particular, Boogie provides a widely used and understood intermediate verification language. A common difficulty is the potential for an impedance mismatch between the source language and the intermediate verification language. In this paper, we explore the use of Boogie as an intermediate verification language for verifying programs in Whiley. This is noteworthy because the Whiley language has (amongst other things) a rich type system with considerable potential for an impedance mismatch. We provide a comprehensive account of translating Whiley to Boogie which demonstrates that it is possible to model most aspects of the Whiley language. Key challenges posed by the Whiley language included: the encoding of Whiley’s expressive type system and support for flow typing and generics; the implicit assumption that expressions in specifications are well defined; the ability to invoke methods from within expressions; the ability to return multiple values from a function or method; the presence of unrestricted lambda functions; and the limited syntax for framing. We demonstrate that the resulting verification tool can verify significantly more programs than the native Whiley verifier which was custom-built for Whiley verification. Furthermore, our work provides evidence that Boogie is (for the most part) sufficiently general to act as an intermediate language for a wide range of source languages.
New Emerging Inorganic–Organic Systems for Drug-Delivery: Hydroxyapatite@Furosemide Hybrids
Authors: La Rocca Marzia , Rinaldi Alessia , Bruni Giovanna , Friuli Valeria , Maggi Lauretta , Bini Marcella
Published: March 2022

In the pharmaceutical market, the need to find effective systems for the efficient release of poorly bioavailable drugs is a forefront topic. The inorganic–organic hybrid materials have been recognized as one of the most promising systems. In this paper, we developed new Hydroxypapatite@Furosemide hybrids with improved dissolution rates in different media with respect to the drug alone. The hybrids formation was demonstrated by SEM/EDS measurements (showing homogeneous distribution of the elements) and FT-IR spectroscopy. The drug was adsorbed onto hydroxyapatite surfaces in amorphous form, as demonstrated by XRPD and its thermal stability was improved due to the absence, in the hybrids, of melting and decomposition peaks typical of the drug. The Sr substitution on Ca sites in hydroxyapatite allows increasing the surface area and pore volume, foreseeing a high capacity of drug loading. The dissolution tests of the hybrid compounds show dissolution rates much faster than the drug alone in different fluids, and also their solubility and wetting ability is improved in comparison to furosemide alone.
Development and Validation of Arc Nanobodies: New Tools for Probing Arc Dynamics and Function
Authors: Ishizuka Yuta , Mergiya Tadiwos F. , Baldinotti Rodolfo , Xu Ju , Hallin Erik I. , Markússon Sigurbjörn , Kursula Petri , Bramham Clive R.
Published: March 2022

Activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated (Arc) protein plays key roles in long-term synaptic plasticity, memory, and cognitive flexibility. However, an integral understanding of Arc mechanisms is lacking. Arc is proposed to function as an interaction hub in neuronal dendrites and the nucleus, yet Arc can also form retrovirus-like capsids with proposed roles in intercellular communication. Here, we sought to develop anti-Arc nanobodies (ArcNbs) as new tools for probing Arc dynamics and function. Six ArcNbs representing different clonal lines were selected from immunized alpaca. Immunoblotting with recombinant ArcNbs fused to a small ALFA-epitope tag demonstrated binding to recombinant Arc as well as endogenous Arc from rat cortical tissue. ALFA-tagged ArcNb also provided efficient immunoprecipitation of stimulus-induced Arc after carbachol-treatment of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and induction of long-term potentiation in the rat dentate gyrus in vivo. Epitope mapping showed that all Nbs recognize the Arc C-terminal region containing the retroviral Gag capsid homology domain, comprised of tandem N- and C-lobes. ArcNbs E5 and H11 selectively bound the N-lobe, which harbors a peptide ligand binding pocket specific to mammals. Four additional ArcNbs bound the region containing the C-lobe and C-terminal tail. For use as genetically encoded fluorescent intrabodies, we show that ArcNbs fused to mScarlet-I are uniformly expressed, without aggregation, in the cytoplasm and nucleus of HEK293FT cells. Finally, mScarlet-I-ArcNb H11 expressed as intrabody selectively bound the N-lobe and enabled co-immunoprecipitation of full-length intracellular Arc. ArcNbs are versatile tools for live-cell labeling and purification of Arc, and interrogation of Arc capsid domain specific functions.
The use of a modified Delphi technique to develop a critical appraisal tool for clinical pharmacokinetic studies
Authors: Soliman Alaa Bahaa Eldeen , Pawluk Shane Ashley , Wilby Kyle John , Rachid Ousama
Published: March 2022

Background

Critical appraisal aids in assessing the quality of scientific literature, which is central to the practice of evidence-based medicine. Several tools and guidelines are available for critiquing and assessing the quality of specific study types. However, limited guidance exists for critical appraisal of clinical pharmacokinetic studies.

Aim

We aimed to achieve experts’ consensus regarding the quality markers for clinical pharmacokinetic studies in an attempt to develop a critical appraisal tool.

Method

Quality markers related to clinical pharmacokinetic studies, were derived from the published literature and categorized according to manuscript reporting domains (abstract, introduction/background, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion). Questions that aid in appraising pharmacokinetic studies were formulated from these quality markers. Experts were involved in a modified Delphi process to achieve a consensus regarding the formulated questions. The proposed tool was pilot tested on 30 recently published clinical pharmacokinetic studies. Inter-observer agreement was measured to determine the reliability of the included items.

Results

Twenty-five experts consented to participate. Three rounds of a modified Delphi survey were required to generate a consensus for a 21-item tool aimed at appraising the quality of clinical pharmacokinetic studies. When applied to 30 recently published clinical pharmacokinetic studies, most items scored fair to moderate levels of agreement (61.90–95.24%).

Conclusion

The clinical pharmacokinetic critical appraisal tool (CACPK) developed in this study consisted of 21 items aimed at helping an end-user to determine the quality of a pharmacokinetic study. Further studies are warranted to reaffirm the validity and reliability of the CACPK tool.
Sample Size Determination for Interval Estimation of the Prevalence of a Sensitive Attribute Under Randomized Response Models
Authors: Qiu Shi-Fang , Tang Man-Lai , Tao Ji-Ran , Wong Ricky S.
Published: March 2022

Studies with sensitive questions should include a sufficient number of respondents to adequately address the research interest. While studies with an inadequate number of respondents may not yield significant conclusions, studies with an excess of respondents become wasteful of investigators’ budget. Therefore, it is an important step in survey sampling to determine the required number of participants. In this article, we derive sample size formulas based on confidence interval estimation of prevalence for four randomized response models, namely, the Warner’s randomized response model, unrelated question model, item count technique model and cheater detection model. Specifically, our sample size formulas control, with a given assurance probability, the width of a confidence interval within the planned range. Simulation results demonstrate that all formulas are accurate in terms of empirical coverage probabilities and empirical assurance probabilities. All formulas are illustrated using a real-life application about the use of unethical tactics in negotiation.
Low-dose CT for lung cancer screening: position paper from the Italian college of thoracic radiology
Authors: Silva Mario , Picozzi Giulia , Sverzellati Nicola , Anglesio Sandra , Bartolucci Maurizio , Cavigli Edoardo , Deliperi Annalisa , Falchini Massimo , Falaschi Fabio , Ghio Domenico , Gollini Paola , Larici Anna Rita , Marchianò Alfonso V. , Palmucci Stefano , Preda Lorenzo , Romei Chiara , Tessa Carlo , Rampinelli Cristiano , Mascalchi Mario
Published: March 2022

Smoking is the main risk factor for lung cancer (LC), which is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Independent randomized controlled trials, governmental and inter-governmental task forces, and meta-analyses established that LC screening (LCS) with chest low dose computed tomography (LDCT) decreases the mortality of LC in smokers and former smokers, compared to no-screening, especially in women. Accordingly, several Italian initiatives are offering LCS by LDCT and smoking cessation to about 10,000 high-risk subjects, supported by Private or Public Health Institutions, envisaging a possible population-based screening program. Because LDCT is the backbone of LCS, Italian radiologists with LCS expertise are presenting this position paper that encompasses recommendations for LDCT scan protocol and its reading. Moreover, fundamentals for classification of lung nodules and other findings at LDCT test are detailed along with international guidelines, from the European Society of Thoracic Imaging, the British Thoracic Society, and the American College of Radiology, for their reporting and management in LCS. The Italian College of Thoracic Radiologists produced this document to provide the basics for radiologists who plan to set up or to be involved in LCS, thus fostering homogenous evidence-based approach to the LDCT test over the Italian territory and warrant comparison and analyses throughout National and International practices.
Digitale Hochschullehre im ersten COVID-19-Semester. Ergebnisse einer Befragung von Lehrenden in Public Health, Medizin und Pflege
Authors: Marchwacka Maria A. , Kugler Joachim , Schaal Tom , Tolks Daniel
Published: March 2022

Hintergrund

Die COVID-19(„coronavirus disease 2019“)-Pandemie hat die Ad-hoc-Digitalisierung an Hochschulen vorangetrieben. Zugleich stand die digitale Hochschullehre vor der Herausforderung der Ausgestaltung der Lehre im Zusammenhang mit den vorbestehenden Ressourcen, der digitalen und didaktischen Kompetenzen sowie der zur Verfügung stehenden technischen Infrastruktur.

Ziel der Arbeit/Fragestellung

Das Ziel der Umfrage war die Einschätzung der digitalen Lehre, die die Präsenzlehre infolge der COVID-19-Pandemie zum großen Teil bzw. gänzlich ersetzt hat, aus der Perspektive der Lehrenden in Public Health, Medizin und Pflege.

Material und Methode

Die Querschnitterhebung fand online von Juni bis August 2020 statt und die Daten wurden über www.soscisurvey.de erhoben. Die schriftliche Befragung wurde unter Mitgliedern der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Public Health (DGPH) und des Ausschusses Digitalisierung der Gesellschaft für medizinische Ausbildung (GMA) und der Sektionen Bildung und Beratung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Pflegewissenschaft (DGP) sowie der Arbeitsgruppe Lehre der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Soziologie (DGMS) durchgeführt (n = 100).

Ergebnisse

Bei der Nutzung der digitalen Technologien in den Veranstaltungen rangieren auf der obersten Stelle Präsentationstools, gefolgt von Lernmanagementsystemen, Videoangeboten sowie digitalen Texten. Die Teilnehmenden geben hinsichtlich der Nutzung unterschiedliche (Konferenz‑)Tools an. Das Erstellen von Lehrvideos bejahen 53 % der Befragten, Abstimmungstools) werden bis > 50 % als unbekannt genannt. Als Herausforderungen werden digitale Infrastruktur der Hochschulen, fehlende didaktische Beratung/Unterstützung sowie rechtliche Fragen (Nutzungsrechte, Datenschutz) angegeben.

Schlussfolgerung

Neue Technologie werden vorwiegend für Wissenserwerb, Wissensvermittlung genutzt, selten zur Aktivierung von Studierenden und zur Gestaltung kollaborativer Lehr- und Lernarrangements sowie Neugestaltung von Lernaufgaben und Lernprozessen (individualisiertes Lernen). Welche der aktuell erprobten digitalen Lehr- und Lernformate zukünftig in der Hochschullehre zunehmend eingesetzt werden, hängt von vielen Faktoren ab, u. a. von digitaler Kompetenz sowie der Bereitschaft der Lehrenden und Lernenden die digitale Lernkultur mitzugestalten.
Serum TERT C228T is an important predictor of non-viral liver cancer with fatty liver disease
Authors: Akuta Norio , Kawamura Yusuke , Suzuki Fumitaka , Kobayashi Mariko , Arase Yasuji , Saitoh Satoshi , Muraishi Nozomu , Fujiyama Shunichiro , Sezaki Hitomi , Hosaka Tetsuya , Kobayashi Masahiro , Suzuki Yoshiyuki , Ikeda Kenji , Kumada Hiromitsu
Published: March 2022

Background

Molecular therapies and precision medicine are expected to be developed for liver cancer based on the diagnosis of DNA somatic alterations. However, it remains unclear whether TERT promoter mutation (TERT C228T) in serum cfDNA is useful for the diagnosis of liver cancer with non-viral fatty liver disease (FLD).

Methods

This retrospective cohort study examined 258 Japanese patients who had a confirmed diagnosis of primary liver cancer. We investigated the factors associated with TERT C228T and abnormal levels of liver cancer-specific tumor markers (AFP and PIVKAII) in serum samples.

Results

Multivariate analysis identified the etiology of FLD, vascular invasion, and non-cirrhosis as determinants of TERT C228T-positive liver cancer. Rates of positive TERT C228T in FLD were significantly higher than those of HBV and HCV. Conversely, rates of abnormal AFP in FLD were significantly lower than those of HBV and HCV. Viral suppression of HBV/HCV and alcohol intake did not affect TERT C228T, but AFP was significantly reduced by viral suppression. The rates of positive TERT C228T were significantly lower in HCV patients with viral clearance than those of FLD patients.

Conclusion

Our results highlight the importance of serum TERT C228T for the detection of non-viral FLD-related liver cancer. TERT C228T is a tumor marker that might not be influenced by inflammation.
How does subjective social status affect internalizing and externalizing problems among Syrian refugee adolescents?
Authors: Düren Rahşan , Yalçın Özgen
Published: March 2022

Although previous studies found the importance of community subjective social status for adolescent health, its relationship with mental health problems among refugee adolescents is unclear. To close this gap, we examined the nature of the relationship between subjective social status and externalizing problems in refugee adolescents. We carried out a cross-sectional study among three hundred and six 11–18-year-old Syrian refugee adolescents in Turkey. The measurements of the study were the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Depression Self Rating Scale for Children (DSRS-C), and the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS). The results supported the idea that adolescent’s community subjective social status may affect internalizing problems directly and externalizing problems indirectly via internalizing problems. The mediation effect of the internalizing problems on the relationship between subjective social status and externalizing problems were confirmed by three separate mediation models. The results were discussed in terms of previous literature.
Chemical looping reaction of methane with oxygen from La0.8Sr0.2FeO3-δ and La0.8Sr0.2FeO3-δ -Fe2O3 systems to syngas
Authors: Ohayon Dahan Hen , Sror Gal , Landau Miron V. , Herskowitz Moti
Published: March 2022

The reaction of methane with oxygen from La0.8Sr0.2FeO3-δ (LSF) and several LSF-Fe2O3 configurations was studied in chemical looping mode. Shell (LSF) and core (Fe2O3) (four catalysts called CS-3, CS-4, CS-5 and CS-6, over a range of coverage), LSF mixed uniformly with Fe2O3 (UM) and Fe2O3 (front) followed by LSF (PIS) were packed in a tubular reactor. The reaction was conducted at 900 °C and weight hourly space velocity (g methane/g catalyst/h) of 3 h−1 in 20 min reduction (10 mol% methane in nitrogen) and 20 min oxidation (10 mol% oxygen in nitrogen) cycles. LSF, CS, UM and PIS configurations yielded a significantly different performance (methane conversion, CO, CO2 and H2 selectivity and coke formation) measured in 10 reproducible cycles. The reaction and XRD data indicate that CO2 and steam formed by combustion of methane on Fe2O3 modify the phase composition of LSF, inhibits the initial LSF activity and improves the performance. Feeding a mixture containing 0.4 mol% CO2, 10 mol% methane in nitrogen to LSF confirms the positive effect of CO2 on the performance of LSF.
Quinone-based conjugated polymer cathodes synthesized via direct arylation for high performance Li-organic batteries
Authors: Zheng Peiyun , Han Changzhi , Luo Lian-Wei , Dong Peihua , Ma Wenyan , Zhang Chong , Chen Yu , Jiang Jia-Xing
Published: March 2022

A cross-linked thieno[2,3-f][1]benzothiole-4,8-dione-based conjugated polymer cathode was synthesized by facile direct arylation polymerization, which delivers a high specific capacity of 200 mA h g−1, excellent rate performance and stable cyclability.
Controllable high-performance liquid marble micromixer
Authors: Nguyen Nhat-Khuong , Singha Pradip , Dai Yuchen , Rajan Sreejith Kamalalayam , Tran Du Tuan , Phan Hoang-Phuong , Nguyen Nam-Trung , Ooi Chin Hong
Published: March 2022

A high-performance micromixer based on rolling liquid marble.
Non‐linear control of a boost PFC converter with a small inductor based on feedforward correction and frequency variation
Authors: Song Hongda , Liu Li , Yang Yang , Gong Yimin , Zhang ChenChen , Hao Zhengqiang , Hao Zhengjie , Zhang Jiannan
Published: March 2022

To reduce total harmonic distortion (THD) and improve the power factor (PF) of a boost power factor correction (PFC) converter, here, the authors propose a non‐linear control algorithm that includes the feedforward correction (FC) algorithm in the continuous conduction mode (CCM) and the non‐linear frequency variation (FV) algorithm in the mixed conduction mode (MCM). The proposed FC algorithm achieves current out of distortion through zero crossing with a lower current loop bandwidth. The proposed non‐linear FV algorithm achieves high PF and low THD under minimal load conditions. The non‐linear FV algorithm comprises a third harmonic extraction algorithm, a harmonic control loop for reducing THD and a frequency production algorithm. By using this non‐linear FV algorithm, the inductor size is reduced, which leads to lower cost and also achieves better THD and PF. The proposed algorithms are verified experimentally in terms of current tracking, current THD, PF, heating and loss on a 2000‐W boost PFC converter hardware prototype.
Anthropogenic light and noise affect the life histories of femaleGryllus veletisfield crickets
Authors: Rebar Darren , Bishop Corey , Hallett Allysa C
Published: March 2022

Adaptive plasticity often offsets the negative effects of rapid environmental change. However, anthropogenic stressors like noise and artificial light at night (ALAN) are often unlike those environments experienced ancestrally, making the resulting responses of individuals potentially maladaptive or less predictable. Further uncertainty stems from few studies exploring how the two anthropogenic stressors may interact to influence individual responses. Here we reared female Gryllus veletis field crickets in traffic noise, ALAN, both, or neither to assess how each environment impacted their development, mating behaviors, and reproductive output. We first found that anthropogenic stressors influenced female development in three ways: those reared in ALAN took longer to reach adulthood, females reared in traffic noise were smaller as adults, and females reared in traffic noise lived longer than those reared in both anthropogenic stressors. We then documented pronounced effects on their behaviors and fitness. Females reared in noise in any capacity were more responsive to advertising males and mated with them faster, and females reared in any anthropogenic stressor retained spermatophores longer. Perhaps more significantly, any anthropogenic stressor reduced the lifetime fitness of females through reduced oviposition, hatching success, both, or reduced offspring size at hatching. However, we did not find decreased fitness of females reared with both anthropogenic stressors relative to those reared with just one. Our results highlight how novel anthropogenic stressors may impact populations, but whether individuals can adapt may depend on an interplay between development, mating behaviors, and reproductive output.
Maximum performance expression is affected by octopamine and antennae removal in Acheta domesticus
Authors: Bubak Andrew , Swallow John , Adeola Fadeke , Lailvaux Simon P
Published: March 2022

Animals in nature seldom use their maximum performance abilities, likely in part due to context-dependent differences in performance motivation. Despite interest in the factors affecting performance expression, the physiological mechanisms underlying variation in performance motivation are poorly understood. We manipulated levels of the biogenic amine octopamine (OA) to test the hypothesis that OA drives motivation to express maximum bite force in male house crickets. We also tested the effect of antenna removal on bite force given prior evidence of potential links among antennaectomy, aggression, and OA. We found that administration of an OA antagonist, epinastine, significantly decreases realized maximum bite force, as does antenna removal. In addition, the performance decrement induced by antennaectomy is abolished by administration of excess OA, and that rescue effect is itself nullified by the simultaneous administration of epinastine. These data show that OA is an important mediator of performance in insects, and thus of performance motivation, and potentially a promising candidate for the short term manipulation of performance.
Supervised graph co-contrastive learning for drug–target interaction prediction
Authors: Li Yang , Qiao Guanyu , Gao Xin , Wang Guohua
Published: March 2022

Motivation

Identification of Drug–Target Interactions (DTIs) is an essential step in drug discovery and repositioning. DTI prediction based on biological experiments is time-consuming and expensive. In recent years, graph learning-based methods have aroused widespread interest and shown certain advantages on this task, where the DTI prediction is often modeled as a binary classification problem of the nodes composed of drug and protein pairs (DPPs). Nevertheless, in many real applications, labeled data are very limited and expensive to obtain. With only a few thousand labeled data, models could hardly recognize comprehensive patterns of DPP node representations, and are unable to capture enough commonsense knowledge, which is required in DTI prediction. Supervised contrastive learning gives an aligned representation of DPP node representations with the same class label. In embedding space, DPP node representations with the same label are pulled together, and those with different labels are pushed apart.

Results

We propose an end-to-end supervised graph co-contrastive learning model for DTI prediction directly from heterogeneous networks. By contrasting the topology structures and semantic features of the drug–protein-pair network, as well as the new selection strategy of positive and negative samples, SGCL-DTI generates a contrastive loss to guide the model optimization in a supervised manner. Comprehensive experiments on three public datasets demonstrate that our model outperforms the SOTA methods significantly on the task of DTI prediction, especially in the case of cold start. Furthermore, SGCL-DTI provides a new research perspective of contrastive learning for DTI prediction.

Availability and implementation

The research shows that this method has certain applicability in the discovery of drugs, the identification of drug–target pairs and so on.
Progression of cerebral white matter hyperintensities is related to leucocyte gene expression
Authors: Jickling Glen C , Ander Bradley P , Zhan Xinhua , Stamova Boryana , Hull Heather , DeCarli Charles , Sharp Frank R
Published: March 2022

Cerebral white matter hyperintensities are an important contributor to ageing brain pathology. Progression in white matter hyperintensity volume is associated with cognitive decline and gait impairment. Understanding the factors associated with white matter hyperintensity progression provides insight into pathogenesis and may identify novel treatment targets to improve cognitive health. We postulated that the immune system interaction with cerebral vessels and tissue may be associated with disease progression, and thus evaluated the relationship of blood leucocyte gene expression to progression of cerebral white matter hyperintensities.

A brain MRI was obtained at baseline in 166 patients assessed for a cognitive complaint, and then repeated at regular intervals over a median of 5.9 years (interquartile range 3.5–8.2 years). White matter hyperintensity volumes were measured by semi-automated segmentation and percentage change in white matter hyperintensity per year calculated. A venous blood sample obtained at baseline was used to measure whole-genome expression by RNA sequencing. The relationship between change in white matter hyperintensity volumes over time and baseline leucocyte gene expression was analysed.

The mean age was 77.8 (SD 7.5) years and 60.2% of participants were female. The median white matter hyperintensity volume was 13.4 ml (SD 17.4 ml). The mean change in white matter hyperintensity volume was 12% per year. Patients were divided in quartiles by percentage change in white matter hyperintensity volume, which was: −3.5% per year in quartile 1, 7.4% per year in quartile 2, 11.7% in quartile 3 and 33.6% per year in quartile 4. There were 148 genes associated with changing white matter hyperintensity volumes over time (P < 0.05 r > |0.2|). Genes and pathways identified have roles in endothelial dysfunction, extracellular matrix remodelling, altered remyelination, inflammation and response to ischaemia. ADAM8, CFD, EPHB4, FPR2, Wnt-B-catenin, focal adhesion kinase and SIGLEC1 were among the identified genes.

The progression of white matter hyperintensity volumes over time is associated with genes involved in endothelial dysfunction, extracellular matrix remodelling, altered remyelination, inflammation and response to ischaemia. Further studies are needed to evaluate the role of peripheral inflammation in relation to rate of white matter hyperintensity progression and the contribution to cognitive decline.
A Practical Guide to Bayesian Statistics in Laboratory Medicine
Authors: Wilkes Edmund H
Published: March 2022

Statistical analyses form a fundamental part of causal inference in the experimental sciences. The statistical paradigm most commonly taught to science students around the world is that of frequentism, with a particular emphasis on the null hypothesis significance testing borne by the work of Neyman and Pearson in the early 20th century. This paradigm is often lauded as being the most objective of methods and remains commonplace in scientific journals. Despite its widespread use—and, indeed, requirement for publication in some journals—this paradigm has received substantial criticism in recent decades, and its impact on scientific publishing has been subjected to deeper scrutiny in response to the replication crisis in the psychological and medical sciences. It has been posited that the increasing use of the Bayesian statistical paradigm, made more accessible through technological advances in the last few decades, may have an important role to play in rendering research and statistical inference more robust, transparent, and reproducible. These methods can have a steep learning curve, and thus this paper seeks to introduce those working within clinical laboratories to the Bayesian paradigm of statistical analysis and provides worked examples of the Bayesian analysis of data commonly encountered in laboratory medicine using freely available, open source tools.
Who has the Time and Responsibility to Decolonize English Studies?
Authors: Talviste Eret
Published: March 2022

What does decolonizing teaching practices and curricula mean, and who has the time and responsibility to consider these issues? This essay thinks about these questions from the first-person, embodied perspective of someone who has recently finished a PhD in modernist literatures of Virginia Woolf and Jean Rhys. In this essay, I think about the issues of precarious employment as an early-career researcher who has held casual contracts and fixed-term research positions in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Estonia. The latter country is my homeland, and Estonian is my native tongue. This essay goes on to consider what it feels like to study English in universities in the UK and finally teach it, as a foreigner to the language and culture one learns and teaches. The first half of this essay is dedicated to sketching out how an immigrant might end up dedicating her career to English, and the second part more specifically talks about how she ended up doing research for a project that looks into practices of decolonizing curricula and inclusive teaching methods by statistical analysis and qualitative interviews with colleagues. The interviews are about issues that the statistical representation will never be able to show and address; in these interviews, the difficult process of decolonization of curricula and teaching really unfolds.
A view from the top: An examination of postfeminist sensibilities in women leaders’ constructions of success and responses to gender inequality in English football
Authors: Bryan Amée
Published: March 2022

Using data from biographic interviews with women leaders in English football, this article examines women’s constructions of success in the face of gender inequalities and analyses the conditions under which women leaders challenge or repudiate gender inequalities. Through the lens of postfeminist sensibilities, I find that women face an “ideological dilemma” between acknowledging unequal access to football leadership and narrating their success through a discourse of personal choice and merit. Consequently, women leaders were unlikely to reflect on their privileged access to leadership or support institutional changes to address gender equality. Nonetheless, women leaders invested in personal strategies to support future women leaders in football by reclaiming negative narratives about football’s treatment of women and performing acts of “tempered radicalism” to challenge unequal gender relations. These findings show that a postfeminist sensibility in the football workplace can be simultaneously beneficial and detrimental to gender equality efforts as women leaders work to reconcile a collective feminist consciousness with a neoliberal subjectivity. These findings suggest that it is a mistake to position postfeminist sensibilities in opposition to radical gender equality efforts. Instead, we must focus on ways to support women leaders to navigate their complex, fragile, and contradictory positions and capitalize on the ruptures in neoliberal thinking within postfeminist sensibilities that offer opportunities to challenge gender inequalities.
Insect Visitors of Specialty Cut Flowers in High Tunnels
Authors: Nobes Samantha R , Herreid Judith S , Panter Karen L , Jabbour Randa
Published: March 2022

Various strategies incorporate floral resources into agricultural landscapes to support beneficial insects. Specialty cut flower production offers a rarely explored approach to offer floral resources while yielding a marketable product for growers. We characterized insect visitation to six species of specialty cut flowers. Due to Wyoming’s growing conditions, the flowers were grown in high tunnels, thus offering insight into insect abundance in this unique semi-controlled environment. The flower species tested were Calendula officinalis, Celosia argentea, Daucus carota, Helichrysum bracteatum, Matthiola incana, and a Zinnia elegans-Zinnia hybrida mixture. At least four species were in bloom from early June through late September. The flowers attracted diverse pollinator groups including Diptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera. Bees most often visited Ca. officinalis, H. bracteatum, and Celosia spicata whereas flies most often visited D. carota. Bombus were the most oft-collected bees from the flowers and were found on all six cut flower species. Wasp abundance varied little across the cut flowers, but wasp community composition was distinct. The highest diversity of wasp families was collected from the Zinnia mixture (seven families) in contrast to less diverse collections from Ce. spicata (two families). The most abundant wasp families collected were Crabronidae and Sphecidae. Our experiment documented that ornamental cut flower species attract pollinator insects into high tunnel environments. All cut flower species tested were visited by multiple types of beneficial insects. Planting a mixture of specialty cut flowers can support insect diversity while also diversifying on-farm agricultural products through sale of cut flower stems.
The clinical outcomes of arthroscopic hip labral repair: a comparison between athletes and non-athletes
Authors: Sheu Huan , Yang Tien-Yu , Tang Hao-Che , Wu Chen-Te , Chen Alvin Chao-Yu , Chan Yi-Sheng
Published: March 2022

The objective of this study is to compare the clinical outcomes after arthroscopic hip labral repair in athletes and non-athletes. The design of this study is a retrospective comparative study. The setting of this study is an institutional study. One hundred and sixteen patients of hip labral tears who underwent arthroscopic labral repair were included. Eighty-five of these patients met the inclusion/exclusion criteria (25 athletes and 60 non-athletes). Hip labral tears underwent arthroscopic labral repair. The main outcome measures are as follows: visual analog scale (VAS) and modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) 2 years postoperatively and the rate of return to sports at previous level. There was no significant difference in the gender, alpha angle, lateral center-edge angle between the two groups, except for the mean age (19.3 versus 42.2, P < 0.001), Marx activity rating scale (MARS) (14.6 versus 6.8, P < 0.001) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) activity rating scale (9.6 versus 5.0, P < 0.001). The intraoperative findings were similar in the two groups. The VAS scores and mHHS both showed a significant improvement after surgery in both groups (VAS improvement 3.6 and mHHS improvement 22.4 in the athlete group; VAS improvement 3.9 and mHHS improvement 25.0 in the non-athlete group, all P < 0.001). There was no difference in VAS improvement or mHHS improvement between the athlete and non-athlete groups. All the patients in the athlete group return to sports at previous level 6 months after the operation. The mean time of return to sports at previous level was 5.4 months. Both athletes and non-athletes demonstrate significant VAS and mHHS improvement following arthroscopic labral repair. The VAS scores improvement and mHHS improvement were similar in the athlete and non-athlete groups after arthroscopic labral repair.
Contrapositionally complemented Heyting algebras and intuitionistic logic with minimal negation
Authors: More Anuj Kumar , Banerjee Mohua
Published: March 2022

Two algebraic structures, the contrapositionally complemented Heyting algebra (ccHa) and the contrapositionally $\vee $ complemented Heyting algebra (c$\vee $cHa), are studied. The salient feature of these algebras is that there are two negations, one intuitionistic and another minimal in nature, along with a condition connecting the two operators. Properties of these algebras are discussed, examples are given and comparisons are made with relevant algebras. Intuitionistic Logic with Minimal Negation (ILM) corresponding to ccHas and its extension ${\textrm {ILM}}$-${\vee }$ for c$\vee $cHas are then investigated. Besides its relations with intuitionistic and minimal logics, ILM is observed to be related to Peirce’s logic and Vakarelov’s logic MIN. With a focus on properties of the two negations, relational semantics for ILM and ${\textrm {ILM}}$-${\vee }$ are obtained with respect to four classes of frames, and inter-translations between the classes preserving truth and validity are provided. ILM and ${\textrm {ILM}}$-${\vee }$ are shown to have the finite model property with respect to these classes of frames and proved to be decidable. Extracting features of the two negations in the algebras, a further investigation is made, following logical studies of negations that define the operators independently of the binary operator of implication. Using Dunn’s logical framework for the purpose, two logics $K_{im}$ and $K_{im-{\vee }}$ are discussed, where the language does not include implication. The $K_{im}$-algebras are reducts of ccHas and are different from relevant algebraic structures having two negations. The negations in the $K_{im}$-algebras and $K_{im-{\vee }}$-algebras are shown to occupy distinct positions in an enhanced form of Dunn’s kite of negations. Relational semantics for $K_{im}$ and $K_{im-{\vee }}$ is provided by a class of frames that are based on Dunn’s compatibility frames. It is observed that this class coincides with one of the four classes giving the relational semantics for ILM and ${\textrm {ILM}}$-${\vee }$.
Viability markers for determination of desiccation tolerance and critical stages during dehydration in Selaginella species
Authors: Alejo-Jacuinde Gerardo , Kean-Galeno Tania , Martínez-Gallardo Norma , Tejero-Díez J Daniel , Mehltreter Klaus , Délano-Frier John P , Oliver Melvin J , Simpson June , Herrera-Estrella Luis
Published: March 2022

While most plants die below a threshold of water content, desiccation-tolerant species display specific responses that allow them to survive extreme dehydration. Some of these responses are activated at critical stages during water loss and could represent the difference between desiccation tolerance (DT) and death. Here, we report the development of a simple and reproducible system to determine DT in Selaginella species. The system is based on exposure of excised tissue to a dehydration agent inside small containers, and subsequent evaluation for tissue viability. We evaluated several methodologies to determine viability upon desiccation including: triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, the quantum efficiency of PSII, antioxidant potential, and relative electrolyte leakage. Our results show that the TTC test is a simple and accurate assay to identify novel desiccation-tolerant Selaginella species, and can also indicate viability in other desiccation-tolerant models (i.e. ferns and mosses). The system we developed is particularly useful to identify critical points during the dehydration process. We found that a desiccation-sensitive Selaginella species shows a change in viability when dehydrated to 40% relative water content, indicating the onset of a critical condition at this water content. Comparative studies at critical stages could provide a better understanding of DT mechanisms and unravel insights into the key responses to survive desiccation.
Pain Catastrophizing Mediates the Relationship Between Pain Intensity and Sleep Disturbances in U.S. Veterans With Chronic Pain
Authors: Wilson Marian , Skeiky Lillian , Muck Rachael A , Honn Kimberly A , Williams Rhonda M , Jensen Mark P , Van Dongen Hans P A
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Veterans with chronic pain frequently report comorbid disruptions in sleep and psychological dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether psychological function variables mediate the sleep–pain relationship. Knowledge regarding such contributing factors can inform the development and optimization of treatments for sleep disturbances and pain.

Materials and Methods

In an IRB-approved, registered clinical trial, we collected objective sleep data from U.S. military Veterans with chronic pain (N = 184, ages 23-81) using wrist actigraphy for 7 days and self-reported survey data assessing sleep quality, pain intensity, and psychological function (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and pain catastrophizing). We investigated the associations between objectively measured and self-reported sleep quality and self-reported pain intensity. In addition, using parallel mediation analyses, we examined whether psychological function variables mediated these associations.

Results

Actigraphy showed suboptimal sleep duration (less than 7 hours) and sleep fragmentation for most participants. Self-reported poor sleep quality and pain intensity were significantly correlated. Pain catastrophizing was found to mediate the association between self-reported sleep quality and pain intensity.

Conclusions

Sleep disturbances in this sample of Veterans with chronic pain included insufficient sleep, fragmented sleep, and perceived poor sleep quality. Analyses suggest that poor perceived sleep quality and pain intensity are mediated via pain catastrophizing. The finding highlights the potential importance of pain catastrophizing in Veterans with chronic pain. Future longitudinal research is needed to determine the extent to which treatments that reduce pain catastrophizing might also improve both sleep and pain outcomes.
Comparing lensing and stellar orbital models of a nearby massive strong-lens galaxy
Authors: Poci Adriano , Smith Russell J
Published: March 2022

Exploiting the relative proximity of the nearby strong-lens galaxy SNL-1, we present a critical comparison of the mass estimates derived from independent modelling techniques. We fit triaxial orbit-superposition dynamical models to spatially resolved stellar kinematics, and compare to the constraints derived from lens modelling of high-resolution photometry. From the dynamical model, we measure the total (dynamical) mass enclosed within a projected aperture of radius the Einstein radius to be log10(MEin/M⊙) = 11.00 ± 0.02, which agrees with previous measurements from lens modelling to within $5{\rm {per\ cent}}$. We then explore the intrinsic (de-projected) properties of the best-fitting dynamical model. We find that SNL-1 has approximately constant, intermediate triaxiality at all radii. It is oblate like in the inner regions (around the Einstein radius) and tends towards spherical at larger radii. The stellar velocity ellipsoid gradually transforms from isotropic in the very central regions to radially biased in the outskirts. We find that SNL-1 is dynamically consistent with the broader galaxy population, as measured by the relative fraction of orbit ‘temperatures’ compared to the CALIFA survey. On the mass–size plane, SNL-1 occupies the most-compact edge given its mass, compared to both the MaNGA and SAMI surveys. Finally, we explore how the observed lensing configuration is affected by the orientation of the lens galaxy. We discuss the implications of such detailed models on future combined lensing and dynamical analyses.
Prognostic significance of therapy-induced myelosuppression in newly diagnosed glioblastoma
Authors: Le Rhun Emilie , Oppong Felix Boakye , Vanlancker Maureen , Stupp Roger , Nabors Burt , Chinot Olivier , Wick Wolfgang , Preusser Matthias , Gorlia Thierry , Weller Michael
Published: March 2022

Background

Myelosuppression is the major toxicity encountered during temozolomide chemoradiotherapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Methods

We assessed the association of myelosuppression (neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, and lymphopenia) during temozolomide chemoradiotherapy alone or in combination with experimental agents with progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) in 2073 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma enrolled into five clinical trials: CENTRIC, CORE, EORTC 26082, AVAglio, and EORTC 26981. A landmark Cox model was used. For each primary association analysis, a significance level of 1.7% was used.

Results

Lower neutrophil counts at baseline were associated with better PFS (P = .011) and OS (P < .001), independently of steroid intake. Females experienced uniformly more myelotoxicity than males. Lymphopenia during concomitant chemoradiotherapy was associated with OS (P = .009): low-grade (1-2) lymphopenia might be associated with superior OS (HR 0.78, 98.3% CI 0.58–1.06), whereas high-grade (3-4) lymphopenia might be associated with inferior OS (HR 1.08, 98.3% CI 0.75–1.54). There were no associations of altered hematological parameters during concomitant chemoradiotherapy with PFS. During maintenance chemoradiotherapy, no significant association was found between any parameter of myelosuppression and PFS or OS, although exploratory analysis at 5% significance level indicated that either mild-to-moderate (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.62–0.93) or high-grade lymphopenia (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.46–0.92) was associated with superior OS (P = .013), but not PFS.

Conclusions

The association of higher neutrophil counts at baseline with inferior PFS and OS requires further prospective evaluation. The link of therapy-induced lymphopenia to better outcome may guide the design for immunotherapy trials in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.