bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) blood levels and potential hematological health risk among inhabitants of the claimed hazardous region around Qaroun Lake in Egypt
Authors: Bakr Salwa , Sayed Makram Ahmed , Salem Karem Mohamed , Morsi Enas Mohamed , Masoud Mohamed , Ezzat Eman Mahmoud 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Background
Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) heavy metals are considered potentially hazardous toxins which cause serious health problems. Many studies reported that the water of Qaroun Lake in Fayoum, Egypt with its fish farms was contaminated with Pb and Cd above permissible levels. However, there is a lack of studies addressing levels of these toxic metals among inhabitants.

Objectives
We aimed to evaluate blood levels of Pb and Cd and their potential health risk among inhabitants around Qaroun Lake.

Materials and methods
This case-control study estimated Pb and Cd blood levels among 190 individuals from two destinations (near and far away) of Qaroun Lack using an atomic absorption spectrometer after full history taking and routine checkup investigations; Full blood count, serum ferritin, liver enzyme (ALT), and creatinine levels.

Results
There was a significant difference between blood levels of Pb and Cd heavy metals of inhabitants from near and far away Qaroun Lake destinations (p-value < 0.001). The majority of inhabitants around Qaroun Lake had Pb and Cd blood levels above permissible levels (100% and 60% respectively). Critical levels out of them were 12.1% and 30.3% respectively. In comparison to inhabitants faraway Qaroun Lake, three individuals (2.4%) had Cd above the permissible level, while all of them (100%) had Pb level within the permissible level. There were no statistically significant differences between the two sampled populations as regards hemoglobin level, ALT, creatinine, and ferritin serum levels (p-value > 0.05). The difference between studied populations regarding types of anemia was not statistically significant. Subclinical leucopenia was higher in the population near Qaroun Lake when compare to inhabitants far from the lake (13.6% vs. 4.8%, p-value 0.032).

Conclusion
Bio-monitoring of populations exposed to Pb and Cd hazardous substances could help in generating an early warning system to reduce the disease burden associated with their toxicity.
Mapping the core competencies and entrustable professional activities of medical ethics for faculty members
Authors: Mashayekhi Jannat , Mafinejad Mahboobeh Khabaz 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Introduction
The present study aimed to develop core competencies and Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for faculty members through participating in faculty development programs in medical ethics.

Methods
This study included five stages. First, categories and subcategories were extracted based on the literature review and interviews with 14 experts and through inductive content analysis. Second, the content validity of the core competency list was checked by 16 experts using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Third, based on the previous phase, a framework for EPAs was developed by the taskforce in two sessions through consensus. Fourth, the content validity of the list of EPAs was compiled based on a three-point Likert 11 medical ethics experts from necessity and relevance perspectives. Fifth, EPAs were mapped by ten experts to the developed core competencies.

Results
After conducting the literature review and interviews, 295 codes were extracted, which were further classified into six categories and 18 subcategories. Finally, five core competencies and 23 EPAs were developed. The core competencies include “Teaching medical ethics”, “Research and scholarship in the field of medical ethics”, “Communication skills”, “Moral reasoning”, and “Policy-making, decision-making, and ethical leadership”.

Conclusion
Medical teachers can be effective in the moralizing healthcare system. Findings showed that faculty members should acquire core competencies and EPAs for proficiently integrating medical ethics into curricula. Faculty development programs can be designed in medical ethics for faculty members to help them to acquire core competencies and EPAs.
Safety and efficacy of percutaneous electrocoagulation haemostasis in the treatment of grade IV haemorrhagic cystitis after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children: a retrospective analysis
Authors: Liu Hai-chao , Yang Yun-bo , Zhang Peng , Zhang Jia-xing , Pei Zhi-sheng , Chen Bo-wen , Liu Gui-qian , Li Hui 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Background
To investigate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic electrocoagulation haemostasis via a percutaneous transhepatic approach for the treatment of grade IV haemorrhagic cystitis (HC) after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in children.

Methods
The clinical data of 14 children with severe HC, who were admitted to Hebei Yanda Hospital between July 2017 and January 2020, were analysed retrospectively. There were nine males and five females, with an average age of 8.6 years (range: 3 to 13 years). After an average of 39.6 (7 to 96) days of conservative treatment in the hospital’s haematology department, the bladders of all patients were filled with blood clots. A small 2-cm incision was made in the suprapubic area to enter the bladder and quickly clear the blood clots, and a percutaneous transhepatic approach to electrocoagulation and haemostasis was performed.

Results
In the 14 children, a total of 16 operations were performed, with an average operation time of 97.1 (31 to 150) min, an average blood clot of 128.1 (80 to 460) mL and an average intraoperative blood loss of 31.9 (20 to 50) mL. There were three cases of postoperative bladder spasm remission after conservative treatment. During the follow-up period of 1 to 31 months, one patient improved after one operation, 11 patients were cured after one operation, and two patients were cured after recurrent haemostasis by secondary electrocoagulation, four of whom died of postoperative non-surgical blood-related diseases and severe lung infections.

Conclusion
Percutaneous electrocoagulation haemostasis can quickly remove blood clots in the bladders of children after allo-HSCT with grade IV HC. It is a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment.
Description, molecular identification and pathological lesions of Huffmanela persica sp. nov. (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae: Huffmanelinae) from the daggertooth pike conger Muraenesox cinereus
Authors: Ghanei-Motlagh Reza , Fast Mark D. , Groman David , Kumar Gokhlesh , Soliman Hatem , El-Matbouli Mansour , Saleh Mona 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Background
The genus Huffmanela Moravec, 1987 (Nematoda, Trichosomoididae, Huffmanelinae), represents a group of nematodes that infect both marine and freshwater fish, and the main gross feature of infection with different species of the genus is the presence of noticeable dark spots or tracks within the parasitized tissues. The purpose of this study was to describe morphologically and morphometrically the eggs of a new marine species of Huffmanela (Huffmanela persica sp. nov.), which was found in the form of black spots in the ovary and the tunica serosa of the stomach of the daggertooth pike conger (Muraenesox cinereus). The new species differs from Huffmanela hamo, another species reported from musculature of this host in Japan, in egg metrics, eggshell features and targeted organ. Molecular identification and pathological examination of the lesions caused by the new species are also reported.

Methods
Nematode eggs with varying degrees of development were separated from the infected tissues (ovary and tunica serosa of stomach) and investigated using light and scanning electron microscopy. Different species-specific markers (small subunit ribosomal DNA, 18S; large subunit ribosomal DNA, 28S; internal transcribed spacer, ITS) were used for molecular identification and phylogenetic study of the new species. Infected tissues were fixed in buffered formalin for pathological investigations.

Results
The fully developed eggs of H. persica sp. nov. are distinguished from those previously described from this host on the basis of their measurements (size, 54–68 × 31–43 µm; polar plugs, 6.4–9.7 × 8.4–12 µm; shell thickness, 3.5–6.1 µm) and a delicate but ornate uterine layer (UL) covering the entire eggshell including the polar plugs. Histopathological examination revealed a fibro-granulomatous inflammation in the ovary and the serosal layer of the stomach of infected fish. Maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analysis recovered a sister relationship between the new species of marine origin and Huffmanela species previously collected from freshwater hosts.

Conclusions
The present study is the first to report the molecular characterization and phylogenetic position of a teleost-associated marine species of the genus Huffmanela. A comprehensive list of nominal and innominate populations of Huffmanela is also provided.

Graphical abstract
Association between distance to community health care facilities and COVID-19–related mortality across U.S. counties in the COVID-19–vaccine era
Authors: Huang Wenxi , Hernandez Inmaculada , Tang Shangbin , Dickson Sean , Berenbrok Lucas A. , Guo Jingchuan 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Objective
COVID-19 has caused tremendous damage to U.S. public health, but COVID vaccines can effectively reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections and related mortality. Our study aimed to quantify the association between proximity to a community healthcare facility and COVID-19 related mortality after COVID vaccines became publicly available and explore how this association varied across racial and ethnic groups.

Results
Residents living farther from a facility had higher COVID-19–related mortality across U.S. counties. This increased mortality incidence associated with longer distances was particularly pronounced in counties with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic populations.
Sex hormones influence survival of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma undergoing immune checkpoint therapy
Authors: Lindner Andrea Katharina , Lackner Felizian , Tymoszuk Piotr , Barth Dominik Andreas , Seeber Andreas , Kocher Florian , Toth Bettina , Hochleitner Margarethe , Pichler Martin , Pichler Renate 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Introduction
Clinical trials investigating efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) revealed sex-specific divergent outcomes in urothelial cancer (UC), suggesting that sex hormones might play an important role in gender-specific dimorphisms of response upon ICI. However, further clinical investigations are still needed to understand the influence of sex hormones in UC. The aim of this study was to get further insights on the prognostic and predictive value of sex hormone levels in patients with metastatic UC (mUC) who underwent ICI.

Material and methods
Sex hormone levels of patients with mUC including luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), LH/FSH ratio, prolactin, testosterone and 17β-estradiol (E2) were evaluated at baseline and during ICI at 6/8 weeks and 12/14 weeks.

Results
Twenty-eight patients (10 women, 18 men) with a median age of 70 years were included. Metastatic disease was confirmed in 21 patients (75%) after radical cystectomy while seven patients showed mUC at first diagnosis. Twelve patients (42.8%) received first line and 16 patients second line pembrolizumab. The objective response rate (ORR) was 39% (CR in 7%). The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was 5.5 and 20 months. Focusing on changes of sex hormone levels during ICI, a significant increase in FSH levels and decrease of the LH/FSH ratio was noticed in responders (p = 0.035), yet without sex-specific significance. When adjusted for sex and treatment line, a significant increase of FSH levels was confirmed in men during second line pembrolizumab. Focusing on baseline levels, LH/FSH ratio was significantly higher in female responders (p = 0.043) compared to non-responders. In women, increased LH levels and LH/FSH ratio were associated with better PFS (p = 0.014 for LH, p = 0.016 for LH/FSH ratio) and OS (p = 0.026 and p = 0.018). In male patients, increased E2 levels were linked with improved PFS (p < 0.001) and OS (p = 0.039).

Conclusion
Increased LH and LH/FSH values in women as well as high E2 levels in men were significant predictors of better survival. Elevated LH/FSH ratio was predictive of better response to ICI in women. These results show first clinical evidence of the potential role of sex hormones as prognostic and predictive biomarker in mUC. Further prospective analyses are needed to corroborate our findings.
The composition of environmental microbiota in three tree fruit packing facilities changed over seasons and contained taxa indicative of L. monocytogenes contamination
Authors: Rolon M. Laura , Tan Xiaoqing , Chung Taejung , Gonzalez-Escalona Narjol , Chen Yi , Macarisin Dumitru , LaBorde Luke F. , Kovac Jasna 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Background
Listeria monocytogenes can survive in cold and wet environments, such as tree fruit packing facilities and it has been implicated in outbreaks and recalls of tree fruit products. However, little is known about microbiota that co-occurs with L. monocytogenes and its stability over seasons in tree fruit packing environments. In this 2-year longitudinal study, we aimed to characterize spatial and seasonal changes in microbiota composition and identify taxa indicative of L. monocytogenes contamination in wet processing areas of three tree fruit packing facilities (F1, F2, F3).

Methods
A total of 189 samples were collected during two apple packing seasons from floors under the washing, drying, and waxing areas. The presence of L. monocytogenes was determined using a standard culturing method, and environmental microbiota was characterized using amplicon sequencing. PERMANOVA was used to compare microbiota composition among facilities over two seasons, and abundance-occupancy analysis was used to identify shared and temporal core microbiota. Differential abundance analysis and random forest were applied to detect taxa indicative of L. monocytogenes contamination. Lastly, three L. monocytogenes-positive samples were sequenced using shotgun metagenomics with Nanopore MinION, as a proof-of-concept for direct detection of L. monocytogenes’ DNA in environmental samples.

Results
The occurrence of L. monocytogenes significantly increased from 28% in year 1 to 46% in year 2 in F1, and from 41% in year 1 to 92% in year 2 in F3, while all samples collected from F2 were L. monocytogenes-positive in both years. Samples collected from three facilities had a significantly different microbiota composition in both years, but the composition of each facility changed over years. A subset of bacterial taxa including Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Microbacterium, and fungal taxa, including Yarrowia, Kurtzmaniella, Cystobasidium, Paraphoma, and Cutaneotrichosporon, were identified as potential indicators of L. monocytogenes within the monitored environments. Lastly, the DNA of L. monocytogenes was detected through direct Nanopore sequencing of metagenomic DNA extracted from environmental samples.

Conclusions
This study demonstrated that a cross-sectional sampling strategy may not accurately reflect the representative microbiota of food processing facilities. Our findings also suggest that specific microorganisms are indicative of L. monocytogenes, warranting further investigation of their role in the survival and persistence of L. monocytogenes.
Medical maladies in eating disorders—there is still much work to be done
Authors: Nitsch Allison , Mehler Phil 
Published: June 2023

AbstractDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the eating disorder clinician community saw an increase in severity and number of people seeking care for eating disorders. Due to this, its even more important for those who work with people with eating disorders to understand the medical complications these people are at risk for. The special issue of the Journal of Eating Disorders provides a comprehensive look at medical complications and also makes apparent deficits in the scientific literature.
Reenacting the Trials of the Past: The Quandaries of Conducting Collaborative Research on Indigenous Land Titles from the Double Role of Lawyer-Historian
Authors: Lopera-Mesa Gloria P. 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Drawing on the author’s experience of collaborative research with the Cañamomo-Lomaprieta people in the western Colombian Andes, this article discusses the challenges of conducting ethnohistorical research on Indigenous land claims from the double role of historian and lawyer. It argues that this dual position presents both risks and benefits for ethnohistorical research. On the one hand, wearing both hats entails the risk of digging into the past to make a case for current land claims, thus losing sight of a more complex and comprehensive understanding of the past on its own terms. On the other, the lawyer-historian gaze may provide critical insight into the workings of the law in past processes of privatization and commodification of Indigenous lands. Legal training better equips historians for understanding the technical details of land transactions, lawmaking, and judicial decision-making. It also enables the historian to raise questions about the legal validity of past judicial decisions and land transactions that still impact current land disputes.
Inalienable Dignity: Writing Counterhegemonic Universal Human Rights Histories
Authors: Ibhawoh Bonny 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Human rights doctrine is founded on a notion of universality and inalienability. However, critics of the dominant formulation of “universal” human rights claim that it privileges Western epistemology and does not adequately reflect the histories and lived experiences of Indigenous communities. This has prompted calls for a more inclusive conceptualization and theorization of human rights that takes equal account of Indigenous histories and rights traditions. This article makes a case for reconceptualizing universal human rights to reflect the epistemologies of historically marginalized communities. Drawing on debates in African history, it calls for a counterhegemonic approach to human rights that goes beyond possessive individualism and the neoliberal, state-centered rights model. To be truly universal, international human rights must take equal account of the communal and collectivist ethos that underpins Indigenous notions of human dignity.
Book Reviews
Authors: Gilbert S. F. , Tyler M. S. 
Published: June 2023

ABSTRACT
This latest edition of Developmental Biology by Gilbert is anything but a routine ‘yet another’ edition: it is fresh. Gilbert has a remarkable capacity to synthesize new developments (including this year’s findings) into new concepts, rather then simply summarizing primary research publications. Addition of a special Website entirely devoted to the book (www.devbio.com), with its continuous publication features, adds to this impression.
Protein transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus
Authors: Hong Wanjin 
Published: June 2023

ABSTRACT
As the first step of protein transport along the biosynthetic (secretory/exocytotic) pathway, transport from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus has received much attention over the past several decades. The general structural organization underlying this transport process is becoming more defined. The major protein components participating in the budding, pre-docking, and docking/fusion events have been identified and their mechanistic aspects investigated. Conceptually, it is now clear that protein export from the ER is a selective process. Although much remains to be defined or refined, the general picture of this transport step has now emerged.
Assembly of nuclear pore complexes and annulate lamellae promotes normal pronuclear development in fertilized mammalian oocytes
Authors: Sutovsky Peter , Simerly Calvin , Hewitson Laura , Schatten Gerald 
Published: June 2023

ABSTRACT
In addition to functional nuclear pore complexes engaged in nucleo-cytoplasmic transport, the cytoplasmic stacks of pore complexes, called annulate lamellae, exist in numerous cell types. Although both annulate lamellae and nuclear pore complexes are present in fertilized mammalian oocytes, their relative roles in the process of fertilization and preimplantation development are not known. Using epifluorescence and electron microscopy, we explored their fate during bovine fertilization. The assembly of annulate lamellae in bovine oocytes was triggered by sperm-oocyte binding and continued concomitantly with the incorporation of the nuclear pores in the nuclear envelopes of the developing male and female pronuclei. This process was also induced by the parthenogenetic activation of metaphase-II-arrested oocytes. Depletion of Ca2+, previously implicated in oocyte activation and in the insertion of pore complexes into the nuclear envelope, prevented the formation of nuclear pore complexes, but not the assembly of annulate lamellae in oocyte cytoplasm. Injection of the nuclear pore antagonist, wheat germ agglutinin, into the cytoplasm of mature oocytes that were subsequently fertilized caused the arrest of pronuclear development, indicating the requirement of nuclear pore complexes for normal pronuclear development. Treatment of the fertilized oocytes with the microtubule inhibitor, nocodazole, prevented gathering of annulate lamellae around the developing pronuclei, insertion of nuclear pores into their nuclear envelopes, and further pronuclear development. The formation of the male pronuclei was reconstituted in Xenopus egg extracts and reflected the behavior of nuclear pores during natural fertilization. These data suggest that nuclear pore complexes are required for normal pronuclear development from its beginning up until pronuclear apposition. Annulate lamellae may be involved in the turnover of nuclear pore complexes during fertilization, which is in turn facilitated by the reorganization of oocyte microtubules and influx of Ca2+ into oocyte cytoplasm.
The Drosophila POLO kinase localises to multiple compartments of the mitotic apparatus and is required for the phosphorylation of MPM2 reactive epitopes
Authors: Logarinho Elsa , Sunkel Claudio E. 
Published: June 2023

ABSTRACT
The MPM2 antibody is a valuable tool for studying the regulation of mitotic events since it specifically recognises a subset of mitosis-specific phosphoproteins. Some MPM2 epitopes have been shown to be phosphorylated by p34cdc2. However, recent results suggest that the newly emerging family of polo-like kinases (Plks) may also act as MPM2 kinases. In this study, we present evidence suggesting that the Drosophila POLO protein is required for the phosphorylation of MPM2 reactive epitopes. POLO displays a dynamic localisation pattern during mitosis, which parallels that of the MPM2 phosphoepitopes, since it is found in the centrosome and centromere from early prophase until late anaphase, the microtubule-overlapping region during anaphase, and the region on either side of the midbody during telophase. Centromere localisation is not dependent upon microtubules since it is retained in colchicine-arrested cells and is present in isolated chromosomes. Furthermore, the level of MPM2 immunoreactivity is directly correlated to the severity of the polo mutant alleles. In cells carrying a hypomorphic allele, the centrosomes of abnormal cells are small and fail to efficiently recruit MPM2 epitopes. In neuroblasts homozygous for a severe loss-of-function allele, the mitotic index is low and the MPM2 labelling is severely reduced or absent. Finally, rephosphorylation of MPM2 epitopes in detergent-extracted Schneider cells requires either POLO stably bound to the cytoskeletons or POLO present in soluble extracts. These results suggest that POLO is required for the phosphorylation of MPM2 epitopes in Drosophila, at the centrosomes, centromeres and the mitotic spindle, and thus might be involved in co-ordinating the mitotic changes of cellular architecture with the activity of the maturation promoting factor.