bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Athlete’s foot disease: A comparative study on marketed products
Authors: Kota Sri Sai Nikitha , Bandhakavi Sailaja , Anjali Cheelapali
Published: May 2022

An infection of the foot with fungi, such as the Athlete’s foot, is frequently observed globally, both in men and women. In the present review, different marketed products used in treating Athlete's foot disease were critically analysed and compared. The marketed products include Oral medications and Topical medications like creams, gels, dusting powders, and sprays to meet the needs of Athlete's foot disease patients. Oral products are prescribed only when topical treatments are unsuccessful and the infection becomes systemic or deep-rooted. They may cause mild side effects like nausea, dizziness, and digestive problems to serious side effects like liver damage. In comparison to oral medications, topical fungal therapy is usually preferred due to no systemic side effects, ability to bypass first-pass metabolism, and minimum toxicity. Gels are preferred over creams for being effective and easily washable. With powders, moisture retention may delay the healing process leading to secondary infections with bacteria. Sprays can release the drug easily in hard-to-reach corners of the body. However, propellants used in them are inflammable, and the products are expensive. Oral products are best for treating chronic infections despite their side effects, and topicals are suitable for mild infections, with sprays being the most convenient formulation. Several studies have indicated that topical nanocarriers with antifungal agents display superior therapeutic efficacy and minimal toxicity due to their ability to overcome challenges associated with conventional drug delivery systems like poor retention and low bioavailability. There is a good scope for developing topical nanocarrier-based antifungal formulations to treat Athlete's foot disease with minimum side effects effectively. 

Keywords: Athlete’s foot disease, Orals, Topicals, Creams, Gels, Powders, Sprays.
Study of the Antioxidant Activity of Two Parts (Leaves and Roots) of a Methanolic Extract of Urtica dioica L from the Wilaya of Sidi Bel Abbes by In-Vitro Test
Authors: Chafik Mhamdia , Reda Belmamoun Ahmed , Afaf Baki
Published: May 2022

The aim of our work is to evaluate the antioxidant activity of two parts (leaves and roots) of a methanolic extract of Urtica dioica L.

The study of the chemical composition revealed that the leaf extract is richer in polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins than the root extract.

The evaluation of the antioxidant effect showed that the inhibition reached its maximum at the highest concentration (initial DPPH concentration = 5000 μg/ml) equal to 89.25 ± 0.0022% for ascorbic acid against 67.17 ± 0.0013% (p<0.05) for the methanolic extracts of the leaves and 17.36 ± 0.0040% (p<0.001) of the roots.

The methanolic extract of the leaves has a strong scavenging power of the ABTS˙+ radical with an IC50 equal to 6.59 ± 0.0060 μg/ml, equal (p> 0, 05) to that of ascorbic acid (4.67± 0.0044 μg/ml) and pyrogallol (IC50= 548.7 ± 0.084 μg/ml), with an IC50 of 481.2 ± 0.34 μg/ml for roots, against the latter.

Keywords: Urtica dioica L., antioxidant activity, a, leaves, roots.
Using Metrics of Readiness Levels in Maturity Assessment of a Product or Technology for Application in JSCo “RZD”
Authors: Tulupov A. V. , Vasiliev I. P. , Ionov D. A. , Palatkina E. V. , Petrov A. N. , Chechetkin E. V.
Published: May 2022

The article is devoted to the methods for maturity assessment of an innovative product or technology for implementation at the enterprises of JSCo “RZD” and assessing the risks of not achieving the readiness level of innovative projects. The main principles, scope and effects of using methods are noted. The method was developed for JSCo “RZD” and based on the TPRL methodology for a complex assessment of the technological project readiness level with the improvement of the procedure, rules and the mathematical model of assessment in accordance with the management processes in the railway industry. Approbation of the proposed assessment methods was carried out on the examples of promising innovative proposals received by the “SingleWindow of Innovations of JSCo “RZD”.The methods can be used for: a) assessing the level of technology development in JSCo “RZD” and comparing the level of technological development of the Russian Railways holding with foreign analogue companies; b) making a management decision on financing a development project, or on purchasing an innovative product and (or) technology and introducing it into the production process of JSCo “RZD”; c) building and verifying a product (technology) development and implementation roadmaps; d) monitoring the implementation of a project for the development and implementation of a product (technology), etc.The application of the methods will improve the efficiency of innovation activities in JSCo “RZD”.
A case of generalized eruptive histiocytoma in an adolescent patient with a good response to PUVA therapy Written informed consent was obtained from the patient to publish this report in accordance with the journal's patient consent policy.
Authors: Mohaghegh Fatemeh , fatahinasab maryam , hafezi hossein , rajabi parvin
Published: May 2022

Generalized eruptive histiocytoma is a rare disease. GEH belongs to the
family of non-Langerhans-cell histiocytoses. An 18-year-old man
presented with disseminated papules on his trunk. Pathological studies
confirmed the diagnosis of GEH. We administered systemic PUVA treatment
and a significant response was observed after 20 sessions.
An Enhanced EAN-13 Barcode Module for Monitoring Processed Consumable Products in Ghana
Authors: Siaw-Yeboah Felix , Adekoya Adebayo , APPIAHENE PETER , Weyori Benjamin
Published: May 2022

When it comes to tracking goods from manufacturers to consumers,
barcodes are useful instruments for monitoring and certifying their
legitimacy. Because of its capacity to self-validate all generated
codes, the EAN-13 is the most extensively used barcode for processed
consumable products. Further investigations into the construction of the
EAN-13 barcode revealed that several additional components were required
to make the EAN-13 more credible for consumer use. Country code,
production code, product code, and check digit make up the present
EAN-13 format. Meanwhile, the type of product and the number of times it
has been manufactured are key components that must be included in the
EAN-13 barcode structure for barcode analysts to interpret. The study
presented the GHBS-13, an upgraded barcode structure that captured the
two new components, namely the product type and production count. The
paper proposed a universal method called Tabiri Check Digit (TCD) as a
mathematical means of easily computing the check digit of the two
barcodes. The formula was validated using EAN-13 and GHBS-13 barcodes,
and the results were correct. The study also established a central point
platform for customers to use to validate processed consumable products
they buy in Ghana
Changes in Serum Creatinine during and after Pregnancy in Women with or without Chronic Kidney Disease: An Observational Study
Authors: Marxer Carole , Paik Julie , Zhuo Min , Desai Rishi , Hagberg Katrina Wilcox , Jick Susan , Meier Christoph , Spoendlin Julia
Published: May 2022

Objective To characterize pregnant women with or without pre-existing
chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to describe changes in renal filtration
during and after pregnancy. Design Descriptive study. Setting UK-based
Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD linked to hospital data
(2000-2019). Population Pregnancies of women with or without
pre-existing CKD, categorized by median baseline eGFR
[ml/min/1.73m2] based on serum creatinine (SCr [mg/dl])
measurements (proteinuria under-recorded). Methods Description of median
SCr levels within two-week periods during and within one year after
pregnancy. Results Of 14’401 pregnancies, 84% had a normal baseline
eGFR≥90. In 1’932 women (13%) with a low-normal eGFR=75-89, SCr
patterns during and after pregnancy followed the pattern of women with
normal eGFR, although at higher starting levels (median baseline
SCr=0.92, IQR=0.88-0.96). SCr levels returned to baseline by week 3/4
postpartum. In 388 women (3%) with a moderately low baseline
eGFR=60-74, median baseline SCr levels were 1.05 (IQR=1.01-1.10) and
patterns also followed those of women with normal eGFR. However, SCr
levels increased slower in trimester 3 and reached baseline levels at
week 9/10 postpartum. 53 women (<1%) with a low baseline
eGFR=15-59 (median baseline SCr levels=1.43, IQR=1.26-1.72) showed renal
adaptation in trimester 1/2, but increased SCr levels of 1.71
(IQR=1.32-2.36) in trimester 3 (small sample size, 10-week periods).
Conclusion The observed prolonged hyperfiltration in women with baseline
eGFR<75 may warrant closer medical surveillance. Future
studies should evaluate individual risk factors with focus on subgroups
of women with eGFR=60-74 and eGFR<60. Funding Non. Key words
Disease progression, pregnancy, nephrology, renal filtration
Efficacy and Safety of Left Atrial Low-Voltage Area-Guided Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Li Xiaoping , Zhou Yaqiong , Zhang Hamin , Yan Peng , Jia Fengpeng , Wang Xinquan , Wang Dan , Zhou Peng , Wang Peijian
Published: May 2022

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of
LVA-guided substrate modification catheter ablation in patients with AF.
Methods: Systematic searches of the PubMed, EMBASE, and
Cochrane databases were performed from inception to February 2022 for
all available studies. The effect estimates were combined with the
Mantel–Haenszel random-effects model. Subgroup analyses, sensitivity
analysis and meta-regression were performed to explore the sources of
statistical heterogeneity. Results: A total of 16 studies
involving 1931 subjects (mean age: 61±10 years, 69% male) were
identified. All studies included patients with paroxysmal AF,
nonparoxysmal AF, or both. At a mean follow-up of 18.9 months, patients
who underwent LVA ablation had significantly higher freedom from
all-atrial tachycardia recurrence than patients who underwent control
ablation (67.6% vs. 48.9%, risk ratios [RR] 0.66, 95% confidence
interval [CI]: 0.57-0.76, P<0.001), with 34% relative
risk and 18.7% absolute risk reductions in all-atrial tachycardia
recurrence. Six studies assessed the incidence of stroke/transient
ischemic attacks (TIAs) between the 2 groups. However, no stroke/TIA
occurred in most of these studies. Furthermore, the rates of acute
procedural complications were not significantly different between the 2
groups (LVA ablation 2.4% vs. control ablation 3.3%, RR 0.56, 95% CI:
0.30-1.07, P =0.08). Conclusion: LVA-guided substrate
modification ablation appears to have a significant benefit in improving
freedom from all-atrial tachycardia recurrence. Importantly, this
benefit is achieved without a significant increase in the rates of acute
procedural complications or cerebral thromboembolic events.
Long-term impacts of different dialysis modalities on right ventricular function in patients with end-stage renal disease
Authors: Demirci Duygu Ersan , Demirci Deniz , İNCİ Ayça
Published: May 2022

Background Right ventricular dysfunction is a major cause of
heart failure and mortality in end-stage renal disease patients. Scarce
data is available regarding the comparison of echocardiographic right
ventricular function in end-stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis
(HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD). The aim of the study was to evaluate
the long-term impacts of different dialysis modalities on right
ventricular function assessed by conventional echocardiography, in
end-stage renal disease patients with preserved left ventricular
function. Methods The study included 120 patients grouped as
follows: PD(n=40), HD with arterio-venous fistula (n=40) and healthy
control subjects (n=40). Conventional echocardiography was performed in
all patients. A classification of right ventricular function was defined
in HD patients by using tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion
(TAPSE), right ventricular myocardial performance index (RV-MPI),
fractional area change (FAC) and tricuspid lateral annulus systolic
velocity (Sa) values. Correlation analysis was performed by using right
ventricular dysfunction score, clinical and echocardiographic
parameters. Results The mean age of the study population was
51.9±13.1 years and 47.5% were females. TAPSE and Sa velocity were
found to be significantly lower and RV-MPI was significantly higher in
patients undergoing HD, compared with control and PD patients. Logistic
regression analysis showed that HD treatment was an independent risk
factor for developing right ventricular dysfunction. Conclusion
RV function was impaired in patients undergoing HD compared with
patients on PD.
Optimized straw interlayer improves organic carbon and total nitrogen in soil profile: A four-year experiment in a saline soil
Authors: Chang Fangdi , Wang Xiquan , Song Jiashen , Zhang Hongyuan , Yu Ru , Wang Jing , Liu Jian , Wang Shang , Ji Hongjie , Yuyi Li
Published: May 2022

Soil salinization is a critical environmental issue restricting
agricultural production. Straw deep returning as interlayer (40 cm) has
been a popularized practice to alleviate salt stress. However, the
legacy effects of straw interlayer associated with the straw input
amount on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in saline
soil remain unclear. Therefore, a four-year (2015-2018) field experiment
was conducted with four levels (i.e., 0, 6, 12 and 18 Mg ha
) of straw returning as interlayer. Compared with no
straw interlayer (CK), straw interlayers increased SOC content by
14-32% and 11-57% in 20-40 cm and 40-60 cm, respectively. Lower
increases were for soil TN content (8-22% in 20-40 cm and 6-34% in
40-60 cm) than SOC content, which led to increase soil C:N ratio in the
20-60 cm soil depth. Compared with CK, remarkable increases of SOC and
soil TN contents in 20-60 cm led to the decrease of stratification
ratios (0-20: 20-60 cm), which promoted uniform distributions of SOC and
TN in soil profiles. Even though soil parameters ranged widely according
to the straw input, straw interlayer with 12 Mg ha
had higher SOC, TN, C:N ratio, and lower soil stratification ratio in
2015-2017, which contributed to salt leaching, water retention, and
yield increment. These results highlighted the legacy effects of straw
interlayers maintained more than four years, which led to an
underestimation for previous short-term experiments, and demonstrated a
great potential for subsoil fertility and salt-affected soil
amelioration.
Emergence of a novel PRRSV-1 strain in mainland China: a recombinant strain derived from the two commercial modified live viruses Amervac and DV
Authors: Sun Qi , Xu Hu , Li Chao , Gong Bangjun , Li Zhen , Tian Zhijun , Zhang HongLiang
Published: May 2022

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus 1 (PRRSV-1) is one
of the main pathogens causing porcine reproductive and respiratory
syndrome (PRRS). In recent years, the detection number of PRRSV-1 in
China has gradually increased, and the PRRSV-1 strains reported in China
belong to subtype Ⅰ (Global; Clade A-L). In the present study, a novel
PRRSV-1 strain, TZJ2134, was found during epidemiological surveillance
of PRRSV-1 in Shandong Province in China. We obtained two fragments of
TZJ2134: TZJ2134-L12 (located at nt 1672-nt 2112 in the partial Nsp2
gene) and TZJ2134-(A+B) (located at nt 7463-nt 11272 in the partial
Nsp9, complete Nsp10 and partial Nsp11 genes). Phylogenetic and
recombination analyses based on the two sequences showed that TZJ2134 is
a recombinant strain derived from two commercial PRRSV-1 modified live
vaccine (MLV) strains (the Amervac vaccine and DV vaccine strains),
forming a new recombinant subgroup of DV+Amervac-like isolates with
other strains. However, PRRSV-1 MLV is not currently allowed for use in
China. We speculated that TZJ2134 might have been introduced from
Europe. This study is the first to provide information on two
recombinant PRRSV-1 MLV strains in China and provides new data for the
epidemiological study of PRRSV-1 in China.
Extensive diversity of RNA viruses in ticks revealed by metagenomics in northeastern China
Authors: Liu Ziyan , Li Liang , Xu Wenbo , Yuan Yongxu , Liang Xiaojie , Zhang L. , Wei Zhengkai , Sui Liyan , Zhao Yinghua , Cui Yanyan , Yin Qing , Li Dajun , Li Qianxue , Hou Zhijun , Wei Feng , Liu Quan , Wang Zedong
Published: May 2022

Ticks act as important vectors of infectious agents, and several
emerging tick-borne viruses have recently been identified to be
associated with human diseases in northeastern China. However, little is
known about the tick virome in northeastern China. We used
metatranscriptomics to investigate the virome diversity in
Haemaphysalis japonica, H. concinna, Dermacentor
silvarum, and Ixodes persulcatus ticks collected from
northeastern China. In total, 22 RNA viruses were identified, including
four each in the Nairoviridae and Phenuiviridae families,
three each in the Flaviviridae, Rhabdoviridae, and
Solemoviridae families, two in the Chuviridae family, and
one each in the Partitiviridae, Tombusviridae families and
an unclassified virus. Of these, eight viruses were novel species,
belonging to the Nairoviridae (Ji’an nairovirus and Yichun
nairovirus), Phenuiviridae (Mudanjiang phlebovirus),
Rhabdoviridae (Tahe rhabdovirus 1-3), Chuviridae (Yichun
mivirus), and Tombusviridae (Yichun tombus-like virus) families,
and five members were established human pathogens, including Alongshan
virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, Songling virus, Beiji nairovirus,
and Nuomin virus. I. persulcatus ticks had significant higher
viral species than H. japonica, H. concinna, and D.
silvarum ticks. Significant differences in tick viromes were observed
among Daxing’an, Xiaoxing’an and Changbai mountains. These findings
showed an extensive diversity of RNA viruses in ticks in northeastern
China, revealing potential public health threats from the emerging
tick-borne viruses. Further studies are needed to explain the natural
circulation and pathogenicity of these viruses.
On the urgent need for standardization in isotope-based ecohydrological investigations
Authors: Millar Cody , Janzen Kim , Nehemy Magali , Koehler Geoff , Herve-Fernandez P. , Wang Hongxiu , McDonnell Jeff
Published: May 2022

Ecohydrological investigations commonly use the stable isotopes of water
(hydrogen and oxygen) as a conservative ecosystem tracer. This approach
requires accessing and analyzing water constrained within plant and soil
matrices. Generally, there are six steps that researchers must pass
through to retrieve hydrogen and oxygen isotope values from these plant
and soil matrices: (i) sampling, (ii) sample storage and transport,
(iii) extraction, (iv) pre-analysis processing, (v) isotopic analysis,
and (vi) post-processing and correction. At each of these steps
cumulative errors can be introduced which sum to non-trivial magnitudes.
These errors can impact subsequent interpretations about water cycling
through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. But these steps in the
research ‘process chain’ are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes
to uncertainly in published findings. At each of these discreet steps,
there are multiple possible options to select from resulting in, as we
will show, tens of thousands of possible combinations used by
researchers to go from plant and soil samples to isotopic data. In a
newly emerging science, so many options can create interpretive
confusion and major issues with data comparability. This points to the
need for the development of shared standardized approaches. Here we
critically examine the state of the process chain, reflecting on the
issues associated with each step, and end with suggestions to move our
community towards standardization. We hope that critically assessing
this common approach will help us see the current problem in its
entirety and facilitate community action toward agreed upon standardized
approaches.
Predicting monthly runoff of the Upper Yangtze River based on the Multi-input Artificial Intelligence Framework
Authors: Li Xiao , Zhang Liping , Zeng Sidong , Tang Zhenyu , Liu Lina , Zhang Qin , Tang Zhengyang
Published: May 2022

Accurate monthly runoff prediction is of significance to extreme flood
control and water resources management. However, traditional models
without multivariable input for predicting monthly runoff may fail to
capture runoff changes effectively due to the dual effect of climate
change and human activities. Here, a Multi-input Artificial Intelligence
Framework (MAIF) was put forward using five Artificial Intelligence (AI)
models to predict monthly runoff, where multiple global circulation
indices and surface meteorological indices are selected as explanatory
variables by the Stepwise Regression or Copula Entropy methods. Besides,
four univariate models were adopted as benchmarks. The MAIF was tested
at two typical hydrological stations (i.e., Gaochang and Cuntan) in the
Upper Yangtze River. The results indicate that the LSTM_Copula (Long
short-term memory model combined with Copula entropy method) model
outperformed the other models for both the Gaochang Station and Cuntan
Station, whereas the GRU_Step (Gate recurrent unit model combined with
Stepwise regression method) model and the RF_Copula (Random forest
model combined with Copula entropy method) model showed satisfactory
performances. In addition, the AI models with multi-variables input
provide better predictability compared with four univariate models, with
improvements of 5.10%, 4.16%, 5.34%, and 0.43% in the MAPE, RMSE,
NSE, and R values for the Gaochang Station and 10.84%, 17.28%,
13.68%, and 3.55% for the Cuntan Station, making it an effective
approach for monthly runoff forecasting in large rivers.
Microstructures and tensile properties of Mg-2Zn-0.8Sr-0.2Ca alloy extruded at relatively slow speed and low temperature
Authors: Yang A. , Nie K.-B. , Deng K.-K. , Han J.-G. , Xiao T. , Han X.-Z.
Published: May 2022

In this work, a new Mg-2Zn-0.8Sr-0.2Ca alloy with low content of alloying elements was subjected to extrusion at relatively low-temperatures (240 and 200?C) and slow-speed (1.0 mm/s and 0.1 mm/s). The average size and volume fraction of recrystallized grains in the extruded Mg-2Zn-0.8Sr-0.2Ca alloy gradually decreased with the reduction in extrusion rate or extrusion temperature. Some broken second phases including Ca2Mg6Zn3 and Mg17Sr2 appeared in the extruded Mg-2Zn- 0.8Sr-0.2Ca alloy along with some precipitated nano-sized MgZn2 phases. The volume fraction of MgZn2 phases gradually in the alloy increased as extrusion rate or temperature decreased. High performance with yield strength of 393.1 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 418.4 MPa and the elongation of 5.7% was obtained in the Mg-2Zn-0.8Sr-0.2Ca alloy extruded at 200?C & 0.1 mm/s. The main strengthening mechanisms could be attributed to grain-boundary strengthening, dislocation strengthening, precipitation strengthening, which were related to the change in grain size, second phases and basal texture intensity for the extruded Mg-2Zn-0.8Sr-0.2Ca alloy.
Biomechanical aspects of static foot load in physically active and inactive students
Authors: Babovic Sinisa , Krstonosic Bojana , Novakovic Aleksa , Savuljic Miljan , Milankov Miroslav
Published: May 2022

Introduction. This study investigated the parameters of foot load, as one of
the dimensions of foot biomechanics, using a new method of objectification
of the measured values. The examined biomechanical parameters directly
affect correct gait and posture. The aim of this research was to determine
if there was a statistically significant difference in the forefoot and
rearfoot load, as well as the load on the whole foot between physically
active and inactive students. Material and Methods. The study included 91
students, of whom 44 were physically inactive and 47 were physically active.
Measurements were performed by using a baropodometry platform (FreeMed Maxi,
Sensor Medica, Rome, Italy) used for the first time in our population for
objectification of the morpho-physiological parameters. All reference values
were provided by the manufacturer as a part of the Freestep version 1.4.01
software. Results. Our results showed that physically active students have
statistically significantly higher forefoot load values. Physically inactive
students have statistically significantly higher rearfoot load values. Also,
physically inactive students have statistically significantly higher
deviations in most parameters from the reference values compared to
physically active students. The percentage of physically inactive students
with non-physiological values is higher in every parameter compared to the
percentage of physically active students. However, this difference is
statistically significant only for the load on the right forefoot in
relation to both feet. Conclusion. Physically active students showed a
physiologically better foot load distribution than physically inactive
students.
Health concerns of patients with rheumatoid arthritis during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
Authors: Boskovic Ksenija , Gojkovic Zoran , Jovic Masa , Jovicevic Predrag , Jankovic Tanja , Zvekic-Svorcan Jelena
Published: May 2022

Introduction. Rheumatoid arthritis is a symmetrical polyarticular arthritis
that primarily affects the small joints of the hands and feet. Patients with
rheumatoid arthritis have a significantly higher risk of developing serious
infections that require hospitalization. The coronavirus disease 2019
pandemic was declared in 2019. The aim of this study was to examine the
concerns of patients with rheumatoid arthritis during the coronavirus
disease 2019 pandemic. Material and Methods. A prospective, randomized,
cross-sectional study included 127 patients with rheumatoid arthritis
treated with biological therapy at the Special Hospital for Rheumatic
Diseases, Novi Sad, Serbia. Data were obtained by a questionnaire that
included three sections: general information, data on the disease, and
health concerns before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The
data were collected in the period from 1 to 31 October, 2021. Statistical
analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Ver. 25.0.
Results. A total of 127 respondents participated in the study, 108 women
(85%) and 19 men (15%). The average age of participants was 54.26 years. The
statistical analysis showed that there were no statistically significant
differences among the respondents in relation to sociodemographic
characteristics, and that they all showed approximately the same level of
concern for themselves and their loved ones during the coronavirus disease
2019 pandemic. Among the participants with rheumatoid arthritis, the health
concerns during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic were more pronounced
in patients with associated diseases: high blood pressure (3.43 [SD = 1.07]
vs. 3.01 [SD = 1.09]; p < 0.05), heart failure (3.92 [SD = 0.82] vs. 3.07
[SD = 1.09]; p < 0.05) and thyroid disease (3.82 [SD = 0.97] vs. 3.04 [SD =
1.08]; p < 0.01), compared to those without comorbidities. The total health
concerns of the respondents were higher during the coronavirus disease 2019
pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period (3.16 [SD = 0.40] vs. 2.93 [SD
= 0.35]; p < 0.001). Conclusion. The respondents expressed greater health
concerns for both themselves and their loved ones during the pandemic
compared to the pre-pandemic period.
Ovarian inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: A case report
Authors: Sunjevic Milena , Vrekic Zeljka , Lovrenski Aleksandra , Stajic Dragan , Cirovic Sanja , Panjkovic Milana
Published: May 2022

Introduction. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a mesenchymal neoplasm
with an aggressive potential and a tendency for recurrence. It is known to
occur in a variety of locations, including the female genital tract. The
objective of this study was to provide an overview of the clinical,
histopathological, immunohistochemical and molecular features of the
inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, emphasizing potential diagnostic
pitfalls in the female genital tract. Case Report. The diagnosis of an
inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the right ovary with extension to the
right parametrium and peritoneal adipose tissue was made in a 74-year-old
patient after a detailed laboratory testing, computed tomography and
histopathological examination. Conclusion. This case report presents an
unusual experience of specialists in everyday practice, with a successful
combination of skills in gynecological surgery and pathology. Inflammatory
myofibroblastic tumor is a diagnostic challenge that needs to be considered
in the differential diagnosis of tumors of both the ovary and the entire
female genital tract.
Anatomical limitations and factors influencing molar distalization
Authors: Hui Victoria Lee Zhi , Xie Yaxin , Zhang Kaiwen , Chen Haoran , Han Wenze , Tian Ye , Yin Yijia , Han Xianglong
Published: May 2022

Objectives

To analyze the anatomical limitations and characteristics of maxillary and mandibular retromolar regions affecting molar distalization using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).

Materials and Methods

A total of 120 qualifying patients were classified into equal groups of skeletal Class II and Class III and stratified by vertical growth pattern, age, sex, and third molar presence. The available distance along the axis of distalization and cortical bone thickness (CBT) were measured in the maxillary and mandibular retromolar regions of Class II and Class III patients, respectively. One-way analysis of variance was used to examine the effects of the factors on the measured data.

Results

The minimum available distance of the Class II maxilla was observed at a level 3 mm from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ), while that of the Class III mandible was at a level 9 mm from the CEJ. The average available distance at the limit level was 4.06 ± 1.93 mm in the Class II maxilla, and the average corresponding CBT was 1.00 mm. The average available distance at the limit level in the Class III mandible was 2.80 ± 1.96 mm, and the corresponding CBT was 2.24 mm. In both skeletal Class II and Class III patients, hyperdivergent groups had the least available distance for molar distalization.

Conclusions

The limit for available distance in the Class II maxilla is closer to the coronal level, while that of the Class III mandible is closer to the apical level. A hyperdivergent growth pattern in a patient is indicative of less potential for molar distalization. Axial slices of CBCT images provide valuable evaluation for molar distalization regarding limit levels.
Acceptance of Murine Islet Allografts Without Immunosuppression in the Inguinal Subcutaneous White Adipose Tissue Pretreated with bFGF
Authors: Nakafusa Yuki , Nitta Naoyoshi , Ishii Kazunari , Shirasu Naoto , Iwamoto Takahiro , Nemoto Takayuki , Nakamura Masafumi , Goto Masafumi , Iwata Hiroo , Taniguchi Masaru , Yasunami Yohichi
Published: May 2022

  

Prevention of immune rejection without immunosuppression is the ultimate goal of transplant immunobiology. One way to achieve this in cellular transplantation, such as with islet transplantation, is to create a favorable local environment at the transplant site. In the present study, we found that streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic C57BL/6 mice remained normoglycemic for more than one year after transplantation of BALB/c islets without immunosuppression when the inguinal subcutaneous white adipose tissue (ISWAT) was the site of transplantation and when the site was pretreated with basic fibroblast growth factor. Mechanistically, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) expanded in the ISWAT after the treatment was found to produce TGFb and prevention of islet allograft rejection could be achieved by co-transplantation with syngeneic MSCs isolated from the ISWAT after the treatment, which was abolished by anti-TGFb antibody treatment. Importantly, TGFb-producing cells remained present at the site of co-transplantation for up to the end of observation period at 240 days after transplantation. 

These findings indicate that prevention of islet allograft rejection without immunosuppression is feasible with the use of syngeneic TGFb-producing MSCs expanded in the ISWAT after the treatment with bFGF, providing a novel strategy for prevention of islet allograft rejection without immunosuppression. 
Biomarkers of Skin Graft Healing in Venous Leg Ulcers
Authors: Kirketerp-Møller Klaus , Doerfler Petra , Schoefmann Nicole , Wolf-Winiski Barbara , Niazi Omid , Pless Vibeke , Karlsmark Tonny , Ågren Magnus
Published: May 2022

There is a need for biomarkers that predict the success of transplantation of venous leg ulcers (with autologous split-thickness skin grafts). The primary objective of this exploratory study was to investigate the association between split-thickness skin graft healing in venous leg ulcers and candidate wound fluid biomarkers representing inflammatory cell and endogenous proteinase activities, and bioactivity. A secondary objective was to compare biomarker levels of the 17 venous leg ulcers with sterile split-thickness skin graft donor-site wounds in another 10 patients with venous leg ulcers. Wound fluids were collected for 24 h using a validated method. The concentration of preoperative matrix metalloproteinase-9 in wound fluid was higher in venous leg ulcers showing good healing (n = 10) than in venous leg ulcers showing poor healing (n = 7) 12 weeks after transplantation with meshed split-thickness skin grafts. The diagnostic value of matrix metalloproteinase-9 was good according to receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. Matrix metalloproteinase activity in wound fluids from split-thickness skin graft donor-site wounds increased as a function of time and healing, but was still lower than matrix metalloproteinase activity in venous leg ulcer wound fluids, which showed increased levels of most biomarkers except for matrix metalloproteinase-9 and matrix metalloproteinase-2. In conclusion, wound fluid matrix metalloproteinase-9 concentration is a potential predictive biomarker of split-thickness skin graft healing in venous leg ulcers.
Everyday Experiences of Statelessness in the UK
Authors:   , Cotterill Eleanor M.
Published: May 2022

This thesis explores the everyday experiences of stateless people residing in the UK. Through a slow, creative, participatory methodology, this study grounds and expands understandings of everyday statelessness using scrapbooking techniques. By conceptualising statelessness as a lived experience, this thesis expands understandings of the status beyond an abstract legal conundrum or category of non-citizenship. This conceptualisation does not discount statelessness as a legal phenomenon, but acknowledges statelessness as a complex political, social, and cultural status rooted in lived experience. A focus on everyday topics (services, home and leisure), exposes how statelessness becomes present taking multiple forms, emerging through and impacting mundane spaces and encounters. Revealing the ambiguities and contradictions in and through the everyday lives of stateless persons. However, the multiple banal forms of statelessness can make the condition seem intangible and elusive. Creative approaches to research are a means to bring to the fore the overlooked and challenge the settled. Through creative, ethnographic research with stateless individuals in Cardiff and London, this thesis explores how creative, participatory research methodologies can be ethically utilised with vulnerable populations. Using feminist methodological approaches, this study develops and employs scrapbooking as a form of elicitation with stateless persons. The approach is critically examined: asking what alternative insights into statelessness does a slow, participatory, creative approach elicit? It demonstrates how the highly visual practice of scrapbooking assists stateless participants to reveal previously hidden everyday experiences, emphasising in layouts their principal concerns and raising awareness of their everyday lives in the UK. Through revealing everyday experiences of statelessness in the UK, this thesis challenges the narrative that the status is exceptional, demonstrating that statelessness is ever-present and ongoing throughout the everyday in the UK.
Message-Based Logic Semantics and Intentional Linguistic Semantics of Paul Grice.
Authors: Petik Yaroslav
Published: May 2022

The paper considers new logical semantics for the classic propositional logic which states that a propositional formula refers to a special structure – “the tree of messages”. This tree of message determines the truth values for the elements of the propositional formula. The source of inspiration for creating a concept of such semantics is a philosophical-linguistic program advanced by H.P. Grice. Grice made a hypothesis according to which the meaning of the speech act is defined more by speaker’s intention than by the “conventional” meaning of utterances. A speaker may have hidden intentions towards his speech act – he is manipulating his audience for political or economic aims, for example. Thus, the true meaning of the utterance the speaker uses may even contradict the “conventional” meanings of those expressions. As a consequence, to understand the true meaning of those utterances you should take the speaker's true intentions into consideration. A message is a textual expression of such intentions. In general, messages can express different meta-rules which specify the context for the propositional formula which refers to the “tree”. Messages can cooperate between each other as well as with the messages from different trees creating specific kinds of “algebras”. By specifying these “algebras” the variety of different alternative propositional logics based on this semantics can be created. By interpreting messages and accordingly modifying the truth values of propositional formulas the situation described by Grice can be emulated. However, it should be admitted that the idea of such logical semantics is wider than just an emulation of the particular linguistic theory.
Hannah Arendt and Isaiah Berlin
Authors: Hiruta Kei
Published: May 2022

Two of the most iconic thinkers of the twentieth century, Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) and Isaiah Berlin (1909–1997) fundamentally disagreed on central issues in politics, history and philosophy. In spite of their overlapping lives and experiences as Jewish émigré intellectuals, Berlin disliked Arendt intensely, saying that she represented “everything that I detest most,” while Arendt met Berlin's hostility with indifference and suspicion. This book tells, for the first time, the full story of the fraught relationship between these towering figures, and shows how their profoundly different views continue to offer important lessons for political thought today. The book traces the Arendt–Berlin conflict, from their first meeting in wartime New York through their widening intellectual chasm during the 1950s, the controversy over Arendt's 1963 book Eichmann in Jerusalem, their final missed opportunity to engage with each other at a 1967 conference and Berlin's continuing animosity toward Arendt after her death. The book blends political philosophy and intellectual history to examine key issues that simultaneously connected and divided Arendt and Berlin, including the nature of totalitarianism, evil and the Holocaust, human agency and moral responsibility, Zionism, American democracy, British imperialism and the Hungarian Revolution. But, most of all, Arendt and Berlin disagreed over a question that goes to the heart of the human condition: what does it mean to be free?
Freedom
Authors: Hiruta Kei
Published: May 2022

This chapter delves into the late 1950s and early 1960s, when Hannah Arendt and Isaiah Berlin fully matured as political thinkers and presented their rival theories of freedom, underpinned by competing views of the human condition. The chapter argues that it is the most fundamental of all their disagreements because, for both of our protagonists, to be free is to be human in the full sense of the term, and to deprive one of freedom is to deny one's humanity. The chapter highlights their competing conceptions of the human condition, and underpins their respective theories of freedom and of political thought as a whole. The chapter presents some basic analytic tools and terminological distinctions on which the book's subsequent discussion relies. It explains the terms ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom’, and differentiates between ‘conceptions’, ‘concepts’, ‘ideas’ and ‘theories’. The chapter inspects Arendt's and Berlin's competing histories of freedom, especially their conflicting perspectives on ancient philosophy, to explicate further the central point of disagreement between the two thinkers.
Evil and Judgement
Authors: Hiruta Kei
Published: May 2022

This chapter concerns Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem and Isaiah Berlin's commentary on it. It seeks to review the specifically moral aspect of the Arendt–Berlin conflict by way of considering the Eichmann controversy. As their dispute is tied to their disagreement over central moral and political concepts, such as responsibility, judgement, power and agency, the chapter reveals the relevant work on these concepts. It argues that Berlin's direct role in the controversy was to assist the publication of the English translation of the Arendt–Scholem exchange in Encounter magazine. Beyond this, however, he made critical remarks on Eichmann in Jerusalem in letters, conversations and interviews. The chapter focuses on Berlin's ‘value pluralism’, one of the most influential ideas in moral philosophy to emerge in the twentieth century. It then demonstrates how Berlin fully relied on this idea to mount an attack on Arendtian ethics.
Islands of Freedom
Authors: Hiruta Kei
Published: May 2022

This chapter explores Hannah Arendt's and Isaiah Berlin's middle and late works to tease out their competing visions of an ideal polity. It weighs their rival perspectives on a range of real-world politics and societies, including Britain's liberal present and its imperial past, the United States in the turbulent 1960s and Central and East European resistance to Soviet domination. The chapter first explicates Berlin's idealised representation of twentieth-century England/Britain as a model liberal society, followed by an analysis of his somewhat apologetic commentary on the country's imperialist past, compared to Arendt's highly critical commentary on it. It then turns to Arendt's idealised representation of the United States as a quintessentially modern, free republic, followed by an examination of her optimistic commentary on the country's turbulent late 1960s, compared to Berlin's highly pessimistic commentary on it. The chapter demonstrates an event of historic importance that could have created an ‘island of freedom’ in the midst of the totalitarian world: the Hungarian uprising against Soviet domination in 1956.
Founded in Fiction
Authors: Koenigs Thomas
Published: May 2022

What is the use of fiction? This question preoccupied writers in the early United States, where many cultural authorities insisted that fiction reading would mislead readers about reality. This book argues that this suspicion made early American writers especially attuned to one of fiction's defining but often overlooked features—its fictionality. The book shows how these writers explored the unique types of speculative knowledge that fiction could create as they sought to harness different varieties of fiction for a range of social and political projects. Spanning the years 1789 to 1861, the book challenges the “rise of novel” narrative that has long dominated the study of American fiction by highlighting how many of the texts that have often been considered the earliest American novels actually defined themselves in contrast to the novel. Their writers developed self-consciously extranovelistic varieties of fiction, as they attempted to reform political discourse, shape women's behavior, reconstruct a national past, and advance social criticism. The book features original discussions of a wide range of canonical and lesser-known writers, including Hugh Henry Brackenridge, Royall Tyler, Charles Brockden Brown, Leonora Sansay, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Montgomery Bird, George Lippard, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs. By reframing the history of the novel in the United States as a history of competing varieties of fiction, the book shows how these fictions structured American thinking about issues ranging from national politics to gendered authority to the intimate violence of slavery.
Fictionality and Female Conduct
Authors: Koenigs Thomas
Published: May 2022

This chapter traces the especially strident strand of the antifictional discourse focused on female conduct: critics worried that fiction's possibilistic speculations would lead young women to form unrealistic expectations for their lives and reject the imperatives of republican wifedom and motherhood. The chapter explores the didactic novels and fictions that emerged in conversation with such critiques over the first two decades of the nineteenth century, a period that saw the gradual, though uneven, disentanglement of epistemological and moral questions in periodical discussions of fiction. This leads to the emergence of two competing, even contradictory, standards for judging fiction: mimetic accuracy and moral purity. Faced with these unreconciled, perhaps irreconcilable, imperatives for fiction, early nineteenth-century writers developed new liminal varieties of fictional address. The chapter then looks at writers such as Rebecca Rush and Leonora Sansay, who examined the risks and limitations of the prevailing ways of using fiction to shape young women's conduct.
Fictionality and Social Criticism
Authors: Koenigs Thomas
Published: May 2022

This chapter explores a paradox in fictionality's development across the 1840s and 1850s. The very decades that saw the consolidation of an understanding of fiction as a vehicle for private leisure and self-culture disconnected from public concerns and political controversy also saw fiction rise to a new public sphere prominence, with its appropriation by mass-public social movements. The chapter focuses on the group of fictionists that rejected the delimited conception of fiction's purpose and used the mode for social criticism and political advocacy. The innovation of these fictionists is that they did not reject the conception of fiction reading as a private leisure activity, divorced from political controversy, but sought to harness this generic coding for their advocacy projects. The chapter shows how George Lippard's The Quaker City, or the Monks of Monk Hall (1844–45) and Harriet Beecher Stowe's A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin (1853) make fiction's marginalization from political discourse the grounds of a metadiscursive critique: because fiction was increasingly understood as inherently disconnected from politics, it was, these writers argued, ideally suited to expose the shortcomings of conventional politics.
Slow Train Coming
Authors: Levine Jeremy R.
Published: May 2022

This chapter situates the Fairmount Corridor within the context of national, state, and local urban policy changes. The social and political failure of urban renewal in the postwar period gave way to new community-based approaches to urban policy in the 1960s. These institutional reforms empowered local nonprofit organizations and carved out novel political roles for private foundations. Community-based organizations grew substantially following federal retrenchment in the 1980s and 1990s, further cementing their place in the community development field. The Obama administration's emphasis on public–private partnerships would become the capstone to a trend that was decades in the making, providing grants directly to nonprofits and developing policy ideas hand in hand with private foundations. Ultimately, it is impossible to understand urban governance today without understanding how it has changed over time.