bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The gender gap in wages over the life course: Evidence from a British cohort born in 1958
Authors: Joshi Heather , Bryson Alexander , Wilkinson David , Ward Kelly
Published: November 2020

We trace the gender wage gap (GWG) though a mid‐life peak for a cohort born in Britain in 1958 (National Child Development Study) to quantify their life‐course experience of equal and unequal opportunities. Taking hourly pay of full‐timers and part‐timers together, an initial gap between men and women widened substantially during childrearing years. Much, but not all, of the GWG is attributable to divergent work experience, especially in mid‐life. Education‐related differences are minor. Family formation primarily affects the GWG through gender differences in work experience. Family composition is similar for male and female workers, but it attracts opposite wage premia. The GWG, however, is not only linked to family formation. There is a sizeable GWG on labor market entry and there are some otherwise unexplained gaps between the pay of men and women who had not (and did not) become parents, belying the notion that unequal wage treatment is confined to parents.
Client care strategies, stressors, and solutions in frontline anti‐trafficking work
Authors: Schwarz Corinne
Published: November 2020

Anti‐human trafficking efforts are increasingly folded into normative frontline work sectors. Service providers must expand their understanding of clients to include the needs of exploited or trafficked persons, even though they may not receive a commensurate increase in training or resources to accommodate these new cases. Using semi‐structured interviews with 54 service providers in the US Midwest, this paper argues that frontline workers move beyond “traditional” emotional labor to labor inflected with forms of crisis, dirty, edge, or extreme work when confronted with trafficking. The specific needs of trafficked clients require the utilization of normatively gendered client care practices: listening, empathizing, performing appropriate responses to clients' emotional displays. However, new or compounding stressors may emerge alongside these new service populations. In order to ethically provide services without risking increased burnout, street‐level bureaucracies must invest in resources for frontline workers to invest in their own emotional well‐being.
High levels of copper retard the growth ofSaccharomyces cerevisiaeby altering cellular morphology and reducing its potential for ethanolic fermentation
Authors: Wang Lihua , Wang Ronghua , Zhan Jicheng , Huang Weidong
Published: November 2020

Previous research has shown that high levels of Cu2+inhibit the growth of yeast and induce sluggish fermentation, resulting in a decrease in alcohol production. Little data are available on the effects of copper on the cell morphology, especially the surface elasticity ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae. This work investigated the effects of Cu2+(0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mm) on the growth, surface characteristics and elasticity of two strains ofS. cerevisiaein a low sugar model synthetic medium. The results indicated that high levels of Cu2+retarded the growth rate ofS. cerevisiaeand reduced the utilisation of reducing sugars. Cells showed intercellular adhesion, became small and deformed, and the surface was uneven and rough after the adsorption of Cu2+. The Young's modulus also decreased with an increase in the concentration of Cu2+, indicating that the cells had softened. This study reveals the response mechanism ofS. cerevisiaeunder copper stress by altering cellular morphology and mechanical properties.
Not only for work: Italian migrants in the Athens area
Authors: Maddaloni Domenico , Moffa Grazia
Published: November 2020

According to the official Italian administrative data, the community of Italians living in Athens went on growing over the years, including the last decade. What are the drivers of Italian immigration in a less‐developed country than Italy, a country which recently has also experienced a more serious crisis than the Italian one? To answer this question, we followed a research strategy based on in‐depth interviews to Italians living in the Athens area. After reviewing the features of the Italian community and those of the group of interviewees, we focus on the respondents who found a job in Athens, both as independent workers and as employees. Our results show that a great number of drivers are at work in producing a migration flow from Italy to Greece. They support the idea that contemporary international migration (more specifically, intra‐European migration) cannot be fully understood by relying exclusively on an economic approach.
The ankle–brachial index and risk of incident stroke in Chinese hypertensive population without atrial fibrillation: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Shi Yumeng , Hu Lihua , Li Minghui , Ding Congcong , Zhou Wei , Wang Tao , Zhu Lingjuan , Bao Huihui , Cheng Xiaoshu
Published: November 2020

We aimed to evaluate the relation of the ankle–brachial index (ABI) with the prevalence of stroke and to examine any possible effect modifiers among hypertensive patients without atrial fibrillation. A total of 10 750 subjects with hypertension aged 27‐96 years were included in the current study. The outcome was a stroke. Odds ratios of stroke concerning ABI were calculated using multivariate logistic regression models. Among 10 750 hypertensive participants, 690 (6.42%) had a stroke. Multivariate logistic analyses showed that ABI was negatively correlated with the prevalence of stroke (per SD increment; adjusted OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.82‐0.94). Compared with participants in Q 1, the odds ratios (95% CI) for those in the Q2 (1.05 to 1.10), Q3 (1.10 to 1.15), and Q4 (≥1.15) were 0.71 (0.56, 0.90), 0.87 (0.70, 1.08), and 0.81 (0.65, 1.01), respectively. However, compared with higher ABI value, lower ABI value (<1.05) would significantly increase the odds of stroke (OR: 1.26, 95% CI [1.05‐1.50]), especially in the elderly over 65 years old. A generalized additive model and a smooth curve fitting showed that there existed an L‐shaped association between ABI and the prevalence of stroke. Our results suggest that an L‐shaped association between ABI and the prevalence of stroke was found in general hypertensive patients, with a turning point at about 1.05. Compared with higher ABI value, lower ABI value (<1.05) would significantly increase the prevalence of stroke (OR: 1.26, 95% CI [1.05‐1.50]), especially in the elderly over 65 years old.
The Generation of the Coup: Honduran Youth at Risk and of Risk
Authors: Frank‐Vitale Amelia , Martínez d'Aubuisson Juan José
Published: November 2020

In this article, we show how generation as a category is an important analytic for understanding social and political dynamics in Honduras. We argue that coming of age in the post‐coup d’état era in Honduras has shaped young Honduran's sense of their own life chances, what they can expect from society and government, and what kinds of possibilities they imagine for their futures. Drawing from ethnography conducted in Honduras and with Hondurans during the 2018 and 2019 migrant caravans, we show how the category of youth is a potential source of risk for the regime in Honduras and, simultaneously, it puts those who are in it at risk. The article concludes with reflections on the legal limitations of generation as category and the lethal consequences of this limitation.
pycotem: An open source toolbox for online crystal defect characterization from TEM imaging and diffraction
Authors: Mompiou Frédéric , Xie Rui‐Xun
Published: November 2020

We present a series of tools working together that facilitate the determination of dislocation Burgers vectors and slip planes, interface plane normals and misorientation between two crystals from a series of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) micrographs and diffraction patterns. To that purpose, we developed graphical user interface programs that allow crystal orientation determination from spot diffraction patterns taken at various tilt angles or from Kikuchi patterns crystal representation from stereographic projection plots and determination of geometrical features from series of conventional images taken at different tilt angles. We present working examples that allow a faster and easier way to analyse data that can especially be retrieved during in situ straining experiments where dislocations and grain boundaries need to be characterized. More generally, these tools target material scientists interested in daily microstructural characterization in TEM.
Are Nurses Homophobic? A Survey Study in Public Hospitals in Turkey
Authors: Çakır Hanife , Harmancı Seren Arzu Kader
Published: November 2020

Purpose

Studies conducted with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in Turkey have found that such people experience social isolation, neglect, insufficient healthcare services, and disrespect. However, no study has been reported related to clinicians' approaches and attitudes towards them. This study aimed to determine the attitudes of nurses towards homosexual individuals and the factors associated with the homophobia levels of nurses.

Design

This was a descriptive, cross‐sectional survey study.

Methods

The study was conducted with 449 participants in four hospitals. Nurses who had been working for at least 1 year in the hospitals were included in the sample of the study. The data were collected by using a two‐part survey form. The first part was an information form regarding the participants’ socio‐demographic and professional characteristics, and the second part was the Hudson and Ricketts Homophobia Scale. The data were analyzed using numbers, percentages, means, Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency analysis, parametric tests (t test and analysis of variance), nonparametric tests (Mann‐Whitney U and Kruskal‐Wallis) and multiple linear regression.

Findings

The study found that most of the Turkish nurses were not professionally homophobic. However, their personal homophobia scores were high. Their attitudes towards homosexuals varied by factors such as education level, acquaintance with LGBTI people, level of acquaintance, and locations of the hospitals.

Conclusions

Nurses who work in public hospitals stated that they would provide care for LGBTI people. However, their Homophobia Scale scores were over the mid‐point. Subjects related to the health needs of LGBTI people should be included in the curricula of nursing departments and in in‐service training at health service institutions.

Clinical Relevance

LGBTI individuals have complained about the reaching out health care services and negative attitudes of health care professionals towards them. Findings of this study provides important data to understand the homophobia level and reasons of nurses to develop in‐service education and training programs for coping and changing their negative attitudes.
Can placental elasticity predict the time of delivery in cases of threatened preterm labor?
Authors: Tolunay Harun Egemen , Eroğlu Hasan , Çelik Özge Yücel , Arat Özgür , Obut Mehmet , Varlı Erol Nadi , Şahin Dilek , Yücel Aykan
Published: November 2020

Aim

We aimed to evaluate placental elasticity for the short‐time prediction of delivery in cases of threatened preterm labor (TPL).

Methods

We performed a prospective study with consented pregnant women diagnosed with TPL (24th to 34th gestational week). According to the birth time, the patients were grouped into two groups, whether the delivery happened in the following first week or not. We compared the placental strain ratio (PSR) values between these two groups.

Results

A total of 108 pregnant women divided into two groups according to the delivery time were enrolled in our study. The pregnant women who had a delivery in 1 week after hospitalization have increased PSR values when compared to those who have not delivered within 1 week (P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that cervical length and PSR were significantly associated with delivery in 1 week after hospitalization. When the cervical length was entered as a covariate (control) variable, PSR was significantly associated with delivery time (B = 0.504, odds ratio: 1.655, 95% confidence interval: 1.339–2.045, P < 0.001). A PSR value of 4.04 had a sensitivity of 77.78% and a specificity of 87.04% in terms of short‐time prediction of the delivery time, in the receiver–operator curves analysis to determine the cut‐off point PSR value.

Conclusion

Elastography may contribute to predict the delivery time in high‐risk pregnants with TPL.
Cash‐for‐Care Use and Union Dissolution in Finland
Authors: Morosow Kathrin , Jalovaara Marika , Härkönen Juho
Published: November 2020

Objective

This study examines how the receipt of the cash‐for‐care (CFC) benefit affects short‐ and long‐term risks of union dissolution.

Background

Several theories predict that couples' gendered division of labor decreases their risk of separation, either due to increased partnership satisfaction or because it establishes economic dependency. Family policies such as the Finnish CFC benefit, which is paid if a young child does not attend public daycare, may encourage such a gendered division of labor, at least temporarily.

Method

Using Finnish register data, this study analyzes the first childbearing unions of 38,093 couples between 1987 and 2009. Discrete‐time event history analyses and fixed effects models for nonrepeated events are applied.

Results

The results suggest a lower separation risk while the benefit is received as compared to couples who do not use it, but no effect in the long‐term. Fixed effects models that control for selection into CFC indicate postponement of separation until after take‐up. Higher‐income mothers show a stronger postponement effect, possibly due to greater income following leave.

Conclusion

CFC use, which signals a temporary gendered division of labor and losses in mothers' earnings, predicts a lower separation risk during receipt of the benefit, but not beyond.

Implications

Policies that affect the division of paid and unpaid labor at best only temporarily reduce dissolution risks.
Liver disease in the older child
Authors: Ee Looi C
Published: November 2020

Liver disease in children tends to present either as: (i) an acute hepatitis with or without jaundice; (ii) incidental finding of abnormal liver function tests; or (iii) from a complication of portal hypertension with either haematemesis and/or incidental splenomegaly. Acute hepatitis may result from acute infection, prescribed or other drugs, ischaemia or vascular causes, autoimmune hepatitis, or idiopathic liver failure. Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease is now the most likely reason for abnormal liver function tests but medications, metabolic disease, cholangiopathy and non‐liver causes should be considered. Autoimmune hepatitis and alpha‐1‐antitrypsin deficiency are the most likely causes of insidious liver disease. An international normalised ratio uncorrected by vitamin K reflects the severity of liver synthetic dysfunction, but not propensity to bleed. Creatine kinase helps to differentiate muscle from liver disease in patients with raised transaminases. Doppler ultrasound of hepatic vasculature is useful when assessing splenomegaly to differentiate extra‐hepatic portal hypertension from inherent liver disease.
Neonatal liver disease
Authors: Evans Helen M , Siew Susan M
Published: November 2020

Neonatal liver disease encompasses many diagnoses, including structural and genetic aetiologies. Many have significant health implications requiring long‐term specialist treatment including liver transplantation. Jaundice is a common presenting feature. The ability of health‐care professionals to differentiate neonatal liver disease from benign diagnoses such as physiological jaundice is very important. Persistent (more than 2 weeks) of conjugated jaundice always warrants investigation. Severe unconjugated jaundice (requiring prolonged phototherapy) should also be promptly investigated. Recent advances in genomics have enabled previously elusive, precise diagnoses in some patients with neonatal liver disease. This review paper discusses the commoner causes, with a focus on early detection and need for referral to paediatric liver services.
Profiles of sleep changes during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Demographic, behavioural and psychological factors
Authors: Robillard Rebecca , Dion Karianne , Pennestri Marie‐Helene , Solomonova Elizaveta , Lee Elliott , Saad Mysa , Murkar Anthony , Godbout Roger , Edwards Jodi D. , Quilty Lena , Daros Alexander R. , Bhatla Raj , Kendzerska Tetyana
Published: November 2020

This study aimed to evaluate changes in sleep during the COVID‐19 outbreak, and used data‐driven approaches to identify distinct profiles of changes in sleep‐related behaviours. Demographic, behavioural and psychological factors associated with sleep changes were also investigated. An online population survey assessing sleep and mental health was distributed between 3 April and 24 June 2020. Retrospective questions were used to estimate temporal changes from before to during the outbreak. In 5,525 Canadian respondents (67.1% females, 16–95 years old: Mean ± SD = 55.6 ± 16.3 years), wake‐up times were significantly delayed relative to pre‐outbreak estimates (p < .001,  = 0.04). Occurrences of clinically meaningful sleep difficulties significantly increased from 36.0% before the outbreak to 50.5% during the outbreak (all p < .001, g ≥ 0.27). Three subgroups with distinct profiles of changes in sleep behaviours were identified: “Reduced Time in Bed”, “Delayed Sleep” and “Extended Time in Bed”. The “Reduced Time in Bed” and “Delayed Sleep” subgroups had more adverse sleep outcomes and psychological changes during the outbreak. The emergence of new sleep difficulties was independently associated with female sex, chronic illnesses, being employed, family responsibilities, earlier wake‐up times, higher stress levels, as well as heavier alcohol use and television exposure. The heterogeneity of sleep changes in response to the pandemic highlights the need for tailored interventions to address sleep problems.
Identification of the sleep–wake states in rats using the high‐frequency activity of the electroencephalogram
Authors: Silva‐Pérez Manuel , Sánchez‐López Alvaro , Pompa‐del‐Toro Natalia , Escudero Miguel
Published: November 2020

The electroencephalographic signal constitutes the main sign classically used for the identification of states of alertness. However, activities in the high frequency (>100 Hz) range have not been properly studied despite their high potential for sleep scoring in rodents. In the present study, we designed a method for the identification of the sleep–wake states in rats by exclusively using high‐frequency activities of the electroencephalogram. By calculating the ratio between the amplitude of the electroencephalographic signal from 110 to 200 Hz and from 110 to 300 Hz, we obtained an index that had values that were low during wakefulness, intermediate during non‐REM sleep and high during REM sleep. This high‐frequency index (HiFI) allowed the identification of each state without the need to study other signs such as muscle activity or eye movements. To evaluate the performance of the index, we compared it with the conventional scoring of the sleep–wake cycle based upon the study of the electromyogram and delta (0.5–4 Hz), theta (6–9 Hz) and sigma (10–14 Hz) bands of the electroencephalogram. The index had an accuracy of 90.43 ± 1.91% (Cohen's kappa value of 0.82), confirming that the study of the high‐frequency activities of the electroencephalogram was sufficient to reliably identify alertness states in the rat. Compared to other sleep‐scoring methods, the HiFI has several advantages. It only requires one electroencephalography electrode, thus reducing the severity of the surgical preparation of the experimental animal, and its calculation is very simple, so it can be easily implemented online to classify sleep–wake states in real time.
Evidence for dynamic in vivo interconversion of the conformational states of IscU during iron–sulfur cluster biosynthesis
Authors: Sato Sakiko , Matsushima Yumeka , Kanazawa Miaki , Tanaka Naoyuki , Fujishiro Takashi , Kunichika Kouhei , Nakamura Ryosuke , Tomioka Hiroaki , Wada Kei , Takahashi Yasuhiro
Published: November 2020

IscU is a central component of the ISC machinery and serves as a scaffold for de novo assembly of Fe–S clusters. The dedicated chaperone system composed of the Hsp70‐chaperone HscA and the J‐protein cochaperone HscB synergistically interacts with IscU and facilitates cluster transfer from IscU to recipient apo‐proteins. Here, we report that the otherwise essential roles of HscA and HscB can be bypassed in vivo by a number of single amino acid substitutions in IscU. CD spectroscopic studies of the variant IscU proteins capable of this bypass activity revealed dynamic interconversion between two conformations: the denatured (D) and the structured (S) state in the absence and presence of Zn2+, respectively, which was far more prominent than interconversion observed in wild‐type IscU. Furthermore, we found that neither the S‐shifted (more structured) variants of IscU nor the perpetually denatured variants could perform their in vivo role regardless of whether the chaperone system was present or not. The present study thus provides for the first time evidence that an in vivo D‐state of IscU exists and implies that conformational interconversion between the S‐ and D‐states of the scaffolding protein is a fundamental requirement for the assembly and transfer of the Fe–S cluster.
Predictors of successful weight loss outcomes amongst individuals with obesity undergoing lifestyle interventions: A systematic review
Authors: Chopra Sakshi , Malhotra Anita , Ranjan Piyush , Vikram Naval K. , Sarkar Siddharth , Siddhu Anupa , Kumari Archana , Kaloiya Gauri Shankar , Kumar Amit
Published: November 2020

Understanding the predictors of weight loss with lifestyle interventions can help to ascertain the probable outcomes of individuals with obesity who undergo such interventions. This systematic review assessed the evidence of predictors of successful weight loss among individuals who are overweight or with obesity undergoing lifestyle interventions. Four electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Reviews, PsychInfo and Wiley) were searched to find relevant literature published in the past 20 years. A total of 1351 titles were identified in the initial search, of which 23 studies were finally included. Predictors were synthesized in the domains of socio‐demographic factors, anthropometric parameters, psychological and behavioural factors and intervention‐based factors. The overall quality of evidence on predictors was then appraised using an adapted GRADE approach. Patient‐specific factors such as being male, older in age, having existing cardiometabolic comorbidities and limited fat intake were significantly associated with weight loss success. Amongst intervention specific predictors, greater initial weight loss and higher adherence to lifestyle advice were associated with greater weight loss success. In this review, initial weight loss came out to be as the most important predictor of successful weight loss outcome.
Immune response to cytosolic DNA via intercellular receptor modulation in oral keratinocytes and fibroblasts
Authors: Naruse Takako , Ohta Kouji , Kato Hiroki , Ishida Yoko , Shigeishi Hideo , Sakuma Miyuki , Fukui Akiko , Nakagawa Takayuki , Tobiume Kei , Nishi Hiromi , Takechi Masaaki
Published: November 2020

Objective

Double‐strand (ds) DNA‐enveloped viruses can cause oral infection. Our aim is to investigate whether oral mucosal cells participate in immune response against cytosolic dsDNA invasion.

Methods

We examined the response to transfected herpes simplex virus (HSV) dsDNA via intracellular receptors in oral keratinocytes (RT7) and fibroblasts (GT1), and the effect of TNF‐α on those responses.

Results

Transfected dsDNA increased CXCL10 expression via NF‐κB activation in both cell types, while those responses were inhibited by knockdown of RIG‐I, an RNA sensor. Although IFI16, a DNA sensor, was expressed in the nuclei of both types, its knockdown decreased transfected dsDNA‐induced CXCL10 expression in GT1 but not RT7 cells. IFI16 in GT1 cells was translocated into cytoplasm from nuclei, which was attributed to immune response to cytosolic dsDNA. TNF‐α enhanced transfected dsDNA‐induced CXCL10, and knockdown of IFI16 decreased TNF‐α and dsDNA‐driven CXCL10 expression in both RT7 and GT1 cells. Finally, the combination of TNF‐α and transfected dsDNA resulted in translocation of IFI16 from nuclei to cytoplasm in RT7 cells.

Conclusion

RIG‐I and IFI16 in oral mucosal cells may play important roles in host immune response against DNA viral infection, while TNF‐α contributes to development of an antiviral system via those intracellular receptors.
Information needs and oral epithelial dysplasia: Development and psychometric evaluation of a novel instrument
Authors: Alsoghier Abdullah , Riordain Richeal Ni , Fedele Stefano , Liew Colin , Porter Stephen
Published: November 2020

Objectives

Oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) can lead to significant information needs (IN) related to the risk of cancer development, the need for long‐term monitoring and potential intervention. The present study aimed to develop and perform preliminary psychometric testing for a novel IN instrument specific to OED.

Subjects and methods

Patients diagnosed with OED were invited to complete the Oral Epithelial Dysplasia Informational Needs Questionnaire (ODIN‐Q), which was developed based on a known theoretical framework and with items generated via expert input and the literature. Face validity and content validity were initially assessed prior to finalisation of the tool. ODIN‐Q was tested for internal consistency and test–retest reliability along with construct validity.

Results

ODIN‐Q consists of 35 items, categorised under six domains, and rated by dual 4‐point Likert scales (amount of information received and degree of importance). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was rated “excellent” for the scale (0.93) and both subscales (0.92/0.94). For test–retest reliability, moderate agreement was found (κ = 0.49–0.53). Regarding construct validity, a significant but limited relationship was found between ODIN‐Q and the Krantz Health Opinion Survey.

Conclusion

ODIN‐Q showed adequate psychometric properties of reliability and validity. Further validation is, however, needed to assess its structural validity and responsiveness.
How and when are learning‐adaptable newcomers innovative? Examining mechanisms and constraints
Authors: Boulamatsi Artemis , Liu Songqi , Lambert Lisa Schurer , Yao Xiang , Guo Rui , Yin Jingfeng
Published: November 2020

Higher levels of learning adaptability at work are expected to help performance when individuals encounter an unfamiliar environment, such as during organizational entry. However, little is known about how and when newcomer learning adaptability drives innovative behaviors. Drawing on and extending individual adaptability theory, we propose that two mediating mechanisms, positive framing and task mastery, may transmit the effect of learning adaptability on innovative behavior, with supervisor's tendency to avoid uncertain situations posited as a boundary condition. The proposed hypotheses were tested using multi‐source, multi‐wave data from three companies. We found that learning adaptability indirectly impacts innovative behavior via positive framing but not via task mastery. In addition, supervisor uncertainty avoidance moderated the relationship between learning adaptability and positive framing, and task mastery moderated the relationship between positive framing and innovative behavior, supporting a pattern of moderated mediation, such that the indirect relationship between learning adaptability and innovative behavior via positive framing was more positive when both moderators were low. The research findings are discussed in terms of implications for socialization research and practice.
Degrees of Assertability
Authors: Carter Sam
Published: November 2020

In considering what we ought to say, we can evaluate a proposition both forwhetherit is assertable and forhowassertable it is. The latter notion, that ofcomparative assertability, has an important role to play, both in our epistemic evaluations of speech and in our pragmatic reasoning. Yet, despite this, it has received little prior discussion.

This paper takes up the investigation of comparative assertability. §§1–2 provide a preliminary, informal overview of the topic and an operationalization of the target notion. §3 introduces Probabilism, the thesis that a proposition's degree of assertability is determined by its probability. Probabilismhas been assumed in much of what prior discussion on comparative assertability there is. In §4 I present two kinds of problem for Probabilism—problems which, I suggest, when taken in combination, should lead us to look for alternatives. In §5, I formulate and defend one such alternative. Under this proposal, comparative assertability is a matter, not of comparativeprobability, but of comparativenormality. I conclude by demonstrating how adopting this approach allows us to avoid both kinds of problem which beset Probabilism.
Is replacing sedentary time with bouts of physical activity associated with inflammatory biomarkers in children?
Authors: Verswijveren Simone J. J. M. , Salmon Jo , Daly Robin M. , Della Gatta Paul A. , Arundell Lauren , Dunstan David W. , Hesketh Kylie D. , Cerin Ester , Ridgers Nicola D.
Published: November 2020

This study aimed to investigate the theoretical impact of reallocating a specific amount of sedentary time with an equal amount of (a) total and (b) ≥1‐minute bout‐accumulated time spent in different activity intensities, on inflammatory biomarkers in 8‐ to 9‐year‐old children. Accelerometry and inflammatory biomarker baseline data from the Transform‐Us! Study (complete cases n = 149) were utilized. Isotemporal linear models with the Gaussian distribution and identity link functions were used to assess associations between the activity replacements and seven individual inflammatory biomarkers, including C‐reactive protein (CRP), and Interleukin (IL)‐2, IL‐6, IL‐8, and IL‐10, as well as combined inflammatory and pro‐inflammatory composite scores. Eighty‐five percent of children met physical activity recommendations. Replacing 10 minutes of sedentary time per day with VPA, regardless of how this was accumulated, was beneficially associated with CRP and both combined composite scores. In contrast, replacing 10 min/day of sedentary time with ≥ 1‐minute MPA bouts was detrimentally associated with CRP and the inflammatory composite score. Substitutions with other activity intensities were not significantly associated with any individual inflammatory biomarkers, or combined inflammatory and pro‐inflammatory composite scores. In healthy and active school‐aged children, evidence of the theoretical impact of replacing sedentary time with physical activity, regardless of intensity or accumulation, on markers of systemic inflammation was limited. Longitudinal research is needed to investigate the long‐term impacts of reallocating sedentary time with physical activity, and particularly VPA, for inflammatory biomarkers in children, including those with increased risk of inflammation.
Adolescent perceptions of inductive discipline as a response to peer aggression: Variation by socialization agent and individual characteristics
Authors: M. Rote Wendy , Corona Alexandria , L. Moore LaSonya , B. Patrick Renee , R. Flak Savannah
Published: November 2020

Inductive discipline can reduce problem behavior and promote moral internalization in children, but its role in reducing peer aggression in adolescence is less well‐understood, especially across diverse socialization agents. Using hypothetical vignettes, this study examined adolescents’ evaluations of and expected emotional reactions to parents’, teachers’, and friends’ inductive responses to peer aggression. Participants were 209 middle school (Mage = 12.29 years) and 266 high school (Mage = 15.86 years) students (68% female, 39.4% White, and 37.7% Black). Adolescents approved of induction and expected it to be somewhat effective at preventing peer aggression and inducing guilt and empathy. When compared with power assertion, adolescents typically viewed induction as the fairer but less effective strategy. Evaluations varied by socialization agent, aggression status, and demographics. Inductions by parents were rated consistently as most impactful and youth who were younger, female, and less aggressive appeared more responsive to such discipline. Results highlight the importance of incorporating parents into peer aggression interventions, combining confrontive and inductive responses, and providing aggressive youth with additional skills to help them better internalize the inductive messages.
Categorical oppression: Performance of identity in South India
Authors: Raj Jayaseelan
Published: November 2020

What does ‘identity’ really mean for the migrant workforce beyond its function in production relations? How are forms of identity evoked within broader social relations in a migrant context? This article explores these questions by looking at how the Tamil Dalit tea workers in the South Indian state of Kerala experience the stigmatisation of their identity categories in the context of two significant events that occurred in the tea belt—an economic crisis and a conflict between two states over managing a dam. The way ‘migrant’ workers are categorised in their ‘host’ society is discussed here as fundamental to how they experience life both in and out of their workplaces. Extending Philippe Bourgois's notion of conjugated oppression, I argue that when dominant groups stigmatise, evoke and employ certain aspects of the workers' identities to their disadvantage, they are engaging in a phenomenon that I call ‘categorical oppression’.
Mechanical ventilation restores blood gas homeostasis and diaphragm muscle strength in ketamine/medetomidine‐anaesthetized rats
Authors: Wenzel Christin , Schmidt Johannes , Urban Gerald , Schumann Stefan , Spassov Sashko Georgiev
Published: November 2020

New Findings

What is the central question of the study?

Does respiratory support ensure blood gas homeostasis and the relevance of experimental outcomes?

What is the main finding and its importance?

Spontaneous breathing during surgical intervention under anaesthesia results in impaired gas exchange and loss of diaphragm muscle strength in rats. Subsequent short‐term mechanical ventilation restored blood gas homeostasis and diaphragm muscle strength.

Blood gas homeostasis interferes substantially with experimental conditions and may alter study results. Monitoring and maintenance of blood gas balance is required to ensure quality and relevance of physiological animal experiments.

In pre‐clinical small animal studies with surgical interventions under general anaesthesia, animals are often left to breathe spontaneously. However, anaesthesia may impair respiratory functions and result in disturbed blood gas homeostasis. In turn, the disturbed blood gas homeostasis can affect physiological functions and thus unintentionally impact the experimental results. We hypothesized that short‐term mechanical ventilation restores blood gas balance and physiological functions despite anaesthesia and surgical interventions. Therefore, we investigated variables of blood gas analyses and diaphragm muscle strength in rats anaesthetized with ketamine/medetomidine after tracheotomy and catheterization of the carotid artery under spontaneous breathing and after 20 min of mechanical ventilation following the same surgical intervention. Spontaneous breathing during general anaesthesia and surgical intervention resulted in unphysiological blood oxygen partial pressure (<65 mmHg) and carbon dioxide partial pressure (>55 mmHg). After subsequent short‐term mechanical ventilation, blood gas partial pressures were restored to their physiological ranges. Additionally, diaphragm muscle strength of animals breathing spontaneously was lower compared to animals that received subsequent mechanical ventilation (P = 0.0063). We conclude that spontaneous breathing of rats under ketamine/medetomidine anaesthesia is not sufficient to maintain a physiological blood gas balance. Disturbed blood gas balance is related to reduced diaphragm muscle strength. Mechanical ventilation for only 20 min restores blood gas homeostasis and muscle strength. Therefore, monitoring and maintenance of blood gas balance should be conducted to ensure quality and relevance of small animal experiments.
Extremal quantum states
Authors: Goldberg Aaron Z. , Klimov Andrei B. , Grassl Markus , Leuchs Gerd , Sánchez-Soto Luis L.
Published: November 2020

The striking differences between quantum and classical systems predicate disruptive quantum technologies. We peruse quantumness from a variety of viewpoints, concentrating on phase-space formulations because they can be applied beyond particular symmetry groups. The symmetry-transcending properties of the Husimi Q function make it our basic tool. In terms of the latter, we examine quantities such as the Wehrl entropy, inverse participation ratio, cumulative multipolar distribution, and metrological power, which are linked to the intrinsic properties of any quantum state. We use these quantities to formulate extremal principles and determine in this way which states are the most and least “quantum”; the corresponding properties and potential usefulness of each extremal principle are explored in detail. While the extrema largely coincide for continuous-variable systems, our analysis of spin systems shows that care must be taken when applying an extremal principle to new contexts.
Urinary retention with occult meningeal reaction: a ‘form fruste’ meningitis-retention syndrome
Authors: Sakakibara Ryuji , Sakai Daiki , Tateno Fuyuki , Aiba Yosuke
Published: November 2020

We report the case of a 70-year-old Japanese man who was referred from a local urologist because of acute urinary retention (detrusor underactivity revealed by a urodynamics examination). A neurogenic urinary retention workup failed to reveal the aetiology, but a spinal tap incidentally showed occult meningeal reaction with positive oligoclonal band. The patient had no headache, nausea/vomiting or fever. Considering his clinical laboratory findings, his neural lesions seemed to involve the meninges and spinal cord, suggestive of‘form fruste’ meningitis-retention syndrome. When clinicians encounter patients with urinary retention of undetermined aetiology, a spinal tap should be considered.
Optimisation, validation and field applicability of a 13C-sucrose breath test to assess intestinal function in environmental enteropathy among children in resource poor settings: study protocol for a prospective study in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Jamaica, Peru and Zambia
Authors: Lee Gwenyth O , Schillinger Robert , Shivakumar Nirupama , Whyte Sherine , Huq Sayeeda , Ochieng Konyole Silvenus , Chileshe Justin , Paredes-Olortegui Maribel , Owino Victor , Yazbeck Roger , Kosek Margaret N , Kelly Paul , Morrison Douglas
Published: November 2020

Introduction

Environmental enteropathy (EE) is suspected to be a cause of growth faltering in children with sustained exposure to enteric pathogens, typically in resource-limited settings. A major hindrance to EE research is the lack of sensitive, non-invasive biomarkers. Current biomarkers measure intestinal permeability and inflammation, but not the functional capacity of the gut. Australian researchers have demonstrated proof of concept for an EE breath test based on using naturally 13C-enriched sucrose, derived from maize, to assay intestinal sucrase activity, a digestive enzyme that is impaired in villus blunting. Here, we describe a coordinated research project to optimise, validate and evaluate the usability of a breath test protocol based on highly enriched 13C-sucrose to quantify physiological dysfunction in EE in relevant target populations.

Methods and analysis

We use the 13C-sucrose breath test (13C-SBT) to evaluate intestinal sucrase activity in two phases. First, an optimisation and validation phase will (1) confirm that a 13C-SBT using highly enriched sucrose tracers reports similar information to the naturally enriched 13C-SBT; (2) examine the dose–response relationship of the test to an intestinal sucrase inhibitor; (3) validate the 13C-SBT in paediatric coeliac disease (4) validate the highly enriched 13C-SBT against EE defined by biopsy in adults and (5) validate the 13C-SBT against EE defined by the urinary lactulose:rhamnose ratio (LR) among children in Peru. Second, a cross-sectional study will be conducted in six resource-limited countries (Bangladesh, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Peru and Zambia) to test the usability of the optimised 13C-SBT to assess EE among 600 children aged 12–15 months old.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval will be obtained from each participating study site. By working as a consortium, the test, if shown to be informative of EE, will demonstrate strong evidence for utility across diverse, low-income and middle-income country paediatric populations.

Trial registration number

NCT04109352; Pre-results.
Level of vital and laboratory values on arrival, and increased risk of 7-day mortality among adult patients in the emergency department: a population-based cohort study
Authors: Pedersen Peter Bank , Henriksen Daniel Pilsgaard , Brabrand Mikkel , Lassen Annmarie Touborg
Published: November 2020

Objectives

The aim of the study was to provide evidence for, at which vital and laboratory values, increased risk of 7-day mortality in acute adult patients on arrival to an emergency department (ED).

Design

A population-based cohort study.

Setting

ED at Odense University Hospital, Denmark.

Participants

All patients ≥18 years with a first-time contact within the study period, 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2015.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Primary outcome was 7-day all-cause mortality.

Variables were first recorded vital and laboratory values included in risk stratification scores; respiratory frequency, blood pressure, heart rate, Glasgow Coma Scale, temperature, saturation, creatinine, PaO2, platelet count and bilirubin. The association between values and mortality was described using a restricted cubic spline. A predefined 7-day mortality of 2.5% was chosen as a relevant threshold.

Results

We included 40 423 patients, 52.5% women, median age 57 (IQR 38–74) years and 7-day mortality 2.8%. Seven-day mortality of 2.5% had thresholds of respiratory frequency <12 and >18/min, systolic blood pressure <112 and >192 mm Hg, heart rate <54 and >102 beats/min, temperature <36.0°C and >39.8°C, saturation <97%, Glasgow Coma Scale score <15, creatinine <41 and >98 µmol/L for PaO2 <9.9 and >12.3 kPa, platelet count <165 and >327×109/L and bilirubin >12 µmol/L.

Conclusion

Vital values on arrival, outside the normal ranges for the measures, are indicative of increased risk of short-term mortality, and most of the value thresholds are included in the lowest urgency level in triage and risk stratification scoring systems.
Disease composition and epidemiological characteristics of primary care visits in Pudong New Area, Shanghai: a longitudinal study, 2016–2018
Authors: Gong Xin , Wang Xiaoli , Shi Tianxing , Shi Jianwei , Yu Wenya , Zhou Liang , Chen Ning , Huang Jiaoling , Wang Zhaoxin
Published: November 2020

Objectives

This study aims to analyse the disease composition of primary care visits rather than specialist visits, the former of which had scarcely been studied. We adopted specific disease classification (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision), disease system and communicable/non-communicable/injury disease classification, and variations of sex and age were also analysed.

Setting

We extracted data from all community health service centres (CHSCs) and community health service stations in Pudong, Shanghai, from 2016 to 2018 using the electronic health record systems of the Pudong health information centre.

Participants

Our data included all 46 720 972 primary care visits from 2016 to 2018 in CHSCs in Pudong.

Results

We found that the top five diseases in primary care visits continued to be primary hypertension, problems related to medical facilities, chronic ischaemic heart disease, unspecified diabetes mellitus and acute upper respiratory infection. Lipoprotein metabolism disorder visits continued to increase over the study years. The numbers and proportions of patients with hypertension and unspecified diabetes were higher among men than women, and other cerebrovascular diseases were higher among women than men. The top five disease systems were circulatory system diseases, respiratory system diseases, endocrine/nutritional/metabolic diseases, factors influencing health status and digestive system diseases. The rankings of respiratory system and endocrine/nutritional/metabolic diseases rose over time. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for approximately 90% of the primary care visits—a much higher percentage than other causes. The top five NCDs in primary care visits were cardiovascular and circulatory diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes, digestive diseases and urogenital diseases. Compared with women, men suffered from cardiovascular diseases at an earlier age.

Conclusions

Different from specialist visits, common diseases, especially NCDs, were the main disease composition of current primary healthcare visits while the former focused on intractable diseases such as tumours, indicating that primary healthcare had played the role of gatekeeper of the healthcare system.