bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound with artificial intelligence-assisted assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction
Authors: Motazedian Pouya , Marbach Jeffrey A. , Prosperi-Porta Graeme , Parlow Simon , Di Santo Pietro , Abdel-Razek Omar , Jung Richard , Bradford William B. , Tsang Miranda , Hyon Michael , Pacifici Stefano , Mohanty Sharanya , Ramirez F. Daniel , Huggins Gordon S. , Simard Trevor , Hon Stephanie , Hibbert Benjamin
Published: October 2023

Focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) is becoming standard practice in a wide spectrum of clinical settings. There is limited data evaluating the real-world use of FoCUS with artificial intelligence (AI). Our objective was to determine the accuracy of FoCUS AI-assisted left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment and compare its accuracy between novice and experienced users. In this prospective, multicentre study, participants requiring a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) were recruited to have a FoCUS done by a novice or experienced user. The AI-assisted device calculated LVEF at the bedside, which was subsequently compared to TTE. 449 participants were enrolled with 424 studies included in the final analysis. The overall intraclass coefficient was 0.904, and 0.921 in the novice (n = 208) and 0.845 in the experienced (n = 216) cohorts. There was a significant bias of 0.73% towards TTE (p = 0.005) with a level of agreement of 11.2%. Categorical grading of LVEF severity had excellent agreement to TTE (weighted kappa = 0.83). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.98 for identifying an abnormal LVEF (<50%) with a sensitivity of 92.8%, specificity of 92.3%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 0.97 and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 0.83. In identifying severe dysfunction (<30%) the AUC was 0.99 with a sensitivity of 78.1%, specificity of 98.0%, NPV of 0.98 and PPV of 0.76. Here we report that FoCUS AI-assisted LVEF assessments provide highly reproducible LVEF estimations in comparison to formal TTE. This finding was consistent among senior and novice echocardiographers suggesting applicability in a variety of clinical settings.
Quasi-alternating copolymerization of oxiranes driven by a benign acetate-based catalyst
Authors: Fornaciari Charlotte , Lemaur Vincent , Pasini Dario , Coulembier Olivier
Published: October 2023

Alternating copolymers are distinctly unique in comparison with other copolymers. Herein, an in-depth investigation of the oxyanionic ring-opening copolymerization of propylene oxide (PO) and allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) from benzyl alcohol (BnOH) activated with potassium acetate (KOAc) complexed by 18-crown-6 ether (18C6) is described. We demonstrate that the 18C6/KOAc complex is an efficient and benign catalytic system to promote copolymerization of both oxirane monomers, leading to well-defined polyethers with varied comonomer content and low dispersity values (ƉM < 1.20). Kinetic analysis confirmed the controlled nature of the (co)polymerization process, and the determination of reactivity ratios revealed a quasi-alternating copolymerization profile, according to the Fineman-Ross method. The comparison between the quasi-alternating-type PO/AGE copolymerization and block or gradient copolymerization revealed significant differences, to confirm the different sequence incorporation in the different topological copolymers. These results highlight the great potential of 18C6/KOAc-mediated copolymerization process for the controlled sythesis of a series of copolymer topologies.
Cryo-EM structure of human PAPP-A2 and mechanism of substrate recognition
Authors: Sridar Janani , Mafi Amirhossein , Judge Russell A. , Xu Jun , Kong Kailyn A. , Wang John C. K. , Stoll Vincent S. , Koukos Georgios , Simon Reyna J. , Eaton Dan , Bratkowski Matthew , Hao Qi
Published: October 2023

Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein A isoforms, PAPP-A and PAPP-A2, are metalloproteases that cleave insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) to modulate insulin-like growth factor signaling. The structures of homodimeric PAPP-A in complex with IGFBP5 anchor peptide, and inhibitor proteins STC2 and proMBP have been recently reported. Here, we present the single-particle cryo-EM structure of the monomeric, N-terminal LG, MP, and the M1 domains (with the exception of LNR1/2) of human PAPP-A2 to 3.13 Å resolution. Our structure together with functional studies provides insight into a previously reported patient mutation that inactivates PAPP-A2 in a distal region of the protein. Using a combinational approach, we suggest that PAPP-A2 recognizes IGFBP5 in a similar manner as PAPP-A and show that PAPP-A2 cleaves IGFBP5 less efficiently due to differences in the M2 domain. Overall, our studies characterize the cleavage mechanism of IGFBP5 by PAPP-A2 and shed light onto key differences with its paralog PAPP-A.
In situ grown magnetic COF@MOF with a phosphoserine anchor for in-depth N-glycopeptide analysis in serum
Authors: Guo Yimin , Hua Shuwen , Wang Baichun , Wang Bing , Ding Chuan-Fan , Yan Yinghua
Published: October 2023

This work introduces the in-depth analysis of glycopeptides in human serum using a novel magnetic COF@MOF with a phosphoserine anchor.
Insight into the interface engineering between methylammonium lead halide perovskites and gallium oxide: a first-principles approach
Authors: Guo Yao , Fang Liuru , Li Qiang , Bai Xiaojing , Xue Yuanbin , Lai Changwei , Wang Yuhua
Published: October 2023

DFT coupled with NEGF calculations provide atomic insights into the interactions of MAPbCl3/Ga2O3 and MAPbI3/Ga2O3 heterostructures.
Diammonium spacer-induced stable zigzag type 2D Dion–Jacobson lead/tin-based perovskite solar cells
Authors: Jung Mi-Hee
Published: October 2023

We developed 2D DJ Pb/Sn-based perovskite by using the 3-(aminomethyl)pyridinium (3API2) dication. The incorporation of 3AP iodide into 3D FAPb0.5Sn0.5I3 perovskite leads to connected crystal grains and efficient carrier transport.
Involvement of angiotensin II receptor subtypes during testicular development in rats
Authors: KANEHARA H. , SONG K. , HIRAI K. , UEDA H. , SHIOTA N. , AZUMA H. , KATSUOKA Y. , MIYAZAKI H. , MIYAZAKI M.
Published: October 2023

Expression of testicular angiotensin II (AT2) receptors in Sprague–Dawley rats at various stages of development (1 and 5 days, 2, 3, 4 and 7 weeks postnatal) were studied by in vitro autoradiography and Northern blot analysis. The receptors were labelled with 125I‐[Sar1, Ile8]AT2 and differentiated into two subtypes according to their susceptibility to AT1 (losartan, 5 μM) or AT2 (PD123319, 5 μM) antagonists. Total AT2 receptor binding in the testis was highest at 1 day of age (8.12 ± 0.35 fmol/mg protein, mean ± secEM, n = 8) and decreased gradually thereafter (5 days: 6.9 ± 0.41, 2 weeks: 2.85 ± 0.10, 3 weeks: 1.64 ± 0.19, 4 weeks: 0.76 ± 0.09, 6 weeks: 0.77 ± 0.09 fmol/mg protein, n = 8–11). AT2 receptor binding was strikingly abundant in 1‐day‐old rat testis (6.98 ± 0.34 fmol/mg protein), while considerably less AT1 receptor binding (1.46 ± 0.19 fmol/mg protein) was observed. The relative amounts of each subtype did not change for the first 3 weeks but the 4‐week‐old rat testis contained almost exclusively AT1 receptors (0.63 ± 0.05 fmol/mg protein). Northern blot analysis showed that mRNA expression of both AT1 and AT2 types decreased with age. Microscopic emulsion autoradiography was undertaken to clarify the localization of binding. At 10 days of age, both AT1 and AT2 receptors were present in the interstitial area, whereas seminiferous tubules contained mainly AT2 receptors. At 7 weeks of age, no significant binding was observed in the seminiferous tubule and the interstitial area contained AT1 receptors exclusively. These results demonstrate expression of AT2 receptors in the rapidly growing testis and suggest that change in the levels of AT2 receptor subtypes may be relevant to development and/or growth of the testis.
Improving Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations: A shift of framework
Authors: Krieger Anton , Wolf Sebastian
Published: October 2023

Monte Carlo radiative transfer (MCRT) simulations are a powerful tool for determining the appearance of astrophysical objects, analyzing the prevalent physical conditions within them, and inferring their properties on the basis of real observations. Consequently, a broad variety of codes has been implemented and optimized with the goal of solving this task efficiently. To that end, two distinct frameworks have emerged, namely, the extinction and the scattering framework, which form the basis of the path determination procedures of those codes. These procedures affect the step length of simulated photon packages and are used for determining flux estimates. Despite the fact that these simulations play an important role at present and thus require significant computational resources, little attention has been paid to the benefits and the drawbacks of both frameworks so far. In this study, we investigate their differences and assess their performance with regard to the quality of thereby obtained flux estimates, with a particular focus on the required computational demand. To that end, we use a testbed composed of an infinite plane-parallel slab, illuminated from one side, and we determine transmitted intensity using MCRT simulations for both frameworks. We find that there are vast differences between the frameworks with regard to their convergence speed. The scattering framework outperforms the extinction framework across all considered optical depths and albedos when solving this task, particularly in the regime of high optical depths. Its implementation can therefore greatly benefit all modern MCRT codes as it has the potential to significantly reduce required computation times. Thus, we highly recommend its consideration for various tasks that require MCRT simulations.
Blame it on my youth: the origins of attitudes towards immigration
Authors: Jeannet Anne-Marie , Dražanová Lenka
Published: October 2023

Recent studies have demonstrated generational differences in attitudes towards immigration, however, less is known about what are the exact factors behind these differences. Our study investigates why cohorts formulate distinct patterns in attitudes towards immigration through a collective process of political socialization during their formative years. The theoretical arguments are tested using hierarchical age-period-cohort modelling across thirteen cohorts in thirteen European countries using micro attitudinal data (2002–2020) integrated with historical macro-political data. We find that contextual exposure to the principle of equality in the formative political climate is central to the formulation of a person’s attitudes towards immigration later in life. While the prevalence of the principle of equality affects immigration attitudes in adulthood positively, the principle of tradition does not. The findings imply that even subtle and cyclical shifts in national politics affect the political orientations of those undergoing the process of political socialization.
The evolution of epidemics and the publication of epidemic news in the local press: a study in the region of Braga (Northern Portugal)
Authors: Azevedo Mariana , Mourão Paulo Reis
Published: October 2023

The periods 1918–1920 and 2019–2021 were characterized by epidemic moments. The COVID-19 pandemic recalled the crises associated with the Spanish flu, exanthematic typhus, and smallpox of the 1920s. However, few works have focused on a comparative task of these episodes in local newspapers. Through the analysis of the daily editions of Commercio do Minho and its successor, Correio do Minho, we fill this gap with this work. It was possible to portray the socioeconomic reach of these pandemics in a community in the northern coastal region of Portugal. Using time series analysis of the number of news items as well as the number of deaths from each of the episodes in the periods 1918 and 1920 and 2020 and 2021 (namely using Autoregressive Distributed Lag models), we conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic exhibited a greater focus on the problem in the local press. Other results made it possible to view the differentiated response of the number of news items regarding each epidemic episode depending on the number of deaths in the population, both between 1918 and 1920 and between 2020 and 2021. Thus, our work came to demonstrate three pieces of evidence in the relationship between news and epidemic processes. Firstly, COVID-19, as an example of the most recent pandemic, brought a reactivity of the local press resulting in a greater number of news, even compared to the number of fatalities. Secondly, the number of news published on epidemic/pandemic issues tends to follow the evolution of the severity of the event—there is more news in the months that follow periods of greater severity of the disease. Finally, the “disappearance” of published news faster in 1918–1920 also reveals a lesser focus that newsrooms perceived on society of that time in the face of the reported pandemic (Nie et al. 2022).
Antiplatelet therapy and incident cognitive impairment or dementia—a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials
Authors: Kitt Kevin , Murphy Robert , Clarke Aoibhin , Reddin Catriona , Ferguson John , Bosch Jackie , Whiteley William , Canavan Michelle , Judge Conor , O’Donnell Martin
Published: October 2023

Objective

The benefit of antiplatelet therapy in preventing cognitive impairment or dementia is uncertain. We investigated the association between antiplatelet therapy and incident cognitive impairment or dementia in randomised clinical trials.

Methods

We searched PubMed, EMBASE and CENTRAL for randomised clinical trials published from database inception through 1 February 2023. Trials that evaluated the association of antiplatelet therapy with incident cognitive impairment or dementia were included. For single-agent antiplatelet, the control group was placebo. For dual agent antiplatelet therapy, the control group was single-agent monotherapy. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used to report pooled treatment effects and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The primary outcome was incident cognitive impairment or dementia. Secondary outcomes included change in cognitive test scores.

Results

A total of 11 randomised clinical trials were included (109,860 participants). All reported the incidence of cognitive impairment or dementia on follow-up. The mean (SD) age of trial participants was 66.2 (7.9) years. Antiplatelet therapy was not significantly associated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment or dementia (11 trials; 109,860 participants) (3.49% versus 4.18% of patients over a mean trial follow-up of 5.8 years; odds ratio [OR], 0.94 [95% CI, 0.88–1.00]; absolute risk reduction, 0.2% [95% CI, −0.4% to 0.009%]; I2 = 0.0%). Antiplatelet therapy was not significantly associated with mean change in cognitive test scores.

Conclusion

In this meta-analysis, antiplatelet therapy was not significantly associated with a lower risk of incident cognitive impairment or dementia, but the CIs around this outcome do not exclude a modest preventative effect.
Individual survival is dictated by group personality in a marsh ecosystem predator–prey interaction
Authors: Salerno Christina M , Williams Regan C , Kamel Stephanie J
Published: October 2023

Predator–prey interactions structure ecological communities, and personality can significantly mediate these interactions. Personality expression is often contingent on social context, suggesting that group personality may be key in determining the outcomes of predator encounters. Here, we test the influence of individual personality and group composition on survival of the marsh periwinkle, Littoraria irrorata, when exposed to its main predator, the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, both integral players in mediating the productivity and health of salt marsh ecosystems. Snails were categorized as having bold or shy personality types, which were unrelated to shell length, though neither trait influenced survival when individual snails were exposed to a predator. However, when snails were partitioned into groups differing in personality composition, snails in groups with bold individuals had higher survival than those in groups with none. While group type did not influence the survival of bold snails, shy snails performed better in mixed groups: the presence of a few bold individuals emerged as especially effective in decreasing mortality of shy snails. The effect of personality on predator escape is thus conditional on group personality composition, indicating that social context can directly impact the survival and success of its individual members, with broad implications for community dynamics.
Single-cell RNA-sequencing data clustering using variational graph attention auto-encoder with self-supervised leaning
Authors: Li Bo , Peng Chen , You Zeran , Zhang Xiaolong , Zhang Shihua
Published: October 2023

The emergence of single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) technology makes it possible to capture their differences at the cellular level, which contributes to studying cell heterogeneity. By extracting, amplifying and sequencing the genome at the individual cell level, scRNA-seq can be used to identify unknown or rare cell types as well as genes differentially expressed in specific cell types under different conditions using clustering for downstream analysis of scRNA-seq. Many clustering algorithms have been developed with much progress. However, scRNA-seq often appears with characteristics of high dimensions, sparsity and even the case of dropout events’, which make the performance of scRNA-seq data clustering unsatisfactory. To circumvent the problem, a new deep learning framework, termed variational graph attention auto-encoder (VGAAE), is constructed for scRNA-seq data clustering. In the proposed VGAAE, a multi-head attention mechanism is introduced to learn more robust low-dimensional representations for the original scRNA-seq data and then self-supervised learning is also recommended to refine the clusters, whose number can be automatically determined using Jaccard index. Experiments have been conducted on different datasets and results show that VGAAE outperforms some other state-of-the-art clustering methods.
Analyzing microbial evolution through gene and genome phylogenies
Authors: Teichman Sarah , Lee Michael D , Willis Amy D
Published: October 2023

Microbiome scientists critically need modern tools to explore and analyze microbial evolution. Often this involves studying the evolution of microbial genomes as a whole. However, different genes in a single genome can be subject to different evolutionary pressures, which can result in distinct gene-level evolutionary histories. To address this challenge, we propose to treat estimated gene-level phylogenies as data objects, and present an interactive method for the analysis of a collection of gene phylogenies. We use a local linear approximation of phylogenetic tree space to visualize estimated gene trees as points in low-dimensional Euclidean space, and address important practical limitations of existing related approaches, allowing an intuitive visualization of complex data objects. We demonstrate the utility of our proposed approach through microbial data analyses, including by identifying outlying gene histories in strains of Prevotella, and by contrasting Streptococcus phylogenies estimated using different gene sets. Our method is available as an open-source R package, and assists with estimating, visualizing, and interacting with a collection of bacterial gene phylogenies.
In utero or early-in-life exposure to antibiotics and the risk of childhood atopic dermatitis, a population-based cohort study
Authors: Fuxench Zelma Chiesa , Mitra Nandita , Del Pozo Domenica , Hoffstad Ole , Shin Daniel B , Langan Sinéad M , Petersen Irene , Bhate Ketaki , Margolis David J
Published: October 2023

Background

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory disease of the skin that begins early in life and can be lifelong. The purpose of our study was to evaluate whether fetal exposure and/or early-life exposure of a child to antibiotics increases the risk of early-onset AD.

Objectives

We hypothesize that antibiotic exposure in utero or early in life (e.g. first 90 days) increases the likelihood that children develop AD.

Methods

Utilizing a large, prospectively collected electronic medical records database, we studied the association of antibiotic exposure received in utero or very early in life and the relative risk of onset of AD in a population-based cohort study. Associations were estimated using proportional hazards models as hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

The risk of AD in childhood was increased after in utero or early-life antibiotic exposure. For any in utero antibiotic exposure the HR (CI) was 1.38 (1.36–1.39). However, penicillin demonstrated the strongest association with AD for both in utero exposure [1.43 (1.41–1.44)] and for childhood exposure [1.81 (1.79–1.82)]. HRs were higher in children born to mothers without AD than in those with AD pointing to effect modification by maternal AD status.

Conclusions

Children born to mothers exposed to antibiotics while in utero had, depending on the mother’s history of AD, approximately a 20–40% increased risk of developing AD. Depending on the antibiotic, children who received antibiotics early in life had a 40–80% increased risk of developing AD. Our study supports and refines the association between incident AD and antibiotic administration. It also adds population-based support to therapeutic attempts to treat AD by modifying the skin microbiome.
Cardiology professionals’ views of social robots in augmenting heart failure patient care
Authors: Bouchard Karen , Liu Peter P , Dautenhahn Kerstin , Fiedorowicz Jess G , Afrin Jenifar , Dans Michael , McGuinty Caroline , Tulloch Heather
Published: October 2023

Aims

Social robots are arriving to the modern healthcare system. Whether patients with heart failure, a prevalent chronic disease with high health and human costs would derive benefit from a social robot intervention has not been investigated empirically. Diverse healthcare provider’s perspectives are needed to develop an acceptable and feasible social robot intervention to be adopted for the clinical benefit of patients with heart failure. Using a qualitative research design, this study investigated healthcare providers’ perspectives of social robot use in heart failure patient care.

Methods and results

Interdisciplinary healthcare providers from a tertiary care cardiac hospital completed a structured individual interview and a supplemental questionnaire. The framework method was used to analyse the qualitative data. Respondents (n = 22; saturation was reached with this sample; 77% female; 52% physicians) were open to using social robots to augment their practice, particularly with collecting pertinent data and providing patient and family education and self-management prompts, but with limited responsibility for direct patient care. Prior to implementation, providers required robust evidence of: value-added beyond current remote patient monitoring devices, patient and healthcare provider partnerships, streamlined integration into existing practice, and capability of supporting precision medicine goals. Respondents were concerned that social robots did not address and masked broader systemic issues of healthcare access and equity.

Conclusion

The adoption of social robots is a viable option to assist in the care of patients with heart failure, albeit in a restricted capacity. The results inform the development of a social robotic intervention for patients with heart failure, including improving social robot efficiencies and increasing their uptake, while protecting patients’ and providers’ best interest.
Macroevolution of floral scent chemistry across radiations of male euglossine bee-pollinated plants
Authors: Liu Jasen W , Milet-Pinheiro Paulo , Gerlach Günter , Ayasse Manfred , Nunes Carlos Eduardo Pereira , Alves-dos-Santos Isabel , Ramírez Santiago R
Published: October 2023

Floral volatiles play key roles as signaling agents that mediate interactions between plants and animals. Despite their importance, few studies have investigated broad patterns of volatile variation across groups of plants that share pollinators, particularly in a phylogenetic context. The “perfume flowers,” Neotropical plant species exhibiting exclusive pollination by male euglossine bees in search of chemical rewards, present an intriguing system to investigate these patterns due to the unique function of their chemical phenotypes as both signaling agents and rewards. We leverage recently developed phylogenies and knowledge of biosynthesis, along with decades of chemical ecology research, to characterize axes of variation in the chemistry of perfume flowers, as well as understand their evolution at finer taxonomic scales. We detect pervasive chemical convergence, with many species across families exhibiting similar volatile phenotypes. Scent profiles of most species are dominated by compounds of either the phenylpropanoid or terpenoid biosynthesis pathways, while terpenoid compounds drive more subtle axes of variation. We find recapitulation of these patterns within two independent radiations of perfume flower orchids, in which we further detect evidence for the rapid evolution of divergent floral chemistries, consistent with the putative importance of scent in the process of adaptation and speciation.
Genomic evidence for evolutionary history and local adaptation of two endemic apricots: Prunus hongpingensis and P. zhengheensis
Authors: Dai Xiaokang , Xiang Songzhu , Zhang Yulin , Yang Siting , Hu Qianqian , Wu Zhihao , Zhou Tingting , Xiang Jingsong , Chen Gongyou , Tan Xiaohua , Wang Jing , Ding Jihua
Published: October 2023

Apricot, belonging to the Armeniaca section of Rosaceae, is one of the economically important crop fruits that has been extensively cultivated. The natural wild apricots offer valuable genetic resources for crop improvement. However, some of them are endemic, with small populations, and are even at risk of extinction. In this study we unveil chromosome-level genome assemblies for two southern China endemic apricots, Prunus hongpingensis (PHP) and P. zhengheensis (PZH). We also characterize their evolutionary history and the genomic basis of their local adaptation using whole-genome resequencing data. Our findings reveal that PHP and PZH are closely related to Prunus armeniaca and form a distinct lineage. Both species experienced a decline in effective population size following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), which likely contributed to their current small population sizes. Despite the observed decrease in genetic diversity and heterozygosity, we do not observe an increased accumulation of deleterious mutations in these two endemic apricots. This is likely due to the combined effects of a low inbreeding coefficient and strong purifying selection. Furthermore, we identify a set of genes that have undergone positive selection and are associated with local environmental adaptation in PHP and PZH, respectively. These candidate genes can serve as valuable genetic resources for targeted breeding and improvement of cultivated apricots. Overall, our study not only enriches our comprehension of the evolutionary history of apricot species but also offers crucial insights for the conservation and future breeding of other endemic species amidst rapid climate changes.
Crowdsourcing routines: the behavioral and motivational underpinnings of expert participation
Authors: Bagherzadeh Mehdi , Gurca Andrei , Velayati Rezvan
Published: October 2023

As different crowdsourcing routines (metaphorically labeled as “fishing” and “hunting” in this study) are available to address highly technical problems, solution-seeking organizations need to mindfully design, select, and deploy crowdsourcing routines that account for the behavior and motivation of experts. Drawing on a survey involving 260 experts in science, technology, engineering, and math fields, we found that elite experts (individuals with seniority, aged over 40, and a proven track record in the field with numerous publications and patents) are generally less inclined to search for crowdsourcing open calls and prefer to be contacted by solution seekers. In contrast, non-elite experts (early career experts, aged under 40, and with fewer patents and publications) actively search to find open calls. Regarding their motivational underpinnings, our findings suggest that elite experts are motivated more by non-financial incentives than non-elite experts. Furthermore, as the frequency with which they are contacted increases, non-elite experts tend to prefer more non-financial over financial incentives. These results indicate that the fishing crowdsourcing routine generally elicits solutions from unproven, non-elite experts who demand more financial rewards. However, the hunting routine taps a pool of elite experts with proven capabilities who are less financially oriented and thus may provide better, yet less expensive solutions.
The ‘Domino Effect’ of Ongoing Violence on Transitional Justice: The Case of Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace
Authors: Figari Layus Rosario , Vargas Trujillo Juliette
Published: October 2023

ABSTRACT∞

This article examines the tangible consequences of ongoing armed violence for the implementation of Colombia’s innovative transitional court, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, JEP). Establishing transitional justice mechanisms in contexts of persistent armed violence poses significant challenges and the implementation process is likely to seem flawed or lacking to those actors involved. These complex scenarios raise critical questions for the field of transitional justice, notably regarding the expectations of victims and the feasibility of providing truth, justice and reparation in hostile settings. Based on the case of the Colombia’s northwestern Urabá region, this article argues that contexts of ongoing violence have a direct adverse effect on the possibility of the meaningful and effective participation of victims, perpetrators and other key actors in transitional justice processes. Consequently, this restricted participation initiates a ‘domino effect,’ which negatively impacts other transitional goals, including, in the specific case of the JEP, its restorative aims.
Swedish multicentre study of target attainments with β-lactams in the ICU: which MIC parameter should be used?
Authors: Smekal Anna-Karin , Furebring Mia , Lipcsey Miklos , Giske Christian G
Published: October 2023

Background

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has been suggested to optimize antimicrobial target attainment, typically using 100%T>MIC, in β-lactam treatment in the ICU. The MIC parameter used in this equation is mostly the worst case scenario MIC (MICWCS)—the highest MIC the empirical treatment should cover. However, the impact of the MIC parameter used in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic calculations has been poorly investigated.

Objectives

To assess the influence of target attainment rates for two different MIC parameters using actual MICs of the causative pathogens as the primary reference.

Methods

In a Swedish multicentre study of target attainment for 138 ICU patients treated with β-lactams, the causative pathogen was isolated and subjected to reference MIC testing. Whenever the strain belonged to the WT distribution, we assigned it to the category MICECOFF (epidemiological cut-off value). In the calculations we compared the MICECOFF and the MICWCS.

Results

The proportion of patients with target attainment failure for all antibiotics using 100%T>MIC was 45% (95% CI, 37%–53%) for MICWCS and 23% (95% CI, 16%–31%) for MICECOFF. When the target 50%T>4×MIC was used, corresponding attainment failures were 57% (95% CI, 49%–66%) and 25% (95% CI, 17%–32%) for MICWCS and MICECOFF, respectively.

Conclusions

MICWCS can overestimate target attainment failure. The use of MICWCS could be one reason for the difficulties in establishing a relationship between target failure and mortality in other studies. Based on findings herein, the MICECOFF, which is based on the MIC of the causative pathogen, should be considered a more suitable alternative. When no pathogen is detected, the MICECOFF of likely pathogens according to infection type should be used.
180 Effect of Providing Liquid Milk Replacer During Lactation to Litters of Different Size on Piglet Pre-Weaning Performance
Authors: Willard Naomi C , Moest Nicole K , Shull Caleb M , McKilligan Denny , Ellis Mike
Published: October 2023

Larger litter sizes in commercial sows are generally associated with greater pre-weaning mortality (PWM) and lower piglet weaning weight (WW). Providing liquid milk replacer (MR) to piglets during lactation has been advocated for reducing PWM and increasing WW. The objective was to evaluate the effect of providing MR (using an automated feeder) to litters of different size on PWM and WW. A split-plot design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments was used: 1) MR [main plot; No Supplement (NS) vs. Supplement (SU)]; 2) Litter Size [LS; sub-plot; LOW (4 piglets less than functional teat number) vs. HIGH (2 piglets greater than functional teat number)]. Each MR feeder was available to 2 litters, one on the LOW and one on the HIGH LS treatment. There were 26 sows and litters per MR and LS treatment. Cross-fostering was carried out 24 hours after birth to create LS treatment litters which had similar gender ratio, proportion of cross-fostered piglets, and average and CV of piglet birth weight. Milk replacer was available from 24 hours after birth (day 1; start of study) to weaning (day 20; end of study). Piglets were weighed at the start and end; all PWM was recorded. Piglet weight data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS; PWM data were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX. Models accounted for the fixed effects of MR, LS, and the interaction, and random effects of replicate and replicate by MR interaction. There was a MR by LS treatment interaction (P ≤ 0.05) for total litter WW and PWM (Table 1). The MR treatment had no effect (P > 0.05) on total litter WW for the LOW LS treatment; however, for the HIGH LS treatment total litter WW was greater (P ≤ 0.05) for the SU than the NS treatment. For the NS treatment, PWM was greater (P ≤ 0.05) for the HIGH than the LOW treatment; however, PWM did not differ (P > 0.05) between the LS treatments for litters that had access to MR. There was no effect (P ≤ 0.05) of MR treatment on litter size or average piglet weight at the start and end of the study. The HIGH LS treatment had greater (P ≤ 0.05) litter size at the start and end of the study, but less (P ≤ 0.05) average piglet WW. In conclusion, increasing litter size above sow functional teat number had negative effects on piglet WW. In addition, providing MR to litters during lactation increased total litter WW in the HIGH but not LOW LS treatment. These results also suggest that providing MR reduced the negative effect of the larger litter size on PWM; however, further research is needed to validate this finding.
62 The Impact of Hair Coat Color on Body Temperature in Beef Cattle
Authors: Holliday CarrieLee M , Carroll Jeff A , Sanchez Nicole C Burdick , Goerndt Michael , Walker Elizabeth , McGee Adam
Published: October 2023

Ambient temperature has a fundamental role in animal health and performance. Selecting for coat color may improve animal productivity and welfare through management and breeding decisions. The thermoneutral zone of cattle, 0°C - 25°C, is characterized as the range in ambient temperature that does not require cattle to expend energy to maintain core body temperature. When the ambient temperature is above or below these values, cattle must expend energy to keep their body temperature in homeostasis resulting in a reduction in efficiency. A proper herd management plan to mitigate heat stress can increase efficiency and decrease mortality in serious cases. Registered Hereford and commercial black cows (n = 39; average 4 yr of age) were placed in a 23-ha pasture, to determine if coat color affects internal body temperature. Cattle were on a typical fescue dominated pasture located in Mountain Grove, MO, with areas of shade and one pond centralized in the pasture. Cattle were divided into treatments based on hair coat color: black (n =13) or red (n = 26). Using temperature data loggers, vaginal temperatures were recorded in 5-min intervals during a 14-d period in Mid-July 2022, and combined into 6-hour timing intervals, A = 0400-1000 h, B = 1001-1600 h, C = 1601-2200 h, and D = 2201-0359 h. Environmental temperature data loggers were suspended in two locations of partial sun to record ambient temperature. In addition, the Mountain Grove weather station operated by the University of Missouri Extension provided a daily data archive that recorded wind speed, total precipitation, maximum and minimum air temperature. Throughout the study, the mean environmental temperature was 34.4°C and ranged from 19.5°C to 40.2°C. Temperature data were evaluated using the Glimmix procedure of SAS and pairwise comparisons between timepoints were determined utilizing the GLM procedure of SAS. Differences were considered significant at P = 0.05. Black-haired cattle were warmer at all intervals (P ≤ 0.04) with temperature differences between the treatments of 0.07, 0.10, 0.03, and 0.09°C for timepoints A, B, C and D, respectively (Table 1). Based on our results black-hided cattle get warmer earlier in the day and take longer to dissipate heat than those with red hair coats.
181 Effect of Mixing at Weaning and Dietary Nutrient Density on Growth Performance and Welfare of Pigs
Authors: González-Solé Francesc , Montoro Jordi Camp , Solà-Oriol David , Pérez José Francisco , Lawlor Peadar G , Boyle Laura A A , Manzanilla Edgar Garcia
Published: October 2023

Mixing pigs at weaning compromises animal welfare and may reduce growth performance (GP). Reducing nutrient density of the nursery diet is a strategy to avoid gastrointestinal problems in newly weaned pigs. However, the potential for compensatory growth in subsequent stages and the impact on welfare are still unknown. This study investigated the effect of mixing and reducing dietary nutrient density on GP, body lesions (BL), and behavior in pigs from weaning to slaughter. Forty-eight litters [554 pigs, 11-12 pigs/litter; Danish Duroc × (Large White × Landrace)] were included in the trial. At 28 days of age, pigs were housed in the nursery rooms as litter pens (INTACT, n = 24) or mixed with other litters by body weight to reduce variability within pen (MIXED, n = 24). A dietary regimen meeting the nutritional requirements (CON) of the pigs and a low-density regimen (LOW; -10% energy and protein) completed a 2x2 factorial arrangement (Mixing x Diet, n =12). On day 73, pigs moved to a growing-finishing room without further mixing and all pigs received the CON dietary regimen. At the beginning and at the end of each production phase, the number of BL and the frequency of aggressions and damaging behavior were determined. Data were analyzed using general linear mixed models. Mixing increased FCR by 4.0 % during the nursery period (P = 0.003; Table 1). Pigs fed LOW had decreased GP during the nursery period but better feed conversion ratio (FCR; P = 0.008) during the growing-finishing period, when all groups were fed the same diet. However, pigs fed LOW showed a lower slaughter weight (-2.6 kg; P = 0.025). Initial differences in the coefficient of variation (CV) between MIXED (10.4%) and INTACT (17.6%; P < 0.001) were reduced in CON pens (6.9 % to 0.5 %) but not in LOW pens (7.9 % to 4.5 %; interaction P = 0.025) at the end of the nursery period. Pigs in MIXED pens showed 358% more BL (P < 0.001), more aggressions (P = 0.005) and damaging behavior (P = 0.042) at weaning, and more aggressions (P = 0.003) after being moved to growing-finishing rooms. Animals fed LOW showed more aggressions at weaning (P < 0.001) and more damaging behavior at the end of the nursery period (P < 0.001). When their diet was changed to CON, they showed 14% more BL (P = 0.009) but less aggressions (P = 0.004). Mixing animals at weaning had little impact on GP, but lesions, aggressions and damaging behavior towards pen mates indicate a detrimental effect on welfare and strategies to avoid mixing should be studied. The provision of a low-density diet during the nursery period had negative effects on welfare and growth was not totally compensated during the growing-finishing period.
94 Characterizing Yearling Beef Steers Grazing on Smooth Bromegrass Pasture Using Global Positioning Technology
Authors: Heil Holly A , Zhao B , Troyer Braden C , Sjostrand Rebecca L , Xiong J , Watson Andrea K , Erickson Galen E , Okalebo J , Shi Y , Xiong Y
Published: October 2023

Extensive grazing systems often vary in pasture size and terrain, making it challenging for ranchers to accurately locate livestock through visual appraisal. Using satellite-based global positioning systems (GPS), accurate position data can be provided to track animal movements that could inform grazing management decisions. This study aimed to: 1) assess two modern GPS devices for functionality by calculating fix success rate, and 2) evaluate the relationship between average daily distance traveled and average daily weight gain (ADG) performance on yearling steers grazing smooth bromegrass pasture using the GPS devices. Yearling steers (n = 25) grazed a 10.8-ha smooth bromegrass pasture for 156 days from May to September 2021. The temperature ranged from 4.1 to 38.8ºC with an average 22.7ºC and received 490 mm of rainfall. Cattle ADG was 0.65 ± 0.13 kg/d. Each steer was assigned two GPS collars for 28 days to compare two types of sensors. The sensors evaluated were i-gotU GT-600 travel loggers (GU) and Yabby LoRaWAN GPS sensors (YB) utilizing the IoT (Internet of Things) technology. The YB sensor possessed real-time monitoring and remote data access, while data from the GU sensor needed to be removed from the animals and manually downloaded. The YB sensors had a manufacturer declared finest positioning accuracy of 4.6 m, while that of the GU sensor being 9.1 m. With a 10-min sampling rate, battery life of the YB sensors lasted 4 weeks, while the GU sensors demonstrated unreliable battery performance that ranged between 1 to 4 weeks. Fixed success rate (FSR) was calculated for each sensor. Using PROC MIXED of SAS (v 9.4), on average the GU sensors had a 67.1% FSR and the YB sensors observed an 89.9% FSR (P < 0.0001). The YB sensor outweighed the GU sensor on battery life and FSR, thus was utilized throughout the duration of the grazing season. Individual animal traveled distance was calculated after converting the GPS coordinates in decimal degrees to Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates (WGS 1984 UTM zone 14N) in meters. The Euclidean distance between consecutive coordinates was calculated and summed daily to represent the daily traveled distance of an animal. Using all coordinates recorded from YB, steers traveled 2,718 ± 809 m/d. Statistical analysis was conducted using PROC CORR of SAS to determine the correlation between the daily averages of distance traveled and ADG. All values were considered significant α ≤ 0.05. There was no correlation observed between distance traveled and ADG (P ≥ 0.76). Results demonstrate that modern GPS sensors utilizing IoT technology have benefits over traditional GPS sensors and can be used as a tool for extensive grazing livestock tracking.
19 Formulating U.S. Swine Diets in a Time of High Energy Costs
Authors: Tokach Mike D , Goodband Robert D , DeRouchey Joel M , Woodworth Jason C , Gebhardt Jordan T
Published: October 2023

The cost of dietary energy has greatly increased in the last few years and this trend of historically higher prices is expected to remain in the future. This has led to shifts in diet formulation and a need to reevaluate pig responses to changing dietary energy density. As part of the evaluation, nutritionists should review whether energy loadings for their ingredients are accurate. Is the relative change in dietary energy reflected accurately by changes in feed efficiency? If there is not a 1:1 relationship between dietary energy and feed efficiency, dietary energy is not being accurately represented. Because of the linear relationship between diet energy and feed efficiency, that portion of the economic equation is easy to measure. However, the impact of dietary energy on growth performance is more difficult to predict. Does daily gain increase linearly over the entire range of possible energy levels or, if not, when does it plateau? This relationship must be known or estimated to determine the value of changes in energy density. Furthermore, if alternative ingredients with high fiber content are used, at what point does fiber content prevent pigs from increasing feed intake to maintain energy intake? Another key practical concept with energy is how fast the pig adjusts feed intake to changes in diet energy density. Over the long term, pigs adjust their level of consumption to the energy density of the diet; however, it takes time for pigs to make this adjustment. Thus, in the short term, pigs consume the same amount of total feed resulting in increased energy intake and gain if dietary energy is increased or reduced energy intake if diet energy is reduced. When changing dietary energy, the lysine:calorie ratio and phosphorus:calorie ratio should be adjusted to maintain proper amino acid and phosphorus intake to support optimum growth. The high cost of energy has increased the search for other methods to increase pig performance. The ratios of several key amino acids to Lys should be reviewed to take advantage of their impact on feed intake (e.g., Trp, Val, etc). From a practical standpoint, the rise in energy costs has led to the removal of added fat from most pig diets unless essential to maintain pellet quality. Alternative ingredients are being used wherever economical. The use of lower energy diets has also highlighted the importance of genetic improvement, health status, weaning age, and feeder design to allow for high energy intake and resulting growth rates to achieve market weights within space constraints in modern production systems.