bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Association between Vitamin D Status and Diabetic Complications in Type 2 Diabetic Patients
Authors: Hassan Tahani , Alhumaidan Nadine , Yousef Basher , Albulayhi Abdulrahman , Alsalhi Mariam , Al Harbi Sultan
Published: January 2024

Diabetes can affect many different organs in the body and may lead to serious complications. Many studies related vitamin D deﬁciency to the occurrence Type 2 diabetes complications. However, the link between diabetic complications and vitamin D deficiency is under debate. Therefore this study aimed to evaluate the clinical relevance of vitamin D levels on diabetic complications. This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 252 patients followed at King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Buraydah and King Saud Hospital in Unaizah, Saudi Arabia. The participants were divided into five groups: Non-diabetic group, diabetic without complications, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and diabetic retinopathy. 78.3% of diabetic neuropathy showed vitamin D deficiency compared to diabetic nephropathy (75%), retinopathy (56.9%), and diabetics without complications (31.4%). Vitamin D deficiency was higher in diabetic patients with complications (69.8%) compared to those without complications (31.4%). Moreover 39.2% of diabetics without complications showed normal vitamin D level compared with 13.4% of diabetics with complications. The results showed that vitamin D deficiency was significantly associated with diabetic complications.
Analysis sustainability status of laeya river management for raw water supply in South Konawe Regency Southeast Sulawesi Province
Authors: Surya Ridwan Adi , Ismail Darwin , Yasin Asramid , Aba La , Erif La Ode Muhammad
Published: January 2024

South Konawe Regency experienced a decrease in water supply and an increase in water demand, due the changes in land use caused by ongoing land exploitation, which increases runoff and decreases infiltration capacity. As a result, more water is lost to the ocean, threatening the water supply from Laeya River. Laeya River raw water is not only utilized for PDAM raw water sources, but also used to meet the domestic needs of the community, agricultural irrigation and plantations, so it is important to know the its sustainability status. This research aims to carrying out activities that control the water quality of the Laeya River, as well as to serve an information regarding the status model for the sustainability of raw water management, and to raise environmental awareness. This study was carried out in the Laeya River, South Konawe Regency. Sampling was conducted at three stations representing the upstream area of the Laeya River, the middle area and the downstream area. The Multi Dimensional Scaling (MDS) analysis method was used to conduct an analysis of the status of sustainable natural resource management for sustainable raw water supply. Based on the results can be concluded that Analysis of the 41 attributes derived from five dimensions resulted in 12 attributes acting as leverage factors in each dimension partially. To improve the sustainability status of raw water management in the research area, it is necessary to intervene the 12 attributes, namely 11 attributes that need to increase the intensity of their activities, and one attribute needs to be controlled and planned for its development properly. The results of the assessment of 41 attributes from five dimensionsin the management of the Laeya River for raw water supply in South Konawe Regency, currently is at less Sustainability status(Sustainability Index value of 36.63).KeywordsSustainability Raw WaterMDSMonte CarloRAPS-LaeyaSouth Konawe Regency
Policy beliefs, belief uncertainty, and policy learning through the lens of the Advocacy Coalition Framework
Authors: Nowlin Matthew C.
Published: January 2024

Within the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), policy-oriented learning is understood as a change in policy beliefs. Additional work has noted that belief reinforcement, not just belief change, is also a potential policy learning outcome. Yet, little work has attempted to reconcile how learning could involve both belief change and belief reinforcement. In this article, I propose a policy-oriented learning model where policy beliefs – deep core, policy core, or secondary aspects – are understood as having a distribution with a central tendency (that is, the belief) as well as variance (that is, certainty associated with the belief). With policy beliefs considered as distributions, learning can be understood as changes in beliefs (that is, a change in the central tendency) as well as changes in certainty (that is, variance), and conversely, a decrease in belief uncertainty would constitute belief reinforcement. Using data from a deliberative forum that brought together various stakeholders including experts, natural resource managers, and the public to discuss environmental issues impacting coastal communities, I explore policy-oriented learning as changes in concern regarding several key issues before and after the forum. Additionally, I examine the association between concern following the forum and self-reported learning. I find support for the proposed policy-oriented learning model as shown by significant changes in average concern as well as average variance among participants across several of the issues discussed. In this way, the article makes a theoretical contribution to the ACF literature by testing the use of distributions to assess policy learning.
Identifying and explaining policy preferences in Swiss water management
Authors: Bolognesi Thomas , Lieberherr Eva , Fischer Manuel
Published: January 2024

Policy preferences are a key element in understanding the policy process. In this article, we conceptualise policy preferences as latent constructs, which can be identified in an inductive way, based on actors’ choice of policy instruments and organisational structures. To inductively identify policy preferences, we take an approach based on principal component analysis, informed by theory on preference formation. Using water supply in Switzerland as a case study, we propose an approach based on policy preference spaces to identify preferences based on clusters of choices. Our results show the presence of three distinct policy preferences: 1) local management with regional support, 2) local autonomy, and 3) strong regional management with local financing autonomy. We investigate the factors affecting the formation of these policy preferences through a regression analysis. Our results indicate that preference formation is affected by actor types and, to a lesser degree, by goal priority. In this way, the article makes two distinct contributions to the field. The first is a methodological contribution, through its proposition for measuring and operationalising policy preferences; and the second is a theoretical contribution, in demonstrating how policy preferences are influenced by actor types and goal priority it highlights the context-dependent nature of policy preferences.
Advocacy coalitions, soft power, and policy change in Mexican electricity policy: a discourse network analysis
Authors: Gutiérrez-Meave Raúl
Published: January 2024

This research explores the influence of discourse power on policy change in the Mexican electricity sector, using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). Drawing on Discourse Network Analysis, it examines the discursive dynamics and power relations between competing advocacy coalitions from 1994 to 2018. This 24-year period encompasses three significant reform proposals that aimed to liberalise Mexico’s electricity generation sector, representing major potential policy changes. Specifically, the study tests the second policy change hypothesis proposed by the ACF, which suggests that major policy change is unlikely as long as the advocacy coalition defending the status quo remains in power. To operationalise the notion of which coalition is in power, the study employs Discourse Network Analysis to examine the discursive power of each coalition. This allows an exploration of how the interplay between coalition discursive power and the extent of belief differences shape policy outcomes. The findings align with the ACF’s second hypothesis on policy change. They also suggest the potential for enhancing the ACF by incorporating a nuanced understanding of the multiple dimensions of power, with a particular emphasis on the discursive influence of advocacy coalitions.
Experiences of Belonging and Islamophobia among Hijabi Muslim College Students in the United States
Authors: Pouraskari Neda , Dika Sandra , Frankovich Jacob
Published: January 2024

Abstract: Students from marginalized religious backgrounds face myriad challenges on college and university campuses, and negative effects are especially pronounced for Muslim students. Wearing hijab can put college students at a greater risk of marginalization amidst a climate of Islamophobia. Although there is a growing body of research on Muslim college student experiences, there is a more limited exploration of hijabi students’ experiences. In this exploratory online survey study (n=41), we sought to understand experiences of belonging and Islamophobia among hijabi Muslim students across the United States. We adopted a critical quantitative approach, specifically interested in the connection of hijabi students’ sense of belonging, social adjustment, and experiences of microaggressions to their adherence to the Islamic dress code, membership in a Muslim student organization (MSA), and identifying with a minoritized racial group. We found that more modest dress was associated with lower perceived support from peers and faculty, while reported microaggressions were negatively related to faculty empathy. The strongest effects were involvement in MSA on social adjustment, and having a white identity on perceived faculty support. This study contributes to our understanding of the role of student affairs professionals, faculty, and higher education administrators in supporting hijabi students to succeed as their whole authentic selves.
Socially-Just Disability Resources in Higher Education: An Appreciative Inquiry
Authors: Strimel Morgan M. , Francis Grace L.
Published: January 2024

Abstract: To replace the current professional paradigm of higher education disability resources, socially-just disability resources emerged as the next step for the field to progress relative to creating experiences for students with disabilities that are not only accessible and equitable but also socially-just. Overall, descriptions of socially-just disability resources take the social model approach a step further by directly mobilizing disability resource professionals to organize for greater change in higher education to holistically address barriers with an ideal outcome of reducing the need for accommodations altogether. However, because this is a novel framework, there is a paucity of research regarding its implementation. The purpose of this study was to understand what the ideal implementation of socially just disability resources would entail and how these practices can be sustained. Following a review of the findings from an appreciative inquiry initiative conducted with one disability resource center, implications are discussed.
"This ado in Earthing up a Carcase": Robert Blair's The Grave (1743) as Eighteenth-Century Churchyard Georgic
Authors: Metcalf James
Published: January 2024

Abstract: Robert Blair's The Grave (1743) is typically read as a "graveyard poem," in which depictions of death and decay are intended to compel readers before directing their thoughts to the afterlife. This article, by contrast, reads The Grave as a churchyard variation on the contemporary georgic mode to show how the poet's labor to instruct readers on the attainment of heaven grows out of soil, dirt, dust, and ashes—the base elements that compose an earth in flux and that provide, as metaphors for life, work, and death in the poem, a georgic counterweight to the soul's heavenward flight.
Polly Peachum and the Aristocrats: Celebrity, Class, and Gender in the Early Eighteenth Century
Authors: Erman Uri
Published: January 2024

Abstract: The unparalleled success of The Beggar's Opera created a certain discrepancy; while the work was highly critical of the social and political elite, the actress who created the role of Polly Peachum, Lavinia Fenton, was routinely associated with a string of aristocrats. This article examines the resulting struggle over Fenton's presumed emotional and political attachments. By analyzing female celebrity through the prism of class, I argue that this struggle had placed the actress, and her relations with aristocratic men, as a central emblem of the contemporary revaluation of social status.
Higher Education and the Precarity of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Programs
Authors: Branham Kristi , Costello Lisa A.
Published: January 2024

Abstract: This article presents findings from our 2018 survey of over 331 institutions about the factors that impact Women's, Gender, and Sexuality programs and challenge their survival. Across the United States, significant changes have affected not just the stability of WGS programs, but their very existence. WGS academic programs are experiencing extreme precarity based on several factors: reductions in state funding for education; the rise of political conservatism/authoritarianism globally, and increased mistrust of liberal arts locally. These external factors have caused WGS Programs to be redefined, merged with other programs, or cut altogether. The onset of the pandemic intensified all these factors exponentially and is exacerbated by the interdisciplinarity of the field, the reliance on personality in leadership, and the lack of resources. We hope this article, in conversation with the brief data that NWSA gathered in 2020, will illuminate the challenges and pose some solutions.
Focused Journal Writing for Teaching Group Dynamics
Authors: Brown Nina W. , Wilkerson Alexis , Dice Robert , Abraham Joshua
Published: January 2024

Abstract: Thirty-seven student journals (17 pretest, 17 posttest) for a group counseling and psychotherapy class were rated and analyzed on the extent to which descriptions of seven observed group dynamics for T-group sessions showed adequacy of reporting and growth. Analyses included interrater reliability, pretest–posttest differences, and qualitative theme analyses. Results from both the quantitative and qualitative analyses showed growth in recognizing the dynamics for external observations, internal experiencing, and the impacts on the group.
Working in the “There and Now”: Groups in Context
Authors: Brand Jeff
Published: January 2024

Abstract: Clinical practice relies on theory and research to guide decision-making. Most theory about interpersonal process groups emphasizes the “here and now”—a focus on interactions in the present moment in the session. This is contrasted with the “there and then,” or what happened outside the session at some other time. In this article, I argue that a narrow focus on the here and now belies the complexity of what happens in sessions and can work to the detriment of the clinical process. I discuss theoretical assumptions and provide case examples to illustrate the importance of expanding the focus of the therapist’s attention. The article o˚ers preliminary ideas to revise the theoretical basis for improving clinical decisions and guiding decision-making.
Law and Physics in Leibniz
Authors: Dong Hao
Published: January 2024

abstract: In this paper I argue that there is a structural parallelism between law and physics in Leibniz since his early years, which has significant influence on the formation of his views. I start by examining Leibniz's early physical system and an analogy with juridical laws that he uses to explain the structure of physical laws. Then, I argue that this analogy stems from an envisioned parallelism between law and physics. Finally, I illustrate the significance of this legal-physical parallelism by arguing that it underlies some of Leibniz's mature views. Most importantly, I argue that the parallelism explains the origin of architectonic principles or optimality principles in Leibniz's mature physics.
Mill on Moral Rules in "Whewell on Moral Philosophy"
Authors: Sarnoff Jonathan
Published: January 2024

abstract: Interpreters of John Stuart Mill's moral philosophy have long disagreed about whether he was an act or rule utilitarian. Though debate has often focused on Utilitarianism , this paper instead analyzes a less studied work, "Whewell on Moral Philosophy," which contains a more detailed and systematic discussion of moral rules. "Whewell," I argue, favors reading Mill as an act utilitarian: it understands the importance of rules in moral reasoning to arise from the uncertainty under which human action occurs, not from any direct role that rule compliance plays in determining right action.
Monstrous Beauty: The Alternative Aesthetic of Difference in Emil Ferris' My Favorite Thing Is Monsters
Authors: Petrus John
Published: January 2024

ABSTRACT: In this article, I analyze Emil Ferris' unique visual and textual narratives in her graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by using Russian formalist Victor Shklovsky's concept of ostranenie (enstrangement/defamiliarization) as well as humanistic theories of monstrosity to show how Ferris reframes concepts of monstrosity and alterity/difference to prompt her readers to reevaluate their biases. I argue that Ferris' unique aesthetic "enstranges" the past to create monstrous beauty—provoking her readers to embrace the weird and undefined, to reexamine the familiar, and to reevaluate what we consider monstrous and beautiful. Ferris employs various literary and artistic devices to enstrange. Firstly, she enstranges her own artistic form, punctuating her narrative with horror comic covers, reproductions of artwork from the Art Institute of Chicago, and experimenting with different text and comic styles. Secondly, she "enstranges" her protagonist by adopting the character's preferred self-image in her depictions rather than how others see her. The ultimate effects of these strategies of enstrangement are to force her readers to grapple with an alternative aesthetic of difference that reframes the historical memory of the Holocaust and the experience of coming of age as a queer woman in the 1960s in Chicago by using influences from gothic and horror genres that allow us to grasp the emotional impact of structural misogyny, antisemitism, homophobia, and general fear of difference.
Labor in the Margins: Filipino Comics Workers in the US Comic Book Industry
Authors: Saguisag Lara
Published: January 2024

ABSTRACT: This article recovers the work of Filipino comics artists. More accurately, it builds a history of their working conditions. Focusing on the case of Nestor Redondo, this article deliberately foregrounds the issues of labor, migration, and artists' rights in the US comic book industry. It examines the work of Filipino comics workers through the lens of racial capitalism, linking the experiences of Redondo and his peers to the broader histories of the globalization of Filipino labor. As such, it highlights the racial and colonial dimensions of labor in the comics industry and recognizes that histories of comics go hand in hand with histories of labor.
'She must be Woman at last': The Paratextual Sabotage of Clio in The Epistles of Clio and Strephon
Authors: Wilputte Earla
Published: January 2024

ABSTRACT: The Epistles of Clio and Strephon (1720), by Martha Fowke and William Bond, is a poetic dialogue of twenty-seven letters between two poets that incorporates a battle for authorial subjectivity. Not only must Clio contend with Strephon's efforts to eroticize her; standing between the reader and Clio's poems are three thresholds of paratexts. The multi-author, hybrid text as a whole illuminates the pressures exerted on women writers by their male peers. Working beyond Genette on textuality, the article engages work on anthology-making, triangulation, elegy's male lineage, and gender-crossing to demonstrate the textual complications of establishing a woman poet's authority.
'Nous aimons les spectacles exotiques': Queerness, Jewishness, and the Performance of Normality in Proust's Recherche
Authors: Zuzovsky Eli
Published: January 2024

ABSTRACT: The nexus between Jewishness, queerness, and performativity runs throughout Marcel Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu (1913–27). I argue that by foregrounding the theatricality of Jewishness and queerness, Proust reveals their social construction. In doing so, he destabilizes the concept of normality, exposing its factitiousness in a seemingly reformed society still dominated by exclusionary dictates. Examining instances of spectacle and unmasking, I demonstrate how the failure of the performance of normality challenges its myth of naturality. Proust's use of a dramatic lexicon to deconstruct identity offers a powerful response to the budding discourse of French fascism.
The (Not-So-)Private Mind: Why Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury Is and Is Not a Failure
Authors: Schwartz Daniel
Published: January 2024

Abstract: Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury attempts to represent first-person experience in a radical fashion. In what I call (paradoxically) “free indirect discourse in the first person,” Faulkner ostensibly presents both thought thought and thought below the level of awareness together in one stream of text. The Quentin section in particular relies on an idealistic picture of language as meaningful in itself, apart from any intersubjective context or significant use, as though we could bypass communication and look inside Quentin’s head, finding not the brain but the “exact language” of his conscious life. I consider this temptation by way of Wittgenstein’s critique of the privacy of the mental. Wittgenstein’s aim, I argue, is not to deny or demote interiority, but rather to impugn a certain picture of how “the inner” must look — a realm composed of private objects to which the “I” alone has access. I thus suggest that we think of Quentin as an experiment, an appeal. Faulkner tries to reveal a mind in the brutal fullness of its suffering without forcing that mind to address us: to tell us that they suffer . I contend that this appeal fails, and in failing reveals the manner in which the (not-so-private) mind is essentially embedded in a shared, intersubjective world.
Excluding the Rural Girl Student: Rural-Urban Divide, Knowledge Transmission, and Female Homosociality in Xiao Hong’s “Hands”
Authors: Wang Lang
Published: January 2024

Abstract: In the early 20th century, the figures of both the peasant woman and the “New Woman” caught the attention of Chinese writers. While the “New Woman” has been the subject of considerable scholarship, the representation of peasant women has not received much scholarly attention. This essay examines the peasant woman as represented in modern Chinese literature to complement the existing understanding of Chinese modernity. It focuses on the rural girl student, as she signifies the clash of two worlds: the rural family as her point of provenance and the modern school as her entry into the urban. Relying on Xiao Hong’s short story “Hands” in the context of historical accounts, I argue that hygiene becomes a type of biopower that punishes the rural girl student for her class origin and racializes her as a barbarian, the process capturing a rural-urban divide. The modern school that expels the protagonist, Wang Yaming, is not an institution that promotes upward mobility but a tool to perpetuate class privileges. Although the narrator shows occasional sympathy with Wang Yaming, under the influence of class difference female solidarity is not achieved.
The Mirror and the Icon: A Theological Perspective on Nabokov’s Pale Fire
Authors: Eklund Erik
Published: January 2024

Abstract: The search for the author(s) of Nabokov’s Pale Fire arises from a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem of repetition and its relation to the question of origins, temporal and timeless. For insofar as an origin is a thing ( res ) that is not always already in the movement of repetition (identical or otherwise), however distantly removed from its source (finite or otherwise), there can be no finite or immanent origin in the book or in the world. There is only its sign, which incorporates and refracts within its generative gaze all the temporalities and identities as non-identical repetition. In Pale Fire such as sign is represented by St. Sudarg of Bokay’s triptych of bottomless light.
'Other people are left to live like normal': White victimhood on lockdown
Authors: Falkof Nicky
Published: January 2024

ABSTRACT: This article considers narratives of white victimhood and entitlement that emerged on social media during South Africa's first 'hard' lockdown in April 2020, in the initial stages of the coronavirus pandemic. While some commenters and citizens were initially supportive of the lockdown, the tone among sectors of white society soon changed to one of anger and paranoia as media texts began to circulate suggesting that lockdown regulations and policing disproportionately targeted white people. White enterprise, sociality and leisure were seen to be unfairly constrained, in an iteration of familiar narratives of 'reverse racism'. The article examines instances of claimed white victimhood expressed in online videos and petitions, centred on the temporary banning of beach sports, surfing and dog-walking, leisure practices that manifest what Mark Hunter calls 'white tone'. It shows how white exceptionalism persisted within one of the most dramatic global health crises of the past century.
The making of Trotskyist tradition in South Africa: A reading of 'The Spark', 1935–1937
Authors: Soudien Crain
Published: January 2024

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this contribution, towards understanding the contribution of the early years of Trotskyism in South Africa, is to distil the major analytic themes that developed in the political organ of the Workers Party of South Africa, The Spark . It looks critically at the first three years of The Spark to establish how the WPSA was positioning itself relative to the unfolding class struggle in South Africa. In asking what theoretical and conceptual starting points around the questions of race and class emerge out of this corpus of writing it seeks to show that the early Trotskyists were, in their vocabularies and theoretical frames, little different to their political opponents in the Communist Party of South Africa. Through The Spark they showed, however, that there was in the question of race something distinct about South African capitalism. They began but did not complete this explanation in their attempts to explain how segregation worked.
The Uneven State: Center and Periphery in Shaping State Capacity in Thailand
Authors: Nam Illan
Published: January 2024

abstract: This article examines the state's uneven capacity to deliver public social goods to the periphery. It does so through a comparative analysis of two agencies in Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education, which have exhibited a marked disparity in serving rural citizens over the past twenty-five years. The author traces these outcomes to a divergence in how the agencies perceive the significance of their rural policies in meeting Thailand's security threats and economic growth strategy. This perception produces contrasting organizational norms between central and local bureaucrats, which informs incentives for capacity-building. When an agency's central office believes that rural policy matters significantly for national goals, norms develop that encourage local agents to invest in serving rural needs. But when an agency deems rural policy to be less urgent in meeting key national objectives, the converse ensues. The article finds that how an agency strategically considers the rural sector influences its decisions to invest in the periphery, with lasting consequences for state capacity and the rural-urban divide.
When Democracy Brings Insecurity: The Political Legacies of Regime Change
Authors: Lueders Hans
Published: January 2024

abstract: The circumstances under which a country democratizes can have long-lasting consequences for citizens' political attitudes. To develop this argument, the author links East Germans' satisfaction with the functioning of democracy today to their experiences during German reunification: East Germany democratized under conditions of extreme economic uncertainty, which has had enduring effects on how economic evaluations are linked to democracy satisfaction. An original survey experiment finds that qualitatively similar experiences of current economic insecurity have stronger effects on East than West Germans' democracy satisfaction. Household panel data show that this effect is stronger among those East Germans who experienced more economic hardship during the transition. Surveys of East Germans prior to reunification demonstrate that a similar pattern did not exist before the transition. Finally, cross-national survey data document similar patterns among Eastern Europeans more broadly. These findings complement existing work on the legacies of authoritarian rule by emphasizing the lasting attitudinal effects of authoritarian breakdown.
Multiplane differential saturated excitation microscopy using varifocal lenses
Authors: Luo Chi-Hao , Vyas Sunil , Huang Kuang-yuh , Chu Shi-Wei , Luo Yuan
Published: January 2024

Saturated excitation microscopy, which collects nonlinear fluorescence signals generated by saturation, has been proposed to improve three-dimensional spatial resolution. Differential saturated excitation (dSAX) microscopy can further improve the detection efficiency of a nonlinear fluorescence signal. By comparing signals obtained at different saturation levels, high spatial resolution can be achieved in a simple and efficient manner. High-resolution multiplane microscopy is perquisite for volumetric imaging of thick samples. To the best of our knowledge, no reports of multiplane dSAX have been made. Our aim is to obtain multiplane high-resolution optically sectioned images by adapting differential saturated excitation in confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy. To perform multiplane dSAX microscopy, a variable focus lens is employed in a telecentric design to achieve focus tunability with constant magnification and contrast throughout the axial scanning range. Multiplane fluorescence imaging of two different types of pollen grains shows improved resolution and contrast. Our system's imaging performance is evaluated using standard targets, and the results are compared with standard confocal microscopy. Using a simple and efficient method, we demonstrate multiplane high-resolution fluorescence imaging. We anticipate that high-spatial resolution combined with high-speed focus tunability with invariant contrast and magnification will be useful in performing 3D imaging of thick biological samples.
Collaborative FFE-assisted simplified soft-output MLSE with LDPC for high-speed IM-DD transmissions
Authors: Zhao Xue , Zhang Jing , Zhou Jiahao , Ma Zhengyu , Hu Shaohua , Xu Bo , Zhang Qianwu , Qiu Kun
Published: January 2024

In this paper, we propose a feed-forward equalizer (FFE)-assisted simplified soft-output MLSE (sMLSE) by collaborating the maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) with soft-decision low-density-parity-check (LDPC) decoding. The simplified sMLSE results in undetermined log-likelihood ratio (LLR) magnitudes when the reserved level is less than or equal to the half of modulation order. This severely degrades the performance of soft-decision forward error correction (SD-FEC) decoding. In the FFE-assisted simplified sMLSE, we use the LLRs calculated from pre-set FFE to replace these undetermined LLRs of simplified sMLSE. Thus, the proposed method eliminates the SD-FEC decoding performance degradation resulted from simplification. We conduct experiments to transmit 184-Gb/s PAM-4 or 255-Gb/s PAM-8 signal in IM-DD system at C-band to evaluate the performance of the proposed sMLSE. The results show that the proposed sMLSE can effectively compensate for the degradation of LLR quality. For 255-Gb/s PAM-8 signal transmissions, the FFE-assisted simplified sMLSE achieves almost the same SD-FEC decoding performance as the conventional sMLSE but with 85% complexity reduction.
Effects of grafting on chemical constituents, toxicological properties, antithrombotic activity, and myocardial infarction protection of styrax secreted from the trunk of Liquidambar orientalis Mill
Authors: Huang Shen , Cai Jiayi , Ma Li , Zhang Quanlong , Sun Yiqi , Zhang Qiaoyan , Qin Luping
Published: January 2024

Styrax, the balsam refined from the trunk of Liquidambar orientalis Mill. has a variety of applications in the perfumery and medical industry, especially for use in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the resources of styrax are in shortage due to being endangered of this plant. Grafting can improve the adaptability of plants to unfavorable environmental conditions. We tried to graft the L. orientalis Mill. on L. formosana Hance which was widely distributed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces of China in an attempt to obtain styrax from grafted L. orientalis Mill. (grafted styrax, SG). Whether SG can become an alternative application of commercially available styrax (SC) need be further investigated. The components of SG were analyzed by GC-MS, and the results showed that the chromatograms of SG, SC, and styrax standard (SS) were consistent. The ration of 12 major chemical components based peak area in SG, SC, and SS were 93.95%, 94.24%, and 95.86% respectively. The assessment of toxicity, antithrombotic activity, and myocardial infarction protection of SG and SC was evaluated by using the zebrafish model, the results showed that SG and SC have the similar toxicological properties as evidenced by acute toxicity test, developmental toxicity and teratogenicity, and long-term toxicity test. Both SG and SC significantly decreased the thrombosis and increased blood flow velocity of zebrafish induced by adrenaline hydrochloride, inhibited myocardial apoptosis, myocardial infarction and myocardial inflammation in zebrafish induced by isoproterenol hydrochloride. Moreover, SG had an obvious improvement effect on cardiac output, while SC has no effect. Collectively, SG is similar to SC in chemical composition, toxicological properties, antithrombotic activity, and myocardial infarction protection effects, and may be used as a substitute for styrax to reduce the collection for wild L. orientalis Mill. and increase the available styrax resources.
SVvalidation: A long-read-based validation method for genomic structural variation
Authors: Zheng Yan , Shang Xuequn
Published: January 2024

Although various methods have been developed to detect structural variations (SVs) in genomic sequences, few are used to validate these results. Several commonly used SV callers produce many false positive SVs, and existing validation methods are not accurate enough. Therefore, a highly efficient and accurate validation method is essential. In response, we propose SVvalidation—a new method that uses long-read sequencing data for validating SVs with higher accuracy and efficiency. Compared to existing methods, SVvalidation performs better in validating SVs in repeat regions and can determine the homozygosity or heterozygosity of an SV. Additionally, SVvalidation offers the highest recall, precision, and F1-score (improving by 7-16%) across all datasets. Moreover, SVvalidation is suitable for different types of SVs. The program is available at https://github.com/nwpuzhengyan/SVvalidation.
Feasibility and acceptability of the Promoting Pupils’ Physical Literacy (3PL) intervention and its effectiveness research design: A study protocol
Authors: Amholt Thea Toft , Kurtzhals Mette , Melby Paulina Sander , Stage Anna , Issartel Johann , O’Brien Wesley , Belton Sarahjane , Bølling Mads , Nielsen Glen , Bentsen Peter , Elsborg Peter
Published: January 2024

Research has shown that physical activity (PA) is important for health throughout the lifespan. Therefore, it is important that children develop the individual prerequisites that enable participation in PA throughout life. The theoretical concept physical literacy (PL) and the research field of PL has described such personal competences and traits. However, to promote PL among children and lifelong PA, there is a demand for more high-quality interventions to be developed and tested. When targeting children, schools are an important setting. Despite the possibility of promoting PL during PE lessons, few well-tested interventions have been developed. In this study, we therefore aim to context adapt and feasibility test an already existing and promising PL intervention to a Danish school context. The ADAPT and MRC guidelines were followed to adapt the Promoting Pupils Physical Literacy (3PL) intervention. Through workshops with stakeholders, the intervention was adapted to fit Danish 4th and 5th graders. Four Danish schools were recruited in a wait list design. The feasibility and acceptability of both the intervention and the effect study design will be investigated. To investigate the intervention, weekly questionnaires, observations, and interviews will be conducted during the intervention period. The feasibility of the effect study design will be investigated by collecting baseline and endline data on pupils’ PL and daily PA as well as parents’ socioeconomic status. Expected outcomes include a TIDieR checklist, a revised, feasible, and acceptable intervention, and an effect study design protocol. This will contribute to important steps in the direction of making PL interventions more accessible for practice. Valid testing of intervention effectiveness enables stakeholders to make informed decisions grounded in evidence. This will strengthen the possibilities of a successful outcome and for a PL intervention that is more accessible for practice, which is important for scale up.
Family caregiver experience of caring COVID-19 patients admitted in COVID-19 hospital of a tertiary care hospital in Nepal
Authors: Thapa Prekshya , Lama Sami , Rai Gayatri , Sapkota Nidesh , Pradhan Nirmala , Thapa Roshni , Uprety Pratik , Basnet Madhur
Published: January 2024

Background

Informal caregivers played a significant role in caring for COVID-19 patients during hospitalization in Nepal. This study aimed to understand the experiences of family caregivers attending to their relatives in a COVID-19 hospital in Nepal.

Methods

A descriptive phenomenological approach was adopted to understand the caregiver’s experience in supporting their relatives admitted to the COVID-19 hospital of the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS). Thirteen caregivers of COVID-19 positive patients were purposively selected from April to June, 2022. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at a caregiver residential facility using the interview schedule developed by the department for the purpose of data collection after obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional review committee of BPKIHS. Data were audio recorded and manually analyzed.

Results

Among the 13 caregivers, six were male and seven were female. The findings were categorized into five domains: challenges encountered, changes in physical and mental health, changes in roles and responsibilities, positive experiences, and strategies to ease caregiving tasks. Major challenges included financial burdens, communication problems, stigmatization, Insecurity, substandard accommodation, and visitor restrictions. Caregivers reported negative emotions, unmet physical health needs, and shifts in family and occupational roles. Despite these challenges, caregivers attempted to cope positively and acknowledged the efforts of healthcare personnel and other family members. Suggestions for improving caregiving included providing essential medical and basic services within the hospital, enhancing accommodation facilities, establishing proper communication channels, and allowing visitations.

Conclusions

Caregivers of COVID-19 patients face significant challenges during the caregiving process. Enhancing hospital services, promoting effective communication, fostering positive attitudes, and ensuring a safe environment can facilitate caregiving tasks.
Environmental regulation effect on the different technology innovation-based the empirical analysis
Authors: Ma Lihua , Ma Shiya , Tang Qisheng , Sun Mingmei , Yan Huizhe , Yuan Xiuling , Tian Wei , Chen Yufei
Published: January 2024

This article explores the impact mechanism of different types of environmental regulations on corporate green technology innovation (GTI). The research focuses on analyzing three types of environmental regulations: command based environmental regulation (ER1), market-oriented environmental regulation (ER2), and voluntary environmental regulation (ER3), and how they affect corporate GTI. This study selected enterprise GTI as the dependent variable and measured it by the number of applications for green invention patents and green utility model patents. The independent variables are the three types of environmental regulations mentioned above. According to data from Chinese A-share listed companies. Using benchmark regression models to analyze the impact of different environmental regulations on GTI, and constructing a moderating effect model to study the role of corporate R&D investment and government support in the process of environmental regulations affecting GTI. The results indicate that (1) ER1, ER2, and ER3 can all promote enterprise GTI, and the three environmental regulatory methods have a better synergistic effect. (2) R&D investment has a positive correlation with the relationship between ER2 and GTI, and a negative correlation with ER 3 and ER 1. (3) There are differences in the GTI performance of enterprises in different regions, ownership nature, factor density, and industry types under the influence of environmental regulations. (4) The impact of environmental regulatory policies on corporate GTI is mainly short-term. This study provides a new perspective on how environmental regulations affect corporate GTI, especially in the context of developing countries like China. The research findings emphasize the role of different types of environmental regulations in incentivizing corporate GTI, while also pointing out factors that governments need to consider when formulating environmental policies, such as regional differences and corporate characteristics, which are of great significance for promoting green development of enterprises and achieving broader sustainable development goals.
Proteomic analysis of pulmonary arteries and lung tissues from dogs affected with pulmonary hypertension secondary to degenerative mitral valve disease
Authors: Sakarin Siriwan , Rungsipipat Anudep , Roytrakul Sittiruk , Jaresitthikunchai Janthima , Phaonakrop Narumon , Charoenlappanit Sawanya , Thaisakun Siriwan , Surachetpong Sirilak Disatian
Published: January 2024

In dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD), pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common complication characterized by abnormally elevated pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP). Pulmonary arterial remodeling is the histopathological changes of pulmonary artery that has been recognized in PH. The underlying mechanisms that cause this arterial remodeling are poorly understood. This study aimed to perform shotgun proteomics to investigate changes in protein expression in pulmonary arteries and lung tissues of DMVD dogs with PH compared to normal control dogs and DMVD dogs without PH. Tissue samples were collected from the carcasses of 22 small-sized breed dogs and divided into three groups: control (n = 7), DMVD (n = 7) and DMVD+PH groups (n = 8). Differentially expressed proteins were identified, and top three upregulated and downregulated proteins in the pulmonary arteries of DMVD dogs with PH including SIK family kinase 3 (SIK3), Collagen type I alpha 1 chain (COL1A1), Transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-α), Apoptosis associated tyrosine kinase (AATYK), Hepatocyte growth factor activator (HGFA) and Tyrosine-protein phosphatase non-receptor type 13 (PTPN13) were chosen. Results showed that some of the identified proteins may play a role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial remodeling. This study concluded shotgun proteomics has potential as a tool for exploring candidate proteins associated with the pathogenesis of PH secondary to DMVD in dogs.
Association between timed up-and-go test and subsequent pneumonia: A cohort study
Authors: Lee Hyo Jin , Oh Sohee , Lee Hyun Woo , Lee Jung-Kyu , Heo Eun Young , Kim Deog Kyeom , Park Tae Yun
Published: January 2024

Background

Sarcopenia is a risk factor for pneumonia in the elderly, and the timed up-and-go test (TUG) can be used as a screening tool for sarcopenia in this population. This study aimed to evaluate the association between TUG test results and future pneumonia or ventilator care.

Materials and methods

From the National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort database, we identified 19,804 people without neurological diseases who underwent the TUG test in the National Screening Program for Transitional Ages at the age of 66 years during 2007–2008. Gait abnormality was defined as taking 10 s or longer to perform the TUG test. Pneumonia occurrence was defined using the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) code for pneumonia (J12–J18, J69), and ventilator care was defined by procedure codes (M5830, M5850, M5867, M5858, M5860, M5859) according to the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding system codes from 2007 to 2015.

Results

The mean follow-up period was 7.4 years (standard error, SE 0.02). The incidence rates of pneumonia in the normal and slow TUG groups were 38 and 39.5/1000 person-years, respectively. The slow TUG group did not show a higher risk of pneumonia (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.042; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.988–1.107]). Regarding ventilator care, the incidence was 4.7 and 5.2 cases per 1,000 person-years in the normal and slow TUG groups, respectively. Slow TUG groups also did not show an increased risk of ventilator occurrence (aHR, 1.136, [95% CI = 0.947–1.363]).

Conclusion

The TUG test result was not associated with future pneumonia or ventilator care and may not be useful for predicting pneumonia in community-dwelling elderly individuals. Further studies are needed to identify additional functional tools for sarcopenia associated with future pneumonia occurrences.