bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Detection model of the plasma spectrum based on the polarization recognition rate induced by a low energy density laser
Authors: Xu Jiang , Wang Xiao , Yao Mingyin , Liu Muhua
Published: May 2022

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a fast recognition method for
heavy-metal detection. The recognition rate of the characteristic
spectrum is related to the laser-induced energy. In order to analyze
the polarization characteristics of plasma and the improvement
mechanism of recognition rate under the condition of low energy
density, a detection model of polarization recognition rate was
established by exploring the intensity formula of discrete spectral
data. At the Brewster angle, the LIBS and discrete spectral data of Cd
and Cu elements induced by five energies were measured in combination
with the polarization spectrometric path. According to the model of
polarization recognition rate, the optimization effect of the
polarization separation approach on the plasma spectra of heavy-metal
elements has been clarified, and the recognition rate of discrete
spectra induced by low energy density has been improved. This study
shows that the increase of laser energy is helpful to the recognition
of characteristic spectral lines. Under the same energy induction, the
polarization recognition rate of heavy-metal elements is larger, and
this characteristic is more obvious under low energy density. This
model not only improves the recognition rate of the plasma spectrum
but also greatly reduces the requirement of laser energy and the
damage of the medium surface, which is a more effective nondestructive
testing technology.
Performance analysis of atmospheric optical communication systems with spatial diversity affected by correlated turbulence
Authors: Álvarez-Roa M. , Álvarez-Roa C. , Fernández-Aragón F. , Raddo T. , Garrido-Balsells J. M. , Tafur-Monroy I. , Jurado-Navas A.
Published: May 2022

This paper presents a complete analytical framework for obtaining the performance associated with a free-space optical (FSO) communication system with a spatial diversity and equal gain-combining technique. The system is affected by gamma–gamma scintillations with different realistic degrees of channel correlation depending only on the physical parameters of the link. We derive new analytical closed-form expressions for the average bit error rate (ABER) considering different scenarios to provide very realistic behavior of the system including different numbers of FSO receivers in several geometric configurations, with different receiving areas, different path lengths, and a variety of turbulence conditions. Furthermore, a very accurate approximate closed-form expression is also derived for the ABER of any generic coding scheme with either a very complex or, directly, no closed-form expression for its associated conditional BER that is first obtained in the ideal case of absence of turbulence. Numerical results via Monte Carlo simulation are provided to corroborate the validity of all the derived analytical expressions.
Temporal quality of post-compressed pulses at large compression factors
Authors: Escoto Esmerando , Viotti Anne-Lise , Alisauskas Skirmantas , Tünnermann Henrik , Hartl Ingmar , Heyl Christoph M.
Published: May 2022

Post-compression of ultra-short laser pulses via self-phase modulation is routinely employed for the generation of laser pulses with optical bandwidths reaching far beyond the laser gain limitations. Although high compression factors can be routinely achieved, the compressed pulses typically suffer from temporal quality degradation. We numerically and experimentally analyze the deterioration of different measures of temporal quality with increasing compression factor and show how appropriate dispersion management and cascading of the post-compression process can be employed to limit the impact of this effect. The demonstrated saturation of pulse quality degradation at large compression factors puts novel femtosecond laser architectures based on post-compressed picosecond or even nanosecond laser systems in sight.
Chirality sorting using a structured caustic vector vortex field
Authors: Li Bingjue
Published: May 2022

In this work, we theoretically demonstrate that the simultaneous manipulation of both the orbital angular momentum and the polarization conversion can be realized in a structured caustic vector vortex field. Under a slight focusing condition, the structured caustic vector vortex field would be auto-focused into dual foci with specific topological charge and orthogonal polarizations, which can be manipulated through adjusting the initial state of polarization distribution and a caustic phase applied on the illumination. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the structured focal field carrying opposite spin angular momentum is suitable to sort chiral nanoparticles, in which the different energy flow directions would bring distinct dynamic behaviors to enantiomers. This finding may have potential applications in all-optical enantiopure chemical syntheses and enantiomer separations in pharmaceuticals.
Multi-scale band-limited illumination profilometry for robust three-dimensional surface imaging at video rate
Authors: Jiang Cheng , Kilcullen Patrick , Lai Yingming , Wang Siqi , Ozaki Tsuneyuki , Liang Jinyang
Published: May 2022

Dynamic three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging by phase-shifting fringe projection profilometry has been widely implemented in diverse applications. However, existing techniques fall short in simultaneously providing the robustness in solving spatially isolated 3D objects, the tolerance of large variation in surface reflectance, and the flexibility of tunable working distances with meter-square-level fields of view (FOVs) at video rate. In this work, we overcome these limitations by developing multi-scale band-limited illumination profilometry (MS-BLIP). Supported by the synergy of dual-level intensity projection, multi-frequency fringe projection, and an iterative method for distortion compensation, MS-BLIP can accurately discern spatially separated 3D objects with highly varying reflectance. MS-BLIP is demonstrated by dynamic 3D imaging of a translating engineered box and a rotating vase. With an FOV of up to 1.7 m × 1.1 m and a working distance of up to 2.8 m, MS-BLIP is applied to capturing full human-body movements at video rate.
Suppressing multi-material and streak artifacts with an accelerated 3D iterative image reconstruction algorithm for in-line X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography
Authors: Zhao Yuqing , Zheng Mengting , Li Yimin , Han Shuo , Li Fangzhi , Qi Beining , Liu Dayong , Hu Chunhong
Published: May 2022

In-line X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography typically contains two independent procedures: phase retrieval and computed tomography reconstruction, in which multi-material and streak artifacts are two important problems. To address these problems simultaneously, an accelerated 3D iterative image reconstruction algorithm is proposed. It merges the above-mentioned two procedures into one step, and establishes the data fidelity term in raw projection domain while introducing 3D total variation regularization term in image domain. Specifically, a transport-of-intensity equation (TIE)-based phase retrieval method is updated alternately for different areas of the multi-material sample. Simulation and experimental results validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
GaN-based green resonant-cavity light-emitting diodes with Al mirror and copper plate
Authors: Yang Shuai , Xu Huan , Long Hao , Ying Leiying , Luo Ronghuang , Zhong Mengjie , Lu Wenrui , Hou Xiang , Mei Yang , Zhang Baoping
Published: May 2022

In this Letter, GaN-based green resonant-cavity light-emitting diodes (RCLEDs) with a low-cost aluminum (Al) metal bottom mirror, a dielectric top mirror, and a copper (Cu) supporting plate were fabricated. The green-emitting epitaxial wafer was grown on a patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) to ensure high crystal quality (CQ). Laser lift-off (LLO) of the PSS and electrical plating of a Cu supporting plate were then carried out to realize the vertical device structure. The emission wavelength and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the main emission peak of the device are ∼518 nm and 14 nm, respectively. Under the current density of 50 A/cm2, a relatively high light output power (LOP) of 11.1 mW can be obtained from the green RCLED. Moreover, when the current injection is 20 mA (8 A/cm2), the corresponding forward bias voltage is as low as ∼2.46 V. The reasons for the low operating voltage and high LOP can be attributed to the improvement of CQ, the release of residual compressive stress of the GaN-based epilayer due to the removal of PSS, and better heat dissipation properties of the Cu supporting plate.
Reestablishment of spermatogenesis after more than 20 years of cryopreservation of rat spermatogonial stem cells reveals an important impact in differentiation capacity
Authors: Whelan Eoin C. , Yang Fan , Avarbock Mary R. , Sullivan Megan C. , Beiting Daniel P. , Brinster Ralph L.
Published: May 2022

Treatment of cancer in children is increasingly successful but leaves many prepubertal boys suffering from infertility or subfertility later in life. A current strategy to preserve fertility in these boys is to cryopreserve a testicular biopsy prior to treatment with the expectation of future technologies allowing for the reintroduction of stem cells and restoration of spermatogenesis. Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) form the basis of male reproduction, differentiating into all germ cell types, including mature spermatozoa and can regenerate spermatogenesis following transplantation into an infertile testis. Here, we demonstrate that rat SSCs frozen for more than 20 years can be transplanted into recipient mice and produce all differentiating germ cell types. However, compared with freshly isolated cells or those frozen for a short period of time, long-frozen cells do not colonize efficiently and showed reduced production of spermatids. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed similar profiles of gene expression changes between short- and long-frozen cells as compared with fresh immediately after thawing. Conversely, following transplantation, long-frozen samples showed enhanced stem cell signaling in the undifferentiated spermatogonia compartment, consistent with self-renewal and a lack of differentiation. In addition, long-frozen samples showed fewer round spermatids with detectable protamine expression, suggesting a partial block of spermatogenesis after meiosis resulting in a lack of elongating spermatids. These findings strongly suggest that prolonged cryopreservation can impact the success of transplantation to produce spermatogenesis, which may not be revealed by analysis of the cells immediately after thawing. Our analysis uncovered persistent effects of long-term freezing not found in other cryopreservation studies that lacked functional regeneration of the tissue and this phenomenon must be accounted for any future therapeutic application.
Hypertension screening, prevalence, treatment, and control at a large private hospital in Kampala, Uganda: A retrospective analysis
Authors: Majumdar Usnish , Nanyonga Clarke Rose , Moran Andrew E. , Doupe Patrick , Gadikota-Klumpers Darinka D. , Gidio Agaba , Ssentamu Dennis , Heller David J.
Published: May 2022

Adult hypertension prevalence in Uganda is 27%, but only 8% are aware of their diagnosis, accordingly treatment and control levels are limited. The private sector provides at least half of care nationwide, but little is known about its effectiveness in hypertension control. We analyzed clinical data from 39 235 outpatient visits among 17 777 adult patients from July 2017 to August 2018 at Uganda’s largest private hospital. We calculated blood pressure screening rate at every visit, and hypertension prevalence, medication treatment, and control rates among the 5 090 patients with two or more blood pressure checks who received any medications from the hospital’s pharmacy. We defined hypertension in this group as 1) an average of two blood pressure measurements at separate consecutive visits, higher than 140 mm Hg systolic or 90 mm Hg diastolic, 2) receipt of any antihypertensive medication, or 3) the use of a hypertension electronic medical record code. We deemed hypertension control as normotensive at the most recent check. 12 821 (72.1%) of patients received at least 1 blood pressure check. Among the 5 090 patients above, 2 121 (41.6%) had hypertension (33.4% age-standardized to a world population standard): 1 915 (37.6%) with elevated blood pressure, and 170 (3.3%) were normotensive but receiving medication. 838 (39.4%) of patients with hypertension received medication at least once. Overall, 18.3% of patients achieved control (27% of treated patients, and 15% of untreated patients). Hypertension is common and incompletely controlled in this Ugandan private-sector population, suggesting several avenues for novel interventions.
The effects of geographical distributions of buildings and roads on the spatiotemporal spread of canine rabies: An individual-based modeling study
Authors: Sararat Chayanin , Changruenngam Suttikiat , Chumkaeo Arun , Wiratsudakul Anuwat , Pan-ngum Wirichada , Modchang Charin
Published: May 2022

Rabies is a fatal disease that has been a serious health concern, especially in developing countries. Although rabies is preventable by vaccination, the spread still occurs sporadically in many countries, including Thailand. Geographical structures, habitats, and behaviors of host populations are essential factors that may result in an enormous impact on the mechanism of propagation and persistence of the disease. To investigate the role of geographical structures on the transmission dynamics of canine rabies, we developed a stochastic individual-based model that integrates the exact configuration of buildings and roads. In our model, the spatial distribution of dogs was estimated based on the distribution of buildings, with roads considered to facilitate dog movement. Two contrasting areas with high- and low-risk of rabies transmission in Thailand, namely, Hatyai and Tepha districts, were chosen as study sites. Our modeling results indicated that the distinct geographical structures of buildings and roads in Hatyai and Tepha could contribute to the difference in the rabies transmission dynamics in these two areas. The high density of buildings and roads in Hatyai could facilitate more rabies transmission. We also investigated the impacts of rabies intervention, including reducing the dog population, restricting owned dog movement, and dog vaccination on the spread of canine rabies in these two areas. We found that reducing the dog population alone might not be sufficient for preventing rabies transmission in the high-risk area. Owned dog confinement could reduce more the likelihood of rabies transmission. Finally, a higher vaccination coverage may be required for controlling rabies transmission in the high-risk area compared to the low-risk area.
Use of standard U-bottom and V-bottom well plates to generate neuroepithelial embryoid bodies
Authors: Choy Buentello David , Koch Lena Sophie , Trujillo-de Santiago Grissel , Alvarez Mario Moisés , Broersen Kerensa
Published: May 2022

The use of organoids has become increasingly popular recently due to their self-organizing abilities, which facilitate developmental and disease modeling. Various methods have been described to create embryoid bodies (EBs) generated from embryonic or pluripotent stem cells but with varying levels of differentiation success and producing organoids of variable size. Commercial ultra-low attachment (ULA) V-bottom well plates are frequently used to generate EBs. These plates are relatively expensive and not as widely available as standard concave well plates. Here, we describe a cost-effective and low labor-intensive method that creates homogeneous EBs at high yield in standard V- and U-bottom well plates by applying an anti-adherence solution to reduce surface attachment, followed by centrifugation to enhance cellular aggregation. We also explore the effect of different seeding densities, in the range of 1 to 11 ×103 cells per well, for the fabrication of neuroepithelial EBs. Our results show that the use of V-bottom well plates briefly treated with anti-adherent solution (for 5 min at room temperature) consistently yields functional neural EBs in the range of seeding densities from 5 to 11×103 cells per well. A brief post-seeding centrifugation step further enhances EB establishment. EBs fabricated using centrifugation exhibited lower variability in their final size than their non-centrifuged counterparts, and centrifugation also improved EB yield. The span of conditions for reliable EB production is narrower in U-bottom wells than in V-bottom wells (i.e., seeding densities between 7×103 and 11×103 and using a centrifugation step). We show that EBs generated by the protocols introduced here successfully developed into neural organoids and expressed the relevant markers associated with their lineages. We anticipate that the cost-effective and easily implemented protocols presented here will greatly facilitate the generation of EBs, thereby further democratizing the worldwide ability to conduct organoid-based research.
Effects of innovation efficiency of high-tech industries on CO2 emissions in China: A spatial Durbin econometric analysis
Authors: Lou Lingyan , Wang Hongli , Zhong Shen
Published: May 2022

As a responsible country, China should take on heavy responsibility of energy conservation and emission reduction, and it is an inevitable choice for China to develop high-tech industries and improve the innovation efficiency of high-tech industries in order to alleviate the current environmental pressure. Therefore, this paper takes the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2016 as the research sample, on the basis of using DEA Global-Malmquist index to measure the innovation efficiency of high-tech industries, it constructs three spatial weight matrices, by including spatial geography, spatial economic geography nesting and innovation, and then it uses Spatial Durbin Model to empirically analyze the effect of innovation efficiency of high-tech industry on CO2 emissions in China from spatial perspective. The results indicate: firstly, in China, CO2 emissions gradually increase from 2006 to 2012, however, some provinces have declined after 2012. And CO2 emissions present a descending trend from eastern coastal area to central and western region. Secondly, affected by “warning effect”, CO2 emissions show a significant negative spatial spillover effect. Thirdly, the overall level of innovation efficiency of high-tech industries in China is not high, and its impact on CO2 emissions is not a simple linear relationship, but shows an “inverted N–shaped” curvilinear relation, and its decomposition index EC and TC also have similar characteristics. Obviously, the research in this paper provides a necessary theoretical support for China and some emerging developing countries to rational formulating and effective implementing the energy conservation and emission reduction policies.
Effects of heterogeneous SPS measures on agricultural growth: Evidence from China
Authors: Liu Xuemei , Chen Wei , Meyers William H. , Dong Yinguo
Published: May 2022

In order to explore the sustainable growth of Chinese agriculture, this paper assesses how the heterogeneous SPS measures affect China’s growth margins and quality upgrading in the agricultural sector. We estimate improved gravity-model that exploit the cross-country differences in SPS measures over the period from 2000 to 2014. Our findings show that the heterogeneous SPS measures restrict the intensive margin and extensive margin, but significantly promote the product quality-even with no significant effect on price index. Conditional on quality upgrading, the heterogeneous SPS measures decrease the extent of quality upgrading. On one hand, because of cross-country differences in SPS standards, standards from developed countries have less effective trade effect on China’s agri-products export quality upgrading; On the other hand, because of cross-firm differences in the ability to deal with SPS standards, the laggards in China have the higher probability to switch to lower entrance barrier countries. Therefore, it is possible for China to trap in the low-quality agricultural growth in the long term.
Foundational ingredients of robotic gait training for people with incomplete spinal cord injury during inpatient rehabilitation (FIRST): A randomized controlled trial protocol
Authors: Swank Chad , Holden Alexandria , McDonald Lacy , Driver Simon , Callender Librada , Bennett Monica , Sikka Seema
Published: May 2022

Introduction

As technological advances allow the use of robotic exoskeleton devices with gait training, there is a critical need to establish a robotic gait training (RGT) program to meet the needs of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) during inpatient rehabilitation. The purposes of this study are to prospectively examine the efficacy of a stakeholder informed RGT program compared to usual care gait training (UC) during inpatient rehabilitation in people with incomplete SCI and compare the intensity of RGT and UC gait training during inpatient rehabilitation.

Study design

128 patients with incomplete SCI admitted to our inpatient rehabilitation facility will be screened for eligibility and randomized to either the RGT or UC group. RGT sessions will use the Ekso robotic exoskeleton [class II medical device (United States FDA)]. UC sessions will use traditional gait training approaches such as manually assisted overground gait training with walkers and orthotics and body weight–supported treadmill training (BWSTT). Our primary outcome is gait function as characterized by the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury–II (WISCI-II). Secondary outcomes are gait speed, Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM), Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Penn Spasm Frequency Scale (PSFS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder– 7 (GAD-7), International Spinal Cord Injury Quality of Life Basic Data Set, and a Qualitative Questionnaire. Assessments of primary and secondary outcomes will occur at admission and discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. General or generalized linear models will be used to analyze differences between groups for all measures.

Clinical impact

Successful completion of this study will provide a usable, replicable, stakeholder informed RGT intervention for use with individuals with incomplete SCI during inpatient rehabilitation.
Environmental DNA detection of giant snakehead in Thailand’s major rivers for wild stock assessment
Authors: Osathanunkul Maslin , Madesis Panagiotis
Published: May 2022

Capture-based aquaculture is now gaining much attention in Southeast Asia. This system was used to produce several fish species with social and economic implications, including the giant snakehead (Channa micropeltes). As wild harvesting of organisms for seed stock is one of main practices in capture-based aquaculture, abundance and distribution of the wild stock are essential for both environmental impact evaluation and stock management. Mark and recapture, visual observation and physical capture of target species are costly, ineffective, and labour intensive for fish surveys in several cases. Detection of target organisms using eDNA (environmental DNA) could be a good alternative as it has proved to be a non-invasive, rapid, and sensitive method for aquatic species monitoring and surveying. Here, we developed a TaqMan assay that targets the 16S region of giant snakehead DNA to amplify eDNA captured in water samples. 300 µl of water samples were collected from 15 sites located in the Chao Phraya River Basin (Ping, Wang, Yom, Nan, and Chao Phraya River) and filtered with 0.7 µm glass fibre membrane filter. Giant snakehead eDNA was detected in most tributaries (60%) with concentrations ranging from 74.0 copies/ml in Wang River sites to 7.4 copies/ml in Nan River sites. As intensification of capture-based aquaculture could lead to depleting of wild fish stocks, urgent management is needed. However, the existing conventional approaches for assessment of fish overexploitation, survey and monitoring have several limitations.
Novel microalgae strains from selected lower Himalayan aquatic habitats as potential sources of green products
Authors: Inuwa Abdullahi B. , Zeb Iftikhar , Mahmood Qaisar , Irshad Usman , Irshad Muhammad , Hafeez Farhan , Iqbal Akhtar , Pervez Arshid , Nazir Rashid
Published: May 2022

Microalgal biomass provides a renewable source of biofuels and other green products. However, in order to realize economically viable microalgal biorefinery, strategic identification and utilization of suitable microalgal feedstock is fundamental. Here, a multi-step suboptimal screening strategy was used to target promising microalgae strains from selected freshwaters of the study area. The resulting strains were found to be affiliated to seven closely-related genera of the family Scenedesmaceae, as revealed by both morphologic and molecular characterization. Following initial screening under upper psychrophilic to optimum mesophilic (irregular temperature of 14.1 to 35.9°C) cultivation conditions, superior strains were chosen for further studies. Further cultivation of the selected strains under moderate to extreme mesophilic cultivation conditions (irregular temperature of 25.7 to 42.2°C), yielded up to 74.12 mgL-1day-1, 19.96 mgL-1day-1, 48.56%, 3.34 μg/mL and 1.20 μg/mL, for biomass productivity, lipid productivity, carbohydrate content, pigments content and carotenoids content respectively. These performances were deemed promising compared with some previous, optimum conditions-based reports. Interestingly, the fatty acids profile and the high carotenoids content of the studied strains revealed possible tolerance to the stress caused by the changing suboptimal cultivation conditions. Overall, strains AY1, CM6, LY2 and KL10 were exceptional and may present sustainable, promising feedstock for utilization in large-scale generation of green products, including biodiesel, bioethanol, pigments and dietary supplements. The findings of this study, which exposed promising, eurythermal strains, would expand the current knowledge on the search for promising microalgae strains capable of performing under the largely uncontrolled large-scale cultivation settings.
Acceptance and commitment therapy versus mindfulness-based stress reduction for newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial assessing efficacy for positive psychology, depression, anxiety, and quality of life
Authors: Zhang Zheng , Leong Bin Abdullah Mohammad Farris Iman , Shari Nurul Izzah , Lu Ping
Published: May 2022

Background and aim

Head and neck cancer patients are vulnerable to various psychological complications due to the effects of both cancer itself and cancer treatment on patients’ appearance and physical well-being. Nevertheless, few data have been obtained on effective psychosocial interventions that could protect this group of cancer patients’ psychological well-being. Therefore, this three-armed, parallel-group, double-blind, randomized control trial (RCT) aims to evaluate and compare the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on positive psychology (such as posttraumatic growth [PTG], hope, and optimism), quality of life (QoL), and psychological complications (depression, anxiety, and experiential avoidance) among newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients.

Methods and analysis

This RCT will target newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients who have been treated only with surgery or who have not yet received any treatment. In total, 120 patients who meet all of the study’s inclusion criteria and none of its exclusion criteria will be randomly assigned into three groups—an ACT group, an MBSR group, and a treatment-as-usual control group—at a 1:1:1 allocation ratio. Participants in the two intervention groups (the ACT and MBSR groups) will undergo an eight-week group intervention program. During this program, each intervention will comprise eight modules based on ACT and MBSR, respectively. Outcome assessments will be performed across a three-point timeline, including before the intervention (t0), immediately after the psychosocial intervention at eight weeks (t1), and six months after the intervention (t2). The primary outcome that will be assessed during this RCT is PTG. Meanwhile, the secondary outcomes that will be evaluated in this study are such as QoL, hope, optimism, depression, anxiety, and experiential avoidance.

Trial registration number

NCT04800419(ClinicalTrials.gov). Registered on March 16, 2021.
Associations of vaccine status with characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized severe COVID-19 patients in the booster era
Authors: Freund Ophir , Tau Luba , Weiss Tali Epstein , Zornitzki Lior , Frydman Shir , Jacob Giris , Bornstein Gil
Published: May 2022

Background

The resurgence of COVID-19 cases since June 2021, referred to as the fourth COVID-19 wave, has led to the approval and administration of booster vaccines. Our study aims to identify any associations between vaccine status with the characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 disease.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed all COVID-19 patients admitted to a large tertiary center between July 25 and October 25, 2021 (fourth wave in Israel). Univariant and multivariant analyses of variables associated with vaccine status were performed.

Findings

Overall, 349 patients with severe or critical disease were included. Patients were either not vaccinated (58%), had the first two vaccine doses (35%) or had the booster vaccine (7%). Vaccinated patients were significantly older, male predominant, and with a higher number of comorbidities including diabetes, hyperlipidemia, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, immunodeficient state, kidney disease and cognitive decline. Time from the first symptom to hospital admission was longer among non-vaccinated patients (7.2 ± 4.4 days, p = 0.002). Critical disease (p<0.05), admissions to the intensive care unit (p = 0.01) and advanced oxygen support (p = 0.004) were inversely proportional to the number of vaccines given, lowest among the booster vaccine group. Death (20%, p = 0.83) and hospital stay duration (8.05± 8.47, p = 0.19) were similar between the groups.

Conclusion

Hospitalized vaccinated patients with severe COVID-19 had significantly higher rates of most known risk factors for COVID-19 adverse outcomes. Still, all disease outcomes were similar or better compared with the non-vaccinated patients.
Living kidney donation in a developing country
Authors: Dayal Chandni , Davies Malcolm , Diana Nina Elisabeth , Meyers Anthony
Published: May 2022

Background

Living kidney donation has been advocated as a means to ameliorate the chronic shortage of organs for transplantation. Significant rates of comorbidity and familial risk for kidney disease may limit this approach in the local context; there is currently limited data describing living donation in Africa.

Methods

We assessed reasons for non-donation and outcomes following donation in a cohort of 1208 ethnically diverse potential living donors evaluated over a 32-year period at a single transplant centre in South Africa.

Results

Medical contraindications were the commonest reason for donor exclusion. Black donors were more frequently excluded (52.1% vs. 39.3%; p<0.001), particularly for medical contraindications (44% vs. 35%; p<0.001); 298 donors proceeded to donor nephrectomy (24.7%). Although no donor required kidney replacement therapy, an estimated glomerular filtration rate below 60 ml/min/1.73 m2was recorded in 27% of donors at a median follow-up of 3.7 years, new onset albuminuria >300 mg/day was observed in 4%, and 12.8% developed new-onset hypertension. Black ethnicity was not associated with an increased risk of adverse post-donation outcomes.

Conclusion

This study highlights the difficulties of pursuing live donation in a population with significant medical comorbidity, but provides reassurance of the safety of the procedure in carefully selected donors in the developing world.
Is early childhood development impeded by the birth timing of the younger sibling?
Authors: Dhamrait Gursimran , O’Donnell Melissa , Christian Hayley , Pereira Gavin
Published: May 2022

Background

This study investigated whether the timing of birth of the younger siblings was associated with the risk of the older siblings’ developmental vulnerability in early childhood.

Methods

Linkage of population-level birth registration, hospital, and perinatal datasets to Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) records (2009–2015), enabled follow-up of a cohort of 32,324 Western Australia born singletons. Children with scores <10th percentile on an individual AEDC domain (Physical Health and Wellbeing; Social Competence; Emotional Maturity; Language and Cognitive Skills (school-based); and Communication Skills and General Knowledge) were classified as developmentally vulnerable. Modified Poisson Regression was used to estimate relative risks (RR) for associations between post-birth interpregnancy intervals (IPIs) and developmental vulnerability.

Results

Relative to post-birth IPIs of 18–23 months, post-birth IPIs of <6 and 6–11 months were associated with an increased risk of children being classified as DV1 (aRR 1.21, 95% CI: 1.11–1.31) and DV2 (aRR 1.31, 95% CI: 1.15–1.49); and DV1 (aRR 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03–1.17) and DV2 (aRR 1.21, 95% CI: 1.09–1.34), respectively. Post-birth IPIs of <6 months were associated with an increased risk on four of the five AEDC domains. Post-birth IPIs of 48–60 months were associated with an increased risk of developmental vulnerability; however, the risk was statistically significant for DV1, DV2 and the domains of Emotional Maturity and Language and Cognitive Skills (school-based).

Conclusions

Developmental vulnerability was associated with having a closely spaced younger sibling (<12 months post-birth IPIs). Optimising birth spacing should be further investigated as a potential means for improving child development outcomes.
Global Entanglements of a Man Who Never Traveled: A Seventeenth-Century Chinese Christian and His Conflicted Worlds, Dominic Sachsenmaier (2020)
Authors: Joby Christopher
Published: May 2022

Review of: Global Entanglements of a Man Who Never Traveled: A Seventeenth-Century Chinese Christian and His Conflicted Worlds, Dominic Sachsenmaier (2020)

New York: Columbia University Press, 268 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-23118-753-4, p/bk, $26.00
‘Modalidades de violación’ in Lidia Falcón’s En el infierno: Ser mujer en las cárceles de España (1977)
Authors: Madden Deborah
Published: May 2022

The nefarious nexus of patriarchy and nationalism that characterized Francoist Spain (1939–75) made sexualized violence inflicted on the state’s female prisoners an immanently political act. Focusing onEn el infierno: Ser mujer en las cárceles de España(1977), the prison memoir of the communist and feminist activist Lidia Falcón, this article draws on theories of trauma, victimhood and memory to interrogate how Falcón navigates questions of (self-)representation and agency through the portrayal of rape and sexualized violence in Franco’s women’s prisons. Rape, for Falcón, is a multifaceted act that violates both the female body and the collective body politic, while the various manifestations of abuse – ‘las modalidades de violación’ – reify sexual and political dominance. By speaking on behalf of the female prison population, Falcón utilizes the collective voice so as to presuppose a collective victimhood that fosters solidarity amongst women and resists subjugation by the masculinist state.
The translation of socialist feminisms in post-Francoism: Juliet Mitchell and Sheila Rowbotham
Authors: Godayol Pilar
Published: May 2022

Throughout history, Hispanic feminism has been endowed with ideological mothers and sisters. The dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939–75) prevented their reception for years. However, in the late Franco era, the foundational essays of Betty Friedan and Simone de Beauvoir were published. Later, at the height of the women’s movements, other foreign voices arrived, such as those of the Anglo-Saxon socialist feminists Juliet Mitchell and Sheila Rowbotham. After contextualizing the feminisms of the Transition and their physical and intellectual spaces, this article focuses on the reception and censorship of Mitchell’s and Rowbotham’s essays in the 1970s. Published under the Barcelona publishing imprints of Anagrama and Edicions 62, as well as the Madrid-based Debate, six of the eight books have censorship files, which show how the censorship apparatus continued to act after the death of the dictator. Almost half a century after their publication, now that the essays of the second wave are once again a source of inspiration for contemporary feminism, this research aims to pay tribute to them and remind us that the socialization of their texts, through translation, was one of the key elements of social and political change in the post-Franco period.
The Portuguese at War: From the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day, Nuno Severiano Teixeira (2019–20)
Authors: Serrado Joana
Published: May 2022

Review of: The Portuguese at War: From the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day, Nuno Severiano Teixeira (2019–20)

Sussex: Sussex Academic, 272 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-84519-993-7, h/bk, £65.00

ISBN 978-1-78976-057-6, p/bk, £29.95
The Retornados from the Portuguese Colonies in Africa: Memory, Narrative, and History, Elsa Peralta (ed.) (2022)
Authors: Green Joe
Published: May 2022

Review of: The Retornados from the Portuguese Colonies in Africa: Memory, Narrative, and History, Elsa Peralta (ed.) (2022)

London: Routledge, 442 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-36770-399-8, h/bk, £120.00

ISBN 978-1-00314-615-5, e-book, £33.29
Estudios sobre deportes y fútbol en Brasil en los campos de la sociología y la comunicación
Authors: Da Costa Leda Maria , Helal Ronaldo George
Published: May 2022

En Brasil, el fútbol, a pesar de ser un deporte que históricamente se constituyó como uno de los pilares de la construcción identitaria nacional, tardó en incorporarse como un objeto de estudio en el ámbito académico. Durante algunos años, la producción de investigaciones que tematizaban el fútbol solía ser escasa y marcada por una perspectiva apocalíptica en el sentido empleado por Umberto Eco. La publicación, en 1982, de la colección Universo do futebol, organizada por el antropólogo Roberto DaMatta, es un marco en la trayectoria de sistematización de la literatura académica sobre el fútbol. Este artículo pretende hacer un recorrido por la trayectoria de la construcción y del establecimiento de los estudios sobre la relación entre el deporte y el fútbol en Brasil, con énfasis en el campo de las Ciencias Sociales y de la Comunicación.
Small Sporting Events as a Sports Diplomacy Tool: The Example of the Friendly Football Match Between Basque Country Women’s National Football Team and the Czech Republic
Authors: Zákravský Jiří
Published: May 2022

Many research articles focus on international sporting events that have the potential to gain a global audience, such as the Olympic Games or FIFA World Cups. These sporting events could be valuable sports diplomacy tools for the hosting countries, strengthening the hosting nation’s soft power. However, the majority of the international sporting events could be described as small, with just a limited number of fans. On the other hand, as this article demonstrates on the example of the friendly football match between Basque Country Women’s National Football Team and the Czech Republic that took place in November 2017, this kind of sporting event could be used as a relatively successful sports diplomacy tool (concerning its limited audience).
Empresarios del Caribe colombiano: historia económica y empresarial del Magdalena Grande y del Bajo Magdalena, 1870-1930
Authors: Elías Caro Jorge Enrique
Published: May 2022

El texto que reseño en esta revista, es resultante de una investigación derivada de un proyecto académico de postgrado. Es parte de la Tesis de Doctorado en Historia por la Universidad de Puebla en México, que Joaquín Viloria defendió ya hace más de un lustro. Sin embargo, lo que motivó escribir esta reseña es su tema de abordaje y la importancia que reviste para la historiografía empresarial del Caribe colombiano.
Élites y política colonia en los márgenes del imperio. Puerto Rico, 1765-1815
Authors: Rodríguez Treviño Julio César
Published: May 2022

Elites y política colonia en los márgenes del imperio. Puerto Rico, 1765-1815, es una obra bien lograda que cubre un amplio espectro de la historia de Puerto Rico, José Manuel Espinosa presenta una interpretación de cómo los grupos dirigentes de dicha isla se adaptan a los procesos de cambio generados por la política del gobierno isleño y peninsular durante las reformas borbónicas, los movimientos de independencia hispanoamericanos y la reorganización administrativa derivada de las Cortes de Cádiz.
Rozumowanie dedukcyjne w procesie uczenia się języka niemieckiego jako drugiego języka obcego na przykładzie podsystemu gramatycznego
Authors: Bawej Izabela
Published: May 2022

The role of the first foreign language in second foreign language learning is an interesting research question.

The main purpose of the research was to relate if and how the learners make deductions about German grammar based on English language skills. Therefore, this study presents the results of a survey conducted among students of Applied Linguistics who learn German after English. Participants were interviewed to state their opinion about the usefulness of English in learning German structures. The results of this inquiry allow the conclusions that learners use and transfer the previously acquired knowledge and information from what they have in first foreign language in order to understand, learn or form structures in the second foreign language. They compare both languages, look for similarities in the creation of the construction and the application of the structures or constructions, conclude by analogies between English and German in grammatical subsystem. In this way they deduce that English makes possible and facilitates to memorize grammatical forms while learning German, e.g. passive voice, articles, tenses, irregular verbs, comparative and superlative adjectives.
Hypoxia ameliorates maternal diet‐induced insulin resistance during pregnancy while having a detrimental effect on the placenta
Authors: Sissala Niina , Myllymäki Elisa , Mohr Florian , Halmetoja Riikka , Kuvaja Paula , Dimova Elitsa Y. , Koivunen Peppi
Published: May 2022

Maternal overweight/obesity contributes significantly to the development of gestational diabetes, which causes risks to both mother and fetus and is increasing sharply in prevalence worldwide. Since hypoxia reprograms energy metabolism and can alleviate weight gain, adiposity, insulin resistance (IR), and dyslipidemia, we set out to study the potential of sustained reduced ambient oxygen tension (15% O2) during pregnancy for alleviating the detrimental effects of diet‐induced IR in C57Bl/6N mice, taking normal chow‐fed and normoxia (21% O2) groups as controls. Our data show that hypoxic intervention reduced maternal weight gain, adiposity, and adipose tissue inflammation, and ameliorated maternal glucose metabolism and IR during gestation in diet‐induced IR relative to normoxia. Where diet‐induced IR reduced maternal hemoglobin and increased serum erythropoietin levels, hypoxic intervention compensated for these changes. Diet‐induced IR reduced fetal growth in normoxia, and even more in hypoxia. Hypoxic intervention reduced liver weight gain during pregnancy in the dams with diet‐induced IR, maternal liver weight being positively associated with embryo number. In case of diet‐induced IR, the hypoxic intervention compromised placental energy metabolism and vascularization and increased end‐pregnancy placental necrosis. Altogether, these data show that although hypoxic intervention mediates several beneficial effects on maternal metabolism, the combination of it with diet‐induced IR is even more detrimental to the placental and fetal outcome than diet‐induced IR alone.
Broadcasting the skeptron: the upset of sociolinguistic closure in Swedish public service television
Authors: Salö Linus
Published: May 2022

This article explores upset reactions to purportedly deviant language use in the newsroom of the Swedish public service television company SVT. Adopting a historical gaze to contemporary struggles, it focuses on the news anchor Dina Haddad (an alias selected by me for the sake of anonymity) and the injurious, bigoted complaints she receives from detractors by virtue of speaking Swedish with a foreign accent. Through historical contextualization, the article casts Swedish public service television as a system of sociolinguistic closure, sustained through individual and institutional efforts of correction. Conceptually, it invokes the image of the skeptron to illustrate how linguistic authority is exerted through an interplay between delegators and holders. Against this backdrop, drawing on interview data and a selection of scornful emails, Haddad’s broadcast appearance is grasped as indexing the symbolic recognition of unsolicited change. Her foreign accent is perceived as revealing the countervailing upset of sociolinguistic closure, sanctioned by the establishment. For detractors, this is at once a critique against the skeptron-delegator, SVT, and the skeptron-bearer, Haddad. While the verbal attacks she receives are more about social change than language per se, I argue that the efficacy of producing linguistic complaints pertains to SVT’s historical role in sustaining doctrines of correctness.
Media panic, medical discourse and the smartphone
Authors: Madsen Lian Malai
Published: May 2022

This article investigates a space of upset related to the smartphone with its communicative affordances and implications. The notion of moral panic can be seen as a way of conceptualizing spaces of upset and their discursive frames. Informed by this concept and accounts of the panic discourses particularly directed at media, I examine the upset articulated in Danish media panic discourses, which grants authority from a medical perspective. In addition, I draw on the concept of medicalization and discuss how it becomes sayable within the space of upset related to digitally mediated communication that human interaction through a technological device is not (always) communication, but habit or addiction, to unpack the socio-cultural and sociolinguistic assumptions and implications of this perspective. Empirically, the article focuses on a particularly preeminent voice in the public debate in Denmark about the impact of social media and smartphone use, namely the voice of a medical doctor who has been granted the authority as “digital health expert” and frequently appears in Danish print, broadcast and social media.