bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interference Resolution in Nonfluent Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia: Evidence From a Picture–Word Interference Task
Authors: Andreou Maria , Peristeri Eleni
Published: March 2021

Background:

Picture–word interference tasks have been used to investigate (a) the time course of lexical access in individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and (b) how these individuals resolve competition during lexical selection.

Objective:

To investigate the time course of Greek-speaking individuals with PPA to produce grammatical gender-marked determiner phrases by examining their picture-naming latencies in the context of distractor words.

Method:

Eight individuals with nonfluent variant PPA (nfv-PPA; M age = 62.8 years) and eight cognitively intact controls (M age = 61.1 years) participated in our study. In a picture–word interference task, the study participants named depicted objects by producing determiner + noun sequences. Interference was generated by manipulating the grammatical gender of the depicted objects and distractor words. Two stimulus onset asynchronies were used: +200 ms and +400 ms.

Results:

The individuals with nfv-PPA exhibited longer picture-naming latencies than the controls (P = 0.003). The controls exhibited interference from incongruent distractors at both asynchronies (P < 0.001); the individuals with PPA exhibited interference from incongruent distractors only at the +400-ms interval (P = 0.002). The gender-congruency effect was stronger for the individuals with PPA than for the controls at the +400-ms interval (P = 0.05); the opposite pattern was observed at the +200-ms interval (P = 0.024).

Conclusion:

Gender interference resolution was abnormal in the individuals with nfv-PPA. The results point to deficits in lexicosyntactic networks that compromised the time course of picture-naming production.
Multimodal Neurophysiological and Neuroimaging Evidence of Genetic Influence on Motor Control: A Case Report of Monozygotic Twins
Authors: Papadopoulou Marianna , Karavasilis Efstratios , Christidi Foteini , Argyropoulos Georgios D. , Skitsa Ioulia , Makrydakis George , Efstathopoulos Efstathios , Zambelis Thomas , Karandreas Nikolaos
Published: March 2021

Considering genetic influence on brain structure and function, including motor control, we report a case of right-handed monozygotic twins with atypical organization of fine motor movement control that might imply genetic influence. Structural and functional organization of the twins’ motor function was assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), fMRI with a motor-task paradigm, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography. TMS revealed that both twins presented the same unexpected activation and inhibition of both motor cortices during volitional unilateral fine hand movement. The right ipsilateral corticospinal tract was weaker than the left contralateral one. The motor-task fMRI identified activation in the left primary motor cortex and bilateral secondary motor areas during right-hand (dominant) movement and activation in the bilateral primary motor cortex and secondary motor areas during left-hand movement. Based on DTI tractography, both twins showed a significantly lower streamline count (number of fibers) in the right corticospinal tract compared with a control group, which was not the case for the left corticospinal tract. Neither twin reported any difficulty in conducting fine motor movements during their activities of daily living. The combination of TMS and advanced neuroimaging techniques identified an atypical motor control organization that might be influenced by genetic factors. This combination emphasizes that activation of the unilateral uncrossed pyramidal tract represents an alternative scheme to a “failure” of building a standard pattern but may not necessarily lead to disability.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Subsequent to Apparent Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Rieke Jake D. , Lamb Damon G. , Lewis Gregory F. , Davila Maria I. , Schmalfuss Ilona M. , Murphy Aidan J. , Tran Amy B. , Bottari Sarah A. , Williamson John B.
Published: March 2021

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent among veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, the relationship between TBI and PTSD is not well understood. We present the case of a 31-year-old male veteran with PTSD who reported TBI before entering the military. The reported injury appeared to be mild: He was struck on the head by a baseball, losing consciousness for ∼10 seconds. Years later, he developed severe PTSD after combat exposure. He was not receiving clinical services for these issues but was encountered in the context of a research study. We conducted cognitive, autonomic, and MRI assessments to assess brain function, structure, and neurophysiology. Next, we compared amygdala volume, uncinate fasciculus diffusion, functional connectivity, facial affect recognition, and baroreceptor coherence with those of a control group of combat veterans (n = 23). Our veteran’s MRI revealed a large right medial–orbital prefrontal lesion with surrounding atrophy, which the study neuroradiologist interpreted as likely caused by traumatic injury. Comparison with controls indicated disrupted structural and functional connectivity of prefrontal–limbic structures and impaired emotional, cognitive, and autonomic responses. Detection of this injury before combat would have been unlikely in a clinical context because our veteran had reported a phenomenologically mild injury, and PTSD is a simple explanation for substance abuse, sleep impairment, and psychosocial distress. However, it may be that right prefrontal–limbic disruption imparted vulnerability for the development of PTSD and exacerbated our veteran’s emotional response to, and recovery from, PTSD.
Effects of morphine preconditioning on TRPV1 sensitization and ERK1/2 phosphorylation induced by TGFβ1 in neurocytes
Authors: Ma Zhen-Xiao , Wang Sheng
Published: March 2021

Objective

Myocardium ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is the major cause of cardiac dysfunction. While intrathecal morphine preconditioning (MPC) can alleviate IRI in animal model, the molecular processes underlying IRI and MPC remain elusive. This study aims to test whether pretreatment with morphine can ameliorate the increased activity of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) induced by transforming growth beta1 (TGFβ1) in cultured dorsal root ganglion neurons as a model of the effects of cardiac ischemia on nociceptive primary afferent neurons.

Methods

To simulate the effect of MPC on dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons during myocardial IRI in vivo, the cells were pretreated with morphine for 10 min, followed by wash-out for 30 min before TGFβ1 was added. Afterwards, DRG neurons and N2a cells in all groups were stimulated by capsaicin, and the inward current induced by capsaicin were detected by whole-cell recording on DRG neurons; the expression of TRPV1, phosphorylated (p) TRPV1, ERK1/2, and pERK1/2 were detected by western blot in N2a cells.

Results

In comparison with cells with normal culture, the inward current was enhanced of cells incubated with TGFβ1 (P < 0.05), and the relative expression of TRPV1, pTRPV1, and pERK1/2 was upregulated as well (P < 0.05); In comparison with cells incubated with TGFβ1, the inward current induced by capsaicin were decreased by pretreatment with morphine (P < 0.05), Moreover, the relative expression of TRPV1, pTRPV1, and pERK1/2 were also reduced by MPC (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

MPC inhibits TRPV1 sensitized by TGFβ1 in DRG cells, and the mechanism might be associated with the downregulation of pERK1/2 expression.
Alpha entrainment drives pain relief using visual stimulation in a sample of chronic pain patients: a proof-of-concept controlled study
Authors: Lopez-Diaz Karen , Henshaw James , Casson Alexander J. , Brown Christopher A. , Taylor Jason R. , Trujillo-Barreto Nelson J. , Arendsen Laura J. , Jones Anthony K. P. , Sivan Manoj
Published: March 2021

One-third of the population in the UK and worldwide struggle with chronic pain. Entraining brain alpha activity through noninvasive visual stimulation has been shown to reduce experimental pain in healthy volunteers. Neural oscillations entrainment offers a potential noninvasive and nonpharmacological intervention for patients with chronic pain, which can be delivered in the home setting and has the potential to reduce use of medications. However, evidence supporting its use in patients with chronic pain is lacking. This study explores whether (a) alpha entrainment increase alpha power in patients and (b) whether this increase in alpha correlates with analgesia. In total, 28 patients with chronic pain sat in a comfortable position and underwent 4-min visual stimulation using customised goggles at 10 Hz (alpha) and 7 Hz (control) frequency blocks in a randomised cross-over design. 64-channel electroencephalography and 11-point numeric rating scale pain intensity and pain unpleasantness scores were recorded before and after stimulation. Electroencephalography analysis revealed frontal alpha power was significantly higher when stimulating at 10 Hz when compared to 7 Hz. There was a significant positive correlation between increased frontal alpha and reduction in pain intensity (r = 0.33; P < 0.05) and pain unpleasantness (r = 0.40; P < 0.05) in the 10 Hz block. This study provides the first proof of concept that changes in alpha power resulting from entrainment correlate with an analgesic response in patients with chronic pain. Further studies are warranted to investigate dose–response parameters and equivalence to analgesia provided by medications.
Pain-like behavior in mice can be induced by the environmental context in which the pain stimulus was previously given
Authors: Nakamura Yukiko , Okano Yukiko , Sato Mizuka , Kobayashi Midori , Yamaguchi Takumi , Sumi Takuya , Koyama Yoshihisa , Kondo Makoto , Usui Noriyoshi , Shimada Shoichi
Published: March 2021

It has been known for decades that classical conditioning influences pain perception. However, the precise mechanism of pain modified by conditioning remains unclear, partly because of the lack of dedicated behavioral tests. In the present study, we aimed to develop a new method to detect conditioned pain using mice that were injected with formalin as an unconditioned nociceptive stimulus into the hind paw repetitively under a neutral environment. On the test day, the mice exhibited a pain-like behavior without the application of a pain stimulus in the environment. These results demonstrate that a conditioned nociceptive response can be induced by exposure alone to the environmental context in which the pain was previously experienced. The conditioned nociceptive response was sustained for at least 2 weeks. Furthermore, the conditioned nociceptive response was reduced by fentanyl but not by ibuprofen, pregabalin or fluvoxamine. This method may be useful for studying the mechanisms of irritable chronic pain and for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
The role of the P2X4 receptor in trigeminal neuralgia, a common neurological disorder
Authors: Lu Ming-Xin , Liu Zeng-Xu
Published: March 2021

Neurological disorders, which include various types of diseases with complex pathological mechanisms, are more common in the elderly and have shown increased prevalence, morbidity and mortality worldwide. Unfortunately, current therapies for these diseases are usually suboptimal or have undesirable side effects. This necessitates the development of new potential targets for disease-modifying therapies. P2X4R, a type of purinergic receptor, has multiple roles in neurological disorders. In this review, we briefly introduce a neurological disorder, trigeminal neuralgia and its’ symptoms, etiology and pathology. Moreover, we focused on the role of P2X4R in neurological disorders and their related pathophysiologic mechanisms. Further studies of P2X4R are required to determine potential therapeutic effects for these pathophysiologies.
Ischemic-time associated reductions in equol monosulfate plasma levels in a mouse model of ischemic stroke: support the existence of a ‘brain–gut axis’
Authors: Kim Jung-Hoon , Lim Chiyeon , Cho Suin
Published: March 2021

Background

Interest is growing in the role played by intestinal flora in the pathogeneses of diseases and in the possibility of treating disease by altering intestinal flora compositions. Recent studies have focused on the relationship between the intestinal microbiome and brain function as proposed by the brain–gut axis hypothesis.

Objectives

To investigate the relation between ischemic stroke and plasma equol monosulfate levels (a soy isoflavone metabolite) in a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mouse model.

Methods

Mice (C57BL/6) were subjected to MCAO for various times (30 min to 24 h), and degrees of cerebral damage were assessed using total infarction volumes, brain edema severities and neurological deficit scores. Hematoxylin and eosin and cresyl violet staining were used to observe morphological changes in ischemic brains. Levels of equol monosulfate in plasma and the relationships between these and degree of brain injury were investigated.

Results

Infarction volumes, brain edema severity and neurological deficit scores were significantly correlated with ischemic time, and morphological deteriorations of brain neuronal cells also increased with ischemic duration. Equol monosulfate contents were ischemic-time dependently lower in MCAO treated animals than in sham-operated controls.

Conclusion

Ischemic stroke may time-dependently reduce plasma levels of equol monosulfate by lowering the metabolic rate of equol in MCAO-induced mice. This study provides indirect support of the brain–gut axis hypothesis.
Oviposition-site shift in phytophagous mites reflects a trade-off between predator avoidance and rainstorm resistance
Authors: Okada Serena , Yano Shuichi
Published: March 2021

Predators can reduce prey population densities by driving them to undertake costly defences. Here, we report on a remarkable example of induced antipredator defence in spider mites that enhances the risk to rainstorms. Spider mites live on the undersides of host plant leaves and usually oviposit on the leaf undersurface. When they are threatened by predatory mites, they oviposit on three-dimensional webs to avoid egg predation, although the cost of ovipositing on webs has not yet been clearly determined. We prepared bean plants harbouring spider mite (Tetranychus kanzawai) eggs on either leaf surfaces or webs and exposed them to rainstorms outdoors. We found that fewer eggs remained on webs than on leaf surfaces. We then examined the synergistic effect of wind and rain by simulating both in the laboratory. We conclude that ovipositing on webs comes at a cost, as eggs are washed off the host plants by wind and rain. This may explain why spider mite populations decrease drastically in the rainy season, although they inhibit leaf undersides where they are not directly exposed to rainfall.
Stabilizing responses to sideslip disturbances in
Drosophila melanogaster
are modulated by the density of moving elements on the ground
Authors: Ruiz Carlos , Theobald Jamie C.
Published: March 2021

Stabilizing responses to sideslip disturbances are a critical part of the flight control system in flies. While strongly mediated by mechanoreception, much of the final response results from the wide-field motion detection system associated with vision. In order to be effective, these responses must match the disturbance they are aimed to correct. To do this, flies must estimate the velocity of the disturbance, although it is not known how they accomplish this task when presented with natural images or dot fields. The recent finding, that motion parallax in dot fields can modulate stabilizing responses only if perceived below the fly, raises the question of whether other image statistics are also processed differently between eye regions. One such parameter is the density of elements moving in translational optic flow. Depending on the habitat, there might be strong differences in the density of elements providing information about self-motion above and below the fly, which in turn could act as selective pressures tuning the visual system to process this parameter on a regional basis. By presenting laterally moving dot fields of different densities we found that, in
Drosophila melanogaster
, the amplitude of the stabilizing response is significantly affected by the number of elements in the field of view. Flies countersteer strongly within a relatively low and narrow range of element densities. But this effect is exclusive to the ventral region of the eye, and dorsal stimuli elicit an unaltered and stereotypical response regardless of the density of elements in the flow. This highlights local specialization of the eye and suggests the lower region may play a more critical role in translational flight stabilization.
Female-limited X-chromosome evolution effects on male pre- and post-copulatory success
Authors: Manat Yesbol , Lund-Hansen Katrine K. , Katsianis Georgios , Abbott Jessica K.
Published: March 2021

Intralocus sexual conflict arises when the expression of shared alleles at a single locus generates opposite fitness effects in each sex (i.e. sexually antagonistic alleles), preventing each sex from reaching its sex-specific optimum. Despite its importance to reproductive success, the relative contribution of intralocus sexual conflict to male pre- and post-copulatory success is not well-understood. Here, we used a female-limited X-chromosome (FLX) evolution experiment in
Drosophila melanogaster
to limit the inheritance of the X-chromosome to the matriline, eliminating possible counter-selection in males and allowing the X-chromosome to accumulate female-benefit alleles. After more than 100 generations of FLX evolution, we studied the effect of the evolved X-chromosome on male attractiveness and sperm competitiveness. We found a non-significant increase in attractiveness and decrease in sperm offence ability in males expressing the evolved X-chromosomes, but a significant increase in their ability to avoid displacement by other males' sperm. This is consistent with a trade-off between these traits, perhaps mediated by differences in body size, causing a small net reduction in overall male fitness in the FLX lines. These results indicate that the X-chromosome in
D. melanogaster
is subject to selection via intralocus sexual conflict in males.
Quantifying the limits of CAR T-cell delivery in mice and men
Authors: Brown Liam V. , Gaffney Eamonn A. , Ager Ann , Wagg Jonathan , Coles Mark C.
Published: March 2021

CAR (Chimeric Antigen Receptor) T cells have demonstrated clinical success for the treatment of multiple lymphomas and leukaemias, but not for various solid tumours, despite promising data from murine models. Lower effective CAR T-cell delivery rates to human solid tumours compared to haematological malignancies in humans and solid tumours in mice might partially explain these divergent outcomes. We used anatomical and physiological data for human and rodent circulatory systems to calculate the typical perfusion of healthy and tumour tissues, and estimated the upper limits of immune cell delivery rates across different organs, tumour types and species. Estimated maximum delivery rates were up to 10 000-fold greater in mice than humans yet reported CAR T-cell doses are typically only 10–100-fold lower in mice, suggesting that the effective delivery rates of CAR T cells into tumours in clinical trials are far lower than in corresponding mouse models. Estimated delivery rates were found to be consistent with published positron emission tomography data. Results suggest that higher effective human doses may be needed to drive efficacy comparable to mouse solid tumour models, and that lower doses should be tested in mice. We posit that quantitation of species and organ-specific delivery and homing of engineered T cells will be key to unlocking their potential for solid tumours.
Protein
S
-palmitoylation in immunity
Authors: Das Tandrila , Yount Jacob S. , Hang Howard C.
Published: March 2021

S
-palmitoylation is a reversible posttranslational lipid modification of proteins. It controls protein activity, stability, trafficking and protein–protein interactions. Recent global profiling of immune cells and targeted analysis have identified many
S
-palmitoylated immunity-associated proteins. Here, we review
S
-palmitoylated immune receptors and effectors, and their dynamic regulation at cellular membranes to generate specific and balanced immune responses. We also highlight how this understanding can drive therapeutic advances to pharmacologically modulate immune responses.
Turning turtle: scaling relationships and self-righting ability in
Chelydra serpentina
Authors: Ruhr Ilan M. , Rose Kayleigh A. R. , Sellers William I. , Crossley Dane A. , Codd Jonathan R.
Published: March 2021

Testudines are susceptible to inversion and self-righting using their necks, limbs or both, to generate enough mechanical force to flip over. We investigated how shell morphology, neck length and self-righting biomechanics scale with body mass during ontogeny in
Chelydra serpentina
, which uses neck-powered self-righting. We found that younger turtles flipped over twice as fast as older individuals. A simple geometric model predicted the relationships of shell shape and self-righting time with body mass. Conversely, neck force, power output and kinetic energy increase with body mass at rates greater than predicted. These findings were correlated with relatively longer necks in younger turtles than would be predicted by geometric similarity. Therefore, younger turtles self-right with lower biomechanical costs than predicted by simple scaling theory. Considering younger turtles are more prone to inverting and their shells offer less protection, faster and less costly self-righting would be advantageous in overcoming the detriments of inversion.
Quantifying impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through life expectancy losses: a population-level study of 29 countries
Authors: Aburto José Manuel , Schöley Jonas , Kashnitsky Ilya , Zhang Luyin , Rahal Charles , Missov Trifon I. , Mills Melinda C. , Dowd Jennifer B. , Kashyap Ridhi
Published: March 2021

Variations in the age patterns and magnitudes of excess deaths, as well as differences in population sizes and age structures make cross-national comparisons of the cumulative mortality impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic challenging. Life expectancy is a widely-used indicator that provides a clear and cross-nationally comparable picture of the population-level impacts of the pandemic on mortality. Life tables by sex were calculated for 29 countries, including most European countries, Chile, and the USA for 2015-2020. Life expectancy at birth and at age 60 for 2020 were contextualised against recent trends between 2015-19. Using decomposition techniques, we examined which specific age groups contributed to reductions in life expectancy in 2020 and to what extent reductions were attributable to official COVID-19 deaths. Life expectancy at birth declined from 2019 to 2020 in 27 out of 29 countries. Males in the USA and Lithuania experienced the largest losses in life expectancy at birth during 2020 (2.2 and 1.7 years respectively), but reductions of more than an entire year were documented in eleven countries for males, and eight among females. Reductions were mostly attributable to increased mortality above age 60 and to official COVID-19 deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered significant mortality increases in 2020 of a magnitude not witnessed since WW-II in Western Europe or the breakup of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. Females from 15 countries and males from 10 ended up with lower life expectancy at birth in 2020 than in 2015.
Structural biology of coronavirus ion channels
Authors: Barrantes Francisco J.
Published: March 2021

Viral infection compromises specific organelles of the cell and readdresses its functional resources to satisfy the needs of the invading body. Around 70% of the coronavirus positive-sense single-stranded RNA encodes proteins involved in replication, and these viruses essentially take over the biosynthetic and transport mechanisms to ensure the efficient replication of their genome and trafficking of their virions. Some coronaviruses encode genes for ion-channel proteins – the envelope protein E (orf4a), orf3a and orf8 – which they successfully employ to take control of the endoplasmic reticulum–Golgi complex intermediate compartment or ERGIC. The E protein, which is one of the four structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses, assembles its transmembrane protomers into homopentameric channels with mild cationic selectivity. Orf3a forms homodimers and homotetramers. Both carry a PDZ-binding domain, lending them the versatility to interact with more than 400 target proteins in infected host cells. Orf8 is a very short 29-amino-acid single-passage transmembrane peptide that forms cation-selective channels when assembled in lipid bilayers. This review addresses the contribution of biophysical and structural biology approaches that unravel different facets of coronavirus ion channels, their effects on the cellular machinery of infected cells and some structure–functional correlations with ion channels of higher organisms.
Moderation effect of social support and personal resources between emotional work and employee wellbeing
Authors: Mehta Poonam , Sharma Jyoti
Published: March 2021

Purpose

There is dearth of studies in the literature which have discussed the relevance of personal and social resources of employees to protect them from adverse impacts of emotional job demands. However, interaction effect of these two resources on wellbeing of the employees in context to emotional work is inadequate. The present study is aimed to address the existing gap and investigate the relevance of personal and social resources as moderators in the presence of each other between emotional work and employee wellbeing.

Design/methodology/approach

The research work has focused on employees working on frontline profiles of civil aviation industry of north India. The responses of 720 frontline employees have been collected through pretested questionnaire. To understand the moderation effect of two variables, model number 3 developed by Hayes (2012) has been applied.

Findings

The findings have revealed that moderator role of social support between emotional work and employee wellbeing. However, research has pointed out that at high level of social support personal resources of employees' start to decline which subsequently reduces the wellbeing of employees.

Research limitations/implications

The present research work has analysed the moderated moderation effect of personal and social resources between emotional work and employee wellbeing. Besides, the relative significance of personal resources vis-a vis social resources empirically in context of employee wellbeing in case of emotional work has also been highlighted in the work.

Practical implications

The results of the study have suggested the employees to receive less social support from friends, family and other significant relationships to protect their personal resources in emotional work settings. Moreover, research work has implicated for employers to draw out the various interventions through which personal resources of employees can be enhanced in emotional work settings. Also, the research has assisted in designing the key competencies for different job domains of emotional work setups.

Social implications

The present study is very substantial in offering various parameters over which wellbeing policies for individuals can be framed. Also, the study has outlined the consequences of receiving different levels of social support which is applicable for that set of population who wants to enhance their personal resources for attaining high wellbeing.

Originality/value

The study has empirically investigated interaction effect of social and personal resources of employees between emotional work and employee wellbeing which is scarce in the literature. Besides, a dark side of social support in emotional work context has also been highlighted which was scarcely discussed in emotional work settings previously.
TMT leadership ambidexterity: balancing exploration and exploitation behaviors for innovation
Authors: Lawrence Eleanor T. , Tworoger Leslie , Ruppel Cynthia P. , Yurova Yuliya
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore balanced leadership behaviors, which exhibit ambidexterity, in a top management team (TMT) recognized for innovation and operational success.

Design/methodology/approach

An action research case study was conducted in a single global organization in an industry requiring high levels of innovation. Operationalized as a balance of exploratory and exploitative behaviors, leadership ambidexterity was measured using the strategic-operational dimension of the Leadership Versatility Index (LVI©) which when completed included 67 assessments provided by TMT peers, supervisors and direct reports. Using quantitative and qualitative data, we examined the behaviors of six executives and the degree of flexibility they exhibit when switching opposing behaviors.

Findings

This study provides empirical evidence that TMT leaders of a highly innovative company strive to flexibly move between explorative and exploitative behaviors both as individual members and as an executive team. A high degree of exploitation–exploration versatility was also linked to the TMT effective performance.

Practical implications

For organizational practitioners, the study offers a quantifiable measure of individual and team leadership ambidexterity. It can be used to raise awareness and suggest ambidextrous behaviors to TMT leaders and “high-management-potentials”.

Originality/value

This study measures leadership ambidexterity of individual executives and the TMT as a group using a quantitative instrument supported by 360-degree qualitative data. Access to both secondary and proprietary information allowed in depth examination of the TMT behaviors in an innovative firm, which was acquired at a premium and was recognized with multiple innovation awards.
Techno-managerial implications towards communication in internet of things for smart cities
Authors: Pawar Avinash , Kolte Ashutosh , Sangvikar Balkrishan
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of the internet of things (IoT) system for smart cities and deliberate on the technological aspects involved in developing smart cities along with the framework, impact and benefits of IoT for smart cities.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on the review and synthesis of the papers on the broader areas of IoT for the application and implication towards the smart cities. The prime focus of this paper is to realize the IoT systems for smart city’s development and implementation of various technologies in the context of the Indian environment.

Findings

The outcome of the paper explores the highlights of the importance of the IoT system, including the technological framework, impact and benefits for smart cities. The outcome also highlights the application of IoT for smart cities. This paper provides direction regarding future degrees, potential conceivable outcomes and issues concerning the technological side of smart cities. IoT can change the lives of the people and support evolving urban areas for developing smart cities in India.

Originality/value

The paper deliberates on the novel techno-managerial approach towards the endeavour of smart cities using the IoT.
Professional parental status disclosure in intensive family intervention work
Authors: Archard Philip John
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This paper is concerned with what intensive family intervention professionals reveal to the parents with whom they work about whether they themselves are parents or not, as a form of professional self-disclosure in child welfare work. This paper also addresses the act of lying in professional self-disclosure.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on material from a series of narrative interviews completed with practitioners from one family intervention programme in an English local authority as part of a study looking at how children’s services professionals experience the suffering of parents. The study was based on a psychoanalytically informed methodological approach, which is represented in the analysis provided in the paper.

Findings

The overall team ethos regarding parental status disclosure is considered briefly first then two participants’ accounts are explored in depth. These involved, what can be considered as, questionable or unorthodox stances regarding parental status disclosure (and self-disclosure more generally). The exploration illustrates the role that practitioners’ personal lives and histories can play in influencing how the act of professional parental status disclosure is experienced and how particular positions are invested in regarding the role of self-disclosure in working relationships with parents.

Originality/value

Child welfare and family intervention professionals are often asked personal questions by the parents and carers they work with, including questions about whether they are a parent or not. These questions can be difficult to answer and there is a need for dedicated empirical analysis into the ways in which professionals experience, think about and respond to them and what they disclose about themselves when working with families.
Sprawl of the COVID-19 in changing scenario: a methodology based on social interaction
Authors: Kumar Gaurav , Kumar Akshay , Khan Farhan Mohammad , Gupta Rajiv
Published: March 2021

Purpose

There are several methods developed in the recent past to predict the spread of COVID-19 in different countries. However, due to changing scenarios in terms of interaction among people, none could predict the case close to the actual figures. An attempt to simulate people's interaction due to economic reopening concerning the confirmed cases at various places as per changing situation has been made. The scenario development method's base lies in the hypothesis that if there were no inter-state transportation during India's lockdown after May 24th, the number of infection cases would have started lowering down in a normalized progression.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has developed three scenarios from the worst to the business-as-usual to the best in order to project the COVID-19 infections in India concerning infections observed from January 30th till May 24th, 2020, since the domestic flights became operational from May 25th, 2020, in India.

Findings

Based on the observed cases till May 24th, the rise of cases is projected further in a random progression and superimposed to the normal progression. The results obtained in the three scenarios present that worst case needs complete lockdown, business-as-usual case needs regulatory lockdown and best case assures complete lockdown release by the second week of September 2020. This study suggests the preparedness and mitigation strategy for a threefold lockdown management scheme in all-inclusive.

Originality/value

The work has been done on a hypothesis which is solely original.
Why are tourist resorts attractive for transnational crime? The case of the Mayan Riviera
Authors: Norio Elisa
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The relationships between tourist resorts and transnational crime are rarely analyzed systematically. This paper begins to fill this gap by examining how organized crime groups and individuals linked to them can take advantage of tourist resorts to commit crimes.
Variable effects of mycorrhizal fungi on predator–prey dynamics under field conditions
Authors: Meier Amanda R. , Hunter Mark D.
Published: March 2021

Interactions between herbivores and their predators are shaped, in part, by plant phenotype. Consequently, ubiquitous symbionts of plants below‐ground, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), may influence interactions above‐ground between predators and their prey by altering plant phenotype. However, the ecological relevance of below‐ground organisms on predator–prey interactions under field conditions remains unclear.

We assessed how AMF influence herbivore–predator interactions through a field experiment.

We planted two milkweed species (Asclepias curassavica and Asclepias incarnata) provided with different amounts of AMF inoculum (zero, medium, and high) in a randomized block design. We added aphids to plants and reduced predator pressure weekly for 5 weeks to evaluate effects of AMF on predator recruitment. We then allowed herbivore–predator interactions to re‐establish naturally for the remainder of the season to examine whether AMF‐mediated variation in predator recruitment influenced the suppression of aphid populations.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi availability in soils mediated interactions between predaceous aphid midge flies Aphidoletes aphidimyza and their aphid prey Aphis nerii, but the effects were plant species‐specific. On A. curassavica, by mid‐season, midges were recruited most strongly on plants under medium AMF availability and least on plants under high AMF availability. In contrast, each midge killed fewer aphids with increasing aphid density on medium AMF plants, but killed more aphids with increasing aphid density on high AMF plants. In combination, aphid mortality rates imposed by midges were greatest on medium AMF plants, followed by high and zero AMF plants. By comparison, on A. incarnata, the recruitment of midges was strongest on high AMF plants and weakest on medium AMF plants. AMF had no effect on the number of aphids killed per midge, relative to aphid density, so mortality rates of aphids imposed by midges mirrored recruitment. Rates of decline in aphid populations following predator recolonization were associated with midge densities, as well as lacewing and syrphid densities, which were unaffected by AMF availability. Therefore, the effects of AMF on aphid population decline were not a simple function of AMF–midge interactions.

Our findings demonstrate that the availability of AMF in soils has pervasive, but complex, effects on predator–herbivore dynamics in the field.
Making place in virus‐free space
Authors: Farbotko Carol
Published: March 2021

As much a rapidly evolving cultural signifier as a viral materiality, COVID‐19 has not biologically penetrated every national border. It is, however, transforming the interpretation, understanding, and experience of place in the absence of infection. One role for geographers is to analyse how the material absence of COVID‐19 is manifesting spatially beyond closed borders. More specifically, how are particular places becoming meaningful as virus‐free? On that basis, this article offers a commentary and cultural geographic analysis of a road called COVID‐19 Road newly constructed on one of the islands of the Pacific nation, Tuvalu, and of migration during Tuvalu's pandemic state of emergency. The idea of rural security is central to national government advice for urbanites living on the main island of Funafuti to voluntarily return to one of the eight other rural islands to which they claim kinship ties. Those outer islands of Tuvalu, long mythologised as the nation's real heartland, are being constructed as secure, while the capital is insecure against COVID‐19 risk. Rural place is thus constituted as nurturing and safe, particularly because of a renewed policy focus on customary practices of food security. The amplification of such practices is intended to limit the need for reliance on cargo supplies and humanitarian aid from the infected outside world. Rurality, isolation, islandness, subsistence, and remoteness are pivotal to an emerging national narrative of Tuvalu as resourceful and resilient during the pandemic.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID‐19 in patients with type 2 diabetes in Turkey: A nationwide study (TurCoviDia)
Authors: Sonmez Alper , Demirci Ibrahim , Haymana Cem , Tasci Ilker , Dagdelen Selcuk , Salman Serpil , Ata Naim , Sahin Ibrahim , Emral Rifat , Cakal Erman , Atmaca Aysegul , Sahin Mustafa , Celik Osman , Demir Tevfik , Ertugrul Derun , Unluturk Ugur , Caglayan Murat , Satman Ilhan
Published: March 2021

Background

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has been reported to be associated with a more severe course in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, severe adverse outcomes are not recorded in all patients. In this study, we assessed disease outcomes in patients with and without T2DM hospitalized for COVID‐19.

Methods

A nationwide retrospective cohort of patients with T2DM hospitalized with confirmed COVID‐19 infection from 11 March to 30 May 2020 in the Turkish Ministry of Health database was investigated. Multivariate modeling was used to assess the independent predictors of demographic and clinical characteristics with mortality, length of hospital stay, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission and/or mechanical ventilation.

Results

A total of 18 426 inpatients (median age [interquartile range, IQR]: 61 [17] years; males: 43.3%) were investigated. Patients with T2DM (n = 9213) were compared with a group without diabetes (n = 9213) that were matched using the propensity scores for age and gender. Compared with the group without T2DM, 30‐day mortality following hospitalization was higher in patients with T2DM (13.6% vs 8.7%; hazard ratio 1.75; 95% CI, 1.58‐1.93; P < .001). The independent associates of mortality were older age, male gender, obesity, insulin treatment, low lymphocyte count, and pulmonary involvement on admission. Older age, low lymphocyte values, and pulmonary involvement at baseline were independently associated with longer hospital stay and/or ICU admission.

Conclusions

The current study from the Turkish national health care database showed that patients with T2DM hospitalized for COVID‐19 are at increased risk of mortality, longer hospital stay, and ICU admission.
Integrated genetic analyses revealed novel human longevity loci and reduced risks of multiple diseases in a cohort study of 15,651 Chinese individuals
Authors: Liu Xiaomin , Song Zijun , Li Yan , Yao Yao , Fang Mingyan , Bai Chen , An Peng , Chen Huashuai , Chen Zhihua , Tang Biyao , Shen Juan , Gao Xiaotong , Zhang Mingrong , Chen Pengyu , Zhang Tao , Jia Huijue , Liu Xiao , Hou Yong , Yang Huanming , Wang Jian , Wang Fudi , Xu Xun , Min Junxia , Nie Chao , Zeng Yi
Published: March 2021

There is growing interest in studying the genetic contributions to longevity, but limited relevant genes have been identified. In this study, we performed a genetic association study of longevity in a total of 15,651 Chinese individuals. Novel longevity loci, BMPER (rs17169634; p = 7.91 × 10−15) and TMEM43/XPC (rs1043943; p = 3.59 × 10−8), were identified in a case–control analysis of 11,045 individuals. BRAF (rs1267601; p = 8.33 × 10−15) and BMPER (rs17169634; p = 1.45 × 10−10) were significantly associated with life expectancy in 12,664 individuals who had survival status records. Additional sex‐stratified analyses identified sex‐specific longevity genes. Notably, sex‐differential associations were identified in two linkage disequilibrium blocks in the TOMM40/APOE region, indicating potential differences during meiosis between males and females. Moreover, polygenic risk scores and Mendelian randomization analyses revealed that longevity was genetically causally correlated with reduced risks of multiple diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and arthritis. Finally, we incorporated genetic markers, disease status, and lifestyles to classify longevity or not‐longevity groups and predict life span. Our predictive models showed good performance (AUC = 0.86 for longevity classification and explained 19.8% variance of life span) and presented a greater predictive efficiency in females than in males. Taken together, our findings not only shed light on the genetic contributions to longevity but also elucidate correlations between diseases and longevity.
Oral manifestations of syphilis: an epidemiological study in southern Brazil
Authors: Thums MA , Koth VS , de Figueiredo MAZ , Cherubini K , Salum FG
Published: March 2021

Background

Syphilis is an infectious, sexually transmitted disease with varied oral manifestations, that can mimic other lesions. This study aimed to conduct an epidemiological survey of cases of syphilis, diagnosed from oral manifestations, establishing the sociodemographic profile of patients and clinical characteristics of oral lesions.

Methods

The medical records of patients with oral lesions of syphilis acquired were reviewed, and 109 cases were selected.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 34.4 years and, of these, 51% were male. In 105 cases, the disease was diagnosed in the secondary stage; in three cases, in the primary stage; and, in one case, in the tertiary stage. The cases of primary syphilis presented as single and ulcerated nodules, and the case of tertiary syphilis, as a necrotic lesion in the palate. In 86% of cases of secondary syphilis, there were multicentric lesions, presenting as grayish‐white plaques (85%), associated or not with erosive and/or ulcerated lesions (33%), mostly affecting the labial mucosa and tongue. In 91.7% of cases painful symptoms were reported.

Conclusion

Considering the increase in syphilis, it is extremely important that dentists recognize its oral manifestations, because early diagnosis and treatment can minimize the risks of complications and transmission.
Australian and New Zealand contribution to Plastic Surgery
Authors: Yousef Justin , Morrison Wayne
Published: March 2021

Background

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) can trace its origins as far back as 3000 BC. Despite this, it remained a relatively rare and unestablished branch of surgery until the devastating injuries of the World Wars necessitated reconstruction. Returning wartime surgeons used the skills they had learned on the battlefield to continue PRS in Australia and New Zealand. This article examines the significant contributions of Australian and New Zealand surgeons to the founding of PRS as a global specialty and provides an account of the strenuous dedicated competition that led to the development of microsurgery and advances in reconstruction.

Methods

A comprehensive review of medical, medical humanities, and history databases (PubMed; MEDLINE; Web of Knowledge; Anthropology; Encyclopaedia of ancient history) and non‐digital printed texts was conducted using multiple search terms and filters including Reconstruction; Plastic Surgery; Burns; Flaps; and Microsurgery). The search was restricted to publications that focused on the period between 1818 CE to current.

Results

Significant contributions of surgeons from the Antipodes occurred during several periods including the Industrial era, World Wars, Post‐war and in the modern age.

Conclusions

Stirred by their wartime experience, surgeons from Australia and New Zealand laid the foundations of the global success of Plastic Surgery in the modern age and helped establish it as a specialty in its own right.