bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Implementing Indian Culture
Authors: Pattanaik Devdutt
Published: October 2021

Mythologist and author Devdutt Pattanaik uses his deep domain knowledge and corporate experience to address the topic: Implementing Indian Culture. First, he reveals how changing corporate culture through workshops and training programmes is based on the idea of evangelism and religious conversion, which is alien to caste-based Indian society where aggregation of new ideas is preferred over replacement of old ideas. Then, using mythology as a toolkit, he elaborates what is common and what is different between Indian, Chinese and Western cultures. He argues that China and Japan’s success is not the result of ‘Westernisation’ but by their grounding in home-grown Confucian and Taoist myths. India’s progress needs a similar grounding in ideas that have originated, and continue to thrive, in India, hence the need to appreciate the Indian model of yagna (exchange), which is neither policy based and contractual, as in the West, nor authority based, as in the Far East. However, as it is relationship based, it demands maturity and empathy of the leader who functions as the head of the family business ( karta). It demands the karta’s personal transformation from self-indulgent to self-expansive as he gradually delegates and nurtures talent to create an ecosystem of success ( mangalya). Growth then is not just material (what you have) but also psychological/spiritual (who you are).
R. R. Nair Interviews R. Gopalakrishnan
Authors: Nair R. R. , Gopalakrishnan R.
Published: October 2021

R. Gopalakrishnan a stalwart corporate leader and author truly personifies the successful transmogrified ‘portable’ leader, adept at transitions across functions, intra and inter companies, geographies, and industries, even as he continues to think and write deeply on leadership praxis. Using examples from two companies, Unilever and Tata Sons, in which he spent 48 years, he offers the ‘fruits of labour’ (the manifestations) from deep-seated roots, embedded firmly over the years. The author responds to the changes in the environment as also the cultural kaleidoscope that creates the springboard for leadership action. The author provides lodestones of wisdom fashioned through the anvil of his rich experience, penetrative eye, deep intellect and research, and smart eloquence. Compellingly argued by RG, brilliantly sussed out by Maestro R. R. Nair, this interview will provide rich answers to young practitioners who wish to discover ‘Indianness and the Indian Leader’.
Institution Building in Indian Business: Dynamics and Dilemmas
Authors: Kumar Prasad , Ananthanarayanan Raghu
Published: October 2021

This article examines an ‘Institution’ and its distinguishing features from ‘Organisation’. It enquires into the dynamics generated when Western structural assumptions juxtapose with an Indian world view, more particularly in Indian Family Businesses, that seek to transform into institutions. In this transformation into a ‘Modern’ institution, several dilemmas, tensions and paradoxes emerge (often unseen) that have the risk of stalling progress, or in reducing the potential for institutional vibrancy and perpetuity. The integration depends on the wholesome cross-assimilation of these vastly different paradigms. This article delves into these invisible cross-currents and formulates a few hypotheses and recommendations for regeneration and vitality.
Indian Perspective on Personality and Behaviour in Organisations
Authors: Datar Shilpa
Published: October 2021

This article explains the steps followed in developing psychometric personality assessment tests from the Indian psychological/Vedic perspective while also mentioning the psychometric properties of the scales. Its numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals are by itself an acceptance of the validity and reliability of the scale, along with the accreditation obtained from concerned certifying authorities in India. Additionally, its use in multiple academic and research organisations both in India and abroad throws up interesting possibilities using Indian psychological concepts can offer solutions to, being relevant to all peoples of the world today, as they were from times immemorial.

The article draws attention to the multiple applications that the five-element theory of personality understanding offers and explores how this can used in organisations to provide for higher retention of employees, better employee engagement and higher cohesiveness and cultural fit amongst teams within organisations, especially when they are integrated in the recruitment processes itself.
Change and Leadership: An Indian Perspective
Authors: Pantula1 Prabhu Dayal
Published: October 2021

In this article, Prabhu examines the ‘Indian way of leading and managing change’, particularly contextualising it to the Indian IT Industry. In doing so, he brings together the cultural, sociological and philosophical streams of thought embedded in Indian reality.

He asserts that:

1. One, need to examine the contextual importance of understanding ‘Indianness’ and the Indian way of dealing with change.

2. Next, to leverage a style of leadership which draws on a deep understanding of the culture and context that drives Indianness.

Prabhu draws on data from a quantitative survey he carried out to examine the perceived importance versus practice of various leadership attributes during times of change in organisations as also research from elsewhere.

Prabhu looks at perceived gaps in leadership practice, and ways to address these by leveraging what can be defined as Indianness in leadership and management and offers a construct that seeks to integrate.

Now more than ever before, it is all the more imminent that we bring focus to how Indian leaders manage and support in times of change.
The molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with the destruction of terminal bronchioles in COPD
Authors: Xu Feng , Vasilescu Dragoş M. , Kinose Daisuke , Tanabe Naoya , Ng Kevin W. , Coxson Harvey O. , Cooper Joel D. , Hackett Tillie-Louise , Verleden Stijn E. , Vanaudenaerde Bart M. , Stevenson Christopher S. , Lenburg Marc E. , Spira Avrum , Tan Wan C. , Sin Don D. , Ng Raymond T. , Hogg James C.
Published: October 2021

Rationale

Peripheral airway obstruction is a key feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the mechanisms of airway loss are unknown. This study aims to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with peripheral airway obstruction in COPD.

Methods

Ten explanted lung specimens donated by patients with very severe COPD treated by lung transplantation and five unused donor control lungs were sampled using systematic uniform random sampling (SURS), resulting in 240 samples. These samples were further examined by micro-computed tomography (CT), quantitative histology and gene expression profiling.

Results

Micro-CT analysis showed that the loss of terminal bronchioles in COPD occurs in regions of microscopic emphysematous destruction with an average airspace size of ≥500 and <1000 µm, which we have termed a “hot spot”. Based on microarray gene expression profiling, the hot spot was associated with an 11-gene signature, with upregulation of pro-inflammatory genes and downregulation of inhibitory immune checkpoint genes, indicating immune response activation. Results from both quantitative histology and the bioinformatics computational tool CIBERSORT, which predicts the percentage of immune cells in tissues from transcriptomic data, showed that the hot spot regions were associated with increased infiltration of CD4 and CD8 T-cell and B-cell lymphocytes.

Interpretation

The reduction in terminal bronchioles observed in lungs from patients with COPD occurs in a hot spot of microscopic emphysema, where there is upregulation ofIFNGsignalling, co-stimulatory immune checkpoint genes and genes related to the inflammasome pathway, and increased infiltration of immune cells. These could be potential targets for therapeutic interventions in COPD.
PIC-Me: paralogs and isoforms classifier based on machine-learning approaches
Authors: Oh Jooseong , Lee Sung-Gwon , Park Chungoo
Published: October 2021

Background

Paralogs formed through gene duplication and isoforms formed through alternative splicing have been important processes for increasing protein diversity and maintaining cellular homeostasis. Despite their recognized importance and the advent of large-scale genomic and transcriptomic analyses, paradoxically, accurate annotations of all gene loci to allow the identification of paralogs and isoforms remain surprisingly incomplete. In particular, the global analysis of the transcriptome of a non-model organism for which there is no reference genome is especially challenging.

Results

To reliably discriminate between the paralogs and isoforms in RNA-seq data, we redefined the pre-existing sequence features (sequence similarity, inverse count of consecutive identical or non-identical blocks, and match-mismatch fraction) previously derived from full-length cDNAs and EST sequences and described newly discovered genomic and transcriptomic features (twilight zone of protein sequence alignment and expression level difference). In addition, the effectiveness and relevance of the proposed features were verified with two widely used support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF) models. From nine RNA-seq datasets, all AUC (area under the curve) scores of ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curves were over 0.9 in the RF model and significantly higher than those in the SVM model.

Conclusions

In this study, using an RF model with five proposed RNA-seq features, we implemented our method called Paralogs and Isoforms Classifier based on Machine-learning approaches (PIC-Me) and showed that it outperformed an existing method. Finally, we envision that our tool will be a valuable computational resource for the genomics community to help with gene annotation and will aid in comparative transcriptomics and evolutionary genomics studies, especially those on non-model organisms.
A consensus-based ensemble approach to improve transcriptome assembly
Authors: Voshall Adam , Behera Sairam , Li Xiangjun , Yu Xiao-Hong , Kapil Kushagra , Deogun Jitender S. , Shanklin John , Cahoon Edgar B. , Moriyama Etsuko N.
Published: October 2021

Background

Systems-level analyses, such as differential gene expression analysis, co-expression analysis, and metabolic pathway reconstruction, depend on the accuracy of the transcriptome. Multiple tools exist to perform transcriptome assembly from RNAseq data. However, assembling high quality transcriptomes is still not a trivial problem. This is especially the case for non-model organisms where adequate reference genomes are often not available. Different methods produce different transcriptome models and there is no easy way to determine which are more accurate. Furthermore, having alternative-splicing events exacerbates such difficult assembly problems. While benchmarking transcriptome assemblies is critical, this is also not trivial due to the general lack of true reference transcriptomes.

Results

In this study, we first provide a pipeline to generate a set of the simulated benchmark transcriptome and corresponding RNAseq data. Using the simulated benchmarking datasets, we compared the performance of various transcriptome assembly approaches including both de novo and genome-guided methods. The results showed that the assembly performance deteriorates significantly when alternative transcripts (isoforms) exist or for genome-guided methods when the reference is not available from the same genome. To improve the transcriptome assembly performance, leveraging the overlapping predictions between different assemblies, we present a new consensus-based ensemble transcriptome assembly approach, ConSemble.

Conclusions

Without using a reference genome, ConSemble using four de novo assemblers achieved an accuracy up to twice as high as any de novo assemblers we compared. When a reference genome is available, ConSemble using four genome-guided assemblies removed many incorrectly assembled contigs with minimal impact on correctly assembled contigs, achieving higher precision and accuracy than individual genome-guided methods. Furthermore, ConSemble using de novo assemblers matched or exceeded the best performing genome-guided assemblers even when the transcriptomes included isoforms. We thus demonstrated that the ConSemble consensus strategy both for de novo and genome-guided assemblers can improve transcriptome assembly. The RNAseq simulation pipeline, the benchmark transcriptome datasets, and the script to perform the ConSemble assembly are all freely available from:http://bioinfolab.unl.edu/emlab/consemble/.
Hepatocellular carcinoma in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with or without cirrhosis: a population-based study
Authors: Pinyopornpanish Kanokwan , Khoudari George , Saleh Mohannad Abou , Angkurawaranon Chaisiri , Pinyopornpanish Kanokporn , Mansoor Emad , Dasarathy Srinivasan , McCullough Arthur
Published: October 2021

Background

There are limited data regarding the factors associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients without cirrhosis. We sought to determine the prevalence and factors associated with HCC in NAFLD patients with or without cirrhosis.

Methods

Adults with NAFLD (June 2015 to May 2020) were identified using the electronic health record database (Explorys Inc, Cleveland, OH) from 26 major integrated US healthcare systems. The prevalence of HCC was calculated. Multivariable analyses adjusting for covariates were performed to evaluate the associated risk factors and the presence of HCC.

Results

A total of 392,800 NAFLD patients were identified. Among 1110 patients with HCC, 170 (15.3%) had no cirrhosis. The prevalence of HCC in non-cirrhotic and cirrhotic NAFLD patients was 4.6/10,000 persons (95% CI 3.9–5.3), and 374.4/10,000 persons (95% CI 350.9–398.8), respectively. Age > 65 years (adjusted OR; 3.37, 95% CI 2.47–4.59), ever had elevated alanine aminotransferase (2.69; 2.14–3.37), male gender (2.57; 1.88–3.49), smoker (1.75; 1.23–2.49), and diabetes (1.56; 1.15–2.11) were associated with HCC in non-cirrhotic NAFLD (all P < 0.05). The prevalence of HCC in the non-cirrhotic with all five risk factors was 45.5/10,000 persons (95% CI 17.4–73.6). The factors associated with HCC in cirrhotic NAFLD included clinical decompensation, age > 65 years, male gender, Hispanic race, elevated alanine aminotransferase, diabetes and smoker (all P < 0.05).

Conclusions

These data identified the major risk factors for the development of HCC in NAFLD patients. In the non-cirrhotics, older male patients with smoking history, diabetes and an elevated alanine aminotransferase had highest risk and may need increased judicious monitoring.
Patterns of physical activity and their relationship with depression among community-dwelling older adults in Shanghai, China: a latent class approach
Authors: Liang Yan , Li Xinghui , Yang Tingting , Li Mengying , Ruan Ye , Yang Yinghua , Huang Yanyan , Jiang Yihua , Wang Ying
Published: October 2021

Background

Few studies have explored patterns of physical activity (PA) and examined their relationship with depression among community-dwelling older adults. We aimed to identify the patterns of PA through a person-centered analytical approach and examine the association between quantity and patterns of PA, and depression among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey study in the Minhang district, Shanghai, China, in August 2019, and used a self-administered questionnaire to collect data through home visits. The total sample included 2525 older adults. This study used the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) to assess the quantity of PA in older adults. Depression was evaluated with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subpopulations by shared item response patterns. Logistic regressions were performed to estimate the relationship between PASE score, patterns of PA, and depression. An exploratory analysis of joint levels and patterns of PA effects on depression was based on sample subgroups with combinations of levels and patterns of PA. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio for combined subgroups.

Results

Four latent classes were identified: “domestic types,” “athletic types,” “gardening/caring types,” and “walkers.” PASE scores and patterns of PA both were associated with depression. Older adults who were the most active (PASE quartile: 75–100%) and the athletic types had the strongest significant association with depression (OR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.06–0.65), followed by those who were the most active (PASE quartile: 75–100%) and the walkers (OR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.14–0.57) when compared with older adults with the least activity (PASE quartile: 0–25%) and domestic types.

Conclusion

This study suggests both the quantity and patterns of physical activity are associated with depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults. Population-level intervention should encourage community-dwelling older adults to increase their quantity of PA to reduce the risk of depression. Athletics and walkers are recommended. To develop individual-level tailored interventions, more attention should be paid to older adults who are highly engaged in gardening/caring for others.
Clinical safety and efficacy of a preloaded monofocal hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lens in a real-world population
Authors: Latham Samuel Giles , Carr Francis , Ali Hala , Gangwani Vinod
Published: October 2021

Background

This study was designed to evaluate visual, refractive and safety outcomes in eyes after they underwent phacoemulsification and implantation of a preloaded monofocal hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lens.

Methods

This was a single center observational study conducted at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom. Patients were included if they had cataract extraction with in-the-bag implantation of the EyeCee® One preloaded intraocular lens from August to October 2019. Pre-operative, surgery-related and 2 weeks and 3 months post-operative data was collected. Surgeons at this trust were then asked to complete a feedback form to evaluate their experience of implanting the EyeCee® One.

Results

One hundred fifty-two eyes were included in the study. Ninety-four (62%) of these eyes had cataract but no concomitant ocular pathology that could potentially affect visual acuity. Three months post-operatively, 98.7% of all eyes had monocular CDVA ≤0.3 logMAR. 100% of the eyes without concomitant ocular pathology achieved this target. The mean CDVA of all eyes in this study improved from 0.43 ± 0.43 logMAR pre-operatively, to 0.05 ± 0.11 logMAR post-operatively (p < 0.05). The mean sphere and spherical equivalent values showed significant improvements (p < 0.05) and (p < 0.05). There were no intraoperative complications and 1.3% of patients reported complications 2 weeks post-operatively. All of the participating surgeons said they would use the EyeCee® One again with 64% providing an overall rating of ‘excellent’ for their experience of implanting this intraocular lens.

Conclusions

This study indicates excellent post-operative visual acuity and refractive outcomes in eyes after EyeCee® One implantation. This is accompanied with very little risk of intraoperative and post-operative complications.
Spatial analysis of colorectal cancer outcomes and socioeconomic factors in Virginia
Authors: Thatcher Esther J. , Camacho Fabian , Anderson Roger T. , Li Li , Cohn Wendy F. , DeGuzman Pamela B. , Porter Kathleen J. , Zoellner Jamie M.
Published: October 2021

Background

Colorectal cancer (CRC) disparities vary by country and population group, but often have spatial features. This study of the United States state of Virginia assessed CRC outcomes, and identified demographic, socioeconomic and healthcare access contributors to CRC disparities.

Methods

County- and city-level cross-sectional data for 2011–2015 CRC incidence, mortality, and mortality-incidence ratio (MIR) were analyzed for geographically determined clusters (hotspots and cold spots) and their correlates. Spatial regression examined predictors including proportion of African American (AA) residents, rural-urban status, socioeconomic (SES) index, CRC screening rate, and densities of primary care providers (PCP) and gastroenterologists. Stationarity, which assesses spatial equality, was examined with geographically weighted regression.

Results

For incidence, one CRC hotspot and two cold spots were identified, including one large hotspot for MIR in southwest Virginia. In the spatial distribution of mortality, no clusters were found. Rurality and AA population were most associated with incidence. SES index, rurality, and PCP density were associated with spatial distribution of mortality. SES index and rurality were associated with MIR. Local coefficients indicated stronger associations of predictor variables in the southwestern region.

Conclusions

Rurality, low SES, and racial distribution were important predictors of CRC incidence, mortality, and MIR. Regions with concentrations of one or more factors of disparities face additional hurdles to improving CRC outcomes. A large cluster of high MIR in southwest Virginia region requires further investigation to improve early cancer detection and support survivorship. Spatial analysis can identify high-disparity populations and be used to inform targeted cancer control programming.
Youth susceptibility to tobacco use: is it general or specific?
Authors: Cheng Hui G. , Lizhnyak Pavel N. , Knight Natasha A. , Vansickel Andrea R. , Largo Edward G.
Published: October 2021

Background

Susceptibility to tobacco use predicts tobacco use onset among youth. The current study aimed to estimate the extent of overlap in susceptibilities across various tobacco products, investigate sociopsychological correlates with susceptibilities, and examine whether the relationship linking susceptibility with the onset of use is product-specific or is accounted for by a general susceptibility-onset relationship.

Methods

The study population consisted of US youth 12–17 years old who had never used a tobacco product, sampled in the longitudinal Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study wave 4 (Dec. 2016-Jan. 2018; n = 10,977). Tobacco product-specific susceptibility at wave 4 was assessed via questions about curiosity, likelihood to try, and likelihood of use if a best friend offered. The onset of use of various tobacco products was defined as first use occurring between the wave 4 and wave 4.5 (Dec. 2017-Dec. 2018) assessments (n = 8841). Generalized linear regression and structural equation models were used for data analysis.

Results

There is a large degree of overlap in susceptibilities across tobacco products (65% of tobacco-susceptible youth were susceptible to more than one tobacco product). Tobacco-susceptible youths were more likely to have recently used cannabis, consumed alcohol, or to have been associated with tobacco-using peers. Structural equation models suggest that the susceptibility-onset relationship largely operates in a non-product-specific manner after accounting for the general susceptibility-to-tobacco-onset relationship.

Conclusions

Youth susceptibility to tobacco use overlaps widely across different tobacco products and other risky behaviors. Findings from this study support a holistic approach towards the prevention of risk behaviors, supplemented by product-specific strategies when needed.
Ramadan daily intermittent fasting reduces objectively assessed habitual physical activity among adults
Authors: Farooq Abdualziz , Chamari Karim , Sayegh Suzan , El Akoum Maha , Al-Mohannadi Abdulla Saeed
Published: October 2021

Background

Muslims around the world practice intermittent fasting during the month of Ramadan each year. We hypothesized that daily physical activity could be reduced among Muslims due to the inability to refuel and rehydrate in the fasting state.

Methods

A cohort study design among adults registered with national physical activity community program. Data from a pedometer-based community program was used to extract 3 months of daily step counts before, during, and after Ramadan for the past years (2013–2019). A survey was conducted among participants to determine fasting practice and other health and environmental factors.

Results

A total of 209 participants completed the survey and provided valid data on physical activity. During Ramadan, the average steps per day decreased significantly (− 385 ± SE 158) among participants who fasted (n = 151) p = 0.046 and increased (+ 731 ± SE 247) for the non- fasting participants (n = 58) p = 0.010. Fasting participants preferred before sunset (33.8%) or evening (39.7%) for physical activity. Whereas, non-fasting participants preferred early morning (34.5%).

Conclusion

Fasting during Ramadan impacts the daily physical activity behavior among Muslims. Interventions should focus on creating awareness of the importance of maintenance of adequate physical activity for adults fasting during Ramadan.
A RE-AIM evaluation in early adopters to iteratively improve the online BeUpstanding™ program supporting workers to sit less and move more
Authors: Healy Genevieve N. , Winkler Elisabeth A. H. , Goode Ana D.
Published: October 2021

Background

The web-based BeUpstanding program supports desk workers to sit less and move more. Successfully translated from a research-delivered intervention, BeUpstanding has gone through iterative development and evaluation phases in preparation for wide-scale implementation. In the third planned “early-adopters” phase (01/09/2017–11/06/2019), the program was made freely-available online. An integrated delivery and evaluation platform was also developed to enable workplace champions to run and evaluate the intervention within their work team independent of researcher support. Using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework, this study reports on the extent to which the program and processes were “fit-for-purpose” for a national implementation trial across the indicators of uptake (reach and adoption), implementation and engagement, and effectiveness for behaviour change.

Methods

Data were collected via the online surveys embedded in the program and through program access analytics. Descriptive data (with linearized variance for the clustered staff-level data) and results from mixed models (repeated data and clustering for pre-post changes) are reported.

Results

Despite purposeful limited promotion, uptake was good, with 182 Australian users initially registering (208 total) and 135 (from 113 organisations) then completing the sign-up process. Recruitment reached users across Australia and in 16 of 19 Australian industries. Implementation was inconsistent and limited, with signed-up users completing 0 to 14 of the program’s 14 steps and only 7 (5.2%) completing all seven core steps. Many champions (n = 69, 51.1%) had low engagement (1 day toolkit usage) and few (n = 30, 22%) were highly engaged (> 1 day toolkit usage and surveyed staff). Although only 18 users (7 organisations) performed the pre- and post-program staff evaluations (337 and 167 staff, respectively), pre-post changes showed the program effectively reduced workplace sitting by − 9.0% (95% CI -12.0, − 5.9%).

Discussion

The program had uptake across industries and across Australia, but implementation and engagement varied widely. Few workplaces completed the evaluation components. In those that did, the program was effective for the primary outcome (workplace sitting). Conducting a planned early adopters phase and a comprehensive evaluation according to RE-AIM helped highlight necessary program improvements to make it more suitable for wide-scale implementation and evaluation.

Trial registration

Australian and New Zealand Clinic Trials Registry ACTRN12617000682347. Date registered: 12/05/2017.
Comparison of thyroid function in different emotional states of drug-naïve patients with bipolar disorder
Authors: Zhao Shengnan , Zhang Xu , Zhou Yaling , Xu Hao , Li Yuwei , Chen Yuexin , Zhang Bo , Sun Xueli
Published: October 2021

Background

Previous studies have shown that bipolar disorder is closely related to thyroid dysfunction. Psychiatric drugs have a large or small effect on thyroid function, and thyroid hormone levels can also affect the effect of drug treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is assessment the thyroid function of drug-naive bipolar disorder across different mood states, with the expectation of providing support for treatment options.

Methods

The present study is a cross-sectional study. Patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder according to the International Classification of Diseases diagnostic Criteria, Edition 10 (ICD 10) and who had never received medication were included in the study. The Montgomery Depression Scale (MADRS) was used to assess depressive symptoms and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) for manic symptoms. Thyroid function indicators include thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), total triiodothyronine (TT3), free thyroxine (FT4), and total thyroxine (TT4). Levels of TSH, TT4, FT4, TT3, and FT3 were measured within 48 h of hospitalization, between 06:00 and 08:00.

Results

The data analysis finally covered the data of 291 subjects (136 in a bipolar manic group, 128 in a bipolar depressive group, and 27 in a bipolar mixed group), including 140 males and 151 females, with an average age of 27.38 ± 8.01. There was no significant difference in age, sex, marital status, work status, family history, and course of illness among the manic group, depressive group, and mixed group. The level of FT3, the rate of thyroid hormone increased secretion, and the total abnormality rate of thyroid hormone secretion in the manic group were significantly higher than those in the depressive group.

Conclusion

These findings indicate that thyroid functions were significantly different between depressive and manic episodes in BD patients. In clinical practice, it is necessary to take into account the differences in thyroid hormone levels in patients with BD across different emotional states in choosing drug.
A multicenter, prospective study to observe the initial management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer in China (DTCC study)
Authors: Ming Jie , Zhu Jing-Qiang , Zhang Hao , Sun Hui , Wang Jun , Cheng Ruo-Chuan , Xie Lei , Li Xing-Rui , Tian Wen , Huang Tao
Published: October 2021

Background

To assess the gaps between the initial management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) in real clinical practice and the recommendations of the 2012 Chinese DTC guidelines.

Methods

This multicenter, prospective study was conducted at nine tertiary hospitals across China. Eligible patients were those having intermediate or high-risk DTC after first-time thyroidectomy. During 1 year of follow-up, comprehensive medical records were collected and summarized using descriptive statistics.

Results

Of 2013 patients, 1874 (93.1%) underwent standard surgery according to the guidelines (including total lobectomy plus isthmusectomy and total/near total thyroidectomy), and 1993 (99.0%) underwent lymph node dissection; only 56 (2.8%) had postoperative complications. Overall, 982/2013 patients (48.8%) received radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy after thyroidectomy. Of all enrolled patients, 61.4% achieved the target serum thyroid-stimulating hormone level, with a median time to target of 234.0 days (95% CI: 222.0–252.0). At 1 year of follow-up, proportions of patients with excellent response, incomplete structural response, biochemical incomplete response, and indeterminate response were 34.6, 11.2, 6.6, and 47.5%, respectively; recurrence or metastasis occurred in 27 patients (1.3%). During the overall study period, 209 patients (10.4%) had at least one adverse event: 65.1% of cases were mild, 24.9% moderate, and 10.1% severe.

Conclusions

This was the first large-scale prospective study of how patients with DTC in China are treated in actual practice. Initial DTC management is generally safe and adheres to the 2012 Chinese guidelines but could be improved, and the level of guideline adherence did not produce the anticipated treatment response at 1 year of follow-up.
Translation and validation of the greek version of a questionnaire measuring patient views on participation in clinical trials
Authors: Karampatakis Dimitrios , Kakavouti-Doudos Angeliki , Oikonomidis Panagiotis , Voultsos Polychronis
Published: October 2021

Background

The increasing number of clinical research opportunities requires increasing numbers of participants in clinical trials. However, it may become increasingly problematic, as protocols have become increasingly complex. Better understanding of patients’ attitudes towards their potential participation in clinical trials is essential for developing effective clinical trial recruitment strategies. In Greece, limited research has been conducted on this topic so far. This study aims to contribute to filling this gap.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. The Greek version of a recently developed questionnaire measuring patient views on participation in clinical trials, a 27-item scale distributed into four factors, was tested. In addition, participants were asked to provide information regarding their socio-demographics. A demographic comparison was conducted.

Results

The four-factor solution derived in our study consisted of the same 27 items and it was different from the six-factor solution that Arnetz et al. proposed. The factors risks and benefits, that consisted of 5 and 3 items respectively in the six-factor solution, were merged into one factor that consisted of 10 items in the four-factor solution. The four factors produced were Risks and benefits (ten items, α = 0,867), Patient’s expectations (six items, α = 0.864), Patient’s participation (five items, α = 0.827), and Cost and convenience (five items, α = 0,770). We found that demographic factors did not impact patients’ opinions about clinical trials participation, except for gender. The participants reported as important for participating in clinical trial: receiving clear and adequate information (95,5 %) and being given the opportunity to ask questions (97,8 %), take part in discussions regarding their own treatment (94,6 %), and voice their concerns and opinions (91,1 %). As factors strongly associated with participants’ willingness to participate in a clinical trial were reported: concerns about the risks of being in a clinical trial (87,5 %), the possible side effects of clinical trials (86,3 %), the type of treatment given in a clinical trial (83,7 %), and whether participation would improve their quality of life (QoL) (81,5 %).

Conclusions

The preliminary validation of the Greek version of the questionnaire measuring patient perceptions and expectations of participating in clinical trials demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability and could be further tested in larger samples. The findings that emerged from this study are in line with previous literature.
Improving patient safety through identifying barriers to reporting medication administration errors among nurses: an integrative review
Authors: Afaya Agani , Konlan Kennedy Diema , Kim Do Hyunok
Published: October 2021

Background

The aim of the third WHO challenge released in 2017 was to attain a global commitment to lessen the severity and to prevent medication-related harm by 50% within the next five years. To achieve this goal, comprehensive identification of barriers to reporting medication errors is imperative.

Objective

This review systematically identified and examined the barriers hindering nurses from reporting medication administration errors in the hospital setting.

Design

An integrative review.

Review methods

PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) including Google scholar were searched to identify published studies on barriers to medication administration error reporting from January 2016 to December 2020. Two reviewers (AA, and KDK) independently assessed the quality of all the included studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018.

Results

Of the 10, 929 articles retrieved, 14 studies were included in this study. The main themes and subthemes identified as barriers to reporting medication administration errors after the integration of results from qualitative and quantitative studies were: organisational barriers (inadequate reporting systems, management behaviour, and unclear definition of medication error), and professional and individual barriers (fear of management/colleagues/lawsuit, individual reasons, and inadequate knowledge of errors).

Conclusion

Providing an enabling environment void of punitive measures and blame culture is imperious for nurses to report medication administration errors. Policymakers, managers, and nurses should agree on a uniform definition of what constitutes medication error to enhance nurses’ ability to report medication administration errors.
The mitochondrially-localized nucleoside diphosphate kinase D (NME4) is a novel metastasis suppressor
Authors: Lacombe Marie-Lise , Lamarche Frederic , De Wever Olivier , Padilla-Benavides Teresita , Carlson Alyssa , Khan Imran , Huna Anda , Vacher Sophie , Calmel Claire , Desbourdes Céline , Cottet-Rousselle Cécile , Hininger-Favier Isabelle , Attia Stéphane , Nawrocki-Raby Béatrice , Raingeaud Joël , Machon Christelle , Guitton Jérôme , Le Gall Morgane , Clary Guilhem , Broussard Cedric , Chafey Philippe , Thérond Patrice , Bernard David , Fontaine Eric , Tokarska-Schlattner Malgorzata , Steeg Patricia , Bièche Ivan , Schlattner Uwe , Boissan Mathieu
Published: October 2021

Background

Mitochondrial nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK-D, NME4, NM23-H4) is a multifunctional enzyme mainly localized in the intermembrane space, bound to the inner membrane.

Results

We constructed loss-of-function mutants of NDPK-D, lacking either NDP kinase activity or membrane interaction and expressed mutants or wild-type protein in cancer cells. In a complementary approach, we performed depletion of NDPK-D by RNA interference. Both loss-of-function mutations and NDPK-D depletion promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition and increased migratory and invasive potential. Immunocompromised mice developed more metastases when injected with cells expressing mutant NDPK-D as compared to wild-type. This metastatic reprogramming is a consequence of mitochondrial alterations, including fragmentation and loss of mitochondria, a metabolic switch from respiration to glycolysis, increased ROS generation, and further metabolic changes in mitochondria, all of which can trigger pro-metastatic protein expression and signaling cascades. In human cancer,NME4expression is negatively associated with markers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumor aggressiveness and a good prognosis factor for beneficial clinical outcome.

Conclusions

These data demonstrateNME4as a novel metastasis suppressor gene, the first localizing to mitochondria, pointing to a role of mitochondria in metastatic dissemination.
Changes in the gut microbiota diversity of brown frogs (Rana dybowskii) after an antibiotic bath
Authors: Tong Qing , Cui Li-Yong , Bie Jia , Han Xiao-Yun , Hu Zong-Fu , Wang Hong-Bin , Zhang Jian-Tao
Published: October 2021

Background

Captive amphibians frequently receive antibiotic baths to control bacterial diseases. The potential collateral effect of these antibiotics on the microbiota of frogs is largely unknown. To date, studies have mainly relied on oral administration to examine the effects of antibiotics on the gut microbiota; in contrast, little is known regarding the effects of bath-applied antibiotics on the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota compositions of the gentamicin, recovery, and control groups were compared by Illumina high-throughput sequencing, and the functional profiles were analysed using Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt). Furthermore, the relationship between the structure and predicted functional composition of the gut microbiota was determined.

Results

The alpha diversity indices were significantly reduced by the gentamicin bath, illustrating that this treatment significantly changed the composition of the gut microbiota. After 7 days, the gut microbiota of the recovery group was not significantly different from that of the gentamicin group. Forty-four indicator taxa were selected at the genus level, comprising 42 indicators representing the control group and 2 indicators representing the gentamicin and recovery groups. Potential pathogenic bacteria of the genera Aeromonas, Citrobacter, and Chryseobacterium were significantly depleted after the gentamicin bath. There was no significant positive association between the community composition and functional composition of the gut microbiota in the gentamicin or control frogs, indicating that the functional redundancy of the gut bacterial community was high.

Conclusions

Gentamicin significantly changed the structure of the gut microbiota of R. dybowskii, and the gut microbiota exhibited weak resilience. However, the gentamicin bath did not change the functional composition of the gut microbiota of R. dybowskii, and there was no significant correlation between the structural composition and the functional composition of the gut microbiota.
Hemin enhances the cardioprotective effects of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes against infarction via amelioration of cardiomyocyte senescence
Authors: Zheng Huifeng , Liang Xiaoting , Han Qian , Shao Zhuang , Zhang Yuxiao , Shi Linli , Hong Yimei , Li Weifeng , Mai Cong , Mo Qingwen , Fu Qingling , Ma Xiaoxue , Lin Fang , Li Mimi , Hu Bei , Li Xin , Zhang Yuelin
Published: October 2021

Background

Application of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC-EXO) has emerged as a novel therapeutic strategy for myocardial infarction (MI). Our previous study showed that pretreatment with hemin, a potent heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) inducer, enhanced the cardioprotective effects of MSCs in a mouse model of MI. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of EXO derived from hemin-pretreated MSCs (Hemin-MSC-EXO) in MI and explore the potential mechanisms.

Methods

MSC-EXO and Hemin-MSC-EXO were collected and characterized. MSC-EXO and Hemin-MSC-EXO were intramuscularly injected into the peri-infarct region in a mouse model of MI. Heart function of mice was assessed by echocardiography. The mitochondrial morphology of neonatal mice cardiomyocytes (NMCMs) under serum deprivation and hypoxic (SD/H) conditions was examined by Mitotracker staining. The cellular senescence of NMCMs was determined by senescence-associated-β-galactosidase assay. A loss-of-function approach was adopted to determine the role of Hemin-MSC-exosomal-miR-183-5p in the regulation of cardiomyocyte senescence

Results

EXO were successfully isolated from the supernatant of MSCs and Hemin-pretreated MSCs. Compared with MSC-EXO, injection of Hemin-MSC-EXO significantly improved cardiac function and reduced fibrosis. Both MSC-EXO and Hemin-MSC-EXO ameliorated cardiomyocyte senescence and mitochondrial fission in vitro and in vivo, and the latter exhibited better protective effects. MicroRNA sequencing revealed a higher level of miR-183-5p in Hemin-MSC-EXO than in MSC-EXO. MiR-183-5p knockdown partially abrogated the protective effects of Hemin-MSC-EXO in attenuating mitochondrial fission and cellular senescence of cardiomyocytes induced by SD/H. High mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) abundance was lower in Hemin-MSC-EXO-treated than MSC-EXO-treated mouse hearts, and HMGB1 was identified as one of the potential target genes of miR-183-5p. Mechanistically, Hemin-MSC-EXO inhibited SD/H-induced cardiomyocyte senescence partially by delivering miR-183-5p into recipient cardiomyocytes via regulation of the HMGB1/ERK pathway. Furthermore, knockdown of miR-183-5p reduced the Hemin-MSC-EXO-mediated cardioprotective effects in a mouse model of MI.

Conclusion

Our results reveal that Hemin-MSC-EXO are superior to MSC-EXO in treating MI. Exosomal miR-183-5p mediates, at least partially, the cardioprotective effects of Hemin-MSC-EXO by inhibiting cardiomyocyte senescence via regulation of the HMGB1/ERK pathway. This study highlights that MSC-EXO have high translational value in repairing cardiac dysfunction following infarction.

Graphic abstract
Association between spirituality/religiousness and quality of life among healthy adults: a systematic review
Authors: Borges Cezimar Correia , dos Santos Patrícia Roberta , Alves Polissandro Mortoza , Borges Renata Custódio Maciel , Lucchetti Giancarlo , Barbosa Maria Alves , Porto Celmo Celeno , Fernandes Marcos Rassi
Published: October 2021

Background

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is determined by multiple factors that include components such as spirituality and religiousness (S/R). Even though various systematic reviews have investigated the association between S/R and improved health outcomes in the most different groups, healthy young individuals are seldom addressed.

Objective

To assess the association between S/R and HRQoL among young, healthy individuals.

Methods

Systematic review of papers published in the last ten years and indexed in four academic research databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus) and two gray literature databases. Inclusion criteria were studies assessing S/R and HRQoL using validated instruments and assessing healthy adults (i.e., non-clinical patients, not belonging to any specific group of chronic diseases), aged between 18 and 64 years old.

Results

Ten out of 1,952 studies met the inclusion criteria: nine cross-sectional and one longitudinal cohort study, in which 89% of the participants were college students. Nine studies report a positive association between S/R and HRQoL, while one study did not report any significant association. The main HRQoL domains associated with S/R were the psychological, social relationships, and environment domains, while the S/R most influent facets/components were optimism, inner strength, peace, high control, hope, and happiness.

Conclusions

Higher S/R levels among healthy adult individuals were associated with higher HRQoL levels, suggesting the S/R can be an important strategy to deal with adverse environmental situations even among those without chronic diseases, enhancing the wellbeing of individuals.

Registration of systematic review: PROSPERO—CRD42018104047.