bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A single‐centre prospective study comparing efficacy and safety of apremilast with cyclosporine in moderate to severe atopic dermatitis
Authors: Vyas Harshita R. , Shah Shikha R. , Shah Bela J. , Parmar Kirti S. , Jangid Neha , Choudhary Ankita , Gehlawat Tarun , Mistry Deval 
Published: July 2023

AbstractBackgroundApremilast regulates several pro‐inflammatory signals involved in atopic dermatitis (AD).MethodsA randomized, open‐labelled study was conducted at a tertiary care centre in India. Fifty patients with AD of >1 year duration were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either apremilast (30 mg twice daily after initial titration) or cyclosporine (5 mg/kg/day) for 24 weeks, followed by a 12‐week follow‐up period. Primary outcome was mean percentage change in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) from baseline to week 24. Secondary outcome measures were proportion of patients achieving EASI 75, EASI 90, ≥2‐point improvement in Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA), SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) 75 at week 24 and percentage of patients experiencing ≥1 adverse effect (AEs).ResultsMean percentage change in EASI (standard deviation) was −67.79% [22.44] in the apremilast treatment group and −83.06% [21.20] in the cyclosporine treatment group (p < 0.05). At week 24, 52.38% of patients in the apremilast group and 78.26% in the cyclosporine group achieved EASI 75 (p < 0.05); 14.29% in the apremilast group and 52.17% in the cyclosporine group achieved EASI 90 (p < 0.05) and 80.95% in the apremilast group and 82.60% patients achieved ≥2 point reduction in IGA (p > 0.05). 57.14% of patients achieved SCORAD 75 in the apremilast group and 69.56% in the cyclosporine group (p > 0.05). Mean time taken to achieve EASI 75 in the apremilast group was 4.50 ± 4.62 weeks, while it was 3.96 ± 3.43 weeks in the cyclosporine group (p > 0.05). Incidence of AEs was 28.57% in the apremilast group and 21.74%) in the cyclosporine group.ConclusionsApremilast demonstrated lesser efficacy in comparison to cyclosporine; it has the advantage of a favourable safety profile and requires no laboratory monitoring.
Laugh—cry, eat—drink, dance! Tracing belonging through cartographies of joy
Authors: Regis Helen A. , Walton Shana 
Published: July 2023

SummaryThis article explores joy, identity, and belonging at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival through an ethnographic project inviting festgoers and staff members to draw, sketch, or map their experiences and journeys through festival landscapes. Building on scholarship in visual, humanistic, and post‐humanist anthropology, we view map‐making as an emergent strategy for performative epistemology, a way of making and thinking together. In a festival with a strong visual culture that centers African American music and cultural heritage, drawings often reflect racialized landscapes and subjectivities. Maps reveal the centrality of affect in festival experiences while affording insights into what makes joy complicated. For some, festival sociality brings those tensions to the fore while making it possible for others to imagine a world otherwise.
Political spillovers of workplace democracy in Germany
Authors: Jirjahn Uwe , Le Thi Xuan Thu 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAlthough works councils provide a highly developed mechanism to promote workplace democracy, research on their consequences has been dominated by economic aspects. This study brings a new perspective to the understanding of works councils by examining their influence on workers’ political behavior. Political spillover theory suggests that participation in the firm's decision making has the potential to foster workers’ political participation in civic society. Our study for Germany indeed finds a positive association between the presence of a works council and workers’ interest in politics. This holds in panel data estimations including a large set of controls and accounting for unobserved individual‐specific factors. However, separate estimations by gender show a positive association between works councils and political interest only for men, but not for women. Traditional gender roles may make it difficult for women to be politically engaged even when a works council is present.
Youth participation in governance in China: The roles of perceived responsibility and political efficacy
Authors: Wang Yixuan , Zhai Fuhua , Gao Qin , Wang Zijiao , Wang Yuqi 
Published: July 2023

AbstractYouth participation in governance goes beyond the scope of positive youth development and involves young people engaging in real‐world social governance. Drawing on a culturally sensitive review of policies related to youth participation, this study investigated the effect of subjective factors (i.e., perceived responsibility and political efficacy) on young adults' participation in governance in China. A subset of young adult (N = 2396) was extracted from the national 2019 Chinese Social Survey. Regression and mediation analyses found a positive association between their perceived responsibility and participation in governance, which was significantly mediated by their perceived political efficacy. Furthermore, conditional indirect effects were found when using education and generational status of the young adults as moderators. Education was found to alleviate the negative effect of perceived responsibility on political efficacy and its negative indirect effect on youth participation. These findings highlight the importance of policymakers, social workers, and other practitioners in developing and promoting evidence‐based community programs that empower, encourage, and motivate young adults to recognize their individual responsibility and political efficacy in social governance.
Randomized placebo‐controlled crossover study to assess tolerability and pharmacodynamics of zagociguat, a soluble guanylyl cyclase stimulator, in healthy elderly
Authors: van Kraaij Sebastiaan J. W. , Borghans Laura , Klaassen Erica S. , Gal Pim , van der Grond Jeroen , Tripp Ken , Winrow Christopher , Glasser Chad , Groeneveld Geert Jan 
Published: July 2023

AimsDysfunction of nitric oxide‐soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC)–cyclic guanosine monophosphate signalling is implicated in the pathophysiology of cognitive impairment. Zagociguat is a central nervous system (CNS) penetrant sGC stimulator designed to amplify nitric oxide–cyclic guanosine monophosphate signalling in the CNS. This article describes a phase 1b study evaluating the safety and pharmacodynamic effects of zagociguat.MethodsIn this randomized crossover study, 24 healthy participants aged ≥65 years were planned to receive 15 mg zagociguat or placebo once daily for 2 15‐day periods separated by a 27‐day washout. Adverse events, vital signs, electrocardiograms and laboratory tests were conducted to assess safety. Pharmacokinetics of zagociguat were evaluated in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Pharmacodynamic assessments included evaluation of cerebral blood flow, CNS tests, pharmaco‐electroencephalography, passive leg movement and biomarkers in blood, CSF and brain.ResultsTwenty‐four participants were enrolled; 12 participants completed both treatment periods, while the other 12 participants completed only 1 treatment period. Zagociguat was well‐tolerated and penetrated the blood–brain barrier, with a CSF/free plasma concentration ratio of 0.45 (standard deviation 0.092) measured 5 h after the last dose of zagociguat on Day 15. Zagociguat induced modest decreases in blood pressure. No consistent effects of zagociguat on other pharmacodynamic parameters were detected.ConclusionZagociguat was well‐tolerated and induced modest blood pressure reductions consistent with other sGC stimulators. No clear pharmacodynamic effects of zagociguat were detected. Studies in participants with proven reduced cerebral blood flow or CNS function may be an avenue for further evaluation of the compound.
Non‐compartmental and population pharmacokinetic analysis of dapsone in healthy NIGERIANS: A pilot study
Authors: Kotila Olayinka A. , Ajayi David T. , Masimirembwa Collen , Thelingwani Roslyn , Odetunde Abayomi , Falusi Adeyinka G. , Babalola Chinedum P. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractDapsone is employed for both non‐dermatological and dermatological indications but with non‐existent population pharmacokinetics (popPK) data in Nigerians. This study was therefore designed to develop a popPK model in Nigerians. Non‐compartmental analysis and nonlinear mixed effects modelling were utilized for data analysis. Eleven participants administered 50 mg dapsone tablet were included in the analysis. Derived pharmacokinetic parameters were: Cmax = 1.16 ± 0.32 μg/mL, Tmax = 3.77 ± 2.40 h, and t1/2z = 30.23 ± 11.76 h. PopPK model parameter estimates with inter‐individual variability were Tlag = 0.40 h (10.0%, fixed); ka = 1.78 h−1 (75.9%); V/F = 89.25 L (21.6%); and Cl/F = 1.32 Lh−1 (27.7%). Sex was significantly associated with Cl/F, and body weight with V/F. Best popPK model was one‐compartment with lag time, and first‐order absorption and elimination. Sex and body weight significantly influenced the clearance and distribution volume of dapsone respectively.
Assessment of the potential of novel and classical opioids to induce respiratory depression in mice
Authors: Hill Rob , Sanchez Julie , Lemel Laura , Antonijevic Mirjana , Hosking Yselkla , Mistry Shailesh N. , Kruegel Andrew C. , Javitch Jonathan A. , Lane J. Robert , Canals Meritxell 
Published: July 2023

AbstractBackground and PurposeOpioid‐induced respiratory depression limits the use of μ‐opioid receptor agonists in clinical settings and is the main cause of opioid overdose fatalities. The relative potential of different opioid agonists to induce respiratory depression at doses exceeding those producing analgesia is understudied despite its relevance to assessments of opioid safety. Here we evaluated the respiratory depressant and anti‐nociceptive effects of three novel opioids and relate these measurements to their in vitro efficacy.Experimental ApproachRespiration was measured in awake, freely moving male CD‐1 mice using whole body plethysmography. Anti‐nociception was measured using the hot plate test. Morphine, oliceridine and tianeptine were administered intraperitoneally, whereas methadone, oxycodone and SR‐17018 were administered orally. Receptor activation and arrestin‐3 recruitment were measured in HEK293 cells using BRET assays.Key ResultsAcross the dose ranges examined, all opioids studied depressed respiration in a dose‐dependent manner, with similar effects at the highest doses, and with tianeptine and oliceridine showing reduced duration of effect, when compared with morphine, oxycodone, methadone and SR‐17018. When administered at doses that induced similar respiratory depression, all opioids induced similar anti‐nociception, with tianeptine and oliceridine again showing reduced duration of effect. These data were consistent with the in vitro agonist activity of the tested compounds.Conclusion and ImplicationsIn addition to providing effective anti‐nociception, the novel opioids, oliceridine, tianeptine and SR‐17018 depress respiration in male mice. However, the different potencies and kinetics of effect between these novel opioids may be relevant to their therapeutic application in different clinical settings.
Metabolic stress‐induced reciprocal loop of long noncoding RNA ZFAS1 and ZEB1 promotes epithelial–mesenchymal transition and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells
Authors: Zhuo Wenfeng , Zeng Zhu , Hu Yuhang , Hu Ping , Han Shengbo , Wang Decai , Wang Fan , Zhao Yong , Huang Yan , Wang Jie , Lv Guozheng , Wang Hongda , Li Yang , Zhao Eryang , Cai Kailin , Zhao Gang 
Published: July 2023

AbstractPancreatic cancer (PC) development faces significant metabolic stress due to metabolic reprogramming and a distinct hypovascular nature, often leading to glucose and glutamine depletion. However, the adaption mechanisms by which PC adapts to these metabolic challenges have not yet been completely explored. Here, we found that metabolic stress induced by glucose and glutamine deprivation led to an overexpression of ZNFX1 antisense RNA 1 (ZFAS1). This overexpression played a significant role in instigating PC cell epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis. Mechanistically, ZFAS1 enhanced the interaction between AMPK, a key kinase, and ZEB1, the primary regulator of EMT. This interaction resulted in the phosphorylation and subsequent stabilization of ZEB1. Interestingly, ZEB1 also reciprocally influenced the transcription of ZFAS1 by binding to its promoter. Furthermore, when ZFAS1 was depleted, the nutrient deprivation‐induced EMT of PC cells and lung metastasis in nude mice were significantly inhibited. Our investigations also revealed that ZFAS1‐rich exosomes released from cells suffering glucose and glutamine deprivation promoted the EMT and metastasis of recipient PC cells. Corroborating these findings, a correlated upregulation of ZFAS1 and ZEB1 expression was observed in PC tissues and was associated with a poor overall survival rate for patients. Our findings highlight the involvement of a long noncoding RNA‐driven metabolic adaptation in promoting EMT and metastasis of PC, suggesting ZFAS1 as a promising novel therapeutic target for PC metabolic treatment.
What else is dentition telling us? A new specimen‐level phylogeny of Mesotheriidae (Mammalia, Notoungulata)
Authors: Armella Matías Alberto , Deforel Facundo 
Published: July 2023

AbstractMesotheriidae (Panperissodactyla, Notoungulata) are an extinct clade (early Oligocene–Pleistocene) of small to medium‐sized herbivorous mammals that were widely distributed in South America. Although two subfamilies traditionally have been recognized (Trachytheriinae and Mesotheriinae), recent cladistic analyses based on discrete characters have indicated that “Trachytheriinae” is a paraphyletic assemblage. Given the availability of a large number of specimens and the fact that dental characters are the most common characters used in mesotheriid phylogenies, we performed specimen‐level cladistic analyses combining discrete, continuous and geometric morphometrics‐based dental characters. The aim was to: (1) include new scored morphological characters to solve the phylogenetic relationships of Mesotheriidae; (2) compare the results of the upper and lower dentition analyses as different character partitions and in combination, to establish phylogenetic hypotheses; and (3) trace the evolution of dental traits. Phylogenetic analyses employing characters of associated upper and lower dentitions recovered one most parsimonious tree with Archaeohyracidae (outgroup) as the sister group of Pan‐Mesotheriidae (= Mesotheriidae; converted clade name), this latter composed of trachytheriines (stem‐mesotheriine) + Mesotheriinae (converted clade name). Within Mesotheriinae, we recovered two main lineages phylogenetically defined here as Bolivarini and Pampaini (new clade names). Analyses of isolated upper and lower dentition sub‐datasets each resulted in one most parsimonious tree congruent with the associated dentition. Our study emphasizes the use of geometric morphometrics characters to resolve additional clades in phylogenetic analyses, provides information on the evolution of size and morphology of teeth, and exposes specimen assignment issues at a taxonomic level. The integration of osteological characters might be crucial to further understanding the evolution of Mesotheriidae.
Determinants of poverty among Indigenous people in Mexico's Guerrero Mountain Region
Authors: Mora‐Rivera Jorge , Fierros‐González Isael , García‐Mora Fernando 
Published: July 2023

AbstractMotivationThe eradication of poverty is one of Mexico's greatest challenges. This challenge is even greater for Indigenous communities, where seven out of 10 people were living in poverty in 2018. Despite the economic, social, and cultural impacts on Indigenous people, there has been scant literature addressing the determinants of Indigenous poverty in Mexico, while studies on the Guerrero Mountain Region (GMR) are scarcer still.PurposeThis study aims to identify the socioeconomic and contextual determinants of income and multidimensional poverty in the GMR, one of the poorest regions in Mexico and Latin America, inhabited primarily by Indigenous people.Methods and approachWe use data on 989 individuals in the GMR, collected during the 2018 Socioeconomic Conditions Module of Mexico's National Household Income and Expenditure Survey. To examine the main determinants of individual poverty, we use Bayesian logistic regression (BLR), which allows us to use the data to update information about the parameters and evaluate their distributional properties. The method simplifies multi‐causal elements by classifying them into categories of well‐being that incorporate more than economic factors.FindingsThe income‐poor population is also multidimensionally poor. Education helps to reduce poverty as households that spend more on schooling are less likely to be poor. Households with many members, those with high dependency ratios, and those with members living with disability all tend to be poor. Households with access to landlines and the internet are less likely to be poor.Policy implicationsMore diagnosis of poverty is needed. This should consider overlapping vulnerabilities (institutional, socioeconomic, environmental, and sociocultural) in this region for each Indigenous group. Public policies need to be monitored for performance.
Whose policy coherence counts? Assessing sustainable fisheries in Ghana and the European Union's engagement
Authors: Keijzer Niels , Galvis Lina , Delputte Sarah 
Published: July 2023

AbstractMotivationPromoting coherence for sustainable development (PCSD) is a key means of implementation for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, yet it has been overlooked as policy discussions have focused predominantly on the financing of the agenda. The literature and policy debates about PCSD largely focus on processes and on OECD countries, and they neglect their political and normative dimensions. This article complements recent literature on PCSD by elaborating and testing a relational perspective on the concept.PurposeTo address these issues, this article elaborates a relational perspective that responds to the misrepresentation of third countries as passive recipients of (in)coherent OECD policy preferences.Methods and approachThe analysis presented summarizes the literature on the related concepts of PCSD and Policy Coherence for Development (PCD). On this basis, the article articulates a relational perspective on policy coherence that complements other critical perspectives in the literature. Subsequently, it explores the potential and relevance of this relational perspective by analysing how the fisheries policy preferences of the European Union interact with those of Ghana.FindingsOverall, the analysis shows that a commitment to sustainable fisheries cannot be assumed for either the EU or Ghana. Furthermore, assessing the responsibilities of the EU and Ghana around sustainability and degrees of adherence is difficult due to the presence of other fishing nations and influences. In the context of the EU's ambitious policy framework, the continued overfishing in Ghanaian waters negatively affects the credibility and justification of its continued involvement. Policy dialogue between the EU and the Ghanaian government and accompanying EU technical assistance have supported changes to Ghanaian fisheries policies, but overfishing continues.Policy implicationsDiscussions on promoting PCSD should be supported by more empirical research into the extent and manner that policy preferences consider by policy‐makers to be coherent with the 2030 Agenda contribute to advancing the agenda in different country and regional contexts.
Credit information sharing and cost of debt: Evidence from the introduction of credit bureaus in developing countries
Authors: Fosu Samuel , Agyei‐Boapeah Henry , Ciftci Neytullah 
Published: July 2023

AbstractWe investigate the effect of credit information sharing on cost of debt, with particular focus on the introduction of credit bureaus in developing countries. Using a large dataset of firms from 28 developing countries over the period 2004–2019, we find that firms’ average cost of debt significantly declines following the introduction of credit bureaus. This finding is robust to an alternative measure of cost of debt, several firm‐ and country‐level controls and to firm‐ and year‐fixed effects. The reduction in cost of debt is more pronounced for less transparent firms and for firms domiciled in countries with weak institutional framework.
Dissolved organic carbon bioreactivity and DOC:DIN stoichiometry control ammonium uptake in an intermittent Mediterranean stream
Authors: Peñarroya Xavier , Lupon Anna , Triadó‐Margarit Xavier , Martí Eugènia , Ledesma José L. J. , Ribot Miquel , Soler Montserrat , Casamayor Emilio O. , Bernal Susana 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Heterotrophic organisms in streams use dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) from the water column to meet their growth and energy requirements. However, the role of DOC availability in driving DIN uptake in headwater streams is still poorly understood. In this study, we focus on how DOC:DIN stoichiometry and DOC bioreactivity control ammonium (NH4+) uptake and heterotrophic aerobic respiration, and how this influence varies among seasons in a forested Mediterranean headwater stream.

We estimated in‐stream NH4+ uptake rates seasonally by conducting whole‐reach constant‐rate additions of NH4+ with and without amendments of either lignin (recalcitrant DOC) or acetate (labile DOC). During each addition, we characterised microbial community composition by molecular analyses, stream metabolism with the single‐station method, and heterotrophic aerobic respiration by adding a metabolic tracer (resazurin).

The stream was heterotrophic (net ecosystem production <0) regardless of the season, with a microbial community mostly composed of heterotrophic bacteria. In‐stream NH4+ uptake rates were not related to either background NH4+ or DOC concentrations. Instead, these rates increased with increasing the molar ratio of NH4+ to nitrate (NO3−) (NH4+:NO3−) and DOC to DIN (DOC:DIN).Whole‐reach heterotrophic aerobic respiration rates showed the same relationship against stoichiometric ratios as NH4+ uptake rates. Furthermore, in‐stream NH4+ uptake rates were from 5% to >800% higher during the co‐additions of acetate than when adding NH4+ either alone or with lignin.

Our results indicate that in‐stream NH4+ uptake was largely controlled by heterotrophic bacteria, and that the stoichiometric balance between organic resources and nutrients was key to explaining the variability of in‐stream NH4+ uptake and heterotrophic aerobic respiration. Moreover, the observed increase in NH4+ uptake during acetate additions suggests that heterotrophic activity was limited by labile DOC availability.

Our study highlights that both DOC:DIN stoichiometry and DOC bioreactivity are relevant factors driving the seasonal pattern of in‐stream N processing in this forested Mediterranean headwater stream.