bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of the Preparatory School FAST Stroke Educational Program
Authors: Salam Abdul , Shuaib Ashfaq , Kamran Saadat , Hassanin Iman , Shahid Nosheen , Al-Darwish Mohammed S. , Bibi Rubina , Saqqur Maher , Amir Numan , Miller Elaine T.
Published: July 2022

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of FAST stroke educational program among all preparatory school students in the state of Qatar. METHODS: The pretest-posttest experimental research design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the FAST educational program in Qatar. A 30-minute audiovisual presentation was given to improve knowledge of stroke. We included grade 7 to 9 students during the academic year 2018–2019. The FAST program consisted of a pretest, an educational intervention, and immediate and long-term posttests at 2 months. RESULTS: A sample of 1244 students completed presurvey and immediate postsurvey, with an average age of 13.5 (1.12) years (range, 11–18 years) and 655 (53%) females. Students had significantly (P < .01) greater knowledge of stroke signs, symptoms, and risk factors at intermediate posttest (5.9 [2.6] and 6.2 [2.4]) and at 2 months posttest (5.6 [2.8] and 5.6 [2.7]) compared with pretest (4.8 [2.6] and 4.9 [2.6], respectively). Students also had a higher self-efficacy to seek assistance, which was sustained from pretest to long-term posttest. CONCLUSION: The FAST program improved stroke knowledge that was retained at 2 months.
Nutrition in acute pancreatitis: when, what and how
Authors: Fostier Romane , Arvanitakis Marianna , Gkolfakis Paraskevas
Published: July 2022

Purpose of review

This review intends to discuss recently available evidence in three topics related to nutrition in patients with acute pancreatitis, namely timing of refeeding, type of nutritional therapy and its route of administration.

Recent findings

Recent lines of research confirm that early oral feeding leads to shorter length of stay, fewer complications and lower costs in patients with acute pancreatitis. Moreover, early (<48 h) enteral nutrition led to decreased hospital mortality in patients with mild and severe acute pancreatitis; thus, in case of intolerance to oral feeding or severe disease, nutritional therapy should be offered within 24–72 h. Furthermore, enteral nutrition should be preferred against parenteral nutrition, as it is related to shorter length of stay and less complications, while initial data bring to light the potential role of the soluble dietary fibre polydextrose as an agent that could lead to faster achievement of energy goal with concomitant lower rates of feeding intolerance. Finally, enteral nutrition can be administered through gastric or jejunal feeding, depending on digestive tolerance, whereas latest data also address the safety of percutaneous gastrostomy with a jejunal extension for enteral nutrition administration. However, more data about its real benefit are warranted.

Accumulating evidence confirms the importance of early oral refeeding or early administration of enteral nutrition as vital parts of the armamentarium for the management of patients with acute pancreatitis.
Alteration of interleukin-10-producing Type 1 regulatory cells in autoimmune diseases
Authors: Gregori Silvia , Amodio Giada , Passerini Laura , Santoni de Sio Francesca Romana
Published: July 2022

Purpose of review

This review highlights findings describing the role of interleukin (IL)-10-producing Type 1 regulatory T (Tr1) cells in controlling autoimmune diseases and possible approaches to restore their function and number.

Recent findings

Reduced frequency and/or function of cell subsets playing a role in Tr1 cell induction (e.g., DC-10 and Bregs), was found in patients with autoimmunity and may impact on Tr1 cell frequency.

IL-10 is a pleiotropic cytokine with fundamental anti-inflammatory functions acting as negative regulator of immune responses. IL-10 is critically involved in the induction and functions of Tr1 cells, a subset of memory CD4+ T cells induced in the periphery to suppress immune responses to a variety of antigens (Ags), including self-, allogeneic, and dietary Ags. Alterations in IL-10-related pathways and/or in the frequency and activities of Tr1 cells have been associated to several autoimmune diseases. We will give an overview of the alterations of IL-10 and IL-10-producing Tr1 cells in Multiple Sclerosis, Type 1 Diabetes, and Celiac Disease, in which similarities in the role of these tolerogenic mechanisms are present. Current and future approaches to overcome Tr1 cell defects and restore tolerance in these diseases will also be discussed.
Update on myelin imaging in neurological syndromes
Authors: Balaji Sharada , Johnson Poljanka , Dvorak Adam Vladimir , Kolind Shannon Heather
Published: July 2022

Purpose of review

Myelin water imaging (MWI) is generally regarded as the most rigorous approach for noninvasive, in-vivo measurement of myelin content, which has been histopathologically validated. As such, it has been increasingly applied to neurological diseases with white matter involvement, especially those affecting myelin. This review provides an overview of the most recent research applying MWI in neurological syndromes.

Recent findings

Myelin water imaging has been applied in neurological syndromes including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's disease, cerebral small vessel disease, leukodystrophies and HIV. These syndromes generally showed alterations observable with MWI, with decreased myelin content tending to correlate with lower cognitive scores and worse clinical presentation. MWI has also been correlated with genetic variation in the APOE and PLP1 genes, demonstrating genetic factors related to myelin health.

MWI can detect and quantify changes not observable with conventional imaging, thereby providing insight into the pathophysiology and disease mechanisms of a diverse range of neurological syndromes.
Experimental increases in temperature mean and variance alter reproductive behaviours in the dung beetlePhanaeus vindex
Authors: Kirkpatrick William H. , Sheldon Kimberly S.
Published: July 2022

Temperature profoundly impacts insect development, but plasticity of reproductive behaviours may mediate the impacts of temperature change on earlier life stages. Few studies have examined the potential for adult behavioural plasticity to buffer offspring from the warmer, more variable temperatures associated with climate change. We used a field manipulation to examine whether the dung beetlePhanaeus vindexalters breeding behaviours in response to temperature changes and whether behavioural shifts protect offspring from temperature changes. Dung beetles lay eggs inside brood balls made of dung that are buried underground. Brood ball depth impacts the temperatures offspring experience with consequences for development. We placed adult females in either control or greenhouse treatments that simultaneously increased temperature mean and variance. We found that females in greenhouse treatments produced more brood balls that were smaller and buried deeper than controls, suggesting brood ball number or burial depth may come at a cost to brood ball size, which can impact offspring nutrition. Despite being buried deeper, brood balls from the greenhouse treatment experienced warmer mean temperatures but similar amplitudes of temperature fluctuation relative to controls. Our findings suggest adult behaviours may partially buffer developing offspring from temperature changes.
Saltatory axonal conduction in the avian retina
Authors: Block Christoph T. , Ahlers Malte T. , Puller Christian , Manackin Max , Pradhan Dipti R. , Greschner Martin
Published: July 2022

In contrast to most parts of the vertebrate nervous system, the ganglion cell axons in the retina typically lack any myelination. Ganglion cell axons of most species only become myelinated once they leave the retina to form the optic nerve. The avian retina is a well known exception in that ganglion cell axons are partly myelinated in the retinal nerve fiber layer. However, the functional and structural properties of myelination in the nerve fiber layer remain elusive. Here, we used large-scale multi-electrode array recordings in combination with immunohisto-chemistry and fluorescence microscopy of European quail and pigeon retinas to investigate myelination of retinal ganglion cell axons. Intraretinal myelination was accompanied by the formation of nodes of Ranvier. The internode length was positively correlated with the axon diameter. The variability of internode lengths along each axon was significantly smaller than across axons. Saltatory conduction of action potentials was observed in a large population of recorded cells. On average, myelinated axons had higher conduction velocities than unmyelinated axons. However, both groups showed a significant overlap at low velocities. The number of simultaneously active nodes was positively correlated with the conduction velocity. In contrast, the internode length and the time it took a node to activate were weak predictors for the conduction velocity. However, the conduction velocity was well described by the number of activated nodes, the internode length, and the activation time in concert.

Significance Statement

Myelination of axons serves saltatory signal conduction, which greatly decreases the time it takes for an action potential to travel along an axon. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons, as part of the central nervous system, are usually devoid of myelin in mammals, whereas avian RGC axons are myelinated well before they enter the optic nerve. Using high resolution multi electrode arrays, we were able to image the saltatory propagation of a spike across an axon. Most axons with saltatory conduction were faster than non-saltatory axons. Surprisingly, a large number of saltatory axons had low conduction velocities. The signal conduction patterns were more diverse than expected. The velocity could be explained by the number of simultaneously activated nodes of Ranvier, the internode length and their activation time.
YgfB increases β-lactam resistance inPseudomonas aeruginosaby counteracting AlpA-mediatedampDh3expression
Authors: Eggers Ole , Renschler Fabian , Michalek Lydia Anita , Wackler Noelle , Walter Elias , Smollich Fabian , Klein Kristina , Sonnabend Michael , Egle Valentin , Angelov Angel , Engesser Christina , Borisova Marina , Mayer Christoph , Schütz Monika , Bohn Erwin
Published: July 2022

YgfB-mediated β-lactam resistance was recently identified in multi drug resistantPseudomonas aeruginosa. Weshow that YgfB upregulates expression of the β-lactamase AmpC by repressing the function of the regulator of the programmed cell death pathway AlpA. In response to DNA damage, the antiterminator AlpA induces expression of thealpBCDEautolysis genes and of the peptidoglycan amidase AmpDh3. YgfB interacts with AlpA and represses theampDh3expression.

Thus, YgfB indirectly prevents AmpDh3 from reducing the levels of cell wall-derived 1,6-anhydro-N-acetylmuramyl-peptides, required to induce the transcriptional activator AmpR in promoting theampCexpression and β-lactam resistance. Ciprofloxacin-mediated DNA damage induces AlpA-dependent production of AmpDh3 as previously shown, which should reduce β-lactam resistance. YgfB, however, counteracts the β-lactam enhancing activity of ciprofloxacin by repressingampDh3expression and lowering the benefits of this drug combination.

Altogether, YgfB represents a new player in the complex regulatory network of AmpC regulation.
Information extraction in photon-counting experiments
Authors: Schapeler Timon , Bartley Tim J.
Published: July 2022

We demonstrate a comparison of different multiplexing architectures based on quantum detector tomography. Using the purity of their measurement outcomes, we gain insight into the photon-number-resolving ability of the devices. Further, we calculate the information each measurement outcome can extract from a Hilbert space with given dimension. Our work confirms that more multiplexing outcomes enable higher photon-number-resolving ability; however, the splitting between those outcomes must be optimized as well.

Published by the American Physical Society
2022
Saints and ghosts: nation-building and narratives of punishment in Taiwan’s prison museums
Authors: Murphy Helen , Chang Ya-Ling
Published: July 2022

Purpose

This paper explores two museums in Taiwan, both former sites of incarceration, and asks how they reflect Taiwan’s evolving relationship with the past. Taiwan has successfully emerged from its authoritarian past into a democratic present; yet, it still bears the scars of its traumatic and violent history in the places where trauma and pain was exacted over Taiwanese people by different regimes. Two of these places are former prisons, now museums with common histories of incarceration, but very different approaches to presentation of traumatic pasts. This paper aims to understand the selective presentation of narratives of punishment in prison museums in Taiwan and what they reflect about Taiwan’s national identity.

Design/methodology/approach

This research used a qualitative ethnographic methodology, approaching prison museums as research sites with multidimensional textual, spatial and visual data. This study used a narrative ethnology approach to analyse the content, structure and social context surrounding the stories told about punishment at the sites.

Findings

While the Jingmei White Terror Memorial Park documents past abuses under the authoritarian Kuomindang Government (1945–1987), the narratives presented at the Chiayi Prison Museum, constructed under Japanese colonial rule (1895–1945), ignore past colonial violence. This study argues that the invisibility of past colonial violence in Chiayi prison museum acts to strengthen Taiwan’s multicultural national identity, while Jingmei WTMP acts to valorise political prisoners as heroic fighters for Taiwan’s democracy and human rights.

Originality/value

This research makes a contribution to the museum studies literature through extending understanding of the relationship between former carceral spaces and national identity projects.
Using systems thinking to increase understanding of the innovation system of healthcare organisations
Authors: Linnéusson Gary , Andersson Thomas , Kjellsdotter Anna , Holmén Maria
Published: July 2022

Purpose

This paper applies systems thinking modelling to enhance the dynamic understanding of how to nurture an innovative culture in healthcare organisations to develop the innovation system in practice and speed up the innovative work. The model aims to provide a holistic view of a studied healthcare organisation's innovation processes, ranging from managerial values to its manifestation in improved results.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on empirical material from a healthcare unit that, within a few years, changed from having no innovations to repeatedly generating innovations. The study uses the modelling language of causal loop diagrams (CLDs) in the system dynamics methodology to identify the key important aspects found in the empirical material.

Findings

The proposed model, based on the stories of the interviewees, explores the dynamics of inertia when nurturing an innovative culture, identifying delays attributed to the internal change processes and system relationships. These findings underscored the need for perseverance when developing an innovative culture in the entrepreneurial phases.

Practical implications

The approach of using systems thinking to make empirical healthcare research results more tangible through the visual notations of CLDs and mental simulations is believed to support exploring complex phenomena to induce and nurture both individual and organisational learning.

Originality/value

The results from this approach provide deepened analysis and provoke the systems view to explain how the nurturing of the culture can accelerate the innovation processes, which helps practitioners and researchers to further expand their understanding of their healthcare contexts.
Nocturnal dissolved organic matter release by turf algae and its role in the microbialization of reefs
Authors: Mueller Benjamin , Brocke Hannah J. , Rohwer Forest L. , Dittmar Thorsten , Huisman Jef , Vermeij Mark J. A. , de Goeij Jasper M.
Published: July 2022

The increased release of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by algae has been associated with the fast but inefficient growth of opportunistic microbial pathogens and the ongoing degradation of coral reefs. Turf algae (consortia of microalgae and macroalgae commonly including cyanobacteria) dominate benthic communities on many reefs worldwide. Opposite to other reef algae that predominantly release DOM during the day, turf algae containing cyanobacteria may additionally release large amounts of DOM at night. However, this night‐DOM release and its potential contribution to the microbialization of reefs remains to be investigated.

We first tested the occurrence of hypoxic conditions at the turf algae–water interface, as a lack of oxygen will facilitate the production and release of fermentation intermediates as night‐time DOM. Second, the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) release by turf algae was quantified during day time and nighttime, and the quality of day and night exudates as food for bacterioplankton was tested. Finally, DOC release rates of turf algae were combined with estimates of DOC release based on benthic community composition in 1973 and 2013 to explore how changes in benthic community composition affected the contribution of night‐DOC to the reef‐wide DOC production.

A rapid shift from supersaturated to hypoxic conditions at the turf algae–water interface occurred immediately after the onset of darkness, resulting in night‐DOC release rates similar to those during daytime. Bioassays revealed major differences in the quality between day and night exudates: Night‐DOC was utilized by bacterioplankton two times faster than day‐DOC, but yielded a four times lower growth efficiency. Changes in benthic community composition were estimated to have resulted in a doubling of DOC release since 1973, due to an increasing abundance of benthic cyanobacterial mats (BCMs), with night‐DOC release by BCMs and turf algae accounting for >50% of the total release over a diurnal cycle.

Night‐DOC released by BCMs and turf algae is likely an important driver in the microbialization of reefs by stimulating microbial respiration at the expense of energy and nutrient transfer to higher trophic levels via the microbial loop, thereby threatening the productivity and biodiversity of these unique ecosystems.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Ecological strategies of (pl)ants: Towards a world‐wide worker economic spectrum for ants
Authors: Gibb Heloise , Bishop Tom R. , Leahy Lily , Parr Catherine L. , Lessard Jean‐Philippe , Sanders Nathan J. , Shik Jonathan Z. , Ibarra‐Isassi Javier , Narendra Ajay , Dunn Robert R. , Wright Ian J.
Published: July 2022

Current global challenges call for a rigorously predictive ecology. Our understanding of ecological strategies, imputed through suites of measurable functional traits, comes from decades of work that largely focussed on plants. However, a key question is whether plant ecological strategies resemble those of other organisms.

Among animals, ants have long been recognised to possess similarities with plants: as (largely) central place foragers. For example, individual ant workers play similar foraging roles to plant leaves and roots and are similarly expendable. Frameworks that aim to understand plant ecological strategies through key functional traits, such as the ‘leaf economics spectrum’, offer the potential for significant parallels with ant ecological strategies.

Here, we explore these parallels across several proposed ecological strategy dimensions, including an ‘economic spectrum’, propagule size‐number trade‐offs, apparency‐defence trade‐offs, resource acquisition trade‐offs and stress‐tolerance trade‐offs. We also highlight where ecological strategies may differ between plants and ants. Furthermore, we consider how these strategies play out among the different modules of eusocial organisms, where selective forces act on the worker and reproductive castes, as well as the colony.

Finally, we suggest future directions for ecological strategy research, including highlighting the availability of data and traits that may be more difficult to measure, but should receive more attention in future to better understand the ecological strategies of ants. The unique biology of eusocial organisms provides an unrivalled opportunity to bridge the gap in our understanding of ecological strategies in plants and animals and we hope that this perspective will ignite further interest.

Read the freePlain Language Summaryfor this article on the Journal blog.
Revisiting Gendered Representations of Humility: An Examination of Sources from Late Medieval Italy
Authors: Negri Silvia
Published: July 2022

During the Middle Ages, gender‐neutral representations of humility as a quality linked to spiritual love and voluntary service competed with representations according to gendered patterns, such as those related to the naked and dressed body in terms of its biological and social functions and its appearance. Moving from Dante's examples of humility in Purgatory, Canto X, this article focuses on representations of humility in textual and pictorial sources authored by women and men between the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries in Italy. By showing the complexity of these representations, this article revisits and reconsiders one‐sided historiographical narratives according to which humility in the Middle Ages was intrinsically, persistently and negatively related to feminine suppression and servility.
Undermining loyalty to legality? An empirical analysis of perceptions of ‘lockdown’ law and guidance during COVID‐19
Authors: Finch Naomi , Halliday Simon , Tomlinson Joe , Meers Jed , Wilberforce Mark
Published: July 2022

This article substantially extends the existing constitutional and legal critiques of the use of soft law public health guidance in the UK during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Drawing upon the findings of a national survey undertaken during the first wave of the pandemic in June 2020, it shows how the perceived legal status of lockdown rules made a significant difference as to whether the UK public complied with them and that this effect is a product of the legitimacy that law itself enjoys within UK society. Based on this analysis, it argues that the problems with the Government's approach to guidance, that have been subjected to criticism in constitutional and legal terms, may also be open to critique on the basis that they risk undermining the public's loyalty to the law itself.
Advances in diagnostic codes to document sexual assault in health care service
Authors: Medel‐Herrero Alvaro , Smiley‐Jewell Suzette , Shumway Martha , Reidy Dennis E. , Bonomi Amy
Published: July 2022

Objective

To explore trends in documented sexual abuse/assault (SA) related episodes in California hospitals and emergency departments (ED), including the impact of a change in health care service reporting codification (from ICD‐9‐CM to ICD‐10‐CM) that more clearly defined SA in October 2015.

Data Sources

Hospital and ED data were drawn from California's Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD).

Study Design

Descriptive and trend analyses of SA‐related hospital and ED records (including patients' demographic information) were conducted to determine whether changes in ICD codification had an impact on documented SA‐related episodes.

Data Collection

All SA‐related episodes (ICD‐9‐CM codes 995.83, 995.53; ICD‐10‐CM codes T74.21‐T74.22, T76.21‐T76.22) in California hospitals and EDs for the last decade of available data (2008–2017) were analyzed (n = 20,215).

Principal Findings

An abrupt increase in documented SA episodes in hospitals and EDs began in October 2015, when specific ICD10 codes for suspected cases of SA were created. Documented SA‐related episodes doubled in 1 month (164 vs. 385 episodes in September 2015 and October 2015, respectively). More than half (58.2%) of all SA‐related episodes documented in Oct 2015 were coded as suspicious. The number of documented SA‐related episodes continued increasing to the end of the time series (December 2017). Overall, the annual number of documented SA‐related episodes increased by over 700% in only 4 years (900 vs. 6441 in 2013 and 2017, respectively), suggesting high rates of prior under‐reporting and the need to introduce the new codes. African Americans were disproportionally impacted; however, the highest increases in age‐adjusted rates between the ICD‐9‐CM and the ICD‐10 codification period were found among the White population (2.46 vs. 16.53 per 100,000 inhabitants).

Conclusions

SA episodes in the clinical population have been underestimated for many decades. Identifying SA victims and measuring SA‐related health care utilization is a real challenge that needs further investigation.
Disaster, demographics, and vulnerability: Interrogating the long‐term effects of an extreme weather event
Authors: García‐Hernández Cristina
Published: July 2022

Climate risk events act on existing inequalities, causing unequal damage across social groups and showing that established vulnerability should be a key consideration in preventing and mitigating the consequences of weather extremes. The disastrous snowfalls that affected Asturias in Northern Spain in the winter of 1888 provide an intriguing and useful historical example of why such consideration is vital. This article is based on analysis of church records and population censuses of 22 mountain parishes over a 21‐year period. It examines the long‐term sociodemographic impacts of that weather event and reveals dramatic changes in fertility, mortality, and nuptiality. Marriages and births decreased by 67% in the 2 years following the snowstorms, when the highest levels of mortality were reached. The excess mortality especially affected those adults over 70, infants under 5, and, most notably, women. A livelihood crisis was at the base of these long‐term effects. Those demographic impacts point to the event’s severity and show that the repercussions of a disaster go far beyond deaths and material losses and are deeply rooted in social factors. These findings reinforce the idea that reconstructing old disastrous episodes is of great social and scientific interest now. That is because, as governments and others are progressively paying more attention to the possibilities of adaptation to global change, there is greater appreciation of the fact that delving into the long‐term impacts of past natural disasters can guide our main future strategies.
Dual bacterial strains TTI for monitoring fish quality in food cold chain
Authors: Liu Chia‐Yu , Tsai Guo‐Jane , Pan Chorng‐Liang , Shang Kuo‐Chung , Tseng Hsiang‐Jung , Chai Huey‐Jine , Hsiao Hsin‐I
Published: July 2022

Most microbial time–temperature indicators (TTIs) considered only one spoilage strain. This research compared single and dual spoilage strains‐based microbial TTI for quality changes of chilled grouper fish (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus x
E. lanceolatus) fillet products during distribution. The next‐generation sequencing (NGS) and traditional plate count approach showed that Pseudomonas fragi and Vibrio parahaemolyticus were specific spoilage bacteria at 7 and 15°C. A dual‐strain TTI response provides more accurate results than a single‐strain TTI and provides an irreversible color change from yellow to reddish‐brown, showing levels of fish freshness. The microbial TTI comprises fish spoilage bacteria strains with 3 log CFU/ml, a nutrient broth supplemented with 2% NaCl as a medium, and phenol red with 0.25 mg/ml as a pH indicator. Overall, this study points to the applicability of a dual‐strain microbial TTI as a valuable tool for monitoring fish quality changes during cold chain break condition.
Increased neutrophil count Is associated with the development of chronic kidney disease in patients with diabetes
Authors: Zhang Rui , Chen Jin , Xiong Yanqin , Wang Lihong , Huang Xinmei , Sun Tiange , Zha Bingbing , Wu Yueyue , Yan Cuili , Zang Shufei , Zhou Qin , Huang Zhe , Liu Jun
Published: July 2022

Background

This study aims to investigate the potential association of peripheral inflammatory blood cell parameters with the incidence and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with diabetes.

Methods

The cross‐sectional study included 1192 subjects with diabetes derived from one center. The cohort study included 2060 subjects with diabetes derived from another two centers followed up for 4 years. Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association of peripheral inflammatory blood cell with CKD.

Results

In the cross‐sectional study, neutrophil count performed best as an independent risk factor for CKD (odds ratio 2.556 [95% confidence interval 1.111, 5.879]) even after 1:1 case–control matching for age, gender, history of high blood pressure and duration of diabetes. Spline regression revealed a significant linear association of CKD incidence with continuous neutrophil count in excess of 3.6 × 109/L. In the cohort study, subjects were grouped based on tertile of neutrophil count and neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio. Cox regression analysis results showed that only neutrophil count was independently associated with CKD progression (the highest group vs. the lowest group, hazard ratio 2.293 [95% confidence interval 1.260, 4.171]) after fully adjusting for potential confounders. The cumulative incidence of CKD progression in patients with diabetes gradually increased with increasing neutrophil count (53 (7.7%) subjects in the lowest group vs. 60 (8.2%) in the middle group vs. 78 (12.2%) in the highest group).

Conclusions

This study suggested that neutrophil count is an independent risk factor for progression of CKD in patients with diabetes.
Effect of continued perioperative antithrombotic therapy on bleeding outcomes following laparoscopic nephrectomy and nephroureterectomy
Authors: Kubota Masashi , Matsuoka Takashi , Mine Yuta , Hagimoto Hiroki , Kokubun Hidetoshi , Murata Shiori , Makita Noriyuki , Hattori Yuto , Suzuki Issei , Abe Yohei , Tohi Yoichiro , Tsutsumi Naofumi , Yamasaki Toshinari , Inoue Koji , Kawakita Mutsushi
Published: July 2022

Introduction

In this study, we aimed to assess the impact of perioperative continuation of antithrombotic therapy on bleeding and complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) and nephroureterectomy (LNU).

Methods

This was a retrospective observational study. Patients who underwent LRN and LNU between January 2017 and July 2019 at our institution were recruited. All patients taking antithrombotic agents continued taking them during the perioperative phase (AA group). Surgical outcomes of patients in the AA group were compared with those of patients who were not taking antithrombotic agents (NA group). The primary outcome was the rate of bleeding complications. Secondary outcomes included intraoperative estimated blood loss, transfusion rate, and complications for up to 90 days.

Results

A total of 100 patients were included in the analysis, with 36 and 64 patients assigned to the AA and NA groups, respectively. Patients in the AA group were found to have more severe comorbidities than those in the NA group, with a Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥5, totaling 14 (39%) and 12 (19%), respectively (P = .03). According to surgical outcomes, none of the patients in the AA group required secondary procedures for bleeding complications. Moreover, there were no significant differences between the groups in intraoperative blood loss, hemoglobin deficit, rate of perioperative transfusion, readmission rate, or high‐grade complications.

Discussion

These results indicate that perioperative use of antithrombotic agents does not increase the risk of bleeding and can be considered safe during LRN and LNU.
Morphological variations of an invasive cyprinid fish (Carassius gibelio) in lentic and lotic environments inferred from the body, otolith, and scale shapes
Authors: Dürrani Ömerhan , Ateşşahin Tuncay , Eroğlu Mücahit , Düşükcan Mustafa
Published: July 2022

This study investigated the morphological variation of gibel carp Carassius gibelio collected from various water bodies in Türkiye. The fish samples were obtained from three dams (Karacaören‐1, Karakaya, and Keban), two natural lakes (Beyşehir and Suğla), and a river (the Tigris River). The dimorphism in body shape was examined with geometric morphometrics, while elliptic Fourier analysis and shape indices were used to describe the variation in lapilli otoliths (hereafter “otoliths”) and scale shapes. The body of C. gibelio revealed higher variations, particularly in the body depth, snout length, caudal fin, and caudal peduncle, among different stations. Geometric morphometric analysis determined a streamlined body shape of C. gibelio in the Tigris River compared to other stations, while C. gibelio from the natural lakes had a deeper body shape. The body of C. gibelio exhibited a significant homogenous shape between the Beyşehir and Suğla lakes, providing the lowest Procrustes distance. The elliptic Fourier analysis revealed that the otolith shape varied significantly between all stations. However, the scale shape was remarkably similar among nearby areas such as Karacaören dam, Suğla, and Beyşehir lakes. These results evinced high degree of intra‐population morphological variation in C. gibelio in response to prevailing environmental conditions that probably facilitate their successful establishment in a novel environment.
Efficient and Robust Methods for Causally Interpretable Meta-Analysis: Transporting Inferences from Multiple Randomized Trials to a Target Population
Authors: Dahabreh Issa J. , Robertson Sarah E. , Petito Lucia C. , Hernán Miguel A. , Steingrimsson Jon A.
Published: July 2022

We present methods for causally interpretable meta-analyses that combine information from multiple randomized trials to draw causal inferences for a target population of substantive interest. We consider identifiability conditions, derive implications of the conditions for the law of the observed data, and obtain identification results for transporting causal inferences from a collection of independent randomized trials to a new target population in which experimental data may not be available. We propose an estimator for the potential outcome mean in the target population under each treatment studied in the trials. The estimator uses covariate, treatment, and outcome data from the collection of trials, but only covariate data from the target population sample. We show that it is doubly robust in the sense that it is consistent and asymptotically normal when at least one of the models it relies on is correctly specified. We study the finite sample properties of the estimator in simulation studies and demonstrate its implementation using data from a multicenter randomized trial.
The hidden links between animal weapons, fighting style, and their effect on contest success: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Palaoro Alexandre V. , Peixoto Paulo Enrique Cardoso
Published: July 2022

In many species that fight over resources, individuals use specialized structures to gain a mechanical advantage over their rivals during contests (i.e. weapons). Although weapons are widespread across animals, how they affect the probability of winning contests is still debated. According to theory, understanding weapon function during contests is essential to: (i) understanding its importance in determining the winner, and (ii) identifying what weapon traits (e.g. weapon length versus shape versus performance) are most relevant for contest success. However, quantitative evaluations of how weapon function affects the extent to which weapon traits influence contest success are still lacking. Here, we first develop an individual‐based model to evaluate how increasing the influence of the weapon in determining the winner translates to differences between winners and losers. Then, we use a meta‐analysis to identify: (i) whether different weapon measures influence contest outcome differently; (ii) how animals use their weapons during fights – i.e. weapon function; and (iii) if weapon function correlates to how weapons influence contest outcome. Our model showed that, as weapons increased the chance of determining the winner, the mean difference between winners and losers also increased. Therefore, in our meta‐analysis we used the mean trait difference between winners and losers as a proxy for the extent to which weapons influence contest success. The literature search identified 49 suitable studies, containing information for 52 species, totalling 107 effect sizes. Four main patterns emerged. First, most of the literature focuses on linear measures of weapons, while performance measures are concentrated on Crustacea and Squamata; other types of measures were rare. Second, differences between winners and losers in linear measurements were greater than differences in performance measurements when all species were combined (and when we used only a subset). Third, species that bear weapons almost always perform visual/tactile displays before engaging in physical contact. And fourth, while the way individuals display their weapons did not influence the importance of weapon size on contest outcomes, fighting style predicted when differences between winners and losers would be higher. Species that used their weapons to push or lift (even when combined with other functions) showed greater differences between winners and losers when compared to species that used their weapons to impact, pierce, pull or squeeze. Overall, our results show that we have an incomplete understanding of animal weapons built mostly on weapon size and a few select taxa. Thus, we should start focusing on measuring weapons according to how they are used during contests and in a wider diversity of species. One way forward is to conduct studies that integrate weapon morphology to weapon function to ensure we are measuring the most ecologically relevant variables.
Water‐based spent drilling mud regulates hydrophysical properties of coarse‐textured loessial soil
Authors: Fu Wei , Liu Qiao‐run , Fan Jun , M. M. T. Lakshani , Deepagoda T. K. K. Chamindu
Published: July 2022

Amendment application is one of the effective measures used to remediate structural problems in coarse‐textured soils. However, the application of water‐based spent drilling mud (WBSM) as a potential amendment and its associated impacts on physical and hydraulic soil properties is not well‐studied. This research aimed to investigate the effect of the application of WBSM on basic hydrophysical properties of coarse‐textured loessial soil sampled from the Loess Plateau, China. Application of WBSM to repacked loessial soil at four application rates (0, 25.0, 50.0, 75.0 g kg−1, dry basis), denoted as control (H0), low (HDL), medium (HDM) and high (HDH), respectively, was used to investigate changes in soil bulk density (ρb), soil total porosity (ƒ), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), relative gas diffusivity (Dp/Do), soil‐water retention and soil evaporation characteristics. The results showed that the soil ρb in HDL and HDM decreased by 4.0% and 5.5%, respectively, as compared to H0 (p < 0.05). Measured Ks changed to 36.7% (HWL), 12.2% (HWM) and 4.4% (HWH) as compared to H0 (5.56 cm d−1). The application of WBSM further decreased the percentage of soil pore sizes >30 μm, but increased the proportion of medium pore sizes (≥30–50 μm), micro pore sizes (≥0.3–5 μm) and extremely micro pore sizes (<0.3 μm), which was attributed to the clogging effect of the fine and clay particles contained in WBSM. Decline in Dp/Do, however, was observed with increasing WBSM, likely due to the increased pore tortuosity in fine‐grained soil. The van Genuchten soil‐water retention model parameters differed largely across the WBSM application rates, with increased soil available water‐holding capacity by 50.9%, 65.9% and 64.1% in HDL, HDM and HWH, respectively, as compared to H0. However, WBSM application also  increased soil available water‐holding capacity and reduced evaporative water loss, which has useful implications for the management of coarse‐textured soils with a distinct water deficit in fragile ecosystems. Widespread use of WBSM to amend coarse‐textured soils requires further studies to evaluate the effects of WBSM amendments in field trials and its environmental consequences.

Highlights

Water‐based spent drilling mud (WBSM) altered the texture of loessial soil.

WBSM increased soil total porosity and changed pore size distribution.

WBSM affected the characteristics of soil water and gas transport.

The soil water availability was improved by WBSM application.
SORL1 gene mutation and octapeptide repeat insertion in PRNP gene in a case presenting with rapidly progressive dementia and cerebral amyloid angiopathy
Authors: Cencini Federica , Catania Marcella , Di Fede Giuseppe , Rossi Giacomina , Chalouhi Katia Khouri , Manfredi Chiara , Giaccone Giorgio , Tiraboschi Pietro , Bersano Anna , Groppo Elisabetta , Rosci Chiara , Tancredi Lucia , Campiglio Laura , De Grado Amedeo , Priori Alberto , Scelzo Emma
Published: July 2022

Background and purpose

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) has been associated with a variety of neurodegenerative disorders, included prion diseases and Alzheimer's disease; its pathophysiology is still largely unknown. We report the case of an 80‐year‐old man with rapidly progressive dementia and neuroimaging features consistent with CAA carrying two genetic defects in the PRNP and SORL1 genes.

Methods

Neurological examination, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalographic–electromyographic (EEG–EMG) polygraphy, and analysis of 14‐3‐3 and tau proteins, Aβ40, and Aβ42 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were performed. The patient underwent a detailed genetic study by next generation sequencing analysis.

Results

The patient presented with progressive cognitive dysfunction, generalized myoclonus, and ataxia. Approximately 9 months after symptom onset, he was bed‐bound, almost mute, and akinetic. Brain MRI was consistent with CAA. CSF analysis showed high levels of t‐tau and p‐tau, decreased Aβ42, decreased Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, and absence of 14.3.3 protein. EEG–EMG polygraphy demonstrated diffuse slowing, frontal theta activity, and generalized spike‐waves related to upper limb myoclonus induced by intermittent photic stimulation. Genetic tests revealed the presence of the E270K variant in the SORL1 gene and the presence of a single octapeptide repeat insertion in the coding region of the PRNP gene.

Conclusions

The specific pathogenic contribution of the two DNA variations is difficult to determine without neuropathology; among the possible explanations, we discuss the possibility of their link with CAA. Vascular and degenerative pathways actually interact in a synergistic way, and genetic studies may lead to more insight into pathophysiological mechanisms.
Morphometric magnetic resonance imaging cortico‐subcortical features in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment
Authors: Cicero Calogero Edoardo , Donzuso Giulia , Luca Antonina , Davì Marco , Baschi Roberta , Mostile Giovanni , Giuliano Loretta , Palmucci Stefano , Salerno Andrea , Monastero Roberto , Nicoletti Alessandra , Zappia Mario
Published: July 2022

Background and purpose

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with cognitive impairment undergo progressive atrophy of several cortical and subcortical areas. The aim was to study the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) morphometric features of PD patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods

Patients from the Parkinson's Disease Cognitive Impairment Study (PACOS) cohort with an available structural volumetric brain MRI and morphometric measurements of the midbrain and pons areas, middle cerebellar peduncle, superior cerebellar peduncle width and midbrain anteroposterior diameter (A‐Pdiam) were included. MCI was diagnosed according to the Movement Disorder Society level II criteria. Additionally, cortical thickness analysis was performed and correlated with morphometric brainstem measurements.

Results

Morphometric measurements were available for 168 subjects, of whom 67 (39.9%) were diagnosed with PD‐MCI. The mean age (± standard deviation) of the sample was 64.2 ± 9.8. Amongst patients, 84 (50%) were men with a disease duration of 5.2 ± 5.4 years and a Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale—Motor Examination score of 32.1 ± 12.9. In the univariate and multivariate analysis, after adjusting for age, sex, years of schooling and disease duration, MCI was associated with midbrain area (odds ratio 0.98; 95% confidence interval 0.96–0.99; p = 0.048) and A‐Pdiam (odds ratio 0.63; 95% confidence interval 0.46–0.86; p = 0.005). Furthermore, 121 PD patients underwent cortical thickness analysis, which showed the presence of cortical thinning in lateral orbitofrontal regions of patients with PD‐MCI. No correlation was found between cortical thickness and brainstem morphometric measurements.

Conclusions

A mild midbrain atrophy and the presence of frontal cortical thickness reduction might be considered a structural MRI feature of PD patients with MCI.
Bridging the gap between facts and norms: mutual trust, the European Arrest Warrant and the rule of law in an interdisciplinary context
Authors: Popelier Patricia , Gentile Giulia , van Zimmeren Esther
Published: July 2022

The rule‐of‐law‐backsliding in some Member States has subverted not only one of the EU fundamental values but also trust among national authorities when implementing European Arrest Warrants (EAW). However, when evaluating the execution of EAWs issued by countries experiencing rule‐of‐law crises, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) sought to preserve judicial cooperation and imposed a rather “top‐down” view on mutual trust among Member States. This approach seemingly disregards the (dis)trust which has emerged in the EU due to rule‐of‐law‐backsliding and fails to acknowledge the psycho‐sociological nature of trust. Drawing on the trust literature, the paper offers novel conceptual elements to rethink mutual trust in the EAW framework. Notably, it critically assesses some of the gaps in the CJEU's interpretation of mutual trust and advances suggestions to embed empirical considerations in the conceptualisation of this principle to bridge the gap between trust in practice and in principle.
Provider experience and order selection in the sharing economy
Authors: Lin Zhijie , Zhang Ying
Published: July 2022

The sharing economy, enabled by digital platforms, which connect providers and consumers for peer‐to‐peer exchanges, experienced rapid growth in recent years. Although researchers attempted to explore the societal or business impact of the sharing economy market, little is known about how individual providers operate their businesses, given that providers are capacity‐constrained, self‐scheduled and unprofessional. In this study, we are interested in the relationship between experience and providers' order selection behaviours. Leveraging a rich and proprietary dataset from a large sharing economy platform—which facilitates the exchanges of home‐cooked meals in China—and employing multiple identification strategies and estimation methods, we find that the number of orders declined by a provider first increases with their experience, but later decreases. However, their sales revenue keeps increasing with experience. Our investigation further reveals that this happens because providers adjust their order selection strategies at different experience levels to achieve higher revenue in the sharing economy. Our study is among the pioneering studies to empirically understand providers' market behaviours in the sharing economy and offers important practical implications.