bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contact Between Irish and English
Authors: Hickey Raymond
Published: December 2023

Contact between Irish and English began in the late twelfth century with the coming of the Anglo-Normans, along with some English who settled in the towns of the east coast. The relationship of Irish to English varied over the centuries, with Irish being a superstrate to English in the first few centuries. However, during the Elizabethan period and afterwards, English emerged clearly as the superstrate vis a vis Irish and has remained so ever since. The linguistic effects of the contact between Irish and English is seen most clearly in the historical language shift which took place in Ireland with speakers of Irish in the past few centuries. The aim of this chapter is twofold: first to provide the necessary historical and demographical background to understand the shift and then to use this information as a basis for a more general review of contact scenarios.
Inventing Utopia
Authors: Scholar Richard
Published: December 2023

Inventing Utopia in early modern France often meant translating the text. The intensity with which Utopia was translated in early modern France is unprecedented elsewhere. Three French versions appeared in the second half of the sixteenth century alone. These and other early French translations invariably brought More’s text across marked boundaries—of political geography, confessional allegiance, and genre—and relocated it in new settings. At times, too, they may be said to have invented Utopia anew. From the vantage point offered by the first French translations, this chapter suggests that the early modern period witnesses the ‘invention’ of Utopia, in the complex sense that the period lends to that very term by holding in tension two apparently opposing processes: discovery and creation.
Conversation, Formation, and Forms of Utopia in Fin-de-Siècle Socialist Journals
Authors: Hanson Ingrid
Published: December 2023

In February 1892, the London-based anarcho-Communist newspaper Commonweal carried an article by German political exile Johann Most, entitled ‘Why I Am a Communist’. In it Most comments that ‘modern Communists do not think of such Utopias as imagined by all those idealists from Thomas More down to Edward Bellamy; and they do not to propose to shape, in advance, the mode of action by the people of future ages’. Six years later, Robert Blatchford, editor of The Clarion, the most successful socialist newspaper in Britain at the time, looks back to More as well as to William Morris and asks, ‘Are we any nearer the realisation of Utopia now than we were under Bluff King Hal?’ This chapter examines the ways More’s Utopia generated and contributed to a variously playful, combative, and defamiliarizing conversation about social equality, communality, and change in socialist newspapers of the late nineteenth century.
Human Rights and/in Utopia?
Authors: Ramiro Avilés Miguel Angel
Published: December 2023

While exercising due caution because of the risk of treating and discussing human rights anachronistically and because utopian thought has an ambivalent relationship with democracy and politics, it is nevertheless possible to establish a link between Thomas More, his Utopia, utopian thought, and the vindication of rights and liberties. Thomas More collected in his work some of the central themes in the discussion on rights during the Enlightenment: the rule of law, freedom of conscience, the humanization of criminal law, property and resistance to tyranny. This link became stronger and more apparent from the Enlightenment onwards when authors like James Burgh, Thomas Nortmore, and William Hodgson incorporated the language of rights into descriptions of their imagined societies.
Utopia and Architecture
Authors: Morgan Diane
Published: December 2023

Stress and strain feature prominently in this consideration of two topics: the place of architecture in More’s Utopia and the place of utopia within architecture. For both topics, making space and taking time feature as necessary conditions of possibility for pre-built structures to be left behind and for a novel ‘moment’ to emerge. To what extent can this ‘moment’ be designed and catered for? This chapter identifies peace-building as a major concern of More’s book. The conflict and misery that class-based society produces is clearly depicted. What hope is there that one day people could come together differently, and what role might architecture play in ‘constructing’ such a ‘space’? Such a utopian ‘moment’ might not require another fine building, but might entail the opposite: namely unbuilding to free up space. However, it might well be that utopian practice is an architectonic that we can only represent in any shape or form with great difficulty, if at all.
The Impact of Exercising on Pelvic Symptom Severity, Pelvic Floor Muscle Strength, and Diastasis Recti Abdominis After Pregnancy: A Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Vesting Sabine , Gutke Annelie , Fagevik Olsén Monika , Rembeck Gun , Larsson Maria E H
Published: December 2023

Objective

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether early postpartum exercise is associated with changes in pelvic symptom severity, pelvic floor muscle strength, and diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) from 3 to 12 months postpartum.

Methods

In this prospective cohort study, 504 participants with and without pelvic symptoms (pelvic girdle pain, stress urinary incontinence, vaginal heaviness) were followed. At 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postpartum, we assessed pelvic symptoms, exercise behavior (by questionnaires), pelvic floor muscle strength (by vaginal palpation), and DRA (by caliper measurement). Based on the 3-months questionnaire, participants were categorized as nonexercisers (n = 105), minimal low-impact exercisers (n = 249), regular low-impact exercisers (n = 117), and high-impact exercisers (n = 32). Between-group differences and within-group changes from 3 to 12 months were calculated using Chi-square tests, Kruskal–Wallis tests, and Friedman analysis of variance.

Results

At 3 months, no differences in symptom prevalence were seen between the groups. Nonexercisers reported higher pelvic girdle pain severity and had weaker pelvic floor muscles. The within-group analysis showed that pelvic girdle pain severity did not change in nonexercisers or high-impact exercisers, but decreased in minimal and regular low-impact exercisers. Stress urinary incontinence increased in nonexercisers from 3 to 12 months, while it remained unchanged in regular low-impact and high-impact exercisers, and decreased in minimal low-impact exercisers. Across all groups, vaginal heaviness and DRA decreased, and pelvic floor strength increased from 3 to 12 months.

Conclusion

The study indicates that early low-impact exercising is associated with reduced pelvic girdle pain severity during the first postpartum year. Minimal low-impact exercisers also showed a slight reduction in stress urinary incontinence. Conversely, nonexercisers reported an increase in stress urinary incontinence between 3 and 12 months postpartum.

Impact

Physical therapists should encourage women to start with low-impact exercise early after pregnancy.

Lay Summary

This study highlights the positive effects of starting gentle, low-impact exercise early after childbirth to reduce pelvic girdle pain and urinary incontinence.
Measuring Diffusion Over a Large Network
Authors: He Xiaoqi , Song Kyungchul
Published: December 2023

This article introduces a measure of the diffusion of binary outcomes over a large, sparse network, when the diffusion is observed in two time periods. The measure captures the aggregated spillover effect of the state-switches in the initial period on their neighbours’ outcomes in the second period. This article introduces a causal network that captures the causal connections among the cross-sectional units over the two periods. It shows that when the researcher’s observed network contains the causal network as a subgraph, the measure of diffusion is identified as a simple, spatio-temporal dependence measure of observed outcomes. When the observed network does not satisfy this condition, but the spillover effect is non-negative, the spatio-temporal dependence measure serves as a lower bound for diffusion. Using this, a lower confidence bound for diffusion is proposed, and its asymptotic validity is established. The Monte Carlo simulation studies demonstrate the finite sample stability of the inference across a range of network configurations. The article applies the method to data on Indian villages to measure the diffusion of microfinancing decisions over households’ social networks.
Bacterial Mutation During Seasonal Epidemics
Authors: Sharma Anuj , Timilsina Sujan , Abrahamian Peter , Minsavage Gerald V. , Jones Jeffrey B. , Vallad Gary E. , Goss Erica M.
Published: December 2023

Rapidly evolving bacterial pathogens pose a unique challenge for long-term plant disease management. In this study, we investigated the types and rate of mutations in bacterial populations during seasonal disease epidemics. Two phylogenetically distinct strains of the bacterial spot pathogen, Xanthomonas perforans, were marked, released in tomato fields, and recaptured at several time points during the growing season. Genomic variations in recaptured isolates were identified by comparative analysis of their whole-genome sequences. In total, 180 unique variations (116 substitutions, 57 insertions/deletions, and 7 structural variations) were identified from 300 genomes, resulting in the overall host-associated mutation rate of ∼0.3 to 0.9/genome/week. This result serves as a benchmark for bacterial mutation during epidemics in similar pathosystems.

[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .
Unlocking a Mystery: Characterizing the First Appearance of Clavibacter nebraskensis in Mexican Cornfields
Authors: Flores-López Luis Fernando , Olalde-Portugal Víctor , Vidaver Anne K. , Morales-Galván Óscar , Hernández-Rosales Maribel , Huerta Alejandra I.
Published: December 2023

The Goss’s wilt and leaf blight is a disease of maize (Zea mays) caused by Clavibacter nebraskensis, which was widespread in the last several years throughout the Midwest in the United States, south in Texas, and north to Canada. The bacterium is included within the high-risk list of quarantine pathogens by many plant protection organizations and countries including Mexico. Severe blight symptoms on maize plants were found in different provinces from Coahuila and Tlaxcala, Mexico, in 2012 and 2021, respectively. Twenty bacterial isolates with morphology similar to C. nebraskensis were obtained from the diseased maize leaves. The isolates were confirmed by phenotypic tests and 16S rRNA and gyrB sequencing. Two strains were tested for pathogenicity tests on seven hybrid sweet corn cultivars available in Mexico, and the most sensitive cultivar was tested for all the strains to fulfill Koch’s postulates. The phylogenetic reconstruction based on two single loci reveals a remarkable clustering of Mexican strains to American strains reported approximately 50 years ago. The presence of this pathogen represents a risk and a significant challenge for plant protection strategies in Mexico and maize diversity.

[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .
Virulence Comparison of a Comprehensive Panel of Xylella fastidiosa Pierce’s Disease Isolates from California
Authors: Burbank Lindsey , Gomez Laura , Shantharaj Deepak , Abdelsamad Noor , Vasquez Kern , Burhans Alanna , Ortega Brandon , Rodriguez Sydney Helm , Strickland Jaime , Krugner Rodrigo , De La Fuente Leonardo , Naegele Rachel
Published: December 2023

Xylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of Pierce’s disease of grapevine, has been found in all major grape-growing regions in California, U.S.A. Large collections of X. fastidiosa isolates are available from these areas, which enable comparative studies of pathogen genetic traits and virulence. Owing to the significant resource requirements for experiments with X. fastidiosa in grapevine, however, most studies use only a single isolate to evaluate disease, and it is not clear how much variability between isolates impacts disease development in experimental or natural settings. In this study, a comprehensive panel of X. fastidiosa isolates from all California grape-growing regions was tested for virulence in susceptible grapevine and in the model host plant, tobacco. Seventy-one isolates were tested, 29 in both grapevine and tobacco. The results of this study highlight the inherent variability of inoculation experiments with X. fastidiosa, including variation in disease severity in plants inoculated with a single isolate, and variability between experimental replicates. There were limited differences in virulence between isolates that were consistent across experimental replicates, or across different host plants. This suggests that choice of isolate within the X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa Pierce’s disease group may not make any practical difference when testing in susceptible grape varieties, and that pathogen evolution has not significantly changed virulence of Pierce’s disease isolates within California. The location of isolation also did not dictate relative disease severity. This information will inform experimental design for future studies of X. fastidiosa in grapevine and provide important context for genomic research.
Utilizing Disease Prediction Models to Time Fungicide Applications for Controlling Ripe Rot, Caused by Colletotrichum spp., in Maryland Vineyards
Authors: Cosseboom Scott D. , Hu Mengjun
Published: December 2023

Two previously published ripe rot prediction models, DF2-NN and GH2-DT, were evaluated for fungicide application timing efficacy in Maryland vineyards. Both models utilize leaf wetness duration (LWD), temperature, and grape cluster phenological stages as model parameters. These three parameters were tracked throughout the 2021 to 2023 seasons in three vineyards. The fungicide efficacy trials started at the veraison phenological stage and included a nontreated control, a 12-day interval treatment, and two model-triggered treatments when risk predicted by the models crossed a threshold. The severity of ripe rot on the clusters in each treatment was assessed when the fruit were mature. Ripe rot severity in the nontreated controls was higher during seasons with more LWD and more precipitation. Days in which the models were triggered by the environmental conditions primarily coincided with precipitation events and lengthy LWDs. The model-triggered treatments never had significantly higher ripe rot severity than the 12-day interval treatment but had significantly lower severities than the nontreated control in most trials which had high ripe rot pressure. Furthermore, the model-triggered treatments resulted in fewer fungicide applications than the 12-day interval treatment on average. The DF2-NN model appeared to be more accurate and useful for ripe rot prediction and treatment than the GH2-DT model because it triggered fewer fungicide applications while reducing ripe rot. This model may be useful for improving or maintaining ripe rot control with fewer fungicide inputs, which may be beneficial for the environment and the reduction of fungicide resistance selection.
Impacts of a Commercially Available Horticultural Oil Biopesticide (EF-400) on the Tomato-Phytophthora infestans Pathosystem
Authors: Wu Kuantin Tina , Spychalla Pia , Pereyra Matthew , Liou Michael , Chen Yu , Silva Erin , Gevens Amanda
Published: December 2023

Biopesticide fungicides are naturally derived compounds that offer protection from plant diseases through various modes of action, including antimicrobial activity and upregulation of defense responses in host plants. These plant protectants provide a sustainable and safe alternative to conventional pesticides in integrated disease management programs and are especially salient in the management of high-risk and economically important diseases such as late blight of tomato and potato, for which host resistance options are limited. In this study, a commercially available biopesticide, EF400 comprised of clove (8.2%), rosemary (8.1%), and peppermint oils (6.7%) (Anjon AG, Corcoran, CA), was investigated for its effects on the Phytophthora infestans-tomato pathosystem. Specifically, we evaluated the impact of EF400 on P. infestans growth in culture, disease symptoms in planta, and activation of host defenses through monitoring transcript accumulation of defense-related genes. The application timing and use rate of EF400 were further investigated for managing tomato late blight. EF400 delayed the onset of tomato late blight symptoms, although not as effectively as the copper hydroxide fungicide Champ WG (Nufarm Americas Inc., Alsip, IL). Pathogen mycelial growth and sporangial quantity on late blight-susceptible tomato leaves were significantly reduced with EF400. The biopesticide also had an enhancing or suppressing effect on the transcript accumulation of three defense-related genes: Pin2, PR1a, and PR1b. Our work in exploring a commercially available horticultural oil biopesticide meaningfully contributed to the essential knowledge base for optimizing recommendations for the management of tomato late blight.
Characteristics, Outcomes, and Optical Coherence Tomography Features of Macular Hole After Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Repair
Authors: Bomdica Prithvi R. , Shepherd E. Anne. , Chaturvedi Vivek
Published: December 2023

Purpose:

To investigate full-thickness macular holes (FTMH) that develop after rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair.

Methods:

Retrospective consecutive case series of patients who underwent RRD repair between 2015 and 2021 and subsequently developed FTMH. 23 patients (23 eyes) were included. All eyes underwent PPV + MP for MH repair.

Results:

The mean age at RRD diagnosis was 62 years and 52% were male. 78% were macula-off RRDs. 14 (60.9%) underwent PPV alone, 7 (30.4%) underwent PPV and scleral buckling (SB), 1 (4.3%) underwent SB only, and 1 (4.3%) underwent pneumatic retinopexy. Median time from RRD repair to MH diagnosis was 116 days. Macula-off RRDs had a significantly lower time to MH diagnosis (mean 154 days, p<0.05) than macula-on RRDs (mean 875 days). 21 MH (91%) had OCT evidence of an epiretinal membrane (ERM). Mean logMAR visual acuity (VA) at MH diagnosis was 1.05 (∼20/224) and significantly improved to 0.66 (∼20/91) at final follow-up (p<0.001). 100% of MHs closed by final follow-up.

Conclusions:

PPV for MH after RRD repair has a high closure rate and leads to significant VA improvement. MH formation after RRD repair may be associated with macula-off detachments and ERM. Macula-off RRDs develop MH faster than macula-on RRDs.
Central Bouquet Hemorrhage. Clinical and multimodal imaging features.
Authors: Ramtohul Prithvi , Au Adrian , Kunkler Anne L. , Bacci Tommaso , Dolz-Marco Rosa , Gallego-Pinazo Roberto , Yannuzzi Nicolas , Sarraf David , Freund K. Bailey
Published: December 2023

Purpose:

To describe the clinical characteristics, multimodal imaging features, and anatomic basis of a distinctive pattern of deep retinal hemorrhages located in the central fovea, a presentation referred to as “central bouquet hemorrhage” (CBH).

Methods:

Retrospective, observational, multicenter case series of eyes with CBH. Multimodal imaging features were reviewed and analyzed.

Results:

Ten eyes from 10 patients (4 women and 6 men), with a mean age of 55.6±21.7 years (range 25–84 years) were included. Underlying etiologies were neovascular age-related macular degeneration (40%), lacquer cracks in pathological myopia (30%), macular telangiectasia type 2 (10%), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (10%), and ocular trauma associated with angioid streaks (10%). On ophthalmoscopy, all eyes with CBH displayed a deep retinal hemorrhage with round margins in the central fovea and associated with petaloid hemorrhages radiating in the surrounding Henle fiber layer (HFL). Cross-sectional optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed a well-delineated round hyperreflective lesion involving the central foveal HFL/outer nuclear layer (ONL) in all cases. Accompanying hyperreflective hemorrhages tracking along the obliquely oriented HFL were present in all eyes. Resolution occurred in all patients, either spontaneously (30%) or after treatment with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections (70%), and was associated with partial visual acuity improvement (from 20/113 to 20/36).

Conclusion:

“Central bouquet hemorrhage” is a novel descriptive term describing a characteristic round pattern of intraretinal blood in the fovea associated with HFL hemorrhage and encountered in a spectrum of macular disease.
Ganoderma lucidum spore oil synergistically enhances the function of cyclophosphamide in the prevention of breast cancer metastasis
Authors: Lian Shu , Li Wulin , Zhong Chunlian , Li Ye , Wu Changhui , Zhang Kun , Lin Jiangfei , Wang Weiyu , Katanaev Vladimir , Xie Xiaodong , Jia Lee
Published: December 2023

Background:

Ganoderma lucidum(G.lucidum) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has shown potential as an alternative adjuvant therapy for cancer patients. However, the mechanisms and adjuvant therapeutic effects ofG.lucidumin cancer treatment remain unclear.

Methods:

In this work,G.lucidumspore oil (GanoOil), a newly developed oilyG.lucidumspore extract was used to investigate the mechanisms and adjuvant therapeutic effects of GanoOil in conjunction with the chemotherapeutic drug cyclophosphamide (CTX) for preventing breast cancer metastasis.

Results:

In the model of lung metastasis, orally administered GanoOil increased the population of CD8+T cells and interleukin (IL)-6 cytokine levels in mouse blood, whereas also enhancing the activity of natural killer cells in the spleen. Furthermore, the combination of GanoOil and CTX effectively suppressed the lung metastasis of circulating breast cancer cells, alleviated CTX-induced weight loss, and reduced the ratio of lung and spleen weight to body weight in mice. Moreover, high concentrations of GanoOil exhibited no significant toxicity or side effects in both in vitro and in vivo experiments.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, GanoOil is a safe drug that can enhance immune activity in mice to achieve therapeutic effects on cancer, and can also synergistically inhibit tumor metastasis with CTX.
Comparison of Physical Therapy and Orthosis on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Medial Knee Osteoarthritis
Authors: Jiryaei Zahra , Daryabor Aliyeh , Koutenaei Forouzan Rastgar , Khosravi Mobina
Published: December 2023

INTRODUCTION

Orthosis and physical therapy are two conservative managements for knee osteoarthritis (OA), but the question is which is better for alleviating pain and improving function? The aim of this study was to compare two interventions of orthosis and physical therapy on pain and function in patients with knee OA.

METHODS

In this quasi-experimental study, 31 individuals with medial knee OA were recruited into two groups including orthosis group (combination of insole and brace [n = 14]) and physical therapy group (n = 17). Pain severity was measured by visual analog scale (VAS) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire. Also, daily activity was measured by the WOMAC questionnaire at baseline and after 6-week follow-up. Wilcoxon signed rank and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to determine significant difference for intragroup and intergroup comparisons, respectively.

RESULTS

The orthosis group (using both knee brace and LWLs) had a better result for pain score related to VAS than the physical therapy group immediately after and 6 weeks of using the intervention, with a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.006). Regarding the WOMAC items including pain and daily activity, both groups had significant differences after the 6-week period of using the intervention, with no significant difference between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the findings, pain and daily activity related to the WOMAC questionnaire were improved in both orthosis and physical therapy groups, with no differences between the two interventions. The orthosis group had better results in pain related to VAS.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The aim of this study was to find whether physical therapy or orthosis best improves pain and function of knee OA patients.
Hospital Encounters Within 1 Year Postpartum Across Insurance Types, Oregon 2012–2017
Authors: Kaufman Menolly , McConnell K. John , Rodriguez Maria I. , Stratton Kalera , Richardson Dawn , Snowden Jonathan M.
Published: December 2023

Background:

Little is known about the timing and frequency of postpartum hospital encounters and postpartum visit attendance and how they may be associated with insurance types. Research on health insurance and its association with postpartum care utilization is often limited to the first 6 weeks.

Objective:

To assess whether postpartum utilization (hospital encounters within 1 year postpartum and postpartum visit attendance within 12 weeks) differs by insurance type at birth (Medicaid, high deductible health plans, and other commercial plans) and whether rates of hospital encounters differ by postpartum visit attendance and insurance status.

Methods:

Time-to-event analysis of Oregon hospital births from 2012 to 2017 using All Payer All Claims data. We conducted weighted Cox Proportional Hazard regressions and accounted for differences in insurance type at birth using multinomial propensity scores.

Results:

Among 202,167 hospital births, 24.9% of births had at least 1 hospital encounter within 1 year postpartum. Births funded by Medicaid had a higher risk of a postpartum emergency department (ED) visit (hazard ratio: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.99, 2.12) and lower postpartum visit attendance (hazard ratio: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.70, 0.72) compared with commercial plans. Among Medicaid beneficiaries, missing the postpartum visit in the first 6 weeks was associated with a lower risk of subsequent readmissions (adjusted hazard ratio 0.77, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.87) and ED visits (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.87 (0.85, 0.88).

Conclusions:

Medicaid beneficiaries received more care in the ED within 1 year postpartum compared with those enrolled in other commercial plans. This highlights potential issues in postpartum care access.
Culture-negative endocarditis with multifocal spread and flail mitral valve leaflet: a case report
Authors: Lamichhane Bikal , Lamichhane Saral , Paudel Kusum , Pokhrel Nishan B. , Dhital Sandhya , Acharya Surya Kiran
Published: December 2023

Introduction:

Blood culture-negative infective endocarditis is the condition in which a causative organism cannot be identified after inoculation of at least three samples using standard blood-culture systems for 7 days. It has a low reported incidence of about 2.5–31%. Causes may be infectious or non-infectious; use of prior antibiotic therapy is usually the leading factor.

Case presentation:

The authors present a case of true culture-negative endocarditis involving the mitral valve, with multiple foci of spread including brain, spleen, liver, and Intervertebral disc, which remained persistent despite treatment with intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics on an inpatient and outpatient basis but eventually improved after upgrading alternative broad-spectrum antibiotic for an extended duration. The patient had complications in the form of a flail mitral valve with persistent mitral regurgitation, requiring mitra-clip placement.

Discussion:

Positive blood culture is one of the major diagnostic criteria to establish infective endocarditis. Patients may have persistent negative cultures due to previous antibiotic use, the presence of fastidious organisms, or the use of inappropriate techniques or media. Involvement of a multidisciplinary team, use of multimodal investigations, and appropriate antibiotic stewardship are crucial. Extended duration of treatment and upgrading antibiotics can be helpful next steps in highly suspicious cases. With multifocal spread as in our case, it further becomes challenging to control and treat the infection as it is frequently connected with higher morbidity and mortality.

Conclusion:

Blood culture-negative endocarditis is an entity that can present with early complications. It is diagnostically and therapeutically challenging to treat such patients. Multimodal approaches for early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are crucial owing to its high morbidity and mortality.
Immunohistochemical Expression of Immune Checkpoints; CTLA-4, LAG3, and TIM-3 in Cancer Cells and Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) in Colorectal Carcinoma
Authors: Abdelrahman Doaa I. , Elhasadi Ibtesam , Anbaig Amal , Bakry Adel , Mandour Doaa , Wasefy Tamer , Yehia Ahmed M. , Alorini Mohammed , Shalaby Amany M. , Yahia Amar Ibrahim Omer , Alabiad Mohamed A.
Published: December 2023

Background:

Colorectal cancer is considered the third most prevalent cancer in both sexes. Immune checkpoint receptors that regulate T-cell response, stimulation, and development include lymphocyte activating gene 3 (LAG-3), cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4), and T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (Tim-3). In addition, they are crucial for the advancement of cancer and tumor immune escape.

Objective:

This work’s aim was to assess the immunohistochemistry expression of Tim-3, CTLA-4, and LAG-3 in cancer cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in colorectal cancer (CRC) and the correlation between these markers and clinicopathological variables and survival data.

Methods:

This study involved 206 CRC specimens processed for CTLA-4, LAG3, and TIM-3 immunohistochemistry and correlated with the clinicopathological and survival parameters of the patients.

Results:

High CTLA-4 epithelial expression was highly related to the old age group, large tumor size, low tumor-stroma ratio (TSR), high grade, advanced stage, the presence of distant metastasis (DM), perineural invasion (PNI), necrosis, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), relapse, mortality, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS), while negative CTLA-4 TILs expression was highly linked with the presence of gross perforation, low TSR, high tumor budding (TB) score, high grade, advanced stage, the existence of lymph node (LN) metastasis, DM, necrosis, LVI, PNI, DFS, mortality, and OS. Positive LAG-3 TILs expression was highly correlated with large tumor size, gross perforation, low TSR, high TB score, high grade, advanced phase, the presence of LN, necrosis, LVI, PNI, relapse DFS, mortality, and OS. High Tim-3 epithelial expression was extremely linked with low TSR, advanced phase, the presence of LN, LVI, PNI, relapse, DFS, mortality, and OS, while positive Tim-3 TILs expression was related to gross perforation, low TSR, high TB score, advanced stage, the presence of LN, DM, necrosis, relapse, DFS, mortality, and OS.

Conclusions:

The patients’ poor prognosis may be related to the immunohistochemistry expression of LAG-3, Tim-3, and CTLA-4 in CRC cancer tissue and TILs. Poor patient consequences can result from the CTLA-4, Tim-3, and LAG-3 co-expression, but CTLA-4 TILs’ expression of these proteins may inhibit the growth of tumors.
Rehabilitation medicine professionals’ views on climate change and health
Authors: Campbell Eryn , Alexander Marcalee , Kotcher John , Maibach Edward
Published: December 2023

Background:

Climate change is already harming human health, both directly and indirectly. Physical and rehabilitation medicine professionals are at the frontlines of addressing climate change and health, as their patients are particularly vulnerable to these health harms. It is, therefore, important to understand how these health professionals understand the connection between climate and health and what resources they need to engage with the issue.

Methods:

We surveyed the members of 2 medical societies—the Association of Academic Physiatrists and the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine—to assess their climate beliefs and attitudes, understanding of climate change’s present and future health harms, the barriers they perceive to engagement with the issue, and the types of resources they would find helpful.

Results:

We found that health professionals in the field of rehabilitation medicine understand that climate change impacts human health and think actions should be taken; however, they also perceive barriers to their own involvement in educating the public and policymakers about climate and health and believe there are more urgent health issues in the region where they practice.

Conclusion:

Our findings suggest that health professionals in the field of rehabilitation medicine are convinced of the realities of climate change and its relationship to their profession. Further, although many in this field do perceive other health issues to be more urgent in their regions of practice, there are opportunities to provide resources and support to those who are ready to engage directly with climate change and health.
Premier Highland dancer sports injuries
Authors: Tan Michelle C. , Cortez Angela N. , Chiou-Tan Faye Y.
Published: December 2023

Objective:

The objective of this paper is to document sports injuries in premier Highland dancers. Highland dance originated in Scotland and is a relatively unknown sport to physiatrists and sports physicians. It is not the same as Irish dance performed in tap shoes but has some similarities to ballet with regard to the turnout of the leg in the first position.

Methods:

An Institutional Review Board approved, prospective, telephone survey was conducted to document demographics, area, type, and age of injury in premier Highland dancers.

Results:

A total of 22 premier Highland dancers met the inclusion criteria for the study. In the hip region, injuries included apophysitis at the anterior superior iliac spine. In the knee region, knee effusions, shin splints, and hairline stress fractures of the tibia were reported. In addition, less common injuries in sports, such as tibialis anterior strain and plantaris tendon partial rupture, were noted. In the ankle/foot region, sprains and tears of anterior tibiofibular, calcaneofibular, posterior talofibular ankle ligaments, and plantar fasciitis were observed, as well as fractured metatarsals in the foot and degenerative arthritis.

Conclusion:

Injuries resulting from improper alignment in “turnout” (external rotation at the hip) and overuse syndromes from intense and long hours of training to reach national and international competitive premier level were observed. Uncommon injuries, such as tibialis anterior strain and plantaris tendon partial rupture, were also noted that were unique to the jumping and heel/toe maneuvers performed in this sport.
Support needs of familiar caregivers caring for persons who are minimally responsive: an ecological system approach
Authors: Kuyler Ariné , Johnson Ensa , Bornman Juan
Published: December 2023

Objective:

The main aim of this study was to identify the multidimensional support needs of familiar caregivers and to identify the lessons they had learned throughout the caregiving process.

Background:

Persons who are minimally responsive require continuous medical care—either at home or at a care facility. The home context is often preferred as it facilitates the care process in a familiar environment and reduces adverse health outcomes, such as mortality. Home care of the person who is minimally responsive is often managed by familiar caregivers who support these individuals in all aspects of daily living. This caregiving experience may be burdensome for the familiar caregiver as increased physical, psychological, emotional, social, and financial requirements, and responsibilities could cause multidimensional stressors.

Methods:

A qualitative descriptive design using 7 semistructured in-depth interviews was used with 7 familiar caregivers of persons who were/are minimally responsive. These participants were obtained from a private care facility and thematic analysis was used to analyze the in-depth interviews.

Results:

The ecological systems theory was used to identify and link 11 themes with subthemes to the support needs reported by the caregivers. In addition, the results included the lessons learned by these caregivers from their caregiving journey.

Conclusions:

From the findings of this study, it is clear that caregivers mostly experience challenges within the microsystem and mesosystem with limited challenges in other systems. These systems are, however, integrated and can impact the individual caregiver substantially. Health care practitioners, in particular, should be aware of caregivers’ support needs and give them adequate support at home.
Patlak Reconstruction Using Dynamic 18F-FDG PET Imaging for Evaluation of Malignant Liver Tumors
Authors: Kaneko Koichiro , Nagao Michinobu , Yamamoto Atsushi , Yano Kyoko , Honda Goro , Tokushige Katsutoshi , Sakai Shuji
Published: December 2023

Purpose of the Report

The aim of this study was to explore the different patterns of dynamic whole-body (D-WB) FDG PET/CT parameters among liver malignancy types as potential diagnostic clues and investigate the association between static and dynamic PET/CT parameters for each tumor histology.

Patients and Methods

Seventy-one patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), metastatic liver tumor (MLT), or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who underwent D-WB and static dual-time-point FDG PET/CT were enrolled. We obtained Pearson correlation coefficients between the metabolic rate of FDG (MRFDG; mg/min/ 100ml) or distribution volume of free FDG (DVFDG, %) and static PET/CT parameters. We compared MRFDG and DVFDG values by tumor type and performed receiver operating characteristic analyses for MRFDG and static images.

Results

A total of 12 ICC, 116 MLT, and 36 HCC lesions were analyzed. MRFDG and DVFDG showed excellent correlation with early (SUVe) and delayed SUVmax (SUVd) (r = 0.71~0.97), but DVFDG in the HCC lesions did not (r = 0.62 and 0.69 for SUVe and SUVd, respectively) (P < 0.001 for all). HCC lesions showed significantly lower MRFDG (2.43 ± 1.98) and DVFDG (139.95 ± 62.58) than ICC (5.02 ± 3.56, 207.06 ± 97.13) and MLT lesions (4.51 ± 2.47, 180.13 ± 75.58) (P < 0.01 for all). The optimal MRFDG could differentiate HCC from ICC and MLT with areas under the curve of 0.84 and 0.80, respectively. Metastatic liver tumor lesions showed the widest distribution of MRFDG and DVFDG values but with no significant difference among most primary sites.

Conclusions

MRFDG was strongly correlated with SUVmax in the 3 malignancies and showed utility for differentiating HCC from ICC and MLT. Each tumor type has a different glucose metabolism, and D-WB FDG PET/CT imaging has the potential to visualize those differences.
Gastric Schwannoma Demonstrated on 18F FDG PET/CT With Pathological Correlation
Authors: Chen Jeffrey , Bui Chuong , Loh Han , Mansberg Robert
Published: December 2023

A 66-year-old man with background hypertension and type 2 diabetes presented with 1 month history of epigastric pain for investigation. Abdominal CT and MRI identified round homogeneously enhancing mass arising from the lesser curvature of the stomach. On 18F-FDG PET/CT, the gastric mass demonstrated intense FDG uptake (SUVmax, 9.6). The patient subsequently underwent partial gastrectomy, with pathological features and immunohistochemical patterns consistent with gastric schwannoma.
Detection of Cognitive Impairment From eSAGE Metadata Using Machine Learning
Authors: Kawakami Ryoma , Wright Kathy D. , Scharre Douglas W. , Ning Xia
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Using the metadata collected in the digital version of the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (eSAGE), we aim to improve the prediction of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia (DM) by applying machine learning methods.

Patients and Methods:

A total of 66 patients had a diagnosis of normal cognition (NC), MCI, or DM, and eSAGE scores and metadata were used. eSAGE scores and metadata were obtained. Each eSAGE question was scored and behavioral features (metadata) such as the time spent on each test page, drawing speed, and average stroke length were extracted for each patient. Logistic regression (LR) and gradient boosting models were trained using these features to detect cognitive impairment (CI). Performance was evaluated using 10-fold cross-validation, with accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, and receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) score as evaluation metrics.

Results:

LR with feature selection achieved an AUC of 89.51%, a recall of 87.56%, and an F1 of 85.07% using both behavioral and scoring. LR using scores and metadata also achieved an AUC of 84.00% in detecting MCI from NC, and an AUC of 98.12% in detecting DM from NC. Average stroke length was particularly useful for prediction and when combined with 4 other scoring features, LR achieved an even better AUC of 92.06% in detecting CI. The study shows that eSAGE scores and metadata are predictive of CI.

Conclusions:

eSAGE scores and metadata are predictive of CI. With machine learning methods, the metadata could be combined with scores to enable more accurate detection of CI.
Precise sensorimotor control impacts reproductive fitness of C. elegans in 3D environments
Authors: Lee Hee Kyung , Lee Tong Young , Lee Jin I. , Park Kyu-Sang , Yoon Kyoung-hye
Published: December 2023

The ability of animals to sense and navigate towards relevant cues in complex and elaborate habitats is paramount for their survival and reproductive success. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans uses a simple and elegant sensorimotor program to track odors in its environments. Whether this allows the worm to effectively navigate a complex environment and increase its evolutionary success has not been tested yet. We designed an assay to test whether C. elegans can track odors in a complex 3D environment. We then used a previously established 3D cultivation system to test whether defect in tracking odors to find food in a complex environment affected their brood size. We found that wild-type worms can accurately migrate toward a variety of odors in 3D. However, mutants of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor GAR-3 which have a sensorimotor integration defect that results in a subtle navigational defect steering towards attractive odors, display decreased chemotaxis to the odor butanone not seen in the traditional 2D assay. We also show that the decreased ability to locate appetitive stimuli in 3D leads to reduced brood size not observed in the standard 2D culture conditions. Our study shows that mutations in genes previously overlooked in 2D conditions can have a significant impact in the natural habitat, and highlights the importance of considering the evolutionary selective pressures that have shaped the behavior, as well as the underlying genes and neural circuits.
Assessing the impact of post-mortem damage and contamination on imputation performance in ancient DNA
Authors: Garrido Marques Antonio , Rubinacci Simone , Malaspinas Anna-Sapfo , Delaneau Olivier , Sousa da Mota Bárbara
Published: December 2023

Low-coverage imputation is becoming ever more present in ancient DNA (aDNA) studies. Imputation pipelines commonly used for present-day genomes have been shown to yield accurate results when applied to ancient genomes. However,post-mortemdamage (PMD), in the form of C-to-T substitutions at the reads termini, and contamination with DNA from closely related species can potentially affect imputation performance in aDNA. In this study, we evaluated imputation performance i) when using a genotype caller designed for aDNA, ATLAS, compared to bcftools, and ii) when contamination is present. We evaluated imputation performance with principal component analyses (PCA) and by calculating imputation error rates. With a particular focus on differently imputed sites, we found that using ATLAS prior to imputation substantially improved imputed genotypes for a very damaged ancient genome (42% PMD). For the remaining genomes, ATLAS brought limited gains. Finally, to examine the effect of contamination on imputation, we added various amounts of reads from two present-day genomes to a previously downsampled high-coverage ancient genome. We observed that imputation accuracy drastically decreased for contamination rates above 5%. In conclusion, we recommend i) accounting for PMD by using a genotype caller such as ATLAS before imputing highly damaged genomes and ii) only imputing genomes containing up to 5% of contamination.
Primary human myoblasts display only minor alternative polyadenylation compared to the transformed C2C12model of muscle differentiation
Authors: Varshney Akriti , Harrison Paul F. , Swaminathan Angavai , Alexander Sarah E. , Dichtl Bernhard , Lamon Séverine , Beilharz Traude H.
Published: December 2023

Alternative polyadenylation has been linked to multiple developmental and disease transitions. The prevailing hypothesis being that differentiated cells use longer 3’ UTRs with expended regulatory capacity whereas undifferentiated cells use shorter 3’ UTRs. Here, we describe the gene expression and alternative polyadenylation profiles of human primary myoblasts over a time course of differentiation. Contrary to expectations, only minor changes in the 3’ end choice were observed. To reconcile this finding with published research, we devised a new bioinformatic method to compare the degree of alternative polyadenylation in the differentiation of primary human and immortalized murine (C2C12) myoblasts. Differentiated human primary myotubes display only half the alternative polyadenylation of the mouse model, with less than 1/10 of the genes undergoing alternative polyadenylation in C2C12cells showing evidence of alternative processing in human primary muscle differentiation. A global reduction in the expression of cleavage and polyadenylation factors in C2C12, but not in primary human myotubes may explain the lack of alternative polyadenylation in this system. Looking more broadly at transcriptome changes across differentiation shows that less than half of the genes differentially expressed in the immortalized model were recapitulated in primary cells. Of these, important metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis and sterol biosynthesis, showed divergent regulation. Collectively, our data caution against using immortalized cell lines, which may not fully recapitulate human muscle development, and suggest that alternative polyadenylation in the differentiation of primary cells might be less pronounced than previously thought.