bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clonal relationship between multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli ST69 from poultry and humans in Lusaka, Zambia
Authors: Shawa Misheck , Furuta Yoshikazu , Paudel Atmika , Kabunda O'Brian , Mulenga Evans , Mubanga Maron , Kamboyi Harvey , Zorigt Tuvshinzaya , Chambaro Herman , Simbotwe Manyando , Hang'ombe Bernard , Higashi Hideaki
Published: January 2022

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli in food animals such as chickens is an emerging public health concern in Zambia. Additionally, the country's high demand for poultry products necessitates further investigation into the link between poultry and human MDR E. coli. Twenty cefotaxime-resistant E. coli isolates collected from poultry in Lusaka, Zambia, were screened for multidrug resistance and sequenced on MiSeq and MinION platforms. Genomes were assembled de novo and compared to 36 previously reported cefotaxime-resistant E. coli isolates from inpatients at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka. All (20/20, 100%) poultry isolates exhibited resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and doxycycline. Phylogenetic analysis and hierarchical clustering showed a high degree of genetic relatedness between E. coli O17:H18-ST69 from poultry and humans. The E. coli O17:H18-ST69 clone accounted for 4/20 (20%) poultry- and 9/36 (25%) human-associated isolates that shared two plasmids harboring 14 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. However, comparison analysis showed that the isolates also had other AMR plasmids distinct for each niche. Our results suggested clonal transmission of MDR E. coli between poultry and humans, with the potential acquisition of niche-specific AMR plasmids. Thus, the control of MDR E. coli requires a One Health approach involving both human and animal health sectors.
The highly continuous reference genome of a leaf-chimeric red pineapple (Ananas comosus var. bracteatus f. tricolor) provides insights into elaboration of leaf color
Authors: Feng Lijun , Wang Juntao , Mao Meiqin , Yang Wei , Adje Mark Owusu , Xue Yanbin , Zhou Xuzixin , Zhang Huiling , Luo Jiaheng , Tang Ruimin , Tan Lin , Lin Dongpu , Zhang Xiaopeng , Zang Yaoqiang , He Yehua , Chen Changming , Luan Aiping , Lin Wenqiu , Xu Wentian , Li Xi , Sun Lingxia , Jiang Fuxing , Ma Jun
Published: January 2022

Ananas comosus var. bracteatus f. tricolor (GL1) is a red pineapple accession whose mostly green leaves with chimeric white leaf margins turn red in spring and autumn and during flowering. It is an important ornamental plant and ideal plant research model for anthocyanin metabolism, chimeric leaf development, and photosynthesis. Here, we generated a highly contiguous chromosome-scale genome assembly for GL1 and compared it with other 3 published pineapple assemblies (var. comosus accessions MD2 and F153, and var. bracteatus accession CB5). The GL1 assembly has a total size of ∼461 Mb, with a contig N50 of ∼2.97 Mb and Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Ortholog score of 97.3%. More than 99% of the contigs are anchored to 25 pseudochromosomes. Compared with the other 3 published pineapple assemblies, the GL1 assembly was confirmed to be more continuous. Our evolutionary analysis showed that the Bromeliaceae and Poaceae diverged from their nearest common ancestor ∼82.36 million years ago (MYA). Population structure analysis showed that while GL1 has not undergone admixture, bracteatus accession CB5 has resulted from admixture of 3 species of Ananas. Through classification of orthogroups, analysis of genes under positive selection, and analysis of presence/absence variants, we identified a series of genes related to anthocyanin metabolism and development of chimeric leaves. The structure and evolution of these genes were compared among the published pineapple assemblies with reveal candidate genes for these traits. The GL1 genome assembly and its comparisons with other 3 pineapple genome assemblies provide a valuable resource for the genetic improvement of pineapple and serve as a model for understanding the genomic basis of important traits in different pineapple varieties and other pan-cereal crops.
The Effect of Race and Dementia Prevalence on a COVID-19 Infection Control Intervention in Massachusetts Nursing Homes
Authors: Dufour Alyssa B , Kosar Cyrus , Mor Vincent , Lipsitz Lewis A
Published: January 2022

Background

Nursing home (NH) residents, especially those who were Black or with dementia, had the highest infection rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 9-week COVID-19 infection control intervention in 360 Massachusetts NHs showed adherence to an infection control checklist with proper personal protective equipment (PPE) use and cohorting was associated with declines in weekly infection rates. NHs were offered weekly webinars, answers to infection control questions, resources to acquire PPE, backup staff, and SARS-CoV-2 testing. We asked whether the effect of this intervention differed by racial and dementia composition of the NHs.

Methods

Data were obtained from 4 state audits using infection control checklists, weekly infection rates, and Minimum Data Set variables on race and dementia to determine whether adherence to checklist competencies was associated with decline in average weekly rates of new COVID-19 infections.

Results

Using a mixed-effects hurdle model, adjusted for county COVID-19 prevalence, we found the overall effect of the intervention did not differ by racial composition, but proper cohorting of residents was associated with a greater reduction in infection rates among facilities with ≥20% non-Whites (n = 83). Facilities in the middle (>50%–62%; n = 121) and upper (>62%; n = 115) tertiles of dementia prevalence had the largest reduction in infection rates as checklist scores improved. Cohorting was associated with greater reductions in infection rates among facilities in the middle and upper tertiles of dementia prevalence.

Conclusions

Adherence to proper infection control procedures, particularly cohorting of residents, can reduce COVID-19 infections, even in facilities with high percentages of high-risk residents (non-White and dementia).
Alternative transcription and feedback regulation suggest that SlIDI1 is involved in tomato carotenoid synthesis in a complex way.
Authors: Zhou Ming , Deng Lei , Guo Shaogui , Yuan Guoliang , Li Chuanyou , Li Changbao
Published: January 2022

Carotenoid pigments confer photoprotection and visual attraction and serve as precursors for many important signaling molecules. Herein, the orange-fruited phenotype of a tomato elite inbred line resulting from sharply reduced carotenoid levels and an increased β-carotene-to-lycopene ratio in fruit was shown to be controlled by a single recessive gene, oft3. BSA-Seq combined with fine mapping delimited the oft3 gene to a 71.23 kb interval on chromosome 4, including eight genes. Finally, the oft3 candidate gene SlIDI1, harboring a 116 bp deletion mutation, was identified by genome sequence analysis. Further functional complementation and CRISPR–Cas9 knockout experiments confirmed that SlIDI1 was the gene underlying the oft3 locus. qRT–PCR analysis revealed that the expression of SlIDI1 was highest in flowers and fruit and increased with fruit ripening or flower maturation. SlIDI1 simultaneously produced long and short transcripts by alternative transcription initiation and alternative splicing. Green fluorescent protein fusion expression revealed that the long isoform was mainly localized in plastids and that an N-terminal 59-amino acid extension sequence was responsible for plastid targeting. Short transcripts were identified in leaves and fruit by 5’ RACE and in fruit by 3’ RACE, which produced corresponding proteins lacking transit peptides and/or putative peroxisome targeting sequences, respectively. In SlIDI1 mutant fruit, SlBCH1 transcription involved in β-carotenoid catabolism was obviously suppressed, which may be responsible for the higher β-carotene-to-lycopene ratio and suggested potential feedback regulatory mechanisms involved in carotenoid pathway flux.
Ideology, socialization and hegemony in Disciplinary International Relations
Authors: Persaud Randolph B
Published: January 2022

This article argues that Disciplinary International Relations (DIR) does not only explain international affairs, but it also socializes and hegemonizes publics and professionals into an ideological worldview consistent with the interest of states that underwrite the world economic and security order based on hegemonic liberalism. Considerable emphasis is placed on tracing the continuities between the early theorization of IR in the United Kingdom and the United States, and the contemporary academic/foreign policy/security ‘complex’ dedicated to the maintenance of a hegemonic world order. The article demonstrates that the call for a greater theory–policy nexus in international affairs is redundant because leading American scholars double up as policy-makers, either directly or through other avenues such as consultancies. Some of the most prominent IR scholars, such as Michael Doyle, John Lewis Gaddis, Samuel Huntington, G. John Ikenberry, Stephen Krasner, Theodore H. Moran, Joseph Nye and Anne-Marie Slaughter, among others, have served in high-level positions in the United States foreign policy and security apparatus. The article also shows the ways in which in the early days of IR theorizing in the UK, scholars such as Lionel Curtis, Alfred Zimmern and Norman Angell doubled as staunch defenders of the British Empire, albeit in the language of liberal internationalism.
The colonial roots of counter-insurgencies in international politics
Authors: Sen Somdeep
Published: January 2022

There is a state-centrism in the way insurgencies are conceived in international politics. Herein, policy and practice targeting insurgencies draw on the long-established scholarly perception that war-making is the vocation of the state and that the violence of non-state insurgent factions is a source of insecurity. However, this state-centrism also has a colonial legacy and is an outgrowth of the colonial hostility towards anti-colonial factions. In this article, I establish the colonial roots of the current standing of insurgencies in international politics. Empirically, I focus on the European Union's (EU) peacebuilding efforts in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). These efforts are largely premised on the notion that state-building is synonymous with peacebuilding and are focused on furbishing the state-like institutions of the Palestinian Authority (PA). But, in doing so, this manner of peacebuilding also replicates the scholarly antagonism towards non-state armed factions and, with it, the logic of colonial counterinsurgencies, as it de-legitimizes the varied forms of insurgent politics that occur outside the institutional limits of the PA. In the end, it is not entirely surprising that this mode of engagement has not secured peace—especially since it is premised on a certain antagonism towards insurgent politics. Therefore, I conclude, a substantial understanding (and incorporation) of the political grievances that drive insurgent politics, and their appeal, is essential for effective peacebuilding.
Colonial policy studies in Japan: racial visions of Nan'yo, or the early creation of a global South
Authors: Baji Tomohito
Published: January 2022

This article examines Japanese colonial policy studies (shokumin seisaku gaku) with a particular focus on its relationship with the distinct region of ‘Nan'yo’ (the South Seas). Specifically analysing the works of Takekoshi Yosaburo (1865–1950), Nitobe Inazo (1862–1933) and Yanaihara Tadao (1893–1961), it seeks to uncover the ways in which the exponents of this study area accounted for Nan'yo based on their conceptions of race. It also shows how they inflicted envisaged racial hierarchies on the southern Pacific and how such attempts were related to colonial policy debates behind the practice of Japanese imperialism. Part of the findings point out that Takekoshi's and Nitobe's comparable projections of strict racial hierarchies on the Malays served to justify the southward colonization of the Japanese. Yanaihara's depiction of Nan'yo islanders as radically underdeveloped was tailored to championing Japan's sustained espousal of the League Mandate. The article argues that their accounts of Nan'yo formed part of a transnational knowledge chain about colonial and racial victimization. Like their western counterparts including Gustav Le Bon, Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, Paul S. Reinsch and J. A. Hobson, they built purported racial pyramids with the tropical areas at their bottom, the bulk of which correspond to today's global South. They have been accomplices in this colonial present.
Reclaiming migration: voices from Europe's ‘migrant crisis’
Authors: Clark Serena
Published: January 2022

Please note that the name of one of the authors of the book under review was misspelled; it should be Nick Vaughan-Williams, not Mick Vaughn Williams.
The impact of colonialism on policy and knowledge production in International Relations
Authors: Gani Jasmine K , Marshall Jenna
Published: January 2022

Is there an academic–policy divide, and does that gap need to be bridged? For decades, International Relations (IR) scholars have reflected on their roles and responsibilities towards the ‘real world’, while policy-makers have often critiqued the detachment of academic research. In response, there have been increased calls for academics to descend from their ‘ivory tower’. However, the articles in this 100th anniversary special issue of International Affairs interrogate this so-called theory–policy divide and problematize the exchange of knowledge between academics and practitioners, highlighting the colonial underpinnings of their historical entanglements. In this introductory article we bring together the core arguments of the special issue contributions to delineate three prominent dynamics in the academic–practitioner nexus: the role of academia as a supplier of knowledge for colonial policies; the influence of imperial practice and policy-makers in shaping IR and academic knowledge production; and the contestation from academics and/or practitioners against racial hierarchies in knowledge production and policy-making. Confronting the exclusions, amnesias and denials of colonialism in the theory and practice of International Relations is the necessary first step in any process of repair towards a more just and viable politics.
Centenary conversations
Authors: Clark Helen , Yates Robert
Published: January 2022

Helen Clark is interviewed by Robert Yates for the first in a new series of ‘Centenary conversations’, celebrating 100 years of International Affairs. They discussed the COVID-19 crisis and reflect on whether the world is doing a better job than it did 100 years ago during the Spanish flu epidemic.
Effects of Motivational Downshifts on Specific Pavlovian-Instrumental Transfer in Rats
Authors: Sommer Susanne , Münster Alexandra , Fehrentz Jean-Alain , Hauber Wolfgang
Published: January 2022

Background

Pavlovian stimuli predictive of appetitive outcomes can exert a powerful influence on the selection and initiation of action, a phenomenon termed outcome-selective Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (sPIT). Rodent studies suggest that sPIT is insensitive to motivational downshift induced by outcome devaluation, an effect that is, however, relatively underexplored.

Methods

Here we examined in detail the effects of distinct shifts in motivation from hunger to a state of relative satiety on sPIT in rats.

Results

A motivational downshift by outcome-specific devaluation immediately prior to testing markedly reduced overall lever responding and magazine entries but left intact the sPIT effect. A motivational downshift prior testing by (1) giving ad libitum rather than restricted access to maintenance diet in the home cage for 24 hours or by (2) a systemic blockade of hormone secretagogue receptor subtype 1A receptors to inhibit orexigenic actions of ghrelin both reduced overall lever responding and magazine entries. Moreover, these latter motivational downshifts reduced the sPIT effect; however, the sizes of the sPIT effects were still large.

Conclusions

Collectively, our rodent findings indicate that major effects of various motivational downshifts are overall inhibition of lever pressing and magazine approach, possibly reflecting reduced general motivation. The observed effects of motivational downshifts on sPIT have implications with regard to the role of general motivating effects in sPIT and to the contribution of Pavlovian-instrumental interactions to excessive food seeking as well as obesity in humans.
The Farrell–Jones Conjecture for Hyperbolic-by-Cyclic Groups
Authors: Bestvina Mladen , Fujiwara Koji , Wigglesworth Derrick
Published: January 2022

We prove the Farrell–Jones conjecture (FJC) for mapping tori of automorphisms of virtually torsion-free hyperbolic groups. The proof uses recently developed geometric methods for establishing the FJC by Bartels–Lück–Reich, as well as the structure theory of mapping tori by Dahmani–Krishna.
DIY Cruelty: The Global Political Micro-Practices of Hateful Memes
Authors: Marlin-Bennett Renée , Jackson Susan T
Published: January 2022

Cruel memes spread messages of hate via social media. The Internet itself extends the memes’ geographical reach, and many such cruel memes circulate across borders. This article examines the activities of cruel memeing—practices of creating, commenting on, reinforcing (“liking”), sharing, remixing, and otherwise endorsing cruel memes—as microscale hostile engagements in global politics. This is a politics of the everyday that is accessible to people in their ordinary lives and that is designed to be entertaining as well as cruel. The research draws on a large dataset of memes, comment threads, and related information from two opposed Reddit communities, r/TheLeftCantMeme and r/TheRightCantMeme. The power-flow theoretical framework structures an interpretive analysis of how cruel memes circulate within the social media space. We examine content (including narrative, degree of cruelty, and other components), and velocity of information flow, as well as access to the flow. Focusing on racism, antisemitism, and disdain for political opponents, we draw on interpretive methods to analyze the flow of information that spreads hate. We find: (1) normalization of divisiveness, derisiveness, and bigotry; (2) justifications of violence; and (3) emergence of agents despite pseudonymity. Cruel memeing activities combine with the structure of the online communities to spread hatred far beyond social media platforms.
Clinical Performance of a Lateral Flow SARS-CoV-2 Total Antibody Assay
Authors: Cobb Beth L , Lloyd Matthew , Hock Karl G , Farnsworth Christopher W
Published: January 2022

Background

Serological assays for SARS-CoV-2 are important tools for diagnosis in patients with negative RT-PCR testing, pediatric patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome, and serosurveillance studies. However, lateral flow-based serological assays have previously demonstrated poor analytical and clinical performance, limiting their utility.

Methods

We assessed the ADEXUSDx COVID-19 lateral flow assay for agreement with diagnostic RT-PCR testing using 120 specimens from RT-PCR–positive patients, 77 specimens from symptomatic RT-PCR–negative patients, and 47 specimens obtained prepandemic. Specimens collected <14 days from symptom onset in RT-PCR–positive patients were compared relative to the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay.

Results

The ADEXUSDx COVID-19 Test yielded an overall positive percent agreement (PPA) of 92.5% (95%CI 85.8 to 96.3) and negative percent agreement of 99.2% (95% CI 94.9–100.0) relative to RT-PCR and in prepandemic specimens. Relative to days from symptom onset, the PPA after 13 days was 100% (95% CI 94.2–100); from 7 to 13 days, 89.7 (95% CI 71.5–97.2); and from 0 to 7 days, 53.8 (95% CI 26.1–79.6). The overall agreement between the Abbott and ADEXUSDx assays was 80.9%. Twenty-five specimens were positive by both assays, 9 specimens were negative by both assays, and 8 specimens were positive by only the ADEXUSDx assay.

Conclusions

We demonstrate high PPA and negative percent agreement of the ADEXUSDx COVID-19 assay and diagnostic testing by RT-PCR, with PPA approximately 90% by 7 days following symptom onset. The use of waived testing for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 with high sensitivity and specificity provide a further tool for combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Capturing Difference: The Wurstelprater Photobook in Turn-of-the-Century Vienna
Authors: Samols Steven
Published: January 2022

Published in 1911 Vienna, the Wurstelprater photobook offered a very different image of the city from the one people were used to finding in postcards. The book toured readers through the Wurstelprater, the amusement section of the larger Prater park, focusing on its eclectic attractions and diverse crowds. Wurstelprater combined text written by future Bambi author Felix Salten with 75 pictures by photographer Emil Mayer. Those words and images had appeared earlier in separate forms, but the photobook brought them together for the first time. While many saw the Prater as a space of blight, Salten and Mayer cherished its distinctiveness from the rest of the city. The Prater had a special significance for Vienna’s Jews. It was not only a place of entertainment, but also a space where rigid Viennese social hierarchies could be suspended.

Scholars have detailed Jewish involvement in the production of spaces, performances, and literatures in ‘Vienna 1900’. The emergence of the photobook as a medium of Jewish difference has, however, remained underexplored. This article analyses how Wurstelprater fused two Jewish genres, the feuilleton and street photography, making the experience of a disappearing Prater durable and portable. Assembling words and images in an unprecedented format, Wurstelprater constructed a sense of movement, nostalgia, and outsiderness. It presaged what most associate with interwar photojournalism and photo essays. Wurstelprater also became a tool of history. In the 1960s, those who rediscovered Wurstelprater treated it as evidence of what the late Habsburg empire had been. Originally conceived by outsiders, the photobook came to be a mainstream historical record.
A Thermodynamic Atlas of Proteomes Reveals Energetic Innovation across the Tree of Life
Authors: Chin Alexander F , Wrabl James O , Hilser Vincent J
Published: January 2022

Protein stability is a fundamental molecular property enabling organisms to adapt to their biological niches. How this is facilitated and whether there are kingdom specific or more general universal strategies are unknown. A principal obstacle to addressing this issue is that the vast majority of proteins lack annotation, specifically thermodynamic annotation, beyond the amino acid and chromosome information derived from genome sequencing. To address this gap and facilitate future investigation into large-scale patterns of protein stability and dynamics within and between organisms, we applied a unique ensemble-based thermodynamic characterization of protein folds to a substantial portion of extant sequenced genomes. Using this approach, we compiled a database resource focused on the position-specific variation in protein stability. Interrogation of the database reveals: 1) domains of life exhibit distinguishing thermodynamic features, with eukaryotes particularly different from both archaea and bacteria; 2) the optimal growth temperature of an organism is proportional to the average apolar enthalpy of its proteome; 3) intrinsic disorder content is also proportional to the apolar enthalpy (but unexpectedly not the predicted stability at 25 °C); and 4) secondary structure and global stability information of individual proteins is extractable. We hypothesize that wider access to residue-specific thermodynamic information of proteomes will result in deeper understanding of mechanisms driving functional adaptation and protein evolution. Our database is free for download at https://afc-science.github.io/thermo-env-atlas/ (last accessed January 18, 2022).
MethReg: estimating the regulatory potential of DNA methylation in gene transcription
Authors: Silva Tiago C , Young Juan I , Martin Eden R , Chen X Steven , Wang Lily
Published: January 2022

Epigenome-wide association studies often detect many differentially methylated sites, and many are located in distal regulatory regions. To further prioritize these significant sites, there is a critical need to better understand the functional impact of CpG methylation. Recent studies demonstrated that CpG methylation-dependent transcriptional regulation is a widespread phenomenon. Here, we present MethReg, an R/Bioconductor package that analyzes matched DNA methylation and gene expression data, along with external transcription factor (TF) binding information, to evaluate, prioritize and annotate CpG sites with high regulatory potential. At these CpG sites, TF–target gene associations are often only present in a subset of samples with high (or low) methylation levels, so they can be missed by analyses that use all samples. Using colorectal cancer and Alzheimer’s disease datasets, we show MethReg significantly enhances our understanding of the regulatory roles of DNA methylation in complex diseases.
Introducing Oxford Open Energy and the energy quest
Authors: Lund Peter D , Anderson C Lindsay , Figueiredo Marta Costa , Mancarella Pierluigi , Neij Lena , Wang Jun , Neenan James
Published: January 2022

Energy stands in the focal point of reducing the emissions. To reach the Paris Climate Agreement goals requiring carbon neutrality by the middle of this century, the emissions would need to be halved every ten years. The energy transition ahead thus encompasses a huge societal change, urging to view the change in a framework integrating technology, economics, policies and social aspects. Oxford Open Energy emerges from such a multi-dimensional and complex energy quest and from the demand to create a suitable platform to deal with the multi-disciplinary issues in energy, but with an innovative touch.
Moneyness, Underlying Asset Volatility, and the Cross-Section of Option Returns
Authors: Aretz Kevin , Lin Ming-Tsung , Poon Ser-Huang
Published: January 2022

We study the effect of an asset’s volatility on the expected returns of European options on the asset. Deriving predictions from a stochastic discount factor model, we show that the effect depends on whether variations in the asset’s volatility are driven by systematic or idiosyncratic volatility. While idiosyncratic-volatility-induced variations only affect the option elasticity, systematic-volatility-induced variations also oppositely affect the expected return of the asset. Since the expected asset return (elasticity) effect dominates for options with more linear (non-linear) payoffs, systematic volatility prices sufficiently in-the-money (out-of-the-money) options with the opposite (same) sign as idiosyncratic volatility. Using single-stock calls as test assets, double-sorted portfolios and Fama–MacBeth (1973) regressions broadly support the model’s predictions.
PURSUING OPTIMAL RADIATION DOSE IN PEDIATRIC CARDIAC CT: A REPORT FROM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LEUVEN
Authors: Hustings Nico , Bosmans Hilde , Dymarkowski Steven
Published: January 2022

Background

Computed tomography (CT) balances between high resolution and low radiation dose. Given the greater radiosensitivity of children, it is appropriate to use child-friendly CT-protocols that reduce radiation dose at acceptable image quality.

This article states the radiation dose in pediatric cardiac CT-examinations at university hospital Leuven (Belgium) and compares with findings published by similar medical centers. The diagnostic accuracy was simultaneously compared, as it correlates with radiation dose.

Material and methods

his retrospective observational study analyzed 58 CT-scans of 52 patients. The radiation dose was calculated in effective dose. The image quality was scored qualitatively with a 5-point scale. The diagnostic accuracy, a derivative representation of the image quality, was checked with findings from surgery or conventional angiography.

Results

The mean effective dose in our study population was 1.3 ± 0.4 mSv. The qualitative image quality was on average ‘good’, elaborated with a score of 4.0 ± 0.2. The diagnostic accuracy was 92%. Comparative literature study provides a mean effective dose of 1.5 mSv and the reported diagnostic accuracy from other centers reaches ≥90%.

Conclusions

At our center pediatric cardiac CT-scans are obtained with good-to-excellent image quality and high diagnostic accuracy at low radiation doses. These results meet the radiation dose and diagnostic accuracy as published by comparable medical centers.
Carceral Liberalism: The Coloniality and Antiblackness of Coercive Benevolence
Authors: Tillman Korey
Published: January 2022

Due to hyper-imprisonment and its collateral consequences, the United States has become a carceral state where even non-criminal justice institutions have adopted punitive techniques to address social problems. This study examines how state and non-state actors who ostensibly intend to end homelessness perpetuate it through their use of coercive benevolent policing. Drawing on nearly three years of ethnographic fieldwork with a homeless service provider in Southern Nevada, this article shows that the coercive benevolent techniques used by those who attempt to assist the unhoused are deeply rooted in antiblack and colonial practices forged in the development of liberalism. I offer carceral liberalism as the conceptual link between contemporary U.S. policing and a transnational and historical past dedicated to racialized economic domination. I argue that carceral liberalism reveals the long and ongoing history of state and non-state actors marking marginalized individuals as non-subjects to the state through coercive benevolence and that these findings make a case for the abolition of larger systems of racialized punishment.
Time-On-Task Effects on Working Memory Gating Processes—A Role of Theta Synchronization and the Norepinephrine System
Authors: Yu Shijing , Mückschel Moritz , Rempel Sarah , Ziemssen Tjalf , Beste Christian
Published: January 2022

Performance impairment as an effect of prolonged engagement in a specific task is commonly observed. Although this is a well-known effect in everyday life, little is known about how this affects central cognitive functions such as working memory (WM) processes. In the current study, we ask how time-on-task affects WM gating processes and thus processes regulating WM maintenance and updating. To this end, we combined electroencephalography methods and recordings of the pupil diameter as an indirect of the norepinephrine (NE) system activity. Our results showed that only WM gate opening but not closing processes showed time-on-task effects. On the neurophysiological level, this was associated with modulation of dorsolateral prefrontal theta band synchronization processes, which vanished with time-on-task during WM gate opening. Interestingly, also the modulatory pattern of the NE system, as inferred using pupil diameter data, changed. At the beginning, a strong correlation of pupil diameter data and theta band synchronization processes during WM gate opening is observed. This modulatory effect vanished at the end of the experiment. The results show that time-on-task has very specific effects on WM gate opening and closing processes and suggests an important role of NE system in the time-on-task effect on WM gate opening process.
Maternal exposure to PM2.5 induces the testicular cell apoptosis in offspring triggered by the UPR-mediated JNK pathway
Authors: Ren Lihua , Jiang Jianjun , Huang Jing , Zang Yu , Huang Qifang , Zhang Lianshuang , Wei Jialiu , Lu Hong , Wu Shaowei , Zhou Xianqing
Published: January 2022

Contemporary exposure to PM2.5 has been reported to disrupt spermatogenesis. However, the subsequent toxicological responses and the mechanisms of male reproductive damage in offspring induced by maternal exposure to PM2.5 remain largely unknown. For the first time, this study aimed to explore the apoptotic response in spermatogenesis of male offspring following maternal exposure to PM2.5 and its mechanisms. The C57BL/6 mice with vaginal plugs were randomly divided into four groups. Mice in the PM2.5 groups were intratracheally exposed to PM2.5 (4.8 mg/kg body weight, 43.2 mg/kg body weight) during pregnancy (every 3 days, six times in total). The mice in the membrane control group were treated similarly to the PM2.5 groups, applying only PM2.5 sampling membrane, while mice in the control group were kept untreated. The results showed that maternal exposure to PM2.5 during pregnancy resulted in structural lesions of the testis, reduced numbers of primary spermatocytes and spermatids, decreased sperm count and quality, shortened diameter of seminiferous tubules, and reduced testosterone and ABP in the offspring testes. Furthermore, cell apoptosis was increased and protein expression of IRE-1/P-JNK/cleaved caspase-12/cleaved caspase-3 was activated. These findings suggested that maternal exposure to PM2.5 may affect spermatogenesis by increasing apoptosis through activation of UPR-mediated JNK apoptotic pathway in offspring testicles and by reducing testosterone secretion.
Co-infection of intestinal helminths in humans and animals in the Philippines
Authors: Kajero Olumayowa T , Janoušková Eva , Bakare Emmanuel A , Belizario Vicente , Divina Billy , Alonte Allen Jethro , Manalo Sheina Macy , Paller Vachel Gay , Betson Martha , Prada Joaquin M
Published: January 2022

Background

A large number of studies have assessed risk factors for infection with soil-transmitted helminths (STH), but few have investigated the interactions between the different parasites or compared these between host species across hosts. Here, we assessed the associations between Ascaris, Trichuris, hookworm, strongyle and Toxocara infections in the Philippines in human and animal hosts.

Methods

Faecal samples were collected from humans and animals (dogs, cats and pigs) in 252 households from four villages in southern Philippines and intestinal helminth infections were assessed by microscopy. Associations between worm species were assessed using multiple logistic regression.

Results

Ascaris infections showed a similar prevalence in humans (13.9%) and pigs (13.7%). Hookworm was the most prevalent infection in dogs (48%); the most prevalent infection in pigs was strongyles (42%). The prevalences of hookworm and Toxocara in cats were similar (41%). Statistically significant associations were observed between Ascaris and Trichuris and between Ascaris and hookworm infections in humans, and also between Ascaris and Trichuris infections in pigs. Dual and triple infections were observed, which were more common in dogs, cats and pigs than in humans.

Conclusions

Associations are likely to exist between STH species in humans and animals, possibly due to shared exposures and transmission routes. Individual factors and behaviours will play a key role in the occurrence of co-infections, which will have effects on disease severity. Moreover, the implications of co-infection for the emergence of zoonoses need to be explored further.
Wy’east: An Innovative, Culturally Responsive Postbaccalaureate Pathway for American Indians and Alaska Natives
Authors: Empey Allison , Zeisman-Pereyo Shoshana , Mayinger Peter , Zuckerman Katharine E. , Rasmussen-Rehkopf Sarah , Carney Patricia A. , Taylor Cynthia L. , Morris Cynthia , Bruegl Amanda , Olsen Polly , Brodt Erik
Published: January 2022

Problem

American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs) face significant health disparities that are exacerbated by limited access to high-quality, culturally congruent health care providers. There are no premedical postbaccalaureate programs focused on AIAN students.

Approach

The Northwest Native American Center of Excellence designed the Wy’east Pathway in 2018 to increase the number of AIANs matriculating to U.S. medical schools by supporting those on the cusp of matriculation. Wy’east scholars undertake 10 months of structured programming to augment their academic preparation, improve their Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores, and enhance their confidence and cultural identity. Cultural events and mentorship opportunities with AIAN faculty, staff, and cultural liaisons are threaded throughout the pathway curriculum to foster cultural resilience, mentorship, and community. Scholars earn conditional acceptance to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine if they complete Wy’east and meet the following criteria: pass all examinations in the primary curricular threads, obtain a qualifying MCAT score, and meet professionalism standards.

Outcomes

All 14 scholars who successfully completed Wy’east and met criteria in the first 2 cohorts (academic years 2018–2019 and 2019–2020) earned conditional acceptance to OHSU School of Medicine. Ten of the 14 scholars (71.4%) matriculated to OHSU School of Medicine, 2 (14.3%) matriculated to other medical schools, and 2 (14.3%) chose to pursue other health care fields. Wy’east scholars rated the foundational science of medicine and population health and epidemiology threads higher in terms of making them feel better prepared for medical school (mean = 4.71 and 4.83, respectively) than the academic skills and wellness thread (mean = 3.43).

Next Steps

Over the next 5 years, Wy’east will grow incrementally to offer a total of 18 conditional acceptance spots per cohort across 3 medical schools. Longitudinal tracking of Wy’east scholars’ medical training and career outcomes will be conducted.
Retention With Medication for Opioid Use Disorder: The Role of the Primary Care Relationship
Authors: Munger Jordan , Back Ephraim
Published: January 2022

Objectives

Primary care providers (PCPs) prescribe medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), but patients may receive MOUD from a provider who only prescribes MOUD, and who does not provide routine medical care that would be expected from a PCP. The importance of receiving MOUD from one’s own PCP versus another provider on patient MOUD retention is not known.

Methods

All patients receiving MOUD from December 2016 through November 2019 within a rural, Federally Qualified Health Center were included. Patient sociodemographic, PCP-MOUD concordance, and retention time in MOUD were extracted from the electronic health record. Travel-time from patients’ home to the clinic where MOUD was provided was calculated. The risk of premature discontinuation was estimated with Kaplan-Meier curves and with hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). All analyses were performed using R version 3.4.4.

Results

Among (n = 353) patients receiving MOUD from 2016 to 2019, n = 77 (21.8%) patients receivedMOUD from their PCP (PCP-MOUD concordance). PCP-MOUD concordance was associated with reduced risk of premature discontinuation (HR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.18–0.95), however, after multivariable adjustment, PCP-MOUD concordance was not significant (HR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.19–1.05).

Conclusions

In this rural Federally Qualified Health Center, MOUD provision by a patient's own PCP, as compared to a separate provider, did not reach statistical significance for an association with improved retention in treatment. These findings are likely due to a small sample size, and support expanding buprenorphine access as part of comprehensive primary care to combat the opioid crisis, especially in rural areas.
Office-based Methadone Prescribing for Opioid Use Disorder: The Canadian Model
Authors: Kleinman Robert A. , Brothers Thomas D. , Danilewitz Marlon , Bahji Anees
Published: January 2022

In the context of the US overdose crisis, improving access to medications for opioid use disorder is urgently needed. The Canadian model of methadone treatment, whereby clinicians can prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder in office-based settings and methadone can be dispensed through community pharmacies, offers a compelling model for adoption in the US. Office-based settings in which methadone is prescribed often adopt a rapid-access model, allowing walk-in appointments and same-day initiation of methadone. Prescribing authorization requirements have been relaxed over the past 25 years to improve access to methadone. This paper summarizes the model of office-based methadone prescribing in Canada, highlighting the regulatory structures, prescribing practices, and interprofessional collaborations that enable methadone treatment in office-based settings. Potential implementation strategies for adopting office-based prescribing in the US are discussed.
Thermal Dynamics of a Novel Radio-Frequency Device for Endoscopic Spine Surgery
Authors: Lee Han-Joo , Heo Dong-Hwa , Han Sang Kuy , Choi Hae Won , Kim Seungtaek , Cho Byeong Chan , Song Min Chul , Yang Sun Choel , Lee Kang Moo , Lee Mun-Hwan , Yoon Tae Ho , Shin Ju Ho , Lee Woo Cheol , Park Jeong-Yoon
Published: January 2022

Study Design.

Experimental study.

Objective.

In this study, the ambient temperature of a radiofrequency (RF) electrode tip was compared and analyzed in terms of products, mode, flow quantity, and flow rate.

Summary of Background Data.

Endoscopic spine surgery is a widely used operation for degenerative lumbar stenosis and herniated lumbar disc. To perform endoscopic spine surgery, dedicated instruments like a RF generator and electrode are essential.

Methods.

An evaluation system capable of measuring temperature under equal conditions at a certain distance from the electrode tip was manufactured. The distance between the electrode tip and the temperature sensor was set to 1, 5, and 10 mm. The flow quantities of 0, 50, 100, and 150 mL/min and the flow rates of 0, 0.20, 0.53, and 0.80 m/s were compared and statistically analyzed.

Results.

The temperatures measured in the experiments conducted on the four combinations of RF device showed similar values, and showed differences according to the characteristics of each mode of the RF. As the distance between the electrode tip and the temperature sensor increased, the temperature decreased, and as flow quantity or flow rate increased, the temperature decreased. The maximum temperatures differed significantly according to flow quantity, between flow quantities of 0 and 100 mL/min (P 
= 0.03) and between 0 and 150 mL/min (P ≤ 0.01). The maximum temperatures also differed significantly between the flow rate of 0 m/s, and the flow rates of 0.20, 0.53, and 0.80 m/s, with P ≤ 0.01 in all three comparisons.

Conclusion.

This is the first study in which we made a customized RF temperature evaluation system and verified the temperature changes in various environments. When irrigation was performed, we could confirm that the maximum temperature was less than 60°C. Irrigation is considered essential in endoscopic spine surgery.

Level of Evidence.

3
Could Machine Learning Better Predict Postoperative C5 Palsy of Cervical Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament?
Authors: Kim Soo Heon , Lee Sun Ho , Shin Dong Ah
Published: January 2022

Study Design:

This was a retrospective cohort study.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to investigate whether machine learning (ML) can perform better than a conventional logistic regression in predicting postoperative C5 palsy of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) patients.

Summary of Background Data:

C5 palsy is one of the most common postoperative complications after surgical treatment of OPLL, with an incidence rate of 1.4%–18.4%. ML has recently been used to predict the outcomes of neurosurgery. To our knowledge there has not been a study to predict postoperative C5 palsy of cervical OPLL patient with ML.

Methods:

Four sampling methods were used for data balancing. Six ML algorithms and conventional logistic regression were used for model development. A total of 35 ML prediction model and 5 conventional logistic prediction models were generated. The performances of each model were compared with the area under the curve (AUC). Patients who underwent surgery for cervical OPLL at our institute from January 1998 to January 2012 were reviewed. Twenty-five variables of each patient were used to make a prediction model.

Results:

In total, 901 patients were included [651 male and 250 female, median age: 55 (49–63), mean±SD: 55.9±9.802]. Twenty-six (2.8%) patients developed postoperative C5 palsy. Age (P=0.043), surgical method (P=0.0112), involvement of OPLL at C1–3 (P=0.0359), and postoperative shoulder pain (P≤0.001) were significantly associated with C5 palsy. Among all ML models, a model using an adaptive reinforcement learning algorithm and downsampling showed the largest AUC (0.88; 95% confidence interval: 0.79–0.96), better than that of logistic regression (0.69; 95% confidence interval: 0.43–0.94).

Conclusions:

The ML algorithm seems to be superior to logistic regression for predicting postoperative C5 palsy of OPLL patient after surgery with respect to AUC. Age, surgical method, and involvement of OPLL at C1–C3 were significantly associated with C5 palsy. This study demonstrates that shoulder pain immediately after surgery is closely associated with postoperative C5 palsy of OPLL patient.
ICU Versus High-Dependency Care Unit for Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Nationwide Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study
Authors: Ohbe Hiroyuki , Matsui Hiroki , Yasunaga Hideo
Published: January 2022

OBJECTIVES:

To compare the outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction who were treated in ICUs versus high-dependency care units (HDUs).

DESIGN:

A nationwide, propensity score-matched, retrospective cohort study of a national administrative inpatient database in Japan from July 2010 to March 2018.

SETTING:

Six hundred sixty-six acute-care hospitals with ICU and/or HDU beds covering about 75% of all ICU beds and 70% of all HDU beds in Japan.

PATIENTS:

Adult patients who were hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction and admitted to the ICU or HDU on the day of hospital admission. Propensity score-matching analysis was performed to compare the inhospital mortality between patients treated in the ICU and HDU on the day of hospital admission.

INTERVENTIONS:

ICU or HDU admission on the day of hospital admission.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:

Of 135,142 eligible patients, 89,382 (66%) were admitted to the ICU and 45,760 (34%) were admitted to the HDU on the day of admission. After propensity score matching, there was no statistically significant difference in inhospital mortality between the ICU and HDU groups (5.0% vs 5.5%; difference, –0.5%; 95% CI, –1.0% to 0.1%). In the subgroup analyses, inhospital mortality was significantly lower in the ICU group than that in the HDU group among patients with Killip class IV (25.6% vs 28.4%; difference, –2.9%; 95% CI, –5.4% to –0.3%), patients who underwent intubation (40.0% vs 46.6%; difference, –6.6%; 95% CI, –10.6% to –2.7%), and patients who received mechanical circulatory support (21.8% vs 24.7%; difference, –2.8%; 95% CI, –5.5% to –0.2%).

CONCLUSIONS:

Critical care in the ICU compared with that in the HDU was not associated with reduced inhospital mortality among the entire cohort of patients with acute myocardial infarction but was associated with reduced inhospital mortality among the subsets of patients with Killip class IV, intubation, or mechanical circulatory support.