bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 in Children: Correlation Between Epidemiologic, Clinical Characteristics, and RT-qPCR Cycle Threshold Values
Authors: Gentile Angela , Juarez María del Valle , Lucion María Florencia , Pejito María Natalia , Alexay Sofia , Orqueda Ana Sofia , Bollon Lucia Romero , Mistchenko Alicia
Published: May 2022

Background:

Initially, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on children was unknown. Standard COVID-19 diagnosis is confirmed using real-time qPCR. Cycle threshold (Ct) values of RT-qPCR are inversely proportional to viral load and the test indirectly quantifies viral RNA copy numbers. The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between epidemiology, clinical characteristics, severity of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and Ct values.

Methods:

An observational, analytical, cross-sectional study. All children with COVID-19 under 18 years old admitted to the Ricardo Gutiérrez Children’s Hospital between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, were included. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed using RT-qPCR.

Results:

Median age of patients was 7 years. Ct values were estimated in 419 cases, median Ct value was 23.5 [interquartile range (IQR): 18.9–30.9]. Levels were significantly lower in symptomatic than asymptomatic patients (Ct: 22.1; IQR: 18.4–22.1), in children <2 years of age (Ct: 20.6; IQR: 17.3–27.3) and when sample collection was <4 days after symptom onset (Ct: 21.1; IQR: 18.1–27.5). In children >2 years of age, Ct values were significantly lower in symptomatic (Ct: 22.6; IQR: 18.7–29.3) than asymptomatic (Ct: 31.2; IQR: 24.5–33.3) patients.

Conclusions:

Children younger than 2 years with COVID-19 have lower values of Ct—as a proxy for higher viral load—than older children. Symptomatic children over 2 years of age had lower Ct values compared with asymptomatic children.
Remote Versus In-person Outpatient Clinic Visits and Antibiotic Use Among Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Danino Dana , Ben-Shimol Shalom , Sharf Amir , Greenberg David , Givon-Lavi Noga
Published: May 2022

Background:

The proportion of remote clinic visits was expected to increase among children during the COVID-19 pandemic which might result in antibiotic overuse.

Methods:

In southern Israel, 2 ethnic groups, Jewish and Bedouin, live side-by-side. Computerized data on visits for children <18 years were examined from clinics with ≥50 insured children, active both pre-COVID-19 and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visits were divided into in-person and remote. Monthly infectious diagnoses and dispensed antibiotic prescription rates were calculated by age (<5, 5–17 years) and ethnic groups. Mean monthly rates of 2 parallel seasons (pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods) were compared.

Results:

Overall 2,120,253 outpatient clinic visits were recorded. Remote clinic visit rates (per 1000 children) increased from 97.04 and 33.86 in the pre-COVID-19 to 179.75 and 50.05 in the COVID-19 period in Jewish and Bedouin children, respectively (P < 0.01) along with a reduction of in-person visit rates in both populations. Comparing pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods, the rates of overall infectious diagnoses in remote visits increased. Nevertheless, dispensed antibiotic prescription rates in remote visits (per 1000 visits) remained unchanged (9.84 vs. 8.67, P = 0.70, in the Jewish population and 14.32 vs. 14.17, P = 1.00, in the Bedouin population in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods, respectively) with a similar distribution of antibiotic categories.

Conclusions:

COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an expansion of remote visits of children <18 years with an increase in infectious diagnoses. However, remote dispensed antibiotic prescription rates remained unchanged. These dynamics were more accentuated in Jewish children, characterized by higher socio-economic conditions, compared to Bedouin children.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome in a Child With Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Related to COVID-19
Authors: Ines Maaloul , Leila Jallouli , Rania Gargouri , Imen Chabchoub , Leila Abid , Hajer Aloulou , Thouraya Kamoun
Published: May 2022

Guillain-Barré syndrome has been associated with acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in children. Here, we report a 4-year-old boy who developed Guillain-Barré syndrome in the course of multisystem inflammatory syndrome related to COVID-19.
Automated preclinical detection of mechanical pain hypersensitivity and analgesia
Authors: Zhang Zihe , Roberson David P. , Kotoda Masakazu , Boivin Bruno , Bohnslav James P. , González-Cano Rafael , Yarmolinsky David A. , Turnes Bruna Lenfers , Wimalasena Nivanthika K. , Neufeld Shay Q. , Barrett Lee B. , Quintão Nara L. M. , Fattori Victor , Taub Daniel G. , Wiltschko Alexander B. , Andrews Nick A. , Harvey Christopher D. , Datta Sandeep Robert , Woolf Clifford J.
Published: May 2022

The lack of sensitive and robust behavioral assessments of pain in preclinical models has been a major limitation for both pain research and the development of novel analgesics. Here, we demonstrate a novel data acquisition and analysis platform that provides automated, quantitative, and objective measures of naturalistic rodent behavior in an observer-independent and unbiased fashion. The technology records freely behaving mice, in the dark, over extended periods for continuous acquisition of 2 parallel video data streams: (1) near-infrared frustrated total internal reflection for detecting the degree, force, and timing of surface contact and (2) simultaneous ongoing video graphing of whole-body pose. Using machine vision and machine learning, we automatically extract and quantify behavioral features from these data to reveal moment-by-moment changes that capture the internal pain state of rodents in multiple pain models. We show that these voluntary pain-related behaviors are reversible by analgesics and that analgesia can be automatically and objectively differentiated from sedation. Finally, we used this approach to generate a paw luminance ratio measure that is sensitive in capturing dynamic mechanical hypersensitivity over a period and scalable for high-throughput preclinical analgesic efficacy assessment.
Novel Plug Device for HeartMate 3 Explantation: First Multicenter Experience
Authors: Mariani Silvia , Li Tong , Meyer Anna Lassia , Geoffrion Tracy , Fittkau Matthias , Schöde Alexandra , Hanke Jasmin S. , Loforte Antonio , Haverich Axel , Schmitto Jan D. , Dogan Günes
Published: May 2022

Patients undergoing explantation of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) after improvement of myocardial function remain a minority. Nevertheless, considering the growing population of LVAD patients, increasing demand for new explantation strategies is expected. Herein, we present a retrospective review of seven patients undergoing HeartMate3 explantation with the use of a custom-made apical ring plug in four medical centers. The primary outcome was status at intensive care unit discharge. Secondary outcomes included perioperative complications and transfusions. Six out of seven patients were males. The median age at explantation and time on LVAD support was 35 years (range:13–73) and 10 months (range:9–24), respectively. No technical difficulties were experienced during plug implantation via a conventional sternotomy or through a left lateral thoracotomy, either with or without cardiopulmonary bypass. Perioperative transfusions ranged from 0 to 3 units/patient. No re-operations for bleeding, hemorrhagic, embolic, or plug-related infective events were observed. Heparin was started 6 hours after surgery as a bridge to oral anticoagulation (international normalized ratio: 2–2.5). All patients were discharged alive from intensive care unit. This novel plug device for HeartMate3 explantation was successfully and safely implanted in this first patient series. Notwithstanding, its use should still be considered off-label and larger studies are required to investigate its long-term results.
Surface Electromyography-Driven Therapeutic Gaming for Rehabilitation of Upper Extremity Weakness: A Pilot Study
Authors: Liu Yusha , Silva Rafael M. L. , Friedrich Jeffrey B. , Kao Dennis S. , Mourad Pierre D. , Bunnell Aaron E.
Published: May 2022

In patients with severe upper extremity weakness that may result from peripheral nerve injuries, stroke, and spinal cord injuries, standard therapy in the earliest stages of recovery consists primarily of passive rather than active exercises. Adherence to prescribed therapy may be poor, which may contribute to suboptimal functional outcomes. The authors have developed and integrated a custom surface electromyography device with a video game to create an interactive, biofeedback-based therapeutic gaming platform. Sensitivity of the authors’ custom surface electromyography device was evaluated with simultaneous needle electromyography recordings. Testing of this therapeutic gaming platform was conducted with a single 30-minute gameplay session in 19 patients with a history of peripheral nerve injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, and direct upper extremity trauma, including 11 patients who had undergone nerve and/or tendon transfers. The device was highly sensitive in detecting low levels of voluntary muscle activation and was used with 10 distinct muscles of the arm, forearm, and hand. Nerve and tendon transfer patients successfully activated the donor nerve/muscle and elicited the desired movement to engage in gameplay. On surveys of acceptability and usability, patients felt the system was enjoyable, motivating, fun, and easy to use, and their hand therapists expressed similar enthusiasm. Surface electromyography-based therapeutic gaming is a promising approach to rehabilitation that warrants further development and investigation to examine its potential efficacy, not only for building muscle strength and endurance but also for facilitating motor relearning after nerve and tendon transfer surgical procedures.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:

Therapeutic, IV.
Classifying the Severity of Cubital Tunnel Syndrome: A Preoperative Grading System Incorporating Electrodiagnostic Parameters
Authors: Power Hollie A. , Peters Blair R. , Patterson J. Megan M. , Padovano William M. , Mackinnon Susan E.
Published: May 2022

Background:

Current classifications for cubital tunnel syndrome have not been shown to reliably predict postoperative outcomes. In this article, the authors introduce a new classification that incorporates clinical and electrodiagnostic parameters, including compound muscle action potential amplitude, to classify the preoperative severity of cubital tunnel syndrome. The authors compare this to established classifications and evaluate its association with patient-rated improvement.

Methods:

The authors reviewed 44 patients who were treated surgically for cubital tunnel syndrome. Patients were retrospectively classified using their proposed classification and the Akahori, McGowan-Goldberg, Dellon, and Gu classifications. Correlation of grades was assessed by Spearman coefficients and agreement was assessed by weighted kappa coefficients. Patient-reported impairment was assessed using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire before and after surgery.

Results:

The classifications tended to grade patients in a similar way, with Spearman coefficients of 0.60 to 0.85 (p < 0.0001) and weighted kappa coefficients of 0.46 to 0.71 (p < 0.0001). Preoperative Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand scores increased with severity grade for most classifications. In multivariable analysis, the authors’ classification predicted postoperative Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score improvement, whereas established classifications did not.

Conclusions:

Established classifications are imperfect indicators of preoperative severity. The authors introduce a preoperative classification for cubital tunnel syndrome that incorporates electrodiagnostic findings in addition to classic signs and symptoms.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:

Diagnostic, III.
Outcome of 177Lu-PSMA Radionuclide Treatment in Advanced Prostate Cancer and Its Association With Clinical Parameters
Authors: Has Simsek Duygu , Kuyumcu Serkan , Karadogan Seyfullah , Ozkan Zeynep Gozde , Isik Emine Goknur , Basaran Mert , Sanli Mehmet Oner , Sanli Yasemin
Published: May 2022

Purpose

This study was set out to analyze the efficacy and safety of 177Lu-PSMA-617 (LuPSMA) treatment in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients.

Patients and Methods

Progressive mCRPC patients who received at least 1 cycle of LuPSMA therapy were evaluated retrospectively. Demographic, clinic, and histopathological data were documented. Treatment efficacy was determined based on biochemical response criteria (Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial Working Group 3), and toxicity rates were defined based on CTCAE v4.03. The prognostic significance of laboratory/clinical data and 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT quantitative results were analyzed using SPSS Version 24.0.

Results

One hundred patients (median prostate-specific antigen [PSA] level, 75.7 ng/mL) who met the eligibility criteria were identified. The median number of cycles received per patient was 3 (range, 1–9). After the first cycles of LuPSMA, biochemical partial response, biochemical stable disease, and biochemical progressive disease were observed in 31%, 36%, and 33% of patients, respectively. Any PSA decline was determined in 60% of patients. After the fourth cycle of treatment, biochemical partial response, biochemical stable disease, and biochemical progressive disease were defined in 48%, 26%, and 26% of patients, respectively. The median overall survival (OS) from the first cycle of LuPSMA was 14 months. Patients who had any PSA response after the first cycle had significantly longer OS than nonresponders (median OS: 17 vs 9 months; P ≤ 0.001). Total PSMA-derived tumor volume (P = 0.004), total PSMA activity per lesion (P = 0.01), PSA (P = 0.007), alkaline phosphatase (P = 0.002), lactate dehydrogenase (P < 0.001), and hemoglobin (P < 0.001) were significant prognostic factors for OS in univariate Cox regression analysis.

Conclusions

LuPSMA therapy is a favorable treatment for mCRPC with remarkable therapeutic efficacy and low toxicity rates, even in progressive disease under standard therapies. Baseline PSMA-based tumor burden, PSA, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, and hemoglobin were significant predictors of OS and can be useful for selection of the best candidate for LuPSMA therapy.
Coupling of Inflammation and Microcalcification in the Pathogenesis of Prostate Calculi
Authors: Park Peter Sang Uk , Khurana Navpreet , Werner Thomas J. , Høilund-Carlsen Poul F. , Alavi Abass
Published: May 2022

Prostatic calculi are common and usually asymptomatic calcified stones frequently found incidentally in imaging or during the evaluation of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Those associated with chronic prostatitis can lead to bacterial colonization, inflammation, and blockage of secretory ducts, resulting in pelvic pain and lower urinary tract symptoms. Although PET tracers such as 18F-NaF and 18F-FDG have been used to assess metastatic and benign bone disorders, their comparative avidity in the domain of extraosseous and prostate calcification remains to be fully explored. We present incidentally detected bilateral prostatic calcification in an asymptomatic 42-year-old man exhibiting coavidity of 18F-NaF and 18F-FDG, highlighting the molecular coupling of inflammation and microcalcification in the pathogenesis of prostate calculi.
Prostate Cancer With Solitary Bone Metastasis in the Mandible
Authors: Lu Yang
Published: May 2022

A 79-year-old man with prostate cancer found to have a solitary bone lesion in the mandible on initial staging bone scan. The sclerotic lesion had a sunburst appearance on CT. As biopsy was nondiagnostic, the patient underwent segmental mandibulectomy. Postoperative pathology results confirmed as metastasis from prostate cancer.
Simultaneous Detection of 2 Types of Malignancies in a Pediatric Patient on FDG PET/CT Led to Diagnosis of Li-Fraumeni Syndrome
Authors: Kan Ying , Si Yukun , Wang Wei , Yang Jigang
Published: May 2022

A 17-month-old girl underwent FDG PET/CT to evaluate a right adrenal lesion, which showed abnormal 18F-FDG avidity. In addition, an unexpected lesion with mild 18F-FDG uptake was noted in the right anterior thoracic wall. Pathology demonstrated adrenocortical carcinoma in the right adrenal and rhabdosarcoma in both the left forearm and right anterior thoracic wall. Gene analysis confirmed the diagnosis of Li-Fraumeni syndrome. The present case emphasized FDG PET/CT value of showing simultaneously multiple lesions in Li-Fraumeni syndrome, especially in the early stage without the gene analysis result.
Surgeon Attitudes Toward Concurrent Urogynecologic and Gynecologic Oncology Procedures: A Cross-sectional Survey
Authors: Lai Erica , Goldberg Gary L. , Shalom Dara
Published: May 2022

Importance

There is increasing overlap in the urogynecologic and gynecologic oncologic patient populations. To improve patient advocacy and access to care, a collaborative surgical approach may benefit this cohort.

Objective

The aim of the study was to evaluate surgeon attitudes toward performing concurrent urogynecologic and gynecologic oncology procedures. We hypothesized that most surgeons are amenable to collaboration.

Study Design

We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire of members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the American Urogynecologic Society from August to November 2020. A 23-item online survey was created to assess surgeon demographics, practice and screening patterns, and attitudes toward surgical collaboration. We also evaluated obstacles to performing joint procedures and assessed whether attitudes could be influenced by new information.

Results

A total of 338 surveys were included in the analysis, including 158 urogynecologists and 226 gynecologic oncologists (GOs). Most surgeons (77.8%) will recommend concurrent procedures with another specialty, and 97.8% of urogynecologists and 95.7% of oncologists currently perform joint surgical procedures. Male surgeons, regardless of specialty, were more likely to recommend staged procedures (44% vs 31%, P < 0.001), as were GOs (28% vs 10.1%, P < 0.001). However, oncologists were more likely than urogynecologists to initiate referrals for surgical collaboration (33.3% vs 14.4%, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

A total of 22.2% of urogynecologists and oncologists prefer staging surgical procedures. The most common barrier to a combined procedure was logistics. Urogynecologists were more concerned about the effects of cancer treatments on healing, the use of mesh implants, and financial reimbursements as compared with GOs. Treatment delay was a significantly greater concern for the oncologists.
Adverse weather duringin uterodevelopment is linked to higher rates of later-life herpesvirus reactivation in adult European badgers,Meles meles
Authors: Tsai Ming-shan , Newman Chris , Macdonald David W. , Buesching Christina D.
Published: May 2022

Maternal immune and/or metabolic conditions relating to stress or nutritional status can affectin uterodevelopment among offspring with subsequent implications for later-life responses to infections. We used free-ranging European badgers as a host-pathogen model to investigate how prenatal weather conditions affect later-life herpesvirus genital tract reactivation. We applied a sliding window analysis of weather conditions to 164 samples collected in 2018 from 95 individuals born between 2005–2016. We test if the monthly mean and variation in rainfall and temperature experienced by their mother during the 12 months of delayed implantation and gestation prior to parturition subsequently affected individual herpes reactivation rates among these offspring. We identified four influential prenatal seasonal weather windows that corresponded with previously identified critical climatic conditions affecting badger survival, fecundity and body condition. These all occurred during the pre-implantation rather than the post-implantation period. We conclude that environmental cues during thein uteroperiod of delayed implantation may result in changes that affect an individual's developmental programming against infection or viral reactivation later in life. This illustrates how prenatal adversity caused by environmental factors, such as climate change, can impact wildlife health and population dynamics—an interaction largely overlooked in wildlife management and conservation programmes.
Radial porosity profiles: a new bone histological method for comparative developmental analysis of diametric limb bone growth
Authors: Prondvai Edina , Kocsis Adam T. , Abourachid Anick , Adriaens Dominique , Godefroit Pascal , Hu Dong-Yu , Butler Richard J.
Published: May 2022

In fossil tetrapods, limb bone histology is considered the most reliable tool not only for inferring skeletal maturity—a crucial assessment in palaeobiological and evolutionary studies—but also for evaluating the growth dynamics within the ontogenetic window represented by the primary bone cortex. Due to its complex relationship with bone growth and functional maturation, primary cortical vascularity is an indispensable osteohistological character for reconstructing growth dynamics, especially in the context of various developmental strategies along the precocial–altricial spectrum. Using this concept as our working hypothesis, we developed a new quantitative osteohistological parameter, radial porosity profile (RPP), that captures relative cortical porosity changes in limb bones as trajectories. We built a proof-of-concept RPP dataset on extant birds, then added fossil paravian dinosaurs and performed a set of trajectory-grouping analyses to identify potential RPP categories and evaluate them in the context of our ontogeny—developmental strategy working hypothesis. We found that RPPs, indeed, reflect important developmental features within and across elements, specimens and taxa, supporting their analytical power. Our RPPs also revealed unexpected potential osteohistological correlates of growth and functional development of limb bones. The diverse potential applications of RPPs open up new research directions in the evolution of locomotor ontogeny.
Large-herbivore nemabiomes: patterns of parasite diversity and sharing
Authors: Titcomb Georgia C. , Pansu Johan , Hutchinson Matthew C. , Tombak Kaia J. , Hansen Christina B. , Baker Christopher C. M. , Kartzinel Tyler R. , Young Hillary S. , Pringle Robert M.
Published: May 2022

Amidst global shifts in the distribution and abundance of wildlife and livestock, we have only a rudimentary understanding of ungulate parasite communities and parasite-sharing patterns. We used qPCR and DNA metabarcoding of fecal samples to characterize gastrointestinal nematode (Strongylida) community composition and sharing among 17 sympatric species of wild and domestic large mammalian herbivore in central Kenya. We tested a suite of hypothesis-driven predictions about the role of host traits and phylogenetic relatedness in describing parasite infections. Host species identity explained 27–53% of individual variation in parasite prevalence, richness, community composition and phylogenetic diversity. Host and parasite phylogenies were congruent, host gut morphology predicted parasite community composition and prevalence, and hosts with low evolutionary distinctiveness were centrally positioned in the parasite-sharing network. We found no evidence that host body size, social-group size or feeding height were correlated with parasite composition. Our results highlight the interwoven evolutionary and ecological histories of large herbivores and their gastrointestinal nematodes and suggest that host identity, phylogeny and gut architecture—a phylogenetically conserved trait related to parasite habitat—are the overriding influences on parasite communities. These findings have implications for wildlife management and conservation as wild herbivores are increasingly replaced by livestock.
A sterol-mediated gleaner–opportunist trade-off underlies the evolution of grazer resistance to cyanobacteria
Authors: Isanta-Navarro Jana , Klauschies Toni , Wacker Alexander , Martin-Creuzburg Dominik
Published: May 2022

The human-caused proliferation of cyanobacteria severely impacts consumers in freshwater ecosystems. Toxicity is often singled out as the sole trait to which consumers can adapt, even though cyanobacteria are not necessarily toxic and the lack of nutritionally critical sterols in cyanobacteria is known to impair consumers. We studied the relative significance of toxicity and dietary sterol deficiency in driving the evolution of grazer resistance to cyanobacteria in a large lake with a well-documented history of eutrophication and oligotrophication. Resurrecting decades-old
Daphnia
genotypes from the sediment allowed us to show that the evolution and subsequent loss of grazer resistance to cyanobacteria involved an adaptation to changes in both toxicity and dietary sterol availability. The adaptation of
Daphnia
to changes in cyanobacteria abundance revealed a sterol-mediated gleaner–opportunist trade-off. Genotypes from peak-eutrophic periods showed a higher affinity for dietary sterols at the cost of a lower maximum growth rate, whereas genotypes from more oligotrophic periods showed a lower affinity for dietary sterols in favour of a higher maximum growth rate. Our data corroborate the significance of sterols as limiting nutrients in aquatic food webs and highlight the applicability of the gleaner–opportunist trade-off for reconstructing eco-evolutionary processes.
Seabird diversity and biomass enhance cross-ecosystem nutrient subsidies
Authors: Benkwitt Cassandra E. , Carr Peter , Wilson Shaun K. , Graham Nicholas A. J.
Published: May 2022

Mobile consumers are key vectors of cross-ecosystem nutrients, yet have experienced population declines which threaten their ability to fill this role. Despite their importance and vulnerability, there is little information on how consumer biodiversity, in addition to biomass, influences the magnitude of nutrient subsidies. Here, we show that both biomass and diversity of seabirds enhanced the provisioning of nutrients across tropical islands and coral reefs, but their relative influence varied across systems. Seabird biomass was particularly important for terrestrial and near-shore subsidies and enhancing fish biomass, while seabird diversity was associated with nutrient subsidies further offshore. The positive effects of diversity were likely driven by high functional complementarity among seabird species in traits related to nutrient storage and provisioning. However, introduced rats and non-native vegetation reduced seabird biomass and diversity, with rats having a stronger effect on biomass and vegetation having a stronger effect on diversity. Accordingly, the restoration of cross-ecosystem nutrient flows provided by seabirds will likely be most successful when both stressors are removed, thus protecting both high biomass and diversity. Recognizing the importance of mobile consumer diversity and biomass, and their underlying drivers, is a necessary step to conserving these species and the ecosystem functions they provide.
Increasing temporal variance leads to stable species range limits
Authors: Benning John W. , Hufbauer Ruth A. , Weiss-Lehman Christopher
Published: May 2022

What prevents populations of a species from adapting to the novel environments outside the species' geographic distribution? Previous models highlighted how gene flow across spatial environmental gradients determines species expansion versus extinction and the location of species range limits. However, space is only one of two axes of environmental variation—environments also vary in time, and we know temporal environmental variation has important consequences for population demography and evolution. We used analytical and individual-based evolutionary models to explore how temporal variation in environmental conditions influences the spread of populations across a spatial environmental gradient. We find that temporal variation greatly alters our predictions for range dynamics compared to temporally static environments. When temporal variance is equal across the landscape, the fate of species (expansion versus extinction) is determined by the interaction between the degree of temporal autocorrelation in environmental fluctuations and the steepness of the spatial environmental gradient. When the magnitude of temporal variance changes across the landscape, stable range limits form where this variance increases maladaptation sufficiently to prevent local persistence. These results illustrate the pivotal influence of temporal variation on the likelihood of populations colonizing novel habitats and the location of species range limits.
Oscillators and servomechanisms in orientation and navigation, and sometimes in cognition
Authors: Cheng Ken
Published: May 2022

Navigational mechanisms have been characterized as servomechanisms. A navigational servomechanism specifies a goal state to strive for. Discrepancies between the perceived current state and the goal state specify error. Servomechanisms adjust the course of travel to reduce the error. I now add that navigational servomechanisms work with oscillators, periodic movements of effectors that drive locomotion. I illustrate this concept selectively over a vast range of scales of travel from micrometres in bacteria to thousands of kilometres in sea turtles. The servomechanisms differ in sophistication, with some interrupting forward motion occasionally or changing travel speed in kineses and others adjusting the direction of travel in taxes. I suggest that in other realms of life as well, especially in cognition, servomechanisms work with oscillators.
Heterochrony and parallel evolution of echinoderm, hemichordate and cephalochordate internal bars
Authors: Álvarez-Armada Nidia , Cameron Christopher B. , Bauer Jennifer E. , Rahman Imran A.
Published: May 2022

Deuterostomes comprise three phyla with radically different body plans. Phylogenetic bracketing of the living deuterostome clades suggests the latest common ancestor of echinoderms, hemichordates and chordates was a bilaterally symmetrical worm with pharyngeal openings, with these characters lost in echinoderms. Early fossil echinoderms with pharyngeal openings have been described, but their interpretation is highly controversial. Here, we critically evaluate the evidence for pharyngeal structures (gill bars) in the extinct stylophoran echinoderms
Lagynocystis pyramidalis
and
Jaekelocarpus oklahomensis
using virtual models based on high-resolution X-ray tomography scans of three-dimensionally preserved fossil specimens. Multivariate analyses of the size, spacing and arrangement of the internal bars in these fossils indicate they are substantially more similar to gill bars in modern enteropneust hemichordates and cephalochordates than to other internal bar-like structures in fossil blastozoan echinoderms. The close similarity between the internal bars of the stylophorans
L. pyramidalis
and
J. oklahomensis
and the gill bars of extant chordates and hemichordates is strong evidence for their homology. Differences between these internal bars and bar-like elements of the respiratory systems in blastozoans suggest these structures might have arisen through parallel evolution across deuterostomes, perhaps underpinned by a common developmental genetic mechanism.
Genetic assimilation and the evolution of direction of genital asymmetry in anablepid fishes
Authors: Torres-Dowdall Julián , Rometsch Sina J. , Velasco Jacobo Reyes , Aguilera Gastón , Kautt Andreas F. , Goyenola Guillermo , Petry Ana C. , Deprá Gabriel C. , da Graça Weferson J. , Meyer Axel
Published: May 2022

Phylogenetic comparative studies suggest that the direction of deviation from bilateral symmetry (sidedness) might evolve through genetic assimilation; however, the changes in sidedness inheritance remain largely unknown. We investigated the evolution of genital asymmetry in fish of the family Anablepidae, in which males' intromittent organ (the gonopodium, a modified anal fin) bends asymmetrically to the left or the right. In most species, males show a 1 : 1 ratio of left-to-right-sided gonopodia. However, we found that in three species left-sided males are significantly more abundant than right-sided ones. We mapped sidedness onto a new molecular phylogeny, finding that this left-sided bias likely evolved independently three times. Our breeding experiment in a species with an excess of left-sided males showed that sires produced more left-sided offspring independently of their own sidedness. We propose that sidedness might be inherited as a threshold trait, with different thresholds across species. This resolves the apparent paradox that, while there is evidence for the evolution of sidedness, commonly there is a lack of support for its heritability and no response to artificial selection. Focusing on the heritability of the left : right ratio of offspring, rather than on individual sidedness, is key for understanding how the direction of asymmetry becomes genetically assimilated.
Interactions among multiple stressors vary with exposure duration and biological response
Authors: King Olivia C. , van de Merwe Jason P. , Campbell Max D. , Smith Rachael A. , Warne Michael St. J , Brown Christopher J.
Published: May 2022

Coastal ecosystems are exposed to multiple anthropogenic stressors. Effective management actions would be better informed from generalized predictions of the individual, combined and interactive effects of multiple stressors; however, few generalities are shared across different meta-analyses. Using an experimental study, we present an approach for analysing regression-based designs with generalized additive models that allowed us to capture nonlinear effects of exposure duration and stressor intensity and access interactions among stressors. We tested the approach on a globally distributed marine diatom, using 72 h photosynthesis and growth assays to quantify the individual and combined effects of three common water quality stressors; photosystem II-inhibiting herbicide exposure, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) enrichment and reduced light (due to excess suspended sediment). Exposure to DIN and reduced light generally resulted in additivity, while exposure to diuron and reduced light resulted in additive, antagonistic or synergistic interactions, depending on the stressor intensity, exposure period and biological response. We thus find the context of experimental studies to be a primary driver of interactions. The experimental and modelling approaches used here bridge the gap between two-way designs and regression-based studies, which provides a way forward to identify generalities in multiple stressor interactions.
Hydrogenophilus thiooxidans sp. nov., a moderately thermophilic chemotrophic bacterium unable to grow on hydrogen gas, isolated from hot spring microbial mats
Authors: Kawai Shigeru , Ishikawa Mikako , Hanada Satoshi , Haruta Shin
Published: May 2022

A novel thermophilic chemotrophic bacterium, strain SS56T, was isolated from Nakabusa Hot Spring, Japan. The isolate was a rod-shaped (1.5–2.1×0.6–0.8 µm), Gram-stain-negative bacterium. The cells of this strain grew chemoheterotrophically under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Autotrophic growth was observed with thiosulphate and elemental sulphur under aerobic conditions but not with H2 as the electron donor. Heterotrophic growth in the presence of O2 occurred on yeast extract, tryptone, polypeptone and organic acids. Strain SS56T used nitrite as an alternative electron acceptor under anaerobic chemoheterotrophic conditions. The isolate grew between 35 and 65 °C, with the optimum at 55 °C. The pH range for growth was pH 6.0–9.0; optimal growth occurred at pH 7.0–8.0. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain SS56T was 98.9% identical to that of

Hydrogenophilus thermoluteolus

TH-1T. The draft genome sequence of 2401804 bp for strain SS56T gave values of 53.7% for digital DNA–DNA hybridization, 92.9% for average nucleotide identity and 93.6% for average amino acid identity compared with the genome sequence of 2223143 bp for

H. thermoluteolus

TH-1T. Based on the information described above, strain SS56T (=DSM 111892T=JCM 34254T) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species, Hydrogenophilus thiooxidans sp. nov.
Analysis of the operation principle for tubular flux-switching permanent magnet linear machine
Authors: Zhang Guozhen , Nie Rui , Si Jikai , Feng Xiaohui , Wang Changli
Published: May 2022

Purpose

This study aims to unveil the generation mechanism of the thrust force in a tubular flux-switching permanent magnet (PM) linear (TFSPML) machine; the operation principle of the TFSPML machine is analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the air-gap flux density harmonic characteristics excited by PMs and armature windings are investigated and summarized based on a simple magnetomotive force (MMF)-permeance model. Then, the air-gap field modulation theory is applied in analyzing the air-gap flux density harmonics that contribute to the electromagnetic force. In addition, a simple method for separating the end force of the TFSPML machine is proposed, which is a significant foundation for the comprehensive analysis of this type of machine. As a result, the operation principle of the TFSPML machine is thoroughly revealed.

Findings

The analysis shows that the average electromagnetic force is mainly contributed by the air-gap dominant harmonics, and the thrust force ripple is mainly caused by the end force.

Originality/value

In this paper, the operation principle of the TFSPML machine is analyzed from the perspective of air-gap field modulation.
Ten years on: a post-occupancy evaluation of classrooms for pupils with severe autism
Authors: Irish Julie E.N.
Published: May 2022

Purpose

There is currently a lack of research describing the best way to design learning environments for increasing numbers of children with autism. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of classroom design on the learning and behaviour of pupils with severe autism. The research variables of interest were classroom layout; furniture, fittings and equipment (FFE); materials; colour scheme; wayfinding; lighting; acoustics; and security.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a post-occupancy evaluation of classrooms for pupils with severe autism aged 3–19 in a school ten years after its completion. Data collection included a visual assessment of the building and an online survey to educators and administrators asking how satisfied they were that the research variables benefited pupils with severe autism.

Findings

Key findings were that zoned areas for different activities met students’ needs. Withdrawal rooms off the classroom, access to shared hygiene facilities and a secure outdoor area received high ratings. The main criticisms were the lack of robustness of FFE and the inability to control temperature. Results were collated into a table of recommendations for classroom design for severely autistic pupils.

Originality/value

The findings demonstrate classroom features that support the needs of pupils with severe autism, an area with limited prior research. Some findings support previous research and some adds new knowledge to our understanding of design for this population. The results provide empirical evidence for professionals involved in designing classrooms for pupils with severe autism.
Physicians' experiences of challenges in working conditions related to the provision of care during the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden
Authors: Nilsson Karin , Landstad Bodil J. , Ekberg Kerstin , Nyberg Anna , Sjöström Malin , Hagqvist Emma
Published: May 2022

Purpose

This aim of this study was to explore how hospital-based physicians in Sweden experienced the challenges in working conditions related to the provision of care during the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when hospitals transitioned to pandemic care.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has a qualitative design. Twenty-five hospital-based physicians were interviewed about their experiences from working in a hospital while healthcare organisations initially responded to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the empirical material.

Findings

The analysis resulted in four themes: involuntary self-management, a self-restrictive bureaucracy, passive occupational safety and health (OSH) management, and information overload. These themes reflect how the physicians perceived their work situation during the pandemic and how they tried to maintain quality care for their patients.

Practical implications

The study gives valuable insights for formulating preparedness in regard to crisis management plans that can secure the provision of care for future emergencies in the healthcare services.

Originality/value

This paper shows that a crisis management plans in the healthcare services should include decision structures and management, measures of risk assessment and OSH management, and the maintenance of personnel wellbeing. A prepared healthcare management can preserve quality care delivery while under crisis.
Digital marketplace for tourism resilience in the pandemic age: voices from budget hotel customers
Authors: Huda Miftachul
Published: May 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the initiative of low-price hotels, budget hotels, in Malaysia, to restore the financial sustainability through empowering the digital marketplace strategy in the tourism resilience sector. Giving an open accessibility to customers for achieving their venue with a low price and have a friendly service comes from initiating the digital marketplace arrangement.

Design/methodology/approach

This study focuses on what is the importance of the digital marketplace strategy for tourism resilience in the pandemic age and how is it important. The data come from qualitative interview from one couple, husband and wife, regarding the budget hotel operation practice in the city of Sri Iskandar, the Perak state of Malaysia.

Findings

The findings revealed the importance of initiating the strategy of digital marketplace in enabling the customers’ personalised decision towards the tourism destination they prefer based on their needs of low-cost and proper service. There are three main points, namely the importance of digital marketplace for tourism market enhancement, readiness of digital marketplace for tourism market enhancement and continued capacity to strategize digital marketplace for tourism market enhancement. The initiative to commit with applying for the resilience for tourism sustainability in the pandemic age is important to ensure they can take a small advantage continually with the frequent customers’ sustainability.

Originality/value

This paper is supposed to contribute in developing the resilience practice through advancing the strategy of digital marketplace in raising the tourism sector, budget hotel operators. The main occupation aims to empower resilience for tourism sustainability in the pandemic age, in order to recover the market in online platform.
Covid-related educational policies in action: a system dynamics view
Authors: Costanza Francesca
Published: May 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to adopt a learning-based approach to portray the impact of Covid-19 on state school services in Italy, with a specific focus on the role of street-level bureaucrats and the triggering of co-creative processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The study proposes a qualitative system dynamics (or SD) approach describing the implementation of Covid-related educational policies in Italy. An insight model, made of causal loop diagrams, integrates the selected multi-disciplinary literature and institutional sources, secondary data from national and local reports (about Palermo, the fifth largest metropolitan city in Italy) and insights from a panel of school street–level bureaucrats.

Findings

The study provides an insight into the impacts of governmental decisions (school closures and the subsequent need to activate distance learning during the first wave of Covid-19) at a local level. Specifically, it portrays the influences of managerial and professional discretion, infrastructural equipment and socio-economic factors favouring/deterring co-creative educational processes.

Practical implications

The SD model highlights vicious/virtuous circles in policy implementation and suggests new managerial paths for education, more routed towards public value creation and less attached to bureaucratic procedures and the unquestioning application of performance culture.

Originality/value

The paper proposes an original and holistic approach to dealing with policy making in education and its managerial features. The research findings are considered important, not only to face the current emergency, but also to pro-actively think about the post-Covid era.
The super engagers of freemium gamified services: using multimethod approach to examine why highly interactive consumers become paying consumers
Authors: Gupta Keshav , Su Yiran , Kunkel Thilo , Funk Daniel
Published: May 2022

Purpose

Online services are increasingly utilizing gamification techniques to encourage consumer loyalty and engagement. However, the majority of the gamified services fail to be financially sustainable. Existing freemium and gamified services literature provides scant knowledge on behavioral predictors of in-app purchases in freemium gamified services. The research examines highly interactive consumers' in-app behaviors using competition-based motivational affordances, daily usage behavior and social competition motivation that convert them into super engagers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors applied a multimethod approach by using Multivariate Logistic Regression (n = 685) to analyze in-app behavioral data and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (n = 94) to examine survey and in-app behavioral data of highly interactive consumers of a freemium gamified service to explain paying behaviors.

Findings

Results reveal highly interactive consumers that elicit heavy daily usage of the application or excel at in-app challenges are less likely to convert to super engagers. Among super engagers, some are socially competitive, and their inability to advance in the leaderboard corresponds to in-app purchases, while non-socially competitive consumers make purchases to collect extrinsic rewards. Additionally, highly interactive consumers who possess more knowledge about the gamified service become super engagers to increase their chances to be socially competitive.

Originality/value

This research examines in-app behaviors of highly interactive consumers of a freemium gamified service that lead to in-app purchases following varying levels of daily usage behavior and social competition motivation. The authors contribute to the previous literature by defining and examining a new consumer segment – super engagers – that is financially beneficial for freemium services because of their in-app purchases. The authors provide insight on in-app behaviors that convert highly interactive consumers to super engagers and demonstrate that the reason for highly interactive consumers to make in-app purchases is a function of acquiring specific internal and external rewards based on their level of social competition.