bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Blood pressure measurement knowledge and counselling among hospital pharmacists - an interventional study
Authors: Aje Akinniyi Akinbiyi , Adeyemo Jumoke Oyeladun
Published: October 2023

Background

Pharmacists occupy a vantage position to educate patients with hypertension on self-monitoring of blood pressure (BP). An update on their knowledge and counselling on BP measurement is needful to ascertain proper information dissemination to patients.

Methods

An interventional study was carried out for a six-month period among consecutively sampled pharmacists working at a tertiary healthcare facility, using a semi-structured questionnaire for data collection. Sequel to preintervention assessment of pharmacists’ knowledge and counselling on BP measurement, an educational intervention comprising didactic lecture, case studies, demonstrations, and interactive question and answer sessions was carried out to address the gaps observed. Knowledge and counselling were then reassessed one-month postintervention to find out the impact of the intervention. Data was summarized with descriptive and inferential statistics with significance level set at p < 0.05.

Results

One hundred and forty-four pharmacists completed the study. Preintervention knowledge and counselling on BP measurement among the pharmacists was poor. Median scores of pharmacists’ knowledge on BP measurement increased significantly from 13.00 preintervention to 25.00 postintervention (p < 0.001); while their counselling on BP measurement also increased significantly from 1.00 preintervention to 12.00 postintervention (p < 0.001). The knowledge category of the pharmacists’ improved as majority who were categorized as having either “poor” (67, 46.5%) or “fair” (68, 47.2%) knowledge preintervention advanced to “excellent” (99, 68.7%) knowledge postintervention. Similarly, the pharmacists’ counselling category was upgraded from the majority categorized as poor (141, 97.9%) preintervention to excellent (87, 60.4%) postintervention. Prior to the educational intervention, only 62 (43.1%) pharmacists knew that BP measurement had to be carried out in both arms for a first-time patient. Also, when asked the question “What BP reading will be recorded for a patient whose BP readings when taken thrice were 149/82 mmHg, 141/78 mmHg, and 139/78 mmHg?” only 38 (26.4%) provided the right answer. Similarly, majority of the pharmacists (51, 35.4%) could only state one out of five precautions during blood pressure measurement. In this study, pharmacists’ gender, additional educational qualification, and work experience did not significantly influence their knowledge and counselling on BP measurement.

Conclusions

The educational intervention significantly improved pharmacists’ knowledge and counselling on BP measurement.
Uncertainty x Design
Authors: Beghetto Ronald A.
Published: October 2023

Realizing more promising futures starts in the here and now. This book seeks to help young people learn how to become the creative authors of their own lives by approaching current and future uncertainties with an unshakeable sense of possibility. It describes how students can benefit from opportunities to develop their confidence and competence in taking creative action in the face of uncertainty by design. It introduces a framework for educators, researchers, and parents to understand, design, and examine efforts aimed at helping young people learn how and when to unleash their creative potential, now and into the future.
Law and Religion in Colonial America
Authors: Gerber Scott Douglas
Published: October 2023

Law – charters, statutes, judicial decisions, and traditions – mattered in colonial America, and laws about religion mattered a lot. The legal history of colonial America reveals that America has been devoted to the free exercise of religion since well before the First Amendment was ratified. Indeed, the two colonies originally most opposed to religious liberty for anyone who did not share their views, Connecticut and Massachusetts, eventually became bastions of it. By focusing on law, Scott Douglas Gerber offers new insights about each of the five English American colonies founded for religious reasons – Maryland, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts – and challenges the conventional view that colonial America had a unified religious history.
Disabled Clerics in the Late Middle Ages
Authors: Dubourg Ninon
Published: October 2023

The petitions received and the letters sent by the Papal Chancery during the Late Middle Ages attest to the recognition of disability at the highest levels of the medieval Church. These documents acknowledge the existence of physical and/or mental impairments, with the papacy issuing dispensations allowing some supplicants to adapt their clerical missions according to their abilities. A disease, impairment, or old age could prevent both secular and regular clerics from fulfilling the duties of their divine office. Such conditions can, thus, be understood as forms of disability. In these cases, the Papal Chancery bore the responsibility for determining if disabled people were suitable to serve as clerics, with all the rights and duties of divine services. Whilst some petitioners were allowed to enter the clergy, or - in the case of currently serving churchmen - to stay more or less active in their work, others were compelled to resign their position and leave the clergy entirely. Petitions and papal letters lie at intersection of authorized, institutional policy and practical sources chronicling the lived experiences of disabled people in the Middle Ages. As such, they constitute an excellent analytical laboratory in which to study medieval disability in its relation to the papacy as an institution, alongside the impact of official ecclesiastical judgments on disabled lives.
An Imperial History of Race-Religion in International Law
Authors: Akande Rabiat
Published: October 2023

More than half a century after the UN's adoption of the International Convention on the Prohibition of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, a debate has emerged over whether to extend the Convention's protections to religious discrimination. This Article uses history to intervene in the debate. It argues that racial and religious othering were mutually co-constitutive in the colonial encounter and foundational to the making of modern international law. Moreover, the contemporary proposal to address the interplay of racial and religious othering is hardly new; iterations of that demand surfaced in the earlier twentieth century, as well. By illuminating the centrality of race-religion othering to the colonial encounter and chronicling failed attempts by Europe's “others” to secure international legal protections, this Article makes a case for crafting an attuned response in the present.
Construction of rating systems using global sensitivity analysis: A numerical investigation
Authors: Vallarino Arianna , Rabitti Giovanni , Khorrami Chokami Amir
Published: October 2023

The ratemaking process is a key issue in insurance pricing. It consists in pooling together policyholders with similar risk profiles into rating classes and assigning the same premium for policyholders in the same class. In actuarial practice, rating systems are typically not based on all risk factors but rather only some of factors are selected to construct the rating classes. The objective of this study is to investigate the selection of risk factors in order to construct rating classes that exhibit maximum internal homogeneity. For this selection, we adopt the Shapley effects from global sensitivity analysis. While these sensitivity indices are used for model interpretability, we apply them to construct rating classes. We provide a new strategy to estimate them, and we connect them to the intra-class variability and heterogeneity of the rating classes. To verify the appropriateness of our procedure, we introduce a measure of heterogeneity specifically designed to compare rating systems with a different number of classes. Using a well-known car insurance dataset, we show that the rating system constructed with the Shapley effects is the one minimizing this heterogeneity measure.
Operational impact of decreased turnaround times for Candida auris screening tests in a tertiary academic medical center
Authors: Arenas Sebastian , Patel Samira , Seely Spencer O. , Pagan Paola P. , Warde Prem R. , Tamrakar Labu J. , Parekh Dipen J. , Ferreira Tanira , Zhou Yi , Gershengorn Hayley B. , Shukla Bhavarth S.
Published: October 2023

Objective:

Assess turnaround time (TAT) and cost-benefit of on-site C. auris screening and its impact on length of stay (LOS) and costs compared to reference laboratories.

Design:

Before-and-after retrospective cohort study.

Setting:

Large-tertiary medical center.

Methods:

We validated an on-site polymerase chain reaction-based testing platform for C. auris and retrospectively reviewed hospitalized adults who screened negative before and after platform implementation. We constructed multivariable models to assess the association of screening negative with hospital LOS/cost in the pre and postimplementation periods. We adjusted for confounders such as demographics and indwelling device use, and compared TATs for all samples tested.

Results:

The sensitivity and specificity of the testing platform were 100% and 98.11%, respectively, compared to send-out testing. The clinical cohort included 287 adults in the pre and 1,266 postimplementation period. The TAT was reduced by more than 2 days (3 (interquartile range (IQR): 2.0, 7.0) vs 0.42 (IQR: 0.24, 0.81), p < 0.001). Median LOS was significantly lower in the postimplementation period; however, this was no longer evident after adjustment. In relation to total cost, the time period had an effect of $6,965 (95% CI: −$481, $14,412); p = 0.067) on reducing the cost. The median adjusted total cost per patient was $7,045 (IQR: $3,805, $13,924) less in the post vs the preimplementation period.

Conclusions:

Our assessment did not find a statistically significant change in LOS, nevertheless, on-site testing was not cost-prohibitive for the institution. The value of on-site testing may be supported if an institutional C. auris reduction strategy emphasizes faster TATs.
The Negotiation, Diffusion, and Legacy of NAFTA Chapter 11: An Empirical Eulogy
Authors: Alschner Wolfgang
Published: October 2023

Following a three-year post-termination transition period to bring investor-state arbitration disputes, the investment protections afforded by Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) finally expired in June 2023. Chapter 11 was one of the most litigated, cited, commented, and copied investment treaties. An important, but largely ignored, part of its legacy is how the making of NAFTA Chapter 11 shaped its subsequent successful diffusion. Combining traditional legal assessment with computational text-as-data analysis, this article shows how the give and take during the negotiations generated buy-in on the part of Mexico and Canada and emulation by Latin American countries who helped to spread NAFTA Chapter 11 language globally. The link between the making and diffusion of NAFTA Chapter 11 highlights the power of negotiated compromise: sharing the pen with others may sometimes be the most effective way to write the rules that come to shape the world.
Skin Models Used to Define Mechanisms of Action of Sulfur Mustard
Authors: Laskin Jeffrey D. , Ozkuyumcu Kevin , Zhou Peihong , Croutch Claire R. , Heck Diane E. , Laskin Debra L. , Joseph Laurie B.
Published: October 2023

Sulfur mustard (SM) is a threat to both civilian and military populations. Human skin is highly sensitive to SM, causing delayed erythema, edema, and inflammatory cell infiltration, followed by the appearance of large fluid-filled blisters. Skin wound repair is prolonged following blistering, which can result in impaired barrier function. Key to understanding the action of SM in the skin is the development of animal models that have a pathophysiology comparable to humans such that quantitative assessments of therapeutic drugs efficacy can be assessed. Two animal models, hairless guinea pigs and swine, are preferred to evaluate dermal products because their skin is morphologically similar to human skin. In these animal models, SM induces degradation of epidermal and dermal tissues but does not induce overt blistering, only microblistering. Mechanisms of wound healing are distinct in these animal models. Whereas a guinea pig heals by contraction, swine skin, like humans, heals by re-epithelialization. Mice, rats, and rabbits are also used for SM mechanistic studies. However, healing is also mediated by contraction; moreover, only microblistering is observed. Improvements in animal models are essential for the development of therapeutics to mitigate toxicity resulting from dermal exposure to SM.
“My Soul Hurt, and I Felt as If I Was Going to Die”: Obstetric Violence as Torture
Authors: Cohen Shabot Sara , Sadler Michelle
Published: October 2023

Obstetric violence—violence in the labor room—has been described in terms not only of violence in general but of gender violence specifically. This feminist-phenomenological analysis demonstrates features that the experiences of torture and of obstetric violence share. Many birthing subjects describe their experiences of obstetric violence as torture. This use of the concept of torture to explain what they have gone through is not trivial and deserves philosophical attention. In this article, we give several examples (mainly from Chilean women's birth narratives), examining them through phenomenological and feminist phenomenological analyses of torture. We argue that, as with torture, it is not mere pain that marks the experience of obstetric violence, but rather a state of ontological loneliness and desolation, a detachment from the previous known world, and a loss of trust in those surrounding us. But if obstetric violence is gender violence, this must be gendered torture: it is perpetrated with the goal of humiliating and controlling women, of reifying them and robbing them of their free embodied subjectivities in labor.
Taylor columns and inertial-like waves in a three-dimensional odd viscous liquid
Authors: Kirkinis E. , Olvera de la Cruz M.
Published: October 2023

Odd viscous liquids are endowed with an intrinsic mechanism that tends to restore a displaced particle back to its original position. Since the odd viscous stress does not dissipate energy, inertial oscillations and inertial-like waves can become prominent in such a liquid. In this paper, we show that an odd viscous liquid in three dimensions may give rise to such axially symmetric waves and also to plane-polarized waves. We assume tacitly that an anisotropy axis giving rise to odd viscous effects has already been established, and proceed to investigate the effects of odd viscosity on fluid flow behaviour. Numerical simulations of the full Navier–Stokes equations show the existence of inertial-like waves downstream of a body that moves slowly along the axis of an odd viscous liquid filled cylinder. The wavelength of the numerically determined oscillations agrees well with the developed theoretical framework. When odd viscosity is the dominant effect in steady motions, a modified Taylor–Proudman theorem leads to the existence of Taylor columns inside such a liquid. Formation of the Taylor column can be understood as a consequence of helicity segregation and energy transfer along the cylinder axis at group velocity, by the accompanying inertial-like waves, whenever the reflection symmetry of the system is lost. A number of Taylor column characteristics known from rigidly rotating liquids are recovered here for a non-rotating odd viscous liquid. These include counter-rotating swirling liquid flow above and below a body moving slowly along the anisotropy axis. Thus in steady motions, odd viscosity acts to suppress variations of liquid velocity in a direction parallel to the anisotropy axis, inhibiting vortex stretching and vortex twisting. In unsteady and nonlinear motions, odd viscosity enhances the vorticity along the same axis, thus affecting both vortex stretching and vortex twisting.
Fostering sustainable development goals through gamification
Authors: Ligorio Lorenzo , Venturelli Andrea , Rosato Pierfelice , Campo Raffaele
Published: October 2023

Modern challenges require modern solutions. The recent introduction of gamification in businesses’ organisational processes represents a change of route for managerial and accounting practices. In this context, the challenges addressed by the United Nations Agenda 2030 are still marginal and difficult to achieve for many businesses. Following the experience of an innovative small-medium enterprise named ‘AWorld’, this study aims to explore how gamification can be both a tool of contribution and accountability towards sustainable development goals. Specifically, by tracking the progress and offering rewards, gamification can provide a tangible incentive to motivate sustained engagement and behaviour change. A case study has been developed and insights collected and triangulated through an interview with the corporate president. Findings revealed how incorporating gamification in the small- and medium-sized enterprises context is a valuable way to promote sustainable development goals and foster a sense of communal responsibility towards sustainable behaviours among employees and external individuals.
The “Kamerun Idea”: E pluribus unum Cameroon
Authors: Fon Nguh Nwei Asanga
Published: October 2023

Since independence, the “Anglophone” and “Francophone” identities (both legacies of British and French colonialism, respectively) have remained the dominant national identity of Cameroonians. This linguistic national identity was formalized by the adoption of bilingualism at the dawn of independence and the enactment of English and French as the two official languages of the country. Nationalism and national integration in the Cameroonian context therefore revolve around the cohabitation of the aforementioned distinct linguistic and cultural identities, which harbors significant incompatibilities. This article probes into the effectiveness of the cohabitation model of nation-building in Cameroon and attempts a new alternative. A survey was conducted to sample the opinion of Cameroonians on national identity and nationalism in Cameroon. The results indicate there are enormous challenges with the implementation of the cohabitation model, which an overwhelming majority of respondent believe has a negative impact on national integration. A new approach dubbed “Civic-multicultural model” is proposed. This model is based on the “Kamerun Idea,” which is a glaring reminder that before being “anglicized” by the British on the one side of the Mungo river, and “gallicized” by the French on the other side, the inhabitants offshore the “Rios dos Cameroes” were first “kamerunized” by the Germans.
The role of adiposity, adipokines and polymorphisms of leptin and adiponectin in myelodysplastic syndromes
Authors: Aguiar Ana Patrícia Nogueira , Mendonça Priscila da Silva , Lima Junior Roberto Cesar Pereira , Mota Anacelia Gomes de Matos , Wong Deysi Viviana Tenazoa , Oliveira Roberta Tatiane Germano de , Ribeiro-Júnior Howard Lopes , Pinheiro Ronald Feitosa , Magalhães Silvia Maria Meira
Published: October 2023

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between leptin and adiponectin gene polymorphisms, circulating levels of leptin and adiponectin, adiposity and clinical markers in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). This cross-sectional study was conducted with 102 adults and elderly MDS patients and 102 age- and sex-matched controls. Clinical characteristics, co-morbidities, anthropometric data, laboratory evaluation and genetic analysis (polymorphisms −2548G > A/rs7799039 of the LEP gene and +276G > T/rs1501299 of the ADIPOQ gene) were investigated. Serum leptin was higher and adiponectin lower in MDS when compared with controls. There was a significant positive correlation between serum leptin levels and BMI (r = 0·264, P = 0·025), waist circumference (r = 0·235, P = 0·047), body fat percentage (BF %) (r = 0·373, P = 0·001) and the fat mass index (FMI) (r = 0·371, P < 0·001). A lower mean adiponectin was found among patients with high BF %, higher visceral adiposity index and metabolic syndrome. A significant association was found between the AA genotype (mutant) of the LEP polymorphism rs7799039 and male sex and blast excess (≥ 5 %). In addition, a significant association was observed between the TT genotype (mutant) of the ADIPOQ rs1501299 polymorphism and Fe overload. These results demonstrate the importance of a comprehensive and systematic evaluation in patients with MDS in order to identify and control negative factors not related to the disease at an early stage.
Identification of lactic acid bacteria with anti-listeria activity. Characterization and application of a bacteriocinogenic strain in the control of Listeria monocytogenes in cheese
Authors: de Lira Fernanda Montanholi , Tanaka Fernanda Yuri Rodrigues , Rios Edson Antônio , Carrilho Stael Málaga , de Abreu Samanta Stinghen , Ferreira Giulia Ferracin , Gonzaga Natalia , Pereira Ulisses de Pádua , Tamanini Ronaldo , Fagnani Rafael , Beloti Vanerli
Published: October 2023

The purpose of the research paper was firstly to identify bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria characterizing strains with anti-listeria activity and, secondly, to characterize bacteriocin evaluating its in vitro efficiency as a natural preservative and, thirdly, to evaluate the anti-listeria effect of the bacteriocinogenic strain of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in cheeses and produce an edible film with anti-listerial effect. Of 355 lactic acid bacteria strains tested, two were able to produce bacteriocin against Listeria monocytogenes and were identified as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Lactiplantibacillus pentosus. A bactericidal effect of strain QS494 (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum) was observed in the first 8 h, with a reduction of 1.7 log, using cell-free supernatant with Listeria monocytogenes, where viable cells were counted on listeria selective agar. Both strains showed good technological characteristics and were without production of virulence factors. Changes in the pH of the cell-free supernatant obtained from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum did not affect its antimicrobial activity, which remained stable after heat treatments for up to 15 min at 121°C. Inhibitory activity was also observed after 12 weeks of storage at −20°C. In the evaluation of the anti-listeria effect in cheeses, a 3 log reduction in the Listeria monocytogenes count was observed in 120 h in cheeses produced with bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria, while in cheeses produced with non-bacteriocinogenic culture, we observed a 2 log increase in the count. Edible films produced with the addition of precipitate from the cell free supernatant showed an antimicrobial effect against Listeria monocytogenes. Thus, the two strains studied have technological and biosafety potential.
Latest Canadian Consensus Conference on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Dementia: What’s in It for Primary Care?
Authors: Rojas-Rozo Laura , Lee Linda , Khanassov Vladimir , Sivananthan Saskia , Ismail Zahinoor , Gauthier Serge , Vedel Isabelle
Published: October 2023

In 2020, the fifth Canadian Consensus Conference on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Dementia (CCCDTD5) published up-to-date recommendations for the clinical management of persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their caregivers. During the CCCDTD5 meetings, a list of recommendations for dementia care was compiled. With the aid of family physicians and the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, we selected the most relevant CCCDTD5 recommendations for primary care and tailored and summarized them in the present manuscript to facilitate their reference and use. These recommendations focus on (a) risk reduction, (b) screening and diagnosis, (c) deprescription of dementia medications, and (d) non-pharmacological interventions. The development of recommendations for the ongoing management of dementia is an iterative process as new evidence on interventions for dementia is published. These recommendations are important in the primary care setting as the entry point for PLWD into the health system.
How Have the Nordic Welfare States Responded to the Unexpected Increase in Inflation?
Authors: Greve Bent , Harsløf Ivan , van Gerven Minna , Nieuwenhuis Rense , Strigén Jakob
Published: October 2023

Rising inflation in the Nordic societies has changed the living standards for many families. The situation differs not only between the four Nordic countries analysed, but even within each of the Nordic countries. The needs for intervention have varied. Several elements have been used to determine who is facing the most risks. This article shows how to combine automatic stabilisers with temporary policy interventions to deal with increased inflation in general or specific sub-elements (such as oil, natural gas). Focus is on the degree of and criteria for targeting. Possible distributional consequences of the adopted measures will be discussed. Lastly, the article considers whether the observed responses to the crisis have implications for the understanding of the Nordic welfare state model. The article investigates institutional, political and economic reasons for the variations in the interventions. The article concludes that in managing the crisis, the Nordic countries have adopted stronger targeting towards those considered to be in need, displaying some innovations in their social policy approach. Yet, one can trace a high degree of path-dependency, with the countries adhering to universalist principles, with an aim of redistributing resources.
Hidden in Plain Sight: International Law and Marxist Praxis in the Life and Works of Merlin M. Magallona
Authors: BAGULAYA José Duke , BAGARES Romel Regalado
Published: October 2023

Through symptomatic reading, we analyze the visible and the invisible – the explicit and the implicit – in the works of Filipino international legal scholar Merlin Magallona (1934–2022). We argue that Magallona's international legal thought was rooted in Marxist theory and practice and honed through the mode of production debates in the Philippine communist movement during the 1960s. Specifically, he developed a critique of the neocolonial division of labour and produced a materialist reading of international legal doctrines through “Postcolonial Self-Determination” – a synthesis of the antinomy of positivism and self-determination. In practice, his Third World Marxism led him to support the NIEO and resist UNCLOS through constitutional litigation based on the imperialist Treaty of Paris of 1898. Magallona's critique and praxis suggest new forms of resistance to the new imperialisms and underscore the imperative of a practice turn in Marxist international legal theory.
Shallow Water Seafloor Geodesy With Wave Glider‐Based GNSS‐Acoustic Surveying of a Single Transponder
Authors: Xie Surui , Zumberge Mark , Sasagawa Glenn , Voytenko Denis
Published: October 2023

Due to the blockage of seawater, seafloor displacement cannot be directly measured by space geodesy. The combination of Global Navigation Satellite Systems‐acoustic ranging (GNSS‐A) has been used to overcome the electromagnetic barrier, so that a GNSS‐determined sea surface vessel's coordinates can be transformed to seafloor benchmarks in a global reference frame. Due to the high cost and science priorities, previous GNSS‐A studies mainly targeted relatively deep water and a minimum of three transponders were used to form an array, equivalent to a precision geodetic station. With recent developments in unmanned autonomous surface vessels, low cost GNSS‐A surveys are poised to become practical. Here we demonstrate that with a carefully designed surveying trajectory, Wave Glider‐based GNSS‐A surveying of a single transponder in shallow water can provide centimeter‐level accuracy on horizontal seafloor positioning, even if the sound speed model deviates from the actual value by a few meters per second. Results from a nine‐month experiment conducted at ∼54 m water depth show that the repeatability of the seafloor horizontal positioning is better than 2 cm. When conditions allow, the acoustic observations should be collected symmetrically about the transponder and data redundancies are recommended to reduce the error associated with time‐dependent variations in sound speed.
Seasonal Changes in Atmospheric Heat Transport to the Arctic Under Increased CO2
Authors: Hahn L. C. , Armour K. C. , Battisti D. S. , Donohoe A. , Fajber R.
Published: October 2023

Arctic warming under increased CO2 peaks in winter, but is influenced by summer forcing via seasonal ocean heat storage. Yet changes in atmospheric heat transport into the Arctic have mainly been investigated in the annual mean or winter, with limited focus on other seasons. We investigate the full seasonal cycle of poleward heat transport modeled with increased CO2 or with individually applied Arctic sea‐ice loss and global sea‐surface warming. We find that a winter reduction in dry heat transport is driven by Arctic sea‐ice loss and warming, while a summer increase in moist heat transport is driven by sub‐Arctic warming and moistening. Intermodel spread in Arctic warming controls spread in seasonal poleward heat transport. These seasonal changes and their intermodel spread are well‐captured by down‐gradient diffusive heat transport. While changes in moist and dry heat transport compensate in the annual‐mean, their opposite seasonality may support non‐compensating effects on Arctic warming.
Knowledge and practices related to salt consumption in China: findings from a national representative cross-sectional survey
Authors: Zhang Wenrong , Neupane Dinesh , Zhao Zhenping , Jiang Bo , Zhang Mei , Zhang Xiao , Huang Zhengjing , Li Chun , Sharman James E. , Hu Caihong , Ye Pengpeng , Wang Limin
Published: October 2023

There is limited information on the knowledge and practice of salt-reduction in China. The purpose of this study was to describe the status of the knowledge and practice of salt-reduction among the Chinese population from a nationally representative survey stratified according to hypertension status. The association between hypertensive status and salt-reduction knowledge and practice was calculated using multivariate hierarchical logistic regression adjusting for related confounders. The study included 179,834 participants; 51.7% were women, and the mean age was 44 years. The levels of overall salt-reduction knowledge (7.9%) and practice (37.1%) were low. The percentage of the use of salt-control spoons and low-sodium salt was 10.7% and 12.2%. The aging population (≥60 years) had the lowest levels of salt-reduction knowledge (5.7%) than other age groups (P < 0.0001). People living in rural areas (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.51, 0.81) had lower odds of using salt-control spoons. Females (OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.36) had higher odds of using salt-control spoons. People living in rural areas (OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.36, 0.63) had lower odds of using low-sodium salt. Females (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.41) and people living in the southern region (OR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.83) had higher odds of using low-sodium salt. Our work highlights the need to promote education related to hypertension, salt-reduction knowledge and methods among the public and the need to strengthen strategies for the popularization of salt-reduction knowledge and practices among males, people living in rural areas, people living in the northern region and the aging population in China.
Subwavelength terahertz imaging via virtual superlensing in the radiating near field
Authors: Tuniz Alessandro , Kuhlmey Boris T.
Published: October 2023

Imaging with resolutions much below the wavelength λ – now common in the visible spectrum – remains challenging at lower frequencies, where exponentially decaying evanescent waves are generally measured using a tip or antenna close to an object. Such approaches are often problematic because probes can perturb the near-field itself. Here we show that information encoded in evanescent waves can be probed further than previously thought, by reconstructing truthful images of the near-field through selective amplification of evanescent waves, akin to a virtual superlens that images the near field without perturbing it. We quantify trade-offs between noise and measurement distance, experimentally demonstrating reconstruction of complex images with subwavelength features down to a resolution of λ/7 and amplitude signal-to-noise ratios < 25dB between 0.18–1.5 THz. Our procedure can be implemented with any near-field probe, greatly relaxes experimental requirements for subwavelength imaging at sub-optical frequencies and opens the door to non-invasive near-field scanning.
Clinical utility of polygenic scores for cardiometabolic disease in Arabs
Authors: Shim Injeong , Kuwahara Hiroyuki , Chen NingNing , Hashem Mais O. , AlAbdi Lama , Abouelhoda Mohamed , Won Hong-Hee , Natarajan Pradeep , Ellinor Patrick T. , Khera Amit V. , Gao Xin , Alkuraya Fowzan S. , Fahed Akl C.
Published: October 2023

Arabs account for 5% of the world population and have a high burden of cardiometabolic disease, yet clinical utility of polygenic risk prediction in Arabs remains understudied. Among 5399 Arab patients, we optimize polygenic scores for 10 cardiometabolic traits, achieving a performance that is better than published scores and on par with performance in European-ancestry individuals. Odds ratio per standard deviation (OR per SD) for a type 2 diabetes score was 1.83 (95% CI 1.74–1.92), and each SD of body mass index (BMI) score was associated with 1.18 kg/m2 difference in BMI. Polygenic scores associated with disease independent of conventional risk factors, and also associated with disease severity—OR per SD for coronary artery disease (CAD) was 1.78 (95% CI 1.66–1.90) for three-vessel CAD and 1.41 (95% CI 1.29–1.53) for one-vessel CAD. We propose a pragmatic framework leveraging public data as one way to advance equitable clinical implementation of polygenic scores in non-European populations.
Anisotropic resistance with a 90° twist in a ferromagnetic Weyl semimetal, Co2MnGa
Authors: Quirk Nicholas P. , Cheng Guangming , Manna Kaustuv , Felser Claudia , Yao Nan , Ong N. P.
Published: October 2023

Weyl semimetals exhibit exotic magnetotransport phenomena such as the chiral anomaly and surface-to-bulk quantum oscillations (Weyl orbits) due to chiral bulk states and topologically protected surface states. Here we report a unique transport property in crystals of the ferromagnetic nodal-line Weyl semimetal Co2MnGa that have been polished to micron thicknesses using a focused ion beam. These thin crystals exhibit a large planar resistance anisotropy (10 × ) with axes that rotate by 90 degrees between opposite faces of the crystal. We use symmetry arguments and electrostatic simulations to show that the observed anisotropy resembles that of an isotropic conductor with surface states that are impeded from hybridization with bulk states. The origin of these states awaits further experiments that can correlate the surface bands with the observed 90° twist.
Gut insulin action protects from hepatocarcinogenesis in diabetic mice comorbid with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
Authors: Soeda Kotaro , Sasako Takayoshi , Enooku Kenichiro , Kubota Naoto , Kobayashi Naoki , Ikushima Yoshiko Matsumoto , Awazawa Motoharu , Bouchi Ryotaro , Toda Gotaro , Yamada Tomoharu , Nakatsuka Takuma , Tateishi Ryosuke , Kakiuchi Miwako , Yamamoto Shogo , Tatsuno Kenji , Atarashi Koji , Suda Wataru , Honda Kenya , Aburatani Hiroyuki , Yamauchi Toshimasa , Fujishiro Mitsuhiro , Noda Tetsuo , Koike Kazuhiko , Kadowaki Takashi , Ueki Kohjiro
Published: October 2023

Diabetes is known to increase the risk of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here we treat male STAM (STelic Animal Model) mice, which develop diabetes, NASH and HCC associated with dysbiosis upon low-dose streptozotocin and high-fat diet (HFD), with insulin or phlorizin. Although both treatments ameliorate hyperglycemia and NASH, insulin treatment alone lead to suppression of HCC accompanied by improvement of dysbiosis and restoration of antimicrobial peptide production. There are some similarities in changes of microflora from insulin-treated patients comorbid with diabetes and NASH. Insulin treatment, however, fails to suppress HCC in the male STAM mice lacking insulin receptor specifically in intestinal epithelial cells (ieIRKO), which show dysbiosis and impaired gut barrier function. Furthermore, male ieIRKO mice are prone to develop HCC merely on HFD. These data suggest that impaired gut insulin signaling increases the risk of HCC, which can be countered by restoration of insulin action in diabetes.
Hydrodynamic regimes modulate nitrogen fixation and the mode of diazotrophy in Lake Tanganyika
Authors: Ehrenfels Benedikt , Baumann Kathrin B. L. , Niederdorfer Robert , Mbonde Athanasio S. , Kimirei Ismael A. , Kuhn Thomas , Magyar Paul M. , Odermatt Daniel , Schubert Carsten J. , Bürgmann Helmut , Lehmann Moritz F. , Wehrli Bernhard , Callbeck Cameron M.
Published: October 2023

The factors that govern the geographical distribution of nitrogen fixation are fundamental to providing accurate nitrogen budgets in aquatic environments. Model-based insights have demonstrated that regional hydrodynamics strongly impact nitrogen fixation. However, the mechanisms establishing this physical-biological coupling have yet to be constrained in field surveys. Here, we examine the distribution of nitrogen fixation in Lake Tanganyika – a model system with well-defined hydrodynamic regimes. We report that nitrogen fixation is five times higher under stratified than under upwelling conditions. Under stratified conditions, the limited resupply of inorganic nitrogen to surface waters, combined with greater light penetration, promotes the activity of bloom-forming photoautotrophic diazotrophs. In contrast, upwelling conditions support predominantly heterotrophic diazotrophs, which are uniquely suited to chemotactic foraging in a more dynamic nutrient landscape. We suggest that these hydrodynamic regimes (stratification versus mixing) play an important role in governing both the rates and the mode of nitrogen fixation.
Perturbation and stability of PAM50 subtyping in population-based primary invasive breast cancer
Authors: Veerla Srinivas , Hohmann Lennart , Nacer Deborah F. , Vallon-Christersson Johan , Staaf Johan
Published: October 2023

PAM50 gene expression subtypes represent a cornerstone in the molecular classification of breast cancer and are included in risk prediction models to guide therapy. We aimed to illustrate the impact of included genes and biological processes on subtyping while considering a tumor’s underlying clinical subgroup defined by ER, PR, and HER2 status. To do this we used a population-representative and clinically annotated early-stage breast tumor cohort of 6233 samples profiled by RNA sequencing and applied a perturbation strategy of excluding co-expressed genes (gene sets). We demonstrate how PAM50 nearest-centroid classification depends on biological processes present across, but also within, ER/PR/HER2 subgroups and PAM50 subtypes themselves. Our analysis highlights several key aspects of PAM50 classification. Firstly, we demonstrate the tight connection between a tumor’s nearest and second-nearest PAM50 centroid. Additionally, we show that the second-best subtype is associated with overall survival in ER-positive, HER2-negative, and node-negative disease. We also note that ERBB2 expression has little impact on PAM50 classification in HER2-positive disease regardless of ER status and that the Basal subtype is highly stable in contrast to the Normal subtype. Improved consciousness of the commonly used PAM50 subtyping scheme will aid in our understanding and interpretation of breast tumors that have seemingly conflicting PAM50 classification when compared to clinical biomarkers. Finally, our study adds further support in challenging the common misconception that PAM50 subtypes are distinct classes by illustrating that PAM50 subtypes in tumors represent a continuum with prognostic implications.
Comparative efficacy and safety of adjunctive drugs to levodopa for fluctuating Parkinson’s disease - network meta-analysis
Authors: Sako Wataru , Kogo Yuki , Koebis Michinori , Kita Yoshiaki , Yamakage Hajime , Ishida Takayuki , Hattori Nobutaka
Published: October 2023

It remains unclear which adjunctive drug for Parkinson’s disease (PD) in combination with levodopa is more effective, tolerable, and safe. We aimed to compare the efficacy, tolerability, and safety among anti-PD drugs from several classes in patients with fluctuating PD who received levodopa through network meta-analysis (NMA). Twelve anti-PD drugs belonging to 4 different drug classes (dopamine agonists, monoamine oxidase type B inhibitors, catechol-O-methyl transferase inhibitors, and an adenosine A2A receptor antagonist) were selected. We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing placebo with anti-PD drug or among anti-PD drugs in patients with PD who experienced motor fluctuations or wearing-off and received levodopa. We included 54 RCTs in the analysis. The NMA was performed under a frequentist framework using a random-effects model. The efficacy outcome was change in daily off-time, and the tolerability outcome was discontinuation due to all causes. Safety outcomes included discontinuation due to adverse events (AEs) and the incidence of AEs, dyskinesia, hallucination, and orthostatic hypotension. According to the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) in the NMA, ropinirole transdermal patch (SUCRA, 0.861) ranked the highest in efficacy, followed by pramipexole (0.762), ropinirole extended release (ER) (0.750), and safinamide (0.691). In terms of tolerability, ropinirole (0.954) ranked the highest, followed by pramipexole (0.857), safinamide (0.717), and ropinirole ER (0.708). Each anti-PD drug had different SUCRA ranking profiles for the safety outcomes. These findings suggest that ropinirole, pramipexole, and safinamide are well-balanced anti-PD drugs that satisfy both efficacy and tolerability outcomes.
Self-testing of a single quantum system from theory to experiment
Authors: Hu Xiao-Min , Xie Yi , Arora Atul Singh , Ai Ming-Zhong , Bharti Kishor , Zhang Jie , Wu Wei , Chen Ping-Xing , Cui Jin-Ming , Liu Bi-Heng , Huang Yun-Feng , Li Chuan-Feng , Guo Guang-Can , Roland Jérémie , Cabello Adán , Kwek Leong-Chuan
Published: October 2023

Self-testing allows one to characterise quantum systems under minimal assumptions. However, existing schemes rely on quantum nonlocality and cannot be applied to systems that are not entangled. Here, we introduce a robust method that achieves self-testing of individual systems by taking advantage of contextuality. The scheme is based on the simplest contextuality witness for the simplest contextual quantum system—the Klyachko-Can-Binicioğlu-Shumovsky inequality for the qutrit. We establish a lower bound on the fidelity of the state and the measurements as a function of the value of the witness under a pragmatic assumption on the measurements. We apply the method in an experiment on a single trapped40Ca+using randomly chosen measurements and perfect detection efficiency. Using the observed statistics, we obtain an experimental demonstration of self-testing of a single quantum system.
Electronic stripe patterns near the fermi level of tetragonal Fe(Se,S)
Authors: Walker M. , Scott K. , Boyle T. J. , Byland J. K. , Bötzel S. , Zhao Z. , Day R. P. , Zhdanovich S. , Gorovikov S. , Pedersen T. M. , Klavins P. , Damascelli A. , Eremin I. M. , Gozar A. , Taufour V. , da Silva Neto E. H.
Published: October 2023

FeSe1−xSx remains one of the most enigmatic systems of Fe-based superconductors. While much is known about the orthorhombic parent compound, FeSe, the tetragonal samples, FeSe1−xSx with x > 0.17, remain relatively unexplored. Here, we provide an in-depth investigation of the electronic states of tetragonal FeSe0.81S0.19, using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/S) measurements, supported by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and theoretical modeling. We analyze modulations of the local density of states (LDOS) near and away from Fe vacancy defects separately and identify quasiparticle interference (QPI) signals originating from multiple regions of the Brillouin zone, including the bands at the zone corners. We also observe that QPI signals coexist with a much stronger LDOS modulation for states near the Fermi level whose period is independent of energy. Our measurements further reveal that this strong pattern appears in the STS measurements as short range stripe patterns that are locally two-fold symmetric. Since these stripe patterns coexist with four-fold symmetric QPI around Fe-vacancies, the origin of their local two-fold symmetry must be distinct from that of nematic states in orthorhombic samples. We explore several aspects related to the stripes, such as the role of S and Fe-vacancy defects, and whether they can be explained by QPI. We consider the possibility that the observed stripe patterns may represent incipient charge order correlations, similar to those observed in the cuprates.
A MEC-2/stomatin condensate liquid-to-solid phase transition controls neuronal mechanotransduction during touch sensing
Authors: Sanfeliu-Cerdán Neus , Català-Castro Frederic , Mateos Borja , Garcia-Cabau Carla , Ribera Maria , Ruider Iris , Porta-de-la-Riva Montserrat , Canals-Calderón Adrià , Wieser Stefan , Salvatella Xavier , Krieg Michael
Published: October 2023

A growing body of work suggests that the material properties of biomolecular condensates ensuing from liquid–liquid phase separation change with time. How this aging process is controlled and whether the condensates with distinct material properties can have different biological functions is currently unknown. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model, we show that MEC-2/stomatin undergoes a rigidity phase transition from fluid-like to solid-like condensates that facilitate transport and mechanotransduction, respectively. This switch is triggered by the interaction between the SH3 domain of UNC-89 (titin/obscurin) and MEC-2. We suggest that this rigidity phase transition has a physiological role in frequency-dependent force transmission in mechanosensitive neurons during body wall touch. Our data demonstrate a function for the liquid and solid phases of MEC-2/stomatin condensates in facilitating transport or mechanotransduction, and a previously unidentified role for titin homologues in neurons.