bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Covid-19 and post-acute sick leave: a hybrid register and questionnaire study in the adult Danish population
Authors: O’Regan Elisabeth , Svalgaard Ingrid Bech , Sørensen Anna Irene Vedel , Spiliopoulos Lampros , Bager Peter , Nielsen Nete Munk , Hansen Jørgen Vinsløv , Koch Anders , Ethelberg Steen , Hviid Anders
Published: April 2023

Long covid follows 10-20% of first-time SARS-CoV-2 infections, but the societal burden of long covid and risk factors for the condition are not well-understood. Here, we report findings about self-reported sick leave and risk factors thereof from a hybrid survey and register study, which included 37,482 RT- PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases and 51,336 test-negative controls who were tested during the index and alpha waves. An additional 33 individuals per 1000 took substantial sick leave following acute infection compared to persons with no known history of infection, where substantial sick leave was defined as >1 month of sick leave within the period 1-9 months after the RT-PCR test date. Being female, ≥50 years, and having certain pre-existing conditions such as fibromyalgia increased risks for taking substantial sick leave. Further research exploring this heterogeneity is urgently needed and may provide important evidence for more targeted preventative strategies.
Polycrisis: Prompts for an emerging worldview
Authors: Henig David , Knight Daniel M.
Published: April 2023

Taking the realms of business, finance and economic history by storm, polycrisis captures the complexity of an increasingly uncertain world in a state of flux and transition. Proponents of the polycrisis model, such as prominent economic historian and Financial Times contributing editor Adam Tooze, propose polycrisis as a marker of our age, capturing overlapping and interconnected crises beyond cause and effect. In his article, the authors offer some prompts for considering the usefulness and limitations of polycrisis for the anthropological toolkit. The authors cautiously welcome the polycrisis trope as a multidimensional means to account for the consequences of interrelated crises in an unprecedented era.
Crisis, urgency and the problem of discernment
Authors: Bandak Andreas
Published: April 2023

Crises proliferate. Not just as labels but as the actual state of affairs, of impasse, ruination and breakdown. As an anthropologist working on Syria with extensive fieldwork inside the country before the uprising of 2011, and later with ongoing fieldwork in Lebanon, Jordan and with exiled Syrians in Europe, I find it safe to say that crisis is polyvalent. Crisis is slow and urgent as it moves with Syrians in time and across locations. This piece argues that we need urgent engagement with slow forms of crisis and slow engagement with calls to urgency. This calls for an exercise in discernment, which takes urgency and claims it as a diagnostic for ethnographic exploration.
Novel sperm chromatin dispersion test with artificial intelligence‐aided halo evaluation: A comparison study with existing modalities
Authors: Kuroda Shinnosuke , Karna Keshab Kumar , Kaiyal Raneen Sawaid , Cannarella Rossella , Lundy Scott D. , Vij Sarah C. , Agarwal Ashok
Published: April 2023

Background

Sperm chromatin dispersion test is a common and inexpensive technique to assess sperm DNA fragmentation, but its subjectivity in assessing a small number of spermatozoa is a disadvantage.

Objectives

To study the efficacy of a new sperm chromatin dispersion test kit (R10) combined with an artificial intelligence‐aided halo‐evaluation platform (X12) and compare the results to those of existing sperm DNA fragmentation testing methods.

Materials and methods

Semen samples from normozoospermic donors (n = 10) and infertile men with abnormal semen parameters (n = 10) were enrolled. DNA fragmentation indices were examined by multiple assays, including R10, Halosperm G2 (G2), sperm chromatin structure assay, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick end labeling. In R10 assay, the DNA fragmentation indices were obtained both manually (manual R10) and by X12 (AI‐R10). The obtained DNA fragmentation indices were analyzed by agreement analyses.

Results

The DNA fragmentation indices obtained by manual R10 and those obtained by AI‐R10 showed a strong significant correlation (r = 0.97, p < 0.001) and agreement. The number of spermatozoa evaluated by AI‐R10 was 2078 (680–5831). The DNA fragmentation indices obtained by manual R10 and AI‐R10 both correlated with those of G2 (r = 0.90, p < 0.001; r = 0.88, p < 0.001). Between the AI‐R10 and G2 results, Passing–Bablok regression showed no systematic or proportional difference, and Bland–Altman plots revealed overall agreement and a mean bias of 6.3% with an SD of 6.9% (95% limit of agreement: −7.2% to 19.9%). AI‐R10 and sperm chromatin structure assays showed systematic differences with a mean bias of −1.9%, while AI‐R10 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick end labeling revealed proportional differences with a mean bias of −10.7%.

Conclusions

The novel sperm chromatin dispersion kit and artificial intelligence‐aided platform demonstrated significant correlation and agreement with existing sperm chromatin dispersion methods by assessing greater number of spermatozoa. This technique has the potential to provide a rapid and accurate assessment of sperm DNA fragmentation without technical expertise or flow cytometry.
Atrial fibrillation ablation in a single atrium with inferior vena cava interruption
Authors: Bun Sok‐Sithikun , Squara Fabien , Scarlatti Didier , Moceri Pamela , Ferrari Emile
Published: April 2023

Common atrium (CA), also called three‐chambered heart, is one of the rare congenital anomalies, defined by a complete absence of the atrial septum, eventually associated with malformation of the atrioventricular (AV) valves. We report the case of a 57‐year‐old woman with CA complicated with Eisenmenger syndrome and inferior vena cava interruption, who suffered from symptomatic persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). She underwent an initial successful pulmonary vein isolation procedure. A repeat procedure for perivalvular atrial flutter was complicated with inadvertent complete AV block, due to unusual AV node location in this challenging anatomy.
Association of Toll‐like receptor 2 rs111200466 polymorphism with low serum levels of IL‐33 in early childhood
Authors: Teräsjärvi Johanna T. , Toivonen Laura , Mertsola Jussi , Peltola Ville , He Qiushui
Published: April 2023

TLR2 is one of 10 human TLRs, which plays an important role in the recognition of pathogens and activation of the innate immunity via NF‐κB pathway. NF‐κB activation induces the expression of various pro‐inflammatory genes. This study examines the effect of TLR2 polymorphisms on the production of blood pro‐inflammatory cytokines in healthy Finnish children. One hundred forty‐six children who participated in a prospective observational birth cohort study in Turku, Finland, were included. DNA samples were analysed by PCR‐based sequencing for two common TLR2 polymorphisms (rs5743708 Arg753Gln; rs111200466–196 to –174del). Serum concentrations of IL‐33, IL‐31, IL‐17A and IL‐17F were measured by multiplex immunoassay and sST2 by ELISA in children at the age of 13 months. Children with variant type of TLR2 rs111200466 (ins/del or del/del) had significantly lower level of serum IL‐33 (median, 0.00 pg/mL; IQR 0.00–17.60) than those with ins/ins type of TLR2 (19.81 pg/mL; IQR 0.00–51.78) (p = 0.0001). Almost all study subjects had serum concentrations of IL‐17A, IL‐17F and IL‐31 below the detection limit and therefore not included in the final analyses. No differences in levels of above four cytokines and sST2 were found between TLR2 rs5743708 genotypes (GG and GA). Our results indicated that the TLR2 rs111200466 deletion was associated with a low level of serum IL‐33, suggesting that the polymorphism may impair the production of IL‐33.
Risk of colorectal neoplasia according to histologic disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and colonic post‐inflammatory polyps
Authors: Wolf Thomas , Lewis Ayanna , Beaugerie Laurent , Svrcek Magali , Kirchgesner Julien ,   for the Saint‐Antoine IBD Network
Published: April 2023

Background and Aims

While post‐inflammatory polyps (PIPs) have historically been a risk factor for colorectal neoplasia (CRN), histologic activity may explain this association. We aimed to assess the impact of histologic activity on CRN occurrence in IBD patients with colonic PIPs.

Methods

Patients with PIPs on surveillance colonoscopy at Saint‐Antoine hospital between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 2020 were included and subsequent colonoscopies were assessed. Histologic IBD activity was assessed by the Nancy histologic index. Survival and Cox regression analysis were performed to assess the strength of the association of PIPs and other patient variables with progression to CRN.

Results

A total of 173 patients with at least two surveillance colonoscopies with PIPs at index colonoscopy were compared to a similar group of 252 patients without PIPs. In survival analysis, the presence or PIPs at index colonoscopy did not impact the risk of CRN in patients with histological inflammation (p = 0.83) and in patients without histological inflammation (p = 0.98). The risk of CRN was associated with increasing Nancy index score of 3 or 4 (HR: 4.16; 95% CI 1.50–11.52 and HR: 3.44; 95% CI 1.63–7.24), age (HR per 10‐year increase: 1.37; 95% CI 1.13–1.66) and first‐degree family history of colorectal cancer (HR: 5.87; v 1.31–26.26), but not PIPs (HR: 1.17; 95% CI 0.63–2.17).

Conclusions

After controlling for histologic activity, PIPs do not increase the risk of CRN in IBD patients. Histologic activity rather than PIPs should be considered in the risk assessment of CRN.
B cells and antibodies in refractory immune thrombocytopenia
Authors: Roeser Anaïs , Lazarus Alan H. , Mahévas Matthieu
Published: April 2023

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an acquired bleeding disorder mediated by pathogenic autoantibodies secreted by plasma cells (PCs) in many patients. In refractory ITP patients, the persistence of splenic and bone marrow autoreactive long‐lived PCs (LLPCs) may explain primary failure of rituximab and splenectomy respectively. The reactivation of autoreactive memory B cells generating new autoreactive PCs contributes to relapses after initial response to rituximab. Emerging strategies targeting B cells and PCs aim to prevent the settlement of splenic LLPCs with the combination of anti‐BAFF and rituximab, to deplete autoreactive PCs with anti‐CD38 antibodies, and to induce deeper B‐cell depletion in tissues with novel anti‐CD20 monoclonal antibodies and anti‐CD19 therapies. Alternative strategies, focused on controlling autoantibody mediated effects, have also been developed, including SYK and BTK inhibitors, complement inhibitors, FcRn blockers and inhibitors of platelet desialylation.
Variant RHD alleles and Rh immunization in patients with sickle cell disease
Authors: Takasaki Kaoru , Friedman David F. , Uter Stacey , Vege Sunitha , Westhoff Connie M. , Chou Stella T.
Published: April 2023

RH diversity among patients and donors contributes to Rh immunization despite serologic Rh‐matched red cell transfusions. Anti‐D can occur in D+ patients with RHD variants that encode partial D antigens. Anti‐D has also been reported in patients with conventional RHD transfused primarily with units from Black donors who frequently have variant RHD. We report 48 anti‐D in 690 D+ transfused individuals with sickle cell disease, categorized here as expressing conventional D, partial D or D antigen encoded by RHD*DAU0. Anti‐D formed in a greater proportion of individuals with partial D, occurred after fewer D+ unit exposures, and remained detectable for longer than for those in the other categories. Among all anti‐D, 13 had clinical or laboratory evidence of poor transfused red cell survival. Most individuals with anti‐D were chronically transfused, including 32 with conventional RHD who required an average of 62 D− units/year following anti‐D. Our findings suggest that patients with partial D may benefit from prophylactic D− or RH genotype‐matched transfusions to prevent anti‐D. Future studies should investigate whether RH genotype‐matched transfusions can improve use of valuable donations from Black donors, reduce D immunization and minimize transfusion of D− units to D+ individuals with conventional RHD or DAU0 alleles.
Distinct mechanisms of dysfunctional antigen‐presenting DCs and monocytes by single‐cell sequencing in multiple myeloma
Authors: Jiang Jinxing , Xiang Jing , Chen Mengping , Wan Yike , Zhong Lu , Han Xiaofeng , Chen Xiaotong , Wang Junying , Xiao Fei , Liu Jia , Li Hua , Huang Honghui , Hou Jian
Published: April 2023

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable plasma cell malignancy with the hallmark of immunodeficiency, including dysfunction of T cells, NK cells, and APCs. Dysfunctional APCs have been reported to play a key role in promoting MM progression. However, the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, single‐cell transcriptome analysis of dendritic cells (DC) and monocytes from 10 MM patients and three healthy volunteers was performed. Both DCs and monocytes were divided into five distinct clusters, respectively. Among them, monocyte‐derived DCs (mono‐DC) were shown to develop from intermediate monocytes (IM) via trajectory analysis. Functional analysis showed that, compared with healthy controls, conventional DC2 (cDC2), mono‐DC, and IM of MM patients exhibited impaired antigen processing and presentation capacity. Moreover, reduced regulon activity of interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) was found in cDC2, mono‐DC and IM of MM patients according to single‐cell regulatory network inference and clustering (SCENIC) analysis, while the downstream mechanisms were distinct. Specifically in MM patients, cathepsin S (CTSS) was markedly downregulated in cDC2, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II transactivator (CIITA) was significantly decreased in IM, in addition both CTSS and CIITA were downregulated in mono‐DC based on differentially expressed genes analysis. In vitro study validated that knockdown of Irf1 downregulated Ctss and Ciita respectively in mouse DC cell line DC2.4 and mouse monocyte/macrophage cell line RAW264.7, which ultimately inhibited proliferation of CD4+ T cells after being cocultured with DC2.4 or RAW264.7 cells. This current study unveils the distinct mechanisms of cDC2, IM, and mono‐DC function impairment in MM, offering new insight into the pathogenesis of immunodeficiency.
Evidence‐based rationale for low dose nivolumab in critically ill patients with sepsis‐induced immunosuppression
Authors: van den Haak Demy A. C. , Otten Leila‐Sophie , Koenen Hans J. P. M. , Smeets Ruben L. , Piet Berber , Pickkers Peter , Kox Matthijs , ter Heine Rob
Published: April 2023

A substantial part of critically ill patients suffer from sepsis‐induced immunosuppression. Reversal of immunosuppression through PD‐1 checkpoint inhibition has been proposed as a treatment strategy to overcome immunosuppression in these patients. The PD‐1 inhibitor nivolumab, currently used in treatment of cancer, has been evaluated in phase I/II studies in patients with sepsis, demonstrating tolerability and signs of clinical efficacy. No proper dose finding was performed in these studies and, after a single high dose of 480 mg or 960 mg nivolumab, PD‐1 inhibition persisted beyond 90 days in the majority of cases. As the duration of sepsis is ~7–10 days, prolonged PD‐1 inhibition may unnecessarily induce longer‐term immune‐related side effects. Based on previously published pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data of nivolumab, a thorough in silico dose finding study for nivolumab in critically ill patients was performed. We found that volume of distribution and clearance of nivolumab were not higher in patients with sepsis compared to the cancer population for which nivolumab is currently approved and showed profound variability. We found that with a single dose of 20 mg nivolumab, the PD‐1 receptor occupancy is predicted to stay above the 90% threshold for a median of 23 days (90% prediction interval of 7–78 days). We propose to investigate this dose in critically ill patients as a potential safe and cost‐effective pharmacotherapeutic intervention to treat sepsis‐induced immunosuppression.
Implications of past and present genetic connectivity for management of the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
Authors: Lloyd‐Jones Luke R. , Brien Matthew L. , Feutry Pierre , Lawrence Emma , Beri Paul , Booth Simon , Coulson Steven , Baylis Shane M. , Villiers Kira , Taplin Laurence E. , Westcott David A.
Published: April 2023

Effective management of protected species requires information on appropriate evolutionary and geographic population boundaries and knowledge of how the physical environment and life‐history traits combine to shape the population structure and connectivity. Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) are the largest and most widely distributed of living crocodilians, extending from Sri Lanka to Southeast Asia and down to northern Australia. Given the long‐distance movement capabilities reported for C. porosus, management units are hypothesised to be highly connected by migration. However, the magnitude, scale, and consistency of connection across managed populations are not fully understood. Here we used an efficient genotyping method that combines DArTseq and sequence capture to survey 3000 high‐quality genome‐wide single nucleotide polymorphisms from 1176 C. porosus sampled across nearly the entire range of the species in Queensland, Australia. We investigated historical and present‐day connectivity patterns using fixation and diversity indices coupled with clustering methods and the spatial distribution of kin pairs. We inferred kinship using forward simulation coupled with a kinship estimation method that is robust to unspecified population structure. The results demonstrated that the C. porosus population has substantial genetic structure with six broad populations correlated with geographical location. The rate of gene flow was highly correlated with spatial distance, with greater differentiation along the east coast compared to the west. Kinship analyses revealed evidence of reproductive philopatry and limited dispersal, with approximately 90% of reported first and second‐degree relatives showing a pairwise distance of <50 km between sampling locations. Given the limited dispersal, lack of suitable habitat, low densities of crocodiles and the high proportion of immature animals in the population, future management and conservation interventions should be considered at regional and state‐wide scales.
Using mobile smartphones and bioacoustics to monitor endangered bird species
Authors: Vu Thinh Tien , Nguyen Thanh Chi , Doherty Paul F. , Nguyen Hoa Thi , Clink Dena Jane , Nguyen Manh Dac , Dong Hai Thanh , Giang Toan Trong
Published: April 2023

Monitoring the status of endangered wildlife is a critical foundation for biodiversity conservation efforts. The use of autonomous acoustic recorders to monitor wildlife has become increasingly popular in terrestrial tropical systems. However, these recorders are expensive and not available for purchase and repair in all countries. The development of easy‐to‐use and low‐cost devices is therefore needed for applications worldwide. In this study, we modified and installed smartphone devices to operate and record sounds produced by the Vietnamese Crested Argus Rheinardia ocellata in Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve, Vietnam, in 2021. We used the software package RAVEN to create spectrograms and to identify Crested Argus calls from acoustic recordings and used the program MARK to estimate occupancy and detection probabilities. We recorded calls of Crested Argus at 16 of 40 locations and most calls were recorded in the northern and eastern parts of the nature reserve. Our model‐averaged estimates of detection probabilities indicated that detection in the morning or afternoon was c. 0.50 and constant over seven sampling days. Our overall average occurrence probability of Crested Argus was 0.43 (standard error = ±0.08), but we found occupancy to be positively correlated with distance to the nearest village, indicating that poaching may negatively affect this species. Based on these data we suggest that the Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve and possibly two adjacent nature reserves, namely An Toan Nature Reserve and Ba To Proposed Nature Reserve, might be important sites for Crested Argus.
Enhancement of physicochemical properties, antioxidant, antitumor, and anticoagulant activities via acetylation of Hypsizygus ulmarius polysaccharide
Authors: Thimmaraju Alamelu , Govindan Sudha , Rajendran Archana , Ramani Prasanna , Pateiro Mirian , Lorenzo José M.
Published: April 2023

A polysaccharide (HUP1) was extracted and purified from Hypsizygus ulmarius fruiting bodies and further acetylated (Ac‐HUP1) to improve their physicochemical properties and bioactivities. Chemical and FT‐IR spectrum analyses results indicated differences in functionality and activity between HUP1 and Ac‐HUP1, demonstrating the efficacy of the acetylation. HUP1 has an acetyl group with a degree of substitution (DS) 0.34. The molecular weight of the modified acetylated derivatives was reduced, according to the HPSEC findings. The native and acetylated polysaccharides included varying molar percentages of Ara, Man, Glu, GlcA, and GalA. The Ac‐HUP1 outperformed HUP1 in antioxidant activity using the radical scavengers ABTS, DMPD, DPPH, superoxide, and OH radicals. In addition, Ac‐HUP1 demonstrated higher activity in reducing power using Prussian blue, cupric ion, ferric ion, and phosphomolybdenum, as well as in lipid peroxidation inhibition assay. HUP1 and Ac‐HUP1 inhibited five cancer cells (HT29, PC3, HeLa, Jurkat, and HepG‐2) at concentrations from 10 to 320 μg mL−1, and the impact was more pronounced in acetylated derivative, which was determined by MTT assay. Ac‐HUP1, compared to HUP1, considerably prolonged the APTT, PT, and TT exhibiting anticoagulant activities. Therefore, acetylation modification may improve polysaccharide'sphysicochemical and biological characteristics, allowing them to be employed in the food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries.
Rapid recognition of processed milk type using electrical impedance spectroscopy and machine learning
Authors: Huang Ziyu , Xiao Yanghao , Xiao Yuhui , Cai Honghao , Ni Hui
Published: April 2023

Unscrupulous merchants would sell cheap, low‐nutrition formula milk powder as pasteurised milk, or use it as a raw material in dairy products, for the purpose of making a profit. Currently, biochemical methods are utilised to identify the type of processed milk, which could involve chemical reagents, sample preparation and costly instruments. This paper investigates the utility of electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in distinguishing different types of processed milk. Ultra‐high temperature sterilised milk, pasteurised milk and formula milk powder were studied. The one‐factor analysis of variance revealed that milk type had a significant influence on electrical properties, whereas sensory analysis, pH and total soluble solids showed poor discrimination of milk type. Recognition models were developed using Support Vector Classification, Partial Least Squares‐Discriminant Analysis (PLS‐DA), Gaussian Naive Bayes and Random Forest (RF). The nested cross‐validation and the external validation set (N = 45) indicated the RF model had the highest predicting accuracy of 97.8%; whereas PLS‐DA had a misclassification rate of 33.3% on positive samples and was, therefore, unsuitable for the authentication. The results demonstrated that the EIS data was featured enough for a small sample modelling (N = 75), and the established method was simple, fast and effective for liquid food classification.
Feminizing care pathways: Mixed‐methods study of reproductive options, decision making, pregnancy, post‐natal care and parenting amongst women with kidney disease
Authors: Mc Laughlin Leah , Jones Caron , Neukirchinger Barbara , Noyes Jane , Stone Judith , Williams Helen , Williams Denitza , Rapado Rose , Phillips Rhiannon , Griffin Sian
Published: April 2023

Aims

To identify the needs, experiences and preferences of women with kidney disease in relation to their reproductive health to inform development of shared decision‐making interventions.

Design

UK‐wide mixed‐methods convergent design (Sep 20–Aug 21).

Methods

Online questionnaire (n = 431) with validated components. Purposively sampled semi‐structured interviews (n = 30). Patient and public input throughout.

Findings

Kidney disease was associated with defeminization, negatively affecting current (sexual) relationships and perceptions of future life goals. There was little evidence that shared decision making was taking place. Unplanned pregnancies were common, sometimes influenced by poor care and support and complicated systems. Reasons for (not) wanting children varied. Complicated pregnancies and miscarriages were common. Women often felt that it was more important to be a “good mother” than to address their health needs, which were often unmet and unrecognized. Impacts of pregnancy on disease and options for alternates to pregnancy were not well understood.

Conclusion

The needs and reproductive priorities of women are frequently overshadowed by their kidney disease. High‐quality shared decision‐making interventions need to be embedded as routine in a feminized care pathway that includes reproductive health. Research is needed in parallel to examine the effectiveness of interventions and address inequalities.

Impact

We do not fully understand the expectations, needs, experiences and preferences of women with kidney disease for planning and starting a family or deciding not to have children.

Women lack the knowledge, resources and opportunities to have high‐quality conversations with their healthcare professionals. Decisions are highly personal and related to a number of health, social and cultural factors; individualized approaches to care are essential.

Healthcare services need to be redesigned to ensure that women are able to make informed choices about pregnancy and alternative routes to becoming a parent.

Patient or Public Contribution

The original proposal for this research came from listening to the experiences of women in clinic who reported unmet needs and detailed experiences of their pregnancies (positive and negative). A patient group was involved in developing the funding application and helped to refine the objectives by sharing their experiences. Two women who are mothers living with kidney disease were co‐opted as core members of the research team. We hosted an interim findings event and invited patients and wider support services (adoption, fertility, surrogacy, education and maternal chronic kidney disease clinics) from across the UK to attend. We followed the UK national standards for patient and public involvement throughout.
Engagement and response to a psychoeducation program for family members of inpatients undergoing treatment for substance use disorder
Authors: Camargo Claudia Cristina de Oliveira , Neto Francisco L. , Tavares Hermano
Published: April 2023

The goal of this study was to evaluate a sample of family members, among whom individuals were undergoing inpatient treatment for substance use disorder and identify predictors of engagement in a family support program. A total of 159 family nuclei were analyzed; 36 (22.6%) completed the program and 123 (77.4%) did not complete the program. Compared to nonparticipants, participants were majorly female (91.9%), younger (43.3 years old, SD = 16.5), unemployed, homemakers, and not financially independent (56.7%). The results showed the predominant participation of wives (29.7%) and offspring (mostly daughters, 27.0%). Participants also reported a higher rate of depressive symptoms (p = 0.003) and worse quality of life, primarily environmental. The frequency of domestic violence was higher among participants than among nonparticipants (27.9% vs. 9.0%, p = 0.005). Engagement in family support programs is the first challenge to overcome. The nonparticipants' profile shows the need to adopt engagement strategies that encompass males and facilitate the participation of breadwinning family members.
Sex‐specific differences in the circadian pattern of action potential firing by rat suprachiasmatic nucleus vasopressin neurons
Authors: Thirouin Zahra S. , Gizowski Claire , Murtaz Anzala , Bourque Charles W.
Published: April 2023

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus serves as the master circadian clock in mammals. Most SCN neurons express the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (gamma amino butyric acid) along with a peptide cotransmitter. Notably, the neuropeptides vasopressin (VP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) define two prominent clusters within the SCN: those located in the ventral core (VIP) and those forming the dorsomedial “shell” of the nucleus (VP). Axons emerging from VP neurons in the shell are thought to mediate much of the SCN's output to other brain regions as well as VP release into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Previous work has shown that VP release by SCN neurons is activity dependent and SCN VP neurons fire action potentials at a higher rate during the light phase. Accordingly, CSF VP levels are higher during daytime. Interestingly, the amplitude of the CSF VP rhythm is greater in males than females, suggesting the existence of sex differences in the electrical activity of SCN VP neurons. Here we investigated this hypothesis by performing cell‐attached recordings from 1070 SCN VP neurons across the entire circadian cycle in both sexes of transgenic rats that express green fluorescent protein (GFP) driven by the VP gene promoter. Using an immunocytochemical approach we confirmed that >60% of SCN VP neurons display visible GFP. Recordings in acute coronal slices revealed that VP neurons display a striking circadian pattern of action potential firing, but the characteristics of this activity cycle differ in males and females. Specifically, neurons in males reached a significantly higher peak firing frequency during subjective daytime compared to females and the acrophase occurred ~1 h earlier in females. Peak firing rates in females were not significantly different at various phases of the estrous cycle.
The vowel space as sociolinguistic sign
Authors: Pratt Teresa
Published: April 2023

This paper examines variation in vowel space area and its use in social meaning making. Among adolescents at a California high school, patterns of difference in vowel space correlate to social practices of exclusion in the partying scene, albeit alongside explicit discourses of high school social life as inclusive and fluid. I treat vowel space as a sociolinguistic sign, that is, a holistic semiotic resource at play in addition to (or in tandem with) individual segments. Though the semiotic potential of a given linguistic sign is no doubt shaped by large‐scale patterns of variation, the particular manifestations of meaning making are best viewed at the community level alongside other day‐to‐day practices. Further, I suggest that linguistic practices of difference and discourses of sameness are not contradictory, but instead a feature of the semiotic landscape. I thus interpret this vowel space variation as stylistically meaningful within the context of social actors’ ideological orientation to social life.
Academic word difficulty and multidimensional lexical sophistication: An English‐for‐academic‐purposes‐focused conceptual replication of Hashimoto and Egbert (2019)
Authors: Vitta Joseph P. , Nicklin Christopher , Albright Simon W.
Published: April 2023

This article presents a conceptual replication of Hashimoto and Egbert (https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12353), a study that featured multivariate models where lexical sophistication variables accounted for word difficulty (yes–no recognition) better than frequency alone among learners of English as a second or foreign language from North America. This current study (nwords = 88; npeople = 128) conceptually replicated Hashimoto and Egbert with data from three Asian university English‐for‐academic‐purposes sites. Methodological differences included a more conservative lexical sophistication operationalization process and avoidance of stepwise regression. Like the original study, the replication's findings favored multivariate models over frequency, which predicted 36% of word difficulty's variance alone. In a multiple regression model accounting for word difficulty, R2 = .52, frequency accounted for 17% of the predicted variance with age of acquisition (AoA: 18%) and word naming reaction time (WN_RT: 16%) also being significant predictors. This replication also extended the testing approach by using a mixed‐effect model, involving person and site intercepts as random effects. The model's ability to predict word difficulty fell, marginal R2 = .22, conditional R2 = .40, but frequency, AoA, and WN_RT remained the strongest predictors. Taken together, this replication successfully supports the original study's more‐than‐frequency conclusion while highlighting the need for further research into the area.
Double mutation of claudin‐1 and claudin‐3 causes alopecia in infant mice
Authors: Suzuki Koya , Yamaga Kosuke , Tokumasu Reitaro , Katsuno Tatsuya , Tanaka Hiroo , Chiba Shuhei , Yagi Takeshi , Katayama Ichiro , Tamura Atsushi , Murota Hiroyuki , Tsukita Sachiko
Published: April 2023

Hair follicles (HFs) undergo cyclic phases of growth, regression, and rest in association with hair shafts to maintain the hair coat. Nonsense mutations in the tight junction protein claudin (CLDN)‐1 cause hair loss in humans. Therefore, we evaluated the roles of CLDNs in hair retention. Among the 27 CLDN family members, CLDN1, CLDN3, CLDN4, CLDN6, and CLDN7 were expressed in the inner bulge layer, isthmus, and sebaceous gland of murine HFs. Hair phenotypes were observed in Cldn1 weaker knockdown and Cldn3‐knockout (Cldn1Δ/ΔCldn3−/−) mice. Although hair growth was normal, Cldn1Δ/ΔCldn3−/− mice showed striking hair loss in the first telogen. Simultaneous deficiencies in CLDN1 and CLDN3 caused abnormalities in telogen HFs, such as an aberrantly layered architecture of epithelial cell sheets in bulges with multiple cell layers, mislocalization of bulges adjacent to sebaceous glands, and dilated hair canals. Along with the telogen HF abnormalities, which shortened the hair retention period, there was an enhanced proliferation of the epithelium surrounding HFs in Cldn1Δ/ΔCldn3−/− mice, causing accelerated hair regrowth in adults. Our findings suggested that CLDN1 and CLDN3 may regulate hair retention in infant mice by maintaining the appropriate layered architecture of HFs, a deficiency of which can lead to alopecia.
Assessing the delivering of iMAgery‐focused therapy for PSychosis (iMAPS) via telehealth
Authors: Cairns Aimee J. J. , Kelly James , Taylor Christopher D. J.
Published: April 2023

Objectives

To examine the feasibility and acceptability of a novel telehealth (video‐conferencing software and telephone calls) imagery‐based therapeutic intervention for people experiencing persecutory delusions. Utilising a multiple baseline case series design and exploring imagery‐focused therapy for psychosis (iMAPS).

Design

A non‐concurrent A‐B multiple baseline design was used.

Methods

Participants experiencing persecutory delusions and self‐reporting a psychosis or schizophrenia‐spectrum diagnosis were recruited through online adverts. On completion of assessments, participants were randomly assigned to multiple baseline assessments, of between three and five sessions. Six therapy sessions followed, consisting of imagery formulation, safe‐place imagery creation, compassionate imagery, imagery manipulation and rescripting. Participants completed pre‐ and post‐measures and sessional measures via an online survey software or in semi‐structured interviews. Two weeks post‐intervention, a final measure was completed exploring any potential adverse effects of psychotherapy.

Results

Five female participants completed all baseline and therapeutic sessions, suggesting the therapy was and mode of delivery was feasible and acceptable. Results indicate strong effect sizes across PANSS positive subscale and mood, as well as participants reporting a clinically significant change in at least one measure, for example, PSYRATS. All participants reported a reduction in the realness and compelling nature of distressing imagery.

Conclusions

Results suggest delivering a telehealth imagery‐focused therapy is acceptable and feasibly delivered via telehealth. A control group and blinding of assessments would strengthen the methodological limitations present.
Production of Biokerosene Hydrocarbons using Coconut Oil with CoO-NiO/Kaolin Catalyst via Solvent-free and Inert Atmosphere Catalytic Deoxygenation
Authors: Athirah Anis , Othman Norazila , Mohd Jaafar Mohammad Nazri
Published: April 2023

Concerns on the depletion of fossil fuel and emissions of harmful gases lead to the search for alternative aviation fuel. The present study demonstrates the production of biokerosene hydrocarbons from coconut oil via solvent-free catalytic deoxygenation under inert Nitrogen (N2) atmosphere. The deoxygenated product is examined through Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to determine its chemical composition and hydrocarbons distribution. CoO-NiO/Kaolin catalyst was used along with several other catalysts to study the reactivity of different catalysts in catalytic deoxygenation. Coconut oil is composed of middle-chain saturated fatty acids (capric acid, lauric acid, and myristic acid) which are favorable for the conversion into biokerosene hydrocarbons due to their carbon chain length.  In terms of the types of catalyst, CoO-NiO/Kaolin proves to be the best catalyst with optimum selectivity of biokerosene hydrocarbons at 83.4%. A parametric study was executed on coconut oil using CoO-NiO/Kaolin, and the result indicated that the optimum reaction conditions are 330 oC, 2 hours of reaction time, and 5 wt.% of catalyst. The biokerosene hydrocarbons produced have the likelihood to be the drop-in substitutes for aviation fuel.
Qualitative study on experience of healthcare staff who have undergone a hybrid root cause analysis training programme
Authors: Kwok Yick-ting , Mah Alastair P
Published: April 2023

Background

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a structured investigation methodology aimed at identifying systems factors to prevent recurrence of incidents. To enhance staff’s knowledge and skills, a hybrid RCA training course was conducted in February 2021. Overseas instructors conducted training online and local participants attended the training together physically with onsite facilitator support. This study aimed at understanding the experiences of trainees who have undergone the training, evaluated its effectiveness and identified opportunities to enhance RCA training quality in the future.

Methods

A qualitative study using virtual synchronous focus group interviews was conducted. Purposive sampling was adopted to invite all trainees from the RCA training course to join. A semistructured interview was used to guide the study participants to share their experiences. All groups were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and anonymised for data analysis.

Results

Overall, 6 focus groups with 19 participants were held between July and November 2021. Five key themes were identified including: (1) training contents, (2) perceptions of RCA, (3) challenges in RCA, (4) hybrid training and (5) future perspectives. Participants felt the RCA training was useful and broadened their understanding in incident investigation. More in-depth training in interviewing skills, report writing with practical sessions could further enhance their competencies in RCA. Participants accepted the use of hybrid online–offline training well. Most participants would welcome an independent organisation to conduct RCA as findings would be more objective and recommendations more effective.

Conclusions

This study provided an evaluation on the effectiveness of a hybrid RCA training course. Healthcare and training organisations can consider this training mode as it could reduce the cost of training and enhance flexibility in course arrangement while preserving quality and effectiveness. Virtual focus groups to interview participants were found to be convenient as it minimised travelling time and onsite arrangement while maintaining the quality of discussion.
Semi-Supervised Semantic Role Labeling with Bidirectional Language Models
Authors: Munir Kashif , Zhao Hai , Li Zuchao
Published: April 2023

The recent success of neural networks in NLP applications has provided a strong impetus to develop supervised models for semantic role labeling (SRL) that forego the requirement for extensive feature engineering. Recent state-of-the-art approaches require high-quality annotated datasets that are costly to obtain and almost unavailable for low-resource languages. We present a semi-supervised approach that utilizes both labeled and unlabeled data to provide performance improvement over a mere supervised SRL model. We show that our proposed semi-supervised SRL model provides larger improvement over a supervised model in the scenario where labeled training data size is small. Our SRL system leverages unlabeled data under the language modeling paradigm. We demonstrate that the incorporation of a self pre-trained bidirectional language model (S-PrLM) into a SRL system can help in SRL performance improvement by learning composition functions from the unlabeled data. Previous researches have concluded that syntax information is very useful for high-performing SRL systems, so we incorporate syntax information by employing an unsupervised approach to leverage dependency path information to connect argument candidates in vector space, which helps in distinguishing arguments with similar contexts but different syntactic functions. The basic idea is to connect predicate (

w
p

) with argument candidate (

w
a

) with the dependency path (
r
) between them in the embedding space. Experiments on the CoNLL-2008 and CoNLL-2009 datasets confirm that our full SRL model outperforms previous best models in terms of F
1
score.
Paper Plain
: Making Medical Research Papers Approachable to Healthcare Consumers with Natural Language Processing
Authors: August Tal , Wang Lucy Lu , Bragg Jonathan , Hearst Marti A. , Head Andrew , Lo Kyle
Published: April 2023

When seeking information not covered in patient-friendly documents, healthcare consumers may turn to the research literature. Reading medical papers, however, can be a challenging experience. To improve access to medical papers, we explore four features enabled by natural language processing: definitions of unfamiliar terms, in-situ plain language section summaries, a collection of key questions that guides readers to answering passages, and plain language summaries of those passages. We embody these features into a prototype system,
Paper Plain
. We evaluate
Paper Plain
, finding that participants who used the prototype system had an easier time reading research papers without a loss in paper comprehension compared to those who used a typical PDF reader. Altogether, the study results suggest that guiding readers to relevant passages and providing plain language summaries alongside the original paper content can make reading medical papers easier and give readers more confidence to approach these papers.
Novel KDM2B/SAV1 Signaling Pathway Promotes the Progression of Gastric Cancer
Authors: Li Ning , Song Haifei , Chen Zhiqin , Chen Chen , Quan Ming
Published: April 2023

Salvador homologue 1 (SAV1), which is reported to act as a tumor suppressor in different types of cancer, is one of the key components of the Hippo pathway. However, the expression and mechanisms of SAV1 in the development and progression of gastric cancer (GC) remain to be elucidated. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed in the present study to assess the expression levels of SAV1 and lysine-specific demethylase 2B (KDM2B) in GC tissues. The biological effects of SAV1 on GC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were studied in vitro. KDM2B transcriptionally regulates SAV1 expression in several GC cell lines, and molecular experiments were performed to investigate underlying mechanisms. The expression level of SAV1 was significantly decreased in GC tissues and cell lines, negatively associated with tumor invasion depth, lymph node metastasis, and TNM stage, and positively associated with the overall survival of patients with GC. SAV1 overexpression inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells. Further mechanistic studies revealed that KDM2B transcriptionally regulated SAV1 expression and further regulated the Hippo signaling pathway. To conclude, the present study demonstrated that KDM2B transcriptionally regulated SAV1 expression and promoted GC progression.
Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Subtype Discovery via Immune Cell Scores from Tumor Microenvironment
Authors: Sun Yanbo , Liu Yun , Chu Hanqi
Published: April 2023

Background. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most prevalent cancers with a poor prognosis. Immunotherapy, especially immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), is becoming a potential therapeutic choice for NPC patients. Thus, the identification of patients who could benefit from immunotherapy is clinically significant. Methods. The NPC expression profiles from GSE102349 were used to calculate the cell scores of the tumor microenvironment (TME). The consensus clustering method was utilized to identify the potential molecular subtypes among NPC samples. The hub genes were selected from subtype-specific genes by bioinformatics analysis. Machine learning models, including random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms, were constructed to predict the immune subtype. Results. In the present study, we identified two TME subtypes among NPC patients. Patients with the S1 subtype have higher levels of immune cells, immune checkpoint genes, and prognosis. Using expression data profiles of NPC patients, we constructed machine learning models for predicting TME subtypes of NPC patients. This model consists of 8 genes (LCK, CD247, FYN, ZAP70, SH2D1A, CD3D, CD3E, and CD3G). Among them, LCK, FYN, SH2D1A, and CD3D were associated with better prognoses. Among the two constructed models, SVM exhibited a higher area under curve (AUC) of 0.977, when compared with RF (

AUC
=
0.966

). The web server based on the constructed machine learning models will contribute to the identification of NPC patients likely to benefit from ICB therapies. Conclusions. This study identified NPC subtypes and provided an accurate model to select individuals who are most likely to respond to ICB.