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'Relational #WellBeing of Female #Workers in Low-Skilled Jobs in #Ethiopia' - an article in 'Zanj: The Journal of Critical #GlobalSouth #Studies' by Pluto Journals on #ScienceOpen: scienceopen.com/hosted-documen

ScienceOpenRelational Well-being of Female Workers in Low-Skilled Jobs in Ethiopia<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d5717520e149">With the expansion of global production networks (GPNs) in Africa, more women are becoming employed in low-skilled and labor-intensive jobs. Most studies on workers in GPNs focus on work conditions and their impact on production and network effectiveness, while placing less emphasis on the relational well-being of local industrial workers. Employing a relational well-being approach that considers the multiple dimensions of people’s lives (the material, subjective, and relational), we explore how female workers experience their well-being in foreign-owned flower and apparel sectors operating in Ethiopia. Based on in-depth interviews with thirty-nine female employees, we find that women value the different types of social relationships they have. Coworkers, friends, family, and members of the broader community are important for the women’s well-being, supporting them materially and subjectively, and enabling them to cope with work and life difficulties. Relationships with supervisors and employers, however, can negatively impact well-being, especially through the stress they can cause, while the social and political environment also has a negative effect on overall well-being. </p>

'Utility of Assessing Early Tumor Shrinkage as an Efficacy Predictor in Patients with Non-Surgically Indicated or Recurrent Esophageal Cancer Treated with Nivolumab plus Ipilimumab' - an #Oncology article by Karger Publishers on #ScienceOpen:
scienceopen.com/document?vid=8

ScienceOpenUtility of Assessing Early Tumor Shrinkage as an Efficacy Predictor in Patients with Non-Surgically Indicated or Recurrent Esophageal Cancer Treated with Nivolumab plus Ipilimumab<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d3734252e235"> <b> <i>Introduction:</i> </b> Nivolumab plus ipilimumab combination therapy has been administered as a first-line treatment in Japan since 2022 for patients with unresectable progressive or recurrent esophageal cancer. The efficacy and safety of this immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) doublet therapy are now being evaluated, and it is necessary to identify populations that benefit from this treatment at an early phase after initiation. For patients not showing early benefit, changing as soon as possible to other therapeutic strategies could improve their survival outcomes. Therefore, we attempted to identify decision-making factors such as early tumor shrinkage (ETS) based on treatment experience with ICI doublet therapy. <b> <i>Methods:</i> </b> The study included 19 patients who received nivolumab plus ipilimumab for non-surgically indicated or recurrent esophageal cancer between July 2022 and November 2023. Tumors were assessed approximately every 2 months after treatment initiation. The effects of ETS, depth of response (DpR), and clinicopathologic features, including immune-related adverse events (irAEs), on progression-free and overall survival were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazard models. <b> <i>Results:</i> </b> The mean duration of ICI doublet administration was 5.89 months (range, 1–16 months). At first evaluation, patients who exhibited no tumor progression >20% indicated possible response to ICI doublet therapy, and patients whose tumors shrank even minimally exhibited favorable progression-free survival. Higher DpR at any cut-off line exhibited better progression-free survival than those with lower DpR. Fifteen patients experienced irAEs, with 13 of these patients experiencing irAEs within 3 months of treatment initiation. irAEs were associated with the efficacy of ICI doublet therapy, but efficacy could not be predicted based on early irAE experience. <b> <i>Conclusion:</i> </b> ETS-high, DpR-high, and irAEs might be associated with favorable responses to nivolumab plus ipilimumab. As a predictor of efficacy at an early phase, ETS >0% could be a deciding factor for continuing ICI doublet therapy. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d3734252e264">We studied the usefulness of evaluating early tumor shrinkage (ETS) as an efficacy predictor in patients with inoperable or recurrent esophageal cancer treated with nivolumab plus ipilimumab therapy. The immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) doublet therapy has been administered since 2022, and there are still not many patients who received this treatment all over the world. It is necessary to find well-responders to this treatment as soon as possible to improve outcomes and consider therapeutic strategies. We analyzed tumor shrinkage and clinicopathologic features in patients with inoperable or recurrent esophageal cancer treated with the treatment. ETS was defined as the percent decrease in the sum of the largest diameter of the target lesions at first evaluation after treatment initiation compared to that at baseline. Regarding ETS, those whose tumors shrank even minimally had favorable progression-free survival. Immune-related adverse events were also associated with the sensitivity and efficacy of ICI doublet therapy, but to find the efficacy at an early phase, ETS could be a decision-making factor for predicting the efficacy and continuation of ICI doublet therapy. </p>

'Identifying, Engaging, and Supporting Care Partners in Clinical Settings: Protocol for a Patient Portal–Based Intervention' - a JMIR #Research #Protocols article on #ScienceOpen:
scienceopen.com/document?vid=5

ScienceOpenIdentifying, Engaging, and Supporting Care Partners in Clinical Settings: Protocol for a Patient Portal–Based Intervention<div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d13359648e562"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d13359648e563">Background</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d13359648e565">In the United States, the landscape of unpaid care delivery is both challenging and complex, with millions of individuals undertaking the vital role of helping families (broadly defined) manage their health care and well-being. This includes 48 million caregivers of adults, 42 million of whom are caregivers of adults aged 50 years or older. These family care partners provide critical and often daily support for tasks such as dressing and bathing, as well as managing medications, medical equipment, appointments, and follow-up care plans. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d13359648e567"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d13359648e568">Objective</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d13359648e570">This study aimed to implement a novel patient portal–based intervention to identify, engage, and support care partners in clinical settings. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d13359648e572"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d13359648e573">Methods</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d13359648e575">The project team collaborated with 3 health care organizations (6 primary care practices in total) to design and implement a patient portal–based intervention. Three days in advance of a visit, patients were invited to log on to their patient portal account and answer a brief questionnaire as part of the routine electronic check-in process asking them to (1) identify themselves as the patient or someone answering for the patient, (2) report major life changes, (3) set the agenda for the upcoming visit, and (4) report on care partner responsibilities. Respondents’ answers to this brief questionnaire were available to providers ahead of the visit. Patients with care partner responsibilities, as well as care partners answering the questionnaire on behalf of patients, were provided a link to the ARCHANGELS Caregiver Intensity Index to measure the intensity of their caregiving role and motivate care partners to connect with suggested state and local resources. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d13359648e577"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d13359648e578">Results</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d13359648e580">The intervention was launched in September 2022 at Organization A. Organization B launched in May 2023 in one clinic and June 2023 in the other. In focus groups, staff and clinicians reported that the intervention was easy to implement and did not cause workflow disruption. At 6 months post implementation, across both organizations, a total of 22,152 patients had received questionnaires and 13,825 (62.4%) had submitted completed questionnaires. Full data will be reported at the completion of the intervention period. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d13359648e582"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d13359648e583">Conclusions</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d13359648e585">Early results suggest that the intervention could be an easily scalable and adaptable method of identifying and supporting care partners in clinical settings. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d13359648e587"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d13359648e588">International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d13359648e590">DERR1-10.2196/66708</p> </div>

'SLEEP QUALITY AND CEREBROSPINAL FLUID OXYSTEROLS IN DEGENERATIVE DEMENTIAS: CORRELATIONS AND POSSIBLE BIOMEDICAL IMPLICATIONS' - a #Redox Experimental #Medicine article on #ScienceOpen:
scienceopen.com/document?vid=d

ScienceOpenSLEEP QUALITY AND CEREBROSPINAL FLUID OXYSTEROLS IN DEGENERATIVE DEMENTIAS: CORRELATIONS AND POSSIBLE BIOMEDICAL IMPLICATIONS<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d14494e204">Objective. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d14494e206">The combination and tentative correlation of a selected set of polysomnographic tests with the quantitative measurement of oxysterols of pathophysiological relevance in the cerebrospinal fluid (CF) of patients with Alzheimer’s (AD), non-Alzheimer’s (NAD) degenerative dementia and non-degenerative disorders (C) was afforded in a pilot study. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d14494e208">Methods. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d14494e210">Sleep efficiency, percentage of sleep time spent in NREM stage 3 (N3), apnoea/hypopnea index, sleep time spent with oxygen saturation < 90% were recorded. Oxysterols of both enzymatic and non-enzymatic origin were quantified in the CSF of the three groups of patients by isotope-dilution gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d14494e212">Results. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d14494e214">A remarkable increase of all tested oxysterols of autoxidation origin, and of cholesterol as well, was detectable in the CSF of AD and NAD patients in comparison to C. Of the four markers of sleep quality tested, only the percent duration of N3 showed a net progressive reduction in NAD and AD patients. A strong inverse correlation between the CSF levels of 7k-cholesterol and of 7α-hydroxycholesterol and the duration of % N3 in the recruited cohorts of patients appeared evident. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d14494e216">Conclusions. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d14494e218">The lower was the % duration of N3 sleep, the higher was the accumulation of some oxysterols of autoxidation origin in the CSF of patients, with the highest levels of the latter compounds in AD patients, at least in part due to an impaired efficiency of the glymphatic system, which reaches its maximum in N3, without excluding a yet undisclosed role of altered cholesterol metabolism on sleep quality. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d14494e220">Significance. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d14494e222">Oxysterols of non-enzymatic origin are proposed as new CSF candidate markers of sleep quality in patients with dementia. </p>

'Genetic diversity of 169 maize inbred lines with different genetic backgrounds' - a new article in the Journal of Southern #Agriculture, published today on #ScienceOpen:
scienceopen.com/document?vid=f

ScienceOpenGenetic diversity of 169 maize inbred lines with different genetic backgrounds<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d9711782e138"> <b>[Objective]</b> To analyze the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of different maize inbred lines, which could provide theoretical reference for maize breeding practice in Guangxi. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d9711782e143"> <b>[Method]</b> A total of 169 maize inbred lines with different genetic backgrounds were used as materials, with 7 Guangxi backbone inbred lines and 3 backbone inbred lines from other places in China were as control. The whole genome of maize inbred lines was scanned by 10K SNP maize chip. The genetic diversity and population genetic structure were analyzed by genetic similarity, phylogeny, principal components and homology identification (IBD). </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d9711782e148"> <b>[Result]</b> A total of 7565 high-quality and available SNP molecular markers were identified, which were distributed across 10 chromosomes, with an average of 756 markers per chromosome. The detection rate of these markers was all above 97.12%, with an average detection rate of 99.57%. The heterozygosity rate of the 174 maize inbred lines ranged from 0.21% to 7.28%, with an average of 0.86%.Among them, 144 maize inbred lines had a heterozygosity rate not exceeding 1.00%, while the heterozygosity rate of 5 maize inbred lines was relatively high (31.29% to 36.36%). The genetic similarity among the 174 samples ranged from 0.486 to 0.999, with an average of 0.609. Among these, the 2 southwestern core inbred lines bred in Guangxi, B24 (ZNC442) and CK_D2 (Guangxi A10341), had average genetic similarity values of 0.642 and 0.629 with other materials respectively. The phylogenetic tree showed that the 179 maize inbred lines, including 10 reference inbred lines, were divided into 2 major groups: Reid group and the tropical/subtropical group. The Reid group contained 13 inbred lines, accounting for 7.26%, while the tropical/subtropical group contained 166 inbred lines, accounting for 92.74%. The tropical/subtropical group could be further divided into 7 subgroups, with the Suwan group and the CM group being the main ones, containing 56 and 51 inbred lines respectively, accounting for 31.28% and 28.49%. The principal component analysis (PCA) results showed that the clustering of maize inbred lines in PCA1v3 was basically consistent with the clustering results of the phylogenetic tree, clearly distinguishing the Reid group from the tropical/subtropical group. Most inbred lines in the tropical/subtropical group were distributed near the reference inbred lines of the CM group and the Suwan group. The IBD clustering results showed that the Reid group, Suwan group, CM group and A group had 21, 47, 64 and 47 inbred lines respectively. The Venn diagram of phylogenetic analysis, principal component analysis and IBD grouping Venn diagram showed that the number of inbred lines shared by the Reid group, Suwan group, CM group and A group were 12, 35, 18 and 11 respectively. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d9711782e153"> <b>[Conclusion]</b> The maize inbred lines in Guangxi have complex origin and similar genetic backgrounds. The classification results obtained from different analytical methods are not entirely consistent. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate breeding practice to conduct group classification. The southwest backbone maize inbred lines ZNC442 and Gui A10341 bred in Guangxi belong to A group. The best mating pattern is A group × Reid group, followed by A group × Suwan group and A group × CM group. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d9711782e159"> <b>摘要:【目的】</b> 解析玉米自交系遗传多样性和群体遗传结构, 为广西玉米育种实践提供理论参考。 <b>【方法】</b>以169份 不同遗传背景的玉米自交系为材料, 以7份广西骨干自交系和3份我国其他地方的骨干自交系为对照, 用10K SNP玉 米芯片对其进行全基因组扫描, 通过遗传相似度、系统进化、主成分和血缘同源确认 (IBD) 等分析其遗传多样性及群 体遗传结构。 <b>【结果】</b>筛选获得7565个高质量可用SNP分子标记, 分布在10条染色体上, 平均每条染色体上有756个, 标 记检出率均在97.12%以上, 平均检出率达99.57%。174个玉米自交系的杂合率为0.21%~7.28%, 平均为0.86%, 有144 个玉米自交系杂合率不高于1.00%, 但有5个玉米自交系的杂合率偏高 (31.29%~36.36%)。174份材料间的遗传相似 度为0.486~0.999, 平均为0.609, 其中2个广西选育的西南骨干自交系B24 (ZNC442) 和CK_D2 (桂A10341) 与其他材料 间的遗传相似度平均值分别为0.642和0.629。由系统发育进化树可知, 包含10个参考自交系在内的179个玉米自交系 划分为Reid群和热带亚热带群两大类, 其中Reid群含13个自交系, 占比为7.26%, 热带亚热带群含166个自交系, 占比 为92.74%。热带亚热带群又可细分为7个亚群, 其中以Suwan群和CM群为主, 分别含56和51个自交系, 占比分别为 31.28%和28.49%。主成分分析结果显示, PCA1v3中玉米自交系聚类情况与系统发育进化树聚类结果基本一致, 能 明显区分Reid群和热带亚热带群, 且热带亚热带群中大多自交系分布在CM群和Suwan群参考自交系附近。IBD分 群结果显示, Reid群、Suwan群、CM群和A群的自交系数量分别有21、47、64和47个。系统进化分析、主成分分析和 IBD分群韦恩图显示, 三者共属Reid群、Suwan群、CM群和A群的自交系数量分别为12、35、18和11个。 <b>【结论】</b>广西玉 米自交系来源复杂, 遗传背景相似, 不同分析方法的划分结果并不完全一致, 需结合育种实践进行类群划分。广西选 育的西南骨干玉米自交系ZNC442和桂A10341均属于A群, 最理想组配模式为A群×Reid群, 其次是A群×Suwan群和 A群×CM群。 </p>

'Metagenomic Analysis of Tick-Borne Viruses in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, China: Epidemiological Risk of Potential Novel Pathogenic Viruses Relevant to #PublicHealth' - a new 'Zoonoses' article on #ScienceOpen:
scienceopen.com/hosted-documen

ScienceOpenMetagenomic Analysis of Tick-Borne Viruses in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, China: Epidemiological Risk of Potential Novel Pathogenic Viruses Relevant to Public Health<div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d4966668e287"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4966668e288">Objective:</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d4966668e290">Inner Mongolia, with its vast grasslands providing ideal habitats for ticks, has recently emerged as a hotspot of novel tick-borne virus (TBV) prevalence. However, the diversity of TBVs and their potential spillover risks remain to be elucidated. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d4966668e292"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4966668e293">Methods:</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d4966668e295">In 2021, we collected 500 <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i>, <i>Ixodes persulcatus</i>, and <i>Dermacentor silvarum</i> ticks from Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, and conducted virome analysis and viral surveillance to evaluate TBV exposure risk in Hulunbuir. </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d4966668e306"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4966668e307">Results:</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d4966668e309">A total of 26 viral species belonging to nine families were identified, including four novel viruses (Yiliekede tick virus 1 [YLTV1, <i>Rhabdoviridae</i>], Meitian tick virus [MtTV, <i>Phenuiviridae</i>], Wunuer pestivirus, and Wunuer tick phlebovirus) and 11 new strains of human-pathogenic viruses (including Songling virus [SGLV], Beiji nairovirus [BJNV], and Nuomin virus [NOMV]), from three dominant tick species. Virome profiling revealed striking species-specific patterns: <i>I. persulcatus</i> exhibited the highest viral richness and abundance, dominated by <i>Chuviridae</i> (NOMV) and <i>Phenuiviridae</i>; <i>D. silvarum</i> uniquely carried <i>Phenuiviridae</i> (MtTV); and <i>H. longicornis</i> showed <i>Nairoviridae</i> predominance (SGLV, BJNV). Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that MtTV clustered with human-pathogenic Tacheng tick virus 2, and NOMV-YL strains showed high similarity to clinical NOMV isolates from febrile patients. Regional surveillance demonstrated MtTV’s pan-regional circulation in <i>D. silvarum</i> across nine locations (MIR=4–8%), contrasting with localized Yiliekede foci for SGLV (MIR=0.6%), BJNV (0.4%), and NOMV (1.0%). </p> </div><div xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="d4966668e342"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4966668e343">Conclusions:</h5> <p dir="auto" id="d4966668e345">This study not only mapped the landscape of TBVs in a key pastoral region, but also highlighted the potential spillover risk of TBVs, including MtTV, YLTV1, SGLV, BJNV, and NOMV. Our findings underscore the urgent need for One Health strategies for monitoring emerging TBVs at the tick-human-livestock interface in northern China. </p> </div>