bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Changes in the medical admissions and mortality amongst children in four South African hospitals following the COVID-19 pandemic : A five-year review
Authors: Loganathan Naidoo Kimesh , Jienchi Dorward , Kogielambal Chinniah , Melissa Lawler , Yugendhree Nattar , Christian Bottomley , Moherndran Archary 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACTBackgroundVulnerable children from poor communities with high HIV and Tuberculosis(TB) burdens were impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns. Concern was raised about the extent of this impact and anticipated post-pandemic surges in mortality.MethodsInterrupted time series segmented regression analyses were done using routinely collected facility-level data of children admitted for medical conditions at four South African referral hospitals. Monthly admission and mortality data over a 60-month period from 01 April 2018 to 31 January 2023 was analysed using models which included dummy lockdown level variables, a dummy post-COVID period variable, Fourier terms to account for seasonality, and excess mortality as a proxy for healthcare burden.ResultsOf the 45 015 admissions analysed, 1237(2·75%) demised with significant decreases in admissions during all the lockdown levels, with the most significant mean monthly decrease of 450(95%, CI=657·3, −244·3) p<0·001 in level 5 (the most severe) lockdown. There was evidence of loss of seasonality on a six-month scale during the COVID periods for all admissions (p=0·002), including under-one-year-olds (p=0·034) and under-five-year-olds (p=0·004). No decreases in mortality accompanied decreased admissions. Post-pandemic surges in admissions or mortality were not identified in children with acute gastroenteritis, acute pneumonia and severe acute malnutrition.ConclusionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, paediatric admissions in 4 hospitals serving communities with high levels of HIV, TB and poverty decreased similar to global experiences however there was no change in in-hospital mortality. No post-pandemic surge in admissions or mortality were documented. Differences in the impact of pandemic control measures on transmission of childhood infections and access to health care may account for differing outcomes seen in our setting compared to the global experiences. Further studies are needed to understand the impact of pandemic control measures on healthcare provision and transmission dynamics and to better inform future responses amongst vulnerable child populations.
Thermo-Responsive Polymers Targeting Inflammation in Murine Colitis
Authors: Zhang Sufeng , Jin Amy T. , Tang Wen , Zhang Rachel Y. , Jing Lihong , Zhou Yixuan , Zhang Heng , Lennerz Jochen K. , Korzenik Joshua R. , Langer Robert , Traverso Giovanni 
Published: December 2023

AbstractTargeting the site of inflammation is an ideal approach for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Inflammation targeting enables maximal drug-on-target effects while minimizing off-target side effects. Negatively charged drug carriers have been shown to facilitate drug delivery to inflamed colon mucosa after local administration. To modulate the negative charges and integrate responsiveness to stimuli, here we describe thermo-responsive, inflammation-targeting (TRIT) hydrogels based on functionalized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) (PNIPAM-MAA). We show that both chemical modification types and polymer molecular weights affect the resultant microgels’ adhesion to the inflamed colon in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced murine colitisin vivo. Further, we quantified the correlations between microgels’ adhesion and colitis severity for individual mice, demonstrating that the microgels’ adhesion correlated directly with weight loss percentage in DSS-treated mice. By exploiting charge-mediated interaction and thermo-responsiveness, TRIT hydrogels represent a promising strategy to target inflamed colon mucosa as a drug delivery platform for colonic IBD treatment.TeaserThis study developed thermo-responsive, inflammation-targeting (TRIT) hydrogels that harness charge-mediated interaction and sol-to-gel transition to target inflamed colon mucosa as a new approach for treating inflammatory bowel disease.
Organ specific microenvironmental MR1 expression in cutaneous melanoma
Authors: Gordon Patricia B. , So Woong Young , Azubuike Udochi F , Johnson Bailey , Cicala James , Sturgess Victoria , Wong Claudia , Bishop Kevin , Bresciani Erica , Sood Raman , Ganesan Sundar , Tanner Kandice 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe microenvironment is an important regulator of intertumoral trafficking and activity of immune cells. Understanding how the immune system can be tailored to maintain anti-tumor killing responses in metastatic disease remains an important goal. Thus, immune mediated eradication of metastasis requires the consideration of organ specific microenvironmental cues. Using a xenograft model of melanoma metastasis in adult zebrafish, we perturbed the dynamic balance between the infiltrating immune cells in the metastatic setting using a suite of different transgenic zebrafish. We employed intravital imaging coupled with metabolism imaging (FLIM) to visualize and map the organ specific metabolism with near simultaneity in multiple metastatic lesions. Of all the MHC complexes examined for brain and skeletal metastases, we determined that there is an organ specific expression ofmhc1uba(human ortholog,MR1) for both the melanoma cells and the resident and infiltrating immune cells. Specifically, immune clusters did not expressmhc1ubain brain metastatic lesions in immune competent fish. Finally, the differential immune response drove organ specific metabolism where tumor glycolysis was increased in brain metastases compared to skeletal and parental lines as measured using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). As MR1 belongs to the MHC class I molecules and is a target of immunotherapeutic drugs, we believe that our data presents an opportunity to understand the relationship between organ specific tumor metabolism and drug efficacy in the metastatic setting.
Identification of SLC25A46 interaction interfaces with mitochondrial membrane fusogens Opa1 and Mfn2
Authors: Boopathy Sivakumar , Luce Bridget E. , Lugo Camila Makhlouta , Hakim Pusparanee , McDonald Julie , Kim Ha Lin , Ponce Jackeline , Ueberheide Beatrix M. , Chao Luke H. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractMitochondrial fusion requires the sequential merger of four bilayers to two. The outer-membrane solute carrier protein SLC25A46 interacts with both the outer and inner-membrane dynamin family GTPases Mfn1/2 and Opa1. While SLC25A46 levels are known to affect mitochondrial morphology, how SLC25A46 interacts with Mfn1/2 and Opa1 to regulate membrane fusion is not understood. In this study, we use crosslinking mass-spectrometry and AlphaFold 2 modeling to identify interfaces mediating a SLC25A46 interactions with Opa1 and Mfn2. We reveal that the bundle signaling element of Opa1 interacts with SLC25A46, and present evidence of a Mfn2 interaction involving the SLC25A46 cytosolic face. We validate these newly identified interaction interfaces and show that they play a role in mitochondrial network maintenance.
The impact of policy intervention on international wine demand
Authors: Liu Xinyang , Liu Anyu , Jiao Xiaoying , Liu Zhen 
Published: December 2023

Purpose
The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of implementing anti-dumping duties on imported Australian wine to China in the short- and long-run, respectively.

Design/methodology/approach
First, the Difference-in-Differences (DID) method is used in this study to evaluate the short-run causal effect of implementing anti-dumping duties on imported Australian wine to China. Second, a Bayesian ensemble method is used to predict 2023–2025 wine exports from Australia to China. The disparity between the forecasts and counterfactual prediction which assumes no anti-dumping duties represents the accumulated impact of the anti-dumping duties in the long run.

Findings
The anti-dumping duties resulted in a significant decline in red and rose, white and sparkling wine exports to China by 92.59%, 99.06% and 90.06%, respectively, in 2021. In the long run, wine exports to China are projected to continue this downward trend, with an average annual growth rate of −21.92%, −38.90% and −9.54% for the three types of wine, respectively. In contrast, the counterfactual prediction indicates an increase of 3.20%, 20.37% and 4.55% for the respective categories. Consequently, the policy intervention is expected to result in a decrease of 96.11%, 93.15% and 84.11% in red and rose, white and sparkling wine exports to China from 2021 to 2025.

Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in the creation of an economic paradigm for assessing policy impacts within the realm of wine economics. Methodologically, it also represents the pioneering application of the DID and Bayesian ensemble forecasting methods within the field of wine economics.
Simulator education in Japanese dental education
Authors: Tsuruta Jun 
Published: December 2023

AbstractAdvances in information and communication technology (ICT) and digital technology have contributed greatly to the development of educational methods, and new educational styles have been introduced over the past several years. In recent years, it has become possible to provide more realistic simulator training to prepare for patient care through the development of phantom heads with jaws and artificial teeth that reflect actual anatomical structures and composition. While these phantom head simulator resources are becoming more realistic, the development of digital devices utilizing virtual reality has enabled training that is even more realistic than the jaw models, such as scanning the teeth and transfer this scan into a VR model in the simulator which can be used to practice on prior to treating the patient. There was a basic research report on the development of VR haptics simulators in Japan about 20 years ago, but there have been no reports for some time since then, and there are several reports on VR haptics simulators published after 2018. Even now, in terms of utilization in dental education, it is difficult to say that VR haptics simulator has been widely introduced in Japan. The reasons for this may be related to the evaluation system for clinical dental skills in the Japanese dental education system, as well as issues with budgets and in current condition of dental clinical practice in dental schools. It must be that the VR haptics simulator will be utilized in terms of preparatory training for patient care as clinical dental practice participation is enhanced in the future.
Investigating mother–child inter‐brain synchrony in a naturalistic paradigm: A functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning study
Authors: Papoutselou Efstratia , Harrison Samantha , Mai Guangting , Buck Bryony , Patil Nikita , Wiggins Ian , Hartley Douglas 
Published: December 2023

AbstractSuccessful social interactions between mothers and children are hypothesised to play a significant role in a child's social, cognitive and language development. Earlier research has confirmed, through structured experimental paradigms, that these interactions could be underpinned by coordinated neural activity. Nevertheless, the extent of neural synchrony during real‐life, ecologically valid interactions between mothers and their children remains largely unexplored.In this study, we investigated mother–child inter‐brain synchrony using a naturalistic free‐play paradigm. We also examined the relationship between neural synchrony, verbal communication patterns and personality traits to further understand the underpinnings of brain synchrony.Twelve children aged between 3 and 5 years old and their mothers participated in this study. Neural synchrony in mother–child dyads were measured bilaterally over frontal and temporal areas using functional Near Infra‐red Spectroscopy (fNIRS) whilst the dyads were asked to play with child‐friendly toys together (interactive condition) and separately (independent condition). Communication patterns were captured via video recordings and conversational turns were coded.Compared to the independent condition, mother–child dyads showed increased neural synchrony in the interactive condition across the prefrontal cortex and temporo‐parietal junction. There was no significant relationship found between neural synchrony and turn‐taking and between neural synchrony and the personality traits of each member of the dyad.Overall, we demonstrate the feasibility of measuring inter‐brain synchrony between mothers and children in a naturalistic environment. These findings can inform future study designs to assess inter‐brain synchrony between parents and pre‐lingual children and/or children with communication needs.
Impact of metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease on the incidence of Helicobacter pylori‐negative gastric cancer
Authors: Nakane Tomoyuki , Fukunaga Shuhei , Nakano Dan , Tsutsumi Tsubasa , Tanaka Hiroshi , Chou Tomonori , Minami Shinpei , Ohuchi Akihiro , Nagata Tsutomu , Takaki Kota , Takaki Hiroshi , Miyajima Ichiro , Nouno Ryuichi , Yoshinaga Shinobu , Mukasa Michita , Okabe Yoshinobu , Kawaguchi Takumi 
Published: December 2023

AbstractAimThe incidence of Helicobacter pylori‐negative gastric cancer (HPNGC) is increasing worldwide. Recently, metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has been reported to be associated with various cancers, but its association with HPNGC has not been reported. We aimed to identify important independent factors associated with HPNGC, including MAFLD.MethodsThis multicenter observational cohort study enrolled patients with gastric cancer (n = 1078) and health checkup examinees (n = 17 408). We analyzed patients with HPNGC (n = 26) and healthy participants with no H. pylori infection or any abnormal findings on upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (n = 1130). A logistic regression model was used to identify independent factors associated with HPNGC. The priority of the factors associated with HPNGC was evaluated using a decision‐tree algorithm and random forest analysis.ResultsAmong all patients with gastric cancer, 2.4% (26/1078) were diagnosed with HPNGC (mean age, 64 years; male/female, 13/13). In the logistic regression analysis, age, smoking, and MAFLD (odds ratio, 6.5359; 95% confidence interval, 2.5451–16.7841; p < 0.0001) were identified as independent factors associated with HPNGC. Metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease was also identified as the most important classifier for the presence of HPNGC in decision‐tree analyses. Helicobacter pylori‐negative gastric cancer was observed in 5.2% of patients with MAFLD and 0.8% of patients without MAFLD. In the random forest analysis of the HPNGC, MAFLD was identified as the distinguishing factor with the highest variable importance (0.32).ConclusionsMetabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease was the most influential independent factor associated with HPNGC. These findings suggest that fatty liver and metabolic dysfunction could be involved in the pathogenesis of HPNGC.
Minimum wage and spillover effects in a minimum wage society
Authors: Sefil‐Tansever Sinem , Yılmaz Ensar 
Published: December 2023

AbstractMinimum wage policies are widely implemented in developing countries, but their consequences remain uncertain. This study empirically investigates the impact of the minimum wage on monthly income inequality and its spillover effects in Turkey between 2004 and 2022, utilizing comprehensive micro data. We aim to shed light on the impact of national minimum wage policies by examining their diverse influences on the wage structure within the country. Our findings reveal that the minimum wage significantly reduces income disparities, particularly among formal workers at the lower and upper end of the wage distribution. While wage gaps below the median wage decline, those above it experience a slower growth rate, ultimately leading to wage convergence. Notably, this effect is more pronounced during macroeconomic instability from 2016 to 2022, compared with the relatively stable period of 2004–15. Moreover, the outcomes differ depending on individual attributes like gender, age, education, and other relevant factors. Furthermore, we observe tentative evidence of a lighthouse effect to some degree: the minimum wage seems to exert an equalizing influence on the wage structure of workers in the informal sector beyond a certain percentile.
Using competition for plasma donor recruitment and retention: An Australian university case study
Authors: Bryant Jack , Woolley Torres , Sen Gupta Tarun , Chell Kathleen 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesUsing evidence from one Australian university's participation in the Vampire Cup (an 8‐week national inter‐university blood donation competition), this study aimed to (1) understand important motivators and successful promotional strategies driving engagement in the competition, and (2) determine the impact of competition on the recruitment and retention of young adult plasma donors.Materials and MethodsWe used a sequential explanatory mixed‐methods design involving a self‐administered survey (Study 1, n = 64) and four focus groups (Study 2, n = 20) with plasma donors aged 18–29 years who participated in the 2021 Vampire Cup. Also, we used a 12‐month prospective comparative cohort analysis (Study 3) of those who did (n = 224 ‘competition donors’) and did not (n = 448 control group) present to donate for the Vampire Cup.ResultsCompetition was a strong motivator, with 76% of survey participants donating to help their university win the Vampire Cup. The survey and focus groups suggested that successful engagement in the competition was due to peer‐led recruitment, leveraging existing rivalries at both the inter‐ and intra‐university level, and using prize draws to create an active online social community promoting blood donation. Competition donors donated plasma significantly more often during the competition but donated at similar rates after the competition, compared to the control group.ConclusionRivalry‐based competition strategies, combined with enthusiastic team leaders and an active social media community, can help to recruit, and retain, young adult plasma donors, and motivate an intermittent boost to donation frequency over a short period each year.
Postactivation Performance Enhancement With Maximal Isometric Contraction on Power-Clean Performance Across Multiple Sets
Authors: Lum Danny , Yang Ong Keng , Haischer Michael H. 
Published: December 2023

Purpose: This study investigated the postactivation performance-enhancement effect of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) at the starting position on power-clean performance over a series of contrast sets. Methods: Eighteen male (age: 31 [3.7] y, body mass: 76.8 [9.1] kg, height: 175.0 [5.2] cm) and 2 female (age: 27.5 [3.5] y, body mass: 53.3.8 [2.0] kg, height: 158.5 [4.9] cm) resistance-trained individuals performed a contrast postactivation performance-enhancement protocol (isometric contrast training condition [ISO]) consisting of 3 sets of 3 MVICs alternated with 3 power cleans, with an intracontrast rest period of 1 minute. A control protocol consisted of 3 sets of 3 power cleans were performed in a separate session. Barbell velocity during the power clean was measured as an indicator of performance. Results: A significant time effect was observed for both mean velocity (MV; P < .001) and peak velocity (PV; P = .008). Time × group (P = .415–.444) and group (P = .158–.210) effects showed no significant difference for either MV or PV. However, differences in MV and PV between the corresponding sets of ISO and control condition exceeded the minimum worthwhile change, showing a small to moderate effect (MV: d = 0.38–0.50, PV: d = 0.35–0.50) in favor of ISO. There was no significant difference in rating of perceived exertion between conditions (P = .385, d = 0.22). Conclusion: Power-clean performance was potentiated after 1 minute of rest following 3 repetitions of MVIC across 3 sets. Furthermore, the ISO protocol did not result in greater perception of exertion. These results indicate that coaches may incorporate MVICs as the postactivation performance-enhancement stimulus during contrast training involving the power-clean exercise.
Rest‐Activity Rhythms Are Associated With Prevalent Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, Obesity, and Central Adiposity in a Nationally Representative Sample of US Adults
Authors: Makarem Nour , German Charles A. , Zhang Zhanhao , Diaz Keith M. , Palta Priya , Duncan Dustin T. , Castro‐Diehl Cecilia , Shechter Ari 
Published: December 2023

Background
Rest‐activity rhythms (RARs), a measure of circadian rhythmicity in the free‐living setting, are related to mortality risk, but evidence is limited on associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors.

Methods and Results

Participants included 4521 adults from the 2013 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey physical activity monitoring examination. Wrist‐worn ActiGraph GT3X+ data were used to estimate RARs. Multivariable logistic models evaluated associations of RARs with prevalent CVD, hypertension, obesity, and central adiposity. Participants (mean age, 49 years) in the highest versus lowest tertile of relative amplitude (greater circadian rhythmicity) had 39% to 62% lower odds of prevalent CVD, hypertension, obesity, and central adiposity. A more active wake period was associated with 19% to 72% lower CVD, hypertension, obesity, and central adiposity odds. Higher interdaily stability (regular sleep‐wake and rest‐activity patterns) was related to 52% and 23% lower CVD and obesity odds, respectively. In contrast, participants in the highest versus lowest tertile of intradaily variability (fragmented RAR and inefficient sleep) had >3‐fold and 24% higher CVD and obesity odds, respectively. A later and less restful sleep period was associated with 36% to 2‐fold higher CVD, hypertension, obesity, and central adiposity odds. A statistically significant linear trend was observed for all associations (
P
‐trend<0.05).

Conclusions
A robust, stable, and less fragmented RAR, an active wake period, and an earlier and more restful sleep period are associated with lower prevalent CVD, hypertension, obesity, and central adiposity, with evidence of a dose‐response relationship. The magnitude, timing, and regularity of sleep‐wake and rest‐activity patterns may be important targets for reducing cardiovascular risk.