Aortic root dilation has been reported commonly after repair of tetralogy of Fallot. However, the rate and risk factors of progression of the dilation are not fully understood. This is a single-centre, retrospective study to assess the rate and factors associated with progressive dilatation of the aortic root in repaired tetralogy of Fallot patients using cardiac MRI. The presence of the significant aortic dilation and the progression of dilation between initial and follow-up cardiac MRI were examined. The study cohort comprised 72 patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot. The median age at the initial cardiac MRI scan was 19.6 (interquartile range: 14.6–31) years, and the median follow-up interval was 4.3 (2.9–5.7) years. Median dimension of ascending aorta at initial and follow-up cardiac MRI was 27.0 (22.3–31.0) mm and 29.2 (25.0–32.1) mm, respectively. Significant aortic dilation (the percentage predicted ascending aorta ≥150%) was observed in 11 (15.2%) patients at the initial cardiac MRI and 24 (33.3%) at the follow-up cardiac MRI. The significant aortic dilation at follow-up cardiac MRI was associated with increased indexed left ventricular stroke volume (odds ratio 1.062, p = 0.023). Thirteen patients demonstrated the significant progressive dilation of aorta between initial and follow-up cardiac MRI. The progressive dilation was associated with left ventricular ejection fraction at initial cardiac MRI (odds ratio 1.135, p = 0.048). In patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot, aortic dilation is common and progresses over time. Cardiac MRI is a valuable tool for identifying individuals at risk for progressive aortic dilation.

Carbohydrate intake and key food sources of carbohydrates in early childhood are poorly understood. The present study described total carbohydrate intake and subtypes (i.e. starch, sugar), their primary food sources and their tracking among young Australian children. Data from children at ages 9 months (n 393), 18 months (n 284), 3·5 years (n 244) and 5 years (n 240) from the Melbourne InFANT Program were used. Three 24-hour recalls assessed dietary intakes. The 2007 AUSNUT Food Composition Database was used to calculate carbohydrates intake and food groups. Descriptive statistics summarised total carbohydrate and subtype intake and their main food sources. Tracking was examined using Pearson correlations of residualised scores between time points. Total carbohydrate, starch and sugar intakes (g/d) increased across early childhood. The percentage of energy from total carbohydrates (% E) remained stable overtime (48·4–50·5 %). From ages 9 months to 5 years, the %E from total sugar decreased from 29·4 % to 22·6 %, while the %E from starch increased from 16·7 % to 26·0 %. Sources of total carbohydrate intake changed from infant formula at 9 months to bread/cereals, fruits and milk/milk products at 18 months, 3·5 and 5 years. Across all time points, the primary sources of total sugar intake were fruit, milk/milk products and cakes/cookies, whereas main food groups for starch intake included bread/cereals, cakes/cookies and pasta. Weak to moderate tracking of total carbohydrates, total sugar and starch (g/d) was observed. These findings may have the potential to inform the refinement of carbohydrate intake recommendations and design of interventions to improve children’s carbohydrate intake.

The earliest works of political theory precede Athenian democracy—the traditional starting point of Anglophone histories of political thought—by over two millennia. More time passed between the first written accounts of government in Mesopotamia and the birth of Plato than has passed between Plato’s life and ours. And yet this “other half” of the history of political thought has barely registered in the academic field of political theory. This article seeks to “reset” the starting point of the field back to its earliest origins in ancient Sumer. Beginning then and there opens a new vista on the history of political thought by restoring questions of public administration to the foreground of the field. For while the ancient Athenians enslaved their bureaucrats and wrote almost nothing about them, the analogous actors were free and highly valued in ancient Mesopotamian political culture. It was these scribal administrators who invented the world’s first literature and written political thought. In their writings, they valorized their own administrative labor and the public goods that it alone could produce as objects of wonder and enchantment. From this vantage point, the article calls for a new research agenda that will expand political theory’s recent “rediscovery” of bureaucracy by recovering public administration as a major thematic throughline in the five-thousand-year global history of human political ideas. Understanding public administration as an integral part of large-scale human societies from the very beginning may help to counter oligarchic claims in contemporary democracies that bureaucracy is a recent alien imposition.

Salivary iodine concentrations (SIC) and urinary iodine concentrations are correlated. This study aimed to verify the use of SIC as a biomarker for estimating iodine intake in pregnant and lactating women and to diagnose abnormal thyroid function. A cross-sectional study was conducted in northern Xinjiang, China. Participants provided venous blood, random urine, saliva and milk samples. A total of 607 pregnant and 171 lactating women volunteered to participate in the study. The average daily iodine intake was calculated for each participant. Pregnant women were divided according to trimester. The median daily iodine intake was 436·41 μg/d in the first trimester, 425·83 μg/d in the second trimester and 430·56 μg/d in the third trimester. The average daily iodine intake in lactating women was 416·16 μg/d. Different indicators were used to diagnose excessive iodine intake (> 500 μg/d). Among pregnant women, SIC had an AUC of 0·62 (P < 0·01), sensitivity of 51·75 % and specificity of 65 %. Among lactating women, SIC had an AUC of 0·63 (P = 0·03), sensitivity of 43·52 % and specificity of 85 %. SIC was an effective biomarker for diagnosing abnormal thyroid function (P = 0·03). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that SIC is a reliable biomarker for evaluating both iodine nutrition status and abnormal thyroid function in pregnant and lactating women.

A Nebraska statewide webinar series was initiated during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for long-term care (LTC) and acute care/outpatient (AC) facilities. An impact survey was completed by 48 of 96 AC and 109 of 429 LTC facilities. The majority reported increased regulatory awareness (AC: 65%, LTC: 54%) and updated COVID-19 (AC: 61%, LTC: 69%) and general infection prevention (AC: 61%, LTC: 60%) policies.

India is being projected internationally as a country of good growth and good governance, which in turn, it is asserted, should lead to prosperity for its people, especially in terms of proper employment, income, and overall standard of living. Drawing on certain dimensions of decent work proposed by International Labour Organization to measure the quality of employment in India, this article explores how far the notions of good/high growth and good governance discourse are corroborated by the evidence of good quality employment in India. The study is based on the nationally representative unit/individual-level data published by the Government of India during the three periods 2009–10, 2018–19, and 2022–23. The main findings of analysis are: (a) the overall quality of employment in India is poor and stagnant or deteriorating, and (b) the macro-level (sub-national state-level) aspects, such as the overall volume of economic activities, the extent of quality governance, the flexibility of business regulatory environment and better labour law-related compliance, have had a significant negative influence on the quality of employment. Thus, this paper suggests that the very policy environment and the pattern of economic growth have put a drag on the quality of employment in India. Given this, we suggest a variety of countervailing policy options and emphasise the role of civil society and politics.

Let $\mathbb {F}$ be a field and $(s_0,\ldots ,s_{n-1})$ be a finite sequence of elements of $\mathbb {F}$. In an earlier paper [G. H. Norton, ‘On the annihilator ideal of an inverse form’, J. Appl. Algebra Engrg. Comm. Comput. 28 (2017), 31–78], we used the $\mathbb {F}[x,z]$ submodule $\mathbb {F}[x^{-1},z^{-1}]$ of Macaulay’s inverse system $\mathbb {F}[[x^{-1},z^{-1}]]$ (where z is our homogenising variable) to construct generating forms for the (homogeneous) annihilator ideal of $(s_0,\ldots ,s_{n-1})$. We also gave an $\mathcal {O}(n^2)$ algorithm to compute a special pair of generating forms of such an annihilator ideal. Here we apply this approach to the sequence r of the title. We obtain special forms generating the annihilator ideal for $(r_0,\ldots ,r_{n-1})$ without polynomial multiplication or division, so that the algorithm becomes linear. In particular, we obtain its linear complexities. We also give additional applications of this approach.

The sharing economy is anchored to two opposite logics: sharing and market exchange. This results in tensions between a pro-social orientation and communal norms on the one hand (i.e. solidarity, mutuality, generalized reciprocity and communal belonging) and a for-profit orientation and market norms on the other hand (i.e. profit maximization, self-interest and utilitarian motives). This article aims to distinguish among the different practices and phenomena related to the sharing economy, focusing on the tensions emanating from renting private possessions through collaborative consumption platforms.

This study investigates the impact of environmental factors and genotype-by-environment interactions (GEI) on the expression of maydis leaf blight (MLB) resistance in a diverse maize germplasm comprising 359 genotypes. Extensive field trials were conducted, involving artificial inoculations and disease scoring across two locations over two years. Using genotype and genotype–environment (GGE) biplot analysis based on the site regression model (SREG), we identified stable MLB-resistant 10 donors with consistent genotypic responses. These inbred lines, which consistently exhibited disease scores of ⩽3 across locations, are recommended as potential parents for breeding MLB-resistant varieties. Furthermore, the identification of a non-crossover interaction and high correlations among testing locations allowed us to define a single mega-environment for the initial screening of MLB resistance in a large set of maize germplasm. This study suggests that initial screenings can be efficiently conducted in one representative location, with validation of resistant lines at multiple sites during advanced breeding stages. This approach optimizes the use of land, labour and resources in MLB resistance testing.

This study aimed to explore the potential causal association between PUFA and the risk of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) using Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis. A two-sample MR analysis was conducted utilising large-scale European-based genome-wide association studies summary databases. The primary MR analysis was carried out using the inverse variance-weighted (IVW) method, complemented by other methods such as MR-egger, weighted-median and weighted mode. Sensitivity analysis was also performed to validate the robustness of the findings. Results indicated a 31 % reduced risk of ICP for every 1 standard deviation (sd) increase in n-3 fatty acids levels (OR = 0·69, 95 % CI: 0·54, 0·89, P = 0·004) and in the ratio of n-3 fatty acids to total fatty acids (OR = 0·69, 95 % CI: 0·53, 0·91, P = 0·008). Conversely, there was a 51 % increased risk of ICP for every 1 sd increase in the ratio of n-6 fatty acids to n-3 fatty acids (OR = 1·51, 95 % CI: 1·20, 1·91, P < 0·001) and a 138 % increased risk for every 1 sd increase in the ratio of linoleic fatty acids to total fatty acids (OR = 2·38, 95 % CI: 1·55, 3·66, P < 0·001). The findings suggest that n-3 fatty acids may have a protective effect against the risk of ICP, while n-6 fatty acids and linoleic fatty acids could be potential risk factors for ICP. The supplementation of n-3 fatty acids, as opposed to n-6 fatty acids, could be a promising strategy for the prevention and management of ICP.

The touchstone of the ‘New Synthesis’ was population cytogenetics –rather than genetics – due to the abundant polymorphic inversions in the genus Drosophila. Grasshoppers were not a material of choice because of their conservative karyotypes. However, nowadays seven species of Acrididae were described for polymorphic centric fusions, five of them in South-America. Leptysma argentina and the likely biocontrol of water-hyacinth Cornops aquaticum are semiaquatic Leptysminae (Acrididae: Orthoptera), polymorphic for centric fusions, supernumerary segments and a B-chromosome. We sought to demonstrate the operation of natural selection on them, by detecting: (I) latitudinal clines; (II) regression on environmental variables; (III) deviation from null models, such as linkage equilibrium; (IV) seasonal variation; (V) comparison between age classes and (VI) selection component analyses. All of them were confirmed in L. argentina, just (I) and (II) in C. aquaticum. Furthermore, the relationship between karyotype, phenotype and recombination was confirmed in both species. Karyotype–phenotype relationship may be due to the body enlargement the fusions are associated with, along with a latitudinal transition in voltinism. Karyotype-related recombination reduction in both species may help explain all fusion clines, although there is probably more than one factor at work. No effects were noticed for a supernumerary segment in L. argentina, but it is ubiquitous and certainly non-neutral. C. aquaticum is poised for introduction in South-Africa as a biocontrol of water-hyacinths; the recent discovery of four more segment polymorphisms may imply more chromosomal markers to make sense of its genetic system.

As demographics and gender norms shift, more older men will be providing care for their wives living with dementia than ever before. Research on husbands as caregivers is limited and offers an incomplete picture of their role development and how they experience caregiving. This study examined husbands whose wives have dementia and how they provide care and construct their sense of self. Semi-structured interviews with 11 men aged 61–88 were conducted in Ontario, Canada. Data were analyzed using constant comparison analysis and a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach. Two categories were developed: Adapting to the Role of Caregiver and Staying a Husband. Caregiving as a husband for a wife living with dementia required revision of the role of husband to include that of caregiver by reimaging intimacy, being a protector in new ways, and finding new meanings to being a provider and the value of wealth.

We report a paediatric case where severe mitral valve regurgitation occurred led by blunt chest trauma. Medical treatment was undertaken, and surgical mitral valve repair was postponed until half a year after the initial injury, followed by an uneventful postoperative recovery. We highlight the importance of echocardiographic evaluation for traumatic valve insufficiency. The medical strategy and timing of surgical intervention should be individualised.