bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perder la cabeza en el siglo XIX. Ensayos sobre historia de Colombia e Hispanoamérica
Authors: Quintero Mächler Alejandro
Published: April 2023

El conjunto de ensayos reunidos en este libro no representa un análisis exhaustivo del siglo XIX hispanoamericano, ni una revisión comprehensiva de sus múltiples aristas. Más que demostrar, estos ensayos buscan indicar, en el sentido etimológico de señalar con el dedo: apuntan a un problema, no lo resuelven; plantean o sugieren una pregunta, pero no siempre la responden; llaman la atención sobre un asunto, como el primer plano de un largometraje, pero no impiden esquivar la mirada a quien así lo desee. En gran medida, estos ensayos podrían incluirse en lo que se ha llamado historia intelectual o historia del pensamiento. Más allá de etiquetas, no obstante, abogan de modo abierto por una revalorización no solo de las fuentes primarias del siglo XIX, sino también del “lenguaje” mismo en que aún nos hablan: las frases hechas, los lugares comunes, las metáforas, las expresiones y el léxico que conformaban el catálogo compartido de recursos literarios con que entonces contaban los letrados para describir, interpretar y transformar el mundo que habitaban. Aquí no hay ínfulas de autoridad ni aires de verdad apodíctica; hay, eso sí, el convencimiento de que los temas abordados todavía nos interpelan como colombianos, como hispanoamericanos, como aficionados a la historia o como diletantes, adjetivo que injustamente ha pasado a tener una connotación negativa. Aunque consagrados al siglo XIX, estos temas no han perdido un ápice de actualidad. Ojalá sus lectores se sientan motivados, por ello, a repensar fenómenos que tal vez habían dado por sentados o relegado al cajón de las obviedades.
We have the tools to raise our game
Authors: Foster Sam
Published: April 2023

Sam Foster, newly appointed Executive Director of Professional Practice, Nursing and Midwifery Council, says there are many examples of consistently excellent care and we have the frameworks to help us learn from others
A Study on Visual Expression Elements and User Satisfaction in Video Streaming Services on the Web: Focusing on Video Thumbnails
Authors: Lee Seungmin
Published: April 2023

With the rapid increase in the use of video services due to the development of network technology, various internet video service platforms have appeared. The consumption of these video services is expected to continue to increase. Video traffic, which accounted for 64% of Internet traffic in 2014, is expected to account for more than 81% of Internet traffic by 2022, and 86% of corporate marketers use video content in online campaigns. Users can immediately check which channel it is through the thumbnail of the video, and the click-through rate of the video changes. Therefore, thumbnails can represent images and play a role in stimulating curiosity.
In this situation, this study analysed the relationship between users’ attitudes and satisfaction according to the visual expression elements of video streaming service thumbnails on the web. For this purpose, a survey was conducted, with subjects in their 20s.
As a result of the study, looking at the effect of visual expression elements of video thumbnails on viewing attitudes, it was found that images and typography had a significant positive (+) effect on the order of images and typography. Also, as a result of analysing the relationship between viewing attitudes and viewing satisfaction, it was found that viewing attitudes toward video had a significant positive (+) effect on viewing satisfaction. Lastly, looking at the effect of visual expression elements of YouTube thumbnails on viewer satisfaction, it was found that images and colours had a significant positive effect on the order of images and colour. It was found that the layout and typography did not have a significant effect on the satisfaction of the viewers. Through this study, we intend to present a practical and efficient application method for web content production and web marketing activities.
Data Quality Assessment and Recommendation of Feature Selection Algorithms: An Ontological Approach
Authors: Nayak Aparna , Božić Bojan , Longo Luca
Published: April 2023

Feature selection plays an important role in machine learning and data mining problems. Identifying the best feature selection algorithm that helps to remove irrelevant and redundant features is a complex task. This research tries to address it by recommending a feature selection algorithm based on dataset meta-features. The main contribution of the work is the use of Semantic Web principles to develop a recommendation model for the feature selection algorithm. As a result, dataset meta-features are modeled in a domain ontology, and a set of Semantic Web rule language (SWRL) predictive rules have been proposed to recommend a feature selection algorithm. The result of this research is a feature selection algorithm recommendation based on the data characteristics and quality (FSDCQ) ontology, which not only helps with recommendations but also finds the data points with data quality violations. An experiment is conducted on the classification datasets from the UCI repository to evaluate the proposed ontology. The usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated by comparing it with the widely used method in the literature for the recommendation. Results show that the ontology-based recommendations are equally good as the widely used recommendation model, which is k-NN, with added benefits.
From the Editor’s Desk
Authors: Shyam Ashok
Published: April 2023

We thank authors for their contribution in the July-December 2020 issue of Trauma International. This issue contains articles on operative treatment of distal femur fractures using retrograde intramedullary nail versus locking plate, Relationship between Vitamin D Level and Hip Fractures, Tranexamic Acid in an Accident & Emergency Department, Chronic osteomyelitis, Cannulated Cancellous Screw and Ender’s Nail Fixation in Stable Intertrochanteric Femur Fracture, Conservative and Surgical Management of Displaced Midshaft Clavicle Fracture, Tibial Plateau Fractures. We appreciate efforts of the author s and hope for more contribution in the field of orthopaedic literature in the coming years.
Spontaneous Iliopsoas Hematoma After Total Hip Arthroplasty In A Patient On Rivaroxaban: A rare case report
Authors: Grammatikopoulou Danai , Vampertzis Themistoklis , Iosifidou Eirini , Barmpagianni Christina , Melikidou Eleni , Girtovitis Fotios , Papastergiou Stergios
Published: April 2023

Introduction: Pain in the inguinal region, frequently spreading to the femur, is a common symptom with a variable differential diagnosis. Spontaneous iliopsoas hematoma is a rarely reported adverse effect of anticoagulation therapy that can present with pain in the hip, with or without previous injury or surgery at the region. This case report aims to remind clinicians of this rare condition that can result in major complications. Case Presentation: An 83 year old male patient presented to our Emergency Department with pain at the right hip which within a week expanded to the lower back and anterior femur. During clinical examination restriction of movement due to soreness was noted, the hip joint was kept in slight flexion, while there were no abnormal vascular findings. Medical history included a right-sided total hip replacement 8 years ago, chronic atrial fibrilation, chronic cardiac failure and hypertension. He was on anticoagulant (rivaroxaban) and anti-hypertensive regimen. Laboratory results showed low hematocrit (HTC) and hemoglobin (HB), elevated prothrombin time (PT) and increased international normalized ratio (INR). Imaging showed a large iliopsoas hematoma. Conservative treatment was decided. Subsequently, the hematocrit normalized, the hematoma regressed and the pain receded. Conclusion: Despite being a frequent cause of complain, pain of the hip, lumbar or femur region could be the result of a more complex pathology. Such cases should therefore not be overlooked but examined thoroughly, especially if presenting with suspicious signs or symptoms or in a setting of co morbidities. When complains are with regard to an area that has been operated on, as in our case, clinicians should not attribute all symptoms on the presence of prior surgery. Keywords: Anticoagulation, spontaneous hematoma, iliopsoas, total hip arthroplasty.
The relevance of the workplace for combining employment and informal care for older adults: results of a systematic literature review
Authors: Geisen Thomas , Krajic Karl , Nideröst Sibylle , Mairhuber Ingrid , Dötig Charlotte , Altherr Andrin , Schenk Salome , Schweighoffer Reka
Published: April 2023

The significance of formal and informal supports and barriers on the company level for combining employment and informal care for older adults has rarely been investigated. This is one of the main findings of a systematic literature review. This systematic literature review elucidates what can be learned from research on practices that have been developed to maintain a sustainable work–care balance. Research indicates that firms have rarely actively addressed the topic and many seem unaware of the challenges employees are facing and the support they need. If firms offer support, they often favour individual, case-based solutions, whereas systematic approaches seem less likely to be put in place. In general, the findings show that better support for companies and for carers would seem important, even urgent, but the knowledge base for offering this support is not well developed.
Free-space interferometer design for optical frequency dissemination and out-of-loop characterization below the 10−21-level
Authors: Jürss Thomas , Grosche Gesine , Koke Sebastian
Published: April 2023

For improving the performance of optical frequency dissemination and the resolution of its out-of-loop (OOL) characterization, we investigate a compact free-space interferometer design in which a monolithic assembly forms the reference arm. Two interferometer designs are realized, and their environmental sensitivity is analyzed based on the properties of the materials involved. We elucidate that in these designs the temperature sensitivities of the out-of-loop signal paths are greater than for the reference arm. As the estimated temperature-variation-induced frequency transfer errors are observed to be the relevant limitation, the out-of-loop characterization signal can be regarded as a trustworthy upper limit of the frequency transfer error to a remote place. We demonstrate a fractional frequency transfer uncertainty and OOL characterization resolution of ≤2.7×10−21 over many measurement runs. With a value of (0.23±1.07)×10−22 the weighted mean offset is significantly below the best reported results so far.
Pulmonary tuberculosis vs. Tindzhaka and Mafularha: A mixed methods inquiry of traditional healers’ perceptions of tuberculosis in rural South Africa
Authors: Audet Carolyn M. , Seabi Tshegofatso , Ngobeni Sizzy , Berhanu Rebecca H. , Wagner Ryan G.
Published: April 2023

Although awareness of tuberculosis (TB) is high in South Africa, delays in TB testing or treatment persist. Even those with symptoms of TB often delay testing, with one study in Mpumalanga revealing a median allopathic care-seeking delay of four weeks. We sought to understand how traditional healers perceived TB symptoms among their patients, if they treated the disease, and what (if any) illnesses they defined as being traditional may have overlapping presentation with TB in South Africa. Nineteen traditional healers completed an in-depth interview (IDIs); 133 completed a quantitative survey about their treatment practices. IDIs focused on lung diseases treated, disease causation, treatment, and prognosis. Survey questions investigated diagnosis of lung ailments, including those treated by the allopathic health system and those by traditional healers. Traditional healers reported that they could differentiate between TB and traditional illnesses, like Tindzhaka and Mafularha, that presented with similar symptoms. Few (7.5%) believed they could treat TB, but the majority (72.9%) believed they could successfully treat Tindzhaka and Mafularha. Tindzhaka and Mafularha are interconnected illnesses that are reportedly caused by breaking social rules around death, sex and using the belongings of someone who recently passed away. Both, if not treated, are considered fatal. While we have no definitive data, traditional healers may be contributing to delays in the diagnosis and treatment for people with active TB by incorrectly diagnosing TB as Tindzhaka or Mafularha. Overcoming issues of trust and compensation, while respecting different forms of knowledge, are some of the challenges we face in successfully engaging with healers.
Breathlessness in a virtual world: An experimental paradigm testing how discrepancy between VR visual gradients and pedal resistance during stationary cycling affects breathlessness perception
Authors: Finnegan Sarah L. , Dearlove David J. , Morris Peter , Freeman Daniel , Sergeant Martin , Taylor Stephen , Pattinson Kyle T. S.
Published: April 2023

Introduction

The sensation of breathlessness is often attributed to perturbations in cardio-pulmonary physiology, leading to changes in afferent signals. New evidence suggests that these signals are interpreted in the light of prior "expectations". A misalignment between afferent signals and expectations may underly unexplained breathlessness. Using a novel immersive virtual reality (VR) exercise paradigm, we investigated whether manipulating an individual’s expectation of effort (determined by a virtual hill gradient) may alter their perception of breathlessness, independent from actual effort (the physical effort of cycling).

Methods

Nineteen healthy volunteers completed a single experimental session where they exercised on a cycle ergometer while wearing a VR headset. We created an immersive virtual cycle ride where participants climbed up 100 m hills with virtual gradients of 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% and 12%. Each virtual hill gradient was completed twice: once with a 4% cycling ergometer resistance and once with a 6% resistance, allowing us to dissociate expected effort (virtual hill gradient) from actual effort (power). At the end of each hill, participants reported their perceived breathlessness. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine the independent contribution of actual effort and expected effort to ratings of breathlessness (0–10 scale).

Results

Expectation of effort (effect estimate ± std. error, 0.63 ± 0.11, P < 0.001) and actual effort (0.81 ± 0.21, P < 0.001) independently explained subjective ratings of breathlessness, with comparable contributions of 19% and 18%, respectively. Additionally, we found that effort expectation accounted for 6% of participants’ power and was a significant, independent predictor (0.09 ± 0.03; P = 0.001).

Conclusions

An individuals’ expectation of effort is equally important for forming perceptions of breathlessness as the actual effort required to cycle. A new VR paradigm enables this to be experimentally studied and could be used to re-align breathlessness and enhance training programmes.
Developing a capacity building training model for public health managers of low and middle income countries
Authors: Upadhyay Kritika , Goel Sonu , John Preethi
Published: April 2023

Background

The challenges faced by the low and middle-income countries (LMIC) in the field of public health management calls for the capacity building of qualified and trained public health managers in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the health care delivery system. Most of the existing training programs for public health management are based in the settings of developed countries, which hinders their application in LMIC countries. The objective of this paper is to document the process of development and evaluation of a capacity building program for public health managers of various LMICs.

Material and methods

A training program was developed using Kern’s six-step framework with several innovative learning and assessment methodologies and evaluation using Kirkpatrick training evaluation model. Delphi technique was used for program development.

Results

This five to ten-day partly/fully funded six International Public Health Management Development Programs (IPHMDP) programs was conceptualized which enrolled 178 participants from 42 countries between years 2016 and 2019. Based upon the elaborative discussion in four rounds of Delphi technique, the problem and challenges faced by public health mangers and eight key competencies (viz. Leadership and governance, Project/ program planning, financial management, supply chain management, quality management, Human Resource management, monitoring and evaluation, and communication.) were identified. The group consensually agree upon a blended teaching methodology comprising of chalk and talk approach, inquiry based learning, participatory student based learning, small group instructions, gamification, project-based learning and field-based learning. There was a significant increase in participants’ knowledge score (P<0.0001) after all programs especially in the competencies of monitoring and evaluation, followed by project/ program planning, supply chain management and quality management. The majority (90%) submitted their action plan one week following the program, out of which 64% implemented their action plans within six months. A majority (54.7%) of participants were able to implement their learning once they went back by conducting similar training/ workshop/webinars in their settings.

Conclusion

The comprehensive public health management program in LMIC settings strengthens the competencies of public health managers which can be replicated in similar settings across LMIC to mitigate diverse challenges in public health management.
Acute effect of low-load resistance exercise with blood flow restriction on oxidative stress biomarkers: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Ferlito João Vitor , Rolnick Nicholas , Ferlito Marcos Vinicius , De Marchi Thiago , Deminice Rafael , Salvador Mirian
Published: April 2023

Background

The purpose of this review was to analyze the acute effects of low-load resistance exercise with blood flow restriction (LLE-BFR) on oxidative stress markers in healthy individuals in comparison with LLE or high-load resistance exercise (HLRE) without BFR.

Materials and methods

A systematic review was performed in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. These searches were performed in CENTRAL, SPORTDiscus, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL and Virtual Health Library- VHL, which includes Lilacs, Medline and SciELO. The risk of bias and quality of evidence were assessed through the PEDro scale and GRADE system, respectively.

Results

Thirteen randomized clinical trials were included in this review (total n = 158 subjects). Results showed lower post-exercise damage to lipids (SMD = -0.95 CI 95%: -1.49 to -0. 40, I2 = 0%, p = 0.0007), proteins (SMD = -1.39 CI 95%: -2.11 to -0.68, I2 = 51%, p = 0.0001) and redox imbalance (SMD = -0.96 CI 95%: -1.65 to -0.28, I2 = 0%, p = 0.006) in favor of LLRE-BFR compared to HLRE. HLRE presents higher post-exercise superoxide dismutase activity but in the other biomarkers and time points, no significant differences between conditions were observed. For LLRE-BFR and LLRE, we found no difference between the comparisons performed at any time point.

Conclusions

Based on the available evidence from randomized trials, providing very low or low certainty of evidence, this review demonstrates that LLRE-BFR promotes less oxidative stress when compared to HLRE but no difference in levels of oxidative damage biomarkers and endogenous antioxidants between LLRE.

Trial registration

Register number: PROSPERO number: CRD42020183204.
Evaluation of Chrysanthemi Indici Flos germplasms based on nine bioactive constituents and color parameters
Authors: Li Jianling , Ye Zi , Wei Min , Deng Changrong , Chi Lianfeng , Xu Lei , Han Zhengzhou , Wei Weifeng
Published: April 2023

Chrysanthemi Indici Flos (CIF) is the inflorescence of Chrysanthemum indicum L., which exists in various shades of yellow and has pharmacologically active constituents. It is widely used for medicinal purposes in China, Japan, and South Korea to treat inflammatory diseases. Its external color is usually used to judge its internal quality in trade; however, the correlation between its color and chemical constituents is unknown. Here, we simultaneously determined five phenylpropanoids (neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, and isochlorogenic acids A, B, and C) and four flavonoids (linarin, luteolin, apigenin, and acacetin) of 70 CIF germplasms using a newly established UPLC method; furthermore, we measured their color parameters (L*, a*, and b*) using a spectrophotometer. Our results showed considerable variations in the bioactive constituent contents and color parameters of CIF. The content of the five phenylpropanoids and the relative correlation degree γi of the nine constituents were positively correlated with color parameters, which could be rapidly predicted based on L* and/or b*. Moreover, we screened out a high-quality germplasm with a high linarin content and bright colors using the hierarchical clustering method. Our results provide comprehensive insight into CIF’s quality evaluation process, particularly the methods for procuring high-quality medicinal materials and breeding by color.
An ImageJ macro tool for OCTA-based quantitative analysis of Myopic Choroidal neovascularization
Authors: Deshpande Aadit , Raman Sundaresan , Dubey Amber , Susvar Pradeep , Raman Rajiv
Published: April 2023

Myopic Choroidal neovascularization (mCNV) is one of the most common vision-threatening com- plications of pathological myopia among many retinal diseases. Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) is an emerging newer non-invasive imaging technique and is recently being included in the investigation and treatment of mCNV. However, there exists no standard tool for time-efficient and dependable analysis of OCTA images of mCNV. In this study, we propose a customizable ImageJ macro that automates the OCTA image processing and lets users measure nine mCNV biomarkers. We developed a three-stage image processing pipeline to process the OCTA images using the macro. The images were first manually delineated, and then denoised using a Gaussian Filter. This was followed by the application of the Frangi filter and Local Adaptive thresholding. Finally, skeletonized images were obtained using the Mexican Hat filter. Nine vascular biomarkers including Junction Density, Vessel Diameter, and Fractal Dimension were then computed from the skeletonized images. The macro was tested on a 26 OCTA image dataset for all biomarkers. Two trends emerged in the computed biomarker values. First, the lesion-size dependent parameters (mCNV Area (mm2) Mean = 0.65, SD = 0.46) showed high variation, whereas normalized parameters (Junction Density(n/mm): Mean = 10.24, SD = 0.63) were uniform throughout the dataset. The computed values were consistent with manual measurements within existing literature. The results illustrate our ImageJ macro to be a convenient alternative for manual OCTA image processing, including provisions for batch processing and parameter customization, providing a systematic, reliable analysis of mCNV.
Comparative analysis of gene ontology-based semantic similarity measurements for the application of identifying essential proteins
Authors: Xue Xiaoli , Zhang Wei , Fan Anjing
Published: April 2023

Identifying key proteins from protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks is one of the most fundamental and important tasks for computational biologists. However, the protein interactions obtained by high-throughput technology are characterized by a high false positive rate, which severely hinders the prediction accuracy of the current computational methods. In this paper, we propose a novel strategy to identify key proteins by constructing reliable PPI networks. Five Gene Ontology (GO)-based semantic similarity measurements (Jiang, Lin, Rel, Resnik, and Wang) are used to calculate the confidence scores for protein pairs under three annotation terms (Molecular function (MF), Biological process (BP), and Cellular component (CC)). The protein pairs with low similarity values are assumed to be low-confidence links, and the refined PPI networks are constructed by filtering the low-confidence links. Six topology-based centrality methods (the BC, DC, EC, NC, SC, and aveNC) are applied to test the performance of the measurements under the original network and refined network. We systematically compare the performance of the five semantic similarity metrics with the three GO annotation terms on four benchmark datasets, and the simulation results show that the performance of these centrality methods under refined PPI networks is relatively better than that under the original networks. Resnik with a BP annotation term performs best among all five metrics with the three annotation terms. These findings suggest the importance of semantic similarity metrics in measuring the reliability of the links between proteins and highlight the Resnik metric with the BP annotation term as a favourable choice.
Medical decision making beyond evidence: Correlates of belief in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and homeopathy
Authors: Aßmann Leonie , Betsch Tilmann
Published: April 2023

Many people believe in and use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to address health issues or prevent diseases. Empirical evidence for those treatments is either lacking or controversial due to methodological weaknesses. Thus, practitioners and patients primarily rely on subjective references rather than credible empirical evidence from systematic research. This study investigated whether cognitive and personality factors explain differences in belief in CAM and homeopathy. We investigated the robustness of 21 predictors when examined together to obtain insights into key determinants of such beliefs in a sample of 599 participants (60% female, 18-81 years). A combination of predictors explained 20% of the variance in CAM belief (predictors: ontological confusions, spiritual epistemology, agreeableness, death anxiety, gender) and approximately 21% of the variance in belief in homeopathy (predictors: ontological confusions, illusory pattern perception, need for cognitive closure, need for cognition, honesty-humility, death anxiety, gender, age). Individuals believing in CAM and homeopathy have cognitive biases and certain individual differences which make them perceive the world differently. Findings are discussed in the context of previous literature and in relation to other unfounded beliefs.
The needs of the many: Exploring associations of personality with third-party judgments of public health-related utilitarian rule violations
Authors: Behnke Alexander , Armbruster Diana , Strobel Anja
Published: April 2023

Safeguarding the rights of minorities is crucial for just societies. However, there are conceivable situations where minority rights might seriously impede the rights of the majority. Favoring the minority in such cases constitutes a violation of utilitarian principles. To explore the emotional, cognitive, and punitive responses of observers of such utilitarian rule transgressions, we conducted an online study with 1004 participants. Two moral scenarios (vaccine policyandepidemic) were rephrased in the third-party perspective. In both public health-related scenarios, the protagonist opted against the utilitarian option, which resulted in more fatalities in total, but avoided harm to a minority. Importantly, invaccine policy, members of the minority cannot be identified beforehand and thus harm to them would have been ratheraccidental. Contrariwise, inepidemic, minority members are identifiable and would have needed to bedeliberatelyselected. While the majority of participants chose not to punish the scenarios’ protagonists at all, 30.1% judged that protecting the minority over the interests of the majority when only accidental harm would have occurred (vaccine policy) was worthy of punishment. In comparison, only 11.2% opted to punish a protagonist whose decision avoided deliberately selecting (and thus harming) a minority at the cost of the majority (epidemic). Emotional responses and appropriateness ratings paralleled these results. Furthermore, complex personality × situation interactions revealed the influence of personality features, i.e., trait psychopathy, empathy, altruism, authoritarianism, need for cognition and faith in intuition, on participants’ responses. The results further underscore the need to consider the interaction of situational features and inter-individual differences in moral decisions and sense of justice.
Seeing the forest or the tree depends on personality: Evidence from process communication model during global/local visual search task
Authors: Lefebvre Sixtine , Beaucousin Virginie
Published: April 2023

In everyday life, we are continuously confronted with multiple levels of visual information processes (e.g., global information, the forest, and local information, the tree) and we must select information that has to be processed. In the present study, we investigated the relation between personality and the ability to process global and local visual information. Global precedence phenomenon was assessed by a standard global/local visual search task used in many visuo-spatial precedent studies, and the 77 participants were also presented with the standard Process Communication Model (PCM) questionnaire. Results suggest that the ability to process global and local properties of visual stimuli varied according to the Base type of participants. Even if four among six Base types (Thinker, Persister, Harmonizer and Promoter) presented a classical global visual precedence, the two other Base types (Rebel and Imaginer) presented only an effect of distractors and an effect of global advantage, respectively. Taken together, these results evidenced that each human being does not equally perceive the “forest” (global information) and the “tree” (local information). Even if objectively presented with similar visual stimuli, individual responses differ according to the Base, an inter-individual variability that could be taken into account during daily life situations.
Existential suffering as a motive for assisted suicide: Difficulties, acceptability, management and roles from the perspectives of Swiss professionals
Authors: Gaignard Marie-Estelle , Pautex Sophie , Hurst Samia
Published: April 2023

Background

Existential suffering is often a part of the requests for assisted suicide (AS). Its definitions have gained in clarity recently and refer to a distress arising from an inner realization that life has lost its meaning. There is however a lack of consensus on how to manage existential suffering, especially in a country where AS is legal and little is known about the difficulties faced by professionals confronted with these situations.

Objectives

To explore the perspectives of Swiss professionals involved in end-of-life care and AS on the management of existential suffering when it is part of AS requests, taking into account the question of roles, as well as on the difficulties they encounter along the way and their views on the acceptability of existential suffering as a motive for AS.

Methods

A qualitative study based on face-to-face interviews was performed among twenty-five participants from the fields of palliative and primary care as well as from EXIT right-to-die organization. A semi-structured interview guide exploring four themes was used. Elements from the grounded theory approach were applied.

Results

Almost all participants reported experiencing difficulties when facing existential suffering. Opinions regarding the acceptability of existential suffering in accessing AS were divided. Concerning its management, participants referred to the notion of being present, showing respect, seeking to understand the causes of suffering, helping give meaning, working together, psychological support, spiritual support, relieving physical symptoms and palliative sedation.

Conclusion

This study offers a unique opportunity to reflect on what are desirable responses to existential suffering when it is part of AS requests. Existential suffering is plural and implies a multiplicity of responses as well. These situations remain however difficult and controversial according to Swiss professionals. Clinicians’ education should further address these issues and give professionals the tools to better take care of these people.
Feasibility of extended cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with advanced ovarian cancer in terms of prognosis and surgical outcomes
Authors: Kim Nam Kyeong , Suh Dong Hoon , Kim Kidong , Kim Yong Beom , No Jae Hong
Published: April 2023

Objective

We aimed to identify the effect of an extended number of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) cycles on prognosis and surgical morbidity after interval debulking surgery (IDS) in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer.

Methods

Medical records of patients with advanced ovarian cancer treated with NAC and having undergone IDS were retrospectively reviewed. Clinicopathological factors were compared between two groups: conventional (≤4 cycles) and extended (≥5 cycles) NAC groups. Kaplan–Meier analysis was performed to evaluate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

Results

A total of 156 patients were included, 112 patients in the conventional group and 44 patients in the extended NAC group. The extended NAC group had a significantly higher frequency of cancer antigen (CA)-125 normalization after NAC (59.1% vs. 33.9%, P = 0.004), a lower rate of bowel surgery (18.2% vs. 34.8%, P = 0.042), and a lower rate of transfusion during or after IDS (36.4% vs. 59.8%, P = 0.008) as compared to the conventional group. The complete cytoreduction rate after IDS was similar between the groups. In multivariate Cox regression analysis for PFS, radiologically stable and progressive disease after NAC (Hazard ratio [HR], 1.983; 95% Confidence interval [CI], 1.141–3.446; P = 0.015) and gross residual tumor after IDS (HR, 2.054; 95% CI, 1.414–2.983; P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for poor PFS. However, extended NAC cycles were not significantly associated with poor PFS. The median PFS was 19.5 and 16.9 months (P = 0.830), and the 5-year OS was 71.4 and 63.2% (P = 0.677) in the conventional and extended NAC groups, respectively.

Conclusion

Our study showed that extended NAC cycles were not inferior to conventional NAC cycles in terms of survival in patients with advanced ovarian cancer and reduced surgical morbidity such as bowel surgery and transfusion during or after IDS.
Interspecific patterns of small cats in an intraguild-killer free area of the threatened Caatinga drylands, Brazil
Authors: Fox-Rosales Lester Alexander , de Oliveira Tadeu Gomes
Published: April 2023

The semi-arid Caatinga is the largest dry forest ecoregion in the Americas; nevertheless, it is experiencing alarming rates of habitat loss. Most vegetation fragments in the biome are either unprotected or within private lands; however, these private areas are susceptible to anthropogenic activity, and often have the presence of non-native wildlife such as domestic dogs and cats. Two small felid species, the northern tiger cat and the jaguarundi co-occur throughout the Caatinga and have overlapping niches, which require segregation mechanisms to avoid interference competition. Assessing these species strategies for coexistence is crucial, as it can guide conservation actions. With this aim, a private ranch in the Brazilian Caatinga drylands was surveyed and multi-species occupancy models were used to assess co-occurrence patterns between northern tiger cats and jaguarundis. The degree of temporal overlap between both felids and domestic dogs and cats were also assessed. Evidence was found of positive co-occurrence between tiger cats and jaguarundis, suggesting a lack of spatial segregation at our study site; and low temporal overlap was found between both felids, with tiger cats being nocturnal and jaguarundis diurnal. High temporal overlap was found though between domestic dogs and both wild felid species. Our results suggest that small felids can coexist in private areas of the Caatinga with sufficient habitat. However, there is a need to highlight the potential threat of disease transmission by non-native carnivores as something that should be addressed in these private landscapes.
A modified Agrobacterium-mediated transformation for two oomycete pathogens
Authors: Wang Luyao , Zhao Fei , Liu Haohao , Chen Han , Zhang Fan , Li Suhua , Sun Tongjun , Nekrasov Vladimir , Huang Sanwen , Dong Suomeng
Published: April 2023

Oomycetes are a group of filamentous microorganisms that include some of the biggest threats to food security and natural ecosystems. However, much of the molecular basis of the pathogenesis and the development in these organisms remains to be learned, largely due to shortage of efficient genetic manipulation methods. In this study, we developed modified transformation methods for two important oomycete species, Phytophthora infestans and Plasmopara viticola, that bring destructive damage in agricultural production. As part of the study, we established an improved Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (AMT) method by prokaryotic expression in Agrobacterium tumefaciens of AtVIP1 (VirE2-interacting protein 1), an Arabidopsis bZIP gene required for AMT but absent in oomycetes genomes. Using the new method, we achieved an increment in transformation efficiency in two P. infestans strains. We further obtained a positive GFP transformant of P. viticola using the modified AMT method. By combining this method with the CRISPR/Cas12a genome editing system, we successfully performed targeted mutagenesis and generated loss-of-function mutations in two P. infestans genes. We edited a MADS-box transcription factor-encoding gene and found that a homozygous mutation in MADS-box results in poor sporulation and significantly reduced virulence. Meanwhile, a single-copy avirulence effector-encoding gene Avr8 in P. infestans was targeted and the edited transformants were virulent on potato carrying the cognate resistance gene R8, suggesting that loss of Avr8 led to successful evasion of the host immune response by the pathogen. In summary, this study reports on a modified genetic transformation and genome editing system, providing a potential tool for accelerating molecular genetic studies not only in oomycetes, but also other microorganisms.
Negotiating the feminist group: Lizzie Borden’s Regrouping (1976)
Authors: Evans-Hill Lily
Published: April 2023

This article considers Regrouping, a ‘failed’ film by Lizzie Borden, to think about the dynamics of feminist group-work in the Women’s Liberation Movement. I argue that the film, both in its subject and in the film project, explores conflict in sisterhood through its experimental collaborative approach as well as in its filmic qualities. Using literature surrounding feminist organizational practices, I explore group behaviours present in the film project through the tensions between Borden’s portrait of feminist collective practice and the group’s representation and agency within the process. I also consider the need to reinstate Regrouping, largely unknown and withdrawn from circulation, as an important feminist document that works through the complex negotiations of feminist collaboration that took place in the 1970s.
Cloud Security Governance Guidelines
Authors: Amah Ugochukwu , Mart Joseph , Oyetoro Amos
Published: April 2023

Cloud computing is a widely adopted technology thatoffers many benefits, including cost-effectiveness,scalability, and flexibility. However, the use of cloudcomputing also poses significant challenges related todata security and privacy. Cloud security governance isa critical component of managing these challenges.This research paper aims to provide an in-depthanalysis of cloud security governance, its importance,challenges, and best practices for implementation.Study findings indicate that cloud security governanceis critical in protecting organizational assets andreputation, especially in regulated industries. The studyresults also highlight the importance of proactive riskmanagement, employee training, and continuousmonitoring as essential elements of cloud securitygovernance.This research paper offers practical insights andrecommendations for organizations seeking to improvetheir cloud security governance practices. This articleemphasizes the importance of effective cloud securitygovernance. It provides a valuable framework fordeveloping tailored security policies and proceduresthat align with the unique requirements of the cloudenvironment
Eliot’s The Waste Land and Thomson’s The City of Dreadful Night: Exploring a Cityscape and a Soundscape
Authors:   The T. S. Eliot Society Of Korea, KIM Yangsoon
Published: April 2023

Starting with Eliot’s own acknowledgement of a particular debt toward James Thomson, this study closely compares Eliot’s The Waste Land and Thomson’s The City of Dreadful Night, and examines how the two poets’ interest in London as a subject is manifested in their works and how the cityscape is embodied in each poem. It may be easy to find the thematic similarities from the sterile urban settings between the two poems: the speaker(s)’ quest, the hellish city reality, and the pessimistic overtones. Based on a detailed analysis of both poems, this paper also discusses the types of factors that make The Waste Land a modernist poem, and The City of Dreadful Night a Victorian poem regardless of the differing eras to which each author belongs. The particularized visual images and the acoustic modernity of The Waste Land will be emphasized, as its fragmented sonic dimension including its polyglot and dissonant idioms, songs and noises, and its differing and diverse voices, is strikingly innovative and unique.
Tradition, Empire and the Gold Standard: T. S. Eliot at the Lloyds Bank
Authors:   The T. S. Eliot Society Of Korea, Kweon Seunghyeok
Published: April 2023

In “Tradition and the Individual Talents,” comparing a poet to a catalyst in a chemical reaction, T. S. Eliot suggested that a literary work should be interpreted as an objective or disinterested being which has nothing to do with any political, economical, or social matters. He kept the same critical view on a literary work in some essays, such as “The Perfect Critic,” “The Idea of a Literary Review,” and so on. Following his ideas, most critics have read his literary works as being irrelevant to his personal experiences, his contemporary political events and economic fluctuations. However, it would be interesting to note that while he wrote these essays, he worked for the Lloyds Bank. His experiences at the Lloyds bank sharpened his understanding on the meanings of the political incidents and economic rising and falling. He also integrated his intimate knowledge into his poems such as “A Cooking Egg” and The Waste Land. On the basis of such discoveries, this paper attempts to re-read these poems in his contemporary political, economical contexts.
Nirvana Samatha and T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets
Authors:   The T. S. Eliot Society Of Korea, PARK Seong-Chil
Published: April 2023

Four Quartets expresses suffering as the universal condition of human beings and seeks a way to escape from it through the theme of time. By mixing individual sensibility and intelligence with thoughts of Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism, the poem atriculates the themes in phrases and sentences with various connotative and contradictory meanings. Typical examples include phrases such as “The first world”, “Rose garden”, “Midwinter spring”, “Zero summer”, “A white light still and moving”, and a sentence “At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; / Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is, / But neither arrest nor movement.” These connotative and contradictory meanings would be hard to understand by common readers. Foregrounding Nirvana Samatha in Buddhism as a main subject of Four Quartet, this article delves into the sub-themes such as time(world of phenomenon), eternity, and salvation(redeption). As a Christian poet, Eliot presents Christ/God as the redeemer of humanity in diverse and, even, contradictory ways in the poem. The Lord becomes the end point toward which sufferings human being strive to save themselves, and the archytype of human redemption. Ways to go toward the Lord include repentance, prayer, emptying, humility, and practicing love. Buddhism’s nirvana is much similar to this, but seems a little different from Christianity in the method of seeking. Nirvana is based on internal inquiry. But Both of them are ultimately equal in that they are based on salvation for the eternal happiness of mankind. The ending of the poem, where a fire and a rose become one, visually signifies that humanity can be redeemed by empting herself and loving each other genuinely, and exemplies a poetic expression that unites the religious redemption of the East and the West.
“Midwinter Spring”: The ‘Logic’ of “Little Gidding”
Authors:   The T. S. Eliot Society Of Korea, BONG Joon-Soo
Published: April 2023

This essay traces the contour of the poetic “logic” in T. S. Eliot’s “Little Gidding.” Inscribed in Little Gidding (the site of Nicholas Ferrar’s religious community) is Eliot’s self-consciously constructed identity as classicist, royalist, and anglo-catholic and the place is envisioned to be in and out of time simultaneously, both historical and transcendental in the way the human and the divine intersect in the Incarnation. As a matter of fact, the poem begins with a miraculous seasonal intersection (“Midwinter spring”), which constitutes a paradox so characteristic of the poem as a whole. “Little Gidding” is, indeed, a poem of intersections, and the figure of paradox consistently functions at the rhetorical and thematic levels. As a poem of World War II, “Little Gidding” cannot help but witness to the fall of human civilization symbolically represented in the death of the four elements but ultimately embraces the Christian vision of Julian of Norwich (“All shall be well, and / All manner of thing shall be well”). The vision can be realized when the symbols of fire and rose become one, a union made possible, if we follow this purgatorial poem’s argument, through extremely rigorous self-reflection and purification.
Extended distribution of two wild bananas for the flora of Nagaland
Authors: Tiatemsu Punatemjen , Deb Chitta Ranjan , Asossi Paul
Published: April 2023

Musa manii H.Wendl. ex Baker categorized as a critically endangered wild banana species (IUCN red list, 2019) and M. markkui Gogoi & Borah, so far reported only from Arunachal Pradesh, India is being reported in this paper as new additions to the flora of Nagaland.
A call for a wider perspective on sustainable forestry: Introduction to the Special Issue on The Social Impacts of Logging
Authors: Minter T. , Naito D. , Sunderland T.
Published: April 2023

Global demand for timber is projected to grow and much of this timber will continue to be sourced from natural forests. As these forests, particularly in the tropics, tend to be inhabited by the world's most marginalized communities, the social impacts of logging require more attention
within policy, practice and research. This Introduction to the Special Issue of International Forestry Review on The Social Impacts of Logging compiles evidence that the overwhelmingly negative social impacts of logging are systemic. As logging companies fail to fulfill their
social obligations, and elite capture is common, the extent to which local communities benefit from logging operations is minimal, while long-term, harmful effects on livelihoods, social fabric and safety are severe. Logging operations reinforce and often exacerbate pre-existing inequities,
particularly for women and Indigenous people. Weak governance, a lack of transparency and poor participation procedures partially explain this unfavourable situation. However, logging will only achieve better social outcomes if underlying power-imbalances are tackled.