bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Demand for animal source of food in Central Java, Indonesia
Authors: Rianti T S M , Khoiriyah N
Published: May 2021

Consumption of protein was often used as an indicator of household welfare. This study analyzed the impact of price andincome changeon demand foranimal food in rural households in Central Java, using the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System model approach. The research data used data from the National Socio-Economic Survey, totalling13, 872 households. The output appeared that a one percent increase in animal food prices reduced the demand for eggs, chicken, beef, fish, and milk by 0.505%, 1.281%, 4.099%, 3.424%, and 1.915%, respectively. The most elastic animal food group is beef, followed by milk, fish, chicken, and eggs with income elasticities of 3.278%, 2.339%, 2.156%, 1.411%, and 0.556%. All animal food is a luxury item except eggs, which are normal goods. Beef is a substitute for fish, chicken, and eggs, while milk is complementary. The price policy is more effective compared to the income policy for rural Central Java. Rural households in Central Java very responsive to changes in price.
Immunomodulatory Activity of Black Tea Kombucha (Camellia sinensis) and Arabica Coffee Leaves Tea Kombucha (Coffee arabica) for Salmonella typhi-infected mice
Authors: Zubaidah E , Iastika A R , Widyaningsih T D , Febrianto K
Published: May 2021

This study aimed to compare between black tea kombucha, and Arabica coffee leaves tea kombucha on immunomodulatory activity on Salmonella typhi infected mice. The trial animals were divided into two groups; the infected and the non-infected group. Each group consisted of a control group, the black tea kombucha group, and the Arabica leaves tea kombucha group. Both types of tea kombucha increase the adaptive immune response, as shown by an improvement on CD4+, CD8+, CD4+IFNƔ, CD4+TNFα, CD8+ IFNƔ, and CD8+TNFα. It was also suggested that the immunomodulatory activity of black tea kombucha was higher than that of Arabica coffee leaves tea kombucha.
Isolation of thermo-tolerant and ethanol-tolerant yeast from local vegetables and their potential as bioethanol producers
Authors: Nurcholis M , Kurniawan R , Kusnadi J , Maligan J M
Published: May 2021

Bio-ethanol can be obtained from simple sugars, starch-based biomass, or lignocellulosic biomass through fermentation. Conventional yeast acts as a bioethanol producer but has limited tolerance to temperatures above 40°C and high concentrations of ethanol. Therefore, thermo-tolerant and ethanol-tolerant yeast are required because it has many benefits on high-temperature fermentation in the industry. This research is a descriptive study conducted in three stages. The first stage is to isolate yeast from eggplant, cabbage, potatoes, mustard greens, bitter melon, squash, green beans, kale, and celery. The second stage is to test the temperature and ethanol tolerance from yeast that has been obtained. The third stage is to test the ethanol productivity of the isolated yeasts. The results showed isolates S17c, S17d, S17a, S17b, S09, S12, S13a, S13b, S17e, S18a, and S18b grew at 45°C. While in the ethanol tolerance test found that isolates S17c, S17d, S17b, S17a, S09, S12, S13a, S13b, S18a, and S18b grew on YPG agar supplemented with 15% ethanol content. Isolate S17d has the highest ethanol production with 3.13% ethanol in 24th-hour fermentation.
Effect of maltodextrin addition on the preparation of lipase from Coconut haustorium
Authors: Suloi ANF , Mahendradatta M , Laga A , Suloi AF
Published: May 2021

Lipase is a biocatalyst that hydrolyzes esters bonds such as triglycerides to produce free fatty acids and glycerol. Coconut haustorium is an unused source of lipase enzyme. One of the methods in the preparation of the lipase enzyme from coconut haustorium that ready to be used is by a drying process. However, the drying process can damage the structure of the enzyme and decreases its activity. Therefore, the maltodextrin is required to protect the structure of the enzyme during the drying process. This study aims to identify the effect of maltodextrin addition to the lipase enzyme preparation. This study started by shredding coconut haustorium to reduce the size. Then, the maltodextrin at concentrations 0%, 10%, and 20% was added to the coconut haustorium. The mix was then dried using a blower oven with a temperature of 40°C for 9 hours. The parameters tested in the study were protein content, enzyme activity, water content, and yield. The best treatment in the preparation of the enzyme lipase from coconut haustorium was the addition of 20% maltodextrin. This treatment gave the highest activity of 0.438 U/ml, protein content of 7.618 mg/ml, the specific activity of 0.058 u/mg protein, the water content of 18.96% and yield of 26.71%.
Modeling and optimization of catalyst concentration and reaction temperature on yield and calorific value of biodiesel from CPO
Authors: Hendrawan Y , Daisy  , Utami R , Nurseta D Y , Yudho R , Argo B D , Susilo B
Published: May 2021

In this research, response surface methodology (RSM) has been developed with a central composite design (CCD) model using two input variables i.e. KOH concentration and the reaction temperature, and two responses i.e. biodiesel yield as quantity parameter and calorific value as quality parameter. RSM optimization result showed a parabolic curve with a maximization function with a quadratic mathematical model. Mathematical model that had been given for yield response was Y1 = - 361.75066 + 298.06346X1 + 15.36142X2 + 0.5X1X2 – 159.4X1
2 – 0.14463X2
2, where: Y = Yield response, X1 = KOH concentration (% w/v), X2 = reaction temperature (°C), meanwhile the mathematical model for calorific value response was Y2 = 21534.81810 + 2163.76029 X1 – 487.60022 X2 + 69.11980 X1X2 - 2709.22080 X1
2 + 3.84021X2
2. The optimum solution obtained by RSM was a KOH concentration of 1.08% (w/v) and reaction temperature at 60.11°C. Validation data indicated that the actual value (obtained by experimental result) was similar to that of the prediction value (obtained from RSM). Meanwhile, biodiesel characteristics that had been produced included: viscosity 7.356 cst, water content 5.6%, density 0.864 g/ml, a flashpoint at 135°C, yield 210.90 ml, and calorific value is 9864.834 cal/g.
Recycling paper industry: Analysis of raw material consumption in Indonesia
Authors: Romas M S , Martini S
Published: May 2021

The recycling paper industry has a good potential market. The industry used recycled paper such as Old Corrugated Containers (OCC), Old Newspaper (ONP), mixed waste paper, and Sorted White Ledger (SWL) as raw material. In Indonesia, commonly, the industry got the raw material of about 50% by importing. The government provides regulation to ensure the sustainability of the industrial activity, that is the process of importing recycled paper and internal regulation to increase local raw materials. The objectives of the research were to study the chosen raw material for the recycling paper industry and to analyze the positioning strategy of consumption raw material for the recycling paper industry in Indonesia. This research used a qualitative description method by the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Strength Weakness Opportunities Threat (SWOT) analysis. The data were obtained from a questionnaire distributed to the paper industry, paper researcher, and relevant agencies. Based on AHP, the strength criteria to choose raw material is the regulation and availability of raw material with values 0.323 and 0.243; and the alternative chosen is recycled paper raw material import. The result of SWOT analysis, the recycling paper industry in Indonesia, has an Internal Factor Analysis Strategy (IFAS) 0.05, and an External Factor Analysis Strategy (EFAS) - 0.03. That showed from SWOT quadrant matrix, the position coordinate point of IFAS and EFAS in quadrant II. That means the positioning strategy is diversification. The government, recycling paper industry, and relevant agencies to corporate to increase the collecting rate of recycled paper.
Agglomeration of Pt nanoparticles on the g-C3N4 surface dominated by oriented attachment mechanism and way of inhibition
Authors: Yan Fengpo , Zhang Hao , Zhang Yu , Yang Fugui
Published: May 2021

0.3 mol% platinum loaded g-C3N4 sample was prepared by photoreduction method to study the long-term stability of photocatalysts. For the first time, we have discovered the oriented attachment (OA) mechanism growth of Pt nanoparticles on g-C3N4 solid surface, which is completely different from Ostwald ripening (OR) or particle migration and coalescence (PMC) that previously reported. The Pt nanoparticles perform Brownian motion on the surface of g-C3N4 support under the collision of liquid molecules, then two or more nanoparticles attach together via the crystallographic orientation to construct larger ones. Al2O3 film prepared by atomic layer depositon was introduced to inhibit the Brownian motion of Pt nanoparticles. It is found that as the increase of the Al2O3 growth cycles, the photocatalytic hydrogen production of Pt/g-C3N4 coated by Al2O3 increase from 1.14 mmolg−1h−1 to 2.08 mmolg−1h−1 and then decrease to 1.4 mmolg−1h−1, and the apparent quantum efficiency (QE) also increase from 1.2% to 2.1% and then decrease to 1.4%. Meanwhile, the long-term stability of photocatalyst always increases. This work has revealed new pathway of photocatalytic nanoparticle growth on solid surface and proposed the method to prevent it.
A brief overview about the use of different bioactive liposome-based drug delivery systems in Peritoneal Dialysis and some other diseases
Authors: Singh Sandeep Kumar , Kumar Umesh , Guleria Anupam , Kumar Dinesh
Published: May 2021

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a promising way of treatment used for patients suffering from End-Stage Renal Failure (ESRF). Liposomes are nanocarriers comprised of lipid bilayers encapsulating an aqueous core. Liposomes are extensively used as drug delivery systems and several liposomal nanomedicines have been approved for clinical applications. Nanomedicine constitutes a new direction in peritonitis prevention using peritoneal dialysis (PD). In case of PD; there is a more risk of bacterial infection in the peritoneal cavity along with subcutaneous tunnel and catheter existing site. These infections are the most common complications associated with prolonged peritoneal dialysis (PD) therapy. To prevent such complications, patients used to treat with suitable antibiotic. Nanocarriers consist of assembly of nano-sized vehicles planned to deliver encapsulated/loaded bioactive(s) to the specific target (tissues or organs) and have provided prominent improved therapeutic efficacy for PD patients. The advantage of bioactive loaded nanocarrier has the efficient capacity to deliver at target specific site in PD. This review focuses mainly on the current use of different liposomal encapsulated bioactive compounds in drug delivery systems in the case of PD and other human diseases and briefly highlights the importance and use of different liposomal encapsulated antimicrobial agents to improve the PD technique.
Economic feasibility of wood-based structures—Improving urban carbon neutrality strategies
Authors: Talvitie Ilmari , Vimpari Jussi , Junnila Seppo
Published: May 2021

Countries and cities alike have set carbon neutrality goals for the near future. Urban areas are experiencing an increased demand for new housing developments, and buildings are responsible for one third of all greenhouse gas emissions. The relative share of construction emissions is increasing as energy production is de-carbonizing. Wooden structures have showcased potential in substantially decreasing these emissions. However, for the construction industry to utilize environmentally friendly products, the cost efficiency needs to be determined. Prior research does not present conclusive results regarding the construction costs or value of wooden buildings. This study aims to determine the economic feasibility of wood-based structures in housing.

We approach this by estimating the effect of wood on Finnish dwelling prices through hedonic regression analyses. Dwelling prices are analysed with transaction data from the Helsinki metropolitan area. It is provided by the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies. The data represents occurred transactions between 1999 and 2018. The study discovers that a wooden structure has a positive price effect in the Helsinki metropolitan region suggesting an economically feasible opportunity to create low carbon urban housing. In the city of Helsinki, the effect is statistically significant (+8.85%) whereas no significance is found in either Espoo or Vantaa. The results suggest that in Helsinki, a direct financial benefit exists for both the city and private developers. For other cities, the study encourages the increase of consumption of wood due to its environmental properties. The study implies that wooden construction is an economically feasible solution in mitigating climate change. As this may provoke an increased demand for wood in construction, further research should be conducted to analyse its effects on the economy and the environment.
Portraits, Facial Perception, and Aspect-Seeing
Authors: Vrahimis Andreas
Published: May 2021

Is there a substantial difference between a portrait depicting the sitter’s face made by an artist and an image captured by a machine able to simulate the neuro-physiology of facial perception? Drawing on the later Wittgenstein, this paper answers this question by reference to the relation between seeing a visual pattern as (i) a series of shapes and colours, and (ii) a face with expressions. In the case of the artist, and not of the machine, the portrait’s creative process involves the ability to see both aspects. From the perspective of the image’s viewer, the distinction is more difficult to draw. I address this difficulty by further distinguishing between two attributes of portraits: their representational accuracy, and their ability to convey the artist’s reflection on her experience of seeing the sitter face-to-face. While artificial intelligence can mimic this latter reflective ability, it cannot exactly reproduce it.
Lowering the density: ants associated with the myrmecophyteTillandsia caput-medusaediminish the establishment of epiphytes
Authors: Vergara-Torres Carmen Agglael , Díaz-Castelazo Cecilia , Toledo-Hernández Víctor Hugo , Flores-Palacios Alejandro
Published: May 2021

Ants benefit myrmecophytic plants by two main activities defending them from herbivores and offering nutrients. Ants’ territorial defence behaviour also benefits their myrmecophytic plants; in the case of trees, this behaviour includes eliminating structural parasites (epiphytes and lianas). These benefits could also occur with myrmecophytic epiphytes by decreasing the abundance of competing epiphytes. In two subunits of a tropical dry forest in the centre of Mexico, we (i) recorded the diversity of ants associated with the myrmecophyte Tillandsia caput-medusae, and experimentally tested: (ii) the effect of the ants associated with the myrmecophyte in the removal of its seeds and the seeds of other sympatric non-myrmecophyte species of Tillandsia; and (iii) if seed remotion by ants corresponds with epiphyte load in the preferred (Bursera copallifera) and limiting phorophyte species (B. fagaroides, Ipomoea pauciflora and Sapium macrocarpum). In five trees per species, we tied seed batches of T. caput-medusae, T. hubertiana, T. schiedeana and T. recurvata. One seed batch was close, and the other far away from a T. caput-medusae with active ants. Between forest subunits, ant richness was similar, but diversity and evenness differed. Ants diminish seed establishment of all the Tillandsia species; this effect is stronger in the forest subunit with a large ant diversity, maybe because of ant competition. Seed remotion by ants is independent of phorophyte species identity. Although ants can provide benefits to T. caput-medusae, they also could be lowering their abundance.
The Second of Two One-Year, Multicenter, Open-Label, Repeat-Dose, Phase II Safety Studies of PrabotulinumtoxinA for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Glabellar Lines in Adult Patients
Authors: Lorenc Z Paul , Adelglass Jeffrey M , Avelar Rui L , Baumann Leslie , Beer Kenneth R , Cohen Joel L , Cox Sue Ellen , Dayan Steven H , Dover Jeffrey S , Downie Jeanine B , Draelos Zoe Diana , Goldman Mitchel P , Gross John E , Joseph John H , Kaufman-Janette Joely , Moy Ronald L , Nestor Mark , Schlessinger Joel , Smith Stacy R , Weiss Robert A
Published: May 2021

Background

PrabotulinumtoxinA is a 900-kDa botulinum toxin type A produced by Clostridium botulinum.

Objectives

The authors sought to investigate the safety of prabotulinumtoxinA for treatment of glabellar lines.

Methods

This was a multicenter, open-label, repeat-dose, 1-year phase II safety study. Adults with moderate to severe glabellar lines at maximum frown, as independently assessed by both investigator and patient on the validated 4-point photonumeric Glabellar Line Scale (0 = no lines, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe), were enrolled. On day 0, patients received an initial treatment (IT) of 20 U prabotulinumtoxinA (4 U/0.1 mL final vacuum-dried formulation injected into 5 glabellar sites). On and after day 90, patients received a repeat treatment (RT) if their Glabellar Line Scale score was ≥2 at maximum frown by investigator assessment. Safety outcomes were evaluated throughout the study.

Results

The 570 study patients received a median total dose of 60 U, that is, 3 treatments. Sixty-one patients (10.7%) experienced adverse events (AEs) assessed as possibly study drug related; 6.5% experienced study drug–related AEs after the IT. With each RT, progressively lower percentages of patients experienced study drug–related AEs. Eight patients (1.4%) experienced study drug–related AEs of special interest: 5 experienced eyelid ptosis (0.9%), 3 eyebrow ptosis (0.5%), 1 blepharospasm (0.2%), and 1 blurred vision (0.2%). Seven patients (1.2%) experienced serious AEs, but none were study drug related. A total of 4060 serum samples were tested for antibotulinum toxin antibodies; no seroconversion was observed.

Conclusions

The safety of RTs of 20 U of prabotulinumtoxinA for moderate to severe glabellar lines was confirmed in this second phase II study based on a broad range of outcomes.

Level of Evidence: 2
Characterization of a novel moderate-substrate specificity amino acid racemase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus litoralis
Authors: Kawakami Ryushi , Kinoshita Chinatsu , Kawase Tomoki , Sato Mikio , Hayashi Junji , Sakuraba Haruhiko , Ohshima Toshihisa
Published: May 2021

The amino acid sequence of the OCC_10945 gene product from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus litoralis DSM5473, originally annotated as γ-aminobutyrate aminotransferase, is highly similar to that of the uncharacterized pyridoxal 5ʹ-phosphate (PLP)-dependent amino acid racemase from Pyrococcus horikoshii. The OCC_10945 enzyme was successfully overexpressed in Escherichia coli by coexpression with a chaperone protein. The purified enzyme demonstrated PLP-dependent amino acid racemase activity primarily toward Met and Leu. Although PLP contributed to enzyme stability, it only loosely bound to this enzyme. Enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by several metal ions, including Co2+ and Zn2+, and nonsubstrate amino acids such as l-Arg and l-Lys. These results suggest that the underlying PLP-binding and substrate recognition mechanisms in this enzyme are significantly different from those of the other archaeal and bacterial amino acid racemases. This is the first description of a novel PLP-dependent amino acid racemase with moderate substrate specificity in hyperthermophilic archaea.
TSSFinder—fast and accurateab initioprediction of the core promoter in eukaryotic genomes
Authors: de Medeiros Oliveira Mauro , Bonadio Igor , Lie de Melo Alicia , Mendes Souza Glaucia , Durham Alan Mitchell
Published: May 2021

Promoter annotation is an important task in the analysis of a genome. One of the main challenges for this task is locating the border between the promoter region and the transcribing region of the gene, the transcription start site (TSS). The TSS is the reference point to delimit the DNA sequence responsible for the assembly of the transcribing complex. As the same gene can have more than one TSS, so to delimit the promoter region, it is important to locate the closest TSS to the site of the beginning of the translation. This paper presents TSSFinder, a new software for the prediction of the TSS signal of eukaryotic genes that is significantly more accurate than other available software. We currently are the only application to offer pre-trained models for six different eukaryotic organisms: Arabidopsis thaliana, Drosophila melanogaster, Gallus gallus, Homo sapiens, Oryza sativa and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Additionally, our software can be easily customized for specific organisms using only 125 DNA sequences with a validated TSS signal and corresponding genomic locations as a training set. TSSFinder is a valuable new tool for the annotation of genomes. TSSFinder source code and docker container can be downloaded from http://tssfinder.github.io. Alternatively, TSSFinder is also available as a web service at http://sucest-fun.org/wsapp/tssfinder/.
Cost-Effectiveness of 1-Time Universal Screening for Chronic Hepatitis B Infection in Adults in the United States
Authors: Toy Mehlika , Hutton David , Harris Aaron M , Nelson Noele , Salomon Joshua A , So Samuel
Published: May 2021

Background

An estimated 862 000 to 2.4 million people have chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB). Hepatitis B screening is recommended for pregnant women and populations with increased CHB risk. However, diagnosis rates remain low, with only 33% of people with CHB aware of their infection. This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of universal adult screening for CHB.

Methods

We used a Markov model to calculate the costs, population health impact, and cost-effectiveness of 1-time universal screening and CHB monitoring and treatment compared with current practice. Sensitivity analysis was performed on model parameters to identify thresholds for cost-saving or cost-effectiveness based on a willingness to pay of $50 000/quality-adjusted life-year. The analysis assumed testing would be performed during routine healthcare visits and that generic tenofovir or entecavir would be dispensed for treatment. Testing costs were based on Medicare reimbursement rates.

Results

At an estimated 0.24% prevalence of undiagnosed CHB, universal hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) screening in adults aged 18–69 years is cost-saving compared with current practice if antiviral treatment drug costs remain below $894/year. Compared with current practice, universal screening would avert an additional 7.4 cases of compensated cirrhosis, 3.3 cases of decompensated cirrhosis, 5.5 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, 1.9 liver transplants, and 10.3 hepatitis B virus–related deaths at a saving of $263 000/100 000 adults screened.

Conclusions

Universal HBsAg screening of adults in the US general population for CHB is cost-effective and likely cost-saving compared with current CHB screening recommendations.
Using a Community-Based Participatory Research Model to Encourage Parental Involvement in Their Children’s Schools
Authors: Keller JoDee G , Miller Claudia , LasDulce Chance , Wohrle Rachel G
Published: May 2021

Parental engagement with their children’s education has been shown to have positive effects for children’s academic outcomes; thus, learning ways to increase parental engagement can be beneficial for students. Because of the importance of understanding schools in the context of the community and the essential role that community can play in supporting schools, community-based participatory research (CBPR) may be a particularly effective approach to data collection because it engages community partners as well as parents and school personnel, and it gains information that leads to meaningful interventions. This study explored the use of CBPR within an economically and ethnically diverse school community with the intent of developing strategies to foster increased parental participation in their children’s education. Social workers and social work students facilitated focus groups with parents and community stakeholders to explore ways to increase parental engagement in their children’s school and to identify barriers to engagement. The article identifies next steps based on the recommendations of participants and describes the outcomes of preliminary implementation of these steps.
Certification and Professional Preparation of School Social Workers, School Psychologists, and School Counselors
Authors: Mitchell Brandon , Frey Andy , Kelly Michael S
Published: May 2021

Educational leaders are faced with the difficult task of providing optimal services to all students. Among their many challenges is to choose between a variety of professionals whose mission is to improve outcomes by addressing largely nonacademic risk factors that affect students’ ability to benefit from their educational experiences. Specialized instructional support personnel are often hired to help remove barriers to learning and improve student outcomes; however, certification requirements for these professionals vary by discipline and state. The purpose of this article is to replicate Altshuler and Webb's analysis of certification requirements for school social workers, school psychologists, and school counselors. To do so, the authors adopted a comparative case study approach to collect, identify, compare, and contrast extant documents related to state certification, including degree, education-specific coursework, practicum/internship experiences, and examination requirements. Results indicate that although school social work certification has become more rigorous, its requirements remain more varied across all categories reviewed compared with those for school psychologists and school counselors. The article concludes with recommendations for practice, policy, and research.
Seasonal metabolic flexibility is correlated with microclimate variation in horned larks and house sparrows
Authors: Oboikovitz Paige , Swanson David L
Published: May 2021

Maximum and minimum metabolic rates in birds are flexible traits and such flexibility can be advantageous in variable climates. The climatic variability hypothesis (CVH) posits that more variable climates should result in greater metabolic flexibility for geographically distinct populations. Whether the CVH applies to sympatric species occupying microclimates differing in variability is unknown. Microclimates of open habitats are likely more variable than those of sheltered habitats. If the CVH extends to microclimates, we expect birds from open habitats to show greater flexibility than those from sheltered habitats. To test this extension of the CVH, we compared seasonal variation in microclimates and metabolic rates for sympatric horned larks Eremophila alpestris, which occupy open habitats, and house sparrows Passer domesticus, which occupy sheltered habitats. We measured operative temperature (Te, an integrative measure of the thermal environment), summit metabolic rate (Msum, maximal cold-induced metabolic rate), and basal metabolic rate (BMR, minimal maintenance metabolic rate) in summer and winter. For both winter and summer, daily minimum Te was similar between open and sheltered habitats but maximum Te was higher for open habitats. Winter microclimates, however, were colder for open than for sheltered habitats after accounting for convective differences. Both species increased Msum in winter, but seasonal Msum flexibility was greater for larks (43%) than for sparrows (31%). Winter increases in BMR were 92.5% and 11% for larks and sparrows, respectively, with only the former attaining statistical significance. Moreover, species * season interactions in general linear models for whole-organism metabolic rates were significant for BMR and showed a similar, although not significant, pattern for Msum, with greater seasonal metabolic flexibility in horned larks than in house sparrows. These results suggest that extending the CVH to sympatric bird species occupying different microclimates may be valid.
Reading Achievement of Deaf Students: Challenging the Fourth Grade Ceiling
Authors: Mayer Connie , Trezek Beverly J , Hancock Gregory R
Published: May 2021

Historically it has been reported that deaf students do not achieve age-appropriate outcomes in reading, with this performance often being characterized in terms of a fourth grade ceiling. However, given the shifts in the field during the past 20 years (e.g., widespread implementation of newborn hearing screening, advances in hearing technologies), it would be timely to question whether this continues to serve as a meaningful benchmark. To this end, the purpose of this study was to investigate reading outcomes of a Canadian cohort of school-aged deaf learners (N = 70) who all used listening and spoken language as the primary mode of communication. Specifically, the goal was to establish whether their achievement approached that of their hearing age peers and to identify demographic factors influencing performance (i.e., gender, unilateral/bilateral hearing loss, personal amplification, level of auditory functioning, grade placement, additional disabilities, home language). Results indicate that participants obtained standard scores in the average range on both the Basic Reading and Reading Comprehension clusters of the Woodcock Johnson III-Diagnostic Reading Battery (Woodcock et al., 2004), surpassing the fourth grade reading achievement ceiling often reported for this population.
Navigating Deaf and Hearing Cultures: An Exploration of Deaf Acculturative Stress
Authors: Aldalur Aileen , Pick Lawrence H , Schooler Deborah
Published: May 2021

While there are many benefits of bilingualism and biculturalism, it is increasingly recognized that individuals may also experience acculturative stress as they navigate between different cultural environments. Acculturative stress results from struggles to acculturate, including pressures from the dominant culture and one’s heritage culture to maintain specific languages, values, and customs. This study sought to explore experiences of acculturative stress among Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) adults. Thirteen ethnically and racially diverse DHH adults, aged 21–52, participated in semi-structured focus groups. Krueger’s (1994) framework analysis was used to analyze the data. Participants reported pressures from the Hearing community as Hearing, Speaking, and English Pressures; Hearing Cultural Expectations; and Family Marginalization. Pressures from the Deaf community included ASL Pressures; Deaf Cultural Expectations; and Small Community Dynamics. Participants also discussed unique stressors related to their intersecting cultural identities (Intersectionality). The psychosocial impacts of acculturative stress included anger, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, resentment, and trauma. Coping resources were also discussed. Results highlight the saliency of acculturative stress among DHH adults and the need for continued investigations of the construct, particularly as it relates to mental health.
Participation in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation is related to reduced total mortality in both men and women: results from the SWEDEHEART registry
Authors: Ekblom Örjan , Cider Åsa , Hambraeus Kristina , Bäck Maria , Leosdottir Margrét , Lönn Amanda , Börjesson Mats
Published: May 2021

Aims

Participation in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (exCR) increases aerobic capacity and improves outcomes in patients following myocardial infarction (MI) and is therefore universally recommended. While meta-analyses consistently report that participation in exCR reduces cardiovascular mortality, there are conflicting results regarding effects on total mortality. Presently, many eligible patients do not receive exCR in clinical practice. We aimed to investigate the relation between participation in exCR post-MI and total mortality in men and women in a nationwide real-world cohort from the SWEDEHEART registry.

Design

Longitudinal, observational cohort study.

Methods and results

In total, 20 895 patients from the SWEDEHEART registry were included. Mortality data were obtained from the Swedish National Population Registry. During a mean of 4.55 (±2.33) years of follow-up, 1000 patients died. Using Cox regression for proportional odds and taking a wide range of potential confounders into consideration, participation in exCR was related to significantly lower total mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.62–0.83]. Excluding patients with shorter follow-up than 2 years did not alter the results. Exercise-based CR participation was related to lowered total mortality in most of the investigated subgroups. The risk reduction was more pronounced in women than in men (HR 0.54 vs. 0.81, respectively).

Conclusion

Participation in exCR was associated with reduced total mortality, and more pronounced in women, compared with men. Our results further support the recommendations to participate in exCR, and hence we argue that exCR should be a mandatory part of comprehensive CR programmes, offered to all patients post-MI.
The Toll of Feeling Older: Subjective Age Moderates the Associations Between Anxiety Sensitivity and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression During the COVID-19 Epidemic
Authors: Avidor Sharon , Abu Hamam Asmaa , Lahav Yael
Published: May 2021

Objectives

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an ongoing stressor that may have detrimental effects on mental health. Theoretical and empirical literature implies that individuals who are characterized by catastrophic appraisals of somatic cues, a tendency known as anxiety sensitivity, as well as by older subjective age, might be particularly vulnerable to depression and anxiety during the pandemic. Furthermore, subjective age might moderate the relations between anxiety sensitivity with depression and anxiety symptoms. Yet, research to date has not explored the contribution of both anxiety sensitivity and subjective age in explaining distress following stress in general, nor in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

Filling this gap, a convenience sample of 828 participants (Mage = 43.98, SD = 14.06) filled questionnaires measuring background variables, COVID-19–related stressors, anxiety sensitivity, subjective age, and anxiety and depression symptoms during the pandemic.

Results

Positive associations were found between anxiety sensitivity and subjective age, on the one hand, and anxiety and depression symptoms, on the other. Furthermore, subjective age moderated the relations between anxiety sensitivity with depression and anxiety symptoms. Although higher levels of anxiety sensitivity were related to depression and anxiety during the pandemic, these relations were significantly stronger among participants with an older subjective age.

Discussion

The findings are consistent with theories that view subjective age as an intraindividual construct involved in modulating important mental health outcomes in the context of coping with stress.
An innovative leadership development initiative to support building everyday resilience in health systems
Authors: Nzinga Jacinta , Boga Mwanamvua , Kagwanja Nancy , Waithaka Dennis , Barasa Edwine , Tsofa Benjamin , Gilson Lucy , Molyneux Sassy
Published: May 2021

Effective management and leadership are essential for everyday health system resilience, but actors charged with these roles are often underprepared and undersupported to perform them. Particular challenges have been observed in interpersonal and relational aspects of health managers’ work, including communication skills, emotional competence and supportive oversight. Within the Resilient and Responsive Health Systems (RESYST) consortium in Kenya, we worked with two county health and hospital management teams to adapt a package of leadership development interventions aimed at building these skills. This article provides insights into: (1) the content and co-development of a participatory intervention combining two core elements: a complex health system taught course, and an adapted communications and emotional competence process training; and (2) the findings from a formative evaluation of this intervention which included observations of the training, individual interviews with participating managers and discussions in regular meetings with managers. Following the training, managers reported greater recognition of the importance of health system software (values, belief systems and relationships), and improved self-awareness and team communication. Managers appeared to build valued skills in active listening, giving constructive feedback, ‘stepping back’ from automatic reactions to challenging emotional situations and taking responsibility to communicate with emotional competence. The training also created spaces for managers to share experiences, reflect upon and nurture social competences. We draw on our findings and the literature to propose a theory of change regarding the potential of our leadership development intervention to nurture everyday health system resilience through strengthening cognitive, behavioural and contextual capacities. We recommend further development and evaluation of novel approaches such as those shared in this article to support leadership development and management in complex, hierarchical systems.
Increasing LRP4 diminishes neuromuscular deficits in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Authors: Hui Tiankun , Jing Hongyang , Zhou Tian , Chen Peng , Liu Ziyang , Dong Xia , Yan Min , Ren Dongyan , Zou Suqi , Wang Shunqi , Fei Erkang , Hong Daojun , Lai Xinsheng
Published: May 2021

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive wasting of skeletal muscles. The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a synapse between motor neurons and skeletal muscle fibers, critical for the control of muscle contraction. The NMJ decline is observed in DMD patients, but the mechanism is unclear. LRP4 serves as a receptor for agrin, a proteoglycan secreted by motor neurons to induce NMJ, and plays a critical role in NMJ formation and maintenance. Interestingly, we found that protein levels of LRP4 were reduced both in muscles of the DMD patients and DMD model mdx mice. We explored whether increasing LRP4 is beneficial for DMD and crossed muscle-specific LRP4 transgenic mice with mdx mice (mdx; HSA-LRP4). The LRP4 transgene increased muscle strength, together with improved neuromuscular transmission in mdx mice. Furthermore, we found the LRP4 expression mitigated NMJ fragments and denervation in mdx mice. Mechanically, we showed that overexpression of LRP4 increased the activity of MuSK and expression of dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex proteins in the mdx mice. Overall, our findings suggest that increasing LRP4 improves both function and structure of NMJ in the mdx mice and Agrin signaling might serve as a new therapeutic strategy in DMD.
Beyond catch-up: could China become the global innovation powerhouse? China’s innovation progress and challenges from a holistic innovation perspective
Authors: Chen Jin , Yin Ximing , Fu Xiaolan , McKern Bruce
Published: May 2021

Over the past century and a half, global technological leadership has shifted from Europe to the United States, while scholars argue that the world has seen that it is now shifting from the United States to China due to China’s extraordinary catch-up in the past four decades, in which the public policy-oriented national innovation system development plays a critical role that might provide an alternative way for innovation-driven development especially for emerging markets. Even though encountering many challenges ahead, China is positioning itself to take over the global innovation leadership in the next few decades. Here in this article, we introduce a serious yet underexplored question: could China go beyond catch-up and become the global innovation powerhouse? Specifically, drawing from the holistic innovation perspective, which is an original theoretical paradigm for the mission-oriented innovation policy change, this article critically reviews, both qualitatively and quantitatively, China’s remarkable innovation progress and main drivers in comparison with G7 countries plus South Korea and India, trying to provide a comprehensive and critical view of state-of-the-art research on China’s innovation catch-up. We further explore the five major challenges that China must take seriously when marching toward the global innovation powerhouse. Finally, we propose a mission-oriented holistic STI policy design framework for both China and other emerging economies to go beyond catch-up in a competitive dynamic world. This article provides a new and holistic perspective to access China’s innovation progress and challenges, also generates novel insights for scholars and public agencies to contribute to global innovation development, with a shared goal of achieving global sustainable development in the post-COVID-19 pandemic world.
Constructing and adjusting estimates for household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from prior studies, widespread-testing and contact-tracing data
Authors: Curmei Mihaela , Ilyas Andrew , Evans Owain , Steinhardt Jacob
Published: May 2021

Background

With reduced community mobility, household infections may become increasingly important in SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics.

Methods

We investigate the intra-household transmission of COVID-19 through the secondary-attack rate (SAR) and household reproduction number (Rh). We estimate these using (i) data from 29 prior studies (February–August 2020), (ii) epidemiologically linked confirmed cases from Singapore (January–April 2020) and (iii) widespread-testing data from Vo’ (February–March 2020). For (i), we use a Bayesian random-effects model that corrects for reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) test sensitivity and asymptomatic cases. We investigate the robustness of Rh with respect to community transmission rates and mobility patterns.

Results

The corrected pooled estimates from prior studies for SAR and Rh are 24% (20–28%) and 0.34 (0.30–0.38), respectively. Without corrections, the pooled estimates are: SAR = 18% (14–21%) and Rh = 0.28 (0.25–0.32). The corrected estimates line up with direct estimates from contact-tracing data from Singapore [Rh = 0.32 (0.22–0.42)] and population testing data from Vo’ [SAR = 31% (28–34%) and Rh = 0.37 (0.34–0.40)]. The analysis of Singapore data further suggests that the value of Rh (0.22–0.42) is robust to community-spread dynamics; our estimate of Rh stays constant whereas the fraction of infections attributable to household transmission (Rh/Reff) is lowest during outbreaks (5–7%) and highest during lockdowns and periods of low community spread (25–30%).

Conclusions

The three data-source types yield broadly consistent estimates for SAR and Rh. Our study suggests that household infections are responsible for a large fraction of infections and so household transmission may be an effective target for intervention.
On p-adic Versions of the Manin–Mumford Conjecture
Authors: Serban Vlad
Published: May 2021

We establish $p$-adic versions of the Manin–Mumford conjecture, which states that an irreducible subvariety of an abelian variety with dense torsion has to be the translate of a subgroup by a torsion point. We do so in the context of certain rigid analytic spaces and formal groups over a $p$-adic field or its ring of integers, respectively. In particular, we show that the underlying rigidity results for algebraic functions generalize to suitable $p$-adic analytic functions. This leads us to uncover purely $p$-adic Manin–Mumford-type results for formal groups not coming from abelian schemes. Moreover, we observe that a version of the Tate–Voloch conjecture holds: torsion points either lie squarely on a subscheme or are uniformly bounded away from it in the $p$-adic distance.
Rapid spread of critical priority carbapenemase-producing pathogens in companion animals: a One Health challenge for a post-pandemic world
Authors: Sellera Fábio P. , Da Silva Luciano C. B. A. , Lincopan Nilton
Published: May 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased relationships and interactions between human and companion animals, supported by widespread social distancing and isolation measures. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an exponential growth in antibiotic and biocide use worldwide, possibly inducing further pressure, contributing to the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including WHO critical priority pathogens. While data from global surveillance studies reveal a linear trend of increasing carbapenem resistance among Gram-negative pathogens from companion animals, the acquisition of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales through direct contact with colonized hosts and contaminated veterinary hospital environments has been documented. This article highlights the rapid spread of WHO critical priority carbapenemase-producing pathogens in companion animals, which is a One Health challenge for a post-pandemic world.
Integrated digital pathology at scale: A solution for clinical diagnostics and cancer research at a large academic medical center
Authors: Schüffler Peter J , Geneslaw Luke , Yarlagadda D Vijay K , Hanna Matthew G , Samboy Jennifer , Stamelos Evangelos , Vanderbilt Chad , Philip John , Jean Marc-Henri , Corsale Lorraine , Manzo Allyne , Paramasivam Neeraj H G , Ziegler John S , Gao Jianjiong , Perin Juan C , Kim Young Suk , Bhanot Umeshkumar K , Roehrl Michael H A , Ardon Orly , Chiang Sarah , Giri Dilip D , Sigel Carlie S , Tan Lee K , Murray Melissa , Virgo Christina , England Christine , Yagi Yukako , Sirintrapun S Joseph , Klimstra David , Hameed Meera , Reuter Victor E , Fuchs Thomas J
Published: May 2021

Objective

Broad adoption of digital pathology (DP) is still lacking, and examples for DP connecting diagnostic, research, and educational use cases are missing. We blueprint a holistic DP solution at a large academic medical center ubiquitously integrated into clinical workflows; researchapplications including molecular, genetic, and tissue databases; and educational processes.

Materials and Methods

We built a vendor-agnostic, integrated viewer for reviewing, annotating, sharing, and quality assurance of digital slides in a clinical or research context. It is the first homegrown viewer cleared by New York State provisional approval in 2020 for primary diagnosis and remote sign-out during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. We further introduce an interconnected Honest Broker for BioInformatics Technology (HoBBIT) to systematically compile and share large-scale DP research datasets including anonymized images, redacted pathology reports, and clinical data of patients with consent.

Results

The solution has been operationally used over 3 years by 926 pathologists and researchers evaluating 288 903 digital slides. A total of 51% of these were reviewed within 1 month after scanning. Seamless integration of the viewer into 4 hospital systems clearly increases the adoption of DP. HoBBIT directly impacts the translation of knowledge in pathology into effective new health measures, including artificial intelligence–driven detection models for prostate cancer, basal cell carcinoma, and breast cancer metastases, developed and validated on thousands of cases.

Conclusions

We highlight major challenges and lessons learned when going digital to provide orientation for other pathologists. Building interconnected solutions will not only increase adoption of DP, but also facilitate next-generation computational pathology at scale for enhanced cancer research.