bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DSWEmod — The Production of High‐Frequency Surface Water Map Composites from Daily MODIS Images
Authors: Soulard Christopher E. , Waller Eric K. , Walker Jessica J. , Petrakis Roy E. , Smith Britt W.
Published: February 2022

Optical satellite imagery is commonly used for monitoring surface water dynamics, but clouds and cloud shadows present challenges in assembling complete water time series. To test whether the daily revisit rate of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery can reduce cloud obstruction and improve high‐frequency surface water mapping, we compared map results derived from Landsat (30‐m) and MODIS (250‐m) data across the state of California for 2003–2019. We adapted the Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE) model in Google Earth Engine to generate surface water map composites from MODIS imagery every 5, 10, 15, and 30 days, and compared products to monthly Landsat‐based DSWE maps. Results for DSWEmod (DSWE MODIS) in California suggest that more than 5% data loss (cloud obstruction, etc.) was present in only 2% of the 15‐day time series, as compared to 32% of the monthly Landsat DSWE time series. The five‐day DSWEmod composites averaged 8.4% obscuration in the winter months. Area estimates derived from cloud‐filtered MODIS and Landsat monthly products have the highest linear correlations compared to streamgage discharge records, suggesting that monthly scale analyses best explain the relationship between surface water area and general streamflow dynamics. Shorter‐interval DSWEmod products have lower correlations but utility for understanding the timing of surface water peaks and past flood events.
Gag‐like proteins: Novel mediators of prenatal alcohol exposure in neural development
Authors: Pinson Marisa R. , Chung Dae D. , Mahnke Amanda H. , Salem Nihal A. , Osorio Daniel , Nair Vijay , Payne Elizabeth A. , del Real Jonathan J. , Cai James J. , Miranda Rajesh C.
Published: February 2022

Background

We previously showed that ethanol did not kill fetal neural stem cells (NSCs), but that their numbers nevertheless are decreased due to aberrant maturation and loss of self‐renewal. To identify mechanisms that mediate this loss of NSCs, we focused on a family of Gag‐like proteins (GLPs), derived from retroviral gene remnants within mammalian genomes. GLPs are important for fetal development, though their role in brain development is virtually unexplored. Moreover, GLPs may be transferred between cells in extracellular vesicles (EVs) and thereby transfer environmental adaptations between cells. We hypothesized that GLPs may mediate some effects of ethanol in NSCs.

Methods

Sex‐segregated male and female fetal murine cortical NSCs, cultured ex vivo as nonadherent neurospheres, were exposed to a dose range of ethanol and to mitogen‐withdrawal‐induced differentiation. We used siRNAs to assess the effects of NSC‐expressed GLP knockdown on growth, survival, and maturation and in silico GLP knockout, in an in vivo single‐cell RNA‐sequencing dataset, to identify GLP‐mediated developmental pathways that were also ethanol‐sensitive.

Results

PEG10 isoform‐1, isoform‐2, and PNMA2 were identified as dominant GLP species in both NSCs and their EVs. Ethanol‐exposed NSCs exhibited significantly elevated PEG10 isoform‐2 and PNMA2 protein during differentiation. Both PEG10 and PNMA2 were mediated apoptosis resistance and additionally, PEG10 promoted neuronal and astrocyte lineage maturation. Neither GLP influenced metabolism nor cell cycle in NSCs. Virtual PEG10 and PNMA2 knockout identified gene transcription regulation and ubiquitin‐ligation processes as candidate mediators of GLP‐linked prenatal alcohol effects.

Conclusions

Collectively, GLPs present in NSCs and their EVs may confer apoptosis resistance within the NSC niche and contribute to the abnormal maturation induced by ethanol.
Fixing diluted earnings per share: Recognising the dilutive effects of employee stock options
Authors: van Zyl Warrick , Uliana Enrico
Published: February 2022

This paper proposes changes to the calculation of diluted earnings per share (DEPS). The existing IAS 33 approach is flawed as it ignores the time value of options and treats equity‐settled options differently to cash‐settled options. We derive an alternative method and then compare this with the IAS 33 calculation using examples based on a simple firm as well as a small sample of ASX companies. Our method best describes the change in economic value of the current shareholders and provides a similar result at a DEPS level for both cash‐ and equity‐settled options. It is superior to the existing IAS 33 method and can easily be extended to deal with other dilutive instruments.
Integrating immersion withGPSdata improves behavioural classification for wandering albatrosses and shows scavenging behind fishing vessels mirrors natural foraging
Authors: Carneiro A P B , Dias M P , Oppel S , Pearmain E J , Clark B L , Wood A G , Clavelle T , Phillips R A
Published: February 2022

Advances in biologging techniques and the availability of high‐resolution fisheries data have improved our ability to understand the interactions between seabirds and fisheries and to evaluate mortality risk due to bycatch. However, it remains unclear whether movement patterns and behaviour differ between birds foraging naturally or scavenging behind vessels and whether this could be diagnostic of fisheries interactions. We deployed novel loggers that record the GPS position of birds at sea and scan the surroundings to detect radar transmissions from vessels and immersion (activity) loggers on wandering albatrossesDiomedea exulansfrom South Georgia. We matched these data to remotely sensed fishing vessel positions and used a combination of hidden Markov and random forest models to investigate whether it was possible to detect a characteristic signature from the seabird tracking and activity data that would indicate fine‐scale vessel overlap and interactions. Including immersion data in our hidden Markov models allowed two distinct foraging behaviours to be identified, both indicative of Area Restricted Search (ARS) but with or without landing behaviour (likely prey capture attempts) that would not be detectable with location data alone. Birds approached vessels during all behavioural states, and there was no clear pattern associated with this type of scavenging behaviour. The random forest models had very low sensitivity, partly because foraging events at vessels occurred very rarely, and did not contain any diagnostic movement or activity pattern that was distinct from natural behaviours away from vessels. Thus, we were unable to predict accurately whether foraging bouts occurred in the vicinity of a fishing vessel, or naturally, based on behaviour alone. Our method provides a coherent and generalizable framework to segment trips using auxiliary biologging (immersion) data and to refine the classification of foraging strategies of seabirds. These results nevertheless underline the value of using radar detectors that detect vessel proximity or remotely sensed vessel locations for a better understanding of seabird–fishery interactions.
Infrastructure, Development, and Displacement in Pakistan’s “Southern Punjab”
Authors: Ahmad Ali Nobil
Published: February 2022

This article explores the relationship between infrastructure, uneven development, and displacement in Pakistan’s “Southern Punjab”. It focuses on three historical episodes spanning the colonial era to the present: (1) agricultural colonisation during the colonial/early post‐colonial period; (2) the Great Indus Flood of 2010; and (3) contemporary initiatives to develop energy infrastructure in Southern Punjab within the framework of CPEC, the China‐Pakistan Economic Corridor. These three episodes correspond with colonial, post‐colonial, and contemporary phases of infrastructure‐led development respectively in a history of dispossession and displacement that problematises common sense understandings of infrastructure as enabling and connective. Popular mobilisation and resistance are examined through the phenomenon of Siraiki ethno‐nationalism, which infuses struggles for environmental justice in Southern Punjab. The article also considers the parallel and entwined role of state‐sponsored infrastructures of Islamist militancy in creating an increasingly hostile environment for Siraiki nationalists and other progressive social movements.
Diverse values of surplus for a community economy of fish(eries)
Authors: Sharp Emma L. , Petersen Ingrid , Mclellan Georgia , Cavadino Alana , Lewis Nicolas
Published: February 2022

This paper develops a diverse economies account of fish ‘waste’ that revalues it as ‘surplus’. We examine ‘Kai Ika’, a community marine conservation experiment in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Aotearoa New Zealand. Kai Ika rescues fish heads, frames and offal that were previously ‘going to waste’ and redistributes them to fish eaters who would otherwise struggle to access these foods. It involves fishers and community sector and Indigenous actors in an initiative that converts would‐be waste into surplus. We examine the case as a diverse economic project that nourishes humans, enhances respect for fish as living beings, and potentially conserves marine resources in the face of global‐to‐local fisheries depletion. The research is based on community‐gathered fish parts collection data, and virtual and email interview data. We analyse this data to produce an account of diverse ‘object values’ and fish‐related surpluses that derive from surplus labour and other socio‐cultural and environmental surplus. We argue that reframing fish economies in this way encourages new and diverse economic subjectivities and a more connected, relational and cooperative community economy of fish.
Host‐country language proficiency and migrant‐native disparities in prenatal care utilization: A nationwide study in Portugal
Authors: Hamwi Sousan , Lorthe Elsa , Barros Henrique
Published: February 2022

Background

Migrant‐native disparities in perinatal health and care utilization are well‐established, yet most evidence comes from countries without universal health coverage. Migrant‐specific factors potentially contributing to such disparities are seldom examined. We investigated the association between migration and host‐country language proficiency and inadequate utilization of prenatal care (PNC) in Portugal.

Methods

We used robust Poisson regression to analyze data from 1419 migrant and 2477 native women enrolled in the Portuguese Bambino cohort study who had given birth at a Portuguese public hospital between 2017 and 2019. Migrant women's language proficiency was self‐rated for understanding, speaking, reading, and writing skills. PNC utilization inadequacy was assessed using three dimensions: initiation, number of visits, and the modified Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization (mAPNCU) Index score.

Results

Migrant women were overall more likely to initiate PNC late and have inadequate/intermediate mAPNCU scores than natives. Migrant‐native disparities in the number of PNC visits were only observed among recent migrants (≤5 years in Portugal). Full, intermediate, and limited Portuguese skills were associated with increasingly higher risks of late PNC initiation (aRR 1.34 [95%CI 1.20‐1.50]); (aRR 1.52 [95%CI 1.28‐1.80]); (aRR 1.91 [95%CI 1.52‐2.40]), inadequate number of PNC visits (aRR 1.06 [95%CI 0.93‐1.22]); (aRR 1.14 [95%CI 0.97‐1.34]); (aRR 1.57 [95%CI 1.19‐2.07]), and inadequate/intermediate mAPNCU scores (aRR 1.18 [95%CI 1.07‐1.32]); (aRR 1.30 [95%CI 1.11‐1.53]); (aRR 1.69 [95%CI 1.38‐2.07]) compared with native Portuguese skills, respectively.

Conclusions

Migrant‐native disparities in PNC utilization are present in Portugal, despite universal health coverage. Recent migrants and women with limited language competence are the most vulnerable to inadequate PNC use.
Use of pain management in childbirth among migrant women in Iceland: A population‐based cohort study
Authors: Guðmundsdóttir Embla Ýr , Nieuwenhuijze Marianne , Einarsdóttir Kristjana , Hálfdánsdóttir Berglind , Gottfreðsdóttir Helga
Published: February 2022

Background

Immigration is rapidly increasing in Iceland with 13.6% of the population holding foreign citizenship in 2020. Earlier findings identified inequities in childbirth care for some women in Iceland. To gain insight into the quality of intrapartum midwifery care, migrant women's use of pain management methods during birth in Iceland was explored.

Methods

A population‐based cohort study including all women with a singleton birth in Iceland between 2007 and 2018, in total 48 173 births. Logistic regression analyses with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to investigate the relationship between migrant backgrounds defined as holding foreign citizenship and the use of pain management during birth. The main outcome measures were use of nonpharmacological and pharmacological pain management methods.

Results

Data from 6097 migrant women were included. Migrant women had higher adjusted OR (aORs) for no use of pain management (aOR = 1.23 95% CI [1.12, 1.34]), when compared to Icelandic women. Migrant women also had lower aORs for the use of acupuncture (0.73 [0.64, 0.83]), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) (0.92 [0.01, 0.67]), shower/bath (0.73 [0.66, 0.82]), aromatherapy (0.59 [0.44, 0.78]), and nitrous oxide inhalation (0.89 [0.83, 0.96]). Human Development Index (HDI) scores of countries of citizenship <0.900 were associated with lower aORs for the use of various pain management methods.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that being a migrant in Iceland is an important factor that limits the use of nonpharmacological pain management, especially for migrant women with citizenship from countries with HDI score <0.900.
Unconscious associations between stressor type and ability to cope: An experimental approach using ancient and modern sources of stress
Authors: Katsampouris Evangelos , Turner‐Cobb Julie M. , Arnold Rachel , Barnett Julie C.
Published: February 2022

Objectives

Work has emerged that suggests it is salient and feasible to include a chronological approach to the taxonomy of stress. The ability to make an explicit distinction between ancient stressors (AS) and modern stressors (MS) has been reported in young and older adults; AS have been associated with greater ability to cope and MS with poorer health outcomes. Whether these explicit distinctions exist at an implicit, unconscious level, has yet to be determined.

Design

A quantitative design employed a computer‐based Implicit Association Test (IAT) to examine implicit associations between AS/MS and coping appraisal.

Methods

One hundred adults (75 females) aged 18–58 years (M = 28.27 years, SD = 10.02) completed the AS/MS IAT, to compare reaction time (RT) and accuracy between consistent pairs (AS/ability to cope; MS/inability to cope) and inconsistent pair responses (AS/inability to cope; MS/ability to cope); followed by an explicit self‐report questionnaire.

Results

Repeated measures ANCOVAs, controlling for sex and age, revealed significant main effects of faster RT and higher accuracy in responses for consistent than inconsistent pairs. Adult participants made implicit associations indicating an unconscious AS and MS distinction. Using the D algorithm, a univariate ANCOVA and independent t‐tests found that males, compared to females, showed a stronger implicit preference for consistent than inconsistent pairs.

Conclusions

Findings suggest an implicit association between ancient and modern stressors and perceived coping ability. Utilizing a chronological taxonomy for understanding evolutionary origins that drive individual’s responses to stress has implications for developing effective coping strategies to improve health outcomes.
Writing a history of learning disabilities as Joey's dad
Authors: Unwin Stephen
Published: February 2022

It is perhaps inevitable that the academic study of learning disabilities is often undertaken by established scholars with little lived experience of the condition. So, what has it been like for someone from outside the academy, with a long career in the arts, who is also the father of a severely learning‐disabled young man, to write a book‐length history of learning disabilities in culture and society? How is it possible to reconcile such a biological reality with the many caveats about the social construction of the condition? How can we retain a belief in scientific analysis when the categorisation of learning‐disabled people seems to have caused as many problems as it solves? Furthermore, how can such an account be attempted when so much of the written record is by people who are placed in positions of power over learning‐disabled people and when the true voice of experience is so often silenced, or, like the author's son, silent? The attempt to answer these questions reveals a field rich with contradiction. Despite some advances, much of the social and cultural history of learning disabilities tells a tale of neglect, abandonment and abuse, with confused cultural attitudes too often shaping practice. When the telescope is reversed, however, severe learning disabilities provide us with a kind of Brechtian “alienation effect” which reveals the fault lines running through so many progressive movements and helps us to frame them historically, while also challenging assumptions about how those with severe learning disabilities are regarded and can best be given the support and freedom that they need.
Surgical considerations in skin of colour: minimizing pathological scars
Authors: Obi Ebube E.
Published: February 2022

In most surgeries, the primary aim, for both surgeons and patients, is the success of the operation being undertaken. A secondary aim is for optimal wound healing with minimal scar formation. The normal wound-healing process involves four distinct but overlapping stages: haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodelling. In some patients, the cellular process involved in the proliferation and remodelling stages can be deranged, resulting in the formation of hypertrophic or keloid scars, a phenomenon more frequently seen in skin of colour. The first report of excessive scarring is thought to be the Smith papyrus about 1700 BC. In the 20th century, both Mancini and Quaife (in 1962) and Peacock et al. (in 1970) classified excessive scarring into hypertrophic and keloid scar formation. Clinicians can minimize the risk of these pathological scars developing by using good preoperative, perioperative/intraoperative and postoperative surgical practices. This paper reviews the wound-healing processes in association with good surgical principles and practice, discusses how implementing these principles in practice helps in this prevention and management of pathological surgical scars such as hypertrophic scars and keloid scars. and offers a practical step-by-step clinical guide that can be used by any clinician.
Embodied Space‐pitch Associations are Shaped by Language
Authors: Holler Judith , Drijvers Linda , Rafiee Afrooz , Majid Asifa
Published: February 2022

Height‐pitch associations are claimed to be universal and independent of language, but this claim remains controversial. The present study sheds new light on this debate with a multimodal analysis of individual sound and melody descriptions obtained in an interactive communication paradigm with speakers of Dutch and Farsi. The findings reveal that, in contrast to Dutch speakers, Farsi speakers do not use a height‐pitch metaphor consistently in speech. Both Dutch and Farsi speakers’ co‐speech gestures did reveal a mapping of higher pitches to higher space and lower pitches to lower space, and this gesture space‐pitch mapping tended to co‐occur with corresponding spatial words (high‐low). However, this mapping was much weaker in Farsi speakers than Dutch speakers. This suggests that cross‐linguistic differences shape the conceptualization of pitch and further calls into question the universality of height‐pitch associations.
Undescribed species have higher extinction risk than known species
Authors: Liu Jiajia , Slik Ferry , Zheng Shilu , Lindenmayer David B.
Published: February 2022

Newly discovered species are often threatened with extinction but in many cases have received limited conservation effort. To guide future conservation, it is important to determine the extinction risk of newly described species. Here, we test how time since formal description of a species is linked to its threat status to obtain a better insight into the possible threat status of newly described species and as yet undescribed species. We compiled IUCN Red List data for 53,808 species from five vertebrate groups described since 1758. Extinction risk for more recently described species has increased significantly over time; the proportion of threatened species among newly described species has increased from 11.9% for species described between 1758 and 1767 to 30.0% for those described between 2011 and 2020. Based on projections from our analysis, this could further increase to 47.1% by 2050. The pattern is consistent across vertebrate taxonomic groups and biomes. Current species extinction rates estimated from data of all known species are therefore highly likely to be underestimated. Intensive fieldwork to boost discovery of new species and immediate conservation action for newly described species, especially in tropical areas, is urgently required.
Treatment effect of DNA framework nucleic acids on diffuse microvascular endothelial cell injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage
Authors: Chen Ruiqi , Wen Dingke , Fu Wei , Xing Lu , Ma Lu , Liu Yi , Li Hao , You Chao , Lin Yunfeng
Published: February 2022

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to investigate the treatment effect and molecular mechanism of tetrahedral framework nucleic acids (tFNAs), novel self‐assembled nucleic acid nanomaterials, in diffuse BMEC injury after SAH.

Materials and Methods

tFNAs were synthesized from four ssDNAs. The effects of tFNAs on SAH‐induced diffuse BMEC injury were explored by a cytotoxicity model induced by hemin, a breakdown product of hemoglobin, in vitro and a mouse model of SAH via internal carotid artery puncture in vivo. Cell viability assays, wound healing assays, transwell assays, and tube formation assays were performed to explore cellular function like angiogenesis.

Results

In vitro cellular function assays demonstrated that tFNAs could alleviate hemin‐induced injury, promote angiogenesis, and inhibit apoptosis in hemin cytotoxicity model. In vivo study using H&E and TEM results jointly indicated that the tFNAs attenuate the damage caused by SAH in situ, showing restored number of BMECs in the endothelium layer and more tight intercellular connectivity. Histological examination of SAH model animals confirmed the results of the in vitro study, as tFNAs exhibited treatment effects against diffuse BMEC injury in the cerebral microvascular bed.

Conclusions

Our study suggests the potential of tFNAs in ameliorating diffuse injury to BMECs after SAH, which laid theoretical foundation for the further study and use of these nucleic acid nanomaterials for tissue engineering vascularization.
Prevalence and severity of diabetic retinopathy in pregnant women with diabetes—time to individualize photo screening frequency
Authors: Pappot Nina , Do Nicoline Callesen , Vestgaard Marianne , Ásbjörnsdóttir Björg , Hajari Javad Nouri , Lund‐Andersen Henrik , Holmager Pernille , Damm Peter , Ringholm Lene , Mathiesen Elisabeth Reinhardt
Published: February 2022

Aims

To evaluate the prevalence and severity of diabetic retinopathy including macular oedema in pregnant women with diabetes and to identify women in whom the frequency of retinal screening can be reduced to minimize the burden of health care visits.

Methods

A cohort study of 348 women with pre‐existing diabetes were routinely screened with retinal photo in early (12 weeks) and late pregnancy (27 weeks). Diabetic retinopathy was classified in five stages in accordance with National Danish Guidelines based on the eye with the highest retinopathy level. Sight‐threatening retinopathy was defined as the presence of proliferative retinopathy and/or clinically significant macular oedema (CSMO).

Results

Retinopathy was present in 52% (116/223) vs. 14% (17/125), with sight‐threatening retinopathy in 16% (35/223) vs. 6% (7/125) of women with type 1 and type 2, respectively. Women without retinopathy in early and late pregnancy were characterized by shorter diabetes duration (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.008) and predominance of type 2 diabetes. Amongst the 50% (175/348) of the cohort having no retinopathy in early pregnancy and HbA1c<53 mmol/mol (7.0%), none developed sight‐threatening retinopathy and 94% (165/175) remained without any retinopathy during pregnancy. Development of sight‐threatening retinopathy was mainly observed in women with retinopathy in early pregnancy. Treatment for sight‐threatening retinopathy was given to a minority (2.7 and 2.4%, respectively).

Conclusion

Good glycaemic control and no retinopathy was seen in a large proportion of women in early pregnancy and none of these women developed sight‐threatening retinopathy. The frequency of retinal screening can probably be safely reduced during pregnancy in these women.
Variable impacts on reproductive energetics may render oviparous squamates more vulnerable to climate warming than viviparous species
Authors: Ma Liang , Levy Ofir , Buckley Lauren B. , Hou Chao , Du Wei‐guo
Published: February 2022

Squamate reptiles exhibit two reproductive modes: oviparity and viviparity. Existing large‐scale studies suggest that viviparous species are more vulnerable to climate warming based on viviparous species occupying relatively colder environments, which are predicted to decline in availability under climate warming. However, oviparous and viviparous squamates are geographically widespread and their distributions often overlap. Are oviparous or viviparous squamates more vulnerable to climate warming when they inhabit similar thermal environments? We used Sceloporus lizards in North America as a model system to predict the impact of climate warming on oviparous and viviparous species in sympatric zones. We used mechanistic models to quantify the changes in maternal energy balance (MEB) and offspring energy balance (OEB) under a climate warming scenario. We then projected the fitness impacts of future climate warming based on estimates of MEB and OEB. Under a climate warming scenario (RCP8.5), oviparous females are predicted to increase reproductive frequency more than viviparous females, which restricts time for postpartum energy accumulation before the end of the season and decreases MEB. Under climate warming, OEB of oviparous species increased more than viviparous species, but the increases were less geographically widespread. Interestingly, the developmental success and OEB of oviparous species are predicted to decline at some sites under climate warming, which is not predicted to happen for viviparous species. Our results highlight that oviparous species will respond more variably to climate warming than viviparous species. More specifically, oviparous species in hot areas with high temperature variation may be especially vulnerable under climate warming compared to sympatric viviparous species.
Pharmacological inhibition of STriatal‐Enriched protein tyrosine Phosphatase by TC‐2153 reduces hippocampal excitability and seizure propensity
Authors: Walters Jennifer M. , Kim Eung Chang , Zhang Jiaren , Jeong Han Gil , Bajaj Archit , Baculis Brian C. , Tracy Gregory C. , Ibrahim Baher , Christian‐Hinman Catherine A. , Llano Daniel A. , Huesmann Graham R. , Chung Hee Jung
Published: February 2022

Objective

STriatal‐Enriched protein tyrosine Phosphatase (STEP) is a brain‐specific tyrosine phosphatase. Membrane‐bound STEP61 is the only isoform expressed in hippocampus and cortex. Genetic deletion of STEP enhances excitatory synaptic currents and long‐term potentiation in the hippocampus. However, whether STEP61 affects seizure susceptibility is unclear. Here we investigated the effects of STEP inhibitor TC‐2153 on seizure propensity in a murine model displaying kainic acid (KA)–induced status epilepticus and its effect on hippocampal excitability.

Methods

Adult male and female C57BL/6J mice received intraperitoneal injection of either vehicle (2.8% dimethylsulfoxide [DMSO] in saline) or TC‐2153 (10 mg/kg) and then either saline or KA (30 mg/kg) 3 h later before being monitored for behavioral seizures. A subset of female mice was ovariectomized (OVX). Acute hippocampal slices from Thy1‐GCaMP6s mice were treated with either DMSO or TC‐2153 (10 μM) for 1 h, and then incubated in artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) and potassium chloride (15 mM) for 2 min prior to live calcium imaging. Pyramidal neurons in dissociated rat hippocampal culture (DIV 8–10) were pre‐treated with DMSO or TC‐2153 (10 µM) for 1 h before whole‐cell patch‐clamp recording.

Results

TC‐2153 treatment significantly reduced KA‐induced seizure severity, with greater trend seen in female mice. OVX abolished this TC‐2153‐induced decrease in seizure severity in female mice. TC‐2153 application significantly decreased overall excitability of acute hippocampal slices from both sexes. Surprisingly, TC‐2153 treatment hyperpolarized resting membrane potential and decreased firing rate, sag voltage, and hyperpolarization‐induced current (Ih) of cultured hippocampal pyramidal neurons.

Significance

This study is the first to demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of STEP with TC‐2153 decreases seizure severity and hippocampal activity in both sexes, and dampens hippocampal neuronal excitability and Ih. We propose that the antiseizure effects of TC‐2153 are mediated by its unexpected action on suppressing neuronal intrinsic excitability.
Hospital costs associated with vagus nerve stimulation and medical treatment in pediatric patients with refractory epilepsy
Authors: Zhang Lu , Hall Matt , Lam Sandi K.
Published: February 2022

Objectives

Refractory epilepsy is a diagnosis of recurrent seizures that requires multiple resources for optimal chronic management. The disease negatively impacts the lives of affected patients and families and poses an economic burden to the health care system. This study compares hospital costs between pediatric patients treated with antiseizure medications (ASMs) only and ASMs plus vagus nerve stimulation (VNS).

Methods

Patients 0–17 years of age who were diagnosed with refractory epilepsy between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2016, were identified from the Children's Hospital Association's Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database. Patients treated with ASMs only or ASMs plus VNS were included in the study and were followed 1 year prior and 2 years after meeting pre‐determined criteria for refractory epilepsy. The difference‐in‐difference (DID) approach along with the two‐part model was used to compare the changes in mean hospital costs captured in the PHIS database over time between the two cohorts.

Results

One thousand one hundred thirteen patients treated with ASMs plus VNS and 3471 patients treated with ASMs only were included. At a follow‐up time of 2 years, for the ASMs‐only cohort, the adjusted all‐cause and epilepsy‐related mean annual total costs increased by $14 715 (95% confidence interval [CI]: $12 375–$17 055) and $18 437 (95% CI: $15 978–$20 896), respectively. By comparison, the adjusted all‐cause and epilepsy‐related mean annual total costs of the ASMs plus VNS cohort increased by $12 838 (95% CI: $8171–$17 505) and $15 183 (95% CI: $10 253–$20 113), respectively. Compared to ASMs only, ASMs plus VNS generated a cost savings of $3254 for epilepsy‐related annual costs per year after the index date.

Significance

Compared to ASMs alone, ASMs plus VNS is a treatment modality associated with lower annual hospital costs over time. Our study shows that VNS is a cost‐beneficial treatment for a national cohort of pediatric patients with refractory epilepsy.
The Biosocial Body: HIV Visibility in an Age of Pharmaceutical Treatment in Indonesia
Authors: Hegarty Benjamin
Published: February 2022

Peer outreach workers play a pivotal role in assisting HIV‐positive people to access pharmaceutical treatment. In their role mediating between everyday sexual cultures and biomedical knowledge, outreach workers for men who have sex with men in Indonesia's capital city Jakarta emphasize the need to manage the visibility of the HIV‐positive body as it appears to others. In order to enter clinical spaces, clients must adopt neat attire, strive to embody a physique that is robust, and maintain a clear skin tone. Clients must also learn to gain mastery over their gender performance as a revelation of their sexuality. Outreach workers interpret the individual sexual and HIV‐positive status of their clients as either “open” or “closed” in relation to their audience, an understanding that generates a demand for self‐discipline directed at outer appearances. Attending to paradigms of visibility that discipline the biosocial body reveals the social relations necessary for accessing treatment.
Gut microbiota imbalance mediates intestinal barrier damage in high‐altitude exposed mice
Authors: Wang Yuhao , Shi Yi , Li Wenhao , Wang Shu , Zheng Jiyang , Xu Guanghui , Li Guixiang , Shen Xuefeng , Yang Jianjun
Published: February 2022

The environmental conditions in high‐altitude areas can induce gastrointestinal disorders and changes in gut microbiota. The gut microbiota is closely related to a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, although the underlying pathogenic mechanisms are not well‐identified. The present study aimed to investigate the regulatory effect of high altitude on intestinal dysfunction via gut microbiota disturbance. Forty C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups: one plain control group (CON) and three high‐altitude exposure groups (HAE) (altitude: 4000 m a.s.l.; oxygen content: 12.7%; 1‐, 2‐ and 4‐week exposure). Another set of 40 mice was divided into two CON and two HAE subgroups. Antibiotic cocktails were administered to one CON and HAE groups and autoclaved water was administered to the second CON and HAE groups for 4 weeks, respectively. In the fecal microbiota transplantation experiment, there were four transplantation groups, which received, respectively: phosphate‐buffered saline for 2 weeks, feces from CON for 2 weeks, feces from HAE‐4W for 2 weeks, and HAE‐4W for 4 weeks. Hematoxylin and eosin staining, periodic acid–Schiff staining, a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay and a quantitative reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction were applied to detect changes in intestinal cellular structure, morphology, apoptosis and intestinal inflammatory response. Fecal microbiota was analyzed using 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. A high‐altitude environment changed the ecological balance of gut microbiota in mice and caused damage to the intestinal structure and mucosal barrier. Interestingly, similar damage, which was inhibited by antibiotic cocktails at high altitude, was observed in mice transplanted with fecal microbiota from HAE. A high‐altitude environment contributes to dyshomeostasis of gut microbiota, thereby impairing the intestinal mucosal barrier, eventually inducing and exacerbating intestinal damage.
Dynamic response of cracked non‐homogeneous magneto‐electro‐elastic layer sandwiched by two dissimilar orthotropic layers
Authors: Arhani Afzal Akbari , Ayatollahi Mojtaba
Published: February 2022

This paper is concerned with the transient response of cracked functionally graded magneto‐electro‐elastic layer (FGMEE) bonded between dissimilar orthotropic layers under impacts. Fourier and Laplace transforms are employed to obtain the analytical solution of a dynamic magneto‐electro‐elastic dislocation with time‐dependent Burgers' vector at the FGMEE layer. Expressions for stress, electric displacement, and magnetic inductions in the vicinity of the magneto‐electro‐elastic dislocation are derived. The solutions are used to derive singular integral equations for the FGMEE layer containing multiple cracks. Then, the integral equations are solved numerically for the density of dislocations on a crack surface by converting them to a system of linear algebraic equations. Finally, a numerical Laplace inversion algorithm is employed to determine the dynamic stress intensity factor. Numerical examples demonstrate the effects of the non‐homogeneity parameter of the FGMEE layer, applied electric and magnetic loads, and the crack geometry on the dynamic stress intensity. This solution can be used as a Green's function to solve transient problems involving multiple cracks in a functionally graded magneto‐electro‐elastic layer.
Nutrient loading effects on fish habitat quality: Trade‐offs between enhanced production and hypoxia in Lake Erie, North America
Authors: Almeida L. Zoe , Sesterhenn Timothy M. , Rucinski Daniel K. , Höök Tomas O.
Published: February 2022

Across diverse systems, nutrient loading from anthropogenic sources into aquatic systems has increased over the past century. Such nutrient inputs may enhance system productivity and thereby increase resource availability but may also lead to undesirable conditions such as hypoxic zones.

We examined the habitat quality trade‐offs associated with increases in phosphorus in a model system (Lake Erie, North America) with a history of anthropogenic nutrient loading. Using a water quality model and a bioenergetics growth rate potential model with fine vertical and temporal resolution, we assessed how the quality of habitat for multiple species of adult and juvenile fish changed across a range of phosphorus loading scenarios and across 19 different meteorological years.

Increases in phosphorus loading increased invertebrate prey biomass, but also increased the duration and extent of the mid‐summer hypoxic zone. In general, phosphorus loading caused overall habitat quality to decline and only increased peak habitat quality (i.e., spatio‐temporal locations where temperature and prey abundance were already above average), but responses were species‐ and life‐stage specific.

One challenge in ascertaining the effects of nutrient loading on fish habitat quality is separating the negative effects of hypoxia from the potential positive effects of increased prey densities. Through various model scenarios, we evaluated the individual effects of hypoxia and increased prey availability on fish habitat quality, demonstrating their potentially counter‐balancing effects. That is, the negative effects of low oxygen on fish habitat quality appear more severe if the prospect that increased hypoxia is accompanied by altered prey densities is not accounted for.

Despite modelled responses to altered phosphorus loads, habitat quality responded more strongly to variation in annual meteorological conditions. Annual meteorological conditions such as temperature, vertical mixing, and timing of phosphorus loading had a greater effect on habitat quality for all species and life‐stages than changes in annual amount of phosphorus loading. This limited effect of changes in phosphorus loading on habitat quality probably partially reflects our focus on short‐term (1‐year) changes in loading. Thus, nutrient abatement programmes may not lead to obvious, rapid positive habitat quality responses, as short‐term meteorological effects may overwhelm effects related to nutrient reduction and changes in prey densities may partially offset the benefits of decreased hypoxic conditions.
‘TAT UND ARBEIT, STATT PUBLICITY UND TRÄUMEREI’: ERNST TOLLER AND THE AMERICAN GUILD FOR GERMAN CULTURAL FREEDOM
Authors: Zanol Irene
Published: February 2022

This article deals with Ernst Toller's involvement in the American Guild for German Cultural Freedom, an organisation founded in 1935 to help artists and intellectuals who had fled the Nazi regime to the US. It thus highlights the last months of Toller's life. As a member of the board of directors of the Guild, he was involved in important initiatives such as the allocation of grants to writers in exile. The article examines individual cases, e.g. the awarding of a scholarship to Hermann Borchardt, with whom Toller was involved in a plagiarism dispute, and the debate over awarding a scholarship to Bodo Uhse, in which he opposed the Guild chairman and attempted to dispel political reservations about Uhse. These cases illustrate how solidarity‐based action was organised in exile and was both supported and undermined by aesthetic, political, economic, and personal interests. Taking Toller and other members of the Guild as examples, the paper shows how power structures inevitably formed and had an effect within the group, which aimed to organise and support the entire German‐speaking emigration; and how, therefore, the practice of solidarity between emigrants led to a ‘hopeless secondary competition amongst themselves, in the midst of the more general one’ (Adorno, Minima Moralia, 1951).
SEARCH MOVEMENTS: LITERATURE AND POLITICS BETWEEN THE WARS AND A CASE STUDY OF ERNST TOLLER'S I WAS A GERMAN (1934)
Authors: Neuhaus Stefan
Published: February 2022

The Weimar Republic opened up a new chapter for society within the borders of what was then called Germany. Ongoing financial difficulties due to the Treaty of Versailles overshadowed and stalled the development of the newly formed republic. But the democracy was not doomed to fail from the beginning. The search for orientation and perspective in a radically changed political, social, economic and cultural environment is reflected, for example, in the works of Ernst Toller. A closer inspection of his autobiography Eine Jugend in Deutschland from 1933, translated into English under the title I Was a German and published simultaneously in England and the United States only one year later, offers insight into his thinking and his writing. It is well designed to fit the purpose of democratic education through literature – but without simply telling its readers how they should think – and illustrates the various searches for a new beginning characteristic of the period, i.e. the longing for a new, non‐totalitarian form of community.
“Women of ill repute”: Pariah femininities, retaliatory violence, and the negotiation of rebel identities among women bartenders
Authors: Starr Emily H.
Published: February 2022

In the United States, work is a central institution that reflects and reproduces gender hierarchies that organize social institutions, interactions, and ideologies across social life. Through an ethnographic study of New Orleans‐area bartenders, this paper analyzes the everyday/every‐night experiences of women bartenders to understand how gender relations map onto women’s identity construction projects through their occupational role. I argue that women’s identity negotiation is constructed in relationship to gender hegemonies that produce female bartenders as pariah femininities outside the protections of respectable femininity. Sexual harassment, fetishization, and double standards are systematic forms of heteronormative punishment that ensure women bartenders remain feminized workers in masculinized workplaces. While women actively refashion retaliatory punishment into an affirmative self‐identity: the rebel barmaid, this study finds that through gender essentialist and individualist frames, the rebel barmaid falls short of revolutionary potential.
Patient preference for early onset of efficacy of preventive migraine treatments
Authors: Ailani Jessica , Winner Paul , Hartry Ann , Brevig Thomas , Bøg Martin , Lassen Anders Blædel , Marsh Kevin , Cutts Katelyn , Le Lay Agathe
Published: February 2022

Objective

The objective of this study was to ascertain to what extent adults with migraine value an early onset of efficacy for preventive migraine treatments.

Background

In placebo‐controlled clinical trials, treatment with eptinezumab resulted in a lower proportion of adults with migraine on the first day following infusion (day 1; 14% point‐reduction for chronic migraine [CM] in PROMISE‐2 and 8% point‐reduction for episodic migraine [EM] in PROMISE‐1).

Methods

Adults with migraine completed an online preference‐elicitation thresholding exercise to ascertain to what extent they value not having a migraine on day 1 postdosing relative to a clinically relevant reduction in number of migraine days during the first month postdosing (≥2 migraine‐free days for CM and ≥1 migraine‐free days for EM).

Results

One hundred and one participants (mean age, 50.6 ± 12.4 years; 81 [80%] women) were included. In participants with CM, 29 of 50 (58%) considered the eptinezumab‐generated reduction in the likelihood of migraine on day 1 postdosing to be at least as important as a clinically relevant reduction in number of migraine days the first month postdosing, whereas 37 of 50 (74%) considered a clinically relevant reduction of migraine days the first month postdosing to have a value equivalent to the eptinezumab‐generated reduction in the likelihood of migraine on day 1 postdosing. In participants with EM, 18 of 35 (51%) considered the eptinezumab‐generated reduction in the likelihood of migraine on day 1 postdosing to be at least as important as a clinically relevant reduction in migraine days the first month postdosing, whereas 24 of 35 (69%) considered a clinically relevant reduction of migraine days the first month postdosing to have a value equivalent to the eptinezumab‐generated reduction in the likelihood of migraine on day 1 postdosing.

Conclusion

Most participants considered the reduction in the likelihood of migraine offered by eptinezumab on day 1 postdosing to be at least as important as a clinically relevant reduction in migraine days the first month postdosing.
Present status and future directions – Managing discoloured teeth
Authors: Kahler Bill
Published: February 2022

Managing tooth discolouration involves a range of different protocols for clinicians and patients in order to achieve an aesthetic result. There is an increasing public awareness in the appearance of their teeth and management of tooth discolouration may be inter‐disciplinary and involve both vital and nonvital teeth. Vital teeth can be easily treated with low concentration hydrogen peroxide products safely and effectively using an external approach and trays. For endodontically treated teeth, the walking bleach technique with hydrogen releasing peroxide products is popular. However, there is an association with external cervical root resorption with higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide of 30%–35%. There are also regulatory considerations for the use of hydrogen peroxide in certain jurisdictions internationally. Prosthodontic treatments are more invasive and involve loss of tooth structure as well as a life cycle of further treatment in the future. This narrative review is based on searches on PubMed and the Cochrane library. Bleaching endodontically treated teeth can be considered a safe and effective protocol in the management of discoloured teeth. However, the association between bleaching and resorption remains unclear although there is likely to be a relation to prior trauma. It is prudent to avoid thermocatalytic approaches and to use a base/sealer to cover the root filling. An awareness expectations of patients and multidisciplinary treatment considerations is important in achieving the aesthetic result for the patient. It is likely that there will be an increasing demand for aesthetic whitening treatments. Bleaching of teeth has also become increasingly regulated although there are international differences in the use and concentration of bleaching agents.