bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
White collar crime and the political thriller
Authors: Evans Lucy
Published: October 2024

White collar crime’s relatively marginal position within criminology reflects its relative invisibility in the media. This chapter explores how white collar crime associated with the tourism and construction industries, agriculture, and government is made visible in political thrillers set in the Caribbean. It shows how David Hare’s film Turks & Caicos (2014) reinforces colonial and touristic tropes of the Caribbean as a playground for the wealthy and powerful. This film is compared to D. N. Wong Ken’s novel The Runnings (2003), which deals with financial crime within Jamaica’s political and business elites, and Harischandra Khemraj’s novel Cosmic Dance (1994), which focuses on Forbes Burnham’s regime in Guyana. White collar crime is often analysed within a framework of social inequality. This chapter asserts the need to also pay attention to the racialized and gendered dimensions of power, wealth, and privilege when considering the phenomenon of white collar crime in the Caribbean.
(Post)colonial intimacies and domestic noir
Authors: Evans Lucy
Published: October 2024

This chapter focuses on domestic noir, a crime fiction subgenre concerned with gender-based violence. Set in Trinidad in the mid- to late twentieth century, Elizabeth Nunez’s Bruised Hibiscus (2000) juxtaposes the narratives of two protagonists navigating toxic marital relationships. Set mainly in 1980s Barbados, Jones’s How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House (2021) depicts a young woman’s turbulent marriage and features other characters involved in sex tourism work. These novels connect the dynamics of gender-based violence both to family histories of abuse and to longer histories of colonialism, slavery, and indenture. Critics have drawn attention to domestic noir’s feminist reworking of classic noir. This chapter shows how Nunez’s and Jones’s novels extend the reach of a genre that has focused mainly on suburban spaces of whiteness and socioeconomic privilege. It also considers how their fiction speaks to scholarly and activist debate on gender-based violence and its prevalence in the Caribbean.
The Transnational Fantastic
Authors: Chu Jinyi
Published: October 2024

This chapter explores the literary fantastic as a location of the Russian modernist endeavor to transcend the national boundaries of emotions and aesthetics, focusing on Aleksei Remizov’s adaptation of the early modern Chinese writer Pu Songling’s fantastic tale of heart and skull transplants. Since Remizov’s source has till now never been identified, the chapter begins by reconstructing how Remizov found the Chinese story. Then, drawing on conceptions of the fantastic by Dostoevsky, Soloviev, Todorov, and Lu Xun, the chapter shows that even as Remizov removed all the Chinese elements in Pu Songling’s “Judge Lu” and set his adaptation, “The Kind Guard,” in modern Petersburg, the Russian writer kept the fantastic—the reader’s hesitation to accept the probability of the plot—intact in the story’s transnational journey. Unlike the meta-exoticists who celebrated the aesthetics of diversity, Remizov tried to imagine the unity of the experiential worlds of Europeans, Russians, and Chinese under newly globalized cultural, political, and economic conditions.
Hybrid Goods
Authors: Wall Steven , Sobel David
Published: October 2024

Hybrid goods include both an objective and a subjective component. On the account of hybrid goods presented in this chapter, a component of well-being is subjective if and only if its value is determined by warrantless favoring attitudes. A component of well-being is objective if either it is valuable for one irrespective of one’s favoring attitudes toward it or, while a normative role for one’s attitudes in grounding prudential value is allowed, this role is restricted to attitudes that are appropriately responsive to the goodness of their object. Hybrid goods so understood have not been subjected to much analysis. This chapter aims to show how understanding them brings into view complexities in how the attitudes of persons affect the value of the goods in their lives, casts light on certain substantive prudential goods such as friendship, and illuminates the nature of rational choice between incommensurably good options.
Value in the Mere Shape of Episodes
Authors: Glasgow Joshua
Published: October 2024

Many think that, in addition to what happens to us in any given moment, our overall well-being can also be affected by what happens to us across individual moments. One explanation of this phenomenon is that things simply getting better for us is good for us, while things getting worse for us is itself bad for us. While this view has received earlier defenses, it has also received a series of criticisms over roughly the last decade. This chapter responds to those critiques in defense of the view that the “mere shape” of a life or other episode has value or disvalue for us. Topics discussed include how to make room for narrative and hedonic value on such a picture; whether to locate the value of the overall episode in one particular moment or holistically; which episodes of this sort are relevant for lifetime well-being; and how this view is compatible with temporally neutrality.
Early Scholastic Christology 1050-1250
Authors: Cross Richard
Published: October 2024

This book traces developments in Christology—specifically the metaphysics of the union of divine and human natures in one person—from 1050 (the age of Anselm of Canterbury) to 1250 (the age of Albert the Great). During the first part of the period, the key issue is the conflict between Augustine’s homo assumptus (assumed man) Christology, defended by the Victorines, and that of Boethius’s Chalcedonian Christology, defended by Gilbert of Poitiers (sometimes known as the ‘subsistence’ theory). By 1180, the latter was almost universally accepted. A third view, apparently accepted by Peter Lombard, among others, according to which it is not true that Christ as man is something—the non-aliquid Christology—was condemned in 1177. The second part of the book traces the way in which theologians attempted to develop the presentation of Conciliar Christology by working out inchoate solutions to some of the metaphysical questions that the issue raises: what is the nature of the hypostatic union between the two natures or the human nature and the divine person—is it something created or uncreated? And, given that the human nature is a particular substance, what prevents it from being a person? Theologians used insights from both of the rejected theories (the homo assumptus Christology and the non-aliquid Christology) in attempting to answer these issues. The early thirteenth century saw the founding of the universities of Paris and Oxford and the founding of the Franciscan and Dominican orders. The book explores their impact on the formation of Christological teaching.
University theology in early thirteenth-century Paris
Authors: Cross Richard
Published: October 2024

The early thirteenth century saw the continuation of attempts to refine the subsistence theory, providing further theoretical development and extension. It also saw the founding of the Franciscan and Dominican orders, which quickly attracted the ablest minds of the period. This chapter examines the Christologies of two secular masters (William of Auxerre and Philip the Chancellor), one Franciscan (Alexander of Hales), and two Dominicans (Roland of Cremona and Hugh of St Cher), all active at Paris during the 1120s and 1130s. All of these thinkers suppose that for a created substantial nature to subsist is for it to lack union with the divine person. Alexander makes the terminologically odd choice of supposing that the particularity of the human nature means that, even though it does not count as a person, it nevertheless counts as a hypostasis. William adapts from the non-aliquid theory the claim that the human nature is something like an accident of the Word (though not literally so). Beyond that, he avers that the union is simply mysterious. Alexander claims that the union is to be identified with the divine person, itself tying the two natures: indeed, it is specifically the personal property or personal esse that the human nature comes to possess. Roland of Cremona seems to hold, contrariwise, that the union is some kind of created relation. Finally, Hugh of St Cher holds that neither union nor subsistence is anything positive at all.
Exponentially Distorted Subgroups in Wreath Products
Authors: Riley T R
Published: October 2024

We exhibit exponentially distorted subgroups in $\mathbb{Z} \wr ( \mathbb{Z} \wr \mathbb{Z} )$ and $\mathbb{Z} \wr F_2$.
Implementing a Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injury Prevention Bundle in Critical Care
Authors: Jackson Robin R. , Thomas Donna , Winter Kimberly , Gordon Julia , Green Patricia M. , Lemaster Sarah , Fox Jenny R. , Wright Dejon M. , Bettencourt Amanda P. , McLaughlin Maureen Kirkpatrick , Russell-Babin Kathleen
Published: October 2024

The emerging field of implementation science (IS) facilitates the sustainment of evidence-based practice in clinical care. This article, the third in a series on applying IS, describes how a nurse-led team at a multisite health system used IS concepts, methods, and tools to implement a hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI) prevention bundle on six critical care units, with the aim of decreasing HAPI incidence.
Reduced Risk of Second Cancer After Bilateral Mastectomy but No Difference in Mortality
Authors: Rosenberg Karen
Published: October 2024

According to this study:
Oral Antibiotics Associated with Increased Risk of Serious Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions
Authors: Rosenberg Karen
Published: October 2024

According to this study:
A Nursing Student's Gift of a Kidney
Authors: Crist Janice D.
Published: October 2024

An academic nurse learns kidney care firsthand.
Cost-reduction Analysis of Percutaneous Pinning of Hand Fractures in an Outpatient Clinic
Authors: Chartier Annabelle , Arpin Ashley , Gervais Valérie , Haddad Jacques
Published: October 2024

Background:

The University of Sherbrooke's Hospital Center operating room has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting surgeons to seek alternative ways to treat acute injuries requiring surgery. In the spring of 2020, we began performing percutaneous pinning of hand fractures in our outpatient clinic. We aimed to estimate the savings in 2021 by transferring these procedures from the operating room to the outpatient clinic.

Methods:

We identified all patients with hand injuries who received percutaneous pinning in 2021 using billing codes. Only patients treated in the outpatient clinic were included. We estimated the cost of hand fracture fixation in the operating room by considering the anesthesiologist's fee, the hospital's hourly rate for a 1-hour surgery (including a respiratory therapist, 2 nurses, and equipment) and salary bonuses for unfavorable hours, subtracting the cost difference of outpatient equipment.

Results:

We identified 114 patients treated with percutaneous pinning, of whom 93 were included in our study. Our calculations showed a total cost reduction of CAD $55,789 in 2021.

Conclusions:

Percutaneous pinning of hand fractures in an outpatient setting resulted in a yearly cost reduction of more than CAD $55,000. Investing in ambulatory care for hand fracture management benefits both patients and institutions.
Precision-cut liver slices as an ex vivo model to evaluate antifibrotic therapies for liver fibrosis and cirrhosis
Authors: Wang Yongtao , Leaker Ben , Qiao Guoliang , Sojoodi Mozhdeh , Eissa Ibrahim Ragab , Epstein Eliana T. , Eddy Jonathan , Dimowo Oizoshimoshiofu , Lauer Georg M. , Qadan Motaz , Lanuti Michael , Chung Raymond T. , Fuchs Bryan C. , Tanabe Kenneth K.
Published: October 2024

Background:

Considering the lack of successful treatment options and poor prognosis for cirrhosis and cirrhosis-induced HCC, new platforms to investigate antifibrotic therapies are urgently needed. Precision-cut liver slice (PCLS) is a powerful ex vivo culture model that can supplement and potentially replace the traditional models.

Methods:

PCLS were prepared from 4 different murine cirrhotic models (choline-deficient, l-amino acid–defined, high-fat diet, thioacetamide, diethylnitrosamine, and carbon tetrachloride) and compared with in vivo murine experiments, in vitro hepatic stellate cells, and human cirrhotic PCLS.

Results:

PCLS viability in culture was stable for 72 hours. Treatment of erlotinib, an EGF receptor inhibitor, significantly inhibited profibrogenic gene expressions in PCLS from choline-deficient, l-amino acid–defined, high-fat diet or thioacetamide-induced cirrhotic rats. Erlotinib treatment of PCLS from diethylnitrosamine or carbon tetrachloride–induced cirrhotic rats inhibited the expression of profibrogenic genes, which was consistent with the impact of erlotinib on these genes in in vivo diethylnitrosamine or carbon tetrachloride–induced cirrhosis. In addition, in hepatic stellate cells at PCLS from normal mice, erlotinib treatment inhibited TGF-β1–upregulated expression of Acta2. Similar expression results were observed in in vitro hepatic stellate cells. Expression of key regulators of fibrosis progression and regression were also significantly altered. Changes in profibrogenic gene expression under erlotinib treatment were also corroborated with human cirrhotic PCLS.

Conclusions:

Responses to antifibrotic interventions can be detected and quantified with PCLS at the gene expression level. The antifibrotic effects of erlotinib are consistent between PCLS models of murine cirrhosis and those observed in vivo and in vitro. These results were verified in human cirrhotic PCLS. PCLS is an excellent model for assessing antifibrotic therapies that are aligned with the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement (3Rs), and it will benefit preclinical and clinical research for human fibrosis and cirrhosis.
Prospective associations of genetic susceptibility to high blood pressure and muscle strength with incident cardiovascular disease outcomes
Authors: Wang Mengyao , Collings Paul James , Jang Haeyoon , Chen Ziyuan , Luo Shan , Au Yeung Shiu Lun , Sharp Stephen J. , Brage Soren , Kim Youngwon
Published: October 2024

Background:

This study explored the prospective associations of genetic susceptibility to high blood pressure (BP) and muscle strength with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and incident stroke.

Methods:

This study included 349 085 white British individuals from the UK Biobank study. Genetic risk of high BP was estimated using a weighted polygenic risk score that incorporated 136 and 135 nonoverlapping single-nucleotide polymorphisms for systolic BP and diastolic BP, respectively. Muscle strength was assessed using a hand dynamometer and expressed relative to fat-free mass. Sex- and age-specific tertiles were used to classify muscle strength into three categories. Cox regressions with age as the underlying timescale were fit for CVD mortality (n = 8275), incident CHD (n = 14 503), and stroke (n = 7518).

Results:

Compared with the lowest genetic risk of high BP (bottom 20%), the highest (top 20%) had greater hazards of each outcome. Low muscle strength was associated with higher hazards of CVD mortality [hazard ratio (HR): 1.51, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.43–1.59], incident CHD (HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.11–1.21), and stroke (HR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.14–1.27), independently of confounders and genetic predisposition to high BP, compared with high muscle strength. Joint analyses revealed that the estimated 10-year absolute risks of each outcome were lower for high muscle strength combined with high genetic risk, compared with low muscle strength combined with low or medium genetic risk.

Conclusion:

Individuals who are genetically predisposed to high BP but have high muscle strength could have lower risk of major CVD events, compared with those who have low or medium genetic risk but low muscle strength.
Effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists on blood pressure in overweight or obese patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Wong Hon Jen , Toh Keith Zhi Xian , Teo Yao Hao , Teo Yao Neng , Chan Mark Y. , Yeo Leonard L.L. , Eng Pei Chia , Tan Benjamin Y.Q. , Zhou Xin , Yang Qing , Dalakoti Mayank , Sia Ching-Hui
Published: October 2024

Introduction:

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists are novel medications with proven efficacy in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus, and are increasingly being used for weight loss. They may potentially have benefit in treating metabolic disorders; however, evidence is sparse with regards to treating high blood pressure (BP). We performed a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression investigating the efficacy of GLP-1 RAs in lowering BP in obese or overweight patients.

Methods:

Three electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL) were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published from inception to 13 February 2024. Pair-wise meta-analysis and random effects meta-regression models were utilized. Fixed effects meta-analysis was used to unify treatment effects across different GLP-1 RA doses.

Results:

We included a total of 30 RCTs with a combined population of 37 072 patients. GLP-1 RAs demonstrated a mean systolic BP (SBP) reduction of −3.37 mmHg [95% confidence interval (CI) −3.95 to −2.80] and a mean diastolic BP (DBP) reduction of −1.05 mmHg (95% CI −1.46 to −0.65) compared with placebo. This effect was consistent across subgroups for diabetic status, formulation of GLP-1 RA, follow-up duration and route of administration for both SBP and DBP, with the exception of subgroups investigating exenatide. Meta-regression suggested no significant correlation between BP reduction and baseline characteristics such as age, percentage of male patients, HbA1c, weight, BMI, and percentage of patients with hypertension.

Conclusion:

Our meta-analysis suggests significant BP reduction benefits from GLP-1 RA use in obese or overweight patients, consistent across diabetic status, duration of treatment, and across route of administration.
Association between early menarche and hypertension in pre and postmenopausal women: Baependi Heart Study
Authors: Martinho Liana Carla Albuquerque Peres , Zaniqueli Divanei , Andreazzi Ana Eliza , Oliveira Camila Maciel de , Pereira Alexandre Costa , Alvim Rafael de Oliveira
Published: October 2024

Background:

Early menarche has been associated with an increased risk of arterial hypertension. Whether the association between early menarche and hypertension is independent of menopausal status is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association between early menarche and hypertension in pre and postmenopausal women.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 1406 women aged 18–100. Age at menarche, menopause status, hemodynamic, anthropometric, and biochemical data were collected by using standard protocols. Menarche <12 years was defined as early menarche. Systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic ≥90 mmHg and/or intake of antihypertensive medication, were used as criteria for hypertension.

Results:

In total, 21.3% of women had early menarche (<12 years), and the frequency of hypertension was 38.7%. Premenopausal women with early menarche had a 58% higher chance of developing hypertension, even after adjusting for age, obesity, and smoking [odds ratio (OR) 1.58; (95% confidence interval, CI 1.016–2.461)]. In postmenopausal women, age, obesity, and diabetes mellitus were predictors of hypertension, while early menarche was not.

Conclusion:

The odds of hypertension were higher with early menarche, but only in women of reproductive age. In postmenopausal women, the physiological changes inherent to aging and the presence of more comorbidities, such as diabetes, might overlap the influence of early menarche on hypertension.
Lived and care experiences of young people with chronic musculoskeletal pain and mental health conditions. A systematic review with qualitative evidence synthesis
Authors: Klem Nardia-Rose , Slater Helen , Rowbotham Samantha , Chua Jason , Waller Robert , Stinson Jennifer N. , Romero Lorena , Lord Susan M. , Tory Breanna , Schütze Robert , Briggs Andrew M.
Published: October 2024

Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) and coexisting mental health conditions impact young people; however, little is known about their lived and care experiences. In a prospectively registered systematic review with qualitative evidence synthesis (PROSPERO: CRD42022369914), we explored the following: (1) lived physical, psychological, and social experiences; and (2) care experiences/preferences of young people living with CMP and mental health conditions. Inclusion criteria: studies using qualitative methods; participants aged 16 to 24 years with CMP and coexisting mental health condition(s); phenomenon explored included lived and/or care experiences. Seven databases were searched (inception to 19-May-2024), study quality was assessed, data were extracted and analysed thematically, and GRADE-CERQual was used to assess confidence in findings. Twenty-two studies (23 reports) were included (>239 participants, 82% women). Lived experiences yielded 4 themes (9 findings): 2-way relationship between CMP and mental health (2 findings, low to moderate confidence); psychosocial implications of CMP (3 findings, very low-moderate confidence); uncertainty about future (2 findings, low-moderate confidence); coping with CMP and mental health conditions (2 findings, low-moderate confidence). Care experiences/preferences yielded 3 themes (8 findings): navigating healthcare systems (2 findings, moderate confidence); receiving appropriate care (3 findings, very low-moderate confidence); point-of-care experiences and care preferences (3 findings, very low-moderate confidence). Chronic musculoskeletal pain and mental health conditions are interconnected, significantly impacting young people's lives, identities, and socialisation, yet services for CMP and mental health are often inadequate and poorly integrated. The mechanisms and interplay of CMP and mental health require deeper exploration, including how young people may be better supported with personalised, holistic, developmentally and/or life-stage-appropriate integrated care.
The Periarticular Pelvic Clamp: An Indispensable Aid to Assist in the Narrowing of Facial Width in Mandibular Trauma
Authors: Atte Antonio , Wong Patrick , Tiwana Paul
Published: October 2024

Symphyseal fractures of the mandible with concomitant bilateral condylar fractures can often be a particularly challenging fracture pattern for the facial surgeon. Improper reduction of these fractures may lead to facial widening that proves difficult to correct secondarily. Here the authors describe a method to prevent this unwanted facial widening with the use of an orthopedic periarticular reduction clamp. This method allows for not only increased ease of reduction but also reduces the burden of assistance in manual reduction of the fracture.
Evaluation of Surgical Outcomes and Patient-reported Outcomes of Eyebrow Defect Repair with “Kite Flap”
Authors: Wang Weihao , Meng Tong
Published: October 2024

There is no consensus on the surgical options for repairing mild-to-moderate eyebrow defects due to burns, trauma, and skin tumors, and the outcome of the surgery is unclear. In this study, the authors evaluated the surgical outcomes and patient-reported outcomes of eyebrow defect repair with the “kite flap” in a cross-sectional study. Case data and imaging data of twelve patients with eyebrow defects undergoing repair from July 2018 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, and the surgical outcomes were statistically analyzed by the Face-Q subjective evaluation scale and the surgical objective evaluation scale. In the postoperative objective evaluation, 66.67% of the patients were “very satisfied,” and the scores of the Face-Q scale for the assessment of appearance and psychosocial function were significantly improved compared with those of the preoperative period, with a statistically significant difference in the data changes (P<0.05). The study showed that the “kite flap” is an excellent surgical method for repairing mild-to-moderate defects of the eyebrow, and it can meet the requirements of both function and appearance after surgery.
The fallacy of a roadmap computed tomography after an abdominal gunshot wound: A road that leads to nowhere
Authors: Vasquez Matthew , Dhillon Navpreet K. , Feliciano David V. , Scalea Thomas M.
Published: October 2024

BACKGROUND

The 2019 Western Trauma Association guidelines recommend an abdominopelvic computed tomography (CTAP) in patients with a question of abdominal penetration after a gunshot wound. However, it is common practice to obtain a CTAP to provide a roadmap for an operation or to potentially alter management even in patients with classic indications for a laparotomy. The hypothesis for this study was that a CTAP for preoperative planning has no value in patients with an abdominal gunshot wound.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study from 2017 to 2022 of patients with an abdominal gunshot wound who had a preoperative CTAP. Data collection included clinical characteristics and CTAP and operative findings. Admission hypotension, abdominal pain and/or peritonitis, evisceration, and a transabdominal trajectory were considered clear indications for laparotomy. Computed tomography and operative findings were compared to determine concordance and if computed tomography altered management.

RESULTS

There were 149 patients included in the study, of which 72.5% had a clear indication for laparotomy. The CTAP findings were concordant with operative findings in 57.0% of patients, while additional injuries were found at laparotomy in 36.2% of patients. Based on CTAP, a negative diagnostic angiogram was performed in three patients (2.0%). Three patients (2.0%) underwent a trial of nonoperative management based on CTAP findings. All underwent laparotomy after a clinical change. Six patients (4.0%) had a nontherapeutic operation; all patients had findings suspicious for either a hollow viscous injury or a vascular injury on preoperative imaging.

CONCLUSION

While a CTAP scan may help to define an intra-abdominal trajectory when the trajectory is unclear, it does not alter management in those with indications for operation. In addition, CTAP missed injuries in a third of patients and contributed to all six nontherapeutic laparotomies. A preoperative CTAP has minimal value in patients who have indications for an operation.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Diagnostic Test/Criteria; Level IV.
Bifidobacterium fermentum sp. nov. and Bifidobacterium aquikefiricola sp. nov., isolated from water kefir
Authors: Breselge Samuel , Bellassi Paolo , Barcenilla Coral , Álvarez-Ordóñez Avelino , Morelli Lorenzo , Cotter Paul D.
Published: October 2024

Four strains, representing two novel Bifidobacterium species, were isolated from water kefir, a fermented beverage. 16S rRNA gene analysis suggested that the novel species share high identities (98.82–98.89%) with Bifidobacterium aquikefiri LMG 28769T. Complete genomes were assembled with a short- and long-read hybrid sequencing approach. In agreement with the 16S rRNA gene analysis, phylogenetics with 117 marker genes places the novel species closest to B. aquikefiri LMG 28769T as well. The isolates have average nucleotide identity (ANI) scores ranging from 81.46 to 84.84% and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) scores from 23.9 to 38.5% with the closest related species, as well as ANI scores between the proposed new species of 80.50%, indicating that the isolates represent two novel species. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight chemotaxonomic analysis supported the gene-based taxonomic placement. We propose the names Bifidobacterium fermentum sp. nov. and Bifidobacterium aquikefiricola sp. nov. for these novel species within the Bifidobacterium genus. The proposed type strain B. fermentum WK012_4_13T (= LMG 33104T = DSM 116073T; GenBank accession number GCF_041080835.1) has a genome size of 2.43 Mbp, with a G+C content of 56.00 mol%. The proposed type strain for B. aquikefiricola WK041_4_12T (= LMG 33105T = DSM 116074T; GenBank accession number GCF_041080795.1) has a genome size of 2.36 Mbp and a G+C content of 53.94 mol%. B. fermentum cells are Gram-positive staining, non-motile, non-spore-forming, fructose-6-phosphate phosphoketolase (F6PPK)-positive, catalase- and oxidase-negative and bacillary club shaped. B. aquikefiricola cells are Gram-positive staining, non-motile, non-spore-forming, F6PPK-positive, catalase- and oxidase-negative and square rod shaped.
Xenosiderophore transporter gene expression and clade-specific filamentation inCandida auriskillifish infection
Authors: Gifford Hugh , Bedekovic Tina , Helmstetter Nicolas , Gregory Jack , Ma Qinxi , Brand Alexandra C. , Wilson Duncan , Rhodes Johanna , Ramsdale Mark , Kudoh Tetsuhiro , Farrer Rhys A.
Published: October 2024

Candida aurisis a World Health Organization (WHO) critical priority fungal pathogen. An associated mortality of ∼45%, rising drug resistance and massive nosocomial outbreaks complicate clinical treatment. A critical bottleneck in understanding virulence is the lack of gene expression profiling models duringin vivohost tissue infection. We developed a thermo-relevant fish embryo yolk-sac (Aphanius dispar; Arabian killifish; AK) microinjection model at human body temperature featuring clinically relevant features of host immunity. This allowed us to interrogate infection dynamics through dual host-pathogen RNA-seq at 24 and 48 h post injection (HPI) at 37 °C across five major clades (I-V) ofC. auris. Host responses to infection featured heat shock, complement activation, and nutritional immunity, including haem oxygenase (HMOX) expression in response to clade IV infection. We identified anin vivotranscriptional signature across five clades ofC. auristhat was highly enriched for putative xenosiderophore transmembrane transporters. We describe this newly-discovered seventeen-member xenosiderophore transporter candidate (XTC) family in terms of individual gene expression patterns, and a sub-clade of five putative haem transport-related (HTR) genes. Only the basal clade V isolate formed filaments during infection, coinciding with typical and atypical regulators of morphogenesis, includingUME6,HGC1, and the novel adhesinSCF1. Clades I and IV demonstrated increased virulence, coinciding with up-regulation of threeHTRgenes in clade IV, and the mating-type locus (MTL) non-mating genePIKAin both. Our study provides critical insights into the pathogenesis of C. auris, including species-wide up-regulation ofXTCandHTRgenes during clinically relevantin vivohost tissue infection.

Significance statement

Candida aurisis an emerging human fungal pathogen and global public health threat, butin vivotissue infection transcriptome analysis has not been achieved with available models. We infected Arabian killifish yolk-sacs to study gene expression programmes by five clades ofC. auris. We discovered that the basal clade V uniquely filamented during infection. Additionally, all clades encode a large expanded family of xenosiderophore transporters that are upregulated during infection. These results highlight the important roles for morphology switching and iron acquisition during infection, both of which shed light on its mechanisms of infection and could make novel drug targets.
Intensity-specific leisure time-physical activity and all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in 3.36 million adults from 17 countries: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and individual participant data pooled analysis
Authors: Ahmadi Matthew N , Ferrari Gerson , Rezende Leandro , Mielke Gregore , Brady Ruth , Paudel Susan , Ma Tze Rui , Ku Po-Wen , Biswas Raaj Kishore , Koemel Nicholas A , Stamatakis Emmanuel
Published: October 2024

Background: Studies examining the associations of intensity-specific leisure time physical activity duration with all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality are scarce and no quantitative or dose-response meta-analysis has been published. Objective: We examined the associations of moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous leisure time physical activity duration with all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality, using aggregate and individual participant data. Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of both published and unpublished cohort studies that included data on intensity-specific leisure time physical activity. Hazard ratios (HR) were calculated by comparing high versus low levels of physical activity. We also harmonized and pooled individual participant data from unpublished large cohorts to assess dose-response associations with the same three mortality outcomes, as retrieved from National Death Registries. Results: A total of 3.36 million participants across 25 cohorts and 17 countries, corresponding to 247,463 all-cause, 70,204 CVD, and 76,294 cancer deaths were included in our aggregate meta-analysis. Compared to low physical activity, the association of high moderate intensity leisure time physical activity with mortality ranged from an HR of 0.84 (95% CI= 0.79, 0.89) for all-cause mortality to 0.90 (0.86, 0.95) for cancer mortality; and vigorous intensity from 0.86 (0.79, 0.93) for all-cause mortality to 0.88 (0.83, 0.91) for cancer mortality. Our pooled individual participant data analysis included 967,184 participants with an average follow-up time of 12.2 (SD= 4.7) years and 60,206 all-cause, 11,525 CVD, and 23,740 cancer deaths. The dose-response analysis showed a general L-shaped association across each outcome. For all-cause mortality, compared to the reference group with no leisure time activity, the minimal and optimal doses of vigorous intensity were 60 mins/week (0.86 [0.84, 0.89]) and 200 mins/week (0.69 [0.67, 0.71]), respectively. For moderate intensity, the corresponding doses were 100 mins/week (0.88 [0.86, 0.90]) and 340 mins/week (0.77 [0.75, 0.79]). Conclusions: Our meta-analysis shows distinct differential associations of moderate and vigorous physical activity with all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality risk. Improvements in leisure time physical activity approximately equivalent to 60 mins/week of vigorous or 100 mins/week of moderate activity, may be linked with measurable health benefits. Our findings, synthesized uniquely through aggregated and pooled individual participant meta-analyses offer novel evidence to guide decisions on contents of leisure time physical activity focused interventions and preventive guidelines.
Prediction of pharmacist medication interventions using medication regimen complexity
Authors: Zhao Bokai , Shen Ye , Devlin John W. , Murphy David J. , Smith Susan E. , Murray Brian , Rowe Sandra , Sikora Andrea
Published: October 2024

Background

Critically ill patients are managed with complex medication regimens that require medication management to optimize safety and efficacy. When performed by a critical care pharmacist (CCP), discrete medication management activities are termed medication interventions. The ability to define CCP workflow and intervention timeliness depends on the ability to predict the medication management needs of individual intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The purpose of this study was to develop prediction models for the number and intensity of medication interventions in critically ill patients.

Methods

This was a retrospective, observational cohort study of adult patients admitted to an ICU between June 1, 2020 and June 7, 2023. Models to predict number of pharmacist interventions using both patient and medication related predictor variables collected at either baseline or in the first 24 hours of ICU stay were created. Both regression and supervised machine learning models (Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, XGBoost) were developed. Root mean square derivation (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and symmetric mean absolute percentage error (sMAPE) were calculated.

Results

In a cohort of 13,373 patients, the average number of interventions was 4.7 (standard deviation (SD) 7.1) and intervention intensity was 24.0 (40.3). Among the ML models, the Random Forest model had the lowest RMSE (9.26) while Support Vector Machine had the lowest MAE (4.71). All machine learning models performed similarly to the stepwise logistic regression model, and these performed better than a base model combining severity of illness with medication regimen complexity scores.

Conclusions

Intervention quantity can be predicted using patient-specific factors. While inter-institutional variation in intervention documentation precludes external validation, our results provide a framework workload modeling at any institution.
Type 2 diabetes remodels collateral circulation and promotes leukocyte adhesion following ischemic stroke
Authors: Sato Yoshimichi , Li Yuandong , Kato Yuya , Kanoke Atsushi , Sun Jennifer Y , Nishijima Yasuo , Wang Ruikang K. , Stryker Michael , Endo Hidenori , Liu Jialing
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with impaired leptomeningeal collateral compensation and poor stroke outcome. Neutrophils tethering and rolling on endothelium after stroke can also independently reduce flow velocity. However, the chronology and topological changes in collateral circulation in T2DM is not yet defined. Here, we describe the spatial and temporal blood flow dynamics and vessel remodeling in pial arteries and veins and leukocyte- endothelial adhesion following middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke using two-photon microscopy in awake control and T2DM mice. Relative to control mice prior to stroke, T2DM mice already exhibited smaller pial vessels with reduced flow velocity. Following stroke, T2DM mice displayed persistently reduced blood flow in pial arteries and veins, resulting in a poor recovery of downstream penetrating arterial flow and a sustained deficit in microvascular flow. There was also persistent increase of leukocyte adhesion to the endothelium of veins, coincided with elevated neutrophils infiltration into brain parenchyma in T2DM mice compared to control mice after stroke. Our data suggest that T2DM-induced increase in chronic inflammation may contribute to the remodeling of leptomeningeal collateral circulation and the observed hemodynamics deficiency that potentiates poor stroke outcome.

Highlights

Blood flow and leukocyte imaging in awake mice by two-photon microscopy before and after stroke under physiological conditions

T2DM induces collateral remodeling prior to stroke

T2DM reduces blood flow and impedes recovery in pial arteries and veins after ischemic stroke

Poor recovery of penetrating arterial flow and sustained deficit in microvascular flow after ischemic stroke in T2DM mice

T2DM increases persistent leukocyte adhesion to endothelium of veins and elevates neutrophils infiltration into the brain parenchyma after ischemic stroke.
The computational bottleneck of basal ganglia output (and what to do about it)
Authors: Humphries Mark D.
Published: October 2024

What the basal ganglia do is an oft-asked question; answers range from the selection of actions to the specification of movement to the estimation of time. Here I argue thathowthe basal ganglia do what they do is a less-asked but equally important question. I show that the output regions of the basal ganglia create a stringent computational bottleneck, both structurally, because they have far fewer neurons than do their target regions, and dynamically, because of their tonic, inhibitory output. My proposed solution to this bottleneck is that the activity of an output neuron is setting the weight of a basis function, a function defined by that neuron’s synaptic contacts. I illustrate how this may work in practice, allowing basal ganglia output to shift cortical dynamics and control eye movements via the superior colliculus. This solution can account for troubling issues in our understanding of the basal ganglia: why we see output neurons increasing their activity during behaviour, rather than only decreasing as predicted by theories based on disinhibition, and why the output of the basal ganglia seems to have so many codes squashed into such a tiny region of the brain.

Significance statement

The basal ganglia are implicated in an extraordinary range of functions, from action selection to timing, and dysfunctions, from Parkinson’s disease to obsessive compulsive disorder. Yet however the basal ganglia cause these functions and dysfunctions they must do so through a group of neurons that are dwarfed in number by both their inputs and their output targets. Here I lay out this bottleneck problem for basal ganglia computation, and propose a solution to how their outputs can control their many targets. That solution rethinks the output connections of the basal ganglia as a set of basis functions. In doing so, it provides explanations for previously troubling data on basal ganglia output, and strong predictions for how that output controls its targets.
Green upgrading of SPring-8 to produce stable, ultrabrilliant hard X-ray beams
Authors: Tanaka Hitoshi , Watanabe Takahiro , Abe Toshinori , Azumi Noriyoshi , Aoki Tsuyoshi , Dewa Hideki , Fujita Takahiro , Fukami Kenji , Fukui Toru , Hara Toru , Hiraiwa Toshihiko , Imamura Kei , Inagaki Takahiro , Iwai Eito , Kagamihata Akihiro , Kawase Morihiro , Kida Yuichiro , Kondo Chikara , Maesaka Hirokazu , Magome Tamotsu , Masaki Mitsuhiro , Masuda Takemasa , Matsubara Shinichi , Matsui Sakuo , Ohshima Takashi , Oishi Masaya , Seike Takamitsu , Shoji Masazumi , Soutome Kouichi , Sugimoto Takashi , Suzuki Shinji , Tajima Minori , Takano Shiro , Tamura Kazuhiro , Tanaka Takashi , Taniuchi Tsutomu , Taniuchi Yukiko , Togawa Kazuaki , Tomai Takato , Ueda Yosuke , Yamaguchi Hiroshi , Yabashi Makina , Ishikawa Tetsuya
Published: October 2024

SPring-8-II is a major upgrade project of SPring-8 that was inaugurated in October 1997 as a third-generation synchrotron radiation light source. This upgrade project aims to achieve three goals simultaneously: achievement of excellent light source performance, refurbishment of aged systems, and significant reduction in power consumption for the entire facility. A small emittance of 50 pm rad will be achieved by (1) replacing the existing double-bend lattice structure with a five-bend achromat one, (2) lowering the stored beam energy from 8 to 6 GeV, (3) increasing the horizontal damping partition number from 1 to 1.3, and (4) enhancing horizontal radiation damping by installing damping wigglers in long straight sections. The use of short-period in-vacuum undulators allows ultrabrilliant X-rays to be provided while keeping a high-energy spectral range even at the reduced electron-beam energy of 6 GeV. To reduce power consumption, the dedicated, aged injector system has been shut down and the high-performance linear accelerator of SACLA, a compact X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facility, is used as the injector of the ring in a time-shared manner. This allows the simultaneous operation of XFEL experiments at SACLA and full/top-up injection of the electron beam into the ring. This paper overviews the concept of the SPring-8-II project, the system design of the light source and the details of the accelerator component design.
Can digital transformation promote the turnaround of declining firms? Empirical evidence from Chinese listed companies
Authors: Fang Xiaozhen , Yuan Fang
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Digital transformation provides a new impetus for the development of declining firms. However, there is currently a lack of sufficient research on whether digital transformation is beneficial for the turnaround of declining firms. This paper aims to explore the relationship between digital transformation and the turnaround of declining firms.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the theoretical foundations of the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory, this research uses a comprehensive dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010–2021 to explore the influence of digital transformation on the turnaround of declining firms.

Findings

The research findings show that digital transformation contributes to the turnaround of declining firms. Mechanism analyses demonstrate that digital transformation enhances dynamic capabilities and attracts more analysts, thereby facilitating the turnaround process. Moreover, the moderation analysis reveals that CEO equity incentives strengthen the positive correlation between digital transformation and the turnaround of declining firms. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the association between digital transformation and the turnaround of declining firms is particularly significant for firms with low financing constraints and high-tech firms. Moreover, this research reveals that digital transformation can facilitate the turnaround of firms in deep and long-term decline.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the literature on the digital transformation of enterprises and provides important insights for the turnaround of declining firms.
Effect of contractual functions on contractors’ consummate performance behaviors in construction projects
Authors: Lu Yongqiang , Ma Li , Yao Haona
Published: October 2024

Purpose

The contractors’ consummate performance behavior is the key to achieving the project’s value added, but existing research has paid little attention to how to stimulate this behavior. Based on contractual functions and regulatory focus theory, this study examined how the allocation of contractual functions and the contractors’ regulatory focus affect their consummate performance behaviors. At the same time, considering the important position of guanxi between owner and contractor, this study also examined the moderating effect of guanxi on the relationship between the contractors’ regulatory focus and consummate performance behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study first constructs a conceptual model that incorporates contractual functions (control, coordination and adaptation), contractors’ regulatory focus (promotion focus, prevention focus) and the effect of guanxi on contractors’ consummate performance behavior. Next, partial least squares structural equation modeling is used to analyze the survey data of 297 Chinese construction project professionals.

Findings

This study has the following four findings. First, contractual control has a negative effect on contractors’ promotion focus but a positive effect on their prevention focus. Contractual coordination and adaptation have a positive effect on contractors’ promotion focus but a negative effect on their prevention focus. Second, contractors’ promotion focus has a positive effect on their consummate performance behaviors, while their prevention focus has a negative effect on such behaviors. Third, both of contractors’ promotion focus and prevention focus play a mediating role in the relationship between contractual functions and their consummate performance behaviors. Finally, guanxi plays a moderating role in the relationship between contractors’ regulatory focus and their consummate performance behaviors.

Originality/value

Theoretically, this study enriches the research on the antecedents of contractors’ regulatory focus and extends the literature on contractual and guanxi management in construction projects. In practice, this study can provide guidance for improving contractors’ consummate performance behaviors and reasonable allocation of contractual functions.