bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genomic characterisation of the overlap of endometriosis with 76 comorbidities identifies pleiotropic and causal mechanisms underlying disease risk
Authors: McGrath Isabelle M. ,   International Endometriosis Genetics Consortium, Montgomery Grant W. , Mortlock Sally 
Published: July 2023

AbstractComorbid conditions can be driven by underlying pleiotropic and causal mechanisms that can provide insights into shared molecular and biological processes contributing to disease risk. Endometriosis is a chronic condition affecting one in nine women of reproductive age and poses many challenges including lengthy diagnostic delays and limited treatment efficacy owing to poor understanding of disease aetiology. To shed light on the underlying biological mechanisms and to identify potential risk factors, we examine the epidemiological and genomic relationship between endometriosis and its comorbidities. In the UK Biobank 292 ICD10 codes were epidemiologically correlated with endometriosis diagnosis, including gynaecological, immune, infection, pain, psychiatric, cancer, gastrointestinal, urinary, bone and cardiovascular traits. A subset of the identified comorbidities (n = 76) underwent follow-up genetic analysis. Whilst Mendelian randomisation suggested causality was not responsible for most comorbid relationships, 22 traits were genetically correlated with endometriosis, including pain, gynaecological and gastrointestinal traits, suggestive of a shared genetic background. Pleiotropic genetic variants and genes were identified using gene-based and colocalisation analysis. Shared genetic risk factors and potential target genes suggest a diverse collection of biological systems are involved in these comorbid relationships including coagulation factors, development of the female reproductive tract and cell proliferation. These findings highlight the diversity of traits with epidemiological and genomic overlap with endometriosis and implicate a key role for pleiotropy in the comorbid relationships.
Seasonality of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
Authors: Zach Heidemarie , Retter David , Schmoeger Michaela , Rommer Paulus , Willinger Ulrike , Schwarz Felix K. , Wiest Gerald 
Published: July 2023

Summary
Background
Although benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of vertigo in clinical practice, factors influencing the pathophysiology remain not fully understood.

Objective
Here we aim to investigate possible seasonal influences on the occurrence of BPPV in Vienna, a city located in a Central European country with pronounced seasonal fluctuations.

Methods
We retrospectively investigated data from 503 patients presenting with BPPV to the outpatient clinics of the Medical University of Vienna between 2007 and 2012. Analyses included age, gender, type of BPPV, seasonal assignment, as well as daylight hours and the temperature in Vienna at symptom onset.

Results
Out of 503 patients (159 male, 344 female, ratio 1:2.2; mean age 60 ± 15.80 years), most patients presented with posterior (89.7%) and left-sided (43.1%) BPPV. There was a significant seasonal difference (χ2p = 0.036) with the majority of symptoms occurring in winter seasons (n = 142), followed by springtime (n = 139). Symptom onset did not correlate with the average temperature (p = 0.24) but on the other hand very well with daylight hours (p < 0.05), which ranged from 8.4 h per day in December, to an average of 15.6 h in July.

Conclusion
Our results show a seasonal accumulation of BPPV during winter and springtime, which is in line with previous studies from other climatic zones, suggesting an association of this seasonality with varying vitamin D levels.
Diagnostic performance of CT with Valsalva maneuver for the diagnosis and characterization of inguinal hernias
Authors: Ghafoor S. , Tognella A. , Stocker D. , Hötker A. M. , Kaniewska M. , Sartoretti T. , Euler A. , Vonlanthen R. , Bueter M. , Alkadhi H. 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Purpose
Inguinal hernias are mainly diagnosed clinically, but imaging can aid in equivocal cases or for treatment planning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of CT with Valsalva maneuver for the diagnosis and characterization of inguinal hernias.

Methods
This single-center retrospective study reviewed all consecutive Valsalva-CT studies between 2018 and 2019. A composite clinical reference standard including surgery was used. Three blinded, independent readers (readers 1–3) reviewed the CT images and scored the presence and type of inguinal hernia. A fourth reader measured hernia size. Interreader agreement was quantified with Krippendorff’s α coefficients. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of Valsalva-CT for the detection of inguinal hernias was computed for each reader.

Results
The final study population included 351 patients (99 women) with median age 52.2 years (interquartile range (IQR), 47.2, 68.9). A total of 381 inguinal hernias were present in 221 patients. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 85.8%, 98.1%, and 91.5% for reader 1, 72.7%, 92.5%, and 81.8% for reader 2, and 68.2%, 96.3%, and 81.1% for reader 3. Hernia neck size was significantly larger in cases correctly detected by all three readers (19.0 mm, IQR 13, 25), compared to those missed by all readers (7.0 mm, IQR, 5, 9; p < 0.001). Interreader agreement was substantial (α = 0.723) for the diagnosis of hernia and moderate (α = 0.522) for the type of hernia.

Conclusion
Valsalva-CT shows very high specificity and high accuracy for the diagnosis of inguinal hernia. Sensitivity is only moderate which is associated with missed smaller hernias.
Prevalence of imbedded and ingested shot gun pellets in breeding sea ducks in the Baltic Sea—possible implications for future conservation efforts
Authors: Liljebäck Niklas , Sørensen Iben Hove , Sterup Jacob , Haas Fredrik , Petersen Ib Krag , Månsson Johan 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Several sea duck species in Europe face dwindling population numbers with following increased conservation focus. Shot gun practices may put extra pressure on populations not only by direct hunting mortality but also crippling and lead poisoning from ingestion of pellets. In this study, we examined three sea duck species breeding in the Swedish Archipelago of the Baltic Sea by x-raying trapped incubating females to detect prevalence of imbedded and ingested shot gun pellets. The study was carried out during the 2021 and 2022 breeding seasons and designed to aid our understanding of the role of physical restraints of putative pellets to breeding performance at our study site. A total of 205 individual females of common eider (n = 113), velvet scoter (n = 57), and red-breasted merganser (n = 35) were x-rayed without finding any imbedded or ingested pellets. For this study, a combination of decreasing hunting pressure, remoteness of study site, improved hunters’ shooting performance along the flyway and depletion of crippling rates due to life-long negative effects of carrying imbedded pellets may explain our finding on non-detection. For common eider, specific interventions to reduce the negative impacts of shotgun practices have been reported successful, and our data suggest a continuing positive trend. Based on our findings, we advise future conservation efforts for the three species, breeding in this part of the flyway, to focus on other factors that may have negative impact on incubating female survival and reproduction.
Advances in Preparation Methods and Conductivity Properties of Graphene-based Polymer Composites
Authors: Tarhini Ali , Tehrani-Bagha A. R. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractGraphene-based polymer composites with improved physical properties are of great interest due to their lightweight, conductivity, and durability. They have the potential to partially replace metals and ceramics in several applications which can reduce energy and cost. The obtained properties of graphene-based polymer composites are often linked to the way graphene is dispersed in the polymer matrix. Preparation techniques like solution mixing, melt blending, and in-situ polymerization have been used to obtain graphene-based polymer composites. Dispersing and aligning graphene fillers within the composite is a key factor in enhancing the thermal and electrical conductivity values of the composites due to graphene’s anisotropic properties. The effect of the preparation methods of these composites on their physical-chemical properties is discussed in this review where we presented the advances that were achieved so far in the preparation techniques used showing the highest values ever achieved for electrical and thermal conductivity for these graphene-based polymer composites. Also, we presented the possible applications where graphene-based composites can be utilized.
Fabry-Pérot etalons in solar astronomy. A review
Authors: Bailén F. J. , Orozco Suárez D. , del Toro Iniesta J. C. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractDuring the last decades, the use of Fabry-Pérot etalons as filtergraphs has become frequent in solar instruments. The main reason is that they stand out for offering quasi-monochromatic, two-dimensional fields of view much higher than those provided by conventional slit-based spectrographs in a given time interval. Unfortunately, they also present several drawbacks. The number of etalons employed, the chosen way to illuminate them and the material they are made of have a large influence on the performance of the instrument. In this work we review and discuss the main results obtained by some of the most relevant studies in the design of etalon-based instruments. We present the general properties of etalons and their particularities when employed in solar instruments. We examine the (common) use of systems of several etalons to increase the free spectral range and to narrow down the filter transmission width. We compare the advantages and drawbacks of the two most common configurations —collimated and telecentric— paying special attention to their limitations. Finally, we also inspect the properties of crystalline etalons and their use in solar astronomy.
Environmentalism, a flirt with eco-authoritarianism and the robustness of ordoliberalism
Authors: Enninga Justus 
Published: July 2023

AbstractMore and more citizens around the world do not believe that market liberal democracies are up to the challenge of climate change. Instead, they favour radical solutions. Important parts of the environmentalist literature build on this fertile ground, reject liberal democracy and markets, and openly flirt with authoritarian solutions to environmental challenges. In my paper I ask whether it is correct that liberalism is not up to environmental challenges. I concentrate on ordoliberalism as a variety of liberal alternatives and test whether it provides a robust institutional framework to address the issue of climate change. The research agenda of Robust Political Economy analyses the performance of institutional orders under conditions where human agents are neither perfectly rational and informed nor perfectly altruistic. I point at two institutional features of green ordoliberalism as source of its robustness: First, I point at the green ordoliberal focus on the market economy as (1) a driver of technology, (2) a driver of coordination and (3) a driver of community. Second, I point at the green ordoliberal focus on universalizable political rules which decrease the likelihood of environmental government failure through (1) higher transparency, (2) less rent-seeking, and (3) the predictability of state action. While the political solutions favoured by ordoliberals exhibit serious shortcomings, ordoliberalism offers a liberal institutional alternative to solve environmental problems in a less than ideal world.
The Entangled Intersection of Children’s and Educators’ Engagement in the Educational Environment of a Preschool
Authors: Magnusson Lena O , Elm Annika 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe study presented in this article shows some aspects of how children between the ages of three and five and their educators perceive and describe the educational environment in early childhood education in Sweden. The data is generated using pedagogical walk-throughs with the educators and camera tours together with the children. The study is conducted as a case study with three municipalities as cases and shows how materiality, places and relationships appear in the intersection of the educators’ and children’s verbal and visual descriptions of the indoor educational environment. We put diffractive readings to work to follow the entangled inter-connections and the intra-acting agency of the sociomaterial assemblages. These assemblages consist of different types of materiality, spatial conditions, the educators’ verbal descriptions, the children’s photographs and their verbal and bodily actions when using the cameras. The findings suggest that children and educators use, engage in and relate to the educational environment and materiality in both different and similar ways. Moreover, the children transform the educational setting organised by the educators as place changers, while materiality constructs places as placemaking materiality.
Linkages between pelagic and benthic biota in a deteriorated coastal lake after restoration, Maruit, Egypt
Authors: Mitwally Hanan , Rashidy Hoda El , Montagna Paul 
Published: July 2023

AbstractUntil the 1960s, Lake Maruit was one of Egypt’s most productive coastal brackish lakes. Continuous polluted discharge from Alexandria city resulted in long-term deterioration. The Egyptian government started a lake restoration program in 2010. Biological linkages between pelagic and benthic communities were assessed in November 2012 using parasitism and predation. This study examined ectoparasites infesting tilapia fish from 300 samples. The platyhelminth ectoparasite, Monogenea, and parasitic-copepodErgasilus lizaewere detected. Platyhelminthes parasitizedOreochromis niloticusandOreochromis aureus, whereas the crustacean parasitizedCoptodon zillii. The parasitic prevalence was low forCichlidogyrussp. andErgasilus lizae. Benthic biotas were similar across basins. Fish abundance does not respond directly to benthic biotic components. Phytoplankton and benthic microalgae were not the main fish diet. Data on Halacaridae and fish clustered, indicating that either Halacaridae responds to their environment like fish or fish prey upon them because of their size. Linear correlations between pelagic, benthic biota, and parasite-infected fish indicate parasites may control their hosts. Some bioindicators indicate that stressed ecosystems differ from unstressed ecosystems. Fish species and biota abundances were low. Inconsistency in the food web and an absence of direct interactions between prey and predators are bioindicators of disturbed ecosystems. The low prevalence of ectoparasites and lack of heterogenous distribution of the various examined biota are bioindicators of habitat rehabilitation. Ongoing biomonitoring to better understand habitat rehabilitation is suggested.
Government debt: the impact of fiscal rules at the European and national level
Authors: Kraemer Robert , Lehtimäki Jonne 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAs Europe and the world surface from the pandemic of 2020–2021, public debt levels have risen substantially, the review of the European Union (EU) economic governance framework is underway and the general escape clause of the stability and growth pact (SGP) is planned to be deactivated at the end of 2023. Against this background, it is important to better understand the dynamics of public debt in the EU. This paper studies how European institutions and sectoral national fiscal rules have affected the formation of public debt. The results suggest that over the last 25 years, the SGP has been an effective tool for lowering government debt levels, at least on average. The establishment of the SGP has been the most effective at lowering government debt, while reforms of the SGP have only had limited effects. The effects of national fiscal rules are heterogenous across different rules and public sector classifications, but it seems that national fiscal rules have at least some effects beyond the SGP in all studied cases. This implies that the EU fiscal framework and EU-level fiscal policies should take into account potential interactions with national fiscal rules and both can be used to increase the effectiveness of fiscal policymaking.
Religious Coping and Mental Adjustment to Cancer Among Polish Adolescents
Authors: Puchalska-Wasyl Małgorzata M. , Małaj Magdalena 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAdults suffering from chronic illnesses are more likely to look to God for support (positive religious coping; PRC) than to fight against God (negative religious coping; NRC). What about when cancer occurs during adolescence—a period of questioning the worldview and values, and at the same time searching for the sacred? Our study aimed to establish the relationships between PRC, NRC, and mental adjustment to cancer among youth and determine support’s role in these relationships. The study was conducted in Poland and included 88 adolescent cancer patients who completed the Brief RCOPE and the Mini-MAC. Additionally, general well-being and support were assessed. We found that PRC was positively related to constructive adjustment style (CAS), whereas NCR was related to destructive adjustment style (DAS). Adolescents with cancer were higher in PRC than in NRC and were higher in CAS than in DAS. In young women, CAS was higher than in men. Finally, at a level of received support rated as very high, PRC promoted fighting spirit and well-being.
The Nuclear Localization Signal of NF-κB p50 Enters the Cells via Syndecan-Mediated Endocytosis and Inhibits NF-κB Activity
Authors: Letoha Annamária , Hudák Anett , Bozsó Zsolt , Vizler Csaba , Veres Gábor , Szilák László , Letoha Tamás 
Published: July 2023

AbstractIt is well established that cationic peptides can enter cells following attachment to polyanionic membrane components. We report that the basic nuclear localization signal (NLS) of the NF-κB p50 subunit is internalized via lipid raft-dependent endocytosis mediated by heparan sulfate proteoglycans and exerts significant NF-κB inhibitory activities both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro uptake experiments revealed that the p50 NLS peptide (CYVQRKRQKLMP) enters the cytoplasm and accumulates in the nucleus at 37 °C. Depleting cellular ATP pools or decreasing temperature to 4 °C abolished peptide internalization, confirming the active, energy-dependent endocytic uptake. Co-incubation with heparan sulfate or replacing the peptide’s basic residues with glycines markedly reduced the intracellular entry of the p50 NLS, referring to the role of polyanionic cell-surface proteoglycans in internalization. Furthermore, treatment with methyl-β-cyclodextrin greatly inhibited the peptide’s membrane translocation. Overexpression of the isoforms of the syndecan family of transmembrane proteoglycans, especially syndecan-4, increased the cellular internalization of the NLS, suggesting syndecans’ involvement in the peptide’s cellular uptake. In vitro, p50 NLS reduced NF-κB activity in TNF-α-induced L929 fibroblasts and LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 expression of HMEC-1 human endothelial cells could also be inhibited by the peptide. Fifteen minutes after its intraperitoneal injection, the peptide rapidly entered the cells of the pancreas, an organ with marked syndecan-4 expression. In an acute pancreatitis model, an inflammatory disorder triggered by the activation of stress-responsive transcription factors like NF-κB, administration of the p50 NLS peptide reduced the severity of pancreatic inflammation by blocking NF-κB transcription activity and ameliorating the examined laboratory and histological markers of pancreatitis.
Sedges on the edge: new agronomic and research opportunities?
Authors: Barrett Russell L. 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background
The paper by Tan and co-authors in this issue of Plant and Soil explores feedback mechanisms between functional traits and soil nutrient responses in tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus L.), with emphasis on their growth in marginal agricultural lands.

Scope
Many of the world’s top food species belong to the order Poales, specifically the family Poaceae. Cyperaceae, also Poales, are recognised for their ecological importance, yet currently provide only minor contributions to global food security.

Conclusions
Wide ecological tolerance and naturally weedy tendencies may provide a unique niche for a significant increase in the production of tiger nuts as a global food resource. Further research on the ecology and agronomic potential of Cyperaceae is advocated.
Precision nutrition for targeting pathophysiology of cardiometabolic phenotypes
Authors: Shannon Christopher E. , Ní Chathail Méabh B. , Mullin Sinéad M. , Meehan Andrew , McGillicuddy Fiona C. , Roche Helen M. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractObesity is a heterogenous disease accompanied by a broad spectrum of cardiometabolic risk profiles. Traditional paradigms for dietary weight management do not address biological heterogeneity between individuals and have catastrophically failed to combat the global pandemic of obesity-related diseases. Nutritional strategies that extend beyond basic weight management to instead target patient-specific pathophysiology are warranted. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of the tissue-level pathophysiological processes that drive patient heterogeneity to shape distinct cardiometabolic phenotypes in obesity. Specifically, we discuss how divergent physiology and postprandial phenotypes can reveal key metabolic defects within adipose, liver, or skeletal muscle, as well as the integrative involvement of the gut microbiome and the innate immune system. Finally, we highlight potential precision nutritional approaches to target these pathways and discuss recent translational evidence concerning the efficacy of such tailored dietary interventions for different obesity phenotypes, to optimise cardiometabolic benefits.