bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Systematic review of contemporary improvement interventions on care coordination, discharge support and transitional care from the patient experience perspective
Authors: Jesus Tiago S , Stern Brocha Z. , Lee Dongwook , Zhang Manrui , Struhar Jan , Heinemann Allen W. , Jordan Neil , Deutsch Anne
Published: February 2024

Aim

To synthesize the impact of improvement interventions related to care coordination and discharge support on patient experience measures.

Method

Systematic review. Searches were completed in six scientific databases, five specialty journals and through snowballing. Eligibility included studies in English (2015-2022) on improving care coordination, discharge support, or transitional care assessed by standardized patient experience measures as a primary outcome. Two independent reviewers made eligibility decisions and performed quality appraisals.

Results

Of 1087 papers initially screened, 15 were finally included. Seven studies (three randomized controlled trials [RCTs]) focused on care coordination activities and used enhanced supports (e.g., improvement coaching; tailoring for vulnerable populations) for Patient-Centered Medical Homes or other primary care sites. Effectiveness was mixed or neutral relative to standard supports or models of care. Eight studies (three RCTs) focused on enhanced discharge support, including patient education (e.g., “teach back” method) and telephone follow-up or transitional support; mixed or neutral results on the patient experience were also found and with more substantive risks of bias.

Conclusion

Enhanced supports for improving care coordination, discharge education, and post-discharge follow-up had mixed or neutral effectiveness for improving the patient experience with care, compared to standard or simpler improvement approaches. Studies on the improvement of patient experiences, especially for enhanced patient discharge, need further strengthening such as including the patient perspective for its co-development.
Assessment of Magnitude of Transfusion Transmissible Infections and Associated Factors among Blood Donors at Woliso Blood Bank, South-West Shewa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia: Across-Sectional Study
Authors: W/Amlak Alemnesh , Oljira Habtamu , Tafa Belay , Darcho Samuel Demissie , Begna Sisay Dabi
Published: February 2024

Background

Blood transfusion is an effective treatment for saving millions of lives, even though transfusion-transmissible infections are the major problem. The prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections varies across different geographical populations. This study aims to assess the prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections and associated factors among blood donors at Woliso Blood Bank, South-West Shewa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia.

Method

An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was conducted. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used to collect data through a face-to-face interview. Data was entered into Epi Data version 3.1, and it was exported to STATA version 17.0 for data cleaning and analysis. A binary logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify factors associated with outcome variables. Accordingly, variables that fulfilled p-values <0.25 on the bivariate logistic regression were considered candidates for multivariate logistic regression to control for possible confounders. The odds ratios along with the 95% confidence interval were used to present the finding, and statistical significance was reported at a p-value of 0.05.

Results

The overall prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections was 9.5% (95% CI: 6.3– 12.9%). Participants with no formal education [AOR=4.84; 95% CI= 1.09, 21.46], unprotected sexual intercourse with multiple partners [AOR=4.77; 95% CI= 1.38, 16.44], and participants with less frequency of blood donation [AOR=2.85; 95% CI: 1.16, 6.99] were significantly associated with transfusion transmissible infections.

Conclusion

The prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections was high in this study area. Educational level, unprotected sexual intercourse with more partners, and a number of blood donations were found to be independent predictors of transfusion-transmitted infections. Blood banks and regional health bureaus should work on community mobilization and enhancing health promotion through prevention and control by considering the identified associated factors.
The association between time-weighted remnant cholesterol and cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality: A population-based cohort study
Authors: Li Lifang , Cheng Chou Vanessa Hou , In Chou Oscar Hou , Roy Sakshi , Kai Chan Jeffrey Shi , Wong Wing Tak , Liu Tong , Lip Gregory , Yung Cheung Bernard Man , Tse Gary , Zhou Jiandong
Published: February 2024

Background

Remnant cholesterol (RC) have been suggested as a significant mediator of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. However, the relationship between RC with cause-specific mortality in long-term remained uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the association between time-weighted RC and cause-specific mortality outcomes.

Methods

This retrospective population-based study enrolled patients attending family medicine clinics in Hong Kong between 1stJanuary 2000, to 31stDecember 2003 with at least three RC testing results during follow-up. The time-weighted RC was calculated by the products of the sums of two consecutive measurements and the time interval divided by the total time. The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality outcomes. Cox regression and marginal effective plots were applied to identify associations between time-weighted RC and mortality.

Results

A cohort of 75,342 patients (39.69% males, mean age: 61.3 years old) with at least three valid RC test were included. During up to 19 years of follow-up, in the multivariate model adjusted for demographics, comorbidities, medications, and time-weighted laboratory results, time-weighted RC was associated with all-cause mortality (Hazard ratio [HR]: 1.41; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.35-1.48) but not RC (HR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.89-1.10). Time-weighted RC was also associated with increased risks of cardiovascular-related mortality (HR: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.27-1.54), cancer-related mortality (HR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.43-1.77), and respiratory-related mortality (HR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.20-1.47). The exploratory analysis of the cause of death demonstrated that time-weighted RC was associated with Ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular-related and pneumonia.

Conclusions

Time-weighted RC was independently associated with all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality outcomes amongst the general population.
Can longitudinal electronic health record data identify patients at higher risk of developing long COVID?
Authors: Shanmugam Priya , Bair Molly , Pendl-Robinson Emma , Hu Xindi C.
Published: February 2024

With hundreds of millions of COVID-19 infections to date, a considerable portion of the population has developed or will develop long COVID. Understanding the prevalence, risk factors, and healthcare costs of long COVID can be of significant societal importance. To investigate the utility of large-scale electronic health record (EHR) data in identifying and predicting long COVID, we analyzed a sample of 1.23 million participants from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), a longitudinal EHR data repository from 80 sites in the US with over 8 million COVID-19 patients. We characterized the prevalence of long COVID using a few different types of definitions to illustrate their relative strengths and weaknesses. Then we developed machine learning models to predict the risk of developing long COVID using demographic factors and comorbidity in the EHR. The risk factors for long COVID include patient age; sex; smoking status; and comorbidities characterized by the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). We were able to predict three types of long COVID with low to moderate levels of accuracy (AUC 0.599 – 0.734). We found that age and CCI were most predictive of long COVID diagnosis. Ongoing work includes applying the fair machine learning framework to the long COVID predictive models. We are implementing fairness and bias mitigation methods to model fitting through the following steps, selecting fairness metrics, preparing data and model, evaluating fairness metrics, applying bias mitigation methods to the dataset, and comparing model results and fairness metrics before and after the mitigation. The objective is to achieve equalized odds, a statistical notion that ensures classification algorithms do not discriminate against protected groups (such as sex and race/ethnicity). Results from the fairness-based machine learning will be included in the conference presentation.
PhyloAln: a convenient reference-based tool to align sequences and high-throughput reads for phylogeny and evolution in the omic era
Authors: Huang Yu-Hao , Sun Yi-Fei , Li Hao , Li Hao-Sen , Pang Hong
Published: February 2024

The current trend in phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses predominantly relies on omic data. However, traditional methods typically involve intricate and time-consuming procedures prior to core analyses. These procedures encompass assembly from high-throughput reads, decontamination, gene prediction, homology search, orthology assignment, multiple alignment, and matrix trimming. Such processes significantly impede the efficiency of research when dealing with extensive datasets. In this study, we present PhyloAln, a convenient reference-based tool capable of directly aligning high-throughput reads or complete sequences with existing alignments as reference for phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses. Through testing with both simulated and authentic datasets, PhyloAln demonstrates consistently robust performance in terms of alignment completeness and identity when compared to other reference-based tools. Additionally, we validate the tool’s adeptness in managing foreign and cross-contamination issues prevalent in sequencing data, which are often overlooked by other tools. Moreover, we showcase the broad applicability of PhyloAln by generating alignments and reconstructing phylogenies from transcriptomes of ladybird beetles, plastid genes of peppers, and ultraconserved elements of turtles. These results underscore the versatility of our tool. Leveraging these advantages, PhyloAln stands poised to expedite phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses in the omic era. The tool is accessible athttps://github.com/huangyh45/PhyloAln.
Degradation of indole-3-acetic acid by plant-associated microbes
Authors: Wang Lanxiang , Liu Yue , Ni Haoran , Zuo Wenlong , Shi Haimei , Liao Weixin , Liu Hongbin , Bai Yang , Yue Hong , Huang Ancheng , Friedman Jonathan , Si Tong , Liu Yinggao , Chen Mo-Xian , Dai Lei
Published: February 2024

Plant-associated microbiota affect pant growth and development by regulating plant hormones homeostasis. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), a well-known plant hormone, can be produced by various plant-associated bacteria. However, the prevalence of microbes with the capacity to degrade IAA in the rhizosphere has not been systematically studied. In this study, we analyzed the IAA degradation capabilities of bacterial isolates from the roots of Arabidopsis and rice. Using genomics analysis andin vitroassays, we found that 21 out of 189 taxonomically diverse bacterial isolates possess the ability to degrade IAA. Through comparative genomics and transcriptomic assays, we identified iac-like or iad-like operon in the genomes of these IAA degraders. Additionally, the regulator of the operon was found to be highly conserved among these strains through protein structure similarity analysis. Some of the IAA degraders could utilize IAA as their sole carbon and energy source.In planta, most of the IAA degrading strains mitigated Arabidopsis seedling root growth inhibition (RGI) triggered by exogenous IAA. Importantly, we observed increased colonization preference of IAA degraders from soil to root according to the frequency of the biomarker genes in metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) collected from different habitats, suggesting that there is a close association between IAA degraders and IAA-producers. In summary, our findings further the understanding of the functional diversity and roles of plant-associated microbes.
Differences in milk microbiota between healthy cows and cows with recurringKlebsiellamastitis
Authors: Yang Jingyue , Wu Naiwen , Xiong Yindi , Nobrega Diego B. , Barkema Herman W. , Liang Bingchun , Han Bo , Gao Jian
Published: February 2024

Klebsiellaspp. infections continue to have a significant economic impact on the dairy industry, being an important cause of severe clinical mastitis, recurrent infections, and demonstrating poor response to antimicrobials. It is, therefore, essential to investigate the underlying causes ofKlebsiellaspp. infections. Here we used high-throughput DNA sequencing to characterize the milk microbiota of healthy dairy cows (HDC) and cows with history of recurrentKlebsiellamastitis (KLB). Our goal was to identify potential pathogenic genera associated with recurrentKlebsiellainfections in cows. The relative abundance ofFirmicutesandFaecalibacteriumwas greater in the KLB group than in the HDC group. In contrast,ProteobacteriaandLabrenziawere less abundant than in the HDC group. Although the species distributions differed between groups, diversity and abundance of communities were comparable. Notably, genera of increased occurrence in the KLB group were mostly intestinal-associated, which suggests that cows in the KLB group resided in a contaminated environment or had increased teat-end exposure to fecal bacteria. We did not detect major differences in microbiota among quarters, and also between fore-strip milk and milk collected after fore-stripping. Conversely, milk of heifers had increased alpha diversity in comparison to milk of multiparous cows.
A genome wide search for non-additive allele effects identifiesPSKH2as involved in the variability of Factor V activity
Authors: Gendre Blandine , Martinez-Perez Angel , Kleber Marcus E , van Hylckama Vlieg Astrid , Boland Anne , Olaso Robert , Germain Marine , Munsch Gaëlle , Moissl Angela Patricia , Suchon Pierre , Souto Juan Carlos , Soria José Manuel ,   CHARGE Hemostasis working group, Deleuze Jean-François , März Winfried , Rosendaal Frits R , Sabater-Lleal Maria , Morange Pierre-Emmanuel , Trégouët David-Alexandre
Published: February 2024

Background

Factor V (FV) is a key molecular player in the coagulation cascade. FV plasma levels have been associated with several human diseases, including thrombosis, bleeding and diabetic complications. So far, two genes have been robustly found through genome wide association analyses to contribute in the inter-individual variability of plasma FV levels: structural F5 gene and PLXDC2.

Methods

We used the underestimated Brown-Forsythe methodology implemented in the Quicktest software to search for non-additive genetic effects that could contribute to the inter-individual variability of FV plasma activity. QUICKTEST was applied to 4 independent GWAS studies (LURIC, MARTHA, MEGA and RETROVE) totaling 4,505 participants of European ancestry with measured FV plasma levels. Results obtained in the 4 cohorts were meta-analyzed using a fixed-effect model. Additional analyses involved exploring haplotype and gene×gene interactions in downstream investigations.

Results

We observed a genome-wide significant signal atPSKH2locus, on chr8q21.3 with lead variant rs75463553 with no evidence for heterogeneity across cohorts (p = 0.518). Although rs75463553 did not show association with mean FV levels (p = 0.49), it demonstrated a robust significant (p = 8.4 10-9) association with the variance of FV plasma levels. Further analyses confirmed the reported association ofPSKH2with neutrophil biology and revealed that rs75463553 likely interact with two loci,GRIN2AandPOM121L12, known for their involvement in smoking biology.

Conclusions

This comprehensive approach identifies the role ofPSKH2as a novel molecular player in the genetic regulation of FV, shedding light on the contribution of neutrophils to FV biology.
First evidence for the evolution of host manipulation by tumors during the long-term vertical transmission of tumor cells inHydra oligactis
Authors: Boutry Justine , Rieu Océane , Guimard Lena , Meliani Jordan , Nedelcu Aurora M. , Tissot Sophie , Stepanskyy Nikita , Ujvari Beata , Hamede Rodrigo , Dujon Antoine M. , Tökölyi Jácint , Thomas Frédéric
Published: February 2024

While host phenotypic manipulation by parasites is a widespread phenomenon, whether tumors – which can be likened to parasite entities, can also manipulate their hosts is not known. Theory predicts that this should nevertheless be the case, especially when tumors (neoplasms) are transmissible. We explored this hypothesis in a cnidarianHydramodel system, in which spontaneous tumors can occur in the lab, and lineages in which such neoplastic cells are vertically transmitted (through host budding) have been maintained for over 15 years. Remarkably, the hydras with long-term transmissible tumors show an unexpected increase in the number of their tentacles, allowing for the possibility that these neoplastic cells can manipulate the host. By experimentally transplanting healthy as well as neoplastic tissues derived from both recent and long-term transmissible tumors, we found that only the long-term transmissible tumors were able to trigger the growth of additional tentacles. Also, supernumerary tentacles, by permitting higher foraging efficiency for the host, were associated with an increased budding rate, thereby favoring the vertical transmission of tumors. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that, like true parasites, transmissible tumors can evolve strategies to manipulate the phenotype of their host.
Transferable deep generative modeling of intrinsically disordered protein conformations
Authors: Janson Giacomo , Feig Michael
Published: February 2024

Intrinsically disordered proteins have dynamic structures through which they play key biological roles. The elucidation of their conformational ensembles is a challenging problem requiring an integrated use of computational and experimental methods. Molecular simulations are a valuable computational strategy for constructing structural ensembles of disordered proteins but are highly resource-intensive. Recently, machine learning approaches based on deep generative models that learn from simulation data have emerged as an efficient alternative for generating structural ensembles. However, such methods currently suffer from limited transferability when modeling sequences and conformations absent in the training data. Here, we develop a novel generative model that achieves high levels of transferability for intrinsically disordered protein ensembles. The approach, named idpSAM, is a latent diffusion model based on transformer neural networks. It combines an autoencoder to learn a representation of protein geometry and a diffusion model to sample novel conformations in the encoded space. IdpSAM was trained on a large dataset of simulations of disordered protein regions performed with the ABSINTH implicit solvent model. Thanks to the expressiveness of its neural networks and its training stability, idpSAM faithfully captures 3D structural ensembles of test sequences with no similarity in the training set. Our study also demonstrates the potential for generating full conformational ensembles from datasets with limited sampling and underscores the importance of training set size for generalization. We believe that idpSAM represents a significant progress in transferable protein ensemble modeling through machine learning.

AUTHOR SUMMARY

Proteins are essential molecules in living organisms and some of them have highly dynamical structures, which makes understanding their biological roles challenging. Disordered proteins can be studied through a combination of computer simulations and experiments. Computer simulations are often resource-intensive. Recently, machine learning has been used to make this process more efficient. The strategy is to learn from previous simulations to model the heterogenous conformations of proteins. However, such methods still suffer from poor transferability, meaning that they tend to make incorrect predictions on proteins not seen in training data. In this study, we present idpSAM, a method based on generative artificial intelligence for modeling the structures of disordered proteins. The model was trained using a vast dataset and, thanks to its architecture and training procedure, it performs well on not just proteins in the training set but achieves high levels transferability to proteins unseen in training. This advancement is a step forward in modeling biologically relevant disordered proteins. It shows how the combination of generative modeling and large training sets and can aid us understand how dynamical proteins behave.
Genome-wide analysis of flavonoid biosynthetic genes in Musaceae (Ensete,Musella, andMusaspecies) reveals amplification of flavonoid 3’,5’-hydroxylase
Authors: Cui Dongli , Xiong Gui , Ye Lyuhan , Gornall Richard , Wang Ziwei , Heslop-Harrison Pat , Liu Qing
Published: February 2024

Flavonoids in Musaceae are involved in pigmentation and stress responses, including pathogen defense and UV protection, and are a component of the healthy human diet. Identification and analysis of the sequence and copy number of flavonoid biosynthetic genes are valuable for understanding the nature and diversity of flavonoid evolution in Musaceae species. In this study, we identified 71 to 80 flavonoid biosynthetic genes in chromosome-scale genome sequence assemblies of Musaceae, including those ofEnsete glaucum,Musella lasiocarpa,Musa beccarii,M. acuminata,M. balbisiana, andM. schizocarpa,checking annotations with BLAST and determining the presence of conserved domains. The number of genes increased through segmental duplication and tandem duplication. Orthologues of both structural and regulatory genes in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway are highly conserved across Musaceae. The flavonoid 3’,5’-hydroxylase geneF3’5’Hswas amplified in Musaceae and ginger compared with grasses (rice, Brachypodium,Avena longiglumis,and sorghum). One group of genes from this gene family amplified near the centromere of chromosome 2 in thex= 11 Musaceae species. Flavonoid biosynthetic genes displayed few consistent responses in the yellow and red bracts ofMusella lasiocarpawhen subjected to low temperatures. The expression levels ofMlDFR2/3increased whileMlLARwas reduced by half. These results establish the range of diversity in both sequence and copy number of flavonoid biosynthetic genes during evolution of Musaceae. The combination of allelic variants of genes, changes in their copy numbers, and variation in transcription factors with the modulation of expression under cold treatments and between bract-colours suggests the variation may be exploited in plant breeding programmes, particularly for improvement of stress-resistance in the banana crop.
Sources and pathways by which low-grade inflammation contributes to anaemia in rural African children from 6 months to 3 years of age: study protocol for observational studies IDeA 1 and IDeA 2
Authors: Ledger Elizabeth , Verhoef Hans , Jallow Amadou T , Cunningham Nicole , Prentice Andrew M. , Cerami Carla
Published: February 2024

Background

Recent work suggests that persistent inflammation, even at low levels, could be more important than low dietary iron intake in the aetiology of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) in young children living in poor environments.

Methods

We will conduct 2 parallel observational studies in well and unwell rural Gambian children to identify the origins of chronic low-grade inflammation and characterise its relationship to iron handling and iron deficiency anaemia. IDeA Study 1 will enrol 120 well children attending our regular paediatric well-child clinics at 6, 12 and 18 months of age. IDeA Study 2 will enrol 200 sick children suffering from upper-respiratory tract infection, lower respiratory tract infection, gastroenteritis or urinary tract infection and study them on Days 0, 3, 7 and 14 after initial presentation. At each visit, children will be assessed for signs of inflammation. Full blood count and iron-related biomarkers (serum ferritin, serum iron, unsaturated iron-binding capacity, soluble transferrin receptor, transferrin) will be measured before and after an oral dose of ferrous iron to assess status and acute iron absorption. Inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein andα1-acid glycoprotein), hepcidin, erythroferrone and erythropoietin will be measured to characterize the anaemia of inflammation in these children.

Conclusion

We will assess the impact of acute and chronic low-grade inflammation on iron absorption and investigate the hypothesis that chronic inflammation, juxtaposed on a poor diet, causes a complex anaemia of inflammation which exacerbates iron deficiency by blocking both non-haem iron absorption and iron utilization by the bone marrow.
ProSPyX: software for post-processing images of X-ray ptychography with spectral capabilities
Authors: Boudjehem Redhouane , Kulow Anico , Pérez Javier , Gautier Eric , Ould-chikh Samy , Pairis Sébastien , Hazemann Jean-Louis , da Silva Julio César
Published: February 2024

X-ray ptychography is a coherent diffraction imaging technique based on acquiring multiple diffraction patterns obtained through the illumination of the sample at different partially overlapping probe positions. The diffraction patterns collected are used to retrieve the complex transmittivity function of the sample and the probe using a phase retrieval algorithm. Absorption or phase contrast images of the sample as well as the real and imaginary parts of the probe function can be obtained. Furthermore, X-ray ptychography can also provide spectral information of the sample from absorption or phase shift images by capturing multiple ptychographic projections at varying energies around the resonant energy of the element of interest. However, post-processing of the images is required to extract the spectra. To facilitate this, ProSPyX, a Python package that offers the analysis tools and a graphical user interface required to process spectral ptychography datasets, is presented. Using the PyQt5 Python open-source module for development and design, the software facilitates extraction of absorption and phase spectral information from spectral ptychographic datasets. It also saves the spectra in file formats compatible with other X-ray absorption spectroscopy data analysis software tools, streamlining integration into existing spectroscopic data analysis pipelines. To illustrate its capabilities, ProSPyX was applied to process the spectral ptychography dataset recently acquired on a nickel wire at the SWING beamline of the SOLEIL synchrotron.
Coming to terms with a socially unsustainable fine dining business model
Authors: Mejia Cynthia , Wilson Katherine
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the global perceptions of social equity in the fine dining business model as a result of the surprise announcement for the 2024 planned closure of the Michelin three-star restaurant, Noma.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used critical discourse analysis to inductively analyze 91 source documents retrieved through a lexical database search. The analysis yielded five overarching themes and six subthemes.

Findings

Findings from this study serve as a benchmark in retrospect for capturing a rapidly accelerating global conversation from January to March 2023 around the long-term viability and social sustainability of the fine dining business model.

Research limitations/implications

Against the backdrop of labor challenges in the restaurant industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, the announced closure of Noma precipitated criticism of the stage (unpaid intern) system and the intense pressures of attaining and maintaining Michelin star status.

Practical implications

Results from the discourse analysis suggest certification for fine dining restaurants, perhaps through the Michelin Guide, for demonstrating a commitment to social sustainability as a qualifier to achieve a Michelin star.

Social implications

Findings from this research reveal a palpable change in societal tolerance for a more socially sustainable fine dining restaurant business model that advances equitable solutions for its workers while assuring the economic sustainability of restaurants.

Originality/value

This study drew upon a foodscape lens to reveal a juxtaposition between well-executed environmentally sustainable initiatives in the fine dining business model and the threats to the social sustainability among its workers.
The impact of supply chain transparency on financing offerings to firms: the moderating role of supply chain concentration
Authors: Shi Rongrong , Yin Qiaoyi , Yuan Yang , Lai Fujun , Luo Xin (Robert)
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Based on signaling theory, this paper aims to explore the impact of supply chain transparency (SCT) on firms' bank loan (BL) and supply chain financing (SCF) in the context of voluntary disclosure of supplier and customer lists.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on panel data collected from Chinese-listed firms between 2012 and 2021, fixed-effect models and a series of robustness checks are used to test the predictions.

Findings

First, improving SCT by disclosing major suppliers and customers promotes BL but inhibits SCF. Specifically, customer transparency (CT) is more influential in SCF than supplier transparency (ST). Second, supplier concentration (SC) weakens SCT’s positive impact on BL while reducing its negative impact on SCF. Third, customer concentration (CC) strengthens the positive impact of SCT on BL but intensifies its negative impact on SCF. Last, these findings are basically more pronounced in highly competitive industries.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the SCT literature by investigating the under-explored practice of supply chain list disclosure and revealing its dual impact on firms' access to financing offerings (i.e. BL and SCF) based on signaling theory. Additionally, it expands the understanding of the boundary conditions affecting the relationship between SCT and firm financing, focusing on supply chain concentration. Moreover, it advances signaling theory by exploring how financing providers interpret the SCT signal and enriches the understanding of BL and SCF antecedents from a supply chain perspective.
Ethics and aesthetics of adaptive heritage reuse in Europe: an introduction to what happens to territories when heritage is touched
Authors: Fava Federica
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The paper introduces ethical and aesthetical implications emerging from participative forms of adaptive heritage reuse. Its aim is to depict the overall framework to contextualize the investigations explored in the Special Issue titled “Ethics and aesthetics of adaptive heritage reuse in Europe.” Therefore, the article confronts with potentialities and contradictions of “open” heritage processes, introducing key critical elements to recode heritage practices and planning in today’s conjuncture of global change.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper drawn on a literature review, which combines different bodies of studies: heritage, urban studies, care studies and recent policy documents. A photographic essay, moreover, serves to “augment” the presented argumentations through a visual apparatus resulting from one of Gaia Ginevra Giorgi’s artwork, which develops in the intersection between performative art, participation and territorial reuse.

Findings

The author argues that for adaptive heritage reuse to be really sustainable, ethical and aesthetical heritage codes need to be reassessed and reoriented toward the present socio-ecological priorities, multiplicating the ways cultural heritage is conceived, valued and reused. The paper suggests proceeding along the creative paths of uncertainty, providing the first elements to develop political projects of abundance and enjoyment for current urban settlements.

Practical implications

The presented argumentations can be used as a baseline by heritage managers and policymakers to experiment with participative processes of adaptive heritage reuse and to identify more environmentally and socially just trajectories of urban development.

Originality/value

The paper expands the concept of adaptive heritage reuse, considering the active participation of both human and non-human agents. Treating heritage in a laic way, namely free from absolute and preordered judgments of value, it deals with uncomfortable heritage materiality and contexts, illuminating the quality of unpleasant or odd forms of beauty.
Foliar herbivory‐enhanced mycorrhization is associated with increased levels of lipids in root and root exudates
Authors: Xing Zhenlong , Zhang Zhongyue , Zhao Yige , Biere Arjen , Liu Siqiao , Shi Yu , Ding Jianqing
Published: February 2024

Insect herbivory can affect interactions between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi through herbivore‐modified root carbon pools, while the specific metabolic changes underlying fungal responses to herbivory are poorly understood.

Here we explored the impacts of foliar herbivory and mechanical wounding on AM colonisation and AM community composition of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and the role of root metabolites in mediating these effects.

Foliar insect herbivory enhanced AM colonisation, whereas mechanical wounding only enhanced AM colonisation in combination with application of caterpillar oral secretions. Meanwhile, the relative abundance of Glomus species was increased in root endosphere, rhizoplane and rhizosphere soils after foliar herbivory. Foliar herbivory also increased the concentrations of fatty acids in roots but decreased phenolics, and their concentrations were significantly correlated with AM colonisation. Addition of exudates from plants exposed to herbivory resulted in increases in AM colonisation of plants without herbivory. Moreover, widely targeted metabolomic analyses revealed that foliar herbivory enhanced the relative abundance of lipids and decreased phenols in root exudates.

Synthesis. We show that plants can enhance their associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi when subject to above‐ground herbivory, possibly mediated by herbivore‐induced increases in the levels of root lipids. Our findings highlight the role of root lipids in above‐below‐ground biological interactions, providing novel insights into plant‐AM fungi integrative responses to biotic stresses.
Islam, assisted reproductive technology and the politics of emergence: When markets and hegemonies collide
Authors: Salter Brian
Published: February 2024

The engagement between markets and cultural hegemonies is shaped by the politics that promote or deny the emergence of fresh legitimations in response to the opportunities offered to consumers by new commodities. In the case of Islam and the assisted reproductive technology (ART) market, core cultural values concerning procreation, family and lineage come into direct conflict with the potential consumer demand generated by new ART technologies. Shaped by the character of multiple Islamic modernities and the authority structures of religion and state, it is the Shi’a–Sunni divide which most illuminates the politics of emergence driving the different Islamic responses to those cultural tensions. In Sunni states the hegemonic challenge of the ART commodity market is contained by the senior clerics, the traditional intellectuals of Islamic authority, often acting in concert with the state apparatus. In contrast, in Shi’a states the flexibility of its religious authority structures underpinned by the principles of ijtihad allows the formation of an alliance between traditional and medical organic intellectuals which facilitates the consumer choice of both ART commodities and legitimating values. However, what remains unresolved is the long‐term impact of that trasformismo on the stability of the social structures which the Shi’a moral economy serves.
The problem with criminal records: Discrepancies between state reports and private‐sector background checks
Authors: Lageson Sarah , Stewart Robert
Published: February 2024

Criminal records are routinely used by employers and other institutional decision‐makers who rely on their presumed fidelity to evaluate applicants. We analyze criminal records for a sample of 101 people, comparing official state reports, two sources of private‐sector background checks (one regulated and one unregulated by federal law), and qualitative interviews. Based on our analysis, private‐sector background checks are laden with false‐positive and false‐negative errors: 60 percent and 50 percent of participants had at least one false‐positive error on their regulated and unregulated background checks, and nearly all (90 percent and 92 percent of participants, respectively) had at least one false‐negative error. We define specific problems with private‐sector criminal records: mismatched data that create false negatives, missing case dispositions that create incomplete and misleading criminal records, and incorrect data that create false positives. Accompanying qualitative interviews show how errors in background checks limit access to social opportunities ranging from employment to education to housing and violate basic principles of fairness in the legal system.
Frequency of idiopathic intracranial hypertension with ultrasound in patients with fibromyalgia: Relation with function, central sensitization, and neuropathic pain
Authors: Ketenci Sertaç , Uzuner Bora , Durmuş Dilek , Polat Murat
Published: February 2024

Objective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) in fibromyalgia (FMS) patients by utilizing ultrasound to measure the optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), a marker of elevated intracranial pressure and also to investigate the relationship with function, fatigue, quality of life (QOL), central sensitization (CS) and neuropathic pain.

Methods

The study encompassed 80 female FMS patients and 75 healthy controls. Ultrasound was employed to measure the average ONSD in both groups. Conditions potentially elevating intracranial pressure were ruled out following neurological assessments. Pain (via visual analog scale, VAS), function (revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, r‐FIQ), QOL (Short Form‐36, SF‐36), fatigue (fatigue severity scale, FACIT), CS (Central Sensitization Scale), and neuropathic pain (Douleur Neuropathique‐4) were evaluated.

Results

The average ONSD was significantly higher in the patient group than the control group. Patients with ONSD >5.5 mm consistent with IIH were categorized as Group 1 (n = 54, 67.5%), while those with a diameter of 5.5 mm and below‐formed Group 2. VAS pain (p = .033) and FIQ‐R scores (p = .033) were significantly higher in Group 1 than Group 2. Headache was found more common in Group 1.

Conclusion

This study unveils a substantial occurrence (67.5%) of IIH in FMS patients, suggesting shared pathophysiological mechanisms contributing to symptoms like fatigue, headache, and cognitive dysfunction. Additionally, these findings implicate heightened functional impairment, CS, headache, and fatigue in FMS patients with IIH.
Does competition increase pass‐through?
Authors: Ritz Robert A.
Published: February 2024

In recent years, the literature has seen a surge of interest in pass‐through as an economic tool. At the same time, widespread concerns have emerged about the rising market power of firms. How does competition affect pass‐through? A standard intuition is that more competition makes prices more cost‐reflective and hence raises the rate of cost pass‐through. This article shows this conclusion is sensitive to the routine assumption that firms' marginal costs are constant. With modestly convex costs, market power can raise pass‐through (even when it lies below 1). These results have implications for antitrust policy, environmental regulation, and welfare analysis.
Accuracy of 11 intraocular lens calculation formulas in shallow anterior chamber eyes
Authors: Yuan Haorui , Zhang Jiaqing , Han Xiaotong , Ye Jinfeng , Huang Yiguo , Huang Ruoxuan , Wen Ling , Qiu Xiaozhang , Chen Xiaoyun , Chen Kailin , Tan Xuhua , Luo Lixia
Published: February 2024

Purpose

To evaluate the performance of intraocular lens (IOL) calculation formulas and the effect of anterior chamber depth (ACD), axial length (AL) and lens thickness (LT) on the prediction accuracy in shallow ACD eyes.

Methods

This retrospective, consecutive case‐series study included 648 eyes of 648 patients with an ACD < 3.0 mm who underwent phacoemulsification and IOL implantation. Eleven formulas were evaluated: Barrett Universal II (BUII), Emmetropia Verifying Optical (EVO) 2.0, Hill‐Radial Basis Function (RBF) 3.0, Hoffer QST, Kane, Olsen, Pearl‐DGS and traditional formulas (Haigis, Hoffer Q, Holladay 1 and SRK/T). Subgroup analysis was performed based on ACD, AL and LT.

Results

Overall, the Hoffer QST and Kane showed no systematic bias. The Kane, EVO 2.0, Hill‐RBF 3.0 and Hoffer QST had relatively lower mean absolute error and higher percentages of prediction error within ±0.5 D. For the ACD of 2.5–3.0 mm and AL < 22.0 mm subgroup, the Pearl‐DGS exhibited the lowest MAE (0.45 D) and MedAE (0.41 D). Most formulas had a significant myopic bias (−0.43 to −0.18 D, p < 0.05) in the LT < 4.3 mm subgroup and a significant hyperopic bias (0.09–0.29 D, p < 0.05) in the LT ≥ 5.1 mm subgroup.

Conclusion

The Kane and Hoffer QST were recommended for shallow ACD eyes. In eyes with an ACD between 2.5 and 3.0 mm and a short AL, the Pearl‐DGS showed excellent performance. Clinicians need to fine‐tune the target refraction according to LT in shallow ACD eyes.
An artificial intelligence algorithm for co‐clustering to help in pharmacovigilance before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Destere Alexandre , Marchello Giulia , Merino Diane , Othman Nouha Ben , Gérard Alexandre O. , Lavrut Thibaud , Viard Delphine , Rocher Fanny , Corneli Marco , Bouveyron Charles , Drici Milou‐Daniel
Published: February 2024

Aims

Monitoring drug safety in real‐world settings is the primary aim of pharmacovigilance. Frequent adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are usually identified during drug development. Rare ones are mostly characterized through post‐marketing scrutiny, increasingly with the use of data mining and disproportionality approaches, which lead to new drug safety signals. Nonetheless, waves of excessive numbers of reports, often stirred up by social media, may overwhelm and distort this process, as observed recently with levothyroxine or COVID‐19 vaccines. As human resources become rarer in the field of pharmacovigilance, we aimed to evaluate the performance of an unsupervised co‐clustering method to help the monitoring of drug safety.

Methods

A dynamic latent block model (dLBM), based on a time‐dependent co‐clustering generative method, was used to summarize all regional ADR reports (n = 45 269) issued between 1 January 2012 and 28 February 2022. After analysis of their intra and extra interrelationships, all reports were grouped into different cluster types (time, drug, ADR).

Results

Our model clustered all reports in 10 time, 10 ADR and 9 drug collections. Based on such clustering, three prominent societal problems were detected, subsequent to public health concerns about drug safety, including a prominent media hype about the perceived safety of COVID‐19 vaccines. The dLBM also highlighted some specific drug–ADR relationships, such as the association between antiplatelets, anticoagulants and bleeding.

Conclusions

Co‐clustering and dLBM appear as promising tools to explore large pharmacovigilance databases. They allow, ‘unsupervisedly’, the detection, exploration and strengthening of safety signals, facilitating the analysis of massive upsurges of reports.
Surviving on the periphery of society: Experiences of street children in Accra, Ghana
Authors: Abekah‐Carter Kwamina
Published: February 2024

Drawing on Bourdieu's theory of social fields, this article sought to answer two research questions: (a) what challenges do street children encounter on the streets? and (b) what survival strategies do these street children adopt to cope with street life? Thirty street children constituted the study's sample size. Data were gathered through in‐depth interviews and focus group discussions and were thematically analysed. It was found that street children encountered challenges including abuse, inadequate access to basic needs, stigmatization, and theft. This study also found that some street children resorted to their peer networks and intimate partners for protection, as well as for financial and material support. Additionally, some street children engaged in menial working jobs and in some cases, stealing and prostitution to fend for themselves. While these survival tactics were noted to be crucial in the lives of street children, this article recommends for the intensified implementation of state and non‐state interventions to help alter the unwholesome living conditions of these vulnerable children.
Transformed astrocytes confer temozolomide resistance on glioblastoma via delivering ALKBH7 to enhance APNG expression after educating by glioblastoma stem cells‐derived exosomes
Authors: Liu Xinglei , Liu Liang , Wu Anyi , Huang Shilu , Xu Zhipeng , Zhang Xiaopei , Li Zengyang , Li Haoran , Dong Jun
Published: February 2024

Background

Glioblastoma is the most malignant primary brain tumor in adults. Temozolomide (TMZ) stands for the first‐line chemotherapeutic agent against glioblastoma. Nevertheless, the therapeutic efficacy of TMZ appears to be remarkably limited, because of low cytotoxic efficiency against glioblastoma. Besides, various mechanical studies and the corresponding strategies fail to enhancing TMZ curative effect in clinical practice. Our previous studies have disclosed remodeling of glial cells by GSCs, but the roles of these transformed cells on promoting TMZ resistance have never been explored.

Methods

Exosomes were extracted from GSCs culture through standard centrifugation procedures, which can activate transformation of normal human astrocytes (NHAs) totumor‐associated astrocytes (TAAs) for 3 days through detect the level of TGF‐β, CD44 and tenascin‐C. The secretive protein level of ALKBH7 of TAAs was determined by ELISA kit. The protein level of APNG and ALKBH7 of GBM cells were determined by Western blot. Cell‐based assays of ALKBH7 and APNG triggered drug resistance were performed through flow cytometric assay, Western blotting and colony formation assay respectively. A xenograft tumor model was applied to investigate the function of ALKBH7 in vivo. Finally, the effect of the ALKBH7/APNG signaling on TMZ resistance were evaluated by functional experiments.

Results

Exosomes derived from GSCs can activate transformation of normal human astrocytes (NHAs)to tumor‐associated astrocytes (TAAs), as well as up‐regulation of ALKBH7expression in TAAs. Besides, TAAs derived ALKBH7 can regulate APNG gene expression of GBM cells. After co‐culturing with TAAs for 5 days, ALKBH7 and APNG expression in GBM cells were elevated. Furthermore, Knocking‐down of APNG increased the inhibitory effect of TMZ on GBM cells survival.

Conclusion

The present study illustrated a new mechanism of glioblastoma resistance to TMZ, which based on GSCs‐exo educated TAAs delivering ALKBH7 to enhance APNG expression of GBM cells, which implied that targeting on ALKBH7/APNG regulation network may provide a new strategy of enhancing TMZ therapeutic effects against glioblastoma.