bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ernährung: Gibt es eine Verbindung zwischen Diabetes mellitus und Krebs?
Authors: Hill Alyson
Published: June 2023

The number of new cases of cancer is increasing each year, and rates of diabetes mellitus are also increasing dramatically over time. It is not an unusual occurrence for an individual to have both cancer and diabetes at the same time, given they are both individually common, and that one condition can increase the risk of the other. In this manuscript, we use national-level diabetes (Virtual Diabetes Register) and cancer (New Zealand Cancer Registry) data on nearly five million individuals over 44 million person-years of follow-up to examine the occurrence of cancer amongst a national prevalent cohort of patients with diabetes. We completed this analysis separately by cancer for the 24 most commonly diagnosed cancers in Aotearoa New Zealand, and then compared the occurrence of cancer among those with diabetes to those without diabetes. We found that the rate of cancer was highest amongst those with diabetes for 21 of the 24 most common cancers diagnosed over our study period, with excess risk among those with diabetes ranging between 11% (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) and 236% (liver cancer). The cancers with the greatest difference in incidence between those with diabetes and those without diabetes tended to be within the endocrine or gastrointestinal system, and/or had a strong relationship with obesity. However, in an absolute sense, due to the volume of breast, colorectal and lung cancers, prevention of the more modest excess cancer risk among those with diabetes (16%, 22% and 48%, respectively) would lead to a substantial overall reduction in the total burden of cancer in the population. Our findings reinforce the fact that diabetes prevention activities are also cancer prevention activities, and must therefore be prioritised and resourced in tandem.
Hypercoagulable States Therapy in Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION)
Authors: Nusanti Syntia , Rachman Andhika , Lidinill Dhiny , Pratiwi Rianti W , Pintary Marsha Rayfa , Sidik M
Published: June 2023

Background Ischemic optic neuropathy is one of the main causes of blindness or visual impairment in middle age or elderly population. Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION) is the most common type of ischemic optic neuropathy. Systemic risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, nocturnal hypotension, sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease and hypercoagulable states are related to NAION. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of hypercoagulable states therapy in NAION patients. Methods This study is a retrospective study conducted at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital Jakarta. All NAION patients with age more than 19 y.o were included. Patients were divided into 4 group; group 1: NAION patients treated with hypercoagulable states therapy, group 2: NAION patients treated with anticoagulant therapy, group 3: NAION patients treated with antiplatelet therapy and group 4: NAION patient without anticoagulant, antiplatelet or hypercoagulable states therapy. Results The total sample were 49 patients (49 eyes). Twenty-six patients (56.5%) were diagnosed with hypercoagulable state. In group 1 – 3 half of the patients (50%) had clinical improvements with anticoagulant, antiplatelet and hypercoagulable therapy. Conclusion Hypercoagulable states therapy may improve clinical outcome of NAION.
The Effect of Early College High Schools on STEM Bachelor's Degree Attainment: Evidence from North Carolina
Authors: Swiderski Tom
Published: June 2023

With growing demand for workers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and health care, it is important to assess not only whether education interventions impact educational attainment, but also students’ majors. This study examines the impact of Early College High Schools (ECHSs) on bachelor's degree attainment by field of study using data on four hundred thousand students from North Carolina (7,300 in an ECHS). Using propensity score weighting, I find that ECHSs increase bachelor's degree attainment within ten years of high school entry by 4.7 percentage points (19 percent over baseline), with STEM degree attainment increasing by 1.3 to 2.4 points (18 to 34 percent). However, within STEM and STEM-related fields, ECHSs increase degrees in the natural sciences (1.3 points or 45 percent), math/computer science (0.6 points or 60 percent), and psychology (1.2 points or 57 percent), but have null and directionally negative effects on engineering (−0.1 points or −7 percent) and health care (−0.3 points or −17 percent). Patterns are generally similar across student subgroups, though male students drive increases in computer science/mathematics, whereas female and White students drive decreases in health care. Thus, ECHSs increase STEM degree attainment overall, but more research is needed to examine whether intensive dual-enrollment experiences like the ECHS may create barriers or disincentives to pursuing certain STEM fields.
In the Shadow of Peace
Authors: Comstock Audrey L.
Published: June 2023

Despite decades of success, abuse has pervaded UN peacekeeping. This article argues that there has been a combination of incremental, conditional, and tenuous accountability for UN peacekeeping personnel accused of perpetrating sexual exploitation and abuse against civilians. This article argues that the relationship with accountability has been shaped by the reliance on troop-contributing countries to supply peacekeepers. This has limited the ability and desire of the UN to institute full accountability for peacekeeper actions. Looking at examples and trends of abuse and punishment, the article demonstrates that there has been a push-pull relationship of accountability between the media and nongovernmental organization reporting on one side and UN reliance on troop-contributing countries and institutional reluctance on the other side.
Sexual Violence and Peacekeeping
Authors: Johansson Karin , Kreft Anne-Kathrin
Published: June 2023

In the 1990s, conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) started to transform into a matter of international security. Today, this is reflected in the Women, Peace and Security framework, which has left an impression also on UN peacekeeping mandates and operations, as well as on global protection imperatives. Simultaneously, academic attention to CRSV has skyrocketed in the past two decades. This article reviews what this growing body of research tells us about how peacekeeping authorities handle CRSV. In brief, scholars have identified encouraging trends in peacekeeping responsiveness to this violence, and prior research on its effectiveness in protecting civilians also gives cause for cautious optimism. Nonetheless, notable gaps in our knowledge remain, in particular when it comes to more local, fine-grained data and analysis. By way of conclusion, the article therefore outlines where the authors see the most promising avenues for future research on CRSV and peacekeeping.
African-Led Peace Support Operations in a declining period of new UN Peacekeeping Operations
Authors: Tchie Andrew E. Yaw
Published: June 2023

The United Nations is known to be the preeminent body to authorize and oversee international peacekeeping missions; however, new forms of African-led Peace Support Operations (PSO s) are increasingly common, innovative, and context-specific. This paper examines the evolution of African-led PSO s and argues that African-led PSO s are filling a vacuum and taking on responsibilities once assumed by the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UN PKO). The paper posits that the rise of African-led PSO s is due to the growing need for security and respond to the changing nature of conflict, the spread of insecurity and terrorism, and cross-border violence. Finally, the paper explores the implications of these operations for future missions in Africa, arguing that the future of African-led PSO s may be the preferred choice, with Regional Economic Communities and Ad-hoc Security Initiatives leading the way.
Speech Synthesis in the “Mother Tongue”: Designing, Training, and Evaluating a Text-to-Speech System for Yiddish
Authors: Bleaman Isaac L. , Webber Jacob J. , Lo Samuel K.
Published: June 2023

Although few linguistic corpora are available in Yiddish, there are numerous sources of so-called “found data” that can be adapted for language research, pedagogy, and resource development. We describe the steps taken to create the first speech synthesis (text-to-speech) program in Yiddish. A state-of-the-art TTS model, FastSpeech 2, was trained on a hand-corrected data set consisting of literary texts paired with audio narrations by native speakers of the Polish and Lithuanian dialects. A quantitative evaluation by listeners found that the system produced speech that was both intelligible and natural-sounding. To demonstrate the system’s applications for language pedagogy, we offer a qualitative evaluation of Yiddish phonological features that are present or absent in a sample of synthesized recordings. We hope that the success of speech synthesis in Yiddish will inspire future projects to enable technological support for other minority languages in which transcribed recordings are available.
Freshwater fishes of the Philippines: a provisional checklist
Authors: JAMANDRE BRIAN WADE
Published: June 2023

An updated checklist of freshwater fishes occurring in the Philippines is presented, with notes on their distribution and conservation status. Information was systematically and comprehensively reviewed, and compiled from current and historical sources including published literature, institutional reports, museum records, and online databases. Results indicate a total of 374 fish species within 29 orders and 78 families to occur in the country. Two hundred and twenty-five (60.16%) species are native, of which 85 (22.73%) are endemic; and an additional 64 (17.11%) are non-native. Gobiiformes is the most diverse order (114 species, 5 families), followed by Cypriniformes (54 species, 4 families) and Perciformes (28 species, 13 families). The most speciose family is Gobiidae (89 species), which represents 23.80% of the total fish diversity. Conservation status based on the IUCN Red List indicates that 57 (15.24%) fish species are assessed as “Data Deficient”, 188 (50.27%) are “Least Concern”, nine (2.41%) are “Near Threatened”, 22 (5.88%) are “Vulnerable”, 20 (5.35%) are “Endangered”, 10 (2.67%) are “Critically Endangered”, 15 (4.01%) are “Extinct”, and the conservation status of a further 53 (14.17%) have not been assessed (Not Evaluated). The relatively high number of ‘Data Deficient’ species emphasizes the lack of information on the taxonomy, distribution, life history and population status of many species in the archipelago. Detailed studies on various aspects of the biology and threats is highly recommended to advance the scientific understanding of, and develop conservation plans for the freshwater fish species of Philippines.
Relative Genetic Homogeneity within a Phenotypically Diverse group: The Case of Lake Tana Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) Species Flock, Ethiopia
Authors: BESHERA KEBEDE. A. , HARRIS PHILLIP M. , MICHAEL SEMHAR K.
Published: June 2023

The Lake Tana Labeobarbus species flock represents one of the world’s most famous examples of lacustrine species radiations. Previous studies of this group have resulted in the description of at least 15 species based on their differences in functional morphology and definition of two clades (lacustrine and riverine spawning clades) based on life history traits. A total of 166 fish representing 14 Labeobarbus species were genotyped using 10 lineage-specific hexaploid microsatellite loci. Six of these loci were developed for this study based on DNA sequence contigs derived from a microsatellite-enriched genomic library of Labeobarbus intermedius from Lake Tana; the remaining four loci were obtained from a previous study. The genotypes of the 10 loci were analyzed to examine genetic diversity and population structure within Lake Tana Labeobarbus. Overall mean allelic richness (NA) was 17.6 alleles per locus and observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosities were 0.84 ± 0.14 and 0.73 ± 0.09, respectively, across all Lake Tana Labeobarbus samples examined. Our analyses reveal that there is little genetic differentiation among species (FST = 0.020–0.099; only 10 of 91 species comparisons were significant), but moderate differentiation (FST = 0.11, p < 0.05) between lacustrine and riverine spawning populations. Relative to previous phylogenetic hypotheses, our phenetic analysis employing the R-based Analysis of Phylogenetics and Evolution (APE) program seems to perform marginally better in revealing lineages within Lake Tana Labeobarbus. Herein, our results are compared to a previous microsatellite-based study of the same populations.
How Sampling Errors in Covariance Estimates Cause Bias in the Kalman Gain and Impact Ensemble Data Assimilation
Authors: Hodyss Daniel , Morzfeld Matthias
Published: June 2023

Localization is the key component to the successful application of ensemble data assimilation (DA) to high-dimensional problems in the geosciences. We study the impact of sampling error and its amelioration through localization using both analytical development and numerical experiments. Specifically, we show how sampling error in covariance estimates accumulates and spreads throughout the entire domain during the computation of the Kalman gain. This results in a bias, which is the dominant issue in unlocalized ensemble DA, and, surprisingly, we find that it depends directly on the number of independent observations but only indirectly on the state dimension. Our derivations and experiments further make it clear that an important aspect of localization is a significant reduction of bias in the Kalman gain, which in turn leads to an increased accuracy of ensemble DA. We illustrate our findings on a variety of simplified linear and nonlinear test problems, including a cycling ensemble Kalman filter applied to the Lorenz-96 model.

Significance Statement

The dampening of long-range correlations has been the key to the success of ensemble data assimilation in global numerical weather prediction. In this paper, we show how noise in covariance estimates propagates through the state estimation process and corrupts state estimates. We show that this noise results in a bias and that this bias depends on the number of observations and not, as might be expected, on the state dimension. We go on to show how dampening long-range covariances through a process referred to as “localization” helps to mitigate the detrimental effects of this sampling noise.
Diet Diversity During Infancy and the Prevalence of Sensitization and Allergy in Children up to 3 Years of Age in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship, Poland
Authors: Kuśmierek Magdalena , Chęsy Andrzej , Krogulska Aneta
Published: June 2023

The study examines the influence of a diversified diet, changes in the consistency of introduced foods, and the method of meal preparation during infancy on the development of sensitization and/or allergy in toddlers. Introducing more product groups into the diet reduced the risk of allergy at 6 months of age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.17; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04-0.71; P = 0.015) and at 12 months (aOR = 0.14; 95% CI 0.03-0.57; P = 0.006). Children with allergy and/or sensitization had been introduced to fewer product groups at 6 months ( P = 0.003; P < 0.001; P = 0.008) and at 12 months ( P = 0.001, P < 0.001; P = 0.001) compared with those without allergy and/or sensitization. Children with allergy and/or sensitization were fed ready-made, ie, purchased, products significantly more often than self-prepared foods compared with children without allergy and/or sensitization ( P = 0.001; P = 0.006). Allergic and/or sensitized children tended to be switched to solids later (11 vs 10 months, P = 0.041; P = 0.037) (12 vs 10 months, P = 0.013) than children without sensitization and/or allergy. The earlier introduction of a varied diet reduced the risk of allergy and/or sensitization. Delaying the introduction of solid foods and using ready-made products instead of self-prepared ones increases the risk of allergy in toddlers.
Unfolding Transnational Female Networks: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia’s delegates at the first Afro-Asian Women’s Conference (1961)
Authors: Baldinetti Anna , Biondi Martina
Published: June 2023

Taking its steps from Bandung Conference’s aftermath, the first Afro-Asian Women’s Conference (AAWC) held in Cairo in 1961 contributed to feminizing the Afro-Asian movement. This article focuses on the first AAWC, particularly examining the participation of Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, and Libyan delegates. Built on hitherto underexplored primary sources, it constitutes a first contribution in investigating the role of Maghrebi women in Afro-Asian solidarity networks. It highlights that the AAWC marked a significant moment of regional cohesion for Maghrebi women and discloses that Maghreb countries’ delegates voiced their respective countries’ positions on women emancipation. The article also discusses the Maghrebi delegates’ contribution to crafting a shared Afro-Asian women’s political agenda. Ultimately, it retraces the AAWC’s echo in the Maghreb during the following years.
Spatial characteristics and coupling coordination between carbon emission efficiency and industrial structure in three metropolitan areas of Jiangsu Province, China
Authors: Ren Hongxin , Ou Xiangjun , Zhu Huxiao
Published: June 2023

It is of great practical significance to study the spatial characteristics of carbon emission efficiency, industrial structure, their coupling and coordination relationship for China's green development and industrial structure transformation in the new era. From the perspective of coupling, coordination and space, this paper analyzes and summarizes the spatial characteristics of carbon emission efficiency and industrial structure of 19 cities in three metropolitan areas of Jiangsu Province during 2009–2019 and their coupling and coordination relationship. The carbon emission efficiency in this study is represented by the carbon emission economic efficiency index and carbon emission social efficiency index. The results show that (a) the high-emission centers in the three metropolitan areas developed from “three centers” in 2009 to “five centers” in 2019. The continuous high-energy consumption of the secondary industry and the growth of the economic aggregate of the third industry kept the regional high carbon dioxide emissions. (b) The average value of carbon emission economic efficiency in 19 cities continued to increase, indicating that the contribution rate of the same amount of carbon emissions to economic income gradually increased; the growth range of carbon emission economic efficiency index is greater than that of carbon emission social efficiency index, indicating that carbon emission has a more significant effect on the improvement of regional economic development than on the improvement of public service level and residents’ living quality. (d) The solidification degree of carbon emission efficiency is greater than that of the industrial structure (solidification degree carbon emission social efficiency > carbon emission economic efficiency > industrial structure). The high-grade industrial structure in Xuzhou metropolitan area is closely related to the improvement of carbon emission economic efficiency and carbon emission social efficiency, and both are in moderate antagonism. The rationalizing industrial structure in Nanjing metropolitan area is closely related to the improvement of carbon emission economic efficiency, which is in high coordination run-in. The concentration degree of industrial structure in Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou metropolitan area is closely related to the improvement of carbon emission economic efficiency and carbon emission social efficiency, which are in polar coordination coupling and high coordination run-in, respectively. The proposed coupling path of carbon emission efficiency-industrial structure can not only alleviate the dynamic disharmony in different cities but also effectively improve the coupling degree in cities.
A novel neighbor selection scheme based on dynamic evaluation towards recommender systems
Authors: Hu Kerui , Qiu Lemiao , Zhang Shuyou , Wang Zili , Fang Naiyu , Zhou Huifang
Published: June 2023

Collaborative filtering is a kind of widely used and efficient technique in various online environments, which generates recommendations based on the rating information of his/her similar-preference neighbors. However, existing collaborative filtering methods have some inadequacies in revealing the dynamic user preference change and evaluating the recommendation effectiveness. The sparsity of input data may further exacerbate this issue. Thus, this paper proposes a novel neighbor selection scheme constructed in the context of information attenuation to bridge these gaps. Firstly, the concept of the preference decay period is given to describe the pattern of user preference evolution and recommendation invalidation, and thus two types of dynamic decay factors are correspondingly defined to gradually weaken the impact of old data. Then, three dynamic evaluation modules are built to evaluate the user's trustworthiness and recommendation ability. Finally, A hybrid selection strategy combines these modules to construct two neighbor selection layers and adjust the neighbor key thresholds. Through this strategy, our scheme can more effectively select capable and trustworthy neighbors to provide recommendations. The experiments on three real datasets with different data sizes and data sparsity show that the proposed scheme provides excellent recommendation performance and is more suitable for real applications, compared to the state-of-the-art methods.
Towards a semantic approach in GLAM Labs: The case of the Data Foundry at the National Library of Scotland
Authors: Candela Gustavo
Published: June 2023

GLAM organisations have been exploring the benefits of publishing their digital collections in a wide variety of forms since the 2000s. Many institutions, and in particular libraries, have applied the Semantic Web and Linked Data to their main catalogues. Recent advances in technology and innovative approaches concerning the reuse of the digital collections by means of computational access have paved the way for the creation of laboratories within GLAM organisations. In this work, we present a framework that works in several steps to transform into linked open data (LOD), assess and enrich with external repositories the data sets made available by GLAM organisations under open licences. The framework has been applied to three metadata data sets made available by the Data Foundry at the National Library of Scotland obtaining as a result a collection of LOD repositories, a data quality assessment and examples of exploration. The results of this work are publicly available and can be applied to other domains such as digital humanities and data science.
Fitting in at the Top? Stigma and the Negotiation of Belonging Among the New Immigrant Elite in France
Authors: Drouhot Lucas G.
Published: June 2023

While assimilation theories implicitly assume that immigrants’ acceptance as “one of us” derives from their high levels of socioeconomic attainment in destination countries, little is known about the subjective experience of national belonging among the new immigrant elite in Western Europe. In this article, I assemble an analytical framework to study perceived acceptance within the national imagined community among immigrant-origin individuals who have already achieved high socioeconomic attainment at destination. Empirically, I look at subjective experiences of stigma and national belonging through in-depth interviews with forty-two professionals of North and Sub-Saharan African origins in France. How do these high-status individuals experience stigma, and how do they negotiate and claim inclusion as worthy members of the French imagined community? Respondents generally perceive only moderate levels of racial stigma in their daily lives, and I find that upper-middle-class culture empowers them to use cultural elitism to deflect racism as intellectually backward and illegitimate. However, I also find that self-identified Muslim respondents face widespread religious stigmatization that cast them as outsiders to French society. They respond to this stigmatization by distinguishing themselves from “undesirable” Muslims, rather than by denouncing anti-Muslim prejudice per se. These divergent experiences suggest that acceptance within the French nation is shaped by religious difference and remains actively negotiated after the achievement of social mobility. Overall, the paper suggests that cultural repertoires play a key role in enabling immigrant-origin individuals to claim national belonging in everyday life.
Jigsaw Migration: How Mixed Citizenship LGBTQ Families (Re)Assemble Their Fragmented Citizenship
Authors: Jones Chelle
Published: June 2023

Mixed-citizenship families often cannot migrate immediately to their desired destinations due to sponsor income requirements, immigration quotas, and restrictive migrant labor policies. LGBTQ mixed-citizenship families are additionally constrained by policies governing their same-sex family rights. What strategies do they mobilize to build or maintain families under these constraints? To answer this question, I study lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women in mixed citizenship relationships in South Korea, which does not recognize same-sex unions, but nonetheless serves as an alternative destination for LBQ migrants with educational credentials, English language skills, or experience in tech or travel industries. Drawing on 58 semi-structured interviews with LBQ mixed-citizenship couples, I show how socioeconomic inequalities within the Global North push some LBQ people abroad and how sexuality-based inequality shapes their capacity to sponsor family members’ migration to their new destinations. I develop the concept of “jigsaw migration” to explain the multi-sited strategies that some migrants deploy to overcome these constraints, building on the flexible citizenship, multinational migration, and forum shopping literatures. I also discuss internal differences and inequalities among respondents based on national origin. This article contributes to queer migration literature by highlighting the importance of intersectionality; to multinational migration literature by demonstrating the important role that sexuality plays in multistage and multi-sited migration; and to Korean Studies by queering scholarship on migrant hierarchies in Korea.
Low phytic acid pea supplementation as an approach to combating iron deficiency in female runners: A randomized control trial
Authors: Shaw Keely A. , Chilibeck Philip D. , Lindsay Donna L. , Warkentin Thomas D. , Ko Jongbum , Zello Gordon A.
Published: June 2023

Background: Iron deficiency (ID) is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency in the world and the leading cause of anemia globally. Female athletes are at a disproportionate risk for ID due to blood loss through menstruation and decreased iron absorption secondary to exercise. Field peas are a rich source of iron but, similar to iron from other plant-based sources, the iron has limited bioavailability due to high levels of phytic acid, an inherent compound that binds to cations, creating a salt (phytate), which limits absorption during digestion. Aim: The purpose of our research was to investigate the effect of a field pea variety bred to have low levels of phytic acid on plasma ferritin, exercise performance, and body composition in female runners. Methods: Twenty-eight female runners (age:34.6  ±  9.7 years; weight: 65.1  ±  8.1 kg; VO2max: 50.7  ±  8.9 ml/kg/min) underwent measures of ferritin, exercise performance, and body composition before and after being randomly assigned to consume a powder derived from regular peas, low phytic acid peas, or a non-pea control (maltodextrin), plus vitamin C for 8 weeks. Results: The regular pea and low phytic acid pea groups had a 14.4% and 5.1% increase in plasma ferritin, respectively, while the maltodextrin group had a decrease of 2.2%; however, the difference in changes between groups was not statistically significant. No differences between groups were evident in any of the other measures. Conclusion: Larger doses or longer duration of pea supplementation may be necessary to induce meaningful changes in iron status. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04872140).
YHWH in a Suit: Kə

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YHWH as the Regalia of the Priestly God
Authors: Bae Sun Bok
Published: June 2023

Kāḇôḏ in kəḇôḏ YHWH has been translated predominantly with abstract words such as “glory” or “presence” throughout the Hebrew Bible. Some scholars argue that kəḇôḏ YHWH simultaneously marks the divine presence and hides the divine essence. These understandings do not capture the specific function and signification of kəḇôḏ YHWH in the pentateuchal Priestly source (P and H). In P and H, kəḇôḏ YHWH conveys the imagery of radiant, fiery clothing, comparable to Mesopotamian melammu. The deity always appears before the public with kəḇôḏ YHWH, whereas the text never says that the deity meets anyone privately with it. kəḇôḏ YHWH expresses the royal aspect of the deity who requires honor and submission. This understanding of kəḇôḏ YHWH in P reveals that the Priestly God is not abstract, enigmatic, or transcendent.
Evaluation of a Statewide Flavored Tobacco Restriction on Use, Access, and Cessation Among Black and White Tobacco Users in Massachusetts
Authors: McGinnes Hannah , Kingsley Melody , Song Glory , Rosewarne Jana , Gonthier Stephanie , Doane Jacqueline , Henley Patricia
Published: June 2023

Purpose

To evaluate the impact of a statewide flavored tobacco restriction among Massachusetts residents who use menthol or flavored tobacco and to assess differences in impact between Black and White users, as the tobacco industry has targeted menthol to Black users.

Design

An online survey was distributed through a panel provider and household mailings.

Setting

Eleven Massachusetts communities with higher-than-state-average Black, Indigenous or People of Color populations

Subjects

Black (n = 63) and White (n = 231) non-Hispanic residents who used menthol or other flavored tobacco products in the past year.

Measures

Impact of the law on use, access, and quitting behaviors.

Analysis

Outcomes were assessed between Blacks and Whites using Pearson chi-square tests.

Results

Over half (53% of White, 57% of Black) of respondents believed the law made it more difficult to access menthol products; two-thirds (67% of White,64% of Black) accessed menthol products in another state. Black users were significantly more likely to report purchasing menthol products off the street ( P ≤ .05). One-third (28% of White, 32% of Black) believed the law made it easier to quit, and one-third (27% of White, 34% of Black) completely quit in the past year.

Conclusions

Flavored tobacco restrictions may positively and equitably impact cessation. Cross-border access and off-the-street purchasing suggest the need for greater cessation support and underscore the importance of a national policy.
(Dis)Organizing Sexual Harassment: Patterns of Bystander Communication
Authors: Ivancic Sonia R. , Ford Jessica L.
Published: June 2023

This study explores organizational bystander responses to sexual harassment in order to understand how bystanders facilitate healing, perpetuate harm, and create tensions for individuals who experience workplace sexual harassment. This qualitative analysis expands our understanding of bystander communication in several ways. First, we present patterns of constructive and destructive bystander communication practices and introduce the concept of holistic support. Second, we analyze how responses by organizational bystanders (dis)organize sexual harassment or ignite fears of (dis)organization. Last, we introduce a continuum of bystander response patterns that demonstrate the tensions targets of sexual harassment navigate when interacting with bystanders. Findings illuminate the possibilities for workplace transformation and we provide recommendations for how to best support individuals who are sexually harassed.
A scene-setter, matchmaker, or co-creator? The role of the HEI in the CCI ecosystem engagement when branding a place
Authors: Pohjola Tuomas , Aalto Johanna , Lemmetyinen Arja , Nieminen Lenita
Published: June 2023

This article focuses on the third mission of higher education institutions (HEIs) and their role in the ecosystem of creative and cultural industries (CCIs) consisting of the innovation framework (Quadruple Helix) stakeholders. The article provides a comprehensive literature review of the role of HEIs as the knowledge-creating and engaging actor in the CCI ecosystem and place brand co-creation. The research paves the way for empirical validations of our longitudinal and multi-method research to highlight the ability of a university to implement its third mission of supporting the CCI ecosystem engagement to strengthen place branding efforts in regional development. We utilized relational access to collect extensive qualitative data, which provides an understanding of the shift of knowledge transfer processes toward an intensive engagement in economic and social development in the CCIs’ ecosystem and place brand co-creation. In conclusion, we present the role of HEIs in CCI ecosystem stakeholder engagement as one living a sustainable and inclusive place brand.
Optimization on high-pressure side of pump-turbine runner based on high efficiency and stability criterion via multi-objective genetic algorithm method
Authors: Qin Yonglin , Li Deyou , Wang Hongjie , Liu Zhansheng , Wei Xianzhu , Wang Xiaohang , Song Yongjian
Published: June 2023

Pumped storage power plants are doomed to play a more important role in peak-valley shifting hence the demand for operation stability is gradually regarded as an equal important criterion as high efficiency. In our paper, new concepts, namely “swept,” “bowed (lean),” and “twisted” are introduced to systematic innovative design the geometry of high-pressure side (HPS) of a pump-turbine runner. Thereafter, a multi-objective optimization process, which consists of design of experiment (DoE), meta model generation, multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA), self-organization map (SOM) and takes both high efficiency and stability discipline into account is produced. The final optimization plan is selected and testified numerically. Compared to the original runner, the efficiency is improved from 91.7% to 91.9% at pump mode and improved from 92.3% to 92.8% at turbine mode. Moreover, the S margin is increased from 89.34° to 90.23° at small GVO and increased from 79.56° to 80.29° at large GVO. Besides, hump unsteady region is completely eliminated. Moreover, the flow characteristic comparation is conducted based on local hydraulic loss rate (LHLR) method. For design points, the optimized runner obviously decreases the hydraulic loss in hub and middle part of runner domain for turbine mode and slightly decrease the hydraulic loss in stay vane region for pump mode. For unsteady characteristics, HPS can better adjust the hydraulic loss distribution in corresponding discharge operating points, largely decreasing S unsteady characteristic in turbine mode and eliminating hump unsteady characteristic in pump mode. We believe that the methods proposed in our paper can bring the design of hydraulic machinery to a new level.
Registering Time in Recognising Torturous Harm: Figuring the Single, Plural and Historical in Torture's Adjudication
Authors: Cakal Ergun
Published: June 2023

How does time feature and function in juridical understandings of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment? With a view to international human rights adjudication, this article offers a kaleidoscopic reading of temporal logics (registers and reasoning) operating in the contemporary anti-torture cause and jurisprudence. Time, it is found, plays an important albeit at times implicit role in how judges imagine and evidence torturous harms brought before them. This article explicates and singles out time as a factor. It finds that, whilst indeterminacies and ambiguities persist, singular (and spectacular) or plural (and prolonged) harmful acts and impacts operate to serve adjudicators’ reasoning, variably (and intuitively) to find violations or to divert from doing so. Time thus works as a device of inclusion and exclusion.
Moral failure, moral prudence, and character challenges in residential care during the Covid-19 pandemic
Authors: Monteverde Settimio
Published: June 2023

In many high-income countries, an initial response to the severe impact of Covid-19 on residential care was to shield residents from outside contacts. As the pandemic progressed, these measures have been increasingly questioned, given their detrimental impact on residents’ health and well-being and their dubious effectiveness. Many authorities have been hesitant in adapting visiting policies, often leaving nursing homes to act on their own safety and liability considerations. Against this backdrop, this article discusses the appropriateness of viewing the continuation of the practice of shielding as a moral failure. This is affirmed and specified in four dimensions: preventability of foreseeable harm, moral agency, moral character, and moral practice (in MacIntyre’s sense). Moral character is discussed in the context of prudent versus proportionate choices. As to moral practice, it will be shown that the continued practice of shielding no longer met the requirements of an (inherently moral) practice, as external goods such as security thinking and structural deficiencies prevented the pursuit of internal goods focusing on residents’ interests and welfare, which in many places has led to a loss of trust in these facilities. This specification of moral failure also allows a novel perspective on moral distress, which can be understood as the expression of the psychological impact of moral failure on moral agents. Conclusions are formulated about how pandemic events can be understood as character challenges for healthcare professionals within residential care, aimed at preserving the internal goods of residential care even under difficult circumstances, which is understood as a manifestation of moral resilience. Finally, the importance of moral and civic education of healthcare students is emphasized to facilitate students' early identification as trusted members of a profession and a caring society, in order to reduce experiences of moral failure or improve the way to deal with it effectively.
Inhibitory Potential of Apium graveolens L. Extract on Inflammation in Diethylnitrosamine-induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Mice
Authors: Lyngdoh Anisha , Baruah Taranga Jyoti , Sharan Rajeshwar Nath , Kma Lakhon
Published: June 2023

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of liver cancer, with a recurrence rate of 80–90% and a high mortality rate. It is an inflammation-related cancer where cytokines production plays a major role, resulting in a non-resolving inflammation in the tumor microenvironment, which promotes the disease. Therefore, targeting inflammation is a logical way to combat HCC. Natural products can be helpful in the co-treatment and prevention of HCC.

Hypothesis

This study aimed to evaluate the hepatoprotective properties of a methanolic extract of Apium graveolens L. (MAG) in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced toxicity in BALB/c mice.

Materials and Methods

We checked the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties of MAG. DEN is known to induce oxidative stress by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. This can result in liver damage, increased SGOT, SGPT, and ALP activity in serum, increased expression of HCC biomarkers like AFP and GPC-3, and increased levels of the inflammatory biomarkers NF-κB, IL-6, IL-4, IL-1β, and TNF-α. The above factors can cause the activation of the inflammatory signaling pathways, triggering the development of HCC.

Results

MAG was able to lower the detrimental effects of DEN by restoring liver function; decrease oxidative stress by increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxide (GPx), and ϒ-L-glutamyl-L-Cysteinyl-glycine (GSH); decrease the inflammatory factors responsible for HCC; and increase caspase-3 activity. Molecular docking studies showed how phytoconstituents like luteolin, apigenin, and kaempferol present in MAG could potentially be responsible for lowering the effects of DEN in the mice’s liver.

Conclusion

Altogether, the present study showed that MAG was able to ameliorate inflammation in the DEN-induced liver carcinogenesis in BALB/c mice. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report on the use of a whole plant ( Apium graveolens) in an anti-cancer study in a mouse model.
Effectiveness of Probiotics and Phototherapy Compared to Phototherapy Alone in Treating Hyperbilirubinemia in Neonates ≥35 Weeks Gestation: A Comparative Observational Study
Authors: Singh Suraj Kumar , Gupta Girish , Wasim Sanober , Kumar Rakesh , Patra Saikat , Chinmay Chetan
Published: June 2023

Introduction

Neonatal jaundice is a common condition in neonatal practice. Phototherapy is accepted first line of therapy in its treatment. Probiotics can be an addition as it decreases enterohepatic circulation and improves gut function.

Materials and Methods

The observational study was conducted in 40 neonates. Participants were divided into 2 groups, phototherapy alone (PA) and probiotics plus phototherapy (PP). The mean difference in total serum bilirubin (mg/dL) levels, total duration of phototherapy, incidence of rebound hyperbilirubinemia, frequency of stooling after initiation of therapy, feed intolerance, and occurrence of new onset sepsis was compared.

Results

The mean difference in serum bilirubin level was not statistically significant after 12 hours ( p = .321), 24 hours ( p = .544) and 48 hours ( p = .863) after initiation of phototherapy. An increase in frequency of stool in the first 24 hours was observed in PP group ( p = .003). The total duration of phototherapy was less in PP group although not statistically significant (25 hours vs 38 hours, p = .054). Rebound hyperbilirubinemia was significantly higher in PA ( p = .023). There were no cases of feed intolerance and sepsis.

Conclusion

The addition of probiotics did not alter the clinical course of jaundice. However, probiotics can reduce the rebound hyperbilirubinemia and is safe as it did not increase incidence of new onset sepsis or feed intolerance.
Using Various Types of Embedded Participants to Enhance Culturally Congruent, Family-Centered Simulation-Based Education
Authors: Díaz Desiree A. , Todd Andrew D. , Gilbert Gregory E. , López Castillo Humberto , Anderson Mindi , Jackson James P. , Linnell Marlee R. , Ng Kristen Y. , Walker Alison G. , Díaz Rubén Z.
Published: June 2023

Background

Simulation provides a controlled, standardized experience, where learners have increased autonomy to provide culturally congruent care in a healthcare disparity scenario. Importance is noted for scenarios including pediatric populations, to include role players such as the caregiver. The simulation in this study emphasized paternal involvement in the care of a 12-hour-old newborn within a Family-Centered Care Model (FCCM) using embedded participants (EPs). The purpose was to explore the impact and benefit of the EP. The hypotheses included: (1) Learner perception of simulation effectiveness changes when an EP is physically present compared to being virtually present (tele-embedded); (2) Tele-embedded participants (tele-embedded EPs), playing a paternal role, differ between a pop-up parent versus being in-person.

Methods

A randomized historical control, posttest-only design guided this study once IRB was obtained. A purposive sample of 115 BSN students was used. Instruments included demographics, SET-M, and ACTS Tool.

Results

Differences were noted between groups; however, SET-M and ACTS scores were constant with little variance noted between the EP and tele-embedded EP.

Conclusion

Embedded participants, regardless of in-person or via tele-embedded, can add to the scenario. Participants actively engaged in communication with both the in-person and remote EP. All the simulation based education scenarios were effective, encouraging continued use within simulation-based education. Embedded participant involvement has the potential to enhance scenarios by providing opportunities to practice culturally congruent care while cultivating effective communication and education of all family members. Further exploration of the use of EPs is needed to understand the potential added benefit of incorporating them into scenarios.
Histopathological Findings in Hernia Sacs: A Clinical and Pathological Review
Authors: Cheng Lin , Lashmanova Natalia , Reddy Swathi B. , Yan Lei , Gattuso Paolo
Published: June 2023

Routine histopathological examination of hernia sac in adults remains a controversial topic. We undertook a retrospective study to assess possible clinical benefits of pathological examination of hernia sac specimens. Our pathology database between 1992 and 2020 was searched for adult specimens submitted as hernia sac. The clinical and pathological data of patients with abnormal histopathological findings were reviewed. There were 5424 hernia sac specimens (3722 inguinal, 1625 umbilical, and 77 femoral), 32/5424 (0.59%) with malignancies (28 epithelial and 4 lymphoid) and 25/32 were located in the umbilical region. Twelve out of twenty-five malignancies (48%) presented as primary clinical manifestations of the diseases (5 GI tract carcinomas, 5 gynecological tract carcinomas, and 2 lymphoid neoplasms); and 13/25 (52%) specimens were involved by previously known tumors (8 gynecological carcinomas, 3 colon carcinomas, 1 breast carcinoma, and 1 lymphoma). Among the 7 inguinal hernia sacs with malignancies, 3 (42.9%) were primary presentations of the tumors (2 prostatic carcinomas, 1 pancreatic carcinoma), and 4 (57.1%) were previously known tumors (2 ovarian carcinomas, 1 colon carcinoma, 1 lymphoid). Benign lesions were 12/5424 (0.22%), including 7 adrenal rests, 4 endometriosis, and 1 inguinal sarcoidosis. The incidence of hernia sacs with malignancies was 32/5424 (0.59%), most commonly from nearby organs in gynecological tract. However distant metastases from breast were also present. Near half of the hernia sac with malignancies (15/32, 47%) presented as the first clinical manifestation. Routine histopathological examination of hernia sac in adults is recommended, since it may provide important clinical information.
Machine learning-based soft-sensor development for road quality classification
Authors: Nagy Roland , Kummer Alex , Abonyi János , Szalai István
Published: June 2023

Vibrations in road vehicles cause several harmful effects, health problems can occur for the passengers, and mechanical damage can occur to the vehicle components. Given the health, safety, and financial issues that arise, keeping the road network in good condition and detecting road defects as early as possible requires an extensive monitoring system. Related to this, our study presents the development of hardware and software for a low-cost, multi-sensor road quality monitoring system for passenger vehicles. The developed monitoring system can classify road sections according to their quality parameters into four classes. In order to detect vibrations in the vehicle, accelerometers and gyroscope sensors are installed at several points. Then, a machine learning-based soft-sensor development is introduced. Besides noise filtering, each data point is resampled by spatial frequency to reduce the velocity dependence. Subsequently, a decision tree-based classification model is trained using features from the power spectrum and principal component analysis. The classification algorithm is validated and tested with measurement data in a real-world environment. In addition to reviewing the accuracy of the model, we examine the correlation of the data measured in the cabin and on the suspension to see how much additional information is provided by the sensor on the axle.