bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Occupational Benzene Exposure in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Industry, 2002–2018
Authors: Ridderseth Hilde , Daltveit Dagrun Slettebø , Hollund Bjørg Eli , Kirkeleit Jorunn , Kromhout Hans , Krüger Kirsti , Austgulen Liv-Torill , Bråtveit Magne
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Workers on offshore petroleum installations are at risk of being exposed to benzene which is carcinogenic to humans. The present study aimed to assess the time trend of full-shift benzene exposure from 2002 to 2018 in order to characterize benzene exposure among laboratory technicians, mechanics, process operators, and industrial cleaners, and to examine the possible determinants of benzene exposure.

Methods

A total of 924 measurements of benzene exposure from the Norwegian petroleum offshore industry were included. The median sampling duration was 680 min, ranging from 60 to 940 min. The overall geometric mean (GM) and 95% confidence interval, time trends, and determinants of exposure were estimated using multilevel mixed-effects tobit regression analyses. Time trends were estimated for sampling duration below and above 8 h, both overall and for job groups. The variability of exposure between installation and workers was investigated in a subset of data containing worker identification.

Results

The overall GM of benzene exposure was 0.004 ppm. When adjusting for job group, design of process area, season, wind speed, and sampling duration, industrial cleaners had the highest exposure (GM = 0.012). Laboratory technicians, mechanics, and process operators had a GM exposure of 0.004, 0.003, and 0.004 ppm, respectively. Overall, the measured benzene exposure increased by 7.6% per year from 2002 to 2018. Mechanics had an annual increase of 8.6% and laboratory technicians had an annual decrease of 12.6% when including all measurements. When including only measurements above 8 h, mechanics had an increase of 16.8%. No statistically significant time trend was found for process operators. Open process area, high wind speed, and wintertime were associated with reduced exposure level.

Conclusions

An overall increase in measured exposure was observed from 2002 to 2018. The increase may reflect changes in measurement strategy from mainly measuring on random days to days with expected exposure. However, the time trend varied between job groups and was different for sampling duration above or below 8 h. Industrial cleaners had the highest exposure of the four job groups while no differences in exposure were observed between laboratory technicians, mechanics, and process operators. The design of the process area, job group, wind speed, and season were all significant determinants of benzene exposure.
Functional Cognitive Disorder: Differential Diagnosis of Common Clinical Presentations
Authors: Kemp Steven , Kapur Narinder , Graham Christopher D , Reuber Markus
Published: March 2022

Background

Cognitive symptoms in the absence of neurological disease are common. Functional cognitive disorder (FCD) has been conceptualized as a cognitive subtype of functional neurological disorder. Although FCD is understood as different from exaggerated or feigned cognitive complaints, previous accounts have provided little practical advice on how FCD can be separated from factitious or malingered cognitive complaints. Also, the distinction of FCD from other medical or mental health disorders that impact on cognition is an area of ongoing study and debate. Diagnostic precision is important to prevent iatrogenesis and for the development of needed treatment protocols.

Method

We summarize the current literature and present seven anonymized case vignettes to characterize the challenges in this area and develop proposals for solutions.

Results/Conclusions

Recognizing the limitations of categorical diagnostic systems, we position FCD as distinct from feigning and cognitive symptoms of psychiatric disorders, although with overlapping features. We set out typical clinical features and neuropsychological profiles for each category of cognitive disorder and a statistical method to analyze performance validity tests/effort tests to assist in determining feigned or invalid responding.
Influence of mutation in the regulatory domain of α-isopropylmalate synthase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae on its activity and feedback inhibition
Authors: Takagi Hironobu , Yamamoto Kazuki , Matsuo Yoshifumi , Furuie Miki , Kasayuki Yasuha , Ohtani Rina , Shiotani Mizuki , Hasegawa Tetsuya , Ohnishi Toru , Ohashi Masataka , Johzuka Katsuki , Kurata Atsushi , Uegaki Koichi
Published: March 2022

Isoamyl alcohol (i-AmOH) is produced from α-ketoisocaproate in the l-leucine biosynthetic pathway in yeast and controlled by the negative feedback regulation of α-isopropylmalate synthase (IPMS), which senses the accumulation of l-leucine. It is known that i-AmOH production increases when mutations in the regulatory domain reduce the susceptibility to feedback inhibition. However, the impact of mutations in this domain on the IPMS activity has not been examined. In this study, we obtained 5 IPMS mutants, encoding the LEU4 gene, N515D/S520P/S542F/A551D/A551V, that are tolerant to 5,5,5-trifluoro-dl-leucine. All mutant proteins were purified and examined for both IPMS activity and negative feedback activity by in vitro experiments. The results showed that not only the negative-feedback regulation by l-leucine was almost lost in all mutants, but also the IPMS activity was greatly decreased and the difference in IPMS activity among Leu4 mutants in the presence of l-leucine was significantly correlated with i-AmOH production.
Fully connected autoencoder and convolutional neural network with attention-based method for inferring disease-related lncRNAs
Authors: Xuan Ping , Gong Zhe , Cui Hui , Li Bochong , Zhang Tiangang
Published: March 2022

Since abnormal expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is often closely related to various human diseases, identification of disease-associated lncRNAs is helpful for exploring the complex pathogenesis. Most of recent methods concentrate on exploiting multiple kinds of data related to lncRNAs and diseases for predicting candidate disease-related lncRNAs. These methods, however, failed to deeply integrate the topology information from the meta-paths that are composed of lncRNA, disease and microRNA (miRNA) nodes. We proposed a new method based on fully connected autoencoders and convolutional neural networks, called ACLDA, for inferring potential disease-related lncRNA candidates. A heterogeneous graph that consists of lncRNA, disease and miRNA nodes were firstly constructed to integrate similarities, associations and interactions among them. Fully connected autoencoder-based module was established to extract the low-dimensional features of lncRNA, disease and miRNA nodes in the heterogeneous graph. We designed the attention mechanisms at the node feature level and at the meta-path level to learn more informative features and meta-paths. A module based on convolutional neural networks was constructed to encode the local topologies of lncRNA and disease nodes from multiple meta-path perspectives. The comprehensive experimental results demonstrated ACLDA achieves superior performance than several state-of-the-art prediction methods. Case studies on breast, lung and colon cancers demonstrated that ACLDA is able to discover the potential disease-related lncRNAs.
Environmental epigenetic interaction of gametes and early embryos
Authors: Li Xin-Yuan , Pan Jie-Xue , Zhu Hong , Ding Guo-Lian , Huang He-Feng
Published: March 2022

In recent years, the developmental origins of diseases have been increasingly recognized and accepted. As such, it has been suggested that most adulthood chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and even tumors may develop at a very early stage. In addition to intrauterine environmental exposure, germ cells carry an important inheritance role as the primary link between the two generations. Adverse external influences during differentiation and development can cause damage to germ cells, which may then increase the risk of chronic disease development later in life. Here, we further elucidate and clarify the concept of gamete and embryo origins of adult diseases by focusing on the environmental insults on germ cells, from differentiation to maturation and fertilization.
Staff Perceptions and Capability in using the Mental Capacity Act to Assess Decision Making in those with Acquired Brain Injury and Executive Dysfunction
Authors: Cameron Emma , Codling James , Nash Maxine
Published: March 2022

The purpose of this article is to establish the perceptions and capability of social care professionals (SCPs) in using the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 to assess decision-making capacity in those who have executive dysfunction and issues pertaining to the frontal lobe paradox, in comparison to health care professionals (HCPs). HCPs and SCPs from inpatient and community neurorehabilitation teams, social care teams and a best interest assessor team were contacted via convenience sampling and participated in semi-structured interviews. Data from these consultations were analysed using a form of thematic analysis known as template analysis. Four over-arching template themes were identified: ‘assessment structure’, ‘implications of brain injury’, ‘professionals’ capability/expertise’ and ‘consent, self-report and mental capacity’. The findings suggest that SCPs would benefit from bespoke practice guidance designed to help with the application of the MCA with the acquired brain injury/long-term neurological conditions population—particularly where there is a concern about a person’s ability to understand, apply or use information outside of an assessment or supportive conversation.
Detection of neuron-derived pathological α-synuclein in blood
Authors: Kluge Annika , Bunk Josina , Schaeffer Eva , Drobny Alice , Xiang Wei , Knacke Henrike , Bub Simon , Lückstädt Wiebke , Arnold Philipp , Lucius Ralph , Berg Daniela , Zunke Friederike
Published: March 2022

To date, no reliable clinically applicable biomarker has been established for Parkinson’s disease. Our results indicate that a long anticipated blood test for Parkinson’s disease may be realized. Following the isolation of neuron-derived extracellular vesicles of Parkinson’s disease patients and non-Parkinson’s disease individuals, immunoblot analyses were performed to detect extracellular vesicle-derived α-synuclein. Pathological α-synuclein forms derived from neuronal extracellular vesicles could be detected under native conditions and were significantly increased in all individuals with Parkinson’s disease and clearly distinguished disease from the non-disease state. By performing an α-synuclein seeding assay these soluble conformers could be amplified and seeding of pathological protein folding was demonstrated. Amplified α-synuclein conformers exhibited β-sheet-rich structures and a fibrillary appearance. Our study demonstrates that the detection of pathological α-synuclein conformers from neuron-derived extracellular vesicles from blood plasma samples has the potential to evolve into a blood-biomarker of Parkinson’s disease that is still lacking so far. Moreover, the distribution of seeding-competent α-synuclein within blood exosomes sheds a new light of pathological disease mechanisms in neurodegenerative disorders.
Relative contagiousness of emerging virus variants: An analysis of the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants
Authors: Hansen Peter Reinhard
Published: March 2022

We propose a simple dynamic model for estimating the relative contagiousness of two virus variants. Maximum likelihood estimation and inference is conveniently invariant to variation in the total number of cases over the sample period and can be expressed as a logistic regression. We apply the model to Danish SARS-CoV-2 variant data. We estimate the reproduction numbers of Alpha and Delta to be larger than that of the ancestral variant by a factor of 1.51 [CI 95%: 1.50, 1.53] and 3.28 [CI 95%: 3.01, 3.58], respectively. In a predominately vaccinated population, we estimate Omicron to be 3.15 [CI 95%: 2.83, 3.50] times more infectious than Delta. Forecasting the proportion of an emerging virus variant is straight forward and we proceed to show how the effective reproduction number for a new variant can be estimated without contemporary sequencing results. This is useful for assessing the state of the pandemic in real time as we illustrate empirically with the inferred effective reproduction number for the Alpha variant.
Enhanced perchloroethene dechlorination by humic acids via increasing the dehalogenase activity ofDehalococcoidesstrains
Authors: Wan Jixing , Chen Kezhen , Chen Jingwen , Qin Zhihui , Adrian Lorenz , Shen Chaofeng
Published: March 2022

Perchloroethene (PCE) is a widely used chlorinated solvent. PCE is toxic to humans and has been identified as an environmental contaminant at thousands of sites worldwide. Several Dehalococcoides mccartyi strains can transform PCE to ethene, and thus contribute to bioremediation of contaminated sites. Humic acids (HA) are ubiquitous redox-active compounds of natural aquatic and soil systems and have been intensively studied because of their effect in electron transfer. In this study, we observed the dechlorination of PCE was accelerated by HA in mixed cultures containing Dehalococcoides strains. Anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonic acid (AQDS), a humic acid analogue, inhibited PCE dechlorination in our cultures and thus induced an opposite effect on PCE dehalogenation than HA. We observed the same effect on PCE dechlorination with the pure culture of Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain CBDB1. Not only in mixed cultures but also in pure cultures, growth of Dehalococcoides was not influenced by HA but inhibited by AQDS. Enzymatic activity tests confirmed the dehalogenating activity of strain CBDB1 was increased by HA, especially when using hydrogen as electron donor. We conclude that HA enhanced PCE dechlorination by increasing the reaction speed between hydrogen and the dehalogenase enzyme rather than acting as electron shuttle through its quinone moieties.
Framework for near real-time forest inventory using multi source remote sensing data
Authors: Coops Nicholas C , Tompalski Piotr , Goodbody Tristan R H , Achim Alexis , Mulverhill Christopher
Published: March 2022

Forestry inventory update is a critical component of sustainable forest management, requiring both the spatially explicit identification of forest cover change and integration of sampled or modelled components like growth and regeneration. Contemporary inventory data demands are shifting, with an increased focus on accurate attribute estimation via the integration of advanced remote sensing data such as airborne laser scanning (ALS). Key challenges remain, however, on how to maintain and update these next-generation inventories as they age. Of particular interest is the identification of remotely sensed data that can be applied cost effectively, as well as establishing frameworks to integrate these data to update information on forest condition, predict future growth and yield, and integrate information that can guide forest management or silvicultural decisions such as thinning and harvesting prescriptions. The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual framework for forestry inventory update, which is also known as the establishment of a ‘living inventory’. The proposed framework contains the critical components of an inventory update including inventory and growth monitoring, change detection and error propagation. In the framework, we build on existing applications of ALS-derived enhanced inventories and integrate them with data from satellite constellations of free and open, analysis-ready moderate spatial resolution imagery. Based on a review of the current literature, our approach fits trajectories to chronosequences of pixel-level spectral index values to detect change. When stand-replacing change is detected, corresponding values of cell-level inventory attributes are reset and re-established based on an assigned growth curve. In the case of non–stand-replacing disturbances, cell estimates are modified based on predictive models developed between the degree of observed spectral change and relative changes in the inventory attributes. We propose that additional fine-scale data can be collected over the disturbed area, from sources such as CubeSats or remotely piloted airborne systems, and attributes updated based on these data sources. Cells not identified as undergoing change are assumed unchanged with cell-level growth curves used to increment inventory attributes. We conclude by discussing the impact of error propagation on the prediction of forest inventory attributes through the proposed near real-time framework, computing needs and integration of other available remote sensing data.
Mechanotherapy Reprograms Aged Muscle Stromal Cells to Remodel the Extracellular Matrix during Recovery from Disuse
Authors: Hettinger Zachary R , Wen Yuan , Peck Bailey D , Hamagata Kyoko , Confides Amy L , Van Pelt Douglas W , Harrison Douglas A , Miller Benjamin F , Butterfield Timothy A , Dupont-Versteegden Esther E
Published: March 2022

Aging is accompanied by reduced remodeling of skeletal muscle extracellular matrix (ECM), which is exacerbated during recovery following periods of disuse atrophy. Mechanotherapy has been shown to promote ECM remodeling through immunomodulation in adult muscle recovery, but not during the aged recovery from disuse. In order to determine if mechanotherapy promotes ECM remodeling in aged muscle, we performed single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of all mononucleated cells in adult and aged rat gastrocnemius muscle recovering from disuse, with (REM) and without mechanotherapy (RE). We show that fibroadipogenic progenitor cells (FAPs) in aged RE muscle are highly enriched in chemotaxis genes (Csf1), but absent in ECM remodeling genes compared to adult RE muscle (Col1a1). Receptor-ligand (RL) network analysis of all mononucleated cell populations in aged RE muscle identified chemotaxis-enriched gene expression in numerous stromal cell populations (FAPs, endothelial cells, pericytes), despite reduced enrichment of genes related to phagocytic activity in myeloid cell populations (macrophages, monocytes, antigen presenting cells). Following mechanotherapy, aged REM mononuclear cell gene expression resembled adult RE muscle as evidenced by RL network analyses and KEGG pathway activity scoring. To validate our transcriptional findings, ECM turnover was measured in an independent cohort of animals using in vivo isotope tracing of intramuscular collagen and histological scoring of the ECM, which confirmed mechanotherapy-mediated ECM remodeling in aged RE muscle. Our results highlight age-related cellular mechanisms underpinning the impairment to complete recovery from disuse, and also promote mechanotherapy as an intervention to enhance ECM turnover in aged muscle recovering from disuse.
Correcting Bias in Allele Frequency Estimates Due to an Observation Threshold: A Markov Chain Analysis
Authors: Gossmann Toni I. , Waxman David
Published: March 2022

There are many problems in biology and related disciplines involving stochasticity, where a signal can only be detected when it lies above a threshold level, while signals lying below threshold are simply not detected. A consequence is that the detected signal is conditioned to lie above threshold, and is not representative of the actual signal. In this work, we present some general results for the conditioning that occurs due to the existence of such an observational threshold. We show that this conditioning is relevant, for example, to gene-frequency trajectories, where many loci in the genome are simultaneously measured in a given generation. Such a threshold can lead to severe biases of allele frequency estimates under purifying selection. In the analysis presented, within the context of Markov chains such as the Wright–Fisher model, we address two key questions: (1) “What is a natural measure of the strength of the conditioning associated with an observation threshold?” (2) “What is a principled way to correct for the effects of the conditioning?”. We answer the first question in terms of a proportion. Starting with a large number of trajectories, the relevant quantity is the proportion of these trajectories that are above threshold at a later time and hence are detected. The smaller the value of this proportion, the stronger the effects of conditioning. We provide an approximate analytical answer to the second question, that corrects the bias produced by an observation threshold, and performs to reasonable accuracy in the Wright–Fisher model for biologically plausible parameter values.
A Chromosome-Scale Hybrid Genome Assembly of the Extinct Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
Authors: Feigin Charles , Frankenberg Stephen , Pask Andrew
Published: March 2022

The extinct Tasmanian tiger or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was a large marsupial carnivore native to Australia. Once ranging across parts of the mainland, the species remained only on the island of Tasmania by the time of European colonization. It was driven to extinction in the early 20th century and is an emblem of native species loss in Australia. The thylacine was a striking example of convergent evolution with placental canids, with which it shared a similar skull morphology. Consequently, it has been the subject of extensive study. While the original thylacine assemblies published in 2018 enabled the first exploration of the species’ genome biology, further progress is hindered by the lack of high-quality genomic resources. Here, we present a new chromosome-scale hybrid genome assembly for the thylacine, which compares favorably with many recent de novo marsupial genomes. In addition, we provide homology-based gene annotations, characterize the repeat content of the thylacine genome, and show that consistent with demographic decline, the species possessed a low rate of heterozygosity even compared to extant, threatened marsupials.
Evaluation of methods for estimating coalescence times using ancestral recombination graphs
Authors: Y. C. Brandt Débora , Wei Xinzhu , Deng Yun , Vaughn Andrew H , Nielsen Rasmus
Published: March 2022

The ancestral recombination graph is a structure that describes the joint genealogies of sampled DNA sequences along the genome. Recent computational methods have made impressive progress toward scalably estimating whole-genome genealogies. In addition to inferring the ancestral recombination graph, some of these methods can also provide ancestral recombination graphs sampled from a defined posterior distribution. Obtaining good samples of ancestral recombination graphs is crucial for quantifying statistical uncertainty and for estimating population genetic parameters such as effective population size, mutation rate, and allele age. Here, we use standard neutral coalescent simulations to benchmark the estimates of pairwise coalescence times from 3 popular ancestral recombination graph inference programs: ARGweaver, Relate, and tsinfer+tsdate. We compare (1) the true coalescence times to the inferred times at each locus; (2) the distribution of coalescence times across all loci to the expected exponential distribution; (3) whether the sampled coalescence times have the properties expected of a valid posterior distribution. We find that inferred coalescence times at each locus are most accurate in ARGweaver, and often more accurate in Relate than in tsinfer+tsdate. However, all 3 methods tend to overestimate small coalescence times and underestimate large ones. Lastly, the posterior distribution of ARGweaver is closer to the expected posterior distribution than Relate’s, but this higher accuracy comes at a substantial trade-off in scalability. The best choice of method will depend on the number and length of input sequences and on the goal of downstream analyses, and we provide guidelines for the best practices.
Power across the global health landscape: a network analysis of development assistance 1990–2015
Authors: Fergus Cristin Alexis
Published: March 2022

Power distribution across the global health landscape has undergone a fundamental shift over the past three decades. What was once a system comprised largely of bilateral and multilateral institutional arrangements between nation-states evolved into a varied landscape where these traditional actors were joined by a vast assemblage of private firms, philanthropies, non-governmental organizations and public–private partnerships. Financial resources are an explicit power source within global health that direct how, where and to whom health interventions are delivered, which health issues are (de)prioritized, how and by whom evidence to support policies and interventions is developed and how we account for progress. Financial resource allocations are not isolated decisions but rather outputs of negotiation processes and dynamics between actors who derive power from a multiplicity of sources. The aims of this paper are to examine the changes in the global health actor landscape and the shifts in power using data on disbursements of development assistance for health (DAH). A typology of actors was developed from previous literature and refined through an empirical analysis of DAH. The emergent network structure of DAH flows between global health actors and positionality of actors within the network were analysed between 1990 and 2015. The results reflect the dramatic shift in the numbers of actors, relationships between actors, and funding dispersal over this time period. Through a combination of the massive influx of new funding sources and a decrease in public spending, the majority control of financial resources in the DAH network receded from public entities to a vast array of civil society organizations and public–private partnerships. The most prominent of these was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and malaria, which rose to the third and fourth most central positions within the DAH network by 2015.
Mechanoscopy: A Novel Device and Procedure for in vivo Detection of Chronic Colitis in Mice
Authors: He Shijie , Azar Dara A , Esfahani Farid Nasr , Azar Golara A , Shazly Tarek , Saeidi Nima
Published: March 2022

Background

Gut stiffening caused by fibrosis plays a critical role in the progression of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colon cancer. Previous studies have characterized the biomechanical response of healthy and pathological gut, with most measurements obtained ex vivo.

Methods

Here, we developed a device and accompanying procedure for in vivo quantification of gut stiffness, termed mechanoscopy. Mechanoscopy includes a flexible balloon catheter, pressure sensor, syringe pump, and control system. The control system activates the balloon catheter and performs automated measurements of the gut stress-strain biomechanical response.

Results

A gut stiffness index (GSI) is identified based on the slope of the obtained stress-strain response. Using a colitis mouse model, we demonstrated that GSI positively correlates with the extent of gut fibrosis, the severity of mucosal damage, and the infiltration of immune cells. Furthermore, a critical strain value is suggested, and GSI efficiently detects pathological gut fibrotic stiffening when the strain exceeds this value.

Conclusions

Based on these results, we envision that mechanoscopy and GSI will facilitate the clinical diagnosis of IBD.
National Prevalence of Psychological Distress and Use of Mental Health Care in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Greywoode Ruby , Ullman Thomas , Keefer Laurie
Published: March 2022

Background

Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression. The burden of such symptoms, accompanied by functional impairment in IBD, is not well documented, nor is utilization of mental health care in this population.

Methods

Adults ≥18 years were identified in the cross-sectional 2015–2016 National Health Interview Survey. Responses from the Kessler Index were used to estimate the national prevalence of psychological distress with impairment and mental health-care use in IBD. Factors associated with psychological distress with impairment in IBD were analyzed using logistic regression.

Results

The prevalence of psychological distress with impairment was significantly higher in IBD than non-IBD adults (7.69% vs. 3.50%, respectively; P < .01). Among those with IBD and psychological distress with impairment, only a third (36.29%) had seen or talked to a mental health provider in the preceding 12 months. About half of these found the cost of mental health care unaffordable. On multivariable analysis, factors associated with psychological distress in IBD included increasing emergency room visits and trouble finding a health provider.

Conclusions

A significant number of adults with IBD in the United States have psychological distress accompanied by functional impairment. However, mental health care is underutilized in this population. Many of these individuals find the cost of mental health care unaffordable, struggle to find a health provider, and experience repeated emergency room visits. Ongoing efforts to improve mental health care in IBD should address issues of access and cost. Additionally, these efforts should seek to understand other barriers to mental health-care use.
Association Between the Clinical, Biochemical, and Endoscopic Activity of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Severity and Long-term Outcomes of Coronavirus Disease 2019—A Population-based Study
Authors: Attauabi Mohamed , Dahlerup Jens Frederik , Poulsen Anja , Hansen Malte Rosager , Vester-Andersen Marianne Kajbæk , Prahm August Pilegaard , Pedersen Natalia , Larsen Lone , Jess Tine , Neumann Anders , Haderslev Kent V , Molazahi Akbar , Lødrup Anders Berg , Glerup Henning , Oppfeldt Asser Mathiassen , Jensen Michael Dam , Theede Klaus , Kiszka-Kanowitz Marianne , Seidelin Jakob Benedict , Burisch Johan
Published: March 2022

Lay Summary

This brief report investigated the impact of clinical, biochemical, and endoscopic activity of IBD on the severity and long-term outcomes of COVID-19 in a prospective population-based cohort. The study did not identify any association between IBD activity and COVID-19 outcomes.
Is the Medium the Message? Functional Diversity Across Abiotic Gradients in Freshwater Electric Fishes
Authors: Ford Kassandra L , Albert James S
Published: March 2022

Synopsis

Evolutionary transitions across abiotic gradients can occur among habitats at multiple spatial scales, and among taxa and biotas through a range of ecological and evolutionary time frames. Two diverse groups of electric fishes, Neotropical Gymnotiformes, and Afrotropical Mormyroidea, offer interesting examples of potentially convergent evolution in aspects of morphological, physiological, and life history traits. We examined biogeographical, morphological, and functional patterns across these two groups to assess the degree of convergence in association with abiotic environmental variables. While there are superficial similarities across the groups and continents, we found substantially more differences in terms of habitat occupancy, electric signal diversity, and morphological disparity. These differences likely correlate to differences in biogeographical histories across the Neotropics and Afrotropics, biotic factors associated with aquatic life and electric signals, and sampling issues plaguing both groups. Additional research and sampling are required to make further inferences about how electric fishes transition throughout diverse freshwater habitats across both microevolutionary and macroevolutionary scales.
Subsidies for innovative start-ups and firm entry
Authors: Accetturo Antonio
Published: March 2022

We provide a counterfactual evaluation of a policy implemented by two Italian regional governments (the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano) to subsidize the entry of new and technologically advanced companies. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show that the subsidies were effective in stimulating the entry of new firms. The policy was able to increase the probability to create a new company by 30–40% points; the probability to create a firm for non-treated applicants averaged around 50%. We also analyze the economic impact of the program. Our estimates show that the policy did not raise (in the first 4 years) the innovation potential of treated firms (as measured by patenting activity); the value added generated by the policy in the first 3 years is equal to 3 million euros (the total amount of subsidies is 8 million).
Australian community pharmacists’ ability to identify the indications for dental prescriptions—a case vignette study
Authors: Park Joon Soo , Page Amy T , Wang Kate N , Tennant Marc , Kruger Estie
Published: March 2022

Objectives

Pharmacists are known as medicine experts. Dentists can independently prescribe and administer medications related to dental conditions such as antimicrobials, anti-inflammatories and analgesics. However, little is known about pharmacists’ knowledge and perceptions of medicines prescribed for dentistry. Therefore, this study aimed to assess community pharmacists’ ability to identify the indications for dental prescriptions using hypothetical vignettes.

Methods

Australian community pharmacists were invited through email and social media to undertake a web-based questionnaire consisting of nine case vignettes of dental prescriptions and their indicated uses in dental settings and two perception-based questions. The results were provided as a percentage of the correct answers to the case vignettes. In addition, Pearson chi-square tests were performed to examine associations between categorical variables.

Key findings

Of the 202 pharmacists who completed the questionnaire, the mean number of correct responses was 5 ± 2 (out of 9). More than three-quarters (78.5%) of pharmacists believed that thorough knowledge of prescriptions for dental ailments was necessary for safe and effective community pharmacy practice. In addition, nearly two-thirds (64.1%) felt confident that they could dispense medicines indicated for dental conditions safely and effectively.

Conclusions

The knowledge demonstrated by participants through correct identification of the indications for dental prescription was less than optimal. Professional development courses for pharmacists in dental ailments could prove beneficial.
Interpolation Polynomials, Bar Monomials, and Their Positivity
Authors: Naqvi Yusra , Sahi Siddhartha , Sergel Emily
Published: March 2022

We prove a conjecture of Knop–Sahi on the positivity of interpolation polynomials, which is an inhomogeneous generalization of Macdonald’s conjecture for Jack polynomials. We also formulate and prove the nonsymmetric version of this conjecture, and in fact, we deduce everything from an even stronger positivity result. This last result concerns certain inhomogeneous analogues of ordinary monomials that we call bar monomials. Their positivity involves in an essential way a new partial order on compositions that we call the bar order, and a new operation that we call a glissade.
Growth performance, bone mineralization, nutrient digestibility, and fecal microbial composition of multi-enzyme-supplemented low-nutrient diets for growing-finishing pigs
Authors: Hong Jinsu , Jlali Maamer , Cozannet Pierre , Preynat Aurelie , Adams Seidu , Scaria Joy , Woyengo Tofuko A
Published: March 2022

A study evaluated the effects of adding multi-enzyme mixture to diets deficient in net energy (NE), standardized ileal digestible (SID) amino acids (AA), standardized total tract digestible (STTD) P, and Ca on growth performance, bone mineralization, nutrient digestibility, and fecal microbial composition of grow-finish pigs. A total of 300 pigs (initial body weight [BW] = 29.2 kg) were housed by sex and BW in 45 pens of 7 or 6 pigs and fed 5 diets in a randomized complete block design. Diets were positive control (PC), and negative control 1 (NC1) or negative control 2 (NC2) without or with multi-enzyme mixture. The multi-enzyme mixture supplied at least 1,800, 1,244, 6,600, and 1,000 units of xylanase, β -glucanase, arabinofuranosidase, and phytase per kilogram of diet, respectively. The PC was adequate in all nutrients. The NC1 diet had lower content NE, SID AA, STTD P, and Ca than PC diet by about 7%, 7%, 32%, and 13%, respectively. The NC2 diet had lower NE, SID AA, STTD P, and Ca than PC diet by 7%, 7%, 50%, and 22%, respectively. The diets were fed in four phases based on BW: Phase 1: 29–45 kg, Phase 2: 45–70 kg, Phase 3: 70–90 kg, and Phase 4: 90–120 kg. Nutrient digestibility, bone mineralization, and fecal microbial composition were determined at the end of Phase 1. Pigs fed PC diet had greater (P < 0.05) overall G:F than those fed NC1 diet or NC2 diet. Multi-enzyme mixture increased (P < 0.05) overall G:F, but the G:F of the multi-enzyme mixture-supplemented diets did not reach (P < 0.05) that of PC diet. Multi-enzyme mixture tended to increase (P = 0.08) femur breaking strength. Multi-enzyme mixture increased (P < 0.05) the ATTD of GE for the NC2 diet, but unaffected the ATTD of GE for the NC1 diet. Multi-enzyme mixture decreased (P < 0.05) the relative abundance of the Cyanobacteria and increased (P < 0.05) relative abundance of Butyricicoccus in feces. Thus, the NE, SID AA, STTD P, and Ca could be lowered by about 7%, 7%, 49%, and 22%, respectively, in multi-enzyme mixture-supplemented diets without negative effects on bone mineralization of grow-finish pigs. However, multi-enzyme mixture supplementation may not fully restore G:F of the grow-finish pigs fed diets that have lower NE and SID AA contents than recommended by 7%. Since an increase in content of Butyricicoccus in intestine is associated with improved gut health, addition of the multi-enzyme mixture in diets for pigs can additionally improve their gut health.
1 The Battle of the Titans: Comparing Resuscitation Between 5 Centers Using the Burn Navigator
Authors: Rizzo Julie A , Coates Elsa , Salinas Jose , Serio-Melvin Maria , Pham Tam N , Foster Kevin N , Abdelfattah Kareem R , Liu Nehemiah T
Published: March 2022

Introduction

The goal of burn resuscitation is to provide the least amount of fluid necessary to maintain end-organ perfusion and prevent burn shock. The objective of this analysis was to examine how the Burn Navigator (BN), a clinical decision support tool in burn resuscitation, was utilized across 5 major burn centers in the United States.

Methods

A non-interventional, observational trial of 300 adult patients with embedded prospective and retrospective components was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of the BN in burn resuscitation. 5 ABA-verified burn centers enrolled patients. Data examining patient demographics, burn characteristics, fluid volumes, and resuscitation-related complications were examined. Statistical analysis compared the 5 sites in terms of these variables.

Results

A total of 285 patients were eligible for analysis. There was no difference among the centers in terms of average age (45.5 + 16.8 years), BMI (29.2 + 6.9), ISS (21.2 + 12.8), or median TBSA (34 [25.8, 47]). Primary crystalloid infusion volumes at 24 hours differed significantly when measured in ml/kg/TBSA (median 3.7 [2.9, 8.8], range 1.3 to 12.3). Similarly, total fluids, which includes colloid adjuncts, drip medications and enteral fluids, differed between groups when measured in both ml/kg (median 149.8 [106.5, 224.1], range 38.4 to 536.2) and ml/kg/TBSA (4.2 [3.3, 5.5], 1.7 to 15.3) at 24 hours. Post-hoc adjustment for pairwise comparisons resulted in a loss of significance between most of the sites. There was a total of 156 resuscitation-related complications reported across the 5 sites with an average incidence of 44.4 % incidence.

Conclusions

The Burn Navigator appeared to standardize fluid resuscitations across 5 major US burn centers. With primary fluid volumes near the Parkland formula, the device can be utilized effectively in burn centers, and further study should exam the utility of this device in facilities that do not commonly treat burn injuries, as well as the battlefield.
9 Environmental Contamination Reduction Following Standard, Enhanced, and a Novel Cleaning Protocol in a Burn Center
Authors: Khandelwal Anjay , Bigham Michael
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Burn patients are extremely vulnerable to hospital acquired infections, some of which may originate from environmental surfaces. Enhanced cleaning practices of surfaces varies from hospital to hospital. In a burn unit, patients are frequently exposed to multiple environments including the patient room, hydrotherapy and treatment rooms (treatment spaces), and the operating room. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of current protocols, including standard cleaning (SC) and cleaning with ultraviolet light application (C+UV) in the patient rooms and treatment spaces, and compare to a novel Hybrid Hydrogen Peroxide (HHP) fogging system in the patient rooms.

Methods

This study was conducted at a regional 12-bed verified adult and pediatric burn center that functions as an intensive care unit and step-down unit, where patients stay during their entire admission. Data from December 2020 to June 2021 was collected from rooms following 17 patient discharges with a minimum of a 2-week hospital stay. Data was collected from 5 preset locations in the patient rooms following either SC or C+UV and after HHP fogging. Baseline data was also collected from 20 preset locations in the treatment spaces following SC and C+UV. Quantitative and qualitative counts (aerobic colony county [ACC], adenosine triphosphate [ATP]), hydrogen peroxide chemical indicators (CIs) and bacterial spore biological indicators (G. stearothermophilus 1x106 spores) were measured.

Results

No statistically significant difference between SC and C+UV was seen (mean ACC 7.16 and 6.35 respectively; p=0.186). ACC levels were reduced following HHP fogging demonstrating a 98% improvement over SC and C+UV (mean ACC 0.14; p< 0.0001). ATP demonstrated an 88% reduction after HHP fog without manual cleaning. Biological indicators confirmed a 1x106 reduction of bacterial spores, and CIs verified a thorough migration of HHP fog throughout the patient room. Baseline sampling of the treatment spaces following SC and C+UV resulted in a range of 0-70 ACC over 38 swabbed locations, consistent with ACC levels measured in patient rooms (range 0-153). An industry-known location for high bioburden, one sink backsplash swabbed on two separate occasions resulted in >5,700 ACC.

Conclusions

In patient rooms, HHP fogging resulted in a significant reduction in ACC compared to current protocols of SC and C+UV. Baseline sampling of the treatment spaces resulted in ACC levels similar or greater in range to those seen in the patient room, indicating a similar reduction in bioburden levels could be achieved through implementation of HHP fogging. The efficacy and feasibility of HHP fogging in a patient room setting within a burn unit suggests that a protocol for the use of HHP fogging for treatment spaces will likewise be beneficial.
16 Association of Frailty and Comorbidities with Burn Outcomes: A Multicenter Study
Authors: Wallace David L , Wall Joyce E , Man Angela , Heard Jason , Allabadi Najib M , Jeschke Marc G , Savetamal Alisa , Schulz John T , Skipton Romanowski Kathleen S
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Previous work has demonstrated the association of increased frailty and mortality in burn patients, but the impact of specific co-morbidities and frailty on burn patients’ short term outcomes has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of frailty and patient comorbidities on in-hospital mortality and length of stay (LOS).

Methods

A retrospective chart review of all acutely injured burn patients admitted from January 2016 - December 2017 at 3 US ABA verified burn centers was conducted. Demographics and all comorbidities included in the burn database were collected. The modified frailty index-11 score (MFI) was calculated for each patient. Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analysis were completed to determine the relationship between frailty and comorbidities with mortality, LOS, and LOS/% Total Body Surface Area (%TBSA).

Results

1615 patients were included. Mean age was 45.9 + 17.7 years and 1145 (70.9%) were male. Mean %TBSA was 9.6%+14.2% and mean MFI was 0.43 + 0.74. The mean LOS was 12.3 days + 21.1. A total of 1542 (95.5%) patients survived to discharge. The most common co-morbidities present on admission were: smoking (336, 22.7%), hypertension (HTN, 313, 19.4%), drug dependence (247, 15.3), diabetes (DM, 175, 10.8%), alcoholism (171,10.6%), major psychiatric illness (MPI, 169,10.5%), heart failure (CHF, 23, 1.4%), obesity (7, 4.3%), and respiratory disease (RD, 136, 8.4%). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that RD (OR 3.6, 95%CI 1.4-9.4), age (OR 1.1, 95%CI 1.06-1.1), and %TBSA (OR 1.1, 95%CI 1.1-1.17) were independently predictive of mortality. Multiple linear regression demonstrated patients without alcoholism (β -3.9 95% CI -5.7- -2.1), MPI (β -3.8 95% CI -4.9- -3.0), drug dependence (β -3.9 95% CI -5.7- -2.1), and DM (β -2.0 95% CI -5.7- -2.8) had shorter LOS. Though MFI, heart failure, DM, MPI, alcoholism, and HTN, were all significant for LOS/%TBSA in univariate analysis, they were NOT significant in the multivariate linear regression model.

Conclusions

MFI does not independently contribute to mortality or LOS when accounting for other patient co-morbidities. Respiratory disease on admission is associated with mortality, and major psychiatric illness and drug dependence increase LOS. This information will be used to develop interventions for these groups in order to improve mortality, and decrease LOS.