bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Healthcare at the hospital and at home
Authors: Simone Carla , Wagner Ina , Müller Claudia , Weibert Anne , Wulf Volker
Published: March 2022

This chapter presents cases in the healthcare domain where either the technology is developed ad hoc for a specific setting or it is a consolidated off-the-shelf solution. In the first situation, the main issues concern the complexity of the technology, the reaction of the hosting organization, and a possible change of the surrounding conditions. The two cases presented met these problems and encountered different types of outcomes. In the second situation, the main issue is the strategy the hosting organization adopts to incorporate the selected technology in the current work practices and technological ecology. In two of the three presented cases, the organizational strategy was to involve the frontline users in the change management, which led to a high level of appropriation and more effective procedures. In the third case, the technology was imposed from the top and its adoption generated a high resistance.
Learning across cultures and communities
Authors: Simone Carla , Wagner Ina , Müller Claudia , Weibert Anne , Wulf Volker
Published: March 2022

The chapter presents a research line developed at the University of Siegen in Germany that had improving the living conditions of migrant communities in their new social environment as its aim. To this purpose, the research team set up intercultural computer clubs in various German cities that had a high presence of migrant families. The positive experience in Germany motivated the research team to replicate the same idea in two completely different contexts, namely a refugee camp in Palestine and a community in the High Atlas in Morocco. The basic choices made regarding how to construct the initial computer clubs were almost similar in each instance but at the same time were adapted to the different situations and improved to offer more robust services to these critical communities. The key idea was to aim for cultural integration and leave the ownership of the technology to the locally involved stakeholders.
Looking across and connecting
Authors: Simone Carla , Wagner Ina , Müller Claudia , Weibert Anne , Wulf Volker
Published: March 2022

This chapter looks at the cases and projects presented in this book, comparing and contrasting them. It uses the ‘sensitizing concepts’ introduced in Chapter 2, partially further developing them in order to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the conditions for achieving a sustainable outcome and the strategies researchers assume. Another objective is to capture aspects that ‘matter for design’ in support of sustainable outcomes: more specifically, to learn how to set up a project or research line, how to create alliances in support of sustainability, and how to arrange for future-proofing activities well before a project ends. Key findings in this chapter relate to the usefulness of thinking about different forms of sustainability, the importance of temporal issues, the tedious and often unaccounted-for work of contextualizing, the relationship between ownership, appropriation, and learning processes, and the relevance of the innovation scenario a research line follows.
Caring for Our Future Selves
Authors: Fernandes Alison
Published: March 2022

There are temporal asymmetries in our attitudes, including certain ways in which we seem to care more about events that happen in the future rather than the past. According to the Simple Causal Account, we care more about future events because we can (potentially) influence future events but cannot (even in principle) influence past events. This chapter defends an alternative Enriched Causal Account, according to which we care more about future events because they happen to our ‘causally later’ selves—temporal parts of ourselves that are ‘later’, given the causal ordering that underlies personal identity. This Enriched Causal Account recovers our intuitive judgements in a wider variety of cases and fits with evolutionary explanations and empirical work. Overall, it points towards the need to pay more attention to our causal connectedness through time to explain temporal asymmetries in our attitudes.
Times Imagined and Remembered
Authors: Brigard Felipe De , Khoudary Maria , Murray Samuel
Published: March 2022

The constructive episodic simulation hypothesis is a prominent view in cognitive neuroscience. It postulates that episodic simulations of past, future, and counterfactual events engage similar neural processes because they share a common cognitive function: planning and executing future actions. From this, it follows that the utility of episodic simulations critically depends on retrieving their content at the appropriate time. However, very little work has characterized how humans retrieve the various contents of previously entertained mental simulations. This chapter focuses on the retrieval of one class of these contents: temporal contents, which convey information about the temporal location of a simulated event (e.g. recalling that an imagined future event is to occur next Tuesday at 3 p.m., or that a simulated counterfactual event would have occurred last Christmas). It reviews existing theoretical and empirical work on retrieval of temporal contents from episodic memory, and proposes an extension to explain retrieval of temporal contents from episodic simulations more broadly. It corroborates the theoretical claims with a novel demonstration of asymmetries in retrieval of temporal information for previously imagined versus previously remembered events, and then discusses how ideas from this framework can be leveraged to improve planning and decision making.
Treatments and illness management and recovery
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

A singular or uniform approach to providing effective and efficient treatment for people with mental health conditions does not exist. Even with advances in genetics, neurology, etiology, and psychopharmacology, scientists have yet to identify or develop a “one-size-fits-all” intervention or treatment milieu for persons with mental health conditions. Uncertainty still remains related to the exact causes of mental health conditions, and, as such, relying solely upon a biological explanation may be futile without accounting for sociocultural, environmental, and psychological factors. This chapter provides readers with an orientation to pharmacological and psychosocial treatments for adults with mental health conditions. Topics covered include treatment compliance, side-effects, the antipsychiatry movement, the Dodo Bird Verdict, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Separating illness management from recovery, this chapter provides readers with introductions to these concepts. The chapter highlights the recovery concept by describing how it has gained considerable momentum and has allowed many people with mental health conditions to live and work in communities of their choice.
Transdiagnostic theory for group music therapy in mental health settings
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

This chapter applies transdiagnostic theory to group-based music therapy in adult mental health settings. While the concept of transdiagnostic theory may be relatively simple to conceptualize, the reasons supporting implementation of this theory into contemporary clinical practice are just as important—if not more important—than the theory itself. Transdiagnostic theory is a humanistic treatment approach wherein clinicians do not focus on the specific diagnosis. Rather, clinicians are more concerned with cognitive, behavioral, and affective features and patterns that maintain the mental health conditions, as well as shared pathologies and psychosocial stressors between group members. This allows clinicians to focus on shared motivators, strengths, and resources rather than an overly specific pathology. To provide a rationale for transdiagnostic theory, the chapter highlights the many problems associated with mental health disease classifications including subjectivity, relying upon service users’ reported symptom profiles, the perseveration of stigma, increased symptomology, and postponing help-seeking behaviors. Application of transdiagnostic theory may facilitate vicarious learning, on-task behavior, universalization and normalization, and greater engagement during group-based music therapy treatment. Limitations of transdiagnostic theory are also provided.
Institutions, Knowledge Strategies, and EMNEs’ Cross-border Innovation
Authors: Mukherjee Debmalya , Makarius Erin E. , Gaur Ajai S.
Published: March 2022

While cross-border innovation research has made significant advancement in globalizing its reach, analyses on emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) are still at a nascent stage. This chapter attempts to capture the dynamics of cross-border innovation by EMNEs. The authors’ synthesis integrates insights from institutional theory and innovation literature and offers a novel typology of EMNE innovation strategies. They describe the unique characteristics of the place (emerging markets) that tend to drive cross-border innovation, and how learning efforts and knowledge capabilities of the players (EMNEs) differ from more established multinational enterprises from developed market multinational enterprises (DMNEs). In addition, policies such as pro-market reforms that may help spur EMNE innovation across borders are discussed. The gaps identified in the synthesis serve as the springboard for future scholarly endeavours that aim to better utilize the cross-border innovation context of EMNEs.
Cross-border Innovation Activities of MNEs: A Commentary
Authors: Athreye Suma
Published: March 2022

In this Commentary, the two chapters by Cantwell and Marra (2022) and Mukherjee, Makarius, and Gaur (2022) who write about the cross-border innovative activities of mature Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and emerging market MNEs respectively are considered. The evolutionary lens adopted by Cantwell and Marra prompts reflection on Penrosian dynamic capabilities of MNEs and the role that cross-border innovation plays in the exploitation and augmentation of those dynamic capabilities. In contrast, the snapshot perspective employed by Mukherjee, Makarius, and Gaur emphasizes the variety of strategies available to emerging MNEs to build their dynamic capabilities. Both chapters underplay the role of product markets in defining and limiting innovation activity but the different vantage points also prompt reflection on how today’s emerging market MNEs and their cross-border innovation activity should be regarded.
Subsidiary Technological Scope and Learning: A Fresh Perspective on the Role of the Foreign Subsidiary for the Cross-border Organization of MNE Innovation
Authors: Phene Anupama , Santangelo Grazia D.
Published: March 2022

This chapter examines the role of foreign subsidiary technological scope in the learning process that culminates in MNE innovation. It explores how subsidiary scope, reflected in the dispersion of its technological activity, operates across different stages of the learning process. To develop the arguments, insights on specialists and generalists from organizational research are integrated with research on firm reasoning. The authors posit that search and extension stages involve unpredictable environments that create an advantage for generalist subsidiaries who can engage in analogical reasoning by drawing on a wider variety of familiar chunks of knowledge. In contrast, access and integration stages create predictable learning environments where specialized subsidiaries are in an advantageous position, with access to fewer but deeper chunks of knowledge resulting in effective learning. Futhermore, theoretical and managerial implications for the cross-border organization of MNE innovation are developed to present a more nuanced view of the role of the subsidiary.
Cross-border Innovation and Global Value Chains: The Role of Public Policies
Authors: Pietrobelli Carlo
Published: March 2022

Innovation is increasingly generated and sourced in multiple locations beyond country borders. Among these, Global Value Chains (GVCs) stand out. However, has this process contributed to increased cross-border innovation? Have the relationships between lead firms, often Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and their different tiers of suppliers, made possible learning and innovation in local firms, and in some instances even frontier innovation? This chapter represents a first attempt to answer these questions. First, the chapter argues that innovation systems and GVCs often co-evolve along various possible trajectories, with different impacts on enterprises’ innovation and learning. Secondly, the chapter claims that a concept of ‘GVC-oriented policies’ is required to understand what policies countries may implement vis-à-vis GVCs, and how the existence of GVCs imposes a rethinking of traditional economic policies, especially when the aim is to foster cross-border innovation. Then, an introductory taxonomy is presented and a series of examples from various countries to illustrate the approach are discussed.
Mobilizing Innovation for the Global Green Shift: The Case for Demand-oriented Innovation Policy
Authors: Fagerberg Jan
Published: March 2022

This chapter focuses on the role of demand-oriented innovation policies in supporting the global green shift. Three specific cases, all from Europe, in which change has been very quick indeed, are considered: wind energy in Denmark, the German Energiewende, and electrical cars in Norway. The emphasis is placed particularly on the nature of the policies adopted, how they came about, and their impacts on a national as well as global scale. It is shown that demand-oriented innovation policies played a decisive role in all three cases and contributed to encouraging (green) innovation, creating new jobs, and significantly speeding up the transition. Moreover, these policies had very important global repercussions.
IPRs, Cross-border (Collaborative) Innovation and Development Challenges: A Commentary
Authors: Narula Rajneesh
Published: March 2022

This commentary considers Chapters 11 and 12 by Papageorgiadis and McDonald (2022), and Giuliani et al. (2022), respectively, and how their insights on cross-border, collaborative innovation, and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) shed light on the challenges of economic development. Effective collaboration for both innovation and development is challenging to achieve, particularly between firms of different nationalities, structures, and industries. Generating positive development outcomes requires appropriate institutions to govern the interactions between private firms, MNEs, and non-firm actors, particularly those associated with IPRs. Well-defined IPRs are indispensable for development. When used strategically, IPR policies are an important complementary asset within industrial policies. However, when legislated and enforced mechanically by utilizing a generic template for advanced economies, they can impede development and growth. There are high costs in enforcement and monitoring of IPRs. Resource constraints to evaluate sophisticated IPRs, is a significant bottleneck, exaggerated when the informal sector plays a large role.
Language, Form, and Logic
Authors: Ludlow Peter , Živanović Sašo
Published: March 2022

This book takes an idea first explored by Medieval logicians 800 years ago and revisits it armed with the tools of contemporary linguistics, logic, and computer science. The idea—the Holy Grail of the Medieval logicians—was the thought that all of logic could be reduced to two very simple rules that are sensitive to logical polarity (for example, the presence and absence of negations). Ludlow and Živanović pursue this idea and show how it has profound consequences for our understanding of the nature of human inferential capacities. They also show its consequences for some of the deepest issues in contemporary linguistics, including the nature of quantification, puzzles about discourse anaphora and pragmatics, and even insights into the source of aboutness in natural language. The key to their enterprise is a formal relation they call “p-scope”—a polarity-sensitive relation that controls the operations that can be carried out in their Dynamic Deductive System. They prove that the resulting deductive system is complete and sound. The result is a beautiful formal tapestry in which p-scope unlocks important properties of natural language, including the property of “restrictedness,” which they prove to be equivalent to the semantic notion of conservativity. More than that, they show that restrictedness is also a key to understanding quantification and discourse anaphora, and many other linguistic phenomena.
Restrictedness as a Fundamental Property of Natural Language
Authors: Ludlow Peter , Živanović Sašo
Published: March 2022

This chapter takes a deeper dive into the notions of aboutness, conservativity, and restrictedness, with a focus on the role these notions play in natural language. Ludlow and Živanović examine Conservativity Universal, a generalization put forth in generalized quantifier theory, which holds that all determiners are conservative. They argue that the generalization remains valid under their generalized notion of conservativity, which applies to entire sentences rather than just determiner positions, and they further suggest that the same holds for their stronger, syntactic reformulation of this thesis, which they call Restrictedness Universal. Finally, they show how their syntactic approach handles linguistic phenomena like non-intersective adjectives, focus, and disjunction.
Environmental variation effects fertility in tropical beef cattle
Authors: Copley James P , Engle Bailey N , Ross Elizabeth M , Speight Shannon , Fordyce Geoffry , Wood Benjamin J , Voss-Fels Kai P , Hayes Benjamin J
Published: March 2022

The northern Australia beef cattle industry operates in harsh environmental conditions which consistently suppress female fertility. To better understand the environmental effect on cattle raised extensively in northern Australia, new environmental descriptors were defined for 54 commercial herds located across the region. Three fertility traits, based on the presence of a corpus luteum at 600 d of age, indicating puberty, (CL Presence, n = 25,176), heifer pregnancy (n = 20,989) and first lactation pregnancy (n = 10,072) were recorded. Temperature, humidity, and rainfall were obtained from publicly available data based on herd location. Being pubertal at 600 d (i.e. CL Presence) increased the likelihood of success at heifer pregnancy and first lactation pregnancy (P < 0.05), underscoring the importance of early puberty in reproductive success. A temperature humidity index (THI) of 65–70 had a significant (P < 0.05) negative effect on first lactation pregnancy rate, heifer pregnancy and puberty at 600 d of age. Area under the curve of daily THI was significant (P < 0.05) and reduced the likelihood of pregnancy at first lactation and puberty at 600 days. Deviation from long-term average rainfall was not significant (P < 0.05) for any trait. Average daily weight gain had a significant and positive relationship (P < 0.05) for heifer and first lactation pregnancy. The results indicate that chronic or cumulative heat load is more determinantal to reproductive performance than acute heat stress. The reason for the lack of a clear relationship between acute heat stress and reproductive performance is unclear but may be partially explained by peak THI and peak nutrition coinciding at the same time. Sufficient evidence was found to justify the use of average daily weight gain and chronic heat load as descriptors to define an environmental gradient.
Micrografting: An Old Dog Plays New Tricks in Obligate Plant Pathogens
Authors: Wang Min-Rui , Bi Wen-Lu , Ren Li , Zhang A-Ling , Ma Xiao-Yan , Zhang Dong , Volk Gayle M. , Wang Qiao-Chun
Published: March 2022

Micrografting, which was developed almost 50 years ago, has long been used for virus eradication, micropropagation, regeneration, rejuvenation, and graft compatibility. Recently, micrografting has been used for studies of long-distance trafficking and signaling of molecules between scions and rootstocks. The graft transmissiveness of obligate plant pathogens, such as viruses, viroids, and phytoplasmas, facilitated the use of micrografting to study biological indexing and pathogen transmission, pathogen-induced graft incompatibility, and screening for the pathogen resistance during the past 20 years. The present study provides comprehensive information on the latter subjects. Finally, prospects are proposed to direct further studies.
Biphasic reward effects are characteristic of both lorcaserin and drugs of abuse: implications for treatment of substance use disorders
Authors: Grasing Ken W. , Burnell Kim , De Alok
Published: March 2022

Lorcaserin is a modestly selective agonist for 2C serotonin receptors (5-HT2CR). Despite early promising data, it recently failed to facilitate cocaine abstinence in patients and has been compared with dopamine antagonist medications (antipsychotics). Here, we review the effects of both classes on drug reinforcement. In addition to not being effective treatments for cocaine use disorder, both dopamine antagonists and lorcaserin can have biphasic effects on dopamine and reward behavior. Lower doses can cause enhanced drug taking with higher doses causing reductions. This biphasic pattern is shared with certain stimulants, opioids, and sedative-hypnotics, as well as compounds without abuse potential that include agonists for muscarinic and melatonin receptors. Additional factors associated with decreased drug taking include intermittent dosing for dopamine antagonists and use of progressive-ratio schedules for lorcaserin. Clinically relevant doses of lorcaserin were much lower than those that inhibited cocaine-reinforced behavior and can also augment this same behavior in different species. Diminished drug-reinforced behavior only occurred in animals after higher doses that are not suitable for use in patients. In conclusion, drugs of abuse and related compounds often act as biphasic modifiers of reward behavior, especially when evaluated over a broad range of doses. This property may reflect the underlying physiology of the reward system, allowing homeostatic influences on behavior.
Mortality and Length of Stay in Critically Ill Patients With Low Muscle Mass
Authors: Wedemire Courtney , Rigassio Radler Diane , Zelig Rena
Published: March 2022

In critical care, low muscle mass is proposed as a risk factor for adverse outcomes that may be modified by nutrition. However, health care providers, including physicians and registered dietitians, may not routinely consider this risk factor in screening, assessing, or designing interventions. A literature search was conducted to compare clinical outcomes in critically ill adult patients with and without low muscle mass upon admission. This narrative review identified a statistically significant association between low muscle mass and increased risk of mortality and length of stay. Health care providers should consider screening for low muscle mass upon admission, as this may inform practice and improve clinical outcomes.
A Content Validation Pilot Study of Prevalent Nutrition Diagnoses by Acute Care Clinical Registered Dietitian Nutritionists
Authors: Hakel-Smith Nancy , Ritter-Gooder Paula K.
Published: March 2022

The purpose of this descriptive research design study among clinical registered dietitian nutritionists (CRDNs) (n = 7) was to identify frequently used nutrition diagnoses (NDs) in acute care practice and validate the defining characteristics for the prevalent NDs. Data were collected with 2 instruments and analyzed using descriptive statistics. CRDNs identified 19 of 84 NDs as prevalent. Content validation resulted in 24% (n = 64) of the characteristics as critical, with an average of 3.6 critical characteristics for each ND. This pilot study limits generalization of the findings but contributes important information about the descriptive diagnoses in this area of practice.
Genome-wide DNA methylation profiles of autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Sun Ling , Wang Xueyi , Wang Xia , Cui Xiaowei , Li Guixia , Wang Le , Wang Lan , Song Mei , Yu Lulu
Published: March 2022

Objectives

We aimed to identify differentially methylated genes and related signaling pathways in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods

First, the DNA methylation profile in the brain samples (GSE131706 and GSE80017) and peripheral blood samples (GSE109905) was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO) dataset, followed by identification of differentially methylated genes and functional analysis. Second, the GSE109905 data set was used to further validate the methylation state and test the ability to diagnose disease of identified differentially methylated genes. Third, expression measurement of selected differentially methylated genes was performed in whole blood from an independent sample. Finally, protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of core differentially methylated genes was constructed.

Results

Totally, 74 differentially methylated genes were identified in ASD, including 38 hypermethylated genes and 36 hypomethylated genes. 15 differentially methylated genes were further identified after validation in the GSE109905 data set. Among these, major histocompatibility complex (HLA)-DQA1 was involved in the molecular function of myosin heavy chain class II receptor activity; HLA-DRB5 was involved in the signaling pathways of cell adhesion molecules, Epstein–Barr virus infection and antigen processing and presentation. In the PPI analysis, the interaction pairs of HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DRB5, FMN2 and ACTR3, and CALCOCO2 and BAZ2B were identified. Interestingly, FMN2, BAZ2B, HLA-DRB5, CALCOCO2 and DUSP22 had a potential diagnostic value for patients with ASD. The expression result of four differentially methylated genes (HLA-DRB5, NTM, IL16 and COL5A3) in the independent sample was consistent with the integrated analysis.

Conclusions

Identified differentially methylated genes and enriched signaling pathway could be associated with ASD.
Aboveground impacts of a belowground invader: how invasive earthworms alter aboveground arthropod communities in a northern North American forest
Authors: Jochum Malte , Thouvenot Lise , Ferlian Olga , Zeiss Romy , Klarner Bernhard , Pruschitzki Ulrich , Johnson Edward A. , Eisenhauer Nico
Published: March 2022

Declining arthropod communities have recently gained a lot of attention, with climate and land-use change among the most frequently discussed drivers. Here, we focus on a seemingly underrepresented driver of arthropod community decline: biological invasions. For approximately 12 000 years, earthworms have been absent from wide parts of northern North America, but they have been re-introduced with dramatic consequences. Most studies investigating earthworm-invasion impacts focus on the belowground world, resulting in limited knowledge on aboveground-community changes. We present observational data on earthworm, plant and aboveground arthropod communities in 60 plots, distributed across areas with increasing invasion status (low, medium and high) in a Canadian forest. We analysed how earthworm-invasion status and biomass impact aboveground arthropod community abundance, biomass and species richness, and how earthworm impacts cascade across trophic levels. We sampled approximately 13 000 arthropods, dominated by Hemiptera, Diptera, Araneae, Thysanoptera and Hymenoptera. Total arthropod abundance, biomass and species richness declined significantly from areas of low to those with high invasion status, with reductions of 61, 27 and 18%, respectively. Structural equation models suggest that earthworms directly and indirectly impact arthropods across trophic levels. We show that earthworm invasion can alter aboveground multi-trophic arthropod communities and suggest that belowground invasions might be underappreciated drivers of aboveground arthropod decline.
Learning via instructions about observations: exploring similarities and differences with learning via actual observations
Authors: Kasran Sarah , Hughes Sean , De Houwer Jan
Published: March 2022

Our behaviour toward stimuli can be influenced by observing how another person (a model) interacts with those stimuli. We investigated whether mere instructions about a model's interactions with stimuli (i.e. instructions about observations) are sufficient to alter evaluative and fear responses and whether these changes are similar in magnitude to those resulting from actually observing the interactions. In Experiments 1 (n= 268) and 2 (n= 260), participants either observed or read about a model reacting positively or negatively to stimuli. Evaluations of those stimuli were then assessed via ratings and a personalized implicit association test. In Experiments 3 (n= 60) and 4 (n= 190), we assessed participants' fear toward stimuli after observing or reading about a model displaying distress in the presence of those stimuli. While the results consistently indicated that instructions about observations induced behavioural changes, they were mixed with regard to whether instructions were as powerful in changing behaviour as observations. We discuss whether learning via observations and via instructions may be mediated by similar or different processes, how they might differ in their suitability for conveying certain types of information, and how their relative effectiveness may depend on the information to be transmitted.
Estimating scale-specific and localized spatial patterns in allele frequency
Authors: Lasky Jesse R. , Takou Margarita , Gamba Diana , Keitt Timothy H.
Published: March 2022

Characterizing spatial patterns in allele frequencies is fundamental to evolutionary biology because these patterns contain evidence of underlying processes. However, the spatial scales at which gene flow, changing selection, and drift act are often unknown. Many of these processes can operate inconsistently across space, causing non-stationary patterns. We present a wavelet approach to characterize spatial pattern in allele frequency that helps solve these problems. We show how our approach can characterize spatial patterns in relatedness at multiple spatial scales, i.e. a multi-locus wavelet genetic dissimilarity. We also develop wavelet tests of spatial differentiation in allele frequency and quantitative trait loci (QTL). With simulation we illustrate these methods under different scenarios. We also apply our approach to natural populations ofArabidopsis thalianato characterize population structure and identify locally-adapted loci across scales. We find, for example, that Arabidopsis flowering time QTL show significantly elevated genetic differentiation at 300 to 1300 km scales. Wavelet transforms of allele frequencies offer a flexible way to reveal geographic patterns and underlying evolutionary processes.
The addition of antibiotics to embryo culture media caused altered expression of genes in pathways governing DNA integrity in mouse blastocysts
Authors: Han Qianqian , Li Yan , Ji Xu , Chang Lu , Li Wenjuan , Shi Jianfeng , Liu Jing , Ni Wuhua , Huang Xuefeng , O’Neill Chris , Jin Xingliang
Published: March 2022

Antibiotics are common components of embryo culture media and minimize the risk of microbial contamination and infection during assisted reproductive technology procedures (ART). The effects of two aminoglycoside antibiotics (gentamicin, streptomycin) and penicillin on the global profiles of gene expression (DE) were assessed by RNA-seq of individual mouse blastocysts. Zygotes were cultured in an optimized defined medium formulation (KSOM) to which a dose range of each antibiotic was added. A dose-dependent retardation of the rate of zygote development to morphologically normal blastocyst was observed and this was accompanied by a reduction in the number of cells present within the resulting blastocysts. The lowest dose of each antibiotic tested (similar to the concentrations used in clinical grade media) caused significant differential expression of approximately 1800 genes. In most cases antibiotic treatment caused a reduction in gene expression and gene ontology analysis showed that down regulated genes were enriched for several biological processes related to the maintenance of genomic integrity. All three antibiotics caused the downregulation of Brca2, Blm, Rad51c and Rad54l, genes involved DNA homologous recombination pathways and also several p53-dependent genes. Immunolocalization studies showed that each antibiotic also reduced level of BRCA2 and RAD51C detected within blastocysts. The present study shows that the supplementing embryo culture media with antibiotics is associated with wide ranging alterations in gene expression in a manner that could potentially compromise the genomic integrity of the resulting embryos.
Perioperative prevention of persistent pain after total hip and knee arthroplasty—Protocol for two systematic reviews
Authors: Laigaard Jens , Karlsen Anders , Maagaard Mathias , Rosenberg Lukas Kristian , Creutzburg Andreas , Lunn Troels Haxholdt , Mathiesen Ole , Overgaard Søren
Published: March 2022

Background

Between 9% and 20% of patients experience moderate to severe persistent postoperative pain after total hip or knee arthroplasty. Severe immediate postoperative pain limits rehabilitation and is associated with the development of persistent postoperative pain. Therefore, perioperative analgesic and physiotherapeutic interventions are of interest to reduce persistent pain. In two systematic reviews with identical methodology, we aim to investigate the effects of (a) perioperative analgesic interventions and (b) physiotherapeutic interventions in reducing persistent pain after total hip and knee arthroplasty.

Methods

We will include randomised and cluster‐randomised controlled trials on perioperative analgesic and physiotherapeutic interventions for patients undergoing elective total hip or knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis. After contact with the authors, trials without pain data 3–24 months postoperatively will be excluded. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase and reference lists will be searched for eligible trials. Two authors will independently screen, extract data and assess the risk of bias. The primary outcome is pain scores 3–24 months postoperatively. Meta‐analyses will be performed for interventions with two or more trials. We will conduct trial sequential analyses and assign Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) ratings.

Conclusion

No previous review on reduction of persistent postoperative pain has included non‐pharmacological or invasive analgesic techniques. These two reviews with identical methodology will summarise the evidence of analgesic and physiotherapeutic perioperative interventions to prevent persistent pain.

PROSPERO registration

CRD42021284175.
Electoral Campaigns and Biased Perceptions of Voter Interests
Authors: Horz Carlo M. , Dickson Eric S.
Published: March 2022

A standard view of elections is that parties should choose moderate platforms to maximize their probability of winning. However, some parties embrace more extreme positions. These parties often feature an energized activist group that is optimistic about the party's probability of winning – contradicting the standard view. We build and analyze a game‐theoretic model of electoral competition that simultaneously explains the prevalence of extreme platforms and activists' biased beliefs. We show that the activists' interests and role within the campaign induce them to optimally misperceive the interests of the electorate because such a bias shifts the party's equilibrium policy platform closer to the activist faction's ideal point. We also find that even though the more optimistic an activist faction, the more it learns from electoral defeat, the divergence between activist and elite beliefs may worsen after a loss.
The impact of the ileoanal pouch on female fertility in ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Sriranganathan Danujan , Poo Stephanie , Segal Jonathan P.
Published: March 2022

Aim

Ileal pouch–anal anastomosis is a restorative option for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) requiring surgery. The primary outcome of this study was the relative risk of infertility in women with UC undergoing restorative proctocolectomy (RPC) compared to the same patients before undergoing RPC. Infertility was defined as the inability to conceive after 1 year of regular sexual intercourse without contraception.

Methods

A systematic review and meta‐analysis were performed to include all relevant articles from 1946 from MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Studies included reported on the fertility rate of a cohort with UC and also reported the rate after RPC in those within the cohort who underwent surgery. This study was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021259745).

Results

Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria and accounted for 793 patients pre‐pouch and 802 post‐pouch. The mean and median age of the patients at analysis was 36.8 and 32.7 years respectively; and the median duration of follow‐up following ileal pouch–anal anastomosis was 110.4 (68–139) months. Our results highlight that following RPC the relative risk of infertility is 4.17 (95% CI 1.99, 8.74) compared with patients before RPC who had UC.

Conclusions

The findings of this meta‐analysis provide an update on a previous meta‐analysis published over a decade ago and results remain congruent. This suggests that despite advancements in surgical techniques the risk to fertility remains similar to a decade ago. However, further high quality studies are needed to try and decipher independent risk factors associated with a decrease in infertility.
Cost of healthcare utilization associated with incident cardiovascular and renal disease in individuals with type 2 diabetes: A multinational, observational study across 12 countries
Authors: Norhammar Anna , Bodegard Johan , Eriksson Jan W. , Haller Hermann , Linssen Gerard C. M. , Banerjee Amitava , Karasik Avraham , Mamouris Pavlos , Tangri Navdeep , Taveira‐Gomes Tiago , Maggioni Aldo P. , Botana Manuel , Thuresson Marcus , Okami Suguru , Yajima Toshitaka , Kadowaki Takashi , Birkeland Kåre I. ,   CaReMe Cardiorenal Investigators
Published: March 2022

Aim

To examine how the development of cardiovascular and renal disease (CVRD) translates to hospital healthcare costs in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) initially free from CVRD.

Methods

Data were obtained from the digital healthcare systems of 12 nations using a prespecified protocol. A fixed country‐specific index date of 1 January was chosen to secure sufficient cohort disease history and maximal follow‐up, varying between each nation from 2006 to 2017. At index, all individuals were free from any diagnoses of CVRD (including heart failure [HF], chronic kidney disease [CKD], coronary ischaemic disease, stroke, myocardial infarction [MI], or peripheral artery disease [PAD]). Outcomes during follow‐up were hospital visits for CKD, HF, MI, stroke, and PAD. Hospital healthcare costs obtained from six countries, representing 68% of the total study population, were cumulatively summarized for CVRD events occurring during follow‐up.

Results

In total, 1.2 million CVRD‐free individuals with T2D were identified and followed for 4.5 years (mean), that is, 4.9 million patient‐years. The proportion of individuals indexed before 2010 was 18% (n = 207 137); 2010‐2015, 31% (361 175); and after 2015, 52% (609 095). Overall, 184 420 (15.7%) developed CVRD, of which cardiorenal disease was most frequently the first disease to develop (59.7%), consisting of 23.0% HF and 36.7% CKD, and more common than stroke (16.9%), MI (13.7%), and PAD (9.7%). The total cumulative cost for CVRD was US$1 billion, of which 59.0% was attributed to cardiorenal disease, 3‐, 5‐, and 6‐fold times greater than the costs for stroke, MI, and PAD, respectively.

Conclusion

Across all nations, HF or CKD was the most frequent CVRD manifestation to develop in a low‐risk population with T2D, accounting for the highest proportion of hospital healthcare costs. These novel findings highlight the importance of cardiorenal awareness when planning healthcare.
Growth, innovation, and policy for chicken in Latin America 1961–2019
Authors: Scott Gregory J. , Vigo Enrique
Published: March 2022

Motivation

Latin America has witnessed massive increases in production and consumption of chicken meat over the last 60 years and well beyond its share of the developing world's population. Chicken is now a major source of livestock protein in regional diets; leads livestock production in 25 out of the region's 33 countries; production, slaughtering, and sales provide millions of jobs.

Purpose

To analyse growth rates for chicken meat in Latin America, why they have differed, how the role of innovation and development policies contributed to bringing about this growth, in turn leading to the patterns of governance of these activities today.

Methods and approach

This study used a modified value chain framework along with FAO statistics, national data, published and unpublished studies to analyse macro‐level developments and their linkages to shifts in the organization of activities in the value chain for chicken from pre‐production through to consumption and trade from past to present.

Findings

Different natural resource endowments, demographics, and dietary preferences combined with frequent innovations and an array of policy measures led to a spectacular surge in output and productivity, lower costs, and facilitated a steady rise in consumption. As part of that growth, these activities became increasingly concentrated in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru and within those countries in a few very large firms. Their operations expanded in the value chain beyond the farm gate, across the region, and in some cases around the world.

Policy implications

This paper has implications for greater transparency in grower contracts, better working conditions for slaughterhouse workers and bird catchers, more environmentally and bird‐friendly chicken production, accelerated adoption of practices as per Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems in the value chain for broilers in Latin America and the Caribbean, and improved enforcement of laws and regulations governing the technical and financial operations of value chains for chicken, along with renewed collaboration among government authorities to that effect.
Fatigue life prediction of natural rubber components using an artificial neural network
Authors: Liu Xiangnan , Zhao Xuezhi , Shangguan Wen‐Bin
Published: March 2022

Uniaxial tension fatigue tests conducted on dumbbell‐shaped specimens made of vulcanized natural rubber are carried out. Using the fatigue test data, a back‐propagation neural network (BPNN) model for estimating the fatigue life of natural rubber specimens is established. An improved sine‐cosine algorithm (ISCA) is proposed to optimize the parameters of the BPNN model. The peak engineering strain, ambient temperature, and Shore hardness of natural rubber specimens are used as the input variables while the rubber fatigue life as the output variable of the BPNN model. The regression results and predicted life distribution of the established BPNN model are encouraging. For comparison, a genetic algorithm, a particle swarm algorithm, and a standard sine‐cosine algorithm are also used to obtain the BPNN model parameters, respectively. The results showed that the prediction accuracy and efficiency of ISCA are better than other three algorithms. In addition, the sensitivity analysis is introduced to quantify the relative influence of the model inputs on the output.
Where do recruits come from? Backward Lagrangian simulation for the deep water rose shrimps in the Central Mediterranean Sea
Authors: Gargano Francesco , Garofalo Germana , Quattrocchi Federico , Fiorentino Fabio
Published: March 2022

Backward‐in‐time Lagrangian dispersion models can efficiently reconstruct drifters trajectories by linking known arrival positions to potential sources. This approach was applied to the deep water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) in the Strait of Sicily (central Mediterranean Sea). The objective was to identify the potential spawning areas of the larvae that settle in the known nursery grounds of the northern sector of the Strait of Sicily, thus quantifying the extent of the potential contribution to recruitment from the surrounding regions. Numerical simulations were performed over 11 years (2005–2015) and for two different periods (spring/summer and autumn/winter) corresponding to the species' spawning peaks in the region. The persistence over time of potential spawning areas was identified through a Hotspot analysis of the backward trajectories end‐points, filtered to meet a suitable depth range for spawners. The results confirmed the expected downstream connectivity between spawning and nursery grounds along the Sicilian–Maltese shelf and, notably, indicated that these spawning grounds contribute to the high productivity and resilience of deep water rose shrimp fisheries in the northern Strait of Sicily more than the spawning grounds in surrounding regions. A minor and time‐varying contribution is due to potential spawning areas identified on the African shelf. These results are important to adequately define the geographical scale for the assessment and management of this important fishery resource in the Strait of Sicily. In particular, the assumption of a single stock that does not consider the spatial structure of the population should be revised for the purpose of fisheries management.
The role of bacterial nanocellulose mats encapsulated with cinnamaldehyde on chilled meat preservation
Authors: Yuan Haibin , Li Wei , Chen Chen , Yu Haiyan , Huang Juan , Lou Xinman , Tian Huaixiang
Published: March 2022

Chilled meat preservation from microbial contaminants is particularly important during meat storage. In this study, the new antibacterial nanofiber mats based on bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) and cinnamaldehyde (CMD) were fabricated to evaluate their potential on chilled meat preservation. In particular, the release kinetics, bacteriostatic properties, and the effects on chilled meat preservation were evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that CMD was evenly incorporated within the BNC network, while Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the CMD was entrapped in BNC without any chemical interaction. Evaluation of the release mechanisms and kinetics of loaded CMD using various mathematical models showed superior efficacy of the CMD, primarily controlled by diffusion mechanism. The BNC‐CMD mats were able to effectively maintain the colour and control pH and total colony count of chilled meat following 10 days of storage at 4 °C, indicating that they are better in preserving chilled mean compared to commercial cotton fresh‐keeping mats. The results of this study demonstrate the important role of BNC‐CMD mats in preserving chilled meat with large industrial applications.