bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Australia’s colourful path to tuberculosis freedom
Authors: Glanville Ronald J.
Published: July 2023

The aim of this paper is to highlight the key lessons learned from Australia’s successful program to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) over a 27-year period from 1970 when the Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign commenced, through to when TB freedom was declared on 31 December 1997.

As well as discussing the key elements of the national program and its success factors, the author documents a number of case studies and reflects on personal experiences in the far north-west of the state of Queensland during the very difficult latter phases of the program from the mid 1980s and subsequently as State program leader. The late 1980’s was a crucial time in the program leading up to a target declaration of Impending Freedom from TB.
Challenges to the control of Mycobacterium bovis in livestock and wildlife populations in the South African context
Authors: Davey Sewellyn
Published: July 2023

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) was first diagnosed in cattle in South Africa in 1880 and proclaimed a controlled disease in 1911. Testing of cattle for bTB is voluntary and only outbreaks of disease are reported to the National Department of Agriculture so the prevalence of the disease in cattle is largely unknown. There is a Bovine Tuberculosis Scheme which is aimed at the control of bTB in cattle but the same measures of test and slaughter, and the quarantining of the property apply to wildlife as well. bTB was first diagnosed in wildlife in a greater kudu in the Eastern Cape in 1928 and has to date been found in 24 mammalian wildlife species. The African buffalo has become a maintenance host of the disease, which is considered endemic in the Kruger National Park, the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and the Madikwe Game Park. Control of bTB at the wildlife-livestock interface is difficult because of spill-over and spill-back between species. Only buffalo are required by law to be tested before translocation, but bTB has been introduced to the Madikwe Game Park probably by the translocation of other infected wildlife species. There is no national control strategy for the control of bTB in wildlife. Indirect tests have been developed to test for bTB in eight species, 6 of which can be considered endangered. More research needs to be done to develop an effective and efficient vaccine to combat the transmission of bTB within and between species. New policies need to be developed that are effective, affordable and encompassing to control the spread of bTB in South Africa.
Prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit beta (P4HB) could serve as a prognostic and radiosensitivity biomarker for prostate cancer patients
Authors: Feng Dechao , Li Li , Li Dengxiong , Wu Ruicheng , Zhu Weizhen , Wang Jie , Ye Luxia , Han Ping
Published: July 2023

Background

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit beta (P4HB) has been reported as a suppressor in ferroptosis. However, no known empirical research has focused on exploring relationships between P4HB and prostate cancer (PCa). In this research, we initially examine the function of P4HB in PCa by thorough analysis of numerous databases and proliferation experiment.

Methods

We analyzed the correlations of P4HB expression with prognosis, clinical features, mutation genes, tumor heterogeneity, stemness, tumor immune microenvironment and PCa cells using multiple databases and in vitro experiment with R 3.6.3 software and its suitable packages.

Results

P4HB was significantly upregulated in tumor tissues compared to normal tissues and was closely related to biochemical recurrence-free survival. In terms of clinical correlations, we found that higher P4HB expression was significantly related to older age, higher Gleason score, advanced T stage and residual tumor.Surprisingly, P4HB had highly diagnostic accuracy of radiotherapy resistance (AUC 0.938). TGF beta signaling pathway and dorso ventral axis formation were upregulated in the group of low-expression P4HB. For tumor stemness, P4HB expression was positively related to EREG.EXPss and RNAss, but was negatively associated with ENHss and DNAss with statistical significance. For tumor heterogeneity, P4HB expression was positively related to MATH, but was negatively associated with tumor ploidy and microsatellite instability. For the overall assessment of TME, we observed that P4HB expression was negatively associated with all parameters, including B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, stromal score, immune score and ESTIMATE score. Spearman analysis showed that P4HB expression was negatively related to TIDE score with statistical significance. In vitro experiment, RT-qPCR and western blot showed that three siRNAs of P4HB were effective on the knockdown of P4HB expression. Furthermore, we observed that the downregulation of P4HB had significant influence on the cell proliferation of six PCa cell lines, including LNCap, C4-2, C4-2B, PC3, DU145 and 22RV1 cells.

Conclusions

In this study, we found that P4HB might serve as a prognostic biomarker and predict radiotherapy resistance for PCa patients. Downregulation of P4HB expression could inhibit the cell proliferation of PCa cells.
Few dental indices in modern Bulgarian population from southern Bulgaria
Authors: Harizanova Zdravka , Baltadjiev Atanas , Popova Ferihan , Peycheva Marieta
Published: July 2023

Aim

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the reduction of the distal teeth towards the medial ones in one functional dental group in southern Bulgarian population.

Materials and methods

The study included 232 Bulgarians aged 20–40 years. Mesiodistal dimensions of the teeth were measured by Dentistry Sliding Vernier Caliper and analyzed with SPSS 23.0. Four interdental indices were calculated: inter-incisive, premolar, upper, and lower molar indices.

Results

We found a decrease in the percentage ratio of the lateral to the central incisors of people from the Bulgarian population compared to those dating from the Eneolithic period on the territory of Bulgaria. Furthermore, we found a reduction in the percentage ratio of the upper and lower second molars compared to the first ones. The biggest reduction in the percentage ratio (more than 6%) was found in the lower second premolars compared to the first ones, which is characteristic for southern Bulgarians.

Conclusion

There was a dental reduction in all the distal members compared to the medial ones participating in one morphological dental group. As a result, we think that interdental indices can be used for explaining historical, cultural, and biological macro and microevolutionary processes and thus for understanding the origin, formation, contacts, and migration pathways of the different populations leading to ethnic variation of humanity. Therefore, they can be a reliable source of information in physiological anthropology.
The impact of imprisonment on individuals’ mental health and society reintegration: study protocol
Authors: Cunha Olga , Castro Rodrigues Andreia de , Caridade Sónia , Dias Ana Rita , Almeida Telma Catarina , Cruz Ana Rita , Peixoto Maria Manuela
Published: July 2023

Background

Prison sentences are a particular type of penalty that aim to reintegrate individuals into society. Nonetheless, research suggests that prison sentences have a null or a criminogenic effect on recidivism and a critical impact on inmates’ mental health, negatively interfering with their successful reintegration into society and recidivism. Prevalence rates of mental health disorders among individuals who commit crimes are high, but little is known about how incarceration perpetuates and/or worsens mental health symptoms. In the Portuguese context, no studies focused on understanding the impact of imprisonment on prisoners’ mental health. Thus, this project aims to understand incarceration’s mental health and well-being impact on male and female individuals convicted to prison, both while incarcerated and after release.

Methods

The study will follow a quantitative cross-sectional design of male and female individuals in prison and parole, aiming to assess different samples at different moments of the prison sentence. It will also follow a longitudinal design in a subsample of male and female individuals sentenced to prison and on parole who will be followed for one year.

Discussion

This study intends to have a meaningful impact on the understanding of imprisonment effects, giving important clues for developing and implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies to address prisoners’ and ex-prisoners’ mental health and improve their ability to successfully reintegrate into society and reduce recidivism.
Incorporating test-taking engagement into the item selection algorithm in low-stakes computerized adaptive tests
Authors: Gorgun Guher , Bulut Okan
Published: July 2023

In low-stakes assessment settings, students’ performance is not only influenced by students’ ability level but also their test-taking engagement. In computerized adaptive tests (CATs), disengaged responses (e.g., rapid guesses) that fail to reflect students’ true ability levels may lead to the selection of less informative items and thereby contaminate item selection and ability estimation procedures. To date, researchers have developed various approaches to detect and remove disengaged responses after test administration is completed to alleviate the negative impact of low test-taking engagement on test scores. This study proposes an alternative item selection method based on Maximum Fisher Information (MFI) that considers test-taking engagement as a secondary latent trait to select the most optimal items based on both ability and engagement. The results of post-hoc simulation studies indicated that the proposed method could optimize item selection and improve the accuracy of final ability estimates, especially for low-ability students. Overall, the proposed method showed great promise for tailoring CATs based on test-taking engagement. Practitioners are encouraged to consider incorporating engagement into the item selection algorithm to enhance the validity of inferences made from low-stakes CATs.
Optimizing classification efficiency with machine learning techniques for pattern matching
Authors: Hamed Belal A. , Ibrahim Osman Ali Sadek , Abd El-Hafeez Tarek
Published: July 2023

The study proposes a novel model for DNA sequence classification that combines machine learning methods and a pattern-matching algorithm. This model aims to effectively categorize DNA sequences based on their features and enhance the accuracy and efficiency of DNA sequence classification. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated using various machine learning algorithms, and the results indicate that the SVM linear classifier achieves the highest accuracy and F1 score among the tested algorithms. This finding suggests that the proposed model can provide better overall performance than other algorithms in DNA sequence classification. In addition, the proposed model is compared to two suggested algorithms, namely FLPM and PAPM, and the results show that the proposed model outperforms these algorithms in terms of accuracy and efficiency. The study further explores the impact of pattern length on the accuracy and time complexity of each algorithm. The results show that as the pattern length increases, the execution time of each algorithm varies. For a pattern length of 5, SVM Linear and EFLPM have the lowest execution time of 0.0035 s. However, at a pattern length of 25, SVM Linear has the lowest execution time of 0.0012 s. The experimental results of the proposed model show that SVM Linear has the highest accuracy and F1 score among the tested algorithms. SVM Linear achieved an accuracy of 0.963 and an F1 score of 0.97, indicating that it can provide the best overall performance in DNA sequence classification. Naive Bayes also performs well with an accuracy of 0.838 and an F1 score of 0.94. The proposed model offers a valuable contribution to the field of DNA sequence analysis by providing a novel approach to pre-processing and feature extraction. The model’s potential applications include drug discovery, personalized medicine, and disease diagnosis. The study’s findings highlight the importance of considering the impact of pattern length on the accuracy and time complexity of DNA sequence classification algorithms.
Youth victim perspective: optimizing presentation of patient-reported outcomes in a violence intervention program
Authors: Hollo Ashley , Nimmer Mark , Cheaton Brooke , Melzer-Lange Marlene , Levas Michael
Published: July 2023

Introduction

The health, well-being and psychological development of children in urban areas is threatened by exposure to interpersonal violence. Violence intervention programs, such as Project Ujima, provide children with comprehensive treatment following exposure to violence. Services focus on the interruption of the violence cycle, mental health, and developing resiliency. The collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from youth victims of violence informs community-based, programmatic, and individual participant interventions. Although the collection of PROs throughout treatment has been demonstrated to be feasible, youth and crime victim specialist preferences for data presentation is unknown. We sought to determine patient and crime victim specialist preferences regarding which PROs are of interest and how best to visually display them for optimal engagement.

Results

Fifteen youth and nine crime victim specialists consented to participate. Both preferred visuals with the highest level of color-shading and descriptions. The domains with the highest level of interest among both youth and case workers were social, anger, emotional, school, physical, peer relations, and psychosocial well-being. Youth and crime victim specialists expressed low interest in positive affect, meaning/purpose, physical stress experience, and depression domains. Youth wanted to see their scores compared to others in the program, while crime victim specialists did not think such comparisons would be beneficial. In contrast to youth, crime victim specialists believed youth should see their physical functioning and PTSD scores.

Conclusion

Youth participants and their crime victim specialists in a violence intervention program desired to see their PROs in a graphical form and agreed on their preference for many of the domains except for PTSD and physical functioning. Both groups preferred visuals with the highest level of shading and descriptions. Further investigation is needed to determine how to implement PRO visuals with the desired domains into regular violence intervention programming.

Methods

Participants in Project Ujima’s 8-week summer camp, ages 7–18 years, who were either a victim of violent injury, a direct relative of a violent injury victim, or a homicide survivor were recruited for this qualitative study. Crime victim specialists, who work directly with these youth throughout the year, were also recruited to participate. We conducted structured interviews to determine which parameters and visual formats were of highest interest and best understood by youth participants and crime victim specialists.
Dietary insulinemic potential, sleep quality and quantity in Iranian adults: Yazd health study and TAMYZ study
Authors: Sarsangi Peyman , Mohammadi Mohammad , Salehi-Abargouei Amin , Esmaillzadeh Ahmad , Mirzaei Masoud
Published: July 2023

Background & aims

To examine the link between dietary insulin index (DII) and load (DIL) and sleep duration/quality for the first time.

Methods

This cross-sectional study conducted on data from the recruitment phase of Yazd Health Study (YaHS)-Yazd Nutrition Study (TAMYZ), prospective study in Yazd, central Iran. Data on demographic characteristics, dietary intakes, sleep quantity and quality, and potential confounders were gathered by interview. Sleep quality and its components (insufficient sleep, delay in falling asleep, medication use for sleep, and sleep disorder) were assessed by a modified version of Pittsburgh questionnaire. The link between DII/DIL and low sleep quality and short/long sleep duration was studied using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

In total, 5925 individuals aged 20 to 70 were eligible to take part in the current study. After adjustment for all potential confounders, participants in the highest DIL score tertile had a lower chance for sleep disorder (OR = 0.38; 95%CI: 0.17–0.85, Ptrend = 0.02) and delay in falling asleep (OR = 0.66; 95%CI: 0.42–1.03, Ptrend = 0.05) compared to those in the lowest tertile. The DII was also linked to a lower chance for sleep disorder (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.39–0.93, P trend = 0.02). The DIL was inversely associated with sleep medication use and delay in falling sleep in men and women, respectively (P < 0.05). Moreover, DII was linked to a decreased odds of sleep disorder in women (P < 0.05). The associations were observed in those with overweight or obesity but not in those without overweight (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Higher DIL and DII might be associated with sleep quality and its components. Prospective investigations are needed in the future to confirm these findings.
Fussy Eating Rescue, a mobile-web app for responsive feeding practises among parents of toddlers: protocol for a pilot randomised controlled feasibility trial
Authors: Markides Brittany Reese , Hesketh Kylie D. , Maddison Ralph , Laws Rachel , Denney-Wilson Elizabeth , Campbell Karen J.
Published: July 2023

Background

Fussy eating is most often a developmentally typical behaviour, generally presenting during toddlerhood. However, up to half of parents of young children are concerned about fussy eating, and this concern may mediate the use of nonresponsive feeding practises, such as coercive or unstructured feeding and using food to reward eating. Despite the high prevalence of parental concern for fussy eating and the negative impacts nonresponsive feeding practises have on children’s health and diets, no previous digital intervention to improve the feeding practises of parents of toddlers concerned about fussy eating has been evaluated.

Aim

This article describes the protocol of a randomised controlled feasibility pilot aiming to evaluate Fussy Eating Rescue, a purely web app based intervention for parents of toddlers. The primary aim is to investigate feasibility and acceptability; secondary aims are to explore indications of intervention effect on parents’ feeding practises or children’s eating behaviours.

Methods

Fussy Eating Rescue features include: (1) a Tracker, that allows parents to track repeated offers of food, (2) Topics, providing information on fussy eating, effective feeding strategies, and general nutrition, (3) Rescues, containing quick references to material supporting Topics contents, (4) Recipes, and (5) SMS notifications. Parents of toddlers (12–36 months old, n = 50) who have concerns about fussy eating will be recruited via Facebook. Parents will be randomised to an intervention group, which receives access to the app for 6 weeks, or to wait-listed control. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and 6 weeks after app use, using online questionnaires and app usage statistics. Primary outcomes include participant retention rate, intervention engagement, app usability, perceived ease in using the app, perceived usefulness of the app, and user satisfaction. Secondary outcome measures include parents’ feeding practises and children’s eating behaviours.

Discussion

Results will inform whether Fussy Eating Rescue is a feasible way to engage parents concerned for their toddler’s fussy eating behaviours. If feasible and acceptable to users, a larger trial will further examine the efficacy of the Fussy Eating app in improving parents’ feeding practises and children’s eating behaviours.

Trial registration

Prospectively registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry on 15 July, 2021 (ACTRN12621000925842).
Using a picture (or a thousand words) for supporting spatial knowledge of a complex virtual environment
Authors: Jaeger Allison J. , Weisberg Steven M. , Nazareth Alina , Newcombe Nora S.
Published: July 2023

External representations powerfully support and augment complex human behavior. When navigating, people often consult external representations to help them find the way to go, but do maps or verbal instructions improve spatial knowledge or support effective wayfinding? Here, we examine spatial knowledge with and without external representations in two studies where participants learn a complex virtual environment. In the first study, we asked participants to generate their own maps or verbal instructions, partway through learning. We found no evidence of improved spatial knowledge in a pointing task requiring participants to infer the direction between two targets, either on the same route or on different routes, and no differences between groups in accurately recreating a map of the target landmarks. However, as a methodological note, pointing was correlated with the accuracy of the maps that participants drew. In the second study, participants had access to an accurate map or set of verbal instructions that they could study while learning the layout of target landmarks. Again, we found no evidence of differentially improved spatial knowledge in the pointing task, although we did find that the map group could recreate a map of the target landmarks more accurately. However, overall improvement was high. There was evidence that the nature of improvement across all conditions was specific to initial navigation ability levels. Our findings add to a mixed literature on the role of external representations for navigation and suggest that more substantial intervention—more scaffolding, explicit training, enhanced visualization, perhaps with personalized sequencing—may be necessary to improve navigation ability.
Association of serum miR-375, miR-155 and miR-146b levels with distinguish of papillary thyroid cancer from benign thyroid masses among Iranian patients
Authors: Mobini Gholam-Reza , Yousefi Homayon , Shojaeian Ali , Mirhoseini Mahmood , Mahmoudian-Sani Mohammad-Reza
Published: July 2023

Background and aim

Certain serum levels of microRNAs (miRNAs) throughout the body can be helpful for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. The miRNAs can be secreted from the papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) into the circulatory system. Accordingly, this study aimed to measure the serum levels of miR-146b, miR-155 and miR-375 to evaluate their diagnostic potentials in distinguish of benign from malignant lesions.

Materials and methods

The serum levels of miRNAs were measured by real-time quantitative RT-PCR among100 patients with benign thyroid nodules and 30 patients with PTC.

Results

The mean miR-375 and miR-155 expression levels in the PTC group were greater when compared with the benign group. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was estimated at 0.81 for the miR-375 with 0.76% sensitivity and 0.80% specificity to distinguish between benign and PTC lesions. The AUC was calculated to be 0.75 for the miR-155 with 0.69% sensitivity and 0.90% specificity.

Conclusion

According to the results of this study, the serum levels of miR-155 and miR-375 were increased in the patients with PTC, which may be useful as alternative seromarkers for the PTC.
Large right ventricular hydatid cyst in a child: a case report
Authors: Vahidshahi Kourosh , Tahouri Tahmineh , Farahmandi Farzaneh , Hekmat Manouchehr
Published: July 2023

Background

Cystic Hydatid disease is a parasitic infection with a worldwide distribution. It is caused by the larval stages of a species of tapeworms known as Echinococcus granulosus. Even in endemic areas; Cardiac involvement by hydatidiosis is very rare and has atypical presentations as well as localization which make it undiagnosed in about 10% of cases. The left ventricle is the most Common chamber involved by the hydatid cyst and isolated involvement of the right ventricle is very rare, especially in children. The aim of the present study was to describe hydatid cardiac cyst of the right ventricle of a child.

Case presentation

We present a rare case of an 8 year-old boy, living in a rural area, who was diagnosed with a cardiac hydatid cyst in the right ventricle. He also had multiple pulmonary hydatid cysts and presented with dyspnea, cough and atypical chest pain. The patient underwent surgery for the resection of pulmonary cysts and, subsequently, cardiac hydatid cyst. The outcome was favorable seven weeks after surgery and there was no clinical and echocardiographic recurrence.

Conclusion

Cardiac Echinococcosis must be suspected in endemic areas, diagnosed with appropriate imaging techniques, and treated appropriately.
Ross procedure versus pulmonary homograft versus mechanical valve versus bioprosthetic valve versus Ozaki procedure for surgical aortic valve replacement: a frequentist network meta-analysis
Authors: Awad Ahmed K. , Mathew Dave M. , Fusco Peter J. , Varghese Kathryn S. , Abdel-Nasser Omar , Awad Ayman K. , Giannaris Peter , Mathew Serena M. , Ahmed Adham
Published: July 2023

Background

There has been a resurgence in interest regarding the Ross procedure due to recent publications detailing positive long-term outcomes. Conversely, surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) with a pulmonary homograft (PH), mechanical (MV), bioprosthetic (BV), or the Ozaki procedure each has its own technical advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, we performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) comparing other alternatives to Ross procedure.

Methods

Medical databases were comprehensively searched for studies comparing the Ross procedure with AVR using a PH, MV, BV, or the Ozaki procedure. Outcomes were pooled as risk ratios (RR) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).

Results

A total of 7816 patients were pooled for our NMA from 24 studies. Compared to Ross procedure, both BV and MV were associated with significantly higher rates of 30-day mortality of RR (2.37, 95% CI 1.20–4.67) and (1.88 95% CI 1.04–3.40), respectively, with no significant difference regarding PH or Ozaki. However, only MV was associated with a higher risk of 30-day stroke (RR 8.42, 95% CI 1.57–45.23) with no significant difference in the other alternatives, as well as 30-day MI which showed no significant differences between any of the aortic conduits compared to the Ross procedure. Regarding 30-day major bleeding, MV was associated with a higher when compared to the Ross procedure RR (4.58, 95% CI 1.94–10.85), PH was associated with a lower risk of major bleeding with RR (0.35, 95% CI 0.17–0.71), and BV showed no significant difference. With a mean follow-up duration of 8.5 years compared to the Ross procedure, BV, PH, and MV were associated with a higher risk of long-term mortality with RR (1.89, 95% CI 1.38–2.58), (1.38, 95% CI 1.0–1.87), and (1.94, 95% CI 1.52–2.47), respectively, with the Ozaki procedure showed no significant difference. Regarding long-term stroke—with a mean of 6.3-year follow-up duration—there were no significant differences between any of the aortic conduits compared to the Ross procedure. Nevertheless, long-term need for reintervention—with a mean follow-up duration of 17.5 years—was significant of higher risk with both BV and PH with RR (3.28, 95% CI 1.21–8.84) and (2.42, 95% CI 1.05–5.58), respectively, compared to Ross procedure with MV and Ozaki having no significant difference.

Conclusions

The Ross procedure is a viable treatment option for patients undergoing SAVR, showing promising outcomes at short- and long-term follow-ups.
Ultrafast laser-induced self-organized nanostructuring in transparent dielectrics: fundamentals and applications
Authors: Zhang Bo , Wang Zhuo , Tan Dezhi , Qiu Jiangrong
Published: July 2023

Inscribing functional micro-nano-structures in transparent dielectrics enables constructing all-inorganic photonic devices with excellent integration, robustness, and durability, but remains a great challenge for conventional fabrication techniques. Recently, ultrafast laser-induced self-organization engineering has emerged as a promising rapid prototyping platform that opens up facile and universal approaches for constructing various advanced nanophotonic elements and attracted tremendous attention all over the world. This paper summarizes the history and important milestones in the development of ultrafast laser-induced self-organized nanostructuring (ULSN) in transparent dielectrics and reviews recent research progresses by introducing newly reported physical phenomena, theoretical mechanisms/models, regulation techniques, and engineering applications, where representative works related to next-generation light manipulation, data storage, optical detecting are discussed in detail. This paper also presents an outlook on the challenges and future trends of ULSN, and important issues merit further exploration.
Sex Differences in Pancreatic β-Cell Physiology and Glucose Homeostasis in C57BL/6J Mice
Authors: Jo Seokwon , Beetch Megan , Gustafson Eric , Wong Alicia , Oribamise Eunice , Chung Grace , Vadrevu Suryakiran , Satin Leslie S , Bernal-Mizrachi Ernesto , Alejandro Emilyn U
Published: July 2023

The importance of sexual dimorphism has been highlighted in recent years since the National Institutes of Health's mandate on considering sex as a biological variable. Although recent studies have taken strides to study both sexes side by side, investigations into the normal physiological differences between males and females are limited. In this study, we aimed to characterized sex-dependent differences in glucose metabolism and pancreatic β-cell physiology in normal conditions using C57BL/6J mice, the most common mouse strain used in metabolic studies. Here, we report that female mice have improved glucose and insulin tolerance associated with lower nonfasted blood glucose and insulin levels compared with male mice at 3 and 6 months of age. Both male and female animals show β-cell mass expansion from embryonic day 17.5 to adulthood, and no sex differences were observed at embryonic day 17.5, newborn, 1 month, or 3 months of age. However, 6-month-old males displayed increased β-cell mass in response to insulin resistance compared with littermate females. Molecularly, we uncovered sexual dimorphic alterations in the protein levels of nutrient sensing proteins O-GlcNAc transferase and mTOR, as well as differences in glucose-stimulus coupling mechanisms that may underlie the differences in sexually dimorphic β-cell physiology observed in C57BL/6J mice.
Autonomous, bidding, credible, decentralized, ethical, and funded (ABCDEF) publishing
Authors: Oka Taiki , Takashima Kaito , Ueda Kohei , Mori Yuki , Sasaki Kyoshiro , Hamada Hiro Taiyo , Yamagata Masahito , Yamada Yuki
Published: July 2023

Scientists write research articles, process ethics reviews, evaluate proposals and research, and seek funding. Several strategies have been proposed to optimize these operations and to decentralize access to research resources and opportunities. For instance, we previously proposed the trinity review method, combining registered reports with financing and research ethics assessments. However, previously proposed systems have a number of shortcomings, including how to implement them, e.g., who manages them, how incentives for reviewers are paid, etc. Various solutions have been proposed to address these issues, employing methods based on blockchain technologies, called “decentralized science (DeSci)”. Decentralized approaches that exploit these developments offer potentially profound improvements to the troubled scientific ecosystem. Here, we propose a system that integrates ethics reviews, peer reviews, and funding in a decentralized manner, based on Web3 technology. This new method, named ABCDEF publishing, would enhance the speed, fairness, and transparency of scientific research and publishing.
Developing and using ontologies in behavioural science: addressing issues raised
Authors: Michie Susan , Hastings Janna , Johnston Marie , Hankonen Nelli , Wright Alison J. , West Robert
Published: July 2023

Ontologies are ways of representing aspects of the world in terms of uniquely defined classes of ‘entities’ and relationships between them. They are widely used in biological science, data science and commerce because they provide clarity, consistency, and the ability to link information and data from different sources. Ontologies offer great promise as representational systems in behavioural science and could revolutionise descriptions of studies and findings, and the expression of models and theories.

This paper discusses issues that have been raised about using ontologies in behavioural science and how these can be addressed. The issues arise partly from the way that ontologies represent information, which can be perceived as reductionist or simplistic, and partly from issues to do with their implementation. However, despite the simplicity of their structure, ontologies can represent complex entities that change over time, as well as their inter-relationships and highly nuanced information about them. Nevertheless, ontologies are only one of many ways of representing information and it is important to recognise when other forms are more efficient.

With regard to implementation, it is important to build ontologies with involvement from the communities who will be using them. Far from constraining intellectual creativity, ontologies that are broadly-based can facilitate expression of nuance, comparison of findings and integration of different approaches and theories. Maintaining and updating ontologies remain significant challenges but can be achieved through establishing and coordinating communities of practice.
Influence of ketogenic diet on athletes’ performance and other aspects of body function – review of literature
Authors: Siekierko Nikola , Lewandowski Mateusz , Żołnierek Maja , Kotusiewicz Wiktoria , Gacoń Ewa , Zembala Julita , Kucharski Jakub , Zapała Brygida , Ząber Aldona , Świętochowski Jakub
Published: July 2023

Introduction and aim. The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carbohydrate dietary regimen that induces a state of ketosis, shifting the body’s fuel source from glucose to ketone bodies produced from fatty acids. The aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of the KD on athletes’ performance, body composition and other aspects of body function.

Materials and methods. A comprehensive literature search has been conducted through PubMed database using keywords such as “ketogenic diet sport” and “ketogenic diet athletes”, “ketogenic diet body”.

Analysis of literature. Some studies suggest that a KD can be a viable method for reducing body fat without negatively affecting strength, power, or muscle mass in athletes. It has been found that KD can increase fat oxidation. However, KD may not be optimal for improving performance in high-intensity endurance events or activities that require quick bursts of energy fueled by carbohydrates. Additionally, KD may not have a significant effect on factors such as VO2max, HRmax, time to exhaustion, and perceived exertion in some athletes.

Conclusion. More research is required to understand the effects of the ketogenic diet on athletes’ performance. It may aid in weight loss and fat oxidation, but questions remain regarding adaptation time, sport-specific benefits, and impact on various body parameters.
Software for Data-Based Stochastic Programming Using Bootstrap Estimation
Authors: Chen Xiaotie , Woodruff David L.
Published: July 2023

We describe software for stochastic programming that uses only sampled data to obtain both a consistent sample-average solution and a consistent estimate of confidence intervals for the optimality gap using bootstrap and bagging. The underlying distribution whence the samples come is not required.

History: Accepted by Ted Ralphs, Area Editor for Software Tools.

Supplemental Material: The software that supports the findings of this study is available within the paper and its Supplemental Information ( https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/suppl/10.1287/ijoc.2022.0253 ) as well as from the IJOC GitHub software repository ( https://github.com/INFORMSJoC/2022.0253 ). The complete IJOC Software and Data Repository is available at https://informsjoc.github.io/ .
Understanding and managing the long-term cognitive consequences of traumatic brain injuries
Authors: Woods Mitchell , Lennon Matthew J , Raymont Vanessa
Published: July 2023

This editorial critically evaluates the current data on traumatic brain injuries and their effects on cognitive function. It discusses management strategies and clinical considerations to improve patient outcomes in light of these findings.
Wireless Power to Keep Drones Flying
Authors: Knight Helen
Published: July 2023

Microwave transmitters may provide the solution to continuous flight
ADAMTS3 and FLT4 gene mutations result in congenital lymphangiectasia in newborns: A case report
Authors: Liang Zhu-Wei , Gao Wan-Li
Published: July 2023

The modern medical education system has gradually evolved starting from 1910 incorporating the suggestions by Abraham Flexner, his public disclosure of the poor conditions at many medical schools provided a means to galvanize all the constituencies needed for reform to occur. He could say what other reformers could not, due to their links to the medical education community. But now we are again going back to a pre-Flexnerian state due to multiple reasons such as gradually diminishing importance of basic science subjects for the students, the decline in the number and quality of investigator initiated research among clinical researchers, lesser emphasis to bedside training by means of detailed clinical examination and making appropriate observation of signs to reach to a diagnosis rather than over reliance on the laboratory tests and radiological modalities for the diagnosis, poor exposure to basic clinical skills starting from college throughout residency and the trend of disrespect and absenteeism from both theoretical and clinical/practical classes. The attitude of students is just to complete their required attendance so that they are not barred from appearing in examinations. This de-Flexnerization trend and regression to pre-Flexnerian era standards, ideologies, structures, processes, and attitudes, are bound to beget pre-Flexnerian outcomes, for you get what you designed for.
Brucellosis presenting with pancytopenia and hearing loss: A case report
Authors: Chen Xing , Yang Feng-Bo , Liang Jian-Ying
Published: July 2023

The modern medical education system has gradually evolved starting from 1910 incorporating the suggestions by Abraham Flexner, his public disclosure of the poor conditions at many medical schools provided a means to galvanize all the constituencies needed for reform to occur. He could say what other reformers could not, due to their links to the medical education community. But now we are again going back to a pre-Flexnerian state due to multiple reasons such as gradually diminishing importance of basic science subjects for the students, the decline in the number and quality of investigator initiated research among clinical researchers, lesser emphasis to bedside training by means of detailed clinical examination and making appropriate observation of signs to reach to a diagnosis rather than over reliance on the laboratory tests and radiological modalities for the diagnosis, poor exposure to basic clinical skills starting from college throughout residency and the trend of disrespect and absenteeism from both theoretical and clinical/practical classes. The attitude of students is just to complete their required attendance so that they are not barred from appearing in examinations. This de-Flexnerization trend and regression to pre-Flexnerian era standards, ideologies, structures, processes, and attitudes, are bound to beget pre-Flexnerian outcomes, for you get what you designed for.
Pyriform sinus injury in thyroidectomy: the unknown complicating the known
Authors: Sharma V , Panda NK , Parsana M , Khanda K
Published: July 2023

Thyroidectomy is a common procedural skill in the armamentarium of an otolaryngologist but has its own set of complications. The more common complications are hypocalcaemia, recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, injury to the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, postoperative bleeding, wound infection and, rarely, thyroid storm. High pyriform sinus injury during hemithyroidectomy is extremely rare, with this report being only the second reported case in the literature.

A 61-year-old man presented with complaints of right-sided neck swelling. The patient had a 10cm × 8cm sized swelling in the anterior neck on examination. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan revealed a heterogeneously enhancing mass lesion involving the right lobe of the thyroid and isthmus with multiple nodules. The patient underwent right hemithyroidectomy with no intraoperative complications. The histopathology report describes a papillary thyroid carcinoma (cT3 N0 M0) with the presence of angioinvasion. On the fifth postoperative day, the patient complained of neck pain, suture site swelling and a change of voice. A volume of 50ml of whitish purulent fluid was evacuated. A laryngeal exam revealed restriction in mobility of the right vocal cord. The oesophagogram revealed the iatrogenic injury to the hypopharynx. The oesophageal leak gradually resolved after 6 weeks, as evidenced by multiple contrast oesophagogram, without any need for surgical intervention.

We theorise that, while operating on long-standing monster thyroids, extra care should be given while dissecting in the tracheoesophageal groove as the stretched mucosa, an extracapsular extension of disease and lymphovascular invasion can all jeopardise the underlying structures.
O turismo em Maxaranguape, RN, Brasil: configuração, dilemas e propostas desde a Ecologia Política
Authors: Bonfá Neto Dorival , Barreto Isadora Natália Rocha , Silva Lucas Gabriel Veríssimo Pinheiro da
Published: July 2023

O turismo é uma prática territorial que historicamente foi tratada e posta em prática com um fim econômico, produzindo um turismo economicista e de massas que mercantilizou a natureza, a paisagem e o ambiente, trazendo conflitos territoriais e mudanças culturais. O litoral do Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Brasil, com suas praias paradisíacas foi alvo desse turismo mercadológico que produziu territorialidades que entraram em conflito com aquelas tradicionais das vilas de pescadores artesanais, através da chegada de lógicas sócio-espaciais externas. Nesse sentido, se pretende analisar os impactos e a configuração da atividade turística em Maxaranguape-RN a partir da Ecologia Política, identificar os principais produtos turísticos e seus usos, discutir os rumos e propostas para uma transição ao turismo de base comunitária local. Para isso, se realizaram trabalhos de campo com observação participante, entrevistas, relatos etnográficos e fotodocumentação. Se concluiu que o turismo no município possui um viés economicista e é regido por empresas exógenas, porém como essa modalidade ainda não se encontra tão desenvolvida, como em outros lugares do estado, há muitas possibilidades para o desenvolvimento de um turismo de base comunitária.
A Short Course in the African-American Experience, and: Gathering
Authors: Cabey Akhim Yuseff
Published: July 2023

Abstract: “A short course in the african-american experience” is about black people with white names, black self hatred, anti-blackness, and white-identitication. “Gathering” is about black friendship, white supremacy, anti-blackness, black love, black fatherhood.
Husserl and Disjunctivism: Reply to Bower
Authors: Overgaard Søren
Published: July 2023

abstract: In a recent issue of the Journal of the History of Philosophy , Matt Bower argues forcefully against A. D. Smith's interpretation of Husserl as a disjunctivist. But I argue in this discussion note that the disjunctive reading of Husserl remains plausible. For it seems Husserl was committed to the idea that perceptions essentially have singular contents, while hallucinations do not.
Antiquarianism and orientalism from Limerick: the Ouseleys, 1739–1842
Authors: Barnard Toby
Published: July 2023

This paper suggests how the antiquarian interests of Captain Ralph Ouseley, resident in Limerick from the 1760s until his death in 1803 and a founder member
of the Royal Irish Academy, shaped the careers of his three sons. Each travelled
to India and two, Gore and Joseph Walker, found long and profitable employment there. The third and eldest, William (1768–1842) is the main focus of this
account. As a youth, William Ouseley accompanied his father on antiquarian
excursions in the west of Ireland where he applied his talents as a topographical
artist. Soon, however, his curiosity shifted towards India and Persia, translating
and publishing works in their languages, and becoming a voracious collector of
manuscripts, artefacts and texts originating in the sub-continent. William Ouseley, although respected for his expertise by contemporaries and being knighted,
failed to gain any remunerative official appointment. His sole visit to Asia only
occurred in 1810. Nor did he participate in the fierce controversies generated by
Vallancey about the possible linkages between the peoples and languages of Asia
and of Ireland. Ouseley’s later life was passed in England, Wales and continental
Europe, but the formative influence in Ireland of his father’s tutelage and collections, which included oriental elements, is suggested.
Silicon-based compact eight-channel wavelength and mode division (de)multiplexer for on-chip optical interconnects
Authors: Nath Jyoti Prasad , Saxena Geetika Jain , Sharma Enakshi K.
Published: July 2023

A compact wavelength and mode division (de)multiplexer is proposed for multiplexing a total of eight guided TE modes of a 220 nm thick silicon-on-insulator waveguide with input channels at two wavelengths of 1.55 and 2 µm for wavelength division multiplexing. The (de)multiplexer is composed of four sequentially arranged sections with bus waveguides of increasing widths. The first section uses an asymmetric directional coupler to couple one TE mode at 1.55 µm, while each of the next three sections consists of two collocated directional couplers to simultaneously couple two TE modes of the bus waveguide, one at each wavelength of 1.55 and 2 µm. Three linear adiabatic tapers are designed to connect the consecutive bus waveguides. The fundamental TE mode of the bus waveguide at 1.55 or 2 µm is coupled by using another adiabatic taper from a single-mode input waveguide. The simulation results show that over a broad bandwidth of >100nm the insertion loss and crosstalk for both wavelength bands is <1.15dB and <−27dB, respectively. In addition, a compact device footprint with a total coupling length of ∼61µm is achieved due to the use of collocated directional couplers in three sections.
GST plasmonic gap structure investigation as a switch and sensor
Authors: Zareizadeh Arya , Nozhat Najmeh
Published: July 2023

In this paper, a plasmonic perfect absorber that consists of a gold rectangular bar with three gaps is investigated as a switch and sensor in the near-infrared region. Phase change material germanium–antimony–tellurium (GST) is utilized in two gaps to perform the switching capability with a high extinction ratio of 18.49 dB. In addition, the sensing performance of the structure for detection of a solution of glucose in water and diagnosis of different cancer cells is studied. The best sensitivity of 1504 nm/RIU is obtained for detection of the PC12 cancer cell, and the figure of merit of the structure is around 17RIU−1.