bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intestinal microbiome in normal ageing, frailty and cognition decline
Authors: Strasser Barbara , Ticinesi Andrea 
Published: September 2022

Purpose of review
The intestinal microbiome modulates the risk of several age-related chronic diseases and syndromes, including frailty and neurodegenerative diseases. Herein we provided an update on the influence of gut microbiota on physical and cognitive performance in older age and suggest microbiota-targeted interventions for healthy ageing.

Recent findings
Low uniqueness index of the gut microbiome and high representation of Bacteroides are independently associated with mortality in older individuals, while the centenarian microbiome is characterized by high abundance of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria. Frailty syndrome, sarcopenia and cognitive decline are associated with reduced faecal microbiota biodiversity, reduced abundance of bacteria able to synthetize short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and reduced faecal butyrate levels. Dietary intervention, especially involving Mediterranean diet, and exercise training seem to be associated with improved biodiversity of the microbiota, increased capacity of SCFA synthesis and, probably, protection against the onset of frailty and cognitive decline.

Summary
The gut microbiota biodiversity and composition may reflect the different ageing trajectory, but further research is needed to understand potential independent and combined effects of environmental and lifestyle factors in older adults, especially from a clinical point of view.
Effectiveness of Rapid Antigen Testing in Forensic Cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection, Including Delta Variant
Authors: Matsumoto Sari , Takasu Shojiro , Shimmura Suzuka , Iwadate Kyoko , Sakai Ami , Kanto Yuko , Sakurai Tatsuya , Ote Manabu , Saiki Erisha , Kanuka Hirotaka , Iwadate Kimiharu 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
The polymerase chain reaction is indispensable for diagnosing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in forensic cases. However, studies regarding the effectiveness of rapid antigen testing (RAT) in forensic cases remain limited. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy of RAT compared with reverse–transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) for confirming SARS-CoV-2 infection (including the delta variant). Before the external examination or autopsy, we collected samples from the nasopharyngeal mucosa, which were then assessed via RAT (QuickNavi COVID-19 Ag kit, QuickNavi-Flu+COVID-19 Ag kit) and RT-qPCR. Reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction results were positive in 73 of 1255 cases, and 21 cases were identified as those of delta variants. Low RT-qPCR threshold cycle value cases and delta variant infections were more likely to result in coronavirus disease-related deaths. The sensitivity of the QuickNavi COVID-19 Ag kit was 76.32%, and that of the QuickNavi-Flu+COVID-19 Ag kit was 77.14%. The specificity of both RATs was 100%. In QuickNavi COVID-19 Ag kit cases, delta variant cases showed lower sensitivity than non-delta variant cases, even for a similar viral load. Thus, RAT in forensic cases is sufficiently useful as a screening test for SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, RAT carries a risk of false negatives, especially for delta variant cases.
Oxygen Challenge Imaging Reveals Differences in Metabolic Activity Between Kurtosis Lesion and Diffusion/Kurtosis Lesion Mismatch in a Rodent Model of Acute Stroke
Authors: Wu Ying , Song Man-Li , Bai Jie , Wang Kai-Yu , Zhang Yong , Cheng Jing-Liang 
Published: September 2022

Objective
Accurate identification of potentially salvageable tissues is critical for improving acute stroke treatment. A previous study showed that the kurtosis lesion exhibited insignificant response after prompt reperfusion treatment, while the diffusion/kurtosis lesion mismatch could recover after reperfusion. We hypothesized that these 2 regions are in different metabolic states.

Materials and Methods
Transient oxygen challenge (OC) is a procedure that uses oxygen as a metabolic bio-tracer and has been performed to explore metabolic activity in tissues. We combined OC with multiparameter magnetic resonance imaging (including diffusion kurtosis imaging and T2* mapping sequences) to study metabolic activity in the ischemic brain of Sprague Dawley rats.

Results
Oxygen challenge image analysis revealed changes in T2* values, most significantly in the mean diffusivity (MD)/mean kurtosis (MK) lesion mismatch (22.3 ± 1.6%) and least significantly in the MK lesions (6.6 ± 0.6%). The MD images acquired within 138 ± 9 minutes after ischemia showed a larger ischemic lesion (45.5 ± 3.0% of the total area) than the MK images (33.2 ± 4.2% of the total area). The change rate of the MK value (53.0 ± 4.4%) was higher than that of the MD value (37.5 ± 3.2%).

Conclusions
The present study shows that MK lesion and MD/MK lesion mismatch exhibited different metabolic activity states. The MK lesion presented metabolic-related values close to the ischemic core, while at least part of the MD/MK mismatch area was comparable with ischemic penumbra metabolic activity. These findings are important to support image-guided individualized stroke therapies.
A Novel Computed Tomography Image Reconstruction for Improving Visualization of Pulmonary Vasculature: Comparison Between Preprocessing and Postprocessing Images Using a Contrast Enhancement Boost Technique
Authors: Otgonbaatar Chuluunbaatar , Ryu Jae-Kyun , Shim Hackjoon , Jeon Pil-Hyun , Jeon Sang-Hyun , Kim Jin Woo , Ko Sung Min , Kim Hyunjung 
Published: September 2022

Objective
This study aimed to evaluate chest computed tomography (CT) angiography image quality using the contrast enhancement (CE)–boost technique compared with conventional images.

Methods
Forty patients who underwent contrast-enhanced chest CT were included. Combined CT angiography images of the iodinated image obtained from the subtraction of nonenhanced CT images and CT angiography images were used to generate CE-boost images. Computed tomography attenuation, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for the right and left pulmonary arteries as the central and subsegmental arteries as peripheral vessels were assessed. Subjective image quality was rated on a 5-point scale by 2 radiologists. Image quality was assessed using a paired t test.

Results
Computed tomography attenuation in the main pulmonary artery was significantly higher for the CE-boost images (311.05 ± 91.94) than for the conventional images (221.25 ± 61.21, P < 0.001). Similarly, the CE-boost images resulted in significantly higher CT attenuation in the subsegmental arteries (right, 305.34 ± 90.13; left, 313.05 ± 97.21) than in the conventional images (right, 218.45 ± 63.16; left, 223.89 ± 74.27). The CE-boost technique demonstrated marked improvement in the visualization of the peripheral pulmonary artery without the administration of a higher iodine delivery rate. The mean SNR and CNR were also significantly higher in the central and peripheral vessels in the CE-boost images than in the conventional images (P < 0.001). In the subjective analysis, the image contrast and vascular contrast edge were significantly higher for the CE-boost images than for conventional images (P < 0.001).

Conclusions
The CE-boost technique increases not only the visualization of peripheral arteries by improving vascular attenuation but also the SNR and CNR.
Office-Based Pediatric Otoplasty Under Local Anesthesia
Authors: Hazkour Nissim , Goote Paige , Palacios Jose , Gottfried Jennifer , Kang Inkyu , Bastidas Nicholas 
Published: September 2022

Background:
Many parents seek otoplasty for their school age children but fear having to undergo general anesthesia (GA). In our experience, otoplasty can safely be performed in an office-based setting under local anesthesia (LA). There is a gap in the literature regarding pediatric otoplasty under LA.

Methods:
All children aged 5 to 10 who underwent otoplasty between 2017 and 2021 were included in a retrospective review. Demographics, operative techniques, complications, recurrences, and reoperation rates were collected. Surveys were provided 3 months after treatment to assess parental satisfaction and anxiety. Results were compared between patients who received otoplasty under GA and LA.

Results:
A total of 13 patients (6 male, 7 female), with a mean age of 7 years (ranging 5–10) underwent otoplasty under LA. Tweleve children (6 male, 6 female), with a mean age of 5 years (ranging 4–7) underwent otoplasty under GA. The only complications seen were 3 minor conchal bowl hematomas that were aspirated, each retrieving <1 mL of blood; no revisions were necessary. The LA subgroup was more likely to repeat otoplasty under identical conditions (P=0.025). Postoperatively, mean parental anxiety scores between the LA and GA subgroups were significantly different (1.4±1.1 versus 4.8±2.7, P=0.0005). Lastly, the mean satisfaction scores between the LA and GA subgroups were marginally different (3.83±0.58 versus 3.17±1.03, P=0.063).

Conclusion:
Pediatric otoplasty under LA is a safe and feasible operation for patients between 5 and 10 years of age.
Mass Shootings in America: Consensus Recommendations for Healthcare Response
Authors: Goolsby Craig , Schuler Keke , Krohmer Jon , Gerstner David N , Weber Nancy W , Slattery David E , Kuhls Deborah A , Kirsch Thomas D 
Published: September 2022

BACKGROUND:
In 2021, 702 people died in mass shooting incidents (MSIs) in the US. To define the best healthcare response to MSIs, the Uniformed Services University’s National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health hosted a consensus conference of emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians, emergency medicine (EM) physicians, and surgeons who provided medical response to six of the nation’s largest recent mass shootings.

STUDY DESIGN:
The study consisted of a 3-round modified Delphi process. A planning committee selected 6 MSI sites with the following criteria: the MSI occurred in 2016 or later, and must have resulted in at least 15 people killed and injured. The MSI sites were Orlando, FL, Las Vegas, NV, Sutherland Springs, TX, Parkland, FL, El Paso, TX, and Dayton, OH. Fifteen clinicians participated in the conference. All participants had EMS, EM, or surgery expertise and responded to 1 of the 6 MSIs. The first round consisted of a 2-part survey. The second and third rounds consisted of site-specific presentations followed by specialty-specific discussion groups to generate consensus recommendations.

RESULTS:
The 3 specialty-specific groups created 8 consensus recommendations in common. These 8 recommendations addressed readiness training, public education, triage, communication, patient tracking, medical records, family reunification, and mental health services for responders. There were an additional 11 recommendations created in common between 2 subgroups, either EMS and EM (2), EM and surgery (7), or EMS and surgery (2).

CONCLUSIONS:
There are multiple common recommendations identified by EMS, EM, and surgery clinicians who responded to recent MSIs. Clinicians, emergency planners, and others involved in preparing and executing a response to a future mass shooting event may benefit from considering these consensus lessons learned.
Computationally Guided Design of Two Novel Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitors
Authors: Dere Elena C. , Chu Simon SK , Ortega Teresa , Huang Peishan , Siegel Justin B. 
Published: September 2022

ABSTRACTThe enzyme soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) has been found to play a role in many ailments such as inflammation, pain, renal function, pulmonary function, hypertension, and diabetes. Multiple sEH inhibitors have been developed to reduce the adverse effects of the ailments. Due to high inhibitory concentrations, there is urgent need for developing improved sEH inhibitors. In this study, two novel sEH inhibitors were designed via computational bioisosteric replacement and chemical intuition with the goal of increasing binding affinity, which can potentially decrease inhibitory concentration. The new drug candidates were found to have improved binding properties compared to existing drugs.
SARS-CoV-2 Protein Nsp2 Stimulates Translation Under Normal and Hypoxic Conditions
Authors: Korneeva Nadejda , Khalil Md Imtiaz , Ghosh Ishita , Fan Ruping , Arnold Thomas , De Benedetti Arrigo 
Published: September 2022

SUMMARYWhen viruses like SARS-CoV-2 infect cells, they reprogram the repertoire of cellular and viral transcripts that are being translated to optimize their strategy of replication, often targeting host translation initiation factors, particularly eIF4F complex consisting of eIF4E, eIF4G and eIF4A. A proteomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2/human proteins interaction revealed viral Nsp2 and initiation factor eIF4E2, but a role of Nsp2 in regulating translation is still controversial. HEK293T cells stably expressing Nsp2 were tested for protein synthesis rates of synthetic and endogenous mRNAs known to be translated via cap- or IRES-dependent mechanism under normal and hypoxic conditions. Both cap- and IRES-dependent translation were increased in Nsp2-expressing cells under normal and hypoxic conditions, especially mRNAs that require high levels of eIF4F. This could be exploited by the virus to maintain high translation rates of both viral and cellular proteins, particularly in hypoxic conditions as may arise in SARS-CoV-2 patients with poor lung functioning.
Thriving at work with ADHD: antecedents and outcomes of proactive disclosure
Authors: McIntosh Cheryl K. , Hyde Shelia A. , Bell Myrtle P. , Yeatts Paul E. 
Published: September 2022

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine factors relating to the decision to proactively disclose a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a concealable stigmatized identity, before experiencing performance issues at work. These factors include stigma consciousness, psychological safety, and job demands. Proactive disclosure is also measured in relation to thriving.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through the online research platform Prolific. Variables of interest were measured using surveys of 166 working adults who have ADHD. Path analysis was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe authors hypothesized that stigma consciousness is negatively related to proactive disclosure of ADHD at work and that psychological safety and job demands are positively related to it. The authors further hypothesized that proactive disclosure mediates the relationship between these variables and thriving at work. The results partially support these hypotheses, indicating that stigma consciousness is negatively related to proactive disclosure while psychological safety is positively related. Proactive disclosure fully mediates the relationship between stigma consciousness and thriving and partially mediates the relationship between psychological safety and thriving. Job demands relate to thriving but are not significantly related to proactive disclosure.Practical implicationsOrganizations can help employees who have concealable disabilities to proactively disclose them and thrive by providing a psychologically safe environment where disabilities are not stigmatized.Originality/valueThis study diverges from previous studies by measuring positive contextual and individual factors that help employees who have ADHD to thrive in the workplace. A proactive disclosure scale is developed and validated.
From classical political economy to “Indian Economics”: a case of contestation and adaptation in universities in colonial India
Authors: Khodaiji Sharmin 
Published: September 2022

PurposeBy the mid-19th century the British colonial state introduced liberal education to India. Amongst various disciplines, political economy illustrates the concerns of the colonial state with the education of Indians, and its anxiety with quelling political discontentment. The emerging Indian nationalist intelligentsia also utilized ideas from classical political economy, first taught in educational institutions, to critique colonial policy and proposed the development of “Indian Economics”, suited to national economic interests. This paper explores the development of political economy as a specific knowledge form in Calcutta University and Bombay University, and its connection with colonial educational policy.Design/methodology/approachThis study relies primarily on university records and the proceedings of the Education Department to bring out the politically sensitive nature of the teaching of economics in colonial India.FindingsThe study finds that political economy grew from being a minor part of the overall university syllabi to becoming part of the first university departments created in early-20th-century India. The government and nationalist forces both found the discipline to be relevant to their respective agendas. The circulation of knowledge theoretical framework is found to be relevant here.Originality/valueThe history of political economy in Indian universities, especially during the 19th century, has not been dealt with in any detail. This study tries to fill this gap. The close connection between politics and the teaching of economics has also not been studied closely, which this paper does.
Students’ achievement in an online course on technical writing and communication skills
Authors: Yasin Ayman , Al-Tarawneh Luae , El-Issa Fadia , Al-Zoubi Abdallah 
Published: September 2022

PurposeThis study aims to investigate students’ satisfaction, self-efficacy and perceived competencies in a ‘technical writing and communication skills’ course after the switch of teaching the course from face to face to fully online during and after COVID-19. The study also measured the Achievement of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology course learning outcomes (CLOs).Design/methodology/approachA descriptive cross-sectional survey design approach was adopted in this study. Students were asked to respond to an online survey after completion of the course to measure the target parameters. The data of 250 respondents, analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 28, show high scores on all constructs.FindingsStatistically significant differences among gender, field of study, grade point average (GPA) level, type of school attended and attainment of English proficiency certificate were detected for students in terms of their baseline perceived competencies, achievement of CLOs and self-efficacy scores. In addition, gender, field of study, GPA and holding an international English proficiency certificate had statistically significant effect, whereas the academic level and type of school were insignificant.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the data had been collected through survey only. A limitation of this method is that there could be survey fraud. Second, as some respondents found the survey long, their responses might have been less reliable. Moreover, as the survey was entirely conducted online, this may have caused limited sampling, because some respondents are less likely to have internet access/disconnection and respond to online surveys. Furthermore, this research had focused on studying the impact of an online course on university students’ achievement in a Jordanian university, this limits the generalizability of the result to students of other levels and classes, or ones studying in other universities or living in different countries.Practical implicationsBecause of its impact on effective teaching and achievement, educators need to pay much attention to self-efficacy when designing new curricula for different environmental contexts. Furthermore, it is apparent that some courses, such as “technical writing” can be taught fully online without affecting students’ performance and achievement. Because educators always look for ways that make teaching effective, they may need to consider online platforms for teaching specific courses, hence save time, effort and resources.Originality/valueA course on technical writing and communication skills offered to undergraduate engineering and information technology students at Princess Sumaya University for Technology was switched from face to face to fully online modality during the COVID-19 pandemic in the period 2020–2021. The effect of such massive and sudden transformation on students’ achievement and satisfaction called for immediate scrutiny of the prospect and expectancy of online learning.
International market information and agricultural commodity price dynamics
Authors: Jeong Sei , Gopinath Munisamy 
Published: September 2022

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the role of international price volatility and inventories on domestic market price dynamics in the case of agricultural commodities.Design/methodology/approachA structural model is employed to uncover relationships among commodity price, price volatility, inventories and convenience yield. Monthly producer price data along with annual data on trade, consumption, inventories and tariffs for 71 countries and 13 commodities covering 2010–2019 are assembled to estimate the model. With a first-stage Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) estimator to identify the best instrument set, a nonlinear approach is used to estimate the model.FindingsResults show that international market information plays a critical role in domestic market price dynamics. International price volatility has a stronger effect on domestic prices than that of international inventories.Research limitations/implicationsCurrent upheaval in commodity markets requires an understanding of how prices move together and inventories affect that movement. A country's internal price is not independent of the effects of global market events.Originality/valueAlthough hypotheses exist that global market information (volatility and inventories) helps countries manage domestic commodity prices, there have been limited studies on this relationship, especially with a structured model and cross-country data.