bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Discovery of the Low-Hemorrhagic Antithrombotic Effect of Montelukast by Targeting FXIa in Mice
Authors: Zhou Yang , Wang Dong , Wu Juhong , Qi Yingying , Song Meiru , Yao Huiqiao , Liao Christopher Kai , Lin Haili , Huang Meijuan , Zhuo Dexiang , Jiang Longguang , Yuan Cai , Chen Yuanzhong , Huang Mingdong , Li Jinyu , Xu Peng
Published: February 2025

BACKGROUND:

FXIa (coagulation factor XIa) is considered as a promising antithrombotic target with reduced hemorrhagic liabilities. The objective of this study was to identify a small-molecule inhibitor of FXIa as a potential low-hemorrhagic anticoagulant.

METHODS:

A high-throughput virtual screening was conducted using a drug repurposing library with the catalytic domain of FXIa as the bait. The identified inhibitor’s anticoagulant activity was evaluated in vitro and in both arterial and venous murine thrombotic models. The dependency of the inhibitor on FXIa was further examined using FXI
−/−
mice. Hemorrhagic risks were subsequently evaluated in models of both localized and major bleeding.

RESULTS:

Virtual screening led to the identification of montelukast, a commonly used antiasthmatic drug, as a potent and specific FXIa inhibitor (IC
50
, 0.17 μmol/L). MK exhibited anticoagulant effects comparable to those of 2 mostly prescribed anticoagulants (warfarin and apixaban) in both arterial and venous thrombotic models. Notably, in stark contrast to the pronounced hemorrhagic risks of warfarin and apixaban, MK did not measurably increase the tendency of localized or major bleeding. Furthermore, MK did not prolong the time to arterial thrombotic occlusion in FXI
−/−
mice, while effectively inhibited arterial occlusion induced by the reinfusion of recombinant FXIa, confirming that MK’s anticoagulant activity is mediated by plasma FXIa. Additionally, MK ameliorated inflammation levels and mitigated pulmonary microthrombus formation in a septic mouse model. Moreover, combination therapy with MK enhanced the antithrombotic effects of antiplatelets without an obvious increase of hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONS:

This proof-of-concept study suggests the potent low-hemorrhage antithrombotic effect of MK by targeting FXIa and unveiling a new therapeutic application of MK.
Sex-Divergent Blood Pressure Associations With Multiorgan System Metabolic Stress
Authors: Kwan Alan C. , Wang Minhao , Ji Hongwei , Claggett Brian , Ouyang David , Trivedi Hirsh , Sharma Sonia , Shyy John , Velazquez Amanda , Ebinger Joseph E. , Cheng Susan
Published: February 2025

BACKGROUND:

Women experience excess cardiovascular risk compared with men in the setting of similar metabolic disease burden. We aimed to examine sex differences in the vascular response to various forms of metabolic stress.

METHODS:

We conducted an observational study of 4299 adult participants (52% women, aged 59±13 years) of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017 to 2018 cohort and 110 225 adult outpatients (55% women, aged 64±16 years) from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2019. We used natural splines to examine the association of systemic and organ-specific measures of metabolic stress including body mass index, hemoglobin A1c, hepatic FIB-4 score, and CKD-EPI estimated glomerular filtration rate with systolic blood pressure (SBP). Piecewise linear models were generated using normal value thresholds (body mass index <25 kg/m
2
, hemoglobin A1c <5.7%, FIB-4 <1.3, and estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥90 mL/min), which approximated observed spline break points. The primary outcome was an increase in SBP in association with increase in each metabolic measure.

RESULTS:

Women compared with men demonstrated larger magnitudes and an earlier onset of increase in SBP per increment increase across all metabolic stress measures. The slope of SBP increase per increment of each metabolic measure was greater for women than men particularly for metabolic measures within the normal range, with slope differences of 1.86 mm Hg per kg/m
2
of body mass index, 12.48 mm Hg per %hemoglobin A1c, 6.87 mm Hg per FIB-4 unit, and 0.44 mm Hg per mL/min decrement of estimated glomerular filtration rate in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cohort (
P
difference <0.05 for all). Overall results were consistent in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center cohort.

CONCLUSIONS:

Women exhibited greater SBP alteration in the setting of multiple types of metabolic stress, particularly in periods representing the transition from metabolic health to disease. These findings suggest potential benefit of early metabolic health interventions as part of efforts to mitigate vascular risks in both women and men.
Youth Blood Pressure and Target Organ Injury Markers: The SHIP AHOY Study
Authors: Hamdani Gilad , Urbina Elaine M. , Daniels Stephen R. , Falkner Bonita E. , Ferguson Michael A. , Flynn Joseph T. , Hanevold Coral D. , Ingelfinger Julie R. , Khoury Philip R. , Lande Marc B. , Meyers Kevin E. , Samuels Joshua , Mitsnefes Mark
Published: February 2025

BACKGROUND:

Hypertension in adolescence is associated with subclinical target organ injury. We aimed to determine whether different blood pressure thresholds were associated with an increasing number of target organ injury markers in healthy adolescents.

METHODS:

A total of 244 participants (mean age 15.5±1.8 years, 60.1% male) were studied. Participants were divided based on systolic clinic and systolic awake ambulatory blood pressure into low- (<75th percentile), mid- (75th–90th percentile), and high-risk (>90th percentile) groups. The ambulatory blood pressure phenotype was classified as normotensive, white-coat, masked, or sustained hypertension. Target organ injury assessments included left ventricular mass, systolic and diastolic function, and vascular stiffness. A multivariable general linear model was constructed to evaluate the association of different participant characteristics with higher numbers of target organ injury markers.

RESULTS:

A total of 31.2% of participants had 1, 11.9% 2, 3.7% 3, and 0.8% 4 target organ injury markers. The number of target organ injury markers increased according to the risk groups: the percentage of participants with >1 marker in the low-, mid-, and high-risk groups was 6.7%, 19.1%, and 21.8% (
P
=0.02) and 9.6%, 15.8%, and 32.2% (
P
<0.001), based on clinic and ambulatory blood pressure, respectively. Participants with white-coat (23%), masked (35%), and sustained hypertension (32%) had significantly higher >1 target organ injury marker than normotensives (8%,
P
<0.001). The results were unchanged in multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS:

High clinic and ambulatory blood pressure values, as well as ambulatory blood pressure phenotypes (white-coat, masked, and sustained hypertension), were independently associated with an increasing number of subclinical cardiovascular injury markers in adolescents.
Endovascular Therapy in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke With Large Infarct: A Guideline From the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology
Authors: Mokin Maxim , Jovin Tudor G. , Sheth Sunil A. , Nguyen Thanh N. , Asif Kaiz S. , Hassan Ameer E. , Jadhav Ashutosh P. , Kenmuir Cynthia , Liebeskind David S. , Mansour Ossama , Nogueira Raul G. , Novakovic Robin , Ortega‐Gutierrez Santiago , Yoo Albert J. , Guerrero Waldo R. , Malik Amer M. ,   for the SVIN GAPS committee
Published: February 2025

BACKGROUND

Recent randomized clinical trials of endovascular therapy in patients with large infarct provided new evidence in support of endovascular interventions in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology Guidelines and Practice Standards committee aims to provide up‐to‐date recommendations on focused relevant clinical questions. Here, we review current evidence and provide recommendations for the selection and endovascular treatment of patients with anterior circulation large vessel occlusion and large infarct.

METHODS

The Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology Guidelines and Practice Standards committee assembled a writing group and recruited interdisciplinary experts to review and evaluate the current literature. Recommendations were assigned using the Guidelines and Practice Standards Class of Recommendation/Level of Evidence algorithm and guideline format. The recommendations were developed through a consensus process involving an expert panel of vascular neurologists, neurointensivists, and neurointerventionalists. The final guideline was approved by the Guidelines and Practice Standards committee and the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology board of directors.

RESULTS

Literature review yielded 6 high‐quality randomized trials and 6 meta‐analyses of patients with large infarct from anterior circulation large vessel occlusion treated with endovascular therapy versus medical management that have been extracted to derive the enclosed summary recommendations. We provide separate recommendations for those presenting within 6 hours of symptoms onset and those presenting in the 6–24‐hour treatment window.

CONCLUSION

These guidelines provide focused practical recommendations based on recent evidence regarding the selection and endovascular therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke with large infarct.
The Persistence of the Old Regime and its Culture: Friedrich Nietzsche and the Aristocratic-Bourgeois Bloc
Authors: Azzarà Stefano G.
Published: February 2025

The recent English edition of Nietzsche, the Aristocratic Rebel has reopened the debate on the re-rereading of Nietzsche proposed by Domenico Losurdo in 2002. When dealing with the German philosopher, two opposite errors are to be avoided: interpreting him as directly paving the way for Nazism culturally, or making him a prophet of ultra-individualism and anarcho-libertarianism who anticipates the postmodern turn. The point is to understand Nietzsche in his own time and hence to proceed based on a precise historical and political survey. Following the line of research suggested by Arno J. Mayer and Charles Maier, this article challenges the idea of a Sonderweg that supposedly led German modernisation inexorably to Nazism. It then defines the sociological and cultural characteristics of the aristocratic-bourgeois bloc that furnished the ruling classes of Europe between the late nineteenth century and the First World War. Finally, it shows how Nietzsche gave consummate expression to this bloc culturally and philosophically, in a (vain) attempt to rejuvenate its hegemony.
Philology Betwixt and Between: Johan David Michaelis and his British Interlocutors
Authors: Palmieri Kristine
Published: February 2025

Johann David Michaelis’s longstanding engagement with British scholarship is often noted yet rarely examined. This article thus focuses on his interactions with three prominent correspondents – Robert Lowth, Benjamin Kennicott, and Sir John Pringle – in order to do two thigs. On one hand, it sheds new light on Michaelis’s English connections, so as to underscore not just the persistence of that trans-national sociability and those scholarly interactions which characterized the early modern Republic of Letters until the late eighteenth century, but also the importance of these connections for the development of German scholarship. On the other hand, it offers a micropolitics of knowledge, which highlights the extent to which local circumstances and confessional considerations impacted both the scope and the aims of the philological projects these men undertook.
On Creation, Nature, and the Ethical Self: a Comparative Analysis of Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, and Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī
Authors: Al-Daghistani Sami
Published: February 2025

In this paper, I examine ideas on creation, nature, and the ethical self as conceptualized by the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Brethren of Purity, fl. ca. 350–369/961–980) and al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī (d. before 409/1018), with a particular focus on Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111). Drawing from the classical scholarship on kalām, taṣawwuf, and falsafa, I analyze texts by these ethicists who wrote on nature and the role of the human as part of their ethical understanding of the universe as a means to achieve salvation in the Hereafter. By cross-referencing the abovementioned classical scholars and their ideas, I ask how nature is conceptualized in the classical Islamic tradition as part of the divine creation and how closely it was conceived in relation to obtaining a virtuous character. Looking at these three figures who show a degree of cross-influence, indicates that these scholars wrote on creation and nature from an integrative perspective, encompassing theological, philosophical, and cosmological questions as ethical concerns. Reading these scholars presupposes that nature was not separated from other domains but rather amalgamated in a web of approaches and movements that addressed, for instance, the creation of the cosmos and its conservation based on a utilitarian perspective that was nonetheless ingrained in a metaphysical understanding of the universe. In a similar vein, this paper invites us to rethink the contemporary designations of nature/environment as a monovalent concept, encapsulated in a particular division of sciences as it appeared in modern Europe, and hence welcomes a critical take on the current debates on environmental sustainability as a common ethical concern.
A new species of Centaurea sect. Cynaroides (Asteraceae, Cardueae–Centaureinae) from Iran
Authors: NEGARESH KAZEM , YOUSEFI ZOHREH
Published: February 2025

Centaurea saeidii Negaresh, a new species of C. sect. Cynaroides from the Kermanshah Province of W Iran, is described and illustrated. Diagnostic morphological characters of this and closely related taxa are presented and discussed. The ecology and conservation status of the new species are discussed. The geographic distributions of the new species and closely related species are also presented and mapped. In addition, a taxonomic key of C. saeidii and closely related taxa is provided.
On the spider family Dolomedidae Simon, 1876 in India and Sri Lanka (Arachnida: Araneae)
Authors: SANKARAN PRADEEP M. , KADAM GAUTAM
Published: February 2025

We report the first record of the spider family Dolomedidae Simon, 1876, and the genus Dolomedes Latreille, 1804 from India, including the first record, and a redescription of the widely distributed species, Dolomedes mizhoanus Kishida, 1936. We also review the two Dolomedes species previously known from Sri Lanka, and discuss the record of Dolomedes boiei (Doleschall, 1859) in Sri Lanka. We provide detailed descriptions and genitalic illustrations of Dolomedes karschi Strand, 1913 and D. mizhoanus, with a distribution map of the family in India and Sri Lanka. We also propose D. boiei to be treated as a nomen dubium due to its unknown type deposition and vague original description.
Systematics of the Little Red Tree Frog, Litoria rubella (Anura: Pelodryadidae), with the description of two new species from eastern Australia and arid Western Australia
Authors: PURSER WILLIAM A. , DOUGHTY PAUL , ROWLEY JODI L. , BÖHME WOLFGANG , DONNELLAN STEPHEN C. , ANSTIS MARION , MITCHELL NICOLA , SHEA GLENN M. , AMEY ANDREW , MITCHELL BRITTANY A. , CATULLO RENEE A.
Published: February 2025

The Litoria rubella species complex (L. capitula and L. rubella) is distributed across much of continental Australia, southern New Guinea, and the Tanimbar Islands of Indonesia, in habitats ranging from deserts to tropical forests. We carried out an appraisal of molecular genetics, advertisement calls, and morphological variation in the species complex. Analyses of thousands of nuclear gene SNPs and nucleotide sequences from the mitochondrial ND4 gene identified four reciprocally monophyletic lineages in both marker types, two exclusively in Australia, one in Australia/New Guinea and one from the Tanimbar Islands. The advertisement calls of the three lineages on continental Australia have overlapping but significant differences in the number of pulses in the notes, dominant frequency, and call duration, particularly where the lineages come into contact. The Tanimbar Islands lineage is genetically and morphologically distinct and represents L. capitula. Molecular and advertisement call data together support the recognition of three species in Australia: a widespread central arid and northern tropics lineage, a western arid zone lineage, and an eastern mesic lineage. Litoria rubella sensu stricto is widespread across the tropical Kimberley and Top End regions, southern New Guinea, the central arid zone, and the Murray Darling Basin, making it an extreme climate-generalist. SNP data indicates that L. rubella has gene flow to the north of the Lake Eyre Basin but not the south, making it a possible ring species. The western arid zone lineage does not differ in appearance or advertisement call from L. rubella but is geographically disjunct and phylogenetically distinct. The eastern lineage is primarily distributed to the east of the Great Dividing Range and Cape York in Queensland. We redescribe L. rubella sensu stricto, describe the eastern lineage and western arid lineage as new species, L. pyrina sp. nov. and L. larisonans sp. nov. respectively. Although L. rubella and L. larisonans sp. nov. are morphologically similar, they do not overlap in distribution, making identification non-problematic. Litoria pyrina sp. nov. can be distinguished from L. rubella at contact zones by having advertisement calls with a higher dominant frequency. We investigated the history and morphology of the type for L. mystacina and designate it a nomen dubium. The three Australian species are likely to have a conservation status of Least Concern as they are widespread and abundant, with no significant threats. Little is known about L. capitula from the Tanimbar Islands outside of the few existing museum specimens.
Barriers to Surgical Health Care Access in Rural Communities
Authors: Miller-Hammond Kimberly , Anderson David
Published: February 2025

Rural surgical care is a dying specialty that needs aid. The current rural surgeon workforce is retiring at an alarming rate, and rural hospital closures diminish the accessibility of surgical care for its population. Action is needed to increase the number of surgeons entering the rural surgical field. Identifying individuals with rural backgrounds and interests needs to be paramount. Those individuals must be mentored and guided to build the surgical workforce in these communities. In addition, recruiting and retaining surgeons in these areas requires innovative solutions and strategies.
Reduction of Spectral Overlap in Spectral Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Imaging Using a Dove Prism
Authors: Shoup Deben N. , Smith Abigail E. , Schultz Zachary D.
Published: February 2025

The ability to combine microscopy and spectroscopy is beneficial for directly monitoring physical and biological processes. Spectral imaging approaches, where a transmission diffraction grating is placed near an imaging sensor to collect both the spatial image and spectrum for each object in the field of view, provide a relatively simple method to simultaneously collect images and spectroscopic responses on the same sensor. Initially demonstrated with fluorescence spectroscopy, the use of spectral imaging in Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can provide a vibrational spectrum containing molecularly specific information that can inform on chemical changes. However, a major complication to this approach is the spectral overlap that occurs when objects are spaced closely together horizontally. In this work, we add a dove prism to a spectral imaging instrument developed for SERS imaging, enabling rotation of the collected SERS image and dispersed spectrum onto the imaging complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. We demonstrate that this effectively reduces spectral overlap for emitters with clear separation between them and emitters with slightly overlapping point spread functions thereby facilitating collection of unambiguous spectra from each emitter.
A superhero or an incompetent? Representations of international mediators in local cultural products
Authors: Lehrs Lior
Published: February 2025

How are international mediators depicted in the local cultural products of the parties to a conflict? Over the years, scholars have examined the question of parties’ attitudes toward mediators and the resulting impact on the effectiveness of mediation efforts. This article extends that inquiry, proposing an approach that uses the local cultural context as a prism by which to study how international mediators are represented in local cultural products of the parties in a conflict zone, such as plays, songs, and television shows. The study analyzes representations of international mediators in Israeli cultural products in the context of the Israeli–Arab and Israeli–Palestinian conflicts, and identifies four main narrative themes: (1) the mediator as useless and incompetent; (2) the mediator as arrogant and self-interested; (3) the mediator as a superhero; and (4) the mediator as the only “responsible adult” taking on a thankless mission. In addition, it examines how varying conditions can shape different cultural images of mediators in various cases. The research contributes to the literature on international mediation, and the intersection of International Relations and popular culture, and particularly the cultural reflection and images of conflicts and peacemaking.
Not All Money Is the Same: The Meanings of Money in Online Fraud
Authors: Wang Fangzhou , Dickinson Timothy , Ghazi-Tehrani Adam
Published: February 2025

In this study, we explore the various ways online fraudsters define money through an analysis of posts on fraud-centered message boards located on the dark web forum Dread. Our examination of over 4,000 posts from 2019 to 2024 finds that online fraudsters view money in several conceptually distinct ways: as easy, difficult, tangible, initial, and risky. We add to understanding of the multifaceted character of digital money and the ways offenders define money. We discuss implications of these findings for models of decision-making, such as deterrence and rational choice. We also provide suggestions for policy-makers and practitioners to better catch or deter the individuals committing online fraud.
Technical Efficiency of Wheat Production in Central Asia: Empirical Evidence From Kazakhstan
Authors: Tleubayev Alisher , Syzdykov Yerzhan
Published: February 2025

Kazakhstan is the main supplier of wheat to Central Asian countries and plays a vital role in regional food security. The war between two major global wheat-exporting countries—Russia and Ukraine—resulted in a further increase in the role of Kazakh wheat in the region. Existing literature suggests that the wheat yields in Kazakhstan are still relatively low and point to significant unrealized production potential, through higher production efficiency. In light of this, the government of Kazakhstan has been heavily supporting the agricultural sector through various government programs, with the aim of improving efficiency and boosting agricultural production. However, the effects of these government programs on farms’ production efficiency are not researched yet. Furthermore, there is a lack of empirical research that studies farm efficiency in the context of Central Asian countries, in general. The current study aims to fill this gap in the literature by analyzing the technical efficiency of wheat-producing farms in the case of Kazakhstan. The results of this study reveal a decreasing return to scale and a negative association between farm size and efficiency. A negative relation was also observed between subsidies and farm efficiency, which put current government initiatives under question. On the other hand, the use of bank loans and agricultural insurance, as well as farmers’ education, seems to enhance farm efficiency.
Climate-Induced Displacement and Migration – Implications on Poverty and Household Food Security in Southern Africa
Authors: Mamba Sipho Felix , Ncube Mthuthukisi , Ndlovu Sindiso , Ndlovu Ntobeko , Moyo Funa , Dube Zenzo Lusaba , Nkala Peter , Ncube Vusisizwe , Mathe Tumelo , Murai Travor , Ndlovu Thabo
Published: February 2025

Climate-induced extreme weather events such as droughts and floods have been documented as major drivers of massive displacement and migration of people globally and in Southern Africa, in particular. To this end, floods and recurrent drought conditions in most countries in southern Africa (e.g. Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Eswatini) continue to induce rural–urban migration as people flee vulnerable areas (flood- & drought-prone areas) for perceived better opportunities in towns and cities, owing to persistent crop failure in rural areas. Against this background, this paper aims to contribute to the climate change and migration discourse by exploring the climate change, migration and development nexus to better understand the challenges and opportunities for rural development paused by climate change through the migration pathway. The study adopts a desktop review methodology and makes use of both scholarly and grey literature to unpack the climate change and migration linkages and how these present opportunities (and challenges) for rural development in Southern Africa. The review was conducted by searching electronic databases such as Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar for articles published between 2000 and 2024. Key study findings reveal that climate change leads to population displacement and migration in Southern Africa as people flee flood and drought-prone rural areas for safer spaces (in towns and cities). This migration, while posing significant challenges for rural development and leading to the decline in rural food production, also presents potential opportunities for rural development through remittance flow and skills transfer. The study advocates for the formulation of policies and strategies that will mitigate the impacts of climate change while simultaneously harnessing the potential benefits of migration in promoting sustainable development in the region.
Loneliness and Touch
Authors: Weidman Nadine
Published: February 2025

Fromm-Reichmann’s insistence on the physical aspect of loneliness and on touch as its antidote connects her to a long tradition of humanistic biology. This reaction paper traces the history of that tradition from the early 20th century onward and situates her within it. Interpreting Fromm-Reichmann’s 1959 article as part of this tradition allows us to notice the assumptions she shares with its other members.
Forging and Foraging Ethnic Identity: The Sylhet Association of Delhi
Authors: Bhattacharjee Nabanipa , Thakur Manish
Published: February 2025

In 1874, Sylhet, a district of Bengal Presidency, was transferred to Assam. In 1947, following the Sylhet Referendum, Sylhet, except for three and a half thanas of the Karimganj sub-division that remained in India, was transferred to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The Sylhet referendum and partition of India (Assam) provided, among others, the context for the articulation of a reconstructed Sylheti identity. Drawing on the particular case of the Sylhet Association of Delhi, which is called the Sreehatta Sammilani, Delhi (SSD), this article maps out the processes and practices of associational Sylheti ethnic identity and its reconstruction in a migrant community.
Unbounded avant-gardes: On the reciprocity of Central European modernism and the movements for African poetics
Authors: Sadikou Nadjib
Published: February 2025

This article demonstrates the reciprocity and similarity between European and African art and literature through the poetry of the Central European Dadaists, Tristan Tzara and Hugo Ball, and the theorists of Négritude, Aimé Césaire and Léopold Sédar Senghor. Césaire was fascinated by Dadaist oral performance, and Senghor invoked German poetry in their critiques of ‘Civilisation de l’universel’. They deconstructed the supposed superiority of Western artefacts to perform universality through a ‘politics of resemblance’ which gave readers an intercultural ‘aesthetic experience’ that eliminates groundless asymmetries between north and south.
Reframing the City Beautiful: Environment and Health in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Authors: Boehm Lisa Krissoff
Published: February 2025

Botanist and forester Mira Lloyd Dock, horticulturalist and printer J. Horace McFarland, and landscape planner Warren H. Manning collaborated to implement positive, community-inspired physical improvements in Harrisburg, PA, in the early twentieth century. Their efforts led to real change couched in advancing the cleanliness of streets, drinking water, and air to promote human safety and health. The city paved roads, built a water-treatment plant, installed sewer lines, and constructed parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields. Harrisburg’s commitment to civic engagement is considered an early part of the City Beautiful movement. A thorough reconsideration of the efforts reveals that Harrisburg’s achievements were innovative, and, while a product of the assumptions of their time, offer a hint of the future environmental and urban health movement. While this proto-environmental approach would not inform City Beautiful across the board, the example may lead scholars to reconsider the motivations, impact, and legacy of the movement.
Immigrants’ Barriers to Accessing Social Policy in Argentina and Chile
Authors: Niedzwiecki Sara
Published: February 2025

Much attention has been paid to how immigrants are incorporated into welfare states in the Global North, but the Global South has been overlooked. This article studies barriers that immigrants face when accessing social policy in middle-income South American countries with high rates of immigration. With a focus on Chile and Argentina, I argue that immigrants’ barriers to accessing social policy depend on political elites’ views—as policies are expanded, policymakers will lower access barriers for universal policies, while they will raise more hurdles for targeted policies. This is because public officials view universal policies as “social rights” that include immigrants, while they view targeted policies as “costs” that must be contained. Barriers to access are measured through qualitative coding of social assistance, social pensions, and public health care that build on legal documents, information requests, and secondary literature from 1990 to 2022. Public officials’ views are measured through 80 in-depth interviews. In analyzing barriers to accessing social policy, this study contributes to the literatures on comparative welfare states and immigration, as well as comparative social policy in middle income countries.
Oboe educators’ perspectives on playing-related injury, Part II: Barriers, solutions, and teaching practices
Authors: Macdonald Heather M , Guptill Christine
Published: February 2025

Music educators are uniquely positioned to promote student playing-related health, yet little is known about their current approach to student wellness. This article aimed to identify barriers and solutions to musician health promotion and to document studio music instructors’ approaches to wellness topics with students. Using a qualitative description approach, in-depth interviews with 10 oboe teachers (7 male, 3 female, 5 with personal history of injury) documented perceptions and practices surrounding playing-related injury (PRI). Participants identified several barriers to help-seeking behaviors among musicians, including shame, stigma, discrimination, heavy course loads, and abuse. Proposed solutions for these barriers included self-care, accessible resources, vulnerability, empathy, positive framing, and institutional support for wellness initiatives. Participants’ teaching practices emphasized adaptable lesson plans, cultivating independence and efficiency, and positive framing. With injured students, they described referring to medical professionals, encouraging physical activity, emphasizing posture and alignment, recommending instrument modifications and supports, making sure that reeds and instrument are functioning well, and incorporating rest into lesson and practice plans. Participants demonstrated a nuanced understanding of how best to approach musicians’ wellness topics with students (e.g. positive framing, vulnerability, empathy, emphasizing efficiency). Educational wellness initiatives could achieve greater efficacy through direct consultation and collaboration with teachers.
Comparing Risky Behaviours Among Teenagers With Native or Immigrant Parents in Italy
Authors: Foresta Daniela , Ambrosetti Elena
Published: February 2025

Investigating adolescent risky behaviours from different cultural backgrounds helps understand societal differences. This study assesses the correlation between the cultural background and risky behaviours among adolescents in Italy, considering the migrant status and the geographical/cultural area of the maternal birthplace. Ordinal-logistic regressions were employed to analyse alcohol consumption, smoking cigarettes and binge drinking in an Italian nationally representative sample (58,976 obs.) from the HBSC 2018 survey. Results indicate that 1.5- and second-generation immigrants are less likely than “native” Italians to drink alcohol/smoke cigarettes. In binge drinking, only second-generation migrants are less at risk. No significant difference was found between the 1.5- and the second-generation. We see several differences for geographical/cultural backgrounds compared to the reference category Catholic-Europe. These findings show that certain groups of immigrant adolescents are at less risk than natives. Policymakers should consider how patterns of adolescent risky behaviours vary by immigrant background when designing prevention programs.
How does occupational therapy literature conceptualise executive functions and how this influences occupational therapy assessment? An integrative review
Authors: Heaps Alex
Published: February 2025

Background:

Occupational therapists (OT) are commonly tasked with assessing the functional impact of an executive dysfunctional following a brain injury. Research has highlighted uncertainty in the literature regarding how this phenomenon is understood in occupational therapy.

Purpose:

To explore the conceptual understanding of executive function in OT literature and how this influences the professions approach to assessment.

Method:

An integrative review of 13 studies was completed using thematic analysis to generate themes in the literature.

Results:

Four themes were generated: (1) There is inconsistency in our working definition of executive functions (EF) and what constitutes a component (2) EF is conceptualised in singular complex tasks in the OT literature, (3) There is uncertainty on the accuracy of assessing EF performance in one-off tasks (4) There is uncertainty about what constitutes normal EF performance in an occupation.

Conclusions:

This integrative review identifies challenges in the conceptualisation and assessment of executive functions within OT. Inconsistent definitions, reliance on neuropsychological frameworks and standardised assessments, such as the multiple-errands test and executive function performance test, fail to capture the complex and individualised nature of occupational performance. The limited integration of occupational science further hampers the development of OT-specific approaches. Clearer definitions and qualitative research would enable advancements in practice and enhance client-centred interventions.
Development of a Retrofit End Enclosure for Enhanced Light-Rail-Vehicle Collision Safety with Automobiles
Authors: Bocchieri Robert T. , Lowe Travis , Zeigle Alex , Huang John , Kirkpatrick Steven
Published: February 2025

A prototype end enclosure, or bumper, was designed to retrofit the Siemens SD660 LRV (light-rail vehicle). The objective of the design was to reduce potential for injury to automobile occupants and damage to the LRV car body, and to lower costs to operators from crashes. The bumper was designed using nonlinear dynamic finite-element analysis. Side and oblique impact simulations were performed against a small car (2010 Toyota Yaris) and an SUV (2003 Ford Explorer). Injuries caused by collision were evaluated using a model of the ES-2re Side Impact Dummy (SID). Injuries were calculated for the head, chest, abdominal area, and neck using the abbreviated injury scale (AIS). Simulations were performed for LRV impact speeds of 20 mph against the automobiles. For this speed, the bumper is designed to remain usable in service. Adding the bumper to the collision interface significantly reduced the potential for serious injuries in all the collision scenarios evaluated. For the 2003 Explorer, injuries were reduced from an AIS3+ (serious) chest injury probability of 48.5% without bumper to 21.8% with the bumper when considering normal (90°) side impact. For the 2010 Yaris, injuries were reduced from 100% AIS6+ (fatal) injury probability, resulting from head impact against the LRV anticlimber, to 12.4%. The bumper was also designed to be functional and remain in service for LRV-to-LRV crash speeds of 5 mph. To protect against LRV collisions at higher speeds, the bumper side panels break away at 11 mph, and the existing LRV crash-energy-management performance is unaffected.
Nonresponse at three stages in personality research: Insights based on (Danish) register data of a representative potential participant pool
Authors: Einsiedler Johanna , Lilleholt Lau , Mortensen Laust Hvas , Schild Christoph , Zettler Ingo
Published: February 2025

Study participants are vital to personality research. Thus, individuals not following study invitations (self-selection), not completing all administered measures (showing dropout) and/or not participating at subsequent measurement occasions (showing attrition) pose a significant challenge to personality research. Building on existing research documenting that non-response does not occur randomly, we herein test for potential predictors of non-responding at each of the three stages by combining official register (census) data from a randomly selected participant pool of 100,175 adults, representative for the target population (adults living in Denmark), with data from a personality panel ( N = 14,071) recruited from this participant pool. We find that each socio-demographic characteristic considered (i.e., sex, age, marital status, migration background, income, highest completed education, and region of residence) as well as five of the six HEXACO personality dimensions (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience; but not Agreeableness vs. Anger) were associated with self-selection, selective dropout, and/or selective attrition. We further compare the sample representativeness at each of the stages and illustrate how to assess potential biases (regarding the obtained HEXACO scores) due to self-selection.
A general framework for the analytical inverse kinematics solution of industrial robots
Authors: Niu Qun , Zhao Jieliang , Liang Lulu , Xing Jin , Li Hongkun , Wang Ziru
Published: February 2025

Inverse Kinematics of robots is a fundamental problem in robotics that involves calculating the joint angles of a robot to achieve a desired end-effector position and orientation. Analytical solutions are generally used when the robots’ configurations are consistent. However, in practical applications, different manufacturers may have varying base coordinates, robot end coordinates, and axis rotation directions, which limits the generality of the analytical solutions. This paper introduces a general framework for solving the inverse analytical solution of robots with the same configuration. The framework exclusively relies on the Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) parameters of the robots. The proposed framework requires the specification of a D-H parameters template for robots with the same configuration. It derives closure equations for the inverse kinematics using traditional geometric and algebraic methods based on the D-H parameters of the template. The proposed framework also provides a method for converting arbitrary D-H parameters of robots with the same configuration to the D-H parameters template. In demonstrating the effectiveness and generality of the proposed framework, it was applied to five robots with the same configuration from different manufacturers. The results demonstrate that the framework can effectively and accurately solve the analytical inverse kinematics problem for these robots.
Multi-objective optimization of process parameters for laser cutting polyethylene using fuzzy AHP-based MCDM methods
Authors: Basar Gokhan , Der Oguzhan
Published: February 2025

This experimental study examines how cutting parameters influence surface roughness (Ra), kerf width (KW), heat-affected zone (HAZ), and material removal rate (MRR) during CO2 laser cutting of polyethylene (PE) material. The aim is to determine the optimal cutting conditions by integrating fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. Control factors (i.e. focal length, power, and cutting speed) were varied in a full factorial experimental design. Criterion weights for the responses were calculated with the help of the AHP method in fuzzy environment, resulting in weights of 0.442 for Ra, 0.102 for KW, 0.287 for HAZ, and 0.169 for MRR. These weights were integrated into MCDM methods (i.e. combined compromise solution [CoCoSo], technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution [TOPSIS], and Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje [VIKOR]) to rank the experiments and identify the optimal parameters. The optimal cutting condition was found to be a focal length of 8 mm, power of 90 W, and cutting speed of 12 mm/s. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were applied for analysis of the consistency among the hybrid approaches, with results indicating a very strong positive relationship between them. This comprehensive approach ensures precise and efficient laser cutting of PE, contributing valuable insights to the field of manufacturing and materials processing.
Influence of magnetorheological finishing on roller surface properties and thread rolling efficiency
Authors: Singh Manpreet
Published: February 2025

This study explores the application of a magnetorheological (MR) finishing method to enhance thread roller surface quality while improving overall performance. Thread rollers used in threading operations exhibit surface defects, which ultimately lead to degradation and reduced endurance over time. This research seeks to advance the capabilities of these rollers which originally have HV 694 hardness before undergoing MR treatment. The implementation of MR finishing technology increases HV 746 hardness measurements, which lead to enhanced operational smoothness and contributes to longer roller lifetime expectations. A single electromagnetic-based MR finishing setup featuring interchangeable tool cores performs external thread profile fine finishing operations in this research. Surface finish optimization is achieved using response surface methodology to identify critical process parameters. Surface roughness tests show an improvement from an initial value of 0.27 μm to 0.02 μm bringing about significant enhancement in surface features. Tests evaluating microhardness help determine the effectiveness of the process. The MR finishing technique distributes pressure more evenly across roller surfaces to decrease materials’ wear properties and enhance operational efficiency. Experimental studies combined with theoretical investigations evaluate key parameters to measure roller force torque and power consumption while assessing the impact of MR finishing treatments on device performance. The research consistently demonstrates that roller surfaces treated with MR-finishes demonstrate enhanced performance in practically all metrics. Surface quality improvements through MR finishing treatments lead to efficient roller operation along with extended service lives in commercial thread applications.
Mindfulness in Liberal Arts Field Immersions: Enhancing Civic Engagement and Experiential Learning
Authors: Pandya Samta P.
Published: February 2025

Background: In South Asian contexts, several countries have developed liberal arts education at the undergraduate level based on western models. Field immersion comprises an important component of these programs to bolster learning. Mindfulness interventions can potentially enhance learner productivity on various domains. Purpose: To study whether mindfulness training (MT) sessions offered online can augment field immersion learning in domains of civic engagement, experiential learning, and experiencing, for undergraduate students in liberal arts disciplines. Methodology/Approach: A quasi-experimental pre- and posttest study was conducted with undergraduate students in liberal arts disciplines across four South Asian cities. Findings/Conclusions: Participants of the MT sessions reported higher scores on civic engagement attitudes and behaviors, experiential learning, and experiencing vis-à-vis the control group. Posttest scores were higher for female students, those who lived with their natal families or in campus hostels, who attended 25–48 (>50%) MT sessions, and completed 25–48 MT homework sessions. Implications: MT improves field immersion learning by enhancing civic engagement attitudes and behaviors, experiential learning in realms of environment, active engagement, relevance and utility, and meaningful experiencing as a higher-order outcome. Some refinements would be needed for male students and those residing as paying guests or in non-campus hostels or rented flats.
Germline Mutations in Renal Neoplasms and Their Clinicopathological Correlations
Authors: Chen Meihua , Liu Yang , Yang Xianwei , Gu Yijin , Dong Lei , Xu Haimin , Zhou Luting , Yang Xiaoqun
Published: February 2025

Introduction. Germline mutations have been described in multiple renal neoplasm entities in the fifth edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Urinary and Male Genital Systems. However, our knowledge of renal neoplasms with germline mutations remains limited. Methods. To expand our understanding, 15 tumors with germline mutations were retrieved from 284 renal neoplasms that underwent next-generation sequencing, including well-known VHL, FH, SDHB, FLCN, TSC1, and less common genes such as MUTYH, NF2, and BARD1. Results. Interesting findings included clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with FH germline mutation and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH)-deficient RCC with high-grade transformation. Patients with germline mutations of these uncommon altered genes in renal neoplasms, such as MUTYH, NF2, and BARD1 were diagnosed with different renal entities, including entities with favorable outcomes (renal cell carcinoma with fibromyomatous stroma) or adverse outcomes (collecting duct carcinoma and FH deficient renal cell carcinoma). Conclusions. Besides the well-known germline mutations in renal neoplasms, we described germline mutations in some genes that are common in other sites but uncommon in the kidney. Although they cannot be used to determine a definite renal entity, they may also contribute to the pathogenesis of renal neoplasms. Tumors need to be diagnosed based on morphology, immunohistochemistry, and other molecular evidence.