bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Specifically targeting antimicrobial peptides for inhibition of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus
Authors: Mallawarachchi Samavath , Wang Haoqi , Mulgaonkar Nirmitee , Irigoyen Sonia , Padilla Carmen , Mandadi Kranthi , Borneman James , Fernando Sandun
Published: March 2024

Aims

Huanglongbing (citrus greening) is a plant disease putatively caused by the unculturable Gram-negative bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), and it has caused severe damage to citrus plantations worldwide. There are no definitive treatments for this disease, and conventional disease control techniques have shown limited efficacy. This work presents an in silico evaluation of using specifically targeting anti-microbial peptides (STAMPs) consisting of a targeting segment and an antimicrobial segment to inhibit citrus greening by inhibiting the BamA protein of CLas, which is an outer membrane protein crucial for bacterial viability.

Methods and results

Initially, a set of peptides with a high affinity toward BamA protein were screened and evaluated via molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations and were verified in vitro via bio-layer interferometry (BLI). In silico studies and BLI experiments indicated that two peptides, HASP2 and HASP3, showed stable binding to BamA. Protein structures for STAMPs were created by fusing known anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) with the selected short peptides. The binding of STAMPs to BamA was assessed using molecular docking and binding energy calculations. The attachment of high-affinity short peptides significantly reduced the free energy of binding for AMPs, suggesting that it would make it easier for the STAMPs to bind to BamA. Efficacy testing in vitro using a closely related CLas surrogate bacterium showed that STAMPs had greater inhibitory activity than AMP alone.

Conclusions

In silico and in vitro results indicate that the STAMPs can inhibit CLas surrogate Rhizobium grahamii more effectively compared to AMPs, suggesting that STAMPs can achieve better inhibition of CLas, potentially via enhancing the site specificity of AMPs.
Bacteriological culture and direct PCR for detecting the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in the Italian eradication campaign: a decade of experience at the National Reference Laboratory
Authors: Ferrari Stefania , Zanoni Mariagrazia , Mangeli Anna , Pigoli Claudio , D'Incau Mario , Alborali Giovanni Loris , Pacciarini Maria Lodovica , Boniotti Maria Beatrice
Published: March 2024

Aims

Our study evaluates the capacity of direct real-time PCR for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), with a focus on diagnostic performances and the feasibility of implementing this protocol in an eradication campaign. Specifically, we compare the effectiveness of the direct PCR method to various culture systems used by the Italian National Reference Laboratory over the last decade to detect MTBC.

Methods and results

Bovine tissue samples were routinely tested and analyzed for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) confirmation using microbiological culture (solid and liquid media), histopathological analysis, and a direct PCR assay targeting IS6110, an insertion sequence specific to the MTBC that is widely used for tuberculosis diagnosis. The direct real-time PCR demonstrated a high concordance (K = 0.871) with microbiological culture, as well as good sensitivity (91.84%) and specificity (95.24%). In contrast, histopathology demonstrated lower concordance (K = 0.746) and performance levels (sensitivity 91.41%, specificity 82.88%). Liquid media promoted faster and more efficient growth of MTBC than solid media. M. bovis and M. caprae had the comparable ability to respond to the direct real-time PCR test and grow on the microbiological medium.

Conclusions

This study confirms that direct real-time PCR can detect MTBC with high diagnostic accuracy within a few days. This study found no significant differences in performance between culture media and direct PCR for M. bovis and M. caprae.
Virulent Klebsiella pneumoniae ST11 clone carrying blaKPC and blaNDM from patients with and without COVID-19 in Brazil
Authors: Pimentel Maria Izabely Silva , Beltrão Elizabeth Maria Bispo , de Oliveira Érica Maria , Martins Lamartine Rodrigues , Jucá Moacir Batista , Lopes Ana Catarina de Souza
Published: March 2024

Aims

Investigated and compared the occurrence of virulence genes fimH, mrkD, irp2, entB, cps, rmpA, and wabG, resistance genes blaKPC and blaNDM, and the genetic variability and clonal relationship of 29 Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates of patients with and without COVID-19, from a hospital in Brazil.

Methods and results

All isolates were resistant to beta-lactams. The genes were investigated by PCR, and for molecular typing, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) and MLST were used. The detection of blaNDM was greater (n = 23) when compared to that of blaKPC (n = 14). The virulence genes that most occurred were fimH, entB, cps, and wabG, which are responsible for adhesins, siderophore enterobactin, capsule, and lipopolysaccharides, respectively. Among the isolates, 21 distinct genetic profiles were found by ERIC-PCR, with multiclonal dissemination. Four isolates belonged to the ST11 clone.

Conclusions

The occurrence of the ST11 is worrying as it is a high-risk clone involved in the dissemination of virulent strains throughout the world.
Fascia Iliaca Catheters for Donor Site Pain After Split-Thickness Skin Grafting for Acute Burn Injury: A Retrospective Review
Authors: Saldanha Usha , Aldwinkle Robin , Chen Amy , Raut Snehal , Penta Deepthi , Valazquez Yakelin Arroyo , Sen Soman
Published: March 2024

The management of acute burn pain poses significant challenges. Regional techniques have become increasingly popular in perioperative burn pain management. Continuous nerve block catheters are particularly useful for split-thickness skin grafts where donor site pain can exceed that of the burn-injured site. Donor skin is frequently harvested from the anterolateral thigh. The fascia iliaca (FI) compartment block provides blockade of both the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve and the femoral nerve, and thus, it is a useful modality for burn donor pain. Our institution initiated a protocol in which continuous FI catheters were placed in patients undergoing split-thickness skin grafting of the anterolateral thigh. This retrospective review seeks to assess the impact of this modality on postoperative pain scores and opioid requirements. Oral morphine equivalent (OME) administration was significantly lower in the FI group than the control group, starting with POD 0, which is the day of the FI catheter insertion (188 vs 327 mg, P < .001). Over the next 4 postoperative days (PODs), OME administration remained lower in the FI group compared to control patients, although not statistically significant on PODs 3-4. There was a significant difference in OME administered between the FI group and the control group on POD 5 (159.5 vs 209.2 mg, P < .05). Our retrospective study evaluating the role of FI catheters in burn patients undergoing split-thickness skin grafting surgery showed significantly lower opioid consumption on PODs 1-5 compared to patients without an FI catheter.
Genetic variation within a stick-insect species associated with community-level traits
Authors: Sinclair-Waters Marion , Zamorano Laura S , Gompert Zachariah , Parchman Tom , Tyukmaeva Venera , Hopkins David P , Nosil Patrik
Published: March 2024

Phenotypic variation within species can affect the ecological dynamics of populations and communities. Characterizing the genetic variation underlying such effects can help parse the roles of genetic evolution and plasticity in “eco-evolutionary dynamics” and inform how genetic variation may shape patterns of evolution. Here, we employ genome-wide association (GWA) methods in Timema cristinae stick insects and their co-occurring arthropod communities to identify genetic variation associated with community-level traits. Previous studies have shown that maladaptation (i.e., imperfect crypsis) of T. cristinae can reduce the abundance and species richness of other arthropods due to an increase in bird predation. Whether genetic variation that is independent of crypsis has similar effects is unknown and was tested here using genome-wide genotyping-by-sequencing data of stick insects, arthropod community information, and GWA mapping with Bayesian sparse linear mixed models. We find associations between genetic variation in stick insects and arthropod community traits. However, these associations disappear when host-plant traits are accounted for. We thus use path analysis to disentangle interrelationships among stick-insect genetic variation, host-plant traits, and community traits. This revealed that host-plant size has large effects on arthropod communities, while genetic variation in stick insects has a smaller, but still significant effect. Our findings demonstrate that (1) genetic variation in a species can be associated with community-level traits but that (2) interrelationships among multiple factors may need to be analyzed to disentangle whether such associations represent causal relationships. This work helps to build a framework for genomic studies of eco-evolutionary dynamics.
Macropinocytic cups function as signal platforms for the mTORC2-AKT pathway to modulate LPS-induced cytokine expression in macrophages
Authors: Wang Li , Sun Xiaowei , Chen Jianan , Li Yanan , He Yuxin , Wei Jinzi , Shen Zhongyang , Yoshida Sei
Published: March 2024

Macropinocytosis is a large-scale endocytosis process primarily observed in phagocytes as part of their cellular function to ingest antigens. Once phagocytes encounter gram-negative bacteria, the receptor proteins identify lipopolysaccharides (LPSs), which trigger radical membrane ruffles that gradually change to cup-like structures. The open area of the cups closes to generate vesicles called macropinosomes. The target bacteria are isolated by the cups and engulfed by the cells as the cups close. In addition to its ingestion function, macropinocytosis also regulates the AKT pathway in macrophages. In the current study, we report that macropinocytic cups are critical for LPS-induced AKT phosphorylation (pAKT) and cytokine expression in macrophages. High-resolution scanning electron microscope observations detailed the macropinocytic cup structures induced by LPS stimulation. Confocal microscopy revealed that AKT and the kinase molecule mTORC2 were localized in the cups. The biochemical analysis showed that macropinocytosis inhibition blocked LPS-induced pAKT. RNA sequencing, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analyses revealed that the inhibition of macropinocytosis or the AKT pathway causes a decrease in the expression of proinflammatory cytokines interlukin-6 and interlukin-1α. Moreover, activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor κB, which regulates the cytokine expression downstream of the AKT/IκB pathway, was hindered when macropinocytosis or AKT was inhibited. These results indicate that LPS-induced macropinocytic cups function as signal platforms for the AKT pathway to regulate the cytokine expression by modulating nuclear factor κB activity in LPS-stimulated macrophages. Based on these findings, we propose that macropinocytosis may be a good therapeutic target for controlling cytokine expression.
Evaluation of a Clinical Decision Support System and an Automated Electronic Health Record Alert on Outpatient Prescribing of Cefdinir
Authors: Courtney Ashleah , Cook Gregory , Silio Margarita
Published: March 2024

Acute bacterial upper respiratory infections are common indications for antibiotics in pediatrics, and many prescriptions may be inappropriate. Novel approaches to outpatient antimicrobial stewardship interventions are needed. This quasi-experimental study of an order set and best practice advisory alert targeting cefdinir prescriptions demonstrated an 8.4% decrease in cefdinir prescribing (P ≤ .001).
Low scattered linear orders
Authors: Frolov Andrey , Zubkov Maxim
Published: March 2024

In 1998 R. Downey formulated a problem: to describe a property $P$ of classical order types, which guarantees that if $\mathcal{L}$ is a low linear order and $P$ holds for the order type of $\mathcal{L}$ then $\mathcal{L}$ is isomorphic to a computable linear order. We find a new such property $P$. Also, we give an upper bound on a complexity of an isomorphism between computable and low copies and show that this bound is sharp.
Academic History and Environment
Authors: Kerns Connor M. , Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter focuses on the Academic History and Environment section of the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child Version, with Autism Spectrum Addendum (ADIS/ASA): Parent Interview Schedule (PIS). The interviewer should first ask whether the child attends school or is homeschooled. If homeschooled, the interviewer should inquire why the parent/guardian decided to homeschool. The next step is to inquire if the child has difficulties going to or staying in school now or if this has happened in the past. The interviewer may also ask if there are particular subjects or activities that are particularly challenging for the child, more so than for other children their age. The last step is to inquire if the child receives any services or extra supports, such as a specialized learning plan, in or outside of school to support their learning.
Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) and Other Social Fears
Authors: Kerns Connor M. , Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter discusses the section on Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) and Other Social Fears in the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child Version, with Autism Spectrum Addendum (ADIS/ASA): Parent Interview Schedule (PIS). This section offers some guidelines and special considerations for differentiating symptoms of social anxiety from behavioral difficulties secondary to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Fears of being laughed at, rejected, or excluded by others may be realistic, appropriate, and protective for some children. Clinicians should assess for fears of negative social evaluation that are excessive even in light of the child’s social history and social ability. Meanwhile, not all cases of social avoidance or low social motivation are due to social fears—children may avoid social interaction for other reasons. Clinicians should consider how fears of negative evaluation or other aspects of social interaction add to the child’s social difficulties rather than attributing all social challenges to anxiety. They should also be careful to assess social fears rather than a sensitivity to the noise associated with social gatherings or groups. In some case, parents may not endorse fears of negative evaluation because their child has limited awareness of thoughts or feelings of others at this stage in their development. Children with this profile can nonetheless experience problematic fears and anxiety in social situations.
Specific Phobias
Authors: Kerns Connor M. , Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter details the section on Specific Phobias in the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child Version, with Autism Spectrum Addendum (ADIS/ASA): Parent Interview Schedule (PIS). This section provides some guidelines and special considerations for differentiating symptoms of specific phobia from sensory sensitivities that are characteristic of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and for capturing idiosyncratic phobias that may be present. Children on the autism spectrum may be highly sensitive to certain sounds, sights, tastes, touches, or smells. Specific phobias occur when a child’s fear of exposure to a specific thing is excessive and interfering. It is the anxiety that is problematic in phobia rather than the sensory sensitivity per se. As an example, a child with a sensitivity to loud sounds might cover their ears, cry, and try to get away from the loud sound. A child with a phobia of loud sounds would avoid places and situations where loud sounds might occur, have trouble focusing in class because they are worrying about a fire drill, or even refuse to go to school due to their fears of a drill. When assessing specific phobia that may have a sensory component, clinicians should be sure to assess symptoms of and rate the interference associated with anxiety, not only the sensory sensitivity itself.
Fears Related to Focused Interests
Authors: Kerns Connor M. , Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter looks at the section on Fears Related to Focused Interests in the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child Version, with Autism Spectrum Addendum (ADIS/ASA): Parent Interview Schedule (PIS). Focused Interest Fears may be a distinct aspect of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in youth on the autism spectrum if they occur alongside these symptoms. If GAD is not present, these symptoms may be represented by a diagnosis of Other Specified Anxiety Disorder if it is deemed clinically appropriate and meaningful for treatment planning. It is important to measure how much the problem interferes with the child’s friendships, has caused problems at school or at home, and has stopped the child from doing the things they would like to do. This can be done through the Feelings Thermometer.
Introduction
Authors: Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter discusses the first part of the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child Version: Parent Interview Schedule (PIS). It begins with a brief introduction and explanation of the purpose of the interview, obtaining a brief description of the child's presenting complaint and ascertaining the reasons for seeking professional help at this time. If both parents are present and give discrepant responses, the interviewer may wish to specify their responses with an “M” (for the mother) or “F” (for the father) in the appropriate places. Throughout the interview, some questions will represent symptoms or criteria for diagnostic categories and are followed by “Yes,” “No,” and “Other” responses. For some criteria, a certain number of symptoms must be obtained before those criteria can be assigned. The interviewer should also explain the Feelings Thermometer and the concept of interference.
Specific Phobia
Authors: Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter looks at the section on Specific Phobia in the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child Version: Parent Interview Schedule (PIS). For each situation in Question 1b that the parent endorsed with a fear rating of 4 or greater, the interviewer should inquire about the child's avoidance behavior. If no items received an interference rating of 4 or greater, the interviewer may skip to the section on Panic Disorder. To meet the diagnostic criteria for Specific Phobia, the parent must have endorsed a fear of one or more objects or situations with a rating of 4 (Some) or greater; avoidance or endurance of the specific situation with intense fear or anxiety; and interference in normal routine, academic functioning, or social activities or relationships (rating of 4 or greater). The duration must be 6 months or longer.
Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)
Authors: Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter highlights the section on Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia) in the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child Version: Parent Interview Schedule (PIS). If the parent responds “Yes” to Question 1a, and “No” to Question 1b (parent reports past dysthymia but denies current episode), the interviewer may skip to the section on Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder. If the parent responds “Yes” to Question 1b, the interviewer should continue to evaluate present episode. The next step is to measure interference through the Feelings Thermometer. If the child meets the criteria for Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia), the interviewer should inquire about age of onset.
Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter details the section on Bipolar Disorder in the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child Version: Parent Interview Schedule (PIS). The interview should ensure that the child's elevated mood or irritability is not accounted for by other disorders such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or substance use disorder. If the parent endorsed a Major Depressive Episode, the interviewer should inquire whether these symptoms occurred during the same 2-week period. If criteria are met for a Manic or Hypomanic Episode, the interviewer should consider a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. If the child's symptoms do not meet the full criteria for a Manic or Hypomanic Episode, the interviewer should consider a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, NOS. These children may have typical bipolar symptoms but not the DSM-5 required duration. In addition, these children may be characterized by severe irritability, aggressiveness, agitation, and/or mood lability. There may also be more rapid cycling of mood.
Elimination Disorders
Authors: Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter focuses on the Elimination Disorders section of the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child Version: Parent Interview Schedule (PIS). The interviewer should first inquire whether, after reaching age 5, the child has had the problem of wetting their pants or bed either during the day or night. If the child is over 5 years of age, has no physical disorder, the parent has responded “Yes” to Question 1, and the problem has occurred at least twice weekly for three consecutive months or caused significant distress or interference in functioning, then a diagnosis of Enuresis is warranted. The interviewer should then inquire whether, since reaching age 4, the child has had the problem of soiling their pants or passing their stools/feces into inappropriate places, such as on the floor rather than in the toilet. If the child is over 4 years of age, has no physical disorder, the parent has responded “Yes” to Question 1, and the problem has occurred at least weekly for three consecutive months (Question 2), history and/or physical exam will determine if there is evidence of overflow incontinence and constipation to assign the DSM subtype of Encopresis.
Interpersonal Relationships
Authors: Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter highlights the module on Interpersonal Relationships in the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child and Parent Version: Child Interview Schedule (CIS). In this section, the interviewer should inquire for all manners in which the child/adolescent keeps in contact with others. If the child/adolescent does not text or use any social media, the interviewer may inquire about any family rules or limitations placed on these outlets. The next step is to inquire about social activities, whether or not the child/adolescent participates in extracurricular activities. It is also important to inquire if the child/adolescent has ever been ignored, bullied, or made fun of. If the child/adolescent answers “yes” to any of these situations, the interviewer should ask what they do when these situations happen. If the child/adolescent answers “no,” the interviewer may skip to the module on Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia).
Selective Mutism
Authors: Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter details the Selective Mutism module in the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child and Parent Version: Child Interview Schedule (CIS). If the child has not responded verbally during the interview, it might be necessary to encourage them to use the Feelings Thermometer or to nod yes or no to answer the questions. It may be necessary to encourage the child to write their responses to the inquiry, if they do not speak. Diagnosis of Selective Mutism requires a failure to speak in selected situations, such as school, despite speaking in other situations; interference in functioning; and duration of at least 1 month of not speaking beyond the first month of school. If the child’s responses suggest Selective Mutism, the interviewer may continue with the Interference Rating.
Tic Disorders
Authors: Albano Anne Marie , Silverman Wendy K.
Published: March 2024

This chapter looks at the Tic Disorders module in the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5, Child and Parent Version: Child Interview Schedule (CIS). With appropriate sensitivity, the interviewer should physically demonstrate motor tics when inquiring about their presence. If duration of tics is less than 1 year, the interviewer should consider a diagnosis of Other Specified Tic Disorder or Unspecified Tic Disorder and skip to Vocal Tics. Symptoms must have persisted for at least 1 year, although they could wax and wane in frequency, and onset of symptoms must be prior to age 18. It is very important to distinguish interference due to tics from distress due to other comorbid problems such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). If only motor tics or vocal tics are present and they occurred many times a day, for less than 1 year, the interviewer should consider a diagnosis of Provisional Tic Disorder.
Profession-Specific Roles in Palliative Care
Authors: Saks Naomi Tzril , Wallace Cara L. , Donesky DorAnne , Milic Michelle M.
Published: March 2024

Although interprofessional collaboration in palliative care is heralded as paramount to successful education, practice, and outcomes, few practical models guide collaboration among team members. Minimal literature outlines and compares the backgrounds and defines the advanced practice roles of the core members of the team. In this chapter the authors introduce a road map to interprofessional collaboration rooted in the framework of transdisciplinary team collaboration and operationalized in the Generalist-Specialist Model of Interprofessional Practice in Palliative Care. They also review the backgrounds and role descriptions of the social worker, chaplain, nurse, and physician on specialty palliative care teams. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of challenges to role identity and development that impact synergy and recommendations for the growth of sustainable models of interprofessional teamwork.
Professional Identity and Interprofessional Tension
Authors: Kwok Ian B. , Sumser Bridget
Published: March 2024

Tension and conflict arise in all professional teams. Interprofessional palliative care teams face unique challenges as a result of the profound, complex nature of the work. Furthermore, healthcare systems are founded on cultural systems of power, historically marginalizing certain team members, and often contributing to tension and conflict within the palliative care team. This chapter identifies common sources of conflict, explored through a sociological framework with an emphasis on the concepts of professional identity, organizational structures, power dynamics, and intersectionality. It concludes with an exploration of best practices and strategies for naming and negotiating tensions and related team distress within the context of a palliative care team.
State of the Evidence for Interprofessional Education in Palliative Care
Authors: Schapmire Tara J. , Pfeifer Mark P.
Published: March 2024

This chapter explores the state of the science of interprofessional education (IPE) in palliative care. The authors review publications between 2001 and 2020 that presented an interprofessional palliative care educational intervention, targeted to learners in at least 2 professions, and measured learner or patient outcomes. Eligible study designs included quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Evidence for the value of IPE in palliative care is growing rapidly. To date, studies have shown feasibility and wide acceptance, with some success at improving collaboration and communication. In general, the body of work presented reveals small sample sizes, self-selected trainees, self-reported outcomes, frequent low evaluation-response rates, and minimal longitudinal outcome measures. Research with clinical teams is weaker than academic settings due to even smaller sample sizes. Overall pre- to post-group comparisons were often significant, while comparisons between groups of professions often failed to show significance; this seemed to be primarily due to disparate and/or small sample sizes. Patient outcomes have not been measured. Given the nature of these early studies, broad conclusions must be restrained while the groundwork is in place for the design of more rigorous studies.
Critical Care, Emergency Department, and Crisis Scenarios
Authors: Chyall Lawrence , Dundas Cathy
Published: March 2024

This chapter outlines the intersection of 2 seemingly divergent pathways of care: intensive care and palliative care, and draws on the complexities of the dynamics between these specialties. Critical care, like palliative care, requires a high level of teamwork and interdisciplinary communication. The collaborative skills integral to critical care practice and provide a framework that practitioners use to integrate palliative care into their daily practice. Additionally, critical care staff are skilled in conducting conversations concerning diagnosis, prognosis, and patient preferences for treatment—skills that are necessary to palliative care. Practicing in a generalist-specialist model of care, the authors examine the ways that the ICU team can serve as primary palliative care leaders and the complementary nature of the specialist palliative care team members.
Collective violence
Authors: Levy Barry S.
Published: March 2024

War and other forms of armed conflict cause many adverse effects on health and the environment, including morbidity and mortality due to weapons; damage to the health-supporting infrastructure of society; contamination of air, water, and soil; forced displacement; violation of human rights and international humanitarian law; diversion of resources; and promotion of additional violence. Explosive weapons account for much morbidity and mortality. However, indirect impacts of war, many due to infrastructure damage and forced displacement, account for more morbidity and mortality in most wars. Public health workers and other health professionals can help to minimize the health and environmental consequences of war and to prevent war. Their roles include documentation; education and awareness-raising; advocacy and support for policies and programmes to minimize the consequences of, and help to reduce the risks of, war; and provision of preventive services. Public health frameworks of prevention can be useful in identifying opportunities for prevention and designing, implementing, and improving policies and programmes. These frameworks include levels of prevention (primary, secondary, and tertiary) and the host-agent-environment model. An additional framework for the prevention of war has three components: resolving disputes non-violently; reducing the root causes of war; and strengthening the infrastructure for peace.
Piper auritum ethanol extract is a potent antimutagen against food-borne aromatic amines: mechanisms of action and chemical composition
Authors: Hernández-Ojeda Sandra L , Espinosa-Aguirre Javier Jesús , Camacho-Carranza Rafael , Amacosta-Castillo Jessica , Cárdenas-Ávila Ricardo
Published: March 2024

An ethanol extract of Piper auritum leaves (PAEE) inhibits the mutagenic effect of three food-borne aromatic amines (2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP); 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx); 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (4,8-DiMeIQx)) in the TA98 Salmonella typhimurium strain. Preincubation with MeIQx demonstrated in mutagenesis experiments that inhibition of Cytochrome P450 (CYP), as well as direct interaction between component(s) of the plant extract with mutagens, might account for the antimutagenic observed effect. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis revealed that safrole (50.7%), α-copaene (7.7%), caryophyllene (7.2%), β-pinene (4.2%), γ-terpinene (4.1%), and pentadecane (4.1%) as the main components (PAEE). Piper extract and safrole were able to inhibit the rat liver microsomal CYP1A1 activity that participates in the amines metabolism, leading to the formation of the ultimate mutagenic/ molecules. According to this, safrole and PAEE-inhibited MeIQx mutagenicity but not that of the direct mutagen 2-nitrofluorene. No mutagenicity of plant extract or safrole was detected. This study shows that PAEE and its main component safrole are associated with the inhibition of heterocyclic amines activation due in part to the inhibition of CYP1A subfamily activity.
Promoted hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol over single-atom Cu sites with Na+-decorated microenvironment
Authors: Ling Li-Li , Guan Xinyu , Liu Xiaoshuo , Lei Xiao-Mei , Lin Zhongyuan , Jiang Hai-Long
Published: March 2024

Although single-atom Cu sites exhibit high efficiency in CO2 hydrogenation to methanol, they are prone to forming Cu nanoparticles due to reduction and aggregation under reaction conditions, especially at high temperatures. Herein, single-atom Cu sites stabilized by adjacent Na+ ions have been successfully constructed within a metal–organic framework (MOF)-based catalyst, namely MOF-808-NaCu. It is found that the electrostatic interaction between the Na+ and Hδ− species plays a pivotal role in upholding the atomic dispersion of Cu in MOF-808-NaCu during CO2 hydrogenation, even at temperatures of up to 275°C. This exceptional stabilization effect endows the catalyst with excellent activity (306 g·kgcat−1·h−1), high selectivity to methanol (93%) and long-term stability at elevated reaction temperatures, far surpassing the counterpart in the absence of Na+ (denoted as MOF-808-Cu). This work develops an effective strategy for the fabrication of stable single-atom sites for advanced catalysis by creating an alkali-decorated microenvironment in close proximity.
The role of resveratrol in neurogenesis: a systematic review
Authors: Azargoonjahromi Ali , Abutalebian Fatemeh , Hoseinpour Fatemeh
Published: March 2024

Context

Resveratrol (RV) is a natural compound found in grapes, wine, berries, and peanuts and has potential health benefits—namely, neurogenesis improvement. Neurogenesis, which is the process through which new neurons or nerve cells are generated in the brain, occurs in the subventricular zone and hippocampus and is influenced by various factors. RV has been shown to increase neural stem cell proliferation and survival, improving cognitive function in hippocampus-dependent tasks. Thus, to provide a convergent and unbiased conclusion of the available evidence on the correlation between the RV and neurogenesis, a systematic review needs to be undertaken meticulously and with appropriate attention.

Objective

This study aimed to systematically review any potential connection between the RV and neurogenesis in animal models.

Data Sources and Extraction

Based on the particular selection criteria, 8 original animal studies that investigated the relationship between RV and neurogenesis were included. Studies written in English and published in peer-reviewed journals with no restrictions on the starting date of publication on August 17, 2023, were searched in the Google Scholar and PubMed databases. Furthermore, data were extracted and analyzed independently by 2 researchers and then reviewed by a third researcher, and discrepancies were resolved by consensus. This project followed PRISMA reporting standards.

Data Analysis

In the studies analyzed in this review, there is a definite correlation between RV and neurogenesis, meaning that RV intake, irrespective of the mechanisms thereof, can boost neurogenesis in both the subventricular zone and hippocampus.

Conclusion

This finding, albeit with some limitations, provides a plausible indication of RV’s beneficial function in neurogenesis. Indeed, RV intake may result in neurogenesis benefits—namely, cognitive function, mood regulation, stress resilience, and neuroprotection, potentially preventing cognitive decline.
Air Cleaners and Respiratory Infections in Schools: A Modeling Study Based on Epidemiologic, Environmental, and Molecular Data
Authors: Banholzer Nicolas , Jent Philipp , Bittel Pascal , Zürcher Kathrin , Furrer Lavinia , Bertschinger Simon , Weingartner Ernest , Ramette Alban , Egger Matthias , Hascher Tina , Fenner Lukas
Published: March 2024

Background

Using a multiple-measurement approach, we examined the real-world effectiveness of portable HEPA air filtration devices (air cleaners) in a school setting.

Methods

We collected data over 7 weeks during winter 2022/2023 in 2 Swiss secondary school classes: environmental (CO2, particle concentrations), epidemiologic (absences related to respiratory infections), audio (coughing), and molecular (bioaerosol and saliva samples). Using a crossover design, we compared particle concentrations, coughing, and risk of infection with and without air cleaners.

Results

All 38 students participated (age, 13–15 years). With air cleaners, mean particle concentration decreased by 77% (95% credible interval, 63%−86%). There were no differences in CO2 levels. Absences related to respiratory infections were 22 without air cleaners vs 13 with them. Bayesian modeling suggested a reduced risk of infection, with a posterior probability of 91% and a relative risk of 0.73 (95% credible interval, 0.44–1.18). Coughing also tended to be less frequent (posterior probability, 93%), indicating that fewer symptomatic students were in class. Molecular analysis detected mainly non–SARS-CoV-2 viruses in saliva (50/448 positive) but not in bioaerosols (2/105) or on the HEPA filters of the air cleaners (4/160). The molecular detection rate in saliva was similar with and without air cleaners. Spatiotemporal analysis of positive saliva samples identified several likely transmissions.

Conclusions

Air cleaners improved air quality and showed potential benefits in reducing respiratory infections. Airborne detection of non–SARS-CoV-2 viruses was rare, suggesting that these viruses may be more difficult to detect in the air. Future studies should examine the importance of close contact and long-range transmission and the cost-effectiveness of using air cleaners.
Subarachnoid Neurocysticercosis Case Series Reveals a Significant Delay in Diagnosis—Requiring a High Index of Suspicion Among Those at Risk
Authors: Beatty Norman L , Kaur Harpreet , Schlaffer Kathryn , Thompson Kathryn , Manavalan Preeti , Rijos Zulmarie R , Raman Abhinandan A , Droghini H Richard , O’Connell Elise M
Published: March 2024

Subarachnoid neurocysticercosis can be challenging to recognize, which often leads to a delay in diagnosis. We report 3 cases presenting as chronic headache disorders that highlight the unique manifestations seen with this form of neurocysticercosis and the role that the infectious diseases consultant can play in ensuring a timely diagnosis.
The Rights of Indians and Tribes
Authors: Pevar Stephen L.
Published: March 2024

The Rights of Indians and Tribes is the most popular book in the field of federal Indian law and has sold over 150,000 copies since it was first published in 1983. This user-friendly book explains federal Indian law in a conversational manner, yet is highly authoritative, containing over two thousand footnotes with citations to relevant court decisions, statutes, and agency regulations. It is helpful for tribal advocates, students, government officials, lawyers, and members of the general public. The book uses a question-and-answer format and covers every important subject impacting Indians and tribes today, including tribal sovereignty, the federal trust responsibility, treaties, taxation, criminal and civil authority, water rights, hunting and fishing rights, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. This fully updated edition provides a Foreword by John Echohawk, Director of the Native American Rights Fund.
Exploitative Transactions and Corrective Justice
Authors: Mills Christopher
Published: March 2024

This chapter explores the place of exploitation within the law of contracts. It first considers the claims of distributive justice and corrective justice to which exploitation gives rise within transactional contexts, and then it traces these claims across both ideal theory and non-ideal theory. The chapter offers arguments against the normative redundancy of exploitation in contract law by rejecting defenses of this redundancy based upon exclusion and replication claims. It then offers a defense of theoretical pluralism about contract law. These arguments provide reasons to doubt those who argue that exploitation has little normative role to play in contract law.
Unequal Exchange and International Justice
Authors: Veneziani Roberto , Yoshihara Naoki
Published: March 2024

This chapter analyzes normative issues in international relations. By using a model in the tradition of John Roemer, this chapter investigates cosmopolitanism, asset redistribution, and the free movement of people as part of a more general approach to global justice and the elimination of exploitation across borders. It shows that international inequalities, class relations, and various forms of exploitation arise from differences in per capita endowments of productive assets across countries. Contra Rawls, the chapter argues that these inequalities in wealth per capita are morally arbitrary and both their existence, and their persistence is human-made, while there are feasible changes in political institutions that would remove them, including international capital transfers and a more welcoming open-border policy.
Exploitation Does Not Justify Prohibiting Canadian Paid Plasma
Authors: Wells Mark , Jaworski Peter
Published: March 2024

People seeking the prohibition of paid plasma donation often claim that this practice is wrongfully exploitative of the donors, and reason that such wrongful exploitation justifies prohibition. Are they right? In this chapter, we focus on the case of Canada and argue that paying plasma donors is not, and would not be, generally exploitative. We do this by focusing on an ecumenical account of wrongful exploitation, arguing that companies do not generally take wrongful advantage of donors’ vulnerability. We then argue that even if we are wrong about that, this kind of exploitation does not justify prohibition, and the current practices of countries with such prohibitions are more exploitative than those countries where paid plasma is permitted.
Life under Pressure
Authors: Mueller Anna S. , Abrutyn Seth
Published: March 2024

Life under Pressure: The Social Roots of Youth Suicide and What to Do about Them provides an overview of the social roots of youth suicide. Despite the wide documentation of youth suicide clusters, too little is known about why youth die by suicide and how to stop them. A close examination of kids’ lives in a community unveils how the social worlds that youth inhabit and the various messages they learn in those spaces shape their feelings about themselves and their risk of suicide. Life under Pressure also presents how social environments can cause and change reasons for suicide. Thus, it offers tangible solutions to one of the twenty-first century’s most tragic public health problems.
Visualizing Science at Home
Authors: Anderson Glaire D.
Published: March 2024

Chapter 3, “Visualizing Science at Home,” focuses on a wondrous object, often described as a planetarium, which Ibn Firnās is said to have made and displayed in his home. It analyzes what the Arabic texts can tell us about the nature of this creation, using the Córdoban chronicle and the earliest Arabic automata treatise from the Islamic West, al-Muradī’s Kitāb Al-Asrār Fī Natāʼij Al-Afkār. The chapter argues that Ibn Firnās’s creation was likely an early automaton, intended to create a visual representation of scientific phenomena for an audience of court intellectuals. The chapter also considers Ibn Firnās’s creation as it relates to the spatialization of science. It presents the Nilometer of Cairo as the earliest extant work that reveals similar connections between early Islamic science, architecture, and visual culture.
Where Eagles and Vultures Dare
Authors: Anderson Glaire D.
Published: March 2024

This chapter analyzes the earliest authoritative evidence for Ibn Firnās’s famous flight, preserved in a manuscript in the Real Academia de Historia in Madrid. It considers details about the flight device and garment in this account that are absent from the later textual sources on which historians have had to rely. The chapter considers religious and cultural meanings specific to the medieval Islamic contexts that the flight may have held for Ibn Firnās and his intellectual circles. It considers Rusāfa, the first Córdoban royal villa, as a spatial and social context for the flight and proposes that this was an important site of court science. Finally, the chapter considers topographical features of the site long associated with the experiment and proposes that it may have inspired the idea for the experiment and contributed to its success.
Epilogue
Authors: Anderson Glaire D.
Published: March 2024

The Epilogue considers the later impact of the medieval Islamic culture of science and craft. It uses a drawing of a medieval Islamic astrolabe by the sixteenth-century Florentine architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, preserved in the Uffizi in Florence, to argue that the medieval Islamic culture of science and craft may have informed the artistic culture of Renaissance Florence, and thereafter Europe’s early modern Scientific Revolution. The dialogue between the exact or rational sciences and Islamic visual culture was carried beyond Iberia and beyond the Dar al-Islam. New designers, makers, and patrons embraced the links between craft and intellect and applied the exact sciences and precision instruments to create new visual cultures. New patrons such as Cosimo de’ Medici deployed them to express their princely aspirations, much as the rulers of the caliphal Islamic courts had done in previous centuries.
Frank O'Hara's New York School and Mid-Century Mannerism
Authors: Ladkin Sam
Published: March 2024

Perfectly Disgraceful reads the poetry of Frank O’Hara in the light of the cultural blossoming O’Hara catalysed, the mid-century experimental and multidisciplinary arts scene known as the New York School. The monograph integrates analysis of mid-century modernists and avant-gardes with figures from popular culture. Fresh accounts of canonical figures (Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, George Balanchine, Fred Astaire) and original work on those too little discussed (Edwin Denby, Elaine de Kooning) resound with analysis of queer iconology from Michelangelo’s David to James Dean. Turning away from interpretations of O’Hara’s Transcendentalism, Romanticism, or pastoralism, ‘mid-century Mannerism’ helps explain O’Hara’s self-conscious style, its play with sweet and grand grace, contortion of conventional measure, risks with affectation, conceits, nonchalance, and scrambling of high/low culture. Mannerism also clarifies the sociability implicit in the formal innovations of the New York School. Perfectly Disgraceful advances the study of the kinship between art mediums by retooling rhetoric and recovering a perennial manneristic tendency beyond period style. Genealogies of grace, the figura serpentinata, sprezzatura, ornatus, and the marvellous exemplify qualities exhibited by O’Hara’s New York School. O’Hara’s reception has been tied to painting, predominantly Abstract Expressionism. He was, however, a balletomane, a fan, for whom ballet was ‘made up exclusively of qualities which other arts only aspire to in order to be truly modern’. Relaying ballet’s mannerist origins and aesthetics, and demonstrating its influence alongside Broadway and Hollywood musical-dance on art and poetry, completes this portrait of mid-century modernity.