bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Primary Mandibular Tuberculous Osteomyelitis Mimicking Ameloblastoma: A Case Report and Literature Review of Mandibular Tuberculous Osteomyelitis
Authors: Chalwade Chandrashekhar , Khosa Armaan , Ballary Kishor , Mago Raghav
Published: November 2023

Primary tuberculous osteomyelitis involving the mandible represents less than 2% of skeletal locations. In this paper, we report a case of mandibular tuberculosis (TB) detected after histopathological analysis of the surgically resected specimen during surgical management of a suspected case of ameloblastoma. A 14-year-old male patient presented to us with history of right-sided chin swelling. The clinical examination revealed a swelling, involving right body and parasymphysis of mandible, measuring approximately 6 cm in length and 2 cm in width, extending from right lateral incisor till the first molar. Radiological scans revealed a large multiloculated osteolytic expansive lesion measuring 52 × 20 × 18 mm. Excision of the lesion was performed and reconstruction was done with iliac bone grafting. The histopathological findings revealed a granulomatous lesion, suggestive of tuberculous osteomyelitis. The patient was successfully treated with standard multidrug therapy. One year after completion of therapy, there were no signs of recurrence. Primary mandibular TB is an extremely rare entity. Its clinical presentation is not specific. Radiologically, TB has no characteristic appearance. The positive diagnosis is based on histology. Primary mandibular TB is rare and should be kept among differential diagnoses in susceptible population and in endemic areas.
Nickel-Catalyzed sp3 C–H Activation
Authors: Lautens Mark , Johnson Colton E. , Li Shangyu , Arora Ramon , Mirabi Bijan
Published: November 2023

Base metal catalyzed C–H activation represents a highly atom economic method to access functionalized molecules. This Account will focus on Ni-catalyzed C–H activation of sp3-hybridized carbon atoms with a particular focus on mechanism, recent applications, challenges, and outlook in this area. This Account will primarily focus on recent mechanistic work from 2017–2023.1 Base Metal C–H Activation

2 Nickel-Catalyzed sp3 C–H activation

3 Differences between Ni and Pd

4 Mechanistic Considerations

5 Elementary Steps

6 Directed sp3 C–H Activation

7 Choice of Directing Group

8 Primary C–H Activation

9 Secondary C–H Activation

10 Tertiary C–H Activation

11 Conclusion and Outlook
Lingual Artery as the Recipient Vessel of Choice in Patients Requiring a Second or Third Free Flap in Recurrent Oral Cancers and Vessel-Depleted Neck: A 5-Year Experience in a Single Institute
Authors: Dhondge Rajendra , Hussain Mohsina , Singh Archana , Nagarkar Raj
Published: November 2023

Introduction Reconstruction with free flaps becomes a challenge in recurrent cases having previously treated necks, in patients who have received prior radiation therapy or chemotherapy or both, and where the patient has already undergone free flap reconstruction in a prior surgery. Depleted cervical recipient vessels can increase the complexity of reconstruction in achieving successful free flap prefusion and thereby increasing flap thrombosis and eventually failure.

Materials and Methods Over a period of 5 years from January 2018 to February 2023, we encountered a total of 22 cases of recurrent or second primary oral cancer with bilateral necks operated, postadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy, and requiring a second or third free flap reconstruction. In most of the cases we resorted to the lingual artery as the recipient artery of choice.

Results No flap loss was reported. No cases were reexplored either for hematoma or for congestion. All patients recovered uneventfully.

Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, there has been no paper yet that focuses on the lingual artery to be the recipient vessel of choice in recurrent oral cancers. We find the lingual artery to be a reliable and safe option and advocate its usage as recipient vessel of choice in recurrent oral cancers requiring more than one free flap reconstruction.
Multifocal Ectopic Recurrence of a C2 Chordoma
Authors: Reyes Maikerly , Kayne Allison , Collopy Sarah , Prashant Giyarpuram , Kelly Patrick , Evans James J.
Published: November 2023

Background Chordomas are histologically benign but locally aggressive tumors with a high propensity to recur. Our case highlights the importance of long-term vigilance in patients who have undergone chordoma resection.

Case Report We report the case of a 47-year-old man with a cervical chordoma who developed multiple musculoskeletal ectopic recurrences in the left supraclavicular region, the proximal right bicep, and the left submandibular region without recurrence in the primary tumor site. Primary tumor resection was achieved via a combination of surgery, adjuvant radiation therapy, and imatinib. All recurrences were successfully resected and confirmed via pathology to be ectopic chordoma.

Discussion Ectopic recurrence of cervical chordoma is rare and lung is the most common site of distant spread. Chordoma recurrence in skeletal muscle is particularly rare, with only 10 cases described in the literature. A plausible mechanism of distant metastatic disease in chordoma patients suggests that tumor cells escape the surgical tract via a combination of cytokine release, vasodilation, and microtrauma induced during resection.

Conclusion Cervical chordoma with ectopic recurrence in skeletal muscle has not been previously described in the literature. Skull base surgeons should be aware of the phenomenon of chordoma ectopic recurrence in the absence of local recurrence.
Does the BRI contribute to poverty reduction in countries along the Belt and Road? A DID-based empirical test
Authors: Xie Niyun , Chen Aili , Wang Xiaolin , Zhang Xiaoying
Published: November 2023

Most countries along the Belt and Road are developing countries that face pronounced challenges due to poverty. The Chinese government has committed to implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to establish a ‘Road to Poverty Reduction’. This study explores the impact of the BRI on poverty reduction in participating countries as well as the mechanisms underlying this impact. This research is of great significance to the continuing implementation of the BRI and global poverty governance. Based on a panel dataset extending from 2005 to 2019 and encompassing 151 countries, this article uses the difference-in-differences method to examine the Initiative’s impact and conducts heterogeneity analysis to explore the mechanism underlying this impact in further detail. This approach results in four findings. First, joining the BRI can significantly reduce poverty rates in these countries. Second, the policy effect exhibits a time lag. In the long term, the poverty reduction effect becomes more significant. Third, the BRI can significantly reduce poverty in countries neighbouring China and in lower-middle-income countries. The Land Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road distinctly reduce poverty. Fourth, the BRI contributes to poverty reduction in BRI countries by facilitating trade, enhancing financial and credit systems, increasing China’s greenfield investment, and establishing digital infrastructure. Additionally, the BRI promotes poverty reduction through increased bilateral visits and technical cooperation, whereas knowledge sharing remains an area in need of further development. Through theoretical analysis and empirical tests, this article evaluates the policy effect of the BRI on poverty alleviation, tests the underlying mechanism, and responds to some concerns expressed by the international community. The findings of this article provide a feasible direction for improving the ability of the BRI to reduce poverty more effectively in the future and thus achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Visual attention predictive model of built colonial heritage based on visual behaviour and subjective evaluation
Authors: Wu Yue , Li Na , Xia Lei , Zhang Shanshan , Liu Fangfang , Wang Miao
Published: November 2023

Although physiological measurements, subjective evaluation and other methods have been applied to visual attention research, architects still lack a systematic quantitative classification method when assessing the visual attention to built colonial heritage. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between people’s visual behaviour and subjective evaluation when observing built colonial heritage and to construct a prediction model based on eye-movement metrics and subjective evaluation indicators to distinguish the visual attention to built colonial heritage. This study recorded data from 54 participants while observing five scenes of built colonial heritage, and the results showed that participants had different visual behaviours and subjective evaluations when viewing built colonial heritage in different scenes. And visual attention to built colonial heritage was negatively correlated with the average saccades peak velocity and average saccades amplitude and positively correlated with the average pupil diameter; visual attention was correlated with 12 subjective evaluation indicators. The eye-movement metrics and subjective evaluation indicators with correlation to visual attention were used as input variables to construct a prediction model of visual attention to built colonial heritage based on the BP neural network. Different built colonial heritage’s low, middle and high visual attention were identified with high accuracy (74.46%). This quantitative method can help architects to measure the visual attention to built colonial heritage to develop conservation and renewal strategies.
Big data visualisation in regional comprehensive economic partnership: a systematic review
Authors: Li Lijun
Published: November 2023

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an agreement that transformed the world economy and entered into force in January 2022 with the participation of fifteen nations. In the study, the visualisation analysis was 301 articles in Web of Science (WoS) on the subjects of “RCEP,” or “The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership,” from January 2012 to January 2023, using CiteSpace. The results of a comparative analysis of the number of journals co-citation and keyword co-occurrence indicate that further studies of “RCEP” will not be limited to the scope of traditional economics, but more and further fields are waiting for scholars to develop.
Mindfulness and job performance in Chinese nonprofit workers: mediation effects of PANA and work engagement
Authors: Cheng Lingwei , Huang Chien-Chung , Sitar Sophie
Published: November 2023

Despite the rapid growth of the Chinese nonprofit sector within the last 20 years, research shows Chinese nonprofit employees experience high rates of burnout and turnover. This has led to an increase in organizational instability and a decrease in service quality. This study examines the effect of mindfulness on job performance and whether positive and negative affect (PANA) and work engagement mediated this relationship in a sample of 233 Chinese nonprofit employees. The SEM results indicate mindfulness significantly increases job performance and that PANA and work engagement partially mediates the association between mindfulness and job performance. Mindfulness had a total effect of 0.52 on job performance, while its indirect effect on the performance was 0.16. These findings underscore the importance of mindfulness on job performance, as well as its effects on PANA and work engagement of nonprofit employees in China.
Lost detectives: intermedial adaptations of nineteenth-century Russian crime fiction. A conversation
Authors: Adlam Carol , Whitehead Claire
Published: November 2023

This conversation took place over three recorded sessions between Carol Adlam and Claire Whitehead in St Andrews and Nottingham between April and May 2023, to mark the culmination of the first four-year stage of a multi-media crime fiction-adaptation project, ‘Lost Detectives: Adapting Old Texts for New Media’ (funded by the University of St Andrews’ Knowledge Exchange and Impact Fund, led by Whitehead). Bringing together Whitehead’s research specialism in early Russian crime fiction and Adlam’s expertise in visual and textual adaptation, the aim of the Lost Detectives project is to draw on a large body of neglected works of early Russian crime fiction (1860–1917) as a corrective to the prevailing, canonical understanding of Russian literary culture, contributing deep historical perspective to the new and unfolding public socio-cultural and political discourse around ways in which Russian culture may take a proportionate place in our shared human legacy. From 2019 to 2023 Adlam made five cross-media adaptations, as follows: (1) The Bobrov Affair (2019): exhibition and proof-of-concept graphic material adapting Semyon Panov’s novella Tri suda, ili ubiistvo vo vremia bala (Three Courts, or Murder During the Ball; 1876); (2) ‘Spade and Sand’ (2019): libretto adaptation of Nikolai Timofeev’s short story ‘Ubiistvo i samoubiistvo’ (Murder and Suicide; 1872); (3) Today in 1864 (2020): 45-minute audio-drama adaptation of Nikolai Timofeev’s Zapiski sledovatelia (Notes of an Investigator; 1872); (4) Curare (2021): 45-minute audio-drama adaptation of Aleksandr Shkliarevskii’s ‘Sekretnoe sledstvie’ (A Secret Investigation; 1881); and (5) The Russian Detective, a 120-pp. graphic novel (Jonathan Cape, 2024). An eponymous podcast documents the project. The discussion has been edited for clarity.
A continuum of selection on life-history traits under differential environmental heterogeneity. A commentary on ‘Chasing the fitness optimum: temporal variation in genetic and environmental expression of life-history traits for a perennial plant’
Authors: Zettlemoyer Meredith A
Published: November 2023

This article comments on:

Mason W. Kulbaba, Zebadiah Yoko and Jill A. Hamilton. Chasing the fitness optimum: temporal variation in the genetic and environmental expression of life-history traits for a perennial plant, Annals of Botany, Volume 132, Issue 7, 1 December 2023, Pages 1191–1204 https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad100
Evaluating the physiological responses and identifying stress tolerance of Akabare chili landraces to individual and combined drought and heat stresses
Authors: Poudyal Damodar , Joshi Bal Krishna , Zhou Rong , Ottosen Carl-Otto , Dahal Kishor Chandra
Published: November 2023

Abstract. Akabare chili (Capsicum annuum) contributes to Nepalese rural livelihoods but suffers from low productivity due to various abiotic stresses including drought and heat. This study aimed to assess the physiological responses of Akabare chili landraces to heat and drought stress, individually and together, and to identify stress-tolerant genotypes in the early vegetative stage. Selected eight Akabare chili landraces and chili variety ‘Jwala’ were subjected to control (30/22 °C day/night) and heat stress (40/32 °C) conditions with irrigation, and drought stress (30/22 °C) and combined drought-heat stress conditions without irrigation for 7 days, followed by a 5-day recovery under control condition. Stress-tolerant landraces showed better performance compared to sensitive ones in terms of efficacy of PS II (Fv/Fm), transpiration rate (E), net photosynthetic rate (PN), stomatal conductance (gs), leaf temperature depression, water use efficiency (WUE) and the ratio of stomata pore area to stomata area under stress conditions, resulting in improved biomass. Although all genotypes performed statistically similar under control conditions, their responses Fv/Fm, PN, E, gs and WUE were significantly reduced under thermal stress, further reduced under drought stress, and severely declined under the combination of both. Total biomass exhibited a 57.48 % reduction due to combined stress, followed by drought (37.8 %) and heat (21.4 %) compared to the control. Among the landraces, C44 showed the most significant gain in biomass (35 %), followed by DKT77 (33.48 %), while the lowest gain percentage was observed for C64C and PPR77 during the recovery phase (29 %). The tolerant landraces also showed a higher percentage of leaf cooling, chlorophyll content and leaf relative water content with fewer stomata but broader openings of pores. The study identifies potential stress-tolerant Akabare chili landraces and discusses the stress-tolerant physiological mechanisms to develop resilient crop varieties in changing climates.
How Do Students Receive Help from Teachers? Initiating Assistance in Small Group Classroom Interactions
Authors: Solem Marit Skarbø , Sikveland Rein Ove , Stokoe Elizabeth , Skovholt Karianne
Published: November 2023

How do teachers decide when and how to help their students if not explicitly asked to do so? Based on conversation analysis of 14 h of video-recorded small group interactions in secondary schools, we discovered that teachers and students orient to subtle actions built through embodied conduct, to decide whether or not assistance is needed. We also found that problem-solving can be initiated without disturbing students’ progress and that the teachers’ movement creates opportunities for students to recruit their assistance in small group classroom interaction. The study contributes to conversation analytic and educational research by showing that embodiment is crucial for receiving and offering assistance in classrooms. In addition, this article provides insights into how experienced teachers manage the subtle and negotiated aspects of supporting learning in classrooms, an important and recurring part of classroom management that has received little attention in previous research.
Sake yeast symbiosis with lactic acid bacteria and alcoholic fermentation
Authors: Watanabe Daisuke
Published: November 2023

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays a pivotal role in the production of fermented foods by converting sugars in ingredients into ethanol through alcoholic fermentation. However, how accurate is our understanding of its biological significance? Although yeast is essential to produce alcoholic beverages and bioethanol, yeast does not yield ethanol for humankind. Yeast obtains energy in the form of ATP for its own vital processes through alcoholic fermentation, which generates ethanol as a byproduct. The production of ethanol may have more significance for yeast, since many other organisms do not produce ethanol, a highly toxic substance, to obtain energy. The key to address this issue has not been found using conventional microbiology, where yeasts are isolated and cultured in pure form. This review focuses on a possible novel role of yeast alcohol fermentation, which is revealed through our recent studies of microbial interactions.
PanPA: generation and alignment of panproteome graphs
Authors: Dabbaghie Fawaz , Srikakulam Sanjay K , Marschall Tobias , Kalinina Olga V
Published: November 2023

Motivation

Compared to eukaryotes, prokaryote genomes are more diverse through different mechanisms, including a higher mutation rate and horizontal gene transfer. Therefore, using a linear representative reference can cause a reference bias. Graph-based pangenome methods have been developed to tackle this problem. However, comparisons in DNA space are still challenging due to this high diversity. In contrast, amino acid sequences have higher similarity due to evolutionary constraints, whereby a single amino acid may be encoded by several synonymous codons. Coding regions cover the majority of the genome in prokaryotes. Thus, panproteomes present an attractive alternative leveraging the higher sequence similarity while not losing much of the genome in non-coding regions.

Results

We present PanPA, a method that takes a set of multiple sequence alignments of protein sequences, indexes them, and builds a graph for each multiple sequence alignment. In the querying step, it can align DNA or amino acid sequences back to these graphs. We first showcase that PanPA generates correct alignments on a panproteome from 1350 Escherichia coli. To demonstrate that panproteomes allow comparisons at longer phylogenetic distances, we compare DNA and protein alignments from 1073 Salmonella enterica assemblies against E.coli reference genome, pangenome, and panproteome using BWA, GraphAligner, and PanPA, respectively; with PanPA aligning around 22% more sequences. We also aligned a DNA short-reads whole genome sequencing (WGS) sample from S.enterica against the E.coli reference with BWA and the panproteome with PanPA, where PanPA was able to find alignment for 68% of the reads compared to 5% with BWA.

Availalability and implementation

PanPA is available at https://github.com/fawaz-dabbaghieh/PanPA.
EnzymeNet: residual neural networks model for Enzyme Commission number prediction
Authors: Watanabe Naoki , Yamamoto Masaki , Murata Masahiro , Kuriya Yuki , Araki Michihiro
Published: November 2023

Motivation

Enzymes are key targets to biosynthesize functional substances in metabolic engineering. Therefore, various machine learning models have been developed to predict Enzyme Commission (EC) numbers, one of the enzyme annotations. However, the previously reported models might predict the sequences with numerous consecutive identical amino acids, which are found within unannotated sequences, as enzymes.

Results

Here, we propose EnzymeNet for prediction of complete EC numbers using residual neural networks. EnzymeNet can exclude the exceptional sequences described above. Several EnzymeNet models were built and optimized to explore the best conditions for removing such sequences. As a result, the models exhibited higher prediction accuracy with macro F1 score up to 0.850 than previously reported models. Moreover, even the enzyme sequences with low similarity to training data, which were difficult to predict using the reported models, could be predicted extensively using EnzymeNet models. The robustness of EnzymeNet models will lead to discover novel enzymes for biosynthesis of functional compounds using microorganisms.

Availability and implementation

The source code of EnzymeNet models is freely available at https://github.com/nwatanbe/enzymenet.
Hierarchical and automated cell-type annotation and inference of cancer cell of origin with Census
Authors: Ghaddar Bassel , De Subhajyoti
Published: November 2023

Motivation

Cell-type annotation is a time-consuming yet critical first step in the analysis of single-cell RNA-seq data, especially when multiple similar cell subtypes with overlapping marker genes are present. Existing automated annotation methods have a number of limitations, including requiring large reference datasets, high computation time, shallow annotation resolution, and difficulty in identifying cancer cells or their most likely cell of origin.

Results

We developed Census, a biologically intuitive and fully automated cell-type identification method for single-cell RNA-seq data that can deeply annotate normal cells in mammalian tissues and identify malignant cells and their likely cell of origin. Motivated by the inherently stratified developmental programs of cellular differentiation, Census infers hierarchical cell-type relationships and uses gradient-boosted \decision trees that capitalize on nodal cell-type relationships to achieve high prediction speed and accuracy. When benchmarked on 44 atlas-scale normal and cancer, human and mouse tissues, Census significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods across multiple metrics and naturally predicts the cell-of-origin of different cancers. Census is pretrained on the Tabula Sapiens to classify 175 cell-types from 24 organs; however, users can seamlessly train their own models for customized applications.

Availability and implementation

Census is available at Zenodo https://zenodo.org/records/7017103 and on our Github https://github.com/sjdlabgroup/Census.
Multimodal learning in clinical proteomics: enhancing antimicrobial resistance prediction models with chemical information
Authors: Visonà Giovanni , Duroux Diane , Miranda Lucas , Sükei Emese , Li Yiran , Borgwardt Karsten , Oliver Carlos
Published: November 2023

Motivation

Large-scale clinical proteomics datasets of infectious pathogens, combined with antimicrobial resistance outcomes, have recently opened the door for machine learning models which aim to improve clinical treatment by predicting resistance early. However, existing prediction frameworks typically train a separate model for each antimicrobial and species in order to predict a pathogen’s resistance outcome, resulting in missed opportunities for chemical knowledge transfer and generalizability.

Results

We demonstrate the effectiveness of multimodal learning over proteomic and chemical features by exploring two clinically relevant tasks for our proposed deep learning models: drug recommendation and generalized resistance prediction. By adopting this multi-view representation of the pathogenic samples and leveraging the scale of the available datasets, our models outperformed the previous single-drug and single-species predictive models by statistically significant margins. We extensively validated the multi-drug setting, highlighting the challenges in generalizing beyond the training data distribution, and quantitatively demonstrate how suitable representations of antimicrobial drugs constitute a crucial tool in the development of clinically relevant predictive models.

Availability and implementation

The code used to produce the results presented in this article is available at https://github.com/BorgwardtLab/MultimodalAMR.
Hybkit: a Python API and command-line toolkit for hybrid sequence data from chimeric RNA methods
Authors: Stribling Daniel , Gay Lauren A , Renne Rolf
Published: November 2023

Experimental methods using microRNA/target ligation have recently provided significant insights into microRNA functioning through generation of chimeric (hybrid) RNA sequences. Here, we introduce Hybkit, a Python3 API, and command-line toolkit for analysis of hybrid sequence data in the “hyb” file format to enable customizable evaluation and annotation of hybrid characteristics. The Hybkit API includes a suite of python objects for developing custom analyses of hybrid data as well as miRNA-specific analysis methods, built-in plotting of analysis results, and incorporation of predicted miRNA/target interactions in Vienna format.

Availability and implementation

Hybkit is provided free and open source under the GNU GPL license at github.com/RenneLab/hybkit and archived on Zenodo (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7834299). Hybkit distributions are also provided via PyPI (pypi.org/project/hybkit), Conda (bioconda.github.io/recipes/hybkit/README.html), and Docker (quay.io/repository/biocontainers/hybkit).
Microcosmos explorers: foldscope workshop for science outreach in Mexican schools
Authors: López Clinton Samantha
Published: November 2023

Foldscopes are ultra-low-cost paper microscopes invented by Manu Prakash and Jim Cybulski at Stanford University. They are about as light as a pencil and waterproof, all whilst offering similar optic quality to traditional microscopes. Foldscopes do not require electricity or glass slides to be used, which increases the possibilities of their use in education and outreach activities with children or people with disabilities. In 2019, thanks to a material grant of 100 foldscopes from One World Science and additional purchased foldscopes, I designed and implemented a science workshop called Exploradores del Microcosmos, or Explorers of Microcosmos in English. The aim of the workshop was to help make microscopy more accessible, in particular at underfunded schools, and stimulate active learning about ecosystems and evolution in the participants. Within this article, I describe the workshop and relay my personal insights and reflections on its execution across multiple schools and groups in Mexico.
Validation of epidermal AMBRA1 and loricrin (AMBLor) as a prognostic biomarker for nonulcerated American Joint Committee on Cancer stage I/II cutaneous melanoma
Authors: Ewen Tom , Husain Akhtar , Stefanos Niki , Barrett Paul , Jones Claire , Ness Tom , Long Anna , Horswell Stuart , Bosomworth Helen , Lowenstein Joe , Richardson Grant , Swan David , McConnell Ashleigh , Rose Aidan , Andrew Tom , Reynolds Nick , Malvehy Josep , Carrera Christina , Alos Llucia , Mailer Sonia , Helm Thomas , Ding Liang , Bogner Paul , Podlipnik Sebastian , Puig Susana , McArthur Grant A , Paragh Gyorgy , Labus Marie , Sloan Philip , Armstrong Jane L , Lovat Penny E
Published: November 2023

Background

Combined expression of the autophagy-regulatory protein AMBRA1 (activating molecule in Beclin1-regulated autophagy) and the terminal differentiation marker loricrin in the peritumoral epidermis of stage I melanomas can identify tumour subsets at low risk of ­metastasis.

Objectives

To validate the combined expression of peritumoral AMBRA1 and loricrin (AMBLor) as a prognostic biomarker able to identify both stage I and II melanomas at low risk of tumour recurrence.

Methods

Automated immunohistochemistry was used to analyse peritumoral AMBRA1 and loricrin expression in geographically distinct discovery (n = 540) and validation (n = 300) cohorts of nonulcerated American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage I and II melanomas. AMBLor status was correlated with clinical outcomes in the discovery and validation cohorts separately and combined.

Results

Analysis of AMBLor in the discovery cohort revealed a recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate of 95.5% in the AMBLor low-risk group vs. 81.7% in the AMBLor at-risk group (multivariate log-rank, P < 0.001) and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 96.0%. In the validation cohort, AMBLor analysis revealed a RFS rate of 97.6% in the AMBLor low-risk group vs. 78.3% in the at-risk group (multivariate log-rank, P < 0.001) and a NPV of 97.6%. In a multivariate model considering AMBLor, Breslow thickness, age and sex, analysis of the combined discovery and validation cohorts showed that the estimated effect of AMBLor was statistically significant, with a hazard ratio of 3.469 (95% confidence interval 1.403–8.580, P = 0.007) and an overall NPV of 96.5%.

Conclusions

These data provide further evidence validating AMBLor as a prognostic biomarker to identify nonulcerated AJCC stage I and II melanoma tumours at low risk of disease recurrence.
Abolitionism and Ecosocial Work: Towards Equity, Liberation and Environmental Justice
Authors: Shackelford Amy , Rao Smitha , Krings Amy , Frances Kathryn
Published: November 2023

The ecosocial work approach incorporates the environment into social justice frameworks. It calls for holistic practices that centre Indigenous and Global South voices, transdisciplinarity, anti-oppressive strategies in micro–macro practice and sustainability. In this article, we argue that the integration of abolitionist theory and practice within ecosocial work—specifically the reduction or elimination of social work from carceral systems that harm the environment and marginalised people—will better equip social workers to meet these goals. To this end, we critically examine three sites of ongoing abolitionist struggle—militaries, prisons and disinvested communities—to demonstrate reimagined strategies for an environmentally just future. Our analysis reveals areas where the ecosocial approach and abolitionism intersect, and how one might inform the other. We conclude by calling for future research to integrate abolitionist ideas into ecosocial work research, education and practice. In integrating environmental justice and abolition, ecosocial work will be better positioned to critique and resist its location in racialised capitalist systems that perpetuate economic, environmental, racial and social injustices.
Online clinical tools to support the use of new plasma biomarker diagnostic technology in the assessment of Alzheimer’s disease: a narrative review
Authors: Hazan Jemma , Liu Kathy Y , Fox Nick C , Howard Robert
Published: November 2023

Recent advances in new diagnostic technologies for Alzheimer’s disease have improved the speed and precision of diagnosis. However, accessing the potential benefits of this technology poses challenges for clinicians, such as deciding whether it is clinically appropriate to order a diagnostic test, which specific test or tests to order and how to interpret test results and communicate these to the patient and their caregiver. Tools to support decision-making could provide additional structure and information to the clinical assessment process. These tools could be accessed online, and such ‘e-tools’ can provide an interactive interface to support patients and clinicians in the use of new diagnostic technologies for Alzheimer’s disease. We performed a narrative review of the literature to synthesize information available on this research topic. Relevant studies that provide an understanding of how these online tools could be used to optimize the clinical utility of diagnostic technology were identified. Based on these, we discuss the ways in which e-tools have been used to assist in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and propose recommendations for future research to aid further development.
Targeted drug delivery into glial scar using CAQK peptide in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis
Authors: Zare Leila , Rezaei Safoura , Esmaeili Elaheh , Khajeh Khosro , Javan Mohammad
Published: November 2023

In multiple sclerosis, lesions are formed in various areas of the CNS, which are characterized by reactive gliosis, immune cell infiltration, extracellular matrix changes and demyelination. CAQK peptide (peptide sequence: cysteine–alanine–glutamine–lysine) was previously introduced as a targeting peptide for the injured site of the brain. In the present study, we aimed to develop a multifunctional system using nanoparticles coated by CAQK peptide, to target the demyelinated lesions in animal model of multiple sclerosis. We investigated the binding of fluorescein amidite–labelled CAQK and fluorescein amidite–labelled CGGK (as control) on mouse brain sections. Then, the porous silicon nanoparticles were synthesized and coupled with fluorescein amidite–labelled CAQK. Five days after lysolecithin-induced demyelination, male mice were intravenously injected with methylprednisolone-loaded porous silicon nanoparticles conjugated to CAQK or the same amount of free methylprednisolone. Our results showed that fluorescein amidite–labelled CAQK recognizes demyelinated lesions in brain sections of animal brains injected with lysolecithin. In addition, intravenous application of methylprednisolone-loaded nanoparticle porous silicon conjugated to CAQK at a single dose of 0.24 mg reduced the levels of microglial activation and astrocyte reactivation in the lesions of mouse corpus callosum after 24 and 48 h. No significant effect was observed following the injection of the same dose of free methylprednisolone. CAQK seems a potential targeting peptide for delivering drugs or other biologically active chemicals/reagents to the CNS of patients with multiple sclerosis. Low-dose methylprednisolone in this targeted drug delivery system showed significant beneficial effect.
Comparative performance analysis of ChatGPT 3.5, ChatGPT 4.0 and Bard in answering common patient questions on melanoma
Authors: Deliyannis Eduardo Panaiotis , Paul Navreet , Patel Priya U , Papanikolaou Marieta
Published: November 2023

This study evaluates the effectiveness of ChatGPT versions 3.5 and 4.0, and Google's Bard in answering patient questions on melanoma. Results show that both versions of ChatGPT outperform Bard, particularly in readability, with no significant difference between the two ChatGPT versions. The study underscores the potential of large language models in healthcare, highlighting the need for professional oversight and further research.
A nodule on the upper back of an older woman
Authors: Khalil Nada , Cioni Margherita , Anketell Priscilla , Hussain Khawar
Published: November 2023

We present the case of a solitary nodule on an older patient's upper back. This case highlights the diagnostic challenges and important distinguishing features for prompt identification and management.
Comment on ‘Medical school dermatology education: a scoping review’
Authors: Goh Alicia , Lai Fei Ya , Griffin Laoise
Published: November 2023

We write with reference to the article in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology by Mangion et al. who highlight a reduction in time allocated to dermatology teaching in medical schools. This translates to the postgraduate setting, where many doctors lack confidence when approaching dermatological conditions, leading to a further strain on dermatology services. We conducted a teaching session for hospital doctors on common features of skin cancers that showed significant improvement in diagnosis and confidence in our cohort. We believe further efforts should be made to deliver postgraduate dermatology teaching to general medical doctors to help improve initial patient assessment and accurate diagnosis.
Ambient air formaldehyde levels during skin biopsies
Authors: Tao Rachel E , Pixley Jessica N , Kontzias Christina L , Strowd Lindsay C , Feldman Steven R
Published: November 2023

Formaldehyde is a carcinogenic agent regularly used in dermatology clinics to prepare skin biopsy specimens for histopathology. The objective of this study was to measure formaldehyde concentrations using an air quality meter in an examination room during exposure to open formaldehyde-containing skin biopsy specimen containers. Formaldehyde concentration in the examination room remained low throughout the 60 min of exposure to both one and five opened formaldehyde-containing specimen containers, at levels below the short-term exposure limits imposed by the World Health Organization, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Mindfulness meditation enhances interbrain synchrony of adolescents when experiencing different emotions simultaneously
Authors: Deng Xinmei , Lin Mingping , Li Xiaoling
Published: November 2023

Mindfulness is considered to benefit social behavior and interpersonal communication. However, the underlying neural mechanism has not been fully examined. This study aimed to explore how mindfulness practice affected the interbrain synchrony within adolescent peer dyads when sharing emotional experience together by using the electroencephalograph hyperscanning approach. Thirty adolescent dyads were randomly assigned to a mindfulness group or a non-mindfulness group. Mindfulness group performed a 20-min mindfulness exercise. Non-mindfulness group were instructed to rest. Simultaneously, electroencephalograph was recorded when they completed a picture-processing task. Phase-locking-value in the gamma band was used to calculate adolescent dyads’ brain-to-brain synchrony. Results showed that greater interbrain synchrony in the frontal region was observed when viewing different emotional stimuli together after the mindfulness than before the mindfulness in the mindfulness group. However, there was no significant difference in the interbrain synchrony in the non-mindfulness group. Moreover, greater interbrain synchrony was observed in the mindfulness group than in the non-mindfulness group after mindfulness or rest in the frontal region. However, there was no significant difference between the mindfulness and non-mindfulness group before mindfulness or rest. The findings are discussed in light of the broader theoretical questions of how mindfulness may promote interpersonal functioning from a psychophysiological perspective.
Protection Conferred by COVID-19 Vaccination, Prior SARS-CoV-2 Infection, or Hybrid Immunity Against Omicron-Associated Severe Outcomes Among Community-Dwelling Adults
Authors: Lee Nelson , Nguyen Lena , Austin Peter C , Brown Kevin A , Grewal Ramandip , Buchan Sarah A , Nasreen Sharifa , Gubbay Jonathan , Schwartz Kevin L , Tadrous Mina , Wilson Kumanan , Wilson Sarah E , Kwong Jeffrey C
Published: November 2023

Introduction

We assessed protection from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and/or prior severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection against Omicron-associated severe outcomes during successive sublineage-predominant periods.

Methods

We used a test-negative design to estimate protection by vaccines and/or prior infection against hospitalization/death among community-dwelling, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-tested adults aged ≥50 years in Ontario, Canada, between 2 January 2022 and 30 June 2023. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the relative change in the odds of hospitalization/death with each vaccine dose (2–5) and/or prior PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (compared with unvaccinated, uninfected subjects) up to 15 months since the last vaccination or infection.

Results

We included 18 526 cases with Omicron-associated severe outcomes and 90 778 test-negative controls. Vaccine protection was high during BA.1/BA.2 predominance but was generally <50% during periods of BA.4/BA.5 and BQ/XBB predominance without boosters. A third/fourth dose transiently increased protection during BA.4/BA.5 predominance (third-dose, 6-month: 68%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 63%–72%; fourth-dose, 6-month: 80%, 95% CI 77%–83%) but was lower and waned quickly during BQ/XBB predominance (third-dose, 6-month: 59%, 95% CI 48%–67%; 12-month: 49%, 95% CI 41%–56%; fourth-dose, 6-month: 62%, 95% CI 56%–68%, 12-months: 51%, 95% CI 41%–56%). Hybrid immunity conferred nearly 90% protection throughout BA.1/BA.2 and BA.4/BA.5 predominance but was reduced during BQ/XBB predominance (third-dose, 6-month: 60%, 95% CI 36%–75%; fourth-dose, 6-month: 63%, 95% CI 42%–76%). Protection was restored with a fifth dose (bivalent; 6-month: 91%, 95% CI 79%–96%). Prior infection alone did not confer lasting protection.

Conclusions

Protection from COVID-19 vaccines and/or prior SARS-CoV-2 infections against severe outcomes is reduced when immune-evasive variants/subvariants emerge and may also wane over time. Our findings support a variant-adapted booster vaccination strategy with periodic review.
Dynamics of stored lipids in fall migratory monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus): Nectaring in northern Mexico allows recovery from droughts at higher latitudes
Authors: Hobson Keith A , Taylor Orley , Ramírez M Isabel , Carrera-Treviño Rogelio , Pleasants John , Bitzer Royce , Baum Kristen A , Mora Alvarez Blanca X , Kastens Jude , McNeil Jeremy N
Published: November 2023

The eastern population of the North American monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) overwinters from November through March in the high-altitude (3000 m+) forests of central Mexico during which time they rely largely on stored lipids. These are acquired during larval development and the conversion of sugars from floral nectar by adults. We sampled fall migrant monarchs from southern Canada through the migratory route to two overwintering sites in 2019 (n = 10 locations), 2020 (n = 8 locations) and 2021 (n = 7 locations). Moderate to extreme droughts along the migratory route were expected to result in low lipid levels in overwintering monarchs but our analysis of lipid levels of monarchs collected at overwintering sites indicated that in all years most had high levels of lipids prior to winter. Clearly, a significant proportion of lipids were consistently acquired in Mexico during the last portion of the migration. Drought conditions in Oklahoma, Texas and northern Mexico in 2019 resulted in the lowest levels of lipid mass and wing loading observed in that year but with higher levels at locations southward in Mexico to the overwintering sites. Compared with 2019, lipid levels increased during the 2020 and 2021 fall migrations but were again higher during the Mexican portion of the migration than for Oklahoma and Texas samples, emphasizing a recovery of lipids as monarchs advanced toward the overwintering locations. In all 3 years, body water was highest during the Canada—USA phase of migration but then declined during the nectar foraging phase in Mexico before recovering again at the overwintering sites. The increase in mass and lipids from those in Texas to the overwintering sites in Mexico indicates that nectar availability in Mexico can compensate for poor conditions experienced further north. Our work emphasizes the need to maintain the floral and therefore nectar resources that fuel both the migration and storage of lipids throughout the entire migratory route.
Physiological plasticity in elephants: highly dynamic glucocorticoids in African and Asian elephants
Authors: Pokharel Sanjeeta Sharma , Brown Janine L
Published: November 2023

Slowly reproducing and long-lived terrestrial mammals are often more at risk from challenges that influence fitness and survival. It is, therefore, important to understand how animals cope with such challenges and how coping mechanisms translate over generations and affect phenotypic plasticity. Rapidly escalating anthropogenic challenges may further diminish an animal’s ability to reinstate homeostasis. Research to advance insights on elephant stress physiology has predominantly focused on relative or comparative analyses of a major stress response marker, glucocorticoids (GCs), across different ecological, anthropogenic, and reproductive contexts. This paper presents an extensive review of published findings on Asian and African elephants from 1980 to 2023 (May) and reveals that stress responses, as measured by alterations in GCs in different sample matrices, often are highly dynamic and vary within and across individuals exposed to similar stimuli, and not always in a predictable fashion. Such dynamicity in physiological reactivity may be mediated by individual differences in personality traits or coping styles, ecological conditions, and technical factors that often are not considered in study designs. We describe probable causations under the ‘Physiological Dynamicity Model’, which considers context–experience–individuality effects. Highly variable adrenal responses may affect physiological plasticity with potential fitness and survival consequences. This review also addresses the significance of cautious interpretations of GCs data in the context of normal adaptive stress versus distress. We emphasize the need for long-term assessments of GCs that incorporate multiple markers of ‘stress’ and ‘well-being’ to decipher the probable fitness consequences of highly dynamic physiological adrenal responses in elephants. Ultimately, we propose that assessing GC responses to current and future challenges is one of the most valuable and informative conservation tools we have for guiding conservation strategies.