bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Scared Straight or Scared to Death? Fatalism in Response to Disease Risks
Authors: Kerwin Jason T
Published: February 2025

This paper shows that responses to disease risks can be “fatalistic”: higher risk beliefs can lead to more risk-taking rather than less. Intuitively, this can occur because high risk beliefs raise not only the chance of contracting the disease (which raises the marginal cost of risk-taking) but also the perceived chance that you are already infected (which lowers the marginal cost). I test for fatalism by randomly providing information about the true (low) average risk of HIV transmission in Malawi. Consistent with rational fatalism, the treatment causes sexual activity to rise slightly on average but decline sharply for people with high initial risk beliefs—especially those with high baseline levels of sexual activity.
Building Survey Data Infrastructure on Aging: The Legacy of NIA
Authors: Agree Emily M , Sonnega Amanda , Wolf Douglas A
Published: February 2025

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has contributed to the remarkable growth in the field of gerontology. One of the many ways the NIA has contributed is through the creation and support of an extensive body of relevant data resources. This paper focuses primarily on NIA’s support for the creation and use of these data sources in research, including mention of related documentation, archiving, harmonization, and dissemination/data access activities. Through all of these efforts, NIA-supported data have been used by researchers and policy analysts across a wide range of scholarly disciplines, producing a large body of research that provides a scientific foundation for policy and practice.
Pericardiectomy using ultrasonic scalpel in patients with constrictive pericarditis
Authors: Yoshinaga Takashi , Takaki Jun , Nakata Kosuke , Hirota Takafumi , Hidaka Hideaki , Horibe Tatsuya , Okamoto Ken , Fukui Toshihiro
Published: February 2025

OBJECTIVES

Pericardiectomy using ultrasonic scalpel is the effective operative treatment of chronic pericarditis. However, no consecutive case series of radical pericardiectomy using ultrasonic scalpel has been reported.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the records of 10 patients who underwent radical pericardiectomy using ultrasonic scalpel between April 2015 and March 2024. Preoperative and postoperative variables were reviewed.

RESULTS

The median age was 65 years, and three patients were female. Three patients had preoperative atrial fibrillation. Forty % of patients were in NYHA class 3–4. Three patients underwent urgent surgery. Ultrasonic scalpel was used for dissection and resection of thickened parietal pericardium and visceral pericardium around the heart except in the area of the posterior left atrium in all patients. Three patients underwent the off-pump technique. Coronary artery bypass grafting and tricuspid valve annuloplasty were performed concomitantly in 3 and 1 patients, respectively. Operative mortality was zero. Mediastinitis and acute kidney injury were observed in one patient each. One patient died of stroke during follow-up. The other patients were in NYHA class I.

CONCLUSIONS

Radical pericardiectomy is essential in patients with constrictive pericarditis. Ultrasonic scalpel is a useful tool to perform radical resection of pericardium.
Towards an expanded neurocognitive account of ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects
Authors: Dai Yingliang , Harrison Ben J , Davey Christopher G , Steward Trevor
Published: February 2025

Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist that has shown effectiveness as a rapidly acting treatment for depression. Although advances have been made in understanding ketamine’s antidepressant pharmacological and molecular mechanisms of action, the large-scale neurocognitive mechanisms driving its therapeutic effects are less clearly understood. To help provide such a framework, we provide a synthesis of current evidence linking ketamine treatment to the modulation of brain systems supporting reward processing, interoception and self-related cognition. We suggest that ketamine’s antidepressant effects are, at least in part, driven by dynamic multi-level influences across these key functional domains.
Mortality risk stratification based on comorbidity status among cervical cancer patients in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Ola Idris O , Okunowo Adeyemi A , Habeebu Muhammad Y
Published: February 2025

Background

Comorbidity amplifies mortality risk by approximately sixfold in cancer patients and affects about 26% of cervical cancer (CC) patients in Nigeria. However, its impact on CC outcomes has yet to be fully explored.

Methods

We analysed data from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the NSIA-LUTH Cancer Center in Lagos, Nigeria, between January 2015 and December 2021. Based on the hypertension-augmented Charlson comorbidity index (hCCI), the hazard ratios (HRs) associated with CC mortality were estimated using Cox proportional hazards model.

Results

Our results showed a mortality rate of 30.1/100 women-years with a mean age at death of 59.8 years. Women with hCCI 2–6 had a significant increase in mortality risk in unadjusted (HR 1.68 [95% confidence interval {CI} 1.10 to 2.57]) and age-adjusted models (adjusted HR 1.57 [95% CI 1.02 to 2.42]) compared with those with hCCI 0. When CC stage was considered, the mortality risk gradient by hCCI was pronounced for late-metastatic CC with hCCI 2–6 (HR 2.32 [95% CI 1.23 to 4.39], increasing to 4.15 (95% CI 1.69 to 10.18) in the adjusted model compared with hCCI 0.

Conclusions

Cervical cancer mortality risk increases with an increasing comorbidity score. Routine incorporation of comorbidity scoring in the clinical assessment of CC patients as well as the use of multidisciplinary cancer care teams may positively impact their clinical and psychosocial management.
Terrestrial-aquatic connectivity structures microbial communities during the formation of thermokarst lakes
Authors: Leroy Martial , Burnett Melanie S , Laurion Isabelle , Douglas Peter M J , Kallenbach Cynthia M , Comte Jérôme
Published: February 2025

Rising air temperatures and permafrost degradation drive the erosion of palsas (permafrost mounds mainly composed of frozen peat and ice layers) and lead to the formation of thermokarst ponds and lakes, known for their high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study investigates the impact of permafrost soil erosion during thermokarst lake formation on microbial community structure and its implications for GHG dynamics in a highly degraded permafrost valley (Nunavik, northern Quebec, Canada). Samples were collected from a palsa, an emerging lake connected to the palsa, surrounding peat and soil pore water, and two mature lakes which are older, stratified, and less connected to the palsa. Analysis of total and potentially active microbial communities, based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence variants revealed significant changes in taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity during thermokarst lake formation. We found distinct assembly processes depending on the stage of formation. Firstly stochastics, they became more deterministic as lakes mature. Distinct methanogens/trophs communities in emerging lake led to lower CO2:CH4 ratio compared to the surface of mature lakes. Which presented a greater diversity of methanogens and distinct methanotrophic communities, with acetogenic, hydrogenotrophic and methylotrophic methanogens along anaerobic an aerobic methanotrophs. Multivariate analyses revealed that selection processes were primarily driven by concentrations of CH4, CO2, and NO3−. The interplay between the nitrogen and carbon cycles appears to be pivotal in these assemblages, with nitrogen playing key roles on community structure. These findings underscore the significance of terrestrial-aquatic connectivity in shaping microbial communities and GHG emissions in thermokarst lakes.
Strain identity effects contribute more to Pseudomonas community functioning than strain interactions
Authors: Kramer Jos , Maréchal Simon , Figueiredo Alexandre R T , Kümmerli Rolf
Published: February 2025

Microbial communities can shape key ecological services, but the determinants of their functioning often remain little understood. While traditional research predominantly focuses on effects related to species identity (community composition and species richness), recent work increasingly explores the impact of species interactions on community functioning. Here, we conducted experiments with replicated small communities of Pseudomonas bacteria to quantify the relative importance of strain identity versus interaction effects on two important functions, community productivity and siderophore production. By combining supernatant and competition assays with an established linear model method, we show that both factors have significant effects on functioning, but identity effects generally outweigh strain interaction effects. These results hold irrespective of whether strain interactions are inferred statistically or approximated experimentally. Our results have implications for microbiome engineering, as the success of approaches aiming to induce beneficial (probiotic) strain interactions will be sensitive to strain identity effects in many communities.
Klebsiella spp. in healthy pigs: reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance and potential pathogenic threats
Authors: Rosa Jéssica Nogueira , da Silva Giarlã Cunha , Fontes Patrícia Pereira , Guidini Matheus Machado , Oliveira Rúzivia Pimentel , Bazzolli Denise Mara Soares
Published: February 2025

Aim

The aim of this study was to isolate Klebsiella spp. from clinically healthy animals fed diets with or without antimicrobial growth promoters (AGP). Additionally, the study evaluated whether the inclusion of growth promoters affected the recovery of multi-drug-resistant isolates.

Methods and results

A total of 144 isolates were obtained from rectal swabs on Simmons citrate agar supplemented with 1% inositol. Of these, 45 non-replicative isolates underwent extensive characterization, including molecular and phenotypic analyses. Sequencing identified that 77% were Klebsiella pneumoniae, 14.5% K. aerogenes, and 8.5% K. variicola. Isolates exhibiting the same polymorphic profiles were detected across different animals and treatments, with and without AGP. Seventy-one percent were multidrug-resistant, as determined by disk diffusion testing. The isolates harbored genes such as mcr-1, blaCTX-M-2, sul2, tetB, qnrS, and dfrA, among others. Additionally, genes encoding siderophores like enterobactin, aerobactin, and yersiniabactin were detected via Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Thirty-nine isolates were strong biofilm producers, 45% moderate, and 16% weak in vitro tests. The predominant genetic profiles included single, double, or triple-locus variants of ST25, ST147, and ST4691. Two novel sequence types were identified: ST7694 (K. pneumoniae) and ST7699 (K. variicola). Survival and persistence analyses in Galleria mellonella showed that these isolates exhibited a virulent phenotype and an enhanced capacity for multiplication in the early hours of infection.

Conclusion

Clinically healthy swine act as reservoirs for multidrug-resistant Klebsiella spp. exhibiting significant virulence phenotypes. The identification of novel sequence types contributes to epidemiological surveillance and the One Health framework.
Inbreeding depression for litter size in two mice lines under divergent selection for environmental birth weight variability using genomic data
Authors: Ojeda-Marín Candela , Cervantes Isabel , Formoso-Rafferty Nora , Gutiérrez Juan Pablo , Rodríguez-Ramilo Silvia Teresa
Published: February 2025

Inbreeding depression (ID) is usually observed as reduced survival and fertility and may have a variable impact in different populations. The aim of this study was to estimate ID from genomic and pedigree data in the litter size (LS) of the high variability line (H-Line) and the low variability line (L-Line). Of these, the L-Line performed better on traits related to robustness. A total of 1587 females from 26 selection generations were genotyped with a high-density SNP array. LS data of 732 L-Line and 648 of H-Line animals were used. The following were calculated: pedigree inbreeding coefficient (FPED), genomic inbreeding derived from different genomic matrices (FNEJ, FL&H,  FVR1, FVR2 and FYAN), from runs of homozygosity (FROH) and from homozygosity by descent probabilities (FHBD). FROH were calculated in the 19 autosomes (CHR). FROH and FHBD were divided into 9 lengths and age classes, respectively. All the inbreeding coefficients were standardized by the mean inbreeding coefficient of the 1st generation. Regression coefficients (b) obtained from genomic data were between -3.71 with FVR2 and -5.09 with FHBD in the H-Line, and that estimated from FPED was -5.67. In the L-Line the b obtained from genomic data were between -3.52 with FVR2 and -4.55 with FHBD, and that obtained with FPED was -4.08. Significant ID effects were detected in CHR13 in the H-Line and CHR1 and CHR9 in the L-Line. The b negative trended to be lower as the ROH length increased. The age of the homozygosity by descent segment performed differently in each line, for example FHBD raised 128 generations ago produced a significant positive effect only in the L-Line. The effect of global inbreeding coefficients on the LS was negative in both lines with a higher impact in the H-Line than in the L-Line, suggesting the L-Line having higher robustness. CHR 1, 9 and 13 were candidates for future gene search. In general, more recent FROH and FHBD presented negative effects on LS while older FROH and FHBD presented positive effects on LS in both selected lines.
Genetic Evaluation of Longevity in Australian Angus cattle Using Random Regression Models
Authors: Aliloo Hassan , van der Werf Julius H J , Clark Samuel A
Published: February 2025

Cow longevity is an economically important trait for beef breeders directly impacting profitability and sustainability of beef cattle production systems. Despite its great importance, early selection for longevity is complex because the true longevity of a cow is not known until the end of her life. In this study we aimed to estimate variance components and genetic parameters for two binary measures of cow longevity in Australian Angus cattle population. Traditional longevity (TL) represented the cow’s ability to avoid culling after the first calving while functional longevity (FL) also accounted for calving events while the cow was present in the herd. Five datasets consisting of animals culled because of different reasons were created and evaluated separately to compare the estimates of variance components and genetic parameters. We also investigated the impact of censored data on estimated breeding values of bulls with different proportions of active daughters. A single-trait random regression model using a Bayesian Gibbs sampler was applied to both longevity traits and all 5 culling reason groups between age 2 to 11 yr. The heritabilites were generally low and ranged between 0.02 to 0.19 for TL and between 0.02 to 0.20 for FL traits. The peak of heritabilites were found between ages 4 to 6 yr for both longevity measures. The low estimates of genetic correlations between ages at the beginning and end of the trajectory in all culling reason groups indicated that longevity evaluated at early and late stages of life are not genetically the same traits. The estimated breeding values of sires with active daughters were underestimated when the censored data was excluded from the analysis. The negative impact of censoring was larger for younger sires who had larger proportion of active daughters. Our results indicate the additive genetic component has a sizeable contribution to the variability of longevity in Australian Angus cattle and therefore, the genetic improvement of longevity can be achieved if longevity is considered as a long-term breeding objective.
Pedagogical virtues from the situationist insight: virtuous scaffolding and sensitivity to non-epistemic situational factors to learning
Authors: Clemente Noel L
Published: February 2025

This article explores two pedagogical virtues (intellectual virtues of a teacher) that arise from the insight that non-epistemic situational factors can affect students’ epistemic judgements and behaviour. First, a virtuous teacher must be sensitive enough to these factors in order to take advantage of how they boost student learning. However, while cultivating a situationally and epistemically favourable environment for learning sounds sensible, teachers should not spoil their students by making them too dependent on these beneficial external factors. The virtuous teacher must also realize that these are only scaffolds; they do help students initially, but must eventually be removed to promote the students’ intellectual autonomy. This characterizes a second pedagogical virtue: the competence to facilitate students’ growth so that they become more capable in future opportunities for knowledge acquisition.
PyLMT: A transient detection pipeline for the 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope
Authors: Pranshu Kumar , Misra Kuntal , Ailawadhi Bhavya , Dubey Monalisa , Dukiya Naveen , Filali Sara , Hickson Paul , Kumar Brajesh , Negi Vibhore , Surdej Jean
Published: February 2025

The International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is a 4-m aperture, zenith-pointing telescope with a field-of-view of 22′, situated in the foothills of the Himalayas. The telescope operates in continuous survey mode, making it a useful instrument for time-domain astronomy, particularly for detecting transients, variable stars, active galactic nuclei variability, and asteroids. This paper presents the PyLMT transient detection pipeline to detect such transient/varying sources in the ILMT images. The pipeline utilises the image subtraction technique to compare a pair of images from the same field, identifying such sources in subtracted images with the help of convolutional neural networks (CNN) based real/bogus classifiers. The test accuracies determined for the real/bogus classifiers ranged from 94 % to 98 %. The resulting precision of the pipeline calculated over candidate alerts in the ILMT frames is 0.91. It also houses a CNN-aided transient candidate classifier that classifies the transient/variable candidates based on host morphology. The test accuracy of the candidate classifier is 98.6 %. It has the provision to identify catalogued asteroids and other solar system objects using public databases. The median execution time of the pipeline is approximately 29 minutes per image of 17 minutes exposure. Relevant CNNs have been trained on data acquired with the ILMT during the cycle of October–November 2022. Subsequent tests on those images have confirmed the detection of numerous catalogued asteroids, variable stars, and other uncatalogued sources. The pipeline has been operational and has detected 12 extragalactic transients, including 2 new discoveries in the November 2023–May 2024 observation cycle.
A self-consistent framework to study magnetic fields with strong gravitational lensing and polarised radio sources
Authors: Ndiritu S W , Vegetti S , Powell D M , McKean J P
Published: February 2025

We introduce a unified approach that, given a strong gravitationally lensed polarised source, self-consistently infers its complex surface brightness distribution and the lens galaxy mass-density profile, magnetic field and electron density from interferometric data. The method is fully Bayesian, pixellated and three-dimensional: the source light is reconstructed in each frequency channel on a Delaunay tessellation with a magnification-adaptive resolution. We tested this technique using simulated interferometric observations with a realistic model of the lens, for two different levels of source polarisation and two different lensing configurations. For all data sets, the presence of a Faraday rotating screen in the lens is supported by the data with strong statistical significance. In the region probed by the lensed images, we can recover the Rotation Measure and the parallel component of the magnetic field with an average error between 0.6 and 11 rad m−2 and 0.3 and 3 nG, respectively. Given our choice of model, we find the electron density is the least well-constrained component due to a degeneracy with the magnetic field and disk inclination. The background source total intensity, polarisation fraction, and polarisation angle are inferred with an error between 4 and 10percnt, 15 and 50percnt, and 1 to 12 degrees, respectively. Our analysis shows that both the lensing configuration and the intrinsic model degeneracies play a role in the quality of the constraints that can be obtained.
Subcellular Enrichment Patterns of New Genes in Drosophila Evolution
Authors: Dong Chuan , Xia Shengqian , Zhang Li , Arsala Deanna , Fang Chengchi , Tan Shengjun , Clark Andrew G , Long Manyuan
Published: February 2025

The evolutionary patterns of proteins within subcellular compartments underlie the innovation and diversification foundation of the living eukaryotic organism. The location of proteins in subcellular compartments promotes the formation of network interaction modules, which in turn reshape the architecture of higher-level protein–protein interaction networks. Here, we conducted the most up-to-date gene age dating of Drosophila melanogaster by employing recently available long-read sequencing genomes as references. We found that an elevated gene fixation in the most recent common ancestor of Drosophila genus predated the divergence between two Drosophila subgenera, and a significant tendency of these genes in D. melanogaster encode proteins that localize to the extracellular matrix, accompanying the adaptive radiation of Drosophila species. Proteins encoded by genes located in the extracellular space exhibit higher sequence divergence, suggesting a rapid evolutionary process. We also observed that proteins encoded by genes originating from the same evolutionary branches tend to co-localize in the same subcellular compartments, and proteins in the same subcellular compartment tend to interact with each other. The proteins encoded by genes that have persisted through deeper branches exhibit broader localization across multiple subcellular compartments, enhancing the likelihood of their integration into various protein or gene regulatory networks, thereby increasing functional diversity. These evolutionary patterns not only contribute to understanding the evolution of subcellular localization in proteins encoded by genes originating from different branches, but also provide insights into the evolution of protein–protein networks driven by the emergence of new genes.
Insufficient Evidence for a Severe Bottleneck in Humans During the Early to Middle Pleistocene Transition
Authors: Cousins Trevor , Durvasula Arun
Published: February 2025

A recently proposed model suggests a severe bottleneck in the panmictic ancestral population of modern humans during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition. Here, we show this model provides a worse fit to the data than a panmictic model without the bottleneck.
Identifying appropriate external control datasets in support of future glioblastoma clinical trials leveraging external data
Authors: Rahman Rifaquat , Ventz Steffen , Redd Robert , Fell Geoffrey , Tan Yujue , Orio Peter , Tanner Kirk , Wen Patrick Y , Trippa Lorenzo
Published: February 2025

Background

Recent interest in leveraging external data for clinical trial design and analysis in glioblastoma has raised questions on the identification of appropriate data to use as external controls for future trials. We perform a comprehensive analysis assessing candidate sources of external data and comparing clinical trial and real-world datasets in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Methods

Individual patient-level data (PLD) from several clinical trials, a large academic institutional database and a registry (National Cancer Database) were used for analysis of patients receiving standard of care radiation with concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide. Data summaries from randomized trials 2012-2022 were analyzed to account for trials without available PLD. Multivariable modeling was employed to compare survival across datasets.

Results

In total, 8 datasets with PLD for 3061 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma treated with standard chemoradiation were analyzed. Patients on trials were younger (age<60:64% vs. 48%,p<0.001) and had higher KPS (KPS>90:58% vs. 48%,p<0.001) compared to non-trial patients. Patients in clinical trials exhibited inferior survival relative to non-trial patients (HR 1.30,95%CI 1.13-1.48,p<0.001) after adjustment for age, sex, KPS, extent of resection and MGMT methylation status. In assessment of data summaries of 19 randomized trials, there was no detectable time-trend toward improved outcomes 2012-2022.

Conclusions

In newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients treated with standard of care chemoradiation, there were significant differences between trial datasets and real-world datasets but no evidence of a trial effect benefit from trial participation. After adjustment of relevant covariates, there was no evidence of temporal drift of improved survival over the last decade.
Association between heated tobacco product use and quitting combustible cigarette smoking among Korean adults
Authors: Kim Seung Hee , Lee Jung Ah , Cho Hong-Jun
Published: February 2025

Introduction

Combustible cigarette (CC) smokers often use heated tobacco products (HTPs) to quit CC smoking; however, the role of HTPs in quitting CC smoking is uncertain. We evaluated the link between HTP use and quitting CC smoking considering the intensity of HTP use among a large nationally representative sample of Korean adults.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional study using data from the 2019 Community Health Survey in Korea. A total of 46,781 adult participants (current CC smokers and former CC smokers’ < 5 years) were included and Poisson regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between HTP use and quitting CC smoking among ever CC smokers.

Results

In ever CC smokers, compared with never HTP use, current daily HTP use was positively associated with quitting CC smoking (< 1-year; prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.36–1.96, 1–5 years; PR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.36–1.60), whereas current non-daily HTP use showed an inverse association with quitting CC smoking (< 1-year; PR = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.12–0.29, 1–5 years; PR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.17–0.31). Former HTP use was positively associated with short-term quitting CC smoking (PR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.18–1.63), but negatively related to quit CC smoking after 1 year (PR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.74–0.88).

Conclusions

Daily use of HTPs appeared to be related to the increase in quitting CC smoking, but discontinuation of HTP use was significantly associated with the recurrence of CC smoking among former HTP users of 1–5 years.

Implications

Among ever CC smokers, daily use of HTPs was positively associated with quitting CC smoking, but non-daily use of HTPs was inversely associated with quitting CC smoking. Former HTP use was linked to an increased likelihood of short-term quitting CC smoking but was significantly associated with CC smoking relapse after 1 year.
Joint effect of sleep patterns and secondhand smoke exposure with mortality among non-smoking adults
Authors: Chen Chen , Jin Hongyu , Jiang Zhiping , Wei Wang , Li Wen-Yang
Published: February 2025

Introduction

Unhealthy sleep and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure are independent risk factors for death. Their joint association with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality (ACDM) deserves to be investigated in a nationally representative population.

Methods

Data from 15175 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database (2005–2014) were analyzed. The study endpoints were all-cause and CVD mortality. Sleep patterns (healthy, intermediate, and poor) were classified based on self-reported questionnaires, including sleep duration, self-reported trouble sleeping and doctor-diagnosed sleep disorders. SHS exposure among nonsmokers was defined according to cotinine levels in serum. Multivariate Cox hazards regression models were conducted to assess the association between sleep patterns and SHS exposure, alone and in combination, with ACDM.

Results

During 15 years of follow-up, 2016 all-cause deaths and 678 CVD deaths were recorded. In multivariable models, poor sleep was independently associated with higher risk of all-cause (hazard ratio [HR] 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-1.51) and CVD mortality (HR= 1.31; 95% CI: 1.02-1.68). Exposure to SHS was associated with higher risk of all-cause (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.08-1.36) and CVD mortality (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04-1.50). In the joint analyses, participants with both unhealthy sleep patterns (intermediate and poor) and SHS exposure had a significantly higher risk of all-cause (HR, 1.48; 95% CI: 1.26–1.74) and CVD mortality (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.15–1.97) than those with neither risk factor.

Conclusions

The coexistence of SHS exposure and unhealthy sleep patterns was associated with an increased risk of death from all causes and CVD.

Implications

The findings of this study indicate that both poor sleep patterns and exposure to SHS are independently associated with a higher risk of all-cause and CVD mortality. Furthermore, the coexistence of SHS exposure and unhealthy sleep patterns further increases the risk of mortality from all causes and CVD. Since both sleep patterns and SHS exposure are modifiable factors, interventions aimed at reducing SHS exposure and improving sleep quality could have significant implications in reducing these adverse effects and lowering mortality risk.
Abnormal Arteriolar Blood Volume Measured by 3D Inflow-Based Vascular-Space-Occupancy (iVASO) MRI and resting-state BOLD fluctuations at 7T in Individuals with Recent-Onset Schizophrenia
Authors: Bodnár Andor L , Stevens Daniel A , Paez Adrian G , Ultz Kia , Ross Christopher A , Hua Jun , Margolis Russell L
Published: February 2025

Background

Using ultra-high field (7T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 3D Inflow-Based Vascular-Space-Occupancy (iVASO) MRI, we previously reported lower baseline arteriolar cerebral blood volumes (CBVa) in almost all grey matter regions in a cohort of patients with schizophrenia with varying ages and disease duration. The extent to which decreased CBVa is also present in early-stage schizophrenia, and how this impacts neurovascular coupling, remains to be determined.

Objective

We sought to determine the extent of CBVa deficits in recent-onset schizophrenia and the relationship of CBVa to region-specific resting-state neural activity.

Methods

Using ultra-high field (7T) MRI, CBVa was measured in 90 regions using 3D iVASO imaging in 16 individuals with recent-onset schizophrenia (disease duration: x̄ = 1.18 ± 1.4 yrs) and 12 age-matched controls. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) was used to determine fractional amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) and intrinsic connectivity (ICC) in spontaneous blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal, and the region-specific relationship between CBVa and fALFF was determined as an index of neurovascular coupling.

Results

Compared with healthy control participants, CBVa was lower in individuals with schizophrenia in almost all brain regions with a global effect size of 0.23 and regional effect sizes reaching up to 0.41. Individuals with schizophrenia also exhibited lower fALFF in spontaneous BOLD signals diffusely across cortical and subcortical grey matter regions. Ratios of mean regional CBVa to fALFF and ICC were significantly lower in patients in numerous brain regions, suggesting disease-related disruptions of neurovascular coupling.

Conclusion

Taken together these observations indicate that early-stage schizophrenia is associated with widespread microvascular abnormalities and associated resting-state deficits in neural activity. These results suggest that abnormalities in neurovascular coupling may contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
DNA adducts form in mouse lung and liver after oral naphthalene exposure
Authors: Domanico Morgan C , Collette Nicole M , Ubick Esther , Ding Xinxin , Buchholz Bruce A , Van Winkle Laura S
Published: February 2025

Naphthalene is a ubiquitous combustion product and environmental contaminant with known human exposure. Chronic exposure to naphthalene vapor leads to respiratory tumor formation in rodents. Naphthalene forms DNA adducts (precursors to genotoxicity) in tissue explants but it is unclear if this occurs in vivo. Wild-type C57BL/6 mice were orally exposed to 50 mg/kg 14C-naphthalene. Naphthalene-DNA adducts were detected by accelerator mass spectrometry at 2- to 72-h post-exposure in both lung and liver, with decreasing abundance over time. Adducts persisted even at 72-h after exposure, which indicates possible evasion of DNA repair and potential to contribute to mutagenesis.
Use of commercial fertilizers in an IPDM protocol to mitigate Olive Quick Decline Syndrome caused by Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca in Southern Italy
Authors: Del Grosso Carmine , Saponari Maria , Saldarelli Pasquale , Palmieri Davide , Altamura Giuseppe , Abou Kubaa Raied , De Curtis Filippo , Lima Giuseppe
Published: February 2025

Management of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (Xfp) presents significant challenges due to the lack of genetic resistance in major crops, pathogen variability and resistance development against the main antimicrobial compounds, and the lack of effective chemical compounds for control. Traditional bactericides in the EU are restricted, and copper-based products are increasingly limited due to environmental impacts. In this study the antibacterial side effects of some commercial fertilizers against Xfp were evaluated. These products, containing metal ions (mainly copper and/or zinc) complexed with phosphites and bioavailable silicon, show antimicrobial and bactericidal activities in vitro which suggest their possible use to control the pathogen, as well as enhanced plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Greenhouse and open field trials showed that they can significantly reduce disease severity and pathogen population, thus improving fruit yield. The integrated pest and disease management (IPDM) strategy, which combines these treatments with agronomic and phytosanitary vector-control measures, leads to a reduction of disease symptoms in treated plants compared to untreated ones. These findings highlight the potential of systemic fertilizers to mitigate Xfp symptoms by providing antimicrobial collateral effects and probably enhance plant defenses, since similar compounds are known to be plant defense inducers in other pathosystems. Therefore, these products offer a sustainable solution for managing plant pathogenic bacteria and improving crop health and yield. This approach is crucial for the sustainability of olive production in Xf-affected areas. However, further research is needed to optimize these strategies for long-term effectiveness under field conditions. Overall, the results emphasize the value of the collateral effects of some mineral fertilizers in a comprehensive strategy aimed at mitigating the symptoms of Xfp and safeguarding the agricultural productivity as well as the invaluable heritage of centuries-old Apulian olive trees.
Role of Funiculitis in Sonographic Diagnosis of Acute Epididymitis
Authors: Gupta Akshya , Schartz Emily , Schartz Derrek , Baran Timothy , Dogra Vikram S.
Published: February 2025

Ultrasonography is the gold standard for diagnosing acute epididymitis. However, it is not well understood if the simultaneous inflammation of the spermatic cord (funiculitis) is a helpful imaging finding in diagnosing acute epididymitis. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of funiculitis in cases of epididymitis and determine its sensitivity and specificity. This retrospective study included 50 consecutive patients with acute epididymitis. Funiculitis was defined as increased echogenicity of the spermatic cord fat with mass-like cord thickening. All scrotal ultrasound examinations were reviewed for the size of the spermatic cord and surrounding fat, indistinct margins between the spermatic cord and epididymis, similar findings on the contralateral side, and scrotal wall thickening. Spermatic cord inflammation was present in 96% (48/50) of patients with acute epididymitis, significantly higher than in the asymptomatic side (18%, n = 9/50, P < 0.0001). The presence of funiculitis had a sensitivity of 95.9% (confidence interval [CI] 86–99.5%), a specificity of 81.6% (CI 68–91.2%), a positive predictive value of 83.9% (CI 71.7–93%), and a negative predictive value of 95.2% (CI 84–99%) for diagnosing acute epididymitis. The sonographic presence of funiculitis in the setting of acute scrotal pain is a sensitive marker for concomitant acute epididymitis.
Environmental impact of integrating decentralized urine treatment in the urban wastewater management system: A comparative life cycle assessment
Authors: Appiah-Twum Hanson , Van Winckel Tim , Santolin Julia , De Paepe Jolien , Hellweg Stefanie , Larsen Tove A. , Udert Kai M. , Vlaeminck Siegfried E. , Spiller Marc
Published: February 2025

As municipal wastewater treatment regulations become more stringent, integrating source-separated urine treatment into centralized urban wastewater management offers a ′hybrid′ solution. However, it is not clear how the environmental impacts of such hybrid systems compare to highly efficient centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with low N2O emissions and electricity use. In this study, a consequential life cycle assessment was used to compare the environmental impact of three urine hybrid wastewater treatment systems which combine decentralized urine treatment with a highly efficient central WWTP — to a centralized WWTP treating mixed wastewater (baseline). The studied urine treatment systems include partial nitrification & distillation, struvite precipitation & stripping/scrubbing, and partial nitritation/anammox. Additionally, the contribution of urine alkalinization to the overall impact was quantified. The results show that at least one hybrid scenario showed a lower environmental impact in 8 out of the 10 assessed impact categories. Global warming potential and marine eutrophication were found to be higher than the baseline. Additionally, it was identified that urine alkalinization increased the environmental impact of the treatment system in 7 out of the 10 impact categories. A Pareto frontier analysis was developed to guide decision makers on where hybrid solutions could be used as a strategy to reduce global warming impacts of conventional WWTPs. It was realized that using N₂O emission factors of 75 WWTPs, 87% of centralized WWTPs had lower CO₂ emissions compared to partial nitrification & distillation, and 91% compared to partial nitritation/anammox hybrid solutions. However, at energy demands of 1 kWh/PE and 2 kWh/PE, both hybrid solutions showed lower emissions than all the studied WWTPs. The study highlights the potential of hybrid wastewater treatment solutions to address specific environmental challenges in wastewater management and a strategy to reduce global warming impacts in WWTPs with high N₂O emissions and electricity use.
High-throughput chemical toxicity testing for beneficial insects: The value of coated vials
Authors: Thia Joshua A. , Digard Julie , Dorai Ashritha P.S. , Brown Courtney , Hoffmann Ary A.
Published: February 2025

Non-target effects of insecticides used in agriculture can impact the ecosystem services provided by beneficial insects. Understanding the broader effects of chemical usage requires multi-species investigations on the impact of different insecticide active ingredients. In this work, we tested the utility of coated vials as a quick, cheap, and efficient dried residue chemical toxicity assay. This method was compared against dishes sprayed with a Potter tower, which is an industry standard instrument used to apply precise insecticide doses. Our study focused on 2 natural enemies of aphids, larval and adultHippodamia variegataladybird beetle, and the parasitoid wasp,Diaeretiella rapae. These natural enemies were exposed to multiple doses of 3 insecticides that are registered for aphid control in Australian agriculture: alpha-cypermethrin (pyrethroid), dimethoate (organophosphate), and sulfoxaflor (sulfoximine). Modelled dose-response relationships showed evidence of general differences in the intercepts between methods, but not in slope (rate of mortality with concentration). However, these subtle statistically significant effects did not translate into marked differences in LC50-values, which were comparable across assay methods for all natural enemies and insecticides tested. Coated vials therefore produced estimates of chemical toxicity that were consistent with those derived from Potter tower sprays. This underscores the validity of coated vials as a method for performing high-throughput chemical toxicity experiments, as required when examining different populations of multiple taxa across a range of insecticide active ingredients.
Peritoneal cavity-derived GATA6+macrophages inhibit fibrosis through IL33 in endometrium
Authors: Yin Lijie , Li Jingman , Dong Yue , Wang Jiali , Wang Xiuzhu , Li Yajun , Hu Yali , Hou Yayi , Zhao Guangfeng
Published: February 2025

Macrophages exhibit a high degree of plasticity and play pivotal roles both in the normal physiological cycle of the endometrium and in its regeneration following injury. Although some new subsets of endometrial macrophages have been identified, their origins and functions remain to be further explored. In this study, we employed single-cell sequencing to analyze the endometrium of patients with normal endometrium and intrauterine adhesion (IUA) caused by injury. We identified a unique subset of macrophages distinguished by the expression of GATA6, a marker indicative of cavity macrophages. We verified that these GATA6+macrophages were large peritoneal macrophages (LPMs) that migrated from the peritoneal cavity to the injured endometrium. Upon activation by injured endometrium, these LPMs demonstrated increased expression of Interleukin-33 (IL33), mediated by the Lars-Fos signaling axis, which interacts with the IL33 enhancer. Moreover, our studies revealed that IL33 derived from LPMs inhibited the differentiation of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) into myofibroblasts, a critical step in the development of endometrial fibrosis. Furthermore, we confirmed the inhibitory effect occurred through the binding of IL33 to the ST2 receptor on ESCs, leading to the upregulation of JMJD3 and subsequent suppression of myofibroblast differentiation. Our findings highlight the essential role of LPMs in promoting endometrial repair and inhibiting fibrosis in IUA.

Significance Statement

This study reveals the presence of a unique population of macrophages within the endometrium, originating from large peritoneal macrophages (LPMs), that are pivotal in endometrial repair. This finding offers new insights into the plasticity of macrophages and their potential therapeutic applications in treating endometrial fibrotic disorders.
What is expected of people who lead meetings where the goal is to reach consensus? A scoping review with implications for improving the quality of health research grant peer review and clinical guideline development
Authors: Ghannad Mona , Armond Anna Catharina V. , Ng Jeremy Y , Khan Hassan , Giustini Dean , Lasinsky Anne , Sims-Gould Joanie , Blazey Paul , Martino Nadia , Nag Sammy , Mota Adrian , Moher David , Khan Karim M , Ardern Clare L
Published: February 2025

Background

The specific roles and responsibilities expected of leaders of consensus-based decision committees, such as grant peer review panels and guideline development panels, are not well-defined, which makes it difficult to train people to lead well. We aimed to explore, describe and define the roles, responsibilities, and leadership characteristics of leaders of meetings where the goal was to reach a consensus decision.

Methods

We conducted a scoping review with thematic synthesis, guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute Scoping Review Methodology, and Arksey & O’Malley’s framework for scoping reviews as refined by Levac et al. We searched five bibliographic databases from January 2002-2023 in English: Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO) and PsycInfo (EBSCO); Proquest Digital Dissertations and ABI-Inform. We searched grey literature in the fields of health science, biomedicine, education, psychology, management, law, ethics and policy. Abstracts and full-text articles were screened in duplicate to identify eligible studies; data were extracted regarding the roles, responsibilities and characteristics of consensus decision committee leaders. Themes were constructed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

From 6732 electronic database records and 126 grey literature records, we included 24 articles and 16 websites. There were 166 unique statements extracted related to roles and responsibilities. We constructed 4 themes to describe the roles for leaders of consensus-based decision meetings: (1)organizer and/or resource manager, (2)facilitator, (3)adjudicatorand, (4)administrator.

Conclusion

Leaders of consensus committees assumed the roles of organiser and/or resource manager, facilitator, adjudicator and administrator. Better clarification of and training for the expected roles and responsibilities of leading consensus decisions are needed. Establishing the roles and responsibilities can inform a systematic process for evaluating the performance of leaders of consensus decision committees.
ESM-Effect: An Effective and Efficient Fine-Tuning Framework towards accurate prediction of Mutation’s Functional Effect
Authors: Glaser Moritz , Brägelmann Johannes
Published: February 2025

Predicting functional properties of mutations like the change in enzyme activity remains challenging and is not well captured by traditional pathogenicity prediction. Yet such functional predictions are crucial in areas like targeted cancer therapy where some drugs may only be administered if a mutation causes an increase in enzyme activity. Current approaches either leverage static Protein-Language Model (PLM) embeddings or complex multi-modal features (e.g., static PLM embeddings, structure, and evolutionary data) and either (1) fall short in accuracy or (2) involve complex data processing and pre-training. Standardized datasets and metrics for robust benchmarking would benefit model development but do not yet exist for functional effect prediction.

To address these challenges we develop ESM-Effect, an optimized PLM-based functional effect prediction framework through extensive ablation studies. ESM-Effect fine-tunes ESM2 PLM with an inductive bias regression head to achieve state-of-the-art performance. It surpasses the multi-modal state-of-the-art method PreMode, indicating redundancy of structural and evolutionary features, while training 6.7-times faster.

In addition, we develop a benchmarking framework with robust test datasets and strategies, and propose a novel metric for prediction accuracy termed relative Bin-Mean Error (rBME): rBME emphasizes prediction accuracy in challenging, non-clustered, and rare gain-of-function regions and correlates more intuitively with model performance than commonly used Spearman’s rho. Finally, we demonstrate partial generalization of ESM-Effect to unseen mutational regions within the same protein, illustrating its potential in precision medicine applications. Extending this generalization across different proteins remains a promising direction for future research. ESM-Effect is available at:https://github.com/moritzgls/ESM-Effect.