bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Neural recruitment by ephaptic coupling in epilepsy
Authors: Shivacharan Rajat S. , Chiang Chia‐Chu , Wei Xile , Subramanian Muthumeenakshi , Couturier Nicholas H. , Pakalapati Nrupen , Durand Dominique M. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractObjectiveOne of the challenges in treating patients with drug‐resistant epilepsy is that the mechanisms of seizures are unknown. Most current interventions are based on the assumption that epileptic activity recruits neurons and progresses by synaptic transmission. However, several experimental studies have shown that neural activity in rodent hippocampi can propagate independently of synaptic transmission. Recent studies suggest these waves are self‐propagating by electric field (ephaptic) coupling. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that neural recruitment during seizures can occur by electric field coupling.Methods4‐Aminopyridine was used in both in vivo and in vitro preparation to trigger seizures or epileptiform activity. A transection was made in the in vivo hippocampus and in vitro hippocampal and cortical slices to study whether the induced seizure activity can recruit neurons across the gap. A computational model was built to test whether ephaptic coupling alone can account for neural recruitment across the transection. The model prediction was further validated by in vitro experiments.ResultsExperimental results show that electric fields generated by seizure‐like activity in the hippocampus both in vitro and in vivo can recruit neurons locally and through a transection of the tissue. The computational model suggests that the neural recruitment across the transection is mediated by electric field coupling. With in vitro experiments, we show that a dielectric material can block the recruitment of epileptiform activity across a transection, and that the electric fields measured within the gap are similar to those predicted by model simulations. Furthermore, this nonsynaptic neural recruitment is also observed in cortical slices, suggesting that this effect is robust in brain tissue.SignificanceThese results indicate that ephaptic coupling, a nonsynaptic mechanism, can underlie neural recruitment by a small electric field generated by seizure activity and could explain the low success rate of surgical transections in epilepsy patients.
Improved phenological escape can help temperate tree seedlings maintain demographic performance under climate change conditions
Authors: Lee Benjamin R. , Ibáñez Inés 
Published: May 2021

AbstractPhenological escape, a strategy that deciduous understory plants use to access direct light in spring by leafing out before the canopy closes, plays an important role in shaping the recruitment of temperate tree seedlings. Previous studies have investigated how climate change will alter these dynamics for herbaceous species, but there is a knowledge gap related to how woody species such as tree seedlings will be affected. Here, we modeled temperate tree seedling leaf‐out phenology and canopy close phenology in response to environmental drivers and used climate change projections to forecast changes to the duration of spring phenological escape. We then used these predictions to estimate changes in annual carbon assimilation while accounting for reduced carbon assimilation rates associated with hotter and drier summers. Lastly, we applied these estimates to previously published models of seedling growth and survival to investigate the net effect on seedling demographic performance. Our models predict that temperate tree seedlings will experience improved phenological escape and, therefore, increased spring carbon assimilation under climate change conditions. However, increased summer respiration costs will offset the gains in spring under extreme climate change leading to a net loss in annual carbon assimilation and demographic performance. Furthermore, we found that annual carbon assimilation predictions depend strongly on the species of nearby canopy tree that seedlings were planted near, with all seedlings projected to assimilate less carbon (and therefore experience worse demographic performance) when planted near Quercus rubra canopy trees as opposed to Acer saccharum canopy trees. We conclude that changes to spring phenological escape will have important effects on how tree seedling recruitment is affected by climate change, with the magnitude of these effects dependent upon climate change severity and biological interactions with neighboring adults. Thus, future studies of temperate forest recruitment should account for phenological escape dynamics in their models.
Making black lives don't matter via organizational strategies to avoid the racial debate: The military police in Brazil
Authors: Alcadipani Rafael , Pacheco Lopes da Silva Dennis , Bueno Samira , Sergio de Lima Renato 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe #BlackLivesMatter movement has raised awareness of the killing of black people by law enforcement agents in the United States specifically and racism in general in different parts of the world. Academics in Management and Organizations have discussed various dimensions of racial inequalities and differences in organizations. However, little discussion has taken place regarding the actual practices deployed by organizations to avoid the racial debate. Based on our experience of doing research into the police in Latin America and engaging in the public debate to stop police killing and the killing of police officers, we discuss here the strategies deployed by the military police forces in Brazil to make black lives don't matter by avoiding discussing the police's role in Brazilian racism. We argue that these strategies make the police to fail to recognize their role in the killing of black people in the country. Despite the Brazilian military police being an extreme case, we suggest organizations maintain more open or more overt strategies that make black lives don't matter and call academics to research and denounce these strategies.
Collective pause: improving staff performance in acute medicine through a brief mindfulness‐based group programme
Authors: Kang Matthew , Gibbs Harry , Selzer Rob , Hudaib Abdul‐Rahman , Aung Ar Kar , Gibbs Jo 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBackgroundHospital wards are a complex and dynamic environment that rely on optimal staff performance. However, there is little research evaluating group interventions to improve staff attention and teamwork.AimsTo evaluate whether a regular, short and guided group mindfulness practice for staff in an acute general medicine team improves attention and teamwork.MethodsA 10‐min programme comprising mindfulness exercises and techniques was delivered daily to a multidisciplinary general medicine team based in a tertiary hospital for 4 weeks. This was undertaken immediately prior to the team's interdisciplinary ward round. We used a mixed‐method design, with self‐rated surveys to measure mindfulness and staff perception of hospital safety culture, and a focus group to understand participants' experiences. We estimated mean differences using Kruskal–Wallis tests across 10 time‐points and thematically analysed recorded transcripts.ResultsThere was an increase in staff attention to the team meeting as measured by the decentering domain across time (P < 0.001). There was a trend to greater staff openness with a non‐significant increase in curiosity (P = 0.14).We identified two overarching qualitative themes: feasibility of the programme and impact on staff and workplace. The programme was a calming circuit breaker to staff's day, which aided in feeling more connected to the group and subjectively better ward round experience. The logistics of the programme, including timing, and the facilitator developing trust with the participants, appear important in implementation.ConclusionA brief mindfulness‐based intervention delivered to a general medical team improves staff attention at a multidisciplinary team meeting and team functioning.
Epigenetic regulation of N6‐methyladenosine modifications in obesity
Authors: Sun Mingli , Zhang Xinan 
Published: May 2021

AbstractObesity is a serious health issue in the world and is related to a higher risk of suffering metabolic diseases. Understanding the molecular basis of obesity is critical to identify new targets to treat obesity and obesity‐associated metabolic diseases. N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) modification is the most common form of ribonucleic acid modification, which has attracted increasing interest of researchers in recent years, as it is reported that m6A has vital functions in diseases and everyday life activities. Recent studies showed that m6A modification was decreased in obese adipose tissue, and appeared to play a regulatory role in many obesity‐associated biological processes, including adipogenesis, lipid metabolism and insulin resistance. In this review, we discussed the emerging advances in m6A modification in obesity to provide a novel therapeutic strategy for fighting against obesity.
How do multimorbidity and lifestyle factors impact the perceived health of adults with intellectual disabilities?
Authors: Olsen M. I. , Halvorsen M. B. , Søndenaa E. , Langballe E. M. , Bautz‐Holter E. , Stensland E. , Tessem S. , Anke A. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBackgroundAdults with intellectual disability (ID) have poorer physical and perceived health than the general population. Knowledge of perceived health predictors is both limited and important for guiding the development of preventive actions. The aims of this study were to investigate (1) the associations between perceived health and demographics, degree of ID, physical health conditions, and weight and physical activity level and (2) lifestyle factors and multimorbidity as predictors for perceived health adjusted for age, gender, and level of ID.MethodThe North Health in Intellectual Disability study is a community based cross‐sectional survey. The POMONA‐15 health indicators were used. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses with poor versus good health as the dependent variable were applied.ResultsThe sample included 214 adults with a mean age 36.1 (SD 13.8) years; 56% were men, and 27% reported perceiving their health as poor. In univariate analyses, there were significant associations between poor health ratings and female gender, lower motor function, number of physical health conditions and several indicators of levels of physical activity. In the final adjusted model, female gender [odds ratio (OR) 2.4, P < 0.05], level of ID (OR 0.65, P < 0.05), numbers of physical health conditions (OR 1.6, P < 0.001) and lower motor function (OR 1.5 P < 0.05) were significant explanatory variables for poor perceived health, with a tendency to independently impact failure to achieve 30 min of physical activity daily (OR 2.0, P = 0.07).ConclusionAdults with ID with female gender, reduced motor function and more physical health conditions are at increased risk of lower perceived health and should be given attention in health promoting interventions. A lack of physical activity tends to negatively influence perceived health.
THE INTENSIFYING INTERSECTION OF ETHICS, RELIGION, THEOLOGY, AND PEACE STUDIES
Authors: DuBois Heather M. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe intersection of ethics, religion, theology, and peace studies is intensifying through increasingly multi‐disciplinary, contextual, explicitly normative scholarship. This book discussion demonstrates this claim through its profiles of an introduction to Christian ethics by Ellen Ott Marshall, a case study of the School of the Americas Watch by Kyle B. T. Lambelet, a case study of the American Jewish Palestine solidarity movement by Atalia Omer, and a global, historical study of Christian ethics by Cecilia Lynch. Though their methods and subjects vary, these authors are collectively renewing a history of mutual enrichment between religious ethics and peace studies, employing theories of lived, ambivalent religion. To begin, this essay provides introductory remarks about the field of peace studies, highlighting the evolving involvement of religious actors. To conclude, it makes a plea for greater use of conflict theory and peace practice in religious ethics.
RELIGIOUS ETHICS AND EMPIRICAL ETHICS
Authors: Moret Ross 
Published: May 2021

AbstractIn recent decades, cognitive and behavioral scientists have learned a great deal about how people think and behave. On the most general level, there is a basic consensus that many judgments, including ethical judgments, are made by intuitive, even unconscious, impulses. This basic insight has opened the door to a wide variety of more particular studies that investigate how judgments are influenced by group identity, self‐conception, emotions, perceptions of risk, and many other factors. When these forms of research engage ethical issues, they are sometimes called empirical ethics. This essay argues that the field of religious ethics would benefit from a more robust engagement with empirical ethics than it has thus far undertaken. In doing so, it offers a brief account of how issues of moral psychology and moral anthropology have been treated in religious ethics, and it highlights ways that the scientific findings challenge some prevailing norms in religious ethics. It ends by suggesting avenues by which religious ethics research could productively engage empirical ethics.
Ultrasound‐guided transurethral urinary bladder biopsy using an endoscopic biopsy forceps in dogs: 27 cases (2016–2019)
Authors: Shimizu N. , Hamaide A. , Soliveres E. , Heimann M. , Noel S. , Bolen G. 
Published: May 2021

ObjectivesTo describe an ultrasound‐guided transurethral bladder biopsy technique using endoscopic forceps and its results in dogs of different sizes with different lesion locations.Materials and MethodsMedical records of dogs that underwent ultrasound‐guided transurethral bladder biopsy with endoscopic forceps were retrospectively reviewed. Patient signalment, lesion location, use of urinary catheter as a guide, outcome of the procedure and histopathology results were retrieved.ResultsTwenty‐seven dogs underwent this procedure. Biopsy samples were successfully obtained in 23 dogs. Insertion of the endoscopic forceps without a urinary catheter allowed the procedure to be performed in patients with a small urethral diameter without complication. The procedure was unsuccessful in dogs with a urethral diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the biopsy forceps (i.e. 1.8 mm), either due to small patient size or obstructive urethral lesion. All biopsy samples allowed histopathological diagnosis. No complications were reported after the procedure.Clinical SignificanceThis non‐invasive biopsy technique should be considered in patients with bladder lesions in which histopathological diagnosis is needed, especially when endoscopic examination is not feasible. By use of the Doppler mode, biopsy retrieval was safe also when the lesion ​was highly vascularised.
Poly ADP‐ribose polymerase‐1 promotes seed‐setting rate by facilitating gametophyte development and meiosis in rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Authors: Li Xiumei , Zhang Yixin , Liu Qinjian , Song Songquan , Liu Jun 
Published: May 2021

SummaryPoly(ADP‐ribose) polymerases (PARPs), which transfer either monomer or polymer of ADP‐ribose from nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) onto target proteins, are required for multiple processes in DNA damage repair, cell cycle, development, and abiotic stress in animals and plants. Here, the uncharacterized rice (Oryza sativa) OsPARP1, which has been predicted to have two alternative OsPARP1 mRNA splicing variants, OsPARP1.1 and OsPARP1.2, was investigated. However, bimolecular fluorescence complementation showed that only OsPARP1.1 interacted with OsPARP3 paralog, suggesting that OsPARP1.1 is a functional protein in rice. OsPARP1 was preferentially expressed in the stamen primordial and pollen grain of mature stamen during flower development. The osparp1 mutant and CRISPR plants were delayed in germination, indicating that defective DNA repair machinery impairs early seed germination. The mutant displayed a normal phenotype during vegetative growth but had a lower seed‐setting rate than wild‐type plants under normal conditions. Chromosome bridges and DNA fragmentations were detected in male meiocytes at anaphase I to prophase II. After meiosis II, malformed tetrads or tetrads with micronuclei were formed. Meanwhile, the abnormality was also found in embryo sac development. Collectively, these results suggest that OsPARP1 plays an important role in mediating response to DNA damage and gametophyte development, crucial for rice yield in the natural environment.
Generation of Twin Vortex Rope in the Draft-Tube Elbow of a Francis Turbine During Deep Part-Load Operation
Authors: Khozaei Mohammad Hossein , Favrel Arthur , Masuko Toshitake , Yamaguchi Naoki , Miyagawa Kazuyoshi 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThis paper focuses on the generation of twin vortex rope in the draft-tube elbow of a Francis turbine at deep part-load operation through analyzing the results of model tests along with numerical simulations. Model tests, including pressure fluctuations measurements, are conducted over ten speed factors. By considering the frequency of the pressure fluctuations with respect to the swirl intensity at the runner outlet, the part-load operating range is divided into three regimes, with two clear transitions between each occurring at swirl numbers 0.4 and 1.7. For operating conditions with a swirl number S &gt; 0.4, a linear correlation between the frequency of the precessing vortex core and the swirl number is established. During the deep part-load regime (S &gt; 1.7), low-frequency pressure fluctuations appear. Their frequency features another linear correlation with the swirl number. Unsteady computational fluid dynamics simulation of the full domain is performed to elucidate the generation mechanisms of the low-frequency fluctuations. By tracking the center of the vortical structures along the draft-tube, generation of three vortices in the elbow responsible for the pressure fluctuations at the lowest frequency is highlighted: the main precessing vortex core (PVC) hits the draft-tube wall in the elbow resulting in its break down into three vortices rotating with half the rotational speed of the PVC. Two of the vortices rotate with opposite angular position, constituting a structure of twin vortices. The periodic rotation of these three vortices in the elbow induces low-frequency pressure fluctuations.
Beneficiation of Seafloor Massive Sulfides by Liquid–Liquid Extraction
Authors: Nakajima Yasuharu , Yamabe Yuta , Fujita Toyohisa , Dodbiba Gjergj 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This paper addresses the applicability of liquid–liquid extraction for separating mineral particles by the difference in oil–water partition coefficient, for the seafloor mineral processing of seafloor massive sulfides (SMSs). Measurements of contact angle of sulfide mineral–aqueous solution–oil systems under high-pressure conditions were performed to evaluate the efficiency of liquid–liquid extraction at high pressures. The results showed that the contact angle stayed around 80–100 deg at the pressure range up to 16 MPa, and the changes in the contact angles were within 5 deg with varying pressure. Extraction experiments were carried out by using particles of an SMS ore, which contained Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb), and Barium (Ba) in the grade of more than 10 mass% and Copper (Cu) in a small percentage, to evaluate the beneficiation performance of liquid–liquid extraction. In the experiments, extraction conditions such as the dosage of chemical reagents and pH in the aqueous solution were varied to optimize both the recovery and selectivity of Cu, Zn, and Pb in the oil phase and those of Ba in the water phase. The experimental results showed that the optimum condition was 200 g/t dosage—pH 7, where the grade and recovery were ca. 37 mass% and ca. 90 mass%, respectively. The beneficiation performance of liquid–liquid extraction would be comparable with that of flotation, adapted to the processing of other SMS ores.
Facilitators and barriers to the delivery of palliative care to children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions: a qualitative study of the experiences and perceptions of healthcare professionals
Authors: Mitchell Sarah , Slowther Anne-Marie , Coad Jane , Bertaud Sophie , Dale Jeremy 
Published: May 2021

ObjectiveTo understand healthcare system facilitators and barriers to the delivery of palliative care for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions and their family members.DesignFocus groups with children’s palliative care professionals. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.SettingFour regions of England (West Midlands, South West, Yorkshire and Humber, and London) from December 2017 to June 2018.ParticipantsHealthcare professionals (doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals) working in children’s palliative care services.FindingsA total of 71 healthcare professionals participated in the focus groups. Three overarching themes were identified which influenced whether and when children were referred to and started to receive palliative care: (1) the unspoken background of clinical uncertainty which often delayed palliative care; (2) the cultural ‘collusion of immortality’, where conversations about the possibility of dying can be avoided or deferred; and (3) the role of paediatric palliative care teams in ‘illuminating the blind spot’ of palliative care as well as providing hands-on care.ConclusionsPalliative care is a holistic approach to care that focuses on quality of life for people living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions that can be delivered alongside active treatment. There is a need to prioritise and integrate this into healthcare services for children more effectively if improvements in care are to be realised. While more specialist paediatric palliative care services are needed, the unspoken background of clinical uncertainty needs to be addressed together with the collusion of immortality within healthcare culture and organisations.