bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Community‐based naloxone coverage equity for the prevention of opioid overdose fatalities in racial/ethnic minority communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island
Authors: Nolen Shayla , Zang Xiao , Chatterjee Avik , Behrends Czarina N. , Green Traci C. , Kumar Aranshi , Linas Benjamin P. , Morgan Jake R. , Murphy Sean M. , Walley Alexander Y. , Yan Shapei , Schackman Bruce R. , Marshall Brandon D. L.
Published: November 2021

Background and aims

Opioid‐related overdose death rates continue to rise in the United States, especially in racial/ethnic minority communities. Our objective was to determine if US municipalities with high percentages of non‐white residents have equitable access to the overdose antidote naloxone distributed by community‐based organizations.

Methods

We used community‐based naloxone data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Rhode Island non‐pharmacy naloxone distribution program for 2016–18. We obtained publicly available opioid‐related overdose death data from Massachusetts and the Office of the State Medical Examiners in Rhode Island. We defined the naloxone coverage ratio as the number of community‐based naloxone kits received by a resident in a municipality divided by the number of opioid‐related overdose deaths among residents, updated annually. We used a Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations to analyze the relationship between the municipal racial/ethnic composition and naloxone coverage ratio. To account for the potential non‐linear relationship between naloxone coverage ratio and race/ethnicity we created B‐splines for the percentage of non‐white residents; and for a secondary analysis examining the percentage of African American/black and Hispanic residents. The models were adjusted for the percentage of residents in poverty, urbanicity, state and population size.

Results

Between 2016 and 2018, the annual naloxone coverage ratios range was 0–135. There was no difference in naloxone coverage ratios among municipalities with varying percentages of non‐white residents in our multivariable analysis. In the secondary analysis, municipalities with higher percentages of African American/black residents had higher naloxone coverage ratios, independent of other factors. Naloxone coverage did not differ by percentage of Hispanic residents.

Conclusions

There appear to be no municipal‐level racial/ethnic inequities in naloxone distribution in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, USA.
Ocular microscopy of Bradypus variegatus
Authors: Sena Caroline da Silva Pamplona de , Freire Elisa Carla Barra , Giese Elane Guerreiro , Mesquita Ellen Yasmin Eguchi , Galvão Gilvando Rodrigues , Perlmann Eduardo , Branco Érika , Lima Ana Rita
Published: November 2021

Bradypus variegatus, popularly known as common sloth or brown‐throated sloth, is a species with wide geographical distribution in Brazil. Expand on the literature about the species, we aimed to describe the morphology of its eye and its main annexes. For this study, six frozen specimens donated to the Animal Morphological Research Laboratory of the Federal Rural University of Amazonia were used. The specimens were fixed in a 10% aqueous solution of formaldehyde. The structures that constitute the ocular apparatus were identified and described after dissection and histological analysis using light microscopy. The bulbar conjunctiva presented a stratified cuboidal epithelium, with a considerable number of serous glands. The stroma layer and the posterior limiting lamina were found well defined in the species. The corneoscleral meshwork possessed a large opening for drainage of aqueous humour, followed by a wide retinal region, in which a layer of photoreceptors was visualized. Cones and rods could not be discriminated from each other. Microscopy of the medial angle of the eye revealed the cartilage and glands of the third eyelid, and a well‐developed lacrimal gland structure. Bradypus variegatus distinguishing features and similarities in comparison with other domestic and wild mammal and bird species already described were investigated, which expounded the limited knowledge that is presently available on the morphology of wild fauna. The data extend the limited knowledge that are presently available on the ocular histology of B. variegatus.
International trade and standards harmonization: The case of tractors and the OECD Tractor Codes
Authors: McFadden Jonathan R.
Published: November 2021

Although the trade effects of public and private standards—particularly for food safety and environmental quality—in agricultural markets have been well documented, much less is known about standards harmonization and international trade in tractors, a crucial input to agricultural production in most countries. We analyze the trade impacts of the long‐lived OECD Tractor Codes—an integrated system of standardized tractor tests for performance and safety, certification, and mutual recognition agreements established in 1959. We hypothesize that this system increases tractor trade between members and possibly among members and nonmembers because it: (1) reduces duplication of tests across import markets, (2) lowers transaction costs of tractor trade disputes, (3) enhances manufacturers' risk management, and (4) boosts farmer demand through greater trust resulting from intergovernmental organization certification. Using bilateral COMTRADE data for 1962–2018, we estimate a structural gravity equation using Poisson pseudo‐maximum likelihood methods to account for zero trade. After controlling for economic integration agreements and OECD membership, our benchmark analysis suggests trade is roughly one‐third larger if both partners are members, a finding that is robust to considerations of gradual adjustment costs and reverse causality. We further find that this effect varies by countries' timing of accession and, to a lesser extent, level of economic development, though trade creation effects are inconclusive. A counterfactual analysis indicates that manufacturers and farmers in nonmember countries, including several middle‐income and low‐income countries, would benefit from membership. Our results have important implications for standards harmonization and international trade in agricultural machinery.
Effect of diabetes mellitus comorbidity on outcomes in stages II and III colorectal cancer
Authors: Lin Cheng‐Yao , Lin Chien‐Liang , Huang Wen‐Tsung , Peng Cheau‐Jane , Su Shih‐Bin , Guo How‐Ran
Published: November 2021

Aim

The effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on the outcomes of colorectal cancer (CRC) are controversial. This retrospective study evaluated the effects of DM on American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC, 7th) Stages II and III CRC patients who received curative surgery.

Methods

We reviewed the records of CRC patients who were treated from January 2008 to December 2014 and identified the presence of DM and hypertension prior to CRC diagnosis. Cox proportional hazards analyses were used for prognostic factor determination, and survival was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method with the log‐rank test.

Results

Total of 1066 consecutive eligible patients with stage II/III CRC were enrolled. There were 326 (30.6%) patients diagnosed with DM, and 311 (29.2%) CRC patients had recurrence. Patients with DM did not have a higher recurrence risk (p = 0.183) but had higher mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.381; 95% conference interval [CI], 1.069–1.782). In addition, HbA1c (≥7 vs. <7) was not associated with recurrence (p = 0.365). Patients with DM had more hypertension than patients without DM (69.1% vs. 37.6%, p < 0.001). A lower recurrence risk was noted in patients with hypertension (p = 0.002), but the overall survival (OS) did not reach statistical significance (aHR = 0.910; 95% CI, 0.707–1.169).

Conclusion

In our study, DM was a poor prognostic factor for survival in curative CRC patients. More studies are required to elucidate the effects that DM and other metabolic disorders, such as hypertension, have on the prognosis of patients with CRC.
Upregulation of O‐GlcNAc transferase is involved in the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: He Na , Ma Daoxin , Tan Yanjie , Liu Min
Published: November 2021

Background

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common acute leukemia in adults. Patients have a low survival rate and a high recurrence rate, and AML is a highly heterogeneous disease without an effective and specific targeted therapy.

Aims

Therefore, it is urgent to explore new AML markers to enable early diagnosis and find drug targets for individualized treatment.

Results

Herein, we demonstrate that O‐linked‐N‐acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) is significantly upregulated in AML tissues compared with normal tissues. The high level of OGT expression is significantly related to poor overall survival (OS) in AML. Inhibition of OGT can inhibit AML cell proliferation and promote AML cell apoptosis.

Conclusion

These results suggest that OGT plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AML, and may become a potential biomarker and molecular drug target for precision therapy for AML.
Clinical significance of different atlas of intracavitary electrocardiogram for PICC localization in 961 cases
Authors: Dong Hui‐Min , Zhu Yu‐Xin , Yin Xin‐Xin , Zhang Xin
Published: November 2021

Purpose

To explore the application of ECG‐guided localization technology in PICC catheterization and the clinical significance of different maps of intracavitary ECG in PICC tip localization.

Methods

In the process of catheter placement under the guidance of ultrasound, the technique of intracavitary ECG location was used. The length of the catheter was measured on the body's surface. The amplitude of the P‐wave and the QRS‐wave groups of electrocardiograms before and during catheter placement was recorded. Nine hundred sixty‐one patients who underwent X‐ray chest film examination after catheterization were imaged on the chest film at the tip of the catheter.

Results

Eight hundred four cases had a characteristic P wave, 83.66%, of which, 331 cases (50% < P/R ≤80%) had 99.09%; 425 cases (80% < P/R ≤100%) had 99.29%; 48 cases (P/R >100%) had 100%. One hundred eighteen cases of non‐specific P wave accounted for 12.28% and 79.66% of chest radiographs, of which 72 cases of P/R <50% were 100%; 46 cases of unchanged P wave were 47.83%; 34 cases of special cases accounted for 3.54% and 55.88% of chest radiographs; five cases of interference wave accounted for 0.25%, and the chest radiographs were self‐control. The in‐place rate of the body contrast catheter was 80%.

Conclusions

The accuracy of the ECG characteristic map in guiding the location of the PICC tip is higher than that of the non‐characteristic P wave, and it has more clinical significance in locating the best position of the PICC tip.
Pharmacological prevention of renal ischemia–reperfusion injury in a rat model
Authors: Deng Yi , Li Rachel W. , Yang Yong Liang , Weiss Steven , Smith Paul N.
Published: November 2021

Introduction

Renal ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI) can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. It remains a leading cause of acute kidney injury and is therefore an important issue in trauma and renal transplant surgery. Various pharmaceutical agents have been used in an attempt to dampen the harmful effects of IRI but few have been shown to be useful clinically. Riluzole, Lidocaine and Lamotrigine have been demonstrated to show anti‐ischaemic properties in other organs; however, their use has not been tested in the kidneys. We investigated Riluzole, Lidocaine and Lamotrigine for their preventive effects of renal IRI using a rat model.

Methods

Winstar rats (n = 48) were divided into four groups (n = 12 per group)—three treatment groups and one control group. Riluzole, Lidocaine and Lamotrigine were given prior to renal ischemia only (IO) or IRI. The degree of ischemia was measured by glutathione levels and a TUNEL assay was used to measure DNA fragmentation.

Results

Riluzole, Lidocaine and Lamotrigine pre‐treatment each resulted in statistically higher glutathione levels compared to controls (P = 0.002; P = 0.007 and P = 0.005, respectively). Riluzole and Lidocaine were also effective at preventing depletion of glutathione following IO (P = 0.007 and P = 0.014 respectively), while Lamotrigine was ineffective in IO (P = 0.71). The degree of DNA fragmentation seen on the TUNEL assay was markedly reduced in all three‐drug groups in both IO and IRI.

Discussion

Riluzole, Lidocaine and Lamotrigine all have anti‐ischaemic effects in the rat kidney and can have potential therapeutic implications.
Skin‐sparing approach in the management of Fournier's gangrene: the initial histological evidence and results of a tertiary health‐care center
Authors: Alyanak Ahmet , Cakici Ozer Ural , Turkmen Yesim Atak
Published: November 2021

Background

To report the initial histological evidence on the feasibility of the skin‐sparing approach in the treatment of Fournier's gangrene.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data and the tissue blocks obtained from patients who had undergone debridement in a tertiary healthcare center by a urologist and a general surgeon.

Results

The histological review revealed the prevalence of the intact epidermal layers in the debrided tissues involving necrosed subcutaneous parts. Clinical results of our cohort were compatible with the contemporary series.

Conclusion

We can propose that the skin parts without macroscopic necrosis can be spared in the initial debridement in the treatment of Fournier's gangrene, at least in the first debridement. The skin‐sparing approach may provide easier and primary closure of the wound without compromising surgical safety in Fournier's gangrene treatment.
Securitising Seniors Housing: The Financialisation of Real Estate and Social Reproduction in Retirement and Long‐Term Care Homes
Authors: August Martine
Published: November 2021

The financialisation of seniors housing has reshaped Canadian long‐term care homes (LTCs) and retirement communities since the 1990s. Investors have flocked to profit from the demographic “grey wave” driving demand. Financialised firms (private equity, institutions, publicly listed companies, and real estate investment trusts) have consolidated ownership of 33% of seniors housing (22% and 42% of LTCs and retirement homes). Facilitated by neoliberal healthcare reforms, welfare state restructuring, and the privatisation of social reproduction, the business strategies of financial firms rely on the dual nature of seniors housing as both (1) real estate, and (2) an operating business (delivering hospitality and healthcare services). As real estate, firms profit from repositioning properties and by raising rents. As an operating business, firms raise revenues by adding on escalating private‐pay healthcare and hospitality fees over time; and cut expenses by extracting more value from the socially reproductive labour of care workers, who are largely precariously employed, racialised women.
Self‐efficacy latent growth trajectories' longitudinal links with achievement and interest: Both baseline and growth rate are important for interest outcomes
Authors: Fryer Luke K. , Bovee H. Nicholas , Nakao Kaori
Published: November 2021

Background

Self‐efficacy beliefs have well established theoretical and empirical linkages to persistence and achievement. Budding theoretical and recent empirical research has worked to connect self‐efficacy to interest. Building on research in these areas, burgeoning research has begun to examine the relative role of intercept and slope of self‐efficacy for these learning outcomes.

Aims

This study builds on and extends previous research by testing the longitudinal implications of self‐efficacy beliefs' latent growth for knowledge and interest gains.

Methods

These aims were addressed by testing a fully forward, latent SEM, which included a latent growth curve (self‐efficacy beliefs' for a course of study) framed by pre–post standardized tests and measures of individual interest in the domain. This research was undertaken in the motivationally challenging context of a compulsory foreign language university programme in western Japan. First‐ and second‐year students from 10 faculties participated (n =1,184) across a single semester, resulting in seven separate data points.

Result

The SEM confirms the important longitudinal roles of self‐efficacy beliefs' intercept within achievement, and both intercept and slope within future interest. Findings support and extend recent latent curve analysis with similar variables, lending further support to the critical role played by self‐efficacy beliefs' within the development not only of knowledge but also of individual interest as a learning outcome.
Posterior musculofascial reconstruction in robot‐assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy for the treatment of clinically localised prostate cancer: a Cochrane Review
Authors: Rosenberg Joel E. , Jung Jae Hung , Lee Hunju , Lee Solam , Bakker Caitlin J. , Dahm Philipp
Published: November 2021

Objectives

To assess the effects of posterior musculofascial reconstruction robot‐assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (PR‐RALP) compared to no PR during standard RALP (S‐RALP) for the treatment of clinically localised prostate cancer.

Patients and Methods

We performed a systematic search with no restrictions including randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing variations of PR‐RALP vs S‐RALP for clinically localised prostate cancer. The quality of evidence was assessed on outcome basis according to Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Our search identified 13 records of eight unique RCTs, of which six were published studies, and two were abstract proceedings. There were 1085 randomised patients, of whom 963 completed the trials. All patients had either cT1c or cT2 or cT3a disease.

Results

A PR‐RALP may improve urinary continence 1 week after catheter removal compared to no PR (risk ratio [RR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90–1.73; I2 = 42%, five studies, 498 patients, low certainty of evidence [CoE]). A PR‐RALP may have little to no effect on urinary continence 3 months after surgery compared to no PR (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.84–1.14; I2 = 67%, six studies, 842 patients, low CoE). A PR‐RALP probably results in little to no difference in serious adverse events compared to no PR (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.29–1.92; I2 = 0%, six studies, 835 patients, moderate CoE).

Conclusions

This review found evidence that PR‐RALP may improve early continence 1 week after catheter removal but not thereafter. Meanwhile, adverse event rates are probably not impacted and positive surgical margin rates are likely similar. There was no difference in our subgroup analysis for all outcomes with anterior reconstruction technique when combined with PR vs only PR.
Sphingosine‐1‐phosphate/TGF‐β axis drives epithelial mesenchymal transition in asthma‐like disease
Authors: Riemma Maria A. , Cerqua Ida , Romano Barbara , Irollo Elena , Bertolino Antonio , Camerlingo Rosa , Granato Elisabetta , Rea Giuseppina , Scala Stefania , Terlizzi Michela , Spaziano Giuseppe , Sorrentino Rosalinda , D'Agostino Bruno , Roviezzo Fiorentina , Cirino Giuseppe
Published: November 2021

Background and Purpose

Airway remodelling is a critical feature of chronic lung diseases. Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) represents an important source of myofibroblasts, contributing to airway remodelling. Here, we investigated the sphingosine‐1‐phosphate (S1P) role in EMT and its involvement in asthma‐related airway dysfunction.

Experimental Approach

A549 cells were used to assess the S1P effect on EMT and its interaction with TGF‐β signalling. To assess the S1P role in vivo and its impact on lung function, two experimental models of asthma were used by exposing BALB/c mice to subcutaneous administration of either S1P or ovalbumin (OVA).

Key Results

Following incubation with TGF‐β or S1P, A549 acquire a fibroblast‐like morphology associated with an increase of mesenchymal markers and down‐regulation of the epithelial. These effects are reversed by treatment with the TGF‐β receptor antagonist LY2109761. Systemic administration of S1P to BALB/c mice induces asthma‐like disease characterized by mucous cell metaplasia and increased levels of TGF‐β, IL‐33 and FGF‐2 within the lung. The bronchi harvested from S1P‐treated mice display bronchial hyperresponsiveness associated with overexpression of the mesenchymal and fibrosis markers and reduction of the epithelial.The S1P‐induced switch from the epithelial toward the mesenchymal pattern correlates to a significant increase of lung resistance and fibroblast activation. TGF‐β blockade, in S1P‐treated mice, abrogates these effects. Finally, inhibition of sphingosine kinases by SK1‐II in OVA‐sensitized mice, abrogates EMT, pulmonary TGF‐β up‐regulation, fibroblasts recruitment and airway hyperresponsiveness.

Conclusion and Implications

Targeting S1P/TGF‐β axis may hold promise as a feasible therapeutic target to control airway dysfunction in asthma.
Convallatoxin inhibits IL‐1β production by suppressing zinc finger protein 91 (ZFP91)‐mediated pro‐IL‐1β ubiquitination and caspase‐8 inflammasome activity
Authors: Xing Yue , Wang Jing Ying , Li Ming Yue , Zhang Zhi Hong , Jin Hong Lan , Zuo Hong Xiang , Ma Juan , Jin Xuejun
Published: November 2021

Background and Purpose

ZFP91 positively regulates IL‐1β production in macrophages and may be a potential therapeutic target to treat inflammatory‐related diseases. We investigated whether this process is modulated by convallatoxin, which is a cardiac glycoside isolated from the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Adonis amurensis Regel et Radde.

Experimental Approach

In vitro, the mechanisms by which convallatoxin inhibits ZFP91‐regulated IL‐1β expression were investigated using molecular docking, western blotting, RT‐PCR, ELISA, immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation assays.In vivo, mice liver injury was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of D‐GalN and LPS, colitis was induced by oral administration of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in drinking water and peritonitis was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of alum.

Key Results

We confirmed that convallatoxin inhibited the release of IL‐1β by down‐regulating ZFP91. Importantly, we found that convallatoxin significantly reduced K63‐linked polyubiquitination of pro‐IL‐1β regulated by ZFP91 and decreased the efficacy of pro‐IL‐1β cleavage. Moreover, convallatoxin suppressed ZFP91‐mediated activation of the non‐canonical cysteine‐requiring aspartate protease‐8 (caspase‐8) inflammasome and MAPK signalling pathways in macrophages. Furthermore, we showed that ZFP91 promoted the assembly of the caspase‐8 inflammasome complex, whereas convallatoxin treatment reversed this result. Mice in vivo studies further demonstrated that convallatoxin ameliorated D‐GalN/LPS‐induced liver injury, DSS‐induced colitis and alum‐induced peritonitis by down‐regulating ZFP91.

Conclusion and Implications

We show for the first time that convallatoxin‐mediated inhibition of ZFP91 is an important regulatory event that prevents inappropriate inflammatory responses to maintain immune homeostasis. This mechanism provides new insight for the development of convallatoxin as a novel anti‐inflammatory drug targeting ZFP91.

LINKED ARTICLES

This article is part of a themed issue on Inflammation, Repair and Ageing. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v179.9/issuetoc
Higher education, international student mobility, and regional innovation in non‐core regions: International student start‐ups on “the rock”
Authors: Graham Nelson , Pottie‐Sherman Yolande
Published: November 2021

This paper makes a case for post‐graduate international students as an increasingly important category of immigrant entrepreneur in Canada. We draw our findings from an analysis of new provincial immigrant entrepreneur programs and interviews with international student entrepreneurs in a mid‐sized city in Atlantic Canada. We argue that three forces have become increasingly relevant in shaping immigrant entrepreneurs' opportunity structures: (1) the internationalization of higher education institutions (HEIs), (2) the corporatization of HEIs, and (3) the regionalization of immigration. We show how public policy shifts in immigration and education have expanded the opportunity structure for international student start‐ups. These entrepreneurs are navigating multiple dimensions of risk that stem from being both temporary migrants and business owners.
Strategy design for New Public Governance and horizontal initiatives
Authors: Taylor Emily , Schwartz Robert , Trowbridge Joslyn , Di Ruggiero Erica , Sullivan Terry , Marchildon Gregory , Dobrow Mark , Finegood Diane , Price Alex
Published: November 2021

Governments deploy comprehensive strategies to address complex social problems with various New Public Governance and horizontal initiatives. Minimal attention, however, has focused on developing evidence‐informed strategy design for such initiatives. Using a systematic literature review, five strategy design principles were identified: 1) proper selection of interventions; 2) system enablers; 3) a guiding purpose; 4) substantive political commitment; and 5) joined‐up governance. Three case studies including document review and interviews tested strategy design principles. Empirical work supported, expanded, and further refined these principles. Application of these principles would likely contribute to improving the success of horizontal strategy initiatives. Real‐world political pressures and public administration constraints can be somewhat alleviated through learnings from well‐designed strategies and experiences.
Addition of oral fexofenadine to topical therapy leads to a significantly greater reduction in the serum interleukin-31 levels in mild to moderate paediatric atopic dermatitis
Authors: Ningombam A. , Handa S. , Srivastava N. , Mahajan R. , De D.
Published: November 2021

Background

Recent evidence has suggested that oral antihistamines could have a beneficial role in atopic dermatitis (AD) because of their anti-inflammatory action.

Aim

To evaluate the effectiveness of adding an oral second-generation, nonsedating, H1-receptor antihistamine (fexofenadine) to topical treatment in AD.

Methods

In this prospective randomized study, 50 patients with a diagnosis of mild to moderate AD were recruited and randomized into two groups: Group A was given appropriate topical treatment (topical tacrolimus 0.03–0.1% ointment once daily along with topical fluticasone propionate 0.05% cream once daily, as well as paraffin-based emollients) combined with oral fexofenadine, while Group B was given appropriate topical treatment only. Both groups received the respective treatments for 8 weeks.

Results

There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis and the 5-dimensions Itch Scale at any of the time points (Weeks 2, 4 and 8). However, in the fexofenadine group, the level of serum interleukin (IL)-31 decreased significantly from baseline to Week 8 of treatment.

Conclusions

Although we could not conclusively confirm the clinical efficacy of adding oral fexofenadine to topical treatment in AD, serological evaluation indicates that fexofenadine treatment can lead to significant lowering of serum IL-31 levels in patients with AD.
Predictors of reunification and other types of exit for maltreated children using shelter services in Serbia
Authors: Žunić‐Pavlović Vesna , Milosavljević‐Đukić Ivana , Glumbić Nenad
Published: November 2021

This article reports the results of the first study in Serbia on factors (child, family and case) for different exit types for children admitted to out‐of‐home care. Case files of 154 children admitted to the Shelter for Urgent Protection of Children from Abuse and Neglect over a 5‐year period were analysed. After the shelter, less than a third of the children returned to their biological parents. The findings revealed that different constellations of child, family and case characteristics predict reunification and placement in a relative or foster family or in a group home. No significant predictors were noted for inadequate accommodation. The results of this study showed that although the patterns of reunification were very similar to those in other countries, there were differences that reflected the specifics of child welfare policy in Serbia.
Similar pattern, different paths: tracing the biogeographical history of Megaloptera (Insecta: Neuropterida) using mitochondrial phylogenomics
Authors: Jiang Yunlan , Yue Lu , Yang Fan , Gillung Jessica P. , Winterton Shaun L. , Price Benjamin W. , Contreras‐Ramos Atilano , Hayashi Fumio , Aspöck Ulrike , Aspöck Horst , Yeates David K. , Yang Ding , Liu Xingyue
Published: November 2021

The sequential breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea since the Middle Jurassic is one of the crucial factors that has driven the biogeographical patterns of terrestrial biotas. Despite decades of effort searching for concordant patterns between diversification and continental fragmentation among taxonomic groups, increasing evidence has revealed more complex and idiosyncratic scenarios resulting from a mixture of vicariance, dispersal and extinction. Aquatic insects with discreet ecological requirements, low vagility and disjunct distributions represent a valuable model for testing biogeographical hypotheses by reconstructing their distribution patterns and temporal divergences. Insects of the order Megaloptera have exclusively aquatic larvae, their adults have low vagility, and the group has a highly disjunct geographical distribution. Here we present a comprehensive phylogeny of Megaloptera based on a large‐scale mitochondrial genome sequencing of 99 species representing >90% of the world genera from all major biogeographical regions. Molecular dating suggests that the deep divergence within Megaloptera pre‐dates the breakup of Pangaea. Subsequently, the intergeneric divergences within Corydalinae (dobsonflies), Chauliodinae (fishflies) and Sialidae (alderflies) might have been driven by both vicariance and dispersal correlated with the shifting continent during the Cretaceous, but with strikingly different and incongruent biogeographical signals. The austral distribution of many corydalids appears to be a result of colonization from Eurasia through southward dispersal across Europe and Africa during the Cretaceous, whereas a nearly contemporaneous dispersal via northward rafting of Gondwanan landmasses may account for the colonization of extant Eurasian alderflies from the south.
Stakeholders from diverse backgrounds make similar judgments about ecological condition and collapse in Mongolian rangelands
Authors: Batpurev Khorloo , Sinclair Steve J. , Avirmed Otgonsuren , Scroggie Michael P. , Olson Kirk , White Matthew D.
Published: November 2021

Complex socio‐ecological problems typically involve a variety of stakeholders, with viewpoints that may range between consensus and deep disagreement over values and judgments. Understanding this distribution of opinion is key to finding conservation solutions. We examine how stakeholders with widely different backgrounds vary in their judgments of rangeland degradation in Mongolia's Gobi Desert, where grazing intensity is a contested issue. We gathered the judgments of 92 stakeholders from a highly diverse group including: (i) nomadic pastoralists (herders), (ii) experts in botany, (iii) experts in wildlife ecology, and (iv) conservation policy practitioners. These stakeholders considered degradation in five ecosystems including Desert shrublands, Steppe, and Siberian Elm riparian woodlands, using written site descriptions in a workshop context. Each stakeholder considered degradation using two conceptual frameworks: the notion of “ecosystem collapse” described by the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems and the concept of ecological condition. We used generalized additive models (GAMs) to examine the relationship between vegetation attributes and stakeholder judgments of condition. Although individual stakeholder varied in their judgments, we found only relatively small systematic variations between different types of stakeholders. Similarly, we found the degree of specialization of experts had little effect on the condition score. We also used GAMs to examine the relationship between vegetation attributes and stakeholder judgments of collapse, finding little variation between groups. We also explored the threshold of overall vegetation cover where stakeholders are likely to shift their judgment from collapsed to not collapsed, and while differences between ecosystems were observed, we found consensus between the different stakeholder groups within each ecosystem. Our results suggest that, at least in the context of the Southern Mongolia, diverse stakeholder groups have convergent views in respect to ecological degradation.
Partitioning beta diversity to untangle mechanisms underlying the assembly of bird communities in Mediterranean olive groves
Authors: García‐Navas Vicente , Martínez‐Núñez Carlos , Tarifa Rubén , Molina‐Pardo José L. , Valera Francisco , Salido Teresa , Camacho Francisco M. , Rey Pedro J.
Published: November 2021

Aim

We investigated taxonomic and functional beta diversity of bird communities inhabiting Mediterranean olive groves subject to either intensive or low‐intensity management of the ground cover and located in landscapes with different degrees of complexity.

Location

Andalusia, southern Spain.

Methods

We partitioned taxonomic and functional beta diversity into its two additive components, turnover and nestedness. We also explored the contributions of single sites to overall beta diversity (LCBD) and separated the effects of species replacement (turnover) and richness difference (nestedness) in order to identify ecologically unique sites—keystone communities—within the metacommunity. In a further step, we employed abundance‐ and functional‐based indicator species analyses to characterize bird assemblages.

Results

Taxonomic beta diversity increased with landscape complexity. Although both taxonomic and functional differences among assemblages were driven mainly by species replacement (regardless of management or landscape type), the contribution of trait replacement to the total functional beta diversity was much lower, suggesting that species performing similar functions replace each other between sites. There were no differences in LCBD between management types or categories of landscape complexity, but the contributions of sites to beta diversity decreased as the percentage cover of olive groves increased. Species richness was also important in explaining variation in LCBD as species‐poor sites tended to contribute the most to the local‐to‐regional beta diversity. However, some farms displayed high values of LCBD due to the existence of a high replacement component, indicating that some species recorded in these sites were scarce elsewhere. The indicator species analyses revealed that the woodchat shrike Lanius senator may constitute an excellent indicator of biodiversity in this agro‐forestry system.

Main conclusions

Our results show that agricultural expansion promotes biotic homogenization and exemplify how the identification of both keystone species and communities can represent a powerful tool for the management of anthropized landscapes.
Land‐use changes conservation network of an endangered primate (Rhinopithecus bieti) in the past 30 years in China
Authors: Su Xukun , Shen Yu , Zhou Wei , Liu Yuqing , Cheng Hao , Yang Murong , Zhou Su , Zhao Junyan , Wan Lingfan , Liu Guohua
Published: November 2021

Aim

This study aims to propose a conservation network that contains suitable habitat and connectivity corridors for mitigation due to habitat transformation and fragmentation of Yunnan snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti). Further, we also aim to understand the effects of land‐use changes on the conservation network of R. bieti from 1990 to 2020.

Location

Three Parallel Rivers Region (TPRR) on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) of China.

Methods

We used a GIS‐based niche model to predict habitat suitability and extracted highly suitable habitats with an area above 30 km2 as potential core habitats (PCH patches). We designed a normalized importance value index (NIVI) to select PCH patches with the top 5 NIVI values designated as priority protection habitats (PPHs), and we selected a circuit model to build connectivity corridors among PPHs and five protected areas (PAs) from 1990 to 2020.

Results

Unsuitable areas and lowly suitable habitats increased 69.3 and 46.8 km2, respectively, from 1990 to 2020. In particular, the area of PPHs dramatically decreased from 212.1 km2 in 1990 to 101.6 km2 in 2020. Average length of connectivity corridors among PCH patches and PPHs decreased from 75.9 km in 1990 to 56.8 km in 2020.

Main conclusion

Habitat loss and fragmentation are common phenomena as evidenced by decreasing in highly and moderately suitable habitats of R. bieti and increasing in lowly suitable habitats and unsuitable areas. Five PAs are central to build a conservation network and to protect populations and wild groups of R. bieti. Land use changes the conservation network of R. bieti in the past 30 years. Based on re‐planning boundaries of PAs to incorporate all protection network of R. bieti, it has practical significance to re‐adjust the system of PAs that conservation network of R. bieti should be as fundamental management unit for PA development.
On Broker Exploitation and Violence: FromMadalalito Cartel Bosses in the Food Aid Resale Economy of Tanzanian Refugee Camps
Authors: Boeyink Clayton
Published: November 2021

It is a poorly kept humanitarian secret that wherever food aid is given, it is also sold, as recipients seek to vary their diets to include culturally desired food, start businesses, or deal with economic shocks. This holds true in Nyarugusu refugee camp in Tanzania, the site of this research. While this article addresses the supply side of the World Food Programme resale system, its main focus is the demand side, providing one of the first in‐depth studies on what happensafterthe sale. Engaging with the political and development anthropology literature on brokers, the author introduces the intermediaries who make up this system, including low‐levelmadalalibrokers and refugee and Tanzanian ‘bosses’. There is agreement within brokerage research of the moral ‘ambiguity’ or ‘ambivalence’ of these figures, a nebulous quality that is heightened by the seemingly innumerable different types of brokers. This article contends that a Marxian conceptualization of social class, beyond Bourdieu's widely applied social capital theory, is productive in understanding the threat of violence that a small cartel of bosses has set up in collusion with Tanzanian police to maintain the exploitative food aid resale pyramid. Members of this elite class are, in turn, ‘products and producers’ of a structurally violent encampment and aid system.
Learning challenges of healthcare professionals supporting open‐source automated insulin delivery
Authors: Crocket Hamish , Lewis Dana M. , Burnside Mercedes , Faherty Ann , Wheeler Benjamin , Frewen Carla , Lever Claire , Jefferies Craig , Williman Jonathan , Sanders Olivia , Wilson Renee , Paul Ryan , Price Sarah , Jones Shirley , de Bock Martin
Published: November 2021

Background

Open‐source automated insulin delivery (AID) is a user‐driven treatment modality used by thousands globally. Healthcare professionals' (HCPs) ability to support users of this technology is limited by a lack of knowledge of these systems.

Aims

To describe the challenges experienced by HCPs supporting participants' use of open‐source automated insulin delivery in the Community deRivEd AuTomatEd insulin delivery (CREATE) study.

Methods

Data were collected prospectively from the study team's fortnightly meetings and Slack Workspace (Slack Technologies, Ltd. 2018) during the first 4 months of the trial. Key topics were identified from minutes of meetings. Slack conversations were categorised by topic, with the number of posts per conversation, number of sites per conversation and involvement of experts in open‐source AID being recorded.

Results

In the first 4 months of the trial, there were 254 conversations in Slack with a mean of 5.2 (±4.25) posts per conversation. The most frequent learning challenge was insulin pump and cannula problems relating to the DANA‐iTM insulin pump, which totalled 24.0% of all conversations. Experts on open‐source AID use were involved in 83.3% of conversations.

Conclusions

A significant proportion of challenges related to specific devices, rather than AID. Challenges relating to the functioning of open‐source AID were more likely to involve input from experts in open‐source AID. This is the first report of challenges experienced by a multidisciplinary team in a supported open‐source environment that may inform expectations in routine clinical care.
Evaluating alternative study designs for optimal sampling of species' climatic niches
Authors: Perret Daniel L. , Sax Dov F.
Published: November 2021

Ecologists have traditionally studied intraspecific variation by sampling species across their geographic ranges. However, whether this classic approach produces samples that accurately represent species' climatic niches is largely unknown. Alternative niche‐based study designs using species' climatic niches to inform sampling locations should more efficiently and completely capture the breadth of the niche, but the magnitude of this difference and how it may vary is unclear. Here we use conifers as a model system to explore these issues and reach specific recommendations for future sampling designs. Using an independent data set of high‐quality species' occurrences, we first show that recent publications examining variation across geographic space do a poor job of capturing the full breadth of species' niches, such that on average, only 22% of species' niche space was sampled. This was also true of a large compiled database, the International Tree‐Ring Data Bank (ITRDB), which yielded average niche coverage of only 45%. Finally, we simulated common sampling designs (i.e. random points, grids and transects) in both geographic and niche‐based sampling frameworks. Using two sampling metrics, niche coverage and niche undersampling, we measured how completely and evenly these simulated studies characterized the niches of 64 North American conifers. Niche‐based sampling better represented species' niches than geographic sampling, with the magnitude of this difference depending on study design and sample size. Niche‐based gridded study designs achieved the most complete sampling at all but the smallest sample sizes, covering ~15–25% more of a species' niche than similar designs implemented geographically. With fewer than 10 samples, however, all study designs performed poorly, and niche‐based transects achieved slightly higher niche coverage. Consequently, when more than a handful of samples are collected, we recommend that studies seeking to characterize variation across a species' niche consider using a gridded study design implemented in a niche‐based sampling framework.
Effects of laser interstitial thermal therapy for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy on the structural connectome and its relationship to seizure freedom
Authors: Ko Andrew L. , Tong Ai Phuong S. , Mossa‐Basha Mahmud , Weaver Kurt E. , Ojemann Jeffrey G. , Miller John W. , Hakimian Shahin
Published: November 2021

Objective

Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is a minimally invasive surgery for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE), but the effects of individual patient anatomy and location of ablation volumes affect seizure outcomes. The purpose of this study is to see if features of individual patient structural connectomes predict surgical outcomes after LITT for mTLE.

Methods

This is a retrospective analysis of seizure outcomes of LITT for mTLE in 24 patients. We use preoperative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to simulate changes in structural connectivity after laser ablation. A two‐step machine‐learning algorithm is applied to predict seizure outcomes from the change in connectomic features after surgery.

Results

Although node‐based network features such as clustering coefficient and betweenness centrality have some predictive value, changes in connection strength between mesial temporal regions predict seizure outcomes significantly better. Changes in connection strength between the entorhinal cortex (EC), and the insula, hippocampus, and amygdala, as well as between the temporal pole and hippocampus, predict Engel Class I outcomes with an accuracy of 88%. Analysis of the ablation location, as well as simulated, alternative ablations, reveals that a more medial, anterior, and inferior ablation volume is associated with a greater effect on these connections, and potentially on seizure outcomes.

Significance

Our results indicate (1) that seizure outcomes can be retrospectively predicted with excellent accuracy using changes in structural connectivity, and (2) that favorable connectomic changes are associated with an ablation volume involving relatively mesial, anterior, and inferior locations. These results may provide a framework whereby individual pre‐operative structural connectomes can be used to optimize ablation volumes and improve outcomes in LITT for mTLE.
Rasmussen encephalitis: Predisposing factors and their potential role in unilaterality
Authors: Fauser Susanne , Elger Christian E. , Woermann Friedrich , Bien Christian G.
Published: November 2021

Objective

Rasmussen encephalitis (RE) is a progressive and destructive inflammatory disease of one hemisphere. Its cause is unknown. We investigated comorbidity and laterality factors that might predispose to RE.

Methods

We retrospectively compared the histories of 160 RE patients to those with genetic generalized epilepsy (n = 154) and those with focal cortical dysplasia Type II (FCD II; n = 148).

Results

The median/mean age at symptom onset in RE was 7/10 years (range = 1–53 years), and 58.1% of the patients were female. The female sex predominated in RE patients, with age > 7 years at disease manifestation. The left hemisphere was affected in 65.6%. Perinatal complications (preterm birth, twin pregnancies, early acquired brain lesions) were more frequent in RE than in control patients. Ipsilateral facial autoimmune conditions (scleroderma en coup de sabre, uveitis, or chorioretinitis) were only observed in RE patients (6.9%). Onset of RE was more frequently associated with fever than that of FCD II. In 33.1% of RE patients, ≥1 potential risk factor was found. Interestingly, 11.9% of patients had one‐sided early brain lesions or facial autoimmune lesions ipsilateral to subsequent RE; none had such a lesion contralaterally.

Significance

Perinatal complications and facial autoimmune conditions may act as predisposing factors for RE. Fever might trigger RE manifestation. Further genetic or infectious contributors may be identified in the future. Single or combined hits may be required to elicit or facilitate the start of the disease. Ipsilateral early comorbid lesions or facial autoimmune processes might in part explain the enigmatic unilaterality of RE.