bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Age estimation and growth patterns in young harbor seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina) during rehabilitation
Authors: Rapado-Tamarit Beatriz , Méndez-Aróstegui Margarita , de Reus Koen , Sarraude Tom , Pen Ido , Groothuis Ton G G 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
To study patterns in behavior, fitness, and population dynamics, estimating the age of the individuals is often a necessity. Specifically, age estimation of young animals is very important for animal rehabilitation centers because it may determine if the animal should be taken in and, if so, what care is optimal for its rehabilitation. Accurate age estimation is also important to determine the growth pattern of an individual, and it is needed to correctly interpret the influence of early body condition on its growth trajectories. The purpose of our study was to find body measurements that function as good age estimators in young (up to 3 months old) harbor seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina), placing emphasis on noninvasive techniques that can be used in the field. To meet this goal, body mass (BM), dorsal standard length (DSL), upper canine length (CL), body condition (BC), and sex were determined from 45 Harbor Seal pups of known age. Generalized additive mixed models were fitted to find how well these morphometric measures predicted age, and the results from the selected model were used to compute growth curves and to create a practical table to determine the age of young animals in the field. We found that both DSL and CL—and to some extent sex—were useful predictors for estimating age in young harbor seals and that the growth rate of pups raised in captivity is significantly lower than for those raised in the wild. In addition, we found no evidence for compensatory growth, given that animals that arrived at the center with a poor BM or BC continued to show lower BM or BC throughout almost the entire rehabilitation period.
Interview with Karen Bandeen-Roche
Authors: Demming Anna 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Gerontologist and statistician Karen Bandeen-Roche has spent decades formulating a framework for diagnosing frailty and predicting resilience in older adults, informing interventions to help stave off frailty and improving clinical outcomes from medical procedures. She speaks to Anna Demming about the “highly multidimensional, complex measurement problems” that arise.
(166) RATES OF INFLATABLE PENILE PROSTHESIS INFECTION WITH INTRAOPERATIVE 0.05% CHLORHEXIDINE GLUCONATE ANTIBIOTIC IRRIGATION COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL ANTIBIOTIC IRRIGATION
Authors: Rust JO , Pereira TA , Arnold P , Good J , Egemba C , Bajic P , Bernie HL 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Introduction
Primary inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) surgery carries a 1-3% reported infection rate, but the necessary revision/explant case rises to a 10% risk of infection. Intraoperative antibiotic irrigation is employed throughout surgery by many implanters for this reason. 0.05% Chlorhexidine Glucoronate solution (Irrisept) is an antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral alternative to traditional antimicrobials.

Objective
In this study we aim to assess the efficacy of intraoperative Irrisept irrigation in preventing post-operative infection in comparison to the AUA recommended antibiotic guidelines and other regimens.

Methods
This was a retrospective review of all patients undergoing primary IPP placement or revision, from January 2019-September 2023, at a single institution. Patient demographics, comorbidities, surgery type, operative time, prosthesis type, and 90-day post-operative complications were reviewed. Chi-square analysis was performed to determine statistically significant (p &lt; 0.05) differences in postoperative infections among various groups.

Results
415 men had complete data and were included in this study. We found no significant difference in the infection rate between Irrisept and non-Irrisept irrigation (p = 0.523). There was no significant difference in post-operative infections when comparing Irrisept vs vancomycin + gentamicin (p = 0.756), vs. bacitracin (p = 0.785), or other combinations (vancomycin + gentamycin+ fluconazole) (p = 0.304). Additionally, there was no significant difference in infection rates between different prosthesis types using Boston scientific or Coloplast with Irrisept. (p = 0.568).

Conclusions
The use of intraoperative Irrisept for antibiotic irrigation is effective in preventing post-operative infections in men undergoing IPP surgery. Irrisept is at least equally effective to conventional antibiotic irrigation in preventing infections using both implant devices.

Disclosure
Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: Boston Scientific; Coloplast; BK Ultrasound.
Patient satisfaction study for the new Rigicon Infla10 inflatable penile prosthesis including single surgeon safety and outcomes data
Authors: Cinar Naci Burak , Saribacak Ali , Atwater Britney L , Gross Martin S , Wilson Steven K , Culha Melih 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Background
Rigicon is a newer inflatable penile prostheses (IPP) manufacturer that has produced the Infla10 IPP for countries outside the United States (US) since 2019, with Food and Drug Administration studies for approval of Infla10 in the US presently underway.

Aim
This study aims to report the first patient satisfaction, efficacy, and safety from revision data for the newly available Rigicon Infla10 IPP.

Methods
A single surgeon’s first 58 patients who underwent Rigicon Infla10 IPP implantation between 2019 and 2023 were included. Most patients (70%) received the Infla10 X (girth expansion) cylinder, and 30% received the Infla10 AX (length and girth expansion) model. Follow-up ranged from 4 to 42 months (median 19 months).

Outcomes
Outcomes measured were intraoperative and postoperative complications as well as patient-reported satisfaction.

Results
Reoperation was required in 5 patients (8.6%). Complication rates were 1.7% urethral erosion (n = 1), 1.7% infection requiring explant (n = 1), and 5% mechanical malfunction due to tubing breakage at pump junction (n = 3). The tubing issue was addressed by the manufacturer, resulting in no additional mechanical concerns. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated rates of cumulative survival of the device at 12, 24, and 36 months were 96.6%, 93.8%, and 78.2%, respectively. Overall, 53 patients (91.4%) were satisfied at 6 months postoperatively and would recommend the procedure. Diminished satisfaction was due to perceived penile shortening in 3 patients (5.1%) and difficulty learning pump cycling in 2 patients (3.4%).

Clinical implications
This single surgeon series demonstrates high rates of patient satisfaction with appropriate early safety from revision.

Strengths and limitations
Limitations include the retrospective nature of this study and short-term follow-up. Additional prospective studies incorporating a larger number of patients are warranted.

Conclusion
While very new in the marketplace, the Infla10 IPP shows promising early satisfaction, efficacy, and safety from revision.
Novel spectroscopy method to reveal optimal culture conditions in Escherichia coli fermenter
Authors: Chen Jia , Wu Huakun , Chen Jingru , Zheng Jia , Liu Wen , Yu Meifang 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Fermentation engineering is critical for mass-producing chemicals, food additives, and medicines, where optimal culture conditions maximize microbial growth and metabolite production. Although monitoring bacterial growth during fermentation is critical, there is a lack of a non-invasive and sensitive method to directly monitor the bacterial metabolism. In this paper, a novel optical monitoring method is proposed based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy. First, the detecting system consisting of a laser, detection, a homemade board, and an incubator is established and verified to be able to monitor the metabolite production of CO2 in Escherichia coli through a 25-h detection period. Second, the quantitative growth rate analysis method is specified by calculating the threshold time (TT) intervals between consecutive dilution gradients, and the threshold with the least sum of residuals is chosen as the optimal threshold. Finally, alongside varied pH and temperature settings in a simulated fermenter, we elucidated the influence of these factors on E. coli metabolism curves and calculated the growth rates via TT, identifying 38°C as the optimal temperature and 7.0 as the optimal pH. This study presents a novel approach to reveal optimal culture conditions during fermentation holding promises for online real-time monitoring in the future.
Following the signs: reading the Qur’anic epigraphs as postsecular in Sofiane Hadjadj’s So Perfect a Garden and Yamen Manai’s The Ardent Swarm
Authors: Qadiri Sura 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This article focuses on the Qur’anic epigraphs in Algerian writer Sofiane Hadjadj’s novel Un si parfait jardin [So Perfect a Garden] (2007) and Tunisian writer Yamen Manai’s novel L’amas ardent [The Ardent Swarm] (2017). These novels’ protagonists seek ways through political turmoil—the Algerian Civil War (1991–2002) and the Arab Spring (2011)—by drawing on religiously inspired ideals while rejecting postcolonial religious atavism. I argue that these novels’ Qur’anic epigraphs allow for each text to be read through a postsecular lens, one informed by postcoloniality and elements of religion and the secular world.
The postsecular imaginaries of Orhan Pamuk’s novels
Authors: Göknar Erdağ 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This article argues that Orhan Pamuk’s literary innovations bring formations of religion and secularism separated by ideologies of Turkish modernization and cultural revolution into productive parity. Pamuk’s depictions of the Ottoman Islamic past and its legacies—including its material culture, everyday practices, and Sufism—articulate mystical and religious tropes along with the material and secular culture of the nation-state. His eleven novels published between 1982 and 2022 dramatize what I term Turkish “postsecular imaginaries,” in which cultural representations and practices of religion and state are increasingly reinterpreted as being synchronic, interrelated, and imbricated. These manifestations of postsecularism inform both contemporary Turkish literary modernity and the conditions of a debated Turkish postcoloniality, which interrogates sites of European, Ottoman, and Turkish Republican state power.
MeerKAT discovery of a MIGHTEE Odd Radio Circle
Authors: Norris Ray P , Koribalski Bärbel S , Hale Catherine L , Jarvis Matt J , Macgregor Peter J , Taylor A Russell 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACT
We present the discovery of a new Odd Radio Circle (ORC J0219−0505) in 1.2 GHz radio continuum data from the MIGHTEE survey taken with the MeerKAT telescope. The radio-bright host is a massive elliptical galaxy, which shows extended stellar structure, possibly tidal tails or shells, suggesting recent interactions or mergers. The radio ring has a diameter of 35 arcsec, corresponding to 114 kpc at the host galaxy redshift of $z_{\rm spec} = 0.196$. This MIGHTEE ORC is a factor 3–5 smaller than previous ORCs with central elliptical galaxies. The discovery of this MIGHTEE ORC in a deep but relatively small-area radio survey implies that more ORCs will be found in deeper surveys. While the small numbers currently available are insufficient to estimate the flux density distribution, this is consistent with the simplest hypothesis that ORCs have a flux density distribution similar to that of the general population of extragalactic radio sources.
Pentyl leaf volatiles promote insect and pathogen resistance via enhancing ketol-mediated defense responses
Authors: Huang Pei-Cheng , Berg-Falloure Katherine M , Gao Xiquan , Meeley Robert , Kolomiets Michael V 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Plants emit an array of volatile organic compounds in response to stresses. Six-carbon green leaf volatiles (GLVs) and five-carbon pentyl leaf volatiles (PLVs) are fatty acid-derived compounds involved in intra- and inter-species communications. Unlike extensively studied GLVs, the biological activities of PLVs remain understudied. Maize (Zea mays L.) contains a unique monocot-specific lipoxygenase, ZmLOX6, that is unable to oxidize fatty acids and instead possesses a hydroperoxide lyase-like activity to specifically produce PLVs. Here, we show that disruption of ZmLOX6 reduced resistance to fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) and fungal pathogens Colletotrichum graminicola and Cochliobolus heterostrophus. Metabolite profiling revealed that reduced resistance to insects and pathogens was associated with decreased production of PLVs and ketols, including the better studied α-ketol, 9,10-KODA (9-hydroxy-10-oxo-12(Z)-octadecadienoic acid). Exogenous PLV and 9,10-KODA treatments rescued the resistance of lox6 mutants to FAW and the pathogens. Surprisingly, the susceptible-to-herbivory lox6 mutants produced greater levels of wound-induced jasmonates, suggesting potential substrate competition between JA and PLV pathway branches and highlighting a strong role of PLVs in defense against insects. Similarly, likely due to substrate competition between GLV and PLV synthesis pathways, in response to C. graminicola infection, lox6 mutants accumulated elevated levels of GLVs, which promote susceptibility to this pathogen. Mutation of the GLV-producing ZmLOX10 in the lox6 mutant background reversed the susceptibility to C. graminicola, unveiling the contrasting roles of PLVs and GLVs in resistance to this pathogen. Overall, this study uncovered a potent signaling role of PLVs in defense against insect herbivory and fungal pathogens with distinct lifestyles.
Nailfold videocapillaroscopy findings correlate with lung outcomes in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies-related interstitial lung disease
Authors: Sieiro Santos Cristiana , Tandaipan Jose Luis , Castillo Diego , Codes Helena , Martínez-Martínez Laura , Magallares Berta , Moya Patricia , Mariscal Anais , Park Hye Sang , Díaz-Torné Cesar , Fernandez-Sanchez Susana P , Bernardez Julia , Corominas Hector , Diez Alvarez Elvira , Castellví Ivan 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Objectives
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) are a diverse group of muscle diseases often complicated by interstitial lung disease (ILD), which significantly impacts morbidity and mortality. Krebs von den Lungen-6 (sKL-6) has been proposed as a biomarker for ILD severity. Nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) detects microvascular changes, but its diagnostic and prognostic value in IIM remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the relationship between NVC abnormalities, sKL-6 levels, and pulmonary outcomes in IIM patients.

Methods
A retrospective analysis was conducted in IIM patients from a reference center, comparing those with and without ILD. Data included epidemiological, clinical, and immunological features, pulmonary function tests, sKL-6 levels, and NVC findings. Statistical analyses included Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to assess the relationships between sKL-6 levels, pulmonary function tests, and NVC parameters. Multiple logistic regression modelling to identify to identify predictors of IIM-ILD.

Results
Among 95 patients (34% male, median age 55.3 ± 24 years, disease duration 6.8 ± 7 years), ILD was associated with avascular zones (p= 0.004), capillary loss (p= 0.04), and microhemorrhages (p= 0.04). Negative correlations were observed between capillary loss and enlarged capillaries with %FVC (rs=-0.46, p= 0.001; rs=-0.57, p&lt; 0.0001) and %DLCO (rs=-0.32, p= 0.04; rs=-0.23, p= 0.03). sKL-6 levels correlated positively with ILD (rs = 0.77, p= 0.0004), microhemorrhages (rs = 0.21, p= 0.04), and avascular areas (rs = 0.64, p= 0.03) and negatively with %FVC (rs=-0.47, p= 0.001) and %DLCO (rs=-0.59, p= 0.005). Predictors of ILD included male sex, respiratory symptoms, %FVC, %DLCO, sKL-6, anti-Jo1 positivity, and NVC abnormalities.

Conclusions
NVC findings, sKL-6 levels, and autoantibodies are valuable in identifying and monitoring ILD in IIM, highlighting their role in early diagnosis and management.
‘The Humble Condom’: The Rise of Condom Culture and HIV/AIDS in Queensland
Authors: Byrnes Cassandra 
Published: December 2024

Summary
This article traces the rise in popularity of condom usage during the 1980s HIV/AIDS epidemic in Australia’s most conservative state, Queensland. This research demonstrates the efficacy of grassroots activism and organisation in promoting condom use as a life-saving measure, despite government inaction. Centring the role of the condom, this article is the first history of policy surrounding condoms in 1980s Queensland, illustrating the moral and social anxieties that coalesced at state level around the condom, which came into conflict with federal, medical, community and (particularly notably) religious perspectives. With AIDS, the condom itself became a site of acute anxiety in that it simultaneously represented a medical act of prevention and a socially fraught sexual risk. Acceptance of the condom was fostered through educational campaigns by and for targeted communities and in direct opposition to abstinence advocacy espoused by the state government.
The effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on antral follicles is dependent on the nanoparticle internalization rate
Authors: Santacruz-Márquez Ramsés , Sánchez Peña Luz del Carmen , Flaws Jodi A , Hernández-Ochoa Isabel 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) are among the most widely produced metallic NPs due to commercial and industrial applications in products including food, cosmetics, paints, and plastics. TiO2 NPs are released into the environment posing health risks for humans and wildlife. Widespread uses have raised concerns about the potential toxicity of TiO2 NPs in reproduction. The ovary is an important endocrine organ responsible for sex steroid hormone production and folliculogenesis. NPs can reach the ovary, but limited information is available regarding NP toxicity and its effects on ovarian antral follicles. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that exposure to TiO2 NP affects sex hormone synthesis, oxidative stress, and antioxidant response in ovarian antral follicles in vitro. In addition, we characterized the NP internalization in the antral follicles over time to determine any association between NP internalization and effects on the antral follicle. Antral follicles were exposed to vehicle control or TiO2 NPs (5, 25, and 50 µg/ml) for 96 h. The lowest NP concentration (5 µg/ml) showed no internalization and no effects in antral follicles. The 25-µg/ml concentration had the highest internalization rate, leading to increased mRNA ratio of Bax to Bcl2. Interestingly, the highest concentration (50 µg/ml) showed lower internalization compared with the 25 µg/ml, with altered levels of steroidogenic involved genes and increased levels of progesterone and testosterone compared with control. In conclusion, these data suggest that TiO2 NP is internalized in antral follicles as the first step process in impairing follicle functions.
Revisiting European and Asian Diamesa species (Diptera: Chironomidae: Diamesinae): morphological and molecular insights
Authors: Lencioni Valeria , Prat Narcís , Paoli Francesca , Acosta Raúl , Rodriguez-Prieto Ana , Allegrucci Giuliana 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Diamesa is a cold-adapted genus of Diptera: Chironomidae colonizing cold freshwaters of the Northern Hemisphere and East Africa. Global warming and glacier shrinkage are threatening their survival. In this work, we aimed to provide new insights into taxonomical gaps and phylogeny of Diamesa species from the Pyrenees, Alps, and Karakorum mountains to understand the colonization processes better and have a more accurate count of the number of endangered species. An incongruence between morphological identification and DNA barcoding (COI) was highlighted, suggesting the need for other approaches combined to estimate genetic distance. We reconstructed the phylogeny of the Palaearctic, using molecular data from two nuclear (CADI and CADIV) and three mitochondrial (COI and COII and 16S) genes. We emphasized that: (i) the Diamesa steinboecki group shares with the common ancestor of the other Diamesa species a strong cold adaptation; (ii) the European and Asian species belonging to the steinboecki group separated from each other during the Miocene (~15 Mya); and (iii) the major diversification of species in the Alps occurred during the Plio-Pleistocene epochs, mainly during the alternation of glacial and interglacial periods. This confirms the strong relationship between species evolution and climate change.
Evolution of different adaptations for pollen uptake from flowers of Heliotropium (Boraginaceae) with narrow corolla tube in pollen wasps of the genus Celonites (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Masarinae)
Authors: Mauss Volker , Fateryga Alexander V , Praz Christophe J , Zimmermann Dominique , Mauss Henrik , Prosi Rainer 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
The evolution of flower-visiting behaviour in pollen wasps remains poorly investigated. The females of oligolectic Celonites species show two fundamentally different behavioural patterns for pollen uptake from Heliotropium flowers with a narrow corolla tube. They remove pollen from the concealed anthers either with their forelegs or with their proboscis. Single-frame video analysis revealed that pollen collection with the proboscis consists of a hitherto unknown, unique, and stereotypic behavioural pattern. The first phylogenetic reconstruction of Celonites based on ultra-conserved elements demonstrates that this highly complex behaviour is presumably homologous and evolved only once. It probably derived from accidental consumption of pollen adhering to the proboscis during nectar uptake and is associated with morphological adaptations of the foretarsi and mouthparts. Pollen uptake with the forelegs evolved independently. Morphological adaptations to this type of pollen uptake are the elongation of the forelegs and a tarsal pollen brush formed by hooked setae. These results confirm for pollen wasps a view that has been developed in studies of bee–flower relationships, namely that pollen collection, contrary to nectar collection, is a specific and stereotypic behaviour that often requires morphological and behavioural adaptations, possibly underlying the high rate of specialization observed in pollen-collecting Hymenoptera.