bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social Power May Enhance Workplace Initiative: An Experimental Investigation Among Two Samples
Authors: Livingston Tyler N. , Adams Carter R. , MacKinnon Connor
Published: November 2024

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) refers to voluntary actions members take to benefit organizational function. However, the benefits of OCB for organizations are sometimes countered by detriments for employees who exhibit them, resulting in threats to organizational members’ psychological wellbeing. The present research examined whether social power—the perceived ability to control allocations and outcomes in a social hierarchy—could increase OCB endorsement while buffering against negative personal costs. Indeed, manipulated social power enhanced OCB endorsement. This effect was mediated by increased positive affect and goal seeking among participants assigned to a high-power condition relative to participants assigned to a low-power condition. Further, participants assigned to a high-power (vs. low-power) condition did not report increased occupational burden despite their greater OCB endorsement. Patterns of results were similar among a sample of community members ( N = 149; Mage = 37 years) and a sample of university students ( N = 129; Mage = 20 years). Organizations might empower members by employing procedural justice principles that facilitate members’ meaningful contributions to workplace operations.
Traversing borders of representation: Occidentalism in a Moroccan traveller’s account of Britain’s modernity
Authors: Berghabi Hajar , Boulahnane Saad
Published: November 2024

In 1876, Moroccan Sultan Moulay Hasan sent a delegation to Britain to study artillery and return with a specimen of modern weaponry. This article examines Driss Jaaidi’s report on the journey to Britain through the theoretical lens of Occidentalism, which offers a counter-narrative to Western Orientalism. Jaaidi’s account, produced within the diplomatic context of Moroccan–British relations, diverges from traditional Orientalist texts, offering a respectful and admiring depiction of British modernity. By focusing on technological advancement, industrialization, and mass urban life, Jaaidi’s travelogue emphasizes observation without condescension, contrasting the estrangement found in Western accounts of the East. This study explores how Occidentalism allows non-Western travellers to view the West through a lens of curiosity and respect, fostering a narrative that is forward-looking and temporally progressive. The observer’s language, shaped by an Occidentalist perspective, reflects a register of praise and awe rather than alienation and distortion. The present text suggests that while Orientalism views the East as a relic of the past, Occidentalism, in contrast, portrays the West as a vision of the future – a futuristic artefact.
Uncovering the Relationship Between Employee Emotions and Occupational Well-Being During Economic Crises
Authors: Chatzoglou Prodromos D. , Diamantidis Anastasios , Papantoni Konstantina
Published: November 2024

The impact of several organizational and employee-related factors on the occupational well-being of employees has been well acknowledged. However, there is a lack of comprehensive research that examines these causal relationships within a unified structural model, particularly in the context of an economic crisis. Thus, the originality of this study lies in the examination of the effect of economic crises on work-related attitudes and occupational well-being of employees. In other words, this study addresses the current research gap by constructing a comprehensive research model, integrating key aspects that significantly impact employee well-being. The proposed and tested new research model incorporates 5 factors and 15 subfactors. The final sample, comprising 297 valid questionnaires, was filled in by employees and line managers. One crucial conclusion that contributes to the existing literature is that the negative consequences of the crisis did not severely affect employees’ emotional health. Nevertheless, occupational well-being is directly affected by employees’ attitudes and their (negative) emotional state. On the other hand, positive emotions affect occupational well-being indirectly. Overall, the general model can explain 36% of employee behaviour related parameter variance and 37% of occupational well-being variance, while the detailed model can explain 64% of employee behaviour parameter variance, 39% of burnout variance, 38% of depersonalization variance, and 14% of personal achievement variance. This article is structured around five main sections, namely introduction, theoretical framework and hypotheses, research methodology, data analysis and results and conclusions, followed by managerial implications.
A scoping review of global patterns in reporting race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion in palliative care randomized controlled trials: Recommendations for transparency
Authors: Witham Gary , Regier Natalie G , Abshire Saylor Martha , Allgood Sarah , Curriero Samantha , Gray Tamryn F , Gunes Elifnur , Hansen Bryan R , Levy Reena , Nelson Katie E , Petchler Claire M , Singer Cohen Rebecca , Wright Rebecca
Published: November 2024

Background:

Though randomized controlled trials of non-pharmacological palliative care interventions have shown positive outcomes, findings are often generalized with limited consideration for the impact of the influence of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion on said outcomes.

Aim:

To identify trends and gaps in global reporting of racial, ethnic, nationality, and religious demographics in non-pharmacological palliative care randomized controlled trials.

Design:

We conducted a scoping review guided by the Joanna Briggs methodology,

Data sources:

Global randomized controlled trials published in English, between 1999 and 2021 extracted from databases: Cochrane, PubMed, and Scopus. Inclusion criteria were non-pharmacological palliative care interventions for people with serious conditions reporting on one or more of the demographics of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion.

Results:

Our review included 131 (44%) articles published from 19 countries, predominantly the USA ( n = 84, 64%). Most studies focused on cancer ( n = 71, 54%) in inpatient settings ( n = 85, 64%). Race was the most commonly reported demographic ( n = 93, 70%), followed by ethnicity ( n = 54, 41%), religion ( n = 46, 35%), nationality ( n = 20, 15%). Within racial reporting, 86 (92%) indicating a majority White/Caucasian sample. Only 14 (10%) articles provided context connecting participant demographics to intervention outcomes. Demographic data was discussed only as a limitation to generalizability in 18 cases (41%).

Conclusions:

Improving greater transparency in study reporting of social and historical context about population demographics, including specific demographic data collected, may better identify unmet palliative needs, facilitate cross-cultural interpretation, and improve adaptation and implementation of non-pharmacological palliative care interventions.
What Can Happen When We Look at Art?: An Exploratory Network Model and Latent Profile Analysis of Affective/Cognitive Aspects Underlying Shared, Supraordinate Responses to Museum Visual Art
Authors: Miller Stephanie , Cotter Katherine N. , Fingerhut Joerg , Leder Helmut , Pelowski Matthew
Published: November 2024

Art-viewing is a defining component of society and culture, in part because the experience involves a wide-range and nuanced configuration of emotional and cognitive responses. Precisely because of this complexity, however, questions of the actual nature, scope, and variety of art experience remain largely unanswered: what kinds of patterns do we exhibit, how do various components go together, and can these be distilled into shared experiential outcomes? We introduce an exploratory study based on 345 individuals’ unique experiences with one of three sets of artworks. Experiences were assessed via 46 affective and cognitive items based on a recent model, with individuals reporting to what degree they felt each during their encounter. Network and latent profile analyses revealed five patterns, aligning to a Harmonious, Facile, Transformative, and two Negative outcomes. These largely supported model hypotheses, connected to specific appraisals, and could be found, although with varying probability, across individual viewers and artworks.
The prognostic value of cystography-measured bladder capacity on very early continence rates after radical prostatectomy
Authors: Stankovic Mladen , Schumacher Bastian
Published: November 2024

Purpose:

To assess the utility and reliability of cost-effective cystography-measured bladder capacity as a prognostic tool for predicting very early continence recovery following radical prostatectomy. Additionally, the study aims to discuss the clinical implications of the findings, including their potential impact on patient management, postoperative rehabilitation strategies, and the development of personalized care pathways for prostate cancer patients.

Methods:

In this prospective monocentric study, we analyzed 223 patients who underwent either robot assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) or open radical prostatectomy (ORP) between January 2022 and January 2024. Postoperative cystography was routinely performed 5 days after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and 7 days after open radical prostatectomy. Very early continence rates were determined using a standardized pad-test conducted on the first day following catheter removal. The bladder capacity during cystography was measured and documented for every patient. The correlation between the rate of continence recovery and the bladder capacity was then assessed. To determine other predictive factors for recovery of continence, several parameters were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis, including age, prostate volume, nerve-sparing technique and surgical procedure.

Results:

Urinary continence rates at day 1 after catheter removal were 73.5% for patients who underwent RARP and 72.6% for patients who underwent ORP. A strong prognostic value of cystography-measured bladder capacity on very early continence rates was reported ( p < 0.001), with a cut-off value calculated to be 140 ml of bladder capacity. After adjusting for additional variables such as age, surgical procedure, prostate volume and nerve-sparing technique, multivariate linear model analysis still found a strong correlation between cystography-measured bladder capacity and very early continence rates ( p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

The cystography-measured bladder capacity may be a good predictor of the recovery of post-prostatectomy urinary continence.
Resource adequacy and capacity Procurement: Metrics and decision support analysis
Authors: Dent Chris J , Sanchez Nestor , Shevni Aditi , Smith Jim Q , Wilson Amy L , Yu Xuewen
Published: November 2024

The study of electricity resource adequacy (i.e. quantifying the risk of future resource shortfall) typically uses standard metrics such as Loss of Load Expectation and Expected Energy Unserved. A range of possible risk model outputs are critiqued in this paper as a basis for decision analysis on capacity procurement, starting with the current standard approach (in which risk is commonly monetised as EEU multiplied by VOLL), and moving on to alternatives such as risk averse metrics and wider visualisations of risk profile. There are concerns in principle from a decision analytic perspective with using expected money as a utility function. Also, while there is interest in use of risk-averse metrics such as Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR), these might not capture all aspects of risk profile that are of interest. To obtain a comprehensive picture of the risk profile of a system, it is necessary to visualise a range of distributions of outcome measures, rather than using single number metrics. Providing such visualisations is likely not to provide the basis for a transparent risk standard, and options are discussed such as setting a level for a single metric that is occasionally revised according to changing profile of resources. Any such metric-based approach should also be supplemented by assessment of wider aspects of risk profile, for instance through examining distributions of outcome metrics. The inherent uncertainty, due to data limitations and imperfect representation of the system in the model, should also be acknowledged appropriately in estimation of such metrics.
Educational Inequality and Household Dynamics in India: Exploring the Role of Caste Capital
Authors: Kamal Utkarsh , Roluahpuia
Published: November 2024

The article uses caste capital as a conceptual tool to analyze educational inequalities by looking at the household-level differences and school differentiation among different caste groups in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. Caste capital is the social, cultural, and economic assets associated with the hierarchical ranking of a group, which privileged groups could utilize to take advantage of disprivileged others. This includes an informed and conscious effort to create a cultural environment that values and prioritizes education for social and economic advancement. Based on a field survey at the household level, the findings indicate a strong connection between caste, household type, and school choice. The pattern of educational inequality becomes evident whereby individuals from higher caste backgrounds with more affluent households tend to have better educational opportunities. The findings show how caste hierarchy intersects with school choice, creating a hierarchy of educational opportunities producing and reproducing educational inequalities.
Challenges and Opportunities for Universal Health Coverage in South Asia: A Scoping Review
Authors: Sharma Jayendra , Pavlova Milena , Groot Wim
Published: November 2024

With a significant proportion of the population facing considerable deficits in access to health care and financial protection, progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) continues to be a challenge in South Asia. The objective of this scoping review is to examine the challenges and opportunities for UHC in South Asia. We used the six-stage Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework for investigation and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis extension for Scoping Reviews checklist to structure and report the review. A systematic search retrieved 2776 records from three databases and 13 gray literature sources, of which 27 records were reviewed. Frequently emerging challenges include underfunding of the health system, the nascent stage or inadequate coverage of the social protection or insurance system, fragmentation in the health system, the inability to effectively regulate the private sector, a health system that is unprepared to effectively address non-communicable diseases, and concerns about the quality of and equality of access to health care. While a diversity of challenges, mostly driven by the country-specific context, continue to falter progress toward UHC in the South Asia region, several consistent themes emerge. Considering this as an initial attempt to map the existing literature, we recommend future research to examine how the challenges and priorities evolve over time.
Outcomes of Emicizumab in Acquired Hemophilia Patients: A Systematic Review
Authors: Ikbel Ghachem , Hela Baccouche , Yassine Kaabar Mohamed , Hamida Khemiri , Kamel Ben Salem
Published: November 2024

Background

Emicizumab, a bispecific factor VIII mimetic antibody, was approved in 2018 for bleeding prophylaxis in congenital hemophilia A with or without inhibitors. Since then, several case reports and case series have described the off-label use of emicizumab in acquired hemophilia A (AHA), and data from two clinical trials were recently published (AGEHA, GTH-AHA-EMI).

Objectives

To describe the reported data on the outcomes of emicizumab, highlighting its benefit/risk profile in treatment.

Methods

We conducted a literature search in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar up to August 2024, including all scientific articles reporting clinical outcomes of emicizumab use in patients with AHA.

Results

Thirty-two studies were included in the final review, covering a total of 171 AHA patients. The majority started emicizumab for active bleeding management and prophylaxis with various regimens. Follow-up duration and remission criteria varied. Two clinical trials supported the use of emicizumab for bleeding prophylaxis with a new dosing regimen and completion criteria. Bleeding was well managed in all cases, with no major recurrent bleeds. Some adverse events were reported : 3 cases of deep venous thrombosis, 2 cases of stroke, and 2 cases of anti-emicizumab drug antibodies developing in patients with thromboembolic risk factors.

Conclusions

Based on published data, emicizumab appears to be effective in bleeding management and prophylaxis in AHA patients, with a favorable benefit/risk profile.
Changes in choroidal thickness and lamina cribrosa position in subjects with overdipper pattern of arterial pressure
Authors: Cerveró A. , Gutiérrez B. , Cerveró C. , Crespo S. , Casado A. , Riancho J.
Published: November 2024

Introduction

The purpose is to analyze the changes produced in subjects with an overdipper pattern of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring with the aim of understanding the pathophysiology of normal tension glaucoma.

Methods

A cross sectional study was performed in patients exhibiting overdipper and non-overdipper blood pressure patterns, respectively. Different optic parameters were assessed including the analysis of ganglion cell layer (GCL), peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and Bruch's membrane opening-minimum rim width (BMO-MRW), as well as changes produced in choroidal thickness (CT) and lamina cribrosa (LC) position at two different periods of the day (early morning and evening).

Results

A total of 80 eyes (42 overdipper and 38 non-overdipper) were analyzed. A shortening of the distance at the beginning and end of the LC was objectified in the overdipper subjects ( p < 0.003) as well as a statistically significant shift of the LC between morning and evening measurements in the overdipper subjects ( p < 0.023). In addition, a significant thickening was found in 13 measurements of the horizontal and vertical plane CT ( p < 0.029) of the overdipper subjects and a thickening of the CT in both groups in the morning. No significant differences in pRNFL, BMO-MRW and GCL measures were objectified.

Conclusions

Morning assessment in overdipper subjects showed a deeper LC and a LC shift in comparison to evening values. In addition, an increase in CT was found in these subjects. Altogether, these findings could illustrate an etiopathogenic mechanism of the damage produced in normal tension glaucoma associated to the overdipper pattern.
Bagel sign and how to avoid it in DMEK surgery
Authors: Pagano Luca , Alfaqawi Fadi , Borgia Alfredo , Aiello Francesco , Airaldi Matteo , Kaye Stephen B , Romano Vito
Published: November 2024

Purpose

To provide a detailed description of the recommended surgical technique for gas injection during Descemet's Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) surgery and highlight intraoperative sign that emerged in case of fluid retention in the interface.

Methods

Gas injection recommended surgical technique is 2 steps procedure using a 1 ml syringe: the first step consists in injecting centrally to the graft and very slowly a bubble of gas smaller than the DMEK graft size, the second step, after checking the absence of fluid interface (no bagel sign), consists in enlarging the gas bubble to the desired filling.

Results

Bagel sign allows surgeons to look for interface fluid and correct for potential issues leading to graft detachment. The recommended surgical technique for gas injection also may help to prevent fluid retention in the interface and reduce the risk of graft detachment.

Conclusion

Detecting a fluid interface retention at the end of DMEK surgery through iOCT or simply looking for the bagel sign may help to prevent post-operative complications.
Are tourists willing to use savings and/or debt to indulge in Post-COVID pandemic travel?
Authors: Draper Jason
Published: November 2024

The COVID pandemic essentially shut down the opportunity to travel, resulting in pent-up demand once restrictions were lifted. This study examines relationships between indulgence and travelers’ likelihood of traveling more in 2022 and beyond compared to pre-COVID pandemic domestically and internationally and if the relationships are mediated by willingness to use savings and/or borrow to pay for leisure travel/vacation. All direct and indirect effects are significant and positive. The results suggest travelers will indulge in post-COVID pandemic travel domestically and internationally and are willing to use savings and/or debt to pay. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.
Weber as an engaged intellectual and a social scientist in the war
Authors: Bruhns Hinnerk
Published: November 2024

In Max Weber research in recent decades, the World War has played only a marginal role and is usually reduced to the topic of ‘Weber’s nationalism’. This article shows how Weber as a social scientist differs from the vast majority of German intellectuals and scientists in his attitude to the war, his practical behaviour and his political-programmatic plans. Weber not only spent 15 months in military service as a hospital officer, he also sought further employment as an expert on social policy in the German occupation administration in Belgium and Poland. The question of the social scientist Max Weber during the war years concerns firstly the interruption or continuation of his pre-war projects, that is, on the one hand his major work on the contemporary capitalist economy and contemporary economic science, and on the other hand his universal historical comparative research on the connection between religious systems and economic orders, and also the question of whether and to what extent the war influenced the content of this research. Secondly, it is about assessing the social-scientific dimension of his so-called ‘political writings’ and Weber’s plans for the organisation of a democratic post-war Germany based on them.
Tönnies on the tension between community and society during the First World War
Authors: Bond Niall
Published: November 2024

Ferdinand Tönnies’ main legacy in social theory, the community-society dichotomy developed in his work Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (Community and Society, GuG) of 1887, showed its potential for grasping but also for creating social reality during the First World War (WWI), a conflagration welcomed by some of the most prominent intellectuals throughout Europe. One the most important terms for mobilising support for the war effort in Germany was Gemeinschaft (community), which Tönnies had opposed to (capitalist, modern, western) Gesellschaft (society). Many German intellectuals came to defend the now notorious “ideas of 1914”, inter alia Volksgemeinschaft (folk community), the toxic potential of which was most clearly revealed later under National Socialism. This served to relativise the ideas of 1789 – liberty, equality, and fraternity. The folk community was evoked together with a national truce between the social classes over the distribution of material and symbolic capital, known as the Burgfrieden, literally, the peace of the citadel, mirroring the Union Sacrée (Sacred Union) called forth by President Raymond Poincaré in France in 1914. Volksgemeinschaft figured in much of the polemics of Germany’s intellectual class throughout the war. Tönnies’ dichotomy and his variations on the theme formed one of the most significant conceptual inventions to be mobilised in wartime public opinion, for instance when Thomas Mann asserted a fundamental difference between western European Zivilisation and German Kultur – a dichotomy already found in Tönnies’ work of 1887 – in Mann’s Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen (Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man), written between 1915 and 1918. While Tönnies did not claim Germany had a monopoly over culture, he had suggested in 1887 that the United States lacked national character, ushering in the notion that the degree of community depended on nationhood. Defining features of community – the sense of common appurtenance or the devotion of the individual to the Whole – characterised early German as opposed to Durkheimian social theory, which was more concerned with the division of functions and exchanges, as can be seen in the work of leading members of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie (German Sociological Association, DGS). While Tönnies’ GuG offered incisive concepts for social critique, his positions on WWI, like those of other early 20th century social theorists, raise the question of how such a perspicacious intelligentsia could have been won over by causes now viewed as calamitous, at a time when Europe’s belligerent nations’ intellectual elite were accusing one another of myopia and intellectual dishonesty.
Mauss on the First World War as trauma and turning point
Authors: Fournier Marcel
Published: November 2024

The First World War, which has been a terrible ordeal for the two main Europeans societies in the conflict—Germany and France—and for the 8 million individuals who had been mobilized in a war of mass killing, has been also an ordeal for Marcel Mauss: deaths of members of his family, friends, and colleagues. From on September 3, 1914 to January 1919, Mauss, volunteered, has been mobilized: interpreter to a combat unit, the Twenty-seventh British Division; officer-interpreter third-class and detached Fifth Australian Division (Australian Imperial Force), etc. We may think the World War have been a trauma and a turning point in Marcel Mauss’ life and work. My paper, which is based on a considerable documentation (interviews, archives, correspondence, manuscripts), is divided in three parts: before, during, after the war.
Progress and prospect of digital transformation of higher education in China: Bibliometric and visualized analysis
Authors: Kang Le , Xu Xiaoyu
Published: November 2024

SDG4 calls for ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education while promoting lifelong learning opportunities for everyone. To achieve this, there’s a need to advance digital education to support personalized and lifelong learning by broadening access to high-quality educational resources. Higher education models are continually evolving to seize new opportunities that facilitate the deep integration of digital technology with education. Chinese government holds high expectations for digital education, aiming to foster comprehensive individual development and contribute to the United Nations 2030 SDGs. This paper clarifies the distinction between the concepts of digital transformation in higher education and visualized analyses of academic achievements in this area. By utilizing bibliometrics and knowledge graph technology, this paper examines the general trends, evolutionary features, and frontier topics related to digital transformation in Chinese higher education. The analysis is based on relevant literature sourced from the CNKI database, covering the period from 2000 to 2023. Furthermore, this paper combines with the CIPP model to propose a comprehensive theoretical framework and practical guidance for digital transformation in higher education, addressing the aspects of context, input, process, and progress.
To the Moon: Hype and Start-Up Work
Authors: Sheehan Patrick
Published: November 2024

When every day on the job is do-or-die, employees are left gasping for air. If they catch a breath, they are revived with the potent oxygen that fuels start-ups: hype. Go inside Silicon Valley's Brainshare, where the young men who pile in are not far-out believers but children of the upper middle classes with outsized expectations for work.
Social Capital is not Enough: How Adults Exacerbate Teen Troubles When They Think they are Solving Them
Authors: Pugh Allison J.
Published: November 2024

Allison J. Pugh on Life Under Pressure and Nice Is Not Enough.
Raising Children for the Communist Party: The Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s Infantilized Style (1950s–1980s)
Authors: Wei Mengxue
Published: November 2024

Studies on Chinese animation repeatedly mention the Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s (SAFS) creative intent of ‘serving children’. However, discussions on the specific child audience the studio serves and the studio’s service methods and objectives are scarce. This article analyses the studio’s creative history and intent from the 1950s to the 1980s, incorporating China’s socio-cultural context and policy formulation. The study uses SAFS creators’ self-narratives and interviews to argue that, during this period, the studio’s creative intent was determined by the Communist Party of China’s directives. To adhere to the Party’s will, the studio’s animation artists overlooked the individuality and diversity of real children and adopted an excessively protective attitude that underestimated children’s self-awareness, cognitive abilities and aesthetic appreciation. The studio staff positioned the audience as lacking autonomy, akin to infants unable to resist ideological indoctrination.
Modernizing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease diagnostics: the progressive shift from liver biopsy to noninvasive techniques
Authors: Hudson David , Afzaal Tamoor , Bualbanat Hasan , AlRamdan Raaed , Howarth Nisha , Parthasarathy Pavithra , AlDarwish Alia , Stephenson Emily , Almahanna Yousef , Hussain Maytham , Diaz Luis Antonio , Arab Juan Pablo
Published: November 2024

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a growing public health concern worldwide. Liver biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing and staging MASLD, but it is invasive and carries associated risks. In recent years, there has been significant progress in developing noninvasive techniques for evaluation. This review article discusses briefly current available noninvasive assessments and the various liver biopsy techniques available for MASLD, including invasive techniques such as transjugular and transcutaneous needle biopsy, intraoperative/laparoscopic biopsy, and the evolving role of endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsy. In addition to discussing the various biopsy techniques, we review the current state of knowledge on the histopathologic evaluation of MASLD, including the various scoring systems used to grade and stage the disease. We also explore current and alternative modalities for histopathologic evaluation, such as whole slide imaging and the utility of immunohistochemistry. Overall, this review article provides a comprehensive overview of the progress in liver biopsy techniques for MASLD and compares invasive and noninvasive modalities. However, beyond clinical trials, the practical application of liver biopsy may be limited, as ongoing advancements in noninvasive fibrosis assessments are expected to more effectively identify candidates for MASLD treatment in real-world settings.
Impact of Green-synthesized Copper Silver Nanoparticles Against Human Colon Cancer Cells Utilizing Sargassum muticum Extract in Terms of Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis
Authors: Almutairi Bader O. , Ali Daoud , Almarzoug Mohammed H. A. , Asiri Atheer M. , Alkahtani Saad , Alarifi Saud
Published: November 2024

Background and Objectives

Brown seaweed, Sargassum muticum, can grow up to a maximum length of 10 m. This study aimed to create novel bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) by utilizing the entire plant extract. The bimetallic green-Ag-CuNPs was synthesized by using these substances extract of Sargassum muticum algae, copper oxide (CuO), silver (AgCl) by a reduction procedure and studied its toxic action against human colon cancer (HCT-116) cells.

Methods

SEM and TEM were used to measure the NPs’ size prior to the treatment of g-Ag-Cu NPs. The g-Ag-Cu nanoparticles had a circular shape and measured 46 ± 1 nm in size. MTT and NRU tests were used to assess the cytotoxicity of g-Ag-Cu NPs on HCT-116 cells.

Results

The results showed that the cytotoxicity of NPs increased in a concentration-dependent manner. The median inhibitory concentration (IC50) for HCT-116 cells at 24 h was determined to be 66.4 μg/ml based on the MTT result. At 50 µg/ml of g-Ag-Cu NPs, HCT-116 cells generated large amounts of intracellular ROS, induced caspase 3/7. Using Rhodamine123 labeling, the impact of NPs on mitochondrial membrane potential in HCT-116 cells was evaluated and it was highly compromised at 50 µg/ml of g-Ag-Cu NPs. Expression of apoptotic protein was assessed by using protein array methods and it was down and up regulated as per concentration of exposure of g-Ag-Cu NPs.

Conclusion

Our findings support the g-Ag-Cu NPs’ lethal effects on human colon cancer cells. We believe that because this nanoparticle increases cytotoxicity and triggers apoptosis, it may be useful as a supplement in the treatment of colon cancer.
An approach to evaluation of digital data in public health campaigns
Authors: Teo Alan R , Rice Sean P M , Meyer Elizabeth , Karras-Pilato Elizabeth , Strickland Susan , Dobscha Steven K
Published: November 2024

Mass media campaigns for public health often rely heavily on digital media and advertising tools that are customarily the domain of marketing professionals and primarily used for commercial purposes. Digital campaigns also generate a myriad of metrics, which can pose both a challenge and opportunity for scientists wishing to leverage these data for research and evaluation.

Objective

The aim of this article is to provide practical guidance for the evaluation of paid media campaigns, with a focus on analyzing digital data generated directly by the campaign.

Methods

Building off the Centers for Disease Control framework for program evaluation, we describe a step-by-step process for evaluation tailored to the unique considerations of digital and paid media campaigns. We contextualize our guidance with our experience evaluating a suicide prevention campaign conducted from 2021 to 2023 that focused on firearms safety in U.S. military veterans.

Results

Key terminology, conceptual models, and selected findings from our evaluation are presented alongside our guidance.

Conclusions

We conclude with key lessons learned and offer recommendations that are broadly applicable to evaluation of other digital campaigns.
Exploring the Relationship Between Different Consumer Behaviors and Subjective Well-Being in Japan: A Focus on Prosocial, Sustainable, Experiential, and Conspicuous Consumption
Authors: Ni Shaowen , Ueichi Hideo
Published: November 2024

This study aimed to examine the influence of different categories of consumption consciousness and purchasing behaviors on subjective well-being (happiness and life satisfaction) using two sets of data from Japanese samples. Dataset 1 comprised data from a random sample of 1,123 Japanese aged 20 to 69 from the Tokyo metropolitan area obtained from a questionnaire survey focusing on the influence of purchasing behaviors on subjective well-being conducted by mail in 2021. Dataset 1 revealed that social experiential consumption positively influenced both happiness and life satisfaction, sustainable consumption positively influenced only happiness, and conspicuous consumption negatively influenced both happiness and life satisfaction. Dataset 2 used the open data of 5,348 Japanese aged 15 to 64 from the Tokyo metropolitan and the Kinki metropolitan areas acquired in 2022 and focused on the influence of consumption consciousness on subjective well-being. Dataset 2 revealed that consumption consciousness involving others, such as prosocial orientation, sustainable orientation, and social orientation, had positive and significant effects on happiness and life satisfaction. This study deepens our understanding of the relationship between consumer behavior and well-being in the Japanese context. It highlights the influence of consumer behaviors that are related to others, such as sustainable consumption, on enhancing the meaning people find in their lives.
Earned Credit Could be Lost Credit
Authors: Richardson Amy Jo , Knight David B.
Published: November 2024

Beginning the path to a bachelor’s degree in community college has the potential to be a more cost-effective higher education option. Previous research on transfer students has focused broadly on curriculum alignment, articulation policies, and academic advising in efforts to reduce credit loss. Credit loss can significantly impact transfer students and result in unnecessary time and costs for them. Minimal research quantifies and visualizes credit loss or explains in detail how and why it occurs throughout students’ entire education trajectories. This study visualizes credit loss for bachelor’s programs seeking engineering transfer students who began at in-state community colleges using data from the sending and receiving institutions. Findings revealed that credit loss can occur throughout the entire degree pathway, including high school dual enrollment and advanced placement credits to community college credits. This work has implications for informing degree pathways and policies that promote successful transfer and degree completion.
Head Start, Household Instability, and Children’s Externalizing Behavior Problems
Authors: Chor Elise
Published: November 2024

This study uses experimental and nationally representative Head Start Impact Study data to document the high incidence of multidomain household instability experienced by children eligible for the federal two-generation Head Start early childhood education program for low-income households. The study finds that household instability experienced during the preschool year is associated with higher levels of children’s classroom inattentive/hyperactive, aggressive, and oppositional externalizing behavior problems at the end of kindergarten. This relationship is reduced and even eliminated by access to Head Start. Exploratory evidence suggests that Head Start’s buffering effect may operate by reducing exposure to household instability—including the incidence of high levels of multidomain household instability and the use of parental care—as well as parent–child relationship conflict.
Revisiting Cultural Metaphors in Intercultural Communication: Reflections on Cultural Metaphors for India
Authors: Shetty Praveen K. , Inamdar Neeta
Published: November 2024

Cultural metaphors are used in intercultural communication to understand the nuances of national cultures. The idea of cultural metaphors elaborated by Gannon and Pillai provided a set of standard metaphors for cultures of several nations. In the case of India, two cultural metaphors, namely the ‘Dance of Shiva’ and the ‘Kaleidoscope’, are provided to understand the dynamics of national culture. This article attempts a theoretical understanding of the relevance of ‘cultural metaphors’ in intercultural communication and examines their appropriateness in the case of India. Furthermore, it re-examines the established cultural metaphors for India through the examination of its metonymic features. Finally, suggesting a cultural metaphor distinctly different from that outlined by Gannon and Pillai for India, this article aims to extend the idea to understand the cultural underpinnings of India.
Data-Driven Insights Into Post-Earthquake Reconnaissance Findings: 2023 Türkiye Earthquake Sequence
Authors: Hariri-Ardebili Mohammad Amin , Sattar Siamak
Published: November 2024

Post-earthquake reconnaissance stands as a vital endeavor, encompassing a systematic survey and data collection to gain insights into the aftermath of seismic events. Grappling with a multitude of multidimensional data poses inherent challenges in the proper interpretation and extraction of hidden information. This paper unfolds in two parts. Initially, we delineate the reconnaissance mission following the February 06 Türkiye earthquake sequence, elucidating the challenges, complexities, and nature of the amassed data. Subsequently, a paradigm shift toward automated machine learning (AutoML) is embraced to ascertain the optimal model, categorize observed damages, and unveil underlying patterns within the collected data. The most accurate machine learning model is then coupled with Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) to explicate observations, steering away from a black-box model. SHAP values discern and prioritize factors significantly contributing to various damage levels. The results reveal a test set accuracy of 0.75 and 0.95 for multi- and binary-class problems, respectively, employing both raw and composite features. Building-related features exert more control over light damage, while earthquake-related factors dominate severe damage. In critical damage scenarios, duration- and velocity-dependent intensity measures assume significance. Furthermore, findings indicate that if column and wall indices are below 0.07 and 0.08, respectively, they positively contribute to the likelihood of critical structural damage.
Quantifying Morphological Changes in Middle Trapezius With Ultrasonography and Histogram Matching for Participants With and Without Facioscapulohumeral Dystrophy
Authors: Philp Fraser , Meilak Erik , Seyres Martin , Willis Tracey , Winn Naomi , Pandyan Anand
Published: November 2024

Objective:

Echogenicity is a biomarker in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Currently, it is not possible to compare echogenicity values, derived using quantified muscle sonography capture, based on different equipment instrumentation settings. Image normalization, using histogram matching, could address this limitation. The aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity of histogram matching, with trapezius muscle echogenicity values, in participants with and without FSHD.

Materials and Methods:

Sensitivity analysis of a single measurement timepoint case control study of participants with FSHD, using age- and gender-matched controls. Correlations between trapezius muscle echogenicity, muscle thickness, and shoulder range of movements were also completed.

Results:

Data were collected for 14 participants, seven with FSHD and seven controls. The cohort had a mean age of 41.6 years. The FSHD group echogenicity values (118.2) were higher than controls (42.3), respectively, as well as statistically significant ( p = .002). An overall variance of 6.2 (range = −2.9 to 15.4) was identified between the reference images. Echogenicity explained 81% of the variance in muscle thickness and 74% of the variance in range of movement muscle thickness was explained by 61% of the variance for range of movement.

Conclusion:

Histogram matching for comparison of echogenicity was required. Different reference images affect echogenicity values, but the variability was less than between group differences. Further longitudinal evaluation based on a larger sample of participants is needed.
Unraveling the DNA methylation landscape in dog blood across breeds
Authors: Nakamura Miyuki , Matsumoto Yuki , Yasuda Keiji , Nagata Masatoshi , Nakaki Ryo , Okumura Masahiro , Yamazaki Jumpei
Published: November 2024

Background

DNA methylation is a covalent bond modification that is observed mainly at cytosine bases in the context of CG pairs. DNA methylation patterns reflect the status of individual tissues, such as cell composition, age, and the local environment, in mammals. Genetic factors also impact DNA methylation, and the genetic diversity among various dog breeds provides a valuable platform for exploring this topic. Compared to those in the human genome, studies on the profiling of methylation in the dog genome have been less comprehensive.

Results

Our study provides extensive profiling of DNA methylation in the whole blood of three dog breeds using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing. The difference in DNA methylation between breeds was moderate after removing CpGs overlapping with potential genetic variation. However, variance in methylation between individuals was common and often occurred in promoters and CpG islands (CGIs). Moreover, we adopted contextual awareness methodology to characterize DNA primary sequences using natural language processing (NLP). This method could be used to effectively separate unmethylated CGIs from highly methylated CGIs in the sequences that are identified by the conventional criteria.

Conclusions

This study presents a comprehensive DNA methylation landscape in the dog blood. Our observations reveal the similar methylation patterns across dog breeds, while CGI regions showed high variations in DNA methylation level between individuals. Our study also highlights the potential of NLP approach for analyzing low-complexity DNA sequences, such as CGIs.
A statistically established reference value determined for the Vaxarray Coronavirus (CoV) seroassay to characterize vaccination and natural infection
Authors: Porras Francisco Mimica , Pineda Gabriel , Mangilog Abigail , Hernandez Keith , Sikorski Cynthia , Lane Michelle
Published: November 2024

Serological diagnostic tests are available that measure antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 antigens. We utilized the Vaxarray Coronavirus (CoV) seroassay, which measures SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies against the full-length spike protein (FLS), receptor binding domain (RBD), and S2 extracellular domain (ECD). Previous serological studies have used reference values that have not been validated and require many samples. Here, we show statistically established reference values determined using the upper tail of the Student t-distribution method. The target population was any personnel age 18 years and older working on a U.S. Navy ship, and vaccinated with Wuhan variant. The relative fluorescence mean (RFM) reference values for the full-length spike protein, RBD, and S2 ECD were 17,731, 13,990 and 9096, respectively. By using generalized non-parametric regression and reference values for the RBD spike protein and S2 ECD of SARS-CoV-2, this study was able to distinguish vaccine-mediated immune responses from natural infections. We provide the method and statistical code as a resource to determine future reference values for other serological assays.