bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Guidelines for hypertension management in primary care: is local adaptation possible?
Authors: Leite-Santos Nathália C. , de Melo Daniela O. , Mantovani-Silva Rafael A. , Gabriel Franciele C. , Fornasari Guido S. , Dórea Egídio L. , Molino Caroline de G.R.C. , Ribeiro Eliane
Published: July 2020

Objective:

Hypertension affects more than one billion people worldwide. There has been much discussion about clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) following the proposal of lower thresholds for starting pharmacological treatment. Some smaller groups or institutions could benefit from adapting CPGs to their local context, a process that requires high-quality CPGs with few points of conflict in their recommendations. To address this issue, we have compared high-quality hypertension CPGs and highlighted conflicting recommendations.

Methods:

CPGs were searched in MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, as well as specific websites. Only CPGs published between 2016 and 2019 were included. We defined CPGs as high-quality if the ‘rigor of development’ and ‘editorial independence’ AGREE II domains were scored at least 60%. We compared recommendations made by high-quality CPGs and highlighted areas of conflict (defined as disagreements between more than two CPGs).

Results:

Nineteen CPGs were identified. The highest scoring domain was ‘scope and purpose’ (74.3%) and the lowest scoring was ‘applicability’ (40.0%). Eight CPGs were rated as high quality. Most CPG recommendations on the management of hypertension were consistent. Conflicting recommendations were regarding blood pressure (BP) levels to initiate pharmacotherapy and therapeutic goals, particularly in patients with low cardiovascular risk and older patients.

Conclusion:

It is possible to adapt hypertension CPGs once high-quality documents have been identified with agreement between most recommendations. Guideline developers can focus on the adaption process and concentrate efforts on implementation.
Time point of blood pressure drop in patients with orthostatic hypotension in the emergency department
Authors: Jang Kyeongmin , Park Miri , Kim Hack-Lyoung
Published: July 2020

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to identify the time of blood pressure (BP) drop in the orthostatic hypotension test, and to propose a realistic and appropriate duration in the orthostatic hypotension test.

Methods:

A total of 879 consecutive patients (61-year-old and 44% women) with positive on the orthostatic hypotension test in the emergency department were retrospectively reviewed. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as drop in standing SBP of at least 20 mmHg or standing DBP of at least 10 mmHg from their supine values after standing for 5 min. BP measurements was made at 1, 3, and 5 min after standing.

Results:

Six hundred and eighty-four (77.8%), 152 (17.3%) and 43 (4.9%) patients had BP drop meeting orthostatic hypotension criteria at 1, 3, and 5 min, respectively. In multivariable analysis, older age (≥60 years) and higher blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (≥15.5 mg/dl) were independently associated with early BP drop at 1 min, and younger age (<40 years) was independently associated with later BP drop at 5 min even after controlling for potential confounders.

Conclusion:

To measure orthostatic BP for orthostatic hypotension diagnosis at emergency department, older patients (≥60 years) with high BUN (≥15.5 mg/dl) should be monitored carefully as BP can drop quickly within 1 min. On the contrary, in younger people (<40 years), BP drop occurred slowly after 3 min, suggesting that clinicians measure BP for a longer time.
Home sweet home? How home health aide compensation, benefits and employment security influence the quality of care delivered by home health organizations
Authors: Ranucci Rebecca , Berry Daphne
Published: July 2020

Background

The number of home health care organizations has grown, and the number of home health aide jobs is among the fastest growing, drawing attention to the home health care industry. Despite increased transparency into the quality of care delivered by home health care organizations, less is known about how organizational work practices directed at home health aides, who work remotely on the frontlines of providing caring home health services, impact quality.

Purpose

We examine how an organization’s benefits and compensation practices for home health aides, as well as changes to home health aide employment security within the organization, impact the quality of care delivered by home health care organizations.

Methodology

We conduct a large-scale longitudinal archival study of Medicare-certified home health organizations using a fixed-effects specification to test the effects of home health aide benefits equality and compensation on the quality of patient outcomes within home health organizations. In addition, we use the proportion of contract home health aides to test moderating effects of employment insecurity.

Results

Benefits equality positively impacts quality, whereas compensation has a negative relationship with quality. However, when an organization increasingly utilizes contract aides, the positive effect of benefits equality on quality is weaker, whereas under these same conditions, compensation has a positive relationship with quality.

Conclusion

Compensation and benefits practices impact quality, and the effect these practices have on quality varies under conditions of employment insecurity created by the organization’s use of contract home health aides.

Practice Implications

Home health organizations should employ a nuanced approach to improving quality, increasing compensation to permanent home health aides when the organization increases their use of contract home health aides and equally distributing benefits to home health aides when the organization does not rely as heavily on contract home health aides.
Influence of preoperative breast cancer localization techniques on rates of sentinel lymph node visualization with preoperative lymphoscintigraphy
Authors: Verma Shipra , Taylor Donna , Al-Ogaili Zeyad
Published: July 2020

Objectives

The use of preoperative image-guided lesion localization for impalpable breast cancer may interfere with lymphatic drainage and cause delayed or reduced visualization of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) on preoperative lymphoscintigraphy. The goal of this audit was to compare rates of SLN visualization in patients undergoing preoperative breast cancer localization with either Iodine 125 seeds (radio-guided occult lesion localization using Iodine 125 seeds, ROLLIS) or hook wire and those with palpable lesions where no localization was required.

Patients and methods

We reviewed the records of 482 patients, who underwent preoperative lymphoscintigraphy with hook wire, ROLLIS, or no localization, at three major tertiary hospitals from January 2013 to December 2017. Static lymphoscintigraphy images are performed post administration of subcutaneous periareolar 99mTc antimony colloid injection. The rate of SLN visualization in the three groups and time to node visualization were analyzed.

Results

Four hundred and eighty-two patients underwent preoperative lymphoscintigraphy: 102 after no localization, 211 in hook wire, and 169 following ROLLIS. Very high overall rates of SLN visualization on preoperative lymphoscintigraphy were noted in all three groups; no localization group: 99% [95% confidence interval (CI), 94.7–99.8%], hook wire: 98.6% (95% CI, 95.9–99.7%) and ROLLIS: 98.8% (95% CI, 95.8–99.9%). For time to node visualization, a statistically significant difference was found between the no localization versus hook-wire group (P = 0.0015) and no localization versus ROLLIS group (P = 0.00011) but no statistically significant difference between the hook-wire and ROLLIS groups (P = 0.16) was demonstrated.

Conclusion

High rates of SLN visualization on preoperative lymphoscintigraphy were noted in all groups, with no significant reduction when breast lesion localization techniques were used. There was; however, an increased rate of delayed imaging required for SLN visualization in women who had undergone either type of preoperative localization compared with those who had not.
Investigation of oxacillinases type beta-lactamases in carbapenems resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates
Authors: Özçelik Hüseyin B. , Yildirim Tuba , Marakli Sevgi , Idil Önder
Published: July 2020

Acinetobacter baumannii, one of the most important infectious agents spread in hospitals, is an opportunistic, Gram-negative, aerobic and nonfermentative pathogen causing outbreaks often in ICUs and difficulties in treatments due to multiple antibiotic resistance characteristics. Carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii is a growing public health concern and most often mediated by oxacillinases carbapenemases. Carbapenems are significant representatives of the group β-lactamases that are used in the treatment of A. baumannii. OXA-23, OXA-24, OXA-51 and OXA-58 are the most common type of OXA gene family members which are responsible for carbapenem resistance. This study aimed to identify the carbapenem resistant A. baumannii isolates in ICU and analyse OXA-23, OXA-24, OXA-51 and OXA-58 genes’ expressions by using reverse transcritptase-PCR. In this study, A. baumannii isolates collected from the respiratory tract samples obtained from the patients receiving treatment between June 2017 and January 2018 at the ICU in Amasya University Sabuncuoğlu Serefeddin Education and Research Hospital. Collected samples identified by VITEK-2 device. Resistance profiles of carbapenem-resistant strains against to cefepime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, amikacin, gentamicin, tetracycline, tigecycline and colistin antibiotics were determined by disk diffusion and minimum inhibition concentration tests. Moreover, OXA-23, OXA-24, OXA-51 and OXA-58 genes were investigated by reverse transcritptase-PCR. Identified 50 A. baumannii isolates were found to be 100% resistant to imipenem, meropenem, cefepime, ceftazidime and ciprofloxacin, 94% for levofloxacin, 68% for amikacin, 78% for gentamicin, 88% for tetracycline and 6% for tigecycline. It was detected that all samples are susceptible to colistin and showed multiple antibiotic resistance. As a result of molecular analyses, it was also determined that the expressions of only OXA-23 and OXA-51 genes in all isolates. This study is one of the first reports to analyse A. baumannii isolated from respiratory tract samples in terms of microbiological and molecular analyses.
Applicability of 2 Dental Age Estimation Methods to Taiwanese Population
Authors: Shen Checheng , Pan Jing , Yang Zhao , Mou Hungen , Tao Jiang , Ji Fang
Published: July 2020

The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of Demirjian and Willems dental age estimation methods on a population of 8- to 15-year-old Taiwanese children. A total of 799 digital panoramic radiographs (404 boys, 395 girls) of children aged from 8.00 to 15.99 years are evaluated. All panoramic films are assessed by 2 examiners using Demirjian and Willems methods. We randomly select 48 panoramic films to evaluate the reproducibility of dental age measurements. The intraobserver and interobserver Cohen's kappa values are 0.733 and 0.762, respectively.

The difference between chronological age and dental age is calculated for each individual using both methods. The result shows that Demirjian method slightly overestimates the chronological age of children. The mean age difference is 0.12 years for boys (standard deviation [SD], 0.80) and 0.21 years for girls (SD, 0.95). Willems method slightly underestimates the chronological age of children. The mean age difference is −0.22 years for boys (SD, 0.80) and −0.12 years for girls (SD, 0.92).

In conclusion, Demirjian and Willems methods are both accurate for assessing dental age in the Taiwan region of China. The mean age differences of both methods are within ±1 year, which is acceptable at forensic odontology level. However, although the discrepancy between chronological age and dental age is frequently observed between −0.5 and 0.5 years in both methods, there is no guarantee it will be accurate for any particular individual, further modifications to both methods are suggested.
The Impact of Anxiety and Upper Limb Disability on Participation Levels in People With Dystonia
Authors: Martínez-Piédrola Rosa M. , Huertas-Hoyas Elisabet , Serrada-Tejeda Sergio , Máximo-Bocanegra Nuria , Sánchez-Herrera-Baeza Patricia , García-Bravo Cristina , Pérez-de-Heredia-Torres Marta , Martínez-Castrillo Juan Carlos
Published: July 2020

Objective

This study sought to evaluate the level of anxiety in people with dystonia and to examine a possible relationship between the level of participation, anxiety, and functional limitations.

Design

This is an observational, cross-sectional, case-control study with 12 cases of focal dystonia and 12 healthy controls aged between 18 and 75 yrs. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, the QuickDASH scale, and the Measure of Participation and Activities were used. Differences in scores and effect size were analyzed through the Student t test and Cohen d test. A multiple regression model was performed to determine the relationship between variables.

Results

People with dystonia obtained higher scores in the three subsections of the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (total anxiety, psychiatric anxiety, and somatic anxiety; P < 0.05) and on the QuickDASH scale, together with lower scores in participation in activities of daily living of the Measure of Participation and Activities (P = 0.01). Greater upper limb disability was associated with a greater negative impact on participation in activities of daily living (P < 0.01); however, no significant relationship was found with anxiety (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

This study suggests that the ability of people with dystonia to participate in society is negatively affected by the level of disability of the upper limb, but even when anxiety-age–related differences were controlled for, no relationship was found between variables.
Endoscopic Support and Virtual Surgical Planning as an Alternative to Repair Orbital Wall Fractures
Authors: Gonzalez Luis Vicente , López Juan Pablo
Published: July 2020

The reconstruction of the orbit has been carried out throughout history using different techniques. However, the persistence of high rates of complications mainly associated with the position of the eyeball and the migration of reconstruction implants have generated the need and importance of continuing to study new techniques, including with the help of technology. Virtual planning combined with endoscopic access and 3D models could decrease the number of complications associated with the aforementioned problems. For this, the aim of this observational retrospective study is to show the authors’ experience of 19 cases in different orbital fractures using endoscopic support and virtual planning as great alternative in orbital reconstruction.
Potential Immunotherapeutic Targets for Hypoxia Due to COVI-Flu
Authors: Leyfman Yan , Erick Timothy K. , Reddy Sandeep S. , Galwankar Sagar , Nanayakkara Prabath W.B. , Di Somma Salvatore , Sharma Pushpa , Stawicki Stanislaw P. , Chaudry Irshad H.
Published: July 2020

The world is currently embroiled in a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory illness caused by the novel betacoronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The severity of COVID-19 disease ranges from asymptomatic to fatal acute respiratory distress syndrome. In few patients, the disease undergoes phenotypic differentiation between 7 and 14 days of acute illness, either resulting in full recovery or symptom escalation. However, the mechanism of such variation is not clear, but the facts suggest that patient's immune status, comorbidities, and the systemic effects of the viral infection (potentially depending on the SARS-CoV-2 strain involved) play a key role. Subsequently, patients with the most severe symptoms tend to have poor outcomes, manifest severe hypoxia, and possess elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (including IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α) along with elevated levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, marked lymphopenia, and elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios. Based on the available evidence, we propose a mechanism wherein SARS-CoV-2 infection induces direct organ damage while also fueling an IL-6-mediated cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and hypoxia, resulting in escalating systemic inflammation, multi-organ damage, and end-organ failure. Elevated IL-6 and hypoxia together predisposes patients to pulmonary hypertension, and the presence of asymptomatic hypoxia in COVID-19 further compounds this problem. Due to the similar downstream mediators, we discuss the potential synergistic effects and systemic ramifications of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus during co-infection, a phenomenon we have termed “COVI-Flu.” Additionally, the differences between CRS and cytokine storm are highlighted. Finally, novel management approaches, clinical trials, and therapeutic strategies toward both SARS-CoV-2 and COVI-Flu infection are discussed, highlighting host response optimization and systemic inflammation reduction.
A Convolution Based Computational Approach Towards DNA N6-methyladenine Site Identification and Motif Extraction in Rice Genome
Authors: Rahman Chowdhury Rafeed , Amin Ruhul , Shatabda Swakkhar , Toaha Md. Sadrul Islam
Published: July 2020

DNA N6-methylation (6mA) in Adenine nucleotide is a post replication modification responsible for many biological functions. Automated and accurate computational methods can help to identify 6mA sites in long genomes saving significant time and money. Our study develops a convolutional neural network (CNN) based tool i6mA-CNN capable of identifying 6mA sites in the rice genome. Our model coordinates among multiple types of features such as PseAAC (Pseudo Amino Acid Composition) inspired customized feature vector, multiple one hot representations and dinucleotide physicochemical properties. It achieves auROC (area under Receiver Operating Characteristic curve) score of 0.98 with an overall accuracy of 93.97% using 5 fold cross validation on benchmark dataset. Finally, we evaluate our model on three other plant genome 6mA site identification test datasets. Results suggest that our proposed tool is able to generalize its ability of 6mA site identification on plant genomes irrespective of plant species. An algorithm for potential motif extraction and a feature importance analysis procedure are two by products of this research. Web tool for this research can be found at:https://cutt.ly/dgp3QTR.
Clustering fibromyalgia patients: A combination of psychosocial and somatic factors leads to resilient coping in a subgroup of fibromyalgia patients
Authors: Braun Alexandra , Evdokimov Dimitar , Frank Johanna , Pauli Paul , Üçeyler Nurcan , Sommer Claudia
Published: July 2020

Background

Coping strategies and their efficacy vary greatly in patients suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).

Objective

We aimed to identify somatic and psychosocial factors that might contribute to different coping strategies and resilience levels in FMS.

Subjects and methods

Standardized questionnaires were used to assess coping, pain, and psychological variables in a cohort of 156 FMS patients. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) determined gene expression of selected cytokines in white blood cells of 136 FMS patients and 25 healthy controls. Data of skin innervation, functional and structural sensory profiles of peripheral nociceptive nerve fibers of a previous study were included into the statistics. An exploratory factor analysis was used to define variance explaining factors, which were then included into cluster analysis.

Results

54.9% of the variance was explained by four factors which we termed (1) affective load, (2) coping, (3) pain, and (4) pro-inflammatory cytokines (p < 0.05). Considering differences in the emerged factors, coping strategies, cytokine profiles, and disability levels, 118 FMS patients could be categorized into four clusters which we named “maladaptive”, “adaptive”, “vulnerable”, and “resilient” (p < 0.05). The adaptive cluster had low scores in disability and in all symptom categories in contrast to the vulnerable cluster, which was characterized by high scores in catastrophizing and disability (p < 0.05). The resilient vs. the maladaptive cluster was characterized by better coping and a less pro-inflammatory cytokine pattern (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Our data suggest that problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies and an anti-inflammatory cytokine pattern are associated with reduced disability and might promote resilience. Additional personal factors such as low anxiety scores, ability of acceptance, and persistence further favor a resilient phenotype. Individualized therapy should take these factors into account.
A Holistic Approach to Identification of Covid-19 Patients from Chest X-Ray Images utilizing Transfer Based Learning
Authors: Rafi Taki Hasan
Published: July 2020

Novel coronavirus likewise called COVID-19 began in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has now outspread over the world. Around 8 millions of individuals previously got influenced by novel coronavirus and it causes at any rate 500,000 deaths. There are just about 90,000 individuals contaminated by COVID-19 in Bangladesh too. As it is an exceptionally new pandemic infection, its diagnosis is challenging for the medical community. In regular cases, it is hard for lower incoming countries to test cases easily. RT-PCR test is the most generally utilized analysis framework for COVID-19 patient detection. However, by utilizing X-ray image based programmed recognition can diminish the expense and testing time. So according to handling this test, it is important to program and effective recognition to forestall transmission to others. In this paper, we attempt to distinguish COVID-19 patients by chest X-ray images. We execute different pre-trained deep neural system models, for example, Sequential, DenseNet121, ResNet152 and EfficientNetB4 to assess the most productive outcome. And aims to utilize transfer-based learning. We assess this outcome by AUC, where EfficientNetB4 has 0.997 AUC, ResNet50 has 0.967 AUC, DenseNet121 has 0.874 AUC and the Sequential model has 0.762 AUC individually. And EfficientNetB4 has achieved 98.86% accuracy.
Restriction Point timing and cell cycle variability – a re-evaluation
Authors: Brooks Robert F.
Published: July 2020

The Restriction Point (R) in the mammalian cell cycle is regarded as a critical transition in G1 when cells become committed to enter S phase even in the absence of further growth factor stimulation. Classic time-lapse studies by Zetterberg and Larsson suggested that the acquisition of growth factor independence (i.e. passage of R) occurred very abruptly 3-4 hours after mitosis, with most cell cycle variability arising between R and entry into S phase. However, the cycle times of the post-R cells that continued on to mitosis after serum step-down without perturbation were far less variable than the control cells with which they were compared. A re-analysis of the data, presented here, shows that when the timing of R and entry in mitosis are compared for the same experiments, the curves are superimposable and statistically indistinguishable. This indicates that the data are compatible with the timing of R contributing to much of the overall variability in the cell cycle, contrary to the conclusions of Zetterberg and colleagues.
Gene expression profiles underlying aggressive behavior in the prefrontal cortex of cattle
Authors: Eusebi Paulina G. , Sevane Natalia , Pizarro Manuel , Valero Marta , Dunner Susana
Published: July 2020

Aggressive behavior is an ancient and conserved trait considered habitual and essential for most animals in order to eat, protect themselves from predators and also to compete for mating and defend their territories. Genetic factors have shown to play an important role in the development of aggression both in animals and humans, displaying moderate to high heritability estimates. However, although such types of conducts have been studied in different animal models, the molecular architecture of aggressiveness remains poorly understood. This study compared gene expression profiles of 16 prefrontal cortex (PFC) samples from aggressive and non-aggressive cattle breeds: Lidia, selected for agonistic responses, and Wagyu, specialized on meat production and selected for tameness. RNA sequencing was used to identify 918 up and 278 down-regulated differentiated expressed genes (DEG). The functional interpretation of the up-regulated genes in the aggressive cohort revealed enrichment of pathways such as the Alzheimer disease-presenilin, integrins or the ERK/MAPK signaling cascade, all implicated in the development of abnormal aggressive behaviors and neurophysiological disorders. Moreover, gonadotropins, leading to testosterone release, are also up-regulated as natural mechanisms enhancing aggression. Concomitantly, heterotrimeric G-protein pathways, associated with low reactivity mental states, and theGAD2gene, a repressor of agonistic reactions at PFC, are down-regulated, guaranteeing the development of the adequate responses required by the aggressive Lidia cattle. We also identified six upstream regulators, whose functional activity fits with the etiology of abnormal behavioral responses associated with aggression. These results provide valuable insights into the complex architecture that underlie naturally developed agonistic behaviors.
Solvent quality and chromosome folding inEscherichia coli
Authors: Xiang Yingjie , Surovtsev Ivan V. , Chang Yunjie , Govers Sander K. , Parry Bradley R. , Liu Jun , Jacobs-Wagner Christine
Published: July 2020

All cells must fold their genomes, including bacterial cells where the chromosome is compacted into a domain-organized meshwork called nucleoid. Polymer conformation depends highly on the quality of the solvent. Yet, the solvent quality for the DNA polymer inside cells remains unexplored. Here, we developed a method to assess this fundamental physicochemical property in live bacteria. By determining the DNA concentration and apparent average mesh size of the nucleoid, we provide evidence that the cytoplasm is a poor solvent for the chromosome inEscherichia coli. Monte Carlo simulations showed that such a poor solvent compacts the chromosome and promotes spontaneous formation of chromosomal domains connected by lower-density DNA regions. Cryo-electron tomography and fluorescence microscopy revealed that the (poly)ribosome density within the nucleoid is spatially heterogenous and correlates negatively with DNA density. These findings have broad implications to our understanding of chromosome folding and intracellular organization.
Gold Standard for macromolecular crystallography diffraction data
Authors: Bernstein Herbert J. , Förster Andreas , Bhowmick Asmit , Brewster Aaron S. , Brockhauser Sandor , Gelisio Luca , Hall David R. , Leonarski Filip , Mariani Valerio , Santoni Gianluca , Vonrhein Clemens , Winter Graeme
Published: July 2020

Macromolecular crystallography (MX) is the dominant means of determining the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules. Over the last few decades, most MX data have been collected at synchrotron beamlines using a large number of different detectors produced by various manufacturers and taking advantage of various protocols and goniometries. These data came in their own formats: sometimes proprietary, sometimes open. The associated metadata rarely reached the degree of completeness required for data management according to Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability (FAIR) principles. Efforts to reuse old data by other investigators or even by the original investigators some time later were often frustrated. In the culmination of an effort dating back more than two decades, a large portion of the research community concerned with high data-rate macromolecular crystallography (HDRMX) has now agreed to an updated specification of data and metadata for diffraction images produced at synchrotron light sources and X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). This `Gold Standard' will facilitate the processing of data sets independent of the facility at which they were collected and enable data archiving according to FAIR principles, with a particular focus on interoperability and reusability. This agreed standard builds on the NeXus/HDF5 NXmx application definition and the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) imgCIF/CBF dictionary, and it is compatible with major data-processing programs and pipelines. Just as with the IUCr CBF/imgCIF standard from which it arose and to which it is tied, the NeXus/HDF5 NXmx Gold Standard application definition is intended to be applicable to all detectors used for crystallography, and all hardware and software developers in the field are encouraged to adopt and contribute to the standard.
2-[(1E)-[(Z)-2-({[(1Z)-[(E)-2-[(2-Hydroxyphenyl)methylidene]hydrazin-1-ylidene]({[(4-methylphenyl)methyl]sulfanyl})methyl]disulfanyl}({[(4-methylphenyl)methyl]sulfanyl})methylidene)hydrazin-1-ylidene]methyl]phenol: crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis and computational study
Authors: Paulus Georgiana , Kwong Huey Chong , Crouse Karen A. , Tiekink Edward R. T.
Published: July 2020

The complete molecule of the title hydrazine carbodithioate derivative, C32H30N4O2S4, is generated by a crystallographic twofold axis that bisects the disulfide bond. The molecule is twisted about this bond with the C—S—S—C torsion angle of 90.70 (8)° indicating an orthogonal relationship between the symmetry-related halves of the molecule. The conformation about the imine bond [1.282 (2) Å] is E and there is limited delocalization of π-electron density over the CN2C residue as there is a twist about the N—N bond [C—N—N—C torsion angle = −166.57 (15)°]. An intramolecular hydroxyl-O—H...N(imine) hydrogen bond closes an S(6) loop. In the crystal, methylene-C—H...π(tolyl) contacts assemble molecules into a supramolecular layer propagating in the ab plane: the layers stack without directional interactions between them. The analysis of the calculated Hirshfeld surfaces confirm the importance of H...H contacts, which contribute 46.7% of all contacts followed by H...C/C...H contacts [25.5%] reflecting, in part, the C—H...π(tolyl) contacts. The calculation of the interaction energies confirm the importance of the dispersion term and the influence of the stabilizing H...H contacts in the inter-layer region.
Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (E)-4-{2,2-dichloro-1-[(3,5-dimethylphenyl)diazenyl]ethenyl}-N,N-dimethylaniline
Authors: Özkaraca Kadriye , Akkurt Mehmet , Shikhaliyev Namiq Q. , Askerova Ulviyya F. , Suleymanova Gulnar T. , Mammadova Gunay Z. , Shadrack Daniel M.
Published: July 2020

In the title compound, C18H19Cl2N3, the planes of the benzene rings subtend a dihedral angle of 77.07 (10)°. In the crystal, molecules are associated into inversion dimers via short Cl...Cl contacts [3.3763 (9) Å]. A Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the most important contact percentages for the different types of interactions are H...H (43.9%), Cl...H/H...Cl (22.9%), C...H/H...C (20.8%) and N...H/H...N (8.0%).
Crystal structures of two isostructural bivalent metal N-benzoylglycinates
Authors: Narvekar Kedar U. , Srinivasan Bikshandarkoil R.
Published: July 2020

The crystal structures of two coordination compounds of N-benzoylglycine, viz. catena-poly[[[diaquabis(N-benzoylglycinato)cobalt(II)]-μ-aqua] dihydrate], {[Co(C9H8NO3)2(H2O)3]·2H2O}
n
, 1, and catena-poly[[[diaquabis(N-benzoylglycinato)nickel(II)]-μ-aqua] dihydrate], {[Ni(C9H8NO3)2(H2O)3]·2H2O}
n
, 2, are described. The structures of 1 and 2 were reported previously [Morelock et al. (1979). J. Am. Chem. Soc.
101, 4858–4866] and redetermined in this work to determine the H-atom coordinates. In the isostructural compounds, the central metal is located on an inversion centre and exhibits a distorted octahedral geometry. A pair of terminal aqua ligands disposed trans to each other and a pair of monodentate N-benzoylglycinate ligands form the square base and account for four of the six vertices of the octahedron. A μ2-bridging aqua ligand links the bivalent metals into one-dimensional chains extending along the c-axis direction. The one-dimensional chains stabilized by O—H...O hydrogen bonds are interlinked by N—H...O and C—H...O hydrogen-bonding interactions.
(S)-2-[(4-Fluorophenyl)formamido]-3-phenylpropanoic acid
Authors: Lee Kathleen S. , Turner Luke , Powell Cynthia B. , Reinheimer Eric W.
Published: July 2020

The title compound, C16H14FNO3, was synthesized via solid phase methods; it exhibits monoclinic (P21) symmetry at room temperature. The two independent molecules that comprise the asymmetric unit display distinct torsion angles of 173.2 (2) and 72.6 (2)° along the central sp
3 C—N bond. In the crystal, hydrogen bonding through N—H...O contacts couples the asymmetric unit molecules into pairs that align in layers extending parallel to (100) via additional O—H...O interactions. The phenyl ring of one independent molecule was found to be disordered over two sets of sites in a 0.55 (3):0.45 (3) ratio.
7a-Phenyltetrahydropyrrolo[2,1-b]oxazol-5(6H)-one
Authors: Linkova Elena I. , Grinev Vyacheslav S. , Mayorova Oksana A. , Yegorova Alevtina Yu.
Published: July 2020

In the title compound, C12H13NO2, the pyrrolidinone moiety is almost flat while the oxazole ring adopts an envelope conformation with the carbon atom bearing the phenyl substituent as the flap: the angle between the mean planes of the fused heterocyclic rings is 45.47 (19)°. In the crystal, C—H...O and C—H...π contacts link the molecules into infinite [010] chains.
Positioning – a literature review
Authors: Saqib Natasha
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review state-of-the-art literature on product/brand positioning to re-examine the positioning concept and developing a more comprehensive definition from a theoretical viewpoint.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review of positioning was conducted. The review conformed to a rigorous set of core principles: it was systematic (organized according to a method designed to address the review questions), transparent (explicitly stated), reproducible and updatable and synthesized (summarized the evidence relating to the review question).

Findings

The literature review reveals that there is lack of coherent definition for positioning, and there is no mutual agreement among marketing scholars and practitioners about the exact meaning of the concept. Therefore, comprehensive definition of positioning encompassing the five underlying positioning perspectives (competition; empty slot/mind; consumers’ perception, differentiation and competitive advantage) is suggested.

Research limitations/implications

This paper will be useful for academicians to analyze the current nature of academic research in this area and will provide an added advantage to managers to design and implement positioning strategies for their product/brands that will allow their organizations to gain competitive advantage. This study acknowledges limitations with respect to its exclusive search criteria, which might affect its generalizability.

Social implications

Position and positioning is of relevance in society in broad terms, e.g. in sports, politics and culture. Positioning strategy is discussed and implemented in different industries (business-to-business and consumer), for all kinds of brands (including, for instance, corporate brands) and for “brands” in the very widest sense (such as places or people).

Originality/value

This is the first systematic review of positioning that provides a detailed understanding of the current state of positioning research on a single platform and also draws a comprehensive positioning conceptualization.
The linkage between CSR and cost of equity: an Indian perspective
Authors: Dahiya Monika , Singh Shveta
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This study aims to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the cost of equity (CoE) capital of Indian manufacturing firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is conducted on a sample of 68 manufacturing firms listed on National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) 200, investigated for the period 2013 to 2018. To deal with the issue of endogeneity, the techniques of system generalized method of moments and two-stage least square have been applied.

Findings

The results suggest that CSR disclosure is positively linked with the CoE in the case of manufacturing firms, signalling that socially responsible firms in India bear a higher CoE. The findings indicate that investors do not treat CSR as a value-augmenting factor.

Practical implications

Firms should effectuate effective managerial and organizational changes to fulfil their social responsibility instead of window dressing their activities. Regulators in India must work towards more stringent enforcement of the act and make efforts to promote public awareness of CSR.

Social implications

The integration of CSR activities with the economic operations of the business is imperative.

Originality/value

To the best of researchers’ knowledge, there is a lack of studies focussing on India, which serves as an ideal setting for the study owing to the latest legislation mandating CSR expenditure. The study focusses on manufacturing firms as these firms are more susceptible to contribute to environmental pollution, exploitation of natural resources and labour concerns.
A scoping review of fall hazards in the homes of older adults and development of a framework for assessment and intervention
Authors: Keglovits Marian , Clemson Lindy , Hu Yi‐Ling , Nguyen An , Neff Anna J. , Mandelbaum Caren , Hudson Margaret , Williams Rebecca , Silianoff Tara , Stark Susan
Published: July 2020

Introduction

Comprehensive evaluation and intervention provided by occupational therapists is effective in reducing the presence of fall hazards in the homes of older adults. The purpose of this study was to document known environmental hazards and to update a previous content analysis. A secondary goal reviewed a framework for evaluation and practice.

Methods

A comprehensive scoping review of published academic articles was performed from 1996 to 2019 to answer: What environmental hazards have been associated with falls in the homes of community‐dwelling older adults? Data was extracted in a standardised critical appraisal worksheet and content analysis was conducted. A review of a conceptual framework for assessment and intervention was conducted by international experts (n = 6) in face‐to‐face interviews.

Results

Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria for the scoping study. The studies reported 17 in‐home environmental hazards: throw rugs/carpets, clutter, cords/wires, poorly placed light switches, items placed too low, items placed too high, no grab bars, toilet seats too low, uneven floor surfaces, slippery/wet surfaces, snowy/icy surfaces, backless/unsupportive shoes, unsteady stairs, inadequate lighting, inadequate heating/cooling, step stools without railings, and pets.

Conclusion

A comprehensive list of specific fall hazards in and around the homes of older adults and a guiding framework offers occupational therapists an evidence‐based foundation for fall prevention efforts.
Prevalence of elevated liver enzymes and comorbidities in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity
Authors: Hartman Corina , Rennert Hedy S , Rennert Gad , Elenberg Yigal , Zuckerman Eli
Published: July 2020

Aim

We investigated the prevalence of elevated liver aminotransferases (ALT) and additional comorbidities in a large cohort of Israeli children and adolescents with overweight and obesity.

Methods

This study included data from medical records of 2‐ to 18‐year‐old children and adolescents, with body mass index (BMI) in the overweight or obesity range (WHO definitions), for whom ALT testing was performed.

Results

Overweight was present in 50 418 (10.7%) and obesity in 70 515 (15.0%). Elevated ALT, above 30 IU/L (0.51 μkat/L), was reported in 2245 (7.2%) of children with overweight and 5475 (16.8%) of children with obesity (P < .0001). Compared to children with overweight and obesity and ALT within normal range, children with elevated ALT were older (11.9 ± 4.2 vs 10.9 ± 4.2, P < .001), mostly male (68.0% vs 49.4%, P < .001) and had higher BMI (27.3 ± 6.1vs 24.0 ± 4.8, P < .001). They also had a more unfavourable cardiometabolic profile with significantly higher either systolic or diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and triglycerides, and had more than three criteria defining metabolic syndrome.

Conclusion

In this large cohort, abnormally elevated ALT was present in a high number of individuals with overweight or obesity. The children and adolescents with abnormal ALT had higher BMI, were older, male and had more cardiometabolic risk factors.
Relationship quality and supply chain quality performance: The effect of supply chain integration in hotel industry
Authors: Le Shanghong , Wu Jinlin , Zhong Jianlan
Published: July 2020

This study investigates the relationship between relationship quality and supply chain quality performance in hotel supply chain, through the mediating effect of supply chain integration. A questionnaire survey is used to collect data relating to the research hypotheses. Structural equation model technique is suited for our research goals, and the SmartPLS software is implemented to test the conceptual model. The results show that relationship quality has a direct and positive impact on supply chain quality performance; but after introducing mediating variable—supply chain integration, relationship quality indirectly affects supply chain quality performance through supply chain integration. This means that a good relationship quality can promote supply chain integration and ultimately improve supply chain quality performance.
Beneath the surface: Application of transparent super absorbent polymer substrates to track faunal activity within the sediment layer
Authors: Mathers Kate L. , Michalec François‐Gaël , Holzner Markus , Weber Christine
Published: July 2020

Tracking the movement of organisms is a fundamental goal of many ecological studies. Several techniques exist in the study of terrestrial and aquatic fauna; however, to date, the ability to monitor aquatic fauna within the sediment layer efficiently and in multiple dimensions is lacking. Given the importance of subsurface sediments in supporting ecosystem functioning, this inability to observe organism behaviour represents a fundamental gap in our knowledge and limits our capability to holistically characterise the response of freshwater systems to stressors.

Here we present an experimental study that employs novel transparent super absorbent polymer substrates (c. 8–12 mm in diameter) in combination with computer vision technology, which enables, for the first time, real‐time observation and tracking of organisms within the sediment layer under lotic flow conditions. Use of these substrates allowed the successful extraction of organism trajectories, which enabled the velocity and body orientation of a freshwater amphipod (Gammarus fossarum) in the sediment layer to be calculated in response to a number of vertical hydrological exchange treatments (upwelling, downwelling, and no vertical exchange).

Results indicate that under vertical hydrological exchange, a higher proportion of fast velocities (both horizontal and vertical) were recorded for G. fossarum in the sediment layer compared to no vertical exchange (control) conditions. This increase was most marked for upwelling flow exchange. We also observed a change in the body orientation of individuals in the sediment layer from a vertical alignment under no vertical exchange to a more horizontal one under downwelling and more notably upwelling flow exchange. This shift in body position was exacerbated under stronger vertical exchange rates.

We identified that following the flow transition of downwelling to upwelling conditions, there was an immediate shift (0–2 min) in both the orientation angle and activity level of individuals. This increased rate of activity was maintained for the individuals' velocity but not for their changing orientation angle. These trends were not apparent within the flow transition of no vertical exchange to downwelling flow.

Our new methodological approach enables vital insights into the behaviour of organisms within the sediment layer. Use of super absorbent polymer substrates allows real‐time multi‐directional tracking of multiple organisms in parallel. We believe the method represents an innovative tool that can be employed to tackle a wide range of ecological questions and thereby improve our mechanistic understanding of ecological responses to biotic and abiotic processes/stressors.
Sex chromosome complement affects multiple aspects of reversal‐learning task performance in mice
Authors: Aarde Shawn M. , Genner Rylee M. , Hrncir Haley , Arnold Arthur P. , Jentsch James D.
Published: July 2020

Determining the mechanisms by which the sex‐chromosome complement (SCC) affects learning, attention, and impulsivity has implications for observed sex differences in prevalence, severity, and prognosis of psychiatric/neurodevelopmental disorders and syndromes associated with sex‐chromosome aneuploidy. Here, Four Core Genotypes (FCG) mice were evaluated in order to assess the separable and/or interacting effects of gonads (testes vs. ovaries) and their secretions and/or SCC (XX vs. XY) acting via non‐gonadal mechanisms on behavior. We tested FCG mice on a reversal‐learning task that enables the quantification of aspects of learning, attention and impulsivity. Across testing phases (involving the initial acquisition of a spatial discrimination and subsequent reversal learning), overall error rate was larger in XY compared with XX mice. Although XX and XY groups did not differ in the total number of trials required in order to reach a preset performance criterion, analyses of reversal error types showed more perseverative errors in XY than XX mice, with no difference in regressive errors. Additionally, prepotent‐response latencies during the reversal phase were shorter in XY males, as compared with both XX gonadal males and females of either SCC, and failures to sustain the observing response were more frequent in XY mice than XX mice during the acquisition phase. These results indicate that SCC affects the characteristic pattern of response selection during acquisition and reversal performance without affecting the overall learning rate. More broadly, these results show direct effects of the SCC on cognitive processes that are relevant to psychiatric/neurodevelopmental disorders and syndromes associated with sex‐chromosome aneuploidies.