bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Petrophysical characterization for Thebes and Mutulla reservoirs in Rabeh East Field, Gulf of Suez Basin, via well logging interpretation
Authors: Sarhan Mohammad Abdelfattah
Published: September 2021

The current work assesses the sandstones of the Mutulla Formation as well as the limestone of the Thebes Formation for being promising new oil reservoirs in Rabeh East field at the southern portion of the Gulf of Suez Basin. This assessment has been achieved through petrophysical evaluation of wireline logs for three wells (RE-8, RE-22 and RE-25). The visual analysis of well logs data revealed that RE-25 Well is the only well demonstrating positive criteria in five zones for being potential oil reservoirs. The favourable zone within Thebes Formation locates between depths 5084 ft and 5100 ft (Zone A). However, the other positive zones in Mutulla Formation occur between depths: 5403.5–5413.5 ft (Zone B), 5425.5–5436 ft (Zone C), 5488–5498 ft (Zone D) and 5558.5–5563.5 ft (Zone E). The quantitative evaluation shows that the Zone A of Thebes Formation is the best oil-bearing zone in RE-25 Well in terms of reservoir quality since it exhibits lowest shale volume (0.07), minimum water saturation (0.23) and lowest bulk volume of water (0.03). These limestone beds include type of secondary porosity beside the existing primary porosity. On the other hand, the sandstones of Mutulla Formation in RE-25 contain four reservoir zones (B, C, D and E) with the total net pay thickness of 35.5 ft. Moreover, the obtained results revealed that it is expected for zones B, C and D to produce oil without water but Zone E will produce oil with water.
Patulin Imprinted Nanoparticles Decorated Surface Plasmon Resonance Chips for Patulin Detection
Authors: Çimen Duygu , Bereli Nilay , Denizli Adil
Published: September 2021

In this study, the patulin imprinted and the non-imprinted nanoparticles are synthesized by the two-phase mini emulsion polymerization method and characterized by zeta-size analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Afterwards, the patulin imprinted and the non-imprinted nanoparticles are attached on the surface of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) chips. The patulin imprinted and the non-imprinted SPR nanosensors are characterized by using atomic force microscope, ellipsometer, and contact angle measurements. Kinetic studies for patulin detection are carried out in the concentration range of 0.5 nmolar–750 nmolar. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification values are obtained as 0.011 nmolar and 0.036 nmolar, respectively. In all kinetic analysis, the response time is 13 min for equilibration, adsorption, and desorption cycles. The selectivity studies of the patulin imprinted and the non-imprinted SPR nanosensors are determined in the presence of ochratoxin A and aflatoxin B1. In order to demonstrate the applicability, validation studies of the patulin imprinted SPR nanosensor are performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
Effect of Potential and Microstructure on the Tribocorrosion Behaviour of Beta and Near Beta Ti Alloys II
Authors: Neto Mozart Queiroz , Rainforth William Mark
Published: September 2021

Titanium alloys, especially Ti6Al4V, are commonly applied in orthopaedic implants as a result of their relatively low density, good corrosion properties, satisfactory biocompatibility and bone ingrowth promoting properties. However, Ti implants are susceptible to mechanical failure. Although corrosion and wear related problems have been recognized as a major issue impeding their long-term application, there is still a lack of knowledge about the basic mechanisms. Previously, the tribocorrosion properties of 4 distinct titanium alloys (Ti13Nb13Zr, Ti12Mo6Zr2Fe, Ti29Nb13Ta4.6Zr aged at 300 °C and at 400 °C) was analysed in the published Part I of this study in regard to wear rates, electrochemical behaviour, and the tribocorrosion synergism estimations. This work, Part II, contributes to the previous study and investigates the tested surfaces of these 4 Titanium alloys from the same tribosystem aiming to characterize the wear track surfaces and identify the main wear mechanism, to characterize the tribofilm and to investigate the subsurface alterations occurring under varying contact pressures and electrochemical potentials. The results indicated a dominant abrasion wear mechanism regardless of microstructure, electrochemical potential and normal load (contact pressure). Additionally, grain refinement observed on the subsurface varied with alloy and electrochemical potential, with the variation being mostly independent of alloy microstructure. Finally, a graphitic tribofilm was detected in most conditions, which while inconsequential in regard to wear, may explain the previously observed reduction of friction.

Graphic Abstract
Multiplex network embedding for implicit sentiment analysis
Authors: Zhao Xiaofang , Liu Yuhong , Jin Zhigang
Published: September 2021

As one of the hot research directions in natural language processing, sentiment analysis has received continuous and extensive attention. Different from explicit sentiment words indicating sentiment polarity, implicit sentiment analysis is a more challenging problem due to the lack of sentiment words, which makes it inadequate to use traditional sentiment analysis method to judge the polarity of implicit sentiment. This paper takes sentiment analysis as a special sign link prediction problem, which is different from traditional text-based method. In particular, by performing the word graph-based text level information embedding and heterogeneous social network information embedding (i.e. user social relationship network embedding, and user-entity sentiment network embedding), the proposed scheme learns the highly nonlinear representations of network nodes, explores early fusion method to combine the strength of these two types of embedding modeling, optimizes all parameters simultaneously and creates enhanced context representations, leading to better capture of implicit sentiment polarity. The proposed method has been examined on real-world dataset, for implicit sentiment link prediction task. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art schemes, including LINE, node2vec, and SDNE, by 20.2%, 19.8%, and 14.0%, respectively, on accuracy, and achieves at least 14% gains on AUROC. For sentiment analysis accuracy, the proposed method achieves AUROC of 80.6% and accuracy of 78.3%, which is at least 31% better than other models. This work can provide useful guidance on the implicit sentiment analysis.
Religious Perspectives on Precision Medicine in Singapore
Authors: Toh Hui Jin , Ballantyne Angela , Ong Serene Ai Kiang , Sankaran Chitra , Tay Hung Yong , Singh Malminderjit , Zaidi Raza , Chia Roland , Singh Sarabjeet , Samachittananda Swami , Shi You Guang , Tan Zhixia , Lysaght Tamra
Published: September 2021

Precision medicine (PM) aims to revolutionise healthcare, but little is known about the role religion and spirituality might play in the ethical discourse about PM. This Perspective reports the outcomes of a knowledge exchange fora with religious authorities in Singapore about data sharing for PM. While the exchange did not identify any foundational religious objections to PM, ethical concerns were raised about the possibility for private industry to profiteer from social resources and the potential for genetic discrimination by private health insurers. According to religious authorities in Singapore, sharing PM data with private industry will require a clear public benefit and robust data governance that incorporates principles of transparency, accountability and oversight.
In utero exposure to electronic-cigarette aerosols decreases lung fibrillar collagen content, increases Newtonian resistance and induces sex-specific molecular signatures in neonatal mice
Authors: Cahill Kerin M. , Gartia Manas R. , Sahu Sushant , Bergeron Sarah R. , Heffernan Linda M. , Paulsen Daniel B. , Penn Arthur L. , Noël Alexandra
Published: September 2021

Approximately 7% of pregnant women in the United States use electronic-cigarette (e-cig) devices during pregnancy. There is, however, no scientific evidence to support e-cig use as being ‘safe’ during pregnancy. Little is known about the effects of fetal exposures to e-cig aerosols on lung alveologenesis. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that in utero exposure to e-cig aerosol impairs lung alveologenesis and pulmonary function in neonates. Pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed 2 h a day for 20 consecutive days during gestation to either filtered air or cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosol (36 mg/mL of nicotine). Lung tissue was collected in offspring during lung alveologenesis on postnatal day (PND) 5 and PND11. Lung function was measured at PND11. Exposure to e-cig aerosol in utero led to a significant decrease in body weights at birth which was sustained through PND5. At PND5, in utero e-cig exposures dysregulated genes related to Wnt signaling and epigenetic modifications in both females (~ 120 genes) and males (40 genes). These alterations were accompanied by reduced lung fibrillar collagen content at PND5—a time point when collagen content is close to its peak to support alveoli formation. In utero exposure to e-cig aerosol also increased the Newtonian resistance of offspring at PND11, suggesting a narrowing of the conducting airways. At PND11, in females, transcriptomic dysregulation associated with epigenetic alterations was sustained (17 genes), while WNT signaling dysregulation was largely resolved (10 genes). In males, at PND11, the expression of only 4 genes associated with epigenetics was dysregulated, while 16 Wnt related-genes were altered. These data demonstrate that in utero exposures to cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosols alter lung structure and function and induce sex-specific molecular signatures during lung alveologenesis in neonatal mice. This may reflect epigenetic programming affecting lung disease development later in life.
State of the art review of new technologies in spine deformity surgery–robotics and navigation
Authors: Sielatycki J. Alex , Mitchell Kristen , Leung Eric , Lehman Ronald A.
Published: September 2021

Study design/methods

Review article.

Objectives

The goal of this article is to review the available evidence for computerized navigation and robotics as an accuracy improvement tool for spinal deformity surgery, as well as to consider potential complications, impact on clinical outcomes, radiation exposure, and costs.

Summary of background data/results

Pedicle screw and rod construct are widely utilized for posterior spinal fixation in spinal deformity correction. Freehand placement of pedicle screws has long been utilized, although there is variable potential for inaccuracy depending on surgeon skill and experience. Malpositioned pedicle screws may have significant clinical implications ranging from nerve root irritation, inadequate fixation, CSF leak, perforation of the great vessels, or spinal cord damage. Computer-based navigation and robotics systems were developed to improve pedicle screw insertion accuracy and consistency, and decrease the risk of malpositioned pedicle fixation. The available evidence suggests that computer-based navigation and robotic-assisted guidance systems for pedicle cannulation are at least equivalent, and in several reports superior, to freehand techniques in terms of accuracy. CT and robotic navigation systems do appear to decrease radiation exposure to the operative team in some reports. Published reports do indicate longer operative times with use of robotic navigation compared with traditional freehand techniques for pedicle screw placement. To date, there is no conclusive evidence that use of CT or robotic navigation has any measurable impact on patient outcomes or overall complication reduction. There are theoretical advantages with robotic and CT navigation in terms of both speed and accuracy for severe spinal deformity or complex revision cases, however, there is a need for studies to investigate this technology in these specific cases. There is no evidence to date demonstrating the cost effectiveness of CT or robotic navigation as compared with traditional pedicle cannulation techniques.

Conclusions

The review of available evidence suggests that computer-based navigation and robotic-assisted guidance systems for pedicle cannulation are at least equivalent, and in several reports superior, to freehand techniques in terms of radiographic accuracy. There is no current clinical evidence that the use of navigation or robotic techniques leads to improved patient outcomes or decreased overall complications or reoperation rates, and the use of these systems may substantially increase surgical costs.

Level of evidence

V.
Cost Analysis of Screening Programmes for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip: A Systematic Review
Authors: Harper Philip , Gangadharan Rohit , Poku Daryl , Aarvold Alexander
Published: September 2021

Aims

The aim of this study was to assess screening costs in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), to provide any clarity on the cost-effectiveness of various hip screening programmes internationally.

Methods

A PROSPERO-registered systematic review was performed by examining cost analysis studies of various DDH screening programmes, including those based around clinical examination, selective ultrasound and universal ultrasound. Costs were analysed using narrative synthesis.

Results

There were 14 studies included in this review. Two studies found that clinical hip screening is advantageous over no screening at all, both in terms of overall cost and favourable outcomes. When considering selective ultrasound imaging versus clinical screening, two studies found it to be more expensive, one found it cheaper and three studies calculated the overall programme costs to be similar. With universal ultrasound, four studies calculated this to be cheaper than clinical or selective ultrasound screening due to a reduced late detection and surgery rate. However, a comparable number of studies concluded that the increased financial costs of universal ultrasound were greater than the reduction in surgical costs. No studies included any long-term data.

Conclusion

There is a dearth of information on DDH screening costs, with significant heterogeneity amongst the existing literature. Future research should include the cost analysis of long-term complications of DDH, including the social and psychological impact of early onset arthritis, as well as gender specific ultrasound screening programmes.
Investigating the practical viability of walk-sharing in improving pedestrian safety
Authors: Bhowmick Debjit , Winter Stephan , Stevenson Mark , Vortisch Peter
Published: September 2021

Walk-sharing is a cost-effective and proactive approach that promises to improve pedestrian safety and has been shown to be technically (theoretically) viable. Yet, the practical viability of walk-sharing is largely dependent on community acceptance, which has not, until now, been explored. Gaining useful insights on the community’s spatio-temporal and social preferences in regard to walk-sharing will ensure the establishment of practical viability of walk-sharing in a real-world urban scenario. We aim to derive practical viability using defined performance metrics (waiting time, detour distance, walk-alone distance and matching rate) and by investigating the effectiveness of walk-sharing in terms of its major objective of improving pedestrian safety and safety perception. We make use of the results from a web-based survey on the public perception on our proposed walk-sharing scheme. Findings are fed into an existing agent-based walk-sharing model to investigate the performance of walk-sharing and deduce its practical viability in urban scenarios.
Entrepreneurial Identity in US Book Publishing in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Noorda Rachel
Published: September 2021

Entrepreneurship underpins many roles within the publishing industry, from freelancing to bookselling. Entrepreneurs are shaped by the contexts in which their entrepreneurship is situated (social, political, economic, and national). Additionally, entrepreneurship is integral to occupational identity for book publishing entrepreneurs. This Element examines entrepreneurship through the lens of identity and narrative based on interview data with book publishing entrepreneurs in the US Book publishing entrepreneurship narratives of independence, culture over commerce, accidental profession, place, risk, (in)stability, busyness, and freedom are examined in this Element.
Female education, marital assortative mating, and dowry: Theory and evidence from districts of India
Authors: Agarwal Goel Prarthna , Barua Rashmi
Published: September 2021

We study marital assortative mating in education and its relation to dowry in India. There are four main results and contributions of this paper. First, instrumental variable estimates using Indian Human Development Survey-II data suggest existence of positive assortative mating in education levels of husband and wife. Second, this association is weaker in dowry-prominent districts suggesting that in districts with strong patriarchal norms, high dowry transfers could substitute for lower bride's education. Third, we study the independent effect of husband's and wife's education and its interaction on dowry. Estimates suggest that dowry rises with the groom's education and falls with the bride's schooling years. However, the joint effect of husband-and-wife education on dowry is negative, implying that though dowry rises with groom's education, the rate of increase is smaller the more educated the bride is. Finally, to explain the empirical results, we propose a theoretical model of assortative mating in the presence of dowry.
Trends in beta-hemolytic Streptococcus infections within Veterans’ Affairs medical centers from 2009 to 2018
Authors: Yam GiGi , Wattengel Bethany A. , Carter Michael T. , Sellick John A. , Lesse Alan J. , Mergenhagen Kari A.
Published: September 2021

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to describe the recent trends of invasive and noninvasive β-hemolytic Streptococcus cultures in the Veterans’ Affairs (VA) cohort from 2009 to 2018.

Design:

Retrospective cohort study from January 1, 2009, to January 1, 2019.

Setting:

Veterans’ Affairs medical centers.

Patients or participants:

All patients aged 18 years and older with cultures positive for β-hemolytic Streptococcus at a VA facility were included in the study.

Intervention(s):

Data were retrieved from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse using structure query language through the SQL Server Management Studio software.

Results:

Between 2009 and 2018, there were 40,625 patients with cultures with β-hemolytic Streptococcus. The median age was 64 years (interquartile range [IQR], 55–71) and the median Charlson comorbidity index was 4 (IQR, 2–7). Distributions for each type of β-hemolytic Streptococcus based on site of culture are provided. The 30-day all-cause mortality rate from all invasive β-hemolytic Streptococcus cases was 2.3%, and the 90-day all-cause mortality rate was 4.4%. The 30- and 90-day all-cause mortality rates for Streptococcus cases were higher for group A (3.9% and 6.1% respectively) and for groups C and G combined (3.2% and 6.1%, respectively) than for group B (2.0% and 4.0%, respectively).

Conclusions:

Trends of cultures for invasive and noninvasive β-hemolytic Streptococcus suggest an association with disease and mortality. The burden associated with β-hemolytic Streptococcus infections should not be underestimated.
Accounting for uncertainty from zero inflation and overdispersion in paleoecological studies of predation using a hierarchical Bayesian framework
Authors: Smith Jansen A. , Handley John C. , Dietl Gregory P.
Published: September 2021

The effects of overdispersion and zero inflation (e.g., poor model fits) can result in misinterpretation in studies using count data. These effects have not been evaluated in paleoecological studies of predation and are further complicated by preservational bias and time averaging. We develop a hierarchical Bayesian framework to account for uncertainty from overdispersion and zero inflation in estimates of specimen and predation trace counts. We demonstrate its application using published data on drilling predators and their prey in time-averaged death assemblages from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Our results indicate that estimates of predation frequencies are underestimated when zero inflation is not considered, and this effect is likely compounded by removal of individuals and predation traces via preservational bias. Time averaging likely reduces zero inflation via accumulation of rare taxa and events; however, it increases the uncertainty in comparisons between assemblages by introducing variability in sampling effort. That is, there is an analytical cost with time-averaged count data, manifesting as broader confidence regions. Ecological inferences in paleoecology can be strengthened by accounting for the uncertainty inherent to paleoecological count data and the sampling processes by which they are generated.
The impact of superconductivity and the Hall effect in models of magnetised neutron stars
Authors: Sur Ankan , Haskell Brynmor
Published: September 2021

Equilibrium configurations of the internal magnetic field of a pulsar play a key role in modelling astrophysical phenomena from glitches to gravitational wave emission. In this paper, we present a numerical scheme for solving the Grad–Shafranov equation and calculating equilibrium configurations of pulsars, accounting for superconductivity in the core of the neutron star, and for the Hall effect in the crust of the star. Our numerical code uses a finite difference method in which the source term appearing in the Grad–Shafranov equation, which is used to model the magnetic equilibrium is non-linear. We obtain solutions by linearising the source and applying an under-relaxation scheme at each step of computation to improve the solver’s convergence. We have developed our code in both C++ and Python, and our numerical algorithm can further be adapted to solve any non-linear PDEs appearing in other areas of computational astrophysics. We produce mixed toroidal–poloidal field configurations, and extend the portion of parameter space that can be investigated with respect to previous studies. We find that in even in the more extreme cases, the magnetic energy in the toroidal component does not exceed approximately 5% of the total. We also find that if the core of the star is superconducting, the toroidal component is entirely confined to the crust of the star, which has important implications for pulsar glitch models which rely on the presence of a strong toroidal field region in the core of the star, where superfluid vortices pin to superconducting fluxtubes.
Potato consumption is not associated with elevated cardiometabolic risk in adolescent girls
Authors: Yiannakou Ioanna , Yuan Mengjie , Pickering Richard Taylor , Singer Martha R. , Moore Lynn L.
Published: September 2021

We examined the association between potato consumption in two different age periods during adolescence and risk of obesity and cardiometabolic dysfunction in White and Black girls. We used data from the biracial prospective National Growth and Health Study. Average potato consumption was derived from multiple 3-d food records in two age periods, 9–11 and 9–17 years, and included white and sweet potatoes from all sources. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate OR for becoming overweight, developing prehypertension, elevated TAG levels or impaired fasting glucose (IFG) at 18–20 years of age according to the category of daily potato intake. We also stratified by cooking method (fried/non-fried) and race. ANCOVA was also used to estimate adjusted mean levels of BMI, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, log-transformed TAG, the TAG:HDL ratio and fasting glucose levels associated with potato intake category. Higher potato consumption was associated with higher fruit and non-starchy vegetable intakes and higher Healthy Eating Index scores in Black girls. There were no statistically significant associations overall between moderate or higher (v. lower) intakes of potatoes and risks of overweight, prehypertension, elevated fasting TAG, high TAG:HDL ratio or IFG. Also, no adverse associations were found between fried or non-fried potato intake and cardiometabolic outcomes. Potato consumption has been the subject of much controversy in recent years. This study adds evidence that potato consumption among healthy girls during the critical period of adolescence was not associated with cardiometabolic risk.
Anthropometry, body composition and chronic disease risk factors among Zambian school-aged children who experienced severe malnutrition in early childhood
Authors: Kasonka Lackson , Munthali Grace , Rehman Andrea Mary , Chisenga Molly , Wells Samuel , Wells Jonathan C. K. , Filteau Suzanne
Published: September 2021

There is limited information as to whether people who experience severe acute malnutrition (SAM) as young children are at increased risk of overweight, high body fat and associated chronic diseases in later life. We followed up, when aged 7–12 years, 100 Zambian children who were hospitalised for SAM before age 2 years and eighty-five neighbourhood controls who had never experienced SAM. We conducted detailed anthropometry, body composition assessment by bioelectrical impedance and deuterium dilution (D2O) and measured blood lipids, Hb and HbA1c. Groups were compared by linear regression following multiple imputation for missing variables. Children with prior SAM were slightly smaller than controls, but differences, controlling for age, sex, socio-economic status and HIV exposure or infection, were significant only for hip circumference, suprailiac skinfold and fat-free mass index by D2O. Blood lipids and HbA1c did not differ between groups, but Hb was lower by 7·8 (95 % CI 0·8, 14·7) g/l and systolic blood pressure was 3·4 (95 % CI 0·4, 6·4) mmHg higher among the prior SAM group. Both anaemia and high HbA1c were common among both groups, indicating a population at risk for the double burden of over- and undernutrition and associated infectious and chronic diseases. The prior SAM children may have been at slightly greater risk than the controls; this was of little clinical significance at this young age, but the children should be followed when older and chronic diseases manifest.
First complete mitochondrial genome of Rhodinia species (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae): genome description and phylogenetic implication
Authors: Chen Dong-Bin , Zhang Ru-Song , Jin Xiang-Dong , Yang Jian , Li Peng , Liu Yan-Qun
Published: September 2021

To explore the characteristics of the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the squeaking silkmoths Rhodinia, a genus of wild silkmoths in the family Saturniidae of Lepidoptera, and reveal phylogenetic relationships, the mitogenome of Rhodinia fugax Butler was determined. This wild silkmoth spins a green cocoon that has potential significance in sericulture, and exhibits a unique feature that its larvae can squeak loudly when touched. The mitogenome of R. fugax is a circular molecule of 15,334 bp long and comprises 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and an A + T-rich region, consistent with previous observations of Saturniidae species. The 370-bp A + T-rich region of R. fugax contains no tandem repeat elements and harbors several features common to the Bombycidea insects, but microsatellite AT repeat sequence preceded by the ATTTA motif is not present. Mitogenome-based phylogenetic analysis shows that R. fugax belongs to Attacini, instead of Saturniini. This study presents the first mitogenome for Rhodinia genus.
Molecular phylogenetic relationships of Metastrongylus nematodes with emphasis on specimens from domestic pigs in Vietnam
Authors: Tuyen N.V. , Lan N.T.K. , Doanh P.N.
Published: September 2021

Lungworms of the genus Metastrongylus are parasitic nematodes in the respiratory tract of swine. Although they infect both wild boars and domestic pigs, studies on Metastrongylus infections in wild boars in Europe, the Americas and Africa are numerous, while those in domestic pigs are few. There are several studies analysing the molecular phylogenetic relationships of few individual Metastrongylus species with other nematode taxa, but there are no studies on the phylogenetic relationships of species within the genus Metastrongylus. In Southeast Asia, reports on swine lungworms are extremely scarce and do not include any nucleotide sequence data. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to survey Metastrongylus infection in domestic pigs raised in Dien Bien Province, Northern Vietnam, and to analyse the molecular phylogenetic relationships of Metastrongylus species. Based on morphological and molecular data, we identified two species: Metastrongylus apri and Metastrongylus pudendotectus. The prevalence of the former species was found to be significantly higher than the latter one (24.1% vs. 2.3%). We observed pigs exhibiting a coinfection with the two lungworm species or a single infection with only M. apri. However, we did not observe any pigs being infected with just M. pudendotectus. Vietnamese Metastrongylus specimens showed slight morphological and molecular differences compared to those from other countries. The molecular analyses revealed a close genetic relationship between M. apri and Metastrongylus salmi, while both these species were far distant from M. pudendotectus. The present study highlights the needs for further studies to clarify the morphological features and ecological and phylogenetic relationships of Metastrongylus species at the global scale.
IMPLICIT LANGUAGE APTITUDE: CONCEPTUALIZING THE CONSTRUCT, VALIDATING THE MEASURES, AND EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE
Authors: Li Shaofeng , DeKeyser Robert
Published: September 2021

This article discusses the conceptualization, measurement, and validity of a recently emerged construct in the field of second language acquisition (SLA)—implicit language aptitude (alternatively “implicit aptitude”). Implicit aptitude is a set of cognitive abilities that enable learners to make unconscious computations of the distributional and transitional probabilities of linguistic input. Implicit aptitude is key to an accurate understanding of the cognitive foundation of language learning and contributes significantly to the advancement of SLA theory and pedagogy. The article starts by clarifying the concept and components of implicit aptitude, elaborating its role in SLA theories, identifying its attributes, and discussing its measurement. It then synthesizes the empirical evidence on its divergent, convergent, and predictive validity, which refers to whether it is distinct or separable from explicit aptitude, whether measures of implicit aptitude are correlated, and whether it is predictive of learning outcomes, respectively. Next, the article provides an overview of the seven empirical studies included in this special issue that examined implicit aptitude from various perspectives. The article concludes by identifying future directions.
WHY IS THE COMPONENTIAL CONSTRUCT OF IMPLICIT LANGUAGE APTITUDE SO DIFFICULT TO CAPTURE?
Authors: Perruchet Pierre
Published: September 2021

Although this special issue reveals some promising achievements, most of the contributions show that tasks of implicit learning are not or are only weakly correlated with each other, and they have inconsistent predictive power on L2 acquisition. This commentary examines four possible explanations for this surprising pattern: The (suboptimal) selection of tasks, the low reliability of measures, the deep influence of the starting level even for nominally “new” implicit tasks, and the fact that the mastery of L2 may involve other implicit processes than implicit learning measured through laboratory tasks.
Rural Aging during COVID-19: A Case Study of Older Voluntarism
Authors: Colibaba Amber , Skinner Mark W. , Russell Elizabeth
Published: September 2021

During large-scale crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the precarity of older people and older volunteers can become exacerbated, especially in under-serviced rural regions and small towns. To understand how the pandemic has affected “older voluntarism”, this article presents a case study of three volunteer-based programs in rural Ontario, Canada. Interviews with 34 volunteers and administrators reveal both challenging and growth-oriented experiences of volunteers and the programs during the first wave of COVID-19. The findings demonstrate the vulnerability and resiliency of older volunteers and the adaptability and uncertainty of programs that rely on older voluntarism, as the community and its older residents navigate pandemic-related changes. The article advances a framework for understanding the pandemic’s impacts on older voluntarism in relation to personal, program, and community dimensions of sustainable rural aging. Further, it explores ways that older volunteers, organizations that depend on them, and communities experiencing population aging can persevere post-pandemic.
Government by Improvisation? Towards a New History of the Nineteenth-Century American State
Authors: BATES R. M.
Published: September 2021

Over the last thirty years, historians and historically minded political scientists have effectively overturned the long-held perception of the nineteenth-century United States as a polity defined by its lack of an effective state. By highlighting the myriad interventions of its energetic and enterprising federal government and by incorporating subnational governments and private actors and organizations as evidence of its impressive “infrastructural” power, a generation of scholars have, collectively, described a nineteenth-century state that was both more assertive and more robust than was previously thought. Yet other scholars have begun to ask whether this interpretation has concocted a state stronger and more coherent in prospect than it was in practice. By highlighting the piecemeal and often partial nature of the nation’s institutional development and the contradictions and incoherence that accompanied its infrastructural power, these scholars have laid the foundations for a new “improvisational synthesis” that stresses the equivocal nature of American state-building and considers its enduring vulnerabilities.
An analysis of stagnation in multilateral law-making – and why the law of the sea has transcended the stagnation trend
Authors: Motzfeldt Kravik Andreas
Published: September 2021

The article explores the current stagnation in multilateral law-making based on an analysis of recent treaty attempts across various subfields of international law. It further examines why the law of the sea has continued to evolve despite this trend. The article demonstrates that states still regularly seek multilateral treaties to address new challenges. While there is some evidence of general treaty saturation, it is the current inability of traditional great powers to negotiate new binding norms which is the most constraining factor on multilateral law-making. This in turn is related to deeper geopolitical shifts by which traditional great powers, notably the United States and its allies, have seen their relative influence decline. Until the current great power competition ends or settles into a new mode of international co-operation, new multilateral treaties with actual regulatory effect will rarely emerge. The law of the sea has avoided the current trend of stagnation for primarily three reasons (i) a global commitment to the basic tenets of the law of the sea; (ii) a legal framework that affords rights and obligations somewhat evenly disbursed, allowing less powerful states to use their collective leverage to advance multilateral negotiations, despite intermittent great power opposition; and (iii) the avoidance of entrenched multilateral forums where decisions are reached by consensus only.
Decapitated Heads as Elite Visual Culture in Late Shang China
Authors: Wolin Daniela
Published: September 2021

Decapitation was an integral part of the complex ritual practices recorded in the palaeographic and archaeological records at the Late Shang (c.1250–1050bce) site of Yinxu in Henan Province, China. Although representations of decapitation are often found in societies where the act was carried out, no clear evidence exists for Yinxu, where only a small number of human depictions have been uncovered to date. In this article, I use archaeological data from sacrificial contexts and material culture uncovered during excavations over the past 90 years to investigate the human head as Late Shang elite visual culture. I argue that the dramatic increase in decapitation at Yinxu necessitated the development of a ritually informed process for handling these remains that transformed them into elite objects, while simultaneously pacifying their potentially dangerous post-mortem agency. This research contributes to global comparative studies on the materiality of the human head.
The impact of the American Heart Association guidelines on patients treated for incomplete Kawasaki disease
Authors: Blaney Megan M. , Williams Richard V. , Areinamo Igor A. , Sauer Michael , Tani Lloyd Y. , Ou Zhining , Minich L. LuAnn , Truong Dongngan T.
Published: September 2021

Objectives:

To compare patients treated for incomplete Kawasaki disease whose practitioners followed versus did not follow American Heart Association criteria and to evaluate the association of cardiology consultation with adherence to these guidelines.

Study design:

Single centre retrospective cohort study of patients <18 years old who received ≥1 dose of intravenous immunoglobulin for Kawasaki disease between 01/2006 and 01/2018. We collected demographics, clinical and laboratory data, coronary artery abnormalities, and cardiology consultation status. Patients treated for incomplete Kawasaki disease were divided into two groups based on adherence versus nonadherence to American Heart Association guidelines and compared by Wilcoxon rank sum test and chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test.

Results:

Of the 357 patients treated for Kawasaki disease, 109 (31%) were classified as incomplete Kawasaki disease. The American Heart Association algorithm for identifying patients with incomplete Kawasaki disease was followed in 81/109 (74%). Coronary artery abnormalities were present in 46/109 (42%) of the patients who were treated for incomplete Kawasaki disease. Cardiology consultation was more frequent in those fulfilling American Heart Association criteria for the diagnosis of incomplete Kawasaki disease versus those who did not fulfill criteria (76% versus 48%, p = 0.005).

Conclusions:

Over 25% of patients treated for incomplete Kawasaki disease did not meet American Heart Association guidelines. Guidelines were more frequently followed when the paediatric cardiology team was consulted. Consulting physicians with experience and expertise in the evaluation and management of incomplete KD should be strongly considered in the care of these patients.
A Qualitative Study on Researchers’ Experiences after Publishing Scientific Reports on Major Incidents, Mass-Casualty Incidents, and Disasters
Authors: Svensøy Johannes Nordsteien , Nilsson Helene , Rimstad Rune
Published: September 2021

Introduction and Objective:

Scientific reporting on major incidents, mass-casualty incidents (MCIs), and disasters is challenging and made difficult by the nature of the medical response. Many obstacles might explain why there are few and primarily non-heterogenous published articles available. This study examines the process of scientific reporting through first-hand experiences from authors of published reports. It aims to identify learning points and challenges that are important to address to mitigate and improve scientific reporting after major incidents.

Methods:

This was a qualitative study design using semi-structured interviews. Participants were selected based on a comprehensive literature search. Ten researchers, who had published reports on major incidents, MCIs, or disasters from 2013-2018 were included, of both genders, from eight countries on three continents. The researchers reported on large fires, terrorist attacks, shootings, complex road accidents, transportation accidents, and earthquakes.

Results:

The interview was themed around initiation, workload, data collection, guidelines/templates, and motivation factors for reporting. The most challenging aspects of the reporting process proved to be a lack of dedicated time, difficulties concerning data collection, and structuring the report. Most researchers had no prior experience in reporting on major incidents. Guidelines and templates were often chosen based on how easily accessible and user-friendly they were.

Conclusion and Relevance:

There are few articles presenting first-hand experience from the process of scientific reporting on major incidents, MCIs, and disasters. This study presents motivation factors, challenges during reporting, and factors that affected the researchers’ choice of reporting tools such as guidelines and templates. This study shows that the structural tools available for gathering data and writing scientific reports need to be more widely promoted to improve systematic reporting in Emergency and Disaster Medicine. Through gathering, comparing, and analyzing data, knowledge can be acquired to strengthen and improve responses to future major incidents. This study indicates that transparency and willingness to share information are requisite for forming a successful scientific report.
The association between insulin resistance and the consumption of nut including peanut, pine nut and almonds in working-aged Korean population
Authors: Park Sung Keun , Oh Chang-Mo , Jung Ju Young
Published: September 2021

Objective:

Studies have reported that nuts intake is potentially beneficial to cardiometabolic health. However, there have been heterogeneous results regarding the association between nut intake/consumption and the risk of diabetes mellitus (DM). Insulin resistance (IR) is a major pathophysiology of DM. Thus, this study was to assess the association between nuts consumption and IR.

Design:

A retrospective cross-sectional study.

Setting:

Multivariable-adjusted OR and 95 % CI for increased IR (adjusted OR (95 % CI)) were calculated according to the frequency of consuming one serving dose (15 g) of nuts including peanut, pine nut and almond (< 1/month, 1/month–1/week, 1–3/week, 3–5/week, ≥ 5/week). Elevated IR was defined in homoeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance corresponding to the fourth quartile levels within each study group. Subgroup analysis was conducted for gender, glycaemic status (normal, prediabetes and DM) and age (≥ and < 40 years).

Participants:

379 310 Koreans who received health check-up.

Results:

Compared with nut consumption < 1/month (reference), nuts consumption ≥ 1/month had the lower OR and 95 % CI for elevated IR (1/month–1/week: 0·90 (95 % CI 0·89, 0·92), 1–3/week: 0·90 (95 % CI 0·87, 0·92), 3–5/week: 0·94 (95 % CI 0·89, 0·98) and ≥ 5/week: 0·90 (95 % CI 0·86, 0·94)). This association was more remarkable in women, normal glycaemic group and young age group (< 40 years). However, men, prediabetes, DM and old age group did not show the significant association.

Conclusion:

Nuts consumption ≥ 1/month was less associated with elevated IR. Increased nuts consumption may have a favourable effect on IR.
Quantitative Electron-Excited X-ray Microanalysis With Low-Energy L-shell X-ray Peaks Measured With Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry
Authors: Newbury Dale E , Ritchie Nicholas WM
Published: September 2021

Quantification of electron-exited X-ray spectra following the standards-based “k-ratio” (unknown/standard intensity) protocol with corrections for “matrix effects” (electron energy loss and backscattering, X-ray absorption, and secondary X-ray fluorescence) is a well-established method with a record of rigorous testing and extensive experience. Two recent studies by Gopon et al. working in the Fe–Si system and Llovet et al. working in the Ni–Si system have renewed interest in studying the accuracy of measurements made using L-shell X-ray peaks. Both have reported unexpectedly large deviations in analytical accuracy when analyzing intermetallic compounds when using the low photon energy Fe or Ni L-shell X-ray peaks with pure element standards and wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. This study confirms those observations on the Ni-based intermetallic compounds using energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and extends the study of analysis with low photon energy L-shell peaks to a wide range of elements, Ti to Se. Within this range of elements, anomalies in analytical accuracy have been found for Fe, Co, and Ge in addition to Ni. For these elements, the use of compound standards instead of pure elements usually resulted in significantly improved analytical accuracy. However, compound standards do not always provide satisfactory accuracy as is demonstrated for L-shell peak analysis in the Fe–S system: FeS and FeS2 unexpectedly do not provide good accuracy when used as mutual standards.
Pure Kashmir: Nature, Freedom and Counternationalism
Authors: Sohal Amar
Published: September 2021

Bringing political thought to bear upon one of the world's most pressing geopolitical problems, this article explores Kashmiri engagements with nature and how these served the attempt to concurrently champion two nations: ethno-linguistic and almost homogeneous Kashmir, and heterogeneous but organic India. Disconnected from human endeavor and, therefore, astonishingly unreliant on other ideas to define Kashmir's distinctiveness, the idea of natural purity had something in common with the earlier New World nationalisms of colonial white settlers who sought to remake conquered lands. But since Kashmiris had long resisted what they saw as the theft of their beautiful land by more powerful, envious outsiders, how far was it possible for their twentieth-century thinkers to integrate this disruptive idea of a nonhuman nature into an otherwise historicized sense of nationhood?
Who Safeguards the Guardians? A Subjective Right of Judges to their Independence under Article 6(1) ECHR
Authors: Leloup Mathieu
Published: September 2021

Time for the European Court of Human Rights to interpret Article 6 ECHR to encompasses a subjective right for domestic judges to their own independence – Overview of the existing case law on the principle of judicial independence – Such a right currently not present in case law – Judges are obliged to frame their complaints, while at their heart independence-related, in terms of other substantive Convention rights – Court cannot properly address one of the fundamental aspects of these cases – Lower protection for the domestic judges – Other international legal orders do include such a subjective right to a judge’s independence – Several arguments for the European Court of Human Rights to similarly acknowledge such a right under the Convention – Few difficulties in integrating such a right into the existing case law
When Race Is a Language and Empire Is a Context
Authors: Mogilner Marina
Published: September 2021

The essay considers a twofold question: Why, until recently, has our field remained so reluctant to engage with racial epistemology, and what higher form of understanding does “race” offer to students of Eurasia? The answer to the first part of the question is located in the divergence between the “imperial” and “modernity” paradigms in Eurasian studies. With regard to the second part of the question, the essay suggests viewing “race” as one of the languages of self-reflection and modernization in the imperial space. It concludes that the discovery of “race” becomes tantamount to the rediscovery of Eurasia as an imperial space—irregularly hierarchical and heterogeneous, characterized by entangled exceptionalism and a constant renegotiation of differences, as well as the realignment of principles of belonging, subjectivities, and networks of solidarity.