bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A circuit from the locus coeruleus to the anterior cingulate cortex modulates offspring interactions in mice
Authors: Corona Alberto , Choe Jane , Muñoz-Castañeda Rodrigo , Osten Pavel , Shea Stephen D.
Published: December 2022

Social sensitivity to other individuals in distress is crucial for survival. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a structure involved in making behavioral choices and is influenced by observed pain or distress. Nevertheless, our understanding of the neural circuitry underlying this sensitivity is incomplete. Here, we reveal unexpected sex-dependent activation of ACC when parental mice respond to distressed pups by returning them to the nest (‘pup retrieval’). We observe sex differences in the interactions between excitatory and inhibitory ACC neurons during parental care, and inactivation of ACC excitatory neurons increased pup neglect. Locus coeruleus (LC) releases noradrenaline in ACC during pup retrieval, and inactivation of the LC-ACC pathway disrupts parental care. We conclude that ACC maintains sex-dependent sensitivity to pup distress under LC modulation. We propose that ACC’s involvement in parenting presents an opportunity to identify neural circuits that support sensitivity to the emotional distress of others.
The exception that proves the rule: Virulence gene expression at the onset ofPlasmodium falciparumblood stage infections
Authors: Wichers-Misterek Jan Stephan , Krumkamp Ralf , Held Jana , Thien Heidrun von , Wittmann Irene , Höppner Yannick Daniel , Ruge Julia M. , Moser Kara , Dara Antoine , Strauss Jan , Esen Meral , Fendel Rolf , Sulyok Zita , Kremsner Peter G. , Sim B. Kim Lee , Hoffman Stephen L. , Duffy Michael F. , Otto Thomas D. , Gilberger Tim-Wolf , Silva Joana C. , Mordmüller Benjamin , Petter Michaela , Bachmann Anna
Published: December 2022

Controlled human malaria infections (CHMI) are a valuable tool to study parasite gene expressionin vivounder defined conditions. In previous studies, virulence gene expression was analyzed in samples from volunteers infected with thePlasmodium falciparum(Pf) NF54 isolate, which is of African origin. Here, we provide an in-depth investigation of parasite virulence gene expression in malaria-naïve European volunteers undergoing CHMI with the genetically distinct Pf 7G8 clone, originating in Brazil. Differential expression ofvargenes, encoding major virulence factors of Pf, PfEMP1s, was assessed inex vivoparasite samples as well as in parasites from thein vitrocell bank culture that was used to generate the sporozoites (SPZ) for CHMI (Sanaria® PfSPZ Challenge (7G8)). We report broad activation of mainly B-type subtelomeric locatedvargenes at the onset of a 7G8 blood stage infection in naïve volunteers, mirroring the NF54 expression study and suggesting that the expression of virulence-associated genes is generally reset during transmission from the mosquito to the human host. However, in 7G8 parasites, we additionally detected a continuously expressed single C-type variant, Pf7G8_040025600, that was most highly expressed in both pre-mosquito cell bank and volunteer samples, suggesting that 7G8, unlike NF54, maintains expression of some previously expressedvarvariants during transmission. This suggests that in a new host, the parasite may preferentially express the variants that previously allowed successful infection and transmission.
Discriminating goal-directed and habitual cocaine seeking in rats using a novel outcome devaluation procedure
Authors: Jones Bradley O. , Cruz Adelis M. , Kim Tabitha H. , Spencer Haley F. , Smith Rachel J.
Published: December 2022

Habits are theorized to play a key role in compulsive cocaine seeking, yet there is limited methodology for assessing habitual responding for intravenous (IV) cocaine. We developed a novel outcome devaluation procedure to discriminate goal-directed from habitual responding in cocaine-seeking rats. This procedure elicits devaluation temporarily and requires no additional training, allowing repeated testing at different time points. After training male rats to self-administer IV cocaine, we devalued the drug outcome via experimenter-administered IV cocaine (a “satiety” procedure) prior to a 10-min extinction test. Many rats were sensitive to outcome devaluation, a hallmark of goal-directed responding. These animals reduced responding when given a dose of experimenter-administered cocaine that matched or exceeded satiety levels during self-administration. However, other rats were insensitive to experimenter-administered cocaine, suggesting their responding was habitual. Importantly, reinforcement schedules and neural manipulations that produce goal-directed responding (i.e., ratio schedules or dorsolateral striatum lesions) caused sensitivity to outcome devaluation, whereas reinforcement schedules and neural manipulations that produce habitual responding (i.e., interval schedules or dorsomedial striatum lesions) caused insensitivity. Satiety-based outcome devaluation is an innovative new tool to dissect the neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying IV cocaine-seeking behavior.
Angels, demons and empowering leadership: simultaneous compensatory links to work role performance
Authors: Martínez-Córcoles Mario , Peñarroja Vicente , Stephanou Konstantinos
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Prior research indicates that empowering leadership has simultaneous contradictory effects on work performance. This study aimed to explore contradictory mechanisms through which empowering leadership is related to work role performance behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample was composed of 274 professionals from five IT companies located in the Baltic area. OLS regression analyses were performed using MEDCURVE for SPSS 23.0.

Findings

Empowering leadership is positively related to work role performance behaviors; additionally, perceived uncertainty mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and work role performance behaviors, with the relationship between empowering leadership and uncertainty having a curvilinear U-shape (concave upward). That is, although empowering leadership is positively related to work role performance, the relationship between empowering leadership and work role performance though uncertainty becomes non-significant at high levels of empowering leadership.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to demonstrate that empowering leadership is related to work performance through simultaneous compensatory mechanisms. Moreover, this study provides evidence about the curvilinear relationship between empowering leadership and performance through uncertainty (previously unknown).
Employees' reactions to CSR perception and disclosure in the presence of multilevel contingencies
Authors: Mahmood Faisal , Saleem Maria , Qadeer Faisal , Ariza-Montes Antonio , Han Heesup
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Primarily, this research aims to examine how and when firm-level corporate social responsibility (CSR) translates into individual-level attitudes and behaviors of employees under cross-level boundary conditions of firm-level family ownership (FO) and group-level ethical leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

Philosophically, the present research comes under the post-positivist paradigm, with a deductive approach. The multilevel, multisource and multimethod data for this research were collected by employing a time-lagged design through the survey strategy and from annual reports of 60 manufacturing firms in Pakistan. The multilevel path analysis was conducted using MPlus.

Findings

The authors found that organizational identification (OID) statistically and significantly mediates the impact of firms' CSR disclosure on employees' innovative job performance (EIJP). However, the partial mediation of OID between firm-level CSR perception and EIJP was noticed. Moreover, a firm-level contingency of FO and group-level ethical leadership further intensifies the impact of CSR disclosure and perception on EIJP through OID.

Research limitations/implications

Theoretically, this research widens the current understanding of employees' reactions to firms' CSR disclosure and perception by investigating the contingencies of firm-level FO and group-level ethical leadership. Practically, the managers can consider the underlying framework presented in this research in defining CSR as the antecedent of the OID and EIJP. For example, organizations must deliberately concentrate on not only their CSR initiatives and engagements but also immense attentiveness should be given to CSR disclosure because disclosing CSR will assist the top management in achieving the desired workplace attitudes and behaviors of employees. This research will also help business leaders to understand the integration of CSR and ethical leadership while making CSR-related strategic decisions.

Originality/value

Existing research on CSR still needs advancement due to competing explanations, inconsistencies in the findings, and a lack of multilevel studies. Although few studies on CSR have considered multilevel aspects by devising and testing multilevel mechanisms but largely remained deficient concerning cross-level boundary conditions. Furthermore, the authors also noticed that the academic literature predominantly analyses the impact of perceived CSR either at the individual level or the firm aggregated level on employee attitudes and behaviors. However, research on the effect of organizational CSR disclosure on the behaviors and attitudes of employees remains scarce.
Asset management-based resilience index formulation for pavements via principal components analysis
Authors: Mohammed Ahmed , Zayed Tarek , Nasiri Fuzhan , Bagchi Ashutosh
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This paper extends the authors’ previous research work investigating resilience for municipal infrastructure from an asset management perspective. Therefore, this paper aims to formulate a pavement resilience index while incorporating asset management and the associated resilience indicators from the authors’ previous research work.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper introduces a set of holistic-based key indicators that reflect municipal infrastructure resiliency. Thenceforth, the indicators were integrated using the weighted sum mean method to form the proposed resilience index. Resilience indicators weights were determined using principal components analysis (PCA) via IBM SPSS®. The developed framework for the PCA was built based on an optimization model output to generate the required weights for the desired resilience index. The output optimization data were adjusted using the standardization method before performing PCA.

Findings

This paper offers a mathematical approach to generating a resilience index for municipal infrastructure. The statistical tests conducted throughout the study showed a high significance level. Therefore, using PCA was proper for the resilience indicators data. The proposed framework is beneficial for asset management experts, where introducing the proposed index will provide ease of use to decision-makers regarding pavement network maintenance planning.

Research limitations/implications

The resilience indicators used need to be updated beyond what is mentioned in this paper to include asset redundancy and structural asset capacity. Using clustering as a validation tool is an excellent opportunity for other researchers to examine the resilience index for each pavement corridor individually pertaining to the resulting clusters.

Originality/value

This paper provides a unique example of integrating resilience and asset management concepts and serves as a vital step toward a comprehensive integration approach between the two concepts. The used PCA framework offers dynamic resilience indicators weights and, therefore, a dynamic resilience index. Resiliency is a dynamic feature for infrastructure systems. It differs during their life cycle with the change in maintenance and rehabilitation plans, systems retrofit and the occurring disruptive events throughout their life cycle. Therefore, the PCA technique was the preferred method used where it is data-based oriented and eliminates the subjectivity while driving indicators weights.
How does differential leadership affect team decision-making effectiveness? The role of thriving at work and cooperative goal perception
Authors: Niu Lixia , Zhao Rui , Wei Yisong
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanism and boundary conditions in the relationship between differential leadership and team decision-making effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 366 valid questionnaires were received from employees of high-tech enterprises in China, regression-based moderation and bootstrapping analyses were adapted to analyze data and test hypotheses by using the PROCESS syntax in SPSS software.

Findings

Differential leadership can positively contribute to team decision-making effectiveness, and thriving at work mediates the relationship between the two, and cooperative goal perception plays a moderating role in the relationship between thriving at work and team decision-making effectiveness and cooperative goal perception moderate the mediating effect of thriving at work between differential leadership and team decision-making effectiveness.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that managers need to focus on leadership style to promote improved team decision-making effectiveness by enhancing thriving at work and cooperative goal perception.

Originality/value

Overall, this study is based on the conservation of resources theory to uncover the “black box” between differential leadership and team decision-making effectiveness and to highlight the important role of thriving at work and cooperative goal perception.
Nascent entrepreneurship: a critical perspective and research agenda in tourism and hospitality
Authors: Dias Álvaro , González-Rodríguez M. Rosario , Hallak Rob
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This study aims to systematize the drivers of nascent entrepreneurship in tourism and to suggest avenues for future research. As a consequence of the pandemic, a reduction in early-stage entrepreneurial activity was reported worldwide. The countries that responded best to this situation were those that fostered entrepreneurship at this early stage, designated as nascent. Hence, research on nascent entrepreneurs requires particular attention.

Design/methodology/approach

To address this study’s goal, the authors have examined the development of nascent entrepreneur literature in the last two decades and discussed how the literature on tourism nascent entrepreneurship relates to the mainstream literature in terms of theoretical frameworks. The authors explored specificities of the tourism industry to propose new research avenues to explore the theme of new venture creation in the hospitality and tourism sector.

Findings

The authors divided the implication of tourism specificities into main themes: motivations, human and social capital and government and incubators. Several research questions for future research are proposed.

Practical implications

By focusing on nascent entrepreneurship, researchers and policymakers can obtain important insights from projects that have not been implemented, going beyond those that have been successfully undertaken, as aimed at in entrepreneurship research.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the nascent tourism entrepreneurship literature by providing theoretical and empirical research questions to advance existing knowledge in tourism nascent entrepreneurship.
Remittances and renewable energy: an empirical analysis
Authors: Subramaniam Yogeeswari , Masron Tajul Ariffin , Loganathan Nanthakumar
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential role of remittances on renewable energy consumption in the top recipient developing countries from 1990 to 2016.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique to fulfil the purpose.

Findings

The empirical findings divulge that remittances positively affect renewable energy consumption. This finding implies that remittances can potentially increase the level of renewable energy consumption by increasing affordability if proper incentives and encouragement are offered.

Practical implications

Given the enormous potential that renewable energy can bring to an economy, the government should offer indirect incentives to encourage recipients to allocate a portion of their remittances to renewable energy projects, either as minor investors or users.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is novel for two reasons. First, this study adds to the existing literature by empirically examining the link between remittances and renewable energy consumption in the top five remittance recipients, which have never been studied before. Second, the findings of this study will have policy implications not only for the top remittance recipients but also for other remittance recipients, particularly for developing countries.
Environmental performance of servitized manufacturing firms: the (mis)alignment between servitization strategies and inter-organizational information technology capabilities
Authors: Zhang Minghua , Chen Meng , Zhang Mengru , Liu Hefu
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This study investigates the different effects of the (mis)alignment between servitization strategies (i.e. product-oriented and customer-oriented services) and inter-organizational information technology (IT) capabilities (i.e. IT reconfiguration and integration) concerning the environmental performance of servitized manufacturing firms.

Design/methodology/approach

Using hierarchical regression analysis, this study examines the theoretical model based on multi-respondent survey data from 1,149 senior managers of 383 manufacturers in China.

Findings

Product-oriented services have a non-significant effect on environmental performance, whereas customer-oriented services exert a significantly positive effect. The alignment between product-oriented services and IT reconfiguration, and that between customer-oriented services and IT integration, improve environmental performance. In contrast, the misalignment between product-oriented services and IT integration, and that between customer-oriented services and IT reconfiguration, hurt environmental performance.

Originality/value

This study elucidates the different effects of the (mis)alignment between servitization strategies and inter-organizational IT capabilities on environmental performance. It also resolves the inconsistency regarding the implications of servitization on environmental performance.
Can CSR mechanisms spur GRI adoption and restore its lost value relevance?
Authors: Nandy Monomita , Kuzey Cemil , Uyar Ali , Lodh Suman , Karaman Abdullah S.
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This paper focuses exclusively on the drivers and consequences of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) adoption in sustainability reports with a particular focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample includes 63 countries with 4,625 unique firms in these countries and 29,054 firm-year observations between 2002 and 2019. The empirical methodology is logistic and linear regression analyses with country and year fixed effects.

Findings

The findings show that CSR committees and executive CSR compensation stimulate firms' GRI adoption. Furthermore, while GRI adoption enhanced firm value in the earlier period of 2002–2010, it weakened firm value in the later period between 2011 and 2019 implying a loss of value relevance. However, the moderating effect of CSR committees and executive CSR compensation on GRI adoption has led to higher firm value in recent times. A more in-depth investigation of polluting versus non-polluting sectors and weak and strong institutional environments reveals both convergence and divergence respectively among these sub-samples. The results are robust to alternative samplings, alternative methodology and endogeneity concerns.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitations of the study are the binary nature of key variables, such as CSR committee, executive CSR compensation and GRI adoption, due to the availability of binary data but not continuous data.

Practical implications

Firms allocate substantial funds for SR and following GRI guidelines; hence, the findings guide them on how to ensure the return on this investment.

Social implications

Shareholders who particularly pursue socially responsible investment can shape their investment portfolios in firms that engage with sustainability reporting (SR) and GRI adoption practices.

Originality/value

It is not clear in the literature if CSR committees will adopt the GRI for SR because of any incentive. Thus, we examine if the CSR committee and executive CSR compensation can play a direct role in GRI adoption and play a moderating role between GRI adoption and firm value. Moreover, whether GRI adoption and its value relevance might change across periods, sectors (polluting versus non-polluting) and varying institutional environments (investor protection) are addressed in this study.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) in Ghanaian university libraries: developing outcome-based metrics for staff performance
Authors: Amoah Gloria Bosomtwi , Minishi-Majanja Mabel Khayisia
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This study aims to audit the key performance indicators (KPIs) in Ghanaian university libraries. It aimed at finding out the KPIs used by Ghanaian university libraries and how effective they have been in correcting lapses in staff performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing a quantitative research approach, the views of 218 librarians were elicited from nine universities in Ghana. Due to the manageable size of staff population in the libraries, the census sampling technique was adopted.

Findings

Results indicated even though staff members were unaware of KPIs in their libraries, most of the respondents understood the concept and perceived is to be measuring the success and tracking performance in libraries. It was also revealed that most of the libraries did not have clear and measurable KPIs. Close to 80% of the libraries under study did not have clearly stated KPIs of which members of staff were aware. The study revealed that KPIs may differ from one library to the other, depending on the mission and vision statement of the library. For increased staff performance in Ghanaian university libraries the study recommends management to develop clear and measurable outcome-based metrics that will lead to high performance. This will not only address the needs of clients but also improve the libraries' efficiency in terms of information provision. Management should also have clear and measurable KPIs and make them available to library staff.

Practical implications

For increased staff performance in Ghanaian university libraries the study recommends management to develop clear and measurable outcome-based metrics that will lead to high performance. This will not only address the needs of clients but also improve the libraries' efficiency in terms of information provision. Management should also have clear and measurable KPIs and make them available to library staff.

Originality/value

The study provides information on KPIs in Ghanaian university libraries and how to effectively deal with the challenges associated with its usage.
Walking the Talk? A Corporate Governance Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling
Authors: Ali Gull Ammar , Hussain Nazim , Akbar Khan Sana , Nadeem Muhammad , Mansour Zalata Alaa
Published: December 2022

Information asymmetry and the pressure to conform to stakeholders’ expectations cause firms to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling – a practice that has severe socioeconomic consequences for firms. Adopting a corporate governance perspective, this paper answers a novel question: whether board gender diversity (BGD) curbs CSR decoupling. Using a battery of sophisticated analyses and robustness tests on 9276 firm‐year observations for the period 2002–2017, our results confirm that BGD is negatively associated with CSR decoupling. Analysis of the composition of gender‐diverse boards further reveals that this effect is stronger for balanced boards than for skewed and tilted boards. Furthermore, we note that independent female directors are more effective monitors of decoupling than executive female directors. We also document that the relationship between BGD and CSR decoupling is stronger when the overall governance is weak. This implies that gender‐diverse boards could act as a substitute mechanism for corporate governance that would otherwise be weak. Our study offers important theoretical and policy implications for the field of corporate governance and CSR.
The familiar‐strange manifestation of the dead
Authors: Amoozegar Farzad
Published: December 2022

This article draws on Islamic perspectives that conceive of visions (ru'yā) and nightmares (kābūs) as instances whereby Jamilā, a 13‐year‐old Syrian refugee girl in Brooklyn, New York, imagines and makes sense of the dead. She uses the Arabic wordsma‘rwf(familiar) andgharīb(strange) to describe her dead elderly neighbour, Safiyya, in her visions and nightmares. Jamilā’sfamiliar‐strangeexperiences imagine the dead both as good (the divine nature of death fundamental to Islamic values) and as evil (the pain and suffering of the departed). These familiar‐strange feelings constitute an irresolvable uncertainty about death, shaping an imaginative space for Jamilā tobe withSafiyya, who was like a mother to her. The manifestation of the dead consists of dynamic interpretations for the living. This results in a familiar‐strange experience granted through the in‐between space of what the philosopher Ibn ‘Arabī callsbarzakh(‘obstacle’ or ‘separation’), which allows for an understanding of the departed as both blissful and suffering. The vernacular Arabic used by Jamilā in describing her familiar‐strange experiences and the Islamic values upheld by her family underscore the importance of knowledge accumulated in the Islamic tradition for understanding the perception of loss and death for an adolescent Syrian refugee.
Use of therapeutic plasma exchange in COVID‐19: A systematic review of current evidence
Authors: Carlson Nicholas , Szpirt Wladimir M.
Published: December 2022

Current knowledge related to employment of plasma exchange for treatment in COVID‐19 is predominantly based on casuistic evidence in the form of single‐center case‐series. Published data encompass reports from a total of approximately 225 patients. Based on published reports, therapeutic plasma exchange has generally been employed as rescue or adjunctive therapy in patients with critical illness, with proposed benefit attributed possible effects on mitigation and amelioration of cytokine storm syndrome. Treatment effects remain uncertain, with the impact of plasma exchange on critical illness in COVID inconclusive with regard to both efficacy and safety.
A familial hypercholesterolemia registry as the main tool for adequate management of the disease
Authors: Korneva Victoria Alekseevna , Kuznetsova Tatiana Yurievna , Julius Ulrich
Published: December 2022

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most common, but poorly diagnosed autosomal‐dominant genetic disease which increases the cardio‐vascular risk.

Aim

To evaluate the experience of FH registry conducted in Karelia Republic.

Methods

FH registry in Karelia is existing from 2004, it includes 350 patients with heterozygous FH (110 with definite FH), the mean age is 48 ± 2.3 years. The genetic study was performed in 102 patients (29.1%).

Result

The creation of the registry has contributed to the active identification of FH, and now the estimated frequency of FH occurrence in Karelia may be 1:300, in patients with cardiovascular disease 1:10. We also analyzed genetic features of FH in our republic and found that the LDL‐C level, above which the probability of LDL receptor mutation increases in Karelia, is 6.5 mmol/L. We analyzed risk factors of ischemic heart disease and the prognosis in FH.

Conclusion

The creation and maintenance of a registry is an effective way of organizing timely diagnosis and adequate treatment of FH patients.
Repeated lipoprotein apheresis and immune response: Effects on different immune cell populations
Authors: Walther Romy , Wehner Rebekka , Tunger Antje , Julius Ulrich , Schatz Ulrike , Tselmin Sergey , Bornstein Stefan R. , Schmitz Marc , Graessler Juergen
Published: December 2022

Background

Atherosclerosis is considered a chronic inflammation of arterial vessels with the involvement of several immune cells causing severe cardiovascular diseases. Lipoprotein apheresis (LA) improves cardiovascular conditions of patients with severely disturbed lipid metabolism. In this context, little is known about the impact of LA on various immune cell populations, especially over time.

Methods

Immune cells of 18 LA‐naïve patients starting weekly LA treatment were analyzed before and after four apheresis cycles over the course of 24 weeks by flow cytometry.

Results and Conclusions

An acute lowering effect of LA on T cell and natural killer (NK) cell subpopulations expressing CD69 was observed. The non‐classical and intermediate monocyte subsets as well as HLA‐DR+ 6‐sulfo LacNAc+ monocytes were significantly reduced during the apheresis procedure. We conclude that LA has the capacity to alter various immune cell subsets. However, LA has mainly short‐term effects than long‐term consequences on proportions of immune cells.
Comparing deep‐end confinement in England & Wales and Norway
Authors: Crewe Ben , Laursen Julie , Mjåland Kristian
Published: December 2022

Extreme forms of custody represent the boundary points of state power. The configuration of the most restrictive corners of prison systems, and what goes on within them, is highly instructive in exposing the objectives, limits, and implications of state coercion at its most severe. Based on data collected in England & Wales and Norway, this article has two main aims. The first is to explore the degree to which “deep‐end” confinement differs between jurisdictions with different penal philosophies. The second is to understand how the most extreme form of confinement in each jurisdiction differs from the more typical carceral experiences within each system and its overall penal ethos. Empirically, then, the article seeks to shine light into the deepest dominions of both prison systems, illuminating the experiential texture of extreme forms of imprisonment. It concludes by asking what can be inferred about Nordic exceptionalism, and about deep‐end confinement more generally, by analyzing these domains.
Color of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fillets by image and sensory analysis, and correlation with SalmoFan numbers
Authors: Gümüş Bahar , Gümüş Erkan , Balaban Murat O.
Published: December 2022

A total of 72 male and 50 female trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fillets were weighed (range 328–794 g, mean 546.2 ± 101.8 g; and range 426–994 g, mean 672.2 ± 106.1 g, respectively), the pictures of whom were taken in a light box, and image analysis was done to measure pixel colors, length, and view area of the fillets. Weight (W) was predicted using view area (V) obtained by image analysis using linear (W = A + BV), and power (W = AVB) equations. R2 values were between 0.823 and 0.937. Although there was no difference between mean L* and a* values of male and female fillets, significant differences were found between mean b* values (p < 0.05). The colors of SalmoFan™ (SF) mini were also measured by image analysis and their mean L*, a*, b* values, and their entire color index (ECI) and reduced RGB values from 122 images were calculated. A total of 96 untrained panelists were asked to select the SF color of 5 representative fillets and to designate which point on the fillet image best described the SF color chosen. To predict SF numbers of the fillets by image analysis, four cases were considered: (1) whole fillet, (2) whole fillet with pixels a* > 25, (3) a rectangle along the length of the fillet to approximate panelists’ selection, and (4) pixels in this rectangle with a* > 25. Mean L*a*b* values, mean reduced RGB values, and mean ECI of the four cases were used to predict fillet SF numbers. Different results obtained imply that image analysis can do repeatable and objective SF color classification of fillets, depending on the pixel selection method, and the color representation.

Practical Application

Rainbow trout fillets can be assigned SalmoFan (SF) numbers using image analysis of the fillets. However, the selection of pixels and the color representation method affect the results. If these are standardized, SF numbers can be assigned objectively and automatically.
Do we need nasal vaccines against COVID 19 to suppress the transmission of infections?
Authors: Brüssow Harald
Published: December 2022

Covid‐19 vaccines have within the first year prevented about 14 million deaths but did not induce a strong mucosal immune response. Data from US, UK, Singapore and Israel showed a variable and mostly modest effects of vaccination on virus excretion during breakthrough infections. Contact studies showed decreased transmission of infection from vaccinated index cases, but the effect varied according to dominant virus type, with study type and the nature of the contact group and diminished with time after vaccination. Some researchers suspect that it is unlikely to stop the pandemic with injected vaccines alone. Promising animal experiments were conducted with mucosal vaccines. Mice nasally immunized with a chimpanzee adenovirus vector mounted a mucosal immune response, were protected against viral challenge after a single vaccine dose and suppressed nasal replication of the challenge virus. Phage T4 expressing SARS‐CoV‐2 spike and nucleocapsid induced a sterilizing lung immunity in nasally vaccinated mice. Also hamsters intranasally immunized with the prefusion‐stabilized spike protein showed no infectious virus in nasal turbinates upon challenge. Other studies showed that intranasal vaccination with an adenovirus vaccine reduced but did not eliminated viral transmission from infected to naïve hamsters. Intranasal vaccination of rhesus macaques with adenovirus vaccines also substantially reduced or even suppressed viral replication in the upper and lower respiratory tract. Human data on mucosal SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines are so far limited to safety and immunogenicity studies. Aerosolized adenovirus vaccines given either as a booster or as primary immunization were safe and induced similar or superior immune response than injected vaccines while an aerosolized influenza vectored vaccine induced only a weak humoral and cellular immune response. Overall 100 mucosal SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines are in development and 20 are in clinical trials. First human trials demonstrate that this will not be an easy task.
Breast incidentalomas on 18‐Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography‐computed tomography performed for a non‐mammary cause: Significance and outcomes
Authors: Menon Padma , Bourke Anita
Published: December 2022

Introduction

The aim of the study was to determine the rate of malignancy in breast incidentalomas found on 18‐Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography‐Computed tomography (18 FDG PET‐CT) performed for non‐mammary causes and evaluate outcomes.

Methods

A single‐centre, retrospective review of 5728 18‐FDG PET‐CT scans performed between January 1, 2017 and April 30, 2019 was undertaken. Cases with known primary breast cancer or metastases to the breast in the previous ten years were excluded. Diagnosis was confirmed with breast imaging, histology and 2‐year follow‐up. Data analysed included age, the pattern of uptake on 18‐FDG PET‐CT, lesion size and BIRADS score.

Results

Thirty‐two Breast incidentalomas were identified in 27/5728 scans (0.47%). 18 lesions (56.3%) were malignant. Five underwent curative surgery. Nine lesions (28.1%) were benign and five (15.6%) were false positive.

Conclusion

Breast incidentalomas are uncommon on 18‐FDG PET‐CT but require work‐up for malignancy. BIRADS score has a high sensitivity and specificity for malignancy in18‐FDG PET‐CT incidentalomas but age, size of the lesion and the pattern of uptake on 18‐FDG PET‐CT were not useful in differentiating benign from malignant incidentalomas.
Safety in solitude? Competing risks and drivers of solitary drug use among women who inject drugs and implications for overdose detection
Authors: Rosen Joseph G. , Glick Jennifer L. , Zhang Leanne , Cooper Lyra , Olatunde Praise F. , Pelaez Danielle , Rouhani Saba , Sue Kimberly L. , Park Ju Nyeong
Published: December 2022

Background and aims

Solitary drug use (SDU) can amplify risks of fatal overdose. We examined competing risks and drivers of SDU, as well as harm reduction strategies implemented during SDU episodes, among women who inject drugs (WWID).

Design

A cross‐sectional qualitative study, including telephone and face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews.

Setting

Baltimore City, MD, USA.

Participants

Twenty‐seven WWID (mean age = 39 years, 67% white, 74% injected drugs daily) recruited via outreach and street intercept (April–September 2021).

Measurements

Interviews explored the physical (i.e. indoor/private, outdoor/public) and social (i.e. alone, accompanied) risk environments in which drug use occurred. Guided by the principles of emergent design, we used thematic analysis to interrogate textual data, illuminating women's preferences/motivations for SDU and strategies for minimizing overdose risks when using alone.

Findings

Many participants reported experiences with SDU, despite expressed preferences for accompanied drug use. SDU motivations clustered around three primary drivers: (1) avoiding opioid withdrawal, (2) preferences for privacy when using drugs and (3) safety concerns, including threats of violence. Participants nevertheless acknowledged the dangers of SDU and, at times, took steps to mitigate overdose risk, including naloxone possession, communicating to peers when using alone (‘spotting’) and using drugs in public spaces.

Conclusions

WWID appear to engage frequently in SDU due to constraints of the physical and social environments in which they use drugs. They express a preference for accompanied drug use in most cases and report implementing strategies to mitigate their overdose risk, especially when using drugs alone.
Whole‐genome identification of transposable elements reveals the equine repetitive element insertion polymorphism in Chinese horses
Authors: Liu Xuexue , Zhang Yanli , Pu Yabin , Ma Yuehui , Jiang Lin
Published: December 2022

Transposable elements (TEs) are diverse, abundant, and complicated in genomes. They not only can drive the genome evolution process but can also act as special resources for adaptation. However, little is known about the evolutionary processes that shaped horses. In this work, 126 horse assemblages involved in most horse breeds in China were used to investigate the patterns of TE variation for the first time. By using RepeatMasker and melt software, we found that the horse‐specific short interspersed repetitive elements family, equine repetitive elements (ERE1), exhibited polymorphisms in horse genomes. Phylogenetic analysis based on these ERE1 loci (minor allele frequency ≥0.05) revealed three major horse groups, namely, those in northern China, southern China, and Qinghai‐Tibetan, which mirrors the result determined by SNPs to some extent. The present ERE1 family emerged ~0.26 to 1.77 Mya ago, with an activity peak at ~0.49 Mya, which matches the early stage of the horse lineage and decreases after the divergence of Equus caballus and Equus ferus przewalskii. To detect the functional ERE1(s) associated with adaptation, locus‐specific branch length, genome‐wide association study, and absolute allele frequency difference analyses were conducted and resulted in two common protein‐coding genes annotated by candidate ERE1s. They were clustered into the vascular smooth muscle contraction (p = 0.01, EDNRA) and apelin signalling pathways (p = 0.02, NRF1). Notably, ERE1 insertion into the EDNRA gene showed a higher association with adaptation among southern China horses and other horses in 15 populations and 451 individuals (p = 4.55 e–8). Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of TE variations to analyse the phylogenetic relationships and traits relevant to adaptive evolution in horses.
Characterization of experimental cattle populations from Argentina with a low‐density SNP genotyping panel
Authors: Michiels Brian , Pardo Alan Maxs , Ortega Masagué Maria F. , Giovambattista Guillermo , Corva Pablo M.
Published: December 2022

The objectives of the present experiment were to evaluate a low‐density SNP array designed for the molecular characterisation of gene banks and to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of beef cattle herds from an Argentinean research station. Forty‐nine animals from three breeds (Angus, Hereford, and Argentinean Creole) were genotyped using the multi‐species IMAGE001 60‐K SNP array (10 K for cattle). Genotypes of other 19 cattle populations from Argentina, other American countries, and Europe were included in the study. Of special interest was the characterization of the Argentinean Creole, the only autochthonous cattle breed in the country. Due to the merging of different datasets, approximately 5 K SNPs were effectively used. Genetic differentiation (FST), principal component analysis, neighbour‐joining tree of Reynolds distances and ancestry analysis showed that autochthonous American breeds are clearly differentiated, but all have genetic influences of Iberian cattle. The analysed herds of Argentinean Creole showed no evidence of recent admixture and represent a unique genetic pool within local American breeds. An experimental herd and the local commercial Hereford population have also diverged, probably due to the influence of current selection objectives in the breed. Our results illustrate the utility of using low‐cost, low density SNP arrays in the evaluation of animal genetic resources. This type of panels could become a very useful resource in developing countries, where most endangered cattle breeds are located. The results also reinforce the importance of experimental herds as reservoir of genetic diversity, particularly in the case of local breeds under‐represented in traditional production systems.
Consolidative high‐dose thoracic radiotherapy for limited metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer: Focusing on oligo‐progressive disease
Authors: Kim Hakyoung , Yang Dae Sik , Kim Sun Myung
Published: December 2022

Aim

Prior clinical data have shown a significant survival benefit of consolidative local radiotherapy for patients with limited metastatic non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of consolidative high‐dose thoracic radiotherapy on local control rates and survivals in patients with limited metastatic NSCLC, especially focusing on oligo‐progressive disease.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 45 patients with limited metastatic NSCLC who received consolidative high‐dose thoracic radiotherapy at the Korea University Guro Hospital between March 2015 and December 2020. In the current study, we included patients who showed partial response, stable disease, or oligo‐progressive disease on tumor response evaluation after systemic treatment. All patients underwent stereotactic body radiation therapy (23 patients) or intensity‐modulated radiation therapy (IMRT, 22 patients).

Results

The median follow‐up time was 42 months (range: 5–88 months). The overall 2‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 80.7% and 88.4%, respectively. Among the 45 patients, only two patients treated with IMRT showed in‐field local recurrence. There was no local failure among the patients who showed oligo‐progressive disease after systemic treatment. In addition, the response to systemic treatment was not a significant factor for either DFS or OS rates (p = .471 and p = .414, respectively) in univariate analysis.

Conclusions

Consolidative high‐dose thoracic radiotherapy improves local control rates and helps achieve long‐term survival in patients with limited metastatic NSCLC. It is also effective and should be considered in patients with oligo‐progressive disease after systemic treatment.
Oncological outcomes for encapsulated papillary carcinoma of the breast: Multicentric study of Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology breast cancer study group (TROD 06–014 study)
Authors: Gurdal Necla , Yildirim Berna Akkus , Gursel Ozge Kandemir , Ozkurt Selnur , Ibis Kamuran , Gultekin Melis , Tepetam Huseyin , Gul Sule Karabulut , Guzeloz Zeliha , Oksuz Didem Colpan , Cetin Ilknur Alsan , Yalcin Berrin , Duzova Mursel , Kanyilmaz Gul , Yavas Guler , Ozsaran Zeynep
Published: December 2022

Background

Encapsulated papillary carcinoma (EPC) is a rare malignant papillary breast cancer accounting for approximately .5%–2% of all breast tumors. The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate clinicopathologic features of EPC in addition to oncological outcomes and radiotherapy (RT) details.

Methods

From 10 different academic hospitals in Turkey, we obtained pathology reports of 80 patients with histologically confirmed EPC between 2005 and 2022. Demographic, diagnostic, and treatment data were collected from medical records, retrospectively. Local failure, distant progression, toxicity‐adverse effects, overall survival (OS), and disease‐free survival were evaluated, and survival analyzes were performed using the Kaplan–Meier method.

Results

Eighty patients with the diagnosis of misspelled sorry (ECP) were retrospectively evaluated. The median age of the patients was 63 (range, 35–85). After a median follow‐up of 48 (range; 6–206) months, local recurrence was observed in three patients (4%). Local recurrence was less common in the patients who received whole breast RT with a tumour bed boost (p = .025). There were not any distant metastasis or disease‐related death. RT was applied to 61% of the cases, and no treatment‐related grade 3 or higher toxicity was reported in any of the patients. Five year OS, cancer‐specific survival (CSS), and  were observed as 85%, 100%, and 96%, respectively.

Conclusions

ECP is a rare, slow‐progressing breast carcinoma associated with good prognosis, it is a disease of elderly patient, and usually occurs in postmenopausal women. It responds extremely well to optimal local treatments and appropriate adjuvant treatments on a patient basis, and has excellent OS and CSS ratios.
Generation of humanized LDHC knock‐in mice as a tool to assess human LDHC‐targeting contraceptive drugs
Authors: Iida‐Norita Rie , Miyata Haruhiko , Kaneda Yuki , Emori Chihiro , Noda Taichi , Nakagawa Tatsuya , Matzuk Martin M. , Ikawa Masahito
Published: December 2022

Background

Lactate dehydrogenase C (LDHC) is specifically expressed in male germ cells and plays critical roles in glycolysis. Glycolysis is required to supply energy for sperm motility. Previous studies showed that Ldhc knock‐out mice exhibit impaired sperm motility.

Objectives

We established human LDHC knock‐in (hLDHC KI) mice and examined whether hLDHC KI mice can be used to assess LDHC‐targeting drugs.

Material and methods

HLDHC was knocked‐in to the mouse Ldhc (mLdhc) allele using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Mating tests, sperm motility examinations with a computer‐assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) were performed. Furthermore, the effect of an LDH inhibitor was analyzed with CASA and IVF.

Results

HLDHC was detected at the protein level in hLDHC KI spermatozoa. hLDHC KI mice exhibited comparable sperm motility and male fertility to wild‐type (WT) mice. When we performed IVF using the LDH inhibitor more specific to hLDHC than mLDHC, fertilization rates were reduced in hLDHC KI mice but not in WT mice.

Discussion and conclusion

Our results reveal that hLDHC can rescue the absence of mLDHC. Differences in the effect of the LDH inhibitor between WT and hLDHC KI mice indicate that hLDHC KI mice can be a good model to assess hLDHC inhibitors for preclinical contraceptive studies.