bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reducing Osteopenia of Prematurity-related Fractures in a Level IV NICU: A Quality Improvement Initiative
Authors: Cromwell Linsey , Breznak Katherine , Young Megan , Kasangottu Anoosha , Leonardo Sharon , Markel Catherine , Marinescu Andreea , Kehinde Folasade , Quinones Cardona Vilmaris 
Published: April 2024

Background:
Osteopenia of prematurity (OOP) is often a silent disease in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Despite its association with increased neonatal morbidity, such as fractures, wide variation exists in screening, diagnostic, and management practices. We sought to decrease the rate of OOP-related fractures in our level IV NICU by 20% within 1 year.

Methods:
A multidisciplinary quality improvement team identified inconsistent screening, diagnosis, and management of OOP, as well as handling of at-risk patients, as primary drivers for OOP-related fractures. Using the model for improvement, we implemented sequential interventions, including screening, diagnosis, and a management algorithm as a “handle-with-care” bundle in infants at risk for fractures.

Results:
194 at-risk infants were included, 59 of whom had OOP. There was special cause variation in OOP-related fractures, with a reduction from 0.43 per 1000 patient days to 0.06 per 1000 patient days with our interventions. There was also an improvement in days between fractures from 62 to 337 days. We achieved these improvements despite a similar prevalence of OOP throughout the initiative. We showed special cause variation with increased patients between missed OOP documentation and improved collection of OOP screening laboratories at 4 weeks of life without increased blood testing.

Conclusion:
A multidisciplinary team approach with standardized OOP screening, diagnosis, and management guidelines, including a handle-with-care bundle, reduces OOP-related fractures in a level IV NICU.
Ruegeria marisflavi sp. nov. and Ruegeria aquimaris sp. nov., isolated from seawater of the Yellow Sea
Authors: He Wei , Wang Hong-Chuan , Wang Lu , Xue Hua-Peng , Li Yong-Fu , Zhang Ai Hua , Zhang Dao-Feng 
Published: April 2024

Two novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile and rod-shaped bacteria, designated as WL0004T and XHP0148T, were isolated from seawater samples collected from the coastal areas of Nantong and Lianyungang, PR China, respectively. Both strains were found to grow at 10–42 °C (optimum, 37 °C) and with 2.0–5.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 3.0 %). Strain WL0004T grew at pH 6.0–9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0–8.0), while XHP0148T grew at pH 6.0–10.0 (optimum, pH 7.0–8.0). The major cellular fatty acids (>10 %) of both strains included summed feature 8 (C18 : 1
ω6c and/or C18 : 1
ω7c). In addition, strain WL0004T contained 11-methyl C18 : 1
ω7c and strain XHP0148T contained C12 : 0 3-OH. The respiratory quinone of both strains was ubiquinone-10. The G+C content of genomic DNA of strains WL0004T and XHP0148T were 62.5 and 63.0 mol%, respectively. Strains WL0004T and XHP0148T showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3T (99.4 and 99.0 %, respectively), and the 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis indicated that the two strains were closely related to members of the genus Ruegeria. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA–DNA hybridization values among the two strains and type strains of the genus Ruegeria were all below 95 and 70 %, respectively, and the phylogenetic tree reconstructed from the bac120 gene set indicated that the two strains are distinct from each other and the members of the genus Ruegeria. Based on this phenotypic and genotypic characterization, strains WL0004T (=MCCC 1K07523T=JCM 35565T=GDMCC 1.3083T) and XHP0148T (=MCCC 1K07543T=JCM 35569T=GDMCC 1.3089T) should be recognized as representing two novel species of the genus Ruegeria and the names Ruegeria marisflavi sp. nov. and Ruegeria aquimaris sp. nov. are proposed, respectively.
Microbe Profile: Cellvibrio japonicus: living the sweet life via biomass break-down
Authors: Gardner Jeffrey G. 
Published: April 2024

Graphical abstract
Transmission Election Microscopy (TEM) image of Cellvibrio japonicus from a Hitachi HT7800 set to 100kV and stained with NanoW. The scalebar depicts 1µm. The polysaccharide diagrams shown are examples of substrates that the bacterium is adept at degrading. C. japonicus possesses an impressive array of carbohydrate active enzymes to cleave the glycosidic bonds of many plant, animal, and fungal polysaccharides.
Comprehensive evaluation of the use of intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs in patients with fundus lesions based on real-world data
Authors: Chen Cheng-qun , Du Li-ping , Liu Qing , Ren Qing-hua , Zhu Zhen-feng , Sun Gui-fang , Li Yu-shen , Yang Yang , Du Shu-zhang , Qi Yue-dong 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe prevalence of fundus lesion-related diseases is increasing, which ophthalmic anti-VEGF drugs have become the drugs of choice for the treatment of fundus lesions diseases. To evaluate the clinical value of three ophthalmic anti-VEGF drugs in the treatment of fundus lesions diseases, to guide the rational use of the clinic. Inpatients with fundus lesions who had intravitreal injections of Aflibercept, Conbercept and Leizumab during 2020 were studied and six indicators were selected for a comprehensive evaluation. In terms of safety, Aflibercept, Conbercept, and Leizumab experienced adverse effects of elevated Intraocular Pressure (IOP). In terms of effectiveness, Leizumab was strong, that of Aflibercept was stronger and that of Conbercept was weaker. In terms of economic, there was no significant difference in the cost of Aflibercept, Conbercept and Leizumab and a significant difference in the total treatment cost and the cost of surgery. In terms of appropriateness, Aflibercept was more suitable than Conbercept, and there was no significant difference between Leizumab and Aflibercept. In terms of accessibility, Aflibercept, Conbercept and Leizumab were all accessible to urban residents in Henan Province. For rural people, these are unreachable. In terms of innovation, Aflibercep was the most innovative, followed by Leizumab and finally Conbercept. In terms of effectiveness and accessibility, Leizumab performed best compared to Aflibercept and Conbercept. In terms of accessibility and innovation, Aflibercept performed best compared to Conbercept and Leizumab. In terms of safety and economic, Aflibercept, Conbercept and Leizumab performed comparably.
Factors associated with health decision-making autonomy on own healthcare among Tanzanian women: A 2022-2023 demographic health survey study
Authors: Haruna Tausi , Duah Henry , Lee Rebecca 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBackgroundWomen’s health decision-making autonomy is fundamental for the health and well-being of women and their children. Like most parts of Africa, women’s status in Tanzania remains contentious, with an estimated 19% prevalence of health decision-making autonomy in 2015. Given that women’s health decision-making autonomy is an ongoing process affected by technological and economic growth and social and cultural changes, understanding the sociodemographic correlates of women’s autonomy is imperative.ObjectiveTo examine the factors associated with health decision-making autonomy on their own health among Tanzanian women aged 15-49.MethodsA non-experimental cross-sectional study using secondary data from the current Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey (TDHS-MIS) 2022-2023. The R statistical programming language was used to run the analysis. Chi-square and Ordinal Logistic Regression were fitted to identify the sociodemographic characteristics associated with women’s health decision-making autonomy on their own health. The odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval was used to determine the significance level at p-value <0.05. All estimates were adjusted for sample design (sample weight, strata, and sampling units)ResultsA total of 9,249 women were included in the analysis. Only 1,908 (21%) had complete autonomy, 4,933 (53%) had joint autonomy, and 2,408 (26%) had no autonomy. Women’s age, education level, household wealth index, and living in the South West Highlands zone were factors independently associated with higher odds of complete autonomy in their own healthcare. Rural residence was associated with decreased odds of complete autonomy.ConclusionThese results show that health decision-making autonomy among Tanzanian women remains very low. Efforts to empower women through better education and means to improve their economic status are needed to increase complete health decision-making autonomy on their health.RecommendationAccelerated and concerted efforts to increase health decision-making autonomy among married women will eventually improve their health and well-being and that of society.Future implicationThe findings can serve as a basis for exploratory qualitative research to further understand the process of health decision-making autonomy among Tanzanian women.
The general neurocognitive decline in patients with methamphetamine (MA) use and transient MA-induced psychosis is primarily determined by oxidative and AGE-RAGE stress
Authors: Maes Michael , Altufaili Mazin Fadhil , Alhaideri Amer Fadhil , Moustafa Shatha Rouf , Stoyanova Kristina , Niu Mengqi , Zhou Bo , Li Jing , Al-Hakeim Hussein Kadhem 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBackgroundChronic methamphetamine (MA) usage is linked to oxidative stress (OS), AGE-RAGE stress, changes in magnesium, calcium, and copper, increased psychotic symptoms and neurocognitive deficits. Nevertheless, it is still unclear whether the latter impairments are mediated by these biological pathways.AimsThe purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between neurocognition, the aforementioned biomarkers, and psychotic symptoms.MethodsWe recruited 67 participants, namely 40 patients diagnosed with MA-substance use and 27 healthy controls, and assessed the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), symptoms of psychosis, excitation, and formal thought disorders, OS toxicity (computed as the sum of myeloperoxidase (MPO), oxidized high-density lipoprotein (HDL), oxidized low-DL, and malondialdehyde), antioxidant defenses (catalase, glutathione peroxidase, total antioxidant capacity, zinc, and HDL), increased advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and soluble AGE receptors.ResultsWe were able to extract one validated latent vector from the Mini Mental State Examination score and the BACS tests results (including executive functions, verbal fluency, attention), labeled general cognitive decline (G-CoDe). We found that 76.1% of the variance in the G-CoDe was explained by increased OS toxicity, lowered antioxidant defenses, number of psychotic episodes, and MA dose. In patients with MA use, MPO was significantly associated with the G-CoDe.ConclusionsThe use of MA induces mild cognitive impairments through MA-induced activation of detrimental outcome pathways, including oxidative and AGE-RAGE stress, and suppression of protective outcome pathways (antioxidants). Increased OS, MPO, and AGE-RAGE stress are new drug targets to prevent neurocognitive deficits and psychosis due to MA use.
Spatio-temporal distribution of rhinovirus types in Kenya: A retrospective analysis, 2014
Authors: Morobe John Mwita , Kamau Everlyn , Luka Martha M. , Murunga Nickson , Lewa Clement , Mutunga Martin , Bigogo Godfrey , Otieno Nancy , Nyawanda Bryan , Onyango Clayton , Nokes D. James , Agoti Charles N. , Munywoki Patrick K. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractRhinoviruses (RVs) are one of the most commonly detected viruses in people with acute respiratory illness (ARI). Despite their significant disease burden, RV epidemiology at national levels is underexplored. The circulation patterns of RV types throughout a population and the role of virus genotype in this distribution are ill-defined. We generated 803 VP4/VP2 gene sequences from rhinovirus-positive samples collected from ARI patients, including both in-patient and outpatient cases, between 1stJanuary and 31stDecember 2014 from eleven surveillance sites across Kenya and used phylogenetics to characterise virus introductions and spread. RVs were detected throughout the year, with the highest detection rates observed from January to March and June to July. We detected a total of 114 of the 169 currently classified types. Our analysis revealed numerous virus introductions into Kenya characterized by local expansion and extinction, and extensive spatial mixing of types within the country due to the widespread transmission of the virus after an introduction. This work demonstrates that in a single year, the circulation of rhinovirus in Kenya was characterized by substantial genetic diversity, multiple introductions, and extensive geographical spread.
Microvascular immunity is organ-specific and concealed in peripheral blood
Authors: Rixen Rebecca , Schütz Paula , Walter Carolin , Hüchtmann Birte , Marck Veerle Van , Heitplatz Barbara , Varghese Julian , Pavenstädt Hermann , Buscher Konrad 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBlood tests are a common method for diagnosing and monitoring various health conditions. Nevertheless, the extent to which phlebotomy can offer insights into immune and organ dysfunction remains uncertain. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of blood-borne leukocytes in the microvasculature of different mouse organs and compared it to peripheral blood and parenchymal samples. We observed that microvascular immune cells outnumber tissue-resident counterparts in the kidney, liver and lung. Classical monocytes and lymphocytes are diminished while nonclassical and SSC-high monocytes are enriched compared to blood. Utilizing single-cell sequencing, we identified specific cell populations up to 100-fold expanded in the kidney vasculature including macrophages, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, B cells, and innate lymphoid cells type 2. Microvascular enrichment could trigger a local phenotype switch as shown in glomerulus-restricted B cells. Peritonitis and acute kidney injury (AKI) elicited a multifaceted and systemic response of microvascular leukocytes. It involved remote organ effects, such as a 16-fold increase of leukocytes in the splenic circulation or 64-fold increase of SSC-high monocytes in the liver circulation that was not detectable in the peripheral blood or the tissue. Following full recovery from AKI, persistent and complex changes were observed predominantly in the renal vasculature, while most leukocytes in the peripheral blood had already returned to baseline levels. Collectively, our findings suggest a paradigm of organ- and disease-specific microvascular immunity that largely eludes conventional blood and tissue analysis.
A Facile LC-MS Method for Profiling Cholesterol and Cholesteryl Esters in Mammalian Cells and Tissues
Authors: Chandramouli Aakash , Kamat Siddhesh S. 
Published: April 2024

ABSTRACTCholesterol is central to mammalian lipid metabolism and serves many critical functions in the regulation of diverse physiological processes. Dysregulation in cholesterol metabolism is causally linked to numerous human diseases, and therefore,in vivo, the concentrations and flux of cholesterol and cholesteryl esters (fatty acid esters of cholesterol) are tightly regulated. While mass spectrometry has been an analytical method of choice for detecting cholesterol and cholesteryl esters in biological samples, the hydrophobicity, chemically inert nature and poor ionization of these neutral lipids has often proved a challenge in developing lipidomics compatible liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods to study them. To overcome this problem, here, we report a reverse-phase LC-MS method that is compatible with existing high-throughput lipidomics strategies, and capable of identifying and quantifying cholesterol and cholesteryl esters from mammalian cells and tissues. Using this sensitive yet robust LC-MS method, we profiled different mammalian cell lines and tissues, and provide a comprehensive picture of cholesterol and cholesteryl esters content in them. Specifically, amongst cholesteryl esters, we find that mammalian cells and tissues largely possess monounsaturated and polyunsaturated variants. Taken together, our lipidomics compatible LC-MS method to study this lipid class opens new avenues in understanding systemic and tissue-level cholesterol metabolism under various physiological conditions.Abstract FigureTOC Graphic
XOL-1 regulates developmental timing by modulating the H3K9 landscape inC. elegansearly embryos
Authors: Jash Eshna , Azhar Anati Alyaa , Mendoza Hector , Tan Zoey M. , Escher Halle Nicole , Kaufman Dalia S. , Csankovszki Györgyi 
Published: April 2024

AbstractSex determination in the nematodeC. elegansis controlled by the master regulator XOL-1 during embryogenesis. Expression ofxol-1is dependent on the ratio of X chromosomes and autosomes, which differs between XX hermaphrodites and XO males. In males,xol-1is highly expressed and in hermaphrodites,xol-1is expressed at very low levels. XOL-1 activity is known to be critical for the proper development ofC. elegansmales, but its low expression was considered to be of minimal importance in the development of hermaphrodite embryos. Our study reveals that XOL-1 plays an important role as a regulator of developmental timing during hermaphrodite embryogenesis. Using a combination of imaging and bioinformatics techniques, we found that hermaphrodite embryos have an accelerated rate of cell division, as well as a more developmentally advanced transcriptional program whenxol-1is lost. Further analyses reveal that XOL-1 is responsible for regulating the timing of initiation of dosage compensation on the X chromosomes, and the appropriate expression of sex-biased transcriptional programs in hermaphrodites. We found thatxol-1mutant embryos overexpress the H3K9 methyltransferase MET-2 and have an altered H3K9me landscape. Some of these effects of the loss ofxol-1gene were reversed by the loss ofmet-2. These findings demonstrate that XOL-1 plays an important role as a developmental regulator in embryos of both sexes, and that MET-2 acts as a downstream effector of XOL-1 activity in hermaphrodites.Author SummaryVarious organisms have differing ways of determining, at a molecular level, what the sex of a developing embryo is supposed to be. The two sexes in the nematodeC. elegans, hermaphrodite and male, have different numbers of X chromosomes. Hermaphrodites have two X chromosomes and males only have one. This mismatch raises an additional problem as hermaphrodites will have twice the amount of genes expressed from the X compared to males. This is solved by a process called dosage compensation, which equalizes gene expression between the sexes. A molecular sensor called XOL-1 detects the number of X chromosomes in an embryo and kick-starts the process of proper sexual development and/or dosage compensation. XOL-1 was known to be very important for activating male development but was believed to not have any role in the development of the hermaphrodite sex. We show that XOL-1 has some crucial roles in hermaphrodite embryos in controlling the rate of development of the embryo, and regulating the timing of dosage compensation. We also show that MET-2, a protein that deposits repressive methyl marks on DNA-bound histone proteins, is involved in this process.
HIV-1 Vpr causes separate cell cycle arrests in G2 and M that activate alternative DNA damage pathways
Authors: Hall Ross , Ahern Lucy M. , Yap Melvyn W. , Tsai Ming-Han C. , Boucherit Virginie C. , Takaki Tohru , Boulton Simon J. , Bishop Kate N. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractVpr is a conserved primate lentiviral accessory protein that induces cell cycle arrest in G2. The precise mechanism of this arrest and its benefit to viral replication is unknown. Here, we show that in addition to G2 arrest, Vpr from HIV-1/SIVcpz and HIV-2 lineages separately induce mitotic arrest through the spindle assembly checkpoint, in contrast to other Vpr proteins that only cause G2 arrest. The G2 arrest was mediated solely by ATR (ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related) and this activity caused elevated cellular dNTP levels. The mitotic arrest required ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated) as well as ATR activity and resulted from the formation of HIV-1 Vpr-induced ultra-fine anaphase bridges. Moreover, ectopic expression of the DNA structure-specific endonuclease, MUS81, prevented mitotic but not G2 arrest. Importantly, virion-incorporated Vpr was sufficient to induce cellular changes within 12h post-infection, implying that these events benefit the early stages of HIV infection.Author SummaryVpr is an accessory protein found in primate lentiviruses. Like other retroviral accessory proteins, it is not absolutely required for viral replication but is thought to overcome a cellular factor that negatively regulates infection. The most well-documented effect of Vpr expression is cell cycle arrest in G2. This has been linked to activation of the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway but there are conflicting reports in the literature as to the mechanism behind this. Here, we show that Vpr from some lentiviruses, in fact, cause two separate cell cycle blocks, in G2 and M, that require different DDR pathways. Other Vpr proteins only cause arrest in G2. Furthermore, we show that degradation of one reported target of Vpr, MUS81, is specifically linked to M but not G2 arrest. This indicates that not all Vpr functions are conserved and helps explain contradictory published results. Additionally, we found that virion-incorporated Vpr protein was able to induce cellular changes, including elevated dNTP levels, within 12 hours of infection suggesting that these events enhance early HIV-1 replication events.
Cytosolic factors controlling PASTA kinase-dependent ReoM phosphorylation
Authors: Rothe Patricia , Wamp Sabrina , Rosemeyer Lisa , Rismondo Jeanine , Doellinger Joerg , Gründling Angelika , Halbedel Sven 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBacteria adapt the biosynthesis of their envelopes to specific growth conditions and prevailing stress factors. Peptidoglycan (PG) is the major component of the cell wall in Gram-positive bacteria, where PASTA kinases play a central role in PG biosynthesis regulation. Despite their importance for growth, cell division and antibiotic resistance, the mechanisms of PASTA kinase activation are not fully understood. ReoM, a recently discovered cytosolic phosphoprotein, is one of the main substrates of the PASTA kinase PrkA in the Gram-positive human pathogenListeria monocytogenes. Depending on its phosphorylation, ReoM controls proteolytic stability of MurA, the first enzyme in the PG biosynthesis pathway. The late cell division protein GpsB has been implicated in PASTA kinase signalling. Consistently, we show thatL. monocytogenes prkAandgpsBmutants phenocopied each other. Analysis ofin vivoReoM phosphorylation confirmed GpsB as an activator of PrkA leading to the description of structural features in GpsB that are important for kinase activation. We further show that ReoM phosphorylation is growth-phase dependent and that this kinetic is reliant on the protein phosphatase PrpC. ReoM phosphorylation was inhibited in mutants with defects in MurA degradation, leading to the discovery that artificial MurA overexpression prevented ReoM phosphorylation. Overexpressed MurA must adopt its substrate-bound closed conformation and interact with ReoM to exert this effect, but the extracellular PASTA domains of PrkA or MurJ flippases where not required. Our results indicate that intracellular signals control ReoM phosphorylation and extend current models describing the mechanisms of PASTA kinase activation.