bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modeling the turnover intentions of Thai health-care personnel in pandemic times: moderating role of Covid-19 burnout
Authors: Haq Inzamam Ul , Maneengam Apichit , Chupradit Supat , Huo Chunhui
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Covid-19 cases are rising at a high rate in Thailand. Thailand’s administration has formulated many initiatives to combat the spread of coronavirus. However, during a pandemic, health-care workers have a diverse range of tasks that make it more challenging to continue working in hospitals. Consequently, the authors modeled the turnover intentions of health-care personnel to capture relevant psychological aspects of employees during the pandemic. Specifically, this study aims to focused on the moderating role of Covid-19 burnout (CBO) in the relationship between transformational leadership (TL) and job turnover intentions (JTI) with job satisfaction (JS) and knowledge hiding (KH) as mediators.

Design/methodology/approach

This research collected data using self-administered questionnaire. A two-stage partial least square–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is carried out as an analysis technique to measure the linear relationship among constructs. The study tests hypotheses (direct and indirect effects) using 310 sample size of health-care personnel.

Findings

The findings indicated that CBO intensified the JTI of health-care personnel and strengthened the association of JS and KH with JTI during the Covid-19 pandemic. TL had a negative indirect effect on JTI. In addition, JS had a negative impact on JTI.

Originality/value

The study highlights the importance of TL and JS as ways to reduce or alleviate JTI in health-care personnel during the Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand. Furthermore, CBO and KH can enhance JTI in health-care personnel.
Leader–follower psychological capital congruence and work outcomes: the mediating role of organizational embeddedness
Authors: Wang Yanfei , Wu Caiping , Tian Xiaoxia , Zhu Yu
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Based on the micro role transition theory (MRTT), the present study aims to explore how leader–follower congruence in psychological capital (PsyCap) affects followers' task performance and voice behavior, in which we uncover the mediating role of organizational embeddedness.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted in South China through a three-stage procedure, and finally, a dyad-structured sample of 62 leaders and 218 employees was matched. The polynomial regression method, response surface analysis and structural equation modeling were employed to test the effects of leader–follower PsyCap congruence.

Findings

(1) Followers' organizational embeddedness will be higher when leaders' and followers' PsyCap are more aligned; (2) followers' organizational embeddedness will be higher when leaders' and followers' PsyCap are aligned at a high level rather than when they are aligned at a low level; (3) followers' organizational embeddedness will be higher when followers' PsyCap is higher than leaders', compared to when followers' PsyCap is lower than leaders'; (4) organizational embeddedness mediates the relationship between leader–follower PsyCap congruence and followers' (a) task performance and (b) voice behavior.

Originality/value

This study emphasizes leaders' pivotal role in a process where followers' PsyCap affects task performance and voice behavior, and further extends MRTT through introducing organizational embeddedness as a mediator in such a mechanism.
Sustainable supply chain management – a key to resilience in the global pandemic
Authors: Eggert Julius , Hartmann Julia
Published: March 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential synergy between companies’ sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) activities and their supply chain resilience (SCRES). The authors propose hypotheses about the impact of buying companies SSCM activities on the inflicted damage by unexpected supply chain disruptions and the recovery time afterwards and test these empirically using data from companies during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors investigate a sample of 231 of the largest publicly traded companies in the European Union with 4.158 firm-year observations. For the analysis, the authors generate variables capturing the companies’ intensity and years of experience of their SSCM activities targeted at the supply chain and run regression analyses on the inflicted damage due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recovery time after the disruption.

Findings

Buying companies’ SSCM activities have a positive effect on their SCRES. The damage inflicted by unexpected supply chain disruptions is lower when companies have higher levels of SSCM and longer experience with it. The recovery time afterwards is significantly reduced by longer experience with SSCM efforts.

Research limitations/implications

The authors suggest SCRES is reinforced by transparency, situational awareness, social capital and collaboration resulting from companies SSCM activities translate into increased SCRES.

Practical implications

The authors show that companies with superior SSCM are more resilient in a crisis and conclude that, therefore, companies should invest in SSCM to prevent future supply disruptions.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study analyzing a data set of multi-industry companies, linking their SSCM activities to SCRES during the pandemic.
Travel app shopping on smartphones: understanding the success factors influencing in-app travel purchase intentions
Authors: Lim Xin-Jean , Cheah Jun-Hwa , Morrison Alastair M. , Ng Siew Imm , Wang Siqi
Published: March 2022

Purpose

With the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as the guiding theoretical perspectives, this research aims to identify the factors motivating user attitudes and in-app purchase intentions (IAPIs). The moderating impact of user inertia towards TPB constructs was also explored.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 500 responses were received via an online survey fielded from July to October 2021. The data were then analysed using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The results indicated that attitudes towards travel app shopping were predominantly determined by perceived relative advantages, compatibility and complexity. Findings also suggested that IAPIs are positively influenced by attitudes, communicability and perceived behavioural control and are moderated by user inertia.

Originality/value

A holistic framework integrating theoretical foundations from two disciplines (information systems and psychology) was designed to explain factors motivating user intentions to purchase travel products and services from apps. This research found a missing link in previous studies by showing the indirect role of attitudes that bridges the DOI and TPB and the importance of inertia as a key boundary condition.
An ecological explanation for hyperallometric scaling of reproduction
Authors: Potter Tomos , Felmy Anja
Published: April 2022

In wild populations, large individuals have disproportionately higher reproductive output than smaller individuals. Some theoretical models explain this pattern—termed reproductive hyperallometry—by individuals allocating a greater fraction of available energy towards reproductive effort as they grow.

Here, we propose a simple ecological explanation for this observation: differences between individuals in rates of resource assimilation, where greater assimilation causes both increased reproduction and body size, resulting in reproductive hyperallometry at the level of the population.

We illustrate this effect by determining the relationship between size and reproduction in wild and laboratory‐reared Trinidadian guppies. We show that (a) reproduction increased disproportionately with body size in the wild but not in the laboratory, where resource competition was eliminated; (b) in the wild, hyperallometry was greatest during the wet season, when resource competition is strongest; and (c) detection of hyperallometric scaling of reproduction at the population level was inevitable if individual differences in assimilation were ignored.

We propose that ecologically driven variation in assimilation—caused by size‐dependent resource competition, niche expansion and chance—contributes substantially to observations of hyperallometric scaling of reproduction in natural populations. We recommend that models incorporate such ecologically caused variation when seeking to explain reproductive hyperallometry.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
ArsZ from Ensifer adhaerens ST2 is a novel methylarsenite oxidase
Authors: Zhang Jun , Li Yan‐Ning , Chen Jian , Yan Yu , Rosen Barry P. , Zhao Fang‐Jie
Published: March 2022

Trivalent methylarsenite [MAs(III)] produced by biomethylation is more toxic than inorganic arsenite [As(III)]. Hence, MAs(III) has been proposed to be a primordial antibiotic. Other bacteria evolved mechanisms to detoxify MAs(III). In this study, the molecular mechanisms of MAs(III) resistance of Ensifer adhaerens ST2 were investigated. In the chromosome of E. adhaerens ST2 is a gene encoding a protein of unknown function. Here, we show that this gene, designated arsZ, encodes a novel MAs(III) oxidase that confers resistance by oxidizing highly toxic MAs(III) to relatively nontoxic MAs(V). Two other genes, arsRK, are adjacent to arsZ but are divergently encoded in the opposite direction. Heterologous expression of arsZ in Escherichia coli confers resistance to MAs(III) but not to As(III). Purified ArsZ catalyses thioredoxin‐ and NAPD+‐dependent oxidation of MAs(III). Mutational analysis of ArsZ suggests that Cys59 and Cys123 are involved in the oxidation of MAs(III). Expression of arsZ, arsR and arsK genes is induced by MAs(III) and As(III) and is likely controlled by the ArsR transcriptional repressor. These results demonstrate that ArsZ is a novel MAs(III) oxidase that contributes to E. adhaerens tolerance to environmental organoarsenicals. The arsZRK operon is widely present in bacteria within the Rhizobiaceae family.
Reparameterization of the Weibull model for practical uses in food science
Authors: De Flaviis Riccardo , Sacchetti Giampiero
Published: March 2022

Abstract: The reparameterization of the Weibull cumulative distribution function and its survival function was performed to obtain meaningful parameters in food and biological sciences such as the lag phase (λ), the maximum rate (), and the maximum increase/decrease of the function (A). The application of the Lambert function was crucial in order to achieve an explicit mathematical solution. Since the reparameterized model is applicable only when the shape parameter (α) is greater than one, the Weibull model was modified with the introduction of a new parameter () that represents the model rate at time β (scale parameter). All models were applied to literature data on food technology and microbiology topics: Microbial growth, thermal microbial inactivation, thermal degradation kinetics, and particle size distributions. The Weibull model and the reparameterized versions showed identical fitting performance in terms of coefficient of determination, residual mean standard error, values of residuals, and estimated values of the parameters. Some faults in the datasets used in this study permitted to re‐mark the criticality of a good experimental plan when data modeling is approached. The parameter resulted in an interesting new rate parameter that is not correlated with the scale parameter ( = 0.64 ± 0.37) and highly correlated with the shape parameter ( = 0.90 ± 0.11). Also, the reparameterization of the Weibull probability density function was performed by using both the standard and new parameters and applied to experimental data and gave useful information from the distribution curve, such as the value of the mode () and a measure of the curve skewness (λ).
Harnessing natural history collections to detect trends in body‐size change as a response to warming: A critique and review of best practices
Authors: Theriot Miranda K. , Lanier Hayley C. , Olson Link E.
Published: April 2022

Specimen‐based data have played a central role in documenting body‐size shifts as a possible response to global warming over the last century. Identification of the drivers and patterns of these trends requires comparisons across taxa, often through meta‐analyses; however, a lack of repeatability within and interoperability (i.e. the potential for a dataset to be augmented for future research) among published studies is a major obstacle.

We reviewed published studies on mammal body‐size changes in the Anthropocene, focusing on those that used museum specimens to analyse body‐size trends over time in at least one species. We assessed these papers for repeatability and interoperability with the following criteria: raw data and specimen identifiers were published and accessible, measurements were unambiguously defined, and potential sex‐ and age‐based size differences among individuals were accounted for.

Most published body‐size studies have low potential for replication or augmentation; only one of 27 met all of our criteria. Although these 27 papers collectively generated an estimated 51,790 new body‐size measurements, only 1.25% (649) could be repeated or readily used in further investigations, as the remainder did not include raw data and/or specimen identifiers.

Based on these findings, we recommend the following best practices in the study of body‐size trends. First, authors should explicitly define and justify all measures of size and quantify measurement error and publish all data, including measurements and specimen catalogue numbers. In addition to complying with the fundamental scientific tenet of repeatability, this minimizes redundant handling and the concomitant risk of damage to irreplaceable and often fragile museum specimens. Second, authors should test and account for the effects of demography, as some dimensions can change throughout an individual's life. Adopting these practices will improve the quality of body‐size studies, enhance the utility of extended specimen data from natural history collections, and enable researchers to conduct more expansive investigations of size trends over time.
Alzheimer‐like tau accumulation in dentate gyrus mossy cells induces spatial cognitive deficits by disrupting multiple memory‐related signaling and inhibiting local neural circuit
Authors: Li Shihong , Zhou Qiuzhi , Liu Enjie , Du Huiyun , Yu Nana , Yu Haitao , Wang Weijin , Li Mengzhu , Weng Ying , Gao Yang , Pi Guilin , Wang Xin , Ke Dan , Wang Jian‐Zhi
Published: March 2022

Abnormal tau accumulation and spatial memory loss constitute characteristic pathology and symptoms of Alzheimer disease (AD). Yet, the intrinsic connections and the mechanism between them are not fully understood. In the current study, we observed a prominent accumulation of the AD‐like hyperphosphorylated and truncated tau (hTau N368) proteins in hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) mossy cells of 3xTg‐AD mice. Further investigation demonstrated that the ventral DG (vDG) mossy cell‐specific overexpressing hTau for 3 months induced spatial cognitive deficits, while expressing hTau N368 for only 1 month caused remarkable spatial cognitive impairment with more prominent tau pathologies. By in vivo electrophysiological and optic fiber recording, we observed that the vDG mossy cell‐specific overexpression of hTau N368 disrupted theta oscillations with local neural network inactivation in the dorsal DG subset, suggesting impairment of the ventral to dorsal neural circuit. The mossy cell‐specific transcriptomic data revealed that multiple AD‐associated signaling pathways were disrupted by hTau N368, including reduction of synapse‐associated proteins, inhibition of AKT and activation of glycogen synthase kinase‐3β. Importantly, chemogenetic activating mossy cells efficiently attenuated the hTau N368‐induced spatial cognitive deficits. Together, our findings indicate that the mossy cell pathological tau accumulation could induce the AD‐like spatial memory deficit by inhibiting the local neural network activity, which not only reveals new pathogenesis underlying the mossy cell‐related spatial memory loss but also provides a mouse model of Mossy cell‐specific hTau accumulation for drug development in AD and the related tauopathies.
Idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome is more often suspected than diagnosed—A prospective real‐life study
Authors: Buttgereit Thomas , Gu Sophie , Carneiro‐Leão Leonor , Gutsche Annika , Maurer Marcus , Siebenhaar Frank
Published: April 2022

Background

Idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is characterized by three diagnostic criteria: (1) episodic mast cell (MC)‐driven signs/symptoms of at least two organ systems in the absence of clonal MC expansion and definite triggers, (2) episodic increase in tryptase, and (3) response to MC‐targeted treatment. Many patients believe they have MCAS, but how often this is the case remains unknown.

Methods

We prospectively investigated patients with suspected MCAS (n = 100) for the diagnostic criteria including baseline tryptase, KIT D816V mutation, and patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) over the course of 12 weeks. Comorbid depression and anxiety were explored with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

Results

In 53% of our patients (80% females), suspicion of MCAS was based on self‐evaluation. In total, patients reported 87 different symptoms, mostly fatigue (n = 57), musculoskeletal pain/weakness (n = 49), and abdominal pain (n = 43), with overall high disease activity and impact. Two of 79 patients had increased tryptase (by >20% +2 ng/ml) following an episode. Only 5%, with any of the PROMs used, showed complete response to MC‐targeted treatment. Depression and anxiety disorders were frequent comorbidities (n = 23 each), and 65 patients had pathological HADS values, which were linked to high disease impact and poor symptom control.

Conclusion

Mast cell activation syndrome was confirmed in only 2% of patients, which implies that it is not MC activation that drives signs and symptoms in most patients with suspected MCAS. There is a high need for comprehensive research efforts aimed at the identification of the true underlying pathomechanism(s) in patients with suspected MCAS.
Goodnight Colston. Mourning Slavery: Death Rites and Duppy Conquering in a Circum‐Atlantic City
Authors: Philogene Heron Adom
Published: April 2022

In the wake of the riotous procession that toppled the statue of Edward Colston, this essay sketches an ethnographic itinerary through the spectral geographies of Bristol, a circum‐Atlantic city haunted by the ghosts of slavery. The paper offers a Caribbean cosmological reading of the toppling and aqueous burial as a kind of duppy conquering, a vital act of social renewal that clears ground for processes of spiritual and affective repair. The paper then explores two rituals of restoration—a remembrance ceremony for an enslaved woman and an inchoate ancestral invocation upon an empty plinth—alongside other, kindred paths of repair in the long afterlife of Atlantic slavery.
Efficacy of pharmacological interventions in COVID‐19: A network meta‐analysis
Authors: Selvarajan Sandhiya , Anandaradje Annuja , Shivabasappa Santhosh , Melepurakkal Sadanandan Deepthy , Nair N. Sreekumaran , George Melvin
Published: March 2022

Aims

To perform network meta‐analysis for a head‐to‐head comparison of various interventions used in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) on mortality, clinical recovery, time to clinical improvement and the occurrence of serious adverse events.

Methods

Systematic search was performed using online databases with suitable MeSH terms including coronavirus, COVID‐19, randomized controlled trial, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, tocilizumab, remdesivir, favipiravir, dexamethasone and interferon‐β. Data were independently extracted by 2 study investigators and analysed.

Results

Out of 1225 studies screened, 23 were included for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Among the drugs studied, dexamethasone reduces mortality by 10%, with a relative risk of 0.90 (95% confidence interval [0.82–0.97]) and increases clinical recovery by 6% (relative risk 1.06, 95% confidence interval [1.02–1.10]) compared to standard of care. Similarly, remdesivir administered for 10 days increased clinical recovery by 10%, reduced time to clinical improvement by 4 days and lowered the occurrence of serious adverse events by 27% as compared to standard of care.

Conclusion

In comparison to standard of care, dexamethasone was found to increase clinical recovery and lower mortality; remdesivir was significantly associated with a lower risk of mortality as compared to tocilizumab and higher clinical recovery and shorter time to clinical improvement as compared to hydroxychloroquine and tocilizumab; remdesivir followed by tocilizumab were found to have lesser occurrence of serious adverse events in patients with moderate to severe COVID‐19.
Evolution of severe (transfusion‐dependent) anaemia in myelodysplastic syndromes with 5q deletion is characterized by a macrophage‐associated failure of the eythropoietic niche
Authors: Buesche Guntram , Teoman Huesniye , Schneider Rebekka K. , Ribezzo Flavia , Ebert Benjamin L. , Giagounidis Aristoteles , Göhring Gudrun , Schlegelberger Brigitte , Bock Oliver , Ganser Arnold , Aul Carlo , Germing Ulrich , Kreipe Hans
Published: April 2022

Evolution of erythrocyte transfusion‐dependent (RBC‐TD) anaemia associated with haploinsufficiency of the ribosomal protein subunit S14 gene (RPS14) is a characteristic complication of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with del(5q) [MDS.del(5q)]. Evaluating 39 patients with MDS.del(5q), <5% of anaemia progression was attributable to RPS14‐dependent alterations of normoblasts, pro‐erythroblasts, or CD34+CD71+ precursors. Ninety‐three percent of anaemia progression and 70% of the absolute decline in peripheral blood Hb value were attributable to disappearance of erythroblastic islands (Ery‐Is). Ery‐Is loss occurred independently of blast excess, TP53 mutation, additional chromosome aberrations and RPS14‐dependent alterations of normoblasts and pro‐erythroblasts. It was associated with RPS14‐dependent intrinsic (S100A8+) and extrinsic [tumour necrosis factor α (TNF‐α)‐overproduction] alterations of (CD169+) marrow macrophages (p < 0.00005). In a mouse model of RPS14 haploinsufficiency, Ery‐Is disappeared to a similar degree: approximately 70% of Ery‐Is loss was related to RPS14‐dependent S100A8 overexpression of marrow macrophages, less than 20% to that of CD71highTer119− immature precursors, and less than 5% to S100A8/p53 overexpression of normoblasts or pro‐erythroblasts. Marked Ery‐Is loss predicted reduced efficacy (erythrocyte transfusion independence) of lenalidomide therapy (p = 0.0006). Thus, erythroid hypoplasia, a characteristic complication of MDS.del(5q), seems to result primarily from a macrophage‐associated failure of the erythropoietic niche markedly reducing the productive capacity of erythropoiesis as the leading factor in anaemia progression and evolution of RBC‐TD in MDS.del(5q).
Reductions in perceived COVID‐19 threat amid UK’s mass public vaccination programme coincide with reductions in outgroup avoidance (but not prejudice)
Authors: Meleady Rose , Hodson Gordon
Published: March 2022

It has long been proposed that perceptions of threat contribute to greater outgroup negativity. Much of the existing evidence on the threat–prejudice association in the real world, however, is cross‐sectional in nature. Such designs do not adequately capture individual‐level changes in constructs, and how changes in constructs relate to changes in other theoretically relevant constructs. The current research exploited the unique opportunity afforded by the mass COVID‐19 vaccination programme in the United Kingdom to explore whether reductions in pathogen threat coincide with reductions in outgroup prejudice and avoidance. A two‐wave longitudinal study (N1 = 912, N2 = 738) measured British adult's perceptions of COVID‐19 threat and anti‐immigrant bias before and during mass vaccine rollout in the United Kingdom. Tests of latent change models demonstrated that perceived COVID‐19 threat significantly declined as the vaccine programme progressed, as did measures of outgroup avoidance tendencies, but not prejudiced attitudes. Critically, change in threat was systematically correlated with change in outgroup avoidance: those with greater reductions in perceived COVID‐19 threat were, on average, those with greater reductions in outgroup avoidance. Findings provide important and novel insights into the implications of disease protection strategies for intergroup relations during an actual pandemic context, as it unfolds over time.
A novel prognostic model based on log odds of positive lymph nodes to predict outcomes of patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma after surgery
Authors: Tang Jiajia , Tian Yan , Xi Xuehua , Ma Jiaojiao , Li Huilin , Wang Liangkai , Zhang Bo
Published: March 2022

Objective

The eighth version of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (8th AJCC) system for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) added lymph node (LN) metastasis as the staging element. This study aimed to explore the association between LN status and ATC's prognosis, identify the optimal LN index and establish a novel prognostic model.

Design and Patients

Data of 199 ATC patients after surgery were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, then randomly divided into training and validation cohorts.

Measurements

We compared the prognostic value of AJCC N status, number of positive LN (PLNN), ratio of LN (LNR) and log odds of positive LN (LODDS). We conducted univariate and multivariate Cox analyses to determine the independent prognostic factors for ATC, and constructed a novel prognostic model. The concordance index (C‐index), area under the receiver‐operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration curves and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to assess the nomogram's predictive performance.

Results

LODDS showed the highest accuracy among four LN systems to predict overall survival (OS) for ATC. In the training cohort, the C‐index of the LODDS‐based nomogram was 0.738. The AUCs were 0.813, 0.850 and 0.869 for predicting 1‐, 2‐ and 3‐year OS, respectively. The calibration plots and DCA indicated the great clinical applicability of the model. The above results were verified in the validation cohort.

Conclusions

LODDS showed better predictive performance than other LN schemes in ATC. The LODDS‐incorporated nomogram has the potential to more precisely predict the prognosis for ATC patients than the AJCC system.
Prominent D‐dimer elevation and pretibial edema related to alemtuzumab treatment: A case report and literature review
Authors: Aktan Suzgun Merve , Omerhoca Sami , Kale Nilufer , Uygunoglu Ugur
Published: April 2022

Alemtuzumab is one of the most effective agents in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). On the other hand, the spectrum of possible side effects is wide and carries the potential to cause a variety of inflammatory and thrombotic complications. In this report firstly, a case who developed a systemic thrombotic and inflammatory response after alemtuzumab administration and then presented with pretibial edema in a period of 1 month is discussed. Then, based on the findings detected via this case, the possible side effects of alemtuzumab, both during drug infusion and in the early and late periods after administration, were classified. This classification was created by compiling the reported adverse effects in the literature related to the use of alemtuzumab for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. This presented case shows that prothrombotic predisposition after alemtuzumab administration may result in peripheral microvascular circulatory disorders even in the long term and one of them is pretibial edema. According to the current literature data, side effects of alemtuzumab treatment which is used for multiple sclerosis are categorized as follows: (i) infusion‐related reactions, (ii) acute/subacute inflammatory and pro‐thrombotic effects, (iii) immunosuppression‐related opportunistic infections, (iv) immune reconstitution‐related secondary autoimmune disorders. Increasing awareness of the possible side effects of alemtuzumab treatment used in the course of multiple sclerosis will enable both the development of possible prophylactic treatment options and the early control of emerging complications.
Learning Higher‐Order Transitional Probabilities in Nonhuman Primates
Authors: Rey Arnaud , Fagot Joël , Mathy Fabien , Lazartigues Laura , Tosatto Laure , Bonafos Guillem , Freyermuth Jean‐Marc , Lavigne Frédéric
Published: April 2022

The extraction of cooccurrences between two events, A and B, is a central learning mechanism shared by all species capable of associative learning. Formally, the cooccurrence of events A and B appearing in a sequence is measured by the transitional probability (TP) between these events, and it corresponds to the probability of the second stimulus given the first (i.e., p(B|A)). In the present study, nonhuman primates (Guinea baboons, Papio papio) were exposed to a serial version of the XOR (i.e., exclusive‐OR), in which they had to process sequences of three stimuli: A, B, and C. In this manipulation, first‐order TPs (i.e., AB and BC) were uninformative due to their transitional probabilities being equal to .5 (i.e., p(B|A) = p(C|B) = .5), while second‐order TPs were fully predictive of the upcoming stimulus (i.e., p(C|AB) = 1). In Experiment 1, we found that baboons were able to learn second‐order TPs, while no learning occurred on first‐order TPs. In Experiment 2, this pattern of results was replicated, and a final test ruled out an alternative interpretation in terms of proximity to the reward. These results indicate that a nonhuman primate species can learn a nonlinearly separable problem such as the XOR. They also provide fine‐grained empirical data to test models of statistical learning on the interaction between the learning of different orders of TPs. Recent bioinspired models of associative learning are also introduced as promising alternatives to the modeling of statistical learning mechanisms.
Aerobic exercise with blood flow restriction: Energy expenditure, excess postexercise oxygen consumption, and respiratory exchange ratio
Authors: da Silva Julio C. G. , Freitas Eduardo D. S. , Aniceto Rodrigo R. , Silva Kalinne F. , Araújo Joamira P. , Bembem Michael G. , Batista Gilmário R. , Sousa Maria S. C.
Published: March 2022

We compared the effects of aerobic exercise with and without blood flow restriction (BFR) to high‐intensity aerobic exercise on energy expenditure (EE), excess Postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) during and after exercise. Twenty‐two recreationally active males randomly completed the following experimental conditions: AE—aerobic exercise without BFR, AE + BFR—aerobic exercise with BFR, HIAE—high‐intensity aerobic exercise, CON—non‐exercise control condition. EE was significantly (p < 0.05) greater during exercise for HIAE compared to all conditions, and for AE + BFR compared to AE and CON during and postexercise exercise. There were no significant (p > 0.05) differences in EPOC between HIAE and AE + BFR at any time point, however, both conditions were significantly (p < 0.05) greater than the AE (d = 1.50 and d = 1.03, respectively) and CON at the first 10 min postexercise. RER during exercise for HIAE was significantly (p < 0.05) greater than AE + BFR at the first 6 min of exercise (p = 0.003, d = 0.88), however, no significant differences were observed from 9 min up to the end of the exercise. HIAE was also significantly (p < 0.05) greater than AE and CON at all time points during exercise, whereas, AE + BFR was significantly (p < 0.05) greater than CON at all time points but not significantly (p < 0.05) different than AE (p < 0.05); although the overall session RER was significantly (p < 0.05) greater during AE + BFR than AE. Altogether, continuous AE + BFR results in greater EE compared to volume matched AE, as well as a similar EPOC compared to HIAE.
Early United States experience with liver donation after circulatory determination of death using thoraco‐abdominal normothermic regional perfusion: A multi‐institutional observational study
Authors: Sellers Marty T. , Nassar Ahmed , Alebrahim Musab , Sasaki Kazunari , Lee David D. , Bohorquez Humberto , Cannon Robert M. , Selvaggi Gennaro , Neidlinger Nikole , McMaster William G. , Hoffman Jordan R.H. , Shah Ashish S. , Montenovo Martin I.
Published: April 2022

Mortality on the liver waitlist remains unacceptably high. Donation after circulatory determination of death (DCD) donors are considered marginal but are a potentially underutilized resource. Thoraco‐abdominal normothermic perfusion (TA‐NRP) in DCD donors might result in higher quality livers and offset waitlist mortality. We retrospectively reviewed outcomes of the first 13 livers transplanted from TA‐NRP donors in the US. Nine centers transplanted livers from eight organ procurement organizations. Median donor age was 25 years; median agonal phase was 13 minutes. Median recipient age was 60 years; median lab MELD score was 21. Three patients (23%) met early allograft dysfunction (EAD) criteria. Three received simultaneous liver‐kidney transplants; neither had EAD nor delayed renal allograft function. One recipient died 186 days post‐transplant from sepsis but had normal presepsis liver function. One patient developed a biliary anastomotic stricture, managed endoscopically; no recipient developed clinical evidence of ischemic cholangiopathy (IC). Twelve of 13 (92%) patients are alive with good liver function at 439 days median follow‐up; one patient has extrahepatic recurrent HCC. TA‐NRP DCD livers in these recipients all functioned well, particularly with respect to IC, and provide a valuable option to decrease deaths on the waiting list.
Prenatal diagnosis of fetal inferior vena cava malformation using HDlive flow combined with spatiotemporal image correlation
Authors: Tie Hong‐xia , Ma Bin , Zhang Deng‐cai , Li Tian‐gang
Published: March 2022

Objectives

This study aimed to examine the application value of high‐definition live (HDlive) flow combined with spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC) in the diagnosis of fetal inferior vena cava malformation (IVCM).

Methods

Twenty cases of IVCMs were diagnosed using two‐dimensional HDlive flow and HDlive flow combined with STIC and retrospectively analyzed to examine the impact of using HDlive flow combined with STIC in the diagnosis of IVCM.

Results

HDlive flow combined with STIC detected one case of duplicated IVC, four cases of left IVC (two cases with complex malformations), and 15 cases of interrupted IVC (two cases of isolated IVC disconnection, five cases with left atrial heterogeneous syndrome, and eight cases with other complex malformations).

Conclusion

HDlive flow combined with STIC can help in the diagnosis of IVCM, and this technique has important clinical value.
Soil macroporosity and water flow in the root zone of oases in hyper‐arid regions
Authors: Zhang Yongyong , Jia Angyuan , Zhao Wenzhi , Kang Jianjun , Wang Chuan , Kang Wenrong , Tian Zihan
Published: April 2022

The characteristics of soil macropores and water infiltration are closely connected to the growth of plant roots and their root zone environment. However, it is unclear how the root zone environment of oasis farmlands regulates the development of soil macropores and water flow in hyper‐arid regions. The objective of this study was to investigate soil macropores and their effect on water flow under irrigated oasis farmlands using a combination of X‐ray computed tomography (CT) and dye tracer. It was hypothesized that the integration of CT and dye tracer could clearly reveal preferential flow through biopores and large pores of oasis soils. A helical medical CT scanner was used to quantify more information about soil macropores in the root zone, along with an in situ single‐ring dye infiltration experiment to reveal water flow in three different oasis farmlands (piedmont oasis farmland, marginal oasis farmland, and old oasis farmland). Soil macroporosity was 0.44% under crop rows, while soil macroporosity in the interrows was only 0.30% across the oasis farmlands. Biopores contributed 73% of the volume of the total macropores under crop rows. The stable infiltration rate in the interrows was 0.3 mm min−1, which was significantly (p < 0.05) less than that under crop rows (0.7 mm min−1). Water flow under crop rows were mainly transported in biopores and large pores. The contribution of macropores to preferential flow under crop rows was 4.8 times larger than interrows. The integration of CT and dye tracer was a more holistic technique, which adequately revealed that oases had preferential flow affected by biopores and large pores, resulting in higher solute and contaminant transport.

Key Points

Soil macropores and preferential flow affected by crop roots were investigated in hyper‐arid regions.

The integration of CT and dye tracer adequately identified preferential flowpaths of oasis soils.

Biopores were larger under crop rows than interrows.

Preferential flow transported in biopores and large soil pores under crop rows.
Construction and initial validation of the parenting regulatory focus scale
Authors: Zhou Xiang , Lee Richard M. , Wackerle‐Hollman Alisha , Johnson LeAnn , Pinna Keri
Published: April 2022

Objective

We present parenting regulatory focus as a theoretical framework to understand parenting goal motivations and describe the development and validation of a 16‐item Parenting Regulatory Focus Scale.

Background

Most parenting research is focused on parenting behaviors, but it is also important to understand the goal motivations behind parental approaches to raising children.

Method

We used two independent samples (N1 = 856;N2 = 497) to validate the Parenting Regulatory Focus Scale as a two‐factor structure composed of promotion‐ and prevention‐based parenting regulatory focus. Across two studies, we tested the construct validity of the Parenting Regulatory Focus Scale through correlations with general regulatory focus, parents' personality traits, child temperament, parenting styles and behaviors, and child adjustment.

Results

The scale scores demonstrated good internal reliabilities (αs = .86–.91), as well as 2‐week (αpromotion = .65,αprevention = .77) and 6‐month test–rest reliabilities (αpromotion = .61,αprevention = .66). Path analysis supported the relationship between parenting regulatory focus and child adjustment as mediated by parenting styles and behaviors.

Conclusions and Implications

The Parenting Regulatory Focus Scale is a promising tool that can contribute to parenting research and tailoring of parenting interventions.
Resisting ecosystem transformation through an intensive whole‐lake fish removal experiment
Authors: Embke Holly S. , Carpenter Stephen R. , Isermann Daniel A. , Coppola Giancarlo , Beard Douglas T. , Lynch Abigail J. , Sass Greg G. , Feiner Zachary S. , Vander Zanden M. Jake
Published: March 2022

Lake ecosystems are shifting due to many drivers including climate change and landscape‐scale habitat disturbance, diminishing their potential to support some fisheries. Walleye Sander vitreus (Mitchill) populations, which support recreational and tribal fisheries across North America, have declined in some lakes. Climate change, harvest, invasive species and concurrent increases in warm‐water fishes (e.g. Centrarchidae) may have contributed to declines. To test the utility of an intensive management action to resist walleye loss, an experimental removal of ~285,000 centrarchids from a 33‐ha lake over 4 years was conducted while monitoring the fish community response. Centrarchid abundance declined and yellow perch Perca flavescens (Mitchill) increased, yet no evidence of walleye recruitment was observed. These findings explore the feasibility of intensive resistance as a management strategy in supporting walleye facing environmental change and provide a platform for management discussions to move beyond resist strategies in the Resist‐Accept‐Direct (RAD) framework to navigate ecosystem change.
The role of dispersal, selection intensity, and extirpation risk in resilience to climate change: A trait‐based modelling approach
Authors: Mo Jessica , Polly P. David
Published: March 2022

Aim

Factors that make species resilient to climate change can be difficult to study with empirical data because conditions cannot be experimentally controlled. We used trait‐based evolutionary ecological agent‐based modelling to understand how dispersal, selection, extirpation, and other factors contribute to resilience under three climate change scenarios to test the extent to which high dispersal rate contributes to persistence of species and the extent to which they occupy large geographic ranges on an evolutionary time‐scale involving speciation, dispersal, gene flow, and extinction.

Location

Hesperia (an imaginary continent with controlled environmental heterogeneity).

Major taxa studied

Modelled mammalian herbivore clade with 16 terminal species, each of which is a metapopulation with a variable number of local populations.

Methods

We used NetLogo to model trait‐based biotic responses to climate change in an environmentally heterogeneous continent in an evolving clade, the species of which are each represented by local populations that disperse and interbreed; they also are subject to selection, genetic drift, and local extirpation. We simulated mammalian herbivores, whose success depends on tooth crown height, vegetation type, precipitation and grit.

Results

We found that high dispersal probability usually allowed species to successfully track their ancestral habitat as the continent's geography was altered by climate change. However, tracking was insufficient to allow species’ traits to adapt to novel habitats that arose through the climate change process. High dispersal rates combined with moderate plasticity (lower extirpation risk) facilitated occupation of novel habitats, as did weak selective regimes.

Main conclusions

The interaction between dispersal, probability of local extirpation, and selection intensity were jointly required to understand the likelihood of species survival and how widespread they would be. Diversity and geographic occupancy were maximized when parameters facilitated evolutionary adaptation to novel habitats. High rates of dispersal were sufficient for habitat tracking but insufficient by themselves to allow occupation of newly emerged environments.
Prevalence and correlates of obesity among the oldest old. A systematic review, meta‐analysis and meta‐regression
Authors: Hajek André , Kretzler Benedikt , König Hans‐Helmut
Published: April 2022

Thus far, the prevalence and correlates of obesity among the oldest have been identified in several studies. Nevertheless, there is a lack of a systematic review, meta‐analysis and meta‐regression synthesizing the existing observational studies. Consequently, our aim was to fill this knowledge gap. Three electronic databases were searched (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL) and an additional hand search was performed. Observational studies (both, cross‐sectional and longitudinal) determining the prevalence and (preferably) the correlates of obesity in the oldest old (≥80 years) were included. Data extraction covered study design, measurement of obesity, analytical approach, sample characteristics and main results. In total, 19 studies were included. Reported prevalence of obesity in the community varied greatly (range 0.7%–71.5%). The pooled prevalence of obesity was 17.8% (95% CI: 13.3%−22.2%), with significant heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 99.7%, P < 0.001). There is evidence of a publication bias. Meta‐regressions showed that some of the heterogeneity was explained by the types of measures of obesity and country of the respective sample. In conclusion, obesity remains a key challenge among the oldest old. Future research in this age bracket is urgently required in regions mostly neglected thus far (e.g., South America, Africa or Asia). Moreover, studies based on longitudinal data are required to clarify the determinants of obesity among the oldest old. Furthermore, studies based on objectively recorded obesity (e.g., waist circumference) are also required. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 373–383.
Heroism and/as injurious speech: Recognition, precarity, and inequality in health and social care work
Authors: Hales Sophie , Tyler Melissa
Published: March 2022

This paper draws on Judith Butler’s (2009, 1997) writing on precarity and the interpellatory power of naming, read through her recent writing on the dynamics of recognition, vulnerability, and resistance, to develop a critique of the discourse of heroism used to position health and social care professionals, and other key workers, during the COVID pandemic. It does so in order to reflect on the insights into workplace inequalities that this example provides, in particular into what, to borrow from Butler, we might think of as the conditions necessary for a “workable life”. It argues that, although it might seem paradoxical, the heroic discourses and symbolism used to recognize health and social care workers throughout the pandemic can be understood as a form of “injurious speech” in Butler's terms, one that served to other key workers by subjecting them to a reified, rhetorical form of recognition. The analysis argues that this had the effect of accentuating health and care workers' precarity and of undermining their capacity to challenge and resist this positioning.
Ultrasound‐guided polidocanol foam sclerotherapy for symptomatic giant hepatic cyst: A single‐center experience
Authors: Eso Yuji , Shimizu Hironori , Takai Atsushi , Takahashi Ken , Seno Hiroshi
Published: March 2022

Aim

Simple hepatic cysts are typically benign; however, when they are large and symptomatic, therapeutic intervention is required. We previously reported our initial experience with ultrasound (US)‐guided polidocanol foam sclerotherapy in three patients with symptomatic giant hepatic cysts. In the present study, we examined the efficacy and safety of polidocanol foam sclerotherapy in a larger number of patients with long‐term follow‐up.

Methods

Between May 2016 and April 2021, 15 patients with symptomatic giant hepatic cysts were referred to our hospital. All patients were prospectively included in the study and underwent US‐guided polidocanol foam sclerotherapy.

Results

The mean maximum diameter and estimated cyst volume were 128.4 mm (77–223 mm) and 922.3 ml (123.2–2797 ml), respectively. Polidocanol foam was successfully administered through an 8.5‐Fr pigtail catheter in all patients. The percentages of cyst diameter/volume after 1–3 months, 3–6 months, 6 months–1 year, 1–2 years, and 2–4 years of sclerotherapy were 66.8%/36.5%, 48.1%/14.8%, 34.1%/6.9%, 28.2%/3.7%, and 26.2%/3.1%, respectively. During the follow‐up period, there were no cases of symptom recurrence or need for additional treatment due to cyst re‐growth. Six patients (40%) had fever, one had nausea, and one had right‐sided chest pain, but none of these adverse events required prolonged hospitalization or readmission.

Conclusions

US‐guided polidocanol foam sclerotherapy may be an effective and safe method for the treatment of symptomatic giant hepatic cysts.