bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of CPI‐based co‐parenting education programs in Hong Kong: Implications for social work
Authors: Lau Yuk King 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis article reports an evaluation study of co‐parenting education services in a pilot project on co‐parenting support services in Hong Kong. Based on the Cooperative Parenting Institute (CPI) model, there are two levels of education program: Level 1 is an information‐based program delivered through talks or lecture format; and Level 2 is participatory, interactive workshops. The study results would provide preliminary support to the effectiveness of the CPI‐based education programs in reducing inter‐parental conflicts with additional effectiveness on the reduction of putting children in the middle for parents participating in the Level 2 program. In response to the findings, it is recommended to match the participants’ level of conflicts with the appropriate level of program. Parents with high conflict need more intensive program. Consequently, a range of mutual support and booster sessions is recommended to maintain the parents’ commitment to co‐parenting after the education. The CPI‐based model is recommended to be the reference or protocol for training the social workers of related services. Moreover, cross‐disciplinary training may equip supporting professions such as judges, lawyers, and mediators with a common framework to facilitate appropriate court order or advice on the appropriate level of the education program.
Valproate is associated with early decrease of high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the psychiatric population
Authors: Delacrétaz Aurélie , Glatard Anaïs , Dubath Céline , Gholam Mehdi , Gamma Franziska , von Gunten Armin , Conus Philippe , Eap Chin B. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractFew studies have evaluated the influence of valproate on the deterioration of the lipid profile in psychiatric patients. This observational study aimed to compare the evolution of metabolic parameters in a sample of adult patients starting valproate (n = 39) with a control group (n = 39) of patients starting aripiprazole, a drug associated with a low risk of metabolic deterioration. Data were obtained from a prospective study including psychiatric patients with metabolic parameters monitored during the first year of treatment. During the first month of treatment with valproate (median: 31 days [IQR: 25‐36]), mean body mass index increased significantly (from 24.8 kg/m2 at baseline to 25.2 kg/m2 after one month; P = .03) and mean HDL‐C levels decreased significantly (from 1.39 mmol/L to 1.27 mmol/L; P = .02). In comparison, these metabolic variables remained stable during the first month of treatment with aripiprazole. The proportion of patients with early (ie during the first month of treatment) HDL‐C decrease of ≥ 5% was significantly higher under valproate (54%) than aripiprazole (15%) treatment (P < .001). These findings remind the importance of a prospective metabolic monitoring in patients who initiate valproate treatment. Further research should be conducted on larger samples and should focus on finding effective interventions to prevent such metabolic adverse effects.
Risk perception with imperfect information and social interactions: Understanding group polarization
Authors: Pelletan Jacques 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis article examines the group polarization process when agents are faced with a risk for which the probability of occurrence is not perfectly known. First, we show information destruction through an informational cascade phenomenon. Then, we analyze how this inefficiency is amplified if individuals with the same type of risk‐related behavior group together. Two extensions are detailed: consideration of the possibility that individual agents participate in more than one group, and introduction of agents highly confident in their own information, enabling cascades to be "broken." Under conditions, the behavior of these agents, costly at the individual level, is collectively efficient.
Optogenetic tools for manipulation of cyclic nucleotides functionally coupled to cyclic nucleotide‐gated channels
Authors: Henß Thilo , Nagpal Jatin , Gao Shiqiang , Scheib Ulrike , Pieragnolo Alessia , Hirschhäuser Alexander , Schneider‐Warme Franziska , Hegemann Peter , Nagel Georg , Gottschalk Alexander 
Published: March 2021

Background and PurposeThe cyclic nucleotides cAMP and cGMP are ubiquitous second messengers regulating numerous biological processes. Malfunctional cNMP signalling is linked to diseases and thus is an important target in pharmaceutical research. The existing optogenetic toolbox in Caenorhabditis elegans is restricted to soluble adenylyl cyclases, the membrane‐bound Blastocladiella emersonii CyclOp and hyperpolarizing rhodopsins; yet missing are membrane‐bound photoactivatable adenylyl cyclases and hyperpolarizers based on K+ currents.Experimental ApproachFor the characterization of photoactivatable nucleotidyl cyclases, we expressed the proteins alone or in combination with cyclic nucleotide‐gated channels in muscle cells and cholinergic motor neurons. To investigate the extent of optogenetic cNMP production and the ability of the systems to depolarize or hyperpolarize cells, we performed behavioural analyses, measured cNMP content in vitro, and compared in vivo expression levels.Key ResultsWe implemented Catenaria CyclOp as a new tool for cGMP production, allowing fine‐control of cGMP levels. We established photoactivatable membrane‐bound adenylyl cyclases, based on mutated versions (“A‐2x”) of Blastocladiella and Catenaria (“Be,” “Ca”) CyclOp, as N‐terminal YFP fusions, enabling more efficient and specific cAMP signalling compared to soluble bPAC, despite lower overall cAMP production. For hyperpolarization of excitable cells by two‐component optogenetics, we introduced the cAMP‐gated K+‐channel SthK from Spirochaeta thermophila and combined it with bPAC, BeCyclOp(A‐2x), or YFP‐BeCyclOp(A‐2x). As an alternative, we implemented the B. emersonii cGMP‐gated K+‐channel BeCNG1 together with BeCyclOp.Conclusion and ImplicationsWe established a comprehensive suite of optogenetic tools for cNMP manipulation, applicable in many cell types, including sensory neurons, and for potent hyperpolarization.LINKED ARTICLESThis article is part of a themed issue on cGMP Signalling in Cell Growth and Survival. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v179.11/issuetoc
Expansion of the clinical and molecular spectrum of an XPD‐related disorder linked to biallelic mutations in ERCC2 gene
Authors: Agolini Emanuele , Botta Elena , Lodi Mariachiara , Digilio Maria Cristina , Rinelli Martina , Bellacchio Emanuele , Alesi Viola , Nardo Tiziana , Zambruno Giovanna , Orioli Donata , Alessi Iside , Boccuto Luigi , Rossi Sabrina , Carai Andrea , Colafati Giovanna Stefania , Cacchione Antonella , Dallapiccola Bruno , Novelli Antonio , Mastronuzzi Angela 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBi‐allelic inactivation of XPD protein, a nucleotide excision repair (NER) signaling pathway component encoded by ERCC2 gene, has been associated with several defective DNA repair phenotypes, including xeroderma pigmentosum, photosensitive trichothiodystrophy, and cerebro‐oculo‐facio‐skeletal syndrome. We report a pediatric patient harboring two compound heterozygous variants in ERCC2 gene, c.361‐1G>A and c.2125A>C (p.Thr709Pro), affected by severe postnatal growth deficiency, microcephaly, facial dysmorphisms and pilocytic astrocytoma of the brainstem. Some of these features point to a DNA repair syndrome, and altogether delineate a phenotype differentiating from disorders known to be associated with ERCC2 mutations. The DNA repair efficiency following UV irradiation in the proband's skin fibroblasts was defective indicating that the new set of ERCC2 alleles impacts on NER efficiency. Sequencing analysis on tumor DNA did not reveal any somatic deleterious point variant in cancer‐related genes, while SNP‐array analysis disclosed a 2 Mb microduplication involving the 7q34 region, spanning from KIAA1549 to BRAF, and resulting in the KIAA1549:BRAF fusion protein, a marker of pilocytic astrocytoma. In conclusion, this report expands the clinical and mutational spectrum of ERCC2‐related disorders.
Does the introduction of ratings reduce giving? Evidence from charities
Authors: Grant Laura E. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe largest charity‐ratings organization evaluates thousands of charities with combined annual donations of $100 billion. Because charities' initial rating occurs at different times, in random order, I can estimate how the introduction of the ratings affects giving. Donations decrease by 5%–9%, on average. The pattern is intuitive: Donations to highest‐rated (4‐star) charities are stable. Yet for each consecutive star lower, donations decrease, with 1‐star charities losing 12%–14%. I also impute each charity's ratings for years before being rated determine the effect of prior information. Annual losses for the rated charities are approximately $2 billion. Several reasons for the losses are discussed including salience of information, donor expectations, and charity visibility.
Defining and quantifying effective connectivity of landscapes for species' movements
Authors: Van Moorter Bram , Kivimäki Ilkka , Panzacchi Manuela , Saerens Marco 
Published: March 2021

Ecosystem functioning depends on multiple successful interactions, many supported by individual movements. The degree to which the landscape allows these interactions to take place has been referred to as ‘effective connectivity' (EC). Many of the cumulative impacts of anthropogenic activities on ecosystem functioning arise from changes in EC. Therefore, a coherent framework to quantify EC is urgently needed. Recent theoretical developments propose that studying EC requires the simultaneous consideration of spatial, environmental and species intrinsic characteristics (SEI framework).In this paper we further expand the SEI framework by integrating advances in geographic information science, ecological niche modelling, movement ecology, island biogeography and network sciences to develop a comprehensive three‐step methodological approach for quantifying EC. First, using niche modelling and movement ecology, we quantify the species movement probabilities with respect to local environmental conditions. Second, we quantify ecological distances between non‐adjacent locations by integrating species movement responses to the local environment with the spatial configuration of the landscape using the expected cost obtained from the randomized shortest paths (RSP) framework. This expected cost generalizes the two most frequently used ecological distance metrics, i.e. least‐cost distance and resistance distance. Moreover the ‘absorbing random walk' properties of RSP allow the integration of new developments in connectivity research, i.e. spatial absorbing Markov chains, to account for movement‐related mortality. Third, drawing from island biogeography and metapopulation ecology, we scale ecological distances by relevant species‐ and area‐specific parameters to estimate EC for the ecological process of interest, e.g. migration, dispersal or gene flow.The integrative and highly interdisciplinary approach we propose can lead to increasingly more realistic measures of EC at different organizational levels. Moreover efficient computation allows its application to large‐scale high‐resolution landscapes for theoretical studies, conservation planning and sustainable management of real landscapes.
Surviving but not thriving: Burden of care and quality of life for caregivers of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and comorbid substance use in South Africa
Authors: Yerriah Jacqueline , Tomita Andrew , Paruk Saeeda 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundSchizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders can be devastating for the patient and family. Early recognition and interventions for caregivers, who form part of an overburdened 'invisible health care system' in resource‐limited settings with an extensive mental health treatment gap, are crucial for improved outcomes for patients and carers. The study investigated the burden of care and quality of life (QOL) among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and its determinants in South Africa.MethodsWe conducted a study of 101 matched‐paired samples of family caregivers and adult patients (N = 202) seeking care from two psychiatric hospitals in South Africa. The assessment consisted of the Zarit Burden Interview for caregiver burden, WHO‐Quality of life scale and WHO ASSIST for substance use.ResultsMost caregivers (n = 81; 80.2%) reported high or severe caregiver burden. None of the four QOL domains surpassed the 60% mark where the observed scores (out of 100) for physical health (56.2, SD = 16.2), psychological health (55.3, SD = 17,6), social relationships (47.1, SD = 19.3) and environment (53.5, SD = 16.3). Lower burden was associated with greater QOL score across all four domains among caregivers (p ≤ .05). Lower educational attainment was associated with poorer QOL, and higher household income with higher QOL in certain domains. Patient comorbid alcohol (p ≤ .05) and high‐risk cannabis use (p < .02) were the only significant factors of increased caregiver burden scores.ConclusionThe high caregiver burden, and its association with alcohol and cannabis use, suggests the need to address comorbid substance use and early pragmatic support for families.
Forms of moral impossibility
Authors: Panizza Silvia 
Published: March 2021

AbstractAn important yet often unacknowledged aspect of moral discourse is the phenomenon of moral impossibility, which challenges more widely accepted models of moral discussion and deliberation as a choice among possible options. Starting from observations of the new possibilities of anti‐immigrant attitudes and hate crimes which have been described by the press as something being “unleashed,” the paper asks what it means for something to enter or not the sphere of possibility in the moral sense, and whether it is ever desirable for something to remain or be pushed back outside the realm of the morally possible. Three forms of moral impossibility are identified: the unconceived, the unthinkable, and moral incapacity. Through the discussion of a stark fictional example of moral impossibility, the paper concludes that while the category of moral impossibility cannot settle disagreement, it sheds light on some of the most fundamental aspects of moral life.
Clinical predictors of discordance between screening tests and psychiatric assessment for depressive and anxiety disorders among patients being evaluated for seizure disorders
Authors: Holper Sarah , Foster Emma , Lloyd Michael , Rayner Genevieve , Rychkova Maria , Ali Rashida , Winton‐Brown Toby T. , Velakoulis Dennis , O’Brien Terence J. , Kwan Patrick , Malpas Charles B. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractObjectiveThis study was undertaken to identify factors that predict discordance between the screening instruments Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI‐E) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD‐7), and diagnoses made by qualified psychiatrists among patients with seizure disorders. Importantly, this is not a validation study; rather, it investigates clinicodemographic predictors of discordance between screening tests and psychiatric assessment.MethodsAdult patients admitted for inpatient video‐electroencephalographic monitoring completed eight psychometric instruments, including the NDDI‐E and GAD‐7, and psychiatric assessment. Patients were grouped according to agreement between the screening instrument and psychiatrists’ diagnoses. Screening was "discordant" if the outcome differed from the psychiatrist's diagnosis, including both false positive and false negative results. Bayesian statistical analyses were used to identify factors associated with discordance.ResultsA total of 411 patients met inclusion criteria; mean age was 39.6 years, and 55.5% (n = 228) were female. Depression screening was discordant in 33% of cases (n = 136/411), driven by false positives (n = 76/136, 56%) rather than false negatives (n = 60/136, 44%). Likewise, anxiety screening was discordant in one third of cases (n = 121/411, 29%) due to false positives (n = 60/121, 50%) and false negatives (n = 61/121, 50%). Seven clinical factors were predictive of discordant screening for both depression and anxiety: greater dissociative symptoms, greater patient‐reported adverse events, subjective cognitive impairment, negative affect, detachment, disinhibition, and psychoticism. When the analyses were restricted to only patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) or epilepsy, the rate of discordant depression screening was higher in the PNES group (n = 29, 47%) compared to the epilepsy group (n = 70, 30%, Bayes factor for the alternative hypothesis = 4.65).SignificancePatients with seizure disorders who self‐report a variety of psychiatric and other symptoms should be evaluated more thoroughly for depression and anxiety, regardless of screening test results, especially if they have PNES and not epilepsy. Clinical assessment by a qualified psychiatrist remains essential in diagnosing depressive and anxiety disorders among such patients.
Prolonged epileptic discharges predict seizure recurrence in JME: Insights from prolonged ambulatory EEG
Authors: Turco Francesco , Bonanni Enrica , Milano Chiara , Pizzanelli Chiara , Steinwurzel Cecilia , Morganti Riccardo , Fornai Francesco , Maestri Michelangelo , Siciliano Gabriele , Giorgi Filippo Sean 
Published: March 2021

AbstractObjectiveMarkers of seizure recurrence are needed to personalize antiseizure medication (ASM) therapy. In the clinical practice, EEG features are considered to be related to the risk of seizure recurrence for genetic generalized epilepsies (GGE). However, to our knowledge, there are no studies analyzing systematically specific EEG features as indices of ASM efficacy in GGE. In this study, we aimed at identifying EEG indicators of ASM responsiveness in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME), which, among GGE, is characterized by specific electroclinical features.MethodsWe compared the features of prolonged ambulatory EEG (paEEG, 22 h of recording) of JME patients experiencing seizure recurrence within a year (“cases”) after EEG recording, with those of patients with sustained seizure freedom for at least 1 year after EEG (“controls”). We included only EEG recordings of patients who had maintained the same ASM regimen (dosage and type) throughout the whole time period from the EEG recording up to the outcome events (which was seizure recurrence for the “cases”, or 1‐year seizure freedom for “controls”). As predictors, we evaluated the total number, frequency, mean and maximum duration of epileptiform discharges (EDs) and spike density (i.e. total EDs duration/artifact‐free EEG duration) recorded during the paEEG. The same indexes were assessed also in standard EEG (stEEG), including activation methods.ResultsBoth the maximum length and the mean duration of EDs recorded during paEEG significantly differed between cases and controls; when combined in a binary logistic regression model, the maximum length of EDs emerged as the only valid predictor. A cut‐off of EDs duration of 2.68 seconds discriminated between cases and controls with a 100% specificity and a 93% sensitivity. The same indexes collected during stEEG lacked both specificity and sensitivity.SignificanceThe occurrence of prolonged EDs in EEG recording might represent an indicator of antiepileptic drug failure in JME patients.
Hybrid evolutionary network architecture search (HyENAS) for convolution class of deep neural networks with applications
Authors: Soniya  , Singh Lotika , Paul Sandeep 
Published: March 2021

AbstractConvolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and its variants are increasingly used across wide domain of applications achieving high performance measures. For high performance, application specific CNN architecture is required, hence the need for network architecture search (NAS) becomes essential. This paper proposes a hybrid evolutionary approach for network architecture search (HyENAS), and targets convolution class of neural networks. One of the significant contribution of this technique is to completely evolve the high performance network by simultaneously finding network structures and their corresponding parameters. An elegant string representation has been proposed which efficiently represents the network. The concept of sparse block evolving requisite layer wise features for dense network is deployed. This permits the network to dynamically evolve for a specific application. In comparison to the other state‐of‐art methods, the high performance of the proposed HyENAS approach is demonstrated across various benchmark data sets belonging to the domain of malariology, oncology, neurology, ophthalmology, and genomics. Further, to deploy the proposed model on lower hardware specification devices, another salient feature of the HyENAS technique is to seamlessly sift out the simpler network architecture with comparable accuracy.
Optimizing pollinator conservation and crop yield among perennial bioenergy crops
Authors: Kemmerling Lindsey R. , Griffin Sean R. , Haddad Nick M. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn order to both combat the decline of biodiversity and produce food, fuel, and fiber for a growing human population, current agricultural landscapes must transition into diversified, multifunctional systems. Perennial cellulosic biofuel crops have potential to meet both of these challenges, acting as multifunctional systems that can enhance biodiversity. What is not well understood, and what we test here, are the tradeoffs among different perennial crops in their performance as biofuels and in biodiversity conservation. Working in an established bioenergy experiment with four native, perennial, cellulosic biofuel crop varieties—ranging from monoculture to diverse restoration planting—we tested the effect of biofuel crop management on flower communities, pollinator communities, and crop yield. The greatest abundance and diversity of pollinators and flowers were in treatments that were successional (unmanaged), followed by restored prairie (seeded mix of native grasses and forbs), switchgrass, and a mix of native grasses. However, biofuel crop yield was approximately the inverse, with native grasses having the highest yield, followed by switchgrass and prairie, then successional treatments. Restored prairie was the optimal biofuel crop when both pollinator conservation and crop yield are valued similarly. We add to mounting evidence that policy is needed to create sustainable markets that value the multifunctionality of perennial biofuel systems in order to achieve greater ecosystem services from agricultural landscapes.