bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Kamini, a little recognised source of illicit opioid: A case series of 12 patients
Authors: Khan Tabibul , Ariyawansa Pem , Quinn Janette , Hayllar Jeremy
Published: May 2022

Introduction

This case series describes 12 patients who developed opioid use disorder after ingesting a prohibited, imported herbal product, Kamini, which contains Papaver somniferum. They appeared unaware of the risk of dependence from Kamini and most had struggled to manage their use for many months before presenting for treatment.

Methods

After two cases were presented at a clinical meeting, a chart review was conducted of cases across four public opioid treatment clinics in south‐east Queensland with about 1500 patients registered, identifying 10 further cases.

Results

Twelve patients presented with features of opioid withdrawal, seeking treatment after use of Kamini for periods between 6 months and 8 years. Eleven patients were born in India. Nine patients stabilised on buprenorphine maintenance treatment, three of whom commenced long‐acting injectable buprenorphine. One patient left after 1 day and subsequently began methadone treatment with a private prescriber. Two patients on smaller doses and shorter‐term use undertook withdrawal with prescribed (off‐label) trans‐dermal buprenorphine. One patient, initially lost to follow‐up, later stabilised on long‐acting injectable buprenorphine. Reasons for presenting included supply shortages and financial distress during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Discussion and Conclusion

Kamini represents an illicit source of non‐prescription opioid in Australia. Although classified as an illegal import by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, patients confirm that it is readily available in Brisbane. Targeted efforts are needed to prevent further patients developing opioid dependence from use of Kamini and also to highlight treatment options for those seeking to stop Kamini use.
Planning complementary conservation of crop wild relative diversity in southern Africa
Authors: Magos Brehm Joana , Gaisberger Hannes , Kell Shelagh , Parra‐Quijano Mauricio , Thormann Imke , Dulloo Mohammad Ehsan , Maxted Nigel
Published: May 2022

Aim

To identify priority areas for in situ conservation and collection of germplasm for ex situ backup of crop wild relative (CWR) diversity in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region as part of an action plan for the conservation and use of the region's important CWR diversity.

Location

SADC region.

Methods

Diversity, gap and climate change analyses at species and ecogeographic diversity levels were undertaken for 113 regional priority CWR taxa.

Results

CWR hotspots were identified in Eswatini (former Swaziland), Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Twenty‐one per cent of regionally priority CWR occur exclusively outside existing protected areas (PAs), 50% are not conserved ex situ, and 64% are predicted to be negatively impacted by climate change. A total of 120 existing PAs in 13 countries were identified as containing populations likely to persist in the future for 80% of CWR taxa and about 50% of the ecogeographic diversity of these taxa; remaining diversity can be conserved in an additional 151 complementary sites in 11 countries. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, South Africa and Tanzania contain important areas for conserving CWR diversity in situ in which no negative climate change impact is predicted. Priority CWR diversity in the provinces of Bas‐Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Cabinda (Angola) is threatened by climate change and should be collected urgently for ex situ conservation. Other areas rich in ecogeographic diversity that is not conserved ex situ are located in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Main conclusions

We identified 120 PAs and 151 complementary sites outside of PAs in 13 SADC countries that could form the basis of the SADC Network for In Situ Conservation of CWR. We also selected priority areas for filling gaps in ex situ collections and for field survey.
Polarized macrophages promote gestational beta cell growth through extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 5 signalling
Authors: Jiang Yinan , Chen Apeng , Kline Diana , Liu Qun , Ma Jie , Wang Yan , Zhang Ting , Qian Jieqi , Nelson Laura , Prasadan Krishna , Hu Baoli , Gittes George K. , Xiao Xiangwei
Published: May 2022

Aim

To show that depletion of pancreatic macrophages impairs gestational beta cell proliferation and leads to glucose intolerance.

Materials and Methods

Genetic animal models were applied to study the effects of depletion of pancreatic macrophges on gestational beta‐cell proliferaiton and glucose response. The crosstalk between macrophages and beta‐cells was studied in vivo using beta‐cell‐specific extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) knockout and epidermal growth receptor (EGFR) knockout mice, and in vitro using a co‐culture system.

Results

Beta cell‐derived placental growth factor (PlGF) recruited naïve macrophages and polarized them towards an M2‐like phenotype. These macrophages then secreted epidermal growth factor (EGF), which activated extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) signalling in beta cells to promote gestational beta cell proliferation. On the other hand, activation of ERK5 signalling in beta cells likely, in turn, enhanced the production and secretion of PlGF by beta cells.

Conclusions

Our study shows a regulatory loop between macrophages and beta cells through PlGF/EGF/ERK5 signalling cascades to regulate gestational beta cell growth.
Effects of oviposition in a non‐host species on foraging behaviour of the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata
Authors: de Bruijn Jessica A. C. , Vet Louise E. M. , Smid Hans M. , de Boer Jetske G.
Published: May 2022

Parasitoids lay their eggs in or on a host, usually another insect. During foraging, parasitoids can encounter insects that differ in terms of host suitability and quality. At one extreme end of this spectrum are non‐hosts that are unsuitable for offspring development.

Non‐hosts are generally ignored but parasitization does occur and occasionally also results in egg deposition. Here, the authors investigate how oviposition in a non‐host influences subsequent foraging behaviour of a parasitoid and whether this is mediated by learning. The study system consists of the endoparasitoid Cotesia glomerata and the presumed non‐host caterpillar Mamestra brassicae.

In the presence of Pieris brassicae hosts and/or their traces (frass), C. glomerata inserted its ovipositor into M. brassicae caterpillars. Eggs were deposited, but all eggs disappeared within 96 h, confirming the non‐host status of M. brassicae. In contrast to the expectation, there was no memory retention after oviposition in a non‐host and parasitoids did not alter their behaviour with respect to non‐host contacts and ovipositions. Instead, C. glomerata became more motivated to forage on a non‐host infested leaf.

The authors propose that egg deposition in non‐hosts by C. glomerata might be due to their high egg load, which is thought to make parasitoids less selective on host quality, especially when they have few reproductive opportunities. In such cases, fitness costs to individual females are low. Egg deposition in non‐hosts might ultimately lead to host range expansion if parasitoids overcome the defence response of non‐hosts over evolutionary time.
The solitary nucleus connectivity to key autonomic regions in humans
Authors: Forstenpointner Julia , Maallo Anne Margarette S. , Elman Igor , Holmes Scott , Freeman Roy , Baron Ralf , Borsook David
Published: May 2022

The nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) is a key brainstem structure relaying interoceptive peripheral information to the interrelated brain centres for eliciting rapid autonomic responses and for shaping longer‐term neuroendocrine and motor patterns. Structural and functional NTS' connectivity has been extensively investigated in laboratory animals. But there is limited information about NTS' connectome in humans. Using MRI, we examined diffusion and resting state data from 20 healthy participants in the Human Connectome Project. The regions within the brainstem (n = 8), subcortical (n = 6), cerebellar (n = 2) and cortical (n = 5) parts of the brain were selected via a systematic review of the literature and their white matter NTS connections were evaluated via probabilistic tractography along with functional and directional (i.e. Granger causality) analyses. The underlying study confirms previous results from animal models and provides novel aspects on NTS integration in humans. Two key findings can be summarized: (1) the NTS predominantly processes afferent input and (2) a lateralization towards a predominantly left‐sided NTS processing. Our results lay the foundations for future investigations into the NTS' tripartite role composed of interoreceptors' input integration, the resultant neurochemical outflow and cognitive/affective processing. The implications of these data add to the understanding of NTS' role in specific aspects of autonomic functions.
Automated seizure detection with noninvasive wearable devices: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Naganur Vaidehi , Sivathamboo Shobi , Chen Zhibin , Kusmakar Shitanshu , Antonic‐Baker Ana , O'Brien Terence J. , Kwan Patrick
Published: May 2022

Objective

This study was undertaken to review the reported performance of noninvasive wearable devices in detecting epileptic seizures and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES).

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of studies reported up to November 15, 2021. We included studies that used video‐electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring as the gold standard to determine the sensitivity and false alarm rate (FAR) of noninvasive wearables for automated seizure detection.

Results

Twenty‐eight studies met the criteria for the systematic review, of which 23 were eligible for meta‐analysis. These studies (1269 patients in total, median recording time = 52.9 h per patient) investigated devices for tonic–clonic seizures using wrist‐worn and/or ankle‐worn devices to measure three‐dimensional accelerometry (15 studies), and/or wearable surface devices to measure electromyography (eight studies). The mean sensitivity for detecting tonic–clonic seizures was .91 (95% confidence interval [CI] = .85–.96, I2 = 83.8%); sensitivity was similar between the wrist‐worn (.93) and surface devices (.90). The overall FAR was 2.1/24 h (95% CI = 1.7–2.6, I2 = 99.7%); FAR was higher in wrist‐worn (2.5/24 h) than in wearable surface devices (.96/24 h). Three of the 23 studies also detected PNES; the mean sensitivity and FAR from these studies were 62.9% and .79/24 h, respectively. Four studies detected both focal and tonic–clonic seizures, and one study detected focal seizures only; the sensitivities ranged from 31.1% to 93.1% in these studies.

Significance

Reported noninvasive wearable devices had high sensitivity but relatively high FARs in detecting tonic–clonic seizures during limited recording time in a video‐EEG setting. Future studies should focus on reducing FAR, detection of other seizure types and PNES, and longer recording in the community.
Shell color polymorphism in marine gastropods
Authors: Gefaell Juan , Galindo Juan , Rolán‐Alvarez Emilio
Published: May 2022

Marine gastropods are characterized by an incredible variation in shell color. In this review, we aim to introduce researchers to previous studies of shell color polymorphism in this group of animals, trying to provide an overview of the topic and highlighting some potential avenues for future research. For this, we tackle the different aspects of shell color polymorphism in marine gastropods: its biochemical and genetic basis, its patterns of spatial and temporal distribution, as well as its potential evolutionary causes. In particular, we put special emphasis on the evolutionary studies that have been conducted so far to reveal the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of shell color polymorphism in this group of animals, as it constitutes the least addressed aspect in existing literature reviews. Several general conclusions can be drawn from our review: First, natural selection is commonly involved in the maintenance of gastropod color polymorphism; second, although the contribution of neutral forces (gene flow‐genetic drift equilibrium) to shell color polymorphism maintenance do not seem to be particularly important, it has rarely been studied systematically; third, a relationship between shell color polymorphism and mode of larval development (related to dispersal capability) may exist. As for future studies, we suggest that a combination of both classical laboratory crossing experiments and ‐Omics approaches may yield interesting results on the molecular basis of color polymorphism. We believe that understanding the various causes of shell color polymorphism in marine gastropods is of great importance not only to understand how biodiversity works, but also for protecting such biodiversity, as knowledge of its evolutionary causes may help implement conservation measures in those species or ecosystems that are threatened.
Document forgery detection using source printer identification: A comparative study of text‐dependent versus text‐independent analysis
Authors: Bibi Maryam , Hamid Anmol , Moetesum Momina , Siddiqi Imran
Published: May 2022

Source printer identification represents an interesting modality for document forgery detection. Establishing the identity of the printer that was employed to print a questioned document allows concluding its authenticity. This paper investigates the effectiveness of deep visual features (learned using convolutional neural networks) in characterization of the source printer. Images of printed documents are divided into small patches as well as characters for extraction of features. An off‐the‐shelf recognition engine is also integrated, allowing experiments in text‐dependent as well as text‐independent modes. Experiments are carried out on a standard data set of documents from 20 different printers and identification rates of 95.52% and 98.06% are reported using patches and characters, respectively. Furthermore, the discriminating power of different characters, as well as their combinations, is also being studied. Unlike many existing techniques, which rely on pre‐segmented characters and report results by comparing same characters only, the proposed technique works on complete images of printed documents and reports high identification rates.
NeuralConflict: Using neural networks to identify norm conflicts in normative documents
Authors: Huang Shaobin , Sun Jingyun , Li Rongsheng
Published: May 2022

A large number of norms, which express constraints on people's behaviour within a specific range, are contained in normative documents. In writing and revising normative documents, conflicts between two norms often arise. The task Norm Conflict Identification (NCI) aims to identify such conflicts. The existing NCI methods based on statistical learning are all pipelines, which cause errors to accumulate, and cannot sufficiently extract helpful information. According to the characteristics of NCI, we propose a neural network model called NeuralConflict. This end‐to‐end model can avoid the accumulation of errors and makes it easier to obtain the optimal global solution. The model sets up an auxiliary task to predict whether two norms are semantically related and shares part of the information with the task NCI. In addition, the model uses a convolutional neural network with differently sized convolution kernels to extract local semantic information from the norms. Finally, the model inputs the shared and local semantic information into a fully connected neural network to predict whether the two norms conflict. We construct a Chinese dataset and use it with an existing English dataset for the experiments. Experimental results show that NeuralConflict achieves optimum results on both datasets.
Recent and local diversification of Central American understorey palms
Authors: Cano Ángela , Stauffer Fred W. , Andermann Tobias , Liberal Isabel M. , Zizka Alexander , Bacon Christine D. , Lorenzi Harri , Christe Camille , Töpel Mats , Perret Mathieu , Antonelli Alexandre
Published: May 2022

Aim

Central America is largely covered by hyperdiverse, yet poorly understood, rain forests. Understorey palms are diverse components of these forests, but little is known about their historical assembly. It is not clear when palms in Central America reached present diversity levels and whether most species arrived from neighbouring regions or evolved locally. We addressed these questions using the most species‐rich American palm clades indicative of rain forests. We reconstructed and compared their phylogenomic and biogeographical history with the diversification of 54 other plant lineages, to gain a better understanding of the processes that shaped the assembly of Central American rain forests.

Location

Central America.

Time period

Cretaceous to present.

Major taxa studied

Arecaceae: Arecoideae: Bactridinae, Chamaedoreeae, Geonomateae.

Methods

We sampled 218 species through fieldwork and living collections. We sequenced their genomic DNA using target sequence‐capture procedures. Using 12 calibration points, we reconstructed dated phylogenies under three approaches (multispecies coalescent, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference), conducted biogeographical analyses (dispersal–extinction–cladogenesis) and estimated phylogenetic diversity metrics.

Results

Dated phylogenies revealed intense diversification in Central America from 12 Ma. Local diversification events were four times more frequent than dispersal events, and we found strong phylogenetic clustering in relationship to Central America.

Main conclusions

Our results suggest that most understorey palm species that characterize the Central American rain forests today evolved locally after repeated dispersal events, mostly from South America. Understorey palms in Central American rain forests diversified primarily after closure of the Central American Seaway at c. 13 Ma, suggesting that the Great American Biotic Interchange was a major trigger for plant diversification in Central American rain forests. This recent diversification contrasts with the much earlier existence of rain forest palms in neighbouring South America since c. 58 Ma. We found similar timings of diversification in 54 other seed plant lineages, suggesting an unexpectedly recent assembly of the hyperdiverse Central American flora.
‘Get your own house in order’: Qualitative dialogue groups with nonvaccinating parents on how measles outbreaks in their community should be managed
Authors: Wiley Kerrie , Robinson Penelope , Degeling Chris , Ward Paul , Leask Julie , Carter Stacy
Published: May 2022

Objective

Communities with high levels of vaccine rejection present unique challenges to vaccine‐preventable disease outbreak management. We sought perspectives of nonvaccinating parents to inform public health responses in such communities.

Methods

Nineteen purposively sampled nonvaccinating Australian parents participated in one of seven online dialogue groups. We asked what they thought parents, school principals and public health professionals should do in a hypothetical school measles outbreak and used a framework approach to data analysis.

Results

Parents' views were grounded in strong beliefs in parental responsibility and the belief that vaccines are not effective, thus unvaccinated children do not therefore pose a threat. They then reasoned that the forced exclusion of unvaccinated children from school in a measles outbreak was disproportionate to the risk they pose, and their child's right to education should not be overridden. Nonvaccinating parents judged that all parents should keep sick children at home regardless of disease or vaccination status; that school principals should communicate directly with parents and avoid using social media; that public health professionals should provide information to parents so they can decide for themselves about excluding their children from school; that public health responses should avoid accidental identification of unvaccinated children and that mainstream media should be avoided as a communication tool.

Conclusion

Nonvaccinating parents do not always agree with current Australian approaches to measles outbreak management. Their perspectives can inform approaches to outbreak responses in communities with high levels of vaccine rejection.

Patient or Public Contribution

We sought input from individuals who did and did not vaccinate on study design in its early phases. Individual conversations were used deliberately as we felt the group advisory situation may have felt less safe for nonvaccinating parents, given the divisive and often hostile nature of the topic.
Exploring invisibility and epistemic injustice in Long Covid—A citizen science qualitative analysis of patient stories from an online Covid community
Authors: Ireson Jane , Taylor Amy , Richardson Ed , Greenfield Beatrice , Jones Georgina
Published: May 2022

Background

In 2020, the long‐lasting effects of the Covid‐19 virus were not included in public messages of risks to public health. Long Covid emerged as a novel and enigmatic illness with a serious and life‐changing impact. Long Covid is poorly explained by objective medical tests, leading to widespread disbelief and stigma associated with the condition. The aim of this organic research is to explore the physical and epistemic challenges of living with Long Covid.

Methods

Unlike any previous pandemic in history, online Covid communities and ‘citizen science’ have played a leading role in advancing our understanding of Long Covid. As patient‐led research of this grassroots Covid community, a team approach to thematic analysis was undertaken of 66 patient stories submitted online to covid19‐recovery.org at the beginning of the Covid‐19 pandemic between April and September 2020.

Results

The overriding theme of the analysis highlights the complexities and challenges of living with Long Covid. Our distinct themes were identified: the life‐changing impact of the condition, the importance of validation and how, for many, seeking alternatives was felt to be their only option.

Conclusions

Long Covid does not easily fit into the dominant evidence‐based practice and the biomedical model of health, which rely on objective indicators of the disease process. Patient testimonies are vital to understanding and treating Long Covid, yet patients are frequently disbelieved, and their testimonies are not taken seriously leading to stigma and epistemic injustice, which introduces a lack of trust into the therapeutic relationship.

Patient Contribution

The research was undertaken in partnership with our consumer representative(s) and all findings and subsequent recommendations have been coproduced.
Food supplementation of parents before hatching of the young prolongs the nestling period in European pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca)
Authors: Moreno Juan
Published: May 2022

Fledging at older ages has been posited as benefiting offspring survival, whereas shortening the duration of the nestling period may reduce parental costs. Improving parental condition through food supplementation before hatching of the young may reduce parental foraging costs and thereby delay the inducement of fledging while not affecting nestlings directly. Here I show experimentally that broods of supplemented parents fledged at older ages while breeding success and nestling growth variables were not affected. Furthermore, measurements of nestlings about to fledge that were not included in the experiment show that they attain lengths of wing and tail that are 80% and 56% of adult values, respectively, with each day of delay in fledging improving flight capacity at fledging.
Depression, Hopelessness, and Self‐Esteem: Accounting for Suicidality in Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients
Authors: Dori Galit A. , Overholser James C.
Published: May 2022

The present study was designed to examine depression, hopelessness, and self‐esteem as related to suicidal behavior in three groups of depressed adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Depressed adolescents who had never attempted suicide were compared to depressed adolescents who had attempted suicide once and to depressed adolescents who had attempted suicide on several different occasions. Results showed that suicidal adolescents experienced significantly greater depression and hopelessness than did the nonsuicidal adolescents. However, all three groups of depressed adolescents reported similar low levels of self‐esteem. Measures of depression and hopelessness were useful in classifying the adolescents based on their suicidal behavior. Results suggest that the treatment of suicidal adolescents could benefit from strategies that focus on reducing feelings of depression and hopelessness.
Pushed to the Edge of Knowing: Microaggression and Self‐doubt
Authors: Perez Gomez Javiera
Published: May 2022

Self‐doubt, microaggression theorists tend to agree, is a central harm of microaggression: microaggressees often do not know whether a microaggression actually took place. On the standard view, this self‐doubt is unjust because it is misplaced, for microaggressees doubt their own knowledge as a consequence of being repeatedly subject to what Miranda Fricker calls ‘testimonial injustice’. But there is a different way of accounting for this self‐doubt: that it is unjust because microaggressees actually lack knowledge that a microaggression took place. On this view, self‐doubt is unjust not because it is misplaced, but because it is rational. In this article, I explore this latter view in relation to what Julius Schönherr and I have called ‘encroachment injustice’: the injustice that occurs when prejudice prevents someone from having knowledge they would otherwise have had. I then consider some seemingly promising strategies for undermining rational self‐doubt and argue that they are subject to important limitations that reveal some of the difficulties that microaggressees face when attempting to know whether a microaggression took place.
Climate shapes community flowering periods across biomes
Authors: Stephens Ruby E. , Sauquet Hervé , Guerin Greg R. , Jiang Mingkai , Falster Daniel , Gallagher Rachael V.
Published: May 2022

Aim

Climate shapes the composition and function of plant communities globally, but it remains unclear how this influence extends to floral traits. Flowering phenology, or the time period in which a species flowers, has well‐studied relationships with climatic signals at the species level but has rarely been explored at a cross‐community and continental scale. Here, we characterise the distribution of flowering periods (months of flowering) across continental plant communities encompassing six biomes, and determine the influence of climate on community flowering period lengths.

Location

Australia.

Taxon

Flowering plants.

Methods

We combined plant composition and abundance data from 629 standardised floristic surveys (AusPlots) with data on flowering period from the AusTraits database and additional primary literature for 2983 species. We assessed abundance‐weighted community mean flowering periods across biomes and tested their relationship with climatic annual means and the predictability of climate conditions using regression models.

Results

Combined, temperature and precipitation (annual mean and predictability) explain 29% of variation in continental community flowering period. Plant communities with higher mean temperatures and lower mean precipitation have longer mean flowering periods. Moreover, plant communities in climates with predictable temperatures and, to a lesser extent, predictable precipitation have shorter mean flowering periods. Flowering period varies by biome, being longest in deserts and shortest in alpine and montane communities. For instance, desert communities experience low and unpredictable precipitation and high, unpredictable temperatures and have longer mean flowering periods, with desert species typically flowering at any time of year in response to rain.

Main conclusions

Current climate conditions shape flowering periods across biomes, with implications for phenology under climate change. Shifts in flowering periods across climatic gradients reflect changes in plant strategies, affecting patterns of plant growth and reproduction as well as the availability of floral resources for pollinators across the landscape.
Phylogeography of Colpomenia sinuosa (Ectocarpales, Phaeophyceae) along the Brazilian coast
Authors: Martins Nuno Tavares , Cassano Valéria , Gurgel Carlos Frederico Deluqui
Published: May 2022

Colpomenia sinuosa is a cosmopolitan brown macroalgal species complex and hence a great candidate for evolutionary studies in the marine environment. Since 2009, three major C. sinuosa phylogenetic lineages, subdivided into eight subgroups, have been identified based on cox3 DNA sequences from worldwide collections. However, worldwide sampling remains limited and spotty. To date molecular data from Brazilian C. sinuosa populations have been limited to 10 specimens collected in a single locality. Nonetheless, C. sinuosa populations occur along the entire ~8,000 km Brazilian coast. Consequently, knowledge on population genetic diversity and spatial genetic structuring along most of the Brazilian coastline is nonexistent. To fulfill this gap in knowledge, we performed a phylogeographic analysis of C. sinuosa populations in Brazil. The highly variable cox3 marker was sequenced for 148 individuals collected in 12 localities in Brazil. Results identified two genetically distinct population groups (north vs. south) separated at 20.5° S latitude. Genetic diversity in northern populations is 14.6 and 15.5 times greater than southern populations in terms of haplotype and nucleotide diversity, respectively. Among northern populations, the Bahia state holds the largest genetic diversity. The southern populations had lower genetic diversity and no internal genetic sub‐structure suggesting past bottlenecks followed by recent colonization from northern haplotypes. Our results do not indicate recent introductions of foreign haplotypes in Brazil and reinforce the crucial importance of historical and extant allopatric, parapatric, and sympatric processes driving marine macroalgal evolution in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean.
Evaluation of a long‐acting injectable formulation of omeprazole in healthy dogs
Authors: Odunayo Adesola , Galyon Gina , Price Joshua , Hecht Silke , Tolbert M. Katherine
Published: May 2022

Background

To evaluate the efficacy of a single intramuscular adminsitration of long‐acting omeprazole (LA‐OMEP) in increasing gastric pH in dogs.

Hypothesis

We hypothesized that LA‐OMEP would meet in healthy dogs the clinical goals defined for human patients for treatment of gastroduodenal ulceration.

Animals

Nine healthy research dogs.

Methods

Prospective experimental study. Dogs were given a 4 mg/kg intramuscular injection of LA‐OMEP. Intragastric pH was continuously recorded on treatment days 0 to 7. Daily mean pH and mean percentage time (MPT) intragastric pH was ≥3 or ≥4 were determined.

Results

The mean onset of action for the LA‐OMEP was 98.11 min (SD 46.39). The mean number of days the dogs' pH met established goals for MPT pH ≥3 was 5.5 days (range, 3‐7) and 5.25 days for MPT pH ≥4 (range, 3‐7). Long‐acting omeprazole met the human clinical goals pH ≥3 for 72 hours in 8/8 of the dogs and MPT pH ≥4 for 96 hours in 7/8 of dogs.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

The LA‐OMEP formulation produced gastric acid suppression in healthy dogs for an average of 5 days and up to 7 days, after a single intramuscular injection. No major adverse effects were observed.
Preregistered direct replication of the linguistic frame effect on perceived blame and financial liability
Authors: Tonković Mirjana , Vlašiček Denis , Dumančić Francesca
Published: May 2022

Purpose

Fausey and Boroditsky (Psychon. Bull. Rev., 17, 2010, 644) demonstrated that agentive descriptions of accidents can increase perceived blame and financial liability. We conducted direct replications of their studies 1 and 2 in English, as originally used, and in Croatian.

Methods

Participants in the first experiment read either an agentive or a nonagentive description of an incident that resulted in a fire and rated the level of blame and financial liability of the main character in the story. The second experiment examined the direct influence of language on financial liability assessments while manipulating the blame level. Participants were presented with the same story as in the first experiment with the added sentence about the blame level attributed to the main character by an independent panel. We used the materials from the original studies and replicated the studies using a large sample of native English‐speaking residents of the USA and Croatian students.

Results

We successfully replicated original findings in English, but results of the experiments conducted in Croatian were mixed. In the first experiment, we found a smaller effect of agentive language and only on the blame level and not on the proposed financial penalty. In the second experiment, we did not find the effect of agentive language on the proposed fine.

Conclusions

Our experiments confirmed the original findings in English. The effect might exist in Croatian too, but its exact size remains to be determined in future research. Possible explanations of observed differences between results in English and Croatian are discussed.
Effect of Photobiomodulation Therapy with 915 nm Diode Laser on Pain Perception during Local Anesthesia of Maxillary Incisors: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Kermanshah Hamid , Chiniforush Nasim , Kolahdouz Mohammadi Mahsa , Motevasselian Fariba
Published: May 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) with 915 nm wavelength on pain reduction during maxillary incisors' local infiltration in a randomized clinical trial study. A prospective triple‐blinded split‐mouth clinical trial was designed to assess pain perception during needle insertion and local anesthetic injection in 32 healthy patients required operative caries management on contralateral maxillary incisors. After laser treatment (915 nm, power of 1.5 W, duty cycle of 60% and energy density of 72 J cm−2) in active group and no irradiation in sham group, the injection was performed. Patients’ perception of pain was immediately assessed using numerical rating scale (NRS) for pain. Washout period between two appointments was one week. Wilcoxon signed‐rank and Pearson correlation statistical analyses were used to assess the comparison of pain score between two appointments and the effect of anxiety level of previous dental injections. The mean scores of pain for the active laser and sham laser groups were 2.5 ± 2.19 and 4.34 ± 2.52, respectively, with a statistically significant higher NRS in the sham laser group (P ˂ 0.05). In this study's condition, diode PBMT reduced pain during infiltration on maxillary incisors. Anxiety experience of dental injection had no significant effect on pain perception scale (P ˃ 0.05).
The genomic full‐length sequence of the HLA‐A*02:344 allele, identified by full‐length group‐specific sequencing
Authors: Chi Xiaoyun , Liu Li , Jiao Shuxian , Pang Shutao
Published: May 2022

The genomic full‐length sequence of HLA‐A*02:344 was identified by a group‐specific sequencing approach from China.
The novel HLA‐DQB1 allele, HLA‐DQB1*04:72, detected in a potential hematopoietic stem cell donor
Authors: Ananeva Anastasiia , Nizamov Shamil , Gaifullina Raushania , Shagimardanova Elena
Published: May 2022

Identification of the novel HLA‐DQB1*04:72 allele that differs from DQB1*04:02:01:06 by two nucleotide substitutions.
Identification of the novel HLA‐C*08:243 allele in a Spanish bone marrow donor
Authors: Ocejo‐Vinyals J. Gonzalo , Cianca Eva , Arroyo José L. , Vicario José L. , Balas Antonio
Published: May 2022

HLA‐C*08:243 differs from C*08:51 by a single nucleotide substitution in codon 156 (G > T).
Dogs as carriers of virulent and resistant genotypes of Clostridioides difficile
Authors: Finsterwalder SK , Loncaric I , Cabal A , Szostak MP , Barf LM , Marz M , Allerberger F , Burgener IA , Tichy A , Feßler AT , Schwarz S , Monecke S , Ehricht R , Ruppitsch W , Spergser J , Künzel F
Published: May 2022

While previous research on zoonotic transmission of community‐acquired Clostridioides difficile infection (CA‐CDI) focused on food‐producing animals, the present study aimed to investigate whether dogs are carriers of resistant and/or virulent C. difficile strains. Rectal swabs were collected from 323 dogs and 38 C. difficile isolates (11.8%) were obtained. Isolates were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, whole‐genome sequencing (WGS) and a DNA hybridization assay. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST), core genome MLST (cgMLST) and screening for virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes were performed based on WGS. Minimum inhibitory concentrations for erythromycin, clindamycin, tetracycline, vancomycin and metronidazole were determined by E‐test. Out of 38 C. difficile isolates, 28 (73.7%) carried genes for toxins. The majority of isolates belonged to MLST sequence types (STs) of clade I and one to clade V. Several isolates belonged to STs previously associated with human CA‐CDI. However, cgMLST showed low genetic relatedness between the isolates of this study and C. difficile strains isolated from humans in Austria for which genome sequences were publicly available. Four isolates (10.5%) displayed resistance to three of the tested antimicrobial agents. Isolates exhibited resistance to erythromycin, clindamycin, tetracycline and metronidazole. These phenotypic resistances were supported by the presence of the resistance genes erm(B), cfr(C) and tet(M). All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin. Our results indicate that dogs may carry virulent and antimicrobial‐resistant C. difficile strains.
Maternal obesity causes fetal cardiac hypertrophy and alters adult offspring myocardial metabolism in mice
Authors: Vaughan Owen R. , Rosario Fredrick J. , Chan Jeannie , Cox Laura A. , Ferchaud‐Roucher Veronique , Zemski‐Berry Karin A. , Reusch Jane E. B. , Keller Amy C. , Powell Theresa L. , Jansson Thomas
Published: May 2022

Obesity in pregnant women causes fetal cardiac dysfunction and increases offspring cardiovascular disease risk, but its effect on myocardial metabolism is unknown. We hypothesized that maternal obesity alters fetal cardiac expression of metabolism‐related genes and shifts offspring myocardial substrate preference from glucose towards lipids. Female mice were fed control or obesogenic diets before and during pregnancy. Fetal hearts were studied in late gestation (embryonic day (E) 18.5; term ≈ E21), and offspring were studied at 3, 6, 9 or 24 months postnatally. Maternal obesity increased heart weight and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (Pparg) expression in female and male fetuses and caused left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in the adult offspring. Cardiac dysfunction worsened progressively with age in female, but not male, offspring of obese dams, in comparison to age‐matched control animals. In 6‐month‐old offspring, exposure to maternal obesity increased cardiac palmitoyl carnitine‐supported mitochondrial respiration in males and reduced myocardial 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in females. Cardiac Pparg expression remained higher in adult offspring of obese dams than control dams and was correlated with contractile and metabolic function. Maternal obesity did not affect cardiac palmitoyl carnitine respiration in females or 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in males and did not alter cardiac 3H‐oleic acid uptake, pyruvate respiration, lipid content or fatty acid/glucose transporter abundance in offspring of either sex. The results support our hypothesis and show that maternal obesity affects offspring cardiac metabolism in a sex‐dependent manner. Persistent upregulation of Pparg expression in response to overnutrition in utero might underpin programmed cardiac impairments mechanistically and contribute to cardiovascular disease risk in children of women with obesity.

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Key points

Obesity in pregnant women causes cardiac dysfunction in the fetus and increases lifelong cardiovascular disease risk in the offspring.

In this study, we showed that maternal obesity in mice induces hypertrophy of the fetal heart in association with altered expression of genes related to nutrient metabolism.

Maternal obesity also alters cardiac metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids in the adult offspring.

The results suggest that overnutrition in utero might contribute to increased cardiovascular disease risk in children of women with obesity.
Thermal Properties of Graphite Nanoplatelet-Epoxy Composites Formed Through High Shear Exfoliation of Expanded Graphite
Authors: Grzenda Michael , Singer Jonathan P.
Published: May 2022

Graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) have recently become a commercially available alternative to graphene that has been widely studied as an additive to improve polymer properties. In particular, their use in improving the thermal properties of composites has many applications for the electronics industry. Expanded graphite (EG) is commonly used as starter material for the production of these nanoplatelets. However, the exfoliation of EG into nanoparticles typically involves the use of solvents, which are difficult to remove, and includes sonication which is time consuming and can cause defects in the platelets. Here, a commercially available, high-shear mixer is used to rapidly exfoliate EG in epoxy resin. The cured composites were measured for improvements in thermal conductivity and characterized using scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy.
Modeling Ampacity in Advanced Electrical Conductors
Authors: Khanbolouki Pouria , Tehrani Mehran
Published: May 2022

An enabling advantage of carbon-based conductors is their low density and high thermal conductivity. To put this in the perspective of applications, current rating of carbon-based and copper nanocomposite conductors of different lengths are modeled. For comparison, the current and current density required to raise the maximum temperature of studied conductors to 150 °C are calculated with a joule heating model. The model is validated with an experimental setup equipped with a thermal camera. It is shown that while doped carbon nanotube (CNT) conductors may potentially result in improved performance compared with copper on a weight basis, ultra-conductive copper (UCC) can outperform copper on both volume and weight bases. Additionally, a hypothetical copper-matrix composite conductor with different volume fractions of high thermal conductivity and lightweight graphene fibers (Cu–C composite) is included in the analysis. The properties of the Cu–C composite are evaluated based on the Lewis–Nielson and rule of mixture models, as inputs for the joule heating model. The results show that while the improved thermal conductivity of the composite is beneficial for improving the current rating in micro-electronics applications, the tradeoff for the decreased electrical conductivity results in lower current carrying capacity in applications that use longer conductors.
Experimental Investigations on Thermal-Hydraulics of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Under Natural Circulation Vertical Flows
Authors: Bodkha Kapil , Pilkhwal D. S. , Maheshwari N. K.
Published: May 2022

Advanced energy systems propose use of supercritical fluids (SCFs) as working fluids owing to various advantages associated with SCF. Supercritical water (SCW), supercritical carbon-dioxide (SC–CO2), and supercritical helium (SC–He) find proposed applications in advanced nuclear reactor designs too. Heat transfer behavior of SCFs is still not understood completely. Though there exist many heat transfer correlations and criterion in the literature, they miss having a general consensus among them. In spite of having many reported studies in literature for SCFs under forced convection conditions, studies related to SCF under natural circulation (NC) mode are very limited. In the present study, extensive experiments have been performed with SC–CO2 under NC conditions in tube geometry. The experimental data generated for vertical heated test section at various pressures between 8.0 and 13.0 MPa have been utilized to bring out salient findings related to fluid flow and heat transfer. The data have also been utilized to make comparison with generalized NC flow correlation available in the literature. Besides, few popular heat transfer correlations have been compared with experimentally obtained heat transfer coefficients.
Amorphous semi-insulating Al-doped In2O3 growth by atomic layer deposition for thin-film transistors
Authors: Wu Zecheng , Zhang Yu , Lu Shiqiang , Bai Rongxu , Gao Na , Huang Kai , Zhu Hao , Hu Shen , Sun Qingqing , Zhang David Wei , Ding Xingwei , Lee Jack C. , Ji Li
Published: May 2022

In2O3-based metal-oxide-semiconductor channel materials are attractive for thin-film transistors and novel back-end-of-line (BEOL) compatible devices and have attracted intensive research activities in recent years. However, several challenges remain, such as the ultrahigh electron density and the nature of polycrystalline films. To overcome these issues, here in this work, we demonstrated an in situ semi-insulating doping method of In2O3 via atomic layer deposition and fabricated the indium-aluminum-oxide (IAO) transistors. The controllable concentration of Al enables an on-current of 1.8 μA/μm with the cycle ratio at In2O3:Al2O3 (10:1), mobility, and subthreshold swing of the transistor are 8.7 cm2/V s, and 203 mV/dec. The threshold voltage (Vt) is adjustable by varying Al concentrations, shifting to negative bias with a higher concentration of Al. The IAO-based transistor presents many advantages, including excellent on/off ratio and high mobility, making it ideal for many applications, such as display panels and low-power BEOL integrations.
Dos and don’ts tutorial for sample alignment in sum frequency generation spectroscopy
Authors: Hosseinpour Saman
Published: May 2022

This Tutorial aims to provide a concise yet practical guideline for different scenarios that one may face in a sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy laboratory, especially when it comes to sample alignment. The effort is made to reconstruct the real and often challenging sample alignment conditions for a broad range of liquid or solid samples interfacing solid, liquid, or gas phases, with a pedagogical approach. Both newcomer operators of an SFG setup without a strong experience in nonlinear spectroscopy and the more experienced SFG users can utilize the approaches that are provided in this Tutorial for an easier and more reliable sample alignment in their SFG laboratories.
More detectable, less annoying: Temporal variation in amplitude envelope and spectral content improves auditory interface efficacy
Authors: Foley Liam , Schlesinger Joseph , Schutz Michael
Published: May 2022

Auditory interfaces, such as auditory alarms, are useful tools for human computer interaction. Unfortunately, poor detectability and annoyance inhibit the efficacy of many interface sounds. Here, it is shown in two ways how moving beyond the traditional simplistic temporal structures of normative interface sounds can significantly improve auditory interface efficacy. First, participants rated tones with percussive amplitude envelopes as significantly less annoying than tones with flat amplitude envelopes. Crucially, this annoyance reduction did not come with a detection cost as percussive tones were detected more often than flat tones—particularly, at relatively low listening levels. Second, it was found that reductions in the duration of a tone's harmonics significantly lowered its annoyance without a commensurate reduction in detection. Together, these findings help inform our theoretical understanding of detection and annoyance of sound. In addition, they offer promising original design considerations for auditory interfaces.