bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of inflammasome signaling proteins in neurons and microglia in early and intermediate stages of Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Vontell Regina T. , de Rivero Vaccari Juan Pablo , Sun Xiaoyan , Gultekin Sakir Humayun , Bramlett Helen M. , Dietrich W. Dalton , Keane Robert W.
Published: December 2022

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that destroys memory and cognitive function. Inflammasome activation has been suggested to play a critical role in the neuroinflammatory response in AD progression, but the cell‐type expression of inflammasome proteins in the brain has not been fully characterized. In this study, we used samples from the hippocampus formation, the subiculum, and the entorhinal cortex brain from 17 donors with low‐level AD pathology and 17 intermediate AD donors to assess the expression of inflammasome proteins. We performed analysis of hippocampal thickness, β‐amyloid plaques, and hyperphosphorylated tau to ascertain the cellular pathological changes that occur between low and intermediate AD pathology. Next, we determined changes in the cells that express the inflammasome sensor proteins NOD‐like receptor proteins (NLRP) 1 and 3, and caspase‐1. In addition, we stained section with IC100, a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the inflammasome adaptor protein apoptosis‐associated speck‐like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC), and a commercially available anti‐ASC antibody. Our results indicate that hippocampal cortical thickness did not significantly change between low and intermediate AD pathology, but there was an increase in pTau and β‐amyloid clusters in intermediate AD cases. NLRP3 was identified mainly in microglial populations, whereas NLRP1 was seen in neuronal cytoplasmic regions. There was a significant increase of ASC in neurons labeled by IC100, whereas microglia in the hippocampus and subiculum were labeled with the commercial anti‐ASC antibody. Caspase‐1 was present in the parenchyma in the CA regions where amyloid and pTau were identified. Together, our results indicate increased inflammasome protein expression in the early pathological stages of AD, that IC100 identifies neurons in early stages of AD and that ASC expression correlates with Aβ and pTau in postmortem AD brains.
Animals in flow – towards the scientific study of intrinsic reward in animals
Authors: Hintze Sara , Yee Jason R.
Published: December 2022

The concept of flow, a state of complete absorption in an intrinsically rewarding activity, has played a pivotal role in advancing notions of human well‐being beyond minimising suffering towards promoting flourishing and thriving. While flow has played a fundamental role in human positive psychology, it has not yet been explored in non‐human animals, leaving an enormous void in our understanding of intrinsic motivation in animals. As ethology and related fields keep progressing in uncovering complex cognitive and affective capacities of non‐human animals, we propose the time is ripe to translate the concept of flow to animals. We start by embedding flow in the topic of intrinsic motivation and describe its impact on positive human psychology and potentially positive animal welfare. We then disambiguate flow from related concepts discussed in the animal literature. Next, we derive experimental approaches in animals from the canonical characteristics of flow in humans and provide guidelines for both inducing and assessing flow by focusing on two characteristics that do not necessarily depend on self‐report, namely resistance to distraction and time distortion. Not all aspects of the human flow experience are (yet) translatable, but those that are may improve quality of life in captive non‐human animals.
‘My friends are like my family’: The positive impact of high‐quality friendships on former foster care youth
Authors: Gairal‐Casadó Regina , Duque Elena , Ramis‐Salas Mimar , Valls Rosa
Published: December 2022

There is evidence to suggest that quality friendships have a positive impact on the people involved. By focusing on the impact that quality friendships have had on former foster care youth, this article contributes to the wider debate on the issue and fills a gap in the literature. Through the communicative methodology, 15 communicative daily life stories were conducted in Spain with young people who had been in alternative care and had successfully managed to reach university. The discussion shows that the support and strength of quality friendships helped them in their quest for a brighter, more successful future.
Kidney transplant from HCV viremic donors to HCV‐negative recipients and risk for de novo donor specific antibodies and acute rejection
Authors: Daloul Reem , Sureshkumar Kalathil , Schnelle Kendra , Von Stein Lauren , Logan April , Pesavento Todd
Published: December 2022

Background

Kidney transplantation from HCV‐viremic donors into uninfected recipients is associated with excellent short‐term outcomes. However, concerns regarding an increased risk for the development of de novo donor specific antibodies (DSA) and acute rejection have been raised in single center reports.

Methods

A retrospective study of HCV‐negative kidney‐only transplant recipients between 2018 and 2020. Patients were grouped based on the donor HCV status into group 1; HCV‐viremic donors, and group 2; HCV‐negative donors. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), with weights derived from the propensity score, were used to estimate the effect of donors’ HCV‐viremia on the recipients. The primary objective was to compare the 1‐year incidence of de novo DSA. Secondary outcomes included group comparison of the incidence of biopsy proven acute rejection (BPAR), 1‐year patient and allograft survival, and 1‐year renal allograft function.

Results

A total of 71 patients were included in the HCV NAT+ group, and 440 in the HCV‐ negative group. One‐year incidence of de novo DSA was higher in the HCV NAT+ group in the IPTW weighted analysis (19% vs. 9%, p = .02). In the unweighted analysis, BPAR occurred in 7% of recipients in the HCV NAT+ group, compared to 3% in the control group (p = .06). However, due to the low event rate in the in the IPTW weighted groups, a statistical significance test could not be performed. Average estimated GFR was higher in the HCV‐viremic group at 3 months (61 vs. 53 ml/min/1.73 m2 p = .002), but comparable at 6 (59 vs. 56 ml/min/1.73 m2, p = .31) and 12 months (60 vs. 55 ml/min/1.73 m2, p = .07). Patient and allograft survival were comparable between the two groups.

Conclusion

Kidney transplant from HCV‐viremic donors was associated with an increased risk for the development of post‐transplant de novo DSA in the first year after transplantation, but no difference in patient and graft survival.
Blessing or curse? Sharing economy and its impact on the community of customers and suppliers
Authors: Zeng Shuo , He Yuanjie
Published: December 2022

Sharing economy offers an alternative to customers with on‐demand services and opens up a new way for owners of underutilized resources to generate revenue. However, there is little evidence on whether sharing economy benefits the community of customers and suppliers or not. Our work is motivated by the ongoing stories of conflicts related to the ride sharing platforms (e.g., Uber, Lyft) and the information we collected from industry practitioners. We propose an economic model that describes how a price manipulating ride sharing platform crowdsources and matches supply to demand. Furthermore, our model captures how sharing economy's manipulative power impacts the community of customers and suppliers. Sharing economy platforms allow customers to make purchase decisions after evaluating the search cost, which depends on other customers' purchase decisions and leads to endogenous demand for sharing economy services. A comprehensive theoretical analysis of such models can be extremely challenging due to the endogenous demand. However, we provide such analysis by assuming that the customers evaluate the search cost with the estimated or “exogenous” demand instead of the realized or “endogenous” demand. Moreover, we support our theoretical findings in more realistic settings by performing various numerical analyses. Our results suggest that the financial objective of sharing economy may conflict with the welfare of the affected community, which can be mitigated by government regulations that impose upper bounds on price surges. Our work helps researchers, practitioners, and public policy makers more comprehensively understand the challenges that sharing economy brings and suggests possible regulatory intervention.
Evaluation of the soil water content of two managed ecosystems using cosmic‐ray neutron sensing on China's Loess Plateau
Authors: Liu Chenggong , Jia Xiaoxu , Ren Lidong , Zhu Xuchao , Shao Ming'an
Published: December 2022

Cosmic‐ray neutron sensing (CRNS) is a promising method for the continuous monitoring of soil water content (θv) at the hectometre scale. However, few studies have validated its applicability within the complex terrains of various ecosystems in semiarid loess regions. In this study, CRNS‐based θv was measured on China's Loess Plateau under two managed ecosystems (Caragana korshinskii K. shrubland [KOS] and Medicago sativa L. grassland [SAG]). The accuracy of CRNS measurement was assessed with the traditional oven‐drying method, while its sensitivity to θv variation during the study period was compared with typical point‐scale monitoring sensors (EC‐5, Decagon Devices, Inc.). CRNS was found to be strongly correlated with the oven‐drying based θv under both ecosystems, with coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.99 and 0.93, and root mean square errors of 0.006 and 0.007 cm3/cm3, for KOS and SAG, respectively. The mean monitoring radius of the CRNS was approximately 204 and 231 m for KOS and SAG, with a mean measurement depth of approximately 39 and 45 cm, respectively. Moreover, the θv determined by the CRNS and EC‐5 sensors exhibited similar trends during the observation period, excluding that for April. However, the CRNS‐based θv had a higher spatial representation for both managed ecosystems compared with that for EC‐5. No significant difference was detected in the response range of θv to precipitation between the CRNS and EC‐5 sensors at a depth of 0–10 cm, whereas the response time of CRNS for KOS was much shorter than that of EC‐5 sensors (p < 0.01). Overall, the CRNS measured hectometre‐scale θv had acceptable accuracy and sensitively traced the precipitation response under different ecosystems with high θv heterogeneity in the semiarid loess regions.

Highlights

CRNS accurately estimates hectometre‐scale θv in ecosystems with complex terrains.

The CRNS monitoring radius is ~218 m with ~42 cm measurement depth in the loess region.

The θv in the managed shrubland is higher than that of the managed grassland.

CRNS has a higher sensitivity in response to precipitation than EC‐5 sensors.
The Ethnography of a ‘Decentralized Autonomous Organization’ (DAO): De‐mystifying Algorithmic Systems
Authors: RMIT KELSIE NABBEN, , ZARGHAM MICHAEL
Published: December 2022

This paper details ethnographic methods, experiences, and insights from an ethnographer and an industry engaged complex systems engineer in how to study resilience in blockchain‐based DAOs as a novel field site. Amidst digitization of numerous elements of government, work, and everyday life, ‘Decentralized Autonomous Organizations’ (DAOs) provide a field site for the generation of ethnographic insights into opportunities and limitations in organizational resilience in human‐machine assemblages. As a broad organizational form, DAOs aim to enable people to coordinate and govern themselves through automated rules deployed on a public blockchain (Hassan & Di Filippi, 2021). DAOs are an experiment in ‘computer aided governance’. These adaptive, socio‐technical infrastructures are envisioned as capable of restructuring the foundations of governance in human societies (Merkle, 2016; Kolestsi, 2019; Garrod, 2016). Ethnography provides a qualitative tool to elicit the social dynamics of governance, adaptability, and resilience in a context of algorithmic governance and automation. By foregrounding the social dynamics of organizational adaptability and resilience, our resilience framework and vulnerabilities mapping tools help us to operationalize complex domains to de‐mystify and re‐humanize algorithmic systems.
Designing and Conducting Inclusive Research: How a Global Technology Company and an Online Research Platform Partnered to Explore the Technology Experiences of Users Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Authors: GIERDOWSKI DANA C. , EISENHAUER KAREN , HE PEGGY
Published: December 2022

This case study examines how researchers at Lenovo and dscout partnered to conduct a mobile ethnographic study on the technology experiences of individuals who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing, with the goal of making their products and research practices more accessible and inclusive. The study revealed common frustrations and pain points people experience when using their every‐day technology. The researchers also learned valuable research design and operations lessons related to recruiting participants who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing, providing accommodations, and establishing an accessible research environment. This case explores the benefits of mobile‐forward research design, and the additional considerations and adaptations necessary for collecting both asynchronous and synchronous data from individuals who have hearing loss and who have different communication modes and preferences, including American Sign Language. The authors discuss how more inclusive research informs product design, which can make Lenovo and dscout products more accessible for everyone, regardless of ability.
Beyond Representation: Using Infrastructure Studies to Reframe Ethnographic Agendas and Outcomes
Authors: MENDONCA KARL
Published: December 2022

The ethos and methods of participatory research have been widely embraced as a powerful approach to address systemic inequity in the design of technology. While there have been many gains and developments that merit celebration, an unspoken, prevalent assumption is that inclusive forms of engagement will unequivocally result in a more inclusive product. Using the case study of an ethnographic project, this paper critically examines how the task of producing “better” (more ethical, more participatory, more statistically diverse) representations, had the unintended consequence of displacing structural outcomes to questions of aesthetics and statistical sampling. An investigation into the cause of this displacement reveals the resilience of deeper historical biases that persist from the early years of electronic computing. As a possible remedial framework, this paper introduces the field of infrastructure studies, which makes an explicit connection between the material, historical and semiotic dimensions of contextual investigations, thereby broadening the scope of ethnography from developing insights to driving systematic change. Put simply, this paper argues that to truly develop inclusive products we must find ways to expand the concerns of ethnography beyond questions of representation to strategies that can help decolonize the sites and processes of techno‐production.
Creating Resilient Research Findings: Using Ethnographic Methods to Combat Research Amnesia
Authors: GUTH KRISTEN L.
Published: December 2022

Product teams, including those I work with, struggle to connect the challenges observed in prior research to issues that endure in the field and market space. As a shortcut for efficiency gains, product partners rely on researchers to succinctly summarize deep insights, sometimes preferring reductive quantitative interpretations to enable a bias toward action in product development cycles. Challenges facing researchers in product development include maintaining the relevance of prior research, providing a way to make it evergreen and accessible, and building on it to deepen and expand an existing model of behavior. This case introduces the concept of Research Amnesia, which poses a threat to organizational resilience. Using core ethnographic methods, a strategic methodological approach is outlined to frameshift the value of existing research within a company to develop new insights, bring together disparate analyses and teams, and propel product partners forward by offering more questions as a means to answers.
Deep residual architectures and ensemble learning for efficient brain tumour classification
Authors: Ali Hanaa S. , Ismail Asmaa I. , El‐Rabaie El‐Sayed M. , Abd El‐Samie Fathi E.
Published: December 2022

The prompt and accurate detection of brain tumours is essential for disease management and life‐saving. This paper introduces an efficient and robust completely automated system for classifying the three prominent types of brain tumour. The aim is to contribute for enhanced classification accuracy with minimum pre‐processing and less inference time. The power of deep networks is thoroughly investigated, with and without transfer learning. Fine‐tuned deep Residual Networks (ResNets) with depth up to 101 are introduced to manage the complex nature of brain images, and to capture their microstructural information. The proposed residual architectures with their in‐depth representations are evaluated and compared to other fine‐tuned networks (AlexNet, GoogLeNet and VGG16). A novel Convolutional Network (ConvNet) built and trained from scratch is also proposed for tumour type classification. Proven models are integrated by combining their decisions using majority voting to obtain the final classification accuracy. Results show that the residual architectures can be optimized efficiently, and a noticeable accuracy can be gained with them. Although ResNet models are deeper than VGG16, they show lower complexity. Results also indicate that building ensemble of models is a successful strategy to enhance the system performance. Each model in the ensemble learns specific patterns with certain filters. This stochastic nature boosts the classification accuracy. The accuracies obtained from ResNet18, ResNet101, and the proposed ConvNet are 98.91%, 97.39% and 95.43%, respectively. The accuracy based on decision fusion for the three networks is 99.57%, which is better than those of all state‐of‐the‐art techniques. The accuracy obtained with ResNet50 is 98.26%, and its fusion with ResNet18 and the designed network yields a 99.35% accuracy, which is also better than those of previous methods, meanwhile achieving minimum detection time requirements. Finally, visual representation of the learned features is provided to understand what the models have learned.
Smart contract‐based resource allocation service mechanism for internet of vehicles
Authors: Mao Ming , Yi Peng , Hou Lilong , Zhang Guanying
Published: December 2022

As an essential part of the intelligent transportation system, vehicular ad hoc network plays a vital role in the application of the Internet of Vehicles and security services. However, as the scale of the network continues to increase, trust‐based access and data sharing between vehicles have also become essential security issues. Given how to allocate vehicle resources safely, efficiently and reliably, this paper proposes a blockchain‐based key data sharing mechanism for the Internet of Vehicles. We first utilize certificateless public key cryptography to alleviate redundancy overhead and key escrow issues. Second, with the help of the security, decentralization, and non‐tampering characteristics of the blockchain, two smart contracts are designed and used to realize vehicle identity management and data access control. The identity chain smart contract solves the security problem of vehicle identity management, and the data chain smart contract ensures reliable transaction verification and efficient resource management. At the same time, an auction method is proposed to facilitate vehicle resource transactions. The experimental results show that our solution can realize secure data sharing of the Internet of Vehicles and ensure the operating efficiency of the system. Regarding system overhead, the proposed scheme has 30.6% and 33% lower private key generation overhead and 3.3% and 20.1% lower resource transaction time than AFSN and BSM under the same conditions. In addition, using our bidding method in data chain smart contracts can have a regulatory effect on market data transactions. In the aspect of resource transaction efficiency, for the change of the number of buyers, the transaction completion rate and transaction time of the proposed scheme are better than those of the contrast scheme. When the number of buyers is 100, the transaction completion rate was 9.2% higher than that of AFSN and 17.3% higher than that of BAM. The transaction time of the scheme is 32.2% and 48.1% lower than that of AFSN and BSM, respectively.
Contextualising the bizarre: The integrated functioning of rib puncture as an antipredator defence in the Iberian ribbed newt (Pleurodeles waltl)
Authors: Zamora‐Camacho Francisco Javier
Published: December 2022

Numerous prey traits are the result of the pervasive evolutionary pressure imposed by predators. Mirroring their fundamental role in the fitness of prey, some antipredator defences can evolve into elaborate strategies. Such is the case of the Iberian ribbed newt (Pleurodeles waltl), a semiaquatic urodele that inhabits multiple types of inland waterbodies in central and southern Iberian Peninsula and north‐western Africa. It possesses sharp, protractile ribs, which can thwart predators by emerging through skin ‘warts’ they pierce, becoming impregnated with the toxicants these warts produce, and making the newts difficult to swallow. Plus, the orange colour of these warts contrasts with the predominantly dull dorsum.

In this work, I studied the interactions between the number of these warts, the saliency of wart colour against dorsum colour of each individual (i.e., the difference in colour between the warts and the dorsum), rib response time (i.e., the time needed for the ribs to emerge in response to a standardised stimulus), body size, and locomotor performance in males and females in either their aquatic or terrestrial stage. I also conducted a field experiment to determine whether predators more frequently attacked plasticine models with conspicuous or inconspicuous warts.

I found that wart colour saliency functions as a decoy, attracting predator attacks towards this well‐protected body part. Plus, many of the antipredator defences studied, namely the number of warts, their colour saliency, rib response time, body size, and locomotor performance, were interrelated.

Accordingly, more salient warts indicated a faster rib response, suggesting that these defences are coordinated with each other. Plus, locomotion was considerably slower in the terrestrial than in the aquatic stage. Moreover, warts were more salient, and thus more efficient attracting predator attacks, in newts in the slower terrestrial stage. However, rib response was faster in the aquatic stage, which coincides with the newt's activity peak, and therefore with the height of its conspicuousness to predators. Remarkably, faster newts display less salient warts and a slower rib response, which suggests a trade‐off between both defences. Nonetheless, some of these trends are reversed in females, among which faster individuals also display a faster rib response. This could be a likely consequence of reduced predation pressure.

These results further the understanding of how prey integrate and tune multiple antipredator defences according to factors that influence predation pressure, such as sex and life stage.
Development of an end‐of‐life care management scale for assessing the care of older adults who wish to spend the end‐of‐life period at home
Authors: Kaneda Akiko , Doi‐Kanno Mana , Kanoya Yuka
Published: December 2022

Aim

To develop an end‐of‐life care management scale to assess care for older adults who wish to remain at home, and examine its reliability and validity.

Methods

An item pool was created based on a literature review, and the 46‐item, tentative version of end‐of‐life care management scale was developed. Next, a cross‐sectional survey was conducted with 2583 care managers using a self‐reported questionnaire. An exploratory factor analysis was used to evaluate the scale's internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha. Intra‐rater reliability was evaluated using the correlation with a repeat test. Construct validity and criterion‐related validity were determined using a confirmatory factor analysis, and correlations between this scale and previous scales, respectively.

Results

Valid responses were obtained from 477 care managers. Exploratory factor analyses identified 23 items from four factors: “further the teamwork to realize the individual's wishes,” “rapid care planning that anticipates changes in the situation,” “support to family members preparing for end‐of‐life care at home” and “support to become familiar with the older adult's views of life, death and suffering.” Cronbach's alpha was 0.819 for the entire scale and ≥0.709 for each factor. The intraclass correlation coefficient of the test–retest ranged from 0.756 to 0.863. The correlation coefficients between the previous scales and the entire scale ranged from 0.569 to 0.795 (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

The scale showed acceptable internal consistency and concurrent validity. Care managers' use of this scale might improve quality of care management and fulfil older adults' wishes to remain at home during the end‐of‐life period. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2023; 23: 131–140.
Major pathological response exhibited distinct prognostic significance for lung adenocarcinoma post different modalities of neoadjuvant therapy
Authors: Xia Lang , Guo Junhong , E Haoran , Zhang Wei , Huang Yan , Zhang Liping , Zhao Deping , Xie Dong , Wu Chunyan , Hou Likun
Published: December 2022

Aims

For non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy, the major pathological response (MPR) is defined as the percentage of residual viable tumour cells (%RVT) in the tumour bed of no more than 10%. It has been proposed as a predictor of survival in neoadjuvant therapy‐treated cohorts. Nonetheless, the significance of %RVT in the pathological assessment of lung adenocarcinoma cohorts remains undetermined.

Methods and results

Overall, 152 lung adenocarcinoma patients were included in this retrospective study, among whom 67 received neoadjuvant targeted therapy and 85 received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Clinicopathological characteristics, neoadjuvant treatment response and survival status were investigated. The routinely adopted standard for MPR (%RVT ≤ 10%) failed to differentiate prognosis in the lung adenocarcinoma population. For the neoadjuvant chemotherapy cohort, the optimal %RVT cut‐off value of RFS was 60%. However, this cut‐off value was clinically insignificant in the neoadjuvant targeted‐therapy cohort. Hence, for these patients, we built a nomogram model including high‐grade patterns and ypN stage to predict disease recurrence, demonstrating high efficacy (a bootstrap‐corrected C‐index of 0.731).

Conclusions

%RVT served as a strong indicator of the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy but not neoadjuvant targeted therapy. Residual high‐grade pathological patterns might substitute MPR in prognostic evaluation of lung adenocarcinoma post‐targeted therapy.
Phyllodes tumour evidence gaps mapped from the 5th edition of the WHO classification of tumours of the breast
Authors: Md Nasir Nur Diyana , Koh Valerie C Y , Cree Ian A , Ruiz Blanca I I , Del Águila Javier , Armon Subasri , Fox Stephen B , Lakhani Sunil R , Tan Puay Hoon
Published: December 2022

Aims

Breast phyllodes tumours (PTs) are a rare subset of fibroepithelial neoplasms categorised into benign, borderline, and malignant grades according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumours (WCTs). In this report, we developed an evidence gap map (EGM) based on the literature cited in the PT chapter of the 5th edition of the breast WCT in order to identify knowledge and research gaps in PT.

Methods

A framework was first established where the dimensions of the EGM were defined as categories of tumour descriptors, tumour types, and evidence levels. Citations were collected into a Microsoft Excel form and imported into EPPI‐reviewer to produce the EGM.

Results

The EGM showed that the “Histopathology” and “Pathogenesis” sections contained the most citations, the majority being of low‐level evidence. The highest number of citations considered of moderate‐level evidence were found in the “Histopathology” section. There was no high‐level evidence cited in this chapter. The “Localisation”, “Aetiology”, and “Staging” sections had the fewest citations.

Conclusion

This EGM provides a visual representation of the cited literature in the PT chapter of the breast WCT, revealing the lack of high‐level evidence citations. There is an uneven distribution of references, probably due to citation practices. Pockets of low‐level evidence are highlighted, possibly related to referencing habits, lack of relevant research, or the belief that the information presented is standard accepted fact, without the need for specific citations. Future work needs to bridge evidence gaps and broaden citations beyond those in the latest WCT.
Abolition of mandated joint‐audit requirements: Impact on audit reporting lag in an emerging capital market
Authors: Van der Zahn J.‐L. W. Mitchell
Published: December 2022

The study aims to examine how changes in the Kuwait audit market following abolition of mandated joint‐audit requirements impact audit reporting lag. Analysis tests whether joint‐/solo‐audit switches (following abolition mandated requirements) affected the level and change in audit reporting lag. The study also tests if the joint‐audit pair combination is a decisive factor in determining the (a) level and change in audit reporting lag and (b) audit quality following a switch to a solo‐audit. Data is collected from 132 Kuwait‐incorporated, nonfinancial firms listed continuously on the Boursa Kuwait from 2015 to 2019 that provides 660 firm‐year observations (528 firm‐years main empirical tests). Analysis indicates that the following abolition of mandated joint‐audit requirements, Kuwait listed firms swiftly switched to solo‐audits, generally leading to a significant increase in audit reporting lag. Tests indicate that audit reporting lag was significantly less for joint‐audits relative to solo‐audits. Additional results show a significant negative association between the quality of joint‐audit pair combinations and audit reporting lag. However, there is no significant association between audit reporting lag and the quality of solo‐audit type. Test results indicate mixed support for the perception that a joint‐audit pair combination significantly influences the level and change in audit reporting lag following the switch to a specific solo‐audit type.
Microwave‐assisted ultrasonication extraction of phytochemical, antioxidant and techno‐functional characteristics of pigmented and non‐pigmented rice landraces
Authors: Kamatchi A. Rajalechumi , Anjali K. U. , Haripriya Sundaramoorthy , Kumar Arun
Published: December 2022

The increase in unhealthy populations and health consciousness grows hand in hand. This creates a massive demand for functional and nutraceutical food with bioactive components like polyphenols, anthocyanin, proanthocyanidin, and carotenoids to prevent and treat degenerative disease conditions. The native pigmented and non‐pigmented rice landraces, rich in phytonutrients, were subjected to Microwave‐assisted ultrasonication extraction. The TPC, TFC, TAC, DPPH, and ABTS of the selected landraces ranged between 0.95 to 2.91 mg GAE/g, 13.87 to 33.89 mg CE/g, 8.67 to 19.40 mg AAE/g, 69.37 to 94.01%, and 27.76 to 61.32%, respectively. This study showed the pragmatic impact of the combined extraction of phenolics from rice landraces. Techno‐functional parameters were also examined, including colour, particle size, water activity, gelatinization power, SEM, CHNS, and FTIR. The results indicated the effect of combined extraction on the pigmented landraces would benefit as a nutraceutical cereal replacement in novel food processing.
Acylated polyphenolics of family Fabaceae: distribution, chemodiversity, and bioactivity, a comprehensive review
Authors: Khalil Asmaa M. , Sabry Omar M. , El‐Askary Hesham I. , El Zalabani Soheir M. , Fayek Nesrin M.
Published: December 2022

Polyphenolics are the most common class of plant‐derived natural products. They play an important role in the protection of both plants and humans. Acylated polyphenolics, i.e., polyphenolics esterified with either phenolic or organic acids, are abundant in several plant families including Fabaceae. This review article is intended to shed light on the distribution, isolation, chemodiversity, and bioactivity of acylated polyphenolics obtained from selected fabaceous plants mentioned herein. Isolation of these metabolites was mostly performed via successive column chromatography, including preparative and semi‐preparative HPLC. Structure elucidation was achieved through interpretation of spectral data. Meanwhile, detection was chiefly accomplished via diverse liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric analyses. Compared to usual polyphenolics, these unique acylated compounds were found of higher stability and bioactivity. The current survey targets to provide a comprehensive overview of the medicinal role of acylated polyphenolics that may encourage the incorporation of fabaceous plants in pharmaceuticals.
Experiences of workplace violence among healthcare workers in home care settings: A qualitative systematic review
Authors: Zhong Xiao Fan , Shorey Shefaly
Published: December 2022

Aims

The aims of this systematic review were to obtain a comprehensive understanding of healthcare workers’ experiences who were subjected to workplace violence in the home care environment and identify their specific support needs.

Background

Workplace violence toward healthcare workers has been a prevalent and ongoing issue. With the expansion of home care services, more emphasis should be placed on maintaining a safe in‐home care environment for healthcare workers. Understanding healthcare workers’ experience of workplace violence is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted in 10 databases from their inception date until January 2022. Primary qualitative studies were included. Two reviewers performed screening of studies, methodological quality assessment, and data extraction and analysis independently. The two‐step approach by Sandelowski and Barroso on meta‐summary and meta‐synthesis was used. This qualitative systematic review was reported according to the PRISMA guidelines.

Results

Eight studies were included. Three themes were identified: (1) impact of workplace violence, (2) reasons behind tolerating violence, and (3) way forward to prevent violence.

Conclusion

Workplace violence is common among healthcare workers in home care settings, yet the support provided to healthcare workers is inadequate. The findings suggest the need for effective interventions and policies to address this grave issue in order to improve the well‐being of healthcare workers as it may indirectly affect the care quality provided to patients.

Implications for nursing

Due to the unique nature of home care services, interventions preventing workplace violence must be tailored to the specific home care settings and needs of healthcare workers. Future research should develop and evaluate different interventions to prevent workplace violence in home care settings.
Patterns of hybridization in a secondary contact zone between two passerine species, the common nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos and the thrush nightingale Luscinia luscinia
Authors: Sottas Camille , Reif Jiří , Piálek Lubomír , Poignet Manon , Kverek Pavel , Dolata Paweł T. , Reifová Radka
Published: December 2022

Understanding how reproductive isolation arises and accumulates between incipient species is an important goal of evolutionary biology. Patterns of interspecific hybridization in naturally occurring hybrid zones can provide an important insight into this process since they reflect the strength, symmetry and nature of reproductive barriers separating the species. Here we studied patterns of hybridization in two closely related passerine species, the common nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos and the thrush nightingale L. luscinia, that diverged ~1.8 Mya and co‐occur in a secondary contact zone spanning across Europe. Genome‐wide genotyping of more than three hundred individuals from the sympatric population and adjacent allopatric populations revealed that the vast majority of sympatric individuals were pure parental species. Only 6.5% of sympatric individuals were hybrids, from which 3.4% were F1 hybrids and 3.1% backcross hybrids from the first to the fifth backcross generation. Most F1 hybrids arose from the cross of a thrush nightingale female and a common nightingale male. F1 hybrids showed intermediate morphology and could be distinguished with high confidence from the parental species based on several diagnostic traits. However, backcrosses were morphologically difficult to distinguish from the parental species from which they inherited most of the genome. Our results suggest strong, yet incomplete, reproductive isolation between the two nightingale species both at a prezygotic and postzygotic level. Nightingales thus represent a useful model system for exploring the late stages of speciation with ongoing gene flow after secondary contact.
Island biogeography of soundscapes: Island area shapes spatial patterns of avian acoustic diversity
Authors: Han Peng , Zhao Yuhao , Kang Yi , Ding Ping , Si Xingfeng
Published: December 2022

Aim

The equilibrium theory of island biogeography predicts the positive species–area relationship and the negative species–isolation relationship, resulting in higher species richness on large and close islands. Unlike species richness, soundscape diversity integrates sound from various sources (e.g. biophony, geophony and anthrophony). However, how soundscape diversity varies with island area and isolation still needs to be tested. Here, we explored the island biogeography of bird soundscapes and the determinants of island attributes in shaping bird diversity and soundscape diversity.

Location

Thousand Island Lake, Zhejiang, China.

Taxon

Birds.

Methods

We recorded avian soundscapes by audio recorders and censused bird diversity by line transects on 20 land‐bridge islands. We calculated four acoustic indices (acoustic complexity index, bioacoustic index, acoustic evenness index and acoustic entropy index) to assess acoustic richness, evenness and heterogeneity to explore the soundscape diversity of birds. We used multiple linear regressions, spatial autoregressions and piecewise structural equation models to examine the relationships between bird richness and acoustic diversity, and island attributes.

Results

We found positive diversity–area relationships for avian soundscapes. Larger islands had more vocal species and higher habitat diversity, which led to an increment in the richness and unevenness of avian soundscapes on large islands. Acoustic evenness decreased with increasing isolation (distance to the mainland).

Main Conclusions

Soundscapes on large islands are more diverse than those on small islands. Rich acoustic assemblages and heterogeneous habitats promote increased soundscape diversity on islands. Conversely, the lack of vocal contributors, resulting in a decrement in the communication of acoustic signals, can create a lower soundscape diversity on small and remote islands. Our study emphasizes the necessity of examining both species and habitat diversity in island biogeography for better understanding the underlying mechanisms determining biological soundscapes on islands.
Retrograde fast pathway cryoablation inside the coronary sinus for slow‐fast atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia in a patient with persistent left superior vena cava
Authors: Arai Hirofumi , Nakamura Rena , Sagawa Yuichiro , Oda Atsuhito , Murata Kazuya , Okishige Kaoru , Goya Masahiko , Sasano Tetsuo , Aonuma Kazutaka , Yamauchi Yasuteru
Published: December 2022

Introduction

Persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) is accompanied by enlarged coronary sinus (CS) and deformation of the triangle of Koch. This makes anatomical evaluation of the atrioventricular (AV) nodal pathways difficult.

Methods

We attempted cryoablation of retrograde fast pathway located in the enlarged CS roof of PLSVC for slow‐fast AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) induced by inadvertent antegrade fast pathway elimination during ablation of left atrial tachycardia.

Results

Slow‐fast AVNRT was successfully eliminated without AV block progression.

Conclusions

This is the first case of successful retrograde fast pathway ablation of the CS ostial roof for slow‐fast AVNRT with PLSVC.
A transitions framework for circular business models
Authors: Susur Ebru , Engwall Mats
Published: December 2022

The concepts “circular business models” and “transitions towards a circular economy” have become modern‐day buzzwords. Yet, an understanding of the interplay between these two concepts remains unclear. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that illustrates the innovation mechanisms enhancing circular business models emerging within the context of transitions towards a circular economy. The paper follows a two‐step methodology. First, a theoretical framing is proposed by adopting insights from transitions studies. Second, a systematic literature review is employed. The review synthesizes the selected literature tracing the proposed framing in the previously published research. Finally, a transitions framework for circular business models is proposed. This framework suggests future lines of research to support its plausibility. Moreover, it offers prescriptive help to managers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and other social actors enabling them to make informed decisions about and take innovative actions for circular business models in specific contexts.
Recent developments on trade and inequality
Authors: Dai Mi
Published: December 2022

This paper surveys developments in the literature on trade and inequality over the past decade. I first discuss the impact of trade on nominal income inequality, with a focus on firm heterogeneity and the role of mobility frictions. Then, I provide an overview of the literature on the redistributional role of government in an open economy. Finally, I assess the current state of studies on how trade affects real income inequality through the expenditure channel.
Language otherwise: Linguistic natures and the ontological challenge
Authors: Hauck Jan David
Published: December 2022

Linguistic anthropology has remained largely unaffected by debates about ontology in other subfields. In turn, the concept of language has been conspicuously absent from ontological debates. The past few years, however, have seen attempts at articulating the two, interrogatingwhat language isfrom ethnographic perspectives and extending the analytic focus toontologies of languageorlinguistic natures. This article discusses such efforts and compares them to previous critical engagements with the concept of language. Calling into question the ontological equivalence of language within and across cultures, communities, and regions, it explores understandings of what language is that go against the grain of existing theoretical models.
The over‐expression of miRNA‐206 in peripheral blood of patients with burning mouth syndrome and its relationship with anxiety and depression
Authors: Fang Meifei , Huang Yuxiao , Li Chen , Liu Jiaxuan , Ya Zuke , Mei Guocheng , Tao Renchuan , Jiang Lanlan
Published: December 2022

Background

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is characterised by persisting burning pain of the oral mucosa, and its etiopathogenesis remains poorly understood.

Objectives

Our study aimed to detect the expression of miRNA‐206 in the blood and clarify the relationship among miRNA‐206, pain, anxiety and depression of BMS patients.

Methods

Thirty patients with BMS and 30 healthy individuals were enrolled in the experimental and control groups, respectively. Data on medical history and clinical oral examination for all participants were collected. Simultaneously, scores of Visual Analogous Scale (VAS), Self‐rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self‐rating Depression Scale (SDS) were administered. The expression level of miRNA‐206 in plasma were determined by RT‐(q)PCR. Finally, the relationship of miRNA‐206 expression with the VAS score, SAS score, and SDS score was analysed. Chi‐square test and t‐test were used for statistical analysis of the data, and p < .05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

The majority of the patients with BMS identified the tongue as the main pain area, and showed dry mouth and poor sleep quality. The SAS and SDS scores of patients with BMS were higher than those of healthy controls (p < .05) and were positively correlated with VAS pain score. In addition, miRNA‐206 expression was higher in patients with BMS than in healthy individuals (p < .05), and was positively correlated with the VAS and SDS scores (p < .05).

Conclusions

Patients with BMS suffer from pain and tend to be more anxious and depressed than healthy controls. miRNA‐206 expression in the peripheral blood of patients with BMS is positively correlated with pain and depression, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of BMS.
Evaluation of the perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of consumers in the south region of Brazil regarding vinegars: Potential application of regional fruits
Authors: da Silva Monteiro Wanderley Bruna Rafaela , Dias de Mello Castanho Amboni Renata , Moura de Sena Aquino Ana Carolina , Beddin Fritzen‐Freire Carlise
Published: December 2022

Although vinegar has been consumed since ancient times, the demand for developing this product from unconventional fruits has increased in recent years. Therefore, the goal of this study was to evaluate the perception of consumers in the South Region of Brazil regarding vinegar and explore the potential of regional raw materials for its production. The study was carried out with a total of 1,970 participants using an online questionnaire divided into five sections. Through word association technique, it was noted that age group influenced on the perception experienced by those participants who are regular consumers of vinegar regarding its attributes and properties. Moreover, the type of vinegar consumed was correlated with the income of the participants. Moreover, some fruits native to the South Region of Brazil, such as jaboticaba, orange passion fruit, red araçá, uvaia, guabiroba, and feijoa, showed great potential for application in vinegar production.

Practical applications

This study identified the factors that influence on consumer perception experienced by people who regularly consume vinegar, as well as their attitudes related to its use, consumption, and application. Besides, it showed the importance of applying new raw materials in the vinegar preparation process, highlighting the potential of native fruits from the South Region of Brazil, thus providing relevant information for the vinegar market and an opportunity for the development of new products.