bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Adherence to ADA Type II Diabetes Mellitus Guidelines: Implications for Longevity
Authors: Yashkin Arseniy , Akushevich Igor , Yashin Anatoliy
Published: December 2020

The aim of this study was to identify the differences in terms of demographics, socioeconomic status and overall levels of morbidity-related health burden between population strata characterized by high levels of adherence to American Diabetes Association screening guidelines and their low-adherence counterparts. Factor analysis was used to create a single continuous measure of adherence which was stratified and analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model to identify adherence levels associated with protective effects for mortality. Based on the results, the entire population of Health and Retirement Study respondents newly diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, type II was then stratified into four levels of adherence – excellent, sufficient, insufficient, poor – based on the strength of the protective effect associated with that level of the adherence factor and compared. Mortality in the group associated with excellent adherence was 41 to 57 percentage points lower than among their counterparts. High levels of adherence were associated with White and Hispanic race, low morbidity burden, high education and economic status, and low levels of functioning limitations. Based on race-specific survival function estimates we found that the life expectancy at age 65 of an individual newly diagnosed with type II diabetes mellitus could be improved from 14.97 to 19.64 years for whites, 13.36 to 19.58 years for African Americans and 14.92 to 21.28 for Hispanics if average adherence levels are increased to the highest levels observed in our study. Finally, we found that adherence levels were improving over the 1991-2015 period suggesting successful diabetes awareness efforts.
Menopause Symptom Experience and Perceived Well-Being Among HIV Positive and Negative Older Women in Ibadan, Nigeria
Authors: Omobowale Olubukola , Adesina Olubukola
Published: December 2020

Globally, people are living longer with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and older individuals are becoming infected. Menopause symptoms affect women’s health and are associated with perceived declines in wellbeing. This study assessed and compared the menopause symptom experience and perceived wellbeing among HIV positive and negative older women in Ibadan Nigeria Focus group discussions were conducted among menopausal women attending the ARV and GOP clinics at the University College Hospital Ibadan. Opinions of discussants on knowledge and experience of menopausal symptoms, perceptions about the menopause and perceived health status were explored. A total of 90 HIV positive and 92 HIV negative women aged between 40 to 60 years were sampled. Knowledge of the cause of menopause was poor, with more HIV positive women opining that sexual promiscuity causes menopause. The majority of the discussants had adequate knowledge of menopausal symptoms with most of them reporting vasomotor and musculoskeletal symptoms. In both groups, perceptions about the menopause were generally positive as most of them opined that the menopause means freedom from sexual activity and child birth. More HIV negative women perceived themselves to be in good health compared to HIV positive women. Menopause induces many of the same metabolic changes that are being observed with HIV infection, and this may affect the health and quality of life of aging women with HIV infection. There’s a need for health education and health promoting interventions that will help these women in coping with the double burden of HIV infection and menopause.
Postmenopausal Bilateral Oophorectomy Is Associated With an Increased Risk of Restless Leg Syndrome
Authors: Huo Nan , Smith Carin , Rocca Liliana Gazzuola , Mielke Michelle , Rocca Walter A
Published: December 2020

Restless legs syndrome (RLS), a common neurologic disorder, is more prevalent in women than in men. Evidence indicates the potential role of female hormones in the pathophysiology of RLS. However, few studies have examined the relationship between premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy (BSO) and the risk of RLS. The Mayo Clinic Cohort Study of Oophorectomy and Aging-2 (MOA-2) includes all women residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, who underwent premenopausal BSO before the age of 50 years for a non-cancer reason between 1988 and 2007 (n=1,653). In addition, 1,653 age-matched (± 1 year) referent women who did not undergo BSO prior to index-date were included. Survival analyses were used to examine the association between BSO and risk of RLS (defined by DSM-IV criteria) after adjustments using inverse probability weighting. The median (IQR) age at index-date was 40.0 (40.0-47.0) years for the BSO and 40.0 (40.0-47.0) for the non-BSO cohorts. Women who underwent BSO before menopause had a higher risk of RLS (HR,1.47; 95% CI, 1.08-2.01). In addition, women who underwent BSO before 46 years (HR:1.53, 95% CI, 1.03-2.28) or received BSO without benign ovarian indications (e.g., cysts, endometriosis, HR: 1.69, 95% CI, 1.11-2.56) were at greater risk of RLS. Estrogen use after BSO did not affect the risk of RLS. Premenopausal women who underwent BSO had an increased risk of RLS, especially those younger than 46 years and without benign medical indication. Women considering BSO for ovarian cancer prevention should be informed of the increased risk of neurological disorder including RLS.
Effects of a Fall Prevention Program on Fall Risks, Fear of Falling, and Depression in Older Active Adults
Authors: Karnes James , Bates Victoria , Chafin Ashley , Fisher Sarah , Gilmore Kelcie , Pack Kelsey
Published: December 2020

Falls are the leading cause of injury in older adults; one in four older adults fall each year. The Otago Exercise Program (OEP) is an evidence-based fall prevention program that has been shown to reduce fall risk factors. However, exercise dosage is not known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of different frequencies of an OEP-based program on fall risk factors, fear of falling, and depression in older adults. Of 62 subjects initially recruited at community centers, 28 subjects met inclusion criteria and were assigned to control (Con), once-weekly (Grp 1), or twice-weekly (Grp 2) intervention groups based on subject attendance. Intervention consisted of a 12-week OEP-based program. Pre-intervention dependent variables included: 4-Stage Balance Test, 30-Second Chair Stand, Timed Up and Go (TUG), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and Modified Fall Efficacy Scale (MFES). After 12 weeks, post-intervention testing assessed changes in these variables. Preliminary analysis of data using mixed design ANOVA (p.05) indicated significant changes between and within all groups for TUG and 30-Second Chair Stand. Results also suggested all groups improved on all variables with a direct relationship to exercise frequency. Furthermore, Grp2 improved more than Grp1 and Con in the 4-Stage Balance Test. These findings suggest an OEP-based falls prevention program performed 2x/week is more beneficial in decreasing fall risks and increasing lower extremity muscle strength than 1x/week. Moreover, results imply exercise frequency may be important in improving the magnitude of select falls risks variables.
Apolipoprotein E Genotype and the Relationship Between Chitinase 3–Like Protein 1 and Postoperative Delirium
Authors: Vasunilashorn Sarinnapha , Ngo Long , Inouye Sharon , Fong Tamara , Jones Richard , Dillon Simon , Libermann Towia , Marcantonio Edward
Published: December 2020

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 does not confer increased risk of delirium in older surgical patients; however, ɛ4 status modifies the relationship of C-reactive protein (CRP) with delirium: increased risk for delirium in ɛ4 carriers with high CRP. We examine whether APOE genotype modifies the established association between inflammatory marker chitinase-3-like protein-1 (CHI3LI/YKL-40) and delirium in patients without dementia age≥70 undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. We performed APOE genotyping using PCR, considering APOE ɛ4 vs. non-ɛ4 carriers. Plasma YKL-40, measured on postoperative day 2 by ELISA, was examined using sample-based quartiles (Q1-Q4). Delirium status was determined with daily interviews rating the Confusion Assessment Method, augmented by a validated chart review. We used generalized linear models adjusted for age, sex, surgery type, and stratified by APOE ɛ4 status. Among the 557 patients, 19% were APOE ɛ4 carriers, and 24% developed postoperative delirium. The YKL-40-delirium relationship differed by APOE status. Among APOE non-ɛ4 carriers, we found a significant relationship between YKL-40 and delirium (relative risk [RR](95% confidence interval [CI] for YKL-40 Q4 vs. Q1: 2.6(1.4-4.9) and Q3 vs. Q1: 2.3(1.2-4.5); p-trend<.01). Among APOE ɛ4 carriers, YKL-40 was not significantly associated with delirium (RR(95% CI) for YKL-40 Q4 vs. Q1: 2.0(0.6-6.6) and Q3 vs. Q1:1.1(0.3-3.5); p-trend=0.37). APOE non-ɛ4 carriers may have increased risk of delirium conferred by post-surgical inflammation specific to the type 2 immune response (high YKL-40). These results differ from prior results with CRP, and raise the possibility that APOE genotype may interact at different points in the inflammatory pathway leading to delirium.
Lifestyle Complexity and Dementia Risk: Examining Moderation by APOE Genotype and Mild Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Moored Kyle , Snitz Beth , Parisi Jeanine , Williamson Jeff , Fitzpatrick Annette , DeKosky Steven , Carlson Michelle
Published: December 2020

Prior studies suggest that the neuroprotective effect of physical exercise is moderated by APOE genotype and MCI status, but it remains unclear whether this extends to lifestyle complexity defined by a broader variety of physical, intellectual, and social activities. Participants were from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) Study. We used 18 physical, intellectual, or social activities from the Lifestyle Activity Questionnaire. We performed latent class analysis to characterize subgroups with distinct activity response patterns and examined whether they have differential risk of incident dementia over time. A three-class model was chosen based on fit statistics and interpretability. Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for potential demographic and health confounders, revealed that Class 1 (Highly intellectually/socially active) had a reduced risk of dementia compared to Class 3 (Less socially/less intellectually active; HR=.71, 95% CI: [.56,.88], p=.002). Class 2 (Socially/less intellectually active) did not differ in risk from Class 3 (HR=.90, 95% CI: [.73,1.1], p=.288). There was no evidence for effect modification for APOE e4 allele carriers (p’s>.05), but the protective association for Class 1 only held for those without prevalent MCI at baseline (HR=.74, 95% CI: [.56,.98], p=.033). Results showed that subgroups characterized by a greater variety of social and intellectual activities had reduced risk for dementia, but only for those without MCI. This implies that late-life lifestyle complexity may be most neuroprotective for those in the preclinical stages of decline. Results also suggested that lifestyle complexity may act through a cognitive reserve pathway unrelated to amyloid pathology.
Older U.S. Adults With Nocturia Often Cannot Use the Only FDA-Approved Drugs for the Condition
Authors: Johnson Theodore , Suvada Kara , Plantinga Laura , Mirk Anna , Markland Alayne , Ali Mohammed , Vaughan Camille , Burgio Kathryn
Published: December 2020

Nocturia, waking from sleep at night to void, is a common, bothersome symptom for which many older adults seek treatment. In 2017, the US FDA approved the first of two desmopressin analogues indicated for nocturia. While efficacious, these drugs can potentially cause severe hyponatremia that can be fatal, particularly if older adults have comorbid conditions (e.g., congestive heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension), laboratory abnormalities (e.g., low sodium, reduced renal function) and concomitant medications (e.g., diuretics, analgesics). Using secondary data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to identify a sample of U.S. adults 50 years and older with 2 or more nightly nocturia episodes, we determined the prevalence of contraindications, warnings, and need for more frequent monitoring indicated by the product label. Among the sample of 1,521 older respondents, 70.0% of those with nocturia had contraindications or a need for frequent sodium monitoring. Contraindications to desmopressin analogues were more prevalent with older age (27.6%, 34.5%, and 38.8%, for ages 50-64, 65-79, and 80+, respectively, p<0.001) as was the use of potentially interacting drugs (30.0%, 42.2%, 47.7%, respectively, p < 0.001). Most older adults with nocturia have medical conditions and concomitant medication use that makes very difficult the routine and safe use of the only FDA approved medications for nocturia. Providers prescribing desmopressin analogues in older adults need to carefully screen patients, employ frequent monitoring, and use shared decision-making to prevent undue harm.
Higher-Level Cognitive Function and Obstacle Attributes: An fNIRS Study in Older Adults With Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Hausdorff Jeffrey , Sharon Topaz , Kurz Ilan , Bernad-Elazari Hagar , Galperin Ira , Giladi Nir , Mirelman Anat , Maidan Inbal
Published: December 2020

Older adults with Parkinson’s disease (PD) rely on prefrontal activation to compensate for impaired motor function during the performance of complex mobility-related activities such as obstacle negotiation. However, the influence of the properties of the obstacles on prefrontal activation has not been systematically evaluated. Here, we examined the effects of obstacle height and anticipation time on prefrontal activation in patients with PD and older adults. 34 patients with PD (age: 67.4±5.7 years; 14 women) and 26 older adult controls (age: 71.3±8.9 years; 11 women) walked in an obstacle course while negotiating anticipated and unanticipated obstacles at heights of 50 mm and 100 mm. Prefrontal activation was measured using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS); obstacle negotiation performance was measured using Kinect cameras. PD patients showed greater increases in prefrontal activation during and after obstacle crossing compared to the older adults (p<0.001). Obstacle height affected prefrontal activity only when crossing anticipated obstacles (time x height interaction, p=0.011); in that case, higher obstacles were accompanied by higher prefrontal activity. PD patients showed higher levels of activation during unanticipated obstacles, compared to anticipated obstacles (p=0.015). Different correlations between prefrontal activation and obstacle negotiation strategies were observed in the patients and the controls. These results point to the use of prefrontal activation as a compensatory mechanism in PD. Moreover, the higher activation of prefrontal regions during more challenging obstacles suggests that there is a greater reliance on cognitive resources in these demanding situations that may contribute to the higher risk of falls in patients with PD.
Frailty and Trajectories of Blood Pressure Among Older Mexican Americans Over Time
Authors: Snih Soham Al , Rodriguez Martin , Chou Lin-Na , Markides Kyriakos S , Ottenbacher Kenneth
Published: December 2020

The objective of this study was to examine whether blood pressure (BP) trajectories differ by frailty status among older Mexican Americans. Data are from an 18-year prospective cohort study of 1,781 non-institutionalized Mexican American aged ≥ 67 years from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly (1995/96-2012/13). Frailty was defined as meeting three or more of the following: unintentional weight loss of >10 pounds, weakness, self-reported exhaustion, low physical activity, and slow walking speed. General linear mixed models were used to estimate trajectories of systolic and diastolic BP over an 18-year period as a function of frailty status. All variables were analyzed as time-dependent covariates except for gender and education. At baseline, 46.3% participants were non-frail, 44.8% were pre-frail, and 9.0% were frail; and the mean of systolic and diastolic BP was 136.9 mmHg (SD=18.6) and 77.3 mmHg (SD=12.2), respectively. Frail participants had greater systolic and diastolic BP decline over time than non-frail (estimate=-3.94, SE=0.88, p-value=<0.0001 and estimate=-1.32, SE=0.54, p-value=0.0138, respectively); and pre-frail participants had greater systolic BP decline than non-frail (estimate=-1.51, SE=0.54, p-value=0.0049), after controlling for all covariates. Those with high body mass index and hypertension with and without treatment had increased levels of systolic and diastolic BP over time. Older age, female gender, arthritis, diabetes, and stroke had decreased levels of diastolic BP over time. This study showed progressive decline in systolic and diastolic BP in frail compared to non-frail older Mexican Americans, which might have implications when treating frail older adults with hypertension.
Non-Pharmacologic Interventions for Caregivers of People With Dementia in Latin America: A Review
Authors: Aravena Jose , Gajardo Jean , Gitlin Laura
Published: December 2020

In a scenario of increasing longevity and social inequalities, Latin-America is an important contributor to the worldwide dementia burden. Caregivers’ health is fundamental to maintain the person with dementia quality of life. However, caregiving is a culturally sensible role that requires tailored solutions. The aim is to synthesize the evidence about non-pharmacologic interventions targeted to caregivers of people with dementia in Latin-American contexts. A comprehensive review of interventions in caregivers and persons with dementia in Latin-American countries was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Scopus with studies published until January 27th, 2020. Randomized clinical trials of non-pharmacologic interventions targeted to caregivers of people with dementia or dyads where included. Qualitative synthesis of the evidence was presented and analyzed. Overall, 9 pilot RCT were included for the final analysis (6 Brazil, 1 Colombia, 1 Mexico, 1 Perú). The biggest study recruited 69 caregivers and the smallest 13 dyads, with follow-up range of 3-6 months. 5 control groups received at least some other non-standard care type of intervention. 8 were targeted exclusively to caregivers (4 group intervention, 3 individual, and 1 combined) and 1 multicomponent intervention. Most frequent measured outcomes were caregiver’s burden, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and quality of life, and person with dementia neuropsychiatric symptoms. Individual interventions report better results in caregiver parameters such as burden and depressive symptoms and person with dementia neuropsychiatric symptoms. Group interventions presented mixed results. Nevertheless, the quality of evidence was low. There is a critical need to study interventions for caregivers in Latin-American contexts.
The Effects of Dementia Knowledge on Dementia Worry, Attitudes, Social Comfort, and Affect
Authors: Ebert Alexandria , Huggins Maya , Wagner Hannah , Lightcap Zachary , Muir Tessla , Faulkenberry Mariah , Fiske Amy
Published: December 2020

Previous work has demonstrated that personhood-based knowledge of dementia is associated with less fear of dementia and greater social comfort with persons with dementia. Nonetheless, a causal link has not been tested. We examined the effects of types of dementia knowledge on dementia worry, fear, and social comfort, as well as affect more broadly and attitudes toward dementia, which have not previously been examined. Participants (N = 338) aged 19-78 (M = 44.82, SD = 16.66) were randomized into one of five experimental conditions: biomedical-knowledge (BK; read biological and medical facts about dementia); personhood-based knowledge (PBK; read accounts written by persons living with dementia); both BK and PBK; baseline control; and active control. Participants then completed outcome measures. Significant effects of knowledge on dementia worry (p < .05) as well as personal distress, empathic concern, and negative affect (ps < .001) emerged; groups did not significantly differ in attitudes, comfort, or dementia fear. Specifically, participants in the BK and PBK conditions exhibited significantly higher levels of personal distress than those in the control conditions. Similarly, participants in the PBK condition had significantly higher levels of negative affect than those in the control conditions and significantly higher levels of dementia worry than those in the baseline control condition. Participants in the PBK condition also had significantly higher levels of empathic concern than those in the biomedical knowledge and control conditions. Results suggest that although reading about dementia induces negative affect, it also induces empathic concern.
A Conceptual Framework of Person-Environment Relations in the Out-of-Home Mobility of People Living With Dementia
Authors: Seetharaman Kishore , Chaudhury Habib , Mahmood Atiya
Published: December 2020

This paper proposes a conceptual framework on the relationship between neighbourhood mobility and developmental outcomes of persons living with dementia. While there is growing evidence on the importance of out-of-home mobility for community-dwelling people with dementia, there is a lack of theoretical understanding of the person-environment (P-E) interactions involved in out-of-home mobility in the context of dementia and their influence on psychosocial outcomes. The proposed framework adapts Chaudhury and Oswald’s Integrative Conceptual Framework of Person-Environment Exchange to address the influence of out-of-home mobility-related P-E interactions on processes of agency and belonging for people living with dementia and the cumulative effect on developmental outcomes of autonomy and identity. The framework describes a linear sequence of four components: (i) out-of-home mobility-related P-E interactions determined by individual, social, physical environmental, and technological factors; (ii) mobility-related environmental barriers and facilitators and perception of out-of-home mobility-related risk and benefit; (iii) interrelated positive and negative processes of behaviour-driven agency and experience-driven belonging; and (iv) interrelated developmental outcomes of autonomy and identity. This framework advances our conceptual understanding of the relations between the experience of living with dementia and different aspects of the neighbourhood environment by bridging objective and subjective dimensions of P-E interactions and framing out-of-home mobility as an important contributor in maintaining identity and autonomy. The framework could inform empirical research in this area, evaluation of dementia-friendly community initiatives, and policy decisions by drawing attention to both the functional aspects and meanings associated with out-of-home mobility for persons living with dementia.
Gender Differences in Predictive Factors of Older Adults’ IADL Recovery Following Hip Fracture
Authors: Colancecco Elise , Kolanowski Ann , Chinchilli Vernon
Published: December 2020

After hip fracture, older adults experience poor functional outcomes including a lack of IADL recovery. Gender differences exist in risk, incidence, mortality, and complication rates; yet, analyses of predictive factors of IADL especially by gender are often not conducted. The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in predictive factors of IADL recovery for older adults at two and six months following hip fracture. This secondary analysis used data (n=326 with IADL of n=399) the Baltimore Hip Studies (BHS-7 cohort). Participants were >65 years of age and community-dwelling. Men were sequentially enrolled; women were frequency-matched. Data analysis required building a shared parameter model was built that incorporated an ordinal logistic regression within a generalized linear mixed-effects model, in conjunction with a time-to-event hazards regression model for the time to death or withdrawal. Predictive factors included: age, race, marital status, and comorbidities; physical function; cognitive status (3MS); and psychosocial function (depression [CES-D], resilience, fear of falling, social participation, and perceived health status. Results indicated that higher age (OR 1.1 95% CI 1.05, 1.15, p< .01), greater comorbidity burden (OR 1.31 95% CI 1.08, 1.6, p < .01), poorer baseline Lower Physical ADL ( OR 1.8 95% CI 1.54, 2.15, p< .01), better cognitive function (OR 0.95 95% CI 0.9, 1; p= 0.047) and poorer LPADL recovery (OR 1.27 95% CI 1.07, 1.5, p< .05) significantly impacted IADL recovery. The stratified (by gender) model was not as strong as the full model, but did indicate some gender differences may exist.
Influence of Driving and Transportation Access on Social Isolation Risk Among Older Adults
Authors: Smith Matthew , Bergeron Caroline , Barrett Matthew , Eagle Leigh Ann , Lachenmayr Sue
Published: December 2020

Background. Transportation is essential to accessing healthcare and community services, but the inability to find transportation may hinder social interactions and connectivity. This study examined driving and transportation access associated with self-reported social isolation risk among adults age 60 years and older. Methods. The Upstream Social Isolation Risk Screener (U-SIRS) was developed to assess social isolation risk among older adults within clinical and community settings. Comprised of 13 items (Cronbach’s alpha=0.80), the U-SIRS assesses physical, emotional, and social support aspects of social isolation. Using an internet-delivered survey, data were analyzed from a national sample of 4,082 adults age 60 years and older. Theta scores for the U-SIRS served as the dependent variable, which were generated using Item Response Theory. An ordinary least squares regression model was fitted to identify transportation-related indicators associated with social isolation risk. Results. Approximately 13% of participants did not drive and 18.2% reported not being able to identify a ride or transportation when needed. Higher U-SIRS scores were reported among participants who did not drive (B=0.034, P=0.020). Lower U-SIRS scores were reported among those who live with a spouse/partner (B=-0.153, P<0.001) and those who reported the ability to get a ride from a family member (B=-0.160, P<0.001), friend (B=-0.256, P<0.001), or taxi (B=-0.032, P=0.044). Every additional source of transportation available significantly reduced participants’ U-SIRS score (B=-0.239, P<0.001). Conclusion. Given transportation options may reflect physical functioning, social networks, and socioeconomic status, study findings suggest transportation access is an important contextual factor associated with social isolation risk.
Interactions of a shock with a molecular cloud at various stages of its evolution due to thermal instability and gravity
Authors: Kupilas M M , Wareing C J , Pittard J M , Falle S A E G
Published: December 2020

Using the adaptive mesh refinement code mg, we perform hydrodynamic simulations of the interaction of a shock with a molecular cloud evolving due to thermal instability (TI) and gravity. To explore the relative importance of these processes, three case studies are presented. The first follows the formation of a molecular cloud out of an initially quiescent atomic medium due to the effects of TI and gravity. The second case introduces a shock whilst the cloud is still in the warm atomic phase, and the third scenario introduces a shock once the molecular cloud has formed. The shocks accelerate the global collapse of the clouds with both experiencing local gravitational collapse prior to this. When the cloud is still atomic, the evolution is shock dominated and structures form due to dynamical instabilities within a radiatively cooled shell. While the transmitted shock can potentially trigger the TI, this is prevented as material is shocked multiple times on the order of a cloud-crushing time-scale. When the cloud is molecular, the post-shock flow is directed via the pre-existing structure through low-density regions in the inter-clump medium. The clumps are accelerated and deformed as the flow induces clump–clump collisions and mergers that collapse under gravity. For a limited period, both shocked cases show a mixture of Kolmogorov and Burgers turbulence-like velocity and logarithmic density power spectra, and strongly varying density spectra. The clouds presented in this work provide realistic conditions that will be used in future feedback studies.
Off-centred force-free neutron star magnetospheres
Authors: Pétri J
Published: December 2020

Neutron star electromagnetic activity produces pairs that fill their magnetosphere represented to the zeroth order by the force-free approximation. Neither dissipation nor acceleration nor radiation from charged particles is expected from this simplified model. So far, only centred dipole magnetic fields have been studied in this limit. In this paper, we explore the consequences of a rotating off-centred dipole on the force-free magnetosphere, showing the new magnetic field geometry, its spin-down luminosity, and the electromagnetic kick and torque felt by the neutron star. Solutions are obtained by time-dependent numerical simulations of the force-free regime using our pseudo-spectral code written in spherical coordinates. Our results are also compared to known analytical expressions found for the off-centred vacuum dipole by an expansion to lowest order in the parameter ϵ = d/R, where d is the displacement of the dipole from the stellar centre and R the neutron star radius. The presence of a force-free plasma enhances the spin-down luminosity and the electromagnetic kick and torque with respect to a centred force-free dipole. The impact on isolated and binary neutron stars is revised in light of these new results.
Dynamical dark energy after Planck CMB final release and H0 tension
Authors: Yang Weiqiang , Di Valentino Eleonora , Pan Supriya , Wu Yabo , Lu Jianbo
Published: December 2020

In this article we compare a variety of well-known dynamical dark energy models using the cosmic microwave background measurements from the 2018 Planck legacy and 2015 Planck data releases, the baryon acoustic oscillations measurements and the local measurements of H0 obtained by the SH0ES (Supernovae, H0, for the Equation of State of Dark energy) collaboration analysing the Hubble Space Telescope data. We discuss the alleviation of H0 tension, that is obtained at the price of a phantom-like dark energy equation of state. We perform a Bayesian evidence analysis to quantify the improvement of the fit, finding that all the dark energy models considered in this work are preferred against the ΛCDM scenario. Finally, among all the possibilities analysed, the CPL model is the best one in fitting the data and solving the H0 tension at the same time. However, unfortunately, this dynamical dark energy solution is not supported by the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) data, and the tension is restored when BAO data are included for all the models.
Waiting for Peace
Authors: Patey Luke
Published: December 2020

China’s long-standing non-interference policy has been discarded in practice. In Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere, China is working to safeguard its nationals and economic interests and make peace in overseas conflicts. South Sudan represents a pioneering case for China’s diplomats entering peace talks abroad, Chinese business managers to engage in corporate responsibility, and Chinese soldiers to join the Blue Helmets of United Nations peacekeeping. Despite the efforts of Chinese oilmen and diplomats in the African country, China has struggled to shape events on the ground. Beijing’s willingness to strike short-term, transactional deals with rebel groups undermines long-term stability. Chinese peacekeepers cannot overcome the inherent challengers of modern United Nations peacekeeping. Chinese actors in the country, from arms dealers to oil companies, often frustrate one another’s interests. Neither does China coordinate well with other foreign powers, as geopolitical tensions with the United States cloud mutual interests in building peace in South Sudan, Myanmar, and other overseas conflicts.
Conclusion: Big or Small
Authors: Patey Luke
Published: December 2020

The world cannot afford for China to lose. Arguments can be made on whether or not China’s leaders will realize their global ambitions, but the direction of Chinese politics and economy will largely dictate whether global challenges, from fighting climate change to global pandemics, can be overcome. Overreaction to China’s assertive foreign policy must be avoided, as too must naïveté toward China’s global ambitions. China’s actions during the beginning of the twenty-first century present lessons for countries around the world to manage their relations with Beijing, but a collective and sustained response is paramount. The world does not require American or Chinese leadership to give it order. Common economic interests and political values exist between Asian and Western countries. Middle powers and small states will not simply follow the dictates of Washington or Beijing, but will instead blend, package, and resist big power pressures in pursuit of their own ambitions.
Unassailable Ideas
Authors: Redstone Ilana , Villasenor John
Published: December 2020

Colleges and universities in the United States play a profoundly important role in American society. Currently, that role is being hampered by a climate that constrains teaching, research, hiring, and overall discourse. There are three core beliefs that define this climate. First, any initiative framed as an antidote to historical societal ills is automatically deemed meritorious, and thus exempted from objective scrutiny of its potential effectiveness. However, to use a medical analogy, not all proposed cures for a disease are good cures. Second, all differences in group-level outcomes are assumed to be due entirely to discrimination, with little tolerance given to exploring the potential role of factors such as culture or preferences. Third, everything must be interpreted through the lens of identity. Non-identity-centered perspectives, regardless of how worthy they might be, are viewed as less legitimate or even illegitimate. All of these beliefs are well intentioned and have arisen in response to important historical and continuing injustices. However, they are enforced in uncompromising terms through the use of social media, which has gained an ascendant role in shaping the culture of American campuses. The result is a climate that forecloses entire lines of research, entire discussions, and entire ways of conducting classroom teaching. The book explains these three beliefs in detail and provides an extensive list of case studies illustrating how they are impacting education and knowledge creation—and increasingly the world beyond campus. The book also provides a detailed set of recommendations on ways to help foster an environment on American campuses that would be more tolerant of diverse perspectives and open inquiry. A note about Covid-19: While the production of this book was done in spring and summer of 2020, we completed the manuscript in 2019, well before the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered American college campuses in March 2020. To put it mildly, the dynamics of campus discourse are very different when dorms have been largely emptied and instruction has been moved to Zoom. Of course, at present we cannot know when students will be able to return to campus in significant numbers. That said, we are confident that our call for a culture of more open discourse in higher education will remain relevant both during the pandemic and after it has passed.
Social Media
Authors: Redstone Ilana
Published: December 2020

Social media have transformed the way we think and interact with others. Inhibitions are often far lower online than offline, leading to a greater tendency toward incivility. One of the most visible changes to public discourse in the social media age has been the rise of call-out culture, a term used to describe the use of social media to build a wave of public indignation regarding behavior deemed transgressive. Social media can act both directly (e.g., through call-out campaigns) and indirectly (through behavior modification aimed at avoiding social media opprobrium) to shape what happens on campus. While the social media–induced incentives for behavior modification apply generally, they operate particularly powerfully in academia because academic administrators, teachers, and researchers are by definition in the public eye. And, academic researchers are particularly exposed to the vicissitudes of social media not only because they are visible, but because the advancement of knowledge by its very nature requires making assertions that are new and that may be risky.
Academic Freedom, With an Asterisk
Authors: Redstone Ilana
Published: December 2020

Colleges tend to have policies on academic freedom that on their face appear to confer broad protection. But the actual scope of protection is a matter of interpretation, and is often much narrower. In practice, the measure of acceptable campus expression is often based on the extent to which speech offends or is viewed as harmful. The contemporary technology environment amplifies this dynamic. Social media help ensure that expression that is accused of being offensive is communicated to the very people most likely to view it as such, leading to a feedback cycle that further increases the risks that opinions or research conclusions falling outside of campus-proscribed boundaries will attract attention and protest. This is the academic freedom elephant in the room, and it plays a far more powerful role in shaping discourse and research than does the text in a university’s formal academic freedom policy.
Counterarguments
Authors: Redstone Ilana
Published: December 2020

Multiple counterarguments could be voiced in response to the assertions made in this book. It could be asserted that there is no crisis in academia. Or one could suggest that while the three beliefs constrain dialog, they do so appropriately. Additional counterarguments are that academic freedom in this restricted environment is broad enough, and that it must yield to claims of harm arising from assertions deemed offensive. This chapter explains and offers a rebuttal to each of these counterarguments. In doing so, we aim to explain what is lost when the range of on-campus discourse is overly constrained.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Data Intelligence—Its Broader Interpretations
Authors: Chen Min
Published: December 2020

The core of data science is our fundamental understanding about data intelligence processes for transforming data to decisions. One aspect of this understanding is how to analyze the cost-benefit of data intelligence workflows. This work is built on the information-theoretic metric proposed by Chen and Golan for this purpose and several recent studies and applications of the metric. We present a set of extended interpretations of the metric by relating the metric to encryption, compression, model development, perception, cognition, languages, and media.
Nebraska, New England, New York
Authors: Homestead Melissa J.
Published: December 2020

This chapter describes Edith Lewis’s family history, childhood, and education as a background to her first meeting with Willa Cather in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1903. Because of Lewis’s deeply rooted New England family history, her Nebraska childhood, her elite eastern college education, and her plans to move to New York to pursue literary work, Cather found powerfully concentrated in Lewis two geographically located versions of the past she valued: the Nebraska of her own childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, and a New England–centered literary culture she encountered through reading. Cather also glimpsed in Lewis the future to which she herself aspired, the glittering promise of literary New York.
“Our Wonderful Adventures in the Southwest”
Authors: Homestead Melissa J.
Published: December 2020

Willa Cather and Edith Lewis traveled together to the American Southwest in 1915, 1916, 1925, and 1926, and southwestern travel became their shared passion, an escape from the pressures of modern city life into a realm of adventure. In the Southwest, Cather also sought experiences and information necessary for her creative work, and she transformed experiences she shared with Lewis into fiction. They informed Cather’s novels The Professor’s House and Death Comes for the Archbishop. This chapter describes their experiences as tourists and as women playing at being western cowboys. The chapter also gives full treatment to Lewis’s role as Cather’s editorial collaborator, using The Professor’s House as an example.
Conservative News Studies
Authors: Nadler Anthony , Bauer A. J.
Published: December 2020

This chapter maps several lines of academic inquiry that speak to the yet unrealized field of conservative news studies. The chapter explores how scholars have approached the notion of “liberal bias” and conservative news; three different approaches to studying the influence of conservative media—as propaganda, as media effects, and as “deep stories”; and the place of media in historical accounts of the growth of modern conservatism in the United States. Scholars have been researching various components of conservative news cultures for decades, but disciplinary silos, differing methodological assumptions, and a lack of standardized terminology have precluded the sort of focused scholarly dialogue that typically constitutes a field. This chapter highlights the extant disciplinary and interdisciplinary debates that a field of conservative news studies would ideally weave together and build upon.
The Truth-Holder
Authors: Hermans Hubert J. M.
Published: December 2020

This chapter starts with the observation that inner democracy faces not only the power-holder as an important obstacle but also the presence of a truth-holder within. One has the inclination to dig oneself into the trenches of one’s own sense of being right, in which alternative or contrary viewpoints are no longer taken into consideration, and a productive dialogue with oneself or another person or group cannot come about. Providing knowledge about certain subject matter does not add much in this particular case, because many people are inclined to assume a point of view without knowledge about the underlying facts. In that context, the obstinacy with which we defend moral viewpoints and the intolerance for ambiguity are discussed.
Generally Speaking
Authors: Zerubavel Eviatar
Published: December 2020

Defying the conventional split between “theory” and “methodology,” this book introduces a yet unarticulated and thus far never systematized method of theorizing designed to reveal abstract social patterns. Insisting that such methodology can actually be taught, it tries to make the mental processes underlying the practice of a “concept-driven sociology” more explicit. Many sociologists tend to study the specific, often at the expense of also studying the generic. To correct this imbalance, the book examines the theoretico-methodological process by which we can “distill” generic social patterns from the culturally, historically, and situationally specific contexts in which we encounter them. It thus champions a “generic sociology” that is pronouncedly transcontextual (transcultural, transhistorical, transsituational, and translevel) in its scope. In order to uncover generic, transcontextual social patterns, data need to be collected in a wide range of social contexts. Such contextual diversity is manifested multi-culturally, multihistorically, multisituationally, as well as at multiple levels of social aggregation. True to its message, the book illustrates generic social patterns by drawing on numerous examples from diverse cultural contexts and historical periods and a wide range of diverse social domains, as well as by disregarding scale. Emphasizing cross-contextual commonality, generic sociology tries to reveal formal “parallels” across seemingly disparate contexts. This book features the four main types of cross-contextual analogies generic sociologists tend to use (cross-cultural, cross-historical, cross-domain, and cross-level), disregarding conventionally noted substantive differences in order to note conventionally disregarded formal equivalences.
The Meta-Position
Authors: Glăveanu Vlad P.
Published: December 2020

This chapter proposes that adopting a meta-position in regard to reality is instrumental for opening up the possible and constitutes the first step toward exploring it. In psychological terms, a meta-position is represented by that symbolic (and/or physical) standpoint from which other positions and the relations between them can be perceived at once. The fact that meta-positions render existing positions and perspectives visible makes them essential for developing more open ways of thinking about the world and more flexible ways of acting on it. Meta-positions accomplish this important role through their relation to agency, wonder, imagination, and creativity, each of which is discussed in the chapter. Together with difference and multiplicity, meta-positions are thus conditions of possibility for becoming aware of and acting on the possible.
Urban Swine and Ritual Pigs in the Bronze Age
Authors: Price Max D.
Published: December 2020

The elite-run institutions (temples and palaces) of Bronze Age societies sought to maximize the production of storable, taxable, and tradable agricultural commodities—especially grain and wool. This brought the secondary products revolution to full fruition and solidified the transformation of cattle, sheep, and goats into animals that embodied wealth. Later this privilege extended to equids for their role in warfare. While institutional forms of wealth excluded pigs, urbanism offered a new and ideal ecological niche for pig husbandry. Pigs became especially important among the urban lower classes, perhaps as a type of “informal economy.” Yet in regions without large cities or extant traditions of eating pork, pig husbandry failed to thrive. The Levant, in particular, saw the gradual erosion of pig husbandry in favor of wealth-bearing livestock husbandry. At the same time, pigs’ ritual roles began to shift. Whereas once the sacrifice of swine was thought to ensure fertility, communication with the dead, and the absolution of sin, by the Late Bronze Age pigs connoted impurity.
Introduction
Authors: Ghosh William
Published: December 2020

V.S. Naipaul is one of the most internationally acclaimed twentieth-century writers from the Caribbean region. Yet it is usually assumed that he was neither much influenced by the Caribbean literary and intellectual tradition, nor very influential upon it. This chapter argues that these assumptions are wrong. It situates Naipaul’s life and work within the political, social, and intellectual history of the twentieth-century Caribbean. Naipaul’s work formed part of a larger historical debate about the sociology of slavery in the Caribbean, the specificity of Caribbean colonial experience, and the influence of that historical past on Caribbean life, culture, and politics after independence. The chapter closes with a reading of Naipaul’s late, retrospective book about Trinidad, A Way in the World.
The Loss of El Dorado and ‘Colonial’ Historiography
Authors: Ghosh William
Published: December 2020

This chapter is about historical writing in the West Indies, from the 1960s onwards. Historical writing about the colonial past was a key place in which Caribbean writers in this era analysed the social and cultural impact of that history and looked forward to a decolonized future. Naipaul’s Loss of El Dorado is a fascinating but neglected text in this conversation, and is a key text in the development of his historical and social thought. This chapter positions Naipaul’s work within a history of West Indian historical writing, and historiographical debate, looking in detail at the work of C.L.R. James, Elsa Goveia, Eric Williams, Derek Walcott, and David Scott.