bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Autologous internal limiting membrane transplant for recurrent idiopathic macular holes
Authors: Rossi Tommaso , Trillo Carlandrea , Ripandelli Guido
Published: February 2020

Purpose:

To report a series of recurrent idiopathic macular holes treated by means of a free autologous internal limiting membrane flap and compare visual and anatomic results to a control group undergoing further internal limiting membrane peeling and novel gas tamponade.

Methods:

Retrospective surgical series of 15 consecutive patients receiving autologous internal limiting membrane flap compared to 14 patients operated on for internal limiting membrane peeling enlargement. Autologous internal limiting membrane flap was created after brilliant blue G staining, internal limiting membrane lifting, perfluorocarbon bubble injection and creation of a wide internal limiting membrane free flap translocated underneath perfluorocarbon liquid, to the macular hole bed. Both groups were tamponated with 20% SF6 and positioned face down for 4 h a day for 3 days.

Results:

Macular hole closed in 14/15 (93.3%) patients of the autologous internal limiting membrane group and 9/14 (64.2%) controls (p < 0.05). Visual acuity increased from 0.05 ± 0.03 to 0.23 ± 0.13 Snellen in the autologous internal limiting membrane group and from 0.05 ± 0.03 to 0.14 ± 0.10 Snellen of controls (p < 0.05 for both). Vision of the autologous internal limiting membrane group improved more than controls at 1 month (p = 0.043) and 3 months (p = 0.045). Inner segment/outer segment interruption at 3 months was smaller in the autologous internal limiting membrane group than controls, reducing from 1230 ± 288 µm at baseline to 611 ± 245 and 547 ± 204 µm at 3 months versus 1196 ± 362, 745 ± 222 and 705 ± 223 µm, respectively (p < 0.05).

Conclusion:

Autologous internal limiting membrane flap can effectively close recurrent idiopathic macular holes with a higher closure rate, smaller residual inner segment/outer segment line interruption and higher visual acuity at 3 months than previous standard of care.
An Electronic Aerosol Delivery System for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Hobkirk Andréa L , Bitzer Zachary , Goel Reema , Sica Christopher T , Livelsberger Craig , Yingst Jessica , Houser Kenneth R , Rupprecht Sebastian , Trushin Neil , Karunanayaka Prasanna , Foulds Jonathan , Richie John P , Spreen Lauren , Hoglen Brianna , Wang Jianli , Elias Ryan J , Yang Qing X
Published: February 2020

Background:

Public health concerns over the addictive potential of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) have heightened in recent years. Brain function during e-cig use could provide an objective measure of the addictive potential of new vaping products to facilitate research; however, there are limited methods for delivering e-cig aerosols during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The current study describes the development and feasibility testing of a prototype to deliver up to four different e-cig aerosols during fMRI.

Methods:

Standardized methods were used to test the devices’ air flow variability, nicotine yield, and free radical production. MRI scans were run with and without the device present to assess its safety and effects on MRI data quality. Five daily smokers were recruited to assess plasma nicotine absorption from e-liquids containing nicotine concentrations of 8, 11, 16, 24, and 36 mg/ml. Feedback was collected from participants through a semi-structured interview and computerized questionnaire to assess comfort and subjective experiences of inhaling aerosol from the device.

Results:

Nicotine yield captured from the aerosol produced by the device was highly correlated with the nicotine concentration of the e-liquids used (R2 = 0.965). Nicotine yield was reduced by a mean of 48% and free radical production by 17% after traveling through the device. The e-liquid containing the highest nicotine concentration tested (36 mg/ml) resulted in the highest plasma nicotine boost (6.6 ng/ml). Overall, participants reported that the device was comfortable to use and inhaling the e-cig aerosols was tolerable. The device was determined to be safe for use during fMRI and had insignificant effects on scan quality.

Conclusions:

With the current project, we were able to design a working prototype that safely and effectively delivers e-cig aerosols during fMRI. The device has the potential to be used to assess brain activation during e-cig use and to compare brain reactivity to varying flavors, nicotine concentrations, and other e-cig characteristics.
Imagination and mobility in the city: Porosity of borders and human development in divided urban environments
Authors: Jovchelovitch Sandra , Dedios Sanguineti Maria Cecilia , Nogueira Mara , Priego-Hernández Jacqueline
Published: February 2020

We focus on the notion of borders to explore how mobility and immobility in the city affect the relationship between human development and urban culture. We define borders as a relational space made of territoriality, representations and different possibilities of mobility and immobility. Drawing on research in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, we suggest a systematic approach to the analysis of borders and identify the socio-institutional, spatial and symbolic elements that make them more or less porous and thus more or less amenable to human mobility. We highlight the association between porosity in city borders and human development and illustrate the model contrasting two favela communities in Rio de Janeiro. We show that participation in the socio-cultural environment by favela grassroots organisations increases the porosity of internal city borders and contributes to the development of self, communities and the city. To focus on borders, their different elements and levels of porosity means to address simultaneously the psychosocial and cultural layers of urban spaces and the novel ways through which grassroots social actors develop themselves through participation and semiotic reconstruction of the socio-cultural environment.
Mission Impossible? Preventing discrimination on grounds of disability of foetuses with Down syndrome in Spain after the emergence of non-invasive prenatal testing
Authors: Rodríguez Díaz Begoña
Published: February 2020

This article analyses the current situation of discrimination towards foetuses with Down syndrome (DS) in Spain, both legally and through the medical practice, pointing out how this discrimination breaches the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), ratified by Spain, according to the Committee of the CRPD. This work argues that an eventual modification of the Spanish abortion legislation (in appeal before the Constitutional Court) might not be enough to prevent the said discrimination due to the emergence of the non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). It explores the challenges introduced by the NIPT and the relationship between a prenatal diagnose of a disability (DS in particular) and termination of pregnancy rates. Health practitioners, mainly through the communication of the diagnose, play a significant role in the bias against the DS population that leads to discrimination. Consequently, this article suggests the need for a different approach towards a DS diagnose, more accurate, positive and based on the actual experience of individuals with DS and their families.
Secondary ensnarement: Surveillance systems in the service of punitive immigration enforcement
Authors: Muñiz Ana
Published: February 2020

Relatively little scholarly work explores US interior immigration enforcement through a surveillance lens. This article asks how US immigration authorities have designed and deployed surveillance systems to facilitate enforcement practices, specifically regarding the construction of immigrant subjects and interior apprehension and deportation. Drawing upon a qualitative analysis of 291 Department of Homeland Security documents authored between 1995 and 2017, this paper examines the evolution of a primary immigration enforcement information system currently called the Enforcement Integrated Database. The analysis reveals that over the course of 33 years, the US Government has transformed Enforcement Integrated Database from a case management system into a mass surveillance system. Specifically, I argue that immigration authorities have deployed secondary information collection in the Enforcement Integrated Database to expand (1) the volume of people under surveillance, called ensnarement targets and (2) the opportunities to categorize people as criminal or dangerous, called ensnarement opportunities. As a result, Department of Homeland Security amplifies punitive enforcement against broader populations of noncitizens and potentially, citizens as well.
In search of visual expertise: examining skilled vision in the work of news photo professionals
Authors: Mäenpää Jenni
Published: February 2020

Photojournalism professionals play a key role in producing and choosing the visual coverage that we see in the daily news media. This article focuses on photo editors and other photojournalism professionals behind the news images, and explores how they see and look at pictures professionally in order to decide what is newsworthy. The actual work practices of photojournalism professionals were scrutinized by using methods of newsroom observation and interviews at three media organizations. The theoretical framework applies ethnographic studies of vision in professional practices that consider vision as a socially situated activity and education of attention. The findings suggest that the education of the professional eye of photojournalism practitioners involves informal and everyday work practices that include characteristics of an apprenticeship. Finally, four areas where the professional knowledge accumulates were found: (1) constant following of news; (2) the use of reference images; (3) the use of specific software; and (4) social interaction among the professionals. In conclusion, it is argued that photojournalism professionals’ visual expertise is poorly understood. The shared vision is constitutive for the social organization of the profession while it concurrently narrows the visual coverage published in the media.
The visual representation of dual language education
Authors: Catalano Theresa
Published: February 2020

Despite well documented benefits of dual language (DL) programs which deliver educational content in two languages, there are still few DL programs in the United States. As such, there is a need to understand how to effectively persuade more states/districts to adopt the programs. In addition, more critical research is needed that focuses on how the programs are represented visually, as well as how this visual representation reflects wider discourses about DL education that could impede the programs from reaching those who need them most. In this article, the author explores ideologies behind DL program discourse by looking at photojournalism (or in some cases, stock photos) from 34 local online news reports. She employed multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA), including a thematic analysis of images. Findings reveal that many of the discourses (e.g. neoliberalism) seen in analyses of written text were repeated visually but, in some cases, visual data communicated different discourses that were advanced in nuanced ways. The author concludes by urging more critical work in visual communication that focuses on educational issues.
Comparative Effectiveness of Drug-Coated Balloon vs Balloon Angioplasty for the Treatment of Arteriovenous Fistula Stenosis: A Meta-analysis
Authors: Cao Zhanjiang , Li Jiazheng , Zhang Tong , Zhao Keqiang , Zhao Junlai , Yang Yu , Jiang Chao , Zhu Rongrong , Li Zipeng , Wu Weiwei
Published: February 2020

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness and safety outcomes of drug-coated balloon angioplasty (DCBA) vs conventional balloon angioplasty (BA) for arteriovenous fistula (AVF) stenosis. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted of PubMed and Embase databases from 1966 to May 2019 to identify English-language articles evaluating DCBA vs BA for the treatment of AVF stenosis. Data extracted from each study were synthesized to evaluate target lesion revascularization (TLR), technical success, and mortality for the 2 approaches. Meta-analyses were performed on these outcomes using random effects models to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: Twelve studies [6 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 6 cohort studies] comprising 979 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that AVFs treated with DCBA had significantly fewer TLRs at 6 months (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.69, p=0.004) and 12 months (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.97, p=0.04) than BA. The 2 approaches had similar technical success rates (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.03 to 1.43, p=0.11). Additionally, the pooled OR of 12-month mortality was 0.71 (95% CI 0.20 to 2.51, p=0.60), indicating no significant difference between DCBA and BA. Subgroup analysis based on study design showed the superiority of DCBA to BA in cohort studies but not RCTs, which had high heterogeneity. Significant publication bias was found in the cohort studies. Conclusion: In de novo or recurrent AVF stenosis, DCBA appears to be an effective procedure associated with lower 6- and 12-month TLR compared with BA. However, larger and randomized controlled studies are warranted to draw definitive conclusions.
A cross-sectional analysis of 2017 stroke symptoms recognition at the US regional level
Authors: Tran Lam , Tran Phoebe , Tran Liem
Published: February 2020

Objectives

Stroke symptom recognition is critical in reducing time to treatment, but it is not known whether the increased support for stroke education programs during the last several years has led to an improvement in regional stroke symptom recognition levels since they were last assessed in the mid-2010s.

Methods

We used the most current estimates of recognition from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey to examine regional recognition levels for individual stroke symptoms and correct identification of all five stroke symptoms.

Results

Recognition of individual stroke symptoms was ≥76% in all regions, but correct identification of all stroke symptoms was lower ranging from 68.8 to 70.2%. Recognition of sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm, or leg, especially on one side (Northeast: 94.9%, Midwest: 95.8%, South: 93.8%, West: 94.5%) was the highest and recognition of sudden headache with no known cause (Northeast: 77.6%, Midwest: 76.4%, South: 77.7%, West: 76.5%) was the lowest for all regions.

Discussion

We observed similar stroke symptom recognition levels in each US region with little improvement since the mid-2010s. Additional effort should be made to increase recognition of sudden headache with no known cause in US regions with current high prevalence of stroke risk factors.
Circulating angiopoietin-2 and the risk of mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 prospective cohort studies
Authors: Li Fengyuan , Yin Rulan , Guo Qiang
Published: February 2020

Background:

Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), as one of the ligands of endothelial receptor Tie2, is known to be significant for vessel maturation and stabilization after birth. Previous studies showed the relationship between Ang-2 level and the risk of mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, the link between circulating Ang-2 and the risk of mortality in patients with ARDS varied in different investigations.

Results:

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available cohort studies regarding the association between baseline circulating Ang-2 and mortality in patients with ARDS. Among the 10 eligible studies, pooled odds ratio (OR) showed that high Ang-2 level contributed to ARDS mortality [OR = 1.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.30–1.89, I2 = 76.2%]. Stratified analysis revealed that higher circulating Ang-2 was related to a 30% higher risk in the high-quality scores group (OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.33–2.68, I2 = 62.4%). The I2 of the bad compliance group decreased from 76.2% to 8.5%, which suggested that compliance is a significant source of heterogeneity. This association may be blunted by potential bias, although the results was not meaningfully changed by omitting only one study at a time. Further subgroup analysis and meta-regression support that compliance of patients also affects the results significantly, compared with the publication year, follow-up duration, the samples, or population characteristics.

Conclusion:

Participants with higher baseline Ang-2 were at a higher risk for future risk of mortality in patients with ARDS. Higher circulating Ang-2 levels could independently predict the risk of mortality in patients with ARDS. However, further large scale prospective cohorts or even interventional studies are warranted to evaluate the diagnostic power of Ang-2 and its causative role on ARDS outcome. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.
Mykhailo Drahomanov’s ideas of parliament
Authors: Kotenko Anton
Published: February 2020

Ukrainian parliamentarism and constitutionalism have a long history. Its brightest episode occurred 100 years ago, in 1917–1921, when the Ukrainian activists tried to cope with the breakup of the Romanov Empire by suggesting various projects of its reconstruction. In this article, I argue that the history of these projects began at least half a century earlier, when a young professor of history at Kiev University, Mykhailo Drahomanov, started to reflect upon future reorganization of the Russian Empire into a parliamentary state. Being an ardent advocate of turning the empire into a representative democracy, Drahomanov still felt uneasy about unapologetic support of parliamentarism. Having embraced Proudhonian idea of anarchy or self-government, he realized that the existence of parliament was not a universal cure for all political ills of the Russian Empire, especially for the main one—extreme state centralization. Hence, his views of political reconstruction of the empire did not necessarily mean transforming it into the Russian Republic. It seems that a reasonable and reasoned monarch, who could turn the empire into a federal state with a wide local self-government, would totally fulfill Drahomanov’s ideas of future Russia. His enormous influence upon the pre-war Ukrainian intellectuals explains why only few of them seriously discussed an idea of Ukrainian state independence in 1917.
Pattern measures of sedentary behaviour in adults: A literature review
Authors: Boerema Simone T , van Velsen Lex , Vollenbroek Miriam MR , Hermens Hermie J
Published: February 2020

Objective

With sensors, we are increasingly able to assess sitting behaviour during the day. However, there is no consensus among researchers on the best outcome measures for representing the accumulation of sedentary time during the day.

Methods

We analysed the pattern measures of sedentary behaviour. Articles reporting patterns measures in adults, in which behaviour data was collected with a sensor were included. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the pattern measures of sedentary behaviour and provide recommendations for choosing objective measures of sedentary behaviour.

Results

Most studies report the number of sitting bouts during the day. Others focus on the number of breaks and/or periods of physical activity. Simple measures of sedentary behaviour were most popular. More complex pattern measures, such as the Gini index or the half-life bout duration, that capture the distribution of lengths of sitting periods in a single number, were reported sparsely. The sedentary patterns that were reported in the various studies were difficult to compare, due to the differences among measurement devices, data analysis protocols and a lack of basic outcome parameters such as total wear-time and total sedentary time.

Conclusions

Objective sedentary measures can be grouped into simple and complex measures of sedentary time accumulation during the day. These measures serve different goals. The answer to the question as to which measures are most suitable to report, is strongly dependent on the research question. We have shown that the reported measures were dependent on (a) the sensing method, (b) the classification method, (c) the experimental and data cleaning protocol and (d) the applied definitions of bouts and breaks. We recommend that studies should always report total wear-time, total sedentary time, number of bouts and at least one measure describing the diversity of bout lengths in the sedentary behaviour such as the half-life bout duration. Additionally, we recommend reporting the measurement conditions and data processing steps.
Perceptions of the relationships between science and religion held by upper-secondary school students in Church of England schools
Authors: Billingsley Berry , Nassaji Mehdi
Published: February 2020

We report on a large-scale survey of 1,772 upper-secondary school students in 16 Church of England schools to discover their perceptions of how science and religion relate. We found that students who attend Church schools are pedagogically, socially and cognitively confined to the view that science and religion conflict. The findings are discussed alongside interview studies with students which sought to discover the extent to which they have the epistemic insight they need to access a range of views about the relationships between science and religion.
Obsidian and volcanic glass shards: Characterization and provenancing
Authors: BARCA Donatella , CRISCI Gino M. , MIRIELLO Domenico
Published: February 2020

Obsidian is a volcanic product that forms under particular geological conditions, and hence occurs in limited areas of the Earth. In ancient times, obsidian was used successfully by various peoples to produce artistic artefacts, but also to make tools and weapons used in everyday life. For this reason, obsidian was transported from geological sources to other locations. The study of methods used to identify the provenance of obsidian artefacts has become crucial for understanding commercial relations between distant ancient populations. Other volcanic products, generally associated with obsidian, are volcanic glass shards. Glass shards were used in Mexico as aggregates to produce plasters, and recent studies have shown that they were also transported along commercial routes. This chapter presents an introductory overview of the sources of obsidian in the Tyrrhenian area, showing how minor, trace and rare earth elements can be used to solve provenance problems. A case study regarding the provenance of glass shards inside archaeological plasters taken from Teopacazco (Teotihuacan, Mexico) is also presented.
Synchrotron Radiation InfraRed microspectroscopy and imaging in the characterization of archaeological materials and cultural heritage artefacts
Authors: MARCELLI Augusto , CINQUE Gianfelice
Published: February 2020

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a widespread and highly sensitive analytical method for the identification and characterization of a wide range of materials via their infrared (IR) absorption bands. Until now, the potential of IR microspectroscopy and imaging for the characterization of works of art or other objects of cultural heritage significance has been only partially exploited; in particular the use of the synchrotron radiation (SR) IR microprobe to study, at the micron scale, materials of interest for archaeological and cultural heritage studies has become popular only in the past decade.

One of the main requirements imposed on the studies of ancient and/or valuable materials is that the techniques applied must be non-destructive. In this scenario, SR-based FTIR methods are perfectly suitable. Moreover, IR spectroscopy and imaging are emerging techniques that combine the assets of IR in terms of molecular specificity with the unique properties of synchrotron light. SR-FTIR micro-spectroscopy offers great advantages over conventional methods because it provides a broader spectrum (down to THz) and higher spectral quality (signal/noise ratio) at the highest spatial resolution (diffraction limited). This is due to the high brilliance and collimation of SR-IR, while still being non-damaging to the investigated system. The unique SR-IR parameters are essential for the compositional analysis of the tiny, sub-millimetric samples characteristic of ancient materials, which are heterogeneous by nature, and with complex molecular distributions at extremely variable concentrations.

SR-FTIR spectroscopy and imaging can be applied successfully to the characterization of organic and inorganic materials via so-called IR fingerprinting, as well as for their compositional quantification. The range of materials investigated is very broad and encompasses painting materials, stones, glasses, ceramics, coatings on metals, paper and wooden materials, canvas or other textiles, organic colourants, resins, varnishes, cosmetics, and binding media such as glues, waxes, oils, etc. SR-IR-based methods can also be used to understand the historical technologies and to identify the raw materials used to produce archaeological artefacts and art objects, and to improve stabilization, conservation and restoration practices.

Selected applications of SR-FTIR methods are discussed with a special emphasis on the chemical and mineralogical characterization of ancient paintings, on the study of alteration and corrosion layers, and the separation and identification of pigments. New perspectives offered by existing facilities and new developments in IR imaging and advanced vibrational spectroscopy that may broaden the variety of archaeological and historical materials that may be studied are outlined.
Glass and other vitreous materials through history
Authors: ANGELINI Ivana , GRATUZE Bernard , ARTIOLI Gilberto
Published: February 2020

Early vitreous materials include homogeneous glass, glassy faience, faience and glazed stones. These materials evolved slowly into more specialized substances such as enamels, engobes, lustres, or even modern metallic glass. The nature and properties of vitreous materials are summarized briefly, with an eye to the historical evolution of glass production in the Mediterranean world. Focus is on the evolution of European, Egyptian, and Near East materials. Notes on Chinese and Indian glass are reported for comparison. The most common techniques of mineralogical and chemical characterization of vitreous materials are described, highlighting the information derived for the purposes of archaeometric analysis and conservation.
Robust methods and conditional expectations for vehicular traffic count analysis
Authors: Kilpi Jorma , Norros Ilkka , Kuusela Pirkko , Malin Fanny , Räty Tomi
Published: February 2020

We study the problem of making algorithmic statistical inferences about the dynamics of city traffic. Our data is based on loop detector counts of observed vehicles in various roads in the city of Tampere, Finland. We show that meaningful correlations can be found between traffic asymmetries at different measurement locations. The traffic asymmetry is the difference of the traffic counts of the opposite directions of a road. The correlations can be further quantified by estimating how much they effect on the average values of the traffic asymmetries at the neighbouring locations. Conditional expectations, both sample and binormal model-based versions are useful tools for quantifying this effect. The uncertainty bounds of conditional expectations of the binormal model distribution are extremely useful for outlier detection. Furthermore, conditional expectations of the multinormal distribution model can be used to recover missing data with bounds to uncertainty.
Integrative analysis of outer membrane vesicles proteomics and whole-cell transcriptome analysis of eravacycline induced Acinetobacter baumannii strains
Authors: Kesavan DineshKumar , Vasudevan Aparna , Wu Liang , Chen Jianguo , Su Zhaoliang , Wang Shengjun , Xu Huaxi
Published: February 2020

Background

Acinetobacter baumannii is a multidrug-resistant (MDR) hazardous bacterium with very high antimicrobial resistance profiles. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) help directly and/or indirectly towards antibiotic resistance in these organisms. The present study aims to look on the proteomic profile of OMV as well as on the bacterial transcriptome upon exposure and induction with eravacycline, a new synthetic fluorocycline. RNA sequencing analysis of whole-cell and LC-MS/MS proteomic profiling of OMV proteome abundance were done to identify the differential expression among the eravacycline-induced A. baumannii ATCC 19606 and A. baumannii clinical strain JU0126.

Results

The differentially expressed genes from the RNA sequencing were analysed using R package and bioinformatics software and tools. Genes encoding drug efflux and membrane transport were upregulated among the DEGs from both ATCC 19606 and JU0126 strains. As evident with the induction of eravacycline resistance, ribosomal proteins were upregulated in both the strains in the transcriptome profiles and also resistance pumps, such as MFS, RND, MATE and ABC transporters. High expression of stress and survival proteins were predominant in the OMVs proteome with ribosomal proteins, chaperons, OMPs OmpA, Omp38 upregulated in ATCC 19606 strain and ribosomal proteins, toluene tolerance protein, siderophore receptor and peptidases in the JU0126 strain. The induction of resistance to eravacycline was supported by the presence of upregulation of ribosomal proteins, resistance-conferring factors and stress proteins in both the strains of A. baumannii ATCC 19606 and JU0126, with the whole-cell gene transcriptome towards both resistance and stress genes while the OMVs proteome enriched more with survival proteins.

Conclusion

The induction of resistance to eravacycline in the strains were evident with the increased expression of ribosomal and transcription related genes/proteins. Apart from this resistance-conferring efflux pumps, outer membrane proteins and stress-related proteins were also an essential part of the upregulated DEGs. However, the expression profiles of OMVs proteome in the study was independent with respect to the whole-cell RNA expression profiles with low to no correlation. This indicates the possible role of OMVs to be more of back-up additional protection to the existing bacterial cell defence during the antibacterial stress.
Sublethal application of various sulfonylurea and imidazolinone herbicides favors outcrossing and hybrid seed production in oilseed rape
Authors: Yu Cheng-Yu , Lian Jing-long , Gong Qiong , Ren Li-Suo , Huang Zhen , Xu Ai-Xia , Dong Jun-Gang
Published: February 2020

Background

Acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides from the chemical families of sulfonylureas and imidazolinones are used worldwide. However, drift or sprayer contamination from some sulfonylurea herbicides causes a high level of male sterility in cruciferous species, especially oilseed rape (OSR). In this paper, we evaluated the gametocidal effects of 27 ALS-inhibiting herbicides that were sprayed on OSR plants at the bolting stage.

Results

OSR anther development was very sensitive to sublethal exposure to most ALS-inhibiting herbicides. The application of 18 out of the 20 tested sulfonylureas (except ethametsulfuron and ethoxysulfuron), two imidazolinones (imazethapyr and imazamox), and one sulfonylamino-carbonyltriazolinone (flucarbazone-sodium) at suitable rates could induce male sterility. Eight of the herbicides, including chlorsulfuron (at application rates of 60–120 mg/ha), halosulfuron-methyl (300–600 mg/ha), sulfosulfuron (400–600 mg/ha), triflusulfuron-methyl (500–750 mg/ha), pyrazosulfuron-ethyl (150–225 mg/ha), nicosulfuron (200–300 mg/ha), imazethapyr (750–1125 mg/ha), and imazamox (400–800 mg/ha), could induce over 90% male sterility and over 60% relative outcrossed seed set in six cultivars with different origins. These eight chemicals could be used as new gametocides for hybrid seed production. This study also examined the possibility of external application of these gametocides on several unstable Polima cytoplasmic male sterile and thermosensitive genic male sterile lines. Although the outcrossed seed set of the treated lines was slightly reduced, the gametocide application significantly increased the seed purity of the resulting hybrid.

Conclusion

The finding of the gametocidal effects of most sulfonylureas and imidazolinones are of great importance for developing new functions for ALS-inhibiting herbicides. The application of gametocides will also greatly promote the safe utilization of environment-sensitive male sterility in hybrid seed production. Unexpectedly, the application of three triazolopyrimidines (florasulam, flumetsulam, and penoxsulam) and one pyrimidinylthiobenzoate (bispyribac-sodium) did not cause male sterility, although these herbicides obviously inhibited the activity of ALS and plant growth. This result suggests that inhibition of ALS activity does not always lead to male sterility in plants, and these gametocides may also inhibit other biological functions vital for microspore development.
“We need a one-stop-shop”: co-creating the model of care for a multidisciplinary memory clinic with community members, GPs, aged care workers, service providers, and policy-makers
Authors: Steiner Genevieve Z. , Ee Carolyn , Dubois Shamieka , MacMillan Freya , George Emma S. , McBride Kate A. , Karamacoska Diana , McDonald Keith , Harley Anne , Abramov Gamze , Andrews-Marney Elana R. , Cave Adele E. , Hohenberg Mark I.
Published: February 2020

Background

Timely diagnosis of dementia has a wide range of benefits including reduced hospital emergency department presentations, admissions and inpatient length of stay, and improved quality of life for patients and their carers by facilitating access to treatments that reduce symptoms, and allow time to plan for the future. Memory clinics can provide such services, however there is no 'gold standard' model of care. This study involved the co-creation of a model of care for a new multidisciplinary memory clinic with local community members, General Practitioners (GPs), policy-makers, community aged care workers, and service providers.

Methods

Data collection comprised semi-structured interviews (N = 98) with 20 GPs, and three 2-h community forums involving 53 seniors and community/local government representatives, and 25 community healthcare workers. Interviews and community forums were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded by thematic analysis using Quirkos.

Results

GPs’ attitudes towards their role in assessing people with dementia varied. Many GPs reported that they found it useful for patients to have a diagnosis of dementia, but required support from secondary care to make the diagnosis and assist with subsequent management. Community forum participants felt they had a good knowledge of available dementia resources and services, but noted that these were highly fragmented and needed to be easier to navigate for the patient/carer via a 'one-stop-shop' and the provision of a dementia key worker. Expectations for the services and features of a new memory clinic included diagnostic services, rapid referrals, case management, education, legal services, culturally sensitive and appropriate services, allied health, research participation opportunities, and clear communication with GPs. Participants described several barriers to memory clinic utilisation including transportation access, funding, awareness, and costs.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates the importance of working with stakeholders to co-design models of care for people with dementia that take into account the local communities’ needs. Findings pave the way for the development of a potential new “gold standard” memory clinic model of care and operationalise new national clinical guidelines.
Prevalence of Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Melese Addisu , Genet Chalachew , Andualem Tesfaye
Published: February 2020

Background

The emergence of Vancomycin resistantenterococci(VRE) poses a major public health problem since it was first reported. Although the rising rates of VRE infections are being reported elsewhere in the worldwide; there is limited national pooled data in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of VRE and antimicrobial resistance profiles ofenterococciin Ethiopia.

Methods

Literature search was done at PubMed, EMBASE, Google scholar, African Journals online (AJOL) and Addis Ababa University repository following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. Both published and unpublished studies reporting the prevalence of VRE until June 30, 2019 were included. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel and copied to Comprehensive Meta-analysis (CMA 2.0) for analysis. Pooled estimate of VRE was computed using the random effects model and the 95% CIs. The level of heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran’s Q and I2tests. Publication bias was checked by visual inspection of funnel plots and Begg’s and/or Egger’s test.

Results

Twenty studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria and found with relevant data. A total of 831enterococciand 71 VRE isolates were included in the analysis. The pooled prevalence of VRE was 14.8% (95% CI; 8.7–24.3;I2 = 74.05%;P <  0.001). Compared to vancomycin resistance,enterococcihad higher rate of resistance to Penicillin (60.7%), Amoxicillin (56.5%), Doxycycline (55.1%) and Tetracycline (53.7%). Relatively low rate of resistance was found for Daptomycin and Linezolid with a pooled estimate of 3.2% (95% CI, 0.5–19.7%) and 9.9% (95% CI, 2.8–29.0%); respectively. The overall pooled multidrug resistance (MDR) rate ofenterococciwas 60.0% (95% CI, 42.9–75.0%).

Conclusion

The prevalence of VRE and drug resistantenterococciare on the rise in Ethiopia. Enterococcal isolates showed resistance to one or more of the commonly prescribed drugs in different or the same drug lines. Multidrug resistant (MDR)enterococciwere also found. Although the rates were low, the emergence of resistance to Daptomycin and Linezolid is an alarm for searching new ways for the treatment and control of VRE infections. Adherence to antimicrobial stewardship, comprehensive testing and ongoing monitoring of VRE infections in the health care settings are required.
Staphylococcal species less frequently isolated from human clinical specimens - are they a threat for hospital patients?
Authors: Szemraj Magdalena , Grazul Magdalena , Balcerczak Ewa , Szewczyk Eligia M.
Published: February 2020

Background

Coagulase-negative staphylococci belonging to S. haemolyticus, S. hominis subsp. hominis, S. simulans, and S. warneri are often described as etiological factors of infections. Staphylococci are a phylogenetically coherent group; nevertheless, there are differences among the species which may be important to clinicians.

Methods

We investigated selected virulence factors and antibiotic resistance that were phenotypically demonstrated, the presence and expression of genes encoding the virulence factors, and the type of the SCCmec cassette.

Results

The differences between the tested species were revealed. A great number of isolates produced a biofilm and many of them contained single icaADBC operon genes. Clear differences between species in the lipolytic activity spectrum could be related to their ability to cause various types of infections. Our studies also revealed the presence of genes encoding virulence factors homologous to S. aureus in the analysed species such as enterotoxin and pvl genes, which were also expressed in single isolates of S. simulans and S. warneri. S. haemolyticus and S. hominis subsp. hominis isolates were resistant to all clinically important antibiotics including ß-lactams. The identified SCCmec cassettes belonged to IV, V, VII, and IX type but most of the detected cassettes were non-typeable. Among the investigated species, S. hominis subsp. hominis isolates accumulated virulence genes typical for S. aureus in the most efficient way and were widely resistant to antibiotics.

Conclusions

Our results clearly indicated significant differences between the tested species, which might be a result of the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and can lead to the formation and selection of multi-drug resistant strains as well as strains with new virulence features. Such strains can have a new clinical relevance.
Association of tumor necrosis factor-α gene polymorphisms and coronary artery disease susceptibility: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Huang Rui , Zhao Su-Rui , Li Ya , Liu Fang , Gong Yue , Xing Jun , Xu Ze-Sheng
Published: February 2020

Background

The goal of this study was to review relevant case-control studies to determine the association of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) gene polymorphisms and coronary artery disease (CAD) susceptibility.

Methods

Using appropriate keywords, we identified relevant studies using PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, CNKI, VANFUN, and VIP. Key pertinent sources in the literature were also reviewed, and all articles published through April 2019 were considered for inclusion. Based on eligible studies, we performed a meta-analysis of association between 308G/A, 238G/A, 857C/T, 863C/A and 1031 T/C polymorphisms inTNF-αand risk of CAD.

Results

We found 25 studies that were consistent with this meta-analysis, including 7697 patients in the CAD group and 9655 control patients.TNF-α308G/A locus A showed no significant association with CAD susceptibility by the five models in the analysis of the overall population, European, African, South Asian, and North Asian patients.TNF-α863C/A locus A and 1031 T/C locus C exhibited no significant association with CAD susceptibility.TNF-α238G/A locus A had no significant association with CAD susceptibility in the overall population. However,TNF-α238G/A locus A showed significant association with higher CAD susceptibility in the subgroup of Europeans and north Asians.TNF-α857C/T locus T had no significant association with CAD susceptibility in the analysis of the overall population and Europeans. In the north Asian population,TNF-α857C/T locus T was associated with lower CAD susceptibility by the heterozygote model.

Conclusion

TNF-α308G/A, 857C/T, 863C/A, and 1031 T/C has no significant association with CAD susceptibility.TNF-α238G/A locus A has significant association with CAD susceptibility in Europeans and north Asians, but has no significant association in the overall population. Studies with a larger sample size are required to confirm the association betweenTNF-α238G/A and CAD susceptibility.
Development of ‘learn to dare!’: An online assessment and intervention platform for anxious children
Authors: Simon Ellin , de Hullu Eva , Bögels Susan , Verboon Peter , Butler Petra , van Groeninge Wendy , Slot Wim , Craske Michelle , Whiteside Stephen , van Lankveld Jacques
Published: February 2020

Background

Many children and adolescents suffer from problematic levels of anxiety, but the multitude of these children do not receive an intervention. It is of importance to increase the accessibility and availability of child anxiety interventions, as to identify and treat anxious children early and successfully. Online platforms that include information, assessments and intervention can contribute to this goal. Interventions for child anxiety are frequently based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, because of its strong theoretical and empirical basis. However, the working mechanisms of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in children are poorly studied. To our knowledge, mediation studies on child anxiety are non-existent regarding online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Methods

We will aim at children aged 8–13 years with problematic anxiety. We recruit these children via the community setting, and refer them to our online platform ‘Learn to Dare!’ (in Dutch: ‘Leer te Durven!’), https://leertedurven.ou.nl, where information about child anxiety and our research is freely accessible. After an active informed consent procedure, the participants can access the screening procedure, which will select the children with problematic anxiety levels. Thereafter, these children will be randomized to an online intervention based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (n = 120) or to a waitlist control (WL, n = 120). The intervention consists of 8 sessions with minimal therapist support and contains psycho-education, exposure (based on inhibitory learning), cognitive restructuring and relapse prevention. Child anxiety symptoms and diagnoses, cognitions, avoidance behavior and level of abstract reasoning are measured. Assessments are the same for both groups and are performed before and after the proposed working mechanisms are offered during the intervention. A follow-up assessment takes place 3 months after the final session, after which children in the waitlist control group are offered to take part in the intervention.

Discussion

This protocol paper describes the development of the online platform ‘Learn to Dare!’, which includes information about child anxiety, the screening procedure, anxiety assessments, and the online intervention. We describe the development of the online intervention. Offering easy accessible interventions and providing insight into the working mechanisms of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy contributes to optimizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for anxious youth.
The appropriateness of DUNDRUM-3 and DUNDRUM-4 for Māori in forensic mental health services in New Zealand: participatory action research
Authors: Wharewera-Mika Julie , Cooper Erana , Wiki Nick , Prentice Kiri , Field Trudie , Cavney James , Kaire David , McKenna Brian
Published: February 2020

Background

The Auckland Regional Forensic Psychiatry Services (ARFPS) in New Zealand has introduced structured clinical judgment instruments developed in Ireland (DUNDRUM-3 and DUNDRUM-4) to assist staff decision-making regarding service users’ clinical pathways. In New Zealand, Māori (the indigenous people) constitute 43% of the in-patient forensic mental health population. The aim of this study was to determine the face validity of the measures for Māori.

Methods

Participatory Action Research was aligned with a kaupapa Māori (Māori-orientated) research approach, to give full recognition to Māori cultural values. Two hui (gatherings) were held with Māori clinical and cultural experts at the service. The first hui (n = 12), explored the cultural appropriateness of the measures. The second (n = 10) involved a reflection on appropriate adaptions to the measures. Discussions were digitally recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed.

Results

Although the usefulness of the measures in enhancing the overall quality of clinical decision-making was confirmed, the DUNDRUM measures were considered to be limited in their ability to fully measure Māori service user progress and recovery. Suggestions were made to develop an additional ‘pillar’ focused on cultural identity and spirituality for DUNDRUM-3; to use both service user and family ratings for the adapted DUNDRUM-3 and DUNDRUM-4 measures; and to involve cultural expertise at the point of structured clinical judgement when using the measures.

Conclusions

This is the first study to consider the face validity of the DUNDRUM-3 and DUNDRUM-4 for indigenous peoples, who are internationally over-represented in forensic mental health services. Suggested changes would require a negotiated, collaborative process between Māori cultural expertise and the original authors of the measures.