bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of functional exercise capacity, quality of life and respiratory and peripheral muscle strength between patients with stable angina and healthy controls
Authors: Huzmeli Irem , Ozer Aysel-Yildiz , Akkus Oguz , Katayıfcı Nihan , Sen Fatih , Yurdalan Saadet Ufuk , Polat Mine Gulden
Published: December 2020

Objective

We aimed to compare functional exercise capacity, respiratory and peripheral muscle strength, pulmonary function and quality of life between patients with stable angina and healthy controls.

Methods

We compared 33 patients with stable angina (55.21 ± 6.12 years old, Canada Class II–III, left ventricular ejection fraction: 61.92 ± 7.55) and 30 healthy controls (52.70 ± 4.22 years old). Functional capacity (6-minute walk test (6-MWT)), respiratory muscle strength (mouth pressure device), peripheral muscle strength (dynamometer), pulmonary function (spirometer) and quality of life (Short Form 36 (SF-36)) were evaluated.

Results

6-MWT distance (499.20 ± 51.91 m versus 633.05 ± 57.62 m), maximal inspiratory pressure (85.42 ± 20.52 cmH2O versus 110.44 ± 32.95 cmH2O), maximal expiratory pressure (83.33 ± 19.05 cmH2O versus 147.96 ± 54.80 cmH2O) and peripheral muscle strength, pulmonary function and SF-36 sub-scores were lower in the angina group versus the healthy controls, respectively.

Conclusion

Impaired peripheral and respiratory muscle strength, reduction in exercise capacity and quality of life are obvious in patients with stable angina. Therefore, these parameters should be considered in stable angina physiotherapy programmes to improve impairments.
‘Bharat Mata’ and ‘Ma Victoria’: Forms of Divine Motherhood in Colonial Bengal
Authors: Ghosh Sanmita
Published: December 2020

This article attempts to explore the cult of the ‘Bharat Mata’ that was born out of the patriotic fervour of Indian nationalist leaders who transformed their nationalist passion into an image of the nation as mother, and the widely promoted idea of Queen Victoria as a mother to her subjects in the nineteenth-century Bengal. The image of ‘Bharat Mata’ was conceived with the rising tide of nationalism in the nineteenth century, the impetus provided by the Bengali novelist Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Anandamath (1882). The image of Queen Victoria as a mother to her Indian subjects found its most emphatic projection in Bengali texts like Raja Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore’s poem Srimad-Victoria-Mahatmyam, The Greatness of the Empress Victoria: A Sanskrit Poem, Set to Music with English Translation (1897). Composed on the occasion of the completion of 60 years of Queen Victoria’s reign, the poem was a ‘humble offering of loyalty’ to the Queen-Empress, whose reign over India was glorified and regarded auspicious.

The article looks into the apparently contradictory nature of the worship of the feminine form as the ‘mother’ in a pre-independent nineteenth-century Bengal, through a consideration of texts like Anandamath, Srimad-Victoria-Mahatmyam and Girishchandra Ghosh’s play Hirak Jubilee (1897), among others. In this context, the article also takes into account the theoretical perspective of the cultural ‘Other’, inherent in a study involving the dynamics of colonial relations.
The Dynamics of Implicit Intergroup Biases of Victims and Ex-combatants in Post-conflict Scenarios
Authors: Baez Sandra , Trujillo Natalia , Hurtado Esteban , Ortiz-Ayala Alejandra , Calvache Monica Rodríguez , Quishpe Rafael Camilo , Ibanez Agustin
Published: December 2020

Strong group identities arise in intergroup conflict scenarios and perpetuate sectarian violence even in post-conflict scenarios. In particular, out-group negative implicit associations are predictors of decreased intergroup forgiveness, as well as increased distrust and aggression against the out-group. Thus, the presence of implicit intergroup (i.e., ex-combatants and victims) biases seems to be a relevant factor in post-conflict scenarios. Here, we aimed to explore whether negative biases toward the out-group are boosted by (a) previous exposure to conflict violence or (b) identification with an armed violent group. One hundred and twenty-eight participants, 65 ex-combatants from Colombian guerrillas and 63 victims of the armed conflict, were assessed with a modified version of the implicit association test (IAT). Our results revealed that the victim group showed a significant negative bias against ex-combatants. However, no bias toward the out-group (i.e., victims) or in-group favoritism was observed in the ex-combatant group. Similarly, we found that IAT scores were not associated with sociodemographical variables (i.e., sex, years of education, or type of dwelling), the levels of combat exposure, victimization armed-conflict-related experiences, or child abuse antecedents. Our results showed an unexpected lack of in-group bias in ex-combatants, potentially triggered by the effect of current demobilization and reintegration processes. Thus, negative associations with the out-group will persist in the framework of societal condemnation of the out-group. In contrast, these negative biases will tend to be abolished when entering in conflict with larger societal reintegration processes. The results reinforce the idea that reintegration may benefit from interventions at the societal level, including all actors of the conflict. In addition, our findings highlight the importance of implementing victim interventions aimed at reducing stigma and revengeful actions in spaces of collective disarmament.
Radial basis function neural network vibration control of a flexible planar parallel manipulator based on acceleration feedback
Authors: Yu Long-huan , Qiu Zhi-cheng , Zhang Xian-min
Published: December 2020

The self-excited vibration of flexible planar 3-RRR parallel manipulators is converted from the residual vibration after high-speed motion and is a resonance of the strongly coupled and nonlinear electromechanical system. This makes the active vibration control quite a challenging task. In this study, we attempt to adopt the radial basis function neural network control algorithm based on acceleration feedback for suppressing the self-excited vibration and guarantee its position accuracy. The stability of the controlled system is proved by the Lyapunov concept. Self-excited vibration control experiments are conducted near the singular region. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our adopted controller.
Could 30 years of political controversy on needle exchange programmes in Sweden contribute to scaling-up harm reduction services in the world?
Authors: Karlsson Niklas , Berglund Torsten , Ekström Anna Mia , Hammarberg Anders , Tammi Tuukka
Published: December 2020

Aims:

To end the hepatitis and AIDS epidemics in the world by 2030, countries are encouraged to scale-up harm reduction services and target people who inject drugs (PWID). Blood-borne viruses (BBV) among PWID spread via unsterile injection equipment sharing and to combat this, many countries have introduced needle and syringe exchange programmes (NEP), though not without controversy. Sweden’s long, complicated harm reduction policy transition has been deviant compared to the Nordic countries. After launch in 1986, no NEP were started in Sweden for 23 years, the reasons for which are analysed in this study.

Methods:

Policy documents, grey literature and research mainly published in 2000–2017 were collected and analysed using a hierarchical framework, to understand how continuous build-up of evidence, decisions and key events, over time influenced NEP development.

Results:

Sweden’s first NEP opened in a repressive-control drug policy era with a drug-free society goal. Despite high prevalence of BBV among PWID with recurring outbreaks, growing research and key-actor support including a NEP law, no NEP were launched. Political disagreements, fluctuating actor-coalitions, questioning of research, and a municipality veto against NEP, played critical roles. With an individual-centred perspective being brought into the drug policy domain, the manifestation of a dual drug and health policy track, a revised NEP law in 2017 and removal of the veto, Sweden would see fast expansion of new NEP.

Conclusions:

Lessons from the Swedish case could provide valuable insight for countries about to scale-up harm reduction services including how to circumvent costly time- and resource-intensive obstacles and processes involving ideological and individual moral dimensions.
Archive as Pedagogy: Oral History and a Journal of the Plague Year
Authors: Kelly Jason M. , Horan John
Published: December 2020

In March 2020, the COVID-19 Oral History Project, based at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), teamed up with A Journal of the Plague Year: An Archive of COVID-19 (JOTPY), based at Arizona State University to create and curate a series of oral histories focused on the lived experience of the pandemic. Among the results of this collaboration has been a focus on research-based pedagogy and learning for undergraduate students, graduate students, and the public at large. This pedagogical emphasis has both shaped the archive and has been shaped by the process of developing the archive.
Políticas públicas de promoción de salud en el contexto de la COVID-19, en Chile, una aproximación desde el análisis situacional
Authors: Ramírez-Pereira Mirliana , Pérez Abarca Ricardo , Machuca-Contreras Felipe
Published: December 2020

Introducción:

el 18 de octubre del 2019, Chile vivió el estallido social más grande desde el retorno a la democracia en 1988. En marzo se esperaba retomar con mayor fuerza las movilizaciones, pero con la confirmación del primer caso de COVID-19, el Gobierno de Chile inició una serie de medidas de tipo preventivo, diferentes a las definidas por otros países.

Metodología:

se presenta un análisis de las políticas públicas de promoción de salud adoptadas por Chile en el contexto de la COVID-19. Para esto se utiliza el análisis situacional de Adele Clarke, que incorpora la construcción de mapas situacionales, de mundos sociales y mapas de posición. Para efectos de esta investigación se construye el mapas situacional. Se incluye en el análisis documentos oficiales del Ministerio de Salud, discurso del Presidente de Chile, discursos del Ministerio de Salud.

Resultados:

las medidas adoptadas por el Gobierno de Chile incorporan alcances del tipo de cuarentenas parciales y controles sanitarios, estado de excepción constitucional, toque de queda, plan económico de emergencia, salud, educación, comercio, transporte, control de fronteras, eventos masivos, vacunación contra la influenza y adultos mayores.

Conclusiones:

según el análisis realizado, se observa un eje transversal de prioridades de medidas de tipo económico, con todas las implicancias sanitarias, sociales y políticas que se derivan.
Building height distribution under zoning regulations: Theoretical derivation based on allometric scaling analysis and application to harmonise building heights
Authors: Usui Hiroyuki
Published: December 2020

Building height is one of the most important determinants of streetscapes. According to zoning regulations in countries such as Japan, building heights are indirectly controlled by the floor area ratio (FAR). The maximum FAR and the building coverage ratio (BCR) represent the main tools of zoning regulations, which legally regulate building shapes and volumes based on plot sizes at the district scale. If plot sizes and shapes are uniform due to zoning regulations, uniform building shapes (both their plane shapes and heights) may emerge. However, in Japan, plot sizes and shapes are not only non-uniform but irregular. Furthermore, the plot is a conceptually and analytically ambiguous concept and data regarding plot shapes and building heights are unavailable. Therefore, it is difficult to understand the relationship between variations in building heights and zoning regulations. These issues prompt the following research question: How can we estimate building height distribution under zoning regulations at the district scale? To answer this question, plot shapes are objectively defined as area Voronoi cells whose generators are building polygons and road networks. Then, the following two analyses are carried out in downtown districts of the Tokyo metropolitan region. First, the relationship between plot sizes, BCR and building heights is analysed. It is found that building heights scale sub-linearly to plot sizes. Second, following this relationship, the probability density function of building heights under zoning regulations is theoretically derived as a log-normal distribution, primarily estimated from building density, road network density, average road width, BCR and FAR. This is compared with the empirical distribution of discretised building heights and the difference is investigated. Furthermore, how to harmonise variations in building heights is discussed by considering their opportunities and external costs. These findings are expected to provide urban planners with a theoretical basis for creating harmonious streetscapes.
Advances in Nutritional Epigenetics—A Fresh Perspective for an Old Idea. Lessons Learned, Limitations, and Future Directions
Authors: Sedley Lynda
Published: December 2020

Nutritional epigenetics is a rapidly expanding field of research, and the natural modulation of the genome is a non-invasive, sustainable, and personalized alternative to gene-editing for chronic disease management. Genetic differences and epigenetic inflexibility resulting in abnormal gene expression, differential or aberrant methylation patterns account for the vast majority of diseases. The expanding understanding of biological evolution and the environmental influence on epigenetics and natural selection requires relearning of once thought to be well-understood concepts. This research explores the potential for natural modulation by the less understood epigenetic modifications such as ubiquitination, nitrosylation, glycosylation, phosphorylation, and serotonylation concluding that the under-appreciated acetylation and mitochondrial dependant downstream epigenetic post-translational modifications may be the pinnacle of the epigenomic hierarchy, essential for optimal health, including sustainable cellular energy production. With an emphasis on lessons learned, this conceptional exploration provides a fresh perspective on methylation, demonstrating how increases in environmental methane drive an evolutionary down regulation of endogenous methyl groups synthesis and demonstrates how epigenetic mechanisms are cell-specific, making supplementation with methyl cofactors throughout differentiation unpredictable. Interference with the epigenomic hierarchy may result in epigenetic inflexibility, symptom relief and disease concomitantly and may be responsible for the increased incidence of neurological disease such as autism spectrum disorder.
The societal costs of problem gambling in Sweden
Authors: Hofmarcher T. , Romild U. , Spångberg J. , Persson U. , Håkansson A.
Published: December 2020

Background

Problem gambling is a public health issue affecting both the gamblers, their families, their employers, and society as a whole. Recent law changes in Sweden oblige local and regional health authorities to invest more in prevention and treatment of problem gambling. The economic consequences of gambling, and thereby the potential economic consequences of policy changes in the area, are unknown, as the cost of problem gambling to society has remained largely unexplored in Sweden and similar settings.

Methods

A prevalence-based cost-of-illness study for Sweden for the year 2018 was conducted. A societal approach was chosen in order to include direct costs (such as health care and legal costs), indirect costs (such as lost productivity due to unemployment), and intangible costs (such as reduced quality of life due to emotional distress). Costs were estimated by combining epidemiological and unit cost data.

Results

The societal costs of problem gambling amounted to 1.42 billion euros in 2018, corresponding to 0.30% of the gross domestic product. Direct costs accounted only for 13% of the total costs. Indirect costs accounted for more than half (59%) of the total costs, while intangible costs accounted for 28%. The societal costs were more than twice as high as the tax revenue from gambling in 2018. Direct and indirect costs of problem gambling combined amounted to one third of the equivalent costs of smoking and one sixth of the costs of alcohol consumption in Sweden.

Conclusions

Problem gambling is increasingly recognized as a public health issue. The societal costs of it are not negligible, also in relation to major public health issues of an addictive nature such as smoking and alcohol consumption. Direct costs for prevention and treatment are very low. A stronger focus on prevention and treatment might help to reduce many of the very high indirect and intangible costs in the future.
Inertial sensor-based gait parameters reflect patient-reported fatigue in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Ibrahim Alzhraa A. , Küderle Arne , Gaßner Heiko , Klucken Jochen , Eskofier Bjoern M. , Kluge Felix
Published: December 2020

Background

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disabling disease affecting the central nervous system and consequently the whole body’s functional systems resulting in different gait disorders. Fatigue is the most common symptom in MS with a prevalence of 80%. Previous research studied the relation between fatigue and gait impairment using stationary gait analysis systems and short gait tests (e.g. timed 25 ft walk). However, wearable inertial sensors providing gait data from longer and continuous gait bouts have not been used to assess the relation between fatigue and gait parameters in MS. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between fatigue and spatio-temporal gait parameters extracted from wearable foot-worn sensors and to predict the degree of fatigue.

Methods

Forty-nine patients with MS (32 women; 17 men; aged 41.6 years, EDSS 1.0–6.5) were included where each participant was equipped with a small Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) on each foot. Spatio-temporal gait parameters were obtained from the 6-min walking test, and the Borg scale of perceived exertion was used to represent fatigue. Gait parameters were normalized by taking the difference of averaged gait parameters between the beginning and end of the test to eliminate inter-individual differences. Afterwards, normalized parameters were transformed to principle components that were used as input to a Random Forest regression model to formulate the relationship between gait parameters and fatigue.

Results

Six principal components were used as input to our model explaining more than 90% of variance within our dataset. Random Forest regression was used to predict fatigue. The model was validated using 10-fold cross validation and the mean absolute error was 1.38 points. Principal components consisting mainly of stride time, maximum toe clearance, heel strike angle, and stride length had large contributions (67%) to the predictions made by the Random Forest.

Conclusions

The level of fatigue can be predicted based on spatio-temporal gait parameters obtained from an IMU based system. The results can help therapists to monitor fatigue before and after treatment and in rehabilitation programs to evaluate their efficacy. Furthermore, this can be used in home monitoring scenarios where therapists can monitor fatigue using IMUs reducing time and effort of patients and therapists.
Diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection in HHT patients: nasopharyngeal versus oropharyngeal swab
Authors: Pagella Fabio , Lizzio Roberta , Ugolini Sara , Spinozzi Giuseppe , Maiorano Eugenia , Suppressa Patrizia , Sabbà Carlo , Matti Elina
Published: December 2020

On March 11, 2020, WHO has defined the novel coronavirus disease SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic that still today continues to affect much of the world. Among the reasons for the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, there is the role of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic carriers. Therefore diagnostic testing is central to contain the global pandemic. Up to now real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction-based molecular assays for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory specimens is the current reference standard for COVID-19 diagnosis. Based on current knowledge regarding the sensitivity of the molecular test, the highest positive detection rate is from lower respiratory tract specimens; alternatively it is possible to perform a nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab. Nasopharyngeal swab is the preferred choice for SARS-CoV-2 testing since it seems to have a greater sensitivity; however the procedure is not always free of complications and an epistaxis can occur. Among patients with greatest risk of massive nosebleed there are HHT patients. Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia is an autosomal dominant disease that leads to multiregional mucocutanous telangiectases and visceral arteriovenous malformations. Clinically, the presence of telangiectases in nasal mucosa is the cause of recurrent epistaxis. In HHT patients the execution of the nasopharyngeal swab can determine from little or no consequences to a massive epistaxis leading to the necessity of nasal packing generally followed by hospital admission. In HHT patients undergoing a diagnostic test to evaluate the SARS-CoV-2 infection status, especially in those patients with frequent epistaxis with a history of anemia and repeated hospitalizations, it is therefore advisable to perform an oropharyngeal swab. This, compared to the nasopharyngeal swab, exposes to a lower risk of severe nosebleeds related treatments, such as blood transfusions or invasive procedures. According to the risk-benefit assessment and based on our experience, we consider that, despite a lower diagnostic sensitivity, oropharyngeal swab is preferable to nasopharyngeal swab for the diagnosis of SARS CoV-2 infection in patients with HHT.
Metabolic substrate utilization in stress-induced immune cells
Authors: Zhang Xiaomin , Zink Fabian , Hezel Felix , Vogt Josef , Wachter Ulrich , Wepler Martin , Loconte Maurizio , Kranz Christine , Hellmann Andreas , Mizaikoff Boris , Radermacher Peter , Hartmann Clair
Published: December 2020

Immune cell activation leads to the acquisition of new functions, such as proliferation, chemotaxis, and cytokine production. These functional changes require continuous metabolic adaption in order to sustain ATP homeostasis for sufficient host defense. The bioenergetic demands are usually met by the interconnected metabolic pathways glycolysis, TCA cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. Apart from glucose, other sources, such as fatty acids and glutamine, are able to fuel the TCA cycle.

Rising evidence has shown that cellular metabolism has a direct effect on the regulation of immune cell functions. Thus, quiescent immune cells maintain a basal metabolic state, which shifts to an accelerated metabolic level upon immune cell activation in order to promote key effector functions.

This review article summarizes distinct metabolic signatures of key immune cell subsets from quiescence to activation and demonstrates a methodical concept of how to assess cellular metabolic pathways. It further discusses why metabolic functions are of rising interest for translational research and how they can be affected by the underlying pathophysiological condition and/or therapeutic interventions.
Fluids in ARDS: more pros than cons
Authors: Mendes Renata de S. , Pelosi Paolo , Schultz Marcus J. , Rocco Patricia R. M. , Silva Pedro L.
Published: December 2020

In acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), increased pulmonary vascular permeability makes the lung vulnerable to edema. The use of conservative as compared to liberal fluid strategies may increase the number of ventilator-free days and survival, as well as reduce organ dysfunction. Monitoring the effects of fluid administration is of the utmost importance; dynamic indexes, such as stroke volume and pulse pressure variations, outperform static ones, such as the central venous pressure. The passive leg raise and end-expiratory occlusion tests are recommended for guiding fluid management decisions. The type of intravenous fluids should also be taken into consideration: crystalloids, colloids, and human albumin have all been used for fluid resuscitation. Recent studies have also shown differences in outcome between balanced and non-balanced intravenous solutions. In preclinical studies, infusion of albumin promotes maintenance of the glycocalyx layer, reduces inflammation, and improves alveolar-capillary membrane permeability. Fluids in ARDS must be administered cautiously, considering hemodynamic and perfusion status, oncotic and hydrostatic pressures, ARDS severity, fluid type, volume and infusion rate, and cardiac and renal function. Of note, no guideline to date has recommended a specific fluid composition for use in ARDS; most physicians currently follow recommendations for sepsis.
H2S in acute lung injury: a therapeutic dead end(?)
Authors: Merz Tamara , Denoix Nicole , Wepler Martin , Gäßler Holger , Messerer David A. C. , Hartmann Clair , Datzmann Thomas , Radermacher Peter , McCook Oscar
Published: December 2020

This review addresses the plausibility of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) therapy for acute lung injury (ALI) and circulatory shock, by contrasting the promising preclinical results to the present clinical reality. The review discusses how the narrow therapeutic window and width, and potentially toxic effects, the route, dosing, and timing of administration all have to be balanced out very carefully. The development of standardized methods to determine in vitro and in vivo H2S concentrations, and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of H2S-releasing compounds is a necessity to facilitate the safety of H2S-based therapies. We suggest the potential of exploiting already clinically approved compounds, which are known or unknown H2S donors, as a surrogate strategy.
Clinical and psychological phenomenology of pain in autoinflammatory diseases
Authors: Mulazzani Elisabeth , Zolyniak Nicole , Noe Elisabeth , Mulazzani Matthias , Azad Shahnaz Christina , Kümpfel Tania , Kraft Eduard
Published: December 2020

Background

Pain is the clinical hallmark of patients in patients with autoinflammatory diseases (AID) caused by variants of the NLRP3-, MEFV- or TNFRSF1A gene. However, no systematical analysis of the clinical and psychological presentation of pain has been performed to date.

Methods

Twenty-one symptomatic patients with variants in the NLRP3-, MEFV- and TNFRSF1A gene and clinical signs suggestive of an AID were retrospectively included in this monocentric cross-sectional case-series study. Patients were examined and interviewed using the German pain questionnaire. The hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) was applied to screen patients for anxiety and depression.

Results

Twenty out of 21 AID patients (95%) reported pain at the time of examination. Mean current pain intensity in all AID patients comprised 3.6 ± 1.3 and mean maximum pain intensity was 7.0 ± 1.6 on a 11-point numeric ranging scale (NRS). In 15 patients (71%), pain was present for more than 60 months. Ten patients (48%) experienced recurrent attacks with asymptomatic intervals and 7 patients (33%) suffered from constant pain, while 4 patients (19%) experienced both. Nociceptive pain including musculoskeletal and visceral affection was the most prominent type of pain (n = 20; 95%). Pain symptoms were treated continuously with analgesic or co-analgesic drugs in 10 patients (48%). Five patients (24%) have been positively screened for concomitant depression or anxiety.

Conclusions

Early and prompt diagnosis is necessary to provide multimodal pain treatment and to avoid the development of chronic pain in patients with AID.
Critical slowing down indicators
Authors: Nazarimehr Fahimeh , Jafari Sajad , Perc Matjaž , Sprott Julien C.
Published: December 2020

Critical slowing down is considered to be an important indicator for predicting critical transitions in dynamical systems. Researchers have used it prolifically in the fields of ecology, biology, sociology, and finance. When a system approaches a critical transition or a tipping point, it returns more slowly to its stable attractor under small perturbations. The return time to the stable state can thus be used as an index, which shows whether a critical change is near or not. Based on this phenomenon, many methods have been proposed to determine tipping points, especially in biological and social systems, for example, related to epidemic spreading, cardiac arrhythmias, or even population collapse. In this perspective, we briefly review past research dedicated to critical slowing down indicators and associated tipping points, and we outline promising directions for future research.
Scapular Block: An Innovative Procedure-Specific Regional Anesthesia Technique for Scapula Surgery—A Case Report
Authors: Sonawane Kartik , Balavenkatasubramanian Jagannathan , Dixit Hrudini , Tayi Harshitha , Goel Vipin Kumar
Published: December 2020

A 40-year-old healthy male patient underwent open reduction and internal fixation with screws and plate for a comminuted fracture of the right scapula under ultrasound-guided “scapular block” with optimal sedation. We coined the term “scapular block” for an innovative combination of previously described regional anesthesia techniques to cover all dermatomes, myotomes, and osteotomes involved in scapula surgery. It is a combination of 5 target blocks (selective superior trunk block, selective supraclavicular nerve block, subclavian perivascular block, suprascapular nerve block, and erector spinae plane block) via 3 approaches (interscalene, supraclavicular, and paraspinal).
The Precarious Work of Care
Authors: Faue Elizabeth , Rector Josiah
Published: December 2020

This article examines a series of Service Employees’ International Union (SEIU) campaigns for protection from needlestick injuries, led by women health-care workers, from the dawn of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s through battles over the 1992 OSHA standard on blood-borne pathogens and the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000. We argue that these campaigns developed in response to the growing physical precarity of women health-care workers in the era of “managed care,” caused by the intensification and flexibilization of health-care labor and the deregulation and underfunding of OSHA and the CDC. We show how women workers challenged employers, OSHA, and elected federal officials to address workplace health hazards, through unions like SEIU and women’s, gay rights, and public health organizations. More broadly, we argue that the occupational hazards of health-care workers are a crucial but underexplored facet of workplace studies and the history of women workers in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
Association of herd management with the infestation of ticks in domestic goats
Authors: SAJID M.S. , RIZWAN H.M. , KHAN M.K. , QUDOOS A. , ATIF F.A. , MALIK M.A. , MAQBOOL M.
Published: December 2020

Three-stage cluster random sampling was done for determination of the association of herd management with the prevalence of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestation in goats (Capra hircus) in southern Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 136 nomadic goat herds and settled farms were screened for ticks and related information like nature of herds, herd size, farming pattern, animal keeping, housing, floor pattern and hygienic measures and documented on a pre-structured questionnaire. In addition, participatory epidemiological tools were used to document trends of consultancy and therapy, choice of drugs and therapeutic approaches. A significant tick infestation (56.30%) was found in all the settled farms or nomadic herds irrespective of the herd size; however, herds having 40-60 goats showed highest infestation. Among 109 (80.1%) settled farms and 27 (19.8%) nomadic herds, highest infestation was found in nomadic herds. No significant association of tick infestation was found with the goat herds reared with large ruminants or separately. Association of tick infestation with goat herds reared in closed housing system was found to be significantly higher as compared to partially-closed or open. Tethered goats showed significantly higher rate of tick infestation than free living. Uncemented (Kacha) floor was a higher risk factor for tick infestation as compared to cemented and bricked. The goats of the settled farms were more prone to tick infestation whose owner neglected the tick infestation, consulted with quacks, used ethnoveterinary medicine and petroleum for control of ticks. The findings of present study will be helpful in devising appropriate extension services for the control of tick infestation in the selected region in specific and in resource-poor countries with similar livestock husbandry systems, in general.
Whole issue
Authors: Εταιρεία Ελληνική Κτηνιατρική
Published: December 2020

NO ABSTRACT AVAILABLE
Local social policies: Between specialization and fragmentation
Authors: Skamnakis Christoforos , Kostas Antonios
Published: December 2020

no abstract
Ontologies relevant to behaviour change interventions: a method for their development
Authors: Wright Alison J. , Norris Emma , Finnerty Ailbhe N. , Marques Marta M. , Johnston Marie , Kelly Michael P. , Hastings Janna , West Robert , Michie Susan
Published: December 2020

Background: Behaviour and behaviour change are integral to many aspects of wellbeing and sustainability. However, reporting behaviour change interventions accurately and synthesising evidence about effective interventions is hindered by lacking a shared, scientific terminology to describe intervention characteristics. Ontologies are standardised frameworks that provide controlled vocabularies to help unify and connect scientific fields. To date, there is no published guidance on the specific methods required to develop ontologies relevant to behaviour change. We report the creation and refinement of a method for developing ontologies that make up the Behaviour Change Intervention Ontology (BCIO).

Aims: (1) To describe the development method of the BCIO and explain its rationale; (2) To provide guidance on implementing the activities within the development method.

Method and results: The method for developing ontologies relevant to behaviour change interventions was constructed by considering principles of good practice in ontology development and identifying key activities required to follow those principles. The method’s details were refined through application to developing two ontologies. The resulting ontology development method involved: (1) defining the ontology’s scope; (2) identifying key entities; (3) refining the ontology through an iterative process of literature annotation, discussion and revision; (4) expert stakeholder review; (5) testing inter-rater reliability; (6) specifying relationships between entities, and; (7) disseminating and maintaining the ontology. Guidance is provided for conducting relevant activities for each step. 

Conclusions: We have developed a detailed method for creating ontologies relevant to behaviour change interventions, together with practical guidance for each step, reflecting principles of good practice in ontology development. The most novel aspects of the method are the use of formal mechanisms for literature annotation and expert stakeholder review to develop and improve the ontology content. We suggest the mnemonic SELAR3, representing the method’s first six steps as Scope, Entities, Literature Annotation, Review, Reliability, Relationships.
Knowledge Learning of Insurance Risks Using Dependence Models
Authors: Zhao Zifeng , Shi Peng , Feng Xiaoping
Published: December 2020

Learning the customers’ experience and behavior creates competitive advantages for any company over its rivals. The insurance industry is an essential sector in any developed economy and a better understanding of customers’ risk profile is critical to decision making in all aspects of insurance operations. In this paper, we explore the idea of using copula-based dependence models to learn the hidden risk of policyholders in property insurance. Specifically, we build a novel copula model to accommodate the dependence over time and over space among spatially clustered property risks. To tackle the computational challenge caused by the discreteness feature of large-scale insurance data, we propose an efficient multilevel composite likelihood approach for parameter estimation. Provided that latent risk induces correlation, the proposed customer learning method offers improved predictive analytics by allowing insurers to borrow strength from related risks in predicting new risks and also helps reveal the relative importance of the multiple sources of unobserved heterogeneity in updating policyholders’ risk profile. In the empirical study, we examine the loss cost of a portfolio of entities insured by a government property insurance program in Wisconsin. We find both significant temporal and spatial association among property risks. However, their effects on the predictive distribution of loss cost are different for the new and renewal policyholders. The two sources of dependence are complements for the former and substitutes for the latter. These findings are shown to have substantial managerial implications in key insurance operations such as experience rating, capital allocation, and reinsurance arrangement.
O percurso do vocábulo profeta na dicionarística de língua portuguesa
Authors: Lopes Thiago Wallace Rodrigues dos Santos
Published: December 2020

O presente trabalho buscou estudar o percurso da palavra profeta na tradição dicionarística da língua portuguesa. Para esse fim, buscamos tratar questões relacionadas à ciência lexicográfica, ou lexicografia, e à lexicologia, para entendermos como as ciências do léxico se desenvolveram em Portugal e no Brasil. Em seguida, apresentamos um relato acerca da história dos dicionários e apresentamos os percursos deles na história de Portugal e na do Brasil, nesse ponto, buscamos apresentar algumas das diferenças, que podem ser observadas, entre a lexicografia dos dois países. Para finalizar, escolhemos olhar o vocábulo profeta a partir da visão de quatro importantes obras à ciência lexicográfica do português e são eles: o Vocabulário do padre Rafael Bluteau (1728), o Dicionário de Caldas Aulete (1881), o Dicionário Etimológico de Antenor Nascentes (1955) e o Grande Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa do filólogo Antônio Houaiss e do lexicógrafo Mauro de Salles Villar (2009). Após a escolha dos dicionários fizemos a análise da entrada para o verbete em cada um desses dicionários e por fim apresentamos as nossas considerações finas.
IMPLICAÇÕES DO CONTEXTO DIGITAL NO ENSINO DE LÍNGUAS ADICIONAIS NA ERA DA CIBERCULTURA
Authors: Morbach Aline Almira , Tischer Seraglio Maruana Kássia
Published: December 2020

Observando o contexto cibercultural no qual vivemos nos dias atuais, a presente pesquisa visa discutir as implicações do contexto digital no ensino de línguas adicionais para adolescentes, buscando um melhor entendimento acerca da influência dos recursos digitais no processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Para tanto, analisou-se o discurso de professores de línguas adicionais, com foco no público adolescente, de escolas públicas e privadas e de idiomas, utilizando-se o aporte metodológico da Análise de Discurso. As análises demonstraram que professores de línguas adicionais encontram-se adaptados à utilização de recursos digitais em aula, vendo-a como benéfica e favorável ao aprendizado da língua-alvo. Além disso, verificou-se que grande parte dos professores estimula o uso de recursos digitais com foco educacional extra-classe.
A oclusiva glotal e outros gestos laríngeos na produção de falantes de inglês como L1 e L2
Authors: Dos Santos Monteiro Duarte Mariane , Silva Jr. Leônidas
Published: December 2020

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a produção da oclusiva glotal [ʔ] em substituição da oclusiva alveolar /t/ por falantes de inglês como L1 e L2, por exemplo “cotton” (algodão), podendo ser produzida como co[t]on ou co[ʔ]on. Nossa Fundamentação teórica se baseia em estudos como os de Lima-Gregio (2011) e Garellek (2015) sobre processos acústico-articulatórios da oclusiva glotal e gestos laríngeos e em Balas (2012) sobre sua produção em inglês/L2. Na Metodologia, coletamos dados de dois grupos: falantes de inglês/L1 e L2 através de leitura de texto e enunciados. Nossos resultados apontam que a produção da oclusiva glotal é bastante recorrente entre nativos de inglês e significativamente menor pelos falantes brasileiros. Ademais, nos deparamos com outros gestos fonéticos para ambos os grupos: laringalização e reforço glotal e, apenas para os brasileiros, o apagamento da oclusiva alveolar.
Jogos de computador como estratégia de ensino de vocabulário de língua inglesa
Authors: Zanoni da Silva Ana Maria
Published: December 2020

Este trabalho demonstra os resultados de uma pesquisa realizada com alunos do quarto ano do ensino fundamental da escola Municipal Vicente de Paula, localizada em Frutal/MG, cujo objetivo foi trabalhar a aquisição de vocabulário em língua inglesa por meio de jogos de computador disponíveis na internet. Com base nos critérios de interação entre o aluno, o computador e o jogo, conteúdo lexical, visibilidade da ação e  autocorreção, optou-se pelos jogos: Word Surch; Memory game,  Number Race. Os resultados mostram criação de contextos significativos nos quais houve a aproximação do aluno com uso concreto do idioma, a reflexão sobre o sistema alfabético e a correspondência grafo-fônica e o exercício das habilidade de listening, writing e speaking de forma prazerosa e reflexiva.
Phase retrieval from the FTIR transmittance spectrum of thick materials with anchoring points in THz-TDS measurement
Authors: Cao Lei , Yin Zhengya , Xia Huiting
Published: December 2020

Extraction of the refractive index for optically thick and low-loss materials with a single Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) transmittance spectrum becomes difficult with the conventional root-finding method at THz frequencies. A phase-retrieval method was proposed based on Kramers-Kronig (K-K) relations with anchoring points from independently measured transmission data in THz-TDS. Two approaches, i.e., multiply subtractive K-K relations and fast Fourier transform, were utilized to successfully obtain the phase spectrum for 3.52 mm TPX and 1.08 mm crystal quartz with two and three anchoring points, respectively. The results agree with the phase from TDS in the overlapped frequency range from 1.5 to 4.5 THz. An iterative optimization algorithm was finally employed to extract the refractive index of the two materials with amplitude and retrieved the phase spectrum of the transmitted signal within the FTIR measured frequency range.
Time-frequency analysis of high harmonic generation using a probe XUV pulse
Authors: Sarantseva T. S. , Silaev A. A. , Romanov A. A. , Vvedenskii N. V. , Frolov M. V.
Published: December 2020

Interpretation of strong-field phenomena is mostly based on the analysis of classical electron trajectories in an intense laser field, whose specific properties determine general features of nonlinear laser-matter interaction. Currently, the visualization of closed electron trajectories contributing to high harmonic generation (HHG) of the laser field is the prerogative of a theoretical analysis based on the time-frequency spectrogram of the induced dipole acceleration. Here, we propose a method for direct reconstruction of the HHG time-frequency spectrogram using a time-delayed probe XUV pulse. Our analytical theory and ab initio numerical simulations demonstrate that the XUV-assisted HHG yield as a function of time delay and harmonic energy mimics the short-time Fourier transform of the dipole acceleration induced by the laser field, thereby providing possible in-situ experimental access for tracing electron dynamics in strong-field phenomena.
Context-specific network modeling identifies new crosstalk in β-adrenergic cardiac hypertrophy
Authors: Khalilimeybodi Ali , Paap Alexander M. , Christiansen Steven L. M. , Saucerman Jeffrey J.
Published: December 2020

Cardiac hypertrophy is a context-dependent phenomenon wherein a myriad of biochemical and biomechanical factors regulate myocardial growth through a complex large-scale signaling network. Although numerous studies have investigated hypertrophic signaling pathways, less is known about hypertrophy signaling as a whole network and how this network acts in a context-dependent manner. Here, we developed a systematic approach, CLASSED (Context-specific Logic-bASed Signaling nEtwork Development), to revise a large-scale signaling model based on context-specific data and identify main reactions and new crosstalks regulating context-specific response. CLASSED involves four sequential stages with an automated validation module as a core which builds a logic-based ODE model from the interaction graph and outputs the model validation percent. The context-specific model is developed by estimation of default parameters, classified qualitative validation, hybrid Morris-Sobol global sensitivity analysis, and discovery of missing context-dependent crosstalks. Applying this pipeline to our prior-knowledge hypertrophy network with context-specific data revealed key signaling reactions which distinctly regulate cell response to isoproterenol, phenylephrine, angiotensin II and stretch. Furthermore, with CLASSED we developed a context-specific model of β-adrenergic cardiac hypertrophy. The model predicted new crosstalks between calcium/calmodulin-dependent pathways and upstream signaling of Ras in the ISO-specific context. Experiments in cardiomyocytes validated the model’s predictions on the role of CaMKII-Gβγ and CaN-Gβγ interactions in mediating hypertrophic signals in ISO-specific context and revealed a difference in the phosphorylation magnitude and translocation of ERK1/2 between cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts. CLASSED is a systematic approach for developing context-specific large-scale signaling networks, yielding insights into new-found crosstalks in β-adrenergic cardiac hypertrophy.
FGF signaling mediates definitive endoderm formation by regulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and cell proliferation
Authors: Li Shengbiao , Huang Qingsong , Mao Jianwen , LI Qiuhong
Published: December 2020

FGF signaling pathway is imperative for definitive endoderm (DE) differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), which always accompanies an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. However, whether there is an association between FGF signaling and the EMT during DE formation in vitro has remained elusive. In the present study, we identify that several FGF family members were significantly activated during the differentiation of hESCs toward DE. Inhibition of FGF signaling by an efficient and selective inhibitor BGJ398 abolishes both the EMT and DE induction by blocking the activation of the zinc-finger transcription factor SNAI1 which is a direct transcriptional repressor of cell adhesion protein CDH1. In addition, cell proliferation is also severely influenced by attenuating the FGF signaling. Collectively, we propose that the FGF signaling promotes the DE formation through mediating the EMT and cell proliferation.