bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Periprosthetic joint infection:A South African perspective
Authors: Hiddema J S
Published: June 2023

Background. South African data on the bacteriology and sensitivity profile of periprosthetic joint infection is lacking.  Current regimens for systemic and local antibiotic therapy are based on international literature. These regimens are different for the United States of America and Europe and might thus not be relevant to South Africa. Objectives.  To determine the characteristics of periprosthetic joint infection in a South African clinical setting by identifying the most common organisms cultured and establishing their antibiotic sensitivities in order to propose the most appropriate empiric antibiotic treatment regimen. In the case of two-stage revision procedures, we aim to compare the organisms cultured during the first stage versus organisms cultured during the second stage in second-stage procedures that had positive cultures.  Furthermore, in these culture-positive second-stage procedures we aim to correlate the bacterial culture with the erythrocyte sedimentation rate/ C-reactive protein result. Methods. We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study looking at all hip and knee periprosthetic joint infections in patients 18 years and older, treated at a government institution and a private revision practice in Johannesburg, South Africa between January 2015 and March 2020. Data were collected from the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital hip and knee and the Johannesburg Orthopaedic hip and knee databanks. Results.  We included 69 patients whom underwent 101procedures relating to periprosthetic joint infection. Positive cultures were found in 63 samples, 81 different organisms were identified. The most common organisms cultured were Staphylococcus aureus (n = 16, 19.8%) and Coagulase negative Staphylococcus (n = 16, 19.8%), followed by Streptococci species (n = 11, 13.6%).  The positive yield in our cohort was 62.4% (n = 63). A polymicrobial growth was found in 19% (n = 12) of the culture positive specimens. Of all the microorganisms cultured, 59.2% (n = 48) were Gram-positive versus 35.8% (n = 29) Gram-negative. The remainder were fungal and anaerobic organisms at 2.5% (n = 2) each. Gram-positive cultures displayed 100% sensitivity to Vancomycin and Linezolid, whereas Gram-negative organisms displayed 82% sensitivity towards Gentamycin and 89% sensitivity towards Meropenem respectively. Conclusion. Our study identifies the bacteriology of periprosthetic joint infections and their sensitivities in a South African setting. We recommend that empiric antibiotic-loaded cement spacers and systemic antibiotic regimens should consist of Meropenem or Gentamycin; Vancomycin and Rifampicin to achieve the broadest spectrum of coverage and most likely success in eradicating infection.
Two-dimensional fluid simulation of spatial distribution of dust particles in a capacitively coupled silane plasma
Authors: Duan Meng-Yue , Jia Wen-Zhu , Zhang Ying-Ying , Zhang Yi-Fan , Song Yuan-Hong ,   Key Laboratory of Three Beam Material Modification Education, School of Physics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China,   School of Artificial Intelligence, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Published: June 2023

In this work, we develop a two-dimensional fluid model to study the spatial density distributions of dust particles in a radio frequency capacitively coupled silane plasma. Unlike those scenarios based on the one-dimensional fluid model, in this work, the nonuniformity of the radial density distributions of dust particles is attributed mainly to the radial components of the electric field force and the ion drag force acting on the dust particles, leading to the two local density peaks near the electrode edges. It seems that dust particles tend to overcome the support of the electric field force and move much closer to the electrodes, as one of the density peaks indicates. Moreover, with the decrease of the radii of the discharge electrodes or the distance between them, the radial component of the ion drag force is enhanced, resulting in more dust particles gathering near the electrode edge region, and forming a ring-shaped particle density distribution. In the case of the discharge electrodes wrapped with dielectric materials, the uniformity of the radial density distributions of dust particles between the two electrodes is improved. Finally, the vortex motion of a single dust particle near the electrode edge region is also simulated in this work.
Pressure-induced superconductivity in triangular lattice spin liquid candidate NaYbSe2
Authors: Guo Lin , Yang Xiao-Fan , Cheng Er-Jian , Pan Bing-Lin , Zhu Chu-Chu , Li Shi-Yan ,   State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
Published: June 2023

Quantum spin liquid is an exotic state without magnetic order down to zero-temperature due to spin frustration, which is closely related to high temperature superconductivity. Therefore, an important issue arises whether the quantum spin liquid can be adjusted into a superconductor, even high-Tc superconductor, by using pressure or chemical doping. Rear-earth chalcogenides NaYbCh2 (Ch = O, S, Se), consisting of planar triangular lattice, exhibit no long-range magnetic order down to the lowest measured temperatures in specific heat, nuclear magnetic resonance, and neutron scattering, and are considered as a quantum spin liquid candidate. Here we investigate the electrical transport properties of NaYbCh2 (Ch = O, S, Se) under high pressures. For NaYbSe2, zero-resistance behavior is observed at 26.9 GPa, showing that the superconductivity comes into being. The superconducting transition temperature (Tc) is around 5.6 K at 26.9 GPa and robust against pressure till 45 GPa. The phase diagram of Tc versus pressure for NaYbSe2 is constructed. For NaYbS2, the room temperature resistance decreases from the order of 1011 Ω at 10 GPa to 10 Ω at 67 GPa. However, neither superconductivity nor insulator-metal transition is observed. Additionally, the NaYbO2 keeps insulating and the resistance is too large to be detected in a pressure range of 0–60 GPa.
The generation of HepG2 transmitochondrial cybrids to reveal the role of mitochondrial genotype in idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury
Authors: Ball Amy Louise , Jolly Carol E , Lennon Mark G , Lyon Jonathan J , Alfirevic Ana , Chadwick Amy E
Published: June 2023

Background:

Evidence supports an important link between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation and adverse drug reactions such as idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (iDILI). Here, we describe the generation of HepG2-derived transmitochondrial cybrids, to investigate the impact of mtDNA variation on mitochondrial (dys)function and susceptibility to iDILI. This study created 10 cybrid cell lines, each containing distinct mitochondrial genotypes of haplogroup H or haplogroup J backgrounds.

Methods:

HepG2 cells were depleted of mtDNA to make rho zero cells, before the introduction of known mitochondrial genotypes using platelets from healthy volunteers (n=10), thus generating 10 transmitochondrial cybrid cell lines. The mitochondrial function of each was assessed at basal state and following treatment with compounds associated with iDILI; flutamide, 2-hydroxyflutamide, and tolcapone, and their less toxic counterparts bicalutamide and entacapone utilizing ATP assays and extracellular flux analysis.

Results:

Whilst only slight variations in basal mitochondrial function were observed between haplogroups H and J, haplogroup-specific responses were observed to the mitotoxic drugs. Haplogroup J showed increased susceptibility to inhibition by flutamide, 2-hydroxyflutamide, and tolcapone, via effects on selected mitochondrial complexes (I and II), and an uncoupling of the respiratory chain.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates that HepG2 transmitochondrial cybrids can be created to contain the mitochondrial genotype of any individual of interest. This provides a practical and reproducible system to investigate the cellular consequences of variation in the mitochondrial genome, against a constant nuclear background. Additionally, the results show that inter-individual variation in mitochondrial haplogroup may be a factor in determining sensitivity to mitochondrial toxicants.

Funding:

This work was supported by the Centre for Drug Safety Science supported by the Medical Research Council, United Kingdom (Grant Number G0700654); and GlaxoSmithKline as part of an MRC-CASE studentship (grant number MR/L006758/1).
Mec1-independent activation of the Rad53 checkpoint kinase revealed by quantitative analysis of protein localization dynamics
Authors: Ho Brandon , Sanford Ethan J , Loll-Krippleber Raphael , Torres Nikko P , Smolka Marcus B , Brown Grant W
Published: June 2023

The replication checkpoint is essential for accurate DNA replication and repair, and maintenance of genomic integrity when a cell is challenged with genotoxic stress. Several studies have defined the complement of proteins that change subcellular location in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae following chemically induced DNA replication stress using methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) or hydroxyurea (HU). How these protein movements are regulated remains largely unexplored. We find that the essential checkpoint kinases Mec1 and Rad53 are responsible for regulating the subcellular localization of 159 proteins during MMS-induced replication stress. Unexpectedly, Rad53 regulation of the localization of 52 proteins is independent of its known kinase activator Mec1, and in some scenarios independent of Tel1 or the mediator proteins Rad9 and Mrc1. We demonstrate that Rad53 is phosphorylated and active following MMS exposure in cells lacking Mec1 and Tel1. This noncanonical mode of Rad53 activation depends partly on the retrograde signaling transcription factor Rtg3, which also facilitates proper DNA replication dynamics. We conclude that there are biologically important modes of Rad53 protein kinase activation that respond to replication stress and operate in parallel to Mec1 and Tel1.
Inconsistencies between human and macaque lesion data can be resolved with a stimulus-computable model of the ventral visual stream
Authors: Bonnen Tyler , Eldridge Mark AG
Published: June 2023

Decades of neuroscientific research has sought to understand medial temporal lobe (MTL) involvement in perception. Apparent inconsistencies in the literature have led to competing interpretations of the available evidence; critically, findings from human participants with naturally occurring MTL damage appear to be inconsistent with data from monkeys with surgical lesions. Here, we leverage a ‘stimulus-computable’ proxy for the primate ventral visual stream (VVS), which enables us to formally evaluate perceptual demands across stimulus sets, experiments, and species. With this modeling framework, we analyze a series of experiments administered to monkeys with surgical, bilateral damage to perirhinal cortex (PRC), an MTL structure implicated in visual object perception. Across experiments, PRC-lesioned subjects showed no impairment on perceptual tasks; this originally led us(Eldridge et al., 2018) to conclude that PRC is not involved in perception. Here, we find that a ‘VVS-like’ model predicts both PRC-intact and -lesioned choice behaviors, suggesting that a linear readout of the VVS should be sufficient for performance on these tasks. Evaluating these computational results alongside findings from human experiments, we suggest that results from (Eldridge et al., 2018) alone cannot be used as evidence against PRC involvement in perception. These data indicate that experimental findings from human and non-human primates are consistent. As such, what appeared to be discrepancies between species was in fact due to reliance on informal accounts of perceptual processing.
Divergent functions of two clades of flavodoxin in diatoms mitigate oxidative stress and iron limitation
Authors: Graff van Creveld Shiri , Coesel Sacha N , Blaskowski Stephen , Groussman Ryan D , Schatz Megan J , Armbrust E Virginia
Published: June 2023

Phytoplankton rely on diverse mechanisms to adapt to the decreased iron bioavailability and oxidative stress-inducing conditions of today’s oxygenated oceans, including replacement of the iron-requiring ferredoxin electron shuttle protein with a less-efficient iron-free flavodoxin under iron-limiting conditions. Yet, diatoms transcribe flavodoxins in high-iron regions in contrast to other phytoplankton. Here, we show that the two clades of flavodoxins present within diatoms exhibit a functional divergence, with only clade II flavodoxins displaying the canonical role in acclimation to iron limitation. We created CRISPR/Cas9 knock-outs of the clade I flavodoxin from the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana and found that these cell lines are hypersensitive to oxidative stress, while maintaining a wild-type response to iron limitation. Within natural diatom communities, clade I flavodoxin transcript abundance is regulated over the diel cycle rather than in response to iron availability, whereas clade II transcript abundances increase either in iron-limiting regions or under artificially induced iron limitation. The observed functional specialization of two flavodoxin variants within diatoms reiterates two major stressors associated with contemporary oceans and illustrates diatom strategies to flourish in diverse aquatic ecosystems.
Changing the incentive structure of social media platforms to halt the spread of misinformation
Authors: Globig Laura K , Holtz Nora , Sharot Tali
Published: June 2023

The powerful allure of social media platforms has been attributed to the human need for social rewards. Here, we demonstrate that the spread of misinformation on such platforms is facilitated by existing social ‘carrots’ (e.g., ‘likes’) and ‘sticks’ (e.g., ‘dislikes’) that are dissociated from the veracity of the information shared. Testing 951 participants over six experiments, we show that a slight change to the incentive structure of social media platforms, such that social rewards and punishments are contingent on information veracity, produces a considerable increase in the discernment of shared information. Namely, an increase in the proportion of true information shared relative to the proportion of false information shared. Computational modeling (i.e., drift-diffusion models) revealed the underlying mechanism of this effect is associated with an increase in the weight participants assign to evidence consistent with discerning behavior. The results offer evidence for an intervention that could be adopted to reduce misinformation spread, which in turn could reduce violence, vaccine hesitancy and political polarization, without reducing engagement.
Uremic toxin indoxyl sulfate induces trained immunity via the AhR-dependent arachidonic acid pathway in end-stage renal disease (ESRD)
Authors: Kim Hee Young , Kang Yeon Jun , Kim Dong Hyun , Jang Jiyeon , Lee Su Jeong , Kim Gwanghun , Koh Hee Byung , Ko Ye Eun , Shin Hyun Mu , Lee Hajeong , Yoo Tae-Hyun , Lee Won-Woo
Published: June 2023

Trained immunity is the long-term functional reprogramming of innate immune cells, which results in altered responses toward a secondary challenge. Despite indoxyl sulfate (IS) being a potent stimulus associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD)-related inflammation, its impact on trained immunity has not been explored. Here, we demonstrate that IS induces trained immunity in monocytes via epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming, resulting in augmented cytokine production. Mechanistically, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) contributes to IS-trained immunity by enhancing the expression of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism-related genes such as arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) and ALOX5 activating protein (ALOX5AP). Inhibition of AhR during IS training suppresses the induction of IS-trained immunity. Monocytes from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have increased ALOX5 expression and after 6 days training, they exhibit enhanced TNF-α and IL-6 production to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Furthermore, healthy control-derived monocytes trained with uremic sera from ESRD patients exhibit increased production of TNF-α and IL-6. Consistently, IS-trained mice and their splenic myeloid cells had increased production of TNF-α after in vivo and ex vivo LPS stimulation compared to that of control mice. These results provide insight into the role of IS in the induction of trained immunity, which is critical during inflammatory immune responses in CKD patients.
Uremic toxin indoxyl sulfate induces trained immunity via the AhR-dependent arachidonic acid pathway in ESRD
Authors: Kim Hee Young , Kim Dong Hyun , Lee Su Jeong , Kang Yeon Jun , Kim Gwanghun , Koh Hee Byung , Ko Ye Eun , Shin Hyun Mu , Lee Hajeong , Yoo Tae-Hyun , Lee Won-Woo
Published: June 2023

Trained immunity is the long-term functional reprogramming of innate immune cells, which results in altered responses toward a secondary challenge. Despite indoxyl sulfate (IS) being a potent stimulus associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD)-related inflammation, its impact on trained immunity has not been explored. Here, we demonstrate that IS induces trained immunity in monocytes
via
epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming, resulting in augmented cytokine production. Mechanistically, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) contributes to IS-trained immunity by enhancing the expression of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism-related genes such as Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase (ALOX5) and ALOX5 Activating Protein (ALOX5AP). Inhibition of AhR during IS training suppresses the induction of IS-trained immunity. Monocytes from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have increased ALOX5 expression and after 6-day training, they exhibit enhanced TNF-α and IL-6 production to LPS. Furthermore, healthy control-derived monocytes trained with uremic sera from ESRD patients exhibit increased production of TNF-α and IL-6. Consistently, IS-trained mice and their splenic myeloid cells had increased production of TNF-α after
in vivo
and
ex vivo
LPS stimulation compared to that of control mice. These results provide insight into the role of IS in the induction of trained immunity, which is critical during inflammatory immune responses in CKD patients.
Chromosomal instability induced in cancer can enhance macrophage-initiated immune responses that include anti-tumor IgG
Authors: Hayes Brandon H , Wang Mai , Zhu Hui , Phan Steven H , Dooling Lawrence J , Andrechak Jason C , Chang Alexander H , Tobin Michael P , Ontko Nicholas M , Marchena Tristan , Discher Dennis E
Published: June 2023

Solid tumors generally exhibit chromosome copy number variation, which is typically caused by chromosomal instability (CIN) in mitosis. The resulting aneuploidy can drive evolution and associates with poor prognosis in various cancer types as well as poor response to T-cell checkpoint blockade in melanoma. Macrophages and the SIRPα-CD47 checkpoint are understudied in such contexts. Here, CIN is induced in poorly immunogenic B16F10 mouse melanoma cells using spindle assembly checkpoint MPS1 inhibitors that generate persistent micronuclei and diverse aneuploidy while skewing macrophages toward a tumoricidal ‘M1-like’ phenotype based on markers and short-term anti-tumor studies. Mice bearing CIN-afflicted tumors with wild-type CD47 levels succumb similar to controls, but long-term survival is maximized by SIRPα blockade on adoptively transferred myeloid cells plus anti-tumor monoclonal IgG. Such cells are the initiating effector cells, and survivors make de novo anti-cancer IgG that not only promote phagocytosis of CD47-null cells but also suppress tumor growth. CIN does not affect the IgG response, but pairing CIN with maximal macrophage anti-cancer activity increases durable cures that possess a vaccination-like response against recurrence.
Activation of the P2RX7/IL-18 pathway in immune cells attenuates lung fibrosis
Authors: Janho dit Hreich Serena , Juhel Thierry , Leroy Sylvie , Ghinet Alina , Brau Frederic , Hofman Veronique , Hofman Paul , Vouret-Craviari Valerie
Published: June 2023

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an aggressive interstitial lung disease associated with progressive and irreversible deterioration of respiratory functions that lacks curative therapies. Despite IPF being associated with a dysregulated immune response, current antifibrotics aim only at limiting fibroproliferation. Transcriptomic analyses show that the P2RX7/IL18/IFNG axis is downregulated in IPF patients and that P2RX7 has immunoregulatory functions. Using our positive modulator of P2RX7, we show that activation of the P2RX7/IL-18 axis in immune cells limits lung fibrosis progression in a mouse model by favoring an antifibrotic immune environment, with notably an enhanced IL-18-dependent IFN-γ production by lung T cells leading to a decreased production of IL-17 and TGFβ. Overall, we show the ability of the immune system to limit lung fibrosis progression by targeting the immunomodulator P2RX7. Hence, treatment with a small activator of P2RX7 may represent a promising strategy to help patients with lung fibrosis.
A Timeline of Bacterial and Archaeal Diversification in the Ocean
Authors: Martinez-Gutierrez Carolina A. , Uyeda Josef C. , Aylward Frank O.
Published: June 2023

Microbial plankton play a central role in marine biogeochemical cycles, but the timing in which abundant lineages diversified into ocean environments remains unclear. Here, we reconstructed the timeline in which major clades of bacteria and archaea colonized the ocean using a high-resolution benchmarked phylogenetic tree that allows for simultaneous and direct comparison of the ages of multiple divergent lineages. Our findings show that the diversification of the most prevalent marine clades spans throughout a period of 2.2 Ga, with most clades colonizing the ocean in the last 800 million years. The earliest clades - SAR202, SAR324, Marinimicrobia, and Marine Group II - diversified around the time of the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), during which oxygen concentration increased but remained at microaerophilic levels throughout the Mid-Proterozoic, and these groups remain prevalent in oxygen minimum zones today. We found the diversification of the prevalent heterotrophic marine clades, SAR11, SAR116, SAR92, SAR86, and Roseobacter as well as the Marine Group I, occurring near to the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event (0.8-0.4 Ga). The diversification of these clades is concomitant with an overall increase of oxygen and nutrients in the ocean at this time, as well as the diversification of eukaryotic algae consistent with the previous hypothesis that the diversification of heterotrophic bacteria is linked to the emergence of large eukaryotic phytoplankton. The youngest clades correspond to the widespread phototrophic clades
Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus,
and
Crocosphaera
, whose diversification happened after the Phanerozoic Oxidation Event (0.45-0.4 Ga) and the increase of modern oxygen concentrations in the atmosphere and the ocean. Our work clarifies the timing at which abundant lineages of bacteria and archaea colonized the ocean, thereby providing key insights into the evolutionary history of lineages that comprise the majority of prokaryotic biomass in the ocean.
A novel framework based on deep learning for COVID-19 diagnosis from X-ray images
Authors: JavadiMoghaddam SeyyedMohammad
Published: June 2023

Background

The coronavirus infection has endangered human health because of the high speed of the outbreak. A rapid and accurate diagnosis of the infection is essential to avoid further spread. Due to the cost of diagnostic kits and the availability of radiology equipment in most parts of the world, the COVID-19 detection method using X-ray images is still used in underprivileged countries. However, they are challenging due to being prone to human error, time-consuming, and demanding. The success of deep learning (DL) in automatic COVID-19 diagnosis systems has necessitated a detection system using these techniques. The most critical challenge in using deep learning techniques in diagnosing COVID-19 is accuracy because it plays an essential role in controlling the spread of the disease.

Methods

This article presents a new framework for detecting COVID-19 using X-ray images. The model uses a modified version of DenseNet-121 for the network layer, an image data loader to separate images in batches, a loss function to reduce the prediction error, and a weighted random sampler to balance the training phase. Finally, an optimizer changes the attributes of the neural networks.

Results

Extensive experiments using different types of pneumonia expresses satisfactory diagnosis performance with an accuracy of 99.81%.

Conclusion

This work aims to design a new deep neural network for highly accurate online recognition of medical images. The evaluation results show that the proposed framework can be considered an auxiliary device to help radiologists accurately confirm initial screening.
Soil organic carbon pools and carbon management index under different land use systems in North western Himalayas
Authors: Mir Yasir Hanif , Ganie Mumtaz Ahmad , Shah Tajamul Islam , Aezum Aziz Mujtaba , Bangroo Shabir Ahmed , Mir Shakeel Ahmad , Dar Shahnawaz Rasool , Mahdi Syed Sheeraz , Baba Zahoor Ahmad , Shah Aanisa Manzoor , Majeed Uzma , Minkina Tatiana , Rajput Vishnu D. , Dar Aijaz Ahmad
Published: June 2023

Current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of important land uses and soil depth on soil organic carbon pools viz. total organic carbon, Walkley and black carbon, labile organic carbon, particulate organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon and carbon management index (CMI) in the north Western Himalayas, India. Soil samples from five different land uses viz. forest, pasture, apple, saffron and paddy-oilseed were collected up to a depth of 1 m (0–30, 30–60, 60–90 cm). The results revealed that regardless of soil depth, all the carbon pools differed significantly (p < 0.05) among studied land use systems with maximum values observed under forest soils and lowest under paddy-oilseed soils. Further, upon evaluating the impact of soil depth, a significant (p < 0.05) decline and variation in all the carbon pools was observed with maximum values recorded in surface (0–30 cm) soils and least in sub-surface (60–90 cm) layers. CMI was higher in forest soils and lowest in paddy-oilseed. From regression analysis, a positive significant association (high R-squared values) between CMI and soil organic carbon pools was also observed at all three depths. Therefore, land use changes and soil depth had a significant impact on soil organic carbon pools and eventually on CMI, which is used as deterioration indicator or soil carbon rehabilitation that influences the universal goal of sustainability in the long run.
Bombardiers and assassins: mimetic interactions between unequally defended insects
Authors: Sugiura Shinji , Hayashi Masakazu
Published: June 2023

In defensive mimicry, resemblance between unequally defended species can be parasitic; this phenomenon has been termed quasi-Batesian mimicry. Few studies have used real co-mimics and their predators to test whether the mimetic interactions were parasitic. Here, we investigated the mimetic interaction between two well-defended insect species, the bombardier beetle Pheropsophus occipitalis jessoensis (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and the assassin bug Sirthenea flavipes (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), using their potential predator, the pond frog Pelophylax nigromaculatus (Anura: Ranidae), which coexists with these insect species in the same habitat in Japan. We observed behavioural responses of this frog species (adults and juveniles) to adult Ph. occipitalis jessoensis and adult S. flavipes under laboratory conditions. Among the frogs, 100% and 75% rejected Ph. occipitalis jessoensis and S. flavipes, respectively, suggesting that, compared with the assassin bug S. flavipes, the bombardier beetle Ph. occipitalis jessoensis is more well-defended against frogs. An assassin bug or a bombardier beetle was provided to a frog that had encountered the other insect species. Frogs with a history of assassin bug encounter demonstrated a lower rate of attack toward bombardier beetles. Similarly, frogs with a history of bombardier beetle encounter demonstrated a lower rate of attack toward assassin bugs. Therefore, both the bombardier beetle Ph. occipitalis jessoensis and the assassin bug S. flavipes benefit from the mimetic interaction.
A new species of Pristimantis (Anura: Strabomantidae) from white-sand forests of central Amazonia, Brazil
Authors: Mônico Alexander Tamanini , Ferrão Miquéias , Moravec Jiří , Fouquet Antoine , Lima Albertina P.
Published: June 2023

The white-sand ecosystems in the Solimões-Negro Interfluve are among the less studied in Amazonia. Recent herpetological surveys conducted west of Manaus, Brazil (central Amazonia) indicate that white-sand forests host a unique anuran fauna comprising habitat specialized and endemic species. In the present study we describe a new species of rain frog belonging to the Pristimantis unistrigatus species group from the white-sand forest locally called “campinarana” (thin-trunked forests with canopy height below 20 m). The new species is phylogenetically close to rain frogs from western Amazonian lowlands (P. delius, P. librarius, P. matidiktyo and P. ockendeni). It differs from its closest relatives mainly by its size (male SVL of 17.3–20.1 mm, n = 16; female SVL of 23.2–26.5 mm, n = 6), presence of tympanum, tarsal tubercles and dentigerous processes of vomers, its translucent groin without bright colored blotches or marks, and by its advertisement call (composed of 5–10 notes, call duration of 550–1,061 ms, dominant frequency of 3,295–3,919 Hz). Like other anuran species recently discovered in the white-sand forests west of Manaus, the new species seems to be restricted to this peculiar ecosystem.
Isoscapes of remnant and restored Hawaiian montane forests reveal differences in biological nitrogen fixation and carbon inputs
Authors: Wall Christopher B. , Swift Sean O. I. , D’Antonio Carla M. , Gebauer Gerhard , Hynson Nicole A.
Published: June 2023

Deforestation and subsequent land-use conversion has altered ecosystems and led to negative effects on biodiversity. To ameliorate these effects, nitrogen-fixing (N2-fixing) trees are frequently used in the reforestation of degraded landscapes, especially in the tropics; however, their influence on ecosystem properties such as nitrogen (N) availability and carbon (C) stocks are understudied. Here, we use a 30-y old reforestation site of outplanted native N2-fixing trees (Acacia koa) dominated by exotic grass understory, and a neighboring remnant forest dominated by A. koa canopy trees and native understory, to assess whether restoration is leading to similar N and C biogeochemical landscapes and soil and plant properties as a target remnant forest ecosystem. We measured nutrient contents and isotope values (δ15N, δ13C) in soils, A. koa, and non-N2-fixing understory plants (Rubus spp.) and generated δ15N and δ13C isoscapes of the two forests to test for (1) different levels of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and its contribution to non-N2-fixing understory plants, and (2) the influence of historic land conversion and more recent afforestation on plant and soil δ13C. In the plantation, A. koa densities were higher and foliar δ15N values for A. koa and Rubus spp. were lower than in the remnant forest. Foliar and soil isoscapes also showed a more homogeneous distribution of low δ15N values in the plantation and greater influence of A. koa on neighboring plants and soil, suggesting greater BNF. Foliar δ13C also indicated higher water use efficiency (WUEi) in the plantation, indicative of differences in plant-water relations or soil water status between the two forest types. Plantation soil δ13C was higher than the remnant forest, consistent with greater contributions of exotic C4-pasture grasses to soil C pools, possibly due to facilitation of non-native grasses by the dense A. koa canopy. These findings are consequential for forest restoration, as they contribute to the mounting evidence that outplanting N2-fixing trees produces different biogeochemical landscapes than those observed in reference ecosystems, thereby influencing plant-soil interactions which can influence restoration outcomes.
Ecodatacube.eu: analysis-ready open environmental data cube for Europe
Authors: Witjes Martijn , Parente Leandro , Križan Josip , Hengl Tomislav , Antonić Luka
Published: June 2023

The article describes the production steps and accuracy assessment of an analysis-ready, open-access European data cube consisting of 2000–2020+ Landsat data, 2017–2021+ Sentinel-2 data and a 30 m resolution digital terrain model (DTM). The main purpose of the data cube is to make annual continental-scale spatiotemporal machine learning tasks accessible to a wider user base by providing a spatially and temporally consistent multidimensional feature space. This has required systematic spatiotemporal harmonization, efficient compression, and imputation of missing values. Sentinel-2 and Landsat reflectance values were aggregated into four quarterly averages approximating the four seasons common in Europe (winter, spring, summer and autumn), as well as the 25th and 75th percentile, in order to retain intra-seasonal variance. Remaining missing data in the Landsat time-series was imputed with a temporal moving window median (TMWM) approach. An accuracy assessment shows TMWM performs relatively better in Southern Europe and lower in mountainous regions such as the Scandinavian Mountains, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. We quantify the usability of the different component data sets for spatiotemporal machine learning tasks with a series of land cover classification experiments, which show that models utilizing the full feature space (30 m DTM, 30 m Landsat, 30 m and 10 m Sentinel-2) yield the highest land cover classification accuracy, with different data sets improving the results for different land cover classes. The data sets presented in the article are part of the EcoDataCube platform, which also hosts open vegetation, soil, and land use/land cover (LULC) maps created. All data sets are available under CC-BY license as Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFFs (ca. 12 TB in size) through SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC) and the EcoDataCube data portal.
Temporal and inter-individual changes in the integrated biochemical condition of the gonads of female swordfish (Xiphias gladius) from the Southeastern Pacific Ocean
Authors: Guzmán-Rivas Fabián , Ortega Juan , Mora Sergio , Barría Patricio , Riera Rodrigo , Urzúa Ángel
Published: June 2023

The integrated biochemical condition (IBC) of gonads is closely related to the reproductive success of highly migratory marine species. The IBC of gonads can be influenced not only by size and/or age, but also by environmental conditions. Here, female swordfish,Xiphias gladius, that migrate to temperate regions with a marked seasonality (e.g., the Southeastern Pacific Ocean, SEPO) were compared in relation to the IBCs (lipids, proteins, glucose and, fatty acid profiles) of their gonads; individuals with two body size ranges and distinct degrees of sexual maturity were evaluated, and considered as: small and/or virginal (SV: <170 cm lower jaw fork-length (LJFL), oocyte size (OS) <0.08 mm)vslarge and/or maturing females (LM: >190 cm LJFL, OS >0.133 mm). This comparison was conducted in two environmentally contrasting seasons (wintervsspring). Our results showed that the gonadosomatic index (GSI) was significantly higher in LM than SV. Lipid contents varied significantly between seasons and body sizes. The highest lipid concentrations were recorded in the spring in large females. No significant differences were found when comparing the protein and glucose contents of the two evaluated seasons or body size ranges of the studied females. In turn, the fatty acid (FA) profiles of female gonads significantly varied for both seasons and body size ranges. A high content of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were recorded in female gonads in the spring. The SFAs C16:0 and C18:0, the MUFA C18:1n9, and the essential PUFA C22:6n3 were the main contributors to the observed differences between spring and winter. These results could be used as indicators of the nutritional condition and health status of swordfish individuals. Hence, the IBC of female swordfish gonads have great potential to aid in estimating survival rates and stock abundances of this species. The integration of this information constitutes an asset in fishery management models with an ecosystem approach.
Bringing ideology into the legal translation classroom: A step towards training translators for counterhegemonic legal translation?
Authors:   Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Málaga. Grupo de investigación Avanti, Ruiz-Cortés Elena
Published: June 2023

Pedagogical approaches should allow translation trainees to recognize the factors that impact on their decision-making. Nonetheless, the role of ideology has received scant attention when exploring translators’ decision-making in translator training. In this paper, framed within counterhegemonic legal translation (Favila-Alcalá, 2020), we advocate bringing ideology into the legal translation classroom by outlining a case study method to be used in the classroom. This method aims to assist trainees in unravelling the underlying ideology of the source texts and the parallel texts involved in the translation process and in evaluating the implications for their subsequent translation. It foregrounds that, if the texts involved in the translation process are not critically and systematically scrutinized in training contexts, trainees’ decision-making may be unconsciously influenced by the underlying ideology behind these texts.
Formación y empleabilidad en el Grado en Traducción e Interpretación de la Universidad de Granada
Authors:   Departamento de Traducción e Interpretación, Universidad de Granada. Grupo de investigación Avanti, Gregorio Cano Ana
Published: June 2023

En el presente artículo pasamos revista a las principales características del grado en la Facultad de Traducción e Interpretación (FTI) de la Universidad de Granada (UGR), además de identificar los puntos débiles y fuertes del grado en cuanto a la conexión entre el mundo académico (grado) y el mundo profesional a partir de las percepciones de los estudiantes del grado. La empleabilidad de los egresados de los diferentes grados que coexisten en España ha pasado a ser uno de los objetivos, además de uno de los atractivos, que diferencian unas universidades e instituciones educativas de otras. En nuestra propuesta analizamos el Grado en Traducción e Interpretación (TI) de la Universidad de Granada, en el que se oferta una asignatura obligatoria clave para el futuro de los egresados, titulada “La profesión del traductor e intérprete”. Esta propuesta, asimismo, analiza, a partir de una investigación empírica piloto, el impacto de los estudios de traducción e interpretación en el caso de la Universidad de Granada en la (potencial) empleabilidad de los futuros egresados.
Intercropping of Chilli with Carrot and Radish in Prayagraj Agro-climatic Conditions
Authors: Tiwari Kartikey , Singh Devi
Published: June 2023

A field experiment entitled “Intercropping of Chilli with Carrot and Radish in Prayagraj Agro- climatic Conditions” was conducted from November 2021 to March 2022 at the Horticulture Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj. This Experiment was laid out in randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications and 08 treatments. The experiment consisted of six cropping combinations which are, Sole chilli, sole carrot, sole radish, chilli + carrot, chilli+ radish, chilli + carrot + radish. The highest yield (green chilli) was obtained on the treatment T1 (sole chilli @100 % RDF) (13.09 t ha-1). Among the intercropping treatments, the highest chilli yield (12.68 t ha-1) was obtained from the treatment T6 (chilli @ 70% RDF + carrot @ 30% RDF) whereas the lowest yield (10.57 t ha-1) was found in treatment T8 (chilli @ 60% RDF + carrot @ 20% RDF + radish @ 20% RDF). Intercropping reduced the chilli yield, but the total chilli with intercrops yield increased over the sole chilli. Due to the contribution of companion crops. The highest chilli yield along with intercrop yield (150.71 t ha-1), gross return of (1101506 Rs. ha-1), net return of (817969 Rs. ha-1) and benefit cost ratio (3.88) were obtained from the treatment T8 (Chilli@ 60 % RDF + Carrot @ 20 % RDF + Radish @ 20 % RDF). Considering the experimental finding’s, treatment T8 (Chilli @ 60% RDF + Carrot @ 20 % RDF+ Radish @ 20 % RDF) were found the most suitable combination for the higher productivity and economic return under Prayagraj agro-climatic conditions.
Predicting Photocatalytic Properties of Metal Coupled Mn-TiO2 Particle Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) as a Potential Filler in LED’s Encapsulant
Authors: Kadem Amna Jwad , Teo Yin Xin , Pung Swee-Yong , Sreekantan Srimala , Ramakrishnan Sivakumar
Published: June 2023

This study addresses yellowing discoloration in LEDs caused by TiO2 particle degradation in encapsulants. The commonly added TiO2 particles will enhance light reflectance, and accelerate photodegradation but will decrease LED lifespan by lowering lumen quality and causing chromaticity change. To mitigate these effects, Mn particles were coupled with TiO2 particles using photo-reduction. This research examined three parameters Mn2+ ions concentration, UV irradiation duration, and annealing temperature, and the successful Mn-TiO2 coupling achieved. The resulting Mn-TiO2 particles, synthesized at 20 ppm Mn2+ ions and 200 °C annealing temperature, exhibited superior dispersibility and minimal agglomeration compared to TiO2 particles. Next, the photocatalytic performance of Mn-TiO2 particles was optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). These particles exhibited the lowest photodegradation with a rate constant of 0.03092 min−1 and achieved a photodegradation efficiency of 79.92% at 60 min, amongst the others. Photodegradation of methylene blue followed a 1st-order kinetic model. Despite a slightly higher refractive index (RI), epoxy thin films with Mn-TiO2 particles displayed higher transmittance. Mn-TiO2 particles can thus serve as fillers in LED encapsulants to increase RI, reduce photodegradation, and enhance TiO2 particle dispersion. Copyright © 2023 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Changes in Patient Care Experience After Private Equity Acquisition of US Hospitals
Authors: Bhatla Anjali , Bartlett Victoria L. , Liu Michael , Zheng ZhaoNian , Wadhera Rishi K.
Published: January 2025

Importance

Private equity acquisitions of health care facilities have rapidly increased over the past decade. However, little is known about the effects of private equity acquisitions of US hospitals on patient care experience.

Objective

To evaluate whether the acquisition of hospitals by private equity firms was associated with changes in measures of patient-reported experience compared with matched control hospitals from 2008 through 2019.

Design, Settings, and Participants

This cohort study identified 73 US hospitals newly acquired by private equity firms and 293 matched control (nonacquired) US hospitals from 2008 through 2019. An event study, difference-in-differences design was used to evaluate changes in patient experiences measures from 3 years before to 3 years after private equity acquisition.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcomes were 2 global measures of patient-reported care experience from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, which included patients’ overall hospital rating and willingness to recommend the hospital. Secondary outcomes included the 7 other HCAHPS measures encompassing clinical process, communication, and environmental measures.

Results

There were 73 private equity–acquired hospitals and 293 matched control hospitals. The percentage of patients rating hospitals as a 9 or 10, on a scale of 0 to 10, decreased at private equity–acquired hospitals (65.0% before acquisition and 65.2% after acquisition) when compared with control hospitals (66.2% to 69.2%) during the postacquisition period relative to the preacquisition period with a difference-in-differences estimate of −2.4 percentage points (95% CI, −3.9 to −0.9). In addition, the percentage of patients who would definitely recommend the hospital also decreased at private equity–acquired hospitals (66.9% before acquisition and 65.5% after acquisition) compared with control hospitals (68.2% to 69.3%) with a difference-in-difference estimate of −2.1 percentage points (95% CI, −3.6 to −0.7). For both of these global measures of patient experience, the difference between private equity–acquired and control hospitals increased over time and was largest in year 3 after acquisition (−5.2 percentage points [95% CI, −8.8 to −1.5] and −4.4 percentage points [95% CI, −8.0 to −0.70] for each measure, respectively). For secondary measures of patient care experience, there was a decrease in patient-reported responsiveness of hospital staff at private equity–acquired hospitals compared with control hospitals (−1.3 percentage points [95% CI, −2.4 to −0.2]), but no differential change across other measures of clinical process, communication, and environment.

Conclusions and Relevance

Patient care experience worsened after private equity acquisition of hospitals. These findings raise concern about the implications of private equity acquisitions on patient care experience at US hospitals.
Invisible Me
Authors: Smith Jeannina A.
Published: January 2025

In this narrative medicine essay, an infectious diseases physician who is immunocompromised laments the disdain she felt while continuing to wear a mask after vaccinations allowed most people to shed them.
Chronic Migraine in Adults
Authors: Burch Rebecca
Published: January 2025

This JAMA Insights explores the prevalence of episodic and chronic migraine in adults and acute and preventive treatments for migraine, such as novel calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonists.
What We Can Learn About Patient Safety While Driving to Work
Authors: Marks Lawrence B. , Greenberg Caprice C. , Mazur Lukasz M.
Published: January 2025

This Viewpoint discusses strategies used with driving that can be applied to health care to promote consistent and predictable physician and patient actions.