Nevin Manimala

Int J Paleopathol. 2021 Jul 12;34:142-146. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.07.002. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Skeletal collections of immature individuals identified by age and sex serve as reference material for studying development in past populations. Several of these collections were established during the Industrial Revolution (IR), a period known for its difficult living conditions in industrial cities. We question if these collections represent useful comparisons from which to explore the natural history of human growth.

MATERIALS: Immature individuals from two skeletal collections contemporaneous to the IR period were studied: 71 children from the Spitalfields (UK) and 108 from the Strasbourg (F) collections. Among them we selected mandibles of individuals aged from 0 to 30 months, representing 32 and 52 individuals, respectively.

METHODS: We scored the dental development of first and second left deciduous molars according to (Moorrees et al., 1963) stages, from X-rays (Spitalfields) or CT-scans (Strasbourg) data and compared it with the modern reference pattern from the Lewis Growth Records by covariance analysis (ANCOVA).

RESULTS: Statistical differences exist in the dental development timeline between the 3 samples. This mainly concerns a delay in the root formation in IR samples that related to post-natal living conditions.

CONCLUSIONS: The delay in dental development timeline suggests that growth processes were impacted during IR in England and France, probably due to stressful living conditions.

SIGNIFICANCE: keletal collections dating from the IR period in Europe might be not the most appropriate referencesl for studying the natural history of human growth.

LIMITATIONS: This study focus on dental development only.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Exploring the skeletal growth pattern in other skeletal collections, pre or post-dating the IR, is advised.

PMID:34265668 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.07.002

Food Chem. 2021 Jul 5;365:130529. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130529. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Postharvest crop yellowing is a major concern in the broccoli industry. The effect and underlying mechanisms of 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) treatment on yellowing in postharvest broccoli were investigated. Treatment with 2 µM EBR markedly inhibited the increase of the yellowing index and L* values, causing higher retention of the metric hue angle and chlorophyll content compared to the control. Treatment also alleviated oxidative damage by preventing the accumulation of malondialdehyde and superoxide anion (O₂^•-). The ascorbic acid content of broccoli reached its lowest value at the end of its shelf life, whereas that of the treated sample was obviously higher than the control. Moreover, treated broccoli exhibited higher superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activities. Multivariate statistical analysis further demonstrated the effective enhancement of EBR treatment on antioxidant enzymes. These results indicate that exogenous application of EBR ameliorates postharvest yellowing by improving the antioxidant capacity of broccoli.

PMID:34265646 | DOI:10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130529

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Jul 9;796:148819. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148819. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The global spatiotemporal pattern of the COPD burden attributable to ambient PM2.5 is unknown in the context of the continuing increase in exposure to ambient PM2.5. Data on COPD burden attributable to ambient PM2.5 from 1990 to 2019 were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Cases and age-standardized rates of COPD mortality (ASMR) and disability-adjusted life years (ASDR) were estimated by age, sex, region, and country. The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to quantify the secular trends of ASMR and ASDR from 1990 to 2019. Globally, the number of COPD deaths and DALYs attributable to ambient PM2.5 both increased by over 90% from 1990 to 2019, but ASMR and ASDR both slightly decreased, with EAPC of -0.58 (95% CI: -0.72, -0.44) and -0.40 (95% CI: -0.51, -0.29), respectively. Most COPD deaths and DALYs attributable to PM2.5 occurred in the middle sociodemographic index (SDI) region, but the fastest growth of ASMR and ASDR occurred in the low SDI region, with EAPCs of 2.41 (95% CI: 2.23, 2.59) and 2.34 (95% CI: 2.16, 2.52), respectively. East Asia and South Asia were the high-risk areas of COPD deaths and DALYs attributable to PM2.5, among which China and India were the countries with the heaviest burden. COPD deaths and DALYs attributable to PM2.5 mainly occurred in individuals 70-89 years old and 60-84 years old, respectively. The age-specific rates of mortality and DALYs had a rapid increase in low and low-middle SDI regions from 1990 to 2019. The ASMR or ASDR had a reverse V-shaped relationship with SDI. In summary, the ambient PM2.5-attributable COPD burden is socioeconomic- and age-dependent, and it mediates the heterogeneity of spatial and temporal distribution. Low- and middle-income countries endure the highest ambient PM2.5-attributable COPD burden due to the high exposure to PM2.5 and poor availability and affordability of medicines and diagnostic tests.

PMID:34265615 | DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148819

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Jul 9;796:148943. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148943. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Environmental factor-driven bacterial diversity could be an indicator for evaluating ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF). However, little is known about interconnections between EMF and the community diversity of rare and abundant phoD-harboring bacteria responsible for organic phosphorus mineralization. Illumina MiSeq sequencing and multiple statistical analyses were used to evaluate diversity maintenance of rare and abundant phoD-harboring bacteria at both taxonomic and phylogenetic levels and their contributions to soil EMF in the subtropical Shennongjia primeval forest. We found that rare phoD-harboring bacteria exhibited higher community diversity and broader environmental breadths than abundant ones, while abundant phoD-harboring bacteria showed closer phylogenetic clustering and stronger phylogenetic signals of ecological preferences than rare ones. Stochastic processes dominated community assemblies of rare and abundant phoD-harboring bacteria, and temperature was an important environmental variable adjusting the balance between stochastic and deterministic processes. The taxonomic α-diversity of rare phoD-harboring bacteria showed larger contribution to soil EMF than that of abundant ones, while the phylogenetic α-diversity of abundant phoD-harboring bacteria contributed significantly more than that of rare ones. Our findings enrich knowledge of the environmental adaptation of rare and abundant phoD-harboring bacteria, and highlight linkages between soil EMF and the diversity of rare and abundant phoD-harboring bacteria at both the taxonomic and phylogenetic levels.

PMID:34265611 | DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148943

Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Jul 12;171:112680. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112680. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Statistically distinct ‘high’, ‘moderate’ and ‘low’ metal contamination positions were distinguished across five Sydney estuary embayments for total sedimentary metal concentrations of Ni, Pb and Zn. While statistically distinct total sedimentary As, Cd, Co and Cu concentrations were indicated for the ‘low’ position samples. Mangrove (Avicennia marina) pneumatophore tissue metal concentrations from ‘high’ position trees were statistically distinct for Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn, while root tissue samples from ‘low’ position trees were statistically distinct for As, Cd and Zn. Outcomes from CAP, simple linear regression and DISTLM modelling indicated sedimentary metals were predominantly assimilated into mangrove root tissue, with smaller uptake into pneumatophore tissue. A comparison of floristic tissue metal concentrations indicated mangrove (A. marina) root tissue assimilated higher sedimentary metal concentrations than leaf and root tissue of seagrasses (Zostera capricorni and Halophila ovalis), which had relatively higher metal concentrations than those from pneumatophore and leaf mangrove tissue.

PMID:34265551 | DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112680

Nurse Educ Today. 2021 Jul 8;105:105056. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105056. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: More researchers have paid attention to the ethical decision-making in nursing worldwidely due to the increasing complexity of ethical issues and dilemmas. Ethical decision-making ability is regarded as one of the core competences of nursing practice and has the potential to resolve ethical issues. It is important to identify the key variables related to ethical decision-making and understand their relationship between them respectively. It is also helpful to design interventions to promote nursing students’ ability to resolve ethical dilemmas.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the relationship between moral sensitivity, professional values and ethical decision-making respectively, and to explore whether professional values have mediating effect on the relationship between moral sensitivity and ethical decision-making among nursing undergraduates in Chinese nursing education context.

DESIGN: This study is a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design.

METHODS: 263 nursing undergraduates from Nursing and Health School, Zhengzhou University in Henan province of China participated in the study and received the investigation. Their ethical decision-making, moral sensitivity and professional values were measured through the following three questionnaires, including the Judgement About Nursing Decision (JAND), Chinese Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire-Revised Version (MSQ-R-CV) and Chinese Nurses’ Professional Values Scale-Revised Version (NPVS-R-CV). The data were processed and analysed by SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 24.0. The statistical methods included descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation analyses and structural equation modeling.

RESULTS: Moral sensitivity is positively correlated with ethical decision-making (P < 0.01). Professional values is positively correlated with ethical decision-making (P < 0.01) and also has a mediating effect on the relationship between moral sensitivity and ethical decision-making (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION: The investigation contributes to a broader understanding of the factors that influence nursing students’ ethical decision-making. Developing ethics education around nursing students’ professional values and moral sensitivity can improve their ethical decision-making ability.

PMID:34265538 | DOI:10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105056

Gait Posture. 2021 Jul 12;89:102-108. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2021.07.003. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although foot orthoses are often used in the management of lower limb musculoskeletal conditions, their effects on muscle activation is unclear, especially in more proximal segments of the lower limb.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Primary aim: Is there an immediate effect of foot orthoses on gluteal muscle activity during overground walking in healthy young adults? Secondary aim: Is there an immediate effect of foot orthoses on the activity of hamstring, quadriceps and calf muscles?

METHODS: In eighteen healthy young adults, muscle activity was recorded using fine wire electrodes for gluteus minimus (GMin; anterior, posterior) and gluteus medius (GMed; anterior, middle, posterior); and surface electrodes for gluteus maximus (GMax), hamstring, quadriceps and calf muscles. Participants completed six walking trials for two conditions; shoe and shoe with prefabricated foot orthoses. Muscle activity was normalised to the peak activity of the shoe condition and analysed using one-dimensional statistical non-parametric mapping to identify differences across the gait cycle.

RESULTS: Activity of GMed (anterior, middle, posterior) and GMin (posterior) was reduced in early stance phase when the orthosis was worn in the shoe (p < 0.05). GMin (anterior) activity was significantly reduced during swing (p < 0.05). Muscle activity was also significantly reduced during the orthoses condition for the lateral hamstrings and calf muscles (p < 0.05).

SIGNIFICANCE: Using foot orthoses may provide a strategy to reduce demand on GMin, GMed, lateral hamstring and calf muscles while walking.

PMID:34265525 | DOI:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2021.07.003

Int J Nurs Stud. 2021 Jun 26;121:104012. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.104012. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Case management has been developed and suggested as a method for improving the quality of dementia care by optimising care service and delivery using a feasible and cost-effective approach. However, the effects of case management for improving dementia care remain inconclusive.

AIM: To analyse the efficacy of case management interventions for people with dementia and their carers.

DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHODS: This study conducted a systematic review of the literature from January 1, 2002, to March 15, 2021, indexed in the following databases: Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, OVID, and Web of Science. Intervention studies examining patients with dementia and their carers published in the English language were included. The methodological quality of included studies was evaluated using the PEDro scale. The meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model to calculate the pooled standardised mean difference (SMD) of case management intervention outcomes for both people with dementia (cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and quality of life) and their carers (carer burden). Stata 16.0 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: A total of eight studies met the eligibility criteria for this study. The results of the quantitative analysis, ranging from 6 to 18 months, showed no significant effect on cognitive function, quality of life over 12 months and longer, and carer burden over time between groups with and without intervention. However, significant improvements were observed for neuropsychiatric symptoms over 12 months and longer and quality of life at six months in the case management group.

CONCLUSION: Case management appears to have the potential to improve the health outcomes among people with dementia. However, these conclusions are limited due to the lack of conducted studies. Future work examining intervention outcomes remains necessary to explore the effects of interventions on the mental and physical wellbeing of carers.

PMID:34265500 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.104012

Liver Transpl. 2021 Jul 15. doi: 10.1002/lt.26231. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

With advances in computing and information technology, large healthcare research databases are becoming increasingly accessible to investigators across the world. These rich, population-level data sources can serve many purposes, such as to generate ‘Real World Evidence’, to enhance disease phenotyping, or to identify unmet clinical needs, among others. This is of particular relevance to the study of patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) – a socioeconomically and clinically heterogeneous population that is frequently under-represented in clinical trials. This review describes the recommended ‘best practices’ in the execution, reporting and interpretation of large database clinical epidemiology research in hepatology. The advantages and limitations of selected data sources are reviewed, as well as important concepts on data linkages. The appropriate classification of exposures and outcomes is addressed, and the strategies needed to overcome limitations of the data and minimize bias are explained as they pertain to patients with ESLD and/or liver transplant (LT) recipients. Lastly, selected statistical concepts are reviewed, from model building to analytic decision-making and hypothesis testing. The purpose of this review is to provide the practical insights and knowledge needed to ensure successful and impactful research using large clinical databases in the modern era, and advance the study of ESLD and LT.

PMID:34265178 | DOI:10.1002/lt.26231

Clin Pharmacol Drug Dev. 2021 Jul 15. doi: 10.1002/cpdd.996. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of abacavir 600 mg/dolutegravir 50 mg/lamivudine 300 mg were assessed in this phase 1, single-arm, open-label, single-dose study in fasted healthy male (n = 4) and female (n = 8) participants of Japanese heritage. Participants received a single dose of abacavir 600 mg/dolutegravir 50 mg/lamivudine 300 mg after an 8-hour fast, with safety assessments and blood samples for pharmacokinetic parameters collected through 72 hours after dosing. Geometric mean maximum plasma concentrations were 5.22 μg/mL (time to maximum concentration [t_max ], 1.01 hours) for abacavir, 4.13 μg/mL (t_max , 3.50 hours) for dolutegravir, and 3.35 μg/mL (t_max , 2.98 hours) for lamivudine. Geometric mean area under the concentration-time curve values were 18.20, 71.60, and 16.60 μg • h/mL for abacavir, dolutegravir, and lamivudine, respectively. No adverse events were reported, and no clinically significant findings were observed in laboratory values, physical examinations, or 12-lead electrocardiographic parameters. Single-tablet administration of abacavir 600 mg/dolutegravir 50 mg/lamivudine 300 mg was well tolerated in Japanese participants. Exposure to abacavir and lamivudine was comparable with that seen in previous studies. A modest increase in exposure to dolutegravir vs previous clinical studies was observed but is not expected to impact the clinical management of HIV-1 or increase the risk for adverse events.

PMID:34265164 | DOI:10.1002/cpdd.996