bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ubiquitin ligase and signalling hub MYCBP2 is required for efficient EPHB2 tyrosine kinase receptor function
Authors: Chang Chao , Banerjee Sara L. , Park Sung Soon , Zhang Xiaolei , Cotnoir-White David , Opperman Karla J. , Desbois Muriel , Grill Brock , Kania Artur
Published: June 2023

Eph receptor tyrosine kinases participate in a variety of normal and pathogenic processes during development and throughout adulthood. This versatility is likely facilitated by the ability of Eph receptors to signal through diverse cellular signalling pathways: primarily by controlling cytoskeletal dynamics, but also by regulating cellular growth, proliferation, and survival. Despite many proteins linked to these signalling pathways interacting with Eph receptors, the specific mechanisms behind such links and their coordination remain to be elucidated. In a proteomics screen for novel EPHB2 multi-effector proteins, we identified human MYC binding protein 2 (MYCBP2 or PAM or Phr1). MYCBP2 is a large signalling hub involved in diverse processes such as neuronal connectivity, synaptic growth, cell division, neuronal survival, and protein ubiquitination. Our biochemical experiments demonstrate that the formation of a complex containing EPHB2 and MYCBP2 is facilitated by FBXO45, a protein known to select substrates for MYCBP2 ubiquitin ligase activity. Formation of the MYCBP2-EPHB2 complex does not require EPHB2 tyrosine kinase activity and is destabilised by binding of ephrin-B ligands, suggesting that the MYCBP2-EPHB2 association is a prelude to EPHB2 signalling. Paradoxically, the loss of MYCBP2 results in increased ubiquitination of EPHB2 and a decrease of its protein levels suggesting that MYCBP2 stabilises EPHB2. Commensurate with this effect, our cellular experiments reveal that MYCBP2 is essential for efficient EPHB2 signalling responses in cell lines and primary neurons. Finally, our genetic studies inC. elegansprovidein vivoevidence that the ephrin receptor VAB-1 displays genetic interactions with known MYCBP2 binding proteins. Together, our results align with the similarity of neurodevelopmental phenotypes caused by MYCBP2 and EPHB2 loss of function, and couple EPHB2 to a signaling effector that controls diverse cellular functions.
GpsB control of PASTA kinase activity inListeria monocytogenesinfluences peptidoglycan synthesis during cell wall stress and cytosolic survival
Authors: Kelliher Jessica L. , Daanen McKenzie E. , Sauer John-Demian
Published: June 2023

The ability to respond quickly to changing environmental conditions in the host is critical for bacterial pathogens. Penicillin-binding protein and serine/threonine-associated (PASTA) kinases are a conserved family of kinases important for cell envelope stress responses inFirmicutesandActinobacteria, including the cytosolic pathogenListeria monocytogenes. As serine/threonine kinases, PASTA kinases phosphorylate multiple substrates, yet the mechanisms through which these substrates promote resistance to cell wall stress remain poorly understood. We previously identified GpsB as a target of PrkA, the PASTA kinase inL. monocytogenes, through a phosphoproteomics screen. Here, we demonstrate that GpsB can be directly phosphorylated by PrkA, and that mutation of the PrkA-dependent phosphosite T88 to a phosphoablative residue enhances PrkA activityin vitro. We find that relative to a strain ofL. monocytogenesharboring thegpsBT88Aallele, a strain with the phosphomimeticgpsBT88Dallele is more sensitive to the cephalosporin antibiotic ceftriaxone and has a diminished capacity to increase peptidoglycan synthesis during stress. We find that GpsB-dependent control of PrkA activity is required for optimal survival and replication ofL. monocytogenesin the macrophage cytosol. Finally, we show that GpsB is required for full virulence ofL. monocytogenes, due in part to its role in modulating PrkA activity. Cumulatively, these results demonstrate that phosphorylative feedback between GpsB and PrkA is important for the ability ofL. monocytogenesto respond to cell wall stress, survive in its cytosolic niche, and cause infection.
A fitness landscape instability governs the morphological diversity of tip-growing cells
Authors: Ohairwe Maxim E. , Živanović Branka D. , Rojas Enrique R.
Published: June 2023

Cellular morphology affects many aspects of cellular and organismal physiology. This makes it challenging to understand the evolutionary basis for specific morphologies since the various facets of cellular physiology may exert competing selective pressures on this trait. The influence of these pressures, moreover, will depend on the mechanisms of cellular morphogenesis. To address this problem, we combined experimental cell biology with mechanics-based theory to analyze the morphological diversity of tip-growing cells from across the tree of life. We discovered that an instability in the convergent mechanism of “inflationary” growth shared by these cells leads directly to a bifurcation in their fitness landscape, which imposes a strong global constraint on their morphologies. Additionally, we found that co-selection for cell size and elongation rate explains variation among observable morphologies. This analysis rationalizes the morphology - and provides quantitative insight into the ecology - of an enormous diversity of important fungal, plant, protistan, and bacterial systems. Additionally, our study elucidates a fundamental principle of evolutionary-developmental biology that would be difficult to rigorously demonstrate in more complex systems.
Timing of Complementary Feeding for Early Childhood Allergy Prevention: An Overview of Systematic Reviews
Authors: Kuper Paula , Hasenpusch Claudia , Proebstl Simone , Matterne Uwe , Hornung Catherine J. , Grätsch Esther , Li Mengtong , Sprenger Antonia A. , Pieper Dawid , Koplin Jennifer J. , Perkin Michael R. , Genuneit Jon , Apfelbacher Christian
Published: June 2023

Objective

To summarise and critically appraise systematic review (SR) evidence on the effects of timing of complementary feeding (CF) on the occurrence of allergic sensitisation and disease.

Design

Overview of SRs. AMSTAR-2 and ROBIS were used to assess methodological quality and risk of bias (RoB) of SRs. RoB Tool 2.0 was used to assess RoB of primary randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (or extracted). The Certainty of Evidence (CoE) was assessed using GRADE. Findings were synthesised narratively.

Data sources

MEDLINE (via PubMed and Ovid), the Cochrane Library and Web of Science Core Collection.

Eligibility criteria

SRs investigating the effects of timing of CF on risk of developing food allergy (FA), allergic sensitisation, asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic eczema, and adverse events in infants or young children (0-3 years), based on RCT evidence.

Results

Eleven SRs were included, with predominantly low methodological quality and high RoB. Primary study overlap was very high for specific FA and slight to moderate for FA in general and other primary outcomes. Introducing specific foods (peanut, cooked egg) early probably reduces the risk of specific FA based on evidence across most SRs. The evidence for other allergic outcomes was mostly very uncertain and based on single primary studies. SRs varied regarding the timing of CF, the nature of complementary foods and the population risk, which limited comparability between SRs.

Conclusions

The overlap of primary studies within SRs was high to very high for many outcomes, overemphasising single trials. Future research should focus on producing high quality trials and SRs that allow drawing more trustworthy conclusions. For developing guidelines to support decision-making on the timing of CF as a preventive strategy, the early introduction of specific foods (i.e., egg and peanut) seems promising and safe whereas more extensive research is required regarding other allergic outcomes and potential adverse events.

Registration

PROSPERO (CRD42021240160); Open Science Forum (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/HJKUN)

Key messages

Evidence supports early introduction of specific complementary foods (peanut, cooked egg) for preventing food-specific allergies

Evidence regarding prevention of other allergic diseases is sparse and of low certainty

Future research should focus on producing high-quality trials and reviews for higher certainty of results
How can we compare CI systems across manufacturers? A scoping review of recent literature
Authors: Tzvi-Minker Elinor , Keck Andreas
Published: June 2023

Electric stimulation via a Cochlear Implant (CI) enables people with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss to regain speech understanding and music appreciation and thus allowing them to actively engage in social life. Three main manufacturers (Cochlear, MED-EL and Advanced Bionics “AB”) have been offering CI systems, thus challenging CI recipients and Otolaryngologists with a difficult decision, as currently no comprehensive overview or meta-analyses on performance outcome following CI implantation is available. The main goal of this scoping review is to provide evidence that data and standardized speech and music performance tests are available for performing such comparisons. To this end, a literature search was conducted to find studies that address speech and music outcomes in CI recipients. From a total of 1592 papers, 188 paper abstracts were analyzed and 147 articles were found suitable for examination of full text. From which, 42 studies were included for synthesis. A total of 16 studies used the consonant-nucleus-consonant (CNC) word recognition test in quiet at 60db SPL. We found that aside from technical comparisons, only very few publications compare speech outcomes across manufacturers of CI systems. Evidence suggests though, that these data are available in large CI centers in Germany and US. Future studies should therefore leverage large data cohorts to perform such comparisons that could provide critical evaluation criteria and assist both CI recipients and Otolaryngologists to make informed performance-based decisions.
Mitochondria- and ER-associated actin are required for mitochondrial fusion
Authors: Gatti Priya , Schiavon Cara , Cicero Julien , Manor Uri , Germain Marc
Published: June 2023

Mitochondria play a crucial role in the regulation of cellular metabolism and signalling. Mitochondrial activity is modulated by the processes of mitochondrial fission and fusion, which are required to properly balance respiratory and metabolic functions, transfer material between mitochondria, and remove defective mitochondria. Mitochondrial fission occurs at sites of contact between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria, and is dependent on the formation of actin filaments that drive mitochondrial constriction and the recruitment and activation of the dynamin-related GTPase fission protein DRP1. The requirement for mitochondria- and ER-associated actin filaments in mitochondrial fission remains unclear, and the role of actin in mitochondrial fusion remains entirely unexplored. Here we show that preventing the formation of actin filaments on either mitochondria or the ER disrupts both mitochondrial fission and fusion. We show that fusion but not fission is dependent on Arp2/3, whereas both fission and fusion are dependent on INF2 formin-dependent actin polymerization. We also show that mitochondria-associated actin marks fusion sites prior to the dynamin family GTPase fusion protein MFN2. Together, our work introduces a novel method for perturbing organelle-associated actin filaments, and demonstrates a previously unknown role for actin in mitochondrial fusion.
Training deep learning models for cell image segmentation with sparse annotations
Authors: Sugawara Ko
Published: June 2023

Deep learning is becoming more prominent in cell image analysis. However, collecting the annotated data required to train efficient deep-learning models remains a major obstacle. I demonstrate that functional performance can be achieved even with sparsely annotated data. Furthermore, I show that the selection of sparse cell annotations significantly impacts performance. I modified Cellpose and StarDist to enable training with sparsely annotated data and evaluated them in conjunction with ELE-PHANT, a cell tracking algorithm that internally uses U-Net based cell segmentation. These results illustrate that sparse annotation is a generally effective strategy in deep learning-based cell image segmentation. Finally, I demonstrate that with the help of the Segment Anything Model (SAM), it is feasible to build an effective deep learning model of cell image segmentation from scratch just in a few minutes.
Crystal structures and Hirshfeld surface analyses of (E)-1-[1-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-2,2-dichloroethenyl]-2-phenyldiazene, (E)-1-[1-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-2,2-dichloroethenyl]-2-(4-methylphenyl)diazene, (E)-1-[1-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-2,2-dichloroethenyl]-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)diazene and (E)-1-[1-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-2,2-dichloroethenyl]-2-(3-methylphenyl)diazene
Authors: Maharramov Abel , Shikhaliyev Namiq Q. , Qajar Ayten , Atakishiyeva Gulnar T. , Niyazova Ayten , Khrustalev Victor N. , Akkurt Mehmet , Yıldırım Sema Öztürk , Bhattarai Ajaya
Published: June 2023

The crystal structures and Hirshfeld surface analyses of four similar azo compounds are reported. (E)-1-[1-(4-tert-Butylphenyl)-2,2-dichloroethenyl]-2-phenyldiazene, C18H18Cl2N2, (I), and (E)-1-[1-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-2,2-dichloroethenyl]-2-(4-methylphenyl)diazene, C19H20Cl2N2, (II), crystallize in the monoclinic space group C2/c with Z = 8, and (E)-1-[1-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-2,2-dichloroethenyl]-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)diazene, C19H20Cl2N2O, (III), in the monoclinic space group P21/c with Z = 4. (E)-1-[1-(4-tert-Butylphenyl)-2,2-dichloroethenyl]-2-(3-methylphenyl)diazene, C19H20Cl2N2, (IV), crystallizes in the triclinic space group P\overline{1} with Z = 4 and comprises two molecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit. In the crystal structures of (I) and (II), molecules are linked by C—H...π and C—Cl...π interactions, forming layers parallel to (\overline{2}02), while molecules of (III) are linked by C—H...O contacts, C—H...π and C—Cl...π interactions forming layers parallel to (\overline{3}02). The stability of the molecular packing is ensured by van der Waals forces between these layers. In the crystal structure of (IV), molecules are linked by C—H...π and C—Cl...π interactions, forming a tri-periodic network.
Uncovering the link between well-being and factory performance among workers in China: a longitudinal study
Authors: Bellingan Minette , Tilley Catherine , Kumar Mukesh , Batista Luciano , Evans Steve
Published: June 2023

Purpose

Companies are concerned about the well-being of workers in their supply chains, but conventional audits fail to uncover critical problems. Yet, if the happy worker – productive worker thesis is correct, it would benefit factories in fast-developing countries, particularly China which is key to many global supply chains, to ensure the well-being of their workers. The authors set out to better understand the relationship between well-being and performance in four Chinese factories.

Design/methodology/approach

Over 12-months the authors collected digital diaries from 466 workers in four factories, and monthly data about the performance of their factories. The authors used this data to gain insights into the well-being of workers in these factories; to design experimental interventions to improve this; and to consider any effects these had on factory performance.

Findings

The experiments showed that training interventions to improve workers' well-being through their work relationships and individual skills improved not just a factory's general worker well-being, but also some aspects of its performance and worker retention. Thus, it brought benefits not only for the workers but also for the factory owners and their client companies.

Originality/value

While there is a significant body of research investigating the happy worker – productive worker thesis, this was not conducted in Chinese factories. The authors’ work demonstrates that in this and similar environments, workers' eudaimonic well-being is more important than might be assumed, and that in this context there is a relationship between well-being and performance which can be practically addressed.
The effects of pre-scandal associations of athlete endorsers and scandal types on consumer blame and eWOM
Authors: Sato Shintaro , Ko Yong Jae , Kim Daehwan , Lee Joon Sung
Published: June 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to examine how pre-scandal associations and scandal types interactively influence consumer judgment and negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM).

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from cognitive dissonance theory and associative memory network model, the online experiments (Amazon Mechanical Turk; Nexperiment 1 = 146 and Nexperiment 2 = 189) were conducted to examine the effects of positive pre-scandal associations (performance vs pro-social) and scandal types (performance-related vs -unrelated) on consumer blame and eWOM toward scandalized athletes. Data were analyzed by employingt-test (experiment 1), Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and PROCESS Model 8 (experiment 2) to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The findings highlight that positive pre-scandal association demonstrated both protecting and backfiring effects depending on the types of scandals. Specifically, when performance-related scandals emerged, consumers made more negative blame judgment of athletes with salient performance association, relative to pro-social association. Inversely, when performance-unrelated scandals occurred, athletes with salient pro-social association were more likely to be blamed. Regarding eWOM, consumers generate more negative eWOM when athletes with pre-performance associations are involved with performance-related scandals. This pattern of the result was not observed when athletes' pro-social association and performance-unrelated scandals were prominent.

Originality/value

The current work adds consumers' negative eWOM toward scandalized athletes to the literature as a predictor of how athletes' pre-scandal association with consumers and scandal types are related. The findings indicate that consumers feel greater dissonance and generate more negative eWOM when athletes' pre-scandal associations and scandal types are closely related.
Network-based measures of systemic risk in Korea
Authors: Choi Jaewon , Lee Jieun
Published: June 2023

The authors estimate systemic risk in the Korean economy using the econometric measures of commonality and connectedness applied to stock returns. To assess potential systemic risk concerns arising from the high concentration of the economy in large business groups and a few export-oriented sectors, the authors perform three levels of estimation using individual stocks, business groups, and industry returns. The results show that the measures perform well over the study’s sample period by indicating heightened levels of commonality and interconnectedness during crisis periods. In out-of-sample tests, the measures can predict future losses in the stock market during the crises. The authors also provide the recent readings of their measures at the market, chaebol, and industry levels. Although the measures indicate systemic risk is not a major concern in Korea, as they tend to be at the lowest level since 1998, there is an increasing trend in commonality and connectedness since 2017. Samsung and SK exhibit increasing degrees of commonality and connectedness, perhaps because of their heavy dependence on a few major member firms. Commonality in the finance industry has not subsided since the financial crisis, suggesting that systemic risk is still a concern in the banking sector.
Trends in E-learning research: bibliometric analysis on Scopus publications post COVID-19 in Asian context
Authors: Pathak Shipra , Singh Navjit
Published: June 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore future directions in E-learning research by analysing data from Scopus indexed publications in order to have a comprehensive overview of the trends and thematic focus post COVID-19 in Asian context.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses Vos viewer and Biblioshiny software packages to analyse the bibliometric data. This software helped in identifying the anatomy of E-learning and their themes which were instrumental in forecasting future trends.

Findings

The paper depicts the trends in post COVID-19 E-learning research in Asian context. It identifies key publications, authors and journals in the field, with a focus on numerous networks of collaboration between writers and nations, identifying keyword clusters and co-citation analysis clusters. This study also explored that China and the USA are having maximum number of collaborations, whereas, countries like India, the United Kingdom, Singapore and New Zealand have comparatively weaker collaboration networks. So there is lot of potential for these countries for such collaborations. India is the most cited country globally and China is having maximum number of scientific productions per year.

Research limitations/implications

The paper has been written by exclusively referring to Scopus database papers. Collecting data from different databases would significantly improve the study. Future researchers can also focus on papers from psychology, computer science and engineering fields as current work is based on open access articles on social business, business and arts and humanities.

Practical implications

This research will be useful to educational institutions that use these platforms to offer E-learning content and match future trends. This study will help researchers in understanding the new dimensions in the field of E-learning.

Originality/value

The current study uses bibliometric analysis to examine the association between E-learning, higher education and COVID-19. It aids in the identification of new difficulties within the complex and expanding study fields in the world of E-learning. Newly published studies on E-learning trends can improve understanding and bridge the knowledge gap. As a result, recommendations can be made to improve and implement newer strategies in field of education.
The responsibility of ensuring food security: a cross-country study on reducing the impact of agricultural industries on vulnerability to climate change
Authors: Galbreath Jeremy , Ljubownikow Grigorij , Tisch Daniel , Tuazon Gerson
Published: June 2023

Purpose

Considering that food security is a global responsibility, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of agricultural industries on vulnerability to climate change and the moderating effects of gender-diverse parliaments, education expenditures, research and development (R&D) expenditures and foreign direct investment (FDI).

Design/methodology/approach

Using concepts in governance, innovation and knowledge theory, a large panel data set of 125 countries covering 1997–2018 (1,852 country-year observations) was analyzed. Data were sourced from the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index, the World Bank, the Heritage Index and the International Monetary Fund. Moderated random effects regression was conducted in Stata.

Findings

The results reveal that agricultural industries are positively associated with vulnerability to climate change and provide support for our predictions that education expenditures and FDI both reduce the impact of agricultural industries on vulnerability to climate change. However, contrary to predictions, the percentage of women in parliament and R&D expenditures both increase this impact.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first quantitative study that uses large, established data sets to explore the relationship between agricultural industries and country vulnerability to climate change. This study shows the significance of country-level factors that both decrease and increase the impact of agricultural industries on vulnerability to climate change.
Determinants of satisfaction with online food delivery providers and their impact on restaurant brands
Authors: Macias Washington , Rodriguez Katia , Barriga Holger
Published: June 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the spillover effects between online food delivery providers’ (OFDs) performance and restaurant brands. It proposed a model of three determinants for e-satisfaction with OFDs and related these variables to restaurants’ brand satisfaction, image and loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was designed, and 332 responses from delivery apps users in Ecuador were collected. A partial least squares structural equations model was applied.

Findings

The three proposed determinants of OFD satisfaction were significant: e-service quality, personal aspects of delivery workers and perceived food quality. Regarding the spillover effects, e-service quality and personal aspects had an influence on perceived food quality, mediating a chain of effects on restaurants’ brand satisfaction, image and loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected before COVID-19. Further studies will need to be undertaken in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic because minimal contact between delivery workers and customers is expected. In addition, food quality perceptions may include new concerns about biosafety norms.

Practical implications

Practices aiming to improve the service experience with OFDs are suggested, including proper training, supervision and improvement of delivery workers’ conditions. On the other hand, because restaurants do not control OFD’s performance, their contractual agreements should focus on avoiding service failures that erode restaurants’ brand equity.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills the need to study the spillover effects in the context of the collaborative economy, where delivery companies, delivery workers and restaurants work together to provide a service, and the performance of one of the parties impacts the consumers’ perceptions of the other party.
Who is worthy of my commitment now? The dynamic nature of interns' workplace commitment
Authors: Ali Nima , Swart Juani
Published: June 2023

Purpose

The paper aims to investigate the dynamics of individuals' multiple commitments in the internship context by answering two questions: How do interns' commitment to different stakeholders change over time? And what are the reasons behind these changes?

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative longitudinal study was conducted of a hundred and three interviews with twenty interns in three professional service firms in the UK. The data were gathered via semi-structured interviews that took place on five occasions during the whole internship.

Findings

Individuals' decision to maintain or change their commitment depended on their motive to gain long-term benefits (future employment) or short-term benefits (completing an assignment). Therefore, they experienced different types of commitment dynamics, which were influenced by their intention to commit to the organization in the future.

Practical implications

This offers significant implications for attracting and employing interns, which directly affects talent employment. It also contributes to the contemporary work context, as the rise of temporary and cross-boundary settings would increase the complexity and dynamics of commitment.

Originality/value

Despite the predominant assumption that considers commitment as a stable bond, this research is one of the first to investigate the dynamics of multiple commitments. This contributes to the commitment theory by identifying the different types of commitment dynamics and the impact of individuals' intention to commit on the (in)stability of their commitment, which is absent from the existing literature.
Dosing practices made mundane: Enacting HIV pre‐exposure prophylaxis adherence in domestic routines
Authors: Smith Anthony K. J. , Lancaster Kari , Rhodes Tim , Holt Martin
Published: June 2023

Maintaining routines of medication dosing requires effort amidst the variabilities of everyday life. This article offers a sociomaterial analysis of how the oral HIV prevention regimen, pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is put to use and made to work, including in situations which disrupt or complicate dosing regimes. Other than a daily pill, PrEP can be taken less frequently based on anticipated sexual activity and HIV risk, including ‘on‐demand’ and ‘periodic’ dosing. Drawing on 40 interviews with PrEP users in Australia in 2022, we explore PrEP and its dosing as features of assemblages in which bodies, routines, desires, material objects and the home environment interact. Dosing emerges as a practice of coordination involving dosette boxes, blister packs, alarms, partners, pets, planning sex, routines and domestic space, and as an effect of experimentations with timing to suit life circumstances and manage side effects. Dosing is materialised in the mundane; a practice that is made to work, as well as domesticated, in its situations. Although there are no ‘simple’ solutions to adherence, our analysis offers practical insights into how routine, planning and experimentation come together to capacitate PrEP to work in people’s lives, in sometimes unexpected ways, including through adaptations of PrEP dosing.
Twenty‐year perspective on blunt traumatic diaphragmatic injury in level 1 trauma centre: Early versus delayed diagnosis injury patterns and outcomes
Authors: Hogarty Joseph , Jassal Karishma , Ravintharan Nandhini , Adhami Mohammadmehdi , Yeung Meei , Clements Warren , Fitzgerald Mark , Mathew Joseph K
Published: June 2023

Objective

Blunt traumatic diaphragmatic injury (TDI) is typically associated with severe trauma and concomitant injuries. It is a diagnostic challenge in the setting of blunt trauma and can be easily overlooked especially in the acute phase often dominated by concurrent injuries.

Methods

A retrospective review was conducted of patients with blunt‐TDI identified from a level 1 trauma registry. Variables associated with early versus delayed diagnosis as well as non‐survivor and survivor groups were collected to examine factors associated with delayed diagnosis.

Results

A total of 155 patients were included (mean age 46 ± 20, 60.6% male). Diagnosis was made <24 h in 126 (81.3%), and >24 h in 29 (18.7%). Of the delayed diagnosis group, 14 (48%) were diagnosed >7 days. Overall, 27 (21.4%) patients had a diagnostic initial CXR and 64 (50.8%) had a diagnostic initial CT. Fifty‐eight (37.4%) patients were diagnosed intraoperatively. Of the delayed diagnosis group, 22 (75.9%) had no initial signs on CXR or CT, 15 (52%) of this group had persistent pleural‐effusions/elevated‐hemidiaphragm leading to further investigation and diagnosis. No significant difference in survival was observed between early and delayed diagnoses, no clinically significant injury patterns to predict delayed diagnoses were noted.

Conclusion

The diagnosis of TDI is challenging. Without frank signs of herniation of abdominal contents on CXR or CT, the diagnosis is often not made on initial imaging. In patients with the evidence of blunt traumatic injury in the lower‐chest/upper‐abdomen, a high degree of clinical suspicion should be held and follow‐up CXRs/CTs arranged.
Inflammatory ultrasound features as prognostic factors of pain and functional outcomes following intra‐articular platelet‐rich plasma in knee osteoarthritis
Authors: Oo Win Min , Linklater James , Bennell Kim L. , Yu Shirley P. , Duong Vicky , Hunter David J.
Published: June 2023

Aim

To explore inflammatory ultrasound predictors of improvements in pain and function over 2, 6, and 12 months following administration of intra‐articular platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) in knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Method

Patients with painful mild–moderate radiographic knee OA from a subset of the RESTORE RCT underwent ultrasound assessment according to the standardized OMERACT scanning protocol to detect inflammatory features such as synovitis, synovial hypertrophy, and effusion with power Doppler. The study knee was treated with 3 once‐weekly PRP injections obtained after centrifugation at 1500 g for 5 min. Numerical Rating Score (NRS), Intermittent and Constant Osteoarthritis Pain (ICOAP) questionnaire, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) function sub‐score were used to measure pain and functional severity. Separate linear regression models were performed to determine whether baseline ultrasound‐detected features of inflammation predicted the improvement in pain and function following PRP injection in both unadjusted and adjusted models for confounders.

Results

Forty‐four participants were included, with 25 (56.8%) being female. In an unadjusted model, higher OMERACT scores for inflammatory features such as global synovitis and/or effusion were significantly associated with greater improvement in all outcomes measured at 2 months but not at 6 and 12 months for pain measures. Only global synovitis showed significant association with functional improvement at 2 and 12 months. Similar findings were observed in the adjusted model.

Conclusion

Ultrasound indices of knee inflammation predicted short‐term improvements in pain severity and both short‐ and longer‐term improvements in function following intra‐articular PRP injection.
Fatores climáticos, geográficos e antropogênicos moldam a estrutura das redes morcego‐fruto na região neotropical
Authors: Ligo Ana Beatriz , Laurindo Rafael de Souza , Faria Lucas Del Bianco , Gregorin Renato
Published: June 2023

Os gradientes ambientais naturais e antropogênicos estão associados a mudanças na riqueza de espécies, abundância e uso de recursos. Há um interesse cada vez maior em compreender como a estrutura das redes de interações varia ao longo dos gradientes ambientais, mas a maioria dos estudos se concentrou em redes de aves e plantas, enquanto os estudos sobre redes mutualísticas formadas por outros grupos de vertebrados são escassos. Aqui, compilamos um banco de dados de 48 redes morcego‐fruto distribuídas na região neotropical e avaliamos a influência da precipitação anual, da temperatura média anual, da latitude, da altitude e dos impactos humanos no aninhamento, na modularidade, na especialização, na diversidade de interações e na riqueza de espécies. Além disso, caracterizamos a distribuição dos papéis das espécies de morcegos em redes de interações inseridas em diferentes biomas da região neotropical. Constatamos que a temperatura média anual aumentou o aninhamento, mas diminuiu a modularidade e a diversidade das interações. Além disso, a diversidade de interações foi maior em áreas com maior precipitação anual, com menos impacto humano e em regiões de latitude mais baixa. A riqueza de plantas aumentou em regiões com maior precipitação anual, enquanto a latitude afetou negativamente a riqueza de plantas e morcegos. Com relação ao papel desempenhado pelas espécies de morcegos, observamos que a maioria das espécies ocupa posições periféricas e apenas 4% das espécies atuaram como conectores. Em consonância com estudos anteriores que avaliaram outros sistemas mutualísticos, demonstramos que a estrutura das redes de morcegos e frutos é influenciada por fatores climáticos, geográficos e antropogênicos. Essas descobertas aumentam nossa compreensão de como as comunidades ecológicas são estruturadas ao longo de um gradiente ambiental e nos permitem entender como esses sistemas podem ser afetados por mudanças no clima e no uso da terra.
Understanding the positive and negative outcomes of developmental challenges on the social psychology of female executives in top management teams
Authors: Mumtaz Sana
Published: June 2023

Drawing on social identity theory, this conceptual article proposes how working in a male‐dominated top management team (TMT) leads to changes in the social psychology of female executives over time. Further, it simultaneously incorporates the role of various factors to develop a comprehensive understanding of positive as well as negative change experiences of female executives. Based on thorough review and integration of the relevant literature from the domains of organizational behaviour, gender management, and psychology, key themes have been extracted and a conceptual model has been proposed. It is suggested that female executives are likely to face epistemological shock after becoming a part of male‐dominated TMTs; however, proactive interactions and development of their cultural toolkit is expected to polish leadership capabilities and improve leader identity in them. Conversely, challenges in developing their cultural toolkit may lead to experiences of emotional exhaustion and the eventual psychological detachment of female executives from their teams and work environment. Unlike the focus of existing literature on general social and cultural challenges faced by female workers, this research offers a unique theoretical direction regarding the essence of extensive psychological changes and their long‐term prospects for females in male‐dominated TMTs. Finally, it also offers practical implications for highlighting various ways to encourage proactivity and social support for creating diversity and inclusion‐based leadership in organizations.
Reliability and agreement in intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring interpretation: A systematic review
Authors: Hernandez Engelhart Christina , Gundro Brurberg Kjetil , Aanstad Kristin Jerve , Pay Aase Serine Devold , Kaasen Anne , Blix Ellen , Vanbelle Sophie
Published: June 2023

Introduction

Fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring is routine in intrapartum care worldwide and one of the most common obstetrical procedures. Intrapartum FHR monitoring helps assess fetal wellbeing and interpretation of the FHR help form decisions for clinical management and intervention. It relies on the observers' subjective assessments, with variation in interpretations leading to variations in intrapartum care. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize and evaluate extant inter‐ and intrarater reliability research on the human interpretation of intrapartum FHR monitoring.

Material and Methods

We searched for the terms “fetal heart rate monitoring,” “interpretation agreement” and related concepts on Embase, Medline, Maternity and Infant Care Database and CINAHL. The last search was made on January 31, 2022. The protocol for the study was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021260937). Studies that assess inter‐ and intrarater reliability and agreement of health professionals' intrapartum FHR monitoring were included and studies including other assessment of fetal wellbeing excluded. We extracted data in reviewer pairs using quality appraisal tool for studies of diagnostic reliability (QAREL) forms. The data retrieved from the studies are presented as narrative synthesis and in additional tables.

Results

Forty‐nine articles concerning continuous FHR monitoring were included in the study. For interrater reliability and agreement, in total 577 raters assessed 6315 CTG tracings. There was considerable heterogeneity in quality and measures across the included articles. We found higher reliability and agreement for the basic FHR features than for overall classification and higher agreement for intrarater reliability and agreement than for their interrater counterparts.

Conclusions

There is great variation in reliability and agreement measures for continuous intrapartum FHR monitoring, implying that intrapartum CTG should be used with caution for clinical decision making given its questionable reliability. We found few high‐quality studies and noted methodological concerns in the studies. We recommend a more standardized approach to future reliability studies on FHR monitoring.
Laparoscopic Heller myotomy with Dor fundoplication for esophageal achalasia treatment after distal gastrectomy and Billroth‐II reconstruction
Authors: Nakajima Masanobu , Masuda Norihiro , Shoda Takahiro , Wakayama Shigeyoshi , Kono Takahiro , Ogawa Atsushi , Takita Junko , Haga Norihiro , Suzuki Kan , Yamaguchi Satoru , Nakamura Takatoshi , Kojima Kazuyuki
Published: June 2023

Laparoscopic Heller myotomy with Dor fundoplication is the standard surgical treatment for esophageal achalasia. However, there are few reports on the use of this method after gastric surgery. We report a case of a 78‐year‐old man who underwent laparoscopic Heller myotomy with Dor fundoplication for achalasia after distal gastrectomy and Billroth‐II reconstruction. After the intraabdominal adhesion was sharply dissected using an ultrasonic coagulation incision device (UCID), Heller myotomy was performed 5 cm above and 2 cm below the esophagogastric junction using the UCID. To prevent postoperative gastroesophageal reflux (GER), Dor fundoplication was performed without cutting the short gastric artery and vein. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient is in good health without symptoms of dysphagia or GER. Although per‐oral endoscopic myotomy is becoming the mainstay of treatment for achalasia after gastric surgery, laparoscopic Heller myotomy with Dor fundoplication is also an effective strategy.
Drug‐drug interaction of ciprofol injectable emulsion with mefenamic acid capsules in healthy subjects
Authors: Yang Dandan , Hu Yin , Ruan Zourong , Jiang Bo , Wang Haiying , Xu Yichao , Hu Mengyue , Yan Min , Lou Honggang
Published: June 2023

Aims

To investigate the drug‐drug interaction (DDI) of ciprofol injectable emulsion and mefenamic acid capsules in healthy subjects.

Methods

Twenty healthy subjects were enrolled in this single‐centre, open‐label, two‐period DDI study. Ciprofol (0.4 mg kg−1) was administered as a single dose on days 1 and 5. A 500‐mg oral loading dose of mefenamic acid was given on day 4 followed by a 250‐mg maintenance dose every 6 h (a total of eight doses). Blood samples for pharmacokinetic analyses were collected. Depth of anaesthesia was monitored using the Modified Observer's Assessment of Alertness and Sedation (MOAA/S) scale and Bispectral Index scores (BISs).

Results

Compared with administration of ciprofol alone, administration with mefenamic acid showed no significant difference in exposure. The geometric mean ratios (GMRs) and their 90% confidence intervals (CIs) for maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), area under the plasma concentration‐time curve calculated from 0 to the last measurement point (AUC0‐last) and AUC to infinity (AUC0‐inf) were 91.6% (86.5‐96.9%), 103.3% (100.3‐106.4%) and 107.0% (101.2‐113.2%), respectively. The MOAA/S and BIS curves for the two treatment periods essentially coincided, indicating that the anaesthesia effect of ciprofol was not affected by mefenamic acid. Seven subjects (35%) reported eight adverse events (AEs) when ciprorol was administered alone and 12 subjects (60%) reported 18 AEs when ciprofol was administered in combination with mefenamic acid. All AEs were mild.

Conclusions

Mefenamic acid, a UGT1A9 inhibitor, had no significant effect on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ciprofol in healthy subjects. Ciprofol was safe and well tolerated when administered with mefenamic acid.
Serotonin syndrome—A focused review
Authors: Mikkelsen Nicolaj , Damkier Per , Pedersen Sidsel Arnspang
Published: June 2023

Background

Serotonin syndrome is a potentially life‐threatening syndrome with manifestations spanning from mild adverse effects to life‐threatening toxicity. The syndrome is caused by overstimulation of serotonin receptors by serotonergic drugs. Since the use of serotonergic drugs is increasing, primarily due to the widespread use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, cases of serotonin syndrome have likely seen a parallel increase. The true incidence of serotonin syndrome remains unknown due to its diffuse clinical presentation.

Objectives

This review aims to provide a clinically focused overview of serotonin syndrome, covering its pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostic criteria, differential diagnosis and treatment, as well as classifying serotonergic drugs and their mechanism of action. The pharmacological context is emphasized, as it is crucial for the detection and management of serotonin syndrome.

Methods

Focused review based on a literature search using the PubMed database.

Findings and conclusion

Serotonin syndrome can occur through therapeutic use or overdose of a single serotonergic drug or as a drug interaction between two or more serotonergic drugs. Central clinical features consist of neuromuscular excitation, autonomic dysfunction and altered mental status, occurring in a patient undergoing new or altered serotonergic therapy. Early clinical recognition and treatment are crucial to prevent significant morbidity.
Revisiting the association between treatment with antidepressants and mania: A nationwide within‐individual study of 3554 patients with bipolar disorder
Authors: Jefsen Oskar Hougaard , Rohde Christopher , Østergaard Søren Dinesen
Published: June 2023

Introduction

Antidepressants are commonly used “off‐label” for bipolar depression, despite concerns over the risk of potential treatment‐emergent mania (or “manic switch”). Treatment‐emergent mania is difficult to study with adequate power in clinical trials as it requires a large group of participants and long follow‐up. Therefore, naturalistic register‐based studies have been applied to assess this phenomenon. Here, we aimed to replicate previous findings and address key methodological limitations that were not previously taken into account.

Methods

We utilized data from nationwide Danish health registries to identify patients with bipolar disorder treated with an antidepressant, either with or without concomitant treatment with a mood stabilizer (drug treatment proxied via redeemed prescriptions). We plotted the incidence of manic and depressive episodes relative to the initiation of antidepressant treatment and compared the incidence of mania in the period prior to and following initiation of antidepressant treatment (within‐individual design).

Results

In 3554 patients with bipolar disorder initiating treatment with an antidepressant, the number of manic episodes peaked approximately 3 months prior to initiation of antidepressant treatment, and the number of depressive episodes peaked around the initiation of antidepressant prescription. This temporal pattern suggests that antidepressants were used to treat post‐manic depression.

Conclusion

Within‐individual designs do not control sufficiently for confounding by indication, when the treatment indication is time‐varying. Thus, results from prior within‐individual studies of antidepressant treatment in the context of bipolar disorder may be invalid due to time‐varying confounding by indication.