bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vérifier l’âge des internautes sur les sites pornographiques pour en limiter l’accès aux personnes mineures : une mesure novatrice et nécessaire pour le droit canadien
Authors: Jolicoeur Marie-Pier
Published: September 2023

Le visionnement de matériel pornographique peut avoir des conséquences importantes sur le développement psychosexuel des enfants. La stratégie d’imposer aux entreprises oeuvrant dans l’industrie de la pornographie de vérifier l’âge des internautes à l’entrée des leurs sites Internet pour empêcher les mineurs d’y avoir accès permet une réponse efficace à cette problématique. Le Sénat du Canada a récemment soumis le projet de loi S-210 visant à codifier cette stratégie. Cette proposition législative soulève cependant certains enjeux sur les plans, entre autres, de la liberté d’expression, de la vie privée, du caractère arbitraire de l’âge, de l’autonomie du mineur, de la territorialité et même, au niveau de l’effectivité du déploiement de la mesure sur le plan technique. La thèse de notre article est de défendre la mise en oeuvre de cette stratégie de vérification d’âge tout en reconnaissant qu’il est absolument nécessaire de mobiliser certaines précautions et modalités pour adresser les enjeux sus-énumérés. Nous défendons également l’importance de promouvoir une éducation saine et égalitaire à la sexualité comme complément à des mesures législatives.
Jeunes hommes en quête d’un avenir : de quelques musiciens d’Église de passage à Québec sous le Régime français
Authors: Dubois Paul-André
Published: September 2023

Cet article questionne le parcours diaphane de quelques garçons qualifiés de « musiciens » et chantres dans les sources relatives à la Nouvelle-France. Réunies, les bribes d’informations qui ont pu être recueillies sur ces jeunes hommes sans histoire permettent de cerner quelques-unes des motivations qui les poussent vers les colonies entre 1660 et 1730, à une époque où tout reste à édifier, sinon à consolider sur le plan institutionnel. Au-delà de cet aspect, encore peu connu de la micro-histoire culturelle coloniale, se révèle le rôle catalyseur de l’armée et de l’Église en tant que voie de salut pour ces anciens maîtrisiens en quête d’un avenir au sortir des églises cathédrales ou collégiales de France. Qu’ils aspirent à embrasser l’état ecclésiastique ou qu’ils cherchent à intégrer les rouages de l’administration coloniale en tant qu’écrivains après avoir été émancipés de l’armée, les quelques individus que nous allons croiser à Québec et à Montréal, nous permettent aujourd’hui de lever discrètement le voile sur la fortune de quelques-uns de ces enfants ayant passé leur jeunesse à chanter dans les bas-choeurs et dès lors, de mieux saisir leur apport à la vie culturelle de la colonie française au Canada.
Hunger- and thirst-sensing neurons modulate a neuroendocrine network to coordinate sugar and water ingestion
Authors: González Segarra Amanda J , Pontes Gina , Jourjine Nicholas , Del Toro Alexander , Scott Kristin
Published: September 2023

Consumption of food and water is tightly regulated by the nervous system to maintain internal nutrient homeostasis. Although generally considered independently, interactions between hunger and thirst drives are important to coordinate competing needs. In Drosophila, four neurons called the interoceptive subesophageal zone neurons (ISNs) respond to intrinsic hunger and thirst signals to oppositely regulate sucrose and water ingestion. Here, we investigate the neural circuit downstream of the ISNs to examine how ingestion is regulated based on internal needs. Utilizing the recently available fly brain connectome, we find that the ISNs synapse with a novel cell-type bilateral T-shaped neuron (BiT) that projects to neuroendocrine centers. In vivo neural manipulations revealed that BiT oppositely regulates sugar and water ingestion. Neuroendocrine cells downstream of ISNs include several peptide-releasing and peptide-sensing neurons, including insulin producing cells (IPCs), crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP) neurons, and CCHamide-2 receptor isoform RA (CCHa2R-RA) neurons. These neurons contribute differentially to ingestion of sugar and water, with IPCs and CCAP neurons oppositely regulating sugar and water ingestion, and CCHa2R-RA neurons modulating only water ingestion. Thus, the decision to consume sugar or water occurs via regulation of a broad peptidergic network that integrates internal signals of nutritional state to generate nutrient-specific ingestion.
An atypical basement membrane forms a midline barrier in left-right asymmetric gut development
Authors: Demler Cora , Lawlor John Coates , Yelin Ronit , Llivichuzcha-Loja Dhana , Shaulov Lihi , Kim David , Stewart Megan , Lee Frank , Schultheiss Thomas , Kurpios Natasza
Published: September 2023

Correct intestinal morphogenesis depends on the early embryonic process of gut rotation, an evolutionarily conserved program in which a straight gut tube elongates and forms into its first loops. However, the gut tube requires guidance to loop in a reproducible manner. The dorsal mesentery (DM) connects the gut tube to the body and directs the lengthening gut into stereotypical loops via left-right (LR) asymmetric cellular and extracellular behavior. The LR asymmetry of the DM also governs blood and lymphatic vessel formation for the digestive tract, which is essential for prenatal organ development and postnatal vital functions including nutrient absorption. Although the genetic LR asymmetry of the DM has been extensively studied, a divider between the left and right DM has yet to be identified. Setting up LR asymmetry for the entire body requires a
Lefty1
+ midline barrier to separate the two sides of the embryo—without it, embryos have lethal or congenital LR patterning defects. Individual organs including the brain, heart, and gut also have LR asymmetry, and while the consequences of left and right signals mixing are severe or even lethal, organ-specific mechanisms for separating these signals are not well understood. Here, we uncover a midline structure composed of a transient double basement membrane, which separates the left and right halves of the embryonic chick DM during the establishment of intestinal and vascular asymmetries. Unlike other basement membranes of the DM, the midline is resistant to disruption by intercalation of Netrin4 (Ntn4). We propose that this atypical midline forms the boundary between left and right sides and functions as a barrier necessary to establish and protect organ asymmetry.
Interactive textiles
Authors: Kärnä-Behm Jaana , Harjuniemi Emmi
Published: September 2023

The fusion of computing with textile materials has enhanced the interactive capabilities of textiles. Applying these electronic aspects of textile design is an evolving discipline. This study introduces a case study of teaching textile design in higher education with an interactive focus on art and design. We analysed projects and contents that appeared to be significant in the students’ processes as well as findings from the point of view of art and design pedagogy. Working on design education in multidisciplinary teams together with accessible technology was found rewarding. Knowing the basics of textile design is essential, but when developing e-textiles, interdisciplinary teachers are recommended. Moreover, creating positive experiences, circumstances and possibilities to continue the design process in the future is also important.
As the yellow rattle ripens’
Authors: Cele Sofia
Published: September 2023

This paper focuses on the doing of gardens and explores how amateur gardeners relate to gardening craft in their everyday garden practices. Based on qualitative empirical work, this paper discusses how different craft methods and caring practices are employed as memory work and as a means to connect to, and create, the garden as a socio-ecological place. Based on the gardeners’ narratives, the garden is discussed as a web of self and a place where the meeting between the gardener and the more-than-human are central incentives to gardening. Gardening is an active place-making that goes beyond modifying the materiality of place. Rather, garden craft is narrated as reflecting the gardeners’ underlying relationship to and understanding of plants, soil and animals. It is the means through which gardeners connect in an embodied way to ‘the nature’ of the garden. Garden craft is proposed as an art that is passed on between generations. Gardening craft can be improved by an increased understanding of the temporality of the garden and by developing a sensitivity towards the complex socio-ecological relationships that shape a place. It is concluded that garden craft is understood as central not only to how the garden is constructed as a place but also to how the gardener relates to the garden as affecting, and being affected by, the current environmental crisis.
Skill, craft, and poiesis-intensive innovation
Authors: Grasseni Cristina
Published: September 2023

What is craft practice? The  purpose of this paper is to contrast the categorization of craft practice with that of skill and innovation. I argue for the relevance of innovative skilled practice to future-making. Both skill and craft play an important part in collective engagements with futuring. With an ethnographic methodology, typical of anthropological fieldwork, I have explored skill in dairy farming, cheese making, and currently food gardening. In all these three realms, the results of ethnographic observation are that ideational processes immediately connect to intimate acquaintance with materials and ecosystems (including flora and fauna, soil, climate, landscape and humans). My conclusion is that craft practice and its outcomes imply a highly localized cosmology of evaluation. I show how comparative ethnography allows the mapping of these relations between people and places, and their more-than-local connections.
Boatbuilding and urban genesis
Authors: Sersic Jasna
Published: September 2023

Traditional boatbuilding today is a fading craft, raising questions of not only how to preserve this craft and reconstruct and transmit the knowledge and skills related to it to future generations but also, considering new technologies and available materials, why its preservation and perpetuation are important. Answering these questions requires a valorisation framework for the traditional boatbuilding craft and its methods of construction, considering the fact that traditional boatbuilding is the essence of modern shipbuilding and inextricably linked to the development and transmission of knowledge in city making too. To help create this framework, this paper addresses two distinct ways of thinking involved in making boats: one tied to boats made from already existing models or designs and the other to boats created ex nihilo with the help of sesto and garbo tools. Through a historical and theoretical examination and by building on the empirical case study of traditional boatbuilding in wood in the Mediterranean, this paper explores the concept of constructing boats ex nihilo in the technical, socio-economic, and spatial sense, shedding the light on the creativity inherent in shipbuilding and its implications. This paper will contribute to understanding how knowledge transmission in traditional boatbuilding has progressed and the role this knowledge model can play in shipbuilding development, offering a valuable resource also for those interested in development and transmission of alternative models of knowledge production.
Genome-wide association analysis of type II resistance to Fusarium head blight in common wheat
Authors: Wang Dehua , Zhao Yunzhe , Zhao Xinying , Ji Mengqi , Guo Xin , Tian Jichun , Chen Guangfeng , Deng Zhiying
Published: September 2023

Background

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a disease affecting wheat spikes caused by some Fusarium species and leads to cases of severe yield reduction and seed contamination. Identifying resistance genes/QTLs from wheat germplasm may help to improve FHB resistance in wheat production.

Methods

Our study evaluated 205 elite winter wheat cultivars for FHB resistance. A high-density 90K SNP array was used for genotyping the panel. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) from cultivars from three different environments was performed using a mixed linear model (MLM).

Results

Sixty-six significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) were identified (P < 0.001) on fifteen chromosomes that explained the phenotypic variation ranging from 5.4 to 11.2%. Some important new MTAs in genomic regions involving FHB resistance were found on chromosomes 2A, 3B, 5B, 6A, and 7B. Six MTAs at 92 cM on chromosome 7B were found in cultivars from two different environments. Moreover, there were 11 MTAs consistently associated with diseased spikelet rate and diseased rachis rate as pleiotropic effect loci and D_contig74317_533 on chromosome 5D was novel for FHB resistance. Eight new candidate genes of FHB resistance were predicated in wheat in this study. Three candidate genes, TraesCS5D02G006700, TraesCS6A02G013600, and TraesCS7B02G370700 on chromosome 5DS, 6AS, and 7BL, respectively, were perhaps important in defending against FHB by regulating intramolecular transferase activity, GTP binding, or chitinase activity in wheat, but further validation in needed. In addition, a total of five favorable alleles associated with wheat FHB resistance were discovered. These results provide important genes/loci for enhancing FHB resistance in wheat breeding by marker-assisted selection.
Analysis of influencing factors of anxiety and depression in maintenance hemodialysis patients and its correlation with BDNF, NT-3 and 5-HT levels
Authors: Peng Xiaoyan , Feng Sujuan , Zhang Poxuan , Sang Shengmei , Zhang Yi
Published: September 2023

Objective

The aim of this study is to examine the factors that contribute to anxiety and depression in individuals undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), as well as their association with serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and serotonin (5-HT).

Methods

In May 2020 and June 2022, 120 MHD patients who received MDH treatment at our hospital were enrolled. The control group was composed of 60 healthy adults (>18) who completed the physical examination at the same time. The serum levels of BDNF, NT-3, and 5-HT in patients and clinical data of MHD patients with different degrees of anxiety and depression were compared. The Pearson correlation was used to evaluate the correlation between anxiety and depression scores and serum BDNF, NT-3,5-HT levels in patients with MHD. Multivariate analysis was employed to analyze the risk factors of anxiety and depression in MHD patients.

Results

The incidence of anxiety and depression in 120 MHD patients was 34.17% (41/120) and 64.17% (77/120), respectively. The levels of serum NT-3 and 5-HT in the anxiety group were higher than those in the non-anxiety and control group, and the levels of serum NT-3 in the non-anxiety group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of serum BDNF, NT-3 and 5-HT in the depressed group were higher than those in the non-depressed group and control group, and the levels of serum NT-3 in the non-depressed group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). SAS score was positively correlated with serum NT-3 and 5-HT levels, while the SDS score was negatively correlated with serum BDNF and positively correlated with serum NT-3 and 5-HT levels. Female, rural household registration, and restless leg syndrome were independent risk variables for anxiety in patients with MHD (P < 0.05). Rural household registration, economic deterioration, fatigue, insomnia, and vascular pain were independent variables of depression risk in patients with MHD.

Conclusion

Anxiety and depression in patients with MHD are closely related to the levels of serum BDNF, NT-3, and 5-HT. Female, rural household registration, more than eight dialysis times/month, insomnia, and restless leg syndrome are the risk factors for anxiety in patients with MHD. Rural household registration, economic deterioration, fatigue, insomnia, and vascular pain are the risk factors for depression in patients with MHD. The clinical implication of these findings suggests that these indexes may perhaps serve as biological indicators of anxiety and depression amongst patients undergoing MHD. Such investigation can hence contribute to early detection, monitoring, and potentially enable the depiction of novel therapeutic strategies for managing these adverse states.
Surgical Site Infections in Clean and CleanContaminated Surgeries at a Tertiary Care Centre: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Samaddar Dwaipayan , Ghosh Sourav Kumar , Samaddar Jaya Bagchi , Das Gautam
Published: September 2023

Introduction: Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are very common and the most frequently studied Hospital-Acquired Infection (HAI) in developing countries. Up to 5% of patients undergoing surgery develop SSIs, which can cause significant morbidity and, in some cases, be fatal. Aim: To determine the prevalence of SSI and compare the factors related to its development between clean and cleancontaminated surgeries. Materials and Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted at a rural tertiary care centre in the Department of General Surgery from May 2020 to April 2021. A total of 1,020 patients who underwent clean and clean-contaminated surgeries were clinically examined, investigated, and provided standard treatment modalities. Dirty and contaminated cases were excluded from the study. Clean and clean-contaminated surgeries were defined according to the guidelines provided by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Demographic and risk factors, such as sex, age, nature of surgery, wound irrigation, American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score, smoking, preoperative stay, duration of surgery, hair removal, drains, immunosuppression, Diabetes Mellitus (DM), and Hemoglobin (Hb) levels, were observed and compared between the two groups. The development of SSI was diagnosed based on CDC guidelines. SSI cases were followed up longitudinally in both groups. Continuous variables were analysed using an unpaired t-test, while categorical variables were analysed using a chi-square test. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of the 1,020 patients, a total of 93 (9.11%) developed SSI. Among the males (573, 56.17%), 39 (6.8%) developed SSI, while among the females (447, 43.83%), 54 (12.08%) developed SSI. The study found that 24 (3.46%) clean operations and 69 (21.1%) clean-contaminated surgeries developed SSI (p-value<0.0001). There was a significant association between SSI and risk factors such as ASA <2 (p-value<0.01), smoking (p-value< 0.01), DM (p-value< 0.01), Hb <8 gm% (p-value<0.01), shorter preoperative stay (p-value<0.01), prolonged surgery (p-value<0.01), use of drains (p-value<0.01), and immunosuppression (p-value<0.01). The majority of SSIs were caused by Staphylococcus aureus (24 cases, 25.8%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18 cases, 19.3%) and Escherichia coli (12 cases, 12.9%). Patients who developed SSI had a mean postoperative stay of 32.35 days, compared to 7.19 days for those who did not develop SSI. Conclusion: The study concluded that SSI was significantly more common in clean-contaminated surgeries compared to clean surgeries. Proper surveillance can help document SSI even after hospital discharge. Prompt identification of organisms can facilitate clinical recovery.
Dynamics of acid phosphatase production by cell suspension system and its further characterization
Authors: Khan Saima , Mallubhotla Sharada , Manzoor Malik Muzafar , Pagoch Sandeep Singh , Ahuja Ashok
Published: September 2023

The current study compares the influence of media engineered media on production of acid phophatase (APase) with its characterization in suspension cell cultures of Atropa acuminata, authenticated by rbcL and ITS. Various parameters like pH, inoculum size, temperature, nutrient sources in the medium were optimized for APase hyperproduction in in vitro conditions. APase production was accomplished to be evidently amplified at 5% inoculum size (94.90 U/gFW), pH 5.0(99.75 U/gFW) and incubation temperature of 30°C (91.5U/gFW). Sucrose as carbon and ammonium nitrate as nitrogen sources were eminently suited for maximum enzyme harvest (91.20 U/gFW and 94.56 U/gFW). The APase activity was observed to be distinctly increased in phosphate (Pi) starved suspension cells (197.84 U/gFW). Overall, 6.5 fold increase in APase activity was achieved as compared to the activity before optimization studies. Hence the present Apase production and its activity from Atropa acuminata suspension culture may have apparent use for future industrial, agricultural and biotechnological application.
Keywords: Acuminata; Acid phosphatase; p-nitrophenylphosphate; Suspension cells; Pi-starvation
Influence of Gibberellic acid and Methionine on growth, flowering quality, leaf anatomical structure and genetic diversity of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat plant
Authors: Othman Eman Zaky , El-Ziat Rasha Ahmed , Farag Hend Mohamed , El-Sayed Iman Mohamed
Published: September 2023

Ornamental plants are grown all over the world. In most countries, Chrysanthemum is considered one of the most popular cuts and potted flowers. Plants were sprayed with gibberellic acid (GA3) at concentrations (100, 200, and 300 ppm) and methionine (ME) at levels (200, 400, and 600 ppm), as bio-growth stimulants in the pre-blooming stage. The morphological and flowering parameters significantly increased by increasing the concentration of GA3. The highest values of K%, P%, total carbohydrates content, total phenols, total chlorophylls, and carotenoids in the leaf were obtained from gibberellic acid treatment at the rate of 300 ppm, while methionine at 600 ppm gave the highest value of protein in flowers. Also, various levels of gibberellic acid application significantly showed variation for days to initiation of Chrysanthemum flowers. The results of leaf anatomy showed an increase in most characteristics such as (thickness of the main vein, lamina, and spongy tissue) under study when spraying with gibberellic acid, especially at the concentration of 300 and methionine 600 ppm; respectively compared with control. Furthermore, inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis has provided a powerful molecular marker for identifying variation with control and the best treatments. Therefore, the utilization of 300 ppm GA3 a plant growth regulator and 600 ppm ME an amino acid, these treatments are recommended to enhance Chrysanthemum parameters which lead to increasing its economic value as cut flowers and flowering potted plants as well as pharmaceuticals industries and multi-chemical uses.

Keywords: Cut flowers; bio-growth stimulants; ISSR; leaf anatomy, growth regulators.
Optical Coherence Tomography—History, Evolution, and Future Prospects
Authors: Fujimoto James G. , Swanson Eric A. , Huang David
Published: September 2023

In this Viewpoint, 2023 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award winners James G. Fujimoto, David Huang, and Eric A. Swanson discuss their invention—optical coherence tomography, which allows rapid detection of diseases of the retina that impair vision.
Multiple Iris Nevi in an Eye With Ciliochoroidal Melanoma
Authors: Clements Ari J. , Zeiger Jennifer S. , Shields Carol L.
Published: September 2023

This case report discusses a diagnosis of ciliochoroidal melanoma in a patient with multiple iris nevi.
Using Smartphone Exophthalmometry to Measure Eyeball Protrusion
Authors: Popov Todor , Fierz Fabienne C. , Bockisch Christopher J. , Weber Konrad P.
Published: September 2023

Importance

The current clinical criterion standard for measuring abnormal eyeball protrusion is still the historic Hertel exophthalmometer, which is prone to reading errors. Therefore, a smartphone application has been developed to measure exophthalmos.

Objective

To evaluate a relatively simple noninvasive measurement method for exophthalmos using a smartphone.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study compared smartphone exophthalmometry with the existing reference standard, the Hertel exophthalmometer, or a professional high-resolution 3-dimensional scanner. Participants were patients with exophthalmos due to Graves orbitopathy and other intraorbital conditions and healthy volunteers who were recruited between June 2019 and January 2022 from the Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich.

Interventions

All participants were examined twice by 3 different operators using 3 different methods (smartphone, high-resolution scanner, or Hertel exophthalmometer) at an interval of a minimum of 2 weeks or after exophthalmos-changing treatment.

Main Outcome Measures

Accuracy and precision, test-retest reliability, and interoperator reliability of eyeball protrusion measurements obtained with the smartphone compared to the Hertel exophthalmometer and the high-resolution face scanner.

Results

Of 39 participants, 23 patients (median [IQR] age, 54 [44-59] years; 15 [65%] female and 8 [35%] male) showed a mean difference in eyeball protrusion of 3.3 mm and 16 healthy volunteers (median [IQR] age, 32 [30-37] years; 11 [69%] female and 5 [31%] male) of 0.8 mm without any significant difference between the 3 methods. Accuracy and precision agreement between exophthalmos measures with the smartphone and the Hertel exophthalmometer showed an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.80-0.94) and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.83-0.97) for the high-resolution scanner. Interoperator agreement was highest for the high-resolution scanner (ICC, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.98-0.99]), followed by the smartphone (ICC, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.92-0.97]) and the Hertel exophthalmometer (ICC, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.85-0.95]). Test retest reliability was similarly high for the smartphone (ICC, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.82-0.95]), the Hertel exophthalmometer (ICC, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.83-0.96]), and the high-resolution scanner (ICC, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.89-0.97]).

Conclusions and Relevance

The findings of this study demonstrate relatively high accuracy and precision, interoperator reliability, and test-retest reliability for smartphone exophthalmometry. These data support the use of a smartphone in place of a Hertel exophthalmometer for measuring exophthalmos in the future.
Efficacy of Gabapentin For Post–COVID-19 Olfactory Dysfunction
Authors: Mahadev Ashna , Hentati Firas , Miller Brevin , Bao James , Perrin Amber , Kallogjeri Dorina , Piccirillo Jay F.
Published: September 2023

Importance

The COVID-19 pandemic affected millions of people and has become a dominant etiology of olfactory dysfunction (OD). No interventions with definitive clinical utility exist. Gabapentin represents a potential therapy for COVID-19–induced OD.

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of oral gabapentin on olfactory function and olfaction-related quality of life in patients with COVID-19–induced OD.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This pilot double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) was conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis from January 7, 2022, to February 3, 2023. Adults with at least 3 months of OD after COVID-19 infection were eligible for inclusion. Participants with a history of other causes of OD or contraindications to gabapentin were excluded.

Intervention

Patients were randomized 1:1 to oral gabapentin or placebo. All patients underwent titration to a maximum tolerable dose, which was maintained during an 8-week fixed-dose (FD) phase then tapered off. Participants were monitored for 4 weeks following cessation of study medication.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Outcomes were assessed following the 8-week FD phase and 4 weeks after taper completion. The primary outcome measure was the response rate determined by subjective improvement in OD on the Clinical Global Impression of Improvement (CGI-I) after the FD phase. Other subjective and objective measures of olfactory function were also assessed as secondary outcome measures.

Results

Sixty-eight participants were enrolled (34 randomized to each arm), a total of 44 participants completed the FD period and 20 (45.4%) reported response to treatment with at least slight improvement in olfaction from baseline. Of those randomized, 51 (75%) were women and 56 were White (82%) with a mean (SD) age of 43 (13.5) years. Baseline demographic features including age, sex, and race and ethnicity were not significantly different between the groups. Of the 18 participants in the gabapentin group, 8 (44%) were responders and of the 26 participants in the placebo group, 12 (46%) reported response to treatment (percent difference, 1.7%; 95% CI, −31.6% to 28.2%). Mixed-model analysis of all secondary outcome measures demonstrated no clinically meaningful or statistically significant difference between the gabapentin and placebo groups throughout the trial. There were no serious adverse events.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this randomized clinical trial, gabapentin was not associated with statistically significant or clinically meaningful benefit over placebo and likely is not an efficacious therapy for COVID-19–induced OD.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05184192
A scintillation dosimeter with real‐time positional tracking information for in vivo dosimetry error detection in HDR brachytherapy
Authors: Tho Daline , Lavallée Marie‐Claude , Beaulieu Luc
Published: September 2023

Purpose

To evaluate the performance of an electromagnetic (EM)‐tracked scintillation dosimeter in detecting source positional errors of IVD in HDR brachytherapy treatment.

Materials and Methods

Two different scintillator dosimeter prototypes were coupled to 5 degrees‐of‐freedom (DOF) EM sensors read by an Aurora V3 system. The scintillators used were a 0.3 × 0.4 × 0.4 mm3 ZnSe:O and a BCF‐60 plastic scintillator of 0.5 mm diameter and 2.0 mm in length (Saint‐Gobain Crystals). The sensors were placed at the dosimeter's tip at 20.0 mm from the scintillator. The EM sampling rate was 40/s while the scintillator signal was sampled at 100 000/s using two photomultiplier tubes from Hamamatsu (series H10722) connected to a data acquisition board. A high‐pass filter and a low‐pass filter were used to separate the light signal into two different channels. All measurements were performed with an afterloader unit (Flexitron‐Elekta AB, Sweden) in full‐scattered (TG43) conditions. EM tracking was further used to provide distance/angle‐dependent energy correction for the ZnSe:O inorganic scintillator. For the error detection part, lateral shifts of 0.5 to 3 mm were induced by moving the source away from its planned position. Indexer length (longitudinal) errors between 0.5 to 10 mm were also introduced. The measured dose rate difference was converted to a shift distance, with and without using the positional information from the EM sensor.

Results

The inorganic scintillator had both a signal‐to‐noise‐ratio (SNR) and signal‐to‐background‐ratio (SBR) close to 70 times higher than those of the plastic scintillator. The mean absolute difference from the dose measurement to the dose calculated with TG‐43U1 was 1.5% ±0.7%. The mean absolute error for BCF‐60 detector was 1.7% when compared to TG‐43 calculations formalism. With the inorganic scintillator and EM tracking, a maximum area under the curve (AUC) gain of 24.0% was obtained for a 0.5‐mm lateral shift when using the EMT data with the ZnSe:O. Lower AUC gains were obtained for a 3‐mm lateral shifts with both scintillators. For the plastic scintillator, the highest gain from using EM tracking information occurred for a 0.5‐mm lateral shift at 20 mm from the source. The maximal gain (17.4%) for longitudinal errors was found at the smallest shifts (0.5 mm).

Conclusions

This work demonstrates that integrating EM tracking to in vivo scintillation dosimeters enables the detection of smaller shifts, by decreasing the dosimeter positioning uncertainty. It also serves to perform position‐dependent energy correction for the inorganic scintillator,providing better SNR and SBR, allowing detection of errors at greater distances from the source.
Synergistic Advancement of Molecular Design and Dual Encapsulation Technology for High‐Performance Room‐Temperature Barocaloric Refrigeration Materials
Authors: Dai Zhaofeng , Shao Bohan , Chen Qicheng , Ding Yulong , Li Yongliang , Zhang Muxing , Yin Ershuai , She Xiaohui , Zhang Xiaosong , Zhao Dongliang
Published: September 2023

Plastic crystal neopentyl glycol (NPG) displays a colossal barocaloric effect akin to conventional refrigerants, rendering it as a highly promising solid‐state refrigerant. However, its practical application is restricted by its elevated phase transition temperature, inferior thermal conductivity, and weak mechanical response. Herein, a molecular design strategy is employed, wherein NPG molecules are substituted with trimethylolpropane (TMP) molecules, resulting in the successful synthesis of novel plastic crystals, designated as NPG0.75TMP0.25, with a phase change temperature of 283.7 K. To enhance the thermal conductivity, a dual encapsulation strategy is utilized to fabricate a highly oriented thermally conductive hybrid network composed of NPG0.75TMP0.25 and expanded graphite (EG) by using melt adsorption and pressure induction. The hybrid networks also significantly augment the mechanical properties of NPG0.75TMP0.25. The resulting composite barocaloric material exhibits a maximum entropy change of 223.8 J K−1 kg−1 achieved under pressure changes below 40 MPa and a thermal conductivity of 18.31 W m−1 K−1. Moreover, the composite exhibits high mechanical response and fatigue resistance. This study not only demonstrates the potential of composite barocaloric materials for practical applications but also significantly advances the engineering of barocaloric refrigeration.
Facilitating Electrochemical Ozone Production and Chlorine Evolution Reaction by Synergistic Effect of Multicomponent Metal Oxides
Authors: Xue Mingzhe , Zhao Jinyan , Yu Xuan , Ding Lei , Wang Xiaosa , Liu Jia , Shi Huaijie , Xue Yufeng , Yao Zihao , Zhong Xing , Wang Jianguo
Published: September 2023

The concomitant degradation of organic contaminants using green oxidants, NaClO and O3, exhibits great potential to mitigate the deleterious impact of organic pollutants. In this work, the electrochemical ozone production (EOP) and chlorine evolution reaction (CER) performed by highly active electrocatalysts composed of Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2 and Ru‐Ir‐Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2, respectively, are presented. Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2 exhibits high selectivity with a 43.9% Faraday efficiency in EOP. Incorporating Ru and Ir in Ru‐Ir‐Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2 improves CER performance, achieving outstanding Faraday efficiency of up to 98.3%. Additionally, it achieves a low overpotential of ≈80 mV at 10 mA cm−2 with 0.3 m NaCl (pH = 6). Theoretical calculations reveal the significant impact of multicomponent oxides on reaction intermediate adsorption. Ce, Ni, Sb doping on SnO2 enhances O2 and O3 adsorption for optimal EOP performance, while Ru and Ir doping on Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2 enhances Cl adsorption, boosting CER performance. Further investigations into the decomposition of pesticides and antibiotics demonstrate that the collaborative impact of O3 and NaClO elicits a significantly more robust kinetic degradation rate in comparison to their individual influences. This work aims to shed light on the synthesis of multicomponent metal oxides as potential precursors for the cost‐effective preparation of O3 and NaClO for electrochemical advanced oxidation processes.
Lipid‐Centric Design of Plasma Membrane‐Mimicking Nanocarriers for Targeted Chemotherapeutic Delivery
Authors: Ning Di , Wang Zhi‐Gang , Wang Lei , Tian Yi‐Fan , Jing Fang , Jiang Lin‐Han , Zhang Meng‐Qian , Liu Yang‐Yang , Pang Dai‐Wen , Cho Wonhwa , Liu Shu‐Lin
Published: September 2023

The plasma membranes (PM) of mammalian cells contain diverse lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates that are important for systemic recognition and communication in health and disease. Cell membrane coating technology that imparts unique properties of natural plasma membranes to the surface of encapsulated nanoparticles is thus becoming a powerful platform for drug delivery, immunomodulation, and vaccination. However, current coating methods fail to take full advantage of the natural systems because they disrupt the complex and functionally essential features of PMs, most notably the chemical diversity and compositional differences of lipids in two leaflets of the PM. Herein, a new lipid coating approach is reported in which the lipid composition is optimized through a combination of biomimetic and systematic variation approaches for the custom design of nanocarrier systems for precision drug delivery. Nanocarriers coated with the optimized lipids offer unique advantages in terms of bioavailability and efficiency in tumor targeting, tumor penetration, cellular uptake, and drug release. This pilot study provides new insight into the rational design and optimization of nanocarriers for cancer chemotherapeutic drugs and lays the foundation for further customization of cell membrane‐mimicking nanocarriers through systematic incorporation of other components.
POEMS syndrome: Update on diagnosis, risk‐stratification, and management
Authors: Dispenzieri Angela
Published: September 2023

Disease Overview

POEMS syndrome is a life‐threatening condition due to an underlying plasma cell neoplasm. The major criteria for the syndrome are polyradiculoneuropathy, clonal plasma cell disorder, sclerotic bone lesions, elevated vascular endothelial growth factor, and the presence of Castleman disease. Minor features include organomegaly, endocrinopathy, characteristic skin changes, papilledema, extravascular volume overload, and thrombocytosis.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of POEMS syndrome is made with three of the major criteria, two of which must include polyradiculoneuropathy and clonal plasma cell disorder, and at least one of the minor criteria.

Risk Stratification

Because the pathogenesis of the syndrome is not well understood, risk stratification is limited to clinical phenotype rather than specific molecular markers. Risk factors include low serum albumin, age, pleural effusion, pulmonary hypertension, and reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate.

Risk‐Adapted Therapy

For those patients with a dominant plasmacytoma, first‐line therapy is irradiation. Patients with diffuse sclerotic lesions or disseminated bone marrow involvement should receive systemic therapy. Corticosteroids are temporizing, but alkylators and lenalidomide are the mainstays of treatment, the former either in the form of low‐dose conventional therapy or as high‐dose conditioning for stem cell transplantation. Thalidomide and bortezomib also have activity, but their benefit needs to be weighed against their risk of exacerbating the peripheral neuropathy. Daratumumab combinations also appear promising based on case series. Prompt recognition and institution of both supportive care measures and therapy directed against the plasma cell result in the best outcomes.
Socioeconomic consequences of the COVID‐19 pandemic for people who use drugs
Authors: Walker Shelley , Dietze Paul , Higgs Peter , Ward Bernadette , Treloar Carla , Stoové Mark , Rathnayake Kasun , Doyle Jospeph , Hellard Margaret , Maher Lisa
Published: September 2023

The COVID‐19 pandemic triggered widespread socioeconomic hardship, disproportionately impacting disadvantaged populations. People who use illicit drugs are more likely to experience unemployment, homelessness, criminal justice involvement and poorer health outcomes than the general community, yet little is known about the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic on their lives. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted in‐depth interviews with 76 participants from two cohort studies of people who use illicit drugs (people who inject drugs and/or use methamphetamine) in Victoria, Australia. Findings support claims that pandemic‐related Social Security supplementary payments and initiatives to reduce homelessness, although not systemically transforming people's lives, produced temporary relief from chronic socioeconomic hardship. Results also indicate how temporary interruptions to drug supply chains inflated illicit drug prices and produced adverse consequences such as financial and emotional stress, which was exacerbated by drug withdrawal symptoms for many participants. Furthermore, increased community demand for emergency food and housing support during the pandemic appeared to reduce participants' access to these services. Our findings about the unintended consequences of pandemic responses on the socioeconomic lives of a group of people who use illicit drugs provide insights into and opportunities for policy reform to redress their entrenched disadvantage.
Organocatalytic C−H Functionalization of Simple Alkanes
Authors: Su Fen , Lu Fengfei , Tang Kun , Lv Xiaokang , Luo Zhongfu , Che Fengrui , Long Hongyan , Wu Xingxing , Chi Yonggui Robin
Published: September 2023

The direct functionalization of inert C(sp3)‐H bonds to form carbon‐carbon and carbon‐heteroatom bonds offers vast potential for chemical synthesis and therefore receives increasing attention. At present, most successes come from strategies using metal catalysts/reagents or photo/electrochemical processes. The use of organocatalysis for this purpose remains scarce, especially when dealing with challenging C−H bonds such as those from simple alkanes. Here we disclose the first organocatalytic direct functionalization/acylation of inert C(sp3)‐H bonds of completely unfunctionalized alkanes. Our approach involves N‐heterocyclic carbene catalyst‐mediated carbonyl radical intermediate generation and coupling with simple alkanes (through the corresponding alkyl radical intermediates generated via a hydrogen atom transfer process). Unreactive C−H bonds are widely present in fossil fuel feedstocks, commercially important organic polymers, and complex molecules such as natural products. Our present study shall inspire a new avenue for quick functionalization of these molecules under the light‐ and metal‐free catalytic conditions.
Disorder‐Enhanced Charge‐Transfer‐Mediated Room‐Temperature Phosphorescence in Polymer Media
Authors: Cheng Aoyuan , Su Hao , Gu Xuewen , Zhang Wei , Zhang Baicheng , Zhou Meng , Jiang Jun , Zhang Xuepeng , Zhang Guoqing
Published: September 2023

Room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) polymers have important applications for biological imaging, oxygen sensing, data encryption, and photodynamic therapy. Despite the many advantages polymeric materials offer such as great control over gas permeability and processing flexibility, disorder is traditionally considered as an intrinsic negative impact on the efficiency for embedded RTP luminophores, as various allowed thermal motions could quench the emitting states. However, we propose that such disorder‐enabled freedoms of microscopic motions can be beneficial for charge‐transfer‐mediated RTP, which is facilitated by molecular conformational changes among different electronic transition states. Using the “classic” pyrene‐aniline exciplex as an example, we demonstrate the mutual enhancement of red/near‐infrared and green RTP emissions from the pyrene and aniline moieties, respectively, upon doping the aniline polymer with trace pyrene derivatives. In comparison, a pyrene‐doped crystal formed with the same aniline structure exhibits only charge‐transfer fluorescence with no red or green RTP observed, suggesting that order suppresses the RTP channels. The proposed polymerization strategy may be used as a unified method to generate multi‐emissive polymeric RTP materials from a vast pool of known and unknown exciplexes and charge‐transfer complexes.
Nickel(II) Analogues of Phosphorescent Platinum(II) Complexes with Picosecond Excited‐State Decay
Authors: Ogawa Tomohiro , Wenger Oliver S.
Published: September 2023

Square‐planar NiII complexes are interesting as cheaper and more sustainable alternatives to PtII luminophores widely used in lighting and photocatalysis. We investigated the excited‐state behavior of two NiII complexes, which are isostructural with two luminescent PtII complexes. The initially excited singlet metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer (1MLCT) excited states in the NiII complexes decay to metal‐centered (3MC) excited states within less than 1 picosecond, followed by non‐radiative relaxation of the 3MC states to the electronic ground state within 9–21 ps. This contrasts with the population of an emissive triplet ligand‐centered (3LC) excited state upon excitation of the PtII analogues. Structural distortions of the NiII complexes are responsible for this discrepant behavior and lead to dark 3MC states far lower in energy than the luminescent 3LC states of PtII compounds. Our findings suggest that if these structural distortions could be restricted by more rigid coordination environments and stronger ligand fields, the excited‐state relaxation in four‐coordinate NiII complexes could be decelerated such that luminescent 3LC or 3MLCT excited states become accessible. These insights are relevant to make NiII fit for photophysical and photochemical applications that relied on PtII until now.
Reflections on the concept of optimality of single decision point treatment regimes
Authors: Tran Trung Dung , Abad Ariel Alonso , Verbeke Geert , Molenberghs Geert , Van Mechelen Iven
Published: September 2023

In many areas, applied researchers as well as practitioners have to choose between different solutions for a problem at hand; this calls for optimal decision rules to settle the choices involved. As a key example, one may think of the search for optimal treatment regimes (OTRs) in clinical research, that specify which treatment alternative should be administered to each patient under study. Motivated by the fact that the concept of optimality of decision rules in general and treatment regimes in particular has received so far relatively little attention and discussion, we will present a number of reflections on it, starting from the basics of any optimization problem. Specifically, we will analyze the search space and the to be optimized criterion function underlying the search of single decision point OTRs, along with the many choice aspects that show up in their specification. Special attention is paid to formal characteristics and properties as well as to substantive concerns and hypotheses that may guide these choices. We illustrate with a few empirical examples taken from the literature. Finally, we discuss how the presented reflections may help sharpen statistical thinking about optimality of decision rules for treatment assignment and to facilitate the dialogue between the statistical consultant and the applied researcher in search of an OTR.