bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is there silicon in flowers and what does it tell us?
Authors: Schoelynck Jonas , De Block Petra , Van Dyck Eva , Cooke Julia
Published: October 2023

The emergence of flowers marked an important development in plant evolution. Flowers in many species evolved to attract animal pollinators to increase fertilisation chances. In leaves, silicon (Si) discourages herbivores, for example by wearing down mouthparts. Flowers are essentially modified leaves and hence may also have the capacity to accumulate Si. If Si in flowers discourages animal visitors as it does in leaves, Si accumulation may be disadvantageous for pollination. Whether flowers accumulate Si, and what the implications may be, was not known for many species. We analysed leaves and flowers of different taxa, separated into their different anatomical parts. Flowers mostly have low Si concentrations in all parts (mean ± SE of BSi in mg g−1was 0.22 ± 0.04 in petals, 0.59 ± 0.24 in sepals, 0.14 ± 0.03 in stamens, 0.15 ± 0.04 in styles and stigmas and 0.37 ± 0.19 in ovaries for a subset of 56 species). In most cases, less Si was accumulated in flowers than in leaves (mean ± SE of BSi in mg g−1was 1.51 ± 0.55 in whole flowers vs. 2.97 ± 0.57 in leaves in 104 species) though intriguing exceptions are found, with some species accumulating more Si in flowers than leaves. The large variation in concentration among flowers across the taxa examined, with a particularly high concentration in grass inflorescences, tantalisingly suggests differences in the use of Si for flowers across plant groups. We conclude that the study of the functions of Si for flowers warrants more attention, with pollination strategy a potential contributing factor.
Electro‐elucidation and quantification of olopatadine hydrochloride in bulk form and eye drops using modification free glassy carbon electrode with its development by different electrolytes and surfactants
Authors: El‐Attar Mona , Abdel‐Azzem Magdi
Published: October 2023

The electro‐oxidation pathway of olopatadine hydrochloride which is used in eye drops as antihistaminic agent was proposed and discussed in detail as the first time using different voltammetry methods at the modification free glassy carbon electrode surface. The oxidation process of olopatadine hydrochloride based on the presence of electro‐active tertiary amine group was irreversible. The dissociation constants were attained by the dependence of peak current and potential on the pH values. Some kinetic parameters were also estimated. Depending on the oxidation of olopatadine hydrochloride in citrate buffer (pH 5.5; 0.1 M) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (3×10−5 M) as supporting electrolyte and a modifier, respectively, sensitive, simple, accurate and inexpensive a novel square wave voltammetry method was achieved. The method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, ruggedness, specificity and stability. Limit of detection of 9×10−7 M in bulk form was attained. The characterized method was successfully used for routine analysis of olopatadine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical eye drops (Olohistine® and olopalite). No electroactive interferences from the inactive ingredients present in eye drops were noticed. So the proposed method does not necessitate any extraction step preceding the drug analysis. Also, the obtained data of the calibration curve and standard addition methods were compared statistically with a reported spectrophotometrically method showing no differences between them with respect to accuracy and precision, what proved the reproducibility, suitability and reliability of the described voltammetric method for assay of olopatadine hydrochloride in its formulation.
Modulation of physicochemical properties of lipid droplets using soy protein isolate and lactoferrin interfacial coatings
Authors: Zhang Chunlan , Du Mengyao , Li Bin
Published: October 2023

In order to improve the physicochemical stability of soy protein isolate (SPI) emulsion, lactoferrin (LF) was used to modify the interface layer. The stable multilayer emulsion can be formed when the content of lactoferrin is 0.5% at pH 5. The emulsion with good stability was at pH 3–7, and it was also stable to temperature change. The FFAs release of SPI emulsion and LF‐SPI emulsion was 103.9% and 103.7%, respectively. The results showed that the lactoferrin layer did not hinder the digestion of oil and the bioaccessibility of carotenoids, but lactoferrin layer improved the physicochemical stability of SPI emulsions. This work provides information valuable in the design of emulsion formulations for applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care industries.
The impact of financial crises on social spending: Delving into the effects in developed and developing countries
Authors: Nguyen Thanh Cong , Castro Vítor , Wood Justine
Published: October 2023

Despite expecting countries to rely on welfare measures in the aftermath of financial crises, one should not ignore the possibility of fiscal retrenchments due to the constraints that those crises may bring. This article analyses that issue by assessing the impact of financial crises on governmental social spending and its components (healthcare, education and social protection) using a panel of 108 countries from 1991 to 2019. An important contribution of this study is that it assesses the effects of different types of financial crises (banking, currency and debt) in addition to distinguishing between developed and developing countries. The findings indicate that while developed countries neutralise the adverse effects of crises by increasing social spending, developing countries tend to shrink outlays—in particular healthcare and social protection—when financial crises strike, despite the associated negative consequences on human and social well‐being. Moreover, debt crises proved to be more detrimental to social spending than banking and currency crises in developing countries. An important policy implication arising from our analysis is that governments should maintain a high level of fiscal balance in normal times to be able to finance welfare state expansion programmes during periods of financial crises, especially in emerging/developing countries.
Two different regimens of outpatient Foley catheter induction of labor in nulliparas: A randomized trial
Authors: Hong Jesrine , Raghavan Sreella , Siti Nordiana Ayub , Saaid Rahmah , Vallikkannu Narayanan , Tan Peng Chiong
Published: October 2023

Objectives

To evaluate expectant compared to immediate return to hospital upon outpatient Foley catheter expulsion predicated on maternal satisfaction and amniotomy‐titrated oxytocin infusion to delivery interval.

Methods

This randomized trial was conducted in a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia from September 2020 to February 2022. A total of 330 nulliparous women at term with unripe cervices (Bishop score ≤5), singleton viable fetus in cephalic presentation, reassuring preinduction fetal heart rate tracing and intact membranes who underwent planned outpatient Foley catheter induction of labor (IOL) were included. Women were randomized to expectant or immediate return to hospital if the Foley was spontaneously expelled at home before their scheduled hospital admission the following day. Primary outcomes were amniotomy‐titrated oxytocin infusion to delivery interval and maternal satisfaction on the induction process (assessed by 0–10 visual numerical rating scale [VNRS]).

Results

Amniotomy‐titrated oxytocin infusion to delivery interval was 8.7 ± 4.1 versus 8.9 ± 3.9 h, P = 0.605 (mean difference − 0.228 95% CI: −1.1 to +0.6 h) and maternal satisfaction VNRS score was median (interquartile range) 8 (7–9) versus 8 (7–9), P = 0.782. Early return to hospital rates were 37/165 (22.4%) versus 72/165 (43.6%), RR 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37–0.72), P ≤ 0.001, Cesarean delivery rates were 80/165 (48.5%) versus 80/165 (48.5%), RR 1.00 (95% CI: 0.80–1.25), P = 1.00 and duration of hospital stay was 54.4 ± 22.9 versus 56.7 ± 22.8 h, P = 0.364 for the expectant versus immediate return groups respectively.

Conclusion

In outpatient Foley catheter IOL, expectant compared to immediate return to hospital following Foley dislodgement results in similarly high maternal satisfaction. The amniotomy‐titrated oxytocin to delivery duration is non‐inferior with expectant management.
The associations among well‐being comparisons and affective styles in depression, anxiety, and mental health quality of life
Authors: Schlechter Pascal , Morina Nexhmedin
Published: October 2023

Objective

Frame‐of‐reference theories suggest that individuals use different comparison types to evaluate their well‐being. Research indicates that the frequency of aversive well‐being comparisons is related to depression, with engendered comparison affective impact partly accounting for this relationship. We aimed to replicate this finding, examine whether this extends to anxiety and mental health quality of life, and whether these pathways are moderated by affective styles of concealing, adjusting, and tolerating. We expected concealing as a response‐focused style to be associated with higher effects of comparison affective impact on depression, anxiety, and mental health quality of life. Adjusting as an antecedent‐focused strategy was expected to mitigate the effects of aversive comparison frequency on comparison affective impact, and the effects of comparison affective impact on the outcomes. Finally, tolerating was expected to be associated with lower effects on both pathways.

Methods and Measures

Participants (N = 596) responded to measures of well‐being comparisons, affective styles, depression, anxiety, and mental health quality of life.

Results

Frequency of aversive well‐being comparisons was associated with all outcomes. These relationships were partially mediated by comparison affective impact. Adjustment moderated the pathway between aversive comparison frequency and comparison affective impact. No other moderation effect emerged.

Conclusion

The comparison process appears important in well‐being evaluations.
Heat consumption and modeling of corn seeds intermittent drying
Authors: Raimundini Aranha Ana Caroline , Lopes Ferrari Andressa , Paschoal Sirlei Marques , Sgorlon Juliana Guerra , Sérgi Gomes Maria Carolina , de Matos Jorge Luiz Mario , Tonin Lilian Tatiani Dusman , Oliveira Defendi Rafael
Published: October 2023

Background

Corn seed is produced on a large scale, and as production is carried out seasonally, the storage is needed to supply uninterrupted demand. To carry out the storage, as the material from the harvest has a high initial moisture content, it is necessary to carry out the drying process. In order to reduce energy consumption, an alternative is intermittent drying. The purpose of this article is to fit the mathematical model of intermittent drying by distributed parameters, based on experimental data of temperature and moisture content of corn seeds submitted to intermittent drying, to determine the diffusivity value and to assess heat consumption.

Results

For samples dried to the final moisture content of 16.0% on dry basis (d.b.), the condition of intermittent drying at a temperature of 40°C and 10 min of tempering period led to the lowest heat consumption, in comparison to conventional drying and to intermittent drying under higher temperatures. In addition, to obtain a final moisture content of 14.0% (d.b.), the conventional drying condition at 55°C resulted in the lowest heat consumption, compared to the other drying conditions. The distributed parameter model can predict the experimental data with a global deviation lower than 10.0%.

Conclusion

Analyzing the moisture distribution profiles for the corn seeds, it was verified that there was a difference in the moisture content along the position inside the material, being necessary to evaluate the influence of moisture distribution along the position inside the material in kinetic drying models.
The role of surgery for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma in the era of targeted therapeutics: A scoping review
Authors: Cleere Eoin F. , Crotty Thomas J. , Hintze Justin M. , Fitzgerald Conall W. R. , Kinsella John , Lennon Paul , Timon Conrad V. I. , Woods Robbie S. R. , Shine Neville P. , O'Neill James P.
Published: October 2023

Background

Questions exist regarding patient selection for surgery in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC), particularly with the advent of neoadjuvant‐targeted therapeutics. The present scoping review sought to evaluate what extent of surgical resection should be performed in ATC.

Methods

A scoping review was carried out in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute and the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta‐analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA‐ScR) protocols. Included studies were required to provide clear description of the surgery performed for ATC.

Results

The final search identified 6901 articles. Ultimately only 15 articles including 1484 patients met inclusion criteria. A total of 765 patients (51.5%) underwent attempted curative intent surgery. The approach to resection of adjacent tissues varied between studies. Eight studies considered laryngeal ± pharyngeal resection (8/15, 53.3%), eight studies (53.3%) considered tracheal resection and again eight studies (53.3%) considered esophageal resection. More extensive resections increased morbidity without improving overall survival (OS) (<9 months in the 12 studies using a combination of surgery and chemoradiotherapy). In the three studies utilizing targeted therapy in addition to surgery, OS was notably improved while surgical resection following neoadjuvant therapy was less extensive.

Conclusions

There is no clear agreement in the literature regarding the limits of surgical resection in locoregionally advanced ATC. A definition of surgically resectable disease will be required to guide surgical decision making in ATC, particularly with the potential to reduce tumor burden using neoadjuvant targeted treatment in suitable patients.

Level of evidence

III
How technological and natural consumption experiences impact consumer well‐being: The role of consumer mindfulness and fatigue
Authors: Zarantonello Lia , Grappi Silvia , Formisano Marcello
Published: October 2023

New technologies are becoming increasingly common in consumers' daily lives, and they are significantly changing consumer experiences. Given the novelty and pervasiveness of these technologies, understanding their effects on consumer well‐being is important. This research explores how technological versus natural experiences in consumption contribute to consumer well‐being, which is defined as happiness (with its components of pleasure and meaning) and life satisfaction. The results demonstrate that the type of experience (i.e., natural or technological) affects meaning and pleasure and, consequently, life satisfaction. These effects depend on two individual characteristics: consumer mindfulness and fatigue. When consumer mindfulness is high, the type of experience does not affect pleasure and meaning as consumers consistently derive high levels of both components of happiness. However, when their mindfulness is low, pleasure depends on the type of experience. Similar patterns are observed for meaning, although this is affected by the level of fatigue felt by consumers. Therefore, meaning is affected by the two individual characteristics of mindfulness and fatigue. By demonstrating the importance of consumer mindfulness in protecting individuals from fatigue and the potential negative effects associated with technological and natural consumption experiences, this study identifies practical insights that can be used to shape technological and natural experiences that support consumer well‐being.
Temperature field optimization for laser powder bed fusion as a traveling salesperson problem with history
Authors: Wang Gradey , Darve Eric , Lew Adrian J.
Published: October 2023

Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is a form of metal additive manufacturing in which a laser traces a path on a metal powder bed to heat powder particles and progressively melt and/or fuse them together to form a part. Outcomes of LPBF are functions of the metal's temperature history and are strongly affected by the path traced by the laser. Using temperature field optimization for LPBF as a motivating application, we focus on a class of combinatorial problems where admissible control policies are a permutation of a set of control actions. We abstract this class of problems as an optimal control problem with the objective of identifying an admissible control policy that minimizes a cost function of a dynamical system's state. While, in principle, the effect of the control actions on the cost function can last an infinitely long time, we will consider systems in which the effects of these control actions can be considered to last short (finite) periods of time. In this paper, we formalize this class of combinatorial problems as a Traveling Salesperson Problem with History and prove its equivalence to an Equality Generalized Traveling Salesperson Problem (E‐GTSP), enabling the use of well‐developed E‐GTSP solvers. We demonstrate this equivalence by computing the solutions obtained using an E‐GTSP solver for an LPBF‐inspired application.
Local element operations for curved simplex meshes
Authors: Shi A. , Persson P.‐O.
Published: October 2023

Mesh optimization procedures are generally a combination of node smoothing and discrete operations which affect a small number of elements to improve the quality of the overall mesh. These procedures are useful as a post‐processing step in mesh generation procedures and in applications such as fluid simulations with severely deforming domains. In order to perform high‐order mesh optimization, these ingredients must also be extended to high‐order (curved) meshes. In this work, we present a method to perform local element operations on curved meshes. The mesh operations discussed in this work are edge/face swaps, edge collapses, and edge splitting (more generally refinement) for triangular and tetrahedral meshes. These local operations are performed by first identifying the patch of elements which contain the edge/face being acted on, performing the operation as a “straight‐sided one" by placing the high‐order nodes via an isoparametric mapping from the master element, and smoothing the high‐order nodes on the elements in the patch by minimizing a Jacobian‐based high‐order mesh distortion measure. Since the initial “straight‐sided guess” from the placement of the nodes via the isoparametric mapping frequently results in invalid elements, the distortion measure must be regularized which allows for mesh untangling for the optimization to succeed. We present several examples in 2D and 3D to demonstrate these local operations and how they can be combined with a high‐order node smoothing procedure to maintain mesh quality when faced with severe deformations.
Social media influencers' impact during pregnancy and parenting: A qualitative descriptive study
Authors: Chee Rachelle M. , Capper Tanya S. , Muurlink Olav T.
Published: October 2023

Pregnant people and parents engage with social media networking sites seeking support and information that is shared in a relatable way. Engaging with social media influencers (SMIs) and their followers, however, may have both affirming and harmful effects. SMIs can facilitate information‐sharing, discussion, and supportive behaviors, but engaging with SMIs can lead to negative experiences and exposure to misinformation. To date, little is known about the impacts of following influencers during pregnancy and early parenthood. The aim of this study was to explore how engaging with SMIs impacts pregnant people and parents of children aged 5 or under in Australia. A qualitative descriptive approach was taken. Qualitative data from 85 anonymously completed online written surveys were thematically analyzed using Braun & Clarke's six‐step process. Five overarching themes and two subthemes were identified. The first theme, “Comparisons of self,” held two subthemes: “Unfavorable comparisons of self to SMIs” and “Favorable comparisons of self to SMIs.” Additional themes were “A virtual community of inspiration and togetherness,” “Sharing of information, opinions & experiences,” “Gatekeeping self‐efficacy,” and “Credibility.” The findings of the study indicated that discordance between influencer‐mediated expectations of parenthood and a person's actual experience may affect well‐being and perceptions of parental self‐efficacy. Information sought from influencers may substitute for face‐to‐face education by clinicians. Health professionals who are also influencers may possess the ability to provide evidence‐based information. This content, however, is not without risk for bias or incompleteness.
Cover Image
Authors: Zeng Zheng , Lin Caiji , Zhang Meng‐Chun , Kossinna Pathum , Wang Pengfei , Cao Danli , Wang Jiaxing , Xu Mengzhi , Wang Xiaoyu , Li Qing , Xu Xiaohui , Yang Hao , Zhu Songling , Liu Gui‐Rong , Xie Kaihong , Yang Jiaming , Luo Yao , Wang Yao , Zhang Xing‐Hua , Lin Jingwen , Chen Hang , Liu Shu‐Lin , Liu Huidi
Published: October 2023

The cover image is based on the Research Article Enterolactone and trabectedin suppress epithelial ovarian cancer synergistically via upregulating THBS1 by Zheng Zeng and Caiji Lin et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.7942.

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The effect of diurnal warming of sea‐surface temperatures on the propagation speed of the Madden–Julian oscillation
Authors: Karlowska Eliza , Matthews Adrian J. , Webber Benjamin G. M. , Graham Tim , Xavier Prince
Published: October 2023

The diurnal warm layer in the upper ocean develops during low surface winds and high incoming solar radiation conditions, often increasing sea‐surface temperatures (SSTs) by up to 1°C. The suppressed phase of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) favours the formation of such a layer. Here, we analyse the coupled ocean–atmosphere and atmosphere‐only numerical weather prediction systems of the UK Met Office to reveal that important differences arise from the representation of the diurnal warm layer in the coupled model. Though both models are skilful in predicting the MJO to at least a 7‐day lead time, the coupled model predicts approximately 12% faster MJO RMM phase speed propagation than the atmosphere‐only model due to the ability to resolve diurnal warming in the upper ocean that rectifies onto MJO‐associated SST anomalies. The diurnal warming of SST (dSST) in the coupled model leads to an increase in daily mean SST compared with the atmosphere‐only model persisted foundation SST. The strength of the dSST in the coupled model is modulated by MJO conditions. During suppressed MJO conditions on lead day 1, the dSST is enhanced, leading to 0.2°C warmer daily mean MJO‐associated SST anomalies and increased convection in the coupled model by lead day 7. During active MJO convection, the dSST is suppressed, leading to 0.1°C colder MJO‐associated SST anomalies in the coupled model and reduced convection by lead day 7. This variability in dSST further amplifies the MJO propagation speed, underlining the importance of the two‐way feedback between the MJO and the diurnal cycle of SST and the need to accurately represent this process in coupled models.
Cooperative learning event‐triggered control for discrete‐time nonlinear multi‐agent systems by internal and external interaction topology
Authors: Wen Penghai , Wang Min , Dai Shi‐Lu
Published: October 2023

This paper investigates distributed cooperative learning event‐triggered control for discrete‐time strict‐feedback nonlinear multi‐agent systems with an identical system structure and different recurrent reference orbits. A clever system decomposition method is firstly proposed to divide every ‐order agent system into first‐order subsystems, which makes it possible to solve the tough problem that every estimated neural weight cannot converge to an unique ideal value based on the existing control scheme. By constructing two interaction typologies, a novel distributed cooperative weight updating law is designed by the introduction of the internal interaction terms between subsystems of every agent, the external interaction terms between agents, and the triggering mechanism between agents. With the combination of the graph multiplication operation, the consensus theory and the matrix null space property, the proposed cooperative event‐triggered control scheme guarantees that every agent can track their corresponding recurrent reference trajectories. And further the exponential convergence of all agents' neural estimated weights to a close vicinity around their mutual and unique ideal weights is verified under the condition that the directed interaction topology between agents is strongly connected and balanced. Such a weight convergence makes the proposed scheme has some significant advantages including the small data storage space, the convenient knowledge reuse, the good generalization ability, and the low communication burden. By reinvoking the saved constant weights, a static learning controller is presented for the high‐performance control of similar diversified tracking tasks. Simulation studies and some comparisons are given to show the advantages and effectiveness of the presented scheme.
Indicators of port sustainability: The example of Baltic Sea container ports
Authors: Bartosiewicz Aleksandra , Kucharski Adam
Published: October 2023

Container ports are key elements of global supply chains. Recent changes in the transport market put greater pressure on ports to operate sustainably and contribute more to socio‐economic development for regions, countries, and communities. This research presents a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) metric comprising 25 economic, environmental, and social indicators to assess the port sustainability of the 10 biggest container ports in the Baltic Sea Region. The proposed method is applicable to any port and may be of interest to port managers and operators. The study uses publicly available data, which is its biggest limitation because the ports differ in their information policies. The results show that Nordic ports (except Rauma), together with the Port of Tallinn, are leaders in implementing port sustainable initiatives. Ports from countries where the principles of sustainable development have not yet been properly instilled, in turn, tend to implement sustainable initiatives only if necessary and economically feasible.
Rank selection for non‐negative matrix factorization
Authors: Cai Yun , Gu Hong , Kenney Toby
Published: October 2023

Non‐Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) is a widely used dimension reduction method that factorizes a non‐negative data matrix into two lower dimensional non‐negative matrices: one is the basis or feature matrix which consists of the variables and the other is the coefficients matrix which is the projections of data points to the new basis. The features can be interpreted as sub‐structures of the data. The number of sub‐structures in the feature matrix is also called the rank. This parameter controls the model complexity and is the only tuning parameter for the NMF model. An appropriate rank will extract the key latent features while minimizing the noise from the original data. However due to the large amount of optimization error always present in the NMF computation, the rank selection has been a difficult problem. We develop a novel rank selection method based on hypothesis testing, using a deconvolved bootstrap distribution to assess the significance level accurately. Through simulations, we compare our method with a rank selection method based on hypothesis testing using bootstrap distribution without deconvolution and a method based on cross‐validation; we demonstrate that our method is not only accurate at estimating the true ranks for NMF, especially when the features are hard to distinguish, but also efficient at computation. When applied to real microbiome data (eg, OTU data and functional metagenomic data), our method also shows the ability to extract interpretable subcommunities in the data.
Enabling Extreme Low‐Temperature (≤ −100 °C) Battery Cycling with Niobium Tungsten Oxides Electrode and Tailored Electrolytes
Authors: Kim Soohwan , Zhang Yizhi , Wang Haiyan , Adams Thomas E. , Pol Vilas G.
Published: October 2023

The degradation of current Li‐ion batteries (LIBs) hinders their use in electronic devices, electric vehicles, and other applications at low temperatures, particularly in extreme environments like the polar regions and outer space. This study presents a pseudocapacitive‐type niobium tungsten oxides (NbWO) electrode material combined with tailored electrolytes, enabling extreme low‐temperature battery cycling for the first time. The synthesized NbWO material exhibits analogous structural properties to previous studies. Its homogenous atom distribution can further facilitate Li+ diffusion, while its pseudocapacitive Li+ storage mechanism enables faster Li+ reactions. Notably, the NbWO electrode material exhibits remarkable battery performance even at −60 and −100 °C, showcasing capacities of ≈90 and ≈75 mAh g−1, respectively. The electrolytes, which have demonstrated favorable Li+ transport attributes at low temperatures in the earlier investigations, now enable extreme low‐temperature battery operations, a feat not achievable with either NbWO or the electrolytes independently. Moreover, the outcomes extend to −120 °C and encompass a pouch‐type cell configuration at −100 °C, albeit with reduced performance. This study highlights the potential of NbWO for developing batteries for their use in extremely frigid environments.
Nonbreeding season survival of northern bobwhite in northeastern Colorado
Authors: Wolske Joseph M. , Behney Adam C. , Powell Larkin A.
Published: October 2023

Northern bobwhites have experienced population declines in Colorado and range wide. Estimating vital rates can provide clues to factors limiting population growth rate. Although recent estimates of breeding season survival in the northwest corner of the northern bobwhite range are available, there have been no recent studies on nonbreeding season survival. We used radio‐telemetry to estimate nonbreeding season (October–March) survival of northern bobwhites at two study sites in northeastern Colorado during winter 2019–2020 and 2020–2021. Based on our sample of 157 bobwhites, we found that survival was highly variable between years and was negatively affected by colder daily minimum temperatures and deeper snow depths. Seasonal (six‐month) survival during the first year was 0.219 (SE = 0.040) and during the second year was 0.006 (SE = 0.005). We found no evidence that sex, age or study site influenced survival, and very weak support for an effect of body mass. During our study, there were two extreme winter weather events, during which we found unusually high numbers of non‐predation mortality. Overall, northern bobwhite nonbreeding season survival in the northwest corner of their range appears to be generally similar to other regions, except during extreme winter weather events, which resulted in high mortality. We encourage managers to create or maintain vegetation characteristics that will provide shelter from winter weather while also providing abundant food in close proximity.
The Moving Body as the Articulator, Meme and Affective Link in Political Communication on TikTok
Authors: Gerbaudo Paolo , Moreno Iago
Published: October 2023

Since the popularization of TikTok, the platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance, many have inquired about the political consequences of this social medium and the way it might transform the form and content of contemporary political communication.
Posttreatment stability following therapy using passive self-ligating brackets: extraction vs. nonextraction
Authors: Sayahpour Babak , Lau Diana , Eslami Sara , Buehling Sarah , Kopp Stefan , Jamilian Abdolreza , Chhatwani Sachin
Published: October 2023

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of lower premolar extraction on posttreatment stability one year following fixed orthodontic treatment with passive self-ligating brackets (Damon system, Ormco, Orange, CA, USA).

Methods

All patients were treated with fixed orthodontic appliances using passive self-ligating brackets (Damon). For retention, removable Hawley retainers were used. Two groups of patients were included in the study. Each group consisted of 23 patients: group Ex consisted of 10 male and 13 female patients (13.4 ± 1.6 years old) with extraction of lower first premolars and group NonEx consisted of 11 male and 12 female patients (13.4 ± 3.9 years old) without dental extractions. The patients’ dental models and photographs were assessed at T0 (pretreatment), T1 (the end of active orthodontic treatment: 3.3 ± 1.0 years in the Ex and 2.3 ± 0.8 years in the NonEx group) and at T2 (1 year posttreatment). All lower casts were scanned and the following dental parameters were recorded and compared between the two groups: intercanine width (ICW), anterior arch width (AAW), intermolar width (IMW), Little’s irregularity index (LII) and gingival recessions.

Results

An increase in ICW (group Ex: 1.20 ± 2.51 mm and group NonEx: 0.84 ± 1.48 mm) by the end of active treatment (T1; P < 0.05), as well as a relapse regarding the ICW (group Ex: −0.1 ± 0.47 mm and group NonEx: −67% ± 0.38 mm) one year post-treatment (T2) were recorded in the samples. Relapse in the non-extraction group was statistically and clinically significant, whereas ICW values remained relatively stable in the extraction group during the posttreatment period (T1–T2). The irregularity index decreased during treatment (group Ex: −8.79 ± 6.36 mm and group NonEx: −5.24 ± 2.99 mm) and relapsed in both groups (group Ex: 0.57 ± 90 mm and group NonEx: 0.27 ± 0.53). The rate of relapse in LII was correlated to the relapse rate of ICW. A reduction of IMW was recorded in the Ex group (−1.89 ± 1.82 mm) during active treatment (P < 0.05), which remained stable 1 year posttreatment. AAW increased in both groups (group Ex: 2.77 ± 1.77 mm and group NonEx: 1.77 ± 2.04 mm) throughout active treatment and remained stable at T2.

Conclusion

Intergroup comparison revealed that ICW remained stable 1 year posttreatment in the Ex group, whereas high relapse of ICW was recorded in the NonEx group. Furthermore, risk of a relapse of LII appears to be higher in cases with a relapse of the ICW.
Manualtherapeutische Ansätze bei zervikaler Radikulopathie
Authors: Ogorevc Hana , Moser Klemens
Published: October 2023

Hintergrund

Die zervikale Radikulopathie (ZR) ist mit einer Inzidenz von 83,2 pro 100.000 Personen eine weitverbreitete neuromuskuloskeletale Erkrankung, bei der es zu einer Nervenwurzelirritation in der Halswirbelsäule kommt. Schmerzen und oftmals neurologische Symptome schränken die Betroffenen im Alltag stark ein. Für viele Patienten bedeutet die Erkrankung sogar die Arbeitsunfähigkeit. Da die konservative Behandlung bei diesem Krankheitsbild bei entsprechender klinischer Diagnostik das primäre Vorgehen darstellt, werden verschiedenste Techniken und Methoden für den Behandlungsprozess verwendet.

Ziel

Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Wirksamkeit manualtherapeutischer Techniken bei der Behandlung von Patienten mit einer ZR in Bezug auf die Schmerzlinderung und die Funktionsverbesserung zu evaluieren.

Material und Methoden

Mittels Literaturrecherche in den Datenbanken PubMed, PEDro und Cochrane wurden Studien recherchiert und nach Durchsicht kritisch beurteilt und zusammengefasst.

Ergebnisse

Die Wirksamkeit der manuellen Therapie (MT) als Einzelintervention lässt sich schwer feststellen, da in den verwendeten Studien eine sehr große Variabilität in der Diagnostik und Durchführung besteht. Bei den Studien lassen sich vereinzelt Tendenzen erkennen, genaue Aussagen können jedoch nicht getroffen werden. In allen 7 analysierten Studien wurden allerdings signifikant positive Effekte im multimodalen Setting bei einer ZR bezüglich der Schmerzreduktion und Funktionsverbesserungen, bei dem die MT inkludiert wurde, festgestellt. Empfohlen wird daher ein umfangreiches Behandlungsprogramm mit inkludierter MT. Die Ergebnisse des Studienvergleichs beziehen sich nur auf kurzfristige Veränderungen des Wirkungsbereichs, da meist kein längeres Follow-up erfolgte.

Schlussfolgerungen

Um die Wirksamkeit der MT als Einzelintervention besser beurteilen zu können, braucht es einheitliche Kriterien für die Diagnostik und Behandlung der ZR sowie größere Stichprobengrößen und längere Zeiten der Nachuntersuchung. In der physiotherapeutischen Praxis sollte die MT als multimodaler Therapieansatz in Kombination mit anderen Behandlungsmaßnahmen durchgeführt werden.
Emotional barriers and facilitators of deprescribing for older adults with cancer and polypharmacy: a qualitative study
Authors: Ramsdale Erika , Malhotra Arul , Holmes Holly M. , Zubkoff Lisa , Wang Jinjiao , Mohile Supriya , Norton Sally A. , Duberstein Paul R.
Published: October 2023

Purpose

To describe emotional barriers and facilitators to deprescribing (the planned reduction or discontinuation of medications) in older adults with cancer and polypharmacy.

Methods

Virtual focus groups were conducted over Zoom with 5 key informant groups: oncologists, oncology nurses, primary care physicians, pharmacists, and patients. All groups were video- and audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using inductive content analysis, and open coding was performed by two coders. A codebook was generated based on the initial round of open coding and updated throughout the analytic process. Codes and themes were discussed for each transcript until consensus was reached. Emotion coding (identifying text segments expressing emotion, naming the emotion, and assigning a label of positive or negative) was performed by both coders to validate the open coding findings.

Results

All groups agreed that polypharmacy is a significant problem. For clinicians, emotional barriers to deprescribing include fear of moral judgment from patients and colleagues, frustration toward patients, and feelings of incompetence. Oncologists and patients expressed ambivalence about deprescribing due to role expectations that physicians “heal with med[ication]s.” Emotional facilitators of deprescribing included the involvement of pharmacists, who were perceived to be neutral, discerning experts. Pharmacists described emotionally aware communication strategies when discussing deprescribing with other clinicians and expressed increased awareness of patient context.

Conclusion

Deprescribing can elicit strong and predominantly negative emotions among clinicians and patients which could inhibit deprescribing interventions. The involvement of pharmacists in deprescribing interventions could mitigate these emotional barriers.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05046171. Date of registration: September 16, 2021.
Generation and validation of a myoglobin knockout zebrafish model
Authors: Hejlesen Rasmus , Kjær-Sørensen Kasper , Fago Angela , Oxvig Claus
Published: October 2023

Previous studies using myoglobin (Mb) knockout mice and knockdown zebrafish have presented conflicting results about in vivo phenotypes resulting from the loss of this conserved and highly expressed protein, and therefore a new well-characterized knockout model is warranted. We here describe the generation of three distinct zebrafish mb knockout lines using the CRISPR/Cas system. None of the three lines exhibited any morphological phenotypes, changes in length, or lethality during embryonic and larval development. The adult homozygous knockout mb(Auzf13.2) zebrafish line were absent of Mb protein, had an almost complete degradation of mb mRNA, and showed no changes in viability, length, or heart size. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis of adult heart tissue showed that mb knockout did not cause altered expression of other genes. Lastly, no off-targeting was observed in 36 screened loci. In conclusion, we have generated three mb knockout lines with indistinguishable phenotypes during embryonic and larval development and validated one of these lines, mb(Auzf13.2), to have no signs of genetic compensation or off-target effects in the adult heart. These findings suggests that the mb(Auzf13.2) shows promise as a candidate for investigating the biological role of Mb in zebrafish.
Real-World-Evidenz für den Einsatz von digitaler kognitiver Verhaltenstherapie bei Insomnie in der Regelversorgung
Authors: Maurer Leonie F. , Aust Felix , Lorenz Noah
Published: October 2023

Hintergrund

Durch die Einführung digitaler Gesundheitsanwendungen (DiGA) in Deutschland besteht seit Oktober 2020 ein digitales Therapieangebot für die chronische Insomnie durch die DiGA somnio (mementor DE GmbH, Leipzig, Deutschland). Diese setzt die leitliniengerechte kognitive Verhaltenstherapie für Insomnie (KVT-I) digital um und kann beim Vorliegen einer Insomniediagnose verordnet werden. Der Einsatz der DiGA macht es möglich, die digitale KVT‑I erstmalig im Rahmen einer Anwendungsbeobachtung in der Regelversorgung zu untersuchen.

Ziel der Arbeit

Durch die Untersuchung der Nutzerdaten von somnio soll ein umfassenderes Verständnis zur Wirkung der digitalen KVT‑I in der Regelversorgung ermittelt werden.

Material und Methoden

Wir haben die Daten von N = 5000 zufällig ausgewählten Nutzer:innen ausgewertet, welche somnio in den Jahren 2021–2022 abgeschlossen haben und bei Beginn einen Insomnieschweregrad gemäß Insomnie-Schweregrad-Index (ISI) ≥ 8 angaben. Die Insomnieschwere und das Schlafverhalten wurden über den Verlauf der digitalen Intervention deskriptiv ausgewertet. Innergruppenveränderungen wurden anhand von Cohen’s d berechnet, um Aufschluss über das jeweilige Effektmaß zu geben.

Ergebnisse

Die Auswertung zeigte eine Verringerung der mittleren ISI-Werte um −8,49 ± 5,39 Punkte zwischen Beginn und Abschluss der Anwendung (d = 1,58). Bei Abschluss erfüllten 57 % die Kriterien einer klinisch signifikanten Veränderung (Reduzierung ≥ 8 Punkte auf dem ISI) und 38 % erfüllten die Kriterien für eine Remission (ISI < 8). Auswertungen der Tagebucheinträge zeigten eine deutliche Verbesserung der Schlafkontinuität und -qualität (ds = 0,68–1,07).

Diskussion

In Übereinstimmung mit kontrollierten Studien zeigen die Daten aus der Praxis, dass die Anwendung der digitalen KVT‑I zu klinisch bedeutsamen Verbesserungen der Insomnie und des Schlafs führen kann. Damit unterstützen die Ergebnisse den Einsatz digitaler Therapien in der Regelversorgung.
Preliminary colour characterisation of a Stratasys J750 digital anatomy printer with different fillings and face orientations
Authors: Badar Faizan , Vandi Luigi-Jules , Carluccio Danilo , Redmond Michael , Novak James I.
Published: October 2023

Multicolour capability in additive manufacturing could play a key role in certain applications such as surgical training and consumer products. However, the ability to accurately 3D print colours is not well documented and could affect the realism of models produced through these technologies. As a recent system, the Stratasys J750 Digital Anatomy Printer has yet to be analyzed for its colour perception and accuracy, which is quantified through this study. This will allow users of this and similar material jetting systems with an improved understanding of the relationship between digitally applied colours and their result when 3D printed, as well as the influence of certain settings. Thirty-three rectangular prism models with different CMYK and RGB colours, as well as infill materials, were printed on a Stratasys J750 DAP printer. These were scanned on five faces using a Nix Mini 2 handheld colour sensor, documenting readings in CIELAB format. The data were analyzed using the CIEDE2000 colour difference formula, and its recent modifications for 3D printed objects. Results found statistically significant and perceptive differences in colour accuracy among different colours, core materials, and face orientations. It was also observed that the addition of VeroPureWhite as filler material instead of the default SUP706 support improved colour accuracy. The study recommends the following steps to improve colour accuracy: (i) avoid the addition of black (K) manually in CMYK colour space, (ii) use pure white as the base infill material instead of support material, (iii) add a little white (~ 10%–30%) to make samples opaque instead of translucent.
Transfer learning for hate speech detection in social media
Authors: Yuan Lanqin , Wang Tianyu , Ferraro Gabriela , Suominen Hanna , Rizoiu Marian-Andrei
Published: October 2023

Today, the internet is an integral part of our daily lives, enabling people to be more connected than ever before. However, this greater connectivity and access to information increase exposure to harmful content, such as cyber-bullying and cyber-hatred. Models based on machine learning and natural language offer a way to make online platforms safer by identifying hate speech in web text autonomously. However, the main difficulty is annotating a sufficiently large number of examples to train these models. This paper uses a transfer learning technique to leverage two independent datasets jointly and builds a single representation of hate speech. We build an interpretable two-dimensional visualization tool of the constructed hate speech representation—dubbed the Map of Hate—in which multiple datasets can be projected and comparatively analyzed. The hateful content is annotated differently across the two datasets (racist and sexist in one dataset, hateful and offensive in another). However, the common representation successfully projects the harmless class of both datasets into the same space and can be used to uncover labeling errors (false positives). We also show that the joint representation boosts prediction performances when only a limited amount of supervision is available. These methods and insights hold the potential for safer social media and reduce the need to expose human moderators and annotators to distressing online messaging.
Governance basics for the physician-scientist considering business ventures. Lessons from Theranos
Authors: Witek Theodore J. , Klein David
Published: October 2023

The prospect of an innovative laboratory device capable of an array of testing from a tiny amount of blood caught the intense attention of both the medical and investment community. The device, however, was never properly validated, with several false and misleading claims made by its founder. This venture in the business of science went very badly for the firm Theranos with ensuing criminal convictions. Using public domain reports from trial testimony provided a unique opportunity to distill facts for key learnings for future stakeholders in the business of science. Several lessons related to basic governance unfolded during the trial’s testimony and are the basis for this brief case study. These include (1) a board make-up that had a suboptimal understanding of the technology, (2) advisors that did not sufficiently engage, (3) management/employee trust was tarnished and (4) investors failing to perform optimal diligence prior to funding. These lessons are particularly important for the physician-scientist and health executive who may find themselves at the interface of health and commerce. Points to consider in such ventures are discussed toward fostering the avoidance of these breakdowns.