bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geology and stratigraphy of the Neogene section along the Oued Beth between Dar bel Hamri and El Kansera (Rharb Basin, northwestern Morocco) and its otolith-based fish fauna: a faunal inventory for the Early Pliocene remigration into the Mediterranean
Authors: Schwarzhans Werner
Published: April 2023

The coquina on the banks of the Oued Beth in the Rharb Basin in northwestern Morocco has long been known to be exceptionally rich in fossils. The stratigraphic position ranging from the Late Miocene to the Pliocene has been controversial, however. In the course of my master’s degree field work in 1975/76, I mapped the right bank of the Oued Beth from Dar bel Hamri to El Kansera. Following multiple recent studies in the general region, I here review my results and present an updated comprehensive stratigraphic and geologic frame for the first time. The coquina near Dar bel Hamri is interpreted to be of Early Pliocene age, possibly containing some reworking of Late Miocene fossils. The coquina and other locations along the Oued Beth have yielded a rich otolith assemblage, which is described in this article. It represents the first fossil otolith-based fish fauna described from Northwest Africa and contains 96 species, 16 of which are new. The new species in the order of their description are Diaphus maghrebensis n. sp., Ophidion tuseti n. sp., Centroberyx vonderhochti n. sp., Myripristis ouarredi n. sp., Deltentosteus planus n. sp., Caranx rharbensis n. sp., Trachurus insectus n. sp., Parapristipoma bethensis n. sp., Pomadasys zemmourensis n. sp., Cepola lombartei n. sp., Trachinus maroccanus n. sp., Trachinus wernlii n. sp., Uranoscopus hoedemakersi n. sp., Uranoscopus vanhinsberghi n. sp., Spondyliosoma tingitana n. sp., and Opsodentex mordax n. sp. In addition, a new species is described from the Tortonian and Zanclean of Italy: Rhynchoconger carnevalei n. sp. Some additional otoliths are described from another Northwest Moroccan location of Early Pliocene age near Asilah, 50 km south of the Strait of Gibraltar. The Early Pliocene fish fauna from Dar bel Hamri in the Rharb Basin is also of interest, because it constitutes the nearest Atlantic fauna of the time of the reconnection of the Mediterranean with the Atlantic and may have acted as a hosting area for the remigration of fishes into the Mediterranean. Indeed, the correlation is high between the Northwest Moroccan and the well-known time-equivalent Mediterranean fish fauna, but the Moroccan fauna also contains a good proportion of putative endemic taxa and taxa with tropical West African affinities that apparently did not migrate into the Mediterranean. Thus, the Early Pliocene fish fauna from the Rharb Basin represents a unique assemblage for which I propose the biogeographic term “Maghrebian bioprovince.”

ZooBank LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E01D698A-C1EE-4D32-B60D-4EF73AFFFCCFhttps://zoobank.org/65C520AE-72FB-4153-8D18-8695BB5A7E3F
Effect of retirement on medical reimbursement expenses—evidence from China
Authors: Wu Yuanyang , Pang Jiahui , Yang Hualei
Published: April 2023

Background

Medical reimbursement in China is not for all diseases, and medical reimbursement expenses are not completely consistent with medical service demand, though the scope and proportion of medical reimbursement are gradually expanding. This study aimed to examine the effect of retirement on medical reimbursement expenses in urban China.

Methods

The effect of retirement on medical reimbursement expenses were estimated by using fuzzy regression discontinuity based on data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018. Its group heterogeneity by educational backgrounds and marital status, and underlying mechanisms were also explored.

Results

Retirement increased medical reimbursement expenses of outpatient significantly (P < 0.05).Low time cost and deteriorating health status after retirement were possible mechanisms in this association. Retirement increased the reimbursement expenses significantly among the older adults with more educational obtainment or being widowed/divorced.

Conclusion

The above findings indicated that there was a positive association between retirement and medical reimbursement expenses. The scope and proportion of medical reimbursement should be incorporated into retirement policy for improving medical service accessibility and rational healthcare utilization of retired population.
Changes in intestinal morphology, number of mucus-producing cells and expression of coronavirus receptors APN, DPP4, ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in pigs with aging
Authors: Saleem Waqar , Ren Xiaolei , Van Den Broeck Wim , Nauwynck Hans
Published: April 2023

Porcine enteric viral infections cause high morbidity and mortality in young piglets (<3 weeks). Later, these rates decrease with age. This age-dependent infectivity remains largely unexplored. This study investigated the changes in intestinal morphology, number of mucus-producing cells and expression level of coronavirus receptors in three age groups of pigs. Villus height and crypt depth increased with age from 3 days to 3 months in duodenum and ileum but not in mid-jejunum, where the villus height decreased from 580 µm at 3 days to 430 µm at 3 months. Enterocyte length-to-width ratio increased from 3 days to 3 months in all intestinal regions. The number of mucus-producing cells increased with age in the intestinal villi and crypts. The Brunner’s glands of the duodenum contained the highest concentration of mucus-producing cells. The expression of coronavirus receptor APN was highest in the small intestinal villi at all ages. DPP4 expression slightly decreased over time in jejunum and ileum; it was highest in the ileal villi of 3-day-old piglets (70.2% of cells). ACE2 and TMPRSS2 positive cells increased with age in jejunal and ileal crypts and were particularly dominant in the ileal crypts (> 45% of cells). Except for the expression of DPP4 in the jejunum and ileum of young pigs, the expression pattern of the selected coronavirus receptors was very different and not correlated with the age-dependent susceptibility to viral infections. In contrast, the number of mucus-producing cells increased over time and may play an essential role in protecting enteric mucosae against intestinal viruses.
Quaternary ammonium disinfectants and antiseptics: tolerance, resistance and potential impact on antibiotic resistance
Authors: Boyce John M.
Published: April 2023

Background

Due to the substantial increase in the use of disinfectants containing quaternary ammonion compounds (QACs) in healthcare and community settings during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is increased concern that heavy use might cause bacteria to develop resistance to QACs or contribute to antibiotic resistance. The purpose of this review is to briefly discuss the mechanisms of QAC tolerance and resistance, laboratory-based evidence of tolerance and resistance, their occurrence in healthcare and other real-world settings, and the possible impact of QAC use on antibiotic resistance.

Methods

A literature search was conducted using the PubMed database. The search was limited to English language articles dealing with tolerance or resistance to QACs present in disinfectants or antiseptics, and potential impact on antibiotic resistance. The review covered the period from 2000 to mid-Jan 2023.

Results

Mechanisms of QAC tolerance or resistance include innate bacterial cell wall structure, changes in cell membrane structure and function, efflux pumps, biofilm formation, and QAC degradation. In vitro studies have helped elucidate how bacteria can develop tolerance or resistance to QACs and antibiotics. While relatively uncommon, multiple episodes of contaminated in-use disinfectants and antiseptics, which are often due to inappropriate use of products, have caused outbreaks of healthcare-associated infections. Several studies have identified a correlation between benzalkonium chloride (BAC) tolerance and clinically-defined antibiotic resistance. The occurrence of mobile genetic determinants carrying multiple genes that encode for QAC or antibiotic tolerance raises the concern that widespread QAC use might facilitate the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Despite some evidence from laboratory-based studies, there is insufficient evidence in real-world settings to conclude that frequent use of QAC disinfectants and antiseptics has promoted widespread emergence of antibiotic resistance.

Conclusions

Laboratory studies have identified multiple mechanisms by which bacteria can develop tolerance or resistance to QACs and antibiotics. De novo development of tolerance or resistance in real-world settings is uncommon. Increased attention to proper use of disinfectants is needed to prevent contamination of QAC disinfectants. Additional research is needed to answer many questions and concerns related to use of QAC disinfectants and their potential impact on antibiotic resistance.
The impact of country of schooling and gender on secondary school students’ conceptions of and interest in becoming an engineer in Ireland, Kenya and Sweden
Authors: Buckley Jeffrey , Gumaelius Lena , Nyangweso Mercy , Hyland Tomás , Seery Niall , Pears Arnold
Published: April 2023

Background

Given the disparities in gender representation, efforts are needed to make engineering education more inclusive and attractive to young people. It is important that those entering engineering education are making this decision with sufficient understanding of what it means to be an engineer. This study explored how lower secondary education students from Ireland (n = 435), Kenya (n = 436), and Sweden (n = 361) stereotyped engineers, and their interest in becoming an engineer was examined. The Draw an Engineer Test was used to achieve this, and ordinal and logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare the effects of students’ genders and country of schooling on the genders and concepts of their drawn engineers, and on their interest in becoming an engineer in the future.

Results

A Sankey diagram illustrated significant complexity in the interaction between conceptions of engineering work and fields of engineering. Chi-square tests of association were used to examine the association between students depicting an engineer as either the same or a different gender to themselves and their interest in becoming an engineer. The results of these and the regression analyses indicate that young people’s gender explains more variance in the gender of drawn engineers and the country they are studying in explains more variance in their conception of engineers. However, most variance was explained when both students’ gender and country of study were considered together. Further, particularly for young females, drawing a female engineer as opposed to a male engineer was positively associated with increased interest in becoming an engineer.

Conclusions

There is a need to develop a greater understanding of engineering in young people to ensure they have sufficient information to make decisions regarding related educational pursuits. National-level attempts are needed to present accurate depictions of engineering, and effort needs to be invested in ensuring that young females can identify as engineers. Higher educational access needs to be considered in future work examining future career interests.
Challenges and opportunities for increasing patient involvement in heart failure self-care programs and self-care in the post–hospital discharge period
Authors: Butler Javed , Petrie Mark C. , Bains Marc , Bawtinheimer Tracy , Code Jillianne , Levitch Teresa , Malvolti Elmas , Monteleone Pasquale , Stevens Petrina , Vafeiadou Jenny , Lam Carolyn S. P.
Published: April 2023

Background

People living with heart failure (HF) are particularly vulnerable after hospital discharge. An alliance between patient authors, clinicians, industry, and co-developers of HF programs can represent an effective way to address the unique concerns and obstacles people living with HF face during this period. The aim of this narrative review article is to discuss challenges and opportunities of this approach, with the goal of improving participation and clinical outcomes of people living with HF.

Methods

This article was co-authored by people living with HF, heart transplant recipients, patient advocacy representatives, cardiologists with expertise in HF care, and industry representatives specializing in patient engagement and cardiovascular medicine, and reviews opportunities and challenges for people living with HF in the post–hospital discharge period to be more integrally involved in their care. A literature search was conducted, and the authors collaborated through two virtual roundtables and via email to develop the content for this review article.

Results

Numerous transitional-care programs exist to ease the transition from the hospital to the home and to provide needed education and support for people living with HF, to avoid rehospitalizations and other adverse outcomes. However, many programs have limitations and do not integrally involve patients in the design and co-development of the intervention. There are thus opportunities for improvement. This can enable patients to better care for themselves with less of the worry and fear that typically accompany the transition from the hospital. We discuss the importance of including people living with HF in the development of such programs and offer suggestions for strategies that can help achieve these goals. An underlying theme of the literature reviewed is that education and engagement of people living with HF after hospitalization are critical. However, while clinical trial evidence on existing approaches to transitions in HF care indicates numerous benefits, such approaches also have limitations.

Conclusion

Numerous challenges continue to affect people living with HF in the post–hospital discharge period. Strategies that involve patients are needed, and should be encouraged, to optimally address these challenges.
Victim blaming, prior history to sexual victimization, support for sexually assaulted friends, and rape myths acceptance as predictors of attitudes towards rape victims in the general population of Pakistan
Authors: Kazmi Syed Messum Ali , Tarar Amina Hanif , Nasir Awais , Iftikhar Rabia
Published: April 2023

Background

Individuals who have been sexually assaulted often turn to their friends for comfort and support. Responses to such disclosures vary greatly and may be influenced by prior victimization, the relationship of the disclosure recipient to the accused, and the recipient’s acceptance of rape myths. Moreover, currently there are no studies to date that have validated the Illinois Rape Myths Acceptance Model in Pakistan.

Method

To gain a better understanding of this phenomenon, the online survey was administered to the general population. Of this sample, 512 (consisting of 312 females and 200 males) reported having received a rape disclosure from a friend.

Results

The results showed that having lower scores on rape myths acceptance (being less likely to endorse rape myths) was significantly associated with positive attitudes towards rape victims. Similarly, being female, having graduate or above level education, not blaming the victim, having prior history of sexual victimization, offering support for friends experiencing sexual assault, and being liberal were significantly associated with positive attitudes towards rape victims. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis of the Illinois Rape Myths Acceptance Scale showed acceptable model fit indices and relevance to the Pakistani context.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it has been assessed through the results that showed that having lower scores on rape myths acceptance (being less likely to endorse rape myths) was significantly associated with positive attitudes towards rape victims. Similarly, being female, having graduate or above level education, not blaming the victim, having prior history of sexual victimization, offering support for friends experiencing sexual assault, and being liberal were significantly associated with positive attitudes towards rape victims. It is further concluded that having experienced sexual victimization leads individuals towards showing empathy to rape victims and thus may influence them to provide support for such victims. The findings further show that Illinois Rape Myths Acceptance is a valid measure for measurement of rape myths in Pakistan as established through the acceptable model fit indices. With the use of validated scales, we could gain a better understanding of rape and the factors related to it, which could be used to inform practices and policy decisions.
High-strength collagen/delphinidin film incorporated with Vaccinium oxycoccus pigment for active and intelligent food packaging
Authors: Yin Simiao , Zhang Yuanzhi , Zhang Xiaoxia , Tao Keyu , Li Guoying
Published: April 2023

This study developed an active and intelligent collagen-based packaging film with high strength for visually monitoring the freshness of fish. The results of scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy showed that the film based on cross-linked collagen/delphinidin catalyzed by laccase exhibited a denser layer structure and a rougher surface. The dry and wet tensile strengths of the laccase-catalyzed collagen/delphinidin film (Col/Dp-LA film) increased by 41.74 MPa and 13.13 MPa in comparison with that of the pure collagen film, respectively. Moreover, the Col/Dp-LA film presented good antioxidant and barrier properties demonstrated by the results of free radical scavenging rate, light transmission rate, and water vapor permeability. The intelligent collagen-based film was obtained by incorporating Vaccinium oxycoccus pigment into the Col/Dp-LA film, which could change color under different pH values. When applied to the preservation of fish fillets, the film could release Dp to minimize oxidative rancidity and prolong the shelf life of the fish for 2 days. Meanwhile, the film showed visual color changes from purplish-red to greyish-blue after the fish spoilage. These results indicated that the collagen film treated with delphinidin, laccase, and Vaccinium oxycoccus pigment has potential application value in the field of active and intelligent food packaging.

Graphical Abstract
The magnetic cell separation method reveals protective effect of melatonin on human spermatozoa from peroxide-induced apoptosis
Authors: Hassani Bafrani Hassan , Saeedi Sadr Atiye , Izadpanah Fatemeh , Haddad Kashani Hamed
Published: April 2023

Background

The selection of non-apoptotic sperm is related to successful fertilization. This study investigated the protective effects of melatonin and the role of the MACS (magnetically activated cell sorting) method to prevent oxidative damage in vitro and improve sperm quality parameters such as viability and DNA integrity.

Materials and methods

Semen analysis was performed on 20 different eligible donors participating in the study. Sperm viability and concentration were checked at time of 0 (0 h). In order to conduct more studies after 24 h (24 h), the remaining sperm suspension was divided into a control group and six experimental groups. DNA fragmentation was assessed using the TUNEL assay.

Results

The treatment of human spermatozoa with 100 µM hydrogen peroxide for 24 h induced a significant increase in phosphatidylserine externalization and significantly increases apoptotic sperm (p ≤ 0.001). TUNEL analysis of human sperm pretreated with 100 µM hydrogen peroxide for 24 h showed that the percentage of sperm with fragmented DNA was significantly reduced after sorting by MACS (P ≤ 0.001). However, pretreated human sperm with 1 μM melatonin for 24 h could effectively maintain sperm motility and progressive motility.

Conclusions

Pretreated human spermatozoa with 1 µM melatonin for 24 h could be effective for maintenance of sperm motility and progressive motility. Although 100 µM hydrogen peroxide-treated sperm were used, MACS was used to retain the appropriate sperm and select high-quality sperm.
Magnetic resonance imaging in patients of Mayer–Rokitansky–Kuster–Hauser (MRKH) syndrome presenting with primary amenorrhoea: a prospective study
Authors: Jaiswal Sakshi , Prasad Umakant , Gupta Ruchi , Kumari Manisha
Published: April 2023

Background

This study aims to characterize the spectrum of imaging findings in patients of Mayer–Rokitansky–Kuster–Hauser (MRKH) syndrome presenting with primary amenorrhoea.

Objectives

(1) To aid in clinical diagnosis of MRKH syndrome. (2) To detect the associated non gynecological anomalies. (3) To arrive at optimal management options.

Results

This prospective observational study was performed in 14 subjects who presented with primary amenorrhoea and diagnosed as MRKH on MRI from 1st January, 2021 to 30 June, 2022. Out of 14 patients, 4 patients showed hypoplastic uterus while remaining 10 showed complete uterine agenesis. Mean volume of hypoplastic uterus was 5.3 ml. Out of 10 patients with complete uterine agenesis, 9 showed bilateral rudimentary uterine buds connected by a fibrous band while 1 showed unilateral bud. 3 uterine buds showed three layered zonal differentiation of which 2 showed blood within lumen suggesting functioning endometrium. 1 uterine bud was located outside pelvis. Bilateral ovaries were noted in all 14 patients of which 4 ovaries were located outside pelvis and 1 ovary showed endometrioma within. 10 patients showed complete agenesis of proximal 2/3rd of vagina. Among non-gynecological findings, 2 showed unilateral renal agenesis and 1 showed unilateral hypoplastic kidney. 1 patient showed dorsal dermal sinus.

Conclusions

The findings in MRKH patients varies from complete uterine agenesis with rudimentary uterine buds or normal positioned hypoplastic uterus. The uterine buds can be functional with collection within endometrium and could lead to endometrioma formation due to retrograde menstruation. Ovaries and uterine buds can have an extra-pelvic location.
Recent progress in the treatment of sickle cell disease: an up-to-date review
Authors: Acharya Biswajeet , Mishra Durga Prasad , Barik Binapani , Mohapatra Ranjan K. , Sarangi Ashish K.
Published: April 2023

Background

Sickle cell disease is a fatal systemic condition characterized by acute painful episodes, persistent anemia, ongoing organ damage, organ infarction, and a markedly shorter average lifetime. It first appeared in the tropics' malarial zones, where carriers benefit from an evolutionary advantage by being shielded from malaria death.
Due to demographic shifts, this crisis now affects people all over the world. In higher-income areas, such as vast swaths of Europe and North and South America, more children are born with the syndrome.

Main body

Over the last 10 years, a clearer knowledge of the change from fetal to adult hemoglobin has evolved. Further investigation into chimerism, genomics, mixed gene editing, and therapeutic reactivation of fetal hemoglobin has produced very promising findings. Between 2017 and 2019, three innovative medications for sickle cell disease were approved by the FDA thanks to previous advances, while many more treatments are now under development.

Short conclusion

To improve patient outcomes, various innovative medications that were created in the late 1990s and utilized to treat sickle cell disease are examined in this study. In our appraisal, we'll also focus on the most important developments of the decade.
Early Onset GH Excess: Somatotroph Adenoma in a Young Adult
Authors: Galbiati Francesca , Kaiser Ursula B
Published: April 2023

GH-secreting pituitary adenomas can cause gigantism or acromegaly, determined by onset before or after epiphyseal fusion of the distal ends of the radius and ulna. Overlapping phenotypes can occur when the condition presents peripubertally. Gigantism is associated with identifiable hereditary causes and genetic mutations in almost 50% of cases; genetic testing should be considered in patients with gigantism and early-onset acromegaly, especially (but not only) when pituitary tumors have aggressive features and/or are refractory to standard treatments. Here, we present a case of a young adult with a giant somatotroph adenoma resistant to multiple treatment modalities and negative for mutations in AIP, which encodes aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein.
Abiraterone-Induced Endocrinopathies
Authors: Decamps Scarlett , Lis Rita , Ekanayake Preethika
Published: April 2023

Abiraterone, a CYP17A1 inhibitor, is used along with prednisone in patients with castration-resistant and castration-sensitive prostate cancer, yielding improved overall and disease-free survival. However, little is documented in the endocrinology literature about the incidences of the endocrine side effects of abiraterone. In this case series, we discuss the diagnosis and management of 3 prostate cancer patients who experienced mineralocorticoid excess and secondary adrenal insufficiency related to abiraterone and prednisone use.
Complications of Factor V Leiden in Adults Undergoing Noncardiac Surgical Procedures: A Systematic Review
Authors: Au Emily , Shao Ian , Elias Zeyad , Koivu Annabel , Zabida Amir , Shih Andrew W. , Cserti-Gazdewich Christine , van Klei Wilton A. , Bartoszko Justyna
Published: April 2023

Factor V Leiden is the commonest hereditary prothrombotic allele, affecting 1% to 5% of the world’s population. The objective of this study was to characterize the perioperative and postoperative outcomes of patients with Factor V Leiden compared to patients without a diagnosis of hereditary thrombophilia. This was a focused systematic review of studies including adult (>18 years) patients with Factor V Leiden (heterozygous or homozygous) undergoing noncardiac surgery. Included studies were either randomized controlled trials or observational. The primary clinical outcomes of interest were thromboembolic events occurring from the perioperative period up to 1 year postoperatively, defined as deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or other clinically significant thrombosis occurring during or after a surgical procedure. Secondary outcomes included cerebrovascular events, cardiac events, death, transplant-related outcomes, and surgery-specific morbidity. Pediatric and obstetrical patients were excluded, as were case reports and case series. Databases searched included MEDLINE and EMBASE from inception until August 2021. Study bias was assessed through the CLARITY (Collaboration of McMaster University researchers) Risk of Bias tools, and heterogeneity through analysis of study design and end points, as well as the I2 statistic with its confidence interval and the Q statistic. A total of 5275 potentially relevant studies were identified, with 115 having full text assessed for eligibility and 32 included in the systematic review. On the whole, the literature suggests that patients with Factor V Leiden have an increased risk of perioperative and postoperative thromboembolic events compared to patients without the diagnosis. Increased risk was also seen in relation to surgery-specific morbidity and transplant-related outcomes, particularly arterial thrombotic events. The literature did not support an increased risk for mortality, cerebrovascular, or cardiac complications. Limitations of the data include predisposition toward bias due in many study designs and small sample sizes across the majority of published studies. Variable outcome definitions and durations of patient follow-up across different surgical procedures resulted in high study heterogeneity precluding the effective use of meta-analysis. Factor V Leiden status may confer additional risk for surgery-related adverse outcomes. Large, adequately powered studies are required to accurately estimate the degree of this risk by zygosity.
American Tramps: Transient Gesture and Lyric Form in Hart Crane
Authors: Miller Christopher Patrick
Published: April 2023

Hart Crane’s lyrics abound with transient figures who often doubt their intelligibility or viability as persons, and his letters reflect a significant anxiety about his own ability to communicate the problems he experienced in being and remaining intelligible to others. Against that background, this article offers a reading of Crane’s transient figures as linguistic performances of such doubtful and tenuous existences. In this, the article puts Crane in dialogue with one of his most admired and mimicked contemporaries, Charlie Chaplin, as well as with theories of transient sociability from language philosophy, urban sociology, and modernist studies.
Korean Modernism’s Transnational Epiphanies
Authors: Walsh Kelly S. , Choi Yoon-Young
Published: April 2023

This essay tracks the circulation and anticolonial reinvention of European modernist epiphanies in Korean modernist prose. The intertextuality of these epiphanies, the authors contend, enables Pak T’aewŏn, Yi Sang, and Yi Hyosŏk to disclose the fraudulence of Japanese cosmopolitanism and imperial modernization, while focalizing the possibilities and limitations of engaging Asian colonial modernity with European forms. In localizing the European epiphany, and ambivalently acknowledging Japanese versions of it, the Korean modernists generate significant irony to interrogate the impulse to wrest concentrated moments of insight, “bliss,” or transcendence from the colonial everyday. Perhaps most disquieting is the realization that the exposure of imperialism’s “fakeness” lacks the capacity to remedy the material, or literary, conditions of coloniality. Ultimately, Pak, Yi Sang, and Yi Hyosŏk deploy the epiphany to assert the need for a more reflective, neither Japanese nor European, vision; they remain deeply pessimistic, however, about the consummation of one within colonial modernity.
Trans Bodies and Embodiments in Shani Mootoo’sCereus Blooms at Night
Authors: Ku Chung-Hao
Published: April 2023

This article studies how three kinds of trans embodiment—trans-speciation, sartorial metamorphosis, and nonmedical gender transition—in Shani Mootoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night (1996) unsettle the anthropocentric idea of nature, the genital view of sex, gender, and sexuality, and the pathological framing of trans people in colonial epistemologies. In a postcolonial novel set in the colonial Caribbean, these kinds of trans embodiment interrogate the nature-culture or human-nonhuman divide, allowing certain characters to feel at home in their trans bodies rather than, as per liberal narratives of progress, seeking a new home elsewhere. Like intersex nonhuman species (particularly the snail and the cereus), some trans embodiments also interrogate the enterprise of sex/gender dimorphism.
“Crowd-control” by RNA: a pervasive theme in biology
Authors: Bracken Cameron P.
Published: April 2023

As we continue to find new regulatory roles for RNAs, a theme is emerging in which regulation may not be mediated through the actions of a specific RNA, as one typically thinks of a regulator and target, but rather through the collective nature of many RNAs, each contributing a small degree of the regulatory load. This mechanism has been termed “crowd-control” and may apply broadly to miRNAs and to RNAs that bind and regulate protein activity. This provides an alternative way of thinking about how RNAs can act as biological regulators and has repercussions, both for the understanding of biological systems, and for the interpretation of results in which individual members of the “crowd” can replicate the effects of the crowd when overexpressed, but are not individually significant biological regulators.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors of frontline health workers in Ghana
Authors: Aikins Moses , Amon Samuel , Agyemang Samuel Agyei , Akweongo Patricia , Wyss Kaspar
Published: April 2023

Background: Human resources are vital for delivering health services, and health systems cannot function effectively without enough skilled, motivated, and well-supported health workers. Even though several studies have addressed job satisfaction among healthcare professionals in different parts of the world, there is limited research examining intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors involved in job satisfaction, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries.

Methods: This was a facility-based quantitative cross-sectional study conducted in 34 primary health care facilities, across three out of the 26 districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana, between February and March 2018, analyzing job satisfaction and underlying factors. Randomly selected public health workers (n=287) from health facilities were included in the study. The two-factor theory was adopted as the measurement model for this study.

Results: The odds of staff that had received management training in the past 12 months being intrinsically satisfied was 3.73 (95% CI:2.03,6.86) times higher than staff with no management training (p<0.001). Compared to staff working in hospitals, Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) staff showed lower levels of satisfaction on factors relating to intrinsic motivation. Technical staff had higher odds of being intrinsically and extrinsically satisfied compared to non-technical staff.

Conclusions: Public healthcare workers working at primary health facilities in Ghana, at higher levels of service delivery, showed higher satisfaction compared to lower-level staff, both in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic factors underlying satisfaction. Thus, to enhance healthcare services, health facilities’ administrators should take measures to improve the working conditions of staff at all levels of service delivery, since the hierarchy of service delivery in the health system makes the contributory role of all staff critical in improving the quality of primary healthcare.
Social cognition and human aesthetic niche—the evolving human cognition as a participant of human niche construction
Authors: Zhu Xuanqi
Published: April 2023

Aesthetic phenomena have been intertwined with the life of humans to a significant degree that is not observed in non-human animals. The complexity and subtlety of it have long been regarded as one symbol of human’s exceptional cognitive power. This power can sometimes be misrepresented by a view that regards human aesthetic behaviours as innate/encoded and automated settings that are brought along with the human brain. In scenarios like this, the naturally selected brain takes up a role as some super explanator—by appealing to the configurations of the neural connectivity as reasons/causations for observed phenotypic traits. Therefore, this line of thinking can sometimes obscure the role played by the sociocultural background in affecting those configurations.

By drawing upon the notion of niche construction, I will propose a nature-nurture coevolving framework for understanding human cognitive evolution. It will be argued that the evolutionary trajectory of human cognition is heavily defined by and is, therefore, better understood through the lens of a human cultural niche and of contextualised/context-dependent expressions of human behavioural traits. This view will be delivered by highlighting the dynamics between selective pressures and the differential expression of human phenotypic traits and acknowledging the evolutionary causal role of human cultural behaviours and practices. Finally, I argue that a major evolution of social cognition was brought about through an aesthetic tradition of the Acheulean and conclude by briefly proposing a potential subject for future study.

The basic research method applied in this article is theoretical deduction. Specifically, a restricted interdisciplinary investigation that concerns academic literature from relevant fields (centring on the topic of niche construction) of archaeology, evolutionary biology and human cognition was used. Furthermore, through a process of assessing and identifying of plausible evidence, the abovementioned arguments of this study are generated.
Prevalence rates of mucopolysaccharidosis in Iraq: a retrospective cross-sectional observational study
Authors: M. Abdulelah Furqan , Mahmood Mohammed Mohammed , Hassan Baaker Rabab
Published: April 2023

Background: Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) is a rare hereditary inborn error of metabolism that represents the largest heterogeneous group of lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) and is characterized by multiorgan impairment due to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) accumulation in various tissues and organs, resulting in severe frailty and early death. This research aimed to figure out the specific and overall birth prevalence of mucopolysaccharidosis among Iraqi children, as well as the frequencies of each type, and to compare the results with epidemiological data from other Arabian countries.

Methods: Information was collected and investigated from registered patients diagnosed with MPS in five metabolic centers in Iraq between 2010 and 2020. The numbers of live births in Iraq were obtained from the Ministry of Health and Environment (Health and vital statistics department) for the period mentioned above. Birth prevalence was calculated, and Poisson distribution for confidence intervals (95%) was considered through the implementation of MedCalc statistical software. The Hardy-Weinberg equation was used to calculate carrier frequency.

Results: The overall prevalence of MPS at birth is 2.97 per 100,000 live births; different forms of MPS manifest at varied frequencies. MPS VI was the most often reported form in the Iraqi population (1.32 per 100,000 live births, or 44.41% of all MPS cases), followed by MPS IVA and MPS I (0.625 and 0.593 per 100,000 live births, respectively). The higher frequency rate of MPS VI was also reported in neighboring countries, including UAE and Saudi Arabia, which were 2.51 and 8.0 per 100,000 live births, respectively.

Conclusions: The health systems should highly consider data obtained from prevalence studies in all affected countries, including health care specialists, clinical genetics, and workers in laboratories involved in MPS diagnosis.
Drug effectiveness for COVID-19 inpatients inferred from Japanese medical claim data using propensity score matching
Authors: Mitsushima Shingo , Horiguchi Hiromasa , Taniguchi Kiyosu
Published: April 2023

Background: Earlier studies and clinical trials have shown that the drugs such as antiviral drugs, antibody cocktails, and steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs are expected to prevent severe coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes and death.

Methods: We used observational data for Japan to assess the effectiveness of these drugs for COVID-19. We applied propensity scoring, which can treat the choice of administered drug as a random assignment to inpatients, to the Medical Information Analysis Databank operated by National Hospital Organization in Japan. The outcome was defined as mortality. Subjects were all inpatients, inpatients with oxygen administration, and inpatients using respiratory ventilators, classified by three age classes: all ages, 65 years old or older, and younger than 65 years old. Information about demographical characteristics, underlying disease, administered drug, the proportion of Alpha, Beta and Omicron variant strains, and vaccine coverage were used as explanatory variable in logistic regression.

Results: Estimated results indicated that only an antibody cocktail (sotrovimab, casirivimab and imdevimab) raised the probability to save life consistently. By contrast, other drugs might reduce the probability of saving life. The results indicated that an antiviral drug (remdesivir), a steroid (dexamethasone), and an anti-inflammatory drug (baricitinib and tocilizumab) might not contribute to saving life even at the pseudo-situation of random assignment. However, this logistic regression at the first step might have only insufficient explanatory power.

Conclusions: We found a high likelihood that antibody cocktails were consistently effective to raise the probability of saving life, though a lesser likelihood in other drugs for older patients with mild to severe severity and all age patients with moderate severity.
A comparative study of four-year and community college students' subjective experiences of emerging adulthood, belonging needs, and well-being
Authors: McCoy Shelly S. , Chou Catherine P. , Grahe Jon E. , Miller Travis J. , Photias Kyrsti L.
Published: April 2023

Background: Research on the dimensions of emerging adulthood has disproportionately focused on students from four-year universities.

Methods: Using data from the EAMMi2 project (Grahe et al., 2018), we assess whether the dimensions of emerging adulthood (as the age of possibilities, instability, identity explorations, and feeling in-between) vary between four-year university and community college students. We also explore how emerging adults compare on the need to belong and subjective well-being.

Results: Four-year university students (N = 1,221) identified more strongly with the negativity/instability and feeling in-between dimensions of emerging adulthood than community college students (N = 300). Community college students, however, were higher on identity exploration, with no differences between the groups in identification with the experimentation/possibilities dimension of emerging adulthood. Four-year students reported higher well-being and higher belonging needs compared to their counterparts at community colleges. Regardless of school type, experimentation/possibilities and feeling in-between predicted higher well-being whereas negativity/instability predicted lower well-being and higher belonging needs.

Conclusion: These findings highlight nuance in the experiences of emerging adulthood, as evidenced by both some shared experiences and group-level differences.
What do we know about the connection between gut microbiota and pain?
Authors: Lewandowski Mateusz , Siekierko Nikola , Świętochowski Jakub , Kotusiewicz Wiktoria , Żołnierek Maja , Lubczyńska Zuzanna , Bienia Grzegorz , Popravko Yevheniia , Przeradzki Jakub , Kucharski Jakub
Published: April 2023

Introduction and objective 
 
The relationship between gut microbiota and pain is crucial. Several studies demonstrate the evidence that gut microbiota play a key role in visceral, neuropathic and inflammatory pain. The proper profile of microbiota is also important in patients after surgeries and injuries who suffer from postoperative pain. In the present review study we assessed a comprehensive range of relevant literature to present the role of gut microbiota as the key factor in maintaining the structural integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier, pain perception and modulation of the immune system. 
 
Review methods 
 
We conducted a literature review in February, 2023 searching for terms “Gut microbiome and pain", “Probiotic supplementation”, “Fecal microbial transplantation in patients with pain”. This publication includes the analysis of several case reports, which describe patients who were successfully treated with modification of gut microbiota composition. 
 
Brief description of the state of knowledge 
 
The gut microbiota is a diversity of many different microorganisms. They inhabit our gut and are the key to many aspects of human health. To understand how important the gut microbiome is we have to be aware of a bidirectional connection between the gut and the brain. The gut microbiota has an impact on the nervous system via the microbiome-gut-brain axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
 
Summary
 
We propose novel therapeutic methods like probiotics or prebiotics or fecal microbiota transplantation as the new strategy for the management of pain. To reach this goal we need more clinical evidence to implement our theoretical knowledge to clinical practice.
Praktyka leczenia korespondencyjnego w połowie XVI wieku (na podstawie listów medyków włoskich do polskich pacjentów)
Authors: Odrzywolska Anna
Published: April 2023

Przedmiotem badań w artykule jest zjawisko stawiania diagnozy i podejmowania leczenia na podstawie odczuwanych objawów chorobowych zgłaszanych przez chorego korespondencyjnie. Diagnozowanie i leczenie pacjenta na odległość – bez uprzedniego badania i naocznej obserwacji objawów chorobowych – było praktykowane w czasach renesansu. Z takiej formy terapii korzystali chorzy niemający bezpośredniego dostępu do lekarzy cieszących się w środowisku medycznym, ale też i dworskim, największą sławą.
Apokryficzna apokalipsa Rzeczypospolitej, czyli jak Facies perturbatae et afflictae Reipublicae Jana Dymitra Solikowskiego przeistoczyła się w Apocalipsis Stanislai Orechovii
Authors: Wolak Jakub
Published: April 2023

Przedmiotem artykułu jest rekonstrukcja historii tekstu Facies perturbatae et afflictae Reipublicae, napisanego w 1564 r. przez sekretarza królewskiego Jana Dymitra Solikowskiego. Dyskutowane są okoliczności jego powstania, historia druku, a także przyczyny jego atrybucji Stanisławowi Orzechowskiemu oraz jego związki z pismami tegoż. Analizy historyczno-filologiczne pozwalają określić ramy funkcjonowania owego tekstu w obrębie szeroko rozumianej ideologii szlacheckiej od czasu jego powstania do początku czwartej dekady XVII w.
Wspólnota zysków i strat (societas) jako nucleus wspólnoty politycznej u Aarona Aleksandra Olizarowskiego
Authors: Huber Steffen
Published: April 2023

Aaron Aleksander Olizarowski, prawnik i autor De politica hominum societate (1651), reinterpretował strukturę Arystotelesowskiej filozofii praktycznej i oparł swoją koncepcję wspólnoty politycznej na znanym w prawie rzymskim pojęciu „spółki” (societas). W tych zabiegach wyraża się oryginalny charakter całego traktatu, który stanowi ważny dokument dialogu Rzeczypospolitej z Zachodem na temat sprawiedliwego ustroju społecznego.
Wincentego Lutosławskiego jarstwo w praktyce – od doświadczeń osobistych do „programowej wstrzemięźliwości”
Authors: Świerzowska Agata
Published: April 2023

W artykule przedstawiono postać Wincentego Lutosławskiego (1863–1954), który swoimi działaniami przyczynił się do upowszechniania w Polsce diety jarskiej. Tłem dla rozważań jest krótka charakterystyka struktury polskiego nurtu Lebensreform. W tym kontekście ukazano działalność Lutosławskiego w zakresie promocji diety jarskiej rozumianej jako styl życia poddanego regułom wstrzemięźliwości. W artykule zrekonstruowano źródła, z których filozof czerpał wiedzę na temat jarstwa, omówiono jego poglądy na znaczenie diety bezmięsnej nie tylko dla zachowania zdrowia fizycznego, ale przede wszystkim dla rozwoju duchowego człowieka. Pokazano także, w jaki sposób wskazania te filozof w sposób programowy upowszechniał i jak były one stosowane przez jego zwolenników skupionych w Stowarzyszeniu Eleusis.
Enhanced microwave metrology using an optical grating in Rydberg atoms
Authors: Zhao Shengfang , Yin Zheng , Song Xiaoyun , Jia Zhengmao , Wang Leqiu , Chen Bing , Zeng Qingtian , Peng Yandong
Published: April 2023

An enhanced measurement of the microwave (MW) electric (E) field is proposed using an optical grating in Rydberg atoms. Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) of Rydberg atoms appears driven by a probe field and a control field. The EIT transmission spectrum is modulated by an optical grating. When a MW field drives the Rydberg transition, the central principal maximum of the grating spectrum splits. It is interesting to find that the magnitude of the sharp grating spectrum changes linearly with the MW E-field strength, which can be used to measure the MW E-field. The simulation result shows that the minimum detectable E-field strength is nearly 1/8 of that without gratings, and its measurement accuracy could be enhanced by about 60 times. Other discussion of MW metrology based on a grating spectrum is also presented.