bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association of ethnicity with unintentional injury‐related hospitalisation and mortality among older people residing in two regions of Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Dwight Emily , Cavadino Alana , Kool Bridget , Kerse Ngaire , Hikaka Joanna 
Published: January 2024

AbstractObjectivesTo characterise unintentional injury‐related hospitalisation and mortality amongst older adults (aged 50+ years) in the Lakes and Bay of Plenty District Health Boards of Aotearoa New Zealand and to examine whether hospitalisation patterns differed by ethnicity.MethodsThis observational study analysed unintentional injury‐related hospitalisations and deaths among older adults between 2014 and 2018. Routinely collected national data sets were used to calculate annualised, age‐standardised injury rates. The independent variable of interest was ethnicity (Māori or non‐Māori).ResultsThere were 11,834 unintentional injury‐related hospitalisations in the study period (n = 1444 for Māori). Overall, there was no significant difference in the age‐standardised hospitalisation rate between Māori and non‐Māori (Standardised Rate Ratio [SRR] = 0.96 [95% CI 0.90, 1.02]). Falls were the most common mechanism of injury among Māori and non‐Māori overall (50% and 71%) and relative risks of falls increased with age. Non‐Māori were 57% less likely to be hospitalised for unintentional poisoning than Māori (SRR = 0.43, [0.34, 0.59]).ConclusionsThe mechanisms of injury, and variation in unintentional injury‐related hospitalisation rates between Māori and non‐Māori, change throughout older age, and incidence increase0073 with age. Falls cause significant injury‐related hospitalisations for older Māori and responsive injury prevention and rehabilitation efforts are warranted to achieve equitable health outcomes.
Capitals as bad equilibria
Authors: Meling Ådne 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThroughout the recent pandemic, governments used digital video technologies to facilitate social distancing during political meetings. In addition to enabling social distancing, a theoretical advantage of virtual political governance is that it has the potential to mitigate the hierarchical administrative relationship between capitals and regions and the differences in real estate prices and wealth that often follows from such hierarchical structures. However, hardly any governments are currently planning a long‐term transition to work‐from‐home digital governance. On the contrary, several countries are doubling down on the centralization model of government by building new capitals in new locations. This article proposes that in a time of digital alternatives, physically centralized “capitals” could be considered examples of bad equilibrium.
Infertility in the Pacific: A crucial component of the sexual and reproductive health and rights agenda
Authors: Mitchell Elke , Bennett Linda Rae 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAcross Pacific Island countries, women and men are disproportionately affected by several risk factors for infertility, including sexually transmissible infections, complications from unsafe abortions, postpartum sepsis, obesity, diabetes, tobacco smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Despite this, little is known about community awareness of infertility, behavioural risk factors, the lived experiences of infertile couples or the contexts in which they access fertility care. In this opinion piece we discuss the current evidence and gaps in evidence regarding infertility in Pacific Island countries and the importance of locally tailored approaches to preventing infertility and the provision of fertility care.
An audit of the maternal medicine clinic: Cancer and pregnancy
Authors: Harrison Mia , Umstad Mark P. , Cui Wanda , Thevathasan Iniyaval , Price Sarah A.L. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAimsTo explore the incidence and complexity of women presenting for maternity care who require concurrent cancer care, and to report the birth outcomes of these women.Materials and MethodsA retrospective audit of women attending a ‘high risk’ maternal medicine clinic at an Australian tertiary maternity hospital between 1 October 2021 and 30 April 2023 was conducted. The inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of cancer and a concurrent pregnancy, or a diagnosis of cancer prior to the current pregnancy. Clinic lists and coding data were screened via the electronic medical record to identify potential subjects. Data were collected from the individual maternity and neonatal records.ResultsForty of 705 (5.7%) women attending the maternal medicine clinic met the inclusion criteria, of which ten had a new diagnosis of cancer in pregnancy and 30 presented for maternity care after a previous diagnosis of cancer. Cancer therapy during pregnancy included surgery and chemotherapy. Most pregnancies (92.5%) resulted in term deliveries (≥37 weeks gestation). Four neonates were preterm, and one was small‐for‐gestational‐age. Caesarean section delivery and post‐partum haemorrhage were more common than expected, but the rate of other adverse pregnancy outcomes was consistent with the background population. Over half of neonates required neonatal intensive care unit / special care nursery admission but the indications for admission were common, self‐limiting conditions, and the length of stay was short (mean <5.0 days).ConclusionsApproximately 6% of women attending the maternal medicine clinic had a current or previous diagnosis of cancer. Most pregnancies resulted in term deliveries and neonatal outcomes were excellent.
Regulation of immune response genes in the skin of allergic and clinically tolerant individuals exposed to p‐phenylenediamine
Authors: Meisser Sanne S. , Mitamura Yasutaka , Altunbulakli Can , Bandier Josefine , Opstrup Morten S. , Gadsbøll Anne‐Sofie Ø. , Li Manru , Tan Ge , Akdis Mubeccel , Akdis Cezmi A. , Geisler Carsten , Johansen Jeanne D. , Bonefeld Charlotte M. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundp‐Phenylenediamine (PPD) is a potent contact allergen found in many hair colour products. However, not all individuals develop allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) although they are regularly exposed to PPD. It is unclear whether these asymptomatic individuals are true non‐responders to PPD or whether they mount a response to PPD without showing any symptoms.MethodsSkin biopsies were collected from 11 asymptomatic hairdressers regularly exposed to PPD and from 10 individuals with known ACD on day 4 after patch testing with 1% PPD in petrolatum and petrolatum exclusively as control. RNA sequencing and confocal microscopy were performed.ResultsT cell activation, inflammation and apoptosis pathways were up‐regulated by PPD in both asymptomatic and allergic individuals. Compared to asymptomatic individuals with a negative patch test, individuals with a strong reaction to PPD strongly up‐regulated both pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines genes. Interestingly, PPD treatment induced significant up‐regulation of several genes for chemokines, classical type 2 dendritic cell markers and regulatory T cell markers in both asymptomatic and allergic individuals. In addition, apoptosis signalling pathway was activated in both non‐responders and allergic individuals.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that there are no true non‐responders to PPD but that the immune response elicited by PPD differs between individuals and can lead to either tolerance, subclinical inflammation or allergy.
The effect of music on the operating surgeon: a pilot randomized crossover trial (the MOSART study)
Authors: Narayanan Anantha , Cavadino Alana , Fisher James P. , Khashram Manar 
Published: January 2024

AbstractObjectiveThe experience of stress is common among surgeons while working in the operating theatre (OT). Understanding and finding ways to mitigate this stress is important for optimizing surgical quality and maintaining clinician wellbeing. In this pilot study, we tested the feasibility and reported the outcomes of measuring the effect of background music on intra‐operative surgeon stress in the clinical environment.MethodsThe effect of Music on the Operating Surgeon: A pilot Randomized crossover Trial (the MOSART study) was conducted over a 9‐month period in a single‐centre. Vascular and general surgeons acting as primary operators (POs) performing elective, general anaesthetic operations were included. The intervention was surgeon‐selected music, and the control was the absence of music. Outcome measures were feasibility (recruitment rate, practicability, and completeness of data), heart rate variability (HRV) indices, the Six‐Item State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI‐6), and the Surgical Task‐load Index (SURG‐TLX).ResultsFive POs performed 74 eligible randomized cases. The protocol was well tolerated, and no cases were abandoned. Data was incomplete in 8% of cases. The overall mean (SD) operative SURG‐TLX score was 48 (±22). Mean HR increased and RMSSD decreased significantly from baseline, suggesting reduced parasympathetic activity while operating. The presence of intra‐operative music was not found to affect the psychological or physiological outcomes.ConclusionsA music interventional study of this nature is feasible in the operating theatre environment, though no difference was found between in the music and non‐music conditions. Follow‐up research in a simulated environment with intensive physiological monitoring could be considered.
Lack of stereopsis does not reduce surgical performance but prolongs the learning curve of vitreoretinal surgery
Authors: Vergmann Anna Stage , Olsen Frederik Emil , Nielsen Anders Bo , Vestergaard Anders Højslet , Thomsen Ann Sofia Skou , Konge Lars , Grauslund Jakob 
Published: January 2024

AbstractPurposeTo investigate whether individuals with long‐term reduced stereopsis were able to obtain the same level of surgical skills in simulated vitreoretinal surgery on the Eyesi Surgical Simulator as individuals with normal stereopsis.MethodsTwenty‐four medical students were recruited and divided into two groups according to their degree of stereopsis: Group 1 (n = 12) included subjects with normal stereopsis (60 arcsec or lower) and Group 2 (n = 12) included subjects with reduced stereopsis (120 arcsec or higher). Stereopsis was tested using the TNO test (Lameris Ootech BV, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands). The participants were trained in virtual reality‐simulated vitreoretinal surgery and continuously measured using a test with solid validity evidence and a pre‐defined pass–fail score. All data were analysed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test.ResultsWe observed no differences in overall performance scores for any of the four modules. The participants with reduced stereopsis used 5.8 more attempts in bimanual training (p = 0.04), 8.8 more attempts in removal of posterior hyaloid (p = 0.04), 9.1 more attempts in navigation training (p = 0.20) and 0.3 fewer attempts in removal of internal limiting membrane (p = 0.69).ConclusionThe final performance scores on the Eyesi Surgical Simulator were independent of the degree of stereopsis. However, the number of attempts to achieve the pre‐defined pass–fail score increased significantly with reduced stereopsis in two of four modules. These results indicate that a high degree of stereopsis is not necessary to become proficient in microsurgery but may prolong the learning curve.
“We will be the ones bearing the consequences”: A qualitative study of barriers and facilitators to shared decision‐making in hospital‐based maternity care
Authors: Waddell Alex , Goodwin Denise , Spassova Gerri , Sampson Louise , Candy Alix , Bragge Peter 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundPregnant women involved in decisions about their care report better health outcomes for themselves and their children. Shared decision‐making (SDM) is a priority for health services; however, there is limited research on factors that help and hinder SDM in hospital‐based maternity settings. The purpose of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators to SDM in a large tertiary maternity care service from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders.MethodsQualitative semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with 39 participants including women, clinicians, health service administrators and decision‐makers, and government policymakers. The interview guide and thematic analysis were based on the Theoretical Domains Framework to identify barriers and facilitators to SDM.ResultsWomen expect to be included in decisions about their care. Health service administrators and decision‐makers, government policymakers, and most clinicians want to include them in decisions. Key barriers to SDM included lack of care continuity, knowledge, and clinician skills, as well as professional role and decision‐making factors. Key facilitators pertained to policy and guideline changes, increased knowledge, professional role factors, and social influences.ConclusionThis study revealed common barriers and facilitators to SDM and highlighted the need to consider perspectives outside the patient–clinician dyad. It adds to the limited literature on barriers and facilitators to SDM in hospital care settings. Organizational‐ and system‐wide changes to service delivery are necessary to facilitate SDM. These changes may be enabled by education and training, changes to policies and guidelines to include and support SDM, and adequately timed information provision to enable SDM conversations.
Betulinic acid reduces inflammation in rats with sepsis‐induced myocardial dysfunction by inhibiting TLR4/MyD88/NF‐κB signaling pathway
Authors: Wang Lei , Fei Wei‐yu , Song Qian‐ying 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn this study, we aimed to investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of betulinic acid (BA) on myocardial dysfunction in septic rats. Twenty‐four male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly allocated into four groups (n = 6 rats/group): the sham operation (Control) group, the cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) group, the BA 10 mg/kg group, and the BA 50 mg/kg group. The septic rat model was induced through cecal ligation and puncture in the CLP and BA groups, except for the Control group. Then, cardiac function parameters were assessed using echocardiography, myocardial injury markers were quantified via biochemical assays, and myocardial histopathological injuries were observed through H&E staining. Inflammatory factors in the serum were measured using ELISA assays, immunohistochemistry and qRT‐PCR were performed to determine macrophage numbers and the expression of iNOS, CD86, Arg‐1, and Mrc1 in myocardial tissue. The protein expression levels of TLR4, Myd88, and NF‐κB in myocardial tissue were assessed through western blot analysis. The results showed that BA significantly improved cardiac function, reduced myocardial injury, and attenuated inflammation in CLP rats. Specifically, BA decreased LVEDD and LVESD while increasing LVEF and LVFS. Furthermore, BA upregulated the levels of BNP, cTnT, CK‐MB, LDH, IL‐6, IL‐1β, and TNF‐α in CLP rat serum. Additionally, BA reduced macrophage infiltration, inhibited M1/M2 gene expression, and downregulated TLR4, Myd88 and NF‐κB protein expression in CLP rats myocardial tissues. In conclusion, BA can inhibit myocardial inflammation and prevent sepsis‐induced myocardial dysfunction by inhibiting TLR4/MyD88/NF‐κB signaling, thereby promoting M2 macrophage polarization in myocardial tissues.
Discovery of novel chromone and acrylate‐based pancreatic lipase inhibitors: Molecular modelling, synthesis, and in vitro evaluation for the treatment of obesity
Authors: Auti Prashant S. , Paul Atish T. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBy the optimization of previously established pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitory lead, we have developed novel chromone‐containing analogues with embedded acrylate fragment as potential PL inhibitors. The analogues were designed by considering the structural features required for binding at the active site of PL enzyme with the utilization of molecular docking study. An optimized synthetic scheme was utilized for the synthesis of designed analogues of prototypes 1&2. Through in vitro PL inhibitory screening, three analogues namely, 5fj, 5gj and 9a were identified as potent PL inhibitory leads with IC50 values of 4.92, 4.23 and 3.32 μM, respectively. The protein binding of analogue 9a was analysed by fluorescence quenching study and it was found to bind at one binding site with a binding constant of 1.93 × 105 L mol−1. Analogue 9a also exhibited a competitive inhibitory mechanism with Ki value of 1.601 μM. In future, the potent lead 9a can be optimized to get a comparable or more potential PL inhibitory activity than marketed drugs.
End‐to‐End Compressed Meshlet Rendering
Authors: Mlakar D. , Steinberger M. , Schmalstieg D. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn this paper, we study rendering of end‐to‐end compressed triangle meshes using modern GPU techniques, in particular, mesh shaders. Our approach allows us to keep unstructured triangle meshes in GPU memory in compressed form and decompress them in shader code just in time for rasterization. Typical previous approaches use a compressed mesh format only for persistent storage and streaming, but must decompress it into GPU memory before submitting it to rendering. In contrast, our approach uses an identical compressed format in both storage and GPU memory. Hence, our compression method effectively reduces the in‐memory requirements of huge triangular meshes and avoids any waiting times on streaming geometry induced by the need for a decompression stage on the CPU. End‐to‐end compression also means that scenes with more geometric detail than previously possible can be made fully resident in GPU memory. Our approach is based on a novel decomposition of meshes into meshlets,i.e. disjoint primitive groups that are compressed individually. Decompression using a mesh shader allows de facto random access on the primitive level, which is important for applications such as selective streaming and fine‐grained visibility computation. We compare our approach to multiple commonly used compressed meshlet formats in terms of required memory and rendering times. The results imply that our approach reduces the required CPU–GPU memory bandwidth, a frequent bottleneck in out‐of‐core rendering.
Student engagement in synchronous online learning: Effectiveness of camera and chat/vote engagement methods
Authors: Byers Reynold E. , Carter Craig R. , Wang Yimin 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe advent of the COVID‐19 pandemic accelerated the need to conduct synchronous online instruction in which students and faculty were distributed geographically but aggregated digitally onto a single screen on a computer. This approach will likely persist into the future. Thus, a better understanding of how engagement approaches can be adapted to the synchronous online teaching environment is critical for future success. This research presents an experiment‐based investigation into the effectiveness of two often‐debated engagement approaches, namely, the camera‐on and the vote/chat approaches in a synchronous online learning environment. We found that using individual engagement methods, such as requiring cameras to be on or using the vote and chat functions to elicit student responses, improves learning outcomes. Surprisingly, the combined use of these methods hinders student learning, and they perform no better than the control group where no specific engagement methods were required. We posit that the reason for this result is that too much engagement increases total cognitive load to a point where it is detrimental to learning.
Ultrasound‐guided fetal thorax compression to reduce post‐fixation twins in the mare
Authors: Arnold Leonie C. , Stout Tom A. E. , Claes Anthony N. J. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundManagement of twin pregnancy after conceptus vesicle fixation in the horse is challenging because the reduction techniques described are either invasive, difficult to perform or associated with disappointing success rates.ObjectivesTo evaluate the success of transrectal ultrasound‐guided fetal thorax compression for reducing post‐fixation twin pregnancy in mares.Study designRetrospective clinical study.MethodsSixteen mares were presented for twin reduction between 51 and 79 days of gestation. History obtained from the owner and/or referring veterinarian detailed information regarding the mare (age, breed), pregnancy (day of gestation, dizygotic versus monozygotic twins, unilateral versus bilateral fixation), treatment and outcome (one live fetus at discharge; live singleton at foaling) after twin reduction. Transrectal fetal thorax compression was performed under ultrasound guidance by two experienced operators.ResultsOverall 9 of 16 twin pregnancies were successfully reduced and the likelihood of success was significantly higher in dizygotic than monozygotic twins. The procedure was successful in 9 of 10 dizygotic twins but unsuccessful in all six cases of monozygotic twins. Among the dizygotic twins, two mares lost the pregnancy after discharge from the clinic, seven mares delivered a healthy foal of normal size.Main limitationsSmall case number.ConclusionsTransrectal ultrasound‐guided fetal thorax compression is a minimally‐invasive and successful technique for reducing dizygotic twin pregnancies at approximately 2 months of gestation, but does not lead to any live births in cases of monozygotic twins.
Hydraulic fracturing behavior of shale–sandstone interbedded structure under true triaxial stress conditions: A comprehensive experimental analysis
Authors: Sheng Xiangchao , Yang Lei , Wang Tingyi , Zhou Xiaosheng , Yu Honghao , Zhang Yaolei , Fu Xin , Mei Jie , Pei Yan 
Published: January 2024

AbstractReservoirs characterized by shale–sandstone interbedded structures are extensively dispersed throughout China, and understanding the propagation mode of hydraulic fractures is a prerequisite for shale gas exploitation engineering. In this study, hydraulic fracturing tests were conducted using horizontal wells subjected to true triaxial compression conditions to elucidate the mechanism by which the initiated layer lithology and stress state influence the fracture morphology. Furthermore, the propagation mode of the fractures and the consequential effects on fracture network formation were investigated. The findings demonstrate four distinct interaction modes between the shale–sandstone interfaces and hydraulic fractures. The lithology of the initiated layer influences the fracture propagation trajectory, thereby affecting the propagation modes at the shale–sandstone interface and resulting in varying effects on layer penetration. The stress difference exerts a significant controlling influence on the fracturing behavior, enhancing the possibility of interconnecting multiple rock layers characterized by substantial stress differences.
The questions being asked: Academic research, the media, and regulators
Authors: Lowry Michelle 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAcademic research should strive to increase our understanding of the world we live in, and as such open the door for improvements in this world. With this goal in mind, this piece represents a call for academics to jointly consider their research agenda and the audience for this research. This audience might include people working in industry or policy makers. Closer connections between academia and broader audiences contribute to research that informs debates on the salient issues of today, higher quality studies on these issues, and greater impact. To provide insight on the relation between academic research and the most salient current issues, I compare topics of focus within academic journals with topics of focus in industry articles and regulatory publications. I identify gaps and suggest areas for future research.