bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Applications of Concentration Curves to Economic Analysis
Authors: Kakwani Nanak , Son Hyun H.
Published: September 2022

This chapter provides many economic applications of the theorems and corollaries developed in Chapter 9. These applications relate to analyzing the relationships among individuals’ or families’ distribution of economic variables. These relationships play a crucial role in understanding many economic phenomena. The applications discussed in the chapter are supplemented by empirical analysis using the actual household surveys. The applications include distribution of income and wealth among individuals, employment-growth elasticity, Income inequality by factor income, and inequity in opportunity. This chapter provides the framework for quantifying the distributional relations among economic variables. This framework will help readers discover new applications, leading to the advancement of evidence-based economic policies.
Social Price Indices and Inequality
Authors: Kakwani Nanak , Son Hyun H.
Published: September 2022

This chapter devotes itself to measuring the effect of prices on inequality. It develops new methodologies to compute social price indices. These indices indicate whether the price changes have a favorable (or unfavorable) impact on the welfare of the poor; in other words, whether the price changes have decreased (increased) inequality. Applying this methodology to Thai and South Korean data shows that the price changes have affected the poor more than the rich in both countries. But the impact of prices on inequality had been more pronounced in Thailand. This chapter’s main objective is to measure the effects of changes in relative prices on inequality. The impact of price changes on income inequality can only be calculated if the price index uses a social welfare function defined for many individuals in society. Such an index is called a social cost of living index. It takes into account specific value judgments of the society. This chapter also derives the explicit relationship between social price indices and aggregate inequality measures. This relationship shows that in a society with high inequality, the usual computing method of the inflation rate (based on a single consumer) is likely to give highly biased results.
Pro-Poor Growth
Authors: Kakwani Nanak , Son Hyun H.
Published: September 2022

This chapter defines pro-poor growth using three alternative definitions: (i) relative pro-poor growth, (ii) absolute pro-poor growth, and (iii) poverty-reducing growth. There is no consensus in the literature on which definition is the most appropriate. This chapter views all three definitions as essential in understanding the pattern of growth that explains the inter-relationship between economic growth, income inequality, and their impact on poverty. It develops a unifying conceptual framework encompassing the three alternative definitions of pro-poor growth. This chapter develops the idea of the poverty equivalent growth rate, which determines the growth pattern, whether growth is pro-poor or anti-poor. Its development objective is to achieve rapid poverty reduction, and it can be an invaluable tool for policymakers to analyze poverty reduction strategies. The chapter presents the case studies of four Asian countries during their financial crisis in the late 1990s.
Armenian morphosyntactic alignment in diachrony
Authors: Meyer Robin
Published: September 2022

This chapter outlines the development of morphosyntactic alignment in Armenian from its pre-attested stage to modern forms of the language. For the most part, Armenian follows a nominative–accusative alignment pattern; the only exception occurs in the periphrastic perfect in Classical Armenian. This tense shows tripartite alignment: subjects are marked as nominative, agents as genitive, and objects as accusative. This alignment split prevails until the end of the Classical Armenian period. The origin of this alignment pattern lies in the contact with the West Middle Iranian language Parthian from which Armenian has borrowed heavily in several linguistic domains. The Armenian perfect and its alignment are the grammaticalised result of pattern replication, by which the Parthian ergative–absolutive past tense is borrowed into Armenian and there realised by means of the participle. The change from ergative–absolutive to tripartite alignment is based on morphosyntactic reanalysis of the object case.
Globalizing Fortune on The Early Modern Stage
Authors: Degenhardt Jane Hwang
Published: September 2022

Offering in-depth discussions of plays by Shakespeare, Marlowe, Heywood, Dekker, and others, this study considers how England’s economic expansion through global commerce and nascent colonial exploration produced new understandings of the role of fortune in the world, both as a philosophy of chance and luck and a means by which to accumulate wealth. While largely derided as a sinful, earthly distraction in the Boethian tradition of the Middle Ages, fortune made a comeback on the Renaissance stage as a force associated with virtuous opportunities, valiant risks, and ennobling adventures. Fortune’s Empire shows how a pagan goddess who blindly spins the wheel of our lives becomes an avatar for new understandings of risk and investment that underwrite capitalist systems of value in a period of globalization. The book also demonstrates how fortune helped to foster a philosophy of action in a Protestant culture where divine providence remained largely incomprehensible and inaccessible to human consciousness. Like the history of English seaborne expansion, the history of English theater was also a history of fortune. For theater itself depended on novel commercial structures that were vulnerable to speculation and risk, and the success of its live performances required careful management of accident, contingency, and unpredictable audience responses. Drawing attention to an archive of plays dramatizing maritime travel, trade, and adventure, Fortune’s Empire shows how the popular stage shaped evolving understandings of fortune by cultivating new viewing practices and mechanisms of theatrical wonder, as well as proper ethical responses to new forms of economic investment.
Prevention, Coercion, and Two Concepts of Negative Liberty
Authors: Garnett Michael
Published: September 2022

This chapter argues that there are two, irreducibly distinct negative concepts of liberty: freedom as non-prevention and freedom as non-coercion. Contemporary proponents of the negative view, such as Matthew Kramer and Ian Carter, have sought to develop the Hobbesian idea that freedom is essentially a matter of physical non-prevention. Accordingly, they have sought to reduce the freedom-diminishing effect of coercion to that of prevention by arguing that coercive threats function to diminish freedom by preventing people from performing certain combinations of actions. Against this, the chapter argues that coercion diminishes people’s freedom in ways that cannot be fully captured in terms of prevention. Focusing on two types of case, those involving coercive threats and those involving coercive preference manipulation, it argues that non-coercion and physical non-prevention are importantly different goods. It concludes that a complete negative account of liberty must draw not only on the (Hobbesian) “non-prevention” strand of the negative tradition but also on its (Benthamite and Hayekian) “non-coercion” strands.
Freedom Without Trimmings
Authors: Carter Ian , Steiner Hillel
Published: September 2022

According to Matthew Kramer, a person is free to do something if she is able to do it, whereas she is unfree to do something if someone else is preventing her from doing it. Thus, on Kramer’s conception of freedom, it is possible to be neither free nor unfree to do something. This chapter highlights some counterintuitive implications of this trivalent conception, and criticizes Kramer’s attempt to avoid such implications by means of a remedial tweaking of the formula for measuring freedom. It then defends bivalent conceptions against Kramer’s claim that they imply infinite degrees of freedom (or unfreedom). Finally, it critically examines Kramer’s claim that the extent of a person’s overall freedom is partly a function of the value of her particular freedoms. Although the value of a particular freedom is itself trivalent (valuable, disvaluable, or neither valuable nor disvaluable), Kramer here rejects trivalence in favor of bivalence, considering each freedom to be either valuable or not valuable. He thereby avoids a paradox that is generated by the trivalent evaluative approach to measuring freedom. However, his attempt to formulate an artificially bivalent evaluative approach generates conceptual problems of its own. The perils of trivalence outlined in this chapter can be avoided by adopting a more austere, bivalent, non-evaluative conception of freedom.
Looking Back and Looking Ahead
Authors: Kramer Matthew H.
Published: September 2022

Matthew Kramer here replies to the seventeen chapters in this festschrift volume. In so doing, he ranges over all the main areas of philosophy covered by those chapters: rights and right-holding; legal positivism and the nature of law; the nature of ethics and of ethical theorizing; freedom; the nature of liberalism; and matters of applied philosophy (in particular, capital punishment and freedom of expression). As is suggested by the title of his replies, Kramer is here looking ahead to his future work as much as he is looking back upon his work to date. He generally defends and clarifies and amplifies the ideas propounded in his previous writings, but he also occasionally notes where he has gone astray in those writings, and he outlines some of the directions in which his future work will proceed. Though he engages carefully with every one of the seventeen essays by the other contributors to this volume, he most sustainedly grapples with the essays with which he most vigorously disagrees.
Introduction
Authors: Kumlin Staffan , Goerres Achim
Published: September 2022

The chapter notes how modern welfare states are exposed to fiscal ‘reform pressures’ and are changing in complex ways. It then briefly states the key questions dealt with by the book concerning how political leaders and the public respond to these reform pressures during election campaigns. It also briefly introduces the various data sources. In a next step, the reader learns about democratic linkage and democratic leadership. These concepts structure the various empirical questions and answers. Linkage and leadership are two ‘visions’ for what good political representation is and how it can be achieved. In this book, they function as models for how political parties and citizens could and should communicate. Specifically, democratic linkage is about how electoral democracy provides citizens with opportunities to make a choice over future policy. Democratic leadership is about daring—rather than ‘blame-avoiding’—politicians who publicly argue that big challenges necessitate unpopular policies. Leadership also requires citizens who on occasion readjust their perceptions and preferences. The chapter goes on to discuss implications of country coverage, time periods, and analysed political parties. It then tours the empirical chapters, with a focus on the types of questions and data that are addressed in each. The final section foreshadows the main overall conclusions about linkage and leadership that will eventually emerge in the concluding chapter.
Who Persuades and Who Responds?
Authors: Kumlin Staffan , Goerres Achim
Published: September 2022

Chapter 7 probes deeper into the notion of pressure framing, drawing on two experiments conducted in Germany and Norway. These experiments introduce three types of realism compared to Chapter 6. First, they increase message complexity. Real-world pressure frames are typically long and involve nuances, vagueness, and semantic complexity. Second, real-world pressure frames quite often provide policy cues about how pressure is to be alleviated. Therefore, most treatments in this chapter combine pressure messages with various types of proposed policy solutions (such as retrenchment or social investment). Finally, a third realistic feature is that the treatments clarify which party (or parties) says that the welfare state is pressured. This allows us to examine which political parties are the most effective proponents of pressure messages (among party sympathizers and as well as other voter groups). Relatedly, Chapter 7 develops and tests the idea that pressure messages with clear party—and policy cues may well trigger ‘resistance’ and ‘counter-arguing’ among groups predisposed against sender and/or content. Resistance implies that effects are weaker or non-existent among those groups. Counter-arguing goes one step further and implies ‘polarization effects’—rather than net negative persuasive effects—such that different groups may react in different directions to the same pressure message.
Archaeologies of Cultural Contact
Authors: Brittain Marcus , Clack Timothy
Published: September 2022

This introductory chapter sets out the parameters and structure of the book. It offers a brief summary of the relevant literature by describing some of the characteristics of cultural contact and transfer. The chapter notes that across cultural studies more broadly, the dynamics of contact are evidently complex and challenging, and have emerged in consideration to globalization, displacement, cultural legitimization, and identity politics, both in times of relative peace and upon stages of conflict. This chapter also introduces the chapters of the authors of the volume, and examines the combination and modification of both material and behavioural attributes when contact is made between groups, often on unequal terms, with different forms of expressions and culture.
The Domestication of Difference
Authors: Boivin Nicole
Published: September 2022

Primarily focused on the intercultural networks linked by the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean, this chapter highlights the active and dynamic nature of the archaeological record with an examination of ways by which societies internalize hybridized forms over time. The chapter looks to a vigorous moulding of exotica into cultural recognition and familiarization through processes of incorporation and domestication, rarely by unstructured assimilation, but more often seen as a power-driven appropriation through specific sectors of society. With a reminder that hybridization is as much conceptual as it is material, Boivin poses a challenge to models that distinguish clear separation of tradition from innovation.
Nodes of Interaction
Authors: Mallen Lara , Pearce David G.
Published: September 2022

This chapter describes the rock art of nineteenth-century Nomansland in the Maloti-Drakensberg region of South Africa. It explores a material and symbolic response to the arrival of European colonialists, particularly their practices of dress and animal husbandry that were frequently the setting for intercultural contact. The authors identify a specific form of rock art as an important ‘coping mechanism’, an attempt to manipulate, reorder, and control particular areas of social articulation. Important points of social continuity are ensured by enmeshing fine-line images that give reference to the ‘old’ ways of livestock raiding, with other stylistic depictions of the ‘new’, thereby serving to align multiple worldviews and language cultures into mutual understanding and collective identity.
Syncretism and Cognition
Authors: Haviser Jay B.
Published: September 2022

This chapter focuses on African and European religious and aesthetic syncretism in the Caribbean predominantly from the last two centuries. Covering themes of Obeah African-Caribbean practices and, amongst others, the role of African (and descendent) domestic workers in delivering childcare duties to the households of colonialists, the author explains that personal and intimate sympathies held by those raised as European children by African nannies may be linked to the maintenance and re-emergence of prohibited practices and beliefs. Examples drawn from fieldwork at St Maarten confirm the fragmented and rearticulated nature of religious formulations in the absence of an orthodox priesthood within the context of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and that the incorporation of elements born from confrontation with alien ideas and practices was not formulated according to any structured religious orthodoxy. One possible outcome is the local rejection of syncretism, supported through a strategic psychological framework of material aesthetics and intimidatory acts.
S-acylated and nucleus-localized SALT OVERLY SENSITIVE3/CALCINEURIN B-LIKE4 stabilizes GIGANTEA to regulate Arabidopsis flowering time under salt stress
Authors: Park Hee Jin , Gámez-Arjona Francisco M , Lindahl Marika , Aman Rashid , Villalta Irene , Cha Joon-Yung , Carranco Raul , Lim Chae Jin , García Elena , Bressan Ray A , Lee Sang Yeol , Valverde Federico , Sánchez-Rodríguez Clara , Pardo Jose M , Kim Woe-Yeon , Quintero Francisco J , Yun Dae-Jin
Published: September 2022

The precise timing of flowering in adverse environments is critical for plants to secure reproductive success. We report a mechanism in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) controlling the time of flowering by which the S-acylation-dependent nuclear import of the protein SALT OVERLY SENSITIVE3/CALCINEURIN B-LIKE4 (SOS3/CBL4), a Ca2+-signaling intermediary in the plant response to salinity, results in the selective stabilization of the flowering time regulator GIGANTEA inside the nucleus under salt stress, while degradation of GIGANTEA in the cytosol releases the protein kinase SOS2 to achieve salt tolerance. S-acylation of SOS3 was critical for its nuclear localization and the promotion of flowering, but partly dispensable for salt tolerance. SOS3 interacted with the photoperiodic flowering components GIGANTEA and FLAVIN-BINDING, KELCH REPEAT, F-BOX1 and participated in the transcriptional complex that regulates CONSTANS to sustain the transcription of CO and FLOWERING LOCUS T under salinity. Thus, the SOS3 protein acts as a Ca2+- and S-acylation-dependent versatile regulator that fine-tunes flowering time in a saline environment through the shared spatial separation and selective stabilization of GIGANTEA, thereby connecting two signaling networks to co-regulate the stress response and the time of flowering.
Structural measures of personal networks predict migrants’ cultural backgrounds: an explanation from Grid/Group theory
Authors: Molina José Luis , Ozaita Juan , Tamarit Ignacio , Sánchez Angel , McCarty Christopher , Bernard H Russell
Published: September 2022

Culture and social structure are not separated analytical domains but intertwined phenomena observable in personal networks. Drawing on a personal networks dataset of migrants in the United States and Spain, we show that the country of origin, a proxy for diverse languages and cultural institutions, and religion may be predicted by specific combinations of personal network structural measures (closeness, clustering, betweenness, average degree, etc). We obtain similar results applying three different methods (a multinomial logistic regression, a Random Forest algorithm, and an artificial neural network). This finding is explained within the framework of the Grid/Group theory that has long posed the interdependence of social structural and cultural features of human groups.
Syneresis rate, water distribution, and microstructure of wheat starch gel during freeze‐thaw process: Role of a high molecular weight dextran produced by Weissella confusa QS813 from traditional sourdough
Authors: Tang Xiaojuan , Liu Na , Huang Weining , Cheng Xiaoyan , Wang Feng , Zhang Binle , Chen Jiafang , Jiang Hui , Omedi Jacob O. , Li Zhibin
Published: September 2022

Background and objectives

Microbial exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can enhance technological properties of frozen goods. In this study, 120 LAB strains isolated from Chinese traditional sourdough were screened for EPS production ability. The effect of the produced EPS on the syneresis rate, water distribution, and microstructure of a wheat starch gel during freeze‐thaw cycle (FTC) was investigated using centrifuge methods, low field‐nuclear magnetic resonance (LF‐NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a frozen section‐optical microscope technique.

Findings

Of all screened isolates, Weissella confusa QS813 was identified and found to produce large amounts (up to 18.9 g/L) of high molecular mass, low‐branched dextran with 97% α‐(1,6) linkages in the presence of 5% sucrose at 30°C after 24 h of incubation. When added in wheat starch (WS) at different concentrations, the dextran at 1% significantly (p < .05) reduced the syneresis rate among all samples, thus the highest stability during free‐thaw cycles. The LF‐NMR results showed that the addition of EPS at high concentration to WS appeared to alter the distribution and mobility of water in the starch gel. The microstructure of the wheat starch gel with 1% dextran was denser and more uniform compared to that of the wheat starch without dextran.

Conclusion

The dextran produced by W. confusa QS813 significantly improved the freeze‐thaw stability of wheat starch gel.

Significance and novelty

A novel dextran from W. confusa fermentation was appropriately used as a stabilizer in wheat starch based on frozen dough, thus adding new knowledge and its application potential in the frozen dough and food industry trending with consumers' demand for clean label products.
Ewingella americana: An Emerging Multifaceted Pathogen of Edible Mushrooms
Authors: Hamidizade Mozhde , Taghavi S. Mohsen , Moallem Mahsa , Aeini Milad , Fazliarab Amal , Abachi Hamid , Herschlag Rachel A. , Hockett Kevin L. , Bull Carolee T. , Osdaghi Ebrahim
Published: September 2022

Mycopathogenic bacteria play a pivotal role in the productivity of edible mushrooms grown under controlled conditions. In this study, we carried out a comprehensive farm survey and sampling (2018 to 2021) on button mushroom ( Agaricus bisporus) farms in 15 provinces in Iran to monitor the status of bacterial pathogens infecting the crop. Mycopathogenic bacterial strains were isolated from pins, stems, and caps, as well as the casing layer on 38 mushroom farms. The bacterial strains incited symptoms on mushroom caps ranging from faint discoloration to dark brown and blotch of the inoculated surfaces. Among the bacterial strains inciting disease symptoms on bottom mushroom, 40 were identified as Ewingella americana based on biochemical assays and phylogeny of 16S rRNA and the gyrB gene. E. americana strains differed in their aggressiveness on mushroom caps and stipes, where the corresponding symptoms ranged from deep yellow to dark brown. In the phylogenetic analyses, all E. americana strains isolated in this study were clustered in a monophyletic clade closely related to the nonpathogenic and environmental strains of the species. BOX-PCR-based fingerprinting revealed intraspecific diversity. Using the cutoff level of 73 to 76% similarity, the strains formed six clusters. A chronological pattern was observed, where the strains isolated in 2018 were differentiated from those isolated in 2020 and 2021. Taken together, due to the multifaceted nature of the pathogen, such a widespread occurrence of E. americana on mushroom farms in Iran could be an emerging threat for the mushroom industry in the country.
23-hydroxybetulinic acid reduces tumorigenesis, metastasis and immunosuppression in a mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma via disruption of the MAPK signaling pathway
Authors: Tian Dazhi , Yu Yang , Zhang Li , Sun Jisan , Jiang Wentao
Published: September 2022

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) shows recurrence and lung metastasis even after treatment. 23-hydroxybetulinic acid (23-HBA), a major active constituent of Pulsatilla chinensis, exhibits potent antitumor activities. We herein investigate the biological effect of 23-HBA on metastasis and immunosuppression in a mouse model of HCC. Microarray-based gene expression profiling was employed to identify the target genes of 23-HBA in the treatment of HCC. The effect of 23-HBA on the progression of HCC was evaluated by in-vitro cell function measurements along with in-vivo xenograft implantation, lung metastasis and CD11b+Gr1+ staining experiments. The potential mechanism involving target signaling pathway was investigated by western blot analysis. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) was a key target gene mediated by 23-HBA in HCC, whereas Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis demonstrated that MMP2 mainly affects the development and metastasis of HCC. 23-HBA significantly reduced cell malignant functions in vitro while delaying the HCC growth and metastasis in vivo. In addition, the number of myeloid-derived suppressor cells was shown to be reduced following administration of 23-HBA in mice. Mechanistic analysis indicated that these effects of 23-HBA during HCC were involved with the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway inactivation and resulted in decreased phosphorylation of both mitogen-activated protein kinases 1/2 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. Our study reveals that 23-HBA acts as a tumor suppressor agent and suppresses HCC tumorigenesis, metastasis and immunosuppression via blockade of the MAPK signaling pathway, suggesting that 23-HBA may serve as a promising drug target to treat HCC.
Circ_0039569 contributes to the paclitaxel resistance of endometrial cancer via targeting miR-1271-5p/PHF6 pathway
Authors: Li Jia , Zhang Zhidong , Hu Yuanjing , Wei Qing , Shao Xuecheng
Published: September 2022

Circular RNA (circRNA) has been confirmed to be involved in the chemoresistance process of cancers. However, whether circ_0039569 mediates the chemoresistance of endometrial cancer (EC) remains unclear. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to analyze circ_0039569, microRNA (miR)-1271-5p and PHD finger protein 6 (PHF6) expression. Cell counting kit-8 assay was used to assess the paclitaxel (PTX) resistance of cells. Cell proliferation, apoptosis and invasion were determined using EdU assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry and transwell assay. Protein expression was examined by western blot analysis. RNA interaction was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA pull-down assay. Xenograft tumor models were constructed to explore the effect of circ_0039569 knockdown on the PTX sensitivity of EC tumors. Circ_0039569 was upregulated in PTX-resistant EC tissues and cells. Knockdown of circ_0039569 enhanced the PTX sensitivity of EC cells by inhibiting cell growth and invasion. MiR-1271-5p could be sponged by circ_0039569, and its inhibitor abolished the regulation of circ_0039569 knockdown on the PTX sensitivity of EC cells. PHF6 was targeted by miR-1271-5p, and its overexpression eliminated the promotion effect of miR-1271-5p on the PTX sensitivity of EC cells. Also, interference of circ_0036569 enhanced the PTX sensitivity of EC tumors by regulating the miR-1271-5p/PHF6 pathway. Collectively, circ_0039569 might contribute to the PTX resistance of EC through the regulation of the miR-1271-5p/PHF6 axis.
Perception threshold tracking: validating a novel method for assessing function of large and small sensory nerve fibers in diabetic peripheral neuropathy with and without pain
Authors: Røikjer Johan , Croosu Suganthiya Santhiapillai , Frøkjær Jens Brøndum , Hansen Tine Maria , Arendt-Nielsen Lars , Ejskjaer Niels , Mørch Carsten Dahl
Published: September 2022

It remains unknown why some people with diabetes develop painful neuropathies while others experience no pain. This study aimed to validate a novel method for assessing the function of small sensory nerves in diabetes to further elucidate this phenomenon. The function of large and small nerves was assessed using a novel perception threshold tracking technique in 3 well-characterized groups (n = 60) with type 1 diabetes, namely, (1) painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (T1DM + PDPN), (2) painless diabetic peripheral neuropathy (T1DM + DPN), and (3) no neuropathy (T1DM − DPN), and healthy controls (n = 20). Electrical currents with different shapes, duration, and intensities were applied by 2 different skin electrodes activating large and small fibers, respectively. The minimal current needed to activate the fibers were analyzed as the rheobase of the stimulus–response function. Nerve fiber selectivity was measured by accommodation properties of stimulated nerves. The rheobase of both fiber types were highest for T1DM + PDPN, followed by T1DM + DPN, T1DM − DPN, and healthy controls, indicating that the nerve properties are specific in individuals with diabetes and pain. There was an overall significant difference between the groups (P < 0.01). The accommodation properties of stimulated fibers were different between the 2 electrodes (P < 0.05) apart from in the group with T1DM + PDPN, where both electrodes stimulated nerves displaying properties similar to large fibers. Perception threshold tracking reveals differences in large and small nerve fiber function between the groups with and without diabetes, DPN, and pain. This indicates that the methods have potential applications in screening DPN and explore further the features differentiating painful from nonpainful DPN.
Vestibular Migraine: Cognitive Dysfunction, Mobility, Falls
Authors: Preysner Thi A. , Gardi Adam Z. , Ahmad Sarah , Sharon Jeffrey D.
Published: September 2022

Objective

Recent evidence has shown that vestibular migraine is strongly associated with cognitive difficulties. However, limited data exist on real-world effects of that dysfunction. The objective of this study is to understand the epidemiology of cognitive dysfunction with vestibular migraine and associated sequelae using National Health Interview Survey data.

Study Design

Randomized, population-based survey study of US adults.

Setting

We generated a case definition approximating probable vestibular migraine based on Bárány Society criteria and validated that definition in a tertiary care vestibular clinic.

Patients

Adult respondents to the 2016 NHIS, which queries a representative sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized US population.

Intervention

Diagnostic.

Main Outcome Measures

We evaluated incidence of self-reported cognitive dysfunction with vestibular migraine and whether individuals were more likely to have impaired mobility, falls, and work absenteeism than those without either condition.

Results

Among individuals with vestibular migraine, 40% reported “some” and 12% reported “a lot” of difficulty thinking versus 13% and 2% of those without vestibular migraine, respectively. Vestibular migraine sufferers were more likely to have difficulty thinking or remembering compared with respondents without dizziness (odds ratio, 7.43; 95% confidence interval, 6.06–9.10; p < 0.001) when controlled for age, sex, education, stroke, smoking, heart disease, and diabetes. Individuals with both vestibular migraine and cognitive dysfunction had fivefold increased odds of falls and 10-fold increased odds of mobility issues compared with those without either condition. Furthermore, individuals with both vestibular migraine and cognitive dysfunction missed 12.8 more days of work compared to those without either condition.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate vestibular migraine is not only associated with cognitive dysfunction, but they are together associated with mobility issues, fall risk, and work absenteeism.
Safety of Thioguanine in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Multi-Center Case Series
Authors: Bayoumy Ahmed B. , Jagt Jasmijn Z. , van Wering Herbert M. , de Ridder Lissy , Hummel Thalia , Wolters Victorien M. , Stapelbroek Janneke , Benninga Marc A. , Mulder Chris J.J. , de Boer Nanne K.H. , de Meij Tim G.J. ,   on behalf of the Kids with Crohn’s, Colitis (KiCC) Working Group for Collaborative Paediatric IBD Research in the Netherlands
Published: September 2022

Objectives:

Thioguanine (TG) has been shown as a safe alternative in adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who did not tolerate conventional thiopurines [azathioprine (AZA)/mercaptopurine]. However, data in pediatric IBD are scarce. Therefore, we aimed to assess the safety of TG as maintenance therapy.

Methods:

A retrospective, multicenter cohort study of children with IBD on TG was performed in the Netherlands. TG-related adverse events (AE) were assessed and listed according to the common terminology criteria for AE.

Results:

Thirty-six children with IBD (median age 14.5 years) on TG (median dose 15 mg/day) were included in 6 centers. Five AE occurred during follow-up [pancreatitis (grade 3), hepatotoxicity (grade 3) (n = 2), Clostridium difficile infection (grade 2), and abdominal pain (grade 2)]. All patients (n = 8) with a previously AZA-induced pancreatitis did not redevelop pancreatitis on TG.

Conclusions:

In pediatric IBD, TG seems a safe alternative in case of AZA-induced pancreatitis. Further research assessing long-term TG-related safety and efficacy is needed.
Nursing Students' Perceptions of Learning With NGN-Style Case Studies
Authors: Pence Patricia L.
Published: September 2022

Background:

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) developed Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) case studies and new test items, based on the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model, to assess nurse graduates' clinical judgment and decision-making ability.

Purpose:

This study investigated nursing students' perceptions of learning with NGN-style case studies.

Methods:

A mixed-methods approach collected nursing students' perceptions in a 6-item survey.

Results:

Overall respondents agreed that the case studies were helpful in learning (n = 45; 90%), applying course concepts (n = 46; 92%), learning clinical judgment (n = 46, 92%), and promoting active learning (n = 43, 86%), and were a useful learning strategy (n = 48, 96%). Themes identified in narrative comments were critical thinking, real-life application, and a learning tool.

Conclusions:

NGN-style case studies were useful as an active learning strategy to promote clinical judgment and real-life application of course concepts.
Academic Nursing and Faculty Practice
Authors: Gonzales Kelly , Holmes LeAnn , Klein Abbey , Struwe Leeza , Hanish Alyson
Published: September 2022

Background:

Many challenges are inherent in academic nursing, and additional unique challenges exist for faculty and nursing programs that simultaneously engage in or offer faculty practice. To date, little has been published on faculty practice and academic nursing outside of the mission of education.

Purpose:

To describe faculty practice within the context of academic nursing as it pertains to scholarship and research, annual evaluations, promotion, support of faculty practice, and additional benefits and challenges.

Methods:

A convenience sample of faculty and administrators was surveyed from 6 different universities in the United States.

Results:

A total of 25 faculty members and 11 administrators participated. Results indicate faculty practice offers both benefits and challenges to the noneducational aspects of academic nursing.

Conclusion:

The benefits and challenges should be carefully considered within the context of the future of academic nursing and faculty practice.
Single-cell sequencing analysis of the maternal–fetal interface
Authors: Wei Pei-Ru , Yang Yi-Hua
Published: September 2022

The microenvironment at the maternal–fetal interface is optimized to facilitate the development and survival of the fetus during pregnancy. It involves a balance between cell populations and interactions of the fetal placenta with various cell types (ie, stromal cells, endothelial cells, immune cells, and fibroblasts) that are embedded in the maternal endometrium/decidua. Aberrant shifts in cell populations and deranged cell–cell interactions are closely related to pregnancy disorders. Thus, analysis of the dynamic changes in cell populations and their interactions at the maternal–fetal interface in normal and complicated pregnancies is essential to provide insights into the fundamental processes involved in the establishment and maintenance of normal pregnancy, and how these processes are dysregulated. Thus, informing novel pathways for therapeutic targets of pregnancy complications. Single-cell sequencing (SCS) is a powerful tool for transcriptome analysis at single-cell resolution. Combined with information on the developmental trajectory and function of different cell populations, SCS can provide an unparalleled opportunity for refining the spatiotemporal cell atlas to elaborate dynamic changes in cell populations and their interactions in tissues that consist of highly heterogeneous cell populations such as the maternal–fetal interface. This minireview briefly summarizes traditional methods and their limitations for analyzing maternal–fetal interface cell–cell interactions, and introduces the current applications, advantages, limitations, and prospective applications of SCS in research on maternal–fetal interactions.
Reliability and validity of generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale in early pregnant women
Authors: Gong Li-Li , Xie Xiao-Long , Liu Si-Tong , Hu Wei-Hong , Niu Yu-Jie , Sun Yi , Liu Jun-Sheng , Xia Xian
Published: September 2022

Objective:

This study aimed to evaluate the structural reliability and validity of generalized anxiety disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale in early pregnant women.

Methods:

In this cross-sectional study, 30,823 patients in early pregnancy registered in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University completed the GAD-7 scale and patient health questionnaire-9 item (PHQ-9). The discriminative ability, reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity were assessed to evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structures. Items with a discrimination parameter (α) of < 0.65, factor loading of < 0.30, or cross loading of > 0.40 in two or more factors simultaneously were deleted from the scale.

Results:

All GAD-7 scale items exhibited a high discrimination power. The reliability of the GAD-7 scale was good (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient = 0.891). Exploratory factor analysis extracted one factor with eigenvalues of greater than 1.0, which explained 61.930% of the common variance. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the one-factor structure fitted the data well. The correlation coefficient with the PHQ-9 was 0.639.

Conclusion:

The Chinese version of the GAD-7 scale can be used as a screening tool for early pregnant women. It performs well in terms of discriminative ability, reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity. Pregnant women who screen positive may require more attention and investigation to confirm the presence of generalized anxiety disorder.
How Often Occult Inguinal or Spigelian Hernias Detected During Laparoscopy of Other Reasons Are Later Operated?
Authors: Paajanen Paavo , Virkkunen Antti , Paajanen Hannu , Käkelä Pirjo
Published: September 2022

Background:

The incidence of occult inguinal or Spigelian hernias found in other laparoscopies is seldom studied and their development to symptomatic hernias is unknown.

Materials and Methods:

The orifices of all inguinal and Spigelian hernias at linea semilunaris were carefully recorded prospectively in the laparoscopic surgery during the years 2003-2004 (104 cholecystectomies, 55 fundoplications, 36 diagnostic, and 6 miscellaneous). The patients were followed up over 15 years to find out how often the detected occult hernias at index laparoscopy become later symptomatic and were repaired.

Results:

The index laparoscopic operation was performed to 201 patients with a mean age of 53±14 years. The overall frequency of unexpected hernias was 21% including 36 (18%) inguinal hernias, 5 (2.5%) Spigelian hernias, and 2 (1.0%) ventral hernias. At the index laparoscopy, only 5/201 inguinal and 2 Spigelian hernioplasties were concomitantly undertaken. After 15 years, data of 169 patients were available and new hernia repairs were performed only in 8 (4.7%) patients (2 inguinal, 4 umbilical, and 2 ventral hernias).

Conclusions:

Asymptomatic occult hernias detected during laparoscopic surgery of other reason evolve very seldom (<5%) to symptomatic and need to be repaired.
Association of Hypercholesterolemia With Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia, Findings After Sleeve Gastrectomy Pathology Review
Authors: Kermansaravi Mohammad , Rezvani Masoud , Elmi Sadr Farid , Valizadeh Rohollad , Kabir Ali , Pazouki Abdolreza
Published: September 2022

Background:

We evaluated the relationship between comorbidities associated with obesity, body mass index (BMI), and development of intestinal metaplasia (IM) after vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG).

Materials and Methods:

All VSG specimens performed at an academic center between 2011 and 2018 were reviewed. All specimens underwent histopathologic assessment, while those with findings suspicious for IM underwent additional immunohistochemical work up. Baseline patient characteristics and demographic data were obtained from Iran National Obesity Surgery Database by retrospective review.

Results:

A total of 862 adult individuals underwent VSG during the study period and specimens were histopathologically examined. All patients had preoperative upper endoscopy. The most common histopathologic diagnosis was miscellaneous findings (57.8%) followed by no pathologic finding (36.7%). The minority of patients (5.5%) had IM. Although 40.5% of patients had positive Helicobacter pylori infection preoperatively, just 13.8% had still positive infection postoperatively. A significant association was found between IM and hypercholesterolemia (odds ratio: 1.95; 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 3.5).

Conclusion:

This study found a correlation between histopathologic changes in patients with IM and hypercholesterolemia. Prospective research studies are recommended to further examine this correlation.
Two Decades’ Outcomes and Trends of Adrenalectomy for Benign Pathologies in Veterans
Authors: Shahait Awni , Saleh Khaled , Weaver Donald , Mostafa Gamal
Published: September 2022

Background:

Since the introduction of laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) in 1992, it has become the standard of care for most adrenal benign pathologies. This study compares the outcomes and trends of open (OA) versus LA in veterans for benign pathologies.

Methods:

Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program was queried for adrenalectomies performed for benign pathologies during the period 2000-2019. Data collection included demographics, comorbidities, operative details, and postoperative outcomes.

Results:

A total of 1683 patients were included (91.4% males, mean age 59.6, mean body mass index 31.2, and 87.2% with American Society of Anesthesiologists class≥III). Overall, the mean operative time (OT) was 3.2 hours, the majority performed by general surgeons (71.4%), and the mean length of stay (LOS) was 4.1 days. There were 12 (0.7%) 30-day mortalities, and 162 patients (8.8%) developed ≥1 complication. LA was performed in 70.9% (1306), with the conversion rate of 0.85% (10). When compared with OA, patients with the laparoscopic approach were functionally independent, shorter OT, less intraoperative blood transfusion, shorter LOS, and lower mortality and morbidity. Dependent functional status, congestive heart failure, American Society of Anesthesiologists class ≥III, and smoking were independent predictors of mortality, whereas intraoperative transfusions, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and dependent functional status were predictors of morbidity. Trend analysis showed an 8-fold increase in the use of LA. However, trend analysis for morbidity and mortality rates showed no significant change for both approaches.

Conclusion:

LA is being well adopted in the veterans affairs system with an 8-fold increase over 20 years, with lower morbidity and mortality compared with the open approach for benign adrenal pathologies.
Long-term Outcomes of Endoscopic Thoracoscopic Sympathectomy for Primary Focal Palmar Hyperhidrosis: High Patient Satisfaction Rates Despite Significant Compensatory Hyperhidrosis
Authors: Shabat Sheer , Furman Danielle , Kupietzky Amram , Srour Botros , Mordechai-Heyn Tzlil , Grinbaum Ronit , Mazeh Haggi , Mizrahi Ido
Published: September 2022

Background:

Endoscopic thoracoscopic sympathectomy (ETS) is the gold standard therapy for primary focal palmar hyperhidrosis (PFPH), resulting in high patient satisfaction rates. The most common side effect of ETS is compensatory hyperhidrosis (CH). Previous studies followed patients’ satisfaction degree of surgery and the incidence of CH during a limited follow-up period of 1 to 3 years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term outcomes and patient satisfaction after ETS.

Materials and Methods:

After approval of our institutional review board, we conducted a retrospective review of all consecutive patients who underwent ETS for PFPH at our institution between 1998 and 2019. Electronic medical records were reviewed for short-term outcomes. Long-term outcomes were collected through telephone questionnaires. Primary outcome was the resolution of PFPH. Secondary outcomes were CH and long-term patient satisfaction.

Results:

During the study period, 256 patients underwent ETS to treat primary focal palmar hyperhidrosis at our institution between the years 1998-2019. One-hundred and fifty (58.6%) patients agreed to participate in the study and were included in the final analysis. The mean age was 23.8 (17 to 58) years, 56% were females. The mean follow-up time was 11±6.1 (1 to 22) years. Ninety-four percent reported resolution of PFPH; however, CH was reported by 90% of participants. CH decreased mean patient satisfaction score from 4.8±0.5 to 3.8±2 (P=0.009). This effect was more pronounced in patients with CH of the head and neck (P=0.009). Patients’ satisfaction decreased over time from a mean of 4.8±0.4 in the first year after surgery to a mean of 3.7±1.4 12 years or more after surgery (P <0.001). Despite this, 79% of patients reported they would recommend ETS to other patients.

Conclusions:

ETS for PFPH is highly effective and results in high patient satisfaction rates even after long-term follow-up. Despite high rates of postoperative CH, nearly 80% of patients would still recommend the procedure to fellow patients, justifying its reputation as the gold standard treatment for PFPH.
A general swimming response in exhausted obligate swimming fish
Authors: Iosilevskii G. , Kong J. D. , Meyer C. G. , Watanabe Y. Y. , Papastamatiou Y. P. , Royer M. A. , Nakamura I. , Sato K. , Doyle T. K. , Harman L. , Houghton J. D. R. , Barnett A. , Semmens J. M. , Maoiléidigh N. Ó. , Drumm A. , O'Neill R. , Coffey D. M. , Payne N. L.
Published: September 2022

Marine organisms normally swim at elevated speeds relative to cruising speeds only during strenuous activity, such as predation or escape. We measured swimming speeds of 29 ram ventilating sharks from 10 species and of three Atlantic bluefin tunas immediately after exhaustive exercise (fighting a capture by hook-and-line) and unexpectedly found all individuals exhibited a uniform mechanical response, with swimming speed initially two times higher than the cruising speeds reached approximately 6 h later. We hypothesized that elevated swimming behaviour is a means to increase energetic demand and drive the removal of lactate accumulated during capture via oxidation. To explore this hypothesis, we estimated the mechanical work that must have been spent by an animal to elevate its swim speed and then showed that the amount of lactate that could have been oxidized to fuel it comprises a significant portion of the amount of lactate normally observed in fishes after exhaustive exercise. An estimate for the full energetic cost of the catch-and-release event ensued.