bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of RETN, IL‐1, and IL‐6 gene polymorphisms on the risk of acne vulgaris in the Chinese population
Authors: Chen Xi , Min Shuhui , Chen Can , Lin Xiao , Wang Danfeng , Jiang Guan
Published: March 2022

Background

Acne vulgaris is a highly prevalent skin disorder that involves pilosebaceous units and may have adverse psychological effects on patients. The occurrence of acne is multifactorial and closely related to the interplay of environmental and genetic factors.

Aim

To investigate the possible association between RETN‐420C>G, IL6‐572G>C, and IL1A‐889C>T polymorphism and acne vulgaris in the Chinese population.

Methods

In this case‐control study, genotyping was conducted in 306 patients with acne and 306 healthy controls by using polymerase chain reaction and snapshot technique.

Results

There is a strong correlation between RETN‐420 and IL6‐572 polymorphisms and acne susceptibility; the RETN‐420G and IL6‐572C alleles increase the risk of acne development. We also found that IL6‐572G>C gene polymorphism is significantly associated with family history of acne and acne severity. In contrast to previous studies, we found no significant difference in the IL1A‐889C>T polymorphism between healthy controls and acne patients in our population.

Conclusion

Our findings provide the first evidence that RETN‐420 and IL6‐572 gene polymorphisms contribute to the pathogenesis of acne in the Chinese population.
A randomized, multicenter study on a flexible hyaluronic acid filler in treatment of moderate‐to‐severe nasolabial folds in a Chinese population
Authors: Xie Yun , Wu Wenyu , Xu Jinhua , Wang Xi , Hu Zhiqi , Li Qingfeng
Published: March 2022

Background

Restylane Defyne (HARD, with lidocaine) has been shown to be effective and safe for facial augmentation including nasolabial folds (NLFs) in Caucasians. Incorporating lidocaine in injectable fillers has become a common practice that improves the patient's experience.

Objectives

To evaluate efficacy and safety of HARD compared to Restylane (HAR, the gold standard HA filler) for correction of NLFs in a Chinese population.

Methods

In this 12‐month, randomized, split‐face, evaluator‐blinded study of the efficacy and safety of treatment of NLFs with HARD or HAR, Chinese adults (n = 173) with moderate or severe wrinkle severity of both NLFs received treatment with HARD on one NLF, and HAR on the opposite NLF.

Results

The primary objective was met: WSRS response rates at Month 6 (i.e., ≥1‐grade improvement according to the blinded evaluator) were similar (72.9% and 72.8% for HARD and HAR, respectively). HARD was non‐inferior to HAR; the 95% CI for the difference in response rates was −5.7% to 5.5%. Likewise, products were effective and comparable in terms of reduced wrinkle severity of NLFs and improved Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS) score (according to the blinded evaluator and subject) throughout the study. Both products were well‐tolerated, and injection of the lidocaine‐containing product (HARD) was less painful.

Conclusions

HARD was non‐inferior to HAR for treatment of moderate‐to‐severe NLFs at 6 months post‐treatment. Overall, the results from this study indicate that HARD is safe and effective up to 12 months in a Chinese population.
Glutathione catabolism by Enterobacteriaceae species to hydrogen sulphide adversely affects the viability of host systems in the presence of 5′fluorodeoxyuridine
Authors: Lim Daniel Rui Xiang , Chen Yahua , Ng Li Fang , Gruber Jan , Gan Yunn‐Hwen
Published: March 2022

Reduced glutathione (GSH) plays an essential role in relieving oxidative insult from the generation of free radicals via normal physiological processes. However, GSH can be exploited by bacteria as a signalling molecule for the regulation of virulence. We describe findings arising from a serendipitous observation that when GSH and Escherichia coli were incubated with 5′fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR)‐synchronised populations of Caenorhabditis elegans, the nematodes underwent rapid death. Death was mediated by the production of hydrogen sulphide mainly through the action of tnaA, a tryptophanase‐encoding gene in E. coli. Other Enterobacteriaceae species possess similar cysteine desulfhydrases that can catabolise l‐cysteine‐containing compounds to hydrogen sulphide and mediate nematode killing when worms had been pre‐treated with FUdR. When colonic epithelial cell lines were infected, hydrogen sulphide produced by these bacteria in the presence of GSH was also able to inhibit ATP synthesis in these cells particularly when cells had been treated with FUdR. Therefore, bacterial production of hydrogen sulphide could act in concert with a commonly used genotoxic cancer drug to exert host cell impairment. Hydrogen sulphide also increases bacterial adhesion to the intestinal cells. These findings could have implications for patients undergoing chemotherapy using FUdR analogues that could result in intestinal damage.
A prophage‐encoded nonclassical secretory protein of “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” induces a strong immune response in Nicotiana benthamiana and citrus
Authors: Du Jiao , Wang Qiying , Zeng Chunhua , Zhou Changyong , Wang Xuefeng
Published: March 2022

Huanglongbing (HLB), associated with “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” (CLas), is a globally devastating plant disease. The highly reduced genome of CLas encodes a number of secretory proteins. The conserved prophage‐encoded protein AGH17470 is herein identified as a nonclassical secretory protein. We confirmed that the N‐terminal and C‐terminal sequences jointly determine the secretion of AGH17470. The transient expression of AGH17470 protein in Nicotiana benthamiana caused hypersensitive response (HR) cell death in infiltrated leaves and systemically infected leaves as well as the dwarfing of the entire plant, suggesting that AGH17470 is involved in the plant immune response, growth, and development. Overexpression of AGH17470 in N. benthamiana and citrus plants up‐regulated the transcription of pathogenesis‐related and salicylic acid (SA)‐signalling pathway genes and promoted SA accumulation. Furthermore, transient expression of AGH17470 enhanced the resistance of sweet orange to Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri. To our knowledge, AGH17470 is the first prophage‐encoded secretory protein demonstrated to elicit an HR and induce a strong plant immune response. The findings have increased our understanding of prophage‐encoded secretory protein genes, and the results provide clues as to the plant defence response against CLas.
Ethnic representational priorities and political engagement in deeply divided societies
Authors: O'Brochta William
Published: March 2022

When do individuals in deeply divided societies participate in political activities aimed at increasing ethnic representation in cabinet ministries? I develop a cost–benefit framework to explain political engagement based on individuals' ethnic group membership and preferences for descriptive and substantive representation in cabinet ministries. Drawing on an original survey in North Macedonia, I find that ethnic Macedonians who value substantive representation are more likely to attend public meetings compared to Macedonians who value descriptive representation but that the opposite is true for ethnic Albanians. I also consider how willingness to attend public meetings changes when individuals value both descriptive and substantive representation. The results suggest that policy makers cannot assume that all members of the public have the same motivations for arguing for increased representation.
The evolution of advanced nursing practice: Gender, identity, power and patriarchy
Authors: Lewis Robin
Published: March 2022

To address longstanding workforce shortages, increase efficiency and control the costs associated with the modern health‐care provision, there has been a worldwide policy to promote increased flexibility within the health‐care workforce. This is being done primarily by extending the ‘scope of practice’ of existing occupational roles into what is referred to as ‘advanced’ practice. The development of the advanced practice nurse (APN) has occurred within the context of a shortage of medical staff, and the need to control cost. However, the means by which substantially repurposed occupational groups such as these, are incorporated into complex, hierarchical organisations such as the UK national health service (NHS) remains poorly understood. Using modern sociological theory, the development of the APN role has been examined in terms of power, control, professional identity and gender relations. Each of the theoretical approaches used adds to the quality of the discussion, although none provide a comprehensive picture. However, when synthesised, they do provide an enhanced insight into the evolution of the role. It is argued here that by critically examining the development of the APN role, this will enable both a better understanding of, and the means to influence, its future direction of travel.
Aging of enteric neuromuscular systems in gastrointestinal tract
Authors: Nguyen Vy Truong Thuy , Taheri Negar , Chandra Abhishek , Hayashi Yujiro
Published: March 2022

Background

Aging is a complex biological process and associated with a progressive decline in functions of most organs including the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Age‐related GI motor disorders/dysfunctions include esophageal reflux, dysphagia, constipation, fecal incontinence, reduced compliance, and accommodation. Although the incidence and severity of these diseases and conditions increase with age, they are often underestimated due in part to nonspecific and variable symptoms and lack of sufficient medical attention. They negatively affect quality of life and predispose the elderly to other diseases, sarcopenia, and frailty. The mechanisms underlying aging‐associated GI dysfunctions remain unclear, and there is limited data examining the effect of aging on GI motor functions. Many studies on aging‐associated changes to cells within the tunica muscularis including enteric neurons, smooth muscles, and interstitial cells have proposed that cell loss and/or molecular changes may be involved in the pathogenesis of age‐related GI motor disorders/dysfunctions. There is also evidence that the aging contributes to phenotypic changes in innate immune cells, which are physically and functionally linked to other cells in the tunica muscularis and can alter GI (patho) physiology. However, various patterns of changes have been reported, some of which are contradictory, indicating a need for additional work in this area.

Purpose

Although GI infection due to intestinal bacterial overgrowth, bleeding, and cancers are also important and common problems in the elderly patients, this mini‐review focuses on data obtained from enteric neuromuscular aging research with the goal of better understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of enteric neuromuscular aging to enhance future therapy.
Comparison of commercially available antibodies for the detection of phosphorylated alpha‐synuclein in primary culture of ENS
Authors: Lassozé Simon , de Guilhem de Lataillade Adrien , Oullier Thibauld , Neunslist Michel , Leclair‐Visonneau Laurène , Derkinderen Pascal , Paillusson Sébastien
Published: March 2022

Background

It is now well established that phosphorylated alpha‐synuclein histopathology, the pathologic hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD) is not limited to the brain but also extends to the enteric nervous system (ENS). This observation led to the hypothesis that the ENS could play a pivotal role in the development of PD. Research on the enteric synucleinopathy has, however, been hampered by difficulties in detecting phosphorylated alpha‐synuclein in the ENS by Western blotting, even when the transferred membrane is fixed with an optimized protocol. This suggests that the available antibodies used in previous studies lacked of sensitivity for the detection of phosphorylated alpha‐synuclein at Ser129 in enteric neurons. Here, we evaluated three recent commercially available phospho‐alpha‐synuclein antibodies and compared them to two antibodies used in previous research.

Methods

The specificity and sensitivity of the 5 antibodies were evaluated by Western blot performed with recombinant alpha‐synuclein and with protein lysates from rat primary cultures of ENS. In primary culture of ENS, additional experiments were performed with the most specific antibody in order to modulate alpha‐synuclein phosphorylation and to validate its utilization in immunofluorescence experiments.

Results

The rabbit monoclonal antibody D1R1R uniquely and robustly detected endogenous phosphorylated alpha‐synuclein at Ser129 in rat primary culture of ENS without any non‐specific bands, allowing for a reliable analysis of phosphorylated alpha‐synuclein regulation by pharmacologic means.

Conclusions and inferences

Using D1R1R antibody together with the optimized protocol for membrane fixation may help deciphering the signaling pathways involved in enteric alpha‐synuclein post‐translational regulation in PD.
Mismatch epitope load predicts de novo‐DSA‐free survival in pediatric liver transplantation
Authors: Shin Stephanie , Lee Margaret , Dente Elizabeth , Yazigi Nada , Khan Khalid M. , Kaufman Stuart S. , Ahn Jaeil , Timofeeva Olga A. , Ekong Udeme D.
Published: March 2022

Background

Our knowledge of de novo anti‐HLA donor‐specific antibodies (dnDSA) in liver transplantation continues to be defined. We hypothesized that differences of HLA‐DR/DQ mismatches can improve precision in alloimmune risk categorization and be applied to tailor immunosuppression.

Methods

A retrospective chart review of 244 pediatric patients consecutively transplanted at our center between 2003 and 2019 was performed to identify patients tested for dnDSA. Records were queried for: demographics, pre‐transplant diagnosis, biopsy‐proven T‐cell‐mediated rejection (TCMR), radiology proven biliary complications, tacrolimus trough levels, dnDSA characteristics, and HLA typing. The eplet mismatch analyses were performed using HLAMatchmaker™ 3.1. All statistical analyses were conducted using R software version 3.40.

Results

There were 99 dnDSA‐negative patients and 73 dnDSA‐positive patients (n = 70 against class II and n = 3 against class I and II). ROC analysis identified optimal cutoff of eplet mismatch load for dnDSA and defined risk groups for an alloimmune outcome. Kaplan–Meier curves and log‐rank tests showed high eplet mismatch load was associated with shorter dnDSA‐free survival (log‐rank p = .001). Multivariable Cox regression models showed that tacrolimus coefficient of variation and tacrolimus mean levels were significantly associated with dnDSA‐free survival (p < .001 and p = .036). Fisher's exact test showed that dnDSA was associated with an increased likelihood of TCMR (OR 14.94; 95% CI 3.65 – 61.19; p < .001). Patients without TCMR were more likely to have dnDSA to HLA‐DQ7 and less likely to have dnDSA to HLA‐DQ2 (p = .03, p = .080).

Conclusions

Mismatched epitope load predicts dnDSA‐free survival in pediatric liver transplant, while dnDSA specificity may determine alloimmune outcome.
Postoperative physiological parameters associated with severe acute kidney injury after pediatric heart transplant
Authors: Alali Alexander , Acosta Sebastian , Ahmed Mubbasheer , Spinner Joseph , Akcan‐Arikan Ayse , Morris Shaine A. , Jain Parag N.
Published: March 2022

Background

The primary objective was to evaluate associations between perioperative clinical variables and postoperative hemodynamic indices after HT with the development of severe AKI. The secondary objective was to evaluate associations between UOP or creatinine as AKI indicators and morbidity after HT.

Methods

Retrospective study of all patients who underwent HT 1/2016‐11/2019 at a quaternary pediatric institution. Severe AKI was defined as KDIGO stage 2 or higher.

Results

Of 94 HT patients, 73 met inclusion criteria; 45% of patients developed severe AKI. In univariate analysis, non‐Hispanic Black race, preoperative AKI, longer CPB duration, lower weight, and peak lactate within 12 h post‐HT were associated with severe AKI. CVP ≤12 h post‐HT had a quadratic relationship, rather than linear, with severe AKI. PPV >18% was significantly associated with severe AKI but equated to noncontiguous 10 min of high variation over a 12‐h period, and thus was deemed not clinically significant. In multivariate analysis, Black race, longer CPB duration, and higher CVP remained associated with severe AKI (c: 0.84, 95% CI 0.73–0.92). Severe AKI per creatinine, but not UOP criteria, was associated with longer duration of ventilation (p = .012) and longer intensive care unit length of stay (p = .003).

Conclusions

In pediatric HT patients, non‐Hispanic Black race, longer CPB time, and higher postoperative CVP ≤12 h post‐HT were associated with severe AKI. AKI based on creatinine, not UOP, was associated with postoperative HT morbidity.
Exposure to COVID‐19‐related media content and mental health during the initial outbreak of COVID‐19 in China
Authors: Liu Tour , Zhang Shu , Zhang Huan
Published: March 2022

Exposure to disaster‐related media content is closely related to mental health. This study aimed to explore the patterns of COVID‐19‐related media exposure and examine whether these patterns were associated with mental health. In total, 917 participants in this study completed the Media Exposure Questionnaire (MEQ), the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS‐21). Then latent class analysis and discriminant analysis were conducted to identify the patterns of media exposure. Finally, we tested how mental health was associated with such patterns. Four subtypes of media exposure were identified: the slightly exposed group, the lower‐moderately exposed group, the higher‐moderately exposed group, and the heavily exposed group. And there were significant differences in individuals' levels of positive and negative affect among different subtypes, but no difference in depression, anxiety, and stress. The results of the current study indicated that more COVID‐19‐related media exposure was related to increased positive and negative affect. And the current findings would help people to better understand the relationships between media exposure and mental health during a pandemic.
Minimax powerful functional analysis of covariance tests with application to longitudinal genome‐wide association studies
Authors: Zhu Weicheng , Xu Sheng , Liu Catherine C. , Li Yehua
Published: March 2022

We model the Alzheimer's disease‐related phenotype response variables observed on irregular time points in longitudinal Genome‐Wide Association Studies as sparse functional data and propose nonparametric test procedures to detect functional genotype effects while controlling the confounding effects of environmental covariates. Our new functional analysis of covariance tests are based on a seemingly unrelated kernel smoother, which takes into account the within‐subject temporal correlations, and thus enjoy improved power over existing functional tests. We show that the proposed test combined with a uniformly consistent nonparametric covariance function estimator enjoys the Wilks phenomenon and is minimax most powerful. Data used in the preparation of this article were obtained from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database, where an application of the proposed test lead to the discovery of new genes that may be related to Alzheimer's disease.
CAGEs are Golgi‐localized GT31 enzymes involved in cellulose biosynthesis in Arabidopsis
Authors: Nibbering Pieter , Castilleux Romain , Wingsle Gunnar , Niittylä Totte
Published: March 2022

Cellulose is the main structural component in the plant cell walls. We show that two glycosyltransferase family 31 (GT31) enzymes of Arabidopsis thaliana, here named cellulose synthesis associated glycosyltransferases 1 and 2 (CAGE1 and 2), influence both primary and secondary cell wall cellulose biosynthesis. cage1cage2 mutants show primary cell wall defects manifesting as impaired growth and cell expansion in seedlings and etiolated hypocotyls, along with secondary cell wall defects, apparent as collapsed xylem vessels and reduced xylem wall thickness in the inflorescence stem. Single and double cage mutants also show increased sensitivity to the cellulose biosynthesis inhibitor isoxaben. The cage1cage2 phenotypes were associated with an approximately 30% reduction in cellulose content, an approximately 50% reduction in secondary cell wall CELLULOSE SYNTHASE (CESA) protein levels in stems and reduced cellulose biosynthesis rate in seedlings. CESA transcript levels were not significantly altered in cage1cage2 mutants, suggesting that the reduction in CESA levels was caused by a post‐transcriptional mechanism. Both CAGE1 and 2 localize to the Golgi apparatus and are predicted to synthesize β‐1,3‐galactans on arabinogalactan proteins. In line with this, the cage1cage2 mutants exhibit reduced levels of β‐Yariv binding to arabinogalactan protein linked β‐1,3‐galactan. This leads us to hypothesize that defects in arabinogalactan biosynthesis underlie the cellulose deficiency of the mutants.
CT findings of nasal cryptococcosis in cats and dogs: A case series
Authors: Cooley Stacy , Galustanian Geghani , Moon Alaina , Summers Stacie
Published: March 2022

Cryptococcus spp. can cause chronic rhinitis in cats and dogs. Computed tomography (CT) descriptions of imaging features of nasal cryptococcosis are limited. This retrospective single‐center consecutive case series aimed to describe the CT features of lesions in cats and dogs with nasal cryptococcosis. Ten cats and 12 dogs with a diagnosis of nasal cryptococcosis confirmed with cytology, histopathology, and/or serology that had undergone a head CT from 2010 and 2020 were included. Images were evaluated by a veterinary radiologist for the presence of a nasal or nasopharyngeal mass, regional destruction, intracranial extension, and lymphadenopathy. The majority of cats (8/10 [80%]) had nasal lesions with most cases described as non‐destructive rhinitis (7/8 [88%]). Three cats (3/10 [30%]) had a nasal mass. All cats had a nasopharyngeal mass, and in most cases (8/10 [80%]) the nasopharyngeal mass was centered caudally near the temporomandibular joints. None of the cats had cribriform plate lysis or meningeal enhancement. All dogs had nasal lesions. Eleven dogs (11/12 [92%]) had destructive rhinitis with lysis of nasal conchae. Most dogs (8/12; 67%) had a nasal mass, of which in seven dogs the caudal nasal mass extended into the rostral nasopharynx. Most dogs had cribriform plate lysis (9/12 [75%]), of which four dogs (44%) had mass extension into the cranium. Our findings support potential differences in CT features between dogs and cats with nasal cryptococcosis. Nasal cryptococcosis should be considered a differential diagnosis in dogs and cats with nasal and nasopharyngeal masses.
Xenotransplantation of neonatal porcine bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells improves diabetic wound healing by promoting angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis
Authors: Yamada Hideaki , Naito Reiko , Nishimura Masuhiro , Kawakami Ryo , Morinaga Eri , Morita Yuichi , Shimizu Masayuki , Yoshimatsu Gumpei , Sawamoto Osamu , Matsumoto Shinichi , Imafuku Shinichi , Sakata Naoaki , Kodama Shohta
Published: March 2022

Background

Some clinical trials have shown the usefulness of stem cell therapy for diabetic foot ulcers. However, the donor supply is limited, and the process is time consuming and expensive. This study assessed the therapeutic effects of neonatal porcine bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cell (npBM‐MSC) xenotransplantation using diabetic wound model mice.

Methods

All layers of back skin were removed from streptozotocin‐induced diabetic mice. In the npBM‐MSCs group, npBM‐MSCs were transplanted to the wound, and syngeneic mouse bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells (mBM‐MSCs) were transplanted to the wound in the mBM‐MSCs group. The control group comprised diabetic mice that did not receive cellular therapy. The therapeutic effects of the transplantation were evaluated according to the rate of wound closure and the promotion of neovascularization in the wound.

Results

The wound closure rate was significantly improved in the npBM‐MSCs group compared with the control group (p < .001 at postoperative day [POD] 4 and p < .01 at POD 7) and mBM‐MSCs groups (p < .05 at POD 4). Prominent promotion of both angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis was observed in the npBM‐MSCs group. Furthermore, the expression of murine Prox1 and both porcine and murine Vegfs and Tgfb1 in the wounds was enhanced until POD 4 by npBM‐MSCs transplantation. The amounts of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A, VEGFC, and transforming growth factor β1 secreted from npBM‐MSCs were higher than those from mBM‐MSCs (p < .05).

Conclusion

Xenotransplantation of npBM‐MSCs improved diabetic wound healing by promoting both angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.
A European Constitutional and Public Law Scholar
Authors: Kumar Pratyush
Published: March 2022

A European Constitutional and Public Law Scholar
Localization of a Breathing Delamination Using Nonlinear Lamb Wave Mixing
Authors: Agrawal Yamnesh , Gangwar Akhilendra S. , Joglekar D. M.
Published: March 2022

A guided wave-based method for localization of breathing delamination is presented in this investigation. The proposed technique utilizes one-way mixing of a dual-frequency fundamental antisymmetric Lamb modes with judiciously selected central frequencies. The dual-frequency interrogation signal, upon interacting with a breathing delamination, leads to additional frequency sidebands in the frequency response spectrum, strength of which is quantified in terms of the combination tone index. The numerical predictions of these sidebands are validated using an in-house experimentation. It is further exposited that the combination tone index depends strongly on the extent of the temporal overlap that the two constituent wave envelopes have as they propagate through the breathing delamination. Accordingly, for a synchronous passage (with 100% temporal overlap), the combination tone index is maximum while it reduces with the decreasing temporal overlap. By utilizing the dispersive nature of the chosen Lamb mode, a relation is then developed correlating the temporal separation of the wave envelopes at the location of the actuator, the group speeds, and the distance between the actuator and the delamination. Based on these inferences, a technique for localizing a breathing delamination is proposed, which involves interrogating the component by systematically altering the temporal overlap in the input waveform and monitoring the combination tone index for its maxima. The efficacy of the localization technique (close to 90%) is demonstrated through an illustrative case analyzed numerically as well as experimentally.
Tribological Investigations of Two-Dimensional Nanostructured Lamellar Materials as Additives to Castor-Oil-Derived Lithium Grease
Authors: Rawat Sooraj Singh , Harsha A. P. , Khatri Om P.
Published: March 2022

The present work deals with the tribological evaluation of castor-oil-derived lithium grease having variable concentrations of pristine and chemically functionalized MoS2 and graphene nanosheets. The MoS2 and graphene oxide nanosheets were synthesized by hydrothermal and Hummer's method, respectively. The tribological performance of castor grease with and without two-dimensional (2D) lamellar nanomaterials was evaluated using a four-ball tribo-tester as per ASTM standards. The graphene-based lamellar nanomaterials in castor grease significantly improved the tribological properties by decreasing friction and wear. The optimized concentration of MoS2-ODT, MoS2, GO-ODA, GO, and rGO nanomaterials in castor grease conserved the frictional energy losses by 19%, 34%, 35%, 54%, and 56%, respectively. Among all samples, the rGO nanosheets in castor grease showed a maximum reduction in friction and wear. The spectroscopic analysis of worn surfaces suggested the establishment of graphene-based tribo-film, which reduced the direct interaction of tribo-interfaces and minimized the friction and wear.
Visceral Ecologies in the Borderland: Soils and Care from Olive Trees’ Hecatomb in Salento
Authors: Bandiera Michele , Milazzo Enrico
Published: March 2022

This contribution focuses on Soils and Care as fundamental matters of inquiry in order to retrace the processes determining the resurging possibilities of Salento’s landscape. The South-East Italian territory is plagued by the epidemic of bacteria Xylella Fastidiosa, cause for hundreds of thousands of olive-trees’ deaths. We embark on the untangling of the ecology of the olive trees’ depletion, taking into consideration the most recent scientific research on the main vector of the bacteria, the little spittlebug Philaenus spumarius. We refer to Visceral Ecology as the quality of relationships that entangles multispecies assemblies. With this effort we interlace the vector’s ecology and the dying of olive trees with a local oil miller’s intestinal disease. Framing the soil of Salento as an “open air intestine” allows us to merge materialistic views and practices of care with the ecosystem’s transformations. In conclusion, we argue the interconnectedness of Materialism and Care in shaping both the imaginary and the conditions for futurable local human-landscape relations.
Recovering Voices in Mental Health
Authors: McCormick Rowan
Published: March 2022

This article builds from research conducted in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland in 2008, when the Recovery Model was a guiding paradigm in mental health. While ostensibly focussed on individual mental health, the Recovery Model had wider social implications. It was connected to broader moral-political projects, including more integrated forms of partnership between the State and local communities, and greater accountability to obligations and agreements between the State and Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Post-deinstitutionalisation, mental healthcare developed new moral dimensions, as responsibility for individual well-being was resituated within a more holistic, collective framework implicating all sectors of society. Whānau and families held a central position of responsibility and care within that structure.

Based on ethnographic explorations of carers’ relational practices, I explore how families experienced recovery through moments of exchange and encounter at various borderlands. My participants were primarily concerned with whether, and how, familial, treatment, and social exchanges were experienced as considerate, ethical, supportive, and just – more so than they were with medical pathology, symptom alleviation, or medication efficacy. Recovery work for healthcare providers involved creating contexts that were more empowering for commonly marginalised parties, including ‘service users’, family members, and Māori and other non-Pākehā communities. Families and whānau were tasked with defining and establishing personalised conditions for recovery on a day-to-day basis. Systemic recovery involved a shift from medical power and knowledge to privilege local, cultural, and familial perspectives, strengths, and needs. In this article, I look to participants’ deployment of everyday family rituals – including shared kai/food, time and space, gifting, and adornment – as modes of domestic resistance, as well as familial insistence, that can challenge confinements of institutional power.
Immigrants, Scientists, and Butterflies: Depicting Cultural and Biological Diversity in Conservation Photography of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, 2007-2019
Authors: Perret Meg
Published: March 2022

This article examines the work of conservation photographer Krista Schlyer who documented the impact of the U.S.-Mexico border wall on people, wildlife, and the land between 2009 and 2012. While scholars in the environmental humanities have previously analyzed literary and artistic representations of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, this is the first analysis of how conservation photography portrays biodiversity in the borderlands. I analyze Schlyer’s works including Continental Divide (2012), a collection of photography, and Ay Mariposa (2019), a documentary film, in the historical context of the controversy concerning the environmental consequences of border wall construction that escalated during the 2016 election cycle and under the Trump administration. I argue that Schlyer’s work depicts the intersection of cultural and biological diversity in the borderlands in such a way as to unsettle and transcend oppositions of nature-culture and human-animal. These findings have implications for cultural productions that advocate for social and environmental justice.
Dwelling with Multiplicity: Negotiating Borders in the Lifeworld of First Episode Psychosis
Authors: Berkhout Suze G , Stern Eva-Marie
Published: March 2022

This paper explores intersections of cure, harm, diagnostic practices, and lifeworlds of mental disability within the field of first episode psychosis. Drawing on findings from a collaborative art workshop developed within an ethnographic study of first episode psychosis, we contrast the experience and phenomenology of psychosis within the art workshops with the construction of psychosis in traditional clinical spaces. Engaging concepts of dwelling, borderlands, and lifeworld within this context, we detail how the workshops countered the ways in which institutional and methodological structuring of narratives of psychosis reinforce diagnostic boundaries. In contrast to the clinical setting, a fuller lifeworld was experienced through witnessing the aesthetics of artwork that was created within the project.
‘Mutant fish only’: Epistemic hybridity and the boundary work of medical illustrators
Authors: Belsky Drew Danielle
Published: March 2022

Drawing on two years of ethnographic research in North American graduate programs and professional gatherings for medical illustrators, my research builds on feminist studies of science and technology to understand how expertise and agency are negotiated in this female-dominated biomedical specialty. The disciplinary storytelling practices of medical illustrators navigate an insecure relationship to biomedical authority by reinscribing normative social hierarchies of gender, race, class, size and disability. When entering the profession, medical illustrators situate themselves as misfits and hybrids, straddling rhetorically opposed domains of ‘art’ and ‘science.’ In the course of their graduate education, this tension is resolved by recasting this epistemic border-crossing as ‘storytelling’ and communication of scientific knowledge to those without it. This boundary work contains the potential disruption of epistemic hybridity by constructing their work as fundamentally subservient to biomedicine, limiting the potential to challenge conventions of representation and inclusion in the profession.
Bordered and Borderless Materialities of COVID-19: A Narrative Exploration
Authors: Oliver Elisha
Published: March 2022

The emergence of COVID-19 as a distinct biomedical bordered and borderless site for anthropological exploration has sparked change in the biomedical imagination. Recent work in bio-cultural anthropology has offered important insights regarding the materiality and multiplicities, the realities and generalities, and the possibilities and police-abilities of COVID-19 related social and political concerns (e.g., Briggs 2020; Manderson & Devine 2020). This paper, however, asks anthropologists to reflect on bordered and borderless bodies that would typically invite historical and medical analysis owing to their substantial explorations of prolonged intersectional placement and occupation – “the gendered and racialized body”. Can anthropology, specifically medical or biocultural anthropology, as a reflexive practice, shed new light on the materiality of the gendered and racialized body that have conventionally been left to historical and medical interpretation? How does the use a reflexive anthropology of bordered and borderless bodies challenge neoliberal logics of exploration, discussion, analysis, or claims-making associated with the body as a site? Reflexive and critical autoethnographic medical anthropology challenges anthropologists to de-naturalize the dichotomy between wellness and illness, and to instead think of biomedical assemblages as (re)configurations, (re)imaginations, and (re)workings of reflexive and radical processes. This paper originates from cross-disciplinary explorations of the borderlands of health and illness, including from anthropological traditions that have long engaged with the contemporary as part of their wider praxis, such as Indigenous, Latinx, Black Feminist, and Queer anthropologies. I combine ethnographic methods with illness as material culture analysis, whether that be of objects of space and place, gendered bodies, or cultural and medical landscapes to address the interrelatedness of biomedical materiality.
Home Safe? Porosity Precarity, Borders: An Australian Crisis Diary
Authors: Jolly Margaret
Published: March 2022

The porosity of our bodies and our planet are palpable in the conjoint crises of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our shared atmosphere is increasingly toxic for all life with greenhouse gas emissions causing global heating, the rising and acidification of the ocean and the increased frequency and severity of what are no longer ‘natural’ disasters. COVID-19, a novel coronavirus which in late 2019 crossed the porous border of non-human and human life has spread rapidly between permeable human bodies through touch and breath, and animated inanimate surfaces with its fatal potential. Both crises have occasioned resort to borders. But what is ‘home’: the household, the nation, the planet? And is it safe? Asking these questions exposes the fault lines of late capitalism – with tectonic shifts and widening inequalities on the basis of gender, race and class. This essay explores these questions through personal vignettes and analyses of the twin crises, from the perspective of Australia.
Light, hope and COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Herbst Pauline
Published: March 2022

Photoessays bridge the borders between the text and the image, much as light and shadow combined transform a flat picture into a three-dimensional object. In this photo essay I trace the invisible borders tracked in daily sanctioned walks. This forms a truncated ethnographic journey into the suburban environment during a global pandemic, one hour a day. Belonging, home, care and nation in Aotearoa New Zealand are compressed in both space and time; less than a year; less than two square kilometres, a single suburb, one neighbourhood straddling three ‘zones’. Teddy bears stuffed in windows, painted stones laid in forests, and messages to essential workers reveal values and hoped for outcomes embodied in concrete, plastered cladding and trees. The environment becomes an artistic landscape, a canvas to express wishes, hopes and dreams of who we are and hope to be, during times when borders and borderlands, both bodily and institutional, are unmade and remade.
Macroscopic quantum mechanics in gravitational-wave observatories and beyond
Authors: Schnabel Roman , Korobko Mikhail
Published: March 2022

The existence of quantum correlations affects both microscopic and macroscopic systems. On macroscopic systems, they are difficult to observe and usually irrelevant for the system's evolution due to the frequent energy exchange with the environment. The world-wide network of gravitational-wave (GW) observatories exploits optical as well as mechanical systems that are highly macroscopic and largely decoupled from the environment. The quasi-monochromatic light fields in the kilometer-scale arm resonators have photon excitation numbers larger than 1019, and the mirrors that are quasi-free falling in propagation direction of the light fields have masses of around 40 kg. Recent observations on the GW observatories LIGO and Virgo clearly showed that the quantum uncertainty of one system affected the uncertainty of the other. Here, we review these observations and provide links to research goals targeted with mesoscopic optomechanical systems in other fields of fundamental physical research. These may have Gaussian quantum uncertainties as the ones in GW observatories or even non-Gaussian ones, such as Schrödinger cat states.
Evaluating a Multiplier Approach to Coach Education Within the German Football Association’s Talent Development Program: An Example of an Intervention Study Targeting Need-Supportive Coaching
Authors: Wachsmuth Svenja , Raabe Johannes , Readdy Tucker , Dugandzic Damir , Höner Oliver
Published: March 2022

Coaches are among the most important agents for young football talents’ development. Their coaching style may impact not only players’ skill acquisition but also their motivation to meet their full potential. This study begins by presenting an intervention promoting need-supportive coaching to facilitate holistic talent development within the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund [DFB]). The intervention was grounded in Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory and designed as a hybrid model of coach education (i.e., online and in-present elements). In addition, DFB competence center coordinators were utilized as multipliers to reach a large population of approximately 1,300 coaches across Germany. The specific aim of this paper is to examine how these coordinators experienced the development and implementation process of the intervention. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, coordinators’ satisfaction and experiences with the intervention were evaluated via a quantitative online survey (n = 23) and qualitative follow-up interviews (n = 8). Overall, the findings suggest that the presented approach may be suitable to address potential barriers in coach education, such as gaining coaches’ buy-in, transferring scientific knowledge into practice, and supporting long-term behavioral modifications in coaches. Specific recommendations (e.g., knowledge translation, gaining buy-in) for designing future interventions are highlighted.
Obesity and antitumor immunity
Authors: Foley John F.
Published: March 2022

Obesity reversibly suppresses the antitumor activity of CD8
+
T cells in mice and humans.
Classification of 27
Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii
-Like Isolates Associated with Mastitis in China and Descriptions of
C. parakroppenstedtii
sp. nov. and
C. pseudokroppenstedtii
sp. nov
Authors: Luo Qiang , Chen Qianming , Feng Junhui , Zhang Tianqi , Luo Li , Chen Cha , Liu Xiaoyan , Xu Ning , Qu Pinghua
Published: March 2022

In this study, we characterized two novel species that were closely related to but hard to distinguish from
C
.
kroppenstedtii
by routine identification methods used in clinical laboratories. Since all 27
C. kroppenstedtii
-like isolates were obtained from breast specimens of female patients with mastitis, they may be potential pathogens causing mastitis. We hope to perform further epidemiological investigation of these strains and explore their role in mastitis.
Representatives of the Miaohe Biota from the Ediacaran (Vendian) Pre-Shuram Strata of the Patom Highland, Siberia
Authors: Petrov P. Yu. , Vorob’eva N. G.
Published: March 2022

The carbonaceous macrofossils which belong to multicellular algae and which were previously known from the younger (>570 Ma) Miaohe biota are found for the first time in the Lower Vendian (Middle Ediacaran, ~580 Ma) rocks of the Ura Formation of the Patom Basin in Siberia. The Ura macrofossils include phytoleims of unbranched ribbon-like thalli preserved on the surfaces of silty mudstones. Among the fossils, the species Liulingjitaenia alloplecta and Jiuqunaoella simplicis are identified. The features of their structure are considered. The in vivo forms of the organisms and their colonies are interpreted. It is shown that these organic macrofossils were a noticeable detritus-forming component of the Ura Basin. The Ura macrophytes coexisted with the Early Ediacaran microbiota and composed a common ecosystem of the paleobasin, which formed shortly before the Shuram event and was significantly transformed after it.
Food handling practice and associated factors among food handlers in public food establishments of Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Tadele Maru Meseret , Dagnaw Amare , Alamirew Dehabo
Published: March 2022

Objectives

Food handlers are individuals who are involved in food preparation, storage or service of food in a food facility. Unless they keep their personal hygiene, they are highly responsible for contaminating food or transmitting microbes to consumers. Thus, the main aim of this review was to pool the level of good food handling practice among food handlers working in public food establishments in Ethiopia.

Design

A systematic review and meta-analysis using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal tool.

Data sources

PubMed, Google Scholar and Advanced Google were searched up to the end of February 2021.

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies

Publication status, publication language, type of study participants and the type of article were used to screen the article.

Data extraction and study quality assessment

All reviewers collected data independently and merged them together. A tool called the JBI Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument was used to assess the quality of each research article. The assessment was performed by two reviewers.

Result

A total of 16 research articles were included in the review. The pooled level of good food handling practice was 50.72% with 95% CI (43.84% to 57.6%). Training (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.4, 95% CI (2.33 to 4.95)), attitude (AOR=3.62, 95% CI (2.23 to 5.85)) and medical check-up (AOR=5.12, 95% CI (2.93 to 8.95)) were identified as factors affecting good food handling practice with 95% CI at p<0.05.

Conclusion

The level of good food handling practice among food handlers working in public food establishments of Ethiopia was very low compared with literature, and variables such as food handler training, attitude towards good food handling practice and the existence of regular medical check-ups were factors affecting good food handling practice. Provision of training that could change the attitude and regular medical check-ups for food handlers has to be in place.
Fast-track referral for health interventions during pregnancy: study protocol of a randomised pragmatic experimental study to reduce low birth weight in Portugal (STOP LBW)
Authors: Barros Henrique , Baia Ines , Monjardino Teresa , Pimenta Pedro , Alfredo Ana , Sorokina Anzhela , Domingues Rosa
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Low birth weight (LBW) is associated with a wide range of short-term and long-term consequences and is related to maternal psychosocial and behavioural determinants. The objective of this study is to estimate the effect of implementing fast-track referral for early intervention on psychosocial and behavioural risk factors—smoking, alcohol consumption, depression and physical violence—in reducing the incidence of LBW.

Methods and analysis

Parallel superiority pragmatic clinical trial randomised by clusters. Primary healthcare units (PHCU) located in Portugal will be randomised (1:1) to intervention or control groups. Pregnant women over 18 years of age attending these PHCU will be eligible to the study. Risk factors will be assessed through face-to-face interviews. In the intervention group, women who report at least one risk factor will have immediate access to referral services. The comparison group will be the local standard of care for these risk factors. We will use intention-to-treat analyses to compare intervention and control groups. We estimated a sample size of 2832 pregnant women to detect a 30% reduction in the incidence rate of LBW between the control and intervention groups. Secondary outcomes are the reduction of preterm births, reduction of the four risk factors and acceptance of the intervention.

Ethics and dissemination

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto (no CE20140). The findings will be disseminated to the public, the funders, health professionals, health managers and other researchers.

Trial registration number

NCT04866277.