bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The distribution of sandpile groups of random graphs with their pairings
Authors: Hodges Eliot
Published: June 2024

We determine the distribution of the sandpile group (also known as the Jacobian) of the Erdős–Rényi random graph

G
(
n
,
q
)

G(n,q)

along with its canonical duality pairing as

n
n

tends to infinity, fully resolving a conjecture due to Clancy, Leake, and Payne [Exp. Math. 24 (2015), pp. 1–7] and generalizing the result by Wood [J. Amer. Math. Soc. 30 (2017), pp. 915–958] on the groups. In particular, we show that a finite abelian

p
p

-group

G
G

equipped with a perfect symmetric pairing

δ
\delta

appears as the Sylow

p
p

-part of the sandpile group and its pairing with frequency inversely proportional to

|

G

|

|

Aut
⁡
(
G
,
δ
)

|

|G| |\operatorname {Aut}(G,\delta )|

, where

Aut
⁡
(
G
,
δ
)

\operatorname {Aut}(G,\delta )

is the set of automorphisms of

G
G

preserving the pairing

δ
\delta

. While this distribution is related to the Cohen–Lenstra distribution, the two distributions are not the same on account of the additional algebraic data of the pairing. The proof utilizes the moment method: we first compute a complete set of moments for our random variable (the average number of epimorphisms from our random object to a fixed object in the category of interest) and then show the moments determine the distribution. To obtain the moments, we prove a universality result for the moments of cokernels of random symmetric integral matrices whose dual groups are equipped with symmetric pairings that is strong enough to handle both the dependence in the diagonal entries and the additional data of the pairing. We then apply results due to Sawin and Wood [The moment problem for random objects in a category, preprint] to show that these moments determine a unique distribution.
A Mañé-Manning formula for expanding measures for endomorphisms of ℙ^{𝕜}
Authors: Bianchi Fabrizio , He Yan Mary
Published: June 2024

Let

k
≥
1

k \ge 1

be an integer and

f
f

a holomorphic endomorphism of

P

k

(

C

)

\mathbb {P}^k (\mathbb {C})

of algebraic degree

d
≥
2

d\geq 2

. We introduce a dynamical volume dimension for ergodic

f
f

-invariant probability measures with strictly positive Lyapunov exponents. In particular, this class of measures includes all ergodic measures whose measure-theoretic entropy is strictly larger than

(
k
−
1
)
log
⁡
d

(k-1)\log d

, a natural generalization of the class of measures of positive measure-theoretic entropy in dimension 1. The volume dimension is equivalent to the Hausdorff dimension when

k
=
1

k=1

, but depends on the dynamics of

f
f

to incorporate the absence of an analogue of Koebe’s theorem and the non-conformality of holomorphic endomorphisms for

k
≥
2

k\geq 2

.

If

ν
\nu

is an ergodic

f
f

-invariant probability measure with strictly positive Lyapunov exponents, we prove a generalization of the Mañé-Manning formula relating the volume dimension, the measure-theoretic entropy, and the sum of the Lyapunov exponents of

ν
\nu

. As a consequence, we give a characterization of the first zero of a natural pressure function for such expanding measures in terms of their volume dimensions. For hyperbolic maps, such zero also coincides with the volume dimension of the Julia set, and with the exponent of a natural (volume-)conformal measure. This generalizes results by Denker-Urbański [Nonlinearity 4 (1991), pp. 365–384; Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 328 (1991), pp. 563–587] and McMullen [Comment. Math. Helv. 75 (2000), pp. 535–593] in dimension 1 to any dimension

k
≥
1

k\geq 1

.

Our methods mainly rely on a theorem by Berteloot-Dupont-Molino [Ann. Inst. Fourier (Grenoble) 58 (2008), pp. 2137–2168], which gives a precise control on the distortion of inverse branches of endomorphisms along generic inverse orbits with respect to measures with strictly positive Lyapunov exponents.
Risk for experiencing psychological and sexual abuse on- and offline: a comparison of bisexual, gay/lesbian, and heterosexual women and men
Authors: Chadwick Sara B , Woerner Jacqueline , Schrimshaw Eric W
Published: June 2024

Dating abuse research on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations tends to aggregate LGB participants for comparisons with heterosexuals and often excludes nonassaultive dating abuse and abuse that takes place on online dating applications. In the present study, we used the Pew Research Center’s 2019 American Trends Panel Wave 56 data set (n = 4712) to compare ever experiencing several types of nonassaultive on- and offline dating abuse between bisexual women (n = 402), lesbian women (n = 207), heterosexual women (n = 1802), bisexual men (n = 225), gay men (n = 575), and heterosexual men (n = 1501). We found that gay men and bisexual women generally had the greatest odds of experiencing online dating abuse. Bisexual and heterosexual women had the greatest odds of experiencing some offline abuse (eg, being touched in an uncomfortable way), but gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men had the greatest odds of experiencing other offline abuse (eg, having their contact information or a sexual image of them shared nonconsensually). Findings highlight how assessments of nonassaultive dating abuse in on- and offline contexts via analyses of more specified gender/sex and sexual identity groups can broaden understandings of dating abuse victimization, especially among sexual minority populations.
Crosstalk between genomic variants and DNA methylation in FLT3 mutant acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Dao Bac , Trinh Van Ngu , Nguyen Huy V , Nguyen Hoa L , Le Thuc Duy , Luu Phuc Loi
Published: June 2024

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a type of blood cancer with diverse genetic variations and DNA methylation alterations. By studying the interaction of gene mutations, expression, and DNA methylation, we aimed to gain valuable insights into the processes that lead to block differentiation in AML. We analyzed TCGA-LAML data (173 samples) with RNA sequencing and DNA methylation arrays, comparing FLT3 mutant (48) and wild-type (125) cases. We conducted differential gene expression analysis using cBioPortal, identified DNA methylation differences with ChAMP tool, and correlated them with gene expression changes. Gene set enrichment analysis (g:Profiler) revealed significant biological processes and pathways. ShinyGo and GeneCards were used to find potential transcription factors and their binding sites among significant genes. We found significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) negatively correlated with their most significant methylation probes (Pearson correlation coefficient of −0.49, P-value <0.001) between FLT3 mutant and wild-type groups. Moreover, our exploration of 450 k CpG sites uncovered a global hypo-methylated status in 168 DEGs. Notably, these methylation changes were enriched in the promoter regions of Homebox superfamily gene, which are crucial in transcriptional-regulating pathways in blood cancer. Furthermore, in FLT3 mutant AML patient samples, we observed overexpress of WT1, a transcription factor known to bind homeobox gene family. This finding suggests a potential mechanism by which WT1 recruits TET2 to demethylate specific genomic regions. Integrating gene expression and DNA methylation analyses shed light on the impact of FLT3 mutations on cancer cell development and differentiation, supporting a two-hit model in AML. This research advances understanding of AML and fosters targeted therapeutic strategy development.
BAllC and BAllCools: efficient formatting and operating for single-cell DNA methylation data
Authors: Tian Wei , Ding Wubin , Shen Jiawei , Li Daofeng , Wang Ting , Ecker Joseph R
Published: June 2024

Motivation

With single-cell DNA methylation studies yielding vast datasets, existing data formats struggle with the unique challenges of storage and efficient operations, highlighting a need for improved solutions.

Results

BAllC (Binary All Cytosines) emerges as a tailored format for methylation data, addressing these challenges. BAllCools, its complementary software toolkit, enhances parsing, indexing, and querying capabilities, promising superior operational speeds and reduced storage needs.

Availability and implementation

https://github.com/jksr/ballcools
Reflections Upon Heterodox Economics: Legacy and Prospects
Authors: Fleetwood Steve
Published: June 2024

In this review article, I take three themes from Lynne Chester and Tae-Hee Jo’s edited collection Heterodox Economics: Legacy and Prospects. The first is Geoff Hodgson’s critique which I summarise thus: heterodox economics lacks consensus, coordination, and organizational coherence because it lacks a definition of heterodoxy. The second and third themes are pluralism and interdisciplinarity. But pluralism has a shortcoming: even a sophisticated structured pluralism would remain within the disciplinary boundary of (heterodox) economics and, therefore, lack valuable insights found in other social science disciplines. Whilst interdisciplinarity appears to offer a solution, it too has a shortcoming: it connects disciplines, whilst leaving the boundaries between them in place. Moreover, the majority of heterodox economists know that economic phenomena are not separate from, but are entangled with, myriad social phenomena, and if so, investigation might require going beyond interdisciplinarity, perhaps to transdisciplinarity. The conclusion draws all these strands together, to consider their implications for the future prospect of heterodox economics.
Returns to Labour Mobility
Authors: Baley Isaac , Ljungqvist Lars , Sargent Thomas J
Published: June 2024

Returns to labour mobility have too often escaped the attention they deserve as conduits of important forces in macro-labour models. These returns are shaped by calibrations of productivity processes that use theoretical perspectives and data sources from (i) labour economics and (ii) industrial organisation. By investigating earlier prominent studies, we conclude that the focus on firm size dynamics and shocks intermediated through neo-classical production functions in (ii) yields large returns to labour mobility that are robust to parameter perturbations. In contrast, the reliance on statistics in labour economics to calibrate per-worker productivity processes in (i) can give rise to fragilities in the sense that parameter perturbations that generate similar targeted statistics can have very different implications for returns to labour mobility.
Can managers successfully deceive investors? Media attention and market manipulation during the Panama scandal
Authors: Ortiz-Serrano Miguel Ángel , Forero-Laverde Germán
Published: June 2024

This paper explores how the Panama Company stock price incorporated fake positive news planted by company managers in French newspapers during the spring of 1888 to bait investors into an upcoming securities issue. The results show that news about the Panama Company only had firm-specific effects, making the firm’s main stock more volatile while keeping constant expected returns. This suggests that investors considered the new debt issue a risky operation. Finally, we find a non-contemporaneous positive effect of future news on present stock returns, suggesting an unlawful exploitation of asymmetric information by investors privy to the publication of fake news.
Postmortem Analysis of Dolutegravir, Tenofovir, Lamivudine, and Efavirenz Penetration in Multiple Central Nervous System Compartments
Authors: Wang Fan , Rademeyer Kara , Namuju Olivie C , Abdusalaamu Kizito , Fisher James , Meya David B , McRae MaryPeace , Boulware David R , Lukande Robert , Nicol Melanie R
Published: June 2024

Background

Central nervous system (CNS) compartmentalization provides opportunity for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) persistence and resistance development. Differences between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and cerebral matter regarding HIV persistence are well described. However, CSF is often used as surrogate for CNS drug exposure, and knowledge from solid brain tissue is rare.

Methods

Dolutegravir, tenofovir, lamivudine, and efavirenz concentrations were measured across 13 CNS regions plus plasma in samples collected during autopsy in 49 Ugandan decedents. Median time from death to autopsy was 8 hours (interquartile range, 5–15 hours). To evaluate postmortem redistribution, a time course study was performed in a mouse model.

Results

Regions with the highest penetration ratios were choroid plexus/arachnoid (dolutegravir and tenofovir), CSF (lamivudine), and cervical spinal cord/meninges (efavirenz); the lowest were corpus callosum (dolutegravir and tenofovir), frontal lobe (lamivudine), and parietal lobe (efavirenz). On average, brain concentrations were 84%, 87%, and 76% of CSF for dolutegravir, tenofovir, and lamivudine, respectively. Postmortem redistribution was observed in the mouse model, with tenofovir and lamivudine concentration increased by 350% and efavirenz concentration decreased by 24% at 24 hours postmortem.

Conclusions

Analysis of postmortem tissue provides a unique opportunity to investigate CNS antiretroviral penetration. Regional differences were observed paving the way to identify mechanisms of viral compartmentalization and/or neurotoxicity.
A multilayer microfluidic system for studies of the dynamic responses of cellular proteins to oxygen switches at the single-cell level
Authors: Fu Wei , Wang Shujing , Ouyang Qi , Luo Chunxiong
Published: June 2024

Oxygen levels vary in the environment. Oxygen availability has a major effect on almost all organisms, and oxygen is far more than a substrate for energy production. However, less is known about related biological processes under hypoxic conditions and about the adaptations to changing oxygen concentrations. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can adapt its metabolism for growth under different oxygen concentrations and can grow even under anaerobic conditions. Therefore, we developed a microfluidic device that can generate serial, accurately controlled oxygen concentrations for single-cell studies of multiple yeast strains. This device can construct a broad range of oxygen concentrations, [O2] through on-chip gas-mixing channels from two gases fed to the inlets. Gas diffusion through thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) can lead to the equilibration of [O2] in the medium in the cell culture layer under gas cover regions within 2 min. Here, we established six different and stable [O2] varying between ~0.1 and 20.9% in the corresponding layers of the device designed for multiple parallel single-cell culture of four different yeast strains. Using this device, the dynamic responses of different yeast transcription factors and metabolism-related proteins were studied when the [O2] decreased from 20.9% to serial hypoxic concentrations. We showed that different hypoxic conditions induced varying degrees of transcription factor responses and changes in respiratory metabolism levels. This device can also be used in studies of the aging and physiology of yeast under different oxygen conditions and can provide new insights into the relationship between oxygen and organisms.

Integration, innovation and insight: Most living cells are sensitive to the oxygen concentration because they depend on oxygen for survival and proper cellular functions. Here, a composite microfluidic device was designed for yeast single-cell studies at a series of accurately controlled oxygen concentrations. Using this device, we studied the dynamic responses of various transcription factors and proteins to changes in the oxygen concentration. This study is the first to examine protein dynamics and temporal behaviors under different hypoxic conditions at the single yeast cell level, which may provide insights into the processes involved in yeast and even mammalian cells. This device also provides a base model that can be extended to oxygen-related biology and can acquire more information about the complex networks of organisms.
Multikingdom oral microbiome interactions in early-onset cryptogenic ischemic stroke
Authors: Manzoor Muhammed , Leskelä Jaakko , Pietiäinen Milla , Martinez-Majander Nicolas , Ylikotila Pauli , Könönen Eija , Niiranen Teemu , Lahti Leo , Sinisalo Juha , Putaala Jukka , Pussinen Pirkko J , Paju Susanna
Published: June 2024

Although knowledge of the role of the oral microbiome in ischemic stroke is steadily increasing, little is known about the multikingdom microbiota interactions and their consequences. We enrolled participants from a prospective multicentre case–control study and investigated multikingdom microbiome differences using saliva metagenomic datasets (n = 308) from young patients diagnosed with cryptogenic ischemic stroke (CIS) and age- and sex-matched stroke-free controls. Differentially abundant taxa were identified using Analysis of Compositions of Microbiomes with Bias Correction (ANCOM-BC2). Functional potential was inferred using HUMANn3. Our findings revealed significant differences in the composition and functional capacity of the oral microbiota associated with CIS. We identified 51 microbial species, including 47 bacterial, 3 viral, and one fungal species associated with CIS in the adjusted model. Co-abundance network analysis highlighted a more intricate microbial network in CIS patients, indicating potential interactions and co-occurrence patterns among microbial species across kingdoms. The results of our metagenomic analysis reflect the complexity of the oral microbiome, with high diversity and multikingdom interactions, which may play a role in health and disease.
Computational simulation of the potential improvement in clinical outcomes of cardiovascular diseases with the use of a personalized predictive medicine approach
Authors: Jacquemyn Xander , Van den Eynde Jef , Chinni Bhargava K , Danford David M , Kutty Shelby , Manlhiot Cedric
Published: June 2024

Importance and objectives

The current medical paradigm of evidence-based medicine relies on clinical guidelines derived from randomized clinical trials (RCTs), but these guidelines often overlook individual variations in treatment effects. Approaches have been proposed to develop models predicting the effects of individualized management, such as predictive allocation, individualizing treatment allocation. It is currently unknown whether widespread implementation of predictive allocation could result in better population-level outcomes over guideline-based therapy. We sought to simulate the potential effect of predictive allocation using data from previously conducted RCTs.

Methods and results

Data from 3 RCTs (positive trial, negative trial, trial stopped for futility) in pediatric cardiology were used in a computational simulation study to quantify the potential benefits of a personalized approach based on predictive allocation. Outcomes were compared when using a universal approach vs predictive allocation where each patient was allocated to the treatment associated with the lowest predicted probability of negative outcome. Compared to results from RCTs, predictive allocation yielded absolute risk reductions of 13.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] −1.9 to 29.5), 13.9% (95% CI 4.5-23.2), and 15.6% (95% CI 1.5-29.6), respectively, corresponding to a number needed to treat of 7.3, 7.2, and 6.4. The net benefit of predictive allocation was directly proportional to the performance of the prediction models and disappeared as model performance degraded below an area under the curve of 0.55.

Discussion

These findings highlight that predictive allocation could result in improved group-level outcomes, particularly when highly predictive models are available. These findings will need to be confirmed in simulations of other trials with varying conditions and eventually in RCTs of predictive vs guideline-based treatment allocation.
A novel hyperparameter search approach for accuracy and simplicity in disease prediction risk scoring
Authors: Lu Yajun , Duong Thanh , Miao Zhuqi , Thieu Thanh , Lamichhane Jivan , Ahmed Abdulaziz , Delen Dursun
Published: June 2024

Objective

Develop a novel technique to identify an optimal number of regression units corresponding to a single risk point, while creating risk scoring systems from logistic regression-based disease predictive models. The optimal value of this hyperparameter balances simplicity and accuracy, yielding risk scores of small scale and high accuracy for patient risk stratification.

Materials and Methods

The proposed technique applies an adapted line search across all potential hyperparameter values. Additionally, DeLong test is integrated to ensure the selected value produces an accuracy insignificantly different from the best achievable risk score accuracy. We assessed the approach through two case studies predicting diabetic retinopathy (DR) within six months and hip fracture readmissions (HFR) within 30 days, involving cohorts of 90 400 diabetic patients and 18 065 hip fracture patients.

Results

Our scores achieve accuracies insignificantly different from those obtained by existing approaches, reaching AUROCs of 0.803 and 0.645 for DR and HFR predictions, respectively. Regarding the scale, our scores ranged 0-53 for DR and 0-15 for HFR, while scores produced by existing methods frequently spanned hundreds or thousands.

Discussion

According to the assessment, our risk scores offer simple and accurate predictions for diseases. Furthermore, our new DR score provides a competitive alternative to state-of-the-art risk scores for DR, while our HFR case study presents the first risk score for this condition.

Conclusion

Our technique offers a generalizable framework for crafting precise risk scores of compact scales, addressing the demand for user-friendly and effective risk stratification tool in healthcare.
A comparative study of large language model-based zero-shot inference and task-specific supervised classification of breast cancer pathology reports
Authors: Sushil Madhumita , Zack Travis , Mandair Divneet , Zheng Zhiwei , Wali Ahmed , Yu Yan-Ning , Quan Yuwei , Lituiev Dmytro , Butte Atul J
Published: June 2024

Objective

Although supervised machine learning is popular for information extraction from clinical notes, creating large annotated datasets requires extensive domain expertise and is time-consuming. Meanwhile, large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated promising transfer learning capability. In this study, we explored whether recent LLMs could reduce the need for large-scale data annotations.

Materials and Methods

We curated a dataset of 769 breast cancer pathology reports, manually labeled with 12 categories, to compare zero-shot classification capability of the following LLMs: GPT-4, GPT-3.5, Starling, and ClinicalCamel, with task-specific supervised classification performance of 3 models: random forests, long short-term memory networks with attention (LSTM-Att), and the UCSF-BERT model.

Results

Across all 12 tasks, the GPT-4 model performed either significantly better than or as well as the best supervised model, LSTM-Att (average macro F1-score of 0.86 vs 0.75), with advantage on tasks with high label imbalance. Other LLMs demonstrated poor performance. Frequent GPT-4 error categories included incorrect inferences from multiple samples and from history, and complex task design, and several LSTM-Att errors were related to poor generalization to the test set.

Discussion

On tasks where large annotated datasets cannot be easily collected, LLMs can reduce the burden of data labeling. However, if the use of LLMs is prohibitive, the use of simpler models with large annotated datasets can provide comparable results.

Conclusions

GPT-4 demonstrated the potential to speed up the execution of clinical NLP studies by reducing the need for large annotated datasets. This may increase the utilization of NLP-based variables and outcomes in clinical studies.
Ensiled diet improved the growth performance of Tibetan sheep by regulating the rumen microbial community and rumen epithelial morphology
Authors: Zhao Jian , Zhao Xinsheng , Gao Jian , Bai Binqiang , Niu Jianzhang , Yang Yingkui , Zhao Guojun , Wang Zuojiang , Xu Zhenhua , Wang Jilong , Cheng Yanfen , Hao Lizhuang
Published: June 2024

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ensiled agricultural byproducts from Qinghai-Tibet plateau on growth performance, rumen microbiota, ruminal epithelium morphology, and nutrient transport-related gene expression in Tibetan sheep. Fourteen male Tibetan sheep were randomly assigned to one of two diets: an untreated diet (without silage inoculum, CON, n = 7) or an ensiled diet (with silage inoculum, ESD, n = 7). The total experimental period lasted for 84 d, including early 14 d as adaption period and remaining 70 d for data collection. The ESD increased average daily gain (P = 0.046), dry matter intake (P < 0.001), ammonia nitrogen (P = 0.045), microbial crude protein (P = 0.034), and total volatile fatty acids concentration (P < 0.001), and decreased ruminal pH value (P = 0.014). The proportion of propionate (P = 0.006) and the copy numbers of bacteria (P = 0.01) and protozoa (P = 0.002) were higher, while the proportion of acetate (P = 0.028) was lower in the sheep fed ESD compared to CON. Pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene revealed that ESD increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Ruminococcus, Lachnospiraceae_AC2044_group, Lachnospiraceae_XPB1014_group, and Christensenellaceae_R-7_group in the rumen (P < 0.05), while decreased the relative abundance of Bacteroidota, Prevotellaceae_UCG-003, and Veillonellaceae_UCG-001 (P < 0.05). Analyses with PICRUSt2 and STAMP indicated that the propionate metabolism pathway was enriched in the sheep fed ESD (P = 0.026). The ESD increased the rumen papillae height (P = 0.012), density (P = 0.036), and surface area (P = 0.001), and improved the thickness of the total epithelia (P = 0.018), stratum corneum (P = 0.040), stratum granulosum (P = 0.042), and stratum spinosum and basale (P = 0.004). The relative mRNA expression of cyclin-dependent Kinase 2, CyclinA2, CyclinD2, zonula occludens-1, Occludin, monocarboxylate transporter isoform 1 (MCT1), MCT4, sodium/potassium pump, and sodium/hydrogen antiporter 3 were higher in the rumen epithelial of sheep fed ESD than CON (P < 0.05). Conversely, the relative mRNA expressions of Caspase 3 and B-cell lymphoma-2 were lower in the sheep fed ESD than CON (P < 0.05). In conclusion, compared with an untreated diet, feeding an ensiled diet altered the rumen microbial community, enhanced nutrient transport through rumen epithelium, and improved the growth performance of Tibetan sheep.
A Multicenter, Retrospective Outcome Analysis of Vancomycin Area Under the Curve Versus Trough-Based Dosing Strategies in Patients With Burn OR Inhalational Injuries (MONITOR)
Authors: Santos Richard M , Boyd Allison N , Walroth Todd A , Hall Alexandria , King Jessie , Ahiskali Aileen , Walter Ellen , Neumann Nichole , Curry Dominick , Hoyte Brittany , Thomas Wendy , Adams Beatrice , Tran Nicolas , Gleason Vanessa M , Drabick Zachary , DeWitt Alexandra , Suarez Justin , Prazak Ann Marie B , Disney Kathryn A , Hill David M
Published: June 2024

Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic that requires close therapeutic monitoring. Prolonged exposure to elevated concentrations increases risk for serious adverse effects such as nephrotoxicity. However, subtherapeutic concentrations may lead to bacterial resistance and clinical failure or death. The most recent Infectious Diseases Society of America publication regarding therapeutic monitoring of vancomycin recommends using area under the curve (AUC)-based monitoring to maximize clinical success. Despite the guideline recommendation for AUC-guided dosing, many institutions still use trough-only monitoring in their practices, including those caring for patients with acute burn injuries. Following burn injury, patients are at a higher risk for infections, multiorgan failure, and pharmacokinetic alterations. The primary objective of this multicenter retrospective study is to determine optimal therapeutic monitoring of vancomycin by comparing clinical success between AUC and trough-based monitoring in patients with burns. MONITOR was a multicenter, retrospective study of patients with thermal or inhalation injury admitted to one of 13 burn centers from January 1, 2017 to August 31, 2022 who received vancomycin. Demographic and clinical course data, including acute kidney injury (AKI) incidence and clinical success, were obtained. Patients were evaluated for clinical success and grouped according to method of monitoring and adjusting doses: AUC vs trough-based monitoring. Clinical success was a composite definition and lack of meeting any 1 of 5 criteria: (1) persistent infection, (2) relapse, (3) antibiotic failure (clinical worsening), (4) AKI, and (5) death. A total of 517 vancomycin courses were assessed from 485 patients. There was no difference in the rate of clinical success between AUC monitored and the trough-only monitored groups. Incidence of AKI was higher in the trough-only group; however, it was not statistically significant after controlling for renal function on admission, past medical history of chronic kidney disease, and concomitant nephrotoxins.
Parathyroid hormone-related peptide induced hypercalcemia of pregnancy due to mammary hyperplasia
Authors: Jodeh Wade , Sparks Payton J , Higgins Jasmine M , Tom Alan , Anilovich Natanie , Moit Harley , Korff Lisa , Hadad Ivan , Wang Xiaoyan , Imel Erik A , Donegan Diane M
Published: June 2024

Maternal Parathyroid Hormone-related Protein (PTHrP) is involved in the placental transport of calcium. Autonomous overproduction of PTHrP is a rare cause of hypercalcemia in pregnancy. Prior cases of PTHrP-induced hypercalcemia in pregnancy have been managed with either dopamine agonists, fetal delivery, termination of pregnancy, or mastectomy. However, PTHrP level normalization following mastectomy has not previously been documented. Herein, we present a 39-year-old female hospitalized at 19 weeks of gestation for acute encephalopathy due to PTHrP induced hypercalcemic crisis (calcium 15.8 mg/dL, PTHrp 46.5 pmol/L [normal 0-3.4]). Mammary hyperplasia resulting in gigantomastia significantly impaired her ability to ambulate and perform activities of daily living. She remained hypercalcemic during hospitalization despite aggressive hydration, calcitonin, and 2 weeks of dopamine agonist treatment. Bisphosphonate therapy was not administered due to pregnancy and potential effects on the fetus. Our patient underwent bilateral mastectomy along with excision of a large axillary mass. The pathology of all three specimens revealed mammary stromal hyperplasia. PTHrP was undetectable on post-op day 2 and calcium normalized by post-op day 3. At discharge, she was able to ambulate independently. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of PTHrP induced hypercalcemia related to gigantomastia, documenting resolution of hypercalcemia, and PTHrP levels following mastectomy. Mastectomy is a potential option in the second trimester for pregnant patients with PTHrP induced severe hypercalcemia due to gigantomastia, refractory to treatment with dopamine agonist therapy.
The SNR of idealized radial velocity signals
Authors: Kipping David , Wang Xian-Yu
Published: June 2024

One of the most basic quantities relevant to planning observations and assessing detection bias is the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Remarkably, the SNR of an idealized radial velocity (RV) signal has not been previously derived beyond scaling behaviours and ignoring orbital eccentricity. In this work, we derive the RV SNR for three relevant cases to observers. First, we consider a single mass orbiting a star, revealing the expected result that $\mathrm{SNR}\propto K \sqrt{T}$, where T is the observing window, but an additional dependence on eccentricity and argument of periastron. We show that the RV method is biased towards companions with their semimajor axes aligned to the observer, which is physically intuitive, but also less obviously that the marginalized bias to eccentricity is negligible until one reaches very high eccentricities. Secondly, we derive the SNR necessary to discriminate eccentric companions from 2:1 resonance circular orbits, although our result is only valid for eccentricities $e\lesssim 0.3$. We find that the discriminatory SNR is $\tfrac{9}{8} e^2 (1-e^2)^{-1/2}$ times that of the eccentric planet solution’s SNR, and is thus typically an order of magnitude less. Finally, we have obtained a semi-empirical expression for the SNR of the idealized Rossiter–McLaughlin (RM) effect, revealing the bias with respect to spin–orbit alignment angle. Our formula is valid to within 10 per cent accuracy in 95.45 per cent of the training samples used (for $b\le 0.8$), but larger deviations occur when comparing to different RM models.
Isotope studies of presolar silicon carbide grains from supernovae: new constraints for hydrogen-ingestion supernova models
Authors: Hoppe Peter , Leitner Jan , Pignatari Marco , Amari Sachiko
Published: June 2024

We report isotope data for C, N, Al, Si, and S of 33 presolar SiC and Si3N4 grains (0.3–1.6 $\mu$m) of Type X, C, D, and N from the Murchison CM2 meteorite of likely core-collapse supernova (CCSN) origin which we discuss together with data of six SiC X grains from an earlier study. The isotope data are discussed in the context of hydrogen ingestion supernova (SN) models. We have modified previously used ad-hoc mixing schemes in that we considered (i) heterogeneous H ingestion into the He shell of the pre-SN star, (ii) a variable C-N fractionation for the condensation of SiC grains in the SN ejecta, and (iii) smaller mass units for better fine-tuning. With our modified ad-hoc mixing approach over small scales (0.2–0.4 M⊙), with major contributions from the O-rich O/nova zone, we find remarkably good fits (within a few per cent) for 12C/13C, 26Al/27Al, and 29Si/28Si ratios. The 14N/15N ratio of SiC grains can be well matched if variable C-N fractionation is considered. However, the Si3N4 isotope data point to overproduction of 15N in hydrogen ingestion CCSN models and lower C-N fractionation during SiC condensation than applied here. Our ad-hoc mixing approach based on current CCSN models suggests that the O-rich O/nova zone, which uniquely combines explosive H- and He-burning signatures, is favourable for SiC and Si3N4 formation. The effective range of C/O abundance variations in the He shell triggered by H ingestion events in the massive star progenitor is currently not well constrained and needs further investigation.
Effect of Low-Fat Diet on Depression Score in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials
Authors: Soltani Sepideh , Sangsefidi‬ Zohreh Sadat , Asoudeh Farzaneh , Torabynasab Kimia , Zeraattalab-Motlagh Sheida , Hejazi Mahdi , Khalighi Sikaroudi Masoumeh , Meshkini Fatemeh , Razmpoosh Elham , Abdollahi Shima
Published: June 2024

Context

Current evidence on the effect of a low-fat (LF) diet on depression scores has been inconsistent.

Objective

To explore the effect of an LF diet on depression scores of adults by systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Data Sources

The PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and CENTRAL databases were searched from inception to June 7, 2023, to identify trials investigating the effect of an LF diet (fat intake ≤30% of energy intake) on the depression score.

Data Extraction

Random-effects meta-analyses were used to estimate pooled summary effects of an LF diet on the depression score (as Hedges g).

Data Analysis

Finding from 10 trials with 50 846 participants indicated no significant change in depression score following LF diets in comparison with usual diet (Hedges g = −0.11; 95% CI, −0.25 to 0.03; P = 0.12; I2 = 70.7% [for I2, 95% CI, 44%, 85%]). However, a significant improvement was observed in both usual diet and LF diets when the content of protein was 15-20% of calorie intake (LF, normal protein diet: n = 5, Hedges g = −0.21, 95% CI, −0.24 to −0.01, P = 0.04, I2 = 0%; usual, normal protein diet: n = 3, Hedges g = −0.28, 95% CI, −0.51 to −0.05, P = 0.01, I2 = 0%). Sensitivity analysis also found the depression score improved following LF diet intervention in participants without baseline depression.

Conclusion

This study revealed that LF diet may have small beneficial effect on depression score in the studies enrolled mentally healthy participants. Moreover, achieving to adequate dietary protein is likely to be a better intervention than manipulating dietary fat to improve depression scores. However, it is not clear whether this effect will last in the long term. Conducting more studies may change the results due to the low-certainty of evidence.

Systematic Review Registration

CRD42023420978 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO).
Evaluating Validated Diet Quality Indices Used in Pregnant Women in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review
Authors: Ooi Kee June , Taylor Rachael M , Fenton Sasha , Hutchesson Melinda J , Collins Clare E
Published: June 2024

Context

Diet quality indices (DQIs) assess the level of adherence to dietary recommendations and a specified dietary pattern in populations; however, there is limited evidence regarding the construct criteria and validation methodology of DQIs used in pregnant women.

Objectives

The objectives of this study were to (i) identify and describe characteristics of DQIs that have been validated for use in pregnant women in high-income countries, and (ii) evaluate criteria used to develop DQIs and validation methodologies employed.

Data Sources

CINAHL, Embase, Medline, SCOPUS, and Web of Science were systematically searched for eligible articles published between 1980 and November 2022 that focused on DQIs validated for use in pregnant women from high-income countries.

Data Extraction

Characteristics, development criteria, and validation methodologies used in the included articles were extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second reviewer.

Data Analysis

A narrative synthesis and descriptive statistics were used to summarize the review findings. Reporting was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses statement.

Results

Six articles with 5 validated DQIs were identified. In total, 3777 participants were included – five articles had pregnant women aged 31–50 years and in their second trimester. Food frequency questionnaires were used as the dietary assessment method in all studies, and 3 DQIs were used to assess dietary intake at 1 time point, using 2 different dietary assessment methods. No indices fulfilled preferred features for the DQI development criteria developed by Burggraf et al (2018). Construct validity was assessed by all DQIs, followed by criterion validity (n = 4) and test–retest reliability (n = 2).

Conclusion

Limited high-quality validated DQIs for use in pregnant women in high-income countries were identified. Scoring for DQI components were not specific to nutrient requirements for pregnant women. Findings from this review may inform the development of DQIs that evaluate specific dietary requirements and specific food safety considerations applicable to pregnancy.

Systematic Review Registration

https://osf.io/u2hrq.
Unaccompanied Immigrant and Refugee Children
Authors: Evans Kerri
Published: June 2024

Unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children are generally seen as young people (under the age of eighteen) who travel across borders to a new country without a parent or legal guardian. Across the world, these young people are subject to different legal definitions, rights, and treatment in the country of arrival. Some countries use other terms to refer to these children, such as unaccompanied alien children, unaccompanied immigrant children, unaccompanied children, and separated children. Researchers similarly use a compilation of these terms. The definitions that describe these vulnerable children are similar, yet they vary from one country to another. The majority include the age of eighteen years as the maximum age for which a child would qualify as an unaccompanied minor. The majority specify that the immigrant should arrive without legal guardians, but some countries, such as Australia, explicitly state that siblings and adult relatives over the age of eighteen would prohibit the child from being unaccompanied by policy. Some countries combine unaccompanied and separated children together, and others consider “separated” to be a different category. The nuance here is that separated children are apart from their biological parents during migration but intend to reunify and are often staying in the care of extended family members during that time. Unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children are protected by both international and country-specific policies. Many countries around the world are party to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child and would argue that unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children who arrive to their country should be given rights as outlined in this document. This becomes inherently complicated when countries have policies that criminalize immigrants rather than protect the status of unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children seeking assistance. While there are protections, there are also many instances in which people, governments, and policies discriminate against unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children and treat them poorly.
Modeling and Data Analysis in Movement Ecology
Authors: Codling Edward A. , Bailey Joseph David , Börger Luca
Published: June 2024

Movement ecology is a rapidly emerging new research field that explores the underlying mechanisms of organism movement, from animals, humans, to plant and microorganisms, across a range of environmental contexts and spatiotemporal scales, from individual behavior to population-level processes. Research in this area draws on a diverse range of disciplines including animal behavior, ecology, biology, geography, physics, mathematics, statistics, and computer science, and utilizes a range of techniques and technologies, including telemetry, remote sensing, and bioacoustics. Animal movements are determined by a combination of both innate individual characteristics and environmental factors, such as food availability, predation risk, and habitat quality. Movements can range from small-scale foraging excursions within a home-range to seasonal migrations over thousands of kilometers, with characteristic patterns at different spatial scales. Animal movement may affect reproductive success, genetic diversity, and disease transmission within populations, and can play a role in wider ecosystem functioning via nutrient cycling or dispersal of seeds and pollen. The rapid growth of movement ecology since the early 2000s has arguably been driven by the increased functionality, availability, and durability of modern biologgers and sensors enabling detailed data sets to be collected from a wide range of species. In turn, this has necessitated the development of new mathematical, statistical, and computational methods for modeling and analyzing these rich, and increasingly very large, data sets. In its broadest sense, movement ecology encompasses a wide-ranging set of concepts, theories, and practical approaches that relate to animal movement. Rather than attempting to cover the entire field, this bibliography specifically focuses on recent developments in modeling and analysis of the most common type of animal movement data, namely (x,y) or (x,y,z) positional data, as collected directly or indirectly over time by spatial tracking systems such as GPS or radio telemetry. Data collected in other forms such as via mark-recapture studies is beyond our scope (although still an important approach within the field). The bibliography highlights the key Movement Ecology Textbooks in the field, explores key Movement Ecology Concepts, and explains methods for Movement Data Collection and Processing and dealing with Circular Statistics. The article gives an overview of Random Walk Models of Movement and how they relate to Movement Path Analysis and Metrics and Statistical Model Fitting of Movement Data in this context. It focuses on several key applications: Foraging and Search, Home-Range, Habitat Space-Use and Resource Selection, and Collective Movement, and finishes with a summary of recent R Packages for Movement Ecology.
Boundary-Crossing from a Perspective of -ness
Authors: Fung C. Victor , Ma Danxu
Published: June 2024

The meaning of boundary is here explored from different disciplinary perspectives. Boundaries exist in many complex and diverse forms. By shaping one’s identity and awareness, they affect one’s choices and actions. In boundary-crossing, one seeks to retain the distinctive qualities deriving from one’s own background while expanding and complementing them with desirable qualities from beyond one’s earlier cultural experience. The suffix -ness is adopted to characterize the meanings and phenomena encountered beyond one’s native cultural milieu, expanding from one’s own -ness to include others’ -ness in thinking, behaving, and living. By boundary-crossing, one gains a reciprocal understanding of the world that is both similar to and different from the self. A state of boundarylessness is pursued, in the context of music education as in other cultural environments, through constant efforts to exercise flexibility in one’s thought and actions.
Qin
Authors: Yip Mingmei
Published: June 2024

The phrase qindao (琴道: Way of the qin) denotes both the method of playing the instrument and the philosophy it embodies. The Dao means both the method and ultimate reality. In this chapter, the author discusses the philosophy of Daoism and how Daoists play the qin, or guqin, as a means to nurture life and relax into harmony. Thus, beyond making music, the qin was considered a means of attaining a transcendent state of clarity, of harmony with the Dao. With the recent surge in popularity of the qin, conservatory training has introduced a different style of teaching and playing. In contrast to the traditional literati style that values delicate sentiments, subtle vibrato fingerings, and loose, spontaneous, free rhythm, conservatory-trained qin musicians emphasize precise rhythm, clear musical phrases, and loud volume. While the traditional styles persist, historically, new ones have become increasingly common.
Confucianism in Korean Traditional Music
Authors: Kim Yong Hee
Published: June 2024

Confucianism was a basis of traditional music during the Joseon period (1392–1910) in Korea. In Confucianism, music was an important tool to cultivate people from the inside. Court and Pungryu music in particular were examples of music faithful to the Confucian philosophical perspective. After the fall of the Ming dynasty in China in 1644, Joseon claimed to be the successor of Confucian rituals and music. In this chapter, the author presents the Confucian viewpoint of music and how some examples of Joseon music were reflective of it. The tradition of Confucian music faced a crisis when Western music was imported into Korea and the Joseon dynasty was overthrown. However, through the efforts of court musicians and their successors, court and Pungryu music has been well preserved to this day. Various conceptions of music and music education in contemporary South Korea still share commonalities with Confucian philosophy.
Sports, Tourism, and History
Authors: Lewis Robert W.
Published: June 2024

Sports and tourism have been intertwined since their modern origins in the mid-eighteenth century. They both first emerged in Western Europe and quickly expanded beyond their European origins to become truly global activities. Sports tourism—from the displacements of athletes and spectators for competitions to the individual holidays revolving around recreational sport, outdoor pursuits, or other fitness-related activities—surged in popularity over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, involving a wide range of local, regional, and national actors and institutions, and reflecting and shaping practices, cultures, and identities. This chapter traces the historical trajectory of sporting tourism and explores several examples ranging from the history of the team “sporting tour” to individual activities such as surfing and skiing, before sketching the possibilities and concerns for historians of sporting tourism.