bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanically Matched Silicone Brain Implants Reduce Brain Foreign Body Response
Authors: Zhang Edward N. , Clément Jean-Pierre , Alameri Alia , Ng Andy , Kennedy Timothy E. , Juncker David
Published: December 2020

Brain implants are increasingly used to treat neurological disorders and diseases. However, the brain foreign body response (FBR) elicited by implants affects neuro-electrical transduction and long-term reliability limiting their clinical adoption. The mismatch in Young’s modulus between silicon implants (∼180 GPa) and brain tissue (∼1-30 kPa) exacerbates the FBR resulting in the development of flexible implants from polymers such as polyimide (∼1.5-2.5 GPa). However, a stiffness mismatch of at least two orders of magnitude remains. Here, we introduce (i) the first mechanically matched brain implant (MMBI) made from silicone (∼20 kPa), (ii) new microfabrication methods, and (iii) a novel dissolvable sugar shuttle to reliably implant MMBIs. MMBIs were fabricated via vacuum-assisted molding using sacrificial sugar molds and were then encased in sugar shuttles that dissolved within 2 min after insertion into rat brains. Sections of rat neocortex implanted with MMBIs, PDMS implants, and silicon implants were analyzed by immunohistochemistry 3 and 9-weeks post-implantation. MMBIs resulted in significantly higher neuronal density and lower FBR within 50 µm of the tissue-implant interface compared to PDMS and silicon implants suggesting that materials mechanically matched to brain further minimize the FBR and could contribute to better implant functionality and long-term reliability.
The influence of service category, consumers' narcissism and processing mode on service customization consumption
Authors: Wang Chen , Wang Qiang , Feng Taiwen , Zhang Yan
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the impacts of service category (utilitarian vs hedonic) on chosen degree of uniqueness (CDOU) and consumers' willingness to pay more (WTPM), as well as the moderating roles of consumers' narcissism trait (high vs low) and processing mode (rational vs experiential) on the relationship between service category and CDOU.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducts one online experiment-questionnaire study and one between-subject lab experiment to test the hypotheses.

Findings

This study finds that consumers are more likely to choose unique choices in hedonic service customization. Consumers' CDOU has a positive effect on their attitudes toward WTPM. In addition, consumers' processing mode moderates the relationship between service category and CDOU.

Practical implications

The findings provide new insights into better understanding the factors affecting the choice of service customization and have significant practical implications. First, consumers' different desire for uniqueness of different service should not be neglected when examining the values of service customization. Second, high-level CDOU is quite prevalent for hedonic (vs utilitarian) service customization, especially for consumers with experiential processing mode.

Originality/value

While previous studies state “need for uniqueness” as a key characteristic of product customization in general, we extend it to intangible service customization and connect it with consumers' WTPM. In addition, the moderating role of individual trait and decision-making processing mode is also checked. Thus, the findings refine the existing understanding of the relationship between uniqueness and service customization.
Loyalty towards telco service providers: the fundamental role of consumer brand engagement
Authors: Ooi Say Keat , Yeap Jasmine A.L. , Low Zoann
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Customers nowadays would expect more than just the sales process. As loyal customers are crucial for businesses, research indicates that engaged consumers exhibit greater loyalty to brands. Despite its significance, consumer brand engagement (CBE) remains a concept worth deeper investigation. Building on the cognitive-affective-conative (CAC) model, this paper aims to address this lacuna by examining the precursors of CBE and tests CBE as a higher-order construct consisting of three formative dimensions, namely, cognitive processing, affection and activation.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a non-probability purposive sampling method, data was collected from a sample of 237 Malaysian consumers who subscribe to any of the local telco service providers. Data was then analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique.

Findings

Communication effectiveness, core service quality and corporate social responsibility strategy are important determinants that explain consumers’ brand engagement. Furthermore, it was found that CBE prompts consumer satisfaction, which then leads to brand loyalty towards a telco service provider. Additionally, confirmatory tetrad analysis reassured CBE as a formative construct.

Research limitations/implications

CBE should be best assessed as a higher-order reflective formative construct composed of cognitive processing, affection and activation.

Practical implications

Telco companies seeking to attain brand loyalty and consumer satisfaction should ensure that their customers are engrossed, inspired and energized in their interaction with the brands.

Originality/value

Drawing on the CAC model, this study contributes to consumer marketing literature by filling the gap regarding the precursors and outcomes of CBE. In addition, the multidimensionality of CBE as a higher-order reflective formative construct was established.
Plausible scenarios for microturbine technology development: case study of an Iranian national technological program
Authors: Hafezi Reza , Borumand Kakhki Ahmad , Attari Maziar , Besharati Rad Zohreh , Pasandideh Ashraf Sadat
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Many devices needed electrical power to work, thus, major energy carriers such as oil and gas were used to generate electrical power via converter mechanisms and special technologies. The microturbine is a developed technology that is remarkable for its relatively high performance and ability to use several types of fuels. Microturbines are economically feasible because of the production of combined heat and power and small-scale applicability. This study aims to investigate microturbine technology development to support modern energy access in a developing country (i.e. Iran).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a technology foresight methodology to create plausible futures of microturbine development in Iran when the country faces different driving forces and uncertainties. On other hand, the paper deals with a theoretical question: how to select appropriate foresight methodology? A procedure is proposed, which equipped the research team to select appropriate method combinations based on Popper’s diamond. Finally, the selected methodology includes defining focal issues environmental scanning and patent analysis aimed at developing five plausible scenarios for microturbine development future in Iran and creating shared visions among policymakers.

Findings

This paper proposed a series of scenarios on the path to developing microturbine technology. The scenario development logic in a participatory way contains a common four-quarter technique that attempts to depict scenarios based on two critical uncertainties inclusive energy price and technology obsolescence, which will shape the future. Also, a scenario is presented to describe a wild card that can disturb the desired futures. Such materials help decision-makers to policies under plausible conditions that guarantee a robust policy basket.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper can be studied based on two aspects, first, the methodology that provides a systematic method selections procedure in an emerging complex technology development program. Second, from the practical aspect, this paper is one of the very first attempts to manage the microturbine technology development program. Then, results are used to feed the policy-making process in Iran.
Using cryptocurrencies and transactions in medical tourism
Authors: Çapar Haşim
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This study aims to examine the use of cryptocurrencies and transactions in medical tourism and to discuss how this use provides advantages to healthcare institutions and states that provide medical tourism services.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational and methodological quantitative research. Data were collected through a questionnaire with 555 potential medical tourists. Data were analyzed with Pearson correlation and hierarchical regression using STATA.

Findings

The correlation results showed a statistically significant high and positive correlation between the use of cryptocurrencies and transactions in medical tourism and the medical tourist's intention. The variables that contributed to the medical tourist's intention were monetary risk minimization, access-security and malpractice-civil trial in the highest order of contribution. Accordingly, the monetary risk minimization was the most contributing to the medical tourist's intention.

Originality/value

This study provides a piece of initial empirical evidence on the contribution of using cryptocurrencies and transactions in medical tourism.
Factors affecting COVID-19 mortality: an exploratory study
Authors: Upadhyaya Ashish , Koirala Sushant , Ressler Rand , Upadhyaya Kamal
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the factors affecting COVID-19 mortality.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical model is developed in which the mortality rate per million is the dependent variable, and life expectancy at birth, physician density, education, obesity, proportion of population over the age of 65, urbanization (population density) and per capita income are explanatory variables. Crosscountry data from 184 countries are used to estimate the quantile regression that is employed.

Findings

The estimated results suggest that obesity, the proportion of the population over the age of 65 and urbanization have a positive and statistically significant effect on COVID-19 mortality. Not surprisingly, per capita income has a negative and statistically significant effect on COVID-19 death rate.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on the COVID-19 mortality data from June 2020, which have constantly being changed. What data reveal today may be different after two or three months. Despite this limitation, it is expected that this study will serve as the basis for future research in this area.

Practical implications

Since the findings suggest that obesity, population over the age of 65 and density are the primary factors affecting COVID-19 death, the policy-makers should pay particular attention to these factors.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is first attempt to estimate the factors affecting the COVID-19 mortality rate. Its novelty also lies in the use of quantile regressions, which is more efficient in estimating empirical models with heterogeneous data.
Modeling the wasted value of data in maintenance investments
Authors: Marttonen-Arola Salla , Baglee David , Ylä-Kujala Antti , Sinkkonen Tiina , Kärri Timo
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Big data and related technologies are expected to drastically change the way industrial maintenance is managed. However, at the moment, many companies are collecting large amounts of data without knowing how to systematically exploit it. It is therefore important to find new ways of evaluating and quantifying the value of data. This paper addresses the value of data-based profitability of maintenance investments.

Design/methodology/approach

An analytical wasted value of data model (WVD-model) is presented to quantify how the value of data can be increased through eliminating waste. The use of the model is demonstrated with a case example of a maintenance investment appraisal of an automotive parts manufacturer.

Findings

The presented model contributes to the gap between the academic research and the solutions implemented in practice in the area of value optimization. The model provides a systematic way of evaluating if the benefits of investing in maintenance data exceed the additional costs incurred. Applying the model to a case study revealed that even though the case company would need to spend more time in analyzing and processing the increased data, the investment would be profitable if even a modest share of the current asset failures could be prevented through improved data analysis.

Originality/value

The model is designed and developed on the principle of eliminating waste to increase value, which has not been previously extensively discussed in the context of data management.
Corporate social responsibility and earnings management in the EU: a panel data analysis approach
Authors: Dimitropoulos Panagiotis E.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Over the past decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been considered as a significant corporate strategy and also has been documented as a main information dissemination mechanism of corporations to shareholders, creditors and other external stakeholders. This fact makes the CSR activities and CSR performance interconnected with the quality of firms’ financial reporting. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of CSR performance on the earnings management (EM) behaviour using a sample from 24 European Union (EU) countries summing up to 121,154 firm-year observations over the period 2003–2018.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a multi-country data set with various dimensions of CSR performance including indexes regarding workforce, community relations, product responsibility and human rights protection. The empirical analysis is conducted with panel data regressions.

Findings

Evidence supports the negative association between CSR and EM indicating that high CSR performing firms are associated with less income smoothing and discretionary accruals, thus with higher financial reporting quality.

Practical implications

Regulatory agencies in the EU could use the findings of the study for the improvement of the accounting framework via enhancing the use and publications of social and environmental responsibility information and reports.

Social implications

Also, the current paper could be of interest not only to academic researchers but also to potential and existing investors in European corporations. The negative association between CSR performance and EM could be used by investors in assessing the risk of firms and the quality and reliability of their financial information.

Originality/value

This is the first study within the EU, which considers the multi-facet characteristics of CSR on the quality of accounting earnings and offers useful policy implications for regulators and investors.
When, Where, and How to Intervene? Tradeoffs Between Time and Costs in Coastal Nutrient Management
Authors: Merrill Nathaniel H. , Piscopo Amy N. , Balogh Stephen , Furey Ryan P. , Mulvaney Kate K.
Published: December 2020

Policies and regulations designed to address nutrient pollution in coastal waters are often complicated by delays in environmental and social systems. Social and political inertia may delay the implementation of cleanup projects, and even after the best nutrient pollution management practices are developed and implemented, long groundwater travel times may delay the impact of inland or upstream interventions. These delays and the varying costs of nutrient removal alternatives used to meet water quality goals combine to create a complex dynamic decision problem with tradeoffs about when, where, and how to intervene. We use multi‐objective optimization to quantify the tradeoffs between costs and minimizing the time to meet in‐bay nutrient reduction goals represented as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). We calculate the impact of using in‐bay (in situ) nutrient removal through shellfish aquaculture relative to waiting for traditional source control to be implemented. We apply these methods to the Three Bays Watershed in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In gross benefit terms, not accounting for any social costs, this equates to an average value of 37¢ (2035 TMDL target date) and 11¢ (2060 TMDL target date) per animal harvested over the plan implementation period. Our results encourage the consideration of alternative and in situ approaches to tackle coastal pollution while traditional source control is implemented and its effects realized over time.
Small cell lung cancer with thyroid gland oligometastasis: A case report
Authors: Tsutsui Toshiharu , Yamaki Haruna , Kumagai Takashi , Omori Chisa , Kobayashi Hiroaki , Kakizaki Yumiko , Miyashita Yoshihiro
Published: December 2020

Extensive disease small cell lung cancer (ED‐SCLC) is a systemic disease characterized by diffuse metastases and a poor prognosis. Oligometastatic cases in ED‐SCLC are rare. This study reports the case of a 72‐year‐old Japanese male. A mass lesion was identified on chest computed tomography (CT). Fluorodeoxyglucose‐positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG‐PET/CT) revealed a solitary thyroid gland lesion with high FDG uptake as an extrapulmonary finding, suggesting thyroid cancer or a goiter. Upon confirmation of diagnosis, treatment of SCLC was prioritized, and chemoradiotherapy for limited disease SCLC was initiated without further examination of the thyroid gland. The thyroid nodule disappeared after treatment. Two years later, the disease recurred, and a thyroid nodule was found to have reappeared. Upon fine needle aspiration cytology of the thyroid, small cell carcinoma was detected. Therefore, in cases of SCLC, it is necessary to carefully investigate the thyroid for solitary lesions to consider the possibility of oligometastasis.

Key points

Significant findings of the study

Manifesting as a solitary lesion, oligometastasis, particularly in the thyroid, is rare in cases of ED‐SCLC.

What this study adds

In SCLC cases, it is necessary to carefully investigate the thyroid for solitary lesions to consider the possibility of oligometastasis.
Use of Telemedicine for the Physical Examination of Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Authors: del Campo Miguel , Beach Deanna , Wells Alan , Jones Kenneth Lyons
Published: December 2020

Background

The fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are among the most prevalent causes of neurodevelopmental disorders. The diagnosis is based on assessment of prenatal alcohol exposure, specific physical features identified with a dysmorphology examination, and neurobehavioral assessment. Prompt diagnosis of affected children is necessary to provide early intervention services in a timely manner; however, the availability of diagnostic expertise is limited. We propose telemedicine (TM) as a valid and reliable mode by which the physical phenotype of FASD can be accurately assessed.

Methods

We compared face‐to‐face (F2F) physical examinations of the 3 key facial features and the resulting physical phenotype of the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and partial FAS (pFAS), as well as 12 additional physical features seen more frequently in children with FAS than in the general population in 61 individuals with 2 different TM methods. These included a Transportable Examination Station system using a precision camera and a laptop and a Zoom secure connection system (ZOOM), using a smart phone and a tablet. We measured the percentages of agreement and the Cohen’s K coefficient for each comparison.

Results

Agreements for most physical features and for the physical phenotype of FAS and pFAS were in the “almost perfect” range with some exceptions in the “substantial” range. Imprecision in measurement and subjectivity underlie lower agreement for some features, both F2F and using TM. We identified the optimal conditions for the F2F examinations in order to assure reliability using TM.

Conclusions

TM is a valid and reliable method for the examination of the physical features of FAS that may contribute to greater access to an early diagnosis of FASD in children prenatally exposed to alcohol and/or with characteristic neurobehavioral deficits.
Surgeon case volume and continence recovery following radical prostatectomy: a systematic review
Authors: Trieu Danny , Ju Irene E. , Chang Simon B. , Mungovan Sean F. , Patel Manish I.
Published: December 2020

Background

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common complication following radical prostatectomy (RP). Prolonged UI has a substantial impact on quality of life and psychosocial well‐being. As the RP technique is complex, it is reasonable to propose that surgeon experience could affect post‐operative continence recovery outcomes. This study aimed to systematically evaluate evidence regarding a surgeon's experience and continence recovery after RP.

Methods

A comprehensive search of the literature was performed in April 2020 using the Medline, Embase, CINAHL and psychINFO electronic databases according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis guidelines. All English language studies investigating UI following RP, stratified by surgeon experience, were included. Surgeon experience was defined as average annual case load or volume.

Results

Thirteen studies published between 2003 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria and were included in our systematic review. Three prospective and 10 retrospective cohort studies included a total of 47 316 patients undergoing RP via open, laparoscopic or robotic‐assisted procedures. Heterogeneity in the definition of surgeon experience and UI did not allow a meta‐analysis. The majority of studies reported that surgeons with higher surgical volumes achieved better continence recovery rates at the early (6‐week), 3‐month, 6‐month and later (≥12‐month) time points. Most studies where a high surgical volume was defined as >50 cases/year demonstrated a significant difference in continence outcomes.

Conclusion

Better urinary continence recovery results can be expected by patients who undergo RP performed by a surgeon with greater experience. An annual surgical case load of >50 cases/year results in improved continence recovery outcomes following RP.
Hemispheric, Relational, and Intersectional Political Ecologies of Race: Centring Land‐Body Entanglements in the Americas
Authors: Mollett Sharlene
Published: December 2020

In this Afterword, I reflect on the themes of race and coloniality in political ecology highlighted by this Symposium. I draw upon and place in conversation scholarly work on Latin America to demonstrate how, notwithstanding disparate social‐historical contexts, Indigenous and Black communities encounter strikingly similar struggles for land and territorial control across the Americas. I build my comments from a fusion of postcolonial, decolonial and black feminist thinking to bolster the importance of intimate and inseparable entanglements between people’s lands and their bodies within political ecological analyses. In the following, I shape this commentary into three co‐constitutive discussions: first, that political ecologies of race are hemispheric; second, that race and coloniality condition the lives of IndigenousandBlack peoples relationally in the Americas; and third, that these multiple and mutually constituted ideologies, namely intersectional forms of power, shaping land and land control are profoundly material and embodied.
A Value Theory of Inclusion: Informal Labour, the Homeworker, and the Social Reproduction of Value
Authors: Mezzadri Alessandra
Published: December 2020

Critically engaging with Marxist‐Feminist debates, this article argues that only interpretations of social reproduction as value‐producing capture the features of contemporary informalised labour relations. Building on early social reproduction analyses and informed by debates in political economy of development and feminist geography, the article sketches a “value theory of inclusion” premised on the centrality of all labour to value‐generation; accounting for different forms of exploitation; and stressing the dynamic interpenetration of production and reproduction in processes of labour‐surplus extraction. By re‐centring the geographical focus on the global South, the article illustrates this interpenetration by identifying three reproductive mechanisms of value‐generation, based on: industrial housing arrangements; spatial processes of externalisation of reproductive costs across urban–rural divides; and processes of formal subsumption of labour, analysed with special reference to women homeworkers in India. An inclusive theorisation of value‐generation is crucial for the development of inclusive politics, recognising exploitation in its varied manifestations.
Microbiota‐derived extracellular vesicles and metabolic syndrome
Authors: Villard Alexandre , Boursier Jérôme , Andriantsitohaina Ramaroson
Published: December 2020

Aim

Metabolic syndrome is a major health problem concerning approximately 25% of worldwide population. Metabolic syndrome regroups a cluster of five metabolic abnormalities predisposing to Type 2 Diabetes mellitus. Dysbiotic gut microbiota is accompanied by an increase of both intestinal permeability and pathogen‐associated molecular patterns translocation into blood circulation to induce metabolic endotoxemia responsible for the low‐grade systemic inflammation and insulin resistance in metabolic syndrome. Among pathogen‐associated molecular patterns, bacterial extracellular vesicles are gaining growing attention. The latter are produced by eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells and are vectors of communication between gut microbiota and its host The present review brings evidence to the importance of the control of the balance between the different subsets of gut microbiota in the development of metabolic diseases including metabolic syndrome.

Results

The ability of bacteria, including gut bacteria, to release extracellular vesicles implicated in host metabolic homeostasis is highlighted with their plethora of actions on intestinal barrier, inflammation and insulin resistance.

Conclusion

Bacterial extracellular vesicles can be considered as key players in the pathophysiological of metabolic diseases and may represent an interesting strategy for specific manipulations of microbiome for promoting host health.
EGCG inhibits pressure overload‐induced cardiac hypertrophy via the PSMB5/Nmnat2/SIRT6‐dependent signalling pathways
Authors: Cai Yi , Yu Shan Shan , He Yang , Bi Xue Ying , Gao Si , Yan Ting Dong , Zheng Guo Dong , Chen Ting Ting , Ye Jian Tao , Liu Pei Qing
Published: December 2020

Aim

Epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG), the major polyphenol found in green tea, exerts multiple protective effects against cardiovascular diseases, including cardiac hypertrophy. However, the molecular mechanism underlying its anti‐hypertrophic effect has not been clarified. This study revealed that EGCG could inhibit pressure overload‐induced cardiac hypertrophy by regulating the PSMB5/Nmnat2/SIRT6‐dependent signalling pathway.

Methods

Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting were used to determine the expression of mRNA and protein respectively. A fluorometric assay kit was used to determine the activity of SIRT6, a histone deacetylase. Luciferase reporter gene assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay were employed to measure transcriptional activity and DNA binding activity respectively.

Results

EGCG could significantly increase Nmnat2 protein expression and enzyme activity in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes stimulated with angiotensin II (Ang II) and heart tissues from rats subjected to abdominal aortic constriction. Nmnat2 knockdown by RNA interference attenuated the inhibitory effect of EGCG on cardiac hypertrophy. EGCG blocked NF‐κB DNA binding activity induced by Ang II, which was dependent on Nmnat2 and the subsequent SIRT6 activation. Moreover the activation of PSMB5 (20S proteasome subunit β‐5, chymotrypsin‐like) was required for EGCG‐induced Nmnat2 protein expression. Additionally, we demonstrated that EGCG might interact with PSMB5 and inhibit the activation of the proteasome.

Conclusions

These findings serve as the first evidence that the effect of EGCG against cardiac hypertrophy may be, at least partially, attributed to the modulation of the PSMB5/Nmnat2‐dependent signalling pathway, suggesting the therapeutic potential of EGCG in the prevention and treatment of cardiac hypertrophy.
Schema therapy with exposure and response prevention for the treatment of chronic anxiety with comorbid personality disorder
Authors: Peeters Nancy , Stappenbelt Sylvie , Burk William J. , van Passel Boris , Krans Julie
Published: December 2020

Background and objectives

A considerable group of patients with anxiety disorders do not respond to guideline CBT treatment, possibly due to comorbid personality disorder (PD) traits. Schema therapy (ST) is an integrative treatment for personality disorders, and preliminary evidence suggests that it also affects anxiety. The present study examined the effects of a combination treatment (‘SCHerp’: ST + exposure and response prevention) in a non‐responsive outpatient group suffering from chronic anxiety and comorbid cluster C personality disorder.

Methods

Psychological malfunction (n = 42), and adaptive and maladaptive schema modes (n = 49) were assessed pre‐ and post‐treatment.

Results

Patients showed statistically significant decreases in psychological malfunction and maladaptive modes, and significant increases in adaptive modes from pre‐ to post‐treatment. Changes in modes were correlated with changes in psychological malfunction.

Limitations

No control group or follow‐up measurements were included.

Conclusions

The combination of ST and exposure with response prevention may be a viable avenue for research and treatment for this subpopulation. However, further research is needed to confirm and enhance effectiveness and identify working mechanisms of SCHerp.

Practitioner points

The SCHerp programme combines schema therapy with exposure and response prevention to tackle chronic anxiety in patients with comorbid personality disorder

SCHerp significantly reduced psychological malfunction and maladaptive modes, and increased adaptive modes

Changes in schema modes correlated with changes in psychological malfunction, suggesting that schema modes are an appropriate treatment target in this population

No active control group was included so no therapy‐specific factors can be determined at this stage
IgG subclasses as biomarkers for persistence of factor VIII inhibitors in previously untreated patients with severe haemophilia A
Authors: Peyvandi Flora , Miri Syna , Bucciarelli Paolo , Valsecchi Carla , Schiavone Lucia , Boscarino Marco , Palla Roberta , Mannucci Pier Mannuccio , Rosendaal Frits Richard ,   the SIPPET group
Published: December 2020

We investigated longitudinally the behaviour of anti‐factor VIII (anti‐FVIII) IgG subclasses for 6 months from inhibitor development in 43 patients from the Survey of Inhibitors in Plasma‐Products Exposed Toddlers (SIPPET) trial who developed persistent or transient inhibitors. We first analysed 43 patients within 60 days post inhibitor detection. Then, 14 of these 43 patients were studied at five time points over 6 months. Our study showed that during the first 60 days, the risk of inhibitor persistence increased with the concomitant presence of an increasing number of IgG subclasses. Over the 6‐month period post inhibitor detection, only the IgG2 subclass could be considered a hallmark of inhibitor persistence.
‘We need to understand what’s going on because it’s our life’: Using sandboxing to understand children and young people’s everyday conversations about care
Authors: Watson Debbie L. , Staples Eleanor , Riches Katie
Published: December 2020

Children and young people who live away from birth families (through adoption or being in care) need an understanding of their life story, including reasons for removal from birth family to process what has happened to them and to develop a secure identity. We report data produced with care experienced children and young people using a creative sandboxing method capturing hopes and fears for conversations about care in sand scenes. The themes presented emphasise the need for care‐experienced children and young people to be supported to engage in ‘difficult conversations’ about their lives in warm, open and responsive ways.
Space in Hand and Mind: Gesture and Spatial Frames of Reference in Bilingual Mexico
Authors: Marghetis Tyler , McComsey Melanie , Cooperrider Kensy
Published: December 2020

Speakers of many languages prefer allocentric frames of reference (FoRs) when talking about small‐scale space, using words like “east” or “downhill.” Ethnographic work has suggested that this preference is also reflected in how such speakers gesture. Here, we investigate this possibility with a field experiment in Juchitán, Mexico. In Juchitán, a preferentially allocentric language (Isthmus Zapotec) coexists with a preferentially egocentric one (Spanish). Using a novel task, we elicited spontaneous co‐speech gestures about small‐scale motion events (e.g., toppling blocks) in Zapotec‐dominant speakers and in balanced Zapotec‐Spanish bilinguals. Consistent with prior claims, speakers’ spontaneous gestures reliably reflected either an egocentric or allocentric FoR. The use of the egocentric FoR was predicted—not by speakers’ dominant language or the language they used in the task—but by mastery of words for “right” and “left,” as well as by properties of the event they were describing. Additionally, use of the egocentric FoR in gesture predicted its use in a separate nonlinguistic memory task, suggesting a cohesive cognitive style. Our results show that the use of spatial FoRs in gesture is pervasive, systematic, and shaped by several factors. Spatial gestures, like other forms of spatial conceptualization, are thus best understood within broader ecologies of communication and cognition.
The effect of iron mordanting and sol‐gel coating on the hydrophobicity and colour properties of cotton fabrics dyed with natural tannin
Authors: Pisitsak Penwisa
Published: December 2020

Cotton fabrics were dyed with natural tannin and post‐treated with a metallic salt mordant and/or sol‐gel coating. The effects on colour properties and hydrophobicity were studied. Pad‐dyeing was carried out using a reddish‐brown, tannin‐rich dye. Some samples were then post‐mordanted with iron(II) sulphate. Samples were sol‐gel coated using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) with small amounts of organically modified alkoxysilane precursors phenyltriethoxysilane (PHY) and n‐octyltriethoxysilane (OCT) to impart hydrophobicity, and with 3‐(glycidoxypropyl)‐trimethoxysilane (GLY) to improve adhesion between the coating and the fabric. The colour parameters were analysed in the CIELab colour space. Dyed samples appeared reddish‐brown, with the exception of those post‐mordanted with iron(II) sulphate, which were dark brown. Sol‐gel coating with hydrophobic alkyltriethoxysilanes (PHY or OCT) increased the hydrophobicity of the undyed fabrics, increasing contact angle values and drop absorption times. However, this hydrophobic sol‐gel coating alone failed to impart hydrophobicity to the dyed fabrics. Post‐mordanting with iron(II) sulphate was more effective in improving the hydrophobicity of the dyed fabrics than sol‐gel coating. Only the dyed sample treated with both iron(II) sulphate and OCT completely prevented absorption of water droplets. Sol‐gel coating was found to improve colour fastness to washing, light, and crocking. Post‐mordanting with iron(II) sulphate improved colour fastness to washing and light, but not to crocking.
Overtube‐assisted necrosectomy for a large walled‐off pancreatic necrosis using a short‐type single‐balloon enteroscope
Authors: Mandai Koichiro , Uno Koji , Yasuda Kenjiro
Published: December 2020

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Mechanical properties and degradation process of biliary self‐expandable biodegradable stents
Authors: Kwon Chang‐Il , Son Jun Sik , Kim Kyu Seok , Moon Jong Pil , Park Sehwan , Jeon Jinkyung , Kim Gwangil , Choi Sung Hoon , Ko Kwang Hyun , Jeong Seok , Lee Don Haeng
Published: December 2020

Objectives

The clinical outcomes and prevalence of adverse events associated with biliary biodegradable stents (BS) can differ according to degradation process and time. The aim of this study was to observe the degradation process and time of different BS prototypes, and to evaluate sequential changes in their mechanical properties.

Methods

Using an in vitro bile flow phantom model, we compared degradation time, radial force changes, and morphologic changes among four different BS prototypes: polydioxanone (PDO) BS, polyglycolide (PGA) BS, polydioxanone/poly‐l‐lactic acid (PDO/PLLA) sheath‐core BS, and polydioxaone/magnesium (PDO/Mg) sheath‐core BS. Using an in vivo swine bile duct dilation model, we performed a direct peroral cholangioscopy (DPOC) examination to observe the biodegradation process and related adverse events at regular intervals.

Results

In the bile flow phantom model, the PGA BS and PDO/Mg BS prototypes showed rapid radial force reduction and morphological changes and complete degradation within six weeks. PDO/PLLA BS maintained high radial force and kept their original shape for longer than the PDO BS, up to 16 weeks. A total of 24 BS were inserted into the dilated bile ducts of 12 swine. In this animal model, DPOC examination revealed that PDO BS and PDO/PLLA BS maintained their original shapes for approximately 12 weeks, but PDO BS showed a greater degree of fragmentation and induced biliary stones and bile duct obstruction.

Conclusion

Our results showed that PDO/PLLA BS maintained their original shape and radial force for a relatively long time and minimized adverse events.
Gallers as leaf rollers: ecosystem engineering in a tropical system and its effects on arthropod biodiversity
Authors: Pereira Cássio Cardoso , Sperandei Vinícius da Fontoura , Henriques Nathália Ribeiro , Silva Álvaro Augusto Naves , Fernandes Geraldo Wilson , Cornelissen Tatiana
Published: December 2020

Gall‐inducers can be considered ecosystem engineers when they modify leaf morphology and create shelters for secondary users, altering properties of ecological communities.

In this study, we evaluated whether shelter structures created by leaf‐galling contribute to changes in the diversity and composition of the community at plant and leaf scales, the effects of leaf roll occupation on the choice of secondary colonisers and the influence of leaf shelters on herbivory levels on host plants.

The arthropod abundance, richness, and biomass were higher in leaf shelters compared to intact leaves. These effects were observed at similar magnitudes at both plant and leaf scales. The composition of arthropods differed between plants with leaf‐rolled galls and plants with galls removed and between unoccupied leaf rolls and intact leaves. Artificial leaf rolls increased arthropod abundance, richness, and biomass by almost 100.0% compared to intact leaves. However, occupied artificial leaf rolls had a decrease in abundance, richness, and biomass of arthropods by almost 60.0% compared to unoccupied leaf rolls. Finally, plants with galls removed exhibited higher levels of leaf herbivory than plants with leaf‐rolled galls.

Our findings demonstrated the strong and positive indirect effects of gall induction facilitating shelter creation and the indirect effects of shelters on the diversity, species composition, and on leaf herbivory, and should be replicated in other systems involving plants and their respective gallers.
OSCEGame: A serious game for OSCE training
Authors: Germa Alice , Gosset Marjolaine , Gaucher Céline , Valencien Claire , Schlumberger Marion , Colombier Marie‐Laure , Moreau Nathan , Radoï Loredana , Boukpessi Tchilalo , Davit‐Beal Tiphaine , Vital Sibylle , Wulfman Claudine
Published: December 2020

BACKGROUND

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are amongst the most anxiety‐provoking competency assessment methods. An online serious game (OSCEGame) was developed and implemented within the OSCE curriculum. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of this serious game on preparedness and reducing OSCE‐related stress.

METHODS

A serious game was designed to help dental students train for OSCEs. Two game courses (4 stations each) were designed according to year of undergraduate training (4th and 5th year), based on 6 pre‐existing multi‐competency OSCE stations. The OSCEGame was available online on a learning platform 4 to 6 weeks before the summative OSCEs. Game use was evaluated by analysing connection data. Preparedness, stress and time management skills were assessed using a questionnaire following the summative OCSEs. The results of 4th‐year students (OSCE naive population) were compared to those of 5th‐year students to assess usefulness and benefits of such preparation method.

RESULTS

In total, 97% and 60% of the students in 4th year and 5th year, respectively, used the game. The game was seen as an essential preparation tool to reduce anxiety (for 60% of all students) and increase time management skills (65% of all students). However, significant differences were observed between 4th− and 5th‐year students (anxiety reduction: 65% vs. 22%, p < 0.001; time management skills: 59% vs. 41%, p < 0.05) suggesting that it is most useful for OSCE naive students.

CONCLUSION

This serious game is a useful time efficient online tool, for OSCE preparation, especially in OSCE naive students.
Light availability and light demand of plants shape the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in their roots
Authors: Neuenkamp Lena , Zobel Martin , Koorem Kadri , Jairus Teele , Davison John , Öpik Maarja , Vasar Martti , Moora Mari
Published: December 2020

Plants involved in the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis trade photosynthetically derived carbon for fungal‐provided soil nutrients. However, little is known about how plant light demand and ambient light conditions influence root‐associating AM fungal communities. We conducted a manipulative field experiment to test whether plants’ shade‐tolerance influences their root AM fungal communities in open and shaded grassland sites. We found similar light‐dependent shifts in AM fungal community structure for experimental bait plant roots and the surrounding soil. Yet, deviation from the surrounding soil towards lower AM fungal beta‐diversity in the roots of shade‐intolerant plants in shade suggested preferential carbon allocation to specific AM fungi in conditions where plant‐assimilated carbon available to fungi was limited. We conclude that favourable environmental conditions widen the plant biotic niche, as demonstrated here with optimal light availability reducing plants’ selectivity for specific AM fungi, and promote compatibility with a larger number of AM fungal taxa.
Primary care electronic medical records can be used to predict risk and identify potentially modifiable factors for early and late death in adult onset epilepsy
Authors: Hrabok Marianne , Engbers Jordan D. T. , Wiebe Samuel , Sajobi Tolulope T. , Subota Ann , Almohawes Amal , Federico Paolo , Hanson Alexandra , Klein Karl Martin , Peedicail Joseph , Pillay Neelan , Singh Shaily , Josephson Colin B.
Published: December 2020

Objective

To use clinically informed machine learning to derive prediction models for early and late premature death in epilepsy.

Methods

This was a population‐based primary care observational cohort study. All patients meeting a case definition for incident epilepsy in the Health Improvement Network database for inclusive years 2000‐2012 were included. A modified Delphi process identified 30 potential risk factors. Outcome was early (within 4 years of epilepsy diagnosis) and late (4 years or more from diagnosis) mortality. We used regularized logistic regression, support vector machines, Gaussian naive Bayes, and random forest classifiers to predict outcomes. We assessed model calibration, discrimination, and generalizability using the Brier score, mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) derived from stratified fivefold cross‐validation, plotted calibration curves, and extracted measures of association where possible.

Results

We identified 10 499 presumed incident cases from 11 194 182 patients. All models performed comparably well following stratified fivefold cross‐validation, with AUCs ranging from 0.73 to 0.81 and from 0.71 to 0.79 for early and late death, respectively. In addition to comorbid disease, social habits (alcoholism odds ratio [OR] for early death = 1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12‐2.11 and OR for late death = 2.62, 95% CI = 1.66‐4.16) and treatment patterns (OR for early death when no antiseizure medication [ASM] was prescribed at baseline = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.07‐1.64 and OR for late death after receipt of enzyme‐inducing ASM at baseline = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.04‐1.66) were significantly associated with increased risk of premature death. Baseline ASM polytherapy (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.36‐0.85) was associated with reduced risk of early death.

Significance

Clinically informed models using routine electronic medical records can be used to predict early and late mortality in epilepsy, with moderate to high accuracy and evidence of generalizability. Medical, social, and treatment‐related risk factors, such as delayed ASM prescription and baseline prescription of enzyme‐inducing ASMs, were important predictors.
Evolutionary stability, landscape heterogeneity, and human land‐usage shape population genetic connectivity in the Cape Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot
Authors: Tassone Erica E. , Miles Lindsay S. , Dyer Rodney J. , Rosenberg Michael S. , Cowling Richard M. , Verrelli Brian C.
Published: December 2020

As human‐induced change eliminates natural habitats, it impacts genetic diversity and population connectivity for local biodiversity. The South African Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is the most diverse extratropical area for plant biodiversity, and much of its habitat is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. There has long been great interest in explaining the underlying factors driving this unique diversity, especially as much of the CFR is endangered by urbanization and other anthropogenic activity. Here, we use a population and landscape genetic analysis of SNP data from the CFR endemic plant Leucadendron salignum or “common sunshine conebush” as a model to address the evolutionary and environmental factors shaping the vast CFR diversity. We found that high population structure, along with relatively deeper and older genealogies, is characteristic of the southwestern CFR, whereas low population structure and more recent lineage coalescence depict the eastern CFR. Population network analyses show genetic connectivity is facilitated in areas of lower elevation and higher seasonal precipitation. These population genetic signatures corroborate CFR species‐level patterns consistent with high Pleistocene biome stability and landscape heterogeneity in the southwest, but with coincident instability in the east. Finally, we also find evidence of human land‐usage as a significant gene flow barrier, especially in severely threatened lowlands where genetic connectivity has been historically the highest. These results help identify areas where conservation plans can prioritize protecting high genetic diversity threatened by contemporary human activities within this unique cultural UNESCO site.