bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intolerance of uncertainty predicts fear of healthcare settings but not desire for testing during the novel coronavirus pandemic
Authors: Radell Milen L. , McGuire Brian M. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unprecedented uncertainty, and differences in how people cope with this uncertainty will influence the cost of viral pandemics to both individuals and society. The personality trait of intolerance of uncertainty (IU), defined as a dispositional fear of the unknown, has been linked to higher health anxiety and fear of the virus. Although IU may increase the desire for medical information and treatment, during pandemics, this might be weighed against the risk of becoming infected while in a healthcare setting. We examined whether people with higher IU report greater fear of healthcare settings, and show more desire to be tested for the virus. Residents of the United States (n = 149) were surveyed in early May 2020, while most states had active stay-at-home orders. Higher prospective but not inhibitory IU predicted more fear of healthcare settings. The largest effect size, however, was for fear of leaving the home, indicating a general tendency toward fear and avoidance. Fear of leaving the home, perceiving the virus as dangerous, access to testing, and having symptoms were significant predictors of desire for testing.
Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Pediatric Emergency Department Flow
Authors: Rivera-Sepulveda Andrea , Maul Timothy , Dong Katherine , Crate Kylee , Helman Talia , Bria Corinne , Martin Lisa , Bogers Kimberly , Pearce Joseph W. , Glass Todd F. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract

Objective:
The aim of this study was to determine how the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected the use of the pediatric emergency department (PED).

Methods:
Cross-sectional study of PED visits during January through April, 2016-2020. Data included: total PED visits, emergency severity index (ESI), disposition, chief complaint, age (months), time from first provider to disposition (PTD), and PED length of stay (PED-LOS). P-value <0.01 was statistically significant.

Results:
In total, 67,499 visits were reported. There was a significant decrease in PED visits of 24-71% from March to April 2020. Chief complaints for fever and cough were highest in March 2020; while April 2020 had a shorter mean PED-LOS (from 158 to 123 min), an increase of admissions (from 8% to 14%), a decrease in ESI 4 (10%), and an increase in ESI 3 (8%) (P < 0.001). There was no difference in mean monthly PTD time.

Conclusions:
Patient flow in the PED was negatively affected by a decrease in PED visits and increase in admission rate that may be related to higher acuity. By understanding the interaction between hospital processes on PEDs and patient factors during a pandemic, we are able to anticipate and better allocate future resources.
Nutrition Management in COVID-19 Quarantine: Hospital-Based Study
Authors: Tayyem Reema , Al-Shudifat Abdel-Ellah , Al-Alami Zahra’ , Abdelbaset Mohammad G. , Al-Awwad Narmeen , Azab Mohammed 
Published: December 2021

Abstract

Background:
This hospital-based study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status and dietary habits, the amount of nutrients provided to the patients in the hospital and to detect the predictors of severity among COVID-19 patients in Jordan.

Methods:
A hospital-based study (N = 367; mean age 42.3 y; SD 15.4; 66.0% men) was conducted between March 17 and July 25, 2020, in Prince Hamza Hospital. Data about socio-demographic, anthropometric, dietary habits, and macro- and micronutrients intake were collected from the patients’ medical files, and some missing data were collected by phone directly from the patients.

Results:
The results of the linear regression showed that only age was significantly and positively (ß = 0.454; P = 0.001) associated with severity of the disease among the study patients. Approximately 57% of the COVID-19 patients consumed 3 meals daily, while 31-34% consumed 1 to 2 snacks daily. The majority (64%) of the patients drank more than 5 cups of water daily. Around 24% of the patients complained of eating problems, such as taste and/or smell loss, low appetite, and swallowing difficulty. The intakes of the vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, and C, as well as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, and sodium, were within the recommended dietary allowances (RDA).

Conclusion:
The servings of the 5 food groups as well as most of the macro- and micronutrient requirements were within the recommended intakes and RDA.
Cholecystokinin B receptor gene polymorphism (rs2941026) is associated with anxious personality and suicidal thoughts in a longitudinal study
Authors: Lvovs Aneth , Matrov Denis , Kurrikoff Triin , Veidebaum Toomas , Harro Jaanus 
Published: December 2021

AbstractObjectives:Cholecystokinin is a neuropeptide with a role in the neurobiology of adaptive behaviour that is implicated in anxiety disorders, while the underlying mechanisms currently remain insufficiently explained. The rs2941026 variation in the cholecystokinin B receptor gene has previously been associated with trait anxiety. Our aim was to investigate associations between the CCKBreceptor gene polymorphism rs2941026 with anxiety, personality, depressiveness and suicidality in a longitudinal study of late adolescence and early adulthood.Methods:We used reports on trait and state anxiety, depressiveness and suicidal thoughts, as well as Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales, from the two birth cohorts of the Estonian Children Personality, Behaviour and Health Study. We measured associations between theCCKBRgene rs2941026 and anxiety-related phenotypes both longitudinally and cross-sectionally at ages 15, 18, 25 and 33.Results:Homozygosity for both alleles of theCCKBRrs2941026 was associated with higher trait and state anxiety in the longitudinal analysis. Cross-sectional comparisons were statistically significant at ages 18 and 25 for trait anxiety and at ages 25 and 33 for state anxiety. Higher depressiveness and suicidal thoughts were associated with the A/A genotype at age 18. Additionally, homozygosity for the A-allele was related to higher FEAR and SADNESS in the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales. The genotype effects were more apparent in females, who displayed higher levels of negative affect overall.Conclusions:CCKBRgenotype is persistently associated with negative affect in adolescence and young adulthood. The association of theCCKBRrs2941026 genotype with anxiety-related phenotypes is more pronounced in females.
Exploring subconscious bias
Authors: Miu K , Ranford D , Hopkins C , Karagama Y , Surda P 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundImplicit biases may lead to subconscious evaluations of a person based on irrelevant characteristics such as race or gender. This audit investigates the presence of implicit bias in the management of patients who missed appointments in our department.MethodsThis study retrospectively analysed discharge rates in 285 patients who missed an out-patient appointment between 1 May 2020 and 1 April 2021 at Guy's and St Thomas’ Hospital. After reading the patients' names, 285 patients were categorised into genders, and ethnic categories of: White British; Black, Asian and minority (non-White) ethnic (‘BAME’); and other White.ResultsThere were no differences in discharge rates in terms of self-reported ethnic and gender groups. However, patients perceived as White British were less likely to be discharged when compared to patients perceived as Black, Asian and minority ethnic (35 per cent vs 58 per cent). Discharge rates for perceived gender did not differ.ConclusionImplicit bias may influence decision-making regarding whether to rebook a patient after missing an appointment.
Governance Sensitivities and the Politics of Translation: Rethinking the Colonisation of the Shuar of Ecuador's Amazonian South-East
Authors: Leifsen Esben 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe article analyses two delegated governance projects carried out in Ecuador's Amazonian south-east in the twentieth century. In collaboration with the military and public institutions, two Catholic missions, the Salesian and the Franciscan, were central actors in the colonising of an area inhabited by the Shuar. Considering the wider historical and ethnographic regional context and focusing on practices of cultural translation and territorial politics, I discuss the two missions’ divergent governance sensitivities vis-à-vis the Shuar. ‘Governance sensitivities’ refers in this context to the colonial actors’ capability to recognise colonised subjects as culturally distinct. I combine new empirical material from the historical archive of the Franciscans in Zamora with secondary sources in order to analyse how differences between the two missions’ sensitivity and insensitivity to Shuar otherness became especially prevalent in the 1960s and 70s. The divergent ways the Salesians and Franciscans perceived the Shuar colonial subject had consequences for how they engaged in the protection of Shuar land and for how they contributed to facilitating or holding back indigenous political organisation.
Adaptive sliding tracking control for nonlinear uncertain robotic systems with unknown actuator nonlinearities
Authors: Liu Shubo , Liu Guoquan , Wu Shengbiao 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThis study is concerned with the tracking control problem for nonlinear uncertain robotic systems in the presence of unknown actuator nonlinearities. A novel adaptive sliding controller is designed based on a robust disturbance observer without any prior knowledge of actuator nonlinearities and system dynamics. The proposed control strategy can guarantee that the tracking error eventually converges to an arbitrarily small neighborhood of zero. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed strategy.
Memory and habituation to harmful and non-harmful stimuli in a field population of the sensitive plant,Mimosa pudica
Authors: Serpell Ella , Chaves-Campos Johel 
Published: December 2021

AbstractMimosa pudicais a Neotropical legume that closes its leaves rapidly in response to touch stimulation, hypothetically as herbivory defence. Habituation to non-harmful stimuli and long-term memory of past events have been demonstrated in this species, the former with relatively heavy objects and the latter under laboratory conditions. This species should not habituate to harmful stimuli if leaf movement is a response to herbivore damage. We tested in Monteverde, Costa Rica, whether (1) memory occurs in wild plants, (2) whether habituation occurs under harmful stimuli: simulated herbivory, and (3) whether wild plants can habituate to light non-harmful stimuli. The degree of closing of the leaflets and time until reopening was measured in response to repeated harmful and non-harmful stimuli. The results showed habituation to repeated non-harmful very light stimuli and showed lack of habituation to simulated leaf damage. Wild plants also showed faster rehabituation to repeated non-harmful stimuli when they had been exposed 15 days previously, suggesting possible long-term memory. These results indicate that wild plants are capable of (1) distinguishing between harmful and non-harmful stimuli (only habituating to the latter), (2) memorizing previous events, and 3) habituating very light tactile stimuli commonly experienced in the field.
Harshness and unpredictability: Childhood environmental links with immune and asthma outcomes
Authors: Lam Phoebe H. , Miller Gregory E. , Hoffer Lauren , Siliezar Rebekah , Dezil Johanna , McDonald Amanda , Chen Edith 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe environment has pervasive impacts on human development, and two key environmental conditions – harshness and unpredictability – are proposed to be instrumental in tuning development. This study examined (1) how harsh and unpredictable environments related to immune and clinical outcomes in the context of childhood asthma, and (2) whether there were independent associations of harshness and unpredictability with these outcomes. Participants were 290 youth physician-diagnosed with asthma. Harshness was assessed with youth-reported exposure to violence and neighborhood-level murder rate. Unpredictability was assessed with parent reports of family structural changes. Youth also completed measures of asthma control as well as asthma quality of life and provided blood samples to assess immune profiles, including in vitro cytokine responses to challenge and sensitivity to inhibitory signals from glucocorticoids. Results indicated that harshness was associated with more pronounced pro-inflammatory cytokine production following challenge and less sensitivity to the inhibitory properties of glucocorticoids. Furthermore, youth exposed to harsher environments reported less asthma control and poorer quality of life. All associations with harshness persisted when controlling for unpredictability. No associations between unpredictability and outcomes were found. These findings suggest that relative to unpredictability, harshness may be a more consistent correlate of asthma-relevant immune and clinical outcomes.
Prediction of extubation failure in the paediatric cardiac ICU using machine learning and high-frequency physiologic data
Authors: Rooney Sydney R. , Reynolds Evan L. , Banerjee Mousumi , Pasquali Sara K. , Charpie John R. , Gaies Michael G. , Owens Gabe E. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackground:Cardiac intensivists frequently assess patient readiness to wean off mechanical ventilation with an extubation readiness trial despite it being no more effective than clinician judgement alone. We evaluated the utility of high-frequency physiologic data and machine learning for improving the prediction of extubation failure in children with cardiovascular disease.Methods:This was a retrospective analysis of clinical registry data and streamed physiologic extubation readiness trial data from one paediatric cardiac ICU (12/2016-3/2018). We analysed patients’ final extubation readiness trial. Machine learning methods (classification and regression tree, Boosting, Random Forest) were performed using clinical/demographic data, physiologic data, and both datasets. Extubation failure was defined as reintubation within 48 hrs. Classifier performance was assessed on prediction accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.Results:Of 178 episodes, 11.2% (N = 20) failed extubation. Using clinical/demographic data, our machine learning methods identified variables such as age, weight, height, and ventilation duration as being important in predicting extubation failure. Best classifier performance with this data was Boosting (prediction accuracy: 0.88; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.74). Using physiologic data, our machine learning methods found oxygen saturation extremes and descriptors of dynamic compliance, central venous pressure, and heart/respiratory rate to be of importance. The best classifier in this setting was Random Forest (prediction accuracy: 0.89; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.75). Combining both datasets produced classifiers highlighting the importance of physiologic variables in determining extubation failure, though predictive performance was not improved.Conclusion:Physiologic variables not routinely scrutinised during extubation readiness trials were identified as potential extubation failure predictors. Larger analyses are necessary to investigate whether these markers can improve clinical decision-making.
Seasonal Variations and Drivers of Surface Ocean pCO2 in the Seasonal Ice Zone of the Eastern Indian Sector, Southern Ocean
Authors: Tozawa Manami , Nomura Daiki , Nakaoka Shin‐ichiro , Kiuchi Masaaki , Yamazaki Kaihe , Hirano Daisuke , Aoki Shigeru , Sasaki Hiroko , Murase Hiroto 
Published: December 2021

AbstractTo quantitatively assess the inorganic carbon cycle in the eastern Indian sector of the Southern Ocean (80–150°E, south of 60°S), we measured ocean surface temperature, salinity, total alkalinity (TA), the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), and concentrations of chlorophyll‐a (chl a), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and nutrients during the KY18 survey (December 2018–January 2019). The sea–air CO2 flux in this region was −8.3 ± 12.7 mmol m−2 day−1 (−92.1 to +10.6 mmol m−2 day−1). The ocean was therefore a weak CO2 sink. Based on the DIC and TA in the temperature minimum layer, we estimated the change of pCO2 from winter to summer (δpCO2) due to changes in water temperature, salinity, and biological activity (photosynthesis). The spatial distribution of pCO2 in the western part (80–110°E) of the study area was mainly driven by biological activity, which decreased pCO2 from December to early January, and in the eastern part (110–150°E) by temperature, which increased pCO2 from January to February. We also examined the changes in the CO2 concentrations (xCO2) over time by comparing data from 1996 with our data (2018–2019). The oceanic and atmospheric xCO2 increased by 23 and 45 ppm in 23 years, respectively. These changes of ocean xCO2 were mainly driven by an increase in CO2 uptake from the atmosphere as a result of the rise in atmospheric xCO2 and increase in biological activity associated with the change in the water‐mass distribution.
Sidt2 is a key protein in the autophagy-lysosomal degradation pathway and is essential for the maintenance of kidney structure and filtration function
Authors: Geng Meng-ya , Wang Lizhuo , Song Ying-ying , Gu Jing , Hu Xin , Yuan Cheng , Yang Meng , Pei Wen-jun , Zhang Yao , Gao Jia-lin 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe regulation and homeostasis of autophagy are essential for maintaining organ morphology and function. As a lysosomal membrane protein, the effect of Sidt2 on kidney structure and renal autophagy is still unknown. In this study, we found that the kidneys of Sidt2−/− mice showed changes in basement membrane thickening, foot process fusion, and mitochondrial swelling, suggesting that the structure of the kidney was damaged. Increased urine protein at 24 h indicated that the kidney function was also damaged. At the same time, the absence of Sidt2 caused a decrease in the number of acidic lysosomes, a decrease in acid hydrolase activity and expression in the lysosome, and an increase of pH in the lysosome, suggesting that lysosomal function was impaired after Sidt2 deletion. The accumulation of autophagolysosomes, increased LC3-II and P62 protein levels, and decreased P62 mRNA levels indicated that the absence of the Sidt2 gene caused abnormal autophagy pathway flow. Chloroquine experiment, immunofluorescence autophagosome, and lysosome fusion assay, and Ad-mcherry-GFP-LC3B further indicated that, after Sidt2 deletion, the production of autophagosomes did not increase, but the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes and the degradation of autophagolysosomes were impaired. When incubating Sidt2−/− cells with the autophagy activator rapamycin, we found that it could activate autophagy, which manifested as an increase in autophagosomes, but it could not improve autophagolysosome degradation. Meanwhile, it further illustrated that the Sidt2 gene plays an important role in the smooth progress of autophagolysosome processes. In summary, the absence of the Sidt2 gene caused impaired lysosome function and a decreased number of acidic lysosomes, leading to formation and degradation disorders of the autophagolysosomes, which eventually manifested as abnormal kidney structure and function. Sidt2 is essential in maintaining the normal function of the lysosomes and the physiological stability of the kidneys.
Mitochondrial glutamine metabolism regulates sensitivity of cancer cells after chemotherapy via amphiregulin
Authors: Hwang Sunsook , Yang Seungyeon , Kim Minjoong , Hong Youlim , Kim Byungjoo , Lee Eun Kyung , Jeong Seung Min 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe DNA damage response is essential for sustaining genomic stability and preventing tumorigenesis. However, the fundamental question about the cellular metabolic response to DNA damage remains largely unknown, impeding the development of metabolic interventions that might prevent or treat cancer. Recently, it has been reported that there is a link between cell metabolism and DNA damage response, by repression of glutamine (Gln) entry into mitochondria to support cell cycle arrest and DNA repair. Here, we show that mitochondrial Gln metabolism is a crucial regulator of DNA damage-induced cell death. Mechanistically, inhibition of glutaminase (GLS), the first enzyme for Gln anaplerosis, sensitizes cancer cells to DNA damage by inducing amphiregulin (AREG) that promotes apoptotic cell death. GLS inhibition increases reactive oxygen species production, leading to transcriptional activation of AREG through Max-like protein X (MLX) transcription factor. Moreover, suppression of mitochondrial Gln metabolism results in markedly increased cell death after chemotherapy in vitro and in vivo. The essentiality of this molecular pathway in DNA damage-induced cell death may provide novel metabolic interventions for cancer therapy.
Large-scale characterisation of the pregnancy vaginal microbiome and sialidase activity in a low-risk Chinese population
Authors: Ng Sherrianne , Chen Muxuan , Kundu Samit , Wang Xuefei , Zhou Zuyi , Zheng Zhongdaixi , Qing Wei , Sheng Huafang , Wang Yan , He Yan , Bennett Phillip R. , MacIntyre David A. , Zhou Hongwei 
Published: December 2021

AbstractVaginal microbiota-host interactions are linked to preterm birth (PTB), which continues to be the primary cause of global childhood mortality. Due to population size, the majority of PTB occurs in Asia, yet there have been few studies of the pregnancy vaginal microbiota in Asian populations. Here, we characterized the vaginal microbiome of 2689 pregnant Chinese women using metataxonomics and in a subset (n = 819), the relationship between vaginal microbiota composition, sialidase activity and leukocyte presence and pregnancy outcomes. Vaginal microbiota were most frequently dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus or L. iners, with the latter associated with vaginal leukocyte presence. Women with high sialidase activity were enriched for bacterial vaginosis-associated genera including Gardnerella, Atopobium and Prevotella. Vaginal microbiota composition, high sialidase activity and/or leukocyte presence was not associated with PTB risk suggesting underlying differences in the vaginal microbiota and/or host immune responses of Chinese women, possibly accounting for low PTB rates in this population.