bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of seed treatments and storage duration on Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and amaranth fresh leaf yield
Authors: Nampeera Esther L , O’Neal Matthew E , Nonnecke Gail R , Murungi Lucy K , Abukutsa-Onyango Mary O , Wesonga John M
Published: March 2023

The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a key insect pest of amaranth in East Africa. Pest management has been restricted to indiscriminate application of insecticides to foliage. Applying systemic insecticides to seeds has been shown to manage aphid infestations in other crop systems. We evaluated two commercially available seed treatments in East Africa, Apron Star (thiamethoxam 20 g/kg + metalaxyl-M 20 g/kg + difenoconazole 2 g/kg) and Menceron (imidacloprid 233 g/L + pencycuron 50 g/L + thiram 107 g/L) for their efficacy against M. persicae and impact on fresh leaf yield with two Amaranthus species, Amaranthus blitum (2 selections), Amaranthus hybridus (4 selections) and untreated control. Two storage periods (24 h and 3 months) with seed treatments were used. Each amaranth selection was treated individually with Apron and Monceren or untreated, and seeds were planted either 24 h or 3 months after treatment. Significant reduction in live aphids was observed with A. blitum and A. hybridus selections grown with seed treatment, at 6, 8 and 10 d after infestation (DAI) when compared with seeds grown without seed treatment. Untreated seeds of A. hybridus (selection 5) had significantly higher number of live aphids up to 243, greater percentage of damaged leaves and leaf damage score up to 84% and 64% respectively when compared with treated seeds of specific amaranth at 10 DAI. No significant difference was noted between seed treatment and storage time. Amaranth seeds treated with Monceren offered more protection against infestations of Myzus persicae than amaranth seeds treated with Apron under high tunnel experiments.
Condition dependence and the paradox of missing plasticity costs
Authors: De Lisle Stephen P , Rowe Locke
Published: March 2023

Phenotypic plasticity plays a key role in adaptation to changing environments. However, plasticity is neither perfect nor ubiquitous, implying that fitness costs may limit the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in nature. The measurement of such costs of plasticity has proved elusive; decades of experiments show that fitness costs of plasticity are often weak or nonexistent. Here, we show that this paradox could potentially be explained by condition dependence. We develop two models differing in their assumptions about how condition dependence arises; both models show that variation in condition can readily mask costs of plasticity even when such costs are substantial. This can be shown simply in a model where plasticity itself evolves condition dependence, which would be expected if costly. Yet similar effects emerge from an alternative model where trait expression itself is condition-dependent. In this more complex model, the average condition in each environment and genetic covariance in condition across environments both determine when costs of plasticity can be revealed. Analogous to the paradox of missing trade-offs between life history traits, our models show that variation in condition can mask costs of plasticity even when costs exist, and suggest this conclusion may be robust to the details of how condition affects trait expression. Our models suggest that condition dependence can also account for the often-observed pattern of elevated plasticity costs inferred in stressful environments, the maintenance of genetic variance in plasticity, and provides insight into experimental and biological scenarios ideal for revealing a cost of phenotypic plasticity.
Investigation of solar powered sorption cooling and heating systems to supply hospital’s thermal requirements in pandemic periods
Authors: Pastakkaya Bilsay
Published: March 2023

In pandemic periods such as COVID-19, economic and sociological problems threaten human life and public order on a global scale. In these periods, the use of solar powered heating–cooling systems to meet the thermal needs of hospitals and to provide thermal comfort conditions offer important solutions for the elimination of technical, economic and environmental problems related to energy supply. In this study, the heating, cooling and hot water supply of a sample hospital building for the three largest cities of Turkey with a novel solar powered Li-Cl absorption heat pump system was investigated using the Transient System Simulation Tool (TRNSYS) simulation program. The use of a unique NH3-H2O resorption system as a solar powered auxiliary system was also investigated. It was determined that the total annual hot water and cooling needs of the hospital buildings in all three provinces are supplied almost completely by the solar energy powered system without compromising the hygiene and thermal comfort of the occupants. The average annual solar fraction of total heating demands are calculated as 50, 54 and 65% for İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir, respectively. In addition, depending on the use of solar energy, it has been observed that 126 tons of CO2 emissions were saved annually, and an economic saving of 524 375 TL was achieved in total. Considering the problems with energy supply during the epidemic periods, it was concluded that meeting the energy requirements of hospitals with clean, renewable and independent energy source will provide significant benefits to the countries.
Zonotopal Algebras, Orbit Harmonics, and Donaldson–Thomas Invariants of Symmetric Quivers
Authors: Reineke Markus , Rhoades Brendon , Tewari Vasu
Published: March 2023

We apply the method of orbit harmonics to the set of break divisors and orientable divisors on graphs to obtain the central and external zonotopal algebras, respectively. We then relate a construction of Efimov in the context of cohomological Hall algebras to the central zonotopal algebra of a graph $G_{Q,\gamma }$ constructed from a symmetric quiver $Q$ with enough loops and a dimension vector $\gamma $. This provides a concrete combinatorial perspective on the former work, allowing us to identify the quantum Donaldson–Thomas (DT) invariants as the Hilbert series of the space of $S_{\gamma }$-invariants of the Postnikov–Shapiro slim subgraph space attached to $G_{Q,\gamma }$. The connection with orbit harmonics in turn allows us to give a manifestly nonnegative combinatorial interpretation to numerical DT invariants as the number of $S_{\gamma }$-orbits under the permutation action on the set of break divisors on $G$. We conclude with several representation-theoretic consequences, whose combinatorial ramifications may be of independent interest.
Methods Regimes in Global Governance: The Politics of Evidence-Making in Global Health
Authors: Littoz-Monnet Annabelle , Uribe Juanita
Published: March 2023

This article opens up the blackbox through which evidence is selected and assessed in the making of guidelines and recommendations in global governance, through an exploration of “methods regimes.” Methods regimes are a special kind of sociomaterial arrangement, which govern the production and validation of knowledge, by establishing a clear hierachy between alternative forms of research designs. When such regimes become inscribed in processes of global governance, they shape and control what knowledge is deemed valid and thus relevant for policy. We shed light that through a mode of operation that relies on a discourse of procedurality, a dispersed but powerful network of epistemic operators, and a dense web of infrastructures, methods regimes constitute and police the making of “policy-relevant knowledge” in global governance. Through an examination of the case of “GRADE” (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation), a standardized system that evaluates and grades the quality of evidence in global health, we show that its dominance has worked to the effect of empowering a new cast of methodologists, seen as more objective and portable across domains, sidelining certain forms of evidence that do not conform with its own methodological criteria of scientificity, and “clinicalizing” research in medicine and beyond.
Penicillin-allergy delabelling resources for clinicians practicing in resource-limited settings: a full educational resource review of the grey literature
Authors: Staicu Mary L , Jeffres Meghan N , Jones Bruce M , Stover Kayla R , Wagner Jamie L , Bland Christopher M
Published: March 2023

Background

The clinical and financial consequences associated with a penicillin-allergy label are increasingly evident and have garnered support from international organizations to prioritize penicillin-allergy delabelling programmes. Most settings lack access to resources including drug allergy specialists and rely on general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists.

Objectives

The aim of this scoping review was to identify and describe freely available penicillin-allergy delabelling materials to guide clinicians practising in resource-limited settings with initiative application.

Methods

This scoping review searched two grey literature databases, six targeted websites and consulted content experts to identify freely available materials in the English language that provided evidence-based and actionable penicillin-allergy delabelling strategies. Study investigators ranked and voted on which screened resources should be included in the final review. Characteristics of resources were evaluated and compared.

Results

Out of 1191 total citations, 6 open-access resources were included. Penicillin-allergy toolkits featuring various delabelling strategies were identified in four resources. The toolkits supported a broad range of downloadable and adaptable materials, predominantly targeted towards GPs. Patient educational materials were also provided. Another resource highlighted a point-of-care penicillin-allergy risk assessment calculator via a free mobile app that quickly and accurately identified low-risk penicillin-allergic patients. The final resource, a supplemental instructional video, presented impactful and standardized delabelling strategies that clinicians can adopt into daily practices.

Conclusions

Limited penicillin-allergy delabelling materials are available in the grey literature but existing resources provide broad and diverse opportunities. Additional support from health protection agencies is critical to augment ongoing delabelling efforts.
Integrating health disparities content into health informatics courses: a cross-sectional survey study and recommendations
Authors: Chen Annie T , Backonja Uba , Cato Kenrick
Published: March 2023

Objective

To assess the extent to which health disparities content is integrated in multidisciplinary health informatics training programs and examine instructor perspectives surrounding teaching strategies and challenges, including student engagement with course material.

Materials and Methods

Data for this cross-sectional, descriptive study were collected between April and October 2019. Instructors of informatics courses taught in the United States were recruited via listservs and email. Eligibility was contingent on course inclusion of disparities content. Participants completed an online survey with open- and closed-ended questions to capture administrative- and teaching-related aspects of disparities education within informatics. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics; qualitative data were analyzed using inductive coding.

Results

Invitations were sent to 141 individuals and 11 listservs. We obtained data from 23 instructors about 24 informatics courses containing health disparities content. Courses were taught primarily in graduate-level programs (n = 21, 87.5%) in informatics (n = 9, 33.3%), nursing (n = 7, 25.9%), and information science (n = 6, 22.2%). The average course covered 6.5 (range 2–13) social determinants of health; socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity (both n = 21, 87.5%) were most frequently addressed. Instructors described multiple obstacles, including lack of resources and time to cover disparities topics adequately, topic sensitivity, and student-related challenges (eg, lack of prior understanding about disparities).

Discussion

A foundational and translational knowledge in health disparities is critical to a student’s ability to develop future equitable informatics solutions. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for the intentional and required integration of health disparities-specific content in informatics curricula and competencies.
Monitoring resistance of Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in Canada to Cry toxins produced by Bt corn
Authors: Smith Jocelyn L , Farhan Yasmine
Published: March 2023

The first case of field-evolved resistance in European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) to transgenic corn (Zea mays L.) producing a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Berliner toxin was discovered in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2018. This case involved resistance to Bt corn producing Cry1Fa toxin. As a mitigation response, Bt corn hybrids producing only Cry1Fa were replaced in that region with hybrids producing two or three Bt toxins targeting O. nubilalis. In this study, we collected O. nubilalis in several corn-growing regions of Canada during 2018 to 2020 and tested their progeny for susceptibility to four Bt toxins produced by currently available Bt corn that targets O. nubilalis: Cry1Fa, Cry1Ab, Cry1A.105, and Cry2Ab. Based on toxin concentrations killing 50% of larvae from 23 field-derived strains relative to two susceptible laboratory strains, the resistance ratio was at least 10 for Cry1Fa for 12 strains (52% of strains) consisting of 10 strains from Nova Scotia, as well as strains from near Montreal, Quebec and Roseisle, Manitoba. We found low but statistically significant resistance relative to at least one of two susceptible strains for Cry1Ab (23% of strains), Cry1A.105 (45% of strains), and Cry2Ab (14% of strains), with maximum resistance ratios of 3.9, 5.8, and 2.0, respectively. These results provide key information for addressing O. nubilalis resistance to Bt corn in Canada.
Modelling annual scintillation velocity variations of FRB 20201124A
Authors: Main R A , Bethapudi S , Marthi V R , Bause M L , Li D Z , Lin H-H , Spitler L G , Wharton R S
Published: March 2023

Compact radio sources exhibit scintillation, an interference pattern arising from propagation through inhomogeneous plasma, where scintillation patterns encode the relative distances and velocities of the source, scattering material, and Earth. In previous work, we showed that the scintillation velocity of the repeating fast radio burst (FRB) FRB20201124A could be measured by correlating burst spectrum pairs, with low values of the scintillation velocity and scattering time-scale suggesting scattering nearby the Earth at $\sim$0.4 kpc. In this work, we have measured the scintillation velocity at 10 epochs spanning 1 yr, observing an annual variation that strongly implies the screen is within the Milky Way. Modelling the annual variation with a 1D anisotropic or 2D isotropic screen results in a screen distance $d_{\mathrm{ l}} = 0.40\pm 0.04$ or $0.46\pm 0.06\,$ pc from the Earth, respectively, possibly associated with material outside of the Local Bubble or the edge of the Orion–Eridanus superbubble. Additional measurements particularly at times of low effective velocity will help probe changes in screen properties, and distinguish between screen models. Where scintillation of an FRB originates in its host galaxy or local environment, these techniques could be used to detect orbital motion, and probe the FRB’s local ionized environment.
Roman Fishing and Aquaculture
Authors: Marzano Annalisa
Published: March 2023

In the Roman world marine, lacustrine, and riverine fisheries were exploited; in some cases, these fisheries could make a substantial contribution to local economies (see, e.g., Gades, mod. Cádiz in Spain, and its important production of salted fish and fish sauces, which were traded extra-regionally). In the past, fishing in the classical world of Greece and Rome has been regarded as a relatively marginal activity attracting relatively little scholarly interest. This has changed with the availability of ever-growing archaeological data for fish processing, which offer good indirect evidence for large-scale fishing activity. The abundant archaeological evidence attesting the production of salted fish and fish sauces (the salting workshops or cetariae, with typical batteries of masonry vats) and the interregional trade of these products (as attested by the durable containers used to transport them, the amphorae) has led to the recognition of the importance of large-scale fishing activity in the ancient world, across the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Atlantic façade. This, in turn, has prompted an interest in ancient fisheries and fishing techniques. Archaeozoological studies of fish bones found in association with Roman salting vats and in containers for processed fish, together with various scientific analyses of organic residues, have been adding important data which integrate the selective nature of the information found in literary sources, revealing what fisheries were targeted and the variety of processed fish products available to ancient consumers. Aquaculture, particularly for freshwater fish, was common in classical Antiquity and often complementary to agriculture. Latin literary texts have several references to elite Romans engaging in marine fish farming at their luxury villas, and agricultural treatises such as Columella’s de re rustica include sections advising on how to practice aquaculture on villa estates. This picture of elite involvement in marine aquaculture is corroborated by the archaeological evidence for large and elaborate fishponds (Lat. Piscinae) found in maritime villas, particularly along Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast. Roman marine aquaculture has been understood as a part of the notorious competitive display of the Roman elite, but more recently the financial valence of this branch of pastio villatica has been acknowledged.
Life Without Parole Sentencing
Authors: Seeds Christopher
Published: March 2023

Life without parole sentencing refers to laws, policies, and practices concerning lifetime prison sentences that also preclude release by parole. While sentences to imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole have existed for more than a century in the United States, over the past four decades the penalty has emerged as a prominent element of US punishment, routinely put to use by penal professionals and featured regularly in public discourse. As use of the death penalty diminishes in the United States, life without parole (often referred to as LWOP) serves as the ultimate punishment in more and more jurisdictions. The scope with which US jurisdictions apply life without parole varies, however, and some states authorize the punishment even for nonviolent offenses. Beyond the instrumental purposes of retribution, crime control, and public safety, and beyond its symbolic functions in US culture and politics, the life without parole sentence is a lived experience for more than fifty thousand people incarcerated in the United States. Although the United States accounts for approximately half of the world’s life sentences, the contemporary rise of whole life sentencing should be seen as an international phenomenon. Recognizing this, the bibliography focuses on LWOP in the United States but recognizes developments worldwide.
Juan de Torquemada
Authors: Izbicki Thomas
Published: March 2023

Juan de Torquemada (b. 1388–d. 1468) was a Dominican cardinal, Thomist theologian, canon lawyer, and a polemicist. Born in Castile, his family possibly included converted Jews. Torquemada joined the Dominicans Order and attended the Council of Constance (1414–1418). After the council, he was sent to the University of Paris to study theology. Having concluded his studies, Torquemada returned to Castile, where he became prior in Valladolid and then Toledo. Torquemada entered public life when both his province and Juan II of Castile dispatched him to the Council of Basel (1431–1449). Upon arriving, he took the oath of incorporation and joined the deputation on reform. The council was resisting efforts of Pope Eugenius IV to move it to Italy to meet the Greeks, and it was trying to impose reforms on the Roman curia. Torquemada, fearing the council might curtail the privileges of the friars, wrote in opposition to Basel’s proposed reforms. To reward the friar for this opposition, Eugenius made Torquemada Master of the Sacred Palace, his theological adviser. When Eugenius tried to move the council to Ferrara, Torquemada joined him. The Basel assembly declared Eugenius deposed and elected its own pope, Felix V (Amadeus VIII of Savoy). Eugenius waged a diplomatic war against Basel with Torquemada as an envoy. He was in Florence, the new site of the council, for discussions leading to a brief-lived union of churches. He also debated papal supremacy with Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini, former president of Basel, being rewarded with promotion to cardinal. Cardinal Torquemada dressed as a friar but took part in curial business. The cardinal was involved in reforming religious houses in Rome and Castile. He also participated in four papal elections. These roles did not prevent Torquemada from writing devotional texts and polemics, including tracts attacking Islam and defending Jewish converts in Castile. One of the devotional texts is the Meditationes, one of the earliest printed texts in Italy. It was published in 1467 with woodcut illustrations based on frescos by Fra Angelico. Torquemada’s most important writing was the Summa de ecclesia (1453), dedicated to Pope Nicholas V. It addressed four subjects: the visible church; the papacy; general councils; heresy and schism. Torquemada was a papalist but no absolutist. He believed a pope could lose his office for heresy or endangering the church. Torquemada complemented his Summa with a commentary on Gratian’s Decretum, which was used by conciliarists to back conciliar supremacy. His thought on the church influenced Thomas de Vio (Cajetan), Robert Bellarmine, and the School of Salamanca.
Alchemy and Yoga
Authors: Sauthoff Patricia
Published: March 2023

At the heart of both yoga and alchemy (rasaśāstra/rasavāda) we find practices meant to change bodies. These disciplines offer a variety of ways in which one can counteract greying hair, eliminate wrinkles, prolong life, and cure disease. However, their approaches are often quite different, with yoga focusing on physical and mental practice and alchemy emphasizing the use of herbal, mineral, and metallic medicines. Both systems prioritize a sort of divine body, describing the attainment of enlightenment during life (jīvanmukti) or a perfected body (dehasiddhi). While both yoga and Indian alchemy persist today as part of the global wellness industry, for the purpose of this bibliography we will consider the premodern developments of these disciplines. In the case of yoga this means examining works from the 6th century on that focus on tantric and haṭha yogic schools of thought. Rasaśāstra literature proper dates to no earlier than the 10th century and makes explicit reference to tantric texts and traditions. Thus though tantric and yogic texts rarely make overt references to the use of mercurials we can see that these traditions overlapped and were very much aware of one another. In addition to an emphasis on the body we also find tantric mantras, yantras, and maṇḍalas throughout the rasaśāstra corpus. Recent work on yoga has also demonstrated early connections to alchemy through the metaphors of Śiva’s semen as mercury and Śakti’s menstrual blood as cinnabar as well as these substances’ life-preserving usages. Several Sanskrit terms that appear in yoga and rasaśāstra can cause issues on first glance. First and foremost, the word “yoga” itself. Meaning union, “yoga” appears as early as the Vedas. It also appears in the Upaniṣads and Bhagavad Gītā in which it refers to a source of knowledge and perception. It is the usage in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali that “yoga” appears as a philosophical term connected to meditation. This is the beginning of yoga for our purposes. In rasaśāstra “yoga” is rarely used in this way. Most often “yoga” denotes a recipe or alchemical preparation, the union of substances that transform the body through medical intervention. The second term we must note is “rasa.” Within tantra and yoga “rasa” means “juice” “fluid” or most commonly “elixir.” This rasa is the elixir that brings about immortality and often appears as a substance already within the body. In rasaśāstra the term nearly always denotes “mercury.” This rasa too brings about immortality but only after it has been processed through alchemical procedures (saṃskāras).
Malaysian Politics and Government
Authors: Ufen Andreas
Published: March 2023

The literature on Malaysian politics and government has been dominated for a long time by an approach perceiving the country as a “plural society” with a segregation of different ethnic groups or “races.” In this vein, many of the classic studies center around communalism as a legacy of British colonialism due to the immigration of ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indians who became miners, rubber tappers, clerks, and traders, the colonial construction of “races” and parallel “protection” of Malays, and a politically toothless but symbolically valorized conservative Malay aristocracy. According to this theoretical framework, politics in the early twenty-first century is still seen as primarily shaped by ethnicity and communalism. Another approach examines the connection between politics and the economy. Historically, it forefronts the role of Malay radicals in the nationalist movement, and the existence of a strong labor movement as well as powerful leftist parties in the past. It tends to assess critically the New Economic Policy (NEP) involving affirmative action for bumiputera, that is, Malays and some other ethnic minorities except ethnic Indians and ethnic Chinese. According to this strand of the literature, the NEP has resulted in a political economy of state capture under the aegis of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the dominant party in interethnic coalitions. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s, the political system became ever more authoritarian and marked by “money politics.” In connection to this, this literature stresses economic and status inequalities and often refers directly to some kind of class theory. In recent years, cultural and postcolonial studies are increasingly trying to deconstruct the notion of “given” ethnic, religious, and social identities. In parallel, new research subjects have arisen such as digital media, political Islam and religious revivalism, feminism, the marginalization of sexual and ethnic minorities, climate change, etc. Besides, a large part of the political science literature has focused on elections and political parties competing within a political system that has been characterized as electoral or competitive authoritarian or as a semi-democracy. Especially the Asian financial crisis and the emergence of the Reformasi or reform movement in the late 1990s have resulted in new political dynamics with the rise of a strong social movement and an opposition coalition that won in the 2018 elections. In the early twenty-first century, Malaysia is shifting in between electoral authoritarianism and electoral democracy.
Fascism and International Law
Authors: Gamarra Yolanda
Published: March 2023

This article is an annotated and selected bibliography of materials on the topic of fascism and international law as it stands in contemporary debates. Fascism tends to encompass a set of practices and ideas associated with reactionary national populism, despotism, or supremacism. As a political and social movement, it goes beyond the totalitarian impulse to go through life and the entire society. There has been an exponential growth in the number of publications from political, historical, or philosophical approaches. International legal scholars began to examine more intensively the role of international law during the fascisms in the 1990s and early twenty-first century. One of the reasons for this interest is that there are international legal scholars who establish analogies between Carl Schmitt’s critique of liberalism and the postcolonial authors’ critique of (neo)liberalism, in particular the imperial hypocrisy and the discourse of domination and subordination. Interest in fascism is related to the turn to history in international law. The argument here is that international law conducts politics in a complicit response to fascism. Fascism and international law may be said to comprise five parts: (1) the fascism in the history of international law; (2) the representations of fascism as a movement based on nationalism and corporatism with three distinct lines plus the pan-Germanism and the movements outside, namely pure fascism, National Socialism, National Catholicism, and “generic” fascism; (3) the anti-fascism, the resistance, and collaborationism; (4) the institutions of fascism, that is, (re)designing the law and the state of exception as instruments to legitimize and legalize their actions and to project internationally a “new order”; and (5) the crimes of Nazism with the creation of the Nuremberg trials and the compensation to victims. Pre-1989 bibliographies have been excluded. Reissues of previous works are included due to their relevance and timeliness. The article does not distinguish between historiography proper and legal work that uses fascism as a central part of the argument. This is because the exploration of fascism requires history, political science, and international relations. The article focuses on publications in English, with references to other language materials. Literature in Italian, German, Spanish, and French will be included in the appropriate sections. Materials have been arranged in sections that reflect the issues that prevail in the current debates of scholars.
Multiplex High-Definition Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for the Diagnosis of Tick-borne Infections in Children
Authors: Nigrovic Lise E , Neville Desiree N , Chapman Laura , Balamuth Fran , Levas Michael N , Thompson Amy D , Kharbanda Anupam B , Gerstbrein Derek , Branda John A , Buchan Blake W ,   for Pedi Lyme Net
Published: March 2023

Background

Ixodes scapularis ticks can carry Borrelia species as well as other pathogens that cause human disease. The frequency of tick-borne infections and coinfections in children with suspected Lyme disease is unknown, creating clinical uncertainty about the optimal approach to diagnosis.

Methods

We enrolled children aged 1–21 years presenting to 1 of 8 Pedi Lyme Net emergency departments for evaluation of Lyme disease. We selected cases with serologically or clinically diagnosed Lyme disease (erythema migrans or early neurologic disease) matched by symptoms, age, gender, and center to control subjects without Lyme disease. We tested whole blood samples collected at the time of diagnosis using a multiplex high-definition polymerase chain reaction (HDPCR) panel to identify 9 bacterial or protozoan pathogens associated with human disease. We compared the frequency of tick-borne coinfections in children with Lyme disease to matched controls.

Results

Of the 612 selected samples, 594 (97.1%) had an interpretable multiplex HDPCR result. We identified the following non-Borrelia tick-borne infections: Anaplasma phagocytophilum (2), Ehrlichia chaffeensis (1), and Babesia microti (12). Children with Lyme disease were more likely to have another tick-borne pathogen identified than matched controls (15/297 [5.1%] Lyme cases vs 0/297 [0%]; difference, 5.1% [95% confidence interval, 2.7%–8.2%]).

Conclusions

Although a substantial minority of children with Lyme disease had another tick-borne pathogen identified, either first-line Lyme disease antibiotics provided adequate treatment or the coinfection was subclinical and did not require specific treatment. Further studies are needed to establish the optimal approach to testing for tick-borne coinfections in children.
Interdisciplinary strategies to prevent long-term and detrimental opioid use following trauma: a stakeholder consensus study
Authors: Bérubé Mélanie , Côté Caroline , Gagnon Marc-Aurèle , Moore Lynne , Tremblay Lorraine , Turgeon Alexis F , Evans David , Berry Greg , Turcotte Valérie , Belzile Étienne L , Dale Craig , Orrantia Eli , Verret Michael , Dercksen Judy , Martel Marc-Olivier , Dupuis Sébastien , Chatillon Claude-Edouard , Lauzier François
Published: March 2023

Objective

Prolonged opioid use is common following traumatic injuries. Although preventive strategies have been recommended, the evidence supporting their use is low. The objectives of this study were to select interdisciplinary strategies to prevent long-term, detrimental opioid use in trauma patients for further evaluation and to identify implementation considerations.

Design

A consensus study using the nominal group technique.

Setting

Four trauma systems in Canada.

Subjects

Participants included expert clinicians and decision makers, and people with lived experience.

Methods

Participants had to discuss the relevance and implementation of 15 strategies and then rank them using a 7-point Likert scale. Implementation considerations were identified through a synthesis of discussions.

Results

A total of 41 expert stakeholders formed the nominal groups. Overall, eight strategies were favored: 1) using multimodal approach for pain management, 2) professional follow-up in physical health, 3) assessment of risk factors for opioid misuse, 4) physical stimulation, 5) downward adjustment of opioids based on patient recovery, 6) educational intervention for patients, 7) training offered to professionals on how to prescribe opioids, and 8) optimizing communication between professionals working in different settings. Discussions with expert stakeholders revealed the rationale for the selected strategies and identified issues to consider when implementing them.

Conclusion

This stakeholder consensus study identified, for further scientific study, a set of interdisciplinary strategies to promote appropriate opioid use following traumatic injuries. These strategies could ultimately decrease the burden associated with long-term opioid use.
Commissural dentate granule cell projections and their rapid formation in the adult brain
Authors: Egger Matteo , Luo Wenshu , Cruz-Ochoa Natalia , Lukacsovich David , Varga Csaba , Que Lin , Maloveczky Gyula , Winterer Jochen , Kaur Rashmit , Lukacsovich Tamás , Földy Csaba
Published: March 2023

Dentate granule cells (GCs) have been characterized as unilaterally projecting neurons within each hippocampus. Here, we describe a unique class, the commissural GCs, which atypically project to the contralateral hippocampus in mice. Although commissural GCs are rare in the healthy brain, their number and contralateral axon density rapidly increase in a rodent model of temporal lobe epilepsies. In this model, commissural GC axon growth appears together with the well-studied hippocampal mossy fiber sprouting and may be important for the pathomechanisms of epilepsy. Our results augment the current view on hippocampal GC diversity and demonstrate powerful activation of a commissural wiring program in the adult brain.
Closing the Conceptual Gap in Epistemic Injustice
Authors: Fürst Martina
Published: March 2023

Miranda Fricker’s insightful work on epistemic injustice discusses two forms of epistemic injustice—testimonial injustice and hermeneutical injustice. Hermeneutical injustice occurs when the victim lacks the interpretative resources to make sense of her experience, and this lacuna can be traced down to a structural injustice. In this paper, I provide one model of how to fill the conceptual gap in hermeneutical injustice. First, I argue that the victims possess conceptual resources to make sense of their experiences, namely phenomenal concepts. Second, I show how one might work the way up in a two-step process from a subjective, phenomenal concept to a novel, public concept. Finally, I discuss the conditions that have to be met for this process to be successful. The resulting model shows a way how the victims might alleviate hermeneutical injustice by developing novel concepts, given that the dominant group does not care about their predicament.
Delegated Learning and Contract Commonality in Asset Management
Authors: Sockin Michael , Xiaolan Mindy Z
Published: March 2023

We examine the pecuniary externalities that arise when active fund manager compensation contracts have common components. This commonality in the compensation structure and loadings on each component across funds reduces asset price informativeness, amplifies the distortions from active managers’ benchmark-hedging demand, and lowers the price of risk in financial markets. This is because contract commonality distorts investors’ capital allocation to active management, and active managers’ information acquisition and trading decisions. From a normative perspective, contract commonality increases the rigidity of the active industry size and performance-based fee. As a result, they do not vary enough with financial market conditions compared with a Planner’s economy. Quantitatively, an increase in asset payoff uncertainty increases the size and performance-based fee twice as much in the Planner economy compared with the decentralized economy. From a positive perspective, contract commonality contributes to the inconsistency of several widely adopted measures of active manager skill.
The evolution of an ancient tapeworm lineage in its catfish hosts: vicariance, dispersal and diversification in Gangesiinae (Cestoda: Proteocephalidae)
Authors: Marick Jit , Brabec Jan , Choudhury Anindo , Scholz Tomáš , Ash Anirban
Published: March 2023

The diversification of tapeworms of the subfamily Gangesiinae (Cestoda: Proteocephalidae), parasites of catfishes (order Siluriformes), is assessed using molecular and morphological evidence. A two-gene (lsrDNA and COI) phylogenetic analysis of all species of Gangesiinae (except Gangesia margolisi) resulted in a basal polytomy that included several lineages of Gangesiinae and Acanthotaeniinae. Palaeogeological events, along with host-shifting and dispersal, played prominent roles in the evolution of these tapeworms. Gangesia radiated through two major lineages in the Indomalayan and Palaearctic regions. Morphological changes during this radiation also included secondary loss of diagnostic morphological features of the genus, as in Gangesia mukutmanipurensis sp. nov., which lacks hooks and hooklets on its scolex. An updated key to the genera placed in Gangesiinae is provided and two new synonyms are proposed. A basal polytomy involving some of the potentially oldest lineages of Gangesiinae prevents firm conclusions regarding the ancestral area of origin of these tapeworms. Nevertheless, when the distribution and host-associations of Gangesiinae are considered in the context of the historical biogeography of their catfish hosts, the Indomalayan region appears to have been the ancestral homeland and a major centre of diversification of these tapeworms, with range expansions in western and northern parts of Eurasia and Africa.
Complete Genome Sequence of Bacillus velezensis Strain ZY1, a Potential Biological Control Agent for Bacterial Fruit Blotch
Authors: Ji Weiqin , Yang Yuwen , Liu Dehua , Wang Chengliang , Yu Chunyan , Guan Wei , Zhao Tingchang
Published: March 2023

Bacillus velezensis strain ZY1 isolated from pepper leaves recently showed a strong biocontrol effect on bacterial fruit blotch. Here, we report the complete genome sequence data with annotation for Bacillus velezensis strain ZY1, which was obtained by Nanopore and Illumina sequencing technology. No gaps and plasmids were included in the sequencing results. The final assembled genome of ZY1 was 4,032,733 bp, with an average GC content of 46.42%, and it contained 3,842 prediction protein-coding genes, 86 tRNA, 27 rRNA, and 5 ncRNA. Fourteen secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters were identified in the genome, which might contribute to the biocontrol function of the strain. This genome sequence provides a basis for further understanding the biocontrol mechanism of this Bacillus velezensis strain.

[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .
N‐cadherin cleavage: A critical function that induces diabetic retinopathy fibrosis via regulation of β‐catenin translocation
Authors: Xiang Wei , Li Longhui , Hong Fuyan , Zeng Yongcheng , Zhang Jin , Xie Jinye , Shen Gang , Wang Jinhong , Fang Zhenzhen , Qi Weiwei , Yang Xia , Gao Guoquan , Zhou Ti
Published: March 2023

Retinal fibrosis is a severe pathological change in the late stage of diabetic retinopathy and is also the leading cause of blindness. We have previously revealed that N‐cadherin was significantly increased in type 1 and type 2 diabetic mice retinas and the fibrovascular membranes from proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients. However, whether N‐cadherin directly induces retinal fibrosis in DR and the related mechanism is unknown. Here, we investigated the pathogenic role of N‐cadherin in mediating retinal fibrosis and further explored the relevant therapeutic targets. We found that the level of N‐cadherin was significantly increased in PDR patients and STZ‐induced diabetic mice and positively correlated with the fibrotic molecules Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) and fibronectin (FN). Moreover, intravitreal injection of N‐cadherin adenovirus significantly increased the expression of FN and CTGF in normal mice retinas. Mechanistically, overexpression of N‐cadherin promotes N‐cadherin cleavage, and N‐cadherin cleavage can further induce translocation of non‐p‐β‐catenin in the nucleus and upregulation of fibrotic molecules. Furthermore, we found a novel N‐cadherin cleavage inhibitor, pigment epithelial‐derived factor (PEDF), which ameliorated the N‐cadherin cleavage and subsequent retinal fibrosis in diabetic mice. Thus, our findings provide novel evidence that elevated N‐cadherin level not only acts as a classic EMT maker but also plays a causative role in diabetic retinal fibrosis, and targeting N‐cadherin cleavage may provide a strategy to inhibit retinal fibrosis in DR patients.
Offloading of Diabetic Neuropathic Plantar Ulcers: Secondary Analysis of Step Activity and Ulcer Healing
Authors: Wendland Deborah M. , Kline Paul W. , Bohnert Kathryn L. , Biven Theresa M. , Sinacore David R.
Published: March 2023

OBJECTIVE

Although it is well-known that offloading devices facilitate healing in people with diabetes and neuropathic plantar ulcers, little is known about how step activity affects healing. The purposes of this study were to compare: (1) healing outcomes (time to healing, percentage of ulcers healed); (2) healing rates by ulcer location; and (3) step activity (daily step count, daily peak mean cadence) among patients using either total contact casts (TCCs) or removable cast walker boots (RCWs).

METHODS

The study included 55 participants (TCC, 29; RCW, 26) with diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy, and a Wagner grade 1 or 2 neuropathic plantar ulcer. Each participant wore an activity monitor for 14 consecutive days. Step activity and healing variables were assessed using independent t tests, Kruskal-Wallis, Kaplan-Meier, and Mantel-Cox log-rank tests.

RESULTS

Mean participant age was 55 (SD, 11) years. The percentage of ulcers healed was lower in the RCW group versus the TCC group (65% vs 93%). If healed, average healing rate was 77 (SD, 48) days in the TCC group and 138 (SD, 143) days in the RCW group. Survival distribution by ulcer location was different for RCW forefoot than other locations (132 ± 13 days vs 91 ± 15, 75 ± 11, and 102 ± 36 days for TCC forefoot, TCC-midfoot/hindfoot, and RCW-midfoot/hindfoot, respectively; χ
2 = 10.69, P = .014). Average step count was 2,597 in the RCW group versus 1,813 steps in the TCC group (P = .07). The daily peak mean cadence for 20-, 30-, or 60-minute periods was greater with RCW use.

CONCLUSIONS

Step activity in participants with RCWs was increased compared with those with TCCs. Because of their potential to be easily removable, RCWs may impair ulcer healing by allowing greater step activity.
Debridement: Technical Considerations and Treatment Options for the Interprofessional Team
Authors: Tran David L. , Huang Ren-Wen , Chiu Ernest S. , Rajhathy Erin M. , Gregory John H. , Ayello Elizabeth A. , Sibbald R. Gary
Published: March 2023

Debridement is a critical component in the management of both acute and chronic wounds. Six reviewed methods of debridement exist, and specific techniques are more appropriate to match patient needs with available clinical resources. Accurate differentiation between healable, maintenance, and nonhealable wounds is paramount when determining whether a wound would benefit from debridement.

Clinical assessment includes review of the patient’s underlying medical conditions/ previous surgeries along with the history and progression of the wound. Awareness of the physiologic wound bed preparation components that contribute to the current wound status will direct treatment of the abnormal components. Optimal wound status includes complete healing or reduced abnormal wound-related symptoms or signs.

Debridement competency requires an awareness of the six types of debridement, their clinical utility, and appropriate patient selection. Providers need to assess patients’ wounds, triage them, and refer them as necessary to an interprofessional setting. For stalled but healable wounds, specialized testing may be necessary when managing patients who would benefit from more invasive or advanced forms of wound care. This article informs providers on the training and experience required for specific debridement techniques depending on the wound etiology.

GENERAL PURPOSE

To enhance the learner’s chronic wound debridement competence as an interprofessional team member.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This continuing education activity is intended for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses with an interest in skin and wound care.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES

After participating in this educational activity, the participant will:

1. Differentiate healable, maintenance, and nonhealable wounds to create a holistic debridement treatment plan using the Wound Bed Preparation paradigm.

2. Evaluate active debridement options including the potential need for an interprofessional referral or specialized investigations.

3. Assess chronic wound debridement options.

4. Analyze case studies for appropriate clinical application of debridement modalities.