bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Insertion sites of the muscles attached to the clavicle: a cadaveric study of the clavicle
Authors: Imazato Hiroyuki , Takahashi Nobuyasu , Sawaguchi Akira , Hirakawa Yusuke , Yamaguchi Yoichiro , Hiyoshi Masaru , Tajima Takuya , Chosa Etsuo
Published: March 2023

Background

Clavicle fractures are common injuries, especially in young, active individuals. Operative treatment is recommended for completely displaced clavicle shaft fractures, and plate fixation is stronger than the use of intramedullary nails. Few studies have reported on iatrogenic injuries to the muscle attached to the clavicle during fracture surgery. The aim of this study was to clarify the area of the insertion sites of muscles attached to the clavicle in Japanese cadavers using gross anatomy and three-dimensional (3D) analysis. We also aimed to compare the effects of anterior plate templating and superior plate templating on clavicle shaft fractures using 3D images.

Methods

Thirty-eight clavicles from Japanese cadavers were analyzed. We removed all clavicles to identify the insertion sites and measured the size of the insertion area of each muscle. Three-dimensional templating was performed on both the superior and anterior plates of the clavicle using data obtained from computed tomography. The areas covered by these plates on the muscles attached to the clavicle were compared. Histological examination was performed on four randomly selected specimens.

Results

The sternocleidomastoid muscle was attached proximally and superiorly; the trapezius muscle was attached posteriorly and partly superiorly; and the pectoralis major muscle and deltoid muscles were attached anteriorly and partially superiorly. The non-attachment area was located mainly in the posterosuperior part of the clavicle. It was difficult to distinguish the borders of the periosteum and pectoralis major muscles. The anterior plate covered a significantly broader area (mean 6.94 ± 1.36 cm2) of the muscles attached to the clavicle than did the superior plate (mean 4.11 ± 1.52 cm2) (p < 0.0001). On microscopy, these muscles were inserted directly into the periosteum.

Conclusion

Most of the pectoralis major and deltoid muscles were attached anteriorly. The non-attachment area was located mainly from the superior to posterior part of the clavicle midshaft. Both macroscopically and microscopically, the boundaries between the periosteum and these muscles were difficult to demarcate. The anterior plate covered a significantly broader area of the muscles attached to the clavicle than that by the superior plate.
Anxiety, attitudes, and education about fertility among medical students in the United States
Authors: Smith D. Grace , Ross Abigail , HogenEsch Elena , Okine Rachel , Bonus Marissa L. , Feinberg Eve C. , Bernardi Lia A.
Published: March 2023

Background

As delayed family building is common among physicians, the goal of this study was to evaluate childbearing plans, anxiety related to future fertility, and interest in fertility education among medical students.

Methods

Using convenience and snowball sampling methods, an electronic REDCap survey was distributed via social media and group messaging applications to medical students enrolled in medical schools across the United States. Answers were collected, and analysis of the descriptive statistics was performed.

Results

The survey was completed by 175 participants, 72% of which were female (assigned at birth). The mean (± SD) age of participants was 24.9 ± 1.9 years. Of all participants, 78.3% desire to have children and 65.1% of these individuals plan to delay childbearing. On average, the planned age of first pregnancy is 31.0 ± 2.3 years. “Lack of time” was the greatest influence on decision regarding timing of childbearing.

Of all respondents, 58.9% reported at least some anxiety related to future fertility. When females and males were compared, significantly more females (73.8%) versus males (20.4%) reported worrying about future fertility (p < 0.001). Participants reported that greater knowledge about infertility and potential treatments would help ease fertility related anxiety, and 66.9% of respondents showed interest in learning about how things such as age and lifestyle can impact fertility, preferably through medical curricula, videos, and podcasts.

Conclusion

A majority of the medical students in this cohort intend to have children and most plan to delay childbearing. A large percentage of female medical students reported anxiety related to future fertility, but many students showed interest in receiving fertility education. This study highlights an opportunity for medical school educators to incorporate targeted fertility education into their curriculum with the intention of decreasing anxiety and improving future reproductive success.
Asthma and atopic dermatitis as risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis: a bidirectional mendelian randomization study
Authors: Chen Chuiji , Su Le , Duan Wenhao , Zheng Yansen , Zhang Dianzhong , Wang Yucai
Published: March 2023

Background

Previous observational studies have shown an association between asthma, atopic dermatitis (AD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the bidirectional cause-effect chain between asthma and AD and RA has not been proven yet.

Methods

We performed bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) and selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with asthma, AD, and RA as instrumental variables. All of the SNPs were obtained from the latest genome-wide association study in Europeans. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) was the main method used in MR analysis. MR-Egger, weighted model, simple model, and weighted median were used for quality control. The robustness of the results was tested by sensitivity analysis.

Results

Asthma was found to be the largest effect size for RA susceptibility using the IVW method (OR, 1.35;95%CI, 1.13–1.60; P, 0.001), followed by AD (OR, 1.10;95%CI, 1.02–1.19; P, 0.019). In contrast, there was no causal relationship between RA and asthma (IVW: P = 0.673) or AD (IVW: P = 0.342). No pleiotropy or heterogeneity was found in the sensitivity analysis.

Conclusion

Findings from this study showed a causal relationship between genetic susceptibility to asthma or AD and increased risk of RA, but do not support a causal relationship between genetic susceptibility to RA and asthma or AD.
The link between glycemic control measures and eye microvascular complications in a clinical cohort of type 2 diabetes with microRNA-223-3p signature
Authors: Da’as Sahar I. , Ahmed Ikhlak , Hasan Waseem H. , Abdelrahman Doua A. , Aliyev Elbay , Nisar Sabah , Bhat Ajaz Ahmad , Joglekar Mugdha V. , Hardikar Anandwardhan A. , Fakhro Khalid A. , Akil Ammira S. Al-Shabeeb
Published: March 2023

Background

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a critical healthcare challenge and priority in Qatar which is listed amongst the top 10 countries in the world, with its prevalence presently at 17% double the global average. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of (T2D) and long-term microvascular complications including diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods

In this study, a T2D cohort that accurately matches the characteristics of the general population was employed to find microRNA (miRNA) signatures that are correlated with glycemic and β cell function measurements. Targeted miRNA profiling was performed in (471) T2D individuals with or without DR and (491) (non-diabetic) healthy controls from the Qatar Biobank. Discovery analysis identified 20 differentially expressed miRNAs in T2D compared to controls, of which miR-223-3p was significantly upregulated (fold change:5.16, p = 3.6e−02) and positively correlated with glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels (p-value = 9.88e−04 and 1.64e−05, respectively), but did not show any significant associations with insulin or C-peptide. Accordingly, we performed functional validation using a miR-223-3p mimic (overexpression) under control and hyperglycemia-induced conditions in a zebrafish model.

Results

Over-expression of miR-223-3p alone was associated with significantly higher glucose (42.7 mg/dL, n = 75 vs 38.7 mg/dL, n = 75, p = 0.02) and degenerated retinal vasculature, and altered retinal morphology involving changes in the ganglion cell layer and inner and outer nuclear layers. Assessment of retinal angiogenesis revealed significant upregulation in the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors, including kinase insert domain receptor. Further, the pancreatic markers, pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1, and the insulin gene expressions were upregulated in the miR-223-3p group.

Conclusion

Our zebrafish model validates a novel correlation between miR-223-3p and DR development. Targeting miR-223-3p in T2D patients may serve as a promising therapeutic strategy to control DR in at-risk individuals.
Gargle sample is an effective option in a novel fully automated molecular point-of-care test for influenza: a multicenter study
Authors: Kaku Norihito , Urabe Tomohito , Iida Tetsuya , Yun Chyuns , Nishida Yoshiyuki , Onitsuka Yasunori , Hashiguchi Kohji , Hirose Kiyoto , Tomonaga Akimitsu , Izumikawa Koichi , Mukae Hiroshi , Yanagihara Katsunori
Published: March 2023

Background

We conducted a multicenter study to evaluate the performance of a novel fully automated molecular point-of-care test using transcription-reverse transcription concerted reaction that can detect influenza A and B within 15 min in nasopharyngeal swabs and gargle samples (TRCsatFLU).

Methods

Patients who visited or were hospitalized at eight clinics and hospitals with influenza-like illnesses between December 2019 and March 2020 participated in this study. We collected nasopharyngeal swabs from all patients and gargle samples from patients whom the physician judged fit to perform gargling. The result of TRCsatFLU was compared to a conventional reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). If the results of TRCsatFLU and conventional RT-PCR were different, the samples were analyzed by sequencing.

Results

We evaluated 233 nasopharyngeal swabs and 213 gargle samples from 244 patients. The average age of the patients was 39.3 ± 21.2. Of the patients, 68.9% visited a hospital within 24 h of symptom onset. The most common symptoms were fever (93.0%), fatigue (79.5%), and nasal discharge (64.8%). All patients in whom the gargle sample was not collected were children. Influenza A or B was detected in 98 and 99 patients in nasopharyngeal swabs and gargle samples using TRCsatFLU, respectively. Four and five patients in nasopharyngeal swabs and gargle samples, respectively, with different TRCsatFLU and conventional RT-PCR results. Influenza A or B was detected using sequencing in all samples with different results. Based on the combined conventional RT-PCR and sequencing results, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of TRCsatFLU for influenza detection in nasopharyngeal swabs were 0.990, 1.000, 1.000, and 0.993, respectively. In the gargle samples, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the TRCsatFLU for detecting influenza were 0.971, 1.000, 1.000, and 0.974, respectively.

Conclusions

The TRCsatFLU showed great sensitivity and specificity for the detection of influenza in nasopharyngeal swabs and gargle samples.

Trial registration: This study was registered in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (reference number: UMIN000038276) on October 11, 2019. Before sample collection, written informed consent for the participation and publication of this study was obtained from all participants.
Successful treatment of acute myocardial injury of Duchenne muscular dystrophy with steroids: a case report
Authors: Oğuz Merve , Gürses Dolunay , Ufuk Furkan , Yılmaz Münevver , Güngör Olcay
Published: March 2023

Background

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked muscular disease which is caused by the absence of dystrophin. Troponin elevation with acute chest pain may indicate acute myocardial injury in these patients. We report a case of DMD that presented with ACP and troponin elevation, who was diagnosed with acute myocardial injury, and successfully treated with corticosteroids.

Case presentation

A 9-year-old with DMD was admitted to the emergency department with the complaint of acute chest pain. His electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed inferior ST elevation and serum troponin T was elevated. The transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) demonstrated inferolateral and anterolateral hypokinesia with depressed left ventricular function. An ECG-gated coronary computed tomography angiography ruled out acute coronary syndrome. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging revealed mid-wall to sub-epicardial late gadolinium enhancement at the basal to the mid inferior lateral wall of the left ventricle and corresponding hyperintensity on T2-weighted imaging, consistent with acute myocarditis. A diagnosis of acute myocardial injury associated with DMD was made. He was treated with anticongestive therapy and 2 mg/kg/day of oral methylprednisolone. Chest pain resolved the next day, and ST-segment elevation returned to normal on the third day. Troponin T decreased in the sixth hour of oral methylprednisolone treatment. TTE on the fifth day revealed improved left ventricular function.

Conclusion

Despite advances in contemporary cardiopulmonary therapies, cardiomyopathy remains the leading cause of death in patients with DMD. Acute chest pain attacks with elevated troponin in patients with DMD without coronary artery disease may indicate acute myocardial injury. Recognition and appropriate treatment of acute myocardial injury episodes in DMD patients may delay the development of cardiomyopathy.
Thick shells and medially wedged posts increase foot orthoses medial longitudinal arch stiffness: an experimental study
Authors: Pelaez Ana Sofia Tavera , Farahpour Nader , Griffiths Ian B. , Moisan Gabriel
Published: March 2023

Background

Foot orthoses (FOs) are commonly prescribed devices to attenuate biomechanical deficits and improve physical function in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. It is postulated that FOs provide their effects through the production of reaction forces at the foot‐FOs interface. An important parameter to provide these reaction forces is their medial arch stiffness. Preliminary results suggest that adding extrinsic additions to FOs (e.g., rearfoot posts) increases their medial arch stiffness. A better understanding of how FOs medial arch stiffness can be modulated by changing structural factors is necessary to better customise FOs for patients. The objectives of this study were to compare FOs stiffness and force required to lower the FOs medial arch in three thicknesses and two models (with and without medially wedged forefoot‐rearfoot posts).

Methods

Two models of FOs, 3D printed in Polynylon‐11, were used: (1) without extrinsic additions (mFO), and (2) with forefoot‐rearfoot posts and a 6o medial wedge (FO6MW). For each model, three thicknesses (2.6 mm, 3.0 mm, and 3.4 mm) were manufactured. FOs were fixed to a compression plate and vertically loaded over the medial arch at a rate of 10 mm/minute. Two‐way ANOVAs and Tukey post‐hoc tests with Bonferroni corrections were used to compare medial arch stiffness and force required to lower the arch across conditions.

Results

Regardless of the differing shell thicknesses, the overall stiffness was 3.4 times greater for FO6MW compared to mFO (p < 0.001). FOs with 3.4 mm and 3.0 mm thicknesses displayed 1.3‐ and 1.1‐ times greater stiffness than FOs with a thickness of 2.6 mm. FOs with a thickness of 3.4 mm also exhibited 1.1 times greater stiffness than FOs with a thickness of 3.0 mm. Overall, the force to lower the medial arch was up to 3.3 times greater for FO6MW than mFO and thicker FOs required greater force (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

An increased medial longitudinal arch stiffness is seen in FOs following the addition of 6o medially inclined forefoot‐rearfoot posts, and when the shell is thicker. Overall, adding forefoot‐rearfoot posts to FOs is significantly more efficient than increasing shell thickness to enhance these variables should that be the therapeutic aim.
Immunohistochemical markers of prognosis in adult granulosa cell tumors of the ovary – a review
Authors: Jung Dennis , Almstedt Katrin , Battista Marco J. , Seeger Alexander , Jäkel Jörg , Brenner Walburgis , Hasenburg Annette
Published: March 2023

Background

Granulosa cell tumors (GCT) are rare malignant ovarian tumors. The two subtypes, adult and juvenile granulosa cell tumors, differ in clinical and molecular characteristics. GCT are low-malignant tumors and are generally associated with favorable prognosis. However, relapses are common even years and decades after diagnosis. Prognostic and predictive factors are difficult to assess in this rare tumor entity. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on prognostic markers of GCT to identify patients with a high risk of recurrence.

Methods

Systematic research for adult ovarian granulosa cell tumors and prognosis revealed n = 409 English full text results from 1965 to 2021. Of these articles, n = 35 were considered for this review after title and abstract screening and topic-specific matching. A specific search for pathologic markers with prognostic relevance for GCT identified n = 19 articles that were added to this review.

Results

FOXL2 mutation and FOXL2 mRNA were inverse and immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of CD56, GATA-4 and SMAD3 was associated with reduced prognosis. IHC analysis of estrogen receptor, Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and inhibin was not associated with prognosis for GCT. Analyses of mitotic rate, Ki-67, p53, β-catenin and HER2 revealed inconsistent results.
A privacy protection approach in edge-computing based on maximized dnn partition strategy with energy saving
Authors: Chaopeng Guo , Zhengqing Lin , Jie Song
Published: March 2023

With the development of deep neural network (DNN) techniques, applications of DNNs show state-of-art performance. In the cloud edge collaborative mode, edge devices upload the raw data, such as texts, images, and videos, to the cloud for processing. Then, the cloud returns prediction or classification results. Although edge devices take advantage of the powerful performance of DNN, there are also colossal privacy protection risks. DNN partition strategy can effectively solve the privacy problems by offload part of the DNN model to the edge, in which the encoded features are transmitted rather than original data. We explore the relationship between privacy and the intermedia result of the DNN. The more parts offloaded to the edge, the more abstract features we can have, indicating more conducive to privacy protection. We propose a privacy protection approach based on a maximum DNN partition strategy. Besides, a mix-precision quantization approach is adopted to reduce the energy use of edge devices. The experiments show that our method manages to increase at most 20% model privacy in various DNN architecture. Through the energy-aware mixed-precision quantization approach, the model’s energy consumption is reduced by at most 5x comparing to the typical edge-cloud solution.
Assessment of microbiota in the gut and upper respiratory tract associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Li Jiarui , Jing Qiuyu , Li Jie , Hua Mingxi , Di Lin , Song Chuan , Huang Yanyi , Wang Jianbin , Chen Chen , Wu Angela Ruohao
Published: March 2023

Background

The human microbiome plays an important role in modulating the host metabolism and immune system. Connections and interactions have been found between the microbiome of the gut and oral pharynx in the context of SARS-CoV-2 and other viral infections; hence, to broaden our understanding of host-viral responses in general and to deepen our knowledge of COVID-19, we performed a large-scale, systematic evaluation of the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on human microbiota in patients with varying disease severity.

Results

We processed 521 samples from 203 COVID-19 patients with varying disease severity and 94 samples from 31 healthy donors, consisting of 213 pharyngeal swabs, 250 sputa, and 152 fecal samples, and obtained meta-transcriptomes as well as SARS-CoV-2 sequences from each sample. Detailed assessment of these samples revealed altered microbial composition and function in the upper respiratory tract (URT) and gut of COVID-19 patients, and these changes are significantly associated with disease severity. Moreover, URT and gut microbiota show different patterns of alteration, where gut microbiome seems to be more variable and in direct correlation with viral load; and microbial community in the upper respiratory tract renders a high risk of antibiotic resistance. Longitudinally, the microbial composition remains relatively stable during the study period.

Conclusions

Our study has revealed different trends and the relative sensitivity of microbiome in different body sites to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, while the use of antibiotics is often essential for the prevention and treatment of secondary infections, our results indicate a need to evaluate potential antibiotic resistance in the management of COVID-19 patients in the ongoing pandemic. Moreover, a longitudinal follow-up to monitor the restoration of the microbiome could enhance our understanding of the long-term effects of COVID-19.
Mouse mammary tumor virus is implicated in severity of colitis and dysbiosis in the IL-10−/− mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Armstrong Heather , Rahbari Mandana , Park Heekuk , Sharon David , Thiesen Aducio , Hotte Naomi , Sun Ning , Syed Hussain , Abofayed Hiatem , Wang Weiwei , Madsen Karen , Wine Eytan , Mason Andrew
Published: March 2023

Background

Following viral infection, genetically manipulated mice lacking immunoregulatory function may develop colitis and dysbiosis in a strain-specific fashion that serves as a model for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We found that one such model of spontaneous colitis, the interleukin (IL)-10 knockout (IL-10−/−) model derived from the SvEv mouse, had evidence of increased Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) viral RNA expression compared to the SvEv wild type. MMTV is endemic in several mouse strains as an endogenously encoded Betaretrovirus that is passaged as an exogenous agent in breast milk. As MMTV requires a viral superantigen to replicate in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue prior to the development of systemic infection, we evaluated whether MMTV may contribute to the development of colitis in the IL-10−/− model.

Results

Viral preparations extracted from IL-10−/− weanling stomachs revealed augmented MMTV load compared to the SvEv wild type. Illumina sequencing of the viral genome revealed that the two largest contigs shared 96.4–97.3% identity with the mtv-1 endogenous loci and the MMTV(HeJ) exogenous virus from the C3H mouse. The MMTV sag gene cloned from IL-10−/− spleen encoded the MTV-9 superantigen that preferentially activates T-cell receptor Vβ-12 subsets, which were expanded in the IL-10−/− versus the SvEv colon. Evidence of MMTV cellular immune responses to MMTV Gag peptides was observed in the IL-10−/− splenocytes with amplified interferon-γ production versus the SvEv wild type. To address the hypothesis that MMTV may contribute to colitis, we used HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors, tenofovir and emtricitabine, and the HIV protease inhibitor, lopinavir boosted with ritonavir, for 12-week treatment versus placebo. The combination antiretroviral therapy with known activity against MMTV was associated with reduced colonic MMTV RNA and improved histological score in IL-10−/− mice, as well as diminished secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and modulation of the microbiome associated with colitis.

Conclusions

This study suggests that immunogenetically manipulated mice with deletion of IL-10 may have reduced capacity to contain MMTV infection in a mouse-strain-specific manner, and the antiviral inflammatory responses may contribute to the complexity of IBD with the development of colitis and dysbiosis.
The Cognitive Daisy (COG-D) for improving care for residents with dementia in care homes: protocol of a feasibility RCT
Authors: Pollux Petra M. J. , Surr Claire , Cohen Judith , Huang Chao , Wolverson Emma , Mountain Pauline , Turner Rebecca , Hawkesford-Webb Emma , Winter Bethany , Hudson John M.
Published: March 2023

Background

Cognitive problems associated with dementia affect a large proportion of older adults living in residential care. Knowledge of cognitive impairments is important for providing person-centred care (PCC). The impact of specific cognitive impairments on residents’ needs is often overlooked in dementia training and information about residents’ individual cognitive profiles are frequently underspecified in care-plans, potentially undermining the delivery of PCC. This can lead to reduced resident quality of life and increased distressed behaviours—a major cause of staff stress and burnout. The COG-D package was developed to fill this gap. Daisies provide a visual representation of a resident’s individual cognitive strengths and weaknesses in a colourful flower (Daisy) representing five cognitive domains. By viewing a resident’s Daisy, care-staff can flexibly adjust in-the-moment care-decisions and can consult Daisies in care-plans for longer-term planning. The primary aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of implementing the COG-D package in residential care homes for older adults.

Methods/design

This 24-month feasibility cluster randomized controlled trial involves a 6-month intervention of the use of Cognitive Daisies in 8–10 residential care homes for older adults after training of care staff on the use of Cognitive Daisies in daily care (basic training) and on conducting the COG-D assessments with residents (advanced training). The key feasibility outcomes include % residents recruited, % COG-D assessments completed, and % staff completing the training. Candidate outcome measures for residents and staff will be obtained at baseline, and at 6 and 9 months post-randomization. COG-D assessments of residents will be repeated 6 months after the first assessment. A process evaluation will assess intervention implementation and barriers and facilitators to this through care-plan audits, interviews and focus groups with staff, residents, and relatives. Feasibility outcomes will be analysed against progression criteria to a full trial.

Discussion

The results of this study will provide important information about the feasibility of using COG-D in care homes and will inform the design of a future large-scale cluster RCT to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the COG-D intervention in care homes.

Trial registration

This trial was registered on 28/09/2022 (ISRCTN15208844) and is currently open to recruitment.
Who supports refugees? Diversity assent and pro-refugee engagement in Germany
Authors: Drouhot Lucas G. , Schönwälder Karen , Petermann Sören , Vertovec Steve
Published: March 2023

During the 2015 “summer of welcome”, the mass arrival of refugees to Germany triggered widely publicised acts of pro-refugee solidarity among citizens. To date, scholarship has largely focused on hostility towards immigrants—including refugees-, and few studies shed light on the determinants of acceptance, so that refugee solidarity remains poorly understood. In this paper, we hypothesise that pro-refugee engagement does not just reflect humanitarian concerns, but also a more general acceptance of socio-cultural diversity in German society. Relying on unique survey data gathered in 2019–2020, we show that a majority of urban Germans indeed engaged in some form of support. We employ latent class analysis to capture the spectrum of diversity attitudes within the urban population. A series of regression models show that diversity attitudes are powerful predictors of pro-refugee engagement. Overall, our study helps advancing immigration scholarship by demonstrating that widespread support for refugees is strongly associated with more general diversity assent.
Digital studying in times of COVID-19: teacher- and student-related aspects of learning success in german higher education
Authors: Engel Ole , Zimmer Lena M. , Lörz Markus , Mayweg-Paus Elisabeth
Published: March 2023

In the wake of COVID-19, study conditions in Europe have changed dramatically. To limit contact between students and teachers, since March 2020 teaching has largely taken place digitally (remotely via digital means) and in private. Because the success of digital learning likely relies on many factors beyond good digital infrastructure conditions, this article focuses on which aspects, at both the teacher and the student levels, promote digital learning success. The large-scale student survey “Studying in Times of the Corona Pandemic” conducted at German universities and universities of applied sciences in the summer semester of 2020 offers data on how COVID-19 has affected several aspects of university studying in Germany. Here, we consider this data within the theoretical framework “theory of transactional distance” introduced by Moore (in: Moore (ed) Handbook of distance education, Routledge, 2018), according to which the success of digital teaching is influenced by dialogue, structure, and learner autonomy. Based on various regression analyses, our results show that several (digital) framework conditions must be created on both the teacher and student levels to achieve sufficient digital learning success. In this sense, our findings provide guidance on which aspects institutions of higher education should focus on when developing or updating their digitalization strategies. In accordance with collaborative learning approaches a key factor for learning success appears to be enabling peer-to-peer interactions. This finding supports our prediction that the possibility of engaging in interactive learning activities is crucial for students’ learning experience, as it might reduce the perception of transactional distance and allow for social exchange. The strongest predictor of students’ learning success turned out to be the (perceived) digital competencies of the teachers. This finding clearly emphasizes that teachers must be qualified to address the very specific challenges of teaching in digital contexts and indicates that universities may need to implement more teacher qualification programs.
Borehole acoustic full-waveform inversion
Authors: Tang Huaigu , Cheng Arthur Chuen Hon , Li Yunyue Elita , Fang Xinding , Wang Ruijia , Wu Xiang
Published: March 2023

Full-waveform inversion (FWI) is a technique that has the potential for building high-resolution elastic velocity models. We apply this technique to wireline monopole acoustic logging data to image the near-wellbore formation velocity structures, which can be used in a fluid intrusion evaluation. Our FWI workflow is established in cylindrical coordinates instead of Cartesian coordinates to adapt to the borehole geometry. Assuming that the acoustic logging tool is centralized and formation properties are azimuthally invariant, we can simplify the problem to two dimensions in the inversion. Synthetic tests find that the high-resolution P- and S-wave velocity model around the borehole could be successfully inverted using FWI once a reasonable starting velocity model is given. However, borehole FWI differs from seismic FWI in that strong borehole-guided waves exist near the borehole wall due to the elastic effects. The borehole-guided waves have little sensitivity to velocity away from the borehole wall. In addition, it is difficult to simultaneously match the waveform of the body waves and guided waves in synthetic data and field data. Therefore, for field data applications, we propose to obtain the formation velocity structures around the borehole by FWI using only the first arrived P waves. The field data tests find that the proposed method is applicable for inverting the P-wave velocity structure around the borehole with a similar resolution compared with ray-tracing tomography. FWI may achieve higher resolution in field applications in the future with better assumptions made in the forward modeling and using more information in the field data.
Transitions in development – an interview with Annis Richardson
Authors: Eve Alex
Published: March 2023

Annis Richardson is the Lecturer in Molecular Crop Science at the University of Edinburgh, UK. Her research employs a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the molecular mechanisms governing organ development and evolution in grass crops, such as maize. In 2022, Annis was awarded a Starting Grant from the European Research Council. We spoke to Annis over Microsoft Teams to learn more about her career trajectory, her research and her agricultural roots.
Causes, costs and consequences of kinesin motors communicating through the microtubule lattice
Authors: Verhey Kristen J. , Ohi Ryoma
Published: March 2023

Microtubules are critical for a variety of important functions in eukaryotic cells. During intracellular trafficking, molecular motor proteins of the kinesin superfamily drive the transport of cellular cargoes by stepping processively along the microtubule surface. Traditionally, the microtubule has been viewed as simply a track for kinesin motility. New work is challenging this classic view by showing that kinesin-1 and kinesin-4 proteins can induce conformational changes in tubulin subunits while they are stepping. These conformational changes appear to propagate along the microtubule such that the kinesins can work allosterically through the lattice to influence other proteins on the same track. Thus, the microtubule is a plastic medium through which motors and other microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) can communicate. Furthermore, stepping kinesin-1 can damage the microtubule lattice. Damage can be repaired by the incorporation of new tubulin subunits, but too much damage leads to microtubule breakage and disassembly. Thus, the addition and loss of tubulin subunits are not restricted to the ends of the microtubule filament but rather, the lattice itself undergoes continuous repair and remodeling. This work leads to a new understanding of how kinesin motors and their microtubule tracks engage in allosteric interactions that are critical for normal cell physiology.
Disparities in Sports Medicine Health Care Access in Illinois High Schools: Access to Team Physicians, Athletic Trainers, and Automated External Defibrillators
Authors: Nicholson Caitlin A. , Shott Susan , Levy Nicole Boniquit , Ghannad Leda A. , Lagattuta Lane , McArdle Emily , Alland Jeremy A.
Published: March 2023

High school athletes have higher rates of injuries and sudden death than their college counterparts. Medical care for these athletes should include access to team physicians, athletic trainers, and automated external defibrillators. Disparities in medical care access provided by high schools for their athletes may be due to school characteristics or socioeconomic or racial factors. This study investigated relationships between these factors and access to team physicians, athletic trainers, and automated external defibrillators. Medical care access is negatively related to the percentage of low-income students and positively related to the number of sports offered. Relationships between race and access to a team physician became nonsignificant when the percentage of low-income students was considered. Physicians who treat high school athletes should consider the medical care access provided by their schools when they educate these patients about preventing and treating sports injuries.
Airway Obstruction with Blunt Neck Trauma from an Accidental High Tackle in Rugby
Authors: Kitamura Takuya , Otani Kei
Published: March 2023

Blunt neck trauma is an uncommon condition in sports yet life-threatening if left untreated; hence, early diagnosis and management is necessary once suspected. We report a collegiate rugby player tackled around the neck during intersquad scrimmage. He broke his cricoid and thyroid cartilage, resulting in cervical subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum and eventually, airway obstruction. Thus, he underwent cricothyroidotomy and emergency tracheotomy. After 20 d, the emphysema disappeared. However, dilation failure of the vocal cord remained, thereby requiring laryngeal reconstruction. In conclusion, blunt neck trauma can cause airway obstruction in various sports.
Mecanismo de transmissão da política monetária: Canal de tomada de risco na economia brasileira (2000-2019)
Authors: Vieira Passos Felipe , Amorim Loureiro Paulo Roberto
Published: March 2023

Este trabalho busca apresentar uma contribuição sobre o canal de tomada de risco da política monetária, ao analisar se o ambiente de redução das taxas de juros aumentou o comportamento de assunção de riscos bancários. Utilizou-se 2.722 observações anuais do banco de dados do COSIF no período de 2000-2019, e não se encontrou uma predominante relação negativa entre taxas de juros e tomada de risco, medida por ativos de risco e empréstimos inadimplentes. Contrariamente, existe uma pequena relação positiva entre empréstimos inadimplentes e taxas de juros. Nas estimações, empregou-se ainda características dos balanços e demonstração de resultados com variáveis de tamanho, capitalização, lucratividade e eficiência, a variação do PIB – para a heterogeneidade em condições macroeconômicas –, e uma variável para a crise financeira em 2008-2009. Os resultados são robustos para uma série de especificações diferentes que levam em consideração a potencial endogeneidade das taxas de juros e/ou a dinâmica do risco bancário.
Graphie: A network-based visual interface for the UK's primary legislation
Authors: Tzanis Evan , Vivo Pierpaolo , Förster Yanik-Pascal , Gamberi Luca , Annibale Alessia
Published: March 2023

Background: legislation.gov.uk is a platform that enables users to explore and navigate the many sections of the UK’s legal corpus through its well-designed searching and browsing features. However, there is room for improvement as it lacks the ability to easily move between related sections or Acts and only presents a text-only rendering of provisions. With Graphie, our novel navigational tool (graphie.quantlaw.co.uk), we aim to address this limitation by presenting alternative visualizations of legal documents using both text and graphs.

Methods: The building block of Graphie is Sofia, an offline data pipeline designed to support different data visualizations by parsing and modelling data provided by legislation.gov.uk in open access form.

Results: Graphie provides a network representation of the hierarchical structure of an Act of Parliament, which is typically organized in a tree-like fashion according to the content and information contained in each sub-branch. Nodes in Graphie represent sections of an Act (or individual provisions), while links embody the hierarchical connections between them. The legal map provided by Graphie is easily navigable by hovering on nodes, which are also color-coded and numbered to provide easily accessible information about the underlying content. The full textual content of each node is also available on a dedicated hyperlinked canvas.

Conclusions: While we focus on the Housing Act 2004 for illustrative purposes, our platform is scalable, versatile, and provides users with a unified toolbox to visualize and explore the UK legal corpus in a fast and user-friendly way.
Prevalence and correlates of positive and negative psychological effects of bereavement due to COVID-19: A living systematic review
Authors: Reitsma Lyanne , Killikelly Clare , Müller Heidi , Larsen Lene , Boelen Paul , Lenferink Lonneke
Published: March 2023

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is associated with an increase in mortality rates globally. Given the high numbers of deaths and the potentially traumatic characteristics of COVID-19 deaths, it is expected that grief-related distress levels are higher in COVID-19 bereaved (compared to non-COVID-19 bereaved) people. This living systematic review (LSR) investigates the empirical evidence regarding this claim. More specifically, this LSR summarizes studies evaluating prevalence and correlates of positive and negative psychological effects of COVID-19 bereavement. This iteration synthesizes evidence up to July 2022. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in PsychInfo, Web of Science, and Medline by two independent reviewers. Eligible studies included quantitative peer-reviewed articles reporting on positive and/or negative psychological outcomes, using validated measures, in COVID-19 bereaved adults. The primary outcome was prolonged grief symptoms (PG). Results: Searches identified 9871 articles, whereof 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies included prevalence rates and/or symptom-levels of psychological outcomes after COVID-19 losses. Prevalence rates of psychological outcomes were primarily reported in terms of (acute) PG, pandemic grief, depression, anxiety, and functional impairment, and varied widely between studies (e.g., ranged between 29% and 49% for acute PG). No studies reported on prevalence rates of positive psychological outcomes. Closer kinship to the deceased, death unexpectedness, and COVID-19 stressors were identified as correlates of increased psychological symptoms. Conclusions: Due to the small number and heterogeneity of studies, knowledge about psychological effects of COVID-19 bereavement is limited. This LSR offers a regular synthesis of up-to-date research evidence to guide clinicians, policy makers, public health professionals, and future research on the psychological effects of COVID-19 bereavement.
A cost effective alternative method to ddRADseq library construction during size selection
Authors: Oral Münevver
Published: March 2023

Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies constitute the most powerful scientific advance of 21st century with a promise of fast and cost effective data generation in biology. Yet, up to date NGS studies remain often limited to laboratories with established resources. In the present study, we employed construction of ddRADseq library by using routine lab consumables (agarose gel electrophoresis: AGE thereafter) compared to high-tech NGS consumables (paramagnetic beads) during size selection. The ddRADseq library was constructed for sequencing size selected based on universally used paramagnetic beads, while remaining aliquot was used as a template to assess the feasibility of ddRADseq library construction using AGE for labs with limited resources. Both libraries were optimised for 15 PCR cycles indicating similarity in template intensity. Post-PCR quantification of the libraries was comparable (~10 ng.µL-1). Size distribution assessment revealed a cleaner pick at the ddRADseq library size selected manually based on AGE. Similarly, intercalating agent of Qubit confirmed the quantity of libraries was similar (>3 ng.µL-1). Although being more time consuming due to pre-electrophoresis preparations, serial wash and staining steps, ddRADseq library construction is achievable using routine lab consumables provided to supply the adaptors and PCR primers for the initial wet-lab work. These results manifest the feasibility of ddRADseq library generation for labs with limited resources.
Determination of anti-cancer and antioxidant properties of protein extracts obtained from aquatic Helophorus (Coleoptera: Helophoridae) insects
Authors: Elhazar Tuba , Kaya Bülent , Caf Fatma
Published: March 2023

In this study, protein extraction was performed from the aquatic insect Helophorus aquaticus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Helophorus syriacus (Kuwert, 1885) species belonging to the genus Helophorus (Coleoptera: Helophoridae). Then, these protein extracts were studied in vitro. These species were collected from the shallow parts of various streams, springs, creeks, ponds and hot springs from Bingöl city centre and its districts between May to June 2017. The protein amount was determined 34.78 mg/mL in the H. aquaticus and 35.14 mg/mL in the H. syriacus, after that he antioxidant capacity of protein extracts was examined. Metal chelating activity was determined as 90-88.5% and DPPH removal activity 53.19-61.7% for H. aquaticus and H. syriacus respectively. Protein samples belonging to both species were tested for cell vitality with WST-1 in PC-3 (prostate cancer) cells with in vitro cell culture. Upon examination of the test results, it has been found out that protein extracts from both of the studied species caused a decrease in cell inhibition. The highest cell inhibition was observed in samples with 1000 μg/mL insect protein extract added. In this study, protein expression providing apoptosis was examined with the Western blot technique after the effective dose was established. By looking at the proteins of Cyt-C and Caspase 3 with the Western blot technique, the efficacy of the protein extracts from both species was demonstrated effectively for the in vitro PC-3 line in non-apoptosis cell death. As a result of the study, insect proteins were shown to support the production of proteins that ensure cell death with the western blot technique.
First century B.C.E. in the history of Aegean Greece it was an exceptionally gloomy period. Between 88 BC and 31 B.C.E. Rome's first war with Mithridates took place on its lands, and later three Roman civil wars ended here. The article is an attempt to look at these events from a Greek perspective. It shows how the fighting Romans used Greek human, financial and material resources, and what effects it had.
Authors: Pawlak Marcin
Published: March 2023

First century B.C.E. in the history of Aegean Greece it was an exceptionally gloomy period. Between 88 BC and 31 B.C.E. Rome's first war with Mithridates took place on its lands, and later three Roman civil wars ended here. The article is an attempt to look at these events from a Greek perspective. It shows how the fighting Romans used Greek human, financial and material resources, and what effects it had.
XXXIV Ogólnopolska Konferencja Historyków Kartografii „Fortyfikacje na dawnych mapach”
Authors: Kowalkowski Adam
Published: March 2023

W dniach 13–15 października 2022 r. odbyła się w Toruniu kolejna, XXXIV Ogólnopolska Konferencja Historyków kartografii. Organizatorami spotkania były cztery instytucje: Zespół Historii Kartografii przy Instytucie Historii Nauki PAN, Katedra Historii Wojskowej Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, Muzeum Twierdzy Toruń oraz Katedra Geomatyki i Kartografii Uniwersytetu Marii Curie Skłodowskiej w Lublinie. Komitetem Naukowym i Organizacyjnym konferencji kierował płk dr Eugeniusz Sobczyński (UMK), zaś jego członkami byli: dr hab. Maciej Krotofil, prof UMK, dr hab. Dorota Michaluk prof. UMK, dr Mirosław Giętkowski (Muzeum Twierdzy Toruń), dr hab. Beata Konopska, prof. UMCS (UMCS, ZHK przy IHN PAN) i dr hab. Radosław Skrycki, prof. US (US, ZHK przy IHN PAN).
Zapiski podróżne: w tłumaczeniu z języka ormiańskiego i w opracowaniu Hripsime Mamikonyan
Authors: Lehacy Symeon
Published: March 2023

Simeon Mardirosowicz Lehatsi (Armenian: Սիմեոն Լեհացի) was one of the most prominent representatives of the intellectual elite of Polish Armenians in the 17th century. He was a clerk, copyist, writer and traveler who visited many countries and left valuable travel notes, due to which in historiography he is often referred to as “the Armenian Marco Polo”, He wrote a lot, mostly as a copyist to earn money, but thanks to his travel notes and colophons of the manuscripts he copied, we have a lot of precious historical data about the people of his time. Simeon’s works are valuable in many respects and constitute an important source of information for historical, religious, linguistic, ethnographic, literary and architectural studies.